Smash Life
by CrashGuy01
Summary: Is Mario truly in love with Peach? What shenanigans is Pit up to? And is Sonic as irritable and annoying as people make him out to be? Find out about all this and more in Smash Life, featuring all your favorite smashers and more! (WARNING: Chapter 57 is currently out of order.)
1. Episode 1: Newcomers

_Authors note:_

 _*This story will be formatted as if it were a real documentary. All talking head segments will be in bold, and will mainly consist of one person (or two persons, which may be indicated by a line break)._

 _*All current brawlers and previous brawlers (namely Pichu, Young Link, Wolf, Snake, Ice Climbers, and the Pokemon Trainer—as well as his Pokemon—will be featured. Any character that has a Mii costume in their likeness (save for Fox, Link, Samus, Captain Falcon, and anything Monster Hunter related) will also be featured, as well as any extraneous characters such as Doc Louis and King Dedede's minions._

 _Enjoy!_

* * *

 **Episode 1: Newcomers**

The weather was dark and dreary. The snow rained down hard on the Smash Mansion as the ferocious winter winds blew hard against the surrounding trees.

And that's just the way Cloud Strife likes it.

The blonde, spiky-haired soldier looked up at the mansion, sword in hand, gazing at the very mystique of the establishment. Many brawlers reside in the very building, and now it was time for him to make it his abode. Cloud was told that he won't be the only newcomer to reside here - there were two more on their way here.

One of the newcomers is Corrrin, the prince of Nohr. Most of the brawlers are against inviting him, for some odd reason.

Bayonetta is the other newcomer—she's a witch who hunts after angels. Pit better be weary of her, if he knows what's good for him.

 **Cloud: So, yeah...I'm here at the Smash Mansion, about to meet some brawlers, and make some new friends - the latter of which may or may not happen, depending on how well I get along with everyone - but I guess I'll starting call this place home...**

Cloud went to the front door of the Smash Mansion and knocked on the door several times. Mario answered the door.

"Ah, you-a finally arrived!" the plumber exclaimed. "It's-a me, Mario!" He held out his hand.

"Cloud Strife," Cloud shook Mario's hand. "It's a great pleasure to finally meet you."

"Likewise, my friend, likewise! Come on in, I'll show you around..."

* * *

Cloud entered the Smash Mansion, and was taken to the living room - a room adorned with Christmas decorations and spacious enough for the all the brawlers. A bright chandelier hung upon the ceiling, and the exquisiteness of it immediately caught Cloud's eye. Or _eyes_ , rather, since he was looking at said chandelier with both eyes...whichever one you prefer.

"Nice digs," Cloud complimented the mansion's interior.

"I'm-a glad you-a like it!" smiled Mario. "You won't-a believe the tremendous amount of work I had-a do to make this place tidy!"

 **Mario: Took me-a ten hours to clean this entire place up. Mr. Game & Watch sure-a came in handy...**

"I would-a like to introduce you to my love-a interest, Peach," Mario took Cloud over to Peach, who was sitting on a couch in the living room, sipping her tea.

"Hello there!" the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom greeted Cloud. "Care for a cup of tea?" She handed the soldier a cup of tea.

"Thank you," Cloud accepted the cup of tea and sipped it. Sure, it may be a little too cold, but Cloud didn't seem to care anyway. Since when did he ever care?

"I take it-a you're the new guy?" Luigi approached Cloud. He was sweating more than a marathon runner basking in the sun.

"Why yes I am. You must be Mario's little brother, Luigi."

"That...is correct."

 **Luigi: I just don't-a know why, but I get-a extremely nervous when I meet-a new people, especially if they have a pointy sword. That's-a probably why I wetted myself when I-a first met Lucina...that incident is-a why I have multiple pairs of overalls to this very day...**

"Let me-a show you-a around, there's-a lot of great stuff happening here!" Mario guided Cloud to another part of the mansion.

* * *

Mario and Cloud entered the kitchen, where they found Palutena cooking dinner. The dinner, you might ask? Chicken, rice, some casserole, dressing, and - wait for it - Brussels sprouts. _Yuck._

"Again-a with the Brussels sprouts?" Mario pouted. "We're-a not little kids!"

"I made it, so you eat it!" Palutena retorted. The goddess suddenly took notice of Cloud. "Oh, you must be Cloud Strife! I hope you have a good appetite!" Palutena pinched Cloud's cheek; to say the blonde didn't enjoy that would be a colossal understatement.

"Sure whatever," replied Cloud, sounding apathetic and indifferent. What is up with this dude...

"Yo, Cloud Strife, what up dude!" Fox approached Cloud.

"Yeah man, welcome to the big house!" said Falco, who was accompanying Fox.

"What do you two want?" grumbled Cloud.

"We're here to introduce ourselves!"

 **Fox: We would do a formal introduction and all, but that has become way too commonplace.  
** **Falco: Which is why we're gonna introduce ourselves in an entirely different way!**

So instead of a formal introduction, Fox decided to rap, with Falco in the background beat-boxing. Let's see how Fox's rap goes...

 _My name's Fox McCloud,_  
 _And this is Falco Lombardi!_  
 _When it comes to making an impact,_  
 _We're always never tardy!_  
 _Beating up brawlers,_  
 _Stomping their faces in the ground,_  
 _We're the best fighters,_  
 _Pound for pound!_  
 _We take no prisoners,_  
 _No need for mercy,_  
 _We've been topping tier lists,_  
 _No time for controversy!_  
 _If you wanna learn how to be great,_  
 _Just look up to us,_  
 _We smash through our competition_  
 _Like a speeding school bus!_  
 _Word!_

"Booo!" Knuckles the Echidna booed the Star Fox pilots from a coffee table. He was playing cards with Pac-Man, Wario, and Ike.

"Knuckles, aren't you a bit too young to be playing cards?" questioned Palutena.

"What are you trying to say?"

"You're only sixteen..."

"...Age ain't nothing but a number! Has Aaliyah not taught y'all anything?!"

"Nobody here listens to that R&B garbage," said Wario.

"Better take that back bub!"

 **Knuckles: Why is it that me and Doc Louis are the only dudes in this mansion that listen to Aaliyah? Is it because we're black? Do I really have to make a race issue out of this thing? Is that what it's come to now?!**

"Excuse me, ma'am, but what time is dinner?" Cloud asked Palutena.

"I'm sorry?" Palutena's eye began to twitch. Mario, Fox, and Falco backed away as much as possible, while the dudes at the coffee table got on the offensive.

"It's just that, I'm really hungry now, and I just want to know when..."

"Did you just call me, 'ma'am'?" Palutena stopped cooking in a heartbeat.

"Uh, do I need to repeat myself?"

Mario, Fox, and Falco immediately made a run for it and bolted out of the kitchen at the speed of light.

"Don't you _dare_ call me that again!" Palutena became enraged as she wielded her staff.

"Nice staff," Cloud smirked. "What are you going to do, hurt me with it or something?"

* * *

Cloud sat in his new room, with Isabelle nursing the black eye Palutena gave him. This room he had to share with Lloyd Irving, a fellow swordsman whom Cloud finds as an unworthy roommate. He would have preferred to reside with Link, the famed hero of Hyrule, but his roommate was Princess Zelda.

"If you need anything, just let me know," Isabelle said to Cloud before leaving the room.

"Enjoying your time here?" Lloyd asked, trying to spark a conversation with the solemn Cloud.

"Eh, I suppose," replied Cloud.

"So how did you get that black eye from Palutena? Did she give you a sucker punch, just like Little Mac does?"

Cloud just gave Lloyd an dumbfounded and inquisitive look. Palutena fighting with her fists is just as rare as any instance of snow in Florida. Cloud tried to give Lloyd a pass here.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Who could it be?

"Special delivery for Cloud Strife!" It was Toad, as his squeaky voice was heard through the door. Cloud got up and opened the door, and saw Toad holding a basket of striped apples.

"For me?" Cloud accepted the basket, and saw that there was a note on it. It was from Tifa Lockhart.

"Just came in the mail not so long ago," explained Toad.

"Are those apples?" asked Lloyd, getting all giddy for no reason. "Can I have some?"

"Shut up," Cloud retorted.

"Wow, Cloud, that wasn't nice!" scolded Toad.

"Whatever," Cloud placed the basket of apples on his dresser and exited the room. Lloyd was becoming a little too much for him...

* * *

 **Cloud: My time here hasn't gone as well as I hoped. Sure, I finally got to meet guys like Mario and Fox, but I got a black eye from that Palutena lady, and Lloyd has become a nuisance. Hopefully not everyone here is a pain in the butt...**

Cloud was walking through the halls of the Smash Mansion when he accidentally bumped into Doc Louis, Little Mac's trainer. Little did the blonde know that he was about to get himself in a world of hurt. Unwritten Rule #7: NEVER provoke a black man. (Unless you know how to fight back.)

"What's the matter son?!" Doc Louis turned around and confronted Cloud. "You want some beef?!"

"Sure man, I'm feeling kinda hungry right now," Cloud responded. Poor Cloud doesn't seem to understand the street meaning of the word 'beef'. Apparently his ignorance is about to get him in a disastrous situation...

"Oh you're gonna get it now!" Doc put up his dukes. "Let's go!"

Before Doc could land the first punch on Cloud, Chrom came out of nowhere and restrained the boxing trainer.

"Hold me back, Chrom, hold me back!" yelled Doc.

"It's not worth it man, leave him alone!" said Chrom. "Sorry you had to witness that," he then apologized to Cloud as he dragged Doc away.

"Okay..." Cloud felt a little uneasy after that little episode. Can't say you blame him...

* * *

Mario, Pit, and Lucario were in the dining room of the mansion, playing with a jumbling tower. The goal of the game is to pull a block from a tower of blocks, without causing the tower to collapse. For some, this can be quite easy and simple - unless you're Pit. It was Pit's first turn, and he simply pulled a block, and the tower came crashing down on the table.

"Every time, man!" Pit frowned as he threw the block on the table in frustration and crossed his arms. "This game hates me!"

"Or maybe you just suck," said Lucario. The Aura Pokemon certainly shouldn't be the one to talk - he got the game, but he has yet to win.

 **Lucario: Pit can be such a sore loser at times...and a sore winner. When he wins, he's always bragging about his win and rubs it in people's faces. And when he loses, he throws a fit, and blames everyone for the loss. I'd rather much play against Dark Pit, and that's truly saying something.**

"You-a win some, you-a lose some!" Mario tried to comfort Pit. Emphasis on "tried".

"Dudes come outside!" Jacky Bryant, the famed indy car racer, poked his head through the doorway. "I want you to check something out!"

* * *

Jacky took the three outside, and showed them his new car - a shiny red-and-back corvette.

 **Jacky: Just got this sweet ride from a nearby car dealership. The original price was $22,500, but I paid in rupees - 500 rupees, to be exact. The dealer didn't care much about the worth of the rupees, he was only attracted by how shiny they were. Sucks for me, since I have to repay Link...asking him for rupees was such a bad idea.**

"Check out my new ride!" Jacky showed off his new vehicle, which came with a radio, several cup holders, and a built-in Wii U - not that Jacky would ever think about playing it while driving. If he does, he's insane. "So what do you think?"

"My Dolphin Dasher is much better than this sorry excuse of a vehicle," responded Mario.

"Does it come with an installed gaming system? Yep, I don't think so..."

"Oh man, that whip wet!" said Doc Louis, who appeared next to Mario.

"How is it wet...?" asked Pit.

"Man y'all know nothing about car terminology...Jacky here knows what I'm talking about! Right buddy?"

"Yeah sure..." Jacky scratched the back of his head. Not even he knew what Doc meant by a "wet" whip.

"Mario, I need to speak with you for a minute," Doc said to Mario. "It's about the new guy..."

* * *

Following his brief episode with Doc Louis, Cloud continued his stroll across the Smash Mansion. He came across a room, where Bowser was sitting on a couch with Shulk, trying to "culture" the wielder of Monado Arts. Today's lesson involved basketball; the Koopa King was showing Shulk a dated basketball game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets on a wide-screen television.

"So that bearded guy is James Harden," Bowser pointed at the TV. "He's the best defender in the NBA!"

"James Harden is the best defender in the NBA..." Shulk wrote this down on a notepad. "Got it!"

"The guy guarding him is LeBron James. He's the most underrated player in the game!"

"LeBron James is the most underrated player..." Shulk wrote this false bit of information down. "Why is he so underrated?"

"He's underrated due to the fact that he plays in a crapsack city like Cleveland. It's shunned by the media and the general public, making it hard for athletes and celebrities living there to garner any attention or notoriety."

"Didn't you say the other day that Cleveland was the greatest city to live in?"

"...You must have gotten Cleveland mixed up with Detroit."

 **Shulk: I feel greatly honored to learn so many new things from Bowser. He taught me so many ideas and folkways I had never heard of! Who knew it was acceptable to set up your Christmas tree as early as the 4th of July?**

"Ah, Cloud Strife!" Bowser took notice of the swordsman, who stood by the doorway. "Care to join us?"

"I have more important things to do than listen to your dumb fibs," replied Cloud.

"King Bowser is not fibbing!" Shulk defended Bowser. Pity the fool... "He speaks the truth, and nothing but the truth!"

"You tell him Shulk!"

Cloud sighed and left. Before he could get any further, he was stopped by Toad.

"Mario would like to speak with you," he said to Cloud.

* * *

Cloud sat in Mario's room, as an angry Mario paced back and forth in his doctor attire. Is Cloud about to receive punishment? Also why is Mario dressed up as a doctor? He's not trying to be a behavioral psychologist, is he?

"It appears that-a you've been-a causing harm in this household," said Dr. Mario. Isabelle, Cloud's temporary assistant, sat on Dr. Mario's bed, listening attentively.

"Am not," attested Cloud. "I have done nothing wrong."

"So explain your little 'beef' with Doc Louis," said Isabelle.

"Pfft, that was nothing. Dude was just overreacting."

"I don't care-a if he was-a overreacting or not; I don't need-a you to go all Brock-a Lesnar up in here and threaten everyone!" Dr. Mario said sternly.

"Who was I threatening?"

"Let me-a speak!"

Cloud sighed and sat back in his chair. If he could ditch this place, he would in a heartbeat.

"Just-a remember that you can't-a take this opportunity for granted," Dr. Mario continued.

"You're fortunate to live here, unlike some other people," stated Isabelle.

"Like Shovel Knight?" asked Cloud. Shovel Knight was a very popular choice for _Smash_ , but his dreams of being able to brawl among guys such as Mario and Link were completely dashed.

"Yes, like-a Shovel Knight. Sent-a him one too many invitations..."

"Dinner is ready!" Palutena announced as she poked her head through the door. "Also, Corrin and Bayonetta are on their way!"

"Alrighty then. We will-a be there shortly. Make-a sure they're available seats-a for the newcomers!"

Palutena nodded as she went away.

"I want-a you to be on your best-a conduct," Dr. Mario warned Cloud. "Ya hear?"

 **Dr. Mario: I really want-a Cloud to enjoy living here-a at the Smash Mansion to his fullest. I can't afford-a another nuisance. At least-a he won't be like Ryu - he literally KO'd every single-a person in the mansion! Snake had it worst-a though...at times-a he can't remember his own name! But Robin does-a the same thing all the time, so it's-a all good...**

* * *

Cloud sat at the dinner table with all the other brawlers. He sat next to Captain Falcon, and Mega Man X.

"Sooo...you come here often?" Captain Falcon asked Cloud, trying to spark a conversation. He was talking with food in his mouth, which is quite unpleasant for anyone (unless you're Wario).

"This is my first time here..." Cloud pointed out.

"Oh I see...well are you available tonight?"

"Available?! I'm a dude!"

Captain Falcon looked at Cloud with utter shock.

"Such ignorance," Cloud sighed.

"Now you know how I feel..." murmured Marth, who was eavesdropping on the conversation.

 **Captain Falcon: Why didn't anyone tell me that Cloud was a boy name?!**

"Ignore that guy, he's always trying to flirt with the ladies," X told Cloud. "He thought that guy was a woman!" X then pointed at Dunban, who was talking to Shulk.

"IT WAS THE HAIR, I TELL YOU!" yelled Captain Falcon.

Cloud got up from his seat and went to go get seconds, if there was any. Wario and King Dedede probably gobbled up all the food. When Cloud got to the table were all the food was present, he unexpectedly bumped into Link. Both were humbled to finally be in each other's presence.

"Uh, Cloud Strife," Cloud held out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you.

"Name's Link," the Hylian warrior shook Cloud's hand. "It's been a long time coming since we finally meet each other."

"Tell me about it..."

"Move aside, laddies!" King Dedede shoved Cloud and Link aside. "My stomach requires more grub!"

"King Dedede, didn't you already have seconds?" Palutena asked the king.

"...You must have gotten me confused with Wario. It's okay, I know we're both fatties and all, but still..."

"Back away from the table. NOW."

King Dedede did as he was told...before inching towards one of his Waddle Dees.

"Fix me another plate," he whispered to the Waddle Dee, who immediately followed the king's order.

"Attention everyone!" Ike called out, garnering the attention of everyone. "Today is a special day; in addition to Cloud Strife, we have two newcomers living here in the Smash Mansion!" Mario was supposed to announce this, but he had to take care of some business. He would have had Luigi do the honors, but he would be too nervous.

"Who are you again?" asked Snake, who is still suffering from the side effects of getting knocked out by Ryu. The fact that's he's also dealing with accelerated age didn't help either...

"I'm Ike, and I fight for my friends!"

"Yeah, your nonexistent friends," remarked Fox.

"And how are things going between you and Krystal?"

Fox shut his mouth real quick.

 **Fox: Contrary to popular belief, Krystal and I are still going strong! Sure we haven't texted each other in a while...but you don't have to constantly text your girl to prove your love to her! Look at Knuckles, he's in mad love with Rogue the Bat, but you don't see him texting her on a consistent basis! Then again, his giant hands prevent him from using a cellular device...**

"Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted..." Ike continued. "I would like to introduce to you all, the prince of Nohr...Corrin!"

Corrin appeared before the brawlers, garnering a heavy amount of applause.

"Greetings, everyone," he greeted. "It is with great gratitude that I..."

"Gimme all your money!" Wario pointed at Corrin. The fatso had found out that Corrin hails from a royal family, which means he is quite wealthy.

"Chill out, Wario, it's the dude's first time here!" Sonic intervened. "Besides, don't you have enough money already!"

"No! I need more! More, I tell you!"

 **Wario: How did Donald Trump make it in the business world today? By accumulating as much money as possible, that's how! Money makes the world go around, baby!"**

"Hopefully I will make new friends here, and build relationships with my fellow _Fire Emblem_ allies," said Corrin. "That is all."

Corrin took an empty seat next to Mario's seat, as there was more applause.

"Our next newcomer is an Umbra Witch, whose main hobby involves hunting after angels!"

"Angels?!" Pit panicked. He quickly exchanged his laurel crown for Link's green hat; Link, who sat next to Pit, did not notice this swap at all.

"Everyone please welcome...Bayonetta!"

The Umbra Witch appeared as she walked seductively towards the dinner table. Most of the men were whistling at the very sight of Bayonetta; Link happened to be one of those men.

"Cut that out!" Zelda slapped Link silly.

"Ouch!" Link winced. He rubbed the place where Zelda slapped him. "Sorry Zelda..."

"Also, why are you wearing Pit's crown?"

"Wait, what?" Link looked up and saw the laurel crown on his head. About time he noticed...

"My fellow brawlers, it is with much delight that I join you all here at this very mansion," Bayonetta said. "As some of you might know, I specialize in hunting angels..."

"Looking for angels?!" Pit interrupted. "Here's one right here!" He grabbed Link and showed him to Bayonetta.

"Silly boy, angels don't have pointy ears..."

"...Says who?!"

 **Pit: Of all the people, it just had to be Bayonetta...why couldn't they get Shovel Knight, all he does is dig stuff! He and the Duck Hunt dog would be perfect friends!**

"Eating those refried beans for lunch today was a horrid idea..." Mario remarked as he returned from the bathroom. Poor bathroom...

"The newcomers have arrived!" Peach told the plumber.

"Already?" Mario saw Corrin and Bayonetta. But his eyes were fixated on Bayonetta - her heels resting on the dinner table - who gave the plumber a seductive smile. "Hubba hubba..."

"Ahem..." Peach cleared her throat.

"Oh, my bad," Mario regained his composure.

* * *

Corrin moved in with Robin, while Bayonetta moved in with Snake. The master of espionage was against having the Umbra Witch as a roommate.

"Snake and Bayonetta would make for a great couple!" said Yoshi, who watched Bayonetta in her room from afar along with Roy. "Don't ya think so Roy?"

"In your dreams buddy," replied Roy.

"Sure Snake might be growing old and all, but that shouldn't dismiss him from finding love!"

"Hold this L..." Roy walked away from Yoshi, not wanting to be involved with his foolishness.

"Anything can happen, you know!"

"Pervert," Cloud mumbled as he walked past Yoshi and headed towards the gaming room. Knuckles had asked of Cloud to do something for him - something that Cloud might regret doing later. Knuckles believed that if Cloud did this act, he would legitimize himself in the eyes of his fellow brawlers.

Once he arrived at the gaming room, Cloud saw K.K. Slider in the center on a pedestal, playing his guitar. Quite rare, considering K.K. usually performs on Saturdays. Jigglypuff was next to K.K. singing. Surprisingly no one has fallen asleep...yet.

"Could you...stop playing for a sec?" Cloud asked K.K. kindly. "Got something I have to do for everyone here..."

"Sure thing, dog," K.K. stopped playing his guitar, and Jigglypuff stopped singing. "You got the floor, now do your thing!"

Everyone in the room paid Cloud their undivided attention. Cloud gulped, and did the unthinkable...he dabbed! All the people in the gaming room (save for the ladies) went ballistic.

"HE HIT THE DAB!" Falco was going bonkers. "HE HIT THE DAB!"

"Don't know what's all the hubbub is about..." Lucina remarked, as she went back to reading her magazine. However, the noise level was too much for her to handle, so she left the room.

 **Knuckles: The best thing about the dab is whoever performs it. Black guy does the dab, nobody cares. White guy does the dab, suddenly it's the greatest thing since sliced bread!**

"Groovy!" K.K. Slider saluted Cloud, commending him for performing such a simplistic dance maneuver.

"I suppose," Cloud replied as he sat on a nearby couch. He was unsure as to how a dance like the dab was meant to "legitimize" himself and make him look cool.

"Awesome dab!" Little Mac, whom Cloud sat next to, commended the blonde. "I wish I could pull off such a dance move, but I always punch myself in the face for some odd reason..."

"Bummer..."

"So do you follow professional sports? What's your favorite football team?"

"I'm not really into sports...there's no sports from where I come from."

"I'm a Cleveland Browns fan," said Luigi, who sat in the couch opposite of Little Mac and Cloud. "Don't know-a why I root for such a crappy team..."

"No need to worry, my green friend!" Shulk, who sat next to Luigi, patted him on the back. "The Browns should be blessed to play in Cleveland, the greatest city of all time! Or was it Detroit?"

 **Luigi: Boswer has told Shulk so many fibs, it's-a not even funny. Pretty soon the poor guy's gonna think it's-a commonplace to go out in the public naked...**

"Bowser is really taking advantage of that guy..." Little Mac shook his head. "Anyway Cloud, have you considered following a certain sports team? Like a basketball team or something?"

"I don't think I have the time," replied Cloud. Either that, or he's too apathetic or indifferent to care at all.

"If you-a were to follow basketball, you should-a be a fan of my Los Angeles Clippers!" suggested Luigi. "But the Clippers never get-a past the second round, so you shouldn't bother..."

"Or you could be a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers!" Shulk suggested. "They're the hottest team in the NBA right now!"

Luigi and Little Mac laughed hysterically at Shulk's confound statement.

"Don't laugh at greatness, learn to appreciate it!" frowned Shulk. Bowser has really messed this dude up...

 **Little Mac: What sports teams am I a fan of, you might ask? Let's see...I'm a fan of the New England Patriots, Golden State Warriors, Kansas City Royals, Chicago Blackhawks, the Ohio State Buckeyes football team, and the Duke Blue Devils basketball team! Yup, I'm a pretty loyal guy...**

"Hey son, you're sitting in my spot!" Doc Louis confronted Cloud. "Don't make me start another beef!"

"I'll go sit somewhere else," Cloud got up from his seat and sat one of the chairs in front of K.K. Slider.

"Ready to hear some killer tunes, you all?" K.K. asked the sparse crowd.

"Yeah let's do this!" exclaimed Donkey Kong, who was getting all pumped for no reason.

"Chill out man," Diddy Kong calmed his uncle down.

"That's no way to talk to your uncle!"

"Mellow out, my monkey dudes!" K.K. said to the Kongs. "My performance is about to start..."

K.K. began performing _Rocking Around the Christmas Tree_ by Brenda Lee, a song Jigglypuff is unable to sing..though she still sang.

"Aw yeah, this song goes hard!" said Knuckles, who entered the gaming room. He saw Cloud, and sat next to him. "Did you do it?"

"Yes I did," replied Cloud. "Though all the guys in here were overreacting..."

"Eh, that was expected."

 **Cloud: Apparently Knuckles is trying to be my friend. He already has Sonic and Tails...why does he need another companion?**

* * *

Mario, Wolf, and Meta Knight (why's he here?) were in the fitness center of the Smash Mansion, taking fitness lessons from yours truly, the Wii Fit Trainer.

"Stretch out those glutes!" the Wii Fit Trainer stretched out her leg on a mat, and her three students did the same.

"The pain!" Wolf bellowed.

"I can't-a take this no more!" Mario got out of stretching position and laid on his back. "My body can-a handle so much!"

"Weakling," scoffed Meta Knight.

"YOU DON'T-A HAVE ANY LIMBS, WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"

"...Because I want to? Didn't know limbs were a requirement..."

"Sayonara losers!" Mario got up and left. "I'm taking my talents to the Pokemon training center!"

Standing at the doorway of the fitness center was Peach. She was about to say something to Mario, but the plumber angrily breezed by without noticing his lover.

* * *

At the Pokemon training center, the Pokemon Trainer (we'll call him Red from now on) was in a Pokemon battle with Samus Aran - out of her power suit - who participated in this battle against her will. The Pokemon Trainer's Squirtle was going up against's Samus's Metapod. (Knowing Metapod, it is destined to lose in this match.) Mario, Dark Pit, Sonic, Akira Yuki, Kirby,, King K. Rool, Charizard, and Ivysaur served as spectators.

"Use bubblebeam!" Red commanded, and Squirtle unleashed the attack on Metapod.

"Metapod, Harden!" commanded Samus. Metapod did as it was told, negating the impact of the bubbles as it hit. Since Metapod has a very, very basic move set, Samus would have to resort to Harden for the entire match...

"OOOOH SNAP, IT USED HARDEN!" exclaimed Sonic, interrupting the match. "LET'S GOOOOOO!"

"Shut up, Sonic, Harden is one of the most basic moves in Pokemon history!" retorted Dark Pit. "It's pointless!"

"Someone's salty..." Akira crossed his arms.

"Why are you using Metapod in the first place?" Rool asked Samus. "Metapod is trash! Even more so than Magikarp!"

 **Red: King K. Rool is such an idiotic fool. Magikarp is no better than Metapod; they both overuse lousy moves that do absolutely nothing!**

"Don't you mean Magikrap?" suggested Sonic.

"Yeah, Magikrap has a better ring to it!" agreed Dark Pit.

Kirby, during this whole ordeal, did a whole lot of smiling and happy sounds in an attempt to garner attention. Needless to say, it didn't work.

"Um, Red, I-a have a question..." Mario raised his hand. "Why haven't you-a evolved your Squirtle yet?"

"Evolving is dumb and pointless!" answered the Pokemon Trainer. "It is best to keep your Pokemon just the way they are!"

"I agree with Mario," said Akira. "Evolving your Pokemon will vastly improve their base stats!"

"Base stats is a myth promoted by moronic Pokemon scientists to entice gullible trainers everywhere to evolve their Pokemon!"

"Moronic Pokemon scientists like Professor Oak?" Rool raised in eyebrow.

"Oak's excluded, for he believes I'm the best Pokemon trainer in the world! Better that than cocky turd he calls his grandson Blue!"

"Debatable," chuckled Dark Pit.

"I'll prove it to you!" Red pulled out his PokeNav and called Professor Oak.

"How did you get that device when it's not even from your native homeland?" asked Samus.

"Shut your trap lady!"

Soon Professor Oak answered the call.

"Hello, who is this?" asked Oak.

"Hey, it's me," replied Red. "Who's the best Pokemon trainer in the world right now?"

"That would be my grandson, Blue."

Red was devastated, and he dropped the PokeNav on the floor. He knelt down and sobbed, his Pokemon comforting him.

 **Samus: The Pokemon Trainer found out that he's not as great as he makes himself out to be...Serves him right.**

 **Red: *inconsolably sobs***

"I've had enough of this!" Mario got up and left the Pokemon training center...only to be greeted by Peach.

"We need to talk," she said sternly to Mario.

* * *

Mario met with Peach in the library of the mansion, as if the mansion actually needed a library in the first place. Also present in the library was Gilgamesh, better known as Gil, who was reading Christmas stories from a Christmas book to some of the young brawlers, like Lucas, Ness, Young Link, Toon Link, Villager, Bowser Jr., the Koopalings, Tails...and Heihachi Mishima?

"Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house..." Gil began. "Not a creature was stirring, not even a...Pikachu! Get it? Because Pikachu's a mouse Pokemon and...anyone got it?"

"Nah, it sucked," remarked Ness.

 **Gil: What's so wrong with incorporating Pokemon into my storytelling?! The Pokemon Trainer incorporates Pokemon into his conversations whenever he's trying to flirt with the ladies, so why can't I do the same with storytelling?! Huh?!**

 **Lucas: Takamaru is a much better storyteller than Gil is. And he speaks in Engrish!**

 **Ness: Though he is getting some English-speaking lessons from Ike, which kinda stinks if you think about it.**

"Pikachū to mausu o kōkan suru osoroshī kangaedesu!" Heihachi offered his take. "Anata wa osoroshī sutōrīterādesu!"

"What Heihachi is trying to say is, you ruined the story by trying to incorporate Pikachu in it," explained Tails. "He also feels that...Heihachi, why are you even here in the first place?"

"Tabun watashi wa koko ni itainode! Anata wa mukashi natsukashī kurisumasu no hanashi ni mimiwokatamukeru ni wa amarini mo furui n janai ndesu. Subete no nenrei-sō no hitobito ga gimon-shi sa reru koto naku, kurisumasu no hanashi o kiite tanoshimubekidesu!"

"Not even going to try and translate that..."

 **Heihachi Mishima:** **Eigo nomi teitaku no fubunritsu-hō no hitotsu de hanashite imasu ka? Nani ga Nihon no subete no jikan ni hanasu to sō machigatte imasu ka?**

"Over here!" Peach tried to gain the attention of Mario, who was enthralled by Gil's sub-par story-telling abilities.

"Yes?" Mario faced Peach. "What do you want me for?"

"Bayonetta...do you have the hots for her?"

Mario just gave Peach a weird look before bursting out in laughter.

"Where did-a you get that-a from?" he chuckled.

"Don't know, I'm just...suspicious, that's all."

"I don't-a have the hots-a for Bayonetta; she's-a way out of my league anyway!"

"Am I out of your league as well?"

"Absolutely not! You're-a my first, my last, my everything! You're-a my sugary covered fluff...point-a of the matter is, you'll-a always be my girlfriend, through and through!"

"Ever since Bayonetta arrived here, I was worried you might dump me for her. It was one of my biggest concerns."

"I would-a never do such a thing! Just-a because Bayonetta has more appeal doesn't mean-a I would want to fall in love with her!"

"What are you trying to say?"

"What I'm-a trying to say is, no matter how beautiful, ugly, fat, stupid, or apathetic you are, I will-a always love you, regardless of whatever obstacles (like-a Bowser) come between us!"

"Awwww..." Peach placed her hand on Mario's hand. "That's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me! I'll try and remember that from now on!"

Peach gave Mario a kiss on the cheek and left the library.

 **Mario: Peach gets-a all sorts of nervous whenever a female newcomer comes-a here. I remember this-a one time when Palutena came here, and Peach had-a Snake spy on her during her first-a weeks at the mansion. Poor Snake got a broken leg-a when he got caught, and we believed that his accelerating age-a would nurse the injury, but we were all-a wrong...We mainly believed in the accelerating age-a thing due to the fact we didn't have-a any insurance at the time.**

Viridi came rushing in the library.

"Mario, we have an emergency!" she sounded very urgent. "It's Cloud!"

"Again?!" Mario groaned.

* * *

Viridi took Mario to the hallways. The two hid behind a giant flower pot, which took up too much space. Whoever thought it was a good idea to place a giant flower pot in the middle of the hallway in a mansion with large number of people living in it should probably be ashamed of themselves.

"See?" the goddess of nature pointed at Cloud and Knuckles. "Knuckles is trying to get Cloud to be like him!"

Mario squinted his eyes and saw that there was something in Cloud's and Knuckles's hands. The two were holding...to-go plates?! Who on earth carries to-go plates inside a mansion?!

"Viridi, just because-a Cloud has a to-go plate doesn't mean-a Knuckles is making him act-a like a black person," scolded Mario. "Stop-a stereotyping."

 **Viridi: Knuckles has been too buddy-buddy with Cloud lately. I should hire Snake to spy on the two. Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. After all, we have insurance right now, meaning that Snake ending up with a broken leg would totally be worth it this time around...**

"Halt!" Corrin appeared and stopped Cloud and Knuckles in their tracks. "You two have suspicious items in your hands!"

"To-go plates are suspicious items?" questioned Cloud.

"Only if you haven't returned from anywhere! Let's see what's inside!"

Corrin swiped Knuckles's and Cloud's to-go plates with his sword and the plates fell on the floor with the contents spilling out.

"Awabi sushi?" Corrin analyzed said contents. Awabi is a rare Japanese fish, and it is quite expensive...

"C'mon man, we had to pay Takamaru fifty freaking rupees for this sushi!" frowned Knuckles. "Getting those rupees was hard work too!"

"WHO KEEPS STEALING MY RUPEES?!" Link's voice echoed throughout the mansion.

"Wasn't me!" shouted Jacky. "...at least not this time!"

"I've had enough of this foolishness," Cloud walked away.

"Yo, Cloud, where you going man?" Knuckles chased after the swordsman.

"Mamma mia, this is not-a good..." Mario shook his head.

* * *

The Flying Man was busy doing the laundry when suddenly...

"Hide me, man!" Pit appeared and hid in the clothing hamper full of clothes. Good thing they weren't clean yet...

"What seems to be the problem, dear boy?" the Flying Man asked as he took Pit out of the hamper.

"Bayonetta's after me, she's hunting me down!"

 **Pit: Bayonetta is coming after me, but not Dark Pit for some reason. She must be attracted to me...Is she a cougar or something?!**

"Do not fear lad, for I am...the Flying Man!" the mythical bird struck a pose. "I am your courage!"

"Can you be my bodyguard?" asked Pit.

"Indeed I shall! Normally I only regulate such behavior in Magicant, but I will make an exception here! Together we shall teach Bayonetta a lesson—a lesson that she will never, ever forget!"

* * *

Cloud sat by himself in the living room, not wanting to talk to anyone. Snake entered the living room and saw that Cloud was down on himself.

"Life is hard, ain't it?" grinned Snake.

"You can say that again..." murmured Cloud.

"Look kid, I feel your pain." Snake took a seat next to Cloud. The blonde wanted to move away, but that would be considered rude. "First time here for me didn't necessarily go so well; Pit was being childish, Fox was being arrogant, and Yoshi was being Yoshi. Just too much for me to handle! But I managed to maneuver through it all, and all those behaviors became norms for me, norms I have to deal with on a daily basis."

"How long did it take you?"

"Roughly a few weeks. Though in your case, it might take you a longer time to get adjusted, considering there's more people living here. Perhaps there's a way to welcome yourself more to the mansion's inhabitants and make the process more easy..."

"Nice try, old man, but I'm not interested."

"It doesn't have anything to do with 'dancing'."

Cloud became interested.

* * *

A more confident Pit went to go confront Bayonetta, with the Flying Man backing him up.

 **Pit: Bayonetta is going to meet her match once the Flying Man and I take care of her!**

 **Flying Man: We shall give the witch a beating she will never forget! For you, Pit, I am your courage!**

 **Pit: Say that dumb phrase one more time...**

Pit and the Flying Man found Bayonetta lying flirtatiously on a wide windowsill.

"About time you showed up," she said, as she fiddled around with her guns. "Any last words before I permanently dispose of you?"

"I am your courage!" the Flying Man blurted out.

"Not now!" Pit nudged the mythical bird.

"How cute, you have that flying bird as your bodyguard," smirked Bayonetta. "You're quite the desperate one..."

"Enough talk, let's do this!" Pit got out his bow and he fired arrows at Bayonetta. The Umbra Witch did a Matrix lean to avoid the arrows and they sailed through the window, breaking it into shards. Mr. Game & Watch, the housekeeper, is about to have a word with Pit...if he knew how to speak.

"Try again, angel boy," taunted Bayonetta.

"Now's my turn!" the Flying Man flew towards Bayonetta...

...only for the Umbra Witch to summon Madama Butterfly, who punched the Flying Man and sent him out of the window and to his death. A grave appeared somewhere up in Magicant. With Pit all by himself, there was only one thing he can do...

"Eeeieeeeeeeieeee!" he screamed like a little girl as he ran away. Bayonetta chased after him, hot on his heels.

* * *

Falco was in Rosalina's room, showing Rosalina, Luma, and Zelda a video of Cloud doing the dab earlier.

"You see that man?" Falco again was getting all hyped for no reason. "You see that man?!"

"I don't get it, all he did was sneeze..." Rosalina was confused, and so was Zelda.

"He did not sneeze, he DABBED!"

"What has become of dancing..." Zelda sighed.

"Have you three seen Cloud anywhere?" Knuckles poked his head through the door.

"I believe he's outside hanging up the Christmas decorations," replied Rosalina.

"And he didn't invite me...what a guy."

* * *

Cloud was present at the front of the Smash Mansion, helping Snake, Olimar, Alfe, the Ice Climbers, the Inklings, Ashley, Proto Man, all the Mega Man incarnations, and Pac-Man hang up Christmas decorations. Ganondorf and Robin showed up, lifting a ginormous Christmas tree with Geno guiding them. The Duck Hunt dog dug up the perfect spot for the tree and R.O.B grabbed it with all his might and placed it down in said spot.

"This tree could really use some snow," Popo inspected the Christmas tree and Nana sprayed some snow all over the tree.

"It also needs some Christmas lights," said Mega Man, and the other three incarnations—X, Zero, and .EXE—fired Christmas lights out of their Mega Busters to decorate the tree.

"A few ornaments are also missing," Ashley said as she hung ornaments all over the tree. She even hung Majora's Mask on the tree just for good measure.

"Guys, I think we're missing something..." Proto Man looked up at the top of the tree and saw one missing element.

"The star!" Pac-Man panicked. "There's no star! Why didn't you three get the star?!"

"Why get a star when we always have Luma?" questioned Geno. Pac-Man gave the Star Road warrior a blank stare.

"Luma's miniature size won't complement a tree of this size..."

 **Robin: Honestly, we would have gotten a star, but it was too expensive, especially considering how huge the tree is.**

 **Ganondorf: It was way out of our budget! We didn't have any time to rob Link of his rupees either!**

"Um, Pac-Man, I think we have a bigger situation..." said the female Inkling, sounding nervous.

"The lights won't come on!" exclaimed the male Inkling, who was trying to plug the lights in with nothing happening.

"You gotta be kidding me..." Pac-Man facepalmed.

"Is it time to alert the others?" Olimar asked Pac-Man.

"Right at the perfect time too..." Pac-Man was too distressed to listen to Olimar.

"I'll take that as a yes," said Alfe. The two captains headed inside the mansion, the Pikmin trailing along.

* * *

"Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!" bellowed Ryu, who made his way through the mansion in a Santa Claus outfit handing out Christmas cards. "Here's your card, good sir!" He gave a Christmas card to Mr. Game & Watch, who jumped up and down after he received it. Must really be in the holiday spirit...

 **Ryu: It is great to go around and spread Christmas cheer! Especially to my fellow brawlers!**

"Got any idea why he's doing this?" Marth asked Greninja, who coolly leaned against a wall. Greninja simply shrugged, either because A) he doesn't know either, or B) he knows he doesn't speak human language, so he shrugged to offer his opinion without saying anything.

"The Christmas tree is here! The Christmas tree is here!" Olimar and Alfe announced as they ran though the halls of the mansion.

"Time already?" asked Takamaru, who was going about selling his sushi. "Let us go!"

* * *

Outside, Pac-Man was trying many different methods to turn the Christmas lights on.

First he had Pichu run on a conveyor belt to generate electricity. Didn't work.

Then he made Samus put on her Power Suit and tried to transfer the energy from her suit to the Christmas lights. Didn't work either.

"We're done for!" Pac-Man was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

"Hey, Cloud, I think I know of a great solution to turn the Christmas lights on," Snake whispered to Cloud. "Ever heard of the Pokemon by the name of Pikachu?"

"Who hasn't?" replied Cloud.

"There's a Pokemon sanctuary somewhere inside the mansion. Go retrieve that Pikachu and get back here as soon as you can!"

Cloud nodded and went inside the mansion. A few moments later, Olimar and Alfe returned with all the inhabitants.

"What are you two doing?!" Pac-Man scolded the two captains. "We're not even ready yet!"

"Well why didn't you say so?" retorted Olimar. Pac-Man's eyes began to twitch.

 **Megaman Zero: You know what Pac-Man needs for Christmas? A massaging chair, to ease all his troubles away. Dude gets stressed so easily...**

"Out of my way, out of my way!" Pit exited out the mansion and through the crowd of brawlers, with Bayonetta chasing him. The Umbra Witch had the angel cornered near the Christmas tree.

"Your time is up, angel boy!" Bayonetta pointed her guns at Pit.

"Don't be afraid Pit, for I am your courage!"

Everyone looked up and saw a Flying Man flying towards the mansion with a giant star in hand. He threw the star at Bayonetta, who leaped out of way. The star was now heading straight towards for Peach, who could only look in fear.

"I'll-a save you Peach!" Mario came to save the day, leaping in front of Peach, and gave the star a Super Jump Punch. The star sailed upwards into the sky and it conveniently landed atop the Christmas tree. Zelda, noticing that the star was crooked, transformed into Sheik, and made her way up the tree to fix the star before returning back to the ground and reverting back to Zelda.

"You saved me..." Peach said to Mario.

"People do a lot of crazy and-a heroic things when they're in love," was all Mario could say. Peach gave Mario a big hug.

"Awwww..." the brawlers all awed in unison.

"Should have kissed him," said Fox.

"Save that for your girlfriend!" Dunban told him.

"SHUT UP MAN! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW MY GIRLFRIEND!"

Cloud ran out of the mansion with Pikachu in hand.

"Now, Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on the Christmas lights!" he commanded, using the little Pokemon knowledge he had.

"Pika...CHHHUUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed his signature attack on the Christmas lights, turning them on. The brawlers marveled at the very sight.

"The lights, the colors...they're so beautiful!" said Mewtwo.

"It's like a Christmas miracle!" exclaimed the Black Knight.

"You did it Cloud, you-a saved Christmas!" Mario said to Cloud. The blonde smiled, and looked over to Snake, who gave a thumbs up.

"Yo, Cloud, I wanna give you this." Knuckles approached Cloud, handing him a present. "I was gonna give it someone else, but I thought you might deserve it more..."

Cloud unwrapped the present and opened the box. A Chocobo flew out!

"A pet Chocobo?" Cloud was taken by surprise. "For me?"

"Not really that much of a pet. That Chocobo is also something that you've been desiring for around here...a friend."

Cloud was taken aback at what Knuckles just said.

"Sorry for getting you involved in those shenanigans earlier," apologized Knuckles.

"No man, it's all good," replied Cloud. "Can't fault you for trying to be my friend."

"This-a calls for a song!" said Mario. "Everyone, in a circle! Bayonetta, drop your guns this instant!"

"Whatever pleases you..." Bayonetta dropped her guns on the ground and she got into a circle with all the other brawlers. The Flying Man landed and joined in the circle as well.

The brawlers all circled around the Christmas tree as they all (or some, rather) sang _O Christmas Tree._ The bond displayed by the fighters was a strong sign that life at the Smash Mansion for the long run would be all well and good.

* * *

 _Happy Holidays, everyone!_


	2. Episode 2: Investigation

**Episode 2: Investigation**

Today did not go exactly as planned for the Umbra Witch, Bayonetta.

After hunting down Pit in an attempt to take out the angel, the witch was forced to attend a "session" with Dr. Mario, who seems to using his doctor persona to solve behavioral and psychological problems - just like what Dr. Phil does. This session of sorts took place on the day after Christmas.

"Such a lovely office space you have here," Bayonetta looked around as she sat in her chair in Dr. Mario's office - an office Mr. Game & Watch had constructed for him. Better than having doctor appointments and checkups in Mario's own room...

"My office space does-a not matter!" frowned Dr. Mario. "What does matter is your conduct as of late. Ever since you've been here at this mansion, your main focus has been hunting down Pit!"

"Well? I hunt angels. It's what I do."

 **Bayonetta: So what if I hunt angels for a living? It's something I take a great deal of delight and pleasure in.**

"And on-a Christmas day, you shoot-a Captain Falcon in the leg and-a send him to the hospital!"

"I just did all the ladies here a huge solid. Don't know what you're talking about."

"My point is, you need to stop being so violent around others. Soon enough your fellow brawlers will be afraid of you."

"Like how you're afraid to ask Peach out on a date?"

Dr. Mario suddenly blanked out.

"Why-a you gotta bring-a Peach into this?" he asked.

"I can sense your fear..." Bayonetta got up from her seat. "Your nerves must be tingling at the very thought of Peach, there's so much you want to say to her..." The witch began stroking Mario's chin.

"I don't-a know what mind-a games you're playing woman...but-a you better stop this-a instant!"

"The only mind games are the internalized ones you're playing inside your head. Oh, and by the way...thanks for your little session."

Dr. Mario began to look off in the distance.

"Ta-ta!" Bayonetta waved to a distraught Dr. Mario as she left the office.

* * *

"Um, yes, that'll be 35 pepperonis, 30 veggie lovers, 30 extra cheeses, and 25 sausages," Samus spoke on the phone with a pizzeria in the lounge of the Smash Mansion. "Yes, yes, I am well aware I'm ordering more pizza than usual. And no, I don't have rupees! Why you can't you take actual money for once?!...$1560? Alright then. I'll pay the delivery boy at the front door. Okay then, bye."

Samus promptly hung up the phone. She certainly dislikes ordering pizza, mainly because she's always tasked to place an order. Moreover, she didn't want to hear Wario's big mouth whenever he complained about her not ordering any hot wings. And when he sees those veggie pizzas...you don't want to know how he reacts when he sees them.

 **Samus: Why did it have to be pizza? Why couldn't we just do taco night instead?! Curse you Mario, and your bloated, oversensitive stomach!**

"Must be tough dealing with impatient employees," smirked Chrom, who was on the couch reading the latest edition of _Swordsman Weekly_ \- a sword-fighting magazine the sword-wielding brawlers usually read. Lloyd managed to get Cloud hooked to the magazine - presumably through his annoyances.

"How about you make a phone call to this dumb pizzeria, and see how well you'll fare," retorted Samus.

"As if...though I would rather deal with them than having to put up with Wario."

"Chrom I need your help man!" Fox scurried into the lounge, and jumped on the couch. "It's a dire emergency!"

"Can it wait?" sighed Chrom. Fox gets all hasty and impetuous when it comes to these "dire emergencies". Could it be a psychological trait he inherited from putting up with Skippy during his missions?

"I ain't got no time to wait, this has life-or-death implications written all over it!"

"Life-or-death implications such as...?"

"...Getting dumped by your love."

Chrom instantly knew what he was talking about. Fox must be having some issues with Krystal.

 **Chrom: Fox's and Krystal's romantic relationship is like a typical Michael Bay movie - it looks good on paper, but you know it's bound to screw up somehow, with a lot of explosions at hand.**

"I'm sure that whatever problem you have, Falco will be there to solve it," Chrom said assuredly.

"Except Falco can't solve it...but you can," Fox pointed at Chrom.

"Why should I, the Exalt of the Halidom of Ylisse, be of assistance for you?"

"Because of a new year's resolution I made...to go on a date with Krystal."

Chrom gave Fox an astonished look. Is Fox sure he's ready to do this?

"Why would you want to go on a date with Krystal when you act all shy around her?" questioned Samus, who was eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Begone with you!" demanded Fox. Samus shook her head as she headed out of the lounge...

"Did you order my hot wings?" Wario immediately ambushed Samus as soon as the exited the lounge, as if he was waiting outside the exit. "Please tell me you ordered my hot wings! That delivery boy better not bring any veggie pizzas if there aren't any hot wings!"

"...Point of the matter is, I need your help with getting a date with Krystal," Fox continued. "After all, you are a expert at romance..."

"Whoever said I was an expert at romance?"

"Lucina once spoke of a time when some girl named Sumia tried to flirt with you...she even gave you pie!"

 **Chrom: If I had a dollar for every embarrassing and unflattering story Lucina tells, I could afford my own mansion...**

"Sumia's advances was just one mere instance. Doesn't automatically qualify me as some 'romantic expert'."

"So who else should I consult for guidance? You're my only hope, man!"

"Captain Falcons gets around pretty well with the ladies. Certainly he should provide you with more advice and guidance than I."

"Has he yet to go on a date, let alone acquire some form of romantic solidarity?"

Chrom had no answer for this.

* * *

Zelda was in the library, searching for three books in particular - _A Hyrulean Bestiary, Legend of the Picori,_ and _A History of Masks,_ all of which pertain to a study the princess of Hyrule is working on. As he search through the library, she caught Link using the library's lone computer. Quite rare of a sight, considering Link seldom uses computers.

 **Zelda: Last time I remember Link using a computer, he was on to find out if he had any parents. Eventually, he found that he never really had parents - even though I could have just told him myself. Now he hates the internet to this very day, all because of that stupid website.**

"What are you doing?" Zelda approached the hero in green. It appeared he was working on some sort of website-building program.

"None of your business," Link replied without taking his gaze off the screen. Gaze at that monitor any longer, and he could quickly develop eyestrain. Can't have a problem like that when you're brawling!

"That is no way to talk to a princess!"

"Shhh!" Gil, the de facto librarian, shushed Zelda when he raised her voice. Seems like Gil has been spending too much of his time in the library...not that it's a bad thing.

"Explain to me why you're using this computer."

"Starting a new website, has to do with messaging services," responded Link. His eyes were still fixated on the monitor.

"Messaging services? Do you even know anything about that?"

"Of course I do. Ask R.O.B."

"Where can I find R.O.B?"

"In the compute room."

* * *

So Zelda went to the computer room, where she saw Yoshi, Lloyd, Tails, and Alfe using computers...and doing the same thing Link was doing. R.O.B was present in the room, chilling in the back. What could he possibly be up to?

"R.O.B, we need to talk!" Zelda confronted the robot. "Link's on the computer in the library and he's been acting very strange. What are you making him do?!"

"CREATING...WEBSITE FOR...MESSAGING SERVICES..." a robotic voice emitted from R.O.B. Tails added this feature in so R.O.B could communicate with the other brawlers.

"Care to explain why you have these four doing the dirty work for you? They're all turning into brainless idiots!"

"Work hard, play hard, strive all night.." Yoshi uttered in a monotone voice without taking his gaze off the monitor.

"In fact, none of them probably don't know a single thing about messaging services!"

"Neither do you!" retorted Alfe.

 **Alfe: Messaging services does have something to do with smartphones, right?  
Yoshi: Smartphones do send text messages...and there's also phone services...  
Alfe: Could this possibly aid me in my aspiring career as a Verizon customer service representative?  
Yoshi: Not exactly what I would call aspiring...but to each their own.**

"Do you know anything about this messaging service?" Zelda asked Tails.

"Basically we're building a website that sorta works like a social media platform," explained Tails. "R.O.B is pretty much funding this whole thing, but we're pitching in as well."

"And why is Link a part of this?"

"Nobody else was gullible enough," replied Lloyd.

Zelda groaned as he exited the computer room. Evidently she had enough.

"Someone's salty..." remarked Alfe.

Yoshi took out a salt shaker and shook it, getting salt all over his keyboard.

"...Put that salt shaker down," ordered Lloyd. Yoshi did as he was told.

 **Zelda: R.O.B has my precious Link dabbling in some social media affairs, when he's not even that much familiar with computers. I suspect an underlying motive in this initiative...time to get into the bottom of this.**

* * *

Outside the Smash Mansion, a group of seven brawlers were playing football, with Mario as the quarterback, Shulk as the running back, Roy as the wide receiver, Donkey Kong as the center, Wario as the defensive end, Doc Louis as the linebacker, and Sonic as the cornerback. They were all playing in the mansion's backyard.

"Hut one, hut two, hut three..." said Donkey Kong as he prepared to snap the ball.

 _*roughly five minutes later*_

"...Hut three hundred and one, hut three hundred and two, hut three hundred and three..." Kong was still doing the snap count. Had there been a play clock, Donkey Kong probably would've gotten himself penalized.

"Snap the ball already, I can't hold this stance any longer!" complained Doc Louis. Sitting in a linebacker stance was proving to be hazardous to the boxing trainer's legs.

Donkey Kong finally snapped the ball to Mario, who gave it to Shulk. The Monado wielder breezed past past Wario and Doc, before being tackled by Sonic, ending a thirty-yard gain.

"Glad you all could witness my best Trent Richardson impersonation!" grinned Shulk. The others simply rolled their eyes.

The next play was a play-action play; Mario faked the ball to Shulk, and threw it to Roy, who caught the ball and ran past Sonic for a touchdown.

 **Roy: Got the first points in the game! Take that, Shulk!**

 **Sonic: Of all the people I could be playing against, I let Roy beat me in coverage?! But hey, at least it wasn't Ganondorf...man, that guy is slow...**

"Nice spiral you threw there," Bayonetta showed up, applauding for Mario.

"Leave-a me alone woman, let-a me be!" demanded Mario, not wanting anything to do with the Umbra Witch.

"There's no need to get all angry and furious...you never show those emotions when you're with Peach, don't you?"

"Rarely do I ever get-a angry with Peach..." Mario began to blush, before he snapped out of it. "Look at what-a you're doing to-a me woman!"

"What I'm doing to you?" scoffed Bayonetta. "You're doing it to _yourself."_

"Am-a not!" Mario folded his arms.

"Mario are we gonna continue the game or what?" asked Donkey Kong. "We have to score the extra points!"

"We shall-a talk later," Mario said to Bayonetta as he returned to the game. Bayonetta smirked, and walked away.

* * *

Pit sat on his bed in his room, lying in a fetal position while sucking his thumb. The Flying Man was with him, comforting him. Staying in his room was the only way Pit could manage to avoid Bayonetta.

"Do not be afraid, Pit, for I am your courage!" proclaimed the Flying Man.

 **Pit: How many times is he going to say that dumb phrase?! Wonder how Ness was able to put up with this guy...**

"Hey loser!" Dark Pit greeted his counterpart as he entered the room. "Still scared of that oh-so-scary witch?"

"She's not scary," said Pit.

"Then why don't you get out of this room and face her like a man?"

"I'm not a man yet, I'm just a boy!"

"And a boy you'll be forever if you keep acting like a little baby!"

Pit glared Dark Pit down.

 **Dark Pit: I just love making Pit mad - he doesn't retort with a comeback or anything, he just makes this funny face like he's constipated or something.**

"Got a gift for you," Dark Pit tossed Pit a Game Boy Color.

"I don't want this crap," Pit threw the handheld system on the floor.

"But Pit, it's _Shantae_!" the Flying Man picked up the Game Boy Color and looked at the cartridge. "A true classic!"

"Did you just say Shantae?" Pit snatched the Game Boy Color away from the Flying Man and turned it on. "I've always wanted to play this! Thanks, Dark Pit!"

"Yeah, sure, whatever keeps you from acting like a baby..." Dark Pit exited the room, as Pit began playing _Shantae._

* * *

Zelda, now under the alter ego of Sheik, snooped around the mansion for clues regarding R.O.B's messaging services website. She hid upon the ceiling of one hallway, and she watched as Lucario and Corrin walked down said hallway.

"Heard about the website Link and the boys are working on?" Lucario asked Corrin.

"No I haven't, though I'm not really knowledgeable about websites and computers and whatnot," replied Corrin. "What is the purpose of this website anyway?"

"From what I've heard, it has to do with social media...and business transactions."

Sheik dropped down from the ceiling and pounced on Lucario and Corrin, squashing the two.

"Can't...breathe..." Corrin heaved. He certainly didn't expect to get squashed by a ninja during his time at the Smash Mansion.

"Tell me more about the website!" demanded Sheik.

"Link told me not to share any information with certain individuals!" said Lucario. "Also, why do you want to know so bad?

"And how long have you been eavesdropping on us?" Corrin also asked.

"All of that is none of your concern!" said Sheik. "Where is R.O.B getting the funding from?"

"Battle...networking...systems..." Lucario responded as he tried to get up, but to no avail.

"Battle networking systems? That could only mean...EXE must be have something to do with this website!"

 **Sheik: .EXE's creator is Yuichiro Hikari...perhaps he's the one behind the funding!**

Sheik got off of Lucario and Corrin, as she dashed away with her ninja speed.

"How often does she do this?" Corrin asked Lucario, as he rubbed his back.

"Roughly more than twice a week, depending on the day or mood," replied Lucario. "Usually it has something to do with Link either way..."

* * *

"Do I really have to wear this dumb suit?" Fox asked Chrom, as Falco and Wolf fixed up the fox's tuxedo in his room, with Chrom watching.

"If you want to impress Krystal, you have to look as sharp as possible," replied Chrom. "The best way to do that is to get comfortable in your tux."

 **Wolf: Fox looks like a complete goofball in his tuxedo. Then again, he looks like a goofball all the time. Don't know what Krystal sees in that man...**

"Cheer up, Fox, you should be excited to be going on a date with a gal like Krystal," Falco said as he buttoned the tuxedo. "When was the last time you went on a date with Krystal to begin with?"

"Don't even remember," replied Fox. "That's why I'm so nervous..."

"Fox McCloud!" Ryu entered Fox's room, without being invited. So rude...

"Go away Ryu, I'm busy right now."

"But I can be of great assistance to you! Did you not say that you were nervous? I can work with you, and I can ease your nerves so your date will go exactly as planned!"

"I've got it all covered, Ryu," assured Chrom. "You don't have to help Fox in any capacity whatsoever."

 **Ryu: Fox needs my help, I just know it! Chrom can't help him forever...but he can bake him a rhuburb-and-fiddlehead pie to give to his love! After all, Lucina did say that Sumia girl made it for Chrom, and he actually liked it! So why shouldn't Fox's girl like it as well?**

"Maybe I can help Fox with his approach!" said Ryu.

"You do act differently around Krystal..." Falco said to Fox. "...Perhaps Ryu could patch you up. Sounds like a plan, Chrom?"

"Eh, I suppose it could work..." Chrom shrugged.

* * *

Pit was still in his room, playing the _Shantae_ game on the Game Boy Color. Kirby entered the room.

"Ever heard of knocking?" questioned Pit. Believe it or not, Pit has a grudge against Kirby. Of all the people to hold a grudge against...

 **Pit: Kirby is the only person here who lacks manners...well, aside from Wario, that is. He thinks he can belch, pass gas, and cut people in line like it's nobody's business, and he always gets by with his cutesy appearance. Hate to break it to you, but Kirby is the ugliest thing to ever exist!  
** **Geno: *from afar* If that's the case, then what does that make you?  
Pit:...Handsome, of course!**

"Hi!" Kirby waved to Pit and the Flying Man, uttering the only intelligible word in his vocabulary.

"What do you want, you pink creep?" asked Pit. Kirby pointed to the Game Boy Color. "Ain't no way I'm gonna let you play this!"

Kirby didn't want to play the game it seems; instead he sucked up the Game Bay Color, like it was cherry pie.

"You...you monster!" Pit sobbed. "I wasn't even finished with the game yet, and I was beating the final boss, too!"

Kirby happily skipped away as he exited the room. Eating a handheld gaming system, and then walking away as if he did nothing wrong...such savagery.

"He will surely pay, and he'll pay dearly..." vowed Pit.

"Cash or credit?" asked the Flying Man.

"He'll pay...in dignity."

* * *

Cloud sat in his room, playing with his pet Chocobo. Lloyd sat in his side of the room, working away on a laptop he borrowed from Mega Man X.

"Never saw you using a digital device before," Cloud said to the fellow swordsman. "What seems to be the occasion?"

"I'm working on a website that R.O.B is creating," replied Lloyd. Even in their free time, R.O.B still expects his workers to work away on the project.

"The website Link was working on in the library? Seems phony to me."

 **Cloud: First Link and Tails, and now Lloyd. And it appears that Alfe and Yoshi are in on this project as well. My best guess is that those two are just trying to fit in. They're not exactly the coolest dudes here in the mansion.**

"Your little website thing seems like a fraud," Cloud continued as he fed his Chocobo. "Especially the funding part. How is a robot like R.O.B able to fund a project when he's not generating any revenue?"

"R.O.B models are a hit in Japan..." replied Lloyd. "He's probably generating money in Southeast Asia."

"If so you think..."

"Oh man, I just came across some error!" Lloyd exclaimed as an error message popped up on the laptop.

"An error like your life?"

Lloyd glared Cloud down. Cloud Strife one, Lloyd Irving zero.

* * *

Sheik continued snooping around the mansion, searching for clues or evidence surrounding R.O.B's website. Her snooping led her to the vendor room - a room filled with vending machines - where Link, Dunban, and Mega Man .EXE were present. Sheik hid near the entrance of the room so she could eavesdrop on the men.

"Link I'm afraid I have some bad news..." .EXE said to the hero of Hyrule. "...R.O.B's website has been bought out!"

"Bought out?" exclaimed Link. "What could that possibly mean?"

"Someone has purchased the website's domain, and is planning to use it for their own purposes. My creator, Yuichiro Hikari, found out about this not so long ago."

"Hikari must be the one funding the website, he has to!" Sheik whispered to herself.

"Hey they mama, watcha doing all alone?" Captain Falcon approached Sheik; the ninja grabbed the racer by the neck and pressed on several pressure points, knocking him out unconscious and laying him on the ground.

 **Captain Falcon: Sheik is so fine man...the way she puts me in a chokehold and then puts me to sleep...on top of that she remains calm and collected, and acts like Princess Zelda, a dignified woman. I would pay to see those two meet each other...I say the same thing to my fellow brawlers, and they just point and laugh at me...why is that so?**

"Perhaps there's a way to counter this issue," said Dunban, as he got his soft drink from the vending machine and opened it. "Ever heard of Kickstarter?"

"Dunban, we're trying to get our website back," Link told the Homs. "Not rev up Jacky Bryant's race car."

"No, no, no, you got it all wrong," said .EXE. "Kickstarter is a corporation that can help fund creative projects. Instead of outsider funding, there's a corporation that can fund the website for you!"

"Seems like an interesting idea," Link stroke his chin. He still doesn't know how Kickstarter works.

 **Dunban: Shulk and I once used Kickstarter to fund pencil-sharpening business. (Shulk's idea, not mine). We barely got any funding at all, mainly because Kickstarter thought our business idea was beyond stupid. We would try and start the business in the mansion, but it's not worth having the brawlers judge us in any capacity.**

"Altering the name of your website around could help you in your efforts," Dunban told Link. "What's the name of your website?"

"Space Love," replied Link. Sounds more of a dating site than anything social media related...

"Space Love?" whispered Sheik. "Who came up with that?"

"May I have this dance, ma'am?" a very wonky Captain Falcon asked as he woke up from his unconsciousness. Shiek pressed one of his pressure points, making him unconscious again.

"Why not add a few numbers in the domain name?" .EXE suggested. "Nobody would ever suspect a thing!"

"Seems kind of risky, but it's worth a shot," said Link.

Sheik ran off, hoping to accrue more clues and information.

"Baby, come back!" Captain Falcon woke up once more.

* * *

K.K. Slider played his guitar in the foyer of the mansion, and he was feeling a little down in the dumps, as evidenced by the melancholy tune he was playing.

"Is there anything wrong?" Lucina approached the dog.

"It's my concert..." K.K. replied. "There's a bunch of musical pieces I wanna perform, but I don't have any instrumentation, other than my guitar. Which is why I'm in a dire need of a musical ensemble."

 **K.K: Jigglypuff is my only other source of music, and her sleep-inducing singing can only do so much for my musical prowess. Hanging up "BAND MEMBERS WANTED" signs around the mansion would be a little too tacky...**

"I can put together a musical ensemble, if you like," said Lucina.

"Oh yeah, that would be wicked!" smiled K.K.

"When does your concert start?"

"8:00 PM sharp. I've rented some space outside to hold the concert. You must have at least three guys or gals before the concert start time!"

"Okay then, I'll start gathering some people right now," Lucina left, as K.K. continued playing his guitar - albeit in a slightly happier tune.

* * *

Pit and the Flying Man hid behind the bushes in the Smash Mansion's garden, which was tended to by Viridi. The angel's arch-nemesis, Kirby, was smelling flowers. The savagery continues...

"Just look at that thug, smelling flowers even though he doesn't have a nose!" Pit whispered to the Flying Man. "Still can't believe he had the audacity to eat my Game Boy Color! We will punish him severely!"

"But he's so cute..." whispered the Flying Man. "He's like a giant plush doll you just want to squeeze till it's tight!"

 **Flying Man: Did I just make myself look weird with that analogy?**

"Excuse me!" Viridi sneaked up on the duo, scaring the living daylights out of them. "What business do you two have here?"

"Our business here involves the eradication of Kirby!"

"Isn't that King Dedede's job?"

"King Dedede sucks at his job, which is why we're doing it for him!"

"Also, why would you want to eradicate someone as cute as Kirby? He never does anything wrong!"

"That's what he wants you to think! His cuteness and gaiety is just a facade for him to get away with stuff he shouldn't!"

 **Viridi: Wanna know why Pit has a grudge against Kirby? One day, Palutena was talking about Kirby, and how he was cutest thing in the entire universe, or something like that. Pit apparently took offense to what Palutena said, and now he hates on Kirby to this very day...**

"Look, if you want to 'eradicate' Kirby and whatnot, and then speak to those bozos, they'll probably show you a way," Viridi directed Pit's and the Flying Man's attention to Olimar and Diddy Kong, who were playing with Pikachu.

"My turn, my turn..." Diddy said as he touched Pikachu, getting himself electrocuted. He and Olimar laughed, while Pikachu was scratching his head, wondering how he ended up in this situation.

"Yeah those guys know what's up!" Pit went over to Olimar and Diddy, as the Flying Man followed along.

"Fools..." Viridi shook her head as she went back to tending the garden.

"Sup guys!" Pit greeted Olimar and Diddy.

"Hey Pit," said Olimar. "What brings you here to the garden?"

"I'm conspiring of a plan to take out that thug over there," Pit pointed at Kirby, who was still smelling flowers. "He ate my Game Boy Color!"

"Kirby is a thug?" questioned Diddy. "In what way?"

"Don't you see how he uses his cuteness to manipulate everyone? It's sickening!"

"Hmmm..." Olimar stroked his chin...erm, helmet. "You have a good point there."

 **Olimar: Pit has made a very compelling argument about Kirby. Sometimes I can't stand the puffball myself!  
Diddy Kong: Same here, man! Remember that one time, when Kirby ate Peach's strawberry cake, and Robin received all the blame because everyone was afraid to punish Kirby?  
Olimar: Since then, Robin was never allowed inside the kitchen without a freaking chaperon...all because of Kirby!**

"We shall help you take out Kirby," Olimar said to Pit. "How do you wish to carry out your plan?"

"By destroying him and ridding him from the face of the earth!" replied Pit. Destroying Kirby? He can't be that serious, right?

"Nah, that sounds too far-fetched," said Diddy. "Why not prank him instead?"

"Will the prank destroy Kirby in the process?"

"We'll see..."

* * *

Wolf was in the dressing room of the mansion, behind a dressing panel, as Peach, Zelda, and Rosalina were doing unspeakable things to him - unspeakable things such as a beauty makeover of some sort.

"I got a bad feeling about this..." said Fox, as he, Falco, Chrom, and Ryu awaited for Ryu's experiment to commence. Chrom thought that the plan would be a little awkward on Fox's part, but Ryu felt confident in his plan.

 **Ryu: Fox won't be able to ask Krystal out if his composure is like that of a stagnant turtle! This "simulation" will aid him in a way that he won't feel nervous when asking her out!**

"All done!" Rosalina announced. "We present to you...Krystal!"

Wolf walked out of the dressing panel, wearing a wig similar to Krystal's hair, as well as sporting a necklace around his forehead. The men couldn't help but laugh at Wolf.

"Man you look ridiculous!" Falco snickered. The three women appeared out of the dressing panel, and they started to giggle.

"You all suck so much," grumbled Wolf. Agreeing to doing this will go down as one of the poorest choices he could ever make.

"Alright Ryu, you have Wolf look like Krystal with the wig and the makeup and all, so what's next?" asked Ryu.

"Fox must approach Wolf as if he was Krystal," explained Ryu. "He knows where to go from there!"

 **Wolf: Ryu just earned himself a top spot on my lifetime list with this "experiment"...**

So Fox went up to Wolf...only to burst out in laughter.

"I can't do this, it's just too funny!" he laughed as he fell to the floor, continuously laughing.

"Can we just have a dummy of Krystal?" asked Wolf. "It would be so much easier..."

"There should be a trophy of Krystal in the trophy storage room," said Zelda. "Only problem is, Mr. Game & Watch has the key, and asking him will be no easy task."

"Somebody better go ask him! Peach, you get along with Mr. Game & Watch pretty well, maybe you should ask him for the key!"

"I'm pretty sure he's busy right now, I don't want to disturb him," responded Peach. Wolf's eye began to twitch.

"Arrgh that does it! This is all your fault!" Wolf pointed at Chrom. "You just _had_ to help Fox with his romantic problems!"

"Did I come up with the experiment?" questioned Chrom. "I don't think so..."

Wolf leaped at Chrom, knocking him to the floor. He then took his belt off, and proceeded to whip Chrom with it.

"Wolf stop it this instant!" shouted Rosalina.

"Don't tell me what to do, woman!" Wolf shouted back. "Chrom must pay!"

"Keep it up, you two!" Falco was filming Wolf whipping Chrom on his cellphone. Whether or not the video of this scene would go viral remains to be seen.

"Yo, Zelda, Dark Pit and I are going out for archery practice, and since you wield a bow and all, I was wondering if..." Sonic entered the dressing room, and was perplexed by what was going on - Wolf playing as Krystal, Chrom getting whipped by Wolf, Falco recording the whipping on his phone, and Fox rolling on the floor laughing. It was simply too much for the hedgehog to handle.

"I take it you mentioned something about archery practice, Sonic?" asked Zelda.

"Um, no...forget about it...I'll just...ask at a more convenient time..." Sonic backed away before speeding off.

* * *

Following the backyard football game, Mario went to Bayonetta's room, so he could have a talk with the Umbra Witch. But when he arrived, he only saw Snake, tossing a grenade around in his hands.

"Came here for Bayonetta, I reckon?" asked the former FOXHOUND agent.

"Why-a yes, and-a how did you know?" Mario asked.

"What can I say, I'm a spy."

 **Snake: Does Mario not know me that well? I spy on brawlers 24/7...actually 23/7, since I take an occasional nap on a daily basis. Either Mario is forgetful, or he is suffering from memory loss just like me...**

"Have-a any idea where-a Bayonetta went?" asked Mario.

"Beats me, though she mentioned something about handling some business."

"She must be going after Pit! Or Dark Pit even!"

"Woah, hold yer horses! Let's not jump off to assumptions now...Anyway, have you heard about K.K. Slider's concert tonight?"

"From what I've heard, it was supposed to be cancelled, since K.K. doesn't have a musical ensemble.

"Or so you may have thought - Lucina is helping the hippie dog gather an ensemble for him.

* * *

After much time, Lucina finally assembled the perfect ensemble for K.K. Slider's concert. This ensemble consisted of Young Link (ocarina), Toon Link (flute), Red (Poke Flute), Duck Hunt dog (triangle), Villager (guitar), Ness (drums), and Dark Pit (harp). K.K. was overjoyed by the ensemble.

"You did it, girl, you gathered the perfect ensemble for my concert!" he said with glee. "All I need to do now is get you all comfortable, so when you play together, it will be musical bliss!"

"How much do we get paid?" Red raised his hand.

"Good gravy, it's your first time performing, and you're concerned about getting paid?!"

"I need as much money as possible so I could buy that Porygon from the Pokemon Arcade."

"Buying Pokemon from an establishment?" Lucina raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that illegal?"

"It is never illegal! Educate yourself, woman!"

"Don't you EVER talk back to me like that again!"

 **Red: Pac-Man is trying to purchase that Porgyon before I do! Dude doesn't even play Pokemon, so why would he need a Porygon in the first place?**

"Another question," said Red. "Do you mind if I include my Pokemon in the ensemble? Surely they are musically talented as I am!"

"Name me one Pokemon of yours that can play an instrument," said K.K.

"Everybody knows Pokemon can't play instruments. But my Pokemon can improvise! Come on out!"

Red threw his three Poke balls in the air, and Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard all came out.

"Alright, you three, show K.K. your musical abilities!" commanded Red. The three Pokemon looked at each other in utter confusion. Is Red being serious?

"Red, I'm sorry, but your Pokemon can't contribute in any way," Toon Link told the Pokemon trainer. To him, including Red in the ensemble was a horrid idea, because the trainer would try and get his Pokemon involved.

"Oh they can contribute! Ivysaur, use Vine Whip to make some sound! Charizard, flap your wings! And Squirtle...you just clap your hands.

So Ivysaur repeatedly used Vine Whip in the air, Charizard flapped his wings, and Squirtle clapped his hands, generating some rather feint sounds. Needless to say, nobody was impressed.

 **Ness: Sometimes you've got to wonder what must be going through the Pokemon's minds when they have to deal with someone like Red. You would expect them to ditch Red by now...**

"Was that not the greatest thing you ever heard?" asked Red.

"I don't think that would considered musical in any way..." replied Young Link.

"...Maybe not, but it can't possibly compare to this!"

Red started playing his Poke flute, as a beautiful tune emitted from the instrument. Everyone was in awe.

"Wow...I must say, that was the most pleasant tune I've heard all day!" remarked Lucina.

"Outtasight!" K.K. gave Red a thumbs up...though he doesn't have any thumbs.

"Yes!" Red raised his arms in the air - the Poke Flute flew upwards and crashed on the ground, breaking it in the process.

"Uh oh..." K.K. looked on.

"MY BABY!" Red knelt down at the remnants of his beloved Poke flute and held the pieces in his hand, as he began to sob.

 **Duck Hunt Dog: *laughs***

* * *

It was now evening time at the Smash Mansion. There was a knock at the door.

"Is that the Porygon I ordered online from the Pokemon Arcade?" Pac-Man wondered as he ran to the front door and answered it - only to find a lanky pizza delivery boy. He looked timid and scared - the look on his face must be telling that he probably dealt with baddies like Bowser and Ganondorf before.

"H-Hello sir," greeted the delivery boy.

"Hey there buddy!" smiled Pac-Man. "I see you got a lot of pizza boxes there." Indeed - the delivery boy had a couple of boxes in his hand, and the rest were in a wagon. You know there's a lot of pizza ordered if the pizza boxes are in a wagon, rather than the pizza delivery vehicle.

"That fat Mario wannabe isn't around here, is he?"

"He's probably hibernating right now, so you have nothing to worry about!"

"Whoever said I was hibernating, I'm not a stinking bear!"

Wario showed up, furious as ever. His eye caught the delivery boy, who whimpered at the sight of the Wario - the main reason why he's so afraid.

"There he is! Gotta hide!" the delivery boy handed Pac-Man the pizza boxes and hid in his vehicle.

"Did he get my hot wings?" Wario confronted Pac-Man.

"See for yourself," replied Pac-Man. Wario went through the stuff, and didn't find a single box of hot wings. Boy, was he mad."

"No hot wings?!" He then grabbed the pizza boxes from outside and inspected them, and gaped at the first glance of veggie pizza. For Wario, having more veggie pizzas and hot wings (or no hot wings at all) was an utter travesty.

 **Pac-Man: If Wario's so concerned about his hot wings, why can't he order some himself?! Dude owns a giant corporation, he has a plethora of money to get all the hot wings he wants!**

"I'll be coming for you one of these days!" Wario shook his fist at the delivery boy, who drove away.

"Pizza's here!" Pac-Man announced. Samus appeared.

"Wario, did you harass the delivery boy again?" she asked the fatso.

"I honestly don't know where you get that false information from," Wario crossed his arms and looked away. "Just because I'm technically evil and all doesn't mean I would mean to harass some lousy wimp!"

"So explain the restraining order from the pizzeria."

"The one against Palutena after she verbally abused an employee for calling her a ma'am? It was well deserved in my opinion."

 **Wario: True story - I once battered a delivery boy for getting only delivering veggie pizzas without a single box of my hot wings. I tried to convince the pizzeria that he was a** **masochist and that he beat his own self up, but apparently they didn't buy into my claim.**

"SAMUS ARAN..." R.O.B hovered towards Samus. "WE NEED TO SPEAK..."

* * *

R.O.B took Samus to the computer room, where Link, Alfe, Yoshi, Tails, and Lloyd were all present.

"I'm afraid we have some bad news," Linked bowed his head and sighed. Sheik just so happened to walk - or in this case, sneak - by the computer room, and saw Link; she hid close to the entrance and listened attentively.

"Surely it can't be anything serious," assured Samus.

"The website, Space Love...it's been bought out."

"And why should I care?"

"Because the website was your idea."

Sheik's eyes widened. Samus is the one responsible for the creation of the website?!

"Fine, so what if it was my idea?" said Samus. "Starting up a social media/dating site would have generated boatloads of money, and I could have given that money to Wario - so he could buy all the hot wings he wants, without having to hear his big mouth ever again!"

 **Yoshi: This whole website was meant to generate money for Wario?! Samus was using us this whole time! I've never felt so used before!  
Alfe: Hasn't Mario used you to ride across Yoshi Island before?  
Yoshi: ...I honestly don't know what you're talking about.**

"Since the website has been bought out, does that mean it has to be sold?" asked Tails.

"YES BUT NO..." replied R.O.B "LINK HAS FOUND A SOLUTION..."

"Dunban suggested that we pitch the website to Kickstarter so we can get the funding from there," explained Link. "We can just change some of the lettering around in the 'Space Love' title so whoever bought us out won't suspect a thing!"

"Sounds like a good idea," Lloyd stroked his chin. "What do you think Samus?"

"Sure, whatever - as long as it gets approved and makes me...uh, _us_ , money."

Having learnt this information, Sheik ran off - only to accidentally bump into Cloud.

"Don't remember seeing you around here," said Cloud, who is quite unfamiliar with Sheik. "Have we met?"

"I'm not so sure," replied Shiek. "But I gotta go, got some important business to handle."

"Well before you go, have you seen Lloyd lately?"

"He's in the computer room."

"Alright. Thanks."

Cloud and Sheik both went their separate ways. The spiky-haired blonde headed to the computer room, where the brawlers exited. Lloyd was the last to exit.

"We need to talk," Cloud grabbed the swordfighter's shoulder.

* * *

Pit, Diddy Kong, Olimar, Pikachu, and the Flying Man were all spying on Kirby, following the pink puffball around the mansion. They were led to the mansion's mirror room (how many rooms does this mansion have?), where they caught Kirby doing the most savage thing ever - smiling and making funny faces in front of a mirror.

"Just look at that thug!" said Pit, sounding a bit distasteful. "Working on his gangster look in front of a mirror...how despicable!"

"Gangster look?" questioned Olimar. "I think you've been taking your beef with Kirby to the extreme."

"Yeah, the guy's just having fun!" agreed Diddy.

"Don't you see?" Pit was on the verge of distress. "His fun, happy-go-lucky persona is just a facade to excuse him from doing evil things!"

"Evil things such as...?" asked the Flying Man.

"Burping aloud at the dinner table once and not saying excuse me!"

"You do realize Kirby can't speak, right?" asked Olimar.

"I know, but he should find a way to communicate through us, without having to hear his unintelligible uttering!"

Diddy, Olimar, Pikachu, and the Flying Man all exchanged perplexed looks.

"It's about time we make that thug Kirby pay!" exclaimed Pit. "Pikachu, use thunderbolt on Kirby!"

"Pika pika?" Pikachu was reluctant to do this.

"Do as I say!"

So Pikachu charged up his body with electricity, and unleashed a thunderbolt at Kirby. The puffball moved, as the bolt bounced off the mirror and came straight for Pit, shocking him. The angle fell to the floor, shaking.

"Are you okay?" asked the Flying Man as he helped Pit up.

"Never better!" Pit was sounding a bit wonky. Now he knows what Ash Ketchum goes through after getting electrocuted.

Soon Meta Knight appeared. Pit grabbed him immediately.

"Go and talk to your son!" demanded Pit, pointing at Kirby.

"For the last time, he is NOT my son!" frowned Meta Knight.

 **Meta Knight: Why must everyone keep forgetting that I'm not related to Kirby? Do we have to go on _Maury_ to prove it to everyone?!**

"Liar!" accused Pit. "Tie him to a chair!"

The Flying Man grabbed a nearby chair, Olimar sat Meta Knight in said chair, and Diddy Kong tied the knight up with rope. Where he found the rope to begin with is beyond anyone's understanding.

"Flying Man, go get Kirby!" ordered Pit. The mythical bird went into the mirror room and grabbed Kirby, placing him in front of Meta Knight.

"Hi!" Kirby waved to Meta Knight.

"Hello, Kirby," sighed Meta Knight. If he had his sword with him, he would sliced the rope and break free, but since he left it in the hands of Lloyd of all people to look after it, he had no way to get himself out of this pickle.

"Punish your son this instant!" demanded Pit.

"HE IS NOT MY SON!"

"Thundershock him, Pikachu!"

Pikachu, against his will, electrocuted Meta Knight. The knight was unfazed.

"We should be going now..." said Diddy Kong as he and Olimar backed away.

"If Kirby is not your son, then how come you two look alike?" interrogated Pit. "Huh? Huh?"

"Am I supposed to be responsible for that?" questioned Meta Knight.

"Thundershock him again, Pikachu!"

Pikachu was nowhere to be found. Turns out he ran away as well.

"Aww, I don't need you anyway!" scoffed Pit. "The Flying Man can handle this!"

But the Flying Man wasn't present either. Pit was becoming a little too much for him to handle.

"That does it!" Pit stamped his foot on the floor. "I'll deal with Kirby myself!"

Pit was about to put his hands on Kirby, until...

"Pit, stop it this instant!"

This command came from Palutena, who was at the far end of the hallway. Pit stopped what he was doing.

"Lady Palutena!" he exclaimed. "It's not what you think!"

"Or is it?" Palutena made her way towards the angel. "Why is Meta Knight all tied up?"

"Diddy Kong and Olimar did it!"

"And who made them do it in the first place?"

"It was me..." sighed Pit.

"Now tell me Pit...why did you go through all this trouble for? Why do you have Kirby involved in this?"

"...Because you said Kirby was the cutest thing ever."

Palutena just had to giggle when Pit said this.

 **Palutena: This whole time...Pit held a grudge against Kirby...all because I said Kirby was cuter than him?! Am I hearing this right?**

"Listen closely, Pit, as I tell you this..." Palutena knelt down at the angel. "Even though I think Kirby's the cutest thing and all, that doesn't mean I think your not cute as well."

"...You really mean that?" Pit perked up.

"With every meaning of the word."

Pit gave Palutena a huge hug. Kirby joined in on the hug...and Pit had no qualms about it at all.

"K.K. Slider is having a concert tonight...wanna come?" asked Palutena.

"I would love to!" replied Pit. "Do you want to come too, Kirby?"

Kirby couldn't believe it. Pit was actually asking him to go with him and Palutena to the concert. Was Pit's grudge finally over? Kirby responded with a smile and a cute, unintelligible noise.

"I'll take that as a yes," grinned Pit.

Pit, Palutena, and Kirby walked down the hallway together...leaving Meta Knight alone, still tied in the chair.

"Um, hello?" he said. "Anyone going to untie me? Hello? HELLO?!"

* * *

R.O.B was in his room, moving around flower pots on a windowsill, while Link was using a computer in the room to submit the website to Kickstarter. Cloud and Lloyd stormed into the room; Lloyd pulled out Meta Knight's sword and pointed it at Link.

"Link stop what you're doing right now!" commanded Cloud. "This website thing is over!"

"It's not over until R.O.B says it's over!" retorted Link.

"INDEED..." said R.O.B.

"Your little Kickstarter attempt is not going to work," Lloyd said. "Regardless of what letters you change around, it will have the same domain name! The website will remain bought out, since Kickstarter will refuse to fund for a site that's been plagiarized!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, whoever bought out the website probably doesn't care either way," smirked Link.

"The person who bought out the website...is an affiliate of Star Wolf!" Cloud revealed, causing Link to gasp. "Samus just found out a while ago!"

"Space Love has been bought out...by a Star Wolf member?"

"WE MUST ACT AT ONCE!" said R.O.B.

"Don't listen to him Link, he's trying to use you!" persuaded Lloyd. "Starting the website is the only thing he cares about!"

"Too bad you two are the only ones who believe that!" frowned Link.

Link was wrong - in came Alfe, Yoshi, Tails, and Samus.

"I just got Wario a Mega Millions lottery ticket, and he got over $600 million in the jackpot..." explained Samus. "...which means I don't have to raise any money or anything. This website thing is done."

"Guess we have no other choice..." sighed Link, as he ended the Kickstarter project. R.O.B held his head down in sadness.

"I might be late to the party...but who is this Star Fox affiliate?" asked Yoshi.

"We don't know yet for sure," replied Samus. "But I hired a certain ninja to find out..."

* * *

It was almost time for K.K. Slider's concert to begin. The stage was set, and the ensemble was set - especially Red, who bought another Poke flute. Mario arrived at the concert, and found Bayonetta sitting at the front row.

"There-a you are!" Mario confronted the Umbra Witch. "I've been-a looking all day for...you?"

Bayonetta held out a ring, and gave it to Mario.

"Consider this as a 'your welcome' gift," said Bayonetta as he motioned towards Peach, who was sitting two rows behind. Mario accepted the ring, and sat next to Peach.

"About time you made it!" the Mushroom Kingdom princess smiled as Mario took his seat.

"Sure glad I'm here..." Mario was sweating profusely. He realized what Bayonetta is trying to make him do - and it only involved at least four words.

Sitting in the second row in front of Mario was Fox, Falco, Wolf, Chrom and Lucina. An extra seat was next to Fox.

"Who's the extra seat for?" Falco whispered to Fox.

"Beats me," shrugged Fox. He hoped that the available seat wasn't reserved for Krystal...

...but that hope was immediately dashed. Krystal showed up, and was delighted to see Fox as he took the empty seat.

"Hey Fox! Long time no see!" she grinned. Fox was sweating like it was a scorching summer day.

"Same here..." he responded, trying to keep his cool. He turned his head to Wolf, and glared at him.

"Chrom put me up to it," said Wolf.

 **Wolf: Chrom had offered me a share of Wario's lottery earnings! It was simply an offer I couldn't refuse!**

"So how do like it here at the mansion?" Krystal asked a very nervous Fox.

"I absolutely love it here," replied Fox. Why did Krystal have to be here?

"Hello to all my beautiful people, so glad you came to see my rad concert!" K.K. Slider said into the microphone, as the concert was set to begin. "Huge shootout to Lucina for putting together the perfect ensemble, couldn't do it without her. With that out of the way, hope you all enjoy this concert!"

And so the concert began. The sound of the ensemble instruments came together to create a perfect harmony. Speaking of harmony...

"Dude, ask Krystal out," Falco whipsered to Fox. "Chrom got Wolf to bring her here for a reason!"

"I don't think I can do it..." sighed Fox.

"Are you seriously doubting yourself right now?! This isn't like you, man! You're always known for being rash and hasty, and always getting to the point...and you're doing the exact opposite here!"

"So what point are you trying to make?"

"...I want you to ask Krystal out. It'll not only make things easier for the both of you...but me as well."

Fox smiled, knowing exactly what Falco meant. The raptor didn't want his fox to always second-guess himself when it comes to Krystal, nor should he be shy whenever he's with her.

"Krystal, there's something I've been needing to tell you..." Fox said to his love.

"Yes, and what would that be?" asked Krystal, anticipating what Fox was going to say next.

"Everyone freeze!" the male Inkling appeared, wielding his paint gun, as his female counterpart showed up with a Gatling paint gun. K.K. had no other choice but to momentarily stop the concert.

"Mellow out my Inkling pals, I'm having a concert here!" frowned K.K.

 **Male Inkling: K.K. Slider is holding a concert...and he has Red performing with him on the stage?!  
Female Inkling: Must have really scraped the bottom of the barrel to get him...**

"We have stopped this very concert for one reason, and one reason only..." said the male Inkling. "...She bought out R.O.B's website!" He pointed at Krystal.

"How could you make such accusations?!" Krystal was shocked.

"Don't try and hide it, we know you did it!" said the female Inkling.

"By 'we' who are you referring to?"

Soon Sheik came out of nowhere from the sky and pounced on Krystal, landing on top of her.

"Get off of her!" demanded Fox.

"Shut up, fox boy!" retorted Sheik, before turning her attention to Krystal. "Confess, woman! Do it or I'll put you in a world of hurt!"

"Fine, it was me!" sobbed Krystal. "It was I who bought out the website!"

Everyone in attendance gasped, although they probably had no idea what's going on.

"Why would you buy out the website in the first place?" Sheik interrogated.

"All I wanted to with the website is display my love and affection for Fox!" Krystal responded. "All I had to do was change a couple of things around and..."

"Where did the funding for the website come from?"

"Yuichiro Hikari was the one that did the funding. That's how MegaMan .EXE found out that I had bought out the website - anything Hikari uncovered regarding the website was passed through him! It didn't help that the website was indirectly linked to the Game Boy Color software...that's how the error occurred..."

"The Game Boy Color that Kirby ate?" Pit, who sat in one of the back rows, wondered as he looked at Kirby. The puffball shrugged, insisting that he had no idea he had such a huge role in this ordeal.

"Looks like my work here is done," said Sheik, as he got off of Krystal and departed, with the two Inklings following along.

"Fox, I think my leg is broken..." said Krystal as she clutched her left leg.

"Aw man this can't be good..." Fox panicked.

"Somebody call an ambulance!" Lucina called out as he rushed to Krystal and tended to her needs. After an ambulance picked up Krystal and took her to the hospital - with Fox, Falco, and even Wolf making a trip to said hospital - K.K. Slider's concert continued.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Bayonetta whispered to Mario, who sat a row behind. Mario remembered about the ring.

"Peach I need-a to speak with you in-a private..." Mario said to Peach once he remembered.

"Sure thing!" smiled Peach.

* * *

Mario led Peach to some shrubbery, where they won't get caught or anything.

"What a lovely night for a concert," Peach said as she gazed up at the sky. "Darn shame Krystal has to miss out. Wonder what got into Sheik..."

"I have-a something I've been-a needing to tell you Peach..." Mario said, holding the ring behind his back.

"Well what is it?"

Mario knelt down to one knee and held out the ring. Peach was getting all teary-eyed, just like any woman getting proposed to would.

"Princess Peach..." Mario began. "...Will you marry me?"

This got Peach even more teary-eyed.

"I don't...I don't think I can do it!" he sobbed. "I'm so sorry!" The princess ran away in tears, causing Mario to feel a little disheartened. His little brother, Luigi, showed up.

"What's-a up with Peach?" Luigi asked.

"She turned-a me down..." replied Mario, showing her the ring.

"No-a worries bro - been-a there, done that!"

Luigi patted his brother on the shoulder as he walked away. Mario was feeling some kind of way, as the thought of Luigi asking his girlfriend, Princess Daisy, out before him gave him a sour taste in his mouth.

* * *

"Glad you all had a blast!" K.K. Slider said to the audience once the concert ended. "Thank you, and good night!"


	3. Episode 3: Babysitting

**Episode 3: Babysitting**

It is never a good sign when a loved one is in a hospital. Especially if that loved one is your girlfriend.

Alas, that is what happened to Krystal, who suffered a broken leg at the hands of Sheik. Fox and Falco were present in the patient room.

"Your leg should be healed in at least five weeks," the paramedic explained to Krystal. The vixen was in utter disbelief. A broken leg shouldn't heal for that short of a time period.

"Only five weeks?" Krystal raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's the correct time frame?"

"Vixen bodies work differently from human bodies, you know."

 **Paramedic: Vixens can heal much, much quicker than humans, and that is a proven fact. Just ask my grandmother!**

"If you need me, I'll be in the break room," the paramedic said to the three Star Fox pilots. "Someone is holding a raffle, and I can't miss out!" The paramedic rushed out of the room.

"Got a question about the website," Fox said to Krystal. "Why did you try to buy it out in the first place?"

Krystal let out a deep sigh. Usually deep sighs are an indicator of a long story - something both Fox and Falco don't have the patience for.

"A website would have been the only way to confess and display our love for each other," explained Krystal. "We're not that great at sharing our feelings with each other, so showing others our love through a display of sorts would be the only way to soothe our hardships."

"Where am I in this matter?" asked Falco.

"Falco, you have absolutely nothing to do with this."

Falco held his head in sadness. Evidently he wanted a key role in Fox's and Krystal's relationship.

 **Falco: In sociological terms, Fox and Krystal make up a dyad, and dyads don't typically perform well sociologically. That's why there should be a triad consisting of me, Fox, Krystal! It makes perfect sense! Though Fox and Krystal are romantically intertwined, so I'm not sure if that's a good idea.**

"Using that website would have been much better than our awkward conversations, if you ask me," Krystal continued.

"You didn't have to go through all that trouble just for the both of us," Fox held Krystal's hand. "Certainly we can find a way to work things out. It'll take some time, but it's worth the effort!"

Krystal smiled when Fox said this. She loved it when he tries to act all charming and such.

"Kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss..." chantex Falco.

"Shut up, Falco, you're killing the mood," murmured Fox.

"My bad bro," Falco stopped chanting.

"Fox I have a favor to ask of you," said Krystal. "It has something to do about Slippy Toad."

"Did he get arrested for loitering again?" sighed Fox.

"No...well at least not this week. He got two offences last week, and he hired someone to break him out of prison. Anyway, I need you to watch over Slippy Toad at the mansion while I'm here at the hospital."

Fox just stared at Krystal in disbelief. Is she kidding him right now? Does Slippy Toad seriously need someone to babysit him?!

"Dumb frog can't take care of himself?" asked Fox.

"Apparently not. Slippy's quite clumsy, and he can be quite an incompetent nuisance as well."

"Where is slippy anyway?" asked Falco.

"Downstairs in the cafe..."

Then in came Slippy Toad, holding a plate of hospital food. He dropped his plate to the floor and squealed with glee at the sight of Fox and Falco.

"Fox! Falco! You finally made it!" the amphibian ran up to the two pilots and gave them a huge hug.

"We were here the other night..." Fox wheezed, as Slippy's arms crushed his and Falco's lungs.

"Get out of here!" Slippy released his grip on the two pilots and looked in amazement. "Did you sign any autographs?"

"Ain't nobody got time for autographs!" stated Falco.

"Does he HAVE to stay with us?" Fox asked Krystal.

"I'm afraid so, I couldn't find anyone else," replied Krystal.

* * *

Back at the Smash Mansion, Mario lying on his bed, constantly sulking. Peach had turned down the plumber's offer to marry him, and her refusal has left Mario in a depressed state. Good thing he had Luigi in the room to comfort him.

"Proposing to your girl is-a always a hit or-a miss thing," said Luigi. Not exactly a subject Mario wants to hear about. "I proposed to-a Daisy twice. Twice! The mood-a and the time has-a to be perfect when you propose."

"It's over..." mumbled Mario. "It's all over...she'll never want to marry me, ever..."

"That-a is silly talk! Peach will-a always love you to the end! Her turning you-a down doesn't-a meaning a thing!"

"If you-a say so..."

"May I come in?" a voice said from outside the door. Luigi answered the door - it was Little Mac.

"How-a may I help you, Little Mac?" asked Luigi.

"Just wanted to know how Mario is handling things. Geno saw him propose to Peach last night, and saw him getting turned down and all."

 **Geno: So what if I saw Mario propose to Peach? I watch Link and Zelda hit on each other throughout the day. Call me a creeper all you want.**

"This might cheer him up a bit," Little Mac handed Luigi a card, which read, _"Little Mac Motivation Seminar: Come and Be Inspired - By Greatness!"_

"A little motivational-a speaking should-a do the trick," Luigi stroked his chin.

"You should attend as well...it'll help you propose to Daisy!"

"I already proposed to her...and she said yes."

"Oh man did she?! When's the date of the wedding?"

"We haven't decided yet, but we'll find a date very soon."

* * *

Greninja was minding his own business as he made his way through the halls of the Smash Mansion. He was immediately ambushed by Bowser Jr.

"Sup Greninja, how are things going?" the young Koopa asked. Greninja could simply stare. "Everything is going great, I assume? That's wicked awesome! Did you hear about Slippy Toad coming over here?"

Greninja shook his head. He hoped that Slippy wasn't as bad as Fox, Falco, and Wolf make him out to be.

"Hopefully he has a great time here! We might even become friends!"

 **Bowser Jr.: I would be friends with the Koopalings, but they're insufferable. Larry cheats in video games, Roy talks too much, Wendy acts like a spoiled brat, Iggy is childish, Roy bullies me constantly, Lemmy is slow, and Ludwig is a stinking know-it-all. And to top it all off, they act like they're related to King Bowser! _They're not even his offspring!_ I'm his only legitimate child! Me!**

"Do you think Slippy will like this?" Young Link approached Bowser Jr. and showed him a statue of the five frogs from _Ocarina of Time_. "You won't believe the amount of trouble I had to go through to get this statue."

"Let me guess...eBay?" guessed Bowser Jr.

"Had to borrow Sonic's debit card...oh man, I forgot to give it back!"

Young Link searched through his pockets - only to realize he doesn't have any pockets!How does he carry his belongings on his adventures in the first place?!

"We better go find it real quick!" said Bowser Jr. "Sonic can't live without his debit card...and that is truly saying something. Do you want to help, Greninja?"

Greninja shrugged. Greninja, being the indifferent Pokemon that he is, didn't seem to care.

* * *

"Wow this mansion is big!" Slippy remarked as he entered the Smash Mansion, followed by Fox and Falco, who were rolling the bullfrog's suitcase (yes, Slippy's a bullfrog). Considering the two were supposed to be watching over Slippy, they had no idea why the bullfrog is bringing his stuff with him.

"Before we head to our room, we must establish some house rules," stated Fox. "First things first..."

"Is that Cloud Strife?!" Slippy shrieked as he ran up to Cloud, who was simply minding his own business. The amphibian hugged him. "I can't believe it's you!"

"Can't believe it either," said Cloud, who tried to push Slippy away, but to no avail.

"Mega Man is here too?!" Slippy then ran up to Mega Man, and gave him a hug. "I've been wanting to meet you for so long!"

"How long is he going to stay here?" Mega Man asked Fox.

"Hopefully for a short period of time," replied Fox. "My girlfriend Krystal says that she is finding another suitor for Slippy, should he be an annoyance here."

"He's already being an annoyance now...even more so than Lloyd..."

 **Mega Man: If I was stuck in an elevator with Hitler, bin Laden, and Lloyd, I would shoot Lloyd with my Mega Buster...multiple times.**

"Where's Master Hand?" asked Slippy. "I wanna see Master Hand! I've been working on this special handshake for some time now, and I wanna show it off to him!"

"This guy can't be serious right now," Falco facepalmed. Peach and Zelda entered the mansion's foyer, and took notice of Slippy.

"Well aren't you the cutest thing!" Peach ran up to Slippy and cuddled him. "Would you like to be a part of our tea party?"

"I don't think that's such a great idea..." said Zelda.

"Yes I would love to!" Slippy chirped up. "Fox and his pals never invite me to their parties!"

"Oh is that so?" Peach glared at Fox, who innocently scratched his neck.

"May I speak with you for a second?" Zelda grabbed Peach, and pulled her into a room, where they could discuss in private. "Inviting Slippy over for tea may not be such a good idea."

"What makes you think that? Slippy is just trying to make friends!"

"But I feel that he'll try too hard at befriending everyone, and it'll make him irritable."

"Perhaps we could talk some sense into him. Tell him how things work here."

"I'll take your word for it. But if something disastrous happens from anything Slippy-related, the blame will fall on you. Got it?"

Peach nodded, and the two exited the room and confronted Slippy.

"Follow us, we will take you to our wonderful tea party!" Peach said to the bullfrog.

"I'll see you guys later!" Slippy waved to Fox and Falco as he followed the two princesses.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourselves into!" Fox called out to Peach and Zelda.

* * *

After his truce with Kirby, Pit attempted to work on building a budding friendship with the pink puffball. He got him involved in an activity of ding-dong ditch - a prank that involves ringing the doorbell and running away before someone answers the door. Since the rooms have no doorbells, Pit and Kirby had to resort to knocking on doors instead.

"This is gonna be awesome!" Pit snickered as he knocked on Snake's door. He and Kirby ran away and hid, as Snake answered the door.

"One of these days kiddies!" Snake shook his fist like an old geezer would. "One of these days!" The former agent went back inside his room, as Pit and Kirby shared a laugh.

The next victim was Corrin, prince of Nohr.

"Felicia is that you?" Corrin opened the door - expecting the maid to consult him - but no one was there.

 **Corrin: The other day I nearly get my back broken by a ninja, and now today some schlub pranks me. My time here isn't exactly going as planned...**

Next up was Mega Man Zero. Pit knocked on the door and ran off...but Zero didn't answer the door. Was there something going on?

"Huh?" Kirby looked at Pit, uttering the other intelligible word he knows. A few seconds, passed and Zero still didn't answer.

Suddenly a bunch of electric and mechanical sounds were heard from the room. Clearly Zero is working intensively on something.

"Must be really working hard in there," assumed Zero. "His door is probably locked...good thing I know a way to get in!"

* * *

Inside his room, Zero was busy building some sort of giant revolver gun, using a variety of electronic tools to build it.

"Only one more color palette and..." Zero was about to add a palette to the gun until...

"Hiya!" Akira Yuki kicked the door, sending it into the revolver gun and knocking it into the floor, breaking it in the process.

"Excellent work Akira!" Pit commended the fighter as he and Kirby entered Zero's room. "You may leave now, you've used up all you usefulness."

"Just doing my job," Akira bowed before Pit and departed.

 **Akira Yuki: Honestly who does this kid think he is, bossing me around?! I oughta give him a wicked karate chop to his head! But he'll probably whine and complain to his faux mother Palutena about it, so why bother...**

"Watcha working on Zero?" asked Pit.

"I'm building a super weapon for the Inklings to work with," explained Zero, showing off the giant revolver gun. "I was almost finished with it until you two barged in."

Kirby sucked up the revolver - like a boss, as always - and smiled as he rubbed his tummy. The savagery continues...

"Kirby you just ate Zero's invention!" scolded Pit. "Bad Kirby, bad, bad Kirby!"

This caused Kirby to cry his eyes out. Kirby is not really the kind of brawler that cries - that distinction goes to Lucas.

"Look at what you did!" frowned Zero. He picked up Kirby, and cradled him in his arms. "Hush, little baby, don't you cry, mama's gonna buy you...um, a pumpkin pie?"

Kirby stopped crying and gave Zero a looked that probably meant, "Dude seriously?".

"Well at least you got Kirby to stop," remarked Pit.

"No thanks to you," Zero replied as he put Kirby back down. "Now how do we get that revolver gun out of Kirby?"

* * *

"Sonic come here I need your help!" Tails called out through the mansion. Sonic sped through the halls at the speed of light, and found Tails and Lucas submerged in plastic balls of some ball pit inside a large room.

"Uh, do I need to ask?" Sonic questioned how the two got themselves in this prediciment.

"No time to ask any questions, just help us out!"

So Sonic, with his oh-so-heroic ways, rescued Tails and Lucas, and rested the two on the floor.

"Thank you Sonic!" thanked Lucas. "You saved us!"

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it," Sonic said as he dusted off his shoulder.

 **Sonic: Boy let me tell ya, it's always Lucas and Tails that need to be saved - and they always call upon me for help! You won't believe the many countless times Tails wailed, "SONIC, OH SONIC, PLEASE HELP ME, I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP, EVEN THOUGH I'M NOT AN OLD GEEZER YET! And Lucas is all like, "SAVE ME SONIC, I'M GETTING BULLIED BY WARIO, AND NESS IS MY ONLY REAL FRIEND!" Why can't they just get Mario to help them?! He saved Peach's behind plenty of times, he should quit his job as a plumber and be a freaking firefighter!**

"So what are these plastic balls for?" asked Sonic.

"Lucas and I are using this spare room to make a giant ball pit," explained Tails. "As you can see, we made some steady progress..."

"Who is the ball pit designed for?"

"It's designed for everyone to play in!" replied Lucas.

"Okay Lucas. But you do know that when you mention 'everyone', you're also including evil guys like King Dedede, Ganondorf, Bowser, Mewtwo, Heihachi Mishima, and even Wario."

"Playing in the ball pit will make them more compassionate and caring, and maybe even teach someone like Dedede how to share!"

"King Dedede? Sharing?!" Sonic fell to the ground laughing. "Good one!"

 **Tails: To be fair and brutally honest, King Dedede suggested to me that I** **make a ball pit for this mansion. Not sure if it's some ploy to get closer to Kirby...**

"Can you help us, Sonic?" asked Tails.

"I can be of assistance if you guys need me to," replied Sonic. "But only on one condition..."

* * *

"And that's how I got the name Slippy Toad!" Slippy Toad exclaimed, as he told a story at Peach's and Zelda's tea party. The bullfrog was wearing a princess crown only for the occasion. It would be wise not to wear this crown anywhere else.

"More tea for you sir?" Toad came over to Slippy with a teapot.

"Fill 'er up!" Slippy held out his teacup, and Toad filled it to the brim with tea. "I must say, you look even more edible in person!" Slippy told Toad.

"...I'll try and take that as a compliment," Toad inched away from Slippy as far as possible, concerned for his well-being.

 **Toad: I'm starting to see why Fox and Falco can't tolerate this guy...he's downright creepy and weird! Not to mention his voice...*shudders***

"How come the other Star Fox pilots don't appreciate you?" Peach asked Slippy Toad.

"They think I'm annoying and unhelpful..." sighed Slippy. "Also they can't stand my voice...I can't help it that I sound like a girl!"

"There's no reason to be upset over such silly things," said Zelda. "Just ignore any insults or ridicules thrown at you, and just be yourself!"

"Excuse me for interrupting this tea parties, ladies...and frog fellow," Little Mac showed up. "My seminar is coming up in a few, and I was wondering if you would like to attend."

"We would love to!" gleamed Peach. "Slippy here could really use your motivational skills."

"Slippy would be absolutely perfect!" said Little Mac. He knelt down next to Slippy, and rested his elbow on Slippy's shoulder. "After you witness my motivational speaking, you'll have the courage to step up to those no-good-doers Fox and Falco, and show 'em what you're made off!"

* * *

Watching through the crack in the door was Fox and Falco, who couldn't believe what they saw. The brawlers are actually _accepting_ Slippy Toad?!

"It's hard to believe that they're being friends with him," Fox shook his head.

"Wonder what they see in that guy," wondered Falco.

"You two are obsessed," Cloud remarked as he passed by.

* * *

Young Link, Bowser Jr, and Greninja searched for Sonic's debit card, which Young Link lost. A method the young hero of Hyrule used to search for the card was retracing his steps.

"Last time I remember I had Sonic's debit card, I was in the arcade room," said Young Link as he led his accomplices.

"Why the arcade room?" questioned Bowser Jr. "You weren't trying to insert a debit card inside an arcade game, were you?"

"I tried...but it didn't work."

 **Bowser Jr.: Could you imagine an arcade machine that only accepts debit cards? All you would have to do is simply slide your debit card in the slot for the game to begin! There would be no point in using quarters anymore!**

The three entered the mansion's arcade room, and saw Pac-Man working away on an arcade machine. Pac-Man, being a huge arcade icon, sure knows a thing or two about how an arcade machine is supposed to function.

"Why hey there boys!" Pac-Man took notice of the three. "How may I help you today?"

"We're busy looking for Sonic's debit card," explained Young Link. "Have any idea where it could be?"

"Usually when Sonic leaves his stuff behind, he leaves it in the training center - and the Wii Fit Trainer winds up returning his stuff every time."

"Yeah, about that...I had borrowed Sonic's debit card to buy something for Slippy Toad, and now I've lost it!"

"Oh man that can't be good! Not only did you lose the debit card, you used it to buy that annoying frog something!"

"IT WAS A STINKING FROG STATUE!"

"Waste of money if you ask me. But honestly I have no clue where Sonic's debit card could be. I would suggest looking in the printing room."

"Thanks Pac-Man!" thanked Young Link as he and his troupe left the arcade room, allowing Pac-Man to return to his work.

* * *

It was now time for Little Mac's seminar, which took place in the mansion's small lecture hall. Little Mac was on the stage, getting prepped.

"Here's your bottled water sir," Isabelle gave the boxer a bottle of water. Little Mac took the bottle and drank it in one gulp.

"Fresh, bottled water is oh-so refreshing!" he grinned, as if he was a spokesperson for some bottled water company. Little Mac would be a great spokesperson for just about any company. Why hasn't he received any endorsement deals yet?

"Keep on the lookout for Fox and Falco. Since Slippy Toad is attending the seminar, those two might sneak in and give the bullfrog some trouble."

 **Isabelle: Ever since Slippy arrived here, I was afraid that the fellow Star Fox pilots would give him a hard time. So far, they weren't able to bother him, since he's spending time Peach and Zelda. What if Slippy grows more feminine the more he hangs out with the princesses? Fox and Falco would have an absolute field day with him...**

"Surprised Wolf isn't involved in the duo's little charades," said Little Mac.

"He despises Slippy way more than Fox and Falco do, so he's not going to bother messing with him."

"Shall I open the door?" Doc Louis called out from one of the lecture hall doors. "People are anxious to get inside!"

"Let 'em in!" ordered Little Mac. Doc Louis opened both doors, and brawlers filled up the lecture hall and took their seats. Slippy sat in-between Peach and Zelda.

"Sitting with the prettiest ladies here..." the bullfrog relaxed in his chair. "...This is the life."

"Ike what are you doing here?" Bowser asked Ike, who was sitting next to him. "I thought you were already motivated and inspired and whatnot!"

"I already am!" replied a confident Ike. "Attending this seminar will only remind me of my confidence and motivation!"

"Egotistical jerk..." mumbled Bowser.

 **Ike: That lousy jerk Little Mac stole my idea of holding a motivational seminar! Holding a seminar would've greatly influenced my fellow brawlers, as well as prove to everyone that I do have friends! My master plan is to sabotage Little Mac's seminar, enough to the point where it will be absolutely forgettable!**

Also in attendance was the Mario Bros, Mario and Luigi. Mario looked like he didn't want to attend the seminar at all.

"Cheer-a up bro, you'll feel-a inspired in an instant!" assured Luigi.

"Eh, what's the point-a of coming here-a anyways, Peach is-a sitting at the front-a row, so I assume she-a doesn't care," moped Mario.

"Welcome everyone, to Little Mac's Motivation Seminar!" Little Mac began the seminar. Everyone was in applause except for Mario, who seemed uninterested, and Ike, who is still bitter with Little Mac. "This is an awesome time for everybody here to feel great and confident about themselves!"

"Everybody except for me..." moaned Mario. He definitely wasn't feeling it - he's become the anti-Shulk...but with a mustache.

"First thing we need to to is feel happy about ourselves. How can we do that, you might ask? By laughing of course! Phase 1: Feeling Happy, commenced! C'mon, everyone, laugh!"

Nothing was heard but cricket chirps and occasional coughs.

"I don't think you guys are hearing me out, just laugh...HA HA HA HA! See I just did it...BWA HA HA HA! If I can do it...HA HA HA HA HA! You can do it too! BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Little Mac kept laughing hysterically, while the audience looked on, not amused at all.

"I gave up babysitting the Ordon kids for this?" groaned Link, who like everyone else wished for the seminar to end.

"Is everyone happy?" Little Mac asked the crowd. No one responded. "Excellent! Now it's time for Phase 2: Feeling Inspired!"

"Please be the last phase..." said Olimar. Ike would probably do a better job than Little Mac is doing right now.

Doc Louis brought a boombox on stage, and pressed the play button, as _Fame_ by Irene Cara began playing. Little Mac put on an Irene Cara wig, and punched in the air like he was exercising.

"Anything is possible, just ask Kevin Garnett!" Little Mac said as he punched. "You can do it!"

"Get off the stage!" Mega Man jeered, as the spectators booed.

 **Mega Man: If I was stuck in an elevator with Hitler, bin Laden, Lloyd Irving, AND Little Mac...I would self-destruct on my own accord.**

Once the chorus kicked in, Little Mac ran around the stage doing a victory lap, while the audience continued to boo.

"Everyone's booing!" observed Ike. "Now's my chance!" The swordsman leaped on stage, and attacked Little Mac with his sword. Doc Louis stopped the song and saved his protege, restraining Ike.

"This has been an absolute waste of my time," Dark Pit remarked as he left the lecture hall. One by one, everyone else did the same.

"Apologize for stealing my idea!" Ike said to Little Mac, his hands wrapped around the boxer's neck.

"Like you could have done any better!" Little Mac tried to push away Ike.

"Guess the seminar is over," said Zelda as her and Peach got up from their seats. "Time to go, Slippy."

Slippy Toad, however, remained in his seats. His eyes had very large pupils; he looked as if he either tasted the best candy ever created, or he received a kiss from a girl - the latter of which will never, ever happen anytime soon.

"That was the greatest thing I've ever witnessed!" Slippy blurted out loud.

"Um, not really," said Peach. "Ike's seminar would have been much better."

Peach made her way towards the exit, until Mario and Luigi caught her eye. Luigi was comforting Mario, who was still down in the dumps.

"Hey Mario!" Peach waved to Mario. "What do you think of Little Mac's seminar?"

"It was alright, I guess..." Mario apathetically replied. He didn't even bother looking up at Peach.

"What's wrong with him?" Peach asked Luigi.

"He's just not feeling it today," replied Luigi.

"Not feeling it?" Shulk appeared out of the blue. "Glad I'm here to help!"

"Go away..."

* * *

"If we're ever going to get the revolver gun out of Kirby, we have to regurgitate it in some way," explained Zero. He sat in the kitchen with Pit and Kirby, while Kirby was stuffing himself with junk food.

"We'll never get it done if Kirby keeps chowing down food like this!" fretted Pit.

"Maybe if Kirby eats so much food, his stomach won't be able to take it anymore, and he'll puke out the revolver. We'll let him eat for now."

"Does Kirby even _have_ a stomach?"

"You know, I've always wondered that..."

"Yo, Zero, how's our new weapon coming along?" the female Inkling entered the kitchen. Zero got nervous real quick.

"Your giant revolver gun?" the robot grinned nervously. "It's...it's coming along very nicely. Almost done, gotta add a color palette."

"Then why are you here if you're almost done?"

"I've been working away all day long, I needed a lunch break."

"Didn't know robots could eat..."

"...Until now! While I was working on the revolver, I gave myself a...um...body modification!"

"What kind of 'body modification'?"

"...A laissez-faire body modification!"

 **Pit: Laissez-faire body modification?! Is that seriously the best he can come up with?!**

"Our paintball game will start around 5 o' clock," said the female Inkling. "Will the revolver be ready by then?"

"You can count on it!" replied Zero. Pit facepalmed.

"Okay then, I'll see you later," the female Inkling departed from the room.

"Poyo poyo!" Kirby smiled as he continued to scarf down junk food.

"The revolver gun is probably digested by now," presumed Pit.

"I don't think weaponry can be digested - at least in Kirby's stomach," said Zero. "We still got some time!"

* * *

Following Little Mac's interesting seminar, Slippy Toad joined Peach, Zelda, and all the other female brawlers at the spa. The bullfrog was getting a facial done by the Wii Fit Trainer.

"Your skin is so smooth - just like a baby's bosom!" the trainer felt Slippy's face.

"Have you ever touched a baby's bosom before?" asked Slippy. "If so, then you must be a pedophile!"

"Easy now, Slippy, I'm not the one to be involved in such horrendous activities."

 **Rosalina: Slippy Toad is just wonderful! He's happy all of the time, and he loves to crack jokes every now and then. Why Fox and Falco can't stand Slippy is beyond me.**

 **Samus: Some of the other brawlers here (Captain Falcon and Snake, I'm looking at you) should be more like Slippy Toad. Charismatic, humorous, friendly in a non-creepy way...and he has the cutest voice! What's not to love about Slippy?**

"I can't believe the ladies are falling for him!" frowned Falco as he and Fox watched from afar, hoping they don't get caught. "They should be falling after me! ME!"

"It's okay, bro, we'll avenge Slippy!" Fox patted Falco on his shoulder.

"Again, you two are obsessed," Cloud said as he walked by.

"Cloud could you do us a huge favor?" Falco asked the swordsman. "We need you to go inside the spa and teach that darn Slippy a lesson!"

"Why can't you guys do it? You're the ones conspiring against him!"

"Slippy is easily fascinated with you. Also, the ladies won't mind a bit if you're in they're, since they think you're handsome and all..."

"...Do they really think that?"

"Pretty sure Tifa Lockhart thinks you're handsome, so the ladies in there must think the same exact thing. Great female minds think alike!"

Cloud pondered over Falco's offer, and soon came to a conclusion.

"I'll do your favor, but only just this once," said Cloud.

"Sweet!" grinned Falco. "Now go in there, and steal off that man Slippy for us!"

A more-confident-than-not Cloud entered the spa.

"Nice work, Falco," Fox commended his co-pilot.

"Consider it a work well done," replied Falco.

"Slippy we need to talk!" Cloud said after he entered the spa and confronted Slippy.

"Can't you see I'm busy? I'm getting my facial done..." Slippy responded as the Wii Fit Trainer placed a cucumber on each of Slippy's eye. The temptation for the bullfrog to not eat the cucumber with his long, elastic tongue was quite strong.

"Look at yourself man. Getting facials...and now getting your fingernails painted?!"

"For the record, Slippy begged us to death to get his fingernails done," remarked the female Inkling, who was painting Slippy's nonexistent fingernails.

 **Female Inkling: Despite his personality, Slippy Toad sure loves to beg...he was literally begging Peach to give him a back rub! And Peach gave it to him - three times!**

"At least I'm enjoying myself at this mansion - something you'll never mount up to do!" Slippy defended himself.

"Say that again..." Cloud pulled out his sword. Slippy just got himself in quite a sticky situation.

"Chill out Cloud, you know I was just kidding...you don't have to glare at me like that..."

"Leave him alone!" the Wii Fit Trainer stepped in between Cloud and Slippy.

"Yeah, you do that, I'll sneak away..." Slippy got off of the spa bed and tried to sneak away...but Cloud caught him.

"Falco I think we need to save Slippy..." Fox, who was still watching from afar, grew a little concerned for Slippy.

"Nah, Cloud's got it taken care of," assured Falco. "It's not like he's gonna..."

Slippy Toad flew out of the spa and crashed into a wall.

"...seriously hurt him or anything."

"Figured this was bound to happen..." Mewtwo said as he walked past Slippy. Cloud appeared out of the spa and leaped towards Slippy, until Mewtwo caught him with his Psychic attack. Peach and Zelda exited from the spa to investigate what was transpiring.

"Let...me...go!" Cloud tried to break from the telekinesis, but to no avail.

"Think about what you're doing! Hurting an innocent guest...what has gotten into you?!"

"Falco put me up to it!"

Mewtwo glared at Fox and Falco, who were both whistling innocently.

"This is how you treat your _friend_?" Mewtwo frowned.

"Friend?" Peach looked shocked. "I thought you were enemies!"

"Whoever said we were enemies?" questioned Slippy, who was writhing in pain. "Fox, Falco and I have been childhood friends for as long as I could remember!"

Peach and Zelda were stunned. How could the two Star Fox pilots treat Slippy like this?

"How do you know about this?!" Fox asked Mewtwo.

"I'm a Psychic Pokemon..." replied Mewtwo. "...Duh."

Digusted with his two friends, Slippy Toad got up and hopped away, fighting back the pain - and the tears.

"Simply unbelievable..." Zelda shook her head as she and Peach went back inside the spa. Fox and Falco felt extremely guilty, as they should.

"Would you mind putting me down?" Cloud asked Mewtwo, still suspended in the air. Mewtwo harshly threw Cloud back on the ground.

"Man I just love doing that," Mewtwo smirked.

* * *

Tails' and Lucas' ball pit room was nearing its competition, mainly thanks to Sonic. After adding a slide, a trampoline, and even a built-in Gatorade dispenser, it was now time to see if the ball pit was ready for use.

"Sonic, why did you have to add a Gatorade dispenser?" asked Tails.

"Convenience, perhaps?" Sonic shrugged.

 **Sonic: Adding a Gatorade dispenser is a great idea! Someone could get exhausted and tired from playing in the ball pit all day, and might need something to quench their thirst!**

"Only thing left to do is have someone test the ball pit out..." said Lucas. "But who?"

"Why not Link?" Sonic pointed at Link, who was busy adjusting his hat in front of a hallway mirror. He has to make sure his hat is on correctly, for having it on incorrectly could result in an alteration of the time-space continuum (or something like that).

"Link would be the perfect guy for testing!" said Tails. "Hey Link, could you come over here?"

"You guys need me for something?" Link approached the three.

"We've constructed a ball pit, and we need you to test it out and see if it's safe."

"Looks pretty safe to me...Don't know why you guys need me..."

"Just do it!" Lucas pushed Link into the ball pit, shocking both Sonic and Tails. "...None of you saw that."

 **Lucas: I can be rather aggressive; I can't be a introvert all of the time. Making my way through the Subspace Emissary with the Red the Pokemon Trainer really made me much more confident!**

"Get me out of here!" Link called for help as he was clustered within the plastic balls.

"I'm so posting this online," Sonic took a picture of Link trying to get out of the ball pit, and posted the picture on all of his social media pages.

Suddenly Link was seemingly falling deeper and deeper into the ball pit...until he was gone! Link was nowhere to be found!

"Link vanished!" Tails panicked. "Not good, not good at all..."

"Did I tell you that I got Viridi to add a black hole at the bottom of the ball pit?" Sonic asked Tails.

"WHAT COULD POSSIBLY MAKE YOU THINK THAT WAS A GREAT IDEA?!"

"Well I don't know Tails...maybe because I thought it would be cool?!"

"What's so cool about brawlers falling into a black hole that leads to who-knows-where?"

"Viridi said that the black hole is a portal to the Underworld! Isn't that cool?"

Tails was left with no other choice but to glare at Sonic inquisitively. Link, stuck in the Underworld? Zelda would be unable to fathom this.

"Does Hades reside in the Underworld?" asked Lucas, growing more concern for Link.

"Yes he does, and that's what makes it cooler!" replied Sonic.

"Sonic...you're an idiot," was all Tails had to say.

* * *

"Bought-a some sea-salt ice cream from-a Takamaru!" Luigi entered his room with sea-salt ice cream bars in his hand, and handed one to his distraught brother, Mario.

"Why couldn't you-a give it to Cloud, he-a likes it more," Mario stared at his ice cream bar as it dripped on the floor.

"Don't-a waste your popsicle like-a that," said Luigi as he licked his ice cream bar happily. He was evidently more joyful than Mario will ever be.

 **Mario: Why-a is Luigi trying to cheer-a me up? Peach will-a never marry me, might as well look-a for another woman...**

"Oh Luigi...a certain witch wants to see you..." a voice was heard from the door.

"Now what-a could that woman possibly want?" Luigi wondered as he opened the door and saw Bayonetta, closing the door behind him. "What is it?"

"I take it that Mario is still down on himself?" asked Bayonetta.

"Like you actually care..."

"Silly Luigi, I do care about your brother Mario. It was I who suggested to him that he propose to Peach."

Luigi was in shock and surprise. For the longest he thought Roy dared Mario to propose to Peach, and that the swordsman would pay him in full if Peach said yes. (Where he got this rationale from, who knows.) But now Luigi knows the truth.

"Do you know any ideas to bring up Mario's spirits?" asked Luigi. "You seem more of a 'romantic expert' than Chrom is..."

"Chrom being a so-called 'romantic expert' is nothing but silly talk," scoffed Bayonetta. "A romantic expert wouldn't stoop down to some karate honcho for some meddlesome assistance."

Bayonetta reached one of her boots and pulled out a rose, giving it to Luigi.

"Tell Mario to give this Rose to Peach," said Bayonetta. "It will reaffirm their relationship."

"Are you sure this will work?" asked Luigi.

"An Umbra Witch always knows what works best for everyone..."

* * *

"Awesome seminar, champ!" Doc Louis, who was eating popcorn, commended Little Mac as they rested in the lecture hall. "Darn shame no one enjoyed it!"

"Slippy said he liked it...but that's not really saying much," remarked Little Mac.

Ike, Marth, Roy, Robin, Chrom, the Black Knight, and Corrin entered the lecture hall, and surrounded Little Mac.

"Don't think I forget about what you did," seethed Ike.

"Still butthurt over my great seminar?" smirked Little Mac. "Gonna have your boys beat me up?"

"Um, we were _forced_ to partake in this..." Marth said on behalf of every swordsman not named Ike.

"I wanted to do this regardless of being forced!" remarked the Black Knight. "Beating up people and making them suffer is so much fun!"

 **Chrom: Lucina would have been a part of this, but she hid somewhere in the spa so Ike wouldn't find her. Slippy Toad nearly blew her cover!**

"Look here Ike, Little Mac did this seminar only because you wanted to be some sort of male cook; you were in the kitchen cooking with Palutena when Little Mac here asked for a seminar!"

"You never told me you were interested in cooking!" Robin frowned at Ike. "Why didn't you ask me to be your apprentice?!"

"Shut up man, now's not the time..." murmured Roy, motioning to Ike, who was seething at Little Mac.

"This ends NOW!" Ike thrust his sword down at Little Mac; the boxer jumped out of the way, and punched Ike in the face. Soon it became an all-out brawl between Little Mac and the seven swordsmen.

"Fine entertainment right here!" Doc Louis watched the brawl as he ate his popcorn.

* * *

Young Link and his troupe's search for Sonic's lost debit card led them to the printing room, where Donkey Kong was printing something. The gorilla was printing...pictures of bananas?

 **Donkey Kong: I'm planning on redesigning all the rooms in the mansion by having bananas in every room. Sounds dumb and stupid, I know, but it's much better than King Dedede's idea of hanging a portrait of himself in every room for everyone to see! Dude has such a ginormous ego!**

"You boys looking for something?" Donkey Kong observed as Young Link, Bowser Jr, and Greninja looked around the printing room for Sonic's debit card.

"I lost Sonic's debit card, and we're looking for it right now," responded Young Link.

"The debit card that Zero used to purchase parts for the Inklings' new weapon?"

"Zero has it?! Where is he?!"

"Once Zero was done with the debit card, he gave it to Bayonetta, who seduced him into giving it up."

"So that means Bayonetta has it!" concluded Bowser Jr. "We better go find her!"

"What did you use Sonic's debit card for anyway?"

"To buy this frog statue!" Young Link reached into his invisible pocket and showed off the frog statue...but there was nothing in his hands.

"Please tell me you didn't leave it in the hallway..." Bowser Jr impatiently tapped his foot. Young Link giggled nervously.

* * *

 **Slippy Toad: Fox and Falco hate me...they were against me coming here, and they did everything in their power to ensure I would be miserable here. I wanna go back home! *sobs***

A lonely Slippy Toad sat alone in the hallway, reminiscing about Little Mac's seminar.

"Anything is possible..." he uttered.

"Anything is possible, is it not?" said Ganondorf, who overheard Slippy.

"I wish it was...only if it would happen..."

"Oh, but it can..."

Ganondorf showed Slippy a frog statue - the one that Young Link bought.

"A frog statue?" Slippy gleamed. "For me?"

"Yes...but only on one condition..."

* * *

Pit, Kirby, and Zero ran through the halls, for some unknown reason.

"Why are we running again?" asked Pit.

"Samus has a regurgitation device that regurgitates items," explained Zero. "Her doctor's appointment is coming up shortly, so we have to get that device from her before she leaves!"

 **Zero: So my idea of having Kirby eating until he's full and having him puke out the revolver wasn't such a good idea. Turns out Kirby doesn't really have a stomach, he has a...pocket dimension that stores practically everything - and I mean everything!**

 **Wolf: That blasted Kirby sucked up my Landmaster in one giant gulp! Worst part is, he can't pay it back because HE HAS NO MONEY TO PAY FOR IT!**

The three reached Samus' room, and the bounty hunter was just about ready to leave.

"Samus, regurgitation device, NOW!" said Pit.

"Aren't you three in a hurry?" smiled Samus. An angel, a pink puffball, and a robot holding up Samus - just what the bounty hunter needed.

"Kirby swallowed up a new weapon I was working on for the Inklings, and we need your device to get it out!" Zero told Samus.

"Too bad, King Dedede already asked me if he could use it."

"What could that fatso possibly use it for?!"

* * *

"Finally found my watch which I never use!" King Dedede exclaimed after the regurgitating the watch. Some of the other things Dedede regurgitated include each of the following: a calendar, a flat-screen television, a few Poke balls, and even one of his Waddle Dees. King's so greedy, he would go as far as eating one of his own servants.

"Stop it this instant!" commanded Zero as he, Pit, and Kirby barged inside his room. King Dedede put his hands up like he was getting arrested.

"Nothing wrong here boys, just regurgitating a bunch of useless crud, that's all!" said the king.

"We need that device!" Pit pointed at the regurgitating device. "Hand it over!"

"No way Jose!" King Dedede guarded the device like it was his woman. A bit ironic, since he'll never get one with his fat, greedy self...

Unbeknownest to Dedede, Kirby happened to sneak behind him and used the regurgitating device to cough out the giant revolver.

"Great job Kirby!" said Zero. "Now let's give that revolver gun to..."

King Dedede snatched the revolver and ran off for no reason.

"...the Inklings."

 **King Dedede: With this here revolver gun, I can do notoriously evil things...like ding-dong ditch! I could shoot the brawlers' doors from a far distance and make it seem like someone was knocking on their door! Oooh...that sounds so evil...**

* * *

Viridi was walking out of the spa when she got ambushed by Sonic, Tails, and Lucas.

"Viridi we need your help!" said Lucas. "Link fell through the black hole in the ball pit, and we need you to get him out!

"He went into the black hole?!" panicked Viridi. "I told you adding a black hole was a bad idea!" she scolded Sonic.

"Why didn't you stop me then?!" frowned Sonic.

"You were all like, 'Tails would absolutely love having a black hole at the bottom of the ball pit, it would make him think I'm cooler than he expected'!"

"You don't say..." Tails glared at Sonic, who looked around innocently.

 **Tails: Of course I think Sonic is cool enough as he is, I practically look up to him all the time. Don't know why he wanted me to think he's even cooler...**

"So how do we rescue Link?" asked Lucas.

"We must go consult Hades, and that's a very hard task in itself," replied Viridi. "Good thing I know where to go. Follow me!"

* * *

Little Mac exited out of the lecture hall, bruised and battered. Doc Louis remained in the lecture hall; he was receiving a beating from the seven swordsmen, likely for being associated with Little Mac.

"Must be hard making it as a boxer," said Bayonetta, who approached Little Mac. "Taking beatings left and right..."

"Ike had his boys gang up on me..." Little Mac huffed and puffed as he clinged unto the wall.

"So Ike was the one who ministered the beating...cheeky."

"Not cheeky! Their swords dealt a lot more pain than I thought!"

 **Little Mac: Nearly got some second-degree burns from Roy's fire-based attacks...why he would even resort to fire inside the mansion is beyond me, but then again, it's Roy...**

"Bayonetta!" Young Link rushed towards the Umbra Witch, with Greninja and Bowser Jr trailing along. "Do you have Sonic's debit card?"

"Yes I do," Bayonetta pulled out Sonic's debit card. "Remember not to leave another person's belongings lying about, mmkay?

As Bayonetta handed the debit card to Young Link, a large sound was heard, shaking the mansion.

"The Shroobs are invading!" panicked Bowser Jr - the only person here with such a thought process - as he hid inside a giant vase. First there were giant flower pots, and now there's giant vases. What else is new?

"I don't think it's an alien invasion," sensed Young Link. "I'm afraid it might be something...from the Underworld."

* * *

"Slippy must be feeling pretty awful right now..." said Peach, as she and Zelda returned from the spa.

"Same goes for Fox and Falco, considering how they were backstabbing their friend," added Zelda.

Peach and Zelda were immediately stopped by Mario. He was holding an item behind him.

"Sorry about-a that proposing incident last-a night," apologized Mario.

"Oh Mario, there's no need to apologize," smiled Peach. "I just...don't think I'm ready to get married yet. Knowing my hectic duties as princess at this given time, marriage is out of the question."

 **Peach: I wonder - if I marry Mario, would that automatically make him a PRINCE?**

"Hopefully this-a will compensate for last-a night's incident," Mario handed Peach the rose. Peach gladly accepted it; Mario rarely gives her flowers. Some boyfriend he is...

"Mario, I absolutely love it!" gleamed Peach. "Thank you very much!"

Suddenly the mansion shook. Mario sensed that danger was afoot.

"Someone-a is attacking the mansion!" the plumber said. "To the foyer!"

* * *

Mario and the princesses arrived at the foyer, and were shocked to see Hades, the antagonist of Kid Icarus, holding Fox and Falco hostage by having them suspended in the air. Ganondorf was at the entrance with Slippy Toad, who was holding the frog statue.

"Slippy are-a you behind this?!" Mario asked the bullfrog.

"I had to do this!" replied Slippy, while holding up the frog statue. "Anything is possible!"

"Told you Little Mac's seminar was bound to mess up Slippy," Zelda told Peach.

 **Peach: Whenever I tell Peach certain things, she doesn't listen...either she's absent-minded, or she has a very selective memory.**

"Put us down this instant!" demanded Fox.

"Not until you apologize to Slippy!" retorted Hades. "Both of you!"

"Listen to the man!"

Out of the blue came Sonic, who landed a spin attack on Hades. He landed on the floor with Tails, Lucas, and Viridi.

"Viridi?! What business do you have here?!" asked Hades.

"I live here, duh!" replied Viridi. "Now let those two go!"

"But they have yet to apologize to..."

Hades was cut off by Greninja, who threw a water shuriken at the Lord of the Underworld. He was jioned by Young Link, Bowser Jr, Bayonetta, and a battered Little Mac.

"Yo Young Link where's my debit card at?" Sonic asked Young Link. The young hero of Hyrule threw the card to Sonic. "Thanks bud!"

"We're fighting Hades, and you're concerned about your precious debit card?" questioned Tails.

"Chilax Tails, it's not like we're engaged in a war or anything..."

"Dude I have to use the bathroom..." said Falco. "Could you put me down just this once?"

"I will, but not after you..." Hades said before he was cut off again - this time by King Dedede, who fired a giant paintball from the revolver he stole. The ball exploded in Hades' face, leaving behind paint splattered all over the foyer. Mr. Game and Watch is gonna have his hands full...

"Wow it actually worked!" exclaimed King Dedede. Pit, Kirby, and Zero reached up to the king.

"Hades! We meet again!" Pit pointed at Hades.

"You live here too?!" groaned Hades. "Oy..."

"Hey Hades, heads up!"

Hades looked behind him, and was very surprised to see Link, who pounced on him and brutally attacked him with his sword.

"How...did you...find me?" questioned Hades, as Link beat him up.

"Easy - I followed you here from the underworld!" replied Link. He then put Hades in a chokehold. "Release Fox and Falco this instant! Do it!"

"You can't make me do it!"

"I SAID DO IT!"

So at the snap of his fingers, Hades dropped Fox and Falco to the floor. Link allowed the lord of the underworld to get up, and everyone was staring him down.

"Well would you look at the time..." Hades chuckled. "Gotta go!"

Hades dashed out of the front door. Everyone directed their attention to Ganondorf, who brought Hades over to the mansion.

"I have to go as well!" the Dark Lord said as he ran out as well.

"Are you okay Link?" Zelda consulted Link.

"Nothing you should be worrying about," assured Link, who glared down Sonic.

"A black hole in a ball pit would be an awesome idea!" defended Sonic.

"Said no one ever," scoffed Tails.

 **Sonic: If we can't have a black hole in a ball pit...why not have one in the toilet? All the waste can go to the Underworld, and Hades would be the one to clean it up! Sounds like a great plan if you ask me...**

Slippy Toad approached Fox and Falco, who were rubbing their heads after they fell.

"There's something I want to tell you guys..." said the bullfrog.

"No, no, let me and Falco do the honors..." Fox let out a sigh as he said the following, "...We're both sorry."

"It wasn't right to treat you like trash here and tell embarrassing stories while you were away," said Falco.

"Sure, you might be annoying at times, and your voice is unbearable beyond relief, but we still appreciate you as a dear friend."

"You guys really mean that?" Slippy began to tear up.

"From the bottom of our hearts," replied Falco.

"Group hug!" Slippy gave both Fox and Falco a group hug. The two pilots would push Slippy away, but for just this instance, they'll let is slide.

The phone in the foyer rang, and Mario picked it up.

"Smash-a Mansion residence, how-a may I help-a you?" Mario answered the phone. "Hey Krystal. I'm-a doing just fine...Peppy Hare wants to watch over Slippy? If you say so..."

"Uh oh," said Falco. "Looks like your stay here is cut short, Slippy."

"It's fine, I would prefer to stay at Peppy's place," said Slippy. "Seems more calm and peaceful."

"Slippy, I don't care whatever place you reside in, but just remember: we're still best friends," Fox told the bullfrog. "You will remember that, right?"

"As always," Slippy grinned, giving a thumbs up.


	4. Episode 4: Affliction

**Episode 4: Affliction**

They say that a dog is a man's best friend, and that seemed to be the case for Mega Man, and his dog Rush.

The two would constantly spend time with each other, and Mega Man does a variety of activities normal dog owners would do with their dog, like Frisbee throwing, practicing obedience, and fighting the forces of evil - namely Dr. Wily. But that's if - and only if - Dr. Light calls upon him.

One day, Mega Man and Rush were playing outside in the backyard - the most typical place for dog owners to play with their canine buddy. Mega Man would throw a ball, and Rush would retrieve it and return to his master. Sonic, who has no experience with pets whatsoever, watched from the fence.

"Quick question: why can't you throw the ball a ridiculously long distance, and have Rush retrieve it using Rush Jet?" asked Sonic.

"Because Rush won't revert to jet form unless I'm riding on top of him," replied Mega Man before he threw the ball for a nth time. Since when did pet owners ride on their own pets? If the pet owner owned an animal like an ostrich, sure...but riding atop a dog seemed like such a foreign idea, at least to Sonic.

 **Sonic: Going by Mega Man's logic, would Shulk have to ride on his pet Riki in order for him to use his full capabilities?**

Suddenly something wrong happened to Rush. After he gave the ball back to Mega Man, the robotic dog fell on his side on the ground. Like any other dog owner, Mega Man was concerned.

"Rush, are you okay boy?" the robot knelt down at his canine companion and tended to his needs. Rush was making those dog sounds that usually indicate that an ailment is afoot. "We have to call the veterinarian!"

"Veterinarians can't work with robot dogs - can they?" asked Sonic.

"Dr. Light knows a thing or two about robot illnesses. I must consult him immediately! But I don't have a ride..."

"Don't sweat it, Mega Man, for I can drive you there!"

"Aren't you supposed to be fifteen? How are you legally allowed to drive?"

"Nothing is legal when you're fast like me..."

* * *

Pit and Kirby were in the mansion library, eating loudly - except that they were doing it _on purpose._ Pit was chomping loudly on a head of cabbage with whipped cream on top (don't ask) while Kirby was slurping on a milkshake, through a straw.

"Could you two please cut that out?" Gilgamesh scolded the two. "People here are trying to read..."

"Whoever said we were reading?" questioned Wario, who was glancing through a magazine full of hot women. Why such a magazine exists in the library remains unknown.

 **Pit: Kirby and I are doing this thing some dudes on YouTube did - they went to a public library, and were eating loudly. So far our little prank is going along nicely, but unless we annoy someone to the point they send us to the hospital, the prank will have little to no significance.**

Pit and Kirby ignored Gil and kept doing their thing. Several brawlers, such as Mega Man X, Tails, and Robin couldn't take it anymore, and had to leave the library.

"Don't you two have anything else better to do?" Villager asked Pit and Kirby. Pit thought over this for a while - Villager's question required much thought and understanding. The angel finally came to his concrete conclusion...

"Nope," he replied as he went back to eating the cabbage loudly. Villager sighed and left the library.

"Where are you going?!" worried Gil, who was acting like Mr. Krabs, even though he doesn't own a business. "You're gonna miss story time!"

The mere mention of story time peaked Kirby's interest. Kirby loves a good story, regardless of quality. So the Star Warrior dropped his milkshake on the floor - spilling it all over the carpet in the process - and joined Gil and the kids for story time.

"Aw, come on, Kirby, don't leave me all alone!" moaned Pit. "We were gonna do a lot of other awesome things together! Who else am I supposed to fart on other people with?"

"Why would you even do that in the first place?" questioned Rosalina, who was using a computer, likely for Luma research. "Sounds like a pretty stupid prank to me."

"I saw it online. This guy, he was walking through the hood, and he was farting on people with a fart machine, and he got bodied!"

"Are you telling me you want to be bodied as well?"

This prompted Pit to think over what he just said. Nobody wants to get bodied, not even a darling angel like Pit.

* * *

Being the gentlemen that he is, Mario offered to do Peach's laundry - because what boyfriend wouldn't? The plumber took Peach's clothes and placed them in a laundry basket. However, there was a muffled voice emitting from said basket.

"Who's-a in there?!" Mario pulled out his F.L.U.D.D. and directed it at the laundry basket. Dousing water on whatever creature was in the basket probably won't do anything, but you can't fault Mario for at least trying.

"It's me, Red!" the voice replied. Mario immediately knew who it was - it was Red, Ashley's loving assistant. The plumber dug through the clothes and pulled the imp out.

"Funny seeing you-a stuck in there. How'd-a you get in there in the first-a place?"

"Long story short, I got tired of doing Ashley's laundry, and I kinda took a nap inside the laundry basket."

 **Red: Glad King Dedede didn't see me in there...knowing him, he might have tried to eat me...**

"Shouldn't Ashley be taking care of the laundry herself?" asked Mario.

"That's the thing, Ashley can be shy and lonely, and because of this, she doesn't want to be in the laundry room when people are present," explained Red.

Mario seemed to understand what Red was talking about; Ashley, though she has said before she wanted friends, can't stand to be in the vicinity of other people. Remember back when Cloud and the others were decorating the Christmas tree? Pac-Man had to literally _beg_ Ashley to participate, and she did so just to make him shut up.

 **Mario: It is not a good-a sign when-a brawlers are lonely and shy. It's my duty to-a ensure that everyone gets involved and-a engaged!**

"Take-a me to Ashley's room, I'll-a try and reason with-a her," said Mario.

* * *

Red led Mario to Ashley's room, where the young witch was busy making potions.

"Ashley may-a I speak with-a you for a second?" Mario asked kindly.

"What do you want?" asked Ashley. "Can't you see that I'm busy?" Even to genuine guys like Mario, Ashley is still apathetic and distant in terms of behavior.

"I know-a what you want," Mario sat next to Ashley on her bed. "You-a want friends!"

"Not anymore, I do," Ashley responded, not looking away from her potion-making.

"So you want to spend a huge bulk of your life making crappy potions and whatnot?"

Ashley stopped making potions and gave Mario a "watchu talkin' about?" look.

"There are a lot of brawlers living-a in this mansion, which-a means there's a lot-a of opportunities to make-a great friends!" Mario said gleefully.

"Don't expect me to believe in that fallacy," scoffed Ashley.

"It's not-a that hard as you think. Why-a not befriend your roommate?"

Then Mario suddenly remembered - Wario is Ashley's roommate. Nobody wants to be friends with that fat pervert, unless you're King Dedede.

"Alright-a then, how about Sonic? You two are the same-a age..."

"Too arrogant for my tastes," said Ashley.

"Diddy Kong?"

"Spends too much time with his uncle, and occasionally Olimar."

"Ice Climbers?"

"Like I want to be associated with those losers..."

"The Ice Climbers are-a not losers! Ain't that-a right, Red?"

Red chuckled nervously, not wanting to disagree with what Mario had said about the Ice Climbers. Saying the Ice Climbers were considered losers would be a big no-no to say in front of someone like Mario.

"You should-a try and be-a friends with the Ice Climbers," Mario said to Ashley. "Don't you think so?"

"Yeah that sounds like a great idea," agreed Ashley.

 **Ashley: Oh I'll be friends with the Ice Climbers alright...and once I've reeled them in, I'll bake them in my icy hot chicken stew. Sure it sounds a little demented, but the witch from _Hansel and Gretel_ did the same thing to the two children, did she not?**

"I've never had friends other than Red," said Ashley. "What are some activities I should do with the Ice Climbers?"

"Why not-a go on the swings?" suggested Mario.

"But I'm fifteen years of age...wouldn't that be awkward considering my age?"

"Absolutely not, Luigi and I still-a play on the swings in our-a spare time to-a this very day!"

Ashley gave Mario and inquisitive look. Mario and Luigi, two famed heroes of the Mushroom Kingdom in their adult age, playing on the swings? Bowser would have a field day with them if he ever found out about this information.

"Just-a don't tell Peach this," Mario warned Ashley. "That-a goes for you Red..."

Red was nowhere to be found.

* * *

Bowser was "culturing" Shulk in the room that they usually meet. Today's lesson? Hip hop and rap. What could possibly go wrong?

"Never knew Soulja Boy was the greatest rapper of all time!" exclaimed Shulk, who had just learned from Bowser that Nas was a horrible lyricist. "Knuckles has always said that he was hot trash!"

"Knuckles is just a lousy hater, don't ever listen to that guy," Bowser told the Homs. "He's always trying to be black, those dreadlocks are fake if you ask me."

Link entered this room, wanting to know what was going on. Shulk appeared to be learning a lot of stuff from Bowser - at least to the hero of Hyrule.

"What are you two discussing about?" asked Link.

"We're discussing hip hop, and who's the best and worst rappers are," replied Shulk. "Wanna join?"

Link thought this over. He has always wondered what the entertainment world was like apart from the Zora band that performs in central Hyrule Castle Town.

"Sure why not," Link shrugged as he took a seat next to Bowser.

 **Link: Zelda says that Bowser is a bad influence to just about anyone, but I'm not buying it. To me, he's only a bad influence to Mario, always taking L's just to impress Peach. I'd say Bowser likes her more than Mario does, since he goes through drastic measures to capture her all the time.**

"Before we get you involved in this lesson, remember this," began Bowser. "Tupac Shakur, Snoop Dogg, and LL Cool J are all losers and trash. Got it memorized?"

"Gotcha," Link gave the Koopa King a thumbs up. Poor Link has no idea what he's getting himself into...

* * *

Luigi wasn't feeling quite himself today. He slowly began to notice that the brawlers are forgetting that the green-clad plumber exists. Often they walk pass him without looking at him or acknowledging him, and it is really hurting Luigi's self-esteem. Let's take a look at an example that happened today...

"Saw the Kansas City Chiefs shut out the Houston Texans the other day?" Robin was in a conversation with King Dedede in the vending machine room. What does Robin possibly know about football?

"Sure did, that man Brian Hoyer was awful!" replied King Dedede, as he munched down on a bag of Doritios, wasting crumbs all over the floor. Luigi just so happened to enter the room as the conversation continued.

 **King Dedede: I could have done a better job than Hoyer in that playoff game! And I can only throw for a measly five yards! Call me King Checkdown!**

"How far do you think the Chiefs will go in the playoffs?"

Now was Luigi's time to shine. He was probably thinking, "I've waited for far too long for this moment..."

"The Chiefs will-a make it to the Super Bowl!" the plumber proclaimed.

But Robin nor King Dedede paid him any attention.

"Eh, the Patriots will care of the Chiefs," shrugged King Dedede.

Luigi was devastated. This was his only chance to offer his opinion on a sports-related topic not pertaining to the Los Angeles Clippers - it wasn't that he delivered, it's just that nobody cared to listen.

"I think so too," nodded Robin. "If only my Saints had a winning record and went to the postseason..." Robin is a Saints fan?! Since when?!

Feeling greatly disrespected, Luigi left the room, holding his head down in utter sadness.

But a light bulb dinged over his head, meaning he had an idea. An what an idea it was...

* * *

Sonic drove Mega Man and Rush to Dr. Light's laboratory in his sweet blue corvette - which he got Tails and Knuckles to pay for.

 **Sonic: My original plan was to have Jacky pay for my ride. But after finding out, he purposely spent all his hard-earned cash on coconut bars, which was kinda bad on his part, since Peach ate up the bars like she was Pac-Man, and got sick because she was allergic to coconuts. The fact that she didn't know they were coconut bars did not do any justice to blondes everywhere.**

Mega Man held Rush in his lap, feeling a little sad. He just wasn't used to his trusty companion suffering from an illness.

"How about some tunes to keep your spirits up?" Sonic pressed a button on the radio as a song began playing. Sonic sang along with the lyrics...

"I don't need any song to cheer me up..." said Mega Man, but the hedgehog wouldn't listen.

"WE BE ALL NIGHT...LOOOOOOOVE...LOOOOOOOVE..."

"Sonic please stop, your singing is horrible..."

"WE BE ALL NIGHT...LOOOOOOOVE...LOOOOOOOVE..."

"For Pete's sake will you stop already?!"

Sonic stopped singing. Never did Mega Man angrily yell at anyone - unless they were named Lloyd Irving - and for him to yell at Sonic like that - the hedgehog was scared for his life!

 **Mega Man: Sonic can be infuriating at times to be around with. His personality and mannerisms can really rub off the other brawlers.**

"Sorry, man, just wanted to see you happy..." apologized Sonic. "Ever since Rush got sick, you haven't been your usual self..."

Mega Man started to feel a little bad about himself. Sonic was just trying to turn his frown upside down, but he seemingly made things slightly worse.

"I'll stop singing, if it'll make you content," Sonic continued. "I'll leave the radio off as well."

Peace and quiet...exactly what Mega Man wanted right now.

* * *

The Ice Climbers - Nana and Popo - were in the kitchen, making vegetable soup for tonight's dinner. Palutena was originally in charge of making the soup, but the Ice Climbers, being the veggie experts they are, offered to take care of the task, giving Palutena a much-needed break from making dinner.

"Um, excuse me..." Ashley shyly entered the kitchen, standing near the entrance.

"Greetings!" Popo waved to the young witch while Nana was stirring away in the soup pot. "I take it that you're Ashley?" Ashley is so unsociable, that many of the brawlers usually forget that she exists.

"Yes, I'm Ashley...Do you, um...need any assistance with...the vegetable soup?"

"Any assistance is good assistance in our book!" replied Nana.

 **Nana: Ashley is finally coming out of her shell...how sweet!  
Popo: Hold up, who is this Ashley girl again? Think I saw her before...  
Nana: She lives here at the mansion...  
Popo: Oh, I see...is she a newcomer just like Cloud and the others?  
Nana: *sighs***

"Come and step up here on this stool," Nana pulled out a stool and placed it next to her. Ashley did as she was told and got on the stool. It was a little unnerving for her, since this was her first experience cooking with someone other than her assistant, Red.

"Say, Ashley, do you know any spells that could spice up the soup?" asked Popo.

"Why yes I do," replied Ashley. "Though it's bit of a high-risk, high-reward spell. It could make or break the soup."

"Chant this spell right now, I want the soup to be the greatest thing made by man! I wanna knock the brawlers' socks off with this soup!"

"Someone's really into it," chuckled Nana.

"Wario thinks our soup is gonna be terrible...but we're gonna prove him and the others wrong! Wrong, wrong, WRONG!"

"Wario can be such a bad influence to the others..." Nana shook her head.

* * *

Yoshi and Dark Pit were playing a regular game of chess, when all of a sudden...

"Help!" a voice shrieked. "Help-a me!"

"That must be Luigi!" fretted Yoshi. "He must be in dire trouble!"

"Nah, I don't think it's anything serious," Dark Pit remarked as he made his turn. "Luigi is calling out for help on purpose so he could get noticed."

 **Dark Pit: Outside of everyone in the Mario universe, and maybe Isabelle, nobody really cares that much about Luigi. Could be because he's an absolute dork - like Pit! Those two have much more in common than you think!**

"My foot's-a hurt!" wailed Luigi. Wherever he was, he sounds like he needs some serious help.

"I can't bear to listen to his cries of help anymore!" Yoshi got up and ran out of the room in search for Luigi.

"Wait up, man, we haven't finished the chess match yet!" Dark Pit followed after Yoshi. Apparently to him, a chess game is nigh more important than the well-being and status of Luigi.

Yoshi and Dark Pit found Luigi sprawled on the floor in the hallway, his exposed left foot near a curling iron. The foot was burned pretty badly.

"Don't worry Luigi, we are here to save you!" proclaimed Yoshi.

"Who's 'we'?" Dark Pit wondered as Yoshi rushed towards Luigi and tended to his needs.

"How did this happen?"

"It-a was the curling iron!" wailed Luigi. "I stepped-a on it by-a accident and it was on!"

"Without your shoes on?"

"...Nothing wrong with walking around the mansion barefoot!"

"Then why do you have your shoes with you?"

Luigi was close to getting stumped. But he had the perfect reason...

"...So I wouldn't forget them when I put them back on!"

Alright, it may not have been the perfect reason, but it was better than nothing. At least Yoshi accepted it.

"We will carry you to your room!" said Yoshi as he lifted the plumber atop his back.

"Again, who's 'we'?" Dark Pit questioned yet again as Yoshi passed by him.

 **Yoshi: Luigi's foot is burnt pretty badly, and my intense chess game with Dark Pit (which I'm losing in at this very moment) has yet to end! Someone here must be willing to take care of Luigi during his hard times!**

* * *

Outside the mansion, Pit was snooping around Jacky Bryant's new car, hoping to take it for a ride. The famed race car driver stood over his whip, cleaning the hood off.

"You're not taking that car out for a spin, are you?" Pit asked Jacky.

"Nah man," Jacky shook his head. "Me and Wanderlust, we've already taken one too many rides."

 **Pit: Jacky named his car Wanderlust?! Sounds both confusing and inappropriate at the same time! Brain Cheeks would be a more fitting name in my opinion!**

 **Jacky: Wanderlust is the perfect name; it perfectly reflects and embodies how much I desire to travel. Master Hand won't let me travel far from this mansion, though...**

"In that case...do you mind if I drive your car around the block?" asked Pit.

"You can if you wanna..." replied Jacky. "...but I have to see your ID first."

"My ID? Oh...um..." Pit fiddled around, looking for an ID card of some sort. Doing this would show that he actually might have one. Had he done nothing, he would make himself look rather suspicious, and lose his opportunity at riding Jacky's car in the process. It's an either-or situation for the angel.

"I don't have all day you know..." Jacky tapped his foot impatiently. He was starting to act like Sonic, in terms of personality - both are owned by Sega, so it kinda makes sense.

"Got it!" Pit pulled out an ID card - used for riding chariots - and gave it to Jacky. Let's see if it will make or break Pit's chances...

"Well, if you can ride chariots, then there's no reason why you can't operating a moving vehicle," said Jacky after scrutinizing Pit's ID card.

"Aw sweet!" Pit pumped his fist as he leaped into the air.

"Enjoy the ride, man!" Jacky tossed Pit his keys and walked towards the mansion. "Just try not to crash or anything!"

"I won't let you down!"

* * *

Fox and Falco were in the arcade room, playing _Space Invaders._ Falco was playing right now at the moment, and he lost.

"Boo, this game is rigged!" Falco jeered as he walked away, frustrated.

"Aw, Falco, don't be such a sore loser," said Fox.

 **Falco: Since when was I ever a sore loser? I just choose to win a lot, that's all! When I lose, I have to take out my anger and frustration on someone...LUCARIO GET YOUR SCRAWNY BUTT OVER HERE THIS INSTANT, MISTER!**

Red, Ashley's lovely assistant, entered the arcade room and whispered the secret - the one about Mario and Luigi still playing on the swings despite their grown selves - into Fox's ear. The pilot's face turned red as he covered his mouth to prevent himself from laughing.

"What's so funny Fox?" questioned Falco. "Think my loss was the funniest thing ever?! Some pal you're supposed to be!"

"MARIO AND LUIGI STILL PLAY ON THE SWINGS!" Fox blurted out for everyone in the arcade room to hear as he began to laugh.

"Pfft, that's nothing, I stopped relying on the fastball years ago," Falco scoffed before he realized Fox wasn't talking about baseball. "Wait, Mario and Luigi still play on the swings?"

Fox nodded, still holding his mouth from laughing even more. One little peep, and he could startle everyone in the entire mansion.

"On the swing set in the back of the mansion that nobody uses?" asked Pac-Man, who was intrigued - and concerned - about Mario and Luigi's hobbies.

"Never saw anyone else use that swing set, so they could be the only ones..." replied Red.

"As funny as this bit of information may sound, we can't have Bowser learn about this. He'll bully the poor plumbers to death!"

"Forget to share that secret to Bowser! Thanks Pac-Man!"

The imp exited the arcade room. Pac-Man started to feel guilty; Mario and Luigi will have his head for sure!

"Me and my big mouth..." the yellow man uttered.

* * *

"Zelda guess what I learned today!" Link said as he stormed into Zelda's room.

"Well what is it?" asked Zelda. Most of the time Link only learns stuff from going on his little adventures, but him learning something new while at the mansion was a little more special.

"Did you know...that Doc Louis used to be an underground rapper before he began his boxing career?"

Zelda just gave Link a blank stare. The idea that Doc was a rapper, let alone before he got into boxing, was unbelievable and false in every sense of the word.

"Doc has said on numerous occasions that he never got into rap," explained Zelda. "Even if he was a rapper, he wouldn't be a good one at that."

 **Doc Louis: Rap is a genre invented by uneducated brothas trying to use poetry to make dough! Me, I made my dough through boxing! Ain't no way I'm gonna write some wack lines and show them to some so-called music producers to make an income! Nuh uh!**

"Bowser says that Doc Louis was at the height of the underground world!" Link went on. His mind is all messed up now, thanks to you-know-who.

"Link, sit down please," ordered Zelda. Link took a seat next to Zelda. "Bowser was the one who told you all of this, is that correct?"

"Honestly I don't really know." Link was playing games with Zelda. It is unwise to play games with the princess.

"What do you mean by, 'you don't know'?"

"Bowser promised me and Shulk he would get us ice cream if we don't...oh crap."

"Ooh...Bowser is going to pay."

"Hey Zelda, can you help me with something?" Cloud entered the room.

"Does it involve plunging the toilet? Because there's no way I should be doing a task that Wario is responsible for."

"No, you won't have to plunge the toilet. Rather, it has much to do with caretaking..."

* * *

Cloud took Zelda to Luigi's room, and showed the plumber napping on the bed, with a cast on his left foot. Zelda gasped at the very sight of Luigi.

"Will he be okay?" Zelda asked Cloud.

"He'll be just fine," replied Cloud. "His injury could have been much worse, but it's nothing serious."

"How did he hurt himself?"

"By stepping on a hot curling iron - with his bare feet."

"Rosalina owns a curling iron...certainly she must be punished!"

 **Cloud: Luigi's foot injury looks a little suspicious to me...you can't tell me that the guy would just walk around here barefoot. And even if he was carrying his shoes so he won't forget them, he's not forgetful like Robin and Snake. Must be attempting to get some cheap attention...**

Luigi awoke as he stretched out his arms and yawned. After a good nap, it was time for him to annoy those taking care of him, because what injured person lying in a bed wouldn't?

"Fetch-a me a cup-a of coffee!" demanded Luigi. A cup of coffee? Seriously?! "I need-a something to keep-a me awake!" Makes sense...

"If it makes things easier, I'll get the coffee maker and place it on your dresser so you won't have to worry about us doing the work for you," said Cloud.

"Splendid! Make sure you get as much cream as possible!"

So Cloud got the coffee maker, and placed it on Luigi's dresser. The plumber inched towards the appliance, and reached for one of the cups. He got a cup, but dropped it to the floor by accident.

"Could you get-a that for me please?" he asked Cloud. The swordsman sighed and grabbed the cup, giving it to Luigi. "Don't think I can-a reach for the dispenser..."

"Why didn't you say so?!" Cloud frowned as he grabbed the cup from Luigi and pressed a button on the coffee maker, making coffee pour into the cup. He then gave the cup back to Luigi, who took a sip before spitting the coffee out. The drink was brimmed to perfection, and was warm enough for consumption - what could possibly be wrong?

"Blegh, not enough cream!" the plumber grimaced. "Get me some more cream!" He handed the cup back to Cloud.

"You've got to be kidding me..." Cloud took the cup and put some cream in it, before giving it back to Luigi. The plumber took a sip once more, and spat out the coffee yet again. What's the matter this time?!

"Too much cream in this coffee! Take it out this instant!"

"I'm not sure if that's possible..."

"Well make it possible!"

"Um, don't mean to interrupt you, Luigi..." said Zelda, "...but is there any way I can help you?"

"You can massage my feet, if you like."

Zelda decided against this, but went along with it anyway. She sat at the end of the bed, and massaged Luigi's feet, shuddering with every little second.

 **Zelda: It's going to take me forever to desanitize these hands...Knew I should have borrowed Luigi's gloves, though be probably won't let me...**

"Whaddaya mean, you don't-a have biological siblings?" Mario conversed with Corrin as the two entered the room.

"I've been told that I was...kid...napped..." Corrin replied, but trailed off when he saw Zelda massaging Luigi's burnt foot. Something was amiss here...

"Luigi! What-a happened to your foot?!"

"Oh, Mario, it's-a horrible!" wailed Luigi. "I stepped-a on a curling iron while-a it was on, and I burned-a my foot!"

"Say it isn't-a so!" Mario pushed Zelda out of the way and sat on the bed, inspecting Luigi's injured foot. "We need a professional foot massager right away!"

"For your information, Mario, I was already doing a great job..." said Zelda. But Mario completely ignored her. Apparently he needed a professional, not some amateur.

"Corrin, call Jacky Bryant!" ordered Mario. Does Corrin even know how to operate a phone?

"On it!" Corrin opened the window and called out Jacky's name. Corrin has obviously never used a cellular device, ever.

"Use-a my phone!" Mario took out his cell phone and threw it at Corrin, hitting the prince in the head.

"Ow!" Corrin winced, while wondering why Mario would throw his phone in the first place. "You didn't have to throw it at me!" The prince found Jacky Bryant's name under Mario's contact list, and pressed the call button.

* * *

Pit drove Jacky's car through a city near the Smash Mansion. Only thing was, he promised the race car driver he'd only take it for a ride around the block...Pit just played Jacky like a fiddle.

"Yeah, this is the life!" Pit grinned as he drove Jacky's car. His fun came to an abrupt end when several police cars were chasing him.

"Sir you're going too fast!" one of the police officers shouted. "Pull over this instant!"

"Yikes!" Pit exclaimed as he drove even faster, to get away from the police. But the flashing red and blue lights were gaining on him.

Then Mario's caller ID popped up. Jacky has a built-in cell phone in his car!

 **Jacky: Everyone knows a vehicle with a built-in phone is the in thing right now, so I built my own cell phone in my sweet ride! Making calls while on the road is legit! Easier then having to stand all the time when you're calling someone!**

Pit pressed a button on the vehicle to answer the call. Now wasn't the right moment to be on the phone with someone.

"Hello? Is this Jacky Bryant?" Corrin's voice emitted from the speakers. Pit has never been more screwed than he is at this very moment.

"Pit here, Jacky let me drive his car..." replied Pit, sweating from nervousness.

"When you see Jacky, tell him to come over here and...are those sirens?"

"Sirens? What sirens? I don't hear anything..."

Pit couldn't hear anything else, at least for a while, as he crashed Jacky's car into a building, knocking himself out unconscious.

* * *

Sonic and Mega Man arrived at Dr. Light's laboratory. Mega Man grabbed Rush and hurried his way to the front door, with Sonic following after him. The robot knocked on the door three times - the third one to see if anyone would respond. A few seconds later, Roll answered the door.

"Hey Mega Man!" she greeted.

"Hi Roll," responded Mega Man. "Is Dr. Light here? Rush is a little under the weather, and I was wondering if..."

"Yo, Mega Man, that your girlfriend?" asked Sonic.

"She's my sister..." That hedgehog cannot be that dumb...

"You have a sister?! No way! Man I wish I had a sister! That would be legit!"

 **Sonic: How awesome would having a sister be?! Someone who you could share stuff with, and steal from them...if it were allowed, I would adopt my own self a sister!**

"Come right in," Roll let Mega Man and Sonic inside the lab.

"Dr. Light, I'm here!" Mega Man called out. The scientist appeared, holding a flask in his hand.

"Oh my, if it isn't Mega Man!" Dr. Light smiled. "So good to see you again!"

"He looks like Santa Claus," Sonic whispered to Mega Man.

"Be respectful!" Mega Man whispered back.

"Just telling the truth!"

"Rush doesn't look so well...I take it that he's suffering from an illness?"

"He got sick while we were playing catch," Mega Man explained as he handed Rush to Dr. Light, who laid him on a makeshift medical bed.

"Hmmm..." Dr. Light inspected Rush, using methods such as robotic dissection to explore the insides of Rush's body. "I'm afraid Rush might have developed Roboneza..."

"Hey, Dr. Light, how are things going between you and Dr. Wily?" asked Sonic. He should know better than to ask a question like this during a time of peril.

"...Things between the both of us hasn't been going that well."

"Did something happened between you two?"

"...Let's just say Wily chose a path that followed his own accord."

"Dr. Wily got MARRIED?!" Where did Sonic draw this generalization from?! "How is it that he's married, and you're stuck here with some robot you created because you feel lonely inside!"

"Dr. Light, is it okay if I escort Sonic out of here?" Roll asked the scientist.

"Please do..." replied Dr. Light. Roll took Sonic's hand and took him to the front door.

"We'll have a little conversation about this issue!" Sonic called out to Dr. Light as Roll took him outside.

* * *

"Soup's almost ready!" announced Popo after taking a taste test. Thanks to Ashley's help, the Ice Climbers were close to finishing what might perhaps be the greatest soup they have ever made. Palutena just so happened to enter the kitchen when Popo made the announcement.

"Did you say the soup was almost ready?" she asked the Ice Climbers, before taking notice of Ashley. "And did you assist these two in the making of the soup?"

"Guess you could say that..." replied Ashley. She is so shy, she refuses to take any credit.

"Simply wonderful! I knew you had superb cooking skills!"

 **Palutena: I've always wanted Ashley to be my cooking assistant, but it was increasingly hard for her to take up the offer, because of how timid she was. Of course, I would have made Pit my assistant, but he refuses to cook any meat, and he knows how much meat the brawlers consume. Gotta think of it, Wario and King Dedede grow at least ten pounds whenever we eat meat for dinner...maybe I should cut back.**

"Lady Palutena..." Knuckles entered the kitchen, with his head down. He was about to tell the goddess of light some news that will potentially concern her.

"Anything you wish to share with me?" asked Palutena.

"Pit...got in a...car accident."

The words Pit and car accident mentioned in the same breath instantly made Palutena furious.

"Did he ride Jacky's car without permission?!" she frowned. "I thought I told that boy not to go anywhere near that vehicle!"

Soon Pit showed up, flanked by Fox and Falco. He looked a little dizzy...

"Pit what were you thinking?! Driving Jacky's car and crashing his vehicle...what do you have to say for yourself, young man?!"

Pit took a huff as he said the following:

"What's yer name?"

Palutena looked very dumbfounded and worried. How could Pit not know her name? Was it because he suffered memory loss from the car crash?

"Pit, you already know who..." Palutena replied before she was cut off...

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS!" by Pit.

"...As you can tell, Pit has underwent a major personality change," explained Knuckles. "Hopefully it's only temporary..."

"Fox, Falco, why are you here?" asked Nana, who was just as shocked as Palutena was.

"Because apparently Pit made us his lackeys," sighed Falco. "He's our leader of sorts." Being a servant of someone certainly wasn't cutting out for the two pilots.

 **Fox: Ever since Pit suffered from the car crash, his personality has become like that of The Rock. To say the least, it's becoming more and more unbearable every time he opens his mouth. A Larry King personality would be more tolerable.**

"First and foremost, Falco, the term "leader" is really beneath The Pit," said Pit, sounding very macho for some odd reason. "The Pit feels like a more appropriate term would be better...ruler."

"Pit stop acting like this!" scolded Palutena. "I know your personality has been altered, but you don't have to..."

"Hold up, jabroni, before The Pit slaps the taste out of your mouth! You're up in here and you spit your little talk about how the Pit shouldn't act like this and all that nonsense. Well, I'll tell you what, lady, The Pit is gonna go out there tonight and do what do what he does best, and that's lay the smackdown on your roody-poo candy behinds! But that's for another time...let's go boys!"

Pit left the kitchen, with the two pilots following him. Palutena looked distraught, and you can't say you blame her.

* * *

Switching gears, Bowser took on a new subject with his lessons with Link and Shulk. Instead of rap and hip hop, the three were focusing on - wait for it - celebrity deaths. Bowser is sure to have a real dozy with this one.

"Stephen Merchant...is DEAD?!" exclaimed Shulk.

"He hasn't been that much relevant since _The Office_ ended, so the media kinda swept his death under the rug," said Bowser.

"Dick Butkus too?" asked Link.

"Similar scenario; hasn't been heard of since his playing days, meaning that the media completely ignored his passing."

 **Bowser: Why haven't I covered celebrity deaths earlier?! Perhaps the easiest subject I have to "teach"!**

"May I have your attention boys?" Lucina poked her head through the door. "Luigi wants to have a meeting, and he's asking for everyone to attend."

"Tell him Link's and Shulk's learning comes first," said Bowser.

"He's not going to buy it...anyway, this meeting has something to do with his injured foot."

"Luigi injured his foot? BWA HA HA HA!"

"He also plays on the swings with Mario!" said Red, who sneaked inside the room.

"He and Mario play on the swings too?! No wonder that swing set is still sitting outside!"

 **Lucina: Don't know what's so funny, I play on that swing set at times...it makes me feel...like a little kid. Sadly Robin doesn't understand...**

"We will attend this dumb meeting...just to tell everyone the brothers' secret!" stated Bowser.

"I second that!" agreed Link.

"Yeah, that sounds like awesome idea!" Red agreed as well.

"Oh dear..." Lucina facepalmed. Mario's and Luigi's worst nightmare was quickly approaching - and it's all Red's fault.

* * *

Sonic stood outside Dr. Light's laboratory. He was being a nuisance towards the scientist, and Roll had to escort the hedgehog outside and watch over him. The blonde robot was back inside the lab - evidently Sonic irritated her to no end. Mega Man exited the lab, holding Rush in his hands.

"How did it go?" asked Sonic. "Rush is fully healed, right?"

"Not quite," replied Mega Man. "Dr. Light did as much as he could to get Rush back to full strength, but all his effort only got Rush at least half of his strength."

"Uh huh...in that case, I have some good news I wanna share with you."

"What 'good news' could it possibly be?"

"I got Roll's number!" Sonic waved a slip of paper in the air, which had Roll's phone number on it.

"You WHAT?!" Mega Man had shock written all over his face. Sonic must have done extensive begging and indulging to get Roll's number. Either that, or the classic puppy eyes trick.

 **Roll: Sonic threatened that if I didn't give him my cell phone number, he would have gotten himself stung by bees, jump into a nearby lake, and drown to his death. Granted, I knew he wouldn't enact any of those things, but I didn't want to take any chances...**

"Let's just go back to the mansion..." Mega Man breezed past Sonic, heading to the car.

"I'll be calling your sis all day!" Sonic said as he caught up with the robot. He's not thinking about having Roll as a makeshift sibling, is he?

* * *

The brawlers gathered around in the meeting room. Luigi, sitting in a wheelchair with a cast on his injured foot, was at the front of the room, accompanied by Mario.

"Attention everyone!" exclaimed Mario. "We-a have a crisis here. Luigi has-a burnt his foot, after stepping on a curling iron which-a was on! Before we continue any further...who-a did it?!"

Everyone in the room looked at each other, wondering who the culprit was.

"First-a things first - who owns a curling iron?" asked Luigi.

"I do..." Rosalina raised her hand. "...But I didn't misplace it or anything. I was looking for it earlier today, but I couldn't find it."

Luigi nervously fiddled with his fingers. He was making himself look mighty suspicious.

Then Pit burst inside the meeting room, accompanied by Fox and Falco. He was licking a popsicle.

"Where-a have you been?" frowned Mario as he folded his arms.

"Who are you supposed to be?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You heard the Pit, who are you supposed to be?"

"Since you're still-a suffering from memory loss, my name's-a..."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS!"

Mario gaped. Pit sporting a Rock personality was hard for the plumber to process.

 **Pit: The Pit says this: Mario and Luigi think they're just going to have their way with The Pit; you think the Pit is just another roody-poo standing on the corner of Know Your Role Boulevard and Jabroni Drive? Well, The Pit says this- nobody cares about them! Mario and Luigi, it doesn't matter who they are, it doesn't matter what they are, it doesn't matter what they say; it just DOESN'T MATTER. But what matters is that the Pit will prove his point- they only care about ONE MAN being the best brawler, and here in the Smash Mansion, now aptly named Pit Mansion, they all feel The Pit's electricity. Many of The Pit's screaming fans, all in unison, all at the same time, they all chant The Pit's name!  
** **Falco: No one is chanting your name...  
** **Pit: Falco Lombardi, The Pit says this: you run your mouth, you little jabroni roody-poo! You run your mouth: *whines* Well, the sherriff's in town! The sherriff's back in town!**  
 **Falco:...**

"Sit-a down this instant!" ordered Luigi.

"Sit down?" scoffed Pit. "Uh uh, absolutely not. The Pit is gonna layeth the smacketh down on all your candy behinds!"

"Candy behinds?" Yoshi rubbed his hands together rather creepily. "Sounds very delicious..."

"It's not what you think, you pervert," Diddy Kong told him.

"Awwww..."

"Anyway, back-a to the conversation," said Mario. "When-a did you notice your-a curling iron was missing, Rosalina?"

"When I entered my room and saw that it was gone," replied Rosalina. "Peach helped me look for it, but we were unable to find it!"

"So how-a did it get plugged up-a in the hallway?"

Luigi couldn't take it anymore. He had to get the truth out.

"I CONFESS!" he wailed. "IT-A WAS ME!"

The entire room gasped in unison at Luigi's confession. Turns out the plumber injured himself on his own accord.

"Why would you do such a thing, Luigi?" asked Peach.

"No one-a cared about me!" the plumber sobbed. "Injuring myself was a desperate attempt at-a gaining all our attention!"

"Oh, Luigi, you didn't have to do any of that to get attention. There are a lot of us here, meaning that it's hard for everyone to get noticed."

"You're-a right, Princess Peach..." Luigi held his head down in guilt. "I've should-a have known better than to injure myself for a petty reason..."

"Excuse me, everyone, but I have a confession as well," Bowser spoke up. "It's not really a confession, but...MARIO AND LUIGI BOTH PLAY ON THE SWING SET OUTSIDE!"

Not a single person reacted to this, angering Bowser. This was supposed to be his time to humiliate his arch-rivals. But he let out this secret at the worst opportunity possible.

 **Bowser: How dare the brawlers remain silent after that humiliating detail I told! I was expecting boatloads of hysterical laughter and whatnot...but all I get is SILENCE?!  
Shulk: No worries, King Bowser! Pretty sure Mario and Luigi have some other secrets they refuse to share with anyone for you to tell!  
Link: I bet they listen to Justin Bieber...not that I do the same thing!**

"If there-a was a way to heal-a my foot..." Luigi sighed, looking down at his cast.

"Move aside, people!" Ashley and the Ice Climbers burst inside the meeting room with the pot of vegetable soup. "We have a way to cure your foot!"

"You think-a some soup is going to magically heal me? Fat-a chance..."

Ashley fixed Luigi a bowl of soup, and scarfed it down his mouth. The plumber was on the verge of choking.

"Did it work?" asked Mario, once Luigi swallowed down the soup.

"Only one way to find out..." Nana knelt down at Luigi's cast, and pulled it off. The burning was gone! Luigi's foot is healed!

"I'm okay! I'm okay!" the plumber leaped up, his arms raised in the air.

 **Ashley: The spell I chanted earlier...it gave the soup immense healing powers. Whoever eats the soup will instantly be healed. Works for just about anyone.**

"The Pit does not think the soup is able to cure Luigi!" said Pit. "The Pit feels that..."

Ashley fixed another bowl of soup and forced it upon Pit to drink it. After a few seconds...

"Huh? Where am I? How did I get back here?" Pit looked around, feeling confused. Last time he remembered, he was driving Jacky's car, and crashed it.

"Pit, you're okay!" Palutena got up and hugged the angel.

"Uh, yeah, I'm feeling a lot better, and...oh man, Jacky's car! It's completely totaled!"

"Don't sweat it man, it's under Link's name," said Jacky. "He'll be the one paying for my sweet ride!"

"Why me?" whined Link.

"'Cause you got the rupees, man! You're the biggest monetary provider in this mansion!"

 **Link: Knew I should have spent all my rupees on Fyer's cannon ride...Would have set up a bank account, but that would be too confusing for me.**

"We're back!" Sonic announced as he and Mega Man - still holding Rush in his arms - entered the meeting room.

"Where-a have you two-a been all day?" asked Mario. "And what's-a wrong with Rush?"

"Rush is suffering from roboneza..." explained Mega Man. "We went to Dr. Light's laboratory, and he only got Rush to half-strength..."

"Perhaps some soup will heal him!" Ashley fixed yet another bowl of soup and fed it to Rush. In an instant, Rush leaped out of Mega Man's arms and landed on his feet. He leaped into Mega Man arms, and the two were playing with each other - just like any regular dog owner and his pal would.

"I think-a I know who the hero of-a the day is," said Mario, turning his attention to Ashley; everyone else did the same. The young witch has never felt so humbled before, and the nervous looks on her face showed that.

* * *

Now that she felt more relaxed and comfortable than before, Ashley was hanging out in the arcade room, playing _Space Invaders._ Red, her assistant, would join, but he was grounded by Mario for telling his secret to the others.

"Wow! Over 100,000 points!" exclaimed Roy, after Ashley finished playing. "Not bad for a first try!"

"Eh, I could have done better," Ashley shrugged. She was confident that she could beat the score of 110,510 - the highest score in _Space Invaders_ history - but she'll take what she gets.

"Mega Man wanted me to give you this," Proto Man approached Ashley, handing her a present.

"He couldn't give it to me himself?"

"Let's just say that...he's busy playing with a robot's best friend."

Ashley smiled, immediately knowing what Proto Man was referring to.

 **Proto Man: *sighs* Mega Man made me say that dumb, cheesy line. He's gonna pay for that, though.**

Ashley unwrapped her present and opened the box, taken back at what was inside.

"A stuffed bunny?" she took the stuffed animal out of the box. "For me?" Her last stuffed bunny was eviscerated at the hands of the Dunk Hunt dog, and she has been pretty bitter about that incident.

"Looks better than the old one," remarked Roy, referring to the stuffed bunny.

"It's the same exact one..." Proto Man pointed out.

"What...but...how?" Ashley was at a loss for words.

"We helped Mega Man find the gift for you."

Ashley looked behind her, and saw the Ice Climbers.

"You did this...for me?" she asked. An act of kindness was a new thing for her.

"Anything for a friend!" Popo smiled, and Ashley did the same.

Maybe making friends isn't so bad after all.


	5. Episode 5: Romance

**Episode 5: Romance**

Little Mac has never had a girlfriend in his life. That much is a fact.

Though a lot of factors contribute to this. He spends too much time training. He spends too much time hanging out with this boxing trainer and presumed life coach Doc Louis. He spends too much time gesturing in front of the mirror, thinking he's the white Floyd Mayweather Jr.

But all of that was about to change. Little Mac has finally found himself a girl, and as he enters the Smash Mansion and makes his way to the gaming room, he hopes that the announcement he plans to make will make shock waves throughout the mansion.

 **Little Mac: Just got myself a girlfriend to call my own, and now I'm gonna tell the others about it! I've already shared this information with Doc Louis, and he promised that he won't let Wario or Captain Falcon find out. But why do they matter anyway, it's not like some lady is gonna fall for them...**

"Guys, I got some awesome news!" the boxer exclaimed as he entered the gaming room. Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and gave Little Mac their uninvited attention.

"You're joining the knitting club?" asked Yoshi. He, Toad, and their newest member, Ashley, are a part of the knitting club, and the green dinosaur would greatly appreciate it if an athlete like Little Mac would join them.

"Yeah right, like I want to be associated with a bunch of losers and their dumb quilts."

Yoshi hang his head in sadness. But at least he tried...

"So what's the big news, home dawg?" asked K.K. Slider.

"I got a girlfriend...her name...is Fiora!"

Complete and utter silence. Little Mac was grinning, expecting some huge wave of euphoria. But nothing happened.

"Oh...you don't say?" K.K. Slider said nervously as he looked around for Shulk. Fiora is Shulk's best lady friend, and if Shulk heard about Little Mac and Fiora going out...

"How long have you two been going out?" Meta Knight asked, attempting to soothe the awkwardness that resulted from Little Mac's announcement.

"Just for a couple of days," replied Little Mac. "I must say, she's quite the gal!"

 **Wolf: Little Mac doesn't deserve a girlfriend anyways, he spends too much time with his worthless training to have any room for love! In fact, he's practically infatuated with himself!**

"Great to hear that you're finally in love," said Marth, as he rested his hand on Little Mac's shoulder. "Why not go out and buy some presents for Fiora?"

"Good thinking, Marth!" replied Little Mac. "Even though you never had a girlfriend, you always know what is best for a woman!"

"I did have a girlfriend...in fact, I'm actually married..."

"Ha ha, you're also a great comedian as well! Let's go shopping, shall we?"

So Little Mac and Marth headed out the gaming room to get Fiora some presents. Fiora is a excellent cook, some cooking supplies might be the best thing to get her.

"Marth is keeping Little Mac away from Shulk, isn't he?" Mega Man X asked Ganondorf.

"As far has he can..." replied Ganondorf. He knew that this situation will turn out pretty ugly...

* * *

"And that's why Red the Pokemon Trainer doesn't have any real friends!" Sonic said as he was in his room talking on his cellphone...with Roll.

"He usually talks to his Pokemon?" asked Roll. Sonic was telling her about Red, and how he seldom talks to anyone, lest they want to challenge him to a Pokemon battle (which rarely occurs).

 **Sonic: Talking to Roll has been great! She's very friendly, and dare I say it, she might be as smart as Tails. But when I ask her if Dr. Light is dating or engaged, she would always say that he's not interested in love. I would keep telling her to help Dr. Light out and find a girlfriend for his Santa Claus-looking self, but she never obliges. Perhaps I should stop referring to Dr. Light as Santa Claus...that should help!**

"Yo, Sonic, who are you talking to?" Falco asked as he passed by the hedgehog's room. "Got yourself a new girlfriend?"

"Nah, me and Amy, we're still going strong...sort of," replied Sonic. His relationship with Amy Rose is very one-sided - Amy is always telling Sonic how much she loves him, and would constantly send him cards through the mail, though Sonic hardly returns the favor. Same thing with Knuckles' and Rogue's relationship.

"Well who are you talking to then?"

"Mega Man's sister, Roll."

"Sonic what is going on?" asked Roll, as her conversation with Sonic was being interrupted.

"Bruh give me her digits!" Falco entered the room and pulled out his cellphone.

"Sure thing man!" Sonic gave Falco Roll's phone number. Falco isn't that familiar with Roll - only thing he knows about her is that she's related to Mega Man, and that she's a blonde - but it can't hurt to learn more about a person.

"Thanks fam!" Falco gave Sonic some dap and left the room.

"No prob!" Sonic gave Falco a thumbs up as the raptor headed out the room.

"Who was that, Sonic?" asked Roll.

"Just a good acquaintance of mine..."

* * *

Also in his room was Pit, who was grounded until Jacky Bryant is able to afford another car. The race car driver had spent all his hard-earned cash on coconut bars (all gobbled up by Peach) and his other source of income, Link, spent every single one of his rupees on - wait for it - another tunic. One could easily tell that he did this on purpose so no one would ask him for rupees.

But at least Palutena had a familiar face to watch over Pit...

"I am your courage!" the Flying Man proclaimed for a nth time. Pit did not respond; he lied on his bed, miserably. This was absolute torture for him.

 **Flying Man: My civic duty here is to encourage other brawlers, and make them feel content! Therefore, it is my objective to turn Pit's negative into a resounding positive!**

"Sup loser?" Dark Pit greeted his counterpart as he entered the room. "Still grounded for being the delinquent you are?"

"I'm not a delinquent," mumbled Pit. His beef with Dark Pit grows with every time he speaks with him.

"And that dumb bird is back, too? Oh man, this is hilarious!"

"Take him away, please..."

"Why would you want to get rid of me?" asked the Flying Man as he pulled out a guitar. Oh boy... "I can sing songs for you!"

"Please don't..."

Too late. The Flying Man played his guitar as he sang a countrified version of a familiar hip hop tune:

 _I'm a Flying Man_  
 _You can be mean when you look this clean, I'm a Flying Man_  
 _Callin' on me like a young O.G, I'm a Flying Man_  
 _Your needs get met by the street, elegant old-fashioned man_  
 _Yeah, baby, I'm a Flying Man_

"That song does not describe you in any way..." mumbled Pit. He would rather listen to Peach than the Flying Man's horrendous singing.

"It may not be accurate, but you must agree that I am a magnificent singer!" said the Flying Man. Like Pit was gonna follow up this fib...

"Goodbye for now, Pit," said Dark Pit as he left the room. "While you're stuck in here, I'll spend some time with your best bud Kirby!"

Pit definitely wasn't feeling it at this very moment.

* * *

Speaking of feeling it...Shulk and Link were annoying Doc Louis in the mansion's cafe, begging the boxing trainer to spit a few bars for them.

"How many times I gotta tell y'all, I was never a rapper!" Doc attested before taking a sip of his coffee. Sipping caffeine is not going to help your mood, Doc.

 **Link: How do you know if someone is hiding the truth? Good question - the more they deny something, the more likely that they did it!  
Shulk: Just look at NBA superstar Kevin Durant - he's been denying that he took performance enhancing drugs, and once that denial reached a boiling point, it was soon revealed that he's been doping since middle school! His reputation has since took a major hit, and he's never been the same ever again!**

"Look, Doc, we'll stop annoying you, but only if you spit a couple of rhymes for us," said Link.

"And if you don't want to do that...you can just write 'em!" Shulk pulled out a pen and paper, and gave it to Doc. The trainer just gave the two swordsmen a crazy look; either they're that gullible and desperate, or they're very, very persistent. Probably both...

"Fine, if you want some rhymes, then you're gonna get some!" Doc Louis accepted the pen and paper and wrote furiously on a coffee table. The way he was writing, so intensively...you have a feeling that Doc's rhymes were gonna be straight fire. But when he handed Shulk the paper, there were only four lines. All that intensity, and he just wrote four measly lines?!

"Roses are red, violets are blue..." Shulk read Doc's bars. "...Wario is dumb, just like you."

"Now that's a rap!" exclaimed Link, proving that he still knows nothing about the genre. "Best thing I've heard all day!"

 **Doc Louis: What is WRONG with these dudes?! Bowser got them thinking love poems can be considered a rap song!**

"Thank you for your service Doc!" Shulk thanked Doc as he and Link departed. Doc swiped the sweat off his forehead and let out a sigh of relief; he can now continue the rest of his day in peace.

* * *

Mario shuffled through bills and whatnot, with Geno assisting him. Since the plumber is taking over the mansion while Master Hand is away on his "indefinite vacation", he has to fulfill some of Master Hand's tasks, and paying the bills was one of them.

"Water bill, utility bill, light bill..." Mario shuffled through the many bills as he threw them on a pile after reading them. Hopefully Mario will pay for these bills, unless he wants to face some rather dire consequences...

"Um, Mario..." Geno called out the plumber's name, after reading a government letter. The tone of his voice screamed nervousness and concern.

"What-a is it, Geno? Did Wario order another one-a of those perverted magazines? I thought-a I told him to throw-a them out!"

"Wario's pervisions is the least of concern right now..." Geno handed Mario the letter, and his eyes bulged out as he read it.

"Tax-a evasion?!" he exclaimed. He saw that the letter was specifically addressed to _him._

 **Mario: How-a can this be possible?! I don't-a even pay taxes, for-a crying out loud! This must-a be Snake's doing...**

"What shall we do?" asked Geno. He didn't want to get caught up in this mess, so ditching Mario at the last minute would be the way to go in order to keep his reputation and his dignity.

"I think I-a have a plan..." Mario stroked his chin.

* * *

Cloud rested in a hammock, away from the others. After all that happened at the mansion, the blonde felt like he needed some quiet and solitude to ease himself.

But that quiet and solitude came to an end when Mario and Geno approached him.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" Cloud frowned as he took off his sunglasses. "It's not that often I get a chance to relax, you know."

"You have-a money, am I correct?" asked Mario.

"Got an ample amount of munny in my wallet." Cloud hoped that his munny will be able to help Mario in whatever he needed to accomplish. "What's the hitch?"

"We need you to pay the taxes before the government gets to Mario," explained Geno as Mario handed Cloud the letter. Cloud read it, and gave it back to Mario.

"You're-a not gonna help-a us?" questioned Mario. Cloud was apparently his one and only hope.

"Get Wario to pay the taxes for you, he's filthy rich," remarked Cloud, putting his sunglasses back on and went back to his relaxing. "Besides, this is your problem, and not mine."

"Wario would-a be harder to convince! And I don't-a have any money at this-a very moment!" So much for paying those bills...Mario is about to get it now.

 **Geno: In terms of overall desperation, Mario ranks first among the brawlers. He would have someone like Ness write love letters to Peach, since he's too "conflicted" to write them himself.**

"Please, oh-a please, help me, just-a this once..." Mario was literally on his knees begging Cloud to help him with this tax evasion thing. The blonde sighed and gave in to Mario's incentives, but only if he will stop pestering him.

"You got a deal," said Cloud, getting off the hammock and grabbed the letter from Mario. "I'll see what I can do..."

"Why do you trust Cloud of all people?" asked Geno, as Cloud walked away. "He's not necessarily a guy who cares about paying taxes."

"You'll see, Geno..." vowed Mario. "You-a will see..."

* * *

Since his pal Pit is grounded, Kirby thought that now would be the perfect time to hang out with the other brawlers. He was spending time with Villager near the lake fishing; Villager reeled in a Magikarp and threw it back in the water like it was trash. But in all seriousness and obviousness, Magikarp _is_ trash.

"See if you can reel in anything good!" Villager asked Kirby. The pink puffball threw his fishing line in the water, and reeled in...a Gyarados!

"Ooh!" Kirby looked amazed as he gazed at the Atrocious Pokemon. Let's just hope that the Gyarados is a friendly one and won't think about consuming Kirby.

"Aw, you got a Gyarados? No fair!"

 **Villager: Thank goodness Red the Pokemon Trainer didn't go fishing with us, otherwise he would have developed a newfound hatred for Kirby. He never catches a good Pokemon; all he gets is Feebas, which looks like Wario in Magikarp form.**

"Got any room for another fisherman?" Dark Pit appeared, holding a fishing rod. Actually, the fishing rod is his staff, but with a fishing line attached to it. Better than anything he has...

"Wanna join us?" asked Villager. Dark Pit has a ghetto fishing rod, and he asked if there's any room for another fisherman. What should that tell you? C'mon, Villager...

"Of course I do, I think I know a trick that will knock your socks off!"

Dark Pit got near the lake and threw his fishing line in the water. Light surrounded the angel, and immediately the legendary Pokemon Kyogre popped up out of the water.

"Woah how did you do that?!" questioned Villager. You can't help but feel that he's feeling a little salty right about now.

"Power of Pandora, baby!" Dark Pit grinned as Kyogre appeared before him. The clouds gathered and grew darker as thunder and lightning rocked the skies and the rain poured down on Earth's luscious greens.

 **Dark Pit: One of the powers I absorbed from Pandora was the ability to summon those that can create chaos and havoc - hence the reason why I was able to draw Kyogre out of the water. I only use this power only for "special purposes".**

"Dark Pit calm Kyogre down this instant!" Palutena showed up, likely in response to the severe weather.

"How did you know it was me?" asked Dark Pit.

"I'm not dumb..."

Dark Pit sighed and snapped his fingers in disgust. He could probably get past Pit, who is kinda slow and gullible, but there was absolutely no getting past Palutena. The angel knelt in front of Kyogre, and petted him, which caused the dark clouds to disperse and the rain, thunder, and lightning to stop.

"Can we keep him PLEASE?" Dark Pit asked Palutena.

"Only for today," replied Palutena. "But he better be gone by tomorrow!"

* * *

"This is gonna be all sorts of messed up..." Falco snickered as he hid in the closet, dialing Roll's number on his cell phone. Judging by his current candor, the avian pilot is about to engage in some wacky prank-calling.

"Hello who is this?" Roll answered the phone. Here we go...

"Hey girl, How you doin', my name is Charile, last name Wilson..."

"..."

"I was wonderin' if I could take you out, show you a good time, invite you to my house..."

"..."

"Come meet my mother, girl you can call always me...and don't forget it baby, the name is Charlie..."

"'Come meet my mother'?" Viridi opened the closet door after overhearing Falco's entire song.

 **Falco: The mother line is a nice touch if you ask me, it relates perfectly to the previous line and...Fox put me up to this, okay?!**

"Shh!" Falco shushed the Goddess of Nature. No way Viridi was interrupting this perfect prank call.

"Give me that!" Too late. Viridi snatched Falco's cell phone, and saw that it was Roll, making her feel a little worried about the robot's innocence. "Hello?"

"Hi there!" greeted Roll. "You must be Charlie Wilson's mother!"

"You bet I am," Viridi replied while glaring intensively at Falco. Roll suspecting Viridi to be Mrs. Wilson wasn't exactly what Falco had in mind.

"Your son sounds like a very charming man. When may I come over to his house?"

"His house is not ready for any visitors or anything, Charlie is...studying for a college test. He's attending ITT."

"Girl if you don't get..." Falco reached for his cell phone, but Viridi repelled him to the best of her ability.

"Oh, I see..." said Roll, sounding slighlty sad. Why? "Well I hope he does well on his test. Hope we get to talk to each other again in the future!"

"Same here, bye bye!" Viridi promptly ended the call, and handed Falco back his cell phone. "Maybe this will teach you to never again prank call people you're not familiar with!" The Goddess of Nature left the closet.

"I am familiar with Roll!" Falco called out.

"What color is her hair?"

"She's a brunette!"

"BLONDE!"

"...Close enough!"

"So how did it go?" Fox - the conspirator of the prank call - poked his head through the closet.

"Viridi just got us in hot water..." Falco sighed.

* * *

Marth and Little Mac returned from their shopping, both carrying shopping bags full of stuff.

"Can't wait to wrap this stuff up and give it to Fiora!" said an antsy Little Mac.

"Fiora the Homs?" asked Zelda, who present in the foyer.

"That's right! She's the perfect girlfriend! Darn shame Marth never had a girlfriend..."

"I'm married to Caeda..." Marth grumbled. The prince absolutely despises it when people forget that he's happily married.

"Do you mind if I speak with you for a minute?" Zelda grabbed Marth's hand and took him to a room, where they could discuss in private. "Does Shulk know anything about Fiora going out with Little Mac?"

"Not sure, at least to my knowledge."

 **Marth: While we were shopping, I was trying to persuade Little Mac into ending his relationship with Fiora, but he kept preaching all this nonsense about finding love and getting married. He's already married...to _himself._**

"Hey guys what's up?" Shulk came into the room, wondering what Zelda and Marth were discussing. "Did you know that Fidel Castro sold bedroom slippers to make a living before he became prime minister of Cuba?" Apparently Bowser is still feeding him more lies...

"We...never...knew that," responded Zelda, fearful of what horrible things Bowser could be doing to Link.

"The more you know, the more you know...so what are you guys talking about?"

"We're talking about how Little Mac is going out with..." Marth began before Zelda caught him by covering his mouth. One mere mention of Fiora might send Shulk off his rocker.

"Little Mac is going out with who?"

"He's going out with...with...um..." Marth struggled to think of a name.

"...With Cynthia!" Zelda blurted out, citing the Sinnoh League Champion's name. Let's see if Shulk will buy into it...

"Never knew Cynthia was the romantic type," Shulk remarked. "I wish Little Mac and Cynthia the best in their relationship!"

Shulk continued on his way, humming happily to himself. Good thing Zelda stopped Marth just in time, otherwise things would have gotten ugly...

"Thank you, Zelda," thanked Marth. "Had you not covered my mouth, I would have spilled the beans about Little Mac dating Fiora..."

"Little Mac is dating WHO?!" Shulk yelled after overhearing this bit of information. He then embarked on a search for the boxer, and make him pay for stealing his woman.

* * *

Cloud sat in the coffee room and looked over the tax evasion letter, wondering what the heck he was getting himself into. He's simply not cut out for anything like this.

"Why did I agree to this crap..." he shook his head.

"Hey Cloud, wanna hear a funny story?" Iggy Koopa asked the frustrated swordsman.

"Leave me alone..."

"Greetings Cloud, why the long face?" Corrin greeted Cloud.

"I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!" Cloud was ready to grab his Buster Sword and knock some fools out with it.

"But I did nothing wrong..." Corrin held his head in sadness as he left Cloud alone.

 **Corrin: My adopted siblings never treated me like this...Why can't I go live in Hoshido, it's peaceful and quiet, and full of such good people! *sobs***

 **Iggy: Corrin is such a schlub, bothering Cloud even though he's busy. Guess Garon, the king of Nohr, didn't raise him right, unlike my father!**

Iggy left Cloud alone as the swordsman worked tirelessly to get this thing all figured out. Getting Mario out of this tax evasion thing will take a lot of hard work.

"Dumb taxes, why couldn't Mario handle this stuff..." Cloud put his face in his hands, becoming more stressed out. Now he knows what taxpayers go through - the burden is quite strong.

"Paying the taxes, huh?" Wario sat in a chair across from Wario. "Been there, done that..."

"What do you possibly know about paying taxes?"

"Taxes was the only thing I would have to pay! But then I won the lottery, and I didn't want to waste my winnings on some wasteless financial charges!"

"Wasteless financial charges that get you jailed if you refuse to pay them?"

"Lemme tell you something kid..." Wario motioned Cloud to bring his head over, so he could tell him a life story, like he actually needed one from Wario of all people. "This tax thing is all a part of the federal system, and the federal system is absolute garbage! Always cheating you out of your well-earned money...somebody oughta teach those fools a thing or two."

"And just who do you think this 'somebody' might be?"

"I think I know just the gal..."

* * *

"So you want to be called Alph?" Samus asked Alph as she helped the astronaut set up his profile on a dating site. Astronauts gotta love too, you know!

"No, An OG Named Alph," interjected Alph, believing that such a name title would boost his cred. Anyone with OG in their name would have an insurmountable amount of cred, regardless of status and appearance.

"We're still going with Alph."

"No, An OG Named Alph. Like A Tribe Called Quest, you say the whole thing; An OG Named Alph!"

"Can't we just use Alph for short?"

 **Alph: Samus is either insane, delusional, or both. How does she expect me to find the perfect woman if I don't have anything to put me over with the ladies? Using a title like Original Gangster will do plenty of leaps and bounds!**

"Hey hot stuff..."

Samus looked behind her, and just as she suspected, it was Wario, accompanied by Cloud. Only a creeper like Wario would have the gall to call Samus "hot stuff".

"In case you can't see, I'm kinda busy at the moment," said Samus. Involving herself in Wario's shenanigans would eventually lead to even more shenanigans - the type of shenanigans that deals with a certain fatso asking a certain bounty hunter out on a date, which fails 100% of the time.

"Mario has been convicted of tax evasion, and we need you to solve this mess," said Cloud. Samus was instantly convinced.

"You can take over from here, right?" she asked Alph.

"Don't worry about a thing, I got this," assured Alph. Now that Samus is no longer guiding him, he can finally use his OG name...

* * *

"Hey loser, guess what I did today?" Dark Pit asked Pit as he entered the room, holding his makeshift fishing rod.

"I don't care..." mumbled Pit, who was laying face first on his bed. The Flying Man was giving him a back massage; Pit would tell him to stop, but he was too distraught to speak up.

"I caught Kyogre with my awesome fishing rod!" Dark Pit is sure to boast about this feat to the others.

"Your dumb fishing rod can't do crap."

"If that's the case, then how did I make Kyogre appear?"

"He just...wanted to show up, that's all."

 **Flying Man: Pit has been one very sour tomato. I've thought that some storytelling might uplift his spirits, but my story of Waluigi streaking at a soccer match was unable to turn his frown upside down. At this point, nothing can cheer up Pit, not even a bowl of Palutena's chicken curry!  
Pit: *mumbling* Her chicken curry sucks to begin with...  
Flying Man: Pit, say that again about Palutena's cooking, and I will have Captain Falcon paddle you to no end!  
Pit: I'd like to see that happen...**

"Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna spend more time with your buddy," Dark Pit headed out the door. "Have fun being the loser you are!"

Pit grumbled. He knew he should have rode Wario's bike instead.

* * *

Shulk and Link met in the usual room where Bowser teaches them false stuff. Shulk was really extremely salty; after finding out that Little Mac was dating his woman, he searched for the boxer, but he was nowhere to be found.

"Man, you like quite mad," said Link, stating the obvious. "Did someone pee in your cheerios or something?"

"Little Mac peed in my cheerios..." Shulk frowned, with his arms crossed. He was probably thinking of some of the dastardly things he plans to do to Little Mac.

"Aw man, Little Mac peed in your cheerios?!...Did you eat it?"

"Not yet..." Shulk replied, causing Link to grimaced. Way to divert a figure of speech out of context, Shulk.

 **Link: I once peed in Lloyd Irving's oatmeal the other day...all the bathrooms were taken, and I simply couldn't hold it any longer. I would have urinated in the microwave, but that would make a mess. So Lloyd's oatmeal was the only route...**

 **Lloyd: ...I'm NEVER eating Palutena's oatmeal again. Never. Nuh uh!**

"Today we're doing something a little different," Bowser said as he inserted a table inside the room. "Instead of me teaching you guys, I'm gonna have someone else teach you!"

"What is the purpose of this?" asked Link. Bowser must be pulling a prank...

"No reason, I've been teaching for far too long; a good teacher deserves a well-rested break.

"So who's the teacher then?"

"Alright, rookie, come on in!"

Doc Louis entered the room - accompanied by none other than Little Mac. Shulk began to seethe as the boxer took a seat next to his trainer.

 **Shulk: Little Mac...your termination is near...**

"Now if you excuse me, I have some important matters to take care of," said Bowser as he left the room.

"Well, well, well, didn't expect to teach you boys," chuckled Doc. Earlier today, Shulk and Link were bothering him, and now he's in charge of teaching them. Funny how this day has been...

"What's first on the agenda, coach?" asked Little Mac.

"The first thing we'll be learning about is the human body - but mainly the heart. Can you tell these boys about the heart, Little Mac?"

"Sure can do: the heart is the most crucial organ in the human body, and it provides oxygen and nutrients..."

"Shut up about the heart..." interrupted Shulk, sounding very ticked. "Shut up about THE HEART!" The Homs slammed his fists on the table, momentarily freaking everyone out, before calming himself down.

"Moving on to the next organ..." stated Doc. He realized that discussing about the heart isn't the best when Shulk is in the same room with Mr. Steal Yo Girl Little Mac, so he decided to discuss about the stomach instead.

* * *

"Enjoying your cup of tea?" Zelda asked Takamaru, who was a part of Peach's and Zelda's tea party.

"This tea good!" Takamaru eagerly replied with his Engrish-speaking self.

 **Takamaru: Peach tea taste so good! Wish I had year's supply of her tea, would be best year ever!**

"Peach, there's something I've been needing to tell you..." Bowser approached the princess of Mushroom Kingdom, and he felt a little discontent.

"What could it possibly be Bowser?" asked Peach.

"MARIO AND LUIGI PLAY ON THE SWINGS!"

Bowser laughed hysterically while Peach, Zelda, and even Takamaru exchanged blank stares. Bowser is evidently quite persistent about ruining the Mario Bros' reputation.

"I'll be right back..." Peach got up from her seat and left the tea party. Bowser was still laughing like an uncontrollable maniac.

* * *

Peach searched around the mansion for Mario, and found the plumber huddled near a flower pot in a cradle position, sucking his thumb. The Duck Hunt Dog was comforting him.

"I'm a good-a boy, I'm a good-a boy, I'm a good-a boy..." he would repeat over and over again. Clearly he's not feeling quite himself.

"Anything bothering you?" Peach knelt down at Mario.

"Bothering me?" Mario chuckled, getting out of his fetal position. "Ho ho, let's-a not jump to conclusions now, Peach..."

"Have you paid the taxes yet?"

Mario looked around for answers, but couldn't find any. He's now stuck in a giant hole that he can't get himself out of.

"I may-a have..." he replied, "...and I may-a have not."

Peach didn't buy this either way.

"Show me the letter," she ordered. She was on to Mario!

"Letter? What-a letter?" Mario began to sweat nervously. "It's not-a like I gave it to Cloud!"

Mario covered his mouth.

 **Dunk Hunt Dog: *laughs***

"Mario you're better than this!" frowned Peach. "You know Cloud can't handle this situation!"

"You don't-a even know what's going in!" Mario retorted in a lame attempt at deflecting any guilt or suspicion.

"Of course I know what's going on...you didn't pay the taxes because you didn't have any money."

Mario held his head in sadness, and let out a sigh. Peach knew the whole thing.

"Wario was-a supposed to take-a care of the taxes, but he's-a so concerned about his-a money to care," explained Mario. "I had Cloud to take-a care of this whole issue."

"Taxes are beyond Cloud, you should know better than to leave the tax paying in his hands," said Peach.

 **Peach: After all Cloud has done and been through here, I doubt he would want to pay taxes. It just seems so...so...uncharacteristic of him, and very out of place.**

"Why did you put Cloud up to the task in the first place?"

"He-a wouldn't care about-a doing it," explained Mario. "He's pretty chill..."

"His demeanor doesn't entail that he would enjoy handling certain things. Sure he may be relaxed most, or all of the time, but that shouldn't mean he has to take care of everything."

"You're-a right...hopefully the Turks can-a see this through..."

"Th-The Turks?!" Peach's eyes widened. Unless you play _Final Fantasy,_ you'll probably know who the Turks are.

* * *

Inside the gaming room, Falco sat on a couch, and as he was getting adjusted, a pocket dial happened as his cell phone dialed a number. And guess who it was?

"Hello, Charlie Wilson!" Roll's voice emitted from the cell phone, which was conveniently on speakerphone (not convenient for Falco, though). The avian got his cell phone and fiddled around with it before it went out of his hands into some else's hands...Heihachi Mishima. He did what any other rational person would do in this situation - answer the cellphone and see who it was. Because who wouldn't?

"Kon'nichiwa dare ga koredesu?" Heihachi said into the cellphone.

"Oh, you must be Charlie Wilson's father, Mr. Wilson!" Where does Roll get these assumptions from?! "I must say, your son is quite the ladies man!"

 **Heihachi Mishima: Mazu, naze farukochārī U~Iruson wa arimasu ka? Daini ni, dono yō ni kono on'nanoko wa watashi ga chichioyada to katei shimashita ka. Watashi wa ōgoe de nai tame ni mo kekkon shimasen yo!**

"Watashi wa anata ga misutāu~iruson yobidasu kono hito inai yo, gārī, watashi wa anata ni kore o oshiete mimashou," Heihachi explained. "Soshite, chārī U~Iruson? Kare wa jissai ni farukodesu!"

"...Wait, so Charlie Wilson is some persona adopted by Falco Lombardi?" Roll asked, feeling a little saddened for some apparent reason.

"Kare wa anata ni kono zentai no jikan o hatashite imasu!"

"Gimme my phone back!" Falco ran up to Heihachi and wrestled with him over his cellphone, getting it back eventually. "Don't listen to him, babe, he's just trying to mess with your head!"

"I have heard enough!" Roll was beginning to sound very angry... "No longer will I be played by some dumb bird!"

"Who are you calling dumb?!" Falco was getting hot-headed, as usual. It is, after all, his typical behavior.

"Roll who is that?" Dr. Light's voice was overheard on the phone, signaling that things could get rather ugly. "I hear Falco's voice...Let me see the caller ID...Charlie Wilson?! The R&B singer?! This is definitely a prank caller, and it's all Falco's doing!"

 **Falco: What does an old geezer like Dr. Light know about R &B...Sonic must have fed him some knowledge he gained from Knuckles.**

"I'm sorry, Dr. Light, I didn't know..." apologized Roll.

"Enough!" boomed Dr. Light. "From now on, I'm cutting every phone line to the Smash Mansion! Falco Lombardi, considered yourself screwed! Good day, sir!"

And with that, the robot inventor ended the call. Falco become overridden with guilt - what if Mega Man finds out about this?

"Daremoga yōkyū shita baai, watashi wa koko ni imasendeshita," Heihachi quietly left the gaming room. Fox approached Falco.

"How did it go?" he asked a mortified Falco.

"We're done for..." Falco muttered. He knew Fox would have done a better job at this prank-calling thing.

"Oh man, I've been trying to call Roll, but her number's blocked!" panicked Sonic, who was in a far part of the gaming room. "This must be Dr. Light's doing! That Santa Claus-looking, non-romantic beardface is gonna pay!"

"Yeah we're definitely done for..." remarked Fox. Should have stopped the prank-calling charades while there was a chance...

* * *

Little Mac was in the dressing room, wearing a suit and bowtie. He was about to go on a date with Fiora; Rosalina and Lucina were patching him up.

"My goodness, Little Mac, you look more dapper than a manikin displayed at a clothing store past midnight!" remarked Doc Louis. Not sure what he means by that.

"Uh, thanks Doc," thanked Little Mac. The boxer was feeling nervous; he's never been on a date before.

 **Little Mac: Many embarrassing things can happen during my first date. Like wetting myself, accidentally spilling food over Fiora, or making a funny noise that humiliates me in front of everyone. Out of all these things, I hope I would only wet myself, since no one would ever suspect a thing (at least for the moment being).**

"Are you sure you still want to go on your date?" asked Lucina. "Shulk is still bitter about..."

"Speaking of Shulk, he has been very salty as of late," Little Mac interrupted. "I remember when Doc Louis was teaching him and Link some stuff, and I was present, and every time I looked at Shulk, he was seething at me..."

"Leave him alone Mac, he's just mad he don't got a girlfriend," stated Doc Louis. No matter the situation, Doc will always be behind Little Mac's back.

"...Or maybe he's mad that a certain someone stole his lover from him," Rosalina pointed out.

"Somebody stole Shulk's girlfriend?! Who could do such a thing?!"

Rosalina and Lucina both facepalmed. Little Mac is sure to catch some hands from Shulk.

* * *

Once he was finished being tidied up, Little Mac confidently walked through the hallways, giving people random smirks, as Doc Louis followed after him.

"You da man Mac, show these folks what's up!" said the boxing trainer. Had he not got into boxing, Doc would have made for an excellent hype man (and not an underground rapper, as Bowser convinced Link and Shulk he was).

"Don't you look like the handsome lad," Bayonetta remarked as Little Mac gave her a cheesy grin.

"Tonight is the night I go out on my first date!" explained Little Mac. "Still got the butterflies in my stomach..."

"Them butterflies shouldn't be in your stomach, they need to be floatin'!" exclaimed Doc. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee!" Little Mac isn't in a boxing ring, Doc...

"Cheeky..." smiled Bayonetta. "Funny I should mention this, but I'm going out on my first date as well! And it's at the French restaurant down the street!"

 **Bayonetta: It's been a long time in the making, but my boyfriend, Luka Redgrave, has finally asked me out on a date. Though he showed more confidence and poise than Fox did when he asked Krystal out...**

"That French restaurant owned by the guy with the funny mustache?" asked Little Mac. "My date is there as well! What a coincidence!"

"If you like, Bayonetta, I can drive you there," offered Doc. Despite his serious visage, Doc can be quite the gentleman.

"That would be lovely..." Bayonetta obliged.

* * *

Mr. Game & Watch was busy adjusting a vase on a hallway dresser when he saw Shulk walk past him, his head drooping. He looks a little...defeated, to say the least.

"It's hopeless..." the Homs sighed. "Fiora doesn't love me anymore...she loves that loser Little Mac instead..."

Mr. Game & Watch overheard this and gave Shulk a comforting pat on the back.

"...How come she don't love me, man!" Shulk wailed, prompting Mr. Game & Watch to give the Homs a comforting, sympathetic hug. He really needed one right now.

* * *

"Mario, I need to speak with you for a second," Cloud went inside the plumber's room, and found Mario on his bed sipping a cup of tea. Wario and Samus were accompanying Cloud.

"Have-a you done what I've asked?" asked Mario. After speaking with Peach, he decided to rest in his room and relieve himself. This whole tax evasion thing was starting to get inside his head.

"Not quite yet. Wario and Samus here are going to help me work this tax evasion thing out."

"Two Turks from-a the federal agency are-a supposed to meet you at the French-a restaurant. That's-a where they want-a to handle the issue, and find a solution."

 **Cloud: Did Mario just say...Turks? He can't mean what I think he's trying to say...**

"The restaurant is just down the street, right?" asked Samus.

"Precisely," Mario nodded. "You can't-a miss it!"

"Can't wait to spend all my money on their grub!" Wario smiled evilly, rubbing his hands together like a prototypical villain. This fatso is willing to help Mario get out of this tax evasion fiasco, and he wants to spend money on French cuisine. His priorities are clearly out of wack.

"Also while-a you're there, tell the restaurant owner he-a owes me twenty bucks!"

"Twenty bucks? For what?"

"For-a 'accidentally' giving me a plate of salad-a dressing, when I-a wanted chicken salad!"

"Should have just given that plate to me..."

 **Wario: A regular plate of salad isn't really that appetizing to me. But a plate of salad _dressing_?! Now that would hit the spot!**

* * *

As they waited for Bayonetta to finish changing our clothes - which shouldn't take long, considering she wears a suit - Little Mac and Doc Louis were chilling in the foyer. Little Mac was feeling anxious about his first date - so anxious, he was pacing back and forth, hoping he won't mess things up.

"Why you gotta worry yourself Mac, it's just your first date!" Doc tried to cool Little Mac down. Although Doc never went on a date in his life, he didn't want his protege to stress himself out.

"Key word: first," stated Little Mac. "I've never been on a date before! It could be the best experience of my life, or an absolute blunder..."

"Dang Mac, you like mighty sharp!" King K. Rool said to Little Mac. "Just a reminder, be on the lookout for Shulk. He's still ticked at you for stealing his..."

"...His wallet!" Snake answered as he covered Rool's mouth from spilling any information. "One more peep, and you're toast..." the former agent whispered in the Kremling's ear.

 **King K. Rool: Little Mac has got to know sooner or later! Otherwise Shulk might perform a sneak attack on him, and seriously injure him! But on the plus side, it would be able to humble him...**

Bayonetta came down the stairs, wearing a rather flirtatious skirt. Little Mac, Doc Louis, King K. Rool, and Snake were all gazing at her.

"You can look...but you can't touch," the Umbra Witch remarked. Rool fainted on the floor; no one bothered to save him (because who would want to save a villain?).

"Ready to go?" asked Doc, checking Bayonetta out.

"Ready as you are..."

So Mac, Doc, and Bayonetta headed out the front door, and to Doc's car.

"Why is Bayonetta going with them?" Yoshi asked Snake.

"She appears to be going on a date with some guy," explained Snake. "Luka Redgrave, I think his name is..."

"NOOOOO! My fanfic stories pairing you and Bayonetta, all wasted!" Yoshi began to sob, and it was the pettiest reason for sobbing.

"Get a life man..." Snake walked away, before his codec went off. "It's Snake...I'm here..."

"It's-a me, Mario..." a certain Italian voice emitted from the codec. "I have a favor to ask-a of you..."

* * *

"Got some great news for you, Pit!" Palutena poked her head through Pit's door. The angel was half-asleep. "MegaMan .EXE's creator, Yuichiro Hikari, afforded Jacky Bryant another car - which is just like his old one - which means you're now off the hook! You're no longer grounded!"

"I'M FREE!" Pit awoke from his half-sleep and shouted from the top of his lungs. "So long, Flying Man!" The angel ran past out of his room and past Palutena.

"See you around, dear lad!" said the Flying Man as he cut his toenails with a toenail clipper. Since he's a bird, it was a bit of a struggle for him.

Pit raced through the hallways, acting like a crazed maniac who was released from his prison cell, until he ran into his doppelganger, Dark Pit.

"Sneaking out of your room, huh?" smirked Dark Pit.

"I'M NO LONGER GROUNDED!" Pit shook Dark Pit silly, until his doppelganger stopped him.

 **Dark Pit: Mr. Hikari just had to afford Jacky another car...I was running the show around here while Pit was on punishment! Flirted with the ladies, played ping-pong with the Donkey and Diddy Kong, fishing with Kirby and Villager and catching freaking Kyogre...Pit could never accomplish any of those things!**

"Whoop-pee-do..." said Dark Pit. Why couldn't Pit be grounded for a few months? Life at the mansion without him was becoming bearable.

"Where's Kyogre?!" Pit asked excitedly. "I wanna see Kyogre! Show me!"

"I can show Kyogre to you, but only on one condition..."

* * *

Little Mac, Doc Louis, and Bayonetta arrived at the French restaurant. Once inside, Bayonetta saw her boyfriend, Luka Redgrave, seated at a table motioning to her.

"Enjoy your time, Little Mac...while I enjoy mine," Bayonetta said to Mac as she headed towards the table Luka was sitting at. Mac was sweating more than usual; the nerves are getting to him!

"No need to sweat, Mac, it's just a date!" Doc comforted him. "Just remember your training and everything I taught you, and apply it here on your date!"

"Where is Fiora anyway?" Little Mac searched for the Homs, and found her, wearing a red dress, seated at a far table.

"Go to her Mac, go to her!" Doc pushed Mac forward. "Remember your training!"

Everyone in the restaurant gave Doc a weird look. Why was he yelling at Mac like that in an establishment like this?

Also present at the restaurant was Cloud, Wario, and Samus. Cloud had the tax evasion letter rested on the table. He hoped that he can work this whole situation out as soon as possible so he could return to his solitude. The wait was finally over for the three when two familiar Turks - Reno and Rude took a seat at the table. What were they doing here? Are they federal agents?

"Reno? Rude?" Cloud glanced at the two Turks, just as perplexed as Wario and Samus were. "So you guys work for the federal government now?"

"Yes, but only momentarily," answered Rude, who rarely says anything at all, making this a near-accomplishment. "It's a long story..." Another line! Rude is on a roll here.

 **Reno: Rude and I are working for the federal government part-time so we could get a paycheck. Veld "claims" he didn't feel like giving us one, so we joined the federal government so we can earn a paycheck there.**

"Now let's see what you got here..." Reno grabbed the letter and read it. "Tax evasion, eh?"

"Mario has been convicted of attempting to avoid paying taxes," explained Wario. "And we want you to put an end to this mess!"

"Well...I can see what me and Rude can do."

Back to Little Mac. After using the restroom to relieve himself...from worry and fear, Little Mac finally went to the table Fiora was sitting at, and sat down across from the Homs.

"Hello there, Fiora," he greeted, taking note of Fiora's visage. "You look quite desolate; anything wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong, I'm fine," assured Fiora. "I'm just...thinking about some things." You're on a date woman, there's no time for thinking!

"Whatever things you're thinking about will have to wait. Right now, tonight's the night for our...date with destiny."

This caused Fiora to smile a little. Doc Louis, who was watching from afar like a creep, couldn't help but grin.

 **Doc Louis: Ah, I remember when Mac encountered Fiora at a shopping mall, on that very day...She said she wanted to go out, and Mac quickly obliged! He gave the right hook of love, and he absolutely delivered! Proud of that boy...**

* * *

Watching the negotiations with the Turks was Snake and Mega Man, who were hiding in the ceiling. Mario had asked of Snake to investigate the negotiations, in case Reno or Rude tried to pull something funny. The former spy had Mega Man to tag along.

 **Snake: To think Mario wanted me to come over to his room and play chess with him...turns out he wanted me to spy on the Turks! How many times to I have to tell that man I'm retired?!**

 **Mega Man: Every passing day Snake acts more like a cranky old man that berates everyone. Accelerated age must be such a terrible procedure. Thanks goodness I'm a robot...**

Also in the ceiling was Toon Link and Pichu. They were tasked to keep a lookout for Shulk, in the event he ambushes the restaurant and throws some hands at Little Mac.

"Keep your eyes peeled, Pichu," Toon Link looked at Little Mac and Fiora conversing through his binoculars. "Shulk might strike at any minute, when we least expect it..."

"Pichu pichu!" Pichu tugged Toon Link's tunic and pointed at a waiter, who had white hair, clammy skin, and a mustache.

"Why does that guy look so familiar..."

* * *

"So how's the journalism thing coming along?" Bayonetta asked Luka. Luka is not only a journalist, but an escape artist as well! Must be grueling to juggle between those two.

"Not so good," Luka grunted. "Rodin's still having me deliver flyers. I keep telling him that it's a waste of my time, but the guy just won't listen..."

 **Luka: In order to receive new information, I have to deliver those dumb flyers. Being an escape artist, I would try to wiggle myself out of his predicament, though I'm not in the business of taking huge risks. Leave that stuff to Bayonetta!**

"How may I help you two today?" the clammy-skinned waiter arrived at Bayonetta's and Luka's table.

"Give me the finest steak you have!" ordered Bayonetta.

"Just give me some tenderloins," ordered Luka. He's still trying to work this whole date thing out.

"I will be right back with your order," the waiter departed, and headed to Cloud's table. "Do any of you care to eat?"

"No thank you, we're here to discuss some important business," replied Samus. "We're not really hungry at the moment."

"Gimme the most expensive thing you got!" Wario handed the waiter his credit card. Priorities aren't a thing to this fatso when it comes to food.

"Very well then," the waiter accepted the card. "I'll be back shortly..." the waiter walked away.

"Wario, we have no time to dine here!" scolded Cloud. Wario was on the verge of losing Cloud's patience.

"But my stomach, it needs food!" Wario complained, acting like he has never ate a day in his life.

"Ahem," Reno cleared his throat, garnering the attention of everyone at the table. "We have come to a conclusion. This tax evasion...is a fraud!"

"A fraud?" Cloud raised an eyebrow. "So someone was purposely setting up Mario?"

"Seems like it. The only thing we need to do know is find out the culprit..."

"Sorry, everyone, but I'm afraid you all have to leave," the waiter returned to Cloud's table.

"I haven't even got my food yet!" complained Wario. No way was he leaving without some grub.

"You're little discussion is proving to be quite a distraction for the other restaurant goers, so I need you all to...

"Freeze!" Snake dropped down from the ceiling and landed on the floor, perfectly and unscathed. Mega Man...not so much. The robot was rubbing his bosom as he slowly got up from the floor. Toon Link and Pichu followed suit, and leaped down from the ceiling.

"What are you folks doing here?" frowned Doc Louis. "Tryna ruin Mac's date?!"

 **Toon Link: Doc is too invested into Little Mac. Whether it's taking a driving test, or playing against Falco in _Space Invaders,_ the man has to be involved in every aspect of Mac's life.**

"We are not here to ruin dates," stated Snake. "This man..." he pointed at the waiter, "...is a culprit!"

"You got me..." the waiter smiled evilly as he took off his mustache and pulled his hair down in the front, revealing himself to be...

"Ghirahim?!" exclaimed Toon Link. "I knew it was you!"

"Don't think you can ruin my date and get away with it!" Little Mac got up and quickly got on the offensive. He can't have the Demon Lord ruin his perfect night, not during a time like this.

"You know this creep?" asked Fiora.

"Know him? He screwed me out of like, two matches! He definitely owes me one!"

"Two lousy matches...?"

"Things are getting rather cheeky up in here..." remarked Bayonetta. Didn't expect a guy like Ghirahim to make a scene at a fine-dining, French restaurant, but she'll take it either way.

"Uh, I should probably go now," Luka got up and exited the restaurant while he could, not wanting to partake in whatever's about to happen.

"Tell us the truth!" demanded Snake. "You were the one who set up Mario for tax evasion!"

"Someone here simply knows too much, don't they?" Ghirahim snarled. "The tax fraud ploy was a prank to get back at Mario for spilling drink all over me and throwing a tantrum about not getting his chicken salad!"

"...That's what this is all about?" Samus looked slightly dumbfounded. Certainly there has to be more to this story than just chicken salad and spilling liquid and having a tantrum.

"Yes, this prank has a very petty reason behind it...But that blasted plumber embarrassed me in front of the whole restaurant! Ever since I've been brought back to life after the defeat of Demise, I've been doomed to forever work as a lonesome waiter, while making a useless appearance as a summon every now and then, for the rest of my miserable life! But once I revive my master, the whole world shall bow down to the Demon Lord - and the Demon King!"

"Not if we have anything to do about it!" Toon Link fired his arrows at Ghirahim, but the Demon Lord teleported to dodge every attack. Everyone in the restaurant save for the brawlers and Fiora screamed and ran out. The restaurant owner ran out as well...but only to chase after his customers and reel them back in.

"I'm gonna need some backup!" Mega Man pulled out his phone (why would he even need one?) and called Dr. Light - but the call was blocked. "Dr. Light has my number blocked?! What for?! How am I supposed to call out Beat now?!"

 **Snake: We're up against the Demon Lord Ghirahim, and Mega Man wants to call out Beat...dumb bird would die in an instant.  
** **Mega Man: DON'T THINK I HEARD THAT!**

Suddenly the roof of the restaurant broke off. Who was responsible for this, you might ask? Kyogre, who was floating above the establishment, with Pit and Dark Pit on top of him.

"Yahoo!" screamed Pit. "This is awesome!"

"Quit acting like a little child!" scolded Dark Pit. "We have no time for your silliness!"

"About time you got here!" Wario called out to Dark Pit.

 **Wario: I was present outside when I saw Dark Pit catch that Kyogre, and after I heard about Mario's tax evasion dealio, I thought, "Why not take this legendary Pokemon out for a spin and find out if there's an underlying culprit behind this case?" My plan worked out perfectly...Mario and the others can never take my intelligence for granted again!**

"Ooh, some legendary Pokemon is going to stop me!" Ghirahim sarcastically acted scared and frightened. "I'm sooo scared!"

"Kyogre..." said Pit, "...Hydro Pump."

The Sea Basin Pokemon let out a squirted a ginormous stream of water out of his mouth at Ghirahim, and the force of the stream was strong enough to knock the Demon Lord far, far away.

"Don't think this is the last you'll see me!" Ghirahim's voice echoed from afar. "I will be back!"

"Thank goodness he's gone," remarked Cloud. "And thank you two for helping us sort that tax thing out," he thanked Reno and Rude.

"We are glad that we could be of assistance," said Rude. He actually said another line! This one's for the record books!

"See ya around," Reno said as he and Rude left the French restaurant. Though rivals, Cloud and the Turks get along pretty nicely.

"Do you still want to continue the date?" Little Mac asked Fiora as he sat back down.

"Yeah, um..." Fiora tersely replied, indicating she might have a load to say. "Remember back at the mall when we met, and we were talking with one another, and I mentioned something about wanting to go out?"

"Well duh, I said yes the next second!"

"You never let me finish...I said I wanted to go out...with _Shulk._ "

Little Mac had a very dumbfounded expression written on his face. Now he knows why Shulk was so angry with him today.

"Oh, I see..." the boxer said. "We can still be friends, right?"

"Of course we can still be friends. Once you get back to the mansion, tell Shulk I'm waiting for our date. Can you do that for me?"

"Heard ya loud and clear," Little Mac gave a resounding thumbs up.

"Guess I should be going home now...good night, Little Mac."

"And good night to you...friend."

Fiora smiled as she left the restaurant. Doc Louis came up to Mac after witnessing what just transpired.

"So how did I do?" asked Mac.

"You did great, son..." replied Doc, proudly patting his protege on his back. "...You did great."


	6. Episode 6: Felicia

**Episode 6: Felicia**

All the brawlers in the mansion gathered around in the lecture hall, and not a single person knew exactly why. There was no seminar. There was no lecture of any sort. Bowser had handed out flyers to everyone, convincing - or in this case, ordering - everyone to come to the lecture hall. A giant video screen was at the front, leading many to assume they were watching a movie.

"I told that Bowser that movie night isn't until two weeks!" frowned Peach. She orders the usual food for a movie - popcorn, candy, nachos, and roast beef sandwiches, for whatever reason (might have been Shulk's idea) - and for Bowser to show everyone a film earlier than usual has Peach all rattled up.

"Bowser is no where to be found," Proto Man searched for the Koopa King, but was unable to find him. "Hope this isn't another one of his pranks..."

 **Proto Man: Everyone says that Villager is the master prankster, but Bowser, oh Bowser, his pranks put Villager's to shame. There was this one time when he put a bunch of fake spiders in a toilet, and Diddy Kong just happened to find these fake arachnids in the toilet bowl...poor guy hasn't been able to use the bathroom for quite some time now.**

 **Diddy Kong: Sp-sp-spiders...h-hiding in the toilet...w-what if they're b-b-bigger...in PUBLIC RESTROOMS?!**

"So glad to see you all gathered here this morning!" Bowser appeared on-stage, rubbing his hands together. "Before anyone gets to eat breakfast, I want to show you guys a quick video!"

"Aw man, we're not watching a movie?" moaned Sonic. "I wanna see _A Nightmare on Elm Street_!" Sonic has a strange hankering for rated R movies - he says that they have more "edge" than the Disney movies he despises to watch.

"You're not even old enough to see that movie," Peach pointed out, noting that Sonic is only fifteen years of age. "Besides, it's not even appropriate to watch. Think of the children!"

"That's why we should do a separate movie night - without the children! They can watch their dumb _Frozen_ movie for all I care!"

"Didn't you watch _Frozen_ with Tails at the movie theater?"asked Lucina. Sonic's eyes widened; he thought he discarded the evidence - his movie ticket - so no one would ever know.

"Nah, me and Tails saw _12 Years a Slave._ Tails really enjoyed that movie...right buddy?"

"Yeah I sure did..." replied Tails, "...just as much as how you enjoyed that _My Little Pony_ film from the 80s." Getting back at Sonic is always a really awesome feeling for Tails.

"I paid you $50 not to say that out loud, buster!"

"How dare you take the attention from me!" bellowed Bowser. When someone takes the attention away from King Bowser, then somebody is gonna have to pay (ha ha, a rhyme!). "I shall prank you, Peach, Lucina, and Tails for interrupting me!"

"Nice going, Sonic..." groaned Lucina. Sonic simply shrugged, like he had nothing to do with it. Honestly he couldn't care less if Bowser pranked him or not - he'll be one step ahead of the curve.

 **Lucina: Bowser has pranked me at least five times in just one day. One day! If he pranks me again, and it's because of Sonic, than that hedgehog is going to wish he had Amy Rose to save him.**

"Today you'll be watching a video, and it is about one important subject...fire safety!" Bowser spoke. Given how sincere he is speaking, he's evidently cares a bunch about fire safety, for whatever reason.

"Who are-a you to talk about-a fire safety?" questioned Mario, reflecting on his past experiences and battles with Bowser. "Have-a you not looked at-a the intricate and dangerous design-a of your castles' interiors?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, my kids get through the castles easily! Ain't that right, kiddies?"

"Yes sir!" Morton gave Bowser a thumbs up.

"Best castle designer of all time!" added Lemmy. "The G.O.A.T!"

"And for your information, Mario, this fire safety thing was your idea!" Bowser pointed at Mario. The plumber looked at the Koopa King all crazily.

"No it was-a YOUR idea!" retorted Mario. "You were literally begging on-a your knees, asking me if you-a could rent this lecture-a hall!"

"Must have been one of your weird dreams. You should really consult Dr. Snoozemore on Pi'illo Island, maybe he can find a valid solution for the strange dreams you been having lately."

Mario folded his arms and sat back in his seat. Bowser may have got him this time, but the next time the plumber will reign victorious.

"Time for the video to begin!" Bowser pulled out a remote and pressed a button...but the video didn't play. "Whoops, wrong remote," Bowser threw the remote away and reached into his nonexistent pocket to get another remote, and pressed the button. A scene of the Duck Hunt dog wearing a firefighter hat appeared on the video screen; there were already whispers about the validity of this video.

"Welcome, brawlers, to the greatest video you'll ever see!" the narrator narrated, speaking for the Dunk Hunt dog. "In this video, you'll learn everything there is to know about fire safety, and how you can apply what you learned to everyday life! Now let's begin!"

 **Dunban: Somehow Bowser's video became cheesy well under a minute. The narrator's voice sounds like some fat guy reading a Dr. Seuss book while trying to hold his breath in.**

The next scene of the video showed the Duck Hunt Dog seated near a smoke alarm and licking his...erm, private parts. Not an very amusing sight in the slightest.

"Whenever there's a fire, a smoke alarm like this will go off!" explained the narrator, acting like none of the brawlers know this stuff already. "If the smoke alarm goes off, everyone must exit the mansion immediately!"

"Duck Hunt Dog, why are you licking your privates like that?" Mega Man asked, entering the screen. A fire bomb was thrown at his direction, and he caught on fire. "Gaaah I'm on fire!"

"Stop, drop, and roll man!"

"What does Roll have to do with me being on fire?"

"ROLL ON THE FLOOR YOU NINNY!"

So Mega Man did as he was told, rolling on the floor.

"Not on the carpet!" yelled the narrator. "Oh, never mind...so as you can see, the stop, drop, and roll technique can be quite effective, if done properly..."

"I'm still on fire!" Mega Man wailed. "Someone get the fire extinguisher!"

The Duck Hunt Dog got a fire extinguisher and sprayed over Mega Man. The robot was no longer on fire.

"Thanks, Duck Hunt Dog," thanked Mega Man.

"You are very, very welcome!" replied the narrator, speaking for the canine. "That is all for now, hope you enjoyed this educational video!"

The _fin_ screen appeared on the video screen, effectively ending this rather interesting fire safety video. Bowser came on stage, hoping the brawlers might have learned a thing or two from the video.

"So, did you guys learn anything?" Bowser asked the uninterested crowd. How could they possibly learn something, when they're already supposed to know this stuff?

"I learned that if you're on fire, it's never good to roll around on a carpet or any other flammable surface!" exclaimed Lloyd, acting like he learnt something.

"Good job, Lloyd, you'll be prank-free for the rest of the week!"

"Awesome sauce!" cheered Lloyd. Today is Friday, in this point of time in the story, so Lloyd shouldn't be overly happy.

 **Lloyd: No pranks means no distractions for me! Now I can finally concentrate and write my love letter to Viridi...not that I actually like her or anything!**

"Such an utter waste of my time," Akira Yuki got up and left the lecture hall, just like everyone else.

"Can't believe we had to hold off breakfast for this," the Black Knight shook his head as he exited the hall.

"Don't leave now, I got free donuts!" Bowser enticed the brawlers. He didn't have any donuts to begin with, but you can't fault him for trying.

The only brawler left remaining in the lecture hall was Lloyd. Not even Bowser's children wanted to stay over. The swordsman just sat in his seat, and bellowed the following:

"VIRIDI I LOVE YOU!"

Uh oh, another romantic instance. You probably know how this might go down.

* * *

 **Bowser: Apparently no one learned a single thing from my instructional fire safety video, except for Lloyd maybe. Either they didn't listen, or they straight up didn't care. How are they supposed to know how to react when there's a fire?! Since they didn't want to learn from the video, they're gonna have to learn the hard way...They say that smoking hurts everyone, but today...smoking will be the biggest benefit ever.**

The brawlers were all in the dining room, eating Palutena's fabulous breakfast. If you couldn't tell, there was a strong tint of sarcasm in that last part of the previous sentence.

"Knuckles would you pass the syrup already?!" Snake yelled at the echidna. "Syrup is meant for pouring, not drinking!"

"But I saw Lil Wayne drink syrup not so long ago!" defended Knuckles as he continued to drink the syrup like a madman. Hope he knows that other fellow brawlers have to use the syrup too...

"Lil Wayne was definitely drinking cough syrup," Falco pointed out. "Just because he did it and he's black doesn't mean you have to do the same thing."

"Who cares about Lil Wayne, that brotha's crappy poems ain't getting him nowhere!" ranteed Doc Louis. His anti-rap stance is evidently quite strong.

"If nowhere leads to a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, then that's the road I would take!" exclaimed Shulk. Lil Wayne has yet to receive this prestigious honor. But you know who told Shulk this false information.

"Wait..." Zelda sniffed, smelling something. "Why do I smell smoke?"

"Palutena did-a you leave the oven on?" Mario asked the goddess. Palutena is prone to leaving the oven on at times, and these incidences nearly caused the mansion to burn down.

"I remembered to turn it off this time, no need to worry Mario," assured Palutena.

"Pika pika pika!" Pikachu ran into the dining room, and tried to alert the brawlers that there's an issue at hand.

"A fire broke out in the printing room?!" Red the Pokemon Trainer interpreted what Pikachu was saying. "And it's spreading throughout the mansion?! Why didn't you do anything?!" Because Pikachu's an electric Pokemon and his moves won't put out the fire? C'mon, Red, you're making Ash Ketchum look like a genius.

"Greninja and I shall investigate!" proclaimed Corrin. Greninja hit the prince of Nohr with the snuggle bear look; an independent frog like him wishes to go alone. "Let's go!" Corrin grabbed Greninja's hand and went away to go tackle the fire. Oh, and the printing room? It's near the vicinity of the dining room. Oh joy...

"I can see smoke coming out of the garbage can!" Ness pointed at the garbage can, which had smoke coming out of it. The smoke alarm went off.

"A fire must be in there!" Peach panicked, and soon everyone else panicked. Everybody got up and ran out of the dining room...or so they could.

"The dining room doors locked!" Alph tried to open the door, but to no avail. "Corrin must have locked the doors by accident!"

"Imbecile!" Mewtwo teleported away, leaving everyone else to fend for themselves.

"No-a need to be afraid everyone, I got-a it covered!" assured Mario, but during this time of panic, not a single person was listening to him.

"More food for me, heh heh!" Wario stayed behind and gobbled up the breakfast food on the table. When there's unattended food left, Wario has to strike at the most opportune moment.

 **Wario: The brawlers are in a state of panic, and food's left on the table? It's like Christmas, but a whole lot better!**

"Bye Felicia!" Knuckles said as he tried to jump out of a window...but failed miserably, since since he was unable to break the window. Now he hurt his poor noggin because of his idiotic thinking.

"Felicia is here?" Corrin's voice was heard from behind the doors. "Felicia, oh Felicia, where are you?"

"Corrin you're supposed to be putting out the fire!" Nana shrieked, as smoke made its way inside the dining room. Just what the brawlers needed...

"But Felicia could be in grave danger! I have to ensure she is safe, or my father will my head for sure!"

"FELICIA DOESN'T EVEN LIVE HERE!"

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong were collecting all their bananas. Because it's pretty obvious bananas are more of a higher priority than your own safety.

"Where should we keep these bananas?" Diddy asked his uncle.

"In the toilets, no one will find them there!" replied Donkey Kong. Truth be told, if someone were to use one of the toilets...never mind.

"But spiders are in the toilets! They'll eat up our bananas!"

"Spiders don't eat bananas, my boy, they eat insects!"

"But us monkeys eat insects! We are supposed to be at the top of the food chain!"

"Monkeys aren't on the top of the food chain, my boy, they're a step below the tigers!"

"But tigers are...just forget about it."

Mega Man tried to call Dr. Light, so he could call water-based Robot Master to help put Corrin and Greninja out the fire (i.e. Dive Man, Bubble Man, etc.) but the call wouldn't work. If you recall from the previous episode, Dr. Light cut off all communications because of Falco's silly prank-calling. What if Mega Man needed some good advice on what dance moves to execute in a dance battle, and he needed to ask Dr. Light for assistance? Did Dr. Light not think of that?!

"Why won't Dr. Light pick up the phone?" Mega Man wondered.

"I dunno, man, it's not like Dr. Light cut off the phone lines or anything..." replied Falco. If he's gonna receive any blame, might as well do it now...

"Dr. Light would never do such a thing! He is a man of integrity and honesty!"

 **Sonic: Dr. Light, a man of integrity... *laughs hysterically* Dude doesn't even have a girlfriend!**

"We're all gonna die!" Roy pulled his hair out, a habit most people do when they're stuck on a highly complicated math question. The swordsman got knocked out of the way by King K. Rool, who was trying to find a way out.

"Hiyah!" the Kremling threw a chair at a window, breaking it; Rool went through the window, but got stuck due to his fatness. "Um, a little help here?"

The garbage can was knocked down by Ludwig, who was running about frantically, and the carpet caught on fire. Mr. Game & Watch should have known better than to have carpet floor instead of hardwood.

"Another fire!" shrieked King Dedede. "Somebody get us out of here! I can't go out like this...Wario why are you eating my waffles?!"

"Shut up and let me eat, while you guys find a solution to this mess!" responded Wario, as he continued to gobble up all the food. Does he not realize that scarfing down food like this will make him even more overweight?!

Just when you thought things couldn't get anymore chaotic...Slippy Toad fell through the ceiling and landed on top of Snake, causing him to fall backwards into the breakfast table...which went into the fire, making it bigger in the process.

"Slippy what are you doing here?!" frowned Fox. Wasn't Peppy Hare supposed to be watching over Slippy?

"I just wanted to come over here and tell you and Falco hi!" replied Slippy. How he made his way into the mansion - let alone in the _ceiling_ \- remains to be seen.

"YOU CAME ALL THE WAY HERE JUST FOR THAT?!"

"...Is that a crime?"

The Flying Man tried to escape via air vent, but he wouldn't budge. So Toon Link, Yoshi, K.K. Slider, and the male Inkling offered to help him through. Boy, what a mess it was.

"I don't know whose butt I'm touching..." the male Inkling said as he pushed with all his might. "...but they better not..."

Yoshi passed gas in the Inkling's face. So much for that.

While the Flying Man was struggling with the air vent, which was at ground level, Wolf tried to escape through the ceiling vent. Somehow he got his head stuck.

"Anyone using this?" Mega Man X held up the grille for the ceiling vent. "Ah well, your loss is my gain!" The robot threw the grille at a window, breaking it in the process.

"FREEDOM!" Toad cheered as he jumped out of the broken window. Isabelle, Olimar, and Lucas all followed suit, with Cloud's pet Chocobo flying out of the broken window.

"Cloud Jr. get back here this instant!" commanded Cloud.

"Cloud Jr?" Dark Pit raised an eyebrow. Cloud could have named his Chocobo plenty of names, like Zack, Vincent, or maybe even Noctis...but Cloud Jr?

"Don't judge me!"

"The fire has been dispatched!" Corrin called out from the dining room doors. "The problem has been resolved!"

"There's another fire in-a here!" yelled Luigi. "Come here quick!"

Some budging was heard from the other side of the dining room doors. Corrin and Greninja can't seem to open them. What gives?

"Mario use your F.L.U.D.D!" Peach said to Mario. The plumber whipped out the trusty water device, and sprayed water on the raging fire. For some odd reason, nothing happened.

"This fire just won't go down without a fight!" said the F.L.U.D.D. "It's almost invincible!"

The four Pac-Man ghosts - Inky, Blinky, Cindy, and Clyde - appeared and hovered around the dining room, celebrating the chaos that ensued.

"Their noises!" Little Mac covered his ears to block out the noise the ghosts were making. "Make it stop!"

"I have to use the bathroom!" Alph did the world-famous pee pee dance. He could burst at literally any moment!

"Pee in someone's oatmeal!" suggested Link, finding a way to get out of this calamity. "I did that to Lloyd!"

"So THAT'S why my oatmeal tasted funny!" said Lloyd...only to barf outside the broken window.

The Duck Hunt Dog and Rush were digging a hole in the dining room, hoping to dig a tunnel for escape. These dogs have more smarts than the likes of the Flying Man and Wolf, who are both still stuck.

"I can't take this anymore!" Gilgamesh jumped down the hole, only for a fire to erupt out of it. "...It was totally worth it!"

"Where is this fire coming from?!" Pac-Man exasperatedly wondered.

"Better question is: where's Bowser?" wondered Virid. The Koopa Kong was absent during breakfast.

"Congratulations, you all passed!"

Soon enough, Bowser broke through the dining room doors, holding Corrin and Greninja in both of his arms, as the flames died down. The two were most likely exhausted. A smoke machine was behind him.

"We...passed?" Meta Knight looked a little dumbfounded, just like everyone else...everyone else except for Wario, who was still gobbling up food like madman. Watch him throw up the food later.

"You all passed the fire safety test!" explained Bowser. "Nobody died or got seriously injured!"

"Why was there fire underground?" asked Villager. "And how was there fire in the garbage can?"

"Those were awesome pyrotechnics Slippy helped me with; I can turn them out with the snap of my fingers. Slippy also rigged the smoke alarms too." So that's why Mario was unable to put out the fire..and why Slippy Toad of all people is here.

 **Slippy: Bowser kidnapped me while I was at Peppy Hare's residence! He must really like me if he wanted to kidnap me!**

 **Bowser: I just knocked on Peppy's door and asked him if I could borrow Slippy for a minute. He handed the bullfrog over to me without hesitation, and allowed me to keep him for as long as I like!**

"Bowser...I despise you," Mario glared down Bowser, for pulling off this prank.

"Appreciate you too, buddy!" Bowser gave his arch nemesis a hug. Poor Mario was suffocating from Bowser's grasp.

Suddenly Captain Falcon fell to the floor with a thud. The Wii Fit Trainer ran over to him and checked his heart, and then his pulse.

"Someone help me carry Falcon to his room!" she said. Dunban offered to help; he and the Wii Fit Trainer carried Captain Falcon outside the dining room, and to safety. The two noticed that there was gum stuck to the dining room doors...hmmm.

"No more pranks out of you," Mario sternly told Bowser as he cleaned up the mess. No pranking for Bowser? The Koopa King is going to have to get adjusted to this.

* * *

"Your vitals are all okay!" the Wii Fit Trainer said to Captain Falcon, who was resting in a bed in the fitness center. The trainer had just checked the racer's vitals after he had passed out from the smoke. Falcon was in good condition; on another note, no one got seriously injured from Bowser's "fire test".

"Does that mean I can move around like a normal human being?" asked Falcon. Evidently he hasn't paid much attention the last time he was at the hospital.

"You can move as freely as you like!"

"In that case...you wanna go out tonight?"

The Wii Fit Trainer just stared down Captain Falcon. She helped him wake up from his unconsciousness...and THIS is how he repays her?!

 **Wii Fit Trainer: Captain Falcon has got to be the biggest try-hard on the planet. It's not so much he tries one pathetic attempt after another, it's that he asks women out at the worst opportune time...but Wario is a tad worse though.**

"Have any of you seen Felicia?" Corrin entered the fitness center. Apparently he still thinks Felicia is still inside the mansion.

"Felicia was never here in the mansion to begin with," smiled the Wii Fit Trainer.

"But I recall Knuckles saying goodbye to her..."

"Knuckles was using a popular phrase from a movie."

"Felicia is in a movie?!" Corrin has completely lost it... "I shall rescue her!" The prince ran out of the fitness center, embarking on a quest to save his maid.

"Is it just me, or is he sheltered?" Captain Falcon asked, inquiring about Corrin's social behavior.

"Growing up with adopted siblings might be an underlying reason," presumed the Wii Fit Trainer. Corrin does have a lot of adopted siblings...and a rather antagonistic father in Garon to boot.

* * *

"Go," Fox showed his friend Slippy Toad out the front door, hoping he would return to Peppy's place. But the bullfrog wouldn't budge.

"Can I stay for just a little longer?" asked Slippy. He had some unfinished business to take care of - and it involved Ganondorf.

"I said GO!" Fox yelled at the top of his lungs; Slippy hopped away in fear. After cooling down, Fox went to the dining room, which was restored, as well as the rest of the mansion. Mr. Game & Watch is a very wonderful housekeeper. Speaking of Mr. Game & Watch, the 2D man was washing the dishes...and Wario had to rinse them. Most likely a punishment for what he did that morning.

 **Wario: You know what's worse than having to rinse dishes? Buying breakfast for nearly a hundred people! Those losers should have known better than to leave their food unattended during a time of crisis! Now they've drained me of the money I was gonna bathe in!**

"Serves you right, pal," Fox slapped Wario on his back. It's a great pleasure when Wario is doing work - something he despises the most.

"Get me out of this junk!" the fatso pleaded to Fox. A single minute of washing/rinsing dishes was tolerable enough for him, but anything over was simply too much to handle.

"No can do. It's about time you learn the consequences for your actions."

"Consequences are for bratty school children! I'm not a little kid!"

"Keep crying..." Fox reached for a banana on a kitchen counter, but there was nothing there. "Hey, what happened to all the bananas?"

* * *

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong rummaged through the mansion carrying bananas, looking for the perfect place to store their precious food. They figured that in a time of emergency (i.e. fire, bombing, villainous attack, Wario letting out a fart so foul and toxic it would disintegrate the mansion) the bananas should be placed somewhere safe and free from harm.

 **Donkey Kong: The worst part about this mansion is that there's no basement, and no attic. Master Hand thought that having one would be unnecessary.  
** **Diddy Kong: We live in the state of Washington, and since Washington doesn't receive any tornadoes...  
Donkey Kong: Washington gets earthquakes, for crying out loud! Did Master Hand not think the floor-plan of the mansion through?!**

The monkeys made their way to the vending room, and thought it would be a good idea to store their bananas one of the vending machines. So they took the drinks out of the soda vending machine, threw them out of the window, and replaced them with bananas, before continuing on their merry way like nothing happened. Ike went into the vending room and ordered a drink from the vending machine...but all he got was a banana. The swordsman got mad real quick - no one pranks Ike and gets away with it.

"Bowser must have been behind this!" he growled. Only a prankster like him would replace sodas in the vending machine with bananas.

Link entered the vending room and inserted a dollar he had borrowed into an adjacent vending machine - and got himself a bag of chips. How was it that one vending machine was vandalized, but not the other?

"Something wrong?" Link asked Ike, who was pointing at the hero of Hyrule with his mouth agape.

"You got chips, and I got a stinking banana!" Ike pouted. "I think someone messed with this vending machine!"

"Let me see," Link inserted another dollar he borrowed (when you're out of rupees, you gotta carry cash) into the soda vending machine, and got a banana. "This is quite the peculiar case..."

"The Ice Climbers are in charge of the vending machines, aren't they? Perhaps this was their doing!"

"Ice Climbers don't even like bananas, or fruit in general...but I honestly see where you're going with this."

* * *

Viridi merrily skipped through the hallways, thinking about a certain someone. That someone you might ask is Pit, and believe it or not, she has been quietly harboring a major crush on him. Don't even deny this - you saw the images of Pit and Viridi together on Google.

 **Viridi: Pit may be dim-witted and all...but he is SO cute! I shall win his heart eventually, if the time persists. Nobody will come in my way between Pit and I, not even...**

"Hey Viridi, what's happening?" a familiar echidna stopped Viridi in her tracks. Knuckles rushed out of a room and greeted the goddess.

"Can't you see I'm busy?" frowned Viridi. Knuckles is the kind of person you _least_ want to talk to when you're enjoying time by yourself.

"So skipping through the halls like a lunatic is considered being busy?"

"I was thinking, okay?!" This is why Viridi dislikes talking to people like Knuckles - asking unnecessary questions.

"Thinking about what exactly?"

"None of your business."

"Tell me your secret and I'll tell you mine!" Knuckles is so persistent.

"I...I'm in love with Pit."

Knuckles's jaw literally dropped to the floor. He couldn't believe this at all...Viridi was never in love with Toon Link?! Had Yoshi - an amateur writer of romantic fanfiction - told him wrong?

 **Knuckles: From my perspective of things, Viridi isn't really the romantic type. She nags way too much, and it can really tick any boyfriend of hers off. And she's in love with Pit, of all people? What girl in their right mind would wanna go out with that dummy? But hey, if the two can make their relationship work like Wanda and Cosmo from _Fairly Odd Parents..._ then the sky's the limit for them.**

"Since you told me your secret, I will tell you mine," said Knuckles. "I want to be...a rap artist!"

Viridi gave Knuckles a dumbfounded look when he revealed this. Everyone not named Doc Louis would be perfectly fine with Knuckles's career choice.

"Knuckles, you're already a hip-hop/rap aficionado, don't know how that's a secret," said Viridi, convincing Knuckles he doesn't have to hide his career outlook from others.

"Thing is, I want to be the greatest rapper ever - the Tupac Shakur of the animal kingdom - but my rhymes are all wack. No one will ever take me seriously...but perhaps you can help out."

"In what way?" Viridi raised an eyebrow, hoping Knuckles wouldn't give a ridiculous offer, like scrubbing his feet for instance - he put Greninja up to it, and the ninja Pokemon would never associate himself with Knuckles after that.

"You help me with my budding rap career...and I'll help you win Pit's heart."

Viridi stroked her chin as she mulled over this offer. Was it truly worth it?

"You got a deal!" the goddess shook Knuckle's hands.

* * *

In his room, Lloyd was working furiously on his love letter to Viridi. He had to make sure every detail, punctuation, and romantic remark was perfect, otherwise Viridi would reject his letter.

"When she sees this letter, she'll find it hard not to fall in love with me..." Lloyd grinned. Once he was finished with the letter, he got up from the desk and went to go find Viridi.

"Lloyd I need to ask you a serious question," Lucario confronted the swordsman.

"Not now, I'm looking for my new love," Lloyd ran past Lucario, not wanting to speak with the aura Pokemon.

 **Lucario: It's hopeless...how am I supposed to know if the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri is an actual parabola? Lloyd was my only hope...and what's this about his "new love"?**

* * *

Corrin's search for his maid, Felicia, led him to the mansion's ball pit room, hoping to find clues about the "movie" she's stuck in. Ryu, for some odd reason, was enjoying himself in the ball pit. Usually he's off training and whatnot, so to see him in this location was a little off.

"Done training?" Corrin inquired.

"After a hard day's work, a good fighter must rest and relax!" explained Ryu, speaking as if he was an informant from a TV fitness commercial. "I have decided to select the ball pit as my 'chill zone', so to speak."

"There's other 'chill zones' in the mansion...like the fitness center."

"Wii Fit Trainer was hitting on me the other day - and it wasn't the physical type either!"

"...the library..."

"It's too boring for my tastes, and Gil complains about my snoring whenever I fall asleep from boredom!"

"...the meditation room..."

"Why chill in there when Lucario always hogs the room?"

"...Well, I can't think of anything else. Anyway, have you seen my maid Felicia anywhere? I've heard that she was stuck in a movie..."

"Maids are not welcome here, unless they have the approval of Master Hand!"

 **Ryu: Master Hand looks at maids and servants the same way he looks at basements, attics, and massaging chairs - worthless and not worth the money!**

"But if you're looking for someone stuck in a movie, I would suggested going to the movie room!" Ryu continued.

"Felicia has to be there, she has to!" Corrin left the room and made his way to the movie room. This guy is so lost.

* * *

"I have confiscated all of Bowser's pranking items!" Isabelle said to Mario, after raiding Bowser's closet of banana peels, whoopee cushions, fake birth certificates, and the like. "He shall never prank again!"

"Excellent-a work!" Mario commended Isabelle for a job well done. He was grateful to have someone like her as an assistant.

"Link and Ike have alerted me about one of the vending machines; apparently someone replaced the sodas with bananas."

"Who-a would do such a thing?"

"They suspect the Ice Climbers to be the perpetrators. Makes no sense if you ask me."

"The Ice Climbers are-a good people, pranks are beyond-a them!"

 **Mario: I've known-a the Ice Climber since the _Melee_ days, and they're the most generous people I've-a ever met! When I came-a down with the cold, Nana and Popo gave-a me a very thoughtful gift - a tomato plushie! Luigi didn't-a even get me a thing!**

Mario and Isabelle looked for the Ice Climbers, and ask them if they had anything to do with the vending machine. They would find Popo and Nana with Ashley, refurnishing the young witch's goblet.

"You guys didn't have to do this, I could have done it myself," Ashley said, sounding a bit flattered. People rarely do nice things for her, and she's now finding it very commonplace with the Ice Climbers.

"No it's fine, young-witch-girl-I'm-not-yet-familiar-with, we're just doing you a huge solid!" Popo smiled as he painted Ashley's goblet. He still doesn't know her name.

"Ice Climbers, we-a need to talk!" Mario confronted the Ice Climbers. "The sodas in-a one of the vending machines was-a replaced with bananas, and Ike and-a Link think you two are-a the culprits!"

"We would never do such a thing!" said Nana, bewildered by the accusation.

"I think-a they're lying..." Mario whispered to Isabelle.

"Because Nana claims that they have nothing to do with the prank?" Isabelle whispered back, not following along with Mario's logic.

 **Popo: Being the dignified people that we are, we wouldn't stoop as low as vandalizing a vending machine! Wario is the type of person that would do such a disgraceful act!  
Nana: You must really be obsessed with that guy...**

"The Ice Climbers have no part in this," Ashley defended the duo. "Villager is the resident prankster, isn't he? You should go consult him. Or maybe Bowser, he might have done the prank during the 'fire drill'."

"Villager has-a been very smug-a lately..." Mario pondered over Ashley's suggestion. He can't help but feel that Villager's smile is a facade for him to get away with acts of treachery and malice. But Bowser on the other hand embodies those two traits. "We will speak with-a him and Bowser immediately!"

* * *

Now that he got the chance to hang out with Kirby again, Pit could finally do what he always wanted to do for the longest - fart on other people. The guy who did this prank must be proud of himself.

The first victim was Gil. He was exiting the bathroom, minding his own business, when Pit "farted" on him. Kirby provided the sound effects.

"Dude why would you do that for?!" frowned Gil. What person in their right mind would want to fart on someone, regardless of whether it's a prank or not? Only Pit...

"C'mon man, just have some fun!" the angel grinned, slapping Gil on the back. The de facto librarian whipped out his sword, willing to give Pit a peace of his mind.

"You want some, come get some..." Gil stared down Pit. In a situation like this, Pit instantly knew the right thing to do.

"Run!" he and Kirby ran from Gil at the speed of light. Gil drew his sword back; he'll get his revenge on Pit for another time.

 **Gil: Pit has no business to be farting on others...that's Wario's job. Yet people complain about Kirby not having any manners...**

Lucina was the next victim. She was resting on a sofa in the lounge, reading the latest edition of _Swordsman Weekly._ Pit sneaked up on her and "farted" on her, causing Lucina to jump up out of the couch and wield her sword.

"State your business here!" she asked Pit. Kirby grabbed the _Swordsman Weekly_ magazine Lucina dropped on the floor, and sat down and read it. Perhaps he could get some pointers about sword-fighting.

"Chill out, Lucy, it was just a joke!" Pit tried to calm Lucina down, but it was no use. Lucina chased Pit throughout the lounge, swinging her sword left and right, while Kirby continued reading _Swordsman Weekly._ Whatever the puffball was reading must be a very entertaining read.

 **Kirby: Ooh wah! *holds up the magazine, points to an article featuring Isaac from _Golden Sun_ ***

A few minutes passed, and Knuckles entered the lounge. He found Pit mangled on the floor, and Lucina reading _Swordsman Weekly_ with Kirby. The echidna ran towards the angel.

"Pit what happened to you man?!" Knuckles asked. His plan to get Pit to fall in love with Viridi won't work if the angel is feeling sore.

"He beat up his own self," remarked Lucina. After a good beating, she needed some time to unwind.

"You beat up your own self?! Why didn't you tell me you're a masochist? Good thing for you, there's a masochist club just down the street from here; it's very low on membership, and it needs..."

"Take me to...Viridi's room..." murmured Pit. Knuckles looked quite astonished; his plan to get Viridi to win Pit's heart was moving more smoothly than he expected!

"Anything for you, Pit!" the echidna placed Pit over his shoulders and carried him out of the lounge.

* * *

Sonic, Doc Louis, and, Mega Man Zero, and MegaMan .EXE where in the movie room - a room that had a library collection of movies from the past and the present. The four were shuffling through movies, deciding which one the brawlers would watch for movie in two weeks. Peach had them prepare in advance in the event any complications arise.

"How about this flick instead?" Sonic handed .EXE a disc reading _"50 Shades of Black"_ \- a Rated R movie. The hedgehog's agenda of watching explicit movies on movie night will not end.

"Bootleg movies and rated-R movies are not allowed," .EXE threw the disk away. "We need a movie that will appeal to everyone!"

"Try _Selma_ , that movie's appealin'!" suggested Doc Louis. His suggestion is far more reasonable than Sonic's.

"The young children wouldn't understand what's going on, so _Selma_ is out of the question," replied Zero. Doc held his head in sadness. _Selma_ is his favorite movie, and the fact that the young brawlers won't be able to enjoy watching it as much as he does truly breaks his heart.

 **Doc Louis: Them ladies should start a school in the mansion and teach them youngins about what us blacks went through, like them slavery times, and the civil rights movement, and minimum wage, and Donald Trump...but they should just focus mainly on the first two parts!**

"Have any of you seen Felicia?" Corrin entered the room and asked the gentlemen.

"Felicia Day?" Sonic raised an eyebrow, under the assumption Corrin is part of the nerd/geek culture.

"No, the Felicia I'm looking for doesn't have a last name. She's my..."

"Oh you must be looking for Felicia, from the movie _Friday_!" exclaimed Doc. Guy sure knows a lot about African American movies...

"Felicia is in a movie?! I must go find her immediately!"

"Step on that pad over there and we'll take you there," Zero pointed to a teleportation device, connected to a television. Corrin stepped on said device, as .EXE searched for the movie _Friday,_ with Doc providing unwanted assistance. He really cares about this movie...Once .EXE found the movie, he popped the disc into a DVD player and pushed play.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked Corrin, unsure of what might unfold.

"Please send me in that movie, I have to see Felicia," begged Corrin. Sooner or later he's gonna regret this...

"Okay then," .EXE pressed a button on the DVD player, and Corrin was instantly warped inside the movie _Friday._ He replaced Red (played by DJ Pooh) in a scene that included Craig Jones (played by Ice Cube). Craig had no idea Corrin replaced Red.

 **Zero: The teleportation device works like this: when someone teleports inside a movie, they replace a certain character. Corrin just replaced Red, and he'll take his place and namesake until he finds Felicia.**

Craig's best friend, Smokey (played by Chris Tucker) hurriedly came running towards Craig and Corrin, and took a seat next to Craig. Some big trouble is clearly ahead.

"Here come Deebo..." Smokey said to Craig.

"Who?" Craig raised an eyebrow.

"Dee-bo!"Smokey repeated as he hid his golden bling. Craig did the same; Corrin had no idea what was going on. "Yo Red, hide yo sword, Deebo coming!" Smokey said to Corrin.

"Who's Deebo?" wondered Corrin, still confused. Smokey would question him, but now's not the time; Deebo came towards the three riding on his bike, with some dramatic music playing in the background. Big trouble is definitely coming towards the three gentlemen.

"Can't you like, fast-forward to when Felicia appears?" Sonic asked Zero, concerned for Corrin's well-being.

"No can do, we have to let the movie play out," replied Zero. "Rewinding or fast-forwarding a movie when someone teleported inside it will disrupt the time-space-movie continuum, and jeopardize that person."

"Time-space-movie continuum? Never heard of that..."

Deebo stopped his bike and got off, walking towards the three and frowning just like any other angry black man would. Craig, Smokey, and Corrin tried to play it cool.

"Sup y'all?" greeted Deebo. Unwritten Rule #56: Keep quiet when an angry black man greets you. "Wassup Red, thanks for the bike!" Deebo said to Corrin, who made a "Huh?" face.

"What bike...?" wondered Corrin. Questions like these will get him beat up.

"Don't play dumb with me, Red! You got my 40, homie?"

"I thought you had $200," said Craig.

"I do, but I want to spend Red's money."

"Who's Red?" Corrin asked yet again. Corrin, now would be the time to keep quiet.

"Give it up Red!" Surprisingly Deebo hasn't knocked Corrin out yet.

"Come on, Deebo, stall him out," Craig defended Corrin, during his time of confusion and bewilderment.

"What you got on my 40, homie?"

"I'm not carrying any cash..." replied Corrin. About time he kept in touch with the scene...

"Yeah, you got something..." Deebo took Corrin's sword. Since the prince didn't carry a gold necklace, his sword would do.

"Give me my sword back!"

"Shut up or I'll knock your sorry behind out!" Deebo ain't playing.

"Why don't you give him back his sword?" Smokey spoke up for Corrin as he stood up to face Deebo. (About time he said something...) Deebo stared him down.

"What sword?" When an angry black man stares you down, you feel very uncomfortable.

"Yeah, what sword..." Smokey clearly knows that feeling, since he sat back down in his chair. Deebo got on his bike, and rode away with Corrin's sword in hand.

"They took the man's sword!" Doc pointed at the screen. "How is that not disrupting the time-space-movie continuum?"

"Corrin can get his sword back at a later time in the movie," explained .EXE. "And if he is unable to..."

 **MegaMan .EXE: Items teleported inside a movie can be very disastrous. If the person carrying an item loses it and is unable to retrieve that item at the end of the film, they'll lose that item...forever.**

* * *

"I feel...so REFRESHED!" Captain Falcon stood in the middle of the hallway as he stretched his arms out. He was up and walking, and he felt great!

"Captain Falcon!" Lloyd ran towards the racer with his love letter in his hands. "I need to ask you a dire question!"

"Ask me, dear boy, what great questions do you need to ask the great Captain Falcon?" Falcon struck a pose.

"How should I present my love letter to Viridi?"

Falcon got out of his pose and just looked at the swordsman. Like Knuckles, he was told by Yoshi that Viridi was in love with Toon Link. A love triangle would be disastrous!

 **Captain Falcon: Viridi, Lloyd, and Toon Link...and I thought the Little Mac-Shulk-Fiora love triangle would be detrimental. Toon Link can kiss Viridi at shoulder-length height, but not Lloyd! How's that gonna work out?**

"Well, Lloyd..." Falcon chuckled nervously. "...When you read your love letter...Once you're finished, shut your eyes tight and wish for the best!"

The racer sped out of the hallways at the speed of light, before being stopped by Shulk.

"Hey Falcon, Little Mac just told me about Fiora wanting to go out with me," the Homs said. He was really feeling it after Mac told him the news. "When I go out on my first date, what should I..."

"Nope, nope, and nope!" Falcon ran away from Shulk.

* * *

"Why won't Dr. Light pick up?!" Mega Man grew frustrated after calling Dr. Light for the nth time. He had already called Roll's number, but that didn't work either.

"Um, Mega Man, we have something to tell you..." Fox approached the robot, accompanied by Falco. Time for Mega Man to find out what's going on.

"Not now, you guys, Dr. Light and Roll are being unresponsive for some reason."

"We're the reason why those two never called you," explained Falco. Mega Man just looked at the two in bewilderment, refusing to believe in what Falco said.

"Falco and I thought it would be a funny idea to prank call your sister. Eventually we kinda got exposed, and Dr. Light cut off the phone lines to the mansion, because of our act of foolishness."

"You'll forgive us, Mega Man...right?"

"Of course I'll forgive you guys," replied Mega Man. "I won't hold anything against you!"

 **Mega Man: *seething* Those two were responsible for this mess?! If it weren't for them, I would be able to find out whether or not Roll and Dr. Light have been harassed by Sonic! Who knows what that hedgehog could have been telling Roll...**

"Corrin is in a pickle right now, and I need Auto's help," explained Mega Man. "He's stuck inside a movie, and the movie has ended - but Corrin is unable to get out. And since I'm unable to contact Dr. Light..."

"No worries, Mega, I think I know a guy who might be of great assistance..." assured Fox.

* * *

Mario and Isabelle gathered Bowser and Villager in Dr. Mario's office, for some interrogation. But why in Dr. Mario's office though?

"Why is the interrogation in here of all places?" asked Bowser. This was a huge waste of time, at least to him.

"All the-a other rooms were-a taken, okay?!" Dr. Mario snapped. Bowser folded his arms in disgust. "Now, we have called the both of you here because of what happened to one of the vending machines."

"The sodas have been replaced with bananas," explained Isabelle. "You two are the suspects!"

"We'll-a start with you Villager. When were-a you after the 'fire drill'?"

"In the bathroom, chilling," replied Villager. Seems like a reasonable claim.

"No normal person-a chills in the bathroom!" Dr. Mario slapped Villager silly. "Bathrooms and restrooms are-a meant for urinating, bowel movements, and-a school fights! Not chilling!"

"Fine then...I was relaxing in the bathroom."

"No-a one relaxes either!" Dr. Mario slapped Villager yet again. "You're looking mighty suspect right now..."

 **Isabelle: Mario...erm, _Dr._ Mario, often takes his interrogations to the extreme. He's like an Italian Dr. Phil of sorts.**

"As for-a you, Bowser..." Dr. Mario turned his attention to Bowser. The Koopa King remained apathetic. "Did-a you organize any pranks-a during your little 'fire drill'?"

"Absolutely not, I was waiting in the foyer, anticipating any casualties from the fire," explained Bowser. "Never was I in the vending machine room. And if I was..."

"Jiggly Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff tugged Dr. Mario's lab coat, and showed him a can of Sprite. Dr. Mario looked at the can inquisitvely - especially since Jigglypuff was carrying more soda cans in her hands; she's even drinking one right now!

"Where-a did you find these cans?" asked Dr. Mario.

"Jiggly jiggly Jigglypuff!"

"She says that she found them outside of the window in the vending machine room," Isabelle deciphered for the balloon Pokemon.

"Ho ho, finally found some soda!"

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong entered Dr. Mario's office without permission, and grabbed a soda from Jigglypuff. Both were eating bananas, which led Isabelle to asking...

"Got those bananas from a vending machine?" she stared down the Kongs. Donkey Kong stopped in an instant.

"Uh, yeah, someone told us the soft drinks in the vending machine were replaced by bananas, and we thought..." Donkey Kong explained before being cut off by Isabelle, who asked this question...

"Who was this 'someone'?" The Kongs were getting stumped now.

"...Mr. Game & Watch?" Diddy Kong grinned, hoping Dr. Mario and Isabelle would see them through. But they didn't. So he and Donkey Kong ran out of the office.

"After them!" Dr. Mario chased after the Kongs, with Isabelle, Bowser, and Villager tagging along.

* * *

Pit laid on Viridi's bed, with the goddess of nature stroking his forehead, and Kirby just being there. Knuckles was watching, acting like the creepy old stranger who watches over someone to see if they're okay.

"How are you feeling Pit?" asked Viridi.

"Feeling a little better," replied Pit. He was still sore, but the soreness was not as strong as it once was.

 **Knuckles: Rogue never asked me if I was feeling better when I was hurt! It was always, "What did you do this time?", or "How long you're gonna be like this?" I tell you, that woman...**

"Would you mind if I tell you a secret?" grinned Viridi. You know what's coming next.

"Oh, bother..." groaned Pit. He doesn't know...yet.

"I'm in love...with you." Viridi poked Pit's nose.

"WHY?!" Pit sprung up out of the bed like he was fine and ran out of the room.

"...We'll that was easier than I expected."

"We're not through yet," stated Knuckles. "We must have Pit love you back!"

* * *

Lloyd ran to Viridi's room, and encountered Yoshi along the way.

"I paired Toon Link and Viridi in my latest fanfic," the dinosaur snickered. His matchmaking and writing skills are...interesting, to say the least.

"That's cool," remarked Lloyd. "I'm gonna give Viridi this love letter!"

"Love letter?!" Yoshi went down on his knees and cried. "Why do developments like these happen?!"

"She likes me, she likes me!" Pit ran past Lloyd and Yoshi. "Viridi really likes me!"

"Are you serious?!" Lloyd ripped his letter in half - ashamed that all the time he spent on it was all for naught - and went to his knees and sobbed. "Life is so unfair!"

* * *

Thanks to R.O.B's help, Corrin was able to get out of the _Friday_ movie, after spending much time in a movie abyss - which is essentially a black pit of nothingness - once the flick ended. But R.O.B couldn't have done it without Slippy Toad, whom Fox brought back to the mansion to rescue the prince of Nohr; he hooked R.O.B to the DVD player and teleported Corrin back to the real world. Speaking of Corrin, not only did he retrieve his sword from Deebo, but he learned some startling information...

"FELICIA IS A PROSTITUTE!" he sobbed in his hands. Doc Louis, Sonic, Slippy, Zero, and .EXE just had to facepalm, no words were needed.

"You are such a dummy," Sonic shook his head. Alright, so maybe _some_ words were needed.

"How did you find the sword?" asked Slippy, trying to change the subject.

"I got it back from that Deebo guy," explained Corrin. "Apparently he was asleep with Felicia, who has taken on the facade of an African American woman. I tried to convince her to come with me, but Deebo threatened to shoot me if I didn't leave..."

"Pretty sure the Felicia you're looking for wasn't the one in that movie."

"...Seriously?!"

 **R.O.B: CORRIN...FULL TIME PRINCE...AND FULL TIME INCOMPETENT.**

The Kongs ran inside the movie room, and got on the teleportation device.

"Teleport us to a movie, any movie!" Donkey Kong begged.

"I'm not so sure if that's such a good idea..." Zero was unsure about this.

"Take me with you!" Pit ran inside the room and got on the device as well.

"You got it!" Slippy pressed a button on the DVD player - just as the group of Dr. Mario, Isabelle, Bowser, and Villager arrived. The Kongs and Pit were transported to the _Friday_ flick, and the DVD player searched for a random scene to place the three in. Oh dear...

"Almost had-a them!" Dr. Mario snapped his fingers in disgust.

"Hope they end up in a horror movie," said Isabelle. "Would be the perfect punishment."

"Arrgh, I wanted to beat them up so bad!" growled Bowser.

"And I wanted to draw embarrassing pictures all over their fur in permanent marker!" added Villager.

"Seriously, kid?"

The Kongs and Pit ended up in a flashback scene on _Friday,_ which was in black and white. Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong replaced the two dudes playing dice with Deebo and Smokey. A car drove up, and Pit got out - likely ordered so by the driver.

"Hold my money..." Deebo got up and went to confront Pit. "...watch me."

"Hey man, what's up!" Pit held out his hand, expecting some dap. But an angry black man like Deebo doesn't want any dap.

"What, you want your bike back? I didn't know you wanted it back, homie."

"I have a bike...?"

"It's right here. Follow me, homie."

So Pit followed Deebo...only for Deebo to punch the angel. Pit was sent flying backwards and landed on the ground. Smokey and the Kongs cackled at what just transpired.

"That's my bike, punk!" Deebo yelled. Imagine if it was Corrin who received a knockout punch from Deebo...

 **Zero: Did I mention that any injuries sustained in a movie will be transferred back to the real world?**

 **Isabelle: The Kongs may not have received any punishment...but watching Pit getting knocked out was quite amusing.**

Smokey got up and ran towards Pit like a madman, getting all up in his face, and said the following:

"You just got knocked out, fool!"


	7. Episode 7: Caffeine

_Author's Note:_

 _This episode is the first chapter in which a real life celebrity appears as a character. Hopefully it goes well..._

* * *

 **Episode 7:** **Caffeine**

Today was the day before Super Bowl 50 - the Denver Broncos vs the Carolina Panthers. The stakes couldn't be higher, especially at the Smash Mansion, where Mario is organizing the Super Bowl party, with Peach. The two always plan for the party every year, and usually Zelda likes to pitch in.

"Here's the grocery list for the party," Peach handed Mario a grocery list, and the plumber skimmed through it. It was a very, very long list, but Mario had to buy whatever food items were needed for a giant number of brawlers to consume.

"Shopping this-a year is gonna be tough," Mario stroked his chin. Everyone in the mansion is a picky eater; Wario loves meat and hates healthy stuff, Pit loves fruits and hates anything lacking nutritional value. So satisfying everybody will be very tough on Mario's part.

"Can I be of assistance?" Akira Yuki asked Mario, willing to help. "At times like these during the year, things get stressful for shoppers, and I don't want you to stress yourself out with this grocery list.

"It's-a fine, Akira, I can handle this, this isn't Christmas after all..." assured Mario. Although he knew Akira wanted to help out, the plumber felt confident that he won't screw things up.

 **Akira Yuki: Mario puts too much stress upon himself as the man of the mansion! He needs all the help and assistance he gets!**

"Please Mario, I beg of you, take me with you and shopping will be a breeze!" begged Akira. This would be the kung fu fighter's last plea; will Mario take the offer.

"Might as well have Jacky take us to the supermarket," shrugged Mario. Akira cheered, leaping into the air; his begging worked!

"Thank you Mario for hearing me out!" Akira bowed in front of Mario, and left the room. "Call me when you're ready to go!"

"Are you sure about this, Mario?" Peach rested her hand on Mario's shoulder. "Akira seems like an intense fellow to be going out with in public."

"He can't-a be that bad," replied Mario. "At least he's-a not Wario..."

* * *

The lovable, darling, and tenderhearted fatso we all know and love as Wario (yeah, right) was busy getting his new digital camera ready. Why is he readying his camera, you might ask? So when the camera cuts to the cheerleaders, Wario would snap pictures and send them to his e-mail. Doc Louis - who flew on a plane to to San Francisco to attend the Super Bowl - decided against taking Wario with him for this very reason. Who knows what he plans to do with these pictures - perhaps he might share them with Captain Falcon.

Then came the hated, despicable, and unkind puffball we all know and love as Kirby (only a heartless jerk would think of Kirby as such). He took notice of Wario's camera, and pointed at it. He's not gonna suck it up, is he?

"You can't have it!" Wario shielded his beloved camera away from Kirby. "It's mine, all mine!"

Kirby didn't care; he just took Wario's camera and ran away with it.

"Get back here with my camera!" Wario chased after the pink puffball, but his large weight pulled him down. He slowly came to a stop and panted, resting his hand against a nearby wall, before falling on the floor. All that binge eating Wario does is slowing him down.

 **Wario: A year ago Mario signed me up to participate in a marathon, against my will. He said that if I last the entire event, he will get me one ton of hot wings! Before the marathon began, I spent all my money on hot wings, since I didn't believe in Mario's little enticement. So when I did the marathon, and collapsed midway through, Mario decided to give those hots wings to Bowser and his kids! Why do they deserve hot wings? They didn't have to run in the horrid sun with loads of weight pulling down on you!**

"Fat bums like yourself should not be panting on the floor as an act of tiredness and exhaustion!" Ryu approached Wario, carrying a punching bag over his shoulders. He just got through an intense training session - something Wario hasn't done since he was a mere child.

"Who are you calling a fat bum?!" Wario tried to get up, but immensely struggled to do so. Ryu helped the fatso up. "I didn't need your help!"

"How do you expect to find the woman of you dreams if you persist on carrying that weight around! I shall train you in my intense workouts, so you make lose all that flab in your belly! Within days, you'll be much more slimmer, and the ladies will flock you, like how chickens flock a Hyrulian farmer with bird seed!"

"Ladies will flock me if I'm slimmer..." Wario stroke his chin, mulling over if he should put in effort, and effort is not worth it for him. "You think so?"

"Think so? I know so..."

 **Ryu: I am a firm believer that Wario can truly step up his game if he loses a little weight - actually, A LOT of weight! He can't have a love interest if he remains overweight! Why else do you think those fat men spend their time on the couch, eating chips and watching _Seinfeld_ reruns like bums, and not with the woman they choose to be their wife?**

"So when does these workouts start?" asked Wario, hoping little to no effort is required. Ryu did say the workouts were intense, so Wario shouldn't be developing this sort of rationale.

"Our workouts will commence later this afternoon," stated Ryu. "Better be ready until the time comes!"

* * *

In order to get them mentally prepared for the big game, Bowser taught Link and Shulk everything they needed to know about Super Bowl 50. Like every teaching that came before this one, Bowser was filling the two swordsmen's heads with false information.

"Super Bowl 50 will be played by the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys," explained the Koopa King. Both teams finished in the bottom of the gutter last season.

"Should make for a great game!" said Shulk, who recently learned that Peyton Manning was one of the worst players ever.

"Perhaps the biggest matchup in Super Bowl history!" added Link. There was a knock at the door; Zelda entered the room.

"May I speak to Link please?" she asked.

"Can't you see I'm busy, it's never nice to disturb others when they're learning!" frowned Bowser. Zelda gave him a stern look - it was one of those looks that kinda scare you, the more it is prolonged. "...Link, you are excused."

So Link got up and headed out the door. What does Zelda wish to discuss with the hero of Hyrule?

"I need you to help me decorate the living room for tomorrow," she said to Link. Decorating the living room? The blonde swordsman quickly ran back to the room, before Zelda grabbed his hand and pulled him back. "You're my only help Link!"

"I'M you're only help?" Link scoffed. "Do you not realize how many helping hands there are in this mansion?"

"Not that many people offered to help..."

 **Zelda: So far the only people who are interested in decorating the living room are the Inklings, Villager, and Proto Man. Inklings are getting the party supplies, Villager is getting the balloons, and Proto Man...he claims he's getting "special entertainment". Last time he brought special entertainment over to the mansion was when Dr. Eggman was doing belly dancing on New Year's Day. Poor Sonic could never think of his arch-nemesis the same way after that incident.**

"Here are a list of players participating in the Super Bowl," Zelda handed Link a list of players. "I want to you find pictures of them and print them off so we can...anything wrong?" Link inquisitively looked over this list; apparently something was wrong.

"None of these players aren't even participating," Link pointed out, going back on what he learned from Bowser. "Especially Peyton Manning, that man is so buns, he won't ever come close to sniffing a Super Bowl trophy."

"Alright then, smartypants, who is playing in the Super Bowl?"

"Let's see..." Link would count with his fingers as he said the following names: "Tony Romo, Marcus Mariota, Dez Bryant, Marcus Mariota, Jason Witten, Marcus Mariota, Greg Hardy, Marcus Mariota, Jerry Jones, Marcus Mariota...did I already say Mariota?"

"You just named players from the Cowboys and the Titans..." How does Zelda know this? Good question: she usually goes online to see if Bowser's lessons are 100% true. And we all know they aren't.

"Exactly, both teams are playing in the game. Duh!"

"Come with me..." Zelda grabbed Link by the ear and took him away, like a nagging mother would. This type of behavior is mostly done between Pit and Palutena.

"You better be finished with my student soon!" Bowser shook his fist at Zelda, his head outside the door. Decorating stuff...a huge blessing in disguise for Link.

* * *

"Chug, chug, chug, chug, chug..." Falco, Fox, Ike, Red the Pokemon Trainer, Diddy Kong, and Jacky Bryant chanted on for Donkey Kong as the gorilla chugged down on a can of soda. After finishing the soda, DK crushed the can with his mighty hand, and threw it at a pile of empty cans. Those soda cans aren't for the Super Bowl party, are they?

"He did it!" Jacky cheered as the men did what most normal men would do in this instance: cheer wildly and act like a bunch of animals.

"Will you PLEASE keep it down, I'm trying to read!" Samus yelled from afar. She was reading a highly complex and in-depth bounty hunting book, so she needed all the concentration she could get.

"Screw your reading!" Falco yelled while the men continued to act like maniacs.

 **Samus: In order to become the best bounty hunter in the universe, it is integral that I learn from the ways of John Marston. His experiences of running from the law might be beneficial towards my learning.**

"Could one of you boys carry the drinks to the cooler in the living room?" Peach poked her head through the doorway of the room. The men looked at each other nervously - all the drinks were consumed due to their masculine, testosterone-fueled stupidity. Good thing Peach is unable to see the pile of soda cans...

"Is there by chance..." began Red. "...I can bring them at a later time?" By the looks of things, Red might have a plan to solve this mess.

"That would be fine. But don't forget!"

Peach closed the door, slamming it so hard that the pile of soda cans came tumbling down.

"Hope you got a solution, dude..." Ike said to Red. The Pokemon Trainer better deliver with whatever plan he has, or he and the dudes will suffer from the wrath of Peach.

* * *

Little Mac felt devoid today...devoid of his trainer, Doc Louis. Ever since Doc made his plane trip to San Francisco, life without his boxing/personal trainer was hard for Mac to go through. But when the young boxer made his way to his room, he saw a note on his door. It read:

 _Hey Champ! Sorry I can't be here to watch the Super Bowl with you; dumb Broncos and Panthers just HAD to have cheerleaders on their teams! Keep your head up, 'cause I found the perfect guy to fill in for me while I'm away. I'm sure you know him pretty darn well. You'll two will get along just fine...Peace!_

 _~Doc Louis_

So Little Mac opened the door, and you won't believe who was standing in the middle of the room.

"Thup thon!" former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson greeted Little Mac in open arms, adorned in his blue jumpsuit. Mac just stared at Tyson with his mouth agape. "Thtop looking at me like that, you making me uncomfortable!"

 **Little Mac: Doc had Mike Freaking Tyson to fill in for him?! Why couldn't he have chosen someone more mundane, like Evander Holyfield?**

"Give me a hug!" grinned Tyson. Little Mac didn't want to, so the former boxer had to walk up to Mac and give him a bro hug. Doc Louis never gave Mac bro hugs.

"Release...me..." Little Mac wheezed. Tyson let go of his grip on Mac, dropping him to the floor as he laid out sprawled across the floor.

"Little Mac are you okay?" Palutena rushed over to Mac and checked on him. She looked up at Tyson, and stared in awe. "Do I...know you?"

"Of course you know me woman, I'm Mike Tython, the former world heavyweight bocthing champ of the world!" Tyson snapped, somewhat offended that Palutena doesn't know him. "The game Little Mac appeared in? It wath named after my likeneth! Mac wouldn't be here if it wathn't for ME!"

"Why did you hurt Little Mac?!" Palutena treats Little Mac the same way she does with Pit, so when Mac's hurt, the goddess of light has to be in the know.

"I did not do thuch thing! Little Mac can handle the pain!"

"Woah is that Mike Tyson?" Knuckles approached Tyson, trying to keep his breath in. Never in his life did he expect to encounter Tyson, and the fact that he's in the same vicinity as him was too much for his brain to handle.

"You're Knuckleth the Echidna, right?" asked Tyson. Knuckles held his hands up to his mouth and gasped. Tyson knows his name, he couldn't believe it!

"HE KNOWS MY NAME!" Knuckles began to fangirl for no apparent reason. "He really knows my name! I'm gonna write a rap dedicated to you man!"

"Let me be the firtht to hear it!"

"You got it man!" Knuckles left, gleefully happy he got to meet the great Mike Tyson. Now he could actually boast to Sonic about something.

* * *

Kirby arrived at the gaming room with Wario's camera. At the gaming room was Pit, whom Kirby handed the camera to. What is he up to this time?

"With this camera, I can take embarrassing photos of myself, and show them to Viridi to maker her hate me!" the angel said. You know, Pit, there are other useful ways to get somebody to hate you.

 **Pit: Viridi had the gall to tell me that she loves me! What is that girl thinking?! I came to her room because I wanted someone to talk to after I got beat up, not for her to confess her love to me! Hopefully I don't get the cooties...**

"What embarrassing photos should I take?" Pit wondered. Chrom showed up, listening to his music on his Beats headphones. Even a swordsman like Chrom has to listen to his ear-pumping jams to get himself pumped. "Chrom, can I speak with you for a second?"

Chrom did not respond; he continued to bob his head as he listened to his music. Perhaps Pit was n't yelling hard enough.

"CHROM I NEED TO SPEAK WITH YOU!" he yelled even louder, startling everyone in the gaming room.

"STOP BEING SO LOUD!" yelled Mewtwo, trying to focus while playing billiards with Olimar.

"SAYS THE GUY YELLING BACK AT ME!"

"Did somebody call me?" Chrom stopped playing his headphones and looked around. Pit motioned to himself. "Oh, Pit, sorry for the inconvenience. Is there something wrong?"

"I kinda need your help with..." Pit began, and Chrom's eyes widened at the word "help". Some bad experiences from episode 2 instantly went through his mind.

"Look, I'm not a romantic expert," Chrom confessed, wishing he would drop this label. "Why can't you go seek Captain Falcon, he seems like the..."

"I didn't call you for romantic advice, I called you for assistance with photo taking."

Chrom raised an eyebrow at Pit. For Pit asking him advice for taking photos almost miffed him.

"Taking photos is not that hard, it's a very simple process," explained Chrom. "All you have to do is press the button and..."

"I already know how to take photos; it's Takamaru that still has a ways to go," responded Pit. "I need some suggestions for taking embarrassing photos."

"Embarrassing photos? Why do you insist on asking me for assistance for that?"

"First reason is, you've been in some rather embarrassing situations, according to Lucina."

Chrom grimaced and shook his head. Had Lucina been younger, he would have grounded her for telling these embarrassing stories of him.

 **Chrom: Last night, Lucina told Luigi the story of how a dancer named Olivia fell in love with me at first sight, and how I was "enchanted" by her dancing prowess. In no way, shape, or form was I enchanted - my face got red and sweaty, and I was breathing harder than usual for no apparent reason! Must have been hyperhidrosis, I tell you...**

"And the second reason is, I wanna show these pictures to Viridi to maker her think twice about falling in love with me," Pit continued.

"No way, Jose, I refuse to involve myself in your matters if romance is present," said Chrom. "Trust me, I've been in one too many romantic situations to participate in your troubles."

"Would you do it for this guy?" Pit held up Kirby in front of Chrom. The pink puffball used his cuteness to his advantage, making a sad puppy face. Imagine all the crud Pit could have gotten away with if he used Kirby like this.

"Ooh, not the sad puppy look...Fine, I shall help you, but only this once. After this, I will not involve myself in similar matters ever again."

* * *

Being the gentleman that he is, Jacky Bryant drove Mario and Akira to the supermarket. Mario really needed this ride; ever since he swerved over on a road to avoid squashing a puny snail, poor guy has been traumatized ever since!

 **Jacky: Glad Mario finally has the chance to ride in Wanderlust 2.0. But he looked traumatized throughout the entire ride...please don't tell me he's still frightened after that dumb snail incident.**

 **Mario: I could-a have killed that-a poor snail! What if, the snail-a was a father, and it-a had a mate and offspring? Or-a even worse...what-a if it was a mother carrying babies?! *sobs***

Jacky dropped Mario and Akira off at the supermarket, and the plumber and the fighter entered. Once inside, Mario was immediately bombarded by people wanting to get his autograph. The perks of being a video game superstar...

"Get away from Mario!" Akira began to karate chop people in the head - regardless of age or gender - and scared them away. "You get a karate, you get a karate chop, and you get a karate chop!" He was acting very Oprah Winfrey about it, too."

"Don't hurt-a the innocent people!" Mario pleaded. He now wished he had gone shopping with someone like Lloyd instead.

"These innocent people are giving you unwanted attention!" said Akira as he continued to deliver karate chops left and right. "Someone needs to put them in their place!"

"Can't you do-a it without-a physically hurting them?"

"No pain, no gain, that's how they're gonna learn!"

"Um, sir, we must escort you out of the store..." a security guard approached Akira, only to receive a karate chop to the head. Mario fainted at the sight, unwilling to take it any longer.

* * *

Inside the mansion's recording studio - which is rarely used, by the way - Knuckles was recording some bars that would hopefully impress Mike Tyson.

 _Call me the leader of the pride  
_ _But I'm not the one to boast  
_ _Honeys finna play me like  
_ _How butter plays toast  
_ _I'm world champion royalty  
Always wearing the crown  
Reppin every single city  
From Tinseltown to Beantown_

Keep in mind that Knuckles is dedicating this track to Mr. Tyson himself. So far, he's making some good progress.

Viridi was in attendance, waiting for Knuckles's rap session to end.

"Whatever happened to Operation "Get Pit to Fall in Love With Me"? she asked the echidna. Her impatience grew with every bar Knuckles spat out.

"Not now, I gotta make this rap fresh for Mike Tyson!" replied Knuckles.

"Mike Tyson?" Viridi scoffed. "He doesn't live here!"

"How'th your recording coming along?" Tyson entered the recording studio, and Viridi just looked at him in shock. This HAS to a figment of her imagination!

"My rap song is nearing completion," replied Knuckles. "Gotta add a few more double entendres here and there, and it'll be absolute perfection!"

 **Mike Tyson: In addition to the betht rapper of hith generation, Knuckleth would be the perfect bocther. Think about it - he hath the thwag, the hotthpur, and the pathion to be great! He'th like me in animal form!**

"Don't thtare at your elderth like that kid, it'th rude," Tyson said to Viridi, who was still in shock, as he made his way to the booth. He was intrigued by Knuckles's progress, and wanted to get a first-hand look at...

"It's not ready yet for looking at!" Knuckles grabbed his sheet of rhymes and shielded it away from Tyson. So much for a first-hand look.

"Okay then, I'll jutht what until you're finithhed," Tyson exited the booth and headed outside the recording studio. "Hey good lookin', what'th cookin'?" He's not trying to flirt with the female brawlers, is he?!

"Get away from me, you creep!" Rosalina's voice was heard, and sounds of somebody getting beat up were heard. Rosalina was busy showing Tyson what will happen to any offender say what he had said.

"Go get him, mama!" Luma cheered on. Think of how creepy it would sound if a guy like Wario had said that...

* * *

It was now time for Ryu to commence his workout session with Wario. The fatso was not prepared, however - he showed up at the fitness center in his usual clothes. Everyone knows you don't work out in your regular clothes! Come on, Wario, you should know better than that! Though it is Wario, maybe he shouldn't.

"Before we can begin our exercises, we must first stretch to get our body conditioned!" Ryu began to stretch his arms out. Wario just looked at him, wondering why he of all people should be did such preparations.

"Stretching is overrated, I don't need to do it!" scoffed Wario. Keep doing you Wario, with your lazy self, and you won't _ever_ see any results anytime soon.

"Suit yourself. But if you seriously hurt yourself, don't come crying to me!"

"Like I'm gonna hurt myself because I didn't stretch! Man you make me laugh!"

 **Ryu: It is best to learn through experience, and apparently that is how Wario plans to learn! Trust me, I had to learn through experience myself, when I went on a date with Chun...my mother! Yes, my mother and father went on a date, and they invited me because they know how lonely I would be by myself!**

"First we will begin with some sit-ups!" said Ryu. "Get down on the floor!"

Wario got down face-first on the floor. Not the correct position for doing sit-ups by any means.

"On your back, you buffoon!" Ryu yelled.

"Should have been more specific," Wario rolled over on the other side. How was Wario supposed to know what side to get on? He has never done a single exercise a day in his life!

"Step one: bend your knees, like so!" Ryu bent his knees. Should a simple thing for Wario, right? Wrong. His legs were too short, he was unable to bend any knees at all.

"I'll do with the position I'm in right now."

"Step two: place your fingertips behind your ears!" Ryu placed his hands behind his head. At least Wario is able to do this.

"Step three: pull your shoulder blades back so..."

"No way, that sounds too complex!" complained Wario, having no idea what shoulder blades are. "I thought sit-ups were supposed to be a simple procedure! Why can't I do something that's easy and painless?"

"Easy and painless? Good thing for you, I know JUST the exercise..."

* * *

The group of Falco, Fox, Ike, and the Kongs were led by Red to the arcade room, where King Dedede was raiding arcade machines for tokens with the help of some Waddle Dees. Since Pac-Man wasn't present, he thought that now would be the perfect time to commit such a crime.

 **King Dedede: Luigi is always put in charge of the arcade when Pac-Man has to handle his business. You won't believe the endless amount of crap we brawlers get away with when a nervous wreck like Luigi tries to be some kind of authoritarian!**

 **Luigi: I told that darned Dedede he must stop messing with the arcade machines at once! After the sixth time I warned him, I ran out of the arcade sobbing - not even a sense of pathos due to my nervousness could beg him to stop!**

"Hey gentlemen, came here to help out a king?" King Dedede asked the men as he counted his token coins. He has an absurdly giant pile of them, too - counting them will take a very, very long time.

"We were wondering if you could help us out," replied Red. "You see, we accidentally drunk up all the soda needed for the Super Bowl party - it was a chugging competition of sorts - and we were wondering if..."

"Say so more!" King Dedede placed his finger on Red's lips. "I've been in a similar situation before; I was in a chugging competition myself, and I was going up against Customer Service - and I lost. Loser had to buy drinks for the next chugging competition!

"You lost to a bunch of guys from customer service?!" Diddy Kong's eyes widened, not knowing that Customer Service is actually the NME Salesman from Nightmare Enterprises, and not the annoying bunch of people that excel at wasting customers' precious time. "Dang dude that must really suck!"

"I do believe Dedede is referring to the NME salesman," Donkey Kong explained for his nephew.

"A salesman by the name of Customer Service?! What were his parents thinking?! Those fools..."

"And your parents are fools for giving you a rapper's nickname."

Diddy Kong glared at his uncle, struck with disbelief that he would stoop that low.

"...But that's a conversation for another day."

"How about this; I can call Customer Service, and tell him to send some sodas to the mansion," King Dedede proposed to Red. "Dude's an awesome business transactor, he'll deliver just about anything in a jiffy!"

 **Fox: Just about anything...? In a jiffy...? That means I could purchase a new Landmaster from this Customer Service guy Dedede speaks of, and I'll be able to get it in a snap!  
Falco: And I can buy my own portable trailer, and put it in the backyard of the mansion! Sweet!  
Fox: Ooh can I bunk with you at this trailer?  
Falco: No sir, it's meant for me, myself, and I.  
Fox: So basically you're getting three rooms for yourself? Kinda greedy, don't ya think?**

"Let me go call Customer Service," King Dedede went to go find a phone. "Y'all can thank me later!"

* * *

Living room decoration was coming along nicely for Zelda, and it was going better than expected. The Inklings gathered the party supplies, Villager got the colored balloons, and Proto Man got the "special entertainment". Thankfully it wasn't Dr. Eggman, who hoped to entertain the brawlers with his belly dancing.

So just who this "special entertainment" might be?

"Dance floor's gonna be mighty hot on Super Bowl night!" Jimmy T., obsessive disco dancer and employee of WarioWare, Inc., struck a pose in the living room. Zelda looked at Proto Man, wondering what prompted him to get this obsessed fanatic.

"I was running out of options, Jimmy was my impromptu choice," explained the robot. Clearly Proto Man was completely out of whatever options he had if he invited a guy like Jimmy over.

"Alright now, let's get this party started! Where's all my party people at?"

"The Super Bowl isn't until tomorrow," explained Zelda. "We had to get you on early notice in the event complications arise."

 **Jimmy T.: What's so hard about waiting until the day of the big game? Being at this mansion is cutting into my precious time! How am I supposed to dry clean my thongs now?!**

"Zelda, I'm here!" Link ran up to the princess of Hyrule, carrying wall graphics of football players in his hands, and handed them to her. Wall graphics is very hard work - you have to find a picture online, and use the graphic printer in the printing room to print out the wall graphics. It's a very hit-or-miss thing.

"Hmm..." Zelda shuffled through the wall graphics, until she encountered a major hiccup. "What is this doing here?" the princess held up a wall graphic of Mike Tyson, back in his boxing days. If it was a boxing party, a Tyson graphic would be fine, but during the Super Bowl, it's very out of place.

"Haven't seen that until now. Little Mac was in the printing room at the time, maybe he printed that graphic out."

"Hand over my gloriuth wall graphic thith instthant, young lady!"

Mike Tyson quickly approached Zelda and snatched the wall graphic of himself away.

"Why do you look so familiar?" asked Zelda. Another brawler unfamiliar with Tyson. Of course the former boxer was ticked.

"Girl you ith royalty, you thhould know who I am!" frowned Tyson. "I'm the great Mike Tython, betht boxer of any era!"

"Bowser has always said that you were trash and terrible," remarked Link. Dude better shut up, lest he wants Tyson to knock him out cold.

"King Bowther hath no room to talk! When wath the latht time he defeated Mario?"

A tough question like this took Link a long time to think. Not even Zelda, Proto Man, nor Jimmy T. know the answer - and perhaps nobody else does.

"That'th right, he never did! Why, I'd love to thee that punk lother try to..."

"You mean THIS punk loser?"

In came Bowser, who had his arms crossed. Some hands were about to be thrown.

"Hey, Bowther, buddy, how'th it going?" grinned Tyson, trying to get on the Koopa King's good side. But that didn't do any good.

"I came here for my student," Bowser redirected his attention to Zelda. "Is he finished?"

 **Bowser: Class with only Shulk is simply too boring for me. I need Link back so I can divvy up the fallacies!**

"Link is not done, nor will he ever be," replied Zelda. "He's staying with me for the rest of the day."

"Rest of the day, huh?" Jimmy T., stroked his chin, believing that Link and Zelda have something romantic planned. "How about tonight, I can make this living room...a dance floor of love?"

"Shut up, afro dude, how dare you take the attention away from me!" frowned Bowser. Had Jimmy T. lived at the mansion, he would be subject to Bowser's pranking. But Bowser is now forbidden to prank any longer, so it's all good. "Now, Mike Tyson, you better scram if you know what's good for you!"

"Make me," Tyson walked towards Bowser, and Bowser marched towards Tyson. The two were in each other's grill - and it's definitely not the outdoor cooking kind. You could cut the tension in the living room with a knife...if it were possible to do so.

"Well I don't know about you guys...but I could go for some more decorating," Proto Man smiled nervously. He was nervous because at any moment, either Bowser or Tyson could snap on one another, resulting in an all-out brawl.

"Tyson I thought you said we were gonna have our boxing training?" Little Mac called out. "Where are you man?"

"Better thtay out of my thight, if you know what'th good for you..." Tyson glared down Bowser as he exited the living room.

"Likewise, pal..." Bowser glared back at Tyson, like that's gonna accomplish anything. "...Can I please have my student back now?" The Koopa King asked Zelda once more.

"I told you, he's staying with me for the rest of the day!" frowned Zelda. No way was she letting Link return to Bowser's teachings.

"So that means I can have him at midnight? Sounds like a good plan!"

Bowser departed from the living room, and Jimmy T. took his wig off - exposing his bald head - taking any lint out of it. His bald head was so shiny, it gave off a bright light that got in the eyes of Zelda and Link.

"Put your wig back on!" Zelda shielded her eyes.

"I think I'm going blind!" Link did the same.

"Losers," Proto Man chuckled. His visor blocked Jimmy T.'s "bald rays", so he was left unaffected.

* * *

 **Samus: Finally finished John Marston's book, and now it's time to apply what I learn to my bounty hunting prowess. In Chapter 9 of the book, Marston said that you should glare down your prey intently, until they crack...**

Mario, Akira, and Jacky returned to the mansion, carrying shopping bags in their hands. They placed the shopping bags in the kitchen, and took the stuff out.

"I'm-a never shopping with-a you again," Mario said to Akira as he took out the groceries. The shopping trip was very hectic; aside from karate chopping innocent people, Akira ate up all the samples, and defecated in the dairy section "because the restrooms were of poor quality". Due to Akira's actions, he and Mario were banned from the supermarket. Very inconvenient for Mario, since he takes care of Peach's shopping at that supermarket. Somebody better tell him that there are other stores within the vicinity of the mansion.

"We managed to get the snacks for the Super Bowl party, and that is what matters the most!" said Jacky, looking on the bright side of things. High risk comes high reward, sort of.

"Um, guys..." Akira motioned Mario and Jacky to Samus, who was glaring at them down intently. It was one of those glares that makes you wet your pants if you look at it for a prolonged period of time.

"I don't-a know why you're-a looking at us like-a that..." Mario shivered, unnerved by Samus's blue eyes. "...but I'm-a not single!"

"Yeah, Mario's right, he's totally single!" Jacky nodded very fast - a common trait of people feeling intimidated. "Take your chances on me!"

Samus narrowed her eyes even more, and the three men huddled together in fear. Captain Falcon, who saw this from afar while drinking his coffee, shook his head as he walked away. He was never afraid of Samus, unless she threatened her manhood.

 **Captain Falcon: Samus is one smoking hot mama...Her glare penetrates even the most serious men, and brings them down to the ground! Though I can't help but sense that her glare has a little more...pizzazz in it, so to speak. It must be that book she's reading...I probably should read some of it, it might improve my flirting skills...**

"We give up! We give up!" Akira fell on his knees and bowed down in front of Samus. "You have our mercy!"

"My work here is done," Samus left the kitchen room, and Peach entered, seeing Jacky huddled against the wall, Akira sobbing on his knees, and Mario in a fetal position. How can Mario call himself the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom in a position like this?

"Mario why are you like this?" asked Peach, concerned about her love.

"Oh, Peach, it's-a terrible!" wailed Mario. "Samus glared at-a us, and made-a us wet our pants! She-a intimidated us!"

"Our pants?" Jacky questioned. "My pants aren't soiled..."

"Neither are mine," added Akira, still sobbing. Which makes Mario the only dude to have an accident...he can't call himself the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom now. The distinction should be passed down to Luigi...but he wets himself out of nervousness on a weekly basis, so the Mushroom Kingdom is essentially screwed.

"Silly Mario, the only things Samus intimidates are metroids, Captain Falcon, and Wario!" smiled Peach. Did she just call Falcon and Wario things? To be fair, Falcon looks like a normal human being, but Wario...who knows what he is.

* * *

 **Samus: Chapter 13 states that a great bounty hunter must utilize deception to fool their enemies. Wario and Captain Falcon would be too easy for to deceive, so instead I've decided to dupe a very gullible angel...**

Chrom was in the mansion hallways, taking embarrasing pictures of Pit. Such pictures consisted of Pit urinating in a vase, wearing a bra in front of a mirror, and getting wedgied by Kirby. From the looks of it, the angel is trying way too hard.

"These pictures are supposed to make Viridi to dislike you because...?" Chrom asked as he a snapped a picture of Pit holding Kirby under his toga, like he was pregnant or something. What in the name of...

"Once Viridi sees the pictures, she will think I'm a dummy, and she'll never fall in love again!"

"You're already a dummy to begin with." Indeed, Chrom was right; Pit is the Spongebob Squarepants of the Nintendo universe, and by association, Kirby is Patrick Star - but without the lack of intelligence.

 **Chrom: I know I might be in the minority, but Pit and Viridi would make for the perfect couple. Viridi is the only person in the mansion aside from Palutena that can make Pit somewhat more smarter...I am using correct grammar, right?**

"Hey Chrom," Samus tapped Chrom on the shoulder, scaring the swordsman right out of his pants.

"If it's ordering pizza that you want, then think again," said Chrom. Samus is still in charge of ordering pizza, and she ordered pizza earlier today - and showed the delivery boy the back way of the mansion so he won't have to deal with Wario.

"Olivia is making her way to the mansion tomorrow morning." Chrom panted at the very mention of Olivia, and tried to keep his cool; those dance moves she exhibited before him were bringing back some terrible memories. "To show her how handsome you are, you gotta look handsome!"

"How am I supposed to do that?"

"By taking pictures, of course! Hand me the camera, please!"

"Don't do it Chrom, it's a trap!" pleaded Pit, who was planning to "give birth" to Kirby, as part of his next embarrassing picture. Who knows what Viridi sees in that boy.

But it was too late. Chrom handed over the camera to Samus - who turned the flash on to the brightest level. Chrom is gonna regret this...

"Strike a pose!" ordered Samus. Chrom looked in the distance and pointed, with his other hand on his hip. Samus pressed the snap button, and the camera emitted a bright flash which blinded Chrom. The swordsman fell to the floor, holding his eyes in pain, as Samus ran away with the camera.

"She took our camera!" frowned Pit. "You okay, Chrom?"

"This is why...meddling with your affairs...was a bad idea," Chrom replied, struggling to get up. Samus had got him good.

* * *

 **Samus: Chapter 20 talks about having great listening skills; you must possess an attentive hearing ability in order to know your enemy's every movement. Time to do a little eavesdropping...**

Samus was lying on the wall outside of the vending machine room, where King Dedede was on the phone with customer service. The king sure spends a lot of his time in the vending machine room; he would make the room his new abode, but his greed would disallow him to do so. That greedy numskull could scarf the snacks down his gigantic mouth if he wanted to.

"How may I help you, Dedede?" Customer Service asked on the phone. He's King Dedede's most loyal - and presumably only - customer.

"Some dudes drunk up all the soda for the Super Bowl as part of their chugging competition, and I need you to deliver the sodas right away!" explained King Dedede. "Otherwise they're gonna land themselves in a heap of trouble!"

"Serves them right, everyone knows me and you are the kings of chugging! Those bums are trying to take our shine! But don't worry, when I deliver those sodas, I'll make sure I give the dudes a nifty gift..."

"And just what might this gift be?"

"Let's just say it has much ado...with a certain football legend."

"Who are you talking to?" Samus went inside the vending machine room, having heard enough from the phone conversation.

"Nobody important, just my business partner," King Dedede gave a cheesy grin.

"Yeah what he said!" Customer Service followed up on Dedede. What if Samus told Peach that all the soda was consumed?

"Alright then," Samus left the room, and King Dedede let out a sigh of relief. He saved Red and the guys big time.

As she made her way through the hallways, Samus was approached by Sheik. Whenever Sheik is present, some serious stuff is going on.

"Who were you speaking to in the vending machine room?" the ninja asked Samus.

"King Dedede," responded the bounty hunter. "He was on the phone with some guy. Ordered some soda to bring to the mansion."

"I take it all the sodas were consumed?"

"Dedede alluded to that in the call."

"Interesting...the drinks were missing, and Peach was complaining about how Red never gave the sodas to her, even though he promised to do so. I've spent most of my time looking for him and anyone else involved."

 **Sheik: Out of all the Super Bowl food and supplies, drinks are the only thing missing. And it seems King Dedede has placed an order for the soda. I must show Peach when someone receives the order at the front door to show her how Red has fooled her.**

* * *

Since Wario refused to do sit-ups, push-ups, and the like apparently because they sounded too complicated to him, Ryu had the fatso run on a treadmill. Needless to say, everyone at the fitness center was shocked! Who knew Wario was capable of running like he was in a marathon?

"Woah, Wario, you're running just as fast as I am!" remarked Sonic. "And I thought no one runs in your family!"

"Why if I wasn't on this dumb treadmill, I would strangle you to bits!" Wario raged. Apparently exercising couldn't soothe his anger.

"Strangle me to bits? Is that even possible? What a schlub..."

Sonic walked away, and Wario's face turned red with rage.

 **Sonic: Even if Wario loses a couple of pounds, he still won't get the ladies! It'll take more than just weight loss; he has to give himself an entire makeover with his ugly face! I bet Medusa would turn to stone at the very sight of him!**

"Keep up the good work, young cricket, and you'll be slimmer in no time!" said Ryu. Why is he calling Wario a young cricket when he's a middle-aged man-thing?

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Wario stopped the treadmill immediately, and Ryu didn't like it one bit.

"You have no authority to stop the treadmill without my authority!" scolded Ryu. Luigi really could use the authority Ryu has.

"Pizza's here!" Wario jumped off the treadmill and ran out of the fitness center. It was perhaps the fastest he would run; either the treadmill helped out, or he really wants that pizza - the pizza that was already delivered. Villager hid the pizza in a secret place where Wario would never find it. Ryu ran after the fatso, hoping to catch him in time.

* * *

Knuckles continued to spit out some bars for Mike Tyson, and Viridi continued to nap in the recording studio until Knuckles was finished. The echidna was almost finished...

 _I'm as real as real gets  
_ _So why you frontin' girl?  
_ _Not violent by any means  
_ _I spread peace like Metta World  
_ _They say I'm a man of misery_ _  
But I ain't no Pandora's Box  
Greatest of all Time? Yup, that's me  
And this is where the mic drops_

"All done?" Mike Tyson entered the recording studio.

"Perfect timing!" grinned knuckles. His masterpiece was finally complete. "Get ready to hear some awesome bars!"

* * *

"How is San Francisco?" Little Mac was on the phone with his trainer, Doc Louis. Since Tyson is preoccupied with Knuckles. the young boxer thought that now would be the time to contact his mentor.

"San Fran is the best, lots of sunshine, great people, and the weather is perfect!" replied Doc. Mac could tell that he was quite enjoying himself. "So how's life without your best buddy?"

"Eh, could be much better. But at least Mike Tyson is here to fill the void."

Deaf silence on the phone. Little Mac anticipated himself for what might transpire next.

"What business does that man have to be at the mansion?!" Doc Louis went off. He hasn't went off ever since he put poor Lucas on blast for thinking his mustache was fake.

"You left a note on the door..." Little Mac nervously explained. "It said that you found someone to take your place..."

"I did not leave such note! Boy you should know that I don't like writing notes! Tyson must have sneaked his way in without being noticed!"

"Nobody ever sneaked their way inside the mansion, unless..."

Then it came to Little Mac. Earlier today, when the pizza delivery boy came, Roy had instructed him to go through the backdoor, so Wario wouldn't harass him. Tyson might have gotten inside the mansion through the backdoor while it was still open!

 **Little Mac: Tyson make think he's some kind of ninja...but once he gets through me...he'll be crying like a baby...AUGH, CRAMP! IT BURNS! IT BURNS US! *cries loudly***

"Hello? Mac, you there?" asked Doc. Little Mac was in a trance, but a good trance - he was thinking of a way to get back at Tyson. Wario ran past the young boxer, with Ryu high on his heels.

"It's not what you think, Wario!" King Dedede was heard running after Wario as well. "No pizza has been ordered! And besides, it's only for Red! A special gift is entailed!"

The mention of the "special gift" got Little Mac thinking...

* * *

Cloud answered the front door, and saw Knuckle Joe, with a pile of soda boxes, tapping his foot impatiently. Despite all the people that resided in the mansion, it only took one brawler to answer the door. A bunch of slack, lazy fighters living here...

"About time you answered the door!" frowned Knuckle Joe. "I was waiting forever!"

"Yeah, yeah, that's good," responded Cloud, being apathetic and uncaring as usual. Not a surprise in the slightest. "Just put those boxes somewhere in the foyer."

So Knuckle Joe grabbed a couple of soda boxes and placed them on a table in the foyer. Sheik and Peach arrived, with Sheik showing the princess of Mushroom Kingdom what was going on.

"See, Peach?" the ninja pointed at Knuckle Joe, doing his thing. "Did Red not say that _he_ would deliver the sodas?"

"He did..." replied Peach, before getting angry all of a sudden. "He played me like a fiddle! Once I have my hands on him..."

 **Peach: This isn't the first time Red has done this to me, mind you. I remember this one instance promised to get me a truck, and I thought, why not? Driving in a truck would be a new experience for me. But when Red brought the truck that day, and Mario tried to rev up the engine for me, nothing seemed to happen. Turns out the truck was cosmetic and nonfunctional, and Red needed to lend it to someone because it was "taking up too much space" at Vermilion City! What space?! It's practically the smallest city in the Kanto region!**

"Looks like my work here is done," Sheik said as she reverted back to Zelda. Samus approached the two ladies, camera in hand.

"Check this out..." Samus showed them the pictures of Pit, and the princesses looked in horror. The picture of Pit holding Kirby under his toga is what unnerved them the most; he had to be an idiotic fool to think of taking such a picture. But he's already an idiotic fool, so it makes sense.

"What convinced him to take these pictures?!" Zelda just looked in shock. Some of the pictures were so questionable and even inappropriate, they cannot be described in any detail.

"Give us back our camera!" Pit ran up to Samus and tried to pry the camera out of her hands.

"'Our camera'?" Samus scoffed. "Doesn't this belong to Wario?"

"Or so you may have thought; he gave up his camera because when he takes pictures of himself, his weight takes up the entire frame!" Well at least you tried Pit, at least you tried.

"Hey, what's in that box?" Cloud directed Knuckle Joe to a tall box, which was standing outside.

"It's a 'gift' for a certain Pokemon trainer and his friends," sneered Knuckle Joe. Judging by his sneering, whatever is in that box must be very threatening...

"Did you say Pokemon trainer?" Red appeared, and Ike was with him, in the event the Pokemon trainer gets jumped by Peach or something. Red's idea, not Ike's.

"Red, we need to speak right now!" Peach scolded Red. The trainer tried to escape, but Ike grabbed him in the nick of time.

"No point in running, just take your L with dignity," the swordsman said to Red. Time for Red to pay the consequence.

"Don't waste your time with that boy," said Knuckle Joe, walking towards the tall box and carrying it inside. "Let this guy handle it..."

Joe opened the front lid of the box...and you won't believe you came out of it.

"P-P-Peyton Manning?!" Ike stammered, in awe of the legendary quarterback. "This HAS to be a robot!"

"Nope, you're looking at the real deal," smirked Peyton. It was truly him - the hair, the giant forehead, and even his arm could not be mistaken. To have a guy like Peyton Manning in the Smash Mansion...where the heck is Mario?!

"I keep-a telling you, the Panthers are-a going to..." the famed plumber was discussing with Link and Jimmy T. as he entered the foyer. At the very sight of Peyton Manning, Mario gasped went to touch Manning, just making sure he wasn't seeing things.

"I would greatly appreciate it if you stopped," said Peyton. Mario stopped touching him immediately; he no longer had a reason to, since he knows he's actually in the same room with the great Manning.

 **Mario: My hands-a are shaking...I actually touched-a Peyton Manning...I'm-a never washing these-a gloves ever again!**

"You're Peyton Manning, right?" Link approached Peyton. "Bowser says that you're one of the worst players to ever grace an NFL uniform!"

"And you must be Link, the worst hero to be arrested by the fashion police," responded Peyton. The others laughed at the quarterback's snarky remark. "Who are you supposed to be, some crappy jester from a ghetto kingdom?"

"Aw man, he got you good!" jeered Pit.

"Like you're the one to talk, kid...but we all know you're not that bright. Even if you were twice as smart, you'd still be stupid."

"Where's the pizza? Hope there's hot wings..." Wario arrived at the foyer, and took notice of Peyton Manning. "What business do you have here? Aren't you supposed to be in San Francisco?! Did you eat my precious hot wings?!"

"That's no way to talk to a sports legend, you ugly fiend! In fact, you're so ugly, you probably got incarcerated for mooning the public!"

More laughter ensued as Wario blushed. Believe it or not, Wario did go to jail for his ugly face, and nobody bothered to pay for his bail.

Then came Ryu. What insult does Peyton possibly have for him?

"Hey Ryu," greeted Peyton, starting off a little easy... "I've always wondered about your age. I would ask you how old you are, but I bet $50 bucks you can't count that high." ...and ends it with a burn.

"Au contraire, I'm the best counter this mansion has ever seen!" proclaimed Ryu. "Just watch! One...two...three..." Awkward silence followed afterwards. "I'll just leave my cash on the counter." Ryu placed his 50 bucks on the counter and left, just when Little Mac arrived.

"No way!" the boxer exclaimed when he saw Peyton. "Oh man, this is gonna be epic!"

"What's gonna be epic?" wondered Peyton.

"Just come with me please...somebody wants to see you."

"For what reason?"

"Just a little payback..."

* * *

Little Mac and Peyton were in the paddling room (why does this room even exist in the first place?!) and were paddling away on Tyson and Red, respectively. The two were lying flat on their stomachs, with their butts paddled.

"Coming up with this room was such a good idea!" remarked the Black Knight, who apparently runs the paddling room, with Young Link as his aide.

 **Black Knight: Punishment has become a lost art of American culture. But with innovations like the paddling room, parents can paddle their disobedient and unruly children in the comfort of their own homes!  
** **Young Link: Most parents already do that though.  
** **Black Knight: Oh, but you're missing the point, young child, they can do it in a separate room, and not places like the kitchen, or the living room, and the like!  
Young Link: You were never loved as a child, were you?  
Black Knight...Don't mention it.**

"This is for-a sneaking inside the mansion without-a consent!" Mario, who was also in the room, pied Tyson in the face with some blueberry pie.

"And this is for playing with Peach!" Young Link, also in the room as well, pied Red with some peach pie. Because why not?

"I didn't play with her, my master plan fell through!" responded Red. He would not have been in this situation, had he answered the front door, but his vigorous Pokemon training held him up.

Tyson and Red weren't the only ones getting paddled. Wario was paddled by Ryu for ending his exercising on an early note.

"You shall be forever doomed to be a fatty for the rest of your life!" Ryu proclaimed as he paddled Wario's behind.

"Eh, I can live with that," Wario shrugged.

Next to Wario was Pit, who was being paddled by Viridi...out of love. Awwww, how sweet...

"I'm only doing this because I love you!" Viridi smiled, kissing Pit on the cheek.

"Aw man, now I got the cooties!" panicked Pit. He has nothing to worry about, since cooties are a childhood disease made up by silly kindergartners. But let's let him believe what he wants to.

"Yo, Manning, you done yet?" Knuckle Joe poked his head through the padding room door and asked Peyton. "You got a big game tomorrow, and Nightmare Inc. has to teleport you back to San Fran right away.

"A few more minutes, and I'll be done," Peyton replied, continuing his paddling. Can't stop the G.O.A.T.


	8. Episode 8: Rivalries

**Episode 8: Rivalries**

Sonic was driving back from the dentist office, and boy was he mad. Why is he so mad, you might ask? It's because he was tasked with taking Tails to his dentist appointment so he can get his wisdom teeth removed.

And just like any patient who has their wisdom teeth removed, Tails has gauze in his mouth, and was acting all wonky due to the laughing gas that makes him numb to the pain. His wonky behaviors was getting on Sonic's nerves.

"The leads are weak! The leads are weak!" Tails proclaimed, fist pumping like a drunkard. "You're weak!" If Tails was acting normal, Sonic would have really socked him right about now. "Remember that movie Sonic?"

"Can't you just SHUT UP for once?!" Sonic yelled at Tails. C'mon man, you know better than to yell at Tails in the state he's in.

"But you're my best friend! My best friend in the whole wide world!" Tails was acting more and more loony with each passing second. Hopefully Sonic is able to tolerate his antics for the remainder of the ride...

...and thankfully he was able to. When the two arrived at Smash Mansion, Sonic helped Tails out of the car and escorted him to the front door. The fox was crying for no reason - a side effect of laughing gas.

 **Sonic: Driving Tails back to the mansion will go down as one of the worst experiences of my life! Nothing that came out of the dude's mouth ever made any sense, and he sobbed at the most unpredictable times! What's worse is that Tails inhaled so much laughing gas, that he'll act all wonky for the rest of the day...we oughta quarantine him until he's normal again!**

Sonic knocked on the door, and Mr. Game & Watch answered it. Tails was drooling - another side effect of laughing gas.

"Hi mommy!" he greeted Mr. Game & Watch; the 2-D man just scratched his head in confusion. He was more accustomed to being called "daddy", back when "Call Me Daddy" by the k-pop boy band EXO was a thing. Lucina and Viridi really overkilled that song...

"...Just help me take this dude in," Sonic said. Mr. Game & Watch helped the hedgehog walk Tails inside the mansion.

"How is Tails feeling?" Isabelle approached the three. Whenever Dr. Mario isn't around, she usually serves as a de facto nurse.

"Nice to meet you again, Ms. Isabelle!" Tails eagerly shook Isabelle's paw. Almost as if he was stuck in his own fantasy world - and it's quite scary.

"Where is Lucina?" asked Sonic. Lucina is the mansion's resident caretaker. "I'm getting sick and tired of having to watch over this kid!"

"Lucina went out with Chrom for some father-daughter bonding," stated Isabelle, feeling regretful that she had to tell Sonic this information. "So it'll be a while until she comes back..."

"A while?!" Sonic grew infuriated, knowing he'll have to watch over Tails for a considerable amount of time. "Why can't you do it?"

"Sorry Sonic, but I have my hands quite full. Mario wants his back scrubbed, and apparently he wants me to..."

"Screw Mario's back, I can't stand Tails anymore!"

"I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning..." Tails just stood there dazed, rubbing his head. That laughing gas has truly worked wonders for poor Tails.

 **Isabelle: Sonic seemed like a viable choice to transport Tails to the dentist's office...Jacky would keep talking about how great his car is, and Tails doesn't tolerate incessant people. Could you imagine if he was in a car ride with Lloyd? Though to be honest with you, NOBODY would want to be in a car ride with Lloyd.**

"Isabelle, where-a are you?" Mario called out from afar. "My back needs-a scrubbing!" No matter what is going on, regardless of priority of urgency, Mario's back HAS to be scrubbed. No human being has a back more rusty than Mario's.

"Guide Tails to your room, and monitor him there," Isabelle told Sonic as she scurried away. "He's very delicate in the state he's in, so don't mistreat him!" In a few seconds, Isabelle was gone.

"He's very delicate in the state he's in," Sonic repeated in a sardonic tone. Mr. Game & Watch gave Sonic a comforting pat on the back; the hedgehog's gonna need all the help he can get.

"Mrs. Isabelle has been assassinated!" Tails was having another one of his crying fits. "Somebody call the police station!" This is gonna be a rather long day for Sonic...

* * *

Following the Mike Tyson incident that occurred the other week, Samus and Mega Man X - under the consent of Mario - installed a security system for the mansion. This security system came with security cameras, a keypad, a free television (just for consolation), and a phone app.

"This app allows us brawlers to lock the doors of the mansion with the touch of our fingers," X showed off the app to Samus on his iPhone, which was programmed in his wrist. The many powers of being a robot. "I've already downloaded the app on Mario's phone, against his will."

"Against his will?" Samus raised an eyebrow. "He's supposed to be the man of the mansion, security should be his forte!"

"How can he be the man of the mansion if he's not man enough to write love letters to Peach?"

"...You got a point there."

 **X: It's just frustrating how Mario is too afraid to write Peach a single love letter, and refusing to write one just keeps biting him in the back. For instance, he had Lucas write a love letter to Peach, and the letter mentioned some stuff about Starmen and some fetus-looking alien named Giygas. Needless to say, Peach was definitely freaked out...**

Meta Knight entered the kitchen and threw a rolled up piece of paper in the garbage can - and missed. The security camera in the kitchen saw this and fired a tranquilizer dart at Meta Knight. Who knew the security cameras were capable of doing that?

"Why me..." the knight wondered as he became sedated. "Iii diiid noooothing wrooooong..." His speech was slurred as a result of his sedation.

"Was that supposed to happen?" asked Samus. She almost felt bad for Meta Knight, ending up tranquilized for no reason at all.

"The security system has a 'no littering' filter," explained X. "If a camera catches anyone littering, then the camera will fire a tranquilizer dart at that person, sedating them in the process. I only installed the filter because of carefree and nonchalant guys like Pit and King Dedede." Alright, so maybe there's a good reason behind this "no littering" security thing.

"We need to get Meta Knight somewhere safe," Samus picked up Meta Knight and held him in her arms. And no, she wasn't holding him like a baby. You were probably thinking she was, too.

"Good thing I know just the place..."

* * *

Link sat at a table in the library, reading a magazine Bowser gave to him (which probably has false information). Sitting opposite from him was Zelda, reading a Hyrulian book (which has factual information). Link kept looking up from his magazine and at Zelda, and he kept doing that for a prolonged period of time. Some belligerent romantic tension coming on, perhaps?

"Nice Super Bowl party you planned," Link told the princess of Hyrule. His flirting attempt so far is getting off to a great start.

"Thank you, Link, I hardly ever get any props for planning parties or anything," smiled Zelda. So far, so good...

"And that halftime show was alright. Beyonce was the best part about it, in my opinion. Hard to believe just a few years ago, she was Feyonce..."

Link silently grumbled and shook his head at his own corny joke. Way to go, Link. Way to go.

 **Link: *face in his hands* Stupid joke from some stupid joke book I bought from some stupid bookstore owned by some stupid grandmother and her stupid grandchildren...I hope their bookstore goes out of business.**

Zelda giggled at Link's joke - probably as a sign of sympathy - as he got up from her seat to go put the book away. Bowser and Shulk came to Link's aid; Bowser rubbed Link's shoulder, while Shulk hydrated the hero of Hyrule with some Gatorade. Link isn't seeking romantic advice from Bowser of all people, is he? Now Shulk would be a fine choice, since he's in a romantic relationship with Fiora...but Bowser? Is he out of his mind?!

"Go get her champ!" Bowser shook Link in an assuring way, returning to his hiding spot with Shulk - just when Zelda returned with a new book. Link just stared into her eyes.

"Never realized how pretty your eyes look," he smiled, sounding very stalker-like in his tone. He's really going for it.

"My eyes have always looked the same," stated Zelda. Momentum has returned on Link's side...

"Guess that makes them a sight for sore eyes..."

...and now all the momentum that Link built back up has been lost. The swordsman buried his face in his arms, too ashamed to look at Zelda. How does he expect to win Zelda's heart if he keeps acting like this?

 **Bowser: Link has to win Zelda's heart, he just has to! I've already had my chances with Peach, but that darn Mario keeps interfering in my romantic plans! So I've passing on any advice I gained during my attempts with Peach down to Link, and hopefully he'll utilize them well.**

"Hey Zelda," Gilgamesh approached Zelda. Link glared down Gil; ain't no way he was letting him win over Zelda before he does. "Wonderful weather we're having, isn't it?"

"Given that we live in Washington, I would say so," replied Zelda. Washington is notorious for its gloomy weather - nothing but rain clouds in sight - so to have a sunny day is quite remarkable.

"K.K. Slider is having a recital tonight. Wanna come?"

"I would absolutely love to!" Why didn't Link think of asking Zelda to attend the recital with him earlier? Everything would have gone completely in his favor.

"Alright then, I'll see you later tonight," Gil responded, walking away while giving Link a smug look. He was already one step ahead of the hero of Hyrule - but Link wasn't having it.

"If you don't mind..." Link returned to his conversation with Zelda, "...can I attend the recital with you and Gil?"

Ooh! Trying to even the score! Gil turned around and looked in shock. Bowser and Shulk, still situated in their hiding places, exchanged fist bumps with one another.

"That would be lovely!" smiled Zelda. "Surely you two will get along."

"You can bet on it..." Link replied, looking smugly at Gil. Two can play at that game.

* * *

Sonic sat in his room with his roommate Tails...who was acting slightly more normal, as the effects of the laughing gas began to die down.

"What is life?" Tails rested on his bed as he pondered over this very question. "What is its significance?" Do you ever ponder over these questions, too?

"Could you please cut it out with the philosopher crap?" asked Sonic, who was playing a Shantae game on his iPhone. "I'm trying to focus here!" Pit had showed him the game, and he's been hooked ever since!

"Sorry, Sonic, I'm just...thinking out loud."

"Think out loud somewhere else, I gotta beat this game before Pit does!"

 **Sonic: So Pit did a bet - whoever beats _Shantae: Risky's Revenge_ before the end of the week gets unlimited rights to the _Galaga_ arcade machine in the arcade room! I hid Pit's cell phone in a place he'll never find it - underneath the washing machine - so he'll never beat me! Right now I have a huge advantage, and what an advantage it is!**

There was a knock on the door. Sonic opened it, and saw Mega Man X and Samus; the blonde bounty hunter was holding a paralyzed Meta Knight, who was asleep. The hedgehog just looked at the three before slamming the door on them. Like Sonic is gonna "monitor" another person.

Another knock on the door. X and Samus are really persistent. Sonic sighed, and answered the door yet again.

"Yes, I can see that Meta Knight is in a paralyzed state," Sonic apathetically said. "Now do me a huge favor and leave me alone!"

Before Sonic could close the door, Samus gave the hedgehog the same stare she had given Mario, Akira, and Jacky. Just like the three men, Sonic was scared to the brim. He just might wet his pants...if he ever wore any.

"Sonic, you're going to watch over Meta Knight, and you're NOT going to fail us," she said. When Samus speaks, you listen.

"How did Meta Knight end up getting paralyzed?"

"X thought it would be a good idea to arm the security cameras with tranquilizer darts..."

"It keeps the brawlers from littering, I tell you!" X defended himself. Already the robot has received flak from fellow brawlers for his outrageous idea, but he's still comfortable about how beneficial his idea will be.

"Isabelle is always available, you know," Sonic pointed out. Why must he persist on lumping everything on Isabelle? She can't do everything by herself.

"She's still scrubbing Mario's rusty back. We've tried asking the others, but they weren't interested. We would ask the princesses, who are having their usual tea party, but Meta Knight would be too uninterested to participate. You're our last and only hope..."

Sonic groaned. He hates it when he's the last hope. People put that burden on him numerous times, and he's getting tired of it.

"If no one else is available, I can do it," sighed Sonic. So Samus handed Sonic Meta Knight...and Sonic dropped the knight on the floor, waking him up.

"Who dares wake me up from my slumber?!" Meta Knight frowned. He was no longer slurring words, but his voice sounded different. He looked up at the perpatrator, Sonic. "Sonic, you fool!"

"You were moving around too much!"

 **Samus: Lucina needs to hurry up on her "father-daughter bonding" time and get her scrawny butt over here as soon as she can. I fear that Sonic is gonna snap and lose it any minute now..**

"Well, we'll let you be," X said, closing the door. Sonic picked up Meta Knight and placed him on the bed next to Tails.

"Dwarfs are such good people," murmured Tails. "Have you ever wanted to meet a dwarf?" he asked Meta Knight.

"Stay away from me..." responded Meta Knight. Not only is he paralyzed, but he also has to deal with the likes of a disillusioned Tails. What did he possibly do to deserve this?

"Sonic I have something to tell you..."

"Just tell me man, just tell me!" Sonic threw a fit. He has officially lost it. "What is it that you want to tell me, that is SO important, I have to pause my game just so I can give a crap to listen?!"

"My bottom lip feels very numb."

Sonic's eyes twitched when Tails said this. The hedgehog was oh so close to beating the _Shantae_ game - by the time he beats the final boss, Pit would have already found his phone under the washing machine, which cannot be moved without Mr. Game & Watch's consent - and Tails's random remark deterred him from winning his bet with Pit.

"TAILS, ONE MORE PEEP OUT OF YOU, AND I WILL FEED YOU TO A HUNGRY DIALGA WITHOUT A SINGLE REGRET," Sonic threatened. This would be Tails's only warning; better keep his mouth shut, unless he wants to suffer the exaggerated consequences.

"...Just thinking out loud again. Heh heh..."

* * *

"C'mon, Pit, ya gotta check out this new room, it's legit!" Knuckles said to Pit as he walked the angel through the halls. The echidna redesigned one of the mansion's rooms, and he wanted Pit to get a first-hand look.

"I'm not so sure about this..." Pit was growing concerned. Usually he would be the first to do things - the first to read Robin's egregious love poems, the first to serve as Lucario's living punching bag, and the first to taste test Palutena's absolutely stupendous carrot stew, which gave everyone including Pit explosive diarrhea. Instances like these always end up bad for Pit, and what Knuckles has in store won't be any different.

The two arrived at a door with a heart on it. Pit investigated this door, wondering what could be behind it.

"Isn't this the paddling room?" he asked. The location of the room and how the door looked seemed familiar to Pit...and for all the wrong reasons.

"Used to be," replied Knuckles. "Mario believed having a paddling room was a stupid and immature idea, and he forced the Black Knight to tear this room down. So then I thought, 'Why not renew the room and make it better?'. And I thought you would be the perfect guy to see what this room's all about!"

"Did Mario approve the Black Knight's idea of a paddling room?"

"You know how Mario can be; he flip-flops more than a pancake."

Knuckles opened the door to the room, which was dark. Pit had a frightened look on his face...he's not scared of the dark, is he?

"In ya go!" Knuckles shoved Pit into the room, and closed the door. In the room, Pit saw portraits of himself, hanging about, and in the center, he found a table with a red cover, a lit candle in the center...

...and Viridi sitting at the opposite end. Pit gulped nervously.

 **Knuckles: The dark room premise? Rouge's idea. A table with a lit candle? Rouge again. And the hanging portraits of Pit? Rouge once more. Darn girl did the same thing to me a long time ago, so I incorporated what she did into the room. Yep, I guess you can say that there's a lot you can learn from in a romantic relationship...**

"Come take a seat, Pit..." Viridi smiled romantically, motioning to the empty chair. She has Pit where she wants him!

"I'm not your boyfriend!" Pit bolted for the door - but where was it? It's so dark, he has no idea where he's going!

"Now, now, my loving Pit, we have no time for your worrying. Just sit in this chair, and all will become clear..."

"I gotta get out of here! Kirby! Palutena! Where are you guys?!" Let's face it, Pit would not survive without the two people he mentioned. You know deep down it's true.

"Please, sit down Pit, and I'll explain everything that needs to explain."

Pit reluctantly headed to the dim-lit table, and took a seat. At any minute, when Viridi least expects it, the angel would bolt out of the room, and head for safety.

"So Pit, what qualities do you look for in a girl?" asked Viridi. A very simplistic question; Pit should have no issue answering this.

"Qualities such as what?" Pit raised an eyebrow, feeling panicked. "Girls shouldn't have any qualities, they're all perfect just the way they are!" What a profound statement by Pit! Strong enough to charm any lady, even Viridi.

"So you're saying I'M perfect?" Viridi gleamed at Pit's statement.

"...Yeah, sure, you're perfect in every sense of the word!" Pit's burying himself in a gigantic hole with every word that's coming out of his mouth.

"Does that mean...you'll be my boyfriend?"

"Heck no, you must be crazy!"

Viridi grabbed Pit by the collar and pulled him to her face, looking into his eyes lovingly AND angrily. The Goddess of Nature was turning full tsundere!

"Now you look here, you adorable little twit! I've devoted too much of my time to win your heart over, and I will not persist on stopping unless you do so! Either you decide to be my boyfriend, or I'll leave you to waste in the Reset Bomb Forest forever! Certainly you know how the reset bombs work, and what they are capable of..."

"Please, I beg of you, don't take me there!" Pit begged.

"Then choose to be my boyfriend!"

"Whatever you say..."

"Give me a definite answer!"

"Yes, yes, I'll be your boyfriend!"

"Good boy!" Viridi released her hold on Pit and tapped him on the head, and then kissing him on the cheek. Pit whimpered like a baby.

 **Pit: What have I gotten myself into...I'm simply not cut for this boyfriend thing! How come she never falls for Dark Pit, he's much more attractive than I am! Wait that didn't come out right...**

* * *

Once his rusty back was scrubbed to perfection, thanks to his assistant Isabelle, Mario put on his trademark overalls and hat. You can't mistake him for anyone else in that attire. And if you do...then you're just plain ignorant.

"So fresh and so-a clean!" the plumber grinned as he went on his merry way. While he was walking, he tripped over a certain object. The object in question? Ness's baseball bat. Mario became enraged real quick.

"I heard a very nasty fall!" Isabelle appeared and tended to Mario. "Are you okay, Sir Mario?"

"Maybe if-a I hadn't tripped-a over this baseball bat, then-a I would be okay!" frowned Mario. "Dumb Ness left-a his bat lying on the floor all-a willy nilly! Where-a is he?"

* * *

Mario and Isabelle found Ness in his room, playing Chutes and Ladders with Lucas. Is that game even popular these days? Board games like Monopoly and the Game of Life are taking attention away from lesser known games, and it's quite tragic to think about.

"Ness, why-a did you leave this in the hallway?" Mario threw the boy's baseball bat at the floor, and Ness began acting all suspect.

"Forgot to put it away after that home run derby," he chuckled nervously. Ness was involved in a home run derby with Diddy Kong, to see who can score the most home runs, and Ness won handily. Donkey Kong opted to participate, but he wasn't allowed to, since his strength would give him a very unfair advantage.

"And what's-a with all this junk in-a this room?" Mario looked around and saw baseball memorabilia, a kantana, some denchers, a boomerang, a flamethrower for whatever reason, and even Mr. Saturn, who was chilling atop a shelf. "Why do you have this stuff anyway?"

"Same reason why you have pictures of Peach hanging in your closet."

Mario's face became red like a tomato - and you know the emotion that causes this discoloration: rage.

 **Ness: I think I just sealed my death wish...**

"Calm down, Mario, Ness didn't inherently mean it..." Isabelle tried to console Mario, but the plumber was too furious to be consoled.

"Mark-a my words Ness, I'll ensure that-a every little thing in-a this room, including Mr. Saturn, will-a be out of this-a mansion by the end-a of the day! Goodbye!"

Mario stormed out of the room, Isabelle following along, slamming the door behind him.

"Nice going, Ness..." Lucas frowned at his best friend. Mario in an angry mood mostly results in bad morale among the brawlers.

"Eh, he'll get over it soon..." Ness shrugged comfortably. "Or so I hope..."

Outside the room, Mario was seething. Some repercussions were about to be made.

"Isabelle, get the front-a yard ready..." the musthached man told his assistant. "It's-a time for a yard-a sale!"

* * *

"Yo, Fox, check it out!" Falco hurriedly ran into the gaming room, laptop in hand, to show his buddy Fox something. The pilot was busy relaxing in a reclining chair.

"What's up dude?" asked Fox, sounding intrigued. Given how frantic Falco was, Fox's interest was greatly peaking.

"So I was searching through Isabelle's laptop..."

"Why would you even do that for?"

"Name me one instance Isabelle hasn't left her laptop on with her forgetful self."

"...Alright, continue."

"As I was navigating around, I saw a program full...of secrets!"

Fox's eyes bulged out of his sockets when Falco said this. A program full of secrets - Isabelle, that sly dog! (no pun intended)

 **Fox: Program full of secrets, eh? Isabelle definitely has some dirty stuff in there! Bet it's full of romantic confessions for K.K. Slider - wouldn't be surprised one bit if she actually likes him.**

"Only problem though..." Falco started to sound discontent. "...the program requires a password."

"Aw what?" Fox's hopes were almost given up. The password was the pilots' only roadblock to finding out about Isabelle's inner thoughts. "Tell me there's a password hint!"

"Thankfully there is a hint. But I'm afraid it might be some sort of initials. It reads, 'O.W.A.'..."

"O.W.A..." Fox pondered over this password hint for quite a bit. This hint was so simplistic, yet so hard to figure out... "Why not ask other people and see if they know what the password hint entails?"

"Good thinking." Falco scanned the gaming room, looking for somebody to ask, and his eyes fell upon Rosalina (and Luma) and Bayonetta, who were sitting in the far corner of the room having their girl talk. The two pilots confronted the girls.

"Hello boys," Bayonetta greeted, charming and seductive as she knows how. "You two look intrigued today."

"Isabelle left her laptop open, and while I was going through her stuff..." Falco explained...

"You noisy bird!" ...only to be interjected by Rosalina. "Put that laptop back where it belongs, you have no reason to glance at Isabelle's stuff! Sure she is absent-minded, and prone to leaving things unattended, but still..."

"Hear Falco out, just this once!" Fox convinced. "He found a program with secrets inside, and we need a password to unlock it!"

"No way are we invading Isabelle's private space. Isn't that right, Bayonetta?"

"Secrets - especially coming from someone like Isabelle - sound very intriguing..." Bayonetta stroked her chin. Her demented smile could mean one thing - she was on board with Fox's and Falco's password hunt.

"You're not willing to help those two out, are you?"

"An Umbra Witch always helps out those of high interest...Let's take a look-see at the password..."

 **Rosalina: Poor Isabelle...if Fox and Falco prove successful, then they'll ruin her reputation by announcing whatever secrets they find to the entire mansion...  
Luma: Don't fret, Mama, you can still punish them for their efforts!  
Rosalina: And how do you expect me to do that?  
Luma: *motions over to the Kongs playing billards*  
Rosalina: Oh, I see...**

Falco showed Bayonetta the password hint, and the Umbra Witch scrutinized it for a long time. The initials "O.W.A" sounded so familiar, yet she can't seem to put a finger on it...

"This is one tough cookie to crack," she remarked. "I'll think over this password situation for the rest of the day; you boys go wander off, perhaps somebody else can be of great assistance."

"Oh well," Fox shrugged. "Thanks anyway." He and Falco departed the gaming room. More brawlers within the mansion were about to be interrogated.

"You're truly terrible," Rosalina shook her head at Bayonetta.

"Truly is an understatement, I should say," Bayonetta snarled. Indeed it was, if you truly think about it.

* * *

Sonic did it. He finally did it! He beat _Shantae: Risky's Revenge,_ and won the bet with Pit. The _Galaga_ arcade machine was all his now.

"Aw yeah, I'm so awesome!" Sonic gloated. Tails and Meta Knight just stared at the hedgehog, both thinking he's celebrating too much.

"Beating an iPhone game is nothing to be overzealous about, Sonic," said Tails. And he was right.

"Shut your trap hole and let me enjoy my greatness!"

"What greatness..." Meta Knight scoffed. Of all the people in the mansion, why did X and Samus think it would be a good idea to leave him with Sonic? Someone impatient and short-tempered like him shouldn't be the one to monitor anyone else.

"Time to gloat in Pit's face!" Gloating is the only thing that will make Sonic feel better about his victory.

"But what about us?" asked Tails. Sonic can't just leave the two unattended; what if Tails says something that makes Meta Knight feel some type of way, and the knight thrusts his sword into Tails's chest mustering all his strength, effectively killing him?! Who knows what Meta Knight is fully capable of, despite his paralysis!

"Don't worry, Tails. When I had to use the bathroom earlier, I found the perfect guy to take over. Luigi, come on in!"

The green-clad plumber nervously entered the room; in his hands was a storybook. Tails and Meta Knight were hoping he won't be telling any stories.

 **Luigi: Now is the perfect time to redeem myself. King Dedede thinks I'm not the authoritarian type, but I'll surely prove him wrong. Besides, who is he to talk, he abuses his own power by letting his Waddle Dees defecate all over the mansion! Says that they're not "compatible enough" to use a toilet...give me a break!**

"Luigi here will monitor you both while I gloat in front of Pit and make him feel more bad than he already is," explained Sonic. "Hope you three have fun!" The hedgehog ran out of the room at the speed of light, in search of Pit.

"I can't feel my face..." Tails rubbed his face, feeling sore. First his lip was feeling numb, and now his face has succumbed to the numbness.

"You got it!" Luigi, thinking Tails was referring to The Weeknd, pulled out a boombox from his nonexistent pocket (kudos for managing to stick it in there) and pressed the play button. "Can't Feel My Face" played out of the speakers, and Luigi danced to the song, much to Tails's and Meta Knight's chagrin.

"This is all your fault," Meta Knight glared at the yellow fox, who chuckled innocently. What fate could be possibly worse than being paralyzed? Having to watch Luigi's horrendous dance moves, of course.

* * *

Outside the Smash Mansion, Mario was having a yard sale, and the place was poppin'. But the plumber wasn't alone - Kirby, Cloud, Lucario, Robin, Bowser Jr, Wolf and Dark Pit offered to help...

"So how did Mario bribe you guys to work the yard sale?" Lucario asked his fellow workers.

"He offered to loan me $500 in cash," said Wolf. Again, working only for the money...

"He promised me some cooking lessons," said Robin, who no longer has to enter the kitchen with a chaperon.

"He gave me free tickets to the aquarium downtown," said Dark Pit. Wonder if he'll take Pit to the aquarium with him...

"He took my Nintendo 3DS and refused to give it back unless I work for him!" said Bowser Jr. Is Mario really that desperate?

"Ooh wah!" Kirby held up a giant slice of strawberry cake he was eating. Very easy to entice Kirby with food.

"Eh, I decided to work here on my own accord," Cloud coolly replied. Dude is always chill...and at times apathetic.

 **Cloud: Two major reasons why I'm working at the yard sale; one, Mario might get in over his head and may require an ego check, and two, he's selling some stuff that he shouldn't be selling.**

Indeed, Cloud was right; some of the items Mario was selling included Ness's baseball bat, Snake's spy gear, the Wii Fit Trainer's soccer ball, Lucina's mask, and Ganondorf's Sword of Sages - which was being sold to a customer right now.

"Not my Sword of Sages!" Ganondorf ran to the customer and grabbed his sword, staring the customer down.

"Watcha doin', I was-a making a transaction here!" frowned Mario.

"Who told you to sell my sword to this craven?"

"My-a conscience did. Now give-a it back!"

Mario and Ganondorf were embroiled in a tug-of-war over the Sword of Sages. Many of the customers videotaped this on their cell phones, being able to cherish a video of a plumber and a Demon Lord fighting over a sword forever.

"A book of romantic poems?" a customer picked up a scrapbook and read it out loud. "The sword of love that dispels all enemies...and draws your loved ones closer...Who writes this dumb crap?!"

"I write that dumb crap!" Robin confronted the customer, snatching his book. "Mario why are you trying to sell my book?!"

"Darn-a it, I was-a hoping you didn't notice!" pouted Mario, still in the tug-of-war match with Ganondorf. He lost when Ganondorf pulled the Sword of Sages towards him, and the force was strong enough to knock Mario back.

 **Robin: I thought that hiding my book of love poems in the cupboard of my room would be a good idea, since the key to the cupboard is stashed underneath my pillow. Mario must have found the key while he was pillaging through the mansion for things to put out on the yard sale...**

 **Mario: Foolish Robin, when-a will he ever learn? It's not-a good to hide stuff underneath your-a pillow - that's-a how I learned the tooth-a fairy doesn't exist! Hid my loose-a teeth underneath my pillow, and-a what did I get? Goose-a eggs!**

"The way you're running this yard sale, it's downright appalling!" said Ganondorf.

"Like you can-a do any better..." Mario scoffed. He was confident that he was doing his yard sale the right way, though the workers don't necessarily share that sentiment.

"I'll give it a shot! Your yard sale is going down!" Ganondorf marched into the mansion, ready to do some serious yard sale work.

* * *

Ganondorf's adversary, Link, was still on the hunt for Zelda's heart. Zelda had just finished her tea party with Peach, and was getting her hair done in the beauty spa.

"Your hair looks so nice!" the Wii Fit Trainer, who was doing Zelda's hair, complimented the princess of Hyrule's lovely locks.

"Ah, don't mention it," replied Zelda. "Being the monarch that I am, hair maintenance is of the utmost priority."

"If only I can get my hair straightened like yours..." moaned the female Inkling, who was present in the spa.

 **Female Inkling: Us Inklings don't have hair, like usual humans do; instead we're stuck with these dumb tentacles atop of our heads! But Inkopolis News host Marie, of all people, has a freaking bob for hair! A bob! Simply unfair!  
** **Palutena: *walking past the Inkling* They are still tentacles, you know...  
** **Female Inkling: It's just stupid! Stupid, stupid, STUPID!**

Link entered the spa, grinning like he was up to something - and he was.

"Hey Zelda..." he said to the princess. "Guess who already reserved seats for K.K. Slider's recital...this guy!" Link proudly puffed his chest, awaiting Zelda's response.

"That's nice, Link, but Gil reserved seats for the three of us already, at the front row," responded Zelda. Link snapped his fingers in disgust; his nemesis Gil had beat him to the punch. But he thought of an offer that would hopefully please Zelda.

"Gil might have reserved seats, but he didn't reserve any snacks!"

"Oh but he did - he asked K.K. Slider if he could set up a snack bar, and he got his approval!"

"Seriously?! That guy..."

Link grunted as he marched angrily out of the spa Gil was a few steps ahead of him - and he didn't like it one bit.

"Never saw Link this angry before..." remarked the Wii Fit Trainer.

"Yeah..." Zelda bowed her head in sadness. Did she incidentally upset Link?

* * *

Awaiting outside the spa - giving the impression that they're creepers - were Bowser and Shulk. When Link marched out of the spa, the two surrounded the swordsman and bombarded him with a slew of questions.

"So how did it go?"

"Did she say yes?"

"Were you nervous at all?"

"ENOUGH!" Link shouted at the top of his lungs. "I've had it with you two!"

"Look man, we're just trying to help!" stated Shulk.

"Trying to help?! You couldn't at least reserve seats, or think about getting some snacks?! Gil has done both of those things! Some help you guys are!"

"How were we supposed to know what Gil did? We were just giving you suggestions!"

"Yeah Link, you need to chill out, it's not like Zelda actually likes you or anything," Bowser said, before realizing the words that just came out of his mouth. He had covered his mouth with his hands, but the damage was already dealt.

"Well you know what Bowser? I don't need you, and I don't need your 'student' to win Zelda's heart!"

"What are you trying to say?"

"We're done, Bowser. We're through! No more of your dumb classes again!" Link walked away. Little did he know that ditching Bowser for good would be one of the greatest decisions he ever made.

 **Bowser: Pfft, I don't need Link anyways, he can just carry on all by himself, but if he ever needs any good advice, I hope he doesn't come crying to me! At least I have my man Shulk around...**

* * *

There were now two yard sales going on - one run by Mario, and the other by Ganondorf. Three of Mario's workers - Robin, Lucario, and Dark Pit - went to go work for Ganondorf after learning that Mario was selling their stuff - more or less, the stuff they don't want to be sold.

"Ganondorf is-a doing better than-a me?" Mario observed that the demon lord's yard sale was performing better than his, as dozens of people were flanking about. "How-a is this possible?"

"Maybe it's because Ganondorf is selling immaterial stuff that the brawlers don't use?" stated Cloud. While Mario was selling a soccer ball, a baseball bat, and other items the brawlers typically use in their battles, Ganondorf was selling Wario's golf bat, Villager's bass mount, and other items that were old and unused.

 **Ganondorf: So far my yard sale is going along smoothly...ever since I set up shop, Mario has accumulated a meager amount of customers, while I keep raking in the dough! Who needs rupees when you have cold hard cash rolling in?**

"Our overall sales has jumped through the roof!" exclaimed Dark Pit, who was wearing hipster glasses and reading a calculator. Hipster glasses? Calculator? Oh dear... "We have reached over $400 in sales!"

"Ha ha!" Ganondorf laughed, in a presumably evil way. "Take that, Mario!" The plumber glared his competitor down. But Mario knew the perfect ploy to draw customers to his side.

"Everything's half-a off!" Mario announced. A great number of customers flocked over to Mario's yard sale. The plumber smugly smiled as Ganondorf gritted his teeth.

"All items are 75 percent off!" the demon lord announced. People then flocked over to _his_ yard sale. It was now an all-out yard sale war brewing between Mario and Ganondorf - Cloud knew it was bound to happen anytime soon.

* * *

"Wanna go out on a date tonight?" Captain Falcon was flirting with Palutena in the longue. Like all the other female brawlers, Palutena was getting annoyed by the race car driver. She was hoping Bayonetta would show up and shoot Falcon in the leg, sending him to the hospital like she did a few weeks back.

"Immortals like myself cannot go out with mere mortals," Palutena explained. For the longest, she has told Falcon this information, but when does he ever listen?

"In that case, why not go window shopping? Not exactly a date if you ask me, but we still get to spend time together..."

"Lady Palutena, I have a dire situation on my hands!" Pit ran into the lounge, panting once he came to a halt.

"What is it Pit?" Whenever Pit has a situation, Palutena usually assumes it's along the lines of something like a clogged toilet.

"Viridi forced me to be her boyfriend! She's in love with me, and apparently she wants me to love her back!"

"Aw, how sweet, you two would make the perfect couple!"

"Yeah, kiddo, sure I wanted Toon Link to be Viridi's boyfriend, but I had a feeling she had a soft spot for you!" grinned Captain Falcon.

"But I can't be in a relationship with her!" Pit stressed out. "She's a freak, a freak I tell you!"

"Pit stop that nonsense!" scolded Palutena. Captain Falcon was laughing uncontrollably - look up the word "freak" in the Urban Dictionary, and you'll see why Falcon is laughing so hard.

 **Captain Falcon: *still laughing* Pit calling Viridi a freak...never thought I would hear that!**

"It's okay to be in love, Pit," Palutena said to Pit. "There's no shame in being a boyfriend or anything."

"But Viridi of all people?" moaned Pit.

"Maybe she'll come around if you commit to your relationship. She might be at K.K.'s recital tonight; you should go talk to her, and get to know her better!"

"Eh, I'll do it, but only for you, Lady Palutena."

"Sorry Pit, but the bet is OVER!" Sonic entered the lounge, and began to gloat in the angel's face. "I beat the _Shantae_ game, and the Galaga arcade machine is all mine!"

"No fair, I didn't even get a chance to play that game! You didn't hide my cell phone...did you?"

* * *

"Here you go, sir - a cell phone that Mario is selling for some reason!" Bowser Jr sold Pit's cell phone to a customer. Mario had found the cellular device underneath the washing machine, and believed that selling it would result in a huge profit.

"Now I have two cellular devices!" exclaimed the customer. Why would he need two?! "Thanks, man!" the customer went on his merry way.

"Free Pikachu and-a Pichu for sale! Two Pokemon for-a one price!" announced Mario, who had the two mouse Pokemon on the table. Yes, he was getting so desperate, he would go as far as selling two of the brawlers for cash. Anything to beat his rival Ganondorf.

"You can't just sell Pokemon like that!" Red the Pokemon Trainer confronted Mario. "They have to be in a Poke Ball!"

"That requires too much-a work!" Seriously Mario? All you have to do is throw a Poke Ball at Pikachu and Pichu, and in a few seconds, they'll be caught. Simple as that.

 **Red: It's official, Mario's completely lost it. He was already crazy originally, trying to sell our belongings to strangers, but when Ganondorf started his own yard sale, Mario has gone on the deep end.**

"I'm taking these two back to the Pokemon sanctuary," Cloud went to the table to fetch the Pokemon, but was stopped by Mario.

"I've-a had enough of your-a moralistic suggestions!" said the plumber, grabbing Pikachu and Pichu. "These Pokemon are staying with me!"

"Pika-CHHHUUUU!" Pikachu and Pichu used Thunderbolt on Mario, shocking him. Serves him right for putting him up for sale.

"Mama mia..." Mario uttered as he was covered in soot.

"Heh heh heh, what a maroon," Ganondorf chuckled after watching what happened to Mario. His yard sale was going along smoothly...

"Yo, Ganondorf, why you selling my towel?!" Doc Louis confronted the Demon Lord. Dude can't live without his white towel, it's a minor trademark of his.

"One man's trash is another man's treasure."

"You sayin' my towel is trash?! Oh man, you gonna get it now!" Doc Louis threw up his dukes. "Let's throw them hands!"

Soon the people at Mario's yard sale went over to Ganondorf's - just to see the Demon Lord fight. But Ganondorf wouldn't budge.

"Lucario, Dark Pit, take him away," he commanded. The aura Pokemon and the angel did as they were told.

"I'm gonna get my towel back, just you wait and see!" Doc Louis vowed. Lucina and Chrom showed up, returning from their father-daughter bonding, and saw the huge crowds.

"Two yard sales going on, eh?" said Chrom. "Very interesting..."

"My mask!" Lucina saw that Bowser Jr was selling a customer her mask. The swordswoman swooped in at the nick of time to retrieve her mask. "Why would you sell something like this?!" She scolded Bowser Jr.

"Don't scold me, scold Mario!" attested Bowser Jr. "He's the one who put all these items for sale!"

 **Lucina: I try not to let my mask out of my sight...especially after that Wario incident. He used it to pick his nose! Those giant fingers of his could have done it for him, but he said that my mask was "more efficient"...you won't believe the excessive hours I spent sanitizing my mask, it was all covered in mucus... *shudders***

"Mario..." Lucina glared down Mario, who felt concerned for his life.

"I'm just...gonna go now..." the customer who was about to purchase Lucina's mask slowly backed away, before running off.

* * *

Fox's and Falco's search for the password to the program on Isabelle's laptop led them to Marth's room. The Hero King was busy looking for his stuff - most of which were likely sold at Mario's yard sale.

"No way I'm helping you two," Marth told the pilots. "Whatever Isabelle has stored on her laptop is for nobody's eyes but her."

"Always knew you weren't fun..." Falco shook his head. Marth isn't fun because he values privacy? "Let's go, Fox..."

The next person the two pilots asked was Takamaru, who they encountered in the hallway.

"Try Google Password!" he suggested. "Find answer there!"

 **Takamaru: Me use Google to meet girls online! Google very smart, very thoughtful yes!**

"Good thinking, Takamaru, let's try it," Fox got his cell phone out and googled "O.W.A". Outlook Web Access was the first thing that popped up. "Doubt Isabelle would use 'Outlook Web Access' as a legit password." Fox put his phone back. "Thanks for the help, Maru."

"My job just doing!" Now he's scrambling words...seesh.

Dunban was the next person the pilots consulted. They found him in the cafe, reading a newspaper.

"So you want me to figure out the password hint, so you can use the password to log into the program and discover Isabelle's secrets," Dunban said after the story was told to him. He sounded a bit skeptical, mainly because he knew Fox and Falco shouldn't even be bothering with Isabelle's laptop in the first place.

"More or less," Falco nodded. He doesn't know why, but he feels as if they're close to getting the password...

"Hand me the laptop, I'll try and work this out."

So Falco handed Isabelle's laptop to Dunban. The Homs just sat there for a while...and when the pilots least expected it, got up and ran out of the cafe. Fox and Falco ran after him.

* * *

The day was winding down, and Ganondorf's yard sale was a rousing success, as the Demon Lord accumulated over $1000 in cash. However, the same couldn't be said for Mario - after learning that her mask was being sold, Lucina retrieved all of the brawlers' items that were sold, and gave the customers their money back. Mario looked at his jar of money, which was now empty, and sighed.

"Hope you enjoy the taste of defeat, Mario!" Ganondorf taunted the plumber as he headed back inside the mansion, holding an overfilled jar of money. Robin, Lucario, and Dark Pit were following him. And boy were they glad that they worked for the demon lord.

 **Lucario: Gotta hand it to Ganondorf, he's quite the salesman. He's not gonna berate people for refusing to buy an item he wants you to buy, nor would he do over-the-top things to attract customers - like putting Pokemon up for sale, for instance. Still can't believe that Mario was trying to sell Pikachu and Pichu away...as the old saying goes, money is the root of all evil.**

"Y'all coming to see my recital?" K.K. Slider asked Mario and his workers.

"We would love too!" exclaimed Bowser Jr. "Right Mario?" The plumber was too disappointed to care.

"It starts in a few. Hopefully I'll see you dudes there!" the hippie dog departed, and Peach showed up. Mario no longer looked disappointed, and started acting all content. He's always like this whenever Peach's around.

"Hi Mario!" greeted the Mushroom Kingdom princess. "Chrom said you and Ganondorf were having a yard sale."

"Indeed, we-a were, but Ganondorf raised more-a money than I did!" pouted Mario. "Lucina had the nerve-a to retrieve all the stuff I-a was selling!"

"Stuff such as...?" Mario would then explain to Peach what he was selling. "Mario, those are very crucial and important items, why would you sell them?!"

"I tried to warn him about it, but he just wouldn't listen," stated Cloud. Mario was too in over his head to heed Cloud's warnings.

"Ness was-a a leaving his stuff-a about in the mansion, and I thought-a it would be a good idea to-a sell his stuff and everyone else's!" explained Mario. "This yard-a sale will teach-a him a lesson in leaving things-a lying all over the place!"

"Yet he was in no way involved with the yard sale to begin with..."

"...He will learn his lesson indirectly!"

"Mario you bozo!" King Dedede confronted Mario. "Trying to sell my NME cell phone...what were you thinking?!"

"I bet you that-a phone doesn't even work-a anymore! Let-a me show you, hand over the phone!"

So King Dedede gave Mario the NME cell phone, and inadvertently pressed a button that dialed Customer Service - perhaps Dedede's only buddy in the world.

"Hello, Customer Service, how may I help you?" the salesman's voice was heard on the phone.

"This dumb-a thing still works?" Mario looked surprised.

"Well if it isn't Mario!" Customer Service exclaimed after hearing Mario's voice. "How ya doing man? I still have that glass statue of Peach if you're wondering - the one you placed an order on earlier today. So when you're gonna man up and write a love letter to Peach? Those kiddies can't write those letters for you forever, you know! Peach doesn't want to hear the same crap over and over again about some alien invasion! I would continue chatting, but I gotta go take a shower - you don't know what's it like being a salesman. Smell ya later!"

Customer Service ended the call, and Mario had a mortified look on his face. He turned his face towards Peach, who was tearing up. She cried as she ran away, covering her face in her hands. Poor girl...

"I'm just gonna...go now..." Bowser Jr quietly left the scene. King Dedede and Cloud both followed suit, leaving Mario by himself. Now would be the perfect time for the plumber to recollect his thoughts, and think about what he has done.

 **Cloud: Should I have deterred King Dedede from giving the phone to Mario? Though I would have, Mario would probably argue with me about it. And in spite of how much I would try to reason with him, he wouldn't listen. In fact, he never listened during the entire yard sale.**

* * *

Tails was no longer affected by the laughing gas, and Meta Knight was no longer paralyzed - meaning that the two are now fully capacitated! However, they were still under the watch of Luigi, who was trying his best to entertain the two through his singing/dancing...

"Para bailar la bamba, para bailar la bamba, se necesita una poca de gracia, una poca de gracia pa mi pa ti..." the plumber sang while he was dancing to the song on the boombox. The dancing looked extremely awkward, though.

"Someone please save us..." begged Meta Knight. He and Tails have seen enough.

 **Luigi: I had-a no idea what I was-a singing back there, but I heard-a the song while I was surfing through the radio-a stations, and I thought it-a sounded tight!**

"I'm back!" Sonic returned to the room, much to the delight of Meta Knight and Tails. "Sorry I took so long - I had to help Pit find his cell phone after I hid it from him, but Mario apparently tried to sell it at his yard, and Lucina tracked down the cell phone and returned it to Pit. You're off the hook, Luigi!"

"Awww but-a I was having so-a much fun with these two..." Luigi moaned. Meta Knight and Tails just looked at each other; Luigi was more annoying and weird than he was fun. "You guys coming to K.K. Slider's recital?"

"Will there be chili dogs?" Sonic won't attend if there's no chili dogs, it's his favorite food.

"I think-a so..."

"Sweet! I'll be there!"

* * *

After chasing Dunban throughout the mansion, Fox and Falco finally cornered the Homs, holding Isabelle's laptop against his chest, in an empty room.

"You'll never get this back!" vowed Dunban, who apparently thinks pressing the laptop harder against him will do anything.

"Fox...tickle him," commanded Falco.

"With pleasure..." Fox went up to Dunban and tickled him. The Homs was laughing as he dropped Isabelle's laptop on the floor; Falco grabbed it just in time and opened the laptop.

Then Geno entered the empty room, wondering what all the commotion was, and saw Fox tickling Dunban. It's safe to say the star warrior feels slightly unnerved by what he was seeing.

"Not even gonna ask..." Geno exited the room, but he didn't get that far from the door before Falco consulted him.

"Hey Geno, buddy ol' pal, Fox and I are trying to find the password for this program on Isabelle's laptop, but the password hint has got us stumped," the avian pilot explained. "Here's the password hint..." He then showed Geno the initials "O.W.A".

"'O.W.A'?" Geno examined the password hint. "Oh man, that's easy, it's the initials for One Winged Angel, Sephiroth!"

 **Geno: Being owned by Square Enix certainly has its perks. I know more information about _Final Fantasy_ than everyone here! Except for Cloud, maybe...**

"Of course!" Falco entered the swordsman's name, and activated the program. "Yo, Fox, we're in!"

"Awesome!" Fox met up with Falco, as the two entered the program to read Isabelle's secrets...which weren't as juicy as they thought. "I get side-tracked very easily...?" Fox read one of these secrets.

"I can write with my left hand also?!" Falco read another. "Man these secrets are bogus!" He threw the laptop behind him, and it unexpectedly landed in the hands of Bowser, who was walking with Shulk. The Koopa King read the secrets out loud.

"What kind of secrets are these?!" Bowser questioned. He scrolled down to the bottom of a page...

..and his eyes widened. He grinned evilly; evidently he found a very shocking secret that he plans to tell everyone.

"Oh yeah, I'm definitely telling this to the people at the recital!" he exclaimed. Yup...

"Telling people what?" asked Shulk. Bowser showed him the secret; the Homs gasped in horror. "Bowser you wouldn't do such a thing!" Has Shulk forgotten that Bowser is a villain? Performing malicious things is his specialty.

"I would do such a thing, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"Well you know what, Bowser? We're through! No more teachings from you ever again! No way I'm gonna follow a malicious guy like you!"

"Your loss, kid!" Bowser ran away with the laptop. "Have fun without me!"

"Should we...go after him?" inquired Falco. This whole _was_ his fault.

"Might as well," shrugged Fox. The two pilots chased after Bowser.

* * *

K.K. Slider's recital, which took place in the in the lecture hall (because why not?) was set to begin. Viridi asked Gil if she could run the snack bar, and she wanted to do it for one reason, and one reason only...

"Pit HAS to eat this," Knuckles showed Viridi a heart-shaped cake on the table. Rouge had given the cake to him after the echidna explained to her the situation involving Pit and Viridi. "Once he consumes any portion of the cake, regardless of the size, he must be facing you, and in an instant, he'll immediately fall in love with you. No more of the 'I'm not your boyfriend' crap - you'll love Pit, and Pit will love you back. Capiche?"

"A cake that makes the person love someone at first sight..." Viridi pondered. "Sounds absolutely splendid! This just has to work!"

 **Viridi: I will go as far as burning this wretched mansion down if Pit refuses to love me back! No other boy is more perfect than Pit; he's like the butter to my toast...the chocolate to my vanilla...you know what I mean!**

Mario entered the lecture hall, and saw Peach silently crying to herself all alone. He approached the princess and sat next to her. This can't possibly end well.

"Peach may-a I speak with you for a minute?" he asked.

"Don't talk to me!" Peach turned the other way and continued sobbing.

"Look-a Peach, I know you're sad-a about those love letters - the ones I had-a Ness and Lucas write to you. Truth of the matter, I had-a them do that task, because...because I have a strong-a fear."

"A strong fear of what?"

"A strong-a fear...of upsetting you."

Peach stopped crying and turned to face Mario, giving him a "You really mean that?" look. And clearly he really means it.

"I didn't write a love-a letter because I was afraid I might-a say something that will-a upset you," Mario went on. "After all, you are quite-a sensitive when it comes to feelings..."

"Oh, Mario..."

"And the yard-a sale? My reason for doing it was-a not only to clean-a out the mansion...but to raise-a some money so I could-a buy you a glass statue of yourself as a Valentine's Day-a gift. I placed-a the order for the statue via King Dedede's NME cell phone today, and tried to sell the phone-a to get rid of the evidence."

"Aww, Mario, you didn't have to go through all of that, especially for Valentine's Day. With you, every day can be considered Valentine's Day!"

"You're-a right," Mario grinned after hearing Peach's lovely statement. "But now I don't-a have the money to afford-a the statue..."

"Yeah, about that..."

Ganondorf approached Mario. The demon lord felt somewhat delighted, and he rarely feels that way unless he's committing an act of evil.

"The money I accumulated during the yard sale..." he said. "...I used it to get that glass statue you ordered."

"Really?" Mario's eyes bulged. Ganondorf doing acts of kindness? Is this real life?!

"King Dedede told me everything."

 **King Dedede: Man I'm such a great guy...but everyone else doesn't want to think that...but let them believe what they wanna believe!**

"Also, the Kongs ran into Bowser while they were looking for Fox and Falco, and caused Bowser to tweak his ankle," said Ganondorf. "They were plotting to beat up the two pilots, apparently."

"My goodness, that is terrible!" worried Peach. If Bowser were to fall into a pit of lava, she wouldn't think that's terrible.

"Bowser was also carrying Isabelle's laptop in his hands..."

"I must-a investigate immediately!" Mario got up from his seat and ran out of the lecture hall.

At the front of the lecture hall, Zelda was sitting in-between Link and Gil. The three were sitting in seats reserved for them; K.K. Slider had the Black Knight beat up anyone who tried to take the seats. Pac-Man and Little Mac were the only ones who received that fate.

"Greetings, my beautiful people!" K.K. Slider walked onto the stage, along with Jigglypuff. "Glad you all could come here for a rockin' recital. Now let's begin!"

The recital begin, with K.K. playing his guitar, and Jigglypuff providing vocal accompaniment. Link looked to his left and saw the snack bar, where Pit was trying to be romantic with Viridi. Emphasis on trying. Link believed that if he proved to Zelda he could run the snack bar to perfection, he would win the princess's heart. So Link got up and headed over to the snack bar.

"So, uh, you want me to eat this cake?" Pit pointed at the cake. His romantic attempts were too much for Viridi to handle.

"Yes you adorable idiot!" frowned Viridi, before she caught herself. "I mean, yes, that would be lovely!"

"Move aside!" Link ran behind the snack bar and shoved Viridi to the floor. Virid just looked up at him in disgust. How rude of Link!

"Hey man what are you doing?" Knuckles confronted Link, who was deteriorating his plans.

"Bring Zelda over here and no one gets hurt!" Link whipped out his sword and pointed it at Knuckles. The echidna groaned and did as he was told, not wanting to start any drama. Link put his sword back where it belonged.

"Again!" Viridi got up from the floor and grew frustrated. Another failed attempt to get Pit to love her.

"At least we can still enjoy the recital!" Pit said to her. "Right?" The goddess of nature ignored Pit and stormed out of the lecture hall. She had enough.

 **Pit: So I've tried to be romantic with Viridi, but she doesn't want to be romantic back...maybe she's cooling off!**

Knuckles brought Zelda to the snack bar and walked away, grumbling.

"Didn't know you wanted to run the snack bar," Zelda told Link.

"Never hurts to try new things out," Link shrugged. "So what would you like?"

"Chili dogs!" Sonic ran into the lecture hall at the speed of light, and when he approached the snack bar, bumped into Zelda, causing her to land face-first in the heart-shaped cake. "Zelda I'm so sorry..." Sonic apologized.

"Not the cake!" Knuckles, who completely forgot about the cake, panicked as he went to the snack bar. K.K. Slider stopped his recital just to see what was going on. Everyone in the lecture hall was looking on.

Slowly but steadily, Zelda got up, and had swallowed the cake that just so happened to enter her mouth. Once she stood up on her feet, guess who was the first person she was looking at? _Link._

"Hoo boy..." Knuckles said. His plan was now an ultimate failure.

"Zelda why are you looking at me like that?" Link asked. Zelda was staring lovingly into Link's eyes. Guess what happens next?

"Kiss me you fool!" Zelda pulled Link towards her, and soon enough, the two were kissing each other. Zelda and Link are now an item.

"Awwww..." everyone in the lecture hall said in unison. Everyone except for Gil, who was rather bitter, and Toon Link, whose eyes were covered by the Flying Man.

 **Flying Man: Toon Link's innocence must be protected! Watching his older incarnation make out with Zelda would scar him for life! For I am...  
Jacky Bryant: *from afar* DON'T SAY THAT DUMB PHRASE EVER AGAIN!**

* * *

After taking his nemesis Bowser to the fitness center to be treated, and reasoning with the Kongs for attempting to beat up Fox and Falco after Rosalina instructed them to (if you knew it was Rosalina, give yourself a pat on the back), Mario returned Isabelle's laptop back to her. He also learned of the secret Bowser was planning to tell everyone.

The secret, you might ask? Isabelle...has diabetes. The dog was bawling as Mario comforted her in her room.

"Why-a would you keep a secret-a about that, Isabelle?" Mario asked.

"Because I didn't think anyone would care," stated Isabelle. "I mean, you only do so much around here, and nobody else..."

"That doesn't-a mean a thing! Just because I'm-a always busy doing stuff-a around here, and the princesses are-a having their tea parties, and K.K. Slider's singing his-a songs and playing his guitar, and Yoshi's writing his dumb-a fanfics, doesn't mean we wouldn't care-a about you! We won't-a ever leave you-a behind in the dust! We love-a you, and appreciate you!"

"I guess you're right..." Isabelle smiled as she stopped bawling, wiping a tear away.

"Together we-a will overcome your-a diabetes, and ensure-a that you'll be-a happy and gleeful all-a the time!"

"Thank you for the kind words, Mario."

"Sorry to interrupt, Mario, but you missed a great recital!"

Standing at the doorway of the room was Zelda and Link, who were holding hands. Mario just looked at their hands, and fainted on the floor.

"Sir Mario?" Isabelle poked Mario - just to see if he was okay.


	9. Episode 9: Cruisin' Part 1

**Episode 9: Crusin' Part 1**

Mario gathered all the brawlers in the meeting room to discuss some important matters. Everyone was in attendance except for Bowser, Fox, and Falco, who were punished for their actions in the previous chapter. You'll see what Mario put them up to later.

Inside the meeting room, there was drama, and lots of it, too.

"My chair, sir!" Ike was fighting with Captain Falcon over a chair. Not a girlfriend, not a spot in a long line...but a chair.

"My helmet, sir!" Captain Falcon took off his helmet and handed it to Ike, hoping it would appease him.

"Why would I want your dumb helmet for?"

Okay, so it's not really any serious drama, but it's still drama nonetheless.

 **Peach: Whenever we have meetings in the meeting room, things get rather hectic. People fight over chairs, a lot of stuff is somehow wasted on the floor, Wario urinates in the corner of the room, hoping no one would see him...I bet you he's doing it right now!  
Wario: Am not! *zips up his pants***

"Everyone get-a in a seat!" commanded Mario, yelling at the top of his lungs. The brawlers did as they were told. "Now that-a I have your attention, I'm afraid I have-a some great news."

"Now I know this might sound cheesy, but I feel great!" Sonic joked, laughing at his own corny joke while everyone stared at him. "Get it? Great? Grate?" The hedgehog is usually the clown at the meetings, cracking jokes at every opportune moment, but this joke was by no means necessary.

"Sonic, go-a sit in the corner."

So Sonic got up from his seat and went to a corner. But he immediately stopped when he saw a strange, yellow substance. Any idea what it is?

"Yuck, there's some urine over here!" grimaced Sonic.

"Go sit-a in the opposite corner then!" said Mario. Sonic did just that. "Now before I-a was so rudely interrupted, as-a you all know, Isabelle has-a diabetes."

"You never told us this, you fool!" frowned Snake, who's acting more of an old man with each passing day, as Mega Man alluded to.

"Snake you-a were one of the first to learn-a of this information! How is-a it that you forgot that-a quickly?"

"Must be the gray hairs," murmured Doc Louis. Guy was hardly paying attention; he was busy watching boxing videos on his cell phone.

"What gray hairs do you see, you obese jumpsuit man? I use _Just For Men_ for crying out loud!"

 **Snake: The guy always wearing his helmet (I think his name is Captain Falcon) was kind enough to give me some _Just For Men_ shampoo in order to rid myself of those dastardly gray hairs. Only problem is, Kirby keeps mistaking it for food, and Falcon has to keep providing me with extra bottles. It's becoming taxing on his money.**

"In-a order to keep Isabelle's spirits-a up during her tough-a times, I've-a arranged a cruise in order to promote-a unity and bonding, and the arrangement came-a through! Since only a select-a number of us can go, I had the sign-up sheet-a in the foyer for those who wish to come along. Isabelle, the sign-up sheet, please?"

"Here you go, Sir Mario!" Isabelle handed the plumber the sign-up sheet. Originally she was against an idea of a cruise, being that she wanted a more mundane bonding type thing, but she decided to deal with it anyways.

"Let's see who's-a going...There's me and Isabelle, Pit, Link, Zelda, Cloud, Wolf, Sonic, Viridi, Wario, Corrin, Rosalina and Luma, Doc Louis, Wii Fit Trainer, Snake, Lucario, Samus, Donkey Kong, Peach, Shulk, Diddy Kong, Bayonetta, Ashley, K.K. Slider, Kirby, King K. Rool, Dark Pit, Captain Falcon, Lucina, Knuckles, Luigi, Little Mac, Pac-Man, Heihachi Mishima, the Ice Climbers...now why-a are Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde's names on this sheet?! All the spots-a are taken!"

"They put me up to it!" Pac-Man confessed. After hours of torturing the yellow man with their incessant and annoying noises, the ghosts got Pac-Man to cave in and add their names to the list. Everyone on the cruise better be wary of them...

"Is everyone-a packed?" Some whistling was heard within the meeting room, clearly meaning that the brawlers have some work left to do. "Well you all better get ready, we're leaving in an hour!"

* * *

"Lady Palutena why can't you replace Viridi in the cruise?" Pit asked the goddess of light as she was preparing lunch. Viridi is still intent on winning Pit's heart and making him her boyfriend, and she absolutely won't stop until she has fulfilled her task.

"Somebody has to cook breakfast and dinner for the brawlers, you know," smiled Palutena. Being the mansion's resident cook means that the goddess could seldom leave the residence.

"Robin can do both of those things. Right Robin?"

"I can cook a real mean grilled cheese sandwich!" replied Robin, who was playing checkers with Meta Knight.

 **Robin: Mario has me starting off in baby steps with my cooking. First lesson was grilled cheese sandwiches, which I was very unfamiliar with. But after five days of rigorous training, I made the perfect grilled cheese sandwich! Once Mario returns from the cruise, he'll teach me how to make a chili dog! Sonic has to stay within distance of the kitchen, though...**

"Grilled cheese sandwiches won't be a filling meal for any dinner," Palutena stated. But what if it had to come down to having grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner? Or chili dogs for that matter?

"Doesn't matter, it's not like your cooking is that great anyways!" Pit retorted, too slow to realize who he was saying this remark to.

"Would you like to say that again?" Palutena's eye twitched. Robin and Meta Knight quietly left the kitchen, hoping Pit knows who he's dealing with.

* * *

"You do know how to use your cell phone, right?" Chrom asked Lucina as his daughter was finishing packing up things in her suitcase. Ever since Lucina signed up to partake in the cruise, Chrom, like any other caring father was all panicky, and signed him and Lucina up for a phone plan, just so he could keep in touch with his darling sweetheart. Mega Man had to show the two how to use their cellular devices.

"Yes, father, I already know the ins and outs about my phone," Lucina groaned. Her tone was a tone most daughters sound like when their caring father asks them rather unnecessary questions.

"One important bit of info I left out," Mega Man entered Chrom's and Lucina's room. "The plan you two are one is a beginner's plan, and it doesn't have a ton of data compared to other phone plans."

"Which means...?" Chrom raised an eyebrow.

"Which means that you can't call Lucina all the time while she's away. And Lucina, you can't call Chrom if you're ever seasick and longing for home."

"Oh well...that's...not good to hear..."

 **Lucina: Thank you Mega Man THANK YOU!**

"But how will I ensure that Lucina's safe?" asked Chrom. His limited options were becoming, well, limited, until...

"Try texting her, it won't take up that much data," replied Mega Man, giving up whatever hopes Lucina had.

 **Lucina: Eh, I can always put my phone on silent.**

* * *

"Definitely gonna miss you buddy!" Sonic was hugging Tails in their room. Tails eyed around the room, wondering when the hedgehog would let go.

"You're acting like you're leaving me forever," the fox said. How is it that Sonic would rather hug him...but not Amy? At least Amy is somewhat huggable...somewhat.

"This is my first time living away from the mansion, and apparently people like you refuse to come along!"

"Why are you of all people coming to the cruise? You get seasick easily! Forbid you getting wet as well..."

 **Tails: I really wanted to go with Sonic and Knuckles to the cruise, but one of the Ice Climbers beat me to the punch. Now I'm stuck here with the likes of the Koopalings...**

"Anata ga nozonde itadake no yō ni, sukyūbagia o motte!" Heihachi Mishima came into the room with some scuba gear, and handed the gear to Sonic. "Dōitashimashite!"

"Scuba diving gear?" frowned Tails. "Seriously Sonic?!" Hey Tails, maybe Sonic wants to face his fear of swimming while on the cruise. Don't criticize the man.

"If I want to get over my fear of swimming, then now's the time to do it!" Sonic said confidently. Yeah, Sonic, that's the spirit!

* * *

While the cruise goers have finished packing up their belongings, three certain brawlers were being punished - Fox and Falco for trying to invade Isabelle's privacy on her laptop, and Bowser for planning to use the program to unveil to everyone Isabelle's secret about diabetes, which shouldn't have been kept a secret at all. Their punishment? Watching over and taking care of the Pokemon in the Pokemon Sanctuary.

On paper, this doesn't sound like a grueling punishment. A Pokemon caretaker is a dream job most gamers want to have. But when you take into consideration the different natures a Pokemon have - serious, hasty, lax, rash, quirky, and so forth and so on - it could make the job miserable. And that's how Fox, Falco, and Bowser were feeling.

"This is crap and baloney," Falco remarked as he fed a Hippowdon. Hippowdons have rather giant appetites (no pun intended), so Falco will be stuck with feeding this hippo Pokemon for much of his time in the sanctuary.

"Mario is such a jerk for putting us up to this!" Bowser frowned, feeding a few Poliwhirls some Pokemon food. Wait, do Poliwhirls even have mouths? How is it that a Poliwag evolves into a Pokemon that has no mouth, and a Poliwhirl involves into a Politoed, which does have a mouth? "Think about my kids!"

"What about your kids, you're not that great of a father," stated Fox. His task at hand was giving Snorlax a good belly rub. Doing so would keep the sleeping Pokemon asleep.

 **Fox: Bowser is the polar opposite of Chrom. While Chrom is caring, loving, and thoughtful towards Lucina, Bowser is neglectful, apathetic, and imprudent. The Koopalings ended up the way they are for a reason, and Bowser Jr managed to get off the hook.**

"I'm the best father there is!" Bowser got on Fox's case real quick. "Check out this mug!" The Koopa King held up a "World's Best Dad" mug and showed it off to Fox, acting like the pilot was supposed to be amused. Fox just shook his head.

"I take it that Chrom gave you the mug?" asked Falco.

"It was only to soothe my aching soul," Bowser hung his head in sadness.

* * *

The thirty-seven cruise goers (thirty-eight if you want to count Luma) were all packed and ready to go. However, four particular ghosts were missing.

"The cruise has a no-ghost policy, according to their site," Pac-Man explained to Mario. "So no Inky, Blinky, Pinky and Clyde!"

"Yes!" Mario did a fist pump. "No annoyances during-a our stay!"

"Bus is here!" exclaimed King K. Rool, as a bus rolled up to the front of the mansion. The bus door opened, and everyone was surprised to see Toad as the bus driver. A guy of his short stature shouldn't be driving vehicles unless they're the small vehicles from _Mario Kart 8._

 **Toad: After finishing in last place in the most recent Mario Kart Grand Prix, Bowser convinced me that I would be a superb bus driver! At the time I wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not, but I love trying new things, so I gave it a shot!**

"Everyone hop on aboard!" said Toad. The brawlers reluctantly boarded the bus, and once Toad closed the bus door, it was off to the cruise.

* * *

 **Corrin: I've never been out of the mansion, let alone the kingdom of Nohr for that matter, so going on a cruise would be a new, fun experience for me. Can't wait to tell all about it to my siblings!  
Wario: Your siblings are rich, right? Take me to your kingdom!  
Corrin: You'll have to speak with my father first.  
** **Wario: Why should I even have to speak with him? He seems like a distrustful guy! He doesn't even love you!**

 **Bayonetta: A paid cruise in the Pacific Northwest? Cheeky...  
Wolf: Not cheeky! I've never been on the sea before! Why did I sign up for this? Flying through space is where it's at!  
Bayonetta: Have you had enough Lylat Cruises already?**

 **Pit: Viridi, why are you sitting next to me?  
Viridi: Because you're my boyfriend, silly. Boyfriends and girlfriends always stick together!  
Pit: I'M NOT YOUR BOYFRIEND!  
Viridi: You're so cute when you're in denial...**

 **Link: Today marks the one-week anniversary of our relationship. And what a week it's been...  
Zelda: We are practically meant for each other, Hylia had it planned all along. Link and I will be romantically intertwined forever, and no one, not even Ganondorf, will get in our way!**

 **Peach: So Mario, when is that love letter coming?  
Mario: Love-a letter? *looks around suspiciously* What love-a letter?  
Peach: The one you promised you would write to me soon. You did say that you would no longer have Lucas and Ness do them for you, especially after that talk we had at K.K. Slider's recital!  
Mario: Oh yes, I'm-a still formulating my thoughts...just give-a me some time!**

* * *

"We're here!" Toad announced as the bus stopped in Seattle at the pier where the cruise - Carnival Cruise - was located. Isabelle saw under the Carnival Vista imprint "S.S. Isabelle", feeling slightly humbled. Mario had to be behind this, only a guy like him would name a cruise after his lovely assistant.

"Really Mario?" she asked the plumber. Mario simply shrugged, he was only doing Isabelle a huge favor.

The brawlers grabbed their suitcases and exited the bus, which was parked at a parking lot, and got in line. Each brawler was given a public health questionnaire, and Shulk thought that filling it out was asinine. Who cares if you have health problems? You're on a cruise, health is not that big of a concern! (at least to Shulk)

 **Shulk: Cruises should be a time of relaxation and having fun, but these dumb questionnaires are trying to take all of that away! Asking questions like, "Have you been sick the past 20 days?" Whether or not I was sick is irrelevant, and does not matter at all!  
** **Security Guard: Sir if you don't fill out the questionnaire, I'll gonna have to ask you to leave. You don't want to be left behind, do you?  
Shulk: *grumbles as he pulls out a pen***

Once they were finished with the questionnaires, the brawlers went through a tunnel, and boarded the ship. Some cruise officials took their suitcases so they could put them in the ship, in their rooms. Thirty-seven brawlers, inside a Carnival Cruise ship - a real special treat for all the ordinary people aboard.

"Hello sir, would you like to take a picture?" a photographer asked Mario. "Just you, your tall brother, and the princess together!"

"Me, Luigi, and-a Princess Peach?" repsonded Mario. "You got it!" Mario, Luigi and Peach posed for the camera, and the photographer snapped a photo of of the three. He probably wished Bowser was in the picture, but he'll take what he gets.

"How about you two?" the photographer then asked Zelda and Link.

"You got it!" Link replied. The photographer took a picture of Zelda kissing Link on the cheek, and Link giving a cheesy grin. You folks shipping Link and Zelda must be really excited right now.

"Now I gotta snap a picture of this lovely couple!" the photographer turned his attention to Pit and Viridi. But Pit wasn't having it.

"No mas!" Pit grabbed the camera and threw it on the floor, shocking everyone. The angel hasn't been on the ship for a full minute, and he's already giving himself a bad reputation.

"Eh, I'll just go fetch my other camera," the photographer went to get his backup camera.

"Dude that was so uncalled for," Cloud shook his head at Pit. His biggest concern about the going on the cruise is that his fellow brawlers (namely people like Pit) would embarrass him during his stay.

 **Cloud: I've already asked Mario if I could bunk with Link, and he quickly obliged. Rooming with Pit would be downright terrible. I have to stay away from him at all times; he can bunk with Kirby for all I care. Those two can be weird together - as long as they don't tick me off.**

"Hey man where can I find chili dogs?" Sonic asked one of the coffee vendors. A lack of chili dogs on the cruise would break the hedgehog's heart.

"I don't believe we sell chili dogs here," replied the vendor, making Sonic very angry.

"This blows!" Sonic went to go sit in a chair and pout, his arms crossed. He gets very butthurt when no chili dogs are sold at any place. Therefore, he despises food chains such as McDonalds, Burger King, and the like - all because they don't serve chili dogs. A very petty and dumb reason.

While Isabelle was sipping from a cup of coffee she ordered, Mario approached his canine assistant. The way he was holding his hands behind his back indicated that he was about to tell her something important.

"Since I planned-a this cruise only for-a your benefit, I'm gonna let-a you off the hook," Mario told her. Isabelle panicked; he's not saying what she thinks he's saying, is he?

"You're going to fire me?!" Isabelle began to tear up. She's been Mario's assistant for the longest now, for the plumber to terminate her job would prove quite disastrous.

"No, I'm-a not gonna fire you! Rather I'm letting you-a take a vacation...of sorts. During our-a stay here, I won't allow-a you to assist or-a notify at all! I'll let Cloud handle-a your tasks for the time-a being!"

"You're joking, right?" Cloud confronted Mario. The swordsman wanted to relax and enjoy what the cruise has to offer, not serving as Mario's second-in-command.

"I'm only doing a solid-a for you Cloud. While you tried to give-a me moral advice for running my yard-a sale last week, I never bothered-a to listen, since I was too in-a over my head. Consider this a payback of-a sorts."

"Oh, well, uh, thanks, I guess..." Cloud decided to take on the role of temporary assistant. It's not like he had any other choice...

* * *

With their belongings already in their rooms, the brawlers decided to explore around the Carnival Cruise. But there's no point of doing that on an empty stomach! So they all made their way to the cafe so they could fill their stomachs with some grub...

"Kirby chill out man!" Pit was trying to stop Kirby from sucking up all the food. Since there was a buffet, the food was put on display for cruise goers, and Kirby apparently can't seem to handle this.

"Is everything okay?" one of the chefs checked on the situation at hand.

"Yes, everything is going just dandy!" Pit smiled as he held Kirby's mouth shut, preventing him from sucking in any more food. One slip of Pit's fingers and Kirby might spit out the food over the floor.

 **Chef: We made this food for everyone in the cruise, not for just one puffball! Sure he has a big appetite, but he must learn about self-control!**

After the brawlers got their food, they each sat down at a circular table - three seats for each one. Wario and Viridi sat at table, and the third seat was open.

"Oh, Pitty, over here!" Viridi called out motioning to the available seat. Did she just call him Pitty?! Pit's gonna have to get used to this.

"Take my seat!" the angel said to Corrin as he ran off. Corrin shrugged; he honestly didn't care where he would sit at, he just didn't want his precious food to go to waste. So the prince of Nohr took the empty seat, sitting with Viridi and Wario, much to Viridi's chagrin.

"I'm just...keeping this seat warm for Pit," Corrin explained to an angry Viridi. "I do believe he has the runs..."

"Pit has diarrhea?!" Viridi said sarcastically. "Who knew?!" Why won't Pit just love Viridi? Poor goddess is doing all she can to make Pit return the love, but the angel refuses to cooperate. Knuckles, who promised to help Viridi in her exploits, can't help her forever!

"Please let me sit with you guys!" Pit said to Link and Zelda, who were sitting together at a table.

"Uh, sure Pit, just have a seat," replied Link. Pit sat down, and let out a sigh of relief. Viridi was evidently too much for Pit to handle.

"Pit, how come you don't love Viridi?" asked Zelda. "She's perfect for you in every way!"

"Yeah right," Pit scoffed. "I don't know what she sees in me anyway. I'm just a sorry, dumb loser who always sucks up to Lady Palutena all the time." At least he finally admits this.

"Perhaps she sees something in you that you don't. Like your selflessness and sense of justice!"

"Traits like those are supposed to attract girls how, exactly?"

"Suppose you were a girl, like Viridi. Would you want a guy who is selfish and always mistreats you?"

"Sure, why not, to each their own!"

Zelda sighed. Pit wasn't grasping the full concept of what Zelda was trying to say.

 **Zelda: Reasoning with Pit is not the easiest thing to do - after all, he's not exactly the sharpest needle in the haystack. It'll be hard for him to comprehend complex situations, which will make things very frustrating.**

Mario was sitting at a table with Peach and Bayonetta. The Umbra Witch was inspecting Mario closely, watching how he communicates with Peach.

"This Greek salad is delicious!" Peach remarked as she ate her salad. Greek salads are always serve on cruises, why can't they serve burgers and hot dogs? Why does it have to be salad?!

"It sure-a is," agreed Mario. He was finished with his salad. "I'll-a be right back." He got up and headed to the salad bar, where Cloud was present.

"So how is it going with Peach?" asked Cloud. Mario would fill in the swordsman on his romantic exploits with Peach.

"It's not-a going as well as I-a hoped," Mario shook his head. "Just basic things and-a nothing else in particular..."

"Try talking about some of your past experiences. Tell Peach a story that will keep her entertained and at the edge of her seat!"

"Hmmm..." Mario stroked his chin as he pondered over this. There's so many intriguing stories he could tell to Peach, but picking the best one to tell would be a dire challenge for the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Excuse me, sir, but you're holding up the line!" a guy at the end of the line called out to Mario, still pondering. Mario came to his senses and got his salad, before rushing back to his seat.

"You were gone for an awfully long time," Bayonetta said to Mario.

"Cloud and I were-a having a great conversation while-a we were in line," replied Mario. Yeah, a great conversation about what you should talk about with your girlfriend. "So, Peach, did I ever tell-a you about the time-a I went manta ray surfing in the Loopdeloop Galaxy?"

* * *

Done with their lunch, Little Mac and Doc Louis went to go explore about the cruise. A cruise, to Doc Louis, was the only way you could sail the seas without getting wet. One thing that caught Mac's eye during the exploration was a water slide.

"We should go on the water slide!" he said to Doc Louis. The boxing trainer looked up at the slide and analyzed its zany construction - a lot of loops and curls. Not exactly his cup of tea...

"I'm sure there are other attractions on this cruise ship that we can mutually enjoy," Doc replied. Going up and down a water slide is last on his agenda.

 **Doc Louis: Water slides ain't no fun at all! You just go through a slide that is all wacky and stuff, and you get wet in the process! Gettin' wet ain't fun!**

"Please, Doc, just this once?" Little Mac implored, nearly begging on his knees.

"Sure, kid," Doc Louis complied, sighing. Repeatedly saying no would make Little Mac whine even more.

"Yes! Let's go!" Little Mac grabbed Doc's hand, and the two went up the stairs leading to the water slide.

"Woah there!" a cruise official stopped the two in their tracks, just when they were about to enter the slide. "I can't let you to go down the slide in those attire."

"Not a problem!" Little Mac ripped off his T-shirt and boxing shorts - making it seamlessly easy - revealing a pair of swimming trunks. Doc Louis did the same thing...

...and revealed his briefs. The fact that these briefs had a red heart pattern on him didn't do the boxing trainer any justice.

"Eh, I guess it'll do," the official shrugged after looking at Doc inquisitively for a while. "Have fun!"

So Little Mac grabbed Doc's hand, and jumped down the slide. After many loops and curls and whatnot, the two reached the end of the slide and splashed into a pool filled with other cruise goers. Doc Louis was panicking; nobody ever told him he would wind up in a pool!

"Somebody get the lifeguards!" the boxing trainer was splashing all over the place. "I'm dyin' over here!"

"Is he okay?" a boy asked Little Mac, inquiring whether or not Doc Louis might have lost it.

"He is somewhat aquaphobic, don't worry about him," replied the boxer. Regardless of how major or minor Doc's aquaphobia is, Little Mac should have known better than to drag Doc with him down the water slide.

 **Little Mac: My master plan of ridding Doc Louis of whatever aquaphobia he has turned out to be a major failure. Doubt he will ever do anything fun again during the cruise...**

* * *

Cruises are a perfect place to do romantic things, right? What romantic thing to do on a cruise would be better than stand at the railing of the ship together and watch the beautiful horizon? Sure it might some boring and vastly overdone, but that's what the two Hylian lovers, Link and Zelda, opted to do.

"If only we could spend the rest of our lifes doing this..." Zelda sighed lovingly. You would rather spend your life watching the horizon over anything else, per se...ruling over an entire kingdom? Whatever happened to priorities these days?!

"Link I need-a your help!" Mario rushed up to the hero of Hyrule, panting.

"I refuse to help if it's anything Peach-related," Link responded. "She's your problem, not mine."

 **Link: Mario's relationship with Peach will last for at least a month before both lovers reconcile with one another. Mario has too much guilt and anxiety inside of him to keep any romantic relationship going.**

"Peach is-a in no way involved-a with this situation!" stated Mario. Nowadays when the plumber asks someone for help, that someone would usually inquire that Peach might have some correlation with whatever Mario needs to solve. "This situation...is about-a bragging rights!"

"That's cool," Link remarked, returning to his romantic session with Zelda. Bragging rights? Not much you can do to assist someone in that particular area.

"No you don't-a understand, I've been-a challenged to a basketball game!"

"A basketball game?" Link immediately returned to his conversation with Mario. What does that have to do with bragging rights?

"On this ship-a there is a fellow Italian who-a is proclaimed by many as the best-a streetballer in Europe. We met in the men's-a restroom, and he said that-a I was an inferior Italian compared-a to the likes of him. He then challenged-a me to a basketball game, and whoever wins-a is the most prominent Italian..."

"Wait a second," Zelda interjected. "Who is this Italian guy anyway?"

"Ooh, I forgot-a his name...but I do know-a what he looks like!"

"His facial appearance certainly isn't going to help..."

"You're not trying to recruit me to your basketball team...are you?" Link asked nervously. Mario gave him a sly grin...

* * *

Pit and Dark Pit were playing tennis on a tennis court, using poor Kirby as a tennis ball. (Kirby enjoys this, so it's all good.) It was a highly contested tennis match, with the tennis ball bouncing from one side to the next in rapid speed. No one could possibly lose this match!

"Um, not sure if you guys are aware of this, but we would like to play to!" said a guy wishing to play tennis with his friend. The angels were too into their tennis match to actually care.

 **Pit: In order to keep away from Viridi, I must stick with Kirby and Dark Pit as much as possible! Only thing is, she appreciates the both of them...why must I be affiliated with people she likes?!**

"Help a plumber out!" Mario ran onto the court, halting the match.

"What gives?" frowned Dark Pit. He was literally moments away from scoring the first points in his tennis match against Pit. That's how greatly contested their match was.

"Basketball-a game..." Mario panted. He should have known better to run with that flab he has. "...Need a shooting-a guard...pronto..."

"Well, Pit, now's your chance! You could be the guy Mario needs!"

"Why can't you do it?" moaned Pit.

"Recreational sports is out of my league...I make my opponent look like wimps!"

"Such a liar..." Pit crossed his arms.

"Oh yeah, well how about I show you how great I am on the court?!"

"I don't-a have much time to lose!" Mario grabbed Dark Pit's hand and ran off. "I must recruit-a the rest of the team!"

"So, uh, how about that tennis match?" asked one of the guys waiting. They've been waiting for the longest now.

* * *

"Isn't this the life?" Shulk asked Isabelle and Wolf as they rested on the beach chairs, with the sunlight falling on their faces. But not literally though, since that would be completely impossible.

"Days like these should be more than warranted," replied Wolf, who was wearing sunglasses. Wouldn't that be a tad redundant, since he has an eye-patch and all?

"So Isabelle, how long were you diagnosed with diabetes?" Shulk asked the yellow dog. Isabelle sighed.

"Just a few months ago," she replied. Wolf, who was drinking some cold pink lemonade, spat out the contest after hearing Isabelle's response. She's been diagnosed with diabetes for months, and she decided against telling anyone?!

 **Isabelle: Who should I have told my health condition to? Dr. Mario is...well, a little overbearing. And guys like Wario and Bowser would mock me and make fun of my diabetes. And the princess would constantly coddle me to death if I ever told them...**

 **Shulk: Isabelle had diabetes for that long and she was too reluctant to tell us...simply unbelievable! Bowser would probably have told me that diabetes isn't that serious, but I know for certain that diabetes is one of the worst things that could ever happen to anyone! Screw Bowser, I don't need that loser anyways!**

"No secret should never be kept from us!" Wolf said to Isabelle, offering words of advice and encouragement. Quite rare, since he isn't the one to do such things. "I may be a space bounty hunter, but it's not like I would ridicule you for your medical condition!"

"He's right!" added Shulk. "Only sick individuals like Bowser would resort to such measures! Wonder how he's enjoying punishment..."

* * *

Bowser was still in the Pokemon sanctuary, where he was feeding a Wooper through a baby bottle. His task at hand isn't really punishing, but the Koopa King would love to get out of the sanctuary at any moment.

"How long do we have to do this?" Bowser asked Fox and Falco, who were dusting of a Flygon's wings.

"Until the end of Saturday tomorrow," replied Fox. The three have been at work since the beginning of the week, and have tended to nearly every Pokemon species in the sanctuary (legendary Pokemon notwithstanding).

 **Bowser: At the end of Saturday, at midnight, we will be freed from this wretched sanctuary, and hopefully we'll never have to work here again! Oh my poor children, they must be worried about me...**

 **Larry: Father is still punished! Time to throw another huge party! Who has father's wallet?  
Wendy: I got all the money his wallet!  
Roy: And I took money out of his bank account!  
Larry: This party is gonna be wicked awesome!**

"Psst, Fox, I got an idea," Falco whispered to Fox. "How about we take this Flygon and use it to bust out of the mansion? We could join Mario and the others at the cruise!"

Fox stroked his chin, thinking over Falco's idea. A lot of risk was sure entailed to it.

"You think anyone would notice?" the fox asked. Even though Mario isn't present, the plumber had entrusted Ike to watch over things until he gets back.

"Not unless I have this..." Falco held up some smoke balls. One certain brawler has those.

"Do those belong to Sheik?!"

"Let's just say that these here smoke bombs...are incognizant gifts from an all-knowing ninja."

* * *

Many of the lady brawlers were chilling in a pool with several other ladies, letting the water ease their troubles away. The women consisted Lucina, Rosalina, Wii Fit Trainer, Samus, Bayonetta... and Wario and Captain Falcon? What business does they have here?!

"Care to ask this lovable hunk out on a date?" he asked the female brawlers.

"Lovable hunk?" scoffed Bayonetta. "Someone here is quite the comedian, I should say..."

"Get lost, you creeps, this is a women's only pool," frowned Samus. Captain Falcon and Wario just HAD to sign up for the cruise, did they?

"Being in a women's only with boatloads of hot women has been a dream of ours, and now it's coming true!" stated Wario. The female brawlers grimaced; a dream involving hot women and a gender-only pool shows you how strangely aberrant Captain Falcon and Wario are.

 **Captain Falcon: Practically the only reason I signed up to go on this cruise is to meet hot girls! But every girl I approached turned me down instantly...either they have poor taste, or this cruise sucks!**

"Anata no josei ni sanka suru yō ni yorokonde," Heihachi Mishima, wearing a speedo, entered the pool, much to the chagrin of the ladies.

"Do you boys know anything about comprehension and common sense?" the Wii Fit Trainer asked, unnerved by Heihachi's rather interesting swimwear. Speedos are not his type. "This is a _ladies only_ pool."

"Watashi wa danjo no bunri o shinjiru monode wa arimasen yo. Dansei to josei ga tanoshimu to onaji pūru de rirakkusu suru hitsuyō ga arimasu!"

"Does anyone know a single word he just said?" asked Lucina. If Tails was here, he might have translated as much of Heihachi's speech as he could.

"Let's just ignore him and see if he will leave," suggested Rosalina. The ladies went forth with Rosalina's plan, to see if it would drive the karate expert out of the pool.

"Watashi wa nihongo o hanasu koto shika dekimasen to iu riyū dake de, watashi wa eigo o rikai suru koto wa dekimasen to wa omoimasen! Watashi wa sore wa, Supeingo, furansugo, doitsugo, matawa hoka no dono gengodearu ka dō ka, nani demo rikai suru koto ga dekimasu yo! 1-Nichi - - anata wa watashi ga itsunohika, ima ittaga, yo ka rikai sa renai koto ga arimasuga manabimasu!"

"Crap it's not working..." groaned Samus. Better keep her mouth shut, unless she wants Heihachi to go on another pointless rant...

"At least you still have me to fawn over!" grinned Captain Falcon.

"Dare ga, anata wa, anata ni tsuite kawai kurīpu o ki ni? Sono herumetto no ushiro ni, anata wa ima made rēsu o suru mottomo heikin kakkō no otokodesu!"

"Thanks for the compliment, pal!"

Heihachi faceplamed as he sighed. If only Falcon - and anyone else - would understood what he's saying.

* * *

"You sure this is a good idea?" Knuckles asked Viridi; the two were in Ashley's room - Ashley refuses to go out of her room and socialize with others on the ship - and the young witch was making a love potion for Viridi. The potion, Ashley says, has some major consequences if consumed in a large amount.

"Can't hurt to try!" Viridi smiled, intent that the potion will work on her crush, Pit.

 **Viridi: This is the LAST straw! Pit must fall in love with me once he takes a sip of the potion! And if he doesn't, then he's more stupider than I would have ever imagine...he's the cutest idiot I've ever known.**

"All done!" Ashley poured the concoction from her goblet into a vial, sealing it shut with a cap. "Once Pit takes a sip of this, he'll fall in love with the person who gave it to him." The witch handed the vial to Viridi.

"What if it doesn't go as planned?" asked Knuckles. Who knows how infuriated Viridi would be if her plan fails...Knuckles is even shuddering just thinking about it!

"No worries, I'll keep the concoction safe and sound in the goblet. So if the vial's contents are spilled, or if it breaks, I'm always here to supply you guys when needed."

* * *

"This cruise flat out sucks!" Sonic complained to Tails, who he was speaking with on the phone. The hedgehog was flying in his bed in his room, and refused to get out because of one lousy reason.

"Let me guess - there's no chili dogs?" Tails responded in an apathetic tone.

"Exactly! How can you call yourself one of the best cruise lines if you don't serve chili dogs!"

"I know right! That is like, so uncool!" Tails said very sarcastically. When Sonic called the fox, Tails was all happy, believing that the hedgehog would tell him how legit and fun the cruise was. But instead, all he was getting was complaints about the lack of chili dogs.

"Tell me about it..." Sonic was too ticked to detect the sarcasm in Tails's response.

 **Sonic: When I get back to the mansion I'm gonna start a petition demanding that every cruise, restaurant, and gas station in the United States serves chili dogs! Everyone in the Smash Mansion will be forced to sign the petition; whoever refuses to do so will be tortured with Big the Cat's singing!**

 **Big the Cat: *holding a fishing rod* What? Sonic is on this ship?! And Knuckles as well?! *drops fishing rod and runs about like a maniac, scaring everyone away* Oh man! I simply can't believe it! Two of my biggest heroes, on the same cruise ship! It's like a birthday wish that came too late!**

"Hey Sonic, you up for some rock climbing?" Lucario poked his head through the door. The aura Pokemon had received a Rock Climb HM from the ship's captain - similar to how Red the Pokemon Trainer received a Cut HM the same way in _Pokemon FireRed_ \- and wanted to test out the HM on some rock climbing wall. Sonic seemed like the most viable person to do such an activity with.

"No way man, I'm never leaving this room for the remainder of the cruise!" Sonic shook his head. All this because of a lack of chili dogs?

"Whoever reaches to the top of the wall gets free chili dogs!" Lucario made up this incentive to get Sonic intrigued - and it worked. The hedgehog sprung up on his feet.

"Let's go!" Sonic exclaimed as he and Lucario went to go on their rock climbing exploits.

"Sonic, you still there?" Tails was still on the phone. "Sonic...WHY IS THERE SMOKE COMING FROM THE BATHROOM?!"

* * *

Mario was still looking for brawlers to recruit to his basketball team when he ran into the man he was going up against. His name was Alessandro, and he was a tall, lanky Italian with medium-long black hair.

"So you're still looking for your crummy team members, eh?" he snarled. "Unlike you, my team is already set! Once we meet on the basketball court, I'll show you who the real greatest Italian is!"

"You talk a good-a game," said Mario. "But-a all that talking is gonna get-a you nowhere!"

"Midgets like you make me laugh..."

"Who are-a you calling a midget?!" Mario ran forth at Alessandro, but the Italian stopped him from moving any forward.

"We'll settle things on the court," he told the plumber as he walked past him. Mario began to seethe; he was letting this Alessandro guy get to him.

 **Mario: Alessandro better-a not take my basketball-a skills for granted; not only have-a I bested the likes-a of Donkey Kong, Waluigi, and even the Black-a Mage (not-a that impressive, I know), but I went toe-to-toe with NBA street-a ballers like LeBron James, Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Nash, and many others! Sure, Peach-a did all the work, but I earned the trust-a and respect of basketball legends - hence my name, The Jumpman!**

"Hey, funny mustache guy!" a voice called out. Mario saw in front of him Snake, who appears to be steadily losing his memory. "Mario, right?"

"That's-a me," Mario sighed. How is it that Snake forgot the name of the most iconic video game character in existence? Memory loss is surely a terrible thing... "So what's-a up?"

"You know a guy by the name of Raiden?" Raiden is a Liberian mercenary working for FOXHOUND, and used to serve as a child soldier under the tutelage of Snake. He and Snake go _way_ back. "I do believe I saw him somewhere on this ship..."

"Haven't seen-a him around here. Anyways, would-a you like to be a part of my basketball-a team?"

"You honestly think some old-looking guy like myself should be out playing basketball?" Snake chuckled. "Must be out of your mind...so have you recruited anyone to your lousy team?"

"Link, Dark Pit, Doc Louis, and Corrin have-a all been recruited. Now I-a need me some utility guys!"

"You won't be able to find a utility guy in me, my accelerated age is diminishing my physical prowess and activity. Wouldn't wish accelerated age on anyone..."

 **Snake: If anyone deserves accelerated age, it's Little Mac. Somebody oughta teach that cocky jerkface some humility.**

* * *

In order to keep his distance from Viridi, Pit was eating some ice cream in the cafe. He was eating a giant banana split, and his buddy Kirby was assisting him. Two heads are better than one.

"Pit, this potion really hits the bomb!" Viridi approached the Pit with the vial in his hand. "You gotta try it!"

"Not now Viridi I'm busy," responded Pit. He can't have the banana split melt; it would be a waste of money. He spent all the money Palutena had given to purchase the dessert, so now he doesn't have any money to do or buy anything...

"But it tastes better than that banana split, I guarantee you!"

"How about you drink some of that potion, so I'll know it's good?"

Should Viridi do it? Ashley never mentioned what may happen if the person giving the potion away drank it. Now's not the time to take any huge risks.

"Please, Pit, I'm begging you, just one sip, that's all I'm asking for!" Viridi got down on his knees and begged. Everyone in the cafe just watched as Viridi was making a scene.

"I'll do it, if it'll make you shut up," Pit grabbed the vial, and instead of taking a sip, which Viridi had told him to do...drunk the whole thing. Knuckles, who was watching from a distance, gaped as his jaw dropped on the floor. Ashley said some dire consequences could result from drinking the entire potion - what might happen to Pit?

 **Ashley: Drinking the entire potion will likely obliterate most of Pit's urinary system. The damage will either be partial, or very significant.**

"Shoot, I gotta go to the restroom!" Pit's bladder began to act uncooperative. The angel got up from his seat and ran to the nearest restroom, and wetted himself along the way.

"What...just happened...?" Knuckles joined Viridi, as he just stared in bewilderment.

"Pit might have developed a case of urinary incontinence..." replied Viridi. How long will this incontinence last? Let's just hope it doesn't prolong for the rest of the trip...

* * *

Cloud was enjoying himself, lying in a beach chair away from his fellow brawlers. All his cares and concerns melted away, as the sun shone on his face.

"Some assistant you-a are!" Mario angrily confronted Cloud. "No-a word from the mansion?"

Cloud, who was taking a nap with a magazine lying on his face, woke up from his slumber in alertness. He just remembered that Mario had designated him the role of an assistant, and he was slacking off on his duties.

"Everything is going pretty well, no major concerns," Cloud replied. He was intent that Mario would see this through, until the plumber's phone rang.

"Mario speaking, how-a may I help you?" he said into the phone.

"Mario, it's terrible!" Yoshi was screaming over the phone. "Smoke has filled up the mansion, and the Pokemon in the sanctuary are going absolutely bonkers! Not to mention that Fox and Falco escaped!"

Mario shot Cloud a death glare. Some assistant he is.

"Oh, and I came up with a new pairing for my newest fanfic - Lucina and Red the Pokemon Trainer! How does that sound? Sound good? Okay, bye!"

Yoshi hung up, and Mario continued to glare at Cloud.

"Guess who ordered some tropical smoothies?" Pac-Man entered the scene, carrying a plate of smoothies. These smoothies were all in assorted colors, and the straws...

"Go," Mario uttered, keeping his eyes fixated on a nervous Cloud. Pac-Man sighed and walked away.

 **Pac-Man: Whenever I try to do something nice for Mario, he always tells me off. There has to be some way to show him my appreciation!  
** **Luigi: *walking towards Pac-Man* Ooh, are-a those smoothies? *reaches out his hand*  
** **Pac-Man: *slaps Luigi's hand away* The smoothies are for Mario! Back, I say, back!  
** **Luigi: How come nobody ever offers me anything... *walks away in sadness***

"The only way-a you can redeem yourself-a is joining my basketball team, as a utility guy, and helping me-a win," said Mario. "Be there...or be-a squared!"

Mario angrily marched away, searching for the final recruits for his basketball team. Cloud shrugged and went back to his nap. He's not really scared of Mario (it would be very concerning if he was), he straight up doesn't care.

* * *

At the deck of the cruise ship, K.K. Slider was playing some tunes for the cruise goers. The Kongs and the Ice Climbers, perhaps his biggest fans, were in attendance. Also present was King K. Rool and Isabelle, and Rool was planning on making the dog do something that she might later regret.

 **King K. Rool: Mario wants us to keep Isabelle's spirits up, right? What better way to do that than getting her to kiss K.K. Slider, on the cheek? She has said she's a fan of his, and to give him a kiss would absolutely make her day!**

"So I want you to sneak up on K.K. Slider, and simply kiss on the cheek!" Rool explained to Isabelle. "But you gotta be quick, once you do it, run away as fast as you can!"

"I'm not sure if this is a good idea..." said Isabelle, evaluating her options. "I would do it, but not in front of a dozen people I don't know..."

"Pretty sure if you kiss K.K., the audience will be all 'Awwwwww...' and stuff. Even if you kissed the railing, they'll still react that way!"

Not even an exaggeration enticed Isabelle. She still looked hesitant, and Rool was getting ticked. His goal to lift up Isabelle's spirits wasn't going as planned, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. The Kremling grabbed Isabelle, and ran up to K.K. Slider - stopping his performance - and brought Isabelle towards K.K.'s cheek, effectively making her kiss him. The crowd was stunned.

"What? Nothing?" Rool looked confused. "Y'all are lame!"

Rool's attitude changed when a random guy stood up and clapped. And whenever a random person stands up and clap, you know everyone else would do the same, and that's exactly what happened. The Kongs, the Ice Climbers, and everyone else was clapping for Isabelle.

"If only that witch girl had the guts to kiss someone," Popo said to Nana. Nana rolled her eyes.

"See Isabelle? You did it!" Rool grinned. "Isabelle?"

The Kremling saw Isabelle running away, silently sobbing to herself.

* * *

"I wonder when Mario will overcome his nerves and write me that darn love letter," Peach conversed with Bayonetta and Lucina. The two were playing mini golf...actually, Peach was the only one playing. Bayonetta was there to keep her company, and Lucina was speaking with Chrom on her new cell phone.

"He will write it eventually, a man of his character isn't the one to procrastinate," replied Bayonetta. She's going to watch Mario very intensively until that letter is completed...

"Yes, father, I'm enjoying myself, nothing bad happened," Lucina said into the phone. "And yes, Captain Falcon was trying to flirt with me. Wait, he's _how_ old?!"

"Pit get back here!" Viridi shouted from who-know-where. Pit ran onto the mini golf, searching for an available bathroom.

"No bathrooms here?" he looked around, and saw a nearby railing. He did the unthinkable - he got near the railing, squatted, and...yeah.

"Pit what are you thinking?!" Viridi finally caught up with Pit, who just relieved himself. "Why must you do that near other people?!"

"It's not like they care," retorted Pit, making Viridi more angry than she already is.

"Grraaah!" Now Viridi's pulling her hair out! "Why can't things go exactly as I plan?!"

The goddess of nature grabbed Pit, and dragged him away.

* * *

In his room of the ship, Alessandro, who Mario is going up against in the basketball game, was video chatting with someone on his laptop. Seems shady...but not Slim Shady.

"Cloud, Sonic, and Pac-Man are all on this ship," he said to the person he was speaking with. "And I've seen Mario plenty of times, too."

"What about the person you're supposed to kidnap?" asked the shadowy figure on the laptop monitor. An evil villain, perhaps?"

"Saw him chilling in the pool."

"You do remember his name, right?"

"Of course I do...Heihachi Mishima."

Heihachi, you better be on the lookout...because someone's coming for ya.


	10. Episode 10: Cruisin' Part 2

**Episode 10: Cruisin' Part 2**

"Isabelle! Oh Isabelle!" King K. Rool searched through the cruise ship for Isabelle, who had abruptly ran away from the Kremling after an incident during K.K. Slider's performance. In an effort to keep Isabelle's spirits up, Rool had the dog kiss K.K. on the cheek, and he did it against her will. "This is all my fault, I shouldn't have put her up to that..."

Not that far from Rool was Luigi, who was licking an ice cream cone. You probably know what's gonna happen next - somebody bumps into Luigi, causing him to drop his cone on the floor. Well that's exactly what happened, when Rool unsuspectingly bumped into the plumber and causing him to drop his precious ice cream cone.

"Why-a me?" Luigi moaned. Stuff like this always happen to him. Why can't it be anyone else, like Sonic for example?

 **Luigi: Even when-a I'm on vacation, nobody gives a single care-a about me...it's almost as-a if I'm an invisible ghost...and I'm afraid-a of invisible ghosts! They give-a me the jeebies, even though I can't-a really see them...**

"Watch where you're standing pal!" Rool frowned at Luigi. How about you watch where you're going, you fat Kremling, and maybe the incident wouldn't have happened? "Anyway, have you seen Isabelle anywhere?"

"Can't-a say I have," replied Luigi. "Haven't seen her around-a much during the cruise. Why do-a you ask?"

"Nothing, it's not like I upset her or anything..."

"You upset-a Isabelle?!" Luigi grew angry at Rool. The brawlers were supposed to make Isabelle happy, but apparently Rool was doing the exact opposite. "What did-a you do?"

"I made her kiss K.K. Slider in front of a crowd while K.K. was performing! Everyone was standing up in applause, and I thought that might..."

"Ooh, I think-a I know why Isabelle reacted that-a way..."

"What could it be?"

"Just follow me, I'll-a show you..."

* * *

Sonic was absolutely bitter with Lucario. Why would he be bitter with the aura Pokemon for? They just finished their rock climbing session, and they scaled to the top of the wall, so what gives?

In actuality, Sonic only obliged to this activity because Lucario said that there was chili dogs offered at the top of the wall. Enticing Sonic with chili dogs was like enticing Kirby with any food item (save for spinach and Brussels sprouts), and Lucario took advantage of the blue hedgehog.

Because of this, Sonic has vowed to remain in his room, and would only leave only on two conditions - A) if he has to use the restroom, and B) if he's hungry. Unless those conditions are present, Sonic will likely spend the rest of the cruise in his room, refusing to engage with the cruise goers. But at least he has Tails to talk to on the phone.

"Lucario is such a jerk!" Sonic complained to Tails, discussing how the Pokemon tricked him into going rock climbing with him. "I hope that guy goes overboard, and nobody rescues him!"

"Sounds a bit extreme, don't you think?" asked Tails. He would have to reason with Sonic if the hedgehog ever comes up with exaggerated and over-the-top ideas and/or imaginations.

"It's not extreme, it's what he deserves!"

Kirby barged into Sonic's room, and did his best to cheer up the hedgehog by performing a variety of silly faces. Sonic just stared at the pink puffball, unamused. No silly face would turn his frown upside down.

 **Kirby: *makes a silly face in front of the camera*  
Wolf: *walking by* And they say I'm conceited... *shakes head* A bunch of buffoons...**

"Nice try, pal, but it ain't working," Sonic tried to shove Kirby away, but to no avail. Kirby is too cute to be deterred.

Then all of a sudden, Kirby sucked up Sonic and ran off. Kirby's a cannibal?! Who knew?!

"Sonic you still there?" asked Tails, who was still on the phone. He heard some running footsteps, making him assume Sonic was going on another one of his random speed runs in the public.

"Kirby just sucked me up!" Sonic responded. He never felt more scared in his entire life, being stuck inside Kirby's gigantic stomach...which is essentially a black hole. Sheesh...

* * *

"Get away from me, you creep!" Lucina was running away from a flirtatious Captain Falcon, and hid inside one of the women's restrooms. She had just learned from Chrom that Falcon is 36 years old, and when you consider that Lucina is presumed to be in her late teens/early twenties...it sounds creepy, don't it?

"Come on out, I know you're hiding!" Captain Falcon echoed from behind the door. Does this guy ever give up? When will he realize that no woman - not even the Spitter from _Left 4 Dead 2_ _-_ will ever give this guy a chance?

"That guy is very persistent," remarked a woman who exited a restroom stall. "He would ask me and my friends out every time he sees us.

"Seriously?" Lucina looked astonished. Who knew Captain Falcon was that thirsty for a date?

"Since you kinda led him here, I'll just chill until he decides to leave." C'mon, woman, you know that bathrooms/restrooms are meant for urinating, bowel movements, and school fights, not chilling! (at least that's what Dr. Mario said back in Episode 6)

 **Captain Falcon: Until Lucina decides to come to her senses and come out of the restroom and oblige to go out with me on a date, I'll just camp here at the entrance to the women's restroom. It's a bit of a win-win situation - whatever woman that comes to this door, I will ask her out on a date!  
Cruise Official: No loitering around the restrooms, sir. I will have to ask you to leave the premises.  
Captain Falcon: I'm not loitering, lingering here has an actual purpose, and it has to do with finding hot chicks!  
Cruise Official: Don't make me do it... *pulls out taser*  
Captain Falcon: *gets up and walks away, whimpering***

"I think he's gone," said the woman. "The coast must be clear!"

"Just to make sure..." Lucina inched towards the door, and opened it slightly...and saw Little Mac. The swordswoman felt a little disgusted as she opened the door wide open. Mac is not trying to start a romantic relationship with Lucina after the Fiora incident, is he?

"We have no time to waste!" the boxer grabbed Lucina's hand and ran. No intention or reason was revealed, making Lucina very concerned.

* * *

"Rockin' performance!" Diddy Kong commended K.K. Slider, as he and his uncle were chilling with the hippie dog.

"Five stars, as always!" Donkey Kong gave K.K. two thumbs up. The Kongs are K.K.'s biggest fans; even if K.K. had a terrible and sucktacular performance, they would still think his performance was on the same level as Paul McCartney.

 **Diddy Kong: K.K. Slider is THE best performer in the world right now. Point, blank, and simple.  
Donkey Kong: The distinction used to belong to Michael Jackson, but he's dead now, so K.K. is holding down the top spot!**

"Thanks for the compliments, my mellow dudes!" grinned K.K. He felt that his performance wasn't up to par with previous ones, but he'll take whatever encouraging remarks he gets.

Suddenly K.K's nose began to twitch, as he smelt something delicious. He followed the scent, and he was led to the Ice Climbers, with Nana holding a giant sea bass.

"Want some?" she enticed. K.K. Slider. Villager would turn down this offer real quick, since he can't stand the sight of sea bass (just like any other _Animal Crossing_ player), but for K.K., it was too good to turn down. The dog leaped up and bit the sea bass...and the Ice Climbers ran off.

* * *

Luigi and King K. Rool found Isabelle in her room, face-first on her bed weeping. Luigi shushed Rool, and quietly tip-toed inside the room without being heard. Dude should be a ninja...thought he might be too nervous for that.

"What's-a the matter?" Luigi sat on a stool next to Isabelle's bed. "Did anyone bother-a you?"

"No one bothered me..." Isabelle responded in-between sniffles. Luigi offered her a tissue, which she used to blow her nose. The tissue came from Luigi's pocket - honestly, who knows why he kept it there. "It's just that...I don't want to be put on a pedestal, of sorts...I can't really stand the attention..."

"So that's-a why you kept-a your diabetes a secret from us?"

"...More or less."

Luigi nodded his head. Isabelle was crying after Rool made her kiss K.K. because all the attention was on her - and if she told anyone at the mansion about her diabetes, everyone would have given her boatloads of attention, and attention is her kryptonite, it seems.

 **King K. Rool: Can't make out what Luigi and Isabelle are discussing about, but I've developed a general consensus of their discussion...they must be talking about the new vegan ice cream flavors from Ben and Jerry's! Poor Isabelle must really despise those flavors - and honestly, who doesn't?**

"Come with-a me, maybe some ice cream will-a cheer you up," said Luigi. Isabelle quickly obliged, as she got up off her bed and walked with Luigi, out of the room.

"I was right!" Rool cheered, pumping his fist in the air. "They were discussing about ice cream!"

* * *

It was now time for the basketball game between Mario and Alessandro to begin. Mario's team consisted of Mario at point guard (because he's the team captain), Dark Pit at shooting guard (Mario instructed him to only shoot), Link at small forward (not really that agile for the position), Corrin (his only role is to rebound, not that hard to screw up), and Doc Louis (probably here because he's black). Cloud, Wario, Wii Fit Trainer, and the Kongs were bench players - Donkey Kong and Diddy were recruited on short notice. Alessandro's team consisted him him and a bunch of strong, muscular dudes he recruited on the ship.

"Ready to take an L?" Alessandro asked Mario.

"If by-a L you mean a licking...then that's-a what you're gonna take!" retorted Mario, causing his teammates to faceplam. Somebody needs to teach Mario how to trash talk, he can't embarrass himself like this.

"We're all rooting for you, Mario!" shouted Peach, who was one of the many spectators, along with Bayonetta, Samus, Lucario, and Pac-Man.

 **Bayonetta: A basketball game meant for bragging rights? Cheeky...sure hope Mario doesn't break a leg, if you know what I mean!**

 **Samus: Mario's team is absolutely toast. You can't tell me a team with a plumber, a boxing trainer, two swordsmen, and an angel is gonna beat a bunch of dudes who all look like bona fide street ballers. And why is Doc Louis in the starting lineup? His fatness is going to slow down the him and the team itself! And he's eating freaking chocolate bars!**

Mario's team had the the ball first. Mario dribbled the basketball down the court, and looked at his many options. To his right was Dark Pit, being guarded by a defender. Link was at the baseline, waving his arms so Mario could pass him the ball. Corrin stood near the basket, ready to catch the basketball if Mario misses. And Doc Louis...was eating a candy bar. Not even playing basketball could stop him from eating his favorite snack.

But Mario knew exactly what to do...he did a jump shot and the ball traveled in the air - only to bounce off of the basketball rim. Corrin caught the basketball in time and threw it in the net for two easy points.

"Dude I was open!" Link frowned at Mario as they headed to the other side of the court.

"You weren't-a open enough!" Mario responded. Literally nobody was near Link, he was all by himself! What was Mario seeing that no one else didn't?

Dark Pit was playing defense on the ball carrier, and the guy was too much for the angel to handle. The man slashed his way through the court and made a lay-up, tying the game at two. Then Mario did the unthinkable: he made a substitution! He substituted Doc Louis, who was too busy eating his chocolate bar, for Donkey Kong.

"A substitution this early in the game?" Samus questioned. "Somebody needs to tell Mario to chill out..."

"Doc is eating right now, he should sit on the bench and take his team with his chocolate bar," stated Lucario. Doc should have already eaten, everyone knows you can't play on an empty stomach!

After the substitution was made, play resumed. Mario drove down the lane, and passed the ball to Donkey Kong, who dunked the ball into the net, dunking on someone in the process. The spectators went ballistic!

"Why is everyone going crazy, he just dunked on someone!" wondered Corrin. Yeah, somebody needs to take this dude to a basketball game, or any sporting event for that matter. He's too oblivious to everything.

 **Wii Fit Trainer: The basketball game is going along very nicely, and it's more close than I expected. The score right now is 21-19, and unbelievably, Corrin is leading the way with 10 points!  
** **Cloud: But stats don't tell the whole story. He has that many points because he always scores off of rebounds whenever Mario misses easy shots. Not to mention that he always stays in the same spot, where he always goes unnoticed!  
** **Diddy Kong: Is it just me, or has anyone other than Corrin, Donkey Kong, and Dark Pit scored yet?  
Link: I haven't touched the ball at all, and yet Mario thinks it's my fault I'm haven't scored any points...now I have to sit on the bench...  
Wario: Mario has called me into the game! Time to make an impact!**

Wario came in for Doc Louis, who saw his ankles broken. The crowd reacted greatly to the ankle breaker, leaving Corrin perplexed as to why such a move elicits a huge response.

"That short dude gonna be the center?" asked one of Alessandro's teammates. Wario is as short as Mario, so if you think about it, it would be like a point guard playing center, which results in a huge disadvantage.

"Height-a doesn't make a single-a difference in the world!" Mario defended Wario, making it one of the few times he'll ever do such a thing.

"I'll be the one doing the rebounding," Wario said to Corrin. "You've been manning the same spot for far too long!

* * *

Inside Ashley's room, the young witch was trying to find a remedy for Pit's urinary incontinence problem. The angel had drunken an entire potion - a mere sip was meant to make him fall in love with Viridi - and as a result, has been urinating a lot as of late.

 **Ashley: Good thing I was making a cure potion in case something went awry. Though given it's Pit, that was expected to happen. I remembered when he messed up the collage I made for Snake (when you're suffering from accelerated age, you feel depressed) and the old coot "banned" from ever coming into his room. Not that I would go into his room anyways, since it's a dump, but the very ban is rather interesting and questionable.**

Once she was done with the potion, Ashley poured the contents into a vial, sealing it shut with a cap. She then exited her room, and held the vial delicately, searching for Pit. She ran into Rosalina and Luma during her search, and Rosalina scrutinized her potion.

"You seem like you're in quite a hurry," Rosalina smiled. Ashley rarely conversed with Rosalina - or anyone else for that matter.

"I have to deliver this potion to Pit," Ashley held up the vial, hoping she won't drop it. "Pit's been dealing with some urinary issues."

"Is it because of his stupidity?" asked Luma. Ooh, burn!

"Now be nice!" Rosalina scolded Luma. Don't lie, Rosalina, you're probably thinking the same thing. "We saw Pit in the pool, and the officials are trying to get him out."

"And what about Viridi, have you seen her lately?"

"Can't say I haven't. But I'll be on the lookout."

* * *

Back to the basketball game, and Alessandro's team was up by three. It has been a closely contested game, and Mario kept switching team members in and out, like he was a NBA general manager trying to put together a perfect team. Cloud was put in the game, just when Kirby arrived with Sonic, Little Mac with Lucina, and the Ice Climbers with K.K. Slider, who was still biting on the sea bass. Kirby spat Sonic out of his mouth, and the hedgehog laid there on the ground, shivering in saliva. Who knew Kirby's stomach was such a dark place?

"Never again..." he uttered. Stuck inside Kirby's stomach is a fate the hedgehog wouldn't wish on anyone.

"What took you guys so long?" Lucario asked the group.

"Sonic managed to escape from Kirby's stomach and ran away," explained Nana. Catching Sonic was a problematic task, due to his blazing speed. "So catching him was a daunting objective."

"What do you possibly want?" asked Lucina, tired of being dragged around by Little Mac. Because of this, everybody on the cruise will likely assume that her and Little Mac are an item...

"We need you, Sonic, and K.K. Slider for a free throw distraction," explained Lucario. K.K. Slider and Lucina (Sonic is too unnerved to care) gave the aura Pokemon questionable looks. They were dragged here for that?! "This was Mario's idea." Oh okay, now it all makes sense.

 **Little Mac: Why would Mario want those three schlubs when he could have the biggest distractor of all time, Doc Louis? The guy would let out a big belch during a boxing match, catching the opponent off-guard and giving me the victory. It should have been me at center, and the G.O.A.T distractor Doc Louis distracting opposing players!  
Samus: You act like what Doc Louis does is unique, and cannot be executed by anyone else. I'm sure most other people could burp as loudly as he does! And besides...  
Little Mac: Well how about you quit being such a hater, and learn to appreciate greatness! Doc Louis is eons better than you will ever be!  
Samus: Yeah, that's real funny...**

Dark Pit fouled Alessandro, so Alessandro went to the free throw line to shoot some free throws. And if he refused to shoot them...well nobody really knows the repercussions for refusing to shoot free throws. It has never been done!

As he readied himself at the free throw line, a distraction caught Alessandro's left eye. Lucina was lying on the ground, and Sonic, who was back to his normal self again, knelt at her side. A blanket was over Lucina, as if she was pregnant and giving birth.

"Uh..." Alessandro looked around, just as confused and worried as the other spectators were.

"C'mon, Lucina, just push!" Sonic encouraged Lucina. "Push with all you got!" Looks like she is giving birth...what on earth made Mario think this was a good distraction?!

"I'm...trying..." Lucina grimaced, trying to make the distraction look authentic. It was sure working, since it has everyone entranced - but not in a particularly good way.

Then the unthinkable happened. Lucina finally gave birth...to K.K. Slider, who began to play his guitar. Free throw distractions don't get any more shocking than this.

"It's a boy!" Sonic exclaimed, sounding like a proud father. By the looks of it, he wished he was stuck in Kirby's stomach.

Alessandro and many others all had dumbfounded looks on their faces. A hedgehog and a female human can't result in a dog! Unless there were some video game bylaws that weren't ever explained...

 **Lucina: Never gonna do that again. NEVER. If Father ever saw that, he would've had a heart attack.**

 **Sonic: Not even Kirby's stomach had chili dogs...What is wrong with the universe?!**

Mario's distraction worked - Alessandro missed both of his free throws, and his team lost to Mario's team, 51-50, after Link helped cut Alessandro's team's lead after coming off the bench. Everyone on Mario's team lifted Link over their shoulders and carried the hero of time away, while Alessandro looked on, like he was plotting an evil plot - and he was.

"Heihachi Mishima was spotted in the gift shop," one of Alessandro's teammates whispered to the Italian. "Safe and sound."

"Go on?" Alessandro asked for more information.

"And the target has been captured. Your basketball game was a good idea, boss."

"Excellent..." Alessandro snarled. Yup, he's definitely evil. "...You know exactly what to do."

* * *

"That's the last of the smoke," Zero remarked after he and R.O.B cleared the mansion of smoke. Given the size of the mansion, and how many rooms and halls there were, it took the two a rather long time to accomplish the task. All there was left to do was find out about the whereabouts of Fox and Falco, who apparently escaped.

"DETECTING...GAPING HOLE IN CEILING..." R.O.B saw a giant hole in the mansion's ceiling, which could only mean one thing...

"Fox and Falco must have used a flying-type Pokmeon to escape! How are we ever going to find them?"

"Have you two forgotten the only winged person in this household?"

Zero and R.O.B saw Palutena standing behind them. Palutena was offering to help, but Zero pondered over this for a while.

"You can't leave the mansion, think about dinner!" the robot stressed.

"Robin has it all covered..."

"Pork chops, prepare to meet your match!" Robin's voice was heard from the kitchen. A minor explosion was heard afterwards. Dinner is doomed.

 **Palutena: I would have Chrom be of assistance to Robin in the kitchen, but he's still trying to wrap his head around how cellphones are supposed to work. It took him forever to realize going over the data results in money, and bizarrely he did it twice in one sitting!**

"What if I fly you two to the whereabouts of Fox and Falco?" asked Palutena. "You wouldn't mind that, right?"

Zero and R.O.B pondered over Palutena's offer. Was it worth risking a horrible dinner for an even more horrible dinner, and have the mansion's resident cook, Palutena, help the two robots?

"Feel free to tag along," Zero replied. "We could really use your help."

* * *

At the cruise, Mario's team was celebrating their victory in the cafe. Mario treated his teammates to sundaes - but rather in this case, he gave each person a bit of money, and they would pay the rest. Like he was going to pay the full prices...bah!

"I think this guy deserves a huge hand!" Pac-Man was referring to Corrin, who led the team with 26 points and 13 rebounds. All that standing near the basket worked all sorts of wonders. Everyone in the cafe gave Corrin a round of applause, while the prince of Nohr cowered in fear, worried that a huge hand like Master Hand would pop out of nowhere and beat the living snot out of him.

"What about me, you guys didn't have a chance at winning until I came off of the bench!" frowned Link. He contributed with 14 points, and was the main reason Mario's team got the W. But sure, let's give Corrin - who hardly gave any effort - all the praise.

 **Link: Out of all the people on the team, I was the only person that actually did something. Mario? Those assists mean nothing if you keep bricking easy shots and layups. Donkey Kong? Had two nice dunks, and nothing else. Doc Louis? Too busy eating the chocolate bars he stuffed in his jumpsuit. Cloud? His apathy nearly cost us the victory. Nobody else did much to contribute.**

"Heard you did great!" Zelda approached Link, after returning from the gift shop with shopping bags in her hand. Link could have really used her encouragement, but he was already proud with how well he did.

"Guys would have lost without me," Link gave a cheesy grin. If only Zelda had got the chance to see him play...

"I just contacted the mansion," Cloud said to Mario as they were eating their sundaes. "Akira said that Zero, R.O.B, and Palutena are searching for Fox and Falco."

"When-a did they leave?" Mario was suddenly intrigued, mainly because Palutena left the mansion. If she ever leaves the mansion, it's a really big deal. Not much can be done in the kitchen without her. "Also, who is-a doing the dinner?"

"They left not so long ago. And apparently Robin is cooking pork chops for dinner. The brawlers might as well eat out, to save themselves..."

"Robin is learning under-a my tutelage, I'm confident that-a he'll do great!"

"Dude doesn't even know how to microwave popcorn, how do you expect him to cook anything?"

"There were-a no microwaves from where Robin-a comes from, so I'll give-a him a pass!"

"I'm so proud of you, Mario!" Peach took a seat next to Mario, commending her love interest for his efforts, whatever they may be. "Even though you had more assists than anything (and Corrin bailed you with every shot you missed) you still led the team to victory!"

"Couldn't have-a done it without Corrin!" Mario grinned. Link gave the plumber a death stare. "..and Link." The hero of Hyrule refuses to let his efforts go unnoticed.

"Lucina and Sonic are also angry at you for making them perform that distraction. K.K. Slider says that the distraction was 'outtasight'."

"At least-a K.K. Slider knows what's-a up." Mario found the free throw distraction online, and having a rendition of it bizarrely worked in his favor.

"You're the famous Mario, right?" a random dude approached Mario, looking worried.

"The one-a and only! Why do you-a ask?"

"Your brother, Luigi...he's stuck in a trash can!"

"WHAT?!"

* * *

Ashley found Pit in a pool, with Viridi and Knuckles urging him to get out. People were surrounding the area, wanting to enter the pool. Why can't they get in the pool, you might ask? Well, you see, Pit is still dealing with his urinary problem, and when you pee in a swimming pool, the water becomes discolored.

"Pit, you must get out of the pool, like, RIGHT NOW!" Viridi yelled at the angel. But Pit refused to do so.

"I ain't leaving until my bladder is completely empty!" responded Pit. Now here's the problem - the potion messed up Pit's bladder to the point where it will constantly fill up after it's emptied. Going by Pit's logic, the angel will likely remain in the pool for the remainder of the cruise.

 **Knuckles: Stuff like this is why Pit doesn't deserve to be in a relationship. Too live to dumb...To live dumb too...Dumb too live to...associating yourself with Pit must make you less intelligent.**

"Drink this potion!" Ashley yelled as she threw the vial at Pit. The angel caught it in his hands.

"You want me to drink this?" he pointed at the vial. "Yeah, right. The last potion I drank gave me this urinary problem, who knows what'll happen if I drink this!"

"Just drink it, it will cure you!"

So Pit unscrewed the top and drank the vial. Within seconds, his bladder was functioning normally again.

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises," a pool maintenance guy told Pit. The entire pool had a dark tint to it, and it was clear evidence of how much urine filled up the pool.

"He won't do this ever again," Viridi smiled at the maintenance guy as he grabbed Pit and dragged him away.

* * *

The guy that told Mario about what happened to Luigi guided the plumber and Peach to a trash can, where Luigi was stuffed in. A muscle-bound cruise officials pried the green plumber of said trash can, and dusted him off.

"Thank-a you for saving me..." Luigi thanked the dude. Other cruise officials were checking Luigi out, to see if he was okay.

"Luigi what-a happened?!" Mario ran to his little brother, with Peach tagging along. Since Luigi's older, Mario tries to let him live on his own, but he's always concerned about his brother's safety.

"Oh, Mario, it's-a horrible!" Luigi wailed. "Isabelle and I were-a eating ice cream in the cafe, when some man kidnapped-a Isabelle and beat-a me up and threw me in that trash can!"

"Isabelle has been kidnapped?!" Peach gasped in horror. "Sure do hope she's okay..."

"This is-a all my fault...going on a cruise wasn't-a the best intention..."

 **Mario: Knew Isabelle's kidnapping was-a bound to transpire...her cuteness makes her a formidable target-a for kidnapping!**

"It's not entirely your fault, Mario," Peach comforted the plumber. "You were just doing what was best for Isabelle!"

"Mario, I have some dire news!" Snake ran up to Mario, panting heavily once he reached him. Accelerated age is holding back his fitness. "I just saw a person in a spy suit running away with Isabelle in his grasp. I tried to catch him, but he was no match for me."

"A spy-a suit?" Luigi raised an eyebrow. "That must be the same-a guy who attacked me!"

"We shall hunt down this foe, if you like," said one of the cruise officials.

"Please do, I can't-a afford any more distractions during the cruise!" complied Mario. "Isabelle's-a safety is of the utmost concern!"

* * *

Fox and Falco arrived on the cruise ship via Flygon, and Fox returned the mystic Pokemon back to its Poke ball. The two pilots found two sailors walking by; they ambushed them, and stole their sailor clothes, putting them on. Even dressed as sailors, the brawlers could easily identify Fox and Falco, but whatever works for them...

"No one will ever suspect us in these!" remarked Falco. That doesn't sound ironic at all.

"So why did we come here to the cruise again?" wondered Fox. They broke out of the Pokemon sanctuary with the use of Flygon...so what's next for them?

"What are you boys doing out there all willy nilly?" a sailor sporting a Brooklyn accent approached Fox and Falco. He looked like the type of guy you certainly don't want to mess with; his muscles were slightly intimidating. "We need you boys out on the poop deck, a kidnapping has taken place!"

"A kidnapping?!" Fox's eyes bulged. "Who got kidnapped?"

"They say a young canine lass by the name of Isabelle. Poor girl didn't expect anything like this on a cruise..."

Fox and Falco began to worry. Isabelle's kidnapping wouldn't have happened if the brawlers didn't go on the cruise...and the cruise wouldn't have happened if Mario promised to cheer Isabelle up...and cheering Isabelle up wouldn't have happened if Mario learned about her diabetes...and Mario learning about her diabetes wouldn't have happened if Bowser tried to look into her laptop...and Bowser looking into her laptop wouldn't have happened if Fox and Falco were trying to find their way into the program from said laptop.

 **Falco: This is all your fault! We triggered a chain of events that led up to Isabelle getting kidnapped! We're such horrible people!  
** **Fox: At least we all know about her medical condition. That's a plus...right?**

"I want you two laddies to be on watch on the poop deck in case you see anyone suspicious," the sailor went on. "The person of interest is reportedly wearing a spy suit. If you ever catch him, track him and chase him down!"

"Yes sir!" Fox and Falco saluted the sailor; the sailor nodded and walked away.

"We're gonna suck so much at this job," stated Fox.

"Suck is an understatement," replied Falco.

* * *

"Got this for you," Zelda handed Link a shopping bag. Link took the item out of said bag, which was a snow globe. Link marveled at it - just like he usually does with any item or weapon he finds on his adventures. A pretty nifty consolation prize for leading Mario's team to victory; he has yet to receive any props from anyone other than a certain princess.

"I've always wanted one of these!" he gleamed. "Thank you so much!"

"We have-a no time for exchanging gifts!" Mario ran into the scene, knocking the snow globe out of Link's hands and unto the floor, breaking it in the process. Link whimpered, his lovely gift from Zelda destroyed. "Isabelle has been-a kidnapped!"

"Say it isn't so!" Zelda gasped, too much in shock to chide Mario for breaking the snow globe and wasting the fifty rupees she spent on it. "Has the culprit been spotted yet?"

"No, but the sailors-a and the cruise officials are on-a the look-out. I've notified-a everyone so far, everyone except..."

* * *

"Koko de kaimono o shitai to omou subete no korera no tondemonai kakaku, mite?" Heihachi glanced at the price tags in the cruise ship's gift shop. A mug for $25? A regular pencil sharpener for $35? A key chain for $65?! Blasphemous!

"Heihachi, Isabelle has been kidnapped, and the kidnapper has yet to be found!" Shulk ran into the gift shop to alert Heihachi, and Wolf tagged along. Since Dunban isn't on the cruise, Wolf has to fill in the void. "We should go look for the kidnapper ourselves!"

Min'na de dōsa shimasu ka?" Heihachi chuckled, likely amused by Shulk's offer. "Wa wa wa! Anata wa watashi o warawasemasu!"

"Can you translate what he just said?" Shulk whispered to Wolf.

"He might have said he will work with us," Wolf whispered back. He doesn't know what Heihachi just said, but he was definitely inferring.

"Alright, Heihachi, it's a deal! The three of us will work together, and find the kidnapper!"

Heihachi groaned. Why can't he learn to speak in English? Why must he always pass up on Ike's English lessons with Takamuaru?

 **Heihachi Mishima: Kisai-jō no kono ten kara, watashi wa dare ka ga bengijō, watashi o hon'yaku shite imasu. Sakurai Masahiro wa onaji koto o okonai, naze watashibekide wa nai nodesu ka? Sore wa dare no tame ni haruka ni kantan'na mono o okonaimasu!**

* * *

Pit found himself in Ashley's room...tied down to her bed laying on his back. The young witch was making yet another potion, while Viridi and Knuckles looked on.

"After this is over, it will all be resolved..." Viridi rubbed her hands together, like a tsundere girlfriend ready to do some romantic experimentation on her boyfriend. "No more denial, no more bodily malfunctions, no more running away...you'll love me forever, and ever, and EVER!"

"Virdi I think you're taking this way too far," Knuckles pointed out. The goddess of nature was hovering along the lines of a obsessed and overly attached girlfriend - let's just hope Viridi doesn't make any viral videos about it.

"Nobody cares about what you think! If you don't like it, then leave!"

"Yeah, I'd rather stay..."

Pit would try to wrangle his way out of the ropes that were tying him down, but he wasn't awake - you'll see why later. The angel was trapped within the vicinity of Viridi, a situation not working very well in his favor. Who will save him?

"Falcon...PUNCH!"

Captain Falcon falcon punched the door, sending it into Ashley's goblet and spilling the concoction all over the floor. Viridi panicked in an instant; she can't possibly let this plan go to waste! She knew what would be the most reasonable thing to do: she untied Pit and pulled his face towards the floor, forcing him to lick the contents.

"Lick it!" she ordered, on the verge of tears. "Lick it, I tell you!"

"He can't lick it if he's unconscious!" Ashley stated. Apparently Viridi had the witch use a sleeping potion on Pit, so she could pour the potion down his mouth via funnel.

"Woah, Viridi, chill!" Captain Falcon ran over to the goddess and pulled her away. He held Viridi in his arms, as the goddess wept. Girl's got issues.

 **Captain Falcon: Viridi needs a real good spanking! Real quick! Now I see why Dark Pit has never fallen in love with her, she's obsessed!**

"Just a warning for you kiddies..." Captain Falcon began.

"Ahem..." Knuckles cleared his throat. Though he's sixteen, he refuses to be called a kid.

"...and teens...Isabelle was kidnapped, and it's our duty to look for her at all costs! Also, what is this substance on the floor?"

"It's a love potion," explained Ashley. "We were gonna make Pit drink it, so he'll fall in love with Viridi."

"Uh huh...can you by chance make me a love potion?"

* * *

Storm clouds were filling the sky, just when Zero, R.O.B, and Palutena arrived on the ship. Palutena used her flight ability to carry the two robots, and now they're too afraid to fly in the air again.

"NO PLANES FOR ME..." R.O.B remarked. Palutena diminished whatever interest the robot had in aerial flight.

"Same here, buddy, same here..." Zero shook his head. If only he had Rush Jet... "My radar indicates that Fox and Falco are on the very cruise ship our fellow brawlers are on. All we need to do now is find them."

"While you do that, I'll go look for Pit," said Palutena. She has to ensure that Pit is safe, for his noggin can really lead him to trouble.

"Pit's fine, I'm sure about it."

 **R.O.B: PIT IS NOT FINE...YOU BUFFOON...  
Zero: How can you be so sure about that?  
R.O.B: DO YOU NOT KNOW...WHO WE ARE TALKING ABOUT?**

"Let's go ask that sailor if he knows about the whereabouts of Fox and Falco," Zero pointed at a sailor, sweeping the deck. "Excuse me, sir, but have you seen a fox and a bird on this ship?"

"Two of our sailors are a fox and a bird," replied the sailor. "And did you and your friends receive permission to enter the ship?"

"HE'S ON TO US..." R.O.B. panicked. "BLAST HIM TO BITS..." He fired a laser at the sailor, knocking him out. Nice going, dude...er, robot.

"At least we know what Fox and Falco are up to," said Palutena.

* * *

Mario paced back and forth in his room, as Luigi and Cloud watched on. He would go look for the kidnapper himself, but Shulk told him that he, Wolf, and Heihachi got it all covered. He has no idea who he's putting his trust in.

"Should-a we look for Isabelle our-a selves?" asked Luigi. Mario, though he's not the man of the mansion as of right now (Ike is holding that title down while Mario's away), should be the man of just about anywhere he is.

"I'm trying to piece-a the puzzle pieces together," responded Mario. "Why would Alessandro want-a to have a basketball game with-a me? What are his-a motives?"

"You're overthinking this way too much," stated Cloud. Due to being Mario's temporary assistant, he has to be with Mario at all times during times of crisis. "Alessandro looks like an innocent guy; sure he's full of himself, but he could care less about Isabelle."

"Or maybe that's-a what he wants you to think! It's all just a facade!"

 **Luigi: This Alessandro has-a got inside poor Mario's head...he needs-a to stop concentrating on the basketball game, and concentrate-a on Isabelle and her well-being!**

 **Cloud: Why did Mario make me his assistant? Does he not realize that he has his twin brother to do his bidding? Not even he could forget Luigi, not after all the adventures they've had together!**

"Listen up, Mario, wherever you are!" Alessandro's voice was heard on the cruise ship's intercom. "I got your precious Isabelle out here on the mast. I'll break a deal with you: bring Heihachi Mishima up here, and I'll give Isabelle back! Be there, or be squared!"

"Alessandro has-a Isabelle!" Mario sprung to action. "We must rescue her immediately!"

"But what-a about Heihachi?" asked Luigi. Mario can't confront Alessandro empty-handed - besides, he told him to bring Heihachi. Who knows what Alessandro might do to the plumber if he doesn't follow his command.

"Don't-a worry about him...for I have a back-a up plan...But first we must-a gather the others!"

* * *

Elsewhere on the ship, Viridi was still sobbing...about Pit. Numerous attempts have been wasted to make Pit love her, and she doesn't think she'll try another time. The goddess of nature wept, as Captain Falcon comforted her.

"There's plenty of other fish out in the sea," he said. But none of those fish could compare to Pit. He's the only person Viridi has the hots for. "And besides, you still have Dark Pit!"

Viridi wept even louder. What's so wrong with Dark Pit? Sure he's quite the jerk and all, but at least he's smart!

 **Captain Falcon: So Ashley's been making love potions this whole time?! And she never told me about it?! With that potion, I would have already been in a relationship with any female brawler! Like Samus, Lucina, or even Sheik! Zelda knows Shiek very well, perhaps I should ask her what Sheik finds in a guy...**

"Mario wants us to be at the mast!" Pac-Man alerted Captain Falcon and Viridi.

"What for, has the kidnapper been spotted?" Falcon asked. This would be the perfect time for him to dispatch the kidnapper, and win over one of the female brawlers' heart. But he'll find a way to screw it up anyways.

"Well, not exactly, but Mario has planned to use you in his back-up plan..."

"Backup plan?" Falcon stroke his chin. "Time for a backup plan of my own..."

* * *

The brawlers attending the cruise (save for Captain Falcon, and Shulk, Wolf, and Heihachi - who knows where those three are) were all gathered near the mast. The cruise officials and sailors were there as well; Fox and Falco, still in their sailor getup, stayed behind in the back so they won't be detected.

"Are we doing a flash mob or something?" Falco asked Fox, wondering why everyone is gathered here. Did he not hear Alessandro's message on the intercom?

"Flash mobs are a thing of the past now!" Fox responded. "We're definitely doing a Harlem Shake." Joke's on you, Fox, the Harlem Shake is extinct.

Thunder and lightning flashed down on the earth as Alessandro appeared, along with a man in a spy suit - holding Isabelle in his grasp.

"Give up Isabelle this-a instant!" Mario demanded. He didn't care about bringing Heihachi - he just wanted Isabelle back.

"Before we can go any further, time for a reveal..." said Alessandro. He pressed a button on his wrist, and his body seemingly transformed into...

...and revealing himself as a toned, white-haired man wearing a high-tech cyborg suit, and wielding a blade. Know this guy? Apparently none of the brawlers, officials, or sailors have no clue who he is.

"Have we met before?" asked K.K. Slider. Alessandro sighed and placed an eyepatch around his left eye, revealing himself to be no other than...

"Raiden!" Snake growled. "What business do you have here?!"

"Hush, old man, my intentions here have absolutely nothing to do with the likes of you," replied Raiden. Now, Raiden, that's no way to talk to your former mentor! "I'm only here...for Heihachi Mishima."

"Why do you want him so badly?" asked Knuckles. "Did he do something personal to you?"

"Nothing personal, my mission is to return him to his rightful place - the All-Star Manor." The All-Star Manor is the residence where the characters from _Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale_ reside. Heihachi used to live there, until he received a Smash invitation.

 **Diddy Kong: The All-Star Manor sucks, and shouldn't exist! Just look at the people who reside there - a wannabe rapper, an obese princess, some dumb cat, a stinking piece of cloth...a space system engineer...an army commander...a guy who hunts demons...gotta think of it, the All-Star Manor isn't as bad as Mario makes it out to be.**

"And here we have poor, poor Isabelle," Raiden alluded to the dog. "Claims she hates the all the attention and regard in the world, and right now she's receiving attention, whether she likes it or not. I can make it stop - if you bring Heihachi to me!"

"We have no idea where he is!" stated Rosalina. The spy held Isabelle out, ready to drop her at any minute. Everyone was scared - Isabelle could fall to her death at any given moment.

"Either Heihachi shows up, or your precious Isabelle is a goner!" frowned Raiden. He's supposed to be the hero, not the villain!

Isabelle tried to pry her way out of the spy's hands, but it was no use. So she bit his hands, and the spy dropped her, as the dog fell to her doom.

"Isabelle! Noooooo!" Mario screamed, too much in despair to actually save her.

Then like a flash of light, a Fox Illusion - Fox dashed past everyone in blazing speed, catching Isabelle in time and saving her. Isabelle, feeling grateful, gave Fox the biggest smile she could.

"Sorry for trying to invade your personal privacy," apologized Fox. "Falco and I have learned our lesson."

"We won't ever do anything like that ever again," added Falco, who made his way through the crowd to tell Isabelle this. During this moment, Mario would scold Fox and Falco for sneaking out of the mansion undetected, but since they've had a change of heart, he felt no punishment was needed.

"I have no time for this!" Raiden leaped down from the mast and ran towards Fox so he can fight him. But he was stopped in his tracks by Sheik, who was in a ninja stance. You can't call yourself a full-fledged ninja if you can't pull off a ninja stance.

"Take Isabelle somewhere safe, I got this all covered," she said to Fox and Falco. Fox nodded and ran away, but Falco stayed put.

"Oh, about those smoke bombs..." he chuckled nervously. Should have known better than to mess with a ninja like Sheik.

"Go! Now!" Sheik yelled. Falco did as he was told. Sheik stared down Raiden, and Raiden did the same with Sheik.

And in an instant, the two were battling each other. The sounds of swords and needles colliding with one another filled the damp air, as thunder and lightning continued to make its rounds.

 **Wii Fit Trainer: So glad Mario called us out here. Lots and lots of action going on right now!**

Sheik ultimately lost the battle, when Raiden knocked her into the ground with his sword. The ninja was lying on her back, with Raiden point his sword at her. Is this Sheik's last hour?

"You deserve no pity; final words are useless," Raiden uttered. "Prepare to meet your..."

"BACKSLASH!"

A certain Homs delivered his signature move on Raiden, striking him in the chest. The mercenary fell on his knees, allowing Sheik some time to get up off the ground. Shulk appeared, and Wolf's Landmaster also showed up, hitting the mast and sending the spy guy atop into the water. No sign of Heihachi whatsoever.

"We got the kidnapper!" cheered Wolf, oblivious to the fact that he went after the wrong perpetrator.

"Um, Wolf, I think we still have to deal with this guy," Shulk pointed at Raiden, who was slowly getting up. The mercenary, once he was standing on his own feet, slashed at Shulk, catching the Homs off-balance and sending him to his feet.

"Was that backslash the best you got?" Raiden snarled. "Anyone else would like to try me?"

Soon Palutena, Zero, and R.O.B showed up, cornering Raiden. The intensity has never been higher.

"So you're the dude behind all of this, huh?" asked Zero. Fun fact: Zero, R.O.B., and Palutena encountered the threesome of Shulk, Wolf, and Heihachi on the ship, and Shulk told the trio about Isabelle's kidnapping. "What's your incentive for causing this mayhem?"

"My incentive was to exchange Isabelle for Heihachi, so I can return him to the All-Star Manor," explained Raiden. "Apparently he hasn't showed up yet..."

"Ya i o motte imasu?"

Everyone was astonished to see Heihachi Mishima, arms crossed as he stood on the mast. He leaped down and stuck a perfect landing, in front of Raiden.

"Watashi wa anata ga watashi o mitai to omotte kita koto o kiita koto ga aru node, anata wa subete no hoshi no manā ni watashi o kaesu koto ga dekimasu," said Heihachi. "Koko ni mo watashi wa!"

"Hehe..." Raiden laughed evilly. He finally got what he wanted - Heihachi Mishima. No ransom involved. "See, Mario and friends, Heihachi wishes to return to his original abode, and not spend time with you cravens! Isn't that right, Heihachi?"

"Hitotsu no koto watashi wa watashi no mune no ofu ni shutoku suru hitsuyō ga arimasu..." stated Heihachi.

"Hmm?"

"...It's too early for April Fools!"

"Wait, what?!"

"Falcon...PUNCH!"

Heihachi delivered a falcon punch, sending Raiden into the railing. However, Heihachi is unable to pull off such a maneuver, unless...

"Got em!" Heihachi placed a helmet on his head...Captain Falcon's helmet. Heihachi was actually Captain Falcon in disguise! The real Heihachi leaped out of the Landmaster, and Wolf did the same a second later.

 **Mario: Little did-a anyone know that Captain-a Falcon is fluent in Japanese. With his-a knowledge of the language, I can slide-a into the DMs of those Japanese ladies Peach talks-a with online...Peach might be withholding some-a juicy info about me!**

 **Wolf: Not so long ago, makeup was applied to me. This time around, I had to apply makeup to a dude...Mario just surpassed Chrom on my lifetime list.**

"Impossible..." Raiden struggled to get up. Captain Falcon got him good. "How can it be..."

Watashi wa, futatabi sono shōen ni modotte watashi no kotoba o māku suru koto wa arimasen!" stated Heihachi, expressing his displeasure with the All-Star Manor. "Watashi wa watashi ni, nai baai demo man-doru ga teikyō sa rete imashita modotte suru koto o kyohi shimasu!"

"It's not over yet..." Raiden got on his feet yet again. Does he not know what will happen to him next?

Suddenly the rain began pouring down. And Doc Louis, who was aquaphobia, was breathing heavily.

"Calm down, Doc, it's just rain..." Little Mac soothed his trainer. But the soothing did nothing - Doc Louis went berserk!

"GAAAAAH!" the boxing trainer yelled with all his might and ran to Raiden, slapping his chest like a madman. Seemed like the only way to vent his frustration. Cruise officials and sailors pulled Doc back, and Raiden looked battered.

Never was there a perfect opening for Link.

The man who was unappreciated for most of his stay, Link wielded his sword and rushed towards Raiden, performing a forward strike and sending the mercenary into the ocean. Raiden was finally dispatched! Everyone was cheering for Link and his act of heroism.

"Our hero!" Samus and several of the female brawlers - namely Rosalina, the Wii Fit Trainer, and Lucina ran towards Link. The hero of Hyrule was shocked, since he's finally getting some recognition of some sort. Link held his arms out wide, expecting some embracing, as the female brawlers...

...ran past Link, and embraced Captain Falcon instead. Women embracing Captain Falcon? This has to be a setup!

"You look so macho in that kung fu suit!" remarked Rosalina, who stroked Captain Falcon's chiseled body. Link just stood there with his mouth agape.

"We all can't have nice things," Sheik approached Link and patted him on the shoulder. "And in case you were wondering, Captain Falcon asked Ashley to make some love potion with her spellbook and somehow made those ladies drink it. I even saw him do it in her room. Experienced it firsthand; I was the first person to be asked to drink the potion, and he was all bummed out when I turned down the offer."

"I shouldn't be so surprised, the guy's desperate," Link shrugged. Captain Falcon has zero romantic chemistry with women, so he deserves every second of this moment.

* * *

Viridi sat in her room weeping...Pit doesn't love her, when is she going to accept it?! Palutena entered the room, and saw Viridi in her state of distress.

 **Palutena: Pit told me everything Viridi did to make him love her - all the love potions and whatnot. Her persistence is perhaps her strongest asset!**

"Do you need a tissue?" Palutena asked the goddess of nature, taking a seat next to her.

"No, I'm fine," replied Viridi, wiping the tears away. "Why won't he love me?! Does he love anyone else?"

"As far as I'm concerned, he doesn't really have a love interest. Maybe he's not ready for love yet, he is but an innocent soul. Just give him some time, and maybe one day he'll come around."

Viridi gave a heartfelt grin. Going by Palutena's words of advice, she'll just have to remain patient and hope for the best.

* * *

In his room, Mario was video chatting with Roy, Alph, and the male Inkling, telling him the good news about Isabelle and then some.

"So Isabelle hates garnering attention?" Roy raised an eyebrow.

"And Fox and Falco saved her life?" said Alph.

"She would-a have been a goner if it weren't-a for those two," Mario nodded. How grateful was he that Fox and Falco came. He'll be indebted to them for some time. "Anyway, how was-a your fabulous dinner?"

"Those pork chops were HORRIBLE!" the male Inkling grimaced. Considering Robin cooked them, it's not a surprise. "I gave my pork chops to the Pokemon in the sanctuary; they're just like Kirby, they'll eat anything given to them!"

"How's-a Bowser handling things in the sanctuary?"

"He got squashed by a Metagross," stated Roy. Not much of a surprise either... "His shell prevented him from substaining any serious injuries."

"But other than that, he's been doing a solid job caretaking for the Pokemon," added Alph.

"You got some guests," alerted Zero, who was staying in the room. Fox and Falco entered Mario's room...

"Came here-a to say you're sorry?" Mario raised an eyebrow. "Have you done it one-a too many times?"

"We still have a lot to get off of our chest," replied Falco.

"You can let-a whatever you have off-a of your chest in a later time. Right now, I have- to finish-a this video chat."

So Fox and Falco quietly exited the room, while Zero looked on.

 **Zero: As much harm as Fox and Falco have done, their shenanigans did lead to this nice cruise. We wouldn't have learned of Isabelle's diabetes if it weren't for them trying to find their way into the program of her laptop. So I understand why they're being all apologetic. Since I'm already here, I'll just relax and enjoy what this cruise has to offer...and who knows, I'll might even thank Fox and Falco for it.**


	11. Episode 11: Birthday

_Author's Note:_

 _This chapter takes place two weeks following the previous one._

 _Chapter 5 has been re-edited; had to change the character in the scene involving the dating site from Olimar to Alph, since Olimar has a wife. You'll see why this is so integral in this chapter._

* * *

 **Episode 11: Birthday**

Two weeks. Two long, grueling weeks. During that span, Mario instructed Robin in a variety of cooking endeavors, and taught him how to make barbecue ribs, chicken wings, donut burgers, roasted guinea pigs - you name it, Robin made it.

Now it was time for the ultimate test. Instead of cooking this time around, Robin will prove himself to Mario...by baking a strawberry cake, for Daisy's birthday. If it was for a regular family - a mom, a dad, and their two kids - no problem. But the mage has to make cake for at least a hundred people, so baking the cake will be a very hefty task.

But Mario is extremely confident in Robin's ability. He has come so far, to see him fail will be a major surprise.

"Let's look at the ingredients..." Robin glanced at the recipe. He was wearing a cooking apron, believing that it would make him look like a master chef, like Guy Fieri. Has anyone ever seen Guy Fieri in a cooking apron? "Twelve boxes of cake mix, twelve boxes of strawberry gelatin, 12 packages of frozen strawberries, 48 large eggs, 24 cups of vegetable oil, 12 cups of water, 12 cups of softened butter, 12 packages of cream cheese, 24 teaspoons of strawberry extract, 84 cups of sugar, some cream cheese frosting, fresh strawberries...Mario I don't think I'm cut out for this."

"Don't let-a the list of ingredients overwhelm-a you!" advised Mario, who was writing his love letter for Peach, after nearly two weeks of endless, constant promising. "Let your hands do-a the work!"

"That's right, Robin, no duty is too difficult for the likes of you!" proclaimed the Flying Man, who intruded Robin's preparations. "In fact, I will even help you bake this cake to perfection! For I am your courage!"

 **Flying Man: Three things are guaranteed in life: death, taxes, and cake! Every living soul must consume the dessert that absolutely reeks of deliciousness and sweetness! Apparently there are those living in this very mansion who have never tasted a cake before. It is my civic duty to ensure that every single brawler enjoys the cake Robin is baking, regardless of its quality!**

"I don't need any help, Flying Man, I got it all covered," assured Robin. This test of baking Daisy's birthday cake would prove to Mario that he is fully capable of making something with any guidance, and he would have to undervalue the advent of help to please Mario.

"Dear boy, do you not know what you're going up against?" the Flying Man showed Robin the recipe. Even though Robin went over it, the bird showed it to him again just for good measure. "Look at all the ingredients! Mario is essentially setting up you for failure!"

"Whoever said-a that I was setting Robin up-a for failure?" frowned Mario. His duty is to instruct and encourage Robin, not fail him!

"A master chef could bake this cake without any problem whatsoever. Robin, on the other hand, is not a master chef by any means. A one-layer cake would be best suited for his caliber."

"Will a one-a layer cake serve an entire-a mansion?"

"Enough bickering, you two!" yelled Robin. All this arguing was preventing him from making any preparations - like preheating the oven for instance. A cook cannot forget to do that simple step. "Flying Man, if I'm ever in need of trouble, I shall call you for assistance. Other than that, I don't want you anywhere near the kitchen. I need as little distractions as possible."

"But I am your courage!" whimpered the Flying Man. A dumb catchphrase like that isn't going to win Robin over. Not even if it came from a smoking hot lady.

"Just chill out man, everything's gonna be alright," Robin showed the Flying Man out of the kitchen. With him gone, the mage can now finally focus on baking the cake... "Crap I forgot to preheat the oven!" ...only if he remembers to do the necessary things first.

* * *

Mario had invited Daisy over to the Smash Mansion for her birthday. And since today was her birthday, all the brawlers in the mansion were being all nice to her. Because you definitely don't want to be callous to anyone celebrating their birthday, that's just cruel and wrong. Peach and Zelda were nice enough to invite the princess of Sarasaland to...a tennis game held in the mansion's backyard. You thought they were inviting Daisy to another one of their tea parties, didn't you?

"Serve's up!" Peach served the tennis ball, and sent it flying across the next. Daisy, Peach's opponent, hit the tennis ball, sending it back to Peach's side. The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom was unable to serve the tennis ball back; Daisy delivered _way_ too much power.

"Oh yeah, forty all!" Daisy pumped her fist. "Match point!" Being the tomboy princess that she is, Daisy has a strong interest in sports, so no one should be surprised that she's an ace at tennis.

 **Daisy: So stoked that I get to spend my birthday with everyone at the Smash Mansion! Sucks I have to deal with Bowser...but from what I've heard from Peach, he's hurt, so it's all good!**

"I've brought some refreshments!" Zelda came by carrying a plate of fruit, vegetables, crackers, and trail mix - your usual refreshment food. Zelda was originally supposed to go up against Peach in tennis, but Daisy believed she wasn't cut out for it. Possibly judging Zelda off of her appearance.

"Neat-o!" Daisy immediately stopped playing and ran to Zelda, helping herself with some refreshments. "You made these yourself?" she asked Zelda.

"Toad can be very handy when you need him," the princess of Hyrule smiled. Toad is like a helping hand, except with limbs, a body, a beating heart, a head, a squeaky voice, a mushroom cap, clothes, and a puny brain - but mostly everything except for the latter part.

After eating some of the refreshments, Daisy returned to her tennis game. Peach served the ball...and Daisy served it right back, winning the tennis match. The princess jumped in the air and cheered, shouting as loud as her lungs would allow it.

"Where's Luigi?" Daisy asked, looking around. "I wanna see Luigi! Gotta tell him about this awesome win!"

"Luigi is...doing things right now," Peach chuckled nervously. What things could the plumber possibly be doing that made Peach chuckle nervously?

* * *

Ike coolly walked down the hallways of the mansion, exuberating confidence and swagger. Ike defined those qualities - his mantra "I fight for my friends", which annoys some and makes others question if he really does have friends, showed that the swordsman is the man - a man of dignity, courage, and strength.

However, Ike was not prepared to face what he was about to encounter. As he walked passed Luigi's room, he saw the Duck Hunt dog sitting at the doorway, pointing and laughing. Dumb dog's always laughing, whether it's at Pit doing something silly, or Marth for looking like a woman. What could be possibly laughing at this time? An intrigued Ike opened the door all the way, and saw Luigi...dancing?

"I think I'm cute...I know i'm sexy...I've got the looks...That drive the girls wild..." Luigi is apparently dancing to Shawn Michaels' theme song, and singing the lyrics. "I've got the moves...that really move'em...I send chills...up and down their...Aaah!" The plumber jumped in fright when he saw Ike and the Duck Hunt dog watching him. The dog was rolling on the floor laughing, while Ike just stood there, confused. He never knew Luigi had that much in him, and he got a rare opportunity to see what the plumber's truly made of!

 **Duck Hunt Dog: *laughs while facing the wall and banging fist against it***

 **Ike: Some things are just meant to be unseen forever. And Luigi's dancing is one of them.**

"I'm just gonna go now..." Ike awkwardly left the room, and bumped into Link. He told the hero of Hyrule about Luigi dancing, and so Link went to go investigate.

"Please tell me why you were dancing just now," demanded Link, feeling concerned for himself and anyone else that might stumble upon Luigi's dancing in the future.

"My dance-a moves must be perfected for Daisy's birthday-a party!" explained Luigi. How does he know if Daisy wants dancing at her party? What if she wants to do more mundane activities, like Pin the Tail on the Tanooki?

"Daisy doesn't want to see you dancing dude, unless she wants to dance with you. If you were dancing just by yourself, it just won't be tight."

"You're telling-a me not to dance? I've-a been working on my-a craft for the longest now, and I must-a show Daisy..."

"Here are your dancing shoes, Luigi," MegaMan .EXE entered the room with a shoe box. Yuichiro Hikari probably paid for them.

"Just put-a them on the dresser," instructed Luigi. .EXE made his way towards the dresser...

"Stop!" Link jumped in the way of .EXE, took the shoe box, and tossed it out of the window. C'mon Link, that pair of dancing shoes didn't do anything to you! Don't disrespect nice shoes like those!

"You okay man?" asked .EXE. He inched towards the door, in the event Link goes full psycho. Randomly throwing items out through the room is one step towards losing it completely...

"Well since Mario has put me in charge of planning the party, I will decide what is and what isn't allowed," stated Link. "Dancing at the party...is not allowed!"

"Why would-a you do such a thing?" frowned Luigi. His opportunity at showing Daisy his hotspur - whatever it may be - was quickly dashed by a defiant Link.

"Instead of dancing, we shall have more fun, great, and outgoing activities, like...like...EXE help a man out!"

"Nope, you're the party planner, you should be coming up with the activities on your own," said .EXE. He didn't feel like attending Daisy's birthday party, but everyone is forced to participate - those who refused would have to clean up Pokemon excrement in the Pokemon sanctuary. (Do Pokemon even have bowel movements?)

"I did come up with some activities on my own...I just can't share them yet!" Link ran out of the room, likely to avoid any further suspension. The swordsman can't hide for any longer!

* * *

Daisy's birthday party was to be held inside the ballroom, a room scarcely used. Cloud, Akira Yuki, Young Link, Toon Link, Olimar, Alph, Rosalina and Luma, Red the Pokemon Trainer, Lucina, Ness, Dunban and Samus were put in charge of decorating the room. While he was setting up the table decor, Olimar's cell phone rang.

"Who's this?" Olimar answered his cell phone. "Oggy! Oggy oggy oggy, oink oink oink, oggy oggy oggy, oink oink oink..."

Cloud, Toon Link, Red and others exchanged glances, wondering who on earth Olimar could be talking to. Perhaps it's an alien he encountered during his space travels.

"Oggyy, oggyy...oggy oggy oggy, oink oink oink...okay, see you later," Olimar ended the call, and everyone felt worried.

"So who's your new friend?" asked Cloud. A person by the name of Oggy, aside from a particular blue cat, draws a ton of intrigue.

"He's not really a new friend, I've known him for all his life," replied Olimar. This made everyone in the room even more curious than before.

 **Toon Link: Rosalina once said that space travel can be a dangerous thing - not only is diarrhea a major risk factor, but a person can experience so much loneliness that they create an imaginary friend. Olimar might have an imaginary friend of his own...one that can operate a working phone! What if his imaginary friend became a real person? *shudders***

"Your friend Oggy sounds like total loser," remarked Red, who was blowing up balloons with Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. Professor Oak prefers his grandson Blue over Red, the trainer has no room to talk.

"Oggy is not a loser, he's one of the best people I know!" defended Olimar.

"Keep telling yourself that," said Samus, hanging up the banner with Lucina. She has heard strange stories from Olimar about Mary Shelley showing up in his room and torturing him in his sleep, so this whole Oggy situation is nothing new to her.

"Leave Olimar alone, the person he was talking to probably doesn't have any friends," said Dunban, sticking up for Olimar and Oggy. "Isn't that right, Olimar?"

"He doesn't have that many lady friends..." stated Olimar. Dunban noticed that the astronaut was holding his head down, as if he was tired of the others speaking about Oggy. "...But I don't see that as a major concern."

"Your sanity is a major concern," Samus grumbled after hanging up the banner. Samus and Olimar have never really got along with each other, and for unknown reasons.

* * *

After Link and Zelda's romantic relationship began, Mario had to rearrange the two due to what he calls "confidentiality issues". To this day, nobody knows what he means by that. For the sake of convience, he had Link and Zelda switch roommates. Link finally got his wish: to have Cloud as a roommate. Zelda, on the other hand...

"Have you ever wondered if Drake's 'Hotline Bling' song sounds like elevator music if you take out the lyrics?" asked Lloyd Irving, Zelda's new roommate. Lloyd is the most unlikable and irritable person in the mansion - that is, if you take Wario out of the equation.

"I never listened to Drake, nor do I even care about him," remarked Zelda. Lloyd gasped - everyone these days is listening to Drake, and Zelda states that she doesn't care that much for the Canadian rapper. What a shocker!

"B-b-but Drake is the hottest thing right now! Hotter than the sun!"

 **Lloyd: "You used to call me on my cell phone...late night when I need your love..." Oh man, those lines are legit! I tried to ask Mario and Link if they could play the song at Daisy's birthday party, but they both said no. Mario added that he doesn't want any on-hold music playing at the party...whoever said anything about that?!**

"For the sake of Daisy, and everyone attending the party, don't do anything embarrassing or stupid," Zelda told Lloyd. She remembered the last time Lloyd did something embarrassing and stupid at a birthday party - it was Roy's first birthday celebration, and Lloyd gave him a "gift", which was basically him puking in a fish bowl and handing it to the Hero King. Lloyd claims he did it "for science".

"No worries Zelda, I'm not gonna puke in a fish bowl again," assured Lloyd. "Instead, I'll just do some magic tricks for Daisy's amusement!"

Zelda facepalmed. Why can't Lloyd ever be banned from attending parties?

* * *

Daisy was racing with Captain Falcon and Jacky Bryant in the mansion's racing course in the backyard. Daisy, who was driving on a motorcycle, beat the racers at their own game. After crossing the finish line - with Geno waving the checkered flag - Daisy skidded to a halt and began celebrating. Captain Falcon and Jacky came to a stop as well, and took the time to appreciate greatness in front of them.

"Hard to believe that woman is engaged to Luigi," Falcon shook his head as Daisy was overly celebrating. When you're great like her, you gotta showboat every now and then.

 **Captain Falcon: Woulda have proposed to Daisy, but that dastardly Luigi beat me to the punch! Daisy is such a doll, there would have been no point in dating her! I had to propose to her immediately!**

 **Jacky: Never have I seen a more polar opposite love relationship than Luigi and Daisy. Luigi is introverted, quiet, and a scaredy cat, while Daisy is outgoing, extremely loud, and loves to take on new things. Yet despite their differences, the two get along very well. Wish Mario and Peach's relationship was on the same magnitude...**

"Seriously, though, where is Luigi?" Daisy wondered, after her endless celebration was finally over. "Hope he's not hiding from me! I know he's a little shy, but still..."

"Princess Daisy!" Toad approached the princess. He had a very happy expression on his face...then again, he's always like that, no matter the situation. "Lloyd and Ludwig would like to know if you want to join them in the ball pit inside the mansion. Would you..."

"An indoor ball pit?!" Daisy cut Toad off, getting all excited. If the mansion had an indoor bouncy house, that would absolutely make her day. "Of course I wanna join them, what kind of stupid question is that?! Luigi better be there..."

* * *

Proto Man was once again tasked with finding special entertainment, for Daisy's birthday party. And once again, he got the same guy as last time.

"This dude again?" Link glanced at Jimmy T, who entertained select brawlers with his 70s dance moves. Some brawlers demanded that Jimmy be banned from the Smash Mansion, and prohibited to never return again.

"He's cheap," Proto Man shrugged. Unlike a majority of special entertainment acts, you could just see Jimmy T strolling down the street, and ask him to be at your party - without charge. And that's exactly what Proto Man did.

 **Jimmy T: Back at the Smash Mansion, with all my favorite people in the world. They thought they could keep the party master away, but they thought WRONG! Today's the day of Daisy's birthday, and when I'm at her party, breaking it down and showing the peeps how it's done, I'll just dance my way towards the princess and ask her out on a date...what, she's already engaged?...To Luigi of all people?! How does a nervous wreck like him get engaged, he's the type of guy who's too afraid to ask a poster of Pamela Anderson out on a date!**

Diddy Kong walked by, and saw Jimmy T. He shook his head, possibly thinking, "Why is this guy here again?". Everybody else will probably think the same way too.

"Stuff like this is why I hate going to parties," the spider-monkey remarked as he continued on his way.

"See, not even Diddy appreciates Jimmy T!" said Link. "Take him away this instant!"

"Woah, woah, woah, that's no way to treat a party animal!" Jimmy T sounded offended. "My job is to party all the time and elevate the party people, nothing more and nothing less! So how about you head back to Foster's and spend time with your real friends, and let someone more dignified to plan the party!"

Link glared down Jimmy T while gritting his teeth angrily. Kudos if you got the Foster's reference, for you'll understand why Link is so ticked.

"Get out of this mansion and take your lousy talents somewhere else!" Link yelled.

"Some people just don't know a thing about entertainment, don't they?" Jimmy T shook his head in disgust as he left the room. Link let out a sigh of relief; since Jimmy T is gone, there is now room for actual special entertainment.

And would you know it, a knock was at the door. Could it be the special entertainment Link is expecting?

"Come on in!" Link called out. In came...Jimmy P, who looks _exactly_ like Jimmy T, but with a different attire, blonde hair and a tan.

"Proto Man said that I'll be at the party for special entertainment if things concerning Jimmy T don't work out," Jimmy P explained to an enraged Link. The swordsman is clearly against old-timey dance acts. "And now that Jimmy T's been kicked to the curb, it's time for me to make my move!"

Jimmy P did some disco moves, while Link glared down Proto Man.

"Like I told you about Jimmy T, he's cheap," Proto Man attested. The robot didn't have that much money on him...then again, what robot carries money with them anyway?

* * *

"Really? Wow, that's awesome! You're gonna be at the party too? Sweet! I'll see you then!"

Fox promptly ended his phone call with Krystal. He had just received word from his lover that the vixen was finally released from the hospital, and that she plans on attending Daisy's birthday party.

 **Fox: Krystal is out of the hospital, and she's heading over to the mansion! You know, I kinda wish the party was a Christmas party instead of a birthday, because I could kiss Krystal under the mistletoe...I guess we call can't have nice things - though Krystal's recovery is nice enough.**

Super elated about the news he received, Fox strolled down to the gaming room, and saw Viridi sitting at a couch, with Greninja comforting her. The pilot couldn't help but notice that Viridi appeared to be all depressed and gloomy, so he went over to the goddess of nature to investigate.

"Everything's going okay with you?" he asked. Right from the get-go, he knew what Viridi is all upset about has to do with Pit, but he decided to ask the question anyway just to make sure.

"Everything's not going okay," Viridi sighed. "Knuckles completely ditched me in my efforts to win over Pit, and now I don't know what to do."

Fox nodded as he processed this information. The other day, Knuckles and Viridi were in a huge argument, with the echidna displeased with how insane and tsundere Viridi's been acting in order to win over Pit, and Knuckles told the goddess that he was through with helping her out. Viridi is now a one-man band, beating her own drum with little to no assistance.

"Greninja's here, he can help you to a certain extent," suggested Fox. The ninja Pokemon is known for sporting a "up for whatever" attitude. Mario needs someone other than Isabelle to give him a foot massage? Greninja will do it. Mr. Game and Watch wants an opponent to play against in a game of table tennis? Grenina is always up for the challenge. Toilet's all clogged up, and the plunger is nowhere to be found. Leave it to Greninja, he'll unclog the toilet in a jiffy, and without complaint.

"But he's never been in a romantic relationship of any sort, so I can't ask him for help," Viridi stated. Is Greninja even interested in romance?

"Well I'm in a relationship right now...why not ask me?"

"You can help me?" Viridi's eyes widened. All her depression and gloominess went away in an instant.

"Sure, why not, I might even get Falco to..."

"Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" Viridi gave Fox a bone-crushing hug before the pilot could even finish his sentence. The strength Viridi is giving is the mere equivalent to how grateful she really is. "When will we get started?"

"Today, at Daisy's party. Though we can start earlier if you like."

"Nah, the party sounds like the perfect time and the perfect occassion..."

* * *

Let's see how Robin is coming along with the birthday cake...

"THE FROSTING IS FOR THE CAKE, GOSH DARN IT!" Robin growled as he chased down the Inklings, who were using the frosting as makeshift paintball ammo. Much of their paint was used to color the walls of the ballroom (ballrooms aren't necessarily meant to be painted, but Mario was unkempt on "elevating" the room) so the Inklings had to improvise.

"Why do you have so much frosting?" the female Inkling asked while the frosting war rolled on.

"Because the cake I'm baking is supposed to be ginormous!" Robin yelled. Good thing Mario is using the bathroom, otherwise he would see how Robin is unable to handle insolent little children.

 **Mario: Robin is a former-a tactician and a grandmaster, so he should-a have no problem being-a by himself and eliminating any distractions during my-a bathroom break! Those refried-a beans must really despise-a my stomach!**

Mario returned to the kitchen from the bathroom, and saw the chaos that ensued. His propositions about Robin handling things by himself were evidently wrong.

"You two stop this-a instant!" Mario shouted at the Inklings. They stopped fighting, and threw their paint guns away like nothing happened. The mess, however, was too insurmountable to discard any suspicion.

"He/She did it!" the Inklings pointed at each other, hoping one or the other would take the blame. However, Mario marched his way up to the man who had to take full responsibility for the frosting war.

"I thought-a I could trust you!" the plumber scolded Robin, who cowered in fear. Way to anger Mario and lose his trust, man. "How-a can you call yourself a cook if you-a can't control the kitchen environment?!"

"Stand back!" the Flying Man randomly flew in the kitchen, stepping in the way between Mario and Robin.

"Why are you here?" asked Robin, his eyes looking around. He never called the mythical bird in the kitchen.

"Because I am your courage, you ignorant weenie!" The Flying Man's role at the mansion basically is to help others whether help is needed or not. Robin should have known this by now. "Listen up Mario, and listen good! Daisy's cake would have been already finished and ready to go, had you not procrastinated on your love letter to your dear lass! Due to your postponing, the cake is nowhere close to completion, and the birthday party is set to begin in four hours!"

"Four-a hours?!" Mario panicked. "Oh, this is all-a my fault!"

 **Male Inkling: Know this might sound wrong but...I read Mario's love letter while he was using the bathroom. It was very, um...interesting.  
Female Inkling: I read it too. Did you see those Celine Dion lyrics he scattered across the letter?  
Male Inkling: The lyrics from the song featured in _Titantic?_ Sure did!**

"Robin you're no longer in-a charge of baking the cake!" a panicky Mario told Robin, much to the mage's relief. Making the frosting was somehow a struggle for him. "Mr. Game-a and Watch will take care of things!"

Mario scurried out of the kitchen in order to retrieve Mr. Game and Watch. The 2D man hopefully knows what he's getting into.

* * *

"Oggy, oggy, oggy, oink oink oink..." Olimar was on the phone yet again with Oggy, this time in the printing room where no one would come in and judge him. "Alright then, see you at the party!" Oggy's gonna be at the party?! The others better watch out!

Just when Olimar ended the call, Link came into the printing room, and he had a facial expression that meant he was presumably eavesdropping on Olimar's call.

"The guys in the ballroom mentioned something about a dude named Oggy," the swordsman said. "You still keep in touch with him?"

"I gave him a call just now," replied Olimar, feeling uneasy. Will Link ridicule him for speaking with an individual named Oggy?

"Uh huh...before I go, I want you to know something; when you're with Oggy at the party, can you please keep the pig noises impersonations down to a minimum? I don't want you to creep Daisy out or anything."

"Wait, how are you going to tell me what to do? I'm the team leader of party decoration, I guide the others and tell them what decorations they put up!"

"Oh yeah, well Mario put me in charge of the party, so I can boss you around all I want! Team leader is an irrelevant title!"

"It's not irrelevant, team leader means that I'm a leader of a team!" Thank you, Captain Obvious Olimar, we never would have known without you!

"You don't understand, don't you? Being a team leader is absolutely worthless, you could name a kid the school milk monitor, and nobody would respect it!"

"Nobody would care? That's where you're wrong, they would respect it; if I were a milk monitor, and people were rude to me, then I'll just give them their milk last - so it's warm!"

Dang Link...you just got roasted by Olimar...Olimar the pimp!

 **Link: Olimar thinks he can have it this way because of his Oggy friend...no way I'm letting him have it! I'll find out who this Oggy person is, one way or another, and no one's gonna stop me, not even...  
Zelda:*from afar* Link I have some mooncakes - your favorite!  
Link: With chocolate syrup on top?  
Zelda: Exactly the way you like it!  
Link: I'll be there in a second!**

* * *

With their "team leader" Olimar away, the people in the ballroom finished the decorating. Flower decorations were all over the place; the party is flower themed, due to Daisy's extreme affinity of flowers. The gal has flowers everywhere - on her crown, on her dress, on her race kart...she probably has a flower tattoo somewhere on her body.

"Well it took us a rather long time, but it's a wrap," remarked Cloud. "Daisy's gonna love what we done here."

"I'll go get Olimar, he's might be talking to Oggy," Young Link said as he ran out of the ballroom. Looking around the room, Akira took note of one missing element...

"The cake isn't here yet!" he shouted. "The ballroom will be complete without it!"

"How can it not be finished yet?" Rosalina facepalmed. She told Mario having a growing, experienced cook like Robin bake a giant cake for everyone in the mansion was a disastrous idea, but Mario kept reminding her that Robin "has shown significant progress" and "is not prone to failing". Yeah, about that...

 **Lucina: Poor Robin...Mario tasked him with a recipe that was greatly out of his league, and now I highly doubt Robin will ever cook (or bake) again...I would have helped, but Mario made me set up the ballroom decorations. And he also said that help was unnecessary for Robin...and Robin apparently obliged to Mario's ridiculous statement.**

"Um, excuse-a me, everyone..." Luigi inched his way inside the ballroom. "May I ask-a you for a suggestion?"

"Ask away!" replied Red. Whatever suggestion Luigi has, the trainer hopes his Pokemon can be a part of.

"I was-a wondering...if-a I should...dance at-a Daisy's party..."

"You dancing at her party would be a great idea!" gleamed Dunban. "Perhaps you can share a dance with her!" The homs has heard stories about Luigi and Daisy, and to see the two dancing would be a real treat.

"Yeah, it would be the best occassion for you to embarrass yourself in front of everyone else!" agreed Red. Toon Link nudged the trainer; only a guy like Red would want to see Luigi fail. Waluigi is the other guy, but he's not here right now.

"Only thing-a is...Link doesn't want-a any dancing at the party..." Luigi bowed his head in sadness. Knowing him, he would be too afraid to confront Link and give him a piece of his mind.

"Don't listen to Link, ever since Mario named him the party planner, all the power has gotten to his head," said Ness. The young lad suggested to Link that everyone should wear party hats, but the hero of Hyrule argued that party hats are "lame" and "childish". Same could be said about his green hat...but since it's an iconic part of his attire, it'll be left alone.

"We should all stand up to Link, and demand that dancing should be allowed!" Alph said defiantly. He's Olimar's second-in-charge. "Who's with me?"

Everyone except for Luigi raised their hands. Either they didn't feel like being defiant, or they didn't have a good enough incentive for doing so...

"Those who will do it gets a $50 gift card!"

Everyone immediately obliged through cheers, nods, and approvals. So it was definitely the latter...

* * *

Today was rather an event-filled day for Daisy. She played a tennis match against her BFF Peach, raced alongside Captain Falcon and Jacky Bryant in a grueling race, and participated in a rubber ball war in the ball pit that ended with Lloyd losing his virginity. (In other words, Lloyd got hit where the sun doesn't shine.) However, Daisy felt that her day would be incomplete without her man.

"Where's Luigi?!" she questioned, angrily marching down the halls. Her fiance was nowhere in sight, and she refuses to spend the rest of her day without him.

"Me saw Luigi and friends through hall," Takamuaru ran up to Daisy to tell her this information. "They coming for Link! Luigi mad!"

"What did Link do to make Luigi feel that way?"

"Link ban dancing! Dancing allowed not at party!"

 **Takamaru: Link mean, very mean! Me asked Link to serve sushi at party, but was turned down! Link gone crazy!**

"Link really did that?" Daisy asked in disbelief. She had never known the green-clad hero to be so authoritative. "Why would he do such a thing?"

"Link plan party, yes!" replied Takamaru. "Link drunk in power! Crazy mad!"

"We must find him immediately!"

* * *

Mr. Game & Watch finally did it. He baked Daisy's birthday cake, and it was a grand pastry, its size large enough to complement the brawlers. Mario scrutinized the cake, nodding as his eyes scaled down the cake from top to bottom. The 2D man really impressed the plumber.

One problem though - how will they get the cake from the kitchen to the ballroom? The distance is very long, and the kitchen entrance is simply not wide enough to squeeze the cake through.

"There-a must a way to teleport this-a cake to the ballroom," Mario scratched his chin, conjuring of some suggestions. An idea popped in his head. "I know just the guy! Wait right here!"

Mario ran out of the kitchen, and came back with Mewtwo. The genetic Pokemon didn't look like he wanted to be here; he wanted to spend some time relaxing before the party began.

"Whatever it is you want me to do, make it snappy," Mewtwo folded his arms.

"Teleport this-a cake to the ballroom!" commanded Mario. The genetic Pokemon gave Mario an inquisitive look, and the plumber was trying to figure out why. Let's just say it has much ado with his Pokemon knowledge, or the lack thereof.

 **Mewtwo: Teleport is a psychic-type move that moves the user to a different location. It is unable to teleport other organism or objects. Mario isn't the first to be ignorant of this information; Wario once asked me to teleport him to the kingdom of Nohr so he could loot the kingdom of their riches. And when I kindly told him no, he asked me to teleport him to Noshidio! So I fired a Shadow Ball at him, and sent him flying out of the mansion. As if you would believe, not a single person bothered to retrieve him.**

"I can only teleport myself, and nothing else," Mewtwo explained to Mario. For a move that easily fails in Pokemon battles, Teleport can be quite useful in Smash!

"Alright then..." Mario stroked his chin for another suggestion. "Use Psychic to transport-a the cake to the ballroom, without-a blemish!"

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW PSYCHIC!" Mewtwo knows the move Confusion, but Psychic is not even in his moveset.

"How can-a you call yourself a legendary Psychic-a type Pokemon and not-a know Psychic?!" Mario appeared to be befuddled by the fact that a top-tier Pokemon like Mewtwo doesn't even know a top-tier move like Psychic. It may not have a high power input, but hey, it's still pretty effective.

"Masahiro Sakurai has control over my moveset, okay?!"

"What's with all the bickering?" Zelda entered the kitchen, after overhearing Mario and Mewtwo argue with one another. Mr. Game & Watch was chilling, checking on his pet fish in the fish bowl he apparently uses in battles. The bickering allowed the 2D man to take care of some of the more important things in life, like his dear pets.

"I have to get-a this cake to the ballroom, and I can't because-a of Mewtwo and his crappy moveset!" explained Mario. "Doesn't even-a know Psychic..."

"So it's my fault I have no control over my moveset?!" Mewtwo frowned, ready to start another argument. But Zelda wasn't having it.

"You look here, you two!" Zelda yelled. "Daisy's birthday party will begin in less than an hour, and I won't have a petty quarrel deter the cake from not being present in the ballroom! Also, why is the cake so freaking large?"

"Do you not-a know how many people we have to feed?" asked Mario. The plumber feels like he's the only one that knows the body count of those living in the mansion. Just because he's the man around here doesn't mean everyone else shouldn't be aware about mansion attendance.

 **Zelda: One of my biggest concerns about the birthday cake - aside from Robin baking it, thank goodness Mr. Game and Watch took over - was that it might be too big. Due to the size of the kitchen, carrying the cake to the ballroom will be quite the hassle.**

"I could use Farore's Wind to warp the cake to the ballroom, if you like," Zelda suggested to Mario. Farore's Wind was the only option Mario had, and he quickly obliged.

"We shall-a use your little spell of yours!" said the confident plumber. "Mr. Game and-a Watch, get the cake-a ready!"

* * *

One of the non-brawlers invited to Daisy's birthday party was Waluigi, who arrived thirty minutes ahead of time. He was in the living room, hanging out with Shulk, Pit, and Kirby; Pit was only hanging out with Shulk to keep his distance from Viridi. Palutena had told the angel of what Viridi did to him on the cruise, and now he's too unnerved to be within walking distance of the goddess of nature.

"Woah dude, you're tall!" Pit remarked after taking notice of Waluigi's height. He always knew him to be tall, but not anywhere close to seven feet!

"My tallness is my specialty," replied Waluigi, stroking his trademark mustache. Given that Waluigi is a thorn in Mario's side, it was unexpected for the mustached man to be invited to the party, but he consistently implored Mario to inviting him, even going as far as sending messages to the plumber's Facebook account in the wee hours of the morning.

"What's the weather like up there?" Shulk joked around with Waluigi.

"Oh yeah, I've heard that before." We know you have, Waluigi, we know you have.

"They must have put you in a grow bag when you were little did they?"

"That's an old one." How does a person like Waluigi take remarks like these with stride?

"Must be all like, 'Let's grow ourselves a big, lanky, weird mustached freak of a son'!"

"All right now, chill out, there's no need to get offensive."

"No need to get all butthurt, I was just having fun..."

"I didn't call you blondie as soon as I saw you."

"I was trying to be funny..." Calling someone a big, lanky, weird mustached freak isn't really funny, in some cases for Waluigi, it's kinda rude.

"Just don't try my mustache, since that is a stigmatism I've had from the age of five, I've been growing a mustache since I was that young, so don't just... I didn't call you a dumb blonde or anything."

"You don't see me going about calling myself the long man, it just sounds weird."

"I don't call myself that either, my name is Waluigi!"

"Well I'm not gonna call you Waluigi!" Uh oh, Shulk is getting very tense...Pit and Kirby are nervously watching...

"Waluigi is my name..." Waluigi is a portmanteau of the Japanese adjective _warui,_ which means "bad". Bet you didn't know that, didn't you?

"No it's not, you're just copying Luigi, what's your real name?"

"...Leslie." Waluigi was holding back tears when he said this. Probably was withholding this bit of information for a long time...

"Leslie is a great name! Plenty of successful men are named Leslie!"

"And they call you blondie..." Waluigi ran away, wiping away tears. Situation went from 0 to 100 _real quick._

 **Waluigi: My name isn't Leslie! In fact, I don't even have a real name! I came up with the Waluigi moniker to align myself with Wario and antagonize the Mario Bros! *weeps***

"Where did Waluigi ran off to?" Palutena asked, approaching the boys. She heard his crying, so she was aware that something's up.

"He's just saddened that...his crush Daisy is engaged!" replied Shulk. Pit and Kirby quickly nodded in agreement, trying to cover up the rather awkward episode that ensued earlier.

"I'm sure he will get over it soon."

* * *

Fifteen minutes until the party began. Link just so happened to exit from the bathroom when he was immediately confronted by Daisy and Takamaru.

"Link we need to talk!" frowned Daisy. The princess looked angry, and anger is a common trait among redheads.

"Ah, if it isn't the birthday girl," Link grinned, visibly nervous by Daisy's visage. "How has your wonderful day been?"

"What is it with this beef you have against dancing at parties?!"

"This issue is none of your concern! Also, where did you learn of this information? Somebody must have told you, didn't they? Who was it? It bet it was MegaMan .EXE, dispelling information I don't want others to hear! Or it was probably..."

"Betcha it was-a me, huh?"

Link looked behind him, and saw Luigi, flanked by Alph, Lucina, Red, Akira, Cloud, Rosalina and Luma, Samus, Toon Link, Ness, and Dunban.

"Hey babe," Luigi nervously waved to his fiancee. An eager Daisy waved back, while Red was quietly laughing.

 **Red: Heh heh...babe...heh heh...what a dork.**

"Give it up Link, you're completely outnumbered," commanded Cloud. "Grant Luigi his wish, and this whole issue will be resolved."

"Never! I'M the party planner, which means whatever party ideas are presented to ME must reach MY approval! Planning the party is MY obligation, and the only person here who can throw a single suggestion at ME without getting vetoed is Daisy!"

"In that case..." Daisy began, with Link awaiting for her proposal... "...can we please have dancing at my birthday party?"

Link gave Daisy a dumbfounded look. Who is she to side with her fiance on the issue of dancing? And who are the others to side with the plumber as well? Luigi rarely gets this much support, it's like a once in a blue moon type of thing!

"No, no, NO!" replied Link, channeling his inner Daniel Bryan. "There will be NO dancing at the party! Who even dances at birthday parties anyway?"

"We have evidence!" proclaimed Alph. Though the evidence is scarce, it's worth using against Link. "Remember the time when..."

"You have no evidence! Birthday parties are times when we should celebrate someone growing up, and not all this crap about dancing! Why if I..."

"Link just listen for a second!" Cloud interjected. "Don't you see? Being given the ability to plan the party has done all sorts of things to your head. You think you have all the power in the world, and you can boss people around all you like, when you're only doing this for one night, and one night only!"

Link looked down at the floor, thinking over what Cloud just said. The swordsman was right; as Takamaru said earlier, Link was drunk with power, and because of this, the green-clad hero seemingly alienated everyone with his profound arrogance and overbearing attitude. He's supposed to be displaying humility and kindness, but all of that became nonexistent once he was deemed party planner.

So Link, admitting defeat, knew exactly what me must do to put this situation to an end.

"Dancing..." he started, "...is allowed." A wave of euphoria swept the hall, as everyone was cheering and applauding. Daisy ran up to Luigi, and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm so proud of you!" Daisy told the plumber. "Actually standing up for once...I gotta document this somewhere...why are you breathing so loudly? And your face is all sweaty, yuck!"

 **Luigi: Now this might-a sound weird, but whenever a girl like Daisy kisses-a me, my blood-a pressure rises, and my...are you-a saying those are just-a symptoms? Oh, thank goodness!**

Link held his head up high, feeling confident after hearing Cloud's message. Cloud walked up to the fellow swordsman, resting his hand on his shoulder.

"Knew you weren't as tyrannical as you were making yourself out to be," said Cloud. "Sorta glad I have you as a roommate."

 **Link: Sorta glad? Sorta glad?! What does he possibly mean by "sorta glad"? Does he not know who he's rooming with?!**

* * *

"Oggy, oggy, oggy, oink oink oink!" Seriously Olimar, you're still talking to that Oggy guy. "You're at the front door? I'm on my way!" Olimar ran out of the kitchen, where he was making the call, and headed straight for the front door.

"Hey Olimar, we finished decorating the ballroom!" Young Link ran up to the captain to tell him the news. He looked everywhere for Olimar, but the captain kept going from room to room making his calls with Oggy.

Waluigi eventually showed up in the kitchen, after wiping away his tears and blowing out his nose from inconsolable crying. Dude's that bitter about not having a real name. He made his way to the kitchen table, and saw Mario's love letter conspicuously lying there.

"A love letter, eh?" Waluigi picked up the letter and read it intently...while pulling out a pencil, ready to edit it to his will. Mario, you've done this to yourself.

* * *

Daisy's birthday party had just begun, and it was definitely popping in the ballroom. Balloons and decorations littered every corner of the room, and Corrin was mesmerized by it all.

"All of this to celebrate someone's birthday?" he wondered. Poor guy never got the chance to experience a birthday party; at Nohr, his parents and siblings would simply tell him happy birthday, and continue the rest of their day. And yet the brawlers wonder why Corrin wishes he was raised in Hoshidio so badly...

At the center of the ballroom was Daisy's glorious birthday cake, covered in yellow and orange icing, since yellow and orange are Daisy's motifs.

"Robin, weren't you supposed to bake the cake?" Villager asked the mage. He saw Robin playing checkers with Chrom earlier, and wondered if he was slacking off on his duties.

"Mario had Mr. Game & Watch take over for me," explained Robin. "Said that I wasn't cut out for such a colossal baking project."

"Could have told you that myself..."

"Told me what yourself?" Robin's self-confidence was on the verge of blemish.

"...That you're an even better cook than Palutena!"

"Wouldn't say it's much of an accomplishment, but I'll take what I get," Robin shrugged. Villager sweatdropped, guilty with himself for telling Robin that.

 **Villager: What have I done, I've given Robin slightly false hope! Palutena's better still, at least she doesn't fry chicken in the toaster oven like Robin does!**

"When are we going to eat the cake?" an impatient Sonic asked Tails. A birthday party is irrelevant to him whenever cake's abound.

"We have to sing happy birthday to Daisy first," explained Tails. Honestly the fox didn't care that much for the cake, he's dying to give Daisy some presents he got her.

"Well what are we waiting for, we can just sing it right now and get it over with!"

"No, Sonic, everyone has to eat first!"

Speaking of eating, pizza was served at the party, because we all know pizza is the universal party food. Anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is insane. Samus, once again, had to order the pizza, and Wario's hot wings.

"Come to papa!" Wario sat underneath one of the tables, eating his hot wings without anyone disturbing him. The Wii Fit Trainer should really look into signing Wario up for Weight Watchers.

"So that's where the hot wings are," Bayonetta lifted up the tablecloth and saw Wario eating the hot wings. The fatso was startled by the Umbra Witch, nearly dropping his beloved wings. "Hope you know those wings aren't meant for one person, everybody has to get their fair share!"

"Sharing is overrated, it's a lousy brainwash tactic used since kindergarten meant to make everyone nice! If you think I'm gonna share my darlings, then you're just..."

Bayonetta took the bowl of hot wings away from Wario. The fatso started to have a panic attack, and even threatened to call 9-1-1. Yes, over some dumb hot wings.

"Cloud told me of how you were acting as the so-called 'party planner'," Zelda was speaking with Link near the punch bowl. "He said you were acting all righteous and commanding. Care to explain why?"

"It's just that...I've never been given an authoritative role in such a long time," explained Link. "When Mario said I was the party planner, I thought I could do this and that, and a whole lot of other things. Instead I made myself to be a pompous fool..."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," Zelda laid a comforting hand on Link. "You were just trying to do the right thing. Mario has to take most of the blame, he could have planned the party himself, but _no,_ he wanted to write his love letter at the last minute, and doing so nearly affected the party."

"Yeah..." Link uttered, looking to his left and watching Mario converse with Peach. The princess turned away, and Mario looked into his pockets for his love letter - but he didn't have it! Also, why would he want to put a letter in his pocket anyway?

Sitting at the front of the ballroom was Daisy, the birthday girl, and Luigi, her fiance. Although he looked content, the plumber was nervous - his shirt and overalls were drenched with sweat. Nothing like a long shower to fix the problem!

"Why-a am I sitting here again?" Luigi asked his lover.

"Because you look and act all goofy with the others!" replied Daisy. "I'm trying to do you a major solid!" Awww, look at Daisy, looking out for her future husband, how sweet!

 **Captain Falcon: Should have been me sitting up there with Daisy! I could have been holding her hand, and kissing it, and talking about things most lovers do, like...like...what do lovers talk about?**

"Attention everyone!" Ike bellowed, garnering everyone's attention. Link is supposed to do this, but he wanted to chill and let Ike handle the job. "It is now time to sing happy birthday to Daisy!"

"About time!" Sonic sped off to fetch a plate, and returned to his original position. Typical Sonic, jumping ahead of time and not willing to be patient...

"We're not cutting the cake now, you do realize that, right?" Tails questioned.

"Just getting prepared!"

Because of the cake's height, someone had to get a ladder so Daisy can blow out the candles. While Mr. Game & Watch went to go fetch a ladder, Krystal arrived, and saw Fox and Falco, with Viridi.

"I see you finally came," Fox remarked as Krystal approached him. Inside his mind, he's probably thinking, "Keep it cool Fox, you got this...".

"Came just in time," smiled Krystal. In her hand was a present.

"Glad to see you're all healthy again," said Falco. Has he ever been jealous of Fox, because he has a girlfriend and he doesn't? Questions like those should be answered right away!

"Who's this blonde-haired friend of yours?" Krystal was referring to Viridi; the goddess of nature was still visibly upset. Too upset to socialize with anyone at the moment. Think of her as Ashley at get togethers, but without the doom and gloom.

"She's Viridi, she hates humans!" Falco stated this matter-of-factly, like Krystal had to know this or dire consequences would follow.

"Aaaaand she's also in love," added Fox, disgruntled with Falco's response. "With that guy," he pointed at Pit, still hanging out with Kirby and Shulk.

"Oh you don't say? Are they a couple?"

"Not quite, the angel kid refuses to return the favor. But I have a plan that will unite their hearts together!"

Mr. Game & Watch finally retrieved a ladder, and positioned it in front of the cake. Daisy climbed up said ladder, and Charizard lighted the candles. The happy birthday song commenced, much the joy of Sonic.

"Cake time!" the hedgehog gleamed as the first part of the song, where you repeated the same darn phrase over and over again for no blatant reason, ended...only for the second part to commence, the part where the crowd asks how old you are even though they're supposed to know already. Sonic's eyes twitched, not being able to take the wait any longer. He needed his cake now!

 **Sonic: AGE IS AN IRRELEVANT ATTRIBUTE OF VIDEO GAMES, NOBODY CARES HOW OLD VIDEO GAME CHARACTERS ARE!  
Donkey Kong: Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you supposed to be fifteen?  
Sonic: MAN ARE YOU DEAF?!**

After the third part of the birthday song ended, Daisy blew out the candles, greeted with cheers. Corrin was confused; why do people cheer when birthday candles are blown out? Is is a life accomplishment that he's not aware of?

Now it was time for the gift exchange. Daisy returned to her seat, ready to receive some gifts. Tails, Krystals, and a handful of others handed the princess their presents; some where more crappy than others. (Ganondorf's present for Daisy was a lousy handkerchief.) Then came Olimar, who was joined with a special guest - his own son!

"Olimar has a son?!" gasped Bowser, who was on crutches. He leaned forward to get a better look of Olimar's son and fell on the floor with a thud. Bowser, you've known Olimar since the _Brawl_ days, has he not shared any personal information with you?!

"I hope you enjoy this gift," Olimar's son handed Daisy a small box. Daisy accepted the box, and opened it, only to be greatly overjoyed by what she saw.

"This is perfect!" she smiled, taking the item - a golden necklace with a crown - out of the box and wearing it around her neck. "Thank you so much for this gift; what's your name?"

"My friends call me Oggy," replied Olimar's son. (Not his real name, but then again he doesn't have one) Those working in the ballroom were shocked - Olimar was speaking with his son this whole time!

"Why did you make pig sounds with your son on the phone?" a bewildered Akira asked Olimar.

"I was telling him secret instructions in regards to getting the necklace," smiled Olimar. Nobody will ever know those pig sounds meant, and they will never figure out.

"STOP THE PRESSES!" Waluigi barged into the ballroom. "Listen to what I'm about to read to you!" The lanky man held up Mario's love letter in the air.

"Is that...?" Mario scrutinized his love letter, held in the hands of Waluigi. This will teach him a lesson in leaving things about.

"Ahem..." Waluigi cleared his throat, before he read the love letter. "To the love of my life, Peach...Do you know the effect you have on me? Even in times of stress, I find myself calmer than usual. I always seem to find the lighter side in things and situations. This is so unlike me, the pessimist I used to be. No matter how hard I would try I used to be impossible to think positive. But right from when you walked into my life, things have changed. You have become like the biggest strength in my life. Every day with you I learn something new. Your positive nature, your ability to see good in every one and your kindness has reflected in me and is making me so much like you. I am loving the new me and hence falling in love with you even more. Every passing day makes me realize how important you are to me. I never want to lose you my darling. I love you today and I will love you forever. Because you are my angel. With much love...Mario."

Peach, who was disgusted with Waluigi thinking he was reading the love letter to her, was immediately overwhelmed with emotion. The love letter struck her in the heart, in an emotional way. Who knew Mario...erm, Waluigi, was so proficient at writing letters?

 **Waluigi: Totally got that love letter from the Internet! Mario's love letter was so bad, not even re-editing could solve anything! Those Celine Dion excerpts were hard to fix!**

"You wrote that...for me?" a teary-eyed Peach asked Mario, who was still confused by what's going on.

"Uh, yeah, anything for-a you!" replied Mario, doing his best to play along. Peach smiled, giving Mario a big kiss, and the plumber was all romantically mesmerized at the end. Everyone went "Awwwww..." Can't they say anything else in unison?

"Time to party!" Jimmy P, the party's special entertainment who has been dying for his moment to come, exclaimed. "Everyone hit the dance floor!" The brawlers - except for Sonic, too busy eating the cake, and Lloyd, who somehow burned himself while practicing a rope magic trick he wanted to perform for Daisy - headed to the dance floor.

"If you say so..." Corrin literally hit the floor, and was immediately trampled by the brawlers, who all began dancing. His naivety is bound to get him seriously hurt anytime soon.

"Now's your chance," Fox nudged Viridi. "Go dance with Pit!" The fox went to the dance floor, and got jiggy with his love, Krystal. Viridi trudged her away towards Pit...who immediately pulled her to the dance floor, and lovingly gazed in her eyes?!

"All is forgiven, right?" the angel grinned romantically, concerning Viridi. "Sorry about those things you did on the cruise?"

"Y-Yes?" replied Viridi. What has gotten into Pit? The boy who couldn't stand the goddess of nature was now wanting her to dance with him!

 **Knuckles: So yeah, I kinda broke my truce with Viridi...but for a good reason. I asked Ashley if she can give Pit a love potion that instantly makes him love Viridi, and although she said such a potion takes a lot of work to make, she obliged to do it anyway. She told me she would put the potion in Pit's drink at the party, and it seemed like it works! As for my rap career - Viridi promised to help me - I think I can do it well enough alone.**

"Shall we dance?" Pit asked Viridi, no longer confused. The fact that Pit finally likes her now made her content.

"Let's dance!" the goddess of nature replied, and soon the two did their thing on the dance floor.

"Guess your master plan worked," Krystal told Fox, watching Pit and Viridi dance.

"Worked a lot better than I expected," smiled Fox. Sadly the fox gets a minimal amount of credit, while Knuckles gets _a lot_.

"Wanna go tear it up on the dance floor?" Daisy asked Luigi. She was wearing dance shoes, a present from Jimmy P.

"If only I had-a my..." Luigi held his head in sadness...

"...dancing shoes?" ...but brought it back up when he saw Link, holding his dancing shoes. "Thought you might wanted these. Sorry for my rudeness and arrogance throughout today, I promise it won't happen again."

"I'm-a certain it won't," said Luigi, putting his dancing shoes on. "You ready?" he asked Daisy.

"Ready as I'll ever be!" Daisy took Luigi's hand, and the two soon-to-be weds made their way down the dance floor. Link sported a smile, as he went to his girlfriend Zelda.

"May I have this dance?" the hero of Hyrule held out his hand to Zelda, shewing elegance. The princess took Link's hand, and the two went to go dance with Mario and Peach, two fellow lovers.

Guess you can say that love is in the air.


	12. Episode 12: Massaged

_Author's Note:_

 _On my author page there is a poll regarding this story. Feel free to vote if you like._

* * *

 **Episode 12: Massaged**

For some apparent reason, Master Hand has a hitch for massaging chairs. Nobody knows exactly why; the very sight of it makes the giant hand of doom feel unnerved. Who knew such a powerful being is so afraid of massaging chairs?

And since Master Hand is still on his "infinite vacation", Wario thought it would be a good time to buy a massaging chair and put it in the mansion. The fatso pushed the box containing the chair through the front door, and into the foyer, where he would take a short breather. He's not that acclimated to exercise, or physical activity in general; pushing a shopping cart is too much work for him. Wario opened up the box, and took the massaging chair out. Why carry the box upstairs when he's not physically cut out for it?

"What is this contraption I see before my eyes?" the Black Knight appeared and saw the massaging chair. He's seen rocking chairs, royal chairs, and even folding chairs, but massaging chairs were foreign for him. "Hard to believe you actually spent your money!"

"This thing right here is a massaging chair!" explained Wario. "It can recline, and massage your back, and your arms, and your..."

"Master Hand once spoke of these in a negative light! Why would you get one in the first place?!"

"He's nowhere to be found, and he probably won't come back for a few months, so I thought, why not?"

 **Wario: Aw yeah, sitting in the massaging chair is gonna be awesome! With Master Hand out indefinitely, I can enjoy it day in and day out, without interruption!..And no, I'm not gonna let anyone else sit in it! Do you not know who I am?**

"Help me carry this thing upstairs!" Wario told the Black Knight. The former army general assisted the fatso in carrying the massaging chairs upstairs, and as they made their way through the halls, they were getting looks from the brawlers.

"Oooooh I'm telling Master Hand," said Falco. He's gonna tell Master Hand on Wario and the Black Knight? What does he think he is, a immature little child?!

"Have fun facing Master Hand's wrath!" Mega Man X called out. No love for Crazy Hand? Sure, he doesn't have any control over the Smash Mansion, but he's still pretty relevant!

"I'm not sure if this is a good idea..." the Black Knight murmured to Wario. "Master Hand could come back any given minute...and when he sees this massaging chair..."

"Master who, that guy is lame as lame can be!" Wario mocked. Guy has no idea who he's making fun of. "Creator of the Smash universe, and he's only a lousy hand...give me a break!"

The two finally reached Wario's room, and placed the massaging chair next at Wario's bed-stool. Ashley, Wario's roommate who wish she could have a better roommate -one that didn't waste food on the floor and leave suggestive magazines lying about - watched this unfold.

"Master Hand is gonna kill you if he finds out you have a massaging chair," the young witch warned Wario. If there's anyone she wants to see Wario get beaten and battered, it's Master Hand - the hand has executed several beatings to Wario plenty of times.

"I'd like to see him try!" snickered Wario, as he plugged up the massaging chair. Ashley inquisitvely looked at the Black Knight, in her mind scolding him for helping Wario upstairs. The knight simply shrugged.

 **Black Knight: In no way, shape, or form was I going to say no to Wario! You honestly think I wanna hear Wario's fat mouth for infinity?! Always yapping his mouth...got to feel for poor Ashley for having to put up with the guy!**

The Black Knight scurried out of the room, and Wario plugged up the massaging chair and sat in it, before turning it on. The chair vibrated, easing whatever pains and aches Wario might have. It's not like he's that active, so there isn't that much tension in his body.

"Ohhhhh yeeaaaaah..." the fatso sighed happily. "This is the stuff..." If only Wario could sit in the massaging chair for all of his life...sounds boring when you think about it, but apparently that's what he wants.

"What's the purpose of getting a massaging chair, you're making yourself look like a lazy bum!" frowned Ashley. In her opinion, the massaging chair is a complete waste of money - just like The Rack, which is mainly used for working out, something Wario views as pointless and unfruitful. Understandably, he had no choice but to buy it, since Ryu put him up to it.

"Massaging chairs are solely meant for lazy bums, buying it makes sense!" defended Wario. "Now shut your trap, while I relax!"

Ashley was unable to stand Wario any longer. All the other days, she feels the same exact way, but today, she couldn't take Wario's laziness no more. So she grabbed her potions, her goblet, and her stuffed bunny, and left the room. It took Wario ten minutes to realize that the witch had left; goes on to show you how blindly observant Wario is. Either that, or the massaging chair is taking away his awareness with every minute it's on.

"Ashley? Ashley!" Wario called out Ashley's name. "Where'd ya go? You can't leave me all alone!"

* * *

"So long did it take you to write that love letter?" Peach asked Mario, as the two were folding up the laundry. Mario got all nervous - if you remember, Waluigi found the love letter online, after he claimed that Mario's original one was horrible beyond re-editing.

"Um...uh..." Mario struggled to come up with a response, but he had to make one up on the fly unless he wants his lover to grow suspicious. "It took-a me...eight hours! Yes, it took me that-a long, everything from-a the grammar, to the punctuation, and everything else-a in between, it had to be spot-a on!"

"Well I'm glad you dedicated that much time and concentration to the letter," Peach smiled. Because we all know how much dedication it takes to plagiarize and alter Celine Dion lyrics.

 **Mario: Wanna talk about how-a pathetic my original letter was? I had-a no inspiration until I saw that _Titanic_ movie! Leonardo Dicaprio's was absolutely stunning... *wipes away a tear* He won an Academy award for the movie nearly twenty years too late!...And no, it-a wasn't for _The Revenant,_ the box-a office and critical reception was a lie, a lie I tell-a you!  
**

"You know, Peach, I've-a been thinking..." Mario readied himself for the next words that would come out of his mouth. "...wanna go out on a date?"

"I've been dying for you to say that!" Peach was in all smiles. Clearly she has been waiting for a _long_ time. "Where are we going out? Have you picked a place yet, or at least found a reservation? Oh, Mario, please tell me you planned this date out!"

Mario soon found himself in a sticky situation. Should he be truthful, and tell the princess that he came up with the date on the fly and has done nothing to prepare? Fibbing wasn't worth it - who knows, someone might be spying on Mario, and would go to Peach and tell her the truth.

"Already been-a trying to look for reservations, but I can't-a seem to find one," the plumber replied. Seems like Mario is going down the fibbing route. Somewhere down the road he's gonna pay for it.

"Hope you keep trying the best reservation, our date must be perfect!" Yeah Peach, Mario is _definitely_ going to keep trying.

* * *

Let's shed some light on another romantic couple - one that officially became an item in the previous episode. Pit and Viridi were in the cafe, and Viridi was feeding her boyfriend chocolate covered strawberries. Kind of stuff most couples typically do.

 **Pit: Don't know why, but I'm in mad love Viridi...it just transpired a week ago at Daisy's birthday party, one sip of the punch I was drinking, and suddenly my mind was telling me that I should love Viridi or else...every night before I go to sleep, I try my hardest to wrap my head around this whole thing, and find out about my strange infatuation with Viridi...**

Like most old, senile guys, Snake looks down upon the young whippersnappers, mocking them for every little thing they do. Such as was the case with Pit and Viridi, when he just stared at the couple and wondered why they would act so romantic at the cafe. What a bunch of selfishes, can't they do this anywhere else?

"Your romantic behaviors are starting to creep me out," Snake told the lovebirds.

"Get lost, you old hack, you're just salty that Meryl Silverburgh wanted to marry a man better and more qualified than you!" retorted Viridi. Ooh, the goddess of nature is going in on Snake. Very prototypical of her to do so.

"Yeah what she said," Pit followed Viridi up, still trying to find out why he's infatuated with her. He's dumb, so he'll never figure out in time.

"Leave those kids alone, Snake, they're not doing any harm," said King Dedede, sipping his coffee. Knowing him, he probably forced one of his Waddle Dees to fix the coffee for him. Him and Wario are neck and neck in terms of overall laziness.

"Have it your way bub," Snake got up and left the cafe, just like most old, senile guys who can't take it anymore. All we need now is for Snake to shake his fist at Pit and Viridi, in order to solidify what he has become due to accelerated age.

"Don't mind Snake, he's still bitter that he's already a geezer and he's never been married," Dedede told the lovebirds.

"Um, King Dedede, did you ever have a romantic interest?" asked Viridi, hoping she won't offend or anger the penguin in any way.

"Does it look like they're female penguins in Dreamland? I don't think so..." Maybe King Dedede isn't looking hard enough for one.

* * *

"How many times do I have to tell you man, I'm not helping you with your rap career," Marth told Knuckles as he tried to walk away from the echidna in the hallway. The Hero King was one of the many brawlers Knuckles implored to help him launch a successful rap career. Viridi was supposed to help him in their coalition, but Knuckles severed it after doing the goddess of nature a huge solid.

"C'mon man, you look like a hip guy!" enticed Knuckles. "You got the short female-looking hair and a crown, nobody can come close to the high amount of swag that you possess!"

"If I knew what rap was, and how this hippy hop works, then maybe I would help you." Hippy hop? "But I'm not, however, so I insist that you leave me at peace." Marth entered a room, and slammed the door behind him. Knuckles snapped his fingers in disgust; he had no one to help him. Or does he?

The echidna made his way to the fitness center, and saw the guy he was looking for - Falco Lombardi, running on a treadmill like his life depended on it.

 **Knuckles: Falco seems like the right guy to ask. He's from Brooklyn, and that's were famous rappers like Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G originated. Nobody else obliged to help me out with my career - not even my best friend Sonic, he even said I wouldn't have a chance to make it big in today's time because of "mainstream losers" like Young Thug and Rich Homie Quan. Guess I'll have to prove him wrong, and I can't do it alone!**

"Hey Falco, buddy ol' pal," Knuckles approached Falco, acting as friendly as possible. It was the only way to good on the falcon's good side, for he's known to be hot-tempered and easy to anger.

"Sup Knuckles how's it going?" responded Falco, too focused to turn away. He just kept looking forward, like he was running an actual marathon and smoking away the competition. Many have asked Falco if he should ever do one, but the avian refused every time, saying that he never signs up as a way to show the marathon runners "mercy".

"Been asking others this question, and now I think it's time to ask you...you wanna help launch my rap career?"

Falco ran off the treadmill and landed on his bum. A few brawlers, such as the Wii Fit Trainer and Ryu, looked at the avian when he fell; Falco got up and rubbed his bum.

"Of all the people in this mansion, and you want to ask ME for assistance?!" he frowned. This is the hot-headed and angered Falco Lombardi we all know and love. "Sonic wasn't available?"

"He just pointed and laughed at me!" stated Knuckles. The way he said it, he sounded somewhat insecure. Knuckles builds himself on pride, so whenever anyone mocks or ridicules him...he tends to feel a certain type of way.

"And if I decide to help you? What's in it for me?"

"I can get Rouge to buy you a new edition Landmaster!" Knuckles proposed to Falco. Good thing he's come prepared - he should teach Mario on preparation skills. Falco stroked his chin, musing over Knuckles's offer. A new Landmaster, especially one that is a "new edition", could put Fox's and Wolf's flying vehicles to shame. It would be Falco as the only pilot riding a hip spacecraft through space.

"How much mileage does it cover?" Mileage is a very important attribute of spacecrafts; one that could travel at the speed of light would be best suitable for Falco.

"The mileage doesn't matter, what does matter is if you'll help me or not."

"Fine, I'll help you, but on one provision..." Falco looked around before kneeling down at Knuckles. He was about to tell the echidna some juicy info. "You have to get me a glucose monitoring system. Ryu recommended that I should..."

"For real?" Knuckles gave the avian pilot a snuggle bear look. A glucose monitoring system? It's not like Falco has an excess amount of glucose in his veins, what does he need it for?

"It's for a certain someone...you might know her as the clumsiest person here."

"Oooh..." Knuckles lightly nodded his head, knowing what Falco meant now. The pilot wanted to get Isabelle a glucose monitoring system to check her glucose levels. This is perhaps a way to repay her for his previous actions in episode eight.

 **Ryu: Glucose monitoring systems are the in thing right now! One can use the device to check their glucose levels, and if they're conceited enough, snap a picture of the results and upload it to Instagram! It's not worth it though; trust me, I had to delete my account due to the negativity my picture taking resulted. I had suggested to Falco that he should get Isabelle the device as a way to own up to his despicable actions. I would buy him the device myself, but after seeing how Wario treated The Rack, I felt as if it wasn't truly worth it!  
Wii Fit Trainer: Care to explain why you even set up an Instagram account to begin with?  
Ryu: It was so I could follow Chun-Li...but not in a way a stalker** **would!**

"Meet me in the recording studio," directed Falco. "We shall work in there..."

* * *

Link and Sonic sat at a table in the gaming room, flanked by brawlers. Sonic challenged the hero of Hyrule to one of the dumbest challenges in the history of mankind - the cinnamon challenge. You know how it goes - you must swallow a spoonful of ground cinnamon, and not drink any liquids for 60 seconds. Dangers of doing this challenge include vomiting, throat irritation, and even pneumonia. But Link and Sonic were willing to throw all those dangers away if it meant winning the challenge.

"You got this man!" Roy encouraged Link, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. Link had the same face throughout the challenge - frowning, eyes watering, lip trembling, face turning red. Why did he agree to do this...

"Even though you're an idiot for wanting to do this challenge and participating in it, I'm still rooting for you Sonic!" cheered Tails. The fox is what you call a true friend - supporting you whilst willing to ignore the fact that you're a complete numskull.

The cinnamon started to get to Link - the Hylian held his head down as he repeatedly banged the desk with his fist. In a matter of seconds, he coughed out a brown cloud of cinnamon, signifying his loss. The brawlers cheered as Sonic celebrated his victory.

"Oh, my Link!" Zelda ran up to her love, and saw Link clutching his throat while coughing and gagging - a few of the side effects of doing the cinnamon challenge. "What have you done to my poor Link?!"

"We did nothing, he did it to himself," Meta Knight, who feels less intelligent for spectating the cinnamon challenge. He should have been playing billards or throwing darts, but no, he wanted to watch one of the dumbest challenges in existence.

 **Meta Knight: The schlub that invented the cinnamon challenge (and I am _thoroughly_ certain it was a male, no woman is dumb enough to invent such a dumb challenge) must be ranked among the dumbest human beings ever. Compared to that individual, George W. Bush is...no, I'm not stating any political biases, I was stating a mere fact! Whatever happened to the freedom of speech?!**

"Who put Link up to this?!" Zelda frowned, intimidating everyone. "Tell me this instant!" Link should be glad to have a girlfriend that's always caring about him and his safety; when you look at the dangerous things he goes through during his adventures, he's should be _very_ grateful.

"Sonic challenged Link to the cinnamon challenge the other day," explained Lucario.

"Why would you do such a thing?!" Zelda directed her attention to Sonic. The hedgehog casually rested his foot on the table, acting as if nothing serious - like Link coughing and gasping for air - was occurring.

"It's a long story," replied the hedgehog. "So I saw Link out in the garden, and I was like, 'Hey Link, you wanna go against me in a cinnamon challenge?' and then he was like, 'No way man, I'm not going to be a part of your stupidity'. Then I asked him a second time at the cafe and he was like 'Why can't you leave me alone?' and all that crap, and when I entered the bathroom while he was using it, I asked..."

"I have heard enough!" Zelda boomed. The surrounding brawlers were startled, they never heard Zelda that angry before.

"Aw, I didn't even get to the best part of the story!" Seriously doubt anyone wants to hear the "best part" of the story, given the setting...

"Let's go, Link, you don't need to hang out with them! You all should be ashamed of yourselves!" The brawlers held their heads in shame as Zelda helped her coughing boyfriend up on his feet and escorted him out of the gaming room. Once her and her love was gone...the brawlers, except for Tails, burst into laughter.

* * *

Fox was inside the computer room doing normal fox things, like playing solitaire for instance. When have you never saw a fox playing solitaire?

"Fox I am in-a dire need of your help!" Mario rushed inside the room, sounding frantic. He took a time to get himself a breather; all that flab is slightly slowing him down.

"Let me guess, it's Peach-related," assumed Fox. Even Fox is already on the know.

"I asked-a her out on a date, but I haven't made-a any reservations!" explained Mario. Fox facepalmed as he shook his head. His relationship with Krystal may be a little shaky, but at least he knows how to be prepared.

 **Fox: Mario is never prepared for ANYTHING. Hence the reason he named Link the so-called "party planner" for Daisy's birthday party. He just goes forth, without forethought, thinking nothing should be handled before setting off.**

"Did you even look at any available restaurants?" questioned Fox. Mario giggled nervously; he should have at least done that. Not the most difficult task in the world. "Look, Mario, when it comes to relationships and dating, you gotta always be prepared, and ready for whatever. If you lack preparation, then you will constantly fail to impress Peach."

"Being a hero that-a I am, I usually don't-a think preparation is necessary," stated Mario. "So many heroic qualities I-a possess, which in turn..."

"But those heroic qualities don't mean a single thing with relationships. Instead, you gotta be focused - focused on the goal! The goal of continuously pleasing Peach! Now let's find a reservation for your date..."

* * *

Bowser walked through the mansion on crutches. When he was working in the Pokemon sanctuary, he got squashed by a Metagross, which nearly broke his leg. Instead of taking care of their father, Bowser Jr and the Koopalings were mocking their father's injured leg, and even played pranks on him. Bowser has raised his children to become _too_ evil...

The Koopa King made his way to Wario's room, and on the door was a note that read, "Using the bathroom, back in around ten minutes". Oh, that poor bathroom. Inside, Bowser saw the massaging chair, left unattended. He thought over using the chair - since Wario isn't around, he can enjoy sitting in the chair until the fatso returns. So Bowser entered the room, and sat on the massaging chair, turning it on. The chair vibrated, and the Koopa King was feeling all cozy.

"Yeah this really hits the spot..." he sighed happily. It's the happiest he's ever been since the whole Isabelle incident.

Then in came Greninja, who overheard the sound of the massaging chair from the hallways. A ninja always has a keen hearing sense, very useful for sneaking up on unsuspecting people! The ninja Pokemon observed the massaging chair, very foreign to the recliner. Not a very common object in the Pokemon world.

"What are you looking at?" questioned Bowser. The koopa was feeling insecure, believing Greninja wants to use the massaging chair. "Never saw a massaging chair before, huh? Those Kalos manufacturers must be a bunch of punk losers!"

 **Greninja: *shrugs***

"If you want to try out Ashley's potions, they're on the shelf over there," Bowser pointed at a shelf full of potions. Some looked more poisonous than others, but Greninja is acclimated to poison so it's all good. "Now get what you need to get, and leave me at peace!"

Greninja didn't want to try out Ashley's potions - he wanted to try out the massaging chair. So he grabbed Bowser and threw him out of the room. He then sat in the massaging chair, and relaxed as his arms, legs, and the rest of his body were massaged to utter perfection.

"Oh no you don't!" Bowser ran back inside the room, but was repelled by a water shuriken that knocked him into a wall. A painting of Lucas and Ness fell on top of his head, due to the impact he caused.

"Gaaah!" Bowser grabbed the broken picture frame and threw it in destruction. His anger greatly upped his throwing power; the frame was flying across the hallway, nearly reaching the end. "This means WAR!"

* * *

Falco and Knuckles were in the recording studio, and Falco was about to instruct Knuckles in the way of rap. First they had to start off with the basic stuff, such as rhyming.

"Your rhymes must be furnished and on point!" stated Falco. Rhyming is a very important attribute of rapping; failing to rhyme can easily set you up for ultimate failure.

"My rhymes are already on point, and so is everything else about my rap game!" frowned Knuckles. "All I need to do now is launch my rap career!"

 **Knuckles: I have absolutely no time to waste! Gotta launch my rap career and be on the come up before some undeserving loser rises to the top before I do! A loser like...**

Little Mac of all people entered the recording studio, sporting a smirk. Accompanying him was Doc Louis, who was slightly disappointed. His protege was about to indulge in his least favorite thing ever.

"Do we really have to do this Mac?" asked a disgruntled Doc. When Little Mac said he wanted a side career, Doc was hoping that it would have something to do with the candy business (and he thought that for obvious reasons). But he never expected the boxer to pursue a rap career, of all things. Who does he think he is, the modern day Vanilla Ice?

"It is my destiny to be a rapper - the modern day Vanilla Ice!" proclaimed Little Mac, raising his fist in the air. Figures...

 **Little Mac: In order to beat the best, I have to be the best! Roy Jones Jr is one of the best boxers around, and he's a pretty decent rapper, if not a great one! It was his "secondary career", as I call it. A rap career will establish myself as one of the best!  
** **Doc Louis: Mike Tyson was one of the best boxers at the time, and his secondary career was an actor! You can become an actor, right?  
Little Mac: Nice try, Doc, but nothing will deter me from my rap exploits!  
Doc Louis: Of all people, and it just had to be you...**

Little Mac stepped inside the recording booth, ready to record some epic bars.

 _Uh, my name's Little Mac,  
Got all my cash lined up in a stack,  
Indefinite rhyme is what y'all lack,  
Gon' catch a whole lotta flak,  
Haters can't hold me back,  
Go harder than a running back,  
Some off y'all need to cut the slack,  
Cause y'all nothin' but a bunch of HACKS!_

Falco, Knuckles, and Doc Louis stared at Little Mac in bewilderment. Actually, Doc wasn't bewildered - he's still very disappointed about Mac's "secondary career" choice.

"That...was...HORRIBLE!" exclaimed Falco. His ears were trying to decipher what they just heard. "All he did was use the same rhyme over and over again! Blasphemous!"

"Let me show him how it's done!" Knuckles entered the recording booth, shoving Little Mac aside. The boxer threw his hands up in the air, wondering what he just did wrong (which was spitting out crappy bars). "This is how you do it!" Knuckles cleared this throat...and unleashed on the mic.

 _Been working on my repertoire  
_ _Always working on my skills  
_ _Got more swagger than the Weeknd  
Always running up the hills  
Of glory, you can't fade me,  
Can't disrespect me, can't walk over me,  
I'll throw you into the dirt,  
A world full of pain, agony, and hurt,  
Tale of two worlds, and I'm on the one,  
Wher it's all sunshine and I'm always getting it done_

"HE KILLED IT!" Falco overreacted as he ran out of the recording studio. "HE KILLED IT!" he would run through the hallways, telling people this. Most of them is probably thinking a brawler had killed an innocent animal or something.

"And that's how it's done," Knuckles grabbed the mic, and emphatically dropped it in front of Little Mac, leaving the booth and exiting the recording studio. Wonder how Falco would have reacted to the mic drop - would have had a heart attack!

"You know, son, there's always room for wrestling!" Doc Louis told Little Mac, dissuading him from starting his rap career and venture into wrestling. It sounds much more physical, but to Doc, it's better than writing "whack poetry".

"Get me my cell phone..." said Little Mac. "I'm going to call a rap producer..."

"Mac, this is the very reason why I didn't want you to do this," Doc shook his head as he went to go find Mac's cell phone.

* * *

 **Viridi: Pit has been an awesome boyfriend so far! We talk, play games with each other, and do a lot of other things usual couples do! During our bonding, he said the sweetest thing to me: he said that even though he doesn't know why he loves me so much, it's his destiny to love me until the end of time! How sweet is that?**

 **Pit: Why do I love Viridi so much?! I tried asking Kirby, but he just made some unintelligible sound that might not be able to be translated in any way. Then I asked Chrom - who claims he's not a romantic expert, contrary to popular belief - and he said that it could be due to innate factors that I cannot control. I must find a way to gain control of these factors, so I can see what's really going on!**

Pit and Viridi were laying on the hammock outside, and Viridi was all up on the angel, getting comfy and resting her eyes. Pit eyed around suspiciously, wondering why Viridi is acting as such. Never had a girl laid on him, and the angel was paranoid that he might catch the cooties!

"Nice day it is, isn't it?" Mega Man asked the two lovebirds. The robot was playing Frisbee with his canine companion, Rush. The Frisbee was high-tech, and can travel as nearly as 500 miles. Not a problem for Rush, given he has Rush Jet.

"Say, Mega Man, hehe, did you ever have a girlfriend?" asked Pit. He didn't ask this question out of curiosity, he was trying to distance himself away from Viridi. But he feels as if he should remain with her at all times...

"Nope, can't say I did, though I wish Dr. Light made one for me," replied Mega Man, throwing the Frisbee across the horizon in a very far distance. He has constantly implored the professor to build a female robot to serve as his soulmate, but Dr. Light has told the robot time and time again that Dr. Wily will eventually find out, and make a female robot of his own - one that's stronger than Dr. Light's. But Mega Man always kicks Dr. Wily's butt, so there should be no concern.

"Mega Man, from a scale from one to ten, how would you rate us as a romantic couple?" Viridi then asked the robot. Mega Man thought over Viridi's question; he can can her a high grade, and get on her good side. Conversely he can give her a low grade, and unleash the goddess of nature's anger and wrath. So he decided to go with the latter, for obvious safety reasons.

"I'd give it a ten," he replied, just when Rush returned the Frisbee, which he found on an isolated island. "A lot of people have been shipping you two for quite some time."

"People like who?" asked Pit, unaware about the _Kid Icarus_ fan base. If you ever played _Uprising,_ you probably knew about his unawareness already.

"The _Kid Icarus_ fans, silly buns!" smiled Viridi. "Silly buns" is just one of Viridi's many embarrassing pet names for Pit.

"...I don't get it." You never will Pit, and that's quite a shame (and a disappointment).

* * *

Cloud rested in his room, playing with his pet Chocobo, Cloud Jr. The Chocobo was the only true companion Cloud had aside from Isabelle; he never annoyed the swordsman to a certain degree, and is quiet so he's never really a nuisance.

Zelda barged inside the room with Link, who was feeling slightly better after that cinnamon challenge, despite a few setbacks. His throat was still sore, and his breathing was irregular.

"I want you to spend your time bonding with Link," Zelda told Cloud. The swordsman's always up for whatever - as long as it doesn't involve "dancing". "You can do that much, right?"

"Link and I have lots of things in common, so I don't how some bonding can't be a hassle," replied Cloud. He and Link were meant to be BBFs - best bros forever.

 **Cloud: To think that Zelda and Link were initially roommates when I got here...I asked Mario why they were rooming together, and he said that it was because of Link's shyness, stating that his shyness will make him less likely to "Netflix and chill". I think the chill part is the last thing Link would want to do...**

Zelda sat Link on his bed, and waved to Cloud as she exited the room. Link cleared his throat, but clearing it won't do him any good.

"You feeling any better?" Cloud asked him, attempting to spark a conversation.

"Not quite, my throat is still irritating me, but I'm getting there," replied Link, his dry throat making his voice sound hoarse. Now who is Mario to call someone like Link "shy"? Dude just said a full sentence!

"Man, you look beat. Got yourself a strep throat or anything like that?"

"Sonic challenged me to a cinnamon challenge. I only agreed to do it if it would make him stop pestering me." Link cleared his throat yet again, he could really go for some cough drops right about now.

"Surprised you gave in, you seem like the type of guy who unwillingly says no to everything. You don't seem to care about any nonsense whatsoever."

"Yeah I used to get that a whole lot from Zelda. She used to say that it was because of my visage - called me 'stone faced' once."

Cloud chuckled at Link's little story. Cloud chuckling?! This Cloud must be a robot!

"You know, it's great that the two of us get to bunk in the same room together," remarked Cloud. "Think about it; we're the best swordsmen in the video game industry, and people usually pit the two against us in these fantasy battles...like that Death Battle from ScrewAttack...or even that rap battle..."

"Rap battle?" Link raised an eyebrow, unfamiliar with the video. "Did Knuckles create it?"

"Nope, just some dude on YouTube. You should go check it out, when you have the time."

* * *

"Over to the left...just a bit more..." Ganondord instructed Donkey and Diddy Kong as they were moving a painting of the Demon Lord on a wall in the hallway. A Smeargle painted the painting for Ganondorf, and the Gerudo paid the painter Pokemon in Pokemon dollars...fake Pokemon dollars, that is. Kinda makes sense, because giving a Pokemon actual money would be asinine.

"How's this for ya?" asked Donkey Kong. The painting was now positioned in-between picture frames of Link and Zelda. Having his painting anywhere near his arch-rivals was unpleasing to Ganondorf, and he showed how he felt with a frown.

"Take the painting down and lay it against the wall, I'll find an even better place to hang it at..."

 **Donkey Kong: Ganondorf is one picky dude. We tried hanging his painting in the foyer, but Ganon preferred the hallways, since people can pass by his painting and "admire his eloquence".  
Diddy Kong: I suggested that we hang it up in one of the bathrooms, but Ganondorf was against it, saying that someone might get urine on his beloved painting. What bozo in their right mind would pee on a painting?!  
Donkey Kong: Well...Link did pee in Lloyd's oatmeal once, so there's that.  
Diddy Kong: Doesn't count, Link was lacking in available options, all the bathrooms were taken. You gotta be real stupid to urinate on a painting!**

The Kongs departed, just when Bowser showed up. It took him forever to reach Ganondorf, given that he's limping.

"Ganondorf I need your help man!" said the Koopa King. "That darn Greninja is up to no good!"

"Ninjas are usually never up to any good," responded the Demon Lord. He has battled Sheik numerous times before, so he knows how irritable ninjas can be. "Take me to wherever Greninja is, and I shall investigate."

So Bowser guided Ganondorf to Wario's room, and showed him Greninja, still sitting on the massaging chair. He's been using the chair for an awfully long time, better be glad he's not draining the battery, since massaging chairs can last forever.

"I take it Wario bought the massaging chair?" asked Ganondorf. His eyes caught the Rack - the workout exercise thingy - and also a telescope and a guitar, which was all covered in dust. Wario isn't exactly the wisest person when it comes to spending money.

"Yup, sure did," nodded Bowser. "I was originally on the massaging chair while Wario was using the bathroom, until Greninja came in and threw me out of the room just so he could use it."

"And what do you want me for?" Ganondorf sounded confused. Finding the perfect spot to hang his painting was obviously more important than whatever Bowser has in store for him.

"I want you to get Greninja off that massaging chair so I can go back to using it."

Ganondorf gave the Koopa King a blank stare. Bowser may not be an expert at kidnapping Peach (when was he ever successful?), but he's an expert at wasting people's precious time. He previously wasted Shulk's time with his erroneous teachings, and now the Homs is appreciating life without Bowser's lessons.

"Do it just once and I won't bother you again."

So Ganondorf entered Wario's room and confronted Greninja. The ninja Pokemon looked up at Ganondorf, who was glaring him down, trying to intimidate him. However it didn't seem to work; Greninja was used to being intimidated by Pokemon such as Mightyena and Arcanine, who use the Intimidate ability, so he's used to...

"GWWAAH!" Out of nowhere, Ganondorf delivered a Warlock Punch to Greninja, sending the ninja Pokemon flying through the wall. Bowser was left speechless; he never imagined Ganondorf's Warlock Punch to be that strong!

"You're welcome," the Demon Lord told Bowser as he departed. The Koopa King sat back on the massaging chair, and sighed happily. Back to rest and relaxation...

 **Bowser: Wario has yet to return from the bathroom, and he said he would be back in less than ten minutes...bet you he's buying more useless crap for me to use!**

* * *

Corrin stood outside the bathroom, holding his urine while doing the infamous pee-pee dance. Wario was apparently still using the bathroom, and who knows what he's doing in there for so long. Perhaps he's actually using the bathroom; he ate a bunch of refried beans the previous night, and his stomach has the same reaction to the beans as Mario's, although the effects are more catastrophic. Or he could be on his cell phone, either looking at hot pictures of Samus or buying a Lamborghini online.

"Inventing a new dance move, eh?" Jacky Bryant approached Corrin. The race car driver was combing his hair - even when he's not racing, his 'do has to look tight.

"Wario refuses to come out of the bathroom, and I can't seem to hold it any longer!" replied Corrin. His feet was moving up and down, up and down, up and down; it's the only way to do the pee-pee dance. No other method is possible.

"Um, you do realize there's other bathrooms in this mansion, right?"

"I am well aware of that." Corrin did not believe in using other bathrooms; he thinks everyone is delegated to one bathroom, and only one bathroom alone. Using more than one bathroom can "disrupt the sanitary values".

 **Corrin: My bathroom proposition was derived from the bathroom policy at Nohr. Father built one too many bathrooms in the castle, and so to make full use of each, he delegated one bathroom to each individual. If only I was living in Hoshidio...each person probably has three to five bathrooms for themselves! Oh, the wonders!**

Corrin was unable to hold it anymore; his bladder leaked, soiling himself in the process. And now he was feeling awfully uncomfortable.

"Must...change...my undergarments..." the prince of Nohr inched away, trying to make his situation less awkward than it seem. But it was no use; as he made his way down the hallway, he was receiving questionable looks from his fellow brawlers, making him feel embarrassed. What's worse is that he'll feel that way once he makes it to his room, which is far, far away from where he is.

The sound of a toilet flushing was heard from the bathroom, indicating that Wario was finished (so he was using the bathroom...and he did a number two). The fatso came out of the bathroom, as noxious fumes exited the door and filled up the air. Nobody is going to use that bathroom anytime soon; perhaps Corrin's proposition should be amended...

"Man it feels good!" Wario grinned after relieving himself. Jacky held his nose, unwilling to inhale Wario's toxic fumes.

"Dude, how many burritos did you eat?" the race car driver asked. Burritos are Wario's second favorite food, and he puts ingredients inside his burrito that shouldn't belong, such as chocolate syrup, potato chips, butter, bacon, donut frosting, and virtually anything else high in fat. Your move, Wii Fit Trainer.

"No burritos for me, just buckets of refried beans. Absolutely delicious!"

"The refried beans meant for taco night?" Taco night is next Friday, and Wario's indulgences is ruining any plans for the night.

"Mario's rich, he can afford to buy some more beans...for me to eat," Wario uttered the latter part of his response under his breath. Don't do it, Wario, think about those poor bathrooms!

* * *

The doorbell rang, followed by some knocking on the front door. Geno went to the foyer to see who it was.

"Please tell me Wario didn't buy any more dumb crap..." the start sprite thought out loud. He had already seen Wario carry his massaging chair through the mansion with the Black Knight's help, and feared that more crud was coming on the way to the mansion. When Geno opened the front door, he was expecting some UPS or FedEx guy with a package, but instead he someone rather unexpected.

"Hey Geno, how's it going?" greeted a man wearing a blue hat with a happy expression on it. "Bet you don't know me, do you? Well my name is MC Ballyhoo, and I am the famous creator of the Star Carnival! Of course, you could have been a part of it, but that lousy corporate from Square Enix wouldn't budge, not one bit. But at least you made a cameo appearance in _Superstar Saga,_ amirite?"

"So confused right now..." Geno shook his head in bewilderment. Who on earth sent Ballyhoo to the mansion?

 **Geno: This MC Ballyhoo fellow is really starting to creep me out. Everything from his eyes, to his green skin, to his ginormous mouth, to his giant blue hat on his head...looks like a rejected character from _Breadwinners._ And when you take into account the quality of that show...**

"Who's that dweeb?" Samus walked across in the foyer, holding John Marston's bounty hunting book in her hands. So much information for her to digest.

"I am MC Ballyhoo, the emcee of the Star Carnival!" MC Ballyhoo rushed inside the mansion, handing Samus his business card. "Check out my lovely business card!"

"CEO of Super Star Records?" Samus read Ballyhoo's business card.

"Yeah buddy, I'm the head honcho! Little Mac called me earlier today, expressing interest in starting his rap career. I'm here to take him under my wing and put him on the right track!"

"Woah, woah, woah, let's clear some things up." Samus didn't know which was harder to comprehend - a weirdo like MC Ballyhoo owning a record company, or Little Mac hoping to become an aspiring rapper. "First of all, what possibly convinced you to start a record company?"

"It was an easy way to make money," Big Top, Ballyhoo's talking hat, spoke up. "Other ventures were available, but we..."

"And secondly..." Samus rudely cut off the Big Top. She doesn't care about anything. "...why does Little Mac want to be a rapper all of a sudden?"

"He has told me he wants to be like Roy Jones Jr, and in order to do that, he'll have to be a rapper, just like him! Where is the whippersnapper anyway? Yo Geno, do you know where he can be? Geno?"

The star sprite was nowhere to be found. Presumably he was unnerved by how MC Ballyhoo looks.

* * *

Mario and Fox finally found a reservation for Mario's and Peach's date. You won't possibly believe what is was.

"You sure you want to reserve a date at McDonald's?" asked Falco. He tried talking Mario out of it, but to no avail. "Sounds unprofessional if you ask me."

"A young-a lad had his prom date at McDonald's, so I don't-a see what the problem is!" defended Mario. The plumber wanted to go to a restaurant that was relatively well-known, without having to deal with any autograph signing or the like. McDonald's was apparently a viable choice for him.

"Dude was in high school, he didn't know any better. However YOU, of all people..."

"Mario, we have a guest in the mansion!" Isabelle ran inside the computer room. "Geno has informed me that an individual by the name of MC Ballyhoo is inside, looking for Little Mac!"

"Not that-a weirdo!" said Mario. The plumber knows the emcee well from his _Mario Party 8_ days; his voice still resonates in the back of his head. "Why is he-a here for Little Mac?"

* * *

Corrin reached his room...only to find out that he didn't have any clean underwear. So he had to uncomfortably make his way to the laundry room, where he would find his one of his underwear, and put them on. He had to do this when no one was looking, though. After he was finished, Corrin searched for the rest of his underwear in one of the many laundry baskets. Bowser Jr just so happened to enter the laundry room at this time, and he was getting the wrong idea after observing Corrin.

"Going on a panty raid?" he snickered. Panty raids are common among male college students, thinking that since they're living on their own without the authority of their parents, it's okay to visit women's dorm rooms and steal their panties for no good reason.

"Me? On a panty raid?" Corrin was offended Bowser Jr would ask such a question. "Can a man look for his undergarments in peace?!"

 **Bowser Jr: Who does Corrin think he is, a time traveler from the 1920s? Who honestly uses the term "undergarments" these days?!**

Corrin looked inside one of the washing machines, and saw Greninja, asleep and possibly in a coma. There was also a gaping hole present. Ganondorf's Warlock Punch was strong enough to send the ninja Pokemon flying to the laundry room.

"Wonder how Greninja ended up here," Corrin wondered as he safely took Greninja out of the machine and gave him to Bowser Jr. "Take him to Lucina!"

"But Lucina is busy bonding with Chrom!" said Bowser Jr.

"Nice try, Lucina is in the lounge, reading _Swordsman Weekly_ per usual. Now do as I say!"

Bowser Jr sighed and did as he was told. He was used to taking orders from Bowser. Now he's doing commands from Corrin. What he would do to live a single day without authority...male college students do it whenever they can!

* * *

Little Mac and Knuckles were in the recording booth of the recording studio, each taking turns delivering bars. Falco and Doc Louis sat outside, watching and listening.

"Why did my boy decide to become a rapper..." Doc Louis had his face in his hands. Get over it Doc, it's Little Mac's life, not yours. You have no control over his being.

"It might be a blessing in disguise," replied Falco, sounding as nice as possible while negating the fact that Mac's bars aren't that impressive. "He could make you a lot of dough, and get so rich, he can afford a mansion for himself!"

"Man do I look like I wanna live in a mansion separate from here?! You must be outta your mind!"

"Never said you should live with Little Mac to begin with..."

 **Doc Louis: Wherever Mac gonna live at, I'm gonna live there as well! Ain't no way he's living out on his own without a girl! That's why he's stayin' put here until he get married! With Fiora, this would be a lot easier...**

There was a knock at the door. MC Ballyhoo came in, and Little Mac rushed out of the booth.

"MC Ballyhoo it's so great to see you!" the boxer shook the emcee's hand. His dream of becoming a rapper was nearly coming true, and Ballyhoo has the final verdict on Mac's life-altering choice.

"Glad I could make it here!" gleamed Ballyhoo. "So about this record deal, I was thinking..."

"Hold up just a minute!" Knuckles exited the recording booth and confronted Knuckles. The idea of Little Mac getting a record deal did not please him one bit. "How is he getting a record deal if his rhymes are wack as heck? I'm arguably a better rapper!"

"Let's hear what both of you have in the recording booth, and we will decide who gets the deal," said Big Hat. So Little Mac and Knuckles went back inside the booth, and spat out some bars. Little Mac used the bars he used previously in this episode, and Knuckles did the same. After hearing what both men had to prove, Ballyhoo pondered over which rapper he preferred, and soon he came to a forgone conclusion...

"Little Mac gets the record deal!" he announced. Little Mac cheered, pumping his fist in the air, while Knuckles, Falco, and Doc Louis just stood there agape.

"Mac's undeserving of the deal, did you not hear his rap compared to Knuckles'?" asked Falco. While Mac used the same freaking rhyme throughout, Knuckles at least changed it up every now and then.

"I did hear his rap, loud and clear! Mac's rap was more simpler, and did not include any double entendres! Knuckles would never make it big if his rhymes are unable to translate to the mainstream audience!" Is Ballyhoo insulting the intelligence and comprehension skills of the mainstream rap audience? Seems like it...

"Stay where-a you are, Ballyhoo!" Mario ran inside the recording studio, with Isabelle accompanying him. "We have-a to talk!"

"Ah, Mario, it's so great to see you again! Got some great news, Little Mac, who's aspiring to become a rapper, just earned himself a record deal, and he'll be coming with me!"

"No-a way Jose, Mac's staying right here where-a he belongs!"

"If you have it that way..." Ballyhoo pulled out a Bill Blaster and laid it in front of Mario. No one was prepared for this, not even Mario. "Either you let me have Little Mac as my client, or I'll blast you to bits!"

"Um, pardon me, but...isn't this for Little Mac to choose?" asked Isabelle, Ballyhoo's so focused about the record deal, he's completely overlooking it actually being signed. "I mean, this _is_ his choice, after all..."

"Yeah, you're right!" Ballyhoo handed Little Mac the contract...and placed a Bill Blaster in front of him as well. Ballyhoo is one persistent - and dangerous - fellow... "Better sign that deal if you know what's good for you, Little Mac!"

The boxer just stood there, exasperated. What did he get himself into...

* * *

Bowser Jr arrived at the lounge with an unconscious Greninja, and saw Lucina sitting on a couch reading _Swordsman Weekly._ The koopa placed Greninja next to the swordswoman and ran off, hoping Lucina would not so far from Lucina was Pit and Viridi, and Pit was showing her a wrestling video on an iPad.

 **Pit: When you're in a relationship, you gotta share your interests with your lover, or so Robin says. He claims that doing so can get you and your lover mentally on the same page. So that's what I'm gonna do with Viridi...**

"You seriously watch two human men touch each other in a stupid ring?" Viridi grimaced at what she was watching. Needless to say, she appears to be disapproving of wrestling; her disdain for humans might be a factor of this.

"They're not touching, they're fighting!" Pit defiantly defended. "Two different things!" Apparently Pit does not realize that wrestling is scripted, and he's always quick to defend wrestling whenever people call it fake. For instance, he once argued to Akira that the Undertaker is an actual undertaker in real life, and that he uses wrestling as a venture to unleash the anger he grows from his occupation.

"I'll be right back, my eyes are hurting," Viridi got off of the couch, unable to watch any more of Pit's wrestling video.

"You two are such a great couple," remarked Gilgamesh, who was fixing himself a drink. "I know I might have sounded cliche, but..."

"Nah man, you're good," replied Pit. "Though I still don't know why I love Viridi so much..."

"Me neither, it's not like Knuckles poured a love potion down any beverage you drunk to make you like her..."

"Knuckles did what now?!" Pit's eyes bulged. Gil covered his mouth in guilt - he saw Knuckles pour the love potion in Pit's drink at Daisy's birthday party while Waluigi was reading the love letter, and was considering calling him out for it. Viridi, who was just finished rubbing her eyes, looked at Gil suspiciously.

"Guys we have an emergency!" Geno barged inside the lounge. "Some guy named MC Ballyhoo is inside the mansion, and he has Mario and Little Mac held at gunpoint...sort of. We must stop him!"

"Why can't you do it yourself?" questioned Lucina. She finally saw Greninja, and tried to wake him up, but to no avail.

"Ballyhoo is too creepy, can't stand the sight of that guy." Excuses, excuses...

"No one is going to save Mario and Little Mac if they don't rush into action!" said Pit, feeling all heroic. "Let's go, you guys!"

So Pit, Gil, Lucina, and Greninja left the lounge to go save Mario and Little Mac. Geno stayed behind, not wanting to put up with Ballyhoo. Viridi also stayed behind - and she was dazed and confused as ever.

* * *

Cloud and Link were in the room, chilling as usual, when Kirby barged in. No, he wasn't going to make any silly faces for Cloud's and Link's amusement, like he did with Sonic, and speaking of the hedgehog...that's who Kirby spat out once he entered the room. That's the second time Sonic was trapped inside Kirby's stomach; poor guy can't seem to catch a break.

"No Zelda, I'm not going to apologize to Link!" Sonic said after he was spat out. Once he realized where he was, he saw Link, and chuckled nervously.

"So what's this about an apology?" Link raised an eyebrow, folding his arms. He can't wait for what Sonic has to say - if he has anything to say at all.

 **Sonic: Stuck in Kirby's stomach yet again...and still no chili dogs! What does Kirby have against chili dogs?**

"Oh yeah, about the cinnamon challenge..." Sonic said nervously. His initial fear is that he'll find a way to screw up the apology, and greatly anger Link. "I'm sorry for putting you up to it. I was gonna ask Cloud originally, but I was unable to find him."

"Apology accepted," smiled Link, unsure whether or not Sonic's apology was genuine. Given that Zelda forced him to apologize, it probably wasn't.

"Great to see that you manned up to your mistakes," remarked Cloud. "Trust me, I've made some mistakes in the past..."

"My cinnamon challenge was not a mistake! Bet you were hiding from me because you were too afraid to lose!"

"Or maybe I was handling important business - like helping Luigi find a wedding date."

Sonic, Link, and Kirby were taken back by this. Why can't Luigi find a wedding date on his own? That wimp...

"So when is the date?" asked Link. Asking Luigi would be too much.

"He has told me specifically not to tell anyone the date, for now," replied Cloud.

"Listen up, boys!" Pit barged inside the room, sounding like an authoritarian figure. "Mario and Little Mac are in trouble; some Ballyhoo guy is holding them hostage. We must rescue them before it's too late! Sonic, do you have your cinnamon?"

"Got it right here," Sonic held up a canister of cinnamon for Pit to see. How is he able to carry that around, he doesn't even have any pockets! "Why do you need it for?"

* * *

Pit guided the group of Link, Cloud, Sonic, Kirby, Pit, Gil, and Lucina (who was holding an unconscious Greninja in her arms) to Wario's room, where they found Wario and Bowser fighting with each over on the massaging chair. Pit overheard that Wario bought the chair, and it appears the angel wants to use said chair in his master scheme.

"Just because my massaging chair was not being used doesn't mean you have a right to use it!" said Wario, poking Bowser in the eye.

"Maybe you should have hid it somewhere where it cannot be seen!" the Koopa King retaliated by slapping Wario. Their fighting caused the massaging chair to topple over; Wario nearly shrieked when it hit the floor.

"Break it up, you two!" Cloud intervened in the fight along with Link, separating Bowser and Wario from each other. They can fight another time, but now's not the occasion.

 **Wario: Bowser is gonna pay BIG TIME if he breaks my massaging chair! He toppled my precious thing over...Who are you to say that I'm also at fault?! Bowser weights much, much more than me...does he?**

Pit looked up at Ashley's shelf and saw potions - one of those potions made him become infatuated with Viridi. He'll have to look for that particular potion for another time. He saw a max revive sitting on the shelf; he took it and fed it to Greninja. Doing so was hard - who knows where that frog's mouth was. In an instant, Greninja sprung back to life!

"Sweet!" exclaimed Pit. "Cloud, Link, get the massaging chair!" The swordsmen grabbed the massaging chair, and the group ran out.

"Hey, get back here with my chair!" Wario ran after the group. With his fatty self, he'll never catch them in time.

"Yeah, I wasn't finished relaxing on it yet!" Bowser also ran after the group. He has a better chance at reaching them Wario does.

* * *

Back to the recording studio...where nothing exciting is happening. Everyone is still in their usual spots. MC Ballyhoo was still waiting for Little Mac, nervous as he ever was, to sign the deal, and he simply couldn't wait any longer.

"Don't make me count down to ten," he threatened. Never has his patience ever been tested like this before. "You want to go big, right?"

"Well yes, but I don't appreciate having this Bill Blaster in front of me..." replied Little Mac. He can't sign the deal because of a lousy Bill Blaster? Some logic that is...

"You don't have to sign the deal, Mac, you can always try wrestling, or even..." Doc Louis said before Ballyhoo pointed at him. Unwritten Rule #17: if someone points at you during a time of peril, it's best not to act.

"Shut up or you'll end up having the same fate as Mario and Little Mac!" threatened Ballyhoo. He's real serious about that record deal!

"Why can't we just talk it out?" proposed Falco, hoping to bring this situation to a peaceful conclusion.

"Same goes for you, bird for brains!" Inside Falco was burning up in anger.

"Little Mac, just-a sign the deal, and put an end-a to this!" begged Mario.

"I...I don't know man..." said Little Mac. Already he was getting overwhelmed. "I want to sign this deal and become a rapper and all, but I don't want to leave this place..."

"Oh is that what it's all about?!" Ballyhoo fumed, his face turning red. This was his last straw! "No time for playing games, I'm firing this Bill Blaster RIGHT NOW!"

So Ballyhoo pulled out a remote control and pressed a button...but before any Bullet Bills could be fired, Cloud and Link swooped out of nowhere and destroyed both Bill Blasters with their sword. Everyone except for Ballyhoo was relieved; the emcee was looking around for answers.

"About time someone came!" said Knuckles, eating a bag of Doritios. Yes, he was eating Doritios this whole time. That's Knuckles for ya...

 **Knuckles *munch*** ***munch* It was all quiet in the recording booth** ***munch*** ***munch* and no one was doing anything, so I went out** ***munch*** ***munch* and got myself some chips.** ***munch*** ***munch*** ***munch* Little Mac sure knows how to waste some time...**

"Someone better explain to me what's going on!" demanded Ballyhoo. Instead of an explanation, the emcee got cinnamon in his eyes - courtesy of Sonic, who ran past Ballyhoo in a speed of light. Then came Greninja and Kirby; Greninja sprayed some water on the floor, causing Ballyhoo to slip backwards, and Kirby coughed out the massaging chair. Ballyhoo landed back on the chair, and was trying to get the cinnamon out of his eyes. But there's no way to do that without some water - and Greninja was unwilling to help him out - so it was no use.

"So that's the Ballyhoo guy, with the hat on?" Pit asked Mario, after he and Lucina entered the studio. Mario was relieved to not be staring at a Bill Blaster for an eternity.

"That's-a him," nodded Mario. He saw a hand-shaped phone in Pit's hand, and grew mortified. Pit was about to do something unthinkable! "You're not doing what I think-a you're doing!"

"I'm not doing it, but she would," Pit motioned over to Lucina. "Would you like to do the honors?" Pit asked the swordswoman.

"With pleasure..." Lucina took the phone, and dialed a phone number. Then the unthinkable happened...

...Master Hand appeared in thin air. He materialized in front of the brawlers, who were all in awe.

"Who dares to call me forth during my indefinite vacation?" the hand boomed. He saw through his nonexistent eyes MC Ballyhoo, sitting on a massaging chair. "Bah! A massaging chair! You fool, why do you insist on bringing that chair inside my establishment?! Do you even live here?!"

"What who goes there?" Ballyhoo looked around, all confused. His eyes were too damaged to see anything - like the majesty of Master Hand.

"How dare you play dumb with me! Your punishment will be immense...I shall doom you...to Subspace!"

At the snap of his fingers, Master Hand summoned a portal to Subspace, and it sucked Ballyhoo and the massaging chair in.

"No! I can't go out like this!" Ballyhoo exclaimed, holding on to Big Top. His grip on the talking hat became loose, and Big Top flew away from the emcee and landed in the hands of Falco. "You will all be sorry!" These were the last words of Ballyhoo, as he was finally sucked inside the portal, which vanished immediately. The emcee was never to be heard from again.

"Glad that's taken care of," Master Hand remarked before turning his attention to Mario. "Ah, Mario, so good to see you again! I take it you're handling it well being the man of the mansion?"

"Yes, yes, I guess-a you can say that..." Mario gave a cheesy grin. His grin won't do him much, though.

"Isabelle, give me a grade report on Mario!"

"Mario has been...slightly underwhelming," stated Isabelle, displaying more honesty than Mario's grin. The plumber held his head in sadness. "But for the most part, he's greatly looked after all of us!" Mario immediately held his head back up.

"That's what I wanted to hear! Since I'm back here and all, I am now the man of the mansion - or the hand of the mansion, hehe..."

"Cloud Strife, nice to meet you," Cloud held out his hand to Master Hand, coming forth as humble and meek as he knew how.

"Likewise," Master Hand shook Cloud's hand with his finger. Sometimes when you're a giant hand, you have to improvise. "We shall have a discussion in the ballroom, everyone must be worried sick about me!"

Yeah, Master Hand, if you really think so.

* * *

All the brawlers gathered in the ballroom, where they would ask Master Hand a plethora of questions, like what he did on vacation, or more importantly, if he asked out any women. (Captain Falcon asked the latter question, he can't have a giant hand get the ladies.) Master Hand was having a special conversation with Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta, the three newcomers.

"You know, I used to rule a kingdom once," Master Hand conversed with Corrin. "I was arguably a great ruler - people gave me a huge hand!" He slapped Corrin on the back, hard.

"Must be cheeky being the ruler of the Smash Universe," remarked Bayonetta. She can't wait to brag to Jeanne about meeting Master Hand, Jeanne would have a fit.

 **Bayonetta: Who would have thunk that a giant hand is able to create an entire universe at the snap of his fingers? It's quite marvelous when you think about it, a being of his magnitude is able to possess such power, and might...  
** **Ganondorf: Like me, of course!  
** **Bayonetta: Don't make me blush, you still have yet to prevail over your arch nemesis!  
** **Ganondorf: ...It's a work in progress, woman!**

"So what do you have against massaging chairs?" Cloud asked Master Hand. If you remember correctly, maids, servants, and massaging chairs are irrelevant in the nonexistent eyes of Master Hand.

"Massaging chairs are an utter travesty, I sat on one once and it nearly destroyed the very framework of my being!" explained Master Hand. "So glad I got rid of that massaging chair and whoever the heck the guy that brought it was..."

"Yeah man, I feel ya..." Wario chuckled nervously, walking past by. He was already sent to Subspace before...never again.

"So what do we do with this hat?" Falco looked down at Big Top with Knuckles. Somehow he's more smiley than Toad, and that's not physically possible!

"Super Star Records is without his CEO!" stated Big Top for no reason. "Who will fill MC Ballyhoo's void?"

"Well...if nobody else is available...then I'm willing to take over the corporation."

"Really man you're sure about this?" asked Knuckles. Falco silently uttered Isabelle's name, and the echidna immediately knew Falco's purpose. He still has to help out, but in a much bigger way.

"I will name you CEO of Super Star Records, effectively immediately!" Falco is now Super Star Records CEO, and he knew what his first business move was.

"Too early to sign Knuckles to a record deal?" he asked Big Top. The talking hat gleamed with delight.

"Let's sign the deal right now!" he exclaimed. Little Mac approached Big Top - what does he want?

"I've been talking with Doc Louis just now..." the boxer began. "...and I've been thinking...can I be the second person to sign with Super Star Records? It would be nice to do my work in the comfort of the mansion, rather than anywhere else..."

"You got a deal!" said Big Top. Major props to Little Mac to getting Doc Louis on his side - must have taken a lot of chocolate bars to sway him over.

"Falco, I have spoken with Fox about the glucose monitoring system for Isabelle, and he has told me it will be a joint effort," Ryu approached Falco, carrying a punching bag over his shoulder. Training was more important to him than speaking with Master Hand, conversation doesn't keep you fit! "Are you working towards getting it?"

"Yes we are, and it will take more than just a joint effort," Falco replied, looking at Big Top, Knuckles, and Little Mac. Everything was in good hands...

...though the same can't be said for Pit and Viridi's relationship. Pit found the goddess of nature, sitting by herself in a chair isolating herself from everyone. It's almost as if she and Ashley switched bodies.

"You seem a little down," Pit told her. "Need to talk about something?"

Viridi didn't say anything; she just teared up and walked away. Guess she can't handle the truth...


	13. Episode 13: Psychodramatic

**Episode 13: Psychodramatic**

Master Hand - the very name expels majesty and greatness. The giant hand, though he may not look like it to some, is the very creator of the universe. His partner is Crazy Hand, and nobody has ever heard from him, ever. Much of Master Hand's immense power comes from Master Core, though the relation between the two has never been explored.

Today, Master Hand is getting something unexpected coming to his mansion. No it wasn't maids and servants, which he dislikes for reasons unknown. Instead he he's getting...tourists? Rosalina alerted the hand of this while he was giving him a hand massage (the only massage he will ever tolerate), and so after the massage ended, Master Hand went about in the hallways to investigate. Everywhere he went, he saw tourists, either taking pictures or touching things they shouldn't touch, like Shulk's Monado blade, which he carries around on his back most of the time.

"So cool..." a young lad stroked the blade, acting like Golem from the _Lord of the Rings._ Where is this kid's parents? They're not looking to see if the mansion has a gift shop, are they?

"Scram kid, scram!" Master Hand swiped away at the boy with his hand, scaring him off. "All of you scram!" he then yelled at everyone in the hallway; they all ran off as well. "Shulk, why would you let that boy touch your precious blade?"

"It's all good, Master Hand, it's not like he didn't contaminate it or anything!" the Homs gave a thumbs up. Shulk was daunted by the concept of tourists visiting the Smash Mansion, because of his species - but the only main difference between humans and Homs is that Homs depend on Ether for survival, and there's no such Ether to be found (at least where the tourists can find it).

 **Shulk: To be brutally honest with you, I don't mind other people touching my Monado blade. Just as long as they don't get an...ahh...aahhh...ACHOOOO! *sparks fly out of Monado blade* Aw man, I sneezed on my blade! Gonna take me forever to whip it up back to shape!**

Master Hand then went to the gaming room, and saw K.K. Slider and Jigglypuff performing for the tourists. They were the only two brawlers inside the room; apparently the tourists drove out all the others. Kudos to K.K. and Jigglypuff for maintaining their poise during these turbulent times.

"Jigg, Jigglypuff..." the balloon Pokemon sang for the tourists. None of them had a single clue what she's singing, but her vocal talents made up for that.

"Begone all of you!" Master Hand commanded. The tourists poured out of the gaming room in fear, and soon the room was empty. Just the way it should be. But where were all the brawlers? "Where did the brawlers go?" Master Hand asked K.K. Slider.

"Most of the bros and babes are hiding in the meeting room, to keep away from the tourists," replied K.K. The dog welcomed tourists, but only if they paid him $5 to watch his performances. As of right now, he's nearing a whopping $750. "All the others are still doing their usual activities, though they're keeping watch of the tourists going about."

"Do you know who might be behind this act of tourism?" Now Master Hand is treating the situation like it was something dangerous and diabolical.

"I'm not really sure, but if I were you, I would interrogate random people, and gather clues."

"Good thinking, K.K! Always knew you had the Scooby-Doo gene!"

K.K. shot the Master Hand with a questionable look. Him being a dog does not mean he has some Scooby-Doo gene. Though preferably he would want a Scrappy Doo gene - feisty and brave.

"Suggesting that you should gather clues as if you were on a mystery doesn't mean I have some Scooby-Doo gene..." K.K. pointed out. "Now if you excuse me, Jigglypuff and I will practice for our next performance, whenever that will happen."

So Master Hand left the gaming room, leaving K.K. and Jigglypuff be. It was time for the creator of the Smash universe to get down to the bottom of this case.

* * *

In the kitchen, Palutena was giving the tourists some cooking lessons. It was a great way to keep them entertained; forcing them out of the mansion (like Master Hand is plotting on doing) was the least of her worries. Right now she was on her third lesson.

"We will begin by gathering our ingredients," Palutena started the lesson. Vegetable soup is what she'll be making. "Pit, can you get the cans out of the cabinet?"

"Sure thing, Lady Palutena!" Pit, Palutena's cooking assistant, flew up to the cabinet, and grabbed two cans of corn and green beans. At first he was against cooking, stating that he has extremely important business to take care of with Kirby, such as "poking brawlers in real life as if they were on Facebook", but after Palutena explained that cooking can give Pit essential life skill that he can use in life (and boy does he need them), Pit obliged to give Palutena a helping hand.

 **Pit: Serving as Lady Palutena's assistant has been awesome so far! While she's explaining whatever the heck she's explaining to everyone, I just stuff some random food down my pants! Kirby has no idea what he's missing out on...perhaps I should save some food for him.**

"Excuse me miss, but where can I find those wings that your apprentice has?" asked a tourist, while Pit rinsed off the cans. Rinsing off cans expels the many germs and bacteria living on it - if you're out cooking, then rinsing cans is one of the best methods to prepare. Do it, and you won't be sorry!

"Those wings of his are nowhere to be found," Palutena smiled as Pit handed her the cans. "They're genuine wings, you can't find them on Amazon or eBay or anywhere else."

"So that means I can't fly to Mars and live with the martians?" This guy's logic is completely flawed, he would burn up as soon as he exited to atmosphere.

"There hasn't been any evidence of martians on Mars, so your journey would be all for naught," Palutena stated this without having to insult the tourist's imperfect logic. His friend(s) will be there to tell him. "Now that we have our cans, we must open them. Pit, how do you open these cans?"

"Oh shoot, that's easy!" Pit grabbed one of the cans, and banged his head against it. Instead of opening the can, he opened his own skull...as if he couldn't get any more unintelligent.

"This is how you correctly open a can," Palutena took the can, and opened it with a can opener. Easiest way to open a can; a way better method than Pit's "bang-my-head-against-the-can" method. Palutena then did the same to the other can, and poured the contents into the pot.

"Stop right there, Lady Palutena!" yelled Robin, standing at the other side of the kitchen near the sink. He was wearing a cooking apron, and a chef hat. After the debacle involving Daisy's birthday cake (which Mario burdened upon him), the mage aspired to be a well-rounded cook, the best cook the mansion has ever seen.

"Must you take the attention away from me while I'm educating these tourists?" smiled Palutena. "A below average cook like yourself shouldn't be the one to spark a cooking war."

 **Robin: Who is Palutena to someone a "below average cook"?! Does she not remember the instance she overcooked the meat patties on the 4th of July? Every day - breakfast, lunch, and dinner - we have to suffer at the hands of Palutena! Every, single, DAY! But those days will soon be numbered...just you wait and see Palutena!  
Ike: *from behind* Schizophrenic much? Palutena is nowhere around here...  
Robin: Tell that to your imaginary friends!  
Ike: MY FRIENDS ARE REAL! UGH!**

"Don't mind her everyone, she's a terrible cook if you ask me, compared to a great one like myself!" stated Robin. A terrible cook like Palutena is already prepared, while a supposedly great cook like Robin is no where close to being prepared. Who will the tourists pay attention to?

"Let's take cooking lessons from the guy with the white hair, he looks cooler!" shouted a random tourist. All the other tourists nodded their head in agreement. Lousy tourists, only heeding cooking advice from Robin because he's "cooler"...by the end of the day, they'll be making waffles in the microwave, just like the mage does.

"Glad you all could give me your undivided attention, and not to that hag over there," remarked Robin. Palutena glared the mage down; she was far, _far_ from a hag. Robin's remark was just fuel for the fire. "Instead of vegetable soup, which the hag is cooking for whatever reason, I will be making something that's more fun...such as cheeseburgers, with Pepper jack cheese!"

The tourists cheered and applauded. Finally, a cooking lesson revolving around junk food and not soup! 'Merica!

"Viridi like cheeseburgers!" stated Pit. Viridi...the moment the name popped in his head, the angel reflected to what occurred last week, when Gil outed Knuckles as the perpetrator behind making him love Viridi. He poured one of Ashley's love potion into his drink, and the potion caused Pit to fall in mad love with Viridi. But why would the echidna do this for? Pit needed answers, and he needed them now! "Lady Palutena, may I be dismissed?" Pit asked the goddess of light.

"Will you be back soon?" asked Palutena. She will need Pit in order to win back the tourists from Robin, it won't be an individual effort by any means.

"I certainly hope so..."

* * *

Mario whistled happily as he walked through the mansion halls. He's been feeling jovial lately - he finally set his date with Peach (at McDonalds of all places) and not a single tourist harassed him; only thing they wanted to do was take selfies with them. Harmless in nature, but if someone uploads an embarrassing and unflattering picture of Mario online, it can create a massive snowball effect.

When the plumber entered the meeting room, he was stunned to see several of his fellow brawlers inside. Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Rosalina and Luma, Falco (with Big Top), Ganondorf, Yoshi, Red the Pokemon Trainer, Pac-Man, Samus, Zelda, Little Mac, Luigi, Toad, Toon Link, Sonic, Roy, Bowser Jr, Lucario, Wario, Snake, Alph, R.O.B, Jacky Bryant, Meta Knight, Dark Pit, Mr. Game & Watch, Pikachu, the female Inkling, Ness, Villager, Wolf, and Dunban all gathered in the meeting room.

"You're holding a meeting wthout-a me?" frowned Mario. As the head of the Smash Mansion...or second-in-command to the head of the Smash Mansion rather, since Master Hand is back and all, Mario has to know about every meeting, and must always be present, regardless of how important or pointless it is.

"No we're not holding a meeting!" replied Wolf. "We're trying to hide from the tourists..."

 **Snake: Those tourists have been nothing but trouble! Especially those teenage girls, with their miniature iPads...  
** **Samus: *sitting next to Snake, filing her nails* Rest of the world calls them iPhones...  
** **Snake: ...And not only that, but they were wearing boxers, out in the public!  
** **Samus: The "boxers" they're wearing are actually short shorts.  
** **Snake: But then it got worse...they asked me if I want to take pictures with them! What do they think I am, a photographer?!  
** **Samus: Maybe they wanted to take a picture of you, because they want to, you know...cherish the memories?  
Snake: Bah! Memories are overrated! Which is why I'm losing mine...  
Samus: You sad, old man... *shakes her head*  
Snake: Who are you calling old, I'm a 43 year old man! And I use Just For Men!  
Samus: Still don't see it...**

"Waiting inside this room is too boring!" Sonic complained, folding his arms. Hedgehog always needs action any time, at any place. It's a part of his "super fast" nature. "Can't we do something fun?"

"You know, there's a game-a that I've always wanted-a to play..." Mario walked to one of the cabinets and opened it, pulling out a _Monopoly_ board game box. The brawlers were confused - how are they going to pull of a _Monopoly_ game with more than 30 players?

"Mario we-a play _Monopoly_ game every two-a weeks or so," Luigi pointed out. As you might believe, Luigi loses every time. "Not to mention that..."

Mario lifted up the top of the _Monopoly_ box, revealing a bunch of cards with different names on it. No one bothered to ask Mario where the game board and the pieces went; their biggest concern is why the plumber would stuff these cards in a board game box of all places.

"Care to explain why those cards are in there?" Dunban was the only person to voice his concern. He was the first to speak up in a vocal survival of the fittest...if Social Darwinism was ever applied to verbal communication.

"I had nowhere-a else to put them, this-a box was my last-a resort!" replied Mario. Zelda's jewelry was also up for consideration as a place to store the cards, but Mario knew better than to mess with a woman's items. Only a matter of time until Wario learns this lesson...

"What are you planning to do with those cards?" Pac-Man asked. He's supposed to be monitoring the arcade room, but the tourists were giving him a hard time, so he went to go hide in the meeting room. Arcade machines could be stolen without the Pac-Man's presence...

"With these-a cards, we'll be doing some-a...psychodrama," explained Mario, wiggling his fingers as if to add an intriguing effect meant to bolster the interest of the brawlers. The only person this worked on was Lloyd, for his naivety makes him vulnerable to just about anything.

"Ooh, are we gonna re-enact scenes from _The Dark Knight?_ " Lloyd asked. "Psycho" and "drama" immediately popped up in his head, and when he tied the two words together, he somehow got " _The Dark Knight"._ "Can I be the Joker? Please? PLEASE?!"

"We're not re-enacting scenes from-a The Dark Knight! Instead, we'll be doing some role-playing..."

"...I can still be the Joker, right?" Lloyd eagerly rubbed his hands together. Pretty obsessive, huh?

"I'm-a not so sure about that..."

 **Lloyd: Want to know why I'm a huge fan of the Joker? One day, Gilgamesh and I went to a local comic book store, and we were looking at comic books and stuff. A girl was standing in the same aisle as we were, and she approached me, asking a question. Her question was, "Who do you think the best DC superhero is?" I would tell her it was Superman, but the truth would set her free. So instead I told her it was the Green Lantern. The girl slaps me and calls me an idiot. I took the comic book she was holding in her hands and ran out of the store; she simply knew too much about me. When I got far from the store, I began reading the comic book she had, which was centered mainly around Batman, and I was vaguely intrigued by all the Joker scenes. My favoritism for the Joker started on that very day...**

"Everyone grab a card," Mario walked around the room with the box, as each person grabbed a card. "Whoever name-a you pulled, you'll be playing as."

"Rudolph the Red-a Nosed Reindeer?" Luigi raised an eyebrow. Does this mean the plumber has to get down on all fours? Oh, the embarrassment that will ensue...

"Prime LeBron James..." Jacky read his card, smirking and stroking his chin. "I can definitely dig this!"

"LeBron James has a USDA beef rating?" questioned Yoshi, not knowing that "prime" in this context means LeBron James' finest years in the NBA. The green dinosaur may or may not be blindly promoting cannibalism.

"Anyone know who Bono is?" Snake asked, raising his card up in the air. Hopefully he won't have to do any singing, especially with his accelerated age taking a toll on his vocal cords.

"Pikachu and Mr. Game & Watch should not be playing this game, they both cannot speak!" Samus pointed out. Pikachu is role-playing as Drake, of all people...that can't possibly end well. Mr. Game & Watch is Shaquille O'Neal, and he's already at a height disadvantage. "And do I seriously have to play as a dude?!" Samus is role-playing as Billy the Kid, and Old West outlaw. Already she has a gun, so she has the part down pat. Gender problems, however, are the only issue.

"Quit-a crying!" responded Mario, who's not playing the game; instead he will critique each brawler's effort in role-playing the person that they drew. "Now that-a everyone has their card, I will now group-a you into eight groups of-a four. Group A is Ness, Rosalina and Luma, Bowser Jr, and the female Inkling. Group B is Wario, Luigi, Diddy Kong, and Little Mac. Group C is Ganondorf, Mr. Game & Watch, Pac-Man, and Red. Group D is Dunban, R.O.B, Samus, and Dark Pit. Group E is Geno, Wolf, Sonic, and Toon Link. Group F is Meta Knight, Roy, Zelda, and Pikachu. Group G is Jacky, Donkey Kong, Lucario, and Snake. And Group H is Falco, Yoshi, Alph, and Villager. Before I get-a any props, does anyone have-a any questions?"

"Will this be a competition?" asked Wario. "If so, will there be a prize?" In his mind, Wario is hoping the prize is a one-day trip to the downtown spa, where women mostly frequent. He'll have to make sure none of his group members get to go, for it'll be all for himself.

"Hey bub, I was about to say that!" growled Wolf. Social Darwinism _does_ exist in verbal communication...this should be analyzed right away!

"As of right-a now, there's no prize," replied Mario. Wario and everyone else - but only Wario - was displeased. That spa trip may not come to fruition... "...but I'll try to think-a of one." Alright, so maybe there's hope for Wario and everyone else - still Wario only.

* * *

Being the hunky heartthrob that he is, Cloud was bound to accrue a lot of tourist fangirls with his dashing looks and chiseled build. But if those fangirls randomly kiss you on the cheek and make you take selfies with them, then it becomes a huge problem, a problem that cannot be resolved in due time. So in an effort to avoid the fangirls, Cloud hid in one of the mansion closets. He would hide in his room, but apparently the fangirls asked one of the brawlers were his room was - a raid of Cloud's room appears to be looming. The basement would be Cloud's other option...if Master Hand actually got the mansion a basement.

 **Cloud: Until all the tourists exit the mansion, I'll just be hanging out in this closet once the coast is clear. The fangirls are at literally every inch of the mansion, and it's hard to maneuver around the place without getting caught. Inside here, I'll be safe and...**

Cloud's talking head segment abruptly ended when Link opened the closet door and ran inside. He tried to close it, but the apparent fangirls chasing him were trying to pry the door open. Link prevailed, and took a slight breather afterwards. Dude must have ran a marathon to get away from the fangirls.

"The many hindrances of being so good-looking," the hero of Hyrule chuckled. Never did Link receive any admiration for his looks, so the whole fangirl chase thing was relatively new to him. Took a lot of time getting used to as well. "How was your fare with the fangirling?"

"See this lip prints on my face?" Cloud pointed at his face, which was marked to the brim with lip prints of different colors. Another good reason to stay inside the closet until further notice.

"Wow man, they got you good...at least they didn't steal your sword."

"They stole your sword?" Cloud laughed, a rare instance in itself since he broke from his usual chill personality. He would sympathize for Link, but the fact that Link was deprived from his Master Sword - a weapon he is highly dependent on - was just too hilarious.

"It's not funny..." grumbled Link. "Without that sword, I'm useless..." He's right; Link carries the Master Sword with him at all times - to public restaurants, and even the bathroom. Who knows what dangers might be lurking!

"Cheer up Link, now would be a great time to see how well you can go about without your sword."

"No! I need my Master Sword back, it has to be wielded by the right person! Who knows whatever might be done to the sword..." The very thought of this caused Link to shiver. Every night, he has nightmares about this thought.

"Okay then, we'll go look for it. Let's see if the coast is clear..."

Cloud creaked the door open, and saw that the halls were empty. Perfect time for him and Link to make their run.

"Let's go!" Cloud said as he and Link ran out of the closet, and through the halls. The mission at hand: retrieve Link's Master Sword.

* * *

It was now time for Group A of the role-playing brawlers - Ness, Rosalina and Luma, Bowser Jr, and the female Inkling - to perform their little role-play skit. None of the groups have had any time to practice, so 90% of their skits will be mostly improvisation. Who knows what the other 10% is.

"Aaaaaaand...ACTION!" Mario, wearing a director's hat and sitting in a director's chair, yelled. Rosalina was up first; she was playing Ra, the Egyptian sun god. Luma served as the "sun" above her head. Gotta think of it, Ra is a male, so why isn't Rosalina complaining about playing as a male character?

 **Rosalina: Samus just loves to complain...why can't she just be happy with what she has? You don't see me complaining about playing as a male! Makes me wonder why Samus hasn't entertained the idea of moving out of the mansion...always has something to say about everyone, and everything!**

"The great sun god Ra is in dire need of fine entertainment!" proclaimed Rosalina, trying to sound as macho as possible. Her knowledge of Egyptian culture is not that strong to help her with Ra's personification. "Who wishes to perform for me?"

"Guess this is my cue!" Bowser Jr appeared in the scene, holding a trumpet. His character? Dizzy Gillespie. This jazz musician was known for his cheeks puffing whenever he plays his trusty trumpet. Bowser Jr's cheeks are absolutely nothing compared to Dizzy's - he would have any puff effect all, but he'll make the most of it.

Also appearing in the scene was the female Inkling, donning a Greek warrior helmet and a staff. Her character was Athena, the Greek goddess of a lot of things...wisdom, courage, inspiration, strength, strategy, war, and strangely enough, olive oil. It'll be interesting to see how the Inkling can tie her character in with Bowser Jr's.

"Who are you, and what is your purpose of entertainment?" Nice effort, by Rosalina, staying true to Ra's personality and character.

"Call me Dizzy Gillespie!" said Bowser Jr. "Finest jazz musician in the land!"

"And I'm Athena, Greek goddess and daughter of Zeus!" said the Female Inkling. "Our radical duet will knock your socks off!"

Bowser Jr played the trumpet, and the female Inkling did some variant of opera singing - and boy was it horrid. Everyone, including Rosalina, was covering their ears, but that wasn't enough to save them from the atrocity reaching their precious ears.

"Is there such a thing as auditory cancer?" asked Zelda. Bowser Jr's trumpet playing and female Inkling's singing was _that_ bad. But at least someone in the crowd is enjoying it, apparently...

"This is a nice song!" Yoshi was nodding his head, tapping his foot, and snapping his fingers to the beat. "Would definitely buy their mixtape if they ever release one!" His species doesn't have physically present ears, so he must be hearing something his peers aren't.

"My socks are not knocked off!" proclaimed Rosalina, unable to take any more of the performance. Now was the time to save everyone from their misery. "Begone with you, before I feed you to the lions!"

"Halt!" Ness showed up in front of Rosalina, wearing a white wig on his head and bracelets on his arms. "I won't let you hurt my friends!" Not a single person knew who Ness is playing as.

"And how the heck are you playing?" asked Meta Knight.

"You guys seriously don't know?!" Sonic stood up, greatly offended by everyone's ignorance. "Silver the Hedgehog? Has telekinetic powers? Traveled 200 years into the future? Works at a Pizza Hut store owned by Vector the Crocodile?"

"Yeah still doesn't ring a bell...

"Wait, Sonic, aren't you supposed to be working at Pizza Hut with Silver?" asked Ness, temporarily breaking out of character. Sonic sat back down, whistling innocently, choosing not to say anything else.

* * *

"Get away from me you creep!" This was one of the many responses Captain Falcon would receive whenever he tries to ask a female tourist out. The race car driver doesn't know what he's doing wrong - he has the looks, the style, the build, and the personality. What could he be possibly missing?

 **Captain Falcon: All the female tourists must be legally blind. How can they not be in awe...of THIS!*strikes a pose* Or THIS! *flexes his biceps* Or even...gah, I think I tore my biceps! Woe is definitely me...but no matter! I can just ask Ashley to make me a love potion, and I can give the potion to the girl of my dreams!**

So Falcon headed over to Ashley's room, and saw that the door was locked. Ashley, as you probably know by now, is an introvert, and she's unable to stand the high amount of people frequenting the mansion. Hordes of strangers in one building - it was too much for her to fathom.

Ashley's assistant, on the other hand, didn't mind about the tourists - Red, the little red devil, exited the room carrying Ashley's clothes over his head.

"Sup Red, how's it goin'?" Captain Falcon asked. If he can be friendly with Red, then he can do the same with Ashley...though Red isn't that much of a hassle.

"Nothing much, just doing Ashley's laundry as usual," replied Red. His unwavering loyalty to Ashley forbids the devil to not follow the young witch's every command. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if Ashley could whip me up another one of her love potions!"

"Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news...but Ashley is no longer interested in making such potions." Red shielded himself from Falcon after he said this, fearing that the race car driver would Falcon Punch him out of utter rage. But Falcon seemed somewhat content - and concerned.

"Did a person such as Wario throw the girl off her rocker?" Not hard for someone like Wario to tick anyone off.

"Wario didn't do anything to Ashley. Rather, Ashley's not doing love potions anymore because of Pit and Viridi."

"And Pit called Viridi a freak!" Captain Falcon laughed, reminiscing the time Pit said that. Red just stood there awkwardly, waiting for Falcon's needless laughing to end. "Does that mean I can't get my love potion?"

"I thought I made it clear not so long ago..."

* * *

"Aaaaaaand...ACTION!" Mario yelled. Next up for role-playing was Group B - Wario, Luigi, Diddy Kong, and Little Mac. Luigi and Diddy Kong started things off - Luigi was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Diddy Kong was a matador. Luigi, who was on all fours, rushed towards Diddy, wielding a red cape.

"Ole!" the spidermonkey chanted as he swung the red cape behind Luigi when the plumber passed him. This display of grace earned Diddy a decent amount of applause.

Then Diddy did the unthinkable - he hopped on Luigi's back, and rode on top of him like a horse. Everyone looked on in shock and surprise.

"Giddy up horsie!" Diddy exclaimed, waving his montera in the air as if he was a cowboy. Luigi appeared to be sweating profusely - either from Diddy's weight crushing his back, or the fact that he's moving about too much.

 **Diddy Kong: Reindeer can be classified as horses, right? They have hooves...and brown skin...  
** **Donkey Kong: Going by your logic, rams can also be classified as horses!  
** **Diddy Kong: *gasps* Are you serious?!**

"Hold it right there!" Little Mac confronted Diddy, wearing a business suit. A rare sight of its own. "Why tarry on that reindeer, when you can afford a nifty car, like this?" Little Mac showed Diddy a red car...a red Fisher-Price car, that is.

"Ain't no way I'm driving that thing!" Diddy declined, toppling the car over. He then spat on it and kicked it multiple times. Little did he know that he was disrespecting Isabelle's car, which Bowser gave to her. The yellow dog immediately turned down this car, and for good reasons.

"You're doing it all wrong, let me show you how a professional does it!" Wario showed up, wearing a Wolverine superhero costume - he rocks a superhero outfit in battle as his Final Smash, so you shouldn't be _that_ disturbed. The fatso used his makeshift claws to tear apart the toy car. Isabelle would give him a stern talking to...if she ever cared about the car to begin with.

* * *

Master Hand went on his merry way through the mansion, continuing forth the mission at hand - find out about this whole tourism thing and see if anybody is behind it.

"M-Master Hand?" Lucas said, startled by the giant hand's presence in the ball pit room. This room was Lucas's hotspot during the time of constant tourism; none of the tourists were around his age, which means he can enjoy his time in the ball pit without any distractions. "What brings you here?"

"This whole tourist thing appears to be very fishy," responded Master Hand. "I'm gathering some clues so I can know who's the perpetrator behind this scheme..."

 **Lucas: Not trying to spill any crucial information...but I was ordered to design a sign to place in front of the mansion, to attract the tourists and...*covers his mouth* I think I said too much!**

"There might be clues within this ball pit!" Master Hand dug his hand inside the ball pit, searching the floor surface for any unsuspecting clues. Lucas just looked on in utter horror; what if Master Hand knocks off his shoe by accident? Searching for the shoe in-between the plastic balls would be an absolute nightmare! (at least for Lucas)

"Why not...go look in the bathrooms?" suggested Lucas. "You could find some clues there..."

"Brilliant idea Lucas!" exclaimed Master Hand. His voice was so majestic, it can be heard from all over the mansion. "I shall go inspect the bathrooms immediately!"

So Master Hand departed from the ball pit room, and Lucas breathed a sigh of relief. What is that boy up to...?

* * *

"Aaaaaaand...ACTION!" Mario exclaimed; time for Group C - Ganondorf, Mr. Game & Watch, Pac-Man, and Red the Pokemon Trainer - to do their thing. Mr. Game & Watch was up first, showing off his decent basketball handles. Since he's playing as Shaquille O'Neal, he had to stay in touch with his character...and he did just that by missing easy shots into a Nerf basketball net hanging on the wall.

"En garde!" Pac-Man jumped into the scene, striking the basketball with his sword. His character is based off of a cavalier from the English Civil. His attire includes a hat and a sword, as well as a beard. "Enough of this shilly-shallying with this putrid ball! No such activities will not be allowed under the king's watch!"

Soon Red - playing as King Charles II - entered the scene, adorned with a crown and a robe. His Pokemon - Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard - were following him around.

"I thought Red wasn't allowed to use this Pokemon in the skit," Geno, sitting close to Mario, whispered to the plumber.

"His constant-a whining became too overbearing..." Mario whispered back. Red was whining to Mario earlier, demanding that his Pokemon should be used in the skit so they can gain "real world comprehension". Not much comprehension there is to gain from acting out skits...

"This ball..." Red grabbed the basketball and held it up in the air. "This ball is pure EVIL! It must be disposed of quickly!" He shot the ball into the basketball net, and missed horribly. But hey, he's no athlete, so he shouldn't have expected to make the shot.

"It appears to be that you have some trouble shooting," Ganondorf approached Red, sounding monotone. He's also wearing glasses and a tie. "My name is Bill Gates, your Highness." Apparently the Demon Lord is trying to act as nerdy as possible.

 **Ganondorf: Bill Gates is technically a nerd, and I don't really know much about nerds in general, so I went online while Groups A and B were doing their skits to gain some knowledge, so to speak. According to my research, nerds are best described as very unfashionable...but how does that apply to Bill Gates? Do they not take into consideration the many suits he has? Probably has a closet larger than this mansion!**

"Perhaps I can interest you...with this!" Ganondorf showed Red a pair of gloves...gloves that Falco could easily recognize.

"Aren't those Fox's gloves?" he asked. Falco is so great of a friend, he has exact memory of Fox's clothes and accessories...though it sounds creepy when you think about it.

"No they are not, you must be seeing things. Now then..." Ganondorf redirected his attention to Red. "Just put these gloves on, and you'll make every single basket without fail!"

"I don't need your gloves!" Red took the gloves and tried to rip them into pieces. Emphasis on "tried".

"It's the thought that counts!"

* * *

Pit found Viridi sitting by herself in her room, stroking her precious ponytail. Her relationship with Pit was a slight sham - she loved Pit, and Pit loved her, though Pit's love was seemingly created by a love potion. What's the point of continuing the relationship if Pit can't genuinely give love back?

"Hey Viridi, you wanna talk about something?" Pit took a seat next to the goddess of nature on her bed.

"Go away," Viridi uttered, her gazed fixated on the floor. Her depressed state made her unable to have any sort of discussion.

"If it's about the potion thing, then I can..."

"I said GO AWAY!" Viridi snapped on Pit. The angel has been down this road before, he's experienced Viridi's fits of anger and rage. He got up off the bed, and awkwardly walked away, exited the room. Viridi returned to her depressed mood, which no sense of hope in sight.

* * *

"Aaaaaaand...ACTION!" Seriously, how many times is Mario going to say that? Group D - Dunban, R.O.B, Samus, and Dark Pit - were ready to get things started. R.O.B was up first.

"YOU MAKE ME FEEL...SO YOUNG..." R.O.B said before he started playing "You Make Me Feel So Young" by Frank Sinatra, his character, out of his loudspeakers, wherever they may be. Good thing the robot came prepared.

"Why yes, this is a fine tune indeed!" Dunban entered the scene, wearing long white hair and a long white beard. He's playing Dumbledore, of all people. The homs was moving his magic wand to the beat.

 **Dunban: Ugh, Harry Potter...I could never really grasp the concept of it. You're telling me that the main character had no idea he was a wizard...until he was eleven years old?! What has he been doing in his life up until that point?!  
** **Dark Pit: You do realize most of the readers are probably Harry Potter fans, right?  
Dunban: And you do realize you just broke the fourth wall, right?  
Dark Pit: Heh, from where I'm from, the fourth wall doesn't even exist...**

"This song is so magnificent, it makes me want to cast out a spell..." Dunban readied his magic wand, closing his eyes as if doing so will make the spell even grander. "Summonous Jeffersonus...Thomassus!"

After chanting the presumably botched spell cast, Dark Pit flew down, wearing a Thomas Jefferson wig. The brawlers were laughing at the angel, the sight of him wearing a wig hilarious beyond words. Dark Pit was able to take the laughter and ridicule with stride, though.

"I have never been so invigorated in my life!" said Dark Pit, doing his best Jefferson impersonation. Is it even possible to do an exact impersonation of Thomas Jefferson? "Such a tune deserves to be the national anthem of our great nation! I must write into the constitution at once!"

"Not so fast, wig man," Samus appeared in the scene, wearing a cowboy hat and wielding a gun. "The town isn't big enough for the both of us..."

The brawlers looked on, not amused one bit. Samus was disgruntled by this, feeling that her rendition of Billy the Kid deserves some praise (although she was against it in the first place).

"Why do you guys look so bored?" she frowned. "Are you not entertained?! I hate you all..."

"Thanks a lot Samus," said Toon Link. How can you hate this lovable fella? He's one of the nicest people you'll ever know.

"Alright, I guess there are a few exceptions here and there..."

* * *

Link and Cloud reached the recording studio, and saw Knuckles dropping some bars in the recording booth. Not a single tourist dared to enter the studio, allowing Knuckles some much needed privacy. Only person allowed was Pichu, who sat in a chair listening to Knuckles' bars via headset. His privacy was soon intruded when the two swordsmen entered the recording studio.

"Can't you guys be best friends somewhere else, I'm trying to jump start my rap career here!" frowned Knuckles.

"We didn't mean to interrupt, but we're busy looking for Link's sword," explained Cloud, saying this in the nicest way possible. Knuckles glared down both swordsmen, his eye twitching. Of all the times he could be bothered, and it had to be now...

 **Knuckles: Calmness and patience...those are the most basic things a rapper needs if he ever wants to make it big. And I can't achieve them if dummies like Link and Cloud interrupt you during your recordings, all over some dumb sword! *slaps mic out of frustration, starts hyperventilating* Does anyone have a Snickers?**

"Well does it look like a sword can be found here?" questioned Knuckles. He has more bars to drop, and in order to drop said bars, he has to keep his mind intact. Link and Cloud were making the echidna from doing the exact opposite.

"Can't hurt to look around," Link replied, inspecting every little inch of the recording studio. During his search, his eyes caught something shiny lying underneath the chair Pichu was sitting in, and saw...the Master Sword! But how did it get here? No matter; Link smiled holding the sword in his hands, acting as if he had seen it for the first time.

"Thought you said a tourist took your sword," said Cloud, just as surprised as Link.

"Yeah man, I thought the same thing, someone else must have taken it," Knuckles said. Cloud could detect a feeling in Knuckles' voice - and that feeling was _guilt._

"You took Link's Master Sword, didn't you?!" Cloud has never sounded this angry since he went off on Corrin back in episode 5.

"Okay, fine, I confess!" Knuckles threw his arms up in the air, admitting defeat. "I paid someone to get the sword! I only wanted it so I could make some nifty sound effect in my rap song!"

"That's...it?" Link raised an eyebrow, perplexed by Knuckles rationale for stealing his sword. He expected a more believable excuse...but using the Master Sword for a song?

"It's just that...the sword, it makes an awesome clinging sound, and I thought that..."

"Woah, let's back it up for a minute," interjected Cloud. And yes, he's talking about the conversation at hand, and not whatever the heck might be going on in your mind right now. "A lot of swordsmen - like myself - have swords, couldn't you just ask them for permission to borrow their's?"

"Already tried with Ike, he thought I wasn't worthy enough to use his sword. Roy was a different story."

 **Roy: The Binding Blade is a very precious and powerful sword, and I am the only person with the divine right to wield it! What's more, this blade solely used for slaying dragons, nothing more and nothing else!...The brawlers don't count!**

"So yeah, sorry about stealing your sword and all," apologized Knuckles. Second straight episode a character from the _Sonic_ series apologized to Link! It's Tails' turn in the next episode.

"All is forgiven..." replied Link. "...as long as you didn't use my Master Sword for any other motives." Knuckles grinned nervously when Link said this.

"Motives like using the sword as a personal backscratcher?" the echidna chuckled. Link began to seethe, and then chased Knuckles out of the studio. Cloud just looked on, shaking his head.

"Some friend I have," he smiled faintly.

* * *

"ACTION!" Mario yelled yet again. Group 5's skit - Geno, Wolf, Sonic, and Toon Link - is rather interesting compared to the others that came before it...

"My name is Usain Bolt, and I go FAST!" Toon Link ran around the meeting room like a track runner. However, he's running at a moderate rate - not too fast and not too slow. Some Pegasus Boots could really help the kid out.

"Hello, Usain Bolt, sir!" Wolf stopped Toon Link in his tracks. His attire consists of a green top hat and tie, since his character is Yogi Bear. His voice is deep and silly, a striking characteristic of Yogi.

 **Wolf: Of all the people I could chose from, and I drew a freaking cartoon character...and it had to be the most overrated one at that! Yeah I said it! Yogi Bear was based off of a lousy celebrity at the time! Don't believe, go online and read it and weep for yourself!**

 **Toon Link: *panting* Ran too much... *panting* ...in the skit... *panting* ...if only was... *panting* ...the Four Swords incarnation...**

"May I interest you in some grub?" Wolf held up a picnic basket. Yogi Bear is infamous for raiding picnic baskets, and like Wario, he doesn't seem to gain any weight from constant eating. "In this here pic-a-nic basket is sandwiches galore!"

"I can do you one better!" Sonic appeared in the scene wearing a magician's hat and a cape. As you might can tell, he's a magician. "What if I can make a gourmet meal come out of the picnic basket?"

"Oooh, I love the sound of that!" exclaimed Toon Link, jogging in place. Gotta keep that momentum going!

"I do love a good old-fashioned magic trick!" added Wolf. Take away the Yogi Bear personality, and Wolf would be lying if he ever said that.

"Just hand the picnic basket to me, and I'll see what I can do!" said Sonic. Wolf handed the hedgehog the picnic basket, and Sonic did some funky hand motions over said basket, making it seem like he was doing an actual magic trick. Then he snapped his fingers, and opened up the lid of the picnic basket...and Geno sprung out, wearing an astronaut helmet.

"To infinity, and beyond!" he bellowed, making strange rocket sounds. Many of the brawlers were perplexed - not by the rocket sounds, but by who Geno is supposed to be playing.

 **Geno: "To infinity and beyond"...Neil Armstrong says that line, right?**

"CUT!" Mario shouted. Usually the plumber just lets the skit play out until the end, but Geno's Freudian error prompted him to cut the skit short. "Geno, Geno, Geno...whose-a card did you draw?"

"Neil Armstrong?" answered Geno, wondering what he did wrong.

"Neil Armstrong was-a the one who said, "One step for man, one giant leap for mankind"! You were-a using Buzz-a Lightyear's line!"

"Wait so Buzz Lightyear wasn't an astronaut?"

Mario facepalmed, and some of the other brawlers shared his disdain. Geno's knowledge of movies is evidently not that great.

* * *

Back to the kitchen, were Palutena and Robin were having a full blown cook-off of epic proportions. Although it wasn't really that much of a cook-off - Palutena was cooking vegetable soup, while Robin was making fruit salad...and doing a couple of juggling tricks with the fruit to keep the tourists' attention.

 **Robin: Juggling is one of the most difficult things to do, but the greatest entertaining method there is! How else would the Ringling Brothers Circus stay in business for so long? PETA even forced the company to remove elephant acts - just to make room for more juggling!**

Apparently Robin was juggling for so long, he hasn't done any actual work. But the tourists didn't care one bit, they came to see a grown man juggle fruit all day long. Who needs cooking lessons anyway?

"Hide me!" Knuckles ran inside the kitchen, and hid in one of the cabinets. Link ran inside as well, Master Sword in hand. The tourists were frightened by Link's sword, hoping the hero of Hyrule wouldn't slice and dice them to pieces (although Link would NEVER stoop down to that level).

"My my, Link, you look very irate!" remarked Robin. "But I cannot let your rage disrupt my cooking abilities!" Is this guy for real now?

"What cooking, you've been juggling this whole time!" frowned Palutena. Her vegetable soup was nearing competition, yet nobody paid her any mind. Silly entertainment trumps hard-earned work, sadly.

"Perhaps some fruit can cheer you up!" Robin threw his fruit at Link, and the swordsman sliced every fruit the mage threw at him. Scared tourists were shrieking as if they were sing an A Capella opera song, with each sliced fruit. Knuckles got off the cabinet, and ran away.

"Oh no you don't!" Link chased after the echidna, running out of the kitchen. All of this foolishness because Knuckles used his precious sword as a stinking backscratcher...

* * *

"ACTION!" Mario yelled for the nth time. Group F - Meta Knight, Roy, Zelda, and Pikachu - and instead of taking turns going into the scene, all four members were performing _at once._ Pikachu was singing "Hotline Bling" while doing the song's infamous dances with the instrumental playing, Meta Knight was walking around like a cowboy (he's supposed to be playing some cowboy from a Western flick), Roy was ranting on and on as George W. Bush, and Zelda, whose character is Red from the _Wendy's_ advertisement, sat in the middle eating chicken nuggets peacefully. It was an absolute abomination - but Yoshi liked it, for some reason.

"Aw yeah, I totally dig this!" he grinned. His general interest in the skit made him oblivious to the fact the brawlers were giving the dinosaur very inquisitive looks.

"You should seriously get your eyes and ears checked," Red told Yoshi. Last time he felt concerned with the dinosaur was when he told him about his odd fanfiction pairing with Lucina, a pairing that thankfully never came to pass.

 **Yoshi: Hands down, Group F's skit was the greatest skit of them all! The skit embodied unity, and that's exactly why Mario had us doing this role-playing stuff! Think about it; hardly any of us never really get along, and Meta Knight, Roy, Zelda, and Pikachu showed to us how darn beautiful unity can truly be!**

"Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...you never gonna fool me again!" Roy would say during this time of chaos and disorderliness.

"CUT!" Mario yelled, cutting a second skit short. "Get-a off the stage!" Has Mario pulled his red card?! This is not good for Group F, though it's kinda good for everyone else except Yoshi. The poor dinosaur sadly moaned.

"But we weren't done yet!" frowned Roy. Like his element of fire, the swordsman was getting all feisty. "Pikachu hasn't even finished singing yet!"

"Let it go Roy, this is Mario's fault for not giving us time to prepare," Zelda guided Roy and her crew back to their seats. Roy continually glared down Mario, seething the more he looked at him.

* * *

Master Hand went to the bathrooms, inspecting each and every single one of them. His size and majesty scared the pants out of any tourists using the bathrooms, making them run away with their pants down. Hopefully they took care of their business...

"You look rather angry today," Chrom said to Master Hand while he was washing his hands. Hard to tell Master Hand's mood, but if your brawler like Chrom, it's all easy-peasy.

"Tourists are infiltrating my mansion!" bellowed Master Hand, mad as ever. "Somebody is behind it, I am fully certain about it! But who can it be?"

"A great bathroom break is what every great fighter needs!" Ryu remarked as he entered the bathroom. Master Hand looked at Ryu questionably, and posed this question to him:

"What do you know about this tourism thing?"

Ryu sweatdropped; inside his mind, he's probably thinking, _"Just play it cool, and he won't notice..."_

"I know nothing of this tourism that you speak of!" replied Ryu. The fact that he was sweating profusely didn't help the case he's presenting.

"So when you see the tourists about in the mansion, you pay them no mind whatsoever?"

"Yes sir, that is correct!" Now Ryu's acting all stiff. "A sign might have led them here..."

"Just spit it out Ryu, no need to hide it in any longer," said Chrom. He was just as annoyed as Master Hand is right now.

"I CONFESS!" Ryu shouted at the top of his lungs. "I brought tourists over here to raise money for Falco's record company! My master plan was to have Lucas make the sign (which he did in short notice) and have him be my fall guy! But now you know the truth..."

 **Ryu: Fall guys are the best guys you'll ever know. Just tell them what you want them to do, and they'll dilligently take all the blame! And if they're like Lucas, you can entice them with a offer, like, "Do this for me, and I'll find your mother for you!"...What do you mean it's tasteless, I tried the same thing with Chun-Chunky! Yes, that's right, I have a friend named Chunky, that nobody knows except I!**

"Unless you want to be brutally punished, I would suggest that you round up all the tourists, and expel them out of the mansion at once," ordered Master Hand. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Master Hand, I'll do it right away!" Ryu hurriedly nodded before bowing and running off. He may be all mighty and tough, but when it comes to Master Hand, he's frail like fine china.

"So what's this about Falco and some recording company?" Master Hand asked Chrom, hoping the swordsman might know a thing or two.

* * *

"ACTION!" Mario yelled once more. Group G - Jacky, Donkey Kong, Lucario, and Snake - started things off with Donkey Kong (Steve Irwin _)_ inspecting Jacky Akira ("prime" LeBron James) and Snake (Bono of U2) as if they were wild animals.

"Here we have two rather intriguing specimens," narrated Donkey Kong, coming off as a calm-speaking crocodile hunter. "The first, a wondrous athlete, and the second, a lead singer of a prestigious American band."

Jacky did LeBron's famous pregame routine - pouring chalk into his hands, and throwing it up in the air. LeBron could just pour the chalk in his hands, and go on about his life. But no, he wants to make it all about himself, and throw the chalk in the air, thereby giving attention to himself. Arrogant jerk...

"Hey pal, wanna hear a song?" Snake approached Jacky, touching him on the shoulder. This caused Jacky to flop - he fell to the ground, acting like he was having a seizure attack. This generated some laughter from the brawlers...about time. LeBron used to do this flopping thing _a lot,_ and for no one's advantage but his.

 **Snake: Jacky's flopping, as he called it, was strangely on point. I merely touched him, and he spazzes all over the place like he was having a seizure. Could you imagine if I actually punched him?**

"Burn, baby, burn!" Lucario appeared in the scene, using his aura as fire to repel Jacky, Snake, and Donkey Kong. "Screw your wildlife television show, you stalkerish creep!" Lucario directed this at Donkey Kong - and perhaps to every wildlife show host out there.

* * *

Link chased Knuckles into the lounge. Present in this room was Fox, Peach, and Kirby. All three of them were comforting Viridi, who brought herself to the lounge to release herself of some...rather depressing thoughts.

"You don't necessarily need Pit, it's okay to be single especially at your age," Peach told the goddess of nature. The princess was discontent about the venue of her date with Mario - McDonald's, of all the restaurants out there - but she'll take what she gets.

"Peach's right, Pit's stupid anyways and highly undeserving of a love interest," added Fox. Kirby nudged the pilot; Viridi didn't need to hear that.

"Both of you are right..." Viridi replied while Link was chasing Knuckles around the lounge. "I'm too young to be falling in love...and Pit's not the sharpest tool in the shed...so why bother trying to win his heart..."

"Mommy!" Knuckles hid behind Viridi - shouting out words of mercy for presumably the first time ever - as Link leaped in the air, ready to do a sword strike...on _Viridi,_ since she was in the way. She, Peach, Fox, and Kirby all looked up in fear...

...until a blue arrow was fired in Link's direction, sending the hero of Hyrule into a wall. Who fired this arrow, you might ask? Pit, standing at the doorway.

"Pit, you saved me!" exclaimed Viridi. All that depression built up inside of her dissipated and turned into genuine joy. "How can I possibly thank you?"

"Ah, don't mention it," replied Pit. "You should also be thanking Cloud, he alerted me about Link."

"Sure did," Cloud appeared at the doorway of the lounge, smirking at Link and shook his head. Link could only chuckle out of guilt - chasing Knuckles through the mansion like that was so unlike him.

"My hero!" Viridi ran up to Pit, and hugged him, and Pit was...blushing? How very interesting...Knuckles ran up to Pit as well, trying to join in on the hug - Pit saved his life too - but was pushed to the ground by Viridi. The others shared a laugh.

 **Knuckles: Ow, my aching head..for such a docile little girl, Viridi can sure pack a punch...or a shove...**

* * *

"ACTION!" Mario yelled for the (thankfully) final time. It was now time for Group H - Falco, Yoshi, Alph, and Villager - to do their thing. And it was cringe-worthy; Falco, a hawk, and Alph, a pelican, were flapping their arms about, making bird calls. The brawlers were covering their ears, although one certain brawler was enjoying the sounds...

"Never have I heard more realistic bird calls in my lifetime, especially from Alph!" remarked Yoshi, standing from a short distance waiting his turn to join the scene. Seriously, this dude needs some help.

"I'm a tweety bird!" Big Top, worn atop Falco's head, shouted for no reason, perhaps attempting to keep in touch with the scene.

Then Villager entered the scene. Somehow, someway, he draw a card with no name on it...so he followed up on Falco and Alph in the whole acting-like-a-bird shtick. Like the skit couldn't possibly get any worse...

"This is music to my ears!" gleamed Yoshi. Okay Yoshi, you crossed the line right there. "...Oh man, I think that's my cue!" Yoshi entered the scene...and since he's supposed to be a hornet, he was making buzzing sounds while flapping his arms. How the four members ended up in the group with the cards they drew is beyond anyone's understanding.

"And-a scene!" said Mario, ending the skit. "Well-a folks, that's a wrap!"

"So who won, what's the prize?" asked Wario, excitedly rubbing his hands together. If his group didn't win, then him being involved in roleplay was all for naught.

"The prize...the prize is-a that you all bonded great!"

Mario was met with dull faces from every brawler save for Yoshi. The dinsoaur was the only one who knew about the true intention of these skits.

"Basically you wasted our time with this role-playing thing for absolutely nothing to gain," stated Roy, feeling disgruntled just like everyone else.

"Don't any of-a you get it? Role-a playing is a part of psychodrama, its means-a is to gain insight in-a our lives!"

 **Falco: I gained life insight by flapping my arms about like an idiot?**

 **Ganondorf: If acting like buffoons gives you insight about life...then I don't know what to believe in anymore.**

"What a bunch of balooney..." Jacky exited the meeting room, and everyone except for Mario and Yoshi followed suit. A few seconds later... "Hey, no more tourists! Freedom!" What followed was a bunch of cheers.

"Now I can finally run amok in the hallways naked again!" shouted Red. For the sake of everyone, Red, please don't do that.

"Not the tourists, who will enjoy my cooking skills?" Robin's voice was heard. Ryu did the tourists a major solid, saving them from Robin's ridicolous juggling that done him no work at all.

"You did great Mario," Yoshi gave Mario a resounding pat on the back. "...You did great." And with that, the green dinosaur departed from the meeting room, sporting a smile. At least Mario won over someone with his psychodrama tactics.

Just when Yoshi exited the meeting room, Master Hand entered. Like Chrom and any other brawler, Mario has the sixth sense to determine the giant hand's mood. Master Hand's mood as of right now was very curious in nature.

"Ryu has spoken of a record company Falco is the head of," the hand spoke to Mario. Even when he's calm, he still managed to intimidate the plumber. "Do you know anything about this?"

"All I know-a is that Fox and Falco plan-a to use the money gained-a to buy a crucial device for-a Isabelle," explained Mario, hoping he wouldn't anger Master Hand in any way.

"In that case...when shall we get started?"


	14. Episode 14: Foodstamps

**Episode 14: Foodstamps**

Master Hand's room is a rather majestic room of sorts - many portraits of the brawlers fill up the walls, and exquisite rugs and mats line the floor. White curtain drapes hang from the windows, and they seem to compliment the room very well. On top of that, a chandelier hangs from the ceiling, illuminating the entire room with its brightness and beauty.

Sitting inside this room with Master Hand was Fox, Falco (holding Big Top), Knuckles, Little Mac, and Doc Louis. All of these individuals are associated with the fledgling record company Star Records - well, Doc has little association, he allowed Little Mac to sign with the company after the boxer enticed him with chocolate bars. Basically chocolate was all Mac needed to win over his trainer.

Also present in the room was Mario, Master Hand's second-in-command, and Isabelle, the lovely assistant. This cute yellow dog was taking notes on her notepad, and the conversation hasn't even started yet, so it's assumed that she's busy drawing random doodles and wasting precious notepad paper.

"Ryu has brought to my attention that you five individuals are attempting to jumpstart a record label," said Master Hand. He had to keep his voice moderately low, since his usual voice could shake the very room. "Is this true?"

"Three-fourths true," replied Doc Louis, happily chomping on a chocolate bar. "I only allowed Mac to partake in this record company thing if he promises to give me infinite chocolate bars!"

"Those chocolate bars are going to make you more obese than you already are..."

"Oh yeah, well Wario thinks he can eat all the junk food he wants, and he never gains any weight!" Doc Louis was rather feisty when he made this comment, and he cooled down immediately when he realized who he was going up against. Even if you're a tough-as-nails dude like Doc, you _never_ would want to upset Master Hand.

 **Fox: Why would Master Hand of all people...erm, beings...be interested in some record company?  
Falco: He might have an ulterior motive, he wants to use the company to make some dough and become ruler of the world! His number one goal: make hand fetishes acceptable everywhere!  
Fox: Now I wouldn't mind hand fetishes, it doesn't sound that creepy. But if it were foot fetishes... *shudders***

"Anyways, back to the conversation at hand," Master Hand continued the conversation. "Where exactly is this Star Records located at?"

"As of this moment, there is no venue for Star Records!" Big Top replied. If Master Hand had a face, he would probably facepalm.

"So MC Ballyhoo originally started-a the record company, and he had-a yet to establish a venue..." stated Mario. Very, very peculiar in retrospect. Mario has known MC Ballyhoo as an opportunistic fellow during his time at the Star Carnival, so for the emcee to not find a venue already is quite startling, to say the least.

"We were thinking about starting the company here at the mansion, and expand from there," Falco said to Master Hand. The giant hand thought over this idea; had he possessed a chin, he would stroke it for an awfully long time.

"Starting the company here would be a feasible idea," he pondered. "After all, you do need to raise money to get that device for Whom-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"And how might this person be?" asked Isabelle, waggling her tail out of utter intrigue.

"Let me handle the conversation Isabelle, and keep on taking notes, will you?"

"Yes sir..." Isabelle nodded nervously. She would never want to upset Master Hand, and face his wrath - a cute, cuddly person like her would be shambled by the hand's massive rage.

"There's a lot of spare rooms in the mansion, we could use one of them to set the company up," suggested Knuckles. Another thing for Master Hand to think over...and another instance he yearns for a chin to stroke. Is stroking Mario's chin worth it?

"What about-a the large room on the fifth-a floor?" asked Mario. The fifth floor is the highest floor of the mansion - a floor very few brawlers frequent. Greninja is one of the few brawlers that visit the fifth floor, and because he's such a mysterious Pokemon, his intentions for going up there have yet to be revealed.

"Nobody hardly uses the fifth floor in general, except for Greninja..." stated Master Hand. "...so it seems like a perfect fit for starting the record company. Congratulations Fox and Falco, you are now allowed to start Star Records on the fifth floor of this very mansion!"

"Sweet!" Fox exchanged high-fives with Falco. Knuckles and Little Mac silently pumped their fists in the air. And Doc Louis? He's too busy eating his beloved chocolate bars to give a care.

"I hope you will all remember the task at hand," Master Hand said sternly. "Whom-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named may not know it, but they're kinda depending on you..."

 **Isabelle: Who exactly is this Whom-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? This person sounds so intriguing...hope they're not like Voldemort, being turned to stone if you say their name!...That's the reason why the wizards from _Harry Potter_ referred to Voldemort as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, right?**

"So how about that record deal?" Knuckles asked Fox and Falco. Like his friend Sonic, the echidna is always impetuously heading off into things.

"Woah Knuckles, let's chill out for a bit!" said Little Mac, trying to be a minor voice of reason. "We have a lot of stuff to take care of first!"

* * *

Being the mischievous person that he was, Pit is prone to pulling off pranks, some of which fall under the category of randomness, stupidity, or both. Today's prank was no different - the angel, with his trusty (and smarter) sidekick Kirby, was in the gaming room, poking people. No, not on Facebook - he was poking people _physically._ Ike was the first brawler to become victimized by Pit's ever-apparent stupidity.

"Sup Ike, mind if I poke ya?" Pit approached the swordsman, who was coolly leaning against the wall. In order to evince the confidence and swagger he so righteously has, he must externally show everyone that he has those qualities down pact.

"If you were a girl, then yes," answered Ike. "But there's no way I would let a dude..." Before he could finish, Ike was poked in the stomach by Pit. The swordsman frowned as he clenched his teeth in anger, and pulled out his sword. Pit just messed with the wrong guy!

"Save me Kirby!" the angel grabbed the pink puffball and used him as a living shield. Kirby is jovial all the time, and he's feeling that way right now, so he certainly doesn't mind about the possibility of being torn into pieces by Ike.

 **Kirby: *holds up a drawing off Pit using him as a shield against an angry Heihachi Mishima***

"Hi Pit!" Viridi sneaked up on Pit, causing the angel to scream and throw Kirby up in the air. The puffball was stuck in the ceiling, but with his happy self, he's probably enjoying it.

"I'll go retrieve your friend," Ike told Pit as he exited the gaming room and headed upstairs. Look at that Ike, such a great guy.

"So Pit, I've been wondering..." Viridi gave a cheesy grin, preparing herself for the question she was about to ask. "Do you...like me?"

"I...I guess," Pit simply shrugged. His response was all Viridi needed; the goddess of nature swelled up with joy inside.

 **Viridi: I don't believe it...he didn't say no! Other times when I asked him that question, he would be all like "Nah", or "No way"...but this time he didn't say any of that! We're making progress I tell you!**

"Oh okay, I was just asking," said Viridi, too happy for words, even though she said a few just now. "Before I leave, I just can't thank you enough from saving me from Link."

"Link is usually that angry, it's not that much of a biggie," replied Pit. "Well, I should be going now."

"Wh-Where could you possibly be heading off to?" asked Viridi, feeling exasperated. Her working chemistry with Pit has to be kept up!

"Got a lot more people to prank with Kirby. We were just getting started..."

"You have been spending enough time with Kirby. Why not the both of us prank people together?" At first, Viridi was reluctant against pranking with Pit - going about poking random brawlers sounds very awkward - but she'll have to do whatever it takes to get on his side of things.

"Yeah that sounds like a great idea!" Pit nodded his head. Viridi, you're gonna regret doing this later. Best to get yourself out of this mess when you can.

* * *

"Villager and Alph really did that?!" Link reacted in the cafe, where Zelda was telling the Hylian about the horrendous skits she and the other brawler performed in the meeting room while tourism was running rampant in the mansion. He learned about Jacky's ridiculous flopping, Diddy riding atop Luigi like a horse, Ganondorf wearing a suit, Yoshi's messed up eardrums, and Wario evoking rage upon everyone because he never won anything for his group's skit. Link was discouraged to have missed out on so many funny moments and instances; if only his sword wasn't stolen.

"Our skit wasn't that great either," said Zelda. "Mario never gave us any time to rehearse, everything was rushed and disjointed."

"Pika pi!" Pikachu jumped atop the table Link and Zelda were sitting at. In his mouth was an envelope. Zelda could tell by the lettering on said envelope that it was specifically meant for her...or Sheik, rather.

"The postman must have been doing his usual rounds today," the princess assumed as she took the envelope and opened it, taking out a letter. Because what else would you fit inside a letter? "'Dear Sheik, I'm afraid that our usual grounds has been violated. Let's spend one last time together, before they take our freedom away. Sincerely, your best friend...'"

"Sheik has a best friend?" smirked Link. Ninjas are known to be individualistic and independent, so this was a bit of a shock for Link.

"You wouldn't understand..." Zelda replied, looking the other way.

 **Link: Sheik has a friend, huh? Zelda has a lot of things to tell us about her alter ego...like, what if she was actually a dude, according to fandom? That would really break Captain Falcon's heart...**

 **Captain Falcon: Sheik is Zelda's alter ego? Gimme a break! Why would a gal like Zelda purposely transform into someone that's better-looking and more top-tier than her? Sounds like an act of desperation if you ask me!**

"Where do you think you're heading?" Link asked Zelda as the princess got up from her seat. Clearly she's hiding something, Link just knows it.

"My business is none of your concern," Zelda replied as she exited the cafe. Link and Pikachu watched her leave.

"Zelda clearly knows more about Sheik than anyone else." Well duh, Sheik is Zelda's alter ego, after all! Zelda knows her alter ego like the back of her hand. "Perhaps some investigating will lead to some clues regarding Sheik. Wanna help out, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" the mouse Pokemon happily obliged. All Link needed one more companion, and he knew just the person...

* * *

At the fitness center, Cloud was busy lifting some heavy weights. He has been slack on his workouts ever since he arrived at the mansion, and even saw the muscle mass in his arms decrease - thankfully it was't anything dramatic. While the swordsman was working out, Link and Pikachu approached him.

"Sup Link, how's it going man?" asked Cloud, lifting the weights above him with all his strength. His friendship with Link is so strong, he can use his muscle memory to detect where the hero of Hyrule is.

"Cloud, I want you to join Pikachu and I in following Zelda," Link told the blonde. "She had received a letter sent to Sheik from some "best friend", and with the three of us, we can..."

"No, no, and no. Count me out on this."

 **Cloud: I suspect Captain Falcon to be behind this...no way Link out of the blue would want to follow his girlfriend around, just to see what Sheik's up to. Falcon might be upset about Zelda being in love, and is using Link to gain knowledge about Zelda. And when the time comes, he's gonna get Zelda to break up with Link, so he can be with her. That's just my two cents...wouldn't be astonished in the slightest if my theory were to come true.**

"Fine then, have it your way," sighed Link. "Guess us two will be handling things by ourselves. The Hylian and his Pokemon companion departed from the fitness center.

"Dude seriously needs to get a grip," Cloud shook his head, continuing his weight lifting. He had better things to do than dabble in Link's mischief.

* * *

Sonic found something in the mansion's recycling bin that he probably shouldn't. And he was going to show it to his best friend Tails. He has no idea how the fox will react, but he hopes it won't be anything over-the-top.

"Hey Tails, buddy!" Sonic greeted his friend as he entered the room. "You won't believe what I found!"

"Oh boy, I can't hold in my excitement," Tails responded sarcastically. A noogie or a wet willie is what he most expects from these types of situations.

"Check it out!" Sonic revealed what he had in his hands - food stamps. Tails stared at them precariously, then looked at Sonic. The hedgehog's means of acquiring these stamps is what greatly concerned him.

"Sonic, where did you even get these?" Tails asked, nervously feeling that Sonic's discovery of the food stamps might lead to a jumbled mess with no solution.

"Found them in the recycling bin," Sonic coolly replied, seemingly bragging about his find. Dude would brag about printing a one-age essay in the printing room, like it's a major accomplishment.

 **Sonic: Have no idea how these food stamps are supposed to work, but by the looks of it, they look pretty neat! Perhaps I can start my own food stamps business, and raise more money than Wario! I might even put Wario Ware Inc. out of business! Only thing Wario would be able to do is swim in his own money...you know what, he deserves to keep his company.**

"It would be best to give those food stamps away," suggested Tails, being the voice of reason. His reason never resonates on Sonic, however. "Food stamps are meant for low-income households, and they're given out by the government!"

"Who knows, Tails, these foods stamps might be for high-income households!" Sonic generalized, with his insensitive thinking. No such food stamps exist, for high-income families already have their wants and needs.

"Seriously doubt it, the government would never supplement nutritional assistance to families in the middle class and above. It would be asinine!"

"Middle-class families got to eat too!" Sonic pointed out, oblivious to what financial standings those middle-class families already have.

"Look, Sonic, I'm not gonna tarry on in this conversation anymore. Return those food stamps were they came from!"

"You want me to put them back in the recycling bin?"

"You know it, I'll handle this..." A frustrated Tails grabbed the food stamps and exited the room. Time to handle some business on his own...

* * *

Fox, Falco, Knuckles, Little Mac, and Doc Louis made their way to the fifth floor, which was practically deserted. Dust covered most of the hallways; a tumbleweed even bounced crossed.

"Mr. Game & Watch must have completely neglected this place..." remarked Fox. He hasn't seen a place so unkempt since he witnessed Falco's room at the hotel they were staying in.

"No matter, we must find the room to start Star Records!" said Little Mac. "I see a door!" The boxer pointed at a giant door in the middle of the hallway. It was neatly designed, and was the only thing that didn't have any dust on it.

"Let's open it!" Knuckles rushed to the door, and tried to open it. But it wouldn't budge, not one it. So he punched the door, and still nothing happened. Maybe if he had the Master Emerald, his punch would be much, much stronger.

 **Knuckles: Knew I should have brought the Master Emerald with me to the mansion...instead I had Big the Cat of all people to watch over it for me while I'm away...You said that Big accidentally threw the emerald overboard at a cruise?! The same cruise Sonic and I and the others were on?! Ooooh, that dumb cat's gonna get it now...**

"You're doing it wrong," Little Mac approached Knuckles, unimpressed by the echidna's fruitless attempt. "This is how it's done!" The boxer winded up his arm, and punched the door with all his might...only to hurt himself. "Youch!" Mac took his glove off - revealing an unkempt hand - and massaged it. Thank goodness there's only four people in the hallway, in shock and awe of Little Mac's grotesque hand.

"Um, Little Mac...do you ever cut your fingernails?" a concerned Falco asked. Mac's fingernails were like that of a vulture's talons. His toenails are probably much worse...

"I wear my boxing gloves at all times, how am I supposed to know?!" responded Mac. Manicure is clearly not his forte.

"Well somebody gonna have to open that door sooner or later," stated Doc. "Need a place to store all these candy bars!" He seriously brought his candy bars with him? Typical Doc...

* * *

Mario whistled happily to himself as he strolled down the hallways of the mansion. His eye soon caught a distressed Mega Man X, interacting with the mansion's security system. The looks on his face suggest that something in the system went awry.

"Is-a there a problem?" Mario asked the robot. Next to X was a toolbox; rarely do you see a robot having to use one. Something is _very_ wrong with the security system.

"Security system's acting up," replied X, clarifying the issue at hand. "It doesn't want to work anymore, no matter what solutions I find, I always keep getting an error message..."

"Hopefully no-a one didn't mess-a with the system."

"Oh, but I'm afraid someone has...on numerous occasions even!"

Mario gasped...then started to wonder why he gasped in the first place when the magnitude of the situation isn't as large as he's making it out to be.

 **X: This isn't the first time the security system has been hacked...in fact, I would say this would be the sixteenth time it's transpired. At this moment, I don't know any suspects behind the hackings...but if I could bet on one person, it would have to be King Dedede. He and the NME Salesman frequently hold chugging contests, and the king might have hacked the system just so the salesman can sneak in. Because if you look up online, the NME Salesman is a tad taller than Meta Knight...only human to my knowledge that can't operate a vehicle, let alone use the bathroom!**

"A lot of smart-a folks in this mansion..." Mario stroked his chin. "...except for Pit." Thankfully he clarified that statement, it was already sounding false. "Foul-a play is definitely among the brawlers here."

"Why not interrogate everyone?" suggested X. "Have Master Hand at your side to guilt trip people into tell you what they know!"

"Good idea X, you're perhaps-a the smartest of the folks! Why-a is that so?"

"Because...I'm...a robot?" X eyed around conspicuously. Mario should feel ashamed to ask that question, he already knows the answer.

"Interrogation will-a start now. I have-a no time to lose!" Mario departed, leaving X back to working on the security system. Sure, he won't find a solution in due time, but it's not like he has anything else better to do.

* * *

Link and Pikachu looked everywhere for Zelda, but the princess was nowhere to be found. She wasn't in the kitchen, the gaming room, or the pit black room where Viridi had her table-lit meeting with Pit. (Who knows if that room will ever be used again.) So the duo went to Zelda's room to investigate and search for clues.

"Are you guys on a mystery case?" asked Lloyd, Zelda's roommate. Dude can't go a single minute without annoying anyone. "May I join?"

"Our business is none of your concern," replied Link, rummaging through Zelda's beauty products. Beauty products are no man's land for men, especially if they belong to your girlfriend.

 **Lloyd: I know why Link's working with Pikachu on a mystery case...he's recreating the _Great Detective Pikachu_ game! By working with Pikachu, Link can understand the English he might be using, and together they can solve more mysteries around the mansion! Oh man, why didn't I solve mysteries with Pikachu earlier, I have no idea what I'm missing out on!**

"You know, it's not nice to go through a lady's belongings," stated Lloyd. He's the resident snitch, so he'll tell Zelda all about what Link and Pikachu were doing in the room.

"Shut up and leave us alone," replied Link. Watch Lloyd snitch about Link's retort to Zelda too.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu held up a shuriken, lying atop Zelda's dresser. Link walked over to Pikachu and took the shuriken, holding it in his hand.

"Weird, I don't remember Sheik ever using shurikens before," the Hylian inspected the shuriken. Usually Sheik resorts to needles in her battles; shurikens are nowhere to be found in her arsenal.

"You're mystery is concerning Sheik?" Lloyd grinned. "Always knew you liked her more than Zelda, you're just hanging out with Zelda just so you can get closer to Sheik!"

"I don't like Sheik, and besides, her and Zelda are the same person." Lloyd himself doesn't seem to comprehend this, believing that Sheik is an early ancestor of Zelda that the princess of Hyrule transforms into in times of need. Changes in eye and hair color are the reasons for his strange rationale.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu said to Link, suggesting that the two depart from the loser that is Lloyd Irving and search for more clues elsewhere in the mansion. Granted, he didn't say the former part, but he wouldn't be lying if he did.

"More clues are abound!" Link said as he and Pikachu left the room, leaving Lloyd all by himself. The swordsman badly wanted to be a part of things, but his nature prevents him from being invited in any particular activity. He isn't the least likable person in the mansion for nothing...

* * *

As part of her little bonding with Pit, Viridi offered to take Kirby's place in some pranking around the mansion. This prank involved poking brawlers, and the concept was hard for Viridi to wrap her head around.

"How is poking people considered a prank?" Viridi asked Pit. The two were in the arcade room, and many brawlers were present - a perfect for Pit to do his pranking magic.

"So you know how you can poke people on Facebook?" the angel asked. "I'm going to ask brawlers if I can poke them - on Facebook! The prank failed kinda failed the first time around with Ike." Viridi was now starting to regret coming along with Pit for this "prank".

 **Viridi: Pit is a double-edged sword of sorts. He's overbearingly cute beyond words, but he's so dumb and stupid he couldn't even spell Lady's Palutena's name even if his life depended on it! But I love a good project...**

"That's our first victim over there," Pit pointed at Heihachi, who was minding his own business while he was stealing arcade tokens without Pac-Man there to monitor the room. He's a villain, after all, so he has to remain true to his affiliation.

"Not so sure if this is a good idea..." said Viridi. Heihachi has all the looks of a bad dude - arched eyebrows, a wicked hairstyle, and a tiger kung fu outfit to boot. You definitely don't want to mess with this guy, ever.

"Just watch and learn..." Pit strolled to Heihachi, confident that the prank will work out well. "Heihachi, mind if I poke ya?" he asked the Japanese kung fu fighter.

"Pitto wa, anata ōheina orokamono wa, naze anata wa watashi o pranking ni kodawaru nodesu ka?" a furious Heihachi asked. "Anata ga saigo no jikan o oboeteinai, anata wa sore o yatta, anata wa ikite iru buki to shite anata no shin'yū kābyi o shiyō shimashita ka?"

"...So do you want to be poked or not?" At least Pit wasn't like Wolf, and immediately assumed Heihachi said yes, even though he had a mouthful to say.

"Īe, watashi wa tsuki suru koto o kyohi shimashita!" Heihachi growled, dropping the tokens and bracing himself for the beatdown he's going to lay on Pit. The angel whimpered in fright; he knew he should have pranked Toad, he's much less of a threat.

"Woah, woah, woah, settle down boys!" Pac-Man jumped in between Pit and Heihachi. "Just because I was helping Corrin with how to use a piggy bank doesn't mean you can't start any brawls while I'm away!" Corrin doesn't know how to use a piggy bank? Kids start using them at the age of five, is the guy really that sheltered?!

"Hey Pac-Man, you wanna be poked?" asked Pit. The yellow man gave the angel a questionable look; what honest person would ask someone such a question?

"I dunno man, I'm quite the ticklish fellow..." Pac-Man is like the Pillsbury doughboy, one little touch and he'll be giggling in an instant.

"No I mean a Facebook poke! You know, when you poke people online!"

"Ooh, I like the sound of that! Let me get my phone out now..."

"Mattaku tsuttsui wa sonzai shimasen!" Heihachi delivered a strong punch at Pac-Man, sending him flying out of the arcade room, before turning his attention to Pit. "Anata wa izen no itazura no tame ni shiharawanakereba narimasen!"

"Leave my precious Pit alone!" Viridi rushed to Pit's side, standing in front of the angel. She couldn't bear to see her love hurt in any capacity.

"Naze anata wa kono baka o aishi tsudzukeru ni jizoku shimasu ka? Kare wa nioi bakada, daremoga imamade kare o aishite inaideshou!"

"Have no idea what you're saying, but I know it's something negative about Pit. And for your information, he's the greatest person I've ever known!"

 **Heihachi Mishima: Viridi wa sono baka pitto de kanojo no jikan o muda ni sa rete imasu. Shikashi kanashī ka na, kanojo wa kanojo ga tsukutte iru machigai o jitsugen suru tame ni amarini mo koiwazuraidesu. Osokare hayakare, kanojo wa kanojo no kankaku ni kite, darekaga yori sumāto katsu shikaku no hidzuke yo...kurai pitto no yōna!**

"Let's go Pit, we don't have to tarry here!" Viridi grabbed Pit's hand and the two exited the arcade room. Pit was all confused; he had yet to fully prank Heihachi!

"Anata wa sono shōnen to koiniochite kōkai suru tsumoridesu!" Heihachi called out to Viridi.

* * *

Inside the printing room, Tails was shredding the food stamps. Seeing how poor they were in quality, he thought that returning them to whoever they belonged to would be useless.

"Why was Sonic digging through the recycling bin in the first place?" asked Lucina, who assisted Tails in the shredding of the food stamps. She's certain that Sonic was in the recycling bin looking for chili dogs; it had to be the most viable reason for the hedgehog to be doing such a thing.

"Not sure, but then again, it's Sonic, he's very predictable," replied Tails. And would you know it, the hedgehog entered the printing room...with more food stamps. "Where do you find these food stamps from?!"

"From the recycling bin?" Sonic raised an eyebrow, though it is technically nonexistent. "C'mon Tails, add two plus two, it's not that hard to do..."

"I must dispose of these immediately!" Tails grabbed the food stamps from Sonic and threw them down the shredder. Their value would be gone forever.

"Ah well, have it your way! I'll go look in the bin again for more food stamps, I already redeemed of some them for..."

"You redeemed the food stamps?!" asked Lucina. "For what reason?!"

"So I could get some free food..." Sonic eyed around the room, believing that Lucina is at fault for being raised during medieval times. "Man, you and Tails are not that bright! And to think you're supposed to be geniuses..."

"Where is this free food? We must see!"

* * *

Sonic took Tails and Lucina to the dining room, and on the table was a boatload of food. Fruits, vegetables, dairy products, and even frozen pizza - you name it, Sonic got it.

 **Sonic: The workers at the supermarket were too nice! When I showed them the food stamps, and they asked why I even had them, I told them that Dr. Eggman had defeated me, and destroyed my home, leaving me as a homeless bum. They were all touched by my made-up story, and they took my food stamps and I got the food in the process! Bunch of chumps they are!**

"Sonic, food stamps are actually meant for low-income families to use, you know that, right?" asked Lucina.

"Tried to tell him that earlier today..." sighed Tails. Apparently his plea didn't reach out to Sonic, not one bit.

"Thank you for this food, Sonic!" Robin approached Sonic. "With it, I can work on and perfect my cooking abilities!" His aspiration is to usurp Palutena as the mansion's head cook, and after taking into account the goddess of light's food quality, he feels that his goal is not that far from reach.

"Robin why are you allowing this behavior?" Lucina scolded the mage. Robin didn't seem to think anything was wrong. "Sonic is getting all this food off of food stamps, he's doing it all wrong!"

"Him getting food stamps to get food is better than depending on Wario to buy groceries," stated Robin. Wario usually buys junk food, he refuses to get anything healthy, because he claims it's not "American".

"So what if the government comes to us and..." Lucina was immediately shushed by Robin, who placed his finger on the swordswoman's lips.

"If, if, if...let's not jump to assertions and possibilities, just let this whole thing play out, and everything will be fine."

"Yeah, what he said!" Sonic agreed with the mage, if it meant he'll have freedom to continue using the food stamps.

"Fine, whatever, do what you want!" Lucina walked away from Robin, throwing her arms in the air out of frustration. "Don't come crying to me if you get reprimanded!" The swordswoman departed from the dining room. This is now Sonic _and_ Robin's problem, not hers and Tails.

"Wait up for me, Lucina!" Tails called out to fox, before saying the following to Sonic: "You're gonna have to pay for this sooner or later, Sonic." Then he left the dining room, leaving Sonic and Robin by themselves. And what did Sonic have to say about what Tails just said?

"How can I pay for food stamps? Or the food I bought?" the hedgehog wondered. Oh yeah, Sonic is definitely going to get what's coming to him.

* * *

It was now time for Mario - or Dr. Mario - and Isabelle to interrogate brawlers, asking them if they were hacking the mansion's security system. (Dr. Mario had asked Master Hand to join in the interrogations, but the hand saw the issue as Mario's problem, since the plumber was present when the system was installed.) First up was Mewtwo, and the genetic Pokemon was sitting in a chair in Dr. Mario's office.

"You're a Psychic-a Pokemon, you must-a have used your mind to mess-a with the security system!" Dr. Mario interrogated. Mewtwo looked offended by Mario's accusation; does his Pokemon knowledge, or the lack thereof, knows any bounds?

"Stereotyping much?" Mewtwo glared down Dr. Mario.

 **Mewtwo: Just because I'm some Psychic-type Pokemon doesn't mean I have some "mind-controlling abilities" as Dr. Mario believes. Nothing but baseless stigmatism if you ask me, you wouldn't assume Pikachu or Pichu have control over the electronics because they're Electric-type Pokemon, would you?**

"Where were-a you during the time-a of 4 o' clock in the morning?" Dr. Mario randomly asked. Most Pokemon don't stay up for that long.

"Asleep like everyone else in the mansion," replied Mewtwo. Dr. Mario slapped the Pokemon silly. Was that not the right answer?

"Wrong! You sleep in the Pokemon-a sanctuary, not the mansion! Know your-a place!"

"Well it's located within the Smash Mansion sooooo..."

"Are you-a getting smart with me?!" Dr. Mario's blood pressure raised. His face turned red, and nose was steaming out of his nose. Red face, and steaming nostrils - once you reached this peak of madness, there's not much you can do to revert back to your normal self.

"Dr. Mario, calm down!" Isabelle soothed Dr. Mario. "Mewtwo didn't inherently mean it...right, Mewtwo?"

"Yeah I wish..." Mewtwo scoffed.

Next up for interrogation was Mario's own brother, Luigi. This tall plumber seems like a meek and innocent fellow, but Dr. Mario didn't buy it, not one bit.

"I did-a nothing Mario, please release me at once!" implored Luigi. Of course he can't go a single minute without begging or whining.

"Not until we are-a done here!" frowned Dr. Mario. "And it's-a Dr. Mario, for your information! Anyways, we need-a to clarify a few things, like...when was the last-a time you and Daisy spoke?"

"Since we decided on-a our wedding date a few weeks-a ago." Luigi has only shared the information with Cloud, and still no one knows the date.

"What-a is the date?" Dr. Mario asked, sounding intrigued. How could Luigi keep the information secret from his own brother? Not cool, Luigi, not cool!

"Um...June-a 3rd?" June is the most popular month to get married, especially when you take the weather into consideration. This date also gives Luigi a great time-frame to make necessary plans for the wedding.

"How dare-a you get engaged and set a wedding-a date before I!" Dr. Mario slapped Luigi, feeling a very strong need to slap someone.

 **Dr. Mario: I must-a admit, Mewtwo and Luigi have somewhat-a "slappable" faces...maybe it's because-a of Mewtwo's cheekbones...and Luigi's long face...my urge to slap-a others knows no bounds whatsoever!**

"Luigi, before Daisy's birthday party began, did you hack the security system so you can let some "unwanted guests" inside the mansion?" asked Isabelle. So far she's the only reasonable person during the interrogations.

"Why I would-a never do such a thing!" attested Luigi, only to get slapped by Dr. Mario for a second time. Maybe Dr. Mario was right, maybe Luigi does have a very slappable face... "Why me..."

"If that's-a the case, then why did-a Waluigi show up at-a the party?" the doctor asked.

"Because he was begging-a you to invite him online?" Dr. Mario tried to remember this; an image of him, under his normal persona, letting Waluigi inside the mansion appeared in his head.

"Ah yes, I remember know. I'll-a let you off the hook...for-a now. You may leave."

The third person to be interrogated was Bayonetta. Dr. Mario has been _dying_ to ask her questions; regardless of the situation, he always views the Umbra Witch as a major suspect.

"So the security system was hacked?" said Bayonetta, smiling in a seductive way. "Cheeky..."

"Don't play-a dumb with me lady!" frowned Dr. Mario. A common trait of Dr. Mario - thinking the defendant is downplaying the situation by displaying a lack of knowledge. Master Hand told the doctor Isabelle should just handle things, and that he sits back and watch...and he said that for a good reason.

"We only called you forth because we believe that you're a strong candidate for the security system's hacking...and also because Dr. Mario is somewhat paranoid about you," stated Isabelle. The incident from episode 2 might have something to do with the doctor's paranoia. "Do you have any intelligence about who might have hacked the security system?"

"Hmmm, let me think..." Bayonetta thought over the question. If she wants to get out of Dr. Mario's office and resume her life, she would have to come up with a clever and genuine response that Dr. Mario and Isabelle won't be able to see through. "I believe it was..."

"YOU DID-A IT! I KNEW IT ALL ALONG!" Dr. Mario wrongly accused Bayonetta. "Always knew you were-a up to no good! Isabelle, throw her out of the mansion immediately!"

"But she didn't even claim herself to be guilty!" stated Isabelle. "And only Master Hand has the final say on who leaves the mansion!" Master Hand's proposition is looking very smart right now...

"Forget-a Master Hand, he's not a part-a of these interrogations!" Isabelle is getting a little frightened by Dr. Mario's temper...and something else.

"Mario get a hold of yourself man!"

"That's-a Dr. Mario to..." Dr. Mario began as he turned around...and saw Master Hand behind him. "...you?" He finished, suddenly intimidated by whom he was speaking to. Master Hand is the one guy - or being - that you don't want to mess with.

 **Master Hand: Some doctor Mario is...he didn't even know Isabelle had diabetes until Fox and Falco intruded upon her privacy on her laptop. Why in fact, he has yet to have a doctor's appointment with any of the brawlers! He knows I purposely didn't afford any insurance! I don't want that decision to go to waste because of his incompetence!**

"Have you found the perpetrator behind the security system hacking?" asked Master Hand, his voice booming even in the smallest of capacities, such as Dr. Mario's office.

"Oh yes, it was-a Bayonetta!" Dr. Mario quickly nodded his head, thereby giving away the feelings of fright and guilt.

"Not trying to save face, are you?" Bayonetta rested her hand on her cheek in a inquisitive manner.

"Show me the evidence that Bayonetta did it," demanded Master Hand. Dr. Mario looked around for "evidence" - anything that would prove to Master Hand Bayonetta is the perpetrator, even though she did no wrong.

"Aha!" Dr. Mario held up in his hand the only "evidence" he could find...a toothpick. A lousy toothpick. You can hack any system with a toothpick.

"That toothpick proves absolutely nothing. I'm going to need more hard-proof and concrete evidence to know that Bayonetta was the one that hacked the system. Isabelle, do you have any evidence to show to me?"

Isabelle bit her paw with her mouth, scared of what to do. Should she out Dr. Mario, and explain to Master Hand that no perpetrator has been found, or save Dr. Mario's behind by finding useless evidence? Knowing who she was going up against, the dog knew what was the best thing to do.

"Contrary to what Dr. Mario has told you, Master Hand, no perpetrator has been found," Isabelle stated. Dr. Mario's jaw literally dropped to the floor; how can she do him like that?! "Dr. Mario has been very hard during these interrogations, and we haven't gotten anywhere."

"Isabelle speaks the truth," said Bayonetta. "Don't believe her? Go ask Mewtwo and Luigi, they have been marginalized by the great Dr. Mario..."

"I see..." mused Master Hand. He's really desiring a giant chin to stroke. "Alright, Mario, or Dr. Mario, I don't care - either you find out the perpetrator before the end of the day, or you'll be sorry! Very, very sorry! Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir, you got it!" Dr. Mario hurriedly nodded his head. Never had he been under this much pressure under Master Hand.

* * *

Fox, Falco, Knuckles, Little Mac, and Doc Louis - but mostly everyone except for Doc, who was too busy eating his candy bars - were busy trying to pry open the giant door in the hallway of the fifth floor. They tried everything, but nothing could seem to get the door to budge.

"Sup fellas?" Captain Falcon greeted the men, accompanied by Zero. Neither Falcon nor Zero are familiar with the fifth floor, so they came to investigate.

"Master Hand said that you're setting up the record company up here, is that right?" asked Zero.

"Yeah, we're trying to start it up in this room, but the door won't move an inch," stated Fox. The pilot sat on the floor panting, after his many door-opening attempts failed miserably.

"Can you help us out?" asked Big Top, who sat on the floor and had watched the others work their butts off. Dude's gleeful he doesn't have any arms.

"Perhaps a secret knock is what you need!" Captain Falcon walked up to the door, and did a intricate knock. It was very complex - the flow, pattern, and variety has never been accomplished before!

"Get lost, and leave us alone!" a voice emitted from the door - a distinctly female voice. At least there was someone - or some _people_ \- behind the door.

"Several people must be inside that door!" exclaimed Little Mac. "They're probably trapped..."

 **Falco: By the sounds of it, a girl is locked behind that door! Sure hope it's a girl, and not some...guy with a high-pitched voice. But if it is a girl, I'll ask her out right away! Can't stay single forever!**

"Perhaps a wicked Falcon Punch will save them!" Captain Falcon said as he braced himself. Fire surrounded the racer, and the others were weary. Never have they seen Falcon so pumped up in their lives.

"I don't think it's necessary Falcon, we don't want to injure anyone..." stated Zero, looking for a nearby fire extinguisher to use in case things go awry.

"Have any you seen Zelda anywhere?" asked Link, who arrived at the fifth floor with Pikachu. In his hands was some clues he found - a shuriken, a ninja headband, and even a trophy that looked like something out of the Underworld. "Pikachu and I have been looking all over for her, and she's nowhere to be found..."

"You're not stalking Zelda, are you?" Fox raised an eyebrow. He had once considered stalking his girlfriend Krystal before, just to ensure that she wasn't seeing any other men, but knowing the consequences and repercussions of doing so, he decided against it.

"Ggggrrrrhhh..." Captain Falcon was getting even more pumped up. The flames was causing the temperature in the hall to raise expediently...

"Pit, can we quit it with this whole poking prank thing?" Viridi implored Pit as the two reached the fifth floor. Pit had suffered minor injuries from a few brawlers he tried to prank - a black eye from Wario, a sore knee from Ganondorf, and a bruise on his belly from Donkey Kong. Viridi did her darndest to talk the angel out of it, but Pit refused to listen.

"We won't stop until I successfully prank someone!" proclaimed Pit. "Or until you give it a shot. Whichever comes first. Why not prank Captain Falcon over there, he certainly wouldn't mind!"

"I don't think that's such a great idea..." Viridi saw that Falcon was now cloaked in flames. Is anyone going to call 9-1-1 and get a fire truck over here?!

"You'll never catch us!" Sonic sped inside the fifth floor, speeding past Pit and Viridi before handing the foot stamps in his hands to Knuckles. Apparently he found more of these food stamps, when will he ever learn? "Hide these right away!"

"Wait where did you even find these things?" Knuckles questioned, just when Robin entered the fifth floor panting and collapsing on the ground. Food stamps fell out of his hands in scattered across the floor.

"My legs have given up on me..." panted Robin. Dude was running like he was a track-and-field star, and he paid the price with extreme exhaustion. Pikachu eyed the food stamps near him, and picked one up.

"Pika pi?" the mouse Pokemon saw a picture of Bahamut on the food stamp he was holding. That could only mean one thing...

"It's over Sonic, hand over the food stamps immediately!" Tails entered the fifth floor, with Lucina right behind him. Must have been a wild goose chase going on inside the mansion...

 **Tails: Just when I thought Sonic came to his senses and got rid of the food stamps...he dug inside the recycling bin for more and redeemed them for even more food. Why hasn't Master Hand punished him yet?**

"Hand us the food stamps or else!" Lucina commanded Sonic. But the hedgehog held up his hands, showing that he had nothing in his possession.

"What are these food stamps you speak of?" the hedgehog questioned. "I don't see any food stamps anywhere!"

"Then what is Pikachu doing right now?" Tails asked as Pikachu was shuffling through the food stamps, inspecting the design of each and every single one of them.

"Oh, uh, he's getting rid of them for me! Nice Pokemon..."

"Pika pika!" Pikachu held up a food stamp in his hand. Evidently he wants everyone to see.

"Aha, some-a evidence!" Mario showed up, grabbing the food stamp from Pikachu. "With these-a food stamps, I can prove whoever hacked-a the security system!" But will Master Hand accept this "evidence"?

"We have yet to find the actual perpetrator," stated Isabelle, who is accompanying Mario, though she had considered ditching him because of his ever-increasing insanity. "How will the food stamps help us?"

"Only one-a way to find out...who found these food-a stamps?"

"This guy!" exclaimed Sonic, pointing his thumbs at himself. It only took him a couple of seconds to realized what he just done. "Did I seriously out myself...?"

"So it was-a you!" Mario pointed at the hedgehog, who had no idea why he's being accused at all. "Always knew I slimy hedgehog like you would..."

"Falcon..." Captain Falcon has finally reached his limit, all the energy built up inside of him was ready to be unleashed.

"Um, guys..." Lucina tried to direct everyone's attention to the race car driver, fearful of the punishing attack he was ready to perform.

"PUNCH!" With all his might, Captain Falcon Falcon Punched the door, knocking it down on the floor with a thud.

And sitting inside the spacious room, at a circular table having a tea party, was Sheik, Greninja...and some female ninja. Everyone looked inside the room, and needless to say, they were all perplexed, mostly at the guest.

"Told you we should have barricaded the door!" the ninja girl snapped at Greninja. The ninja Pokemon looked away, too ashamed to look at Yuffie. What would a Water-type Pokemon like Greninja know about barricading doors?

 **Greninja: *holds head in sadness and sighs deeply***

"Who are you, and where did you come from?!" Mario furiously asked the ninja girl. Another ninja inside the mansion is not what the plumber expected.

"Seriously, you call yourself the most recognizable video game character, and you don't even know who I am?" said the ninja girl, feeling disgusted. Being from the gaming franchise she hails from should at least give her some notoriety. "The name's Yuffie Kisaragi, and I'm from Wutai. Bet you don't even know what that is, do you?"

"Yuffie Kisaragi...from Final Fantasy?" Link raised an eyebrow. Meeting Yuffie at the mansion of all places was a bit extraordinary.

"Yup, that's right! And these two right here - Sheik and Greninja - are two of my best friends! I even share some of my stuff with them!" The shuriken, the ninja headband, and the trophy - these were items Yuffie presumably shared with Sheik (and perhaps Greninja as well).

"Greninja has friends," Pit quietly snickered. Most people assumed Greninja to be the strong anti-social type, not wanting to be friends with anyone - or anything for that matter.

"I would sneak inside the mansion every week just to have tea parties with these two. When you installed that dumb security system, it became harder for me to get inside without being detected. So, I found a way to hack the system, and continue our tea parties without interruption! Though it would be nice if I didn't leave lying about the food stamps I steal from random people in the forests outside the mansion...I keep forgetting to retrieve them..."

"Food stamps?" asked Sonic, beginning to feel slightly guilty...

"Finding food in the forest is quite the hassle, so I just steal food stamps so I can get some actual grub."

"You're not talking about these, are you?" Sonic grabbed the food stamps from Knuckles and showed them to Yuffie. The ninja's eyes widened.

"That's it! The food stamps from Midgar! With the Bahaumut designs! Where'd you find these?!"

"In the recycling bin outside the mansion. Mr. Game & Watch is in charge of what goes in the recycling bin, so you should be thanking him for not shredding them or anything like that...but, since I found these for you, I deserve more thanks than..."

"Stop," commanded Tails. Just in the nick of time, before Sonic goes on with his cocky and arrogant self.

 **Sonic: Well I did show to Yuffie that the food stamps were in one peace...is that not enough credit? And Tails said that I was gonna pay for the food stamps...but not a single penny was spent! Boy I tell you, that kid makes anything an overblown issue!**

"Mario!" Master Hand randomly appeared behind the plumber, startling him. "Have you found the perpetrator yet?"

"The black-haired girl sitting at the table over there was the one that hacked the security system," explained Mario. The burden of "having to pay" for his inability to crack the case was finally lifted off Mario's shoulders.

"A non-brawler dares to hack the system and sneak inside MY mansion?!" Master Hand's booming voice caused some of the ceiling to crumble. Yuffie cowered in fear, realizing she just upset the most powerful being in the Smash Universe. "Why did you do it, little girl?!"

"Because I just wanted to spend some quality time with Sheik and Greninja in the privacy of this room..." Yuffie bowed her head. "And the word out is that this room is going to be used to start up some dumb recording company..."

"Girl you better take that back..." threatened Falco, his hot-headed temper boiling. Good thing Fox is there to soothe his avian friend.

"Hmmm...I see. Perhaps we can work out a proposition that will be satisfying for both parties."

* * *

So it was decided. Fox and Falco finally got the room on the fifth floor so they could begin Star Records. After everything was set up, Knuckles signed the company's first-ever record deal, and Little Mac signed the second. Doc Louis was a proud man...proud because with the company's earnings, he can get as much chocolate as he wants.

As for Yuffie and her pals, Master Hand - against his will - ordered Mr. Game & Watch to building a basement for the mansion, so the three ninjas can have their little tea parties. And speaking of tea parties...

"You're telling me you've been attending tea parties...and you never invited me?!" whimpered Peach, as Zelda was telling her about the tea parties she was having under her Sheik alter ego in the foyer.

"It's strictly ninja's only," Zelda explained without having to hurt Peach's feelings anymore. Concerning the topic of tea parties, Peach's emotional state is a mere equivalent of fine china. "But if you can adopt a ninja persona or alter ego, then maybe you can join us."

 **Peach: Ooh...a ninja persona sounds so tempting...but so un-ladylike at the same time! Having to get your hands dirty, and all this stealth and stealing items and...how does a dignified lady like Zelda able to pull that off?**

Also present in the foyer was Yuffie, who was speaking with Cloud. X had warned the young ninja that if she ever dares to hack the security system again, for any reason at all, she would be permanently banned from the mansion. And yes, that order was carried down from Master Hand. You seriously think X can be the authoritarian type? You must be out of your mind.

"Hacking security systems..." Cloud shook his head at Yuffie. "That is so like you. Had no idea you were a tech-savvy genius."

"Well I am a ninja..." Yuffie pointed out, suspecting if Cloud has completely forgotten what she is fully capable of. "All that tech-savvy stuff is extracurricular for us ninjas, by the way."

"Um, excuse me, but...do you mind if I poke you?"

Yuffie looked down, at saw Viridi. The goddess of nature was fiddling with her hands - what could she be possibly up to?

"You want to poke me?" smirked Yuffie. She was open to letting Viridi poke her...as long as she doesn't pull off anything funny. "Go ahead, I won't budge."

"Okay then, I'll poke you...on Facebook!"

"Wait, what?" Yuffie looked around confused, while Viridi was manically laughing to herself. Yuffie looked at Cloud, who simply shrugged; not even he knows what's going on.

"You did it!" exclaimed Pit, who sat a distance away from Viridi stuck in a wheelchair. Apparently he pranked Bowser -who's still on crutches - not so long ago, and the Koopa King gave the angel the beating of the lifetime. Now Pit he had listened to Viridi earlier...but at least he has Viridi pranking Yuffie to relish in.

 **Pit: I thought Bowser would be the perfect dude to prank. He was still ailing from the injury he suffered at the Pokemon sanctuary, and my belief was that if he retaliated with violence, he wouldn't be that effective because he's on crutches. Man I'm such a moron...  
** **Dark Pit: *walking by* Took you long enough to figure that out...**

"How did I do?" Viridi went over to Pit, gleeful as ever. Who knew pranking was this fun?

"You were awesome! Wanna go prank Lloyd?"

"Nah, he would be too easy...why not Yoshi?"

"I like the way you're thinking!" grinned Pit. Viridi pushed Pit on the wheelchair, and the two went away. Yuffie watched rather closely...

"Are those two...in love?" she asked Cloud. The swordsman thought over this for a bit, taking into account how Pit acted with Viridi just now.

"Yeah, I'd say so..." he responded.


	15. Episode 15: Suicidal

**Episode 15: Suicidal**

June 3rd. That was the day. The very day in which the clumsy and withdrawn Luigi marries the adroit and outspoken Daisy, the princess of Sarasaland. You couldn't ask for a more polar opposite soon-to-be married couple than this.

Luigi didn't want everyone to know the date yet; he would tell only certain brawlers. The first person he told was Cloud, because he knew the swordsman wouldn't go about telling anyone what date the wedding would take place because of his apathy and lack of carelessness. Then Luigi told Pikachu and Jigglypuff, since their lack of capabilities concerning the English language would make them unable to spread any information. Snake was also informed - the former spy likely forgot the information after Luigi told him, as the plumber had hoped.

And now Luigi's older twin brother Mario knows the date. Mario told Master Hand, and Master Hand told someone else, and soon the information spread throughout the mansion like a wildfire blazing across the Pacific Northwest.

With the date of the wedding now ingrained in the brain of every brawler (except for Snake), many of the brawlers took the time to prepare Luigi for the wedding earlier than expected. Doing so would make the plumber feel a lot more comfortable when the day comes. Marth happened to be one of those brawlers, and he was discussing things with Luigi inside the plumber's room.

"The only reason why I'm helping you is because I'm the only person at the mansion that is currently married," stated the Hero King. Unless you're like the brawlers and completely forgotten this factoid, Marth is married to Caeda. She is but a minor character in _Fire Emblem_ history, so you can't blame everyone for getting Marth's martial status mixed up. "In order to get you ready for your big wedding, we must fill out a checklist of objectives. First objective - work on a budget. How much are you willing to spend on the wedding?"

"Is $35 million out-a of our range?" asked Luigi, chuckling nervously. Marth gave the plumber a blank stare - $34 million is _way_ out of the budget. Ain't no way Master Hand is spending such a gaudy amount for a wedding!

 **Marth: $35 million... *shakes his head* $35 million...What does Luigi think he is, Prince William? He thinks he's gonna ride on some state carriage with Daisy throughout Seattle, and have street parties throughout the state of Washington? Or even worse - a giant statue of him and Daisy would be built in their likeness in the middle of the city! If you ask me, statues have become overrated as of late; when was the last time you ever had a discussion about the Statue of Liberty?**

"Sure, $35 million sounds-a like a lot of money, but it will compensate for all of the guests!" explained Luigi. In his pocket was a guest list he has been working on for the longest now, and at the point he is right now, he's unable to stick his list inside his small pocket.

"Speaking of which, the guest list is the second objective on our checklist," stated Marth. "Have you considered any invites?"

"Oh, did I!" Luigi pulled out his guest list...which landed on the floor, rolled out of the room and through the hallways and down the steps, until it finally finished unraveling itself at the first floor in the foyer. Take away the writing on it, and one could easily mistake this list as toilet paper.

"Ooh, conveniently placed toilet paper, just what I need!" exclaimed King Dedede, who was present in the foyer. The penguin tore off a piece of the list, and brought it with him to the bathroom. "Hmm, I wonder why all these names are on here...why is Professor E. Gadd's name listed?"

"...We'll have to trim down the guest list later," said Marth. His intentions regarding the wedding involves making it the best day in Luigi's and Daisy's lives, he's not here to break any unofficial wedding records! "Next, we have to find the venue for the wedding. Have you thought of anything?"

"I was thinking about-a this," Luigi held up a brochure for the Olympic Sculpture Park, located within Seattle. It had nine acres, and included a sculpture museum and a beach. Seemed like a nifty venue for the wedding.

"The decor and landscape looks awfully nice...I shall take this location into consideration. Now the last thing we need to take care of for today is finding the officiant for the wedding." Officiants are individuals who perform the wedding activities; they usually say stuff like, "Do you take so-and-so as your lovely wife/husband..." at the wedding, and then they order you to kiss your bride/groom in front of those who might be creepily watching you kiss your spouse.

"Where-a on earth are we gonna find an-a officiant? We only have-a two or so months-a to spare!"

"Finding a suitable officant will be one of the more harder objectives on our checklist. It will be hard to find the perfect guy to serve that role. My goal is to have Chrom serve as the officiant as a last resort, hopefully he'll come around..."

Luigi knew that enticing Chrom would be hard to do, especially given the role he would be offered. The swordsman tries to stray away from anything remotely romantic - he still despises being considered a "romantic expert" - and his current martial status could be a major attribute for why he tends to do so.

* * *

 **Zero: So I did some exploring in the fifth floor earlier this week, and I saw a medium-sized at the end of the hall. I suggested to Master Hand that we should move the recording studio from the third floor to the room I discovered on the fifth floor, so Knuckles and Little Mac wouldn't have to worry about going down to the third floor, and he was down with my suggestion. It would be very convenient for not only them, but for Fox and Falco as well. Since the room where the recording studio was had become available, I asked Master Hand if I could turn the room into some sort of workshop, and he quickly obliged!**

Inside the newly created workshop, Zero was working on a new invention. This invention would change the very landscape of the world - the universe even - and in order for the invention to successful, the robot must first perfect its prototype. Many successful things and people have started off as prototypes - just look at John Cena, his ring name was "The Prototype" when he started wrestling, and look at him now - a multiple time WWE champion, and the undisputed champion of Internet memes.

"Sup Zero what are you working on?" Sonic walked inside the workshop. Knowing him, he's probably just being overly noisy.

"I'm working on a new invention," explained Zero. Nothing new here; Zero is always working hard, either repairing machinery or creating a new one. "It's a new-age printer that prints whatever you say into a built-in mic. Kinda works as a vocal typewriter in a way."

"Ew, you're inventing a printer? So lame!" Like you can invent something better...but we all know you can't, because you don't have the intelligence nor the patience to commit to making a new invention. "Did you give it a name yet? Is that the name at the top? Let's see what it says..."

"No don't read it out loud!" Zero covered the name of the printer, which was imprinted at the very top. "It's a security precaution. Something bad will happen if you say the name!"

"Yeah right. Saying the name of a lousy printer sounds like the most harmless thing ever."

"But not for this one. If you were to say the 'Vocalized Efficiency Printer 3500' out loud, then the printer will...aw crap."

Thanks to Zero, the Vocalized Efficiency Printer 3500 self-destructed, and millions of printer pieces rained over Sonic and Zero. All that work Zero had committed to inventing the prototype and perfecting it was now gone to waste.

"Quick question: why the number 3500?" Sonic asked Zero, who was glaring the hedgehog down. "Did you work on 3499 other printers, and they all self-destructed just like this one?" As great of a robot as Zero is, he wouldn't have all the time and willpower in the world to invent over 3000 printers.

"Get out of my workshop..." Zero seethed. Rarely is the robot angry, which must make Sonic one of the seldom people to tick him off.

"Um, does this workshop belong to everyone else? Just because this room was your idea doesn't mean that..."

"I said GET OUT!" Zero yelled at the top of his robotic lungs. Sonic scampered out of the room as Zero breathed heavily from the act of frustration he enacted on Sonic...now it was back to square one on the printer. But before Zero restarts his work on the prototype, he has some business to take care of...

* * *

Mario's date with Peach at McDonald's (of all places) was in a week. To keep his mind ready and focused in time for his date with the woman of his life, Mario played chess with King K. Rool. Don't take the Kremling's grotesque and gnarly visage for granted; he's an absolute beast at chess, and can beat you at your game. Just don't make any verbal jabs at his teeth, or giant eyes, and it'll be fair game.

"Ooh what a nice move!" Rool gleamed as Mario moved his knight near the Kremling's king, thereby putting him in check. Rool now had limited options - one bad move, and it's all over.

 **King K. Rool: The knight is the most underrated piece in chess; all the other ones are vastly overrated. "Look at me, I'm a bishop, I can move diagonally, only to get taken out by the queen in the fewest number of moves possible!" Can't believe the bishop and the knight have the same value, give me a break...at least the knight moves cooler...it moves in a freaking letter shape! The way it moves, so sexy and fine...just thinking about it gets me all aroused...**

Rool analyzed the battlefield before him. His king was now cornered by not only a bishop, but now by a knight as well. Should he take out the bishop and risk getting himself in check again, or move out of harm's way? The Kremling knew what to do...

"YOLO!" Rool yelled, going forth with the former option; he took the bishop out, and took his space. But little did he know that he had essentially placed himself in checkmate.

"Ha ha, you-a lost again!" taunted Mario. The plumber is currently on a winning streak, and has added another win to his win total.

"Ah well," Rool shrugged, "43rd time's the charm." Rool lost 43 chess matches?! He's supposed to be a better chess player than this, he's supposed to be one of the best in the mansion! Can't have Mario steal your thunder like that!

"Mario can I have a word with you?" Zero approached the plumber. Since the chess match has ended, now would be the perfect time to converse with Mario.

"Sure-a thing, what's up?" Mario is perhaps one of the most easiest guys to get along with; if you were to told him you crashed his car into a telephone pole, he would give a consoling smile (or a half-smile, depending on how badly damaged his car is).

"Sonic has been more annoying than usual lately...today he caused me to make the newest invention, a printer, I was working on self-destruct on his own, and because of him..."

"How did he make you cause the printer's self-destruction?" Mario raised an eyebrow. A lack of information and details has already made Zero's story confusing.

"Also, why invent a new printer?" Rool chimed in. "Couldn't you try to invent a riding hoverboard, or anything else cool like that?"

"Well I think it's an awesome invention, it's never been done before, it can print whatever you say into a mic, and..."

"Yeah a riding hoverboard sounds cooler." Rool has a bunch of henchmen at his lair, maybe he can order them to invent a riding hoverboard. However, they're dumber their rocks - which is a major insult to rocks in itself - so what's the point?

 **Zero: Hoverboards, I'm doing as much to stay away from. The normal hoverboards that people are using today are an epidemic and a plague to society - people are either using them to satisfy their lazy indulgences, or they're falling off of them and hurting themselves. How hoverboards caught on within popular culture, as well as those new dance crazes the crazy urban kids come up with, is a concept I'm still trying to wrap my head around.**

"In response to Sonic's annoyances, I was thinking..." Zero continued. "...would it be a good idea to ban him from the mansion?"

Mario looked at the robot, his face appalled with dismay. Sonic, one of the most recognizable video characters in history, banned from the mansion? Not even King K. Rool could fathom this!

"Why would-a we want to do that-a for?" asked Mario, wondering if Zero was a little insane in the membrane.

"No it's nothing drastic, it would only be a temporary ban," clarified Zero. The degree in which he proposed his idea was way higher than he wanted it to be. "Just kick Sonic out of the mansion for a few days, and once he learns his lesson and stops being annoying, we'll let him back in."

"Hmmm..." Mario stroked his chin, thinking over Zero's idea. Sonic would absolutely struggle outside all by himself, he would have no drive or intention to do things. But on the other hand, he could give his girlfriend Amy Rose a visit...if Amy wasn't such an obsessive girlfriend. "I'll tell Master Hand-a about your idea, he'll have-a the final say."

"Don't mind if I intervene in this conversation, but what about Lloyd?" asked Rool. As you might now by now, Lloyd is perhaps the most insufferable person in the mansion, even more so than Wario. "He's just as annoying as Sonic, if not worse!"

"Lloyd is a lost-a cause, temporarily banning him won't-a do a thing."

* * *

Link was outside near the mansion's lake, fishing with Villager, Red the Pokemon Trainer, and Cloud. Cloud of all people was present because A) he and Link are obviously best friends, B) he wants to get into fishing, and C) it was the only thing he could do without being bothered as much.

"Seriously, another Feebas?" Red grimaced as he reeled the fish Pokemon out of the lake and threw it at the pile of Feebas and Magikarp, which will topple over the Pokemon trainer any given second. Today is obviously not Red's day, no interesting find for him.

 **Red: Someone must be at the bottom of that lake dictating who catches what! It can only explain why I keep catching all the crappy water-type Pokemon, and losers like Cloud and Link catch Pokemon like Relicanth and Lanturn! And Relicanth is supposed to be a rare Pokemon, why does Cloud have three already?  
** **Villager: Because he's more patient, and unlike you, doesn't pull the bait out after five seconds since "nothing exciting is happening"? I catch the same Pokemon as you, and you don't see me...  
Red: Aw, shut up, you catch Magikarp and Feebas because they're ugly, and they're attracted to hideous people just like yourself!  
Villager: So going by your theory, you're hideous too, right?  
Red:...I'm the only exception!**

Link threw his bobber into the lake, and immediately drew out a Floatzel. Unlike Red, Link has been on absolute fire today.

"Floatzel!" the sea weasel Pokemon cried. A large Pokemon like this one would be no fit for the pile of cool water-type Pokemon Link has already caught; what should the hero of Hyrule do with his catch?

"Oh Link!" Zelda called out his boyfriend's name. "May I speak with you for a minute?" When you're in a relationship, you have to make dire sacrifices, and now Link has to sacrifice his time fishing with the others.

"I'll watch over your Pokemon for you while you're away," Cloud said to his Hylian buddy. His number one task of this minor duty is to ensure that Red doesn't capture the Floatzel out of envy and jealousy.

"Thanks," Link replied as he headed over to Zelda, who took the Hylian somewhere near the mansion where they could not be seen. "What is it now?"

"You know how to drive, do you? Well, I've been taking this into heavy consideration, and...I want to learn how to drive."

Link slowly began to tear up when Zelda told him this. At first, the princess assumed that her boyfriend was proud of her decision about wanting to drive; Peach and Daisy do it, so why not her? But Zelda's assumption quickly died down when Link burst into tears...laughing.

"Oh man, oh man..." Link said, starting to cool down a bit. "I sure do love me a good April Fools joke...thanks for the laugh Zelda, I really needed one."

"Link I'm being serious. I'm tired of having to be driven all over the place." The way Zelda stated this shows how darn serious she is about riding behind the wheel.

"Okay I'll take it into consideration..." When Link said this, Zelda grabbed the Hylian's tunic and pulled her boyfriend close to her face. Now she's getting real serious.

"Listen to me Link! Does it look like I want to be catered around everywhere for the rest of my life?! Teach me how to drive Link, just this once!"

"...We shall start today!" proclaimed Link, prompting Zelda to let go of her tunic. That's a little episode Link probably doesn't want to experience again.

"When shall we get started? There's so much information for me to learn!"

"You can start off by studying this," Link whipped out a driver's manual. We won't question why Link even has the manual in his possession, but he carries a lot of unnecessary stuff with him everywhere he goes. "Meet me in my room at 5 o' clock, and we'll discuss the important details..."

* * *

In the previous episode, you seen Viridi join Pit in pranking to get on his side of things. Today it's the other way around - Pit was in the mansion's gardens with Viridi so _he_ could get on her side of things. Gotta stay on the same page!

 **Viridi: So it's finally official...we're finally a fully competent couple!  
** **Pit: What do you mean by "finally official"? Did somebody already preconceive our relationship?  
** **Viridi: Oh I don't know... *sarcastically eyes around* People might have been paying too close to us!  
Pit: People like Captain Falcon...betcha he's watching us at this very moment, taking notes on his notepad so he'll know how to conduct himself with his nonexistent girlfriend!**

(Watching Pit and Viridi from afar in the bushes during their talking head segment was Captain Falcon, writing down notes on a notepad. After hearing Pit's remark, the race car driver grumpily gets out of his hiding spot and walks away.)

 **Viridi: But this is just only the beginning. Our relationship is sure to blossom from this point onward!  
Pit: Must you always make flower puns like that?  
Viridi: Awww, I know you like them! *pinches Pit's cheek*  
Pit: And must you persist on pinching my cheek with every chance you get...?  
Viridi: You'll get used to it someday, sweet buns!**

"Does this garden have any man-eating plants?" Pit asked Viridi. "You know, the plants that have sharp teeth and occasionally spit fire?"

"You mean the Piranha Plants?" said Viridi. "Oh no, they're too dangerous to be placed here!" The Piranha Plants already give Mario and Luigi a hard time, who knows what problems they would have for the other brawlers...

"Hey bub!" Bowser confronted Pit in the gardens. He was no longer on crutches, which means he can move about freely like the the villain he is. "Don't think I forgot about your dumb prank you tried to pull on me not that long ago!"

"Um, wasn't that last week?" Pit raised an eyebrow. Gotta give the angle some credit; he may be dumb, but at least he can keep track of time! "Couldn't you have avenged me earlier?"

"I was still pretty hurt at the time, cut me some slack! Now you must pay..." Bowser's mouth began to flare up, indicating that he was about to blow some wicked fire at Pit. The angel had to act fast!

"Out of the way!" Pit grabbed Viridi and rushed to the side as Bowser fired a fireball at his direction, only to hit a eloquent plant after Pit moved out of the way. But this wasn't just some ordinary plant - this was a giant dahlia, a huge favorite of Viridi's, perhaps her favorite plant - and now it was burned into ashes.

"MY DAHLIA!" the goddess of nature cried as she ran to whatever remained of her precious dahlia, holding the ashes in her hands and weeping. Somebody's going to have to pay for this...

"Have a great rest of your day," Bowser smirked evilly at Pit as he departed from the garden. Pit glared him down intensively, seriously ticked off at the Koopa King for the treacherous thing he had done. He then went over to Viridi, seeing his love sobbing profusely, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay Viridi, everything will be alright..."

"It won't be alright!" Viridi snapped at Pit. Hard for Pit to see her devastated like this... "That dahlia plant was the only plant I cared about the most, and now it's gone forever, and I'll never have the pleasure to take care of it ever again..."

"Well...if you like, I can get you another dahlia plant for you, it will be just like the old one..."

"You'll do that for me?!" Viridi gleamed, her eyes no longer watering, but widening in utter delight. Pit has entered what is known as the "Boyfriend Trust Abyss" - by proposing a favor to Viridi, Pit must now stand by his word, and fulfill his favor, otherwise he would shatter his trust with Viridi forever (or at least for a certain period of time). Pit has dug himself in a giant hole that he will most likely never get out of in time, if he doesn't act quickly.

"Uh sure...anything for my awesome girlfriend!" Responses like the one Pit just said will do nothing but harm within the "Boyfriend Trust Abyss". If he wants to stay out of trouble, he would be best to keep his mouth shut...

* * *

Mario was in the printing room, making a giant sign to put outside the mansion. This sign had a picture of Sonic's head on it, and it read "NO BLUE HEDGEHOGS ARE ALLOWED IN THIS MANSION". Mario is so darn inconsiderate - what if there was another blue hedgehog like Sonic, and they wanted to enter the mansion? Not all blue hedgehogs are an annoyance!

"What are you working on?" Peach came into the printing room, curious as to what Mario was working on. She saw the sign, and feared for the worst. "You're not getting rid of of Sonic, are you?" The tone of her voice was an indication of great concern.

"Whoever said-a that I was getting rid-a of Sonic?" Mario furrowed his brow. "I'm-a only temporarily banning him!"

"Same thing if you ask me..."

 **Mario: What does Peach know about banning and getting rid of being the same thing! Some blonde she's supposed to be...Peach, if you ever see this, I didn't mean a thing I said, I still love you!**

"Sonic's ban won't-a be for long," said Mario, putting on the finishing touches on the sign. All he needs to do now is get Master Hand's approval of the sign, a difficult task in itself. "He's known-a for being rather annoying; once he comes-a to his senses and realizes his-a faults, we will welcome-a him back inside."

"You can't push Sonic out of the mansion like that, he would be absolutely hopeless!" fretted Peach. "His survival skills are not the greatest, he would die of starvation before he finds a chili dog! It's the only thing he would eat!"

"Exactly why he's-a receiving a temporary ban, it will teach-a him that there's more to life-a than just eating chili dogs! He'll survive-a on fruits, and..." Mario struggled to think of anything else Sonic would eat out in the wild. He would say mushrooms, but most mushrooms are poisonous. "...he'll mostly survive on-a fruits!"

"Done with the sign Mario?" Popo stuck his head through the printing room door. Nana was accompanying him - regardless of their relationship (siblings, lovers, or just best friends), these two will always be sticking by each other's side.

"Sure am!" Mario gave the sign to the Ice Climbers. "Take this-a to Master Hand right away!" Peach fearfully looked on, wondering if temporarily banning Sonic would be such a good idea.

"Will do!" Nana gave Mario a salute, and the Ice Climbers ran off with the sign. But little did they - and Mario and Peach - know that Sonic was unsuspectingly standing outside the printing room, without being noticed at all. He had eavesdropped on Mario's and Peach's conversation, so he knows about the plan to ban him from the mansion. And needless to say, he's never been quite this bummed out before in his life.

 **Sonic: Trying to ban me from the mansion temporarily, I see...must have been an unanimous decision, apparently nobody likes me...not even Knuckles or Tails, my two favorite people in the whole entire world...and I'm getting banned all because I'm "annoying"...but who needs those losers anyway, since I got nobody else in my life to keep me up, guess I gotta go out...in peace.**

* * *

Chrom was in the new recording studio, analyzing the room with Fox and Falco. Mr. Game & Watch was present, putting on the finishing touches. A housekeeper's work never goes unmerited!

"You have done a lovely job here, Mr. Game & Watch!" commended Chrom. The 2D man would either reply to Chrom or at least nod his hand, but he's sadly incapable of doing such things. What fate could possibly be worse than alogia (a lack of speech) and the inability to nod your head?

"If only I had a storage room to keep all my chocolate!" remarked Doc Louis, who was quietly sitting in the back of the studio, eating a chocolate bunny Little Mac had given to him. He was eating it like a madman!

"Really do need one, you fatso," stated Falco, garnering an intense glare from Doc.

 **Doc: Chocolate, to me, is more important than having a girlfriend. Chocolate won't ever leave you, it will always remain loyal and faithful until the end of time, so you'll never have to worry about having "others on the side", if you know what I mean! If there was a world without chocolate, I would fly a rocket up to the Milky Way!...The Milky Way does have chocolate, right?...So the chocolate brand, you say, is a lie?!**

"Father, you must come quick!" Lucina rushed inside the room. "Sonic is standing atop of the mansion!"

"Atop of the mansion?" Chrom raised an eyebrow. A very odd place for Sonic to be at. "For what reason?"

"I don't know, but he refuses to come down! You must come right away!"

"We better tag along as well, who knows what Sonic has up his sleeves!" said Fox. A lone hedgehog on top of the mansion is no situation to mess around with.

* * *

Lucina led Chrom, Fox, Falco, and Doc Louis (he was too afraid to leave his chocolate at the recording studio, so he brought it along with him) outside to the front of the mansion, where Villager, Cloud, Link, and Red - as well as his Pokemon Squirtle, Venusaur, and Charizard - were all present. Sonic was perched at the top of the mansion, standing there defiantly.

"Sonic get down from there this instant!" Cloud called out to the hedgehog. Who knows how long Sonic's been staying at his spot, let alone Cloud calling out to him.

"Shut up Cloud, you're not my mother!" Sonic retorted. What are the blue hedgehog's intentions? "Only way I'm getting down is if I land on the ground and breathe my last and final breath!" He's not contemplating suicide, is he?!

"Sonic, you blundering idiot, you can't go out like this! Think about all the people in your life, like Amy!"

"Never cared for that obsessive stalker in my life. Always a major behind in the butt!"

"What about Dr. Eggman, who else will he have as an arch-rival?" asked Link.

"His already has an arch-rival, and its name is Weight Watchers!" Well played, Sonic, well played.

 **Cloud: Already called the fire station, they'll be here soon to get Sonic down from that mansion. No matter how hard me, Villager, Link, and Red try, Sonic refuses to get down, and he's very adamant about staying where he is. It's becoming quite frustrating...**

"This ends now!" proclaimed Red. "Charizard, fly up to Sonic, and get him down from there!" Charizard flew up to Sonic, who attacked the flame Pokemon with a homing attack and sending him crashing back down to the earth. "Venusaur, use Vine Whip!" Venusaur fired a vine at Sonic, entangling him, but the hedgehog managed to break free. "Squirtle...um, uh..." Squirtle's a lousy water Pokemon, what use would his moves do? "Squirtle, why must you be so useless?"

"I'll go and get some help!" Fox told the others as he ran back inside the mansion. Sonic needs all the help he can get...

* * *

The Ice Climbers showed off the anti-blue hedgehog sign to Master Hand in his majestic room. The giant hand intently analyzed the sign, taking note of the drawing of Sonic, the text, and even the color of the sign. All of those factors are crucial for the sign's appeal and effect.

"Mario wants to place this sign in front of the mansion," explained Nana. Should the sign be displayed at the mansion's front yard, or near the mailbox, where some sap would steal the sign and run away without being caught? Such a question deserves a valid answer!

"He wants to ban Sonic temporarily from the mansion so he could teach him a lesson," added Popo. He was starting to feel nervous about whether Master Hand was on board with the plan or not. "Do you approve?"

"Well..." Master Hand pondered over the proposition. In his nonexistent head, he visualized a world without Sonic the Hedgehog...a world without complaints about chili dogs, broken objects from reckless running, and plenty of other things. "...I think I'm down with this. Sonic's ban will be effective immediately!"

 **Master Hand: For once in his miserable life, Mario has come up with something that's not dumb and asinine! Still can't forgive him for his silly suggestion about the brawlers filling out some dumb brackets for that March Madness crap! Why person in their right mind would fill out some dumb bracket when they don't even know a thing about college basketball? It's the only time they ever pay attention to it ever! And while that crap is going on, other and more thrilling collegiate sports like bass fishing and canoeing always go unnoticed! Sickening, I tell you!**

"Put that sign outside in the front yard where no one can steal it," ordered Master Hand. "Also, make sure Sonic is out of this establishment!"

"Mario has the latter part taken care of," stated Popo. Let's see how the plumber is handling things...

* * *

"Sonic where are-a you?" Mario searched through the mansion for the blue hedgehog, but he was unable to find him. In fact, the plumber was unable to find just about anyone else, the mansion nearly seemed almost deserted! However, he stumbled across Lucas, who was carrying a small trampoline with him. This object evidently made Mario curious - Lucas, for whatever reason, is afraid of trampolines, especially after a brief episode involving Yoshi and some...relief. You can just connect the dots from there.

"Mario come quick!" Lucas said to Mario frantically. "Sonic is outside and he's..."

"He's outside already?" Mario smiled, oblivious to the act Sonic is threatening to do. "Hoo boy, my job-a just got a tad-a easier!"

"No Mario, you don't understand, Sonic is contemplating suicide as we speak! He's on top of the mansion, and he'll jump off at any minute!"

"Lucas, the last-a time I took anything that-a came out your mouth seriously, you said that aliens were-a in the backyard making crop-a circles. Every day I head to the back-a yard, and I see no crop circles at-a all. Not to mention the fact-a that we don't-a even have any crops to begin-a with!"

"I'm being serious this time Mario, Sonic has lost it! You must come with me!" Lucas grabbed Mario's hand, and took the plumber with him. Mario, being the second-in-command of the mansion, has to be aware about everything - including Sonic's suicidal tendencies.

* * *

Zero sat in the workshop, working away on the newest prototype of his printer creation. With the mansion more quieter that usual, the robot could easily focus on his work without being interrupted. He has to limit his distractions otherwise...

"What are you still doing here?" Tails asked as he entered the workshop. He startled Zero, making the robot drop his screwdriver to the floor. Dude should be thankful it was only a screwdriver - if it was a crucial part of the printer, and he dropped it and broke it, Tails would have never heard the end of it.

 **Tails: I'm still in disbelief that Sonic would want to take his own life, it's so unlike him! If Amy broke up with him and refused to speak or associate herself with him forever, then suicide would be somewhat justifiable (and still immoral at the same time). But Sonic doesn't really like Amy that much, so what has gotten into him?**

"Finishing the prototype of the printer everyone is apparently against being invented," replied Zero. He had told other brawlers about his glorious invention, and now he's the butt monkey of the mansion, being subject to ridicule and mockery. Poor guy couldn't even go into the arcade room without having to hear the sounds of laughing and giggling - which is why he's spending the rest of his day in the workshop.

"Oh, that thing..." Tails responded apathetically. Not even the bright-minded Tails approved of Zero's invention. "Sonic's outside on the mansion, and he's threatening to jump down and apparently kill himself. The fire truck is on their way to save him."

"He's not really doing that, is he? I hope it's not because I yelled at him earlier today!"

"Sonic getting yelled at, what a surprise..." Sonic receiving a scolding has become a known mansion tradition, a facet of everyday culture even. "What did he possibly do this time?"

"His antics resulted in the self-destruction of my previous prototype. I had suggested to Mario that we should ban Sonic from the mansion for a short period, and see if that will change the hedgehog for the better. Perhaps an apology for scolding him will bring him back to his senses!"

Zero sped out of the workshop, leaving Tails by himself with the robot's printer prototype. The fox stared at the printer intently, and pulled out a wrench...some mighty fine work is about to be done.

* * *

More and more brawlers were gathering outside, watching helplessly as Sonic stood atop the mansion contemplating suicide. The fire truck and even an ambulance arrived, and a few firefighters had to climb up a ladder to retrieve the blue hedgehog, but Sonic would push them down the ladder. He wasn't going out without a fight!

"Sonic you nimrod, get down from that roof or else!" yelled Knuckles. The echidna can't afford to see his best friend go out like this.

"Or else what?" asked Sonic, putting his hands on his hips.

"Or else...Amy will live in depression and not speak to anyone ever again! You wouldn't want that, would you?"

"Eh...anything better than that creepy obsessive stalker thing she's got going on now."

"See?" Lucas took Mario outside and showed him Sonic, still refusing to get down. There had to be a way to get him down from the roof, and it had to be without the stench of death getting involved.

"This-a calls for desperate measures!" Mario ran back inside the mansion, and came back with chili dogs. Either these chili dogs were pre-made, or Mario is a blazing fast cook. "Got your favorite-a food in the whole wide-a world, waiting for you! Just come down-a and..."

"Sweet, bring them up here!" exclaimed Sonic. He couldn't commit suicide on an empty stomach.

 **Corrin: Watching Sonic perched on the mansion, all while evaluating the option of suicide, is becoming harrowing with each breathing minute. Brawlers a many have been trying to retrieve Sonic, but no matter the efforts, the hedgehog refuses to move an inch. I wish I could help out...  
** **Akira Yuki: Aren't you a dragon? Can you just fly up to the roof and get him?  
** **Corrin: I wish, but sadly I'm unable to fly at high altitudes...  
** **Akira Yuki: THEN WHY DO YOU TRANSFORM INTO A FREAKING DRAGON?!**

"No, no, Sonic, you'll have-a to come down here and get them!" stated Mario. His plan better work, those chili dogs can't possibly go to waste.

"Have it your way...in that case, could you stand close to the fire truck?" asked Sonic.

"Don't do it man, he's trying to trick you!" warned one of the firefighters. But Mario ignored him, and did exactly as Sonic told, standing near the fire truck.

"A little more to the left..." instructed Sonic; Mario inched two inches to the left. "Perfect! Now throw one of those bad boys over here!"

Mario threw a chili dog at the hedgehog, and Sonic ate it like a madman. Might be the last chili dog he ever eats...

"Thanks for the grub!" thanked Sonic. "Now it's time...to make my descent."

The worst was beginning to happen. Sonic turned around, closed his eyes, and crossed his arms over his chest. He was really about to do it!

"Oh man, somebody get the paramedics!" shouted one of the firefighters. Given the height Sonic will be falling from, paramedics would be greatly out of the question.

"I can't watch..." the female Inkling covered her eyes. The other brawlers either did the same, or looked away in fear.

Then it finally happened. Sonic, breathing one last breath, fell backwards, falling off of the roof of the mansion...

...before landing in the arms of Sheik, who used Vanish to save the hedgehog. Everyone sighed a sigh of great relief, as the ninja stuck a perfect landing on the ground.

"Am I dead?" Sonic opened his eyes and analyzed his surroundings. He was still at the mansion, and everyone was present, so evidently he's not dead.

"Don't you EVER, in your life, do something like that ever again," Sheik warned Sonic. Sonic better heed that warning, if he truly knows what's good for him...

"You, of all people, decided to save me? And here I thought nobody liked me!"

"Thank you for saving Sonic, Sheik," Master Hand magically appeared. "Sorry I had to interrupt your studies." The firefighters and paramedics were in awe. This was their first time seeing Master Hand, up close and in-person, and many of them are probably fangirling inside.

 **Paramedic: From the very moment I played _Super Smash Bros_ on the 64, I've always wanted to see Master Hand in person, and since I'm living the dream, I feel that my emotions must be moved through words...I can use profanity around here, can I?**

"You're wrong, Master Hand, Sheik wasn't even studying, it was..." Captain Falcon began - before Sheik placed Sonic safely on the ground and reverted back to Zelda, the loving girlfriend of Link. Falcon whimpered as he took out a list of female brawlers he plans to ask out/marry, and crossed Sheik's name off the list; her name was ironically next to Zelda's.

"Nothing to see here folks, the issue has been resolved," said Master Hand. "Everyone back inside." All the brawlers - save for Cloud, Villager, and Red, who continued their fishing - went back inside the mansion, and the fire truck and ambulance were getting ready to leave.

"Glad-a that's over!" Mario grinned as he headed back inside...only to be stopped in his tracks by Master Hand.

"We need to talk..."

* * *

With the Sonic suicide thing resolved, Fox, Falco, Doc, and Chrom returned to the recording studio, where Knuckles and Little Mac were dropping absolute bars. Luigi nervously entered the studio - he has never been inside the studio at all, but that shouldn't be the reason behind his nervousness.

"Chrom...may I speak-a with you for a minute?" the plumber asked Chrom.

"Sure thing," the prince replied. He has already seen the recording studio, so he'll pay Luigi some mind. "So what's up?"

"As you might-a know, the wedding's coming up-a and I've been-a wondering...will-a you be the officiant?"

Chrom was taken back at this offer. Another instance in which he has to play a role in something romantic; not pleasing for Chrom in the slightest. But then the prince realized that he would have to be the officiant on the best day of Luigi's life, and he won't be much of a "romantic expert" as people make him out to be.

"Usually I decline offers like these, but just for this instance...I'll do it."

 **Chrom: Hopefully Luigi has some benefits for me as the wedding officiant. Being the officiant is awfully hard work - having to stand up there with the bride and groom, with all the focus and attention centered on you...why did Mario opt to be the best man before I did?**

"Oh I can't-a thank you enough!" Luigi gave Chrom a bear hug. Though Luigi is slightly half of Chrom's height, so the hug looked kinda awkward.

"Can't...feel...my intestines..." Chrom wheezed, the lower part of his body hurting with excruciating pain. Luigi released his grip on the prince.

"So posting this online..." grinned Falco, who had taken a picture of Luigi "hugging" Chrom. Already he has two embarrassing videos of Chrom online...better hope Chrom doesn't see them.

* * *

Pit went about frantically in the mansion, looking for a dahlia plant to replace the one Boswer destroyed. He was one of two people present in the mansion during Sonic's crisis - the other being Tails, who was working away on Zero's printer. Pit would stumble upon the fox at the workshop, where Samus was assisting Tails.

"You sure this is such a good idea?" Samus asked Tails. The fox added a new feature to the printer - a feature that would allow the device to create anything that you want, just by saying it into the built-in mic. Zero would absolutely love it!

"It's for the better or the worse," replied Fox. "But I'm hoping for the better..."

"Guys I need your help, real bad!" exclaimed Pit, startling the two. "Bowser burned this giant dahlia plant in the garden today, and it was Viridi's favorite plant in the garden, and I've been trying to find another exact plant to replace it, and I can't..."

"Listen, Pit," Samus said. Now's not the time to be putting up with Pit's foolishness. "There's this thing, it's called the internet, lots of people around the world use it, and some of them use this thing called the internet to buy whatever crap they want, and they send it to your door and..."

"I know what the internet is!" Pit felt greatly offended, feeling as if Samus was overestimating his intelligence. "Thing is, I've tried everything shopping website there was, but I couldn't find the dahlia plant anywhere, it wasn't the right size or color! And I promised Viridi I'd get her a new plant...I'm hopeless." This is what happens when you're trapped in the "Boyfriend Trust Abyss", when the going gets tough, and you can't satisfy your girl in due time, you're all sorts of screwed.

 **Samus: Poor kid...stuck in a poor relationship that has little to no benefits. Only benefit is trust and companionship, but other than that, what else is there to gain? Of all the people to choose from...must suck to be in Viridi's shoes.**

"If you like, we can test out the capabilities of this printer and get that dahlia plant you wanted," offered Tails, turning the printer on. The device started making all those unnecessary sounds other stereotypical printers usually make."Just describe the plant into the mic, and the plant should appear right away!"

"I'll take your word for it..." Pit walked over to the printer, and saw two buttons. One said "Printing", the other said "Materializing". Which button will Pit choose? "Definitely this one!" Aaaaaand he picks the printing button. Moments like these are why he needs gals like Palutena and Viridi in his life.

"You pressed the wrong button, you doofus," Samus shoved Pit aside and pressed the materializing button before Pit could press anything. She then grabbed the mic, and gave it to Pit.

"I'm supposed to speak into this?" Pit asked Samus. The bounty hunter nodded slowly while giving a fake smile; the anger and frustration inside of her was starting to build up. Rather not say anything and let all of that frustration burst out of her mouth. "Okay thanks! Alright, so I want a dahlia plant, a big one to be exact, and it has to be red, because red is Viridi's favorite color...and that is all."

Suddenly the printer made even more unnecessary printing sounds, and in an instant, a giant red dahlia plant began to materialize on the paper tray, in a flower pot. Pit, Samus, and Tails watched in awe as the plant materialized before them.

"It worked!" cheered Tails. "It actually worked!" A printer that not only prints stuff, but materializes stuff as well - this will go down as one of the best days of Tails' life.

"Printer's not done yet, but I'm getting pretty close," Zero said as he guided Mega Man, X, .EXE, and Proto Man into the workshop. They all stopped in their tracks when they took notice of the dahlia plant, and started to wonder how it got here.

"Where did that plant come from?" asked Proto Man, under the assumption that Zero lowkey works as a gardener.

"Came straight from the printer!" explained Tails. "I added a mortification to it, and it can materialize whatever you want, just by speaking into the mic. C'mon, try it out!"

"Let's see how this thing works..." .EXE approached the printer, and took the mic. "Hmm...can it create food?"

"Give it a shot!" Robots can't eat actual food, can they?

"Alright then, I would like...a double cheeseburger, with..."

"Mustard and ketchup!" Mega Man said, grabbing the mic from .EXE. Can't possibly go wrong with those condiments. Also Mega Man, wait your turn!

"And lettuce, onions, and tomatoes!" X snatched the mic from Mega Man and said this into the mic. These robots don't know a single thing about patience, apparently.

"And melting Hershey's bars in-between the patty!" Proto Man snatched the mic from X and said this into the mic. His oddball suggestion garnered questionable looks from everyone in the workshop.

 **Proto Man: People in the South put ketchup on their grits... *shrugs* ...so why not chocolate in a cheeseburger?**

A double cheeseburger - complete with a patty, cheese, mustard, ketchup, lettuce, onions, tomatoes...and chocolate - materialized on the paper tray. Zero was greatly pleased, feeling like a proud father after his child won a huge soccer game.

"And you guys thought a printer was a boring thing to invent..." the robot grabbed the cheeseburger and held it high. "This right here is evidence of strong efforts, and undeterred wisdom!"

"It can still print paper, right?" Pit curiously whispered to Tails.

"Already perfected that earlier," the fox replied. Tails, you have seriously outdone yourself today, good sir.

"Do I smell a high-cholesterol cheeseburger?" Wario literraly sniffed his way to the workshop, and saw the cheeseburger in Zero's hand. "Mine!" The fatso snatched it away, munching the sandwich in one giant gulp and rubbing his tummy afterwards. "Thanks for the grub!"

"Joke's on you Wario, but that burger is highly organic!" stated Zero, causing Wario's eyes to widen - the word "organic" is a word Wario despises, it's nowhere to be found in his personal dictionary. "No cholesterol whatsoever!"

"Blegh!" Wario tried to puke the burger out, but to no avail. Everyone was laughing at him, including Pit - who realized a task he must fulfill.

"Gotta deliver this plant to Viridi!" the angel grabbed the dahlia plant and ran off.

* * *

It was now 5 o'clock, and Link just returned from his fishing expenditure. He caught many Pokemon, including a Floatzel that is accompanying the Hylian. As of right now, he doesn't know what to do with the sea otter Pokemon, but he'll keep it around for the time being.

When Link entered Zelda's room, he saw the princess of Hyrule vigorously studying the driver's manual...and Lloyd Irving doing Lloyd Irving things.

"Sup Link?" the swordsman greeted Link while performing a headstand. Surprisingly he hasn't fallen yet. But knowing him, he will eventually.

 **Lloyd: In order to become successful in life, one must possess a life skill that will guide them throughout their daily life. The life skill that I have chosen is headstanding, and I chose this because...  
** **Zelda: Lloyd, performing headstands isn't a life skill, it won't help you solve everyday problems and has little association with social norms.  
** **Lloyd: What are you supposed to be, a sociology major? Why must you insist on preventing me from being great?  
** **Zelda: Preventing you from being something that you're not? Everyone does that to you every single day...  
** **Lloyd: Hence the reason why I chose the life skill that I did! Headstanding will shut the haters up, and make them appreciate...  
** **Zelda: *throws driver's manual at Lloyd's head***

"Pay no attention to him at all," Link advised Floatzel; the sea otter Pokemon nodded, trying his darnedest not to look at Lloyd's sill behavior. The Hylian sat on Zelda's bed, yawned and stretched his arms out. "So how's it coming along?"

"It's going along very nicely," replied Zelda. "Right now I'm reviewing the information, so it will be lodged in my memory."

"Are you ready to take the driving test?" This alarmed Zelda, uncertain whether she should take the test this early. But as most princesses are, she's ready for anything.

"Hopefully so, it won't be that much of a hassle..." Link was able to sense some doubt in Zelda's response.

"Why do you want to drive so badly? Peach brought upon peer pressure on you?"

"Wouldn't say it's peer pressure...ever heard of the term FOMO, fear of missing out?"

"That's what FOMO stands for?" exclaimed Lloyd, falling on the floor in surprise. "Here I thought it meant fear of four-eyed octopuses!"

"Shut up, Lloyd...anyway, my desire for driving is mostly because of you and the princess...Peach and Daisy were already driving, and then you came along...I just wanted to be a part of things."

"Oh, I understand..." Link nodded his head. By racing alongside the likes of Mario, Bowser, and Donkey Kong, Link has made Zelda yearn to one day drive just like him. It would be asinine to see Zelda operating a vehicle, but if that's what the princess wants... "Not a thing to worry Zelda, you'll be driving one day, in no time!"

Zelda smiled when Link said this. Sure, Link was using cheap words of encouragement, but hey, it's better than nothing!

"Also, that was a nice save you did with Sonic," commended Link. "Bet's he's getting an earful from Master Hand..."

* * *

Sonic and Mario were sitting inside Master Hand's room, and just as Link predicted, Sonic was getting an earful from Master Hand for his suicide attempt. But Mario was getting his fair share, too.

"You didn't even go ask brawlers about Sonic's ban and just went forth without their approval?!" boomed Master Hand. You wouldn't appreciate him when he's at his angriest. "I thought you already asked everyone for their approval, but you didn't! Absolutely appalling!"

"If it-a makes you feel better, Master Hand..." Mario started, before Master Hand pointed a giant finger at the plumber.

"Not another word from you!"

 **Master Hand: The brawlers should be more than thankful that I returned from my "indefinite vacation". Before I made my great return, those poor folks had to deal with that bloated Mario, and his poor problem-solving abilities! I wouldn't trust him as president of the United States, even if he was running against a poser like Kanye West!...You say he's dead serious about running for president? Looks like there's time to move the mansion up to British Columbia!**

"May I come in?" a voice said, accompanied by a knock on the door. Zero entered Master Hand's room. "I feel that an apology has to be made."

"Well then, go ahead and do your thing," said Master Hand. Zero confronted Sonic, who he yelled at earlier today.

"Sorry for scolding you earlier, it wasn't anything like me, to be honest. This whole situation, with Mario threatening to ban you, and you contemplating suicide, all of it wouldn't have happened had I snapped."

"Apology accepted," Sonic accepted Zero's apology. "Also kinda brought the situation upon myself, what with ticking you off, and eavesdropping on Mario and generalizing the assumption that nobody likes me..."

"Everybody likes you Sonic!" stated Mario. "You might be annoying and irritating every now and then, but you're still a likable person!"

"Mario's right, you're one of the most iconic video game characters to have ever existed!" added Master Hand. "Why, I have yet to meet a single soul who doesn't appreciate you!"

These kind words really uplifted Sonic. Originally he was under the assumption that he was despised by many, but now he has learned that despite his flaws, he is adored. How great of a feeling that is...

* * *

Pit found Viridi in the kitchen, where she was helping Palutena make chili dogs, as a way to cheer Sonic up. Olimar, Toad, Young Link, Tails, and Knuckles were Palutena's other assistants.

"Oh Viridi!" Pit called out. "Got something for you!" Viridi turned towards Pit, and gasped with utter glee when she saw the dahlia plant in the angel's hands. At first, she assumed Pit would be unable to fulfill the task of getting another dahlia plant - its size made it a strong rarity - but now she knew better than to doubt her boyfriend ever again.

"It's perfect!" the goddess of nature gleamed, running up to the dahlia and inspecting it. "How did you acquire it?!"

"A little help from Tails - let's just say that Zero's printer was more capable than anyone else thought..."

Sonic sped into the kitchen, after the smell of chili dogs made its way into his nose. He was surprised to see Tails and Knuckles working in the kitchen - Tails was a moderate surprise, but Knuckles...pigs are probably flying around the mansion.

 **Knuckles: "Cooking is a great experience," she said..."It's great you're spending time outside of that recording studio..." she said...Once I go big in the rap industry, I won't have to put up with Palutena's crap ever again. Screw her and her horrendous cooking! *looks behind him* Could you tell me when she comes back? I got so much more to get off my chest...**

"You're just in time buddy!" said Knuckles. Buddy - how well did that word please Sonic right now.

"We were wondering when you were gonna show up, glad you made it past Master Hand alive!" added Tails. When you're dealing with Master Hand, oftentimes you'll never know if you'll survive - dude could kill you if he pleases, but hopefully he won't stoop down to that level.

"Making chili dogs, and you didn't even invite me!" smirked Sonic, shaking his head. "What would I do without pals like you guys..."


	16. Episode 16: Gratitude

**Episode 16: Gratitude**

Cloud was never really the guy to care about anything. He just breezes through life, completely ignoring every little action and consequence in his way. His grand display of utter apathy and indifference soon became a very noticeable trait of his personality, and it effectively made the brawlers less likely to mess with the swordsman, let alone tick him off.

On this day, however, Cloud's level of indifference would soon be tested, in the gaming of all places. He was sitting at a table, simply minding his business and reflecting on life and what the true meaning of life is. Sitting across from the swordsman was Shulk, who was always feeling it, no matter the situation.

"Nothing like some good coffee to keep you awake in the wee afternoon, amirite Cloud?" the Homs asked as he sipped his coffee, attempting to spark a conversation with Cloud. Cloud doesn't really converse with others that much - instead, he chooses to converse within his own mind. No other swordsman is complex in nature like the mighty Cloud is.

"Sure man, whatever floats your boat," Cloud simply replied. Inside he was hoping the Homs would leave him alone and let him enjoy his peace.

 **Cloud: Life at the mansion has become too hectic for me; having to wait on the next available bathroom, fighting over food at the breakfast table, being paired with Rosalina of all people in Yoshi's dumb fanfiction stories...I kinda wish mansion life would be more simpler, and more straightforward.**

Trouble would soon come Shulk's way, when the Black Knight confronted the Homs. Behind that helmet of his was a face full of uncontrollable rage.

"Hey bub, you're sitting in my seat!" the knight raged. "If you know what's good for you, you better find somewhere else to sit!"

"I'm sorry Black Knight, but I thought these seats are open for everyone to sit in!" stated Shulk. When it comes to playing peacemaker, Shulk always goes ham. "Certainly there is another place you can sit at..."

"Wrong! This is the seat I always sit in all the time!" Do any of the other brawlers go through this treatment? "Don't make me use force on you!"

"Leave him alone Black Knight, let Shulk sits wherever he wants," Cloud stuck up for the Homs. "This _is_ a free country, after all..."

"You stay out of this!" Black Knight yelled at Cloud before reverting his attention to Shulk, and pulling out his sword, causing a scene. "Give up the seat or else!"

"Enough!" Cloud angrily got up from his seat and showed the Black Knight out of the gaming room. "Begone with you!" The knight was grumbling to himself as he left the room. He will have his revenge one of these days. But now it was time for Cloud to bask in the glory he just brought upon himself. Everyone in the gaming room was cheering and applauding, and Cloud felt a bit humbled by it. Never has he received such reception, it's been a while.

"Thanks for saving me, Cloud!" Shulk got up and held out his hand. Saving a fellow brawler from trouble deserves a great handshake.

"Don't mention it buddy," Cloud replied as he walked back to the table. He saw Shulk's hand out...but chose not to shake it. Shulk grew sweaty and uncomfortable from Cloud's negligence - does the swordsman not know what he is doing?

"Um, Cloud, aren't you going to shake my hand?" Shulk grew sweatier by the second as his hand trembled. Unwritten Rule #1: when somebody holds out their hand for a handshake or some dap, you never leave them hanging. By violating this unwritten rule, Cloud was putting Shulk in an uncomfortable and compromising position.

"I don't see the point of doing so." Cloud you better shake the dude's hand, otherwise he'll be the butt of jokes for the rest of the week.

Many of the brawlers were watching attentively, as the drama and suspense raised in the gaming room; you could cut the building tension with a knife. Will Cloud shake Shulk's hand, or will he idly leave him in an compromising position? Brawlers were at the edge of their seats...including Lemmy, who accidentally fell out of his chair.

"Just shake Shulk's hand dude, it's not that serious," said Fox, who was playing pool with his buddy Falco. Cloud didn't listen to the fox; instead, he just walked away and departed from the gaming room.

 **Falco: Honestly I can see why Cloud doesn't want to shake Shulk's hand - handshakes have become too mainstream these days! Why not another greeting, like banging heads? No pain, no gain!**

Shulk was just left there standing, trembling and embarrassed. Cloud had single-handedly made the Homs look foolish in front of everyone. But Shulk is determined - as he usually is - to shake Cloud's hand.

* * *

King Dedede was rather busy in his room - busy bossing his Waddle Dees around to do his stuff while the fat penguin laid on his bed and drinking his milkshake - when there was a knock at the door. This greatly surprised the king, for nobody ever knocks on his door; it's a once in a blue moon type of thing. Dedede got up from his bed and trudged towards the door, opening it and seeing Toad with an envelope in his hand.

"What do you want, buddy?" King Dedede asked, bummed out that it wasn't food. He could really kill for some barbecue ribs right about now.

"You got mail!" Toad happily handed out the envelope to King Dedede. This guy is way too happy and jovial for his own good, he must be hiding some dark secrets...he might possibly be a drug lord!

"Ooh, this better be fan mail!" King Dedede quickly grabbed the envelope and ripped it to shreds, revealing a letter. Normally, he would open the envelope with a mail cutter, but he was too excited to use it. And besides, it's more than likely his Waddle Dees would retrieve the mail cutter and cut the envelope for him.

 **King Dedede: It's not far, everyone else in the mansion gets fan mail, but I don't! Heck, even one of my own Waddle Dees received fan mail! It read: "You're the most nicest evil henchman ever! Always calm and collected, and never starting fights!" Give me a break, that's the same Waddle Dee who once refused to flush the toilet for me! What a guy!**

"Let's see what we got here..." King Dedede's eyes darted from left to right as he scanned the letter, and his eyes immediately bulged out. "Luigi wants me to be a photographer for his wedding?!"

"You're not mad, are you?" asked Toad. The presumed drug lord looked behind him, ensuring that he has an ample amount of room to run away in the event King Dedede goes off.

"Only on one condition...will I get paid?" No point for the penguin to be taking pictures without pay. He needs something to progress his egregious greed.

"You should go ask Luigi and Marth that, they're the ones that decided that you should be a photographer."

"Well where are they? I must speak with them immediately!"

So Toad the presumed drug lord guided King Dedede to a room that had Luigi, Marth...and Jimmy T. Yes, the disco dancer was back at the mansion one more time, much to the chagrin of everyone not named Yoshi.

"Back at the mansion again, and in a couple of weeks, I'll be tearing it up at the wedding!" said the dancer. The wedding guests are about to suffer just like the brawlers.

"For the record, this dude came up to me and begged me to perform in some capacity at the wedding," Marth explained to Luigi, who facepalmed. Jimmy T had embarrassed the plumber; made him do the splits while doing some salsa dancing. Luigi was mesmerized by the dancing, and when he went to go ask Jimmy T how he danced so elegantly, so full of grace...he somehow tripped along the way and did split, ripping his overalls in the process - in front of everyone. Luigi didn't bother to show his face _for a week._

 **Jimmy T: Back at the mansion for another time! The people here are really enjoying my presence, and I can tell - everywhere I go, people give me the look, the look that tells me that they're jealous because they miss my awesome dancing, and they desire for more wicked dance moves! Marth claims that they don't want me back and that they absolutely hate me, but what does he know, with his woman-looking self!**

 **Luigi: Jimmy thinks-a he can embarrass me in front-a of everyone, in front my own-a fiance Daisy...that's-a why I added them to my wedding-a ban list, his name-a is at the very top!**

"Just so you-a know, you would only be performing-a at the wedding after-party, and-a not the wedding," clarified Luigi. Jimmy T held his head down; why would he be entertaining the folks at a lousy after-party? Who even shows up for an after-party?! All you just do is eat food, and do some random dancing, and then you toss the bouquet to some single women and whoever catches it will be the most likely woman to marry next...what if the bride wanted to keep the bouquet for herself?

"But what about the DJ, who's gonna do the music?" asked Jimmy T. Certainly there has to be music played during the wedding, any wedding without music would be too bland for everyone involved.

"K.K. Slider will be-a the DJ. He's the only person suitable for-a the job."

"Hey Luigi, Toad just sent me a letter stating that you want me as a wedding photographer!" King Dedede entered the fray. Luigi would ask the penguin to be the wedding photographer himself, but after the arcade incident from episode 7, the plumber's too afraid to be within walking distance of the king of Dream Land. "Will I get paid for my efforts?"

"That depends..." Luigi nervously replied. The aforementioned fright was now put on full display, as Luigi twirled his fingers around.

"Depends on what?! I have a family of Waddle Dees I gotta feed!" King Dedede's right, how else is he supposed to feed the Waddle Dees that are fully incapable of eating due to the fact that they have no mouths? Luigi can be so inconsiderate, shame on him! "I expect to be paid 50 grand for taking wedding photos!"

"50 grand for taking photos?" Marth raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"Like I told Luigi, I got a family to feed!" What if King Dedede is purposely making up this family of Waddle Dees just to satisfy his ginormous greed?

"Where is this Waddle Dee family, and how are they struggling?"

"Oh you don't believe me, huh? Follow me boys, I'll show you some of the more overlooked aspects of the mansion that nobody but ME knows about!"

"Mind if I perform my dance moves as we head towards the destination?" asked Jimmy T. He's bound to see some ladies along the way, and he's gotta impress them with his moves...although they won't bother returning the favor.

"Uh, sure guy, just don't hurt anyone!"

* * *

Today was the day; the day Mario and Peach finally go on their date...to McDonalds. As you would believe, many brawlers criticized the venue, Mario defended it to the bitter end, stating how it was arguably cheaper than other restaurants and that he doesn't have to make any huge reservations or drastic plans for the date. He would usually look to Peach for backup, but the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom didn't want no part of it.

 **Peach: My biggest concern about the date is not the venue, or the fact that Mario even took the venue into consideration...it's about Mario's conduct. We haven't had a date since who-knows-when, and I'm worried that Mario might lose it...**

 **Mario: Me? Nervous about-a my date with Peach? *laughs* You must-a be joking, I'm-a not nervous at all! *laughs harder* You got it all-a wrong! *laughs manically* Yes, no need-a to be concerned... *continues laughing***

Peach was getting ready for the date in the dressing room, wearing an elegant white-and-pink dress. You know Peach had to wear something with pink in it. Rosalina and Lucina were busy tidying up the princess.

"You might want to go check on Mario, he has been vomiting in the bathroom lately," Rosalina told Peach. The nerves are starting to get to Mario, and at the wrong time. Hopefully his nerves won't have any effect on the date...

"Maybe you should call the date off, for Mario's sake," added Lucina. "He might need some more time until..."

"Mario will be just fine," interjected Peach, feeling confident about the date and Mario's current condition. Mario is only sick for the moment; by the time their date begins, he'll be feeling much better...or so Peach thinks.

"You ready to-a go?" Mario, not wearing his famous hat, poked his head through the dressing room door. Only his head and most of his upper body was visible, so the ladies didn't get the chance to see if his suit was covered in vomit.

"Almost ready, Rosalina has to tie this knot. Once she's finished, I'll be set!"

"Excellent! I'll-a be in the foyer waiting." Mario retracted his head and made his way to the foyer - hoping his date will go exactly as planned.

* * *

Today was also the day Zelda would take her driving test. She has been studying the driver's manual vigorously, determined to ride behind the wheels just like Peach, Daisy, and her boyfriend Link. All that determination and focus will be put to good use today at the DMV, where she will take the driving permit test, and receive a driver's permit if she passes.

"I'd like to show you my sweet ride," Link walked the princess of Hyrule to his personalized car - a Jeep Wrangler pickup truck. Jacky Bryant purchased this car for Link, said that it best suits the swordsman and his horse riding ability.

 **Jacky: Link's pickup truck, it's truly the best of its kind...it's got four wheels, two seats, and one slick driving wheel...And no, I did not describe every truck in existence, there's a difference between a Jeep Wrangler pickup truck and some normal truck! But what would you know about cars, bet you don't even have a gaming system installed to your...Who told you that I got pulled over for playing _Xenoblade Chronicles X_ while driving?!...You said it was Meta Knight, of all people?! Ooh...well you know what they say, snitches get stitches! Meta Knight better be on the lookout...**

"Have a seat, my lady," Link opened up the passenger door for Zelda. The princess was taken back at Link's manners and demeanor, though she shouldn't - Link is perhaps the nicest person you could get around with. Zelda took Link's hand, and got inside the car. Link went to the driver's side, opened the door, and got in. He then pulled out a key, which looks like the dungeon keys you use to open doors and whatnot in the games, and pushed it into the ignition, starting the engine.

"How far is the DMV?" Zelda asked out of random curiosity.

"It's a thirty-minute drive, but we should be there quickly than you think. Lakitu runs the place, he's a very easygoing guy when you get to know him a little better."

Link drove his truck out of the driveway, and headed down the road to the DMV. But as the lovebirds headed down the road, Zelda saw Sonic running with the car through the passenger window.

"May the force be with you!" Sonic exclaimed while doing the "live long in prosper" sign from _Star Trek._ Sonic has somehow managed to intertwine the most famous motifs from _Star Wars_ and _Star Trek_ \- not sure if that should be an accomplishment or a disappointment.

Link was greatly offended by Sonic. So offended, that he honked his horn, causing the hedgehog to stumble and trip himself up. It is not known whether or not Link did this on purpose for malicious intent.

"Link that wasn't very nice!" scolded Zelda. Regardless of whether Link's intentions were purposeful or accidental, his actions were still uncalled for.

"Eh, he deserved it," Link replied with a shrug. For some reason, he felt satisfied with what he had done to Sonic.

* * *

Mario waited inside the foyer, waiting attentively as he waited for Peach to finish dressing, and the waiting was starting to take its toll because Mario has been waiting for far too long...in wait. There's a lot of wait going on about in the foyer, and Mario simply couldn't take it no longer. But at least he had a certain Kremling to keep him company while he remained patient.

"King K-a Rool, why are you-a here?" the plumber questioned Rool. The Kremling stood next to Mario, minding his own business - or so it seems.

"Oh nothing, just waiting for Peach to show up so I can ogle her just like I did with Bayonetta," the Kremling replied. Mario punched Rool square in the face, knocking the Kremling out. Ain't no way he's letting someone else - a non-human person for that matter - to ogle his woman under his watch.

Soon Peach came down the stairs. Mario fastened his bowtie as the princess made her way down to the foyer - it was now make or break time for Mario.

 **Lucina: We tried to talk Peach out of going on her date with Mario, and we tried with every little method we had, but nothing would convince her that going on a date with a nervous wreck like Mario would be a bad idea.  
** **Rosalina: Mario was even vomiting profusely in the bathroom, just thinking about the date made him so nauseous, and yet Peach didn't think there was anything wrong with Mario! I can already tell that something horrendous will result from their date...  
** **Lucina: Well their date is at freaking McDonalds, so it's not like there'll be any positives to begin with.  
** **Rosalina: I suppose you're right...Mario is such a fool, asking Fox to help him find a venue for the date. Has he not seen the very dynamic of Fox's and Krystal's relationship? Granted the relationship's getting better, but it's not like the trust level is at a hundred percent...**

"You look amazing every time-a I look at you," Mario told his girlfriend, causing Peach to giggle. What a cheap and lousy way to make your woman feel all happy and jovial inside, Mario could have done much better.

"So are you ready to go?" asked Peach. She's feeling awfully more confident about the date than Mario is. Could be that her overall joy and happiness that makes her numb to doubt and fear.

"Not just-a yet," Mario went to a different part of the foyer, and pulled out a walkie-talkie, turning it on secretly. "Snake-a, are you there?"

"What do you want, you scrawny mustached man?" a grumpy voice said over the walkie-talkie, which belonged to Snake. "Scrawny mustached man" is what Snake will dub Mario until the plumber's name comes back to him.

"Get Mega Man, Toon-a Link, and Pichu...time for some-a more spying. Except this-a time, it'll be a little different..."

* * *

Pit and Viridi were inside the kitchen, doing usual couple things like drinking out of a banana milkshake simultaneously through straws. Once they reached the bottom, the two lovebirds were giggling. What's so funny about an empty glass?!

"It's great to see you two bonding with one another," Palutena smiled at the young couple. She always knew Viridi, a.k.a. Little Miss Cactus, had romantic feelings for Pit, and for the angel to be in love with her...that's all the goddess of nature could ask for.

 **Palutena: Somewhere deep down inside, I knew Pit and Viridi were just meant for each other. I mean, they have so much in common - they're immortal, they like to fight the forces of evil, they like to have fun...they're also immortal...hmm, can't think of anything else...but I'll think of something soon.**

Kirby approached Pit, tugging the angel's toga while holding a board game in his hand. With Pit in a relationship with Viridi, the pink puffball never really has the chance to spend some quality time with his best buddy.

"Not now Kirby, can't you see that I'm busy?" asked Pit. Busy doing what? You and Viridi just finished the milkshake, what are you possibly doing right now that's making you so busy?!

"C'mon, Pitty, don't be rude to Kirby!" said Viridi. Yet another embarrassing pet name for Pit from yours truly. "Kirby's your best friend, after all, certainly we can include him in our activities!"

"Nah, it won't be the same, and besides, Kirby's a friendly guy, he can have fun with anyone else in the mansion."

Kirby bowed his head in utter sadness, suddenly coming to grips with reality. His pal Pit was in a better place now, in a loving relationship with Viridi, a girl who stills loves the angel in spite of his low levels of intelligence and any other non-redeemable qualities that he possesses. Given the current state of affairs, it seemed like it was time for the pink puffball to move on...

* * *

With his buddy Link taking Zelda to the DMV, Cloud had no other choice but to spend some quality time with his pet Chocobo Cloud Jr. He did this in the mansion's recording studio, chilling with Fox, Falco, Knuckles, and Little Mac, for he needed some "noise" to keep him upbeat, if possible. It's hard for an apathetic guy like Cloud to remain upbeat.

"Bruh you're a real savage for what you did to Shulk in the gaming room," Falco told the swordsman. Cloud was trying to figure out how leaving Shulk hanging makes him a savage, it doesn't necessarily make him cool or awesome.

And would you know it, Shulk entered the recording studio, with his companion Dunban holding a six-layer cake on a tray. The five men in the studio all marveled at the pastry that was before them.

"Nothing like a grand cake to show you my gratitude!" Shulk said to Cloud. The Homs had an underlying motive for offering the swordsman cake, and you probably know what it is.

 **Dunban: Purchasing a cake for Cloud was totally Shulk's idea. I tried to encourage him to get a one-layer cake so we would save money or anything actually useful, but Shulk claimed that he needed a cake five layers or more so he could show Cloud "all of his satisfaction". Don't know about you guys, but I think Shulk is taking this "thank you Cloud" thing a bit too far...**

"Is the giant cake that necessary?" questioned Cloud. If he had shoved Shulk out of the way of a moving car during a crosswalk and saved the Homs life, the cake would be more than warranted for his heroic efforts. But all he did was save Shulk from facing the wrath of the Black Knight.

"It's a great way to express my gratitude to you!" grinned Shulk. "Now where would you like the cake?"

"I don't know, put it somewhere where it won't fall of or anything," shrugged Cloud. He's not feeling it for any cake right now, especially during a mundane moment such as this one.

"Bring it over here!" Fox called out to Dunban. The Homs placed the cake on a table next to Fox, and he, Falco, Little Mac, and Knuckles were eating the cake. They already preconceived that Cloud didn't want any cake...so more for them!

"I do believe we have some unfinished business," Shulk held out his hand to Cloud, expecting the swordsman to shake it. Just like the instance back in the gaming room, Cloud stared at the Homs' hand like it was a dangerous artifact, as if shaking it would turn his entire body to stone.

"You're quite the persistent one," remarked Cloud. The others idly stood there and ate their cake, watching to see if Cloud will shake Shulk's hand, or reject him for a second time.

"Please Cloud, I bought that cake for you..." Shulk's hand began to tremble as droplets of sweat poured down his face. The fact that the other dudes were eating the cake and not Cloud diminished the entire point and purpose of Shulk buying the cake to begin with. Those one hundred bucks are now an utter waste...

"Look dude it's not that big of a deal, I don't need to shake your hand..."

"But you must shake my hand, you saved me from the Black Knight and I have to show you my utmost gratitude!"

"Well then, keep on trying, because either way, I won't shake it..." Cloud ditched the recording studio, leaving without a single regret. Shulk started to feel humiliated, his quest to shake Cloud's hand becoming more complicated with each failed attempt.

"Ooh what a savage!" cooed Falco, wasting his slice of cake. Shulk's quest to shake the mighty hand that belongs to Cloud cannot go unfulfilled; he has to shake the swordsman's hand, one way or another.

* * *

Kirby walked down the hallway, feeling lonely and depressed (well there's a first for everything). As he walked through the hallways, his eyes caught King Dedede, Toad, Luigi, and Marth huddled together near a giant closet. Jimmy T was with them, doing some wicked dance moves in hopes of wowing the ladies. As you would imagine, his efforts have become extremely fruitless.

"Will you please stop that atrocious dancing?" Marth looked behind him and saw Jimmy doing his thing. "No woman would ever want to fall in love with a ugly dancing loser like yourself..."

 **Jimmy T: Marth is just jealous, jealous that his romantic game is nothing compared to mine because he's single...He's married to Caeda?!  
** **Captain Falcon: *from afar* Caeda's married?! Oh man, my girls-to-ask-out list is looking uglier than Voldemort from Harry Potter...**

"Huh?" Kirby approached the group, feeling generally curious about what they're looking at. Soon he was surprised by what he saw - a family of Waddle Dees; a mother, a father, and their two children. Kirby marveled at the sight, for he has never before seen a kinship of Waddle Dees in his lifetime.

"And you guys thought Waddle Dees aren't sexually productive..." King Dedede grinned as he folded his arms. "How do you think I have so many Waddle Dees to begin with? Try and explain that!"

"We always thought that they just pop out of nowhere and you make them your servants," replied Toad. Like you have any room to talk, you suspicious drug lord.

"This is-a quite remarkable, never seen anything-a like this," Luigi stroked his chin as he observed the Waddle Dee family. This is how he envisions his family with Daisy to be like - but that's only dependent on Daisy's decision to raise kids. Realistically they could raise the baby versions of their own selves...though it's not worth destroying any time paradoxes.

"So how about that $50,000..." King Dedede grinned, rubbing his hands together. His greed is now coming into full effect, and it's proving that he's using the family of Waddle Dees to fulfill his selfish desires.

"We won't pay you that much as the wedding photographer unless you can prove to us in some capacity that you can take care of this Waddle Dee family," stated Marth. The hero-king was starting to sense Dedede's ulterior motive, so a little caretaking task will give the ruler of Dream Land a massive ego check, and a chance to prove that he's not as greedy and selfish as they come.

"You got a deal buddy!" King Dedede vigorously shook Marth's hand. The fat penguin was willing to shake someone else's hand, but Cloud makes it seem like such a huge issue...what does that tell you?

* * *

Link and Zelda finally reached the DMV. Link said that the drive would be a thirty-minute drive, but the hero of Hyrule was pulled over during the ride for carrying a suspicious item in his truck - which was incidentally his Master Hand.

"Tried to tell you that you should have left your Master Sword back at the mansion," Zelda told her boyfriend as the two entered the DMV.

"Zelda you don't understand, some drama might transpire here at the DMV, and I might need my trusty sword to serve as the peacemaker and resolve the conflict," explained Link. This was nowhere close to being truthful - Link is just that extremely compelled to bring his Master Sword wherever he goes.

 **Link: As the hero of legend, it is critically important that I carry the Master Sword with me wherever I go! Whether it's the bathroom, the post office, or even a nightclub, the Master Sword must always be in my... *random kid snatches Link's sword* Hey get back here, you scrawny kid!**

While Link sat at one of the chairs in the DMV, watching over his precious Master Sword and keeping a close eye on any fool who dares to snatch it from him, Zelda went up to the front desk, where Lakitu, the cameraman koopa synonymous with the _Mario Kart_ series, was waiting.

"Hello ma'am!" the koopa greeted Zelda. Who knew that such a common enemy in the _Mario_ series can be so friendly around others. "How may I help you today?"

"I have some proof of residence here," Zelda handed Lakitu some documentation - very important and highly crucial if you want to taker the permit test. "I am here to take to permit test so I can be fully able to drive."

"Um miss, I don't know how to say this, but...April Fool's was last week."

The very veins in Zelda's face began to pulse after the princess heard the koopa's remark. Not even Latiku took the princess seriously!

"In case you can't tell by my face, I am very, very serious about driving, and if you don't allow me to take this permit test, there will be dire consequences..." stated Zelda. She obviously meant every word she said, especially with her current mood, and Lakitu knew better than not to fulfill Zelda's demands.

"...Just hand me your proof of residence and I'll give you your DMV ticket!" Lakitu replied hurriedly, not wanting to face Zelda's wrath. The princess began to cool down as she handed the koopa her information, and received a ticket (E482). She sat in a chair next to Link, showing the Hylian her ticket.

"All we need to do now is wait on your ticket number to be called," explained Link. "Once they call your number out, you have to..."

"Number E482, please report to the testing room," said the voice over the intercom. Zelda soon became overwhelmed with doubt, she didn't expect to go this early. "Number E482, please report to the testing room." Gotta repeat the same phrase again, it's DMV protocol after all.

"You'll do great, trust me. Now go and ace that driving test!"

Zelda smiled after hearing Link's weak but effective words of encouragement and confidently made her way to the testing room. The princess would also receive words of encouragement from a particular hedgehog outside...

"Let's go Zelda!" Sonic banged on the windows of the DMV, startling and garnering the attention of everyone. "Zelda paiting!" He then did a Japanese bow towards the princess. Great, now Sonic somehow managed to intertwine aspects of Japanese and Korean culture together...dude's a freaking wizard.

"Go away..." Link handed Sonic a death glare, and the hedgehog ran off at the speed of light. Expect him to throw a huge celebration for Zelda back at the mansion if the princess passes her exam.

* * *

Snake, Mega Man, Toon Link, and Pichu were hiding inside the ceiling of a McDonald's restaurant, spying on Mario and Peach on their date. Mario had endured ridicule and criticism for wanting to take Peach on a date to McDonald's by the restaurant staff and even the restaurant manager. But the plumber was certain that the date will go exactly as he envisions it.

"So why are we here again?" asked Mega Man, feeling a bit cramped under the conditions of the ceiling. It was awfully smaller than the one at the French restaurant from episode 5.

"Apparently Mario wants us to watch him while he's on his date and critique him," explained Snake. Missions such as this one was a major waste of time for Snake, who was extremely busy moping over the fact that his former crush, Meryl Silverbough, went to go see other people - namely a guy by the name of Johnny Sasaki.

 **Toon Link: Ugh, here we go again, with this whole spying on people at the restaurant thing...except this time around we have to "analyze" Mario during his date and give him a report afterwards. What does Mario think we are, his overbearing parents?!**

 **Snake: Johnny Sasaki...don't really remember who that guy is anymore, but just saying that name always leaves a sour taste in my mouth...What was this again about intentionally spying on Mario?**

A sweaty Mario sat at the table, his quarter pounder without a single chew mark, while Peach was peacefully eating her food. One of the most important parts of a date is having a conversation - and Mario is apparently failing at starting one.

"So...how's-a life?" the plumber asked, Not the best conversation starter, but hey, it's better than nothing.

"Life is going very dandy as usual," Peach replied, wiping the crumbs away from her mouth with a napkin. Even when she's away from the mansion, the princess still has to value personal hygiene and show manners at all times. "Did I ever tell you about the tea party I had with Zelda and Heihachi?"

"You invited Heihachi to your-a tea party? How very nice-a of you!"

"Timid poise...lackluster conversational style...sweating is of high concern..." Toon Link wrote on a notepad supplied to him by Pichu. The mouse Pokemon was responsible for bring materials to the restaurant, and a notepad was the only thing he was capable of bringing.

"Are you seriously writing down notes about Mario on his date?" questioned Mega Man, who feels that writing random notes about one's condition on a romantic date is very oddball and strange (hence the reason why he was against coming to McDonald's in the first place).

"Mario didn't send us here for nothing," Toon Link shrugged. "And besides, if we tell him that we did nothing to critique him, he'll be very ticked."

"I would record Mario on a videotaping device and show the film to him later, but I don't have anything on me," stated Snake. "Dumb Pichu forgot to bring a video camera with him..."

"Actually Snake, you left the video camera on the dresser in the foyer," Mega Man pointed out. The robot was going to retrieve the device, but he figured that Snake would remember and retrieve it...yeah right. What a horrible idea that was.

* * *

"I just don't understand, I try my all-time hardest to shake Cloud's hand, but Cloud just keeps turning me down," Shulk conversed with the Flying Man in the arcade. The flying beast was monitoring Ness, Lucas, and the Inklings during their intense game of table hockey while Pac-Man was away taking care of business. And that business had much to do with Shulk's situation. You'll see eventually later on.

"You just need to have the courage, like me!" encouraged the Flying Man. "You must remain patient and wait for Cloud to come around so he can shake your hand! You cannot demand immediate results if you're not willing to be patient!" Dude would make for a great motivational speaker; his signature phrase "I am your courage!", though dumb and vastly overused, can be easily trademarked.

"The Flying Man is right, Cloud is a very hard person to get through, and I think we all learned that through experience," stated the male Inkling. "Sometimes he'll care, and other times he won't. It's only a matter of time!"

"Ta-da!" Pac-Man showed up...with a Cloud Strife sweater, which he held up for Shulk. "Took me forever to make this thing!" The Homs was delighted at this sweater; his plan to shake Cloud's hand cannot possibly fail now!

 **Pac-Man: *holds up the sweater* Made this bad boy with Ashley, Toad and Yoshi while they were having their knitting club. They asked me if I wanted to be a permanent member of their club, and I declined - knitting is pointless and a bothersome waste of time in my opinion. After I declined their offer, Yoshi tied me down to a chair with yarn, and Ashley threatened to write permanent marker over my face unless I joined them... *sigh* So I guess I'm a new member now...**

"Cloud will absolutely love this!" Shulk took the sweater Pac-Man. When he did, Cloud entered the arcade room, hoping to play at least one game of _Space Invaders_ before somebody like Wario comes in and hogs the arcade machine, like it was his girlfriend. He soon stopped in his tracks and saw Shulk, holding up the sweater with the swordsman's face on it.

"This is getting very weird..." Cloud remarked. Shulk was literally going all out, just to shake the guy's hand. An utter display of desperation.

"Another genuine token of my gratitude and appreciation!" gleamed the Homs. "Made it all by myself!" Pac-Man was going to interject and state that he made the sweater, and not Shulk, but he felt that the Homs needed all the credit he needs to show his undying gratitude.

"Um, thanks," replied Cloud as Shulk gave him the sweater. He looked down at the Homs' hand, stretched out towards him. Not this again...

"I do believe we have some unfinished business. So how about it?"

Shulk tensed up as he waited for Cloud to shake his hand. There were no options left, he already gave the swordsman a cake and a sweater. Nothing else could be done to garner a handshake at this very moment.

"Cloud just shake Shulk's hand, it's not like the end of the world," said Ness, wanting this whole handshake drama to end quickly.

"Me agree!" exclaimed Takamaru, who was playing with a pinball machine at this very moment. "Shake his hand! Shake his hand!" he chanted, and soon enough, almost everyone in the arcade room was chanting along. How cute, Takamaru is actually speaking complete English for once...this is quite the milestone.

"Try-hard..." Cloud said to Shulk as he walked away, sweater in hand. The "shake his hand!" chants started to die down as Cloud left the room. Shulk still stood there, now angrier than before.

"At least you gave it your best shot," Olimar walked by and gave Shulk a comforting pat on the back...or lower leg, rather, since Olimar is kinda short. But the Homs was still determined to shake Cloud's hand, and he won't stop until he gets his wish.

* * *

Pit and Viridi continued to do usual couple things...like canoeing in the mansion's lake. Young Link paddled away on the canoe, and the Duck Hunt dog was at the end of the canoe, on the watch-out for any treacherous water-type Pokemon that may attack the boat.

"So romantic..." Viridi sighed lovingly as the canoe made its way through the vast waters. Young Link saw a small hole in the boat's surface, with a small water sprout coming out of it. The young Hylian plugged it up immediately with chewing gum - and yes, medieval heroes like Young Link can chew gum. There's no unwritten rule that forbids heroes like him from chewing gum.

"Duck Hunt I thought you inspected this canoe before we set out for water!" the Hylian scolded the mutt, who looked about in guilt.

 **Duck Hunt Dog: *cleans the surface of the canoe with a rag, accidentally makes a small hole in said canoe, runs off like nothing happened***

"Ah well, the canoe ride's gonna end soon, so it's not that big of a deal," Young Link shrugged as he continued rowing. To their left, Pit and Viridi saw a Floatzel, his head poking out of the water's surface.

"Hey isn't that Link's Floatzel?" asked Pit. If you remember from the previous episode, the hero of Hyrule had caught the sea otter Pokemon while fishing with Cloud, Villager, and Red the Pokemon Trainer, and garnered an intense amount of newfound hatred from Red for his catch. All those Magikarp and Feebas Red had caught didn't do anything to ease the Pokemon trainer's anger and wrath.

"He let Floatzel roam about in the lake while he's at the DMV," explained Viridi. "Those two seem like best buddies..."

"Yeah..." Pit then started to think of his own best buddy, Kirby. He had told off the pink puffball earlier, just so he could spend some more quality time with Viridi. But with this relationship, he hasn't spend much quality time with his pal, and he was feeling bad for it. "Viridi do you mind if I return to the mansion?"

"If it has anything to do with Kirby, then I understand. Be back as soon as possible!"

"You got it!" Pit flew away from the canoe, and to the mansion.

* * *

Back to King Dedede, who was caretaking the Waddle Dee with the help of an unlikely accomplice - Kirby. Some of you may not know it, but King Dedede sort of cares about Kirby, if the Suspace Emissary was any indication of their bond. The king's not specifically a terrible, evil villain - his greed just makes him look like one.

"Glad I got someone like you Kirby, wouldn't be able to do this without you buddy!" the fat penguin told the pink puffball as he helped the Waddle Dees fold their clothes, which they probably never wear considering how their species work. Kirby just smiled and rubbed his forehead, taking Dedede's remark as one of the many compliments the puffball usually receives.

"Watcha doing Kirby?" Pit approached the puffball, and boy was Kirby elated to see Pit. Just seeing the angel made him more abnormally happier than he's meant to be. "Let me tell ya something - just because I'm in a relationship with Viridi and all, doesn't mean we can't be friends anymore. Sometimes, you just gotta move on, you know? Expand your relationships, and all that good stuff. So we're still buddies, right?"

Pit held out his fist, and Kirby bumped fists with Pit...best buddies forever (unless Link and Cloud might have something to say about that).

"So, is that a family of Waddle Dees you're taking care of?" asked Pit.

"Found 'em in this here closet not so long ago," explained King Dedede. "Mr. Game & Watch kinda overlooks this closet, and so when I opened it one day, I saw this family of Waddle Dees and..."

A man tapped King Dedede on his shoulder. The penguin turned around, getting his hammer ready so he could knock this fool out...and saw Mr. Game & Watch. The 2D man threw up his arms in the air, probably saying, "What are you doing man?!"

"Wait did you find out about this family before you did?" asked King Dedede. Mr. Game and Watch gave a thumbs up, signifying a "yes".

 **King Dedede: So what if Mr. Game & Watch found out about the family of Waddle Dees before I did...I'm still taking all of the credit! He can't speak, so I helped spread awareness about this Waddle Dee family!  
** **Gil: *walking by* What Waddle Dee family?  
** **King Dedede: Shut up man, you're destroying my credibility...**

"Yo Pit you available?" Sonic sped up to the angel, and he was clearly in a hurry. When is he not in a hurry?

"Available for what?" Pit raised an eyebrow. Sonic is always planning something devious, and the angel refuses to have any involvement in whatever plans the hedgehog has in store for him.

"I need your help planning a huge celebration for Zelda in the foyer after she passes her driving exam!" Told you he would be throwing a celebration for Zelda.

"Aw sweet did she pass?" Pit believes that he is the next one in line to get his permit. He has a license for riding chariots, and according to Palutena, such a license won't grant him the ability to operate a moving vehicle. The car accident in episode 4 will tell you why this is so...

"Not sure if she did, but she's kinda smart, so I am assuming she passed with flying colors!" So Sonic assumes that Zelda passed the exam because she's "kinda smart". Not because she studied the driving manual, but because she's "kinda smart". That's Sonic for ya, with his rash thinking.

"So when are we starting the setup?"

"We will start right now! And you guys can help out too!"

"How much work is required?" King Dedede asked Mr. Game & Watch. If it has anything to do with hanging up banners, then Dedede will be more than happy to do the task. Anything else, and he'll cite "impartial health complications" for why he's unable to work.

* * *

"I'm so glad that we had the opportunity to spend time together like this," Peach said to Mario as their date continued. Thankfully the date was close to being done, for Mario was sweating like he was stuck inside an RV on a scorching hot summer day.

"Same-a here, this day was absolutely perfect," replied Mario. Mario wanted to wipe his face very badly, and Peach didn't see the sweat running down the plumber's face, so he didn't want to give away his nervousness to Peach. He needed a good distraction... "Look, a distraction!"

"What distraction?" Peach turned her head, looking around the restaurant while Mario wiped away the sweat with his napkin. By the time he was done, Peach had turned her head back around. "Hmm, the distraction you were speaking of is no longer here. What did it look like?"

Mario struggled to come up with anything to describe the distraction, until a ceiling tile fell out of the ceiling. The plumber looked up, and saw Toon Link holding up a large note card with words on it.

"It was...a blood-a sucking vampire bat!" exclaimed Mario, causing Peach to gasp. Thankfully for Mario, Toon Link's plan worked to perfection - the young Hylian even gave the plumber a resounding thumbs up. "It flew away at the nick-a of time before it could be detected!"

"What would Mario do without us..." Toon Link sighed, retracting back to the ceiling. He's the only one taking notes on Mario, noting the plumber's visage, nervousness, eye contact, and even the type of conversations he had with Peach. Mario would greatly appreciate his work...

"You mean without you," Snake grumbled as he, Mega Man, and Pichu were playing cards. At least the old coot remembered to bring some cards along with him...otherwise this complete waste of time would be the most boring waste of time ever.

 **Snake: *in a sardonic tone* "So Peach, did I ever tell-a you about the time I saved-a Olimar from being flushed-a down the toilet?" "Oh Peach, your-a hair looks gorgeous, what hair products-a do you use?" Thank goodness the date is almost over, finally we can leave this wretched place...  
** **Mega Man: Gotta hand it to ya Snake, that was one heck of a Mario impersonation!  
** **Snake: Who's Mario again? Also, how do you know my name?!**

After disposing their food items, Mario and Peach headed outside and to Mario's car...which was being towed away by a tow truck. The car was parked near the curb, since there weren't any available parking spaces at the time, and Mario took the unadvised risk of parking the car along the curb. Not even Peach's pleas to park the car somewhere else altered Mario's decision in any way, shape, or form.

"Not-a my car!" Mario fretted as the tow truck drove away with his precious car. Snake, Toon Link, Mega Man, and Pichu showed up with Mario and Peach as the plumber held his head in sadness. "How are-a we going back-a home now?"

"Nothing like a quick phone call to solve our problems," Snake pulled out his codec. How did he and his free accomplices get to McDonald's, you might ask? Snake saw a nearby bus near the mansion, and literally threatened to assault the bus driver if he didn't drop him and the others off at the restaurant. Snake and company got a free trip to McDonald's, and the bus driver got a black eye for originally turning down the former agent's demand. "Hello who is this?" Snake spoke into his codec after reaching the mansion's house phone.

"Greetings sir, how may I be of assistance?" said the person over the codec. It was the Flying Man. Oh joy...

"Me, Mario, and the rest of us are stranded at this McDonald's with no transportation, and..."

"What's the address?" Snake told the mythical beast the restaurant address...and then the Flying Man hung up. Snake grimaced, looking around for answers even though no answers were in visible sight.

"So is anyone coming to pick us up or not?" asked Peach. Nighttime was nigh approaching, and the group needed to get home before it got dark.

Suddenly out of nowhere, a golden Suzuki APV magically zoomed into a now-available parking space. In it was the Flying Man and Cloud, who was driving. The swordsman rolled down the window and saw Mario and company, surprised and confused as ever.

"Not a single word, just get inside the car," he instructed everyone. He was just as perplexed as they were.

* * *

Back at the mansion, where a few decorations and balloons were present in the foyer for the celebration. All the brawlers were present as well, and under Master Hand's command.

"If Zelda didn't get her permit which means this celebration was all for naught, you owe me a week's worth of hand massages," the giant hand told Sonic. The hedgehog gulped, shuddering at the very fate he might receive.

 **Master Hand: When Zelda comes inside and into the foyer, we are all going to shout "Congratulations!", all in unison. Anyone that is off-key in terms of tone and/or unity will have either one of their television, internet, and cellphone privileges taken away from them until further notice. Don't care if it's an old dude like Ganondorf, everyone will be under this circumstance.**

The front door of the mansion creaked open, and the brawlers were readying themselves, anticipating Link and Zelda to enter at any moment. Wii Fit Trainer, who has the video camera Snake had forgotten, was ready to record the reaction of Zelda. Then the front door finally opened...

"CONGRATULATIONS!" Master Hand and the brawlers all exclaimed in unison...just as Cloud, the Flying Man, Mario, Peach, Snake, Mega Man, Toon Link, and Pichu all entered the mansion. _Whoops._

"Diddy Kong, you were definitely off-key, prepare to lose your cellphone privileges buddy!" Master Hand told Diddy Kong, who scratched his head in confusion.

"But I don't even own a cellphone..." the spidermonkey stated. Last time Diddy did have a cellphone, he flushed it down the toilets as a means for a "scientific experiment". Cranky Kong, the patriarch of the Kong family and the chimp who pays Diddy's phone bill, vowed to never purchase his great-grand nephew a cellular device ever again. Betcha he's having a rant about cellphones while in his rocking chair right now.

"Thanks for the ride Cloud," Mario held out his hand to Cloud...and the swordsman shook it! Shulk looked on in shock, under the assumption that Cloud is xenophobic towards Homs. Cloud and Dunban don't really socialize with one another, so it kinda made sense to Shulk.

"You shake his hand, but you don't shake MINE?" questioned Shulk, sounding a bit offended. He angrily marched up to Cloud, ticked as ever. "Why is it that you shake Mario's hand, but not my hand?!"

"Because I was doing my civic duty by doing Mario a huge favor," replied Cloud. "Got him out of a tight predicament.

"Yet you did the same thing for me in the gaming room, did you not?!"

"Shulk, people are always saving your behind every now or then, anything that involves saving you and occurs on a constant basis is not deserving of a handshake...or a cake...or even a sweater. I only stuck up for you because not only was I doing my civic duty, but because the Black Knight was starting to get on my nerves. I mean, it wasn't like the Black Knight would actually hurt you or anything, he did once say he's a pacifist now..."

"Cloud speaks the truth!" followed up the Black Knight, unnerved by Jimmy T. Yes, the dancer's still at the mansion, and he's still doing those lousy dance moves of his.

"Samus saved you from getting bit by that black widow spider the other week, you never complained about her not shaking your hand." Shulk held his head in retrospect; he cried to Master Hand about Samus showing him signs of apathy for refusing to shake his hand. And was about to do the very exact thing to Cloud.

"He's got a point, you know," said Samus, inching away from Jimmy T as the dancer tried to make some moves on her.

"I guess you're right..." nodded Shulk. Time for him to own up to his actions. "Sorry for all the trouble I put you through," he apologized to Cloud.

"Apology taken," the swordsman replied. Soon Link and Zelda entered the mansion, and Zelda, holding a milkshake in her hands, looked down at the floor in sadness. "So how did the test go?" Cloud asked the princess. Zelda let out a deep sigh before saying the following...

"I failed..." she uttered. Everyone in the foyer gasped, and Sonic cried as he fell to his knees in despair - some rather long Master Hand hand massaging sessions were coming his way.

 **Link: Bought the milkshake for Zelda just to cheer her up, but that did no effect whatsoever. So I tried to take her for some sight-seeing, but she told me she wanted to go home. Good thing I didn't plan anything long-term, would have been an utter waste of rupees...**

"But I see that there's nothing wrong with failure, especially since you can learn from your non nonfulfillment and better yourself as a person. And from this experience, I have learned that I'm in no shape to drive. I only wanted to drive because I wanted to fit in, with people like Mario, Donkey Kong, Jacky, Sonic, and even Isabelle..."

"You didn't even mention me!" whined Captain Falcon. Shame on Zelda for not mentioning the race car driver, despite the fact that he's a creeper and a romantic try-hard!

"Yes and for good reason." Falcon quietly exited the foyer whimpering as Zelda continued. "Anyways, my desire to fit in with those I mentioned and more led to failure, and from this failure I learned that there's no point in fitting in, or being a try-hard." Shulk, Jimmy T, you might want to heed what Zelda just said. Same could be said for you too, Mario.

"Well said, Zelda, well said..." remarked Master Hand. The brawlers could really use Zelda's wise words...i.e. Captain Falcon, the biggest try-hard of them all.

"So who wants so half-eaten cake?" Fox presented the cake Shulk had given to Cloud earlier. "There's still some cake for everyone to eat! Everyone follow me to the dining room!"

The brawlers followed Fox, but Mario and Toon Link stayed put. Toon Link took the notepad he was writing notes on.

"Here are the notes I was talking about during the ride back," the young Hylian gave the plumber the notepad, and Mario read the notes intently. He studied over these notes like he was studying for an exam; he can really use these notes for the next time he goes on a date with Peach.

"Thanks-a for the notes, kiddo, I will be using these-a pointers in my relationship with-a Peach," thanked Mario, patting Toon Link on the head.

"Oh yeah, about what Zelda had said...don't be such a try-hard." Mario couldn't help but chuckle when the young swordsman said this.

"No worries, my dear-a boy, I won't..."


	17. Episode 17: Horror Part 1

**Episode 17: Horror Part 1**

Horror films are the best kind of the films, the cream of the crop in the movie industry. This genre was inspired by the works of Edgar Allen Poe - the Baltimore writer whose most famous work _The Raven_ was so immensely legendary his hometown just had to name their professional football team after the work - and Mary Shelley - the very woman who wrote _Frankenstein,_ which inspired many unoriginal Halloween costumes.

Over the years, the genre has developed and took many different turns as time passed. What began as _Nosferatu,_ a prominent adaption of the Dracula story, would evolve into _Paranormal Activity,_ the granddaddy of found footage films. So much reshaping and alterations, it's hard to keep up!

And now today, famed space bounty hunter Wolf O'Donnell is about to take a crack at the horror genre, by filming a horror film. Why is Wolf of all people is doing this, you might ask? Well let's just say that he lost a bet to Panther Caroso, a member of Star Wolf, not so long ago, and filming the film is the only way to own up to the bet. Only problem is, Wolf is naturally unfamiliar with the horror genre in general.

 **Wolf: To be brutally honest with you, I have never watched a single horror film in my lifetime - prior to analyzing them - which may or may not come as a surprise to many. The closest thing to a horror flick I've ever watched was _Scooby-Doo._ No, I'm not talking about the classic Scooby-Doo films, I had watched those wack straight-to-DVD films that were...gimmicky at the very least. Then there's that dumb mutt's catchphrase..."SCOOBY DOOBY DOOOOO!" *shudders* Wish Warner Bros could put that dog out of his misery and retire him already, but alas, you can't end what's already been broken...just look at _Mario Party._**

The hardest part about planning a horror film is trying to gather the right cast. You must have individuals that will blend in with the movie and make it feel more authentic. So far, Wolf has recruited Lucina, Ludwig, and Donkey Kong to star in his movie, but he still has some room for more actors.

"You're all probably wondering why I have gathered you here," Wolf said to the cast, gathered together in the meeting room.

"Bet you want us to get Fox hospitalized so you can be with Krystal," assumed Lucina, filing her nails. Believe it or not, Wolf has a thing for Krystal, and he's all butthurt about the fact that the vixen is dating Fox. The wolf has vowed to sever their relationship so he can be with Krystal, but his plans have never came into fruition.

"This has nothing to do with Krystal!" Wolf angrily stomped his foot. "Rather, this has something to do with...some horror..."

"Aw man, are you trying to show us those magazines Wario gave you?" asked Ludwig, feeling worried. You might know about the subject matter of these magazines...and if you don't, just know that Master Hand tried to ban these magazines ever since Wario acquired them.

"No, no, no...who do you think I am, some kind of pervert?!" Well you still harbor a crush on Krystal, and she's in a relationship, so... "I need you guys to be a part of a horror film I'm shooting. Now I don't really know much about horror in general, but I watched some recent horror movies as of late, and I..."

"Why are you so interested in filming a horror movie to begin with?" implored Donkey Kong.

"I had lost a bet to Panther Caroso, and now I have to own up to it - it was either shoot a horror film, or spend the rest of the week at the mansion in yoga pants." Wolf O'Donnell in yoga pants?! Now THAT'S a real horror right there!

"Pretty sure nobody would mind you walking around the mansion in yoga pants, especially Wii Fit Trainer, she's a fan of those," stated Lucina.

 **Lucina: Yoga pants, to me, are not that fashionable. Especially when they show your butt out in the public...objectification is destroying this country.**

"Now I must assign you all roles," Wolf whipped out a list of acting roles, which will indicate who is playing who. What's truly important is how effective each person will be in their role, especially with the few number of cast members as of right now. "Ludwig you're Vincent, the main character and the smart aleck of the main trio."

"Suits me just fine..." Ludwig rubbed his hands together in a non-evil way, but in a way that suggests such a way...hopefully you understand.

"Donkey Kong, you'll be Neal - the strongest of the group, and also the dumbest."

"Not fair, the strong guys are always dummies!" Donkey Kong shook his head in disgust. He has a strong point, most strong dudes are depicted as slow in fiction. Why can't there be a strong guy that's intelligent? Is that so hard to ask for?!

"Lucina, you'll be playing as Shaniqua, the lead female character and..."

"Woah, woah, woah - no way I'm playing as someone named 'Shaniqua'," frowned Lucina. Shaniqua. Did Wolf find that name off of the Internet or something? "Sounds too stereotypical for my tastes."

"C'mon Lucina, you gotta expand your horizons every now and then, get accustomed to new things and whatnot!" Lucina still didn't budge; she simply folded her arms and looked the other way. Playing as a stereotypical black woman is _way_ out of her league. "I know what you're thinking, you don't think that Shaniqua is a real name, right? Well I can prove it to you..."

"Wolf, you don't get it, don't you? I could care less about if 'Shaniqua' is a real name or not. What I do care, however, is that you're forcing me to play as a woman, who's presumably from some inner city, who acts like some kind of diva, and has some dumb weave in her hair for no reason whatsoever...I don't want to do it! You couldn't even pay me a million dollars to do your crap, I absolutely refuse to be a part of your crappy movie under these conditions!"

Wolf, Ludwig, and Donkey Kong all looked at Lucina with surprised looks. A woman as serious as Lucina rarely goes off on tangents - like the one the three men had just witnessed. Nevertheless, Wolf was somewhat pleased with Lucina's rant!

"And THAT'S what I want to see!" the wolf gleamed. "Thank you Lucina, for showing us that you're fully capable of playing the part! Glad I asked you instead of Peach, she would be giggling too much..."

Animosity started to brew within Lucina. Wolf better hope this doesn't unleash upon him...it certainly wouldn't be pretty.

* * *

Marth and Luigi were in the mansion's new dancing room, which was originally the dark room where Viridi was at a candle-lit table, and before that a room for paddling. The very reason Master Hand greatly regretted giving Mario authority over the mansion.

"Why-a are we here?" asked Luigi, feeling nervous. He was told by Marth to wear his dancing shoes, and meet him in the dancing room...the idea of Marth dancing is what scared Luigi the most. "Aren't we supposed to be working on the website for the wedding."

"Samus has it all covered, I'm sure of it," assured Marth. He's not that familiar with technology, so he lumped all the work on Samus, a technology whiz. Because you know the rule; if it anything to do with technology, Samus is always the friendliest person to ask!

 **Samus: *face in her hands* Of course I would say yes to creating some dumb website for Luigi's wedding...why can't they just annul the wedding anyway? It's not like Luigi deserves to get married anyway, he wouldn't last through the entire wedding ceremony without fainting!**

"We are here to perfect your dancing abilities for the wedding after-party, and we'll do it by dancing to some songs that are mostly played at wedding after-parties," explained Marth, with a strong tint of doubt and regret in his voice. Eventually you'll see why...

"But my dancing abilities are-a on point, nothing needs-a to be worked on!" attested Luigi. Sure he did an accidental split - at his fiance's birthday party of all occasions - but that doesn't diminish his awesome dancing prowess.

"Today we will be dancing to...'Watch Me', by Silento." Marth had sighed deeply when saying the latter part of the sentence. Unless you have been have living under a rock, or if you're living on a faraway planet like Mars, "Watch Me" was one of the top songs of 2015, partly because of how vastly overplayed it was. Everyone did the whip and nae-nae - the very bread and butter of the song and the reason why it was played at sporting events (and thankfully not at a restaurant or a supermarket or anything like that) - including Rae Sremmurd, Odell Beckham Jr, Steph Curry, Steph Curry's daughter, Jimmy Fallon, some sap in a Bugs Bunny costume, another sap in a Mr. Incredible suit at Disney World, a bunch of other saps in Disney costumes, presidential candidate Hilary Clinton...the list goes on and on. Zero even considered it "the biggest epidemic since the swine flu". Don't even get him started on the dab.

 **Marth: To be brutally honest with you, I felt kind of bad for learning the dance moves of the song. In fact, they're not even dance moves to begin with, they're just...simplistic body movements...**

"Let's just get this over with..." Marth reluctantly walked over to a boombox and hit the play button. The worst for Marth was just starting, as "Watch Me" began blaring from the boombox.

"You already know what it is!" the song blasted out of the boombox, filling the dancing room. Marth and Luigi got into position, ready to do some dance moves that require little to no skill. After the buildup of the song was through, it was now time for the dancing. "Now watch me whip..." Marth did the whip correctly; Luigi just threw out his fist like he was some karate instructor. "Now watch me nae-nae..." Marth did the nae-nae exactly how it's done; Luigi looked like he was waving to Mario as if he running away from the mansion, living forever as a hobo and vowing never to return. Rinse and repeat three times until dry.

"You gotta see this awesome breakdancing move I learned the other day, it's legit!" the male Inkling told his female counterpart as the two entered the dancing room, greeted by the horror they saw before them. Marth and Luigi were both freestyling - Marth doing the shimmy, and Luigi...it's very hard to describe what the heck he's doing.

"Do the stanky leg..." Marth did the stanky leg to perfection, making the Inklings giggle since they never saw the Hero-King ever dance like that before. Luigi's stanky leg, on the other hand, was stiffer than a big toe with Hallus Rigidus. It's a disorder that makes the big toe extremely hard to move...you could almost imagine how awful Luigi's maneuver looks.

"...What is happening?" wondered the female Inkling, feeling bewildered and concerned for her well-being. Marth and Luigi dancing to a pop song has to be reported to Master Hand immediately!

"Now break your legs..." Marth did the whole breaking legs dance, which looked very awkward. Luigi...did nothing, he just stood there like a lump on a log.

"Luigi why aren't you dancing?!" frowned Marth, pausing the song. The dancing lesson wasn't done yet, only one more step remained - the dreaded bop - and Marth would be free of doing any more "simplistic body movements".

"I can't break-a my legs...we don't-a have any insurance," stated Luigi. The plumber is right; he'll still break his legs, even if he did the dance or if he actually broke his legs for real.

The Inklings, who were idly standing by watching the whole dancing sequence unfold, couldn't contain their laughter any longer. The two fell on the floor, laughing and pointing at Marth and Luigi. Both men should be thankful all the other brawlers saw their dancing, it would rank with every terrible _American Idol_ in terms of overall humiliation and embarrassment.

 **Male Inkling: Witnessing Marth and Luigi dance to "Watch Me" will go down as one of the funniest things ever in my life. That, Captain Falcon robbing himself of his manhood in that epic paintball battle. Even funnier because he challenged me to the paintball game just so he can prove to the ladies just how "awesome" he is...instead he just proved that he's medically unable to have biological kids.**

"Get out of here!" a red-faced Marth threw the Inklings out of the dancing room. He may have taken care of them, but he can't take care of the fact that the Inklings will tell the news of Marth's dancing to everyone else. "Sadly our little dancing sequence must end...hopefully you're already prepared for the wedding after-party..."

"Is having an after-a party even necessary?" asked Luigi, prompting Marth to facepalm. If there is no after-party, then the dancing was all for naught...Marth will have to live with that burden forever.

* * *

"Mario, Link, you gotta see this!" Ness ran into the lounge, where the plumber and the Hylian were hanging out. Normally they would be spending time with their girlfriends, but Peach and Zelda are having yet another tea party. You know they have to have their tea parties. "I found these old games in the closet somewhere."

"What old games?" Link, who was reading the latest edition of _Swordsman Weekly,_ looked up from the magazine. He saw that Ness was holding old video games in his hands, and when he saw the covers, he immediately feared for the worst.

"Bring-a them over here and let-a us see," ordered Mario, who was sitting not so far from Link getting his feet massaged by Isabelle. Poor dog has to scrub his back AND massage his feet too?! The horrendous life of an assistant...

Ness laid the games out in front of Mario and Link, and the two video game icon's eyes bulged out. Ness had brought copies of _Hotel Mario_ and _Link: The Faces of Evil,_ both CD-i made by Philips Interactive Media. Both games are infamous in their own right - _Hotel Mario_ for its strange door-closing gameplay and cheesy Flash animation cutscenes, and _Link: The Faces of Evil_ with terrible graphics and lackluster cutscenes that made the game nowhere to be found in the canon Zelda timeline.

 **Mario: I put-a those games in the closet for a reason...so no one-a would ever play them! How on-a earth did Ness discover the games?!  
** **Link: Would have helped to put them in a secret chest where they can't be found...  
** **Mario: *slaps Link* We're-a not in a dungeon, mind-a you! Secret chests are for-a insecure people with-a privacy issues!**

(Gil, who is in the background of the talking head segment with a chest in his hands, drops said chest and runs away crying)

"What appears to be the matter, Sir Mario?" Isabelle asked the plumber, whose eyes were almost wider than King Dedede's. She hasn't seen Mario this frightened ever since he accidentally waltzed into Peach's room while she was changing. Remarkably, their relationship hasn't been hindered in spite of that incident.

"Do you not-a see the atrocities before-a you?!" Mario grabbed his canine assistant and shook her silly. "What you see-a here are the worst games-a known to mankind!"

"Eh, they don't look that bad," shrugged Ness, oblivious to how negatively received both games are. Funny how they had mixed to critical reception back when they were released in 1994, now everybody refuses to acknowledge their existence. "They might be better than that _Big Rigs_ racing game..."

* * *

Speaking of which, Lloyd Irving was in the computer room, playing _Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing._ Like _Hotel Mario_ and _Link: The Faces of Evil,_ the game was negatively received, though it had more universal criticism. But Lloyd didn't seem to care at all.

"Aw what, I lost again?" the swordsman moaned as his truck drove up to the finish line, where the other trucks were present. "Story of my life..." Whenever he plays this game and gets close to beating the race, those three dastardly trucks are always there. Lloyd decided to cross the finish line, just to see what would happen, and then, when he crossed the finish line...

"YOU'RE WINNER!" the message, as well as a three-handled gold trophy, popped up on the screen after Lloyd had crossed the finish line. Lloyd may have finished in last place - happens all the time in this game - but now he was deemed a winner.

"I don't believe it..." the swordsman just looked at the monitor in disbelief. "I'M WINNER! I'M WINNER!" And now for the waterworks, as tears rushed down Lloyd's face. His face was in his arms as he sobbed away, for he finally won at something for once in his life.

* * *

...now back to the scene in the lounge.

"Take these games to Master Hand and tell him to destroy them!" Link handed the CD-i games to Isabelle. He simply couldn't bear to look at them anymore.

"Can I at least play them, to see if they're as terrible as you're making them out to be?" asked Ness. Mario and Link were too distraught to pay any attention to Ness.

"I think I know a better solution to dispose of these games..." stated Isabelle. She doesn't know a particular solution at the top of her head, but she's just buying some time to think of a valid one. Destroying the CD-i games would be pointless, even though they suck so much. "Just follow me!"

"Right after-a ya!" Mario said as he and Link followed Isabelle out of the lounge, heading to who-knows-where. Ness just scratched the back of his head, wondering what had gotten into the two. Are those CD-i games that awful?

 **Isabelle: Did I pander to Mario and Link? Yes, yes I did. But having Master Hand wiping the games from existence would be pointless - after all, more and more copies are abound, all of them at thrift shops I assume. The goal is to put the games in a safe place, where Mario and Link will never, ever find them...**

* * *

King Dedede and Mr. Game & Watch guided Master Hand to the hallway closet where the Waddle Dee family resided. This family is the best kept secret right now in the mansion, for only Dedede, Game & Watch, Pit, and Kirby know about their residence, and now it was Master Hand's turn to be in the know.

"So yeah, I've been taking real good care of this family, I think I deserve a Caretaker of the Year award for my awesome efforts..." King Dedede folded his arms, sporting swagger and a confident smile. But Master Hand evidently didn't buy it, not one bit.

"Tell the truth, Dedede..." ordered the giant hand. Master Hand is one of the few - correction, many - individuals in the mansion that can easily see through the penguin's facade.

"...Only thing I did for the family was provide water," King Dedede held his head in shame. There's nothing to be shameful of, providing water is one of the best things he could do for the Waddle Dee family.

 **King Dedede: No more doing the bare minimum! From this day forth, I will be doing more than just providing water...I'll start providing water enhancers, so their water can taste great! Regular water is the most disgusting liquid on earth!**

"You two can only do so much for this family, and not to mention all the other important things you have to do," stated Master Hand. "What with you, Mr. Game & Watch, having to do maintainence of the entire mansion, and King Dedede, ruling over the Waddle Dees and keeping them in check...if only there is someone more than willing enough to take care of..."

Suddenly Master Hand's nonexistent eyes soon caught Cloud, who was walking through the hallways minding his business. Cloud seemed like the right person to ask, he would gladly foster the Waddle Dee family without question. So the creator of the Smash Universe approached the swordsman, hoping Cloud would agree with the question he's ready to ask.

"Hey Cloud, you got a minute?" Master Hand asked the blonde. Cloud's always up for anything, whether he truly likes it or not, so he always has a minute.

"Sure man, what's up?" replied Cloud, hoping whatever Master Hand has in store for him is short and sweet. Prepare to see Master Hand give the swordsman's hopes up entirely.

"Oh nothing, totally like I need you to watch over a family of Waddle Dees or anything..." Master Hand tried his best to play it cool, developing a visage that would win over Cloud.

"What's in it for me?" Certainly there must be some sort of benefit from what Master Hand is asking of from the swordsman, it's not that often the creator of the Smash universe hands you an important task (as long as it doesn't involve plunging toilets).

"Name me one person here at this mansion that ticks you off, a person that no matter what, is always getting on your nerves. I'll pay that person to leave you alone, and they'll never bother you again!"

"Hmm..." Cloud stroked his chin, musing over Master Hand's offer. Only a few select people are on Cloud's non-annoyance list - Peach, Zelda, Isabelle, Ness, and Lucario, just to name a few. However, a lot of people are on the swordsman's annoyance list - and one particular person is at the top. "Yoshi is pretty bothersome, maybe you can pay him to not write any more dumb fanfiction stories. It would help out not only for me, but everyone else involved."

"Yoshi's fanfiction isn't that bad, I've read them before and it's legit!" defended King Dedede, garnering inquisitive looks from Cloud, Mr. Game & Watch, and even Master Hand, despite his lack of eyes.

 **Master Hand: Remind me to have King Dedede's brain check ASAP. Not even a brainless monkey would enjoy Yoshi's fanfic stories, those horrendous stories are an insult to every writer in existence!**

"Alright then, it's a deal!" Master Hand shook hands with Cloud. "I am entrusting you to take good care of this Waddle Dee family, and ensure that they are not harmed in any way. Now if you excuse me, I have to attend my hand massaging session. Sonic only has one more day until his punishment is fulfilled!"

And with that, Master Hand departed, and King Dedede and Mr. Game & Watch both followed suit. Cloud sat near the Waddle Dee family, hoping to get to know them a little better. It will be a hard process, due to the fact that they can't communicate through the lovely use of language, but it's worth a shot!

"How do you guys consume that stuff?" Cloud pointed at the water bottles and boxes of food, all lined up in the closet. The closet has a wide amount of space, which means the family has enough room to put in a television if they wanted to. One of the Waddle Dees gave Cloud a gift of sorts - a small umbrella. "Um, thanks..." Cloud would dispose of the umbrella, since it was very small and not big enough to protect Cloud from the rain, but he'll save face and accept it.

* * *

Wolf went to one of the rooms of the mansion, where the knitting club was held. Inside the room he found Yoshi, Ashley, Toad, and the newest member, Pac-Man, knitting away making new quilts.

"Howdy!" Yoshi waved to Wolf, greeting him. But Wolf wasn't here to greet Yoshi.

"Care to join us?" asked Toad, the presumed drug lord. But Wolf wasn't here to join some lousy knitting club.

"Save me..." Pac-Man pleaded to Wolf with pleading eyes. But Wolf wasn't here to save Pac-Man from this torture.

Instead, Wolf's here for one person, and one person only - Ashley, who, as an introvert, felt slightly unnerved when Wolf was standing over the young witch.

 **Wolf: Ashley is an absolutely perfect fit for my horror movie! I have noticed a common element in most of the horror movies I analyzed - a creepy girl goes about, killing random people and doing some exorcism stuff! Ashley has the looks, attitude and hotspur to do all of those things and more!**

"Make this short, sweet, and to the point," demanded Ashley. Wolf was invading the young witch's personal space...an extremely small personal space, almost nonexistent even.

"How would you...like to star...in a horror movie?" Wolf proposed to the witch. Ashley mused over the thought of starring in a movie, until the thought of others seeing it frightened her.

"Thanks, but no thanks, I'll just stick to watching them." Ashley continued her knitting, and Wolf grudgingly walked out of the knitting room. Ashley in a horror movie would have boded very well..

* * *

Afar from the room, Donkey Kong, Lucina, and Ludwig were reading over the lines Wolf had given to them. Lucina, who had the role of playing as Shaniqua, a strong independent black woman who don't need no man, was clearly exasperated by her lines. She has to use terms like "dope", "shorty", and perhaps her least favorite word of all, "booty". Reviewing over these lines was Lucina's loving father, Chrom.

"I don't know Lucina, this looks way beyond your league..." said the prince of Ylisse. "Is there a way you can talk Wolf out of doing the part?"

"He's proven to be quite stubborn, especially since he's recruiting new people, so I highly doubt it," Lucina replied assuredly. If she can't talk Wolf out of it, Chrom will be there to back her up. That's what good, protective fathers do, they stick up for their kids even if they don't need it. Lucina should feel great that she has such a great and caring father. Same can't be said for Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings...

"Are you three rehearsing your lines?" Wolf approached the three actors, still quite angry that his recruiting ploy with Ashley fell flat. "Hopefully you'll be ready when I find a good video camera!" Dude doesn't even have a viable recording device on him...you know the movie's gonna suck now!

"Wolf, we need to talk," Chrom confronted Wolf. "You have Lucina playing as a ghetto woman from the hood, and she's clearly unsuitable for the role. I demand that you give her another character to play as at once!"

"Don't tell me what to do! Unless you want to get whipped again by my belt..."

 **Donkey Kong: Chrom got whipped by Wolf?! And the guy wonders why he'll never find another girlfriend in his life, getting whipped by some lousy wolf with a mohawk...  
** **Ludwig: Yeah like you're the one to talk, dating some gorilla that looks like Nikki Minaj...  
Donkey Kong: Boy if you don't... *chases after Ludwig***

"Hey guys what's going on?" Pit popped up in the scene with Viridi, holding hands with the goddess of nature. When you're in a romantic relationship, you gotta hold hands, it's romantic protocol.

"We're filming a horror movie, care to join?" offered Wolf, hoping either Pit, Viridi, or both join the movie.

"What do you think Viridi? I would be awesome in a horror movie - I can be the Undertaker, the wrestler, and you can be...the Undertaker's wife!"

"Sounds like a good idea, I suppose..." Viridi smiled nervously, too afraid to tell the angel that his idea is beyond bonkers.

 **Viridi: Apparently Pit is unaware that wrestling is kayfabe, or fake...to this day, he still thinks the Undertaker is an actual undertaker in real life, and that Randy Orton delivers random RKOs to random civilians outside of wrestling, and that Goldust wears his freaky face painting out in public...would it destroy our relationship if I told him it's all scripted?**

"Can I be the Undertaker?!" pleaded Pit. "Can I, can I?!" The way he was pleading, he was acting like a dog, demanding his owner for more bacon.

"Sure kiddo, you being the Undertaker would be perfect, since you can be the villain and all," replied Wolf. The Undertaker is rarely known as a villain within wrestling, but Wolf here is more than willing to make it work for his movie - whatever it is about. "What role would you like Viridi?"

"She can be the Undertaker's wife!" Pit is assuming that the Undertaker's wife is some hag working at a funeral home, when in actuality it's a former WWE diva. As Viridi stated in the talking head segment, Pit is unaware of wrestling being fake or scripted - whichever one floats your boat - so he's unfamiliar with all the stuff that happens outside of the wrestling ring.

"I prefer to be a witch, one that can make potions!" stated Viridi. So basically she wants to be like Ashley...would have been a lot easier if she just said that.

"And I want to be the apprentice to the witch!" Sonic randomly showed up, running at the speed of light to the scene.

"Sonic aren't you supposed to be massaging Master Hand's...hand?" asked Wolf. Indeed, the hedgehog is supposed to be doing the hand massage for Master Hand, as punishment for throwing a celebration for Zelda that was all for naught.

"Well I was supposed to, until I paid off Tails to sedate Master Hand for me, so until further notice, I'm a free man!" But if Master Hand wakes up from his slumber, he'll severely punish Sonic - and Tails as well, for following up the hedgehog's ludicrous plan.

"Well since you're already here, I suppose we can include you in the horror movie..."

"Aw sweet I'm gonna star in a horror movie?" Sonic was getting all giddy, and his ignorance greatly concerned Wolf. Viridi playing as a witch should have been a strong context clue. "And here I thought you were making a romantic teen movie, like _Twilight_!"

"Witches are very uncommon in romance films...and teen movies in general...you know what, just forget about it."

* * *

Knuckles had finally done - he finished recording his first rap mixtape - entitled _Chaotix_ , gotta keep it short and simple for a first record - and now all that was left to do was publish it. First he needed a good mixtape cover...

"If you're looking for the perfect mixtape cover, we're your guys," Fox said to Knuckles in the Star Records room, on behalf of him and Falco.

 **Falco: Got any idea who you're looking at? You're look at one of the best photographers in the mansion, the best of his kind in any generation! *strikes a pose* Now people may not know this, but I'm a master photographer, and I'm more than willing to take the right photo for Knuckles, a photo that will...Yes, yes, I'm aware he needs an mixtape cover, but...what, Photoshop?! Ew, no, Photoshop is for losers who toy around with their own images of themselves, just to make themselves look better than they're supposed to be!**

(Behind the talking head segment is Gil, who is seen running away in tears)

"Thanks a bunch, you guys," thanked Knuckles. The echidna had put a heavy amount of trust in the Star Fox pilots - in fact, Fox even gave one of Knuckles' rap songs a name, "Crystal Beings", which was named for obvious reasons. "I can't seem to think of a great mixtape cover, especially with the name and all. I'm a bit low on suggestions..."

"What's this about an mixtape cover?"

Knuckles saw behind him Yuffie Kisaragi, and her ninja pals Greninja and Sheik. The echidna shrieked like a little girl as he leaped into the arms of Little Mac, who happened to walk inside the room

"I cannot begin to describe how weird and awkward this feels right now," the boxer stated. Falco took a picture of this on his phone - another visual relic for the memories.

"W-What do you guys want?!" asked Knuckles, still ticked at Yuffie for scaring him like that. Knuckles is always trying to promote the visage of a tough guy, a guy who is rarely frightened. And Yuffie just tarnished his countenance and swagger.

"Just here to see how you're handling things, in the room you and your scrawny friends stole from us!" replied Yuffie. Apparently she's still bitter about the events that transpired in episode 14; the basement isn't enough to suffice her anger. "I take it you finally finished your lame rap mixtape?"

"First of all, it's not lame, it's straight fire!" A lot of up-and-coming rappers - mostly the youngins - say their mixtape is straight fire, Knuckles isn't really helping his chances in impressing the ninjas. "And secondly, it's not really finished, I must have a finese mixtape cover so it will look legit when it hits the music stores!"

"Selling it online instead would be much easier," stated Sheik. She knows this from experience - she sold some of her needles online for no price, and an acupuncture massager bought these needles for a whopping $1,000! Hiding this cash from Wario proved to be a tough task for Sheik.

"I would, but Fox and Falco both told me that putting my mixtape up online has become too mainstream, so I'm doing it the old fashioned way."

Sheik shook her head, facepalming. The Star Fox pilots' "too mainstream" logic was clearly getting inside Knuckles' head.

 **Knuckles: I wouldn't even put my mixtape up online in the first place, a lot of people on the Internet you can't simply trust. Like Dr. Eggman for example, with those belly-dancing video he keeps sending to me, Sonic, and Tails...no matter how many times I change my e-mail and IP address, that dumb fatso is still finding new, inventive ways to send me those videos...sooner or later he's gonna hack the system and send them to EVERYONE...*scratches his chin* Hmm, why not forward the videos to Amy, she would definitely like them!**

"Ate...too much...chocolate..." Doc Louis entered the room, puking into poor Big Top. The boxing trainer had ate one too many chocolate bars, and his stomach evidently had enough of the savory sweets. So in a brutal act of rebellion, it caused Doc to feel nauseous, and vomit into the giant hat that is Big Top. Given his nature, the talking hat seemed to enjoy his gross punishment...

"Yeah, keep it coming!" he exclaimed, inadvertently making everyone else in the room sick. Everyone except for Knuckles, that is.

"I think I got it now!" the echidna exclaimed. "Everyone, follow me to the computer room, this mixtape cover idea is gonna be SICK!"

"He means that in a non-disgusting way, right?" Yuffie asked the others, fearful that Doc Louis throwing up might have given Knuckles a pretty gruesome idea.

* * *

Marth walked through the mansion, feeling slightly humiliated after the Inklings had witnessed his dancing. His humiliation would soon rise another level, when he saw the female Inkling showing Heihachi Mishima a video on her cellphone...a video of Marth and Luigi dancing! How did she manage to record the two without being caught?! Being a squid can really heighten your stealth skills!

"Wa wa wa! Marusu wa kanzen'na dōke no yō ni maimasu!" laughed Heihachi. "Kanzen ni kare o mite kekkonshiki de jibun jishin o komara seru tanoshīkoto, kare wa dansufuroa o utsu yō ni kanjite teikyō sa remasu!"

"How dare you record me without me knowing!" Marth confronted the female Inkling. He would call her by name, but he can't because (1) the Inkling has no given name, and (2) giving her a name would be terribly awkward. "I demand that you delete that video at once!"

"I'd rather see you try!" the female Inkling retorted before sticking her tongue out at Marth. The Hero-King chased after the female Inkling, and Heihachi just watched. The video of Marth and Luigi dancing was know ingrained in his head - darn shame he can't tell anyone else about it since he only speaks Japanese.

 **Heihachi Mishima: Nioi ashi o ya~tsuMarusu wa deddopūru-iri eiga no yōna monodesu: Anata wa sore ga okoru koto o nozonde ita, anata wa okoru koto wanaidarou okufukaku shitte iruga, dō iu wake ka, soreha okorimashita.**

Marth chased the female Inkling through the hallways, and managed to corner her in the computer room, where Knuckles was working on his mixtape cover on Photoshop. Flanking him were the dudes from Star Records (Big Top included) and the three ninja pals - Yuffie, Sheik, and Greninja.

"You sure this is such a good idea?" Yuffie asked Knuckles, who's mixtape was was apparently a mesh of bright and vivid colors. The inspiration for this, you might ask? The color of the Doc Louis' vomit. You can't possibly make this stuff up, can you?

"It's different, which what makes it so great!" remarked Knuckles, while Marth chased the female Inkling around the computer room. Samus just entered the computer room after a short coffee break, and the computer she was using was thankfully still on, despite the chaos that was happening. She caught the female Inkling, and grabbed her by the shirt.

"Did you get any videos for me?" she asked the Inkling. The female Inkling gave the bounty hunter her phone, showing her the video of Marth's and Luigi's spectacular dancing - so spectacular, it made Samus laugh! Marth, Knuckles, and everyone else looked at Samus in bewilderment, for Samus laughing is a once in a blue moon type of thing.

 **Heihachi Mishima: Kanren nōto de, Samusu warai wa Marusu ga kusai ashi o yatte yōna monodesu - anata mo, anata ga pointo o eru... Anata wa sore ga okoru koto wa arimasen shitte iru, sore ga okoru shitai to omoimasu.**

"I'm so adding this to the wedding website!" snorted Samus. Marth's eyes grew big in worry - if the video gets uploaded to the website, then everyone that visits it will see him and Luigi dancing, in all of their glory...he can't let it happen.

"You think that video is so funny, huh?" the Hero-King marched up to Samus, swiping the phone away from her. Then Yuffie swiped the phone away from Marth, and played the video, laughing at the dancing she had seen.

"Oh man, this is too funny!" Yuffie was literally crying tears of laughter. Knuckles grabbed the phone from Knuckles while Yuffie was enjoying herself...laughing. He would show the others the video, and they were laughing just like Yuffie. Even Sheik was laughing! If she and Samus laughed, then the video would work wonders on Cloud...

"You know what, screw the mixtape cover, I gotta show this to everyone else!" Knuckles ran out of the room, leaving Marth in a state of panic. Only a few brawlers saw the video, and if everyone else sees it, his and Luigi's reputations would be ruined!

"No, don't do it!" the Hero-King did what was right, and chased after the echidna. His dignity has never been more on the line.

"I needed that video to complete the wedding website..." groaned Samus; the website was 95% complete, and that video would be the icing on the cake. "Can one of you guys get back that phone?"

Nobody bothered to listen, since they were too busy laughing after watching that video. Samus sighed and exited the computer room. Take to take matters into her own hands...

* * *

Peach sat in a room, a room where she and Zelda usually hold their tea parties. The tea party was still going on, but without Zelda - the princess of Hyrule told Peach that she had to use the bathroom. Unless you weren't paying attention, Zelda secretly reverted to her Sheik persona, and went to attend the tea party in the basement with Yuffie and Greninja. Peach is still waiting patiently for Zelda's return...

 **Peach: It's been hours, and Zelda has yet to return from the bathroom...I told her not to eat those refried beans, especially since Wario bought them. He makes sure he gets the..."explosive" ones, and for a good reason...**

"Hey Peach, you wanna hear a wicked fart?" Wario approached the princess. The fatso was holding in a very toxic fart - so toxic that it could result in an atomic bomb after-effect - and holding it in much longer would cause his stomach to reject him, just like how Doc Louis' stomach rejected him for eating a liberal amount of chocolate. Peach was the perfect candidate for the act of flatulence he's about to perform.

"No thank you, Wario, my nostrils deserve your mercy," replied Peach, trying to come off as nice so she wouldn't offend Wario. But sadly for her it didn't work.

"You ain't got no choice! Time to let it rip!"

Peach braced herself, as Wario was ready to pass some wicked gas. But before he could, he was knocked over by Link, accompanied by Mario and Isabelle. The fatso ran into a window and fell out of it, and when he landed, a giant farting sound was heard, releasing a giant wave of toxic fumes.

"Aw man, my nose feels numb!" Corrin yelled from outside, after smelling the terrible stench that was Wario's fart. A fart cloud enveloped the surrounding area, making it unsafe to go outside, ever.

"Are you sure Peach can obliterate these games?" Link asked Isabelle. The dog had led Mario and Link throughout the mansion, searching for a viable way to "destroy" _Hotel Mario_ and _Link: The Faces of Evil_ \- games so infamously bad, the two Nintendo icons refused to even look at them.

"Um, yes, she can, uh..." Isabelle struggled to think of a good reason. Mario and Link are very tough cookies to crack! "...she can pour tea on the video game discs and destroy them forever!"

Mario and Link both pondered over Isabelle's idea. Was pouring great tea on two video game discs really worth it?

"That sounds-a like a great idea!" exclaimed Mario. Isabelle let out a sigh of relief; their little goose chase was finally over... "Peach, mind-a if I borrow the teapot?" ...Looks like Mario and Link are dead serious about ridding those games from existence.

"Go ahead, I don't see anything..." Peach said, before she was cut off by Mario grabbing the teapot, taking the CD-i games out of their cases, and pouring hot tea over them, in hopes of destroying them. Peach and Isabelle just looked on in horror, was Link was encouraging Mario.

"No more! No more!" Mario was now turning into a crazed maniac, bent on eradicating the CD-i games forever.

"You know Mario, an easier way of getting rid of those games is to sell them to a thrift store..." Peach stated, trying to be the voice of reason.

"Or we can just throw them at a wall!" Link grabbed both CD-i discs and threw them against a wall, breaking them in the process. "Crisis averted...can't believe we did all that walking around the mansion for nothing!"

"Tell-a me about it!" said Mario, grateful that those dastardly games are gone forever. However, he and Link have become ignorant to one important thing...

"You do both realize there are plenty other copies of those games, right?" asked Isabelle. Mario and Link both sported worried facial expressions, having realized that their biggest fear has come.

 **Link: I thought you said all the copies of _Hotel Mario_ and _Link: The Faces of Evil_ were all destroyed! Did you not?  
** **Mario: Hmm, maybe my petition to the U.S.-a government didn't fall through. But no matter, we'll-a handle this situation ourselves!**

"Well what are we waiting for?" asked Link. "Let's gather all copies in Washington, and destroy them! And after that, we'll continue around the country until there's no copy in existence!"

"Good-a idea!" nodded Mario. The plumber and the Hylian exited the room, sticking to their rather oddball quest.

"Care for some tea?" Peach asked Isabelle. Seems like the dog isn't up for a tea party, especially in her current mood.

* * *

Cloud was still taking care of the Waddle Dee family, and he was doing it all alone. In fact, he seemed to enjoy being by himself - no hindrances or annoyances are present to distract him...until Yoshi decided to show up.

"Go away," the swordsman rudely told Yoshi before the dinosaur could even say anything. He saw that Yoshi was carrying a notepad - used for his fanfiction writing - and that made Cloud nervous about who he's gonna be paired up with next.

"Don't worry, it won't be long, just a quick chit-chat, and I'll leave you at peace," stated Yoshi. Cloud groaned; maybe Yoshi will be less annoying this time. "So I've been doing some brainstorming lately, and while I was brainstorming, I was observing you and Lucina, and how..."

"Okay, that's enough, go away and leave me alone." A Cloud-Lucina pairing? The blonde swordsman doesn't approve, not one bit!

"Shh I'm not done yet! Anyway, I've been observing you and Lucina, taking note of how serious you two are, and then I thought...why not put you in a love triangle with Little Mac included?"

"Yep you're seriously off your rocker this time, leave me alone or I'll have to use force."

"It was worth a shot..." Yoshi held his head in sadness and walked away. Time for him to start over from scratch...

 **Yoshi: Perhaps I should experiment with Pokemon...yeah, a Pikachu-Jigglypuff-Lucario love triangle would sound legit! Only thing I would have to do is ask Jigglypuff if she's a girl...**

"How's it going?" Meta Knight checked on Cloud, after King Dedede told him the story of the Waddle Dee family, while exaggerating how much work he has done to ensure they're in the right shape. "Looks like you don't need any assistance..."

"It's not as hard as it looks," replied Cloud. "Though I kinda wish this family would live somewhere else..." Cloud certainly didn't mean this in a bad way - like he wanted the family to go away so he can resume his usual activities of thinking about life - he just felt that the mansion isn't suitable enough for the Waddle Dees, and that they deserve their own place of residence.

"I feel ya," Meta Knight took a seat next to Cloud. Why?...is probably what Cloud is thinking. "Maybe we can build a house for them, a small one adjacent to the mansion. Mr. Game & Watch is a master carpenter, he can build a house without breaking a sweat!"

"We can ask him to build a house for the Waddle Dee family, and they won't have to worry about me having to take care of them! Sounds like a great idea! Though we'll probably have to ask Master Hand for permission..."

"You know how Master Hand can be, he won't even let you use the fax machine without his consent. Let's go speak to him now!"

* * *

With Yoshi momentarily watching over the Waddle Dee family (a great time to perfect his fanfiction craft, Cloud and Meta Knight went to Master Hand's room, and found the giant hand lying atop his bed - a bed he rarely uses. Why does he even have one...

"He must be asleep," assumed Cloud, noticing the hand restless and not moving a single inch. The swordsman took upon the risk of waking up Master Hand - a strong chance of Master Hand going off on Cloud persists - by lightly tapping the giant hand's index finger. Master Hand didn't budge.

"Touching him won't work at all," stated Meta Knight, pushing Cloud aside. "What will work is some pain!" He drove his sword into Master Hand, hoping to wake him up. Still nothing happened. What gives?

"I don't think he's responding..." Cloud began to fear for the worst - Master Hand, the creator of the Smash Universe, was now seemingly unresponsive. "What should we do?!"

"We must carry him down to the fitness center. Wii Fit Trainer is a qualified nurse, she can help us in some capacity..."

* * *

Wolf was back in the meeting room, this time with an even bigger cast. Donkey Kong, Ludwig, Lucina, Pit, Viridi, and Sonic were all gathered inside, ready to start filming...if everyone was on the same page.

"Man, you look ridiculous!" Sonic pointed and laughed at Pit, who was dressed like the Undertaker. The angel had on an Undertaker cloak, an Undertaker hat, and was even wearing eye liner.

"Leave my precious Pit alone, he looks great!" defended Viridi, always sticking up for her man whenever she needed to.

"Can I PLEASE change my name from Shaniqua?!" Lucina pleaded to Wolf. "I refuse to carry such a name!"

 **Lucina: A complete revamp of the character I'm playing as is what I'm actually demanding...but I have to start with some baby steps. Convincing Wolf will prove to be a very slow process.**

"ENOUGH!" Wolf yelled at the top of his lungs. It was now silent in the room. "Now that I have your attention, it's about time we start filming the horror movie. Has everyone memorized their scripts?"

"Yes!" everyone replied, with Viridi having to speak up for Pit, and you know why she had to.

"Donkey Kong, is the camera fully working?"

"Works as good as new!" Donkey Kong gave Wolf a thumbs up. "Lenses are clearer than the Pacific Ocean! And the recording features are...

"Okay, I get the point now, I don't need any more figurative expressions."

"Wolf may I use the bathroom?" Pit quickly raised his hand. Wolf sighed; Pit's bladder problems were ruining his plans.

"If you must..." Pit hurriedly got out of his seat and headed straight towards the bathroom. A few seconds later, he came right back.

"Turns out I didn't have to use it, my bladder was just messing with me." The angel sat back down, and Wolf was angry at him for nearly wasting his precious time.

"I take that everyone is ready?" The actors all nodded their heads. "Excellent. This horror movie is going to be epic..."


	18. Episode 18: Horror Part 2

_Author's note:_

 _So I received this review from A Man last week:_

 _"Hilarious! I'm loving it._

 _Needs more Toon Link though XD_

 _like, waaaay more XDD"_

 _In response to this review, I'll try and feature Toon Link more in the story, since he's quite the popular character in the Super Smash Bros series. It won't happen in this episode, but from episode 19 and onward, I'll try and include Toon Link as much as I can._

* * *

 **Episode 18: Horror Part 2**

While Wolf was filming his horror movie, Knuckles was showing brawlers a very embarrassing video, and Mario and Link were vowing to destroy every copy of two of the most notorious games in video game history, Wii Fit Trainer was in the fitness center, stretching and whatnot to keep herself in shape. It's very important that this fitness trainer keeps up her physical hygiene and stay in shape, if she wants to remain slim and healthy. Eating the right foods is important too, and although eating food won't help her skin condition, the Wii Fit Trainer has to eat nutritional food, at all times.

"Nothing like some good stretching before another great exercise!" the fitness trainer exclaimed, stretching out her arms. Just when she was about to stretch her legs, Cloud and Meta Knight showed up, both carrying Master Hand. Cloud carried the giant hand with ease, flaunting his great strength, but for Meta Knight, the struggle was very real.

 **Meta Knight: The initial plan was to have Cloud carry Master Hand while I lead the way, but that lousy blonde said he might need me for "extra support". Has he not taken into consideration my small frame? If I was carrying a diseased Kirby, then fine, but Master Hand? Give me a break. And Cloud said Master Hand wouldn't be that heavy because he's a glove...evidently he doesn't know the Smash universe creator that well.**

"What is wrong with Master Hand?" Wii Fit Trainer asked, feeling worried. Master Hand in an incapacitated state is not a good look...unless he was battling against Tabuu, and took a heavy beating. "Lay him on the floor, I'll see if I can diagnose his condition..." Cloud and Meta Knight did as they were told, laying Master Hand on the floor, and Wii Fit Trainer checked the hand for his pulse. Hey, Master Hand doesn't have a heart, but he has a wrist, so checking for a pulse makes sense in a way. "...Master Hand must have been sedated!"

"Sedated, you say?" Captain Falcon showed up, likely to execute another failed attempt at asking Wii Fit Trainer out on a date. He has a 2% chance of scoring a date with Wii Fit with every chance he gets, but he's hopeful that this time his attempts will be all for nothing. "If I do remember correctly, Tails was walking into Master Hand's room, carrying a suspicious bottle of some sort of substance in his hand. I would ask him what it was, but I was too busy working on by chiseled looks in the mirror."

"Yeah that's good," Wii Fit Trainer responded to Falcon's reason for not interrogating Tails, a pretty stupid reason at that. The race car driver held his head in sadness and shame; no way is he going on a date with Wii Fit now. "Now on more important matters...do you know how long Tails was in Master Hand's room?"

"Only for a few minutes..." Captain Falcon replied in a saddened, mopey tone. What's the point of Falcon even talking to Wii Fit Trainer when she doesn't see anything romantic about him? He might as well walk away and ask another lady out - preferably Samus - but he can't leave without supplying as much information as possible.

"Did he act suspicious or anything, before entering the room or after he had left?"

"Not to my knowledge..." Captain Falcon slowly walked away. "I'll just go now, I think I told you guys enough..." Another day, another failed attempt to ask out Wii Fit Trainer - only this time, the attempt never really came to full fruition.

"Tails must be interrogated immediately," suggested Cloud. "Never thought he would be the one to sedate Master Hand, but we'll have to ask him some questions hard-hitting questions to find out if he's really the perpetrator..."

* * *

And so, Cloud, Meta Knight, and Wii Fit Trainer grabbed Tails - who was working with Zero in the workshop - and brought him to a dark with. He was tied down in a chair, with a light bulb shining bright on his face.

"Why am I here?" asked Tails. He had seen stuff like this before on TV - a person is sitting in the chair, oftentimes tied down, and they're being interrogated. The fox never thought such a thing would ever happen to him.

 **Cloud: Asked Meta Knight if we could interrogate Tails in a normal way, a way where we won't have to be in a dim-lit room, instead a place more open and with a wide amount of space. But he turned down my suggestion, believing that holding the interrogations in a dim-lit room will be "more effective", or something like that. *sighs* It's like nobody here ever hears me out...**

"We got a few questions to ask you..." Meta Knight said to Tails, who was understandably a little scared. "Captain Falcon has told us that you sneaked in Master Hand's room...to do WHAT?"

"I'm...I'm not inclined to answer that question," replied Tails. Meta Knight leaped up and shockingly slapped Tails in the face; the fox hit him with a "Dude, seriously?!" look. It was never in Meta Knight's nature to slap others, even if it was someone like Kirby driving him insane.

"Meta Knight that was completely unnecessary!" scolded Wii Fit Trainer.

"My sincere apologies," Meta Knight held his head in utter shame. For a rare instance, he was acting very out of character. "Dr. Mario's interrogation mannerisms was starting to get to me. Anyways, Tails, why did you enter Master Hand's room in the first place?"

"Can't answer that question too," replied Tails, enraging Meta Knight. The knight was about to slap Tails yet again, but Cloud stopped him. No time for another out-of-character moment, one is enough.

"Let me handle this," the blonde swordsman said coolly. "Alright Tails, you said you're not inclined to answer Meta Knight's questions, so perhaps you can answer mine...did Sonic make you do something to Master Hand?"

Tails gritted his teeth nervously while looking at his side. This type of body language is suggesting that he did.

"Sonic made me sedate Master Hand just so he wouldn't have to massage Master Hand's hand..." Tails fessed up. But you already knew about what was going on, since Sonic spilled the beans to Wolf and company in the previous episode.

"Just as I figured..." Cloud folded his arms in thought. Honestly, he wasn't surprised Sonic would stoop as low as forcing his best friend to sedate Master Hand, especially if it meant getting himself out of punishment. "Where is Sonic now?"

"In a horror movie Wolf is shooting. I saw him in the meeting room, where Wolf was discussing how they were gonna do the movie."

"Well if we can't beat him...might as well join him."

* * *

Lloyd was using the mansion's house phone in the foyer, and he was using it to answer a very important question he has on his mind. So he knew just the place to call to find the answer to his question... _McDonald's._

"Hello sir, how may I help you today?" the _McDonald's_ executive said on the phone, bracing himself for what might happen next.

"Hi, I just have a dire question to ask," responded Lloyd. This phone call will either be beneficial, or a complete waste of time. Though given that it's Lloyd, it's bound to be the latter.

"Okay...what is it then?" Rarely does _McDonald'_ _s_ management receives phone calls, especially those that have to do with answering questions.

"What sound does the rooster make in 'Old McDonald Had a Farm'?"

"Really man?!" the _McDonald's_ executive exclaimed angrily before hanging up on Lloyd. Questions about food quality and overall friendliness, the exec would be more than happy to answer, but questions about nursery songs, that is no bueno.

 **Lloyd: Cow goes moo, chicken goes cluck, pig goes oink, but I never could figure out what sound the rooster makes. I tried asking Roy earlier, and he says that the rooster goes "cock a doodle doo", but asking him was pointless...I didn't come to him for cooking lessons, I just want to find out what sound a rooster makes! Is that so hard to ask?**

"Move aside, buddy!" Mario pushed Lloyd out of the way and Link grabbed the phone before it fell on the floor. The Hylian dialed the number of the nearest thrift store in the Smash Mansion's vicinity. The mission? To destroy every single copy of _Hotel Mario_ and _Link: The Faces of Evil_ there is in existence.

"Hello, this is the David Green speaking..." the dude on the phone answered, but before he could continue...

"Tell me how many copies of _Hotel Mario_ and _Link: The Faces of Evil_ you have in stock!" demanded Link. Clearly him and Mario are very adamant about eradicating the very existence of those two crappy games, and they'll do anything at all costs until their deed is done.

"Um, I'm sorry sir, but we don't have any copies of..."

"Don't lie to me mister, we know you're hiding those games somewhere safe!" ...Ness should have known better than to show Mario and Link those video games he found. Look at what he had done to our favorite video game characters...

"Gimme that-a phone!" Mario grabbed the phone from Link. "You listen here-a buddy, the games that my friend speaks-a of are an abomination to society and-a culture, and should be dispelled off at-a once! We will-a not stop until our demands are met!"

This caused the David Green guy to hang up on Mario. The plumber grew furious, as his face became red and steamed flared out of his ears - and his nostrils. When steam comes out your nose, you know you're extremely ticked.

"If that-a thrift store doesn't-a have the games, then Walmart does!" proclaimed Mario. If you were to look online for _Hotel Mario_ and _Link: The Faces of Evil,_ you will see that no copy of both games is in stock. But don't tell that to Mario and Link.

"To the computer room!" said Link. And that's were Mario and Link went.

* * *

Ganondorf was rather busy in his room, cleaning his beloved Sword of Sages with a cloth. Ever since Mario tried to sell the sword at the yard sale, the Demon Lord has become more protective of his trusty sword, and has now decided to carry it with him wherever he goes.

 **Ganondorf: At first, when I heard that Link carries his Master Sword wherever he goes, my instant thought was that the Hylian was drunk with power, and that he uses his sword for senseless things that carry little to no meaning. But after I word that he some kid stole Link's sword, I suddenly became more conscious of my sword - individuals like Wario might steal the sword to scratch his butt! Do you know how horrendous that would sound? Wario, a man more fatter than an obese orca, using my precious Sword of Sages as a personal butt scratcher...I would need all the sanitizing products in the world if that were to transpire.**

"Ganondorf, you gotta check this video out!" Knuckles barged into Ganondorf's room, much to the Demon Lord's chagrin. Internally he was hoping that the echidna wasn't showing him a rap video, which he has been perfecting for some time now. Ganondorf is readying his arm for a wicked Warlock Punch in the event Knuckles were to show him such video.

"Whatever you're about to show me better be entertaining," said Ganondorf, concerned by Knuckles' childish giggling. His giggling was causing the Demon Lord to lose a lot of faith in whatever he was about to watch.

Then Knuckles showed him the video of Marth and Luigi dancing. Ganondorf tried to maintain his serious visage, doing his best not to crack a smile, but it was no use. The Demon Lord fell to the floor in laughter.

"Ha ha, knew you'd like it!" Knuckles gleamed as Ganondorf laughed his butt off...but not literally though, that would be very weird and also physically impossible. Knuckles _has_ to show it to Cloud now - he made the mighty Demon Lord Ganondorf crack his serious visage, maybe he can get to Cloud's indifference and apathy.

* * *

Wolf was recording Ludwig, Donkey Kong, and Lucina as they casually walked through the hallways. According to Wolf, the horror movie will be a found footage film - think of it as _Paranormal Activity,_ but crappier.

"Man, I can sure go for some grub!" Donkey Kong exclaimed, rubbing his stomach.

"Now is not the time to be worrying about food and such," stated Ludwig. "We're stuck inside this mansion, and we have to find a way out or we'll be stuck in this wretched place forever!" Gotta think of it, the halls have lighting...Wolf really needs to address that issue while he edits the film. Too much lightning will make the movie more crappy than it already is now.

"Rather be stuck here than that lousy gas station down the street! Boy that place smells!"

Ludwig, Donkey Kong, and Lucina all shared a laugh. Lucina's laughter wasn't that spectacular, given that she's always serious and at times unable to decipher a joke.

"Ain't that the truth doe..." said the swordswoman. Words cannot begin to describe how painful it was for her to say that.

 **Chrom: Apparently Wolf's movie goes like this - Lucina, Donkey Kong, and Ludwig are the main characters, and they are stuck inside a "scary" mansion, which they have to find a way to get out. The main antagonist of the movie is Pit, who is playing as Undertaker from the WWE. He's gonna follow around the trio under his Undertaker persona, and he's gonna do a lot of "frightening" things that will scare the trio. Viridi and Sonic are supposed to show up during the movie as well, with Viridi as a witch, and Sonic as her apprentice...stuff like this, you just can't make up on your own no matter how hard you try.**

"And scene!" yelled Wolf. Ludwig, Donkey Kong, and Lucina all sighed happily, after doing perhaps the most cringe-worthy scene of the movie...even though it was only the opening scene. "Lucina, your laughing is awful, it sounds boring and unauthentic. Can you take a joke?"

"Honestly I didn't know it was a joke until Ludwig and Donkey Kong started laughing," stated Lucina. "I'm sorry, it won't happen again."

"Yo Wolf, when are me and Viridi gonna appear in the movie?" Sonic called out from a hallway closet, which Wolf instructed the hedgehog and the goddess of nature to stay in until further notice. As for Pit...who knows where the heck that kid is.

"Shut up and stay inside that closet! Also, make sure Pit doesn't do anything stupid or insane!"

"But Pit isn't even in here..." stated Viridi. Wolf groaned out of frustration, he knew he should have tied Pit's hands and feet together. The angel would be bound to run away out of utter boredom.

"Drat! He would run away when I least expect it! Ooh, once I get my hands on him..."

"Hey what's going on?" Bowser approached Wolf, drinking from his "Best Dad Ever" mug. The mug had some paint fingerprints on it, likely at the hands of Lemmy. That boy sure loves some paint! "Why do you have a camera in your hand?"

"For your information Bowser, I'm shooting a horror movie, and it's gonna be..."

"You're making a movie without ME?!" Bowser sounded slightly offended. The Koopa King lives for horror movies - he would stay up all night watching them until Mario tells him to go to bed, like he's supposed to be his mother. Bowser even showed his Koopalings a few horror movies, and would threaten to ground them forever if they refused to watch them all the way to the end. Poor children still have nightmares to this very day.

"Look man, I wanted to cast you into the movie, but I want to go in a...different direction." Wolf has done it now - he has greatly angered the mighty Bowser, and is fearing for his life.

 **Bowser: Wolf should have known by now that when it comes to horror movies, I'm the grandaddy, the horror aficionado! Someone is shooting a horror movie, let's say it's about a chainsaw massacre, and then they put me in the movie, and BOOM! I use my awesome chainsaw to rip those lousy teenagers to shreds, and then I do the same thing to myself so I won't get caught!...What? It sounds very graphic?! Bunch of wussies...**

"I demand that you insert me in this movie in some capacity, if you know what's good for you," said Bowser. Wolf accepts Bowser's offer, and he can continue his horror movie in peace. Wolf declines the offer, and he'll be in the hospital for an indefinite amount of time.

"If you want to be in it so badly, then I'll give you a spot," sighed Wolf. Eventually he's gonna regret doing this.

"Count us in as well."

Much to Wolf's chagrin, Cloud and Meta Knight appeared, and it seems like they want to be in the horror movie as well. This shocked the wolf, for these two swordsmen refuse to be a part of things.

"Get lost, I have enough characters already!" frowned Wolf. "And besides, you're cutting into my filming time!"

Cloud held out a bag of money, made clear by the dollar sign on it - Wolf's kryptonite. If it were possible, Wolf's eyes would have turned into dollar bills.

"You got a deal!" Wolf vigorously shook Cloud's and Meta Knight's hands, aspiring to get that bag of money once the film is concluded.

"Remember what we came here for," Cloud whispered to Meta Knight.

"Yes I remember; our goal is to get to Sonic, and tickle him for forcing Tails to sedate Master Hand," Meta Knight whispered back. Cloud gave the knight a weird look - but hey, at least Meta Knight knows three-fourths of what they came here for.

"Whoever said anything about tickling Sonic? We're just going to question him for his wrongdoing. The punishment will come at a later time."

* * *

"I just don't know what happened," Ness said while in a discussion with Lucas, Ike, and Bowser Jr in the cafe. "All I did was show those games to Mario and Link, and they were freaking out, like they had seen a giant huntsman spider and it had wings. Then they went on this rant about how the games are the worst of their kind, and how they should no longer exist..."

"Well I can't say I blame them, especially when you consider the titles..." Ike said while folding his arms.

 **Ike: A game with a title of _Hotel Mario_ is not really that promising...unless you're into mindless iPhone games. And _Link: The Faces of Evil..._ why is there no mention of Zelda in the title?! Am I the only one who has a problem with that?**

"It would be best to leave Mario and Link alone, they probably suck at those games, and seeing them brought back painful memories," assured Lucas. Like his friend Ness, he's oblivious to how downright horrendous the games are. R.O.B would have to educate these fools on some video game knowledge...though the knowledge they need in this case should not be required by all means. Speaking of R.O.B...

"WOULD YOU CARE...FOR SOME ESPRESSO?" the robot approached the boys, holding out a coffee tray with cups of hot espresso on top.

"You betcha!" Bowser Jr quickly grabbed a cup and sipped the coffee, before sighing out of divine happiness.

"Aren't you a bit too young to be drinking coffee?" asked a certain Umbra Witch. Bayonetta showed up, grabbing a cup of espresso and sipped some of the coffee. Even when she's sipping coffee, she still makes the very action look hot - at least according to Ike. The swordsman was looking at her while she was sipping her coffee, drooling from the mouth, but only a little.

"Cut it out man," Lucas nudged Ike, and the swordsman stopped, regaining his usual composure.

"You're right," Bowser Jr placed his coffee on a coffee table. "I should be eating my candy instead!" The young Koopa reached into his nonexistent pocket - a pocket that's almost like a black whole, just like Kirby's stomach - reaching for his bag of candy.

But the bag of candy wasn't there! Bowser Jr looked around frantically, wondering where it could be.

"My bag of sweets has gone missing!" he panicked. "Oh where could they be?!"

"No need to be so worrisome Junior, Isabelle loses her belongings too!" stated Ike. Bowser Jr hit the swordsman with an inquisitive look; of course Isabelle loses her belongings, she's forgetful like that, it's a part of her nature.

"Isabelle is mistake-prone, she lost her wallet and it took forever to find it. Me, on the other hand, I keep track of my stuff!"

"Hey guys, has Knuckles shown you any video?" Marth appeared in the cafe. Everyone looked at each other, wondering what the heck Marth was talking about.

"Not to our knowledge, he hasn't," replied Bayonetta. "But eventually when time comes around, he might show it to us - but who knows?"

"Well if he does, just tell him that you're not interested. That is all."

So Marth exited the cafe, and a while after he left...everyone in the cafe burst out laughing, including R.O.B. Evidently they did see the video of Marth and Luigi dancing, but at an earlier time. And so the embarrassment continues...

 **Ike: Knuckles showed me the video while I was adjusting a vase in the hallway, and I was laughing so hard, that I dropped the vase on the floor and broke it in the process! But hey, it was totally worth it...**

 **Bayonetta: Ah, Marth and Luigi dancing was one of the funniest things I've ever had the pleasure to see! Would it bee too humiliating for them to play that video at the wedding after-party? After all, the party _is_ supposed to be entertainment for the wedding guests...**

 **R.O.B: MARTH THE HERO-KING...THE KING OF POROUS DANCING...**

* * *

Mario and Link arrived at the computer room, where Yuffie was using the computer Knuckles had used to create his grotesque mixtape cover for his first mixtape, _Chaotix_ ; Fox, Falco, Little Mac, Doc Louis, Sheik, and Greninja were bunched up around her. Samus was sitting at a computer filing her nails, waiting for Knuckles to return with the video, for it was the only thing she needed to complete the wedding website. The female Inkling was playing checkers with her male counterpart in another part of the room.

"Make his head bigger!" Fox suggested to Yuffie.

"Add some colors to make it brighter!" Sheik suggested as well.

"Have the background as chocolate!" You know the certain individual that would suggest such a thing. If you thought anyone other than Doc Louis, then clearly you haven't been paying any attention.

"Ugh, Doc, for the last time, we're not including chocolate in the cover, get over it," Yuffie groaned, aggravated by the many chocolate suggestions Doc kept spewing out. "If you want to feature chocolate on some mixtape cover, how about you just go record your own mixtape and go from there!"

"Heck no, girl, I ain't doing that! Rap is..." Doc Louis was about to go on an anti-rap tangent, until Greninja rested his hand on his shoulder, motioning him not to. Everyone heaved a silent relieving sigh; the ninja Pokemon just saved them from endless verbal torture.

 **Yuffie: Chocolate this, chocolate that...everything that spews out of Doc's mouth has something to do with chocolate, one way or another! Makes me wonder how he would live without chocolate in his life...**

 **Doc Louis: What would I do if I were living in a world without chocolate? Oh, it's pretty simple - I take all the money out of my banking account, use it to buy a home in Hawaii, fly me and Little Mac over there, and live in Hawaii for the rest of my life...until I invent chocolate there. Crisis averted!**

"Aaaaand...finished!" exclaimed Yuffie, after finishing editing the mixtape cover. The cover featured Team Chaotix - Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmy Bee, though with some slight modifications; Vector was slimmer, Espio had a bigger head, and Charmy...Charmy looked like a Picasso painting. "So what do you guys think?"

"Eh, it's a lot better than the original cover, I suppose," Little Mac offered his opinion. Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement; a blank white cover would be eons better than the travesty Knuckles had in mind.

"Move aside, woman!" Link, after waiting quietly with Mario for the right moment, shoved Yuffie to the floor and closed out of the photo editing program, not even bothering to save the ninja's work. He then went on the Internet and to the Walmart website, typing in _Hotel Mario_ in the search box.

"Dude what the heck?!" frowned Yuffie. Fox and Falco, being the gentlemen that they are, helped the ninja girl up.

"Link can't you just go on another computer, there's plenty of computers in this room!" stated Sheik. Now would be the time for her to revert back to Zelda, and serve as the logical voice of reason.

"We don't-a have much time left!" replied Mario, who was kneeling next to Link and serving as his (im)moral guide of sorts. "We have an-a issue on our hands!"

"And what exactly could this 'issue' possibly be?!"

" _Hotel Mario...Link: The Faces of Evil..._ those-a games are still in existence, and must-a be terminated immediately!"

Sheik sighed and facepalmed, out of both disappointment and humiliation. This is why leaving Mario and Link by themselves was a bad idea, since they would start acting all crazy. Peach should have invited them to the tea party...

"Zelda?" Peach poked her head through the computer room door, and saw Sheik, standing next to Greninja. Things just got awkward for Sheik. "Oh, so you would rather spend time with Yuffie and Greninja, under your little Sheik persona, rather than spending time with your best friend?!"

"Peach it's not what you think..." Sheik tried to calm Peach down, but it was no use - the princess of Mushroom Kingdom was beginning to tear up. When Peach starts to tear up, you know you really upset her real good.

"I don't want to hear any more from you!" Peach ran off, sobbing to herself. Sheik - or in this case, Zelda - was feeling pretty bad about herself.

 **Little Mac: Can't blame Zelda for ditching Peach, tea parties are the worst - all you do is just sit at a table, and drink some stupid tea! *sardonically* "Ooh, look at us, we're sipping tea, just like the British do! Good day, ma'am, care for a spot of tea? HEE HEE HEE HEE!" *sighs deeply, regaining composure* The British brought over some of the worst things over to America...**

"Peach wait up!" Sheik reverted back to Zelda, and ran after Peach. While this was going on, Mario and Link - oblivious to what just went down between Zelda and Peach - were disappointed and shocked to learn that Walmart didn't have copies of either _Hotel Mario_ or Link: _The Faces of Evil._ All hope was seemingly lost, until...

"Check-a Target and see if they have-a the games!" suggested Mario. Link nodded and did as he was told. But this wasn't until Samus yanked the computer plug, and stared intently at Mario and Link. She was applying one of John Marston's bounty hunting tips in this situation - the glare of intent, as explained in Chapter 7 of Marston's book - and Link was sharing the same feeling Mario felt when Samus did this to the plumber back in episode seven.

"To the office, NOW," she demanded of Mario and Link. When Samus speaks, you either listen, or get pummeled.

"But the doctor is..." Mario began, only to be slapped by Samus. The bounty hunter was using Mario's mannerisms as Dr. Mario against him!

"I don't care, go there immediately!" Mario and Link followed Samus' orders, and scampered out of the computer room.

"Man, she's really good," Yuffie nudged Falco, pointing at Samus. The bounty hunter quietly returned to her computer seat, acting as if nothing happened. According to the Marston book, a good bounty hunter must always remain calm after solving problems.

"That's why nobody wants to mess with her, ever," responded Falco. The avian pilot couldn't be any more right.

* * *

Palutena was in the kitchen, cooking as usual, when Knuckles approached her with the phone.

"I take it you have a rap song to share with me?" Palutena asked while she was cooking vegetable soup. She didn't even bother to look up to face Knuckles - when you spend as much time in the kitchen as the goddess of light does, you always know who's present in the kitchen, and if you're like Palutena, you can even guess correctly why that person is there (most of the time).

"Not exactly, but whatever I'm about to show you, you're gonna enjoy it..." Knuckles grinned. Palutena better be ready...

"Well what are you waiting for, just show me already!"

So Knuckles did just that - he showed the dancing video to Palutena, and the goddess of light was biting her lower lip, trying not to smile. In some instances, biting your lower lip can prevent you from bursting into fits of laughter, but for Palutena, it didn't work, as the goddess laughed profusely at the video.

"What's so funny?" Popo asked as he and Nana showed up. Knuckles then showed the Ice Climbers the video, and like Palutena, were laughing so hard their stomachs were getting all cramped. Stomach cramps are the worst, but when you're in a laughing state, who cares about the pain?

 **Popo: Oh man, I haven't laughed that hard since forever! Wonder if Knuckles showed that video to that young witch girl, I bet she would be in tears!  
Nana: That "young witch girl" has a name you know...  
Popo: Of course she has a name, she wouldn't be able to live without one! Her name...is Luna Lovegood! Wait, that's from the _Harry Potter_ series, isn't it?  
Nana: *facepalms***

"Glad you guys enjoyed the video!" gleamed Knuckles, though Palutena and the Ice Climbers were too busy laughing to listen to Knuckles. As long as the echidna had them in a laughing mood, that's what matters the most. "Time to move on to the next person!"

* * *

Back to Wolf's horror movie. Donkey Kong, Ludwig, and Lucina entered the gaming room, and saw Cloud, Meta Knight, and Bowser...and they were all dead! Well, not really, they were told by Wolf to play dead. It was the only way he could include the men in his film.

"Dead bodies!" Ludwig exclaimed. The three protagonists inspected each body, checking their pulse and whatnot. Who knows what the whatnot part is.

"This doesn't look dope at all, especially for a young shawty like myself," stated Lucina. Words cannot even begin to describe how unnerving it was for the swordsman to say those words. The entire delivery and poise of her lines just sounded...awkward, beyond words. "Lots of shorties gettin' themselves killed these days..."

 **Lucina: *shudders***

"Sup my groovy people!" K.K. entered the scene, playing his trusty guitar, and not aware that he was in a movie. He then saw Cloud and the others lying on the floor. "Can someone explain to me what's going on?"

"Get him out of there..." Wolf quietly said to the trio while gritting his teeth in anger. His film is sucking already, can't have K.K. Slider make it suck even more.

"They're dead!" exclaimed Donkey Kong, trying his best to stay in touch in the scene while finding a way to get K.K away. "Run for your life, or you'll end up being dead like them!"

"Hoo boy, can't let it happen to me, not just yet!" K.K. followed Donkey Kong's advice, and scampered out of the gaming room.

"Run shorty run, don't look back!" yelled Lucina, feeling a sense of regret for saying this out loud. This whole Shaniqua character obviously isn't working out pretty well for her, but Wolf doesn't care about how he feels, he cares about his horror movie and how awful...erm, great, it's gonna be.

"Are we done with the scene?" Cloud lifted up his head after K.K. Slider had left. Meta Knight and Bowser all followed suit. Despite the commotion that was going on, these three men still managed to play dead without moving a single inch. They would be the perfect extras in any Hollywood film!

"...Yes," Wolf replied with a heavy sigh. His film was about to be tarnished by K.K. Slider, but thankfully Donkey Kong saved the day and expelled the hippie dog. Let's just hope K.K. didn't take the gorilla seriously and alert the brawlers that Cloud, Meta Knight, and Bowser are dead for real...

 **Cloud: Just finished the scene in the gaming room, and still no sign of Sonic. Wolf told me that he would be Viridi's apprentice, but I don't see how Viridi being a witch and all would fit in a movie with Pit as the Undertaker...**

"Next scene will feature Viridi and Sonic," explained Wolf. "Hopefully they're still in the closet. I've already asked Roy to search for Pit, and he has yet to return. I'm starting to worry about what Pit might be up to..."

* * *

"Pit! Where you you buddy?" Roy trekked through the mansion, in search for Pit. But the angel was nowhere to be found, and Roy was getting worried about his well-being. What if Pit ran outside, and got struck by a moving truck? Or even worse - he accidentally flies into a dumpster truck, and gets shredded to pieces! The very thought of these things happening made Roy even more nervous than he's supposed to be.

"Out with the old, in with the new..." Gil said depressingly as he walked past Roy holding some chests. According to Mario, storing items in secret chests is an insecure thing to do, especially if you have privacy issues, and so Gil was cleaning out his room by removing the chests after overhearing Mario. It's not what he wanted to do, but whatever Mario says, you gotta do it. If Mario tells you to urinate inside a public transportation bus, then you might as well do it if you know what's good for ya.

 **Gil: Apparently I have to store all my comic books somewhere else, since secret chests are pointless, but I just don't know where to store them...I would put them in the library, but people like Kirby would scribble all over them in crayon. And if Wario sees them, he'll start calling me a nerd and attempt to entice me to read his magazines. I would never want to read Wario's magazines, since I am very overprotective of my innocence...to this day I still don't know what Tumblr is and how it works, and why it's so darn popular.**

"Gil, have you seen Pit lately?" Roy asked the de facto librarian. It always helps to ask a good librarian, since they always have the answers...but don't ask them for romantic advice, that's one area they're unable to answer questions for.

"If I remember correctly, he's with Kirby caretaking a family of Waddle Dees in one of the hallway closets," replied Gil. The level of intrigue caused Roy's eyebrow to rise.

"A Waddle Dee family? How did I not know this? How does anyone else not know this?!"

"As far as I'm concerned, Dedede, Game & Watch, and Cloud know about the family, and I'm definitely sure Master Hand knows too. King Dedede acts like he's doing all sorts of awesome things for the family, yet he's only doing the bare minimum such as providing water bottles and water flavorings. Now he's moved on to..."

Gil was too busy talking to realize that Roy was gone. The de facto librarian shrugged, and continued on his way.

* * *

Mario and Link sat in Dr. Mario's office, just as they were told. Though they were itching - itching to accomplish their goal of eradicating the very existence of both _Hotel Mario_ and _Link: The Faces of Evil,_ regardless of the amount of effort required. Isabelle came into the office, wielding a clipboard.

"Greetings Sir Mario and Link!" greeted the dog. "Samus has notified me that you two have 'gone in over your heads', is that correct?" Mario and Link didn't answer, they just looked grumpy and had their arms folded, like they were holding a grudge against someone. "Great! Let me get situation here..." Isabelle grabbed a stool and sat on top of it.

"Here to waste-a our precious time, I assume?" asked Mario, too furious to look at Isabelle.

"Not quite...I'm here to share with you some crucial information. I looked on database online, and according to the records... _Hotel Mario_ nor _Link: The Faces of Evil_ exist!"

"You serious?!" Link's eyes widened, and had a similar reaction. Was Isabelle pulling their leg? They had to know immediately!

"Yup, the copies you broke were the last copies of both games. So _Hotel Mario_ and _Link: The Faces of Evil_ are no longer in existence in physical form!

"We did it!" Link celebrated with Mario as the two were giving each other handshakes and bumping fists and all that nonsense. Isabelle let out a sigh as she wiped away sweat from her forehead - another good deed done by the lovely Isabelle.

 **Isabelle: Those records from the database? Completely made those up. If I learned anything from leading Mario and Link around the mansion, it was that they're very gullible in their delusioned state, and so I took heavy advantage of their gullibility and solved the non-issue once and for all!**

 **Link:** ** _Hotel Mario_ and _Link: The Faces of Evil_ may no longer exist physically...but what about online?! People from all over the world can just go on YouTube and watch gameplay of those putrid games! They'll be exposed to atrocities never seen by man!  
Mario: Link, I think you have-a been drinking way too much-a coffee before this whole-a situation began...**

"Glad that's-a finally over..." said Mario as he and Link exited the office. No physical copies of the games they despise so much are in existence...or so they think.

"Wonder how Peach and Zelda are handling things..." wondered Link, unaware of the situation regarding the two.

* * *

Zelda found Peach all alone by herself in her room, crying her eyes out. Though it is impossible for one to cry their eyes out, for a wave of tears cannot simply push the eyeballs out of their sockets. But you know what that figure of speech means.

"Is everything alright?" Zelda asked, entering the room. Clearly everything wasn't alright, since Peach turned the other way after seeing Zelda.

"Surprised to see you're not hanging out with your new friends..." said the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom. Is she still butthurt that Zelda skipped on her tea party? When is that girl gonna realize that Zelda has other things to do than have tea parties with her?! She has a stinking boyfriend, for crying out loud, sames goes for Peach!

"I just came here to check on you...I'm your best friend after all."

"Don't feed me with your lies, it's become blantantly obvious that you would rather be friends with Greninja and Yuffie, under your silly Sheik persona!"

"First of all, Sheik is _not_ a silly persona of mine." Zelda gets offended whenever anyone criticizes Sheik, she takes the ninja persona very seriously - such as was an example now. "And secondly, I have other friends aside from you, and I'm sure you have friends aside from myself."

"Well, that is true...but we have so much things in common as princesses, we're practically BFFs! Nobody else has the kind of friendship we do..."

"Look, Peach, sure nobody has the same friendly bond as the both of us, but sometimes, we gotta venture out of those bonds, and establish new ones. It's all a simple part of life..."

"I suppose you're right...sorry for venting out my frustrations on you earlier."

"Apology accepted." Looks like Zelda's and Peach's friendship is back in order.

* * *

 **Pit: Me and my pal Kirby, we're here in this closet, bugging out with this awesome Waddle Dee family, perhaps the nicest beings on earth, but you can say that about any Waddle Dee...Roy what are you doing here, you're ruining my talking head segment...and why are you grabbing my fake beard?! Where are you taking me?! I demand an answer at once...**

Kirby watched as his buddy Pit - adorned in an Undertaker outfit, complete with the hat and beard and all - was being dragged away by Roy. All the pink puffball could do was scratch his head in confusion - he would step in and get his friend back, but it wasn't worth facing the fury of Roy's binding blade.

"Step aside dude, let a grown adult handle this," King Dedede appeared behind Kirby, startling the pink puffball. What if Kirby is a grown adult, just like King Dedede, and uses his cutesy appearance to make himself look younger than he's supposed to be? Kirby might be a middle-aged being!

"Ooh wah?" asked Kirby, wondering why the king of Dream Land was pushing him to the curb all of a sudden.

"Please Kirby, I gotta prove to everyone else that I'm an excellent caretaker! Only thing I did for this here family was provide water...and now I'm gonna start providing them with napkins, to wipe their faces with! Moving on to more crucial needs now!" What need can possibly be more crucial than water?! This penguin... "I'm sorry, but I won't be able to accomplish anything with you in the way!"

Not wanting to start any drama with King Dedede, Kirby went away, minding his own business. Time to move on to something else.

* * *

Ludwig, Donkey Kong, and Lucina were in Ashley's room with Viridi and Sonic, where Viridi was a witch and Sonic was her apprentice. The goddess of nature was stirring Ashley's goblet, just like how a stereotypical witch would. Wolf was filming the entire scene.

"We found some dead bodies in this mansion," Ludwig placed Meta Knight on the bed. Donkey Kong, who was holding Cloud in his arms, placed the swordsman on the bed as well. Bowser? Well he's extremely heavy, and nobody likes him, so who cares about him?

"Ah, I see..." cackled Viridi, sporting a witch accent - if such an accent were to exist. "Perhaps a mighty potion will be able to revive them...assistant, quickly, fetch me the revival potion!"

"Revival potion?" Sonic said after Viridi woke the hedgehog up from his sleep. Sleeping while Wolf is filming...the Star Wolf pilot is not gonna like that. "One potion, coming right up!"

 **Sonic: Before I was set to appear in the movie, I decided to catch some Z's in the closet with Viridi and get some sleep in before Viridi and I did our thing. But that numskull Wolf had the nerve to interrupt my sleep, just when I was about to sleep for real! (The first minutes or so, I was just resting my eyes and getting situated.) Does he not know how integral sleep is to a speeding animal like myself?!**

Sonic scrambled through Ashley's cupboard, in search for a potion. It didn't matter what potion he chose - just as long as he keeps in touch with the scene. The hedgehog grabbed a potion, and handed it to Viridi.

"This potion should do..." Viridi looked at the vial intently, before pouring the contents of the potion into the concoction inside the goblet.

Suddenly the lights in the room went out. Everyone in the room were panicking and fearing for their lives.

"Aw naw, we ain't having none of this now!" exclaimed Lucina. Her playing as "Shaniqua" was getting more and more cringe-worthy by the minute.

Then the lights flickered back on, and standing at the doorway...was the Undertaker! Or Pit, rather, with his Undertaker get-up. Wolf made sure he had every bit of Pit on the camera frame.

"It's...it's the Undertaker!" Donkey Kong exclaimed, though he didn't sound that frightened at all. He treated the Undertaker's (Pit's) appearance like it was something trivial, like, "Look, it's a painting of Mario!" The emotion and charisma was nowhere to be seen!

"You have no place here in my mansion..." Pit said in a deep voice, sounding as scary and deathly as the Undertaker would sound. "Now you will end up like those who dared to trespass here. Prepare to die..."

"Oh no you don't!" Donkey Kong ran up to Pit, but the angel grabbed the gorilla by the neck, and walked him towards the door. Then, in true Undertaker fashion, he choke-slamed Donkey Kong through the window, breaking it in the process. Who knew Pit was capable of displaying such strength?

 **Viridi: *sighs lovingly* I had never known Pit to be so strong, especially after what he did to Donkey Kong...I should have known better than to take his small frame for granted...**

"Who's next?" Pit turned around to face Lucina, Ludwig, Viridi, and Sonic, who were trembling. They all ran away from Pit, who chased after them, while Wolf recorded the chase. The only person who didn't escape was Sonic - who was immediately apprehended by Cloud and Meta Knight.

"Um, guys, aren't you supposed to be playing dead?" the hedgehog asked the two swordsmen. "Way to remain in character!"

"Why did you order Tails to sedate Master Hand?!" Cloud interrogated Sonic, serious and angry in his tone.

"So I wouldn't have to give Master Hand another hand massage?" Sonic eyed around the room curiously, surprised to learn that Cloud and Meta Knight didn't share the same rationale as him. "What's up with you guys asking me these dumb questions all the time? You're starting to bug me out!"

"You're definitely going to pay for your actions..." Meta Knight told Sonic. Then he smelt a very strong odor - when an individual like Meta Knight smells something, with his mask on nonetheless, you know the smell is very pungent. "Where is that awful smell coming from?!"

* * *

In Master Hand's room, Wii Fit Trainer and Tails were giving Master Hand a hand massage. Sonic was supposed to do this, but you know what happened.

"I feel like such a bad guy for following up Sonic," Tails held his head in shame. "That dude can really press a really hard bargain..."

"Don't feel so down on yourself, it's not entirely your fault," assured Wii Fit Trainer. "Sonic has his ways of charming others - he's quite the expert when it comes to enticing and taking advantage of others."

"Master Hand?" Robin ran into the room, only to see the creator of the Smash universe lying on his bed. Why does he even need a bed? "...Anyone can explain why Master Hand is in the the state he's in?

"Sonic," Wii Fit Trainer and Tails said simultaneously. Right from the get-go, Robin knew that no more questions were needed.

 **Robin: Even to this day, I still feel like an idiot for getting myself involved in Sonic's food stamp shenanigans. The worst part about was when he refused to share none of the food with me, as well as the others. I thought Sonic only eats chili dogs, why did he need all the food for himself?!**

 **King Dedede: Well you won't believe what I found in the basement! So I was with the Waddle Dee family, and I had to use the bathroom, and after my bathroom break, I felt someone intrigued to see what was in the basement. And would you know it, there were stacks of food down there, and I saw a note saying, "SAVE THIS FOOD FOR THE APOCALYPSE". Judging by the handwriting, Sonic might have written the note...anyway, I took the food to the Waddle Dee family, thanks to the Ice Climbers' help, and now I'm the most generous person in this mansion! And they say I'm greedy...**

"Wario let out a giant fart outside the mansion, and it resulted in a giant cloud of toxic fumes in the surrounding area," explained Robin. "I was notified to alert Master Hand, but I see he's a bit incapacitated."

"Can't hurt for us to investigate," shrugged Tails. What could possibly go wrong?

* * *

Before they could head outside, Wii Fit Trainer and Tails - bring Master Hand with them, because leaving him by himself in his room wouldn't be the wisest thing to do - were given gas masks by Corrin, who was also wearing one, albeit incorrectly.

"Hopefully you'll use these masks a lot better than I do," said the prince of Nohr, who was wearing his gas mask upside down. He walked away, only to bump into a wall. When will that guy ever learn...

"Let's do this!" Wii Fit Trainer put on her face mask, and Tails did the same. They headed out the front door, and were caught off-guard by a green cloud of flatulence. Proto Man, Mega Man X, and a few air-based Robot Masters, such as Air Man, Wind Man, Tornado Man, Gyro Man, and Tengu Man were doing their best to blow the fumes away. Olimar and Alph did their part, spraying air freshener everywhere they went. Elsewhere, Wario was being interrogated by Lucario about the stinky act he caused.

"Master Hand instructed you not to consume those spicy onions since they have high flatulence, isn't that right?" asked Lucario.

"Yes he did..." Wario grinned innocently. Innocence won't work with Master Hand, and it won't work with Lucario either. "But you know how when an angry mother tells their child not to eat a certain item, but they eat it anyway?"

"I'm aware of that, usually happens in most cartoons..." Lucario watches cartoons?! The aura Pokemon has some depths that have never been explored before...

"Him telling no only raised my level of intrigue, and I had to eat those onions! I'm so sorry, my temptations know no bounds!"

 **Wario: They were just sitting there on the kitchen counter...evidently somebody had to eat, otherwise they would have gotten cold! Something in my mind told me to eat the onions, and so I did it! At first I was hoping to be a hero for once, not letting those onions spoil...but after the problem I caused, I'm nothing more than a lousy villain! *sobs***

Suddenly, Master Hand started to come alive, as his fingers were moving. In a matter of seconds, he was instantly back levitating in the air. The creator of the Smash universe is back to his regular, healthy form!

"Ah, nothing like the smell of Wario's toxic butt fumes to wake me from my slumber!" he exclaimed. Does Master Hand have invisible nostrils? How is this even possible, given that he's a mere body part?

"We...will...try and ignore that," Tails chuckled nervously. Nobody ever suspected Wario's flatulence to be somewhat of a remedy for the mighty Master Hand.

"Glad to see you're back to normal, Master Hand," Alph approached the giant hand, accompanied by Olimar.

"Some guests would like to see you," added Olimar. Appearing before Master Hand was Team Chaotix - Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmy Bee. These dudes have been buddies with Knuckles for a pretty substantial time.

"Fine pleasure to meet you, Master Hand," greeted Vector the Crocodile, displaying a strong sense of humility before the Smash universe creator. "You're probably wondering what business we have here, aren't you?"

"Paying your colleague Knuckles a visit?" assumed Master Hand. Knuckles could deserve a break from Sonic, Tails, and many of the weirdos that reside at the mansion and mess up the echidna's cranium with their antics.

"Not exactly," replied Espio. "We had received a phone call from that canine guitar player, K.K. Slider, stating that three of the brawlers were dead."

"Three brawlers dead?!" Master Hand previously wanted a chin to stroke, and now he wants some eyes, just so he could bulge them out in shock. "Usually when someone dies, I'm always the first to know...if I weren't in a incapacitated state! Sonic must have drugged me so he wouldn't have to give me another hand massage!

"Um, Master Hand..." Tails began, before Wii Fit Trainer closed his lips. One more peep from the fox, and he'll face Master Hand's wrath.

"I shall confront him at once!" Master Hand went back inside the mansion, searching for Sonic and ready to unleash his ultimate anger on the hedgehog.

"Sonic is about to get it now..." said Charmy, feeling slightly sympathetic for Sonic. "Shall we start the investigation?"

"Better now than never, as I would say!" replied Vector, sporting a grin that can easily be trademarked.

"You never said that ever..." Espio pointed out, only to get bonked on the head by Vector.

* * *

Wolf was now shooting the last scene, which took place in the library. Pit (a.k.a. the Undertaker) had Ludwig, Lucina, and Viridi near a bookcase. Brawlers that were present inside the library were being noisy and watched the scene unfold.

"Nah dawg, I ain't goin' out like this, this ain't tight at all!" panicked Lucina. Chrom, who was present in the library, covered his face in the book he was reading and laughed quietly. Good thing Lucina can't see this, would be very humiliating to a degree...

 **Chrom: Lucina playing as this "Shaniqua" character is both a good thing and a bad thing. Sure, the role is embarrassing for Lucina - and that's an understatement, but with it, she's showing some depth in her acting abilities.**

"Your time ends here..." Pit seethed, getting his arm ready to deliver another chokeslam. Who will be the next "fatality"? Who will be...

"So we meet again...brother..."

Pit looked behind him and saw his doppelganger Dark Pit, wearing a red mask and body suit. If you're familiar with wrestling, then you're probably aware that he's playing as Kane - the brother of the Undertaker (but only in the wrestling storylines).

"K-Kane?!" Pit stammered, staying true to his character. In any other given instance, he would put Dark Pit on blast for referring to him as a brother, but in this movie, he'll give him a pass. "What business do you have here in my mansion?!"

"Let them go, or else..." demanded Dark Pit. "If you refuse to...you must fight me to the death!"

"Have it your way!" And so Pit and Dark Pit were in a fight for the ages - a lot of headlocking and grappling, the basic stuff that happens in most wrestling matches. The brawlers watched as the two did their thing - some crappy fighting was clearly more entertaining then what they were doing previously.

 **Dark Pit: Heard that Pit was apparently starring in Wolf's dumb horror film as the Undertaker...so I wanted to even out the dumbness and star myself as Undertaker's brother, Kane! Might have lost a few brain cells getting myself involved, but hey, an angel's gotta do what an angel's gotta do...  
**

"The evil has been vanquished!" Dark Pit proclaimed, prevailing over Pit as he stood atop of his counterpart with his hat in his hand after beating the snot out of him. Wolf was all giddy, even though the conclusion of the movie was unlike any other in horror film history.

"Aaaaand...scene!" he exclaimed happily. "Thank you guys so much for putting so much effort into an awesome movie! What would I do without you..."

"Please tell me he was exaggerating when he said 'awesome'..." Ludwig told the others. Donkey Kong, Lucina, and Viridi all shared the same sentiments as the Koopaling, and surely enough anyone else will.

"Now it's time to get that bag of loot from Cloud..." Wolf ran out of the library in search for Cloud, seeking the bag of money from the swordsman.

* * *

"Where am I?" Bowser awoke after playing dead, only to realize he was still in the gaming room. "Aw, what, they didn't bother to tell me the scene was over?! Oh wait, I went back to sleep, and they didn't bother to come back for me...hehe."

"Hi!" Kirby showed up in the gaming room, and Bowser wanted to pummel the pink puffball into the ground. He has always found Kirby's unusual happiness to be slightly unnerving.

"Get away from me, you smiley creep, or I'll roast you to a crisp!" C'mon, Bowser, don't do such a harmful thing to Kirby!

"Excuse me guys, but has Knuckles shown you any video lately?" Marth appeared. At the sight of Marth, Kirby sucked up the Hero-King for whatever reason, and Bowser got sucked up too. Both men were sucked into Kirby's mouth, and the puffball ran off. What ulterior motive does Kirby have?

* * *

"Tying me to a coat hanger stand, how cute!" snorted Sonic, who was tied up to a coat hanger stand with Cloud and Meta Knight standing by. They were waiting for Master Hand to show up and punish Sonic for his devious actions.

"Dudes, you have to check this video out!" Knuckles ran up to the swordsmen and showed him the video of Marth and Luigi dancing. Meta Knight, after seeing the video, found himself chuckling, unable to contain his laughter. Cloud, on the other hand...could only crack a smile.

"Funny video," he responded. Knuckles was literally gaping at Cloud, disappointed that he was unable to get a bigger reaction from the uncaring blonde.

"It was worth a shot..." sighed the echidna.

 **Knuckles: Ganondorf laughed, Mewtwo laughed, Snake laughed, and even Meta Knight laughed...but Cloud only smiled! Did his parents raised him in a city where it's illegal to laugh or show high emotions?!**

"Cloud give me my money!" Wolf ran up to Cloud, salivating at the very thought of money in his hands. "Give it to me now!"

"You mean this bag?" Cloud held up the bag for Wolf to see. The Star Wolf pilot excitedly nodded his head, holding out his hands.

"Is that my bag of candy?!" Bowser Jr confronted Cloud. "How dare you steal it from me!" The koopa snatched the bag from Cloud, and looked inside to see if he had the right bag. Indeed, it was full of candy. But Wolf didn't seem to buy it one bit.

"Gimme my money!" Wolf snatched the bag of sweets and ran away with it; Bowser Jr chased after him.

 **Cloud: Bowser Jr left his bag of candy on the cafe, and so I took it when he wasn't looking and drew a huge dollar sign on it, pretending it was full of money. It was the only way me and Meta Knight were able to be a part of Wolf's movie.**

"Sonic the Hedgehog!" Master Hand magically appeared, showing himself in front of Sonic. When Master Hand says your full name, you know you're in trouble. "You dare sedate me just to avoid massaging my hand?!"

"Um, yes?" Sonic replied nervously, wanting to wet himself if he was only wearing pants. He would say Tails did it, but why would throw your friend under the bus like that?

"In that case, you must massage my hand every day until Luigi's wedding. Got it, mister?!" Sonic nodded his head in fright. "Excellent! As for you Knuckles, why do you have the female Inkling's phone in your hands?"

"Oh, I was just showing this video to everyone, it's pretty funny; you should see for yourself!" Knuckles showed the video to Master Hand, and the hand was laughing - so hard, his majestic voice nearly shook the foundation of the mansion. Master Hand laughed, but Cloud didn't...Cloud should be feeling really bad about himself, if he had only cared to do so.

"Now THAT was funny! What do you plan to do with it, share it online with the entire world?"

"Actually Samus was planning on uploading the video to Luigi's wedding website. I should give her the video now!"

"What are we waiting for, let us to the computer room! I must see this website for myself before it gets published!"

So everyone went to the computer room...everyone except for a particular hedgehog.

"Yeah you guys, just leave me all alone by myself..." said Sonic. "Always knew nobody here appreciates me..."

* * *

After spending much time with their girlfriends, Mario and Link went to Mario's room, and when they had opened the door, they saw Luigi on his bed, sitting in a fetal position with a blanket over his head. Mewtwo was comforting the plumber.

"I feel-a so embarrassed..." said Luigi. Mewtwo simply shook his head at the mustached man.

"What-a happened here?" asked Mario. It pains him to see his twin brother in such a nervous state...although it occurs most of the time - would have been all the time had Luigi's confidence not increased.

"Knuckles is showing everyone the video of Marth and Luigi dancing, and now Luigi's too petrified to come out of his room," explained Mewtwo. "Kinda tragic when you first think about it, but when you consider that it's Luigi..."

 **Mewtwo: Luigi is merely overreacting - when he ripped his pants at Daisy's birthday party, he just played it off and acted like nothing happened. Then Knuckles shows people the video of Luigi dancing, and... *chuckles* Ah, the very thought of that video is still very amusing...ha ha... *breaks into a laughing fit***

"How about we stand up to Knuckles, and demand that he deletes the video forever?" suggested Link. Now that all the caffeine is out of his body, the Hylian is acting more rational now.

"Samus wants-a to put the video up-a on the wedding website, it won't-a do any good..." Luigi shook his head in dismay. This man is no stranger to taking L's throughout his life, and he was ready to take another one today.

"Well it's-a never too late to tell-a her no!" proclaimed Mario. "To the computer room!"

* * *

Bowser Jr continued to chase after Wolf through the hallways, and when he got close to the wolf, he tackled him from behind, causing him to drop the bag of sweets. The bag fell on the floor, just when Team Chaotix showed up.

"Ooh, a bag of money!" Vector gleamed after spotting the dollar sign on the bag. He picked up said bag and looked inside, seeing it was nothing but candy. "This ain't money, but this will do!" He began eating the candy, and shared some of the candy with Espio and Charmy.

"How dare you eat my candy!" Bowser Jr growled, stomping his foot. "You're gonna pay!"

"Run away!" Vector yelled as he and his pals ran off. Bowser Jr was chasing after them. Hasn't there been enough chases in this episode already?

"Is there at least any money in that bag?" Wolf asked, chasing after Team Chaotix as well. Hoo boy...

* * *

Inside the computer, Yuffie was working yet again on the mixtape cover for Knuckles' mixtape, _Chaotix,_ starting over from scratch. Fox, Falco, Little Mac, and Doc Louis had left the computer room, and so did the Inklings and Greninja. Samus was still present, and she was with Master Hand, Knuckles, Cloud, and Meta Knight, showing them the soon-to-be-complete wedding site - which Master Hand approved. All that was need to do now was upload the dancing video.

"May I see the phone please?" asked Samus, and Knuckles handed her the phone. Just when the bounty hunter was about to hook the USB cord from the computer to the phone...

"Stop-a where you are!" a more confident Luigi ran into the room, accompanied by Mario, Link, Mewtwo, ran into the computer room. The latter three are just there for support. "Don't you dare-a upload that video!"

Then Kirby ran into the computer room, and spat out Marth and Bowser on the floor. Marth got up, and saw that Samus was about to upload the video.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." warned the Hero-King. Bowser looked around, wondering what business he has here.

 **Marth: Being stuck inside Kirby's stomach...wasn't as bad as I thought. In fact, it feels...quite peaceful, I should say. I would actually live inside of it, if it were possible, but I know Kirby would have an issue with that...**

"Oh yeah, why is that so?" asked Samus. She was just dying to get this website over with. "I need a video to complement the website..."

"The video in question is-a not the most suitable video!" Luigi said defiantly. "It's-a embarrassing, humiliating, and many other words!"

"Luigi is right, why not upload the video of Luigi dancing at Daisy's party - right before the pants incident?" suggested Marth. "Don't you have a video of that?"

"I believe it's on this computer's hard drive..." Samus was mainly against using the video Marth had suggested, it wouldn't be that funny if she had clipped out the bit where Luigi rips his pants. "If it's in the best interests of you and Luigi, then I'll just use that video instead..."

"Yes!" Luigi cheered, and Marth cheered as well. The two shared a bro hug, jumping up and down as their humiliation will no longer have to be online for the world to see. After receiving many weird looks, the two stopped their moment of euphoria and broke from their hug.

Suddenly Team Chaotix ran into the computer room, bumping into Yuffie and causing her to close out of the program she was on - meaning that the cover she was working on went unsaved yet again.

"Seriously?!" she frowned. All that hard work and dedication, again wasted down the drain...

"Candy!" Bowser Jr. ran into the room, grabbing the bag from an unaware Vector and holding it close to him, acting like it was his precious.

"Money!" Wolf ran into the room as well, grabbing the bag from an obsessive Bowser Jr and spilling out the contents on the floor - only to be saddened that there was no money. Man just got played by Cloud.

"Hey buddy, you just wasted my son's candy on the floor!" Bowser scolded Wolf, who scurried out of the room in fear. "Get back here!" The Koopa king ran out of the room, hoping to give Wolf a piece of his mind.

"Long time, no see!" Knuckles greeted his Team Chaotix buddies, giving them some dap in a strong sense of camaraderie. Always great to see your pals every know and then. "So what's up?"

"We were notified that three brawlers - Cloud, Meta Knight, and Bowser in particular - were dead, but seeing that they're alive, it was only a false report," explained Vector.

"We also got some candy!" Charmy held up a piece of candy for Knuckles to see. Bowser Jr swiped the candy from the bee and ate it, for it was the only candy that wasn't contaminated.

"How are things going with you here?" asked Espio, curious about how life is at the Smash Mansion.

"Everything's been great so far," replied Knuckles. "Fox and Falco had set up a record company here at the mansion, and I record my first mixtape! Wanna see the cover for my mixtape?"

"Just an FYI, the cover's not that great," Yuffie warned Team Chaotix as Knuckles pulled up the cover he was working on, which he saved. Knuckles showed off his work to Team Chaotix; what do they think of it?

"Best cover I have ever seen!" critiqued Vector.

"Deserves an A plus in my opinion!" critiqued Espio.

"Might be the best design ever made!" critiqued Charmy.

All in all, Team Chaotix was generally impressed by Knuckles' mixtape cover, which made Yuffie ticked. She grunted as she exited the computer room in anger. But before she could...

"Want some candy?" Charmy offered Yuffie the other piece of candy that wasn't contaminated; he had hidden it from Bowser Jr in his non-existent pocket.

"Nah, I think I'll pass..." replied Yuffie, exiting the room. Charmy shrugged and happily ate the piece of candy.


	19. Episode 19: Baseball

**Episode 19: Baseball**

"ACHOO!" This is the dreaded word no brawler wants to hear, especially at the highly populated Smash Mansion.

Given that around a hundred people live at the mansion, viruses and sicknesses can easily spread throughout the household like a baker spreading chocolate icing over his cake - every little thing - or person, in this case - is subject. Add to the fact that Master Hand doesn't have insurance for the mansion, and the brawlers have to take real care of their health, ensuring that they don't catch any symptoms, like the flu.

Today's unfortunate soul was Toon Link, who was suffering from the common cold. The young Hylian was stuck in his bed all day long, with a thermometer in his mouth and a wet rag atop of his forehead. Geno and R.O.B. were ordered by Master Hand to keep Toon company, since they won't be able to catch any illnesses by being with the Hylian.

"TEMPERATURE...103 DEGREES..." R.O.B announced after checking Toon Link's temperature on the thermometer. A high temperature like that indicates that the Hylian might be in the bed for a while longer.

"Aw, I feel so horrible..." Toon Link moaned miserably. He didn't know how on earth he caught the common cold; after all, he's one of the most healthiest brawlers in the mansion. He disinfects objects with a disinfecting wipe, and washes his hands whenever he gets the chance. With procedures like that, Toon Link should have been able to live his entire life without getting sick at all!

"Toon Link, your nose is running," stated Geno, grimacing as snot and mucus rolled down the Hylian's nostrils, like a waterfall...too descriptive for you? "May I get you some more tissue?"

"No thanks..." replied Toon Link, wiping the snot and mucus away with his sleeve. All those health procedures he did before are now getting thrown out of the window. "Besides, we already ran out of tissue..."

 **Geno: "You and R.O.B should tend to Toon Link while he's sick, Mega Man and the other Robot Masters are all busy! No way will you catch any sickness!" I now fully regret accepting Master Hand's order, and now I have snot all over my lovely cloak. And whoever said the Robot Masters were busy? Mega Man is playing catch with Rush, Zero is too busy spending time in the workshop to socialize with others, and Proto Man, knowing him, is presumably posting some angst-filled quotes on his Tumblr page. As for X and .EXE, who knows what they're up to...**

"Yo, Fake Link, listen up!" Bowser rudely barged into the room. "Fake Link" is the nickname he uses for Toon Link, believing that the young Hylian is not actually a Hylian, and that he stole Link's likeness just so he could be a part of Zelda canon. It's better if you don't ask.

"Dr. Mario?" asked Toon Link, fearing for the worst. Like many other brawlers, Toon Link has been victimized time and time again by Dr. Mario's aggressive slapping. Only way you can get by Dr. Mario is without getting slapped is by being a woman, since the doctor would never hurt a lady.

"It's someone even better, eons better than Dr. Mario will ever be! Come on in, buddy!"

In came Doctor Toadley, the purple Toad from _Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time_ who, in addition to holding doctor appointments and all that good stuff, also specializes in telepathy and magic. Such an unusual combination for such an unusual doctor.

"Thank you for having me," the Toad said, taking a seat next to Toon Link. "Am I qualified enough to serve as your doctor? Of course I am. Should you and the others be of high concern? Absolutely not!" Toadley noticed that Toon Link, Geno, and R.O.B all sported worried looks on their face, not under the belief that some doctor wearing a face veil may not solve Toon's ailment. Seriously, when was the last time you saw a doctor of any profession or level with a face veil?!

"What are you gonna do?" asked Toon Link. He has never been more concerned in his life than he was at this very moment. The fact that Bowser approached Toadley and asked him to check on Toon did nothing but increase the Hylian's overall concern.

"What am I going to do, you ask? Check your vitals and guesstimate how long you will be sick," replied Toadley, answering his own question. He has a strong habit of doing that, those who played _Partners in Time_ managed to get used to it. "Let me check your temperature..."

"TOON LINK'S TEMPERATURE...IS 103 DEGREES..." R.O.B told Toadley, not trusting the doctor and his purple face veil.

"Thank you for the information, you have made my job easier. Have you checked for symptoms such as runny nose, throat irritation, and fever? I would assume not..."

"Which is why we needed a doctor to look for such symptoms," replied Geno, too unqualified to serve as a de facto doctor. Lucina, an amateur nurse, would be of service to Toon Link, but it wasn't worth getting sick, since she didn't have the proper materials. "We didn't expect you to come here and..."

"You dare criticize my abilities?! How dare you!" Toadley bonked Geno on the head. "Since this is a full-fledged doctor's appointment, I demand that you and your robot friend leave at once!"

So Geno and R.O.B followed the doctor's orders, and left Toon Link's room. As they left, the Hylian looked at them with a sense of worries in his eyes. Geno felt a little sympathetic for Toon as he closed the door behind him.

* * *

With Master Hand fully healthy and lively again (and with Sonic giving him hand massages until day of Luigi's wedding) Cloud and King Dedede (but mostly Cloud, King Dedede just eavesdropped) asked the creator of the Smash universe if they could build a small house next to the Smash Mansion, and Master Hand obliged! He tasked Cloud and Mr. Game and Watch to build the house, and in less than a few hours, both men were able to accomplish the task.

"We really outdid ourselves," grinned Cloud as he and Game and Watch looked at the newly created house...that was only the same size as a master bedroom. Hey, it's meant for Waddle Dees, what did you expect?!

 **Cloud: Despite the house's small frame, building it was awfully tough. *Mr. Game & Watch holds up a blueprint* First we had to lay out the foundation, and laying the foundation required a lot of stone, which was supplied by some of the rock-type Pokemon in the Pokemon sanctuary. Then we had to get some wood and build the walls of the house, as well as designate rooms here, and here. *points on the blueprint* Finally, we had to put on the ceiling, and that was hard work, considering what material we needed. All the stone was used up, so we were left with no choice but to cover sheets, due to our lack of options. Certainly the Waddle Dees don't mind...**

The Waddle Dee family didn't mind at all - in fact, they tested out the ceiling by launching a watermelon on top of it, and the cover sheets did not break off from the house. One of the Waddle Dees gave a thumbs up, but he didn't have fingers; at least Cloud and Mr. Game and Watch were able to make it out.

"Feeling kinda tired and thirsty right now, want something to drink?" Cloud asked Game and Watch, and the 2D man gave a thumbs up himself. "My motorcycle, Fenrir, just got repaired the other day, we can catch a ride to..."

"Cloud are you busy?" Rosalina approached the blonde swordsman, clearly in a state of distress. Rarely is Rosalina distressed, usually she has a very calm and collected demeanor, so to see her in the state she's in foreshadows a rather problematic issue she's dealing with.

"Not right now, what can I possibly help you with?"

"It's my dear Luma...she's gone missing!"

"Luma has gone missing?!" exclaimed Cloud, doing his darnedest to care about this situation. Inside he's probably thinking, "Why should I care about Luma, and why should I care about this woman, she can live without Luma, it's not that big of a deal!" "When was the last time you saw her?" Cloud, stop faking it, no need to change the tone of your voice all of a sudden.

"Last time I remember, she was in my room with me, reading magazines...hope whatever I was reading didn't scare her away or anything..."

"What were you reading anyways?" If he wants to show that he cares about the situation, Cloud has to asks a myriad of questions. It's the only way to go.

"Hair maintenance magazines - you know, those magazines that give you hair and beauty tips and whatnot."

"Sure do..." Cloud continued his faux care for Rosalina by nodding his head. He had no idea there were beauty magazines that give tips not only for beauty, but managing your hair. If he was a girl like Rosalina, he would understand. "Why can't Mario help you out, he's always available...well, most of the time, when he's not hanging out with Peach or anything like that."

"Yeah, about Mario..." Rosalina looked to the side, suggesting that the plumber has his hands full...but with what?

* * *

Mario was outside in the mansion's backyard, working on his bat swings, with his brother Luigi pitching the baseball. So why is Mario working on his bat swings?

 **Mario: The other day Falco challenged-a me to a baseball game - winner gets unlimited free-a pizza at the pizzeria downtown! Of course, Peach is trying to sweet-a talk out of the baseball-a game, using my stomach as another lousy excuse-a for why I can't play, but what that woman needs-a to realize, is that a man's gotta do what a man's-a gotta do, and I don't-a care if she wants me to take-a pictures of her in the garden, I will refuse and you know-a why? *rips his shirt* IT'S BECAUSE I'M A MAN, THAT'S WHY, A REAL-A MAN! REAL MEN DON'T-A TAKE PICTURES OF THEIR GIRL-A IN THE GARDEN, WHAT MAN DOES THAT CRAP ANYWAYS?!  
Peach: *from afar* Oh, Mario, I have some pictures I want you to take in the garden!  
Mario: I'm-a coming dear! *runs off, covering his chest***

"How is Marth helping-a you with your wedding plans?" asked Mario. He's still pretty salty that his little twin brother is getting married before he does, but as long as Bowser doesn't find himself a significant other and gets engaged, he's pretty cool with Luigi marrying Daisy.

"Marth-a has been a huge-a help for me," replied Luigi, pitching a splitting fastball to Mario, who struck the ball with the crack of his bat. "We've already purchased-a invitations, discussed the ceremony with-a Chrom, sent-a out the save-a-data-a cards, and booked a florist."

"Who is-a the florist? I bet it's someone-a like Petey Piranha!"

"Actually, no - it's-a someone from the Kanto region. I believe-a her name is Erika..." For those of you who may not remember, or were too lame enough to play Pokemon during your childhood, Erika is a grass-type Pokemon gym leader from the Celadon City Gym. She has a strong knack for daydreaming; Luigi and Marth better hope her daydreaming doesn't disrupt the wedding ceremony!

"Sup Mario, working on that wack bat swing of yours?" Falco appeared, angering Mario. Ever since he was challenged to the baseball game, Mario has been feeling very volatile towards Falco, and would glare down the avian pilot whenever he sees him. "Good some great news for ya - Knuckles just released his mixtape online on iTunes, and it's selling like crazy! Knew that dude has that fire in him!"

"What-a fire, he can't fire fireballs at-a will like me!" Mario, don't even bother following up Falco, especially since you hardly know jack about rap, at least outside of those countless rap videos found on YouTube. "You're probably just-a exaggerating the numbers anyway!"

"So over 750,000 copies is now in 'exaggeration'? People like you make me laugh!"

"I...should-a be...going now..." Luigi innocently walked away, letting Mario and Falco exchange verbal jabs with one another.

"Luigi...stay where-a you are," commanded Mario, furrowing his brow. "You're joining my-a team."

"...Mother?" Luigi peeped. He wasn't prepared for this, not one bit. He was supposed to order the wedding cake with Marth, but it seems as if the Hero-King will have to do that task on his own.

 **Luigi: Mario wants-a me on his lousy base-a ball team...he's not planning on-a making me the pitcher, is he? I mean, I can throw a mean-a curveball or fastball when-a I feel relaxed and no one's-a watching me, but to be pitching in front-a of others...May I be excused-a, I think-a I just soiled myself...**

"Recruiting people already?" smirked Falco. "About time! So far I have already recruited Shulk, Wii Fit Trainer, and even Snake to my baseball team, and I'm just halfway through! And here you are practicing, and you haven't even prepared your team yet! What a shame!"

"You talk a mighty strong-a talk, Falco," said Mario, his anger reaching its boiling point. "But let-a me warn you..." He grabbed Luigi and pulled him to his side, seemingly putting him in a headlock. "When you face-a against the both of us, you're-a bound to get squared!"

"Can't...breathe..." Luigi gasped for air as he tried to pry Mario's arm. Mario released his hold on Luigi, dropping his brother to the ground with a thud. Luigi started to hyperventilate, as the lovely, glorious air finally returned to his lungs.

"I'm supposed to be intimidated by Luigi or something?" scoffed Falco. "Nah, don't see that happening, ever. By the way, the baseball game is gonna be around five, make sure you have a full baseball team by then, aight?"

Mario clenched his fists in anger as Falco walked away, returning to the mansion. Luigi saw that his brother's face was red and steaming hot...but not steaming like an oven, for that would be weird.

"Luigi, it's-a time..." said Mario. "It's-a time to get my team!"

* * *

Link was in the foyer, posting a flyer on one of the walls. Pit caught the Hylian as he made his way down the steps, and immediately ran up to him.

"What is this?" Pit grabbed the flyer and read it out loud. "'Intelligent Scholars Club'." Pit raised an eyebrow at the title, for it sound like a typical educational organization, like an honor society. Since when did Master Hand allow educational organizations to begin at the mansion?

"The Intelligent Scholars Club is just a book reading club me and Zelda started," explained Link. His duty is to hang flyers throughout the mansion, and Zelda's duty is to find books suitable for reading in groups. "She kinda got the inspiration from Yoshi's knitting club."

 **Link: Earlier this week Zelda sent me on an "espionage" mission to the knitting club - she wanted me to go undercover as a newbie in the club, so I can learn how the club works and how the members work such great chemistry with one another. You wouldn't believe the reactions I received when I told Yoshi and the others I was joining their club, and after my time was up, I had told them I was leaving the club, and they went from happy and jovial to angry and ticked real quick. As my "punishment" for walking out of the knitting club, Yoshi, Toad, and Ashley all imprinted temporary tattoos all over my chest...Pac-Man was sitting in a corner by himself, wondering what he had gotten himself into.**

"Ew, a book reading club?" grimaced Pit. Reading has never been a forte of his...though it's not really a surprise considering how dumb he is. "Sounds super boring! Just reading books all day...why can't there be a planking club, you don't have to do any effort and you won't have to worry about people yelling at you! (Unless you're planking in the wrong place, that is.)"

"That sounds so much like you," Link shook his head. "And for your information Pit, the Intelligent Scholars Club is not 'super boring', as you try and make it out to be - in fact, we even have our own secret code!"

Diddy Kong walked by, and held out his hand, joining his thumb, index finger, and middle finger together in a hand signal. Link performed this hand signal to Diddy as the spidermonkey walked by. Pit watched this unfold, mesmerized even though this incident is hardly mesmerizing at all.

"Secret code, huh?" smirked Pit. He was sold on the secret code, but everything else, he wasn't sold on yet. "Why not a secret _handshake_?"

"Already asked Zelda about that, apparently she's against any extravagant handshakes," stated Link. "She prefers high-fives, she doesn't understand the complex handshakes most people do nowadays."

"Zelda's against cool handshakes?! Man, she's even boring than the club itself!"

"You wanna take that back?!" Link whipped out his Master Sword, pointing it at Pit who cowered in fear. Pit had messed with the wrong guy!

"Yes I want to take it back, Zelda is the most awesome girl in the entire world, you should feel great to have her as a girlfriend!" Pit scampered out of the foyer, and Link placed his Master Sword back where it was.

 **Pit: So, so, so...Link and Zelda are starting a book club, and they invited Diddy Kong...why did they even bother inviting that dumb monkey in the first place, he thinks he can walk around in public wearing no pants! But when I do it, suddenly it's a big deal, and I get arrested for "disturbing the peace and mooning"! Screw all of them, I'm gonna start my own club, and it's gonna be legit!**

* * *

Now back to Toon Link. Doctor Toadley had just finished his doctor appointment of sorts with the young Hylian, and was ready to go over the results.

"The condition of your common cold? Very serious," stated Toadley. He was always answering his own questions during the appointment, before Toon could even answer them, and this bothered the Hylian greatly. "What medication would I recommend?v Taxitol, this prescription right here." Toadley held up a prescription bottle, which read "Taxitol". Over-the-table prescription medicine? Toon Link is totally not fond of that!

"Do I really have to take prescription medicine?" moaned Toon Link. "Is there another way to cure my common cold?"

"Another way to cure your common cold? I am afraid not. But you'll need to take this medicine if you ever want to feel well again!"

Toadley placed the Taxitol on Toon Link's counter, and gathered all of his belongings - his periscope, clipboard, and crystal ball. Why he even owns a crystal ball, given his profession, is one of the many unsolved mysteries within the _Mario_ universe. "Have a good day!"

Toadley exited Toon Link's room, and was immediately greeted by Bowser, who vigorously shook the toad's hand. He was a little shaken up by the handshake, and this was understandably due to his ridiculously small frame, at least compared to Bowser.

"Thank you so much for checking on Toon Link, Doctor Toadley!" thanked Bowser. "Unlike many others, I was worried sick about the kid's condition!" The irony of Bowser's statement is over 9000! It cannot be simply contained!

"Just doing my job..." replied Toadley, astonished that an evil dude like Bowser would be thanking him, let alone thanking him for having an appointment with one of the many brawlers the Koopa King doesn't even care about.

 **Bowser: Now is the time to initiate my master plan...I have called in Doctor Toadley to check on Toon Link, and I have used him as a catalyst for what I'm about to do next. My plan will follow through, I'm absolutely sure of it!**

* * *

Bowser sneaked inside the library undetected, and saw Chrom sitting in a couch by himself, reading a book. And no, it wasn't _Swordsman Weekly,_ in case you were assuming. Rather, Chrom is reading Lucina's diary, because what caring, protective father wouldn't do such a thing?

"Hey Chrom..." Bowser said to the Prince of Ylisse in a charming way, sneaking up behind him and massaging his shoulders. Chrom could easily tell who was massaging him, judging by the size of the hands and how strong these hands were, and when he realized it was Bowser, he started to feel concerned for his overall safety. Bowser doing something friendly for just about anybody was as rare as Grumpigs flying - in fact, they might be flying as of this moment!

"You are sure friendly today Bowser..." Chrom remarked as he looked out a nearby window, making sure that Grumpigs aren't in the sky flying about. No Grumpigs were in sight - maybe Abraham Lincoln is back from the dead!

"Who are you trying to kid buddy, I'm always this friendly!" Yeah, friendly to those who do and follow your bidding, like Shulk before he gained some sense and left your dumb lessons.

 **Chrom: Ever since I bought Bowser that "World's Best Dad" mug a long time ago, he has been much more appreciative of me. Holding the door open for me, sharing his leftovers from dinner, and even offered to mail letters to my folks in Ylisse. If he wasn't an evil fellow, and had a less grotesque appearance, I wouldn't be so unnerved by Bowser's amount of friendliness.**

"Thank you for the shoulder massage, but I'm afraid I must leave," Chrom got up, Bowser's massaging greatly bugging out the Prince of Ylisse. But the Koopa King calmly him sat back down, and Chrom felt more unnerved than he should. Thankfully nobody in the library was paying attention to the scene...except for Villager.

"Bowser stop hurting Chrom, leave him alone!" the young lad yelled at Bowser, who was quickly offended. He's not hurting Chrom, he's actually being gentle for once!

"How am I hurting Chrom, I'm just giving him a wicked awesome shoulder massage!" retorted the Koopa King. "Shut your trap, boy!"

"I'm telling!" Villager ran out of the room. A while later, he came back with Peach, who gasped in horror as Bowser continued his somewhat soft and tender shoulder massage with Chrom. How dare an evil villain exhibit signs of calmness and serenity, he should be reprimanded for his actions at once!

"Bowser let go of Chrom this instant!" ordered Peach, ready to call Master Hand in if she has to resort to that option. "Stop hurting him!"

"Please, woman, I'm hardly hurting this guy!" stated Bowser. He should have known better than to initiate his "master plan" in a public space like the library, too many watching eyes looking at him - and now he has inadvertently acquired the attention of everyone in the library. "Isn't that right, Chrom?"

"Shoulders...are hurting..." the prince wheezed in pain, though Bowser didn't necessarily see this as a huge concern.

"See what I mean? It's not my fault Chrom is perpetually weak!"

"Bowser, I'm afraid you must leave the premises!" frowned Peach, acting very motherly in her reproach. "You have no right to be bothering Chrom!"

"No Peach, it's fine, I can muster through the pain..." assured Chrom, still wheezing. He didn't mind Bowser giving him shoulder massages - just as long as he softens his grip around his shoulder. If Bowser continues to exert his strength, Chrom's shoulder may very well be numb to the highest degree.

"Fine then, have it your way!" Bowser grumpily departed from the library, admitting defeat. He's not that unfamiliar in this territory - after all, he has lost to Mario (and Luigi) hundreds of times, you could make a history book about it. "Time to move my master plan to other areas of the mansion..." What is the Koopa King plotting?

* * *

Corrin was playing an arcade machine in the arcade room, playing a game of _Space Invaders_. He was so into the game, his eyes were literally glued to the screen, and he was physically unable to take his eyes away. You have seen this a lot with most hardcore gamers.

"Corrin you done yet?" Akira Yuki asked the prince, dying for his chance to play _Space Invaders._ He spent most of his time waiting by karate chopping random brawlers that entered the arcade. Surely they wouldn't mind Akira doing such a thing...at least until they report his actions to Master Hand. Akira would stop karate chopping then.

 **Corrin: I think I know why this _Space Invaders_ arcade machine exists...it's a gift from the aliens! They sent it down to Earth as a learning tool for us humans to learn how to fend ourselves from any future alien invasion! Therefore, I must play this _Space Invaders_ game until I reach my point of exhaustion, if I ever want to ready myself for any invasion threatening our precious planet!  
** **Akira: Are you done with the arcade machine YET?! There's already a long line behind me!  
** **Corrin: Excellent; we need all the help we can get if we ever want to protect ourselves from any alien invasion in sight!  
** **Akira: Kid, you are practically insane...**

"Corrin I have a favor to ask-a of you!" Mario frantically ran into the arcade room, plowing through the line of brawlers waiting to play _Space Invaders -_ Akira, Roy, Lloyd, Yoshi, and Captain Falcon - just to get to the prince.

"Not now, Mario, I am in a fight for humanity!" replied Corrin, nearly completing the game and his eyes still glued to the screen. If he's that much addicted to _Space Invaders_ , who knows what playing _Call of Duty_ will do to him...

"We have-a no time for this 'fight for humanity'!" Mario pulled out the plug to the _Space Invaders_ arcade machine, and Corrin looked absolutely devastated. How is he able to prepare himself for an alien invasion now?

"Mario, you incoherent fool! Because of you unplugging the arcade machine, us humans will not be able to assemble ourselves for a future alien attack!"

"Um Corrin, I'm not a human..." Yoshi pointed out. He didn't like being left out, not being a part of things. Hence the reason why he joined the knitting club!

"We have more-a serious - and realistic - matters on-a our hands!" frowned Mario. "Falco has-a challenged me to a base-a ball game, and I must put together a team-a that can beat him in a baseball game! You seem like the perfect-a fit for my team! In-a fact, you're all perfect fits!"

"Me on a baseball team?" scoffed Captain Falcon, overly confident in his baseball abilities. In addition to being a race car driver, Falcon is quite the athlete. "You should be enlightened to know that in my heydays at high school, I was the strongest batter on my..."

"I would be more than glad to be a part of your baseball team!" Akira said to Mario, cutting off Captain Falcon and angering the driver in the process. Had it been a woman like Samus or Bayonetta, Falcon wouldn't have a problem with it, given that they cut him off ninety percent of the time when he tries to ask them out. But Akira Yuki interjecting him? Some retribution is coming later.

 **Captain Falcon: No one, and I mean NO ONE, cuts off the mighty Captain Falcon and expects to get away with it! (Unless it's a woman.) The next person who dares to interrupt me will face the mighty fury, of a Falcon...PUUUUN...aw man, cramp, cramp! *grabs his arm in pain***

"When shall we get started?" Akira continued. "Who is playing what position? I feel that I should be the designated hitter, because of my immense strength!"

"You're not as strong as you make yourself out to be..." Lloyd rolled his eyes at Akira. The karate master put the swordsman in a Full Nelson - just because Akira does a lot of karate moves doesn't mean he's incapable of performing some wrestling maneuvers every now and then. "Okay, okay, I get it, you're the strongest dude I know!" Akira released his hold on Lloyd, dropping him to the floor.

"Meet-a me in the backyard at-a 2 P.M. sharp," ordered Mario. "Make sure your bodies are-a well conditioned before we meet!"

* * *

Cloud and Mr. Game & Watch were busy searching for Luma so they could bring her back to Rosalina. While Game & Watch cared about the task at hand, Cloud certainly didn't - this whole search was cutting into his free time. Then again, his free time is mostly slacker stuff, so it's great to help out others every now and then.

"Last time Rosalina said she was with Luma, she was reading magazines in her room," Cloud recounted what Rosalina had told him. "Let's go to her room, and see if we can find any clues there."

So the unlikely duo of Cloud and Mr. Game & Watch went to Rosalina's room, and were shocked to see what was on the floor. It was...a dumbbell! Why on earth is a dumbbell in Rosalina's room? Does she do weight-lifting during night hours, when she won't be questioned?

"Aha, finally found my dumbbell!" Ryu came into the room, and picked up his dumbbell off the floor. Cloud and Game & Watch looked at him questionably, wondering why a workout warrior like Ryu had one of his equipment in Rosalina's room. "Can an honest man work out outside of the fitness center?!"

 **Ryu: A great fighter cannot work out and work on his craft in the same place forever - every now and then, he has to mix things up as a way to explore his tastes and understand his limitations! I have tried working out in the rooms of several different brawlers, since I value company, and my initial efforts were not successful. Wario's room was too messy for my tastes, Fox's room was loud and noisy, and Duck Hunt Dog's room...why does that mutt even have a room in the first place? Rosalina's room was the only place where I could find solace and peace, and I commend the star lady for keeping it that way!...Yes, I call Rosalina the star lady, you got a problem with that bub?!**

"If you excuse me gentlemen, I must run around the mansion for two hours, or until I become bitterly exhausted - whichever one comes first!" Ryu said as he departed from Rosalina's room, dumbbell in hand. Cloud and Mr. Game & Watch looked at him curiously, wondering why he picked Rosalina's room of all places to exercise.

"We better keep a close eye on Ryu, he might be more suspicious than we expect," stated Cloud. "Let's continue our search!"

* * *

After learning of Link's and Zelda's club, Pit set out to start a club of his own - a club that will trump the Hylian's club. His plan was to have Viridi be the first member, but his plan was instantly derailed when...

"Hi Pit, care to join us?" the goddess of nature asked her love interest, sitting in Zelda's room, where the Intelligent Scholars Club meets. In addition to Link, Zelda, Diddy Kong, and Viridi, Meta Knight, Tails, Isabelle, Lucas, and Proto Man were all in attendance - gathered around for some good ol' reading.

"You...you traitor!" Pit pointed at Viridi accusingly, shaking his arm in bitter disgust. "Why would you join these fools?!"

"C'mon, Pit you're overreacting," frowned Zelda. Link had told the princess about how Pit felt about the Intelligent Scholars Club, and Zelda knew the angel wouldn't join the club anyways - Pit doesn't have the attention span to pay attention and the intelligence to understand what he's reading.

 **Viridi: For a reason I cannot understand, Pit despises reading of any kind! I tried to get him to read one of the _Twilight_ books, but he complained about the book being "overly romantic". So I gave him something simpler to read, "The Little Engine That Could", and he said that it was kiddy and childish. My last resort was to get him to read a _Sports Illustrated_ magazine, and do you want to know what his complaint was? "Hey Viridi, where are all the sports pictures and stuff? I wanna see pictures, not some lame sports stories that make no sense!" I love Pit to death, but I wish there were some things he would enjoy doing...**

"You are dead to me!" Pit angrily stomped away from Zelda's room. Now that his girlfriend "betrayed" him, what will the angel do?

"Just ignore him, Viridi," assured Diddy Kong. "Pit will eventually get over it...I hope."

* * *

Inside the computer room, Wolf was working tirelessly on his horror movie, entitled _Trapped._ Not the best horror movie title out there, but it's better than not having a title and struggling to come up with one.

While Wolf was working, Bowser entered the computer room and applied the procedure he did on Chrom to Wolf - he massaged the space pilot's shoulders.

"Bowser you're starting to creep me out..." an afraid Wolf stated. Hard not to tell it was Bowser's hands touching him.

"Ha ha ha, who are you trying to kid?" chuckled Bowser, playing his friendly, outgoing persona to utter perfection. "I'm not creeping you out - it's not like I'm in your horror film, which is gonna be EPIC!"

"You're rarely this friendly around others...you haven't been doing any drugs lately, haven't you?"

"Who, me?" Bowser followed up with some more seemingly faux laughter, and Wolf shuddered in fear. "I may be evil, but I'm not evil enough to do any drugs! That came out so wrong...anyway, I just wanted to thank you for including me in your movie as an extra! Bet I did a good job, didn't I? Please tell me my name will be listed in the credits!"

"Yeah we'll see about that..." Wolf rolled his eyes. Extras in movies, and TV shows for that matter, rarely have their names included in credit screens - Bowser is just trying to fuel his villainous ego in the littlest ways possible.

 **Ludwig: Extras are supposed to have the easiest acting jobs in the world, am I right? The director gives you a simple role to do, and all you have to do is act it out, nothing more and nothing less! But Father was horrible as an extra - whenever Wolf yells out "ACTION!" to start a scene, Father would flinch at the last minute when he's supposed to play dead, disrupting the scene and forcing me, Lucina, and Donkey Kong to start all over! And don't even get me started on K.K. Slider...if it weren't for Donkey Kong, we would have restarted the same scene in the gaming room for the nineteenth time!**

"Bowser...what on earth are you doing to Wolf?" MegaMan .EXE interrogated Bowser. This was the second time the Koopa King was being interrogated, and he had enough of it.

"Can a honest man give a fellow brawler a shoulder message?" retorted Bowser. "Evil dudes like myself can't act evil all the time. I wanna be friendly too!"

"I would appreciate it if you did that in a less...weird way." .EXE noticed Wolf's visage, and the wolf was twitching his eyes; the torment he's receiving may cause him to lash out against Bowser - and he did just that!

"ENOUGH!" Wolf leaped out of his chair and tackled Bowser to the ground, pointing his ray gun at him. Bowser did a puppy face, but it didn't work - and it won't ever work with the grotesque face he has. So he had to resort to another option.

"Let's hug it out, if it makes you feel any better," Bowser spread out his arms, expecting Wolf to hug him. But the wolf slowly got up, and backed away from Bowser as much as possible, until he was near the window of the computer room. "Fine then, I'll just hug .EXE instead!" The Koopa King got up, and .EXE got on the offensive, He ran away from Bowser, who was chasing him trying to give him a hug.

"Quit it, man!" .EXE yelled as he ran from Bowser. Wolf quietly tip-toed out of the computer room, and ran for safety.

* * *

Corrin, Akira, Yoshi, Gil, Captain Falcon, and Lloyd all met with Mario and Luigi in the mansion's backyard, just as they were told to do. Corrin had a hard time finding the backyard - he was in the front yard, in the far back assuming that it was the "backyard", but Captain Falcon thankfully led him to the right place.

"Yoshi why did-a you bring them with-a you?" Mario asked the dinosaur, who brought his buddies from the knitting club - Ashley, Toad, and Pac-Man - to the backyard.

"Thought we might need some backup!" replied Yoshi. He told his knitting club pals that he wanted to knit a baseball quilt, in the mansion's backyard...dude played them for keeps!

 **Pac-Man: Ah, feels great to be outside in the fresh, warm air, in the backyard having fun again...granted I'm still with those knitting losers, but I'll take some outdoors any day of the week...**

"Let's-a see who's playing what position..." Luigi pulled out a list of names, adding Ashley's, Toad's, and Pac-Man's names to said list. "Akira is the designated-a hitter, Corrin is the first base-a man, Lloyd is the center fielder, Gil is the third-a baseman, Captain Falcon is-a the shortshop, Mario is the second-a baseman, Yoshi is the relief/closing pitcher, I'm-a the starting pitcher, Toad will-a be the catcher, Ashley will be the left-a fielder, and Pac-a Man will be the right fielder. So that evens everything out!"

"Why is-a Yoshi the relief AND closing pitcher?" questioned Mario. He should have known better than to do the list himself rather than letting Luigi do it, because he's the team's unofficial captain - his superiority complex is working against him.

"Yoshi as the relief-a pitcher is good, he'll-a enter the game if I'm-a struggling and take the pressure off-a of me."

"Then why-a is he the closing pitcher?" Everyone else impatiently tapped their foot, anticipating Mario to shut his yap.

"As a closing pitcher, Yoshi won't-a enter the game until we're up-a big, he'll keep the lead-a intact!"

"...So why is he the relief pitcher?" Yoshi is playing two positions due to a lack of players; is that so hard of a concept for Mario to grasp.

"I see you have already assembled your team!" Falco approached Mario, accompanied by Fox. Mario turned around in a jiffy, glaring down his temporary nemesis. "Wanna know who's on MY team? Me, Fox, Little Mac, Doc Louis, Knuckles, Shulk, Mewtwo, Ike, Ness, and Lucario! I got the best team in town, and you're stuck with a bunch of scrubs!"

"Scrubs?" Mario scoffed. "Just you wait-a and see Falco, we are gonna kick-a your butts and send your team-a into oblivion!" Mario's teammates rolled their eyes at their leader, believing he was greatly over-exaggerating. Already he was creating lofty expectations that none of them might reach.

"Heh heh, we'll see about that," Fox said coolly, unfazed by Mario's poor attempts to bolster his team's lack of confidence. Only Mario, Akira and Captain Falcon felt pretty comfortable about their chances of winning; everyone else was either "meh" or didn't care that much. "See you later during the game - better be ready to take that L!"

"If that's-a what you think..."

* * *

Pit organized his club - the Planking Club - and went about in the mansion, asking people to join his dumb club. (Any club that revolves around the concept of planking is an immediate red flag. Nobody would want to plank all day long.) Gathered together with Pit in Toon Link's room was Toon Link, Kirby, Wario, Mega Man, Zero, Snake, Olimar, and King K. Rool. How he assembled together such an odd group of characters, nobody will ever understand. Then again, Masahiro Sakurai is a freaking expert at doing such a thing.

"Welcome everyone to the Planking Club!" Pit exclaimed happily. Kirby was the only individual that responded happily, showing a smile - everybody else began to question themselves for even joining this club. It will probably be one of the worst decisions each person has made. "Before we start things off, let's have an icebreaker moment, starting with Wario...So, Wario, why did you join this lovely club?"

"Because you told me you would pay me to join!" replied Wario. "Why in fact, you told us all you would pay us if we join! Where's our money?!"

 **Wario: Does that dumb angel Pit not know that I need money to live? I bathe in money, I sleep with money, I even use money as freaking toilet tissue for crying out loud! If I were to lose all of my money and go bankrupt, how will I ever use the bathroom again?**

 **Mega Man: Honestly I'm not here for the money, I'm just "investigating" to see how Pit will handle things as the leader of the club. After all, the only thing that is required of us is "being physically enabled to plank", so it honestly can't be that hard of a job for Pit.**

"All the financial stuff will come later, after we finish our planking duties!" assured Pit. "Hold your horses!" Wario grumpily folded his arms; the fatso better get his money real quick, otherwise he'll leave Pit's club - although he won't even regret doing that. "Now that Wario has completely ruined the icebreaker activity, does anyone have any questions?"

"Why do we have to meet in here when I'm sick?" asked Toon Link. The young Hylian is still suffering from the common cold, and is still in his bed, just as Dr. Toadley told him to do.

"You're not that sick, Dr. Toadley is just exaggerating your ailments." Pit's assertion was quickly negated when Toon Link sneezed loudly, getting snot and mucus all over his cover sheets. "See what I mean, if you were really sick, you would have gotten snot and mucus covering this entire room!"

"He's still contagious, we can still catch the common cold if we're within his vicinity," Snake pointed out.

"Maybe you'll catch the cold, since your immune system is out of whack due to your old age, but we won't get sick!" Immune system out of whack because of old age...was Pit's statement medically correct?! "Now, first order of business...where do you guys wanna plank first?"

"Preferably a place where we won't get ridiculed and exiled," suggested Olimar. His Pikmin were present, ready to perform some intense planking.

"A place where we won't get ridiculed and exiled..." Pit stroked his chin, thinking of a place that meets the qualifications. A room popped in his head. "Off to the beauty salon!"

Everyone except for Pit and Kirby rolled their eyes; male brawlers are rarely allowed inside the beauty salon, what possibly made Pit think planking there would be such a great idea?

* * *

"All of a sudden, on my way out to the lobby, I got old Jane Gallagher on the brain again," Diddy Kong read dramatically, as if he was narrating an action movie trailer, in the Intelligent Scholars Club. The club members were reading the eleventh chapter of _The Catcher in the Rye -_ a true masterpiece and embodiment of teenage angst and alienation. A lot of quotes from this novel are used in Tumblr posts to this day. "I got her on, and I couldn't get her off. I sat down in this vomity-looking chair in the lobby and thought about her and Stradlater sitting in that..." Diddy is starting to hesitate. "In that..."

"Go on..." said Zelda, the founder and co-leader of the Intelligent Scholars Club.

"This stuff always happen when I get a chance to read!" Diddy Kong furiously threw his book down on the floor and buried his face in his hands. Why is Diddy Kong so frustrated? Read the first bit of chapter eleven of _The Catcher in the Rye_ and you'll might understand why.

 **Diddy Kong: Viridi and Lucas and the others think they got it good, reading their portions and all that good stuff...and when it's my turn to read, I get a stinking curse word! Boy if I have to read another curse word, then I'm gonna...*cools down* Told Zelda we should have read _Cat in the Hat_ instead...**

"Sorry to interrupt your reading everyone," Cloud poked his head through the door of Zelda's room. Mr. Game & Watch stood by the swordsman's side outside the door, serving as a faux bodyguard. Like anyone would want to mess with a guy like Cloud... "Rosalina has told me and Game & Watch that Luma has gone missing, and she tasked us in finding her. Anyone know where Luma might be?"

"Well I haven't seen Luma...but I've heard her!" stated Link, garnering intrigue from Cloud. The mystery case is beginning to move in the right direction. "Heard her voice from upstairs, she was all like, 'SOMEBODY IS ABOUT TO EAT ME, HELP ME SOMEBODY PLEASE!'" Link had said this in a girly voice, giving him strange looks from everyone. "...But that's all I heard."

"Come with me, and we'll discuss some more about Luma's potential whereabouts. This is just only the beginning..."

"None of you ever heard that..." Link warned the club members concerning his girly impersonation of Luma as he exited the room. But as he exited, Proto Man smirked as he placed a recorder in a pocket compartment...ooh, that sneaky robot!

"Heh heh heh..." he chuckled silently. Who knows what use Proto Man will make of that embarrassing sound clip of Link...

* * *

It was now time for the baseball game between Mario's team and Falco's team to commence. Not that many people were in attendance, though. This is just a matter of bragging rights.

"Jiggly Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff cheered, waving her victory flag in the air for whatever reason.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu cheered, mainly rooting for Falco. He would root for Mario and his team, but he still has bad memories about what the plumber nearly done to him back in episode 8.

In addition to Pikachu and Jigglypuff, Master Hand and Sonic were also in attendance. Master Hand rested on the ground, while Sonic massaged his index finger. To say the hedgehog loathed massaging Master Hand would be an incredible understatement.

"After the conclusion of this game, I want you to massage my feet!" Master Hand told Sonic, although he's just a mere hand.

"But you don't even have any..." Sonic began, before groaning and ceasing what he just said. "Never mind, I'll massage whatever you want me to massage." Backtalking Master Hand would _not_ be a very wise proposition.

 **Sonic: Could have been playing in the baseball game, but apparently I'm stuck massaging Master Hand, which is the most boring and tedious task in the world! I knew I should have given the responsibility of planning that celebration for Zelda to Lucas, Ryu did say the kid makes for the perfect fall guy!**

Throwing the first pitch was Little Mac, the pitcher for Falco's team. Mario's team was batting first, given the distinction by Falco "as an act of utter sympathy". Up to plate batting first was Gil, the leadoff hitter."

"Swing-a with all your might!" Mario yelled out to Gil from the bench. Only person sitting with him was Luigi - practically everyone else on the team alienated themselves from the plumber.

Little Mac threw out the first pitch, and got a strike, as called by the empire, the Flying Man. The boxer then threw another pitch, a fastball, and got another strike, strike two. Little Mac threw a curveball this time, and struck out Gil.

"Oh yeah, let's go Little Mac!" Fox cheered, clapping his hands from center field. Mario facepalmed; even though it was early, it was gonna be a long game for Mario's team.

* * *

Bowser confidently walked through the hallways, searching for the next person to either hug or massage their shoulders. Victims a many have suffered from the Koopa King's profound and strange acts of happiness, and a new victim was afoot - Bowser found a depressed Rosalina sitting by herself in the lounge.

"You look like you could use a hug right about now!" Bowser approached the "star lady", as Ryu calls her, greeting her with open arms.

"Go away Bowser, I don't want any hugs from you," responded Rosalina, looking down at the floor. Life without Luma has been pretty rough on her.

"Then I'll just massage your shoulders," Bowser stepped behind the chair Rosalina was sitting in and massaged her shoulder. Rosalina suddenly broke down into tears. "What, am I pressing too hard? Let's see if I can ease up a little!"

So Bowser applied less strength, and Rosalina still sobbed. What could the Koopa King be doing wrong?

"Leave her alone Bowser, she's clearly upset," said Samus, who was quietly using an iPad in a corner of the lounge. It takes a lot of endurance from her to ignore everything going on around her. "How about you go give your hugs and shoulder massages somewhere else?"

 **Samus: Eh, Rosalina can live without Luma at her side, Luma isn't that big of a deal anyway. I wouldn't care one bit if Luma was dead, to be brutally honest with you...And yes, I wouldn't care the same way for everyone else in this mansion if they were dead, too. That even goes for people like Isabelle.**

"She's upset because she's spending loads of time in this mansion and desires to see some daylight!" assumed Bowser, not thinking one bit about Luma's whereabouts. He picked up Rosalina, carrying her in his giant arms, and ran out of the lounge.

"Where are you taking me?!" frowned Rosalina. "Put me down this instant!" Samus could only shake her head...

* * *

The baseball game was now in the bottom of the second inning, with Falco's team up 2-0. Luigi was pitching, and boy was he nervous - his legs were trembling, sweat was running down his face like a waterfall, and his heart rate was off the charts. At bat was Mewtwo, ready for the pitch.

"Today would be nice, Luigi," the psychic Pokemon said impatiently. The plumber threw the baseball with all his might, and Mewtwo hit it, sending a line drive to center field. While Lloyd just stared at the baseball lying in the grass, Mewtwo had reached first base, and then second base. Ashley groaned and ran from right field to center field, grabbing the baseball and throwing it over to third base, where Gil was; Mewtwo had reached third base during that time frame.

"Lloyd, you-a idiot, you gave-a up a triple!" Mario scolded Lloyd, who had came to his senses. Apparently he was daydreaming, and you can't have that when you're playing defense in the open field.

"Oh sorry..." apologized Lloyd. "Can I get a do-over?" Mario shook his head, facepalming.

Next up to the batter's plate was Shulk, chewing some baseball gum (which is really regular gum, it doesn't taste like an actual baseball, for that would be disgusting). Luigi threw out the pitch, and Shulk, using his vision, hit the baseball with perfect timing. The baseball flew out of the backyard, resulting in a home run. Falco's team was now up 4-0, and Mario was appalled by the score.

"If nobody's gonna fetch the baseball, then I'll retrieve it!" said Sonic, about to make a running start, before Master Hand grumbled and tapped his fingers impatiently. "The things I have to do around here..." Sonic angrily returned to his hand massaging session.

* * *

Link guided Cloud and Mr. Game & Watch to the staircase of the fourth floor, where the Hylian had heard Luma's cries for help.

"I was thinking to myself at this very spot when I heard Luma," explained Link. "When I went upstairs to investigate, I was rudely shoved down the stairs and hit my head. Could hardly make out the fellow that shoved me..."

"Whoever he is, he's gonna pay dearly..." said Cloud. With Link's story, the swordsman can now find a way to solve the mystery once and for all.

 **Link: What was I thinking about? You know, just thinking about Zelda, and how lovely she is, and how I plan on marrying her in the near future...I repeat, IN THE NEAR FUTURE, not soon. Don't be getting any ideas...**

"Can you at least try and make out who the guy that shoved you was?" asked Cloud, trying to get closer to the mystery's climax.

"He was big...and had huge arms...and he might have had sharp teeth..." Link did his best to make out the perpatrator.

"That sounds like Bowser..." Cloud stroke his chin before coming to a forgone conclusion. "Maybe it was Bowser! We better go look for him!"

"You said you're looking for Bowser?" Young Link appeared, wielding his ocarina. A great hero of fate always has to practice his instruments, especially if his instruments have life-saving complications. "I just saw him running with Rosalina, vowing to take her outside."

"So it was Bowser! We have no time to waste!"

* * *

Back to the baseball game - which was now halted. The game is halted for two reasons - one, Falco's team is up 11-0, and a chance for Mario's team to make a comeback are very, very slim, and two...Pit and the rest of the Planking Club was planking all over the grass, thereby interrupting the game. (Toon Link wasn't present, however, he has to stay in the bed according to Doctor Toadley's orders.) All the players had to watch the club members plank on the ground.

"Isn't this fun, you guys?" exclaimed Pit, his voice muffled by the ground. The club members except for Kirby grumbled, their precious leisure time wasted by Pit's insanity.

"In case you guys weren't aware, we have a baseball game to finish up," stated Lucario, with his hands on his hips. Even he knew that a comeback by Mario's team would be out of reach.

"I brought some refreshments!" Palutena appeared, carrying a plate of cupcakes. Pit sprung up from the ground, delighted to see the treats in Palutena's hand.

"About time!" Pit grabbed a few cupcakes and scarfed them down his mouth like he was a speed eater. "Hey you guys, Palutena brought cupcakes!" Nobody else shared Pit's excitement...well, except for Kirby, who helped himself with some cupcakes. That puffball cannot resist the presence of food.

 **Kirby: *hands out a half-eaten cupcake to the cameraman, who refuses several times***

"That's great and all, but when do we get paid?" Wario asked, lifting up his head. He also spat out some dirt that got inside his mouth; evidently he was planking too hard.

"No way I'm paying you guys, I just made up the whole paying thing just to get you guys to join my club!" stated Pit. Wario angrily got up and strangled Pit; Akira and Fox had to restrain him.

"Let me at him, let me at him!" Rool went to go strangle him, but he was restrained as well. Then Bowser ran into the open field with Rosalina, and placed her gently on the ground.

"Finally free!" exclaimed the Koopa King. "Doesn't it feel great to be in the lovely outdoors?"

"I was outdoors yesterday..." stated Rosalina. She was tending to the mansion's front lawn the other day, for she felt that it was in a dire need of maintenance. A great front lawn makes a great home! "Can I please go back inside now?"

"Why has the baseball game ceased?" questioned Ryu, who was still running laps around the mansion. He had come by to see how both teams were doing. "Don't tell me the game was over that quickly!"

"Attention everyone!" yelled Cloud, who arrived at the scene with Link and Mr. Game & Watch. "I don't know if any of you were aware, but Luma...has gone missing!" Everyone gasped - everyone except for Ryu and a couple of others, who were feeling guilty. "After much investigation, Mr. Game & Watch, Link, and I have come to the conclusion...that Bowser ate Luma!"

"You wouldn't dare to do such a thing!" Rosalina scolded the Koopa King, who looked around in a state of confusion. Everybody was glaring at him; not the type of situation Bowser didn't want to find himself in.

"I never ate Luma, honest!" pleaded Bowser. "She wouldn't even taste that great to begin with!"

All of a sudden, a whistle. Proto Man warped down from the sky, holding the recorder he used to sneakily record Link.

"Before we start throwing accusations left and right, let's see who the real offender is..." said the robot, playing the recorder. Link's vocal impersonation of Luma played, and everyone was laughing - except for Link, whose cheeks were turning red out of embarrassment.

 **Link: Remind me to destroy that recorder soon...**

Of all the people present, Rool was laughing the hardest - so hard, that he regurgitated Luma. The star being landed in the hands of Rosalina, and although she was covered in bodily fluids, Rosalina didn't seem to care one bit.

"Luma, you're okay!" Rosalina embraced with Luma, the two reunited in perfect unity. Such a sweet, touching moment... "How on earth did you end up in King K. Rool's stomach?"

"Well mama, it all started...in your room," Luma began. "We were reading those magazines of yours, while Ryu was working out tirelessly. When you left to go use the bathroom, Ryu told me how I was able to keep you and him in a peaceful state, and so he tried to take me to another part of the mansion so he could work out in peace! And then he was stopped by Fox and Falco, who had told him that they wanted to use me as a mixtape cover for Little Mac's mixtape. So Ryu gave me up to the two, and I was taken to the Star Records room, and I was left all by myself in that room. Rool entered the room a while later, said he wanted a meal to devour...and that's when he ate me!"

"And I had witnessed it too, though I wasn't in the mood of busting anyone," added Proto Man. Ryu, Fox, Falco, and Rool were all holding their heads in shame.

"Looks like I gotta deal out some punishments again!" exclaimed Master Hand, feeling the need to satisfy his hunger for dealing out punishments. "Ryu, Fox, Falco, and Rool, the four of you report to my room at once. And Little Mac...please pick a different idea for your mixtape cover, will ya?"

"You can always have chocolate as your mixtape cover," Doc Louis nudged his protege, who obviously didn't buy his idea.

"Your obsession with chocolate knows no bounds..." Little Mac shook his head.

* * *

Later that day, in the foyer, Zelda was taking down flyers for her club, seeing that she already had an ample amount of club members. Rosalina approached her, holding Luma dearly in her arms.

"I have heard that Luma went missing, and Proto Man helped you get her back," Zelda told Rosalina, taking down the last of the flyers.

"I owe Proto Man a great amount of gratitude," responded Rosalina. "If it wasn't for him...I don't know what I would have done."

"You guys had a baseball game without me?" Pit whined to Mario, following after the plumber in the foyer. Now that he thunk of it, starting a Planking Club totally wasn't worth it, especially due to the fact that he got a black eye for not paying Wario, which led to him fully disbanding the club for good. You don't tell that fatso you're gonna pay him and expect to get away unscathed if you're unable to be a man of your word. He values money more than he values life essentials such as food and clothing, and that's extremely unhealthy!

"Yeah, we lost-a badly, so having you in our-a lineup wouldn't have made such a big difference," replied Mario. "But if we have another base-a ball game, I'll make sure-a to ask you."

And with that, Mario continued on his merry way, leaving Pit behind. The angel turned around...and saw Viridi, holding" a book in her hands. Pit instantly feared for the worst; reading is his Achilles heel.

"It's never too late to join the club, Pitty!" the goddess of nature grinned. Pit ran away screaming, with Viridi hot on his heels.

"Get that wretched book away from me, I beg of you!" C'mon now, Pit, it can't hard to be a part of clubs - it's a great way to fit in.


	20. Episode 20: Infectious

**Episode 20: Infectious**

Shulk is always really feeling it, and he makes sure you know that when you're playing _Super Smash Bros._ Just press the taunt button, and you'll hear the Homs yell out his most favorite phrase of all time - and perhaps the most annoying phrase in the entire game, if not the series - while lifting up his beloved Monado sword.

Today, however, Shulk wasn't really feeling it. And neither was a majority of the brawlers in the mansion. A great number of the brawlers are suffering from the common cold, from Mario and Link, to Bayonetta and Lucina. How did these brawlers catch the cold? It all started with the prognosticator, Bowser - he had come in contact with Doctor Toadley, who was touching a sickened Toon Link without the use of gloves, thereby contracting the illness. With the germs in his possessions, Bowser would come in contact with Chrom and Wolf, which he did in the previous episode. It would snowball from that point forward - Chrom came in contact with Lucina, who came in contact with Robin, so forth and so on; the same manner also applies to Wolf. Even worse was that Bowser had shaken hands with those present in the backyard in the last episode, "thanking" them for not punishing him as the wrongful culprit for eating Luma. The common cold spread like a wildfire after that.

 **Bowser: My diabolical plan finally worked...everyone in the mansion is sick, which means I can finally have my hands on that delicious wedding cake Marth ordered for Luigi...nobody can stop me now!**

Contrary to Bowser's belief, not everyone was sick. Mega Man and the other Robot Masters did not catch the cold, for they can only catch robotic diseases like Roboneza. Rather than having them boast in front of the brawlers about their healthy state, which they wouldn't even do to begin with, Master Hand made them de facto nurses to the sickened brawlers.

"Here is your breakfast, Shulk," Mega Man handed a tray of pancakes and eggs to the Homs. Shulk had a very severe case of the common cold, and therefore has to stay in his bed all day long. Those who had mild cases were allowed to roam through the mansion as long as they like, though they have to remain weary about making their condition even worse.

"Pancakes and eggs, my favorite!" Shulk exclaimed, giddily accepting the tray from Mega Man. Even when he's not really feeling it, the Homs tries his hardest to make the best of any given situation. "How did you know this is my favorite breakfast meal?"

"Because you told me that earlier...? I thought I told you there are limited options for breakfast, since Lady Palutena is too ill to cook breakfast." Palutena being unable to cook makes breakfast a survival of the fittest thing. Every brawler for themselves!

"Ah yes, that is right. With these limited options, I wonder how Dunban is handling things..."

* * *

The Homs was in the kitchen, cooking some sort of breakfast sandwiches - it had egg, bacon, and chess in-between two pancakes. McDonald's made this similar sandwich some time ago back in 2003 and dubbed it the "McGriddle", and now Dunban is taking a crack at the sandwich. Let's just hope a lawsuit doesn't come his way...

"Drat, another pancake on the ceiling," Dunban frowned, looking up at a pancake on the ceiling after he flipped it on the frying pan. Three other pancakes were on the ceiling as well. The side effects of the common cold are starting to derail his cooking abilities.

 **Dunban: Evidently someone has to step up to cook breakfast with Palutena sick, and I feel that I'm the best candidate for the job. I would let Robin take care of things, but he's still green in the several aspects of cooking. Until he decides to stop making waffles in the oven (which he feels that it makes the waffles cook "faster", despite the high chances of burning said waffles), I'll try and give him a chance.**

"See you're already working hard in the kitchen," Robin entered the kitchen, carrying a bag over his shoulders. What is in the bag, and what is Robin up to?

"So what's in the bag?" Dunban asked very curiously, with his hands on his hips.

"Glad you asked." Robin spilled out the contents of the bag onto the floor - pots, pans, skillets, and all the other crap you use when cooking stuff in the kitchen. Dunban just watched in intrigue as the items poured out.

"You're not attempting to cook anything, are you? Because Master Hand delegated me to the cooking duties. I'm having Mega Man and his 'brothers', as I would call them, deliver the food to the sickened brawlers."

"Oh he did, did he?!" Robin made a stank face, displeased that Master Hand didn't make him the cook. He felt that the creator of the Smash universe was greatly overlooking his cooking prowess...or the lack thereof. But one day, he'll have a chance to show Master Hand how great - or in this case, mediocre - of a cook he truly is. "What makes him think you're qualified to cook, and not me?!"

"Well, for starters, Master Hand has seen my cooking abilities before, and said that I would make a bona fide chef. And also, Palutena told him about that cook-off you had against her..."

"Yes, and I'm sure she said great things about the cook-off we had," Robin smirked confidently while nodding his head in approval.

"No she said that you were a mediocre cook at best and that you should give up your cooking talents, or the lack thereof, when you have a chance."

Robin took great offense to this, for he feels that he's the best cook not only in the mansion, but in the entire world. His cooking innovations - boiling French fries in carbonated water, grilling fish with mayonnaise - have never been done before, and the brawlers' stomachs seems to love these innovative creations, judging by how much pain and cramps they give the brawlers.

"Palutena is merely bluffing, she's just jealous of my abilities, and is trying to speak negatively about me just to please Master Hand!"

"You don't say?" Master Hand popped up behind Robin, scaring the living daylights out of the mage. Robin shrieked at the top of his lungs, and leaped into Dunban's arms. The Homs dropped Robin to the floor apathetically.

 **Master Hand: Man I love scaring people from behind, just seeing them scream like schoolgirls is pure entertainment...So what's this about Robin wanting to cook?...Oh yeah, Palutena told me about some cook-off he had with Robin, back when those crummy tourists were infiltrating my mansion and leaving trash all over the place. Had Ryu clean up the entire mess...Robin received cooking lessons from Mario of all people! I can't possibly let him cook, especially since he learned from that bozo!**

"Master Hand, you wouldn't mind at all if I cooked breakfast, do you?" Robin asked the creator of the Smash universe. Master Hand thought over this idea, his desire of stroking a chin never becoming more apparent than of this moment.

"I'm not that much familiar with your cooking, but from what I've heard around the mansion...I feel that you're in no shape to cook at all," replied Master Hand, leaving Robin in a devastated state. This was the mage's chance to prove to Master Hand that he's the master chef that he thinks he is, but sadly - and thankfully - his chance was denied.

"Please Master Hand I beg of you, give me just one chance, just one!" Robin was now pleading on his needs, shaking his cupped hands together. Just like when Esmeralda was begging Claude Frollo not to burn her alive for being a gypsy in _The Hunchback of Notre Dame._ Alright, that scene may not have happened, though it could have.

"No, no, and no - I will NOT allow you to cook here in this mansion ever again. Just stick to your magic crap and whatnot. Oh, and get a girlfriend while you're at it - I heard that Lucina is still available. Chrom wouldn't mind you dating his daughter one bit!"

And with that, Master Hand departed, leaving Robin to sob in despair. Not even the famed creator of the Smash universe believes in him...what now?

"Just as I figured," chuckled Dunban, with his hands on his hips. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to storage room downstairs, gotta make sure we have enough syrup for my pancake sandwiches..." Pancake sandwiches? That's honestly the best the Homs can come up with? At least McDonald's was far more creative...

* * *

Bowser, being of the few that was healthy, now had the unwanted privilege of ridiculing his fellow brawlers, just for being sick with the cold. And that's exactly what he did with Mario and Luigi.

"BWA HA HA HA HA!" the Koopa King pointed at laughed at Mario first, then at Luigi. The two plumber brothers just looked at Bowser questionably - shouldn't he have more important things to do, like taking care of his kids perhaps?!

"You're-a terrible..." Mario shook his head at his arch-nemesis before blowing his nose. He tossed the used tissue into a trash can piled to the brim with used tissues. A very common sign of having a terrible cold.

 **Mario: I'm in-a bed all day long... *sniffs* ...meaning that Isabelle-a will be on heavy duty today since-a her cold went away quickly *sniffs* ...why must I be around such great-a people *sniffs* ...and bad-a people?**

"Bowser you-a better stop!" Luigi warned, knowing that Bowser won't take him seriously regardless of his tone or remark. "Or I'll...I'll, um...I'll throw-a you into a bottomless pit! Yeah, either you leave-a us alone, or..."

"Yeah right, like I want to see the inside of your anus," scoffed Bowser, heading for the door. Time for Luigi to hold another L - just like the L on his hat.

Not even the healthy brawlers were safe from Bowser's mockery; when the Koopa King exited the Mario Bros' room, he spotted Mewtwo, and pointed and laughed at him as well. Mewtwo, staying true to his nature, frowned and shook his head at Bowser.

"You're still a virgin!" Bowser snickered, sounding like one of those 12-year old kids who know they're too young to be roaming around on the internet, trolling random people for the sake of their own entertainment. Is Bowser trying to imply that he's an immature adult?

 **Mewtwo: Yes, the fact that the scientists made me a LEGENDARY POKEMON, thereby disallowing me to breed with other Pokemon, is totally my fault. To have Bowser call me a virgin...my goodness, I may _never_ live that one down.**

Bowser simply strolled through the mansion, perfecting his pimp walk (haters gonna hate?) when he bumped into Toon Link. The young Hylian was lively and cheery, for he was quickly cured from his cold thanks to the Taxitol Doctor Toadley had given him.

"Watch where you're going kid!" Bowser frowned down Toon Link, whom he still thinks is a fake Link and a poser attempting to be a part of _Zelda_ canon. "Just because you're feeling well and all doesn't mean you can rain all over my parade!"

"Your parade of going about and making others feel bad about their illnesses?" questioned Toon Link. Bowser grew furious at Toon Link, but then he realized should have known better than to ridicule Peach and Zelda; they're quite the chatty ones in the mansion, and they might have told some of the others about Bowser's notorious (and rather childish) deeds. "Heard that the Koopalings are down under the weather, perhaps you should..."

"Are you telling me how to be a father?!" This only made Bowser even more furious, as steam gushed out of his nostrils. "What would a pint-sized wimp like yourself know about being a father, huh? Huh?! Tell me, punk!"

"Technically I'm a bit of a father figure to my little sister, Aryll..."

"Aryll doesn't count, nobody knows her!" Maybe outside of the _Legend of Zelda_ community, at least. "You think, that you can just steal Link's likeness, and wear his green tunic, and his goofy hat, and dye your hair blonde, and act all adventurous and junk while your folks are busy taming dumb pigs all day like it's their life, and expect to be called a hero?! Give me a break!"

"I would highly recommend that you eat this," Toon Link dug into his pocket, and offered Bowser a Snickers bar. Only eat this candy bar you're hungry and you're not being yourself. Listen to the narrators in advertisements, they speak the truth (most of the time).

"Gimme that!" Bowser snatched the candy bar from Toon Link and walked away...only to be tackled to the ground by a sickened Doc Louis. Even when he's not feeling well, the boxing trainer cannot contain his affinity for chocolate.

"Smelt this here chocolate all the way from my room!" Doc Louis took the Snickers bar out of Bowser's hand and walked away, whistling as if nothing happened. Bowser growled, banging his fists on the floor in anger.

* * *

"And, after boasting this way of my tolerance, I come to the admission that it has a limit. Conduct may be founded on the hard rock or the wet marshes, but after a certain point I don't care what it's founded on. When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at am sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only Gatsby, the man who gives his name to this book, was exempt from my reaction— Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn."

Viridi was reading to Pit a book, _The Great Gatsby,_ while the angel was in his bed, dealing with a fever and a sore throat. The goddess of nature sat at the side of his bed in a chair, reading the novel out loud.

"Ew, Viridi, stop, will ya, you know how much I despise reading," grimaced Pit. When Viridi told Pit that the two were doing something fun together, Pit thought that they would be playing video games together, barring Pit's illness. But fun and reading, however, doesn't go hand-in-hand in the angel's lexicon.

 **Pit: Viridi has been reading me random stories this entire morning, it's almost like I'm inside a torture chamber, except at home...What books did Viridi read to me, you asked? So far she read _To Kill a Mockingbird_ and _Beowulf._ It's auditory abuse, I tell you!**

"C'mon Pit, you said that you would be interested in this story!" moaned Viridi. Stacked next to her was a collection other books she plans to read to Pit, all in random order. This "torture" may last well into nighttime hours...

"I only said that if it meant you'll leave me alone!" stated Pit. The angel simply can't digest another story - his brain is too dense to retain any knowledge, big or small. By the time Viridi reads him a fifth book, Pit's brain would be already fried and functioning.

"So you don't want to be with me anymore?!" Viridi began to tear up. Pit has inadvertently initiated what is known as the "Boyfriend Trust Confusion" - Pit says one thing, and Viridi assumes that it's the other. In this case, the goddess of nature is assuming that Pit doesn't want to spend anymore time with her - in Layman's terms, she thinks Pit wants to break up with her!

"No I definitely didn't mean that, of course I want to be you!" It was too late for Pit; Viridi was sobbing her eyes out. Pit, ya dun goofed up kiddo - although it's not entirely your fault, just an issue of communication.

"Goodbye Pit, I don't ever want to see you again!" Viridi rushed out of Pit's room in tears. She'll be very disheartened when she sees Pit again, mainly because they both live in the same residence and all and they're always bound to run into each other...

"Made your girlfriend cry, huh?" Dark Pit smirked, returning from a little bathroom break. "What a loser..."

"It's all just a huge misunderstanding..." assured Pit. And what an misunderstanding it is.

* * *

Toon Link ventured into the dining room, where he saw Robin sitting at the table moping. Ever since being put down by Master Hand regarding his cooking abilities, the mage has lost a great deal of confidence, and has become somewhat insecure about cooking ever again.

"Man, you look beat," remarked Toon Link, taking a seat next to Robin. "This should be able to cheer you up!" the young Hylian gave Robin a Snickers bar, a second one he held in his pocket away from Doc Louis. He even had to put in in a "special" pocket, so the boxing trainer won't detect the bar through the use of his "chocolate senses". It sounds more strange and abstract than you think.

"Put your lousy chocolate bar away, I'm not that hungry..." Robin said in a mopey tone. Clearly he has become abnormally distressed, not even a mere offer of candy will turn that frown upside down. "Dunban doesn't believe in my cooking, and now Master Hand doesn't believe in me either..."

 **Dunban: Am I disheartened about how Robin is feeling right now? Not exactly. Robin got exactly what was coming for him, and now he's reacting just as I figured he would. Taking cooking advice from Mario? Please.**

"That doesn't mean anyone else believes in your cooking," assured Toon Link. Who falls under this category of "anyone else"? Yoshi? Wario? "I for one believe in your cooking, I think your abilities are unique, and separates yourself from Lady Palutena!" Toon Link is clearly fronting right now, he's saying politically correct things to Robin just to get on his good side. Link kinda does the same thing with Zelda on several occasions. Like Hylian hero, like _young_ Hylian hero? Doesn't sound that tight...

"Too bad Master Hand doesn't seem to think that way," sighed Robin. "How will I ever prove to him I'm an awesome cook?"

Toon Link mused over an idea, an idea that can put an end to Robin's meager depression and validate his cooking prowess. Suddenly, a light bulb dinged above his head - the Hylian saw the light bulb above him and threw it away, wondering how it even got there.

"Follow me, I got a plan!" Toon Link guided Robin out of the dining room, and to who knows where. What does Toon Link have in store for the distressed mage?

* * *

Unless you forgot about the events that transpired in the previous episode, or unless you have any sort of memory loss, then you might have remembered Fox, Falco, Ryu, and King K. Rool were punished by Master Hand for their roles in the disappearance of Luma. The four men had become sick because of Bowser, and with them all being sick, Master Hand knew the perfect punishment...he put the four in an unused room in the house, with a large flat-screen television at the front. You're possibly wondering what they are watching, or in this case forced to watch, aren't you?

"C'mon kids, let's have some fun!" said the enlarged purple dinosaur known as Barney. Fox, Falco, Ryu, and Rool were forced to watch this dinosaur do all sorts of activities with the kids, as well as sing pointless and unnecessary songs that the kids have to sing or else. Had the four men been little children, this would be bona fide entertainment for all. However, they're all grown, which means that watching Barney nowadays has become straight-up torture.

"GET THAT REPTILE PEDOPHILE OFF THAT TV SCREEN!" pleaded Fox, unable to take anymore of this Barney crap. Having to watch the purple dinosaur interact with little children was hard enough, but singing with them? Fox might have nightmares for weeks!

 **Fox: Barney has GOT to be the biggest pedophile in children's television, if not television in general. All he does all day long is hang around with little children, corrupting their minds and turning them into living monsters! (Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and Debby Ryan, they're all beautiful so they get a pass.) Seriously, does Barney even have a girlfriend? Must be one lonely dude...**

"Enjoying the show so far?" Zero entered the room with .EXE. He was holding trays of Dunban's creation, pancake sandwiches (which still has no name apparently), and gave them to each sick individual.

"You must change the channel immediately, I cannot take anymore of this putrid show!" complained Ryu. The kung fu fighter doesn't do shows like _Barney,_ or educational shows in general, for he thinks that his knowledge supersedes all. Yet he can't seem to count all the way to ten, as episode 7 implied.

"Let's see what else is on..." .EXE grabbed a remote, and surfed through the channels. Master Hand told the robots specifically to torture the sickened brawlers with a program the simply cannot stand, and in a matter of time, .EXE found the perfect show...

"Who the heck is that?" Falco pointed at a televangelist, speaking to the brawlers from the television screen. Like most other televangelists, this guy was old and sitting in front of a bookcase. In his hand was a bible - the guy definitely has the look down. He said a lot of religious stuff, citing Satan, the holy ghost, and all that good stuff in his speeches.

"This is so boring!" yawned Rool. His eyes were starting to give up on him, just like how the Kremling was giving up on the program. "Can't we just watch some golf instead, at least the person commentating the game sounds more interesting!"

"Master Hand deemed golf as 'entertainment', and so he doesn't want you guys watching that, or any sport in general," explained .EXE, garnering groans from the four sick brawlers.

"Have fun!" exclaimed Zero, leaving the four brawlers alone by themselves...and with the televangelist trying to reach out to them. Zero and .EXE inched towards the door, before exiting the room and closing it behind them. Barney and televangelism? They wouldn't wish such things on anyone, ever.

* * *

Zelda, still feeling mightily sick, made her way to Link's room, carrying a tray of warm tea. She entered the room, and saw Link and Cloud in their beds, sleeping like lambs. Has anyone ever seen a lamb sleep, aside from a farmer?

"Sweet dreams..." the princess of Hyrule placed a cup of tea on Link's dresser, and gave the hero of Hyrule a kiss on the cheek. She then placed a second cup of tea on Cloud's dresser, though she didn't kiss him, for that would be very awkward...and problematic as well. What if Link were to wake up, and catch Zelda in the act of kissing Cloud? He would immediately assume that she's cheating on him, and would put an end to their relationship. The Zelda-Cloud shippers, though few in numbers, would have a field day if Zelda and Cloud were in any sort of romantic relationship.

 **Zelda: *reading off of a Taxitol prescription bottle* "Take two pills a day, one at daytime, one at night..." That's exactly what the prescription bottle says, or so it claims. Doctor Toadley had to come here earlier this week and give us this Taxitol prescription, instructing us to follow the instructions on the label if we ever want to be cured. Just when Toadley was giving out the last of the Taxitol bottles, Bowser drove him out of the mansion, and even coaxed Master Hand to ban him _entirely._ Starting to get the feeling that Bowser purposely wants us all to be sick, though his reasons behind doing so are not yet clear...**

Zelda unexpectedly ran into Viridi, who was still crying her eyes out about her ugly "breakup" with Pit. Zelda, who is in a relationship herself and knows all the ups and downs that come with it, initially understood that the problem resided in Pit.

"What did Pit do this time?" the princess of Hyrule folded her arms. She was almost certain the angel's typical childish antics ticked off Viridi, and that Kirby might have hand a had in whatever she believed Pit was up to. Prepare to see her judgement fall flat real quick.

"He broke up with me!" Viridi sobbed, tugging Zelda's dress and crying into it. Zelda's response to this situation? A simple rolling of her eyes.

"Pit would never want to break up with you, he wouldn't know what to say in order to break up with you. He would be absolutely clueless!"

"But he told me earlier that he wanted me to leave him alone!" Viridi sobbed even harder, and Zelda couldn't take anymore of the goddess of nature's romantic depression. Her sobbing is a side effect of the "Boyfriend Trust Confusion" - she has become depressingly saddened by what she thought Pit meant, and her depression has been moved through tears.

"Just because he wants you to leave him alone doesn't necessarily mean that he wants to break up with you. I'd suggest doing something that would reunite you two, and allow the both of you to continue your relationship."

"You're right, I know what to do...I'll just ask Ashley for another one of her love potions, and I'll give it to Pit! That way we will re-establish our relationship!"

"Totally not what I meant..." A second side effect of the "Boyfriend Trust Confusion", generalizing hasty conclusions and/or ideas that may fail eventually.

"Thank you so much Zelda!" Viridi happily ran off, about to go forth with her plan - have Ashley create a love potion to give it to Pit. Only problem is, Pit is already still in love with the goddess of nature...

* * *

Improving in terms of health and condition, Shulk decided to take a little stroll around the mansion, checking on the other brawlers and seeing if their own health has improved in any way. Jack Bryant's health seemed to improve; the Homs found the race car driver in the workshop, working away on his vehicle, Wanderlust.

"Surprised you managed to get that vehicle of yours inside the mansion," chuckled Shulk, for a feat such as getting a vehicle inside a place of residence is as hard as getting a limbless person to do your laundry. It's practically impossible in every sense of the word.

"Yeah, apparently Master Hand doesn't believe in getting a garage, so with the assistance of Akira, I got this bad boy inside this workshop," Jacky grinned, rubbing his precious Wanderlust with a cloth. "Heard your main man Dunban is cooking breakfast for the brawlers; making some "pancake sandwiches", as he calls them. Ripping off of McDonald's..." Jacky shook his head with a grin. "But when I have a McDonald's sponsor on my car, people tend to overreact, like it's the end of the world..."

"You know, I've always given thought about cooking, maybe I should give it a shot!" mused Shulk. Jacky looked at the Homs inquisitively, imagining the consequences that may result from Shulk cooking any sort of food. Robin cooking already has the race car driver on the edge...

 **Jacky: Shulk doesn't need to learn how to cook, Fiora already cooks for him. Or at least she used to, before Shulk moved to the mansion...but I'm sure the guy can make it out on his own... *pause* His pet Riki _is_ able to cook, is he?**

"If you want to learn how to cook so bad, then why don't you join Dunban in making those pancake sandwiches?" suggested Dunban. "Dude can't carry the workload all by himself..."

"Dunban has been working tirelessly in the kitchen..." Shulk stroke his chin. "He could use an extra hand in the kitchen! I shall be of great help to my dear friend!"

And with that, Shulk zipped out of the workshop, and made his stroll to the kitchen. Jacky shook his head, knowing the many hardships Dunban will suffer from having Shulk as a cooking assistant. But hey, it's better than gaining any sort of knowledge from Mario.

* * *

Pit remained in his room, sad that his brief episode with Viridi led to an ugly "breakup" between the two. If only there was a way to make up to Viridi, and get the two back on track...his only help is his arrogant doppelganger, Dark Pit, who was going through the many books Viridi planned on reading to Pit.

"Harry Potter? Twilight? Hunger Games?" Dark Pit shuffled through the books, scoffing at each one. "Viridi must be out of her mind, she knows that your feeble mind can't comprehend or understand the context of these books!"

"I didn't mean to upset Viridi..." said Pit, in a reflective manner. Regret was heavy in the tone of his voice. "I was just trying to establish some ground rules, ground rules that can suffice our needs and interests..."

 **Dark Pit: Woah, Pit is starting to use those big words now...I remember before that the biggest vocabulary word he ever used was "aroused", and it took him _weeks_ just to find out what that word really meant. In case you may have been wondering, Pit used the word aroused to describe Chrom's interactions around other women, and you probably know how that might have turned out...**

"It's just that, we're both different from each other in so many distinctive ways..." Pit continued. Another vocabulary word used! Perhaps Viridi really needs to read those books to Pit, it's making him smarter! "She's smart, I'm dumb. She's pretty, I'm average-looking. She's a blonde, I have brown hair..."

"What does having brown hair have to do with anything?" questioned Dark Pit. "Well I think you got a point there, most blondes are believed to be unintelligent, and Viridi was unintelligent enough to read books to you and your dumb self...At least your getting somewhat smarter..." Hoo boy, Pit's not gonna like that.

"Viridi is not unintelligent, she's the smartest person I know...at least aside from Lady Palutena. She's a very smart girl, and not only that..."

"If she's so 'smart', then why did she break up with you in the heat of the moment?" Dark Pit folded his arms, awaiting to see Pit's answer. He loves challenging his counterpart with tough questions. What response will the angel give him?

"You're acting like she has to be smart all of the time...got some news for ya buddy, not everyone has to be smart 24/7! Everybody has their own lapses of stupidity, some more than others. And Viridi had one of those lapses..."

"That was, without a doubt..." Dark Pit began, with Pit expecting some positive reception from his doppelganger, "...the DUMBEST thing to have ever come out of your mouth. 'Not everyone has to be smart 24/7'..." Dark Pit scoffed at that very statement. "So I'm guessing that ideology of yours applies to someone like Bill Gates?"

"You know what, Dark Pit, I'm done with you, I don't have to listen to your crap anymore. I'm gonna to find Viridi, and then we'll reaffirm our relationship. Just you wait and see!"

"Yeah I'll wait and see...to see you fail!" Dark Pit remarked as Pit marched out of the room.

* * *

Link (finally) woke up, and got out of his bed so he could do of the usual things most rational people do to get ready for the day during morning time, like washing your face and checking your armpit for any hair (though anyone can do that any time of the day).

The hero of Hyrule wasn't concerned about breakfast, or who was cooking breakfast in Palutena's place - rather, he's more concerned about that Taxitol prescription medicine that he had received from Dr. Toadley. It was on his dresser yesterday, and now it's gone missing! Where could it have gone?

"Alph, have you seen my Taxitol bottle?" Link asked the astronaut, whom he saw exiting a bathroom. Alph was carrying a roll of newspaper, signifying that he was reading it while taking a number 2...that poor toilet.

"Nope, I've been looking for mine for the longest now," replied Alph. "It seems everyone here lost their prescription bottle..."

 **Alph: K.K. Slider lost his bottle the other day, and Ike lost his two days ago...this mansion isn't haunted, is it? Hate to see the mansion infiltrated by ghosts... _scary_ ghosts, and not those ghosts that follow Pac-Man around. *Inky, Binky, Cindy and Clyde appear and hover around Alph making their trademark sounds* Okay, okay, I take it back, you guys are scary! Though not a whole lot...**

"Everyone lost their prescription bottle, huh?" Link furrowed his brow. Just to think, at the beginning of the week, when the common cold had started to spread, Dr. Toadley gave the brawlers Taxitol. Now everyone appears to be deprived of their prescription bottle. Quite the peculiar case. "I know just the guy we should consult!"

* * *

"No," Lucario shook his head in response to Link's offer to help him and Alph find the missing prescription bottles. The aura Pokemon was meditating in the main room of the Pokemon sanctuary, believing that this routine would make his sinus go away. The nagging sinus refuses to go away, and it's proving to be quite bothersome.

"C'mon man you gotta help us," pleaded Link. His goal is to find all the prescription bottles before everyone eats breakfast. He's hoping Dunban will buy him the necessary time to complete the task. "I can give you anything you want! Anything that your heart yearns or desires!"

"Nice try buddy, but I'm not budging, not one bit," Lucario got up and exited the Pokemon sanctuary, if it meant Link and Alph would leave him alone. "Find someone else to do your bidding."

As Lucario exited the Pokemon sanctuary, Bowser rushed by and knocked the aura Pokemon to the floor, clearly in a rush. Where on earth is that Koopa King running off to?

"Completely uncalled for..." Lucario got up and dusted himself off. Not a huge scratch; he's taken much bigger bumps in Smash matches and Pokemon battles...but mostly Pokemon battles. You won't believe the many legendary Pokemon Lucario was stupid enough to go one-on-one with.

"Bowser appears to be hiding something suspicious..." assumed Alph, before coming to a forgone conclusion - a conclusion he can't share with anyone yet, but a conclusion that is internally shared among Link and Lucario. "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

* * *

 **Bowser: Last week Marth ordered a giant wedding cake for Luigi's and Daisy's dumb wedding, and it's raspberry-flavored! Just imagine all that goodness inside my stomach! Oh man! So my plan is to eat the cake in its entirety, without getting caught. But of course you can't have a wedding without a wedding cake, am I right? (My "marriage" to Peach in _Super Paper Mario_ notwithstanding.) I've mapped out a series of events that will lead to the cancellation of the wedding - Luigi will be outed for cheating of Daisy with Chrom's current mistress, Maribelle, Daisy will be revealed to be pregnant with Jimmy T.'s son (don't even ask), and Chrom will be severely injured and unable to serve as the officiant! See how it all works out? And the best part is, everyone lives happily ever after! (Except for Chrom, he'll still be injured, and maybe Luigi, since he'll be stigmatized as a cheater and a womanizer. At least Daisy will end up with a child, though she would break many moral barriers.**

Bowser sneakily made his way inside the ballroom, where the wedding cake was kept in storage. he quietly tip-toed to said cake, doing his best to make the littlest noise and sound as possible, until...

"Good morning, Bowser," Marth greeted the Koopa King from behind, yawning. A very rare sight for Bowser to see the Hero-King adorned in his pajamas. It's not that often people from medieval times wear such garments.

"Oh hey, Marth, buddy ol' pal, how's it goin'?" Bowser chuckled, downplaying his sneakiness. If he ever wants to taste that delicious cake in front of him, he has to act as nice as possible around Marth. He was acting nice in the previous episode, so he'll just have to take all those fundamentals and apply them to this current situation. Not that hard, right?

"Everything is going well...you weren't trying to touch that cake, were you?"

"So you think that just because I'm an evil villain, I'm gonna do something evil like eating that cake over there?!" ...And there goes those fundamentals. Bowser, you had a very good chance, and you completely wasted it. "Well you thought wrong buddy, I only came here just to look at the cake! Wanted a sneak preview before the wedding! Don't have to stereotype me like that!"

"Whoever said I was stereotyping, I was just making sure no one eats the cake. Master Hand put me on cake patrol!" Poor Marth is on cake patrol, even when he's sick. Only time he gets to be off-duty is whenever he has to use the bathroom, and he makes plenty of those...regardless of urinary or bowel movements. "Good day, sir!" The hero-king departed from Bowser, not wanting anything else to do with the Koopa King.

"Yeah, well...bad day! Bad day to you! Hope you have a bad day! Ruining my plans..." Bowser grumpily exited the ballroom.

* * *

The foursome of Fox, Falco, Ryu, and Rool sneaked their way out of the room, not wanting to expose themselves anymore to the torture on television. (Master Hand had Zero force the four to watch some lousy reality show, and it was scripted beyond relief. Then again, you can say that about a majority of reality shows.) How did this ragtag group manage to escape? It was actually pretty simple - Falco had told Mega Man, who was checking on them, that his sister Roll was kidnapped by Dr. Wily, and taken hostage at Hawaii for a ransom. Mega Man ran out of the mansion, leaving the door of the room open, and hopped on top of Rush, and the two zipped off to Hawaii, likely not to be seen again for a long while.

 **Falco: The number one rule when it comes to manipulating others: always use somebody else's loved ones. It's the easiest way to guilt trip other people, and it can make them your fall guy as well! Ryu told me about how me made Lucas make those signs for that tourism thing a couple of weeks back, and he used Lucas' mother as an incentive! Though it's not that great of an example, Lucas is the biggest fraidy cat I know. He can't even look at himself in the mirror without having a spaz attack or wetting himself...**

"Now that we are out of that wretched room..." Fox began. "What's our first order of business?" Falco, Ryu, and Rool were all stuck on what to do. They had just tasted the sweet taste of freedom, and they have no intentions to do just about anything.

"We could...go get some breakfast at Wendy's!" suggested Rool, blind to his own ignorance. "They do have breakfast at Wendy's right?"

"We've already had Dunban's delicious pancake sandwiches, those were filling enough!" stated Ryu. "Too bad your gigantic tummy can't tell you whether you're full or not, it's no wonder your obesity takes up so much space in this mansion!"

"Why you little..." Rool got in a rough-housing fight with Ryu, and because of his physique, he was absolutely no match for the fighter.

"Who are you to call me little, you're fatter than an orca living off on Bic Macs all day long!" Ryu had the Kremling's head in his arms, putting him in a headlock. Fox and Falco intervened in the fight, trying to break up Ryu and Rool.

"A fighter and a Kremling fighting each other in the hallways of this mansion...who would have ever imagined such an occasion."

The fight subsided when the four men took notice of Bayonetta, who was staring at them smirking with her arms crossed. Her beauty was so strong and apparent, it was able to stop the fight. Her beauty might even prevent an alien invasion from ever happening...but don't even consider telling Corrin that.

"Aren't you four supposed to be on punishment?" Bayonetta continued, taking note of Falco and Rool and how quickly their visages changed; their mouths were agape, and they were looking at Bayonetta in a loving way. Fox and Ryi, they both have a love interest, so there was no need for them to check out Bayonetta.

"Used to, but then we sneaked out of the room after Falco had manipulated Mega Man," explained Fox. "Ain't that right, Falco?" Fox nudged his Star Fox partner-in-crime, who was too busy checking out Bayonetta to listen or pay attention. Smoking hot women like Bayonetta are always ruining the attention span of men.

"Oh, yeah," Falco snapped out of his trance. "I just sent that man Mega Man and his dog Rush to Hawaii. We won't be seeing him for a good while!"

"I'm baack!" Mega Man's voice was heard from the foyer. How on earth did the robot lad get back so quickly? Falco must have underestimated Rush's flying speed...

"Aw man, we're screwed!" Rool panicked. "What are we gonna do?! Bayonetta, you gotta help us!"

"Anything to save your shins," the Umbra Witch smirked. "However, it will come with a steep price..."

* * *

 **Ashley: Actually hard to believe I'm saying this...but Bowser has done me a _huge_ solid. With a majority of the brawlers down with the common cold, I can focus on my potion making with little to interruption. It feels quite...peaceful around here, and it hasn't been that way for a long time. Let's just hope that the cold persists for another week, I could get used to the quietness...**

Ashley was busy making potions, stirring her goblet and sprinkling some fancy stuff in it, while Wario was resting in his bed. He was reading those perverted magazines of his, for it was the only entertainment he could find; Ashley refuses to let the fatso watch television whenever she's present.

"'Fully Clothed Women'?" Ashley read the title of the magazine Wario was reading. "Really Wario? You're disgusting..."

"What's so wrong with looking at pictures of fully clothed women?" Wario scoffed. "Best part about these magazines is that you get to let your imagination fly, and take you to places you would never imagine! I oughta buy you an issue of 'Fully Clothed Men', and you'll see what I mean! Who knows, you might even see Young Cricket in it!"

"I think I'll pass..." Regardless of your stance on these "fully clothed" magazines, you can halfheartedly agree that such a concept is dumb and pointless. The effort put into making these magazines is effort perfectly wasted.

Just then, Toon Link and Robin rushed into the room, in a dire need of a potion. What task must they fulfill?

"We need a potion that will make anything that Robin cooks taste great!" demanded Toon Link, hasty and furious in his response.

"Let's see if I have a potion just for that..." Ashley looked into her shelf, and found a potion that had a label "Cooking Enhancer" on it. She handed the potion to Toon Link, and the young Hylian and Robin ran out of the room, hoping to improve Robin's cooking.

Immediately afterwards, Viridi rushed into the room, also in a dire need of a potion. What task must she fulfill!"

"I need a potion to make Pit love me again, I can't bare to see our relationship not intact!" demanded the goddess of nature, also hasty and furious in her response.

"Good thing I still have a few love potions left..." Ashley looked into her shelf, and found a love potion, handing it to Viridi. The goddess of nature ran out of the room, hoping to make Pit love her again and continue the relationship.

Just when Ashley thought she would be left at peace, Red the Pokemon Trainer of all people rushed into the room, in a dire need of...yeah, you know.

"I need a potion that can heal my Pokemon, they're low on energy!" demanded the trainer...you see a pattern here?

"Why do I insist on keeping potions..." Ashley looked into her shelf, and found a Pokemon potion, handing it to Red. The Pokemon Trainer ran out of the room...wait, why can't Red just buy a Pokemon potion from an Item Store, is there not want within the mansion's vicinity?

 **Ashley: *glaring at the camera* Starting to share Samus' sentiments...everyone here must die.**

* * *

Bowser waited near the ballroom door, waiting for Marth to exit the ballroom - which he did in a matter of minutes, just so he could "use" the bathroom. The Koopa King ran inside the ballroom, and eyed the wedding cake before him.

"You're all mine..." Bowser evilly rubbed his hands together. The setting right now couldn't be more perfect; here was Bowser by himself, in the same room as the cake. Nobody can stop him now, not even..."

"Woof woof!" the Duck Hunt dog barked his way inside the ballroom, after picking up Bowser's scent from afar. Bowser had nothing to worry about, for he knew a silly mutt like the Duck Hunt dog won't harm him one bit.

"Oh no, the Duck Hunt dog found his way inside the ballroom!" Bowser acted sardonically, as if he was scared for real. "I'm so scared, I just don't know what to do!"

"Woof woof woof!" Rush barked his way inside the ballroom, after hearing the Duck Hunt dog's cry. And then, the worst happened for Bowser...

"Rush, I thought I told you not to look for Duck Hunt dog whenever he's barking!" Rush's faithful owner, Mega Man, ran inside the ballroom, scolding his pet dog. Then he looked up, and saw Bowser - standing literally inches away from the cake. "Freeze!" The robot pointed his Mega Buster at Bowser, who had his arms up in the air like a convict.

"Don't shoot me, I'm innocent!" pleaded Bowser, begging on his knees. "I just came here to check the temperature of the cake!"

"I check the cake's temperature every morning, and I just checked it a while ago, it's still fresh." Try again, Bowser.

"In that case, I wanted to ensure nobody took a bite out of this cake! Wario can be quite a handful!"

"Samus paid off Wario to leave the cake alone, he promised he won't touch it until the wedding." Your move, Bowser.

"Okay, well...why can't I just look at it and admire his glory and beauty? Can a honest man do that much nowadays?!"

 **Mega Man: It was honestly entertaining to watch Bowser come up with excuse after excuse to protect his hide. Any person with rational thinking would obviously know that Bowser is always up to something evil, and you can tell by his affability in most situations. You can't expect to give out massages to brawlers one day and try and act nice like he did last Friday, when the other day he got glitter all over mansion's roof!...And yes, it was serious, Mr. Game & Watch was off-duty, and Master Hand relegated me to housekeeping duties! Do you not realize how hard it is to clean glitter off of a roof?! It's impossible beyond relief!**

"Fess up Bowser, we all know your plot to eat that cake!" frowned Mega Man. Will Bowser surrender, or will he come up with another crummy excuse?

"Who's we, those two mutts are dummies, they have no clue what's going on!" retorted Bowser. His response really agitated Mega Man, nobody ever talks smack about Rush like that.

"You're gonna get it now!" Mega Man unleashed his Mega Buster on Bowser, firing charged shot after charged shot.

* * *

Link, Alph, and Lucario, in a search for the missing Taxitol bottles, went to the ball pit. Alph had suggested that they look in the most unlikeliest of places, and the ball pit was just one of those places.

"The bottles might be stashed underneath those balls," assumed Lucario. "One way to find out!" The aura Pokemon dug into the ball pit, manuvering through the balls, until... "Hey you guys, look what I found!" Lucario came up out of the ball pit...holding bottles of Taxitol in both of his hands. "There were many more of these at the bottom!"

"Way to go, Lucario!" commended Link. But the praise is not well-deserving yet, for the culprit has yet to be found. "All that's left to do is find the person who stashed the prescription bottles in the ball pit. You guys got any suggestions?"

"Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings have been frequenting the ball pit for some time now," stated Alph. "Maybe we should interrogate them."

So the trio went to the Koopaling's favorite place to hang out- the gaming room - and saw them chilling out. What's peculiar is that they're the only individuals in the gaming room; no one else was to be seen. Bowser Jr. saw the trio, and stopped whatever he was doing.

"Everybody act natural!" he ordered the Koopalings. The eight delinquents stood up in front of Link and company, acting as humble and innocent as possible.

"Found these in the ball pit," Lucario threw Taxitol prescription bottles at the Koopaling's feet. "Got any idea how they got there?"

"Wow, man, we don't know, we certainly have no clue why the ball pit had prescription bottles of all things," shrugged Larry. "It's not like our father bribed us steal everyone's prescription bottle, and hide them underneath..."

When Larry realized what he had done, he covered up his mouth. His siblings were all glaring him down - the leader of the Kooaplings (if you count out Bowser Jr) had just outed his own father.

 **Iggy: *shaking his head* We were so close to getting those giant wedding cake slices Father promised for us...but apparently Larry proved that not everyone can have good things. Thanks a lot buddy...**

 **Larry: *sobbing* I feel like such an idiot! And now that I revealed Father's plans, he'll probably ground me for life, and he won't let us have the biggest slices of the wedding cake, all because of me and my gigantic mouth! So ashamed!**

"Where is your father?" demanded Link, furrowing his brow to intimidate the Koopalings.

"Not snooping around the ballroom hoping to eat some of the cake," Larry opened his mouth yet again, only to cover it with his hands for a second time. "And there I go again..."

"We have no time to lose!" Link rushed out of the gaming room, with Alph and Lucario tagging along, leaving Larry behind with his ticked-off siblings, gathered around him like they were gonna give him a street hood beatdown, to deal with.

* * *

Back to the kitchen, where Shulk was learning how to cook with Dunban. The two Homs were making pancake sandwiches, and Shulk - whose condition is getting better- was learning at a rapidly fast rate.

"Prepare to meet your match, boys!" Robin came into the kitchen with Toon Link, carrying a potion. Shulk and Dunban watched as Robin and Toon Link baked some waffles and mixed some syrup with Ashley's potion, pouring the concoction over the half-baked waffles.

 **Dunban: Robin just showed Shulk and I why he's unfit to be a proper cook. You can't serve anyone half-baked waffles, and expect the eater to be impressed by your cooking. And the use of Ashley's potion is a clear sign of desperation. Robin should just give up on cooking, he'll have his magic to rely on for a great amount of time.**

"Bon appetit!" Robin showed off the plate of waffles, drizzled with Ashley's potion syrup, to Shulk and Dunban...who weren't impressed in the slightest. Rather, they looked at each other for a second, and burst out laughing in tears.

"Stop laughing at Robin, he has been the butt of jokes for his cooking, and now it's time for him to turn the tables!" Toon Link defended the mage. Toon Link defending Robin's porous cooking? This has to be a joke, right?

"How are your pancake sandwiches coming along, Dunban?" Master Hand entered the kitchen. First he saw Dunban and Shulk...and then Robin and Toon Link. The giant hand let out a deep sigh; despite its deepness, it can be heard throughout the mansion. "Robin I thought I told you, you are no longer allowed to cook..."

"Or so you say!" Robin smirked confidently. "With the help of Toon Link here, I made these special waffles, and I'm hoping you'll enjoy them!"

"We'll have to see about that...to the dining room!"

* * *

In an effort to hide themselves from Mega Man, Fox, Falco, Ryu, and Rool stood frozen in the middle of a hallway, acting as statues. They were mimicking their trophy poses from SSB4, and since they weren't in a trophy state, pulling it off took a heavy amount of effort and dedication.

"So...uncomfortable..." Falco mumbled without moving his lips. Bayonetta, who had suggested this idea, took a picture of the four on her phone.

"Picture perfect!" she smirked, placing her phone back where it was. She saw Pit running towards her, and the angel hesitated to go any further. He still has some beef with the Umbra Witch, which is understandable considering their differences. "Hasn't your 'mother' Palutena ever told you it's rude to be running in the hallways?"

"No I wasn't running!" Pit defended. "I was...jogging at a very fast rate." Still the same thing as running. "Anyways, I've been looking for Viridi, you got any idea where I can find her?"

"Pit I found you!" Would you know it, Viridi ran up to Pit, carrying the love potion in her hands and giving it to the angel. "Please drink this potion, I beg of you!"

"Yeah, before I drink this potion, I got something to say..."

"I said DRINK IT!" Viridi is starting to revert back to her tsundere ways...Pit drunk up the potion in a jiffy, and a few seconds later...nothing happened. Time to see if the potion worked... "So Pit, you still love me? Are you willing to re-establish our relationship?"

" _We_ were in a relationship? Girl what are you talking about? I never liked you to begin with!"

The sheer joy and happiness that was initially present on Viridi's face immediately turned into devastation and despair.

 **Ashley: Forgot to tell Viridi one important tibit of information...if you hand someone a love potion, and they drink it when they're already in love with you, they won't love you anymore. Hopefully Pit's and Virid's breakup was genuine, and not a complete and total misunderstanding...**

"Pit what has gotten into you, don't you remember anything about our relationship?" asked Viridi, nearly on the verge of tears.

"Our relationship?" Pit scoffed. "Man, you're crazier than I've ever imagined...just stay away from me, okay?" Pit walked away from Viridi, and the goddess of nature fell down on her knees, sobbing miserably. And so ends the Pit-Viridi relationship...it was going so well.

"Aw, you poor soul..." said Bayonetta. "That is why you don't trust your love and companionship in those you expect to be trustworthy." With those parting words, the Umbra Witch marched her way forward, leaving Viridi in her state of despair.

"Awkward..." Fox mumbled silently.

* * *

Master Hand sat...or in his case, hovered...in the dining room, accompanied by Robin, Toon Link, Dunban, Shulk...and Sonic. The hedgehog was tasked with feeding Master Hand the waffles Shulk just baked.

 **Sonic: First time I don't have to massage Master Hand, thanks to my cold, and the guy wants me to feed him some food...why couldn't Zelda do all this crap, she's the one who failed her dumb driving test!**

"Pick up the waffles and insert them in my mouth!" Master Hand ordered Sonic. The hedgehog raised any eyebrow, for Master Hand's mouth did not exist on the surface of his...body. How does Sonic expect to feed him? "Put the waffles in the palm of my hand, you dummy!"

"Could have just said that..." Sonic placed the waffles on Master Hand's palm, and "ate" the waffles by squeezing his hand tight in a fist.

"So...what do you think?" asked robin, eager about what Master Hand has to say. The anticipation is already killing him, he might be a dead man by the time Master Hand gives his answer.

"These waffles...taste great! Why, these are the best waffles I've had in a long time! Makes me glad I even have a mouth to begin with! (Though I won't question why I even have one, due to my species.) Sorry for doubting you Robin, I'll let you cook for as long as you please!"

"That's not fair, Robin used one of Ashley's potions to enhance the waffles!" Dunban pointed out.

"Ease up Dunban, no need to feel all butthurt. I know how it feels when someone's better than you - I've always felt the same way about my brother Crazy Hand at times. But don't worry, you'll surpass Robin one day soon..."

"Don't listen to Master Hand, you're still the best cook that I know," Shulk rested an assuring hand on Dunban's shoulder. "Just keep doing your thing, and don't ever look back!"

"Thank you for the kind words Shulk, you're the best friend a guy could ever ask for."

* * *

Despite not being sick, today was a bad day for Bowser. He not only fulfilled his plan of eating the wedding cake, but he also got beat up by Mega Man...with some assistance from Link, Alph, and Lucario. The Koopa King was left in a battered state, and Mega Man didn't know how to punish him...until Bayonetta came along.

"Are you sure we should leave him like this?" the robot asked Bayonetta, standing in front of frozen brawlers - Fox, Falco, Ryu, Rool, and the newest addition, Bowser - all frozen in time and recreating their trophy stances.

"We'll just leave him here to die, or until Master Hand finds him and decides what to do, whichever one comes first," replied Bayonetta. "Now tell me more about this, prescription bottle distribution thing you speak of..."

Mega Man and Bayonetta walked away, leaving the five male brawlers standing still by themselves.

"Feel...so...stiff..." mumbled Bowser. Maybe going after that cake wasn't such a bright idea...


	21. Episode 21: Dissension

_Author's Note:_

 _Two reviews I must respond to. First one from gamegamegamegame:_

 _"Wait... why were Fox, Falco, Ryu, and Rool being punished?"_

 _These four were punished for their roles and involvement in Luma's disappearing in episode 19. Hopefully that answers your question._

 _Now for the second review, from Williambash:_

 _"Absolutely amazing story, I have been reading this for quite some time now and it is awesome, also can you put back together the pitxviridi relationship because I happen to be a pitxviridi shipper, anyway it is a very nice fanfic and I am excited to read the next chapter of the fanfic"_

 _Thank you for the kind words, Williambash, always great to hear some positive reception every now and then. And as for Pit x Viridi, the two will get back together soon, though it will be a gradual process until they're on the same page. I won't let the rest of you Pit x Viridi shippers down, since I know that's one of the best pairings in the Super Smash Bros/Kid Icarus archive._

* * *

 **Episode 21: Dissension**

Luigi's wedding is less than a month away. Everyone was near excited for June 3rd, the date of the wedding - everyone except for the groom, Luigi, who's nervous to the bone. Why would the groom of all people be nervous about the wedding he'll be front and center in? Considering the many weddings he has attended, it will be nerve-wracking on Luigi to be a center of attention for once. He hasn't felt this way ever since the famous Year of Luigi, which saw the plumber grow in terms of self-confidence and determination. He grew out of Mario's gigantic shadow, and became his own, and he hasn't looked back since...well, sort of.

"Just finalized the readings, and the order of the ceremony," Chrom informed Luigi, entering the plumber's room. "Only thing left to do is purchase the rings and we're all...set?" Chrom noticed that Luigi was curled up in a fetal position, sucking his thumb. The stress of the wedding was starting to get to him. "Is everything okay, Luigi?" The prince of Yliesse took a seat next to Luigi, but the plumber moved away.

"Wedding's less than a month-a away..." Luigi said depressingly and afraid. "I don't-a think I'm quite ready yet..."

 **Chrom: Luigi better not cancel the wedding, especially after all the hard work Marth put into it. The guy's done everything for him - got him a wedding cake, sent out wedding invitations, and plenty of other stuff. Everyone has pitched in for the funding of the wedding, from Heihachi Mishima, to Wario. Though Wario was a bit of a pushover, so we kinda raided his savings account and took the money from there. Totally worth it, in my opinion. But the point of the matter is, it would be greatly asinine for Luigi to give up on the wedding, considering how far we have come.**

"What's there to not be ready about?" questioned Chrom, hoping to pry an answer or two from Luigi. He's not exactly the most sociable person in the household, but at least he chooses not to be like Ashley and act all anti-social near others. "You got your bride, Daisy, your brother Mario as the best man, and everyone that you know and love - people like Bowser will be in attendance, so less emphasis on the love part - will be watching. Best thing about it is, you'll be forever united with the love of your life in perfect harmony. Is that not the greatest feeling ever?"

"Yes, that's-a great an all...but what if I screw-a things up? What if I mess-a up on the vows?"

"Now now, Luigi, it would be really hard to mess on on the vows; just confess your love to Daisy, and be over with it!"

Chrom's advice did not help Luigi, for the plumber looked down at the cover sheet he was on. He's practically hopeless at this point, nothing can alter his mood, unless...

"Why not have a meeting with all the brawlers?" suggested Chrom, enlightening Luigi somewhat. "That way we can discuss the most important aspects of the wedding, and go over all the roles and that good stuff. Sounds like a good plan?"

"It sure-a does," Luigi smiled, sitting up on his bed. That's the Luigi we all know and love!

* * *

With the consent of Master Hand, Mario and Luigi gathered all the brawlers inside the meeting room, so they could discuss the wedding ceremony and plan everything out, so that the wedding date will go smoothly as planned...or hoped, in Luigi's case.

"We're missing a few bodies, aren't we?" Master Hand observed the entire meeting room. "Where is Viridi and Jacky Bryant?"

"Jacky Bryant is putting on the finishing touches for his car," explained Isabelle. "As for Viridi, she's still depressed that she inadvertently ended her relationship with Pit."

"I thought I broke up with her or something like that?" Pit raised an eyebrow. Apparently the angel has no clue that "ending a relationship" and "breaking up with someone" both fit the very same context. That's how dumb the young chap really is. But then again, he's back to the mindset where he never liked Viridi in the first place, meaning that he chooses not to have any romantic connection with the goddess of nature.

 **Pit: Everywhere I go, people are always asking me the same darn question: why did Viridi and I break up? Funny thing is, I honestly don't remember being in a relationship to begin with, unless I might have brained my damage and memorized my loss...that totally didn't come out right, did it?**

"Viridi can remain depressed for all that I care, the whole breakup thing was her doing," stated Master Hand. "Now for the fun stuff...Mario and Luigi would like to discuss with you all about the wedding, which is coming up in a few weeks."

"Boo!" jeered Sonic. "And here I thought we were gonna discuss something far more important, like whether or not chili dogs taste better with ketchup or mustard on top! What a complete waste of my time!"

"Sonic if you don't...you know what, leave the meeting room at once. Your cellphone privileges will also be taken away as your punishment!"

"Jokes on you, Master Hand, I destroyed my phone, in the event I ever lost my privileges!" Either that, or his girlfriend Amy Rose has been texting his nonstop, and would rather destroy his cellphone than getting a new phone number.

"Alright then, I'll just deprive you of your television privileges then, since you want to be difficult."

Sonic folded his arms and exited the meeting room in disgust. He should have known better than to destroy his laptop instead, for he doesn't use it that much (mainly because Amy bought it for him as a birthday gift) and wouldn't mind not being allowed to use it anyway.

"Thank goodness the major distraction has left the room," remarked Master Hand. With Sonic no longer present, the meeting can finally go on as planned, with little to no interruptions. "Mario, Luigi, would you like to take the floor?"

"Yes-a sir!" responded Mario, as he and Luigi came to the forefront of the meeting room. "Great to see everyone - well, mostly everyone - gathered-a here for this highly integral meeting. "I take-a it everybody is feeling well?"

"You got it!" Captain Falcon replied with a resounding thumbs up, on the behalf of the brawlers.

"And Fox, Falco, Ryu, Rool, and-a Bowser have fulfilled their 'punishments'?"

"Yeah, we sure did," replied Falco, on the behalf of the individuals mentioned. "But please don't make us go through that again, okay?" After learning about the five men's escapades in the previous episode, Master Hand devised of a punishment to hand down to them, but he felt that having them stand as statues in the middle of a hallway was punishable enough.

"Excellent! Time to discuss-a the wedding...anyone knows-a what the theme is?"

The brawlers exchanged looks with each other, indicating that they did not know the theme at all. Mario looked inquisitively at Luigi, who didn't know the theme either- in fact, he didn't even pick one out yet!

 **Luigi: Hardest part about-a planning the wedding is finding the right-a theme. The theme must be jointly agreed by those-a in attendance, for we must value-a the guests' experience. Doctor Who-a theme? Too nerdy. Seattle-a Seahawks theme? Too sportsy. Medieval theme? Might-a work, but only for people like-a Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf. Can't say the same-a for the others...**

"Why-a not a Mushroom-a Kingdom theme?" suggested Luigi. "We can have-a some mushrooms for decoration, and a giant cake of-a Peach's castle...does that not sound-a like a good theme?"

"It's never been-a done before, at least-a to my knowledge," Mario stroke his chin, musing over Luigi's theme suggestion. The plumber might even re-use the theme for his wedding with Peach - if it ever happens. "What do you think-a of the theme, Master Hand?"

"Hey it's Luigi's wedding, whatever he says we will go forth with," replied Master Hand. The Smash universe creator is honestly indifferent towards wedding themes and such; he just doesn't want the wedding to be a big, whopping screw-up.

"Alright-a then, the Mushroom Kingdom theme-a it is! Now that we have that-a taken care of, it's time-a for the fun stuff...Isabelle, do you have-a the list?"

"Sure do!" Isabelle soon came into the forefront of the room. A very uncomfortable feeling for her, since she once said back in episode 10 that she feels unnerved when all the attention is drawn to her. Externally this feeling isn't shown - not a single drop of sweat to be seen on Isabelle's face - but internally, the feeling presides. "Today I will be going over the roles certain people will have at Luigi's wedding, and who's doing what." At least Isabelle's voice isn't relatively shaky. "Already we have Chrom serving as the officiant, and King Dedede as the photographer."

"Red who on earth are you possibly texting at this moment, Isabelle is speaking!" Master Hand scolded the Pokemon Trainer, who was texting away on his cellphone. He would use his PokeNav, which is technically a cellular device, but that would be impossible - think of the countless Pokemon players that would rather text fellow Pokemon trainers than engaging in exciting Pokemon battles!

"I'm texting Viridi, trying to fill her in on this meeting," responded Red. The Pokemon Trainer received a notification, indicating another sent text message from Viridi. "She wants to know if humans will be attending the wedding, and if so, how many."

"Plenty of humans will be in attendance; what, does she think we're holding the wedding on Mars or something?!"

"To be technically correct, NASA is still trying to send humans to live on Mars, so having the wedding on that planet can happen sometime..." stated Roy.

"...sometime between 2025 and 2030," Samus pointed out. "Freaking ignoramus..." Samus shook her head in disgust, while Roy handed the space bounty hunter a death glare.

 **Roy: A wedding on a faraway planet like Mars sounds like a great concept in itself. All of us would be wearing cool, awesome space suits, and there will be zero gravity, which means we can float in the air while attending the wedding! What would be even cooler would be having aliens interrupting the ceremony, and taking Daisy away! Then we would engage in a raging battle against these aliens, with us swordsmen slashing our swords... *makes sword sounds while swinging his sword* ...and Samus blasting her gun... *forms his hand into a gun and makes futuristic gun sounds* ...and Luigi comes in and saves the day by unleashing his wicked fire attack on the aliens, and retrieving his woman!...Yeah, this is all my fault for binge watching those sci-fi movies. Might as well give my Netflix account up to Corrin...**

 **Corrin: Contrary to popular belief, Netflix was not invented by humans; instead, this evil online streaming site was brought down from the aliens, who designed Netflix to brainwash the masses. They even invent lousy terms like "Netflix and chill" to demoralize the younger demographics, and make teenagers contract STDs! Why else do you think they cater to younger folks, they're gullible and easily misguided by the wonders of...Is that an alien cockroach I spy on the floor?! Oh, it's just a regular cockroach, only bigger than usual...**

"May I have everyone's attention please?" Isabelle yelled at the top of her lungs and garnered the brawlers' attention, which is the _last_ thing she wanted to do. "I will now be going over the roles I have decided for most of you earlier this week. Tails, you'll be the ring bearer, and Viridi shall be the flower girl."

"Ring bearer...it's not because I'm young, is it?" asked the yellow fox. Ring bearers are of a relatively young age (Tails is eight years old), and naming an adult a ring bearer would not only be weird and out of place, but would also break the wedding status quo.

"More or less, but you fit the role just fine! Continuing on...Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Wario will serve as the groomsmen, with Mario as the best man, and Peach, Zelda, and Rosalina will be the bridesmaids. That should sort everything out."

"Just texted Viridi about her role in the wedding," stated Red. In a matter of seconds, the Pokemon trainer received a text from Viridi. You know, for someone who's supposed to be depressed, Viridi sure can text pretty quickly! "She says she won't do the flower girl gig depending on how many humans are..."

"Enough of this crap about humans, just tell her that if she refuses to show up, I'll give her gardening duties to Olimar!" demanded Master Hand, not wanting to hear anymore about Viridi's xenophobic nature towards humans - despite living with them at the mansion.

"Hope that Viridi is a no-show at the wedding," joked Olimar. He doesn't mind being the mansion gardener, though having the Pikmin live in the gardens does sound like a great idea.

"Quick question: who is going to serve as the bridesman?" asked Ike. "We gotta have somebody walk Daisy down the aisle!"

"Don't worry, we have all of that covered..." Isabelle smiled. Who would the bridesman possibly be?

* * *

The bridesman in question was walking up to the front door of the Smash Mansion, grinning profusely. He was carrying a few presents in his arms, and the weight of them all caused his legs to quiver.

The very individual that was carrying these presents will soon serve as the bridesman at the wedding. His name, you may be wondering? _Waluigi._ This famous/infamous Luigi knockoff knocked on the door twice - the first time to grab someone's attention, the second just for added effect - and Jacky Bryant answered it.

"Hey man, what's up?" the blonde race car driver greeted Waluigi, taking note of the presents. "Need a little help with those presents?"

"Yes, I would greatly appreciate it!" nodded Waluigi. He and Jacky got the presents inside, and laid them out in the foyer, where hopefully no one will tamper with them.

 **Jacky: Overheard last night that Waluigi will be the bridesman... *bursts into hysteric laughter* Think about that, Luigi's mortal enemy is serving as the bridesman of his woman! Hoo boy, can't wait to see the fireworks that's gonna result from that!**

"Ah, feels great to back here again!" Waluigi exclaimed after inhaling the luscious air in the mansion, though it wasn't that luscious to begin with. "Certainly the others don't mind me making my glorious return..."

* * *

"Waluigi is the bridesman?!" Diddy Kong exclaimed in utter disgust. "Looks like the wedding is officially screwed..."

"Let's boycott the wedding until Waluigi is removed!" suggested Popo. Some of the other brawlers nodded their heads in agreement, for they cannot stand to have Waluigi be a part of _anything_ at the wedding ceremony - even if he was a lanky ring bearer.

"I agree! Boycott the wedding! Boycott the wedding!" the male Inkling chanted. Soon enough, mostly everyone else was chanting the Inkling's chant simultaneously.

"Everyone settle down!" Mario yelled at the top of his lungs. Peace and solace found its way back inside the meeting room again. "We are not-a removing Waluigi. However, in the event Waluigi does-a something that might get him-a banned from the wedding - and that's a huge-a given - we'll need some-a one as a 'backup bridesman', and I know one particular person who can-a fulfill the job...Doc Louis?"

"I ain't doin' it," the boxing trainer shook his head while munching away on a chocolate bar. Chocolate is perhaps the only thing that man is capable of eating, anything else he's probably allergic to.

"C'mon Doc, it's a once-a in a lifetime opportunity..."

"Still ain't doing it..." Doc Louis started to tense up, and surrounding brawlers, including Little Mac, were getting very cautious...

"I'll throw-a in some cash if you're-a willing to..."

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I SAID I'M NOT GONNA DO IT! You already got your bridesman in Waluigi, just stick to him and leave me alone, ya hear!"

Mario, Luigi, Isabelle, and practically everyone in the meeting room gave Doc Louis an astonished look. Who knew he had that much in him? He went from a calm dude, eating chocolate like it's his life duty, to an absolute eruption of angry emotions, lashing out at Mario.

"My apologies for-a trying to ask," apologized Mario, his voice shaky. Doc's outburst really frightened the living daylights out of him. "Meeting adjourned..." The plumber nervously walked towards the door, too afraid to look in Doc's direction.

"Woah mister, only _I_ dictate whether a meeting is over!" Master Hand frowned...if he ever had any eyebrows or even eyes to begin with.

"Are you okay, Mario?" asked Peach, feeling slightly sympathetic for her man.

"Yes, Peach, I'm just-a fine, don't worry about me..." replied Mario, looking down at the floor. Sonic, who was waiting outside the meeting room door, quickly ambushed the plumber, asking him a myriad of questions about the meeting and how boring it was.

 **Peach: Oh my goodness, Doc Louis really scared the jeepers out of everyone in the meeting room! Poor Lucas was crying after the meeting was over, and Fox tweeted out Doc's outburst online for reasons unknown. But nobody was more affected by the outburst than Mario; he's still pretty rattled, and is perhaps fearing for his life! Mario and Doc can always forgive and forget...or so I hope.**

* * *

Viridi remained in her room, sobbing her cares away. It has been a week since her relationship with Pit ended, and it was all because of a potion she gave to the angel, which made him dislike Viridi again. The goddess of nature would start a romantic relationship with Pit's doppelganger, Dark Pit, but an arrogant person like him would make that a huge risk.

"Brought some tea for you!" Captain Falcon entered Viridi's room carrying a plate with a kettle and tea cups on it. The racer placed the plate on Viridi's dresser. "Still saddened about that nasty breakup, huh? Well let me tell you kiddo, I've been on the receiving end of _plenty_ of breakups - I've suffered from so many breakups, I should have my own record in the _Guinness Book of World Records!_ "

"Go away, can't you see I'm depressed..." mumbled Viridi, her face buried in her arms as she laid on her bed. Captain Falcon laid a reassuring hand on the goddess' back; in any other given instance, Viridi would have snapped on Falcon, but she's too somberly saddened to give any sort of reaction. That's what breakups can do to ya!

"That's why I'm here for, to try and cheer you up! Can't stay in the bed forever in a state like this!"

 **Captain Falcon: Word has it around here that Lloyd still has some romantic feelings for Viridi...now that the young lass is single again, it would be the perfect time for Lloyd to make his move! Viridi wouldn't mind the guy at all, he and Pit both have similar levels of intelligence, and that will give Viridi a strong sense of familiarity! Only difference is, Lloyd doesn't have wings like Pit does...quick question: does Red Bull actually give you wings?**

"How about we sing a song!" Captain Falcon wildly suggested. What song will they sing? "Ever heard of the song, 'You Got a Friend In Me'?" Oh joy, they're gonna sing songs from random animated Disney movies...it would take all day for them to sing them all, given that Viridi decides to cooperate.

"No, go away," Viridi responded apathetically. Why can't she just be left alone for five measly minutes, is that so hard to ask?!

"So you never watched the movie _Toy Story_?!" Captain Falcon felt almost offended to be sitting in the same room with a girl who supposedly never watched the movie. "Oh man, your childhood must have really sucked!" Anyone who has never watched _Toy Story_ \- or any other classic Disney film for that matter - should feel utterly ashamed for themselves. That goes for you too, Viridi.

"Fine, I watched the movie, and I know the song, but I'm not singing anything. Leave me alone, will ya?!"

"Leave you alone I will not! I shall not leave until you feel content again!" Judging by Viridi's stagnant cooperation, Captain Falcon may be stuck in the goddess of nature's room until midnight...or until Viridi gets over the breakup. Whichever one comes first.

"Why..." Viridi moaned as she buried her faced in her pillow. Today is gonna be an awfully long day for her...

* * *

One of the most important steps when planning a wedding is purchasing the wedding rings. For a reason that he'll end up regretting doing, Marth asked Sonic if he could purchase the wedding rooms from a jewelry store in town. Did the hedgehog fulfill his mansion, or did he ultimately fail? Only one way to find out...

"Earlier this week I asked you to purchase the wedding rings for the wedding, with the money I gave to purchase them," Marth approached Sonic, who was running on a treadmill in the fitness center. He had to make sure he got his workout in before giving Master Hand yet another grueling hand massage...or foot massage, if Master Hand wants his nonexistent feet to be massaged.

"About the rings..." Sonic pressed the button on the treadmill, turning it off, and skidded to a halt. "I got some good news, and some bad news. The good news is that I actually bought the rings. And the bad news is..."

"...You lost the rings?" Marth furrowed his brow in anger as he folded his arms. The wedding rings were both $800 apiece - Marth clearly is going all out for the wedding - and Sonic seemingly lost them.

"Correctamundo! Funny story is, I just exited the jewelry store, when..."

"I don't want to hear anymore..." a frustrated Marth walked away from the hedgehog, and headed towards the exit. Wii Fit Trainer, who was doing some light weight lifting, saw Marth's frustration, and felt a little bad for him.

 **Wii Fit Trainer: Sometimes I feel as if Marth...over-exerts himself when planning out Luigi's wedding ceremony. Initially, all of us were pitching then, but as time went on, the Hero-King alienated us, and proclaimed that he'll be the one guiding Luigi throughout the process. Sure, he gives certain brawlers tasks to fulfill, but other than that, he's the only person working tirelessly during the entire planning...**

Marth stood outside the fitness center, disgruntled with himself. What in his right mind convinced him that having Sonic buying something expensive like wedding rings would be a great idea? Sonic's the type of guy that would snag you a girlfriend, only to find out later that the girl doesn't even like you to begin with. The hedgehog is one of the most unreliable persons in the mansion, and asking him to do a favor for you would be a colossal mistake.

But Marth is determined to find those wedding rings. Sonic said he lost them, which meant that the rings are located somewhere, but that somewhere can be anywhere. Good thing the Hero-King knows who to ask to retrieve the wedding rings...

* * *

This week has been a great week for Knuckles the Echidna. His mixtape, _Chaotix,_ sold thousands of copies online and in stores, and racked up oodles upon oodles of cold hard cash as a result of the resounding success of his mixtape.

"We now have raised over $2 million from Knuckles' mixtape!" Big Top, the talking hat, announced to those affiliated with Star Records - Fox, Falco, Knuckles, and Little Mac - in the Star Records room. Knuckles' mixtape was truly one of a kind; many of the songs on said mixtape was critically acclaimed by critics everywhere.

"Sweet!" Fox pumped his fist in the air. "Now we can get that glucose monitoring system for Isabelle!"

"Should we have bought the system already with the money we raised?" questioned Falco.

"Yeah, true, but with the rest of the money, we can buy a pointless amount of crud that we'll ultimately regret buying in the first place! We'll be living like celebrities and rockstars!"

 **Fox: With the money from Knuckles' mixtape, I can buy Krystal a super-expensive ring that would be more expensive than the Empire State Building! Wonder if I can find one on Amazon...**

 **Falco: With the money we raised, I can finally buy a red corvette! Heck, I'll buy the one Prince used to ride in...he _did_ own a red corvette, right?...The song was about a woman this whole time?! No way!**

 **Little Mac: I would use the money to buy Doc Louis is own personal chocolate fountain. We can put it in the backyard somewhere, and Doc can swim in the chocolate, and bathe in it, and even urinate or defecate in it! (Not that I would want him to do it, especially if he wants to eat the chocolate.) It'd be a dream come true for him!**

 **Knuckles: Screw the others, once we buy that glucose thingy for Isabelle, I'm keeping all the money for myself! Buy some new Air Jordans, get my own personal fridge, maybe even rent a trailer that I can live in - ain't no way I'm sharing my money with anyone else!...Rouge is the only exception. Girl would have a hissy fit if I spent a single dollar without her knowing!**

"Falco and I will buy the glucose monitoring system," Fox explained to Little Mac and Knuckles. "We want you two to keep Isabelle at bay, and make sure she doesn't find out about our plans."

"Not that hard of a task," Knuckles responded confidently. "How hard can it be?"

* * *

"Do you like designing houses? I know I do, it's one of the most fun experiences ever! Just painting the inside of homes and renovating the house exteriors...I also like to eat fruit, though I haven't eaten as much as I used to have before I got diabetes. What's your favorite fruit?"

"Any kind of fruit, doesn't matter," replied Knuckles, who was twitching his eye in a unnervingly way. He and Little Mac were conversing with Isabelle in her room - with the door locked, so she wouldn't escape - and the two never had known Isabelle to be quite the chatterbox. The shih tzu has been running her mouth nonstop, and Knuckles nor Little Mac can't seem to take it anymore.

"My favorite fruit is bananas," stated Little Mac, at least trying to play it cool with Isabelle unlike Knuckles. If he can keep calm in the boxing ring, then he can keep calm in any other given situation. "Mainly because it gives me protein, necessary for building strong muscles!"

 **Isabelle: The conversations with Knuckles and Little Mac were great, to say the least. Reason being is that they discuss interesting topics with me, and they don't pity me because of my medical condition like the others do. Not to mention that Knuckles is a bit more...peaceful, when talking to me, most of the other times he can be kinda rash and mean...hopefully he's not faking the candor he used with me.**

"Let's change the subject, shall we?" said Little Mac. Isabelle braced herself for what subject Little Mac chooses to discuss next. "An associate of mine told me that you're particularly fond of K.K. Slider."

"Yes, that much is correct, I'm a huge fan of his," answered Isabelle, feeling slightly insecure. Not only is she a fan of K.K., but she also harbors a minor crush on the guitar-playing dog, though the depths of her love for K.K. aren't that much explored. "Rool try to get me to kiss him during the cruise, and that didn't go so well..."

"Why would Rool want you to kiss K.K. if you're just a fan?" questioned Knuckles. "That's like forcing a fangirl whose a fan of Harry Styles to run onstage and kiss Styles on the cheek! If you ask me, Harry Styles looks overrated, that long hair of his is goofy as heck!"

"How can anyone look overrated..." Little Mac raised an eyebrow, not able to comprehend Knuckles' reasoning. "You probably meant to say he doesn't look as attractive as fans make him out to be."

"Nope, his looks are overrated," Knuckles said as he defiantly folded his arms. Bet the echidna's girlfriend Rouge doesn't think he looks overrated.

* * *

Still pretty shaken by Doc Louis' unexpected outburst, Mario wearily walked his way to the mansion's workshop, and rested his head against a desk. Jacky, who was done working on his lovely car, Wanderlust, saw Mario with his head on the desk and wonder what was up.

"Dang Mario, you don't look like your usual self!" the race car driver told the plumber. "Looks like you accidentally walked into Peach's room while she was changing again!" Mario may never live that incident down.

"Doc yelled at-a me during the meeting..." stated Mario. His eyes were looking straight at the workshop door. "It was the angriest we have-a ever seen him..."

"So what are you gonna do about it? Let him overwhelm like that you forever?"

"What-a are you getting at?" Mario lifted his head up from the desk, suddenly feeling intrigued.

"Perhaps you should punish Doc by kicking him out of the mansion for a short bit, make him pay for yelling at you earlier! I'd say let him out for an hour or two, and let him back inside."

 **Jacky: Tried it one time with Link. Dude had the audacity to say that I used way too much hair gel on my hair, and so I kicked him out of the mansion, refusing to let him back in until midnight. It was kinda hilarious; when I let Link back in, he was all covered in mud, and his entire uniform was completely mangled, from the hat down to the boots. His face had a look that only a swamp monster would love.**

"He would handle-a it very well," Mario stroke his chin. Doc wouldn't struggle that much, for he would just eat his precious chocolate to keep himself alive. "I'll-a give your idea a shot. Now where on-a earth is Doc Louis?"

"Heard from Lucina that he was in the gaming room, letting off some steam," replied Jacky. "Clearly he's still ticked about going off on you earlier."

"I would-a assume so...mind if you go with-a me to the gaming room?" Mario's gonna need some backup in the event Doc Louis steals off the plumber and gives him the beating of a lifetime. Despite his old age, Doc can still pack a punch.

"Sure, but just this once. If Doc wants to fight you, then I'll be running for the hills!"

* * *

In the arcade room, Link and Cloud were playing a game of _Galaga,_ with Cloud's pet Chocobo Cloud Jr. to keep the swordsmen company. Well, actually, he's not really there to keep them company, Cloud is just watching over him, since he can't trust his Chocobo to be left all alone, for it would perhaps fly about in the mansion, doing things like pecking random people or disturbing the peace. If Cloud Jr. did this outside in a public area, it's fair game, but let someone like Falco do such things in a similar environment, and he would be arrested. Double standard at its finest.

"Gah, I lost again!" Link frowned as he lost to Cloud yet again in an intense two-player battle. Cloud seems to have Link's number in this game, but the hero of Hyrule feels pretty confident that he can change things around.

"Just the two guys I needed to see!" Marth ran into the arcade room to meet Link and Cloud, and was panting when he came to a stop. Either he did a heck of a lot of running, or he's not that athletic and should work out more. "Afraid I have some terrible news - Sonic lost the wedding rings after I told him to purchase them!"

Link and Cloud both had blank looks on their faces. Were they supposed to be surprised by this piece of information?

"To make matters worse, the wedding rings were both priced at $800!" Now Link and Cloud started to care about the situation at hand, as their eyes widened.

 **Link: Letting Sonic buy expensive wedding rings was a huge mistake on Marth's part. Letting Sonic do any favor for you is a huge mistake in general, and trust me, I learned that the hard way. My left knee got agitated in a football game I was playing in the mansion's backyard (and yes, our team won), and I entrusted Sonic to get me an ice pack while I laid in my bed. Apparently the hedgehog claimed he didn't even see an ice pack, even though Pac-Man saw him staring RIGHT AT IT, and instead of an ice pack, he got a small heater that he put on my knee, going on with some "no pain, no gain" crap that had nothing to do with my affliction. Because of him, the pain in the knee got worse. Why do I even bother with that guy...**

"Did you ask him where he last had the rings?" asked Cloud. "Maybe we can retrace his steps."

"I would have, but I was too angry at him to ask him any hard-hitting questions," replied Marth. "Knew I shouldn't have walked away like that...he was relatively chill about losing the rings, and that only made me even angrier."

"We'll go ask Sonic about the rings, and we'll go from there," Link told the Hero-King. "Don't worry, we'll retrieve those rings real soon!" He and Cloud exited the arcade room, with Cloud Jr flying after them, and Marth smiled with a sense of confidence. Link and Cloud will most certainly get the job done.

"Marth, sorry if I'm bothering you, but don't you think that you have been stressing yourself out from preparing for Luigi's wedding?" Wii Fit Trainer approached the Hero-King from behind, startling him. Marth shrieked like the girly man he was and leaped in the air in fright, only to see the workout warrior smiling at him. Let's hope nobody heard Marth shrieking...

"My goodness, Wii Fit Trainer, you scared the living daylights out of me..." Marth began to hyperventilate, though he wasn't as shook as Mario when Doc Louis went off on the plumber.

"What you need to do is relax, take a load off! By empowering yourself during the wedding process, you're putting yourself at a risk of stressing yourself out and giving yourself unneeded anxiety! A cool-down session is what you need!"

Marth just gave Wii Fit Trainer a "What are you talking about?" look. He's in complete denial about what Wii Fit Trainer just said, feeling that he's not "overexerting" himself; due to him being the only married person in the Smash Mansion, he has to be the only driving force behind the whole wedding planning.

"Come with me, it's about time you take a nice, long break..." Wii Fit Trainer grabbed Marth's shoulders and showed him out of the arcade room.

"Where are you taking me?! I demand answers!" Oh, shut up, Marth, Wii Fit Trainer is actually doing you a huge favor.

* * *

In the living room, Waluigi was hanging out with Pit, Kirby, Shulk, and Toon Link. The lanky man in purple had some unfinished business with Shulk, and that business was immediately finished with a sincere apology.

"Sorry for calling you a big, lanky, weird mustached freak a long time ago," Shulk apologized to Waluigi. "Just trying way too hard to be funny." The Homs would have apologized to Waluigi at Daisy's birthday party, but who honestly apologizes to others at such occasions?

"Ah, don't mention it, I got that that moniker a lot!" grinned Waluigi. Does he not see a problem with this? Must have become acclimated to name-calling throughout his entire life...

 **Waluigi: "Big, lanky, weird mustached freak" isn't even the worst thing I was ever called. Back in high school, when my mustache was truly starting to take form and become more distinguishable, those dastardly jocks - you know, the ones that wear letterman jackets and look down upon anyone doesn't have at least more than 20% of muscle fat - mocked me and dubbed me names like the ugly Italian Ron Jeremy. At the time, I was unfamiliar with his Ron Jeremy person, and so I looked him up online...and now I've been scarred forever ever since.**

"So Pit, I saw that you were dancing with that Viridi girl at Daisy's birthday party," Waluigi told to Pit. The angel furrowed his brow and looked around in confusion; apparently he doesn't remember dancing with Viridi at all.

"I wasn't dancing with that freak!" scoffed Pit. "At the party I was...doing something else, though I cannot remember what exactly it was." Seems like the love potion from Ashley made Pit forget every romantic thing he and Viridi used to do. It seemingly wiped his memory! (Or at least certain bits of it.)

"Hmm, must still be slightly denial in love, I see! How about we go to Viridi, and you fully confess your love to her!"

"Heck no!" Pit was strongly against his idea, adamant on not associating himself with Viridi. He may not remember his romantic moments with the goddess of nature, but he certainly remembers the tsundere tendencies she displayed. "You must be crazy!"

"Waluigi you should go to Viridi and tell her how much Pit loves her, while we contain Pit here!" Toon Link suggested to Waluigi. The lanky man nodded his head in agreement; he can complete his mission without having to worry about Pit chasing him down and beating him senselessly.

"Good idea!" exclaimed Waluigi. "You guys hold Pit down, while I'll go tell Viridi the good news!" The man ran out of the living room, and Kirby, Shulk, and Toon Link restrained Pit, who was about to run after Waluigi before the three pinned him down to the couch.

"How can you guys do this to me, I thought you were my friends!" whined Pit. Had they not been his friends, the angel would have used his arrows to pierce the three individuals.

* * *

"So are you still ticked off at Mario?" Ike discussed with Doc Louis while the two were playing billiards in the gaming room. Billiards was the only way Doc could "let off some steam", according to the chocolate lover himself.

"A little, but not a whole lot," replied Doc, hitting an 8 ball with his cue stick and sending it down into the gutter. He has been generally more calm after the incident happened, using measures such as light breathing to calm himself down.

"Mario is making his way to the gaming room!" Lucas entered the gaming room to announce this. "And he doesn't look happy!"

"That man Mario coming here?! Oh man, time to call my boys!" Doc Louis ran to a secret spot in the gaming room, and pulled out his phone, calling who-knows-who.

"Doc where are you?" Lucina, who was present in the gaming room, looked for the boxing trainer. She had been advised by Chrom to keep a close eye on Doc Louis, ensuring that he stays calm and doesn't feel the desire to fight anyone.

 **Lucina: While I'm stuck here in the gaming room monitoring Doc Louis, Father is in the computer room on some lousy dating simulation site. You'd figured that with all the interactions he has with women during the war with Plegia, he wouldn't have to use any simulator, but apparently he's still a lovable dork at heart...**

Everyone in the gaming room feared for the worst when a defiant Mario stepped inside, accompanied by Jacky Bryant. Mario had a look on his face that meant that somebody is gonna pay, and they're gonna pay dearly.

"Tell me where Doc Louis is!" the plumber demanded to Lucas. The blonde teenagers (yes, he's a teenager, don't let his diminutive size and childlike appearance fool you, same goes for Ness) frighteningly pointed to the part of the room Doc was hiding. Mario and Jacky marched over to Doc's hiding spot (actually Mario was marching, Jacky simply walked) and confronted the boxing trainer.

"Alright man, see you and your boys later," Doc made these parting words to whomever he was talking to on the phone before hanging up. He stood up, staring at Mario. You could build the tension here with a machete, for a knife would not simply be enough. "Got a problem buddy?"

"I don't-a appreciate you yelling at me back-a at the meeting," responded Mario. "As a way to punish-a you for your actions, I'm temporarily kicking you out-a of the mansion!"

"Man you know you can't just kick me out without Master Hand's consent!" Doc was right, only Master Hand can dictate whether or not someone should be kicked out.

"Master Hand-a doesn't matter here, what does matter is that-a you learn your lesson!"

Soon Mario and Doc Louis were both embroiled in a hot-boiled argument that saw many brawlers in the gaming room to quietly exit, including Jacky Bryant.

"Kinda knew this was gonna happen," Jacky whispered to Lucina as they exited out of the gaming room.

"Had a feeling it was too," Lucina whispered back. "Hopefully they won't take long to argue..."

* * *

Link and Cloud went to go speak with Sonic, who was giving Master Hand a hand massage, and the hedgehog told them that he last had the rings at the jewelry store downtown. So the two swordsmen headed down there, and saw a bunch of burly black dudes flanked near the store.

"Sonic said he was talking to a bunch of burly guys," stated Cloud. "Those guys over there must be whom he was referring to." These dudes reminded Cloud of his pal Barret, who lowkey looks like Mr. T but with a flat top (at least in FF7).

 **Cloud: My street cred may not be on par, much to everyone's shock I would assume, but I gotta stay on my toes in order to avoid getting beat up. Sonic did say that the guys he was talking to are quite strong, so one bad move and I'm a goner...**

"You go up to them and give them some dap," Cloud suggested to Link; the Hylian looked at his friend like he was insane. "We'll go from there."

"Why me, I would be beaten to a pulp!" complained Link. Compared to the burly dudes hanging near the jewelry store, the Hylian is a mere twig, toothpick, or whatever figure of speech you wish to use.

"Exactly, you'd make the perfect chew toy and guinea pig. Just go over there, and act as natural as possible!"

Cloud shoved Link forward to the burly men, and the men looked at the Hylian questionably. What happened next, you'll have to see to believe.

"Hey fam, what up, how you doin'?" Link walked up to each dude and gave them some dap, complete with the handshake and the pound hug, also saying things like "What's good, cuz?" or "Chillin' in the cut?". Cloud just looked at this mesmerized, wondering if some cool, thug dude infiltrated Link's body and make the Hylian act like this.

"How's it going," Cloud walked up to the men, and instead of giving some dap, the swordsman went with the classic fist bump, bumping fists with everyone. Inside his head, he's debating whether or not he would tell Link about his surprising level of street cred. Though it's a given that everyone at the mansion would want to hear about that!

"Nothing much, nothing much," replied one of the men, who had a distinguishable bald head."So what brings you lads here?"

"A friend of ours said he lost two rings around here," explained Link. "Got any idea where they can be?"

"Yeah, well, we would help you guys out, but we got our hands quite full. We're on our way to the Smash Mansion, to take care of some business. It's great to meet you!"

And with that, the burly men walked away from the jewelry store, and departed to the Smash Mansion. But for what reason?

"'Take care of some business'?" Cloud reiterated, trying to figure out what that meant. He suddenly feared for the worst. "They must be coming after Sonic!"

"Well what are we waiting for, let's go follow them!" said Link. Whatever Sonic had done, it's about to get the hedgehog in a whole heap of trouble!

* * *

 **Fox: We finally got that glucose monitoring system for Isabelle! But getting it was a very hard task in itself.  
Falco: Indeed it was, none of the major retailers had what we looking for. Heck, not even a convenience store had a monitoring system! How are you gonna call yourself a convenience store, when you don't even have convenient stuff?!  
Fox: Our last resort was to purchase the monitoring system from a cool gadget store in downtown Seattle. It was originally priced at $900, but thanks to a discount, we got it for $850! Say what you want, but a dollar saved is a dollar earned!  
Falco: I thought that saying only applies to pennies.  
Fox: Nah, not really, I've heard youngsters say that about Pokemon cards...bunch of nerds they are.**

Fox and Falco proceeded to enter Isabelle's room, where Isabelle, Knuckles, and Little Mac were still having their conversations. Knuckles and Little Mac did an excellent job at containing the shih tzu; whenever Isabelle wanted something to eat or drink, Knuckles would kindly retrieve her something, and whenever Isabelle had to use the bathroom...let's just say that Isabelle was only allowed to exit the room for that purpose.

"Hey Isabelle, guess what we got for you..." Fox handed Isabelle a gift box, and the yellow dog wagged her tail with utter joy.

"This here present is to make up for infiltrating your laptop and private matters," explained Falco, as Isabelle tore apart the wrapping paper. She opened the box, and guess what was inside? The glucose monitoring system! If you honestly thought it was something else, then shame on you.

Isabelle didn't give any reaction to the gift. Instead, she just...stared at the monitoring system for a good while.

"So do you like it?" asked Fox, anticipating Isabelle to say yes, and not stare at her gift like she's having a staring contest.

"Not sure how to tell you guys this, but..." Isabelle was nervously scratching the back of her head. Fox and Falco were waited precautiously for what the dog will say next.

"You like the gift, don't you?" asked Falco. The anticipation and excitement was nearly killing him.

"I went to the doctor's office earlier this week, and he ran a few blood tests on me, and he confirmed...that I no longer have diabetes."

Fox, Falco, Knuckles, and Little Mac all stared at Isabelle with their mouths agape. The hard work they did to raise money from Star Records turns out to be all for naught.

"You're joking, right?" asked Fox, ready to go on a full-blown meltdown and destroy everything in sight out of rage.

"The blood tests were negative, and I'm no longer diagnosed with diabetes, although the condition may return with age. I was unsure about telling the others..."

Fox and Falco reacted to this news by displaying a flurry of emotions. Fox literally threw Knuckles out of a nearby window in anger, and Falco was so ticked that he kicked Little Mac where the sun doesn't shine. Hopefully the boxer is wearing a cup.

"Guys will you please calm down?!" fretted Isabelle. Fox and Falco did not listen; they were angry, and grumpy, and all sorts of negative emotions. Wii Fit Trainer just so happened to walk past by when he saw what was going down.

"Seems like you two need to take a chill pill!" she grabbed Fox and Falco by the ear (or for Falco, wherever his ear is located) and dragged them out of the room, while Isabelle looked on. If the Star Fox pilots reacted just like they did to the news, will the others react in a similar way?

* * *

Waluigi trekked through the mansion in search for Viridi. He would have found the goddess of nature earlier, but he was too busy chatting with Wario. When you haven't seen your best buddy in a good while, you gotta stop and chat every now and then.

"Viridi where are you, come out, come out, wherever you are!" called out Wario, who offered to assist Waluigi. Because that's what great friends do!

 **Wario: Me? Wanting to help Waluigi?! *laughs* I'm only there to take all the credit when he finds Viridi, should there be any! Don't get it twisted!**

Wario and Waluigi would eventually run into the burly men that Link and Cloud met earlier. Kudos to them on making it inside the mansion without a hassle. Everyone fell on the floor...and two expensive-looking wedding rings fell out of the pockets of the leader of the burly guys, the bald-headed one.

"Hey man, watch where you're going!" frowned Wario. He saw the wedding rings on the floor, and reached out to grab him, but Waluigi restrained him from doing so.

"No, Wario, it's just gold, you can get gold anywhere, like the gold mines in South Africa!" Waluigi tried to tell Wario. Emphasis on "tried", since Wario was too entranced by the rings to pay Waluigi any attention whatsoever.

"These must be the rings!" Cloud exclaimed as he and Link ran into the scene after following behind the burly men. He picked up the rings, and inspected them. Indeed, they were the rings; time to give them back to Marth. But first, some questions must be asked.

"How did you guys obtain these rings?" asked Link. The bald-headed leader got up and dusted himself off.

"The hedgehog guy - his name was Sonic - we were speaking to him when he exited the jewelry, and after he was done talking, he sped off, only to drop those wedding rings unsuspectingly. I took the rings, and held onto them until he decided to come back for 'em."

"So you guys were hanging out near a jewelry store?" Wario raised an eyebrow. "Trying to ask out any lady that exits the jewelry store, huh? Why haven't I thought of that earlier?!"

"Our previous hangout was infiltrated by a street gang, and apparently the jewelry store was the other place he had for hanging out. It's better if you don't ask..."

"Yo, boss, we came here for something else, right?" asked one of the burly dudes. About time someone over than baldie decided to speak.

"Oh yeah, Doc Louis is in trouble and needs our help! Anybody got any clue where he can be?"

"He's in the gaming room, arguing with Mario," explained Wario. "To get to the gaming room, you just gotta go up those stairs, and make a right, and then..." The group of burly men had already left, and Wario got angry. He wanted to take credit for giving testosterone-filled dudes directions, but so much for that...

"Let's go give these rings back to Marth," Cloud told Link as the two swordsmen went to go find the Hero-King.

* * *

Mario and Doc Louis were still arguing with one another in the gaming room. Mario threw shade at Doc's boxing career, and Doc fired shots at Mario's relationship with Peach. All and all, a whole lot of personal jabs and nothing much else.

"See?" Lucas guided Peach and Zelda to the gaming room, interrupting their tea party, and showed them Mario and Doc Louis arguing. "They've been going at it nonstop! Nothing that we do is able to stop them!"

"Guess we have to take matters into our own hands," Peach sighed as she and Zelda went over to Mario and Doc; Peach closed Mario's mouth with her hand while holding his hands hostage, and Zelda did the same to Doc Louis.

"Don't you think you two have been arguing for a rather long time?" asked Zelda. Doc Louis was too much for the princess of Hyrule to handle, for he was using his strength to break himself free. Never underestimate a former boxing heavyweight champion, regardless of his age.

"Not really, I haven't insulted my adversary's intelligence yet," replied Doc Louis.

"What-a he said," Mario followed up the boxing trainer.

"Come with us," Peach and Zelda guided Mario and Doc Louis out of the gaming room, and to a place where they can at least be calmed down.

* * *

 **Black Knight: It's almost criminal to see the brawlers overlook my proficiency at making tea. Yeah, you're probably thinking, "Making tea is the easiest thing to do, just dip some tea bags into some boiling water, and add some sugar, and be done with it". Unlike the many other cretins out there, I like to spice up my tea, adding things like cinnamon, ginger, horseradish...hold up, be right back, Peach wants to speak with me... *exits talking head segment, returns a while later* Peach wants me to make more tea? Not a problem for the Black Tea-Knight! *sighs* What a horrible nickname...**

Captain Falcon remained in Viridi's room, where the slightly less depressed goddess of nature was sipping tea after Falcon's urging to do so. Falcon and Viridi were not alone - also present in this room was Marth (instructed by Wii Fit Trainer to take a break from wedding planning), Fox (went full ham after learning Isabelle is no longer diagnosed with diabetes), and Falco (same reason as Fox).

"Got any room for another person?" Toon Link barged into the room, with the Hylian, Shulk, and Kirby carrying Pit, who was fighting back. The three threw Pit on the bed, and the angel conveniently landed...next to his ex-girlfriend, Viridi (Captain Falcon moved out of the way). "Have fun with Pit!"

"No guys, you're going the wrong way!" Pit said to the threesome as they left the room. The angel looked to his left, and saw Viridi - the girl didn't even want to look Pit in the eye. "Still mad over that breakup?" Pit is still unfamiliar with his breakup with Viridi, the love potion has done absolute wonders.

"Can't you see..." Viridi sighed depressingly. Just what she needed - some time with her ex-boyfriend to keep her mood negative.

"Well, I've kinda gave some thought, and I've been thinking, and...I was thinking about restarting our relationship."

In the blink of an eye, Viridi went from a depressed emo chick to a wide-eyed genki girl. Was she hearing this right?

 **Toon Link: Kinda talked some sense into Pit while we were holding him down - I told him that if he has Viridi as a girlfriend, he get can her to buy the latest _Metal Gear Solid_ game for him, and he thought that having Viridi as a girlfriend would be totally worth it! Can't wait to see how he's gonna react when he finds out that they don't even make _Metal Gear Solid_ games anymore. Very easy to take advantage of Pit's knowledge, or the lack thereof.**

"Always knew you still loved me!" Viridi happily hugged Pit's arm, tugging on to it. Pit looked at Captain Falcon with a worried and afraid look, and the racer responded with a comforting grin and a thumbs up. Waluigi, who was planning on telling Viridi how much Pit loves her, stood and watched by the door.

"Looks like my work here is done, before I could even do it," he smiled. "Now I have some time to flirt with Samus..." He grinned evilly, rubbing his hands together as he walked away. Wario already has a tough time flirting with Samus, what possibly makes Waluigi think he'll have a better chance?!

Just when Waluigi walked away, Link and Cloud showed up, and gave the wedding rings to Marth, who was delighted to see them in one peace.

"Thank you two so much for retrieving these rings," thanked the Hero-King. "This will teach me a lesson to never rely on Sonic for completing favors."

Peach and Zelda walked Mario and Doc Louis into Viridi's room, and had them sit in the bed opposite from Viridi's, near Fox and Falco. The plumber and the boxing trainer seemed more tranquil, though their beef with each other was still apparent.

"Now where is the Black Knight with the tea?" Peach looked around. The armored knight showed up, right on cue, holding a large plate with a kettle and tea cups on it.

"Sorry I took so long, I've been doing a little experimentation with the tea," he apologized to the princesses. "Now who is this tea for?"

"For Mario and Doc," explained Zelda. "We thought that some tea might ease their temper." The Black Knight made his way over to the two, and handed them each a tea cup, pouring hot tea into it. Mario and Doc Louis both sipped their tea, and soon they felt relieved.

"Ah, nothing like some good-a refreshing tea to keep your spirits-a up!" gleamed Mario, before turning to Doc Louis. "As for-a earlier..."

"Yeah, about that...sorry for yelling at you like that and scaring your pants off," apologized Doc Louis. "Or should I say, overalls!" Doc laughed at his own joke, and was disheartened when nobody else was laughing with him. It wasn't like it was a hysterical joke or anything. "Anyways, I can be your 'backup bridesman', but only under one condition...I wanna eat chocolate during the ceremony, it will keep my energy levels up to par. That's why I initially didn't want to do the part."

"Feel-a free to eat chocolate if you-a like! I'll bend-a the rules, only for-a you!" Safe to say that Mario and Doc Louis are back on good terms now.

"Doc Louis, is that you?" the bald-headed dude stood at the doorway, flanked by his boys. Doc's eyes widened when he recognized who the baldie was.

"Hey man, come right on in!" he smiled. The bald guy did as he was told, and he exchanged handshakes with Doc Louis. Everyone looked on confused, wondering what was going on.

"You know this guy?" asked Link, the man who infamously gave dap to the bald guy earlier.

"Know this guy? This right here is Bald Bull! Me and him go way back!"

 **Bald Bull: How exactly do I know Doc Louis? We used to be rivals...or we became trainers together. Not sure which one is which, Nintendo canon loves the scramble things around.**

"I see you and Mario are no longer angry at each other," observed Bald Bull. "That's good to see. I also helped out those blonde chaps over there, they were looking for wedding rings and they managed to find them. Also, I met this canine lass here...where is she?"

"Right here!" Isabelle emerged from the group of burly men, noticeably happy and reassured.

"There she goes! She's been going about the mansion telling people some rather exciting news, and I think she ready to share the news with y'all, isn't that right?"

"Yes sir..." Isabelle nodded, bracing herself. "So I went to the doctor's appointment, and he ran some blood tests, and it turns out, that I no longer have diabetes!"

"Why, that's-a excellent!" gleamed Mario. The others except for Fox and Falco shared the plumber's delight. "Why didn't you tell us this earlier?"

"Because I was a bit unsure about how you would react. I already told Fox and Falco, and they went completely bonkers..." Isabelle is clearly unaware of the fact that Fox and Falco raised all the money they did from Star Records, just to find out that saving up the money for glucose monitoring system and then purchasing it was all for naught - but hey, at least they have a surplus amount of money to spend their wants and cares on!

"Everyone reacts-a differently to different types-a of news, so there's no need to worry about-a them."

"Isabelle, since you're diabetes-free and all...care for a cup of tea?" the Black Knight offered Isabelle a teacup, filled to the brim with tea. Previously Isabelle would have said no, but now that she's free of diabetes for the time being...

"Yes I do!" Isabelle happily wagged her tail as she accepted the teacup from the Black Knight, and sipped it happily and gladly.

Isn't it great to see others overcome the many challenges and adversaries life brings to you?


	22. Episode 22: Sweetness

**Episode 22: Sweetness**

The Great King of Evil. The Dark Lord. Ganon of the Enchanted Thieves.

No, these are not generic nicknames for generic evil villains (well, except for the third one). These are monikers for the mighty Ganondorf - the man who can alternate forms between a built Gerudo and a freakish, demonic boar, a form that is thankfully hasn't been used in present time. He embodies traits that every prototypical villain should have - malice, hatred, arrogance, and the lust for world domination. In some ways, Ganondorf feels as if he's complete, in every sense of the word. However, he feels as if he needs one thing - just one thing - in order to fully feel completion...

...and that would be a love interest. Right now you're probably thinking, "Why would Ganondorf want a girlfriend for, he's evil beyond words, and he's ugly as well!" But don't mistake it, Ganondorf still has a sweet spot for women, and now's the time for him to make his move. He may be old and all, but that doesn't stop him from finding his true love!

"Hello, who is it?" asked Captain Falcon when someone knocked on the door to his room. He was expecting a female brawler to be standing at the door, holding a basket of chocolate-covered strawberries to feed to him like a baby, so when he saw Ganondorf staring at him with a deadpan stare and his arms folded, he was all disgusted. "Hey you're not a girl, what business do you have?!"

"I came here...for romantic advice," Ganondorf replied with a rather heavy sigh. "I want you to teach me how to be romantic." Why is Ganondorf asking Captain Falcon of all people, has he ever seen any of his failed attempts at asking girls out?

 **Ganondorf: Of course asking Captain Falcon for romantic advice has its shares of risks, but who else could I have gone to? Mario has a bit of an on and off relationship with Peach, and his brother Luigi is a textbook example of a fraidy cat. Ryu would have been a viable choice, but he's too straightforward, not to mention his affair with Chun-Li is...very murky. Does he even like that girl? I've always asked him that very question, and the only response I get is in the form of sweat and tears...**

"Looks like you came to the right guy!" gleamed Captain Falcon. "So, why is an evil dude like yourself desiring to be romantic all of a sudden? You got feelings for a certain gal?"

"Why yes I do..." Ganondorf responded, unsure of giving his response to Falcon's question. "...But I'm hesitant to tell you the name of the person I like."

"How about you give me some clues about the girl, and I'll guess who it is!" Nothing like some guessing game to raise Captain Falcon's intrigue, while keeping him at bay for the moment.

"Let's see...she's tall, has long hair, usually stoic most of the time, not that many people know her real age..." Got any idea who Ganondorf is describing? Captain Falcon nodded his head with each clue he received, and soon he came to a forgone conclusion...

"You're in love with LUCINA?!" he gasped, completely in utter disbelief. Lucina certainly fits the bill - she's tall, has long hair, mostly stoic, and people to this day still debate about her real age. "Chrom's not gonna like that, not one bit! He wouldn't want a demon lord to be his son-in-law!"

"I don't like Lucina, you half-blooded twit!" Ganondorf slapped Captain Falcon very, very hard - so hard he knocked the racer's helmet off. "Do you not realize how young she is?!"

"Like it's supposed to be my fault she's beautiful and smoking hot..." What if Chrom walked by the room and heard this? Captain Falcon would never heard the end of his little rant. "Alright then, what other girl fits your criteria?"

"Apparently it seems like I have to show you. Follow me, and don't be extremely surprised or astonished when I show you who it is. We don't need you making a scene..."

* * *

One of the more finer aspects of the Smash Mansion's gaming room is table tennis. Unlike regular tennis, which requires a great amount of focus, hustle, and athleticism, table tennis is less frenetic, and requires only focus and...well mostly focus. Mario and Ike were embroiled in a highly intense table tennis match - the ball going back and forth like a swinging pendulum in a clock - while Proto Man spectated, finding nothing else to fulfill his boredom.

"Hiyah!" Mario served the ball to Ike, and the ball traveled so fast, it zipped past Ike and through a wall, leaving behind a gaping hole. Not a huge problem for Mr. Game & Watch to fix, he's had bigger problems to deal with.

"Nice serve!" commended Ike, in awe of Mario's awesome strength and reflexes. Nobody was keeping the score; either Mario and Ike are just playing for fun, or Proto Man, the spectator, is too lazy to keep up with the score. We'll just go with the latter for now.

 **Proto Man: Table tennis is overrated in my eyes, don't really understand the fascination behind it. Just two dudes overexerting themselves at some lousy table, serving the ball from one side to another, when they can just stand there in place and not have to run about all the time. It's like juggling while jumping in place - you're using up your energy levels for no good reason.**

Also present in the gaming room, standing against a wall with his arms folded and reflecting upon life was Heihachi Mishima. He was a man of a few words - a few _English_ words, in spite of the fact that he can't even speak English at all - and would rather let his fists do the talking.

"Sore ga tsudzuku ma, anata no chīsana tēburutenisugēmu o tanoshimimasu! Watashi wa anata no izureka to taisen shita baai, watashi wa zettai ni jinsokuna-ryoku de shihai surudarou!" Heihachi told the table tennis combatants.

"Proto Man, can you translate-a that for me?" Mario asked the renegade robot. You would figure that a robot like Proto Man would be able to translate what Heihachi just said, but apparently it seems like the complete opposite, as he shrugged while shaking his head. But at least Google Translate is always abound, right?

"Naze anata sukoshi... Ā, watashi no atama," Heihachi began to clutch his head, grimacing in slight pain. Yet Mario, Ike, nor Proto Man paid him any attention.

"Got em!" Ike served the tennis ball past Mario, and the plumber furiously grunted. He was en fuego, he kept serving the ball past Ike, and Ike couldn't copy that momentum against Mario. So much for the plumber's hot streak.

Suddenly, Heihachi Mishima collapsed to the floor with a heavy thud. The thud was so loud that it caught the attention of the three men. They saw that Heihachi wasn't moving a single inch, centimeter, or anything below that, and feared for the worst. What's wrong with the kung fu fighter?

"Oh crap, something's wrong with Heihachi!" panicked Ike, pulling on his hair. He's seen situations like these on drama shows on television - a character loses his/her consciousness, and the surrounding characters do their best to help that person recuperate. Never would the swordsman expect to be in anything like this. "What are we gonna do?!"

"I'll go get some help!" Proto Man said, running out of the gaming room. In reality, he's not getting any help - he's running as far as possible from the current situation, not wanting to be associated with any consequences that may result from it.

"Heihachi, how are-a you feeling?" Mario knelt down at Heihachi's side, putting him up against a wall and checking on him. The kung fu fighter mumbled some Japanese words that Mario is unable to decipher. "I think he needs a glass-a of water!"

"Where on earth are we gonna find that?" asked Ike. His level of worry and concern is really taking quite a toll on his overall intelligence.

"To my office!" responded Mario. He and Ike carried Heihachi out of the gaming room, and to safety.

* * *

Pit knocked on the door to Link's room, in a dire need to ask the Hylian some questions. These questions pertain to his relationship with Viridi, and he's only in a relationship with her to get a _Metal Gear Solid_ game - even though the series is already done.

 **Pit: Love is very confusing...so I was with Viridi in a hammock, and she wanted me to "serenade" her with a romantic song! Why can't she just sing a song herself, it was her idea to sing one! Does she think I'm some Justin Bieber knockoff?! At least Bieber makes it easy and cool to sound like a girl...somewhat.**

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Link responded after Pit continued to knock on the door. He opened the door, and Pit was still knocking - knocking on Link's forehead. The Hylian sported a giant frown on his face.

"What do you want?" Link asked apathetically. You're probably thinking, "Why is Link acting all salty, it's not like he's doing anything important!" Actually, he is doing something important - he's finishing up the invitations for Luigi's wedding so he can send them out later in the day. Marth was supposed to complete this task, but the Hero-King followed Wii Fit Trainer's advice, and decided to take a week-long break.

"I need you to give me some advice on staying in a relationship," replied Pit, looking around nervously to see if Viridi might be lurking by. It would break her heart to see Pit stoop as low as needing romantic advice, for she thinks he knows how to be romantic from their previous relationship.

"Would help you, but I'm kinda busy...sorry man. Perhaps you can ask Cloud for romantic advice; sure, he may not look like the romantic type, but he's better than asking Captain Falcon. If you were to look up thirst in the dictionary, I can guarantee you Falcon will have a picture of himself next to the term."

"Captain Falcon actually drinks a very liberal amount of water, so I don't get your point, or how this relates to romance..." Pit just utilized another vocabulary word! The booking reading session from Viridi must be working wonders!

"You're slow, so you won't get it. Now go to Cloud, and leave me alone while I finish the rest of these invitations!"

"Invitations for the wedding? Am I invited?" No Pit, you're totally not invited, it's not like your a good friend of Luigi's or anything.

"You live here at the mansion, is that correct?" Pit nodded his head excitedly. "Then of course you're invited, now do me a favor and LET ME BE!" Link slammed the door in Pit's face.

"See ya at the wedding!" responded Pit, walking away to go consult Cloud. He would have preferred Link since he's already in a relationship, but he'll take whatever he gets.

* * *

Sonic, the speeding hedgehog who can run faster than your dad's Ferrari - if your father even owns one - is feeling rather jovial today. For the first time in a good while, he doesn't have to give Master Hand a hand massage, for the Smash universe creator is paying a visit to Crazy Hand. May we wish Master Hand the absolute best as he copes with this kook.

"What to do, what to do..." Sonic strolled through the mansion, trying to figure out how to spend his time now that he's off the hook, for today. So many things he can do, but he must pick one activity to ease any boredom he might have. His eyes immediately caught Olimar, carrying a large container in his hands. "Hey Olimar, what's that you got there?"

"A discovered alien from a faraway planet," explained the astronaut. "Hocotate Freight has been doing a lot of space discovery missions, and the alien inside here is one of their finest discoveries."

 **Olimar: Apparently whenever Hocotate discovers a new alien, they always send an alien species to my address. But thankfully only my family gets the aliens, since the aliens are shipped to my home. Now Hocotate has found out that I live at the Smash Mansion, and they changed the address so Master Hand gets them, and he gives them to me...Question: Does Dr. Wily still accept aliens?**

"An alien is inside that container? How cool!" exclaimed Sonic. "We should keep it as a pet!" Think of the normal pet activities Sonic can do with the alien creature - petting, playing Frisbee, running laps around a fire hydrant...though that's what dogs usually do, and not their owners. You would have to be a mentally insane person to run around a fire hydrant.

"No, we can't keep it as a pet, it might be very dangerous!" stated Olimar. Think of the dangerous things the alien might do - shredding expensive furniture, destroying the walls of the mansion, swallowing Wario whole...in all sincere honesty, nobody would give a single darn about Wario getting eaten. Everyone would greatly appreciate the alien if it ever ate Wario.

"Pit bulls and rottweilers are pretty dangerous, yet people keep them as pets! Your logic is criminally flawed!"

"Not as flawed as you wanting to keep a foreign alien as a pet, when we don't even know what it's capable of..."

"Anyone care to explain what's in the giant container?" asked Samus, who happened to walk by. Of all the people she had to pass by, it had to be her two least favorite people - Sonic, for obvious reasons, and Olimar, whom she can't stand for reasons unknown. It could be his appearance, or lack of overall personality.

"Inside is an alien that Hocotate Freight has sent to me in a package," explained Olimar. Holding the container in place while standing was making the astronaut frail, he has to put it down somewhere before he collapses from the weight.

"And we're gonna keep the alien as a pet!" exclaimed Sonic. Samus rolled her eyes and shook her head at the hedgehog's idea - even she thinks keeping the alien as a pet is ludicrous.

"What if the alien starts attacking you and the others, would you still keep it?" questioned Samus, hoping Sonic would put on his thinking cap and say no. But a rash individual like Sonic lacks a thinking cap, and he has been lacking one ever since his 1991 introduction.

"Of course, why not, most kids growing up attack their parents, it's a part of adolescence! Kids become rebellious at a young age, and it has never been more prevalent during this current generation!"

"Where are you taking the alien?" Samus instantly asked Olimar, not wanting to deal with Sonic's silliness anymore.

"To the printing room," replied Olimar. "I'm hoping Mega Man can inspect the alien and come to a consensus regarding what to do with it."

"Will he agree to keep it as a pet?" asked Sonic. Samus and Olimar both exchanged looks of worry and concern for Sonic's well-being.

* * *

After finishing his _Chaotix_ mixtape, Knuckles decided to take an "indefinite hiatus", using this time brainstorm some new ideas for his first album. This gave Little Mac more time to add the finishing touches to his mixtape, for he feels that it's not "well-furnished" quite yet. Fox and Falco sat in the recording studio, listening to Mac's bars via headphones.

"How's it going, Little Mac?" Doc Louis entered the recording studio, chewing on a chocolate bar. Typical/vintage Doc Louis right here, folks.

"Not now Doc, dude's trying to record here," Fox said to the boxing trainer. Doc didn't seem to care; he just waltzed into the recording booth while Little Mac was doing his thing, and interrupted his protege's flow.

"Dang it, man, you messed me up!" Little Mac threw a fit after Doc Louis interrupted him. He saw two chocolate bars in each of Doc's hands. "Are you seriously eating multiple chocolate bars at the same time?!"

 **Little Mac: When I told Doc about the money Star Records made off of Knuckles' successful mixtape, I promised to buy him an infinite amount of chocolate bars, for it would be the only way he'll allow me to stay at the record company...Now I'm starting to regret telling him about the money. Chocolate is practically the only thing he ever thinks about, aside from his birthday, and me. What does he want for Christmas every year? Chocolate. What does he want to be served at every Thanksgiving dinner? Chocolate. And what does he expect people to prank him with on April Fool's Day? Do I need to say any more?**

"The more, the merrier!" Doc Louis grinned, taking a gaping bite out of one of his chocolate bars. Little Mac, Fox, and Falco all looked at the trainer with great disdain as he chewed. Must be illegal, almost inhumane, to love chocolate like this man Doc Louis does.

"Dude, you really need to stop eating abnormal amounts of chocolate, I'm sure it's not healthy," stated Falco, worried for Doc's well-being.

"Eating a lot of chocolate isn't unhealthy, it can improve your health, improve your blood flow, and lower your blood pressure! I should know, I do research on chocolate on a daily basis!"

"That only applies to _dark_ chocolate," Fox pointed out, debunking Doc's research. The fox does research on chocolate and other sweets, though he's not as obsessed and dedicated like Doc is.

"Applies to all chocolate! Quit being such a hater!" Doc you're a grown man, you're too old to be using terms like "hater" in your language.

"Doc Fox is telling the truth, dark chocolate is the only healthy chocolate out there," stated Little Mac. But Doc Louis refused to listen to his protege.

"How dare you backtalk your trainer and life coach like that! You're dead to me! In fact, you're all dead to me! y'all don't know anything about chocolate, chocolate can solve all sorts of problems! Now if you excuse me, I'll be spending some time alone, with my lovely chocolate..."

And with that, Doc Louis stormed out of the recording studio, with the bars of chocolate in his hands. Everyone in the studio just looked on, exasperated.

"Doc's love for chocolate has to be tamed..." said Little Mac. "I can't stand to see him like this!"

* * *

Ganondorf and Captain Falcon went to the lounge, where the girl Ganondorf supposedly likes is at. Inside the lounge were three women - Palutena, Peach, and Rosalina.

"One of those three women is whom I like," Ganondorf whispered to Captain Falcon. The racer scanned each woman, making sure they fit Ganondorf's criteria - tall, stoic, long hair, and an unknown age. Peach, who is already in a relationship with Mario, doesn't fit these qualifications, so she's eliminated. Now it's down to Palutena and Rosalina - which one is it?

"Yes, I can see now..." Captain Falcon was about to come to a conclusion. "Your crush...is Palutena! But she isn't stoic though, she shows a lot of her emotions every now and then..."

"You bozo, the girl I happen to like is Rosalina! I harbor a crush on Rosalina!"

Captain Falcon looked at the Demon Lord, distraught and surprised. Were his ears deceiving him? Ganondorf and Rosalina sounds like a very odd couple, but the Demon Lord is content that it will all work out fine.

 **Captain Falcon: A Ganondorf-Rosalina pairing simply won't do! What if Rosalina isn't the romantic type, and refuses to return any romantic feelings to Ganondorf? That would make poor Ganon lonely and dejected inside...and I'm the only one that's supposed to feel that way!**

"So you like Rosalina? I never would have guessed!" Captain Falcon said after dropping his surprised visage. You can't deny the fact that Falcon might feel pretty jealous and salty if Ganondorf is able to get along well with Rosalina, and he doesn't. "Now that you told me who your woman is, it's now time to make your move!"

"Make my move?" Ganondorf raised an eyebrow. It would be too early for the Demon Lord to confess his love to Rosalina, he needs some practice so he won't be so nervous and awkward. "Can we just practice what I should say before..."

"No time to lose! Go out there, and be a man!" Captain Falcon pushed Ganondorf outwards, and towards Rosalina. The Demon Lord soon found himself standing near the couch Rosalina is sitting in. The nerves were starting to get to Ganondorf, as sweat rushed down his face and his heart was beating faster than usual. Happens a lot when you're making your move on someone.

"Look mama, it's Ganondorf!" exclaimed Luma, who accompanies Rosalina at all times. It's his life duty. "And he looks sweatier than usual!"

"What brings you here, Ganondorf?" asked Rosalina, intrigued as to way Ganondorf is consulting her of all people. They hardly interact with one another, mind you.

"I have something...important, that I must tell you right away," Ganondorf replied nervously, as a rush of thoughts ran through his head. What if Rosalina rejects him after he tells her he loves her? How will he be able to handle a negative response, and how can he bounce right back?

"Ooh, this is very interesting," Palutena sat back in the couch she was sitting in and watched attentively. This made Ganondorf even more nervous.

"Although I'm not sure how you'll react to these words, I shall tell you anyway...I love you, and I want you to be my lover."

Rosalina held her hand to her chest with her mouth agape, unsure how to take this news in. Never has anyone ever confessed their love towards her - not Mario, not Luigi, and not even Bowser, who never had qualms about kidnapping Rosalina and taking her to his castle, expecting someone to rescue her if they can (though it would be wise for him to stop, since his plans always fail one way or another).

"Wow, I've heard heard anything like that before spoken to me..." Rosalina finally had the courage to speak. "If you wish...then I can be your girlfriend." Ganondorf eyes were bulging out of their sockets, and Palutena looked on with disgust and shock.

"Are you serious?" asked Ganondorf, surprised that the confession went a whole lot better than he expected. Rosalina nodded her head with a smile. "Great! Meet me in the gaming room later today, so we can do...romantic things. I'll explain more later on!" And with that, Ganondorf departed with a confident smirk on his face.

"You can't possibly be serious..." Palutena told Rosalina quietly. "Do you not see the person you're starting a relationship with?!"

"Ganondorf may be an evil villain, but he might have unexplored secrets and depths that nobody knows," responded Rosalina. "I just gotta know him better." Palutena is hoping that Rosalina knows what she's getting herself into...

 **Palutena: Got a sneaky feeling that Ganondorf has an ulterior motive up his sleeve...And no, it's not because I think he's not as romantic as he seems. Sure, Ganondorf and Rosalina may not talk to each other that much, but why did he choose this time as the time to tell Rosalina how much he loves her? Rosalina's been living at the mansion for a considerable amount of time!**

Ganondorf walked towards Captain Falcon, who immediately greeted the Demon Lord with a congratulatory hug. Nobody EVER hugs Ganondorf and gets away with it, and Falcon learned that the hard way when the Demon Lord pushed him to the floor with great force.

"Don't you ever hug me again," frowned Ganondorf, folding his arms. Captain Falcon, who might have broken a bone or two, nodded his head and gave a thumbs up.

"If you need any more assistance..." the racer slowly got up, "...I'll be in the fitness center, doing usual athletic things..." He then limped away.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the fitness center, Cloud was doing aerobic exercises, such as jumping rope. When you're as athletic as Cloud, you can jump rope at a very fast pace, and that's exactly what Cloud is doing.

"Sup Cloud?" greeted Pit, accompanied with Kirby, walking towards the swordsman. Cloud did his best to hurry up his jump rope exercise, not wanting to speak to Pit. With every step Pit made towards him, Cloud jump roped even faster, enough to the point of exhaustion. Eventually he reached that point, and collapsed on the floor, losing his breath.

"Ooh wah!" Kirby walked over to Cloud and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. What a genuinely nice person, that Kirby...he's not doing it for show, is he?

"Whatever you want, please make it snappy so I can continue my exercising," stated Cloud. His jump roping was just the beginning.

"Link told me that you possess substantial romantic advice that I can apply to my relationship with Viridi," explained Pit. "I would greatly appreciate your assistance, if you're willing to help out..."

"Why is Kirby here?" The pink puffball continued to wipe Cloud's face - although all the sweat is gone. Maybe he has a forehead fetish, and likes to rub other people's foreheads, since he essentially lacks one.

"Little guy usually follows me around everywhere I go, he's the best buddy a guy could ever ask for!"

 **Cloud: Now why would Link honestly think I have romantic advice, I've never even been on a date before! Tifa nor Aerith (before she got killed by Sepiroth) have asked me out on a date! I would ask Tifa out myself...but things are difficult, and...um...let's just put it that way.**

"Regardless of whatever Link might have told you, I don't have any 'substantial' romantic advice, though I can't help but feel you might be exaggerating," said Cloud. "But if you like, I can give you a tip. Only thing you gotta know is...whatever Viridi tells you to do, you must do at once! So if she wants you to buy the latest perfume, you better buy that perfume unless you want to make her depressed and stuff."

"Really, do I have to do stuff like that?" moaned Pit. He doesn't have the money to buy things like perfume, he already wastes it on needless candy.

"That's what great boyfriends do. Now go get her, champ!"

* * *

Ike and Mario were in Dr. Mario's office, where Mario assumed his doctor persona. Heihachi Mishima was resting on the patient bed, still incapacitated with his eyes closed.

"Can you diagnose whatever's wrong with Heihachi?" asked Ike, all panicky. The swordsman would have never expected Heihachi of all people to be in an unconscious state. Why could it have been at least someone who knows an ounce of English, Heihachi might tell Ike he needs something, and Ike won't know because he hardly knows Japanese! So many problematic issues!

"Unfortunately I can't, I'm-a not a licensed doctor!" replied Dr. Mario, sounding distressed. Ike crinkled his nose at the doctor; why does Mario assume a doctor persona when he's not really that much of a doctor to begin with, since he lacks a license?!

"Hey, Dr. Mario!" Toon Link walked into Dr. Mario's room, holding some medical records. These records come from Doctor Toadley, the doctor who wears a face veil in his profession for reasons unknown. "Can you verify these records for me? Also, what's wrong with Heihachi, he doesn't look that good..."

 **Toon Link: Reason why I came to see Dr. Mario is because these reports from Doctor Toadley seem bogus. He answers everything in questions - *holds doctor report up to camera* "What is the patient's name? Toon Link." "What is the patient's sex? Male." "What is the patient's Social Security number?" Yeah, like I'm gonna say that one out loud...and now that I think of it... *quickly retracts report from camera***

"Heihachi's just-a fine!" assured Dr. Mario, clearly bluffing. "..Isn't that right, Heihachi?"

"Um, yeah, I'm feeling alright, just got my eyes closed," replied Heihachi...except that it wasn't Heihachi. Rather, it was Ike, who's hiding beneath the patient bed, speaking in a heavy voice and moving the kung fu fighter's limbs to convey that he's capacitated. Only time will tell if Toon Link can buy into this.

"Wow Heihachi, I had no idea you're able to speak English!" exclaimed Toon Link. Kid can't be this gullible, Heihachi hasn't spoke a single English word a day in his life, and evidently he doesn't plan on doing so anytime soon.

"Ike has been giving me English lessons, and he has been a great teacher so far!" Ike tried to make Heihachi's hand do a thumbs up, but if he does that, he would have to form that hand signal by using his own hands, and Toon Link can't see the swordsman's hands, otherwise the cover will be blown.

"That's odd, usually Takamaru is the only person taking English lessons from Ike..."

"Ike teaches me during nighttime hours, past midnight, for I learn much better past twelve o'clock!" Hasn't been proven yet, since nobody wouldn't want to be learning at a very late time like that, but it can be possible.

"But Ike is in the bed after twelve o'clock, sometimes he goes to bed even earlier to 're-energize' himself."

"Oh, that's um...that's a ghost you must be referring to! A humanoid ghost that looks exactly like Ike! He sleeps in Ike's bed, keeping it relatively warm until the swordsman is ready to hit the sack!" What was Ike thinking there, nobody wants to sleep in a warm bed - unless it's cold outside.

"See-a kiddo, Heihachi is just-a fine!" assured Dr. Mario, but Toon Link had some suspicions. The young Hylian inched towards Heihachi, until Dr. Mario stopped him in his tracks. "Heihachi doesn't want anyone near-a him, he needs his-a beauty sleep!"

"But he was talking to me a few seconds ago." Nice going, Dr. Mario, now Toon Link will see through the facade. Way to screw things up!

"I was sleeping for five seconds, but now I'm awake!" exclaimed Heihachi...erm, Ike. The kung fu fighter's eyes were not open, will Toon Link see through this? Evidently he did, as he zipped past Dr. Mario and to the patient bed, where he found Ike hiding and controlling Heihachi's arm movements. "Gah, you found me!" the swordsman frowned, sporting his regular voice, after his cover was blown.

"Alright, can somebody _please_ explain to me what's going on?!" asked Toon Link, tired of being duped.

"Long story short, Heihachi was in the gaming room, and he collapsed, and we were figuring out what to do to bring him back to his senses." Toon Link nodded his head as he digest this information. Will he berate Dr. Mario and Ike for not rescuing Heihachi already, or will he help them out?

"I think I know how to wake up Heihachi, it's a product Snake uses," replied Toon Link. So he wants to help them...not a bad choice. "Just follow me!"

 **Ike: Toon Link hopefully knows what he's doing, using stuff from Snake seems very untrustworthy. He owns a lot of dangerous stuff, like grenades, rocket launchers, missiles, and the all-time worst, a Kevin Federline CD. May sound harmless, but when you blast the songs through loudspeakers, it's absolute, endless torture. Pinning John Cena in a wrestling match was the only positive thing in that dude's career...**

* * *

Speaking of Snake, the former FOXHOUND agent (must that agency name always be capitalized?) is helping Little Mac, Fox, and Falco curb Doc Louis' abnormal and inhumane obsession with chocolate. The four were hiding in the cafe, in a spot where they cannot be seen by human eyes, and they had a trap laid out. A chocolate bar is lying in the center of the cafe, and above it was a cage that is meant to entrap Doc.

"When that fatso Doc Louis grabs the chocolate bar - which is actually a granola bar disguised in a chocolate bar wrapper - Fox will lower the cage and trap him inside," explained Snake, the master of sneaky tactics. He mapped this potential trap out vigorously, using individuals like Toad and Villager as "test dummies" in the basement. Thank goodness the tests were prototypes; getting Toad and Villager out of the cage was a real struggle. "Then we'll let him out, but only if he signs this document, vowing to eat chocolate only once a day!" Snake held up a document that had a lot of words and whatnot, despite the terms being slightly minimal.

"What if Doc Louis dejects the document, and goes full psycho?" asked Falco. There always has to be a solid backup plan, for situations like Doc Louis going ham.

"Good question - you'll serve as the guy that gets beat up by Doc!"

Falco clearly didn't agree with his role, as he folded his arms in disgust. Hey, any role is better than having no role at all.

It was now time for the men to initiate their trap, as a person entered the cafe. All they heard was footsteps, since they are unable to see who this person is from where they are hiding. Footsteps were heard, and when the sound of a granola bar being unwrapped was heard...Fox lowered the cage.

"Think we got him!" the fox exclaimed as he arose from the hiding spot - and found Greninja stuck in the cage, eating the granola bar in peace. No wonder it was so quiet in the cafe, it was only Greninja. Ninjas make little to no sound at all, it's a very important protocol especially when performing sneak attacks on unsuspecting people.

After the first attempt failed miserably, the four had to try out their trap for a second time. Footsteps were heard in the cafe, and these footsteps were louder than the ones made by Greninja. Then a loud yawn.

"That has to be Doc Louis, only he yawns loudly like that!" exclaimed Little Mac. You know you spend too much time with your boxing trainer when you're able to distinguish how loud his yawns are.

 **Fox: Little Mac knows how loudly Doc Louis can yawn. If that's not creepy, then I don't know what is.**

More footsteps, and the sound of a candy bar wrapper unraveling. Fox lowered the cage, and looked up to see if he nabbed Doc Louis. Instead, he got Shulk, who's really feeling it thanks to the granola bar.

"Thanks for the lovely granola bar, Fox!" thanked Shulk, who saw the Fox frowning in failure. Good thing Snake has more granola bars at his disposal...

The trap was set up again for the third time. It has to work for the four now - three strikes, and they're out!

"Well, I'd be, a conspicuous chocolate bar lying in the cafe, just dying for someone to eat it!" uttered a familiar voice. "Today must be my lucky day!" Judging by the voice, it sounds an awful lot like...

"...Doc Louis!" exclaimed Falco. Their plan can't possibly fail now. "He just needs to pick up that granola bar and..."

"Hey guys!" Isabelle greeted the men from behind, particularly Fox and Falco. They all jumped up and screamed, albeit softly, so they wouldn't blow their cover. Think of it as screaming, but in a library.

"Oh hi Isabelle, surprised to see you here, what brings you here?" asked Fox, chuckling nervously. How did Isabelle manage to find him and the others?

"Just wanted to ask you and Falco a question...about the glucose monitoring system you bought for me last week. Why did you buy it in the first place?"

"Let's just say that...we wanted to own up to you for trying to invade your privacy and stuff," explained Falco. The Star Fox pilots certainly learned their lesson after that episode. "Our persistence to learn about your secrets kinda snowballed from there, and we eventually learned about your diabetes. So, to own up to our mistakes, we bought you the glucose monitoring system, under the suggestion of Ryu. Only reason we went bonkers is that we used the money from Star Records to buy the device, and since we're stuck on how to spend the money, it's all for naught..."

"You guys didn't have to buy that glucose thingy, I wouldn't really needed it anyways. And as for the money...why not contribute it to Luigi's wedding?"

 **Isabelle: When I was going over the wedding budget with Mario and Luigi, Luigi apparently wanted a budget of around $30 to $35 million, to "compensate the guests and venue"...like I told him before, he is NOT Prince William! Granted he may or may not become the prince of Sarasaland when he marries Daisy, but as of right now, he's just a regular bum, and nowhere close to a prince!**

(Geno, who was eavesdropping on Isabelle's talking head segment, quickly scurries away unseen)

"Yeah, that seems like a really good idea, haven't really thought of that," nodded Fox. Luigi's wedding could really use some financial backing - although $30 to $35 million is COMPLETELY out of the question.

"That's good and all, but...have you men forgotten about why we're here?!" questioned Snake. Little Mac looked up from the hiding spot, and frowned when he saw that Doc Louis and the granola bar was nowhere to be found.

"Dang it, we missed our golden opportunity!" Mac would snap his fingers in bitter disgust, but you can't do that wearing boxing gloves. Why does he insist on wearing them anyways?

"Nice going Isabelle, you ruined our plan...how will we ever curb Doc Louis' chocolate obsession now?"

"Don't you have any ayurverdic herbs that might regulate his obsession?" inquired Isabelle, garnering a glare from Snake. The former spy thought he hid the herbs from everyone, but evidently he didn't do such a great job at doing so.

"I might have some left in my cabinet..." Snake stroked his chin, musing over whether or not these ayurverdic herbs - mainly used for stopping addictions, especially smoking addictions - should be used. "We might as well use them, it's not like we have no other choice..."

* * *

Sonic, Olimar, and Samus were in the computer room, where Mega Man was inspecting the package containing the alien sent from Hocotate Freight.

"Dude, you've been checking out the package for who knows how long, when are you gonna open it?!" frowned an impatient Sonic. He's dying to keep the alien as a pet, regardless of its type of species and overall safety.

"I'm waiting to see if it will unleash out of the package and attack us," explained Mega Man. The robot has been using the same old excuse a gazillion times already.

 **Samus: Personally, I think Mega Man is buying himself some time so he can send that alien to Dr. Light. That smart-aleck beardo is gonna "upgrade" the alien, just like he did with that extraterrestrial robot Duo, and eventually it will be a pawn of Dr. Light - just like every freaking Robot Master that man has in his disposal to take up an incredible amount of his spare time.**

 **Sonic: Got something to let off of my chest...Dr. Light is the biggest loner in human history! What grown man wants to spend his entire day with some girly robot doing his chores for him? Where the heck is that dude's girlfriend, and why hasn't she shown up yet?!**

"Now should be the perfect time to open up the package, nothing has happened yet," announced Mega Man, much to the relief of Sonic, Olimar, and Samus. The robot cut the package open with the use of Metal Blade, and out popped the alien...

...the alien by the name of Deoxys. The DNA Pokemon rose up, and everyone feared for the worst...everyone except for Sonic, who was unusually giddy in this situation.

"Aw yeah, Deoxys would make for a great pet!" the hedgehog rubbed his hands together. Clearly he is not aware of what the DNA Pokemon is capable of.

"This Pokemon wrecked havoc in the Hoenn region, and you want to keep him as a PET?!" questioned Olimar, in utter disbelief.

"Ugh, what is it with you people basing things off of movies? Deoxys is a changed Pokemon; it has learned from its mistakes, and is willing to correct the wrongs it has previously made! And besides, there are many different Deoxys, and the one in Hoenn was a violent one. Maybe this Deoxys is relatively peaceful!"

Deoxys escaped via Charge Beam, using the electric-type move on a wall, leaving behind a gaping hole and going through said hole. The brawlers better watch out for Deoxys!

"See what I mean?" Sonic said to the three, who were still peeved off at his suggestion of keeping Deoxys as a pet. "If it was a truly violent Pokemon, it would have blown up the mansion in a snap!"

"This is not good, a legendary Pokemon other than Mewtwo is in the mansion, and could be wrecking havoc!" panicked Mega Man. Like most legendary and pseudo-legendary Pokemon, Deoxys has a whopping base stat of 600, and a base stat like that easily makes you a deadly Pokemon. "If Master Hand finds out..."

"Find out about what?" said a majestic voice from behind. That voice obviously belonged to Master Hand, who scared the crap out of Mega Man and the others.

"We didn't want you to...find out about this giant hole in the computer room!" replied Olimar, referring to the hole in the room and downplaying Deoxys' presence.

"Oh well, nothing like a hard job for Mr. Game & Watch to do...anyways, I just returned from my visit to Crazy Hand's residence on early notice, he has become too insane for me to stay any longer."

 **Master Hand: Crazy Hand's house...was a jumbled mess. The guest room was cluttered, the wallpaper was tearing off the walls, and worst of all, there was a washing machine and a dryer in the stinking kitchen! Why does Crazy Hand even need that for?!**

"So Sonic, are you ready for some more hand massaging?" Master Hand asked the hedgehog. Only two more weeks until Sonic fulfills his duties.

"I would massage your hand, but um..." Sonic struggled to come up with an excuse. "I gotta help Olimar...return this package to Hocotate Freight!"

"Why would you want to return an empty package?" Master Hand saw that the box was open. Samus, Olimar, and Mega Man all facepalmed at Sonic's lousy excuse, which may eventually lead to even more questions.

"Hocotate Freight may be running out of boxes, and so we have to return them in order to counter a possible lack of boxes for delivering!" Way to turn a negative excuse into a positive one, Sonic. Now if only he can keep it up...

"I don't mind if I ask, but what was in the box anyway?"

"...A digital microwave!" Samus blurted out before Sonic could say anything. "We're planning on saving it for Luigi's wedding as a wedding gift, isn't that right boys?" The three dudes nodded their heads nervously.

"Hocotate Freight delivers appliances such as digital microwaves? Hmm...I should order an appliance right away!"

* * *

 **Rosalina: Ganondorf told me to meet him in the gaming room, and honestly I feeling quite nervous...after all, Ganondorf is still technically evil, unless he might be turning over a new leaf...  
Luma: Don't worry mama, if Ganondorf lays a single finger on you, I'll kick his sorry butt!  
Rosalina: Now, now, I don't believe we have a designated hospital for Lumas like yourself...no offense intended.**

Rosalina arrived at the gaming room, and found Ganondorf sitting coolly on the couch, with his arm resting on said couch to project himself as a cool person, when in reality he's far from cool...just kidding.

"You finally made it," said the Demon Lord as Rosalina took a seat next to him. He was trying his best to maintain his composure. "So are you looking forward to having a great time?"

"I'm always looking forward to that," replied Rosalina. What would soon follow afterwards would be some small talk. It hasn't even been five minutes yet, and it seems like this get-together is primed for awkwardness. This is what happens when you don't converse with one another that often.

Elsewhere in the gaming room, K.K. Slider was playing his guitar, and Jigglypuff provided vocal accompaniment, per usual. Also present in the room were Pit and Viridi, who were hanging out just like what many lovebirds do. Viridi was all smiles, glad that she can continue her relationship with Pit. The angel is still relearning this whole relationship thing; it's a gradual process that he'll eventually get the hang of.

"Is there anything I can get or do for you?" he asked Viridi, following back on Cloud's minimal advice.

"You still owe me a song!" replied Viridi. Pit gulped - his singing prowess is not the best, but it's worth a shot. What can possibly go wrong?

"'Cause all of me, loves all of you, loves your curves and all your edges, all your perfect imperfections...'" Pit sang this famous John Legend song, albeit scratchy and totally out-of-tune - bad enough to garner the attention of everyone in the gaming room. K.K. Slider and Jigglypuff both stopped performing. "So how did I do? Great singing, huh?" Thank goodness _American Idol_ is over, because if he ever auditioned, he would be an absolute flop.

"What in the world..." K.K. shook his head at Pit. His ears are still trying to digest the atrocity they just heard.

"Wow Pit, you sound like a sad drunk billy goat crying for his mother to come back," remarked Gil, who was playing disc hockey with Young Link.

"Can you please put us out of our misery and stop singing?" implored Young Link. His ears couldn't bear to hear any more of Pit's singing.

"Don't listen to them Pitty, they're just jealous!" assured Viridi. Sometimes love can make you delusional, such as was the case with Viridi just now.

Hunched from the doorway was Captain Falcon (watching Ganondorf with Rosalina) and Cloud (Pit with Viridi), observing the two individuals they were observing and making sure they don't screw things up.

 **Captain Falcon: Ganondorf is getting nowhere with Rosalina! Small talk isn't going to keep his relationship going!  
** **Cloud: And Pit looks uncomfortable with Viridi. Don't think he's cut out yet for love, still has much to learn...  
** **Captain Falcon: Why did Ganondorf consult me of all people, I can't snag a single lady in my stinking life!  
** **Cloud: You think that's bad, Aerith could have asked me out on a date if it wasn't for that scumbag Sephiroth killing her.  
** **Captain Falcon: By the time I finally go on a date, I'll be an old, wrinkly man in hospice care!  
** **Cloud: Why am I even talking with you...?**

"Cloud, Falcon, are you two available?" Tails ran up to the two, clearly in a hurry. His face was sweaty, like he was running a marathon and he was restricted from using his tails for flight, for that would be cheating. "A legendary Pokemon has been released in the Smash Mansion, and he's causing a whole lot of trouble!"

"That's Mewtwo's problem, not ours," replied Cloud, not wanting to get himself involve in Deoxys' matters. "He's a legendary Pokemon too, he can reason with Deoxys and expel him from the mansion."

"Mewtwo can't do it all by himself! And besides, Zelda, Peach, and Lucina are in grave danger! Deoxys has them in his possession!"

"In that case, we must save them from the clutch of that wretched Pokemon!" proclaimed Captain Falcon. When any woman is in dire trouble, the racer is always on the move. Shows you how much he cares about women, even though women don't care for him. "Let's go!" He grabbed Cloud's and Tails' hands, and ran off to action.

"The things I have to do around here..." Cloud groaned as he was taken to wherever Deoxys was against his will. His times of relaxing at the mansion, which he values considerably, are very, very limited.

* * *

Dr. Mario, Ike, and Toon Link arrived at Snake's room. Ike threw Heihachi on Snake's bed as Toon rummaged through the former spy's cabinet for the product that can bring Heihachi back to his senses.

"Ever heard of anything about valuing one's privacy?" asked Bayonetta, Snake's apparent roommate. The Umbra Witch was lying seductively on her bed, reading a beauty magazine. She acts and poses seductively doing the littlest things!

"Heihachi is unconscious, and we need something to regain his consciousness!" responded Toon Link. Eventually he found what he was looking for - ayurverdic herbs. He stuffed some in his pocket, and the men ran off...

"Your lover Peach is in trouble, she's being held hostage by a Pokemon by the name of Deoxys," Bayonetta told Dr. Mario, stopping the men in their tracks. "I would say she's in dire need of your help..."

 **Bayonetta: I would go to Deoxys and save Mario's precious Peach, but I feel that the plumber can get the job done. He's been in this situation many times before, it's almost clockwork for him...**

"Peach is-a in trouble?!" panicked Dr. Mario. He ripped off his doctor get-up, revealing his plumber attire (he seriously wears that underneath his lab coat?!), and putting on his classic plumber's hat. "You boys stay here and get Heihachi back to his senses, I'll go rescue my woman!"

"Heard ya loud and clear!" Ike gave Mario a thumbs up as the plumber went to go save his woman. A few moments later, the group of Fox, Falco, Little Mac, Snake, and Isabelle arrived, and saw Toon Link and Ike stuffing ayurverdic herbs down Heihachi's throat. Seems almost as if they're purposely attempting to choke the kung fu fighter.

"You're doing it wrong," Snake shook his head, kneeling down at Heihachi's side and grabbing a few herbs. "You're supposed to make Heihachi chew by moving his mouth to make a chewing motion. Whatever the heck you were doing is not effective by any means!"

"A B-grade medic is what you're making yourself out to be?" Bayonetta smirked, resting the palm of her hand on the bottom of her chin, as she watched Snake do her thing. Needless to say, the old geezer (no offense) was agitated by the Umbra Witch's comments.

"Shut yer trap, lady..." grumbled Snake. He grabbed a few ayurverdic herbs, and gave them to Fox and company. "Make sure Doc eats these, his chocolate addiction has to be curbed immediately."

"Will do!" Fox nodded his head as he and the group departed. But where could Doc Louis be?

* * *

Link had just finished up the last of the wedding invitations when there was a knock at the door. He opened it, and saw Doc Louis, exasperated.

"Let me guess, somebody stole your chocolate?" assumed Link. Usually someone has to pay (cash, credit, or just for accepting consequences) when Doc's chocolate goes missing.

"Your girl is held under hostage by Deoxys!" replied the boxing trainer. Link's eyes lit up in shock and fear. "She's in the ballroom, where Deoxys is trying to mess with the wedding cake!"

* * *

"Whaddaya mean, you no longer sell kitchen appliances?!" Master Hand boomed into the phone, held by Dark Pit. Given the hand's majestic voice, whoever is on the receiver will most likely have busted eardrums.

"Last time we sold appliances, we got sued by a person who dared to put his long hair into cake batter inside a mixer," replied the person on the phone, a representative from Hocotate Freight. "So until further notice..."

"Hang up the phone!" commanded Master Hand, and Dark Pit did just that. Hocotate Freight doesn't sell appliances anymore? What is this sorcery?!

"Master Hand, we got some big trouble!" Donkey Kong confronted the giant hand, in a hurry just like Doc Louis. "Deoxys is in the mansion as I speak!"

"Pfft, a Pokemon like Deoxys can't be that big of a deal," scoffed Dark Pit. "...can it?"

* * *

 **Ness: So here we are in the ballroom, Deoxys has Peach, Zelda, and Lucina in its grasp, and refuses to release them until it tastes the wedding cake Marth is supposed to be guarding. And if it doesn't get its wish, it'll threaten to kill off the three ladies and pretty much anyone else it can use as hostages. Mewtwo is reasoning with Deoxys, and Pikachu and Pichu are keeping the Pokemon at bay in the event he does something stupid, which can happen at any minute...**

Master Hand, Dark Pit, and Donkey Kong arrived at the ballroom, where many brawlers, including Marth, Sonic, Olimar, Samus, Mega Man, Captain Falcon, Cloud, Tails, Proto Man, Pikachu, Pichu, Mewtwo, Ness, Lucas, and many others, were present.

"What in the name of Masahiro Sakurai is going on here?!" boomed Master Hand, his frustration never more apparent than it is now - so apparent that he had to use the Super Smash Bros' creator's name.

"Apparently Deoxys wants to eat the cake," Mewtwo explained to the giant hand. The DNA Pokemon muttered some unintelligible alien language that Mewtwo is able to decipher. "It claims it detected the pastry when it first arrived in the mansion via package. Only way it will release the girls is if it's allowed to consume the cake..."

"Who is that thing trying to kid, it doesn't even have a mouth!" But it can consume all kinds of potions and supplements if it has to.

Soon Mario arrived, and saw his woman Peach in Deoxys' grasp, trying to pry her way out. But nothing she did was able to do anything.

"I'm coming to save-a you, Peach!" Mario proclaimed, running past everyone and to Deoxys...only to get repelled by Psychic and thrust into a wall, being slammed against it hard.

"Mario, are you okay?!" shrieked Peach. Mario, though he was down, slowly gave a thumbs up. Link entered the ballroom, with Doc Louis tagging along. He saw Deoxys with his woman, and unsheathed his sword.

"Let her go this instant!" the Hylian came running towards the DNA Pokemon, only to suffer the same fate as Mario - thrust against a wall.

"Not my dear Link!" fretted Zelda, seeing her man dazed and confused from the impact. Then Chrom entered the ballroom, and saw Lucina...you probably know what's gonna happen, do you?

"Gaaaaaah!" the prince screamed as he...well, since Deoxys knew what Chrom was gonna do, he sent the prince flying to the wall. So predictable...

"Oh, father..." Lucina facepalmed and shook her head at Chrom.

 **Sonic: And everyone feared that Deoxys would be violent...you call throwing people against a wall violent? I used to do it to Toad all the time, until he got severe bruises over his body and had to be taken to the emergency room. What's worse than that is that I got punished for "harming" Toad. Like it's supposed to be my fault the dude's fragile!**

"Just give it up Deoxys, you'll never have the cake!" Marth said defiantly. (Luigi would be helping out the Hero-King, but apparently he's afraid of Deoxys.) Seeing this response as an incentive to ante up the stakes, Deoxys warped away to capture more hostages, and came back with the new hostages in his tentacle arms - Rosalina, Viridi...and K.K. Slider? Must have grabbed him by mistake instead of Jigglypuff.

"This is not groovy, not groovy at all!" the dog panicked, not only being held hostage by Deoxys, but being also the only male captured. "But I will admit, the view from up here is outtasight!"

"Where is Pit?" panicked Viridi, unable to spend more than a single minute without Pit (on most occasions). "Release us at once, you vermin!"

"Now Viridi, you don't want to call Deoxys names, he might kill us in cold blood..." advised Rosalina. Deoxys ascended higher, high to the ceiling - falling from here would result in instant death.

"Mario and Link are down for the count, and Deoxys is at an altitude where he cannot be reached by any means..." Master Hand analyzed the situation. "Who is going to come here and save the day?"

"Anata no basho o shitte iru, anata wa, pokemon no hisan!"

In came a rejuvenated Heihachi Mishima, who came running towards Deoxys. Suddenly the unimaginable happened - the kung fu fighter rose up to Deoxys' level, and punched in square in the face. Snake, Toon Link, and Ike were standing by the ballroom doorway when this transpired.

 **Snake: Funny thing about ayurverdic herbs...the herbs that I possess are not normal herbs. In addition to stopping addictions, the herbs can also bring back consciousness, and even grant you the ability to jump at high altitudes! Unfortunately I can't get such perks, due to accelerated age...I seriously hate my life.**

The DNA Pokemon came crashing towards the floor, releasing the ladies...and K.K. Slider, from his grasp. Who will save them?

"I'm on it!" Donkey Kong rushed to action, grabbing Peach, Zelda, and Lucina one by one. Viridi and K.K. Slider were still falling...until Pit flew right by and grabbed the two.

"Duty always calls!" the angel remarked. Something in his mind told him that his love was taken to the ballroom, and that's when he sprung to action.

"My hero!" Viridi gave Pit a kiss on the cheek, making him blush. K.K. would commend the angel's heroic efforts with a salute.

But what about Rosalina? She was still falling, screaming in horror as she was nearing the hardwood floor...until she landed in the arms of a certain demon lord by the name of...

"...Ganondorf," Rosalina looked at the Gerudo in slight disbelief. Ganondorf had followed Pit to the ballroom. "You saved me..."

 **Captain Falcon: Why couldn't I save Rosalina, why did it have to be Ganondorf?! Life is so unfair...  
Cloud: *folds his arms* Keep on crying...**

"Just doing my job," Ganondorf smiled as he gently placed Rosalina on the ground. She was then reunited with Luma, who popped out of nowhere and embraced Rosalina, who smiled as she petted her. Ganondorf looked towards Deoxys lying on the floor a few inches away from the cake. "Pokemon such as Deoxys certainly don't belong here..."

"Deoxys is defeated, this calls for a victory snack!" Doc Louis dug into his pocket, and pulled out a chocolate bar. But before he could pull off the wrapper and eat it...

"Doc Louis, just the guy we needed to see!" Fox rushed inside the ballroom, accompanied with Falco, Little Mac, and Isabelle. He held out an ayurverdic herb to the boxing trainer, and Doc looked at the herb all funny. "Eat this, trust me it tastes just like chocolate!"

"I see what you're trying to do, you're trying to kill off my love for chocolate! Well I'll tell you something..."

"Pichu!" Pichu squealed, indicating that something bad was transpiring.

"Deoxys is nearing the cake!" Lucas announced, as the DNA Pokemon made its way towards the wedding cake, inch my inch. Doc Louis looked at his chocolate bar, then at Deoxys, then at his chocolate bar, then at Deoxys, then at his chocolate bar...when is he gonna make a decision already?!

"Hey Deoxys, stop right there!" he told the DNA Pokemon; Deoxys did as it was told as it looked up at Doc Louis, who was talking towards it. "I know what you want, you want some sweets to ease your aching loneliness, is that correct?" Deoxys nodded its head. "Why not have my chocolate bar, it's just as sweet as that cake!"

Doc offered the chocolate bar to Deoxys, and the DNA Pokemon accepted it and ate it; how it was able to remains to be seen. After consuming the entire bar, Deoxys seemed to look...rather happy. Rarely does it feel that way.

"Told y'all chocolate can solve problems," Doc Louis glanced at Fox and company. Deoxys rose up from the floor, fully capacitated and well, and muttered some alien language for Mewtwo to translate.

"Deoxys want to say it's sorry for all the trouble it caused, and wants to extend thanks to Doc Louis for giving it the gift of chocolate," deciphered the Psychic Pokemon. "It also wants Olimar to write a letter to Hocotate Freight, demanding that they stop capturing aliens and sending them to employees. That is it's only wish."

 **Olimar: The President of Hocotate Freight is going to be hearing a lot from me in the letter...not only does he mistreat employees like myself, he also mistreats aliens by capturing them against his will! And he wonders why the company's appliance vector went out of business...though it wasn't necessarily the company's fault to begin with.**

Deoxys flew up out of the mansion, rising towards the ceiling and breaking through it, leaving behind a hole.

"Kare ga zokushite iru basho deokishisu ga kūkan ni tomaru koto o negatte imasu," Heihachi remarked as the brawlers watched the DNA Pokemon make its ascent back into space.

"He would have made for a really great pet..." Sonic sighed as he shook his head, thinking of what could have been. Everyone rolled their eyes at the hedgehog for his screwed up rationale.

* * *

At the fitness center, Mario, Link and Chrom - accompanied by Peach, Zelda, and Lucina, respectively - were lying in beds, recuperating from the injuries they sustained from Deoxys. The injuries were slightly minor, but each man had to be tended to by the Wii Fit Trainer, their de facto nurse.

"I'll be back with some painkillers!" the trainer told her patients as she departed. Link laid against his pillow, , relaxing after a hard day's work.

"So did you finish all the wedding invitations?" Zelda asked the Hylian.

"Sure did, took a lot shorter than I expected," replied Link. Luigi's wedding has a grand total of over 100 guests, save for the brawlers, and Link was able to finish the invitations without breaking a sweat.

"I'm glad that the wedding cake hasn't been tampered by Deoxys. It was also sweet of you to come in and save me, although your attempt was fruitless."

"My attempt to save-a Peach was better, at least I got-a closer to Deoxys!" bragged Mario, even though he had nothing to brag about.

"Silly Mario, just because you got closer to Deoxys doesn't mean anything, what matters is that you were heroic when you needed to!" smiled Peach. Must be grateful to have an awesome dude like Mario as your boyfriend.

"Speaking of heroics, did anyone see Ganondorf save Rosalina's life back there?" asked Chrom. "What was that all about?"

"Not sure if any you are aware about this, but Ganondorf and Rosalina are kinda...an item," replied Lucina, saying the last part nervously and wearily. Everyone except for Lucina exchanged weird glances with one another, as Lucina bit her lip.

 **Peach: Never would I imagine Ganondorf to be in love...and with Rosalina, of all people...opposites attract, am I right?**

While she was searching for painkillers in the fitness center, she saw Ganondorf and Rosalina, quietly discussing with one another. She stayed behind, eavesdropping on the discussion.

"Are you sure you want to keep the relationship going?" asked Ganondorf. Rosalina held her head down, unsure of what to say to the Demon Lord. Her words can make or break Ganondorf's chances at love.

"As of right now...I'm not really sure, especially considering what the others may think of us," Rosalina replied. "But someday down the road, we can reunite and pick right up from where we left off...though where we left off is quite small."

"I'm perfectly fine with that, what matters the most is that you're content. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around..."

"Yeah, same here..." And with that, Ganondorf and Rosalina both went their separate ways. Wii Fit Trainer simply shook her head.

"Seems like everyone is falling in love around here..." she muttered under her breath as she continued her search. Who knows, Wii Fit Trainer, maybe you might fall in love one day.


	23. Episode 23: Arachnophobia

**Episode 23: Arachnophobia**

As a strong safety protocol, one must always keep the front door locked and shut at all times - whether you're at home, or shopping at the mall with your boo (if you even have one, that is). This is to prevent intruders from entering your beloved household and raiding your home of precious belongings, like your television set, your wardrobe, and even your pet(s).

One particular brawler who undervalues the use of front doors is Sonic. He thinks that having the door closed creates unwanted problems - what if someone is knocking on the door, and nobody is able to answer it? The person knocking would eventually lose any patience they have building up, and leave the premises for good. For this reason and more, Sonic has decided to remove the front door of the Smash Mansion - without consent from anyone.

"Put this in the garage, will ya?" Sonic handed Lloyd Irving the front door after taking it off the hinges. If Master Hand sees what the hedgehog is doing, Sonic may never hear the end of the giant hand's bickering...

"But we don't even have a garage!" Lloyd pointed out. The reasoning behind Master Hand not getting a garage is that it will "devalue" the use of the driveway, where Jacky's, Sonic's, and Link's vehicles are parked at.

"Oh, there is one, you just gotta...believe," Sonic said doing some hand motion to create an imaginary rainbow, and Lloyd bought it, as indicated by his mindless nodding. The naive swordsman walked off to put away the front door in the imaginary garage, wherever it may be.

 **Sonic: Lloyd can be so easy to manipulate sometimes...well, all the time. It's like taking candy from a baby - except the baby lets you take the candy like it's nothing.**

"Sonic what-a are you doing man?!" Mario approached the hedgehog, furious as ever. "You're taking the front-a door down!"

"I'm just eliminating all of your problems!" defended Sonic. A giant huntsman spider unsuspectingly crawled inside the through the front door entrance, and scurried off - yeah, Sonic is really eliminating a lot of problems with his rationale. "With the front door taken down, visitors and delivery boys alike can enter the mansion at free will, and not have to wait for someone to answer the door! As for us brawlers, we can continue our activities without interruptions like opening the front door!"

"Has Master Hand approved of this?" Mario folded his arms, dismayed by Sonic's intentions.

"Yeah he was, he was all like, 'Oh yeah, Sonic, removing the front door sounds like a wicked awesome idea, this is why you're the smartest person in this household, eons smarter than Samus will ever be'!" Smartest person in the household? More like the most intolerable person, and aside from Wario and Lloyd, there's not that much competition.

"I'm gonna go ask Master Hand about this!" Mario stormed off to Master Hand's room to have a word with the Smash Universe creator. Sonic sped off, ready to perform more dastardly deeds.

* * *

"LINK COME HERE QUICK A SPIDER IS IN THE LIVING ROOM!"

Zelda yelled this as loud as she could, her voice resonating throughout the entire mansion. Remember the giant huntsman spider that sneakily made its way inside the mansion through where the front door was? It's now in the living room terrorizing Zelda and Peach, who were doing each other's hair in peace. Gotta get that hair ready for the wedding!

"What's up?" Link arrived in the living room, and saw the giant huntsman spider, near the sofa. Zelda and Peach were huddled together at a corner. "Oh cool, a giant huntsman spider." Link said this calmly, not seeing what the all the hullabaloo was about.

"Link, you must kill that spider immediately, it's so frightening to look at!" Peach told the Hylian. Like most people in these situations, she was hyperventilating, breathing in and out like her life was in danger.

 **Peach: Spiders are so darn creepy, with their long legs, and their eight eyes, and just the way they crawl, it's just so...  
** **Young Link: *holds up fake spider in front of Peach, causing her to shriek and smack Young Link in the face by accident*  
** **Peach: Oh I'm so sorry, Young Link, are you okay?  
** **Young Link: Eh, I've taken worse shots to the face...from Epona, at least. I'd rather not get into detail.**

"Why not spare the spider's life, and release it from the mansion?" suggested Link, really wanting to continue his drab, boring day. "Then we won't have to go through all the trouble of finding methods to kill it..."

"Release the spider?!" panicked Peach. Clearly she is going against Link's idea, and would have been more supportive of it had he mentioned words like "kill", "destroy", or "murder", instead of or in addition to release. "That spider might have babies, and it can bring in her young to attack us!"

"Now Peach, don't make this such a big deal," Zelda consoled Peach, sitting her down in a chair. The Mushroom Kingdom princess had to inspect the chair first, to ensure there weren't any baby spiders crawling on it. Baby spiders love to live in small cracks of hardwood furniture, and that is an unproven fact. "Link will eradicate the spider, isn't that right Link?"

"I do believe I got some stuff to take care of..." Link inched away, looking behind himself for some adequate running room.

"RIGHT, Link?" Zelda said again, this time raising her voice. When your girlfriend raises her voice, you oughta do what she demands if you want to suffer the consequences.

"I won't let you down!" This shouldn't be a problem for Link, he has faced far more tougher challenges than slaying large spiders.

* * *

"Nothing like a great cool-down period to ease the stress of a daily workout!" exclaimed Ryu, sounding more like a televised fitness guru with each waking day. Ryu was walking through the hallways, cooling off from yet another intense workout that involved sit-ups, squats, jumping jacks, weight lifting, and even planking, which he tried out for the first time. You wouldn't believe how dismayed he was when he saw no muscle growth in his upper body. The kung fu fighter just so happened to walk past the Mario Bros' room, when he overheard Luigi sobbing like a baby. Not that much of a surprise, since Luigi can sometimes act like a baby. No offense.

"Isabelle is-a right, I am-a but a regular bum..." the plumber sobbed his eyes out. Of all the things to be crying over...

 **Geno: Just told Luigi about Isabelle's comments...he had to know sooner or later. Best to get all of his wimpy emotions out before the wedding.**

"Crying a week before your wedding?" Ryu barged into the room, walked up to Luigi, and slapped him silly, effectively ending his sobbing. "How shameful of you! Grown men don't cry over a wedding, they should save that crying for the birth of their newborn child! Be a man for once!"

"But I'm-a just a regular bum..." admitted Luigi. Is he seriously going to let Isabelle's comments get the best of him?

"A regular bum you are not! You're a man, a mighty man, one of the greatest men to have ever lived! So what if you're a scaredy cat, and so what if you always take a backseat to your older twin brother? You're still the man, and I will bring out every manly trait from you today, starting NOW!"

"Where are you-a taking me?" Luigi questioned as Ryu grabbed the plumber's arm and ran out of the room. They would soon arrive outside, in the front lawn. Yes, today Luigi will bring out his masculine qualities in the front lawn of the mansion. So manly...

"Drop down and give me twenty, and don't stop until I tell you to!" ordered Ryu, acting like a drill instructor. He has the looks and the swagger, so it all works out perfectly. Luigi did as he was told, dropping to the ground and vigorously performing push-up after push-up. Sweat rolled down the plumber's face as he neared the point of exhaustion.

"I think...I passed...twenty push-ups..." stated Luigi, still giving it his all despite passing the limit.

"You fool, I told you to do just twenty push-ups, and yet you broke the limit! How can you call yourself a man now if you can't follow simple instructions?!"

"You said-a to not stop until you told-a me to!" Aside from physical workouts, Luigi is acting more manly now, growing angrier by the minute.

"Exactly, and I told you specifically to do twenty! I would have told you to stop before you reached the twenty mark, but I didn't, and you went passed the limit I imposed on you! As your punishment, you must run laps throughout the mansion, without taking a water break or a breather! Can you handle that?"

"And you'll-a tell me to stop if I have-a to, right?"

"Indeed, I shall! Now go inside the mansion, and run like your life depends on it!"

* * *

 **Pit: Viridi and I are getting along quite well, a lot better than I expected. We discuss things such as favorite things, current events, and all that good stuff. It's getting to the point where we're almost inseparable!**

Pit and Viridi were in the gaming room, playing a board game, when Viridi was approached by Tails. The fox is serving as the ring bearer of the wedding, likely due to his young age, and he has a question to ask Viridi regarding her role in the wedding.

"Are you nervous about being the flower girl?" asked Tails. The duties of the flower girl aren't that drastic - you just walk down the aisle scattering flowers. Worst case scenario is that you trip and fall, and the wedding guests will have a recollection of you tripping at a wedding in their memory banks.

"What's there to be nervous about, it's the easiest job in the world!" Viridi replied confidently. "I was literally born to be a flower girl!"

"So you're not really a goddess of nature?" inquired Pit, somehow getting the titles "goddess of nature" and "flower girl" mixed up. One may be wondering how this was even possible.

"Silly buns, I am a goddess of nature, but I'm also a flower girl as well - at Luigi's wedding, that is! I've always wanted to perform the flower girl duties!"

"In that case...how about I become the first ever flower _boy?_ It can work, we'll walk side by side and scatter flowers all over the place!"

"Actually Pit, Mario and Luigi have already flexed Villager to serve as the flower boy," stated Tails. Reason behind Villager being the flower boy was that he's relatively small, and will compensate for Viridi's height. Pit, being much taller than Viridi, would make him and Viridi walking down the aisle look...slightly weird. "But if you want, you can be an assistant to King Dedede, who is the wedding cameraman..."

"Bump that, I don't wanna be some lousy photographer! Why not make me an assistant flower boy?" Hoo boy, Pit is getting desperate now...

"No such thing exists ever...one flower boy is enough, no need for two!"

 **Tails: Why couldn't Villager and I switch roles? Do you realize how nerve-wracking it would be for me to walk down the aisle, carrying the ring in my hands? What if, I drop the ring, and it falls in some hole and nobody can retrieve it? Everybody would absolutely hate me...except for Bowser, he'd ridicule me for the rest of my miserable life and discuss the incident on his social media pages, such as Facebook and Tumblr...isn't he a bit too old to be even using Tumblr?**

"Fine then, how about I be the kid that picks up the flowers after the wedding commences?" suggested Pit. This suggestion oozes of bitter desperation; picking up flowers is the janitor's job, given a janitor is present at a wedding.

"Sorry Pit but all the roles are filled up," apologized Tails, angering Pit. "You'll just have to be a normal guest at the wedding. But you know, we all can't have nice things..."

And with that remark, Tails departed, and Pit was still dying to participate in some capacity at the wedding - just as long as he gets to spend time with his girl.

"Stay right here Viridi, gotta go take care of some business!" Pit told his girlfriend as he got up and left the gaming room. What business does he supposedly have to take care of? And whatever happened to him and Viridi being "inseparable"?

"Hurry back soon!" Viridi called after Pit, wanting to finish the board game (which Pit is losing miserably at, in case you may have been wondering).

* * *

Back to Link, who is killing the giant huntsman spider...or at least trying to. He has the spider quarantined, surrounding it with furniture. Only thing left to to is figure out the most effective way to dispatch the spider, and restore peace to the mansion, although the peace isn't that much disturbed.

"Hey Link, Rool somehow got himself stuck in the washing machine again, I tried to pry him out, but to no..." Cloud walked into the living room, and saw the bizarre arrangement before his eyes. "...avail? You haven't killed the spider yet?"

"It's a process, I tell you!" Link arose from a bunch of couch cushions piled together. Underneath his cushions, he was devising a plan - a plan that has yet to come to any fruition. "Just give me some time!"

 **Link: A great, effective way to kill off the giant huntsman spider would be to use bug spray on it. Spray the surrounding vicinity, and watch sadistically as the spider dies a cruel, painful death. Apparently Fox and Falco enticed Master Hand to take all the bug spray bottles out of the mansion, saying that using it to kill insects and spiders is "too mainstream", and that there should be other methods of killing. Nowadays, whenever a cockroach is present, the Star Fox pilots have to rely on their blasters to kill it. Which always result in a 1/150 chance of the roach's eradication.**

"So you can kill giant spiders on your wild adventures inside dungeons, but you can't kill a huntsman spider in a living room?" Cloud shook his head at Link. "How very sad..."

"Like you can kill this thing..." frowned Link. Dude always hates it when Cloud puts him down. Can't carry a flatscreen television up the stairs? Cloud will think of you as weak. Don't know how to repair a computer? Cloud will seriously doubt your technological acumen. Unable to use a bathroom? Let's hope Link is capable of urinating and bowel movements, and if he didn't...

"The most popular way to kill spiders would be to use a fly swatter. Just how big is the giant huntsman spider?" By the sign of Link's hands, the spider is as big as a dinner plate. Imagine seeing a spider of that size in your room in the middle of the night. "Yeah, a fly swatter would be seriously out of the question...Have you tried using your Master Sword?"

"My Master Sword is only delegated to vanquishing monstrosities...but go ahead, kill the spider with your Buster Sword if you wish, it will be your loss." Link also uses the Master Sword to perform tasks such as cutting the grass and unclogging the toilet (though only as an emergency option, in the event Wario breaks it because of reasons that may or may not be obvious), so the sword does have plenty of other uses - Link just doesn't want to waste his beloved sword on a non-monstrous spider.

"My 'loss' will be your gain," Cloud pulled out his Buster Sword, and readied himself. He removed the furniture, and eyed his target, the giant huntsman spider...which crawled to Cloud's foot and then on his shoe, before crawling up his pants. And like most people in this given situation... "GET THIS SPIDER OFF OF ME!" Cloud was frantically trying to get the spider out of his clothes. He danced around as the spider crawled all over his body, looking for the right spot to bite the swordsman and thereby subjecting him to an endless amount of time spent nursing the bite.

"Stay where you are!" Link ran out of the living room, and came back with Donkey Kong, who was holding a banana in his hand. He saw Cloud moving about like a maniac, and found himself chuckling a little.

"Let me guess: giant huntsman spider?" he asked Link; the Hylian nodded his head. Donkey Kong stretched his fingers, and did the near-unthinkable - he grabbed Cloud, and put him in a massive bear hug, hoping to kill off the spider in the process. However, the spider scurried out of Cloud's pants, and retreated.

"Don't you EVER do that again," Cloud warned Donkey Kong as the gorilla placed the swordsman back on his feet. Same goes for you Cloud, don't be breaking out of character and screaming and all that stuff.

* * *

Back to Sonic, where he's doing more dastardly deeds - like washing the brawlers' clothes in the kitchen sink. He was washing Corrin's garments, and Corrin, being the sheltered prince that he is, was down with Sonic's method.

"Who knew using laundry detergent in a kitchen sink would be so effective!" remarked the prince of Nohr, letting his blind ignorance subdue him.

 **Sonic: You're probably wondering why I washed clothes in the kitchen sink, aren't you? It's simple - I'm destroying every common folkway used in daily life, and reconstructing newer ones! In addition to folkways, I will be also reconstructing social norms! First thing on the list, start a socially conservative punk rock band! Haven't seen one of those in existence!**

"Sonic are you seriously washing my parka?" Nana approached the hedgehog, having to wear her "backup parka", only used for emergency situations such as a numskull hedgehog washing your clothes like they're unclean dishes or something.

"Just doing ya a huge solid!" Sonic responded cheerfully. "And besides, who wears a parka inside when summer is coming up?" Sonic has a valid point, it would be insane for the Ice Climbers to continue wearing their parkas during the summer, both inside _and_ outside.

"IT'S A SAFETY PRECAUTION!" The Ice Climbers hate it when people question their lackadaisical fashion sense. No matter where they go, they are constantly mocked and questioned to the nth degree.

"Becoming warm and hot inside a parka during the summer days is a safety precaution?" Corrin raised an eyebrow, confused by Nana's logic. To be honest, anyone else, even Pit or Lloyd, would be confused too. "Whatever works for you..."

"Says the guy who once slept outside in the wild for an entire week..."

"Sonic we have to talk!" Master Hand showed up, angry as he ever was. Thankfully no one is able to see Master Hand's visible anger, for that would be a frightening sight. "Mario has told me about you removing the front door, and look at the problem that you caused! Random intruders are trespassing inside the mansion, and stealing my precious vases! You won't believe how much money I spent on them, and now they're gone forever!"

"Um, how was I supposed to know we're having intruders?" questioned Sonic, obviously unaware of the disadvantages of removing the front door. "I was just trying to solve our problems! That man Mario is such a snitch!"

"There's a fine line between snitching on others and and reprimanding others of wrongdoing. You sir, fall under the latter!"

"Pfft, yeah right," snorted Sonic, believing that he's above every law known to man. That kind of mentality is the embodiment of pride and arrogance, and Sonic is making himself out to be quite the arrogant fellow. "I'm gonna reinvent social norms, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"We'll just see about that..." Sonic is messing with the wrong guy! Or hand...

* * *

Mario was walking from Master Hand's bedroom when he was suddenly encountered by Fox and Falco, who were just dying to ask the plumber a question concerning the wedding. This question would very well alter the wedding's overall framework, and get the guests involved.

"Do you mind if we...reenact the JK Wedding Entrance at Luigi's wedding?" proposed Fox. The JK Wedding Entrance is one of the most viral videos on the web, and single-handedly made Chris Brown one of the hottest commodities in the music industry. If you follow Brown, you're probably familiar with his somewhat tragic downfall.

 **Falco: Every wedding in history must have a entrance similar to the one from the JK wedding video! Why would you waste your precious time watching the groomsmen and bridesmaids walk down the aisle like a bunch of losers, when they should be dancing and engaging the wedding guests in some fun!  
** **Fox: The wedding's gonna take place in an outside venue...we can be the first individuals to perform the wedding entrance outside! Wonder if it will ever show up in a Guinness Book of World Records...they're quite picky...so I doubt it.**

"You're gonna have-a to speak with Marth about it," stated Mario. The Hero-King, who is in charge of the ceremony practices, is taking a backseat to several brawlers during the final week of wedding planning: Akira Yuki is getting the wedding license, Pac-Man is giving out directions to the venue to the wedding guests, Yoshi is writing out the vows, and Wario is buying a wedding dress for Daisy. Watch as Wario buys a cheap-looking dress as a putrid way to save money.

"Screw that feminine jerk, we're just trying to spice up the wedding!" frowned Falco. "Bet Marth has never seen a wedding with groomsmen and bridesmaids dancing down the aisle!"

"Maybe that's-a because that didn't exist-a during Marth's time..." Dancing of any sort at any Altean wedding would be greatly frowned upon, since it wasn't the norm back in the day.

"Altea flat out sucks, that dumb country is always getting attacked!"

"Excuse me?!" Marth approached Fox and Falco from behind, startling them both. In the Hero-King's hands was the wedding presents for Luigi and Daisy. At this point, he has enough presents to fill up the mansion's kitchen.

"Falco didn't really mean it, Atlea is an awesome country, the United States pales in comparison to your home country!" Fox did his best to cover Falco's behind. "Ain't that right Falco?"

"Oh yeah, I was just joking around!" replied the avian pilot, chuckling nervously. However, Marth didn't buy it one bit.

"You don't have to pander to me like that, I've met several people who share the same sentiments about Altea as you do," stated Marth, holding his head down. "Every week there's always an invasion in Altea, and I don't think the country can survive much longer..."

"Heh, with a name like Altea for a country, I don't blame ya," remarked Fox. Marth would glare down Fox, but he knew he was partially right, so instead he let out a huge sigh.

* * *

Link and Cloud were determined to eradicate the giant huntsman spider, and they relied on the Inklings to lend them a little assistance.

"This paint should do the trick!" the female Inkling held up a bucket of boiling paint. "It's strong enough to melt the flesh of living things, down to the bone!" Understandably, Link and Cloud glanced looks of concern with each other. "...We don't use this paint in our paint battles for obvious reasons."

 **Female Inkling: Judd used to use this paint on cheaters, making them pay for their actions, but he had to stop after finally realizing how inhumane using it was.  
Male Inkling: Inhumane? We're Inklings, not human beings?  
Female Inkling: Must you be so technical...**

"The paint won't burn up the carpet or anything like that, will it?" asked Link, very cautious about using the paint. Judd is a crazed maniac for even creating the paint to begin with.

"Nope, it will only burn flesh!" replied the male Inkling, sounding somewhat giddy. Perhaps the glimpse of seeing someone's flesh burned alive is satisfying to him...if that's the case, then he and Judd are on the same level of sociopathy. "Let's do this!"

The male Inkling grabbed the can of paint, and threw it at the spider's direction. The spider sensed the paint, and ran out of the way, leaving behind a giant stain on the living room carpet. Mr. Game & Watch will have that fixed in no time.

"Please tell me there's still some paint left," Cloud asked the male Inkling, as the paint on the carpet started to sizzle. The Inkling chuckled nervously, indicating that all the paint is now gone, and it will take yet another method to kill the giant huntsman spider.

"Unfortunately that was our only can of the paint, all the other paint cans are banned from usage," stated the female Inkling.

"So why did you even have that paint in the first place?!"

"Mainly for disposing of Lloyd...but Master Hand wouldn't allow us to satisfy our grudges."

* * *

Speaking of Lloyd, the naive swordsman was busy looking for the garage - the garage that never existed in the first place - to place the front door in. He searched for the imaginary garage in the most unlikeliest of places - a bathroom, the fitness center, and even in the basement, where Yuffie and Greninja were waiting on for Sheik to join them.

"Care to join us in a game of _Cards Against Humanity_?" Yuffie asked Lloyd, holding up the box containing the cards for Lloyd to see. For those of you who might be unfamiliar, _Cards Against Humanity_ is very much like the Apples to Apples party game, except it's only for "horrible people". Not the kind of game you would want to be playing with your grandparents.

 **Yuffie: Sheik...erm, Zelda...better hurry up and finish Peach's hair already! Does she not realize how boring and drab it is to play _Cards Against Humanity_ between only two people?! We need a minimum of three people, otherwise the game won't be demented enough! I mean, just look at these cards...Ghost of Marlon Brando? Shaquille ONeal's acting career? Bill Clinton, naked on a bearskin rug playing a saxophone?! How do you make these things up? I hardly know any of the people I just said...except maybe for Clinton, he's pretty cool, I suppose.**

"I would absolutely love to play, but I must place this front door in the garage, wherever it may be," replied Lloyd. Yuffie and even Greninja were both chuckling at Lloyd, and the swordsman didn't seem to understand why. The one true disadvantage of pure naivety.

"This mansion never had a garage to begin with," stated Yuffie. The ninja has only frequented the Smash Mansion for a few months, and she knows more about the ins and outs of the residence. Lloyd should feel pretty ashamed of himself.

"Yes it does, Sonic said so! He told me to believe..." Lloyd did the same hand motion Sonic had used on him. "...and I will find the garage. So far, I'm still believing! That garage is around here, I just know it!"

"Is it possible to be this naive?" Yuffie asked Greninja, who shrugged while shaking his head. A wise Pokemon like Greninja doesn't even have an answer. "Look Lloyd, contrary to what Sonic might have told you, there is NO garage in the mansion. And that's because of Master Hand, he's boring like that. But, if you like, you can put the door here, and be done with it. Also, why do you even have that door in the first place?"

"Sonic wanted to remove it so we won't have to worry about answering the door again. Sounds like a genius idea to me." Only a fool like yourself would think that, Lloyd.

"Does he not realize that...ugh, just tell me where Sonic is."

* * *

Marth met with Wario, Akira, and Pac-Man in his room to make sure each individual has fulfilled their task regarding the wedding. If any one of them goofed up, then the wedding might be screwed over.

"As you are hopefully all aware, I assigned each one of you with a wedding task to fulfill," stated Marth. Fox and Falco both pitched their JK Wedding Dance idea to the Hero-King, and Marth has told them he shall muse over their suggestion for much of the weekend. "Akira, did you get the marriage license?"

"Sure did!" Akira held up the marriage license for Marth to see. It was just a certificate with Luigi and Daisy's name on it, nothing much to see here. "The people that gave out the license were great people, they saved themselves from a karate chop to the head!"

"Don't know why you would even attempt that...Wario, did you purchases a fine wedding dress for Daisy?"

How does this look?" Wario held up an elegant, white wedding dress with flowers on it. Flowers are Daisy's motif, and she loves flowers; if you were to put a flower on a trash bag and give it to Daisy, she would fall in love with it in an instant.

 **Wario: Dumb wedding dress cost me almost $650 dollars! I could have spent a lot of valuable stuff with that much money, like a bunch of magazines with hot babes in it! Or even a week's worth supply of doughnuts! But no, Marth wants me to waste my hard-earned money on wasteless crap, like a worthless wedding dress. Was I marrying Daisy, the dress wouldn't be that worthless at all!**

"And Pac-Man, did you send out the directions to the Olympic Sculpture Park to the wedding guests?" asked Marth. (Olympic Sculpture Park is the site of the wedding, it's somewhere in Seattle.) Pac-Man scratched the back of his head nervously, indicating that he may not have done his task, or he was unable to fulfill it.

"Thing about it is, not everyone had a cellphone, so only a few people got the directions via text message," he stated. His response was enough to make Marth twitch his eyebrow. It's integral that the guests receive directions to the park prior to the end of the week. The Olympic Sculpture Park officials may be stingy about attendance, especially if guests arrive late.

"Couldn't you just mail out the directions, that's the most common way to do it! What's the purpose of texting the guests the directions when you don't even have every person's contact information?"

"Just so you know, I would mail out the directions, but I was unsure about when the guests might receive them. So I opted to text them instead. The guests who received the text message can pass it to others...so I hope."

"If we don't have a full house at the wedding, this will be all your fault..." Or it might be Marth's fault for giving the task to Pac-Man in the first place.

* * *

Back to Link and Cloud, still determined to kill the giant huntsman spider in the living room at any cost. The spider is now atop the living room ceiling, and the swordsmen didn't want to go through all the hassle of getting a ladder and using it to reach the spider. So instead, they relied on a particular Pokemon to get the job done...

"Pika pika?" Pikachu pointed at the giant huntsman spider, unsure about killing it. The mouse Pokemon has no qualms about hurting other Pokemon, but an innocent spider unrelated to Ariados or Galvantula? He can't bring himself to do it.

"Link already inquired about safely taking the spider out of the mansion and leaving it in one peace, but Peach was strongly against the idea," explained Cloud. "She wants the huntsman spider to be dead before the end of the day. Think of it as the time that lizard infiltrated the house, and Peach tried to severe its head."

 **Pikachu: *shakes his head in dismay***

"We're not asking much from you, just use Thunderbolt on the spider, and we can put this whole thing to rest," stated Link. How relieved the Hylian will be once the spider has been disposed of.

"Pika..." Pikachu started to charge up electricity, with his signature red cheeks generating static...until the static died down, and the electricity was gone. The mouse Pokemon clearly has second doubts about the spider's eradication. What if he narrowly misses, and leaves behind soot on the ceiling? Of course, the consequences will be few; Mr. Game & Watch will patch it up quickly, but he'll give Pikachu an earful with a tirade consisting of beeping sounds (but not the kind of beeping sounds used for censorship, obviously).

"You hurt Pokemon most of the time in battles, is that correct?" Cloud is trying to sway Pikachu's emotions. "And you have given us brawlers plenty of licks in the matches we have together. So what's so wrong with taking out that spider?"

"Perhaps Pikachu isn't used to killing living things," said Link. Good pointed - Pikachu sure can knock out Pokemon and brawlers, but killing living things is something that he's not accustomed to. Unless he's Mewtwo, that is.

"But it's a freaking spider, there's no harm in that!"

This resulted in an ensuing argument between Link and Cloud. Pikachu, seeing this, quietly exited the living room, returning to the Pokemon sanctuary. Hardly any arguing or disagreement there, thanks to the Pokemon who are incapable of speech aside from uttering their own names all day long.

* * *

"And this right here is a king salmon! It's not that big, but it's better than the usual bass that I keep catching!"

Villager was showing off this fish mount and plenty of other mounts to Kirby in his room. The pink puffball clapped for every mount Villager showed him.

 **Villager: About time someone around here appreciates the fish mounts I hang up on the wall! Kirby is the only person interested - everyone else looks down upon me and tells me I need more hobbies. I do the Shrunk Funk Shuffle in my spare time, is that not enough?!...You have video evidence of me doing the dance? Please don't show the others, I beg of you...**

You're probably wondering why Kirby is hanging out with Villager, interested in seeing the boy's fish mounts. It's all a part of Pit's devious plan to become the flower boy at the wedding. What does the angel have in store to fulfill his master plan? Just you wait and see...

"You know, I've always wanted to catch a small shark and place it up here as a fishing mount," Villager placed the king salmon mount back on the lovely wall of mounts. Villager can make this wall a Fishing Mount Hall of Fame with the numerous mounts he owns. "Tired of catching the same ol' fish over and over again, takes the fun out of fishing..."

"Hiyah!" Pit randomly barged into the room, karate kicking Villager in the head and sending him to the floor. The angel stuck a perfect landing, and posed for his buddy Kirby, who was applauding Pit's actions. Lousy puffball would clap for a raging fire on a stove while the mansion burns down in flames.

"Ow, my aching head..." Villager lifted his head up, massaging it to soothe the pain. Needless to say, his massaging did absolutely nothing.

"Flower boy at the wedding, here I come!" Pit enacted an Usain Bolt-esque pose, pointing at who-knows-what with both hands while imitating a trademark grin. "But first, we gotta take Villager to the fitness center. Hopefully he will be incapacitated and unable to serve the flower boy role at the wedding!" Where on earth is Pit getting all of these vocabulary words from?!

* * *

"Yes, it's finally finished!" Wolf cheered in the computer room after finally finishing his stupendous horror movie, which is really anything but. The title of his beloved movie is "Stuck in the Mansion" - not the best horror movie title out there, but it's a working title! Four to five weeks of adding special effects, adjusting scenes, and even altering the voices of the characters is now all paid off, and Wolf is now planning on showing the brawlers his beloved work sometime after the wedding.

But before the Star Wolf pilot can show it to the brawlers as a whole, he must first preview his movie to select brawlers. He has to get some reception and feedback before giving the film an official premiere. Ness was the first brawler to get a sneak peak of the film, and boy was he scared...

"WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING?!" Wolf frowned as Ness laughed his butt off at the movie. Laughing at a horror film is not a good sign, unless that horror film was made back in the 1930s and has been burdened with poor production quality.

"I'm sorry..." Ness replied, wiping away the tears that poured down his eyes from laughing so hard. You're not sorry, Ness, you don't have to gesture in front of Wolf like that.

 **Ness: Lucina speaking with that ghetto accent was too funny...and what was up with Pit's get-up? Looks more like a wannabe cowboy posing as Batman with a cape on than the Undertaker...**

"What's so funny?" Rosalina (and Luma) just so happened to walk past by when they saw Ness, still laughing from the awesome horror movie he just witnessed. Rosalina found it quite peculiar that a horror movie is able to make a person like Ness laugh, so she requested to Wolf that she gets a sneak peek for herself. She found the film very amusing...though not in a good way, much to the chagrin of Wolf.

"I would greatly appreciate some constructive criticism since you find my film so amusing," Wolf folded his arms as he glared at Rosalina, who was fanning herself with her hand to prevent her face from turning to red from laughter. Wolf's movie was able to make a stoic Rosalina laugh - that alone is an accomplishment in itself.

"Well, to be fair and brutally honest...it would be for the best if you got rid of this movie altogether."

Wolf's eye began to twitch, and he cracked a smile that indicated that he might go off on Rosalina, Ness, or _both._ This is the side of Wolf O'Donnell that nobody wants to see.

"Get rid of the movie, you say..." Wolf inhaled and exhaled, extremely reluctant to throw all the hard work he inputted in the movie in the trash. Rosalina, Luma, and Ness cautiously exited the computer room, staying well weary of an about-to-blow Wolf.

* * *

Link and Cloud are now scrapping the bottom of the barrel to dispatch the ever-persistent giant huntsman spider. Who is possibly helping them out now?

"I...am...your...courage!" the Flying Man shouted in-between attempts to take out the spider on the ceiling, flying about with a giant fly swatter. Only the Flying Man owns the swatter; nobody else is allowed to even lay a finger on it.

"This is _so_ disappointing," Cloud facepalmed, disgusted that he and Link had to go seek assistance from the Flying Man of all people. The beast's annoying catchphrase of "I am your courage!" must have been the main reason for the swordsmen asking him in the first place. Or because he's one of the few residents possessing the ability to fly at will. With a catchprhase like "I am your courage!", the Flying Man is capable to doing anything, right? WRONG!

 **Flying Man: Bugs, spiders, ticks - they are absolutely no match for the mighty Flying Man! *flexes muscles, kisses them* With a splat on any surface, with the swift flick of the wrist, I obliterate my multiple-legged foes with perfect precision and timing!  
** **Link: *from afar* Hey Flying Dork, quit posturing in front of the camera and get your scrawny butt back in the living room! That spider can't kill itself!  
** **Flying Man: Duty is still calling! *flies off to the living room***

"I'll be right back, gotta go see if Mario's busy," Cloud walked off, leaving poor Link behind with the Flying Man. "The spider better be gone by the time I get back." Seeing how the Flying Man is struggling, Cloud should be preparing himself for some disappointment.

"Have I ever told you that I am your courage?" the Flying Man randomly asked Link after yet another missed attempt at killing the spider.

"You tell me that every time we see each other..." stated an annoyed Link. "Why can't you use a new catchphrase for once in your life..."

* * *

Luigi is done. He's finally done! He conquered Ryu's grueling training session in order to become a man, and now he's ready to partake in the wedding ceremony with a strong sense of confidence and swagger.

However, there is one challenge the plumber must fulfill before he passes Ryu's session of sorts. And it involves eight-legged freaks.

"Peach and Zelda have spoken of a giant huntsman spider lurking about in the living room," explained Ryu. "They were discussing this in the beauty salon, and I thought it would be a great idea if you kill off the spider for good!" Ryu wasn't lurking around the salon, was he?

 **Ryu: Those lovely ladies at the salon were greatly violating my freedom of assembly! I was just resting near the salon while Luigi ran laps throughout the mansion, when I overheard the situation regarding the spider. Before I could alert Luigi about this, Rosalina caught me and then her and the ladies berated me for standing near the salon, like I'm some sort of creeper! How does standing near a salon make me a creeper? Do they not know how the First Amendment works?**

"But I'm-a afraid of spiders, what if the spider eats-a me?" panicked Luigi, too afraid to realize that giant huntsman spiders are not gigantic beasts and are reluctant when it comes to biting human flesh.

"Listen to me, Luigi!" Ryu placed his hands on Luigi's shoulders, speaking to him like a life coach. "This is your one and only chance to prove to the brawlers that you're a man, and not the the scaredy cat that they're well accustomed to. Are you willing to change things and show the people what you're made of?"

"Yes," nodded Luigi, unnerving Ryu with how soft spoken he was. According to Ryu, in order to be a man, you have to speak in a manly tone and act macho everywhere you go. Nothing but silly gender generalizations.

"I can't hear you..." Luigi better speak up, or Ryu will sucker punch him through a wall...

"I said YES!" Luigi shouted at the top of his lungs, greatly pleasing Ryu. The kung fu fighter nodded his head with assurance, for his work is nearly complete.

* * *

Sonic continued in his quest to break social norms and create new folkways...such as setting up a Christmas tree in the living room. The hedgehog carried the tree through the hallway, and he was doing it by himself, since understandably no one even bothered to lend a helping hand.

"Not sure if you're already aware about this, but nobody sets up a Christmas tree near the end of May," Meta Knight told Sonic as the hedgehog walked right past by. He's right, this is the time to be gathering food items for a Memorial Day cookout. Dunban and Robin (yikes) are currently shopping at the nearby supermarket for some glorious cookout food.

"Well I'm gonna change that!" Sonic proclaimed defiantly. "Starting today, we are going to start preparing for Christmas, and we'll do that by setting up the Christmas tree!" It would be funny to see Sonic be the only person to put in the work towards holiday preparation. Perhaps the most realistic thing he could do is save up some money to purchase Christmas gifts.

"There you are, Sonic!" Yuffie approached the hedgehog, accompanied by Greninja and Lloyd. "Lloyd spoke about you removing the front door of the mansion...do you really want random intruders to be roaming around here?!"

"Ugh, you and Master Hand are so difficult! Honestly I had no intention of letting intruders inside the household - I'm just 'revolutionizing' things to improve society."

 **Sonic: Like Knuckles' ever-fluctuating relationship status with Rouge the Bat, our entire world is subject to change. Everyone here on this planet possess the ability to make and bring worth change. And that is exactly what I'm enacting!**

"Your 'revolutionizing' is going to screw over the mansion one of these days," stated Yuffie. "So you best stop what you're doing, or somebody's gonna pay!"

"Pay what?" snorted Sonic, continuing on his merry way. "You're just making a huge deal out of nothing..."

"ALL OF MY PRECIOUS VASES ARE GONE!" Master Hand's voice boomed throughout the mansion. Evidently and ironically Sonic is the one who's gonna have to pay. "NOW THE ENTRANCE OF MY MANSION LOOKS BASIC AND DRAB! NICE GOING, SONIC!"

"See what I mean? Master Hand is overvaluing his vases; he can go the cheap route and buy new ones off of Amazon! That's how I got my new flatscreen TV...although it hardly works that much anymore."

Yuffie glared down Sonic as the hedgehog exited the hallway with the Christmas tree.

* * *

"Wii Fit Trainer, we have an issue on our hands!" Pit rushed into the fitness center, with Kirby tagging along holding an unconscious Villager in his puny arms. They looked everywhere for the trainer, but she was nowhere to be found.

"You called?" Wii Fit Trainer showed up, having just returned from the beauty salon. Why does a woman with pallor like Wii Fit Trainer frequent the beauty salon in the first place. "I've noticed how fast you were running, certainly you can exert all of that speed on treadmills! So what seems to be the problem?"

"It's Villager, he suffered a head injury and Kirby and I are unsure about how serious it is!" Pit is doing an awfully good job at making the situation feel genuine, downplaying the fact that he injured Villager in the first place.

"Oh my goodness! Lay him on the patient bed this instant!" Pit and Kirby did as they were told, resting Villager on a bed suitable for his size. "So how did this happen?"

"Alright, so Kirby and I, we were in Villager's room, and Villager was showing us his fish mounts, and then suddenly...WHAM! A mount fell off of the wall and hit Villager on the head, thereby giving injuring his head and possibly his brain."

 **Pit: So how long did it take me to come with up an alibi? I'd say less than three to five minutes. In order to test out my alibi and ensure that it's legit, I told not only to Kirby, but Lemmy as well, and they both bought the alibi! If it works on them, then it can work on just about anyone!**

"Impossible, the fish mounts only weigh so little, so it couldn't have given Villager the head injury," stated Wii Fit Trainer, making Pit feel a bit nervous. "Surely you didn't give Villager the head injury yourself, did you?"

"Me injuring Villager?" chuckled Pit, downplaying his actions to the best of his abilities. "Why I wouldn't do such a thing, I'm an angel, I'm purely innocent!"

"Oh you don't say...no ulterior motives, like replacing Villager as the flower boy at the wedding?" Uh oh Pit, she's getting unto you!

"Heh heh, what makes you think that?" Just keep your poise Pit, and Wii Fit Trainer may never suspect another thing.

"Tails spoke about you desiring to be a flower boy at the wedding, just so you can be with Viridi. Now don't tell me that's not true..." Time for Pit to fess up.

"Fine, it was me. I was the one who karate kicked Villager in the head, and gave him that head injury. My plan was to have him incapacitated so he'll be unable to serve as the flower boy at the wedding, and I can just take his duties so I'll be with Viridi. Please don't tell Lady Palutena, I can't afford to get grounded! I have a life, you know!"

"I promise not to tell Palutena about your actions, but only under one condition...you'll never hurt or injure another person here ever again. I'll do my best to heal Villager, and we'll just pretend that his injury never took place."

"Thank you, Wii Fit Trainer!" Pit gave the trainer a hug. Wii Fit smiled and let Pit hug her for a few more seconds, before repelling him.

"I understand that you had to go through all of that trouble just to be walking side-by-side with Viridi at the wedding, but let me tell you one thing..." Wii Fit Trainer got down on one knee and faced Pit. This is the position one must usually take when tell someone some life advice. "Just because Viridi is your love interest, doesn't mean that you have to spend every waking minute of your life with her. If you do, that will make you weird and obsessive. Do you want to be weird and obsessive?"

"I already got the weird part down pact." Gotta stay modest whenever possible. "But as for being obsessive - that's something I definitely don't wanna be. So if I don't get to become a flower boy at the wedding, then so be it. There's plenty of other times I can be with Viridi."

"Yeah, that's the spirit! Now I do believe that Viridi is waiting for you to return...can't leave her waiting for so long!"

* * *

Determined to prove doubters that his beloved movie is not as crappy as it seems, Wolf brought his laptop around, showing the movie off to select brawlers. His anger would increase with each and every time a brawler laughs at his film. The latest brawler to ridicule Wolf was Wario, who was busy taking Daisy's wedding dress to the laundry room before Wolf showed him the film.

"Please tell me it's like one of those parody horror flicks!" the fatso told an angered Wolf. Surprisingly Wolf hasn't snapped on anyone yet, he's really keeping his cool!

 **Wolf: Not only did Ness and Rosalina laugh at my movie, but Roy, Doc Louis, and Isabelle also laughed as well! Freaking Isabelle was laughing at me! Oy, how low can I possibly go?  
** **Dark Pit: *walking by* At least you're not the resident joke of the mansion yet...  
** **Wolf: Shut up kid, you were a part of my movie, you have no room to talk...**

"It's hopeless, nobody will be scared by this piece of crap," Wolf, admitting defeat, laid his laptop on the floor and crossed his arms, sulking. Luigi just so happened to be walking towards Wolf's and Wario's direction, walking like he was a tough guy, when he saw the laptop lying on the floor playing Wolf's horror film. The scene involving Pit and Dark Pit playing as the Undertaker and Kane respectively was playing, and Luigi did what he does best...

"Aaaaaiiiiieeee!" he shrieked like a little girl and ran off, running past Wolf and Wario. So much for being manly...

* * *

In the living room, Link and Cloud both allowed Mario, who was taken to the living room under Cloud's consent, to do the near impossible - he brought in Diddy Kong and made him shoot down the giant huntsman spider with his trusty Peanut Popgun.

From a realistic standpoint, this seems like a great idea. The peanuts that Diddy uses as ammo are strong enough to take down any foe. However, one must realize that Diddy has arachnophobia due to Villager's pranking, and his phobia is taking a large toll on the spidermonkey's accuracy.

"Why...won't you...stay still?!" Diddy said in-between shot attempts. The spider moved out of the way with every shot the spidermonkey fired. Sweat was coursing down his face with every movement the spider made.

"It's a win-a win situation," Mario explained to Link and Cloud, who were both looking at him inquisitively. "Diddy takes-a care of the spider, and he cures his phobia!" At the rate Diddy's going, his arachnophobia might become worse...

While Diddy Kong was doing his thing...or at least attempting to, Sonic whistled as he entered the kitchen and sat the Christmas tree down. The tip of the tree was close to the spider.

"Um Sonic, we should be preparing for Memorial Day, not setting up Christmas trees," Link told the hedgehog. Like he did with everyone else, Sonic shook his head at the Hylian, discontent that not a single person is on his side.

"When the holiday season arrives, and everyone is all panicky and stuff as they usually are, don't even come crying to me!" responded Sonic. The hedgehog departed from the living room, looking for a star to place atop the tree. After he led, a loud voice from Master Hand was heard, and the hand was scolding Sonic and demanding that the hedgehog purchase new vases for the foyer. Serves that dude right...

 **Cloud: You're seriously asking me if I ever celebrate Christmas? To be honest with you, I never could really get in the Christmas spirit, just the whole idea of trees, elves, and even Santa Claus just never got to me. Speaking of Santa Claus, I told Pit straight to his face that he never existed, and Palutena scolded me for making Pit cry his eyes out and spend a day or two in his room, feeling miserable. Kid's gotta learn sooner or later...**

Luigi, still shrieking like a girl, ran into the living room, and jumped on the Christmas tree, clinging onto it and taking a breather for the oh-so-scary scene he just witnessed from Wolf's film (although it was the complete opposite of that). He looked up, and saw the giant huntsman spider. His heart was pounding as he stared at the eight-legged freak in fright and horror.

"Take-a out the spider!" Luigi's brother Mario called out. Luigi was unsure about what to do - should he go for the spider, or just let someone else like Diddy kill it? Diddy is a lost cause at this point, so it's time for him to take affirmative action...the plumber climbed up the tree, nearing the spider, and with a swift motion, he grabbed it!

"Yes, he finally did it!" cheered Link, glad that the situation is nearing a resolution. If only Cloud shared the same feelings... "Now kill it already so I won't have to hear Zelda's mouth!"

Knowing Luigi, he's not the one to kill animals or spiders. So he climbed down the Christmas tree, and went to where the front door was in the foyer - now deprived of vases - and placed it on the doorstep.

"Out-a you go, little fella," Luigi nudged the spider forward, and just like that, the spider crawled down the doorstep and through the walkway...where it will eventually cross the street and get squashed by an incoming car. But fortunately that didn't happen.

"Thank-a you for getting rid-a of that spider," thanked Mario, standing next to Luigi at the doorway. "Link and Cloud weren't-a that much help, what with-a relying on other brawlers to solve-a their problems..."

"There's some-a things plumbers can-a do that a swordsman can't," replied Luigi. He looked behind him, and saw Ryu, who smiled while giving a thumbs up. Luigi is now more of a man than he ever was, and it's all thanks to Ryu.

Safe to say that the mustached plumber is ready for his rather eventful wedding.


	24. Episode 24: Entwined

**Episode 24: Entwined**

Luigi has been waiting for this day for as long as he could remember. June 3, 2016 is the day the green-clad plumber will finally marry the woman of his dreams - Princess Daisy, the princess of Sarasaland. Much of the morning was dedicated to preparing for the wedding, which meant that the entire mansion was at full force when getting prepared. And when you have close to a hundred people inside a mansion, things can get quite chaotic...

"How does my hair look?" the female Inkling asked Cloud, who was busy combing his hair in front of the mirror. The Inkling had put hair tentacle hair in a bun, just like Marie of Inkopolis News - heck, her attire from the neck down is based off of Marie!

"Your hair looks alright, I suppose," replied Cloud, not even bothering to look away from the mirror. For the blonde swordsman, wearing a black suit felt kinda weird - rarely does he dress up in formal attire. But he's willing to make it work.

"You didn't either bother to look at my hair! Why must you be so difficult?!"

"Just a few more hours until the wedding, and all of this will be over..." sighed Cloud. As a rule from Master Hand, _everyone_ in the mansion has to attend the wedding; anyone who is a no-show will be punished severely. So if you have a fever or a migraine, and you're unable to attend the wedding, expect Master Hand to punish you once you're fully healthy.

 **Cloud: First time I'm ever attending a wedding, and I gotta say, it might be a surreal experience for me. With all the time I've spent fighting off evil and stuff, I never really get the chance to attend traditional ceremonies and whatnot. At night, I would ponder over what it would be like if Aerith and I were to get married and start a family. But of course, dumb Sephiroth had to screw my dreams...man, I sure do hate that guy.**

Elsewhere in the mansion, Palutena was searching for Lucas, who is understandably too afraid to attend the wedding due to the absurd amount of guests. The goddess of light would eventually find the blonde teenager (thought he was a little kid, didn't you?) in one of the cupboards in the kitchen, shaking in fright in his lovely tuxedo.

"Come on out Lucas, promise I won't hurt you," Palutena held her hand out to Lucas, but the PSI wiz slapped it away. The kid...erm, _teen,_ is the epitome of a lost cause.

"Get away from me, I don't want to go to the wedding!" whined Lucas. So he's gonna stay in the cupboard for the entire day? What a way to go... "Tell Master Hand I have the runs, and I can't make it!"

"But Master Hand will punish you regardless for not attending..." Lucas, after hearing this bit of information from Palutena, decided to come around.

"Fine then, I'll go..." Lucas moaned, getting out of the cupboard. He held hands with Palutena, and the two walked out of the kitchen, with R.O.B watching and shaking his head in dismay.

 **R.O.B: LUCAS...THIRTEEN YEARS OF AGE...STILL HOLDS HANDS...WHAT A DWEEB...**

Outside the mansion, Mario, Luigi, Isabelle (speaking with someone on the phone), and Master Hand were waiting on the limousines to arrive. Master Hand had Peach drive Daisy to a nail salon, and Rosalina and Zelda had to tag along. The Smash Universe creator wants Daisy to stay isolated from Luigi until the wedding - don't even bother asking.

"Mario I need to speak with you for a quick second!" King Dedede rushed to Mario carrying his camera bag, and he was exhaling frequently when he took his breather after stopping. Could it have hurt for the penguin to get a workout or two in prior to the wedding? It might make his cameraman job slightly easier. "I forgot to charge the camera overnight, and it's at only 30 percent of battery life!"

"Would it-a be wise to leave the camera off until-a the wedding starts?" suggested Mario. Both he and Luigi were wearing tuxedos, though you already knew they would, since it's an unspoken rule to wear formal attire to a wedding.

"Yeah, good idea, why haven't I thought of it!" King Dedede pulled out the camera and turned it off. "Hoo boy, the battery drained a lot more than I imagined, it's already at 25 percent!"

"Did-a you bring a battery charger?" asked Luigi. "As long as you have-a that, you should-a be fine."

"That camera should be the least of our concerns right now!" said an impatient Master Hand. "Those limousines haven't arrived yet!" Master Hand had ordered five stretch limousines to come to the mansion; each limo seats up to twenty people, and if you do the math, that's around a hundred seats, which can compensate for all of the brawlers.

"Just got off the phone with the limousine service!" Isabelle said after hanging up the phone. "They said that the limousines should be coming in less than five minutes!"

"Excellent. Go inside the mansion, and make sure that everybody is ready!" Anyone who isn't ready will have to face the mighty wrath of Master Hand, and _nobody_ would want to face that. Isabelle followed the hand's orders, going back inside the mansion to ensure that everyone is all ready to go. Sonic was ready, as he walked out the front door in his wedding attire...a red plaid shirt and black pants, like he's a hedgehog lumberjack or something.

"So what do you guys think?" Sonic asked Mario and company about his attire; both Mario and Luigi were shaking their heads. Apparently Sonic didn't get the dress code memo - or did he?

 **Sonic: Everyone knows that you should wear formal and informal attire to a wedding, but I'm gonna change that! You should be allowed to wear whatever you want to a wedding, screw the dress code! My revolution starts TODAY!**

"No way we're letting you sit in the front with that attire," said Master Hand. He would order Sonic to go back inside the mansion and put on a suit or tuxedo, but knowing the hedgehog, that would require too much work.

"Eh, I wasn't really planning on sitting in the front anyways, too much attention would be drawn to me," shrugged Sonic. Most or all of the attention will be drawn to mainly Luigi, Daisy, and the wedding officiant, Chrom...but whatever floats Sonic's boat.

"Everyone is all set to go!" Isabelle notified Master Hand after exiting the Smash Mansion. "All the brawlers are waiting in the foyer...except for Pit, that is. He's taking a shower, and he's singing some Kool & the Gang song, very loudly and out-of-tune. I tried calling out to him, but I don't think he could hear me..."

"Kid has-a wings, he can fly to the wedding," assured Mario. "I've given everyone-a directions to the wedding venue, for emergency reasons. As long-a as Pit has the directions..."

"Mario, you DO realize-a who we are talking about," Luigi told his brother. "You honestly believe-a Pit will remember to bring-a the directions with him?" Who knows, Pit might have lost the directions earlier this week.

"Maybe he-a will, maybe he won't - wedding doesn't-a start until around four o'clock, I can just-a text him the directions so he-a won't be lost."

Soon six limousines pulled up to the Smash Mansion. These limousines had a golden tint to it, and that's how Master Hand likes it. Dude must have a fancy for gold.

"About time the limousines arrived!" exclaimed Master Hand. "Isabelle, alert the others and tell them that our rides are here!"

* * *

Inside the shower, Pit was busy washing himself and singing Kool and the Gang's "Get Down On It" at the same time. It must take some superb dedication to wash and sing at the same time, not that many people on this earth of performing such prowess.

"Ah, I feel so fresh!" the angel exclaimed after turning the water off. He got out of the shower, dried himself off, and wrapped his towel around his waist, before exiting the bathroom...

...only to see that nobody was present in the mansion. Not a single soul to be found, not a single sound made. This made Pit very panicky.

"Viridi? Lady Palutena? Kirby?!" the angel called out each individual name, hoping to get a response. But not a single voice was heard. Sorry Pit, but you dun goofed up kiddo.

 **Pit: I just can't believe it...everyone left me, even Master Hand...they must not love me anymore! Lady Palutena? Probably making Dark Pit her new packmule. Viridi? I would assume she was using me just to make her true boyfriend, Toon Link, overly jealous. And Kirby? Eh, he's pretty loyal, so he gets a free pass.**

Pit immediately went to his room, put on his suit, and ran out the new front door (which Sonic is very displeased with). He looked left and right, expecting a brawler or two to be outside chilling, but his intentions were wrong. So he knew what he had to do...

"I know, I should call them and see if they had left already!" Pit said, pulling out his cell phone. Perhaps the first time in a long while he came up with a great idea. He went to go dial Kirby's number...but then he realized that Kirby doesn't even own a cell phone, and even if he did, he would eat it like it's the most delicious cheese cake in existence. So the angel decided to call Pac-Man instead. He would call Viridi, but he didn't because Viridi doesn't even own a cell phone. Pit was _this_ close to dialing her nonexistent phone number.

"Hey Pit, what's up?" Pac-Man's voice was heard from the cell phone, and boy was Pit relieved to hear the yellow man's voice.

"Pac-Man, it's absolutely terrible, nobody is present at the mansion, and I'm left all alone! I think everyone except you I assume died from some sort of virus that plagued everyone was getting ready, and somehow I didn't get the virus! Man I feel so left out right now..."

"Pit you silly goose, nobody caught some virus and died or anything!" Pac-Man chuckled at Pit's insanity. He has heard plenty of extravagant and over-the-top stories from the angel, but this one, though short, definitely takes the cake. "We all left without you! Viridi tried to call out to you while you were taking your shower, and Isabelle did the same a while later, but since you couldn't hear, you didn't respond. We would have waited for you to finish and get dressed, but Master Hand couldn't afford to wait around any longer.

"Do you have the directions to the Olympic Sculpture Park that Mario handed out to you?" asked Pac-Man. If Pit doesn't have those directions...then screwed wouldn't begin to describe the angel's situation. But fortunately...

"I sure do!" Pit pulled the directions out of his pocket. Only thing that matters as of right now is whether or not he uses them correctly.

"Whew, at least you have them in your possession. Just follow those directions, and you should be at the park in no time! See ya later!"

 **Pit: So Pac-Man and Viridi are supposedly still alive...and everyone else is dead! If they hadn't died from a virus, then what else could have killed them?!**

* * *

Pac-Man promptly ended his phone call with Pit, and went back to relaxing in the limousine he's riding in. Riding along with Pac-Man is Ashley, Toad, Yoshi, Lucina, Chrom, Isabelle, Mario, Luigi, Wario, Meta Knight, Wii Fit Trainer, R.O.B, Mr. Game and Watch, Lloyd Irving, and Mega Man.

"Pit should be on his way to the Olympic Sculpture Park!" Pac-Man announced to everyone. "Considering he reads the directions well..."

"Excuse me for asking this Mario, but how much longer until we finally reach our destination?" Chrom asked the plumber, and he was feeling somewhat nervous. You'd figured that a "romantic expert" like Chrom can handle the officiant role with ease, but the poor guy has butterflies in his stomach. His own daughter, Lucina, called him a "lovable dork" for a reason...

"At this-a rate, we should arrive around-a twelve," replied Mario, guesstimating the time. "That should give us enough-a time to set everything up."

"Aw man, I thought those vendors had the place ready for the wedding!" frowned Wario, refusing to do any sort of work that exceeds the extent of lifting a pencil. "I just wanna see Luigi get married and eat some grub! You never told us we have to do work!"

"Well I'm sorry that-a you're a lazy bozo who's too-a lackadaisical to even lift-a up a toilet seat. No one-a else's fault but yours."

 **Wario: During our wedding meeting, Mario, nor Luigi, nor Isabelle, _nor_ Master Hand, notified us that he have to set up for the wedding! By the time we're done, I'll be too exhausted to even attend the wedding, or participate in the wedding reception! Sometimes I just wish I can sue Mario for the dumb things he puts me through!**

Luigi's phone suddenly went off, indicating he just received a text message - it was from his soon-to-be wife, Daisy. He checked said message, and sported a worried look on his face. A groom should not be sporting worried looks prior to their wedding, for it is more than likely a foreshadowing of a dire emergency.

"Daisy just-a texted me that her and-a the other ladies are-a in a traffic jam," announced Luigi. "Hopefully the traffic jam-a doesn't last that long..."

"Traffic jams rarely occur this time of the day," stated Meta Knight. A traffic jam after a nine-to-five shift is pretty commonplace, but one in the late hours of the morning is as rare as finding a Klefki in your kitchen sink. "How many guests did you invite to the wedding?" Luigi started to count with his fingers... "You know what, just forget about it."

* * *

One certain limousine is chock full of villains - Bowser, Bowser Jr, the Koopalings, Ganondorf, King Dedede, King K. Rool, Mewtwo, Wolf, Black Knight, Dark Pit, and Proto Man. Yes, you are all presumably thinking, "Proto Man is anti-hero, not a villain, why is he riding along with those baddies?" Long story short, Wario convincingly told Master Hand that he's _not_ a villain, and that he's portrayed as such because he makes "extremely poor decisions". That lousy fatso then added that Proto Man is a bona fide villain, attempting to save face as a villain by doing usual good deeds most anti-heroes perform. Master Hand bought it, and swapped both Wario and Proto Man. Now the poor prototype robot has to endure torture from the mansion's resident villains.

 **Proto Man: Riding with the baddies doesn't sound as bad as it seems...thankfully Wario isn't with us, the guy is a living stink bomb dying to explode whenver he feels like it. Dark Pit, Black Knight, and Mewtwo are the only tolerable people inside this limo, and the others irritate me to the point where I just want to jump out of the limo and just let it run over me. Knowing the passengers, they would throw me out of the limo anyway if they ever wanted to.**

"Bowser, do us all a huge favor and discipline your children," Mewtwo told the Koopa King, as the Koopalings were fighting over a lousy ring pop. Ring pops aren't exactly that popular nowadays, but here are young koopa children and aspiring villains, fighting over one.

"Yeah, well about you discipline them yourself, if they're bothering you so much!" retorted Bowser. Technically, Mewtwo could discipline the Koopalings, but he shouldn't because A) he has very little patience with children, and B) disciplining the Koopalings is Bowser's responsibility.

"The atmosphere here feels so drab, let's play some music!" Rool got up from his seat and walked over to the radio, without the consent of the limo driver.

"Hey man, nobody told you to touch the radio!" the driver scolded the Kremling. Poor guy doesn't even know who he's dealing with...Rool adjusted the knob on the radio, until he found the perfect song...

"Shake it, bake it, booty quake it!" the song blared from the radio. (Kudos if you know where the song originates from.) Everyone in the limousine instantly feared for the worst, as Rool hit center-stage...or rather the center of the limousine where there was a lot of room for him to dance.

Then the unthinkable transpired - the Kremling started shaking his butt, and it greatly disturbed the brawlers. Eventually they'll have nightmares about Rool's butt-shaking for the next week or so.

"Make it stop, make it stop!" pleaded the Black Knight, but it was no use - Rool continued to shake his butt to the song like it was his day job.

"I don't think I can take this..." Mewtwo teleported from the limousine in a snap, leaving his poor fellow brawlers behind. Had they possessed the ability to teleport, they would do so without slight hesitation.

"No, take me with you!" It was too late for the Black Knight, the Psychic Pokemon had left the limo and sought for a place of solace. Best chance scenario is that he teleported to the Olympic Sculpture Park, arriving before everyone else.

 **Limousine Driver: Don't y'all even ask about why I even have that song on my radio...But since you'll pester me about it, I'll just tell you: I first heard the song on some action show I was watching, and this girl, she was in these white jeans, and she was dancing to the song, and I just found her dancing so...so...mesmerizing, I was literally glued to my television screen. After that song was over, that show soon became the number one show in my book.**

There were many varied reactions among the villains riding in the limo. Ganondorf had to look away. King Dedede was literally throwing up in a bag. Dark Pit stuck his head outside the window to get some fresh air. And Lemmy was the only person enjoying Rool's dancing, as evidenced by his crazed smile. They don't call him the most nutty Koopaling for anything!

"Lemmy Koopa, put your tongue back in your mouth and stop smiling like that!" ordered Bowser, proving to Mewtwo that he can discipline his children...though it would be nice if Mewtwo was present in the vehicle.

* * *

The third limousine driving to the Olympic Sculpture Park mainly consists of burly and/or tough dudes - Captain Falcon, Jacky Bryant, Akira Yuki, Heihachi Mishima, Ryu, Snake, Cloud, Ike, Knuckles, Little Mac, Doc Louis, Marth (meh), Roy, Fox, Falco, and Wolf. The latter three aren't exactly tough by any sort of standard, but they had to find some limo to ride in.

"Wonder how many ladies Luigi invited to the wedding!" Captain Falcon happilly rubbed his hands together in a creepy, perverted manner. Attending the wedding will give the racer multiple opportunities to ask different women out - on the flipside, however, he won't be that much successful. Can't hurt to at least try!

"Female guests should be the least of your concern!" Ryu frowned, crossing his arms. "The wedding should be about celebrating the lovely union of Luigi and Daisy, not asking out ladies that will turn down your offer to go on a date.

 **Falco: Captain Falcon and I are starting a partnership together - we're gonna spend most of the wedding and the wedding reception looking for hot girls to ask out!  
** **Captain Falcon: I'll be on the lookout for the female guests when they arrive, and I'll write each individual name down so the two of us can discuss each lady's potential at the reception!  
** **Falco: We've tried our hardest to entice Cloud to join, but apparently the guy wants to remain single forever. Sucks that Sephiroth had to kill his woman and potential girlfriend Aerith; must have been butthurt about not having a girlfriend himself.**

"You certainly look down in the dumps today," Ike told Cloud. To be fair, Cloud always looks like that whenever he's happy, depressed or relatively calm. His facial expressions are often the hardest to read.

"I'm just feeling...angsty today," responded the blonde swordsman, inventing a new word to describe his feelings in the process. "Luigi's wedding kinda reminds me of this girl, Aerith Gainsborough; me and her used to be pretty tight. In fact, we were even romantically entwined at one point, and I had a sneaky feeling she was gonna ask me out sooner or later. I would have asked her out myself, but I couldn't build up enough courage to do so. Before Aerith could make a move...Sephiroth had to come in and take her life." Cloud shook his head; evidently he's still affected by that infamous event. "I just wanna beat that man to a pulp, make him wish he was..."

"Is this Sephiroth dude your evil brother or something?" This response caused Cloud to look at Ike in astonishment, befuddled by the Radiant Hero's ignorance.

"He's a biologically created human specimen resulting from combining a human fetus and extraterrestrial tissue..." That extraterrestrial tissue belonged to Jenova, an alien lifeform who plotted to take over the planet. Like every other villain that came before her, Jenova's evil plan is the most basic evil plan in the history of villainy.

"Oh, so the human fetus was supposed to be your brother, and for some reason, they injected alien tissue in it to speed up your mother's womb." Ike has never been this ignorant before, what gives?

"He was created in a lab, by scientists...my parents had nothing to do with the experimentation."

"Yikes, so your parents never liked you _or_ your unborn brother?! That really sucks dude..." Honest question; why no mention of Cloud's parents? Sure, the dude has a rather complicated past that requires no more details, but it can't hurt to explore a bit more.

"Whoever said that my parents never liked me? I was just doing my thing, trying to save the world. You practically did the same thing too, and a lesser but similar fashion."

"Yeah I guess you're right..." Ike laid his arms behind his back, and let out a sigh - not a sigh indicating that he's going through some troubling times, but a sigh indicating that he's ready for the wedding to start. Like Cloud, this is the first time the Radiant Hero will be attending a wedding ceremony. It's a first for everyone.

* * *

The fourth limousine consists of mainly animals and monsters and whatnot - Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Piakchu, Pichu, Jigglypuff, Greninja, Jigglypuff, Lucario, Duck Hunt Dog, Sonic, Tails, the Flying Man, Isabelle, and K.K. Slider. Red the Pokemon trainer was also riding along with these cast of characters, to keep them in check.

 **Red: Because Pikachu and his Pokemon buddies are technically considered brawlers, they have to attend the wedding, otherwise they won't be allowed outside of the sanctuary. Same rule applies to Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard. Dumb rule, I know, but Master Hand is pretty dumb anyways...Please tell me he didn't hear that...**

"The cake that was in the ballroom is gonna be at the wedding, right?" Sonic asked Tails. Cake is the hedgehog's favorite food aside from chili dogs - or favorite dessert, rather. Once he implored Mario to bake him a chili dog cake, but the plumber explained to the hedgehog that everyone has to mutually enjoy the cake...so Sonic forced Palutena to make him such cake, and boy it was horrendous.

"Yes, and it's gonna be for everyone, from us brawlers, to the guests," explained Tails. Given that the wedding will have _very_ high attendance, everyone must have their fair share of the delicious wedding cake. It was pretty expensive, so it must be the greatest cake ever created by man. "So that means everyone has to share..."

"Way to be a party pooper Tails! Like I'm gonna share the cake with the guests...they're just there to watch the wedding, and eat up all the food at the reception! They have ulterior motives, I tell you!"

"Ulterior motives that they devised as soon as they accepted a wedding invitation?" Tails raised an eyebrow, questioning Sonic's understanding like he usually does.

"They knew that the wedding would be a perfect time for them to get free food at the wedding reception when the wedding invitations were sent out. Nobody wants to willingly attend Luigi's wedding, that loser is suckitude in human form!"

"Name me at least five of the wedding guests that have these 'ulterior motives' that you speak of." Tails got the hedgehog stumped right here, but Sonic knew how to make the best of the situation.

"I would name these guests, but I really don't feel like flaunting my superior intelligence in front of you. Wouldn't want to break your confidence and self-esteem, buddy!" Sonic patted Tails on the head, and the fox rolled his eyes. Tails, though he's eight years of age, feels he's too old to have people pet his head.

* * *

The fifth limousine carrying the brawlers to the wedding venue consists of youngins - Lucas, Ness, Viridi, Villager, the Inklings, Toon Link, Young Link, and Kirby, with Palutena keeping watch over them.

"I refuse to attend the wedding, tell the limo driver to take me back..." sobbed Lucas, tugging onto Palutena's wedding dress. What a crybaby, kids his age shouldn't be fretting over some wedding. And he once claimed that he "toughened up" after tagging along with Red during the Subspace Emissary.

"Everything will be alright Lucas, no one is going to hurt you," Palutena assured the whiny teen (his constant crying will make anyone doubt this dude's maturity) as she stroked his hair. She sure didn't mind Lucas' behavior, but the rest of the passengers, including the driver, don't share the same sentiments.

 **Palutena: Am I worried about Pit's safety, and whether or not he can make it to the wedding on time? Of course I am. Granted, the wedding should start sometime after four, but Pit will likely be sidetracked in some spectacular fashion. I can never trust him to be a viable delivery boy, he delivers the wrong errands to the wrong people, and _I_ always get the complaints. Is it my fault that Pit lacks common sense to handle tasks efficiently?! I've already had my trials with the boy, and going back to teaching him right from wrong would be a horrible mistake on my part.**

"Will Pit make it to the wedding, Lady Palutena?" Viridi asked the goddess of nature. Any wedding without Pit would be a horrible wedding for her; for instance, who would be talk with prior to the wedding, and during the wedding reception? Ashley? Refuses to associate herself with anyone save for her assistant Red. R.O.B? If he was able to speak complete sentences without abrupt pauses, then sure. Red the Pokemon Trainer? Like anyone wants to hear that man boast about the meager amount of Pokemon he catched...the tagline of the entire Pokemon series is "Gotta Catch 'Em All!" (although this tagline has been slightly downplayed in recent years), and the most notable average Pokemon trainer aside from Ash Ketchum is not following along to it. Then again, neither is Ash.

"Honestly Viridi, I'm not so sure about that," replied Palutena, being frank and modest in her response. She knows Pit better than anyone, she knows the angel's limitations. "But we can only hope that he can..."

"Sorry if I interrupt, but I think Pit should be banned from the wedding," interjected Villager, wearing a cone around his neck. Wii Fit Trainer did her best to cure Villager and whip him up back to shape for the wedding, and she could only do so much for the young lad. Villager's recovery was not a hundred percent, and it showed with the cone that is taking up most of his face. In fact, the poor little guy can't even see! "I was just showing Kirby my cool stuff, and that's when I got knocked out! Before I sustained that head injury, I heard Pit's voice - perhaps he's the one who injured me in the first place!"

"Let's not jump to conclusions now Villager, Pit may be very reckless from time to time, but he wouldn't dare to put a fellow brawlers health in danger, especially a week before an important day like this! And Kirby knows this better than anyone!"

Kirby smiled nervously when Palutena mentioned his name. Wii Fit Trainer may have cleared Pit's name before the angel could get in trouble for the treacherous act he did to Villager, but if the angel is fully wronged for his actions, then the consequences definitely won't be pretty.

* * *

The sixth and final limousine features a rather odd cast of characters - Link, Olimar, Alph, Samus, Corrin, Robin, Mega Man X, Zero, .EXE, Takamaru, Bayonetta, Geno, Nana, Popo, Gil, Shulk, and Dunban are all riding in the limousine together. More likely than not cast together due to lack of categorization, just like the first limousine.

"Even at a wedding you still choose to wear your parkas," X shook his head in shame at the Ice Climbers. The robot has no room to talk - he's only wearing a bowtie, just like the other robots. Certainly they could have painted their bodies in black in white, or anything like that.

 **Popo: We have decided to wear our parkas to the wedding for two reasons. First reason being that the suit and dress that compliments me and Nana's sizes respectively were out of our price range.  
Nana: The other reason was that Sonic kept annoying us about breaking wedding dress codes, and wearing whatever we want to wedding ceremonies. As if he can be any more annoying...  
Popo: No worries Nana, he has yet to perform his worst...and I'm getting the chills just thinking about it.**

"Me excited for wedding!" exclaimed Takamaru. If he uses his Engrish at the wedding...Mario might as well keep the samurai away from the guests. "Who else excited for wonderful wedding?"

"I'm certainly not..." grumbled Samus, resting her chin on her palm as she looked out the window in disgust. Had she not been forced to attend the wedding just like the rest of the brawlers, the space bounty hunter would have been either working in the workshop on some new gadget, sulking about how her life sucks at the mansion, or maybe even both. She's not exactly a stickler on romantic things, never did she care for any man residing in the Smash Mansion.

"C'mon Samus, you don't have to be so grumpy," Link did his best to cheer up Samus, but his best may be his ultimate worst. "This wedding might be a fun experience for all of us!"

"Much agreed, I'm really looking forward to it!" exclaimed Shulk, pumping his fist in the air like he scored a game-winning goal in a soccer game. There are some things in life that aren't worthy of a fist pump, and Shulk just proved it.

* * *

The limousines finally arrived at the wedding site, Olympic Sculpture Park, and the brawlers got out of said limousines. Mario and company's limousine released some toxic fumes when the door opened, and the passengers exited the limo, coughing and gagging from the horrid stench.

"Can't...breathe..." Mega Man wheezed as he fell out of the limousine and collapsed on the ground. The fumes were strong enough to infiltrate the robot's system core, and wreck a huge majority of his inner body systems. Of course, there is one culprit for these toxic fumes, starting to contaminate the air...and his name starts with a W.

"Why is everyone looking at me?" Wario frowned at the brawlers who were all displeased with the fatso's actions. Wario has transpired plenty of flatulent moments, and he may have provided his best - and most fowl - one yet.

 **Wario: *chuckling nervously* Eating the enchiladas Meta Knight baked for lunch last night wasn't such a great idea on my part...**

 **Meta Knight: I had a very glut feeling Wario would have eaten my enchiladas, temptation is that man's worst enemy. For emergency reasons, I baked another batch of enchiladas just in case. *holds up a plate of enchiladas* Here's one down the hatch! *brings enchilada to his mouth, only for the mask to get in the way* Ugh, I definitely should have thought this one through...**

"About time you all made it," said Mewtwo, who was looking at the brawlers with his arms folded. The Psychic Pokemon was floating in the air, scanning the brawlers' wedding attire. Some brawlers were dressed to perfection (i.e. Mario and Luigi), while others look completely out of the occasion (i.e. Sonic).

"Hey Mewtwo, why'd you teleport here so early?" asked Lloyd, believing that Mewtwo is cheating at life because of his ability to teleport at will.

"Rool was performing some horrendous dance moves in the limousine, and I had no choice but to teleport to salvage my eyes. Fortunately for me, I teleported before I could become scarred for life, just like my riding companions."

"Never again..." shuddered Dark Pit, who will now receive some painful memories of Rool's dancing that will remain intact in his head for an insurmountable period of time.

"I see you already set up the chairs and everything," Ness analyzed as he looked out across and saw the wedding scene before him; hundreds of chairs were set up, with an ample amount of room for everyone to walk through. An organ and a guitar set was set up, mainly for K.K. Slider to use.

"Those vendors were absolutely no help for I. Only able to carry four folding chairs at a time...give me a break."

"Some people can't carry that many chairs to begin with..." stated Diddy Kong. "I certainly know I can't!" That much is true, but Donkey Kong can carry a dozen chairs like they're dumbbells. That monkey is always putting his nephew to shame.

"That's only because your species is like that of humans - weak and nimble, especially compared to mighty powers like myself. But who am I to judge? Today is not the day for such things, we have plenty of things on our agenda before we can..."

Suddenly Luigi's phone started ringing, and the plumber took his cell phone out of his pocket, seeing that it was his fiancee Daisy. When your fiancee is calling you, you oughta answer that cell phone right away!

"Excuse-a me everyone, I gotta take-a this, Daisy's calling me," Luigi notified the others as he answered the phone and walked away to find the perfect spot to speak with Daisy without interruption. A few seconds later, Mario got a text message, and the plumber saw that it was from Waluigi. He read the text in full, and looked a bit disappointed. What appears to be the problem?

"Just got a text-a from Waluigi, he said-a he overslept since he set his alarm-a clock to 8:30 P.M. by accident, and that he has-a some cold symptoms," explained Mario. "So sadly he won't-a be attending the wedding, and Doc Louis will-a have to replace him..."

"Aw man, that must really suck..." Roy shook his head in despair, doing his best to feign his depressed reaction to Mario, just like what his fellow brawlers are doing.

 **Roy: Waluigi won't be anywhere near the wedding! Best, day, EVER! *pumps his fists in the air***

 **Bayonetta: This wedding just got a whole lot more cheeky with that lanky fool Waluigi being too sickened to attend! His immune system has struck a major deal of justice!**

 **Wario: Of course my partner-in-crime can't let his illness prevent him from witnessing the wedding ceremony! Which is why I'm planning on streaming the entire wedding on my trusty laptop, so I can edit it and all that good stuff...They do allow you to use laptops at the wedding, right? I mean, you can use a flipping iPhone to take pictures...perhaps I should speak with Sonic about this issue.**

"Look everyone, I understand that-a you're all upset about-a Waluigi's condition and his absence-a at the wedding," Mario told the brawlers, humorously unable to see through their facades. Their depressed visages are working to perfection. "But look-a on the bright side, Doc is now the bridesman!"

"Will I still be allowed to eat chocolate as I walk down the aisle?" asked the boxing trainer; Mario gave him a resounding thumbs up.

"Guys, I'm afraid-a we have some bad-a news..." Luigi emerged, sporting a facial expression displaying much worry. "Peach's car broke-a down, and the ladies may not-a make it to the wedding on-a time..."

"So does that mean that the wedding will be temporarily cancelled, given they don't make it?" asked a worried Wii Fit Trainer. Samus wasn't so worried - her eyes widened with joy, knowing that she can return to the Smash Mansion and not attend the wedding that she doesn't give a single crap about.

"If the car-a situation doesn't get resolved-a in time, I'm afraid that may-a be the case..." Luigi held his head in sadness. Seemed like everything was going his way today (minus the Wario passing gas in the limousine part) and now it's all crashing down...an individual like Luigi shouldn't deserve this.

"Don't be so down Luigi, the wedding cake is available, so we can just eat that!" comforted Bowser, walking towards the Luigi and giving him a pat on his back.

"Yeah, Bowser's right, we can't have the cake go to waste, somebody's gotta eat it!" Sonic joined in on the Koopa King's shenanigans. Look at the one who's devising an ulterior motive...

"The wedding cake should be the very least of our concerns," stated Captain Falcon, trying to be the voice of reason. "What we should be most concerned about, is how many hot babes will show up at the wedding!" Hoo boy, this might take a turn for the worst...

"What's up with you and hot women, they're the only thing you ever think about," said Ike. "Why won't you just accept the fact that you'll remain single forever for the rest of your miserable life?"

"Says the guy who claims he has friends, even though we never seen them before," interjected Lucario, joining in on the fray.

"Shut your mouth, you loner, you never even had friends to begin with!" retorted Geno, ensuing an all-out argument between him, Ike, Lucario, Captain Falcon, Bowser, and Sonic. This argument continued to last, until...

"ENOUGH!" a majestic voice boomed, catching the brawlers off guard. Soon enough, Master Hand appeared, and he brought along a good friend of his... _Crazy Hand._ "Bickering with one another before the wedding...if I only could shake my head or facepalm, just for moments like those...anyways, for those of you who may not be familiar, I would like for you to meet my best friend and undisputed thumb war champion, Crazy Hand!"

"Muahahahaha!" Crazy Hand laughed manically, staying faithful and true to his name. "Things are about to get a bit CRAZY up in here!"

 **Crazy Hand: I just LOVE spending time with the brawlers, even though I RARELY get to spend any time with them! DEEP down inside, I know they're SICK and TIRED of having to put up with that loon Master Hand ALL DAY LONG, and they long to see me again! Well consider their wishes GRANTED!**

"Please tell me he's not going to hurt us..." worried Corrin, suddenly fearing for his livelihood. He could tell by Crazy Hand's erratic hand movement - just the way he moves his fingers like a madman may be unnerving to some - that the hand is more intimidating than he looks.

"Silly Corrin, Crazy Hand won't harm you...at least for today, that is," assured Master Hand, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Now that everyone's here, we can take some wedding pictures in this lovely park!"

"Um, Master Hand...Daisy and-a the others haven't made it here-a yet," informed Luigi. "Peach's car broke-a down, and she..."

"Peach's car broke down again?!" Apparently this wasn't the first time such an instance occurred. "Did I not tell that woman to get her car check prior to the wedding, as an emergency precaution? Does she not realize how much I...I meant, _we,_ want to take pictures of Luigi and Daisy and hang them on our walls for our pleasure and enjoyment?!"

"Why are you including us in this?" questioned Little Mac. "We're not creepers like you." Only someone like Master Hand would post pictures of a newly married couple on his wall, and just...look at them. Sounds more creepy than it should sound.

"You don't know what you'll be missing out on...eh, we can wing it without having Daisy, Peach, Rosalina, and Zelda to take pictures with. King Dedede, is your camera ready?"

"Sure hope so..." the penguin chuckled nervously, pulling out his camera bag.

* * *

After grabbing a bite to eat to hold them over until the start of the wedding, Master Hand and the brawlers gathered near a lake at the Olympic Sculpture Park to take some wedding photos, while Daisy and company make it to the venue. Lakes are the perfect place to take pictures, and also the most cliche. But whatever makes for a great wedding photo...

King Dedede had his camera all ready to take wedding photos, except there was only one problem...the battery of the camera was running low. Many of the brawlers were glaring down the king, who smiled innocently to disparage his guiltiness.

"Rool made me take pictures of him dancing in the limousine," King Dedede fessed up. "There was no talking him out of it." All the glares were now directed at Rool, who threw his arms up in the air, as a way of saying "What did I do?".

 **King K. Rool: Dedede's fault for even bringing a camera to the wedding. Everyone knows snapping photos on your cell phone is the most proficient photo-taking method these days, at least according to millennials. I was just making Dedede pay for his actions. Marth and Luigi were the ones who put Dedede put to it, so I'll make sure they pay as well.**

"NO NEED TO FEAR...I'M HERE TO SAVE THE DAY..." R.O.B reached down to the lower part of his robot body, and pulled a piece of it off, revealing an electrica outlet. Who knew the robot would be so handy? King Dedede set up the camera stand, and plugged up the camera to the outlet.

"Why can't you do stuff like that?" Akira nudged Mega Man, who brushed the kung fu fighter's elbow away.

"Not every robot works the same," responded Mega Man. "As far as I'm concerned, R.O.B is just showing off."

"Someone's jealous..." Akira chanted in a joking tone, prompting Mega Man to groan in frustration. To be fair, Mega Man _does_ have a feature that relates to electrical outlets - he uses a Plug Ball as a weapon! Well, it's not entirely related to electrical outlets, but the weapon is owned by Plug Man, who can easily stick his head inside any outlet...if there was one suitable for his size.

"Alright now, who wants to go first?" Master Hand asked the brawlers. No one bothered to raise their hand, and you know exactly what that means... "Time to call random brawlers then! Mario and Luigi, you're up first!"

"It would-a be us..." Mario grumbled as he and his brother walked up in front of the camera. He and Luigi both made a goofy smile - this kind of smile helps the two get off some steam prior to the wedding

"At the count of three, say cheese!" directed King Dedede, squinting his left eye while his right eye looked into the lens. "One...two...three!"

"Cheeeeese!" Mario and Luigi exclaimed simultaneously without moving their mouths. King Dedede snapped the picture, and scrolled through the library to find the image...only to be displeased by what he saw in the background.

"Sonic you idiot, why are you photobombing?!" the penguin scolded the hedgehog, who was walking away innocently like he did nothing wrong.

"Just trying to spruce up the wedding photos!" replied Sonic. In the photo with Mario and Luigi, Sonic was seen pretending to choke himself to death, with his eyes bulged out and his tongue out of his mouth. Let's hope that photo doesn't wind up in a wedding scrapbook...

For the next hour, King Dedede would snap wedding photos of the brawlers, such as Lucina and Chrom, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, Olimar and Alph, the entire Pokemon squad, and many others. And Sonic would photobomb in each photo taken, doing ridiculous things such as planking, playing an imaginary saxophone, making silly faces, and butt slapping. (Yup, those photos are definitely tainted now...) To say King Dedede is disgruntled with Sonic's actions would be an understatement.

 **Sonic: Photobombing is, in my opinion, one of the most underrated aspects of picture taking. Suppose for instance, you have a lousy couple, and they're taking romantic pictures in a park, when all of a sudden...BLAM! A random guy shows up in the background at the last minute and strikes a Power Rangers-esque pose. Thanks to him, the picture went from a boring, ordinary picture to a funny, entertaining one! And that's exactly why I'm photobombing the wedding photos, to lighten them up a bit so people that see the photos won't subject themselves to the same boring crud over and over again. The brawlers may call it an annoying tactic, but I consider it the element of surprise!**

Last brawlers to take a photo together was Palutena and Lucas. The young teen was still tugging on to Palutena's wedding dress, like she's supposed to be his mommy. He's essentially fulfilling Pit's role while the angel is away!

"Smile at the camera, Lucas," Palutena said to Lucas in a comforting tone. Lucas mustered whatever courage he had nearly depleted due to his whiny, crybaby self, and looked at the camera, slightly intimidated by how the camera was focusing upon him.

"You ready?" asked King Dedede. Palutena was, but Lucas certainly isn't. "On the count of three...one...two..."

"Lady Palutena, I finally made it!"

Up in the skies was Palutena's faithful lapdog Pit, carrying a bag of McDonald's in his hand. He was flying towards the goddess of light; King Dedede shrieked as he ran away. Pit would crash into Lucas, and the two would be sent splashing into the water. Way to get your tuxedos soaking wet, boys!

"Not cool, man!" Lucas frowned, splashing water in Pit's face. It's safe to say Lucas is no longer a sobbing scaredy cat now.

"Hey man, watch it!" Pit responded back by splashing some water in Lucas' face. Unlike the blonde teen, Pit is actually enjoying this whole splashing-water-in-people's-faces thing, though it could be due to his childlike charm that makes him so darn lovable (if not for his intelligence).

"Pit, I'm so happy to see you!" Viridi happily jumped into the lake and swam over to Pit, hugging him. "My time spent without you was insufferable!" She then proceeded to kiss Pit multiple times on the cheek, and the angel felt quite embarrassed.

"So you weren't using me just to get closer to Toon Link?" Pit asked the goddess of nature; Viridi was particularly dumbfounded by Pit's question.

"Absolutely not, Toon Link may be cute and all, but he's nothing compared to the likes of you!" Toon Link looked down at the ground and rubbed his arm in despair when Viridi said this. Keep yer chin up Toon, you'll get a girl that'll appreciate your looks soon.

"Do tell me you have a weapon that can blow dry Pit's and Lucas' tuxedos," Palutena said to Mega Man.

"I'm one step ahead of ya..." grinned the robot.

* * *

Once the photo taking session commenced, it was now time to let the guests in. The brawlers already taken their seats, and Cloud and Marth were standing at the entrance-way to greet the guests and hand them a wedding program.

"I see what you're doing here Cloud, you're checking out the female guests so you can determine which lady is the right fit for you!" Fox said to the blonde swordsman. Cloud could only scoff at what Fox just said, looking for potential girlfriends is the least of his worries. "It's never too late to join Captain Falcon and Falco in their escapades!" Fox then returned to his seat.

 **Cloud: There was only one woman in my life that I actually cared about from a romantic standpoint, and her name was Aerith. Sure, Tifa was always there, looking out for me and such, but Aerith...she was the only person I ever had personal feelings for. And since she's gone, my life now has an empty void that has yet to be fulfilled...**

"You ready?" Marth asked Cloud as a line of guests was making their way towards the swordsmen. Neither of them expected this many guests to attend one wedding, but considering it's Luigi and Daisy getting married...

"Ready as I'll ever be," Cloud responded with a smile, getting the wedding programs ready. The first guest to greet Cloud was Professor E. Gadd, the wacky scientist who helped Luigi conquer his fear of ghosts...or at the very least attempted to.

"Professor E. Gadd, pleasure to meet you!" E. Gadd held out his hand, and Cloud shook it. The scientist's English is muffled with some rather ambiguous gibberish, but fortunately it's not ambiguous to the point where you can't understand what the man is saying.

"Likewise," replied Cloud, handing E. Gadd a wedding program. "Hope you enjoy the wedding." E. Gadd nodded and went to go find his seat.

The first guest to greet Marth was Dr. Light, who was accompanied by Roll. The two took their seats...and frankly Sonic was sitting a row up ahead of them.

"Sup Dr. Light, sup Roll!" Sonic turned behind him and greeted the two. "So Dr. Light, when is your girlfriend gonna show up?"

"Girlfriend?" Dr. Light raised an eyebrow before bursting into laughter. At his age, it's too late for Dr. Light to search for a significant other. "Silly boy, I don't have a girlfriend, and I don't plan on getting one anytime soon!"

"So you're gonna live the rest of your life single, living with a robot you claim to be your daughter?" Sonic shook his head in dismay. "What a way to go, man..."

"Hi Sonic!" a certain girly voice called out from afar. Sonic instantly feared for the worst when he saw Amy Rose, adorned in an elegant wedding dress, waving towards him. Sonic's fears are coming back to him, and at the worst time.

"Hide me!" the hedgehog told Knuckles, the awesome echidna sitting next to him, as he hid underneath his chair. Knuckles could only smirk, for he found Sonic's irrational fear of Amy's yandere tendencies very humorous.

"Can't wait to see you two smooching at the wedding reception," the echidna joked around with his best friend. A familiar bat took an empty seat next to Knuckles; the echidna turned to his side and was shocked to see who it was. "Rouge what are you doing here?!" Indeed, Knuckles' love interest, Rouge the Bat, is one of the many wedding guests.

"Attending a wedding like any other good civilian would do," smiled Rouge, who was wearing a slightly seductive wedding dress, staying true to her nature. "Remind me to tell Luigi thank you for inviting me to this lovely wedding, certainly it will be a blast..."

 **Knuckles: Luigi just HAD to invite Rouge to the wedding! GRRAAAH!...Well on the bright side, she ain't bad like Amy is, so I guess that's a positive.**

Guests continued to file in and take their seats while Marth and Cloud continued to greet more and more guests. In addition to E. Gadd, Amy, and Rouge, the guest list was pretty long - Toadsworth, King Boo, Dixie Kong, Cranky Kong, Azura (from _Fire Emblem_ ), Knuckle Joe, the entire Star Wolf crew, Krystal, Madeline Bergman, Magnus, Phosphora, Fiora, Reyn, Bald Bull, Meryl Silverburgh, Silver the Hedgehog, the Chaotix trio, Dr. Eggman, Big the Cat, Chun-li, Rayman, Globox, Barbara (both from the Rayman series), Shovel Knight, Luka Redgrave, Jeanne (Bayonetta), Tifa Lockhart, Barret, Yuffie, and Vincent Valentine were ALL invited. Great googly moogly (kudos if you got the reference) doesn't even begin to describe the star power and absurd amount of guests.

"I gotta admit, you look really handsome in that suit!" Tifa, one of the last guest to come, told Cloud as she pinched the swordsman's cheek, and boy was that embarrassing for Cloud.

"Please don't pinch my cheek in front of everyone..." he begged. He had a blank stare the whole time he was greeting guests, which made them question whether or not he cared about the wedding.

"Aw, come on, no one was looking! Oh, and by the way, one more person is coming. That blank stare of yours is gonna change in an instant!"

Cloud simply rolled his eyes as Tifa grabbed her a wedding program and found her seat. Then all of a sudden, Cloud's heart came to an immediate stop as the final guest made their way up the steps. This guest had long light brown hair, plaited with a long pink ribbon, with segmented braids framing her lovely face. The guest wore a white and pink wedding dress, which actually complemented the color of her emerald eyes very well. Cloud could only say the name of this wedding guest, and he knew exactly who it was...

...Aerith Gainsborough.

"Missed me?" Aerith smiled at Cloud, who was clearly at a loss for words. To think that Sephiroth had killed Aerith, and here she is, alive and well...how is this even possible?!

"B-But how?" Cloud finally uttered some words as Aerith walked up to him and embraced him. A tear was running down Cloud's face, and suddenly he burst out crying - although his emotional breakdown was rather silent, for his tears were of supreme happiness. Aerith was there to console him.

"Don't you remember when you and Sephiroth were fighting each other, and disappeared afterwards? I've been anticipating the day you would return...but it seems like my wait is finally over."

Marth watched as Aerith was consoling a rather emotional Cloud, and smiled. The man who sulked about life, and displayed apathy towards pretty much anyone was now in tears.

 **Marth: Long story short...Luigi really wanted to invite Aerith Gainsborough to the wedding, and so Master Hand sent me to an alternate universe to retrieve Aerith. (Bringing this universe's Aerith back from the dead takes too much work, and it's very big of a risk.) The universe I was sent to was horrible - everywhere I went, someone was offering me sea-salt ice cream. (The people in the universe have no good taste whatsoever.) In actuality, Luigi doesn't really know Aerith like that, but he just wanted to see Cloud happy - and I think he accomplished just that.**

"Woah, Cloud, never seen you in tears like this before!" Barret, Cloud's trusty companion, approached the swordsman and saw him in tears. He was never used to Cloud showing that much emotion, so this was a bit of a new, riveting experience for him. "Once you're done with the whole waterworks and all, Mario wants to speak with you for a quick minute. Says he wants to make you a late-minute groomsman!"

"Late-minute groomsman?" Aerith raised an eyebrow at Barret, not fully comprehending this concept. Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Wario were already decided to be the groomsmen, but evidently Mario (and/or Master Hand) felt like adding a few more.

"Just follow me to the building, Mario will explain everything that you need to know."

* * *

Cloud, Aerith, and Barret gathered with Mario, Master Hand, and Crazy Hand inside a building, discussing the wedding procession. Also present were the three original groomsmen - Donkey Kong, Yoshi, and Wario - and Toad, Samus, Madeline Bergman, Sonic, Amy, Fox, Falco, Link, Isabelle, Marth, Ganondorf, Pit, Viridi, Palutena, Villager, Tails, Bayonetta, Luka Redgrave, Little Mac, Doc Louis, Snake, Shulk, Fiora, Mega Man X, Zero, Jacky, Akira, Rayman, and Barbara.

"As some of you may or may not know, Daisy, Peach, Rosalina, and Zelda aren't here yet due to car troubles," explained Isabelle. "In addition, Fox and Falco wish to recreate the JK wedding dance during the wedding procession, since it would "liven up" the ceremony."

"A just kidding wedding dance?" questioned Snake, after taking the "JK" out of context. "How is that gonna work?"

"No, no, JK is just the abbreviation for Jill and Kevin, the couple who originated the wedding dance!"

"...And what do 'Jill and Kevin' have to do with this wedding?" When you suffer from accelerated age, you often become unfamiliarized with viral videos, whether they be old or new. Most old geezers feel that way.

"Point-a of the matter is, we need as-a many groomsmen and bridesmaids as possible for the dance-a to work!" Mario spoke up. Three groomsmen and three bridesmaids (who haven't even arrived yet) simply won't do. "So all of you are-a going to participate, one-a way or another!"

 **Rayman: I've seen and re-watched the JK wedding dance plenty of times before, but never would I imagine having a chance to participate in such a dance, and at Luigi's wedding nonetheless! A dream come true!  
** **Barbara: Can we use weapons in this dance? *pulls out her battle axe*  
** **Rayman: No Barbara, no weapons are allowed. We're here to dance like there's no tomorrow, not hurt the wedding guests.  
Barbara: *holds head in sadness as she puts her battle axe back***

 **Sonic: *eyes, closed, hands clasped together, as if he was prying* Please don't pair me up with Amy, p** **lease don't pair me up with Amy, p** **lease don't pair me up with Amy...**

"Alright, let's get this over with," Master Hand said, clearing his nonexistent throat. "Link, Rayman, Pit, Luka Redgrave, Little Mac, Jacky Akira, X, Zero, Fox, Falco, Cloud, Barret, Marth, Ganondorf, Sonic, Snake, and Toad, you're all serving as groomsmen. Fiora, Bayonetta, Isabelle, Amy, Aerith, Samus, Madeline, and Palutena shall be the bridesmaids. Mario will maintain his role as the best man, and Doc Louis will maintain his role as the bridesman."

"Totally did not agree to this, especially as a wedding guest," Luka whispered to Fiora, one of the few faces he recognized in this meeting. Luka is not that much of a dancer, he'll probably just do the robot as he makes his way down the aisle.

"I'm sure you'll do just fine," assured Fiora. She wasn't feeling the wedding dance that much either, but she'll make the best of her opportunity.

"All we have to do now is wait for Daisy and the others to make it," announced Master Hand. The wait would eventually come to a end when...

"You guys didn't start the wedding without me, didn't you?"

Much to everyone's surprise, Daisy showed up in her wonderful wedding dress, flanked by Zelda, Peach, and Rosalina. Luigi couldn't help but smile as Daisy ran up to Luigi, who embraced her in his arms. Link would embrace with Zelda, Mario did the same with Peach, and Ganondorf...had a rather awkward reunion with Rosalina. They'd promised to keep their relationship on hold.

"What-a happened to your car?" Mario asked Peach, just as intrigued with the situation as everyone else was.

"I was just driving the car until the fuse went out," explained Peach. "We were left stranded on a highway for an awfully long time!"

"Fortunately Shadow the Hedgehog drove by in his motorcycle, and when he saw us, he stopped his vehicle and replaced the fuse," added Zelda. "He was quite the gentleman...for that one moment at least."

"I don't understand what happened, I checked the fuse last night before I went to bed..." Peach shook her head, wondering how the situation came to be. She had checked it at midnight, and later in the morning to ensure that the fuse was okay.

"It was MY doing!" exclaimed Crazy Hand. "Master Hand wanted to KEEP Luigi and Daisy away, so I SNEAKED to the mansion unknowingly and SABOTAGED the fuse, just to please Master Hand!" As a result of his confession, Crazy Hand received glares from everyone. "Did I do GREAT, Master Hand?"

"If nearly sabotaging the wedding counts as doing great, then so be it..." groaned Master Hand, regretting inviting Crazy Hand to the wedding in the first place. He should have known better than to invite that dude - or hand, lunatics like him are predictable to the nth degree.

 **Master Hand: My sole reason for inviting Crazy Hand is that he's incredibly lonely, and doesn't get out that much. Only time he ever gets out is to berate the bratty schoolchildren that spray graffiti all over his house...I tell you, Crazy Hand lives in a very rough place.**

"Has Daisy been informed about the JK wedding dance?" Master Hand asked the original bridesmaids; Zelda nodded her head. "Excellent! Seems like it's about time for the ceremony to commence!"

* * *

While the groomsmen and bridesmaids awaited in the building, Chrom was standing at the front, sweating like a bucket while K.K. Slider played a wedding theme on an as the officiant in front of so many people has to be nerve-wrecking for the prince of Yliesse, and the fact that it's his first time as an officiant is all the more nerve-wracking.

"You'll do great, father," Lucina assured her father by patting him in his shoulder and kissing him on his cheek, before heading back to her seat. Sitting in Lucina's section was Captain Falcon, on the lookout for girls.

"Tis a great day for the wedding, don't you think so chap?" Shovel Knight asked Falcon, who was looking through his binoculars. A great, useful for girl-searching on the go.

"Leave me alone man, can't you see I'm looking for my future wife?" retorted the racer. He saw Meryl Silverburgh sitting behind a few rows back, looking beautiful as always. "Ooh, I think that Meryl girl noticed me! One step in the right direction!"

"That Meryl girl is married..." Indeed, her husband is Johnny Sasaki, a U.S. army soldier who participated in most of _Metal Gear Solid_ 's wonderful incidents. It's more than likely that he's on duty somewhere.

 **Meryl: Johnny is stationed at the Guantanamo Bay, so he couldn't attend the wedding. I was told to be on the lookout for men who may have forgotten about my marital status (Captain Falcon, for example), so I've got my eyes peeled...**

"Everyone, it is time for the wedding to commence!" announced Master Hand, his voice loud enough to silence the crowd. The building's double doors were opened, and standing at the entrance was Fox and Falco; the latter was wearing Big Top on his head.

"Did you seriously paint Big Top black?" Fox asked the avian pilot. Big Top was colored all black, and the hat didn't seem to be fazed one bit.

"Whatever suits my attire," Falco simply shrugged. "You ready for this, Big Top?"

"You bet!" replied the talking hat. Big Top would wink to K.K. Slider, who, after receiving the notion, headed over to the keyboard - conveniently placed next to the organ - and pressed a play button. A eurodance melody blared from the sound system, and then...

"One, two, three, four!" These were the lyrics played out of the sound system as Fox and Falco threw the papers they were holding in their hands up in the air, and started dancing to Chris Brown's song, "Forever", dancing their way down the aisle. (Play the song while you're reading this section if you like, if you wanna get in the mood.) Some of the guests were amused, while others were wondering what the heck was supposed to be happening.

"I did not expect to see this garbage at the wedding..." Shadow frowned as it was Link's and Zelda's turn to dance down the aisle. Afterwards, it was Peach and Samus; Peach gave her dancing some effort, while Samus was just moving her arms about in a way that can pass for dancing.

Next up was Rayman and Barbara. Barbara was swinging her battle axe around (even though she was told by Rayman not to do so), and she swung it so hard that it flew in the air and struck .EXE in the head. Fortunately, it didn't do much damage to him, since his system is still intact and he hasn't lost his sanity..."

"I deserved this..." the robot shook his head as Barret danced his way down the aisle. After him was Mario and Madeline Bergman, Jacky and Akira, X and Zero, Rosalina, and Ganondorf, Cloud and Aerith, Little Mac and Isabelle, Shulk and Dunban, and Bayonetta and Luka. When it was Wario's and Marth's turn to dance down the aisle, Marth shoved Wario out of the way - because he kept getting in the way of the Hero-King - and the poor fatso collided against K.K. Slider's organ.

"My baby..." the hippie dog consoled the organ like it was his precious baby. The wedding dance continued with Donkey Kong and Yoshi, and then Toad, who was holding up a "#KnittingClub" t-shirt, like anyone is gonna join that crap. Sonic and Amy were up next, and when it was their turn...well, let's just say that the two didn't do that much dancing, since Sonic spent most of the time running away from a rather obsessive Amy. The guests found this quite hilarious, seeing Amy's yandere tendencies at full force, even at a wedding.

After Pit and Palutena did their little jig down the aisle, Tails came forth with the rings, with Viridi and Villager behind him throwing flowers about. The fox cautiously walked down the aisle, his eyes darting left and right, trying not to stumble and drop the rings. Once he reached Chrom, he let out a sigh of relief.

Soon Mario, Peach, and the groomsmen and bridesmaids danced down the aisle, all the same time in (im)perfect unity. Pit, Wario, and Toad were terribly off, but that didn't take away from anything about the group dance. Then out of nowhere, Luigi burst through the group, and did a little jig or two, before making dancing his way up to Chrom with the group dancing along after him until they were all at the front. Right when the "Forever" song reached the "I won't let you fall..." bit, the dancers moved their arms about in slow motion, as if they were falling.

And right when the chorus of the song picked up for the last time, Daisy came out of the doors with a broquet in her hands, dancing down the aisle while the bridesman danced along behind her. Luigi would greet his bride at the middle of the aisle, and the two lovebirds locked arms as they walked down the aisle to Chrom, with Doc Louis clapping vigorously. Way to ruin a genuine moment, Doc.

With the groomsmen standing at Luigi's side, and the bridesmaids standing at Daisy's side, it was time for the thing everyone's been dying to see - Daisy and Luigi, married forever. Chrom officiated the ceremony with precision - did a short speech, allowed Luigi and Daisy to perform their vows, had them confess their love to each other, made them put on the wedding rings, and all that good stuff. And once Luigi and Daisy confessed their love for each other, and agreed to take each other as their lawfully wedded husband/wife, the final words kicked it off...

"By the authority vested in me by the State of Washington, I now pronounce you husband and wife," announced Chrom, and it finally happened - Luigi and Daisy kissed, signifying the start of their wonderful marriage. Everyone stood up and clapped for the newlyweds; Mario shed a tear, and Diddy Kong was bawling his eyes out. Many others were getting teary-eyed as well.

What matters the most now, is that Luigi and Daisy, now married, are together forever - in perfect unity.

* * *

 **Chrom: Being the officiant of the wedding...wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I had a few hiccups here and there - for instance, my cellphone went off during the ceremony, haven't found a way to turn that darn thing off, and Lucina refuses to help me - but overall, I didn't do that bad.**

Luigi, Daisy, and the wedding guests were guided by the vendor to an outside venue for the cocktail party. Everyone helped themselves to some appetizers, and engaged in some conversation. Sonic was conversing with Reyn, a dear childhood friend of Shulk's.

"Do you ever listen to 'City Escape' from _Sonic Adventure 2_?" the hedgehog asked the Homs. "City Escape" is one of Sonic's favorite songs, and he is incessantly annoying people about it.

"No, and I don't plan on doing so," replied Reyn, grabbing his appetizers quickly so he can get away from the hedgehog and hang out with his Homs friends.

"Oh really? Then you're an idiot!" Sonic said before blowing his tongue at Reyn at stormed away angrily. Reyn just stood there with a blank face while Sonic went to go speak with his hedgehog friends, Shadow and Silver - although Shadow isn't that much of a friend to anyone. "Any of you guys know when we're gonna eat the cake?"

"We will eat the cake when you decide to stop being an idiot," replied Shadow. Something in his mind told him to attend the wedding, and now the hedgehog is regretting attending in the first place, for a variety of reasons - Sonic, the wedding dance, Sonic, the hot sun warming on his face, Sonic, Cranky Kong breathing heavily behind him...but mostly Sonic.

"Man, that sure sounds like a lot of time. How long do you think that's gonna last?"

"As long as you want it to be..." sighed Silver, starting to share Shadow's sentiments about the wedding...and Sonic.

 **Silver: Shadow wasn't really feeling the whole wedding ceremony - he didn't like how the groomsmen and bridesmaids were having fun dancing down the aisle. He thinks that they should have been civil and courteous, but then again, Shadow can be a very boring guy, so...What about me marrying Blaze in the future? You want me to do that?! You must be out of your mind!**

"Surprised to see you in town," Captain Falcon said to Meryl Silverburgh, leaning his back against a wall. Here comes yet another failed flirting attempt... "How about we go out to eat, while the others tarry at the lovely reception?"

"If I'm going out to eat with anyone, it's Johnny Sasaki, my husband," replied Meryl. This broke Falcon's heart - this whole time, he never knew Meryl was married, and this whole time, he was trying to get closer to Meryl...only for his efforts to end in failure yet again.

"It would be for the best if you just give up," Vincent Valentine approached Captain Falcon, who was whimpering like a baby, and rested his hand on his shoulder. "No point in coming up short every time."

During this cocktail hour, King Dedede was at work, taking wedding photos of the guests with a now fully charged camera. With Sonic not present to photobomb the photos, the penguin's temper was minimal, and kept at ease. One of the photos Dedede took was Cloud and Aerith, standing side-by-side.

"And...BLAM!" King Dedede snapped the photo with his camera. (Who the heck says "BLAM!" when taking a photo?) Cloud and Aerith looked at the final result, and saw bunny-eared fingers above both of their heads.

"Ha, got 'em!" Yuffie popped up behind Cloud and Aerith, wrapping her arms around both of them. Only a playful spirit like her would do such a thing.

"Sonic can be so hard to understand at times, I try to love him, but he doesn't love me back..." Amy Rose spoke with Viridi. A tsundere and a yandere holding a conversation, who would have thunk? "He even tried to run away from me during the wedding dance! What has gotten in to him?"

"Pit used to be like that before we were officially an item," stated Viridi. "No matter what I do to win his heart, that boy keeps running away from me. But eventually he came around, though it took a long while." If Viridi gives Amy any sort of romantic advice, then Sonic better stay clear of the pink hedgehog...a tsundere/yandere mix sounds more hazardous than it sounds.

Elsewhere, Barbara was trying to pry her battle axe out of MegaMan .EXE's head. Rayman and Globox held the robot down as Barbara tried to pull the axe out with all her might.

 **.EXE: Due to my species as a NetNavi, a living computer program, real-life objects don't hurt me one bit, so Barbara's battle axe didn't do me any real damage. But if someone like threw a tomahawk at my head and it got stuck...then I would have been done for.**

"Globox sees a ghost..." the amphibian got scared real quick when King Boo appeared behind Barbara. Its teeth and menacing smile is what creeped Globox out the most. King Boo suddenly opened his mouth wide... "BARBARA WATCH OUT!"

Miracously, Barbara took the battle axe out of .EXE's head and turned around to face King Boo, battle axe in hand. Instead of scaring the living daylights out of Barbara, Rayman, Globox, and .EXE...he hugged the four of them. The wedding is bringing all the love out of the Boo.

"This is so awkward..." Rayman remarked, struggling to get out of King Boo's hold. How did the Boo's puny arms become long enough to hug people?

"Luigi, Daisy, you two lovebirds hit center stage!" exclaimed a vendor, temporarily filling in as a DJ for K.K. Slider. "It's about time for some...slow jams..." The vendor said "slow jams" in a slow tone, as if he was trying to hit on a lady. He would have a stronger chance at snagging one than Captain Falcon, that's for sure. Luigi and Daisy did as they were told, heading to the center of the floor.

"I've always been practicing for this moment..." Luigi told Daisy as he embraced his bride in his loving arms.

"I know you have," smiled Daisy. "Now shut up and dance with me..." Luigi and Daisy locked hands as they did a slow jam in the center, with everyone watching attentively. Some didn't bother watching, and carried on with their conversations, like the Star Wolf crew.

"Did you ever finish the horror movie as a part of our bet?" Panther Caroso asked Wolf. He would have preferred Wolf to walk about in the mansion in yoga pants, for it would be embarrassing on an astronomical level.

"Sure did, got it finished last week," Wolf replied confidently. The pilot is taking a heavy deal of pride in his movie, and his pride is deluding him from the lackadaisical quality of his film.

"Can't wait to see you fail..." Leon Powalksi snarled, rubbing his hands together in an evil way.

 **Leon: Wolf informed me about his crummy horror movie as he was producing it...he told me about how he had the Lucina chick act like a woman from the inner city...what's more is that she was the last person he had considered to play the part...that bit of information alone makes the film destined for complete failure.**

"Everyone follow me to the art museum, it's about that time for dinner!" announced the vendor, leading the guests to the museum. Luigi and Daisy, being the couple of the hour, led the pack.

"Push me to the museum, my stomach is grumbling!" Cranky Kong ordered Dixie Kong, ranting on like the grumpy grandpa he is.

 **Cranky Kong: Why are my words in bold lettering? And where did the quotation marks go? I refuse to speak under these conditions!**

Not everyone went to the museum, however. Cloud, for instance, made his way down to the lake; Aerith saw this, and ran after him. She would eventually find the swordsman sitting by the lake by himself, looking into the distance.

"Hard to believe that you came back..." muttered Cloud, sensing Aerith's presence. His wish of seeing his (presumed) one true love alive again was all that he wanted, and now his wish has been granted (partially).

"What do you mean, I came back?" Aerith smiled, sitting next to Cloud. "I've been waiting and believing that _you_ would come back - and gladly it didn't have to be that way."

"Yeah, well, at least we can finally see each other again," Cloud grabbed a rock, and threw it across the lake, watching as it bounced three times. A personal record set by the blonde swordsman.

"There you guys are!" Link ran up to Cloud and Aerith, accompanied by Krystal. "Tifa has been waiting on you. Thought you might have ran away without telling us."

"They're serving steak at the reception!" exclaimed Krystal. A lot of the guests have some giant appetites, Cloud and Aerith better hurry before all the steaks are gone. "Certainly you can't miss out on that!"

"So are you guys coming or not? Pretty sure Wario or Rool will consume every steak in sight, whether it's theirs or not."

"And what a debacle that would be," Cloud smirked as he got up, and held out his hand to Aerith. "Shall we?" The flower girl was seemingly touched by Cloud's offer.

"I don't see why not," Aerith took Cloud's hand, and got up, staring lovingly into Cloud's eyes. The two walked to the museum holding hands, and Link and Krystal both watched - possibly shipping Cloud and Aerith in their heads.

"About time Cloud gets a girlfriend," grinned Link. "After all the crap he has been through, he really deserves some love in his life..."

"He also deserves a great friend like you," Krystal told the Hylian. "Glad to see that you two are constantly looking out for each other."

* * *

The guests were all gathered inside the art museum of the Olympic Sculpture Park, eating their steak dinner and enjoying conversation with one another - except for Ashley, who was bummed out when she had to sit with people, namely the knitting club.

"Care to explain why you're wearing a '#KnittingClub' shirt over your suits?" Azura, who sat at the table with Corrin, asked the members of the knitting club. Ashley was the only member not wearing her shirt, and for a good reason.

"We're trying to represent our wonderful club!" Toad explained cheerfully. "This wedding is a great chance for us to spread exposure!"

 **Yoshi: Did some recruiting before the wedding, and at the cocktail hour. I've asked a few guests if they wanted to join our club as a distant member - so far, I've asked Mr. Resetti, Rude, and Knuckle Joe if they wanted to join...Knuckle Joe is the very reason why I have this black eye. *points to his blackened left eye***

"Aw, how sweet, you two are finally a couple now!" Phosphora said to Pit and Viridi, both sitting together at a table. A prominent protocol as a couple - you don't want to break your boyfriend's/girlfriend's trust by hanging out with your best buddies at a wedding reception.

"Yup, and nothing can break us apart!" Pit cheesily grinned. Believe it or not, Phosphora had some romantic feelings for Pit, and the angel is very glad that Phosphora never confessed his love for him or anything like that. Pit's just happy he has Viridi as his loving companion.

"Why is everyone at the Smash Mansion in love?" wondered Magnus, also sitting at the table. "It's you guys, then it's Link and Zelda, Mario and Peach...I wouldn't want to live in a place where it's all lovey-dovey, would be too much for me to handle..."

"Excuse me everyone, it's about that time we have the toasts," announced one of the vendors. "Best man is up first!" So Mario was the first to give a toast, and Peach and Marth (the wedding financier) followed afterwards.

Then it was time for the guests to give our their toasts. First up was Dr. Eggman.

"Black Doom and I made a bet a long time ago; he bet $500 that the two of you would never get married! I won! That man better pay up, if he knows what's good for him!"

After Eggman was Mr. Resetti, the mole that will terrorize you for restarting your console system in Super Smash Bros.

"Luigi, Daisy...y'all are both shameful for not inviting your parents! I shake my head at the both of you!" To be fair, nobody has ever seen or talked about their parents...

Next up was Chun-li, an absolute trailblazer for women in video games. Ryu still has a bit of a soft spot for her.

"Just for the record, I hardly know you two that well - Luigi, you only invited me just to make an impression, Marth told me the full details. But I'm glad that you're finally a married man, and I'm hoping Ryu will come around sometime in the future..." Ryu nervously pulled on the collar of his sleeveless suit when Chun-li said this.

Corrin also did a toast...though it wasn't the verbal kind.

"Good thing I came prepared for this..." Corrin literally brought toasted bread to Luigi and Daisy, before a vendor whispered in the prince's ear that he was doing it all wrong. "Oh, you mean a verbal toast? I'll just take my seat then..."

Last to speak was Toadsworth, Peach's steward who sports a very evident English accent.

"They say that birds of a feather flock together. Well, the two of you are the most graceful, odd, beautifully singing birds I've ever met... and I can't wait to see you fly." Toadworth read this off of a note card, which really downgrades the genuine nature of his comments.

 **Toadsworth: Honestly I didn't have anything original to say, just wanted to say something nice to Luigi and Daisy. I've been dreaming about their marriage since forever...and these are actual dreams, mind you. The dreams I have about Mario and Peach getting married...the details are somewhat explicit, so I'd rather not get into fine details.**

Luigi and Daisy rose up so they could do their toasts. And afterwards, the cutting of the cake - Sonic's only incentive for wanting to attend the wedding in the first place.

"Thank-a you everyone for coming out-a here this evening, this day has-a been a real blast," Luigi started things off, less sweatier than usual. Having Daisy at his side must be making him less nervous. "Words cannot explain-a how much I feel, I'm-a so grateful right now..."

"As some of you may know, Luigi is not the most sociable person, or the most brave person...but he really does have a strong heart," added Daisy. "When I sensed that huge heart of his, I instantly knew that we were perfect for each other. And I'm so glad that you all could witness our lovely wedding, this might go down as the best day of both of our lives..."

A great toast deserves a great round of applause, and that's what Luigi and Daisy received from the guests and the vendors. Luigi shed a tear, never has he felt more appreciated in his life.

"Guess that takes care of the toasts," remarked the vendor. "Now we can cut the cake!" The vendors brought out the giant cake, and Sonic's eyes bulged out. He sped towards the cake, and ran face-first into it, resulting in a great deal of laughter from the guests.

"Hehe, serves him right," chuckled Bald Bull, watching as Sonic tried to get the icing off his face and repel Amy from helping him at the same time.

"His nose is always leading him to trouble..." Jeanne smiled, shaking her head. As a fellow Sega character, she knows how Sonic can be at times.

While everyone was eating their cake, or dancing outside in the ballroom next to the museum, Mario and Peach walked up to Luigi and Daisy, who were on their way to the ballroom.

"We're siblings in-a law now," Mario told Daisy. It would take the plumber a short while to get adjusted to this.

"You know it was bound to happen sooner or later," Daisy smiled, playfully punching Mario on his shoulder. Mario is going to have one playful sister-in-law to get used to.

"Us becoming sister-in-laws can happen sooner or later too," Peach told Daisy. "Only when Mario and I finally get married. Isn't that right, Mario?"

"Soon and very soon..." Mario nodded while giving a triumphant thumbs up. Mario and Peach, husband and wife...

Time can't speed itself up for such possibilities to come true, can it?


	25. Episode 25: Prankdial

**Episode 25: Prankdial**

"And this lovely room is the gaming room," Cloud told Aerith as he invited the flower girl and Cetra descendant over and gave her a guide through the Smash Mansion. Cloud has been noticeably different since the wedding, and many brawlers have taken notice; instead of acting apathetic, reclusive, and a bit of a loner, the swordsman has become more and more expressive and caring ever since he saw Aerith again. Perhaps the death of Aerith is what caused his previous demeanor to take shape - but he was like that prior to Aerith's death anyways. Maybe it was Zack Fair's death that done him in.

"It seems like this room fits your style," remarked Aerith, taking note of the billiard tables, bar stand (no alcoholic drinks are sold, due to the presence of minors), and the stage, where K.K. Slider sat on his stool playing his lovely guitar, and Jigglypuff singing without trying not to put anyone to sleep. The gaming room, at least to Aerith, is reminiscent of a bar, an establishment mostly frequented by bad, tough dudes, and Aerith feels that Cloud seamlessly fits the bad, tough dude mold.

"Eh, I don't think so. Don't go to this room that much, the loud noise level usually keeps me away."

 **Aerith: Cloud has been so sweet lately, almost as if I'm seeing a different version of him. He's never been so expressive before. The brawlers at the mansion are sweet too, but they keep asking me how I'm alive. Did I have a mysterious doppelganger that got killed or something?**

"Yo, Cloud, your lady friend, is she single?" Captain Falcon called out to the swordsman, playing billiards with Takamaru. Dude's in for a rude awakening.

"She's with me," responded Cloud, doing his best to explain Aerith's relationship status to Falcon without having to give up the racer's hopes. Captain Falcon literally asked every female guest out at the wedding (they had to be at the appropriate age) and he forgot to ask out Aerith, whom he never saw with Cloud.

"...Yes, I can see that's she with you, but is she single?"

"I'm sorry, kind sir, but Cloud and I have started dating...so I'm no longer single. Sorry about that."

"It was worth a shot..." Captain Falcon sighed as he took out his list of girls, and scratched off Aerith's name, which was directly under Tifa's name (also scratched out). That list is becoming more pathetic with each and every name added to it.

 **Captain Falcon: Out of all my failed attempts to ask a single girl out, my attempt with Tifa Lockhart was the absolute worst. I just asked the chick if she wanted to hang out after the wedding, and she sucker punched me out of nowhere, giving me a bloody nose in the process. Don't even know why I considered asking her out in the first place, she's way too strong for my tastes. In any relationship, the man should be stronger than the woman, and not the other way around!...Am I gonna get in trouble for saying that? Please don't tell Peach and the others...**

"Falcon don't worry, find girls you will soon!" Takamaru encouraged the racer, knowing that his fortunes may turn around one day. Whenever that day comes remains to be seen.

"Is he...speaking in Engrish?" Aerith asked Cloud concerning the nature of Takamaru's English. The language lessons Ike holds with the guy doesn't seem to be working. "Granted he is Japanese and may not be that much familiar with the English language, but still..."

"He speaks in Engrish all the time," explained Cloud. "Ike is giving him some lessons in English, and as you can see, no significant progress has been made."

"Perhaps Ike isn't the right teacher," Aerith has a great point, why would anyone want to learn from an overconfident loser who is implied to have imaginary friends? None of the brawlers have yet to see the dude's "friends"! "A great teacher is one who is nurturing to their pupil...and I don't believe isn't nurturing enough."

"Are you implying that you want to serve as Takamaru's English teacher?" Cloud suddenly grew weary and cautious, and his concerns increased when Aerith eagerly nodded his head. "Well I'm not so sure about that, Takamaru is a real piece of work..."

"No harm in giving it a try!" Aerith smiled. Her desire to teach Takamaru isn't doing much to lower Cloud's doubts.

* * *

As he dusted the dust off of the dresser in his room, Mario suddenly found a picture frame lying atop of it. He picked up the frame, and smiled as he looked at it - it was a picture of him, Luigi, Peach, and Daisy posing at the wedding. Daisy is now Mario's sister-in-law, and he never thought the day would have come. Granted, he knew Luigi would wind up Daisy sometime soon, but this is all so surreal for Mario.

"Mario, may I speak with you for a quick minute?" Geno entered the plumber's room, having to deliver some important news or information. "It's about Luigi and Daisy, and their housing plans."

"Take as long-a as you need!" replied Mario, putting the picture frame back. "I can always-a go for some house hunting! Perhaps Peach can join-a me in my escapades!" In his spare time, Mario has done some house hunting for Luigi up until the wedding, and he can always go back for some more...

"Luigi and Daisy want to know if it would be fine with you if they could live together in the mansion."

...and just like that, Mario's gleeful ambition to go house hunting again quickly turned to confusion and discouraged. Confused because he feels that the mansion is not a suitable place for Daisy to live in, and discouraged because he really loves house hunting, so much he thought about having his own house show on HGTV until Master Hand had to knock some sense in him.

 **Mario: Daisy living at the mansion-a is a HUGE no-no! Now Luigi, I don't-a mind, he's used-a to everyone here. But Daisy, oh Daisy, she would-a have a tough time adjust to life-a here. Like for-a instance, Wario - he feels-a that the wedding was just an attention grab-a for Luigi, and that Luigi plans-a to divorce Daisy, when he feels satisfied-a with the attention he accrued. Wario's already buying flowers-a and chocolate as I speak...**

"What-a on earth is Luigi thinking?" frowned Mario, not wanting Daisy to live in the mansion by any means. Sure, she can come over and visit, but her living at the residence would by psychologically damaging, in Mario's eyes. "Who on-a earth would want to live-a with their married spouse in a mansion full-a of people?!"

"Remember that show _Everybody Loves Raymond?_ " asked Geno. "The main character, and his wife and kids, lived together with his parents and older brother. Same thing could be applied to Luigi and Daisy...given they decide to have kids." Only difference is that main character, Ray Barone, had a brother who was jealous about him being the "popular" one. Mario is never jealous of Luigi being popular; in fact, it's the other way around. Moreover, Barone never even lived with his parents or brother...is Geno watching the right show?

" _Everyone Loves Raymond_ was a television-a series, not real-a life! And it's not-a like Luigi and Daisy will-a have kids...at least before I do." Luigi and Daisy could adopt Baby Luigi and Baby Daisy and raise them as their children, but that would be totally weird since they would be raising and taking care of _themselves_... "Also, where did you get-a this concept that Barone was living-a with his relatives?"

"Usually when I watch the show, I constantly see them in his household, so that's where I got the assumption that..."

"Screw-a your assumptions, your analogy is terrible! Even more-a terrible than Luigi wanting Daisy of all-a people to live here!" Just the thought of Daisy making her abode at the mansion made the plumber's face red with fury. What could possibly make Mario more furious than he's feeling?

"Also heard that Aerith Gainsborough plans on living here as well to keep Cloud's spirits up." Well there ya go. Mario's face is turning more red than a tomato, and that is not humanely possible to do without certain repercussions.

"Oh you don't-a say?" Mario clenched his fists with anger, ready to sucker punch someone. "Is Aerith still here at-a the mansion?" Geno nodded his head nervously, upset that he greatly angered Mario. He knew he should have told Master Hand the news instead - he would have taken it as a late April Fools joke that hasn't quite worn out its quality of humor. "I shall speak-a with her at once! But-a first, Luigi must be consulted!"

"What have I done..." Geno muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

* * *

Tails and Robin were in the cafe, chilling and enjoying life, when Sonic ran inside, clearly in a hurry.

"Yo, Tails, I got a major issue on my hands!" the hedgehog said to his best friend. Whenever Sonic has a situation to deal with, he would ask Tails for guidance. If Tails isn't available, then he'll ask Knuckles for guidance. If Knuckles isn't available...then Sonic will just hide in his closet until further notice. "Amy somehow got my cell number, and I've only had my new cell phone for two weeks!"

"My goodness, that must be very troublesome," Robin shook his head, feigning some sort of guilt and/or evidence.

 **Robin: Gave Amy Rose Sonic's new cell phone number at the cocktail party following the wedding. That darn girl hugged me and gave me a giant smooch on my cheek; thank goodness Lucina didn't notice. Giving Amy the number is the perfect retribution for the food stamp incident.**

"What am I gonna do, Amy will be calling and texting me nonstop!" panicked Sonic, on the verge of losing his sanity. True story: the hedgehog destroyed his three past cell phones because of Amy constantly contacting him like the stalker obsessive girlfriend she is. When your a stalker obsessive girlfriend, you'll go through any means to acquire your boyfriend's cell phone number, and Amy has taken risk after risk to find Sonic's new phone number.

"Who knows Sonic, maybe if you respond to Amy's calls and texts for once in your life, maybe she'll stop going full yandere on you!" suggested Tails. Not a bad suggestion, Sonic's voicemail boxes used to be more full than an overweight Snorlax. Would take hours upon _hours_ to delete every single voicemail. "Knuckles did it with Rouge, and now the two are on the same page mentally!"

"Rouge is a flirtatious stalker; Amy, on the other hand, is an _obsessive_ stalker. Huge difference, Tails."

"Perhaps Amy's yandere mannerisms is all just an act," proposed Robin, weighing in on the situation while trying to exact retribution. "Once you finally confess to her that you're her boyfriend, she'll wind up acting so overly obsessive, and act more normal around you. Acting yandere is a great way for a girl to get a guy she loves to be her lover."

"Did you ever have to put up with any obsessive girlfriends when you were in battle?" Robin kept his mouth shut. "Yeah, I thought so..."

"Just give my suggestion a shot, and we'll see how it works out from there," pleaded Tails. "If she keeps running her mouth for who knows how long, then so be it."

* * *

Link walked through the mansion hallways, carrying a rather suspcious board game in his hands. Although the board game wasn't that suspicious; it's just weird to see the Hylian carrying an unknown board game to who-knows-where. Granted, Link is the type of person who would enjoy playing board games.

"Sup Link, what's that you got there?" a certain angel sprung out of nowhere, startling Link - and that angel was Pit. Just the guy Link wanted to see at this very moment.

"It's none of your business," Link responded sharply, continuing on his way until Pit snatched the board game box away from him. The name of the board game is what surprised Pit the most.

"A Legend of Zelda Monopoly game?" the angel raised an eyebrow in intrigue. "Man, they'll make a Monopoly game out of anything these days! Wonder if they will do _Game of Thrones_ next!"

 **Link: *holds up the _Legend of Zelda_ Monopoly game to camera* Got this board game from the thrift store downtown earlier this week. The store was having a clearance sale, and with the rupees I had left (the rupees that weren't stolen, that is). I purchased the game, and made the store richer, since those rupees were more valuable than I ever imagined. Watch that thrift store become a supermarket in due time.**

"Gimme that!" Link rudely snatched the board game away from Pit. As you can see, Link doesn't seem to stand Pit to a tee. "You're never going to play this game! Also, why would they make a _Game of Thrones_ Monopoly game in the first place? Sounds ludicrous to me, that series is vastly overhyped!"

"The fans on social media will have your head for saying that!" Pit told the Hylian. _Game of Thrones_ has a very, very high social media following, kinda makes you wonder if the show would maintain the success it has without the advent of social media.

"Too bad the 'fans of social media' will never meet me in real life and let me hear it." After saying this, Pit continued his way, until he bumped into Shulk, who is really feeling it - though he wasn't feeling Link accidentally knocking him to the floor.

"Watch where you're going pal!" the Homs said as Link helped him back to his feet. "I can't afford to be hurt in any capacity, especially when my girlfriend Fiora is coming over!"

"Fiora seriously likes you?" Link asked in disbelief, resulting in a death glare from Shulk. The hero of Hyrule better make darn sure that he takes back what he just asked, otherwise Shulk will go full Monado on his Hylian behind. "Uh, I mean, why is Fiora coming over?"

"She feels as if we don't spend that much time together, due to me living here at the mansion, and so she wants to pay me a visit. Right now I'm unsure about what activities the two of us should do together. Got any ideas, Link?"

"Zelda and I are planning on playing this here board game," Link held up the board game for Shulk to see. "Care to join us?"

"Ooh can me and Viridi join?" Pit asked eagerly; Link sighed at the angel's offer. Now Viridi, the Hylian doesn't mind, but Pit would be unbearable due to his lack of knowledge. If he played the Monopoly game, he would ask what the rules are with every turn he makes.

 **Pit: In order to keep my relationship with Viridi going, I have to play games with her - games that are mutually interesting. I tried to play _Call of Duty: Black Ops II_ with her (not _Call of Duty: Ghosts,_ that game sucked), and she kept grimacing whenever I killed someone. Don't know why she found the game so unnerving, people get killed in war all the time in real life! So what's the difference in the virtual world?!**

"Sorry bud, but the game is only four players, so me, Zelda, Shulk and Fiora can only play. We'll see about next time..." Given Link's current demeanor, "next time" will be no time, it won't happen ever.

"But according to the box, up to six players can play Monopoly!" Shulk read this information off the board game box - which he now had in his hands. How did have the box in his possession without Link knowing?! Either he's a magnificent wizard, or Link isn't that observant.

"Well I...fine Pit, you and Viridi can play with us if you like," Link sighed in defeat. And to think that playing the Monopoly game would be peaceful, and without interruption...

"Sweet!" Pit leaped as he pumped his fist in the air in excitement. "So where are we gonna play at?"

"We can play outside, there won't be any distractions. Mr. Game & Watch will be mowing the grass and many other front lawn maintenance duties, but other than that, our little board game can go smoothly, and will be finished quicker than usual."

"That's what I love to hear!" grinned Shulk. Honestly, he's not sure whether his love Fiora enjoys board games or not, but it would be a great learning experience for the Homs.

* * *

"Where you taking me?" Takamaru asked Knuckles as the echidna guided the samurai to a particular room. Knuckles had his hands around Takamaru's eyes, guiding him throughout the mansion.

"To an awesome place, with lots of hot girls and junk food at every corner!" enticed Knuckles. Okay, so the room Takamaru is being guided to doesn't have such things, but Knuckles is just keeping his hopes up. Or rather, these are the things the echindna fantasizes about in his free time.

 **Knuckles: Again with the whole "Can you take so-and-so to this room so I may speak with him?" thing, and again with me having to carry it out! Sure hope it isn't another instance where I have to make someone fall in love, the last time that happened, it was a total disaster! A bit of a self-inflicted disaster, but a disaster nonetheless! Love hurts!**

"I believe this is the spot," Knuckles said as he and Takamaru arrived at a room - the very room in which Ike gives Takamaru English lessons, lessons that have yet to work on the purple-haired samurai.

"Ah yes, this room me familiar with, very familiar I am!" exclaimed Takamaru. "Ike teach me English lessons in room here!"

Knuckles opened the door to the room, and Takamaru was surprised to find Aerith sitting at the end of a table, smiling at the samurai. Though Takamaru initially thought it wasn't her in the first place.

"Cloud wearing drag yet again, disguised as Aerith?!" he exclaimed in shock. "Thought Cloud done with drag, Cloud have not learned from previous ways!" For those who are unfamiliar, Cloud had to wear drag to rescue Tifa Lockhart - and yes, he willingly agreed to do it, for Tifa's sake - and the brawlers tease the swordsman about it on a very occasional basis. Poor Cloud may never live that incident down...

"No Takamaru, I'm not Cloud in drag," smirked Aerith, discouraged that the samurai thought she was Cloud in drag. Her facial and body features are very much different from Cloud, where did Takamaru get his lousy assumption from. "I'm Aerith Gainsborough, your new English teacher!"

"Me get new English teacher? Amazing this is! Whatever happen to Ike?" Better question is, how does Ike feel about Aerith being Takamaru's new mentor?

"Oh, uh, um...he said he certainly doesn't mind me being your new teacher - as long as you're progressively learning, that's all that matters!" Aerith is about to get herself in some deep trouble, if she doesn't handle this situation correctly...

"Awesome! Shall begin we now?" Hopefully Aerith's English lessons resonate on Takamaru, and the brawlers won't have to put up with the dude's Engrish ever again. Wario passing gas everywhere he goes is already enough torture for them.

"Yes we shall! Come on in and take a seat!" Aerith directed Takamaru to a chair at the opposite end of the table, and Takamaru gladly sat in it, ready to learn. Knuckles slowly closed the door, giving Aerith a thumbs up; the flower girl gave a thumbs up and a smile right back.

"Wonder if Aerith knows what she's getting herself into," Knuckles walked away, shaking his head in dismay. He came across Ike, who looked like someone had peed in his cereal. That must be one of the worst feelings ever - having your wonderful morning ruined because some sap got urine in your cereal and wasting your breakfast.

 **Ike: Cloud broke the news to be about Aerith taking over the English lessons for Takamaru...who does that girl think she is, she didn't even notify me that she was gonna be Takamaru's new teacher! My English lessons were going along smoothly just as usual - I just started using vocabulary cards with Takamaru, and the dude's using them as trading cards! Boy I tell you, that man is an innovator, he's gonna teach his peers English through the use of activities most nerds do! It's awesome seeing his growth...Why are you laughing?!**

"Knuckles are you busy?" Ike asked the echidna. "Cause I got some vengeance to extract on someone!" Knuckles was more than ready to say no; he was previously embroiled in a love scenario, and now he doesn't want _anything_ to do with revenge. Especially after the time he got revenge on Sonic in a fight, and left Sonic nearly disemboweled. But Knuckles decided to say yes to the question anyways, not wanting to make Ike more ticked off than he is.

"No I'm not busy, so whatever revenge or vengeance or whatever you want me to, I'll do it," the echidna shrugged. What's the worst that can happen?

"I wanna get my revenge on Aerith for kicking me to the curb and teaching Takamaru, and I want you to do me a little favor..."

"Hold up for just a second - if it involves hurting Aerith, or any other girl, then count me out!" Knuckles knows better than to use domestic violence to fulfill his motives - his relationship with Rouge has taught him such. He wouldn't dare to hit on a girl who carries so much fan service as Rouge does; can't have that fan service go to waste!

"Whoever said anything about hurting girls? Eh, I'll probably explain everything in full detail later."

* * *

Sonic sat in his room, breathing heavily, sweat running down his blue skin, as he held his cell phone in his sweaty hand and dialed the phone number of the girl he refuses to keep in contact with for a majority of his life - Amy Rose. As the phone call tone sounded, Sonic inhaled and exhaled, bracing himself for the very phone call that he will eventually regret doing. It was Tails who told the hedgehog to call Amy, and if everything goes south of Sonic's extremely low expectations, then Tails may never hear the end of it.

"Hello, who is this?" Amy responded after picking up the phone, must not have saved Sonic's contact information yet. It's now do-or-die time for the blue hedgehog...

"Hey Amy, this is Sonic, and I would just like to..." Sonic began, so far so good...

"AAAAAAIIIIIIEEEEE!" And just like that, Amy was shrieking at the top of her lungs in contained excitement, making it seem as if she was practicing for this very moment - Sonic calling her out of the blue (no pun intended). Her shrieking was loud enough to annoy Sonic's eardrums. "I can't believe it, you actually called me! You actually did it! If only somebody would pinch me, this has to be a dream!"

 **Sonic: Regarding Tails making me call Amy, that dastardly fox threw some salt into the wound, telling me that if I can talk to Amy for up to an hour, then he will take me to an all-you-can-eat chili dog buffet downtown for my birthday - which is coming up in a few I might add, hope you didn't forget. But why call Amy just to go to some buffet, just for something that's supposedly happening on my birthday nonetheless? It's not that often you see a hot dog buffet, they're more rare than Wario's missing bedroom slippers!**

 **Wario: *looking for bedroom slippers in a hallway closet, with his ginormus butt directed towards the camera* Those bedroom slippers have gotta be somewhere...they can't just magically appear out of nowhere! Though that would be very convenient... *turns head towards the camera* Is there a way you can make junk food magically appear, so I won't have to waste my hard-earned money?**

"So Amy...how have you been since I last saw you at the wedding?" Sonic asked his girlfriend. By this indicator, he clearly doesn't have much to discuss with Amy.

"Ever since I last saw you, I've been feeling GREAT!" Amy exclaimed with much joy. "To see you in person after such a long time was one thing, but now I'm getting the chance to talk with you over the phone?!" A sound of Amy sighing in happiness was heard, she's been waiting for this moment since forever - whenever the heck forever began. "Dreams do come true..."

"Was that screaming I just heard?" Bowser randomly entered Sonic's room, having heard Amy's cheerful shriek all the way from the bathroom down the hall. That's how loud her shriek was. "Wait, so Peach was never in trouble, she wasn't kidnapped or anything? Phew!" Bowser wiped away the sweat (non-existent sweat, by the way) off of his forehead, glad that nobody was doing his job, let alone doing his job arguably better than he would.

 **Bowser: As the resident Mushroom Kingdom villain, living at this lovely mansion, only _I_ am allowed to kidnap Peach and take her to my castle whenever I feel like it! It is my only civic duty aside from denying jury duty and tampering with voting boxes, and no one else is permitted to kidnap Peach, in spite of my past failures!**

"Sonic, who was that?" asked Amy, having heard Bowser's loud, monstrous voice on the phone. "Sounded like a rabid sea monster! You're not off exploring in the swamp again, are you? You know how much I despise that!"

"Did she just call me a swamp monster?!" frowned Bowser, fire building up inside of him. Amy's mouth is about to get her boyfriend roasted alive from Bowser's wicked flames. The blue hedgehog was doing everything he can to lower Bowser's temper, a hard task in itself.

"No, Amy, that wasn't a swamp monster, it was Bowser, the world's most lovable villain!" Sonic told Amy. Bowser, the most beloved villain in the world? How very debatable.

"Most lovable villain? Give me a break; last time I checked, villains are supposed to have a decent amount of success to be considered lovable. What's so lovable about a giant oaf who can't even do his job right?"

"Now you listen here girlie!" Bowser snatched the phone away from Sonic. This entire situation is becoming more intense than the flame building up in Bowser's flaring stomach. "Just because I suck at capturing Princess Peach, don't mean that I'm a lousy villain! I've done things other villains like Dr. Eggman dream of, like building cool castles, creating galaxies, even setting up a hotel business in the Mushroom Kingdom! How's that from a so-called 'giant oaf'? Have a good day!"

And just like that, Bowser ended the phone call, and threw Sonic's cell phone on his bed. Thankfully nobody was hurt regarding this matter.

"Not cool, man!" Sonic shook his head at Bowser, who grumpily exited the room just when Tails entered. Bowser's day just took a turn for the worst, as his mood is...well, very fierce.

"What's up with him?" Tails asked Sonic, concerning Bowser. "Still bitter than one of his arch rivals got married, and he's still single?"

"Not exactly, Amy had Bowser a giant oaf, and Bowser went ham on her for no reason before rudely hanging up my cell phone," explained Sonic. "So I wasn't able to make it up to the one-hour mark. But we're still going to that buffet on my birthday, right?" The hedgehog excitedly rubbed his hands together, anticipating Tails to say yes, but the fox wouldn't really budge.

"We'll just see about that," Tails chuckled nervously. Sonic failed to see the nervousness in Tails' response, as he held his head in sadness.

* * *

 **Peach: Ah, just the thought of Luigi and Daisy married, it always makes me smile just thinking about their wedding! Although I'm not married myself, I decided to assist Daisy in starting her married life, and we did some shopping earlier so we could get some things for her new home! My initial thought was that Daisy would live in a small home near the mansion, so she can see Luigi on a daily basis, but she has other plans...and I'm not so sure if Mario would be satisfied by them.**

Peach was busy in the laundry room, folding up clothes for the brawlers. She had the capes of the Fire Emblem crew hanging on clothing hangers, for she felt that it would be tedious for the swordsmen (and swordswoman, a la Lucina) to wear their capes outside. Ganondorf's cape was also hanging as well - and Peach heard heavy breathing from behind said cape.

"Who goes there?" Peach asked this breathing specimen, pulling out her trusty frying pan and inching towards the cape cautiously. When she was near the cape, she pulled it away, and saw Ryu sitting on the floor, arms wrapped around his knees, as he was breathing with his eyes widened. He looked as if he had seen Roy running about in the backyard in the nude, and was left scarred for life. "Oh, it's just you, Ryu! Why the timid face, you look very frightened!"

"Chun-li...said that she's waiting for me and her...to tie the knot..." Ryu replied, in between pauses. "I don't think I'm up for it!" Ryu is more than prepared to tackle any challenge in his way, whether it's catching bank robbers, washing the dishes, or even cleaning the bathroom after Wario uses it. But romance? That is a challenge the kung fu fighter wants nothing to do with.

 **Ryu: The way Chun-li said her toast at the wedding, the last bit, it was as if she was affirmative about our marriage, and that there would be dire consequences if we don't wed! It's like she was saying, "Either you marry me, or I will murder you and your entire family!"...Alright, so it wasn't along the lines of that, no mention of death or families was present, but you don't know that woman like I do!**

"Well I will admit, you two do seem like a cute couple!" remarked Peach. This didn't necessarily help Ryu's situation; rather, it made the kung fu fighter even more nervous. Everywhere he and Chun-li would go, people would compliment them as a couple, and talk about how nice they are together, and all that good stuff - Ryu wouldn't be able to handle any of that. "But it should be _you_ who decides when the two of you marry, and not Chun-li! It's not like she has to find a ring and propose to you, that's your job!"

"You're right..." Ryu dropped the fraidy cat disposition, and confidently got up, standing as if he was Superman, ready to take off his suit. "Why should I be so nervous about love? If I want action to happen, then I'll make it happen. Just gotta take it one step at a time!"

"That's the spirit!" Peach gleamed, calmly clapping her hands. Another good deed done by yours truly, Princess Peach.

"Peach have-a you seen Luigi anywhere?" Mario stormed into the laundry room, in a mad search for his twin brother. He's still pretty angry about the whole Daisy living at the mansion issue, and it showed through his frowning face.

"Last time I checked, he was outside tending the front yard with Mr. Game & Watch, they should have moved on to the backyard by now," explained Peach. "Now before I go, I have some matters I must..." Before Peach could continue, Mario furiously ran out of the room, in search for his dear brother. "...tell you. Ah, well, I can just tell him after he finds Luigi!"

* * *

Little Mac was in the recording booth of the recording studio, putting on the finishing touches for his first mixtape, _Chocolate Thunder_ \- and as you can tell, the young boxer had to change the original title of his mixtape, just to please his trainer Doc Louis. It was the only way for him to remain with Star Records, apparently.

"Bro did you hear that Wolf finally finished his crappy horror flick?" Falco said to Fox, as the two were in the recording studio listening to Little Mac's jams.

"Like anyone would want to see that garbage," scoffed Fox. "Sonic told me that it was a found footage film, and those kinds of movies have to be treated very delicately...did the movie even resemble a found footage film of any sort?"

"Well I heard that both Pit and Dark Pit were spoofing some wrestlers, so I seriously doubt it."

 **Falco: Hadn't Wolf went with the horror movie bet, he would have had to walk around the mansion wearing yoga pants. Now if he had to wear the baggy kind, I wouldn't mind that to be honest. But according to Panther Caroso, Wolf would have had to wear the skin-tight yoga pants - you know, the ones that women wear and show off their butt. Just the thought of Wolf wearing those yoga pants is disturbing enough...we have enough girls acting as pretentious show-offs today.**

"Listen up boys, and listen good!" Ike entered the recording studio, followed my Knuckles; Little Mac immediately stopped recording as everyone gave Ike their undivided attention. The swordsman's facial expression and stature tells you that he means business. "Aerith just kicked me to the curb today, and I wanna get some revenge on her for..."

"Who are you calling a boy?!" Doc Louis, who was quietly eating his chocolate, interrupted Ike, as he angrily got up and stared down the swordsman. Little Mac had to rush outside of the recording booth and ease Doc, calmly sitting him back down in his seat.

"Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted, Aerith decided to take over the English lessons for Takamaru, and in order to put that girl in her place, I want to prank her in the most embarrassing way possible, and destroy her reputation forever! You guys seem like the right dudes to accomplish this goal - I would ask Villager, but he's hasn't quite recovered from that injury he sustained."

"Pranking Aerith because she took over the lessons without informing you?" Little Mac raised an eyebrow, feeling skeptical about Ike's pranking proposal. "I don't believe that is really necessary. And what's this about destroying her reputation, she doesn't really have a reputation to begin with! Heck, we don't even know how she came back to life!"

"Eh, we can just forget about the reputation stuff, what's important is that we prank Aerith, and then you can carry on with your normal lives," stated Knuckles. "So what kind of prank do you guys wanna do?"

Fox, Falco, and Doc Louis thought over what prank to do, while Little Mac stayed a little hesitant about Ike's plan. Suddenly an idea popped up in Doc's hand, and the very thought of it made him smile creepily...what is that dastardly boxing trainer thinking? Let's hope it has _nothing_ to do with chocolate...

"I've heard that Aerith used to like some dude named Zack Fair prior to Cloud," stated Doc. For those of you who may not know, Zack Fair was Aerith's former love interest, who had succumbed after facing the Shinra army. He and Cloud were the best of friends - in fact, they practically look very similar to one another, which is essentially Aerith's only reasoning for liking Cloud. "Perhaps we can prank call Aerith, having someone pose as Zack Fair over the phone!"

 **Fox: Don't really know that much about Zack Fair, aside from being Aerith's former boyfriend, but I have seen some pictures of him on Google Images, and he looks like a clone of Cloud...but cooler, and better-looking. But that's just my opinion. Certainly everyone else does.**

"Aw yeah, that sounds like a legit prank!" agreed Ike. Only one problem got in the way... "Now who's gonna impersonate Zack?"

"We got a voice synthesizer in the booth, I can use it to alter my voice and sound like Zack!" replied Falco. "All I have to do is listen to how his voice sounds, and match it accordingly to mine, and everything afterwards will work itself out!"

"Guys, I don't think this whole prank is such a good idea," dissuaded Little Mac, trying to be a voice of reason. "Aerith is seriously enjoying her visit here at the mansion, and if we prank her...then maybe she would be hesitant to ever visit again."

"Ew, why you gotta be such a devil's advocate?" grimaced Knuckles. Little Mac is obviously the odd man out regarding Ike's prank. "Stinking party pooper..."

"Forget you, Little Mac, you can just stay here and act sensible as much as you wanna, while we serve justice!" Ike told the young boxer. "Follow me, men, as we teach Aerith a lesson she will never forget!" So Fox, Falco, Knuckles, and Doc Louis followed Ike out of the room, with Doc being the last person to leave, just to tell Little Mac some good ol' advice.

"Keep yer head up son," he told his protege. That's possibly the most basic advice you could give to anyone, young or old... "At least you're sticking up for what you believe is right!" After a comforting pat on Mac's back, Doc Louis departed from the recording studio, leaving the young boxer be.

But Little Mac had a plan himself, and he knew exactly how to carry it out.

* * *

Link, Zelda, Pit, Viridi, Shulk, and Fiora all gathered together outside at a picnic table, present in the front lawn of the mansion. Shulk was busy introducing his fellow brawlers to his girlfriend.

"The funny dude in the ridiculous green tunic is Link, the hero of Hyrule, and the girl in the long dress is his girlfriend, Princess Zelda," the Homs introduced the Hylians to Fiora.

"Is my tunic truly ridiculous?" Link checked out his own tunic, feeling slightly insecure about it. People have been making fun of his hat - which he once considered throwing in a garbage dump and leaving it there forever - but never his tunic.

 **Link: Does my tunic really look ridiculous to you? I mean, it's an essential part of my wardrobe, and I take a great deal of pride in it...Zelda has never said anything about my tunic, so I suppose she likes it...**

 **Zelda: No one else can here me, right?...Great, because I need to get something off of my chest...Link NEEDS a drastic fashion makeover. I get that he's trying to uphold the "Hero of Hyrule Dress Code", whatever the heck that is, but it's humiliating to be associated with him out in the public with his garb on...**

"And that right there is Pit, Palutena's lapdog," Shulk then introduced Pit to Fiora. Pit knew that he's a lapdog to Palutena - in fact, he took Shulk's remark as a sincere compliment. "The girl with the blonde hair is his girlfriend - Viridi, the goddess of nature!" Shulk leaned forward to Fiora to whisper to her the following: "...She bitterly despises humans. It's quite a long story."

"Guess that explains her xenophobic behavior towards Dr. Eggman at the wedding," Fiora whispered back. The female Homs recalled an instance at the reception where Viridi had initially thought Dr. Eggman was a goblin of some sort, given he hardly looks like an actual human being, and was even touching the evil madman while inspecting him. During this inspection, however, Dr. Eggman broke the news to the goddess of nature that's a human, and Viridi was left mortified; Pit had to console his girlfriend on the ride back home while she rubbed her hand, realizing that she had come in contact with human flesh.

 **Viridi: *hyperventilating* I touched an actual human, at the wedding reception... *insecurely rubs her arm* ...I was enjoying that day up until that moment...I feel so...so tainted... *shudders* Why did you have to remind me of that incident?**

"About time to start the Monopoly game, don't ya think?" Shulk asked Link, who was ticked at the Homs for disrespecting his fashion sense. Link takes his attire _very_ seriously.

"We will start when you take back what you said about my tunic," responded Link; Pit had to nudge him. "Fine, we shall start now..." Link pulled out the game pieces and placed them on the picnic table; the six players had to choose from piecies such as the Triforce, Hylian Shield, Boomerang, Slingshot, Bow, and Hookshot.

"These Monopoly pieces suck!" complained Pit, folding his arms in disgust. "Where's the thimble piece, that's the best board game chess piece in existence!" Game hasn't even started yet, and the angel is already complaining. "How can you possibly call yourself a Monopoly game, and not have the thimble?!"

"Pit not every Monopoly game can have the thimble, and besides, this game is _Legend of Zelda-_ themed, the pieces have to stay in touch with the theme!" Viridi explained to her love. She was hoping that Pit's intelligence, or the lack thereof, wouldn't hinder her Monopoly playing experience, but evidently the girl has rather high expectations.

"I'm sure they use thimbles in the _Zelda_ universe, they just don't show it in the games. Shigeru Miyamoto loves to center those games around Link, even though the franchise is not even named after him..."

"Got a problem with that bub?!" Link frowned at Pit, unsheathing his sword. Pit looked on in horror as Zelda had to soothe the hero of Hyrule, calmly sitting him back down in his seat.

"Why not settle things, and assign the game pieces?" suggested Shulk. So the Homs assigned the game pieces to everyone - he got the Hookshot, Fiora got the Bow, Link got the Hylian Shield, Zelda got the Slingshot, Pit got the Boomerang, and Viridi got the Triforce. Problem solved? Not quite...

"How come Fiora gets the best game piece?" Pit complained even more, making him unbearable at this point. "I want the bow!" Ever wondered how Pit sounds like a bratty little child? His immaturity knows no bounds whatsoever.

"It's just a game piece, I don't understand what the fuss is all about," remarked Fiora, as everyone except for Pit placed their game pieces at the "GO!" spot. "If you can't seem to have things your way, you might as well leave us be." Pit groaned and accepted reality, placing his Boomerang on the "GO!" spot.

* * *

Ever since Bowser's furious outburst, Sonic has been trying to call Amy, and he has been trying to text her as well - but no response. This lack of response from his girlfriend was making the hedgehog very concerned - and he rarely feels concerned for Amy in any given situation, whether her home was burning down, or she got lost somewhere in a middle of a forest.

 **Sonic: Bowser must have truly scared the living crap out of Amy, probably gave the poor girl nightmares...nightmares about Bowser kidnapping her and taking her to his castle! Now when she goes to bed, she'll either look in her closet, or under her bed, just to see if Bowser is living there!**

"Has she called you back or anything yet?" Tails asked Sonic, just as worried as he was. Most yandere girls will call you back right away after a previous call - or they'll even call you just minutes after your previous call, showing how dedicated they are to their craft - but the yandere girl in Amy isn't being quite responsive.

"Nope, not a single call or text," sighed Sonic. "I'm getting very worried about Amy..."

"Maybe heading down to the fitness center and cooling off a bit might take your mind off of things. Why not go for a quick massage?"

So Tails and Sonic went to the fitness center, where Lucario was gave them a back massage of a lifetime. Alright, so it wasn't the greatest back massage, or the most extraordinary, but it's the best one they've had in a long while.

"Let me get this straight..." Lucario began after Sonic and Tails filled the aura Pokmon in on their situation. "Amy refuses to call you back, all because Bowser frightened her or something? That just doesn't add up..."

"It's our only assumption for her not calling me back," stated Sonic, as Lucario massaged his upper back. "Oh yeah, that feels good...can you go a bit lower?"

"I better get some monetary offering for this, they don't call me a world-class back massager for nothing..." If Sonic were to pay Lucario, he would only pay in rings, since he's too stingy to give anyone money, even if it was for the Salvation Army. And who on earth calls Lucario a world-class back massager?!

"Yo, Sonic, you got Amy's cell number saved to your phone?" Little Mac ran inside the training center to ask the blue hedgehog this puzzling question. Little Mac hardly knows much about Amy, except for the fact that she's an obsessive girlfriend who would drive any guy crazy, so for him to be asking for her phone number was quite peculiar.

"Uh, not really, though I called her a while ago," replied Sonic, pulling out his phone. "I can go under my recent calls and find the number so I can give it to you."

"What do you possibly need Amy's phone number for?" questioned Tails, just as curious as Sonic and Lucario are.

"Just for a little...girl-to-girl talk," responded Little Mac. Sonic, Tails, and Lucario all stared at Little Mac, confused as ever. "...I got no time to explain, just give me the number quickly!"

* * *

 **Cloud: Originally I had my doubts about Aerith teaching English lessons to Takamaru - ever since Ike first started the lessons, Takamaru's speech has pretty much been the same, with the use of Engrish words and mixing words to form these jumbled sentences. I just stopped by the room where the lessons are held, and I gotta say...Aerith has Takamaru going in the right direction.**

Indeed, Takamaru has taken rather significant strides in not only his English, but his vocabulary as well. He's now able to speak complete sentences - sentences that make actual sense - and has learned new words through the use of vocabulary cards. Ike used a similar teaching method - by showing the definition and having Takamaru guess the word rather than just showing the word itself. Dude was doing it all backwards!

"The quick...brown fox...jumps over...the lazy dog!" Takamaru read this famous sentence off of a slip of paper, while Dunban - dressed up as a fox, since Fox wasn't available - jumped over the Duck Hunt Dog, who was sleeping...fake sleeping, to be exact. "Yes, I did it!" Takamaru raised his fists in the air, having prevailed in English speaking yet again in Aerith's class.

"Great job!" Aerith smiled while applauding Takamaru for his valiant effort. Ike never gave Takamaru any applause - whenever Takamaru read anything correctly (which was a rarity), the swordsman would hold up his hand for a high five...only to be left hanging since Takamaru isn't familiarized with American greetings. Perhaps Aerith can teach the samurai about American greetings next time.

"Can I please take off this ridiculous outfit?" Dunban asked Aeirth, concerning his fox outfit. He was wearing fox ears, a fox muzzle, and and a fox tail. "I didn't agree to act like a complete buffoon!"

 **Dunban: The fox ears were kinda digging into my skin, that headband was hard to wear...and that fox muzzle smelled like manure...at least my willingness to be a participant in Aerith's lessons was for the benefit of Takamaru, I suppose.  
Duck Hunt Dog: *points and laughs at Dunban*  
Dunban: Who are you laughing at, you dumb mutt?!**

"Yes, your assistance is no longer needed," Aerith told Dunban, bringing much joy to the Homs as he quickly took off his fox get-up. "You and Duck Hunt Dog may leave!" The two left the room, and a while later, Fox came in with a telephone, hooked to an extension cord. "There you are, Fox, I've been wanting to use you for my wonderful English lessons!"

"Sorry I couldn't be there," Fox apologized, placing the telephone on the table. "I just got word that some dude is supposed to call you soon, you might know him from somewhere." Fox can't give out any cues, for it would completely negate the point of the prank Ike plans to carry out. Any mere mention of Zack Fair would backfire greatly.

"Ooh, who is this person that you speak of? Do tell!" Now Fox got Aerith all interested. Got to go to a plan B...

"From what I've heard, he's used to be an accomplice of Cloud, until...some things happened."

"Accomplice of Cloud, you say?" Aerith thought over this, wondering who this could be. "Squall Leonhart used to fight alongside Cloud, perhaps it's him!" Nice job by Fox, having the flower girl guessing until the prank comes to fruition.

"When will this mysterious person call Aerith?" Takamaru asked Fox, stunning the pilot by using a complete sentence. It took Fox a good while to compose himself after what he just heard.

"Look man, I don't even know, I was told to put a telephone in here, and wait for it to ring. Aerith has to be the one to answer the phone. I'll leave now, and let you continue your English lessons."

So Fox exited the room, and texted Falco - telling him it's now time. Back to Aerith and Takamaru, who were about to start on word comprehension, until the phone finally rang. Aerith glanced at Takamaru, feeling nervous about answering the call, then at the phone, watching as it rang. Aerith finally mustered the courage to pick up the phone...

"Hello, who is this?" Aerith said into the phone, weary about who this mystery caller was. And just who was the person calling Aerith?

"You're Aerith Gainsborough, right? That lady who likes Cloud Strife? Oh, thank goodness it's you! For a second I was worried that Bowser would have picked up the phone, and run his mouth about how he's great and all that nonsense! You know, I was gonna call Sonic back, but I was too busy painting my nails - sure I love Sonic to death, but personal beauty always comes first! Now why did Sonic send me so many text messages and voicemails? Usually it's the other way around..."

This was none other than Amy Rose - not only the yandere girlfriend of Sonic the Hedgehog, but also the catalyst for Little Mac's plan.

 **Little Mac: My plan was complicated, but not that hard to carry out - so I borrowed Amy's cell phone number, and I called her, telling her to call the mansion's house phone, which I saw Fox carrying earlier. I told her to tell Aerith about Ike's prank call ASAP, so if she does receive the call, she won't be duped. Yup, they don't call me a strategist - in the ring, or out of the ring - for nothing...**

"I just wanted to know that some loser swordsman and his buddies - two from Star Fox I believe, not sure if that's right or not - are plotting to prank call you as your former boyfriend, Zack Fair," explained Amy; Aerith's eyes widened when she heard that name, brought back some good memories. "Did I get his name correct?"

"Yes you did," replied Aerith, after coming back to her senses. "If only there was a way to punish them for their deviousness..."

"So how are things coming along?" Peach entered the room, checking on Aerith and Takamaru. She glanced at Aerith, and started feeling all apologetic. "Oh, I see you're on the phone, am I disturbing you?"

"No, you're fine...I was just informed about a swordsman trying to prank call me, and I was thinking of a way to punish him, in any capacity."

"Ike was discussing a prank call earlier..." Peach said this before gasping in realization. "He was trying to prank call _you_ of all people?! Stay right where you are, Aerith, I know just the person that will make Ike pay!"

* * *

"Why isn't this girl answering?" wondered Falco, using a voice synthesizer, as he, Ike, Knuckles, and Doc Louis gathered together in a spacious closet, attempting to call Aerith from an unused cell phone. But little did they know that Aerith is rejecting their every call, after Amy had filled her in on their prank. "Does she not know how to operate a phone?"

"Give her a break Falco, I'm sure that when you come back alive, you forget a lot of basic things," said Knuckles. "After a while, she'll eventually come to her senses, and..."

Before Knuckles could finish his sentence, Ryu barged inside the closet, carrying Fox in his arm and throwing him against the voice synthesizer, damaging it in the process.

"Hey watch it bub, I stole money from the wedding budget just to buy that thing!" frowned Falco, as Fox writhed in pain. He rose up to strike Ryu - but came to a halt when he saw the serious visage on his face.

"Thought you could prank call our visitor and get away with it?" the kung fu fighter snarled. "Had your friend lead me to your location, and told me everything I needed to know..."

"Well would you look at the time, gotta go..." Ike looked at imaginary his watch, trying to sneak his way out of the closet, only to be stopped by Ryu, who glared at him intensively, enough to make the swordsman wet himself.

"Ringleaders like yourself deserve the most praise..." Ryu clutched Ike by his collar, "...and the most punishment."

* * *

Outside in the backyard, Luigi and Mr. Game & Watch were working hard, arranging the furniture in the decor and whatnot, while Heihachi Mishima rested on a hammock, drinking some pink lemonade.

 **Luigi: "Summer is the best season out of all the four seasons, you have all the free time in the world to be and act like a lazy bum, without having to suffer consequences of your own actions or from anyone else!"...At least-a that's what Sonic says. I do whatever I can-a to make the best-a of my summer, and it mostly involves-a work outdoors. The grass-a can't mow itself, you know! But tell that to-a Wario, who hates-a any form of work, and you'll probably end-a up in a trash-a can for a week!**

"Luigi, we need-a to speak!" Mario finally confronted his twin brother in the backyard. He would have confronted him earlier, but his stomach had other plans...that were taken care of in the bathroom. Those refried beans must be Mario's Achilles heel. "Geno has spoken of-a you wanting Daisy to live-a here at the mansion, is that correct?"

"Indeed it-a was correct...at least until-a I got a call from-a Daisy earlier today," replied Luigi. "She wants-a to know if we could-a build a house next to the mansion, like Cloud and-a Mr. Game & Watch did for the Waddle-a Dee family, so that the two of-a us can live together as a married-a couple."

"Is this-a true?" Mario asked Mr. Game and Watch for clarification; the 2D man, unable to nod his head or give a thumbs up, grabbed a stick and wrote "YES" on the ground. He'll have to patch that up later in the day. "Well it is your-a choice, I have no control-a of the matter..."

"Anata ga daiku o sagashite irunara, watashi wa itsumo tasukete yorokonde!" Heihachi Mishima said to the Mario Bros, giving them a thumbs up. However, none of them understood a single word that came out of his mouth.

"Heihachi must-a be supportive of this decision, looks like we shall-a build the hosue!" proclaimed Mario, prompting Heihachi to facepalm. What the kung fu fighter would do just to get a human translator...

* * *

The Monopoly game betwen Link, Shulk, Pit, Zelda, Viridi, and Fiora was nearing its completion. Link was leading the way, as he drove Pit, Zelda, Viridi, and Shulk all to bankruptcy. All he had to do now is make Fiora bankrupt, and the hero of Hyrule shall claim glorious victory.

"Almost there..." Link said as he moved his Hylian Shield piece to a space, where he would hold an auction that will essentially send Fiora to bankruptcy. Nothing could stop him from winning now...even if Ike were to be thrown out of a window and crash land on the picnic table, breaking said table and destroying the game. But alas, that is exactly what happened; the six Monopoly players looked in shock as Ike laid on the ground writing in pain, covered in the wood from the broken picnic table and most of the Monopoly game pieces, including the dollars that have no real monetary value.

"Guess there's no decided winner," stated Fiora. "Which means that this game ends in a draw!" Link looked at the female Homs with a distraught look; no way he's going back inside the mansion without claiming a W.

 **Link: The game ended in a freaking DRAW! You know what that means? No clear winner, everyone loses! We played that game for nothing, and to add insult to injury, Ike completely destroyed the game, and now I wasted my precious rupees on nothing! And now I'm broke...I feel so depressed.**

"Will you be coming by to visit sometime in the near future?" Zelda asked Fiora while consoling Link, feeling bitter about the draw.

"Definitely, I would like to meet the other brawlers!" Fiora replied with glee. "They are easy to make friends with, I would assume..." Zelda exchanged looks of concern with Shulk, Pit, and Viridi - some brawlers are not even meant to have friends to begin with.

"I'm glad that you could come over to see us," Shulk said to Fiora. "Do I have to take you back to your place, or is someone coming to pick you up?"

"Reyn should be arriving any minute now. Also, would anyone care to explain who this swordsman is, and why he just got thrown out of the window?"

* * *

"...And that, Master Hand, is why Aerith Gainsborough is the best teacher of all time!" Takamaru explained to the Smash Universe creator about Aerith's English lessons, and the many strides he has taken in the English language, in his glorious room.

"Sweet mother of Masahiro Sakurai, you've got Takamaru speaking English like an actual person!" exclaimed Master Hand, with much astonishment. He had said this to Aerith, who stood in his room accompanied by Cloud. "You, ma'am, are a miracle worker, you must live here at the mansion, I beg of you! I need someone as dedicated and caring and thoughtful as you are around here!"

"Master Hand, I don't think we have anywhere Aerith can stay in, the rooms are all filled up," stated Cloud. "No spare rooms to be found..."

"Um, excuse-a me, Master Hand..." Mario entered the hand's room, coming before him with humility and respect. You oughta have some humility and respect when you come before one who single-handedly created an entire universe. "Luigi wants-a to know if we can-a build a house next to the mansion, so that-a him and Daisy can live in it...if that's fine-a with you..."

Master Hand mused over Luigi's proposal, eventually coming up of a great idea - an idea that has some implications with Mario than may affect him for the better - or the worse.

"We shall build the house," he responded to Mario. "And since you'll be without a roommate in due time, I know the right replacement..."


	26. Episode 26: Bouncehouse

**Episode 26: Bouncehouse**

As you might know, Lucas is not exactly the most outgoing person in the world. Despite his valiant heroics and mutual alliance with Red the Pokemon Trainer during the events of the Subspace Emissary, this blonde fellow is still pretty shy and timid, and is a bit too reluctant to speak to others. Ashley is like this, refusing to socialize with fellow brawlers, but at least she has her faithful assistant in Red (the imp) to keep her company.

And sometimes, when you're a shy dude like Lucas, you often stay in your room all day long, refusing to come out under the fear and suspicion that Wario might scare the daylights out of you with his ugly face, or that Yoshi might pester you and tell you who he's pairing you up with next in his abstract fanfiction stories (this time, he has Lucas paired up with Ashley, for he thought it sounded reasonable given that they're both introverts). So when the door to his room opened, Lucas feared for the rest, as he threw a blanket over his head and turned away in fear...

"There you are, I've been looking all over for you!" exclaimed Ness, Lucas' trusting roommate and best friend. "Figured you would be hiding in here!" Ness is like the complete opposite of Lucas - he's more brave, extroverted, and gregarious. Aside from his constant habit of saying "Okay!" to just about anything, he's not that bad of a fella to get to know.

"Oh, it's just you," Lucas quickly took the blanket off of his head. "You were turning the door knob slowly, I was afraid it might have been Dark Pit, trying to goad me into doing archery practice with him..."

 **Ness: *sighs* I just don't know what the problem is with Lucas, it's like he's allergic to doing fun, outgoing things every now and then. No matter what I try to do to get him out of that room, he just won't budge, and I have to go through a whole lot of trouble just to get him out. Some of the fun things we do together aren't that fun anymore, mainly because we do them all the time. We've played every board game that is in the mansion, we've beaten the Inklings at table hockey enough times already, and we've helped Villager prank Lloyd Irving enough times to the point where it's not even funny anymore. (Surprisingly Lloyd hasn't whined and complained to Master Hand about it, he's infamously known for being a crybaby.) Toon Link just bought a bounce house with his rupees, and he placed it in the backyard of the mansion. Hopefully Lucas comes around, and agrees to joining me in my bounce house escapades...sure I'm a technically a teen, but as my appearance shows, I'm still a child at heart!**

"Remember when Toon Link was going to buy a bounce house at dinner earlier this week, and we all laughed at him?" Ness asked Lucas. When Toon made his proclamation, almost everyone was laughing at him around the dinner table, and Master Hand had Dr. Mario give the young Hylian a checkup to ensure he wasn't on crack or anything like that. "Well, as it turns out, he actually got one, and it's in the backyard! I was wondering if you want to join me in the bounce house..."

"Bounce house?" Lucas' eyes widened with much joy and excitement. "You don't have to ask me twice, I would love to join!" Ness was honestly shocked by Lucas' response; he expected some hesitation, and eventually a lot of enticement to win over Lucas, but fortunately it didn't have to be that way.

"Awesome! Let's hurry down to the backyard before it gets crowded! Gotta be the first to arrive!"

* * *

After speaking with her older brother, Dunban, Fiora decided to pay a visit to the Smash Mansion on a weekly basis, just to spend time with her boyfriend Shulk. Reyn is responsible for taking her to and fro from the mansion, and he certainly doesn't mind this duty - just as long as Fiora returns in one piece. The female Homs has stated in the previous episode that she wanted to meet and greet the rest of the brawlers in the mansion, and just like any great boyfriend would, Shulk introduced Fiora to every brawler, including Villager, Mega Man, and even Pikachu.

"Aw, you are so cute!" Fiora said to the mouse Pokemon as he held him in the living room of the mansion. Wait until she sees Jigglypuff, and then she'll recognize who the cutest Pokemon in existence is (although that discussion has become very debatable over the years).

"Pika, pika..." Pikachu tried to wiggle his way out of Fiora's arms, but it was no use. So he had no other choice but to resort to his only option, and the only option he ever really uses to take out the baddies in the _Pokemon_ anime - he electrocuted Fiora with his signature move, Thunderbolt, and fell out of the Homs' arms as Fiora just stood there, dazed and covered in soot.

"One thing about Pikachu, if he's in an uncomfortable state or situation, he'll use Thunderbolt whenever it is needed," Shulk chuckled as Pikachu rushed to the Homs' side, standing near his feet and looking at Fiora with a sense of nervousness.

 **Pikachu: *smiles innocently* Pika pika pi...**

"I know all of this-a data came from-a Chrom..." Mario walked into the living room, reading a phone bill he just received in the mail. "Only he would-a waste his data on who knows-a what..." Mario was receiving this bill because Chrom had gone over the data on his phone yet again; after the prince of Ylisse and his daughter Lucina had their own separate phone plan, Chrom decided to add his cell phone to the mansion's phone plan, and it appears to be biting Mario in the back, at least in the financial sense.

"Ah, Mario, so good to see you!" Shulk said to the plumber. "Have you ever met my girlfriend before? Her name is Fiora, and she's quite the gal!" Fiora smiled and waved to Mario, and Mario waved right back.

"I would-a get to know your girlfriend and-a all, but I have-a some business to handle," stated Mario, continuing on his merry way. "Being the man-a of the mansion is-a heavy duty!" And when Master Hand, the Smash Universe creator, is your job performance evaluator of sorts, then you're duty is even heavier.

"In that case...why don't you take the day off and let me handle your job?" Shulk's suggestion garnered questionable looks from Mario and Fiora, wondering what the Homs might be getting himself into.

 **Mario: My day mostly consists-a of a lot of things...taking out-a the trash, vacuuming the floors, washing-a the clothes, so forth-a and so on. Master Hand rarely gives-a me any breaks, but he gives them-a to Isabelle, just because she's a "dog"...still can't-a see the reasoning in that.**

"Are you sure you're up for it, Shulk?" Fiora asked out of concern. This was the day in which she's supposed to get to know everyone, not have her boyfriend fulfilling every one of Mario's tasks. "You might stress yourself out from the workload..."

"A guy like myself is always ready for anything, and up for whatever! Whatever Mario wants me to do, I shall do it without the slightest hesitation!"

"Hmm..." Mario stroke his chin, pondering over Shulk's offer. The Homs is a pretty smart dude, and very organized as well. In spite of this, however, he hasn't seen that much responsibility in a considerable amount of time. "Well, thanks, but no-a thanks, I've got this all-a covered."

And with that, Mario walked out of the living room with the phone bill in hand - though he was visibly showing an apparent lack of confidence in his form.

* * *

Mega Man X, the peace-loving robot, walked through the hallways of the Smash Mansion, when a particular object lying on the floor caught his eye. This object was a coin, and though it had relatively low monetary value, it was a coin worth having. You may never know when you need to use it, like a lottery ticket, for instance.

"Woah, a nickel!" the robot exclaimed as he ran over to the coin and picked it up, just when Doc Louis happened to walk by. When he heard X exclaim, he glared down the robot, having mistaken him for using some sort of fighting word. Were the boxing trainer's ears deceiving him, or did he hear right?

"Boy what did you call me?!" Doc Louis yelled at X, his loud, booming voice scaring the robot and catching him off-guard. "Did you just call me what I THINK you just call me?!" Unwritten Rule #48: Unless you want to get your behind handed to you, it's best to keep your mouth shut whenever possible.

"Doc, I didn't call you anything, I just found this nickel lying on the floor," X held up the nickel for Doc Louis to see, but the boxing trainer didn't see it, for he thought the robot said the word-that-should-not-be-said yet again to his face.

"Say that word one more time, and I'll whoop you into oblivion!" Doc started to wind up his fist, packing enough power to punch X and send him flying straight through a wall. A pacifist robot like X doesn't want to get himself involved in any altercation with Doc, he has to play the situation as cool as possible.

"What did I even say, I just said the word nickel!" Doc Louis' temper has now reached an all-time high; he winded up his fist even more, the anger and tension building up inside of him. But before the boxing trainer could land a single punch on X, his protege Little Mac swooped in and dragged Doc away, struggling to do so.

"Don't mind him, he hasn't had any of his chocolate in a while!" Little Mac said to X. That might explain Doc's fervent temper, man's gotta have his chocolate!

 **X: Still trying to figure out what I did so...am I not allowed to say the word nickel anymore? Has the word become politically incorrect now, am I supposed to call the coin something else now?! Let me guess, it's now going to be offensive to say the word "pickle"! Bunch of pansies nowadays...**

* * *

Little Mac dragged Doc Louis upstairs to the Star Records room, where Fox, Falco, and Knuckles were having a beatboxing competition to pass the time, with Big Top of all people...erm, hats...being the judge of said competition. (Falco, being the beatboxing whiz that he is, absolutely dominated.) The three stopped their little game when they saw Doc Louis looking pretty exhausted...and _ticked._ It's never a good sign when the boxing trainer is feeling some type of way.

"Everything okay, Doc?" Fox asked the boxing trainer wearily, worrying that one poorly timed word might set off Doc. X already did the same thing not so long ago, and Fox can't afford to suffer from a similar fate that the robot had gone through.

"Everything's not okay!" snapped Doc Louis. "That man X just called me a racial slur, and now I'm upset!" Welcome to 2016, where the word nickel can be easily misinterpreted as a word that cannot be said in this certain occasion, and for obvious reasons.

"Mega Man X, using racial slurs around others?" scoffed Fox, refusing to buy Doc Louis' claim. The others didn't buy it either. "You have got to be joking, X is a good-mannered dude, racial slurs and curse words are nowhere to be found in his personal lexicon."

 **Fox: In the midst of dudes that sneeze on your dinner plate, and annoy you with alien conspiracy theories that make no sense, X stands out as the most thoughtful and considerate male individual in the mansion. He's a peace-loving dude who wishes no ill harm to anyone, and you'd be hard pressed to find a guy like that anywhere else. So for X to supposedly be using a racial slur, especially around a rambunctious man like Doc Louis, is just pure silly talk. Now to go tell Geno about seeing Theodore Roosevelt at the bank yesterday, wonder if he'll believe me...**

"No, I heard it with my own ears, he even said it as loud as his voice box allowed him to, like he never saw an African American male before!" stated Doc Louis. Fox and company were still unable to buy Doc's claim, it just sounds so perfectly manufactured.

"Maybe you need to take a seat and cool off Doc," Little Mac gently guided his trainer to a chair, and Doc Louis took a seat, taking a heavy breather. The others kept a close eye on Doc, fearing that he might erupt in a fury of angry emotions.

"I don't think Doc Louis hasn't ate any chocolate yet today, that might explain why he's acting like this," Knuckles whispered to Fox, Falco, and Little Mac; the three men nodded in agreement. "I'll go to a vending machine and get him a chocolate bar, while you guys monitor Doc and keep him calm." Knuckles quietly got up, and made his way towards the door, until...

"Yo, Knuckles, can you do me a solid and notify Master Hand about X?" Doc Louis asked the echidna. "That darn robot needs to learn his lesson real quick!" Knuckles looked at Fox, Falco, Little Mac, and Big Top, who all share his general level of nervousness.

* * *

Ness and Lucas arrived outside in the mansion's backyard, and saw a crowd gathered near the bounce house. In this group was Toon Link (the purchaser of the bounce house), Young Link, Villager, Diddy Kong, Toad, Yoshi, Pit, Viridi, Kirby, Tails, the Ice Climbers, and the Inklings. They were all dying to get inside the bounce house, and they would have already been inside if not for the two bums hogging it...

"Wahoo!" Wario cheered as he bounced in the bounce house with King K. Rool. Yes, these fat, intolerable men were bouncing away, refusing to let a single soul inside the bounce house for reasons unknown. It's been this way for who knows how long.

"Face it kiddies, you're never getting inside this thing!" Rool taunted the group, standing outside the bounce house feeling miserable as Wario and Rool were bouncing up and down. "Go play your crummy baseball or something, and let us have our fun!"

"Technically, I own this bounce house, so I should at least be inside of it," stated Toon Link; only response he got was Wario blowing a raspberry at him. The young Hylian groaned as he threw his hat on the ground in utter frustration.

 **Toon Link: Wario and King K. Rool have been hogging the bounce house for almost about an hour. No matter how any of us try, we can't seem to entice those two to get out. I've spent my good rupees on that bounce house, and no way am I letting a couple of bums ruin our fun!**

"What seems to be the problem?" Palutena approached the group, holding a basket of flowers. Aerith was accompanying the goddess of nature, also holding a basket of flowers as well. Aerith is staying over at the mansion, taking care of a lot of duties that should have been taken care of already.

"Wario and Rool are hogging the bounce house and won't let any of us in!" Pit, Palutena's faithful packmule, explained to his faux mother. "We've been waiting here for the longest now, and Wario's and Rool's selfish ways is making us cranky!"

"More like making you cranky," said Diddy Kong. "I'm just here to eat my bananas within the company of others, bouncing isn't really my style anymore!" So why did Diddy choose a bounce house of all places to eat his precious bananas? Not to mention that he'll get banana peels all over the place, and that can become a safety hazard if take up every spot. Sounds a bit silly, don't you think?

"I do believe you two already had your fun," Aerith said to Wario and Rool, attempting to entice them to exit the bounce house. "Now it's time for everyone else to have theirs!" No matter how sincere Aerith was, the bums did not bother to harken to what the flower girl had said.

"Quit being so intolerant to our needs, we can remain in this bounce house for as long as we like!" retorted Rool. What is this intolerance the Kremling speaks of? "It's a free country after all!"

"'Free country' would also count as including others," stated Palutena. "Also, what are these 'needs' that you speak of? Educate us, please, we beg of you."

"Needs such as losing weight and having a great time, both at the same time!" replied Wario. The rich fatso may not know this, but there are plenty of other ways to lose weight - many of which are more effective than bouncing. Exercises like running, sit-ups, push-ups, etc., can make you more fit. But alas, Ryu already tried out these exercises on Wario in episode 7, and as you have seen, those exercises were all for naught.

"First of all Wario, bouncing about in a bounce house hardly ever makes you lose weight. And secondly...you know what, forget this, I'm outta here!" Palutena, on the verge of losing her patience with Wario, stormed away with the basket of flowers before any of her patience could be lost.

"Wait up for me, Lady Palutena!" Aerith ran after the goddess of nature, carrying the basket of flowers with her. So much for reasoning with Wario and Rool.

"Looks like we have to take matters into our own hands..." Ness sighed as the group continued to Wario and Rool bounce their cares away. It will take a much-needed effort to get them out of the bounce house.

* * *

 **Luigi: So what-a does the house look-a like? It has-a everything that a regular house-a does, like a kitchen, living-a room, a master bed-a room, and a bath-a room. (Though we might-a need two bathrooms, for emergency-a reasons.) The house is expected-a to be finished before the end-a of next week, provided there-a aren't any hiccups along-a the way...**

"Dang nab it, hammered the nail unto my pinky finger again!" Donkey Kong screamed in pain, as he was hammering away on the roof of Luigi's and Daisy's home. The gorilla was alone - Cloud, Link, Akira, Heihachi, Mega Man, Zero, and Chrom were also working on the house, both inside and outside. No incentive was needed - like Cloud, these men enlisted to work on the house for the sake of the newest married couple, Luigi and Daisy, who plan to make the new home their abode.

"Donkey Kong, you seriously need to stop hurting your fingers like that, you can't finish building the room by harming yourself," Link told Donkey Kong, as he and Mega Man were working on the house's pipe system. The system is very crucial - without it, Luigi and Daisy wouldn't be able to wash their hands, wash themselves, and the like. King Dedede doesn't mind that kind of lifestyle, but the newlyweds certainly do.

"It's not my fault my giant fingers keep getting in the way! You don't know what it's like to have giant hands!" The nail that Donkey Kong is hitting looks like a gnat in the palm of the gorilla's hand, so there's approximately a 1/160 chance of Kong hitting the nail in the wood successfully, without doing any harm.

"Why don't we switch roles, so you won't hurt yourself anymore?" suggested Akira. So the kung fu fighter and Donkey Kong switched roles; Akira went to building the roof, and Donkey Kong went to putting on the finishing touches on the house's exterior. Akira took a nail, and a hammer, and hit the nail on the hammer...and injured his hand in the process. "Gah, that hurts, that really hurts!" The fighter winced in pain as he shook his hand, believing that it might ease the pain even though it hardly does any sort of healing method. "And it was my good hand, too!"

"Greetings, Mr. Strife, how are things coming along?" Isabelle approached the blonde swordsman. As it was stated earlier before, Isabelle is one of the few brawlers that Cloud doesn't mind - though Cloud does mind being called "Mr. Strife", he thinks it sounds a bit too formal.

"Things are coming along just fine, aside from Donkey Kong injuring himself, the house building has been all positive," responded Cloud. "We should be finished in due time. How's the pipe system coming along?"

"The pipe system is almost complete," Link gave a thumbs up as Mega Man inserted a pipe into the system. The robot has a brief history with pipes - after all, he fought on Crash Man's stage, which is entirely made out of pipes! "Just gotta run some water through it, and we'll determine if it's fully functional."

 **Mega Man: Unlike the mansion's water, which runs from Seattle's water system, Luigi's home will run on the water from the mansion's lake. Yes, I know, I know, it sounds pretty cheap, but on the bright side, you can expect to find a Gyarados popping out of your bathtub...and thrashing the place and making your home messy. But you still get a Pokemon in your own home! No having to go out in the wild to catch one!**

"May I see how the interior of the house looks like so far?" asked Isabelle; Cloud gave the shih tzu a brief tour of the home, and Isabelle was pretty impressed with what she had seen. "My my, this house is coming along very nicely! I can tell you all have been working hard to make it perfect for Luigi and Daisy!"

"We sure are," Zero responded, working away on the interior of the home. His phone went off in his arm - yes, he has his cell phone installed in his arm, must be great to be a robot - indicating that he just received a text from his best friend X. Zero checked the text message, and it said that X was forced to attend "sensitivity training". Sensitivity training for what?

* * *

X sat in a dark room, where his so-called sensitivity training would take place. He was tied down to a chair, with Pikachu sitting on one arm, and Pichu sitting on the other. Is this the most ghetto electric chair in existence. You bet! The individual in charge of this training was Master Hand, who magically appeared before X, intimidating the robot with his profound majesty and ominous nature.

"Knuckles has told me about you supposedly using a racial slur on Doc Louis," said the giant hand; X still believes the entire situation is blown out of proportion, given that it started because of a mishearing. "Now I'm not sure if you said it or not, but knowing your peaceful nature, you might be utilizing your pacifist mannerisms as a means to get away with lowkey stuff!"

"But I never said anything!" frowned X, wriggling his way out of the chair, although it was no use. Whoever tied the robot to the chair must be a rope tying aficionado. "I just found a..."

"He's in denial, shock him at once!" At the command of Master Hand, Pikachu and Pichu both used Thunder Jolt on X, shocking him in the process and making him scream in agnozing pain. Pichu may not have done enough, but Pikachu's ever-abundant electricity certainly gave the pacifist robot quite the shock.

 **Master Hand: Would afford an electric chair, but they're expensive beyond words. How do I know this? I can never find one online, or in store! This country we call America preaches things like freedom, yet we can't buy electric chairs for our own use - only the government gets to use them! Talk about being withholding!**

"Now answer me this, X...why did you use that racial slur against Doc Louis?!" Master Hand continued the very questionable sensitivity training.

"Me, using racial slurs at Doc Louis?" X scoffed, knowing that using such words is not a part of his nature. "Yeah right, I don't have enough time in the world to spend in a robot health facility, I know what Doc is capable of." As stated earlier before, Doc may be old, but he can still pack a punch! He ain't no Saitama - the presumably "ugly" bald dude from _One-Punch Man_ \- but much of his strength is intact, even in his old age.

"If you know what's he capable of, then why did you even bother using a racial slur against him? Sounds a bit backwards if you ask me...are you sure you aren't a masochist? You know, we can have a therapy session for that once this training is finished..."

"I DID NOT USE A SINGLE RACIAL SLUR AGAINST DOC LOUIS AT ALL, I JUST FOUND THIS STINKING NICKEL ON THE GROUND!" An enraged X flashed the nickel to Master Hand...but like Doc, the giant hand didn't see it, and instead he was paying more attention to X's outburst.

"So not only are you a masochist, but it appears that you also have anger management issues! Now I see why you're so peaceful, it's the only way to curb your outbursts of anger. Fortunately I know the remedy to your problems...Pikachu, Pichu, use Thunder Jolt once more!"

Pikachu and Pichu did as they were told, shocking X as the robot belted out more screams of pain and agony. What did he do to deserve this kind of cruel and unusual punishment, especially since such punishments are banned due to the 8th Constitution? To think this all started because of some mishearing...

"Are we done yet?" asked X, with static running through his robotic body. "I have a life, you know, I gotta do things..."

"Don't get smart with me buddy!" growled Master Hand; X instantly feared for the worst. "Thunder Jolt him again!" And for the third time, X had to scream another painful scream, as Pikachu and Pichu shocked his robotic core. Lucina was watching this torture through the crack of the door to the room, sympathizing for X. No one - whether they be human, robot, Pokemon, Koopa, and the like - doesn't deserve such treatment, especially if it revolves around a non-issue.

 **Lucina: Master Hand is rather infamous for some of the more...intense punishments he doles out to us brawlers. What's more is that the extremity of the punishments are the same, regardless of the situation. This one time, Lucario accidentally knocked Villager's toothbrush into a toilet, and Master Hand punished him by having his head and arms in a pillory at nighttime...while being forced to listen to what was called the "River Twygz Bed" theme from _Super Paper Mario_ when he's asleep. This lasted for an entire week...I wouldn't listen to that theme if I were you, unless you enjoy living in your own nightmares...**

"Tell me now X, will you accept the consequences of your actions, and apologize to Doc Louis for using the racial slur against him?" Master Hand asked the robot after the electrocution ended. X was breathing heavily - surprisingly his system didn't short-circuit because of the heavy amount of electricity running through his body. "You'll also agree not to use racial slurs ever again, right?"

"Sure why not, it's not like I ever uttered a single racial slur in my lifetime, and I never used any slurs against Doc Louis ever," replied X. The sensitivity training was coming to an end, so the robot won't have to worry about being electrocuted again - one more shock, and his system might go out for good!

"Yes, you may continue to live in your own little delusion, just as long as you apologize. Now get to it!"

* * *

Yoshi carried a pan of egg casserole to the bounce house, where Wario and Rool continued to bounce inside, like they have no lives whatsoever. The green dinosaur placed the panat the entrance of the bounce house, and moved it a few inches forward, hoping that either Wario, Rool, or both would smell the yolk-filled goodness present in front of them.

"Baked some egg casserole for you guys!" exclaimed Yoshi, as he aligned himself with the long-waiting group, expecting Wario and/or Rool to stop bouncing and come out of the bounce house to consume the casserole like a madman. And for the record, Yoshi didn't bake the egg casserole, Dunban did. Would you ever trust a dinosaur to bake anything for you?

"Egg casserole?" Wario raised an eyebrow. The aroma of the casserole reached the fatso's nostrils, and he found the smell very pleasant. "This I gotta have! It must be in my stomach right away!" Wario walked towards the exit of the bounce house, with the group watching attentively, until...

"No Wario, don't do it!" warned Rool, stopping the fatso in his tracks. "Don't you see what those losers are doing? By having the casserole near the bounce house, they're trying to lure you out of it! Not only are they taking away your fun...they're also taking away your freedom!"

 **Toad: First it was about "needs". Now it's about "freedom"! Wonder what's next on their agenda, might even discuss their "rights"!**

"You're right, that casserole is just bait!" said Wario. He may enjoy a great casserole - provided it has high levels of cholesterol - but he won't let the egg casserole ruin his fun. "Ha ha, you didn't try to get me this time, might as well try again, if ya even bother to!" Wario resumed bouncing, and the group's plan to get inside that bounce house has failed. Time to go back to square one!

"Got any ideas?" Toon Link asked Ness, the leader of the brigade. "The egg casserole baiting was an absolute failure, and we can't waste that casserole, Dunban will have our heads for sure if we just throw it away!"

"Bowser has a giant appetite, we'll just give the egg casserole to him," replied Ness. Kirby eventually sucked up the egg casserole - and the plate - and happily rubbed his tummy. "...Or Kirby can just eat it himself. Good thing I've been thinking up of a plan B..."

* * *

Peach and Zelda were in the garden, planting flowers in the garden, when Aerith and Palutena approached them, carrying the baskets of flowers in their hands.

"Thought this might spruce up the garden a little bit," said Aerith. The flower girl knows everything there is to know about gardening and whatnot; heck, she even spent an eternity in the garden all day long, until she first met Zack Fair and Cloud Strife. "A lovely garden always has room for improvement!"

"Well that's very thoughtful of you, Aerith!" smiled Peach, accepting the baskets from Aerith and Palutena. "Sometimes it feels just great having you around here!"

"Yes, I agree, Cloud's candor has completely changed ever since you first showed up at the wedding," stated Zelda, as she used the flowers to decorate the garden's decor. "Prior to your arrival, Cloud wasn't exactly enjoying things at the mansion; he hated a huge chunk of the mansion's population (with the exception of some, I am assuming). But now he's appreciating life more."

 **Zelda: Cloud, when he first arrived at the mansion, was what I would consider a shrinking violet...but not in the sense that his appearance literally cries doom and gloom. And it wasn't so much that he was extremely shy, he could never stand the antics of the mansion inhabitants (and honestly, I can't blame him entirely for that) and he just didn't want to express his feelings, unless when spoken to or provoked. But I'm sure that Aerith will bring the best out of Cloud, that I'm sure of.**

Mario walked into the garden, taking care of business as always as the man of the mansion, like inspecting the garden for instance. A great garden equals a great home...though that isn't the case at the Smash Mansion, given that not everybody gets along pretty well.

"How's-a the garden coming along-a ladies?" the plumber that we all know and love (but hopefully know) asked the women.

"It is coming along very nicely, Aerith has been a huge help for us," replied Palutena. The goddess of light couldn't help but notice that something was...off, with Mario's stature and poise. "Is there anything wrong Mario? You don't look like your usual self..."

"Oh, nothing is-a wrong, everything's just-a fine and dandy and..." Mario kept going on like this, visibly displaying signs of nervousness, until...

"Mario may I speak-a with you for a minute?" Luigi approached his twin brother from behind, scaring his pants - uh, overalls - off and making him turn around, facing the green-clad plumber in a karate stance. Mario better not perform his best rendition of a Bruce Lee action scene, for it would be humiliating - and doing it in front of Peach would make it even worse. "Woah Mario, chill-a out, I asking you a question-a about my house!"

"About-a the house?" Mario quickly dropped his karate stance, regaining his normal composure. "What questions do-a you possibly have?" Mario and Luigi both mutually agreed on the house plan for Luigi's new home, so what does the lanky plumber want to add to the house?

"Not sure-a how you would feel-a about this...but would-a it be fine with-a you if we added a nursery to the house?"

After hearing this, Mario fainted to the ground, shocking everyone as evidenced by a collective gasp. Aerith ran over to Mario and checked his vitals, making sure that he was okay and everything is in order.

"We must take Mario to Wii Fit Trainer right away!" the flower girl said to the others. Luigi, reasonably nervous about his brother, was biting his nails, contemplating whether or not he should have asked his brother that nursery question in the first place.

* * *

With Zero working on the new home and not hogging the workshop, Samus finally had some freedom and peace to work away in the room on some of her newest projects. The latest project she is working on involves her own power suit - she's adding some "technical upgrades" to it so it can be more stronger when used in battle. Why not ask Masahiro Sakurai for upgrades instead, he wouldn't hesitate to do so!

 **Samus: So everyone (by everyone I mean the losers residing in this dumb mansion and the low-life nerds online) keeps talking about how I'm supposedly "better" in my Zero Suit than my power suit, which I've owned for as long as I could remember. It's the same old comments... "Zero Suit moves faster than in her power suit!" "Zero Suit has a strong aerial game that cannot be matched!" "Zero Suit is super hot when she shows her face and body more in battles!" Like that actually means something, those single nerds claiming me as their "waifu", or whatever the heck that's supposed to be...I must focus extremely hard if I ever want the upgrades on my power suit to yield fruitful results, which means zero distractions!**

Samus' desire to have zero distractions was decimated when Sonic waltzed into the workshop, possibly being noisy again. Let's hope that he doesn't destroy Samus' power suit, like he destroyed the prototype for Zero's innovative printer.

"Sup girl, whatcha working on?" the hedgehog greeted the space bounty hunter, taking a seat in an empty chair. Samus is not exactly the best person to get along or socialize with, given her overall demeanor and lack of patience with her fellow brawlers. "Working on your nifty power suit, huh? Didn't know you were that invested in that rusty heap of metal!"

"Did you just call me a girl?" a slightly offended Samus faced Sonic, glaring at the hedgehog. Moments like these are why Samus attempts to distance herself from everyone, whenever possible. She only associates herself with others when it's fully necessary - and that hardly ever happens!

"What, you don't like that? How about I just call you lady instead? Lady sounds good? Awesome!" Sonic gave a resounding thumbs up; Samus groaned and resumed her work. "So I was speaking with Marth earlier today, and the girly guy, as I call him, said I would be more 'tolerable' if I started being more considerate. Do you know how I can be considerate towards others?" Sonic, being considerate to others? Won't even happen in a million years!

"Killing yourself would be a good start..." Samus monotonically replied, fixing her eyes on her power suit and not bothering to give Sonic a single glance.

"Nah, already tried that before, didn't go exactly as planned. But there's always another chance for stuff like that!"

"Sonic we really need your help, it's an emergency!" Tails flew into the room, nearly crashing into Samus' power suit when he came to a halt. Thank goodness he didn't break it or anything, Tails can't afford to make Samus go from being neutral with him to making him his new arch-nemesis.

"Let me guess, someone's cat got stuck up in a tree? I'm sure the fire department can take care of that. It's their problem, not mine!"

"Can you just come with me for a quick second? We have absolutely no time to waste!" Tails, not wanting to put up with Sonic's shenanigans, grabbed the hedgehog's arm and flew out of the workshop.

"Thank you..." a very relieved Samus said after Tails took Sonic out of the workshop, as she looked up to heavens. Peace has been finally restored.

* * *

Link, Cloud, and the other men continued to work away on Luigi's and Daisy's new home, when the mythical bird known as the Flying Man showed up, carrying a large hammer that looked so heavy, it's a miracle the bird hasn't fallen and broken any of his limbs.

"Hoo boy, here comes trouble..." Chrom shook his head in dismay as the Flying Man made his way towards the workers. His fellow workers shared his disdain.

 **Chrom: The Flying Man, he's just like that Navi fairy that follows Link around - no matter what you do to repel him, he just keeps coming right back, and he grows more and more annoying than ever.**

"Flying Man, why must you be here?" asked Akira, more than ready to karate chop the bird into oblivion if it's required. "Our building of the house is coming along just fine!"

"I am here because I am your courage!" the Flying Man defiantly replied. Repeating that same phrase over and over again isn't doing him any favors. "In fact, I am all of your courage! Without me, you would be destined to fail!"

"Lies," Cloud muttered as he went back to work on the house, now working in the interior and making sure that everything was functioning. "Now why did you bring that large hammer over here?"

"This large hammer isn't your average large hammer! With this bad boy, I can spruce up any building project, whether it be a house, a corporate building, or even a trailer!"

"It's possible to build trailers?" Donkey Kong wondered, holding wood in his hands. He would drop the wood on his feet, hurting his poor toes. "Gah, my toes! Why must stuff like this only happen to me?"

"At least you can operate your hands without the use of bandages..." responded Akira, whose fingers were all bandaged after accidentally hitting nails on them while hammering away on the ceiling. He would delegate the role to his friend Jacky, but the race car driver is currently racing with Captain Falcon, who refuses to give up only when he has won against Jacky. So far, they're on the twentieth race, which means that Falcon has suffered from nineteen straight losses...and those losses may rack up for a long time unless he doesn't find his mojo.

"Are you sure you can wield that hammer?" Link asked the Flying Man, who picked up said hammer, albeit struggling to do so. "It looks heavier than you..." Link and the other workers were getting quite weary of the Flying Man, who was struggling to keep his balance while holding the hammer in his hands.

"No worries...dear lad..." the mythical bird assured while maintaining his balance. "Not only...am I...your courage...but I'm also...my courage...as well!" When he said the last bit, the Flying Man finally had a firm grasp on the hammer, and held it sideways.

"You are your own courage as well," Zero shook his head at the Flying Man, working inside the living room of the house. "Doesn't even make sense, but whatever works for you I suppose..."

 **Zero: X apparently ticked off Doc Louis by using "racial slurs" against him, and the Flying Man is interrupting us while we build the house. So I guess the both of us have our own issues...and they can't be solved by any means. You don't know what it's like to put up with Doc Louis' and the Flying Man's crap on a weekly basis - or a daily basis, even.**

"Time to spruce things up!" the Flying Man ran inside the house, giant hammer in hand, and ousting Link, Zero, and Heihachi from inside. The mythical beast closed the door as a bunch of rumbling sounds, like plates crashing and stuff falling down, where heard behind the door. This lasted for close to five minutes.

"Sono damu tori wa wareware no keikaku o dainashi ni sa remasu!" frowned Heihachi after waiting. "Watashitachi wa koko ni tatte iru riyū wa, wareware wa soko kara furainguman o shutoku suru hitsuyō ga arimasu!" The kung fu fighter ran towards the house, but came to an immediate stop when the Flying Man exited through the front door, whistling he just got the job done.

"You boys can thank me later," the bird said to the workers, walking away. "Now if you excuse me, I must make this here hammer an ax, so that I may go on my tree-cutting excursion!" Those poor trees...Cloud and Link rushed inside the house to see the damage the Flying Man had done, and to their surprise...

...there was hardly any damage at all. Every facet of the home, from the living room, to the kitchen, to the bedroom and bathroom, looked livable and usable. Everything was in place and in order. However, there was only one concern...

"Well I must say, this place doesn't look so bad, we've really underestimated the Flying Man and his abilities," Chrom remarked as he went inside the house to take a sneak peak of how it looked...only to find a certain electric/ghost-type Pokemon in the living room. "Is that a Rotom, what is that doing here?!"

"Flying Man must have seen it, and might have been too afraid to harm it," Link assumed. "Despite how it somehow got inside, we gotta get rid of it!"

* * *

Tails guided Sonic outside to the bounce house, where the group just dying to get inside the inflatable fortress were still waiting while Wario and Rool were still bouncing inside. Will those two ever grow exhausted from bouncing around too much, or have their respiratory systems have already been neutralized due to their fattiness?

"Ah, Sonic, just the guy we needed to see!" Ness approached the hedgehog, hoping that this new plan will prove to be successful. "You have Amy Rose's phone number, amirite? Can you do me a solid and call her, I'll tell you what to do next."

"And you said it would be a quick second..." Sonic would give Tails a stink eye as he pulled out his cellphone from...does the guy even have pockets? Where does he keep his cell phone and his other belongings at? "Trying to get me to call Amy...I just can't believe you, Tails."

"Hey, it was Ness' idea, not mine," Tails defended himself, throwing his arms up in the air to deflect any blame Sonic placed on him.

 **Sonic: As it turns out, Amy wasn't afraid of Bowser or anything like that...instead she was painting her nails, a utter waste of time. Why do girls even paint their nails anyway, why can't they just be happy with what they got?! This is why I don't understand girls sometimes...**

Sonic dialed Amy's phone number, and waited for his girlfriend to pick up while the phone call tone sounded. The hedgehog pledged to call Amy on an occassional basis - at least once or twice per month, just to keep her yandere tendencies at bay - but Ness is ruining the hedgehog's intentions.

"Hello Amy, are you there?" Sonic spoke into the phone once Amy answered the call, bracing himself for what may transpire next.

"EEEEEEEIEEIEEEEE!" Amy screeched in pure happiness. Sonic's phone wasn't on speakerphone, mind you, yet the group was able to hear the girly hedgehog's scream through the cellphone. "You called me for the second consecutive week! This must be a dream, this must be a dream..."

"Is she always like this?" Pit just had to ask Sonic this question; both the hedgehog and Tails nodded their heads at the same time, letting them know about how Amy Rose operates whenever Sonic's involved.

 **Pit: Thank goodness Viridi isn't a crazy wacko like Amy...granted she has her moments, but they're nothing out of the ordinary...  
** **Viridi: *sneaking up on Pit* What are these "moments" that you speak of, Pitty?  
Pit: *stammering* Oh, uh, um...moments like...you trying to kiss me! You know I'm too old to have cooties...  
Viridi: *stares questionably at the camera***

"So Sonic, how have you been since the last time you called me? Has that ugly Bowser bullied you at all? Are the brawlers treating you nicely, and not antagonizing against you or anything? Let me know if you do, my Piko will teach them!"

"Everything at the mansion is just dandy, no need to feel concerned," assured Sonic. A good girlfriend never ceases to ask about the condition of their boyfriend when he is away; Sonic should be adjusted to that ASAP unless he wants Amy to break up with him...though he wouldn't mind that one bit. "Bowser hasn't bullied me, ever, he's actually pretty chill when you get to know him."

"Ask Amy to give her opinion on Wario's and Rool's looks," Ness whispered to Sonic. "Put your phone on speakerphone!" Sonic initiated speakerphone, and soon the fun began.

"Yeah, so I've been wanting to ask you this question Amy, and I wanna know what your answer is...what do you think of Wario and King K. Rool in terms of attractiveness?" Ness anticipated Wario and Rool to overhear this conversation, and just as the teenager expected, they did, as evidenced by their angry looks.

"Wario and Rool?" Amy scoffed, offended that Sonic would dare to ask such a question. "You mean the two ugliest clowns to have ever existed! I bet you Medusa herself would turn to stone if she ever took the slightest glance at their putrid faces!"

"What did she just say?!" Rool frowned as he made his way towards the bounce house exit, only to be stopped by Wario. "Watcha doin' man, you're gonna let that girl talk about us like that?"

"Aren't you seeing what those brats are trying to do?" questioned Wario. "They making us angry to the point where we leave this bounce house and express our anger! By having that bratty hedgehog disrupt our tempers, they're making us feel agitated and make us want to leave these premises!"

"Watch yer mouth buddy, Amy isn't no brat!" Sonic defending his woman. Sonic? Sticking up for his crazy obsessive girlfriend? This must be a once in a blue moon type of thing!

"Aw, how cute, the little blue hedgehog is defending his wee girlfriend...even cuter than those punks' silly attempts to get us outta here!" Wario laughed, and Rool laughed afterwards, as the two resumed their endless bouncing.

"Sonic are you still there?" Amy's voice emitted from the cellphone. "I heard Wario's voice, did he say anything mean to you?" Even when she's away, Sonic's safety and dignity is the utmost concern of the pink hedgehog.

 **Ness: Another great plan failed...honestly I'm getting tired of this crap. This will probably be our last straw, and if this final plan doesn't work, then so be it. Wario and Rool can just bounce in that bounce house for all I care, and they can just keep bouncing until they run out of oxygen and can breath anymore, enough to the point where they have to spend time in the fitness center until they're well again. But you know, that sure does sound like a blessing in disguise when you think about it...**

* * *

Mario laid in a bed at the infirmary room of the fitness center, sleeping with his eyes closed, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Wii Fit Trainer, looking at him with a smile. If it was someone other than Mario in that bed, that person would have screamed their butt off at the first glance of a pale woman who looks like Kayako Sakei from _The Grudge,_ giving them a huge smile. But since it's Mario, he's not affected in any way.

"Glad to see you're finally awake!" Wii Fit Trainer gleamed, as Mario got up and rubbed his head. One moment he was in the garden speaking with Peach and the ladies, and now here he is in the fitness center. Losing your consciousness can take you on quite a journey, don't it?

"How did-a I get here?" Mario analyzed his surroundings. "Where's-a Luigi, I must speak-a with him immediately about his-a nursery!" Dude's been awake for only a couple of seconds, and yet he insists on finding his brother, which may very well take a long time. Why not get some rest in?

"No, no, no, you must rest for a bit before you speak with Luigi about this nursery thing. A good rest always equals a good mindset! But before you rest, I have to ask you this question, that I would assume has been on everyone's mind...how do you feel about Aerith as your new roommate?"

Mario looked down at the floor, taking the time to answer this question. As stated in the previous episode, Master Hand wanted to have Aerith live at the Smash Mansion as a "miracle worker", and he decided to have the flower girl serve as Mario's roommate, since Luigi is moving to live with Daisy in the house adjacent to the mansion. Master Hand's decision has been weighing on Mario's mind, and this has been prevalent through the plumber's posture and mannerisms.

"I just...don't-a know how to feel about it," responded Mario. "Having some-a one like Aerith - a sweet girl, the most-a caring person in the world, and the girlfriend-a of Cloud - as a room-a mate sounds daunting for me...but I'll make-a the best of it."

"Don't know why you feel so bothered by this move - after all, Master Hand _did_ say that Aerith is a miracle worker...perhaps she can work miracles for your relationship with Peach." Mario's eyes widened as Wii Fit Trainer pinched his cheek. "It's just the thought that counts..."

* * *

A very relieved Doc Louis was in the gaming room, playing disc hockey with Little Mac. The boxing trainer and his protege were playing against Shulk and Fiora, and prevailed in their victory.

"Another mighty win for the great Little Mac!" Little Mac celebrated by flexing his muscles, leaving his trainer to give him a stink eye. "...and his awesome trainer Doc Louis. Once the celebration commenced, X entered the gaming room and approached Doc Louis, feeling rather nervous. The boxing trainer looked at the robot conspicuously, wondering what X could possibly have to say.

"I just wanted to say...I'm sorry for using that racial slur against you earlier, it wasn't me," apologized X, sounding sincere as he knew how.

 **Little Mac: Whenever you're apologizing to Doc Louis for any wrong you committed against him, you'll get either the good Doc Louis...or the bad Doc Louis. The good Doc Louis will accept your apology with gratitude, and forgive and forget. The bad Doc Louis will decline your apology and will more than likely put you in a hospital, and even hold a grudge against you until you die.**

"Apology accepted?" X held out his hand to Doc Louis, expecting the trainer to shake it. Will Doc accept X's apology, or will he send him to the emergency room? Or will he be like Cloud in episode sixteen, and leave the dude hanging forever?

"Yeah, I accept your apology, let bygones be bygones!" Doc Louis genuinely shook X's hand, putting an end to their beef. "Let's forget that this thing ever happened!"

"And to think it all started over this..." X held up the nickel he had found on the floor, which he had kept in his...does X even have pockets too?! Does he just store his stuff in an imaginary pocket that exists when he wants it to?

"Your whole beef started over a freaking nickel?" Fiora chuckled, struggling to see the logic behind the genesis of Doc's and X's situation. "Sounds silly if you ask me..."

"I do believe that Snake once mentioned of a nickel he dropped in the hallway one day, said that he keeps the nickel for 'unexplained purposes'," stated Little Mac. "Maybe the nickel in your hand belongs to Snake, you should show him and see if it's his."

"Good idea," nodded X. "I will make sure to show this nickel to Snake right away, because knowing him, he might have a bunch of other stuff lying about that belongs to him."

Doc Louis' eyes grew large with anger and contempt. When Fiora and Little Mac say the word nickel, Doc hears just fine, but when X says the word, it's perceived as a racial slur! Where is the sense in that?

"So not only did you just call me that racial slur again, you're also implying that Snake is a slave owner, huh?!" Doc Louis frowned. X backed away, wanting to keep his health and livelihood intact. "Boy I'm gonna strangle you!" Doc chased the robot - who screamed like a little girl when Doc ran towards him (kudos if you got the reference) - out of the gaming room, and would eventually chase him throughout the mansion.

"Is Doc Louis always like this?" Fiora asked her boyfriend Shulk, trying to figure out what Little Mac sees in that chocolate-loving, easy-to-anger jumpsuit man.

"Well, most of the time," replied Shulk. "But that's why we love and appreciate him!"

* * *

The workers at outside the newly finished house, wondering what to do with the stray Rotom hanging about in the living room. They would catch it with a Poke Ball, but it is unsure whether or not the Rotom belongs to anybody.

 **Donkey Kong: The goal is to get that Rotom outside, without having to harm it, and with having it harm _us._ That alone is a hard task in itself, since Rotom is one of the more predictable Pokemon out there (according to Red and his random Pokemon ****babbling) and we may not know what it's capable of.**

Before any of the workers could enter the house and deal with the Rotom, X happened to run out of the mansion, screaming his robot pants off, as Doc Louis chased after him. The boxing trainer would chase X into the new house, closing the door behind him. The workers were disgruntled with Doc Louis and X, both roaming about in the home and likely knocking stuff over.

"Great, just what we need, more chaos," groaned Cloud, throwing his arms up in the air in premature defeat. "Could things possibly get any worse?"

"Hey-a you guys!" Luigi greeted the workers, who immediately stiffened up and faced the plumber. Luigi cannot be allowed to enter his new home by any means, at least for the time being. "I can-a see that you're finished, and I must-a say, the exterior of the house-a looks awesome! I have-a one recommendation to ask-a of you though...is there by-a chance you can build nursery?"

"You want a nursery?" Link raised an eyebrow. A nursery is a room where a married couple keeps their infant child...was Link hearing this right? "Well, um, we have an extra room in the house, in the event you wanted to use it for...whatever."

"Why that's-a lovely! Phew, for a minute there-a I thought I might have-a put you through all the trouble-a of making you guys go back-a to work! Now can I take a look-a see at my new home?"

This is what the workers feared the most. They all exchanged looks of concern with one another, worried about what they should do. Doc Louis and X are still in the house with Rotom, and their wild goose chase is still going on...

"Get back here, you racist twit!" Doc Louis chased X out of the house with Rotom in his hands. Luigi and the workers looked bewildered as the two ran off, and Luigi would look at the workers, frowning at them with his foot tapping the ground.

"You see, Luigi, we let Doc Louis and X have a sneak preview before they do...because they're really into house building and all that stuff!" explained Akira, hoping the plumber would buy his claim. "Yes, it's true, I've seen X binge watching that HGTV channel for twelve hours straight! And Doc Louis has been looking at house catalogs in his spare time! Two men with such vast knowledge of house building, renovation, and improvement deserve a sneak preview before the homeowners!"

"Hmm..." Luigi stroked his chin, as the workers stood on their toes, hoping that the plumber bought Akira's claim. "I'll take-a your word for it." The workers all shared a collective sigh of relief. Akira bailed his fellow workers out _big time._

 **Akira: Got a little confession I wanna make...I actually binge watch HGTV and I also read house catalogs as well...What, my entire life can't be entirely about kung fu fighting, always gotta have room for more interests!**

"Let's-a see what we got here..." Luigi stepped inside the house, with the workers hoping that everything was in order and that no mess was made. And as it turns out, nothing was knocked over or anything - there was remarkably hardly any damage done at all! "My oh-a my, you boys did a great-a job with this house! I'll make sure-a to pay you generously for your-a efforts!"

"It better not be some lousy mushrooms," Link grinned as he nudged Cloud. The ex-SOLDIER couldn't help but crack a slight smile - although he felt that Link's joke was pretty lame and terrible.

* * *

Ness' final plan of ousting Wario and Rool from the bounce house involved having Ashley create a potion so foul, it would drive the two men away. The young witch placed the potion near the bounce house, and the stench from it penetrated the inflatable fortress and reaching the noses of Wario and Rool. But still they insisted on bouncing inside the bounce house, despite the horrible stench.

"Nice try, but no good yet again!" Wario taunted the group and their valiant efforts to get him and Rool out. How long have those two been bouncing, isn't too much bouncing horrendous to their health? Guess it doesn't apply to them...

"Eh, what's the point, no matter what we do we keep failing time after time," sighed Lucas, admitting defeat. He slowly made his way back to his room, where he'll remain until dinner is ready.

"Lucas has a valid point, we've been waiting for an eternity, and nothing comes our way!" added Sonic, who recently joined the group for reasons unknown.

"Sonic we've been waiting for far longer than you have, you want to be in the bounce house just to mess with us when we're inside," stated Diddy Kong, who was eating a banana to keep his tummy full during the wait. In fact, this is the fifth banana he's eating; four banana peels were on the ground. Nobody is going to pick them up and discard them?

"And you just want to eat your bananas and junk, you have no room to talk buddy!"

"You can run, but you can't hide!" Doc Louis bellowed as he chased X towards the bounce house, Rotom in hand. X ran to the right to the group, hiding among them, and Doc Louis ran straight forward until he slipped on an conspicuously lying banana peel and ran face-first into the bounce house; fortunately he didn't rip it with his ginormous weight, for that would really be taxing on the rupees Toon Link spent.

 **Diddy Kong: I have a habit of leaving my banana peels about all over the place...sometimes I even eat the banana peels before they get rotten from exposure. Doesn't taste so bad, if you ask me...**

As Doc Louis sat on the ground, recollecting himself, Rotom infiltrated the bounce house, confronting Wario and Rool. Both men were scared as they ceased their endless bouncing and hugged each other in fright.

"It's a ghost!" Rool panicked, shivering as the harmless Rotom smiled at him and Wario. Little do they know that Rotom is perhaps the most peaceful ghost-type Pokemon there is, unless you choose to anger it. "What do we do, man?!"

"Let's scram!" Wario suggested as he and Rool scampered out of the bounce house and ran back inside the mansion screaming.

"Wario and Rool are finally gone!" Villager cheered, and the rest of the group shared the young lad's euphoria, after spending their time basking in the sun, waiting for Wario and Rool to come around. "In the bounce house we go!" And so the group finally got the chance to bounce inside Toon Link's bounce house, as they all ran inside and bounced like there was no tomorrow, while Rotom moved about sharing their fun.

"Although my potion wasn't the factor that drove those two bums out, I'm still taking all of the credit," Ashley remarked as she grabbed her potion and walked away...only to be grabbed by X.

"Where do you think you're going?" the robot grinned, taking the potion and throwing it in a lake so its horrible smell won't be smelt again. The aquatic Pokemon living in the water, however, may be looking for a new habitat sometime soon... "You ready to have some fun?!" X ran inside the bounce house, bringing an apathetic Ashley along with him, and joined the others in their aimless bouncing. After all the robot has been through, he deserved this moment.

But when X ran to the bounce house, however, he dropped the nickel that caused him so many trouble on the ground, and Snake just so happened to walk by when he found the nickel lying on the ground. He picked it up, and inspected it.

"Ah, finally found that nickel Gray Fox gave me during that spy mission!" he exclaimed, putting it back in his pocket. "I'm never letting that thing out of my sight again..." The former spy walked off, whistling happily.

* * *

Luigi, after checking the inside of his house, went back inside the mansion and to the lounge, where Mario was adjusting a lamp light on a table.

"You're not...angry with me about the whole nursery thing, are you?" Luigi approached his twin brother to ask him this question. It has been weighing on his mind, and it must have been weighing on Mario's mind as well.

"There is-a nothing to be mad over," Mario replied after he finished adjusted the lamp light. "It is your-a choice, after all. If you want-a to have kids and-a whatnot...then so be it."

"At least-a you're not holding anything against-a me," Luigi smiled as he patted Mario on the shoulder and exited the lounge...and Mario smiled as well.


	27. Episode 27: Ignorant

_Author's Note:_

 _This chapter is somewhat Sonic-oriented, with a couple of Sonic the Hedgehog characters making an appearance. You have been warned._

 _Also, time for some reviews to answer..._

 _From that one guy..._

 _"Can you maybe focus more on Ness and Lucas?"_

 _Also from that one gamer..._

 _"More Mega Man?"_

 _Oy, so many character requests...I'll try and see if I can feature Ness, Lucas, and Mega Man in future installments, if possible._

 _In addition, I also got this lovely review that I should respond to, this one from a guest:_

 _"...is there a chance we'll see the female version of Robin and Corrin and male version of [Wii Fit Trainer]?_

 _These three characters will likely appear in the story - how they will appear will be the only trouble I'll have._

* * *

 **Episode 27: Ignorant**

Throughout the entire series of _Smash Life,_ Sonic the Hedgehog has constantly presented himself as a bit of a jerkface. Many of his habits and mannerisms have given him a bad reputation as of late, and consists of a bucket list of things like photobombing wedding photos, hiding cellphones, forging for food stamps, creating new folkways, and even attempting to commit suicide...the list goes on and on.

But today, the brawlers were hoping that Sonic will at the very least be tolerable, for today is the celebration of the _Sonic_ franchise's 25th anniversary - and Sonic's birthday. Yup, the hedgehog is turning a year older, and despite how much he ages, the hedgehog may never change his ways.

"Please tell me you baked me a birthday cake for me!" Sonic said to Palutena as the goddess of nature made her way to the kitchen. She and Aerith will be the ones responsible for planning some sort of big get-together, and everyone else refused to take care of the duties for obvious reasons we shall explore later on.

"Don't worry Sonic, we have a cake for you, and fortunately it's not store-brought," Palutena assured, walking away from the hedgehog as fast as possible. "Just hold your horses!"

"So you didn't bake me a birthday cake? Then it must have been Dunban! I'll go ask him right now!" Sonic sped off to find the Homs, and Palutena breathed a sigh of relief. Even on his birthday, the hedgehog knows how to annoy his peers.

 **Sonic: Technically I'm turning sixteen today, which means that I should have a Sweet Sixteen birthday party! Where's my crown? Where's my formal attire? Where's the DJ that's supposed to be at my party?!...Ah, screw K.K. Slider, I want a professional!**

Sonic would eventually find Dunban at Luigi's new home, and he was in the kitchen showing the green-clad plumber how to operate the kitchen. There will be times when Luigi has to be a man, and cook on his own, if any dire consequences or setbacks happen to Daisy.

"Now if you want to cook vegetable soup, or something like that, you use this crockpot," Dunban instructed as he showed Luigi a crockpot. The plumber nodded his head, although it's likely he'll forget this information in due time. "This crockpot is also great for serving..."

"Yo, Dunban, Luigi, you know what today is?" Sonic asked the two as he entered the house and closed the front door behind him. Inside the hedgehog was just dying that Dunban and Luigi would say yes, but instead...

"Today is...Thursday?" Luigi raised an eyebrow, wondering if Sonic forget what day of the week it was. "Glad-a if I could-a be of assistance, if-a any." Luigi did not assist Sonic _at all,_ as the hedgehog sported a blank look on his face. Sonic then looked at Dunban, who simply shrugged while shaking his head. How is it that two of Sonic's fellow brawlers not know about the hedgehog's birthday? What is this sorcery?

"Did you at least bake a cake or anything? Palutena did mention something about a cake..."

"She was just playing with your tail, I don't believe that there is a cake present," stated Dunban, placing the crockpot in a cupboard. "But if there is a cake, then I'll make sure that you're the first to know!"

"Eh, forget you guys, I'm outta here..." a disappointed Sonic made his way towards the front door, in utter disbelief that Dunban nor Luigi know about his birthday. However, the hedgehog isn't giving up any hope - in fact, he has a question that might indicate if anyone knows about his birthday. So he turned around and asked... "Do you know if any of my friends are coming over today?"

* * *

"1, 2, 3...GO!" Red the Pokemon Trainer counted off, starting an arm wrestling match between Wario and Roy in the lounge. Wario had the upper hand, utilizing his large arm muscles to push Roy's hand down to the table.

But the swordsman would eventually fight back, mustering up all the strength he had to push against Wario's hand, and push it down to the table, prevailing in victory. Roy cheered as he pumped his fists in the air, while Wario looked on, dazed and confused. The fatso was in disbelief that he lost to a measly swordsman despite having more muscle mass in his arms; certainly the arm wrestling match was a complete mirage.

 **Wario: That arm wrestling match I had with Roy...it was rigged! Rigged, I tell you! Why in fact, it was rigged from the very beginning - Roy's been using steroids, and I bet Ike, and to a lesser extent Marth, have been using steroids as well! How can you explain those weenies going from skinny string beans to strong-bodied punks when they were announced for** _ **Super Smash Bros 4?**_ **I know deep down that they're using steroids, and one of these days, they'll be exposed in front of EVERYONE!**

"I demand a rematch!" Wario angrily pointed at Roy, who was still celebrating. "I let you win just to show a little sympathy, but in this next match, I'll show you what I'm truly made of!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, if it makes you feel any better," remarked Link, reading the latest edition of _Swordsman Weekly_. His girlfriend Zelda was off doing things - things that she refuses to describe to Link in full detail, though she said that it was for a "certain occassion", and his best friend Cloud is spending some alone time with Aerith, so the hero of Hyrule is all by himself for today.

"Um, excuse me...but do any of you...know where I can find Sonic?" a purple cat shyly entered the lounge, with social anxiety written all over her face. She dressed with a royal attire, like she was a princess or even a queen from who-knows-where, and she looks around the same age as the person of interest she's searching for, Sonic.

"You look like a high-ranking royal person from a faraway kingdom!" Wario said to the purple cat. Being the millionaire that he is, judging a person's wealth based off of their attire or appearance is a bit of a sixth sense of Wario's. You have seen it in the first episode, when Corrin was introduced to the brawlers. "Give me all your riches, and everything that you own!"

"Woah Wario, chill out, do you treat any person you meet like this?" questioned Roy, who ceased celebrating when the cat appeared. Something about this cat looked so intriguing, and her shrinking violet personality made it all the more intriguing.

"Only if the person that I meet wears formal clothing and/or speaks with a formal tone. Everyone else - the poor losers strapped with financial issues- usually get by, but only under certain circumstances."

"I don't...have that much money...or anything worth giving to you," the purple cat continued. "I'm...Blaze the Cat...by the way...in case you were wondering." Red's eyes bulged when Blaze uttered her name, and the cat was rather frightened, for she never seen anyone react as such when she introduced her name.

"You're Blaze the Cat?!" the Pokemon trainer made his way towards Blaze, and the cat was fearing for her life. Has Red mistaken her for a Pokemon, and is attempting to catch her? "Oh man, Sonic has been saying all sorts of things about you, always talking about how the two of you saved the world from Dr. Eggman! Though it's not really that big of an accomplishment, Eggman is similar to Bowser in terms of lousiness."

"Sonic has been talking about me at the mansion..." Blaze held her arm with her hand, looking down at the floor. "That's...nice, I suppose..."

 **Blaze: For the record, _I_ was the one that saved the world from Dr. Eggman. I had to carry Sonic all the way through our adventure. But honestly he wasn't that bad of an accomplice, in my opinion - though Silver is _slightly_ better.**

"Last time I saw Sonic, he was bothering people about some cake," Link explained to Blaze. "He's quite the annoying presence here at the mansion; aside from Tails and Knuckles, nobody seems to stand that guy."

"I can hardly blame them - when I first met Sonic, he was acting so judgmental, like he thought I was some evil person," stated Blaze. Tails and Cream the Rabbit were accepting of the purple cat, but Sonic...not so much. "But he warmed up to me...eventually."

"I see that you're getting to know one of our guests, Blaze the Cat," Zelda appeared through the doorway, standing next to Blaze. "She's quite the shy one, I should say, but she'll warm up to you, just like how she warmed up to Sonic!"

"There's other guests present at the mansion?" Wario wondered, rubbing his hands together evilly. "Sure do hope they all have money..."

* * *

Mario whistled as he went down the stairs to the foyer, to see if anymore guests were coming to the mansion. When the plumber arrived at the foyer, he saw something that completely surprised him and caught him off-guard...

"Mama mia!" exclaimed Mario, looking at a gaping hole in the ceiling of the foyer. This hole was _huge_ ; if it were raining, and there was a serious downpour, the foyer would flood up in an instant! "Who could-a be behind this hole! I must-a investigate immediately!"

So Mario went to go fetch Isabelle, and the plumber and the shih tzu went to go look for the perpetrator behind the giant hole in the foyer. Soon they would find the culprit - Dr. Eggman, laughing as he was having a friendly conversation with Bowser, Ganondorf, King Dedede, King K. Rool, and Heihachi Mishima in the vending machine room.

"And then I said, 'How can you possibly call yourself a Gerudo, when you don't even have any abs?'" Ganondorf conversed with the fellow villains, resulting in collective hysterical laughter from the group. Sometimes it's great to see serious dudes like Ganondorf joke a bit with others on an occasional basis. However, such instances had to be put on hold when the villains took notice of Isabelle and Mario, who were standing at the doorway; the latter was tapping his foot and staring at Dr. Eggman.

"Couldn't have hurt-a to enter through the front-a door, huh?" Mario questioned Dr. Eggman while folding his arms scornfully.

"I would have went through the front door, but I figured that would have been too 'mainstream'," replied the mustached villain. Clearly Eggman has been familiarized Fox's and Falco's non-mainstream ways when he arrived at the mansion. Or have the Star Fox pilots had already taken their cues from the evil genius themselves?

 **Dr. Eggman: Us villains don't go through some lousy front doors, like the commoners do. Instead, we use a variety of other methods, like blasting holes through a ceiling with a missile and flying through said hole on an Egg Mobile when no one is looking for instance. It's villain protocol!**

"Dokutā egguman no kōdō ni gimon o teishi shimasu. Kare wa jaakuna akuyakuda, kare wa kare ga yorokoba reru yō shimashou !" frowned Heihachi, sticking up for Dr. Eggman. That's what true villains do, defending the actions of one another, even if those actions may be perceived as morally wrong and downright demented in the eyes of others.

"...Anyways, Dr. Eggman, we would appreciate if you would enter the mansion in a less formal manner in the future," said Isabelle as Heihachi held his head in sadness, disappointed that the shih tzu didn't even bother to translate what he just said. "Mr. Game & Watch already has so much on his plate, and Master Hand will probably..."

"Ah, yes, Master Hand, I've been wanting to speak with him at the wedding reception!" exclaimed Dr. Eggman. "Unfortunately, that crazy companion of his Crazy Hand kept him occupied with his insanity. Where may I speak with Master Hand, given that he's not busy?" Eggman should be wise enough to not hold any conversation with the mighty Master Hand, for the hand being is majestic enough to make you wet your pants, regardless of how brave or courageous you are. He makes the most evil dudes like Ganondorf feel like wimps in his presence.

"Um, we'll-a see about that..." Mario replied nervously, unsure if Dr. Eggman speaking with Master Hand would be such a grand idea. He already knows what the giant hand is fully capable of - he could make Dr. Eggman a living coat hanging at the snap of his fingers!

"No, no, I insist, speaking with someone like Master Hand is one of the most finest opportunities in the entire universe! Either you let me speak with Master Hand...or I will spill the beans..." Dr. Eggman's eyebrows moved up and down when he said the latter part of his response. Does the evil inventor have actual beans he intends to spill, or is he withholding crucial information that Mario already knows?

"Follow me..." Mario sighed as he guided Dr. Eggman out of the vending machine room and to Master Hand's bedroom. The evil genius was rubbing his hands together evilly...what is that man plotting?

* * *

Inside the computer room, Wolf was showing Team Chaotix - Espio, Vector, and Charmy - his beloved horror movie, hoping that the three agents will see through the poor production quality and see the horror film as one of the finest films ever created by man. Once the trio were finished watching, they had to give Wolf their critique of the movie...

"Awesome movie, fully deserving of a sequel!" critiqued Vector, giving a resounding thumbs up.

"Perhaps the best horror film in recent memory, totally would recommend your movie to anyone!" critiqued Charmy, who has little friends aside from Vector and Espio (Sonic and his pals don't count).

"Ten out of ten, four stars," critiqued Espio, remaining somewhat terse with his critique for whatever reason.

 **Wolf: Ha, I knew Team Chaotix would enjoy my horror film, they have really good tastes. Sadly the same can't be said for some of the losers living here at this wretched place, they must think Shrek is the greatest horror film ever created.**

"Thank you for your positives comments about my film, I've always knew that there would be someone out there that would appreciate the hard work I inputted into the film," Wolf thanked Vector, Espio, and Charmy. What hard work is he talking about, that movie of his made even Rosalina cry tears of laughter! "Off you go know, enjoy the rest of your day!"

So Team Chaotic exited the computer room, and when they made a considerable distance from the room, where Wolf cannot hear them...the three burst out laughing, after having to hold their laughter in from Wolf. It would absolutely devastate the man to have Team Chaotix laugh in his face and ridicule his movie for the lousy piece of crap it is.

"That loon Wolf thinks his crummy horror flick is the best thing ever created since sliced bread!" Vector chuckled, wiping away a tear from his eye. "And he made it to fulfill a bet too?! Hoo boy, can't wait to see how his Star Wolf buddies will react to that heap of trash!"

"Could have been worse; Wolf did say that his only other option was having to wear female yoga pants," added Espio. And what a sight Wolf in tight yoga pants would have been, everyone could have been scarred for life. "Thankfully he decided against doing that..."

"Ay, Team Chaotix, what up dudes?" Falco greeted the trio, accompanied by his best friend Fox. The two walked up to the trio and gave them some dap. "So what brought you awesome dudes here?"

"You know _exactly_ why we came here," Espio responded sharply. He didn't intend his remark to be so sharp, but he expected Falco to be in the know, you know? "We still have to keep it under the wraps, just like everyone else."

"Precisely, any mere mention and Master Hand will have your head for sure!" stated Fox. "Master Hand is someone you definitely don't want to mess with!"

"We know, we heard all sorts of stories from the streets!" exclaimed Charmy. The young bee is but six years of age - the same age as Cream the Rabbit - and yet he's hanging out on the streets; Vector and Espio must be terrible caretakers. "So where are you two heading off to?"

"To Luigi's new home, to check out his new digs. Luigi doesn't mind having guests over; wanna come?"

"I don't see why not," Vector shrugged as his comrades followed Fox and Falco to Luigi's new home.

* * *

 **Pit: A lot of guests are coming over to the mansion, and so far Team Chaotix, Blaze, and even Dr. Eggman have showed up. Kinda makes me wonder who will be coming next...**

Pit exited the bathroom, happily whistling to himself, making his way to the arcade room. When he arrived, he walked towards the _Galaga_ arcade machine , only to be beaten to the punch by a black hedgehog.

"Hey bub, that arcade machine had my name written all over it!" pouted the angel. He should have known better than to take his time walking, he knows how hectic things can be at the arcade room. One arcade machine may be available for just ten seconds, and just when you're about to play it...BOOM! Somebody else beats you to the punch. It's an arcade game survival of the fittest; whoever is the quickest to react always wins (most of the time).

"Save your lousy crying for another time, you lived here for so long that you probably played this arcade machine enough times already," retorted the hedgehog, as he stuck a quarter inside the arcade machine and pressed the play button.

"Wait...that voice...I can recognize it from anywhere..." Pit raised up his arm and pointed at the black hedgehog, who was fixated at the screen. "You're Shadow the Hedgehog!" Yup, that's right - the anti-hero of the _Sonic_ franchise and the rival of the titular character was indeed playing the _Galaga_ arcade machine, and he doesn't give a single darn about what the Sonic fans, his critics, and even his fangirls think of him.

"Shut up, punk, I'm trying to keep it on the down low..." growled the hedgehog, which was obviously Shadow. (If you thought it was someone else other than Shadow, then you seriously need to slap yourself in the face...but if you thought it was Mephiles the Dark, you'll get a pass.) "I was literally dragged here to this mansion, and I'm only playing this arcade game to test out its...capabilities."

"Um, excuse me, but when will you be done with that machine?" Fiora approached the hedgehog, who was irritated to be in the presence of others. "This is the only arcade game I haven't played yet, and I would like to..."

"Stay away from me, you craven, I won't let you touch this thing unless I say so!" Shadow is becoming very possessive of the arcade machine - like the machine contains the soul of Maria Robotnik (his one true friend) and his duty is to ensure no one touches it.

"...so you'll call me once you're finished, right?" Shadow's eye twitched when Fiora said this, and appeared to be on the verge of losing it.

 **Shadow: Ever since my childhood friend, Maria Robotnik, was shot and killed, I saw human beings for who they are - selfish, cruel, and immoral living things that only pursue certain actions to fulfill their own goals...Huh? I was speaking with what was known as a "Homs"? Are they aliens in human disguise or something?...So they're a distinguishable human species, like those Hylians, I see...Are the Hylians not elves?!**

"Let's take a chill pill buddy, just relax..." Gil came by and played peacemaker, gently escorting Shadow out of the arcade room. The hedgehog was glaring down Fiora, who was trying to figure out what she did wrong. All she just did was ask a simple question, no need for Shadow to hold a grudge against her.

"Looks like the arcade machine is available now," the Homs shrugged as she walked over to the machine and inserted a coin, before pressing the play button. Pit ran out of the arcade room, wanting to see where Gil was taking Shadow to.

* * *

Sonic at in the cafe, moping. Today was supposed to be his birthday, yet a majority of the brawlers have seemed to forgotten about it. Had he grew to be so irritating, that the brawlers would rather remember his antics more than his birthday? No, it can't be, there must be another reason for why they're so forgetful.

"Happy birthday, Sonic!" Big the Cat walked inside the cafe, carrying a box of donuts. Sonic sure was delighted when the words "happy birthday" came out of the cat's mouth. "I bought you these donuts; they're not chili dogs, but I hope you like them..."

"Thanks, buddy, you're the best pal a guy can ever ask for!" Sonic gleamed as he happily took the donuts from Big and sat them at the table he was sitting at. "If only the same could be said for Tails and Knuckles...neither of them knew today was my birthday!" Tails was working in the workshop, and Knuckles had just started working on his first album, so the hedgehog assumed that they were too busy to remember the occasion. "But hey, they'll know what today is eventually!"

"Yeah, that's the spirit! Now if you excuse me, I'm going fishing with that Villager kid near the lake! Wonder how he's able to fish with spoon hands..." This is a very interesting question, how come anyone hardly ever thought of this? "See ya later!" Big departed from the cafe, leaving Sonic behind eating his lovely donuts.

 **Big: I had wanted to bring Froggy, my best friend, to the mansion to go fishing, but I was told not to, because that girly princess named Peach is afraid of frogs! Which leads me to question...how did Mario come to existence without Peach having to kiss any frogs?**

Snake entered the cafe, sipping his coffee, when he saw Sonic eating the donuts. The former spy wanted to have some donuts for himself; his old geezer body needs as much sweets as it can take.

"See somebody got you donuts," Snake smiled as he neared Sonic, trying to make his move.

"That's right, got me some donuts for my birthday!" exclaimed the hedgehog, chomping down on yet another donut. Donuts aren't exactly what Sonic had in mind, but he'll take them as a birthday gift of sorts.

"Today's your birthday? Happy birthday!" Sonic was nearly offended when Snake asked him if today was his birthday. Time to add the former spy to the growing list of people who don't know...

"You didn't even know today was my birthday, didn't you?" The hedgehog's joy and excitement is starting to dwindle, not even the sweetness of the donuts can cheer the guy up.

"Guess I forgot..." Snake simply shrugged, sincere in his response, but Sonic didn't buy his sincerity one bit.

"Well then I guess I forgot to give you a donut," Sonic rudely closed the donut box, and Snake had a disappointed look on his face. This was his one and only opportunity to grab a donut, and Sonic the birthday boy completely ruined his chances.

"C'mon now, Sonic, you don't have to be like that..." Sonic didn't bother to listen to Snake; he grumpily got up and left the cafe with his box of donuts.

* * *

Mario guided Dr. Eggman to Master Hand's room, and the giant hand was using a giant abacus. He wasn't using it for measurements or anything - he just liked moving the colored beads about on the strings. Surely you share the same sentiments as Master Hand, and did the same thing before.

"Master Hand, some-a one would like to speak with-a you..." Mario said nervously, unsure of how Master Hand would treat Dr. Eggman. The evil genius walked towards Master Hand, holding out his hand for a handshake.

"Pleasure to meet you in person, Master Hand," Dr. Eggman grinned, as Master Hand shook his hand. "Funny how our gloves are very much similar to one another, that factor alone would make us best friends!" Too bad Master Hand hardly has any friends to begin with, his joy in torturing others has hindered his ability to befriend others.

 **Master Hand: When performing a great handshake, one must exert the right amount of strength, and use the correct technique. Your handshake must be strong and firm, for it will tell the person whom you are shaking hands with that you mean business! They even offer classes surrounding the concept of handshakes at the community college downtown, and they're only three measly credit hours! I should perhaps send Lucas there so he can shed off some of his shyness...And yes, I'm aware he is but a teen, but mark my words, he'll be a hand-shaking prodigy soon before you know it!**

"Likewise, my friend," responded Master Hand. "Now let's cut to the chase - why do you wish to see me for?" Is it money? Is it fame? Is it power? These are some of things villains craved and more, and what Dr. Eggman has in plan may or may not shock you...

"I was wondering if I could craft a statue of you in some way, shape or form," explained Dr. Eggman. Mario's jaw dropped to the floor when the evil genius said this; his intention was that Eggman was planning on teaming up with Master Hand to rule the world, or even the entire universe! But it didn't turn out to be that way. "The statue will embody your power, your majesty, your intrigue - everything that makes you who you are! We can build it and put it at the front of the mansion, or even in the middle of the city if you want!"

"Sounds very enticing..." Where is that giant chin to scratch when you need it? Master Hand could really use one in these given moments... "I'll give it some thought throughout the day, I'll let you know when I come to a consensus. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day!"

"Thank you for hearing me out, Master Hand. Apparently some people were being all judgmental before I could even propose my idea..." Dr. Eggman headed towards the door while glaring at Mario, who was glaring right back as the evil genius exited the room. Around the time Dr. Eggman exited the room, Gil ran inside to alert Master Hand.

"Master Hand, one of the guests - Shadow the Hedgehog - was about to go AWOL in the arcade room," said Gil. "I've quarantined him by placing him in Lloyd's room and locking the door shut, hopefully to teach him a lesson...a very painful lesson." Being stuck with Lloyd in his room, in an elevator, or just about anywhere is a death wish, for that man can literally annoy you to death.

"Bring him to the darkened room in the mansion, I will try and reason with this individual later. His anger management problems may pose to be a real issue in the plan going forward..."

* * *

Blaze casually walked through the mansion, soaking in everything in sight, and the often precarious Wario was following behind her like a stalker, watching the cat's each and every move. The fatso knows that Blaze is a princess hailing from a faraway kingdom, and that means that she has a rather royal amount of riches- no pun intended. Wario is intent on snatching those riches to increase his own wealth, and nobody is stopping him, not even...

"Wario I thought I told you not to be snooping around Blaze because she dresses fancy and stuff!" Link loudly whispered to Wario from afar. The fatso looked behind him and saw Link hiding behind a vase, scolding him.

 **Link: After Blaze had left the lounge, Wario openly expressed interest in robbing Blaze of her "riches", so he can add on to his already ginormous wealth. Boy I tell ya, greed is his middle name, and he wears it proudly. If there was a homeless man on the road, and it had a lottery ticket, Wario would steal the ticket from him and use it to win a million dollars - even if that ticket is fake or not. And trust me, Wario purchases oodles upon oodles of lottery tickets on a yearly basis, and he won't stop until he wins. A lose-lose situation, depending on how you look at it.**

"But Link, she has money, money she can share with others!" Wario whispered back, hoping that Blaze - who was admiring a picture of Alph and his fellow captains, Charlie and Brittany, standing with Pikmin hanging on the wall - wouldn't overhear him. "And by others, I mean _myself,_ and no one else!"

"Sounds kinda selfish, don't ya think?" questioned Link. Why is he reasoning with Wario of all people? Reasoning with him is like reasoning with ladybug - it's nigh impossible and won't yield fruitful results.

"Selfish is my middle name!" Wario said this proudly, like it was an accomplishment or something. Nothing to be proud of at all. "So ya better get used to it!"

"Here I thought 'greed' was your middle name. After all, it suits you a bit more in terms of personality."

"Eh, greed, selfish, I use both interchangeably. But that's what happens when you don't even have a last name...you don't have a great middle name to compliment it."

"Um, were you guys following me?" Blaze angrily approached Link and Wario after hearing Wario loudly profess "selfish" as his interchangeable middle name of sorts. "Just because I dress fancy and all doesn't mean I deserve an entourage..."

"It was his idea, blame him!" Wario accusingly pointed at Link as he made a run for it...only to fall on the floor due to his short legs, giant body mass or perhaps both. Blaze levitated towards the fatso, who was getting very afraid. "Don't hurt me, I have a family - sure I seldom see them that much, but they would be devastated if they found out about my death!"

"Whoever said I was going to kill you, I'm just reprimanding you for following me..." Link tried to walk away, but Blaze caught him in the act. "Stay where you are, I'm not finished with you!" The Hylian quickly returned to his original spot, and Blaze redirected her attention to Wario. "Also, what is this 'family' that you speak of?"

"My family, which consists of my mom and dad...and my oh-so-loving siblings!" Blaze and Link both looked inquiringly at Wario, not buying this story one bit. "What, you think that I don't have a family since they aren't featured in the _Mario/Wario_ universe? There are some hidden depths about me that those scrubs at Nintendo refuse to uncover!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever...just quit following me and I'll leave you alone for the rest of the day. Capiche?" Wario earnestly nodded his head; he'll have to rethink his money-grubbing plan over again, so it will be flawless the next time he reenacts it. "Now begone with you, you obese vermin!" Wario scurried away from the scene, running as far as his chubby legs allowed him - leaving Blaze alone with Link. The purple cat approached the Hylian, who was afraid that she might wrongly reprimand him. "As for you...I want to show you something, it's something I'm planning on giving to Sonic."

* * *

 **Pac-Man: Daisy is reportedly moving in next week in time for the 4th of July (which we will be celebrating under Master Hand's orders, mainly because we're "walking on American soil", despite many of us not being naturalized citizens), and before that time comes, Luigi has to be ready to take on the responsibilities of being a husband. Yes, you can say that Luigi has been getting an excessive amount of help regarding marriage - first from Marth when planning the wedding (dude still thinks he's the only mansion resident married when Olimar and I have wives, sometimes Marth can be rather full of himself), and now myself showing him the ropes of life as a husband. But how can you expect a grown man who is afraid of the moon to handle things on his own?**

While Luigi was setting up the television in the master bedroom, Pac-Man went down to the kitchen from upstairs (where the nursery lies, it's not a steep climb or anything) and found the Umbra Witch Bayonetta resting on the kitchen counter in a very sensual manner.

"Hard to believe that a nervous wreck like Luigi will be living without his dear twin brother, Mario..." she remarked, tinkering with a silver eating utensil. "Must be hard for him, after spending time in his brother's shadow and now having to face the grips of reality...ooh, that poor thing."

"Yeah, well, I got to clean off the counter and pretty much everything else in this kitchen before the big shindig begins, so if you would please, move out of the way so I can get the task done," replied Pac-Man, not comprehending a single word that came out of Bayonetta's mouth. "I'm only giving you just this one warning..."

"Fine then, have it your way..." Bayonetta scoffed, getting off the counter, and then kneeling down in front of Pac-Man. "Just so you know, your married life doesn't give you any jurisdiction to assist Luigi in any way, regardless of whether he needs help or not." Bayonetta rubbed her finger on Pac-Man's chin, and the yellow man was slightly sweating; Mrs. Pac-Man has never done stuff like this with him before! "But whatever floats your boat, I suppose..."

"Come on in you guys, Luigi certainly won't mind having us here," Fox let Falco and Team Chaotix in through the front door, and the five men stopped in their tracks when the saw what Bayonetta was doing to Pac-Man. Pac-Man was looking worried, hoping that these men weren't getting the wrong idea.

"Look you guys, it's totally not want you think, Bayonetta just came up on me without warning me!" the yellow man pleaded, but Fox, Falco, nor Team Chaotix bought his claim...or did they?

"Dang Pac, we didn't know you were a player like that," Falco finally built up the courage to say something during this rather awkward predicament. "Got ladies like Bayonetta stroking your face...now I see why Mrs. Pac-Man wanted to marry you!"

"Promise me you won't tell the others about this, I have a reputation you know!" If Fox and company dare to take pictures of this incident, then Pac-Man's begging will reach the nigh level of desperation. "I have to uphold it at all costs!"

"Pfft, what reputation do you speak of?" scoffed Falco. "Only thing you usually do around the mansion is knit sweaters with those knitting losers! Like, who would want to knit some lousy sweaters day in and day out, like they're old grannies at a retirement home?!"

 **Pac-Man: At times, I tried to leave the knitting club through a variety of different methods, but the three members have seen through my plans. This one week, I went to the bathroom, and I stayed in there until the coast was clear. I was in the bathroom for close to five hours, until Captain Falcon came in and dragged me out, returning me to the club. Apparently he said that Yoshi put him up to it, and that stupid dinosaur even threatened to vandalize the dude's Blue Falcon if he doesn't follow his command! Practically no one is safe from those losers...**

Luigi just returned from the master bathroom after setting up the television set, and when he arrived in the kitchen, he saw Bayonetta knelt down next to Pac-Man, and the Star Fox pilots with Team Chaotix near the front door. All of these elements made the plumber rather confused...

"I'll...be...in-a the nursery room if-a you need me," was all Luigi could say as he inched away from the scene, before darting to the nursery room. Bayonetta stood up, and walked towards the front door, leaving Pac-Man in a trance. The powers of an Umbra Witch - using your beauty and attractiveness to make any male starstruck.

"Has anyone ever told you it's rude to stare at a lady?" the Umbra Witch said to Fox and company, who are just as starstruck as Pac-Man was. Vector even fainted - that's how powerful Bayonetta is! "Supposedly your mothers never taught you good manners..." Bayonetta exited Luigi's home, leaving the men in a bewildered state.

* * *

Shadow sat in a darkened room - the very room used for interrogating brawlers. He was sent to this room by order of Master Hand, after suffering the punishment of listening to Lloyd Irving's mouth while having to sit in the swordsman's room. Lloyd kept pestering Shadow, asking if the hedgehog was a tattoo artist, and if so, where his tattoo parlor was so he can get a smiley face tattoo on his arm. No, not a sleeve tattoo, a torso tattoo, nor even even a gang-related tattoo that would get the poor lad beat up if he was hanging in the slums of Los Angeles.

"Ah, Shadow the Hedgehog, how are you doing this fine afternoon?" Master Hand magically appeared in front of the hedgehog, who sat in a chair with his arms folded. Dude has been a part of time-wasting activities - such as saving Big the Cat from a tree without help from firefighters - but whatever Master Hand has in store for him may very well take the cake. "I have heard that you were plotting to unleash your anger on the innocent residents, you could have potentially hurt someone! Why can you never maintain control over your emotions?"

"I was actually doing my best to keep control of my emotions, that lousy girl - who is apparently not even a human - was distracting me," defended Shadow, wondering when this session will end. "The only reason I was getting angry was because my ship got destroyed."

"So basically what you're trying to tell me is that you flat out suck at _Galaga_ , and you planned to take out your anger on Fiora and those around you. Seems legit." Shadow faceplamed, in utter disbelief that Master Hand (partially) bought his claim. There's a reason Shadow is the most misunderstood character in _Sonic_ canon.

 **Master Hand: In response to Shadow's suckitude at _Galaga_ , and his angry outburst that would have transpired, I will consider removing the arcade machine from the arcade machine, unless some developments arise. Pretty much everyone sucks at that game except for Wario, that man plays that machine like how butter plays toast. (Got that from a line Knuckles used in one of his songs, pretty tight if you ask me.) Not to mention that Link threw a hissy fit after losing last week. Calm individuals like Link shouldn't be throwing hissy fits, instead he should be throwing bombs at the delinquent children raiding the recycling bins at night! Scrapping for the food stamps Yuffie leaves behind? Please.**

"Can you please let me go, I have a life to live," Shadow pleaded to Master Hand, but the giant hand refused to accept the hedgehog's offer. He instead entreated the hedgehog to some scones, as if it would keep him at a calm rate.

"Yes, I'm aware you have a life outside of throwing angry fits and holding vendettas against every person that you have ever known," said Master Hand; words cannot begin to describe how bothered Shadow was by this comment, it described him perfectly but he didn't want to hear it. "But you must understand that, whether you're being distracted or not, you can't let your emotions work you all up, for that would result in quite a debacle. Do you understand?"

"Eh, I suppose." Shadow didn't feel like understanding - he feels like leaving the room right away and going back to the arcade room, where the _Galaga_ arcade machine is hopefully available.

"I'll take that as a resounding yes! Off ya go!" Master Hand opened the door to the room at the snap of his fingers, and Shadow quickly exited the room. Not exactly a huge waste of the hedgehog's time, but a pointless waste of time regardless.

As Shadow walked through the mansion, he happened to bump into an individual who used to be like him - emo-like, very moody at times, and has a great disdain for life - but know sees life differently now that his significant other has returned. This individual is none other than Cloud, who just returned from some quality time spent with Aerith.

"You must be Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic's arch rival," said Cloud, not knowing what to say. Never did he think that he would ever meet Shadow in his lifetime. "From the looks of it, I can tell that you're kinda ticked off."

"And you must be Cloud Strife, the ex-SOLDIER everyone is mostly talking about," responded Shadow. Apparently he doesn't know what to say either. "And in case you were wondering, I am ticked - ticked at every single person that has never understood me."

"Yeah man, I feel ya, I used to feel like people didn't understand me either, maybe it was because of my demeanor and how I handle things. But sooner or later I warmed up to everyone a little, and now their perceptions have changed...I think I may know something that might change your mood, and change how you feel about others. Just follow me, I'll show you the way..."

* * *

A rather bitter Sonic sat in his room, eating the donuts Big had given him. Sadly, Big was the only person who remembered that today was the hedgehog's birthday.

 **Sonic: So it looks like the truth is finally out... *chomps on a donut* ...everybody hates me... *takes a bite out of the donut* ...thought it wasn't obvious before but now it is...**

"Hey Sonic, what's up, how's it going?" Toon Link entered the room to greet the hedgehog. Sonic didn't pay him any mind or attention; he just looked off in the far distance, eating his donuts. "I see someone bought you some donuts, mind if I have some?"

"Only people who aren't jerks are allowed to have donuts," Sonic bitterly replied. So that means Big is the only person that isn't a jerk - when has it ever come to that? "Now go away and leave me at peace!"

"Oh, I see why you're so upset. Thankfully I know the remedy to your troubles! Just close your eyes, and I'll take you to your happy place!" Sonic looked at Toon quizzically, wondering why he would need to close his eyes to be taken to the "happy place". By the sounds of it, it seems like a well thought out prank.

"This so-called 'happy place' better be that all-you-can-eat chili dog buffet Tails promised me to take to," Sonic closed the donut box as he got up and closed his eyes, just as Toon Link instructed him to. It's either chili dog buffet or bust for Sonic, he won't accept anything less.

"Great. Now just move along, and prepare to be surprised..." Toon Link took Sonic and walked him out of the room, and to places unknown.

"I can already smell those chili dogs..." Sonic licked his lips in excitement. Whether or not there are chili dogs remains to be seen.

* * *

"Dr. Eggman, for what-a ever reason, wishes to build a statue-a of Master Hand in the front-a of the mansion," Mario explained to Isabelle, meeting up with the shih tzu in her room. "I have-a yet to see anything-a fruitful resulting from this..."

"He has an evil underlying motive behind this whole statue thing, I'm absolutely sure of it," stated Isabelle. Even though building a statue may sound harmless, the person who is responsible for building it is a highly important factor, and the fact that Dr. Eggman is responsible for the statue raises a ton of suspicion. "Inviting him over may become a terrible idea."

"Yo, Mario, I think it's about that time that we start the big shindig!" Captain Falcon stood at the doorway to Isabelle's room to alert the plumber. "Toon Link is already leading Sonic to the 'happy place', and everyone is just dying to drop the whole forgetting act, Sonic is getting all sorts of butthurt!"

 **Captain Falcon: The forgetting act? I can't really go into full detail about that, I not allowed to spoil anything. *looks around* But if you wanna, I can tell you what's going on...  
** **Shulk: Captain Falcon, you're not telling the camera crew about the "secret plan", are you? Are you not aware of the consequences?  
** **Captain Falcon: Oh, Shulk, you suspicious goose, I would never do such a thing! Nothing to worry about over here, run along now, no need to be noisy! *looks back at the camera, whispering* I'll tell you everything you need to know later on.**

"Well off-a we go then," Mario exited the room, and Isabelle followed suit, as the two followed Captain Falcon. "We shall-a keep a close-a eye on Dr. Eggman at our location..."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, spying on a villain at a practically harmless occasion," Captain Falcon shook his head at Mario and Isabelle, clearly ignorant to their intentions. Such ignorance is why he'll never secure a soulmate in his lifetime. "Leave Dr. Eggman alone, he's only here to have fun!"

"If you-a really think that..." Captain Falcon (or maybe even Mario, who knows) will be in for a rude awakening soon...

* * *

Blaze took Link to the basement of the mansion, and there the purple cat showed the Hylian a box she kept away. Of course, Blaze wouldn't just show off a box, for that would be very uninteresting, so she opened up said box, and showed the contents to Link.

"You seriously want to give _those_ to Sonic?" Link asked after seeing what was inside the box, feeling a bit skeptical.

"Apparently this is the only thing that hedgehog wanted," Blaze shook her head, sharing some of Link's skepticism despite purchasing whatever she got for Sonic. "But it's better than nothing, I suppose..."

"There you guys are, it's about time," Corrin opened the door to the basement, and looked down at Link and Blaze, before instantly getting the wrong idea. "Link, are you cheating on Zelda with Blaze?! I understand that Blaze is still available, but you don't have to do Zelda like that..." Yeah, because we all know how a Hylian dating a cat would sound. It's appalling from a logical and biological perspective.

"Just because we're together in the basement, with no one watching, doesn't mean that I'm in love with Blaze or anything," assured Link. "Enough of your silly assumptions."

* * *

"We're finally here..." Toon Link took Sonic to a giant door, and the hedgehog's eyes were still closed. When Toon said those words, Sonic was getting all giddy, wondering if the chili dog scent is present. No chili dogs, no service!"

"Can I open my eyes now, the anticipation is killing me!" Sonic legs were moving up and down, making it seem like he was doing the pee-pee dance. Toon Link opened the giant door, and walked Sonic inside.

"You can open your eyes now." Sonic did as he was told, and to his ultimate surprise...

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SONIC!" The mansion residents and several _Sonic_ characters, such as Cream, Silver, Shadow, Big, Dr. Eggman, and Team Chaotix were all gathered inside the ballroom to wish the blue hedgehog happy birthday, surrounded by party decorations. Sonic was somewhat humbled by their jovial exclamation.

"I see you guys finally remembered at the exact same time," he remarked. In actuality, they knew it was Sonic's birthday - they just kept it a secret from him so they wouldn't spoil the surprise birthday party. Not everyone followed the code, however.

 **Villager: While I was fishing at the lake with Big, the cat ridiculed me for not telling happy birthday to Sonic, even though I wasn't allowed to say that to Sonic. Big himself was told not to say happy birthday prior to coming over here!...Gotta think of it, why was he invited here in the first place, it's not like he's the most relevant person in _Sonic_ fandom...though I would really love to see him and Jar Jar Binks from _Star Wars_ to go at it.**

"We all knew today was your birthday Sonic," explained Aerith. "We pretended that we didn't know so we wouldn't ruin the surprise party."

"Ugh, why would you guys even do that for, surprise parties are lame and pointless!" complained Sonic. This is why the dude can never have nice things. "A kid could get depressed from some dumb 'surprise party', what with nobody wishing him happy birthday!"

"I take it you're not familiar with the entire dynamic of holding surprise birthday parties?" Aerith began to feel slightly bummed out, for she planned a majority of the party and Sonic didn't appear to like it.

"Leave him alone Aerith, this is perhaps the first time we threw any sort of party for Sonic, so he should be grateful," said Young Link. There would have been a birthday celebration for Sonic, but the hedgehog is quite the picky fellow, and meeting every single one of his demands would be tricky.

"Come here and have a seat," Silver walked...or floated...over to Sonic, taking him to a chair. "Just sit in this chair, it's about time we sing Happy Birthday!"

"Ooh will there be cake?" Sonic excitedly rubbed his hands together after sitting in a chair. A chili dog birthday cake would absolutely make the hedgehog's day.

"Yes, there will be cake...what kind of moronic question is that? First we need to bring the cake out..."

The Ice Climbers brought out a cake that looked reminiscent of a chili dog, and placed it in front of Sonic. The hedgehog wanted the cake to be entirely made out of chili dogs, but he'll take whatever he gets, no time to be all salty at a birthday party. Red the Pokemon Trainer placed sixteen birthday candles on the cake, and summoned Charizard to light said candles with his fire breath. After everyone sang happy birthday to Sonic (Sonic dozed off before it was his time to sing), the hedgehog blew out the candles, and then all of a sudden...

"Happy birthday Sonic!" Amy popped out of the cake and gave her boyfriend Sonic a big smooch on the cheek. Sonic was left traumatized...though it wasn't from the fact that his yandere girlfriend kissed him.

"YOU baked Amy inside a cake?!" Sonic yelled at Palutena and Dunban, who were likely the ones to bake the cake. "You monsters!" Palutena and Dunban both shared a chuckle, wondering what they did so that was so wrong.

"Silly Sonic, I wasn't baked inside the cake!" assured Amy, as Sonic breathed a sigh of relief. "I would tell you how I got inside, but I know that you're short attention span wouldn't be able to handle the details!" She pinched Sonic's cheek, and the blue hedgehog felt embarrassed, especially since his cheek was pinched in front of his peers.

 **Dunban: Jimmy Fallon. Seth Rogen. James Franco. YouTube those names, and prepare to be amazed (depending on what your levels of amazing are).**

"So can we open the gifts now?" asked an impatient Sonic. Cream came with the first gift, holding out a present to Sonic.

"It's not much, but deep down I know you'll love it," the rabbit smiled as Sonic accepted the gift, and opened it, taking out whatever was inside.

"Seriously Cream, another toy light saber?" Sonic was particularly fond of his gift - only because he has plenty of light sabers in his possession already. "What, do you think I'm planning on forming some sort of hedgehog Jedi army? Like I'm gonna rage war against Emperor Palpatine in defeat him in battle? You must be out of your mind...NEXT!"

Bayonetta came forward with a gift, holding it behind her back. Just as she expected, all the single dudes were checking her out, paying close attention to the Umbra Witch's curves, physique, but mostly her curves.

"Found this in Luigi's new home," Bayonetta held out the gift and gave it to Sonic. "This was originally meant for Luigi, but I felt that it suits you more...consider it a gift from a fellow brawler...a yellow brawler that is." The brawler in question, Pac-Man, looked about nervously as Sonic unwrapped his gift, and pulled out a watch - a blue watch that is.

"Eh, I'll take it, better than that light saber," Sonic shrugged, placing the watch back inside the box. An impatient guy like Sonic could really use a watch; he's undervaluing how beneficial that watch can be for him.

"Why did-a you bother buying me a blue-a watch when blue isn't-a even my color motif?" Luigi asked Pac-Man, who whistled innocently while looking the other direction. Lesson of the day: never trust Pac-Man to buy you a gift, ever.

Next to give Sonic a gift was Shadow, who was accompanied by Cloud. The swordsman wanted Shadow to give out a gift, although there is a twist in this matter...

"I wanted to give you this, as a token of my gratitude," Shadow held out the gift to Sonic. "This gift was purchased with my own money..."

"You literally carry money with you?" Sonic looked astonished. "Where do you work at, bet you work at McDonald's don't you? Man, that place is totally out of your league!"

"He works at a tattoo parlor!" Lloyd yelled out to Sonic, certain that Shadow is a tattoo artist. He has the looks and the attitude, after all.

"Just...open it," Shadow seethed at Sonic, and the speeding hedgehog was quick to accept the gift and open it, for Shadow losing it at his birthday party would be no bueno. Inside the box was a lava lamp, and of course it was blue - an orange lava lamp would be greatly asinine.

 **Cloud: Didn't carry that much money with me, so I wasn't able to purchase Sonic a more extravagant gift, and I settled on getting him a lava lamp. And, as a way to make Shadow feel more grateful, I'll make him give the lava lamp to Sonic, and state that _he_ was the one that bought the lamp. Let's see how things work out...**

"Not a good gift, but not a bad gift either," remarked Sonic, placing the lava lamp back in the box. "Thanks anyway, Shadow, deep down I've always knew that you're a genuine guy!"

"Your plan was somewhat meaningless, but at least you tried..." Shadow quietly said to Cloud before returning to his original spot. Cloud shook his head and returned to his spot as well. His plan to transfigure Shadow's feelings about everyone through the gift of giving may not went as well as he envisioned - thanks to Sonic - but it was well worth the shot.

Suddenly Blaze, Link, and Corrin entered the ballroom, and Blaze held the box in her hands, walking towards Sonic. What does the cat have for the hedgehog, will Sonic greatly appreciate it?"

"I believe Link's cheating on you with Blaze," Corrin ran up to Zelda to whisper this in the princess' ear. "Might as well be on the lookout..."

"Please, Corrin, Yoshi must be feeding you with lies, I don't want to hear any of it," Zelda completely ignored the prince of Nohr, feeling that Yoshi told Corrin this false information in regards to his silly fanfics.

"Happy birthday Sonic, I know you'll enjoy this gift," Blaze smiled as she gave her gift to Sonic; the hedgehog ripped open the box, and his eyes bulged with excitement - what could it possibly be?

"New shoes!" the hedgehog exclaimed as he took out the red trademark shoes he usually wears out of the box. These shoes were new and fresh, and oh so sparkly. "Oh man, I can't thank you enough Blaze, this is the best gift I've received!"

"But he didn't even like the lava lamp..." Cloud shook his head with disdain; the chump change he spent on that lamp was all for naught.

"Is that all the gifts?" asked Master Hand. No one spoke up, which indicated a yes. "Excellent, now it's time to cut the cake! Kirby, fetch me a knife, and don't run with it like you did last time, we can't afford to have a brawler sent to the emergency room!"

While Kirby ran out of the ballroom to get a cutting knife, Dr. Eggman sneaked out, and Isabelle, seeing this, followed after the evil genius. The shih tzu followed Dr. Eggman outside, where the evil genius analyzed the front of the mansion, but particularly the front lawn.

"First, the Master Hand statue..." he rubbed his hands together evilly... "...and then Tabuu! Only time has the key..."

Isabelle, who watched this from the doorstep to the front door, immediately feared for the worst.


	28. Episode 28: Obsessor

_Author's Note:_

 _Here's a review I got from a man, regarding Episode 26:_

 _"Wh... Wha? Is that... Mega Man X? B-but... Where's Zero? He's my favorite Reploid and I absolutely love him... But if X is here... Where is Zero?"_

 _No worries, my friend, Zero was in the episode, though his role wasn't as big as X's. Also got this other review from a man (not sure if it's the same person but I'll answer it anyways):_

 _"w0w gr8 st0ry m8 I r8 it 8/8 but needs way more Zero (from Mega Man X)"_

 _Man, the love for Zero is unreal, I really must have overlooked his popularity among Mega Man fandom...here's another review - not from a man, but rather a lonely dude:_

 _"I can't help but notice that Zero made a minor appearence in the last chapter... I'm telling my friends who read this to stop leaving requests for Zero, but... I wanna see more of him, too..."_

 _In response to these reviews, I've decided to focus mostly on Zero in this chapter. As for Zero appearing more in the future...we'll just have to see about that._

* * *

 **Episode 28: Obsessor**

As it was expected, Daisy moved in with her husband Luigi, in their new home - the lovely house built by Link, Cloud, and company adjacent to the Smash Mansion. The princess' arrival had some impact and effects on the brawlers, namely Mario, for the plumber now has to call Aerith Gainsborough, Cloud's love interest, as his new roommate. Mario has gotten over this change, and is willing to accept the consequences of having a female roommate, like waiting outside the room until she is finished changing her clothes, for instance.

Daisy looked around her new home, taking note of the kitchen, living room, dining room, master bedroom, and the bathrooms. But there was one particular room that struck a chord in her heart dearly...and that was the nursery room. She couldn't help but smile when she saw how the room looked, and how much everything was planned into it.

"Just-a what you wanted," Luigi approached Daisy from behind and wrapped his arm around her, as the two happily looked together at the nursery. If you're unable to tell, Luigi and Daisy are planning on starting a family - and that starts by having children.

 **Daisy: Starting a family was totally my idea, and that darn Luigi was mildly against it - stating all these reasons such as financial issues and "bro time", like the latter part is supposed to matter - but eventually he came around. We're undecided if we're going to have biological children, or if we'll adopt children - Luigi apparently prefers to have a stork deliver babies, like they do in that movie _Dumbo._ But to each their own, I guess...**

A knock was at the front door, and Luigi went to go see who it was. The plumber opened the door, and saw Mega Man standing on the patio, happy as ever. Though he wasn't happy enough to the point where his background would be seriously questioned, in the case of the presumed drug lord Toad.

"Who is it, sweetie?" Daisy inquired from afar. "Please don't tell me it's Yoshi, I've had just about enough of his Knitting Club nonsense at the wedding!" The green dinosaur and his knitting club pals (but mostly Yoshi) annoyed the crap out of Daisy and those at the wedding reception, with his constant waving of the "#KnittingClub" shirt in everyone's face. As a result, he was expelled from the reception, and the rest of the club had to bite the dust too, for they were kicked out as well.

"No worries, my-a dear, it's only Mega Man," assured Luigi, letting the blue robot inside his home. "He's-a here to check on-a us and see how we're-a doing."

"Mind if I take a seat here?" Mega Man pointed at a comfy sofa in the living room; Luigi nodded, and the robot sat in the sofa. This sofa had that new sofa feel, it was comfy enough to make Mega Man feel at home, like he's a part of Luigi and Daisy's family.

"Is there anything I can get for you, Mega Man?" Daisy showed up around the corner of the hallway; Mega Man shook his head. "Well if you need anything, you know who to call!" Daisy went to the kitchen, to prepare a meal for her and Luigi. Thought Luigi would be the one doing the cooking, right? Maybe when he decides to get over his fears of ovens, then it will happen sometime soon.

"I really like the interior of this house, looks so lovely," Mega Man analyzed the living room, and everything around it; everything looked so new and fresh, it was worth something to marvel at. "So how is the plumbing, experienced any problems? This house runs on the water from the lake, and I hope you haven't come across any faults yet..."

"Surprisingly, I haven't-a had any issues with the water system-a and the plumbing, aside from-a the Shellder that some-a how got stuck inside the dish-a washer, I never had any issues." Luigi gave this Shellder to Wario as a "souvenir", and the fatso plans on keeping the shell Pokemon until it yields a pearl of some sort. Too bad he picked the wrong Pokemon to be getting pearls of any sort. (Kudos if you know the Pokemon that does.)

Mega Man would let out a big scream when Rotom sneaked up behind him. The plasma Pokemon gave the robot quite the shock, could have even shut his system down after such a scare.

 **Luigi: Rotom will-a serve as Daisy's and I's pet-a of sorts - he may not-a look like the traditional pet, but he's a Pokemon, so it's-a all good...Rotom IS a male, correct?**

Another knock was at the front door; Luigi got up and answered the door, only to see Zero standing before him carrying a bouquet of flowers. You know who those flowers are meant for.

"I do believe this flowers are for a particular woman now residing at this establishment," Zero smiled, smelling the flowers in his hand. Dude's a robot, how is he capable of smell? Does he have a module for such action?

"Are those flowers I smell?" Daisy appeared from the kitchen, her knack to smell and detect flowers from afar very well present. And when she saw the flowers... "EEEEEIIIEEEE!" she squealed like an excitable little girl as she ran up to the front door - knocking her husband Luigi out of the way - and accepted the flowers from Zero, smelling them in pure delight before exhaling in a heavy amount of joy. "Aw, Zero, you shouldn't have, you know how much I truly adore flowers!"

"Hey, it was the least I could do; since you were moving in and all, I felt as if you needed a gift of sorts. So I would appreciate if you thanked me, but..." Zero was immediately cut off when Daisy reached out to give him a hug, and the robot had this facial expression on his face, that looked like a facial expression you would use if you just found out your long-lost girlfriend texted you after a long period of time.

"Thank you so much Zero, this is such a lovely gift!" Daisy thanked the robot, placing the bouquet atop the fireplace, while Zero continued to stand there with a dumbfounded look. Daisy then saw Luigi sprawled on the floor in pain, but there's no need to worry about him, he's taken harder bumps before. "Oops, so sorry about that, honey!" She helped Luigi up and dusted the plumber off; Luigi cracked his back in place after Daisy was finished.

"We should be going now," Mega Man got up from the sofa and headed to the front door, picking up a still frozen Zero like he was a giant toy soldier, and carried him in his arms like a football. "We will be seeing you guys around!" Mega Man waved to the married couple, and the couple waved back as Mega Man closed the door behind him and returned to the mansion, where Badniks - Dr. Eggman's evil robot henchmen - were building the statue of Master Hand in the front of the mansion. Mega Man went inside the mansion and once he was in the foyer, he placed Zero down - the blonde robot was still dumbfounded. Did his system glitch, causing him to remain frozen forever? Oh, what a terrible fate that would be...

"What's the matter with him?" Robin asked Mega Man when he happened to walk by and saw Zero with the same facial expression he had when Daisy hugged him. "Looks like he just got spooked by King Boo!" After a while of silence, Zero finally had the courage to speak...

"I think...I think I'm in love with Daisy," were the words that came out of the robot's mouth. Mega Man and Robin exchanged worried looks with each other, realizing they have a major issue on their hands.

* * *

Mario headed to his room, ready to do some workouts to get rid of all that flab that takes up his body mass. Today marks the first day he'll be living with his new roommate, Aerith Gainsborough, and after days of worry and anxiety, he's excited for what new experiences having a new roommate will bring.

 **Mario: Have I gotten-a over having Aerith as a new-a roommate? Of course-a I have, my constant worrying taught-a me that there's nothing to worry about, especially if-a you're worrying about a non-a issue. I will admit-a that I worry about my relationship with-a Peach, always contemplating whether-a or not the woman still loves me...but I'm-a fully certain that no matter my-a faults, Peach will always-a be mine. Wii Fit Trainer did-a say to me that Aerith can-a supposedly do "all sorts of wonders" with my relationship-a with Peach, but only time-a will tell...**

Mario whistled a happy, upbeat tune as he walked through the hallways in his workout gear while carrying his workout equipment. And when he arrived at his room and opened the door...he saw Aerith knelt down on the carpet floor, scrubbing some brown substance that looked a lot like fecal matter. Mario couldn't help but stand there with his mouth agape, trying to piece together what his eyes were seeing in front of him in his head.

"Sorry for the little inconvenience Mario, I'll get this all scrubbed up very soon," Aerith smiled to the plumber when she took notice of him. Mario's face went from shock to animosity, like he was now holding something against the flower girl.

"What is this-a substance on the carpet?" the plumber folded his arms, as Aerith continued to do her thing, scrubbing away. A bunch of questions that need to be answered right away.

"Nothing but some fecal matter lying about on the floor, I'll clean it up in a snap!" Mario didn't buy Aerith's cheerful response, for he thought it was a silly facade to get buy with the following...

"You defecated on the carpet-a floor, didn't you?!" the plumber accusingly pointed at the flower girl, his arm moving about in anger. "Don't-a deny it, tell the truth!" This guy can't possibly be serious...Aerith is the last person you would expect to urinate or defecate anywhere in the mansion beside the bathroom. Leave that stuff up to King Dedede's Waddle Dees, they rarely experience any form of discipline, so they're allowed to do their business anywhere they please.

"Why, I would never do such a horrid thing!" an aggrieved Aerith held her hand to her chest, seriously taken back by Mario's wild accusation. "Even though you have known me for at least a month, you should know better than to accuse me for defecating on the mansion's precious carpet! In fact, the fecal matter was already present in the room before I went inside!"

"...Before you went-a inside to clean up the evidence-a before I came in!" And so the accusing continues - in case you haven't noticed by now, Mario is absolutely _livid._ "Some-a one, anyone, bring Duck Hunt-a Dog over here!" The plumber called out, and very quickly, Gil showed up carrying the dog on his dog leash. Must have taken him out for a quick little walk.

"Got here as soon as I could," Gil the de facto librarian said to Mario. "Taking Duck Hunt Dog out for a walk around town was seriously hard work..."

 **Gil: No way am I ever going to walk Duck Hunt Dog again, dumb mutt's a lousy piece of work. We can't even walk a single meter, let alone a foot, without the dog sniffing around to see if any ducks are present. Whenever he hears a duck, or anything remotely close to a duck call, he does this happy jig and immediately searches for the duck, if there is even one around. I can't even say the word duck without having Duck Hunt Dog... *Duck Hunt Dog does a jig in the background of talking head segment* ...dancing like a complete fool. *points behind him* See what I mean?**

"Have Duck Hunt-a Dog inspect this substance on-a the floor, to make sure it-a is fecal matter!" Mario pointed at the brown substance where Aerith knelt at; Gil walked over Duck Hunt Dog to said substance, while Mario looked at Aerith with a confident glare, almost certain that she was the culprit in this matter. Duck Hunt Dog sniffed the brown substance...

...and then opened a nearby window so he could puke out said window from the stench, and this puke landed on an unsuspecting Badnik. This Badnik can clean the vomit off without a problem, since the solid surface of his hand will make it easy to clean off. As for the stench, however...

 **Duck Hunt Dog: *vomits inside a brown paper bag***

"Judging by Duck Hunt's reaction, I don't believe the stuff on the floor is fecal matter, might be some toxic waste," assumed Gil, even though Mario didn't seem to buy it one bit, as evidenced by his angry face.

"Preposterous, I know that substance-a is fecal matter, and there's no denying it! Don't-a even bother covering up your behind, Aerith's-a behind, or even Duck Hunt-a Dog's behind!"

"What seems to be the problem?" Peach came in the room after hearing Mario's outburst. She then saw the brown substance lying on the floor, wondering what it was. Is it fecal matter? From where she was standing, the Mushroom Kingdom princess couldn't smell it distinctly, so maybe it isn't.

"Aerith defecated on this-a precious carpet, and she has yet-a to admit her faults!" Mario explained, pointing to Aerith who was shaking her head at Peach. Apparently she's still the assumed culprit. "Get Master Hand-a here to punish her for her nefarious-a deeds!"

"Are you sure Aerith did it, or are you using her as a fall guy since nobody else was around during this untimely matter?"

"Yes, it's true..." Mario held his head in utter shame. Peach went over to her boyfriend, and gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder, and Mario had the dignity to hold his head up yet again.

"Just because Aerith is here and all doesn't mean she would ever do such a non-decent thing such as defecating in the mansion, and besides, it's absolutely nothing like her. How about I get Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong to clean up the mess, while you can go somewhere else to do whatever you planned to do in this room?" Seemed like a more proficient idea than playing the blame game and getting nowhere. "Aerith and I will search for any culprits, if you like."

"Very well-a then. Aerith, I'm-a sorry for accusing you of any wrongdoing. Guess I'll be on my way then..." With the room now out of commission, where will the plumber work out at now? Good thing he has a backup plan...

* * *

Mario barged into Link's and Cloud's room, and Link - reading a Hyrulian history book - and Cloud - playing with his pet Chocobo, Cloud Jr. - gave Mario their full attention, wondering why the heck he randomly barged into their room all of a sudden. The fact that the plumber's wearing workout clothes made them even more concerned.

"My room has been-a contaminated by some brown substance - which may be feces, I would-a assume - and I need a place to do-a my workouts, and I have-a chosen this room as the rightful place-a to hold such workouts, while Peach and Aerith search-a for the culprit!" Mario explained to the swordsmen, who just looked at each other for a brief minute before reverting their attention to Mario.

 **Cloud: Surprise, surprise - Mario is away handling his own business, while Peach is doing the dirty work. I'm starting to see Mario for what he truly is...a somewhat predictable dude.  
** **Link: To be honest, he's not all that predictable, he still has his moments...like that time when...um, uh...he made Peach...a dish of peach cobbler! Or is that not good enough?  
** **Cloud: And that girl certainly loves her peaches, and I think we all know why. That example you used there, Link, is predictability in itself.**

"Hate to break it to you Mario, but you see, our room is already occupied, I don't think we can handle another person inside this room," explained Link, attempting to dissuade Mario from working out in the room. The plumber might give off a heavy amount of body odor through exercising - when you're as flabby as he is, you gotta work out with all your heart and all your strength, and that equals quantity over quality, in some cases - and Link nor Cloud are willing to put themselves through suffering.

"Yeah, Link's right, also you can work out in the fitness center like most normal people in this mansion do," added Cloud, finding it quite odd that Mario would want to work out in his and Link's room of all places, it just seemed so unfitting and out of place.

"Unlike-a you fools, I prefer to do-a my workout sessions in private, when no one's-a seeing me," stated Mario. Dude has a valid point - what if someone was in the fitness center was doing sit-ups, and they looked up and saw Mario with his back turned towards them, doing squats? Just seeing him squat up and down, up and down, up and down...not only is it mesmerizing, but it can also put you at risk at being potentially scarred for life. "If you boys have a problem-a with me exercising in-a here, then why don't-a you leave?"

Link and Cloud both followed Mario's advice as they departed from the room, with Link taking his history book, and Cloud taking Cloud Jr. with him. They even closed the door behind them, not only for dramatic effect, but because they know what watching Mario work out for prolonged periods of time while walking by the room can do to your eyes and even your psychological well-being. Mario simply shrugged, and started his exercises with some good ol' stretching.

* * *

Amy Rose's sudden appearance at Sonic's birthday party was a little bittersweet for the iconic blue hedgehog. Sweet (well, sort of sweet) because it marked the first time Sonic saw his girlfriend since the wedding, but also bitter since now Amy knows where the Smash Mansion is located, which means that she can stop by and see her boyfriend any time she wants. What's worse is that due to here yandere tendencies, Amy will not see Sonic any time...but _all_ of the time, whether Sonic likes it or not. And would you know it...

"Peek-a-boo!" the pink hedgehog appeared in a cupboard Sonic opened in the kitchen, scaring the living daylights out of her boyfriend and causing him to stumble to the kitchen. "I didn't scare you that much, didn't I? Oh, Sonic, I'm so sorry for frightening you like that, I promise it won't happen again!"

 **Amy: Robin is such a sweetheart...first he gave me Sonic's cell phone number, and then he also gave me the address to the Smash Mansion so I could attend Sonic's birthday party! From what I've heard, I was intended to be sent an invitation to the party, but the invitation never arrived at my place...hmm, I wonder why...**

"Why must you be here, don't you have a place to live at?" Sonic asked his girlfriend as he got up and dusted himself off. If Amy decides to move in with Sonic, prepare to see the hedgehog speed away from the mansion at the speed of light. "I thought you were living with Cream and her mother!"

"What, so I'm not allowed to pay you a visit?" Amy frowned as she folded her arms and looked the other way, disgusted at Sonic's behavior. Not exactly the first time this happened. "I see how it is..."

"No Amy, I didn't necessarily mean it like that!" Now Sonic is attempting to save face. Brilliant. Just brilliant. "I was just worried about your safety, what with you coming all the way to the mansion on your own!"

"Silly Sonic, I've been in as many dangerous predicaments as you have, and made it out unscathed! Granted, genuine boyfriends like you worry a lot, but there's no need for you to worry right now!"

"Yeah, well, just do whatever you can to stay out of trouble - can't believe I'm saying this, but I can't afford to see you get hurt." Amy absolutely warmed up inside, for she knew that inside Sonic loves her to death - he's just too shy to admit it to her or anyone else. "Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna go hang out with some of my friends..."

So Sonic sped out of the kitchen and to the gaming room, where Pit and Little Mac awaited. When the hedgehog arrived at the door to the gaming room and turned around...he saw Amy smiling at him with loving eyes. Sonic jumped a little when he saw her girlfriend, looking at him like she planned on kidnapping him and taking him to her secret lair, where she will execute all sorts of romantic things on him.

"I love you Sonic," Amy said to her lover, saying this as if Sonic either didn't know already or he kept forgetting things like Snake does.

"Uh, thank you, Amy, I'll make sure I remember that everyday," Sonic responded before entering the gaming room and seeing Pit and Kirby sitting at a couch. Both dudes grimaced not at Sonic...but at Amy who was following behind Sonic without the hedgehog knowing.

 **Pit: Amy is officially going through the Viridi phase...she will full non-stop until Sonic loves her back, or until he decides to confess his love to Amy!...Speaking of Viridi, that girl better hurry up and buy that _Metal Gear Solid_ game Toon Link said she would buy for me, I don't even care if it was already released or not...**

Sonic sat on the couch opposite from the couch Pit and Little Mac were sitting at, and when he looked to his left and saw Sonic sitting on the cough with him, he shrieked like a little girl, catching the attention of K.K. Slider.

"Woah, mellow out my hedgehog friend!" the hippie dog advised Sonic, placing his small guitar on the floor and heading over to Sonic, who was sitting at the end of the couch in a fetal position. "Tell me you aren't afraid of the ladies - I mean, you gotta marry one sooner or later!"

The thought of marrying a girl - let alone _Amy Rose -_ made Sonic's stomach turn, and caused the hedgehog to whimper as fridge horror crept inside his brain. The lovely folks from TV Tropes are probably writing a Fridge entry about Sonic's and Amy's relationship enveloping into a marriage at this very moment, as Sonic is presuming right now.

"Don't mind Sonic here, he's too insecure to share his abounding love for me!" stated Amy, while Sonic continued to waddle in his fetal position. "Once he finally comes to his senses, he won't be so afraid!"

"Um, Sonic, aren't you going to show us those new Air Jordans you bought us, just like we asked?" Pit asked the hedgehog; Sonic placed red Air Jordans on the couch. These shoes were pure eye candy, the design and color scheme was seriously on point, they're definitely aren't the bland, white shoes that have little creativity and would make sneakerheads everywhere cry in shame. The Air Jordans Sonic bought are one of a kind...

...and Kirby sucked up the shoes and ate them, like they were two giant strawberry muffins. That pink puffball just couldn't resist, could it?

 **Kirby: *happily rubs his stomach***

"Aw Kirby, why did you have to eat those sneakers, I didn't even get a good look at them!" complained Pit, letting his attention deficit get the better of him. "...On another note, however, I probably would have eaten those sneakers myself, just to see what they taste like..." Pit and Kirby are literally meant for each other, it's just wonderful to see.

"Do you have a minute?" Zero approached K.K. Slider, hoping nobody saw him. "I have a favor to ask of you..." And what exactly does this "favor" entail?

* * *

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong worked tirelessly to dispel of the brown substance stuck on the carpet in Mario's room, using every method possible from a vacuum to hot water extraction to remove it. But nothing seemed to do the trick.

"Nothing we do is getting rid of the substance," remarked Donkey Kong, feeling a little frustrated. "I'd hate to call a carpet cleaning service over here, we don't have the money wherewithal to pay 'em!"

"And this substance sure smells too!" Diddy held his nose in disgust. The fumes of the substance made the carpet cleaning task even harder. "Only thing is, you can only smell it when you get close to it...kinda odd if you ask me."

 **Donkey Kong: Situations like the one my nephew and I are in right now makes me yearn for hardwood floor, rather than some lousy carpet. Everything is easier to clean and vacuum, and you don't have to worry about getting a rash when you move about with your butt on the floor. (Thankfully, I've outgrown that, but sadly the same can't be said for Diddy.) Replacing the entire carpet floor of the mansion with hardwood flooring would cost a lot of money, and Master Hand dislikes spending money on mansion maintenance...lest the money is coming from Mario's wallet.**

Donkey Kong looked around, thinking that doing so would help him come of a new method for whatever reason, when his eyes looked out the door to the room and saw Greninja, minding his business as he walked through the hallways. A light bulb dinged over Donkey Kong's head - Greninja is a water-type Pokemon, and his water-based moves could clean up the substance without a hassle. Will any of the ninja Pokemon's water-type moves do the trick. Only one way to find out...

"Greninja, just the Pokemon I needed to see!" Donkey Kong ran outside and greeted the ninja Pokemon, before grabbing him and taking him to the room and placing him feet-first on the floor. Greninja glared down Donkey Kong, angry that the gorilla was intruding on his free time and individuality. "The carpet in Mario's room has been tainted by some brown substance - we're not sure if it's manure or not - and Diddy and I were wondering if you can use your awesome water-type moves to clean it up, if you certainly don't mind..."

In any other given situation, Greninja would have slapped Donkey Kong silly for making him clean an unknown substance off the floor, but since he wasn't in the mood for slapping, the ninja Pokemon shrugged and decided to clean up the questionable substance off the carpet. So he focused on the substance, building up oodles of concentration, and then, with the swift flick of the wrist, he fired a water shuriken at the substance...and it was still present, despite the shuriken's effectiveness. Time for the ninja Pokemon ante up the stakes - he used Hydro Pump on the substance, and still it refused to go away. It won't go out without a fight!

"This is hopeless, we're never gonna clean the carpet..." Diddy Kong buried his face in his hands, shaking his head. "Let's just give up uncle, not even Greninja can fix our situation..."

"Greninja?" Yuffie poked her head through the doorway, and Sheik poked her head afterwards. "What are you doing hanging out with those losers, and not with us?" Thank goodness Diddy's here to hold Donkey Kong back, for the gorilla was angrily gritting her teeth and trying to come full force at Yuffie, who entered the room to investigate. Sheik entered afterwards, and saw the substance on the floor.

"Please tell me neither of you defecated on the floor," the Hylian ninja pointed at said substance, keeping her distance as much as possible.

"No, we didn't 'relieve' ourselves on the carpet floor, so to speak, Mario spotted Aerith cleaning that up when he entered the room, and then Peach delegated us to the cleaning duties," Diddy explained while restraining his uncle. "Donkey Kong brought Greninja over here to..."

"Aerith lives here?!" Yuffie's eyes widened, feeling both bewildered and disgusted at the same time. Bewildered because the flower girl resides at the mansion despite not being a brawler or appearing in the _Smash_ game as an extraneous character, and disgusted after taking into consideration whom Aerith is living with. "Captain Falcons hasn't given her any trouble, has he?"

 **Yuffie: Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind visiting the mansion every now and then...but _living_ at the mansion? I could never bring myself to do it. So many different personalities live here, and I don't think I would be able to mesh in that well. Not to mention the perverts that make their abode at the mansion, like Captain Falcon for instance...that man doesn't even care how old you are, just as long as you're somewhat attractive.**

"Well there was this one time when Falcon asked Aerith if she was single, and Aerith shut him down real quick," stated Diddy Kong. Donkey Kong started to calm down at bit, and Diddy sat him on a nearby bed so he could cool down. "This is actually Aerith's room, which she shares with Mario; the bed my uncle is sitting on is her bed."

"Aerith moved in after Luigi moved in to the house next to the mansion," Sheik clarified for Yuffie. "Master Hand has here living here supposedly because she's a 'miracle worker'."

"Hmm, that seems odd of him to do, Aerith doesn't look like she could fit here..." Yuffie stroked her chin, musing over what Diddy and Sheik just said, and looked at Aerith living at the Smash Mansion from a long-term perspective. Aerith _has_ worked out plenty of miracles in her lifetime, which essentially makes her a huge help at the mansion for any given situation. "...but if Aerith enjoys it here, then so be it. Now about this mess on the carpet..."

* * *

Fox and Falco were on their way to the recording studio, to check on Little Mac and Knuckles (and possibly Doc Louis, in order to make sure chocolate hasn't wrecked his health and body systems) when they saw X running towards them, carrying his belongings in a suitcase. Is he moving out of the mansion? What drove him to this decision?

"Tell Luigi and Daisy I'm moving in with them, I can't stand Zero anymore!" the pacifist robot told the Star Fox pilots as he walked past them and to the mansion's exit. Fox and Falco, curious as to what Zero did that convinced his roommate X to leave him, went to the room, and when they opened the door to said room...

...they were absolutely stunned by what they saw. It was full-blown Princess Daisy lovefest - Zero sitting at the desk writing love poems to Daisy, K.K. Slider singing romantic songs about Daisy, the Inklings painting a portrait of Daisy, every space of the room was covered with Daisy, and it was scary to see...

"This is too creepy for my taste," remarked Falco, bewildered as he scanned the room. Daisy pictures were hanging on the walls left and right, and even more pictures were left on the dresser and beds.

 **Mega Man: Zero inadvertently broke a secret rule that us robots (in my respective universe, at least) should never break - letting humans come in contact with you, especially if those humans are women. A man touching a robot will have a minor effect, but if you let a woman give you even the slightest touch, then you'll be in mad love with her, _forever._ I recall this happening with Guts Man - he helped some old granny cross the street one day while taking a break from working at a construction site, and he developed a crush on the old lady. Weird since he was infatuated with an elderly woman, and also he's not really the romantic type either...**

"I see that you have grown particularly... _fond_ of Daisy," Fox approached Zero, looking over his shoulder to see him writing a love letter to Daisy. Dude's writing his 20th love letter to Daisy, and more love letters are bound to be written. "Care to explain how this developed?"

"I dunno, she just hugged me and then something went off in my mind, telling me that she's the one for me," explained Zero, his eyes fixated on the letter he's writing. "Oh, can you and Falco do a huge solid for me?"

"Uh sure, anything for you buddy!" Nervousness started to rise within the Star Fox pilots, anticipating what wacky task Zero wants them to fulfill due to romantic delusions getting the better of him. "So what can the two best dudes at the mansion do for ya?"

"I want you to assassinate Luigi for me."

Fox and Falco collectively gulped, disturbed by the weight of Zero's demand. The robot dude is clearly serious about wanting Luigi a dead man, and his demand proved how much he wants Daisy - and how his newfound obsession with her deluded him from the fact she's married (he believes Luigi and Daisy are dating with his altered conscience). K.K. Slider and the Inklings were shaking their heads at the pilots, trying to dissuade them from committing the immoral deed.

"And if we don't assassinate Luigi, then what will you do instead?" asked Falco, fearful that Zero might have a devious backup plan.

"Simple - I'll kill him myself," responded Zero, resulting in a deafening tone in the room. "Either if you guys kill him, or if I kill him, Luigi must be a dead man at the end of the day." Mega Man has never spoken about robots going full crazy when infatuated with a human girl - perhaps he overlooked this aspect? "So you better get to it and kill off Luigi when you have the chance...or I'll have to take matters into my own hands!"

* * *

Having been exiled from their own room, Link and Cloud looked for another place to hang out. Their escapades led them to the workshop, where the lovely bounty hunter Samus was working away on a new project while Zero's love for Daisy persisted. When the robot isn't present in the workshop, Samus has to make the best of every opportunity she has.

"Hanging out with Samus in the workshop may not be such a great idea, she's quite the testy woman," Cloud discussed with Link, the two swordsmen huddled together at the workshop discussing their plans.

"So you would rather hang out in the library, where it's all quiet and Gil nags you if you're even breathing?" frowned Link. A slight exaggeration; Gil scolds anyone who breathes, sighs, or yawns loudly. True story. "This is the only opportunity we have!"

 **Cloud: One of the most important things I've learned during my time at the mansion is that you should never, EVER, mess with Samus, she's just no pretty face. She is ruthless, uncaring, and doesn't give a crap about anyone...just like I used to be, at least until Aerith came around.**

So Link and Cloud entered the workshop, and Samus looked up at them with a facial expression with so much joy, it cannot be contained by any means. Just the way she blankly stared at the two, with her deadpan eyes and her slightly tight-lipped mouth...it literally oozes excitement.

"Sit anywhere you like, just leave me alone and I won't hurt you," Samus warned the swordsmen as they took a seat in two available chairs. Link continued reading the Hylian history book, Cloud continued playing with Cloud Jr., and Samus continued working on whatever the heck she's working on.

Elsewhere in the mansion, the Follow-Sonic-Everywhere-He-Goes tour continued for Amy, and the latest stop? _The bathroom._ Yeah, this girl definitely has no chill whatsoever.

"See, told you I wouldn't look!" the pink hedgehog said to Sonic as the two (one-sided) lovebirds exited the bathroom, with Sonic staring grumpily at his estranged girlfriend. Amy has followed him everywhere - the cafe, library, fitness center; you name it, Amy was there with her man. As Sonic angrily walked through the hallway, with Amy following his every step, the blue hedgehog walked inside the workshop, and sat on the floor in disgust. And would you know it, Amy was standing beside him, expecting him to do something. But he didn't and she was getting annoyed...little does she know is that this is all part of the speeding hedgehog's dastardly plan, bore his girlfriend enough to the point where she has to leave. But Amy has the faith, the faith that Sonic will doing something remotely interesting. Just gotta be patient...

"Great, now I have more visitors..." Samus groaned, her great disdain for others growing ever apparent. "Sonic if you're gonna stay here, then take your psycho girlfriend out of here, I don't want to see her fawning over your every move."

"Sonic is my boyfriend, and I must stay with him no matter what!" Amy defended. Where's Viridi when you need her? She can show Amy how it's done, how it's possible to love someone without being so clingy. "Why don't you leave the workshop, if you have a problem with my presence!"

Link, Cloud, and Sonic all feared for the worst when Samus angrily got up from her seat, sporting a giant frown on her face. Just when it seemed like the bounty hunter was ready to go off on Amy, the blonde lass instead exited the workshop, seething. Either she can't take Amy anymore...or she's making a complaint to you-know-who.

* * *

"I didn't put that substance in your room, I'm telling you!" Bowser Jr. told Aerith as she and Peach interrogated the young koopa in his room, while his roommate Larry watched on eating popcorn. "I had nothing to do with this!"

"Look Bowser Jr, we've already asked Villager if he was responsible, and he said he didn't know about what transpired in the room, so we're only asking you," Aerith said, calmly as she knew how. People like Aerith are slow to anger, if only the same could be said for Dr. Mario. "You appear to be the most likeliest culprit."

 **Aerith: Bowser Jr, in all honesty, is technically our last resort. We would have asked his father, but Peach claimed that he would be too obvious of a culprit, so we decided to skip over him.**

"Don't mind me if I ask this question, but...where is your father?" Peach asked the young koopa, even though she promised herself to refrain from asking about Bowser.

"Our dad just returned from some 'excursion' he had, he was busy looking for brown coal and some fumes and..." Larry started off - and then trailed off when Bowser Jr. gave him a glare. Evidently Larry said something that he was supposed to say, and for the second time in this series, he accidentally exposed his father's plans. ...but in actuality, he went to go get some burgers from Burger King. You know how much he enjoys hamburgers, he eats them up like..."

Larry immediately stopped when Aerith and Peach came towards him with angry stares, ready to pry more information out of the Koopaling. Bowser Jr. facepalmed and shook his head at his sibling, for he had goofed up yet again.

* * *

After his time with Sonic in the gaming room ended with the hedgehog in a fetal position, looking away from Amy, and Kirby sucking up the hedgehog's new kicks, Pit went to go spend some quality time with Viridi, hoping that the time spent with the goddess of nature will be more fruitful than the one with Sonic. But if only the activity he was doing with Viridi was mutually enjoyable...

"This is the monkey face orchid, it's one of the rarest flowers in the planet!" Viridi showed a picture of this particular flower to Pit in her flower scrapbook n the lounge. Pit expressed his annoyance with his chin resting on the palm of his hand and his bored stare, although Viridi didn't think of it as a major issue. Not even Kirby, who tagged along with Pit, was able to turn the angel's frown upside down with his happiness.

"Can we do something else, like watch wrestling?" asked a bored Pit. "Getting tired of seeing all these flowers..." Pit, in this case, is being inconsiderate, in that he wants to do what _he_ wants, rather than what his girlfriend wants, You always gotta grant your girlfriend's every wish or command, regardless of whether you like it or not.

"Like I would want to waste my precious time watching two men constantly touch each other in the ring, as if...but don't worry, you'll end up adoring flowers soon!" Viridi pinched Pit's cheek, making him feel even more annoyed.

"Yo, Pit, Viridi, we gotta ask you a dire question," Fox ran inside the lounge, accompanied by none other than Falco. Because who else would follow Fox around? "It has to do with the afterlife. When someone dies, are they sent to the Underworld?"

"In some cases...yes they do," responded Pit, albeit with a nervous tone. "Why do you ask?"

"Because apparently Zero wants us to kill Luigi for him - and if we don't complete the task, he'll do it himself," stated Falco. Pit's, Viridi's, and Kirby's eyes all widened with fear and worry when Falco said this - they never knew Zero to be this violent. "Dude's become infatuated with Daisy, and it's scary to see..."

 **Fox: Here's the plan - after we kill Luigi and whatnot, we go down to the Underworld, tell Hades what's up, and then grab Luigi and bring him back to Daisy. We'll then tell Zero the deed is done, and to prove it, we'll show him a fake corpse of Luigi (which will be handcrafted by the Koopalings), and if he buys it, we can carry on with our merry lives, and...  
Falco: Woah dude, wait just a second, I detect a flaw in this plan. Since Zero will be convinced that Luigi is dead, he'll have the opportunity to start a relationship with Daisy, because she'll be ripe for the taking...  
Fox:...which is why Daisy and Luigi will be moving to Sarasaland! Zero would never think about finding Daisy there...right?  
Falco: *shrugs* We can only see...**

"You're not actually going to _kill_ him, are you?" asked a weary Viridi. Fox and Falco don't seem like the type of dudes to go about killing others for the sake of some love-crazed robot.

"Well, no, not really, um..." Fox was struggling to find the right words to say to the goddess of nature. "Just be assured that Falco and I have a backup plan, and at the end of this whole ordeal, Luigi will remain in one peace!" And with that, the Star Fox pilots rushed out of the lounge, not wanting to reveal any more information.

"Should we go alert Master Hand about this?" Pit asked Viridi and Kirby, who both nodded eagerly. They couldn't simply afford to lose a fellow brawler.

* * *

Mario was nearing the end of his workout, as he was performing squats in Link's and Cloud's room. Luma watched in a trance while her "mama" Rosalina was adjusting her crown.

"Don't look at Mario for too long, otherwise you'll risk being scarred for life," advised Rosalina after she finished adjusting her crown. She has seen Mario work out before - and it wasn't the prettiest sight in the slightest.

"Sir Mario, do you have a minute?" Isabelle poked her head through the doorway. "Just got some great news - Peach and Aerith have finally found the perpetrator regarding the incident in your room! It was Bowser this whole time!"

"I knew-a it!" Mario said, ceasing his workouts; Luma broke her trance and returned to Rosalina. That's right Luma, save yourself! "I had a hitch-a that Bowser was responsible, would have-a outed him earlier but I knew would-a be too obvious of a culprit!"

 **Isabelle: What Bowser did was technically vandalism, since he deliberately destroyed some of the mansion's carpet and the mansion, for whatever reason, is deemed a public property, at least according to Master Hand. Speaking of Master Hand, I have yet to tell him that Dr. Eggman is building that statue of him just to bring back Tabuu...should I tell him now and possibly get eradicated for sharing the information, or do I withhold the information and suffer the blame when Tabuu returns? I'm so torn... *shakes her head with her face in her hands***

"Are you set to go, Sir Mario?" asked Isabelle, wagging her tail; the plumber gave the shih tzu a resounding nod. "Alright then, off to your room we go!"

* * *

Mario and Isabelle arrived at Mario's room, where Peach, Aerith, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Sheik, Yuffie, and Greninja were all confronting Bowser, the koopa behind the weird substance on the floor.

"Yeah, point your fingers at the bad guy, why don't you!" frowned Bowser, who was brought to the room, and is attempting to use victimization in his favor. "Out in the streets the black guy gets all the blame, but here at the mansion it's the villain that gets all the blame!" One trick Bowser is using is relating real-life hardships to his current situation, though nobody is buying his claim.

"Can't believe you have to live in the same residence with this dude," Yuffie whispered to Aerith, taken back by how grotesque Bowser looks. It's hard to find any woman in the world that finds the Koopa King remotely attractive. "He looks too grown to be pulling off childish pranks."

"Be nice, Yuffie, I'm sure Bowser has some hidden depths that he's not ready to show yet," Aerith whispered back. Deep down inside the flower girl knew she just told the greatest fib ever heard.

 **Bowser: *groans angrily* One of my own children outed me yet again...and it was Larry again! Does that brat have something against me? Is he jealous that I'm the Koopa King, and he's the king of his own siblings?! Or is he envious about being the Koopa King? Little does he know that I have my succession plan all mapped out, and in due time, Bowser Jr. will become the Koopa King, mark my words!**

"Since you're apparently in denial about ruining the carpet, the least you could do is clean up this mess," said Donkey Kong. "You know awfully a more about what it is than most of us do..."

"No can do, this stuff is rock solid, it's hardened to the carpet!" stated Bowser. "Not even some wicked cleaning from Mr. Game & Watch will remove this stuff! Only way this stuff can go away is if someone got some large hammer to smash it into bits, and frankly nobody here owns a large hammer, so I win!" While Bowser laughed like an evil maniac, Sheik's eyes widened, indicating that she may or may not have an idea up her sleeve.

"At least-a you finally admitted-a your wrong," Mario said as Sheik rushed out of the room to who-knows-where. "Sheik where are-a you going?!"

* * *

"Samus, I can't outright banish Amy from the Smash Mansion, due to her not being a brawler, it won't have the same leverage as banning someone like Yoshi or Chrom," Master Hand explained to the bounty hunter in the Smash Universe creator's room. Samus proposed that Amy Rose should be barred from ever coming back to the mansion, for the sake of Sonic and to a lesser extent, the residents, but Master Hand shot down that proposal quickly. "The only thing I could do is establish ground rules that Amy must adhere to."

"So you would be fine with Sonic annoying Sonic and pretty much everyone to no end?" questioned Samus, losing whatever faith she had in Master Hand's authoritarian values. "If that's what you want..."

"Master Hand, we have an emergency on our hands!" Pit busted inside the room, skidding to a halt and leaving behind a long skid mark. Mr. Game & Watch will have that cleaned up in no time. "Zero somehow is in love with Daisy, and he wants Fox and Falco to kill Luigi so he could be with her! We have to do something!"

"Surely this isn't another wacko idea for Yoshi's lousy fanfiction writing..." said a skeptical Master Hand. "I don't believe you..."

"It's true, Master Hand, Pit is telling the truth!" Viridi ran inside the room, and stood by her man. Kirby showed up a few moments later. "Zero has gone full-blown crazy, Fox and Falco must be stopped at once!"

"Hmm..." Master Hand conjured a plan - a plan that would neutralize the Star Fox pilots to keep them from killing Luigi, while returning Zero back to his normal self. A light bulb dinged above his nonexistent head, and he asked the following: "Amy is still around at the mansion, is that correct?"

"She should be, since she's been following Sonic around everywhere he goes," responded Pit. "You want me to go get her?"

* * *

 **Diddy Kong: The weird substance on the carpet, as it turned it, is actually brown coal, covered in some foul-smelling fumes to make it seem like poop. We got Bowser to fess up, and he said that his prank was a bit of a "welcoming gift" for Aerith...if I was in Aerith's shoes in the situation, I would honestly feel hesitant about living at the mansion long-term.**

The coal stuck to the carpet was broken into itty bitty pieces, thanks to Amy, who was brought to the room by Sheik after the ninja (who was Zelda at the time) caught the pink hedgehog hiding in the kitchen cupboard - though she didn't bother to give Sonic a warning.

"That should be the last of it," Amy remarked after her job was done. Greninja picked up the remains of the coal - holding his head back to refrain from smelling the foul stench - and placed the remains inside a Ziplock bag, handing it to Mario.

"Thank-a you for your assistance, Amy," thanked the plumber. "Glad you were-a willing to do us-a this solid, hopefully Sonic hasn't been-a worried without your-a presence!" Mario tried to joke around with Amy with the latter statement, as evidenced by his slight chuckle, but he only got eye rolls and awkward coughs.

Suddenly Kirby showed up, and when he saw Amy, he grabbed the pink hedgehog and ran away with her. Amy was screaming like a bratty little girl, demanding that Kirby placed her back on her feet.

"Hey you bub, kidnapping girls is my thing, quit copying my shtick!" Bowser shook his fist at Kirby; Mario and Peach couldn't help but smile.

"No need to worry everyone, we'll be back with Amy in no time," Pit said to those inside the room, his head visible at the edge of the doorway. "Zero kinda forced Fox and Falco to kill Luigi just so he could be with Daisy, whom he instantly became infatuated with today, and once we're done with Amy...eh, we'll just be back shortly." And with that, Pit ran off, chasing after Kirby. "Kirby, wait up for me!"

After hearing that Zero was infatuated with a female human in Daisy, Mario looked at the contents of the Ziplock bag he was holding, stroking his chin.

* * *

Some high drama was transpiring at Luigi's home - Fox and Falco had their Blasters pointed at Luigi, who had his arms raised in the air, while Daisy and X - who just moved in with the couple against their will - looked on in fear. The Blasters were raised to the highest level - a level high enough to kill others.

"Say your last words, Luigi what's-Yer-Last-Name!" demanded Fox. Who knows why he's being so cliche during this high stakes moment.

"Uhhh...uhhhhhh..." was the only thing that the plumber uttered. Poor guy can't even make out intelligible words, it's a strong sign of how frightened he is.

"C'mon bro, are those really your last words?" scoffed Falco. "You gotta try harder than that. But I guess we'll give you a pass, since we're behind schedule...you ready Fox?"

 **Falco: When we kill Luigi, we can't be so serious, we gotta loosen up a bit. So we're gonna have Luigi say his last words before we kill him for good!**

Before Fox and Falco could squeeze the trigger of their Blasters, and shoot away at Luigi, killing him off for good...both pilots were whacked on the head by a certain Piko Hammer, wielded by none other than Amy Rose, who came inside the home to save the day. Fox and Falco both fell to the floor, unconscious.

"You saved-a me!" Luigi happily exclaimed as he ran to hug Amy, embracing her in his arms. Pit and Kirby showed up afterwards, and Luigi embraced them as well. "Phew, for a minute there-a I thought I was a goner! How about I treat-a you guys over to dinner tonight?"

"Eh, I don't see why not, I might as well invite Viridi," shrugged Pit. Kirby responded with an exclamation of joy - only because there was food involved. Kirby and food essentially goes hand in hand.

"Mind if I join you guys for dinner?" inquired X. "I mean, I may be a robot and all, but I can just hang around for a little bit..."

"Feel-a free to do so," responded Luigi. "But you're going back-a to the mansion around midnight, you hear?" X held his head down in sadness, knowing he'll have to return to Zero. Let's see how his robot friend is doing...

* * *

"Are you sure this will make me love Daisy even more?" Zero asked Mario and Isabelle, holding the Ziplock bag containing the brown coal in his hands in his room. Gone were the pictures of Daisy, as well as the Daisy portrait - Master Hand had Viridi and Samus expel anything Daisy-related from the room. K.K. Slider and the Inklings had to hold back Zero, begging the ladies not to remove the stuff, while they were doing their thing.

"It will work all sorts of wonders - one whiff of it and your love shall multiply by tenfold!" smiled Isabelle, making the coal look more powerful than it seems. So Zero poured the contents into his hand, miffed by the smell, and with much hesitation, brought the coal to his nostrils and smelt it. All of a sudden, his body starting spazzing out in all directions, frightening Mario and Isabelle, and when he was done spazzing, Zero fell on the floor, sprawled out like he was dead.

"Zero are-a you okay?" asked Mario, hoping the coal wasn't pungent enough to shut down the robot's systems. Slowly, Zero rose up, and sat back against a wall for support.

"Ugh...what just happened, how did I get here?" the robot asked, rubbing his head. "Last thing I remembered, I was at Luigi's house, and then Daisy hugged, and everything after that was a blur..." It's safe to say that Zero is back to being normal again.

 **Mario: I've-a read in a robot medical-a book that foul stenches are the number-a one cure for robots, regard-a less of what condition or sickness they-a have! The knowledge I had-a gained from the book, I applied-a to bringing Zero's senses-a back! And people said I don't know-a jack about how robots work...**

"Where did X go, I gotta speak with him for a quick minute..." Zero got up and walked out of the room, rubbing his head. Link and Cloud came inside the room, with Link holding the Hylian history book, and Cloud bringing Cloud Jr. with him. (They seriously didn't do the same activity all day long, didn't they? What a way to go...)

"Finally cleaned up the mess in your room, huh?" Link asked Mario, just dying to back to his room, hopefully to do another activity.

"Yup, you may return-a to your room as you like, the problem has-a been solved!" Mario gave the swordsmen a thumbs up, taking all the credit even though Peach, Aerith, and Amy did most of the work.

* * *

After being fed up with Amy most of the day, Sonic showed his girlfriend out the front door, hoping she doesn't return ever again.

"Kick me out all you want, but I'll just keep on coming back!" smiled Amy, who certainly didn't mind about being told to leave. She already has the mansion's address ingrained in her memory, she can just return to the mansion at any given time.

"Yeah yeah yeah, just go already," Sonic replied, closing the front door in his girlfriend's face. Amy happily skipped away from the mansion, sporting a genuine smile on her face - oblivious to the Badniks building the sculpture outside.


	29. Episode 29: Adversary

**Episode 29: Adversary**

Do you remember when Bowser used to teach Shulk, and later Link, his asinine lessons that included extremely false information? Well, ever since the two swordsmen quit on the lessons, the Koopa King has longed for teaching a new pupil, a pupil that would soak in his fabricated facts like a sponge.

But today he found himself a new pupil, and now Bowser can continue his bogus lessons. The pupil was none other than the prince of Nohr, Corrin, who was viewed as a very easy target in the eyes of Bowser. Due to a lifetime's worth of pure, unadulterated sheltering at the hands of his father, none other than the mighty Garon, the king of Nohr, Corrin has ended up as a naive fellow who remains completely weary and unsure about the world around him and everyday surroundings. He's so unaware he believes that Sonic's newly created norms are the in thing right now.

 **Bowser: Man, do I feel stupid! Why didn't I teach Corrin sooner, he's the most naive person at the mansion, and by a long-shot too! Some of the decisions and choices he makes are borderline dumb - this one time, he even tried to "bathe" himself inside a washing machine - fortunately Peach saved Corrin before things got very ugly. After my lessons are through, he won't even consider bathing inside a washing machine ever again!**

Corrin was told by Bowser to see the giant koopa in the room adjacent to the portrait of Diantha, the Pokemon champion of the Kalos region, and the prince soon find Bowser in this particular room, his giant foot rested on a table while sipping from a milkshake.

"Come right on in Corrin, don't be so shy, just take a seat," the koopa told the white-haired prince, and Corrin reluctantly entered the room and took a seat, wondering what he was getting himself into. The prince knew that he was a rather naive fellow, and he could really afford to learn much more about the world around him, though he was hesitant about learning from someone like Bowser. But he anticipates that learning from the koopa will be low risk, high reward...although in reality it will be the other way around - high risk, low reward.

"How long will my first lesson be?" the prince asked after taking his seat. "I have a chess match with Meta Knight very soon." Bowser felt offended when Corrin said this, believing that the prince would spend more time with some masked loner than with him. He did all that he could to keep down his growing temper.

"It will be short, sweet, and to the point; you won't have to worry about time constraints or changing your schedule!" Bowser will have to break his presumably fake promise and prolong the lesson if he has to, if he wants to keep Corrin away from Meta Knight as much as possible. "Now, what would you like to learn about in your first lesson? Tell me anything that your heart desires!"

"Independence Day was earlier this week on Monday..." Corrin stroked his chin, brainstorming of a good topic that Bowser could instruct (or in this case, mislead) in, and the perfect (or imperfect) topic popped up in his head. "I would like to learn more about this wonderful country, the United States of America!" Hoo boy, that's gonna be a real doozy right there.

"Excellent choice, kiddo, there's so much you can learn about America!" It's a near guarantee Bowser will screw up _everything_ that has to do with America. "We can talk about the history of America, the U.S. presidents, and loads of other crap! First, we will start off by discussing how this lovely country was founded. Regardless of the ignorant losers that tell you, the United States was discovered...by aliens!" Corrin gasped when the Koopa King said this. "Yup, that's right, they were the ones who discovered America back in 1492, and they let that jerk Christopher Columbus take all of the credit. Sickening, I tell you!"

"So that's why they moved to Mars, so they can survey the entire earth and search for another uninhabited country, and give the credit to some fiend when they discover it! Pure genius!" Oh, Corrin, you poor, poor soul. Clearly the prince is still paranoid about the existence of aliens.

 **Corrin: I've have never known aliens to be despicable crooks! First they invent social networking platforms to distract the millennials, and now I have knowledge about their freeloading tendencies! Too insecure about acknowledging their existence that they had to go as far as letting Columbus take their credit...one of these days, I will expose them and every single one of their dastardly plans!**

"Now that you got a good grasp on how the country was truly discovered, let's move on to the presidents of the United States," said Bowser, continuing on with the lesson. "James Buchanan is widely considered to be the greatest U.S. President to have ever lived, and he is ranked among the other greats, like George W. Bush, thanks to his gaudy approval rating. During his presidency, America was divided between the North and the South, and Buchanan's attempts for peace reform did nothing but bring both sides together, and keep the South from seceding...you writing this down kid?"

"Sure am!" Corrin gave Bowser a thumbs up, writing down what he just said on a piece of notebook paper. "Just keep feeding me more of your knowledge, and I'll write away!" Corrin's chess match with Meta Knight needs to hurry up soon, it would be an arguably much better use of time.

"That's the spirit! On the flipside, Abraham Lincoln is the worst president in American history, along with some of the more sorrier leaders of this country, like Franklin Roosevelt, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson." The latter three are sorry, yet their likeness is crafted on Mount Rushmore under the approval of Calvin Coolidge...wonder how Bowser is going to explain that one.

"B-B-But Abraham Lincoln is perhaps the most widely discussed U.S. president, if I'm not mistaken, how is he so horrible?" For once during this lesson, which is more dismal than Lincoln's made-up approval rating, Bowser got stumped. But like any other opportunistic villain, he managed to work around the situation.

"Exactly, throughout time there are many cases where the most terrible and untalented people get discussed the most just because of how bad they are! Michael Phelps is a prime example - he's an overrated Olympian, and is perhaps one of the worst Olympians to represent America...yet the committee insists on keeping him around." Also when you're a opportunistic villain, you gotta cover all your bases. Expect Bowser to dupe Corrin even more with his opportunistic mannerisms.

* * *

Until he has his chess match with Corrin, whenever that will happen ever, Meta Knight searched for a worthy opponent that he should go against until his match with the prince of Nohr begins. First he asked Chrom, who was using a computer to look up hot babes on a popular dating site with sword wielders (who would have guessed) being the demographic.

"I'm so sorry, Meta Knight, I would play with you, but my martial status is more crucial than a meaningless chess game," the prince of Ylisee told the Star Warrior. It was worth a shot.

After the failed attempt with Chrom, Meta Knight then went to go ask Yoshi, who was with his knitting club buddies - Toad, Ashley, and Pac-Man, knitting some quilts. The green dinosaur is pretty good at chess, and would make for a formidable opponent against the likes of Meta Knight.

"I would play against you in chess, but quite frankly these quilts can't knit themselves!" Yoshi said, turning down Meta Knight's offer. "Amirite, you guys?" Yoshi then asked his knitting club buddies. Toad nodded in agreement, Ashley was too indifferent to care, and Pac-Man kept looking down at the floor, wishing that he was never a part of the club to begin with.

 **Meta Knight: Another person in mind that I wish to play against in chess is King K. Rool, but I'm a bit hesitant about challenging him, he becomes downright insufferable when it comes to friendly competitions. Suppose we were having a karaoke contest at the mansion, and Rool was a participant. If he is singing in tune, and keeping up with the melody, he would start boasting about how he is the singing GOAT, and that he would be a "five-star act" on _America's Got Talent,_ if he ever auditioned for the show. Heck, I've even heard him announce out of the blue that he would audition sometime in the foreseeable future. I feel that he should audition...in order to get a harsh reality check. Simon Cowell will tighten him up.**

Aside from King K. Rool, Meta Knight had one more person in mind, and this person, in addition to being an iconic video game character, happens to be the brother-in-law of Daisy. His name is none other than Mario, and the plumber was in his room dealing with financial stuff and whatnot while his roommate, Aerith, rested in her bed when Meta Knight entered the room. The Star Warrior pointed at Mario, making the plumber feel somewhat weary about himself. Was he about to be punished, or is Meta Knight planning on giving him the beating of a lifetime?

"You have been chosen..." Meta Knight said in a deep, dramatic voice...before pulling out the container with the chess board and pieces inside. "...to play a game of chess against the mighty Meta Knight!" Mario and Aeirth exchanged weird looks with each other, wondering what had gotten to the Star Warrior. "For the record, Fox and Falco put me up to this, now I feel slightly uncomfortable from what I just did."

"A game of-a chess you want, a game-a of chess you shall-a get!" Mario responded confidently, cracking his fingers. Mario is a pretty solid chess player - he has smacked Luigi's butt in chess numerous times, though beating your slightly less cooler twin brother doesn't mount up to a gaudy accomplishment.

"I didn't know you played chess, Mario," remarked Aerith. Every day the flower girl is living with Mario, she's learning more and more about the hidden and unknown depths of the most iconic character of all time (unless you think Pac-Man fits the bill, but that's your opinion).

"You should-a get your man Cloud to play-a chess; I've tried time and-a time again, and he refuses-a to come around. Perhaps some love can-a change his demeanor...hint, hint..."

Aerith just gave the plumber a questionable look; Mario isn't the one to be talking about using love to change one's demeanor - just look at how far he has gotten with his relationship with Peach. He has yet to propose to the girl, and they've been together for how long now?

"Let's set up the game over here," Meta Knight grabbed a small folding table laid against a wall, and set it up in the middle of the room. He then took out the chess board, and arranged the chess pieces. "Ready to take your loss?"

"I would...if I didn't have-a these financial duties to take-a care of," replied Mario; Meta Knight held his head down and facepalmed. Looks like he came too early... "You know how Master Hand-a can be..."

 **Master Hand: Why do I make Mario handle all the dirty stuff, like mansion maintenance, financial issues, and everything else? Simple - he's the man of the mansion. Were I an actual person, I would be handling all of Mario's duties and more, but obviously it didn't work out that way. Besides, who would want to be a lousy human anyway, when you can magically levitate in the air at free will like I can? Inferior beings...**

"If you're still busy, then why were you acting all confident, like you were ready to have our match immediately?!" grumbled Meta Knight. The Star Warrior has very little patience, most of it has been deteriorated by the likes of Kirby. "I don't have anything to do to waste my time, so I guess I'll help you with your financial ventures..."

"Alright-a then, just take a seat!" Mario scooted over in the chair he was sitting in, leaving some room for Meta Knight and expecting the Star Warrior to sit in said chair. But instead Meta Knight blankly stared at the plumber, and this stare indicated that he wanted his _own_ chair, rather than having to share with some flabby mustached man. "...Have it-a your way." Mario got up and grabbed a kiddie chair from his closet, filled to the brim with pictures of Peach (why the plumber even has a kiddie chair in his possession begs a serious question) and placed it next to his bigger, adult-sized chair.

"Not the most convenient seating choice, but I'll take what I get," Meta Knight sat in his kiddie chair, surprised that he was able to fit in it. "So where do we begin?"

* * *

Cloud was outside, enjoying the outdoors for once in his presumably miserable life, playing fetch with his pet Chocobo Cloud Jr. This game of fetch had a bit of a twist - Cloud would throw a stick as far as he could, and Cloud Jr. would fly to go retrieve it. Its wings allowed it to fly far distances - though not as far as Mega Man's robotic canine companion Rush can.

Also playing with their pet was Luigi, playing with Polterpup - a ghost dog Professor E. Gadd had brought to him. Luigi met the little fella during the events of _Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon,_ and Polterpup has grown attached to the plumber ever since.

"Sit-a boy!" commanded Luigi, and Polterpup did as he was told. "Roll over!" Polterpup rolled over on the ground, like he was the Great Fox doing a barrel roll in a highly intense battle with Andross. "Do a scary face!" Polterpup did a scary face, but it wasn't enough to faze Luigi - his cuteness was too insurmountable to be frightening towards the plumber. "Good-a boy!" Luigi petted Polterpup, and both the pet and the pet owner were smiling. You can definitely tell that a strong sense of chemistry has been established between Luigi and Polterpup.

"Luigi, sweetheart, you forgot to take your wedding suit to the dry cleaners!" Daisy called out to her man, standing at the front porch of her home while holding up Luigi's wedding suit. It's been a month since the wedding, and that suit hasn't even been cleaned yet. It's been left in the master room, tarrying away in the closet.

 **Daisy: Luigi is supposed to go down to the dry cleaners to get his wedding suit cleaned, but apparently he's afraid of the some old hag that runs the place. What is she going to do, pinch him on the cheek and magically curse him in the process? It's not like she's an evil witch or anything...**

"But Daisy, that-a old woman might be there..." stated Luigi, too reluctant to go to the dry cleaners; Daisy gave him an intimidating stare - the kind of stare a girl would use of her boyfriend if he was texting a side chick while on a date. "Fine, I'll take-a the suit to the dry-a cleaners."

"I'll leave your suit here on the porch until you're man enough to go to the dry cleaners," Daisy placed Luigi's wedding suit on the railings of the porch. The suit was in a garment bag, which will prevent it from becoming even more unclean. Luigi's profuse sweating during the wedding ceremony has already done some damage to the suit.

"Scared of a lousy senior citizen?" Cloud smirked at Luigi, never imagining him to be that big of a scaredy cat. "You're an even bigger wimp than I've imagined. To think that marrying Daisy would have given you a boost of confidence or something...but I guess not..."

"You wouldn't-a mind-a if you watched over Polterpup while-a I'm away...would you?" Luigi asked the swordsman, with Polterpup looking at Cloud panting with his tongue out, probably as an attempt at provoking the appeal of pathos to win Cloud over.

"Already got my hands full with Cloud Jr..." Cloud mused over Luigi's offer. He has zero experience babysitting dogs - let alone supernatural beings - and that inexperience may cost him down the road. But it's worth a good shot. "Eh, what the heck, I'll watch over Polterpup for you. What can possibly go wrong?"

"Thank-a you Cloud, always knew you would be-a willing to help!" Luigi went to his home and grabbed his suit, before getting inside his car - a green 2016 Dodge Charger. For those of you who think the car is out of Luigi's league, just know that _Tekken_ alumni Lili (full name Emilie de Rochefort) bought the car for him as a wedding gift of sorts. "I'll be seeing-a you later, take good-a care of Polterpup!" Luigi got inside his car and turned on the ignition, before driving out of the driveway. Cloud waved to Luigi as he drove down the street and to the dry cleaners, where he will face the dreaded old lady that runs the place. She's only dreaded in the eyes of Luigi...but no so much in the eyes of others.

"Woof woof!" Polterpup excitedly ran over to Cloud, standing at his feet panting happily. Ghostly saliva was dripping on Cloud's shoes, and the swordsman doesn't seem to care. Cloud Jr. landed on the swordsman's shoulder, looking down at Polterpup...this has all the makings of a lovely friendship - or maybe even a rivalry.

* * *

"Sup dudes, I got some great news for ya!" Little Mac told Fox, Falco, Doc Louis, Knuckles, and Big Top in the Star Records room. This news will either be meaningful, or a waste of time. "I just figured out what my new rapper name will be!" This type of news can go either way, depending on the name Little Mac chose.

"Alright then, let us hear it!" Doc Louis exclaimed chomping on his chocolate bar. The boxing trainer is as predictable as he comes.

"From this point forward, my rapper name shall be...One...Punch...Mac!" Little Mac did a punch in the air after every word uttered, but that didn't do much to change the looks of concern on everyone's faces, except for Big Top. One Punch Mac? Is that seriously the best Little Mac could come up with? He better have other names in store...

 **Knuckles: One of the most hardest things about being a rapper is coming up with a legit stage name. It is highly crucial that you use a rapper name that will not only resonate with your audience, but will make people assume that you're a great artist (trust me, a lot of people base a rapper's ability and potential off of their name). I would have went by my birth name, Knuckles the Echidna, but that was deemed "mainstream" in the innovative eyes of Fox and Falco, so my rapper name, is Emerald Master! Granted, it's not the best rapper name out there, but compared to "One Punch Mac"...**

"What, you guys don't like it?" asked a disappointed Little Mac. "I think that it's a great name for a rapper, if you ask me..."

"It's not so much that it's a bad rapper name, it just sounds so freaking unoriginal," offered Fox. "Seriously, you took 'One Punch Man' and switched the N in Man with C, and boom...you got your lazy name. Where's the creativity?!" Creativity is a very vital part of a rapper's repertoire, and Little Mac appears to be seriously lacking in that aspect.

"Stop being so critical, One Punch Mac is the best rapper name ever conceived!" exclaimed Big Top. Evidently he has never heard of the _One Punch Man_ anime/manga, and he's also relatively green in the world of hip hop and rap. Figured that he would have caught up by now...

"Too bad for you guys, but I've already settled on One Punch Mac, and unless I get a lawsuit or something, that's the way it will stand until further notice. If you guys need me, I'll be in the recording studio, finishing up on my mixtape!" Little Mac exited the room, and headed towards the recording studio. Dude's been working on his mixtape for weeks now...substance over style could definitely apply here. Fox, Falco, Knuckles, and Doc Louis all looked at each other, and they were all thinking the same thing...

"Bruh needs to change his rapper name real soon," Falco said what was on everyone's minds. Though it's a strong given not everyone was thinking the word "bruh".

* * *

"Sometimes it feels just great getting to do things like this together," Shulk remarked, playing a game of _Cards Against Humanity_ with Fiora, Link, Zelda, Pit, and Viridi in the lounge. Yuffie had given the _Cards Against Humanity_ game to Zelda (under the Shiek persona at the time) to hold unto until the next time Yuffie came over to the mansion, and Zelda decided, why not play the game with her best pals?

"I'm not even sure how these cards are allowed, but hey, at least I'm having a good time," Link commented on the despicable nature of _Cards Against Humanity._ Just visit the game's website and go to the lab, and you'll see why this party game as a bad reputation among some of the more pleasant people out there.

"Hide me!" Sonic came rushing inside the lounge, hiding underneath a sofa Proto Man was sitting on. "Should Amy stop by here, tell her that I stopped by Dr. Eggman's fortress, and the fatty gave me a bear hug and I succumbed to my injuries." He said this to everyone in the lounge before fully concealing himself under the sofa.

 **Pit: Sonic is still experiencing girl trouble with Amy, in case you haven't noticed...this isn't like that time when Viridi did everything she could to get me to love her from a far distance...Amy is literally _stalking_ Sonic everywhere he goes, whether the dude likes it or not. Sonic went to Master Hand and told him to have Amy arrested for stalking, since she is supposedly "placing fear within him", or something like that.**

"Still trying to get away from Amy Rose, I see," smiled Proto Man. Don't let this one instance fool you - Amy has visited the Smash Mansion close to three times this week, and she came all those times for one reason, and one reason only...to check on her man, Sonic the Hedgehog. Wherever the speeding hedgehog is, Amy will always be there no matter the cost. "When are you gonna man up, and face her without running away?"

"Don't tell that girl Amy I'm here!" was Sonic's lovely answer to Proto Man's question. It wasn't even close to a definite answer, and Sonic won't be giving out any definite answers in the state he's in. And would you know it, his girlfriend Amy arrived in the lounge, on the search for her boyfriend.

"Have any of you seen my darling boyfriend Sonic?" she asked everyone in the lounge. "I know you have seen him before today, he's quite the outgoing person and he must have spoken with any of you at least once today! Is he here in the lounge?"

"He might have passed through the lounge; we're playing a card game, so we must not have seen or heard him since we were too into it," stated Link, in an attempt to save Sonic's hide. "Perhaps he ran outside, you should go look for him there. Betcha he's hiding in a tree somewhere."

"Okay, thank you, have a nice day!" Amy waved as she exited the lounge, continuing her quest to find Sonic. Speaking of Sonic, the hedgehog appeared from under the sofa, and looked a bit angry.

"Nice going Link, now Amy is under the assumption that I'm still alive, and she'll resume her endless search until I show up!" he scolded the Hylian. "I thought I told you to tell her that I died from a bear hug at the hands of Dr. Eggman, but did you bother to listen at all? No you didn't!" Sonic should just follow Proto Man's advice, and reveal himself to Amy so he won't have to worry about his yandere girlfriend searching for him.

"Boo hoo freaking hoo, get over it buddy," Link remarked before returning to the _Cards Against Humanity_ game. "It's nobody's problem but yours." Link can be such a straight-up savage towards Sonic - perhaps he doesn't like him?

"Now, now, Link, no need to be mean towards Sonic, he's fighting this battle to the best of his abilities," said Zelda. "We might even have to help out Sonic, if it has to come to that..."

"Zelda's right, just look at Sonic, I've haven't seen this dude scared and frightened since Villager pranked him last Halloween!" added Pit. Indeed, Sonic was looking pretty afraid, what with him still hiding underneath the sofa and looking about to see if Amy returned to the lounge.

 **Sonic: Starting tomorrow, I'll remain in my room with Tails, and the door will be locked 24/7! (Excluding the times for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and using the bathroom.) I'll just find a way to get myself grounded for life, and my plan will kick into action! Blowing up the police station downtown could get me grounded for life, who knows...**

 **Tails: Apparently Sonic tried to get me involved in his plan to blow up one of Seattle's police stations, and he's enlisting me because I'm "the only friend that has knowledge of explosives". Little does Sonic know that blowing up a police station will not give him a lifetime grounding...but will instead send him straight to jail, or even prison! But Sonic believes that he's above the law, just because he's a speeding hedgehog, and that he'll never be incarcerated because of this. Must have forgotten about G.U.N. chasing him around...**

"Fine, we'll do Sonic a solid and see if we can do anything to improve his situation," said Link, admitting defeat. The Hylian has several reasons for disliking Sonic (aggravating his injured knee, begging him to partake in a cinnamon challenge, etc.), but he'll put his differences aside for the sake of his adversary. "We'll do it after we're finished with this game, though. And if we can't improve Sonic's situation, and then the rest will be for him to deal with."

"Good enough, I suppose..." sighed Zelda. She has always been used to Link being this stubborn, could be a side-effect of endless adventuring.

* * *

"Put-a this in the paper shredder!" Mario handed Meta Knight an outdated financial document, and the Star Warrior stuck it in the shredder, which was adjacent to his seat. The document was shredded to pieces in an instant, its juicy information never to be seen by human (and other creatures) eyes again.

"I must say Mario, you sure are a very disorganized person," Meta Knight remarked after finishing the task. That document was the 37th document the Star Warrior had to shred, and he's expecting plenty of more documents to be shredded soon. "Why do you have so many important documents that are all outdated?"

"Do you not-a realize how hard it is to handle-a everyone's business while-a being the man of the mansion?" retorted Mario, displeased that Meta Knight doesn't understand the struggles he goes through on a day-to-day basis. "Isabelle can-a only do so much for me..."

"Care for a cup of tea?" Black Knight entered the room, carrying a plate with a tea kettle and two cups filled to the brim with tea. Mario smiled eagerly as he accepted his cup, and Meta Knight, on the other hand, didn't do anything when the Black Knight offered him his cup of tea.

"I would drink the tea, but I won't do it due to confidentiality issues," stated the Star Warrior. "I refuse to take off my mask in the presence of others." Black Knight seethed, so angry that he could drop the plate at any given second.

 **Black Knight: Any tea that is not consumed - regardless of the capacity, whether it be a single drop or a gallon - is tea that is wasted! Meta Knight committed a devious crime, by not drinking the tea that I had made for him, and for that, he will be punished severely, until he sips a single sip of tea, only when I'm around! Doesn't want to take off his mask "in the presence of others"...insecure much?!**

"Not just one little sip?" indulged the Black Knight, ready to get down on his knees and beg like a dog with puppy eyes. "One sip won't hurt anyone!"

"Fuera de aqui!" Meta Knight snapped, flaunting his Hispanic heritage and resemblance to Zorro with the use of the Spanish language. The Black Knight grumbled angrily and departed from the room, just when Kirby came inside, happy as a beaver. (What a lame comparison.) "Oh great, it's you Kirby, just the person that had to show up..."

"Hi!" Kirby waved to Meta Knight, before his eyes caught the paper shredder situated next to the Star Warrior. He approached said shredder, and Mario and Meta Knight looked conspicuously as Kirby stuck his hand inside the shredder...thereby turning it on. Poor Kirby yelled in pain as his hand was being shredded by the shredder. Mario and Meta Knight took to action, with Mario grabbing Kirby and Meta Knight grabbing the shredder. The two pulled away, and managed to get Kirby's hand out of the shredder, leaving them with the puffball's injured hand to deal with.

"To the fitness center we must-a go!" Mario frantically said to Meta Knight, concealing Kirby's hand with his glove to stop the bleeding - though it wasn't enough.

* * *

Mario and Meta Knight arrived at the fitness center, and handed Kirby over to Wii Fit Trainer, who bandaged the puffball's injured hand and put some ointment on it to ease the pain, and control the bleeding. Jigglypuff, wearing her nurse hat, provided the ointment; it's been a good while since she returned to her post as a nurse, typically she only serves fatigued Pokemon.

"So how did this happen?" Wii Fit Trainer asked, curious as to how such a cute, innocent person like Kirby injure himself. To her, it's quite the mystery.

"Basically Kirby stuck his hand inside a paper shredder for reasons unknown, and hurt his hand in the process," explained Meta Knight, unnerved by the fact that Kirby was too busy smiling at him. This is one of the many reasons he hardly considers the pink puffball a friend or heroic companion.

"And neither of you didn't bother to stop him from doing so?" Wii Fit Trainer was starting to become angry with Mario's and Meta Knight's negligence.

"How were we supposed to know he Kirby was going to stick his hand in there, it's not my fault that dumb puffball is dumber than we made him out to be! This is his fault for being stupid, and not ours!"

"Let-a me have a word on-a this..." offered Mario, not having been able to give his two cents on Kirby's injury. Speaking of Kirby, the puffball was tearing up from Meta Knight's rude comments. Certainly he didn't appreciate the fellow Star Warrior calling him words like "stupid" and "dumb", Kirby's quite the sensitive fellow.

 **Meta Knight: I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. A Star Warrior's truthful, one hundred percent. Got a problem with it, go resurrect Dr. Seuss from the dead and cry about your problem to him, and then maybe the two of you can try and work things out.**

"What's this about Kirby hurting his hand?" Marth showed up, intrigued by the story of Kirby injuring himself. It nearly broke the Hero-King's heart hearing what happened to the lovable Star Warrior. "Why would you let Kirby do such a thing?!" he snapped at both Mario and Meta Knight. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves!"

"Ashamed of what?" Soon Ness appeared, wondering what all the hullabaloo was about. And Marth told him. "Really?! Get out of here! Mario, Meta Knight, I expected better from you! Especially you, Mario..."

"Let me explain-a everything kid..." Mario tried to tell Ness, but it was too late, as the young teen ran out of the room to alert the others about Mario's and Meta Knight's negligence.

"This is just great, now everybody is going to hate us because of Kirby's idiocies," facepalmed Meta Knight. He meant what he said, and he said what he meant.

"Don't-a be so negative, not everyone is going to hate us," assured Mario, only to get questionable looks from Meta Knight, Wii Fit Trainer, and Jigglypuff. (Kirby is too busy smiling to give a reaction.) "...or so I-a hope."

* * *

Cloud watched over Polterpup in the comfort of his room, allowing him to sprawl all over the floor while chewing on the bone in his mouth. The dog doesn't have any fur due to him being a ghost, so Cloud has nothing to worry about when it comes to cleaning the floor of any fur.

Also present with Cloud was the swordsman's pet Chocobo, Cloud Jr., who is visibly salty about having Polterpup around. He believes that Polterpup will use his charm to subdue Cloud, thereby causing him to like him more. That's what happens when you have two pets in the same room, one antagonizes against the other, and usually the one being antagonized against is innocent, most of the time.

"Did Luigi say how long he will be at the dry cleaners?" asked Aerith, who was sitting on the bed with Cloud, spending some quality time with her man. "Daisy spoke of an old lady that runs the place, and Luigi, for whatever reason, is afraid of the woman..."

"Eh, I'll give Luigi at least a hour or two until he returns," guesstimated Cloud. "He'll probably spend the first couple of minutes or so debating whether or not he should go inside the place."

 **Cloud: In all actuality...I think that we won't be seeing Luigi again until it's past midnight...And no, it won't because of his reluctance to go inside the dry cleaners, if that oh so scary old lady is present - best guess is that Luigi gets jumped on the way to his car, and he somehow ends up inside a post office mailbox not far from the dry cleaners. He's been stuck in one before, trying to get a love letter he threw in by accident, so it won't be a totally new experience for him.**

"I'll be right back, gonna go get myself a drink," Cloud got up from his bed and left the room, heading to the vending machine and leaving Aerith behind with Polterpup and Cloud Jr. Polterpup approached the flower girl, wagging his tongue in happiness after dropping his bone at Aerith's feet. This mutt sure knows how to use pathos in his favor.

"Aw, you're just the cutest!" Aerith gleamed, petting Polterpup. Cloud Jr., rested at the end of the bed, was feeling all sorts of salty as Polterpup was being petted. "You are just so adorable!" Cloud Jr. has never been called cute nor adorable...

"Guess who made some sundaes?" Olimar came inside the room, accompanied by Alph; their Pikmin were carrying a plate of sundaes over their heads, and Alph grabbed the plate and offered it to Aerith.

"The Ice Climbers helped us make these," the young astronaut explained, while admiring Aerith's beauty. If only she wasn't single...but we all know Aerith is _way_ out of Alph's league, and by a very wide margin. "We got vanilla, strawberry, caramel - pretty much every flavor we could think of." Aerith grabbed a strawberry sundae, took a spoon offered by Olimar, and took a bite out of said sundae. What does the flower girl think of it?

"This is absolutely delicious!" Aerith gleamed, smiling with her hand on her cheek. Not because she's having a brain freeze or a toothache, it's because the sundae is that great. "Oh, you must give the Ice Climbers my best regards!"

During this time, Cloud Jr. caught Polterpup's attention, and flew out of the room. Polterpup barked in excitement and wagged his tail as he followed Cloud Jr. out of the room, and to who-knows-where.

"We'll be sure to do so, we're going to spread the word about these sundaes," said Alph, before looking around and inspecting the room. "Hold up just a sec, wasn't Polterpup in here a few seconds ago? Thought I saw him on the floor..."

"And it appears as if Cloud Jr. has vanished as well!" Olimar exclaimed after scanning the room. "Where could those two have gone off to? Do they not know how big this mansion is, they might end up lost somewhere!"

"Cloud is supposed to be babysitting Polterpup!" Aerith panicked, wondering what is taking the swordsman too long. Luigi would be greatly displeased with Cloud if he found out that the blonde let his trusting ghostly companion run off to places unknown. "Cloud, where are you...?"

* * *

 **Bowser: Corrin has been progressing very well during our lessons, he's soaking up every little bit of information I'm feeding him like a giant sponge! He has learned many new things, like how lead dioxide is the most abundant oxide in the atmosphere, and that is perfectly fine for us living things to breathe in! Additionally, he has also learned about world history, like how Adolf Hitler was the nicest dictator of his time, and that Nelson Mandela was evil to the bone! Corrin's a far better student than Shulk ever was...I don't wanna talk about Link, to be honest with you.**

Bowser was teaching Corrin about the solar system - showing the prince a diagram of the solar system with the planets in randomized order - when Cloud Jr. and Polterpup ran inside the room, with Polterpup continuously chasing the Chocobo all over the place. He was running around and inadvertently knocked down the erroneous solar system diagram in the process.

"Stupid dog!" growled Bowser, channeling his inner Eustance from _Courage the Cowardly Dog,_ as he stopped Polterpup in his tracks and snatched Cloud Jr. in his giant hand. "What business do you and your Chocobo pal have here, I'm trying to teach Corrin some valuable lessons that he can apply in his life!"

"Aren't those Luigi's and Cloud's pets?" inquired Corrin, fearful that Bowser might harm both of them. The Koopa King may still be a teacher at the moment, but he won't hesitate to use his villainous ways on just about anyone. "Please tell me you aren't going to hurt them!"

"Like I would want to hear Luigi's dumb mouth until the end of the time...now Cloud, I wouldn't worry about, he's not the type of guy to go off on you at every occasion, like breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He's too chill for that type of stuff." Bowser gently placed Cloud Jr. atop of Polterpup, and the Chocobo didn't like it one bit - he still has a slight grudge against the ghost dog. "Now I want the both of you to scram, I ain't got no time teaching dumb animals!"

Bowser's command didn't seem to faze Polterpup, as it completely used pathos in his favor - smiling, panting happily with his tongue out, and chasing his tail while running around in place. Cloud Jr. had to hop off of Polterpup when the dog started running about, and he gave him the stank look, envious that he can't do the things Polterpup does to win over people.

"Eh, I'll let you two stay in here. Just make yourselves comfy over in that corner and don't disturb my lessons, Corrin's learning is nigh important!" Polterpup and Cloud Jr. went to the corner Bowser pointed at, and on his way to said corner, Cloud Jr. couldn't help but glare down his ghostly adversary...

Suddenly, Polterpup screamed in pain when Cloud Jr. poked him (despite being a ghost, Polterpup can feel physical objects touching him). The dog screamed so loudly, it made Bowser, who was setting the solar system diagram back up, drop the diagram on the floor. The Koopa King growled, and angrily marched towards Polterpup and Cloud Jr., making them shiver as his shadow hovered over them.

* * *

While Fox, Falco, and Big Top remained in the Star Records room, brainstorming of a legit rapper name for Little Mac, the Star Fox pilots had Doc Louis and Knuckles walk through the mansion, wanting to see if having the two look at random objects and/or people would help them think of a name. So far, this hasn't proved to be quite effective as the pilots hoped it would be.

 **Knuckles: All this walking is making be bored as heck...I know, maybe I should run instead, to get those creative juices flowing! *runs at a moderately fast pace*  
Doc Louis: *panting* Slow down, Knuckles! *heaves* My legs don't know how to be skinny and agile like yours... *tries to run faster than usual***

"You two getting your exercising on?" MegaMan .EXE asked Doc Louis and Knuckles as they were running through the halls of the mansion. Knuckles was running relatively fast, while Doc Louis struggled to keep up due to his weight. Serves him right for choosing to eat chocolate bars 24/7.

"Gotta stay active and fit at all times!" replied Knuckles, not revealing the real reason why he and Doc are running. "That's the way to go if you wanna get them ladies!"

"Don't be fooled .EXE, despite my current struggles, I run and jog all the time!" replied Doc Louis. That running and jogging all the time must have happened a long time ago...

"Okay then, you two keep up the good work!" MegaMan .EXE gave the echidna and the boxing trainer a thumbs up as he went inside the ball pit room. "Time to see if I can use any of these plastic balls as ammo..." Using colored plastic balls as ammo instead of the traditional Mega Buster? That kind of idea can be disastrous!

 **MegaMan .EXE: Will using plastic balls as ammo for my Mega Buster be risky? Why wouldn't it be, after all, I'm trying a new thing. Can't hurt to try new things out every now and then! *accidentally shoots himself in face with Mega Buster* Gah, my eye! This is why I need some new alternatives...**

"Ah, it's great to see fellow workout warriors at the mansion, sometimes it brings a tear to my eye!" Ryu exclaimed as Knuckles and Doc Louis ran past the kung fu fighter. Ryu was about to do a workout himself, but just seeing Knuckles and Doc run made him stop and appreciate how wonderful it is to see individuals other than him getting fit and staying in shape. Which means that he's also a weirdo, even though he won't admit it by any means. "I applaud you for taking initave and putting your mind and health first!"

"Um, Ryu, we're not really exercising or working out, whichever one you prefer," Knuckles began, trying to tell Ryu the true intentions behind him and Doc Louis running, but the kung fu fighter ran up to the two running men and wrapped his arms around them, like they were his best bros. Does Ryu even have any bros? Ken could count as one, but he's a bit of a rival to Ryu, such as Blue towards Red the Pokemon Trainer.

"The three of us, we could be workout buddies! Doing squats together, lifting weights together, jumping rope together...just think of all the wonderful things we can do together if we put our minds to it!" Only problem would be that Doc Louis might be unable to do the exercises Ryu just mentioned...but weight lifting may not be ruled out.

"Well to be honest with you...we're not really working out," Doc explained to Ryu, giving the fighter's hopes up. "Fox and Falco tasked us with coming up of a rapper name for my boy Little Mac, and Knuckles believed that running a bit would speed up our creative and thinking process."

"Good thing for you, I know just the place to get those creative juices flowing properly!" You know it's bad when you have to depend on Ryu for assistance in areas outside of fighting. Just look at the events that transpired back in episode 2; Wolf is still bitter with Ryu to this very day. "Follow me, and I'll show you the way!"

* * *

"Sonic, where are you?" Amy called out in the front of the mansion, still on the search for her boyfriend. "Have any of you seen Sonic anywhere?" the pink hedgehog asked Palutena and Dark Pit, who were having a picnic of sorts. Palutena originally planned to have her picnic with Pit, but she'll settle with Dark Pit instead, given that he doesn't have an attitude.

"No I haven't, I don't think neither of us have seen Sonic at all today," replied Palutena. Not seeing Sonic is a blessing in disguise for the goddess of nature, since she doesn't have to put up with the hedgehog's jerkface ways. "Funny how he's extroverted most of the time, and gets all soft and quiet when you show up. Must be a telltale sign that he secretly likes you!"

"Don't encourage her..." Dark Pit warned her, knowing Amy's extremely yandere tendencies.

 **Dark Pit: Amy is already crazy about Sonic, almost to the point of insanity...can you imagine how she would react if Sonic were to tell her he loves her? Sure, she would probably stop following Sonic around and Sonic can drop the entire Waldo act, but then Amy would take her relationship to a whole other level - like building a statue of her and Sonic for the entire world to see! Sally Acorn is a part of _Sonic_ canon, is she? I would love to see what she would think of that...**

Sonic reluctantly stepped out of the front door of the mansion and towards Amy, getting the butterflies in his stomach. In his hand was a walkie-talkie - who is he keeping in contact with?

"Sonic over, do you read me?" Fiora spoke into a walkie-talkie, her voice emitting out of Sonic's. The Homs was huddled together with Pit, Viridi, Link, Zelda, and Shulk, all situated at the window in the foyer. "Can you hear me, Sonic?" These six individuals are tasked with solving Sonic's situation, so he won't have to deal with Amy's yandere-ness ever again.

"I can hear ya loud and clear!" Sonic said into his walkie-talkie, keeping his volume down to a minimum so Amy won't overhear him. "Your dumb plan better work or else!"

"Hey Viridi, you got a minute?" Lloyd Irving approached the goddess of nature, holding a fish bowl with a dead fish inside. Not surprising to see the poor fish deceased, especially with Lloyd being his owner. "My pet fish died this morning, and I was wondering if you could..."

"Begone with you!" Viridi sprayed a can of "Human-Be-Gone" - a dear creation of Viridi's, mind you - at Lloyd, making the swordsman scream and run away with the fish bowl in his hand. "Okay Sonic, you remember what to say to Amy, is that correct?"

"Yeah, I've been rehearsing so I won't screw up," Sonic said into his walkie-talkie. In spite of how long the hedgehog has been practicing, let alone how many times he's been practicing, Sonic is still nervous about what may happen.

"Oh Amy, I believe Sonic is right behind you!" Palutena called out, making the pink hedgehog turn around and face her boyfriend. And boy was she delighted to see him.

"What brought Sonic here?" Dark Pit wondered. His wonder soon ended when he saw his rival, Pit, at the window in the foyer with the others. "Figures..."

"Just remain calm and collected, and everything will go as planned!" Shulk's voice emitted from Sonic's walkie-talkie as Amy approached her man, smiling seductively and making Sonic even more nervous.

"Something you want to tell me, Sonic?" Amy asked, batting her eyes at Sonic. The blue hedgehog took a deep breath, and said the words that will hopefully put his troubles to rest.

"I just want to say that...I love you," Sonic said tenderheartedly to her girlfriend, expecting Amy to give some sort of jovial reaction. But all he got was nothing; Amy just stood there dumbfounded, and Palutena, Dark Pit, and those huddled at the window were wondering what may be going on.

"That's it?" Amy finally spoke up. "That's all you have to say? 'I love you'? Wouldn't it have hurt to ELABORATE?"

 **Link: What, were you expecting Sonic to say more than just "I love you"? Gotta start off the man with baby steps, and then build him up. Love isn't as easy as it seems, and I've learned that from experience...**

"Woah, Amy, chill out, I was just trying to tell you how I feel..." Sonic pleaded to Amy, who now has her Piko Hammer in her hands, ready to squash Sonic. He then ran away from Amy, fearing for his life.

"Get back here, I'm not finished with you!" a now angry Amy chased after Sonic, Piko Hammer in hand. Palutena and Dark Pit just looked on bewildered, wondering what had gotten into Amy. Was only saying "I love you" not enough for her?

"This is not good, not good at all..." worried Shulk, now sympathizing for Sonic and getting a full grasp of what the hedgehog has to go through regarding Amy. "We just made Sonic's situation even worse, rather than making it better!"

* * *

Mario and Meta Knight were making their way back to Mario's room, their reputations slightly tarnished. They are now known as the two men that let poor Kirby injure himself, and because of this, they were receiving glares from the brawlers for their actions after Ness spread the word about their deeds. To say Mario and Meta Knight felt miserable and displeased with themselves would be an understatement.

"Mario, Mario, we have a major issue on our hands!" Toad frantically ran to the plumber, in a very panicky state. "Polterpup, and Cloud Jr! They're in grave danger!"

"Polterpup and Cloud-a Jr. are in danger?" Mario raised an eyebrow. The plumber has no idea that Cloud was watching over both pets, so he assumed that the swordsman and Luigi are poor pet owners. "Give-a me all the full details!"

So Toad explained to Mario (and Meta Knight, who was briefly ignored) about Polterpup and Cloud Jr. in the room where Bowser was teaching Corrin, and how Polterpup yelped loudly, ruining Bowser's focus and temper. And now the Koopa King is threatening to throw Polterpup in the mansion's lake...and Cloud Jr. as well, just for good measure.

"To the lake-a we go!" Mario led the way, with Meta Knight and Toad following after the plumber. "Bowser must-a be stopped at once!"

* * *

"Thanks for the foot massage Cloud, I knew you would be the right guy for the job!" Captain Falcon thanked Cloud, as the two were making their way down the hallway. Falcon is the main reason for holding up Cloud, for his foot was getting itchy, and he had Cloud massage his foot for him since the ladies didn't want anything to do with the racer, understandably.

 **Cloud: Minutes of my life have been wasted, all thanks to Captain Falcon. Why does he want a woman to massage his feet, when he can just borrow that foot massager from Peach? Better question is, why did he choose me of all people to massage his feet for him...?**

"Don't mention it buddy," Cloud responded, attempting to keep his distance from Captain Falcon. The swordsman was soon approached by Aerith, Olimar, and Alph, who all are clearly in a hurry.

"Cloud, I'm afraid I have some terrible news!" said Aerith. "Polterpup and Cloud Jr. both ran away! They were in the room not so long ago, and then they just ran away! I'm so sorry for letting this happen..."

"It'll be fine Aerith, it's not like they ran away for good or anything." Even in dire situations, such as having a pet running off to places unknown, Cloud retains his demeanor without breaking a single sweat.

"Just got a text from Toad that Bowser is attempt to drown both Polterpup and Cloud Jr. at the mansion's lake," Olimar told the others after receiving the text message. "Bowser has completely lost it!"

"Bowser may be a fellow resident of the mansion, but his villainous ways are pretty much intact. We have time to lose, I can't afford to see my pet - and Luigi's pet - go out like this!"

* * *

Luigi finally arrived home, returning from the dry cleaners. The old lady running the place didn't give the plumber that much problems - sure, there was the occasional pinching on the cheek and even on the butt, but other than that, Luigi handled his trip pretty well. The plumber pulled up in the driveway, and immediately after he turned of the ignition, Sonic came by screaming, jumping on the car's hood and sliding off, before Amy came by and smacked the hood of the car with her Piko Hammer, chasing Sonic.

"Eh, it was-a bound to happen," Luigi simply shrugged in response to his now damaged Charger; honestly he's surprised his vehicle lasted this long without blemish. Nothing like a trip to the car repair shop to get his smooth ride fixed. "Now let's see how Cloud is handling things with Polterpup!" Hoo boy...

* * *

At the lake, Bowser held Polterpup and Cloud Jr. (whose left foot was tied to a rock to prevent it from flying) over the water of the mansion's lake, and Master Hand, Corrin, and several other brawlers were pleading the Koopa King to drop the two pets...on the ground, that is.

"Release those animals at once!" commanded Master Hand. If Bowser denies Master Hand's command, then all hope is lost. "Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"

"If I didn't have any idea, then I wouldn't be here in the first place!" retorted Bowser. Mario, Toad, Meta Knight, Cloud, Captain Falcon, Aerith, Olimar, and Alph all arrived, but did their arrival change Bowser's decision? Not one bit.

 **Corrin: I tried telling Bowser that he could have just kicked Polterpup and Cloud Jr. out, but then he went on about how they could still return to the room unwanted, and be an even bigger distraction. He said drowning them would be the only "permanent" solution to the problem...**

"Bowser why do you have my pet in your hands?!" Cloud frowned at Bowser. This is perhaps the first time the swordsman cared that much for any living thing not named Aerith. "You don't have to do this!"

"Your pet was being a nuisance, and so he must suffer the consequences!" replied Bowser. Cloud Jr. looked at his pet owner with nearly teary eyes, and Cloud felt it in his heart that he can't stop Bowser, lest his feathery companion will be gone for good.

"Please tell me you have your hammer with you," Mario whispered to King Dedede, who was one of the brawlers already present outside.

"Left it inside, underneath the bed," King Dedede whispered back. A very interesting place to keep a large hammer at... "I would go back inside and fetch it, but knowing Bowser, I don't wanna take that risk..."

"I saw Amy Rose chasing after Sonic with her hammer," Mewtwo, another brawler that was already present, came over to Mario and King Dedede after eavesdropping on their conversation. "Given that she comes by here..."

"GET BACK HERE SONIC!" And would you know it, Amy Rose appeared, chasing Sonic towards the lake. The blue hedgehog jumped inside the lake to escape from his girlfriend. He can hardly swim, so his decision to jump in the lake might end up being a fatal mistake.

"I do believe that's your cue, Mario," Mewtwo told the plumber. Mario leaped to action, making his way towards Amy and grabbing her Piko Hammer while she was seething, and used her hammer to smack Bowser, sending him flying like a baseball. Polterpup fell on the ground, and walked towards Cloud, who picked him up and held him in his arms. However, only half of the deed was done...

"Wait just a second, where's Cloud Jr?" panicked Cloud. Polterpup was safe, but Cloud Jr. isn't. "He must have fell in the water because of that rock that was attached to his leg! If he drowns, then Bowser is gonna get it..."

And then, in miraculous fashion, a white glove reached out of the lake, and pulled itself up to land. This white glove belonged to Sonic...who had Cloud Jr. in his hands. The hedgehog laid on his back once he was fully on land, heaving and panting, with Cloud's pet Chocobo on his stomach.

"Don't worry, I'm coming to save you!" Cloud headed over to his pet Chocobo, and did a few CPR reps to get the water out of Cloud Jr. When that didn't solve anything, Polterpup came over and licked Cloud Jr...and just like magic, the Chocobo regained his consciousness, and the strength to spring up in the air and fly about, before landing on Cloud's shoulder. Everyone couldn't help but feel glad for Cloud, Cloud Jr., and Polterpup, the hero (although Cloud deserves some credit as well). "Glad to see you back in one piece..." Cloud said to his dear pet Chocobo.

 **Master Hand: Watching Cloud revive his pet Chocobo...and seeing his pet alive, safe and sound...it just tears me up, you know...to see a pet owner and his pet, having a perfect bond...WHY ARE THERE TEARDROPS COMING OUT OF MY SHEATHS?!**

"Hey-a you guys, sorry I'm late," Luigi finally showed up. "My pants leg got-a stuck in the front door-a of my car, and once I got that-a out, I had to put my wedding suit-a back inside." He looked over to Cloud, and saw Polterpup smiling at him with his tongue out, wagging his tail. "Thank-a you for watching over Polterpup, Cloud!" he thanked the swordsman.

"Don't mention it, just doing my job," replied Cloud. He may have sucked at his babysitting job, but he'll cover up his inefficiencies as a babysitter, at least for the time being. Cloud Jr. looked down at Polterpup, and Polterpup looked up at Cloud Jr., and the Chocobo...was actually smiling! The pet beef has finally ended, after Polterpup played a huge role in reviving Cloud Jr.

"Sonic, I'm so sorry for chasing you and scaring you like that!" Amy, after cooling down and being more calm and peaceful, ran over to Sonic and knelt down at his side, now acting all apologetic. Sonic slowly opened his eyes and looked over to his woman. "I just don't know what got into me..."

"Ahem," Master Hand magically appeared before Sonic and Amy, demanding their full attention. "Meet me in my room, you two, we have some important matters to discuss..."

* * *

"This is where we can get our creative juices flowing?" Knuckles asked Ryu...inside the star records room with Fox, Falco, Doc Louis, and Big Top. "We spend most of our days in here, why did you take us here of all places?!"

"Like I'm supposed to know what rooms you spend time in..." Ryu scoffed, folding his arms in disgust. All the guy is trying to do is help out! "I'm doing the best I can to make you guys come up with ideas!"

"Can't believe you enlisted Ryu's help, of all the people you could have asked..." Fox shook his head at Knuckles and Doc Louis. Just then, Little Mac entered the Star Records room, and he was feeling somewhat inspired. "Sup Mac, you still using your lame 'One Punch Mac' rapper name?"

"That was originally the plan," the young boxer replied. "But after seeing Mario rescue Polterpup and Cloud Jr. from the hands of Bowser, and seeing Cloud care so much for his pet...I thought of a new name. Why not...Savior of Heroes?" Everyone mused over Little Mac's new name, and they all nodded in agreement.

"Not a bad name I should say, has a lot of potential," replied Falco. "So what's this about Bowser and Polterpup and Cloud Jr. and all of that stuff?"

* * *

Master Hand had Sonic and Amy in his room, wanting to know why Amy was chasing Sonic around outside. At first, he had no problem with Amy at the mansion, but after today's events, he's beginning to have his doubts and suspicions.

 **Sonic: Given how ticked Master Hand is, my ambition to be grounded for life may come true! It's up to Master Hand to finally make it happen!**

"I see that you two lovebirds were involved in a chase in the mansion outdoors," said Master Hand. "One furiously running with a hammer, the other running away like a scaredy cat...and I think I may know the antidote to all your problems."

"Here it comes..." Sonic anticipated, expecting Master Hand to give him a lifetime punishment (even if it was just a minor punishment, he'll still take it anyways). But what Master Hand said next would kill the hedgehog's anticipation.

"Sonic, I want you to put everything to rest, and confess your love to Amy Rose, for once, and for all."

Sonic gulped when the Smash Universe creator said this. He nervously looked over to Amy, who was looking down at the floor, thumbs pressed against one another, as she reflected on her previous behavior. The behavior she exhibited may not happen again...and that may be only dependent on Sonic.

"Look, Amy, when you went off on me after saying 'I love you', I understood why you reacted that way..." Sonic began, making Amy look up at the blue hedgehog. "Since we've known each other for so long, you were probably expecting more than three words - you were expecting something heartfelt, something that you would remember for an eternity. And since you want heartfelt, I guess I'll just say this...truth be told, I didn't want to make any confession, because let's face it, you're crazy. But no matter how crazy you may get, I will always like you, love you, whichever one works best for you, and I will do so until the end of time..."

Sonic didn't need to say anymore - in an instant, Amy gave him a hug, a heartfelt one. Surprisingly enough, Sonic didn't mind it one bit.

"I've been waiting for you to say that..." Amy smiled, her eyes closed to soak in the moment. Watching through the slight creak of Master Hand's door was Link and Zelda, feeling jovial for Sonic and Amy. The end goal of their plan has seemingly been reached.

"This would have happened sooner if we had Sonic say more than just 'I love you'," Zelda frowned at Link.

"Like I told you and the others earlier, love requires baby steps," replied Link, walking away from the room. "Gotta start off small!" Zelda groaned and shook her head, following after Link.

* * *

A now proud Mario strolled through the mansion, winking at every brawler he saw, and getting a smile in return. The man who was despised for letting Kirby hurt himself is now the most liked person of the moment, for saving Polterpup and Cloud Jr. from Bowser. As Mario went down to the foyer, he saw a depressed Lloyd, sitting on the floor holding the fish bowl with his deceased pet fish, with Cloud at his side.

"She was so young..." Lloyd shook his head depressingly. His pet fish was a female...makes you wonder what name he gave her. Had it been a male fish, Lloyd would have came up with all sorts of names.

"Well, that's a part of life, they gotta die sometime," Cloud said to the fellow swordsman. "Pets come and go, they can't stay here forever. Just like the rest of us. I may not know when Cloud Jr. will leave me, but I'll make sure to make the most of our time together, and enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts."

Cloud's comments gave Lloyd a glimmer of hope. Should he choose to get another pet fish, he'll follow Cloud's adage, and treat every moment with his new pet fish like it's his last.

"You should also get that fish bowl cleaned out, while you're at it," Cloud got up and gave Lloyd a strong pat on his shoulder, before walking away. Mario, who eavesdropped on the conversation, also walked away, with a lovely grin written on his face.


	30. Episode 30: Marvelous

_Author's Note:_

 _This chapter features your favorite Super Smash Bros characters dressed up as Marvel characters, and many of the character you probably don't even know. Google Search is going to be your absolute best friend._

 _Also I received this review, from LiliTheGamer:_

 _"I tried to leave a review a couple of times, but I don't know if it registered. Darn wifi."_

 _Yes, we all know how wi-fi can be. The struggle can be real for many Internet users. Moving on..._

 _"Hi. I really enjoy this series. It always manages to get a few chuckles out of me, reading about the different antics of different characters. It really makes my day. Thank you._

 _"Um... I was wondering... I know yoh're probably getting annoyed by so many character requests, but... I would really love to see Geo Stelar and Omega-Xis from Megaman Starforce appear in future installments, if it isn't too much trouble... I'm sorry to bother you with this request, but I would really appreciate it if you'd at least consider it._

 _"Anyway, like I said, I really, genuinely enjoy this series. I'm a big fan of it. I can't wait to see what you come up with in the future."_

 _Thank you for the kind words. As for Geo Stelar and Omega-Xis, I can definitely have them appear in future installments of Smash Life. Just gotta find the right occasion for them to make an appearance._

* * *

 **Episode 30: Marvelous**

For the first time in what could have been forever, disaster has struck the Smash Mansion! What is this disaster, you might ask? The clothes - all of the clothes that the mansion residents own have gone missing!

Gone are Link's extra sets of tunics. Gone are Bayonetta's outfits from the original _Bayonetta_ game. Gone is the headgear Pikachu usually wears in battle...although it's not like he actually wears the headgear in the mansion anyways.

But whenever disaster strikes, Master Hand always saves the day. And when he found out about the clothes going missing, he knew exactly what to do to make the residents content...

"This...suit...is...so...heavy..." Mario trudged through the mansion's hallways...in an Iron Man suit. Yes, Master Hand believed that the answer to the brawlers' problems was to force them to wear superhero costumes until the clothes reappear. Some have gotten used to it, and as for others...not so much.

 **Master Hand: Until the clothes magically appear again, as I assume the residents are expecting, I have given everyone _Marvel_ superhero costumes to wear for the time being. No way I'm letting my precious mansion turning into a house of exhibitionism, I refuse to see Mario walk around in his briefs...or boxers...or whatever the heck that man wears underneath his overalls.**

"Prepare to meet your match, Iron Man!" Link popped out of nowhere, wearing a Captain America suit and wielding a Captain American shield in his Master Sword. In case you can't tell, the Hylian is attempt to stay in character with his superhero. "Our Civil War has not yet ended!"

"Link, for the last-a time, Captain America has-a never used a sword ever," Mario had to explain for the Hylian. As you may know, Captain America hails from the World War II era, and is a former WWII soldier, so using a sword would have been unorthodox for him. "I understand that having-a your sword with that shield makes-a you look...cooler, I suppose, but it just-a doesn't fit."

"You're right, what's the point of using my sword when it doesn't even go with my costume..." Link angrily threw his Master Sword on the floor with utter disgust. "Why did Master Hand even bother giving me a Captain America suit, because it has a shield? Why did he even give us these superhero costumes to wear in the first place?! Let me go speak with Zelda, she knows Master Hand better than any of us do..."

So Link headed over to Zelda's room, carrying his Captain America shield, and when he arrived, he saw his girlfriend in a Kitty Pryde outfit, and Lloyd Irving dressed up as Star-Lord. Zelda was holding Pikachu in her arms, and the mouse Pokemon had a Thor get-up - complete with the blonde beard. Granted, the beard looks goofy on Pikachu, but if you think that's bad, then wait until you see the cosplay costumes the poor Pokemon had to wear in _Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire._

"Life's not so easy without your beloved sword, isn't it?" Lloyd taunted, wearing his Star-Lord mask. "While you're stuck without your dumb sword, I got this cool gun thingy...that looks awesome...and stuff." Lloyd held his head down, his toy gun isn't worth talking about especially compared to Link's Master Sword. "But at least I get to wear this cool mask! Did you ever get to wear a cool mask? No you didn't, only Young Link did! AHAHAHAHA!"

"You need some serious help, bud," Link told the swordsman as he sat on Zelda's bed, next to the princess of Hyrule. "So do you have any idea as to why Master Hand is making us wear these costumes? These American colors really don't look that great on me..."

"I honestly think that Captain America suit looks great on you!" complimented Zelda. Link gave her a questionable look, and Zelda just smiled and gave a simple shrug.

 **Zelda: Honestly I don't know why everyone is so worked up over having to wear a superhero costume all day long - it's just like Halloween, except everybody (well, anyone who wears clothes, really) is forced to participate! Only downside is, there's no candy going about...**

"How...can-a you...leave me...like-a that Link?" Mario finally reached Zelda's room in his Iron Man get-up, and at the same time he was wondering why his armor is so heavy when it's supposedly a costume. The plumber took off his mask, and exhaled happily. "Hoo boy, it was getting hard-a to breathe with that thing on!"

"Oh, Mario, can you turn around for a quick second and see how I look?" Peach's voice was heard behind Mario, delighting the plumber. "I've been getting several looks from the male brawlers concerning my attire, and I would really like to know why they've become so attached to me..."

"Not a problem-a Peach, I wouldn't-a mind giving you my honest-a opinion, I'd do anything-a for you..." Mario turned around, and saw his woman, Princess Peach, in a Miss Marvel outfit. Yes, it also came with the leotard and the red ribbon and the leather boots - pretty much everything that makes Miss Marvel recognizable among comic book fans. "You, you, you, you, you..." The appeal of Peach's outfit was enough to make Mario stammer, as his face turned red and sweat poured down his face.

"My goodness, do I look that appealing?" Master Hand had assured Peach that no man would be entranced by her outfit - even going far as saying that it will downgrade her looks and attractiveness - but that giant hand was wrong, _so_ wrong. "Sorry for making you act like this Mario, it wasn't like I had any other choice!"

"I can make Mario snap out of his little trance," Zelda got up from her bed, Pikachu in hand, and walked over to Mario. You probably know what's bound to transpire next. "Are you ready Pikachu?"

"Pika pika!" the mouse Pokemon responded out of somewhat utter glee, indicating that he may have a fetish for electrocuting others. Pikachu started to charge up electricity, and then... "Pika...CHHHHUUUU!" ...he unleashed his signature attack, Thunderbolt, on Mario, shocking him and not only making him snap out of his trance, but also to make him fall on the floor. The fact that his armor is apparently made out of actual iron made the aftershock even worse. Once Mario was okay (somewhat okay, that is), he slowly got up, and said the following...

"PEACH I THINK YOU LOOK FINE AND SEXY IN THAT OUTFIT, AND I WOULD DEFINITELY WANT YOU TO BE MY WIFE IN THE IMMEDIATE FUTURE!"

Peach, Link, Zelda, Pikachu, and even Lloyd (presumably jealous that Mario also has a mask with his costume) were all looking Mario with astonished faces. Mario has rarely said much about the potential of him and Peach getting married, so for him to say that was quite a shock (no pun intended, in his case).

"And I would want you as a husband in the immediate future, likewise!" Peach smiled, kissing Mario on the cheek. The plumber smiled lovingly as he was seemingly losing his balance, before fainting to the floor out of love as his metal suit collided against the floor underneath.

 **Peach: Mario seldom talks about our potential marriage, so for him to briefly mention about our soon-to-be wedding, it just brought a smile to my face! Must have been the outfit that made him say that, perhaps I should wear more sexy outfits, just to pry more information out of Mario!  
**

"Ganondorf told me that he has a 'surprise' for you, and that he wants you and Link to see it," Peach told Mario. Ganondorf rarely wants anything to do with Link, let alone Mario - is the Demon Lord plotting something? "Would you like to come and see what it is?"

Mario thought over the offer. It seemed odd that Ganondorf of all people wants to give him and Link a surprise of sorts - if it was from a karmic trickster like Villager or Bowser Jr., then no problem, but Ganondorf isn't the one to be having surprises in the first place.

"Eh, I'll-a go, but only out-a of intrigue," replied the plumber, weary about what Ganondorf might have in store.

"I'll come along with, especially since Ganondorf will be expecting me," added Link. He'll might have to go retrieve his Master Sword, in the event Ganondorf does anything funny - but he can just wing it with his shield.

"Wherever Link goes that has anything to do with Ganondorf, I'll go," said Zelda, always sticking up for her man at all times (or times when she feels it's necessary). Pikachu, still in the lovely arms of Zelda, will be coming along as well.

"Ooh can I join?" asked an excited Lloyd, wanting to be a part of things. Mario, Peach, Link, and Zelda all exchanged looks with one another, unsure of whether they want Lloyd to tag along. If they turn him down, the swordsman will be annoying them to an end.

"Sure you can come, the more the merrier!" replied Peach. Lloyd cheered and did a fist pump in the air as Link looked at Peach, shaking his head.

* * *

Samus was in the bathroom, adjusting her hair, and wearing a Captain Marvel suit. Understandably, she was discouraged to find her original suit missing, but the Captain Marvel suit fits just like her original one, so it all works out well.

Peeping through the crack of the bathroom door was Wario, who was wearing a Wolverine costume. On top of that, he was also wearing a Wolverine wig, which essentially makes him look like a shorter, obese version of the X-Men mutant.

"Wario I already know that you're watching me from the bathroom door," Samus told the fatso. "So you better stay away from me as far as possible, if you value your chances of having children - though we all know you won't be having any regardless." The bounty hunter has been stalked by Wario so many countless times, she's able to detect his whereabouts. Same applies to Captain Falcon as well.

 **Samus: Since this Captain Marvel getup is going to increase my so-called "sex appeal", I've decided to stay clear of the perverts roaming the mansion, like I usually do all the time. Except this time, the pervs will be more persistent than ever, and I might have to relocate to Luigi's place if I have to...**

"Who is this Wario person that you speak of?" questioned Wario. Hopefully he doesn't suffer from memory loss, for that would be horrible to forget your own name; Ilia of _Twilight Princess_ is a prime example. "I am Wolverine, one of the greatest X-Men to have ever lived!"

"Yeah, whatever, just keep your distance and maybe I'll spare you..." Much emphasis on the maybe part.

"Hey Wario, nice Wolverine wig you got there!" Pit greeted Wario, scaring the jeepers out of the fatso. The angel had on a Hawkeye outfit, and his girlfriend Viridi - whom he is holding hands with - was wearing an Invisible Woman suit. Would it have made more sense to have Samus wear the Invisible Woman suit instead? Sure, but she needs a break from wearing blue, since that's the color of her zero suit.

"You just scared the living daylights out of me!" frowned Wario, clutching his heart and catching his breath. "Don't you ever do that again!"

"We're sorry that we intruded on your depressing single life, having to only gaze at Samus rather than dealing with the fear of getting rejected," apologized Viridi. Wario grew angry at the goddess of nature - partly because she's telling the truth. "But you'll find yourself a soulmate one of these days..."

"Speaking of soulmate...I've been wondering if you two lovebirds can help a single man out." Had this single dude been someone like Chrom, then it would be worth a shot. But since it's Wario, that shot is essentially a risk.

"Are you seriously expecting us to find you a girlfriend?" Pit couldn't help but snicker at Wario. "Oh man, you're too funny, no woman would want to love you, let alone like you!" Pit continued to laugh, and Wario just looked to his side, disgruntled. What's the point of Wario finding love, when people are going to mock him? Imagine if the dude somehow got a smoking hot girlfriend - people would be mocking his girl for wanting to go out with an ugly fiend like him.

"Don't be so rude and mean!" Viridi angrily nudged Pit, scolding him for laughing, before returning her attention to Wario. "So you're looking for a woman, huh? What is this woman's name?"

"Her name as of right now is a secret, if I disclosed her name you'd freak out!" replied Wario. What woman is Wario interested in? Lucina? Too young for his tastes. Rosalina? Probably still interested in Ganondorf. Chun-li? Not a chance... "How about I show you who it is, and we'll just go from there!"

 **Wario: What am I doing, why am I showing Pit and Viridi who my crush is? They would think so differently of me when I show them who it is... but nonetheless, I'm tired of remaining single, I need to put some action in at once!**

* * *

"How unfair, how come people like Mario and Link get to wear superhero costumes, and we don't?" Sonic complained, looking out the door to his room and seeing Shulk (dressed as Captain Britain) and Jacky Bryant (dressed as Ben Reilly) cheesing it up in the hallway. The hedgehog was in his room with his roommate Tails, who was reading his book and going his all-time best to ignore his best friend's complaints.

"Because Mario, Link, and many of the others are fully-clothed individuals who lost their clothes, while us, who rarely wears any sort of clothing, don't have any of our clothes getting lost," Tails had to explain to Sonic. "I believe Pikachu is the only exception to the rule - Master Hand apparently thought that he would look 'great' in a Thor costume, for whatever reason." Or it could be that Thor is one of the more popular Marvel characters, and Master Hand didn't want his costume to go to waste.

"I don't get it, why is it that girls Amy, Blaze, and Cream have to wear clothes, while we, Knuckles, Shadow, Silver, Team Chaotix, and pretty much every male character from our universe don't have to?" Sonic appears to be slighted by the idea of gender roles...

"Are you trying to say that you would want to see either Amy or Blaze _naked_?" This interesting conversation is quickly going south...

"Sure why not, I don't see a problem with it, the only people who would have a problem would be the hardcore animal rights activists - you know, the ones that give PETA a bad name."

Tails couldn't help but facepalm at Sonic's logic; he would reason with the hedgehog, but he decided against it. Reasoning with Sonic is like reasoning with an extremely sociopathic convict - it will absolutely get you nowhere.

 **Sonic: Does wearing shoes technically count as wearing clothes? I mean, they're a part of one's attire...**

"I'll be right back, gonna get some fresh air," Sonic departed from the room, not only to get fresh air which was really in his own room perhaps, but to sulk over how life is so unfair for him. While the hedgehog was walking, he encountered Bowser, who was walking with his new student, Corrin; the prince of Nohr was wearing a Silver Surfer costume, which thankfully had eye slits for his eyes so Bowser wouldn't have to hold his hand because Corrin wouldn't see. "Hey Bowser, why aren't you wearing a superhero costume?" Sonic asked the Koopa King.

"BECAUSE I DON'T EVEN WEAR ANY CLOTHES TO GET A SUPERHERO COSTUME, YOU IGNORANT BUM!" Bowser yelled at Sonic with full force, letting his emotions get the better of him for the nth time. "DO YOU SEE ME GOING AROUND, WEARING A T-SHIRT OR PANTS?! YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH ME BEING NAKED LIKE YOU?!"

"Wait, so that shell of yours isn't considered a piece of clothing? Bummer dude..." Sonic failed to see the animosity building up in Bowser, as his mouth was beginning to fill up with fire. The Koopa King would definitely love some roasted hedgehog in the morning...erm, afternoon.

"Leave him alone Bowser, this is just typical Sonic doing his thing..." Corrin calmed down Bowser, pushing his teacher back and allowing Sonic to walk away in peace. Bowser glared down the hedgehog, hoping to extract some sort of revenge of him.

Sonic went down to the ball pit, where he found the Inklings - the male Inkling in an Iron Fist costume, and the female Inkling in a Black Widow costume - playing in the ball pit. Master Hand warned the two rascals about not having a paintball game, under the fear that they would get paint all over their costumes, so they opted to play in the ball pit instead.

"Mind if I join you guys?" Sonic asked the Inklings. One half of his time in the ball pit will be fun, and the other half will be dedicated to making the Inkling's lives miserable by pelting them with colored plastic balls, thinking it's funny. That's how much of a jerk Sonic truly is.

"Sorry Sonic, but only those dressed up as a superhero can join," replied the male Inkling.

"Maybe if you get yourself a superhero mask or something, then we'll let you in," added the female Inkling.

 **Male Inkling: Man, we sure dodged a bullet by refusing to let Sonic inside the ball pit...is he still continuing his "inventing new social norms and folkways" thing?  
** **Female Inkling: He's probably cooling off, especially with Amy consuming most of his time. Hard to believe I'm saying this, but that girlfriend of his has become a blessing in disguise...**

"All I need is a mask?" Sonic looked around for a mask, until he found a War Machine mask lying on the floor. "Aha, I found one!" The Inklings were feeling nervous as Sonic picked up the mask, but they were relieved when Chrom, wearing his War Machine costume, approached the hedgehog, clearing his throat to gain his attention.

"I do believe that you have my mask, good sir," the prince of Yliesse told Sonic; the hedgehog grumbled as he handed the War Machine mask to Chrom. "Thank you." The prince placed the mask on his face, snapping it back in place with his armor. (Yes, it's made out of real iron, like Mario's Iron Man armor.) "Now if you excuse me, I must check on my daughter, and see how she's handling things. If only walking in this thing was more comfortable..." Chrom trudged away, the heaviness of the armor weighing him down. The Inklings went back to playing in the ball pit after Chrom had left.

"I see that you're one of the fortunate ones..." a mysterious voice said behind Sonic, spooking the hedgehog. "You should feel very, very grateful..." This voice belonged to some short sap wearing a paper bag on his head, and he had arms and legs. Sonic went over to this strange fellow, to see who it was, but judging by the tone of the voice, the hedgehog instantly knew who this paper bag-wearing person was.

"Meta Knight, is that you?" asked an astonished Sonic. "Are you seriously wearing a paper bag? Did you loses all your finances, was King Dedede responsible? I'll take care of him for ya!"

"No, Sonic, King Dedede didn't rob me or anything like that, I'm just wearing this paper bag because my mask and armor have gone missing." Sonic reached for the paper bag to pull it off of Meta Knight, but the knight slapped the hedgehog's hand away. He doesn't like getting touched now, and he doesn't like getting touched _ever._ "Keep your filthy hands away from me! It is crucial that I wear this paper bag at all times, for without it, I would feel...naked."

"I'm practically naked 99% of the time - being naked is nothing to be ashamed of when you get used to it!" This didn't seem to change the mood of Meta Knight, who gave Sonic a questionable look. Slowly he's understanding what Tails has to put up with constantly...

"Easy for you to say, when are you not naked? Without my mask or armor, I feel incomplete...and I also feel that Master Hand must have hid our clothes in a super secret place, where we'll never find them! We can go find the missing clothes together, wherever they may be!"

 **Meta Knight: Is it a huge risk working alongside Sonic? Of course I am. Do I fully trust Sonic? Honestly I don't know a single soul who does, aside from Tails. Am I starting to sound like Doctor Toadley? Yes I'm aware, but thankfully this is only temporary...Will I stop answering my own questions?**

"Whatever you say, partner-in-crime!" Sonic playfully nudged Meta Knight, nearly knocking off the Star Warrior's paper bag. Thankfully the Inklings weren't paying attention, for if they did and Meta Knight's paper bag came off, revealing his face...you know Sonic would never hear the end of it. "Sorry about that buddy, that was supposed to be a love tap!"

"We shall move out right now," stated Meta Knight. "Master Hand can be anywhere, he can easily appear without giving us any prior knowledge. So we must act fast!"

* * *

"You go Mac, show them fools what you're made of!" Doc Louis cheered on for Little Mac, who was throwing punches left and right in his Luke Cage outfit. He's definitely not black like the person he's playing as, but he'll make it work. As for his trainer, Doc Louis, the chocolate fanatic is wearing a Nick Cage getup, complete with a bald cap and an eyepatch. So really, Doc looks like an obese Nick Fury, chomping on chocolate bars all day long.

"Don't exhaust yourself Mac, we can't have you sweating up your shirt," warned Falco, wearing a Falcon superhero costume that is somewhat fitting for him.

"Falco's right, Master Hand might hold on to that shirt for other purposes," Fox followed up his fellow Star Fox pilot; his attire is based off of Brother Voodoo. "There's also a chance he bought that outfit from some costume store, and you know Master Hand doesn't like to hold on to things he buys...says holding on to them forever decreases their usefulness and value." This is one of the many reasons the brawlers can't seem to understand the majestic Master Hand.

 **Falco: Heh, my costume is perhaps the only fitting one out of everyone else's, and pretty much everybody hates the costume Master Hand gave them...sucks for them.  
** **Fox: ...I feel as if I'm not necessarily "black" enough to wear this Brother Voodoo getup, for the lack of a better term...but like Little Mac, I'll make it work to the best of my ability.**

"Have any of you guys seen Knuckles at all today?" Little Mac asked his peers as he continued throwing right hooks and left jabs. "He was a no-show during breakfast, and many were wondering about his whereabouts. You think Rouge might've kidnapped him?"

"Honestly I wouldn't be surprised if she did, that girl is always stealing stuff so she probably considered stealing her man," responded Fox. The fox's girlfriend, Krystal, isn't anything like Rouge - she's not the kind of girlfriend to act flirtatiously and use her physique to charm men. Instead, she's calm for the most part, and doesn't value her appearance as much as Rouge does - though the bat might view that as a bad thing. But as for Fox, he sees it as a resounding positive. "If she has Knuckles kept away at her secret lair or something, I know I'm not going anywhere near there..."

"C'mon Fox, Rouge probably has riches, like expensive gold and rare jewels!" Falco enticed his buddy. It's easy for the avian pilot to be driven and enticed by valuable things and objects - they're a few of his favorite things. "I'd go to her lair and rescue Knuckles in a heartbeat - right after we raid her lair!"

"Wherever Knuckles is, he can't be gone forever. He would be sorely missed." Sorely missed only by Sonic and Tails, and maybe those associated with Star Records. Everyone else could possibly care less for wherever the heck Knuckles went off to, or if he even got kidnapped by Rouge or any over individual. "I'd say that we go look for Knuckles."

"So we're going to Rouge's lair? Let me go get a giant sack that we can put the gold and jewels and such in!" Falco excitedly ran out of the Star Records room, and Fox just had to shake his head. Falco is gonna be one devastated bird...

* * *

"Boy do I look stupid in this dumb suit..." Cloud frowned, griping about the fact that he has to wear a Human Torch suit for the time being. (And for your information, he's not on fire, for that would be very, very dangerous. You wouldn't want a famous video game character like Cloud to suffer from a burn of any degree, would you?)

"You don't look that bad, that suit is actually very fitting, and looks awfully nice on you," said Aerith, wearing a Scarlet Witch outfit (based off of _Captain America: Civil War)._ It's not pink like the original Scarlet Witch attire, but hey, it's close enough to the actual color!

"You're just saying that to make me feel better, nice try though." Cloud and Aerith were chilling in the cafe, and Cloud only chose this room because the cafe is the least frequented room in the mansion, which means no one would come by and see him in his Human Torch suit. He's avoiding the mansion residents at all costs, and unfortunately for Aerith, she has to suffer because of Cloud's insecurities.

 **Aerith: Originally I was going to leave Cloud by himself in the cafe, but I figured that he might have been lonely, so that's why I tagged along. I don't trust Link to be with Cloud, for life without having his Master Sword in his possession 24/7 is apparently tough for him...**

"Hey-a you guys, how's it going?" Luigi greeted Cloud and Aerith as he entered the cafe, accompanied by his loving wife Daisy. The plumber is wearing a Cyclops costume, and Daisy is wearing a Jean Grey outfit. Like the brawlers, their clothes have mysteriously gone missing.

"Came here to laugh at and make fun of me, I'm assuming?" asked Cloud, bitter that other people are now inside the cafe. Luigi nor Daisy have anything to say about the swordsman's suit, so it's all good...or perhaps they do have something to say, but they don't want to hurt Cloud's feelings since they're such great people.

"Why we would never do such a thing!" replied Daisy. "We're not here to ridicule you or anything. Rather, we came here to the mansion searching for answers to a few of our problems...Luigi, show them your 'ability'..."

"Here goes-a nothing..." Out of nowhere, Luigi fired a red beam of light out of his Cyclops eyes, and this red beam bounced all over the cafe, dissipating after it struck a coffee making machine and knocking it onto the floor. Good thing there wasn't any hot coffee in it, it would've been hard to clean it all up. "As you can-a see, my costume apparently comes with actual powers that-a are reminiscent of this Cyclops character...funny how I don't-a have special eyes like Cyclops-a does..."

"Master Hand knows more about these suits and costumes than any of us do, we should go to him and inform him about what's happening with your suit," suggested Cloud. "Let's go pay him a visit, before he gets busy or anything."

So the group of Cloud, Aerith, Luigi, and Daisy headed out of the cafe, and made their way towards Master Hand's room, only to encounter a ragtag group of unsuspecting brawlers along the way - Captain Falcon (dressed as Daredevil), Snake (dressed as Deadpool), and Diddy Kong (dressed as Spider-Man). How these three got together is beyond anyone's understanding.

"Hey Aerith and Daisy, you two look mighty fine in them superhero costumes!" Captain Falcon complimented the flower girl and the princess of Sarasaland on their looks. He would give Cloud and Luigi a compliment, but they're not women so Falcon will completely ignore them, like they're nonexistent.

 **Diddy Kong: What I don't get is how Master Hand is forcing me to wear this Spider-Man suit, just because I wear a shirt inside. He even had the audacity to say that he doesn't want me "flashing my nipples" to unsuspecting residents! Uncle Donkey Kong and King K. Rool flash their nipples 24/7, and you don't Master Hand or anyone else having a problem with it! Also, Toad's vest went missing, and I don't see him wearing superhero apparel, but Master Hand claims that he's "75 to 80 percent naked, so it's all good"...does he not know that the white part of Toad's lower body are his PANTS?!**

 **Snake: As you can see, I'm Deadpool, the guy people made a hubbub about leading up to and after his movie release. Heard that the guy specializes in breaking the fourth wall, so I'm about to do my best fourth wall-breaking attempt, let's see how I do...Um, uh, um...the writer of this story sucks...sucks goose eggs...you know what, I give up, I'ma let Cranky Kong handle this thing, he's arguably better than anyone in the four wall-breaking department...**

"I take it that you three are starting a new _Marvel_ superhero faction?" questioned Cloud. Daredevil, Deadpool, and Spider-Man are not universally known for being in alliances (especially Deadpool, what with his mannerisms and all), so Cloud's assumption could very well ring true.

"That's right, we shall be called...the Red Crew!" Captain Falcon exclaimed, striking a pose. "Not the best superhero faction name out there, but it's better than nothing!"

"For the record, I only joined Falcon and Diddy out of my own complete boredom," stated Snake. When you're getting as old as the former spy due to accelerated age, it's hard to be involved in fun, engaging things. "I thought being Deadpool would be loads and loads of fun...or at least that's what the film was trying to get it, Must not have tried hard enough though..."

"Have any of you experienced any 'problems' with your superhero suits?" Daisy asked the three men. "My hubby has had some problems of his own...Luigi, care to show them?"

Luigi showed the three what Daisy meant, when he fired a red beam of light out of his Cyclops eyes. This beam bounced around the hallway for a few moments...before striking Snake in the nether regions. Not exactly the most comfortable place of the human body you want to be hit at.

"Why did it have to be me..." Snake crippled to the floor in pain. The other men (women included) sympathized for the former spy, no one should ever go through so much drastic pain, whether you're young or old.

"Wonder if I have any powers myself..." Diddy Kong stuck out his hand, just like how Spider-Man would - and to everyone's shock, a spider web was fired out of the spidermonkey's hand. "Oh man, it worked, it actually worked!" This spider web traveled a far distance, before striking Ike, who was in his Nightcrawler costume, simply minding his business. The swordsman was entangled in the spider web, and fell on the floor trying to pry himself out.

"Diddy Kong I know you did this, you're wearing that Spider-Man suit, come over here and get me out of this mess!" Ike ordered; Diddy Kong scurried over to the Radiant Hero to get him out of the spider web. The web's super sticky, so the task may be very hard for the spidermonkey to accomplish.

"Master Hand never mentioned anything about these suits and costumes having special powers and installed gadgets," stated Cloud, growing weary of the Smash Universe creator. "After Diddy is through with Ike, we're going to see Master Hand, pronto!"

* * *

 **Pit: Feeling somewhat excited to see who Wario's crush is! Not only am I excited, I'm also a bit intrigued; most of the ladies at the mansion aren't single. Peach is in her relationship with Mario, Bayonetta is dating Luka Redgrave, Samus is far from the romantic type, and Rosalina and Ganondorf are still an item, as I am assuming. The other females are pretty much out of Wario's age range, they're younger and...  
Viridi: Wait just a minute Pit! Zelda, Peach, Rosalina are the oldest female residents, and they're doing their own romantic thing...do you have any idea what that might mean?  
Pit: *blanks out after realization***

In the kitchen, sitting at a coffee table playing cards, were five dudes - Red the Pokemon Trainer (dressed as Mr. Fantastic), Wolf (dressed as Beast), Marth (dressed as Black Panther), Olimar (dressed as Havok), and Akira Yuki, (dressed as the Punisher). These five awesome dudes were discussing superhero stuff, and how awesome they look and feel.

"This suit is seriously on point, makes me feel like a bad dude!" exclaimed Akira. The Punisher is already a bad dude to begin with, and Akira can feel his essence running through him.

"I'm not digging this blue spandex thing - though I'm supposed to be some sort of superhero, not a scrawny professional wrestler!" frowned Wolf. The space pilot indeed looks like a wrestler; why can't Beast wear any more clothing for once?

"Does anyone know if Mr. Fantastic ever asked Invisible Woman out, they would make for a great couple!" Red opinionated. Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, are you seeing this?

"My suit is so clingy, it's choking away at my neck, as well as my head..." complained Olimar. Sucks for him, this was the only suit that fitted his small size and stature.

"You think your suit is bad, I'm literally sweating buckets in here..." Marth fanned himself. Wouldn't be the best for the Hero-King to be going outside, especially in a black superhero suit.

"I HAVE BROUGHT YOU...SOME REFRESHING LEMONADE..." R.O.B approached the five awesome dudes, and popping out from the torso of the robot's body were cup holders, holding glasses that filled up with lemonade in a snap. Mega Man and his other robot buddies may not take this lightly...

"Thank you very much R.O.B., this is what I need to quench my thirst!" Marth gladly accepted a glass of lemonade and brought it up to his mouth...only to realize that he can't drink it because of his suit. What's worse is that he can't take the head part of the suit off temporarily. "Drat, this is very troublesome, how can anyone possibly live like this?"

"Superheroes live like that most of the time, you must not know the struggles they have to go through!" remarked Palutena, who was in the kitchen cooking away in her Black Cat suit. The goddess of light's bust is covered up by the suit...good call by Master Hand.

 **Palutena: Is it just me, or is Black Cat a knockoff of Catwoman, only without the ears?**

"Every day as a superhero is tough, what with the whole balancing thing with your secret identity," added Palutena's cooking assistant Dunban, wearing his Union Jack suit. "I'd rather just be a regular hero, someone who gets on the news for saving a girl from getting hit by a bus, and just leave it at that. But that's just my two cents."

"See that hot babe over there?" Wario whispered to Pit and Viridi, pointing at Palutena; the three were huddled together a distance from the kitchen, in a position where they cannot be seen. Pit's and Viridi's fears have been imagined - Wario apparently has a crush on Palutena, the goddess of nature, and it was only a matter of time until it had to come to this. "I want you twerps to get me with that woman, and you'll do anything and everything in your power to do so!"

"Excuse me for a second," Pit got up and left for a brief period - just so he could puke inside a nearby trash can - before returning to Wario and Viridi. "Now how can the two of us be of any assistance to you?"

"Well I've already asked some of my peers, and they suggested that I give Palutena some flowers - mostly the green ones." What beautiful lady wouldn't accept flowers?

"Nah, that sounds too cliche and overdone. Your peers are dummies and losers!" Yet Pit insists on getting Viridi flowers...granted the goddess of nature is a huge fan of flowers, but Pit is sounding much like a hypocrite.

"So Mario, Link, Cloud, and Shulk are dummies and losers, as you're trying to say?"

"...I fully rest my case." Pit lowered his voice, admitting his defeat to Wario and holding his L. "You should start off small - just go to Lady Palutena, and compliment on her looks!"

"Just remain calm and don't crack under the pressure!" advised Viridi. "Once you told Palutena everything that you need to tell her, make your way back here - but don't be frantic and run, Lady Palutena will see that as a very bad sign."

Wario, realizing what his mission was, nodded his head and went inside the kitchen to talk to Palutena. All the ladies the fatso liked beforehand - Peach, Rosalina, Samus, Bayonetta - either have a significant other or don't give a crap about romance. Palutena is Wario's one and only chance at love, and he would have to put away his old ways to make this chance count.

"Hey Lady Palutena, nice suit you got there," Wario sheepishly said to the goddess of nature, complimenting her attire. So far, so good...

"That's so nice of you to say Wario!" gleamed Palutena. "All day long I've been getting looks rather than words, most of the males have done nothing but gaze at me. Must be a common side-effect of being single for so long!" Dunban, R.O.B., and the five dudes sitting at the coffee table were watching Wario's conversation with Palutena, feeling somewhat sympathetic for the fatso.

 **Red: Wario is seriously trying to ask out Palutena, it seems. Guy is becoming more desperate, he knows Palutena is completely out of his league. Why can't he be in love with someone who can compliment with his caliber, someone who is fat and ugly and greedy like him, like...um, like...do you know any fat ladies out there?**

"Trust me, being a single man can be very tough sometimes, always on the search for the woman of your dreams, and having your dreams shattered time and time again!" remarked Wario. He knows how very real the struggle can be, but he fights through it every chance that he has. "Now tell me, Lady Palutena...are you busy tonight? Being the millionaire that I am, I can treat you to a date at a five-star restaurant..."

"Aw, how sweet of you, I've never been asked out on a date!" exclaimed Palutena. Wario is surprisingly making some steady progress, and the dudes at the coffee table, as well as Pit and Viridi, are all in shock. "I would go on a date tonight, but I'm afraid I have some important matters to take care of." This understandably devastated Wario, what important matters does the goddess of nature have?

"What is it that's so important that you can't go out tonight?" Wario asked this while keeping his cool, and not getting so angry and agitated.

"Evidently dinner has to be taken care of. Many among us are terrible at rationing, and Yoshi is one of the main offenders, though you're a main offender as well." There are surely plenty of other offenders, but Palutena isn't in the mood for giving out an entire list of names.

"Yoshi can't be that bad at rationing, I would definitely trust him! Heck, I would trust him to carry me to the Himalayan Mountains - on his back! With no shelter or provisions along the way!" Wario is seriously reaching here, no mere mortal could make their way from Seattle to the Himalayan mountain range with little help whatsoever...

"Um, Lady Palutena, the chicken stew is boiling over," Dunban alerted the goddess of nature as he turned down the temperature of the pot on the stove. In an instance where R.O.B nor the dudes at the coffee table stepped up, the Homs saved the day (not in a huge way, but you get the idea).

"I'm afraid I must carry on with my cooking," Palutena said to Wario. "Guess I'll talk with you later!" Palutena resumed her cooking, and Wario happily scurried out of the kitchen and to Pit and Viridi, who were pretty impressed.

"Aight, aight, not bad for a first try," Pit nodded his head, impressed with Wario's progress so far. "But you're still gonna get that date with Lady Palutena though, and I think we both know something that might change her plans for tonight..."

* * *

Ashley, the young witch adorned in her Nico Minoru attire, was in her room making potions, like she does day in and day out. But she wasn't alone - along with her lovely assistant Red, those present with Ashley included Villager, Toon Link, Young Link, Lucas, and Ness, all dressed up as Doctor Strange, Chase Stein, Cannonball, Angel and Northstar, respectively.

 **Ashley: Sometimes I just hate having company in my room...people just waltz in and meander all about and leave behind their junk when they leave...oh wait, it's Wario who does that. But still, I don't like having company over in my room, you should know that I'm very individualistic - knitting club notwithstanding. They're the only exceptions to my individualism.**

"Why do you have so many potions in storage Ashley?" Young Link inquired about the young witch's vast collection of potions, all of which are stacked on a tall shelf. "Do you ever use any of them? If not, then that would be an utter waste..."

"Yes, I do use them," Ashley responded bluntly, discouraged that the Hylian had the gall to ask such a question. The witch is usually bothered by such questions. "But I only use them for certain purposes - I make potions for almost any given situation, like diarrhea, romance, and even planking...only made a potion for that because of Lloyd. Apparently planking is his so-called 'life skill', and he hasn't even gotten anywhere with it..."

"Excuse me, my dears, but have any of you seen Ganondorf anywhere?" Peach poked her head through the door to Ashley's room, and everyone shook their head. "Darn, we've already looked inside his room, but he wasn't there...oh well. He must be somewhere else; we'll just keep on looking!"

Peach retracted her head out of the room...and then Lloyd poked his head through the door a few seconds later. Hoo boy, what does this dork want?

"Yo Ashley, do you have a breakup potion that I can use?" the swordsman asked the young witch. "I promise I'll give it back to you, if there's anything left of it."

"Breakup potion?" Ashley raised an eyebrow. "I don't think I haven't made such a potion yet..." Why exactly does Lloyd need a breakup potion for? Who does he want to break up? Mario and Peach? Link and Zelda? Shulk and Fiora?

"I want to use it so I can break up Pit and Viridi!" As you can tell, Lloyd is still somewhat infatuated with Viridi, and it seems like he's making some strides towards breaking up the goddess of nature with Pit and destroying the already rebuilding chemistry the two lovebirds have. "I'll have Viridi drink the potion, and then, after she breaks up with Pit, I'll have her drink a love potion so she'll eventually fall in love with me!"

"Dude, even if that love potion works, Viridi wouldn't love you, she's too obsessed with Pit to show any feelings for any other dude," said Ness, keeping it one hundred with a delusional Lloyd. "Give it up, your little plan simply won't work."

"You're right, what's the point..." Lloyd held his head in sadness as he left Ashley's room, feeling depressed.

 **Lloyd: One day while reading the news, I read about this guy, who was in a relationship with this woman, and this other guy, who was a head coach of a professional sports team, and the guy angrily headed over to the coach's home and beat the crap out of him. Perhaps if Pit and I get into a fight, we could fight over Viridi's heart, and win her over that way! *evilly rubs his hands together* I can already see the outcome...**

Lloyd returned to the group of Mario, Peach, Link, Zelda, and Pikachu, all of whom were searching for Ganondorf's whereabouts so they can see what "surprise" the Demon Lord has in store for Mario and Link. The belief that Ganon is hiding in an especially secret place has them all sorts of worried.

"Get a good look at those dorks, Corrin!" Bowser appeared with his student, pointing at the group and mocking their superhero costumes. "Link, you're probably the dorkiest of them all, that Captain America suit looks horrendous on you!"

"Look who's talking, you're the most horrendous looking person I've ever met!" retorted Link. Not a strong comeback in the slightest, Bowser has become acclimated to people calling him ugly and whatnot.

"As for you Mario, I bet you can't even walk properly with that Iron Man suit on! And how's the mask, is it hard to breath in?" Mario had on his Iron Man mask, so Bowser can't see his arch-rival's face fuming with anger.

"You're right Bowser, Mario appears to be struggling mightily!" Corrin followed up with Bowser. "Like how he struggles with his relationship with Peach! It would be funny to see Peach dump him...and then Mario goes back to Pauline!" The group just looked at Corrin questionably, failing to see the logic behind what he just said. Go ahead and watch the Mario timeline video on Game Theory, and you'll see how justified everyone's reactions are.

"Wow, kid, that was like, so inappropriate what you just said..." Even Bowser was miffed by what Corrin said, and it showed by him facepalming while shaking his head. "It was so...oh man, that was terrible..."

"B-But Bowser, it wasn't like I said they were hooking up together or anything, I was just joking with Mario and Peach..." Look the definition of "hooking up" in the Urban Dictionary, and you'll see that if Corrin had used that terminology instead, his remark would have been _even worse._

"No kid, just shut your mouth. Your joke was lame, corny, and blatantly unnecessary, and you should feel real bad about your loss. Not another peep from you!"

 **Bowser: Believe it or not, Pauline is supposedly Mario's mom, though it hasn't been confirmed yet. Corrin thinks Mario should dump Peach for Paulina, his own mother, but why am I so surprised? From where Corrin is from, old dudes like Xander can marry underling children!...Wait, so Xander isn't an army general? Then what was up with that reveal trailer, huh?!**

"Anyway..." Zelda began, moving away from the awkward situation Corrin had created, "...do you two know about Ganondorf's crrent whereabouts?"

"Last time I saw him, he was going to Master Hand's room, and he was wearing his Doctor Doom costume. That's all I know as of right now."

"Then Master Hand's-a room it is!" said Mario. "Whatever surprise Ganondorf has-a waiting for us, we will..."

"Ganondorf has a surprise?!" Bowser excitedly rubbed his hands together, suddenly intrigued - and angry at the same time. "And he didn't bother to tell me about this...I'll make sure I'll be there!"

"What about me Bowser?" Corrin asked, before getting slapped silly by the Koopa King. Being slapped by Bowser's giant hand is like a giant sea bass slapping against your face.

"Did I tell you not another peep from you?! You can't be that hard of hearing, are you?"

* * *

Fox and Falco went over to the library, in search for Knuckles, who has mysteriously gone missing. In the library was Gil, rocking his Groot costume, and Chrom, with his daughter Lucina (dressed as X-23) and his buddy Robin (dressed as Quicksilver).

"I've never known how attractive you were until Master Hand made you wear that apparel," Robin told Lucina, who was receiving looks from the dudes in the mansion. When you're wearing a mini tank top and leather pants, you're bound to get some looks.

"I wish that the men would stop staring at me, like I'm some prized possession," sighed Lucina. Sometimes being attractive can have its setbacks, and there are arguably more cons than there are pros. "Can you do something about it, Father?"

"Um, uh, we'll see about that..." replied Chrom, who was sweating buckets in his War Machine suit/armor/whatever you want it to be.

 **Chrom: Don't you hate that feeling when you want to check someone out, but you can't because that someone is your own _daughter_?...I wish Master Hand had given Lucina a more...conservative superhero outfit, so to speak.**

"Gil do you know where Knuckles ran off to?" Fox approached the de facto librarian. Gil knows a lot about books and all that good stuff, so he should also know about missing brawlers. At least that's what Fox and Falco are assuming.

"Last time I remembered, he went down in that chute," Gil pointed to a large air vent. "I think he's on some search to find our clothes, after eavesdropping on Master Hand earlier today."

"If that's where Knuckles went, then we're going as well!" affirmed Falco. "You're coming with us too, Gil!" Gil looked around frantically, wondering how the library would ever operate with him absent. Contrary to what the librarian's thinking, the library will function just fine.

"But what about story time?" he asked as Fox grabbed his hand and ran towards the air vent, taking it off completely and throwing Gil down the chute; his scream could be heard as he traveled down said chute.

"Geronimoooo!" a hasty Falco jumped through the air vent and down the chute next, and Fox entered afterwards. Chrom, Robin, and Lucina just stared, trying to figure out what had gotten into the three. Jumping into air vents...who does that these days?

* * *

"In all my time here at this mansion, I've never seen anyone open this here door," the paper bag-wearing Meta Knight remarked as he and Sonic sneakily stood near a foreign door that neither of them had no idea existed.

"So are you gonna open it or not?" Sonic asked out loud. So much for being sneaky... "We've been standing here for almost an eternity, and my severe lack of patience is starting to..."

"I'm waiting for the right moment, okay?!" Sonic went into quiet mode after Meta Knight's outburst. After a couple of seconds have passed... "Alright, now we can make our move. Sonic, open the door!"

Sonic opened the door wide opened, and the hedgehog and Meta Knight were astonished to see what was inside - the missing clothes of the mansion residents were all piled in the very room. Things are becoming mighty suspicious up in here...

 **Sonic: Nothing but clothes, piled atop one another...can you say, THRIFT STORE?  
** **Meta Knight: *nudges Sonic***

"Yoo hoo, up here!" a voiced called out to Sonic and Meta Knight. The two looked up, and saw Rosalina at the top of the clothing pile, in her Emma Frost attire while being accompanied by her loving companion Luma. They weren't alone - Dark Pit (dressed as Barney Barton), Roy (dressed as Gambit), Bayonetta (dressed as Jubilee), Takamaru (dressed as Bucky Brooks), Ryu (dressed as Shang-Chi), and Alph (dressed as Shaman, who is apparently wearing a long black wig).

"My oh my, our heroes have finally showed up," smiled Bayonetta. "We've been holding out for a hero...or should I say, heroes rather. Never would I expect the two of you to be working together..."

"Thankfully this is only temporary, once we save you guys, we'll be returning to our normal, individual lives," stated Meta Knight. He's just dying to ditch Sonic for good; up until this point, the hedgehog has been a major pain in the Star Warrior's butt.

Suddenly Fox, Falco, and Gil fell down from the air vent in the ceiling, and landed in the pile of clothes. Thankfully the clothes broke their fall, otherwise it would have been very ugly...

"Gah something's grabbing my leg!" Falco panicked as the avian pilot was being pulled down into the pile of clothes. Fox grabbed his buddy's arm and tried to reel him back, but to no avail. But Gil, Ryu, Dark Pit, Roy, Takamaru, Rosalina, Bayonetta, and Meta Knight and Sonic (Meta Knight simply flew to the top of the pile, while Sonic had to literally run up to the pile's peak) came to the rescue, and together, they pulled Falco out of the pile with all their strength, until they got the pilot out. Falco wasn't the only person rescued - Knuckles, who had grabbed onto Falco's leg, was also pulled out, and he was hyperventilating somewhat.

"There you are Knuckles, we've been looking all over for ya!" Fox gave the echidna a bro hug, before being rudely pushed away. Only Rouge (and to a lesser extent, Amy and Cream) are allowed to hug Knuckles, and nobody else is allowed. "How the heck did you end up here?"

"Master Hand was talking to some dude on the phone or whatever outside while I was resting in the hammock, with Pit keeping me company and doing his archery practice, and Master Hand was bragging on the phone about how he stole everyone's clothes hid them in a 'secret place'," explained Knuckles. "Intrigued, I got off the hammock and went inside the mansion to search for the clothes - I went to the library, went down an air vent, and ended up in here. I fell through the pile of clothes and got buried...and then I took a little nap to pass the time until someone saved me."

"That's funny, that's how I ended up here too!" remarked Alph. The others couldn't help but laugh at the young astronaut, just the sight of him wearing a wig was absolutely laughable. "The vent was open and I fell through, and I think the rest of you guys ended up here after you went to go rescue me."

 **Roy: Honestly I didn't wanna save Alph. I just wanted to slide down the chute. Is that so wrong to do?**

"But that's not all - Master Hand did mention something about some of the superhero suits and costumes possessing special powers," added Knuckles. "Somebody test out and see if their suit or costume has any abilities!"

"Emma Frost has telepathic abilities, right?" asked Rosalina. "Let's see my powers work..." Rosalina focused her mind, and then looked towards Sonic, the very person she'll test her telepathy on. Why she selected Sonic of all people, who knows. Rosalina focused her mind onto Sonic's mind, and then... "Oh my goodness, I can see what Sonic is thinking!" Everyone was visibility shocked after this revelation. "And he's thinking about...chili dogs. Figures..."

"You make it seem like a bad thing," Sonic grumpily folded his arms, looking to the side. Dark Pit traveled down the pile of clothes, pushing clothing side as he made his descent, when he found something on a wall that fully caught his attention.

"Guys I found a door!" he called out to the others. "We can escape through here!"

* * *

The group of Mario, Peach, Link, Zelda, Pikachu, and Lloyd arrived at Master Hand's room. They opened the door, and saw Ganondorf, dressed as Doctor Doom, and King Dedede, dressed as Galactus, both sitting on tall chairs flanked by the Ice Climbers...both dressed as Modok and hovering in the air. To the left of Popo was Heihachi Mishima, dressed as Magneto, and to the right of Nana was Wii Fit Trainer, dressed as Mystique and wearing a red wig to boot. The Black Knight, dressed as...well, the Black Knight of _Marvel_ fame, was in the corner, making himself a cup of tea.

"You've finally arrived..." Ganondorf said to Mario and Link. "...took you guys long enough. You have no idea what it's been like having to wait on you to show up."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's-a get to the chase," interjected Mario, wanting to see what "surprise" Ganondorf has so he can return to whatever he was doing. "Show us your little 'surprise'."

"Surprise!" King Dedede flashed a gold urn to the group...and they all looked at Ganondorf with looks that literally screamed, "Dude, seriously?" They came all the way over to Master Hand's room for this? "What, you don't like it? It's a super rare urn that Ganondorf found in Master Hand's closet! Funny thing is, that's also where I found all of our clothes...but Master Hand told me strictly not to disclose that information to ANYONE, so forget what I just said!"

"Super rare urn huh?" Lloyd pulled out his cell phone, setting up a mass text. "And all our clothes in Master Hand's closet? Gotta tell the others..." This dude is always stirring up trouble...

 **Lloyd: Why am I sending a mass text to everyone dressed up as a superhero today? It's simple - when Pit and everyone else shows up, I'll challenge Pit to a fight; winner gets to keep the urn. Then we'll fight a brutal fight to death, with everyone watching, including Viridi. Once I beat up Pit to a pulp, I'll win over Viridi's heart, and everyone will see me for the man that I am! Screw the breakup potion, this is definitely a surefire plan!**

"Um, Ganondorf, King Dedede, we have company," Wii Fit Trainer alerted the Demon Lord as Dark Pit, Rosalina and Luma, Bayonetta, Ryu, Roy, Takamaru, Alph, Fox, Falco, Knuckles, Gil, Sonic, and Meta Knight all exited through a door - the very door Dark Pit had found - and ended up in Master Hand's glorious room. So the room they were in was Master Room's closet...the more you know!

"Hand that thing over!" Diddy Kong's voice was heard as a spider web was fired at the urn in King Dedede's hands, retracting and bringing the urn to Diddy, who was flanked with Captain Falcon, Snake, Cloud, Aerith, Luigi, Daisy, and Ike at the entrance to Master Hand's room, which is spacious enough to include many individuals. This space can sure come in handy, because in came Red the Pokemon Trainer, who walked over everyone with his now stretchable legs and snatched the urn from Diddy Kong with his now stretchable arms. Wolf, Akira, Olimar, and Marth all followed Red inside the room. Samus, Shulk, Jacky, Chrom, Lucina, and Robin showed up after receiving the mass text.

"Look you guys, my suit comes with actual powers!" Red flaunted his newfound flexibility in front of everyone, as Ashley, Ness, Lucas, Young Link, Toon Link, and Villager filed in the room after receiving the text. "Keep on crying haters!" No one is really crying, rather they're wishing for Red to stop posturing and put the urn down before he breaks it and suffers from Master Hand's wrath.

"Speaking of powers and stuff, where is Master Hand, we have a dire situation on our hands..." stated Cloud, searching for the giant hand even though he's nowhere to be found. Just then, the Inklings showed up, with the male Inkling kicking Red's shin and making him drop the urn, which landed in the female Inkling's hands.

"We'll be taking this," she remarked as she and her male counterpart headed for the exit, before Zelda stopped them in their tracks and took the urn.

"Why do you insist on taking this urn when you don't even know how much it's worth?" the princess of Hyrule scolded the youngsters. "This urn belongs to Master Hand, and it could be valuable - would he like it if he found out that you stole his urn, let alone _break_ it?" Lloyd looked off into the distance, now discouraged by the ruckus that he may have caused.

"She has the urn in her hands!" King Dedede pointed at Zelda. "Let's get her!" The penguin stepped down from his post, and used telekinesis to snatch the urn out of Zelda's hand, bringing it towards him...

...and soon, an all-out brawl was sparked. Once the urn ended up in King Dedede's hands, the brawlers ganged up on the penguin, trying to claim the urn. What's worse is that everyone was using the abilities bestowed to them - the male Inkling getting thrashed by the now super strong Wolf; Red using his flexibility to avoid Ganondorf's force blasts; Lloyd blasting his gun at Young Link, flying about via jet propulsion; Mario now getting into it with Ike, who was giving the plumber trouble with his constant teleportation - so much chaos going on in one room!

 **Sonic: While the superhero wannabes do their thing, Black Knight and I are gonna chill here and watch the action unfold. Everybody now thinks they're _so_ special, all because they got their own special powers!  
** **Black Knight: Care for a cup of tea, my young lad? *offers Sonic a cup of tea*  
** **Sonic: Eh, sure, why not... *accepts tea***

"And that's pretty much the reason why Yoshi refuses to wear pants," said a certain shih tzu as she entered Master Hand's room. This shih tzu is none other than Isabelle...who's in a conversation with Master Hand. The two just made their way inside the room, not knowing what to expect, when they saw the brawlers beating the snot out of one another. The brawlers all ceased their fighting when they saw Master Hand, and some of them were very afraid.

"Master Hand, so glad-a to see you!" gleamed Mario, trying to play it cool. "How was-a your walk with Isabelle?"

"My walk wasn't that grand, Isabelle did most of the walking while I hovered in the air like a freaking boss. I know the onlookers were jealous." Master Hand saw through his nonexistent eyes Heihachi, holding his urn. "Why is my urn in Heihachi's hands?" This is the part when you get afraid, when Master Hand raises his voice in a deafening manner.

"Because...I...found it on your closet, with the clothes you stolen and hid inside?" explained Ganondorf. "You did tell me the location our clothes, and that's where I found the urn..."

Master Hand caught everyone off by surprise when he let out a laugh - not an evil laugh, but a genuine laugh, the type of laugh that gets you laughing as well.

"Of course, of course, this was all a part of a dream I had last night!" exclaimed Master Hand. "All of you were superheroes, and you were all fighting over an urn that Ganondorf, who was Doctor Doom in my dream, had in his possession. That is why I hid all of your clothes, so I can see my dream come into fruition, but I must have came home too late...why is everyone glaring at me?" The brawlers were angrily approaching Master Hand, seething. Heihachi dropped the urn on the floor and cracked his knuckles, ready to give Master Hand a real pounding.

"I don't think they appreciate you hiding their clothes from them and forcing them to wear those superhero costumes..." said Isabelle, backing away. "I should probably go now..." Isabelle scurried away from the scene at hand, just when Wario showed up and saw the vase lying in Master Hand's room through his deceptive eyes.

"Now now, everyone, it's just a prank bro, just like those lousy hood pranks online...don't be so angry, it was all a joke..." Master Hand's plea wasn't working, the brawlers were inching closer and closer. Wario sneaked inside the room and snatched the urn, before scurrying out and leaving Master Hand, who was dragged to the center of the room by King Dedede and Ike, alone to get his clock cleaned out by the angry brawlers.

* * *

"You have been a great help Dunban," Palutena said to Dunban, as she was finishing up on her cooking. "And you two, Pit and Viridi," the goddess of light then said to Pit and Viridi, who had pitched to assist Palutena in her cooking duties. Pit responded by giving a resounding thumbs up, before looking out the kitchen entrance.

 **Pit: In order for Wario to progress any further with Lady Palutena, Viridi and I both agreed that Wario should get Palutena something nice for her. Here's the thing though - it can't be flowers, giving a girl flowers would be too easy. Now I'm kinda scared about what Wario has in store...**

"Guess what I got you!" Wario entered the kitchen with the urn in his hands, and gave it to Palutena. However, there was something different about the urn - it now had a variety of colors, all with green shades, painted on it. The painting must have been done at the last minute. "I know you like the color green, so I thought, why not give you a green urn as a...gift, of sorts?"

"Well this is awfully nice of you!" Palutena gladly accepted the urn from Wario, her fingers mostly covered in green paint. Pit shook his head and Viridi facepalmed - the painting was _definitely_ done at the last minute, Wario evidently must not have felt like waiting for the paint to dry. "I just spoke with Dunban, and he said that he'll be taking care of dinner for tonight..."

"...which means that both of you can go on your little date tonight," Dunban finished for the goddess of light. "You can thank me later Wario; I would book a reservation if I were you."

"No way man, I'm thanking you right now!" Wario showed his appreciation by giving Dunban a hug, squeezing him tight like a boa constrictor, enough to the point where the Homs had to wiggle his way out of the hug. Fortunately, Wario eventually released his grip. "Time to find a reservation!" Wario ran out of the kitchen, getting his cellphone ready, while Viridi quietly walked Pit to the far end of the kitchen to have a secret discussion.

"Why did you think that urn would work?" the goddess of nature asked Pit, concerning Wario and the urn and all that good stuff.

"Let's just say that...eavesdropping can have its benefits," Pit whispered back. "If you spend time around Master Hand, you'd understand. Oh, and I think our clothes are in Master Hand's closet, by the way, I think that's what Master Hand had said."

Oh, Pit, you sly, devious angel.


	31. Episode 31: Sephiroth

**Episode 31: Sephiroth**

If you're looking for a woman that is serious - so stoic that her blank, sometimes expressionless facial expressions remain undeterred, then Lucina's your gal. Aside from her outstanding popularity among the _Smash_ community, which has in turn overshadows her father Chrom's popularity overall, the young princess has become rather infamous for choosing not to reveal her true emotions, and this has greatly overlooked the kindness she shows to others. Why in fact, whenever she shows any positive feelings, it's always a big deal.

"LUCINA LAUGHED!" Bowser Jr. and his Koopaling siblings would alarm everyone whenever Lucina laughed or even giggled, and that honestly doesn't happen that much. Some of the brawlers have never even seen Lucina laugh to begin with, and others have a tough time visualizing the princess performing such an action in their heads.

But today, Lucina has her sights set on changing how her peers view her - a stoic princess who can't seem to take a joke, or sarcasm for that matter - by partaking in...wait for it...stand-up comedy. Yes, you heard that right, Lucina is attempting to do stand-up comedy, and she plans to do this in the mansion's gaming room, on the same stage where K.K. Slider and Jigglypuff hold their musical performances.

"You sure you wanna give this a shot?" Lucario asked Lucina in the gaming room, while the princess was reading the latest _Swordsman Weekly_ magazine. "The crowd would eat you alive if you don't perform well!" The aura Pokemon had told Master Hand about this stand-up comedy idea...though the idea was conjured by Wolf. The pilot didn't want to be viewed as a blundering idiot by Master Hand, so he had Lucario do the dirty work for him.

 **Lucario: When I had told Master Hand about the stand-up comedy idea, he backhanded me and told me to "stop pulling his leg" before he kicked me out of his room...Then I told him that it was Wolf's idea, and after a change of heart, he let me back in and ordered me to set everything up.**

"This is my one and only chance to prove to everyone that I'm not as serious as people make me out to be," explained Lucina. "I'm sick and tired of all the labels applied to me - do you ever get sick of being called an emo Pokemon?"

"Nobody has ever considered me emo, so..." Lucario eyed around the gaming room in confusion, failing to see how he's "emo". Gothitelle and its pre-evolutions could count as emo, but they're obviously more goth than anything.

"Point of the matter is, my goal is to change everyone's perceptions about me, and grant them with newer perceptions that they can remember me by. I want Father, and Robin, and everyone else to be present, so they can see...the new me."

"Said my name?" Robin appeared, magically popping out of nowhere; Lucina shrieked as she jumped in the air and threw the magazine at Robin's face. "'Sephiroth has returned to seek vengeance on Cloud'? No way!" Robin read this feature on the magazine...did he just say that Sephiroth has returned?! And he's seeking Cloud?!

"You scared me Robin, don't you ever do that again," frowned Lucina, clutching her chest, all while ignoring the significant impact of Sephiroth returning. It will be all over if Cloud finds out about this. "Nearly gave me a heart attack..."

"Sorry Lucina, maybe it's because I've been spooked by Master Hand so many times that I've grown accustomed to spooking others! I had frightened Ryu earlier today, I'll make sure to apologize to him later."

* * *

Speaking of Ryu, today is the kung fu fighter's birthday, as he is turning 52, believe it or not. Many of the brawlers fell on the latter side of the mantra. It is also today that Ryu plans on carrying out a birthday wish he has planned for sometime, and is too reluctant to enact it.

 **Ryu: I had made a promise to myself that I would ask Chun-li out on a date on my birthday, and I've been saying this for years now! It may be too late for me, given that I'm turning 52, but it's better late than never!**

Yoshi, Toad, Ashley, and Pac-Man met in their usual place, knitting their quilts like there was no tomorrow. Every meeting was mostly the same - Yoshi talking about his adventures with Mario when the plumber was a baby, Toad cheerfully smiling as a presumed tactic to cover up his double life as a drug lord, Ashley emotionless knitting and moping about how unfair life is and how few friends she has, and Pac-Man looking down at the floor, fully regretting knitting that sweater for Shulk back in episode 16. Today seemed like just another usual day for the knitting club, until...

"Just the dinosaur I needed to see!" Ryu approached Yoshi when he was knitting. "I have a huge favor to ask of you, and I've been wondering if your pals can enlist in this favor as well!"

"Anything for the birthday boy!" exclaimed Yoshi, before realizing what he just said. "...or should I say, birthday man!" the dinosaur corrected himself, saving himself from Ryu potentially giving him a shoryuken. That devastating uppercut should not be taken lightly by any means. "So what can I do for ya?"

"As you all may know, today is my birthday, and I have a birthday wish I've been wanting to fulfill for a very long time...and my wish is to ask Chun-li out on a date." The knitting club members, including the usually uncaring Ashley, were suddenly intrigued, for they knew somewhat about Ryu liking Chun-li, although he can be afraid to admit this sometimes. "I want you to find Chun-li, and bring her to this mansion so I can ask her out and be done with it!"

"Why can't you ask Chrom, he's more of an aficionado of romance than Yoshi or any of us are," said Pac-Man. Chrom still refuses to acknowledge that he's a romantic expert, but how would be explain the romantic relationships he has had on the battlefield in the war against Plegia?

"Chrom was my option, but he had involved himself in a similar situation, with Fox and Krystal - I myself had a role in this particular matter - and that didn't end that well. So I don't want to put Chrom through that again, which is why I'm asking Yoshi!"

"Only problem though - I don't even know where Chun-li is!" stated Yoshi. "She could be anywhere, training her butt off! If you want me - or us - to find someone and bring them here, you should at least give me their location!"

"No worries, I do know about Chun-li's whereabouts - according to her Instagram page, she's at a fitness gym downtown in Seattle." The knitting club looks all looked questionably at Ryu, wondering why the kung fu fighter himself isn't taking care of this deed. Is he nervous or insecure? "Why are you looking at me like that, is it wrong to follow you the woman of your dreams on social media? Am I violating a social media unwritten rule?"

 **Pac-Man: Eh, I'm sure that Ryu can save himself some trouble on his birthday, and just go to this gym and tell Chun-li the good news. He's traveled around the world without breaking a sweat, so what's the difference regarding walking to a gym where your woman is working out?**

"We don't think that it's wrong to follow a love interest on social media, plenty of people do it all the time I'm certain," said Toad; pretty sure he does the same thing with Toadette. Those two secretly like each other, they've been paired up in too many _Mario_ games to even deny this. "We just think that since it's your birthday, you should just go to the gym and ask Chun-li out. And don't even give us any excuse about needing a vehicle to drive to the gym, you can walk there for all we care."

"But what if I do make it to the gym, and I when I ask out Chun-li, I begin to stammer and everyone looks at me?" questioned Ryu. "That's what I'm mostly concerned about, I'd rather ask my woman out in the comfort of this mansion, with my fellow brawlers being witnesses rather than strangers!"

"You'd want brawlers to see you ask Chun-li out, can't you just do it in private?" grimaced Ashley, miffed by Ryu's reasoning. "It would be better if you do it in private, if you ask me..."

"However I plan to ask Chun-li out will be up to me. Your task, whether you choose to accept it or not, is to go to the gym, grab that woman, and bring her over here so I can put away the years of regret and ask her out, once and for all!"

"Quick question: should you have done this earlier, when you had the chance?" asked Yoshi, making Ryu grow furious. Dozens of people have asked Ryu similar questions, and more than half of those people found themselves in a hospital bed. Yoshi oughta take back what he said, unless he wants to be one of those hospitalized people. "...forget what I just said, we shall retrieve Chun-li for you." And so Yoshi and the knitting club accepts their mission - will they be successful?

* * *

Link and Cloud stood outside the mansion, waiting for the mailman to arrive. But this is not your ordinary mailman - this mailman is none other than the Postman, the Hylian who travels all throughout Hyrule, delivering mail in very unflattering attire. The Postman was making his rounds in Washington, and he had to make sure he stops by the mansion to deliver Link his mail, for the hero of Hyrule rarely gets mail from the postal service. At first, Cloud didn't buy the fact that Link has to get all of his mail from a stinking mailman that runs about delivering mail in white shorts, so the Hylian brought his best friend outside to prove that he's not insane.

"He should be coming any minute," Link said as he glanced at his watch. And soon enough, the Postman appeared, jogging towards Link and Cloud and huffing and puffing, though not as much to blow a little piggy's house down.

"The Postman...has arrived!" the mail deliver struck a pose after coming to a stop. Link and Cloud were both disturbed, especially Link - poor dude might be scarred forever after what he just seen. He has never saw the Postman strike any pose, ever.

 **Postman: When you run as much as you do, and you don't get enough time to work out...you look like a scrawny string bean. Just look at me, anyone can beat me up...even a handicapped person would beat me to a pulp...**

"Okay, I totally did not have to see that," Cloud shielded his eyes as he turned his face away, keeping his sight and sanity intact. "Why don't you give Link his mail already, and you can return to your mail delivering service?"

"I'm getting on it, no need to rush me!" the Postman reached into his tall bag and pulled out two envelopes, giving one them to Link. "Got a special mail for you!" he then handed the other envelope to Cloud, who was surprised to be even receiving mail. Dude hates it when Tifa and Barret hardly ever write any letters to him. "Time for me to go and deliver more wonderful mail. I'll be seeing you boys later!" The Postman ran off, with his trademark jog that may led some to question his fitness.

"Told you I wasn't crazy," Link said to Cloud, who was looking at his envelope with a mortified look. The Hylian took the letter out of his envelope and opened it, seeing that it was addressed from Agitha, the resident bug expert in Hyrule Town who apparently likes being pinched by the insects she collects. "Eh, it's from Agitha, so it can't be that important, I'll just read this later." Link stuffed the letter in his pocket.

"Oh man, this is not good at all..." Cloud shook his head, still mortified with his eyes glued on the envelope. "Hurry, we must alert Mario and Master Hand right away! We have no time to lose!"

"Alert Mario and Master Hand about that?" Cloud didn't have any time for answering Link's question - he hastily grabbed the Hylian's hand and rushed inside the mansion. Clearly some trouble is afoot...

* * *

Inside the mansion, Sonic was showing Mario is chili dog recipe in the dining room. The hedgehog enticed the plumber by stating how if he and Peach were to move out, and Peach decides not to cook, he can make chili dogs for any occasion. Mario, knowing Sonic's tendencies, decided to learn the recipe if it would keep Sonic's annoying mouth shut.

"Then you just pour the chili on the hot dog...and BLAM!" Sonic displayed the chili dog in Mario's extremely uninterested face. "You got yourself a chili dog! Man, you look more entertained than Tails did, when I showed him how to make a chili dog, he left me right after the hot dog finished boiling!" Mario could have been spending some quality time with Peach, working towards proposing to her without get denied just like in the second episode, but nope, he chooses to waste his time and patience with Sonic instead. The plumber should really work on his decision-making.

 **Sonic: Perfecting the best chili dog is one of the hardest things anyone can do, it's on the same grade of difficulty as reconciling with your ex, or walking in a convenience store naked without warranting an arrest (happens to me all the time, not wearing clothes has its setbacks). In order for a chili dog to be perfect, the sausage must be fully cooked, the right amount of chili must be used, and the bun has to be at room temperature - not too hot, or not too cold. If you can master these things, then you will certainly go very far in life, I guarantee it!**

The boredom that was displayed in Mario's face soon turned into delight when Link and Cloud showed up in the dining room, with the plumber hoping that these swordsmen could save him from his misery and invite him to participate in anything that has nothing to do with chili dogs. But their looks of concern told Mario that something serious was afoot.

"You boys sure-a do look like your in a rush," Mario remarked. Sonic suddenly became disgruntled that the plumber stopped paying attention to him, and threw his chili dog on the floor in defeat. What an absolute waste of a chili dog...

"I'm afraid we have some very bad news," Cloud handed the envelope to Mario. "Read who it was addressed by..." Mario read the name listed up in the far left corner of the envelope, and his eyes widened with absolute shock.

"S-S-Sephiroth?!" he exclaimed; just saying the name sent chills down his spine. The plumber frantically took the letter out of the envelope and skimmed it, too afraid to read it completely. "He said-a that he's looking for you-a Cloud, and he won't-a stop until he finds-a you and finishes you off-a for good!"

"Eh, I don't see what the big fuss is all about, Sephiroth can't be that huge of a threat," smirked Sonic. "I mean, Cloud has defeated him before, so surely he is in a weakened state..." By the look of things, Sonic could care less about Sephiroth's return, as long as Cloud and company handle the workload.

"There is not telling how strong or weak Sephiroth will be when he shows up, we must be on guard at all times," said Cloud, affirmative that he can defeat his arch-nemesis for another time. "Where is Master Hand, as the head of the mansion he must be informed immediately!"

"Master Hand...he's-a not in the right mind-a frame to be given the news," Mario chuckled nervously. What could be possibly bothering the giant hand?

* * *

"Boy we sure did screw things up!" Wario shook his head as he took Pit and Viridi to Master Hand's room. "Stealing that urn was a costly mistake!"

"Was it that significant or something?" asked Viridi; she and her boyfriend were told about Master Hand growing more angry with the day after finding out that his urn is missing. The urn is not exactly missing; Pit had Wario snatch the urn and paint it green, and give it to Palutena as a gift. Now that's going to be extremely costly - one does not simply take one of Master Hand's belongings and expect to get away with it.

 **Pit: Aw man Viridi, why did you suggest to me that we should have Wario steal that urn?  
** **Viridi: Um, Pit, it was _your_ idea. You found the urn in Master Hand's closet in the first place.  
Pit: But how was I supposed to know the urn belongs to Master Hand, he could have been borrowing it for all we know!  
Viridi: Master Hand, borrowing stuff? *smirks* Do you not remember the time he "borrowed" Dribble and Spitz's taxi, and he was taken to court because he refused to give it back?  
Pit: Oh yeah I remember now...Phoenix Wright saved Master Hand _big time..._**

Wario, Pit, and Viridi finally arrived at Master Hand's room, and looked through the creak of the front door to see the giant hand going off on Geno. Master Hand needed someone to vent off his anger and frustration upon, and Geno was chosen as the unfortunate candidate.

"How dare someone steal my beloved urn!" the hand vented his anger on poor Geno, who had his eyes closed as Master Hand's rant went on. "That urn is no ordinary urn, it's practically the most valuable artifact in existence!"

"Perhaps nobody stole it, it just went missing," Geno said, finally mustering up the courage to speak. He's bound to get yelled at, but it's worth speaking up instead of being yelled in your face.

"Urns don't go missing, Geno, they're not mystical objects that magically grow a set of legs and then waltz away like it's no big deal! They're not rebellious teenagers that run away when they get fed up with life, or if their Tumblr page gets shut down! They're not..."

"Okay, okay, I get it now..." Maybe speaking up wasn't the brightest idea. "I'm sure that whoever stole your urn will be filled with regret, and will return it to your ginormous closet."

"Only a resident brawler would steal something so valuable like an urn - visitors like Yuffie, Amy, and Fiora, I'm not so sure about. But it's definitely a brawler! And if this brawler doesn't come clean, then the rest of the mansion will suffer!"

Wario gulped. Pit really placed this poor fatso in some hot water, and because of him, everyone else will likely suffer.

"Now if you excuse me, I'll go find another person to vent my frustration on, while ranting on about an item they probably don't care about," Master Hand told Geno. "It is imperative that I get all my angry emotions out of my system." The giant hand vanished, leaving a slighted Geno by himself.

 **Geno: Although it wasn't much, Master Hand's angry outburst is likely to give me nightmares...I'll make sure to keep the lights in my room on for the entire night, certainly my roommate Toad won't mind...**

"Geno, you got a minute?" Pit asked the star (yes, he's a star, the Mario Wikipedia even confirms it) as he entered Master Hand's room. "I'm responsible for Master Hand's urn - I had found it in his closet, and I had made Wario retrieve it and give it to Palutena as a gift. And now I've messed things all up..."

"Don't look so down, honestly I would have done the same exact thing," assured Geno, making Pit's face light up with joy. It's great to have others look out for you and support you for your degrading decisions.

"Aw, you really mean that? What a buddy you are, always sticking up for..."

"Nah, I didn't really mean what I said, I'm just giving you false hope." And with that, Pit held his head in sadness... "But if you want, I can retrieve that urn for you, otherwise you and Wario will be the culprits and everyone will hate you for it." ...right before bringing his head back up with a smile on his face.

"Thank you Geno, you're the man!" the angel excitedly shook the star's hand. "What I would do without a guy like you..."

"Of all the people Pit could have enlisted, and it had to be Geno?" Wario, who saw the scene unfold through the door creak, frowned as he folded his arms. "What can Geno possibly do?"

"Well, he _could_ clear your name before you become a culprit, and save you from being one of the most hated individuals in the mansion," replied Viridi. "It's not like you have any other choice, unless you want to make a coward move and move away..."

Viridi's response prompted Wario to keep his mouth shut; the fatso doesn't own a vehicle (too stingy to pay for one, or make monthly car payments), so he'll trust Pit and Geno - though his trust is not that high.

* * *

Taking a short break from their Star Records expenditures, Fox and Falco were outside near the mansion's lake, fishing for some fish type Pokemon. They were fishing with their Super Rods - the best Pokemon fishing rod out there, bar none - hoping to catch a super rare Pokemon.

 **Fox: For our fishing expenditure to prove fruitful, Falco and I must capture a fish Pokemon that is super rare, so we can gloat about it in front of everyone whether they like it or not. Gyarados, Corphish, Basculin - as cool as those Pokemon are, they're pretty common, and therefore they'll be released back into the water if catched. Right Falco? *looks behind him* ...You're not...playing _Pokemon GO,_ are you? I mean, we have every non-legendary Pokemon in existence in the sanctuary...  
Falco: Not now bro, I gotta catch 'em all, just like what that tagline says...Darn it, I whiffed my attempt at catching that Growlithe! And now there's a Pidgey near the recycling stuff...Oh wait, it's a regular pigeon...**

"What a great day to go out fishing!" Bowser said to Corrin as the walked along the lakeside with their fishing rods. Bowser carried a Good Rod, and Corrin carried an Old Rod - the Koopa King told the prince of Nohr that the Old Rod is the most effective fishing rod, since its oldness allows it to catch fish Pokemon of all ages and generations. You would have to be a highly ignorant Pokemon trainer to even believe this fib.

"Not a single cloud in the sky," Corrin looked up at the sky, and hopefully he didn't look at the sun, for if he looked at the sun for a prolonged period of time, he would go blind in an instant. "This is a great opportunity for some great fishing! I see Fox and Falco are already fishing right now! We should go join them!"

"No kid, not a good idea - Fox and Falco are going to focus on catching the crappy Pokemon - the Pokemon that trainers would release into the wild or sell to Team Rocket for some cold hard cash. Me and you, on the other hand, are gonna catch the awesome Pokemon - the Pokemon that will make a good impression on you!"

"Care to join us for some fine fishing?" Falco asked Bowser and Corrin after he and Fox took notice of them. "We could really use some more fishing buddies; Villager and Toon Link could have been here, but they're too busy playing volleyball in the backyard apparently."

"Ignore them Corrin, they're just being nice with you so when you have a batch of awesome fish Pokemon, they'll know to take advantage of you and steal your fish when you least expect it!" Bowser whispered this in Corrin's ear. The prince won't have to worry about his awesome Pokemon being stolen, because he won't even have any awesome Pokemon caught in the first place. "Now throw the fishing reel in the water, and let's catch ourselves some Pokemon!"

So Corrin threw the fishing bob in the water, and Bowser did the same. Fox and Falco inspected their fishing rods, seeing that Bowser has a Good Rod, and Corrin an Old Rod; both pilots looked at each other questionably, and Falco shrugged, quietly implying that they should just ignore the Koopa King and the prince for the time being.

"Bowser I think I got a catch!" Corrin joyfully exclaimed as his fishing rod was tugged by something in the water. "I got a catch Bowser, I didn't expect it to come this soon!"

"Well what are you waiting on, reel that thing in!" commanded Bowser, and Corrin reeled in...a Psyduck. Not exactly on the same level of lameness as Magikarp or Feebas, but still pretty lame regardless. "Hoo boy, that's one of the best Pokemon there is, what a catch!" Fox and Falco watched with shocked expressions and their mouths agape as Psyduck continuously rubbed his head, suffering from the headache it experiences for almost all his lifetime. Only an evolution is able to cure a severe headache like the one the duck Pokemon has to go through.

 **Bowser: The best thing about fishing with Corrin is that the kid's Pokemon knowledge will be exposed - he thinks the only Pokemon that exists those that count as brawlers, and those that serve as assists in battles through the use of a Poke ball. So whenever he sees a new Pokemon, he'll instantly think that the Pokemon ranks with Mewtwo in terms of greatness!**

"Really, that's what you call a catch?" Fox scoffed, slowly beginning to realize that Bowser is taking advantage of Corrin. "Would have been much better if it was a Golduck, if you ask me." Suddenly Falco's fishing rod was being tugged, and the avian pilot reeled in a Relicanth, the longevity Pokemon.

"Check it out, it's a Relicanth, this Pokemon is definitely rare!" exclaimed Falco. The fact that Relicanth is deemed a fossil and has remained unchanged for millions of years slightly makes this Pokemon more rarer, and even more cooler. But Bowser didn't seem to agree with the latter.

"Boo, that Pokemon flat out sucks!" he jeered. "Why would you want a living fossil Pokemon in the first place, that thing looks ugly and hideous! So what if it's rare, doesn't make up for its appearance!" Keep in mind that Bowser doesn't mean these things, he's just leaving an impression on Corrin.

"Trying to act all shallow, huh? We'll see about that...Relicanth, use...uh, um...use..." Falco doesn't know what moves the wild Relicanth has in its moveset - but he does know that the longevity Pokemon is a Rock-type. "Use a Rock-type move, or something, on that giant turtle creature before you!"

At the command of Falco, Relicanth used Ancient Power - a strong indicator that this Pokemon is high-leveled, he can only learn it at level 43 - generating a ball of energy and firing it at Bowser, sending him back as he traveled through the ground. Bowser ran over to his mentor, to check on him - why would anyone want to check on Bowser in the first place?

"First he called me by the wrong species..." Bowser growled, apparently miffed by the fact that Falco called him a giant turtle creature, as Corrin helped him up. "...and then he ordered that Pokemon to attack me for speaking facts! This means war..."

Looks like an epic fishing battle of sorts is brewing. Who shall prevail and come out victorious? (You probably know the answer already.)

* * *

Mario was gathered with Link, Cloud, Sonic, Peach, Zelda, and Aerith in the meeting room, to discuss Sephiroth seeking his vengeance on Cloud and vowing to find the swordsman at all costs. This one-winged angel is quite a dangerous foe, and must be stopped at once - who knows the destruction he would bring!

"Aerith, you know-a Sephiroth as much as Cloud-a does," Mario said to the flower girl. "Tell us what-a you know about-a Sephiroth, tell us what it like-a to have been killed-a by him!"

"But I was never even killed by Sephiroth in the first place, or anyone else for that matter..." Aerith pointed out; everyone looked around, wondering if Aerith was living in her own planet. "Last time I saw Sephiroth, he and Cloud got into this huge fight, and then they flew up into the sky..."

 **Aerith: Apparently everybody still thinks that I was murdered by Sephiroth, but I don't ever recall this happening...I do believe that those who accuse me of being killed had saw a girl that looked like me, and Sephiroth had killed her.**

"Sephiroth and I never flew up in the sky anywhere," Cloud responded with his arms folded. Whatever that's coming out of Aerith's mouth must have been some sort of wacko dream she had, at least that's how Cloud feels. "Also where did this 'fight' take place at?"

"Hello everyone, don't think you forgot about me!" the excitable pink hedgehog none other than Amy Rose popped her head through the meeting room door, waving to everyone. She came at the right time, right before Cloud and the others could begin question Aerith about this so-called fight that ended with both Cloud and Sephiroth flying in the sky. Did they grow a set of wings or something, did a drink a special kind of Red Bull that actually gave them wings? At this point, who knows.

"How did you even know we were having a meeting?" Sonic questioned his woman as she took a seat next to the blue hedgehog. "And don't think you can just waltz in here without giving me a chili dog, I'm starvin'!" This wouldn't have been the case had Sonic not thrown the chili dog he did in his demonstration for Mario on the dining room floor.

"Girlfriend's intuition," Amy tapped her head with her finger, answering Sonic's question about the meeting. "As for your chili dog...I'm sure you can put your laziness aside and make one yourself!"

"Eh, already made one today and I wasted it, don't planning on making another dog." Sonic then glared at Mario, who simply shrugged - it's not the plumber's fault he's wasn't interested in learning how to make a chili dog, and he agreed to see to save himself from becoming irritated.

"In order to counter whatever-a Sephiroth has planned, we must conjure an idea that-a will prove effective," Mario continued with the meeting. "Anyone have-a any suggestions?" Amy happily raised her hand, hoping that Mario would call on her. "Alright Amy, what idea do-a you possibly have?"

"Since we don't know what this Sephiroth person is capable of...why not have a sacrificial lamb when he comes to the mansion?" the pink hedgehog suggested. Mario mused over the suggestion; he had expected Amy to come up with something silly, but boy was he surprised!

"In order for the plan to work, we need the perfect person to serve as this sacrificial lamb," explained Zelda. "Lloyd Irving can't be our candidate, we've used him one too many times which means that he's used up all of his worth..."

 **Zelda: Lloyd? We practically use him as a sacrifice for almost any situation we have. Wild Sharpedo in the lake? Get Lloyd to dispose of it. Need to retrieve your hairbrush from a bathroom Wario just used? Send Lloyd in there. Doc Louis and Captain Falcon fight over seconds at dinner? Have Lloyd serve as the peacemaker. Granted, Lloyd seldom makes it out of each situation unscathed, but having him as a sacrificial lamb is sadly the only thing he's good for...**

"Why not have Ness serve as the sacrifice?" suggested Peach. "He's brave enough to handle whatever Sephiroth has in store!" Not to mention that Ness has PSI powers, which he can use to keep Sephiroth at bay at the moment.

"He would be better than Lucas that's for sure, though that's not much of an improvement," Link stroked his chin. "But we have no other choice, we gotta pick someone ASAP!"

"Then Ness-a it is!" confirmed Mario. The plumber then looked around, searching for a certain assistant. "Where on-a earth is Isabelle, thought I told her about-a this meeting!"

"Right here, Sir Mario!" Isabelle rushed inside the meeting room, carrying a mug of coffee in her paws, and then coming to a stop, taking a breather. "Sorry I was so late, the coffee machine in the cafe was broken, and it took Mega Man forever to fix it!" Really, using Mega Man in her excuse? C'mon, Isabelle, you're better than this!

"Go find-a Ness and tell him that we're-a using him as a sacrificial lamb-a for Sephiroth. If he refuses..." Mario got a taser out, and pressed the button as electricity flowed through the tip; the others were wide-eyed and felt very concerned... "...give-a him a shock, and see if he-a comes around!"

"You want me to taser Ness if he turns down the offer?! Also, isn't that Samus' taser, you didn't steal it from her, didn't you?"

"What, do you think-a I'm Popple, the Shadow Thief? I asked Samus if I could-a borrow this taser and promised-a that I would use-a it for 'authoritative measures'." Link, Cloud, Sonic, Peach, Zelda, Aerith, and Amy glanced at each other with questionable looks, in disbelief that Samus would willingly give away her taser for Mario, unsure if he's backing on his promise, while Mario handed the taser to Isabelle. "Now go find-a that boy!"

"Y-Yes sir!" Isabelle scurried out of the meeting room, taser in hand. Poor dog may not handle this mission well - she would probably throw the taser out of a mansion window out of fright, and then Samus would blame Mario forever if the taser is nowhere to be found.

"Sephiroth thinks that he can-a have his 'vengeance' and wreck destruction everywhere he-a goes...but when (or if) he comes-a here, we'll be ready for-a him!" Originally it was Cloud that's supposed to be planning this counterattack against Sephiroth, but it appears that Mario is taking charge of things - and the blonde swordsman is weary about the end result.

* * *

 **Chrom: Words cannot begin to describe how proud I am of my darling Lucina, stepping up to the plate and wanting to perform stand-up comedy for everyone (hope Ryu can be in attendance, that would be a birthday treat). I would feel a lot more proud about my daughter...if she can come up with better material. I've overheard some of the jokes she was telling, and they were the definition of cringe. But don't tell that to the audience she's practicing her jokes on...**

"And so that's why Santa Claus signed with Star Record, to improve his 'wrapping' skills!" Lucina told this joke to an audience of Pikachu, Pichu, Jigglypuff, Greninja, and Duck Hunt Dog, in the mansion's storage room surrounded by large boxes. The princess followed up her crappy joke with some canned laughter- laughter that sounded so fake it absolutely hurts, due to the fact that Lucina rarely laughs at all. The Duck Hunt Dog applauded in response to Lucina's joke, though this can be easily perceived as pity clapping.

"How's your rehearsing coming along?" Robin popped up behind Lucina, scaring the princess and making her jump in the air in right. She turned around, and was relieved to see Robin, cheesily smiling at her. "Whoops, looks like I scared you again, guess it's become a strong habit of mine!"

"Don't scare my like that ever again..." Lucina took a deep breath, clutching her chest. She's stoic and serious 24/7, but all it takes is for Robin scaring her to bring out the princess's emotions.

"Said that the last time I scared you - you're not being cliche, are you?" Robin raised an eyebrow at Lucina, who playfully pushed the mage away. "Anyways, why do you have these boxes stacked atop one another, want to be a builder or something? And why are the Pokemon...and Duck Hunt Dog, your audience?"

"Lucario said that it would be wise if I practice my jokes on the Pokemon and Duck Hunt Dog before I practice on actual people. So I decided to do just that in this storage room, where I can have peace and quiet, and solitude and..."

Lucina was abruptly cut off when the boxes were magically lifted up in the air, and Master Hand appeared. Although you can't tell, the giant hand seems very displeased.

"What did I tell you fools about building forts in the storage room?" he growled at Lucina and Robin, even though the latter did nothing wrong. "Trying to make out in the privacy of the storage room, I assume?"

"Why, I would never do such a thing!" Lucina was deeply offended by Master Hand's question about making out, and Robin had a confused look on his face - does Lucina not want to make out with him, is there another man more worthy than Robin?

 **Robin: When Lucina said that she would never make out with me, I was struck in my heart...I understand that Lucina is individualistic, but her individualism cannot prevent her from expressing her true emotions, and I feel that I'm the only person (aside from Chrom, that is) than can bring out the best of her.**

"Lucina was just practicing for her stand-up gig at the gaming room, and I know that she's been working her butt off to make the best of her experience," explained Robin. Lucina couldn't help but smile at Robin's remark - she was even on the verge of blushing, she has never heard the mage talk about her like that.

"Well I'm sorry, but this whole practicing thing has to take place somewhere else," stated Master Hand. "This storage room contains top-secret crud that nobody can know about."

"So why is the door to this room is unlocked?" Ooh, Robin is using logic against Master Hand...sometimes using logic against a powerful hardly ends well.

"That is a question that will be answered another time, right now I want you two to take Duck Hunt Dog and the Pokemon, and leave this room at once!" Robin should feel very grateful that Master Hand has decided to spare him, the giant hand could have turned his face inside out! The mage and Lucina guided did as they were told, guiding Duck Hunt Dog and the Pokemon out of the storage room.

* * *

"You guys-a all set to go?" Luigi asked the knitting club members - Yoshi, Toad, Ashley, and Pac-Man - as they were sitting in the plumber's car, with Luigi ready to drive them to a gym downtown, where Chun-li is working out at. The mission at hand? Kidnap the kung fu heroine, and bring her to the mansion so Ryu can ask her out on a date. Luigi set his newly repaired Dodge Charger into ignition, and drove out of the driveway and to the gym. "I'm so proud-a of you guys, willing to go the extra mile-a to do something for Ryu's birthday!"

"And what an extra mile it is..." Ashley grumbled, folding her arms and looking out the window. As you may know, this young witch has a tough time getting along with others, and that may bode problems for the knitting club.

 **Toad: So here's how the plan is gonna go - since Ashley and Pac-Man refuse to go inside the gym, it'll be up to me and Yoshi to retrieve Chun-li and bring her inside Luigi's car. According to Ryu, Chun-li should be wearing her brown hair in a ponytail, and should be wearing black workout gear. Yoshi: How does Ryu know this information? He checked Chun-li's Instagram page before we went out...what a creep.  
Toad: Says the dinosaur who writes romantic fanfiction...didn't you tell me the other day that you're planning on pairing Samus with Jacky Bryant, and having Akira as the third wheel?  
Yoshi: Yes, such a pairing can happen in real life! Blondes have a lot more in common than you think!**

Luigi arrived at the gym, stopping the car, and by the looks of it the gym was fully packed. Yoshi and Toad may have their work cut out for them.

"We'll-a be waiting outside for your-a return," Luigi told the two as they exited the car and entered the gym, sack in hand. Luigi then turned around to face Ashley and Pac-Man, who were simply minding their own business hoping that Luigi wouldn't attempt to spark a conversation with them. But soon all their hopes will be dashed away, when Luigi opened his mouth. "What do you think is-a Toad's and Yoshi's success-a rate in finding Chun-li?"

"Given how many people are in the gym, I'd say their chances are very, very slim," replied Pac-Man. "I'm worried that they nab the wrong girl, and then Ryu gets all angry with them. Knowing Ryu, they'd probably end up in a hospital for a week, or a month even!"

"Who cares if they get Chun-li or not, I just wanna go home already," grumbled a bitter Ashley. Her desire to return home soon ended, when...

"We got her, we finally got her!" Yoshi frantically ran outside the gym, with Toad right behind him carrying a sack in his puny arms. Yoshi and Toad actually kidnapped Chun-li that fast without being caught, is this real life?!

"Excellent-a work, you two!" Luigi commended the two kidnappers as they entered the Charger. "So how did-a you do it?"

"It's simple, we drugged her when no one was looking, and threw her in this sack when she fell asleep!" explained Toad, leaving Luigi, Pac-Man, and Ashley with looks of concern. And you thought Toad wasn't a drug lord, shame on you...

"...How did you even drug her in the first place?" asked a concerned Pac-Man, worried about Toad's potential second life of drug dealing.

"No matter, we have-a to get Chun-li to the mansion so Ryu can-a finally ask her out!" Luigi turned his Charger back in ignition and stepped on the gas pedal, rolling out and driving back to the mansion.

* * *

The fishing battle between the Star Fox pilots, Fox and Falco, and Bowser and Corrin was still raging on, and so far it's looking pretty one-sided. While the pilots have caught Pokemon such as a Kingdra, Lumineon, Gorebyss, and several other different water-type Pokemon, Bowser and Corrin have caught a Magikarp, Feebas, Psyduck...well, they just caught the same three species over and over again. No variety appeared to exist with the teacher and his protege's fishing expenditure, for they have repeatedly thrown any Pokemon not named Magikarp, Feebas, or Psyduck back in the water - it's crucial towards Corrin's "learning".

 **Greninja: *walks by the lake, sees Corrin catch a Magikarp and exchanging an empathetic high-five with Bowser, walks away facepalming out of shame***

"Mind if I join you guys?" Villager approached the Star Fox pilots, Bowser, and Corrin, holding his fishing rod. "I wanna catch some fish Pokemon on my own..."

"Get lost you twerp, we're having an epic fishing battle, and we can't have a loser like you distract us!" frowned Bowser as he lobbed his fishing bait in the water. Not exactly an epic fishing battle, but whatever supposedly helps Corrin.

"Yeah you heard the man, how about you go fishing in Lloyd's new fish bowl, and catch yourself a goldfish or something!" retorted Falco. When the avian pilot gets competitive, he can be very hot-blooded, though he's very much like this most of the time. It's one of his few personality flaws that makes him somewhat polarizing.

"Guess I don't belong here..." Villager sighed and walked away, hoping to fish with the Star Fox pilots, or even Bowser or Corrin one of these days.

 **Villager: Eh, what's the point of fishing, I'm gonna keep on catching the same ol' Feebas...almost as if the Pokemon animal kingdom has a vendetta against me...**

* * *

Having been kicked out of the storage room, Lucina relocated her stand-up comedy rehearsal to the lounge, continuing to practice on the Pokemon (Greninja had left because he couldn't take it anymore) and Duck Hunt Dog. This time, Robin was also in attendance, listening attentively to Lucina's jokes. Let's see how the princess is doing...

"So the other day, when I was in the forest, I found some fog, and I tried to take a picture of it on my cellphone, but you won't believe what happened..." Lucina started off her joke.

"What happened?" asked Robin, nearly on the edge of the seat for whatever reason, it's not like the joke is ripe with suspense or anything.

"I tried to take a picture but...I mist!" Lucina followed this joke with her awfully fake laughter, and Robin was laughing along with Lucina (his laugh was genuine, unlike Lucina's), slapping his knee and wiping away a tear.

"Get it? She said she MIST!" Robin said this to the Pokemon and Duck Hunt Dog, before laughing for a few more seconds. Duck Hunt Dog faced the Pokemon, making a circling motion near the side of his head with his index finger and pointing at Robin to indicate that the mage may have completely lost it, and Pikachu, Pichu, and Jigglypuff all nodded in agreement. Ness happened to walk by, and Robin asked him, "Did you hear the joke Lucina just told?"

"Heard it from the couch I was sitting at," responded Ness. "Honestly that joke was..."

"I think that joke was great, two thumbs up, ten out of ten!" Clearly Robin is doing his all-time best to make Lucina feel more confident and comfortable about her material, but as you can see, the mage is trying a bit too hard.

"Robin, you should seriously work on your definition of 'great', apparently a lot of people use that word out of context, and you just might be one of those people." Robin glanced at Lucina, who know held her head down in shame, as Ness walked away - only to be approached by the ever-excitable Isabelle, who was wagging her tail with the taser in her paws. Though her excitement could be interpreted as nervousness.

"Um, Ness, I was wondering if you could guard the mansion, in the event...Cloud's mortal enemy, Sephiroth, comes by here..." Isabelle started before trailing off, hesitant to taser Ness if the young lad says no.

"If nobody else is available, then I can do it," Ness replied with a shrug. Isabelle breathed a sigh of relief, fortunately she doesn't have to use the taser - the very taser that belongs to Samus, who was attentively standing near the shih tzu with her arms folded.

 **Ness: Am I a little intimidated about having to come face-to-face with someone like Sephiroth? Understandably, yes, but every now and then you gotta step to the plate...and poor Lucas rarely does that, much to my chagrin.**

"Did...Mario...give you my taser?" Samus asked Isabelle, making the shih tzu feel nervous. "Don't be so shy now, just tell the truth and I'll try to spare you."

"Yes, Mario gave me your taser and wanted me to taser Ness if he didn't comply with fending the mansion from Sephiroth's impeding visit," explained Isabelle, slightly shuddering. Hard for the dog not to feel nervous around Samus, that bounty hunter can intimidate almost anyone with her lovely stare.

"Oh that sounds like Mario, why am I not surprised...can I have my taser back?" Isabelle handed Samus back her taser, and the bounty hunter clipped the taser to her zero suit so she can put it back in her room. "I think Mario and the others want to speak with you, I believe they're in the gaming room."

* * *

The threesome of Pit, Kirby, and Geno stealthily sneaked inside Palutena's room, hoping to retrieve the urn and return it to Master Hand before everyone in the mansion receives punishment. The urn was sitting atop the goddess of light's dresser, and it was up to Pit and company to grab that urn before Palutena or anyone else catches them.

"You guys stay put, I'll get the urn," Pit whispered to Geno and Kirby as the angel tip-toed towards the dresser, slowly reaching towards the urn with his fingers outstretched...and by the time Pit grabbed the urn and held it in his hands, Palutena opened the door and caught her darling angel red-handed.

"Pit...why do you have my urn in your possession?" the goddess of light asked her pupil, more than ready to slap a punishment on Pit if necessary. She's become quite the pro at doling punishments to Pit, for the angel can be very troublesome.

"He's wanting to see if the paint on the urn dried out," stated Geno, sticking up for Pit. "The paint on that urn is unlike any other, it takes forever to fully dry out."

"Aw, is that so Pit?" Palutena asked the angel; Pit nodded with a cheesy grin. "Always great to see you're looking out for me, and the stuff that I own! Sorry if I had any doubts about what you may have been doing, I'll just get my things and leave you and your pals be!" The goddess of light grabbed her jewelry case and exited the room, closing the door behind her; Pit let out a sigh of relief and wiped away the sweat from his forehead. "Thanks Geno, you're a lifesaver! Knew you would come in handy!"

"It was no problem, anything to save your hide," replied Geno. Would have been fun for Geno to see Pit berated by Palutena, but this time around he decided to give it a pass.

 **Palutena: When I saw Pit holding the urn Wario had given to me in his hands I was ready to scold him and ground him, but as Geno said, Pit was just checking to see if the paint dried. Maybe I shouldn't be so censorious with Pit, he's not all that bad!**

 **Geno: True story, I assisted Wario with painting the urn - partly because he was wearing that Wolverine suit, and it made it hard to hold a paintbrush - and the paint we used was regular paint. And Palutena bought my claim that it was a special kind of paint. Goes on to show you that she's not as level-headed as she seems, but then again we're all that way.**

"Let's get out of here!" Pit exited the room, urn in his possession, with Kirby and Geno following after the angel. The three ran past the vending machine room, and Kirby could hear Master Hand yelling at someone; the pink puffball called out to Pit and Geno, motioning them to come to the vending machine room so they can eavesdrop on Master Hand.

"Master Hand, there's no need to feel so ticked, it's just a lousy urn," said Zero, who was receiving his verbal abuse from the giant hand. But the robot wasn't alone - Mr. Game and Watch, who's responsible for restocking the vending machines, is also in on this verbal abuse.

"Just a lousy urn, you say?!" an offended Master Hand slapped Zero, but only with his finger, for using his five fingers would bode to be very powerful. "Do you not realize the mighty powers of the urn? When opened, the urn can suck in any mortal inside, trapping them until it is opened again. It's like a genie lamp of sorts!" Pit looked down at the urn in his hands, weary about its immense power. "I shall punish the entire mansion if it's lost forever!"

"Chilax, Master Hand, by the sounds of it, the urn must be mystical or something, it might reappear in your closet, or even in your room!" Master Hand didn't buy Zero's claim, he knows more about the urn than anyone.

"...We better bring this urn back to Master Hand's room, or else!" Pit said to Geno and Kirby, as they made their way to Master Hand's room ASAP.

* * *

Luigi took the knitting club to their usual meeting place, and there they rested the sack containing Chun-li on a table. Did the club fulfill their mission? Only one way to find out...

"Time-a to see what we got-a here..." Luigi approached the sack and opened it...and his face sank. Not a very good sign at all. "...Yoshi?...Toad?"

"Yes, Luigi, is anything the matter?" asked Yoshi with his fingers crossed, failing to see Luigi's worried facial expression.

"...Are you-a sure you grabbed the right person?" Sweat began to pour down Luigi's face, another bad sign of what could be a failed mission. Intrigued, Pac-Man went over to the table to see who was inside, and his eyes bulged out.

"You guys didn't get Chun-li..." he said in a very nervous tone, his voice shaking. "Instead you got...Tifa Lockhart!" Indeed, Yoshi and Toad had kidnapped the _Final Fantasy_ heroine, eco-terrorist, and bar owner, who was still asleep. Expect Luigi and the knitting club to catch some hands from Tifa when she wakes up.

 **Toad: Ryu specifically said that Chun-li had her brown hair in a ponytail and that she's wearing black workout clothes! How were we supposed to differentiate her from Tifa? Ryu's fault for not being descriptive enough.**

"Have you completed your mission?" Ryu burst through the door, carrying a punching bag over his shoulders. Luigi and the knitting club quickly closed the sack and grinned innocently at the kung fu fighter (Ashley being the only exception).

"Yeah we sure have, you can always count on us to get the job done!" exclaimed a nervous Toad.

"Chun-li is still fast asleep - Toad and Yoshi had to drug her - but we're certain she'll wake up very soon!" added Ashley, hoping Ryu would see this through.

"Excellent, certainly she'll be awake so I can ask her out!" This made Luigi and the knitting club even more nervous. "Now if you excuse me, I'll be heading to the gaming room so the others can sing happy birthday to me, before Lucina puts me to sleep with her lackluster stand-up comedy act!" Dang, even Ryu knows that Lucina is going to do poorly in her first stand-up comedy gig... "I expect to see Chun-li soon!"

Ryu exited the room, and just after the fighter left, Tifa awoke from her slumber as she rose out of the sack, yawning and stretching her arms, before opening her eyes and examining her whereabouts.

"Hey, where am I?" she looked around, wondering how she ended up in the room she was in. She saw Luigi and the knitting club looking at her, making her even more confused.

"We're-a screwed..." remarked Luigi. Got a lot of explaining to do...

* * *

Isabelle arrived at the gaming room, where several brawlers such as Chrom, King Dedede, R.O.B, and plenty of others were seated, waiting for Lucina's stand-up comedy act to begin. The princess stood on the stage, preparing herself by taking a short breather, while Lucario organized things on stage to make sure everything was in order.

 **Lucario: I went throughout the mansion promoting Lucina, telling the others about her doing stand-up comedy in the gaming room. Some agreed to attend and support Lucina...while others are assuming that I've been possessed by Crazy Hand.**

"I know you'll do great, just be natural and everything else will work out perfectly," Robin went on stage to give Lucina this advice before returning to his seat, just in time before King K. Rool could beat him to it. Lucina flashed a smile, taking Robin's words to heart.

"This is pointless, why are we even here?" grumbled Link, who was in attendance with Mario, Peach, Zelda, Cloud, Aerith, Sonic, and Amy in the gaming room, waiting to see Lucina tell some (corny) jokes. "Sephiroth could be on his way as I speak!"

"It's all a part of Mario's plan, and Amy apparently suggested having the plan come to a conclusion at Lucina's stand-up comedy act, after Lucario told us about it," explained Cloud. "I have no idea why Mario was down on the idea, knew I should have taken the leadership role when I had the chance..."

 **Sonic: Having Ness stand around and prevent Sephiroth from entering the mansion isn't gonna solve anything - we should have Ness call Sephiroth a degrading name, so he can hurt the dude's feelings and he won't come back here ever again! Why not call Sephiroth..."Suckiroth"?  
Link: *raising an eyebrow* Suckiroth? Sounds a lot like... *stops, catches himself* You know what, I'm ending this conversation, I'm done... *gets up and walks away from Sonic*  
Sonic: Link, where are you going? *gets up and chases after Link* Wait up for me!**

"I informed Ness about his role in fending Sephiroth from entering the mansion, he says he'll do it!" Isabelle told Mario after finding the plumber seated in his chair.

"Great-a job Isabelle, knew Ness would-a come around!" nodded Mario. "Our plan is now-a finally complete!" Isabelle was taken back by what Mario said, certainly there are more objectives that should be fulfilled.

"But sir Mario, what if Sephiroth makes it past Ness and enters the mansion?"

"Ike, Marth, and Roy will-a be in the foyer to take-a him on!" Three heads are better than one, as many would say.

"...and if Sephiroth makes it past them?"

"The Koopalings will ambush-a Sephiroth and prevent him from-a advancing!" The Koopalings are certainly the annoying bunch, they can seriously get on Sephiroth's nerves.

"...and if Sephiroth makes it past them?"

"Doc-a Louis and Little Mac will give-a Sephiroth the beating of a lifetime, making him wish-a he was never born!" Born, created, go ahead and pick your poison.

"...and if Sephiroth makes it past them?"

"Run along-a now Isabelle, this plan will work-a itself out, just you wait-a and see..." Mario pushed Isabelle along, and the shih tzu scurried away, uncertain that the plan will prove to be successful.

* * *

Ness confidently stood at the front door of the mansion, with his hands on his hips waiting for Sephiroth to show up. At the lake, the fishing battle between the Star Fox pilots and Bowser and Corrin came to a very undramatic close.

"Sorry about your loss you two, hopefully you can recover from your defeat," Bowser apologized to Fox and Falco, although the pilots caught better and different Pokemon than the Koopa Kinng and his student.

"Uh, yeah sure, whatever helps you and Corrin go to sleep at night," replied Fox, not wanting to anger Bowser and likely end up at the bottom of the lake.

 **Corrin: Going fishing with Bowser and engaging in an exciting fishing battle with Fox and Falco was a fun learning experience! Through Bowser, I learned that Magikarp, Feebas, and Psyduck are the three coolest Water-type Pokemon out there, and that all the other Water-type Pokemon are irrelevant!...So why do Pokemon fans pay so much attention to legendaries like Suicine and Manaphy?**

Suddenly a wicked black-and-white thunderbolt from the sky struck the field, revealing a man with long silver hair, black coat, black trousers, and black boots. This individual is none other than the _Final Fantasy_ antagonist Sephiroth, and Fox, Falco, Bowser, and Corrin were all in awe of the one-winged angel (technically Sephiroth is not a one-winged angel anymore, but it's a famous moniker so he'll take what he gets).

"So this is the wretched Smash Mansion..." Sephiroth gazed up at the mansion, analyzing its structure and appearance. He then looked to his right, and saw the Badniks putting on the finishing touches on Master Hand's statue. "That hand is getting his own statue?" The one-winged angel shook his head in dismay. "Blasphemous..."

Sephiroth walked towards the entrance of the Smash Mansion, and walked up the front steps towards the front door, where Ness' legs were shaking at the sight of the one-winged angel. At first the young lad thought he might have had a chance, but at the sight of Sephiroth, he grew extremely nervous and weary about his well-being.

"Hark to my words, young boy, if you truly value your life, you'll move out of the way and let me inside, so I can finish off Cloud once and for all," Sephiroth threatened, taking out his sword, Masamune. Before he could harm Ness...

"Stay back, you evil fiend!" the Flying Man swooped in to save the day, protecting Ness from Sephiroth. "Don't fear Ness, for I am your..."

Fox, Falco, Bowser, and Corrin watched in horror as Sephiroth struck the Flying Man with his Masamune sword, sending him flying over the horizon, before entering the Smash Mansion, brushing Ness aside. The four looked down at the ground, and saw that a majority of the Water-type Pokemon they caught were gone, likely returning to their watery abode after that thunderbolt struck the ground - only Pokemon left standing were Relicanth and Magikarp.

"Corrin...go to the garden shed and get my rare candies," ordered Bowser as he eyed the flailing Magikarp. You probably know what's bound to happen...

* * *

Once inside the mansion, Sephiroth found himself in the foyer, confronted by Ike, Marth, and Roy. He expected to see Cloud once he opened the door, but now he's assuming that his arch-nemesis is a full-blown coward for not showing up.

"Don't think you can get past us Sephiroth, you're gonna wish you never came here!" Ike said to the one-winged angel. The three _Fire Emblem_ swordsmen all charged at Sephiroth at once, engaging the one-winged angel in a three-vs-one battle. However, it would be Sephiroth who would prevail, as he was left standing while the swordsman trio writhed on the floor in pain.

"My Masamune must have been too much for the three of you," Sephiroth smirked evilly as he continued on his way, in his search to find Cloud. When the coast was clear, Roy reached into his pocket and pulled out a walkie-talkie.

"Roy to Mario, I repeat, Roy to Mario!" the red-haired swordsman said into the communication device. "Sephiroth is fastly approaching, time to send out your 'secret weapon'!"

* * *

 **Bowser Jr.: Sephiroth will be facing me and my Koopaling siblings here on the second floor, granted he gets past Ike and company. Honestly I'm a bit afraid, and so are the others, but...oh snap, there he is now!**

Sephiroth arrived at the second floor of the mansion, his Cloud Strife senses tingling, and encountered Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, who all got into position.

"Ain't no way you're getting past us!" Larry pointed at the one-winged angel. "Let's get him, you guys!" The eight delinquent koopas all charged at Sephiroth, pulling on his hair, tugging on his coat, and toying with his Masamune sword. Once Sephiroth retained his sword, he used it to take out Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, one by one, until they were on the floor.

"Insolent children, just like your father..." Sephiroth shook his head as he continued up the Smash Mansion, his Cloud Strife senses tingling even more. Pit, Geno, and Kirby saw Sephiroth making his way towards the staircase from the distance.

"Forget going to Master Hand's room..." Pit said to his comrades. "Follow me, I got a plan..."

* * *

Sephiroth made it to the third floor of the mansion undeterred, and as he walked through the hallways, he stopped in amazement when he saw standing there Aerith Gainsborough - the woman he supposedly killed.

"A-Aerith Gainsborough?" the one-winged angel is clearly at a loss of words - certainly for him this must be a ghost, coming back to haunt him.

"Yup, that's me!" gleamed Aerith. "Thought you killed me, didn't you? Well I hate to burst your bubble Sephiroth, but the Aerith you killed at the altar...was an impostor!"

"How can this be?!" Sephiroth fell to the ground, clutching his head. "How could I have been possibly deceived like this?!" The one-winged angel is finding it hard to grasp the fact that he killed a "fake" Aerith, in disbelief that a competent villain like him got played like a fiddle.

"Unless you want the real deal and wish to kill me, you might as well follow me!" Aerith ran down the hallways, until she was out of sight. Sephiroth clenched his teeth in anger as he grabbed his Masamune sword and ran in the direction Aerith went, until he found the entrance of the gaming room, blocked by Doc Louis and Little Mac. The one-winged angel approached the entrance of the room, knowing Aerith went inside there, until he was stopped by Doc.

"Sir, I'm going to need a card of identification before you can enter," the boxing trainer held out his hand; Sephiroth looked at Doc's hand for a good while before grabbing the boxing trainer's arm and throwing him on the floor with force. The one-winged angel just threw that fatso Doc Louis like it was nothing...

"Doc Louis!" Little Mac tended to his trainer's needs as Sephiroth entered the gaming room, where Lucina's stand-up comedy gig came to a stop when the one-winged angel was in full focus.

Then the tension in the room soon began to build up, when Cloud stood up to face his arch-enemy. Sephiroth looked to his left, and saw Aerith, who was seated but slowly stood up to stand by Cloud's side when the one-winged angel gazed his eyes at her.

"Of all the days this could have happened, and it happened to be my birthday..." Ryu, the birthday man, facepalmed.

"ROUNDS!" Lloyd Irving excitedly got up just to say this, anticipating a battle between Cloud and Sephiroth. The two swordsmen and everyone else gave Lloyd a silly look, and the young lad slowly sat back down, feeling a bit humiliated. Nice job at interrupting a tense, suspenseful scene Lloyd.

 **King Dedede: Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd...always messing up the best things. He is such a party pooper - the worst kind of party pooper too.**

"Cloud Strife, we meet again..." uttered Sephiroth, his glare on Cloud intensifying. "And I see you've been re-united with your one true love, Aerith...tell me Cloud, did you have to sell your soul just to be with her? Aerith told me about the doppelganger that I killed in the altar..."

"There is no doppelganger...you've been hoodwinked this whole time, and you never knew about it," stated Cloud, downplaying the fact that Aerith is technically from another universe - let's hope Lloyd doesn't spill the beans about that. Mario, who was calmly sitting in his seat while the tension built up, motioned to Lucina, letting her continue her stand-up comedy act.

"Well, don't know about you guys, but I got some jokes about unemployed people..." said Lucina, attempting to ease the tension. "I would use them...but none of them work."

"Wait, what?" Sephiroth looked towards Lucina, his ears trying to comprehend what he just heard. "What on earth was that?" Everyone was laughing at Lucina's crappy joke, and that unnerved the one-winged angel for whatever reason.

"And did you guys hear about the pirate that couldn't learn the alphabet?" Lucina grabbed the microphone off the mic stand, feeling and looking more confident now. "Turns out he was always lost at C!" The laughter went up another decibel, and Sephiroth had to cover his ears to avoid this auditory sound. "Also, that lion from _The Lion King,_ I think his name was Simba - remember that scene when he was running through the desert? Someone should have told him to MUFASA!"

The hysterical laughter from the brawlers continued to rise in volume levels, and it was wracking Sephiroth's brain. The laughter was clearly too much for him to handle, he was nearing his breaking point...

 **Cloud: Cringe and laughter - mix these two together, and you got yourselves the perfect recipe to hinder Sephiroth and bring him down to his knees. Of course, the laughter wouldn't be possible if not for Lucina's audience...Mario had paid each audience member to laugh hysterically at Lucina's jokes, as suggested by Amy. What we would have done if not for that hedgehog...Sonic should be feeling truly grateful.**

"Keep on laughing people, I got boatloads of jokes coming your way!" Lucina told the laughing crowd, enjoying herself instead of having some doubt about doing stand-up comedy. "Got some jokes about pizza, but I'd rather not tell them...because they're too cheesy!"

This was it, Sephiroth couldn't take the corny jokes or the laughter anymore. So he did what he had to do - he leaped unto the stage, shocking everyone, and readied his Masamune sword at Lucina, who was now fearing for his life while her father Chrom tried to run onstage to save his one and only daughter from imminent death. However, someone beat him to the punch...

"ARCTHUNDER!" Robin rushed onstage in the blink of an eye, standing in front of Lucina, and cast the spell on Sephiroth, sending the one-winged angel flying out of the gaming room.

"Alright-a Cloud, do your-a thing!" commanded Mario; the blonde swordsman got out his Buster Sword, and ran out of the room to face Sephiroth. The two soldiers soon engaged in a sword battle that continued through the hallway, leaving Lucina alone onstage...with Robin. Uh oh...

"You...saved me," Lucina uttered to Robin, who gave a genuine smile. "You saved from Sephiroth...I don't know how I should thank you..."

"I do believe this will make up for it..." Robin suddenly leaned towards Lucina, his lips puckered. Lucina's eyes grew wider and wider as the mage's face neared hers, and her breathing was increasing. Mario, Peach, Link, Zelda, Aerith, Sonic, Amy, and everyone else in attendance, were watching attentively, anticipating the moment that Robin's lips eventually reaches Lucina's...

"Thank you for saving my daughter!" Chrom popped out of nowhere to face Robin, giving him a slight hug and ruining an absolutely perfect moment. Seeing Robin kiss Lucina would have made everyone's day, but Chrom didn't want to have that, apparently.

"You're welcome...Chrom," responded Robin, feeling awkward and bummed out that his attempt to kiss Lucina was ruined. There's always another time...

"Hey, where on earth did Ryu run off to?" Zelda looked around, seeing that the kung fu fighter had left the gaming room.

* * *

"...And that's why we had to kidnap Chun-li and bring her to this mansion," Yoshi had just concluded telling Tifa the story behind Ryu wanting to ask out Chun-li, and this story had some preexisting details that Tifa probably didn't need to know.

"Okay..." was the eco-terrorist's response to the story. "Were the details about Ryu's romantic life really necessary?"

"Not specifically, but it can't hurt to know. Besides, those details pretty much illustrate how slightly pathetic Ryu's personal life is."

 **Tifa: If I had told you that I was kidnapped by a dinosaur and some mushroom person, and taken to this mansion by Mario's unpopular brother Luigi, you probably wouldn't believe me...but today, that just happened. Strange times...**

"Now that you-a know the full-a story, we'll let-a you go," Luigi opened the door to the room, and saw Cloud and Sephiroth, who now continued their battle to the mansion's second floor. Tifa looked through the door in awe, seeing the two swordsmen fighting one another.

"Is that Cloud...fighting with Sephiroth?" she asked out of intrigue, wondering how Sephiroth came back. "Cloud could really use my help!" The strong woman cracked her knuckles, and ran out of the room to lend Cloud a strong assist.

"Do you think Cloud would care that we kidnapped Tifa by accident and brought her here?" Pac-Man asked the others, who either shook their heads or shrugged at his question.

* * *

The fight between Cloud and Sephiroth made its way down to the foyer, where Pit, Kirby, and Geno were waiting attentively in the back waiting for Sephiroth to show up. Pit still has the urn in his possession, and he plans to unleash it upon the one-winged angel.

"Sephiroth should be here any second now..." said Pit. "Gotta wait for the right moment to strike..." Soon enough the one-winged angel appeared in the foyer, now fighting not only Cloud, but Tifa as well. Tifa joining in on the fight surely caught Sephiroth off by surprise.

"Funny seeing you of all people here," Cloud said to Tifa as the two heroes fought their enemy.

"You can thank your little friends for bringing me here in the first place," responded Tifa, as she threw a punch at Sephiroth, who dodged the fist. With a strong slash of his Masamune sword, the one-winged angel struck Cloud and Tifa at the same time, sending them flying towards a wall. He then walked towards the two, pointing his sword at them.

"It all ends here, once and for all..." the one-winged angel said. Cloud and Tifa, both down and defenseless - Sephiroth is surely enjoying this moment. "After I'm through with you, Aerith...no... _everyone_ in this wretched mansion will be next..."

"I beg to differ!" said a commanding voice, following by a finger tap on Sephiroth's shoulder. The one-winged angel turned to see how it was...and it was Ryu, and boy was he ticked off. "You seriously think, that you can come in here, and seek vengeance on whomever you are seeking revenge against, cause mayhem everywhere you go, and expect to get away with it? I say NO! No way am I going to let you damper the mood of my birthday, you and no one else, and if you have anything to say about that, I just have one word for you...SHORYUKEN!"

Ryu delivered his world-famous uppercut to Sephiroth, sending him flying up in the air before landing on the floor, near the front door. The one-winged angel slowly got up, clutching his chest and glaring at Ryu.

 **Tifa: That shoryuken by Ryu...perhaps the most devastating uppercut I've seen with my own eyes. Still in awe at what I had witnessed...**

"Get out of our mansion or else!" commanded Ryu, pointing at the front door. Sephiroth grunted and limped towards the front door, as Pit got into position to suck the one-winged angel inside the urn. But before he could, Sephiroth opened the front door...

...and looked up and saw a Gyarados, looking down at him. Sitting atop this Gyarados was Corrin, who was holding Relicanth in his arms. By the looks of it, Bowser fed that Magikarp a plethora of rare candies!

"Relicanth, use Ancient Power on the man before you!" ordered Corrin; Relicanth fired a ball of energy at Sephiroth, who dissipated the ball with the strike of his Masamune sword. A lousy energy ball can't deter this man by any means.

"It'll take more than a mere energy ball to stop me..." snarled the one-winged angel, waiting to see what else Corrin has up his sleeve.

"Gyarados...Hydro Pump." At the order of Corrin, the atrocious Pokemon fired a powerful jet of water at Sephiroth. The one-winged angel tried to fend off this blast with his Masamune sword, but his sword could not handle the blast, as Sephiroth was being pushed back by the water and towards Pit, who opened up the urn in the nick of time. Sephiroth was sucked inside the urn, and once he was inside, Pit closed the lid shut.

"Don't think you haven't seen the last of me, I'll have my revenge sooner than you think!" Sephiroth's voice could be heard from the urn as it shook. Everyone either rolled their eyes or laughed at Sephiroth's vow - no way he can extract revenge when you're stuck inside an urn!

"Good work Gyarados, you really sure help save the day!" Corrin got off of the atrocious Pokemon, and sent him back in a Poke Ball that Falco had given to him. "I hope to use you again sometime in the future..." Corrin walked inside the mansion, and Fox, Falco, Bowser, and Ness, who were all chilling outside, followed Corrin inside. Fox and Falco saw Cloud and Tifa writhing against the wall, and the pilots rushed over to the two to see if they were okay.

"What is up with all the ruckus, there's too much commotion going on!" Master Hand appeared, investigating the scene. He just finished going off on Young Link about his missing urn, and he won't hesitate to go off on those in the foyer.

"Sephiroth infiltrated the mansion and tried to stir up some trouble, but thankfully Corrin and Pit saved the day," explained Fox, as he and Falco helped Tifa up.

"Here's the urn that you kept crying about," Pit handed the urn to Master Hand, who was relieved to see the artifact in one piece. "Might wanna put it in a more secure place, so it won't get lost again. Oh, and ignore the green paint." The angel, Geno and Kirby went away, to tell Wario the good news.

 **Pit: Now that Master Hand now has his beloved urn back, we have to give Lady Palutena an urn of her own to keep...I wonder if Zero's funky printer still works...**

"Isabelle is preparing for me a candlelit bath, so I want the noise level down as much as possible," said Master Hand. Who gives giant hands like Master Hand a bath, and why is Isabelle tasked with preparing this bath in the first place? "Capiche?" Master Hand vanished, returning to his room so he can put poor Isabelle through unnecessary labor. Poor shi tzuh can never seem to catch a break, can she?

"You know Lucina, that blue-haired girl from the wedding?" Cloud asked Tifa. "She's doing some stand-up comedy for some of the brawlers..."

"Lucina, doing stand-up comedy?" grinned Tifa, she couldn't even comprehend the words Cloud is saying. "You have got to be joking..."

"Oh man, this I gotta see!" Falco exclaimed after overhearing what Cloud just said. "Cloud bro, you gotta take us there, this you gotta see to believe! C'mon, Fox, let's go!" Fox shrugged as he, Falco, and Tifa followed Cloud to the gaming room. Ryu was about to head back to the gaming room, until the doorbell rang. The kung fu fighter went to the front door and opened it...and saw Chun-li, all smiles.

"H-Hey Ch-Chun-li, didn't expect to see you this evening," stammered Ryu, doing his best not to sweat although he can't really control how his body operates.

"Hi Ryu," responded Chun-li, who was wearing a blue dress, nearly making Ryu's face turn red. "I was gonna stop by here earlier, but Sephiroth came, and so I chilled at Princess Daisy's place until the coast was clear. Anyways, I just wanna tell you something...happy birthday. Sorry I couldn't get you anything."

"It's okay, Chun-li, that's fine by me..." Ryu cleared his throat with some hesitance, before uttering the following: "...I have something to tell you as well."

Chun-li's eyes grew large - is she dreaming, is this all a dream? Is Ryu about to say what she thinks he's about to say?

"Chun-li...would you like to...go out with me on a date?" asked a nervous Ryu. To his shock and amazement, Chun-li responded by giving him a hug, wrapping her arms around the kung fu fighter's neck.

"Yes, yes, I would absolutely love to!" she exclaimed. "I've been waiting for you to say those words for so long!" Chun-li retracted her arms from Ryu, whose face was red and sweaty, not to mention that he was breathing rather loudly. "Guess I'll be seeing you later!" Chun-li kissed Ryu on the cheek, and closed the front door, departing from the mansion. After the door was closed, Ryu fainted, falling to the floor with a thud; Bowser, Corrin, and Ness, who remained in the foyer this whole time, checked on Ryu to see if he was okay.

"Will it pain Ryu that he never got a birthday gift today?" Corrin asked the others as he rested his hand on Ryu's forehead, searching for any fever.

"Eh, you know what, I think Ryu finally got the birthday gift he truly deserved..." smirked Ness. Is this the best birthday ever for Ryu?

You could make a fine argument it is.


	32. Episode 32: Falsify

_Author's Note:_

 _Forgot to answer back to this review in the previous installment, so I'll answer it right away:_

 _"...do you even request ideas so you can continue this series? Cuz I'm kinda starting to be a huge fan of this! So anyway,as always on weekly updates,another wicked awesome job!"_

 _Good question: I generally accept any requests for any ideas that you readers may have - as long as they are workable. One of the guest reviewers gave me some good ideas, which I plan on putting in full use soon._

* * *

 **Episode 32: Falsify**

Most of the time - correction, _all_ of the time - having to meet with Master Hand in his room is absolutely no bueno. As you may recall from battling him in the final stage of Classic Mode, the giant hand and creator of the Smash Universe is a very predictable being (but not so much as his partner-in-crime, Crazy Hand) and loves to torture and hurt others. Master Hand isn't the type of being you would want to be stuck with inside an elevator - size notwithstanding.

Today's unfortunate victim is Mario, who is nervously walking to Master Hand's room, fiddling with his fingers while walking on his noodle legs. The plumber is wondering if he did anything wrong, and will receive a gaudy punishment from the giant hand. Sometimes, the punishments Master Hand doles out are completely justified, while other times he punishes brawlers just for the thrill of it. Individuals like Zelda, Kirby, Isabelle, and a few others are let off the hook, but the same can never be said for their peers.

"M-Master Hand...?" Mario nervously poked his head through the door to Master Hand's room, his eyes darting about the room to see if the Smash Universe creator is present. "...are-a you here, where-a are you?"

"About time you arrived, sir Mario!" Isabelle popped out of nowhere in Master Hand's room, scaring Mario to the point where he was screaming like a little girl. He fell backwards and landed on his back, before turning over on his belly and sobbing out fear. "Oh my goodness, I didn't mean to scare you like that, sir Mario, I am so very sorry!" Don't be sorry Isabelle, you probably were dying to scare Mario like that a long time ago.

 **Isabelle: Sir Mario has had a rough week so far...on Monday, he was thrown inside the recycling bin by Morton after the Koopaling accused him of stealing his magic wand (Morton had the wand in his shell the entire time), on Tuesday, he cut his finger with a knife while chopping up some onions (the onions certainly didn't help his crying), on Wednesday, he fell from a tall ladder in the library while reaching for a book (thankfully Jigglypuff was there to break his fall), and on Thursday, he injured himself in a football game in the mansion's backyard (no one bothered to help him up, but Master Hand took care of them). I believe sir Mario needs a well-deserved break, in wake of everything's that happened to him...**

Isabelle dragged Mario inside Master Hand's room, and helped the plumber up. Mario was no longer sobbing, but he was still afraid. Master Hand hasn't even showed up yet! He could randomly pop out of nowhere at any minute!

"Master Hand-a is nowhere to be-a found!" Mario frantically observed the room, slightly hoping that the coast is clear and he can make a run for it without having to meet with the giant hand in question. "Whatever I bet he has-a planned, it's irrelevant and a waste-a of time! Heck, ninety percent-a of the things he does-a is irrelevant and a waste of-a time!"

"Wanna say that again bub?!" Master Hand appeared behind Mario, spooking the plumber and making him jump in fear. Mario landed on Master Hand's bed - a bed that is likely never to be used, save for any rare occasions - and clutched his chest, inhaling and exhaling, recuperating from the scare Master Hand gave him. "Glad you finally made it here, we have some important matters to discuss!"

"It has much to do with the mansion's healthcare plan," Isabelle explained to Mario, as the plumber regained his composure. "We need to choose a new plan, and by the looks of it, it will be pretty expensive..."

"And you two-a expect ME to handle it?" frowned Mario. Master Hand does, but Isabelle certainly doesn't. "Why must I handle-a every little matter in the mansion, why can't-a anyone else solve this-a problem?!"

"Because they're not the man of the mansion, and as the man of the mansion, your duty is to take care of the mansion's necessary needs," responded Master Hand. "No ifs, ands, or buts about it either!"

"Mario are you there?" Gil poked his head through the door. He's spending some time out of the library, and for some reason, he feels somewhat insecure about it. "Just wanted to see how you're handling things ever since you fell in the library a few days ago. By the looks of it, you seem just fine..."

"I have a suggestion, why not have-a Gil find this new-a healthcare plan?" Mario suggested to Master Hand and Mario, attempting to weasel his way out of work. "You can find-a us a new health-a care plan, right Gil?"

"Mario are you crazy, an old-fashioned simpleton like Gil can't find us a legit healthcare plan, we might as well live without healthcare for all I care!" grunted Master Hand, nearly losing his patience with Mario. Not the first time this happened, Master Hand has a lengthy history of losing patience with brawlers, aside from Mario.

"I wouldn't mind finding us a new healthcare plan..." Gil spoke up. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?" Who knows Gil, maybe you'll find a heath care plan that hinders everyone, and you'll remain the fall guy forever. That's the worst-case scenario.

 **Master Hand: The last healthcare plan we had was medicare - I had taken advantage of the system, by stating that Snake is over the age of 65 and that the youngsters all had disabilities (which I had made up as I went along). After that, I cheated the system yet again, and extended the medicare out to everyone in the mansion so everyone would be covered. Eventually the federal government found out (those dorks always up to no good and ending anything that is remotely fun), and they took away our medicare, so now it's back to square one...**

"Fine then, since Mario desires to be a lazy bum and wants to be uncaring about the health of every person living at this mansion, I guess I'll delegate the healthcare duties to you, Gil," Master Hand said to the de facto librarian. The giant hand was dying to give this role to Mario - just seeing the plumber mope from the workload handed to him makes the Smash Universe creator somewhat gleeful.

"I'll get started on it right away, better now than never!" Gil responded before leaving the room...only to come back a moment later. "Isabelle, would you mind working alongside with me as an assistant?"

"Sorry Gil...but Isabelle is-a staying with me," replied Mario. "We have some-a important matters to fulfill..." Isabelle began to fret over this - what important matters is Mario specifically talking about? Does it involve trying out something new? Isabelle can be a bit too hesitant to try out new things, she has a natural fear of screwing things up.

"Eh, what the heck, I can find some new healthcare on my own, won't be that much of a hassle. I'll find us a new plan sooner than you know it!" And with that, Gil finally departed from Master Hand's room, and Master Hand inched closer towards Mario.

"Should Gil fail on his job, you'll be receiving partial blame," the giant hand warned Mario. "Hope you'll understand the consequences of Gil's failure as well..."

* * *

"Still trying to figure out how Sephiroth came back in physical form," Cloud discussed with Link as the two swordsmen were playing catch in the mansion's backyard, with a football. It's cloud first time playing catch, let alone ever touching a football of any kind. "If I remember correctly, he's supposed to be in the Lifestream, where he belongs..."

"Perhaps he found some way to break out of this Lifestream you speak of," Link assumed as he threw the football to Cloud, who effortlessly caught it with one hand. One-handed catches happen a lot with you have really great reflexes. "You did say Aerith was in the Lifestream, she could have had broken out as well. After all, she refuses to give any detail about how she came back...save for that strange story she told last week about you and Sephiroth getting into a fight, and then flying up towards the heavens."

"Yeah, I don't understand that story either, pretty sure it's just some weird dream she had the other night."

 **Cloud: Apparently Aerith has loads of other weird stories, and somehow they involve me. She once told this story of how I fought at some coliseum, and I was one of the better fighters, and how I won this cup and...and there was this other story, about sea salt ice cream, and Aerith claims that I used to eat it a lot..I'm starting to believe Aerith spends too much time in the garden, sniffing those flowers might be hazardous to her well-being.**

"What don't you understand, it's all about Team Marie!" the female Inkling argued with the male Inkling at a picnic table. The two were arguing between Marie and Callie - co-hosts of the world famous Inkopolis News - deciding which host was better. "She's much more fashionable than that overrated cousin of hers!"

"Oh please, at least Callie knows how to be edgy with her fashion and apparel," snorted the male Inkling. By the looks of it, the young fella appears to be harboring a crush on Callie. He would fight to the bitter end to defend his woman, and that's what he's doing right now. "Marie is simply too laid-back!"

"Marie, laid-back? Give me a break! At least Marie isn't so caught up with how well she looks and presents herself onscreen!" When you're a fashionista, you tend to become insecure with your appearance, and that goes out to all the fashionistas out there.

"MARIE AND CALLIE BOTH ARE CAUGHT UP WITH THEIR LOOKS AND PRESENTATION, YOUR POINT MAKES NO VALID SENSE!"

"So you're saying that Callie has her flaws as well?" The male Inkling, now admitting defeat, grumpily folded his arms and looked down at the grass, holding this L. However, he's attempting to make a comeback of some sort, and how does he plan on carrying it out?

"Link, which side are you on - Team Marie, or Team Callie?" the Inkling asked the Hylian, just when he was about to throw the football back to Cloud. Link eyed around for answers, and then looked to Cloud, who was quietly dissuading his friend from answering. Even if Link doesn't answer the question, the male Inkling will persist on pestering him until he gives a valid answer, so it's essentially a lose-lose situation for the hero of Hyrule.

"Team Callie, because...Callie looks.. cute, I suppose?" replied Link, having to give a valid reason for choosing Team Callie so he could win over the male Inkling while at the same time saving himself from being annoyed about justifying his choice. Cloud facepalmed, shaking his head, for he knows the trouble his best friend is bound to get himself into.

"Hahaha, in your face!" the male Inkling taunted in front of his female counterpart. "Told you there's people out there that appreciate Callie, you're just too afraid to admit it!"

 **Male Inkling: Aside from the wild paint battles, you got two sides in the realm of Splatoon you have to choose from - Team Marie, or Team Callie. It's like Team Edward or Team Jacob, Clinton or Trump, Omega Ruby or Alpha Sapphire, prime LeBron or prime Jordan, prime steak or prime rib - there's NO middle ground when it comes to picking a side. You must simply choose one side, and suffer from heavy scrutiny from the other, that's just how it works.**

"How cute, you got someone to join your putrid side!" scoffed the female Inkling. This is starting to get completely out of hand... "Too bad for you, since I got Cloud on my side! Cloud thinks Marie is greater than Callie, right Cloud?" Now Cloud himself is in a lose-lose situation. He has literally no other choice but to say yes.

"Yeah, sure, whatever, Marie is eons better than Callie will ever be," groaned Cloud, pitying himself for the mess he and Link are getting themselves into. The female Inkling pumped her fist in the air, and then laughed sardonically in her male counterpart's face. Yeah, this is definitely going off the rocker.

"Knew you would come around! C'mon, let's get you away from that loser Link, thinking that Callie is supposedly 'cute'..." the female Inkling walked to Cloud and grabbed his hand, taking him away from Link. "Link should really get his eyes checked, he really needs an eye appointment!"

"And I think Cloud needs to get his brain checked for even giving Marie any sort of praise!" the male Inkling walked towards Link, and grabbed his hand and walked away. "Let's go Link, we have no time for you to be associating yourself with those losers!"

As they were being taken away, against their own free will, Link and Cloud shared brief glances with each other, and their eyes shared the same emotions - fear, worry, and concern. And in the end, undoubtedly someone's bound to pay.

* * *

Now that he's in a full-fledged relationship with Amy, Sonic has come to a realization that he will have to make some sacrifices in order to spend more time with his girl and keep their relationship afloat. So whenever Amy comes over to the mansion, Sonic would have to spend quality time with the pink hedgehog, in order to keep her content. It requires a great deal of patience, and Sonic definitely isn't the one to remain patient, even if it was for a measly second.

"I can't help but feel that Sonic has been acting...differently, as of late," Amy conversed with Fiora, Shulk's loving girlfriend, as the two walked through the halls of the Smash Mansion. "He used to be rash and slightly inconsiderate, and now he's being more calm...could that be because of love?"

"Love can change a whole lot about you, that's for sure," smiled Fiora. It's great to have someone to discuss girly stuff with - Fiora finds it increasingly hard to do such a thing with Shulk, though granted he's a dude. "I know how everyone is talking about how Sonic is by far biggest jerk of the household, but it seems as if his jerk tendencies have died down a bit..."

 **Sonic: Why is it that everyone considers me a jerk, what do I do so that qualifies me as a jerk on the first place? So what if I try to remove front doors, and dress informally to a wedding, whatever happened to being a rebel, huh?! Paul Revere is deemed to be the biggest rebel by many historians, yet you don't see detractors getting on his high horse!**

 **Tails: Would I ever want Sonic to leave the mansion? Well, when you put it that way..as big of a jerk Sonic can be me and the others (though mostly me, I've endured his torment for years now), I'd never want him to leave this place... _but,_ if Amy were to kidnap Sonic and take him to her place, I'd honestly be cool with that.**

"I wouldn't say that Sonic's jerk tendencies died down 'a bit'...that blue hedgehog has remained the same throughout."

This voice belonged to Bayonetta, who was coolly standing against the wall. Even when doing the littlest things, the Umbra Witch exuberates so much beauty, so much physical attractiveness - it's literally no secret that the single Smash Mansion residents harbor a huge crush on her. Some of them even refuse to acknowledge the very existence of Bayonetta's love interest, Luka Redgrave - a man whose journalistic pursuits are hampered by having to make errands all the time.

"Nothing will change that hedgehog, it's almost as if his personality has a shield blocking all sorts of outside forces and influences," Bayonetta continued, stepping away from the wall. "Same goes for Shulk, he's happier than a beaver on a log, not even the mighty forces of evil could deteriorate his happy-go-lucky persona." The Umbra Witch turned to face Amy and Fiora, who were both intimidated by the very stature of Bayonetta. The way she walks and talks, it's almost commanding! "But I can let you girls in on the true secrets and vices of your respective boyfriends...only for a fee."

"What exact kind of 'fee' are you talking about?" questioned Amy. The hedgehog is hoping she doesn't have to pay actual money - she's storing up her life savings so she can purchase a gift for Sonic this Christmas. The goal Amy is trying to reach? An outlandish $3,000. One does not simply understate the love this girl has for Sonic.

"The fee I speak of...is time. You must give up the time you plan on spending with your boyfriends, to follow me and see what deep, dark secrets your love interests possess that they do not wish to share with you. Are you not intrigued?"

"Sounds like a very enticing offer," remarked Fiora, who can't believe that she's actually following up Bayonetta. "We'll accept your deal...as long as you don't hamper with either Sonic or Shulk, and leave them at one piece!"

"A deal is a deal..." Both Amy and Fiora have a glut feeling in their stomachs that they're bound to regret doing this...

* * *

"A great associate of mine told me that you're interested in going out on a date," Falco flirted with Samus in the mansion's workshop, as the bounty hunter was working away on some high-tech plasma gun of some sort. "They were talking about your desire to get out more, to go out with a nice, handsome man..."

"Tell your 'associate' that he's an idiot, and that he should stop filling your head with blatant fabrications," retorted Samus. "I'm not interested in going out on a date, and I won't be interested anytime soon." Samus isn't exactly the romantic type, and she blames most of this on Ridley murdering her parents when she was just a child. That bloody incident impact the bounty hunter in so many emotional ways, it's hard to describe.

 **Samus: People are always assuming that just because I look beautiful, I'm supposed to be all romantic and loving, and all that dumb crap. Hate to break it to ya, but I'm hardly interested in love, and I have been for the entirety of my life. Unfortunately nobody will ever understand...**

"Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye!" Gil entered the workshop, carrying a notepad. He ripped two pages out of the notebook, giving one to Falco, and the other to Samus. "Your duty, whether you choose to do it or not, is to write down a list of your illnesses and/or allergies on the sheet of paper I gave you!" In order to find a sufficient healthcare plan, Gil has to know what symptoms his fellow brawlers have, so he can find a plan that can compliment their health needs.

"'Hear ye'?" Falco raised an eyebrow. "Bruh this isn't the Renaissance period, get with the times bro!"

"Enough chit-chat out of you, foul vermin!" Gil is becoming slightly more aggressive after handling the healthcare duties...let's just hope it won't last throughout the entire episode. "Now write your illnesses and allergies on the slip of paper I gave you, and hand it to me when you're done. I'll be expecting to see those lists later!" And with that, Gil departed from the workshop, leaving Falco and Samus be.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Falco asked Samus, winking at her, glancing at the paper and then back at Samus. "You wanna...make up some fake diseases and all that good stuff?"

"Normally I would say no to such an offer..." Samus began, evaluating her options. "...but I can't help but feel that Gil is a little too deserving of the torment he's bound to receive." Samus smiled as she took out a pen and clicked it, eyeing her piece of paper evilly. Been a long time since the bounty hunter felt this sadistic.

* * *

While Falco and Samus were creating made-up diseases and allergies at the top of their heads, Pit and Viridi were already one step ahead of the curve, as they were already doing the same thing. They, too, were inventing imaginary ailments that make no rational sense, and it's up to Gil to completely buy these ailments as if they actually exist.

"Gil won't even know what hit him!" Pit jeered, his list of illnesses and allergies nearly covering up one side of his piece of paper. Gil is about to have his work cut out for him real soon. "Since he's so old-fashioned, he'll have a tough time debating the validity of the stuff we're making up!"

 **Viridi: Pit and I have created tons of fake, imaginary diseases that make no sense, as well as allergies consisting of things that no person would EVER be allergic to. Some of the diseases we made up include cheese fingers, Prince Toadstoolitis, and Pit's personal favorite, "pelvic fissures". As for the things were "allergic" to, we just listed a bunch of random things, such as laptops, hairspray, and even pixie dust! If Gil seriously thinks any of the diseases and allergies we fabricated are real, then he has surpassed Pit in terms of naivety... *sighs happily* ...but Pit is such a cutie, and his cuteness negates his naive nature.**

"Hey you guys, how's your lists coming along?" Yoshi approached Pit and Viridi, as he was putting on the finishing touches to his list of aliments. Are the brawlers sharing their made-up ailments with one another? Oh, what joy for Gil! He would definitely see nothing wrong with this at all, won't be a problem for him! (But that sarcasm though...)

"We're almost done, just a few more illnesses and we'll be done," responded Pit. "Mind if we give you some of ours?"

"Gladly, just give me the best ones and I'll be done as well!" So Pit and Viridi gave Yoshi the best diseases/allergies they came up with, and Yoshi wrote them all down, snickering. "Oh, did you guys hear about Gil wanting to take away the weekly allowances we receive?"

"Gil wants to take away our weekly allowance?" frowned Viridi. "Why would he want to do that for?"

"Apparently the healthcare plan he found comes with so-called 'benefits', so he feels that having weekly allowances wouldn't be necessary anymore." A little tidbit on these weekly allowances - Master Hand, as the head honcho of the mansion, pays each resident according to their duties. While hardworking individuals like Palutena are on the high end of the pay scale for the tireless work she does in the kitchen, lazy bums like King Dedede are on the low end on the pay scale, and are hard-pressed to receive any sort of income. There's a reason Dedede has his Waddle Dee minions scourge the city for any cash lying on the ground, or even in the toilets of public restrooms (you'll be shocked to find out the things people put in there).

"He can't do this, he can't become power-hungry and try to change things. We should go confront Gil immediately."

* * *

"Sir Mario, are you sure venturing through the air vents of the mansion counts as 'taking care of important matters'?" Isabelle asked the plumber as the two traveled through the Smash Mansion's air ducts, and for reasons unknown.

"Master Hand could-a be storing secret items in-a here, who knows!" was Mario's response. "We might even find-a the attic!" Master Hand has once spoke of this attic, but not a single soul has ever found it. This presumed attic could just be a part of Master Hand's imaginary world.

"We can search for this attic some other time - right now, we should go check on Gil and see how he's handling things with finding the new healthcare plan.

 **Olimar: *reading a newspaper on a couch, looks up after hearing sounds coming from the ceiling (the sounds of Mario and Isabelle going through the air vents) I thought I had told Hocotate Freight to stop sending me alien packages through the ceiling... *groans, puts newspaper down, gets off couch and grabs a switch stick* Stay where you are, Charlie and Brittany, I know you're in there, and I'm coming for you both!**

"Was that Olimar just now?" wondered an afraid Isabelle, suddenly finding herself fearing for her safety. "It would be best if we turn around and exit these vents..." Is Isabelle seriously afraid of Olimar? What is that puny astronaut gonna do, strangle her to death or something? Olimar couldn't even hurt a fly, even if he tried to use his finger to squash it.

"Nonsense-a Isabelle, Olimar will never make-a it up here in due-a time, we have nothing to worry about," assured Mario, continuing on his way. "Remain calm, and everything-a will be..."

"Hi Mario, funny seeing you here!" Toon Link greeted Mario, scaring the living daylights out of the plumber as he shrieked loudly and spazzed all over the place, before temporarily fainting. "Whoops, didn't mean to scare you like that, my apologies!" The young Hylian wasn't alone - Takamaru was accompanying Toon Link, and these swordsmen's intentions for being in the air ducts have yet to be explained.

S"Toon Link and I are up in these vents, looking for valuable treasure!" Takamaru explained after Mario came back to his senses. It's a great pleasure for the brawlers to hear Takamaru speak normal English, instead of the typical Engrish they had to force themselves to subject to. "In case you didn't know, Toon Link has a hankering for treasure, and it easily shows! Like this one time, when he was in this dungeon, and there was this spider, and..."

"Okay, Takamaru, they don't need to know about my adventures, they already know." Toon Link redirected his attention to Mario, who just finished catching a breather. "So Mario, what brings you and Isabelle here?"

"It was all Mario's doing," explained Isabelle, feeling more comfortable now that Toon Link and Takamaru are present. Now she won't have to be the only minder if Mario were to go fully psycho for any reason. "We came up to these air vents so we can..."

"...so we can-a search for valuable treasure, just like-a you guys!" Mario finished for Isabelle, completely changing his objective. This resulted in Isabelle looking at him with a crazy look - whatever happened to taking care of important matters, just as the plumber had alluded to?

"Glad to hear that, you can join us in our search! C'mon, follow us, we can lead the way!" So Mario and Isabelle followed after Toon Link and Takamaru, and Isabelle couldn't help but give Mario a concerned look as they crawled through the air vents.

* * *

 **Bayonetta: The goal of the little program I'm doing with Amy and Fiora is to open their eyes a bit, show them the depths of Sonic and Shulk that they do not know...it's for the benefit of their learning, I'm to them what Bowser is to Corrin... *gives a sly wink to the camera***

Donkey Kong concentrated and focused with all his might. Sweat was mightily pouring down his face, and his facial expressions were evincing the strong emotions his body were feeling at this present time.

"C'mon DK, you got this bro, you can do it..." Ike encouraged the gorilla. But the swordsman wasn't alone - Roy, Sonic, Lloyd, Red the Pokemon Trainer, Shulk, and Diddy Kong were all cheering on for Donkey Kong, encouraging him through the way as the tried his best to conquer his challenge. And then it happened, Donkey Kong finally did it, he finally...

...laid a single lump of excrement in the toilet in the bathroom. The sound of the excrement hitting the toilet water indicated the gorilla's strange accomplishment, as the men who were apparently in the bathroom overreacted with much joy, doing things like jumping up and down, hugging each other, and most of the usual stuff basketball fans do after a sick nasty dunk at a basketball game.

"HE DID IT LET'S GOOOO!" Sonic cheered as he pumped his fists in the air, before exchanging a high-five with Shulk. Amy, Fiora, and Bayonetta were all watching this from afar, seeing this transpire through the open bathroom door.

 **Diddy Kong: Aw man, I'm feeling so hyped right now, I'm feeling like Shulk when he...well, I just feel like Shulk in general! So hyped! *shakes the camera***

"I don't see what the problem is, they're just acting like typical immature boys," stated Fiora. The Homs is still somewhat concerned that her boyfriend Shulk is celebrating over a measly bowel movement.

"Agreed, the only problem I have is the fact that Ike is there..." added Amy. The pink hedgehog has a point - men like Ike, who preach manliness and dignity and strength, should not be hanging out with those men, and shouldn't be acting like them either.

"You will both see the light eventually, but only for another time..." Bayonetta said to the two girls, leading them away from the bathroom. "Why not head down to the beauty salon for...a little relaxation?" Amy and Fiora exchanged worried looks with one another, wondering what else Bayonetta might have in store for them.

* * *

A time spent with your girlfriend should be worthwhile, right? Well it can't be that way when someone like the male Inkling decides to be with you all because of some dumb opinion you formulated to please. This is the situation Link is having with Zelda - these lovebirds were in the library, reading a Hylian history book (with pictures, obviously) and the make Inkling was raining on their parade.

"Ew, why do you insist on reading that load of crap?" the youngster grimaced, disgusted by Link's poor life choices, which are actually poor in his own eyes and nobody else's. "Why not try something fun, like talk about how truly awesome Callie is!"

" _Or_ we can try not talking about her incessantly for the next five minutes," suggested an aggravated Link. "Seriously dude, you talk about that woman like she's Queen Elizabeth or Taylor Swift."

"Link, can you please calm him down, he's growing rather feisty," Zelda whispered in Link's ear. Like Link, the princess of Hyrule is finding this situation hard to bear.

"Ooh you guys got some gossip? I got some gossip myself, and it pertains to Callie!" Hoo boy, what a shocker, didn't see that coming! (Sarcasm level is over 9000.) "Did you know that Callie is supposedly dating this guy, who knew this guy, who knew this other guy, who knew this guy's cousin, who knew..."

"Okay we get it kid, her boyfriend gets around with a bunch of dudes, it's like he has his own exclusive brotherhood, like it's some sort of cult," Link rudely cut off the male Inkling, unable to take the youngster's crap anymore. "Thanks for letting us know, we would have been devastated not knowing Callie's relationship status!"

 **Male Inkling: The tolerance I have seen from Link regarding Callie has been off the charts! Usually when when I talk about Callie with the female Inkling, she would either sock me in the face or, in a more extreme case, throw me in the dumpster bin outside, leaving me in that filth overnight until either Sonic or Yuffie come by to rescue me...Those two aren't still interested in food stamps, are they?**

"Zelda, what do you think of Callie, what's your opinion on her?" the male Inkling asked Zelda, who bit her lower lip out of nervousness. She could give a positive opinion and save herself some trouble; on the flipside she could give negative opinion and have the male Inkling despise her for a certain amount of time - or even forever, depending on the Inkling's love and admiration for Callie.

"I think...I think she's alright, in my opinion," offered Zelda. Great choice here, she picked an opinion that offers middle ground, and is not a definite positive or negative opinion, it's fairly neutral. However, this didn't seem to please the male Inkling, who was visibly feeling some type of way.

"You feeling okay man, you don't look so happy," Link said to the Inkling, attempting to make him feel better. "You seem a little triggered..."

"Triggered?" the male Inkling raised an eyebrow. "Did you just say...triggered? What would I look or even feel 'triggered' for? It's not like I'm gonna exclaim, 'Oh no, I've been triggered, someone please help me!' like anyone would actually care!" The male Inkling looked to the side, apparently displeased of Zelda's opinion on his woman. "But I guess, to each their own..."

"You stay here and keep the Inkling company, I'll be right back," Zelda said to Link as she got up and departed from the library. Zelda doesn't know who she's leaving her boyfriend alone with...

* * *

Unlike her male counterpart, the female Inkling wasn't bothering her new pal, Cloud, about the person she admires, Marie. Instead, she was acting somewhat clingy with Cloud, doing thing such as playing punchies in the dining room. Unless you haven't watched a particular show about a blue jay and a raccoon working at a park, the premise of punchies is to exchange punches with one another - one person punches you, then you punch back, and then the other person punches you back, so forth and so on. The female Inkling was playing this game with Cloud, and the swordsman was showing a high amount of tolerance for the Inkling's antics.

"No Cloud, you're doing it wrong, you're supposed to punch me back!" the female Inkling explained to the blonde after punching his muscular shoulder. "At least the male Inkling knows how to play this game!" Aerith, who was organizing things in the kitchen with the Ice Climbers, watched as the female Inkling playfully punched Cloud's arm; she was hitting it harder than Cloud expected.

"Cloud must be having fun with that Inkling..." Aerith smiled, if you wish to even call it fun... "If only he can show it through his facial expressions." She went over to the fridge to arrange the fridge magnets, and saw a photo of the male and female Inklings posing together with paint guns in their hands on the fridge. If only there was a way to bring them back together...

 **Aerith: Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for the Inklings branching out and hanging around with others...but I feel that they should remain together, rather than be far apart. Their bond should stay intact, and it must remain that way in order for them to get perfectly along with one another. Just like my bond with Cloud, even though we have others that we choose to spend time with, we cannot let outside friendships deteriorate the bond that we have...Am I blushing? Oh, sorry you had to see that...please don't let Cloud see this!**

"Why look at a photo of those losers..." Popo walked over to the fridge... "...when you can look at US!" ...before proceeding to take a photo of him and Nana fishing and show it to Aerith, like she actually cared. "Vintage fishing right here!"

"Now, Popo, be nice to the Inklings, they've done no harm to you," rebuked Nana, who had just finished rearranging the cupboards. Are the Ice Climbers friends, siblings, or lovers? We may never know the answer to this question, but we do know that Popo is more bashful than Nana, his loving friend...or sibling...or lover...just pick one, and stick to it.

"But Nana, the Inklings are our rivals, our enemies. We should have every right to call them losers, and other words constructed to destroy their confidence levels!"

"Please ignore Popo, ever since we made those sundaes a few weeks ago, he thinks that he's above it all," Nana said to Aerith, who responded with a smile. "Sometimes he can become very competitive when it comes to the most mundane things..."

Aerith looked back inside the dining room, and saw that the female Inkling was still playing punchies with Cloud, repeatedly hitting the swordsman's arm over and over again, until her arm wore out. At this point, it doesn't seem like Cloud is having "fun" - he looks straight up agitated!

"Aerith, do you have a minute?" Zelda asked the flower girl, poking her head through the kitchen door. Aerith nodded, and went to go follow Zelda, wanting to see what she wanted her for.

* * *

"Yo, I'm gonna keep it real here, I predict that Gil will think more than 70% of these diseases and allergies are legit," said Fox, going over his list of ailments and discussing these made-up ailments with Pit, Viridi, Lucas, Lucina, and Robin in the cafe. "He's pretty old-fashioned, he honestly won't know any better."

"Still find it hard to believe that Gil would take up the duty of finding us a new healthcare," remarked Lucina. "Suppose he decided to step up when nobody wanted to...that nobody being Mario, of course." Robin reached in to kiss Lucina on the cheek, but the princess lowered her head to look at her list of ailments, ruining Robin's opportunity. The mage has devoted this entire week to landing a kiss on Lucina ever since Chrom interrupted his first attempt to kiss Lucina on the lips last week, and his attempts have all become futile.

 **Robin: Chrom thinks he can ruin my great opportunity to kiss Lucina, huh? Bet he doesn't want me to be in love with his own daughter! How about I get some retribution on Chrom, and interrupt him when he prepares to kiss his woman!...Gotta wait for Chrom to find himself a woman first. I'll give him two to three weeks top.**

Falco and Samus entered the cafe together, carrying their lists of ailments in their hands...wait, Samus accompanied with Falco, of all people? Usually she prefers to go to places and do things by herself, but it must have taken some incessant begging on Falco's part for the avian pilot to be even walking with the bounty hunter.

"Falco and I spent most of our time in the workshop devising wacky diseases and whatnot, and they're guaranteed to knock Gil's socks off," Samus said as she took a seat near the others. Everyone couldn't help but notice how Samus looked more...jovial than before. The brawlers have known Samus to be the type of woman who doesn't give a crap about others, and could care less for anyone else's safety but her own, but here was the bounty hunter, acting happy and pleased.

"Her deceased parents must have came back from the dead or something," inquired Pit, whispering in Viridi's ear, only to be nudged by the goddess of nature.

"That's no good reason for Samus change in behavior, be respectful!" Viridi whispered back. Oh Pit, sometimes he can be so insensitive and he just doesn't even know it. The harsh reality and consequences of being a slowpoke.

"You weren't trying to charm Samus in the workshop, were you?" Fox whispered to Falco, also having a secret conversation of his own concerning Samus' behavior.

"Slightly, but not a whole lot," responded Falco. Fox didn't seem to trust his friend's claim - he doesn't even trust Falco to reserve his seat for him at a big cookout, or any other big get-together where people are inclined to take your seat. "She was acting like this on her own accord, and to be brutally honest with you, I'm a little afraid..."

"You and me both pal...you and me both." Fox would begin his investigation on Samus, but for now he'll share what diseases and allergies he imagined with Falco and Samus. It's like public intelligence sharing - individuals sharing openly with one another (though there is hardly any real information involved).

"Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye!" Gil entered the cafe, grabbing everyone's attention. "It appears that a majority of you have ailments that are not realistic as it seems. Therefore, I'm ordering you to meet with everyone else in the meeting room, so we can discuss whatever ailments you may have! This meeting will prove to be crucial to the healthcare plan I found!" Gil actually found a legit healthcare plan? Shocker.

"Quit it with the 'hear ye' crud, we're not living in ancient times anymore," pleaded Lucas. Gil has been using that same phrase over and over again all day long, mainly to address his fellow brawlers. Must be his new favorite catchphrase.

 **Fox: Gil found a healthcare plan, call me shocked. Only time will tell if the plan he found will be sufficient for all of us. And on that remark, I'm a bit frightened...**

"I can say whatever I want to say, it's my right!" stated Gil, defending his use of free speech. "Now meet me in the meeting room, or I'll have Master Hand punish you all, by making you...uh, um...he'll make you...scrub Heihachi Mishima's back for a full week!"

"Scrub Heihachi Mishima's back?" questioned Samus. "Eh, I'd take it, as long as it's not Mario we're talking about." Isabelle, the go-to girl for scrubbing Mario, would take the offer of scrubbing Heihachi's back any day of the week. You don't know what the poor shih tzu has to subject herself to.

* * *

Zelda and Aerith met together in a separate room, to discuss some serious matters. Though these matters aren't that serious - they're discussing how the Inklings are treating Link and Cloud.

"Cloud appears to be bothered by the female Inkling, and her antics," Aerith said to Zelda. "How is the male Inkling treating Link?" Wouldn't it kill someone to at least give the Inklings names for once?!

"The male Inkling has been irritating Link with his strange obsession with Callie, he keeps going on and on about her," replied Zelda. "It is imperative that we bring the two Inklings back together - but how are we gonna do that?"

"I think I know just the solution..." Aerith reached into her pocket, and pulled out a slip of paper, a list of diseases and allergies Gil forced her to write. However, the flower girl didn't write anything down, for she had no ailments and she wouldn't dare to mess with Gil by making fake ailments on her own, but for this purpose... "Gil did say that there was a meeting to discuss our ailments, no?"

* * *

Mario, Isabelle, Toon Link, and Takamaru continued to venture through the mansion's air vents, in search for treasure, Their little adventure is proving to be quite noisy, as the noises they were making in the vents could be heard through the ceiling, and heard by the brawlers as they made their way to the meeting room.

 **Lloyd: Hey Meta Knight, you hear those noises from the ceiling? Do you think a ghost must have infiltrated the mansion?  
** **Meta Knight: I'm pretty sure if there was a ghost, Luigi would be immediately take care of it. Also, ghosts don't make pounding noises like the noises we're hearing right now, they would make scary sounds to scare their victims!  
Lloyd: Ooh, what if the thing lurking in the ceiling is that Kayako Takei lady from _The Grudge_? You know, that scary Japanese horror movie that had that scary-looking Asian chick with the pale skin and black hair? Ike was scared of that movie, he had not one, but TWO nightlights on in his room for nearly an entire month!  
Meta Knight: It was actually you that did that, you buffoon...and if such a character were to infiltrate our mansion, we would use you as a living sacrifice...but we've already used you in one too many situations, so it's about time we search for another sacrificial lamb...Pit would be a good contender for the job.**

A certain question was looming on Toon Link's mind as the Hylian crawled through the air vents, and he had to ask it right away...

"Mario why are you and Isabelle looking for treasure as well?" he asked Mario, who was stumped real quick. The plumber never gave a good reason for him and Isabelle hunting for treasure - he just went along with the flow.

"Well, it's a bit-a of a long story to tell..." Mario began. Not even Isabelle could bail him out in this given moment. "You see, I'm not-a here looking for a treasure...I'm here-a looking for an attic. Sadly I forgot-a where it is..." Now Mario switched back to his original quest. Will he stick to it, or return to his "treasure hunting"?

"Didn't know we even have an attic..." Takamaru remarked. "Sure, I've heard Master Hand refer to it plenty of times, but I always thought that he was bluffing, using some imaginary compartment of the mansion to boast himself up somehow."

"It's the best-a kept secret between me and-a Master Hand. The attic contains a bunch-a of old relics and what-a not...including a Pure-a Heart."

Isabelle, Toon Link, and Takamaru were all astonished when Mario mentioned the Pure Heart. They have no idea in heck what this Pure Heart is or where it is originated from, but judging by the tone of Mario's voice, it must be a very important item!

"This Pure-a Heart is like no-a other artifact, it has immense-a power and is powered-a by the force of-a love," continued Mario. "It was given to-a me as a gift by Paper Mario, a 2D counterpart of-a mine from a mystical book-a full of paper characters. Everyone from my universe-a is in that book, in paper form - Luigi, Bowser, Peach, Toad, and lots-a of enemies..."

"FOUND YOU CHARLIE, STAY WHERE YOU ARE!" Olimar appeared out of the blue, ambushing poor Mario and hitting him with his switch. "I know you're in there in that Mario costume, you can't fool me! To think that you would have the gall to purposely lose weight just so you could wear a Mario costume and sneak another alien through the mansion undetected...where is Brittany, I demand to know where she is! Bet she has a...Peach...costume?"

Olimar trailed off when he saw Isabelle, Toon Link, and Takamaru looking at him, afraid. This was their first time experiencing the aggressive side of Olimar, and needless to say, his beatdown of Mario was slightly out of character. Fortunately Olimar regained his form, and threw the switch away.

"Please excuse me for my unorthodox behavior, that was totally not me," the astronaut apologized. "So what's the occasion, why are we in these air vents?"

* * *

 **Master Hand: Gil has informed me that he has made each resident write down a list of diseases and allergies that they have, and he's worried that some of them might have written made-up ailments just to mess with him. So we're gonna have a meeting in the meeting room, and test the validity of these ailments to see if they're legit or not! There shall be dire consequences if these ailments turn out to be fake...Is me saying that there'll be consequences has become cliche for me? What else am I suppose to say, "Even though you have committed a terrible crime, I'm just gonna leave you off the hook"? Do you not know who you're speaking to?!**

Everyone in the Smash Mansion except for the five individuals in the air vents gathered together in the meeting room, where Master Hand and Gil were already present. Bayonetta brought Amy and Fiora with her, and for reasons unknown. Why did the Umbra Witch bother on bringing these two ladies to the meeting in the first place, it's not like they live at the mansion!

"Bayonetta why are we here, we're not included under the healthcare plan!" explained Fiora as the three ladies entered the room. "Therefor this meeting doesn't apply to us..."

"Oh, but it does apply to Sonic and Shulk," responded Bayonetta, motioning to both Shulk and Sonic, already seated. "I want you two to stick with me, and pay attention to your boyfriends very closely..." Even though Amy and Fiora heavily decided against doing this, they both felt they had no other choice.

"Glad to see everyone in here...well mostly everyone," Master Hand said before correcting himself, after seeing that the five in the air vents, as well as Zelda and Aerith, were the only ones not present. The giant hand will be quick to punish these seven individuals, he takes great delight in doing that. "Now that I finally said those words - you won't believe how much I was dying to say that - I'll let Gil have the floor. Gil?"

"Thank you, Master Hand," Gil said as he came to the forefront. "I want you all to pass your lists of ailments up to me, so I can read over them and decide whether or not they're legit or not. Let's get to it!" So the brawlers passed their lists up to the front, with some giggling and/or holding their laughter in. The red faces of some of the brawlers didn't help eliminate Gil's suspicions one bit.

 **Samus: Call me crazy for saying this, but I think I'm gonna enjoy this meeting. It will be all the more fun when Gil sees what I wrote...**

"Let's see what we got here..." Gil looked through the lists, pulling out Samus' list first. He skimmed over it - and then his eyes bulged. "Samus you have the Cyrus Virus? What in the heck is that?!"

"It's a virus with a plethora of symptoms, like licking hammers, an obsession with wrecking balls, tongue sticking...and something that has to do with your butt," Samus explained while licking a hammer, before sticking her tongue out at Gil. Several individuals in the meeting room were laughing quietly. "Sometimes I have no control over these symptoms, it's terrible..."

"I feel for ya Samus, I really do," Yoshi placed his hand on his chest, sympathizing for Samus, who held her head down in faux sadness. She's playing this Cyrus Virus thing awfully good, gotta give the bounty hunter a lot of credit for her acting prowess.

"That seems like a legitimate virus, and a terrible virus at that," remarked Master Hand. "Any more ailments that jump out to you, Gil?"

"According to Rosalina's list, she is suffering from what is known as the 'Skittles pox'," Gil read Rosalina's list. "...Is this true, Rosalina?"

"I'm afraid so..." responded Rosalina - who literally had Skittles all over her face, like that kid from that Skittles commercial. "Happens to me on an occasional basis, unfortunately modern medicine can't cure this illness - I have to wait it out for the Skittles pox to go away..."

"But did you tape glue those Skittles to your face though?" questioned Master Hand. "Ganondorf, inspect your woman and see if she glued those Skittles to her face!" Ganondorf quickly gave Master Hand the snuggle bear look when the giant hand uttered the word "woman"; the Demon Lord and Rosalina made a vow to put their short-lived relationship on hold back in episode 22, and they also vowed that no one would ever know about said relationship.

"How...did you...even..." Ganondorf was understandably at a loss of words, unsure of what to say. Rosalina looked around, wondering how Master Hand found out about this Rosalina-Ganondorf item.

"Because I'm the creator of the Smash Universe, duh! I know everything there is to know, like how Jacky Bryant stays up late at night to watch reruns of that _Yo Gabba Gabba_ junk!" A now humiliated Jacky looked down at the floor, bitter that Master Hand just exposed him in front of everyone. Akira, Jacky's roommate, nodded his head, affirming what Master Hand said. Jacky will exact his revenge soon...have fun doing that on Master Hand.

 **Jacky: It's those dumb characters that keep reeling me back into the show...and those colors, UGH! The colors are the main reason for keeping my interest in that show! Same reason why people watch Disney films and anything Disney-related...**

"Don't make me say it again Ganondorf, inspect Rosalina's 'Skittle Pox' so we can determine if it's a legit illness or not!" ordered Master Hand; the Demon Lord grumpily got off and marched over to Rosalina, gently taking a Skittle off of her face. You can bet that if it was a woman other than Rosalina, Ganondorf would have been more harsh.

"See, this is a genuine Skittle, Rosalina didn't glue it to her face or anything like that," the Demon Lord showed the sugary shell to everyone in the meeting room, though due to the shell's size, it's hard to distinguish any glue product on it.

"Thanks for giving me that potion, Ashley," Rosalina secretly whispered to Ashley; the young witch smiled and nodded her head.

"Not enough hard-proof evidence, but I guess that'll do," sighed Master Hand. "Moving on..."

* * *

"So tell us more about this Pure Heart that you speak of," Olimar said to Mario as the group of five continued through the air vents in search for the attic, which apparently only Mario and Master Hand know about.

"The Pure-a Heart is blue in color, and is powered-a by romance," explained Mario, feeling very close to the destination. "With the Pure Heart-a in my possession, I could use-a it to strengthen my love-a with Peach, which would in-a turn lead me to proposing to her-a and eventually marry."

"Why couldn't you have proposed to Peach earlier, would have saved you a lot of trouble!" Toon Link offered his opinion on the matter. Back in episode 16, Toon Link offered Mario some romantic advice - not to be a try-hard - and the young Hylian wouldn't hesitate to give the plumber more advice if needed.

"I tried-a back in January, and Peach turned-a down my proposal before-a bursting into tears. The Pure-a Heart would prevent such-a things from happening when I propose-a to Peach the second time-a around."

"Hey guys, I see a vent below us!" Olimar spotted an air vent below him. "This could lead us to the attic! Only one way to find out..."

* * *

Back to the meeting room, where the brawlers entertained Master Hand and Gil with the diseases and allergies they came up with at the top of their heads. Some used Ashley's potions to good use, making their diseases more believable, while others did some role-playing to make make their ailments look legit. Needless to say, it's working!

 **Ashley: Thanks to just about everyone, I've completely ran out of potions, meaning that I have to spend my entire weekend making new ones...the ire I have for the mansion residents grows each and every waking day.**

"Alright Sonic, you're up next," Gil said as he looked over the hedgehog's list. His facial expression variably changed as he went down the list, his eyes squinting out of intrigue. "You have...cheese fingers? Could you explain what that is?"

"Pay close attention, Amy, you're gonna learn something..." Bayonetta whispered to Amy. "Listen very, very closely..."

"Um, yeah, so cheese fingers, it's this condition I have, it's the reason I wear these gloves all the time," explained Sonic. Evidently he got this "cheese fingers" thing from Pit. "Wanna see them?" Gil nodded his head. "Okay, but don't say I warned ya!"

So Sonic took off his gloves...and showed off his fingers, which strongly resembled mozzarella sticks, but without the breaded exterior. Everyone looked at the hedgehog's fingers in shock and amazement; Ashley's potions must be some pretty potent stuff!

"Well I certainly didn't expect that..." Gil responded, shaking his head out of fright. "I would have you eat one of your fingers, but that would be too big of a risk. Who else do we have..." Gil picked out Shulk's list, and skimmed it. "According to this list Shulk, you have 'pelvic fissures'..." Bayonetta tapped Fiora on her shoulder, wanting her to pay attention to her boyfriend. "Care to explain what it is, and how it works?"

"Gladly, so basically these pelvic fissures I have are occasional tears in my pelvis, and it can be understandably very painful..." explained Shulk. The Homs got up, and before yelling out in imaginary pain and sitting back down; several individuals were doing their best to stifle their laughter. "My doctor has no remedy for my fissures, and no home remedies can solve it either..."

"I don't understand what was so wrong with what Sonic and Shulk did, they were just messing around like the others were," Fiora whispered to Bayonetta; the Umbra Witch scoffed at the Homs' response. Her guidance isn't working as well as she hoped.

"Silly little girl, don't you see what is going on?" Bayonetta frowned. "Sonic and Shulk are both following up on everyone's antics - are you both fine with your love interests being followers, rather than being the leaders?" Is this woman trying to guilt trip Amy and Fiora or something, what does this witch have up her sleeve?!

"Wait just a second!" Master Hand blurted out loudly, after looking through the list of ailments with his nonexistent eyes. "Cloud, you never gave Gil your list of ailments!" Justified since that the female Inkling was irritating the swordsman. "Same goes for you Link! What gives?!"

 **Link: True story, I've never been sick _ever_ in my life. Closest thing I've ever gotten sick was when I had motion sickness, but it's not that serious...at least in my opinion.**

 **Cloud: Eh, what's the point of making a list of ailments for, Gil is finding a healthcare plan. I'll write one down when someone more trustworthy handles the job.**

"We have their lists right here!" Aerith barged inside the meeting room, grabbing everyone's attention, with Zelda accompanying her. Both women had the lists of their respective boyfriends in their hands.

"The two of us did the lists for Link and Cloud since they were both stuck with the Inklings," stated Zelda. "And apparently the time they spent with them was all for naught, because believe it or not, Link and Cloud...are both allergic to ink, or anything composed of ink! They have... _Inkitis_!"

At the sound of this Inkitis virus (obviously fake), there was a collective gasp within the meeting room, with everyone sporting astonished faces. The Inklings were both astonished, as they both looked up at their new best friend in disbelief.

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" the male Inkling asked Link. The Hylian looked towards Zelda, who was convincing her boyfriend to play along with this Inkitis shtick and appease to the Inkling.

"Cloud and I didn't tell you two about our conditions, because...because we didn't know how to tell you guys," replied Link. "I was stuck to you, and Cloud was stuck to your female friend, and you were both wanting to spend time with us, because of your differences. Telling you guys the truth would have been devastating."

"Well I get what you're saying, but I still think you and your Inkling friend are both losers for not liking Marie," said the female Inkling; why is she feeling so salty? "Preferring Callie over Marie, I shake my head at you both..." Amy, suddenly feeling the urge to say something, got up and said the following:

"So what if you like Marie, and the male Inkling likes Callie - can't you just put aside your different opinions for the greater good? Besides, it's not like Link or Cloud care for both ladies, they were just saving face only to meet your demands! Sometimes we may have an opinion, behavior, or anything else that is different, but that shouldn't mean that we should antagonize against someone else because they don't think or act the same way you do! I mean, I love Sonic to death, and in addition to being a jerk, he's also an idiot, but I wouldn't love him just because of his idiocies!"

"I believe she's talking about you," Sonic said to Dark Pit. The angel's response came in the form of a faceplam and the shaking of his head.

"Point of the matter is, you shouldn't stay apart because one thinks differently from you. Rather, you should put all your differences aside, and bond together and keep the bond going."

After heeding these words, the two Inklings looked at each other for a brief moment, before getting up from their seats and walking towards each other, meeting at the center of the room. Master Hand was feeling ticked - mainly because the Inklings were now taking the attention away from him and Gil (but mostly him).

 **Master Hand: Our meeting was going so well, until that Amy brat had to get all philosophical and let the Inklings have their moment. But what transpired afterwards was just...**

"Sorry for starting that argument about Team Marie and Team Callie earlier today," the female Inkling apologized to her male counterpart (seriously, these kids need names real quick). The Inkling held out her pink for a pinky promise of sorts. "Wanna be friends again?" In a not-so-dramatic moment, the male Inkling extended his pinky finger to the female Inkling's...and the two fingers were entwined.

"Friends forever, just like we had promised," the male Inkling responded with a sincere smile; the female Inkling smiled back. This touching, heartfelt moment was suddenly ruined when Mario, Isabelle, Toon Link, Takamaru, and Olimar fell through the air vent in the ceiling, crashing unto the table.

"Olimar, you buffoon, this-a isn't the attic!" Mario frowned at the astronaut. It seriously took Olimar that long to unlatch the air vent. How very sad...

"Ah, Mario, Isabelle, glad that both of you are here!" gleamed Master Hand, ignoring the fact that these two crashed on the meeting - although the Inklings already had it on hold with their little moment. "We're having a meeting to discuss the ailments the residents have, and Gil just found a suitable healthcare plan!"

"Actually, to tell you the truth, Master Hand...I didn't find one," confessed Gil, shocking Master Hand and everyone else in the room. Ha, and you thought he found one didn't you? Never trust a fake librarian! "I fibbed about it so everyone would assume that I did a great job...but instead I ultimately failed. Only reason I took up upon the task was so I could spend more time out of the library, and now the time I've spent has gone to waste. So sorry everyone."

"Does Luigi have his own separate healthcare plan and insurance plan, since he lives out on his own now?" Olimar perked up, raising his head. "Why not ask him to extend his healthcare to all of us!"

"Why that's a splendid idea!" exclaimed Master Hand, who went from angry to joyful in the blink of an eye. Gil should thank Olimar for his suggestion, otherwise he would have been punished greatly from Master Hand. Fibbing about finding a healthcare plan is no laughing matter. "Mario, would you be a dear and ask Luigi if he can extend his healthcare plan to us?" Mario gave the giant hand a thumbs up. "Excellent, then it's all settled. Meeting adjourned!"

So everyone got up and left the room, with some individuals heading off to Ashley's room to return the young witch's potion bottles. It's back to square one in potion making for Ashley.

"Thanks for saving me and Link from those Inklings," Cloud thanked Aerith as the two exited the room. "That Inkling chick was driving me insane, but it's a good thing I didn't unleash my anger on her..."

"Gotta hand it to ya Amy, those were some powerful words you said back there," Sonic said to Amy, as the two lovebirds left. "Don't you think so Shulk?"

"'Powerful' wouldn't be the right word to describe it - but I still think that was a resounding speech," replied Shulk, also with his woman, Fiora. Bayonetta glared at Amy and Fiora as they departed and shook their heads, salty that they both defied the Umbra Witch - especially Amy.

"Meeting went along better than I expected, Master Hand and Gil really bought in to the diseases and allergies we had to show them," Falco conversed with Samus outside of the meeting room. "Girl you're a savage for that Cyrus Virus thing, I couldn't have made that one up at the top of my head!"

"Honestly I enjoyed that meeting, it was kinda fun," smiled Samus. This was an actual, genuine smile, and Samus literally said the word "fun"! When was the last time you ever heard her say such a word?

 **Samus: Like Amy had said, or at least alluded to, we're all different, and sometimes we have different senses of humor. For me, my sense of humor is slightly twisted and sadistic - making Gil look like an ignorant fool was an absolute blast for me. Really wished the humiliation could have lasted a bit longer, but like the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end...**

* * *

"Of course-a bro, I'd be happy to extend-a my healthcare plan-a to the mansion residents, anything-a for you guys!" Luigi said to Mario at the front door, accepting his brother's offer to extend his healthcare to his fellow brawlers residing at the mansion. "Just gotta ask-a Daisy for permission first..."

"She'll-a come around eventually," assured Mario, knowing that Daisy cares too much about the brawlers...well, maybe except for certain ones. "I'll be speaking with-a you later tonight!"

"Okay bro, see-a you later!" And with that, Luigi closed the front door, and Mario was making his way back to the mansion...until he was stopped in his tracks by Toon Link and Takamaru, both smiling suspiciously.

"So we went back inside the air ducts, even though Master Hand warned us not to..." Takamaru began. "...and we found the attic! And it had treasure!"

"THIS kind of treasure!" Toon Link showed Mario a Pure Heart - blue in color, just like the plumber said. This heart artifact hovered in the air, its power illuminating from it. "We found the Pure Heart for you, safe and sound!" Mario didn't listen - he was too busy admiring the Pure Heart, his eyes in an obvious trance, before he shook his head and regained his composure.

"I don't think I can-a thank you boys enough for this," Mario said as he grabbed the Pure Heart, holding it with both hands. "I'll find a way to pay-a you both back for this. Once my proposal to-a Peach becomes a rounding success, I'll know just-a whom I should-a be thankful for!" Mario returned to the mansion with the Pure Heart, hoping to put this artifact in a place that is easily accessible, but no one but him can see it. Toon Link and Takamaru looked on, watching the plumber walk away.

"Luigi already had his moment in the sun of love..." remarked Toon Link. "Now, it's time for Mario to have a moment of his own!"


	33. Episode 33: Dimensions Part 1

_Author's Note:_

 _This installment of Smash Life contains some spoilers - Super Paper Mario spoilers, that is. You have been warned..._

 _Oh, and I have this review to answer from Glamorous Cat, who may not be Glamorous Cat anymore..._

 _"Decided to change my name since it was originally Glamorous-cat. What do you think?"_

 _I think that's a stellar name - it sounds somewhat original, and originality is the key to success (maybe not in life, but in other things for sure)._

* * *

 **Episode 33: Dimensions Part 1**

Suppose you want to clean around your house, and you want a place to keep some of your more old, unwanted, and presumably useless mostly useful stuff at. You could take the high road and sell this type of stuff at a garage sale and make a quick buck, but if you truly value your memories, that wouldn't be the most wisest thing to do.

Or say, for instance, you want to make more space in your home, and the only way to do that is by having someone move out of their bedroom. Where do they go, where should they go to sleep? The dining room? Nah. The living room? Way too big. The kitchen? If you can stick a bed inside a kitchen without causing any trouble - short-term or long-term - then you're a freaking wizard.

There is only one solution to these practical problems, and the solution is one measly room you can find underneath the roof of your house (if you even have a roof to begin with) and it's called...the attic. The Smash Mansion has an attic, and only Mario and Master Hand were the only two that knew about it at the time - once Toon Link and Takamaru discovered this room, the word soon spread, and now everyone knows where the attic is (much to the chagrin of Master Hand, for whatever reason).

In this attic, the brawlers found a bunch of things they thought were missing, but instead were filling up with dust in this very room. Mario found the blood pressure machine he used to have under his Dr. Mario persona. Dunban found his eyepatch, which he only uses for "special occasions". And Ganondorf found...a pair of denchers. Truth be told, he only got these denchers so he can be fully prepared once he becomes an elderly Gerudo. It's best to get the necessary senior citizen tools required, before you gain dementia due to old age and forget every little thing.

And now it's time for Ness and Lucas to take a look-see inside the attic, and see what stuff of theirs Master Hand stored inside. They waited patiently near the ladder to the attic - built by yours truly, Mr. Game and Watch - as Captain Falcon climbed down, carrying a George Foreman grill in his arm.

"Hope you kids love some juicy sirlon steak!" Captain Falcon told Ness and Lucas after he finished climbing down the ladder. Can someone tell this dude that Ness and Lucas are _teenagers_? This is one of the two most forgettable things concerning the brawlers, the other thing being Marth's martial status. "I'll be grilling with this bad boy all weekend long!"

 **Captain Falcon: Been a good while since I last used this bad boy... *pats his George Foreman grill* Had I found my grill earlier, I could have saved everyone from eating Luigi's horrid awful hamburgers, those patties looked like a bunch of monstrosities...poor Villager even got attacked by one...**

"Let's see what crud is up here that belongs to us," Ness climbed up the ladder, and Lucas climbed up after his best friend. The two arrived in the attic, and looked about, amazed at some of the belongings stored. However, one particular item caught the teenagers' eye - the _Paper Mario_ storybook, sitting atop a desk.

"This book sure does look interesting!" Lucas remarked, making his way towards the desk - only to be stopped in his tracks by Mewtwo, who teleported in front of the PSI whiz with his arms folded. "Aw, come on, Mewtwo, what gives?!"

"The book you see before you is not meant for your eyes, or anyone else's," stated Mewtwo. "Only exceptions to this rule are Mario, Luigi, Toad, Bowser, and his only biological son, Bowser Jr." Seems fair, since the individuals Mewtwo mentioned are the only ones familiar with the storybook, as their paper counterparts are featured in the mystical book of sorts.

"What if I have a paper counterpart in that book, I wanna see for myself!" Lucas attempt to sneak past Mewtwo, but Mewtwo, being the Psychic-type Pokemon he is, was always one step ahead of the curve, blocking Lucas' many attempts to get past him. After his attempts all failed, Lucas finally gave up. "Dang Mewtwo, you're way too good for me..."

"Well they don't call me the strongest Psychic-type Pokemon for nothing, what did you expect," Mewtwo cockily smirked. Mewtwo, the strongest Psychic-type Pokemon? To be fair, he does have a point, being tied with Lugia for the highest base stat total out of all Psychic types.

"Yo, Lucas, get down here, there's nothing up in the attic for us to see," Ness called out to his friend from the bottom of the ladder. Seeing that he nor Lucas had anything of theirs in the attic, Ness evidently decided to leave the attic for good.

"I'll be seeing you around," Lucas gave these parting words to Mewtwo as the young boy - um, teen - exited the attic through the ladder. Mewtwo smirked and turned around to face the desk - only to see that the _Paper Mario_ storybook was gone! Did it disappear, or did it vanish, or did it do both? (Kinda impossible, since they both mean the same thing.)

"The storybook, it's gone!" Mewtwo panicked, wondering what Mario and the others would think of him. "How could it have disappeared like that?! Unless a certain someone might have stolen it..."

* * *

Ness and Lucas made their way back to their room - with Ness holding the _Paper Mario_ storybook in his arm. With Lucas keeping Mewtwo occupied, the baseball cap-wearing PSI whiz managed to snatch the storybook, without being detected. Popple the Shadow Thief would be real proud of this fine, young lad.

 **Ness: Obviously the storybook appears to be very powerful, especially if Master Hand stored it in the attic where no one would bother finding it and reading it. Still, a book that tells every story in the _Paper Mario_ universe has a great ton of intrigue.**

Once inside their room, Ness and Lucas looked through the storybook, taking hold of all the characters inside. Lucas happened to touch a particular picture - a picture of Goombella, a second-year student at the University of Goom - and just like that, the female Goomba sprung up out of the storybook like magic.

"Where the heck am I?" the goomba analyzed her surroundings as Ness and Lucas both looked on, starstruck as ever. "And who the heck are you guys, and why are you looking at me like I'm crazy or something?" Goombella then asked the two starstruck teenagers.

"H-How did you come out of the storybook like that?!" questioned Ness, still in utter disbelief. "My friend just touched a picture of you...and there you are!"

"Maybe it's because that storybook there is magical, genius." Even in the real world, Goombella still packs a ton of sass and spunk. It's the most defining trait of her personality, it makes her endearing to _Paper Mario_ fans everywhere. "Why don't you knock yourselves out, and touch more pictures and see what happens!"

And so that's exactly what Ness and Lucas did, flipping through the pages of the storybook and touching every character in sight. Some of the characters they brought to life included the following - Francis, the socially awkward otaku who apparently owns a fort by himself; Bombette, the pink bomb who can explode at will; Doopliss, a ghost that not only can steal bodies, but also has the ability to take the letter "P" out of his name; Squirps, an absolutely annoying alien who is lowkey a prince of a space kingdom; and Tutankoopa, a koopa with a known pharaoh complex. His status as a ghost is debated to this very day.

"Squirps feels so ALIVE!" Squirps exclaimed after realizing he was out of the storybook. "Though Squirps misses the wonders of space, squoorp."

"Alright, you are all free, go out there and enjoy your freedom!" commanded Ness, and the _Paper Mario_ characters did as they were told, heading out of the room to enjoy what the Smash Mansion has to offer. It can't be more fun than what's inside the storybook, can it?

"We should probably return the storybook to the attic, before Mewtwo tells Mario on us," Lucas warned Ness, but Ness was slightly unconcerned about his friend's fear. Mewtwo isn't the type of person that tells on others, he feels as if that's a sign of childishness and immaturity.

"Even if he does, Mario won't do a single thing, he'll come to Master Hand about it and let him solve everything," responded Ness. "Although he refuses to admit it, Mario's afraid of Master Hand, and he tries not to show it too. Let's go grab a snack, we'll leave the storybook on my bed."

Ness and Lucas exited the room, closing the door behind them. Moments after the teens departed, a particular jester sprung up out of the storybook, sporting a smile on his face. This jester was none other than Dimentio, and he's supposed to be dead - but due to his presence in the storybook, the jester lives on, despite his fatal fate.

"All it took was for two bums to summon the other storybook characters - like a blackjack player picking out what cards to draw on his next hand - to bring me out of that wretched book..." remarked Dimentio. "Now that I'm here, my reign of terror shall continue evermore!" With Dimentio out of the storybook, the entire world - no, wait, the entire _universe_ \- is essentially on life alert.

* * *

 **Mario: First-a time I proposed to Peach, it was an absolute-a failure, and I know-a why...I proposed-a to Peach out of the blue-a because of Bayonetta, who put-a me up to it. I didn't work-a my way up to the proposal, and had I done-a that, the proposal would-a have felt more genuine, and-a Peach wouldn't have cried-a her eyes out. So I just-a have to work my way up, and propose-a to Peach when the time-a is right! With the Pure-a Heart now in my possession, the process will go-a more smooth than planned, and I kept-a the Pure Heart where no one will-a find it - Donkey Kong's large-a cooler, which he hardly uses anymore! *pauses for a very brief moment* Gotta go check-a on the cooler and make sure-a Donkey Kong hasn't used it for anything... *quickly gets up and bolts for Donkey Kong's room***

"Mario we have a serious crisis on our hands!" Mewtwo teleported to the cafe, interrupting Mario's and Peach's alone time. "Ness and Lucas have the _Paper Mario_ storybook from the attic, and with it they might cause some trouble..." Mewtwo stopped momentarily when he saw Mario and Peach snuggling with one another; perhaps he arrived at a bad time.

"Oh, sorry Mewtwo, were-a you saying something?" Mario stopped his snuggling and faced Mewtwo, before the Psychic-type Pokemon lost his patience. Mewtwo had to repeat what he just said to Mario, and was the plumber's response, you might ask? "Ah well, it's just-a Ness and Lucas, no harm-a can possibly be done!" Seeing these two PSI masters as minor threats, though they're many steps below minor, Mario sees no reason for Mewtwo to feel concerned.

"But Mario, we may never know what those two are capable of!" exclaimed Peach. "Have you forgotten what the storybook can do? One simple touch of any character in that book, and the character instantly comes to life! That means an evildoer like Grodus could be summoned..."

"Hey Mario!" Goombella popped out of nowhere in the cafe, scaring the plumber and prompting him to hide behind his woman. He can't expect to successfully propose to Peach soon if he hides behind his future wife to save himself from some harmless paper Goomba.

"See, told you there would be some trouble!" Mewtwo said to a cowering Mario. "Granted this goomba is practically harmless, but the same can't be said for anyone else that might be summoned! Could be an evil villain of some sort!"

"No evil villain hasn't been summoned yet, maybe except for Francis...but like any other otaku, he won't hurt a single soul." Goombella suddenly took hold of Peach, who was surprised to see the pink goomba standing before her. "Oh hi Peach, how's it going?"

"Everything is going just dandy!" smiled Peach, feigning her worry over Goombella being in the real world, and not in the storybook where she rightfully belongs. "Anyone else aside from Francis walking among us?"

* * *

Over the course of the week, Samus and Zero were working on a giant, mechanical robot. It had everything that a prototypical giant robot needs and more - arms, legs, a sustainable torso, a rocket arm for firing ammo, and even a ventilation system, to keep it cool. Only one crucial part was missing, and it was the most important part too - the head. Zero had promised Samus he would build a heat for the robot, but apparently he slacked off on his job.

"X kept distracting me from working on the head, always wanting me to check on the security system and junk!" was the robot's excuse, when it's only X who is allowed to interact with the system; everyone else is barred from even laying a single finger on the system. So Zero has nobody else to blame but himself.

 **Zero: We saved the robot's head for last, and for one good reason - the head has to look LEGIT! Head looks hideous and ugly, and the rest of the robot's body will look the same way. Our robot doesn't necessarily have to be handsome or anything, it just needs to look...tolerable for the eyes. Would you like it if you were walking across a street, and saw a grotesque robot staring at you? You must be insane to say yes to that!**

"That robot is looking mighty fine, squeeep!" the annoying alien known as Squirps approached Samus and Zero, complimenting them on their creation. "But it's missing a head though, squinkle, and that simply won't do!" Samus and Zero exchanged questionable looks, trying to figure out what the heck Squirps is and why he was even bothering them.

"Let's sell that thing on eBay and see how much money we can get in return!" Zero suggested to his blonde bounty hunter partner. Like anyone would pay their hard-earned money for a talking paper cutout of some ugly alien (as Paper Bowser had called Squirps) that will annoy the buyer to no end...

"Or we can have him serve as the robot's head," Samus countered Zero with a suggestion of her own - a more rational suggestion. "Sure he's made out of paper, but we can give him a helmet so he won't get hurt."

"Actually preferred the blonde robot's idea, squook, but Squirps supposes your idea will do!" exclaimed Squirps. Squirps was content with being sold to a random stranger online for cold hard cash?! Dude's a freaking weirdo... "Squirps would be more than happy to be a part of your wonderful contraption, sqeeep!"

"Then it's settled, we'll go get the connector cords and the helmet so we insert you inside the robot."

"Hoo boy, not now Squirple, Squirps has got to go..." Squirps moved about in place, indicating he has to either do a number one or a number two (hopefully it's a number one). "Squirps knew he should have used the bathroom after being released from that storybook..."

"So THAT'S how you're here, in our world!" exclaimed Zero, before a logical question was conjectured in his head that led him to asking: "But if you're made out of paper, then why do you have to use a bathroom? Are your feces made out of balled-up paper or something?"

"Please, Zero, let's not get into any unnecessary details..." grimaced Samus, pleading the robot not to discuss Squirps's urinary movements, bowel movements, or any other bodily movements. Squirps is an alien, after all, he could possibly do more than just urinate and defecate.

 **Samus: Zero was already endearing enough throughout the whole process of building the robot, what with his "LET'S MAKE THE ROBOT A GIANT KILLING MACHINE!" crap, and by the looks of it, this "Squirps" character looks to be just as irritating. Those boys do one little thing to throw me over the edge, and I'm completely done with life.**

So Samus and Zero went to the nearest bathroom, so Squirps can take care of his business and serve as the final component to the giant robot. Once the three arrived at a bathroom, a problem suddenly arose...

"Squirps doesn't trust this bathroom, squook, let's go try another one!" Squirps had to say about the first bathroom he arrived at. Is the alien dude seriously doing pick-and-choose with the bathrooms? Samus may be closing in on being done with life...whatever that's supposed to mean. Will she stop breathing and eating, and all that good stuff if she's done with life?

"But it's just a freaking bathroom, what's so wrong with it?" argued Zero. "Bathrooms are all the same, they have a toilet, a sink, a shower or bath, and even a window for perverts to look at unsuspecting women!" Wario and Captain Falcon have made good use of the window aspect, and because of that, both men have been barred from lingering near a bathroom window, unless they want Master Hand to give them a loitering ticket at their own residence. Yes, Master Hand can give out loitering tickets to the very residents that live at his mansion, what did you expect from the Smash Universe creator?

"That's what Squirps is the most concerned about, squiggle, can't have the ladies check Squirps out!" In all brutal honesty, what woman in their right mind would want to check out Squirps? A desolate person like Shadow the Hedgehog could get a girlfriend arguably faster than Squirps ever would.

"Apparently we only have one bathroom without a window, and it's downstairs," stated Samus. "Hopefully we get there quickly, before you have an accident..."

* * *

Unlike the other _Paper Mario_ characters, all of whom have remained inside the mansion, Dimentio decided to head outside, and for one reason - to look for Luigi. Believe or not, Paper Luigi is the host for the Chaos Heart, an artifact used to destroy the universe, and Dimentio had used this version of Luigi in his diabolical plan to destroy the universe, although his plan was derailed by Mario and company. Dimentio plans on carrying out a similar plan with the real-life Luigi, using the same tactics he did the first time around.

"This Luigi now lives by himself, and his brother Mario has yet to do much with Peach it seems," remarked Dimentio. "Can't help but feel a sense of irony foreshadowing this..." Dimentio neared the front door of Luigi's home, ready to put his plan into action.

 **Dimentio: Ah, finally I have the chance to meet the real-life Luigi, like a Charmander receiving the opportunity to meet his Pokemon trainer, the player of the Pokemon game, just dying to meet him! Both meetings will be fun, joyful...and a tad bittersweet.**

Inside the Luigi household, Pit, Viridi, and Kirby were watching television in the living room, while Daisy was in the kitchen washing dishes. There was a knock at the door, with Dimentio patiently waiting outside.

"Can one of you three go answer the door for me?" Daisy called out to Pit and Kirby, and Pit sprung up to action, opening the front door. He saw Dimentio floating before him, and the angel, taking notice of the jester, was able to tell that he was evil and wicked, and like any other person, Pit knew EXACTLY what to do in this given situation...

"Nope, nobody important!" Pit instantly slammed the door on Dimentio, walking back towards the couch he was sitting on. "Must be a Jehovah's Witness person or something." Since when did Jehovah's Witnesses wear jester get-ups? Don't they wear formal suits, as a form of presentation?

"You dare to close the door on me?!" Dimentio opened the front door through the use of his magic, and rudely entered the house uninvited. "That is no way to treat any stranger, whether they be young or old, black or white, shady or honorable..."

"Okay, okay, we get it, no need to go on a tangent," said Viridi, before taking notice of Dimentio's paper form. "Wait, are you...from that _Paper Mario_ storybook?"

"Glad you asked, for I am a character from the famed storybook! Name's Dimentio, a jester of ultimate magnificence; I am but a marquee player in the storybook, like Rawk Hawk of Glitz glory!" Pretty outlandish comparison - Rawk Hawk completely pales compared to the mighty likes of Dimentio, no one is more powerful than the jester himself. "I am here looking for a man in green, the man known as Luigi!"

"You're looking for my husband, Luigi?" asked Daisy, unaware of the trouble Dimentio put the paper version of her husband through. "He's taking a shower right now, you should wait...until...he finishes..." Dimentio totally ignored Daisy, as he floated past the princess of Sarasaland and to the master bedroom's bathroom (try saying that over and over again), where Luigi was washing away his cares.

"La la la lee, la la la doo..." Luigi sang in the shower while scrubbing his armpits, channeling his inner Popeye, Popeye the Sailor Man.

 **Daisy: No, I don't feel nervous about letting some Dimentio person see my precious Luigi, I mean what's the worst some jester is gonna do? Perform some silly juggling act or do some card tricks? Luigi needs a little more excitement in his life, and I seriously think Dimentio can take care of that.**

Luigi turned off the shower, dried himself off a bit, wrapped his towel around his waist, and exited through the shower curtains...only to see Dimentio sadistically smiling at him. The plumber shrieked out of terror, for he clearly knows what Dimentio is fully capable of.

"Ah, here I am, facing the green-clad Luigi, like how a roaring lion faces his prey!" exclaimed Dimentio, noticing how shaky Luigi was. "What's more is that you're shaking more than a tall tower situated on a poor foundation, like a small rock...no wonder you and your paper counterpart have so much in common, you're both wimps!"

"W-Why are you-a here Dimentio?!" questioned Luigi, ready to call in help if he has to. Dimentio sensed that the plumber would eventually call for help, so for good measure, he pulled out some duck tape, and taped Luigi's mouth, preventing him from speaking. The only noises Luigi could make were in the form of mumbling sounds.

"My devious plan in the _Paper_ _Mario_ world was a failure, all thanks to Mario and company," Dimentio then pulled out a Floro Sprout, a type of seed meant for mind control. "Time to see how my plan shall work in the real world..." Dimentio smiled even harder know, as he neared an extremely frightened Luigi...

* * *

"Dude you're dating essentially a female version of Robin, if you screw this date up, then your romantic life is done for," Fox discussed with Chrom in the Star Records room, where Falco, Doc Louis, Little Mac, Lucina, Robin, and Big Top were all present. Chrom finally found himself a woman, and her name is Raven - a female variant of the mage we all know and love, Robin. Since this is the Prince of Yliesse's first date, he has butterflies in his stomach, and he's depending on Lucina and others to erase the butterflies right away.

"But I've never met this person before, it would be a blind date for me and I'm unsure how well I would do in a blind date," responded Chrom, shaking his head in dismay. Francis crept inside the Star Records room undetected, and was in awe at the brawlers he saw before him.

"A-Anime characters...a-and a h-hot anime chick...?" the nerdy otaku chameleon sweated profusely, doing his best to keep his composure. "N-Not to mention the St-Star Fox characters that are present! This is so...so...SO HI-TECHNICAAAAAL!"

Everyone in the Star Records room watched Francis' entire nerdgasm, paying attention the moment he opened his mouth. A nerd fawning over video game and anime characters...just what they needed.

 **Francis: My time at this mansion hasn't been going as well as I anticipated - Donkey Kong slapped me, Rosalina pepper sprayed me in my eyes, and Ashley gave me the cold shoulder! All my video game heroes and more disrespected me, and just when I thought things weren't going my way...I got to see real-life anime characters, and a smoking hot anime chick to boot! Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming!**

"I've always wanted to meet an actual anime girl, nerr nerr nerr," Francis walked up to Lucina and took her hand, petting it seductively and sweating like he was in a sauna. The fact that he was sweating tells you everything you need to know about his romantic game, and perhaps his life in solitude.

"Father, this reptilian fellow is starting to give me the creeps..." Lucina said to Chrom, feeling some concern for her life. A few more pets on her hand and Lucina might catch Francis' nerd disease. Symptoms include a decrease in social skills, obsessing over anything anime, using geeky slang words, and creating robotic maids to do your bidding. DO NOT create robotic maids, it's not worth it.

"Maybe if you let him pet your hand a few more times, he'll stop and go away," suggested Robin. So Lucina waited...and waited...and Francis refused to let go of her hand, angering Robin very much. "Okay, that's enough, back away from the woman, mister!" The mage whipped out his Bronze Sword and his tome, ready to cast a spell on poor Francis.

"Woah Nelly, timeout, timeout!" Doc Louis rushed in between Robin and Francis, making Robin put his tome and sword away. "We don't need to hurt this chameleon fella; by the looks of it, he could be of great use towards Chrom's cause!"

"What makes you think that Doc, he doesn't look like the trustworthy type to me," said Little Mac. Most of the time, the boxer is on board with his trainer's ideas, but this time he's rather judgmental.

"Do y'all not see how this man is flirting with Lucina? No offense Chrom, but he's doing a better job than you would ever do!" Chrom nodded his head in modesty, Doc has a valid point. Chrom can't even flirt with a woman on a dating site. "This nerd could help you so you won't feel so nervous on your date!"

"A d-date?" Francis sweatdropped. "Oh, I'm not so sure if I would be beneficial, I'm very unfamiliar with this dynamic of romantic dates..." Of course, you bum, you hardly ever interact with anyone that's not a robotic maid, and the shows you watch are barely romantic. "...though I do have this dating simulator device, called Swoon-exe...used it on Peach, hehe..."

"Do you have this device with you?" asked Falco; Francis pulled the Swoon-exe out of his shirt pocket in a jiffy. "Eh, why did I even bother asking you, I knew you would carry it with you, bet you probably have a collection of manga books in your possession right now."

"I'm not so sure if we should do this..." remarked Chrom, feeling uneasy. Having to use a dating simulator doesn't seem to appease the prince.

"Well it's the only surefire plan we have, we have no other choice," stated Fox, having some similar doubts.

 **Fox: Yeah, I'm doubtful about bringing the chameleon dude on board. (He said his name is Francis...typical nerd name.) But apparently he has a dating simulator device, which will come in handy. Only thing we gotta do is find the perfect victim...or _candidate,_ to test this simulator with Chrom.**

* * *

Doopliss scoped the entire mansion, searching for a potential host. Unless you haven't played _The Thousand Year Door,_ then you might be familiar with Doopliss's special ability to steal another person's body, due to his species as a Duplighost. Doopliss would find an eventual candidate in Link, who was in the printing room printing up several Hyrulian reports online for Zelda; the ghost was spying through the ceiling.

"He looks like he has a great body to steal...don't you guys think so?" Doopliss asked the four Pac-Man ghosts - Inky, Blinky, Cindy, and Clyde - who responded by moving about making their trademark ghost sounds. "Screw you guys, I'm about to go in!"

Doopliss leaped down from the ceiling and sneaked up behind an unsuspecting Link, who was shuffling through the copies. When Link turned around, the Duplighost disappeared and scanned the Hylian from head to toe with a green sensor bar. Link was able to see this sensor bar as it rolled down his eyes.

"Wha...what was that just now?" the hero of Hyrule wondered. "Hmm, that was very weird..."

All of a sudden, Link fell to the ground unconscious, and Doopliss reappeared... _in Link's body,_ with Link now just a mere shadow. Doopliss moved Link's fingers, limbs, and everything else in his new body - first time he's someone with flesh, bones, and pumping blood.

"Man do I feel good!" the ghost exclaimed before laughing manically. "Thanks for the body, Slick!" Doopliss ran away laughing, though he did run a bit awkwardly due to him not being used to operating human legs. All Paper Mario had was just his feet!

"Did he just...steal my body?" Link suddenly woke up, watching as Doopliss ran away with the Hyrulian's body. The ghost encountered Toad in the hallway and did a scary face, frightening him and scaring him away. "I better do something about this, who knows what he might do to Zelda..."

* * *

Sonic invited Tails, Knuckles, and Amy over to his room to play a game...a game of Twister. You know how it goes - you spin a wheel, and whatever color the arrow lands on, you have to put your foot or hand on that color with the hand or foot prescribed. This kind of game can leave you in very uncomfortable positions...

"CRAMP, CRAMP, CRAMP, MY LEG IS CRAMPING!" Knuckles complained, his leg bent in an awkward state, but not awkward enough to result in a serious injury. Has anyone ever seriously injured themselves playing Twister? Imagine the lawsuits!

 **Sonic: Sucks that I couldn't get a Twister mat that can compliment me and my buddies' small statures. Sometimes being short has its many disadvantages, like having tall dudes such as Captain Falcon reach into a high cupboard for a box of cereal. I'm freaking Sonic the Hedgehog, not some lousy kid that needs the adults to get me the stuff I want!**

"Sonic can we please play a party game that isn't so...painful and uncomfortable?" Tails asked his blue hedgehog friend, nearly on the verge of losing control in his legs. "Playing this game was a horrid idea..."

"It's not my fault there isn't a Twister mat that is complimentary towards our size!" was Sonic's response. He had sent a letter to Milton Bradley Company, the maker of the Twister game, demanding that they manufacture a smaller mat, and instead he received a smaller wheel. Talk about customer dissatisfaction... "Amy said she didn't want to play a board game, so this was our only option!"

Tutankoopa happened to stop by Sonic's room and witnessed the main _Sonic_ protagonists playing the Twister game. The pharaoh was understandably confused by how this game worked; seeing the four put themselves in cramping positions, all over the mat, unnerved the koopa, causing him to question how people entertain and enjoy themselves in today's modern times.

"This game that you're playing is absolutely appalling, no rational person would want to put themselves through this torture!" Tutankoopa shook his head at Sonic and company, interrupting the game. Dude better keep his mouth shut, or he'll be the Twister mat! But he's not that colorful in terms of looks so we won't see that happening ever.

"Don't get your panties in a twist man, quit being such a Debbie Downer and let us have our fun!" retorted Sonic, continuing the game much to the chagrin of his friends.

"I DO NOT WEAR PANTIES, FOR I AM TUTANKOOPA!" The pharaoh koopa raised his arms into the sky when he bellowed this...but nobody bothered to pay attention. So he did what he had to do...he took the wheel for the Twister game and ran off with it, using it for who-freaking-honestly-knows-what. Not much you can do with a colored wheel without the game itself.

"That paper koopa just stole the wheel!" said Amy. "But as long as we don't have to play this game anymore, I'm fine with it." Sonic certainly wasn't fine, for he sported a very angry expression on his face. The hedgehog wanted to have some fun, and Tutankoopa was being a party pooper because he never got the attention he deserved.

"Alright, you guys, game over!" announced Sonic; Amy, Tails, and Knuckles all fell to the floor, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. "Nobody's doing anything else until we get that wheel back from that pharaoh dude!" ...and the sighs of relief have now turned into heavy groans.

* * *

 **Daisy: Luigi hasn't returned downstairs yet since he finished taking his shower...Dimentio must be keeping him entertained, being the jester that he is. I just hope that Luigi's safe and sound...**

Pit, Viridi, and Kirby continued to watch television in the living room of Luigi's home, when there was a knock at the door. Both Viridi and Kirby looked at Pit, sporting wry smiles; Pit groaned as he got up and walked towards the front door.

"Bet it's another Jehovah's Witness person..." the angel sighed as he opened the front door. The person behind the door was a penguin adorned in red and white royal garments, and carried a giant hammer while being flanked by underling Waddle Dees. This was none other than King Dedede - not a Jehovah's Witness in the slightest.

"Yo, Pit, have you seen some jester dude anywhere today?" Dedede asked Pit, he and his Waddle Dee goons entering the house looking around and analyzing the surroundings. "I saw him making his move towards this home, and I fear that he's up to no good..."

"He came inside this home without warning, said he's looking for Luigi," explained Pit; he's starting to regret not stopping Dimentio and question his actions. "He went upstairs, and we haven't seen him ever since!"

"Heh heh heh...the Luigi you know and love...is no more..." echoed a presumably evil voice. Everyone looked around, wondering where this voice came from. Then the sound of footsteps, which lasted until Luigi appeared at the bottom of the staircase...

...except Luigi looked a bit...different. The famous plumber was now wearing a black jumpsuit, a green bandanna around his neck, dark gloves, dark boots, and a black mask to conceal his face, not to mention that hat now has a black background with the L reversed.

"Luigi, is that supposed to be you?" Daisy asked her husband, finding his new attire somewhat laughable. "Where on earth did you get that black jumpsuit?"

"This Luigi person that you speak of is long gone!" said an obviously brainwashed Luigi, who just did an awesome pose - something that the regular Luigi could never do, no matter how hard he tries. "For I am the Green Thunder...MR. L!" Yup, that's right, Dimentio had used that Floro Sprout on poor Luigi, and brought back the Mr. L persona that was present in _Super Paper Mario._ Speaking of Dimentio, where is that guy...?

"Basically your alter ego consists of a letter than perfectly summarizes your entire life," said Viridi. "Not gonna lie, that's genius!" Daisy stared at Viridi, who held her head down in guilt. She should have known better than to say that near Luigi's loving wife.

 **Dimentio: Floro Sprouts are truly one of a kind when it comes to mind control - the only known way to break someone who's under control of a Floro Sprout is to kill them off, like I had done to Mr. L in the World of Nothingness! I would have used more Floro Sprouts on Luigi's fellow brawlers, but alas I only brought one sprout with me, and killing everybody once my plan has been fulfilled would have been too much work...pity me.**

"Now that I'm back in business, I must complete my mission...acquire the Pure Heart before anyone else does!" Mr. L said as he walked through the kitchen and living room and exited through the front door, leaving everyone perplexed. Was this a new and improved Luigi, or was he just brainwashed?

"Oh, Luigi, whatever happened to you..." Daisy looked on as she watched her husband head off to the mansion through the opening of the front door. Her precious Luigi has now gotten some sort of personality and swagger face lift...and the princess of Sarasaland doesn't like it, not one bit.

* * *

One of the many things Mario did to flirt with Peach was drinking lemonade, and the two lovebirds did just that in the mansion's backyard, resting in the hammock.

"HOPE YOU TWO ENJOY...YOUR DELICIOUS LEMONADE..." said R.O.B., the trusty robot who made the lemonade for Mario and Peach. This robot's usefulness knows no bounds, he could mow the lawn for you if you asked him to.

"R.O.B., would you mind playing some...romantic music?" asked Peach. Mario was about to ask a similar question, but his girlfriend beat him to the punch. Credit to Peach for wanting to elevate the mood. "Nothing fancy or anything, just want something relaxing, that's all..."

"ONE ROMANTIC TRACK...COMING RIGHT UP..." R.O.B pressed a button on his chest, and a music player popped out from where the button was started playing some calming, romantic music - the type of music you would typically hear if you were at a spa. Do they even play calming, romantic music at spas?

 **R.O.B: IN ADDITION TO ROMANTIC MUSIC...I CAN ALSO PLAY RAP MUSIC...AND FRANK SINATRA...YOU CAN CALL ME... *flexes his arms, as if he was flexing his muscles* ...THE UNIVERSAL MUSIC PLAYER...DON'T TELL FOX NOR FALCO I EVER SAID THAT...**

Mario sighed happily and looked to his left...to see Goombella just standing near the hammock. The plumber shrieked at the goomba for the second time, falling out of the hammock, lying on the ground for a few seconds before slowly getting back up. Goombas are supposed to look scary looking, but they're not supposed to be _that_ scary, they shouldn't make you shriek like a little schoolgirl.

"What-a is your problem woman, can't you just-a leave an honest man-a be for once?!" Mario snapped at Goombella, who appeared to be somewhat entranced. Hearing Mario speak was a surprise to her ears...her nonexistent Goomba ears. Just as nonexistent as her nose.

"Not fair, how come you get to talk, but Paper Mario doesn't?" frowned Goombella. "Well, the only time Paper Mario talked was when he Doopliss stole his body, but that doesn't really count, since it was Doopliss who was speaking. Anyways, some giant hand named Master Hand wants to see you in his room. He was gonna sent someone else to tell you this, but he chose me instead since I wasn't doing anything in particular."

"Guess then I'll-a be on my way," Mario headed to the mansion, wondering what Master Hand wants to do with him now. "It always has-a to be me, huh, why-a not anyone else..." the plumber muttered under his breath. Is Mario Master Hand's personal lapdog or something, similar in regards to Pit and Palutena?

"Goombella, do you mind if I ask you a quick question?" Peach asked the pink goomba; Goombella neared towards the Mushroom Kingdom princess. "Mario has devoted more of his time to be with me, and I'm starting to get the feeling that he plans on strengthening our relationship so when the moment is right...he can propose to me. But I'm not so sure about marriage - so many risks, and so many responsibilities, and I already have my fair share of those as a princess of a mighty kingdom!"

"You two already have some sort of built-in chemistry with one another, so I find it hard to understand what the issue may be," Goombella offered her take on Peach's situation. A sassy lass like herself can be one of great advice when it comes to this thing called love. "Mario must be dreaming of having you as a wife, and he won't let that opportunity waste away in a minute!"

"Yes, I know that Mario has been dreaming of that for a considerable amount of time, but I don't think I'm ready yet for the challenge of love that is marriage...then again, Daisy is married to Luigi, so that can be some form of motivation for me..."

"Wait, did you seriously let your rival wed before YOU?!" Now Paper Daisy has never appeared in a _Paper Mario_ game (not yet, at least) which may bewilder some of you as to how Goombella is familiar with Daisy, but taking into account how much from the standard _Mario_ universe is carried over to the _Paper Mario_ universe, Paper Daisy's existence can mostly be implied.

 **Peach: *smiling* Daisy and I aren't exactly who you call rivals, rather we're just friendly...companions that compete for the same goal!...I just described what a rival is, didn't I?**

"I know you're ready, and I'm positive Mario is anticipating the moment you say that magical word," said Goombella, trying to raise Peach's confidence level. "Besides, you wouldn't want to marry Bowser again, would you?"

Peach couldn't help but give Goombella a stern look when the Goomba mentioned this wedding, which was arranged at the hands of Count Bleck. Goombella wasn't even invited to this wedding, how does she know about this wedding to begin with?! And on top of that, how does she know Paper Daisy?!

* * *

Samus, Zero, and Squirps were waiting outside a bathroom - a bathroom that lacks a window, much to the pleasure of Squirps, who's apparently perturbed about the possibility of women peeping at him through a bathroom window, even though he's ugly as heck (no offense, but Google Search him and you'll know it's the truth). So why are the three waiting outside this bathroom? Because someone is currently using it of course, and thankfully, it's not Wario for a change...

"The pain, I can feeling it pulsating in my lower body!" Captain Falcon bellowed from inside the bathroom. "Somebody get me a roll of toilet tissue!" Indications may seem that the race car driver may be taking a dump, and a really heavy dump at that!

"Ooh, Squirps can't hold it in much longer, squeerple..." Squirps moved about in place, doing his best to hold in his bodily fluid and/or waste. "Squirps might have an accident on the floor..."

"Zero, toilet tissue, NOW!" Samus commanded her robot companion, not wanting to clean up Squirps's mess - though it might be in the form of paper, who knows. Zero quickly rushed to action, heading down the hallway to the nearest closet to fetch a roll of toilet tissue, when he encountered Bombette, simply minding her own business.

"Excuse me sir, but it seems that I'm lost," Boombette said to Zero. "Can you show me around so I'll know where I'm going?" Zero looked at the pink Bob-omb before him, stroking his chin. Why fetch Captain Falcon a roll of toilet paper, when he can just use Bombette to blow up the bathroom door and see if Falcon is genuinely using the bathroom or not? (Mr. Game & Watch can always replace the bathroom door.) So Zero snatched Bombette against her will, and brought her to the bathroom door, where Squirps was about to make a horrid mess on the floor.

"Did you bring the toilet paper?" Samus asked Zero, who pushed the bounty hunter aside and placed Bombette near the door.

"Blow up that stinking door or you'll never walk again!" Zero commanded Bomette - commanding much? Bombette groaned, and did as she was told, blowing up the bathroom door...revealing Captain Falcon inside sitting on the toilet seat, scrolling through his phone, with a roll of toilet paper next to him. He wasn't even using the bathroom at all!

 **Zero: *facepalming* Happens every freaking time...Captain Falcon announces to everyone that he has to use the bathroom (like we actually care about what he does), and he spends an eternity in the bathroom, spending time on his phone. It's one of the underlying reasons the mansion's cellphone bill is outrageously high.**

"Hey, you found me!" Captain Falcon looked up and grinned nervously at Samus and Zero, who were glaring him down. Samus walked inside the bathroom, and snatched Falcon's phone out of his hand.

"What are you even looking at..." Samus looked at the phone, and saw a picture of her wearing a bikini. She scrolled down, and saw another picture of her, this time in a pool. The bounty hunter kept scrolling and scrolling, and all she saw was flirtatious pictures of herself...Captain Falcon's life kept flashing before his eyes with every scroll Samus did, the more scrolls the more Samus's brow furrowed, until it strongly resembled a death glare. Zero back away a little bit; there's no telling of the punishment Samus will likely dole out to Captain Falcon. "Where on earth did you get these pictures?!" the now angry Samus asked a nervous Captain Falcon.

"Funny you should ask...I got them from an unknown source..." Captain Falcon made his case while Samus continued to angrily glare him down. "Totally not like I took those pictures like we were on vacation or something..." Congratulations, Captain Falcon, you just played yourself - now run as fast as you can before Samus tries to kill you. Fortunately that's what Captain Falcon did, speeding out of the bathroom at the speed of light.

"Squirps can't hold it in much longer, squooorp, Squrips is about to blow!" exclaimed Squirps, Zero quickly rushed the young alien inside the bathroom, and he and Samus ran out of the bathroom real quick, instantly closing the door behind them. After a few minutes, and the sound of a toilet flushing and water rushing down the sink, Squirps exited the bathroom, feeling greatly relieved. We may never know how the little fella reached the sink, it's like the Empire State Building compared to his short stature.

"Ah, Squirps feels so relieved, squoork!" the alien exclaimed happily. "Squirps now wants to try out that giant robot thing!" Gotta get the connector cords and the helmet first!

* * *

Doopliss, gracing the body of Link, made his way to the gaming room, touring the entire mansion and looking for brawlers to mess with. Plenty of brawlers were inside the gaming room - the more the merrier!

"Yoo hoo, Link, over here!" a feminine voice called out; this voice belonged to Zelda, who was seated by herself at a couch. Doopliss, sensing that this was Link's woman, strutted towards Zelda, doing some sort of pimp walk. He was certainly getting looks...looks of concern and uneasiness. Nobody can seem to stomach Link acting cool for any purpose.

 **Zelda: I had Link print me out several Hyrulian reports for me as a part of my Hyrulian studies...as my role as princess of the Hyrule Kingdom, it is fully integral that I know about the history of Hyrule, and learn the ins and outs of what makes Hyrule such a prestigious land. I should entice Peach to conduct research on the Mushroom Kingdom; she can't race in race cars and play golf all the days of her life.**

"Something wrong with you, Link, I can't help but feel that you're acting...different," Zelda remarked as Doopliss continued to strut towards Zelda, with his ugly pimp walk. "And where are the reports I asked you to print out for me, how do you expect me to further conduct my research without them?"

Then all of a sudden, Doopliss did the impossible - he slapped Zelda cold-blooded, catching everyone in the gaming room off-guard as they looked at Doopliss, inside Link's body, with utter shock. Zelda held her face in her hands after being slapped, sobbing a little bit. Link slapping her is one of the most unorthodox things the princess expects to happen - but it wasn't Link who committed this act.

"Watcha doin' outside of the kitchen woman, go make me a sandwich if you know what's good for ya!" Doopliss angrily said to a slightly sobbing Zelda. So not only is the Duplighost a jerk, he's also a sexist...not a very good combination in the slightest.

"Woah, Link, mellow out man, that's no way to treat your woman!" scolded K.K. Slider, who had to stop his performance in wake of Doopliss's despicable actions. Doopliss got on the stage, and did yet another despicable act - he snatched K.K.'s guitar, playing it like a madman, before slamming it on the stage floor like most zany guitarists do. The shock inside the room just keeps building up; if only they knew the truth...

"Enjoy your wack guitar now, Slick!" Doopliss handed the remnants of the guitar to K.K. Slider, before walking away snickering evilly. "Consider your music career TOAST!" K.K.'s career can't be ruined because of one terribly broken guitar, he can always find another one to call his own.

"But this was the only guitar I've ever used, and I promised myself to only use this one, for the rest of my life..." K.K. said somberly, looking at the pieces of his guitar, holding the pieces in his hands. Okay, so maybe K.K's career may be toast, unless he wises up and decides to purchase another guitar.

 **Link: Man, walking around in this dude's body is off the chain! I can feel actual human flesh, and I can do my superb pimp walk - walkin' like a real G! My deeds in the gaming room have been fulfilled; next stop, the beauty parlor that green-haired chick said she's going to. Plenty of ladies will be present, and I can "use" them to make the dude's girlfriend even more ticked... *rubs his hands evilly***

Link's best friend, Cloud, witness what just went down through the entrance of the gaming room, stroking his chin. The Link he knows would never slap his girlfriend, or break a musician's instrument and somehow hinder his career. Evidently the Hylian is possessed, and Cloud sought to find out about this for himself with Doopliss exited the room.

"Link are you feeling okay?" Cloud interrogated his buddy, who was really Doopliss hacking Link's body, as the Duplighost exited the gaming room in the Hyrulian's body. "I saw what you did to K.K. Slider's guitar, that was seriously uncalled for..."

"Feeling just great Slick, thanks for asking!" responded Doopliss. Not a knock on Link, but he's not cool enough to be addressing anyone "Slick"; this was a tell-tale sign to Cloud that his friend is being possessed. "Now if you excuse me, I have to make some amends...with the ladies..." Doopliss said the last part of his response in a romantic tone, before strutting away with his strange pimp walk. Another tell-tale sign for Cloud - Link isn't cool enough to pull of a pimp walk, either. But Link is cool in his own right, in his own special way - we'll just leave it at that.

"Psst, Cloud, can you hear me?" a voice whispered. Cloud looked behind him, and saw Link...or at least a shadow version of Link. "That was the dude that stole my body, was it? I've been looking all over for him..."

"I had a feeling that wasn't you in the gaming room..." stated Cloud, a bit uneasy about the fact that Link is nothing but a mere shadow. The blonde swordsman has been frightened a few times in the past (see: Jenova), but to have a friend rendered to a shadow...that's the most frightening experience anyone could ever have. "The guy that's in your body told me he's heading off to the beauty parlor; who knows what he's up to..."

* * *

"C'mon Rosalina, it will be oodles and oodles of fun!" Little Mac said to Rosalina as the young boxer guided the mother of all Lumas to the dining room, with the woman's dear Luma tagging along. "It will be absolutely painless!"

"You said that about the zumba classes you once held in the fitness center," stated Rosalina. "Practically every single one of your participants ran out of breath once the lessons were over, and some of them even had to be sent to the E.R!" Sent to the emergency room due to a severe loss of breath from a zumba class? Wonder how they explained that to the paramedics.

 **Little Mac: "Zumba is mainly geared towards women," they said... "Why would some lousy boxer want to hold zumba classes in the first place," they said...Do they not know that zumba is a great exercise for men and women everywhere, for boys and girls of all ages? What's so bad about zumba anyways, it's a combination of dance and fitness! Think of it as a mixture of vanilla and chocolate ice cream, except it tastes exactly how it should!**

At the dining room, Chrom sat at the far end of the table, with Francis instructing him on how to use Swoon-exe on his computer. It has several different commands - Look, which includes things to look at; Speak, which includes topics to discuss about; Think, which includes things to ponder over; Disappear, which Chrom can't manually do; Smooch, which hopefully won't be used at all; and Inventory, which includes items that Chrom can pull out during his flirting. Francis engineered his dating simulator so that it would fit Chrom's and Rosalina's needs and specialties.

"Just press a command for any necessary situation, and you'll be good to go!" Francis said to Chrom, still uneasy about utilizing this Swoon-exe simulator. Francis saw that Little Mac and Rosalina were on their way to the dining room. "Ooh, here she comes, don't mess this up buddy!" Francis gave Chrom a pat on the back as he ran to a hiding spot, where Fox, Falco, Lucina, Robin, Doc Louis, and Big Top were all present. Little Mac and Rosalina entered the dining room, and Chrom gave Rosalina a comforting smile. Will this "experiment" be a rousing success, or will Chrom somehow mess things up?

"Please take a seat, my fair lady," Little Mac sat Rosalina in a chair adjacent to Chrom, before heading to the hiding spot. "How long do you guys give Chrom until he cracks under the pressure?" the young boxer whispered to those in hiding.

"Five minutes," answered Lucina. C'mon now, Lucina, you're supposed to have more faith in your dad than that!

"Twenty minutes," answered Fox. Okay, that sounds a bit more reasonable.

"A full hour, given that Chrom keeps his head straight," answered Doc Louis. Chrom is still pretty nervous, so that's a huge given.

"He won't crack until midnight!" answered Big Top. Yeah, because we all know flirting is supposed to last until the nighttime hours...

"Well, Rosalina, you certainly look beautiful today, as always," Chrom started off with this cliche remark. He looked on the Swoon-exe application on Francis's laptop, and selected "Speak", and then selected "Talk to Hot Babe". Why does Francis even have these commands in the first place... "So how is life, how's life like at this mansion?"

"Eh, life here could be much better than usual," responded Rosalina. "The living conditions do outweigh the food quality, I will say that. And although Master Hand can be quite the headcase, he can be very interesting when you get to know him." So far, so good - Chrom can't ruin his progress now.

 **Francis: Nerr nerr nerr...my precious Swoon-exe is the schweetest thing there is...I'm the only person on that owns one...  
** **Falco: Hold up, is an actual website?! *Francis nods his head* Bruh...**

Chrom looked on the computer, and saw that his charisma leveled up...the prince ignored this, and selected "Luma" under the "Look" command.

"That Luma of yours is following you everywhere you go..." stated Chrom, as the butterflies were now flying out out his stomach. "Where are the other Lumas?"

"Back at the Comet Observatory, Lubba is keeping a close eye on them," responded Rosalina. Lubba, while humorous at times, is a very dedicated leader, and is probably doing a great job right now looking over the Comet Observatory. Only problem he would have would be feeding the Lumas star bits, and having to watch them morph into planets. It's the circle of life among the Luma species.

Chrom went back to the computer (he does this when Rosalina is looking away), and saw his Falchion listed under "Inventory". The prince shrugged, and selected his sword, pulling it out just when Rosalina looked towards him.

"Say, Rosalina, have you ever taken a good look at my sword?" Chrom asked Rosalina, showing off his Falchion. Rosalina picked up the Falchion and held it in her hands as she and Luma marveled at it, even though it's hardly worth anything to marvel at.

Suddenly trouble soon loomed for Chrom when the Demon Lord Ganondorf entered the dining room and stood near the table, glaring down Chrom and Rosalina with his arms folded. The two sitting at the table, as well as Luma, didn't see the King of Evil, but those in hiding certainly did, growing nervous for Chrom's well-being.

"Ganondorf is about to abuse that man, somebody has to get Chrom out of there!" Fox alerted the others. But before anyone could save Chrom, the prince of Yliesse was grabbed by the neck by Ganondorf, and lifted into the air. Most times, Ganondorf does this in battle as a way to inflict damage and knock someone out, but this time, he was choking out of anger and wrath.

"What business do you have near Rosalina?" Ganondorf asked a nearly suffocating Chrom, while Rosalina and Luma looked on, afraid. So is Ganondorf and Rosalina still a thing? By the looks of it, it seems to be so... "Answer me right now, craven!"

"It's a very long and complicated story, it was just an experiment, that's all..." Chrom chuckled nervously, but Ganondorf, his glare forcing the sweat to pour down Chrom's face, didn't buy the prince's claim, not one bit...

* * *

"Four hundred and ninety eight, four hundred and ninety nine...five hundred!" Diddy Kong had just finished counting the amount of bananas he and Donkey Kong collected, and had these bananas piled together on a giant pile that might tumble soon. You're probably wondering why the Kongs are counting their bananas, are you? They're preparing early for winter - a time when Master Hand keeps the food in the mansion locked away, just to mess with the brawlers (he returns the food eventually, only after enough complaining).

 **Diddy Kong: While everybody else is starving till Christmas time - that's when the complaints usually rev up - Donkey Kong and I will be eating our bananas and keeping our bellies full! We'll be one step ahead of the curve, leaving the others eating crumbs off the floor like peasants! *pauses, looks around, lowers head towards the floor and licks it for food crumbs***

"Put those bananas in this here sack, my dear nephew!" Donkey Kong held out a sack wide open, and Diddy Kong threw the bananas inside the sack at rapid speed. During this time, Mr. L entered the Kongs' room, but for what reason?

"Sup dudes, sorry if I'm interrupting what you're doing, but I came here to take care of some important business!" said the plumber turned mercenary. Donkey Kong tied up the sack after Diddy finished his task, and threw the sack in the closet before turning around and facing Mr. L, taking huge notice of his new attire.

"Woah Luigi, you look better looking than you're supposed to be with that black getup!" remarked Donkey Kong, and Diddy nodded in agreement. Ooh, Luigi just got burned...but the real Luigi is nonexistent right now, so that doesn't matter. "What's the occasion, dressing up for Halloween in early August?"

"There is no occasion, for I am..." Mr. L did a fancy pose by standing on one foot and pointing his finger in the air. "...MR. L! And I'm gonna wipe the floor with both of your scrawny behinds!" Donkey Kong and Diddy looked at each other for a brief second, before bursting into laughter.

"Yeah in your dreams pal!" Donkey Kong laughed away, wiping a tear before holding his fist out to Mr. L for a fist bump. "That's definitely worthy of a fist bump, great joke you pulled off there!"

Instead of a fist bump, Donkey Kong instead received a beatdown at the hands of Mr. L. Diddy tried to run away, but Mr. L made sure the spidermonkey got his beatdown. With both Kongs down for the count, Mr. L went inside the closet and moved the sack of bananas aside, revealing a giant cooler. The mercenary opened the cooler, and pulled out a heart...the Pure Heart.

"You made a terrible mistake bro..." Mr. L smiled evilly, referring to his brother Mario. Did Luigi knew about the Pure Heart beforehand? Or was Dimentio able to detect the Pure Heart himself?

* * *

"The _Paper Mario_ storybook has been taken out of the attic!" Master Hand discussed with Mario in the hand's room, with Isabelle writing everything down. "It was taken by Ness and Lucas, as Mewtwo had told me. Those two boys likely took the storybook to their room and left it there...Mario, it is your duty to retrieve that book before anything bad transpires!"

"You can count-a on me, Master Hand!" Mario saluted Master Hand as he exited the room...

"Oh, and one more thing - you know that jester, by the name of Dimentio? Word has it that a jester was once in the mansion for a brief period of time, and that jester must have been Dimentio. If you see him anywhere, take care of him quickly, he's a very strong fellow as you may know..." Mario nodded assuredly as he exited the room, and made his way to the room where the storybook rests.

"Um, Master Hand, do you have a minute?" Isabelle came before Master Hand, feeling quite nervous. "I have something to tell you...it's about the statue outside..."

* * *

Speaking of the statue, which was just finished last week, Dimentio hovered before it, conjuring evil plans in his demented mind.

"Like a headless cockroach lasting an entire week, I remain undeterred..." Dimentio remarked, his gaze fixated on the Master Hand statue before him. "I detect an extremely strong force behind this statue...a force even stronger than I..."

...It's safe to say that the universe is officially screwed.


	34. Episode 34: Dimensions Part 2

_Author's Note:_

 _Four reviews I shall answer, first one from ultimateCCC:_

 _"Doesn't Zelda have advanced magic techniques, including sensing the supernatural?"_

 _Uhh...we'll just say that Zelda couldn't sense Doopliss in Link's body because Doopliss is from a paper realm. Yeah, we'll just leave it at that...for now. Next up is ayy lmao:_

 _"...actual plot?"_

 _Basically the plot is that Dimentio is seeking aspirations for world/universal domination, and has a nifty plan set out to do so. Sorry if it wasn't explicitly revealed in the previous installment, since there was so much going on. Lastly, we have Megaman nerd:_

 _"I'd honestly like to see how you would portray Bass (and maybe Treble too) in a situation. What kind of situations would you put him in? Also, I kinda wanna see more of Protoman. I just love him. XD"_

 _Good question; I've played Mega Man 7 back in elementary school, so I know a thing or two about Bass and his personality and all that good stuff. Knowing his beef with Mega Man, I would probably use him in a competition involving high stakes, and who knows, maybe Rush and Bass can be a part of it. As for Proto Man, I can make him appear more in Smash Life, seeing how underutilized he is. Also have one more review to answer, this one from Kat Says No:_

 _"Could we possibly see Axl from MMX and Beck from Mighty No. 9? They're a couple pf my favorite characters, lmao..."_

 _Ooh...I'm not so sure about that suggestion, but seeing how Mighty No. 9 has much similarities to Mega Man, perhaps I can work something out._

* * *

 **Episode 34: Dimensions Part 2**

The _Paper Mario_ storybook laid conspicuously in Ness's and Lucas's room, untouched for a great amount of time. The two PSI teens have yet to return from their little snack break, therefore leaving the storybook open for anyone to tamper with...anyone like Bowser, who intruded the teens' room undetected with his protege Corrin tagging along. Perhaps the Koopa King is using the storybook for another one of his dumb lessons? Who knows, but Bowser is still Bowser, and he'll likely utilize the storybook to fulfill his nefarious deeds.

"Those boys left the storybook open, just ripe for the taking!" Bowser grinned as he picked up the storybook, holding it in his hands. "A whole lot of crud is within this book, and we can use it to fulfill our wants and needs!"

"Why would Master Hand bother on keeping a storybook up in the attic, when he can just put it in the library?" asked Corrin. Bowser conjured of a legit answer in his head, an answer that will not only answer Corrin's question, but will prevent him from further questioning the Koopa King. The less questions that are asked, the more fun Bowser will enjoy "teaching" Corrin.

"You see, my boy, this storybook teaches loads of valuable stuff, like what type you should type online on social networking sites that nerds frequent, and it also contains superb mystery stories that will delight readers of all ages! Because of that reason, Master Hand stored his book in the attic, so that people like Kirby won't scribble all over it in crayon! Don't be fooled by Kirby's cutesy appearance, he's a thug through and through!" Corrin nodded at Bowser's remark about Kirby being a thug - that remark kinda reminds you of how Pit used to act towards Kirby, doesn't it?

 **Corrin: So far Bowser has proven to be a great, stellar teacher, he's very well-informed in many different areas of learning, such as core subjects, sports, and even life. Yet everyone insists on pitying me for being a protege of Bowser...they must be bummed out that they're not blessed a superb teacher like Bowser, they've never received such guidance in their lives and because of that, they lash out their sentiments upon me.**

"Let's make a run for it before Ness and Lucas return!" Bowser said to Corrin as the Koopa King and the prince made a mad dash out of the room, with Bowswer holding the storybook in a secure place where no one will see it. They eventually came across Toad, the drug lord who refuses to admit his secret to the world.

"Mario is looking for the _Paper Mario_ storybook, have any of you seen it anywhere?" Toad asked Bowser and Corrin, the former of whom hid the storybook behind his back.

"I do believe I saw the storybook," answered Corrin, leading Bowser to nudge the prince of Nohr. "...saw it in a vision I had once. Never saw the storybook in physical form." Bowser hid the storybook well inside his koopa shell, and he rarely puts _anything_ inside there.

"Ah pooh, I thought that you guys would know where it was...Mario just checked Ness's room, and he didn't find the storybook there., and so he tasked me and Roy with helping him find it..." Mario already stopped by the room?! That plumber must move faster than anyone expects him to move, maybe that minor bit of flab isn't slowing him down a single notch. "Well if you see the storybook, just let me, Roy, or Mario know!" Toad happily skipped away, his drug lord secret still kept under the wraps.

"We'll be on the lookout, you can always count on us!" Bowser called out to Toad as the presumed drug lord happily skipped away. Once Toad was gone, Bowser pulled the storybook out of his shell.

"Why is Mario so concerned with this storybook, it's just a lousy book..." remarked Corrin. He's naive, so he won't honestly know the mighty power the storybook holds.

"Mario is just like Kirby - he wishes to scribble all over the storybook in crayon, or even in marker! I know he's jealous of Paper Mario, and he'll do everything in his power to disgrace his paper counterpart! Best to keep this book out of his sight!"

* * *

Doopliss, still gracing the body of Link, was present in the beauty salon, flirting with ladies such as Aerith. The goal plan of the Duplighost is for Zelda to stop by, and become distraught when she sees him flirting with other women. It would lead to a breakup between Link and Zelda, and Doopliss plans on departing from Link's body when the breakup has been made official.

"Link you're not acting like your usual self..." Aerith remarked as Doopliss snuggled with the flower girl. "What would Zelda think about your behavior?" Other ladies in the salon, such as Fiora and Palutena, witnessed this flirting take place - the facial expressions they had literally said it all.

 **Fiora: No, I don't think Cloud would appreciate Link flirting with Aerith, that's the kind of thing that would destroy their friendship. Those two have a lot in common - they're swordsmen, they're blonde, and they could care less about what others think of them...Shulk possesses those qualities, he could join Link and Cloud...but two's company, three's a crowd, and I don't to hamper the friendship Link and Cloud have.**

"Will Zelda be greatly dissatisfied if she finds out about your actions here?" Aerith asked Doopliss, who was now trying to smooch Aerith, although the flower girl blocked every one of his attempts by pushing away with her hand. Nevertheless, Doopliss went at full force, not resisting for a single moment.

"You mean that frilly princess chick that cried like a little girl when I slapped her like a boss?" asked Doopliss, exuberating an absurd amount of confidence and swagger with his response, enough to make the ladies listening to him gasp in shock. "Eh, why would she care, she's irrelevant as far as I care!" The ladies quietly discussed among themselves if this was the real Link, or if Link woke on the wrong side of the bed this morning and decided to act like's he's above it all.

"And how about Cloud, he will be disappointed to see you acting like this! What would he think of you?"

"Like some dumb cloud is able to have feelings...what fantasy world you live in." On that remark, Doopliss departed from the salon, as Aerith and the other ladies looked on, distraught as ever. Once outside of the salon, the Duplighost was suddenly approached by Dimentio, who appeared in front of Doopliss in the blink of an eye.

"Mind if I ask who you are?" the evil jester asked. "Is there by any chance that you are...the famed Duplighost Doopliss?" Uh oh, looks like that crooked jester wants Doopliss to be a part of whatever evil plan he's plotting...two evils are certainly _less_ greater than one.

"Got it right Slick!" exclaimed Doopliss. Dude sure loves to call every male person he sees Slick. "Surprised that you were able to detect me inside this blonde dude's body, too bad his girlfriend was unable to see me through!"

"I figured his lover wouldn't, for she cannot detect two-dimensional paper ghosts, like how a metal detector can't detect spilled orange juice on the floor. She's not from our world, and we're not from her's." Dimentio moved away from Doopliss, seemingly thinking for a brief moment. "Outside this mansion is a statue - a statue that holds a great deal of power that is more powerful than I. I was wondering if you could be a participant in my devious plan..."

"Hoo boy, I would absolutely love to! Good thing I had picked the perfect person to be doing whatever has be done, this man has a sword and junk, and I can use it to swipe people and..."

"I'm terribly afraid that you won't be using the sword you speak of - instead, I have something else in plan for you..." Doopliss rubbed his Hylian hands in excitement, wondering what Dimentio has in store for him. Knowing Dimentio's tendencies, it possibly can't be good...

* * *

 **Samus: Finally, after all this time I had to spend putting up with Zero's big mouth, and then with Squirps having to use the bathroom (as well as that brief episode with Captain Falcon, I'll never forgive that man), the robot is fully completed. Squirps is the head of the robot, and thankfully the robot has its own artificial intelligence, so we won't have to worry about Squirps controlling most of the robot except for when it comes to walking. Anyone who routinely uses words such as "squeeple" and "squoork" in the middle of their sentences as a part of their everyday language should hardly be trusted, and should probably be checked into a mental facility.**

Samus and Zero strolled through the mansion, with their robot (its walking movement controlled by Squirps) strolling right behind them. This robot received a last-minute upgrade, installed by Zero - the blonde robot attached Bombette to the robot as a whip of sorts, a whip that can explode at will. However, there's a catch - what makes Bombette different from other Bob-ombs is that while your regular Bob-omb goes away for good after detonation, Bombette can detonate...and return like she was never gone. Because of this, the robot (not Squirps, Paper Mario and his gang didn't even trust the little alien guy when they initially met him, just some food for thought) can use Bombette as a whip an infinite amount of times, to blow up stuff and whatnot.

"Man, Zero, you surely did a great job with this robot of yours!" remarked X, walking past Zero, Samus, and the finished robot; the renowned pacifist turned his head and saw a glaring Samus, with her arms folded. "...and you did an awesome job too Samus, you really worked your butt off!"

"Better be glad X is your best friend..." Samus murmured to Zero, who gulped nervously. Had X not been friends with Zero, Samus would have ripped the poor pacifist robot's heart out, and crushed it into pieces just by tightening her fist. This blonde bounty hunter shows no mercy, and it would be a horrid mistake to mess with her. "Let's keep pressing on, we don't need any praise for our efforts."

"But Samus, this is a major accomplishment, something that you can put on your resume!" Zero tried to convince Samus. Unlike the bounty hunter, who seldom takes credit for anything she does, Zero loves to bask in the glory of the things he accomplishes, whether they be mundane, or astronomical. If he was spotted leaning against the wall near the entrance to the arcade room doing a cool pose, he would expect his fellow brawlers to commend him for his pose...though he rarely gets commended at all, and for many good reasons.

"First off, no rational person would ever put 'built a giant robot' on their resume, that's downright asinine. Secondly, I have no intentions to join the work force - I already had my course at the Galactic Federation, and I don't plan on returning anytime soon."

"Who knows, there might be other galactic organizations that you can take a chance on..." Zero said as he, Samus and the robot continued their strolling through the mansion.

"Squirps sees people up ahead, squoork!" Squirps chirped as he saw Cloud and Link making their way towards the three. "Squirps doesn't like that shadowy fellow, squeeple, Squirps will take care of him real quick!" The alien threw Bombette at Link, sending the Hylian flying back a little bit after the explosion. But Squirps isn't even supposed to be controlling the arms, the robot's legs are the only thing the alien has control over.

"Nobody wants to just control the legs, the upper body is practically useless," Zero, who was responsible for the robot's moving capacity, had to explain to Samus, who was looking at him while impatiently tapping his foot.

 **Link: Not the first time I got attacked due to my state as a shadow...heck, I couldn't even enter the kitchen without being reprimanded. One foot inside the kitchen, and Palutena, who was cooking, immediately screamed ghost, and I had to make a run for it. Unfortunately I was tackled to the floor by Captain Falcon, and Palutena had to call over Luigi to "exterminate the ghost", and thankfully Luigi wasn't there at his home...but Pit was and he answered the phone, and he now he's coming over here with the Poltergust 3000. *sighs* Dark Link never had to go through this ghost exterminating crap...but he never had to deal with ghost-related technology, so I guess he gets a slight pass.**

"Link are you okay, are you seriously hurt or anything?" Cloud ran over to his best friend, checking on him to see if he's fine. Due to Link's state as a shadow, determining his condition may not be so easy.

"The spiky haired man must be a ghost whisperer, squeeggle, he can communicate with the ghost!" Squirps moved closer to Cloud and Link (since Squirps can apparently fully control the robot, we'll mention him and the robot as the same entity). "No ghost whisperers allowed, squeem!"

"I don't think they're bad guys..." Bombette had to say about Link and Cloud. "They're just regular people, like the others that live at this mansion! Except maybe for the shadowy guy, he doesn't seem like the trustworthy type." Words of wisdom; never trust anything that is a shadow. You can't even trust your own shadow sometimes, who knows what things it can do unseen.

"Dang Link, trying way too hard to be like your doppelganger Dark Link, huh?" Zero asked the Hylian, rushing over to him along with Samus. "Pit tried to do the same thing months ago, and we all know how that turned out - still can't believe the man got himself arrested. You should probably quit before you can."

"I'm not trying to be like Dark Link...some dude stole my body and now I have to retrieve what is mine," explained Link. You'd figured that due to the outline as well as the color, Link is not a ghost nor is he attempting to be one like Dark Link, right?...Right?

"Only supernatural beings like ghosts are able to steal bodies," stated Samus. "Are you telling me that you let a ghost steal your body?" Link grew furious when he was asked this question and tried to lunge forward at Samus, though he was in some pain, thereby preventing him from doing so. Would've been a costly mistake anyways...

"No I didn't let him steal my body, he did a sneak attack on me when I least expected it! I was in the printing room, printing off things for Zelda, when some green sensor bar scanned be, and then I fell unconscious. Once I woke up, I ended up like THIS!"

"Link that's not really considered a 'sneak attack', seems to me like you let this ghost scan you and you bothered not to do anything about it whatsoever." Link grew even more furious, as he grunted in anger and folded his arms.

"How Link ended up in this state doesn't matter," Cloud spoke up. "What does matter is that we track down the ghost that stole his body. We have no idea what this ghost looks like, or if the ghost prefers to be visible or not."

 **Cloud: Last thing we need around here is a serious ghost problem, especially involving a ghost than can steal other people's bodies. The Pac-Man ghosts already drive us insane with the incessant noises they make, and to have a body-stealing ghost infiltrating the mansion, we simply can't let it happen, ever. Imagine King K. Rool having his body possessed by a ghost, think of all the things that ghost could do inside Rool's body... *shudders***

"Squirps will take out this wily ghost in no time, squeerm!" exclaimed Squirps. Link and Cloud looked up at Squrips, who was piloting the robot for some apparent reason, and then looked at Samus and Zero with questionable looks. Must have been real desperate to have Squirps as a part of their creation, but then again, it's not like they had any other choice...

"You guys seriously used that weird, ugly thing as a part of your robot?" Cloud asked the two robot inventors in a disapproving way. "Talk about a serious downgrade..."

"Look, I kinda slacked off on making the robot's head, so we had to use that green alien guy as a head instead," explained Zero. Hey, he finally admitted to slacking off on his job! Good for him! "Good thing that I installed some ghost hunting technology into the robot for good measure - that stupid _Ghostbusters_ movie really turned me on, for some reason. The Leslie chick honestly scared the crap out of me, even more so than the actual ghosts..."

"The ghosts in that movie aren't even meant to be scary, it's a freaking comedy film for crying out loud." Some of the ghosts could have been scary...but Cloud has zero tolerance for anything scary (save for Jenova, of course), so who knows.

"You seriously watched that _Ghostbusters_ movie?" grimaced Samus. "Let me guess: Aerith put you up to it, didn't she?" Cloud hung his head in shame when Samus said this. Like the blonde swordsman once told Pit before, whenever your girlfriend wants you to do something, you do it right away. So when Aerith wanted her and Cloud to go see that _Ghostbusters_ movie, Cloud had to drop everything and do what his woman says.

"Wait, why are we even talking about _Ghostbusters_ in the first place? We should be focusing on finding that ghost that stole Link's body! He might not be here for that long, we better find him and take him out as soon as we can..."

* * *

Chrom sat in the patient bed inside a nearby hospital, with a doctor nursing the bruises the prince of Yliesse suffered at the hands of Ganondorf. The Demon King didn't appreciate Chrom flirting with his supposed woman, and the prince had to pay the price.

"Your injuries are slightly severe, but not life-threatening in any way, so you'll be fine," assured the doctor as he pulled out a wheelchair, much to the chagrin of Chrom. Having to be transported in a wheelchair was definitely something the prince didn't have in mind, but he'll accept temporary fate for the time being. "On the flipside, however, you'l have to remain in this wheelchair until your bruises are fully healed, I don't trust you walking about with the injuries you sustained."

 **Francis: This is all my fault, I'm the one who got poor Chrom injured...how was I supposed to know Ganondorf had feelings for Rosalina? Inter-canon romances aren't my thing, I used to delve in that field of love but it never worked out so well. One time I had paired Brock from _Pokemon_ with Mona from _Wario,_ and as a result, I had nightmares - nightmares about Brock forcing his Onix to crush poor Mona with his Rock Tomb move!...But that's what I get for watching those sci-fi flicks about alien rocks past midnight.**

The doctor helped Chrom sit inside the rolling chair, and then he rolled the prince out of the room, before getting inside an elevator and heading to the first floor of the hospital, where Lucina, Robin, Fox, Falco, Big Top, Little Mac, Doc Louis, and Francis were all waiting inside the waiting room. Lucina was overjoyed when she saw her father, safe and sound.

"Will my father be okay?" the princess asked the doctor when she first saw him. "We hardly have any insurance, and depending on the severity of my father's injuries..."

"No worries, the severity of your father's injuries are only minor," explained the doctor, resulting in Lucina letting out a relieved sigh. "He should be fully healed before the end of next week. Only thing you'll have to worry about is who's gonna push him around until he's 100% healthy!"

"I'll elect myself to partake in this duty," Robin volunteered; the doctor moved away and let Robin have it, as the mage secured his hands on the wheelchair handles. Lucina glared at Robin, for she wanted to be the one pushing her father about since she's his daughter, but Robin compensated for Lucina's frustrations with a wry smile. It will take more than just a smile to soothe Lucina's angry mood. "Our work here is done, you all can leave now when you're ready."

"Not yet, I must clean my glasses, the lenses are so foggy..." said Francis. How can the man clean his glasses if they're made out of paper? And since they're made out of paper, how can they be foggy? Might be an in-universe thing.

"Hurry up and do it man, I don't wanna accrue another parking ticket," Fox told Francis, who scurried to the bathroom. "Wish they'd make a separate parking space for my Landmaster, taking up two to three regular parking spaces apparently isn't gonna cut it..."

Inside the restroom, Francis was cleaning off his glasses with a wet paper towel, due to a lack of a cleaning cloth. Sometimes when you wear glasses, and you're lacking a cleaning cloth to clean your glasses, because of factors such as location, instance, or both, you gotta improvise when you can.

"Oh how very lovely, the otaku reptilian is making friends with offline companions...if only your mother was here as a witness."

Dimentio appeared inside the restroom, scaring and frightening Francis so much that the chameleon dropped his glasses on the floor. Due to the paper quality of these glasses and the fact that the glasses are from a different dimension, they weren't that much damaged.

 **Fox: *looking out through a window* Shoot, I can already see the police cars lined up near by Landmaster...Francis oughta hurry up, or my baby will be blanketed in tickets...it'd be embarrassing flying my Landmaster in the air, with those tickets flying off of it.**

"Do my eyes deceive me?" Francis wondered after picking up his glasses and putting them back on, seeing Dimentio floating in front of him. "I know who you are, you're that jester that works for Count Bleck, Dimentio!"

" _Used_ to work for Count Bleck, I played him like how a bluegrass singer plays a fiddle," corrected Dimentio, adding a clever simile in his response. They don't call him the King of Similes for nothing...but unfortunately nobody calls him that. Who said it's too late to start now? "I took full advantage of Count Bleck and his depressing situation, and I was oh so close to destroying the multiverse, but that dastardly Mario and his putrid friends had to spoil the party...and now, I plot to extract my revenge not on Paper Mario, but the real deal, the real Mario! Certainly you must want to extract revenge as well, after what went down at your precious fort..."

"Yeah, Mario had his goons beat the crap out of me, and to add insult to injury, they stole the schweet butterfly that I captured! You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Oh, I have been thinking for far longer than you have...we shall work together, and destroy Mario, once and for all! Got a deal?" Dimentio held out his head, and Francis shook it, sporting an evil, malicious grin. "Great choice you have made, with you on board, nobody can..."

"DANG IT FRANCIS, MY ENTIRE LANDMASTER IS COVERED IN TRAFFIC TICKETS BECAUSE OF YOU!" Fox's voice could be heard through the restroom door. "NOT TO MENTION THAT I'M ALSO GETTING A FINE! PREPARE TO PAY UP MISTER, BETTER HOPE YOU GOT SOME CASH ON YA!"

"Meet me at the front of the mansion, where the statue is. I'll explain the entirety of my plan in full."

* * *

After their short snack break, Ness and Lucas made their way back to their room, hoping to actually read most of the _Paper Mario_ storybook rather than touching random characters and making them come to life. They were completely neglecting the use of the storybook, and this time they'll do some actual reading. Just looking at some lousy pictures would be a waste of time...

"Wait, where's the storybook, where did it go?" Ness looked around for the storybook after entering the room, seeing that it was no longer on Lucas's bed. "It can't magically appear like that, I know it's magical, but still..."

"Somebody must have stolen the storybook while we were away!" panicked Lucas. "Sooner or later Mario is gonna find out, and the both of us will be in big trouble..." Lucas was now on the verge of crying his eyes out, fearful about the possibility of being grounded by either Mario or Master Hand. As you can might tell, Lucas can't seem to handle taking punishments or taking the blame for anything.

 **Mewtwo: Word has it that Mario is currently looking for the _Paper Mario_ storybook, so he can return it to the attic in one piece...but if you ask me, this situation should have been taken care of a long time ago - just like how Mario should have taken care of his relationship with Peach a long time ago. Those two have been in love for as long as I know what, and it's appalling to see that they haven't tied the knot yet. Both Mario and Peach are at fault, in my opinion.**

"Woah Lucas, take it easy man, chill out, this isn't that much of a big deal," Ness did his best to comfort his best friend. "It's not like we summoned genuinely evil dudes out of the book, they're not gonna take over the world or anything..."

"Chill out? CHILL OUT?!" Lucas snapped on Ness. Uh oh, the crybaby is becoming rather feisty... "The storybook is gone, and you think telling me to 'chill out' will solve our problems?!"

"Somebody is probably looking for the storybook as we speak. Once the book has been found, we'll go to Master Hand and explain everything."

* * *

"Sonic, this is flat out unnecessary and I don't believe this is such a good idea," Tails said to his hedgehog friend as he, Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy were hiding behind a wall in the hallway, where mousetraps were littered all over the floor. Sonic's plan is to capture Tutankoopa - the pharaoh koopa who stole the Sonic gang's spinner for the _Twister_ game - through the use of the mousetraps scattered on the floor. Only way this plan would fail is if someone other than Tutankoopa stepped on the mousetraps, and Sonic possibly can't have that, he'll wind up being even more despised than usual...which is why he's using Tails as a fall guy.

"Shut up Tails, that koopa might hear us!" Sonic shushed the yellow fox. Although Tails was technically whispering, Sonic thinks that even the loudest whisper could blow his gang's cover. "He should be here any minute now, wondering what's taking him so long..."

All of a sudden, footsteps were heard. The Sonic gang hid closer to the wall as the sound of the footsteps came closer and grew higher in volume. Then the sound of a mousetrap snapping...

"GAAAAAAAH!" a voice yelled in pain, followed by a thud and more mousetraps snapping. Sonic and company appeared out of their hiding spots to see their victim...none other than Jacky Bryant, who was covered from head to toe in mousetraps and writhing in pain. "Sonic I knew you were behind this, you're gonna pay buddy!" The end result of Sonic's plan, obviously a failure, could have been worse - Jacky could have been bleeding from the mousetraps, but thankfully there was no blood. "Now you and your scrawny friends get these dumb mousetraps off of me!"

 **Sonic: So yeah, my plan to capture the koopa failed, got the wrong guy, but pulling off this plan was a great learning experience...next time, I'm gonna make the floor wet so that whoever's walking will slip and fall on the mousetraps! You can't tell me Jacky didn't intentionally step on those mousetraps, certainly he saw them lying on the floor conspicuously! Either that, or the man lacks peripheral vision...could be a lowkey side-effect from too much racing.**

While Sonic and his crew helped get the mousetraps off of Jacky, Tutankoopa breezed right by, the _Twister_ spinner still in his possession. Once he got far from the Sonic gang, so far that he was now by himself in the hallway...the pharaoh koopa was suddenly approached by Dimentio, who magically appeared in front of him.

"Riddle me this, good sir: what has hands, but no feet; a face, but no eyes; tells, but not talk?" riddled Dimentio. So not only the jester is the King of Similes, he's also the King of Riddles as well! Might as well start calling him that from now on.

"Hmm, the answer to that riddle would be..." Tutankoopa stroked his chin, thinking of a valid answer. "...a clock! Wait, what does this riddle have to do with anything? I might need some clarification..."

"The clock, like pouring sand inside an hourglass, is a representation of time, and you, good sir, have time...to join me and others in my quest for world domination! Have you ever been wronged by felled by Paper Mario before?"

"Yeah, he and his bum companions defeated me in my own throne! The taste of revenge has alluded me, but the taste of world domination is more succulent...I'll join your little pact, who knows what we may accomplish!"

"The benefits of your alligence to the cause shall be plenty..." Whatever Dimentio is cooking up, it definitely isn't good.

* * *

"No, John, please don't leave me like this, think of the children! How will the children handle it with you away, I simply can't do everything on my own! I'm just but a lousy housewife, with lousy kids..."

"Patience, my dear, patience, everything will work itself out on the end if you just wait. My absence will not be as long as you think it will be, I shall return sooner than you know it!"

Yes, in case you may be pondering, those lines are from a soap opera - a soap opera that Pit, Viridi, Kirby, King Dedede, and the Waddle Dees are all watching in the living room of Luigi's home for reasons unknown. This wasn't a marquee soap opera, like _General Hospital_ or _Days of our Lives_ \- this was some crappy soap opera that looks like it belongs on a reject local station, and it had King Dedede sitting at the edge of his couch.

 **King Dedede: Hoo boy, oh yeah, things were getting mightily intense up in here...John just told his wife Sarah that he accepted a job overseas, and that jerk didn't even bother to tell his woman! What kind of husband is he, hiding things from his lover, and on top of that, the children are a bunch of unruly, inconsiderate...oh, you were asking me about Luigi undergoing his "Mr. L" persona? To heck with that man...**

"Luigi has yet to return ever since he underwent his strange 'Mr. L' persona..." Daisy worried as she vacuumed the living room. "It must be the work of that Dimentio creep, Luigi didn't act like he did until I let that man inside my home! He sure looks like a deviant folk..."

"Yeah I wouldn't blame ya, I wouldn't trust a Jehovah's Witness even if I was hanging off of a plane and I had to grab a Jehovah Witness's hand for survival," Pit somewhat agreed. What does Jehovah's Witnesses have to do with Dimentio? Oh wait, he still thinks Dimentio counts as one... "I knew Dimentio was shady from the moment I saw him, and you wanted to let him in.

"I can't bear to see Luigi gone this long! He must still be at the mansion, I'm going over and see whatever he's up to!" Daisy stopped vacuuming, putting away her vacuum, before grabbing her keys and opening the front door.

"Why would you wanna go after that man Luigi, did you not see how he acted under that persona of his?" frowned King Dedede, attempting to dissuade Daisy from leaving the house. Undeniably, the penguin would have far better success with talking Peach out of things - Daisy, she's quite the hard-headed woman.

"Luigi may be a different person and all...but deep down inside, inside of him, I know that the Luigi we all know and love is still there, just waiting to be unleash! And I will be the one to bring out the real Luigi!"

"You were kidding when you said we 'all know and love' Luigi, were you?" asked Pit, not wanting to anger Daisy, but he inadvertently did so, garnering a furious glare from the redhead. He probably knew that glare was coming his way.

"Can't believe you had the gall to even say that! Since you want to be so critical of my husband, Pit...you're coming with me!" Daisy grabbed the angel's hand and dragged him out of the house against his will, leaving Viridi alone with Kirby and King Dedede. Will the goddess of nature panic now that her boyfriend is no longer present, or will she try and socialize with those not named Pit?

"Wanna tell you embarrassing stories about Pit?" Viridi asked Kirby, King Dedede, and the Waddle Dees. C'mon Viridi, don't do your man like that, not when he's off saving the world...or at least saving Luigi.

"Ooh, embarrassing stories of Pit, please do tell!" King Dedede grinned, rubbing his hands in a presumably evil but not actually evil way. He's way too excited for this.

* * *

 **Mario: Minutes and-a hours - well, mostly minutes - have-a passed, and still no sign-a of the storybook! I've already been-a to Ness's and Lucas's room, and the storybook-a was gone, meaning that some-a one must have taken it! And now Master Hand-a wants me to see him-a in his room. He'll spite-a me for not completing my task...**

Mario stood nervously in Master Hand's room, where the giant hand was present with Isabelle, holding her clipboard. Several seconds have passed, and Master Hand has yet to give any thought about torturing Mario...so far, so good.

"So Mario, have you located the storybook yet or is it still missing?" Master Hand asked the plumber. Mario's torture may be coming sooner than later, might as well brace for whatever Master Hand has up his sleeve.

"Not-a yet, I've been to Ness's and Lucas's room-a and the storybook wasn't present," responded Mario, slightly cowering in fear. "Somebody must-a have taken it when those two-a boys were absent..."

"I see...I shall punish the culprit who stole the storybook, and their punishment shall be swift." Mario let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he won't receive torture; it will likely be Bowser (and also Corrin, just because by association), who will take the fall. "In addition to the security of the storybook, we have another pressing issue on our hands...Isabelle, would you like to do the honors?"

"Yes sir," Isabelle nodded as she stepped forward. "That statue of Master Hand, the one Dr. Eggman had his Badniks build in front of the mansion...it's meant to bring back Tabuu."

"Say it isn't-a so!" Mario exclaimed at the top of his lungs. "Dr. Egg-a Man coming up with a competent-a evil plot?! Antarctica must-a be freezing over..." Mario stopped when he saw Isabelle with a blank stare on her face. Had Mario said this about Bowser, then go figure, but in terms of competency, Dr. Eggman blows Bowser out of the park. The man designed a weapon of mass destruction to blow up the earth for crying out loud!

"Anyways, we're not sure if the statue is supposed to be a portal to subspace, but given that Dimentio is floating about and is likely wrecking havoc as we speak, he might sense the strong power from the statue and use it to summon Tabuu. Therefore it is crucial that you defend the statue from Dimentio at all costs!"

"Very well-a then, I'll go check-a on the statue and leave Toad-a and Roy with finding the storybook. Once they find-a it, we shall-a warp Dimentio and the other _Paper Mario_ character in-a side." Mario walked to the door, before momentarily stopping and saying the following under his breath: "That Pure Heart better be-a in one piece..."

"Did you say something, Mario?" inquired Master Hand; Mario quickly turned around and shook his head. "Okay then, off you go! Don't disappoint me this time!"

 **Master Hand: My statue, my beloved statue, is more than likely a stinking portal to Subspace, and I let Dr. Eggman build the statue for me! Why must I be so consumed with my own ego, why did I have to say yes...I know, I'll have Mario and Luigi build me a statue of myself - one without anything to do with Tabuu or Subspace, of course - this one in the middle of Seattle, so that the citizens can admire my profound greatness! In reality, it sounds like another egotistical hack job, but ego is all about self-esteem, and how do you expect to achieve self-esteem without having others and yourself (but mainly others) praising you all the time?**

* * *

"See that loser penguin right there, the one with the detective hat and the bowtie and the magnifying glass?" Bowser pointed to a picture of a penguin that fitted the description inside the _Paper Mario_ storybook, showing the picture to Corrin inside the room where the Koopa King usually holds his lessons. Bowser, knowing exactly how the storybook operates, knew better than to touch anything. "His name is Pennington, and he's the sorriest detective known to mankind...or at least to penguins. He's so sorry, that he makes...he makes...ummm...do you know any sorry detectives, Corrin?"

"Well you did say that Sherlock Holmes is a trash detective, and one of the more overrated fictional characters of all time," stated Corrin. Going by this logic, the Hardy Boys are also trash and overrated.

"Yeah, Pennington can make Sherlock Holmes look like the greatest detective of all time! When it comes to be a crappy investigator, Pennington is the..."

"Caught you both red-handed!" Roy barged inside the room, with Toad standing at his side. "Knew you were the culprits this whole time, Toad told me how you were acting shady - now hand over the storybook and nobody gets hurt!"

"Shoot, we're about to get it now!" Bowser panicked, immediately handing the storybook to Corrin. "Save yourself, my faithful protege, do what's best for me!"

"But I can't leave you like this Bowser, I refuse to leave my teacher behind!" Bowser and Corrin aren't having a heartfelt moment...are they? Judging by the grimaces on Roy's and Toad's faces, it certainly seems like it...

"No, Corrin, you must go and be free," Bowser rested his hand on Corrin's shoulder. This is starting to become a little over-the-top now. "Remember my teachings, remember everything that I have taught you. Now go, young Padawan, go and be free!"

Corrin nodded and ran out of the room, with the storybook in his grasp, while Roy and Toad chased after the prince of Nohr. Corrin kept running and running, and saw that he was running towards King K. Rool, standing in the middle of the hallway flexing his muscles like someone's gonna pay attention to him. Not wanting to risk running into the Kremling and dropping the storybook in the process, Corrin threw the storybook down a nearby staircase, before ramming into Rool and knocking him down, also while falling on the floor in the process.

"Watch where you're going bub!" Rool frowned at Corrin, slowly getting back up. "Ruining my workout plan...you sure got some nerve kid."

 **King K. Rool: Fact: flexing can not only build your muscles, but can also alter the shape of your muscles as well! It can improve upon things like muscle tone, muscle hardness, and even muscle density (like muscles are even supposed to have density). As you can see, I have been making some great progress with my muscles so far... *shows his muscles to the camera* ...Whaddaya mean, you don't see any muscle?...You telling me the only thing you can see is flab?! Whose muscles are you punks looking at?! Let me remind you, us Kremlings have the best muscles out of ANY species, and these muscles are a pure symbol of your manliness, and as a man... *a girly ringtone sounds, Rool looks around embarrassed* Sorry, but I gotta take this... *pulls out his phone and walks away out of humiliation***

The storybook traveled down the steps and miraculously landed in the lap of Chrom, who was being pushed around on his wheelchair by Robin. Lucina had opted to push Chrom around on the wheelchair, but Robin angered her by making her do some sort of favor - basically he made Lucina buy him some takeout food. Lucina is known for being awkward at times and not knowing how to take a joke, so it would be interesting to see the princess of Ylisse's exchange with whomever's running the cash register.

"My goodness, is this the storybook everyone's having a fuss over?" Chrom picked up the storybook, holding it in his hands. "I've always wanted to read this..."

Suddenly Roy and Toad came running down the steps, screaming like a bunch of maniacs as they ran down the staircase. Believing that the two wanted to read the storybook and wanting to keep the storybook from them, Robin snatched the storybook out of Chrom's hands and made a run for it, as Chrom was ambushed by Roy and Toad. The prince was knocked over as he fell on the floor, falling out of his wheelchair, and laid on the floor in pain face-first as the chase for the storybook continued.

"I suppose I'll get my chance...another day..." Chrom lifted up his head just to say this before resting his face back on the floor. Kudos if you got the reference...

Unlike Corrin, who ran like he was Usain Bolt, Robin ran a whole lot slower, which is kinda sad because he's supposed to run with that same speed with his tome. The mage, knowing this, handed the storybook off to Donkey Kong, who was walking by with an ice pack on his head, recovering from having his behind handed to him by Mr. L.

"Ooh, the _Paper Mario_ storybook, never got the chance to read this!" Donkey Kong exclaimed as he opened the book; having never appeared in the _Paper Mario_ universe at all (like Daisy, his existence could be implied), DK had to digest all the information he can get. But that won't happen, what with Roy and Toad running towards him.  
"Those boys must be after the storybook, they must want to read it as well - but I won't let 'em have it!" Donkey Kong immediately took off, speeding down the hallway and down the steps when he saw a bitter Sonic walking with Tails. (And yes, Sonic is bitter about what happened with the _Twister_ game he and his friends were playing, in case you may be wondering. ) Seeing that Roy and Toad were ganging up on them, Donkey Kong threw the storybook to Sonic as a sacrifice of sorts, and the book landed in the hedgehog's hands as DK was tackled to the floor by the duo chasing him.

"What's this, some crappy storybook from some crappy universe?" Sonic scanned the storybook, glancing at the cover and the back and the pages in between...before dropping it on the floor like it was nothing. That's no way to treat a highly magical book full of magical characters. "Bump that, I want that spinner back!"

 **Tails: Apparently Sonic is still bitter about that koopa dressed up as a pharaoh stealing the spinner for the _Twister_ game (a blessing in disguise, I might add) and doing who-knows-what with it. Dude was complaining so much, that he annoyed Amy to no end and she had to leave the mansion on early notice. Sonic, finding out that his girlfriend had left, tried to bring her back, and he tried so, _so_ hard - kinda like the times when Amy tried to win over Sonic with her yandere habits. Huh, funny how times have changed...**

"Sonic this just isn't some ordinary storybook, this is the storybook that contains the entire _Paper Mario_ universe!" Tails frowned as he picked up the book, dusting it off. "By dropping it on the floor, you could have done some serious damage, and the book might tear apart!"

"Pretty sure you're overreacting Tails, one little drop on the floor won't do anything," said Sonic. He may be right, but multiple drops on the floor can prove to be very disastrous. The storybook is more fragile than it seems.

Sonic and Tails suddenly heard fast-approaching footsteps, and then they saw Roy and Toad making a mad dash towards them - more particularly towards Tails, the one with the storybook in his possession. While Sonic instinctively sped away at the speed of light, Tails had to make use of his...erm, tails, by flying away. He flew out of a conveniently opened window, and flew over the mansion's gardens. He saw Fox and Falco, both searching for Francis's whereabouts, below him, and the fox dropped the storybook down at the two Star Fox pilots before flying back inside the mansion.

"Ow, my head!" Fox flinched in pain as the storybook dropped on his head. He saw the storybook lying on the ground, and picked it up. "Aw sweet, this must be the _Paper Mario_ storybook from the attic!"

"No way bruh, I wanna see!" Falco walked over to Fox and snatched the storybook from Fox, flipping through the pages. Quick question: what if someone were to rip out a page from the storybook, either by accident, on purpose, or maybe even both (if that were to be possible)?

"Hey dude, no fair, give it back!" Fox snatched the storybook away from Falco, and would you know it, the two pilots then started fighting over the storybook. The group of Link, Cloud, Zero, Samus, and Squirps stopped by the gardens in search for Doopliss, and saw Fox and Falco fighting. Not a surprise for them, they've seen Fox and Falco fight over the dumbest things - like the time they fought over who would get to drink the last can of Pepsi at the 4th of July cookout. It got so out of hand, that Mario resorted to calling the police just to break Fox and Falco up!

"Are they...are they fighting over the _Paper Mario_ storybook?" Samus scrutinized the storybook that Falco held up high in the air, preventing Fox from reaching it. "Should we like, return it to the attic where it belongs?"

"Squirps is on it, squeegle, Squirps is here to save the day!" Squirps extended his arm out to the storybook, using a clawshot to snatch the storybook out of Falco's hand before bringing it back to him. "The storybook is now in safe hands!" Link saw that the clawshot looked mighty familiar - in fact, it was _his_ clawshot - and realizing that the clawshot was his, he then glared at Zero, who giggled innocently. Good thing Zero can't see the mean glare on Link's face...

 **Zero: Alright, so I installed Link's hookshot into the robot as an extendable arm without his permission...but so what, it's not like the man ever uses that thing anyways. Only time I see him using that thing outside of battle is when he's scratching his butt and armpits, and for that reason, I had to put a _lot_ of sanitizing products on the clawshot. Now we're completely out of sanitizing wipes...**

"And now the storybook is in _safer_ hands," Mewtwo teleported to the scene out of nowhere, and grabbed the storybook from Squirps's hookshot hand. "Time to return this book to the attic where it belongs..." Mewtwo saw Link in his shadow state, wondering why the Hylian is colored purple. Shadows are meant to be black in nature, so the psychic Pokemon is a little surprised. "Whatever happened to you, Link?"

"Some dumb ghost stole my body, and he's meandering around the mansion in it!" explained Link. "I think he's from that storybook, if I'm not mistaken; these guys are helping me track the ghost down."

"No wonder...when I saw a blonde-haired lad in a tunic peeing inside one of the vending machines, I instantly knew it wasn't you, and that you might have been possessed or something." Doopliss peed in a vending machine as Link? Not a great look at all for the Hylian...

"Hey bruh, give us back that book we didn't even get to read it!" Falco yelled at Mewtwo as he and Fox came dashing towards to Mewtwo, only for the psychic Pokemon to repel the pilots with his Confusion attack, sending them flying into some shrubbery.

"I believe I saw the ghost inside your body heading to the front of the mansion. Follow me, we must get him out of your body and back inside this storybook before he causes any more ruckus."

* * *

Dimentio and his goons - Doopliss, Francis, and Tutankoopa - were all standing in front of a statue, waiting for Mr. L to finally arrive. Mario, who was supposed to guard the statue at all costs, stumbled upon Dimentio, and was now being tied to a stake by Doopliss, where Daisy and Pit - both of whom were looking for Luigi - were also caught and tied to the stake.

"How could-a you Link, why would you tie-a me, Daisy, and-a Pit to this stake?!" Mario furiously questioned "Link", not knowing that Doopliss had taken over the Hylian's body.

"For the last time Slick, I'm not Link, I just stole the man's body!" Doopliss angrily responded, just when he was finished tying up Mario. "I stole his body because I liked his physique and features and all!"

"Nice-a try Link, we all know-a you have one of the worst-a physiques out of everyone-a in the mansion, with-a your skinny self!" Oh snap, Link just got burned by Mario - though the burn would have been more legit if Link was physically here.

 **Doopliss: As you might have figured, everywhere I go people call me Link...not knowing that it is I, Doopliss, who has taken over his body! *does an evil, maniacal laugh, before abruptly coughing afterwards* ...you didn't hear that. Anyway, I have this clause that nobody has ever heard of - should I remain in Link's body until midnight, then I shall remain in it forever, and Link will forever remain as a shadow! Which gives me the freedom to womanize all the ladies...already got my eyes set on that pale-skinned lady with them yoga pants on. I sure love me some yoga pants...**

"We're gonna die, I can already tell we're gonna die!" Pit panicked, seemingly overreacting. "I don't deserve to go out like this..." So far, nothing's happening - there's no fire at the bottom of the stake, and Dimentio hasn't used the statue to summon Tabuu yet. Yet Pit could see his life flashing through his eyes.

"No need to fear Pit, nothing has happened so far..." assured Daisy. "...or at least not yet!" Her level of concern is as high as Pit's, but she's not overreacting like he is. Watching from behind, concealed behind bushes, were Peach, Goombella, and R.O.B., all three concerned for the well-being of those on the stake.

"Oh goodness, what is that dastardly Dimentio planning?" Peach watched attentively. "And why did Link just tie Mario to the stake just now, why is he working for Dimentio all of a sudden?!"

"Forget Link - Dimentio is already setting himself up for failure by enlisting Francis to join him!" remarked Goombella. To be honest, Francis isn't even a real villain, compared to the likes of Tutankoopa and Doopliss - he just happened to tick off Paper Mario and his gang by kidnapping Tippi, and there was a huge fight over the butterfly. "Otaku nerds have no business in involving themselves with evil matters!"

Just then, Mr. L came through the front door of the mansion, with the Pure Heart in his possession. Peach, seeing this, gasped in shock, for she was aware that Luigi has been hypnotized.

"Here's the Pure Heart, just like you asked for!" Mr. L handed the Pure Heart to Dimentio. "Sorry I took so long, I had to maneuver through the mansion without being detected. Keeping that Pure Heart under the wraps was awfully hard work!"

"Luigi you-a fool, you can't-a give the Pure-a Heart to Dimentio, he's insane!" frowned Mario, but what's the point of him ridiculing his brother? It's not like Mr. L will ever listen to his brother in the state he's in.

"Says the one who wanted to bring the Pure Heart out of the attic, some mistake you made!" Mr. L then turned his attention to Daisy, smirking at the princess. "Nice to see that your attempt to 'save' me failed miserably, just like I had figured!"

"I THINK I KNOW...A CURE TO LUIGI'S HYPNOSIS..." said R.O.B., summoning a siren from his torso. "STAND BACK...I GOT THIS..." The robot sounded the siren, and the siren sounded like a dog call...a dog call that sounded a lot like Luigi's voice.

And would you know it, Luigi's faithful ghostly canine companion Polterpup appeared, barking happily as he ran to Mr L. at the sound of the siren and knocking him to the ground, licking his face repeatedly, like most dogs typically do.

"Okay, Polterpup, cut-a it out, that's enough-a from you!" exclaimed Mr. L...or is he really Mr. L? Notice how the Italian accent has returned. "What-a am I doing in these-a black overalls, they're not-a my style!" Mr. L looked down at his threads. It's safe the say that the Luigi we all know and love...is finally back!

 **R.O.B. IN SOME CASES, GHOST SALIVA...CAN CURE HYPNOSIS...AND IN RARER CASES...HEAL ANAL ULCERS...**

"Luigi, you're finally normal again, oh what joy!" Daisy exclaimed happily, joyful to see her husband back to his usual self.

"Had no idea ghost saliva can cure hypnosis..." remarked Francis, fretting over what initiate Dimentio will use now that his secret weapon is no more. Maybe if you do some research instead of watching and recording _Starship X-Naut_ , then maybe you'll learn something new, Francis.

Luigi looked up from Polterpup, and saw Dimentio staring at him, with a look full of anger - Dimentio always has the same facial expression, so it's hard to tell what emotions other than joy he shows. But his facial expression was enough to make Luigi laugh out of nervousness.

* * *

Mewtwo and the group of Link, Cloud, Zero, Samus, and Squirps were located in the foyer, and through the window they saw Dimentio ordering Francis, Doopliss, and Tutankoopa to tie Luigi and Polterpup up to the stake. So why aren't they saving the others? Because Mewtwo apparently wants to strike when he feels it's necessary. Given that Dimentio now has the Pure Heart in his possession, you'd think that he'd...

"Excuse me, Mewtwo sir...but do you mind if Ness and I borrow that storybook for a minute?" Lucas nervously approached the psychic Pokemon, with Ness behind him to back him up. What a good friend Ness is, forcing his best friend Ness to speak to intimidating Pokemon like Mewtwo to get over his nerves!

"After all the trouble you brought upon everyone?" scoffed Mewtwo. "You two must be practically insane. The situation at hand is bad enough, and you two would make somehow make it even worse!"

"Hear us out Mewtwo - we can use the storybook to not only save Mario and others and get rid of Dimentio for good, but redeem ourselves in the process!" stated Ness. "Then we can put this whole thing behind us, and leave the storybook in the attic where it belongs!"

"He has a point Mewtwo; since they started the mess, they should be the ones to end it," Cloud sided with Ness. Will Mewtwo oblige to the PSI masters, or shall he take matters into his own hands?

"...Fine then, I'll let you boys have it," Mewtwo, in a rare act of kindness, gave the storybook to Lucas. "But before you do anything...do you have any sort of plan?" Ness and Lucas both looked at each other, each sporting a devious grin. They've must have been planning something legit for some time, if those grins are any indication.

 **Roy: It's close to evening, and we have yet to acquire the storybook. Man, we suck at our job...  
** **Toad: We more than suck at our job - we somehow let Robin outrun us! Only a malfunctioning moped can move slower than him!  
Roy: The last person we saw with the storybook was Mewtwo, who was flanked by that giant robot Zero and Samus built. Obviously, we knew better than to tango with Mewtwo, so...why don't we lend him a favor?  
Toad: A favor? What do you possibly mean by that...?  
Roy: You will see...just tell Fox, Falco, and Sonic to come here.**

* * *

"Doopliss, you do have Link's Master Sword, is that correct?" Dimentio asked the Duplighost; Doopliss held up the Master Hand with his Hylian hand. "Excellent, now strike the statue with all your might!" Doopliss did as he was told, as he struck the statue of Master Hand with the sword, leaving behind a gaping crack in the satatue and unleashing a portal of subspace from it. "Francis, do you have a radar of some sort, to determine the power from the statue?"

"Thankfully I do, glad I brought one," Francis whipped out a radar, pressing all sorts of buttons. "This statue is meant to summon Tabuu, the king of subspace, and the portal before us leads to subspace! I detect that Tabuu will come out of that portal soon!"

The arrival would come sooner than expected, when Tabuu appeared out of the portal, hovering in front of Dimentio and his crew. Mario and company looked on in awe and fright, and Peach, Goombella, and R.O.B. did the same thing - this could be the end of the universe as we know it!

"Greetings Tabuu - you may not know me, but allow me to introduce myself," Dimentio greeted the king of subspace. "My name is Dimentio, and I am a power-hungry jester on the quest for world domination...or should I say, universal domination! Like two warring native tribes coming to a swift compromise, I come before you with a peace offering - this Pure Heart!" Dimentio held up the heart for Tabuu to see. Tabuu made some strange sounds, and not that many people were able to determine what those sounds meant - but thankfully Francis's radar picked up these sounds and translated them.

"I think what Tabuu is trying to say is that he finds your 'peace offering' inferior, and that he would prefer a more powerful artifact," Francis translated Tabuu's sounds through his radar. The Chaos Heart, a central object in _Super Paper Mario,_ would have been a better offering, but that thing is nowhere to be found (thank goodness). "He also says he's not interested in world or universal domination, at least not yet, but he would like to take someone back to his subspace home as a prisoner - one that he can torture to no end!" What is it with Tabuu and Master Hand wanting to punish and torture others? Then again, Master Hand was controlled by Tabuu during the events of the Subspace Emissary, so the giant hand probably got his tormenting desires from Tabuu.

"A prisoner, he says?" Dimentio rubbed his hands together in a sadistic manner. "Good thing I have the perfect candidates...Tutankoopa, may I see that spinner of yours?"

"Spinner doesn't really belong to me, but I'll let you have it," Tutankoopa handed over the spinner to Dimentio, who enlarged it to the size of a master bed. Peach, Goombella, and R.O.B., watched attentively as Dimentio wrote down the names of Mario (red spot), Luigi (green spot), Daisy, (yellow spot), and Pit (blue spot) on the spinner. The four individuals on the stake (Polterpup doesn't really count) all have an equal chance of being surrender to Tabuu, meaning that they would have to remain inside subspace...forever and ever.

 **Peach: What do I do, should I intervene and save Mario and the others, at the same time risking myself by putting myself in the open and possibly being thrown into subspace, where I'll never be able to escape? *puts her face in her hands while R.O.B. comforts her* I just don't know what to do...  
** **Goombella: No need to fear Peach, Mario will find a way out of this predicament. He always finds a way, one way or another!**

"Time to spin the spinner, let's see which unfortunate soul will be joining Tabuu in subspace..." Dimentio said gleefully as he reached towards the spinner...

"...Not so fast, squeeple!" Suddenly an elongated arm, in the form of a hookshot, was fired at Dimentio, hitting the jester in the head. While Dimentio was rubbing his head, Bombette was extended out towards Doopliss, and exploded upon impact when she came in contact with the Duplighost, causing Doopliss to stumble to the ground. Who did these actions, you might ask? It was none other than Squirps, the young alien prince piloting Zero's and Samus's lovely robot. He stood at the stairway to the mansion, ready for action, and he wasn't alone either.

"Oh man, I'm so screwed..." Doopliss fretted when he looked up and saw standing next to Squirps Link, his arms folded in his shadow form. The Hylain carried Cloud's Buster Sword in his hands (the fact that he hasn't lost his balance given how heavy the sword is is just amazing) and inched towards Doopliss. "Hang on now Slick, get that sword away from me..."

"Give me my body back!" Link suddenly dashed at Doopliss, attacking him ruthlessly with his sword while everyone else watched in shock; they never seen Link this aggressive before, save for the times Sonic tampers with him. Once the beating commenced and Doopliss was in pain, the Duplighost reverted back to his original form, and Link not only got his body back, but everything else - his outfit, his weapons, the hickey on his stomach that nobody ever talks mentions or talks about, etc. "Man, it sure does feel great to be back!" He looked up at Mario and company, all of whom were still in shock. "...Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

"That's enough fun and games from you!" Dimentio snapped, particularly against Link and Squirps, once the pain in his head subsided. "Don't make me add your names to the spinner..."

"Hold-a your horses Dimentio - if you wish-a to do that, you'll just-a have to go through-a us!"

Of course, this response didn't come from Mario nor Luigi, for they're tied up to the stake and can't do pretty much anything, save for wetting themselves if they have to relieve themselves - more than likely Luigi would do that rather than Mario. This response came from Luigi's paper counterpart, Paper Luigi, who was standing strong with Mario's paper counterpart, Paper Mario. Ness and Lucas stood at the stairway of the mansion with the storybook, watching their plan come to fruition.

"Well what do we have here, the hero of light and the hero of dark wants to save the day, how cute!" mocked Dimentio, riling up Paper Mario and Paper Luigi. "I may have failed to defeat you the first time, but this second time shall go in MY favor!" And so, like two gleaming banjos on a moonlit stop, the twosome of Paper Mario and Paper Luigi dueled with Dimentio, in a battle that provided a whole lot of jumping and energy spheres and whatnot.

 **Ness: The original plan was to have Paper Mario fight Dimentio with Paper Peach and Paper Bowser, but we thought that having him team up with Paper Luigi would be more effective, since there's no stopping the power of brotherly companionship!...Also we don't have anything to carry Paper Bowser around, we don't know how his weight will translate to our world.**

While the battle raged on, Roy and toad snooped by, with Roy untying Mario and company from the stake (Link offered to help the ginger swordsman out) and Toad tampering with the giant spinner on the ground. Who knows what that drug lord is trying to do.

"Thank-a you for saving us, Roy!" Mario thanked Roy as the swrodsman and Link helped the others down from the stake. "Did you and-a Toad find the storybook-a yet, I demand to know-a where me and Luigi's paper counterparts-a came from!"

"No, Toad and I never found the storybook, but I think we know who has it," replied Roy. "Mewtwo was the last person that had the storybook in his possession, he might have passed the book on to someone else..."

"Nobody undoes Dimentio's nefarious plan and expects to get away with it!" Francis, the nerdy chameleon, confronted Mario and company. Oh man, an asocial nerd is threatening the brawlers, Mario and friends are totally done for! (In Francis's own imagination, perhaps.) But Fox and Falco were here to save the day, as they leaped down and faced Francis, donning their blasters.

"Turning over to the dark side, huh Francis?" questioned Fox, making Francis sweat profusely. As stated earlier, Francis is far from a villain - he only joined Dimentio as a means to seek revenge.

"Don't let those bums overwhelm you, my reptilian friend, I'll take care of them!" Tutankoopa confronted Fox and Falco with a koopa shell, only to be ambushed by a homing attack from Sonic, who landed on the ground while sticking a perfect landing.

"Want some more, bub?" the hedgehog taunted Tutankoopa, who cautiously backed away. "I didn't think so!"

The battle of Paper Mario and Paper Luigi vs Dimentio finally came to a close, when Dimentio - surprise, surprise! - defeated the paper bros at their own game. Tabuu let out a very loud and ear-inducing noise, and everyone knew how Tabuu felt.

"Tabuu must be feeling very impatient, like a freight train waiting for its wheels to turn on a railroad!" stated Dimentio; you could literally make a book chock full of the jester's many similes. "It's about that time that we finally spin the spinner..."

"...Let me do the honors," Mewtwo teleported to the scene, standing near the spinner. Why does the psychic Pokemon want to spin the spinner for, is he rigging it so Mario can be sent to subspace as punishment for his ineptness regarding the storybook situation?

 **Mewtwo: Just as I figured, Ness's and Lucas's plan was a failure, now that Paper Mario and Paper Luigi lost to Dimentio in a very close battle. However, what Toad did to the spinner had me thinking...it's time for me to make my move.**

"How lovely - a brawler willing to sacrifice one of his fellow companions to the likes of Tabuu!" gleamed Dimentio. Mewtwo looked towards Mario and company, who were quietly dissuading the Pokemon from whatever he's attempting to do. "Ready to spin the spinner?" Mewtwo nodded his head. "Excellent, now spin away, let's see who will be subject to endless torture in the wonderful subspace!"

So Mewtwo spun the spinner, and it spun...and spun...and spun...and so forth, and so on...until it landed on the blue spot. Which meant that...

"Wait, what?! This can't be!" Dimentio inspected the large spinner, and noticed something very, very wrong. Instead of Pit's name on the blue spot, which appeared to be fully erased, there was another name written on that very spot... _Dimentio._ "How did this happen, just how?!"

"Ahahaha, you just got bamboozled!" Toad, the individual who erased Pit's name and replaced it with Dimentio's, jeered at the jester, pointing and laughing with everyone else sharing his euphoria - though they weren't pointing or laughing, they were just amused. In _Super Paper Mario,_ Dimentio had played Count Bleck, and pretty much every other key character in the game. This time around, it's Dimentio himself who's being played.

Now Tabuu, seeing the arrow on the blue spot, pointing at Dimentio's name, opened up the portal to subspace, emitting a strong force of wind meant to reel Dimentio inside. But the jester was undeterred, floating away from the portal to the best of his abilities.

"Don't think you're going anywhere, squoorp, say hello to your new home!" Squirps fired his hookshot arm at Dimentio, hitting him at a sideways angle and into the portal; a big fat "NOOOOOO!" could be heard as Dimentio was thrown inside said portal and flung through the depths of subspace. Tabuu, seeing that his prey has joined him in his realm, bid everyone a brief farewell with a farewell nod before returning to his subspace home, closing the portal behind him forever, or at least for a prolonged period of time. The portal is now closed, and the statue of Master Hand is, well, a little tarnished, but that didn't stop everyone from celebrating.

"Tabuu and Dimentio are gone forever, yeah buddy!" Pit cheered, resulting in a celebration of victory and euphoria. Ness and Lucas ran down from the steps to join in, and Cloud, Zero, and Samus headed outside to join as well - though Samus just watched from afar, smiling a bit.

"Oh Mario, you're safe!" Peach ran out of the bushes to hug Mario; Goombella and R.O.B. came out a moment later. "I had watched the whole thing transpire from the bushes; I wanted to save you, but I didn't want to risk putting you and the others at risk!"

"You wanted-a to do the right thing, and that's what-a matters," responded Mario. "I'm just glad that the both of us are safe..."

"Out of the way fools, coming through!" yelled Dr. Eggman, who made a surprise appearance as he flew in the sky on his Egg Mobile, before landing in the open field and getting out of his vehicle. Can someone tell that he's late for the party, and that Tabuu has already come and gone? "According to my detector, Tabuu has finally made his appearance from the statue I had my Badniks build, and..." Eggman soon trailed off when he saw everyone, from Mario to Squirps, glaring at the evil scientist. "Aw poop..." was the perfect response for Dr. Eggman, he couldn't have said it any better.

* * *

 **Master Hand: Got some good news...and some bad news. The bad news is, well, that the statue of me outside is damaged. But the good news is that the damage isn't that significant, and that it shall be repaired soon, so I won't have to worry about having to build another statue of I! Moreover, the portal has been shut momentarily, as far as I'm concerned, so the statue will no longer contain the portal! Now if you excuse me, I have to dole out some punishments...**

Ness and Lucas were with Master Hand in the giant hand's room, awaiting their punishment. Lucas was more afraid, so afraid he just might wet himself. Think of the endless amount of embarrassment he could subject himself to...

"Ness, Lucas, you're the ones who started this mess," Master Hand began. "By touching random characters in the storybook and making them come to life, you brought forth Dimentio, who manipulated and brainwashed Luigi, and summoned Tabuu, with aspirations for universal domination." Master Hand then took a short breath. "But on the other hand, your plan of having Paper Mario and Paper Luigi fight Dimentio, though it may not have went the way you originally planned, gave Roy some time to rescue Mario and the others, and also gave Toad the time to tamper with the spinner that ultimately decided Dimentio's fate - gonna have to find a room for that giant spinner now. Anyways, the point of the matter is, you two may have started the whole debacle, but seeing that you redeemed yourselves, I'm letting you off the hook...for now."

"Awesome sauce!" Ness cheered as he exchanged a high five with Lucas. Has anyone ever seen or tasted awesome sauce before?

"Good, now leave my premises before I punish you for remaining in my presence for too long." The two PSI boys did as they were told, leaving the room. "Next!" Next up was Bowser and Corrin, who stole the storybook (although it was more of Bowser's doing). "Bowser, had you not taken the storybook, Mario would have eventually found it, and he could have put the whole Dimentio situation to rest, while warping all the other paper characters back inside the book. So for your punishment, I have decided to cancel your dumb lessons with Corrin indefinitely."

"You can't do that, Corrin needs me!" pleaded Bowser. "Without him, he'll forever remain a noob!" You're the one who's making it worse, Bowser.

"Bowser's right, he's by far the best teacher I have known, I would literally walk through fire for him!" Corrin stood up for Bowser. Kinda funny what he just said, because you don't hear Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings saying they would walk through fire, rain, hail, or the like for their father.

"Kid you're practically sheltered, not to mention that you hardly received any form of schooling at Nohr, so you wouldn't know a thing or two about a good teacher even if I had to tell you the qualities of one. Now you and Bowser SCRAM!" Bowser and Corrin left the room, both feeling some type of way.

 **Bowser: No more of my "lessons"...guess I'm going back to pranking! Watch out, Smash Mansion, the Prank King has made his defiant return! Mario may have told me not to prank anymore, but Master Hand didn't, and we all know how much power he has over Mario!**

Last to meet with Master Hand was Dr. Eggman, who was nervously fiddling with his fingers as Master Hand hovered lower to him.

"I know what you're thinking, so I'm just gonna cut to the chase," began Master Hand. "Starting right now, you're officially banned from the mansion. Let me see you anywhere within the vicinity of the mansion, and I guarantee you I'll make your life a living...a living heck!"

"Certainly you can't _ban_ me from the mansion, there has to be some leeway..." Dr. Eggman negotiated with Master Hand, hoping to appease him. But little does Eggman know that it's 100% impossible to appease the creator of the Smash Universe. He learned that the hard way, when Master Hand picked up the evil doctor, and flung him out of a large open window like baseball. Dr. Eggman landed in a faraway lake, and will likely never see the majesty of the Smash Mansion again...unless he views it from a far-reaching telescope.

* * *

"Here are the reports, just like you asked," Mega Man approached Zelda in the library, holding papers in his hand and giving them to the princess. Zelda looked through them before throwing the copies on the floor and groaning in distress. Since printing the reports was Link's job, and the job was never fulfilled, Zelda has Mega Man do the Hylian's dirty work for him.

"Mega Man, these aren't the right reports, they're all outdated," Zelda stated. "Most of them are profoundly outdated, I need recent, up-to-date reports that are crucial to my research!"

"How about these reports? I printed them out a while ago, and I never got the chance to show them to you...some ghost took my body. It's a long story."

Zelda slowly looked up, and saw Link, grinning from ear to ear, with the reports he printed out earlier in his hands. The look in Link's eyes instantly told Zelda that this is the normal Link, and not the Duplighost-possessed, girl-slapping, guitar-breaking Link she had witnessed earlier.

"I thought I had seen you earlier in the gaming room, but those actions you did...I just knew it was somebody else that was in your body," Zelda said to Link, slowly getting up.

"Just be glad that the real me is back, and better than ever!" replied Link, leaning out to Zelda and kissing her on the lips. Soon Link's lips were interlocked with Zelda's, and then two kinda made out in the library, with Mega Man looking on, feeling disgusted.

 **Mega Man: Watching Link and Zelda kiss in the library... *shudders* ...makes me glad there aren't that many female robots out there, save for Roll and Splash Woman. Besides, with the heroic stuff I do, I wouldn't really be the committed type.**

* * *

Chrom and Robin met with Francis in the fifth floor - one final time before Francis returns to the storybook. Francis handed a book to Chrom, which was titled "How to Love: The Hi-Technicaaaaal Way". Wouldn't have it made more sense to use "hi-technical" instead?

"Make sure to read this book prior to your date, it shall work wonders!" Francis said to Chrom. The prince of Yliesse flipped through the pages, and judging by the look on his face, the book is sure to be a rather interesting read...

"Francis we're-a not waiting for you, get your butt-a up here!" Luigi called out to the chameleon from the attic. Francis climbed up the ladder and arrived in the attic, where Tutankoopa apologized to Sonic for ruining his _Twister_ game, Doopliss was tied up by Cloud, Zero and Samus detached Squirps and Bombette from the robot (which will be kept inside the attic for the time being), and Peach was having a secret conversation with Goombella.

"Should Mario propose to you right now, or the day after, say yes at the top of your lungs," Goombella whispered to Peach. "You've known each other for far too long, it's about that time you tie the knot!"

"Is everyone-a ready?" Mario asked everyone inside the attic, seeing all the _Paper Mario_ characters, including Paper Mario and Paper Luigi, were present. "Great, now everyone hop right on inside the storybook!" Mario opened up the storybook and held it out wide, as Francis, Goombella, Squrips, Bombette, and Tutankoopa went back inside the storybook, in that order; Cloud had to throw Doopliss in. Last were Paper Mario and Paper Luigi, who shook hands with their real-world counterparts before returning to the storybook in one piece. Mario placed the storybook back on the desk where it belonged, next to the blue Pure Heart. "You can-a all leave now!" Everyone except for Mario departed from the attic... "...Peach, do you mind staying for a minute?"

Peach froze in her tracks when Mario uttered her name. She slowly turned around and faced Mario, who slowly walked to her holding something behind his back. What is that plumber up to...

"So I've-a been speaking with Paper Mario and-a Paper Luigi, and I told-a them about this...this predicament I-a have, and Paper Mario had suggested that..." Mario slowly got down on one knee... "that I put-a this predicament to rest, once-a and for all, and he gave-a me this..." ...and pulled out the object he held behind his back into full focus for Peach to see...a wedding ring. Peach slowly teared up at the very sight. "Peach, the love of my life, the princess of the mighty Mushroom Kingdom...will you marry me?"

"Yes, yes, YES!" exclaimed Peach, channeling her inner Daniel Bryan, as Mario quickly stood up and embraced Peach with a strongly heartfelt hug, sharing this romantic and emotional moment with her for all of eternity. This moment can only mean one thing...

Mario and Peach are now bound to be married.


	35. Episode 35: Autograph

_Author's Note:_

 _Just when I thought I was about to suffer from a writer's block, I had received this review from a guest:_

 _"Could you have the next story take place during the Rio Olympics games for the Mario & Sonic Olympic video game and the actual event?"_

 _Since I'm huge on the Olympics, and have been watching a lot of Olympic events this year, I've decided to do this installment of Smash Life on the Rio Olympic Games. Now Paradigm of Writing - one of the more notable writers on this archive and a fan of this story (who's also going through some tough times in life right now, if you had read his one-shot "Nocturne") - had warned me about using real-life characters in fanfiction, but just for this installment of Smash Life, I decided to "bend" the rules, but only just a little bit...you'll see eventually._

* * *

 **Episode 35: Autograph**

The Summer Olympics. It's a strong test of skill, willpower, glory, and a lot of other attributes that are present but the national media decides not to pay attention to. Many great athletes are participating in this year's Olympics - Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympain of all time. Usain Bolt, the fastest person of all time. Kevin Durant, the biggest sellout of all time...at least to certain people, most of whom are pretty butthurt. For those of you who may not understand, go ahead and look for yourself.

Sonic has always dreamed of participating in the Olympics, wanting to be recognized as one of the greats, but it's completely impossible for the hedgehog to live out his dreams because A) he's not a human, B) he's well below the age requirement, and C) he's pretty much the fastest thing alive, so it would be unfair for Sonic to run in a track-and-field event and smoke the competition. Of course, you may bring up the _Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games_ franchise, but that's a video game; Sonic wants the real deal!

Although Sonic may be bummed out that the aforementioned factors prevent him from being in the Olympics, he still has the competitive fire to prove everyone that he's the best. And his competitiveness will be put to the test, after Fox challenged the hedgehog to a race around the mansion. Keep in mind that Fox is one of the fastest characters in _Super Smash Bros,_ with his dash and even his walk packing a ton of speed. Fox may be taking the biggest L of his life soon, but he'll take it with some amount of dignity.

 **Sonic: So, so, so, Fox wants to challenge me to a race around the mansion...dude's gonna get smoked so hard! Only thing that will distract me from a win would be Amy; she'd probably be chilling on the sidelines rooting for me to win, and then I look stumble. *flexes his fingers confidently* But no worries, I'll have Knuckles remove Amy and any other distractions (like garden sprinklers) away from the premises!**

To prepare himself for his race with Fox, Sonic did some rigorous training in the fitness center, not only running on the treadmill but also lifting heavy weights, which caused the hedgehog to collapse under pressure due to how ridiculously heavy the weights are compared to his small size. The man is supposed to be just doing a race around the mansion, but he's training like he's about to run the race of his life!

"Sure you aren't working yourself out Sonic?" Wii Fit Trainer walked by, holding a towel over her shoulder, as she watched Sonic lift some heavy dumbbells...or at least trying to. He knows he's no match for those dumbbells. "After all, it's just a race around the mansion!"

"Ugh, why must you people insist on telling me that?!" Sonic dropped the dumbbells on the floor, either out of frustration, exhaustion, or both. "I know what I'm doing, and what I'm doing shall contribute to me smoking Fox and making him look silly!"

"Whatever happened to having a fair game, certainly you must show Fox some mercy, rather than leaving him in the dust!" Sonic never gives anyone a fair game; he just wants to be the best he can be, and he'll shun whoever prevents him from achieving his goal.

"Ew, you sound exactly like a socialist, what with this whole 'fair game' crap," Sonic walked away from Wii Fit Trainer, disgusted with her remark. "Now I see why the male Wii Fit Trainer doesn't even like you!" Sonic let those words permeate inside Wii Fit Trainer (which honestly didn't do much) as he exited the fitness center, feeling slightly angry and bitter.

* * *

It's official - Mario and Peach, a celebrity couple in the video game community, are now engaged! Like Luigi, Mario is preparing for the very special day he finally weds Peach by going through an extensive checklist - and he enlisted Pac-Man to guide him throughout the way. The plumber would have asked Marth, but he felt that Marth already had his time with Luigi - and you know how that went.

"Are you sure you don't need my assistance?" Marth asked Mario, standing at the doorway of the room where the plumber and Pac-Man met. "If you need a best man, I'm always your guy..."

"I'm-a fine Marth, I'll take-a your best man-a offer into consideration," replied Mario; Marth nodded and left, and Pac-Man couldn't help but chuckle silently.

 **Pac-Man: Ha ha ha, poor Marth is salty that he can't be Mario's wedding assistant, just because he's married! (And apparently he still thinks of himself as the only married brawler, despite me and Olimar.) I asked him myself if he felt salty, and he denied it, claiming that he was feeling "very upset and ticked off about something..." ...so basically he's feeling salty. No way to twist it around.**

"Alright then, first things first - the budget," said Pac-Man. The budget is a very crucial part of the wedding, it gives Mario and Peach some flexibility about what is allowed and not allowed at the wedding. "What is your budget, how much money are we throwing on the table?"

"Don't want-a anything drastic...how does thirty thousand-a sound?" asked Mario. Compared to Luigi's outrageous budget of $35 million (which was thankfully trimmed down _tremendously_ ), that's actually pretty cheap!

"Uh huh, not bad, not bad," Pac-Man wrote down the budget on a notepad. "Time for the fun stuff - the guest list! Obviously we're inviting everyone from the mansion; knowing Master Hand, he'll smite us if we don't..."

"Smite who?" Master Hand appeared behind Pac-Man, causing the yellow man to shriek and hide behind Mario. "Oh man, that was perhaps the greatest reaction I've ever seen from you, wish I had a camera to videotape it!"

"Master Hand, please don't scare me like that ever again, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Hard to believe Pac-Man would have a heart, especially after taking into account that his body mostly comprises of his face. But he needs to have some organ to stay alive. "Can't you leave me and my man Mario at peace, we're trying to plan for the wedding!"

"Well you better plan accordingly. The wedding won't be for another ten months, so I expect some major progress!" Msater Hand vanished, returning to who-knows-where to do who-knows-what...before coming right back. "Oh, and I want you and the rest of the brawlers inside the meeting room for a very important meeting; be there, or be squared! Whatever the heck that's supposed to mean." Master Hand finally vanished for good.

"Back to our checklist...do you have anyone in mind so far for who you would invite to the wedding? Luigi already went all out for his guest list, and knowing that you're the more popular brother, you'd probably invite more guests than usual."

"About the guest-a list...I'm-a still working on it," replied Mario. Ten months till the wedding, like Master Hand said; Mario has some time to put together the perfect guest list. "Once-a I'm finished, I'll show it to-a you."

* * *

 **Master Hand: At this meeting, I'm gonna knock the socks off of every single person that will be in attendance! Once I get the news out, they'll be all like, "No way Master Hand, you gotta be kidding!" and "Master Hand, you're the best, the greatest of all time!" and plenty of other reactions. I've been working far too long for what I've prepared for them, and if they don't accept it, there'll be some dire consequences...**

Everyone in the mansion gathered in the meeting room, anticipating what Master Hand has in store for them. They may not see it, but Master Hand is feeling extremely excited about the news he's about to tell, although his excitement is actually visibly present by how he's shaking.

"Master Hand are you okay, do you have Parkinson's disease or something?" Rosalina asked the giant hand out of concern.

"No Parkinson's disease, just more excited than usual," responded Master Hand. The way he's shaking, it's almost reminsicent of Crazy Hand. Let's hope the shaking is only because of excitement, and not a sign of insanity. The brawlers can't have TWO Crazy Hands roaming about, one is plainly enough!

"...So will you tell us the news or not?" asked an impatient Wolf, checking his watch like he has something important to do. "We've been waiting for a good while, you know, we all have things we need to accomplish!"

"Fine then, I'll tell you the news already! You people suck so much sometimes...drumroll please!" Nothing happened. "I said, drumroll please!" Still nothing happened. Master Hand let out a heavy sigh. "Well since you people want to be boring, I'll just tell you the news...we're going...to Rio!"

Master Hand's announcement led to a whole bunch of chatter and questioning among the residents. How are they getting to Rio, and why does Master Hand want to go there all of a sudden? Olympics will be over on Sunday!

"Aw sweet, I finally get the chance to attend the actual Olympic Games, instead of competing against losers in some silly video game franchise!" cheered Sonic; Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Bowser Jr., Wendy, Larry, Rosalina, Wario, Toad, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Tails, and Knuckles all gave the blue hedgehog glares, to which he was completely oblivious to.

"Master Hand, don't you think heading down to Rio this late would be a bad idea?" asked Palutena. "The Olympics is almost over, all the events are coming to a close, so going there would be a waste..."

"Palutena why must you insist on being such a party pooper?!" growled Master Hand. Why can't the brawler just accept Master Hand's maniacal ways? You'd figured they get used to it now... "This is the absolute perfect time to attend the Olympics - all the preliminary stuff is over with, meaning that we'll have time to watch the championship games! Nobody wants to watch the stuff leading up to it! We're all going, whether you like it or not!"

 **Iggy: Honestly I don't mind the preliminary matches going on in Olympic sports, it's great to see some of the lesser teams compete for glory. Isn't that what For Glory mode in _Super Smash Bros 4_ is all about?**

 **Viridi: Master Hand can try as hard as he want, but he won't take me to Rio. Think of all the humans that will be there, it will be a human cesspool! *shudders in fear***

"Mega Man is the teleportation device ready?" Master Hand asked Mega Man, who was tinkering with a remote control.

"The one you practically forced me to build?" responded Mega Man; Master Hand is clearly adamant on taking the brawlers to Rio. "I'm almost done, gotta put the finishing touches on this remote." After screwing a few screws in, the remote was finished. "Okay, we're all set to go!"

"Hold up for a second, Mega Man, I must ask this one important question before we set off for Rio - other than purses and whatnot, does anyone need to bring their belongings along for the trip?" After Master Hand asked this question, several people quickly raised their hands... "Nope, didn't think so, why did I bother asking!" ...and those hands went down real quick. "Someone go fetch Luigi and Daisy, we can't leave them behind!"

* * *

Through Mega Man's teleportation device, Master Hand and the Smash Mansion residents, along with Luigi and Daisy, arrived at Rio de Janeiro, and after everyone settled in, Pit had _this_ to say to the Brazilian crowd:

"What up my Jamaican people!" the angel shouted out loud; probably saw the green and yellow colors about and assumed he was in Jamaica. Understandably, the Brazilian civilians looked confused, wondering how Pit got their beloved country of Brazil mixed up with Jamaica. "Is it because of my clothes? I got a green toga, in case you guys may be wondering!"

"Pit we haven't been here for almost half a minute, and you already gave us a bad look!" frowned Viridi. It takes a whole lot of perseverance on the goddess of nature's part to deal with an idiot like Pit on a daily basis. Surprising to see she hasn't tore her hair out yet.

"Let's walk away from Pit and pretend that we don't know him," suggested X, walking away; Viridi and the others did the same, and soon Pit was the sole resident, all by himself. It took him forever to realize that everyone deserted him.

"C'mon you guys, you don't have to leave me!" Pit called out to the residents, who were walking together in groups. "Jamaica isn't that bad of a place, I can be somewhat tolerable!"

"Yo, Pit, what's up my man!" Rayman, seemingly popping out of nowhere, encountered the angel, giving him some dap. "Your folks left ya out here in the dust, huh? Even your girlfriend pulled a Houdini on you..."

 **Rayman: First Olympics I've attended, and it's an absolute blast! My home country France has been doing well so far in the Olympics, and the weather has been on point! Only thing that would make the experience better is if Barbara (brought her and Globox along for the ride) could go JUST ONE SECOND without battering someone with her battle axe. Now she's being held by police, and I have to wait for Globox to finish using the restroom just so we can bail her out...**

"Hey Rayman, didn't expect seeing you here," said Pit. "Looks like your girlfriend pulled a Houdini on you as well!" Rayman looked and felt insulted by Pit's remark, for he has _never_ gave any thought about liking Barbara (though it wouldn't hurt to try).

"No, no, no, Barbara and I are not girlfriend and boyfriend, we're not dating or anything of the like," clarified Rayman. "Barbara's been restrained by police for her actions, and Globox and I are working together to bail Barbara out. Waiting for Globox to finish using the restroom, it's been hours man, I'm telling you..."

"Why have to wait on Globox...when you got me?" Pit held his arms out wide, in an attempt to make a convincing offer to Rayman. The limbless hero valued his options - would it be wiser to wait on Globox, or work with Pit and have to endure the angel's stupidity? Rayman can't bother to wait any longer, so he'll take what he gets...

"You know what, Globox always takes forever to use the restroom, betcha there's still a long line as of right now! The two of us shall work together to free Barbara from the crutches of the police, and we shall be successful! Just one thing - don't do anything overly silly or embarrassing, I'm building a reputation here and I don't want you to tarnish it..." Pit happily saluted his partner-in-crime, anticipating the moment he gets to teach those Jamaican police guards a lesson.

* * *

Captain Falcon and Proto Man (against his will) were huddled together in the Olympic Village, inside the hotel. The two managed to sneak inside said hotel without being detected, and they did so for one purpose...

"Today is the day in which I'm gonna ask out a hot Olympian and put my romantic woes to an end!" Captain Falcon confidently said to Proto Man, who scoffed at the racer's ambition. Falcon can't even look at any of the female brawlers for ten seconds without warranting a complaint, what possibly makes him think he can ask out a female Olympian? "We'll just wait here until a smoking hot babe comes out of one of those doors..."

"Um, Captain Falcon, don't mean to rain on your parade...but are we on the wrong floor?" asked Proto Man, as he saw two basketball players - one dark-skinned, the other light-skinned - walking towards them, both conversing with one another. "This doesn't seem like the women's dorm..." We'll call the dark-skinned player Wayne, and his light-skinned teammate will go by Alexander, or Alex for short.

"Hey bro, you and your friend lost?" Wayne stopped and asked Captain Falcon this very question; Falcon flashed a confident smile, assuring Wayne and Alex that there was nothing wrong. "Also, how did you even get in here past the police?"

"No worries fellas, we aren't lost - we're the new janitors!" exclaimed the racer; Proto Man just had to facepalm and shake his head in dismay, what a poor answer on Captain Falcon's part. "We're looking for our new boss, wherever he may be!"

 **Captain Falcon: When you're snooping about in unwanted places, what is the first thing you say when people ask about your motives or whereabouts? Just tell them that you're a janitor, or someone looking for a job as a janitor, and they'll won't see you through! Everyone knows nobody cares about janitors, and that's what makes the whole trick even better!  
** **Proto Man: Also makes the "trick" even worse, now you've gotten us in hot water...  
Captain Falcon: Our janitor facade will last until I find that hot woman, so we have nothing to worry about!  
Proto Man: So that means we'll be janitors forever...seems legit.**

"Well, um, uh, we hope you enjoy your time here...and your new jobs," said Wayne, not knowing how to continue the conversation. It's not easy holding a conversation with a janitor, especially when they're working away on their job.

"Yeah man, we'll be seeing you around and all," added Alex, not knowing what to say either. Captain Falcon and Proto Man left the vicinity, and once they had left, Wayne grabbed Alex and quickly rushed inside a nearby closet.

"Bruh did you see that, that was Captain Falcon and Proto Man, two video game heroes!" an overly excited Wayne said to Alex. Proto Man isn't really a pure hero - he's more of an anti-hero - but still a hero regardless. "Freaking video game characters are in Rio of all places!"

"How can you be so sure it's them, they might be some nerds dressed up as their video game icons," assumed Alex. He has a valid point - there's no denying the abundance of weirdos attending the Olympics. "Do you find it fishy one bit that they're posing as 'janitors'?"

"Maybe they're trying to keep a low profile, who knows. But I know it's them, and we're gonna get their autograph! Gotta go tell the fellas on the cruise ship first..."

* * *

The foursome of Yoshi, Ashley, Toad, and Pac-Man went about through Rio, spreading awareness about their knitting club by wearing "#KnittingClub" t-shirts. Pac-Man was against doing this, not only because he deliberately despises the knitting club and everything in it, but also because he's supposed to be assisting Mario with the wedding checklist. But Mario is working on the guest list, so Pac-Man believes he won't be doing any assisting unless needed. One of the individuals the knitting club approached was a Olympic track-and-field runner by the name of St. Leo, whom we'll just call Leo. This particular fellow was drinking a bottle of Gatorade when the knitting club members (sans Pac-Man) were harassing him.

"Our knitting club is one of the best clubs in the world!" promoted Yoshi. Nothing but blatant lies, lies Pinocchio would be proud of. "Care to join us as an honorary member?"

"Honorary knitting club member?" Leo stroked his chin, musing other the offer. "Stay right here, let me think about this..." The knitting club stood where they were as Leo walked away...and when the coast was clear and the club members were from a faraway distance, the Olympic runner ran away as fast as he could, running faster than a cheetah, jaguar, or any other animal you can think of that runs fast.

 **Leo: Eh, what's the point of being an honorary member of some knitting club, I already have high honors in the Order of Jamaica...but I will admit, those knitting club shirts looked awfully nice.**

While his fellow knitting club members waited around, waiting for Leo to come back to give him an answer, Pac-Man sneaked away, searching for Mario. He would eventually find the plumber sitting at an outdoor restaurant table with Peach, bonding with his girlfriend...or should we say, _fiance._

"This Brazilian cuisine is so delicious!" gleamed Peach, taking a bite of some Bobo de Camaro. For those of you who don't know (admit it, it's your first time hearing about this dish) Bobo de Camaro is a Brazilian dish consisting of shrimp in a puree, mixed with coconut milk. Feel free to Google it if you like, you're probably tempted to do so. "How is your dish, Mario?"

"My moqueca is just-a splendid!" exclaimed Mario; the moqueca is a fish stew containing onions, tomatoes, coconut milk, garlic, and palm oil. You learn something new every single day. "I could-a eat this thing all-a day long, just imagine-a if I had a life-a time's supply of this stuff!"

"Your poor stomach may not handle a lifetime's supply," Peach giggled, and Mario giggled as well, and deep down he knows it's true - his stomach can't even handle refried beans, or any other food product that remotely has to do with Latin American culture.

"Sorry to disturb you both," Pac-Man appeared, standing near the table were Mario and Peach were sitting at. "Mario, may I speak with you for a quick second, it won't take long, I promise!" Mario got up from his seat, and followed Pac-Man to the back of the restaurant. "So did you work on the guest list for the wedding?"

"Not-a quite, though I have some-a guests in mind," responded Mario. "It's still a work-a in progress, once I get some time-a with myself, I'll finalize-a the list."

Watching Mario and Pac-Man from afar, was Wayne and Alex, who were making their way back to the cruise ship when they saw the two iconic video game characters discussing the wedding plans with one another. Two icons, speaking with one another in Rio, who would have guessed.

"Bruh do you see that, are you seeing this?!" Wayne pointed at Mario and Pac-Man, obviously in complete awe. Though the same can't quite be said for Alex. "Mario and Pac-Man are in Rio! You can't make this stuff up!"

"Who knows man, it could be an abnormally short man wearing a Mario costume, and Pac-Man could be..." Alex trailed off, struggling to come up with something to counter Wayne's suspicions. "Yeah you're right, that's definitely Mario and Pac-Man, had no idea there were video game characters attending the Olympics!"

 **Peach: Mario has been gone longer than I expected, and his moqueca is getting cold... *looks around, grabs her spoon and takes multiple bites of Mario's moqueca***

"We oughta alert our teammates soon!" Wayne said as he and Alex quickly headed off to the cruise ship they're staying on.

* * *

"Listen up team, and listen good - the team we're playing tomorrow, they're pretty tough," the basketball coach (we'll just call him Coach, for convenience) spoke with his team in the cruise ship they were staying in, giving them a pep talk. "Spain is absolutely no pushover, they have some great players like Saez, Stajovic, and Vives, all of whom you have faced before in the NBA. If we can stick to the plan, we'll be able to defeat Spain, and advance to the gold medal match and win that gold!...By the way, where on earth are Wayne and Alex, I hope they aren't snooping around the Olympic Park again!"

"We're right here Coach, we wouldn't miss this meeting for anything else," Alex entered the room where Coach and the basketball players met, along with Wayne; betcha neither one of them even knew about the meeting. Either that, or they simply forgot. "Wayne and I just saw something cool in town."

"Well this 'cool' thing you speak of will have to wait, we must finish this meeting! We've already suffered one too many close wins, and we're not gonna come out victorious with another one!"

"Um, excuse me Coach, but how did we 'suffer' from close wins?" asked one of the players, named Andrew. His response made Coach's face turn red with fury, and he's a coach known for getting angry. "What matters the most is that we came away with a victory. And besides, our last win was a routing of Argentina..."

"What matters the most is that we achieve a dominant win on Friday, and walk away with the gold around her necks! We won't settle for anything less!" Coach began to cool down after his brief meltdown, as the color of his face went from red to normal.

"...Anyways, on a different note, Alex and I saw Mario and Pac-Man in person behind a Brazilian restaurant," Wayne told his teammates, who suddenly felt intrigued. "We also saw more video game characters as we made our way to this ship."

"Video game characters, here in Rio?" one of the basketball players, Darnell, spoke up. "Man you gotta show us! Let's go see for ourselves!"

So Wayne and Alex led their teammates out of the cruise ship to show them that they weren't crazy, leaving Coach behind with a blank expression, wondering what the team's priorities were.

* * *

 **Fox: My race with Sonic has been relocated - instead of racing around the mansion, we've opted to race around the Carioca Arena 1, the arena where Olympic basketball takes place. It's much more bigger in terms of size and perimeter, but I'm always up for a great challenge! And besides, Sonic has to restrain how fast he runs - he can't leave Rio ablaze in flames, if ya know what I mean - so winning this race may not be so hard...**

To get ready for his race with Sonic, Fox decided to run against Link. Racing against the Hylian may seem more easier than it sounds, but that man Link sure can run, if _Skyward Sword_ is any indication. (Though that's the _Skyward Sword_ Link, not the _Twilight Princess_ Link. Huge difference.) An Argentinian basketball player named Emmanuel offered to keep time, and there was a radar speed sign at the end of the street Link and Fox will be racing on that will determine the two racers' speed. Falco, Zelda, Aerith, and a few of Emmanuel's Argentinian basketball players served as spectators.

"Here are the rules: the first to reach the end of the street and pass the radar speed sign wins," Emmanuel explained the rules. "No jabs to the groin, home for dinner...not sure what that means, or where it came from, or why that even came out of my mouth, but just adhere to that rule, just for both of your own's sake."

"You're going down Link, be prepared to hold that L for a long time buddy..." Fox taunted his opponent, evincing his arrogant side. When it comes to competition, Fox becomes as competitive as he can possibly get.

"I believe it'll be you who'll be holding the L..." retorted Link, before looking to his right and seeing Cloud on a motorcycle, nodding to him; Cloud nodded right back. No, this isn't the signature motorcycle Cloud rides on - the blonde swordsman just happened to borrow this set of wheels from a kind Brazilian. You'll see why Cloud is riding this motorcycle in the first place.

"On your mark..." Emmanuel said as Link and Fox got into position... "...get set..." ...and lifted their feet in the air... "...GO!" ...and took off, running to the end of the street. Cloud started the motorcycle the moment Link took off running, and drove alongside the Hylian to the finish line. In an upset victory, Link defeated Fox in the closely contested race, but it was the speed on the radar speed sign that was all the more surprising.

"A rate of 25 miles per hour?!" one of the Argentinian players, Alberto, exclaimed after reading the number on the speed sign. "How is that possible, especially for one that's relatively lanky?" Keep in mind that Cloud passed the radar speed sign a split second before Link did, so the sign registered the speed of the motorcycle Cloud rode on rather than Link's speed.

 **Cloud: The motorcycle I got from the Brazilian dude was awfully nice, nicer than the teenagers attempting to jump me and take my money - good thing I didn't bring any cash with me, like I would need it for anything. What I'm trying to do, is detorioate Fox's confidence by having Link "beat" him in a race, so that he won't have to waste his time racing against Sonic. Don't worry, I'm thinking of a plan to execute on Sonic as well...**

"I lost to YOU of all people?!" Fox angrily pointed at Link, in utter disbelief. "I lost to a scrawny Hylian?! That race was rigged, somebody give Link a drug test!"

"Let's not blow things out of proportion Fox, Link won, fair and square," stated Aerith. "It was a fair game, just like you wanted it to be." Imagine if Sonic was here, he would have called out Aerith for being a socialist, since the hedgehog apparently ties fairness with socialism. Who knows where his political views/affiliations lie...

Watching from a far distance was the United States basketball players, marveling at the sight of Fox, Cloud, and Link. They were especially marveling at Aerith, whom they were surprised to see alive.

"See, told you we weren't seeing things!" Wayne said to his teammates, all of whom were in complete awe. To some, it was a dream come true.

"I don't know man, I know a good _Legend of Zelda_ or _Final Fantasy_ cosplayer whenever I see one..." said Alex; bet he doesn't have anything to say about Fox or Falco. Regardless, his response earned him an aggressive nudge from Wayne.

"Those brawlers you see before you aren't for show, you know," Master Hand appeared behind the basketball players, catching them off guard. None of them were scared or anything like that, they were just in awe. "They're here to witness the greatest athletes in the world, such as yourselves! Normally I would have scared the pants out of you all, but knowing that you all have reputations and people may be watching, I decided against doing that. Hope you all enjoy the rest of what Rio has to offer!"

And with that, Master Hand disappeared, leaving the basketball players starstruck. When the giant hand said the word "brawlers", the players immediately thought of gaming icons, like Sonic, Samus, Snake, Pikachu, Kirby, and even the Duck Hunt Dog. This led Wayne to belt out the following:

"We gotta get all of the brawlers' autographs!" he shouted out at the top of his lungs. "Most of the time, it's always been us that signs autographs for others - now we're gonna return the favor this time around! Who's with me?"

"Woah man, wait just a second," one of the players spoke up, a Hispanic player whom we'll call Kyam (technically he's mixed with African American, but we'll consider him Hispanic now, just for the time being). "Why should we go around in Rio asking autographs from guys who probably don't even know us, when we can just practice for the game tomorrow? Coach is probably waiting for us to come back..."

"Don't worry, we're gonna practice...right after we get those autographs." They are seriously gonna regret this, just you wait and see... "Let's split up!"

* * *

Samus and Lloyd Irving were inside a stadium, watching a table tennis match in progress. Samus had opted to relax on the Brazilian beach instead, but Master Hand forced her to attend this table tennis match to make her more of a people person...he's been trying to make Samus like this for some time now.

 **Samus: My time on the beach was going JUST fine...no perverts like Wario and Captain Falcon to bother me, the sun shining on my face, and the atmosphere, it was...it was perfect, to be honest. Then Master Hand had to ruin things, and appeared behind me without warning like he loves to do, and forced me to attend some crappy table tennis match with Lloyd. Please tell me I don't have to serve as Lloyd's chaperone; I know he's not the sharpest tool in the shed but he's fine by himself...sometimes.**

"So who's your favorite summer Olympian?" Lloyd asked Samus, attempting to spark a conversation. "Huh, Samus, huh, who's your favorite?" The swordsman may not have reached Chester the Terrier level yet, but he's already making Samus feel like Spike the Bulldog. "Mine is Lindsay Vonn, she's awesome!"

"Lindsay Vonn is a skier," Samus apathetically corrected Lloyd, her chin resting on her hand. "Not to mention that she never even..."

"Vonn is a water skier?! Man, and this whole time I thought she was a gymnast! The more you know, am I right?" Samus opted not to answer - she just buried her face in her hands, waiting for Prince Charming to save her from the bundle of annoyance sitting next to her.

"I take it that you're Samus Aran?" a voice asked the bounty hunter. Samus looked up, and to her left, and instead of Prince Charming, she got Bryce, one of the dudes from the basketball team. He's no Prince Charming, but for Samus, he'll do.

"Here to take me away from this wretched place?" asked Samus. "I can't stand this match anymore, I wanna go back inside..."

"I can take you to one of the beaches..." Bryce dug into his pockets... "...if you can sign me an autograph..." ...and pulled out a slip of paper and a pen. Samus looked at the materials, and then at Bryce, wondering if this was some sort of joke. Bryce breathed heavily, for he knew whom he was going up against - one bad move, and Samus will likely put poor Bryce in a nearby hospital.

"Thanks, but no thanks, I'm not signing a thing. But I seriously appreciate the effort." Bryce held his head down, and walked away, hoping to get an autograph from another Nintendo character.

* * *

The Inklings were hanging out in the Brazilian streets, playing a game of soccer with a few Brazilian kids. The male Inkling led one team, and the female Inkling led the other. These do were doing their best to channel their inner Neymar, a Brazilian soccer sports hero who chooses to only go by his first name. Because using your first name and last name has become way too mainstream, if Fox and Falco have anything to say about that. The game would be eventually put on hold, when one of the American basketball players, Jim, stepped through in the middle of the action to speak with the Inklings.

"Look, I understand of neither of you don't know me or have never seen me, but hear me out just this once," began Jim. "Name's Jim; you two are both from that shooter game, _Splatoon,_ and I have to say, I'm a HUGE fan of that game. Very popular game in the United States..."

 **Male Inkling: _Splatoon_ is a popular game in America?! Why didn't anyone tell me this?!  
** **Female Inkling: I've been telling you that for the longest now...did you not see the fan art of us on Google? The American fans have some wicked, imaginative minds...and they try to say the same thing about the Japanese people...**

"With that being said..." Jim took out a piece of paper and a pen. "Would you mind signing me some autographs. Know it's kinda weird for a grown man like myself to ask you kids for autographs, but..." Jim was suddenly cut off when the Brazilian kids flanked the star basketball player, happy and jovial that an Olympian athlete was in their presence. "Woah, woah, back up for a second, lemme get those kids' autographs and then I sign y'all some!" Jim tried to distance himself from the crazy Brazilian kids, but they kept following him. "I'll be returning to you two soon!" Jim called out to the Inklings as the horde of Brazilian kids seemingly carried him away.

"Who in the heck was that guy?" the male Inkling asked his female counterpart, who shrugged at the question. "Gotta admit, his hair looks kinda funny to me..."

* * *

Fresh off of an Olympic gymnastics performance which consisted of earning a gold medal and two silver medals, the female gymnast whom we shall call Rose strolled through the streets of Rio, possibly playing _Pokemon Go_ on her phone like most people do nowadays when out of nowhere, Captain Falcon jumped out of nowhere, giving Rose a slight fright.

"Hey there, good lookin', you wanna be my girlfriend?" the race car driver asked Rose, who felt more concerned for her well-being in Rio than anything. Resident thugs, purse snatchers, heck, even the Zika virus - none of those deter the fearless gymnast. But nothing strikes fear in you more than a grown man in a racing suit and helmet popping out of nowhere and wanting you to be your girlfriend. The stuff of nightmares.

"Um, not sure if you knew this, but...I'm only twenty two," stated Rose, looking around for someone, preferably one of her gymnast teammates, to save her. But no one was there, and that only raised the nightmare fuel to exceeding amounts.

"Good, I like 'em young, like R. Kelly!" Captain Falcon rubbed his hands in a creepy manner, thereby making Rose even more nervous. "Once these Olympics are officially over, you're all mine..." The racer walked towards Rose, who slowly backed away, until Proto Man saved the day, running out of the bushes that Falcon instructed him to stay behind until further notice and restricting Falcon's movement.

"Quit it, Captain Falcon, she's well beyond your league!" Proto Man told the racer as he dragged him away from Rose. "Why can't you just put this whole finding a girlfriend thing to rest once and for all?"

 **Proto Man: Captain Falcon told me that we're not leaving Brazil at all, unless he can find an Olympian, Brazilian woman, tourist, or whatever, who can be a suitable girlfriend. Going by that logic, we might as well become full-fledged Brazil citizens...**

"Save yourself before it's too late!" Proto Man yelled to Rose, dragging Captain Falcon away with the racer fighting back with all his might. Rose did as she was told, running away from Captain Falcon, until there was an open space. She arrived in a town square, and saw a particular hedgehog doing some laps around a fountain.

"Sonic the Hedgehog?" Rose scrutinized the hedgehog, who immediately came to a halt when his name was called "Is that really you?"

"That's right, the one and only!" Sonic flashed a confident smile, pointing to himself. "My pals and I came to Rio, for reasons unknown, and here I'm gonna do a race, around the Karaoke Arena 1, against that dastardly Fox McCloud!" A race that will likely go in Sonic's favor, considering how wickedly fast he is.

"It's the _Carioca_ Arena 1. And why would you want to race against someone else, you're fast enough as it is! Don't you want a fair competition?" The word "fair" unnerved Sonic, to the point where he shook his head in disapproval at Rose.

"Too many dang socialists these days...thanks a lot, Bernie Sanders." What on earth does Sanders have to do with this? "Now if you excuse me, I must carry on with my training!" Sonic went back to running around the fountain, and Rose walked away - only to be stopped in her tracks by Red the Pokemon Trainer, with his cap tilted.

"Finally I have found a worth opponent..." the Pokemon trainer said, trying to sound cool although we all know he's far from it. "You must challenge me...to a Pokemon duel!" Red threw a Pokeball at Rose, who caught it with her hands and inspected it.

"For the record, the only Pokemon-related game I've played was _Pokemon Go,_ so I'm not sure how well I'll do..." Rose told Red, but that didn't concern the Pokemon trainer one bit.

 **Rose: Yeah, so what if I play _Pokemon Go?_ At least I _have_ played some form of Pokemon - not that many people can claim that.**

"I do not wish to be a part of your little Pokemon duel, or battle, or whatever, I just wanna spend the rest of my time in Rio without any interruption or distractions," Rose kindly said to Red. So far she came across a perverted racer, an iconic video game hedgehog, and a somewhat persistent Pokemon trainer - what a day it has been for her. "Why don't you just leave me at peace..."

"No I demand a Pokemon battle, right here, right now!" growled Red, frightening Rose. The famed gymnast ran away from Red, who proceeded to chase her down.

* * *

"Wonder if there's any smoking hot Brazilian babes in town," Jacky wondered as he strolled with Cloud through the streets of Rio. Cloud would have hanged out with Link, but Zelda forced the Hylian to go shopping with him, a fate no boyfriend wants to endure. As for Aerith, she's checking out the flower shops in Rio, and Cloud has no time to be looking at flowers. "There's gotta be at least one of 'em!"

"Says the guy who's still single - keep that up and you'll become Captain Falcon 2.0!" joked Cloud, only to be brushed to the side by Jacky. Being called Captain Falcon 2.0 is what no single man wants to be called, ever.

"What, just because you already got yourself a woman in Aerith, you can pick on my martial status? Get out of here with that man..."

Cloud and Jacky came to a sudden stop when they saw Tails seated on the ground, leaning against a building, next to Kyam, also seated, who is Hispanic (Hispanic, African-American, go ahead and pick your poison). Why is Tails speaking with an Olympic basketball player of all people? Wanting to find out for themselves, Cloud and Jacky headed over to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Why Sonic is so adamant on doing this race is beyond my level of thinking," Tails spoke with Kyam about his best friend. "He's knows he's fast - heck, he could even beat Usain Bolt at his own game! When will he ever understand..."

 **Tails: To prepare himself for his race with Fox, Sonic decided to run every single inch of Rio, so he'll be "well-conditioned" to win the race. I've tried telling him that he has the race already won due to his speed, but then he claimed that the race will "remind everyone of his ultimate glory". How more arrogant can he possibly get?**

"Hey man, I feel ya, I understand where you're coming from," Kyam offered his take. "You know, being the oldest player on my team, I have to put up with some of my younger teammates antics - like having to endure them singing 'A Thousand Miles' while riding in a plane." Kyam shook his head when he said this, clearly he has bad memories of that very moment. "But I've grown to adjust to their...mannerisms, and you should do the same with Sonic. He may be a pain in the butt sometimes, but with patience, you'll be able to tolerate him. Guess I'll be chilling with you until my teammates are finished with their autograph excursion..."

"What seems to be the problem?" asked Cloud, choosing the right time to step in. "I take it Sonic is driving you insane?"

"Not this time, he's just being a lot more hard-headed than usual," replied Tails. "He's serious about his race with Fox, and he's been doing unnecessary practice to get himself ready. I tried to dissuade him from racing, but nothing seems to work..."

"And he's racing throughout Rio in its entirety," added Kyam. "Who knows where he's at now..." Sonic is probably running about in the beach, giving the tourists and beach-goers a hard time.

"So I see..." Cloud stroked his chin, devising of a plan to keep Sonic in check. "I may have a plan, and you just might be the guy to carry it out...wait a second, aren't you on the United States basketball team? Shouldn't you be practicing with your team or something?"

"Well we were supposed to...but the moment they saw video game characters like yourself roaming about, they wanted to get y'all autographs for keepsakes. Surprised they haven't hounded you yet for one."

"No wonder a few of your teammates were harassing Doc Louis at that Brazilian store..." That store must specialize in chocolate of some sort. "Perhaps we can use them as a part of my plan..."

* * *

"FORE!" Ike, with Rosalina as his teammate, served the volleyball past the net, in a contested game of volley on the Rio beaches. The volleyball zoomed past Snake and Palutena, who couldn't reach the volleyball in time. The ball landed in the ocean, where someone will have the dubious task of retrieving it.

"Ike, we're not playing golf, this is freaking volleyball!" Snake frowned at Ike as Palutena went to go fetch the volleyball from the water. "Nobody in their right mind would shout 'FORE' before serving a volleyball!"

 **Ike: What's so wrong with shouting "FORE" before serving a volleyball? Excuse me for being an innovator.**

"And nobody told your old geezer behind to even be playing volleyball," retorted Ike, angering Snake. The former FOXHOUND agent took great offense to Ike's comment, as he chased him throughout the beach. Palutena returned from the ocean, and watched the chase happen.

"Typical men, always fighting..." Palutena shook her head in disapproval. She was suddenly caught off guard when Rose came running by, running away from Red. Only way this chase will end is when Rose decides to challenge Red to a Pokemon battle.

"One match will do, just one match!" Red would say as he chased Rose down. Rose was too fast for the Pokemon trainer - never doubt a gymnast's speed.

"Stay away from me, you creep!" Rose yelled at Red, but the Pokemon trainer didn't do so. Either he can't follow simple directions, or he's very, very persistent.

* * *

Pit and Rayman were at a Brazilian police office, attempting to get inside through a bunch of police guards. They were playing some Brazilian style music, hoping it would appease the guards, but the guards didn't move an inch, nor did they smile.

"We'll give you one last chance to leave the premises," one of the police guards warned Pit and Rayman. "If you annoy us any longer, then we'll have to remove you both by force."

"What, you can't appreciate some good ol' Brazilian music?" enticed Rayman. It would have been better had him and Pit played better; the way they're playing would make senior citizens at a retirement home scowl and cringe with fury. "We're just trying to embrace this country's wonderful culture!"

 **Pit: Every trick we had in our playbook, we've used on the police guards, and they still won't budge. Everything we thrown at them - extravagant beatboxing, offering them candy, even faking our own deaths - the guards refused to let us pass. We're not throwing in the towel just yet...**

Pit's and Rayman's fortunes would be turned around (or so it would seem like) when a famed Olympic swimmer appeared, wearing five gold medals around his neck, wanting to see what the issue was. We shall dub him...Fred.

"Hey fellas, what seems to be the problem?" Fred asked the police guards, before taking note of Pit and Rayman. "These two providing with you with some fine entertainment? Honestly there's nothing wrong with that..."

"These bozos here are trying to get inside through the police office just so they could save their friend," explained one of the police guards, referring to Barbara as their friend. Let's hope the barbarian princess/adventurer hasn't broke free from her detainment and went full ham inside the office, that would be quite the debacle. "Ain't no way are we're letting them inside."

"I think they don't mean any harm, they both look like genuine dudes. You should definitely let them inside, provided they don't cause any trouble."

"Oh yeah, well why should we?" All Fred had to do was to flash his gold medals to the police guards to swoon him over to his side. The allure of the medals was too much for the police guards to deny. "Oh, sorry for holding these two up, we'll just go on our merry way!" The police guard and his pals walked away from entrance, granting Pit and Rayman access to the police office.

"Wow man, you're awesome, thanks!" Pit thanked Fred, who flashed a smile. Fred is a hero to some, and now he's a hero to Pit and Rayman (well, sort of, but a hero regardless).

"Eh, I was just doing my job." Doing Pit and Rayman a huge solid may not be a thing for Fred to add to his resume, but he certainly did the right thing.

After a brief moment of introductions, Pit and Rayman ventured through the police office with Fred tagging along. Fred would tell anyone questioning Pit and Rayman that they're looking for a dear friend, and that he's been instructed to serve as their "bodyguard". You won't believe how many people fell for that.

"Hey I can see Barbara, she's over in that jail cell!" Rayman pointed at Barbara, who was inside a miniature cell with prison bars. Her frantic behavior must have placed her inside. "Barbara, we are here to save you!" At the very sight of Rayman, Barbara got all excited - excited to the point where she went full-blown crazy.

"Your girlfriend sure seems like a crazy one," Fred smiled at Rayman, who just stood there with a blank expression on his face.

"She is not my...you know what...just...just forget about it." No point in trying to tell the truth to Fred, it might take longer than expected.

 **Rayman: When will people ever understand, Barbara is NOT my girlfriend! In fact, she's the girlfriend...of The Magician!...Why are you people laughing, Teensies can love too!**

"Stand back you guys, I got this!" Pit walked up to the prison bars, exuberating more confidence than he should. He struck the bars with Palutena's Bow, but that did no good. Then he used an Upperdash Arm on the bars, but that didn't work as well. "Nothing seems to work on these dumb bars..."

"Let me try," Fred walked up to the bars...and grabbed them and took them out of their place, like a boss. "Consider yourself welcome!" Fred sported a grin for Pit, who looked exasperated. The angel's weaponry couldn't do the trick, but Fred just grabbed the bars like it was nothing. What is the meaning of all this madness?

"Freedom! Freedom at last!" Barbara broke through the opening provided by Fred, running out of the cell frantically. She crashed into Rayman, knocking him to the ground. "You saved me! My hero!" She gave the limbless hero a super tight hug, squeezing him real tight.

"But they're not boyfriend and girlfriend, am I right?" Fred looked over to Pit, who stroke his chin as he watched Barbara hug Rayman.

"You know it if Rayman's in denial," was the angel's response. Does this remind you of anything, anything at all?

"I can see the light, I can taste the freedom!" Barbara looked up, and saw the opening of the police office in sight. She got up and ran out of the office, likely to cause even more ruckus, something that Rayman possibly can't afford.

"Barbara, get back here you're gonna get yourself in trouble again!" Rayman called out to Barbara, but it was too late - the princess had already left.

* * *

While Peach, Daisy, and Zelda were trying on different clothes in a Brazilian shopping mall, the Rio Sul Shopping Center, their respective love interests Mario, Luigi, and Link waited outside the dressing rooms, waiting for their women to finish. Corrin was with these three men, and for reasons unknown.

"Why are you-a even here Corrin, you don't-a even have a girlfriend," Luigi said to the prince of Nohr, who shrugged in response. Not even he knows, how sad.

 **Corrin: Ever since Master Hand rudely cancelled my lovely lessons with Bowser, I've become but a little ship with a sail in the middle of a roaring sea, looking to find my footing. Bowser was my main man, he was the only person who accepted me for the very naive person that I am. Now I have to look for another partner-in-crime...I had a list of candidates, but I left it back at the mansion.**

"Woah dude, you got dyed silver hair just like me?" a certain Olympic swimmer whom we'll call Steven approached Corrin, marveling at the prince's hair. "That hair of yours really fits you!" If only he knew that Corrin is actually an albino...

"Aren't you supposed to be in trouble for some robbery thing?" Link asked Steven when he recognized who he was. Steven looked around suspiciously before running off, never to be seen again.

"Well Link, how do I look?" Zelda asked as she came out of the dressing room, wearing a dress that was more casual and less royal. "Do you think I look nice in this casual dress?" Link, now finding himself in the infamous Boyfriend Trust Abyss, must take the politically correct route and give Zelda a positive answer, even though he hardly cares for what his girlfriend is wearing.

"Oh yeah, that is one fine-looking dress, you looking smoking hot in it!" Link using the term "smoking hot"?! That's something you would seldom hear coming out of the Hylian's mouth. Soon Peach and Daisy came out of their dressing rooms, showing their dresses to Mario and Luigi.

"Don't you think we look fabulous in our dresses?" Daisy asked Mario and Luigi. The famous twin brothers have now found themselves in the Boyfriend Trust Abyss; like Link, they have to keep it PC at all times, regardless of what opinion they have (if they ever had an opinion to begin with). Both brothers gave a thumbs up, optng not to say anything. "Aw, I just knew you would like them! You two have very great tastes in fashion!" Yeah, Daisy, believe what you wanna believe...

"You guys got a minute or two?" Cloud showed up, accompanied by Tails. "Have any of you seen any basketball players anywhere?" Mario and company glanced at each other before shaking their heads in response. "I want you to find them, and bring them over to Carioca Arena 1. Tails and I will explain everything there..."

* * *

Coach sat inside the cruise ship his team was staying in, feeling depressed. Rather than practicing for the next game, his players opted to accrue autographs from the brawlers that were in Rio. They seemingly forgot the main reason they came to Rio - to win the gold and make America proud.

"What's the point, they're never coming back..." Coach buried his face in his hands, giving up hope. "Might as well throw in the towel, and let Spain acquire the gold..."

 **Coach: We're playing Spain tomorrow in the semifinals, and Spain is deemed by many to be our biggest challenge to the gold. I refuse to settle for bronze, it is way below our standards...**

Coach continued to hold his head down when a ball of paper was thrown at his head and landed on the floor. He picked up the ball and unraveled, and saw a note that read, "Liven up, have fun, enjoy yourself!" in big letters, with "Rio de Janiero, Brazil" underneath. Coach inspected this note carefully, wondering if his problems lied within this very note.

"I think I get it now, I fully understand..." he said. "I just need to take a load off, relax and have a jovial time! My straight-laced tactics must have hindered my team, and their autograph-seeking must be a way for them to let loose! Perhaps I should do the same!" Yeah Coach, that's the spirit, liven up a little! "My fun in Rio starts right now!" Coach marched out of the cruise ship, and once he departed...Yuffie and Greninja hopped out of their hiding spot.

"We did it, we drove him out!" Yuffie cheered, exchanging a high-five with Greninja. "Now everything will go according to plan..." Yuffie looked out through a window, and did an "OK" hand sign to someone. Who is she doing this hand sign to?

* * *

It was now on - Sonic and Fox stood at the front of the Carioaca Arena 1, ready for their race. Several spectators gathered to see this (possibly one-sided) race. Both competitors were staring each other down to intimidate the other, and it's hard to tell if it's working or not.

"Alright boys, this is for all the marbles," said Emmanuel, the officiator of the race. "First person to run around the arena and reach this point is the winner. Keep it clean, and keep it safe. You two ready?" Sonic and Fox both got into positions. "On your mark..." Sonic and Fox got into position... "...get set..." ...and lifted their feet in the air... "...GO!"

Fox took off, but Sonic took off even faster, running like he was Road Runner from _Looney Tunes._ By the time he reached the halfway point, the hedgehog felt he had the race won, until...

"Hey Sonic can I get an autograph?" a voice called out to Sonic. The hedgehog skidded to a halt, and saw Kyam waving to him, now flanked by his teammates Wayne, Alex, Darnell, Andrew, Bryce, Jim, and a few others. Cloud, Mario, Peach, Luigi, Daisy, Link, and Zelda were also present. "It'll be quick, just sign me and my bros some autographs and we'll let you carry on with your race!"

"Well I'm already far ahead, so a quick autograph signing session won't hurt," Sonic walked over to Kyam and company, signing autographs for the Olympic basketball players. It was taking longer than expected for the hedgehog, but he felt confident that he'll still win the race, given his abnormal speed. He might be in for a very rude awakening...

 **Cloud: Having just the United States basketball players keeping Sonic occupied simply won't do the trick, so we decided to go all out...**

"Keep it coming folks, I got all the time I need!" Sonic said as he signed autographs in rapid speed. This cockiness will doom the hedgehog, just you wait and see.

"Yo, Sonic, huge fan of yours, love your games!" yet another Olympic basketball player, Jamal, said to Sonic. "Mind if I take a picture with you, for the memories?" Jamal took out his cellphone, and Sonic quickly obliged.

"Why not take a picture with all of you guys?" suggested Sonic, and the basketball players all nodded their heads in agreement. So Sonic posed with the players, with Peach taking the picture on Jamal's cellphone. Once the picture was taken, Peach handed the phone back to Jamal, who was all gleeful.

"Thanks man, you're the best!" Jamal placed his cellphone back in his pocket, just when Fox appeared, running past Sonic and company. He's now ahead of Sonic, but the hedgehog wasn't having that.

"I appreciate the autograph signing and the picture and all, but I gotta get back to my race!" Sonic was about to take off, until Leo - the Jamaican runner who was previously harassed by the knitting club - appeared, with a slew of Olympians behind him.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, it's a pleasure to see you!" Leo said to Sonic. Two of the fastest individuals on the planet, now face-to-face, who would have thunk? "Certainly you have room for more autographs, no?" Should Sonic keep the autograph session going, or win the race?

"Sure, why not, I already got the race in the bag," Sonic shrugged, and at once, the Olympains quickly hounded the hedgehog for an autograph or two. Definitely not what Sonic had in mind.

Meanwhile, Fox had just finished 3/4ths of the race, and is nearing the end. He could taste the sweetness of victory with his lips, he could hear the crowd cheering and chanting his name...but things would soon turn against his favor when Rose crashed into Fox, knocking him to the ground.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to knock you over," Rose apologized to Fox, slowly getting up. "Did I hurt you?" Rose saw that Fox was writhing on the ground in pain, grabbing his leg. Rose inspected the fox's leg, and Red showed up and saw what was going on, before awkwardly walk away, whistling to himself.

 **Red: For the record, I didn't cause Fox's injury to occur...it was that girl's fault for refusing to challenge me to a Pokemon battle. Wonder if that Brazilian soccer dude is available, it looks like a worthy opponent...**

Rose continued to check on Fox's leg, while a few medics came over to lend a helping hand. This lasted for a pretty long time, and it gave Sonic the upper hand after his wonderfully long autograph session came to an end. He sped past Fox, jeering at him while blowing his tongue, and just when he was about to reach the finish line, he was suddenly tackled to the to the ground by Barbara, Rayman's presumed girlfriend.

"Tag, you're it!" the princess poked Sonic's forehead. The hedgehog tried to inch closer to the finish, but Barbara's weight was restricting his moment. Not to mention that she was also hugging his neck. "I'm not letting you go until you tag me back!"

"Get off of me woman, I'm trying to win a race here!" Sonic barked at Barbara, as he used his hand to move across the ground. Fox, seeing Sonic struggling, got up, and limped his way to the finish line, while Rose and the medics looked on in bewilderment. That's what you call putting the team on your back...if Fox ever had a team to begin with.

"Are you insane, you can't limp like that when we don't know how severe your leg injury is!" Rose yelled at Fox, but the Star Fox pilot limped away undeterred. He limped past a restrained Sonic, and limped his way to victory, until his body gave up on him and he collapsed on the ground. Just when Fox thought it was all over...

"You did, you won the race!" announced Emmanuel. Fox looked up, and saw that he had made it to the finish, where the race started. The crowd was cheering and whatnot, and Cloud and company, as well as the United States basketball team, came over to witness the euphoria that was going on. The basketball team was clearly delighted to see that Fox won, as they picked him up and lifted him on their shoulders.

"Bro you did it, you actually beat Sonic!" Falco came over to celebrate with Fox, acting like a crazed maniac. "Think of the bragging rights you have now!"

Meanwhile, Sonic was still pinned to the ground by Barbara, and Rose and the medics did their best to pry the princess off of the hedgehog, but to no avail. Rayman, Pit, and Fred showed up, and when he saw Barbara all over Sonic, Rayman grabbed her presumed girlfriend and successfully took her off of Sonic. Maybe Barbara only wanted Rayman to take her off? It's a thought worth taking into heavy consideration.

"Did I not warn you about attacking random people?" Rayman scolded Barbara. "You already got us banned from one of the Rio restaurants for doing that..."

 **Rayman: It's been almost an eternity, and Globox has yet to come out of the restroom. I just hope the man doesn't have explosive diarrhea...but I have yet to see an explosion of toxic fumes anywhere, so I guess not.**

Sonic and company went to the front of the Carioca Arena 1 after hearing the wave of euphoria from where they were, and when they arrived, they saw Fox celebrating with his fellow brawlers, the Brazilian crowd, the men's basketball team, and a few other Olympians. This instantly gave Sonic the notion that Fox had won, and it made him feel pretty bitter.

"First I signed them all autographs, and now then wanna celebrate with Fox..." Sonic glared at the basketball team and the Olympians. "Bandwagon traitors..."

"What matters the most is that you and your opponent had a fair race, and that you both gave it your all," remarked Fred; Sonic was immediately turned off the moment Fred said the word "fair". He seriously hates that word for some reason...

"Who cares if Fox and I had a 'fair' race, I still lost! Your socialist mindset isn't helping my mood one bit..." Fred couldn't help but silently chuckle, trying to figure out how talking about fairness equates to socialism.

"You all enjoying your time in Rio, 'cause I sure am!" Coach encountered his basketball team, catching his players and everyone else off guard with a Hawaiian t-shirt and cargo pants. It's almost as if he's a different person. "Why are you all looking at me like that, is it because of my attire?"

"Um, Coach, weren't you supposed to be at the cruise ship?" one of the basketball players, Amir, spoke up. Coach's eyes widened with much worry...

* * *

The basketball team and Coach, along with Mario, Cloud, and Fred, arrived at the pier where the cruise ship is, and instantly their fears were realized - the cruise ship was moving! And you wouldn't believe who's on it...

"How did Yuffie get that ship to set sail?!" Cloud frowned when he saw Yuffie and Greninja on the bow of the ship, waving to those on the pier. And to add insult to injury, a majority of the brawlers were also on the ship!

"And I can-a see Master Hand with them!" Mario saw the giant hand through his hands, cuffed as binoculars. "Now I know he did-a not bring us here just-a so he could steal-a that cruise ship..." Apparently that was so, no wonder Master Hand was so eager about wanting to go to Rio...and now Mario and Cloud and the others are left behind.

"Bruh we can't let them get away with our cruise ship, that's where we stay at!" one of the basketball players, Hyland, panicked. "We gotta do something!"

"I'm on it..." Fred took off his clothes, revealing his swimming gear, and leaped into the water, swimming after the cruise ship that was moving slow in his favor. Will Fred reach the cruise ship in time? He just might, given how awesome of a swimmer he is.

After all, they don't call him the most decorated Olympian of all time for nothing...


	36. Episode 36: Bowling

_Author's Note:_

 _Received_ _this review from a fan, called Kirby 1 2 3:_

 _"Could you please add Kirby's enemies like Marx or zero maybe even magolor to show how op Kirby is"_

 _I agree that Kirby is OP - in fact, I've been trying to main Kirby as of late in SSB4. I'd say he's one of my current mains, along with Zelda...and Lucina...and King Dedede...and Bowser Jr...and Wii Fit Trainer...and Zero Suit Samus...and Little Mac...but it's mostly Zelda and Lucina whom I main the most, out of those names mentioned, for I have been maining them for as long as I can remember._

 _I can make Marx, Zero, and Magolor appear in the next installment of Smash Life, but as for adding them to the story, as in keeping them around as supporting/recurring characters...we'll just have to see about that._

* * *

 **Episode 36: Bowling**

How is it possible for a hand to be placed under house arrest? It's implacably impossible, for a hand is but a part of your body, it's used to grab things and point at stuff. And if you're Master Hand, you can not only do those things, but also rule the Smash Universe, fight against the bravest fighters, give unsuspecting brawlers wedgies, so forth and so on.

The giant hand can now give all the wedgies he wants, due to him being placed under house arrest. So why is he under house arrest to begin with? It all started when he sent the mansion residents to Rio, and while everyone was enjoying their time and watching the Olympic events, Master Hand conspired with Yuffie and Greninja to steal the cruise ship the United States men's basketball team were staying on. Yuffie and Greninja are also under house arrest, and Yuffie, who has no home to stay at, was ordered to remain at Luigi's home for the time being, after all the legal stuff was worked out. So much for her being a ninja and all.

"Due to the severity of your crime you, Yuffie, and Greninja will be under house arrest for at least two to three months," Isabelle explained to Master Hand, holding her clipboard. Who in their right mind thinks it would be a great idea to sentence a Pokemon to house arrest?

"Two to three months is too long for me, I have a life you know!" boomed Master Hand. To be fair, Master Hand doesn't really have that much of a life, he just stays at the mansion all day long messing everyone from Mario to Bayonetta. So the house arrest doesn't really affect him as much.

 **Isabelle: Yuffie could have served her house arrest at the mansion, but during her trial, she put Wario and Captain Falcon on blast, calling them out for the perverted men that they are. The judge did a background check on both men, and the details of their respective backgrounds are...not safe for work, to say the very least. Let's just say that they had more than just pictures of Samus and Palutena in bikinis...however, they now have to complete community hours for their rather disturbing histories.**

"Sir Mario has informed me that he and the original twelve are going down to the bowling alley," Isabelle passed on this information to Master Hand. "They're going to be in a bowling competition vs the United States Olympic basketball team, as a way to make up for your cruise ship theft, and..."

"Mario bowling against a bunch of highly talented basketball players?" Master Hand snorted, his laughing sounding like bellows of joy. "Oh man, that has been the highlight of my day so far! And he expects Pikachu, Kirby, AND Jigglypuff to compete? Those three can't even lift the door of a toaster oven open, what makes Mario think they can even pick up a bowling ball?"

"Apparently he's very serious about this bowling match, he's been hyping it up for the entire week..." Nothing like a little hype to gain some support from the brawlers. What's so wrong with that?

* * *

"We are gonna kick-a those sorry basket-a ball players' behinds in bowling, just-a you wait and-a see!" Mario said to Fiora, the Homs ignoring the plumber to the best of her abilities as she surfed the web on a computer in the library. It was not an extremely easy thing to do. "They'll be-a crying to their mommies, too embarrassed to go-a bowling again!"

"I think you're taking this out of context, I highly doubt you and your pals can successfully beat a bunch of athletic basketball players in bowling by a huge margin, let alone even beating them at all," Fiora offered her take on the original twelve's chances at winning. "Surely they're talented in areas other than basketball too..."

"Talented in-a what, getting down-a at brothels and what-a not? Give me a break!" Either the players went to this brothel by accident, or they went there on purpose...and for various reasons. Who knows but them. "While they were-a playing basketball and bringing home-a the gold, I was refining my bowling-a skills so they'll-a be up to par!"

"Wow, I didn't know flirting and cuddling with Peach is considered 'refining your bowling skills'." Mario frowned at Fiora's response, and then he saw Peach entering the library and told Fiora to shush, as if the Homs was about to say more.

 **Fiora: The original twelve are going to be absolutely MURDERED by the basketball team in bowling. None of the twelve have practiced at all for the bowling match, and two or three of the members are physically incapable to bowl. Not to mention that Captain Falcon may or may not be doing community service, if what I heard from Jacky Bryant was correct.**

"Hello Mario, are you all set for your incoming bowling match?" Peach approached a now grinning Mario, whose grin may be genuinely fake. "So I just spoke with Captain Falcon on the phone earlier, and he said that he's no longer serving community service hours! Turns out that the photos that were used during Yuffie's trial,Wario intentionally gave away the fact that he and Falcon owned a half of those photos, when in reality all of those photos belonged to Wario! With Captain Falcon now off the hook, he can go with us to the bowling alley...why are you looking at me like that?" Peach suddenly took notice of Mario's deranged grin, a grin so creepy-looking it would make one mistake him for a sociopath.

"Oh, nothing, I was too-a busy admiring your awfully good-a looks," responded Mario, suddenly snapping out of his trance. "Will-a you be at the bowling alley to support-a us, we need-a all the support we can get!"

"Of course, we will all be there to root for you guys!" Who is Peach referring to she when says "we"?

* * *

"Luigi you better get your scrawny butt down here this instant, otherwise the rest of the twelve will leave you behind!" Daisy called out to her husband from downstairs, grumpy as ever. "What is possibly taking him so long..." Luigi is typically a little afraid when going to public outings, but when he has to go to places he seldom frequents or never been to at all, his nervousness becomes tenfold. While Daisy was waiting for Luigi to come down, Cloud was in the living room with Yuffie, discussing things - like the electronic anklet Yuffie is forced to wear around her ankle.

"Word has it that you've been trying to take that anklet off of your leg," Cloud spoke with Yuffie, who was caressing Polterpup while sitting on the couch. "You do realize how much trouble you'll get into if you take it off, right?"

"Trouble, schmouble, what's the worst that can happen to me?" Yuffie confidently smirked. Clearly she is unfazed by the ramifications of the judicial system though that's not much of a surprise. "What are they gonna do to me, put me inside a cage and force to eat bread crumbs? I'm not scared..."

 **Yuffie: I've only been at this house for only a week, and I gotta say...Daisy has got to be THE most depressed woman ever. Every day she has to charm that sorry excuse of a man known as Luigi, day in and day out...I just don't know how she does it.**

Before Daisy could yell for another time, her husband Luigi finally came down the steps, with a nervous disposition written on his face. He let out a huge sigh of worry as he trodded to the front door, walking past Daisy, Cloud, Yuffie, and even Polterpup as if they were nonexistent or imaginary. (Just like Ike's "friends"! Ayooou!)

"Everything okay sweetie, you certainly don't look like your typical self..." Daisy asked her husband, who held his head down. "Still a bit overwhelmed from the 'secret' I told you earlier this week? Thought you already got over it!"

"I don't-a wanna go to the bowling alley..." muttered Luigi. He's too afraid to go somewhere as harmless as a freaking bowling alley? Figures. "What if I make-a an embarrassment of myself?"

"Who are you trying to kid, you constantly make an embarrassment of yourself, regardless of your effort," stated Yuffie, garnering a glare from everyone not named Polterpup. The ghost dog is too jovial to comprehend the harsh words Yuffie directed at his faithful owner.

"What's more-a is that I'll have-a to compete against-a the United States basketball team, and I'm absolutely no-a match for them." Same could be said for the rest of the original twelve...except maybe for Falcon and Captain Falcon. The others are dead meat.

"Well if it will help cheer you up...why don't I come with you, and I can cheer you and the others on? How does that sound?"

Luigi carefully thought over this. With Daisy at his side cheering him on, the plumber would receive a huge confidence boost, and he'll remain content throughout the entire bowling match.

"You're more than-a welcome to come," replied Luigi. "Let me clean-a out the passenger seat for-a you." Luigi exited the home, while Cloud walked over to Daisy to ask her a very important question:

"What is this 'secret' that you speak of?" the swordsman whispered into the princess of Sarasaland's ear. Daisy happily whispered the secret back, and after taking it in, Cloud just stood there dumbfounded...before erupting into a uncharacteristic fit of hysterical laughter.

* * *

 **Toad: It's already been decided - I'll be the one driving the original twelve to the bowling alley via bus. Or rather, the original _eleven -_ Luigi thinks he's so above us right now since he's married that he doesn't have to ride with his companions anymore! Lili de Rochefort is the one at fault, she's the one that bought that Dodge Charger for Luigi, she inadvertently gave him an ego! Dorks like Luigi don't deserve to have an ego...you _are_ gonna cut that bit out, right?**

The original twelve, sans Luigi, stood at the front of the Smash Mansion as Toad got the bus ready. Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Kirby, Pikachu, Samus, Fox, Yoshi, Captain Falcon, Ness, and Jigglypuff were all gathered at the front, and for some reason, Pit was with them.

"Pit why are you here, you are not a part of the original twelve," Ness had to tell Pit. "I don't ever recall you appearing in the first _Super Smash Bros_ game, and considering your appearance back then, I don't blame Nintendo for not including you..."

"B-B-But my franchise came out in 1986, the same year the first _Legend of Zelda_ was released!" protested Pit, acting like a whiny crybaby. This tactic works on Palutena most of the time, but it certainly won't work on Mario and company. "How does that not make me a member of the original twelve?!"

"It was Nintendo's - well, Masahiro's Sakurai's - decision to exclude you," stated Donkey Kong. "If you feel so bitter about it, why don't you just fly over to Japan and complain about it to Sakurai, and have him screw up the history of _Super Smash Bros_ canon by inserting you into the original twelve, thereby making the fans of the original game mad (since most _Smash_ fans get angry over the silliest things, if you ask me). Pit didn't feel like having to fly all the way to Japan just to complain to Sakurai, so he took his dignity and angrily marched back inside the mansion, now feeling slightly envious of the original twelve.

"Good riddance, glad that he's gone," Yoshi remarked once Pit was back inside. "Pit would be an absolute cancer to our team; imagine him constantly complaining about not getting a strike - he'd go as far as suing the bowling alley if he knew how to do such a thing!" Even worse - what if Pit complains about having to wear bowling sneakers, and lets his complaints be heard? He refuses to wear anything that is not sandals, so exercising for him is a real struggle.

"Okay everybody, everyone hop on board!" Toad called out after opening the bus door. "The bus is all set to go!" So the eleven got inside the bus, and Toad drove away to the bowling alley; Luigi started up his engine and followed the bus.

* * *

After a thirty minute drive or so, the bus finally arrived at the bowling alley, and the eleven passengers hopped out. Luigi showed up in his Charger, taking the parking space next to the basketball team's bus. The plumber and his wife got out of the car, and for whatever reason, Luigi looked shaken.

"I thought Peach and the rest of our 'supporters' were coming," said Samus, either oblivious or apathetic towards Luigi's disposition. Knowing her, it's more than likely it's the latter. "Did she not say that they were coming, Mario?"

 **Samus: No one, and I mean NO ONE, can save us from the likely loss we're about to take to the basketball team. Not even the Michael Jordan of bowling could be our savior. Even if one of the players broke his ankle and is unable to play, and the others somehow contracted the Zika virus while in Rio and are too sick to even pick up a bowling ball, we would still find some magical way to lose, and it will mostly be Mario's fault. Hate putting the blame on him, but that's just the way it is.**

"Something wrong-a bro, you don't look like-a your usual self..." Mario said to Luigi, who refused to look his own brother in the eye. Evidently the secret Daisy had told him is more impacting than it appears to be. "Wanna talk-a things about before our big-a game?"

"No thanks, I can't let-a my feelings deter us from-a accruing a win," replied Luigi, suddenly looking up with a brighter facial expression, though he may be doing that just to appease his brother. "I shall explain everything after the game."

* * *

The original twelve and Daisy entered the bowling alley, and talking among themselves near the bowling lanes was the United States men's basketball team - Kyam, Wayne, Andrew, Alex, Jim, Amir, Jamal, Hyland, Bryce, and Darrell, as well as two other players who weren't mentioned in the previous episode, Trece and K-Low. It's best if you don't ask why these two are given these monikers. Mario walked up to the front desk, with his teammates flanking him, to purchase some bowling shoes.

"Twelve-a bowling shoes, please," Mario told the person running the front desk. The man got pulled out some bowling shoes, and then looked at Mario's comrades, before his eyes fell on Pikachu, Kirby, and Jigglypuff.

"Those two pink things and that Pikachu aren't bowling, are they?" asked the man. Two pink things?! This dude's video game knowledge must not be that strong. "I'm afraid they're physically incapable to be bowling..."

"Now you look-a here buddy, I didn't come all the way-a here just to see three of-a my teammates 'physically incapable' to bowl, for reasons-a unknown!" The basketball team were now looking over at Mario, wondering what had gotten into the plumber...not a very good sign.

"Mario can you please cut it out, we don't need you starting a scene when we just got here..." frowned Daisy, and the others nodded, sharing the princess's sentiments.

"Stay out-a of this Daisy; same goes-a for the rest-a of you! I'm fighting for the rights-a of Kirby, Pikachu, and-a Jigglypuff, I know what-a I'm doing!" Someone from the original twelve should have told Mario about the ineffiencies of the three brawlers in question, would have saved them _a lot_ of trouble.

"Sorry sir, but I can't get them any bowling shoes," the man at the front desk said, his response as calm as possible. "None of the shoes fit their size, and there are several other attributes that prevent them from bowling. I'll get your other friends their bowling shoes." So the man got Mario, Link, Donkey Kong, Samus, Fox, Yoshi, Luigi, Captain Falcon, and Ness their bowling shoes, and Mario grumpily folded his arms, feeling somewhat disrespected.

 **Fox: Last time I went out bowling, it was on a date with Krystal - and that date happened to take place the day after we returned from the Olympics in Rio. While we were bowling and I was showing off my awesome bowling skills, I had told Krystal about my win over Sonic in that race around the Carioca Arena 1...she didn't believe me until I told her about Rayman's lady friend Barbara holding him down.**

After trying out and putting on their bowling shoes, the original twelve made their way to the bowling lanes, where they would meet and greet the basketball team (though Samus decided against speaking with any of the players, for obvious reasons). During this time, Mario thought over which three brawlers should replace Kirby, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff on the team, and as he was thinking, a certain 69 year old man approached the plumber...

"Greetings, Mario, really enjoyed seeing you at the closing ceremony of the Olympics!" Coach, the man who led the United States basketball team to their golden victory, greeted the plumber, taking a seat next to him. "It was quite amusing seeing you with that blue cat thing...my players did an awfully great job at convincing me that it was a cat. Looked like an alien to me..." Does Coach not know that the Mario in the closing ceremony wasn't the Mario he's talking to right now? The players should be able to convince to him that.

"I was-a never in the opening ceremony, don't know what-a you're talking about..." said Mario. He looked down at Coach's feet, and saw that he was wearing bowling shoes. "You're bowling-a as well?"

"Why of course; I may be nearing my seventies, but even at my old age, I still got it!" Most senior citizens, like Coach himself, carry this "I still got it" mantra with them wherever they go, and whatever they do, and it had Mario thinking...

* * *

Zelda, Aerith, Diddy Kong, Red the Pokemon Trainer, Lucas, the Flying Man, Meta Knight, Peach, Geno, Rosalina and Luma waited outside, while Falco was getting his Landmaster ready so he can take the individuals to the bowling alley, where they will cheer for the original twelve as they bow down and take their L to the basketball team, as expected. But don't tell Peach and company that, they're pretty optimistic about the twelve's chances.

"My ship should be all ready to go!" Falco announced as he hopped out of the cockpit of the Landmaster. Just when the avian pilot hopped out, his cellphone rang, and he saw that it was Mario. "Yo, Mario, what up my man?" he said after answering the call.

"Hey Falco, I'm afraid-a I have a dire situation on-a my hands," Mario's voice emitted from the cellphone. "I tried to get-a bowling shoes for Kirby, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff, but-a the man at the front-a desk told me he was unable-a to give them-a shoes!" Falco wasn't surprised by this, although he wished Mario had found out sooner. "So I'm going to need-a three...no wait, four...extra brawlers to come-a to the bowling alley..."

 **Falco: Yeah, I knew the bowling alley won't serve Kirby and those two Pokemon, it's not like they're people or anything (Kirby is technically a person, but not a "normal" person, if you catch my drift). I did my best to convince Mario they wouldn't be able to bowl, but apparently logic and reasoning evades the man when he needs them the most.**

"Everything alright at the bowling alley, did something go down?" Peach asked Falco after the avian's phone call with Mario ended. "Did he get into a fight with one of the players, do we need to call 9-1-1 and send over an ambulance? Ooh, I thought I told Mario not to mess with the players, they're too big for him!" And too athletic, and too skilled, and too tough...and plenty of other adjectives.

"Mario isn't in any danger or anything like that, he needs some extra bodies to replace several members of the original twelve," explained Falco. "Good thing he already has in mind who he wants..."

* * *

Back at the bowling alley, Mario were waiting for the four new members of his bowling team, as well as Peach and company, to arrive. He sat at one of the tables, resting his chin on the palm of his hand, while Link was getting a drink of a vending machine. Or at least he would, if he wasn't fumbling around in his pockets looking for cash.

"Bruh you really need to hurry up, we don't have all day for this," frowned Amir, who was waiting behind Link. Amir is known by a majority of basketball fans for having a very short temper, and if Link doesn't hurry up, he'll have to face Amir's fury. "Our bowling match is gonna start soon, and we not gonna wait on you..."

"Not my fault this vending machine accepts rupees..." Link grumbled when he finally found a dollar, and inserted it into the dollar slot of the vending machine. Link then pressed "E6" on the machine, and a bottle of Pepsi began to dispense...until it somehow got stuck due to a bag of Doritos obstructing its path. And that was Link's only dollar too...

"Oh man your drink got stuck, that's gotta suck man!" Amir jeered at Link, pointing and laughing at the Hylian. "Yo, y'all come over here and see this, this dude's drink got stuck in the vending machine!"

"Vending machine got stuck or something?" Ness raised an eyebrow as he and several others came over to investigate. He and the others saw Link's precious bottle of Pepsi stuck, and they laughed and jeered at Link. Andrew even took a picture of it on his phone, much to the chagrin of Link.

 **Link: Hasn't even been an hour yet and my experience at the bowling alley has already gone down the drain...Zelda needs to hurry up and get here soon, she'll shut everybody up...Why can't I do it myself, you ask? Well, uh, you see...Zelda is a princess...and they'll listen to her because of her royalty, and whatnot...and no, I'm not insecure...**

"Anyone care to spare me a dollar?" Link asked the crowd, walking away after they finished laughing and jeering at the Hylian's expense. "Someone? Anyone? You guys all suck so much!" Don't worry Link, maybe Zelda will provide you a dollar once she arrives.

Speaking of Zelda, the princess of Hyrule and the rest of the brawlers arrived at the bowling alley a while later, and they had a little meet-and-greet with the basketball team, getting to know the players a little better so the team they play for and the position they play aren't the only things they know about them. Unlike Samus, they weren't deciding against speaking to the players for their own personal reasons.

During this time, Mario was speaking to his bowling team, and it now consisted of four new members - Cloud, Sonic, Pac-Man, and Mr. Game & Watch, the latter brawler only needed to equal the men's basketball team, since they had Coach. Pac-Man was excited to bowl, Sonic was dying to give the basketball team a loss, Mr. Game & Watch was...well, moving around like he was having a seizure or something, and Cloud looked bummed out to even be here.

"Of all the people you could have chosen and I had to be one of them..." the blonde swordsman sighed. This is his first known bowling experience, an experience that may or may not change depending on Mario's antics.

"Quit-a your whining, it's not like you had-a anything else better to do!" retorted Mario. To be fair, the plumber does have a fair point; save for hanging out with Aerith, Cloud would be pretty bored without his main man Link. "Anyway, it is imperative that-a we kick the basketball-a team's butt in bowling, and we'll-a do so wearing these shirts!" Mario held up a blue shirt that read, "Best Bowling Team In The Land", and gave his bowling teammates individual copies of this shirt.

"I wouldn't wear this dumb shirt even if my life depended on it," Samus remarked after accepting the bowling t-shirt against her will. She would throw her shirt in a nearby trash can when Mario wasn't looking; it'll be game over for the bounty hunter if Mario finds that shirt in there.

"You're seriously gonna wear that?" Tails flew over to Sonic, the yellow fox also joined by Knuckles. "That shirt looks hideous!"

"Don't tell Mario that, he'll defend this shirt to death and say that it's the greatest thing since sliced bread!" said Sonic, holding the shirt up and checking it out. "Looks like the kind of shirt you'd find at a worn-down thrift store!"

"Can't be any worse than the bowling shoes on your feet," snickered Knuckles, pointing at Sonic's bowling shoes. In fact, they weren't bowling shoes...they were bowling _high heels_. Yikes!

 **Sonic: Since all the regular bowling shoes were out, I was left with no other choice but to wearing these bowling high heels. At first, they felt as uncomfortable as they looked, but now I think I got the hang of it... *walks away, stumbles and falls to the floor* That's the most far I've ever made it in these things, I'm making progress!**

"We're ready to start when you are," Wayne said to Mario holding a bowling ball in his hand. Mario would intentionally scare Wayne and make him drop the bowling ball on his foot, but that would obviously be a very bad look. "Just give us the word and we'll begin our match."

"Our match-a shall start right-a now!" said an overly confident Mario. "Isn't that-a right, team?" the plumber then asked his team, who either shook their head, scratched their head, looked in another direction, or did nothing at all. "My team is-a ready - they're just-a too shy to show-a how they really feel!"

"Cool. May the best team win!" Wayne shook hands with Mario, and walked back to his squad.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Smash Mansion, Master Hand floated throughout the mansion and couldn't help but notice that several of the residents, aside from the original twelve, were gone amiss. Aerith? Gone. Lucas? Nowhere to be found. Geno? Eh, who cares about the guy?

"A bubonic plague of epic proportions must have struck the mansion, it could explain why so many people have gone amiss!" assumed Master Hand. When a bunch of people living in a mansion have disappeared, always blame it on a plague - that's the Master Hand way! "There must be someone alive that can fully explain how impacting this plague was..." Master Hand's nonexistent eyes soon fell on Young Link, who was practicing his ocarina playing in front of a mirror. "Young Link, educate me my dear boy, where has everyone gone? Did the bubonic plague wipe everyone out?!"

"What are you talking about, Master Hand, not that many people left the mansion..." Young Link pointed out, trying to get on the giant hand's good side. "See, there goes Marth, right there behind you!" The young Hylian pointed at the hero-king, who was simply minding his own business when his name was called.

"Greetings, Master Hand, Young Link," Marth greeted both individuals. He would tip his hat to the both of them, but a medieval character like him wearing a fancy hat would disgrace the _Fire Emblem_ creed. "I shall be going on my merry way then." With nothing else to say, the hero-king left, and Master Hand still wasn't convinced that a bubonic plague didn't strike the mansion.

"Marth's presence doesn't mean a thing, he could be one of the more fortunate ones who either survived the plague or has an immune system that makes them impervious to illnesses," stated the giant hand. That makes no sense; Marth became sick when that virus (sparked by none other than Bowser) ran rampant throughout the mansion. Master Hand is just trying to validate his assumptions, that's all.

 **Young Link: *sighs* Happens all the time...whenever a big group of people depart from the mansion without Master Hand having any knowledge of their leave, Master Hand instantly assumes that a deadly virus hit the mansion, seemingly killing everyone off. His first instincts are along the lines of Pit's, though Master Hand's instincts are somewhat more reasonable than Pit's.**

"Peach and a number of others had left the mansion to go root for Mario and the gang at the bowling alley," Young Link to to explain for Master Hand...who burst into hysterical laughter. The kind of laughter that sends chills down your spine, due to how profoundly majestic it sounds.

"They all wanted to waste their time going to a bowling alley and watching Mario and the others LOSE?!" Master Hand laughed away, having to take a short breather or two to control himself. "What were they thinking?!"

Master Hand's joyous laughter soon died down when Young Link gave him a bucket list of those who had left the mansion, and this list concerned Master Hand greatly.

"No way Aerith is gone, who is going to tend to the flowers?!" the giant hand suddenly panicked. "And Red can't be gone as well, he's supposed to be cleaning up the Pokemon sanctuary, and keeping things in order! Also, Samus, who's going to order the food for us tonight with her absence?"

"You knew Samus would be gone, you should have planned ahead of time..." stated Young Link. Planning ahead of schedule is not one of Master Hand's strong suits.

"You're right, Young Link, I should have delegate the brawlers to accomplish the roles of the brawlers that are absent! Doc Louis will run Star Records in Fox's and Falco's absence, Olimar will tend to the garden, Pit will order us food for tonight, and Akira will motivate everyone like the Flying Man does!" Pit ordering food? Can he even order a cup of lemonade from a lemonade stand? "Yeah, that should cover everything!"

"We're so screwed..." Young Link looked down at the floor, shaking his head in dismay.

* * *

The bowling match between Team Mario and Team USA was off to a rolling start, with both teams tied in the early goings of the match. Trece would break the tie when a scored a strike on his first time heading to the lanes.

"Ten points, that's what's up!" Trece gleamed as he looked up at the scoreboard, ten points added to Team USA's point total. He walked back to his seat, passing by Sonic with his bowling high heels. "Try and beat that!" he would say to the hedgehog. Sonic cockily smirked as he grabbed a bowling ball, walked towards a lane, and did the unthinkable - he turned around, his back facing the bowling pins, and spread both of his legs wide.

"YOOOO!" the basketball team reacted to Sonic's extremely questionable bowling stance.

"SON PEOPLE CAN SEE YOU!" Coach yelled at Sonic at the top of his lungs, his face turned red, but it was too late - Sonic rolled the bowling ball through the opening of his legs, and the ball traveled down the lane, the suspense palpating in the bowling alley, until the bowling ball knocked down the pins. Kirby, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff, having been reduced to cheerleaders, cheered on for Sonic - and most of the members from Team Mario did the same - as the hedgehog walked back to his seat, giving his teammates high fives and whatnot.

"At least that method was highly effective," Aerith had to say about Sonic's bowling method, and she certainly wasn't wrong.

 **Alex: Sooo...we're not gonna talk about the fact that the Aerith chick, that girl from _Final Fantasy VII,_ is somehow still alive? Didn't she get killed or something, am I missing some necessary details?**

Next up to bowl for Team USA was Andrew, who is in strong favor of Coach - reason being that he played for Coach during his college days. Heck, you could even make an argument that he was added to the team due to him being a former pupil. While Andrew went out to bowl, Knuckles decided to mess with Alex, although Tails previously dissuaded the echinda from doing so.

"You're gonna pay for this..." the fox whispered to Knuckles, who threw a balled-up piece of paper at Alex. The shooting guard turned around at Knuckles and Tails, both of whom were pointing at each other. The classic example of the "He Did It" trope, if such a trope were to exist.

"Dude I know you threw that ball of paper at me, you don't have to hide it," Alex said peacefully to Knuckles. "I knew that it was you..."

"Why did you think it was me, it's because I'm black isn't it?!" Knuckles frowned, angrily getting up and causing a scene. There goes Knuckles, making a racial thing out of nothing... "You think, that because I'm black, I have to be blamed for every wrong thing? Do you not know the struggles of being BLACK?!"

"Well I'm mixed so technically I know _half_ of the struggle..." Alex's response didn't appear to appease Knuckles, who marched towards the basketball player with a grudge. His eyes were twitching, and his fists were clenching with fury.

"Now, Knuckles, let's not have your angry emotions explode over a trivial matter, let's calm down..." Zelda did her best to soothe Knuckles, gently guiding him back to his seat. "Take some deep breaths, and you'll be fine..."

"What's up with that guy?" Andrew asked everyone after witnessing Knuckles' near-outburst of anger.

* * *

Pit spent his day in his room, conjuring of what the brawlers should have for dinner. He would have chosen pizza, but the brawlers have had pizza one too many times, and may be grown completely sick of it. Some Mexican food would be nice, but as you may know, Mario's stomach has a vendetta with refried beans, or anything else of Latin American culture. Poor Mario would be left out, and Pit can't possibly leave brawler behind.

 **Pit: At first, I thought getting the dinner for tonight would be the easiest thing ever. Just dial the phone, call in the order, and then wait for the delivery boy to come over...that was the plan, until Master Hand told me not to order pizza for the sake of everyone in the mansion. Now I'm a bit stumped...**

"Hurry and make a decision already, you idiot, it'll be close to evening time sooner than you know it!" demanded Pit's roommate, Dark Pit. "Do you want to make Mario and the others mad when they come home, and they don't see any food on the table?"

"Give me some time man, I'll think of something soon!" retorted Pit. An imaginary light bulb dinged over his head, signaling a formulation of an idea. Brace yourselves... "Why not have Chinese food for dinner? Nah, that wouldn't work, not that many Chinese people in the mansion..." So going by that logic, wouldn't that mean Mario and Luigi are the only individuals allowed to consume pizza, because of its Italian roots?

"Wow, you're a special kind of stupid, though Master Hand is the stupider one for letting you decide what's for dinner in the first place. Then again, he could be very desperate. How about you go ask your silly girlfriend what we should have for dinner, she definitely would have better suggestions than yours!"

"Or how about I go ask Doc Louis for suggestions, he must have some very good ideas!" Pit ran out of the room, and Dark Pit facepalmed out of grief. Might as well have nothing but chocolate for dinner...

* * *

"Booyah!" Captain Falcon exclaimed after scoring a spare in bowling. Not exactly worth a "Booyah!", but Captain Falcon is a pretty excitable guy. "Did you see that Samus, did you see what I did there, wasn't it great?" Falcon asked Samus, who always remains apathetic to everything the racer does.

"Would've been 'greater' if you scared a strike instead," replied Samus, refusing to look up at Captain Falcon for obvious reasons. "But I suppose a spare will do...for now."

"Pfft, you're just being a lousy hater, learn to be more appreciative of greatness sometimes!" One measly spare and Captain Falcon thinks he's the greatest bowler of all time or something. That's what happens when you're filled to the brim with confidence like him.

Next up to bowl for Team USA was Jim - if he scores a strike, then Team USA will be in the lead. Team Mario wasn't going to have that, and Sonic plans on making that so...

"JIM WATCHES DISNEY JUNIOR BY HIMSELF!" Sonic called out, yelling at the top of his lungs. If he's attempting to distract Jim, then it may or may not work, depending on the first insult he hurled out at the basketball player.

 **Sonic: An underrated tactic that guarantees your team a win 90% of the time? Distractions. Distractions can be found at every sporting event - from the dudes that belly roll when someone from the opposing team is shooting a free throw, to the pitcher that constantly scratches his crotch while pitching, making the batter feel uncomfortable. By distracting the Team USA players while they're bowling, I can mess up their turn and gift-wrap me...um, my _team..._ a win! It's absolutely genius!**

"Really dude, is that seriously the best you got?" Jim smirked at Sonic, shaking his head before returning his attention to the bowling pins in front of him. "You gotta try way harder than that..." And that's exactly what Sonic plans on doing.

"JIM LIKES TO LURE LITTLE KIDS TO HIS VAN!" Sonic hurled this "insult" at Jim, ruining his concentration. Jim grunted as he tried to get back his concentration.

"Man you gotta cut that out, your heckling game is all out of wack," K-Low said to Sonic. "Just let the man bowl!" In spite of K-Low's remarks, Sonic was still adamant on heckling Jim, and he won't stop until he screws Jim over.

"JIM ONCE WENT TO A HIGH SCHOOL DANCE WITH HIS MOM, AND HIS MOM HAD TO HOLD HIS HAND THE ENTIRE TIME!"

At this point, Jim was fed up with Sonic's crappy insults, and he did what he had to do - he threw his bowling ball at Sonic, who dodged the ball. Meta Knight would be the one struck by the bowling ball, and his precious mask was now cracked.

"This is one of the many reasons I should have decided against coming here..." remarked the Star Warrior. What were the other reasons? And why did Meta Knight even come in the first place, to support Kirby? He barely even likes the little fella!

* * *

Olimar watered the many flowers and plants of the mansion's gardens, with Viridi assisting the space astronaut. Akira Yuki was present in the gardens, encouraging Olimar and Viridi to do their jobs.

"Yeah, you guys keep up the good work, let's go!" the kung fu fighter rooted for the two, vigorously clapping his hands. "No need to fear, for I am your courage! With me, you can do just about anything!"

"Akira you're beginning to make the Flying Man more pleasant than usual..." Olimar had to say about Akira's newfound gaiety. Was this a compliment or an insult? Considering the Flying Man's irritable nature, it may very well be an insult.

 **Olimar: Although it may not seem like it at times, I'm actually a pretty resourceful gardener. My time spent with the Pikmin has given me some pointers about flowers, particularly because of the Pikmin species being based around plants. I even had a book that was all about gardening and how gardening works...and alas, that book was lost in a mansion fire sparked by Alph of all people. Haven't forgiven him since...**

 **Akira Yuki: The wonderful residents of this oh-so-lovely mansion need to be uplifted, they need to be encouraged and strengthened and always enjoy life to the fullest! They can do everything they want, anything they want, when they have me, because I am their courage! Let me repeat, I AM THEIR CORUAGE! *drops the happy facade* Flying Man, please make it back here as soon as possible, I don't think I can do this anymore!**

"Viridi, are you busy by any chance?" Pit entered the garden, having to ask the goddess of nature this very question. "I want you to come with me to the Star Records so I can speak with Doc Louis; you'll serve as my punching bag!" Viridi was taken back at Pit's offer - why would a pretty, delicate girl like her want to be a punching bag? Attitude and xenophobia aside, she's one of the most innocent people you'll ever meet!

"Me, as a punching bag?!" the goddess of nature frowned. "Are you insane, why would I want to be your punching bag? Do you want Doc to beat me senselessly or something, have you forgotten about what he's capable of?!"

"I _know_ what Doc is capable of, he's still pretty strong for his age. Only reason I want you as a punching bag is because Doc would think twice about punching you, because of how pretty you are! I'll just hold you up in front of him, and if or when he gets angry, he won't attack you...or me! Genius, isn't it?"

Viridi was still unsure of Pit's offer. There's no living proof as to whether or not Doc Louis actually punches little girls - but if there evidence of any sort, then Doc would go down as the most despised man in America, or at least in the state of Washington. However, Viridi can negotiate the offer with Pit regardless.

"It's not like you have any other choice Viridi, you might as well go with Pit and speak with Doc Louis, it is your mundane destiny!" Akira said to the goddess nature. "Even if things don't go the way you planned, just be rest assured, that I am your..."

"Oh, can it, you Tony Robbins wannabe!" Viridi snapped on Akira, putting the kung fu fighter in his place, before turning her attention to Pit. "I'll go with you to the Star Records room, if and _only_ if you promise not to put me in harm's danger. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal accepted!" exclaimed Pit as he goofily shook Viridi's hand. Very awkward for a boyfriend to be shaking his girlfriend's hand, don't ya think? "We have no time to waste, let's go!" Pit grabbed the goddess of nature's hand, and ran out of the gardens, on the way to Star Records.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the bowling alley, Cloud had just scored a strike, and the threesome of Kirby, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff, as well as most of Team Mario and their supporters, cheered on for the blonde swordsman as he returned to his seat without saying a single word. That man just scored a strike, and he didn't even bother celebrating...such savagery cannot be contained by any means.

 **Cloud: Mario and the others wasted their time cheering for me...we all know were going to lose to the basketball team, it's pretty much inevitable. Not cynicism, just calling it as it is...**

Next up to bowl for Team USA was Coach, rocking his fancy bowling shoes. He grabbed a bowling ball and rolled it down the lane, knocking down all the pins and scoring a strike. His players went absolutely bonkers, screaming and hollering at the top of their lungs and doing other silly stuff; you'd think they only do that when someone pulls off a 360 windmill dunk or something.

"Even at my old age, I still got it!" Coach smiled to himself as he returned to his seat. Next up to bowl for Team Mario was Mr. Game & Watch, who was added to the team to even up the score with Coach. He grabbed a bowling ball, exhaled for a little bit, and rolled the ball down the lane.

Only problem was, Mr. Game and Watch rolled the ball very slowly, due to his choppy and sluggish movement, and the ball consequently rolled slowly down the lane...veering left into the gutter and rolling all the way down to the lane. Team Mario and company were left in shock as Team USA applauded the 2-D man for messing up his team's chances at a win.

"This can't-a be good at all..." Mario shook his head in dismay. One more bad move, and it may be all over for Team Mario.

* * *

"Sorry, kiddos, but quite frankly I don't have any suggestions for dinner," Doc Louis said to Pit and Viridi, while his protege Little Mac quietly trained in the corner of the Star Records room punching away on a poor Sandbag. "Normally I would suggest chocolate, but no one ever really eats chocolate for dinner, so..."

"It's fine, Doc Louis, Viridi and I will try and think of something soon," Pit assured the boxing trainer as he and lover walked towards the door to the room. "And here I thought you would at least be somewhat helpful..."

"What you say son?!" Doc Louis angrily tore off his classic red-sleeved shirt, revealing his not-so-classic leopard shirt underneath. "You think I'm not that helpful?! Then how do you explain my progress with Little Mac, if that's not help, then what is?!" Pit got scared real quick, and grabbed Viridi and shielded her in front of him, using the goddess as a living shield.

"Pit I thought you promised me you wouldn't make me a punching bag for Doc Louis!" Viridi cried out to Pit, who is presumably wetting himself at this very moment.

"Promises are made to be broken!" was the angel's excuse. Little Mac had to stop his training the moment Doc Louis ripped off his shirt, and he had to restrain his easily angered mentor.

 **Pit: Do I feel any regret for breaking my promise with Viridi? Nah, not really...I have broken a bunch of other promises in the past that I've never even known about.**

"Chill out Doc, Pit didn't inherently mean it!" Little Mac told Doc Louis as he dragged his trainer away from Pit, taking him to a chair and sitting him down in it. Doc Louis took a quick breather once he sat down, and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "You really need to control your anger Doc, it's not good for your health..."

"May I have your attention everyone?" Olimar barged inside the Star Records room, holding dirt in his hand and grabbing everyone's attention. Did he come all the way up here just to find dirt, what's the fun in that?! "So Akira ordered me and my Pikmin to dig a hole in the garden to make room for some of the flowers and whatnot, and as the Pikmin were digging...they found these!" Olimar held up the dirt, which revealed coupons to a barbecue restaurant downtown - many of which were up to fifty percent off!

"Coupons buried in the mansion's gardens?" Doc Louis raised an eyebrow. "How did those coupons end up in the gardens of all places?" Not even Nostradamus could answer this very question.

"Beats me; my only guess is that Yuffie may be responsible for this. I'm afraid she has a hankering for coupons, in addition to food stamps..."

"Who cares, I already know what we're having for dinner!" Pit gently put Viridi down and grabbed the coupons from Olimar. "I'll go down to the Pokemon sanctuary, and have the water and flying type Pokemon make these coupons good as new! And while I'm down there, I'll clean up the entire sanctuary, like Red was supposed to."

"Alright then. I shall notify Master Hand about our dinner plans while you're doing that. I'll also call Mario and the others, and notify them as well."

* * *

It was now do-or-die time for Team Mario. The last bowler from Team USA, Hyland, missed all of his tries, seeing the bowling ball go down the gutter in Team USA's last attempt. (An insult to injury, especially since Hyland is also terrible at making free throws in basketball, it's the weakest point of his game.) That meant it was now up ot Link, the destined savior of Team Mario, to score a strike and give his team a win. He grabbed a bowling ball, let out a deep breath, and walked up to the lane, preparing his mind.

All of a sudden, Coach collapsed to the floor, leaving everyone but Link (too concentrated to pay attention) in utter shock. Everyone was fretting as Rosalina and the Flying Man came to Coach's aid, with Coach's players looking on with much worry.

"Someone bring over a medic, quickly!" ordered Rosalina; two medics came over to the scene to check on Coach. During this time of peril, Link, who blocked out all sounds and distractions, rolled the bowling ball down the lane with grace, and precision, and other things that make something mundane as rolling a bowling ball great, and the ball traveled down the lane...

...until it reached the bowling pins, knocking them all down. The word "WINNER" flashed on the scoreboard above, next to Team Mario's name, indicating that they have secured victory. Link gleamed as he looked up at the scoreboard, and he turned around and was greeted by cheers of joy from the crowd...but they weren't cheering for Link. Instead, they were cheering for Coach, who was now fine again, joyful that he hasn't met his end yet. His players were joyful as well, showing displays of camaraderie with their coach.

 **Link: Unbelievable, simply unbelievable...I scored a strike, and led my team to victory...and yet everyone insists on cheering on for some old man?! Whatever happened to priorities these days, why does an old geezer get praise?!**

"Um, guys, we won the bowling match, I helped you guys win!" Link called out to Mario and company. "Do we even get a freaking trophy, what's the point of bowling when we don't get a trophy?!" Link's bickering was no use, Mario and company were too caught up in Coach's camaraderie. Only person that wasn't caught up was Zelda, who saw her boyfriend's frustrations from where she was standing.

"No need to get some angry Link, at least you won," Zelda walked towards Link, comforting her man. "You'll get the credit and respect you deserve one day." That day can't come soon enough for Link, can it?

"Hello, who is-a this?" Mario answered his cell phone after it rang, and the plumber went to another part of the bowling alley to get some peace and quiet. "Isabelle, is that-a you?...What's this about having-a barbecue for dinner?...Master Hand wants-a barbecue as well?...Okay, let me go tell the others..." Mario, ending his phone call without even telling Isabelle goodbye (what a jerk he is), returned to the bowling lanes to speak with his fellow brawlers. "Attention everyone; I just got off-a the phone with Isabelle; she said that we're-a having barbecue for-a dinner tonight!"

"Barbecue for dinner, huh?" Jamal smiled, stroking his chin. "Mind if we come over?"

* * *

So Mario invited the United States basketball team, as well as Luigi and Daisy, over to the mansion for dinner. There was certainly a lot going on - Coach bragging about his college basketball accomplishments, Wayne discussing video games with Pit, Link still complaining about the credit he deserves for winning, and all that good stuff.

Despite all that was going on, Mario suddenly noticed that Luigi was missing. The plumber got out of his seat, and headed outside, where he would find his brother sitting by himself at a lake.

"Barbecue will be gone-a sooner than you know it," Mario told Luigi, taking a seat next to his brother. He could tell that there's something on his twin brother's mind. "Something you wish to tell-a me bro?"

"No, nothing, nothing in-a particular," replied Luigi, looking away from Mario. But he knew that looking away will make him more suspicious, so he reverted his attention to his brother. "Would you be surprised-a if I tell you a secret?"

"That usually depends-a on the situation, but I'm-a all ears." What secret does Luigi possibly have?

"Would-a you be surprised if I told-a you Daisy...has been-a pregnant for at least-a two months?"

Mario didn't even say a word - he just looked at Luigi while making brief laughs, before going into hysterical laughter. Luigi hiding this bit of information from Mario and everyone else is one thing, but Luigi being a father - as well as Mario being an uncle - is an entirely different beast.

"Yo, Mario Bros, what are y'all doing back here?" Kyam approached the famous twin brothers, wondering where they were. Mario had to stifle his laughter. "Dinner's ain't the same without the both of y'all!"

Mario and Luigi then told Kyam about the Daisy situation, about the princess being pregnant and whatnot. Kyam was shocked, but not shocked to the point where he would erupt in laughter and laugh like an evil genius.

"Woah man, that's some pretty big stuff!" the basketball player remarked. And Luigi thought it would be a good idea to conceal it from everyone...and speaking of everyone... "Why don't we go tell the others, they gotta know as well!"

"I don't-a see why not..." Luigi shrugged as he nervously got up and followed Mario and Kyam back to the mansion.

To think, in a couple of months or so, the meek, fearful Luigi will be a full-fledged father...who would have ever imagined such a thing?


	37. Episode 37: Make-Believe

_Author's Note:_

 _Kirby 123, the guy who requested three Kirby characters to appear, also left this review behind:_

 _"Oh and maybe add meta knight's enemies like galacta knight or dark meta knight?"_

 _I'm honestly not so sure about that - including Magalor, Marx, and Zero in this chapter was awfully hard work (as well as making Kirby look OP), but I got the hang of it. One more guest review to answer:_

 _"Can you do a chapter about sonic and bowser or one with sonic and dedede"_

 _Why not do a chapter with Sonic and both villains? Bowser and King Dedede don't really have much direction currently as of right now - we have yet to see Bowser return to his pranking glory, and King Dedede...well, he's just hanging around. I'll see what I can do._

* * *

 **Episode 37: Make-Believe**

Following less than two weeks of grueling community service, which involved cleaning up parks and all that good stuff, Wario made a defiant return to the Smash Mansion. He had to serve hours upon hours of community service after a judge ordered him to such a punishment for crimes that cannot be mentioned by any means - it was "not safe for work", as Isabelle had put it.

And now, the greedy fatso is making his glorious return to the great Smash Mansion, and he plans to do it in style. He made his way to the gaming room, perhaps the most frequented room of the mansion by far, and once he was inside, he lifted his arms to the heavens and belted out the following at the top of his lungs...

"I'm baaaaack!" he exclaimed; the brawlers in the gaming room glanced at Wario for a moment or two before resuming their usual activities. This left Wario scratching his head, wondering what was going on; did he not use that much enthusiasm, did he come at a very unconvenient time? "What gives, why aren't any of you paying attention to me?"

"Because not a single soul here likes you," replied Proto Man, reading a book. "Quite frankly, nobody cared that you were ever gone, your time away was a blessing in disguise, to be honest."

"Do you all feel the same way?" Wario asked everyone else in the gaming room - to his dismay, they all nodded their heads in agreement with Proto Man.

 **Wario: I thought I was one of the more revered and well-respected brawlers in this mansion! I mean, just look at me - I'm filthy rich, I have my own corporation, I ride a sweet motorcycle, my mustache is arguably better than Mario's, and I can be a pretty funny guy from time to time! What's not there to like about me?**

"What's up Wario, glad to see you back at the mansion!" Sonic entered the gaming room, greeting the fatso. A majority of the brawlers glanced at one another, wondering what possibly convinced Sonic to speak with Wario. "So how was community service, was it fun picking up trash and cleaning out water fountains in the park?"

"It got extremely tedious at times...but the bottom line is, I've served my time and hopefully I won't have to go back there again," replied Wario, gleeful that there was someone willing to engage in a genuine conversation with him. "Did anything interesting happened while I was away?"

"Let's see..." Sonic stroked his chin, recalling the mansion's many past events. "Villager found a rare Ken Griffey Jr. card in the backyard...King K. Rool...lost close to twenty pounds...Dark Pit got dunked on by Ike in the hallway...eh, not that much happened." So Link leading Team Mario to victory over the United States men's basketball team in a game of bowling wasn't interesting? Did it have to transpire at the mansion for it to count?

"Figures, hardly anything exciting happens here these days, ever since that Dimentio creep appeared, everything has been mundane for the most part...how is Lady Palutena treating herself?"

"She's doing just fine..." Sonic looked around, wondering why Wario even bothered to ask this question, until something popped in the hedgehog's mind. "Why are you asking about her for, do you like her?" Sonic was now smiling cleverly, attempting to pry a response out of a now nervous Wario.

"What, can an honest man ask about the well-being of a fellow brawler these days?" was the fatso's response. Sweat was now pouring down his face, as those in the gaming room were watching attentively, waiting for Wario's next move.

"Not unless that honest man harbors a crush on that brawler..." What Sonic was about to do next was a slight microcosm of his jerkbag ways. "WARIO LIKES PALUTENA YOU GUYS!" the hedgehog would shout to everyone in the gaming room. What do these individuals have to say about this?

"Get out of your mind Sonic, no woman regardless of her looks would want to be seen with that fiend," Marth had to say about the hedgehog's outburst. Wario frowned and folded his arms at the hero-king's crude remark; he's more than just a fiend, he's a rich fiend! "His ugliness will prevent him for ever finding love, especially from a teenager in high school..."

 **Marth: Still in disbelief that at one point, Wario was romantically linked with a girl named Mona - and she's in high school, high school I tell you! What's worse is that she practically looks up to Wario, what's there to adore about a man who once offered to pay Alph to brush his teeth for him, that's one of the most basic things a human can possibly do!**

 **Diddy Kong: A girl in high school used to like Wario? Isn't she a bit too young to be a gold digger? *pauses* Then again, that Aaliyah singer was a gold digger herself, at the age of _fifteen_ nonetheless...though that was more of R. Kelly's fault than anything.**

"I'm sorry Wario, but I gotta side with Marth on this one," said Yoshi, complying with Marth. "Your personality traits and quirks don't do you any favors either, aside from your...grotesque looks." Wario doesn't mind being called grotesque, he's taken worse insults about his looks.

"Wario will die a calm, peaceful death by himself and nobody will bother to attend his funeral," Mewtwo had this to say about Wario. Wow Mewtwo, that's pretty harsh...a definite low blow right there.

"Seems to me like we got ourselves a couple of haters..." said Wario, trying to sound like WWE superstar Enzo Amore. Though nobody will come close to sounding like Enzo Amore, and you can't teach that. "Screw all of you guys, I'm outta here..." Wario exited the gaming room, and it didn't take the fatso that long until a certain hedgehog came up to him.

"Wario wait up for a second, it won't be long!" Sonic chased after Wario, who came to a stop after his name was called out. "So you like Palutena, is that right? What if I guide you in starting a relationship with Palutena, teach you all the ins and outs of love?" This initially sounded enticing to Wario, though the intrigue went down when he considered whom he'll be receiving this guidance from.

"Like I would want to sixteen year old hedgehog to talk to me about love, give me a break! Thanks, but no thanks!"

"Yet you let a high schooler fawn over you and you were completely fine with the whole thing...so what's your point?" This left Wario pretty stumped, he had no other choice but to say yes to Sonic's offer.

"Okay then, teach me your ways! Teach me everything you know and more about love, and one day I can be loving Palutena, and she can love me back!"

* * *

After telling the entire mansion that his wife Daisy was pregnant (and for two months no less, Luigi could told everyone sooner, but he chose not to, goes on to show you how much of a coward he his, though Daisy is at fault for not telling Luigi when the pregnancy test first came in, but Luigi's a frail, sensitive dude so you can't really blame her, also what's with all these complete thoughts going on?), Luigi is now getting all sorts of help from his fellow brawlers on the road to fatherhood, and his faithful twin brother Mario was doing everything he could to lend a helping hand, because that's what great brothers do.

"You know, when you said you would be a huge help to Luigi, I thought you would go the extra mile more than anyone else, but this is way too underwhelming," Yuffie (still on house arrest, mind you) said to Mario...who was painting the nursery room green. Because no loving parents can't nurture their child in a nursery room that's devoid of color on the walls.

 **Luigi: Unlike-a my wedding planning, which saw one-a person helping me throughout-a the way and oppressing everyone-a else from pitching in, everybody is more than-a willing to help me and-a Daisy out, and I feel-a so grateful for all they've-a been doing for us. Pac-Man tells me about-a what every great father should-a do, Wii Fit Trainer nurses-a Daisy whenever she has-a her dizzy spells, and Fox and-a Falco, well...**

"Push, push with all your might!" Fox, wearing a doctor outfit, told Falco, who was lying on Luigi's bed in the plumber's room, with a blanket over his lower body trying to "give birth" while making sounds a woman going into labor would in this given situation. Luigi was forced by the Star Fox pilots to watch this, for it is a lesson in pregnancy that is apparently "crucial" for the plumber.

"Do I really have-a to watch this, I've got more-a important things to do..." said Luigi, feeling uncomfortable as he watched Falco on his bed push with all he's got, with a giant lump on the blanket to boot. The song "Push It to the Limit", sung by Corbin Bleu and playing in the background from Falco's cellphone, made this experience for Luigi all the more cringeworthy, even more so due to the fact that the song has NOTHING to do with pregnancy, especially the chorus part.

"No Luigi, this is for your benefit!" stated Fox. "What if the doctors presiding over Daisy giving birth are suddenly revealed to be super incompetent, and you need to take matters into your own hands? This is what this lesson is for, it's for you to put on that Superman cape, and step up for the challenge when it matters the most!"

"Someone get a tissue or a cloth or something!" Falco barked out, the imaginary sweat running down his face; Fox grabbed Luigi's handkerchief and rubbed it all over Falco's face, to the chagrin of the green plumber. "Thanks, man." Fox placed the handkerchief back where it was before Falco went back to pushing and making groans and the usual stuff.

Finally the cringe fest for Luigi was over, and after all the time of pushing and groaning and sobbing that produced no tears whatsoever, Falco finally gave "birth"...to a Smoochum? Fox gently took the kiss Pokemon from underneath the blanket when it was all said and done, and Luigi was understandably confused and distraught at the same time.

"Of all the things-a you could have chosen, and it had-a to be a SMOOCHUM?!" questioned Luigi. If he wasn't so greatly concerned with Fox and Falco before, he definitely is now.

"Smoochum is a baby Pokemon, and is also human-like as well, so it makes sense," Fox defended his and Falco's choice of using a Smoochum. "Also, Smoochum is a 'she', and not an 'it'. Quit being so insensitive to Pokemon, they have feelings too!"

Fox and Falco headed downstairs to the living room, where Ashley, Roy, Takamaru, Shulk, Fiora, and Lucario were working on an announcement chalkboard sign with March 2017, the expected arrival month for Luigi's and Daisy's baby, written on it, along with some preppy phrase and vibrant colors on it. Once he had everyone's attention, Fox lifted up Smoochum in the air like Rafiki from _The Lion King,_ holding the Pokemon in the air for everyone to see, while "The Circle of Life" played in the background, out of Falco's cellphone. Nothing but blank stares and confused expressions were written on the faces of those working on the chalkboard sign.

 **Ashley: Heard Falco make some rather pain-inducing sounds upstairs while I was working on the chalkboard sign. I was going upstairs to investigate and see what was going on, but I decided against doing so...and now I see that I hardly regret my decision at all.**

"Guys is this-a really necessary, you're making a huge-a scene out of nothing," Luigi said to Fox and Falco once he came down the steps. Suddenly Falco fell to the floor in imaginary pain, clutching his stomach. "Oh, great, what is it-a now?"

"I think I'm going into labor again, my stomach burns!" yelped Falco, huffing and puffing to make the scene look more authentic than it should. Gotta commend Falco for the great acting job he's exhibiting. "The pain, it burns, it burns us!" Now he's sounding like Golem from the _Lord of the Rings..._ maybe he's taking this acting thing a bit too far...

"Well, aren't you-a going to 'doctor' Falco?" Luigi asked Fox, who slowly backed away from Falco. "Why are-a you backing away?"

"Dude I already had my chance, now it's your turn; time to put what you have learned into work!" responded Fox. As if Luigi actually learned anything from his "lesson"... "What if you're at home, and Daisy goes into labor, and you can't get her to the hospital in time? This is what this current scenario is for!"

"I can get-a to the hospital in plenty of-a time, it's not-a that far from..." Luigi stopped, for he knew that arguing with Fox with Falco screaming uncontrollably would be a very unwise thing to do. "...never mind." So the plumber knelt down at Falco's side, and treated the avian pilot who's apparently "going into labor", doing every little step a regular doctor would when presiding over a woman giving birth to a child. The chalkboard sign workers watched this unfold with pained looks on their faces, for they felt the cringe and uncomfortable nature Luigi was subjected to the first time around.

"What a wonderful time of shopping we had together, we should definitely go out shopping again!" Peach happily conversed with Daisy as the two princesses entered Luigi's home, carrying shopping bags in their hands, when they stepped inside the living room and saw Luigi tending to Falco. One glance of Falco with a blanket over his lower body and a giant lump in said blanket was enough for the Peach and Daisy to drop their things and depart from the house, trying to forget what they had seen.

Falco's "pregnancy", part 2, ended when Falco "gave birth" to yet another Pokemon - this one being Magby. Luigi held the live coal Pokemon in bewilderment as Falco sprung up from the floor like nothing happened and played "You're the Best Around" by Joe Esposito from his cellphone, running around the house with his arms in the air and those working on the chalkboard sign giving the avian pilot concerned looks. Fox stood where he was, clapping for Falco.

"You know, you and your fox friend are one of the many reasons why I'm sometimes reluctant to come and visit you guys," Fiora said this to Falco as the pilot continued to run about, too busy "celebrating" to pay attention to the Homs.

 **Lucario: Wish we had video evidence of Falco giving birth to that Magby, as well as giving birth to Smoochum, so we can show Krystal what crazy, maniacal things Fox is doing with his best friend. Heck, she knows Falco as much as Fox does, so I bet she's probably worried sick about Fox's frame of mind whenever he and Falco are plotting stuff together. Falco is that kind of friend that would help you rob a bank or two, and then run away and let you get arrested and sent to jail while he's on the run, basking in all the credit. I think we've all had that kind of friend before once in our lives.**

"Can some-a one tell me what's-a going on, what is up with-a all that commotion?" Mario exited the nursery room and popped up in the living room, after hearing the music playing and Fox's applause from where he was. Falco stopped in his tracks when he saw Mario, glaring at him as he ran near him, and Fox stopped clapping at right about the same moment Falco stopped. "Not a single word-a from the both of you, follow me..." Fox and Falco did as they were told, following Mario back to the nursery room. Looks like they're on timeout...but what grown man puts two other grown men on timeout?

* * *

"Flashlight, check...water canisters, check...insect repellent, check...first-aid kit, check..." Lucina was going over a list of hiking materials in her room, and Chrom was packing up hiking equipment in his backpack. It's his first time using a backpack, but fortunately for him, it's a pretty easy object to use. "Looks like we got everything that we need..."

"We will be needing these, for comfort," Robin entered the room, carrying three pairs of hiking shoes and dropping them on the floor. In case you couldn't tell, Lucina and Chrom are going out hiking, as a part of their "father-daughter bonding", and for some reason, Robin wants to tag along with them. Perhaps he's trying to get closer to Lucina? "The terrain we'll be walking on will be very rocky and bumpy, and these shoes will negate any problems we may have."

"Thanks for the shoes Robin - I doubt Lucina and I can rock these shoes to perfection, but we'll make the most of it," Chrom said to Robin, who simply flashed a smile.

 **Chrom: So Lucina and I are going out on a hiking trip - to see what Seattle has to offer, aside from the usual forest, parks, and rabid Seattle Seahawks fans we've grown accustomed to. Never seen so many sports fans that dedicated to one lousy sports team...  
Lucina: Master Hand rarely lets us outside the mansion for such activities; the only time he lets us out to roam unknown places is if we're doing "missionary work". To this day I still don't know what he exactly means by that.  
Chrom: I believe this "missionary work" is an umbrella term for recruiting certain individuals to join _Super Smash Bros_ and participate in the Smash tournaments. Once he delegated Olimar to complete this "missionary work" that he speaks of, and now poor Olimar has a restraining order from Cammy from _Street Fighter..._ which means he can't enter Britain ever again.**

Peeking through the doorway of the room was Link, who was hiding, though not stealthily - if you walked by you could easily see him perched near the door. And that's how Cloud found his best friend, sitting on the floor and watching Lucina and Robin closely and attentively.

"Spying on your fellow brawlers, huh?" Cloud grinned at Link, catching the Hylian off-guard when he heard his voice. "I have to admit Link, that's pretty low even for your own standards."

"Whoever said I was spying, I'm just...observing, that's all," Link defended himself before he returned to "observing" Lucina and Robin. Cloud noticed that Link was stroking his chin thoughtfully...he's definitely observing alright.

"Observing is the same thing as spying, if you ask me. Why are you so intrigued in Lucina - is she your side chick or something?" Understandably, this question got Link all fired up.

"Ew, no, I never liked Lucina, ever!" The way Link responded, it made it seem like to Cloud that the Hylian thinks of Lucina as unattractive, when plenty of male _Smash_ fans tend to think otherwise. "...What I'm trying to say is, I'm not interested in Lucina. I'm just watching her and Robin's interactions, that's all."

"You're watching how Lucina and Robin interact together? Bet it's because they're a presumed couple and they're practically meant for each other, isn't it? Sounds like something a jealous boyfriend would do, watching other romantic couples mingle and stuff. Sure you aren't jealous?"

At this point, Link was fed up with Cloud's constant questioning. Cloud has never asked this many questions before - Larry King must have put him up to it.

"No, I'm not jealous, nor am I envious," stated Link. "I'm just...a bit intrigued, it's hard to explain." And Cloud still wasn't convinced.

"Gotta wonder what Zelda would think of this..." Cloud shook his head as he walked away. Once the blonde swordsman was out of sight, Link resumed his spying, or "observing", as he calls it.

* * *

"Thanks for inviting me over for your tea party, you guys are the best!" Daisy said to Peach and Zelda, who were having another one of their tea parties - this time inviting Daisy over to join them. "I really needed this little get-together, to forget what Fox and Falco were putting my husband through..."

 **Zelda: Peach and Daisy told me that Falco was trying to "give birth", likely as a way to teach Luigi about what to do when Daisy goes into labor. That's about all I have to say about this matter.**

"Care for some more tea?" Zelda asked Daisy, carrying the tea kettle in her hands; the princess of Sarasaland happily nodded and Zelda poured some tea into her cup. "We should really invite you to our tea parties more often, Daisy, you're arguably one of the better guests we've had...at least you won't release any toxic fumes out of your exterior like Pit and Wario tend to do, those childish fiends..."

The princesses' tea party continued peacefully, with no Bowser to distract them or Doc Louis to smite them for not having any chocolate whatsoever, when all of a sudden something happened to Daisy. The flower-obsessed tomboy began to hold her head, feeling very light-headed. Peach, the ever attentive one, noticed this real quick.

"Daisy is there anything wrong?" the Mushroom Kingdom asked Daisy, who was moaning as she grew even more light-headed. "Tell us what the problem is immediately, we can't bare to see you like this!"

"She must be feeling extremely dizzy!" panicked Zelda. Dizziness is a symptom most pregnant women face during their ninth week of pregnancy, and now Daisy is understanding what it's like to be carrying the burden of giving birth. "We have to get her to a bed, and fast!"

* * *

"Pika pika!" Pikachu chirped (not a bird chirp obviously, the type of chirp you'd make when uttering a high-pitched sound) as he happily rustled through flowers in a vase, placed on a chimney in the living room. Yes, the mansion has a chimney, the more you know.

"Stupid mouse, get away from those flowers, Meryl gave them to me and I can't have vermin like you sniffing those flowers!" Snake angrily ran towards Pikachu, scaring the mouse Pokemon away and making him jump down from the chimney. "Meryl had bought these flowers for me...and not that Johnny Sasaki jerk." In case you didn't know already, Snake has ill will towards Mr. Sasaki for marrying his romantic interest, Meryl Silverburgh, and the former spy has been feeling bitter about it to this very day.

"Pika pi, pika?" Pikachu, lying on the floor, looked up at Snake with his puppy eyes. Snake tries to resist the allure of the puppy eyes look, but as proven time and time again, trying to look away is absolutely futile, giving in is your only option.

"D'oh, I can't stay mad at you forever...sorry for unleashing my anger upon you," Snake knelt down and scratched Pikachu's forehead, making the mouse Pokemon smile.

 **Snake: *face in his hands* Can't believe I fell for the classic puppy eyes look trick, I'm such an idiot...why can't my accelerated age mechanism make me the tough guy that I'm supposed to be?**

 **Pikachu: Pika pika pika... *rubs his paws evilly***

"Let me tell you something about age, 'cause you're gonna be facing what I'm facing...only without the accelerated age crap," Snake said to Pikachu, taking a seat on a sofa next to the chimney. Yes, the living room has a sofa, you learn something new every day, don't you? "When you get old, you tend to forget things, sometimes more than you remember. However, there's only one thing - or person - that I'll never forget, and her name is Meryl Silverburgh." Hoo boy, is he going on a mini-rant about what could have been regarding him and Meryl? Why would Pikachu care at all for that? "Even though I'm fastly approaching senior citizen status (if I haven't approached it already), I'll never forget Meryl, and the fun times we would have together." Pikachu eyed the room, wanting to know why Snake is even telling him this. "I remember she gave me a picture of me and her together, at Shadow Moses Island...I've been looking all over for it, but it's nowhere to be found. Perhaps I should resume my search today, it's not like I have anything else better to do..."

Snake looked outside one of the living room windows, and was amazed to see a blue Galleon ship soaring in the sky to an unknown destination. But this was no ordinary Galleon ship - after all, what kind of ship floats in the sky, with no water to propel it?

"A ship in the sky?" Snake raised an eyebrow. "Too early for that stuff, that usually happens in November...either Seattle is a weird place, or I'm just having delusions. No matter, that's not important now. What is important is getting that picture..."

* * *

Peach and Zelda escorted a terribly dizzy Daisy to Peach's room, and laid her in Peach's bed to get some rest. The princesses, as well as Palutena and Aerith, remained in the room, with the latter two women checking on the princess of Sarasaland.

"These dizzy spells are definitely due to the pregnancy," stated Palutena as she observed Daisy, who had her eyes closed at the moment. "I'm afraid Daisy will experience more symptoms as the pregnancy wears on...Also, where is Pit, I told him him retrieve Luigi! What is taking him so long?"

"He's taking an awfully long time, he should have been back right about now," said Aerith, looking out the open door. "Unless he came across any distractions..."

"Lady Palutena I'm finally here!" Pit entered the room, bringing Luigi - who was carried by the arm - with him. The angel had paint all over his face and toga, and it made the ladies concerned about what mess Pit had gotten himself into. "Sorry I got here so late, while I was looking for Luigi at his home, I ran into a few paint cans here and there, and since these paint cans were placed at inconvenient places..."

"Those-a cans were lined up against-a the wall, you're the one-a who was running frantically around-a my house looking for me..." clarified Luigi. Pit giggled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. That grin isn't going to save you from the scolding Palutena and the other ladies are giving you, Pit.

 **Pit: Getting myself splattered in paint was an ulterior motive...I wanted to be like one of the Inklings, to be soaked in paint - I wanted to know how they handle being covered in paint without losing their mind. I haven't lost my mind...at least not yet. Maybe I did it wrong...**

"We noticed something was wrong with Daisy while we were having our tea party," Zelda told Luigi as the plumber headed over to the bed to check on his loving wife. "She's suffering from dizzy spells, and by the looks of it, they're pretty bad ones as well."

"Dizzy spells from out of nowhere, that can't be good!" Pit had this to say. Luigi and the ladies looked at one another, figuring out which unfortunate soul would have to break the news to Pit and tell him that the dizzy spell is due to Daisy's pregnancy. Pit isn't exactly the brightest angel, so telling him the information and expecting him to intake it without asking pointless questions might take longer than expected.

"Daisy didn't get the dizzy spells out of nowhere Pit, it's her pregnancy that gave her the dizzy spells to begin with," Peach happily explained for Pit, but he didn't understand, as evidenced by the confused look on his face.

"Ugh, you people are so gullible; Daisy isn't pregnant, and was never pregnant to begin with, and if she was, then why isn't her stomach big?" Does Pit not know that a pregnant woman's stomach starts off small, then grows bigger and bigger as time goes on? Biology is obviously one of the angel's many lacks of expertise...

"...Pit, would you be a dear, and stay with Luigi and Daisy?" asked Palutena. The goddess of light would put Pit on blast for failing to understand the basic factoids of pregnancy, but she'll put it on hold...for now. "They'll need all the company they can get..."

"I'll stay with them as well, I can be a nurse of sorts," elected Aerith. The flower girl offers no form of medical assistance whatsoever, but she can certainly offer encouragement and soothing and moral guidance, if moral guidance is even needed.

"Well then, we'll just leave you all be," Zelda said as she, Peach, and Palutena departed from the room. "If you ever need anything, you know who to call." Once the three exited the room, Pit instantly asked the following question...

"Has King K. Rool been pregnant this whole time, what with his gigantic belly and all?" the angel had the gall and the audacity to ask this question, and on a slightly serious note nonetheless. Luigi facepalmed, and Aerith sported a faint smile, both having some sympathy for Pit. Must be illegal to be dumb like him...

 **Palutena: Pit staying over with Luigi and Daisy is only for the greater good. My hope is that Luigi and Daisy can at least educate Pit, and teach him that pregnancy is more than just carrying a fetus in your belly and having to eat certain foods...and also remind him that it's only WOMEN who can become impregnated.**

Daisy, whose eyes were closed for the longest now, suddenly opened her eyes, surprising Luigi, Aerith, and Pit. The princess looked around, analyzing her surroundings.

"Wh-where am I, how did I get here?" Daisy asked Luigi, Aerith, and Pit, who were looking at the princess with their mouths agape. Luigi and Aerith dropped their facial expressions in a quick second, but Pit didn't - his brain processing must not be that strong. "Why am I even here in the first place?"

"You were-a having dizzy spells, sweetie, but it appears that-a you've been cured," explained Luigi, resting his loving hand on his wife. "You look-a much better now, but we must keep-a you in the bed, for the time-a being. It's only for-a the best..."

"Why don't we tell a story, to keep your spirits lifted up?" suggested Aerith. Always great to have a sensible person like her around. "Don't you think that's a good idea, you guys?" the flower girl asked Luigi and Pit; Luigi nodded his head, and Pit...was still stuck with his mouth agape. Luigi had to nudge the angel to make him snap out of his little trance.

"Oh yeah, oh yeah, some storytelling would be nice!" Pit eagerly nodded his head. "Good thing is, I know the perfect storyteller! Stay right here, I'll be right back!" The angel ran out of the room, to retrieve this "perfect storyteller". Just who is he possibly referring to?

* * *

"Sign looks great outside the house!" Shulk smiled as he watched Mario implant the chalkboard sign of Daisy's pregnancy into the ground. "And it looks so colorful too, don't you think so Mario?"

"Indeed-a it does, you guys did a wonderful-a job with the sign!" the plumber agreed, just when he was finished implanting the sign. "Daisy would enjoy this-a sign very much! Wonder where she-a is, haven't seen her or-a Peach since they went-a out shopping..."

"Mario, Mario, we have a major crisis on our hands!" Takamaru ran outside Luigi's home to alert Mario. The samurai was all panicky and serious, but he might be over-exaggerating a bit. "It's Fox and Falco, they've gone insane!" Well, there's no over-exaggerating the Star Fox pilots' antics, and Mario understood that real quick when he looked at Takamaru in shock.

"Take-a me inside this instant!" ordered the plumber, and Takamaru led Mario back inside Luigi's home and to the nursery room, with Shulk following them to see what the hullabaloo was all about. Inside they saw the chalkboard sign workers huddled near the nursery room entrance, and when Takamaru took Mario and Shulk to the crowd, they both looked in horror when they saw Fox and Falco painting the room... _in neon colors._ Far from what Luigi envisioned.

 **Fox: As punishment for our antics with Luigi earlier, Mario delegated us to painting the nursery room, and he wanted us to paint it green, just the way Luigi wants it. However, Falco and I both felt that painting the room with one measly color is too mainstream.  
** **Falco: And, so the newborn baby won't have to be unnerved by a basic color like green, we're going to paint the nursery room with neon colors, so it will look lively. I mean, Mario _has_ to love that, right?**

"I HATE IT!" Mario screamed at the top of his lungs. "Hate it, hate it, HATE IT! Take it all-a down this instant!"

"Yeah we would...but the paint is permanent, so..." stated Fox. Mario inhaled and exhaled deeply, as the others did their best to console the plumber and keep his cool down. "Is it possible to paint over permanent paint?"

"Alright Mario, let's settle down for a bit, no need to go off on Fox and Falco..." Roy soothed Mario, but the plumber was still ticked as ever. He and the others seated Mario on the couch, where the plumber would hyperventilate less and less, until he was at peace.

"You think we can make it up to Mario if we paint the nursery room with neon red and green colors?" Fox asked Falco, after witnessing that rather brief episode from Mario.

"Only one way to find out..." replied Falco, picking up a paintbrush and two cans of neon-colored paint he and Fox had bought a while ago.

* * *

Pit had returned to Peach's room, and he brought with him the perfect storyteller - Viridi, who once charmed Pit with a few books she read, although the angel bothered not to listen. Viridi's duty is to read a storytale to Daisy, to keep the princess's spirits up.

The story the goddess of nature decided to read was "The Dragon and the Princess", a fairy tale written by some sap who thought such a fairy tale could keep his kids quiet at night. In order to "enhance", Viridi had Luigi and company dress up - Luigi wore a dragon suit, Aerith wore an elegant gown and a crown to look like a princess, and Pit wore some medieval clothing, and also carried a rifle. Would you trust Pit wielding a rifle in his hands? No sane person wouldn't.

"'Once upon a time there was a dragon who lived in a great castle high up on a mountain'," Viridi began the story. "'The dragon had lived there for thousands of years, but no one had seen him. In the village that was located just below the mountain, they talked much about what it might be like in the castle, but no one dared to visit it. The dragon had been in the village several hundred years before, but had been frightened by a...'"

"Viridi how long-a do I have to stay up-a here, I feel somewhat-a uncomfortable from his height!" said Luigi, perched atop a makeshift tower made of pillows. You'd think Luigi wouldn't be so afraid, given how much time he spends up in the skies fighting the forces of evil in Bowser's airship (most of the time).

 **Viridi: When Pit asked me if I would like to tell stories to Daisy, I just had to accept the offer - storytelling is one of my favorite hobbies! Good thing is, Pit didn't shake my hand this time, like he did last week, that felt so...so awkward beyond words...**

"The tower is only temporary, you'll get used to it eventually," assured Viridi. "Continuing on with our story... 'the dragon had been frightened by a strange noise. It was a shepherd boy, who had blown his flute. The dragon had never heard music before, and he thought it was terrible...One day, when the dragon was sitting in his castle, looking down at the village, he saw a beautiful girl with a crown on her head. He fell madly in love with her and thought that he would like to marry her. He did not know, of course, where she lived. But I'll have to look for her, he thought. But how would he dare to go down to the village? What if the terrible sound came again, that thing the people called music? He gathered courage for several days. Finally he went down.'" Luigi got down from the tower of pillows, feeling relieved. "'When he reached the village, he went into the woods, but she was nowhere to be found.'" Aerith is now hiding in the closet. "'Suddenly he saw a boy coming along. He carried a rifle. It was Peter, who was out in the woods hunting'." Pit walked towards Luigi, holding his rifle. "lWhen Peter saw the dragon, he was both surprised and scared. The dragon stopped and asked where the nice girl with the crown lived.'"

"Do you know-a where that nice-a girl with the crown lives?" Luigi asked Pit; the angel did not answer, for he was legitimately confused.

"Pit, did you seriously forget your lines?" questioned Daisy, fearful that the angel might ruin storytime with his incompetence.

"No I didn't forget my lines, what do you think I am?" responded Pit. "I'm just trying to figure out who this 'nice girl' is supposed to be, when we already have a female character in the princess." Viridi shook her head in dismay at Pit, baffled by her boyfriend's stupidity. Putting up with him is like a daily tolerance lesson.

"The nice girl is the princess," Aerith whispered to Pit from the closet. Pit nodded his head in realization, and soon the story picked up from where it left off.

"You're looking for the nice girl?" Pit asked Luigi, resuming the story. "She lives in a castle, in case you were wondering."

"'Then Peter rushed home and told everyone he met about the dragon, but no one believed him, for the villagers all told him that he was dreaming,'" Viridi read on. "One day the princess was gone. They looked everywhere throughout the spacious garden where she was picking flowers. Everyone in the castle looked for her, but she was nowhere to be found. The king's servant rode down to the village and put up a large poster saying that the princess was gone. The king promised a large reward to anyone who found the princess."

"Ooh, how much is the reward?" Pit excitedly rubbed his hands. There he goes again, interrupting the story...

"That doesn't matter right now. Anyway... 'When Peter read the poster, he came to think of the dragon, who had asked for the princess. What if it was the dragon who had abducted her! Peter wanted to go as fast as possible to the castle, because it was there the dragon had disappeared, but when he thought about it, he thought it was better to wait until it got dark. After dark Peter sneaked up to the castle, but when he came near, he saw that the dragon was awake and sitting on the steps and looking at the moon. Suddenly there was a terrible noise. Someone knocked on the window and shouted..."

Viridi stopped when Gil opened the door to the room and saw the goddess of nature reading from the storybook, seated next to Daisy. He then saw Luigi and Pit in their costumes, and felt very dismayed.

"I see how it is..." the knight grumbled as he slammed the door and walked away bitterly. Someone sure is salty today...

 **Gil: They have the best storyteller in the mansion, and they don't bother asking me to tell a story...instead they ask Viridi, Little Miss Cactus. What story does she possibly know, Twilight?! Harry Potter?! Hunger Games?! By the looks of it, I bet that's her first time reading a fairy tale, ever! *grumpily folds his arms***

After Gil's brief interruption, the story went on as planned, Pit found Aerith in the dungeon, Pit used "sleeping pills" (jelly beans) on Luigi to put him to "sleep", and Pit saved Aerith from this make-believe dungeon, and then everyone lived happy ever after, the end, you know the drill. All and all, Daisy enjoyed the story, as evidenced by her clapping.

"May I hear another story, pretty please?" the princess asked Viridi; the goddess of nature eagerly nodded, and flipped through the pages of the storybook she was reading from, in search for another story to read.

* * *

The threesome of Lucina, Chrom, and Robin were all set to go on their hiking expenditure, as the three stood in the foyer with all their materials ready. Link stood from a far distance, watching Lucina and Robin, and the Hylian wasn't alone this time...

"Sorry Link, but if you keep spying on Lucina and Robin, then I'm gonna lose a ton of respect for you," Cloud said to Link, the blonde swordsman forced to tag along with the hero of Hyrule. Someone has some amount of respect for Link? Well there's a first for everything...

"Only reason I'm bringing you along is as a fall guy; should we run into trouble, I'll make a run for it and you'll handle everything else," explained Link. "You're more capable than I am, after all." There's no denying that - they don't call Cloud one of the strongest fighters in Super Smash Bros for nothing!

"Poyo poyo poyo!" Kirby approached Link and Cloud, and it appears that the pink puffball wants to join them. But it's hard to determine what Kirby wants, since he literally said "poyo" three times. He could either be cursing out the two swordsmen, or nonchalantly telling them Dream Land gangster lingo., or some other reason. Like the center of a Toostie Roll pop, the world may never know.

"See, even Kirby wants to come along with us!" Link said to Cloud, still unconvinced. Lucina, Chrom, and Robin exited the mansion, taking their hiking stuff with them. "They're out of the mansion, time to make our move!" Link grabbed Cloud's hand and ran out of the front door, and Kirby ran after the two swordsmen. That puffball has no prior knowledge of Link's so-called "observing", why is he tagging along? The reason may be revealed eventually...

* * *

The next story Viridi was yet another fairy tale, "The Dog and the Sparrow", and it was written by the Brothers Grimm, two awesome German writers who evidently preferred being called the Brothers Grimm, instead of the Grimm Brothers. To each their own!

 **Luigi: "The Dog and the Sparrow" will-a mostly involve Pit having to speak-a for the Duck Hunt Dog, and as for-a me, I'll have-a to wear a bird-a suit. It won't-a be pretty, but I'm sure-a Daisy will enjoy it.**

"'The dog lay down in the middle of the road, and was soon fast asleep,'" Viridi read. "'While he was sleeping a carter passed by, driving a wagon drawn by three horses, and laden with two barrels of wine." Bowser Jr., who was brought over to serve as the carter, walked by the Duck Hunt Dog, fake sleeping on the floor, with a toy wagon.

"Will I get paid for doing this, is there any reward or benefit from pushing a stinking wagon?" Bowser Jr. stopped momentarily to ask Viridi this.

"For the last time, you're not getting paid, now quit interrupting the story and push that wagon!" Viridi angrily responded, clearly fed up with Bowser Jr.'s foolishness. The young koopa grumbled as he went back to pushing the wagon. "'The sparrow noticed that the man was not going out of his way to avoid the dog, but was driving right in the middle of the road where the poor animal lay; so he called out...'"

"Carter, take care what you are about, or I shall make you suffer for it!" Luigi, wearing his bird suit, called out to Bowser Jr.

"'But the carter merely laughed at his words...'" After Viridi said this, Bowser Jr. bellowed a thoroughly evil laugh, an evil laugh Bowser would be proud of while wiping away a tear. "'...and, cracking his whip, he drove his wagon right over the dog, so that the heavy wheels killed him.'" Bowser Jr. rolled his wagon over the Duck Hunt Dog, and the mutt played dead on the floor. All that experience of playing dead on the floor has been put to great use. "'Then the sparrow called out...'"

"'You have caused my brother's death, and your cruelty will cost you your wagon and horses!'" Luigi defiantly said to Bowser Jr. He ran up to the koopa and beat him up - and no, it wasn't an actual beatdown, it was more of a playfight, a one-sided playfight that was in strong favor of Luigi. Pit and Aerith, both sitting on a stool they shared together, were amused by the "fight", and Daisy was amused as well, enjoying the more fun side of her loving husband.

"Stop it you two, that's not how the story is supposed to end!" Viridi stood up, bitter about the outcome. "The story is supposed to end with Aerith with a toy ax and..."

"...striking me in the head with it, I get it, I understood the story before we began," replied Bowser Jr., finishing for Viridi. "Calm your tits, Little Miss Cactus." Viridi gritted her teeth at the koopa's response - which do you think she's more angry about, having been told to calm her tits (or the lack thereof), or Bowser Jr. dubbing her Little Miss Cactus?

 **Bowser Jr.: Me and Luigi reviewed the story before we had to act it out, and we both agreed that the ending was too dark. So instead of having Aerith accidentally "killing" me, we've opted to do some playfighting, and Aerith was pretty chill with the decision we made. Though she's pretty chill with just about anything!**

"I don't think the ending was that bad, it was actually kinda funny," Daisy offered her opinion. She was looking much better than before. "I can go for one more story."

* * *

Sonic had brought Wario to the computer room, where the hedgehog will give the fatso a "lesson in love". And what exactly does this lesson involve? Watching romantic music videos, of course!

"Do we really have to watch a video, I don't have the attention span to be watching anything!" Wario grumbled as Sonic searched for "Down" by Jay Sean (what is that man up to these days?) on YouTube. "Please tell me we aren't watching a music video..."

"Well that's exactly what we're doing, it'll help you learn quicker!" stated Sonic, clicking on the video. "Now shut up and listen closely to the lyrics!"

 **Sonic: "Down" wasn't the first song I had in mind, I kept evaluating my options over time. One song choice I had in mind was by this R &B group Dru Hill, and it was called "Tell Me" - had the same theme as the song I ultimately picked. What struck me the most was the music video (watch it for yourself, you won't regret it) - the four members of the group where doing some kind of bunny hop dance, and snapping their fingers at the same time; that unique choreography would've be able to keep Wario's attention intact. I asked Ike, Marth, Corrin, and Roy to do the dance after I showed it to them, but they were too busy laughing at the video's entire choreography to give me a valid answer.**

"Ugh, you just _had_ to pick a lousy R&B song, what is wrong with you!" Wario grumbled as he folded his arms once the video played. Wait until he hears the Lil Wayne solo, let's see what he would have to say about that!

"R&B songs are mainly focused on love and romance, so I have no idea what you're talking about!" retorted Sonic, defending his song choice. "Now listen to the words of the song, for it will be your benefit!" Wario did his best to muster through the song, but after the Lil Wayne solo, the fatso couldn't take it anymore, and had to leave the room. "Wario, where are you going, you're gonna miss the rest of the song! Aw man, now you've missed the Birdman cameo! The Birdman cameo is what makes this music video so great!"

Wario stomped through the mansion, bitter about having his time wasted by a professional time-waster in Sonic, until he stopped in his tracks and saw Palutena standing in the hallway, looking down at the floor with a solemn face. The fatso suddenly recalled the music video Sonic had showed him - it was mainly about Jay Sean asking his girl if she was down. And by the looks of it, Palutena looked down as well. Sonic must have fully prepared Wario for this opportunity!

"Palutena why are you looking so down, did Pit drive you insane?" Wario asked the goddess of light as he came near her. "Trust me, I understand the pain you're going through, that boy Pit can be a major pain in the butt sometimes...and I mean that literally!" Wario rubbed his butt when he said this, rubbing the spot where Pit shot him at with an arrow. The pain still lingers to this day.

"No, Pit didn't drive me insane...not this time, that is," Palutena flashed a smile. "I'm just...concerned with Daisy, and how she's handling pregnancy. She had some dizzy spells earlier today, and I'm nervous about what other symptoms she'll face as the weeks pile on...I just want her to be fine and dandy, and all..."

"So what you're saying is, if Daisy feels one hundred percent, then you won't be all doom and gloom?" Wario stroked his chin when he said this; thankfully Palutena didn't notice this otherwise it would've been all over for the fatso.

"More or less, but there's more to that. I'm just about as concerned with...Wario?" Palutena suddenly noticed that the fatso was gone - likely about to go on another scheme. Only this time around, it has something to do with love...

"Great Wario, you're back, just in time!" Sonic gleamed when he saw Wario return to the computer room. "Thankfully I got the choreography down for the other music video, that "Tell Me" video, while you were away, and that bunny hope dance was...woah where are you taking me?!" Wario suddenly grabbed Sonic's hand, and ran out of the computer room.

"I know just the thing that will make Palutena happy!" Wario said to Sonic, walking down the hallway opposite from where Palutena was. "And you're coming with me!"

* * *

 **Luigi: The final-a story that will be-a read to Daisy is a bit-a of a classic - it's called Pinocchio. For what-a ever reason, Pit chose not to play-a as Pinocchio, saying that he-a has a "special surprise", which explains-a why I'm wearing this-a get-up... *shows off Pinocchio attire***

For this last story, someone was needed to play the part of Geppetto, a woodcarver who affectionately calls Pinocchio. Sounds creepy when you think long and had about it. Snake, who would have been more than perfect for the part due to his elderly looks, was busy searching for the missing photograph of him and Meryl Silverburgh, so Viridi had to improvise, so to speak...

"'Many years ago, there lived a poor man named Geppetto,'" read Viridi. "'He made puppets from pieces of wood. He called his favorite puppet Pinocchio.'" Luigi laid on the floor, his eyes open and his smile very much apparent. Seems evident the plumber has some experience of playing dead himself. So who is playing this Geppetto character?

"I would love to be a father to a real boy!" the Black Knight, who is apparently playing the part of Geppetto because of a strong lack of options, exclaimed with vigor and hardiness. Right after the Black Knight said his line...

 _"OH I WANNA BE A BOY!"_ Out of nowhere, the theme song for _Teacher's Pet,_ a show that aired on ABC before it had a featured filmed burdened with short running time, played from Pit's cellphone. Everyone looked at the angel questionably, and Pit could only smile sheepishly.

"Whoops, played it at the wrong time..." Pit giggled, but the looks didn't go away. "Sorry about that..." He's not that sorry, he probably thought it was funny the whole time. Yet he's the only person laughing it up...

"That song has NOTHING to do with the story, but oh well," said Viridi, before resuming the story at hand. "'That night, a fairy who knew Geppetto was a good man, cost a magic spell over Pinocchio.'" Aerith, carrying a magic wand (a toy magic wand, rather) tip-toed over to Luigi and struck him lightly with the wand, and Luigi, slowly getting up, was walking. "'Geppetto was very happy to find that Pinocchio could walk, sit and talk. Poor Gappeto wanted to send Pinocchio to school. He sold his only coat for a spelling book...'"

"Wait just a second, how can there be a school, where would Luigi have to go to?" questioned the Black Knight, interrupting the story. Viridi's stories have now been interrupted so many times, the goddess of nature doesn't even care anymore.

"There doesn't have to be a physical school of any sort, just imagine a school being there!" suggested Viridi, wanting to continue the story. But unfortunately for her, the Black Knight believes he's too old for this imagination crap.

"Screw that, I'm out of here!" the knight angrily exited the room, leaving the story unfinished. Second time that has happened, and Viridi facepalmed and let out a huge sigh, shaking her head.

 **Black Knight: A grown man like myself using my "imagination" to create some make-believe school...who does Viridi think I am, a kindergartner? Does it look like I need a separate time in my day to take a nap, do I need to go outside to some playground just to have fun? I think NOT!**

"So sorry you had to witness that Daisy," Viridi apologized to the princess...who's now looking much better than before. The princess certainly looks refreshed and full of energy, compared to her dizzy and lopsided state earlier ago.

"It's fine Viridi, I didn't really care how the story went," said Daisy, stretching out her arms. "I feel so much better already, I feel like going back home now!" The princess hopped out of the bed, and stretched a little more. Luigi was sure glad to see his wife back to normal again.

"Shall I escort-a you back to our home?" the plumber asked Daisy, locking arms with his wife. Daisy smiled as the two lovebirds exited the room, arm in arm, while Pit, Viridi, and Aerith looked on.

"Guess we can consider that a job well done, those stories sure did the trick..." grinned Pit, folding his arms behind his head. He looked over to Viridi, who was smiling intently while holding the storybook in her hands. "Don't even think about it..." Viridi frowned as she put the book down, hoping to get her chance another time.

* * *

"You may think you're better than me Heihachi, but I won't go down without a fight!" Ryu said to Heihachi Mishima, as the two were in an arm-wrestling battle in the lounge. It was an absolute stalemate; both men were strong beyond words and couldn't put the other down.

"Sore wa anata ga panku kangaeru monoda naraba, anata wa daun tsumoridesu!" Heihachi taunted his competitor, mustering all his strength to bring Ryu's fist down to the table. While the match wore on, Snake was snooping around the lounge, in search for that picture of him and Meryl. He had already looked inside his room, but the picture was nowhere to be found. It's the mystery not even Sherlock Holmes could solve.

"Missing something that's precious of yours?" Bayonetta, lying seductively on a couch, asked Snake, examining the spy's frantic facial expression. "Let me guess, did you forget where this thing you're looking for is located? Oh dear, accelerated age must be a great nuisance..."

"Shut your yap woman, I didn't forget, I just...didn't remember, that's all," replied Snake. Still along the same context as forgetting. "That picture of me and Meryl Silverburgh, I can't find it anywhere! I've looked everywhere - the kitchen cupboards, the laundry room, and even the toilet - but the picture is nowhere to be found!"

"Hmm...if I remember correctly, I saw Corrin exit this mansion with a picture in his hand." Snake looked up at Bayonetta, suddenly intrigued. "I could be wrong, but...it's something more than worth investigating."

 **Bayonetta: Saw Corrin exit the mansion with a picture in hand while I was in the foyer. I would have stopped him, but what would be the point? A wiser idea was to let that naive boy see where his ingenuousness will lead him to...**

"Oh man, that kid is gonna pay for stealing that picture like that!" Snake gritted his teeth, anticipating the beatdown he'll give to the prince of Nohr. "Where can I find Corrin, tell me at once!"

"You honestly think I'm a Master Hand pawn, I'm going to know where every person of this mansion is located?" Bayonetta scoffed. "Why don't you go find Corrin yourself, he's your problem, not mine..."

* * *

"When are you gonna go on your date father?" Lucina asked Chrom, as she, Chrom, and Robin were hiking on a hiking trail in the outskirts of Seattle. "It's been the longest now, what's the holdup?"

"Sadly Raven keeps postponing our date for reasons she chooses not to explain," responded Chrom. For those of you who don't know, or may not remember, Raven is the female counterpart of Robin. "I've asked her several times online what the problem is, and she refuses to give an answer."

"I dunno Chrom, maybe Raven is looking for other people and she's just using you to her advantage," Robin implied while nudging the prince of Yliesse, while moving his eyebrows up and down. Chrom shook his head at Robin, in disbelief Raven is looking for other people - aside from Chrom, who else could she possibly go out on a date with?

"Quit being so childish Robin, and leave Father alone," Lucina scolded Robin, but the mage was still cheesing it up with a cheesy smile. So Lucina had to nudge him... _hard._ The impact definitely caught Robin off by surprise.

"Ouch, Lucina, not so hard!" Robin was now rubbing the place where Lucina nudged him at. What a cupcake... "C'mon, can a honest man joke around every now and then, Chrom and I were just having fun!"

"If you want to call it fun..." Lucina folded her arms and looked the other way. Typical Lucina, poor girl can't take a joke because she's serious ninety-nine percent of the time. It's sometimes hard to see what Robin finds in a woman overly serious like her.

 **Robin: Am I still bitter about Chrom messing up my opportunity to kiss Lucina? Obviously I am, that moment could have revealed to Lucina that I love her and care for her, and we could have started a relationship and go from there! But no, Chrom had to be a jerk, and prevent all of that from happening! I suspect that he doesn't want me and Lucina to love each other until he goes on his first date, and he's probably delaying the date, while using excuses like "Raven keeps postponing our date", just to prevent Lucina and I from affirming our relationship! He has an ulterior motive, I tell you, and I shall exploit it in due time...**

As Lucina, Chrom, and Robin hiked along the trail, Link, Cloud, and Kirby watched from a far distance, following behind the Fire Emblem trio. Cloud was growing exhausted already, and Link was too, but he won't let the exhaustion get the best of him...until his spying mission has commenced.

"Link can we go back home now, you've been spying on Lucina and Robin for the longest now," Cloud said to Link, the sweat running down his face. He felt like he was about to collapse at any minute, but he'll keep marching on if it means keeping Link content.

"Our mission is not yet completed yet, just a little longer and we'll be done!" responded Link as he trudged onward. Who is he referring to by "our", he's the only one devoted to the "mission"! He forced Cloud to come along with him, and who knows why Kirby is even here.

"Ooh wah!" Kirby suddenly exclaimed when he saw a blue Galleon ship that instantly caught Link's and Cloud's attention - it was the same ship Snake saw in the sky earlier - ahead. What struck the pink puffball more was that a certain alien was next to the ship - Magalor, Kirby's former rival. And Magalor wasn't alone, another Kirby villain was with him - Marx, the main antagonist of _Kirby Super Star_ ; thankfully he wasn't in his bat form. Cloud grabbed Link and Kirby and hid behind a tree, while Lucina, Chrom, and Robin approached Magalor and Marx, interested in why they're even here.

"Hello there, are you two lost?" Chrom asked Magalor and Marx, not knowing they're both evil. "I see that you're ship is here, you're looking for an ocean to sail upon?"

"No, we're not lost or anything, we're just expecting a 'friend' of ours to come," explained Marx. Lucina, Chrom, and Robin, now would be the time to run away, if you know what's good for you.

"We're expecting him to appear at any minute now," added Magalor. "Fortunately for us we haven't waited here for an awfully long time..." Magalor pulled out a picture...a picture of Snake and Meryl, the same picture Snake's been looking for!

"Wait where did you get that picture from?" Lucina asked when the picture came into her focus. "I do believe that belongs to someone!"

"Some silver-haired dude gave me the picture a few days ago, he was easy to take advantage of. All I had to do was ask him for a picture, saying that I would donate the picture to charity, and he obliged! Who honestly gives pictures to charity? No one does! I played that man like a fiddle..."

Magalor stopped when a huge shadow fell over him. He turned around nervously...and saw Zero, the giant eyeball of _Kirby_ fame, staring at everyone with his ominous...eye...of evil.

"Ahh, Zero, we've been expecting you..." Marx smiled evilly, and soon the Fire Emblem trio knew what they were getting themselves into...should have ran away when the had the chance, but now it's too late...

 **Corrin: Why did I give away the picture of Snake and Meryl to the alien person with the jester hat? Well, he said he was donating it to a good cause, so I had no other choice but to give him the picture, it was the easiest picture I could find. It's great to see individuals like that alien guy doing things for the greater good - like Donald Trump when he says he's going to make America great again. He's a textbook example of a role model, a selfless man willing to steer this country of America in the right direction, it just puts a smile on my face...**

"This picture should be able to bring back some of your powers," Magalor held up the picture of Snake and Meryl to Zero; the giant eye scanned said picture, and then he shook violently, suddenly feeling recharged. Zero is back in business...and Link, Cloud, and Kirby were concerned for the Fire Emblem trio's well-being.

"That giant eyeball is freaking huge!" exclaimed Link, more concerned with the size of Zero than if whether or not Lucina, Chrom, or Robin might get killed on the spot. "No way we can stop that thing, not without...Kirby what are you doing?!" Cloud watched in horror (or pseudo horror, rather) as Kirby sucked up Link and spat him out, absorbing the Hylian's powers and gaining his bow, as well as his trademark hat. They're not exactly actual powers, but hey, they still count!

"Prepare to face the mighty power of Zero..." Marx said to Lucina, Chrom, and Robin, all of whom cowered in fear. "Say your last words, or forever hold your piece..."

All of a sudden an arrow was fired at Zero, striking the eyeball in the eye. Magalor and Marx got away at the nick of time as blood spurted out of Zero (not the first time this happened). The blood was about to land on Lucina and Chrom, but Robin saved the two by concealing them underneath his arms, with his back turned as the blood doused over the mage. He may be soaked in blood, but at least Lucina and Chrom are safe.

"We must salvage Zero before it's too late!" vowed Magalor. "To the mansion!" Magalor and Marx got inside the Galleon ship and flew off to the Smash Mansion, with Zero, his bleeding stopped for now, followed the ship.

"Now what are you three lads doing here?" Chrom asked when Link, Cloud, and Kirby =who obviously shot the arrow that struck Zero - ran up to the prince, seeing if he and the others were okay. "Don't tell me you were stalking us, that sounds very much unlike all of you!"

"For the record, it was Link who was doing the stalking, he forced me to come along, and apparently Kirby wanted to come along too," explained Cloud. "But that doesn't matter now - what does matter is that we get out of here! It's too dangerous!"

"What about the mansion, it will be in danger when those three foes arrive! We have yet to see what that eyeball is capable of doing..." We already saw what Zero is capable of...it can bleed profusely like it's nobody's business.

"Someone will take care of them, I'm sure of it." Cloud then thought over what he just said long and hard. "...you know what, let's hurry to the mansion before things get out of hand." So Cloud, Link, Kirby, and Chrom left the scene; Lucina tried to run, but Robin grabbed her arm and looked her in the eyes, smiling romantically, before leaning to her face with his lips puckered out...

"Why are you two lollygaging for, we have no time for your foolishness!" Chrom came back to retrieve Lucina and Robin, ruining Robin's chance to kiss the girl of his dreams yet again.

 **Robin: One of these days Chrom, one of these days...**

* * *

Luigi escorted Daisy to their home, and on the front lawn they saw the newly finished chalkboard sign; the very sight of it made Daisy happy.

"Told-a you they would build-a one," Luigi told his wife as they walked down the walkway and to their house. After Luigi opened the front door and led Daisy inside, they saw Mario seated on a couch with Pac-Man, the latter brawler doing his best to cheer up Mario after that brief episode with Fox and Falco by going over the wedding plan. Yuffie sat on the opposite couch, resting her eyes.

"Now that you've finalized your guest list, we can begin working on the wedding party!" Pac-Man said to Mario, who was frowning; Luigi and Daisy will later see why Mario is so salty. "Who do you want sitting next to you at the altar? Luigi? Bowser? Pauline?" Mario bothered not to answer, clearly he's still in a bad mood.

"Mario why do you look so mad, did someone upset you?" Daisy asked the plumber. Mario could at least answer this question.

"Go look-a in the nursery and see..." uttered Mario, his frown still apparent. So Luigi and Daisy walked over to the nursery...only to be stopped by Wario and Sonic, who sprung up out of nowhere and caught the couple off by surprise.

"Ah, Daisy, just the gal I...or we...needed to see!" exclaimed Wario. "Palutena told me that you weren't feeling so well, said you were having dizzy spells, and so I'm here to correct that and make you feel better again!"

"That's good Wario, but...I feel better now, the dizzy spells went away." Wario snapped his fingers in disgust when Daisy said this, having his perfect opportunity to please Palutena wasted away. "But thank you for caring about me!"

"Mario we have a major problem on our hands!" Master Hand appeared inside the home, confronting the plumber. "Some giant eyeball and his two lackeys just attacked the mansion, and everyone's now running to the basement so they can hide like the bunch of pansies they are! What's worse is that I don't have the insurance to...Mario are you even listening to me?!" Evidently Mario was still ticked off, too angry to even pay attention to Master Hand. Fox and Falco really upset this man...

"Why do you always expect Mario to handle this crap, why not let someone else take care of business for a change!" said Sonic. "That dumb eyeball is going down!" Sonic looked for something to take out Zero, the giant eyeball in question, and looked inside the nursery room, where Fox and Falco were painting the walls with neon red and green colors. Sonic looked at the room in awe, and Luigi and Daisy looked for themselves, both in awe as well.

 **Fox: Apparently Mario was against us using neon red colors...but we went ahead and used them anyways. I thought red was his favorite color?**

"Quit looking all googly-eyed like that, we got a mansion to save!" Wario entered the nursery room and grabbed several cans of paint, giving one to Sonic, Luigi, and Daisy. "Let's go!" Wario led the three outside the home, while Falco went down the ladder to get some more paint with his paintbrush...only to find no cans to be found.

"Bro where did all our paint go?" Falco asked Fox, who looked around below him from the ladder and shrugged.

* * *

Outside, Zero the giant eyeball was firing lasers at the mansion (since it's the only thing he can do aside from bleeding, apparently), causing minor to medium damage to the establishment, while Magalor and Marx watched from Magalor's ship. Luigi, Daisy, Wario, and Sonic stood undeterred, with cans of paint in their hands.

"How are we gonna attack that thing, he's too high up in the air!" Sonic looked up at Zero, before the Galleon ship caught his attention. "And how are we gonna take out that ship?" Soon Link, Cloud, Kirby, Lucina, Robin, and Chrom arrived, and just in the nick of time.

"You're seriously going to stop that eyeball with paint?" Robin raised an eyebrow at the four with the paint cans. "Whose crazy idea was that?" Luigi, Daisy, and Sonic all pointed at Wario, who frowned when the fingers were pointed at him. "Oh, I see now, it all makes sense now..."

A crazy, but effective idea suddenly spurred in Kirby's brain, as the pink puffball grabbed the four cans of paint and did the near impossible...he sucked up the cans of paint, and then his stomach started acting all funny as he shook violently. Not a good sign, especially when you're someone like Kirby.

"I think he's gonna blow, everyone make a run for it!" Cloud exclaimed as everyone ran away from Kirby. The pink puffball continued to shake, like he was a maraca, and then opened his mouth, unleashing a rainbow-colored beam of paint at Zero; this beam lasted until Zero was brought down to the ground damaged. Although he was down, he certainly wasn't out, and Kirby's rainbow beam had ran out of juice, as the pink puffball fell back on the ground with a thud out of exhaustion. So who would take care of Zero once and for all? Luigi rose up to the challenge, as he defiantly marched towards the giant eyeball with his fists clenched.

"Luigi get back here, that thing could recover at any minute!" screamed Daisy, concerned for her husband's safety like any other concerned wife would. But like any other defiant husband, Luigi didn't listen, as he soon found himself standing but a few inches away from a nearly-depleted Zero.

"No one harms-a my friends and get away with-a it..." Luigi seethed at Zero, before unleashing his world-famous Super Jump Punch on the eyeball, initiating the "PING!" sound as he sent Zero flying upwards and towards the ship Magalor and Marx were on. Zero crashed into said ship, and flew through the sky with the ship like Team Rocket does, with him, Magalor, and Marx likely never to be seen again. The picture of Snake and Meryl slowly fell from the sky after Zero and company were defeated, and it landed in the hands of Luigi. Kirby, as well as those who had ran away, came over to Luigi, inspecting the picture in the plumber's hands.

 **Cloud: I had just opted to give the picture to Snake, not only because he deals with me better than he does with anyone else, but also I know how to deal with others when they're in a bad mood. Snake was probably in a bad mood with that picture missing, and maybe vented his frustration on a few unfortunate souls...**

* * *

"Who in their right mind donates pictures to charity, that's like a blood donor giving urine to someone who needs blood, it makes no sense!" Snake went off on Corrin in the living room after everyone left the basement, making the prince of Nohr cower in fear. "What, you that the charity was for a good cause?!"

"The alien I gave the picture to said he would donate the picture to a charity that can stop belly button cancer!" explained Corrin. Snake's eye twitched when the prince said this, nobody can't possibly be that lacking in wisdom.

"BELLY BUTTON CANCER ISN'T EVEN A REAL CANCER, YOU STUPID IDIOTIC PIECE OF..."

"Hey Snake, I found this picture for you," Cloud tapped the former spy on the shoulder; Snake turned around and saw that Cloud had the picture. He grabbed the picture from the swordsman and gave him a manly hug. Snake hugging people? That's something you don't see every day.

"I've been looking all over for that picture! Thanks for finding it for me, I went through a lot of trouble looking for it!"

"That's great...now can you let me go?" Cloud eyed the living room, hoping no one would see. No one like Wario, who was speaking with his crush Palutena.

"I'm so proud of you Wario, checking on Daisy and making sure she was fine, I never would have expected that from you!" Palutena said to the fatso, grinning from ear to ear. "Always knew you were more than a greedy individual!" The goddess of light patted Wario on the head, and happily walked away, just when Sonic approached Wario.

"Must have taught you right, didn't I?" the hedgehog asked Wario, who gave a confident thumbs up. The lesson Sonic gave may have been weird on many levels, but somehow it was still effective.

* * *

"So what do you think?" Fox and Falco asked Luigi and Daisy after they were finished painting the nursery room...in neon red and green colors. Mario was with the married couple, expecting them to say no and put the Star Fox pilots on blast, but to his surprise...

"We love-a it!" gleamed Luigi, and Daisy happily shook her head in agreement. Mario looked on with his mouth agape as Fox and Falco cheered and exchanged high fives. Whatever happened to using regular colors, why does everything have to be neon these days?

 **Mario: Hmph, no matter if Luigi and-a Daisy like how the nursery room-a looks like...coloring the room green-a would have worked-a SO much better.**

"So did you have a fun time hiking today?" Robin asked Lucina in the living room of Luigi's home, while Yuffie continued to rest her eyes. Though it may seem like she's actually taking a nap...

"Except for that whole eyeball thing...yeah, I had a pretty fun time..." smiled Lucina.

"Well I'm glad to hear that." Robin looked around, making sure nobody was looking. "And since we're both alone - save for Yuffie who's sleeping - I must get something off of my chest..."

And it finally happened: Robin drew closer to Lucina, and his lips met hers, and soon enough, the two were kissing on the couch, with no Chrom to ruin the moment in some manner or fashion...and Link, who was watching from a window outside, was witnessing the entire thing. Stinking pervert...

"Heh heh heh, I knew they would be a couple..." Link snickered; unbeknownst to him, his girlfriend Zelda stood behind him, with her arms folded.

"Link what is wrong with you?!" the princess grabbed Link and dragged him away. "Thought I told you to stop spying on Lucina and Robin, we've already discussed this on Monday..."

At least Link is the only known individual to have seen Lucina and Robin kiss - not that many people can claim that distinction.


	38. Episode 38: Sensationalism

_Author's Note:_

 _ultimateccc has written a very interesting question in his latest review:_

 _"Aren't there cameras in the mansion?"_

 _Glad you asked - there are cameras at every corner of the mansion, recording all the action and whatnot that occurs inside. In addition, there's also a large camera crew (divided into sections) that follows the brawlers around, observing everything that they do. Hope that answers your question. GamerDutchess01 (formerly known as Glamorous Cat) has also asked me a very interesting question:_

 _"...will Luigi & Daisy be more focused if Daisy gets an ultrasound sometime later on in the story? Still wondering if it'll be a boy or a girl."_

 _Honestly I'm still debating on whether or not I'm doing an ultrasound with Daisy within the story. But I'll have a couple of weeks or so to make a decision on that. Now this guest reviewer has given me an intriguing suggestion:_

 _"You should have Chrom have an awkward practice date with male Robin like in Drake n' Josh"_

 _In all my years of watching Drake and Josh, from the first few episodes, to the "series finale" to was deemed a "film", to the Christmas special, I don't ever recall this practice date transpiring in the show. But this practice date does sound better than what I had originally planned for Robin, so I've included in this chapter, though it may or may not be underwhelming, in my opinion._

* * *

 **Episode 38: Sensationalism**

Diddy Kong didn't really know much about love. He's nothing more than a young spidermonkey whippersnapper who enjoys listening to hip hop music in his spare time and always looks up to his uncle, Donkey Kong. To say that love isn't one of Diddy's strong suits would be a vast understatement.

In spite of this, the monkey does have some questions about love, and he knew just the guy who could answer them. This guy in particular had recently kissed the girl of his dreams, and he was fortunate enough to not have some blue-haired prince, who happens to be the father of his lover, interrupt or ruin his moment. This guy, a mage in his own right...somehow got his head stuck in the trampoline in the mansion's backyard. Yes, Robin got his head stuck, and Dunban was prying his head out to the best of his ability.

"So Dixie Kong had just sent me a text today, and I just don't know how to respond back," Diddy said to Robin while Dunban helped the mage out in his little situation. For those of you who may not know or have forgotten, or overlooked for any reason, Dixie Kong is the love interest of Diddy - and contrary to what their last names may imply, Dixie and Diddy are _not_ related. No way Nintendo could get away with something like that. "If I don't respond soon, then she'll think I didn't read her text and that she doesn't care about me..."

"Um, Diddy, I thought you said you don't have a cellphone," said Dunban, pulling Robin's neck out of the trampoline but to no avail. This was already stated back in episode sixteen. "Or did you entice Cranky Kong to buy you one?"

"Not really...Cranky Kong got me a cellphone since he got tired of nagging Donkey Kong and Funky Kong over the phone...apparently he needs another family relative to guilt trip for his own pleasure." Hard to find any faults in Diddy Kong - only thing Cranky can do is point out his gaudy obsession over bananas, but that's pretty much it.

 **Diddy Kong: Cranky Kong acts very much like a stereotypical Jewish mother...constantly nagging, often intruding upon his offspring's personal lives, guilt tripping and pointing out every single flaw he can detect...only thing he can't do is cook a matzah farfel.**

"I'll be right back, gonna need some scissors for this," Dunban said as he walked to the mansion. "Keep a close eye on Robin and make sure he doesn't pull anything funny!" Robin's head is well stuck inside the trampoline, so it would be hard to do anything other than moving his extremities. Once Dunban was inside the mansion, Robin was left all alone with Diddy, who seeks the mage's romantic insight, should he have any.

"What do I do Robin, how should I respond?" asked an exasperated Diddy. "Dixie Kong just texted me hi and asked me how I was doing, and I don't know what to say back! I can't just tell her that I'm doing nothing, she would think I'm the most boring person in the world! Oh, Robin, if you can hear me..."

"I can hear you loud and clear, and I can speak as well Diddy," Robin told the spidermonkey in a very assuring manner. "Just because my head is stuck doesn't mean I'm deaf, I understand what you are going through. Go and tell Dixie that you're 'chilling'...it's a very vague answer that will keep her wondering."

"Robin you're an absolute genius, knew I could count on you!" Diddy pulled out his cellphone, which he kept underneath his hat for obvious reasons, and texted Dixie, telling her hello and that he was "chilling". Dixie would immediately assume that Diddy is either resting, watching TV, sleeping, or any other activity a standard lazy person would do.

"Aw sweet, the trampoline is available, ripe for the taking!" the male Inkling showed up, accompanied by none other than his female counterpart. They both failed to see Robin's head stuck in the trampoline, having fun is of higher priority for them than Robin's own safety. "Let's play!" The Inklings got on the trampoline and bounced on it, harming poor Robin in the process.

"Ow my head, my aching head!" the mage writhed in pain as the Inklings bounced away. "Diddy, help an honest man out!" Diddy Kong tried to pull Robin away from the trampoline, but to no avail, as Robin was really stuck. Help was on the way...

"You two kids get off of that trampoline!" Dunban angrily marched towards the trampoline, carrying a large pair of scissors. The Inklings screamed when they saw Dunban holding the scissors, and they instantly complied to the Homs' demand as they got off the trampoline and ran away out of fear. Those youngsters may have gone away, but the same can't be said for Robin's now nagging pain. "Stay still Robin, I'll get you out of this..." Dunban cut away on the trampoline, cutting just enough to pry Robin's head out; the mage let out a breath of fresh air once he was free. The trampoline, though, was damaged, but Mr. Game and Watch can patch it back up to shape...if he can fix the unused garage door of the mansion, then he can fix pretty much anything else.

 **Dunban: Finding the scissors was no easy task; Peach usually uses these scissors for her fashion stuff, and she leaves the scissors in the darnedest of places. Today I found these scissors...inside the dishwasher. Which was leaking out from the bottom. And somehow full of termites, yet no one seemed to be concerned one bit. It has gotten to the point where I choose not to even question Peach how the scissors end up where they are, she always says it's a "mystery"...**

"Much appreciated Robin, for a minute there I thought I was a goner," Robin thanked the Homs before dusting himself off. "That Duck Hunt Dog had snatched one of my tomes, and while I was running after that mutt trying to get it back, I unsuspectingly ran into this trampoline, ramming head first and got my head stuck. Now if you excuse me boys, I have a tome to retrieve..." Robin walked forth on his way, until...

"Robin wait up for a sec!" Diddy called out, stopping the mage in his tracks. "Do you mind if I...come with you?" Robin, a renowned strategist, is a very capable man, and can recover his tome on his own...lest Diddy has something up his sleeve.

"You're more than welcome to come with me Diddy - just don't leave any bananas peels lying about."

* * *

"One very crucial step we must take regarding the wedding is finding a venue where the wedding will take place," Pac-Man spoke with Mario in the plumber's room. "Olympic Sculpture Park is obviously out of the question, since that's where Luigi's and Daisy's wedding took place. Good thing I have a list of venues prepared..."

"Why not have-a the wedding at-a Safeco Field?" suggested Mario. Safeco Field is the stadium where the hometown Seattle Mariners play at, and also hosted things like Wrestlemania XIX, a Paul McCartney concert, and even a Microsoft annual employee meeting. Bill Gates' idea, one may assume. "I've heard-a that many people had their-a weddings at major league baseball-a parks, and since Nintendo of America owns-a the Mariners..."

"Ooh, I'm not really so sure about that...what if the Mariners play on the day that the wedding takes place? Do you not know how hard it would be having to move the wedding date, and keeping the wedding guests and everyone else on tab? It's not like Major League Baseball would go on a major strike and the Mariners can't play in June, you know! It doesn't work that way, it's not 1994!"

 **Pac-Man: What wedding venues did I have in mind, you ask? Let me pull out the list... *pulls out list from an imaginary pocket* I have the Hall at Fauntleroy, the Arctic Club, Seattle Marriott Waterfront...And yes, I got those places off of Google. Google is everybody's best friend, except that it will never leave or betray you.**

"We can just-a speak with the president-a of the Mariners, and ask-a him if he can-a flex any of the Mariners games-a in June," suggested Mario. Clearly he's desperate about getting that Safeco Field spot, it's either that or bust for him. "If that doesn't work-a out, we can send a letter-a to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred, and he can..."

"Woah, first things first, Mr. Manfred could possibly care less about your wedding, no offense." Being a commissioner of a professional sports league is no easy task, it takes up a whole lot of your time; Manfred wouldn't have the time in the world to bother reading Mario's letter. "Secondly, what would the MLB do, force the Mariners to host your wedding in June, or else they'll slap with them a hefty fine? The decision to have the wedding at Safeco Field should be up to the Mariners organization, not Major League Baseball as a whole!"

"In that-a case...why don't we-a head down to Safeco-a Field and ask the president if we can-a hold the wedding at their-a stadium?" Oh yeah, Mario definitely has his eyes set on that field... "It won't-a be long, we'll go ask-a for their permission, and leave!"

"Me and my big mouth..." Pac-Man held his head down. He could have prevented this from happening, he really could.

* * *

Every other day or so, Lucario would take some time out of his day to do some yoga, as a means to keep his body conditioned throughout the week. The aura Pokemon does his yoga in the dancing room, the only room where he can find peace and quiet and solitude.

But when Lucario arrived at the dancing room, he noticed that his yoga mat - placed in its usual spot - had gone missing! He scoured every single inch of the room, but the yoga mat was nowhere to be found. However, the aura Pokemon did see a note lying on the ground, and he picked it up.

"You can find me behind the door with the flowers..." Lucario read the note out loud, stroking his chin while thinking of what this note means. So the Pokemon, exiting the room, looked around the mansion for this door with flowers, and he would eventually find it on the mansion's third floor. He opened the door, and found himself...in the bathroom, where his yoga mat was. But that wasn't even the worst part about it...

"Hey bub, can you give a man some privacy?!" frowned Wario, who was sitting on the toilet taking a dump. Constant bowel movements have always been a number one problem for Wario, but for everyone else, it's a number two problem. Lucario grumbled as he walked to his yoga mat and picked it up...only to find out that it was glued to the floor. Lucario tried to take it off of the floor, but stopped momentarily when Wario let a huge fart rip. Some heavy laughing could be heard from outside the bathroom, and Lucario went out to investigate - and saw Bowser laughing, leaning against the wall, and went to fight him.

"Lucario, chill out, it's just a prank bro!" Bowser said, repelling the aura Pokemon away.

"It's just a prank...okay Bowser, you just lost yourself a lot of points for saying that," Lucario stopped fighting to tell Bowser this.

 **Lucario: Ever since Master Hand cancelled his "lessons" with Corrin (thank goodness), Bowser has gone back to his pranking ways, spending an entire month devising new pranks and unleashing them throughout the week. Us brawlers have suffered for far too long - Dark Pit found his cellphone stuck in a ten-foot tall concoction of jello, Aerith became traumatized after a fake spider landed on her one day, and Villager is now the most wanted criminal in Venezuela thanks to a prank call orchestrated by Bowser. Still waiting for the day Master Hand grows a nerve and reprimands Bowser of pranking any more.**

"Sometimes I just can't stand you Bowser..." Lucario shook his head at Bowser as he returned to the bathroom, holding his breath because of Wario's nasty fumes, and pry his yoga mat off of the floor. Bowser smirked evilly, continuing on his way, passing by the vending machine room, and overhearing a conversation from Tails and King Dedede.

"Ugh, seriously, Bowser put my phone inside the vending machine again!" Tails groaned. Too bad the yellow fox doesn't have a single dollar on him - he spent all of them throughout the week getting his cellphone out of a vending machine whenever Bowser steals his cellphone. "Mind if I borrow a dollar, King Dedede?"

"Sure thing kiddo, one dollar coming right up!" the obese penguin dug into his robe, pulling out a dollar and giving it to Tails, who inserted it into the vending machine and got his cellphone back after having to order it. Yeah, it's been that kind of week for the flying fox. "I understand your anger, what with Bowser messing with you like this, and in fact, I'm pretty angry myself!"

"How can you be so angry, it seems like you have everything you want and more - ruler of Dream Land, servants that do your every bidding, an arch-rival that cares about you..." Why would Dedede want a rival like Kirby to care about him, he hardly cares about anyone else! (Well, maybe except for Kirby.) "What could you be so possibly angry about?"

"The fact that I missed this week's episode of _America's Got Talent_! I missed the live shows since I was taking care of some important business; I would have watched the results show, but everyone knows the results shows are full of spoilers for those who haven't watched the previous episode! What would be the point of watching AGT finals, if I don't know how well the final five acts who made it performed? I had entrusted my Waddle Dees to record the live show on DVR, but they failed!"

"King Dedede the Waddle Dees don't even have fingers, they can't operate a remote control by any means." They can't operate pretty much anything else, they can only open a door but that's really all that they can do without struggling. "You should have just asked someone to record the show for you!"

"And reveal my secret to them, so they can spread the secret to the others?! I can't let a single soul know that I watch a reality show like _America's Got Talent,_ it might make or break my reputation!"

"Sucks for you, since now I know..." Tails isn't the person that would go about spreading secrets, so King Dedede is in good hands.

 **King Dedede: I can't tell the others that I watch _America's Got Talent,_ otherwise I'll become stigmatized and categorized in the same realm as those frantic fangirls that watch the show! You know, the ones that are all like "When is my favorite going to perform, I can't wait for them!" Then when their favorite performs, "What a great performance, I can see my favorite going all the way and winning the grand prize!" And if their favorite comes up short... "Boo, my favorite didn't win, I'm never watching this show ever again, the entire competition was rigged for the winner!" Fangirls have to ruin every little thing...**

"And I know also..." Bowser, having overheard this conversation, stroked his chin in an evil manner. "I know just the prank to execute on Dedede!" The koopa king snapped his fingers as a dastardly idea popped in his head.

* * *

"Sonic I need to speak with you for a quick minute!" Bowser caught up with the hedgehog in the Pokemon sanctuary, where he was looking for Pokemon - more importantly, Pokemon that look like hedgehogs. "Would you like to be a part of my newest prank?"

"Sure thing, but on one condition..." Sonic approached the koopa king, holding a picture in his hand. And it's not the picture of Snake and Meryl Silverburgh, that has already been returned in the previous episode. "Do you know where I can find this Pokemon?" The hedgehog showed Bowser a picture of Shaymin, the gratitude Pokemon, who is also coincidentally a hedgehog. No wonder Sonic's inside the sanctuary. "Red told me that it's a hedgehog, and therefore I must align with my hedgehog brethren and..."

"That's not important right now, gimme that!" Bowser snatched the picture of Shaymin and tore it into little pieces. Burning the picture with his flame would have been a more effective method. "Do you want to be in on my prank or not? Yes or no question, just give me one answer, that's all I'm asking from you!"

"What exactly does this prank entail, will we need any banana peels or fake spiders? I got plenty of those in my room, I've wanted to use them on Tails and Knuckles, but I'm afraid that they might be smarter than I suspect them to be." Tails, thanks to his high intuition, could smell a prank from a mile away, though not literally since that's flat out impossible. Knuckles, well...not so much. He's more badbutt (yes, _badbutt_ ) than he is a genius.

"So I overheard that King Dedede missed an episode of _America's Got Talent_ \- a show that he's apparently too ashamed to watch, even though the general public likes it if fifteen million viewers per episode is any indication - and he doesn't want watch the finals partly because he hasn't seen a majority of the acts perform. And for whatever reason, he's against watching the results show to find out who went through because it's full of 'spoilers'...so why don't we spoil it for him?"

"Heh, that doesn't sound like a bad prank at all! One thing that would make it better is if we had a third person..." And Sonic happens to know this person _very_ well.

* * *

 **Chrom: Finally got in contact with Raven; she said that our date will take place next Friday, at the Japanese restaurant downtown. Wasn't surprised by the venue, according to her dating profile, she has a bit of a hankering for Japanese cuisine. Before I go on my date, I must use the time that I have to practice so I won't be so awkward and sweaty - can't have any first date jitters. I've already asked Fox and Falco for assistance, so I've decided to ask these two particular swordsmen...**

"Duck Hunt Dog should be hiding somewhere in this shed..." Robin looked inside the garden shed in the mansion's backyard. The mage has spent a bulk of his time scouring the backyard, and still no sign of the Duck Hunt Dog or the tome that the dog had stolen. "I'm hoping that he didn't dig a hole and buried my tome inside the ground, he simply doesn't know how much that book means to me; it's more powerful than one may think."

"Dixie just texted me back, now she wants to know how Donkey Kong is doing!" Diddy panicked after receiving another text from his girlfriend. At first, Robin was joyed that Diddy was tagging along with him in his quest to find his tome. But as it would later turn out, the spidermonkey was only accompanying the mage just so he could fill him in on some girlfriend-texting pointers. "I don't even know where my uncle is, what do I say?!"

"Just tell him that DK is busy eating or storing bananas," Robin suggested, still rummaging around in the garden shed. "That's practically the only thing I see him doing nowadays, aside from pounding his chest while doing some sort of Apache war cry in front of a mirror..."

Diddy Kong's phone vibrated, though it wasn't another text message - the vibration kept going on and on, meaning that he was getting a call...and it was a call from Cranky Kong. What would a crinkly old grandpa like be doing with a cellphone? Diddy moaned as he answered the call, instantly fearing for the absolute worst.

"Ah, Diddy Kong, just the monkey I needed to speak with!" Cranky started off the phone call in a happy tone...before things would take a turn for worse. "Have I ever told you how dingy your teeth are? You should definitely brush and floss your teeth more often! Also, when am I going to make another live appearance in this stupid _Smash Life_ story, I refuse to remain as a one-time character! Do you not know how many one-time characters there are in the _Pokemon_ anime? If I had a dollar for every time they didn't include a one-time character, I'd go broke!"

Diddy Kong felt embarrassed, blushing after Cranky Kong insulted his dental care. Robin understood the pain the spidermonkey was going through, having an unruly grandpa pinpoint your every flaw, even if you have no flaws to begin with. Cranky could throw unwanted insults at your girlfriend if he can't find a single negative thing about you, he'll always find some way to cut in deep. Diddy didn't say he acted like a stereotypical Jewish mother for nothing...

"Sup Robin, watcha doing here in the garden shed?" Link approached the mage, entering the shed. "About to do some hard work in the garden? Had no idea you were a gardener Robin - first you dabbled in cooking, and now you're trying out gardening? That's great, man!"

 **Link: A long time ago Zelda wanted me to take on gardening (don't know if it was the green of my tunic that gave her that bogus idea). My ventures in gardening didn't work out so well - Zelda gave me some Pegasus Seeds to grow, and she instructed me to water them on a daily basis. Did it for about a week or two, and the Pegasus Seeds later grew to Pegasus Trees. Zelda then told me to keep watering the trees, but I kept forgetting to do so, and the trees produced Mystical Seeds that had adverse effects. Instead of making you run faster (which is the ability of the seeds), the seeds makes you move slow and sluggish. Captain Falcon ate a feed seeds off of the tree, and then he moved all slow and stuff, becoming paranoid that the seeds were making him age quicker...even though there wasn't a single gray hair on his head.**

"No I'm not gardening or anything, just looking for a tome that the Duck Hunt Dog stole from me," replied Robin, continuing his search even though he knows the dog nor the tome will be nowhere to be found. He's probably doing it just to save face in front of Link. "Diddy Kong is here on the lookout, and he's also granting me moral support." Yeah, if you want to even call it that...

"Heard that Chrom's date has been finalized for next week, and he wants to conduct a practice date so he'll be ready to go..." Link soon braced himself for what he was about to say next. "...and he's been wondering if you could be a part of this little 'practice date'..."

"I would love to be a part of this! What must I do?" Link sported a nervous grin on his face...

* * *

"Isabelle how can you do such a thing to me, I thought you loved and appreciated me this whole time!" Master Hand sobbed to Isabelle, while he was in his room. Why is this giant hand so sad, you might ask? It's because Isabelle had ordered Fox and Falco to watch over the hand while he's serving his house arrest. Keep in mind that Fox and Falco weren't exactly _ordered_ to watch over Master Hand - they were the only ones that willingly agreed to do the task, after Isabelle asked everyone in the mansion.

"You know, this situation wouldn't have happened if you hadn't disappeared from your room and teleported to Luigi's and Daisy's home," said Isabelle. If you recall from the previous episode, Master Hand teleported to the home to alert Mario about Kirby's arch-rivals Magalor, Marx, and Zero attacking the mansion, although it was more of Zero's doing. No, not the robot, the giant eyeball thing that apparently bleeds at will. "Better be glad that the tracking device on your ring finger didn't go off!"

"I'm Master Hand, creator of the Smash Universe, I can do whatever I want, whatever I please! The judicial system is underneath me, who cares what punishment they dole out to me! Putting me on house arrest for 'theft'...what an absolute joke!"

"Yo, Isabelle, we're here!" Fox, and his partner-in-crime Falco, entered Master Hand's room, holding a couple of board games in their hands. "Got here just in time, the time we're gonna have with Master Hand will be off the chain!" Some grumbling could be heard from the giant hand in question...

 **Fox: Not surprised that nobody volunteered to watch over Master Hand...his amount of fun is simply too much for any mortal being to handle. He finds fun in the most abstract and unorthodox ways, like scaring people behind their backs for example.  
Falco: Watching over Master Hand will teach us about Master Hand's ways - ways that we shall use in our everyday ventures, and we can pass on what we already know to Master Hand. It'll be a great learning experience for the both of us.**

"Just put all your stuff on the floor and come here, I need to speak with you for a quick minute," said Isabelle; the Star Fox pilots did as they were told, and went to go speak with the shih tzu. "In case you haven't noticed yet, Master Hand isn't in the best mood, he's still bummed out about being under house arrest, and he thinks he did nothing wrong. So I want you both to cheer him up the best you can."

"No need to fear Isabelle, we got this all under control," Falco gave a thumbs up. "You can always count on us to get the job done!" Isabelle shrugged as she smiled and exited the room, sporting a somewhat confident smile. Fox and Falco may not be the best candidates for "babysitting" Master Hand, but someone's gotta do it! Once Isabelle closed the door, it was now time for the Star Fox pilots to do their thing.

"Stay away from me as far as possible, and leave me be!" Apparently Master Hand's mood prevented him from letting the pilots do their thing, as the giant hand floated to his bed and laid on it. "Go surf on the Internet on our computer phones for all I care!" Man, who peed in Master Hand's cheerios today? Link wasn't up to his usual tricks again, was he?

"Nah fam, we can't have you sulking like this, gotta turn that nonexistent frown upside down!" Falco said to Master Hand, doing his best to cheer up the Smash Universe creator. However, he did the exact opposite...

"What on earth did you just call me?!" Master Hand arose from his bed in fury. "That sounded like a curse word, or a fighting word, how dare you call me such a thing!"

"Bruh, I just called you fam...you know, like family, I consider you and everyone else my family...with only a few exceptions." It's pretty evident Master Hand has no knowledge of any hip slang. You'd think that an "all-knowing" being would have a few slang words in his personal dictionary.

"Now you've used another derogatory word! I am shocked and appalled Falco, I thought you were better than this!"

"This is not going well so far, Master Hand's bad mood is ruining things for us..." Fox whispered to Falco. Master Hand, not wanting to start a full-blown argument with Falco, returned to flying on his bed...and he doesn't even use the cover sheet, what a waste of a bed! "Making him happy will be a gradual process..."

* * *

"Reach for those toes!" Wii Fit Trainer told King Dedede, who was doing sit-ups in the fitness center in an effort to lose some weight. As you would imagine, the penguin is struggling mightily. "Don't give up Dedede, I know you can do it!"

 **Wii Fit Trainer: King Dedede has been whining and complaining all day about missing _America's Got Talent_ on Tuesday, and he's too darn reluctant to see the results...so, to keep his mind off of things, I'm making him do a few exercises...And he better take these exercises to heart, I better not catch him scarfing down on a chocolate cake or a box of donuts once we're through!**

Standing a faraway distance from Wii Fit Trainer and King Dedede was Sonic and Bowser, who were about to put their prank into motion. sonic had brought a third person along for the prank, and the hedgehog thought she would be a great addition.

"Can you explain to me what we're doing again, are we talking about who went through or who went home?" Amy said to the two pranksters. The pink hedgehog's a perfect choice - most fangirls watch reality competition shows (it's arguably been that way since _American Idol_ first went mainstream in the early 2000's), and Amy is the pure epitome of a fangirl, if her previous fangirling of Sonic was any indication.

"We're not talking that kind of stuff, the main point of the prank is to talk about each act, and since you watch the show, you can help us 'stretch the truth', so to speak," Bowser explained Amy. "You'll say false things about each individual act, and we'll keep the conversation going! Our prank won't work though if Dedede doesn't hear us!"

"Wouldn't that be considered...lying?" Sonic and Bowser sheepishly looked at one another, before shaking their heads in response. "Oh well, that's fine by me! Let's get to it!"

The three waited until King Dedede was finished with Wii Fit Trainer. Once the penguin was done, walking out of the exercising room, the prank was now a go.

"So did you hear about what happened to Steven Brundage, the guy who does magic with Rubix cubes?" Amy started the discussion. "Heard he hurt himself pretty badly during his performance - in fact, he suffered from first-degree burns, and had to be sent to a nearby hospital!"

"Get out of here, no way!" Sonic exclaimed in faux shock, making the nearby King Dedede bummed out that he missed what could have been _America's Got Talent's_ first serious injury on live television, where someone ended up in critical condition. "First-degree burns from a Rubix cube, that's practically unheard of!"

"Oh, but that's not all...Brian Justin Crum, the man who did that Phil Collins cover in the quarterfinals? He absolutely bombed in his semifinals performance, so badly that he got four X's! Pretty embarrassing, if you ask me!"

"Yeah, I think I saw that online!" stated Bowser. "He started off his song pretty good, and then the nerves got to him, and he stumbled along the way! It's a darn shame he went home..." But it's a real good thing he didn't, right?

 **Amy: Saying false things about the acts from _America's Got Talent_ sounds so wrong...but sounds so right at the same time. I guess there's a lot of humor involved in what I'm doing with Sonic and Bowser, and humor can make anything fun, I suppose...**

"St-Steven Brundage...got hurt?!" King Dedede approached the three, he had eavesdropped for far too long. "Is he okay, is he one hundred percent? He's one of my favorites, I'm always a huge fan of magicians, and to see one of my favorites get hurt..."

"Too bad he wasn't the only magic act who got seriously hurt," replied Bowser. "Isn't that right Amy?" Amy, in a slightly frantic state of mind, suddenly conjured a magic act in her head.

"Ah yes, the Clairvoyants!" Amy snapped her fingers once the name came in her head. "They were doing some freaky mind trick with the judges, and it was so intense, that one of the performers hemorrhaged and had to be sent to the hospital as well." Would the producers of _America's Got Talent_ ever let hemorrhages slip by on their show?

"Someone bled on live television, and I missed it!" King Dedede had his hands on his head in distress. "Why did I let those Waddle Dees record the show for me, what was I thinking? I can't my faithful servants do all of my bidding, they need a break every now and then!"

"Ain't that the truth," responded Sonic, receiving a nudge from Amy. "What, he has an extremely valid point!" Sonic whispered to Amy while shrugging.

* * *

Mario and Pac-Man met with Mega Man and R.O.B, in the room where Mega Man's teleportation device (the one Master Hand forced the blue bomber to build just so he could take the brawlers to Rio and also steal the United State men's basketball team's cruise ship) was.

"WORKING ON...CALIBRATIONS..." R.O.B. said to Mario Pac-Man, and Megaman while he was working away on the teleportation device. "WE'LL BE READY IN...ONLY A FEW MINUTES..."

 **Mega Man: After the Rio incident that saw Master Hand wind up with a house arrest for cruise ship theft (a crime that sounds more unbelievable every time you say it), I was more than ready to destroy the teleportation device, and I was actually close to destroying it, until Mario and Pac-Man came to me, wanting to use the device. So I had R.O.B., whom I consider the Mr. Game and Watch of the technology world, patch the device back up. Kinda sucks for me, since I was going to sell the device scraps for money so I can buy me a highly expensive personal hair dryer, for my robot hair...but there's always Christmas.**

"Aw, cheer up Villager, one day you'll beat Ness in a home run derby, just gotta work on your craft and you'll beat Ness in no time!" Pit spoke with Villager, holding a baseball bat, as the two lads walked by the room. Villager walked back and poked his head through the doorway when he saw Mario and company standing on the pad of the teleportation device; the youngster had recalled Mega Man vigorously destroying the device prior to going outside for his home run derby, so to see the device back together in one piece...it certainly befuddled the young Villager.

"Going back to Rio, I'm assuming?" Villager asked those inside the room. "Thought we already put Rio behind, especially after the whole cruise ship fiasco..."

"Sweet, we're going back to Rio, that's awesome!" Pit knocked Villager out of the way and ran inside the room, stepping on the teleportation pad. Typical Pit, wanting to be a part of things... "I've always wanted to go back, those Jamaican people are way nicer than the news made them out to be!" Can someone tell Pit that the Brazilians are NOT Jamaican, regardless of what the green and yellow colors may have entailed?

"Silly Pit, we're-a not heading back-a to Rio...Master Hand's actions got-a us banned from ever coming back to-a Brazil," explained Mario; took Pit forever to suddenly realize that Rio is _not_ in Jamaica. "We're going to Safeco-a Field to visit the Mariners president, and ask-a him if we can use-a the baseball stadium-a for my wedding."

"Due to a lack of transportation - what with Mario not owning a vehicle aside from the kart vehicles he uses for racing (same goes for me), and Mega Man's car no longer in commission - we had Mega Man and R.O.B (mostly R.O.B.) repair the teleportation device so we can go to Safeco Field," added Pac-Man. "And by the looks of it, you're more than eager to come along for the ride!"

"Safeco Field is the place where the Seattle Mariners play, right?" Villager came up to ask this question. "I wanna come to; while you guys are doing your thing, I can work on my hitting with the Mariners coaches." Well what if the coaches don't want to work with Villager on their hitting, what is he gonna do then? The Mariners still have to play, you know!

"We're unsure about how long we'll be at the stadium...but I suppose you can use the time that you have to work on your skills. There won't be much for you and Pit to accomplish while Mario and I speak with the team president."

"ALL SYSTEMS... ARE TO GO..." R.O.B. announced after he was finished with the calibrations, hopping on the teleportation pad. "TO SAFECO FIELD...WE GO..." And just like that, Mario and company were teleported...and the camera crew putting together the documentary was also teleported. Can't forget about them!

* * *

 **Aerith: Link and Cloud relayed Chrom's practice date to me and Zelda, and Link said that Chrom wants the practice date to have an "authentic" feel, like he's at an actual restaurant.  
Zelda: In order to fulfill Chrom's wishes, we designed the ballroom to look like a fancy restaurant, and we even included a stage so we could have a musical act to perform while the practice date goes on...As for the practice date itself, you'll just have to wait and see what we have in store. *giggles***

"Put this wig on, and don't say a single word until I say so," Cloud gave a Robin a wig - a wig that strangely resembles female Robin's hair - and the mage put it on his head, albeit reluctantly. He and Cloud were standing outside the door to the ballroom, with a certain spidermonkey in their presence.

"Dixie just texted me about the Panthers-Broncos game tonight, I had no idea she watches sports!" Diddy panicked after receiving yet another text from Dixie Kong. "Why must I listen to social ideals and assume that girls aren't into sports that much?" No matter where Robin is, or what he does, Diddy Kong _has_ to be there, asking the mage for texting assistance. It should be teenagers getting their first phone who would need assistance in texting others, especially their significant others.

"Diddy it's not that big of a deal, just tell her that it will be a great game, and that you'll thoroughly enjoy it," Robin suggested to Cloud, not knowing that he just broke a recently established rule.

"Did I not tell you not to say a single word?!" Cloud scolded the mage. Lucina poked her head through the ballroom door, giving Cloud a thumbs up. "Alright, we're ready, just follow me inside and everything will be explained for you."

So Cloud led Robin inside the ballroom, and Diddy closely followed along, and soon the three ended up in the ballroom...which hardly looked that much like a ballroom. It looked like a legit fancy restaurant, what with the tables with the white tablecloth, the bright lights at every corner, and a musical stage, with Link (with a triangle), Toon Link (with a flute), Young Link (with an ocarina) and K.K. Slider on top. Sitting at one of the tables was Chrom, looking through a fake menu.

"Glad to see that you have finally arrived!" Aerith approached Robin, taking the mage's hand and walking him over to the table where Chrom sat at. Zelda was also at the table, pulling out a chair for Robin. You'd be hard pressed to find that kind of generous service at any restaurant. "We've been expecting you to come!"

"What is the meaning of this, what's with this setup?" Robin questioned as Aerith sat him and his seat, and Zelda pulled the chair up to the table. Diddy sat at a nearby table, so he can alert Robin about any text he may receive from Dixie. "I demand answers at once!" Aerith nor Zelda didn't answer; they just stepped away from the table, as Chrom looked up from the menu, putting said menu on the table.

"Hello, Raven, I didn't expect you to show up this soon," Chrom greeted Robin, who's now confused as all heck. Ever saw the Nick Young confused face? That's the very facial expression Robin was giving Chrom right now.

 **K.K. Slider: One of my many dreams is to one day perform at a restaurant, for all the lovebirds in love on their dates...and the families who wish to celebrate a major accomplishment, like a graduation. When Zelda asked me if I wanted to perform at a restaurant, I quickly obliged - but I never expected to be performing in the ballroom, transformed into a restaurant, but like the Chrom practice date that Zelda had alluded to, it's only just for practice...though I really want the real deal.**

"Just play along and this will be all over sooner than you know it," Lucina came over to tell Robin this, before patting him on the shoulder and walking away. No comforting kiss on the cheek to cheer up the mage? How very mysterious.

"So tell me Raven, how do you like it in Seattle?" Chrom started off the conversation. "What do you like the most about it - is it the weather? The people? The attractions? Tell me what your heart desires!" If this is how Chrom plans on starting out his actual date...

"Oh, um, I like...the people, they're very nice to me," responded Robin, albeit in a girly voice, since it might be what Chrom wants. He can't let this be a one-sided conversation, he's gotta keep the conversation going too. "You've been in Seattle far longer than I have, what do YOU like about this city?"

"I'd say I love Seattle's culture, a lot of intriguing aspects like the local musical bands. Speaking of which, I could definitely kill for some music now..." Chrom looked over to the stage, and saw K.K. Slider and the three Links silently waiting for their cues, although a cue was already given out. "I said, I could definitely KILL for some music now..."

"You want music, well you got it!" K.K. exclaimed as he played his guitar, and the three Links played their instruments. The melody was imperfect, the harmony was harrowing, and the rhythm was all over the place, and Chrom didn't like it one bit.

"Some singing would be awfully nice," the prince of Ylisse voiced his concerns with a frown. "The four of you together doesn't really sound that good..."

"Don't worry, I'm on it!" Link disappeared off of the stage, and came back on with a synthesizer. He pressed a button, and some techno music began playing, as the Hylian sang the following in a relatively low voice: "Oh yeah, you gotta get schwifty, gotta get schwifty in here, time to get schwifty, oh yeah you gotta get schwifty, take off your pants and your panties, and then you...poop on the floor..." Link was now getting low on the floor, a harrowing sight for anyone who's not used to Link dancing (and anyone in this sense means _everyone_ ). "...time to get schwifty in here, gotta poop on the floor..."

 **Cloud: After the whole Lucina-Robin stalking incident, I thought for a minute that Link's standards wouldn't fall any longer than they were. And now he just got low to the floor, real low, enough to the point where you would be in danger of turning in your man card. So it's safe to say that Link's low standards have now just been obliterated.**

"Dixie Kong just texted me again, she's asking me if I'm watching any football games on Sunday!" Diddy Kong went over to Robin to alert him this. "She knows a lot more than I have ever...why are you dating Chrom?" What a very awkward question to ask the mage.

"I'm not 'dating' Chrom, this is just a mere practice date," explained Robin. "The reason why I'm dressed up as Chrom's date, Raven, is to prepare..."

"You need to go on a practice date so when you go on an actual date with your new girlfriend Lucina, you'll know exactly what to do?" The words "girlfriend" and "Lucina", both uttered one after another - it greatly angered Lucina's loving and caring father, Chrom.

" _You're_ in love with Lucina and you never told me?" the prince frowned at Robin, nearly seething. As a father, Chrom demands to know everything pertaining to Lucina. "Why were you too reluctant to tell me Robin, we're pretty tight after all!"

"Diddy how do you of all people know this, is this why you were following me this whole time?" Robin frowned at Diddy. "Because you knew that Lucina and I are in love, is that why?!"

"For the record, Link told me after our Scholars Club meeting about you and Lucina making out at Luigi's and Daisy's home," responded Diddy. Robin furiously looked at Link, who immediately stopped singing his weird song and sheepishly walked off the stage, and Chrom gave a similar look to Lucina, who was chilling in the back with Aerith and Zelda, now too ashamed to look at her own father.

"Kissing in Luigi's home when no one (save for Link, maybe) was looking, that's...that's just low man," Chrom shook his head at Robin, still in a bit slight of disbelief. "I don't know what to think of you anymore, Robin." Chrom heaved a heavy sigh as he got up from his seat, and exited the ballroom, thus ending the practice date on a highly awkward note. Had Link not told Diddy what he had seen, the spidermonkey wouldn't have bothered Robin all day long, and the truth of Robin and Lucina kissing would have never been made known to Chrom. It could have been the best-kept secret going on in the mansion, but nope, Diddy (and to an extent, Link, supplying the information to Diddy) had to ruin it.

"Anyone mind if I use this time to practice my guitar playing skills?" asked K.K. Slider; the current mood inside the ballroom prevented anyone from giving the hippie dog an answer. "Groovy!" K.K. played his guitar with all his heart, as the tension in the ballroom persisted.

* * *

Inside the arcade room, Wolf was playing the _Space Invaders_ arcade machine. And he didn't just play it - he also broke the record, previously held by Zero!

 **Wolf: "Nobody can beat my high score," he said, "I'm the best _Space Invaders_ player this mansion has ever seen," he said, "You guys are nothing but a bunch of scrubs," he said...well Wolf O'Donnell says that I just beat your high score Zero, so do me a solid and hold this L!**

"Ha ha, take that haters, you're now looking at a new record holder!" Wolf cockily turned around to face .EXE, X, and Zero, the later robot fuming about his long-standing score, now erased by Wolf. "Bow down to the king!"

"Who's hating, the only person that's hating is Zero, and his reasons are very much justified," stated .EXE. Wolf laughed manically in Zero's face, and the Maverick Hunter held his tongue. Opening his mouth would prove to be quite disastrous.

"Hey dudes, you want some free tokens?" King Dedede approached Wolf and company, holding a pile of tokens in his hands. "Got these tokens from a few vending machines, and since I'm feeling very generous today, I was wondering if you want any tokens!"

"Is it just me, or is King Dedede feeling more caring towards us because he missed that episode of _America's Got Talent_?" Zero whispered to X; the pacifist robot shrugged. Dedede didn't want anyone to find out that he watches AGT, partially because he doesn't want to be grouped in the same category as "fangirls", and yet here we are, and Zero and X both know that Dedede watches the show.

"Grace VanderWaal got busted for taking PEDs during the competition, and now she's been booted from the _America's Got Talent_ finals?!" Sonic discussed with Bowser and Amy as they entered the arcade room, knowing that King Dedede would be there. Now Grace is but twelve years of age, but twelve-year-old would take steroids at such a young age? Had her parents allowed this to happen, it would probably count as child abuse. "That's not a good sign for the show, never would have imagined a _singing_ act caught for doping! I was shocked when they confirmed it on the results show!"

"The PEDs helped improve her singing skills, and also granted her the ability to write her original songs," Amy kept the discussion going. "How very scandalous of her to do!" King Dedede was biting on his fingernails - through his gloves. How did he miss out on his (extreme false) news, why did his Waddle Dees fail him?

 **Bowser: This Grace kid is practically harmless, has done no wrong, and yet people want to hate on her...that's how you know she's destined to become a bona fide pop star.**

"Grace is no longer in the competition, how can this be?" an exasperated King Dedede approached Sonic and company. "She's perhaps the only singer that I like, and now she's been disqualified from competing! This season has taken a turn for the worse!"

"Um, I'm pretty sure that Grace is..." X started off, before Bowser came in and covered the robot's mouth with his arms. No way the koopa king would like the pacifist robot ruin his prank, it's going awfully well so far!

"First Steven Brundage, and now Grace! What about Victor Kee, was he eliminated or not?" Sonic and Bowser nodded their heads; Amy would have nodded hers, but she was too reluctant to do so. "Great, now my favorites aren't even in the finals! Life is so unfair!" King Dedede ran out of the arcade, on the verge of tears. Sonic and Bowser found themselves laughing at the penguin, but Amy on the other hand was feeling kinda sympathetic.

* * *

"Yeah buddy, won again, man I'm on a roll!" Fox exclaimed after beating his pal Falco in a game of _Sorry!,_ bringing his four pawns to his "home" space. The pilots were playing in Master Hand's bedroom, and yes, they've been playing against each other for the longest.

"Your eleven-game winning streak will come to an end Fox, mark my words!" Falco vowed as he took the game pieces off the _Sorry!_ game board, ready to start another game with his friendly rival. "It would be very pleasant if _someone_ wanted to play with us, instead of sulking around on a bed they probably don't even use that often." That someone Falco is referring to is none other than Master Hand, still on his bed.

"I'm not playing as a sign of showing mercy to you both, if I played, I would cream you two, to the point where you would be embarrassed to play me ever again!" was Master Hand's lousy excuse, and evidently the Star Fox pilots didn't buy it at all. Soon Isabelle came inside the room, to check on Master Hand and make sure that Fox and Falco haven't made him lose his sanity yet.

"How are Fox and Falco treating you, Master Hand?" Isabelle asked the giant hand; Master Hand gave a weak thumbs up before plopping his fingers back on the bed. "Excellent!" Isabelle scribbled Master Hand's condition on her clipboard, like his condition needed to be recorded.

 **Isabelle: At first I believed that Master Hand would have went off his rocker due to Fox and Falco's antics, and expel them from the mansion...but he looks generally content, lying on the bed. He must have really high tolerance levels for silliness.**

"Just wanted to see how you were doing, goodbye for now!" Isabelle exited the room, making Master Hand groan. Fox and Falco were about to play their twelfth straight game of _Sorry!_ (Falco refuses to give up until he comes away with a victory), but they can't play with only themselves, there has to be a third player.

"C'mon, Master Hand, if you can supposedly cream us in this game, then how about you show us?" enticed Fox, trying to uplift Master Hand's mood. "Unless you're a...a coward!" Now THAT should get Master Hand riled up, he doesn't appreciate people calling him names. That's one thing he doesn't have a high tolerance for.

"Oooooh SNAP!" exclaimed Falco, getting pumped for no reason. He has a potent tendency of doing that.

"Fine then, a game you want, a game you shall get!" Master Hand got off of his bed and hovered towards the game board, picking out his pieces and placing them at the start space. Let the games begin...

* * *

"A wedding at Safeco Field, eh?" the president of the Seattle Mariners spoke with Mario and Pac-Man in his office, while Mega Man and R.O.B. waited outside. "I'm sure we can work something out. We could have your wedding on one of our off days, or we can hold the wedding right after an early afternoon game, if that's fine with you..."

"The latter option sounds-a more feasible," replied Mario. "How does...June 23rd sound to-a you?" A little close to Luigi's wedding date, don't you think?

"June 23 is an absolutely perfect date! Well, Mr. Mario, looks like we got ourselves a deal." The Mariners president shook hands with Mario, signifying June 23rd as the day Mario and Peach will (finally) wed.

"MISSION COMPLETE...TIME TO HEAD BACK HOME..." R.O.B. uttered from outside the office; like Mega Man, he was already feeling the need to return to the mansion in one peace.

"Well, it looks like our work here is done," said Pac-Man. "Thanks for hearing us out, Mr. President!" The Mariners president waved to Mario and Pac-Man as the two video game icons exited the office, ready to return home.

 **Mario: So it's-a been settled, June 23rd will-a be the day Peach and-a I will wed. Obviously we have-a to do whole-a lotta planning up-a to that date, but for me-a and Peach, it'll be the best-a day ever...**

 **Mega Man: The way the teleportation device works, the only way we can return to the mansion is if me, Mario, Pac-Man, Pit, and Villager are together. It won't work if someone's left behind...**

Outside on the baseball field, Villager was having batting practice with one of the Mariners' starting pitchers, while Pit kept track of the balls Villager homered. We shall dub the Mariners pitcher Abraham.

"You see, batting isn't that hard - you just gotta be focused, and keep your head straight, and you'll be churning out home runs in an instant," Abraham said to Villager as he pitched baseball after baseball to the young lad. Villager hit one of the baseballs with the swift crack of his baseball bat, delivering a home run that Hank Aaron would be proud of.

"Easy for you to say, you're a pitcher, what would you know about hitting and all that stuff?" questioned Pit, recording Villager's home run on a piece of paper. "All you do is throw the baseball all game long!"

"Yes, that may be true, but as a pitcher, I know what batters I go up against, and what they are capable of. That's one of the many great things about baseball, knowing where the strengths and weaknesses of your opponents lie."

"Pit, Villager, it's time to go!" Mega Man called out to the two, running out on the baseball field. "Mario and Pac-Man have already spoken with the team president, and they have decided that..."

"Wait, which one of you is Villager?" Abraham asked Pit and Villager; the sound of Villager's name made the pitcher somewhat sick to his stomach. And would you know it, the boy with the "1" t-shirt raised his hand. "You're the most wanted criminal in my home country of Venezuela, do you not know the harm and panic you have brought upon my country?"

"I'm the most wanted criminal in Venezuela?" worried Villager, until he recalled the prank call he was subject to. Bowser had made him call a foreign number, saying that the number belonged to Villager's long-lost parents, and the young lad fell for the prank. "No sir, it's not what you think, this is all a huge misunderstanding!"

"Don't think I won't let you get away with this!" Abraham charged at Villager, putting him in a headlock and making him pay for the hysteria he (inadvertently) brought upon Venezuela with the prank call. Mario, Pac-Man, and R.O.B. arrived at the baseball field, and saw Pit and Mega Man prying Abraham away from Villager.

"Mama mia!" Mario exclaimed as he and the others rushed in to assist Pit and Mega Man, and as they were doing that...

* * *

...the entire group (as well as the camera crew, can't forget about them) was warped back to the mansion. And Abraham was brought along.

 **Mega Man: Oh yeah, I forget one more crucial thing...any outsiders that are present with us when we warp back will be warped along with us. Teleportation works both ways, you know.**

"I'm not done with you yet!" the pitcher said to Villager as he continued to harass the boy. He brought Villager out of the room, and harassed him in the hallway. Robin, who was walking in the hallway reflecting on how the practice date earlier ended, saw Abraham messing with Villager, and wanted to help his fellow brawler out.

"You leave him alone this instant!" Robin said to Abraham, confronting the pitcher and restraining him. Abraham elbowed the mage in the face several times, the last blow sending Robin to the floor writhing in pain.

"Robin!" Amy, who had just turned around the corner of the hallway, screamed out the mage's name when he saw what had happened to him. The hedgehog ran over to Robin to tend to his needs, while Abraham dragged Villager down the hallway and to another part of the mansion where he can't be bothered. "Are you okay, did that mean man hurt you?"

"My jaw feels horribly sore..." Robin rubbed his temples, massaging them. "But other than that, I'm fine." Robin slowly got up, before falling on the floor. "...or maybe not." Mario and company exited the room, to see what had transpired.

"You guys watch over Robin, I'll go find some help!" Amy told the men as she ran away. Isn't she supposed to be with Sonic and Bowser, why did she break away from them?

* * *

"To think that Robin was a trustworthy friend, someone I could put my faith in, or rely on when I need him the most...and he has the gall to cover up his kiss with Lucina, what a coward he is," Chrom shook his head as he sat in the foyer, griping over the actions of Robin. "So what about you, how are things treating yourself?" Chrom would ask this question to King Dedede, who was also sitting in the foyer after being wronged (although he doesn't even realize it).

"My favorites from _America's Got Talent_ aren't even in the finals, I don't think I can watch anymore..." the penguin heaved a deep sigh. "I'll just...see who the winner is, and until May or June or the next season..." Or he could audition for the show, and be a part of the experience! But we all know that Dedede his devoid of any talent. If speed-eating was an actual talent that can get you far in the competition, maybe the penguin could have a chance.

"Chrom, I have some terribly bad news, it's about Robin!" Amy frantically ran down the steps to alert the prince, who instantly looked up when Robin's name was mentioned. "Some man just hurt Robin - I think he elbowed him in the face, knocking him to the floor! And he's taking Villager away to who-knows-where! You must..."

"That's enough for now, Amy, I know what must be done..." Chrom got up, and ran up the stairs, likely wanting to be a hero.

 **Chrom: Even though Robin may have done me wrong, I can't stand to see anyone hurt him by any means. I'll find this person, and make him pay for what he has done!**

"Oh, and King Dedede, there's something that I have to get off of my chest..." Amy turned to face King Dedede, still very much depressed. "Those things I said with Sonic and Bowser...they weren't true." Dedede looked up at Amy with a surprised expression on his face, his eyes bulged out. "Brian Justin Crum, Grace VanderWaal, Victor Kee, they never went home...though Steven Brundage did. Point of the matter is, no one got seriously hurt or anything, and none of the names I mentioned except for Brundage went home - it was all just a part of Sonic's and Bowser's prank, and they invited me to be a participant. I didn't feel that bad at all about what I was doing until I saw you about to break down into tears..."

"How dare those posers prank me like that!" King Dedede gritted his teeth, pulling out his hammer. "Although Sonic deserves most of the blame, it was that dastardly Bowser who came up with that prank in the first place, he's the only one that would come up with such a prank! He may have slipped by with his pranks in the past, but this time, he'll pay..."

* * *

"I'm telling you Zelda, this wasn't me nor Diddy Kong's fault, Chrom had to found out sooner or later," Link discussed with his girlfriend about the ordeal with Chrom and Robin as they walked through the hallway. "Sure the situation could have been handled better, but still..."

"Had you not spilled the beans to Diddy, none of this wouldn't have happened," Zelda responded in a reprimanding manner. She stopped in her tracks - also making Link stop by throwing her arm in front of him - when she saw Abraham verbally abusing Villager on the floor. He may be sticking up for his home country of Venezuela, but he's definitely going over-the-top with his actions. "What is that man doing here, and why is he harming Villager like that?! Link, you have to stop him!"

"Nah that guy looks way too tough for me, I wouldn't want to face him if I was walking down the street, I'd just go in the opposite direction." Zelda gave Link a dubious look, for the hero of Hyrule has faced tougher enemies before (see: Ganondorf).

However, someone _did_ come in to save the day, when Chrom showed up and confronted Abraham. The pitcher left Villager alone, as he and Chrom got into a fight, which ended with Chrom delivering a knockout punch to Abraham and sending him to the floor, unconscious. Link and Zelda just stood there agape after witnessing what they had seen; who knew Chrom was that capable!

 **Zelda: Chrom had knocked out that man with one swift punch, not to mention that he used his fists to bring the man down. Whereas with Link, he can only fight with his sword, and his punches are relatively weak...they feel like light taps on your body, you would never know that he's punching you. I should know, Link tried to prove to me how "tough" he is, and needless to say, miserable wouldn't begin to describe how he failed...**

"Hoo boy, what happened over here?" Ganondorf came over to investigate the scene, seeing Abraham lying on the floor with Chrom standing strong. Ness and Lucas also came over, and seeing Abraham being treated by Ganondorf, they both ran over to see what was going on.

"Hey I know that man, he's one of the Seattle Mariners' starting pitchers!" Lucas exclaimed after inspecting Abraham, to ensure he wasn't seeing things. "But how and why is he even here in the first place?"

"My best guess is that he trespassed here without warning, and was taken out by Chrom for his actions! I say that we turn him over to the police, so they can send him to jail where he belongs, behind the bars!"

"No way, think of the bad publicity that would be brought upon the Mariners organization if that were to happen!" fretted Ness. Abraham is a squeaky-clean player, in terms of off-the-field behavior (like most baseball players generally are), so to be turned over to the police would hamper his reputation. "We can just return him to the Mariners headquarters, and pretend that nothing ever happened."

"My suggestion sounds a lot better...but I suppose we can return him to the team." Ganondorf picked up Abraham, and threw him over his shoulders. "Who here has a mode of transportation?"

"I do, we can just throw that man in the back of my pickup truck and drive down to the Mariners organization," Link volunteered. "Just follow me!" So Ganondorf, Ness, and Lucas ( the latter two possibly providing directions for Link, if he needs any), as well as Zelda, followed Link downstairs and to the foyer. A few seconds after they had left, Villager lifted up his head, rubbing it.

"Are you feeling okay Villager?" Chrom knelt down and asked the young boy, who nodded his head with a reassuring smile. "That's really good to hear." Chrom stood back up, and turned around and saw Robin, who's feeling a whole lot better. Not to mention that the mage had feelings of regret written all over his face.

"Got here as fast as I could," the mage began, looking down at the floor. "Just wanted to say that..."

"...you're sorry?" Chrom finished for Robin, catching the mage off-guard. The prince of Yliesse was also smiling! "Well, consider your apology accepted. Lucina told me everything I needed to know as I made my way up here, she apologized to me about the whole kissing thing and wished she had told me earlier. And you were wanting to make a similar apology, is that correct?" Robin responded with a cheesy grin...so that's definitely a yes. "Also, I found the Duck Hunt Dog carrying this in his mouth..." Chrom gave Robin his tome, albeit covered in dog saliva. "Found him on the staircase, chewing on a Bowser plushie while getting drool all over the tome." A Bowser plushie? Hmmm...

 **Lucina: I felt kind of bad for letting Robin kiss me in Luigi's home, in private when no one was looking...but I felt even worse about not telling Father about our kiss. It was a burden that I couldn't bear to persist forever, it was imperative that Father found out sooner or later.**

"So Villager, why on earth was that man harassing you, was it because of something personal?" Robin asked Villager. What personal thing would Villager have with Abraham, it's not like Villager were to leave Abraham hanging after a high-five, and agitate the pitcher to the point where he would have to bully the little fella.

"It was mainly because of a prank call, Bowser tricked me into calling this number - saying that it was my parents - and it made me the most wanted criminal in Venezuela," explained Villager. "That man that was tormenting me, he's from Venezuela, and he said that I had brought harm upon his country after that phone call."

"How about we give our dear friend Bowser a taste of his own medicine?" smirked Chrom, conjuring an idea in his head. Bowser had this coming for some time now.

* * *

"Muahahahaha, beat you fools yet again!" Master Hand laughed maniacally after beating Fox and Falco for the nth time in the game of _Sorry!_ \- did they not consider playing the other board games, lying on the floor?

"Good game, good game, lots of fun all around," Fox said as he placed the _Sorry!_ game board and pieces and whatnot back inside the box. "You were right Master Hand, you definitely creamed us, no ands, ifs, or buts about it!"

"Bruh why are you putting the game back, you said we would stop playing until I won at least one game!" pouted Falco. He's been playing _Sorry!_ this whole time, yet he has no wins under his belt while playing the board game - guess that's why they call it _Sorry!_

"Aaaah, I feel so refreshed!" Master Hand let out a sigh of relief, stretching out his fingers. "I don't feel as angry as I did before!" There was a knock at the door; Master Hand answered it, and saw Diddy Kong. "Hello, Diddy, how may I help you today?"

* * *

"Man, pranking King Dedede was fun stuff!" Sonic was chilling with Bowser in the cafe, drinking a bottle of soda pop. "Can you believe that man was about to cry after we told him that his favorites were eliminated and/or disqualified? What a maroon he is!"

"Too bad your girlfriend didn't want to stick around, we could have kept the prank rolling!" added Bowser, also drinking a bottle of soda pop. Amy had left for a pretty good reason...

 **Amy: Today I learned a valuable lesson - it's never nice to change things around, just for the sake of fun. It can easily misguide others, and hurt other people's feelings. I also learned that Bowser is one of the biggest jerks of all time - he found it funny and comical that King Dedede was feeling so hurt, and even called him a baby at one point! How Sonic and the others are able to put up with Bowser is absolutely mind-boggling.**

"Hey Bowser, you got a minute?" Diddy Kong entered the cafe to ask Bowser, giving the koopa king his cellphone. "This call is for you." Bowser rudely snatched the phone out of Diddy's hands, having a few doubts.

"Who's speaking, this better be quick, I don't have all day you know!" Bowser rudely said into the cellphone. It's safe to say that he doesn't have the best people skills out there...

"That's no way to talk to an elderly grandpa like myself!" Cranky Kong's voice emitted from the phone. "Do me a favor, and do it quick: head down to the basement of the Smash Mansion, if ya know what's good for ya! You call yourself the Prank King, correct? Well there's a reward waiting for you, down in that basement!"

"Yeah buddy, I better claim it right away!" Bowser handed Diddy back his cellphone as he hurried down to the basement, with Diddy Kong and Sonic following along. And when the koopa king arrived at the basement...

...he saw Villager, with his umbrella, King Dedede, with his Chrom, with his Falchion, and Robin, with his tome (still covered in the Duck Hunt Dog's saliva), all glaring down Bowser. To top it all off, Master Hand was also present, making Bowser very much afraid.

"Well Bowser, it's been fun pranking with you and all, now if you excuse me, I gotta go..." Sonic, who was at the top of the basement staircase with Diddy, nervously said before speeding way. Bowser looked up at Diddy, who smiled as he headed out of the basement, closing the door behind him. Bowser's gonna get it now...

"Okay you guys, just chill out, I know why you're all angry," Bowser did his best to appease to Master Hand and company, as they neared the koopa king. "Certainly we can work something out, something that will be feasible for both sides..." No one listened to Bowser; instead, they were beating him up, making him pay for the troubles he had caused...

...and so ends the mighty reign of the Prank King.


	39. Episode 39: Knighthood

_Author's Note:_

 _Some guest reviews I have to answer right away, first one from an anonymous reviewer:_

 _"Dude,no offence or anything but are you a robot or something?Like,you are making a funny and long chapters with only a week break!Usually it takes ages for someone to write a good tell me your secret:3"_

 _First off, I'm not a robot...I attend college, I'm a computer science/engineering major, I watch sports, I play video games in my spare time, I have plenty of friends, some of which I play Super Smash Bros with occasionally...so no, I'm not a robot by any means. And I seldom take week-long breaks - what I do is, after I publish a chapter, I take the rest of the day off, and the next day (Saturday), I go back to work and begin the next chapter, and work on it throughout the week until the day I publish it. So yeah, I guess that's my secret. For those of you who were under the assumption that I write one long chapter all in one day, sorry if I blew your mind. Got another anonymous reviewer question:_

 _"Yeah it wasn't a practice date it was actually a practice break up. Sorry"_

 _Thanks for clearing that out. Moving on..._

 _"Can u do one [chapter] where bowser is super mad at sonic for bailing"_

 _I don't think I can pull that one off, but I can address Bowser's anger with Sonic in this chapter. One more anonymous reviewer:_

 _"Hey, um... So I really like this fanfic, it's always so fun to read... Also, Link's weird song XDDDDDD sometimes I remember that chapter where Mario and Link freaked out because of the CD-i games... I wanna see them go bonkers over the Mario and Zelda cartoon XDDD"_

 _Ooh...the infamous Mario and Zelda cartoon...definitely gonna plan for that one. As for the song Link was singing, for those who may not know, it was from the show "Rick and Morty". Please don't send me any Rick and Morty-related suggestions, I hardly know that much about the show and have only watched various clips online. Next up we have T3mmi3:_

 _"I know someone already said this, but... Could we see Axl from Megaman X? He's so precious 3"_

 _No one suggested Axl, at least to my knowledge, but I'll see what I can do with him. Already have so many Mega Man character requests...might have one huge chapter with only Mega Man characters, who knows. Finally we have Kirby 123:_

 _"Could you at least make dark meta knight appear in like a mirror world story and add galacta knight in a different chapter?"_

 _That sounds somewhat feasible. I'll brainstorm some ideas, and we'll go from there._

* * *

 **Episode 39: Knighthood**

With the wonderful assistance of Pac-Man, Mario has managed to make very important and necessary steps towards his wedding day, June 23rd. First, he settled on a budget that will compensate for the entire wedding. Then he narrowed down his guest list, although we never explicitly saw him do that in _Smash Life._ And more recently, he booked the Seattle Mariners' home stadium, Safeco Field, as the venue for the wedding. So what's next on the wedding plan checklist? Sending out cards, and starting up a website for the wedding. It is highly imperative that Mario and Pac-Man get the word out as soon as possible.

"While I work on the website, you'll do the save-the-date cards and send them out to everyone," Pac-Man explained to Mario in the plumber's room, where Aerith was present; the eater of ghosts will be working away on his personal laptop, a device he keeps away from insolent teenagers (i.e. Pit) and individuals who would even eat a giant beanstalk whole (i.e. Kirby).

"Why can't-a we just do the website-a only, we can spread-a the word to the invitees!" said Mario. The plumber will be having a lot more guests at his wedding than Luigi's because, sadly, people care more about Mario, and would actually pay attention to him. It would take Mario the entire day to write all the cards, provided he doesn't get sidetracked.

"Mario we can't only do the website, not all of our guests have access to the internet, like Shovel Knight for instance. Him trying to use a computer or laptop or just about anything with a functioning monitor is like an isolated Pokemon like Greninja trying out a Pokemon dating service. The lack of inexperience would kill him."

And would you know it, a certain knight in blue armor, with horns at the side of his helmet, who also happened to carry a shovel in his hands, approached Mario and Pac-Man in Mario's room, and belted out the following with a loud, hearty voice:

"Mario, Pac-Man, what a pleasure and an honor to see two icons like thyselves in this wonderful mansion, a fine good day to both!" the knight none other than Shovel Knight exclaimed from the top of his lungs, catching Mario and Pac-Man off-guard.

"Looks like we have some company," Aerith smiled as she braided her hair. Shovel Knight, inside the Smash Mansion. Who would have ever thought of such a thing?

 **Shovel Knight: My stay at the Smash Mansion has not gone without paying any dues - I was brought here by Master Hand to fix the mansion's overlooked plumbing problem, mainly caused by none other than Wario. (Mario or Luigi would have done it, but they're "unofficially" retired from plumbing, at least that's what Master Hand had told me.) With the use of mighty shovel, I unclogged all the toilets Wario had abused with his grotesque and infrequent bowel movements, and fixed the pipes so they would function well and smoothly like they should; my duties have earned me much grammercy. And while I was at it, I also fixed the dishwasher, which was suffering from a bit of a termite problem. It was in that kitchen that I met the lovely Peach in person...**

"After a hard day's work of fixing the persisting plumbing issues in the mansion, I wanted to pay you two chums a quick visit before heading back to my previous destination!" stated Shovel Knight, holding his shovel over his shoulder. "Mario, thou art the plumber 'tis due for a wedding next summer, aye? Let me be the one to wish thou a huge congratulations for finally receiving the chance to marry the woman of thy dreams, Princess Peach Toadstool! I take it there won't be a change in surname fine for the pretty blonde maiden?"

"No there-a won't, not for us," smiled Mario, who has been lacking an official surname since his inception. He's above needing a surname, anyways. "I take it that-a Peach treated you well, due-a to your nobility?"

"Aye, the brawlers have treated me well for the most part, but Miss Toadstool was the sweetest of all! Her hand felt so smooth as she touched my armor, and the feeling of her lips, it was just so..."

"Are-a you implying that you KISSED my-a precious Peach?!" Mario got up, filled with rage. Pac-Man and Aerith looked on with uneasy caution. "No one kisses-a Peach and expects-a to get away with it!"

"N'er would I kiss a nonpareil to be wedded anywhere but her lips - verily I tell you Mario, I wouldn't do such a thing, wherefore would thou make these assumptions?!" Shovel Knight shuddered in fear, holding his shovel in front of him, as Mario grew in anger, his face turning red with fury. "Perchance I might have been a bit too descriptive in my response..."

"Leave the premises at-a once, and don't come back-a here ever again!" Shovel Knight did as Mario had told him, scurrying away with his shovel in hand, wondering what had gotten into the plumber. Is it now illegal to mention or talk about Peach in a positive light or something? Has Mario become a male yandere?!

"Mario that was highly uncalled for, you scared the living daylights out of poor Shovel Knight," Aerith scolded Mario, as the plumber calmed down by inhaling and exhaling. "Are you even listening to me, Mario? What has gotten into you today, I've never seen you this angry before!"

"Aerith, you finish-a up the save-the-date cards," ordered Mario, after cooling down. "I'm afraid I have some important business to attend to..." And that 'important business" must obviously involve Shovel Knight, in some sort.

* * *

Chrom stood in front of a mirror, tidying his tie, as he was prepping himself for his slightly eventful date with Raven, whom he had met online. He has been preparing for his date for the longest now, and all that preparation can now be put to work, once and for all.

 **Lucina: Father had decided to go on a date for two reasons - one, because he's tired of being single, and two, so he can prove to everyone that he's not a huge dork as they make him out to be. But he'll forever remain a huge dork in my heart, no matter how love may change him...**

After he was finished with his tie, Chrom, wearing the suit he had wore to Luigi's wedding, exited his room, and saw the Ice Climbers working away on an ice sculpture of Mario and Peach, which shall be kept frozen until wedding day. Why the Ice Climbers are working on this ice sculpture so early, we may never know...

"I see you're already working on that sculpture," Chrom said what may have been on your minds right now. "What's the occasion, couldn't wait until next year to start working?" That would've been the most logical thing to do - after all, where would the Ice Climbers store the sculpture at? The Pokemon sanctuary has a freezer section, but Nana nor Popo can't afford the Ice-type Pokemon to break the sculpture, having to start over again.

"Apparently Popo wanted to start on the sculpture right away so we could 'show off our artistic talents and abilities' to our peers," Nana explained as she worked away on the ice sculpture. "In case you couldn't tell, he has been in over his head as of late..."

"I'm not 'in over my head', I just want the residents to know that there's more to us than climbing up ice mountains and wearing parkas all day long," Popo stated, feeling somewhat heartfelt. "When will you understand, Nana, we have other talents too! Why do you think we made those sundaes? How do you explain that? We had mode those sundaes, to prove something about ourselves!"

"Or maybe it was because to keep the brawlers cool during the summer." This was obviously the most logical reasoning, but Popo didn't accept it, as he and Nana would begin bickering over trivial things like sundaes, climbing mountains, vegetables, having been left out of _Super Smash Bros 4_ , et cetera and et cetera. Not wanting to see the Ice Climbers' quarrel come to a peaceful end, Chrom continued on his merry way, making his way down to the foyer.

"Looking good, Chrom my man!" King K. Rool, who was strangely present at the foyer, gave the prince of Yliesse a thumbs up. His thumb was still held out as Chrom breezed right past the Kremling, not even bothering to look him in the eye.

"Nice try Rool, talk all you want but it won't get you anywhere," the prince said as he exited the mansion...and Rool's thumb was still held out.

 **King K. Rool: Chrom's date, Raven, is one smoking hot babe! And how I know this? Lucina and Robin were talking about her one day, talking about how Chrom met this woman on some dating site, and so I went on the site and checked her out and then I thought...if things between her and Chrom don't work out, then Raven can always have a backup plan...a green, burly backup plan! *flexes his biceps and kisses them***

Once outside, Chrom headed over to Link, who was standing next to his truck. Poor Chrom is about to go on his first date, and yet he still can't operate a moving vehicle. Or a cellphone for that matter; Lucina and Mega Man are still showing him the ropes.

"About time you came Chrom," Link said to the prince, holding out his hand. Chrom, believing that Link wants some dap for whatever reason, gave the Hylian some dap, but Link didn't retract his hand. "It'll take more than just the touch of your hand to drive me to the restaurant..."

"Look, Link, I'm not going to pay you just to take me to the restaurant, I want a peaceful ride to my destination, with little to no distractions," pleaded Chrom. Link is the prince's only mode of transportation; Sonic and Jacky Bryant would be very irritating to ride with. "So please, don't regret me having to ask you to take me to the venue, Jacky is my last resort and I refuse to ride with a man who would have the audacity to play _Tokyo Mirage Sessions_ while driving. (It's a really good game, I'll admit that, mainly because I'm in it.) Point of the matter is, I want a smooth ride, that's really all I'm asking for."

"Eh, you can pay me another time, I won't budge right now...just hop inside." Chrom did as he was told, getting in the passenger seat of Link's truck, as the Hylian got inside his rocking vehicle and turned on the ignition, driving down the driveway and off to the Japanese restaurant. On his way to said restaurant, Link and Chrom were met with some company...

"Chrom I have something super duper important to tell you!" Yoshi ran alongside Link's moving truck, huffing and puffing, but not enough to blow some little piggy's house down. Chrom hesitantly rolled down his window, instantly fearing for the worst. "I put you in a new pairing for my latest fanfic - you and Aerith are now an item!"

"That's great Yoshi, I would offer you my critique of this 'pairing', but I'm heading off to a Japanese restaurant, where my date shall take place," Chrom said to the green dinosaur, greatly devastating him. "Oh, and in case you weren't aware, Cloud and Aerith are both in love with one another. Sorry if I had to burst your bubble..."

Link sped off as Yoshi came to a running halt, falling down on his knees as cried into the heavens before sobbing into his hands. Time for the green fanfiction writer to heavily consider early retirement?

* * *

"Wonder what kind of stuff Viridi is doing in the gardens today!" said Pit as he and his best bud Kirby walked to the gardens, so the angel could see his girlfriend. Viridi is the mansion's gardener, despite her young age (but she's a goddess, so who cares about how old she is), and she works tirelessly on a weekly basis to ensure the gardens are in top-shape, everything from the flowers to the soil to even the seeds, scattered about on the ground.

 **Pit: Viridi is the goddess of nature, and understandably she cares a lot about nature. For that reason, she hates the entire human race for "taking advantage of nature"...so why does she insist on living in the mansion, heavily populated by humans? Maybe there's an underlying reason for her doing so, and it might be me... *grins* ...always knew she had a thing for me.**

Pit and Kirby arrived at the mansion's gardens, and saw that Viridi wasn't present. Instead, it was strangely Snake, who was planting and growing plants with the assistance of the young witch Ashley. This had left Pit and Kirby perplexed - is Ashley taking over the gardening duties for Viridi? And if so, why is Snake showing her how it's done, gardening isn't his strong suit!

"Keeping on watering those plants so we can make more..." Snake had told Ashley, before trailing off when he turned around and saw Pit and Kirby, suddenly looking afraid. What is that old coot up to...

"Hey Snake, have you seen Viridi anywhere?" Pit asked the former FOXHOUND spy, unaware and oblivious to the fact that the plants Snake and Ashley were tending to have never been in the gardens before. "I had promised to pay her a visit, before Kirby and I play some _Street Fighter_." A bit one-sided against Kirby's favor, don't you think? Kirby doesn't even have any fingers or opposable thumbs! "Also, what the heck are you and Ashley growing?"

"I can't say I've seen Viridi at all today, or at least after breakfast," replied Snake. "Me and Ashley have been growing these...these, um..." Snake quickly looked back at Ashley, who was doing some hand motion to relay some message to Snake, likely as a way to bail him out. "...sugar plants, yeah!" This was worthy of a facepalm, executed by Ashley. "We have been growing them during Viridi's absence.

"Sugar _canes_ is what Snake had meant to say," corrected Ashley. "You boys can help us grow these sugarcanes, if you're interested." Pit weighed his options and priorities; he does want to play _Street Fighter,_ but every time he and his buddy play the game, it's always the same outcome - Pit wins easily, either by a landslide, or by default. Kirby didn't need to weigh his options and priorities, because he's Kirby; the only option and priority he has is being happy.

"Four heads are better than two!" exclaimed Pit, putting his originals plans to the side. "So where do Kirby and I start?"

* * *

Knuckles was feeling absolutely _livid_ today, even more so than he typically does. The echidna was angrily marching back and forth in the recording studio, acting like how a spoiled little child would when they don't get want they want. Except this time, Knuckles wasn't angry because he didn't get what he want - he was angry because he just got dissed on a diss track, only a couple of months after his rap career officially began.

"How can they disrespect me like that, what have I done to them?" the echidna said out loud as questions ran through his head like an endless stream of water. "Hasn't even been a year yet since I started my rap career, and I already have a diss track aimed at me?! What is this blatant sorcery?!"

 **Knuckles: In wake of having a diss track directed at me, I wrote down a list of individuals who may have been responsible for the track, since the person singing had an extremely indistinguishable voice. First on the list is Little Mac, dude's been jealous of me since day 1, and it shows. Then it's Bowser, perhaps he released the diss track as his last prank before retiring his title as the "Prank King". My third choice is a little...out there, and his name is Big the Cat. Yes, I know what you're thinking, "Knuckles why would an unlovable oaf like Big the Cat direct a diss track at you, his best friend is a freaking frog that runs away from him all the time!" Well I can say is, you can expect much from the unexpected, and out of these three men, Big may very well be the odd man out...in a good or bad way.**

"Everything alright Knuckles, you wanna take a seat somewhere?" Fox entered the recording studio, stepping inside the recording booth, before Knuckles punched the pilot square in the stomach, sending him to the floor in pain. "I'll take that as a no..." Fox wheezed, clutching the place where Knuckles had punch him. The echidna is relatively well-known for his strong punches, and Fox just learned how strong those punches are.

"I won't sit down until I find out who the artist of that diss track is!" vowed Knuckles. Walking back and forth won't solve anything, so Knuckles may never sit down again unless the correct artist's name comes to him. "I'm the last person deserving of a diss track, I mean, what do I possibly do that warrants a diss track on the first place?!" Knuckles angrily punched a wall, leaving behind a hole as he exhaled heavily with a giant frown written on his face.

"Temper tantrums might be a reason for this diss track," suggested Fox, lifting himself up to raise his finger as a way to point his suggestion out, before falling back on the floor due to the pain. Falco walked inside the recording studio, and saw his friend doubled over on the floor inside the booth.

"Fox what's the matter bro, you feeling constipated again?" the avian pilot went to go check on his furry pal, turning him on his back. "Did those laxatives work at all? I guess not...oh well, more for me!" Falco pulled out a bag of laxatives, and ate them like they were candy as he exited the studio. He's bound to be in for an extremely rude awakening...

"Why don't you play the diss track for us, Falco and I will be the judge of how diss-worthy it is," Fox suggested as he propped himself up on a nearby rolling chair, which rolled against the wall when the pilot sat down, hanging his head against said wall. "...none of you didn't see that, by the way."

So Knuckles pressed a button on the music board in the booth, as the diss song in question began playing. Fox and Falco (still eating the laxatives, apparently) listened closely to the song, paying close attention to the lyrics and the voice of the person singing the song. For them, it was an absolute cringefest.

"Man, these bars are so freaking booty," Falco was the first to offer his critique. "'Knuckles is a fake and a phony, his raps are pure bologna'? Like what does that even mean?! Even worse is that those lines are the only intelligible lines so far!"

"Not to mention that the dude's voice is lower than Morgan Freeman's and Darth Vader's combined!" Fox had to say about this atrocious diss track. "I can't believe you let this track get to you like that Knuckles! Do you even know who produced this crap?"

"Some overly pathetic loser named 'G Hunnid the Big Thang," replied Knuckles. Fox and Falco glanced at one another before bursting out into tears of laughter, with Falco on the floor banging his fist and Fox sitting against the wall laughing hysterically.

 **Falco: "G Hunnid the Big Thang"... *does his best to stifle his laughter* Well, Soulja Boy can now sleep well tonight and forever more, knowing that he no longer has the worst rapper name of all time...same goes for Waka Flocka Flame...and Fetty Wap...and Vanilla Ice...and 2 Chainz...and Young Thug...and Flo Rida...am I missing anyone?**

"We're not gonna let this 'G Hunnid' loser get the best of you, you're gonna produce a diss track about this man that'll go so hard, you'll make him want to end his career!" Fox said to Knuckles. With a name like "G Hunnid the Big Thang", you should already want to end your career on the spot. "And we're not gonna let you outta here until you make a joint that'll blow the roof!"

"Thanks Fox, but I don't really have any good material," stated Knuckles. "I've been having a writer's block as of late, no ideas have been coming to my head and I just don't know what to write down!"

"In that case, why don't Falco and I...speed up your creative juices a little?" And how does Fox plan on doing that?

* * *

"Sonic you bumbling idiot, how could you have possibly left me for waste in the basement and let me get beat up?" Bowser frowned at the blue hedgehog in particular, who was making his way over to Luigi's home. The koopa king wasn't hurt that badly - he suffered a few scrapes from Chrom's Falchion, but that's pretty much it.

"Because I strongly value my health and well-being, thank you very much," Sonic replied, finally reaching the front door of Luigi's house. "And besides, I'm sure you've been through far worse predicaments before, if _Super Mario Galaxy_ is any indication. Now if you excuse me, I have some important matters to attend to with Luigi." Bowser angrily walked away as Sonic opened the front door and stepped inside Luigi's home. First thing the hedgehog saw when he was inside? Robin and Lucina on the couch, getting all romantic and cozy with one another.

"Oh hey there Sonic, we didn't see you there," Robin looked up and saw the hedgehog looking at the mage and his girlfriend inquisitively; Lucina stopped what she was doing and looked up as well. "Honestly we were hoping nobody would come in and see us, um...doing our thing..."

"You two seriously need to get a room, just because you started getting all lovey-dovey doesn't mean you get to snuggle everywhere you want," Sonic remarked as he continued on his way, entering the kitchen and approaching Yuffie, who was spooning herself with some chocolate syrup, with the fridge door open. Sonic tapped the ninja girl on her shoulder; Yuffie shrieked as she threw the syrup bottle and spoon up in the air, the syrup landing on Sonic and pouring all over him. The spoon also landed on his head with a small thud.

"Sonic don't scare me like that, at least give me a warning or something..." Yuffie started of scolding Sonic, before he saw the hedgehog with an angry facial expression, the chocolate syrup pouring down his face and laughed. "You look so ridiculous! I'm so sorry, but...oh, I wish I could snap a picture of this!"

 **Yuffie: No, I don't feel bad about eating plain chocolate syrup...in fact, I practically do the same thing during nighttime hours, when Luigi and Daisy are in the bed, and Polterpup is napping away. Besides, Luigi and Daisy have far better food options than the mansion - Mario only buys the basic stuff, like saltine crackers and salt-free mustard.**

"Have you seen Luigi anywhere, I owe that many twenty bucks," Sonic asked Yuffie as he wiped himself off with a couple of paper towels. "It's for a wicked-awesome haircut I had given him on Wednesday, and apparently he said he 'wants his money back'." The haircut may have been wicked-awesome for Luigi, or wicked-awful. Considering this was Sonic's first time giving someone a haircut, we shall definitely go with the latter.

"Luigi's upstairs with Daisy but I don't think...if...he wants...to see you..." Yuffie trailed off when Sonic sped upstairs to see Luigi after he finished wiping himself off. Sonic arrived upstairs, and saw Luigi...cradling Rotom in his arms, like it's a baby. Daisy, with a more bloated stomach, watched this very closely.

"You're a good-a boy, yes you are, yes-a you are!" Luigi cuddled the Rotom in his arms, speaking to it as if it was his newborn child. And that's exactly the point of Luigi doing this, to prove to Daisy that he bond perfectly with his baby boy, or girl.

"You're treating that Rotom like it's a baby?" Sonic raised an eyebrow. "That's...that's retarded." The hedgehog caught the attention of Luigi and Daisy, who gave Sonic dubious looks. Who is he to judge their tactics, it's not like he has a baby coming on the way! "Also, you're doing it all wrong, you're talking to that Rotom like it's a dog - here's how a professional would do it!" The hedgehog snatched Rotom from Luigi, and proceeded to give it a noogie, much to the concern of Luigi and Daisy.

"Sonic cut it out this instant, that's no way to treat a poor Pokemon!" frowned an exasperated Daisy, although Sonic refused to listen. When does he ever listen to begin with?

"No, no, this is all good, this is how you prepare your son or daughter for the real world if they ever have to deal with bullying, nothing like a good noogie to set them up for immediate success!" The only "immediate success" that would result from this noogie tactic would be child abuse at a very young age.

At this point, Rotom was tired of Sonic's shenanigans. So once the plasma Pokemon had reached his boiling point, he shocked the blue hedgehog with a wicked Thunderbolt attack, electrocuting Sonic in the process. The speedster fell to the floor with a thud, and he laid there...and he didn't move a single inch. Not a movement of a finger, or a blink of an eye. Sonic just laid there on the floor, with Luigi and Daisy anticipating the moment Sonic got up...but he never did.

"Sonic are you-a okay, did Rotom terribly shock-a you?" Luigi knelt down at the hedgehog, turning him on his back. He checked his pulse, but detected nothing. "I can't-a detect a single pulse, that means...Sonic must be-a DEAD!"

 **Luigi: Sonic isn't breathing, and no pulse-a has yet to be found...all those signs may-a mean that Sonic could possibly be a dead man!...or hedgehog. But the furry mammal-a that we know and love may very well-a be deceased, and that will be very hard-a to address the others...  
Daisy: It might be even harder addressing the fact that a relatively innocent and peaceful Pokemon was responsible for Sonic's death...Rotom isn't like some dangerous legendary Darkrai that can kill people in their sleep!**

* * *

"So I've been thinking about saving up all my money to buy the newest _Pokemon_ game coming this November, but I don't know what version I should buy," Alph discussed with Cloud in the lounge; the apathetic swordsman had his arms folded. "I want to buy the _Sun_ version, the ultra beast in that version looks legit, but the _Moon_ version might have better version-exclusive Pokemon, I can't make up my mind..."

"Go with _Pokemon Moon,_ it has a less steep learning curve," Cloud apathetically replied. He doesn't really know much about _Pokemon Sun_ _or Moon_ \- he just wanted Alph to leave him alone. Soon his wish would be granted, when Mario frantically came up to him.

"Cloud we have-a an emergency on our hands, follow me!" the plumber said. Before Cloud could give an answer, Mario grabbed the swordsman's hand, and took him to the gaming room, showing Cloud Shovel Knight, in the far corner of the room, petting Rosalina's hand. Much to Mario's chagrin, Rosalina enjoyed this treatment very much.

"Thou art a very pretty and lovely maiden, thy silk is softer than a spider's web, and thy smile is a beauteous joy," ShovelSupe Knight complimented Rosalina. "Not to mention that your Luma is a dear companion, the greatest companion of all, verily it is so."

"SHOVEL KNIGHT IS SEXUALLY-A HARASSING ROSALINA, WE MUST STOP-A HIM AT ONCE!" Mario accusingly pointed at the knight, grabbing the attention of everyone in the gaming room. Cloud just looked on, wondering why he was brought here in the first place.

"Nonsense, Mario, Shovel Knight doesn't mean much harm, he's just petting my hand that's all," Rosalina smiled, but Mario didn't buy her "excuse" one bit. "Run along now Mario, nothing to see here..."

"Petting a lady's hand-a must count as sexual harassment from-a where Shovel Knight is from, is that correct?" Mario looked around at everyone in the gaming room; no one bothered to answer his question, resulting in an awkward silence. You'd be hard-pressed to find a single soul that would have an answer. "Therefore Shovel Knight deserves-a to be jailed for his heinous crime!"

 **Cloud: Just as I figured, Mario appears to be somewhat jealous of Shovel Knight. He may have even been the factor as to way Shovel Knight didn't even make it to _Super Smash Bros 4,_ Yacht Club Games aside. Around the end of 2015, the time I was confirmed for _Super Smash Bros,_ Shovel Knight gained a lot of attention and popularity, partly because of how his games are 8-bit platformers, and Mario probably didn't like it...the whole kickstarter thing too may also be a factor of Mario's jealousy, if I'm not mistaken.**

"Silly Mario, I would n'er harass a lady, it's simply not in my being!" Shovel Knight exclaimed; Mario somehow interpreted the knight's jovial manner as a way to cover up any heinous acts the noble knight has done in the past. "Rosalina, she's too pure of a maiden to be corrupted by this idea of 'sexual harassment', she's pure in every sense of the word!"

"Just let it go Mario, Shovel Knight is practically harmless and you should leave him alone at once," Cloud warned Mario.

"We'll leave-a him alone...for now," Mario grabbed the blonde swordsman's hand and walked out of the gaming room. "He shall-a pay for what he has-a done..." Is he seriously still bitter about the whole Shovel Knight-Peach incident? When is he gonna learn to let things go?

* * *

"'Look at me, my name is G Hunnid the Big Thang or whatever, and I'm nothing but a fat loser that writes sorry songs and expect the masses to enjoy them!" said Doc Louis, posing as the rapper in question in the recording studio. "'I'm like Kevin Federline, but fatter and more stupid!'" This is all just a ploy by Fox and Falco to give Knuckles - still in the recording booth - some ideas for a diss track.

"Let us know if this tactic is working or not," Fox called out to Knuckles, standing next to Falco; the echidna gave the pilots an empathetic thumbs down, dismaying the both of them. "What are we possibly doing wrong? The insults we hurled at Knuckles didn't work, sardonically criticizing the 'diss track' didn't work either, and what we're doing with Doc Louis isn't working either. What gives?"

"Perhaps we were too harsh with Knuckles' mom with our last insult, and it gave Knuckles a very bad mood," assumed Falco. Why would they go after Knuckles' mom, that's like begging a burly bodybuilder to beat you up to a pulp!

"Hey dudes, what's happening?" Little Mac asked his compadres as he entered the recording studio, and saw a frustrated Knuckles trying to record a diss track. "Oh, Knuckles, you're already working on your first album? Thought you said you were having a writer's block!"

"Knuckles had a diss track sent to him, so he wants to return the favor!" Doc Louis had to explain for his young protege. "Man can't hold the L forever, he has to fire back real quick or else the humiliation will drag him down!"

 **Doc Louis: Diss tracks are one of the many aspects of why I hate this genre of rap! Cowards would hurl rap songs of insults at one another, instead of going down to the studio and throwing dukes at each other like real men! The latest beef involving diss tracks was downright implorable - on one side, you got this brother from Philly who raps as if he's calling out to his mama named Meek Mill, and on the other side you have this fake brother who is actually mixed but fronts like a thug named Drake, and these two were putting each other down with their crappy diss tracks, all because this Meek fellow was ticked that Drake didn't tweet his newest release! A single non-tweet started the whole hullabaloo! Just when I thought the initial cause of this "beef" was bad enough, Little Mac had the gall to show me Meek's diss track, and once the Undertaker's theme sounded... *shudders***

"The track was dropped by some sap named 'G Hunnid the Big Thang'," stated Falco; the name sounds more hilarious and pathetic to the avian pilot the more he says it. "Fox and I listened to his diss track, and we both felt that..."

"Hey I know that guy, he sent me a diss track as well!" Little Mac exclaimed out of coincidence. "I can show it to you all if you want, but you'll be cleaning your ears out after the song is through." Everyone in the studio braced themselves as Little mac pressed a button on the music board in the recording booth, and the diss track directed at him began playing. Fox and company listened closely to the song, paying attention to the lyrics, melody, beat, and everything else that makes a rap song a rap song (well, if you want to consider the song being played a rap song...)

"Wow, I don't believe it..." Fox said in shock and awe after the diss track was over. "...that diss track was even worse than the one about Knuckles! How on earth is that even possible?!"

"Honestly I don't know how this G Hunnid dude does it, but he deserves to be put in his place, and we can't do it just by ourselves," replied Little Mac, walking up to Knuckles and resting his elbow on the echidna's shoulder. The boxer was about to propose something that has never been done in music, ever. "Why don't we take out this G Hunnid dude...with a diss _duet_? You like the sound of that, Knuckles?"

"Fine by me, let's do it..." snarled Knuckles, who now experienced a rush of ideas flowing in his head. G Hunnid the Big Thang, or whatever you want to call him, is about to meet his match...

* * *

"Goodness, what a fine, exquisite stone, I've n'er seen anything like this!" Shovel Knight marveled, holding a Lucarionite in his hands as he walked with Lucario through the hallways. "The texture and design, it's unlike anything I've ever seen!"

"And it's yours to keep," Lucario smiled. The aura Pokemon has an abundance of Lucarionite mega stones, and he offered to give one of the stones away to a trusted guest, like Shovel Knight. "Remember to keep the Lucarionite out of harm's way, it would dishearten me if someone were to..."

"Hiyah!" that someone by the name of Mario jumped out of nowhere and grabbed Shovel Knight's Lucarionite, throwing in on the floor and breaking it in the process, before stepping on the remains.

"...break it," Lucario heaved a heavy sigh; this wasn't the only time one of his mega stones broke.

 **Mario: I would have-a tried to be friends-a with Shovel Knight...but he-a kissed my woman, and I can't let-a that go by any means. So until I extract-a my revenge, this means war...**

"I destroyed-a your precious stone, whatcha gonna do about-a it?" Mario taunted Shovel Knight, expecting the nobleman to attack him for the act he has done. "You don't like-a what I did, come and face-a me like a man!" Shovel Knight, the ever peaceful fellow, decided against fighting with Mario.

"Mario, hast thou gone practically insane?" the knight questioned the plumber. "Thy sanity hast gone dreadfully downhill since our meeting, makes me wonder how thy fellow brawlers subsist your antics!"

"You have NO idea what it's like sometimes..." Lucario folded his arms and looked the other way, the memories of Mario going muy loco coming to the aura Pokemon's head.

"Let me apologize for Mario's actions today, he's developing a bit of a brain tumor and it's making him act more zany than usual," Cloud apologized to Shovel Knight as he infiltrated the scene, grabbing Mario and carrying him away. "Please excuse Mario and his antics, he'll get that tumor removed very soon." The plumber dragged Mario away, taking him behind a wall. "Give it up already Mario, there's no point in antagonizing against someone as peaceful as Shovel Knight, you're getting nowhere."

"But Cloud, Shovel Knight-a kissed my fiance, and I can't let him-a get away with it!" said Mario, refusing to let his beef with Shovel Knight go. "As far as-a I'm concerned, he's innocent until proven-a guilty." An idea was suddenly envisioned by Mario, as evidenced by the snap of the plumber's fingers. "And I know just-a the thing to make-a him pay..." Mario rubbed his hands together in a relatively evil and devious manner; this is a side of Mario Cloud has _never_ seen before. That's what happens with someone's fiance gets involved in the grand scheme of things.

"This better be the end of it..." said Cloud, hoping to continue the rest of his day in peace.

* * *

 **Robin: Isn't Chrom on his date with Raven right now? I believe today is the date his date is supposed to take place. I wish Chrom the best, and I hope things turn out well for him and Raven. Of course, I wouldn't be saying these kind words had he not interrupted my moment with Lucina...but my moment happened, and Chrom is fully content with me and Lucina's romance. Like I was going to let one failed attempt (or two failed attempts) to kiss Lucina bastardize my friendship with Chrom... *laughs slightly***

Speaking of Chrom's date, taking place in the Japanese restaurant, it was going far better than the prince of Yliesse could ever imagine. The prince's conversations with Raven were fruitful, in the sense that they learned a lot from each other, like their interests, hobbies, pet peeves, and plenty of other aspects.

"Ganondorf is in love...with Rosalina, of all people?" Raven snickered as the date went on; Chrom had filled the female mage in on the Demon Lord's lowkey but presumably continuing romance with Rosalina. "Never would have imagined the king of evil falling in love..."

"You never know the deep depths of your comrades when you get to know them better at the mansion," remarked Chrom. "Maybe one day, you can join us, if you're interested..." You would have to be an extremely tolerant person if you wanna live there.

"No, I'll take my chances at the motels I stay at, at least nobody there has flatulence issues..." Chrom couldn't help but laugh at Raven's response, and Raven herself laughed along with him. This is the kind of camaraderie Chrom had expected from his date.

"Not every person at the mansion passes gas controllably and uncontrollably like Wario does. You got famous guys like Mario, Link, and Donkey Kong, and you have outgoing people like Sonic the Hedgehog and Pit, so not everyone is a walking gas tank, just waiting to explode."

"...still taking my chances at the motels," Raven smiled, taking a sip from her drink. Chrom smirked in defeat, he knows Raven will come around one day. One day.

Sitting at a table afar from Chrom and Raven was Link, who was observing the two while jotting down notes on a notepad. The Hylian has yet to ask out his girlfriend Zelda on a date, so he'll take what he learned from Chrom's date and apply it to his own, when the time comes.

"Hi Link, funny seeing you at this restaurant!" the purple cat known as Big greeted the Hylian, taking a seat at the table. Link was caught off-guard when the unlovable cat uttered his name. "Always thought you were a Golden Corral kind of guy..." Where did Big come to this wild assumption?

"I never ate at Golden Corral, thank you very much..." Link angrily replied...before writing the restaurant's name at the bottom of his list of notes. "...but I may eat there sometime in the future, when the time comes."

 **Link: Can't go on a date with Zelda just yet...gotta take some pointers from Chrom's date before I weigh out my options. The inexperience may doom me, and I can't let that happen. Think how disastrous a bad date would be, it might lead to the end of my relationship with Zelda! Zelda is the perfect one for me, there's no girl like her...No, I don't like that creepy Agitha girl, her bugs are her boyfriends for all I care, that polyandric freak! *folds his arms and frowns* I'm deeply offended that you even asked that...**

"Would you do me a solid and take me to the Smash Mansion, so I can see Sonic?" Big implored of Link, against the Hylian's will. "I owe him a few bucks, so he can fully pay back someone. In case you weren't aware, I'm Sonic's number one fan - I follow him on all my social media pages, and whenever something arises about Sonic, whether it be a news report or a false rumor, I must be in on the scoop at once!" And with that, Link finally grasped one of the main reasons as to why hardly any _Sonic_ fans appreciate Big the Cat. "So will you take me to the Smash Mansion please?"

"Sure, but once my friend's date is over," Link replied in a mildly uninterested tone. He likens Big to Waluigi - only difference is that Waluigi is somewhat tolerable.

* * *

"Prepare-a to meet your-a match, Shovel Knight..." Mario smiled deviously as he poured a white substance of sorts into Shovel Knight's satchel, which the knight had brought along for his plumbing duties. Yes, nights do bring handbags with them, there's no rule in the knighthood creed that disallows them from doing so.

"Just called the police, they're on their way," Cloud came to notify Mario, only enlisting in the plumber's shenanigans just so he could put this whole Shovel Knight situation behind him. "Once they arrive, we'll show them the white substance in the satchel, convincing to the officers that it's cocaine, and tell them that the satchel belongs to Shovel Knight, and Shovel Knight will be arrested and busted for good."

"Excellent, sounds-a like a fail-a proof plan!" Once Mario finished pouring the substance inside the satchel, he had a very interesting question to ask about it... "Where did-a you even get this-a substance from?"

"Funny you should mention that..."

* * *

"Pour the sugar in this container," Ashley instructed Kirby, as the pink puffball poured the sugar he gained from the sugarcanes he grew into a container Ashley was holding. "Make sure you fill it all the way to the top." Kirby did as he was told, and once the task was done, Ashley placed the container with a pile of other containers, all neatly stacked atop one another.

"Here's some more containers of sugar Ashley!" Pit stacked two containers of sugar on the pile, before heading back to tend to the sugarcanes he and Kirby are tasked with growing. Ike and Geno watched from inside, detecting some foul play going on...

 **Ike: Those plants Pit, Kirby, and Ashley are growing in the gardens? *scoffs* They aren't sugarcanes, if my knowledge of botany serves me right.  
Geno: Literally anyone with more than half a brain knows that sugarcanes are supposed to be rod-like in structure, with stems at the top. The plants grown in the garden, they have leaves...so that goes out to prove that Pit has a half-functioning brain, and Kirby likely has no brain to begin with. Wonder what Viridi would think of this...  
**

"See you guys have been piling a lot of containers," Ike approached Ashley, feeling that he has seen enough. "What are you gonna do with them?"

"Sell them to some people on the street - it'll be like a lemonade stand, but very much different," explained Ashley. Who would buy sugar off of the street. "Easy way to make a profit."

"Aw sweet, we're selling the sugar?" exclaimed Pit; the angel's ignorance only did nothing but raise Ike's suspicions. "What a great idea Ashley!"

"That's all I wanted to ask you about," Ike said as he departed. "You guys keep up the good work!" The swordsman gave Ashley and her workers a thumbs up as he headed back inside to talk to Geno, who had seen the entire conversation. "Yeah, they're definitely planning something, but I don't know what..."

"Let's wait it out and see what happens," suggested Geno. "I know the stuff in that containers isn't sugar, and besides, no one would willingly buy sugar off the street..." Geno's eyes suddenly grew in realization, and the realization was rationalized fear. "Unless..."

* * *

Peach happily hummed to herself as she walked to Mario's room, to see how her future husband and Pac-Man are coming along in their wedding planning. But when she stopped by the room and opened the door, she found Aerith at Mario's desk, working away on the save-the-date cards. Pac-Man was sitting on Mario's bed, putting on the finishing touches on the wedding website. And Mario was nowhere to be found.

"Have you seen Mario anywhere?" Peach asked Pac-Man and Aerith out of intrigue and worry. Whenever Mario goes missing, the Mushroom Kingdom princess always detects foul play, usually at the hands of Bowser. "I thought he was working on those cards!"

"He was supposed to, but Shovel Knight was talking about your...um, _lips,_ leading Mario to assume that he kissed you...on the lips," Aerith had to explain for Peach, albeit awkwardly. "So now he wants Shovel Knight to suffer for something that he may or may not have done!"

"Shovel Knight never kissed me...it was _I_ who kissed him, and it was just a slight peck on the side of his helmet!" Peach frowned and shook her head disapprovingly, baffled by Mario's behavior. She obviously expected better from him. "Ooh, I just hate it when Mario blows things out of proportion! Guess I have to explain the whole story of what happened..."

* * *

 **Link: *driving his truck* The date is over, which means that Chrom and I are heading back to the mansion. Raven is coming along, so Chrom can prove to her that the mansion isn't that bad of a place to live in, contrary to what others make think. And she's not the only guest invited...  
** **Big: *looking out the passenger seat window* Look at the water, it's oh so pretty, look at how it glistens! Did you know that can easily drown in water? It's one of the things he's known for!  
** **Chrom: Surely it's easy for practically anyone to drown in water, Sonic is no exception...  
** **Raven: How long is the ride supposed to last? That giant cat is already on my last nerve...**

A couple of minutes later, Link and company would arrive at the Smash Mansion. Link pulled up into the driveway, and everyone got out of the truck. Big was holding a ziplock bag of some white stuff in his hand as he got out...we shall see what's inside the bag later on. But for now, it's time for Robin, who eagerly ran out of Luigi's home, to greet Chrom and ask him how the date went.

"Name's Robin, nice to meet you," the mage introduced himself to Raven as he sheepishly shook his female counterpart's hand. You'd be acting like him too if you ever met your gender-opposite counterpart. "I take it that your date with Chrom went especially well?"

"Sure did, it was a fun experience for the both of us," Raven smiled, and Chrom smiled as well. "Learned a lot from each other, and our conversations were quite amusing. We would go on another date, if the time comes..."

"I'm glad to hear that." After saying this, Robin suddenly looked behind him, then looked back, needing to address something to Link and Chrom. "Not sure how I should explain this, but earlier today I went upstairs to check on Luigi and Daisy, and there I found Sonic, and Sonic...was dead..."

"SONIC'S DEAD?!" Big exclaimed. "Where is his body, I have to see!" Robin pointed at Luigi's home; Big knocked the mage out of the way as he came running towards the plumber's home. It was perhaps the fastest the big fella has ever ran in his life. "Don't worry Sonic, I'm coming for you!"

"I do believe we have time for me to show you around the mansion," Chrom smiled at Raven, who rolled her eyes in disgust. The prince took the female mage's hand as he guided her inside the mansion. Link grabbed Robin - writhing on the ground - by the arm and dragged him inside, looking at Luigi's home with unease.

* * *

Inside Luigi's home, Luigi, Daisy, Yuffie, Lucina, Rotom, Polterpup, and now Big were huddled around Sonic's body in the living room, all presuming the hedgehog to be dead. Luigi had explained the story behind Sonic's presumed death to Yuffie, Robin, Lucina, and Big, and now he nor the others in the living room know what to do.

"None of the life-saving methods we used on Sonic worked...so could this really mean that Sonic's actually dead?" asked Lucina, in bitter disbelief she was even asking this question. "How would the others react when we tell them?"

"The Sonic I know would never die, he's practically invincible!" Big said defiantly. When Sonic goes into Super SoMnic, he may be invincible, but the same can't be said when the hedgehog doesn't have those Chaos Emeralds in his possession. "Maybe this stuff will do the trick!" Big pulled out the ziplock bag and took out its contents, holding it up to Sonic's nose. In what may have seemed like a miracle, Sonic sniffed the bag's contents and coughed, his head rising up. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, Sonic was not dead - but what was that substance Big used to revive the hedgehog in the first place?

 **Big: This stuff inside this bag... *holds up ziplock bag for camera to see* ...is top secret, nobody knows what's inside but me and the person I bought it from. Don't remember the person's name, but I will admit, his eyepatch looked kinda cool...**

"Sonic, you're okay!" Daisy happily hugged Sonic, glad that the hedgehog is alive and well. Sonic himself was taken back by the hug, he never expected this act of kindness from Daisy. "For the longest we thought that you were dead!"

"You all thought I was dead?" Sonic snickered, confusing Daisy and the others. "I was never even dead to begin with! After Rotom had shocked me, I played dead on the floor, just to mess with you and Luigi, and you and the others seriously thought I died for real! Just a little something I learned from Bowser! Ha ha ha, suckers!"

Sonic's laughs of joy and humor soon turned into laughs of nervousness and fright when Luigi, Daisy, Yuffie, Lucina, Rotom, and Polterpup were glaring at him, ticked off that the hedgehog had played them like a fiddle. Big tip-toed to the front door, not wanting to see his role model pay the consequences.

* * *

There was a knock at the front door of the Smash Mansion, and Zelda was the one to answer. She opened the door, and saw a few police officers standing by. The princess looked in confusion, wondering who was getting arrested.

"We have been told about a strong presence of cocaine from this residence, and we are here to find the culprit," the lead officer said to Zelda. "Do you have any intel regarding the situation?" The very sight of the officers was intimidating enough for Zelda, and she even fidgeted a little just looking at them.

"Uh, no sir, I had no idea there was even cocaine here to begin with before you asked me about it," replied Zelda. The princess is probably thinking, "Who in earth smokes cocaine at the mansion, and why has this person never been caught?"

"I was the one who called you about the cocaine, we can show you where it is if you like," Cloud came to the front door to tell the officers. Zelda looked at Cloud questionably when he said "we", why is she coming along, she doesn't even know what's going on! "Just follow us and we'll show you." So the swordsman and the princess, against her will, led the police officers inside to reveal to them the very presence of the cocaine in question. Snake appeared in the foyer, and when he saw the police officers with Cloud and Zelda, he gritted his teeth and backed away, and went to go look for a hiding spot. Something is clearly going on...

 **Snake: Crap the police officers are here, somebody must have snitched on me, bet it was Akira...might as well hide in this closet until the coast is clear...**

* * *

Knuckles and Little Mac had done it, they had finished the first-ever diss rap duet song, and all that there was left to do is ensure that G Hunnid the Big Thang (if you can, control your laughter) hears it. Fox and Falco had to hear the song first before it can be approved, and they both felt favorably of the song. The song didn't even contain a single curse word - that's a major accomplishment, at least in the rap game.

"We gotta find this G Hunnid punk and show this song to him, and he'll HAVE to end his rap career, on the spot!" Falco said as he downloaded the song unto his phone for convenience. "Sucks that we don't know who he is, or what he looks like..."

"Judging by his rapper name, he's obviously a big fella," said Doc Louis. The name may be misleading - G Hunnid the Big Thang could very well be a skinny white boy attempting rap to make himself cool, and is coming after Knuckles and Little Mac to increase his nonexistent street cred. "Why don't we give the song to a disc jockey in Seattle, and they can play the song and the G Hunnid fella can hear it?"

"It's worth a shot," said Fox. "To the Landmaster!"

* * *

Cloud and Zelda guided the police officers to a room where Shovel Knight's satchel was present. Inside this room was Mario, Shovel Knight, Dark Pit, and Jacky Bryant, who was holding Shovel Knight's arms behind his back so the knight wouldn't try and escape. Dark Pit had the knight's shovel in his possession.

"Alright we're here - show us where the cocaine is at so we can find out who to arrest," the lead officer said to Mario. Shovel Knight tried to break from from Jacky's grasp, but to no avail.

"It-a was HIM!" Mario accusingly pointed at Shovel Knight. "He had came-a over here to fix-a our plumbing situation, and he brought this-a satchel full of-a cocaine with him!" Mario held up the satchel for the officers to see, with the white substance inside. "Arrest-a him, boys!"

"I n'er brought any cocaine with me, I n'er doest drugs, ever!" Shovel Knight pleaded one of the officers pulled out their handcuffs. "Please officers, hearerth out my case, I'm innocent!"

 **Snake: You know, since we're inside this closet, we can talk about some private matters...like who's in love with who...heard that Isabelle likes that funky dog with the guitar...can't really say I'm surprised though. Girls are always suckers for dudes with guitars, I've noticed...**

"Officers, please don't arrest Shovel Knight, he has done nothing wrong!" Peach arrived at the scene, just in time before Shovel Knight could be arrested. "This is all just a big huge misunderstanding! You see, this all started because Mario here thought that Shovel Knight kissed me on the lips, when in actually I kissed him on the side of his helmet. But Mario had to blow things out of proportion, and so he antagonized against poor Shovel Knight the whole day, and sadly it had led up to this moment, with Shovel Knight at risk of being arrested. Isn't that right, Cloud?"

"That's...that's exactly what transpired," replied Cloud, surprised that Peach was able to recollect everything that happened up to this point. That's why you should never doubt blondes. "Mario apparently wanted you officers to arrest Shovel Knight, all because he was under the assumption that he had kissed his fiance. I had to help him get Shovel Knight arrested, although I didn't want to."

"Hmm, seems fair..." the lead officer stroked his chin. "Well then, looks like we're calling this whole thing off. Shovel Knight, you are free to go." Shovel Knight sighed happily as Jacky released the knight and Dark Pit gave the knight back his shovel; both brawlers walked out of the room, bitter that Mario had wasted their precious time. "We'll need to inspect the satchel though, to see if it's really cocaine." Zelda took the satchel from Mario, and gave it to the officers for inspection.

"Mario, I can't believest thou, I'm simply in the utmost disbelief..." Shovel Knight shook his head at Mario; the plumber held his head down in shame, reflecting on his past actions. To say he was acting uncharacteristic would be an understatement. "I hast expected far better from thou..."

"I know, Shovel-a Knight, I'm terribly sorry for attempting-a to frame you, I should-a have known better," Mario responded, looking down at the floor. "Please forgive-a me for the trouble-a that I..."

"It's not about the framing, chum - I cannot believe that thou would have the gall to waste the officers' time like that! Why, they could have been doing their jobs, catching criminals on the run, but thou had to ruin their day! Shameful, absolutely shameful!"

The sudden respect that Mario was about to have for Shovel Knight quickly died down following the knight's response. The respect will be brought back up, eventually.

 **Snake: Heat's getting kinda hot in this closet, could be because of this spy suit I'm wearing...I'm an old man, why do I still wear this thing around the mansion anyways? My espionage days are long behind me...**

"Wait just a blistering second, this stuff inside the satchel - it really is cocaine!" the lead officer exclaimed after inspecting the substance inside. "This case isn't over just yet, we must find the real culprit behind this!"

"Cloud, were you the one that filled the satchel with cocaine?" Zelda asked the swordsman, being that Cloud had a role in Mario's shenanigans. "Where did you even get the cocaine from, tell us immediately!"

"Instead of telling you...how about I show you instead?" offered Cloud. Time to see who the real culprit is...

* * *

"Ashley why can't we smell the sugar, is it because sugar has no smell whatsoever?" Pit asked the young witch as he and Kirby were stacking the containers of sugar.

"Um, yes, that's way, no point in smelling something that has no smell!" Ashley responded on the spot, as she was watering the sugarcanes - but keep in mind that the plants aren't sugarcanes, as revealed in Ike's and Geno's talking head segment, for the plants have leaves. Ashley turned around, and feared for the worst, when she saw the police officers at the front of the gardens with Cloud, Mario, Peach, Zelda, and Shovel Knight. Uh oh...

"I got the cocaine from those plants," Cloud pointed at the sugarcanes - which are actually coca plants, the number one source of cocaine in the world! Snake and Ashley were growing and tending coca plants to produce cocaine this whole time, and they had enlisted in Pit's and Kirby's help...scandalous!

"Little girl, were you and your friends making cocaine throughout the day?" the lead officer interrogated Ashley, who was visibly undeterred. Most kids her age would be daunted by a police officer speaking to them, getting all up in their grill, but Ashley retained the slightly emotionless persona she's known for.

"Yes sir, we were making cocaine..." replied Ashley. "...but I was forced to do so, by a man named Snake, though you may know him." The officers were taken back, and Mario and company gasped in shock. "He brought some coca plant seeds and planted them in the garden without anyone knowing, and he forced me to help grow them so he could make cocaine and sell them to others. He never revealed the true purpose as to why..."

"No, no, that's all, we have heard enough." The lead officer faced his fellow officers. "You boys go through the mansion and find Snake, and arrest him at once." The officers nodded as they exited the gardens, in search for the former spy. "Now tell me little girl, whom did you sell the cocaine to?"

 **Snake: Not gonna lie, I kinda like it in here...sure it's hot, but there's no annoying people irritating me, and it's very peaceful, I wouldn't mind being stuck here to be honest with you... *closet door opens, revealing a police officer*  
** **Officer: *holding out his gun* Identify yourself, sir!  
** **Snake: *scoffs* I ain't telling you a thing, stinking poser... *officer notices cocaine residue on Snake's shoulder*  
Officer: Come with me sir, you're now under arrest! *grabs Snake and drags him out of the closet while Snake resists***

* * *

Fox and company were heading down to the foyer, when Little Mac bumped into Big, still holding his bag of stuff, in the hallway. The boxer fell to the floor, and Doc Louis offered to help his protege up.

"Well whaddaya know, it's Big the Cat!" Falco said after seeing the purple cat. "What's good, my man?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to stop by the mansion and see what's up," responded Big. "I'm afraid my role model is in big trouble, he played dead at Luigi's and Daisy's home, and tricked them into thinking he was dead for real! Hope he's okay..." If Sonic got an actual beatdown, you'd have to admit the beatdown was long overdue. "So what are you fellas up to?"

"We're going to a radio station to deliver this diss track to a disc jockey," explained Knuckles. "Little Mac and I worked on it together, after some dude named G Hunnid the Big Thang sent us individual diss tracks."

"What a coincidence, I'M G Hunnid the Big Thang!" Big chuckled as Knuckles and company looked at the cat with astonished looks - were they hearing this right, has Big become a rapper?! But why him of all people?!

"You started a rap career and you sent us diss tracks?" Little Mac asked in bewilderment, shaking his head. "What have we ever done to you?"

"Oh nothing, I came after you guys just to boost my rap credibility. Funny thing is, I didn't consider rapping, until I bought several bags of cocaine I got from some old guy which I never smoked, like this bag for instance..." Big held up the ziplock bag for everyone to see. "...and sold the cocaine to some music producer on the street for cash! The producer promised me he'd make me a rap star, and so we got to work, and then I released those diss tracks and sent it to you two, and the rest is history!"

"That's all I needed to hear..." said a police officer, pointing his gun at Big, still holding the bag of what was now revealed to be cocaine in the air. Big held up his hands, now knowing that he may be heading to the slammer.

* * *

"So what did you make of that wonderful tour, did you enjoy what you had seen?" Chrom asked Raven outside the mansion, after his tour was over.

"Yes I did, the mansion was far better than advertised," replied Raven. The mage and Chrom watched as the police officers escorted Snake and Big, both wearing handcuffs, into police cars. Sonic walked by, sporting a myriad of bruises and scars he suffered at the hands of Luigi, Daisy, and others for his playing dead prank, and saw Snake and Big entering the police car.

"Thanks for the money Big, it'll definitely cover for my injuries!" Sonic called out to Big as he entered the mansion; Big had to give the money he received from the rap producer (whom we don't know, at least not yet that is) to Sonic, as punishment by the officers for giving cocaine to the producer in the first place. The police cars drove away, taking Snake and Big with them, and Chrom and Raven watched.

"Despite what I just said, I'm still sticking to the motels," Raven said to Chrom. "I might change my mind, who knows. Well, it's getting pretty late, I gotta now. Until we see each other again!"

"I'll be looking forward to it," Chrom grinned. "Goodbye, for now." Chrom waved to Raven, and Raven waved back, as the mage departed from the mansion.

What an eventful day it has been...


	40. Episode 40: Blackout

_Author's Note:_

 _One guest reviewer, Philippe, posed a question concerning episode 30 (the one with the brawlers dressed as Marvel characters, the episode/chapter also being a personal favorite of mine for a myriad of reasons):_

 _Ummm... in the Avengers movie... didnt Iron Man still stay awake after tanking a hit from Thor's lightning?_

 _Yes, that did happen in the movie...we'll just say that the armor suit Mario wore works differently, especially since the suit belongs to Master Hand. He may have done some lowkey stuff to the suit that we don't know about._

* * *

 **Episode 40: Blackout**

Throughout the entire course of Smash Life, you have seen Mario and his fellow brawlers do a lot of things throughout the day. You've seen Wolf O'Donnell filming a horror movie. You've seen Cloud and Link attempt to kill a spider in the living room. Heck, you've even witness Sonic trying to commit suicide at the front of the mansion, and thankfully it was aborted.

But you've never seen them doing things during nighttime, haven't you? Sure, there was Lucina's stand-up comedy gig (briefly interrupted by Sephiroth), and K.K. Slider held a few concerts during the nighttime hours. However, we never seen the brawlers go to work at a particular timeframe - past _midnight._

One day, everything that transpired at the mansion was pretty mundane, a rarity in its own right. Mario planned for his wedding with Pac-Man's assistance, Samus worked in the workshop refining her power suit, Red the Pokemon Trainer trained his three Pokemon, Wii Fit Trainer exercised, Pit was making an idiot of himself, same goes for Lloyd Irving...so forth and so on. Understandably, the camera/production crew was mostly angry, because there was nothing exciting or engaging going on.

So what did the camera crew do, you might ask? Instead of leaving the mansion around eleven o'clock - the time they usually leave - they stuck around past that time, just to see if anything remotely interesting was going on. Just when it seemed like the crew was about to regret their decision, they were surprised to see Mega Man X roaming about the mansion, doing things like checking the temperature and ensuring that the security system was functioning properly. Some camera crew members would find the brawlers up and awake in their rooms, evidenced by the light that came out of underneath their doors, but we'll get to them later on.

 **X: Do I ever go sleeping? Nah, I'm a robot, I don't really need to sleep. Sleeping is overrated anyways - it results in dreams that always play with your head. One moment you're in the sky, flying with the clouds, and the next you open your eyes and wake up, and find out that your brain has been playing tricks on you. And you don't think there's nothing wrong...**

After checking on the mansion's security system, X made his way down to the kitchen - not to grab a bite to eat, you know robots can't eat physical human food you silly goose - to check on the refrigerator. Many times before, the refrigerator stops working, and X is here to ensure that doesn't happen...

"Luigi why are you inside our kitchen, shouldn't you be at your own home?" the pacifist robot asked Luigi, who was strangely going through the fridge grabbing random food items and eating them while in his pajamas. The plumber doesn't seem to be aware of his own actions, as evidenced by the fact that he hasn't even replied to X's question. "Can you even hear me?" Luigi looked at X for a brief second or two, staring at the robot like he's looking into his own soul...before he returned to licking the mayonnaise out of a container of mayonnaise. So mysterious, yet so very weird at the very same time...

"Very strange to see Luigi in our kitchen this time of the night," Rosalina appeared in the kitchen, wearing her nightgown. "Usually he comes around this time to alert us about a baby cockroach in his room, not to raid our fridge." Rosalina wasn't restless or anything - in fact, she has been staying inside her room with the light on, doing miscellaneous things. Surely you have done the same plenty of times before.

"I've tried calling out to him, but he won't answer - he just looked at me, but that's pretty much it. You think he may be sleepwalking?"

"Only one way to find out..." Rosalina walked up to Luigi, and grabbed him by the shoulders. The green plumber looked into Rosalina's eye, in a fixated glance - and he had no idea what was going on. Rosalina slapped Luigi once, twice even, but the plumber didn't react in any way. Instead, he let go of Rosalina and went back to raiding the fridge. "Yes, he is definitely sleepwalking, no form of response whatsoever. Seems like he's in a bit of a trance."

"Should we get Mario to wake his brother up? I don't wanna take any chances with Luigi, sleepwalking can make him very predictable." Not only that, but it would be hard to snap a person out of sleepwalking. But Mario, the man who has braved many of Bowser's treacherous castles and saved dozens of galaxies from destruction, can make the impossible seem possible.

"It may be the only choice we have. Doubt Daisy would have a hand in the issue - she might even be fast asleep, for all we know."

* * *

"Any word about Snake and the whole cocaine incident?" Aerith asked Mario inside their room. Mario shares the same room with Cloud's girlfriend...awkward. "Still can't believe he grew those coca plants in the gardens without any permission...must have been an act of pure desperation."

 **Aerith: Snake growing coca plants in the gardens and forcing Ashley to help produce cocaine just sounds too good to be true, it's far from realistic. The Snake I know would _never_ even think about making cocaine, for any reason whatsoever. Perhaps he did it for financial reasons, what with him selling the cocaine to Big the Cat of all the individuals I could think of...but what exactly is he raising money for?**

"Isabelle said-a that Snake will-a be going on trial in a few days-a or so," Mario responded while watching a TV program on his television from his bed. "Haven't heard any word about-a Big, it would-a be hard to see a lovable oaf like-a him behind bars?" Since when was Big ever lovable? The only person that likes Big would be that one dude who fought for the character to be playable in _Sonic and Sega's All-Star Racing._ "We'll-a know more about Big and-a Snake eventually."

"Mario, your twin brother Luigi is sleepwalking in the kitchen, and he's going through our fridge, like he's some bear stuck in someone's home," X stopped by the room to alert Mario. "So how about you get off of your flabby butt and wake your brother up or else we won't have anything to eat for breakfast, lunch, _or_ dinner?"

"No worries X, I'll take-a care of Luigi at once!" Mario got off of his head, grabbing a previously concealed stun gun from underneath his pillow, and headed out the door to wake up Luigi. The very presence of the stun gun left X quite perplexed...

"Mario had a stun gun this whole time?" the robot asked Aerith, who shrugged out of confusion. Not even she knew the answer to this question.

* * *

"Lloyd, please get off of the floor, it's not like the floor is clean," Zelda, reading a Hyrulian book while tucked in her bed, said to Lloyd Irving, planking on the floor like it's nobody's business. Apparently his "life skill" is being applied to this very day...

"No, I refuse to give up my life skill, it can only lead me to success!" Lloyd defiantly said while shaking his fist in the air, his voice muffled by the floor. "When will you ignorant people ever understand?!" Planking was a thing five or six years ago...does that mean Lloyd is a bit late to the party?

 **Lloyd: Ability to use a bow and arrow? That's Link's life skill...Expertise in science and alchemy? That's Shulk's life skill...Consistently looking like a woman on a day-to-day basis? That's Marth's life skill...And what's my life skill, you might ask?...No, being an idiot is NOT my life skill, that's Pit's, and he's irrelevant right now. My life skill, since you're so uninformed, is the ability to plank! I'm the Muhammad Ali of planking, no one can ever come close to my prowess!**

"Your dumb planking has gotten you nowhere, it has validated many of your fellow brawlers' understandings about you making a complete moron of yourself," said Zelda. "Unless you want to salvage your dignity, or whatever's left of it, you should..."

All of a sudden the lights went out, as the lamplight Zelda was using to read her book dimmed out. Lloyd shrieked at the top of his lungs like a little girl (admit it, if you were scared of the dark you'd do the same thing) as Zelda took out a candle and lit it with Din's Fire. The flame of the candle illuminated the room, shedding some light on Lloyd, seated in the corner of the room sucking on his thumb in a fetal position.

"I'm too young to die, I'm too young to die, I'm too young to die..." the swordsman would repeat himself whenever he didn't have his thumb in his mouth, likely under the assumption that an apocalypse is on the way. Zelda exited the room and into the hallways, entering into a pitch black environment. (Understandably so, considering it's past midnight and everyone is in their room, but many brawlers may still be awake at this time.) The princess cautiously walked through the halls with the candle in hand, hoping no scary person or thing like the Slender Man or Freddy Kruger would pop out of nowhere and spook her. But Zelda hasn't been frightened yet, so far so good...

"BOOOOO!" Just then, Bowser Jr. jumped out of nowhere in front of Zelda, making the princess scream and nearly drop her candle as he drew back from the young koopa. "Ha ha, spooked ya real good didn't I? You scream just like a girl!" Hmm, we wonder why...

"Maybe it's because I _am_ a girl?" In her mind Zelda might be questioning herself as to why Bowser Jr. was asking her such an asinine question. "Also, shouldn't you be in your room, what are you doing out here?"

"Some people can't use the bathroom these days, can't they?" Bowser Jr. frowned and folded his arms at Zelda's question. "I was heading back to my room, then I saw you with the candle and wanted to scaring the living daylights out of ya! And I was successful!"

"Yeah whatever...wanna walk with me to the garage so where the circuit-breaker box is? I can't afford to go by myself..." The princess has a point, what if someone like the Slender Man and Freddy Kruger ambushed her FOR REAL?! That's were Bowser Jr. comes in...he can take the beating from either man while Zelda makes a run for it. Excellent plan by the princess herself.

"Awww, the poor little princess is too afraid to go all alone!" Bowser Jr. taunted Zelda, garnering a soul-shattering glare from the Hylian. "...I'll accompany you to the garage, if you don't mind." As demonstrated by Zelda just now, the glare can prove to be very effective, only if it's executed right.

* * *

 **Sonic: Sweet, the lights in the mansion just went out, which means that Tails and I can have fun in the dark! Let the games begin... *whips out a red laser and flashes it in Tails' eyes as he slept*  
Tails: *wakes up out of anger* Gah, Sonic, get that light away from my face, I'm trying to sleep here! *pulls covers over his head*  
Sonic: Why are you in the bed already, it's not even twelve yet! Man you're so boring, it absolutely hurts! *knock sounds at the door* A visitor this late? Wonder who it can be...**

Suddenly intrigued, Sonic opened the door to his room, and found no one standing by. That is, until the hedgehog looked down and saw a Charmander down at his feet, smiling. The flame on his tail was bright enough to light the vicinity.

"Hey there, funny seeing you out of the sanctuary!" Sonic greeted Charmander. "Got lost, little fella?"

"Charmander, char, char!" the lizard Pokemon exclaimed. Sonic would leave Charmander in the dust, but the Pokemon's cute, adorable face was too much for the hedgehog to turn down. So he did what he had to do...

"Sonic, you can't just take that Charmander inside the room, you gotta return him to the sanctuary where he belongs," Tails said to his best friend as he welcomed Charmander inside his room. An excitable Pokemon like Charmander would be high maintenance for Sonic, and that in turn can disrupt Tails and his sleep - something the yellow fox cannot have by any means.

"Why, because he might get hurt?" scoffed Sonic. "What's gonna hurt him? That desk over there? The lights falling down from the ceiling? Some monstrosity coming out of the television and swallowing Charmander whole?! Not gonna lie, that would be pretty awesome...but Charmander will be safe and sound in our room!"

"Yeah, well, you two keep the noise down while I get some shuteye," Tails turned over his head on his pillow as he went back to sleep. "Goodnight Sonic." The fox closed his eyes and went to sleep...though it didn't take long for the young whippersnapper to awake once again, when Charmander jumped atop Tails. "Sonic, get this Charmander away from me, I'm trying to sleep!"

"Tails I'm ashamed of you, why would you yell at poor Charmander like that?" Sonic scolded his best friend as he took the lizard Pokemon away. "Have some dignity for once!" Tails rolled his eyes and shook his head as he went back to sleep, hoping never to be disturbed again.

* * *

Mario was in the kitchen where his brother Luigi was done raiding the fridge, and now raiding the cabinets. Boxes were littered all over the kitchen floor, as Luigi was now scarfing on a box of _Froot Loops_ in his sleepwalking state.

"Mario you better wake up Luigi real quick, otherwise we're gonna run out of snacks real quick!" said Proto Man, who was ordered by Mario to shed some light on the situation with a flashlight, no pun intended whatsoever.

 **Proto Man: Had no idea Luigi has a sleepwalking disorder...must be a side effect from all that stuff he had to go through during the events of _Dream Team_. Did Mario know about his brother's condition beforehand, or is he like everyone else and doesn't give a crap about Luigi's ailments and whatnot? You'd think that with a twin brother you should know everything about your twin, everything from the eye color down to their shoe size.**

"Put the light-a on Luigi and see if-a that will do anything," instructed Mario, and Proto Man did as he was told, shining the flashlight on the green plumber. Once the light was on him, Luigi looked at Mario and Proto Man like a deer in headlights, before returning to chowing down on the cereal.

"Shining light on Luigi just won't cut it, we have to be more aggressive if we wanna wake up Luigi," stated Proto Man. This robot is not the kind to get aggressive, unless Dr. Wily is involved. But the old man is either in jail, or recovering from Roboneza in the hospital (he's the only known human to catch this disease), so Proto Man has nothing to worry about...for the time being. "What if hitting him can wake him up for good? Let's hit him in the head with a broom!"

"No, no, and-a no! We would give-a poor Luigi a concussion, would-a you want that?" Concussions aren't really that big of a deal...if you're NFL commissioner Roger Goodell! Ayoooo!

"Of course, Luigi would be put into an even deeper sleep, and once he wakes up, he'll awake from his sleepwalking! It'll be a huge payoff, though Luigi might suffer from significant memory loss depending on how hard we hit him. But we sometimes forget that he exists, so everything will be evened out!"

"I won't let-a you hit Luigi by-a any means, we'll just have to wake-a him up another way!" Mario continued the conversation with Proto Man, unaware that Luigi was now urinating inside a box of saltine crackers. As if they couldn't get any more salty...

"Um, Mario..." Proto Man caught Luigi on the act, and Mario soon saw his brother's actions with his own eyes. He ran towards Luigi, but the green plumber ran away at the nick of time, as Mario slid unto the floor, his face rubbing against the kitchen floor. So close, yet so far...

 **Luigi: *looks at the camera with intrigue, his face closing in on the lens, until he nose hits said lens causing the plumber to fall backwards onto the floor***

"Told ya we should have whacked Luigi in the head with a broom," Proto Man said to Mario, as the plumber slowly raised his head off of the floor. "The night is still young, we oughta wake Luigi up before he causes any more ruckus."

"We will-a wake up Luigi, one-a way or another..." Mario vowed. "...and we are-a NOT using a broom." Proto Man was completely on board with Mario right up to the moment he said the latter part of his response.

* * *

"Just exactly what we needed, the lights in the mansion to go out..." Samus mumbled as she took Pikachu and Pichu to where the motherboard of the mansion's security system was located, carrying a mini flashlight in her hand. The bounty hunter expects that the security system drained the mansion of its power, thereby causing the lights to go out. "Knew I should have been the one in charge of the system, X can't do a good thing by himself..."

"Hey good lookin'...what's cookin'?" a certain racer by the name of Captain Falcon greeted Samus once the light shone on him. "Couldn't miss a pretty face like yours i the pitch-black darkness...hey where are you going?!" Samus ignored Falcon, like he was just a grain of rice on the floor, as she continued on her way. "Wait up Samus, I gotta speak with you for a hot minute, it won't be long!"

"Like I would believe in any of your perverted lies." Why is it that Samus is constantly the target of Captain Falcon's affection, what's so about her that makes her pleasing to Falcon's eyes? Samus is but a highly modest individual, never did she consider herself to be "hot", "smoking", or any other adjectives thirsty men would use to objectify girls.

"No, Samus, it's something serious..." Samus groaned and came to a stop, as she turned around to face Captain Falcon. "...I think I know the main reason as to why the mansion's lights went out." Will Samus buy Falcon out, or will be continue to have her doubts about him?

"If this is a lousy attempt to woo me over, then you'll have to suffer from a few consequences..." But just when it seemed like things were heading in the latter direction... "So fill me in about this 'main reason' you speak of..." ...it looks like Samus could actually trust Captain Falcon, for once in her life.

* * *

"Don't know about you Link, but I got a seriously bad feeling about this," Cloud said to his Hylian friend as the two swordsmen were walking deep into the woods, for reasons unknown. But there was one reason...earlier in the day, Link and Cloud were told by Fox and Falco to meet them in an open field, following along a trail in the woods. And the duo are on the trail, doubtful about what may transpire.

 **Cloud: Fox sent me and Link a text message, telling us to meet him in an open field. He said to "be there, or be squared"...but we're not afraid, Fox isn't that big of a threat, right Link?  
Link: *looks around nervously* What did you say? Oh yeah, Fox, he's not that tough, he's a softie, softer than a marshmallow...  
Cloud: Says the guy who's not even aware of his own surroundings...sure you aren't scared of Fox?  
Link: *snorting* Me, scared of Fox? Why would I be scared of a guy who can't live five minutes without his blaster?  
Cloud: And you can't last over a minute without your Master Sword _or_ your shield.  
Link: *gives the camera a pained facial expression***

After a long walk, Link and Cloud would arrive at the open field, seeing Fox and Falco standing apart from one another, hands behind their backs. A third figure would walk up to the pilots and stand between the middle of them...Wolf O'Donnell. What would a guy like him be doing with Fox and Falco.

"You've finally made it...we sure hope you're ready," Wolf said to Link and Cloud, bracing themselves for what Fox and Falco may have up their sleeves. "Just as my comrades are ready..." Suddenly Wolf's troupe - Panther Caroso, Leon Powalski, Pigma Dengar, and Andrew Oikonny - appeared, as they walked up to join Fox, Falco, and Wolf. What exactly are the Star Fox pilots planning...?

"Knew they were planning something sneaky!" Link gritted his teeth as he did the most predictable thing he could ever do - pull out his Master Sword. Hard for the Hylian to imagine life without his trusty weapon. "C'mon Cloud, we can take them on!"

"Gimme that..." a now irritated Cloud grabbed Link's sword and threw it behind him, like it wasn't even worth a penny. Link would go fetch his sword, but that would make him a wimp in the eyes of Wolf and company...now's not the time to make any bad impressions.

"Alright boys, let's get 'em!" Fox said as he and his crew marched towards Link and Cloud, both men getting on the offensive. Falco grabbed Cloud and threw him to the ground with much force, while Pigma grinded Link's face in the dirt. Oh how the tables have turned.

"You like that, you like that?!" the pig taunted Link, smearing the Hylian's face all over the ground. Panther, Leon, and Andrew proceeded to give Cloud a Boyz In Da Hood beatdown, kicking him repeatedly while the swordsman covered his head with his hands.

"Back away from him, I say, back, back!" Fox ordered the three pilots, who did as they were told backing away from Cloud. Fox lifted Cloud up to his feet - and threw him against a randomly placed car, Cloud's head crashing through the car window. "Don't think we're done yet, boys!" As Master Hand would say...what in the name of Masahiro Sakurai is going on?!

* * *

Speaking of Master Hand, the creator of the Smash Universe found the power outage as an excuse for him to scare unsuspecting brawlers. He had found Pit walking in the halls, using his cellphone as a flashlight, returning to his room. Master Hand sneaked up on the angel, and when the time was right...

"BOO!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, causing Pit to shriek and drop his phone, likely cracking the screen in the process. Nothing like a quick visit to his wireless provider to solve the malady. "One down, only many more to go!"

 **Master Hand: This absolutely blows, why did the power outage have to happen when everyone's in their rooms? How do the residents expect me to scare them when they least expect it? That's how horror movies are huge box office successes, right?**

"Aw man, now I have to change my pants, thanks a lot Master hand!" Pit grimaced as he walked off, albeit uncomfortably. A highly distinguishable smell penetrated the surrounding area; you know what happened. Master Hand continued on his way, aspiring to scare more people, when he came across Luigi, who was looking at him with intrigued eyes.

"Luigi you did it completely wrong, _I'm_ the one that's supposed to approach you, not the other way around!" said Master Hand, assuming that Luigi was trying to spook the giant hand. "Also, why are you looking at me like that, that stare of yours is more unnerving than your death glare!"

Luigi was still sleepwalking, so he didn't answer Master Hand at all. Instead, he walked past the giant hand to inspect a vase, holding it in his hands before dropping on the floor. Whether he did it on purpose or by accident, we might never know. However, it won't save him from the wrath of Palutena, who opened the door to her room after hearing the sound of the vase breaking.

"Who dares to break my lovely vase?!" the goddess of light frowned, and saw Luigi, the perpetrator, standing near the evidence and not doing a thing. "Luigi, why would you break my vase, do you not know how much that vase meant to me?!"

"To be honest that vase has little to no significance, it's like all the other vase, its only importance is to serve as home decoration," Master Hand pointed out, only to receive a glare from Palutena. You have to admit, the Smash Universe creator presented a very valid point.

 **Palutena: The vase near my room was a lovely gift from Wario. I would want to say that the nice things Wario has been doing for me lately is creepy, but everything he has done - handing me gifts and showing courtesy - just seems so genuine, so I'll hold my suspicions kept under the rug unless Wario tries to pull something funny.**

"Apologize for breaking that vase!" Palutena demanded of Luigi - who ignored Palutena and walked away from the goddess of light and the remnants of the vase. We could either say that Luigi either a boss or a savage, but sadly the plumber is still in his sleepwalking state, and won't even remember the actions he did this night.

"Gotcha!" Just then, Mario leaped out of nowhere and into Luigi, knocking his twin brother to the floor. Master Hand and Palutena watched as Proto Man came over as Mario held Luigi down, and handcuffed Luigi. It was like deja vu from what transpired in the last episode, with Snake and the policemen.

"Nothing to see folks, just making Luigi pay for his mindless wrongdoings," Proto Man said to Master Hand and Palutena as he helped a now handcuffed Luigi to his feet. "Carry on." The robot walked Luigi away, with Mario following him.

"Know anyone that would be worth scaring?" Master Hand asked Palutena once Mario, Luigi, and Proto Man were out of sight. His bloodthirst for scaring others cannot be tamed by any means. "Your little lapdog in Pit was hardly a challenge for me..."

* * *

"So that's why Snake was producing cocaine in the gardens?!" Samus said in a response filled to the brim with shock and surprise. "He was trying to make money by selling cocaine to others?!" The bounty hunter was involved in a conversation with Captain Falcon, with Pikachu and Pichu serving as attentive ears. It would be Snake's intentions of making cocaine to sell for money that would even leave you in utter shock.

"That's what Snake told me prior to him getting arrested," replied Captain Falcon. "He also gave me another reason as to why he did it - he overheard that Mario's wedding budget skyrocketing dramatically due to the wedding being held at Safeco Field, so he wanted to help out Mario as much as possible by selling cocaine to others for money that can be contributed to said budget. That's also may why we have a power outage - Mario overlooked the light bill on purpose so he can save money for his wedding budget. It all makes sense, don't it?"

"Guess that perfectly explains everything...why don't we pay the light bill ourselves? Or better yet, get Wario to do it for us? He's pretty rich, and it's not like he uses his money for anything meaningful." The massaging chair from episode twelve, anyone?

"Doubt he has that much money on him now - he's been spending a lot of his cash to woo Palutena, getting her things like a foot massager, some jewelry, a purse, and a bunch of other cliche crap to buy for girls..." By the sound of it, Captain Falcon is coming off as very salty.

 **Captain Falcon: Wario has something that I don't, and that's being filthy rich! While Wario is buying all these gifts for Palutena, I'm stuck making monthly payments for my Blue Falcon, in order to use it outside of the F-Zero Grand Prix! They don't force NASCAR drivers to go through such unnecessary labor!...Though I don't think NASCAR drivers use the cars they drive in racing in their everyday lives, so I just made a slightly terrible comparison...**

"Well if Wario isn't available, who else are we gonna get to pay the light bill?" questioned Samus. "Wario is the only one that has a surplus of money..." An interesting idea conjured in Samus' head. "Not to mention Zelda and Peach." The two princesses are pretty affluent, being rulers of their respective kingdoms, though no one really ask them for money.

"We can't ask Peach, it would devastate her if she found out that Mario didn't pay the light bill," stated Captain Falcon. "Why don't we ask Zelda instead?"

* * *

"Flipped all the switches on this dumb box and nothing seems to be working..." Zelda shook her head, configuring the circuit-breaker box in the garage. Bowser Jr. was with the princess to provide moral support and to serve as a possible fall guy. You'll never know when you might need one. "I know Mario paid the light bill, he pays it whenever possible!"

"Perhaps the transaction didn't go through," suggested Bowser Jr., not knowing how paying bills works. Can't fault him for being relatively young. "Give it some time, and eventually the lights will come on!"

"There you are Zelda, we've been looking all over for you!" Captain Falcon entered the garage, having to maneuver through the loads of unused crap the brawlers own, but never cared for because it's mainly in the garage. "You're just the gal we needed to see!"

"I hope you haven't forgotten that Link and I are still in a relationship." Zelda is clearly under the assumption that Falcon is trying to woo her over to his side. "And who are you referring to when you said 'we'?" Zelda would breathe a silent sigh of relief when she saw Samus, Pikachu, and Pichu enter the garage, having to maneuver through the garage junk as well. For a moment there, the princess of Hyrule was under the assumption that Captain Falcon had brought some dudes over and introduce them to her.

"This is a mere yes-or-no question that we need you to answer," said Samus. "Do you have any funds necessary...to pay the light bill?" In that very moment, Zelda's worst fears were instantly realized...

* * *

...meanwhile, back at the field, Link and Cloud were still getting beat up by Fox and company, with Fox kicking Link against a tree, and Leon beat Cloud senselessly with a baseball bat, enough to make the swordsman bleed. Now with Leon, his actions aren't much of a shock, for the chameleon is one deranged weirdo. Fox's actions, however, are inexcusable, what would Krystal make of her boyfriend's behavior?

 **Fox: Our senseless beating of Link and Cloud actually has a purpose...but the purpose won't be revealed until the time is right. For now, the bloodshed shall continue until further notice...**

"You boys had enough already?" Wolf questioned Link and Cloud, pummeling their faces on the ground. Both men were bruised and battered, taking the beatdown of a lifetime (or at least in a very long time).

"Yes, please, just put us out of our misery!" Link pleaded for mercy. The Hylian was wishing for his torture to end; Cloud possessed similar sentiments, but he wasn't as whiny as Link was.

"Aaaaaand scene!" Knuckles exclaimed as he and Slippy Toad - the unlovable amphibian carrying a digital camera in his hand - came out of a nearby bush, as Wolf let go of Link and Cloud. "Excellent work boys, just the kind of stuff I needed for my first music video!"

"Music...video?" Cloud raised an eyebrow in perplexity as he and Link slowly got up. "You wanted us to come here and get beat up...for some lousy music video?" Oh, how much Cloud and Link regret listening to Fox and Falco...

"Yeah, Knuckles had this super wicked idea for a music video, it's supposed to be about these dudes getting beat up and whatnot, and Fox chose you chumps as the perfect candidates for said video!" explained Falco. "You certainly met our expectations, and for that, our filming is a rousing success!"

"What, did you seriously think we were gonna genuinely beat you up for real?" snorted Andrew. "Bunch of suckers you are!" Pigma, Panther, and Leon glanced at one another, not sharing Andrew's sentiments.

 **Leon: To be brutally honest with you...I would want to be paid twenty-five grand to pummel Link and Cloud, and any other sorry swordsman - want to see how strong and efficient they really are without their precious swords!  
Pigma: I got my money on that Lloyd Irving kid, he's too stupid to fend for himself...remember at the wedding, when he did a split at the wedding after-party with TWO DRINKS in his hand? What rational person in their right mind would have two drinks at the same time?  
Panther: Ah yes, good stuff, good stuff indeed...what a moron that boy is...**

"And we got it all on camera!" Slippy chirped, petting the digital camera. "All there's left to do is go to the mansion and edit everything, and we'll have a somewhat finished product!"

"We tell NO ONE what went down tonight," Cloud said to Link, who zipped up his lips with an imaginary zipper. The swordsmen may not tell the others, but what about Fox and company?

* * *

Tails soundly slept away, cozy on his pillow while Sonic and Charmander...did stuff together (hard to hang out with a Pokemon when you're a somewhat inexperienced trainer) when the smell of smoke infiltrated the fox's nostrils. The smoke prompted Tails to wake up, and he saw Charmander, using his flame breath on blueprints that Sonic had given him. Bear in mind that these blueprints happen to be Tails' - and they're likely to be no more.

"Sonic why are you making that Charmander set my blueprints on fire, I have yet to use them!" Tails scolded his best friends, dismayed that Sonic makes a myriad of poor choices in his life. Inserting a portal to the Underworld in the ball pit room, washing clothes in the kitchen sink, filling the mansion's swimming pool with liquid lead (hence the reason why the mansion no longer has a swimming pool to this very day) - these are some of the many poor choices Sonic has made, and may continue to make until he learns a lesson or two.

"You kept telling me you would use the blueprints to make stuff, but you kept falling back on your promise time and time again," replied Sonic. "Also, it was getting chilly in here, so I had to start a fire to keep myself warm. Don't worry, I'll put the fire out once I go to bed!"

"It sure does feel kinda chilly in here..." In that moment, Tails suddenly realized something. "Isn't the smoke detector supposed to go off or something, since you're making a fire and smoke is...why hasn't anyone come inside this room yet to investigate, shouldn't the smoke be spreading?!"

"Um, Tails, the smoke detecting system is electrical, which means that the detectors aren't working! A real genius would have figured that out by now! Hmm, not that smart I see, kinda knew you were slightly dumb..." Sonic must feel like the proudest person in all of America, making that jab at Tails.

 **Sonic: Charmander has been nothing but high maintenance for me - he's like an adorable baby, every second he demands attention, and I have to give him that attention or else he'll burst into a crying fit! That's one of the reasons I don't plan on having kids...Amy wouldn't mind that, right? *flashes a nervous look* ...Right?**

"I'm telling you Mario, Sonic is our best option for waking up Luigi, we could have whacked Luigi with a broom but apparently you're against that," Proto Man said to Mario, carrying the flashlight, as the robot opened the door to Sonic's and Tails' room. Once the door was open, Mario gasped when he saw the fire burning ablaze, prompting him to take out his F.L.U.D.D. and douse the fire with it.

"Another fire taken care of!" said the F.L.U.D.D., before turning its attention to Sonic and Tails. Whenever Sonic does something wrong and Tails is present, Tails has to share half of the blame, most of the time. "Now why would you two bozos start a fire in the middle of the night, when everyone's in their rooms? Have you got any sense?"

"Don't blame me, blame Sonic, he's the one who brought that Charmander inside the room and start a fire!" Tails pointed at the blue-furred perpetrator, Sonic. "I've been trying to sleep for the longest now, and Sonic's antics keep waking me up!" Mario and Proto Man both made funny faces, even they found the idea of Tails going to bed after eleven to be asinine.

"Why is-a that Charmander even-a here...?" questioned Mario. "Ah, no-a matter, it can be-a of great use-a to us. Sonic, would-a you mind bringing Charmander with-a us?"

* * *

"Yes, my name is Princess Zelda, and I would like to pay the light bill for the Smash Mansion," Zelda spoke on the phone with whoever supposed to handle the light bill, in a room with Bowser Jr., Captain Falcon, Samus, Pikachu, and Pichu. Why Pikachu and Pichu are even here, who knows why. "I believe that a certain man by the name of Mario was supposed to pay the bill..."

"Oh yes, Mr. Mario was supposed to pay the bill last week or two," said the person on the phone. "But he said that he'll pay the bill 'in due time', and refused to clarify what he meant by that." This did nothing but make Zelda and company grow more suspicious.

"Is it fine if I pay the light bill now? The lights had went out a while ago, and it had never occurred to me that the light bill was neglected." Zelda will likely have a word with Mario, if what Captain Falcon had told her was indeed true.

"Yes ma'am, we can take care of the transaction right now, just give me your billing information and we shall go from there."

 **Zelda: If Captain Falcon's theory about Mario and the light bill is true, and I'm afraid there will have to be A LOT of explaining from Mario. You can't just forsake one of the more crucial bills that need to be paid in order to save for your wedding! (I'd honestly be fine if it was the cellphone bill instead, it's not like any of us ever go out or anything.) But still, now's not the time for Mario to be making any unadvised risks.**

In a matter of minutes, the transaction was done, and Zelda paid off the light bill with whatever funds she had.

"They should be turning on the lights sometime soon, once they process the bill," said Zelda. "Now we need to go look for Mario..."

* * *

"To be honest with-a you boys, I thought-a Luigi's sleepwalking issue was-a resolved, but unfortunately it still-a persists to this day," Mario said to Proto Man and Sonic (holding Charmander) as the three walked through the hallways. "It's been a bit-a of a recurring problem..."

"Didn't Bowser once mention some dude named Dr. Snoozemore that specializes in dreams and all that good stuff?" asked Proto Man; Bowser alluded to this fellow back in episode six. "Perhaps he could provide a remedy to Luigi's sleepwalking disorder."

"I had consulted Dr. Snooze-a more in the past, not even he-a could...oh no, where-a did Luigi go?!" Mario and his two companions arrived at the room where Luigi was...or at least he was supposed to be. Only thing left in the room was a chair, and a bunch of chains in said chair. The green plumber was chained down to the chair, but miraculously he escaped - in his sleepwalking nonetheless! "He was supposed-a to be chained down-a to that chair!"

"Whaddaya know, Luigi is a lowkey Houdini!" Sonic complimented the plumber's escape artist abilities. "You learn something new every day...or night...whatever."

"Told you we should have whacked Luigi with a broom while we had a chance..." Proto Man mentioned to Mario. Why not use his charge shot on Luigi instead? Is it that whacking someone with a broom would be as funny as it would be effective?

* * *

Link, Cloud, Knuckles, Slippy, Fox, Falco, Wolf, and his gang arrived at the Smash Mansion, all caught by surprise when the walked into complete darkness. Link and Cloud suddenly grew weary, hoping there wasn't another setup in which they might get beat up.

But immediately the lights in the mansion came back on, and dancing in the middle of the foyer with Mr. Game and Watch was none other than Luigi, who was twirling the 2-D man around like a ballerina in his sleepwalking state. And it had to be Wolf's cronies to witness this.

"Dancing with another man, what a dork this guy is!" Andrew snorted as he, Leon, Panther, and Pigma mocked Luigi. "Even after he got married, he's still a dweeb at heart!" Link, Cloud, Fox, Falco, and Wolf understandably felt embarrassed for Luigi, when the plumber ever gets ridiculed by Wolf's groupies, he'll never know why...

 **Slippy: Andrew has a seriously valid point though...Luigi is indeed a dweeb. The fact that HE got married before his obviously cooler brother is just baffling to me.**

Just then, Sonic came around the corner, tackling Luigi to the floor and holding him down. Mario, carrying Charmander, and Proto Man, carrying a broom, came over to make sure Luigi was held down for good.

"Proto Man, put-a the broom away," Mario ordered the robot; Proto Man groaned and went to go put away the broom. So much for senselessly whacking people in the head...

"Luigi is getting away!" alerted Sonic as the plumber tried to crawl away from the hedgehog. And nobody did a single thing. "Um, I said Luigi is getting away! You guys just gonna stand there like bums?" Mario (dropping Charmander gently on the floor), Link, Cloud, Knuckles, Fox, Falco, Wolf and his gang leaped to action, jumping in on Luigi and keeping him down on the floor to keep him from advancing. Slippy would join, but he can't possibly put the digital camera in danger, he captured some great film with it and cannot go to waste by any means whatsoever.

"I see Mario has yet to wake up Luigi..." X said as he and Rosalina showed up, witnessing Mario and company holding down Luigi to the best of their ability. "I feel like a fool for thinking he would waken his brother up by now..."

"Give Mario some time, it's not like you expected Mario to complete his mission as soon as possible," Rosalina stood up for the plumber, only to receive a questionable look from X. The robot did expect Mario to wake up Luigi in due time - Luigi is his brother, after all.

"There he is!" Captain Falcon appeared, pointing at Mario, and soon his group of Samus, Zelda, Bowser Jr., Pikachu, and Pichu appeared as well. "Looks like he's pretty busy doing...whatever the heck he's doing with those fellas. How are we supposed to get his attention?" Pikachu and Pichu looked at one another and nodded, for they knew what to do...

"Pika...CHHHHUUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed his signature move, Thunderbolt, on Mario and company, and his pre-evolution buddy Pichu would do the same, shocking the plumber, Star Wolf, Fox, Falco, and Knuckles in the process. It was an electric spectacle (no pun intended there) that left everyone in awe.

 **X: One thing I will say about Pikachu's "Thunderbolt"...it's not the best electric-type out there (Bolt Strike), but it's still pretty effective and can give you quite the shock...Team Rocket knows that _very_ well.**

"Ooh...what-a happened?" Luigi rubbed his head as he slowly got up. Luigi was now out of his sleepwalking state, but it didn't take the plumber that long to recuperate when a singed Wolf (everyone who was electrocuted was singed) grabbed him by the collar. That's no way to treat a person who just woke up from sleepwalking.

"Who do you think you are, shocking me like that?!" Wolf interrogated Luigi, who believes the plumber inadvertently shocked him. In case you may remember from _Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga_ , Luigi wields the element of electricity, hence his nickname the Green Thunder. Too bad we never get to see him use his electric powers.

"I would-a never electrocute you in-a any way, I respect-a you too much to do-a such a thing!" Wolf didn't buy Luigi out, instead he strangled the plumber out of rage. And Mario didn't tolerate this one bit.

"You leave my-a brother Luigi alone, he-a meant no harm!" frowned Mario, sticking up for his bro. "Besides, why would-a he shock you, when he rarely uses-a his electrical abilities?" Luigi's powers would have been useful in turning the mansion's lights back on...if the people in charge of the lights allowed it.

"Yeah, listen to the man, Luigi probably doesn't even know what's going on!" said Link, siding himself with Mario. "He might have been sleepwalking, for all we know! Right Mario?" Mario, who has full knowledge of the situation, nodded his head.

"Oh yeah? Fight me!" And apparently that's exactly what Link did, as he and Wolf started fighting one another - much to Zelda's chagrin, as the princess facepalmed and turned away. The fight would escalate when Mario tried to restrain Link, and Luigi tried to restrain Wolf. Leon, Pigma, and Andrew did not appreciate Luigi holding back their leader, so they tangoed with the green plumber. With Luigi getting bullied by the three Star Wolf pilots, Wolf went back to work with Link, only to be stopped by Cloud and Knuckles, and eventually those three would be duking it out, with Link joining in, and Mario joining in as well against his will. While this went on, Slippy recorded the brawl, hoping to upload the video to Worldstar or something like that. The bullfrog can't resist passing up on an opportunity like that...

"Thank goodness we don't get visitors around this time," Samus remarked as the brawling went on, while the others watched, not risking jumping into the fray and stop the violence once and for all. Charmander, Sonic's Pokemon buddy, didn't like what he was seeing and as a result...

"CHAAAAARRRR!" the lizard Pokemon unleashed a Flamethrower attack on Mario and company, and for a second time the men were all singed. On another note, the fighting did stop...so that's a huge plus.

 **X: Oh, and another thing I left out - Flamethrower isn't technically the strongest fire-type move, but it can...wait a sec, how was that Charmander able to use Flamethrower in the first place? What level is he supposed to be?!**

"Mario, Mario, it's absolutely terrible!" Master Hand showed up, clearly in a state of distress. "The lights are back on, meaning that I can no longer scare unsuspecting brawlers in the dark! I was so close to scaring Ganondorf..." Master Hand stopped when he saw Mario and the fighting men, covered in black soot. "Anyone care to explain what transpired here?"

* * *

Inside Master Hand's room, Mario would explain to the creator of the Smash Universe about Luigi sleepwalking, the fight he was engaged in, and how Charmander burnt him to a crisp. And as a notion by Zelda and Captain Falcon, who were both present in the room with their arms folded, Mario would also have to tell Master Hand about the light bill...

"You purposefully neglected to pay the light bill just to save money for the wedding budget?!" Master Hand boomed, but not loudly enough to disturb anyone asleep (*cough Tails *cough*). "You know this is why I was against Safeco Field being the wedding venue, bigger and better venue means more money to be spent!"

"But that's not all, Master Hand - Snake knew about the high wedding budget, so he sold cocaine all of last week to help out with the wedding budget," stated Captain Falcon. "So Mario has some blame, regarding that matter..."

"I see...Mario, in wake of these revelations, I want you to make as much money as possible so you'll fulfill your silly wedding budget. Maybe you and Pac-Man could actually join the workforce for once, and make some bucks, or you can get your friends some jobs and go from there - just don't neglect paying any bills and getting your fellow brawlers arrested! Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-Yes sir, it won't-a happen again!" Mario sheepishly said as he gave Master Hand a thumbs up and exited the room. He would see Slippy sitting at Master Hand's doorway, watching the film of Link and Cloud getting beat up on his digital camera and smiling to himself like it was some lewd film; Mario glanced at the bullfrog before shaking his head and walking away.

"Yo, Slippy, are you gonna bring us the digital camera or not, Wolf and his pals want to review the film we got!" Knuckles called out from afar. He wants his first music video to be legit, although he hasn't even recorded a song yet. How backwards is that?

"I'm coming!" Slippy called out as he stopped the film and got up, quickly heading to the recording studio.

* * *

 **Sonic: There's a famous quote that rings true to this day - "If you love something, you set it free". And alas, I have to return my buddy Charmander to the Pokemon sanctuary, as ordered by Master Hand. Charmander and I had a lot of fun together in our room, and some of our activities were frowned upon by Tails (but Tails is a weirdo who goes to bed at eleven ON A FRIDAY, so he wouldn't know the definition of fun even if Spongebob Squarepants had to teach it to him). But I'll cherish the short moments we had together...**

"What are you waiting for Sonic, just walk Charmander into the sanctuary where he belongs," X ordered Sonic, though the hedgehog was reluctant to do so. Sonic knelt down at Charmander's feet, making this farewell bigger than it's really supposed to be.

"I'm gonna miss you pal, stay safe in there..." the hedgehog petted Charmander on the head, before slowly getting up and letting out a sigh. Then he walked the lizard Pokemon into the sanctuary, and after the deed was done, he came out with a face written with grief.

"You do realize you can see Charmander another time, right?" X was hoping Sonic hadn't forgotten this, it's not like brawlers are restricted from entering the sanctuary. Sonic's response may or may not surprise you...

"Yeah I know, I'm just a little salty about having to put up with Tails until then. Hard to get along with a kid who goes to bed early on the weekends." If that's the case, then why can't Sonic just switch out Tails for Knuckles as a roommate?

But who knows, Tails may be in the right - for all we know, he might be saving himself from ever sleepwalking. You wouldn't want to be sleepwalking all over the place like Luigi did, would you?


	41. Episode 41: Luchador

_Author's Note:_

 _Got some more guest reviews to answer. First one from an anonymous reader:_

 _"Needs more Ice Climbers."_

 _Yes I thoroughly agree, this story does need more Ice Climbers - it has nearly gotten to the point where I forget that the duo even existed. Fortunately I've included them in this installment. One more anonymous reader review to answer:_

 _"Prank war, please!"_

 _Oh yeah...that's DEFINITELY gonna be in the next chapter or so. I've been brainstorming ideas already. Now we have Cute 123, who has a very interesting suggestion:_

 _"Have meta knight lose his mask and walk around with Kirby and not even samus can resist"_

 _Honestly I'm on the fence with that one, can't imagine Meta Knight without his mask, ever. That's like trying to picture Donald Trump without his goofy blonde hair. Finally we have Philippe:_

 _"Sonic SHOULD get a pet Shaymin. And Bowser definitely deserves that beating. DEFINETLEY."_

 _First things off, Bowser absolutely deserved that beating, and I happened to enjoy that beating...very, very much. As for Sonic getting a pet Shaymin, that may very well happen sometime in the future._

* * *

 **Episode 41: Luchador**

As a bit of a suggestion by Master Hand in order to keep up with a ridiculously high wedding budget, Mario went job searching, so he could make some money to cover for the budget before wedding time arrives.

Except that Mario isn't looking for a job for himself - he's looking for a job for someone else.

While the plumber continues working with Pac-Man on the road towards the wedding, a certain brawler will be working away from the mansion, making as much dough as possible that can be contributed to the budget. And no, we're not talking about cookie dough, you can't make money off of cookie dough if you don't bake it. Most baking businesses learn that the hard way.

In order to decide who would be getting a job, Mario had to narrow down a list of qualified brawlers. Samus? She already worked for the Galactic Federation, and she may not be planning to work anywhere else. Sonic? He may be old enough to work a job, but he can prove to be quite the annoyance in the workplace, just as much as he is in the mansion. Link? Other than swinging his sword left and right and wielding his shield like a scaredy cat, what else can the Hylian do?

Before Mario could settle down on what brawler should be working, race car driver Jacky Bryant approached the plumber in the middle of the hallway, as he was going over his list of brawlers. Jacky a good-spirited fellow, he would do anything to help a fellow man out.

 **Jacky: Witnessing Mario and Peach getting married is a lot like man landing on the moon - it's a truly unique once-in-a-lifetime experience, that you'll never get to see if you're not there, you can only talk about it as time goes on. I'm here to ensure the wedding doesn't get annulled by the wedding budget, I'll fight for Mario's (and Peach's) right!**

"I'm assuming you have yet to decide who's getting a job," Jacky grinned. He would have to do a lot of grinning and posturing if he wants to win over Mario.

"My final two choices-a are Yoshi and Lloyd Irving," stated Mario. What employer in their right mind would want to hire either one of those two bums? "Yoshi needs-a to get out of-a the mansion so he can do-a other productive things aside-a from writing crappy fan-a fic stories, and Lloyd-a needs to get out-a of the mansion...for several-a obvious reasons. Perhaps you can-a be the deal-a breaker, Jacky?"

"Alright then, here's a deal-breaker for ya...why won't _I_ get a job, or better yet, a managerial position?" This offer greatly pleased Mario, who obviously never had taken a manger position into any consideration. "I spoke with a car salesman downtown and I told him your situation, and he said that he can give me a job title of a manager at his car dealership! How great does that sound?"

"That sounds-a absolutely splendid!...But how long will-a you be working at this car-a dealership, what would your work-a schedule be?"

"I'm free to work all week long, save for Sundays, that's when the dealership is closed. The salary is up to fifty dollars per hour, and that would be enough to cover for the budget." $50 per hour?! That should be more than enough! "Only one problem though - I don't have a credible resume!" No point in getting hired if you don't have a resume to show for it.

"Good thing I know a thing-a or two about preparing resumes, had to make-a one in order to get into the plumbing-a business!" Honest question - why did Mario give up plumbing full-time? Has saving Princess Peach from the clutches of evil become some sort of job for him? How does he even expect to get paid for his heroic efforts?! "I can-a show you the ropes of how-a to make the perfect resume, without a fee!"

So Jacky followed Mario to wherever the plumber will guide the racer to making a resume - likely the computer room. Mario's faithful wedding assistant, Pac-Man, ran up to the plumber in the hallway, having come across a crucial step in the wedding planning process.

"Mario we need to find an officiant real quick!" Pac-Man alerted Mario, running him to him. There can't be no formal wedding without an officiant; Chrom could be a wedding officiant again, but he already did his time, why not let another person run things? "We don't have much time, we oughta find one before it's too late!"

"Let-a Aerith take care of-a it, I'm-a busy," Mario said to his wedding assistant as he and Jacky continued on their way. Pac-Man just stood there in the middle of the hallway, looking back at Mario and wondering if he was actually putting whatever he's doing with Jacky over his own wedding. He can't expect Aerith to do _everything_ for him; granted she's a genuinely nice person, but nice people can't do every little thing you would expect from them.

 **Pac-Man: Asked Chrom if he wanted to officiate another wedding...and just as I expected, he said no. Outside of Chrom, there are hardly any viable options for an officiant - I could ask Snake, but he's obviously in a lot of legal trouble. Not to mention that his accelerated age would make him forget Mario's and Peach's name. He might call Peach "Blondie" and Mario "The Mustached Man from Wonderland" or something zany like that.**

* * *

"Bro are you kidding me, Mega Manectric has NOTHING on Mega Tyranitar, only good thing about Manectric is that it's a speedy Pokemon!" Sonic engaged in a Pokemon conversation with Red the Pokemon Trainer, both men returning from a fishing excursion. They were holding a debate about which mega Pokemon is the best. "Even Alolan Sandslash could wipe the floor with him!"

"Oh please, we won't even know how strong Alolan Sandslash might be until the new _Pokemon_ games come out!" retorted Red. "For all we know, Alolan Exeggutor might be better, could even be OP!"

"Heh, Exeggutor was never even OP to begin with..." Well, Blue had the coconut Pokemon in his party in the Pokemon original games/remakes, and cruised to the Pokemon League with this grass/psychic type whiz...so he may be OP to a certain extent.

Sonic and Red arrived at Sonic's room, and when Sonic opened his door and entered his room, the hedgehog was flabbergasted. No, not because of the pile of unwanted clothes on his bed - Peach always forces Sonic to fold them since she feels that he's "not doing much that is productive". Rather, Sonic was flabbergasted by the fact that his friend Tails had a Vulpix on his desk, as the yellow fox was inspecting the fox Pokemon.

"You stinking hypocrite!" Sonic accusingly pointed at Tails, grabbing the fox's attention. "Last week you were against me having a Pokemon in the room, and now you brought one in the room?! But when I do it, suddenly it's a huge problem!"

"I was never against you having Charmander in the room, I just didn't want you two to disturb me in my sleep..." clarified Tails; Sonic still thinks of him as a weirdo for going to bed early on Fridays. "I brought this Vulpix to my desk so I can study it and take notes and stuff until the Alolan Vulpix arrives." The Alolan Vulpix, along with the other native Pokemon of Alola, are set to be brought to the Smash Mansion in November (the time _Pokemon Sun and Moon_ will be released!) and assimilate in the Pokemon sanctuary.

"Why are you studying the Vulpix so early, can't you just wait?" asked Red. "Wait until the Alolan Vulpix, and then you can compare both Vulpxies and differentiate between the both of them." Tails doesn't believe in doing that, he likes to think ahead.

"Even though I hardly know much about the Alolan Vulpix, we all know it's gonna be better than the original Vulpix, just look at how cool it is!" This remark certainly didn't hurt Vulpix's confidence at all...

 **Red: Something I have noticed about Sonic...he judges Pokemon and their abilities based upon how "cool" and "awesome" they look. For instance, he thinks Gyarados sucks, and that Luvdisc is better since "it at least knows how to be pretty". So I guess that once Sonic takes a look at Probopass, he'll immediately declare it the worst rock-type Pokemon that has ever existed?**

"Sonic, just because the Alolan Vulpix looks 'cooler' to you, may not necessarily mean that it's better," Tails had to say to his best friend. "That's like me saying that Paula Adbul was the best judge on _American Idol_ at the time since she's the best-looking."

"She _was_ the best judge on the panel, if I do say so myself," stated Sonic. Many others consider Simon Cowell, but to each their own.

"What I'm trying to say is, you can't judge Pokemon, people, sports teams, and the like by their appearance, you should never judge a book by its cover." This whole "never judge a book by its cover" mantra is a valuable lesson for anyone to learn, but Sonic ain't learning jack today.

"Yeah, yeah, that's just a politically correct method of viewing everyone the same, it never works out perfectly though. C'mon Red, let's go throw Poke Balls at unsuspecting people passing by the mansion!" Must be an idea Sonic may have gained from pranking with Bowser back in episode 38.

"But Master Hand will have our heads if we..." Red tried to talk Sonic out of this whole Poke Ball throwing activity, but the hedgehog just ignored the Pokemon trainer, grabbing his hand and walking out of the room. Tails shook his head at Sonic, then went back to studying the Vulpix in front of him.

* * *

Bayonetta stood in front of a mirror in the practically unused mirror room, examining her wonderful physique. Her physique has gained her a lot of unwanted onlookers from the male brawlers, mainly from those who are single, and will likely remain that way forever until the end of time (no offense, Captain Falcon). Too bad Bayonetta already has a boyfriend in Luka Redgrave...

"Bought these flowers just for you, hope you like them." And would you know it, Luka appeared, entering the room and handing the flowers to Bayonetta, expressing joy when accepting the flowers. "Stopped by to pay a visit - delivering flyers for Rodin has been cutting deep into my schedule." This is one of the few days Rodin - a weapons dealer who specializes in hunting demons - will give Luka a day off from his errands, and Luka has used his day off to pay his girlfriend a visit - that's what you call being a wonderful boyfriend.

 **Luka: Rodin has been more urgent with the flyers...he suspects a huge demon outburst on the horizon, and wants me to deliver as many flyers as possible to spread the word about what may be an incoming swarm of demon activity. If I know better, this is just a lousy attempt by Rodin to make my work to the fullest in flyer delivery, he used a similar tactic before where he threatened to kill Bayonetta if I didn't deliver a certain amount of flyers on one day...**

"Spending the money you gain from Rodin on flowers...you bad little boy," Bayonetta teased with Luka, who responded with a smirk. Rodin pays Luka for delivering flyers, and apparently Rodin doesn't what Luka to be spending his salary...unless it has anything to do with flyers, presumably.

"Rodin is frankly against me spending 'his' money on things not pertaining to demons and such, but as he should know, a man has to eat every now and then," said Luka. "Can't deliver flyers forever, gotta take care of my body and everything going on in my life." Does Rodin not think and meditate upon these things, or is he obsessed with flyers like how Kirby is obsessed with food? (Food is a _highly_ broad term in this regard.)

"I honestly don't think Luka would be a great officiant, he looks too rough to me to be one," Aerith discussed with Cloud, the two lovebirds standing afar from Luka and Bayonetta. As you know now, Aerith is tasked with finding an officiant for Mario's and Peach's wedding, since Mario is off doing things with Jacky. "You sure we can't get Chrom to officiate another wedding?"

"Pac-Man already asked Chrom, and he said no," replied Cloud. "Apparently Luka is the only choice we have, there's hardly anyone else qualified to take the job." Waluigi could be an officiant...though it wouldn't be worth having the guests boycott the wedding because Waluigi's ugly.

"Fine then, guess I'll go ask then..." Aerith walked up to Luka; the journalist/escape artist turned around and saw the flower girl, remembering her from Luigi's wedding. Like many others, he's still in amazement as to how Aerith came back from the dead (although she never did, if you paid attention to Marth's talking head segment in episode 24).

"I take it that you're Aerith Gainsborough, the mistress of Cloud Strife?" Luka would ask Aerith, just to make sure it was her. He's still in disbelief as to how she's even alive. "Very nice to see you, I suppose, although we hardly speak with one another or even know each other well."

"Oh, the feeling's mutual," smiled Aertih. "Not sure if Bayonetta told you this, but Mario and Peach are going to be married sometime in June next year, and I was wondering if you would be the officiant..."

"Thanks, but no thanks - Rodin has me on a leash, and he won't allow me any breaks whatsoever. This is one of the few days off I get from sending out flyers, and I have to use it to the fullest." Might as well go with Waluigi for the officiant - expect _no one_ to be in attendance when he's carrying out the wedding proceedings.

 **Cloud: This is yet another fine example of vintage Mario - while that walking piece of flab is off doing whatever, someone else is doing the job for him, more likely than not struggling to complete thee task unwillingly handed to them. Today Aerith is the latest unfortunate victim, and I'm afraid that I'm next in line...**

"If the opportunity rises, I'll be the officiant, but I'll consider the offer from here on out," Luka continued. "Who knows, Rodin might even give me a summer break from the flyers, I truly deserve one..."

"Well then why don't you act like a grown man and just ask for one?" questioned Bayonetta, refusing to see her boyfriend this submissive. "Rodin is technically your boss, and you're his employee, is that correct? Rodin should be doing whatever's best for his employee, or employees if he even has anyone else delivering flyers, and grant their every wish. He can't let his personal matters overrule your well-being!"

"Why don't we go ask Rodin ourselves and negotiate with him?" suggested Cloud. Not the brightest idea - Rodin is one bad dude, what with the sunglasses, cigar, facial deposition, and everything else that would make a tough guy, well, a tough guy. Oh, and he's also an immortal demon. "He has to give _some_ leeway, he can't be that tough of a guy."

"Speaking with Rodin is like a death wish just waiting to happen..." Bayonetta pondered over Cloud's suggestion, before a smile formed on her face. That could either be a good thing...or a bad thing. "But with me around, I can get inside Rodin's...'soft' side." Rodin has a soft side? Guess he's not that tough after all. "Rodin lives in Paradiso, the Dimension of the Angels...that's the word on the street though. Isn't that where he lives, my dear Luka?"

"Rodin recently moved his weapons shop to Paradiso, so yes, he lives in that dimension," confirmed Luka. "Let's go pay him a quick visit."

* * *

"Link, can you please come with me to the dancing room?" Zelda asked Link, in a state of distress and worry. The princess and her prince were in the library, and Link was embroiled in a highly contested chess match with Meta Knight. Gil, Yoshi, and Villager were all spectators.

"Yeah Zelda I'll be coming in a minute, just gotta finish this chess match first," responded Link; this is the fifth time the Hylian repeated this. He and Meta Knight were locked in a stalemate, but not the kind of stalemate that would effectively end the game for good.

 **Meta Knight: Whenever I play a chess match with anyone, something is always on the line, every match to me is meaningful. I put many things on the line - dignity, _la dignidad._ Honor, _la honra._ Respect, _el respecto._ Passion, _la pasion._ Link, my competitor...he lacks those things. Don't believe me, you should spend more time capturing the moments Zelda bosses him around. Zelda being a few years older than him is no good excuse for his thick-skinned ways.**

"Meta Knight's got this one in the bag, he whooped Ganondorf's behind yesterday, and he'll whoop Link's eventually," said Villager. He obviously has high hopes for the Star Warrior.

"Nah man, Link is gonna pull off an upset, he'll leave Meta Knight in shock," said Gil. A hard task to accomplish, nobody has ever come close to beating Meta Knight in a fair game of chess. Except Kirby, poor puffball was crying because he was about to lose, and Meta Knight had to throw away the match just to appease his "friend".

"I'm not going for either person to win, I came here to see a great chess match, nothing more, nothing less!" said Yoshi. How boring is it not picking anyone to win, what's the fun in that?

"Well can you please hurry up your chess match Link, I want you to see something before it's too late!" frowned Zelda. The princess' wish would be granted, when Meta Knight put Link in checkmate. "Good, you finally lost your stupid chess match, NOW will you come with me?!"

"Whatever can keep you from complaining," replied Link as he got up and followed Zelda out of the library. Meta Knight watched the Hylian attentively, wanting to do the hero of Hyrule a huge solid - but for what reason, and why?

* * *

While Knuckles was putting on the finishing touches of his first music video in the recording studio, Fox and Falco spent some time with the other brawlers, namely Rosalina and Luma (technically Luma _isn't_ a brawler, but she can land a couple of moves so she counts). The mother of all Lumas was showing the Star Fox pilots her new blender; good chance Ganondorf bought it for her.

"All you do is put a bunch of stuff inside the blender, and then you press this button," demonstrated Rosalina, pouring an assortment of fruits in the blender and pressing the button, explaining as if Fox nor Falco don't know how to use a blender correctly. Regardless, both pilots took this lesson to heart, nodding and stroking their chins as Rosalina went along. "And viola!" Once the blending was done, Rosalina poured the concoction into two glasses and gave said glasses to Fox and Falco each; the pilots drank the concoction heartily, before having to give their critique.

"Mmhmm, mmhmm, not bad at all!" Falco offered his opinion. "Tastes great, just as I figured!" Not the type of reaction Rosalina wanted, but she'll take whatever she can get.

 **Rosalina: Ganondorf had bought that blender for me on Monday, as a "belated" birthday gift of sorts; apparently he doesn't know when my birthday is. He told me sternly not to tell the others how I got the blender, for he doesn't want anyone to know he has a "soft side"...**

 **Fox: Falco and I, we're already established music moguls, in spite of our relatively short time dabbing in music production. So then we thought, why not venture in other things?  
Falco: That's where Rosalina and her new blender comes in! We're gonna create the best smoothie ever, and then we'll become smoothie experts! We can be the Mike and Ike of the drinking realm!  
Fox: If our smoothie becomes a hit, we'll make more smoothies and sell them to the masses. But unlike Mike and Ike, we won't be "breaking up" just to sway the young folks...**

"Do you mind if we use your blender to make some wicked smoothies?" Fox asked Rosalina, ambitious to make some delectable beverages. The fox was rubbing his hands together like Montgomery Burns, making it difficult for Rosalina to say no.

"Be my guest, make as many smoothies as you want!" the mother of Lumas smiled; Fox and Falco immediately raided the kitchen of items they would need to make smoothies - fruits, sweets, you name it. The Ice Climbers walked into the kitchen, and saw what the Star Fox pilots were up to.

"Rosalina, what are those two bozos trying to do?" a somewhat concerned Popo asked Rosalina. Nana looked on nervously; she wanted to stop her friend/brother/presumed boyfriend, but that would make things ugly. "Why are they gathering ingredients?"

"They're about to make smoothies!" Luma answered for her mama. Popo's fears were suddenly realized, as he stomped his foot on the floor in disgust.

"Only we Ice Climbers can make treats around here!" In case you couldn't tell already, Popo takes a heavy pride in the sundaes he and Nana make. "Fox, Falco, you bums dare try to kill our momentum?!"

"Watcha gonna do about it punk, you wanna challenge us or something?" asked Fox, infuriating Popo even more - just _exactly_ what Nana needed. "How about this, we have a food-off - we make smoothies, and you make your crummy sundaes. And Rosalina will be the judge, and determine which is better - our smoothies, or your sundaes! Deal?"

"Um, I don't know if this is totally worth it..." said Rosalina, against this whole food-off competition, as well as the idea of her being a judge. "How about we put aside our differences and come to a..."

"Deal!" Popo confidently shook Fox's hand, now signifying what may be a long, hard fought competition. A competition that Nana, Rosalina, not even Luma asked for nor wanted to transpire.

* * *

 **Meta Knight: Correct me if I'm wrong, but is Link supposed to be the so-called "hero of Hyrule"? So why does he insist on letting Zelda boss him around, and taking him to unknown places and predicaments? I understand that Zelda is the princess of her land and Link has to do her bidding, but for goodness sake, the man is deemed a pimp by the folks on _Urban Dictionary!_...And yes, I do believe in everything the _Urban Dictionary_ says, it's the same website that confirmed me as the most broken character in _Smash_ and called me the king of the internet, so the folks running the site obviously know what's up!**

"Zelda why are you taking me to the dancing room, nothing exciting happens here," Link said as Zelda led him inside the room in question. "This is a stupid waste of my time and WHERE THE HECK DID THAT WRESTLING RING COME FROM?!" The Hylian would stop in his tracks when he saw a wrestling ring in the center of the dancing room, with Pit and Donkey Kong wrestling one another in said ring, with Toad serving as the referee, evidenced by his striped shirt. Little Mac, Doc Louis, Akira Yuki, Ryu, Heihachi Mishima, Diddy Kong, and Viridi (standing on the ring apron) were spectating the match.

"C'mon Pit, my man, sweep the leg!" Doc Louis called out to the angel. You've probably heard this term "sweep the leg" at many fighting events - why is this such an effective method?

"Pummel Pit to the ground Donkey Kong, he's got nothing on you!" Little Mac called out to Donkey Kong. In a perfect world, the gorilla could completely massacre Pit in a standardized wrestling match, but he's having a tough time with the angel.

"Put him in a headlock, DK!" Diddy cheered on for his uncle. He knows what Donkey Kong is capable of, given his experience in _Punch Out!_

"Somebody throw a karate chop already!" said Akira. He's at the wrong place to be expecting karate chops of any sort...

"Use the ropes to your advantage, the ropes will give you leverage!" advised Ryu. Pit nor Donkey Kong used the ropes; they were in the center of the ring, putting one another in a headlock.

"Watashi wa mushiro kōshaku sore o korera ni yakedo o miru yori mo, jissai no resurā to no jissai no resuringu no shiai o mitaidesu!" said Heihachi. No one bothered to pay attention to him, partly because they didn't understand a single word he was saying.

 **Palutena: Pit had constantly implored me about getting him a wrestling ring, so I gave in and had Wario buy him a ring and placed it in the dressing room, for we had nowhere else to put it. You should have seen the joy on Pit's face, he hugged me and ran about the mansion like a crazed maniac, like a kid going on a sugar craze...now that I mention it, I saw several packets of sugar concealed under Pit's bed. No wonder the apple strudel I baked the other day wasn't that sweet...**

To no one surprise but maybe Viridi's, Donkey Kong won his match with Pit, as he powerslammed the poor angel and pinned him. Not exactly how Pit envisioned his first wrestling match to go out.

"One...two...three!" Toad did the pin count, hitting the mat with his small hand three times. "Ring the bell!" Mr. Game and Watch, the man running the bell, rang the bell, signifying the end of the match. Donkey Kong held his hands above his head and shook them, celebrating his victory, as Toad offered to help up Pit. "You did really great for a first try Pit. Now do us all a favor...and take off that ugly spandex." The spandex in question was an eclectic mix of yellow and black, and it's not very pleasing to the eyes.

"Thanks man, I'll do my best next time around," Pit thanked Toad (he might still be a drug lord until proven innocent) as he trudged over to a corner of the ring, where Viridi was, holding a water bottle in her hands. Even though her boyfriend lost, the goddess of nature is still supportive of Pit, for that's what great girlfriends do.

"You did a great job out there," Viridi said to Pit, patting the angel on the back, uttering a politically correct response that most supportive girlfriends would use. "In your next match, you'll do great and get a win!"

"I know I will, Lucario has been a great wrestling coach for me," responded Pit. He seriously asked Lucario for wrestling training?! Would a Machamp be a better choice for a Pokemon wrestling trainer, since he actually looks like a wrestler?

 **Lucario: Apparently I'm Pit's so-called wrestling trainer - the only qualifications is that you have to have some fighting skill, and you must have the ability to speak English, and unfortunately I met those qualifications. Our training has been up and down; Pit has proven he's able to apply holds and grapples correctly, but as for selling wrestling moves...he's a work and progress. The only other positive with our training is that Pit finally learned that wrestling is relatively fake. Wonder how many hardcore wrestling fans I triggered by saying that...**

"Just wanted you to see the wrestling ring, I'm still in disbelief Palutena gave in to Pit and bought it for him," Zelda said to Link, shaking her head. "I'll be right back, gonna go make sure Peach didn't blow up the laundry room again. Told her that laundry detergent was from Nightmare Enterprises..." Nightmare sells laundry detergent now? Zelda left the dancing room, leaving her boyfriend Link behind. The hero of Hyrule turned around, and jumped in the air in fright when he saw Meta Knight, standing there like a ghost. Cue the sound of a Mexican guitar playing, if you wish.

"Tell me, Link, were you about to follow Zelda to the laundry room, where Peach washes our clothes?" the Star Warrior asked Link, who was struggling to come up with an answer. "Give me an answer right away!"

"...yes, I was going to follow Zelda," Link sighed, admitting defeat. But he still has time to save face. "...but I was going to follow her for a certain reason, you see, Zelda and I, we were...uh...uh..." So much for saving face.

"See, Link, that's your problem - you're too submissive. Not that it's a bad thing, but you're the hero of Hyrule, you should a leader, not a follower! And that's where I come in...I'm going to toughen you up, by making you a luchador, a wrestler! So how about you put away your sword once and a while, and fight like a man, with your hands, rather than some lousy blade?"

Link instantly shook his head at Meta Knight's offer. The Hylian has proven several times in _Smash Life_ that he can't fend himself without his Master Sword, and whenever push comes to shove, he must use his sword at all costs. His best friend Cloud even wishes Link wasn't so dependent on his sword.

"Your mind may be telling me no, but your heart says yes!" interpreted Meta Knight, like he's a mind reader or something. Could explain why he was so broken in _Brawl..._ "We shall begin training right away, and make you the toughest Hylian who has ever lived!"

"Not so fast, my mask-wearing friend!" Just then, the Flying Man, seemingly swooping out of nowhere, flew and landed next to Meta Knight like magic, catching the Star Warrior and Link off by surprise. "Two heads are better than one, and that's where I come in! Link, I shall make you the tough guy you're meant to be, for I am your courage!"

Link just stared and blinked at Meta Knight and the Flying Man - who held a green luchador mask out to Link. What did the Hylian do to deserve this?

* * *

"This Paradiso place looks...awfully nice, great place for sightseeing and whatnot," Mega Man remarked as he, Cloud, Aerith, Bayonetta, Luka, and R.O.B. traversed through the Dimension of the Angels; he and R.O.B. were responsible for transporting Cloud and company to Paradiso, and they had to tag along.

 **Mega Man: When Luka mentioned that Paradiso is the Dimension of the Angels, I was thinking of a place where actual angels, you know, with wings and halos over their heads...not strange-looking creatures that look like they can mutilate you in a matter of minutes. Good thing I already charged up my Charge Shot, in the event one of these "angels" tries to attack me.**

"Amazing to see what wonderful sights exist when you get out of the mansion more often," smirked Bayonetta. The Umbra Witch has encouraged her fellow brawlers to do the same thing and get out every once and a while, but many choose not to do so due to Master Hand.

"Rodin's shop should be up ahead," stated Luka, keeping himself on guard. "The sooner we find Rodin and speak with him, the quicker we can leave this dimension before anything happens to us."

"Is that Rodin up ahead?" Aerith pointed at a dark-skinned man with sunglasses, a cigar in his mouth, a long coat, and gold chains around his neck. Indeed, it was Rodin, and he was speaking with a man wearing glasses, a purple coat, and a white hat. This man is Enzo, and he likes himself some money.

"How many times do I gotta tell you man, I'm not buying your stupid kids Christmas gifts this year!" Rodin said to Enzo, who is apparently enticing the weaponsmith to help him out in Christmas shopping. An act of desperation by most parents. "That's all you, I'm supposed to be looking out for my own self!"

"But Rodin, I practically came all the way here just to ask you this, I won't let my visit go in vain!" responded Enzo, now on the brink of utter desperation. Cloud and company were able to discern Enzo's pronounced Brooklyn accent from afar. "It's not my fault I spend my money on useless things, it's a lesson I'm still trying to learn to this very day..."

"Let's get this out of the way..." Cloud, refusing to take any more of Rodin's and Enzo's bickering, grabbed Luka's hand and walked up to Rodin. "Hey dude, you're Rodin, right, the guy who sells weapons? Name's Cloud Strife; your man Luka has a little request to ask of you."

"Luka is supposed to be on his day off, he's not supposed to even be here!" frowned Rodin. He looked behind Cloud and Luka, and saw Bayonetta and the others. Bayonetta smiled and waved at Rodin, winking at him. "Okay, what's going on, why did you bring that witch and the rest of those folks here?"

"We just want to know if you can allow me to take a day off, sometime in June," explained Luka. "Don't know if I already told you this, Bayonetta relayed this information to me some time ago - Mario and Peach are getting married, and I've been selected to be a candidate for officiating their wedding. I want you to have the final say regarding this matter." Before Rodin could say anything, Cloud's cellphone rang; the swordsman read the caller ID, and saw that it was Little Mac. Why is the boxer calling him? And why does Cloud even have Little Mac's contact information to begin with?

"Hello Little Mac, something wrong?" Cloud answered his cellphone. "Uh huh...uh huh...hold up, Link is going to die?!...Oh I see...I'll hurry back to the mansion ASAP, I'll be there sooner than you know it...alright then, see you later." Cloud ended his phone call, before returning his attention to Rodin. "Hurry up and make your decision, my bud Link might be in grave danger soon..."

 **Cloud: Little Mac informed me that Meta Knight and the Flying Man are training Link to be a "luchador" - they're having him wear an actual luchador mask, tights, and everything. Any sort of fighting involving Link that requires no sword is always bad trouble, and I don't think Zelda would be willing to bail Link out.**

"I'm sure whatever danger your friend is in, it's not that big of a deal," remarked Rodin. Obviously he has never seen Link's capability, or the lack thereof, without his Master Sword. "He can live through whatever ordeal he's going through."

"You don't understand, my friend Link, he can't use his fists ever in a fight, and someone's trying to teach him how to be a luchador wrestler," stated Cloud. "Quite frankly I'm afraid it won't end very well for him." Enzo, overhearing the entire conversation, grinned somewhat evilly to himself, as his grin grew to a Cheshire Cat grin...

"Rodin, can you come over here for a quick minute?" Enzo asked of the weaponsmith, who came over to speak with the undertaker. Cloud felt weary and suspicious as he watched Enzo whisper some things into Rodin's ear, the weaponsmith nodding his head. After Enzo was done, Rodin returned to Cloud and Luka.

"I've made up my mind...I'll let Luka have his little day off in June, on the day the wedding takes place," stated Rodin; Luka silently pumped his fist in the air. "But only on one condition..." More probable than not that Enzo has greatly influenced Rodin's decisions, and whatever stipulations make come along with it.

* * *

"Ready to get started-a on your resume?" Mario asked Jacky in the computer room, the computer Jacky is using having Microsoft Word open. No love for Notepad++?

"I was born ready, let's get to it!" exclaimed Jacky, rubbing his hands together. He pulled up the keyboard, and clicked the cursor at the top of the page...and after that, the racer didn't know what to do. Good thing he has Mario at his side. "...so where do I begin?"

"Type your-a name in the center of-a the document." Jacky centered the page and typed his full name, Jacky Bryant. "Now type your address-a under your name." Not wanting to make things difficult, Jacky pressed enter and typed the Smash Mansion's address. "Now type 'Career Objective' in large, bold-a letters." Jacky did as he was told. "So what-a is your career objective?"

"To raise money that can be contributed to the budget of your wedding?" asked Jacky, prompting Mario to facepalm. No way Jacky can expect to get hired with a career objective like that, it would exploit the point of him even getting a job.

 **Mario: I'll-a be honest with-a you, I've never prepared a single-a resume in my entire life, when I said-a I prepared a resume for the plumbing-a business, I made-a it up... *holds up a copy of a resume template* ...i'll just-a go off of this template to assist-a Jacky.**

"Say that your career-a objective is to display your knowledge-a of automobiles with customers," suggested Mario, and Jacky typed just that. "Type 'Professional Experience' the same-a way you typed 'Career Objective'." Jacky pressed enter twice and typed "Professional Experience", applying the same format that "Career Objective" has. "Do you even-a have any professional experience?"

"Would Indy Car racing qualify as professional experience?" asked Jacky. Mario shrugged; Jacky decided to go along with Indy Car racing. It's better to have something than nothing, as some elderly guy sitting on a bench in a park giving advice to some stranger sitting next to him would probably say.

"Next-a up is 'Education'," Mario continued; Jacky would press enter twice once more and type this in large bold lettering. "Do you have-a any education?"

"Can't say I don't, never even been to college!" Jacky typed "n/a" under "Education", as Mario rested his chin on the palm of his hand, wondering how Jacky will ever get a job now.

 **Jacky: I don't see what's the deal with not having an education, you don't need one in order to be successful. Just look at Howie Mandel, dude got suspended from high school and never attended college, and look at him now! He turned his adolescent upbringing into a joke - and then into a career!**

"Last up-a is 'Additional Skills'," said Mario, as Jacky typed this in the usual big told lettering format, it was getting tedious for the racer to change between text formats. "List as many additional-a skills as you can!"

"Alright, what additional skills do I have..." Jacky flexed his fingers before typing the following: "Affluent in Japanese...great computer skills...awesome communicator..." So far so good... "Ladies man...great sense of humor...a super awesome guy..." ...and now it seems like Jacky is effectively killing his chances of getting a job. What use would being a ladies man be while you're working at a car dealership? "Okay, I think we're done!"

"Excellent! Make sure you proof-a read everything before we print-a out your resume - no mistakes equals a good-a first impression!" This coming from a man who admitted to fibbing about making a resume...

* * *

"Keep it up Link, you're doing great so far!" the Flying Man commended the Hylian - wearing a green luchador mask and green pants, as he repeatedly struck two punching mitts held by the Flying Man in the wrestling ring. "That's the spirit, don't give up, don't back down!" His striking is all a part of strong style, a Japanese wrestling style that involves a heavy amount of striking and kicking. Despite this style's ethnic backgrounds, Meta Knight wanted Link to learn every wrestling style there is.

"You're coming along very well Link, far more than I would have ever imagined..." the Star Warrior in question said as he stood at ringside watching over Link's progress. "Soon you'll be the toughest son of a gun to have lived in Hyrule." That would only apply to Link if he ever used a gun to begin with.

"Training to become a wrestler, huh, looks like you waited too late..." Pit appeared, his arms folded. Standing next to Pit was his so-called wrestling trainer Lucario, who was sporting a facial expression that literally screamed "Save me..."

"Just because you wrestled with Donkey Kong in this ring and somehow survived the match doesn't make you the grandest brawler of all existence, Pit," Link said to the angel, giving him an ego check, as he continued to train. "If you wanna be all cocky, then be that way with Viridi, she tolerates your stupidity which means she'll tolerate just about anything from you."

 **Doc Louis: Really hate to say this, but that man Link is gonna die in that ring! Should he fight against a measly opponent he might have a chance, but against someone like Heihachi or Donkey Kong? We might as well plan the dude's funeral while the match goes on! I still can't believe Pit survived his match with Donkey Kong, he must be living on borrowed time or something.**

"Yeah, sure, we all know you're gonna lose whoever you go up against, that's for sure," snorted Pit. Did the angel receive a concussion in his match against Donkey Kong, does he not know that he lost his first-ever match? "Ain't that right Lucario?"

"Link may lose, but he'll arguably put up a better fight than you did in your wrestling debut," replied Lucario, earning a backhand slap at the hands of Pit. "Ow, what was that for, I was just stating my two cents!"

"That's for dressing me down in front of a future competitor!" Link vs Pit - who ya got? "Follow me, we have some more training to do!" Pit exited the dancing room; Lucario groaned and followed the angel. The aura Pokemon should be doing his daily meditating and yoga practice, not teaching some lad like Pit how to tango in the wrestling ring.

"Ignore Pit, he's become more cocky than he should," Meta Knight told Link. "He's becoming Dark Pit 2.0, and we can't afford to have two Dark Pits in our mansion, one is already enough."

Leaned against the wall flanking the entrance to the dancing room was a certain ninja - a ninja by the name of Sheik. She had heard everything - Link's aggressive strikes, Meta Knight commending Link's effort, Pit's boasting, and even the backhand slap Pit delivered to Lucario. Why on earth is she eavesdropping for?

* * *

In the kitchen, the competition between the Star Fox pilots and the Ice Climbers raged on, with Fox and Falco making their smoothies, and Nana (against her will) and Popo making their beloved smoothies. And the arbitrator, Rosalina, watched with Luma as the madness persisted.

"Adding chocolate to your overrated sundaes?" scoffed Fox. "How about we add CARAMEL!" The fox poured caramel into a preexisting concoction inside the blender, and pressed the button on said blender like a madman.

"You dare add celery to your smoothies?" scoffed Popo. "Why don't you try some carrots for a change!" The Ice Climber sliced a few carrots into one of the sundaes, making for a very interesting combination.

While this went on, Rosalina and Luma wearily watched the competition take its turns and occasional speed bumps, if any. Sucks for Rosalina, she's gonna have to be a judge...

* * *

 **Sonic: Yup, Red and I, we're chilling up here, at the top of the mansion, where I attempted to commit suicide, but that's all in the past, that I'm sure...  
Red: Sonic can we stop throwing these Poke Balls at random people, we're wasting precious Poke Balls, and don't you think you'll indict us in some form of restraining order?  
Sonic: Hold up, is that the mailman guy that runs in funny tights and delivers the mail to Link? *grabs a Poke Ball and throws it at the Postman's head, seemingly knocking him out* Aw yeah, bullseye, ten points!  
Red: *whimpering* I wanna go home...  
Sonic: Red you silly goose, we're already home! What, you think Master Hand is gonna pop out of nowhere and...**

"Sonic I have a major situation on my hands!" a voice called out; Sonic, thinking it was Master Hand, shrieked and jumped in the arms of Red...only to find Tails flying towards him. "While I was studying Vulpix, I had went to go take a bathroom break, and when I returned to the room...Vulpix wasn't there! Either she went missing, or someone kidnapped her! I fully suspect Bowser to be behind the kidnapping, if it happened..."

"...and why are you telling me this for?" questioned Sonic. "That's your problem buddy, not mine." You'd think the hedgehog would be willing to help out Tails in tracking Vulpix, but Sonic wants nothing to do with the fox Pokemon - after all, Tails was watching over Vulpix, and that's his responsibility to keep up with the Pokemon.

"What if the Vulpix discovered your secret stash of chili dogs and ate them all in one sitting?" asked Red, alarming Sonic. "Would you be fine with it then?" Sonic absoultely wouldn't be fine, he refuses to let anyone, whether it be person, animal, or Pokemon, threaten his secret stash of chili dogs (which isn't so secret to begin with, Sonic keeps his favorite food in a giant basket inside his closet, near a heater so they won't grow cold).

"...we oughta find that Vulpix, or else!" In an instant, Sonic went from not caring about the Vulpix and its whereabouts/safety to ensuring that the fox Pokemon is somewhere in the mansion - away from the hedgehog's not-so-secret chili dog stash.

* * *

After taking care of some necessary business at Paradiso, Rodin and Enzo arrived at the Smash Mansion, after Mega Man and R.O.B. teleported Cloud, Aerith, Bayonetta, and Luka back to the establishment. The eight arrived at the room where the teleportation device was located.

"Anyone know where I can find Mario, or at least Peach?" asked Rodin. "I shall give them a little 'update' on the officiant situation." The brawlers looked at one another, not knowing what Mario or Peach are up to, or where they are.

"I think I know where Peach may be," Mega Man perked up. "Follow me." So Rodin followed the blue bomber to Peach's whereabouts, just when the Duck Hunt Dog came scampering in, happily running around Cloud. In the mutt's mouth was a green luchador mask.

 **Duck Hunt Dog: *holds up green luchador mask, likely Link's, up to camera***

"This can't be the mask Link is wearing, is it?" Cloud asked the Duck Hunt Dog, taking the mask out of the canine's mouth; Duck Hunt nodded his head. "Hoo boy, Link is surely done for..." Enzo unsuspectingly exited the room, his Cheshire Cat grin grooming his face yet again...

* * *

"Since that dastardly Duck Hunt Dog ran off with your mask, I shall bestow upon you a second mask," the Flying Man gave Link another luchador mask, which looks identical to the previous one. Link accepted the mask and wore it on his head; he would turn back now, but Meta Knight is always watching him, and exiting the wrestling ring would be in vain.

"Your progress has been absolutely tremendous," said Meta Knight, having watched Link train from ringside the entire time. "Your strikes, your grappling, the way you sell wrestling moves...it's like poetry in motion." Either the Star Warrior has low expectations, or Link is just that great. "The triats you used to lack - _la dignidad, la honra, el respecto, la pasion -_ you exemplified those traits and more, and for that, you have succeeded..."

"Succeeded at what?" questioned Link. "You did nothing but watch me from ringside, and let the Flying Man do all the work! Some mentor you're supposed to be..."

"I will be right back - I must find a worthy opponent to challenge you in your first wrestling match, so we can see how far you've progressed." Meta Knight turned and exited the dancing room, his cape flowing behind him. Link should use the Star Warrior's cape, most masked luchadors use capes. "Work on your wrestling skills until the time comes!" Meta Knight would say this seconds before he fully exited the room, as he began his vigorous search.

 **Meta Knight: Finding a suitable opponent for Link will be a hard task in itself. His opponent must be someone who's big, who's strong, and who's fast. Bowser, Rool, Donkey Kong, Ganondorf...they're all big and strong, but their speed is severely lacking. I can ask Captain Falcon if he would want to fight with Link...just can't have any female spectators. Can't put up a great match when you're constantly posturing.**

"All this glorious training, and not a single bathroom break!" exclaimed the Flying Man, like Link is supposed to care. "You work on everything that you've been taught, while I make a trip to the little boy's room!" Little boy's room? The Flying Man darted out of the dancing room, leaving a masked Link alone...alone with Sheik, who happened to drop down from the ceiling and stick a perfect landing from the ceiling, scaring the daylights out of Link.

"Sh-Sheik, wh-why are you here?" stammered Link. Was Sheik watching the Hylian this whole time? If so, then that's just creepy.

"I'm only here to wish you the best in your little inaugural wrestling match," stated Sheik. Remember that Zelda and Shiek are the same person, Sheik is just an alter ego of Zelda's...so does that mean Zelda has some knowledge of what's going on?! "You certainly don't look like the fighting type..."

"Y-You're not angry about me wrestling, right? I mean, I DID wrestle before - I fought with Mayor Bo of the Ordon Village, and then with Gor Coron on Death Mountain, and I won both matches..." ...albeit struggling at certain points.

"Shhhhh..." Sheik effectively shushed Link, pressing her finger against the Hylian's lips. "Why would I be angry with you? I'm just glad that you've decided to toughen up, for once in your life, instead of having to rely on your Master Sword. You've really came a long way..."

"Uh...thank you, I guess." Also keep in mind that Sheik being Zelda's alter ego, the princess' conscience relatively remains the same as either herself OR Sheik...a little something for you to think about.

"Time for me to go now, got some other business to take care of. Meta Knight told you to refine your wrestling skills, is that correct? Better get to it, big guy." Sheik gave Link an uplifting pat on the shoulder, and vanished via smoke bomb. Link just stood there, befuddled by his conversation with the ninja - the ninja who also happens to be a different persona of Zelda.

* * *

Mega Man guided Rodin to the one and only place where the blue bomber would know where Peach would be - the laundry room. And there she was, happily throwing wet clothes inside the dryer so they can be dried and ready for the brawlers to wear. Peach is like the mansion's unofficial housewife.

 **Peach: Each and every time I do the laundry, I can't help but think of the wonderful time Mario and I will have together once we get married...As of right now, I'm not sure if Mario would be keen with moving out of the mansion, he's given so much to the residents (although they refuse to admit it) and he's the only person aside from Isabelle that can keep Master Hand's tempers down to a minimum. Losing Mario would greatly hinder the Smash Mansion more ways than one.**

"Princess Peach, someone here would like to meet you," Mega Man said to Peach, who turned around and saw Rodin, his cigar in his mouth. "This is Rodin, he's the guy who makes Luka Redgrave deliver those flyers."

"It's a real pleasure to meet you in person," Rodin held out his hand to Peach, and the blonde shook his hand. Peach has never shaken a hand so rough and so strong in a good while. "It has been brought to my attention that Luka has been selected to be the officiant of your wedding, and I have conjured a circumstance that would..."

"Oh, you'll have to speak with Mario about that, he's supposed to be the one finding the officiant," said Peach. "I just saw him go into the printing room next door, you should speak with him about the officiant situation."

So Mega Man and Rodin headed next door to the printing room, where Mario and Jacky had just printed off Jacky's resume. All there's left to do is hand the resume to the guy in charge of the car dealership, and hope for the best.

"Mario!" Rodin called out the plumber's name, and Mario looked up, seeing Rodin walking towards him. "I'm Rodin, famed weaponsmith from Paradiso. I'm sure Bayonetta has been telling all sorts of stories about me during her stay at this mansion."

"Not exactly, she's been-a telling more stories about-a Luka than anything," smiled Mario, who had to force himself to listen to Bayonetta's stories about her boyfriend. The Umbra Witch's stories range from mostly entertaining to extremely far-fetched. "So what-a brings you here?"

Rodin would explain to Mario about how Luka Redgrave has been chosen to be the officiant for the plumber's wedding (something Mario didn't even know until now), and how Cloud and company want Luka to take a day off to officiate said wedding. The weaponsmith also added another detail to his explanation...

"If you want Luka to be the officiant of your wedding, then someone's gonna have to fight for his right to do so," stated Rodin. "That blonde swordsman dude with the spiky hair...Cloud, is that right? He mentioned something about his friend Link wrestling, and then I thought...why don't I wrestle with Link, and with the following stipulations - Link wins, Luka gets his day off, and he can officiate your wedding, and everyone lives happily ever after. _I_ win, Luka doesn't get his day off, and he won't officiate your wedding, and you'll be stuck finding a suitable officiant for a foreseeable future. We got a deal?" Yeah, Enzo definitely influenced Rodin, big time...

"It's a deal..." Mario shook hands with Rodin, confident that Link will wipe the floor with Rodin. Mega Man and Jacky weren't feeling so confident, as they glanced at one another with concern.

* * *

 **Rosalina: It's finally over...the competition between Fox and Falco, and Nana and Popo...it's over, it's done. Now here comes the hard part...having to judge their creations. One side is going to be happy, and the other side may be slanted against me...  
Luma: Mama, why don't you just call it a tie, then everyone can be happy!  
Rosalina: Even if there was a tie, everyone would be angry with me - there has to be a definitive winner, and a definitive loser. Sadly that's the why life works sometimes...**

Rosalina was seated at the table in the dining room, Luma at her side as always. On one side was Fox and Falco, with their smoothie creation that they think is the best, and on the other side was Nana and Popo, with what they feel is the best sundae they've ever created. It's up to Rosalina to have the final say on which treat is better.

"Here's our super duper smoothie..." Falco pushed his and Fox's smoothie towards Rosalina, who looked at it with a grimacing face. "It has caramel, sugar, some nutmeg, peanut butter...the works." Rosalina reluctantly took the straw in the smoothie and took a sip, her face grimacing with every sip she took. The way the smoothie tasted, it would be like cringe if cringe could actually be tasted.

"Very good smoothie, I can taste all the ingredients, they blend in very well," Rosalina gave her consensus, wishing the horrible taste would go away, while Fox and Falco exchanged high fives. Next up was Nana and Popo, and they gave Rosalina their sundae, which had chocolate syrup on top...and toppings such as carrots, pepperoni, rice, and a plethora of other food items that NEVER should be placed on sundaes, ever.

"We really went all out to impress you," Popo told Rosalina as the mother of Lumas ate a spoonful of the sundae with a spoon, having to force herself to eat the strange ice cream concoction. It was like torture, pure unadulterated torture for Rosalina and her poor taste buds.

"These sundaes aren't so shabby, these toppings worked a lot better than I would have thought," judged Rosalina, obviously fibbing. Popo did a fist pump in the air; Nana felt too indifferent to care. "Now as for who had the better treat..." Rosalina wanted to declare a winner, but she couldn't (and you can't say you blame her), as she buried her face in her hands, while Luma comforted her. "...but I just don't know..."

"Don't know what?" Ganondorf questioned as he showed up in the dining room. When the Demon Lord appears, something is always going down. "What are you fools putting Rosalina through?" Ganondorf identified the smoothie and the sundae, and easily interpreted them as grotesque food items.

"They're forcing mama to be a judge in a food competition, she has to sample a smoothie and a sundae, and determine which one is better!" explained Luma; Ganondorf glared down the Star Fox pilots and the Ice Climbers, who all felt ashamed of themselves (except Nana, she wanted nothing to do with the competition).

 **Ganondorf: Don't tell me Rosalina let those bozos Fox and Falco use the blender that I got for her...She did?! What was that woman thinking, letting those bums mistreat her blender?! With Fox and Falco together, they would be making strange concoctions, and shun traditional recipes for being "too mainstream"! *facepalms* Knew I should have bought Rosalina a hair dryer...**

"How can she possibly determine if a smoothie is better than a sundae, and a sundae is better than a smoothie, they're both different things!" Ganondorf stated very angrily. "A smoothie is a beverage, and a sundae is a dessert! Is a smoothie a dessert?" Ganondorf would ask this to the Star Fox pilots.

"No..." answered Fox, fearful that Ganondorf would Warlock Punch him to oblivion.

"And is a sundae a beverage that one can drink?" Ganondorf would then ask this to the Ice Climbers.

"Not really, but technically..." Popo responded, but before he could prove a point, Ganondorf grabbed the concoctions the four had made, and threw them in a nearby garbage can.

"You all should feel ashamed of yourselves, not only wasting Rosalina's time, but wasting your time as well! Good day to you all!" Ganondorf angrily left the dining room, after putting the Star Fox pilots and the Ice Climbers in their place.

"So...is there anything else that your blender can do?" Fox asked Rosalina, putting an end to an awkward silence brought upon by Ganondorf.

"There's a certain milkshake recipe that I wish to show to you," the mother of all Lumas smiled. "Anyone care to see?" Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, and Rosalina smiled once more - seems like the Star Fox pilots and the Ice Climbers are now on the same page.

* * *

Meta Knight had found himself an opponent for Link - an opponent who himself came up to Meta Knight and wished to challenge the Hylian to a wrestling match, a match that would strangely dictate whether or not Luka would be able to officiate Mario's and Peach's wedding. This opponent was none other than Rodin, who was now in the wrestling ring, getting his mind ready for his match. At the opposing corner of the ring was Link, also getting ready.

"Remember your training Link, remember everything we've taught you!" the Flying Man, standing at ringside, said to Link. "And also remember...I am your courage!"

"You better not interfere with the match, if you know what's good for you," Meta Knight warned the Flying Man. "The fate of Mario's wedding is on the line, you know."

 **Enzo: The whole wrestling match to determine Luka Redgrave's fate at the wedding was solely my idea...got a lot of money riding on the match. I just got off of the phone with some hapless broker, and he said he would pay me a whopping $5,000 if Rodin picks up the win over Link - that should be more than enough for Christmas this year! In order to get that jackpot, I gotta work some magic...**

Brawlers a many gathered inside the dancing room, to see Link vs Rodin go at it. Enzo tip-toed over to Link, and tapped the Hylian's foot, grabbing his attention.

"Hey buddy...you want some free cash?" the undertaker whispered to Link; the hero of Hyrule hardly has any cash on him, so he had no other choice but to nod his head. "Excellent, then you gotta do me a favor...throw away your match to Rodin! Take the pin, and the money will be yours!"

"But what about Luka Redgrave and his role at the wedding?" questioned Link. Him losing to Rodin would let down Mario and Peach, and would greatly muddle Mario's wedding planning.

"Ah, forget about him, he's a loser anyways! Certainly Mario can find someone more qualified than him to officiate his wedding...but if you wish to be broke forever, then that's your choice." Enzo walked away, leaving Link undecided on what he should do.

"Are both competitors ready?" Toad, the referee standing in the middle of the ring, asked Link and Rodin. Rodin gave a thumbs up; Link, coming back to his senses, gave a thumbs up too. "Ring the bell!" Mr. Game and Watch, the bell ringer, rang the bell, starting the match. Rodin ripped off his coat, revealing his muscular physique.

"Mother..." Link uttered in a high-pitched, frightened voice, despite the fact that he doesn't even have a mother. So he did he come into existence? Must have popped in thin air, like the other Link incarnations, presumably.

Rodin soon went to work on Link, putting the Hylian in a leg lock in an instant. Link, lying on the mat, looked across him, and saw Mario and Peach together, hoping that the hero of Hyrule would secure victory. Link then looked to his left, and saw Cloud, Aerith, Bayonetta, and Luka, all hoping Rodin wouldn't put an end to the Hylian's life. Link then looked to his right, and saw Meta Knight and the Flying Man, cheering him on. (Meta Knight chose to cheer on for Link silently, he's not exactly the extroverted type.)

Feeling the momentum and willpower that he needs, Link suddenly reversed Rodin's leg lock, and did a leg drop on the weaponsmith, before going on top of the turnbuckle and diving on top of Rodin. Many spectators cheered on for Link, much to the chagrin of Enzo.

Link and Rodin would continue to battle it out for ten more hard-fought minutes, with both men exchanging blows, strikes, holds, and everything included in a recipe for a great wrestling match. Luka's role as the wedding officiant was hanging in the balance.

 **Ike: I think Link picks up the victory, Rodin may be strong, but Link is faster, and more determined.  
** **Roy: Yeah, I'm going with Link too, he's already proving to be quite the formidable opponent!  
** **Yoshi: I'm not going for anyone to win - I just wanna see a great match between both competitors!  
** **Roy: ...you do realize what the implications behind the match are, right?  
** **Ike: Leave Yoshi alone Roy, that man doesn't even know who he's voting for in the election soon...  
Roy: Is he even allowed to vote...?**

The match would seemingly be reaching a climax, when Rodin slammed Link onto the mat. The weaponsmith stood a foot away from Link, his hand out, as he waited for the Hylian to get up so he could deliver a wicked chokeslam...

...but just then, a Vulpix jumped onto the wrestling ring, momentarily stopping the match. This was no ordinary Vulpix - this was the very Vulpix Tails was studying earlier. Rodin put his hand back down and quizzically looked at the fox Pokemon; Vulpix, suddenly feeling threatened, used Ember on Rodin, who shrieked as he miraculously jumped out of the way and hopped atop a turnbuckle. The mat soon caught on fire, and Mario leaped to action, taking out F.L.U.D.D. and using it to extinguish the fire.

"What the..." Link slowly got up, and saw Mario taking care of the fire, and Rodin perched atop the turnbuckle, waiting until Mario was done. Link then looked to his right, and saw Meta Knight and the Flying Man in their usual spots...and behind them Zelda, sporting a wry smile and waving to Link. Was the princess trying to affect the outcome of the match?

"The fire has been extinguished!" Toad announced after Mario took care of the fire and carefully took Vulpix out of the ring. Rodin got down from the turnbuckle. "The match shall resume as proceeded!" The match would restart after Link got back on his feet, but it didn't take long for another distraction to take place.

"Don't think you can hide from me forever, Vulpix!" Sonic leaped inside the ring, tackling Rodin to the mat. "Oh wait, you're not Vulpix...sorry about that." Rodin glared down the hedgehog as Tails and Red the Pokemon Trainer showed up.

"Drat, we were too late!" Tails snapped his fingers in disgust. He looked down, and saw Vulpix, in the cozy arms of Mario. "Well it looks like we found Vulpix, and she's unharmed too..."

"Ring the bell!" Toad called out to Mr. Game and Watch, who rang the bell, leading to an uproar of confusion within the dancing room. "Due to outsider interference, Rodin has been awarded a win! Therefore, the winner of this match...is Rodin!" Toad reluctantly said this as Rodin got up and raised both fists in the air, smirking, while the brawlers jeered and booed - some jeers and boos directed at Rodin, others at Sonic for screwing over the match.

 **Rodin: *lights cigar with a lighter, then adjusts sunglasses* It is what it is, it's a done deal - no officiating for Luka Redgrave at the wedding. Knew I would have that match with Link in the bag, interference or not.**

"This-a blows!" Mario frowned as he and the rest of the angry brawlers exited the room. "Back to square-a one, I suppose..." Peach, who was accompanying Mario, felt some sympathy for her fiance; she would find an officiant herself for the wedding, but Mario promised he'd take care of the task in due time. But it's back to the drawing board for him and Pac-Man.

"Vulpix, Vulpix!" Vulpix, who was resting in Mario's arms, saw Tails and jumped out of the plumber's arms, and ran towards Tails, who flew and landed on the floor just to see the fox Pokemon he was studying. Vulpix embraced the yellow fox, rubbing against his body, and it brought a smile to Tails' face.

"Aw man, they kinda like each other..." Sonic analyzed Tails' and Vulpix's interactions from afar with Red. The hedgehog who was initially against Vulpix, for whatever reason, was amused by the happiness the fox Pokemon exuded. "Maybe it's because they're both foxes, they kinda have that built-in chemistry. Gotta think of it, that Shaymin Pokemon is a hedgehog - perhaps we could have a similar chemistry?"

"I can definitely see it happening," Red offered his take. "But if you wanna go find a Shaymin and all...then you're on your own buddy." Red patted Sonic on the back as he walked away.

"Alright man, I lost the match, now where's the money?" Link spoke with Enzo after the match. "You said you would pay me if..."

"Heh heh heh, I was never gonna pay you, I was just messing with you!" snorted Enzo, making Link furious. You wouldn't like Link when he's furious, in most situations, that is. "That money is going to me, a broker is gonna pay me in full because you lost! HA HA HA!" Enzo walked away laughing like a maniac, leaving Link somewhat disheartened.

"Don't listen to him, he looks like a no-gooder anyways," the Flying Man came over to Link, wrapping his arm around him. Link should have known that from the get-go... "You put up quite the valiant effort!"

"Much agreed, your effort was... _estupendo_!" Meta Knight came over to tell Link this. "Those four traits I talked about earlier, you showed them in your match against Rodin, and you shown it far better than I would have ever imagined! Surely Zelda would be greatly proud of you..."

"...and I sure am," said a voice behind Link. And that voice just so happened to be Zelda's, and the princess was standing there, with Cloud and Aerith.

 **Cloud: Gotta hand to Link, he was great in his match against Rodin. He looked like a full-fledged luchador, a strong positive...not to mention he didn't die, another strong positive.**

"Were you the one responsible for Vulpix stopping the match?" Link asked Zelda, recounting the princess' smile during the brief interruption.

"Yes I did, it was my doing...remember when I said I was going to the laundry room? I had actually stopped by Tails' room instead, and took Vulpix with me; did all of that under my Sheik persona. I kept Vulpix in a closet until the time was right..."

"So why did you do all of that? Better question yet, did you know about me training under Meta Knight's wing as a luchador wrestler?"

"It was an inside job this whole time," confirmed Meta Knight, surprising Link. Now the Hylian's gonna ask even more questions... "Zelda would always complain to me about how soft you are, and how you always 'go with the flow', rather than being independent and self-reliant...so when Palutena sold out to Pit and bought him that wrestling ring, Zelda came to me and asked if I could toughen you up, just a little bit. I asked the Flying Man if he would be a part of your 'toughening', and he quickly obliged, without hesitation. Also, that Rodin match, which was planned out of nowhere did the trick...and you have certainly passed, with flying colors!"

"We did it all just for you..." Zelda smiled at Link, looking into his eyes lovingly and making the Hylian smile back.

So with the help of Zelda, Meta Knight, the Flying Man, and maybe to a lesser extent, Sheik, Link is now tougher, badder, and more resilient than before - and he did it without the use of his precious Master Sword.

It's a victory in itself.


	42. Episode 42: Wartime

_Author's Note:_

 _Yes, in case you were wondering, for whatever reason, I updated this story in the middle of the night. Don't judge a fanfiction writer and his dedication to his craft._

 _This chapter involves an all-out prank war (was gonna be a turf war, as suggested by Darth Sigma 86) but I had no idea how to pull that one off...yet), and for that reason, one guest reviewer came to me with this..._

 _"If you are planning a prank,can I give a little idea?Some one(preferably a single guy)pranks Link(or Zelda)and Link avenging the prankster by making him falling in love with a hot girl...who turns out to be a Navi on super mushrooms.I know it sounds dumb but what do you think about it?"_

 _While I agree that the prank sounds dumb...I'm confident that the pranks you'll see in this installment will somehow be even dumber. Or so I think. Another guest review:_

 _"Please have Mario and Peach's wedding be in Grandmaster Galaxy."_

 _Grandmaster Galaxy, from Super Mario Galaxy 2? The galaxy with the extravagant planets and stuff? That seems like a bit of a stretch...unless I feed a Luma a bunch of star bits and make them turn into a planet in which the wedding can be held, who knows._ _GamerDutchess01 (formerly known as Glamorous Cat) asked me about a certain fellow back in episode 39:_

 _"...is [Shovel Knight] from the Mario franchise?"_

 _Shovel Knight is actually from an eponymous series, a series that involves 8-bit 2-D side-scrolling goodness - hence the reason why Shovel Knight was a favorite to be a newcomer in Super Smash Bros 4. The more you know!_

* * *

 **Episode 42: Wartime**

Gil has always been the superstitious fellow; having to endure mazes in castles can make any adventurer superstitious about the world around them. Having to constantly look behind your back, retracing your steps to ensure you weren't seeing things you shouldn't...those are many of the side effects most adventurers, Link for example, undergo to this very day.

Gil's superstitions would never be tested more than ever when he went to the bathroom, to take care of some business. Number one or number two, who knows (though who would really want to know in the first place?). The de facto librarian arrived at the bathroom, and just by staring at the door, he knew that something was wrong. There was something behind that bathroom door, and when Gil grabbed the door handle and pulled...a wave of bananas poured all over the librarian, as Gil just stood there with a dumbfounded expression.

"Ha ha ha, got you good!" the female Inkling taunted Gil from afar, pointing and laughing before scurrying away. Good thing Gil's love interest, Ki (and yes, Gil has a love interest, go educate yourselves) didn't see her boyfriend get pranked, for that would be a very bad look.

* * *

Elsewhere in the mansion, Mario was in the dining room, making his way to the table where his fiancee Peach was, smiling at her man. The plumber took a seat and sat in a chair...

...as a loud farting sound was heard after Mario sat, greatly alarming Peach. Dunban, who heard the sound from the kitchen, came over to investigate, for he had never heard a fart that loud in such a long time.

"Sure you aren't eating those refried beans?" the Homs asked Mario, who gritted his teeth after being asked this question. As you may already know, refried beans (and most Hispanic foods in general) are Mario's kryponite. "Thought we already had a discussion about this..." Discarded among several plants in the dining room was the female Inkling, snickering silently to herself.

 **Female Inkling: My male counterpart and I are preparing ourselves for an epic prank war - Marie and Callie are coming over to pay us a visit, and they both said that "there better be some action going on". They're gonna get some action alright...**

* * *

In a house belonging to a certain plumber, away from where he could possibly be pranked by either of the Inklings, the prince of Nohr, Corrin, was brandishing his sword in the living room of Luigi's home, while the plumber himself was watching television.

"Luigi, would you care to explain why we're watching the Baby Channel?" Corrin asked the green plumber. It's not that the prince doesn't wish to watch this particular channel - there's nothing inappropriate or obscene taking place in the current program - it's just that two grown individuals watching the Baby Channel is quite strange.

"Well, when-a you're expecting a baby soon, you're going to have-a to watch shows and programs that-a cater to them," explained Luigi. "That means I may-a have to restrict what I usually watch for the benefit-a of my son or daughter..." So Luigi may no longer watch his Philadelphia 76ers play...a _huge_ blessing in disguise for him, if you take into account how atrociously bad Philly's basketball team is.

Luigi's and Corrin's activities would soon be interrupted when there was a knock at the door. Luigi got up from his couch to answer the door, and he saw a man with mostly silver hair, and wearing some black knight garb. Behind him were three other individuals - a young lad holding a spellbook in his left hand, a young girl with long pigtails, and a rather busty woman with what appears to be cat ears. And no, she's not a furry, so keep your furry excitement down, people.

"Allow me to introduce myself and my siblings to you, good sir," said the man at the front door. "I am Xander, the eldest prince of Nohr and the eldest child of King Garon, and these are my lovely siblings, Leo, Elise, and Camilla." You may recognize these familiar faces from _Fire Emblem Fates Birthright/Conquest/Revelations/_ whatever version Fates fancied you the most. "I have been told that my adopted sibling Corrin is currently residing with you, correct?"

"Yes-a sir, he's been sitting with-a me in my living room, brandishing his-a sword," replied Luigi, looking back at Corrin; the prince of Nohr saw his siblings and waved to them. Leo, Elise, and Camilla waved back, though Xander didn't - must be too formal and business-like to be hand waving.

"Do you mind if we come in and spend some quality time with Corrin? We have yet to spend time with him ever since he was invited to reside at the Smash Mansion."

 **Xander: Every now and then, Corrin would write letters to us, giving us updates about his time at the mansion and how wonderful his fellow brawlers are treating him (with but a few exceptions here and there). One of the the brawlers he would speak about the highest is this Bowser character (he was greatly displeased when he no longer had him as a "mentor"), telling us that he's a great teacher, and how much he learned from Bowser, like how Joan of Arc discovered America and that some stupid idiot by the name of "Kanye West", whatever that name is supposed to entail, was the secret instigator of the infamous War on Terror...a well-informed individual would know none of those things are true, and sadly Bowser is filling my poor brother's head with straight-up, blatant lies. That's why after Garon read one of Corrin's letters, he sent us to the city of Seattle, the location of the Smash Mansion, to teach Corrin correct things, instead of feeding him false information, which he had apparently grown accustomed to.**

"Come right-a on in and make your-a selves at home!" Luigi let the Nohrian siblings inside his home, where they would greet Corrin and tell them how much they missed him and whatnot, typical things you would say and do when you haven't seen your brother/sister in a very long time.

"We were so worried about you, we're so glad to see you're in one piece!" Elise gleamed as he gave Corrin a bear hug. She hugs pretty hard for a youngster like herself - though she did imply one time she's not as young as she seems. "Not to mention that you look more brave and confident than usual!"

"Is that...supposed to be a good thing?" Corrin asked as he eyed his surroundings. He saw Luigi, still standing at the front door, smiling at him. He's probably smiling because he doesn't know what exactly to do in this given situation.

"Eh, for your own standards, that's a yes," replied Leo, analyzing Luigi's home. "So Luigi's married and has his own home now? What a surprise..." What's so wrong with Luigi living on his own, is it because of his quirky personality traits? Never judge a book by it's cover!

"You have been keeping up with your personal hygiene, have you?" Camilla, the motherly figure of the siblings due to a lack of a matriarch in the Nohrian royal family, asked Corrin, who nodded. For all we know, the prince may be lying, depending on how quickly he nodded his head. "And what about this Master Hand being you speak of in your letters, has he been treating you right?" Corrin nodded his head again, this time in a relatively fast motion. We all know that's a lie, Master Hand seldom treats anyone right. "Well I'm glad that your time at the mansion has been fair so far!" Camilla patted Corrin on the shoulder, and the prince smiled.

"Ooh, look like we have some guests!" Daisy exclaimed as she and Yuffie came down from the steps, holding clothes in their hands which they'll be taking to the laundry room. "This is probably the most guests we've ever had!"

"Corrin are those your brothers and sisters?" Yuffie asked the prince of Nohr. "I've never seen so many albinos together in one room!" Luigi and Daisy exchanged glances with one another, silently debating whether or not Corrin's siblings should feel slighted by Yuffie's comments. Are they even full-fledged albinos?

"Yes, these are my wonderful siblings, who have came all the way from Nohr to pay me a visit," stated Corrin, slightly miffed by what Yuffie said about his kindred. "The man with the long hair is Xander, the woman is Camilla, the one with the spellbook is Leo, and the littlest one is Elise. They're one of the many joys of my life..."

 **Yuffie: This whole time, I was under the assumption that Corrin was an only child. I figured that given his profound naivety, he didn't have any siblings around him to guide him, and show him the ways of life and stuff. His brothers and sisters must have came here just to trick him into thinking they love him, but we'll just have to wait and see what their true intentions are...**

"We have been reading the letters you sent to us, and what jumped out to us the most were the things you said about Bowser, and how 'great' of a teacher he has been to you," Xander said to Corrin. "Judging by some of the things you learned, it had occurred to us that Bowser has been misinforming you..."

"Bowser misinforming me, why he would never!" frowned Corrin, sticking up for his former mentor. If you have never felt any pity for the prince, feel free to do so now. "Bowser has been a superb teacher to me, he's taught me a lot of things I have never known before, and proven a myriad of different facts and theories wrong. He may be the most intelligent and righteous person in the mansion, and by a far, far margin!" This display of ignorance compelled Xander to facepalm, mostly out of pure embarrassment.

"Corrin, this is part of the reason why we came to visit you, to properly educate you so you wouldn't be an ignorant fool out in the real world," stated Xander. He already know he and his siblings have _a lot_ of work to do ahead of them.

"So what's the other part of the reason as to why you came to visit, you really wanted to spend time with me?"

"Not really, Father kinda forced us out of the castle, said he was tired of seeing our faces on a daily basis," replied Leo. "You know how grumpy that old man is." Leo's response greatly disheartened Corrin, who thought his brothers and sisters wanted to spend time with him. "...but we still have time to have quality time together." And just like that, Corrin's spirits were lifted up.

"Are you fine with me and my siblings teaching Corrin in your living room?" Xander asked Daisy, just when she and Yuffie was about to enter the laundry room.

"Um, sure, be my guest!" replied the princess of Sarasaland. "Good thing I have a blackboard!" A blackboard for what...?

* * *

"The Inklings are, like, so going to be happy when we, like, show them our, like, gift!" Marie conversed with Callie as the two made their way to the Smash Mansion. She was rolling a large briefcase along with her.

"When they, like, see what's inside the briefcase, they'll be like, no way!" added Callie. Since Marie and Callie are like, valley girls, they have the tendency to, like, use the word "like", after every other word that, like, comes out of their mouths. It's, like, so annoying on, like, so many levels.

 **Marie: Sure hope those two Inklings have, like, something planned for for us. Our time here would, like, be an utter waste if they, like, have nothing planned whatsoever.  
** **Callie: I feel you girl, we like, asked time off from Inkopolis News, and cancelled, like, all of our spa appointments just to like, see the Inklings! And if they let us down...**

The Squid Sister duo arrived at the Smash Mansion, with Marie pulling the briefcase up to the front door, and Callie knocking on said door. Ness would answer the door, holding his trusty baseball bat in his hand.

"Hi, I'm like, Marie, and this here is like, Callie, and we're hosts of Inkopolis News!" Marie introduced herself and Callie to Ness...who was a little dumbfounded. Obviously he has never heard of either Marie, Callie, or even Inkopolis News ever before.

"Honestly I don't have any idea in heck who you two are, but I'm guessing that you're great at your anchor jobs!" responded Ness. Marie began to hyperventilate, refusing to accept the fact that Ness has no idea who the Squid Sisters are. Wait until she greets the rest of the brawlers and ask them if they know who they are...

"We should be going now, we have something to give to the Inklings!" Callie said as she pushed Marie forward inside the mansion, as she continued to hyperventilate. "Do you know where they may be?"

"You might want to check out the ball pit room, those Inklings always frequent that room when they're not having any of their paintball battles. I can escort you there if you like."

* * *

"So I actually went inside a bank in Seattle, without bringing my Master Sword...and I'm not gonna lie, it felt great!" Link discussed with Zelda in the lounge, talking about how life is like without bringing his beloved sword everywhere he goes. The events in the last episode taught him that there's more to life than having your Master Sword in your possession at all times, and using it to defend yourselves from the "forces of evil", namely brawlers that threaten you, any wild dog that attacks you on the street, or even an annoying fly buzzing about while you're trying to take a nap. "Hard to believe that I'm about to complete an entire week without relying on my Master Sword..."

"Why did you even go to a bank in the first place, it's not like you have any money on you," remarked King K. Rool, eavesdropping on the conversation. "Even if you did, some thug on the street might jump you, and take your money! You may be better off without your dumb sword, but you're still a wimp at heart!"

"Maybe if you saw him _wrestle_ Rodin last week, you would realize that Link is not a wimp, but rather a strong, determined young man," said Zelda, sticking up for her boyfriend. She's expecting to do less of this from now on, and let Link stick up for himself. "And for your information, Link had to drive Cloud to the bank, since Cloud's motorcycle is currently being repaired."

 **Zelda: I think that wrestling match last week worked a variety of wonders for Link. Not only did he get a boost in confidence, but he also gained a higher amount of respect from his fellow brawlers, especially from those who have doubted him and his abilities in the past. All that respect went away, however, when Link told them that I was a year older than him...and the respect those brawlers had turned into pity. Apparently it must be a crime for a man to have his girlfriend be older than him...**

"He didn't pick up a win, so he'll remain a wimp until further notice," stated Rool. "Only way he can redeem himself is if he wins in a rematch against Rodin, or win against anyone remotely like Rodin." And what are the chances that will happen?!

"Have any of-a you seen Bowser, I think-a he pranked me again!" Mario said as he entered the lounge, in a bad mood. The whoopie cushion perfectly tricked the plumber's girlfriend Peach into thinking he actually farted, when we all know refried beans are the only thing that give him flatulence problems. "A whoopie cushion was-a placed in a chair in-a the dining room, and I sat-a on it!"

"Bowser hasn't been up to his pranking ways ever since he got beat up by Chrom and company, so I don't think he may be the culprit," stated Link. The mansion in its entirety has been much better off since the incident.

"Isn't it your fault too, considering you could have sat in any other chair in the dining room?" questioned Rool. "But no, you wanted to sit in a chair that's close to Peach, and now you've embarrassed yourself! So shame on you for bringing humiliation upon yourself!"

"Rool, if you-a knew a single ounce-a about what love is and how-a love works, you would-a know that you _always_ sit near to your significant-a other, regard-a less of what matters prevent-a you from doing so," Mario said to the Kremling, putting him in his place. "Quite-a frankly you'll never know, what with your-a grotesque teeth and horrid-a facial deposition." Link and Zelda laughed at Rool, as he held his head down in shame, for he knew what Mario said is indeed true. "Well since you folks-a don't know where Bowser is, or even think-a he's behind the whoopie cushion prank, I guess I shall-a look elsewhere for answers..."

* * *

Ness would take the Squid Sisters, Marie and Callie, to the ball pit room, where the male and female Inklings were playing in the ball pit. Lined up against a wall were whoopie cushions, fake insects, fake poop, and a plethora of other things you would use to prank people.

"We're here!" Callie announced; the Inklings looked up and saw the Squid Sisters, quickly rushing out of the ball pit. "We both brought a little surprise for you, though we don't know how to share it with you..."

"Actually, Callie...neither of us don't want whatever you plan on giving us," stated the female Inkling, catching the Squid Sisters off-guard. "The two of us, we were both thinking...why not have a prank war?" This seemingly delighted the Squid Sisters, but concerned Ness, who has been subject to pranking plenty of times before.

 **Male Inkling: Not only did Marie and Callie want some "fun", but they also promised that they give us something of worth during their stay at the mansion...so then we thought, why not combine those things together and make an epic prank war out of it?**

 **Ness: *shaking his head in dissaproval* Nope, nope, and nope...I want nothing to do with any pranking no more. I had to put up with Bowser, I had to put up with Pit on an occasional basis, and now the Inklings want to join in on the fray? Count me out!**

"You both said you wanted some fun and excitement, right?" the female Inkling continued. "Why not challenge you guys and the rest of the brawlers to an epic prank war, every man for themselves! And the last person standing gets whatever's in that briefcase..." Marie and Callie carefully evaluated their options, while Ness warily looked on, willing to ditch the mansion for the time being if the Squid Sisters reach a decision.

"Ooh, that sounds like a super splendid idea!" exclaimed Marie; Ness quietly inched out of the ball pit room. "We should like, tell the others right away!" The Inkling looked behind her and saw Ness, who was _this_ close to exiting the room completely. "Would you, like, be a dear and spread the word about the prank war?"

"I'll go spread the word..." the PSI whiz reluctantly responded with a heavy sigh as he exited the ball pit room to alert someone about the impending prank war.

* * *

Jacky Bryant relaxed in the gaming room, feeling like gold. The indy car racer had recently submitted his resume to the car dealership he talked out, and after a quick job interview, Jacky got a job as the manager of said dealership. Instead of celebrating with his fellow brawlers, the racer opted to spend some time relaxing before he starts his job next week.

"Thanks for massaging my feet for me, Pit, very much appreciated for you willing to volunteer," Jacky said to the angel, who was grumpily massaging the racer's bare feet. Pit kept looking around the gaming room, hoping Viridi would show up so he can give the massaging duties to her. Some boyfriend he's supposed to be...

"For the record, you practically _forced_ me to massage your feet, I could have been spending quality time with either Kirby or Viridi!" frowned Pit, referencing the two individuals highly crucial to his life that are not named Palutena. "You better be glad I'm doing this for you!"

"Get your facts straight pal, I asked you if you wanted to massage your feet, and you willingly agreed to do it! So it was your fault more than anything!"

"I thought you said you wanted to message the Flea! You know...some guy in a flea costume, pretty short in stature, saves others from the forces of evil..." Jacky furrowed his brow, wondering just what the heck the angel was talking about. Sometimes, it's hard to know and comprehend the things coming out of that kid's mouth.

"Pretty sure the Flea you speak of is a masked wrestler from some American cartoon...not a superhero saving people from harm with would have been one of the crappiest superhero names ever." Kudos if you know who the actual Flea is.

 **Jacky: Life has been great for me so far - got a job, about to make some money, so yeah, life's good, real good! Granted, I may be taking time away from the mansion, but it'll be a HUGE blessing in disguise for me.**

"Anyone here got pranked at all today?" Sonic asked those in the gaming room as he walked inside. "Just found some poop conspicuously lying on my bed, and after I tasted it against Tails' warning, I found out that it was fake poop!" Why would the hedgehog even bother to attempt that in the first place?! "I fully suspect Bowser to be the culprit!"

"I got pranked too - tried to glue a scrapbook of my Star Wolf buddies back together, but turns out the glue bottle I was used was filled with milk!" Wolf spoke up. "Even worse is that I got milk all over my scrapbook! Only a fiend like Bowser would come up with a prank like that!"

"Didn't Master Hand tell Bowser to stop pranking or something?" asked Jacky. "I don't think this is all Bowser's doing this time around, and in case you guys forgot, Villager is still a prankster at heart." This is true, though we have rarely seen the pranking Villager in action.

"Eh, I still think Bowser's the one behind the pranks, so until proven otherwise, Bowser is the main culprit," stated Sonic. "Now if you excuse me, Amy is stopping by to pay a visit, and a good boyfriend's gotta do what a good boyfriend's gotta do..." Lucas looked up at Sonic, with a disturbed facial expression. "..and no, Lucas, I'm not talking about what you think I'm talking about. Sick-minded individual you are...no wonder you have such a thick skin." With that, Sonic exited the gaming room, as Lucas looked like he was on the verge of a crying fit. Way to cut in deep into a bona fide crybaby, way to go man...

* * *

"Master Hand, are you there?" Isabelle asked the giant hand, wherever he may be, inside his room. "I have something nigh important to tell you!" All of a sudden, Master Hand appeared, right behind Isabelle. The shih tzu turned around, and saw Master Hand hovering behind her...and did nothing but blink. "Oh, there you are, for a minute I thought you were off wasting your valuable time with Crazy Hand!"

"Good grief Isabelle, you can be so extremely hard to frighten sometimes, why can't you just liven up a little..." Master Hand sighed. "So what's up, do we have a dire situation on our hands? Link crashed his truck? Lloyd's head is stuck inside a toilet? Captain Falcon received a cold shoulder from Samus, and is in his room moping? Tell me now woman, tell me!"

"Marie and Callie of Inkopolis News came by, and they want to hold a prank war with the mansion residents...I honestly don't know if you're gonna..."

"I LOVE IT!" Master Hand's response greatly surprised Isabelle, she thought the giant hand would put the mansion's cleanliness (a prank war can be really messy) over any activity. "Notify the brawlers and tell them to met in the meeting we must establish some ground rules right away!"

* * *

 **Master Hand: It's now been made official; the entire mansion is now at war...a prank war! So the original plan was to have every man fight for themselves, but that would be too much to ask for, some people can't simply be trusted by themselves under any means. (I'm looking at you Kirby, don't think that your happiness is supposed to be genuine, I know what your true colors are.) I've had Marie and Callie pick their teams through a drafting process, and thanks to Fiora and Amy now at the mansion, we have an even number of combatants. (Pikachu, Pichu, Jigglypuff, and Duck Hunt Dog are not participating, for obvious reasons; Greninja, I'm letting off the hook...for now.) The rules for this prank war are as follows - Team Marie and Team Callie will duke it out, pranking one another, until one side wins. Last person standing from the winning team will be rewarded with whatever's inside the briefcase the Squid Sisters brought - I'll have Isabelle inspect said briefcase later on, if I can. As for right now, let the best team win!**

"This is so mind-blowingly stupid..." Cloud said as he and Aerith walked through the mansion, wearing detector bracelets on their wrists that will go off if they ever get pranked (Zero had invented this bracelets, and was looking for a good incentive to use them until he was approached by Master Hand). These bracelets were pink, indicating that the lovebirds are on Team Callie. "Why is the entire mansion participating in this dumb prank war, what's the benefit of it all?"

"Maybe Master Hand just wants us to have fun!" Aerith assumed, holding a soda can in her hands. She saw Diddy Kong (Team Marie) out in the open, wielding a few banana peels. In _Super Smash Bros 4,_ the spidermonkey is prohibited from carrying more than one banana peel, likely to restrict his stage control abilities, but since this is a prank war, it's all fair game. "Hello there, Diddy Kong, would you care for a drink?" Aerith approached the monkey, who momentarily stopped scanning the surrounding area when the flower girl approached him.

"Well all this surveying is making me pretty thirsty!" Diddy replied, accepting the drink. "Thanks Aerith!" The spidermonkey opened up the soda can...and a wicked burst of foamy soda erupted out of the can, launching in Diddy's face. Obviously Aerith came very well prepared...

"Diddy Kong is the first to be pranked!" Master Hand's voice boomed throughout the mansion, as Diddy Kong's green bracelet went off with a distinct alarm sound, indicating that he's out of the prank war. "I repeat, Diddy Kong is the first to be pranked! Carry on." And just like that, Master Hand's voice vanished in an instant.

"See, Cloud, it's all about having fun and enjoying yourselves, something that you hardly do that much," Aerith said to a slightly judgmental Cloud as Diddy stormed away, collecting whatever dignity the spidermonkey had left.

* * *

Red the Pokemon Trainer (Team Callie) hid away in the laundry room, the room he believes is the least likeliest place to be pranked. Just when everything was going to be fine, Doc Louis (Team Marie) entered the room, strangely wearing a trench coat.

"Why you looking at me like that son?" the boxing trainer taunted Red, who was now cowering in fear. "You want some beef?" Normally in this type of situation, Red would wet himself out of fright, but there's no way he would let the mighty Doc Louis intimidate him.

"Yeah I want some beef, let's go!" the trainer aggressively got up and challenged Doc Louis, reading to call some rounds. "Come at me bro!"

"You want some beef, I'll give you some beef...five dollars per pack!" Red soon became perplexed as ever when Doc Louis opened up his trench coat, revealing several packs of ground beef inside. And since Red essentially got pranked, his bracelet sounded.

 **Doc Louis: I know for a FACT that a ton of money are inside that briefcase, roughly one million dollars, I'm assuming! Once I help my team win and become the last person standing, I'll get that million, and use it to buy myself a million chocolate bars! Nothing can stop me now!**

Doc Louis chuckled as he walked out of the laundry room - until he came to a sudden stop and saw a chocolate bar conspicuously lying on the floor. This chocolate bar was ripe for the taking, it was crying out to Doc, begging the boxing trainer to chomp down on it ruthlessly. So Doc had to do what Doc had to do...

"Come to papa!" the boxing trainer ran towards the chocolate bar, running to it like it was his long-lost babe, and grabbed said bar and happily ate it. He may have seen the chocolate bar, but the trainer didn't see the rope lying near said bar; in an instant, Doc Louis' ankle was caught by a rope as he was brought into the air, hanging from above. Doc's bracelet sounded afterwards. "Hey man, what gives?!"

"Ha ha ha, you just got pranked!" Amy Rose (Team Callie) came out of her hiding spot to point and laugh at Doc Louis, suspended in the air. "Fell right for my trap!" The pink hedgehog scampered away as Doc Louis gritted his teeth in anger.

* * *

Wanting to save themselves from any pranking, Link and Zelda (both on Team Callie) hid away in the kitchen. The kitchen was also the place where Donkey Kong (Team Marie) would amazingly prank himself, by slipping on his own banana peels. Should have known better than to place the peels at the kitchen entrance, in the event you needed something to drink.

 **Link: Since the two of us are all alone... *wraps arm around Zelda* ...we can get the chance to spend time R &R...in private...  
** **Zelda: *slaps Link's arm away* No thank you, Link, I'm more concerned about the possibility of being pranked than anything. Some individuals may be more aggressive in their pranking than others...**

One certain individual, Lloyd Irving (Team Marie), arrived in the kitchen and found Link and Zelda hiding. Both lovebirds were surprised to see the swordsman, holding an item behind his back while trying not to laugh. If he's attempting to conceal a prank he might have, then clearly he's doing a poor job at doing so.

"Hi Zelda, my favorite roommate..." Lloyd began; Link steadily looked on with wary eyes. "Mind if I share with you a token of my gratitude?"

"I have a token of my gratitude to share with you too, Lloyd..." replied Zelda, reaching into Link's pocket although the hero of Hyrule quietly refuted her from doing so - but it was too late. All of a sudden, Zelda and Lloyd hurled pies at each other's face, resulting in a double elimination.

"Ooh, a double simulation, me likey!" Master Hand's voice boomed as the bracelets sounded. Someone's a bit too into the whole prank war. "Loving what I'm seeing, keep up the good work folks!"

"Aw man, I was gonna save that pie for later..." groaned Link. "...preferably for Ganondorf. Welp, guess I'm on my own." Time to put what Link learned in the previous episode into work.

* * *

Lloyd's and Zelda's double elimination wasn't the only elimination that took place - another double elimination transpired in another part of the mansion.

"Oh, how much I hate your guts, Kirby!" King Dedede (Team Marie) frowned at his nemesis Kirby (Team Callie), as both Dream Land inhabitants were covered in cake frosting. Kirby flashed a smile, though we're not entirely sure if it was in response to King Dedede, or the pink puffball enjoys the icing over him. You could throw the little fella inside a garbage truck full of trash and he probably enjoy the experience.

Peach (Team Marie) happily hummed as she walked past Kirby and King Dedede, carefully watching her stop so she wouldn't get any icing on her heels, when she bumped into Mario (Team Callie), her lovely fiance. What a great opportunity to meet your future spouse - during a prank war.

"You don't-a think that I actually farted in-a the dinner room, right Peach?" Mario asked his fiancee, fearful that she would say yes. It would have been nigh impossible for the plumber to live that incident down had many brawlers, not just Dunban, heard the whoopie cushion and instantly assumed Mario had pulled a Wario.

"Of course not Mario, I had inspected the chair after you had left out of embarrassment and saw the whoopie cushion, you don't have poor manners like Wario!" smiled Peach, as Mario breathed a sigh of relief. "Why do we have to be on separate teams, it feels like we're stuck inside a Romeo and Juliet story, two sides fighting against one another and we might be caught in all the ruckus!"

 **Peach: Our quest of finding a viable officiant to conduct the wedding has yet to be fulfilled. Our last choice, Luka Redgrave, saw his chances end after Link lost a wrestling match in a valiant effort to Luka's boss, Rodin (makes some sense in context). Mario and Pac-Man must be more aggressive in their search for an officiant, otherwise the wedding will be...  
Lemmy: Hey Peach, want a free bag of potato chips?  
Peach: Why thank you! *opens up bag, only to see dried mangoes inside* ...are you kidding me? *Peach's bracelet sounds off*  
Lemmy: HA, GOT 'EM!**

"This whole shing-a ding will be over sooner than-a you know it," Mario assured, before suspiciously looking around. "Are you-a still participating?" Peach shook her head no. "I've-a been on the look-a out for Bowser, he might-a be up to his usual-a tricks again...this whole-a prank war might have been his idea!"

"Silly Mario, you have always been so paranoid about Bowser!" gleamed Peach. The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom found Mario's suspicions with Bowser charming and humorous at times, and other times concerning. "Have you forgotten that the prank war was the Inklings' idea?"

"Yes, Bowser must-a have convinced the Inklings to start-a the prank war, and also told them to invite-a the Squid Sisters so they can choose-a sides for said war! And the sisters also had-a to bring the brief-a case with what may be prize-a money inside!" Mario could pursue a professional career as a conspiracy theorist with all this paranoia erupting out of his mouth. Soon Amy walked by, looking for another person to prank, until she slipped on the floor due to an unsuspecting banana peel lying on the floor.

"Mario, were you behind this?" the now angry hedgehog looked towards Mario, who glanced at her with a smug facial expression. "I'll get you for this later!" Amy grumpily got up as she walked away, rubbing her backside. Mario just played the banana peel prank to perfection, unlike Donkey Kong, who somehow foiled his own prank. Even worse considering he's a gorilla.

"I shall-a speak with you later," Mario said to Peach before darting away.

* * *

"Long story short, Maximilian Robespierre was a very radical leader during his time, and the main cause of the Reign of Terror in France," said Leo, instructing his brother Corrin on the French Revolution. The prince of Nohr was visibly bored out of his mind, too bored to pay attention or even think about anything else. Leo and Camilla were responsible for teaching Corrin; Elise's duty was to cheer up the prince, and Xander's duty was to keep watch.

"They must be having so much fun out there..." Corrin sighed as he looked out the window and at the Smash Mansion, watching as Ike was launched through the roof and falling to the ground with a thud. Because we all know how much fun it is to be pranked to the point where you would be sent flying.

"Don't think I'm finished with you yet, Olimar!" Ike yelled as he ran back inside the mansion to seek revenge on the Hocotate astronaut.

 **Camilla: Bowser apparently made Corrin so mindfully ignorant that it's almost scary. Prior to our teachings, a third-grader would have been smarter than Corrin; he wouldn't even have to know all the presidents of the United States to be smarter than him. Thankfully Corrin has been making some strides of terms of learning, though he refuses to show it...**

"Cheer up Corrin, maybe if you show some empathy, then the lessons will be done sooner than you know it!" exclaimed Elise, using her childlike charm to bolster Corrin's happiness, or the lack thereof. Keep in mind that she may not be a little child...

"Elise's right, these lessons will be more fruitful if you would pay attention and give a care about what is being taught to you," stated Xander. "Garon didn't send us here for nothing, our trip to American can't be for naught..."

"Anyone care-a for milk and-a cookies?" Luigi approached the Nohrian family, carrying a plate of milk and cookies. Had this been a kindergarten setting, this would be completely fine, but in your own house, with guests? That's a huge no-no, and that's why Corrin and his siblings glanced at Luigi with strange looks.

"No milk and cookies from you!" Xander rudely slapped the plate away, as the cup of milk and cookies crashed to the floor. Everyone looked on in shock as Luigi just stood there, distraught. He prepared that milk and cookies to utter perfection (like it would need utter perfection to begin with) and now Xander wasted it.

"Just wanted to show-a my appreciation to you folks..." Luigi sighed, holding his head down in shame as he walked away. Once the plumber was gone, the lessons resumed, much to the chagrin of Corrin.

* * *

 **Master Hand: The prank war has been going well so far - Tails, Nana, Robin, and Akira Yuki of Team Callie have recently been eliminated, and Pac-Man, Rosalina, Mewtwo, and Chrom of Team Marie have recently been eliminated as well. Now you're probably wondering, "Master Hand, how can you possibly have an even number of participants, when Snake is in legal trouble and Corrin is noodling around at Luigi's place?" Conveniently I found these two bums walking by the mansion, and I asked them if they wanted to prank people for fun, and they quickly obliged...**

"Hey girl, you got a problem we need to solve?" a dark-skinned man with dreadlocks and wearing workout gear asked Samus (Team Marie), who was adjusting her ponytail; we shall give him the moniker of Kevin. Accompanying Kevin was a friend of his, who was light-skinned and wearing a Seattle Seahawks cap on his head; we'll name him Carrington. (Hehe, Carrington...) These two dudes have been recruited to Team Callie after Master Hand saw them jogging past the Smash Mansion, and asked them if they were interested in pranking others.

"Were you talking to me just now?" Samus looked up at Kevin after she adjusted her ponytail. The fact that she never saw him nor Carrington in the mansion ever and they're participating in the prank war, as evidenced by their pink bracelets, made the bounty hunter highly suspicious, though she couldn't help but wonder if she ever saw Kevin's and Carrington's faces before...

"Yeah, we wanted to know if you had a problem," replied Carrington, peaceful and laid back in his response. Samus wearily grew even more suspicious, assuming the two dudes are trying to start something. "Got a problem that we need to solve?"

"I sure do..." Samus walked towards Kevin and Carrington, taking out her trusty Paralyzer. And right at the moment she pointed her gun at Kevin and Carrington...

"SURPRISE FOOL!" Kevin quickly held up a calculator in Samus' face, laughing. The bounty hunter looked dumbfounded as her bracelet sounded, confirming that she had just been pranked. "We were asking if you wanted to solve a math problem this whole time! And we got you good!"

"Eh, guess I'll take whatever I get," Samus shrugged as she walked away. Knowing her, she didn't care one bit about the prank war, and might have even anticipated the moment someone pranked her for good.

 **Kevin: This whole prank war thing is starting to become a great experience for us - I mean, meandering around in the mansion, seeing these video game characters going about, and having the opportunity to prank them?! What more could a man ask for?  
Carrington: For real man, sure beats jogging! Great way to spend some time of a bye week if you ask me.  
Kevin: Shut up dude, you'll spill the beans...anyways, Master Hand talked about this huge reward one might get if they lead their team to victory and become the last person standing. We're gonna be the last dudes standing from our team, and we'll split the reward, half and half!  
Carrington: My best guess is that the reward is money, most likely wads of cash. But hey, we don't need the money, we're practically millionaires - I get paid over ten million dollars _a year,_ and so does this guy! *points at Kevin*  
Kevin: Keep spilling more information like that and you'll blow our cover...**

"Let's go look for another person to prank," Carrington said as he and Kevin continued on their way. They spotted Greninja resting coolly on the wall, his arms folded. "Why don't we prank him?" Carrington pointed at the ninja Pokemon.

"Bruh that's a Greninja, he's a Pokemon so our prank won't work on him," stated Kevin, before noticing that Greninja had a green bracelet, affirming his allegiance to Team Marie. "Also why is he in this prank war, what good would a Pokemon do?!"

"We can still prank him, it's still worth a shot." Carrington walked over to Greninja, while Kevin watched on, shaking his head. "Hey man, you're looking pretty chill over there...do you have a problem that I need to..." At first glance of Carrington, Greninja used Shadow Sneak, disappearing in an instant. "...solve." Carrington looked back at Kevin, who gave him a wry smirk. At least Carrington tried...?

* * *

"As long as we stick together, there's no way anyone can prank us!" Pit exclaimed as he, Fox, Falco, and Popo (all on Team Marie) walked together through the mansion hallways all four on Team Marie. The latter three men were following Pit for many reasons unknown, though it probably could be because of the fact that they have no pranks of their own to prank others.

"The moment we see anything remotely sneaky, we're ditching Pit on the spot," Fox whispered to Falco and Popo, who both nodded their heads. All of a sudden, gallons of tea was poured on the four men from an unsuspecting large bucket above them, and soon they were soaking wet. This prank was executed at the hands of none other than the Black Knight (Team Callie), who laughed maniacally from afar as four green bracelets sounded.

"Aw man, I just washed these pants last night, thanks a lot Black Knight!" Falco seethed as he checked out his now wet clothes. He didn't even have to look at the Black Knight to know it was him, he's already familiarized with his strange tea obsession.

"Mwha ha ha ha, got you boys right were I want you!" the Black Knight laughed evilly, his hands on his hips. R.O.B. (Team Marie) appeared, analyzing the scene before him. He knew better than to follow up Pit and his shenanigans.

 **R.O.B.: TWO TEAMS...MANY BRAWLERS...ONLY ONE CAN STAND STRONG...THE REWARD IS ALL MINE...**

"Whoops, R.O.B., completely forgot to prank you!" Black Knight poured a cup of tea on R.O.B., seemingly pranking him and causing his green bracelet to go off. Due to the knight's medieval ways, he may have forgotten that any robot or technological being that comes in contact with liquid would instantly malfunction, and that's what happened to R.O.B., as the robot shook violently while electrical currents erupted out of him, before his system powered down for good. "Um...anyone here know how to repair R.O.B?" The Black Knight asked Pit and company.

* * *

"Care for a chili dog?" Sonic (Team Callie) offered Captain Falcon (also on Team Callie) a chili dog as the two speedsters hid in a closet, away from the pranking battlefield. "I promise you I didn't sneeze on this one!" Captain Falcon reluctantly accepted the chili dog, inspected it, and took a bite out of it.

"It's too bad we don't have any viable pranks to prank the others with," Falcon said as he ate the chili dog, getting crumbs all over the floor. "Seems like the others have better prank ideas than anything we can come up with."

"Certainly all that hiding must be making you boys thirsty," Aerith said, poking her head through the closet door. In her sight was a small pile of chili dogs in a basket near an air conditioner - does the hedgehog have another "secret" chili dog stash. "You boys can't possibly eat those chili dogs without washing it all down - why don't the two of you share this drink?" The flower girl gave Sonic and Captain Falcon a can of soda.

"One lousy drink wouldn't hurt anyone," Sonic accepted the drink from Aerith and opened the can - and right on cue, the soda gushed out in Sonic's and Captain Falcon's faces, and their bracelets sounded in an instant. The hedgehog and his racing companion should have probably seen that one coming.

 **Aerith: Ah, the old soda prank, it's a classic of its own...found some soda cans in Mario's personal fridge (why he even has one, I don't understand, still trying to figure out why he has a stun gun concealed underneath his pillow), and whenever I use a soda can, I always go back to the room to fetch another one. Those sodas have notoriously high caffeine, so I'm essentially doing Mario a huge favor.**

"Seems to me like you're having way too much fun with this pranking thing," Cloud said to Aerith, who popped her head out of the closet with a wry smile on her face. "But if pranking more people makes this dumb prank war go faster, then I'm all for it." The swordsman has yet to prank anyone - in fact, he _refuses_ to prank anyone for that matter. He's only accompanying Aerith to serve as moral support.

"Been taking a lot of names today," Link approached Cloud, seemingly bragging about the pranking he has done today. "Just threw pies in the faces of Ashley, X, Larry, and Chrom..." The Hylian placed his arms behind his head, sporting a confident smile. "Only one more pie left...had we been on different teams, you would have been my last victim."

"I never wanted to be a part of the prank war anyway, so I would have let you pie me in the face regardless...hey, have you seen Bowser anywhere during the whole prank war? You'd think that he'd be all over the place, given his pranking expertise, but since he retired as the so-called 'Prank King'..."

"Haven't seen him ever since the 'draft' in the meeting room. He must be planning a secret attack on someone, and he's looking for someone to unleash it upon." Bowser is a diabolical planner, so Link's assumption isn't that far-fetched. "He's on Team Marie, so let's hope he doesn't unleash his prank on us..."

"You can just keep on hoping, I wouldn't give a crap if anyone pranked me." Cloud took a few steps forward, until he stepped on a strange substance. He looked down at the bottom of his black shoes, and saw fake poop at the bottom. The swordsman's bracelet sounded, and he felt somewhat relieved, knowing he no longer has to participate in the prank war he deems stupid.

"Oh man, I think someone stepped on the fake poop we placed on the floor!" Little Mac could be heard snickering very loudly, likely blowing his cover.

"Wait until someone steps on the fake poop we put behind the bathroom door in this hallway, wish we could see their reaction!" said Lucas, also snickering very loudly. Link was able to decipher both voices from a nearby closet; the Hylian inched near the closet in which the voices were coming from, and then...

"THERE'S A F5 TORNADO WARNING CONFIRMED IN KING COUNTY!" Link yelled through the closet door. The Hylian stepped to the side as Little Mac and Lucas (both on Team Marie, in case you didn't know already) burst out of the closet and ran for the hills, with their bracelets making that sound that's becoming a tad annoying for the brawlers. Silly Little Mac and Lucas, common sense should have told them that tornadoes, especially big ones, seldom appear in the state of Washington.

 **Cloud: Thank goodness, I'm out of the prank war...now I gotta go to the meeting room, where those previously eliminated are, and wait until the prank war is over. Bet Marie and Callie are still there, painting their nails and talking about fashion...don't even know what's going on.**

"Well it looks like I'm out," said Cloud, though if he truly cared, he would have shown more emotion instead of displaying an apathetic tone. "Guess you won't be needing me any longer, Aerith."

"It's okay, Cloud, I already know who will be accompanying me now..." replied Aerith, looking directly at a somewhat nervous Link. Why does she want him for?

* * *

Kevin and Carrington walked through the mansion's halls, and soon arrived at what appeared to be a battlefield of sorts - toilet tissue, cake frosting, fake vomit, fake poop, fake ketchup, for whatever reason - all of these items and more were all over the place, on the walls and on the ceiling. The brawlers better be happy Mr. Game and Watch is in the prank war, otherwise he would have a mouthful with them...if only he knew how to speak.

"Look bruh, a note on the floor!" Kevin saw a note on the floor, lying in the middle of all the mess, and walked over to pick it up. "'Meet us at the room where the lights shine the brightest...'" Kevin looked up and saw an open door, adorned with Christmas lights. Sure it might be ghetto, but any lights is better than none. "Lemme go see what this is all about..." The man with dreadlocks walked to the room, while Carrington looked on with caution.

"Dude I wouldn't go in that room, it looks kinda suspicious to me..." Carrington said, but it was too late - Kevin walked inside the room, and afterwards, the sound of paint splatting. Kevin walked back out, with a pained facial expression, before falling face-first to the floor, with paint covering his back. Soon the male Inkling (Team Callie) and the female Inkling (Team Marie), came out of the room, and they...exchanged a high five with one another? Aren't they supposed to be against one another, since they're on opposing sides?!

"One down, only many more to go!" exclaimed the male Inkling. "Once we eliminate everyone else, it'll be down to us two - one of us will have to take the fall though, but it won't matter because either one of us will win, and we'll get to split the reward! Let's go take care of the others!" The Inklings ran away, and Carrington went to go check on his buddy Kevin once the coast was clear.

"Oh man, they got me, they got me good..." Kevin heaved, coping with the pain. "You know what you gotta do man, win this prank war not only for our team...but for us...you got this bro..." Carrington confidently nodded as he ran off. Kevin used his arm to move himself across the floor; he certainly has a seriously long way to go.

 **Carrington: It's all or nothing now...those Inkling kids are working together it seems like, and from what I've heard, this whole prank war was THEIR idea...so really we're all playing for keeps! Gotta get the truth out somehow...**

* * *

"The atomic theory, proposed by John Dalton, states that all matter is made up of atoms," Camilla taught this to an still very bored Corrin, explaining the theory on the chalkboard provided by Daisy. "Depending on the element, the atoms tend to vary...you know Corrin, these lessons will be much more fun and engaging if you decided to pay an ounce of attention.

"Then why don't you make the lessons fun, all you're doing is forcing the information down my throat," stated Corrin. He wasn't like this when taught by Bowser, maybe he can't handle the truth...

"You don't need fun in order to understand the lessons, and besides, there's nothing fun about some dumb atomic theory," Leo offered his two cents. "Science is hardly ever fun, unless you're doing experiments, like I do in my spare time..."

"Please ignore Leo, Corrin, he's just salty that I've taken over the teaching role from him," Camilla said to her dear brother, while Leo rolled his eyes. "Now back to the lesson at hand..." Camilla continued to teach Corrin; while she was doing that, Yuffie showed up behind Camilla, and seeing that Corrin was bored out of his mind, the ninja girl did her best to cheer up the prince of Nohr by making some silly faces behind Camilla's back - and as a result, Corrin was smiling, though it seemed like he was stifling his laughter. "See, Corrin, I'd knew you would warm up to the lessons, looks like you're learning something!" None of the Nohrian siblings seemed to notice Yuffie making silly face, none except...

"Please leave the premises at once," Xander ordered Yuffie, who stopped making silly faces at the command of Xander's voice. Surprising to see Yuffie get away with what she did for so long.

"Excuse me for wanting to cheer up Corrin..." Yuffie grumbled as she walked away. And the joy and happiness on Corrin's face soon dissipated real quick.

* * *

 **Master Hand: Alright, it's getting down to the nitty gritty...only a handful of brawlers remain in the prank war, and only one can claim the reward inside the briefcase! I've tried many times to open the briefcase, but those darn Squid Sisters Marie and Callie refrain me from doing so. But who am I to listen to those cravens, I'm freaking Master Hand, I don't have to...  
Callie: Um, Master Hand, we can like, still hear you!  
Marie: Yeah why don't you like, take your bickering elsewhere?  
Master Hand: *in a lower tone, as if on the verge of losing it* Just don't listen to what they say, just don't listen to what they say, just don't listen to what they say...**

"Meta Knight, my main man, what's up buddy!" Bowser (Team Marie) greeted the Star Warrior as they crossed paths. Very strange for the Koopa King to call Meta Knight his "main man", considering Meta Knight prefers solitude to be his one and only friend (Kirby notwithstanding, perhaps). "Come and give me a high five, on the down low!" Meta Knight grudgingly gave Bowser a low five, and was shocked in the process, for Bowser wore a hand shock buzzer on his hand. And since Meta Knight was on Team Callie, he had essentially eliminated himself with the low five. Well played by Bowser.

"Darn it Bowser, why did I fall for your trick?" seethed Meta Knight, walking away admitting defeat. Bowser continued on his merry way when he saw Ganondorf coming his way; the Koopa King held up his hand, expecting a high five from the Demon Lord.

"Don't ever recall you being this friendly with me before..." Ganondorf remarked as he somewhat uncharacteristically gave Bowser a high five, hoping that doing so would prevent the koopa from bothering him about a high five for the rest of the day; Cloud suffered from a similar situation with Shulk concerning a measly handshake back in episode 16. Just like Meta Knight, Ganondorf was instantly shocked the moment his hand touched Bowser's, and like Meta Knight, he was on Team Callie, therefore eliminating himself.

"Have fun in the losers lounge!" Bowser taunted Ganondorf, referring to the meeting room where the eliminated brawlers are, as Ganondorf walked past the Koopa King, glaring him down. Bowser marched forward, eventually running into Link and Aerith, the former holding his last pie, and the latter holding yet another can of soda.

"Would you like a can of soda, to drink your cares away?" Aerith asked Bowser; the flower girl may be a more proficient prankster than anyone would have expected her to be. She totally has the whole false advertising thing down pact.

"Heck yeah I do, thanks!" Bowser happily accepted the drink from Aerith and shook the flower girl's hand, eliminating her. The Koopa King then eyed the pie in Link's hands. "A pie, just for me? Link you shouldn't have!" Bowser snatched the pie away from the Hylian and shook his hand, eliminating him as well. "Thanks for the grub, you guys are the best!" Bowser went forward, as Link and Aerith looked on perplexed. Bowser looked happy, a bit too happy...could be because of the fact that he's in a pranking mood again.

"Drat, I was planning on using that pie on Ganondorf, that Bowser..." Link snapped his fingers in disgust, before an interesting question creeped in his head that had to be asked to Aerith right away: "Wait a sec, what if Bowser opens up the soda can and gets sprayed with soda...would that even count since you've been eliminated?"

* * *

 **Zero: *standing on a balcony above the gardens* Now THIS is how you prank people...this is the type of prank that can eliminate anyone, one by one by one...watch and learn, folks... *takes out an iPad***

Zero (Team Callie) hurled the iPad out of the gardens below him, and the iPad landed in the hands of Marth (Team Marie), who was suddenly intrigued by what he saw on the screen.

"'A million dollars, click more for more details?'" the hero-king read what was on the screen; no man can be that gullible. One mere touch on the screen and then... "AAAUGH WHY DID A PICTURE OF WARIO NAKED SHOW UP?!" (Wario wasn't entirely naked, he had a leaf covering his extremities. You and your twisted minds...) Marth threw the iPad behind him in disgust as his bracelet sounded; the device landed in the hands of Shulk, who was on Team Marie along with his girlfriend Fiora.

"That looks like a scam to me..." Fiora remarked after seeing the screen. "How do we know if that offer is suspicious or not?" Thank goodness the Homs isn't a gullible bum like the girly man Marth.

"Only one way to find out..." Shulk tapped the iPad screen, and was greeted with the picture of Wario. "My eyes!" The Homs and Fiora both witnessed the Wario picture, and Shulk tossed the iPad to a nearby Olimar, another Team Marie person.

"A chance to win one million dollars, call me intrigued!" the astronaut apparently tapped the iPad and saw the picture of Wario. Why must people be so gullible nowadays...a now scarred Olimar gave the iPad to Ness...who fell for the prank and gave the device to Palutena...who fell for the prank and gave the device to Ryu...who fell for the prank and gave the device to Toad...who fell for the prank and threw the device on the ground, breaking it. These individuals were all on Team Marie...all in all, eight gullible individuals (save for Fiora) were pranked and eliminated at the hands of Zero. An MVP-worthy performance, by most standards.

"Good-a work on pranking the Team-a Marie members Zero, too bad-a I lost my iPad though," Mario, standing on the balcony, commended the robot. "But hey, I can always-a get a new one as a wedding gift-a at the wedding. Now back to looking for-a Bowser..." Mario went back inside the mansion, and his search for his nemesis Bowser would come to an end, when the plumber stepped on vomit - fake vomit, to be exact. Mario's bracelet sounded; the plumber was out for good.

"Sorry I had to prank you like that Mario," Toon Link approached the plumber, feeling sorry. "All's fair in love and war, right?" Mario flashed a smile as he went to the meeting room; who knows, Bowser might have been pranked already and is in the room. Only one way to find out...

* * *

 **Master Hand: The prank war is almost over...we're down to at least fifteen or so individuals, if my knowledge serves me correct. Or at least that's what Isabelle me. Hard to believe she practically pranked her own self, just so she could give me updates about the prank war...**

"Great, just great...Father's eliminated, Robin's eliminated, and now I'm off on my own..." Lucina (Team Marie) griped and complained, holding a trick can in her hand. Had the princess of Yliesse had a more humorous side, she would have known better than to wield a lousy trick can. Soon Carrington appeared, and Lucina got prepared. "I take it you plan on pranking me, since you're on the other team?"

"I don't have any plans on pranking you..." clarified Carrington. "...I have plans on pranking the Inklings, both of them." This prompted Lucina to furrow her brow...

* * *

"Don't expect to get away with this you two, Master Hand will have your heads for sure!" Young Link, stuck to a wall coated in glue with Toon Link (Team Marie), Wii Fit Trainer (Team Callie), Wendy (Team Callie), Proto Man (Team Marie), and Tails (Team Callie), said to the Inklings, who are obviously up to evil things. How the duo pulled the prank off with Young Link and company, we may never know.

"We're so telling on you guys, you know working together while on opposing sides is against the rules!" added Wendy, struggling to pry herself off the wall. "Should be glad you don't have a parent figure to scold you for this!"

"The reward is as good as ours!" the female Inkling said to her male counterpart as they walked away. They didn't get that far before Carrington and Lucina approached them, with Carrington carrying a plate of sandwich cookies in his hands.

"Did you kids manage to get those five on that glue-covered wall?" Lucina asked the Inklings, who nodded their heads. "Well I must admit, that was a neat prank you pulled off! Certainly there must be a way to make your efforts count...am I right?" The princess nudged Carrington with her shoulder.

"Indeed so, good thing I made these cookies," Carrington held out the cookies for the Inklings to see, and their eyes were fixated upon them. "You can have a cookie or two, if you like..."

So the Inklings treated themselves to the sandwich cookies, scarfing them down one by one...then suddenly, their faces turned green. What happened next was mostly disgusting in nature - the Inklings threw up on the floor, and their bracelets sounded. These two whippersnappers, conspiring together to get that grand prize, found themselves pranked in their own prank war.

 **Carrington: Funny story is, after my buddy got pranked by those Inklings kids, I went to the nearest bathroom to fetch a tube of toothpaste, and then I went down to the kitchen (yes, someone had to show me the way), where I would find the cookies necessary to make these toothpaste sandwich cookies. *holds one sandwich cookie up for the camera to see* Never would have thought these bad boys would come in handy...can't wait to tell my teammates about the awesome prank I did!...I wasn't supposed to say that, was I?**

"Glad we got that taken of..." Carrington remarked, putting his hands on his hips. "Off to pranking more people then..." Carrington took one step forward, and slipped on the floor, his bracelet sounding off.

"Loser!" Wario popped out of nowhere, flashing the "L" hand sign to Carrington, who slowly came to a halt while face-first on the floor, before scurrying away. Carrington slowly lifted up his head, rubbing his numb face.

"It would be an absolute nightmare if that man wins..." Lucina said after Wario scurried away. The princess pressed forward, turning around the corner in the hallway, and soon she saw Jigglypuff...eyes closed...flying on the floor...with blood gushing out from the side of her head. Lucina gasped as she knelt down at Jigglypuff and turned her on his back, worried as ever. Any rational person would have immediately sensed that the blood was fake, and that Jigglypuff is actually fast asleep from most likely using rest, but this is Lucina we're talking about. The princess' bracelet sounded, but that didn't stop Lucina from checking to see if Jigglypuff was dead, when she truly isn't.

"Lousy girl would fall for just about anything..." Wolf, the last remaining individual on Team Callie and the man behind the Jigglypuff prank, snarled as he walked past Lucina, miffed by the fact that the blue-haired lass can't take a joke. Kinda depressing, depending on what way you look at it.

* * *

It was now down to two men - Wario of Team Marie, and Wolf of Team Callie. One man loses and admits defeat, the other accrues a win for his team and gets the reward the Squid Sisters had brought to the mansion. Wanting to settle things like gentlemen, Wolf and Wario met in the balcony, to settle things once and for all.

"May the best prankster win?" Wario held out his hand to Wolf, hoping to shake his hand. A pranking battle of epic proportions may be on the horizon...

"May the best prankster win!" Wolf gleefully shook the fatso's hand...and just when it seemed like a pranking battle would commence, Wario was suddenly electrocuted after shaking Wolf's hand, making his bracelet go off. That could only mean one thing...Wolf is the last man standing, and has picked up a victory for Team Callie! Or so it would seem like...

"Congratulations on being the last person standing Wolf!" Bowser entered the ballroom to commend the pilot for his efforts. There was no bracelet around his giant wrist. "Came all the way from the meeting room just to congratulate you, sneaking out was no easy task. I've been watching you closely throughout the whole prank war, and I think a guy like you deserves a drink!" The Koopa King gave the can of soda Aerith had given him to Wolf. What is this evildoer planning...

"Uh, I hardly participated at all in the prank war, but thanks anyways," Wolf accepted the can of soda, and opened it - only to be greeted with a gush of soda spraying in his face, followed up with a pie to the face from Bowser. Wolf's bracelet sounded off, and Bowser held his arms in the air...and his bracelet magically appeared around his wrist, and instead of a sound many in the prank war were accustomed to, the bracelet made a more "pleasing" sound - a sound that meant Bowser had won! What is the meaning of all of this?!

 **Bowser: Hoo boy, did I get Wolf good! I had snatched a potion from Ashley's room that makes things invisible, and used it on my bracelet to make it seem like I was eliminated (you have to take your bracelet off when you go into the meeting room, where the losers are). Also, huge shout-out to Link and Aerith for the soda and the pie, would have never pranked Wolf if it wasn't for them! Isabelle was a huge help as well, kept asking her who was in and who was out!**

"Ding ding ding, looks like we have a winner!" Master Hand popped out of thin air to congratulate Bowser. "Bowser, you played everyone (mostly everyone) like a fiddle, and it's no surprise you helped Team Marie win and remain the last person standing!" Wolf glared down Bowser as Master Hand gushed over the Koopa King. "You and Wolf come with me to the meeting room at once!"

* * *

All the participants in the prank war (so pretty much everyone, from Amy and Fiora, to Kevin and Carrington), came together in the meeting room so they could "celebrate" Bowser's distinction of being the last man standing. Callie sulked away as Marie presented the reward inside the briefcase. The Inkling opened up said briefcase, and there it was..wads of cash, just as Carrington had predicted!

"Here you are, King Bowser, your wonderful prize money!" Marie gleamed as Bowser rubbed his hands in excitement. You could imagine how salty everyone else felt.

"This is just absolutely sickening, of all the people that could have earned that money and it had to be Bowser," Geno disapprovingly shook his head. What's worse is that that Bowser seemingly manipulated his way to victory, which made it all the more unbearable.

"Yeah buddy, one million big ones, all for me!" exclaimed Bowser - hold up, how did he know how much money was in the briefcase? Was this all a scam, like that fake million dollar offer on Mario's now broken iPad?

"So you knew there was a million dollars in that briefcase, didn't you?" Kevin questioned Bowser, unnerving the Koopa King. "Clearly you must know something that all of us don't! Isn't that right, you guys?" All the "losers", as Bowser would call them, nodded their heads in agreement.

"Alright now, let's not jump to conclusions, no need to get all hasty - this is my moment, and you bums are ruining it!"

"Now that I think of it...the prank war was kinda Bowser's idea!" the male Inkling exclaimed after much thought, unnerving Bowser even more. "Yeah, I remember now - when we and my Inkling pal were on the phone with Marie and Callie, after they said they wanted fun and whatnot, Bowser came to us after our phone call and suggested that we do a prank war, and the last person standing gets something of merit! Bowser was eavesdropping on us the whole time during the call!"

"May I like, get something off of my chest?" Callie spoke up, raising her finger; everyone except for a disconerted Bowser gave the Inkling their undivided attention. "Well, a few minutes after the Inklings called...I got this call from some man with a mysterious voice...he told me that Marie and I should stuff a million dollars inside a briefcase, and give it to the Inklings as a gift...I think the man on the phone was Judd, sometimes he likes to..."

"You stupid bimbo, that wasn't Judd that called you, that was ME, I was the one who called and made you and Marie bring that briefcase of money to the mansion, just so those Inkling brats can start that prank war, and I can win and get that dough!" boomed Bowser...only to be greeted by glares from everyone afterwards. The tables have turned - Bowser just played himself.

 **Mario: Aha, knew Bowser was behind-a the prank war this-a whole time, I just didn't want-a to mention it to anyone-a out of the fear they-a call me paranoid! Who's laughing now?**

"All that pranking we did was all for naught?" said a distraught K.K. Slider. "That's real low man, real low..."

"I can't believe you father, and to think that your pranking days were behind you!" Bowser Jr. shook his head at his own father, as he and the "losers" exited the meeting room.

"No you guys, come back!" Bowser came chasing after everyone once they all had left. "We can split up the money, there's like a hundred of you guys so we can get our fair share!" Only depending on what Bowser's definition of fair share is...

"So what are we like, gonna do with the money now?" Callie asked Marie as the million dollars remained in the briefcase. Mario, who stayed behind went over to the briefcase, and Kevin and Carrington, who also stayed behind, went over as well.

"I'll go and make-a good use of it," Mario said to the Squid Sisters. He looked behind him and saw Kevin and Carrington; these dudes were so tall compared to Mario, they're making the plumber feel like a midget. "Would you-a boys care to come along?"

* * *

"See, Corrin, don't you feel smarter now?" Elise spoke with Corrin as the five Nohrian siblings entered the Smash Mansion. Corrin became so bored from the lessons he couldn't even think straight, and as a result, he fell to the floor with a thud. "You must feel like the smartest man in this mansion now!"

"I wouldn't go that far, Corrin did say there's a lot of intellectuals residing in this place," remarked Leo. The trio of Mario, Kevin, and Carrington came down the steps, and stopped when they saw the Nohrian siblings, their gaze fixated on the briefcase filled with money.

"Howdy folks, nothing to see here, just getting this money outta here," Carrington said to the siblings. Mario suddenly took notice of Xander, and saw many qualities in him...qualities that would make him a great officiant of a certain ceremony.

"Greetings there, my name-a is Mario, and I hail-a from the Mushroom Kingdom," Mario introduced himself to Xander, shaking his hand. "Who might-a you be?"

"Xander, the eldest of five in the Kingdom of Nohr," replied Xander. "My family and I had came here to this city to pay Corrin a visit...and to correctly teach him, negating the lessons he had learned from someone named Bowser. I'm sure you know him very well..."

"Do I ever..." Mario rolled his eyes when he said this, him and Bowser go _way_ back. "I have a wedding in-a June, and I was-a wondering if...you could be the officiant?"

"What's in it for me?" asked Xander; Mario grabbed the briefcase of money and showed it to Xander. The prince stroked his chin thoughtfully; imagine the gold he can get from exchange those million dollars. "Very well then, I shall take this officiant role into heavy consideration. It would be a great experience for me, and for you and your future spouse. I'll notify you if anything arises. In the meantime, take care!" Xander exited the mansion, and Elise, Leo, and Camilla followed their eldest brother, leaving poor Corrin behind.

If there was a lesson to be learned today, it would be this - all's fair in love in war, unless your playing with or against Bowser. Safe to say that Mario and everyone else involved learned that lesson the hard way...


	43. Episode 43: Revenge

_Author's Note:_

 _You know the routine, gotta answer some guest reviews and all that good stuff, first up from someone named Sonic fan:_

 _"Awesome,I love the you make a chapter having the smashers fight each other in an all out brawl,please?"_

 _An all out brawl with everyone in the Smash Mansion sounds like a very huge given and a great idea (it IS Super Smash Bros, after all), but it probably won't happen till later. There's so much carnage and bloodshed that can transpire in an all-out brawl, with close to a hundred characters. Kirby 123 is back with another Kirby suggestion:_

 _"Can you show how Kirby got the entire triforce, screw attack, and from the great cave offensive? I bet that samus link Zelda ganondorf and ness would be surprised. If you have a hard time imagining it try using pictures that Kirby took."_

 _Ummm...I don't even know about that. Might need a little bit more elaboration. One more guest review to answer, from an anonymous reviewer:_

 _"Needs more Mr. Game and Watch."_

 _Mr. Game and Watch has always been a hard character for me to use, since he speaks with beeps and sounds, and his role at the mansion isn't doing him any favors either. I've included him in this chapter, though I was unsure if it wasn't enough...so I'll make him a main player in the next chapter or so. Moving on..._

 _"...And someone (*cough* Sonic *cough* *sneeze*) filling up the entire mansion with Mr. Saturns, Bumpers, Smash Balls, Spring Mushrooms, Double Cherries, Poison Mushrokms, Sleep Ability Copy Pedastels, Blue Shells, and CDI -games. But maybe that could be in chapter 43 or chapter 44."_

 _Woah, woah, woah, that sounds like way too much items, at least in my opinion...I can just do Mr. Saturns, Smash Balls, Double Cherries, and maybe the Spring Mushrooms, since those items will result in more fun with the brawlers, if you catch my drift. And now that I think of it, I already know what I have in store for Mr. Game and Watch in the next installment..._

* * *

 **Episode 43: Revenge**

Today was the day that the Smash Mansion was getting an "upgrade" of sorts. This so-called upgrade, according to Master Hand, would be a huge benefit for the mansion residents, and anyone who visits the mansion (i.e. Amy, Fiora, any bum on the street who had their money stolen from Link and wish to have their money back, etc.).

On this very day, the Smash Mansion was getting...an elevator. Yes, Master Hand had Proto Man and Mega Man .EXE build the contraption, hoping that the elevator would not only allow the residents to go from floor to floor without having to climb up any steps, but also remove some of the "clutter" that sometimes persists in the hallways. In a sense, this sounds long overdue, since some dudes like Fox and Knuckles have to climb up flights of stairs just to reach the Star Records room and/or the recording studio up in the fifth floor.

Of course, you have some individuals who are against the idea of an elevator in the mansion - and some of these individuals are scared of elevators and wish that the person who invented elevators either never existed or came up with inventing the elevator. And who might be the best example of this type of person? Lucas, obviously.

"Will that elevator go fast, slow, or in-between?" the blonde teen would pester Proto Man and .EXE with this somewhat insecure questions. Why is he so concerned, it's not like he would use an elevator to begin with!

"For the most part, elevators go in-between," .EXE answered Lucas' question, as he worked away on the elevator's machinery. Proto Man worked on the interior of the elevator. "Though some elevators go really, really fast!" This definitely didn't please Lucas, who gulped in fright. "Not so long ago, China revealed the fastest elevator in the world, it moves twenty and a half meters per second!"

"It moves even faster than Usain Bolt, how about that!" added Proto Man. That's good and all, but can it move faster than Ninjask, the fastest Pokemon of all time if you don't count the speed form of Deoxys? (On second thought, that sounds highly dangerous and inhumane.)

 **Lucas: Elevators are so scary, they bring people up and down, and there's a strong chance the elevator could snap and... *covers his face with his hands* ...oh, you know what happens next! Master Hand must be out of his mind, wanting to get an elevator, he wants to kill us all! That must have been his ulterior motive since the beginning of time!**

"Yes Cranky Kong, I brushed my teeth this morning - and I flossed them too," Donkey Kong spoke with his grandpa on his cellphone, and he was already getting annoyed by Cranky Kong pestering him. "And I washed my face as well. Nothing to worry about gramps!"

"Good to hear, my good ol' grandson of mine, just keep it up!" Cranky Kong's voice was heard from DK's cellphone. Knowing Cranky, he's probably feigning to whack his grandson on the head with his cane. "Don't forget to eat some bananas before you go to bed, gotta keep that potassium up since you're a gorilla and all! And also don't forget to write that letter to the author, so I can physically appear in this story again! Tired of being mentioned through phone calls!" There goes Cranky breaking the fourth wall again...

"No worries grandpa, I'll write that letter for you sooner than you know it!" No he won't. "I'll talk to you later!" Cranky said his goodbyes, and DK ended the phone call, before letting out a huge sigh of relief. Diddy Kong was right on the money when he previously said Cranky Kong tends to act like a stereotypical Jewish mother. Only thing left for the elderly Kong to do is cook a Jewish dish to perfection.

"Hey DK...you're not...doing anything busy today...are you?" Lucas approached the famous gorilla. Apparently he can't stand the sight of the elevator, just looking at it gives him the heebie jeebies, and he needs to get away from it as far as possible.

"I'm going on a date with my woman, Candy Kong. About to call an uber driver in a minute or so. We're going to eat at a Chinese restaurant downtown, in case you were..."

"Can I come with you please?!" Lucas asked this question out of desperation, and it alarmed Donkey Kong, as well as Proto Man and .EXE. After regaining his composure, Lucas continued: "I've never tried out Chinese food before, and I want to know what it tastes like, and how good it is. I've heard lots of people talk about how Chinese food is the best."

"Not sure if going with me on my date would be a good opportunity for you to try out Chinese food for the first time, but it's still an opportunity nonetheless! Gotta be all dressed up and fancy though, can't go with those everyday clothes on. I gotta look dressed up and fancy myself!"

* * *

"You cool cats want me to be the DJ and entertainer at the wedding?" K.K. Slider said to Mario and Pac-Man, who approached the hippie dog in his room while he was practicing his guitar playing, asking him off the offer presented to him. "That I can do, sounds mellow to me!"

 **K.K. Slider: Being the DJ at Luigi's and Daisy's wedding was great, seeing heroes and villains come together to celebrate the unification of two lovebirds. And Mario's and Peach's wedding will be even greater, and grander, and a whole lot of other things! I have to step up, gotta put on my A-game if I want this wedding to be rockin'! Take huge risks, put everything on the line, and so much more!  
Dark Pit: *from outside* K.K., are you finished using the bathroom yet? Are you even allowed to use the bathroom to begin with, what with you being a dog and all?  
K.K. Slider: Almost done homie, gotta perfect this awesome guitar chord first! *loudly strums his guitar***

"You're also free to-a play any music you-a like at the after party, as long as it fits-a with the wedding setting," Mario said to K.K. Slider, needing to address this provision. K.K. Slider playing screamo bands (i.e. Escape the Fate, Bring Me the Horizon, so forth and so on) at the wedding after party would be a huge no-no. "But I'm-a sure you knew that already!"

"I'll start preparing a list of songs I might play at the party, better to get it out of the way," said K.K. Slider. "If you dudes have anything else you need to ask me, you'll know where to find me!" Mario and Pac-Man departed from the room as K.K. Slider resumed his guitar practice. An awesome guitarist like him always has to hone his skills - after all, practice makes perfect!

"K.K. Slider will be our DJ/entertainer, not a huge surprise there," Pac-Man wrote down the hippie dog's name on a list as he and Mario walked through the halls together. "Daisy will be the floral designer, mainly because she has a strong affinity for flowers...and Cilan of Striaton City will be the cake designer, he and his two brothers will be pitching in. And Xander will be the tentative officiant of the wedding, until further notice. Who did we say was going to be the photographer?"

"One-a of Wario's employees, Mona, has stated she'll-a take time off from-a her photojournalism job and be-a the photographer," replied Mario. Mona may be relatively young (she's still in high school) but she can certainly get the job done. "Mio and-a Mayu Amakura will be our last-a resort options."

"Heard ya loud and clear!" Pac-Man wrote down the names of the two _Fatal Frame_ protagonists, as well as Mona's name, on the list. "Only position left to fill is the caterer, the person who handles the food and whatnot." As Pac-Man went on, he failed to notice that Mario was snatched away by a familiar gloved hand, and dragged inside a room. "Since Cilan agreed to do the cake, I was thinking about..." Pac-Man looked to his right to face Mario...who wasn't even there. "Mario? Where'd you go?"

* * *

Mario would find himself in the movie room, and when he got up, he saw Link, sporting a facial expression full of fear and contempt. What could have possibly gotten the Hylian in this mood?

"Sorry I had to interrupt your wedding planning and bring you here Mario, but there's something that you have to see right away," Link told the plumber, who already felt that his time is being wasted a mere seconds in. "It's...it's...it's the _Super Mario Bros Super Show_ , the one they used to air on TV." And just like that, the fear and contempt that Link felt, Mario instantly felt too.

 **Link: So I was going through the video library in the movie room, looking for a movie for us to watch doing movie night (we haven't done that in a long while), and as I went through the options at hand...that's when I saw it, the _Super Mario Bros Super Show._ I picked up the disc set, and just looked at the cover of Mario and Luigi. Luigi looked normal...ish, but Mario... *shudders***

"I had watched the first five or so episodes by myself, and I thought you might want to see some episodes for yourself," explained Link, prompting Mario to slap the Hylian silly. Would have been more enjoyable for the plumber had be underwent his doctor persona, he's very prone to slapping people as a so-called physician. "Ow what was that for?!"

"Why would-a you want to watch-a that crap for, are you INSANE?!" frowned Mario. "Were you purposely rotting your own brain?"

"I only did it out of intrigue, okay man?! Let's watch an episode or two together, and we'll see how cringeworthy the show is." Just when Link was about to fetch the disc set, Mario held up a finger and opened his mouth... "...and no, we're not gonna band together and expel the show from existence. You already know the trouble we went through with those abysmal CD-i games, it's bad enough when Isabelle had to keep us in check." And in Dr. Mario's office, nonetheless.

Link grabbed the disc set from the shelf of DVDs and whatnot, taking a disc out of one of the cases and inserting it into a DVR, and turned the television on. After the DVR did its usual set-up procedures, it finally began...

"Hey, paisanos, it's the _Super Mario Bros Super Show!"_ Mario's face appeared on a purple background, as the words of the title popped up around him. Then two dudes dressed up as Mario and Luigi - Captain Lou Albano and Danny Wells, respectively - walked into the screen and spat out some _Mario Bros_ -related bars. As they did so, Mario and Link watched the rest of the opening...

"WHO IS THAT UGLY GREEN-A THING I'M SUPPOSED-A TO BE ANTAGONIZING AGAINST?!" Mario pointed at a green, monstrous figure with yellow eyes, horns, claws, and other things required for an evil monster. Opening hasn't ended yet, and Mario has already been triggered by what he has seen.

"That 'ugly green thing' you speak of is King Koopa, a la Bowser," clarified Link, garnering a snuggle bear look from Mario. How can you be considered a Bowser character when you don't even have a spiky shell? "I can see that I have a lot of explaining to do..."

* * *

In addition to an elevator system, the mansion also received another "upgrade" of sorts - a basketball court in the backyard, meant to "promote fitness", as Master Hand had said about this addition. Ten brawlers gathered together on the court - on one side you had Sonic, Shulk, Roy, Young Link, and Little Mac, and on the other side you had Knuckles, Dark Pit, Lloyd, Gil, and Iggy Koopa. Here on this court, ball is life, or whatever the heck that's supposed to mean.

 **Dark Pit: I was jipped in that basketball game on the cruise ship, jipped I tell you! Mario told me repeatedly to only shoot whenever I had the ball...yet he never passed the freaking ball to me in the first place! He kept chucking unnecessary shots like he's some Italian Kobe, and to add insult to injury, a huge majority of his shots missed! Though I did manage to get a couple of points in...Mario better be glad Corrin was an excellent rebounder, if not for him then our team would've been toast...**

 **Knuckles: Everyone knows that I'm gonna be the best player out on the court, regardless of who I'm facing! Wanna know why? It's because I'm black, and black people are renowned for beasting in basketball. No, I'm not trying to make this a racial thing, it's a proven fact - ask yourself this, when was the last time a white player won NBA MVP?...Dirk Nowitzki was MVP in 2007, that lanky, German dude? To be fair, he's married to a Kenyan lady, so he's forever a brother in my book!**

Sonic had the basketball in his hands, and he was being defended by his buddy Knuckles, who apparently thinks he's not only the best defender, but best scorer, passer, rebounder, and everything else, just because he's black. The echidna must be a growing expert at playing the race card.

"Think fast!" Sonic wiggled his way out of Knuckles' suffocating defense, and passed the ball to Dark Pit, who was now being guarded by Iggy Koopa. After trying to g et some wiggle room, Dark Pit had to do what he had to do...

"Iggy fouled me!" the angel dropped the ball and accusingly pointed his finger at the koopa the moment he touched him. "Iggy freaking fouled me! Somebody take him out of the game!"

"Seriously Dark Pit, this again?" Gil shook his head at the angel, for he has gone through the same exact thing - touch Dark Pit, and he'll cry foul, no pun intended. "Just play the game like you're supposed to! You can't get everything you want, you know!"

"But I keep getting fouled for no reason, there must be a conspiracy against me!" Hoo boy, talk about reaching... "I demand a referee to officiate this game this instant!"

Suddenly a giant meteor crash was heard, as the sound of what may be a giant explosion was heard by those on the basketball court. Some individuals remained cool, calm, and collected, while others wetted themselves out of fright. Let's hope that Young Link isn't a part of the latter group.

"Oh man, that was a wicked explosion!" Shulk said what may have been on everyone's minds. "Nearly scared the daylights out of me!"

"Somebody's gotta go over there and check it out," said Iggy Koopa, and in that moment, everyone looked at Lloyd, who eyed around wondering why he has to be the one chosen. Why must he always be thrust in this situations?

"Fine, I'll go investigate, since you guys are too chicken to do it..." the swordsman groaned as he went over to the site of the object that crashed. He saw a giant crater, and what appears to be a tall blue robot in the middle of said crater. But it's how the robot looked that concerned Lloyd the most. "Um, guys, you might wanna check this out..."

"Bet it's just a measly meteor rock, that man's purposefully wasting our time," Sonic said as he grabbed the basketball and led the others to the crash site. Sometimes ball is so life, you gotta bring your basketball everywhere you go, even when your basketball game is temporarily on hold.

"Woah, what is that thing?" Knuckles marveled at the robot, like the others did. "Gotta admit, it kinda looks like Metal Sonic in a way!" Indeed, the robot did look like Metal Sonic, but only taller and with more of a robotic build. Suddenly, the robot's red eyes...or eye, rather, dimmed; Knuckles shrieked like a little girl as he leaped into the arms of Roy.

 **Knuckles: That girly scream I did back there? *scoffs* That was just a figment of your imagination, must have been hearing things. Might be a ghost rummaging around the outskirts of the mansion, that much I'm certain.**

The robot slowly got up, and stretched its arms and legs and whatnot, like Sonic and company warily looked on. The robot then took sight of Sonic, now cowering in fear, and pointed at the hedgehog, like it's declaring him his arch-enemy.

"I have returned for you...I've come, with a vengeance..." the robot uttered, and the fear inside Sonic palpated. What does this robot creature want with him?

"Do I even...know you, or anything?" Sonic asked the robot, backing away. His buddies, valuing their lives and livelihoods to a tee, all followed suit. "Have we ever met before, ever?"

"My name is Mecha Sonic. You have wronged me in the past, and I'm here to correct it! Face me like the man you supposedly are, you craven!"

"RUN!" Shulk shouted at the top of his lungs, as the Homs, Sonic, and the rest of the boys ran away from Mecha Sonic at the speed of light. Obviously Sonic, being the fastest of the bunch, reached the back door of the mansion first; he opened the door, and let his friends inside.

"Whew that was close, that robot thing could have killed us if it had the chance!" remarked Roy as the ten dudes took a quick breather. "You sure you two haven't met before?" The swordsman would ask this question to Sonic, still in disbelief after what had transpired moments ago. He's just as confused as the others!

"Can't say we have, he doesn't ring a bell," responded the hedgehog. "That robot must be a long-lost relative of Metal Sonic's, but probably stronger! Did you see the build that thing had?"

"How'd you boys fare in your little basketball game?" Fiora approached the ten dudes in the dining room, where the back door is. Because where else would you place a back door? "You all sure look tired...didn't tire yourselves out that much, did you?"

"Oh Fiora, it's horrible!" Shulk said exasperatedly to his girlfriend. "An evil robot crash landed near the mansion during our basketball match, and it looked like Metal Sonic, but bigger, and stronger!" The Homs was using vivid hand motions to describe the robot to Fiora, and this made the female Homs doubtful about Shulk's claims.

 **Shulk: Normally I would experiment with newly found robots, but the robot that crash-landed the mansion...was EVIL! It doesn't take a genius to realize that, when its ONLY EYE dimmed, that's when we all knew the robot was evil! And its eye was red too? Red eyes are always a dead giveaway!**

"Pretty sure you're just over-exaggerating, and the robot you speak of is merely harmless," Fiora gave her two cents, cynical about the Mecha Sonic robot being described to her. But Shulk and company weren't gonna let her have it one bit. "You boys are pretty brave, you should have taken on the robot yourselves instead of being a bunch of scaredy cats."

"B-But Fiora, this wasn't no ordinary robot, it looked like a weapon of mass destruction!" Little Mac exclaimed, causing Fiora to roll her eyes. "It could destroy this mansion, blast it into smithereens!"

"Look, I appreciate your vivid imaginations, but it's time to face reality. Staying in the sun for that long must have done something to your brains. Now if you excuse me, I have some stuff to accomplish with Dunban in the kitchen..." And with that, the Homs went to the kitchen, where her older brother awaits. Would he believe Sonic and company's story if Fiora told it to him?

"We're so done for..." Young Link shook his head in dismay. "But we can't be worrisome forever. Maybe if we stay inside the mansion, that Mecha Sonic dude won't bother us or attack us!" Yeah, and if Mecha Sonic attacks the mansion, which is blatantly in his vicinity, what would Young Link and the others do then?

"Yeah it would be for the best if we stayed inside," agreed Sonic. So the ten dispersed, vowing not to go outside for the time being (or unless they have to pee and all the bathrooms are taken). But before Sonic could leave, he looked behind him through a window, and saw Mecha Sonic _staring right at him,_ doing the classic "I'm watching you..." hand gesture. Sonic gulped as he turned around and went forward, hoping to put Mecha Sonic behind him for good.

* * *

"No, Lady Palutena, you can't do this to me, I thought you loved me!" Pit cried out to the goddess of light, his hands grasped around her ankle, as Palutena did her best to walk away, only to drag her lackey with her.

"It's only for the best Pit, either you take care of it or I'll have to take matters in my own hands," replied Palutena, reaching her room. "Your choice." The goddess lifted up her leg, releasing herself from Pit's hold, as she entered her room. Pit laid his face on the floor as he cried his eyes out; eventually his best friend Kirby would come over and see his buddy in a melancholy mood, and offered to reassuringly pat him on the back. Not really the most effective method, but it's the little things that count!

 **Palutena: Pains me to say this, but Pit has to move the wrestling ring out of the dancing room, following an incident that transpired this Tuesday - so what happened was, Pit was training with Link (whom wanted to wrestle no more, until Pit annoyed the heck out of him), and Pit had "inadvertently" slammed Link head-first unto the mat, though Lucario, keeping watch, had told me otherwise and stated that Pit may had done the maneuver solely on purpose. Link thankfully recovered from his injury very quickly - Hylians must have fast recovering tendencies - but I can't take any more risks. As punishment for his actions, I've ordered Pit to remove the wrestling ring A.S.A.P., since Wario apparently can't sell the ring back to where he got it from...now he's moping about some "loose change" he can never retrieve...**

"Pit what seems to be the matter?" Viridi, who happens to be Palutena's roommate (considering these two's conversations in _Kid Icarus: Uprising,_ you gotta wonder what stuff takes place behind that door), walked out of her room to console her boyfriend. "Still sad about that wrestling ring? Cheer up Pitty, there's far more important things to be upset over! Like, um, uh...the upcoming presidential election! One of the worst elections in my opinion!" A huge majority of the American population would agree with that, but alas, someone's gotta win...

"But Viridi, that wrestling ring was my comfort zone, it was like my best friend!" Pit said before seeing Kirby staring at him. "..aside from you Kirby, of course. But I can't just move the ring out of the mansion, my wrestling career was about to blossom! I could have been the next Hulk Hogan, or the next Chris Benoit, or even the next CM Punk!" Funny how the WWE refuses to acknowledge that any of the three dudes Pit mentioned ever existed, although their names will live on forever, thanks to the wonderful advent of the internet.

"Well we can't let the wrestling ring stay in the mansion any longer, lest you want Palutena to punish you for not removing it. It's out with the old, in with the new...that saying has nothing to do with the situation at hand, but it'll work, for now. So how about you stop being such a crybaby, and find a person or two to move the wrestling ring for us?"

"As long as it makes Lady Palutena content," responded Pit, wiping away his tears. "I think I know a good person to ask..."

* * *

"Nah man, count me out, I want nothing to do with removing anything from the mansion," Cloud kindly said to Pit, Viridi, and Kirby after the three went to the fitness center to ask the swordsman, lifting weights and building muscle. "Dumb ring is too big anyways, it's not like I can squeeze it through the door or anything."

"It was worth a shot," Pit and his two compradres walked away from Cloud, who resumed his weight training, before running into King K. Rool, flexing his muscles out in the open. He wasn't running, he wasn't conditioning, he was...flexing, in the middle of the fitness center. "You gonna do that all day Rool?"

"Just for the record kiddies, flexing is actually a legitimate exercise since it builds muscle, according to most bodybuilders and fitness freaks," the Kremling said to the young trio. "Stop making those lovely people look like idiots and fools with those facial expressions you're giving me right now."

 **King K. Rool: Muscle flexing is probably the best muscle building exercise there is - no sweat, no cramps, no picking up things, and no unwanted bodily functions from your butt when you do heavy lifting! (Got a bunch of of embarrassing stories about that, also the reason I stopped weight lifting for good.) Ain't no way I'm telling the others about my secret...although they kinda know already. Soon they'll join me, just you wait and see.**

"We were wondering if you could use those muscles of yours to move the wrestling ring out of the mansion," Viridi said to King K. Rool, who became somewhat interested. He has always wanted to put his muscles into work. "As you might now, my precious Pit had seriously injured Link, and Palutena wants the ring gone for good!"

"Wanna get that wrestling ring out of the dancing room?" said King K. Rool. "That I can do! Follow me kiddies, I'll get that bad boy out in no time!" The Kremling led Pit, Viridi, and Kirby out of the fitness center. Cloud looked on, shaking his head at Pit and his compradres for asking Rool of assistance, before returning to lifting weights. They'll regret their decision later on...

* * *

...like how Mario and Link are regretting watching episodes of the _Super Mario Bros Super Show_ in the movie room. They had just finished one episode, and are now watching another, because they clearly hate themselves that much.

"Why did-a they have to make me and Luigi's voices-a so deep..." griped Mario, forcing himself to watch the "atrocity", or what he believed to be deemed an atrocity, with his eyes. "They sound so-a much like grown men!" So is Mario inferring that he and Luigi _aren't_ grown men?

"They got the sound effects right, so I guess that's a plus," remarked Link, citing the one lone positive he was able to discern from the series in general. "Don't think I can take this episode anymore, let's watch another one and see if it's any good."

Link would ultimately regret the decision he made _big time_ when he pressed the "next" button on the TV remote, moving on to the next episode. The next episode started with the traditional opening, with Mario calling the viewers "paisanos" and Wells and Albano spitting out bars like they're the white Outkast...and after that, a title screen with the words "The Legend of Zelda" in caps, with what appears to be the show's incarnation of Link standing on top of said letters. Link, who was drinking from a water bottle at the time, saw the Link on-screen and did a spit take, spitting water in Mario's face. What happened the title screen didn't do much to help Link's current mood.

"This is the Triforce of Wisdom, Link!" the show's incarnation of Zelda said in the first scene of the opening, walking the show's incarnation of Link into a room with the Triforce - apparently a giant upside-down diamond. Link had to pause, for he had seen enough; time for him to do some hot takes!

"WHY DID THEY GIVE THAT LINK DARK BROWN HAIR, WHAT STUPID IDIOT THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE A LEGIT IDEA?!" the Hylian screamed out at the top of his lungs; Mario looked around to ensure he had ample room to escape in the event Link does an Incredible Hulk impersonation. "AND WHO GAVE ZELDA BLONDE HAIR AND PANTS, THAT WOMAN DOES NOT LOOK LIKE ZELDA AT ALL!"

 **Link: Don't care what anyone says, Zelda is a brunette, no other hair color looks perfect on her. Screw the _Ocarina of Time_ Zelda, _Skyward Sword_ Zelda, and every toon version of Zelda in existence. And don't even get me started on that Zelda from those CD-i games, they're not even canon!**

Link unpaused the television, and continued to watch the rest of the _Legend of Zelda_ theme song against his own will, believing that the Zelda in the show was some Zelda wannabe/poser, and that the real Zelda was likely kidnapped and enslaved by Ganon. (Speaking of whom, the Ganon in the show was a giant boar; Link decided to let this slide, since many Ganondorf incarnations are boar-like species.) Once the infamous "excuse me, princess" line - the very line that perfectly sums up the show's cringe in a big fat nutshell - was uttered, Link buried his face in his hands, not wishing to see what the show has to offer him.

* * *

"It was big and blue and monstrous, it looked like Metal Sonic on steroids!" Little Mac described Mecha Sonic's appearance to Fox (carrying Big Top), Falco, and Doc Louis as the Star Records crew walked through the halls.

"It only had one red eye, an evil eye, and it was glaring down Sonic the WHOLE TIME!" added Knuckles, who was now concerned about Sonic's overall well-being. "Sounds scary, doesn't it?"

"Pfft, Metal Sonic is no problem for Sonic, this Mecha Sonic sounds like no pushover," scoffed Fox. "He sounds like just Metal Sonic, only bigger." Fox and company (except for Little Mac) apparently don't see Mecha Sonic that huge of a threat, though they might change their minds if they saw the robot in person.

"Well look what we got here boys, an elevator!" Doc Louis pointed at an elevator, unattended to by Proto Man and MegaMan .EXE. "Now we don't have to climb up the stairs anymore! Why don't we go inside?"

"Anything over having to go up the stairs to reach the fifth floor so many times!" exclaimed Big Top, who ironically doesn't even have limbs, so he wouldn't even know what it's like to climb stairs, or do pretty much anything save for smiling like a goofball. "Let's go inside and see how it looks!"

So Fox and company entered the elevator, as Falco pressed the button and the elevator doors opened. Once inside, the Star Records bunch marveled at the elevator's interior; Fox saw the set of buttons, and pressed the "5" button as the doors closed. A while later...nothing happened. The elevator didn't even move a single inch!

"Wait, the elevator isn't moving..." Little Mac said after literally nothing happened. "You know what this means...WE'RE STUCK!" Yes, they were all stuck - Fox, Falco, Little Mac, Doc Louis, Big Top, and even the cameraman who dared to follow the bunch into the elevator. They're all stuck inside the contraption, with nowhere to go but the road of utter insanity...and maybe to a certain extent claustrophobia.

 **Proto Man: We're almost about done with the elevator, gotta make sure the cord works and then we're all set!  
MegaMan .EXE: Once we put on the finishing touches on the cord, we're gonna do some test runs to ensure the elevator works properly. Cord snaps, and it's back to square one.  
Toad: Um, excuse me, you two...but aren't you supposed to be ensuring no one goes inside the elevator while you're away on your break?  
Proto Man: *briefly exchanges looks with MegaMan .EXE* Nah, that won't be necessary, nobody would be idiotic enough to go inside a non-working elevator, even Fox and Falco would know better than to do that...**

"We're officially the biggest idiots of all time for going inside a non-working elevator!" shrieked Falco, pulling on the feathers on his head. The others were feeling the same way, though they weren't on the verge of a panic attack. "What were we thinking?!"

"Please tell me I have some chocolate bars left, please tell me I have some chocolate bars left..." Doc Louis repeated to himself as he dug into his pockets for chocolate bars and only pulled out chocolate bar wrappers instead. "Well boys, it's been a real pleasure knowing you fellas, and knowing everyone else in the mansion, it's been a real pleasure..."

"Why is Doc Louis talking like that?" a concerned Fox asked Little Mac, thankful that the elevator has an ample amount of room and space in the event something were to go down. "Why is he speaking in past tense like the end is near?"

"When Doc Louis has no chocolate bars in his possession during situations like these, he has a strong tendency to go full psycho and attack just about everyone," Little Mac had to explain for everyone, as his boxing trainer slowly grew more paranoid and neurotic. "All we can do is hope for the best..."

* * *

Donkey Kong rode inside an Uber car to the venue of his date with Candy Kong, with Lucas quietly sitting in the backseat. Keep in mind that the timid blonde is only coming along just to get away from the elevator; does this mean he won't return to the mansion ever again?

"You sure that kid in the back isn't your child?" the Uber driver asked Donkey Kong, infuriating him with the question. Not his fault that Lucas' mother had to die.

"For the last time, he's not my child, it's not like he's Tarzan and is raised by gorillas!" replied Donkey Kong, annoyed with the questions the Uber driver kept hurling at him concerning why Lucas is even here. "He just wants to try out some Chinese cuisine, that's all!"

"Okay dude, I'll try and take your word for it...but lemme tell ya, when push comes to shove, it wouldn't be a very wise choice to make yourself look like the biggest goofball in front of total strangers, I'm just letting you know..." Donkey Kong was ensure by what the driver meant by that, so he opted to say nothing and lay back in the passenger seat.

 **Donkey Kong: I'm well-prepared for my wonderful date with Candy Kong - got my black tie on, and my white collar on too, so I'm ready to go!...No, I didn't bother trying on any clothes, the suits were too big for me. And those suits all belonged to Ike...now I have to owe that man close to $750. Wario's a very rich guy, if I irritate him enough I can make him cough up some money!**

"We're here, boys," the Uber driver announced as the three arrived at the Chinese restaurant; Donkey Kong and Lucas got out of the car. "Hope you fellas have a fun time on your date!" Will Lucas even be a participant in Donkey Kong's date? The driver was still trying to figure that question out.

"Here's your tip, good sir," Donkey Kong handed the Uber driver his tip - a bunch of bananas. The driver would put DK on full blast for his "tip", but since he's a gorilla, he thought that it was all good. "Have a great day!" And with that, the Uber driver drove away, expecting the next passenger he takes to give him an actual tip, not some lousy fruit. "Let's go inside!"

So Donkey Kong grabbed Lucas's hand (what a wimp...) and walked inside the Chinese restaurant. Lucas, a known introvert, was suddenly taken back at how full the restaurant was. Getting seconds from the Chinese buffet might be a hassle.

"I feel like I wanna go back home now..." the blonde, now regretting coming with Donkey Kong, shivered in fear as he and Donkey Kong walked to the hostess stand, where a waitress was happily waiting for someone to speak with them. Must have waiting for such a long time...

"A table for two please!" Donkey Kong said to the waiter, jotting this information down on a notepad. "And two pink lemonades, if you don't mind!"

"Eating out with your adorably precious human son, huh?" the waitress asked Donkey Kong, angering him in the process. She was sensing a Kerchak-Tarzan vibe from the brawlers, what with Donkey Kong having to hold Lucas's hand like he's a little baby.

"HE IS NOT MY SON, HE JUST WANTED TO COME HERE TO TRY OUT CHINESE CUISINE FOR THE FIRST TIME!" bellowed Donkey Kong, and as he cooled down, he noticed that he instantly caught the attention of literally everyone in the restaurant. Maybe this is what the Uber driver was talking about during the ride... "We have no kindred relations whatsoever, little guy just wanted to come along. I'm supposed to meet my date, Candy Kong, at this restaurant."

"Funny you should mention that, she already came in several minutes before you and already booked a table!" This surprised Donkey Kong, who expected his woman to be showing up a little later. "Want me to make it a table for three, for your son?"

"First of all, this boy is not my son...and secondly, yes I would like a table for three." So the waitress walked Donkey Kong and Lucas (still holding hands) to the table where Candy Kong was sitting at. Those in the restaurant, from the employees working away in the kitchen to those eating their cares away, watched as Donkey Kong continued to hold Lucas, like he was walking him through a school crossing zone. A somewhat embarrassing experience for Donkey Kong, in a way.

 **Waitress: The talking gorilla and his human son are just so cute together, I could just give the both of them a hug! Too bad the gorilla won't acknowledge the blonde boy as his son...but it's okay to be in denial sometimes.**

"Here is your table sir, hope you enjoy the meal!" the waitress said to Donkey Kong after she walked him and Lucas to their table, where Candy Kong sat at. Instead of the pink tank top and shorts that composed of their everyday attire, the blonde gorilla wore a some fancy pink dress - a dress that would make Donkey Kong's heart flutter in love.

"Didn't expect you to be bringing your son to our date," Candy Kong smirked, eyeing at a nervous Lucas as he and Donkey Kong took a seat. DK was internally hoping that his girlfriend was only joking around. "Surely you weren't seeing other women - _human_ women - were you?" She has to be joking, it would be the only way for Donkey Kong to wiggle himself out of the situation.

"Of course I'm not seeing human women, that was Cranky Kong's doing!" replied Donkey Kong. "This blonde lad you see before you is Lucas, and as you can see by his mannerisms, he's a very shy fellow. His mother died, and he's been shaken ever since her death."

"So you _have_ been seeing some human ladies while I was away..." Candy Kong smirked even harder, getting into Donkey Kong's skin. Why, oh why, did he have to bring up Lucas's mother for?

"You know what, why don't we grab some grub?" Donkey Kong got up, and Candy Kong and Lucas followed suit. Perfect time for him to change the subject to something else. "My stomach's growlin' for some food!"

* * *

Mr. Game and Watch strolled through the mansion, doing his daily maintenance work, making his signature sounds along the way, when he heard the cries of Fox and company from inside the elevator nearby. The 2-D man quickly heard the cries from help, and sought to bring attention to those stuck inside the elevator, though their cries were somewhat faint. Mr. Game and Watch saw Mewtwo float by, sulking about life and his upbringing. Sucks to be a genetically created Pokemon at times.

"Yes Mr. Game and Watch, I can clearly see the elevator that Proto Man and MegaMan .EXE are supposedly working on, please contain your excitement," the Psychic Pokemon said to the 2-D, who was making his beeping sounds louder than before as he tried to stress the fact that Fox and company are actually trapped inside the contraption, only to see Mewtwo float away. Soon King Dedede appeared, and Mr. Game and Watch did the same thing to grab his attention.

"Oh yeah, I'm pretty ecstatic about the elevator too, beats going up and down the stairs all day!" King Dedede said to Mr. Game and Watch, perceiving the 2-D's man outward nature as excitement when in actuality he's concerned about the five individuals trapped inside the elevator. (Seven, if you want to count Big Top and the poor cameraman who followed the group inside.)

 **King Dedede: An elevator in the mansion has been long, LONG overdue, should have been installed eons ago! You wouldn't believe the countless amount of times I passed out going up the stairs, and the Waddle Dees that accompany me do nothing but poke my face, like I'm some dead fish floating on the water surface.**

"Proto Man and MegaMan .EXE should have been back by now, the elevator looks very close to completion..." Olimar was the latest to walk by the elevator, and also the latest to notice Mr. Game and Watch's overall concern for the individuals stuck inside the elevator. How will be able to get the word out, without using beeping sounds?

* * *

Chrom was on a computer in the library, chatting with Raven (y'all know who she is) online, while his daughter Lucina was happily reading a book with Robin, because that's what most couples do. Just then, Sonic hurriedly ran inside the library, boarding the library doors with wood. The kind of stuff that usually happens in cartoons.

"What seems to be the problem, Sonic?" Gil the de facto librarian asked the hedgehog; Chrom, Lucina, and Robin all looked up to see Sonic now blockade the doors with book shelves. "Amy hasn't returned to her crazy obsessive psychopath girlfriend self, did she?"

"Oh man, it's even worse than that, much, much worse!" Sonic replied after he was done blockading the library doors. "An evil robot named Mecha Sonic is out to get me, and he won't stop his reign of terror until he eradicates me - for good!" Gil and company looked at one another for a very brief moment...before bursting out into fits of laughter.

"Certainly this must be one of your crazy dreams, it sounds way too good to be true," remarked Lucina. "A robot that has no relations with Dr. Eggman bent on destroying you? Are you sure Yoshi hasn't been feeding your brain with ideas?"

"Guys I'm not making this up, it's true, it's all true!" Yet everyone was still laughing at the hedgehog. "He really wants to kill me, we gotta do something!"

"Well we have to see this 'Mecha Sonic' robot in person to believe you," said Robin after he was finished laughing, wiping away a tear. "Sounds to me like you've become paranoid..."

Suddenly Mecha Sonic crashed through one of the library's windows, crashing into Robin and knocking him down in the process. The mage was hurt as he fell to the floor, clutching his arm in agonizing pain.

"Your end is fastly approaching..." the robot pointed at Sonic, marking his prey. The hedgehog's legs quivered, and his heart was beating fast. "Prepare to say your last words, you worthless craven..."

 **Mecha Sonic: Now is the time for Sonic to be fully avenged for what he has done me...he may have defeated me in the past, but the tables shall be turned this time around...**

"Nobody harms my friend and gets away with it!" Chrom angrily got up from his seat and charged after Mecha Sonic, who fired a laser at the prince, sending him flying towards a bookshelf. Lucina gasped as she ran over to her father to ensure he was okay.

"Your fear only makes me stronger, and more powerful..." Mecha Sonic said to Sonic as he marched towards him. Gil ran to the robot in an ill-advised attempt to stop him, only to suffer the same fate as Chrom. He should have known that was coming. "Keep showing me your fear...it is nothing but fuel for the beatdown I shall bring forth upon you..."

"Leave me alone man, I don't want nothing to do with you!" Sonic quickly moved the shelves out of the way and removed the wood from the library doors, before bursting out of the library and speeding away. But Mecha Sonic, being just as fast as Sonic, if not faster, was hot on the hedgehog's heels...

* * *

"A one...and a two...and a three!" Using his superior muscles, King K. Rool lifted up the wrestling ring, but only got a mere inches of it off of the floor before lifting it back down. Pit, Kirby, Viridi, and Lucario (Pit's former wrestling "mentor") watched the Kremling's many efforts. "This ring might be too much for my caliber, I don't think I can get it out of the dancing room in due time..."

"Aw shucks, if we don't get this ring outta here, Lady Palutena is gonna kill me!" Pit freaked out, fearing the wrath of the goddess of light. Has anyone ever feared Palutena outside of Smash matches? "I'm so done for..."

"To be fair, this was kinda your fault, you're the one who practically begged to Palutena about wanting a wrestling ring, and eventually she got you one," stated Lucario. "And after that injury scare involving Link which you were at the hands of, the wrestling has to be removed, since nobody else really uses it outside of Little Mac." The boxer has other venues for training, so he wouldn't be slighted at all about the removal of the wrestling ring.

 **Lucario: Thought I had warned Pit a while ago...I said to him during our training that a freak injury, or ANY injury for that matter, would result in the removal of the wrestling ring, and the end of his wrestling career. In addition to wrestling, Pit is pretty reckless at everything else - running, driving (see: Jacky Bryant's car), and even eating. He displays zero manners at the dinner table, and it's especially embarrassing when we invite someone to come over for dinner. Angels are supposed to be angelic, and good, and wholesome...but Pit is the complete opposite.**

"Still didn't get the wrestling ring out of the mansion?" Cloud stood at the door to the dancing room, asking Pit and company. He wanted to stop by following his rigorous weight lifting to see if Rool helped Pit get the job done...and in no way was he surprised.

"It's a lot tougher than it seems; evidently the ring is pretty wide, so squeezing it out of the door would be no good," Lucario explained to Cloud. "Rool is already having trouble just lifting up the wrestling ring off of the floor!"

"Why don't you have Kirby suck up the ring and spit it out of the mansion, that would be the easier thing to do!" Cloud has a valid point - as proven throughout _Smash Life,_ Kirby can suck up just about anything, no matter how big or small it may be, though there may be a few exceptions.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Pit exclaimed as he snapped his fingers, like he was the one who conjured the idea. "You're a genius Cloud!" Either Cloud is a genius, or he's just reasonable in most situations. We'll go with the latter...for now.

 **Viridi: I knew having Kirby suck up the wrestling ring and spit it out outside would have been a more feasible idea, but I wanted Pit to figure that one out on his own... *sighs lovingly* I just find it so precious and cute when he puts on his thinking cap and tries to be smart for once...**

"Alright Kirby, what are you waiting for, suck up that wrestling ring!" Rool said to the pink puffball, who did as he was told. Kirby sucked up the ring will all his might, and eventually it ended up in his mouth. Seconds later, Sonic came crashing through the wall, landing on his back, as Mecha Sonic walked through the hole he had created.

"Pathetic little hedgehog you are, running away from danger..." the robot taunted Sonic as he slowly got up. "Some lousy hero you're supposed to be..." Sonic ran past Cloud and out of the dancing room as Mecha Sonic chased after him, leaving the swordsman and everyone else bewildered. Some even thought Mecha Sonic was Metal Sonic, only with an upgrade.

"Must be that time of the month, huh?" remarked Pit. Kirby ran out of the dancing room, likely chasing after Mecha Sonic. "Kirby where are you going?!"

* * *

"What do you think of my new hair dryer, isn't it so remarkable and effective?" Peach asked Zelda as the two princesses walked through the mansion.

"It's just like the other hair dryer you had, it's practically the same brand..." replied Zelda. Peach is relatively prone to buying items she doesn't need, like hair dryers - she already has close to ten of 'em. "You should start saving your money for something useful Peach, you'll end up being broke with the spending you're doing."

"I'm a princess, so everything will be okay!" So just because Peach is a royal ruler of a kingdom, she's not going to suffer from any monetary issues? That's not how it's supposed to work... "The Toads manage my finances, they'll keep everything in check!"

"Whatever you say, Peach, whatever you say..." Zelda and Peach arrived at the movie room, seeing the door creaked open; Zelda peered inside and saw Mario and Link, watching episodes of the _Super Mario Bros Super Show_ because of how much they want to spite themselves. "Why don't we go see what our boys are up to?"

So Zelda and Peach walked inside the movie room and saw Mario and Link watching the _Super Mario Bros Super Show_ on the television screen, and judging by the looks of their faces, both men were suffering from what they were forcing themselves to watch. Their eyes could literally burn and melt away at any minute.

 **Zelda: After the whole ordeal concerning Mario, Link, and those abysmal CD-i games, I had to hide the _Super Mario Bros Super Show_ disc set away in the movie room, under the fear that those two would elicit a similar negative response. As it would turn out, they discovered the disc set, and "tortured" themselves by watching the episodes. I guess some men may never learn...**

"You know you boys could just stop watching if you had the chance!" smiled Peach as she grabbed the TV remote, lying on the armrest of Link's chair. Just then, Sonic came crashing through the television, breaking it in the process, as he fell onto the floor. Peach and company looked in shock as Mecha Sonic marched out of the gaping hole in the television, his eyes still set on destroying his arch-nemesis.

"Yes, we're saved, we're-a saved!" Mario cheered. Could have saved his own self by stopping the DVR, but that would have been too much work for him and Link.

"Can't we just hug it out man, there's no need for this senseless violence!" Sonic proposed to Mecha Sonic, slowly getting up although the pain was wracking his bones. "Why not settle of a truce, and put this whole shingding behind us!" Too bad Mecha Sonic isn't the type to come to terms with peaceful agreements.

"No hugs necessary, only pain..." Mecha Sonic snarled as he leaped down from the television. "Your pain shall be my utmost gain..." Sonic sped out of the movie room, and Mecha Sonic, right on cue, followed after the hedgehog. Kirby would pop out of the hole in the television and chase after Mecha Sonic, leaving Mario and the others to worry about the now broken television.

"Told you we should have bought a spare wide-screen television set..." Link murmured to Mario, not at all concerned about Sonic being chased by a dangerous robot.

* * *

Several brawlers gathered around near the elevator, where Mr. Game and Watch was moving about, trying to get their attention. Fox and company were still stuck inside the elevator, though no one could hear their muffled cries for help.

"I have never seen Mr. Game and Watch this excited during my time at the mansion, obviously he cares very much about the new addition of the elevator!" remarked Wii Fit Trainer. Yeah, totally not like a bunch of dudes are trapped inside...

"Mr. Game and Watch is a maintenance guy, so evidently he likes the idea of an elevator," added Alph, also failing to see the 2-D man's overall concern, just like everyone else. "I just wish he could stop making those annoying beeping sounds..."

"That's it, I can't go this longer without any chocolate!" Doc Louis boomed from inside the elevator, alarming the brawlers. The sound of the boxing trainer ripping his shirt off was sounded. "All you fellas are gonna pay!"

 **MegaMan .EXE: Master Hand will be very proud of us when we finish up on the elevator, he'll probably reward us by not "punishing" us for an entire week! That would be REALLY nice.  
** **Proto Man: Yeah man, I can't wait to see how excited he will be when he tries out the elevator for the first time. *pauses* Now that I mention it... *quickly walks away, with MegaMan .EXE following him***

"Oh no, Doc Louis must be inside that elevator, with Fox and the rest of the gang!" fretted Nana; she knew Fox and company were stuck inside the contraption, for she hadn't seen them all day. "We all know how Doc Louis can be when he doesn't eat chocolate for a certain period of time..."

"Let's see if ripping the elevator doors will do the trick!" Ryu walked up to the elevator doors, and attempted to pry them open with his hands, but to no avail. "These doors are practically closed shut, not even my own strength can pry them open!"

"Alright, what seems to be the issue?" Proto Man asked as he and MegaMan .EXE arrived at the scene, sensing something was up when they saw the brawlers gathered around the elevator. "Did someone get stuck inside the elevator?"

"Doc Louis and the rest of the Star Records affiliates entered the elevator, and now they're trapped inside!" explained Toon Link, as the sounds of Doc Louis beating up on those inside the elevator were heard from the elevator doors. "They had went inside long before the elevator could have been completed...though none of this wouldn't have happened if you two just finished it already. Where were you guys the whole time?"

"We were on our lunch break, working away on the elevator is tough work," responded MegaMan .EXE. His response greatly perplexed many of the brawlers, and for obvious reasons.

"But you two are both robots, why would you need a lunch break for? You don't even eat nor drink!" Proto Man and MegaMan .EXe looked down at the floor in shame, for Toon Link was indeed right. They just wanted to get away from the tiresome work of building the elevator, and their absence resulted in the problem at hand.

"He's gonna get me, he's gonna get me!" Sonic soon showed up, running at the speed of light before coming to a stop at the elevator, where Mr. Game and Watch would move out of the way to avoid the hedgehog. Sonic turned around, and saw Mecha Sonic evilly marching towards him, as the brawlers warily looked on.

"What a great place for you to die, in front of your friends and peers..." uttered the evil robot, as Sonic held on to Mr. Game and Watch for dear life. Will anyone save Sonic and potentially risk their lives, or let Mecha Sonic take care of his deed for good?

Help would work in Sonic's favor, when Kirby defiantly approached Mecha Sonic. The robot turned around and saw the pink puffball glaring at him, his mouth full, before reverting his attention back to Sonic. He views Kirby as only a minor threat, how could some preciously cute creature take care of him? Mecha Sonic seemingly scoffed at this very idea.

 **Cloud: One thing I will say about Kirby...when the chips are on the line, and peril is about to strike, that pink puffball everyone finds cute and adorable and all that crap will rise up to the occasion and save the day. I had seen what he was capable of when he took out that Magalor freak and his buddies, and he just might do the same thing with the robot chasing after Sonic. Kirby is a living textbook example of never judging a book by its cover.**

"Your time is now up Sonic, say goodbye to your friends forever..." Mecha Sonic walked over to Sonic, now cowering in fear, as the brawlers looked on. Some wanted to stop Mecha Sonic, others wanted the robot to teach Sonic a lesson in being a jerk - though that lesson would result in instant death, which they did not want.

Once Mecha Sonic was standing over Sonic (and to a lesser extent, Mr. Game and Watch), it was time for Kirby to strike; the pink puffball spat out the wrestling ring he had inside his mouth for so long, and spat it at Mecha Sonic; Sonic and Mr. Game and Watch got out of the way as the ring struck Mecha Sonic, sending him into the elevator and breaking it open in the process. The robot laid inside the spacious elevator, entangled within the now jumbled up wresting ring, as Doc Louis and company looked out, seeing the opening in front of them.

"Freedom, freedom at last!" Fox, who was battered and bruised at the hands of Doc Louis, ran out of the elevator; Falco, Little Mac, Doc Louis, Knuckles, and the cameraman, all of whom met the mighty hands of Doc Louis and ended up in a similar state as Fox, quickly followed suit. "It feels great to taste freedom!" Fox was now hugging Proto Man, slightly unnerving the robot. "You had no idea what it was like, trapped inside that elevator! It was torture!"

"At least you and your dudes are happy and content," smiled Proto Man, gently pushing Fox away from him. "Sorry MegaMan .EXE and I didn't finish up on the elevator, had we done so instead of taking our stupid break, you all wouldn't have ended up in that predicament."

"Nah man, it's all good, we all learned our lesson, no harm was done..." Fox looked down at his buddy Falco, who was being all extra by kissing the floor. It wasn't like he was suspended in the air for long periods of time or anything.

"Say, who's this strange Sonic-looking robot fella in the elevator?" Doc Louis saw a now out-of-commission Mecha Sonic inside the elevator, stuck between the remnants of the wrestling ring. The boxing trainer retrieved the robot from the elevator, and held him up for everyone to see.

"That's Mecha Sonic, he wanted to kill me for now reason, and he chased me throughout the mansion until he accomplished his goal!" explained Sonic, overjoyed that he no longer has to worry about a killjoy robot seeking for his head. "He came from the sky and crash landed near the mansion, and he had his eyes set on me ever since he landed on Earth!"

"How about we send this Mecha Sonic fella back to where he came from...anyone got a catapult of some sort I can use?"

* * *

 **Donkey Kong: My date with Candy Kong has been splendid...well, save for the moments when Candy would ridicule me and ask me if Lucas is my human son. Why must everyone assume I'm a father to Lucas, why must Lucas be so short and child-like for a teenager? I personally blame the _Earthbound_ sprites for making him look like who he is...**

"Enjoying the Chinese food Lucas, buddy ol' pal?" Donkey Kong asked Lucas, who was nearly full after eating several plates of Chinese cuisine. "That Chinese food sure does taste great when you try it out for the first time, amirite?"

"To tell you the honest truth, Donkey Kong..." Lucas started off before learning forward, wanting to whisper something into the gorilla's ear. "...this isn't my first time eating Chinese food, I've had it before. I just wanted to get away from the mansion, the sight of the elevator Proto Man and MegaMan .EXE were building was giving me the creeps..." Donkey Kong nodded his head thoughtfully, unsure how to reply to a young teen who has a phobia of elevators.

"I understand where you're coming from Lucas, but you can't be scared of the elevator forever, it's gonna be there for a ridiculously long time. And there's gonna be an elevator on every floor! You gotta conquer your fear of elevators eventually, since you'll see them on a daily basis."

"You're right DK, I can't let elevators get the best of me, can't be a scaredy cat forever...thanks for the kind words." Donkey Kong responded with a smile and a rubbing on Lucas's head. What would be the point of Lucas being scared of some lousy elevator, it's not like it'll go away for good!

"Surprised I never received a gift or anything, I expected much better from you," Candy Kong said to Donkey Kong. The gorilla was getting all panicky - why did he forget to buy a gift for Candy on their date? It would be a symbol of love, and would prove to Candy that he still loves her very much.

Before Donkey Kong could give Candy Kong a valid answer, Mecha Sonic crashed through the roof of the Chinese restaurant and landed on Donkey Kong's and Candy Kong's table, most likely at the hands of Doc Louis. Everyone in the restaurant looked on, either out of intrigue or just because they wanted to be noisy. Surely you've encountered the latter group many times during your life. Seeing the robot sprawled out on the table, Donkey Kong instantly knew what to do...

"Ta-daa, brought you a robot...maid!" the gorilla exclaimed, expressively holding his arms out wide to please Candy Kong. "Looks like it arrived on very late notice, so sorry about that. And it looks like it ran out of juice, too! Once you get this bad boy up and working again, you can make it do your every little bidding; it can be your personalized Alfred Pennyworth! So what do you think?"

"You wanna know what I think?" asked Candy Kong; Donkey Kong, now sweating profusely, eagerly nodded his head. "I LOVE IT!" Candy Kong reached over to give a huge to Donkey Kong, catching him off surprise, as everyone in the Chinese restaurant applauded and cheered on for the couple. Donkey Kong might have saved his relationship with Candy Kong, somehow in some way...

 **Candy Kong: Life running a music shop can be hard at times, especially being the only person on the job...but with the robot Donkey Kong gave me, I can make it do all the work, while I can be the manager and slack off all day long! Always knew Donkey Kong knows what's best for me!**

"The gift is a somewhat impromptu gift, but I'm glad you like it," Donkey Kong said to Candy Kong as she continued to hug her man. Diddy Kong probably wishes Dixie Kong could do the same to him.

"I know that you brought me that gift out of love, there's no other explanation," replied Candy Kong. "I'm certain your son pitched in as well..." Oh, when will Candy Kong ever learn...

"Lucas is not my...never mind." Donkey Kong, how much he wanted to prove Candy wrong, decided instead to let him and his woman have their little moment.

* * *

Later in the day, around evening time, Proto Man and MegaMan .EXE had completed the mansion's elevator system, working tirelessly without taking a single break whatsoever. By the time they were done, there was an elevator on every floor on the mansion for the brawlers to access, and Mario and Pac-Man just so happened to walk out of the elevator on the third floor, continuing where they had left off from their wedding planning.

"It's been made official, Dunban will be the caterer at the wedding," Pac-Man discussed with Mario, having already written the Homs' name down on the list. "Spoke with him while you and Link were 'torturing' yourselves, as Peach and Zelda had told me. Still not sure how Dunban will carry out his role, given that he has one working arm..."

"He'll-a find a way, he usually does," replied Mario. He and Pac-Man walked past Sonic, who was thanking Kirby for saving him from Metal Sonic.

"Thanks a bunch for taking care of Mecha Sonic for me, I really owe you one bud!" the hedgehog thanks the pink puffball, holding out his hand. Kirby happily shook his hand, enjoying it a lot more than he should. Sonic looked over to his right and saw Lucas, boldly standing in front of an elevator. The teen was trembling at the mere sight of the elevator, so "boldly" would be a night overstatement. "You know you can't conquer your fear of elevators just by looking at them, Lucas!"

"B-B-But I don't wanna go inside them, the cord might snap and I'll plummet to my death!" Lucas freaked out. Has he been watching random videos of elevator malfunctions online or something?

"The cord won't snap at all, trust me! Your paranoia is the reason for your phobia of elevators in general. Maybe if you man up and go inside one, you won't be so scared of them! What do you think about that, Kirby?" The pink puffball was on board with the idea, as evidenced by him nodding his head.

"I don't wanna do that..." It was too late for Lucas, as Sonic pressed a button to open up the elevator doors and threw Lucas inside, and him and Kirby entered soon thereafter. Once Sonic pressed the "1" button on the elevator, the contraption went down to the first floor, where the hedgehog, Lucas, and Kirby would peacefully exit, without be harmed by any means.

"See man, was that so hard, you were acting like the elevator was gonna drop and crash the moment I pressed the button! And look where we are, the three of us are in one piece, no broken bones or anything!"

"You're right Sonic, that elevator ride was...peaceful, to be honest with you. Don't know why I was freaking out for." With that, Lucas was now fully content with elevators, and not morbidly afraid of them like he was at the beginning of the episode.

After all, what's there to be afraid of?


	44. Episode 44: Heroism

_Author's Note:_

 _Lot of guest reviews to answer this time around, first anonymous review:_

 _"Can you do one [chapter] where bowser sits on sonic or where they are stuck together"_

 _Someone must be very interested in Sonic and Bowser interacting with one another...I can do a chapter where the two are stuck together. Don't know if I'll do one where Bowser sits on Sonic...that would be weird. Second anonymous review:_

 _"I don't know if I'm bothering you (really sorry if I am) but I have this weird idea in my mind... Like what if Mario forces a bunch of dudes in the mansion to form some sort of K-pop boy band (cuz he saw how phenomenal they have become recently) or something and set up some concert to raise funds for the mansion (but also partly for his wedding lol)? Lol wat lol_

 _"Also, I was that kid who recommended the Mario and Zelda cartoon thing... Really now, thanks for doing it, and I've really been enjoying this fanfic! Keep up the good work!"_

 _Glad that you enjoyed Mario and Link reacting to the Super Mario Bros Super Show and that cringeworthy Legend of Zelda cartoon. Funny thing is, I've had the idea of Mario starting a k-pop boy band for the longest now, only problem is deciding on who the members would be._

 _"I also forgot to mention that Jin (BTS) is obsessed with Mario lol_

 _/OH GOD I CANT BELIEVE IM FORCING KPOP DOWN YOUR THROAT IM SORRY"_

 _No it's perfectly fine...my two older sisters love k-pop and I've been pretty "exposed" to the genre over the years (it's gotten to the point when I've now developed a crush of Sooyong, from Girls Generation), so it's all good. Last anonymous review:_

 _"I like this fanfic. Can u make an episode where the chain chomps run loose terrorizing the smashers and include the tekken crew visit heihachi."_

 _Frankly I might put both suggestions on hold, especially the second one. Might hold off visits from video game characters from different franchises, who knows. Now we have someone named Shadow fan, with a character suggestion:_

 _"Needs more Shadow!"_

 _Shadow the Hedgehog, eh? The original plan was to have just Amy Rose appear as a recurring character from the Sonic franchise, but I suppose I can make some room for Shadow. Next up is Shadow 123456:_

 _"Needs more Shadow!"_

 _Hold up, is this the same person as Shadow fan? Man, you folks are so persistent...not that it's a bad thing or anything. Lastly we have Darth Sigma 86, who I contacted with via private messaging:_

 _"I think I have three more Ideas for you.(they can be separate,and I can wait)_  
 _1:Snake is still in Jail ( since the prison he is in is unknown, let's just say that he is in the prison Island from sonic Adventure 2)and Bayonetta is bored to death (and lonely)with no roommate to flirt and heard that Prison Island's guard are the elite of the elite on their out of boredom (loneliness)and the thrill for a challenge she decides to make a rescue operation to get snake out of there and back to the mansion with immunity (thanks to Master Hand).But she will be accompanied by the dynamic duo of Pit and Kirby in this Mission (XD)_  
 _2:Samus and Wolf coincidentally lost a bet to their best friends and they are doomed to work together to this time create a Anime OVA of comedy and cuteness (the anger in Samus's face XD)_  
 _3:Marth decides to create a Romance Club in the Mansion to teach the ways on how to get a lady to like you,and his first 4 students are none other than:_  
 _Captain Falcon,Chrom,Ganondorf and Wario._  
 _So...pretty cool huh?"_

 _First idea sounds great, second idea has some potential, and the third idea...just splendid. I haven't used Marth that much ever since Luigi's wedding, so hopefully I can put the third idea into action soon._

* * *

 **Episode 44: Heroism**

Mr. Game and Watch has always been underappreciated as a housekeeper of the Smash Mansion. This 2-D man that we all know and love could be considered a Mr. Do-It-All - he cleans the mansion floors, keeps the kitchen tidy, dusts off the windows, and everything a housekeeper was meant to do, and then some.

Yet none of the brawlers don't seem to commend him for his work; whenever they see Mr. Game and Watch cleaning away in the bathroom, they don't say, "Wow Mr. Game and Watch, you're such a great housekeeper, perhaps the housekeeping GOAT, keep up the good work!" (Okay, so they wouldn't call him the housekeeping GOAT, but it would make his job performance even better.) All the 2-D man receives instead of an encouraging remark would a mere smile or grin.

But today, Mr. Game and Watch would have his work cut out for him. With Mario travelling with Pac-Man to pay Cilan (the man who'll bake the wedding cake with his brothers) a visit, Master Hand needed someone to take over the reigns of the famous plumber while he was away - and he had one person in mind. The creator of the Smash Universe would come across Mr. Game and Watch in the hallway, dusting a painting of Ganondorf.

"Ah, Mr. Game and Watch, just the guy I needed to see!" Master Hand approached the 2-D man, startling him. "Not sure if you know about this already, but Mario went with Pac-Man to see the man who'll be baking the wedding cake for the wedding, Cilan. With Mario's absence, I need someone to take his place while he's away - and that someone is you!" Mr. Game and Watch looked shocked as he pointed at himself, wondering why him of all people was chosen. "Normally I would select Luigi to fill the role, but he's a man in love, and I can't disturb him by any means!"

 **Master Hand: Mario had told me that he was leaving the mansion on a very short notice - he likely told me his decision late on purpose, because he fears me that much. But I don't blame him for thinking that way, I can be a very frightening being at times, sometimes I even frighten myself!**

"Now, now, please contain your excitement, I know you're more than excited about being the temporary man of the mansion," Master Hand said to Mr. Game and Watch, still very much confused about the proposition proposed to him. He has never been in charge of anything, so to be in charge of close to a hundred people? Sounds like a daunting task for the 2-D man, but no task is too daunting for him. "But I know that you can do the job - just make sure everything is decent and in order, and that everyone is content, and that's pretty much it." So it's like a housekeeping job, except you have to be a people person and relate with the mansion residents. "If you need anything, ring that bell of yours and let Isabelle know. I'm about to go check on Crazy Hand, so I expect the mansion to be unchanged and in one piece by the time I return. Don't let me down!"

Master Hand disappeared, going to Crazy Hand's home and see if that five-fingered loon has been keeping himself sane, or at the very least trying to keep himself sane. Knowing Crazy Hand, it's difficult for him to act normal, even for a single nanosecond.

* * *

With Mario gone, and Master Hand gone as well, Mr. Game and Watch knew what to do - he occupied Master Hand's room, doing things like bouncing on his bed, taking care of some important tasks, but mostly bouncing on the bed like a little child. You'd do the same thing if Master Hand wasn't in his room.

"Hello Mr. Game and Watch, enjoying your time as the man of the mansion?" Isabelle asked as he entered the room, only to see the 2-D man bouncing on top of Master Hand's bed. "...i'll take your current actions as a definite yes! However, your job isn't all fun, there's some responsibilities you have to take care of. Why don't you come with me and we'll go through the mansion and see what you're up against?"

So Mr. Game and Watch hopped off of the bed and followed Isabelle, eager to see what responsibilities he'll have to deal with...

* * *

...and Pit being an utter fool certainly must not be one of them. But alas, it is, as Isabelle showed Mr. Game and Watch the angel in the bathroom, with the Black Knight pulling a plunger off of his face. We're not even going to delve into how this instance came to fruition.

"THE PLUNGER IS EATING MY FACE!" Pit cried as the Black Knight tried his best to pry the plunger off of the angel's face, but to no avail. "I CAN'T SEE A SINGLE THING, I MUST BE GOING BLIND! I DON'T WANNA END UP LOOKING LIKE A NERD!" In that case, what does that make someone like Bayonetta?

 **Black Knight: Pit getting his face stuck inside a plunger hasn't been the first time of such an instance...usually whenever he unclogs the toilet, he checks underneath the plunger for any "tiny extraterrestrials" that might be living inside the plunger...and you probably know what happens after that. You would think that Pit would have realized that there's no such thing as the "plunger people", as he would call these imaginary folks, living in the plunger, but I'm very confident that kid will write a publicized book on his findings, whenever they may come.**

"Stay still Pit, just a few more tugs and..." the Black Knight pulled on the plunger handle multiple times, before getting the plunger off of Pit's face. "There we go!" Pit fell backwards and landed in the bathroom tub, rubbing his now sore posterior. "You didn't hurt yourself, did you? Ah well, that's what you get for your silly shenanigans."

"As you can see, Pit isn't exactly the brightest person there is, so he has to be kept in check," Isabelle explained to Mr. Game and Watch as the 2-D man took the plunger from the Black Knight. "He may more of a hassle later on throughout the day, but you're the man of the mansion, so you won't have a problem with..."

"YOU'RE the man of the mansion?" the Black Knight exclaimed at Mr. Game and Watch. "Is Mario out of town or something?" The knight then looked towards Isabelle, who nodded her head. "In that case, Mr. GW, why not a little proposition?"

"Your proposition will have to wait until later, Black Knight, I'm going over Mr. Game and Watch's role during Mario's and Master Hand's absence. Master Hand went off to see Crazy Hand, in case you were wondering. Ready to go, Mr. Game and Watch?" The 2-D man followed Isabelle out of the bathroom, as the Black Knight looked on, feeling saddened.

* * *

Isabelle took Mr. Game and Watch upstairs to the fifth floor of the mansion, where Star Records lie. The two arrived at the Star Records room, where Fox and Falco were doing Fox and Falco things, like doing parkour indoors.

"PARKOUR!" Fox shouted out at the top of his lungs as he jumped on a wall and jumped right off, thinking he's the next Naruto Uzumaki or something. Falco did some parkour too, getting on a table and sliding across, just to get to the other side. That's some very amateur parkour right there.

"You gettin' this on camera, Doc Louis?" Falco asked the boxing trainer as he and Fox continued to do parkour throughout the room. Doc Louis was indeed filming Fox and Falco on a digital camera...and was also filming himself eating chocolate. Someone should tell him that "Mukbang" isn't that huge in the Americas.

"Sure am Falco, my man, this stuff is gonna go viral in a week!" exclaimed Doc. With a combination of a fox and bird doing what they believe is parkour, and an overweight black man nonchalantly eating chocolate, anything is possible these days on the interwebs.

 **Fox: Parkour is not an easy thing to do in itself - it involves maneuvering while using a wide variety of ninja-like tactics.  
** **Falco: In order to gain the full scope of parkour, we had to ask a certain ninja to give us a few pointers, and she hesitantly obliged...**

 **Sheik: *scratching the back of her head* Um, yeah, Fox and Falco apparently told me that they were doing parkour, and they wanted to know how to "move like a ninja", which they feel is what parkour is all about - although they're entirely wrong. There's not really that much ninja moves required, you just have to get from Point A to Point B as creatively as possible, then you're doing parkour. So if Fox and Falco can successfully get from Point A (their own delusions) to Point B (the emergency room) with as many moves required, then technically they're doing it right...and strangely enough, I wish them the best in their parkour endeavors.**

"I want you also to keep a close eye out for Fox and Falco, as they exhibit their...unique mannerisms," Isabelle explained to Mr. Game and Watch as she and the 2-D man watched the Star Fox pilots continue to do their thing, a couple of so moves from reaching Point B - and you already know what Point B is. "You can let me know if they seriously hurt themselves, the mansion's house phone as 9-1-1 on its speed dial." Even isabelle knows the pilots will eventually reach Point B in due time.

"Hey Isabelle, over here!" Fox called out to the shih tzu, though he ignored him, refusing to follow up the pilot. "Hey Isabelle, come watch this! You seeing this Isabelle?" Isabelle would end up surrendering to Fox, sighing as she looked at the fox's way. "Check this out!" Fox jumped off of Doc Louis and attempted to do a backflip, only to fail and fall face-first onto the floor. Didn't take him that long to reach Point B, though his injury may not be to the degree in which he might have to be sent to the ER.

"Now that's some mighty fine entertainment right there!" Doc Louis filmed Falco tending to his best friend. "People are suckers for others getting hurt, on accident or on purpose!" Ain't no point in arguing with that, what Doc said has been proven on a very timely basis.

"This would be a great time to leave..." Isabelle walked Mr. Game and Watch out of the room as Fox slowly got up from the floor, still reeling from the pain.

* * *

After showing Mr. Game and Watch the ropes of Mario's role at the mansion, like the bills, resident morale, and even the stun gun Mario strangely keeps tucked underneath his pillow, Isabelle felt as if Mr. Game and Watch would be fine alone. Which allowed the 2-D man to continue bouncing on Master Hand's bed in the giant hand's room. But Isabelle couldn't help but feel as if she was forgetting something...

"There's someone else I want you to be on the lookout for, but I just can't remember their name..." the shih tzu stroked her chin as she tried to formulate the name in her head. Just then, Sonic entered the room eating a chili dog, and seeing Mr. Game and Watch bouncing on the bed, and Master Hand nowhere to be seen, the hedgehog started thinking, like Isabelle, but in a more devious manner...

"So Mr. Game and Watch, you're currently the man of the mansion, right?" Sonic asked the 2-D, as he bounced his cares away; the hedgehog perceived Mr. Game and Watch's continuous bouncing as a yes. "You wouldn't mind if I release the Smash Balls from the storage room?" Mr. Game and Watch bounced... "What about the Spring Mushrooms?" ...and he bounced... "Or even the Double Cherries?" ...and he bounced... "And the Mr. Saturns?" ...and he bounced. "Alright man, thanks a bunch!" Sonic gave Mr. Game and Watch a thumbs up as he exited the room, grinning to himself.

 **Sonic: Master Hand specifically told us that we're not allowed to go inside the storage room, as long as he's around. With him taking a leave from the mansion, that means we (or in other words, I) can enter the storage room anytime we want! But hey, I'm just following what he said...**

"Ah well, the name will come to me eventually!" smiled Isabelle as she walked away, only to step on a smudge of chili lying on the floor. Of course the chili came from Sonic, who's obsessed with chili dogs, and that's when the shih tzu remembered. "Oh, I was supposed to remind you about Sonic! But he already came inside the room while I was thinking, so it might be too late..." Too late for what?"

* * *

Under the "consent" of Mr. Game and Watch, Sonic released the Smash Balls, Spring Mushrooms, Double Cherries, and Mr. Saturns from the storage room, and littered them throughout the mansion, hoping that the brawlers would use them to some extent. Wario would happen to find a Smash Ball bouncing about in his room, while Ashley was making potions.

"I wouldn't hit that Smash Ball if I were you, it might be a trap," advised Ashley, as red added some ingredients into the young witch's goblet. "I mean, what are the chances you even see a Smash Ball inside the mansion?" Wario didn't even listen to Ashley, he was just looking at that Smash Ball with greedy eyes, like it's his duty to hit it or else the world would come to an end.

"Well now's the time for me to take risks!" Wario leaped from his bed and punched the Smash Ball, and just like that, he turned into Wario-Man, all without having to eat a bite of garlic. "Oh yeah, Wario-Man is back in business baby!"

"Wario-Man? That's your superhero name? You're a millionaire playboy like Tony Stark, and yet your superhero name is Wario-Man? Who came up with that, Mona?" Wario gritted his teeth at Ashley, but calmed himself down. He should know better than to harm a little child, especially as a superhero persona.

"I shall deal with you later, right now I need to devise a scenario that would involve me saving someone and charm Palutena!" Wario-Man departed from the room, as Ashley and Red looked at one another, trying to figure out why a woman like Palutena would want a low-standard man like Wario. As Wario-Man walked through the mansion, he encountered Link, speaking with Ike. The Hylian was holding a Double Cherry in his hands, and once he saw eyes on the fruit, he instantly knew the item came from the _Mario_ universe, the only universe in which food items like mushrooms have eyes.

 **Link: *holds up Double Cherry* Found this peculiar fruit while I was in the kitchen. I would want to sample it, but I don't wanna taste anything that has eyes on it...eyes that blink at you... *shudders* That's why I'm gonna ask the others if eating this would be a grand idea.**

"Nah, I wouldn't eat that thing if I were you, that kind of stuff seems to be reserved for Mario only," Cloud offered his take. "Also, any fruit that big should not be trusted by any means. That's why I don't eat pumpkins, to this very day. It's just a minor pet peeve of mine." Yes, little children, pumpkin is deemed a fruit, go online and do some research for yourself if you can't accept it.

"Hey boys, care to help an honest man out?" Wario-Man approached Link and Cloud, and both swordsmen wanted to laugh at Wario. Since when was Wario ever an "honest man", and how can he possibly be one when he's greedy as heck? "Quit it, I know you both want to point and laugh at me, but hear me out! Not sure if you dudes know this...but I'm in made love with Palutena, I just don't know why! I might be the one for her, and she might be the one for me!"

"I dunno Wario, Palutena might have a thing for Hades," Link joked around, although he had told a pretty bad joke. And bad jokes are worthy of a slap to the back of your head, courtesy of Cloud. "But in all seriousness, I don't think you would have a strong chance to fully win Palutena's heart..."

"You don't understand, I have done everything and more to win over Palutena! I buy her gifts, and I make her happy! What do you man that I don't have a strong chance to fully win Palutena's heart?!"

"What Link is trying to say is, you can't win over Palutena for good unless you go the extra limit," clarified Cloud. "Buying gifts and making her happy is good and all, but me and Link can do what you're doing, and still make Palutena content. You'll have to do something extraordinary to completely sway Palutena over to your side."

"Which is why I will require the help of you guys...with me in my Wario-Man persona, I was thinking that I can do some sort of superhero scenario that can charm Palutena, and you can be a part of it! So how about it?" At first, Link and Cloud wanted to decline the offer, but Wario is already proving to be somewhat desperate. Turning him down wouldn't be the wisest thing to do.

"Watch out!" Diddy Kong's voice was heard, and suddenly, the spidermonkey came bursting through a wall on his Rocketbarrel Pack, before flying into another one. Evidently he had found a Smash Ball and used his Final Smash, granting him his trusty jetpack - which may have malfunctioned terribly.

* * *

"And there you have it, you got yourself the perfect apple strudel!" Dunban complimented his little sister Fiora after the Homs helped her make some apple strudel in the kitchen. "It sure does look yummy, I could take a huge helping of it!" Great, now he's being all politically correct; for all we know, that apple strudel just might be the worst strudel ever baked, and Dunban wasted his poor sister's talent, and her time.

 **Dunban: Fiora said that she wanted to be able to cook when she and Shulk get married and go off to some faraway land, so I'm starting my sister off early so she won't be a noob in the kitchen. Can't afford her to blow up the kitchen, like Peach tends to do from time to time...yet she wields a frying pan in most of her _Smash_ matches. But don't talk about Peach blowing up things in the kitchen with Mario around, he'll defend that woman like how Donald Trump defends himself from sexual assault allegations...shoot, I think I just poked fun at Donald Trump - if he were to see this, would he call me out and call the election "rigged", similar to what he did with _Saturday Night Live_ _?_**

"You don't have to be so nice, Dunban, though I do appreciate the kind words," smiled Fiora; even she thinks her brother is being too politically correct. "I'm sure Shulk will enjoy this strudel, given how much effort I put into it..."

"Parkour, parkour, PARKOUR!" Fox ran inside the kitchen, doing his parkour thing - doing flips, jumping off of walls, opening and closing the microwave, etc. "I love me some parkour!" Fox accidentally kicked Fiora's apple strudel, sending the pastry treat to the floor. Fiora slowly began to tear up as Falco ran inside the kitchen to do some "parkour", before getting on top of Dunban and riding atop of him like a horse. Doc Louis filmed the avian pilot doing this, in-between filming himself eating chocolate.

"Wooo, parkour!" Falco shouted as he raised his fist in the air like a drunkard. Did he and Fox have a couple of drinks before doing their parkour endeavors?

"Get off of me, I say!" Dunban angrily yelled at Falco, and the pilot, not wanting anything to do with the Homs (never overlook a man who has only one working arm), listened to the command as he got off his back. Dunban stood up and dusted himself off, and saw Fiora in tears, crying over the fact that his apple strudel is on the floor and contaminated forever. "Oh, Fiora, I'm so sorry about what happened to your strudel, I'll ensure that it won't happen again!" The Homs consoled his little sister, hugging her real tight.

"Let's go do some parkour outside in the backyard!" exclaimed Fox, to which Falco agreed to. The two pilots headed out the back door and to the backyard; Doc Louis huffed and and he puffed as he followed the pilots outside. And just then...

"Yo, have you two seen Doc Louis anywhere?" Falco entered the kitchen with Fox, as Fiora and Dunban looked up with confused looks. "He's been missing, and we can't possibly film our parkour stuff without him." Fox and Falco had ran outside to do some more parkour, so how did they get back inside in less then ten seconds...?

"Didn't you boys...go outside to do some parkour?" Dunban raised an eyebrow. "I mean, you destroyed my sister's apple strudel, and then you rode on top of me like I'm a horse! Don't you boys have no shame?"

"Pfft, who are you trying to kid, that wasn't us, that must have been our clones!" Once he realized what he had just said, Falco covered his beak. He had just spilled the beans, and he and Fox are about to find themselves in a heap of trouble.

 **Fox: Like the old saying goes, two's company, three's a crowd...three's a crowd, four's a mob! Everyone loves mobs, why do you think flash mobs were a thing? Why do you think so many people love _Scarface?  
_ Falco: Fox and I ate some cherries that we found in the hallway, and now we have created clones...of ourselves! You can never go wrong with two Foxes and two Falcos in the same mansion!  
Samus: *from afar* SAID NO ONE EVER!  
Falco: Yikes, who peed in her cereal this morning?  
Fox: *snickering* Her presumed boyfriend Anthony Higgs, from the Galactic Federation...  
Samus: DON'T THINK I HEARD THAT FOX, YOU'RE DEAD MEAT NOW!  
Fox: *gulps in fear***

"You created clones...and they're running about causing mayhem everywhere they go?" questioned Dunban. Making clones is definitely something Fox and Falco would attempt to do, so the Homs is hardly surprised. "Have any of you realized the trouble you caused?!"

"Awfully hard for us to realize what 'trouble' we caused when we haven't seen any trouble to begin with..." remarked Fox. "Pretty sure you're just overreacting, it's never great to overreact to every little thing. Look at what it did to that _First Take_ show on ESPN."

"Your stupid clone ruined my apple strudel," Fiora pointed at the apple strudel on the floor. Poor girl worked long and hard on that treat, and Fox's clone ruined it...would be horrible for the Homs to start back from square one. "It was perhaps the best thing I've made...and it's ruined."

"Well it's not like you're a master chef like Rachel Ray anyways." Fox should have known better than to say that, especially around Dunban, but he knew just what to do to make it up to Fiora: "Why don't we go look for our clones and get rid of them for you, and to make it up to you, Falco and I will assist you in making another apple strudel! How about it, sounds great?"

"Hey, what about me, that Falco clone practically rode on top of me like a horse!" complained Dunban. And the Star Fox pilots should care because...?

"...he can owe you an apology and let bygones be bygones. No harm done whatsoever."

* * *

"So many Mr. Saturns in one mansion...how very troublesome," said Alph, carrying a bunch of Mr. Saturns in his hands. He had found a plethora of this species lurking about the mansion, finding them everywhere - in the living room, inside the toilet, on top of a shelf, and strangely enough, underneath Bowser's armpits. No point in delving into the reason behind that. "Master Hand will take care of this epidemic swiftly."

The young astronaut would be in for a rather rude awakening, when he opened the door to Master Hand's room, and instead of Master Hand...Alph saw Mr. Game and Watch, still bouncing on the giant hand's bed. You'd think that the 2-D man would run out of breath right about now, but it's hard to tell if the man even has a fully functioning respiratory system.

 **Isabelle: Mr. Game and Watch has never alerted me with the ringing of his bell...that could mean that everything has been going well so far with him as the man of the mansion! Peace and quiet, and solitude...three things I never would have expected inside the Smash Mansion!**

"BAD DAY, BAD DAY, BAD DAY!" Takamaru screamed at the top of his lungs as he run from a horde of Mr. Saturns, channeling his inner Jackie Chan (but which one), running down the halls like a madman. Alph didn't even listen to the chaos that transpired behind him - his eyes were fixated on Mr. Game and Watch, and at the same time, he was confused about the whereabouts of Master Hand. He knew Mario would be gone for the day, but Master Hand too?! What is the meaning of all this madness?

"M-M-Master Hand...he's supposed to be here...keeping his post...maintaining the mansion...ensuring everything is in order..." Alph placed the Mr. Saturns on the floor and looked about, feeling even more confused. "Where could he have gone?"

"You're looking for Master Hand too?" Toon Link entered Master Hand's room to ask Alph. "I've been looking for him for the longest now - thought he would be in the storage room, but he wasn't there. Maybe he went out to take care of some business?"

"Preposterous, Master Hand is still under house arrest for at least another month! He'll have a month or two added to his current sentence if he's guilty of leaving the mansion!" Master Hand don't care - according to him, he's above the legal system. "Or even worse...he'll end up in prison!" And Master Hand would be the only hand being to ever receive such a fate.

"Well that's his fault, not ours. He wants to do whatever he wants, and somewhere down the road he'll pay the ultimate price for his actions." Toon Link looked over at Mr. Game and Watch, still bouncing on the bed. "I guess Mr. GW is the man of the mansion...must be someway to get his attention."

Toon Link would find just the object required to gain the 2-D man's attention - the 2-D bell resting atop Master Hand's dresser (which is just as useless as the giant hand's bed). The young Hylian grabbed the bell and rung it, grabbing Mr. Game and Watch's attention as the 2-D man stopped bouncing off the bed and went to go confront Toon Link. All good things must come to an end...

"Hey Mr. Game and Watch, sorry I had to disturb you, but we have a major problem on our hands," Toon Link said to the 2-D man, pointing at Alph and the Mr. Saturns flanking the astronaut. "A bunch of Mr. Saturns have been released, and they're practically taking over the mansion...somewhat. They're not that huge of a threat, but they still need to be taken care of regardless...what's wrong Mr. Game and Watch?" Toon Link suddenly noticed that Mr. Game and Watch had his face in his hands, a state in which Toon Link nor Alph have never seen before.

 **Alph: In all honesty, these Mr. Saturns aren't so bad...except for the fact that they speak their own alien language. The only English words they say are "boing", "ding", and "zoom", at the end of their sentences. They would be great for commentary on funny videos, if you ask me - might as well give Tom Bergeron a call!**

"I think Mr. Game and Watch is a little disappointed, it seems like," inferred Alph. "The pressure and expectations of ruling the entire mansion must be getting to him." Either that, or there could be an underlying reason...

"I'm here!" Isabelle appeared, standing at the doorway. "Good thing you called, Mr. Game and Watch, a lot of stuff has transpired as of late - Diddy Kong's Rocketbarrel Pack has gone out of control, Fox and Falco are rumored to have clones running about, and to make matters worse...why do you look like that?" Isabelle sensed that Mr. Game and Watch was a little down, and began to wonder what the problem may be.

"We were wondering the same thing, Isabelle," replied Toon Link. "I had told Mr. GW about the Mr. Saturn crisis...and then he did the face in his hands thing. He's supposed to be a master housekeeper, no problem should be getting in his way!"

"No problem except for..." Isabelle pondered, until shock overcame her. "Why of course, this was all Sonic's doing! He had came in here without me knowing and asked Mr. Game and Watch if he could release certain items from the storage room, and he was under the assumption Mr. Game and Watch said yes! That may explain the reason why he's...he's..."

* * *

"Look at me Tails, I'm Super Saiyan!" Sonic said to Tails in his Super Sonic state, inside his room. "Goku ain't got nothin' on me!" As you might believe, Sonic achieved this state thanks to a Smash Ball he caught in his grasp once he released several Smash Balls from the storage room.

"Dare ya to find a bunch of local _Dragon Ball Z_ nerds and tell them that," replied Tails, trying his best to ignore Sonic while he did his work at the desk. "They won't let you hear the end of it..."

"Good thinking Tails, I should go find some DBZ fans and trigger them, all on the spot!" Sonic flew out of the open window in the room...before flying back in. "Gotta grab me a chili dog first!" Can't offend anime fanboys on an empty stomach!

Sonic flew down the hall, flaunting his power, speed, and whatever else Sonic thinks makes him look legit in his Super Sonic state, when all of a sudden...

"SONIC I NEED TO SPEAK WITH YOU!" Viridi screeched, and Sonic came to a sudden halt when he found the goddess of nature glaring at him, her arms crossed. Viridi's boyfriend, Pit, was experiencing a problem - a problem that involved the angel coiled in a giant spring, bouncing about. The mighty works of a Spring Mushroom.

 **Viridi: Pit had found this spring-like mushroom in the gardens, while I was watering the flowers. Told him not to go anywhere near the mushroom, but as I have known from experience, Pit doesn't learn, so he ate the mushroom and got stuck inside...a spring.  
Pit: *bouncing in the background* Viridi I can't stop bouncing, and my head is starting to hurt! Call 9-1-1 quick, I don't have 9-1-1's number saved to my cellphone! Yet Lady Palutena always tells me to do so...  
Viridi: Word has it that Sonic was responsible for releasing the Spring Mushrooms out of the storage room with a few other items; Roy said that he witnessed Sonic doing such a thing. Now I know whom I must speak with...**

"Thanks to you releasing those stupid Spring Mushrooms from the storage room, my poor Pit ate one and is now stuck inside a spring!" Viridi gave the diagnosis of her problem to Sonic, who honestly didn't give a single crap whatsoever. "What's worse is that he can't do anything to stop bouncing!"

"Seriously though Viridi, you really gotta call 9-1-1, I don't know who they are or where they live at or what they look like, but Lady Palutena said you should always call them whenever in a dire situation!" exclaimed, still bouncing. He's too dumb to realize that 9-1-1 is not a person, but an emergency dial people dial in times of crisis. "Now would be the great time to do just that!"

"First of all, I didn't get Pit in that spring state, that was his doing and you should have expected less from him," Sonic offered his rather blunt take, though his take would be even more blunt. "Secondly, why is Pit still your boyfriend, do you have low standards for significant others or something? Pit is a living, breathing flesh form of nicotine, you oughta quit him while you can before it's too late!" Yikes, Sonic is cutting in deep, real deep!

"Don't you say such things about my precious Pit...you know what, I don't need your help, I'll just go ask Lady Palutena and see if she can help out Pit! Good day!" Viridi quickly turned around, her nose in the air, as she walked away from Sonic.

"Wait up for me Viridi, don't leave me behind!" Pit bounced after his girlfriend. "Are you gonna call 9-1-1 yet, hope they're not busy!" Oh, when will this kid ever learn...

"Your loss!" Sonic called out to Viridi before he flew away to fetch a chili dog. After the hedgehog left, Diddy Kong flew through the walls, his Rocketbarrel Pack still malfunctioning. That spidermonkey might inadvertently hurt someone with that jetpack of his.

* * *

"Glad that you all could make it here!" Wario-Man grinned to the group of Link, Cloud, Zelda, and Aerith, with his hands on his hips. "I have devised a seemingly fail-proof plan that will ultimately lead to me winning over Palutena's heart, and securing her as my girlfriend!"

"We seriously got paid seventy-five dollars just to partake in this stupid crap?" Zelda whispered to Link, hoping Wario-Man wouldn't detect her. "I have far more important matters to do...matters that have a more _realistic_ end goal."

"If you won't want the money Wario bribed you with, then you can always give it to me," Link slyly grinned; after thinking over this offer for a short while, Zelda returned to face Wario-Man; and Link held his head down in sadness. It was worth a shot...

 **Link: So the gist of the plan is (at least according to what Wario had told me beforehand), "Wario-Man" as that fatso calls himself will save Zelda and Aerith from the "perils of danger", and he expects Palutena to see him saving both girls and win her over, just like that. What's so wrong with Wario saving two men instead, like me and Cloud?  
** **Cloud: *conspicuously sitting next to Link, as camera pans out* You're telling me you're comfortable with the idea of Wario holding the both of us in his arms?  
** **Link: Hey, Wario's a pretty strong guy with a very short stature, I don't mind... *pauses* ...wasn't he picking his nose as he was giving us the gist of his plan?  
** **Cloud: *nods his head with a smirk***

"Here's how the plan will go..." Wario-Man started off, pointing to the top of the mansion. "Zelda, Aerith, you lovely ladies will be on the roof of the mansion, doing stuff like...um...dusting off the glitter or something! Mega Man told me about some glitter on top of the mansion, stupid fallacy if you ask me...Once I give you two the cue, you'll 'accidentally' fall off the roof, and that's when I come and save you two from immediate death! Sounds great, don't it?"

"Surely there must be a plan B, in the event me or Zelda were to fall and die inadvertently," said Aerith; she's more concerned about the possibility of her and Zelda dying than the fact some bum like Wario-Man is supposed to save her.

"Oh, you will be just fine, nothing for you to worry about..." Wario-Man then turned to Link and Cloud, waiting patiently to see what role they'll play in Wario-Man's master plan. "Link, Cloud, when I'm ready, I want you to bring Palutena outside, so she can see me save Zelda and Aerith from danger!" Most people would be generally content with that role, but Link and Cloud weren't so happy.

"That's it, that's all we have to do, just alert Palutena?" frowned Cloud. He was expecting a lot more than just telling someone's crush that the person that likes them is about to do something heroic. "You practically begged Link and I to follow through with your plan, and that's all we get, to bring Palutena outside?!"

"Take what you get bub, you agreed to the plan and now you must stick with it! Zelda and Aerith, now would be the time for you to go up to the top of the mansion. Wait up there and keep yourselves busy until I tell you it's time! Now if you excuse me, I have to refine my superhero skills..." Wario-Man walked away, doing some sort of pimp walk. Superheroes don't typically do pimp walks - they walk with a sense of urgency, and with determination, and other heroic things - so Wario-Man must be the first of his kind in this realm of superhero-ness.

"He didn't even give us a cue for when we're supposed to fetch Palutena..." said Link. "Starting to regret following up Wario now..."

"Well you oughta get Palutena very soon, otherwise Wario won't let you hear the end of it," Zelda said to Link, as she and Aerith went to head up to the top of the mansion. Certainly there must be something up there for the ladies to do...like cleaning off the glitter, if there is any.

* * *

"Parkour is love, parkour is life!" Clone Fox cheered as he and Clone Falco bounced off of King Dedede's belly, as the penguin rested in the middle of the arcade room. The clone pilots would bounce off of Dedede's stomach, then jump off of a wall, then bounce off of Dedede's stomach, then jump off of the wall, then bounce off of Dedede's stomach...so forth and so on. Because just like Clone Fox had said, "parkour is "life"...and apparently King Dedede is perfectly fine with the clones bouncing off of him.

 **King Dedede: Don't know why, but I feel like Fox and Falco have both changed my overall perception of this thing called parkour. At first, I thought parkour was just about a bunch of white nerds wearing typical skateboard attire attempting to make themselves look cool in front of their peers, but Fox and Falco have proved to be that parkour can actually be fun, when you put your heart and mind to it! Not that the white kids who do parkour don't put their heart and mind to what they're doing and have fun at the same time, but they're always angry and frowning! Fox and Falco at least know how to smile!**

"They're doing this parkour thing so wrong..." Falco shook his head as he and Fox watched their clones do "parkour" with King Dedede, while Doc Louis filmed the clones thinking they're the real deal. Dunban and Fiora were watching with the real Star Fox pilots from afar, and Shulk was with the four, after Fiora had told him the synopsis of the entire situation.

"Like doing back-flips off the wall and jumping on and off the wall is real parkour..." murmured Shulk, who had seen the real Star Fox pilots' interesting parkour techniques previously in the day. "If we're gonna dispose of the clones, then we'll need a diversion to distract them, so we can capture them and expel of them for good."

"How are we going to defeat the clones, it's not like we can kill them or anything," stated Fiora. "We may not know if doing so would drastically affect Fox and Falco in any way!" Fox McCloud dying as a sacrifice in order to dispose of his clone? His girlfriend Krystal would never be able to handle the loss of her boyfriend. And Wolf will always be waiting for the most opportune moment to strike...

"I had told Luigi about the current situation, and he said that the only way the clones can go away is if they receive physical harm," explained Dunban. "He never said if the damage done to the clones would harm Fox and Falco, but it's worth a shot..."

"It's a shot worth taking," said Fox, taking out his Blaster. He's not afraid to take any chances whatsoever. "Pretty soon our clones are gonna destroy our credibility, and me nor Falco can have that!" Fox fired at the clones, and he missed terribly. Clone Fox and Clone Falco stopped bouncing after hearing the sounds of Fox's blaster. Is their time finally coming?

"Bruh how did you miss, you should have let me shoot at 'em instead!" Falco frowned at Fox, not so confident in his best friend's abilities anymore. "Yet you call yourself a stellar pilot..."

"Not every great pilot needs to be proficient at wielding and using a gun, you know!" Just want Shulk, Fiora, and Dunban needed, an argument between Fox and Falco that may or may not end soon. No way the clones will be taken care of now.

"Guys, when I said we needed a diversion, I didn't mean anything like an argument," Shulk said to the Star Fox pilots in an attempt to stop the bickering. The bickering would catch the attention of Clone Fox and Clone Falco, who both felt somewhat endangered.

 **Shulk: I hate arguments and dissensions, it's just two ore more people complaining over perpetual nothingness, with the resolution to a mostly nonexistent problem as far as Pluto is from earth (might be even farther than that), but when push comes to shove, I have to step in and play peacemaker, cooling the arguers' tempers down to a minimum and making them come to a truce. Dissensions happen quite a lot in the mansion, what with so many different personalities clashing with one another, often for no good reason at all, so I really have my work cut out for me.**

"Our original selves are coming to nab us!" panicked Clone Fox. "Let's scram!" He and Clone Falco scurried out of the arcade room; Doc Louis ran after the clones with his camera, but he came to a stop when he looked to his right and saw Fox and Falco bickering with one another, with Shulk stepping in between the two but to no avail. Now this was the Fox and Falco duo he knew and love - the duo that would argue over the most pettiest things.

"Who are you trying to kid, you're not the most accurate shooter, remember that time you were doing archery practice with Dark Pit and you horribly miscalculated that arrow shot?" Fox argued with Falco. "Nearly got Heihachi Mishima in the eye! You know Master Hand doesn't care for any insurance!"

"The whole archery incident was just a one time only thing, it's not like it's gonna happen ever again!" Falco fired back at his best friend. Doc Louis watched the two pilots carefully, stroking his chin, and he was convinced that the Fox and Falco before him were the original pilots, and not some clones.

"Hey Fox, Falco, you boys missed me?" the boxing trainer finally said, sporting a smile. Fox and Falco stopped arguing and looked towards Doc Louis, and they both smiled and whatnot as they walked up to Doc and gave him some dap. "Been following them clones of yours, and I didn't suspect a single thing! Boy do I feel dumb!"

"Nah man, it's all good, it's not your fault," assured Fox, pretending like his argument with Falco never happened. Too bad the Homs trio will remember it for a certain amount of time. "Those clones are definitely up to no good - they started doing their own thing ever since we told them to do parkour, and they might start more ruckus throughout the mansion!"

"Fox are you still there, can you go back to jumping on my belly?" King Dedede randomly asked, still lying on the floor. His Waddle Dees were there to keep him company, what he would do without them... "I actually enjoy you and Falco jumping on my belly, it felt good, _real_ good..." ...that didn't sound weird and creepy at all. Diddy Kong would make his unnecessary appearance, blasting through the arcade room due to his malfunctioning Rocketbarrel Pack. Someone should really fix that thing. But Diddy Kong's jetpack got Shulk thinking...

"Who here is willing to carry King Dedede with us?" the Homs asked those around him. What is that man thinking...

* * *

"Welcome-a to the Smash-a Mansion, home of-a the mighty brawlers!" exclaimed Mario, once he, Pac-Man, and a certain Pokemon connoisseur by the name of Cilan had walked through the front door. "This is where-a you will be-a making the lovely wedding cake for my wonderful wedding! We have a guest-a room just prepared for you!"

 **Pac-Man: Mario and I went to Striaton City to pay Cilan, the cake designer, a visit. The original plan was to have him and his brothers, Chili and Cress, work together on the wedding cake, which will be enormously huge, but unfortunately Cilan said that he and his brothers couldn't work on the cake and operate the city's gym at the same time, so he opted to come with me and Mario to the Smash Mansion and work on the wedding cake there by himself, while Chili and Cress operate the Striaton Gym by themselves...Oh, and the guest room? We just had the Duck Hunt Dog move out of his room, no biggie. Donkey Kong built that mutt a doghouse in the backyard.**

"It feel as if I'm in love with this Smash Mansion already!" stated Cilan, who brought his bags full of his belongings. What else would be pack in his bags, nothing but Poke balls? "You both told me great stories about this place on the ride to this city of Seattle, and I can't wait to..."

"Out of my way fools!" Sonic burst through the open door of the mansion, as Mario, Pac-Man, and Cilan got out of the way in the nick of time. Soon Sonic, still in his Super Sonic state, faced the three, flaunting his current Super Sonic state. "Hey Mario, who's the funny green-haired dude, is he a bank teller or something?"

"No I'm not a bank teller, I'm a Pokemon connoisseur! My name is Cilan, and I am one of the three gym leaders of Striaton Gym in Striaton City! My specialty is food...and grass-type Pokemon!" Sonic wasn't that all impressed - in fact, he was more horrified than anything!

"Ew gross, you like to eat Pokemon, especially grass-type Pokemon? You foul person! What sick bozo gave you the title of gym leader?" Hasn't been a minute yet, and Sonic was already making the guest feel uncomfortable.

"My job as a Pokemon connoisseur isn't to _eat_ Pokemon - my job is to test the connection between a trainer and their Pokemon. Granted, the title 'connoisseur' may be very misleading, I know, but regardless, I'm great at what I do!" Sonic still wasn't impressed by Cilan.

"Yeah, whatever, sounds lame as heck. You can do your "trainer and Pokemon connection testing" crap, and I will go upset even more _Dragon Ball Z_ fanboys! Love seeing their disgruntled faces when I tell them the truth!" Sonic went into the hallways to grab a chili dog to snack on before heading out of the mansion. His work is apparently not done yet.

"Sir Mario, we have a major issue on our hands!" Isabelle ran up to the plumber, accompanied by Mr. Game and Watch. "Mr. Game and Watch here was watching over the mansion while you were away, and he accidentally let Sonic release certain items from the storage room, since Master Hand had gone to go visit Crazy Hand and he thought with him gone, there would be no problem...however, Sonic released several Smash Balls from the storage room, and now he's masquerading in his Super Sonic form! Thank goodness Bowser never found one of the Smash Balls, otherwise we would have been in deep trouble..."

 **Mr. Game and Watch: *waves surrender flag in the air, likely in response to the idea of Giga Bowser rummaging in the mansion***

"So that-a would explain why Sonic was in-a that state without the use-a of Chaos Emeralds," Mario stroked his chin. He dared not ponder about Master Hand leaving the mansion while on house arrest, for he knew that the giant hand has gone through much more drastic measures in the past.

"But that's not all, Sonic also released a horde of Mr. Saturns from the storage room, and we can't do anything about it!" Toon Link appeared, with him and Alph carrying a bunch of Mr. Saturns in their arms. "We've been monitoring them for the longest now..."

"Returning them to the storage room where they belong might be difficult, we don't know exactly where they're supposed to go," added Alph. He has so many Mr. Saturns in his possession, he even as a few atop his helmet! "Also, Master Hand might be coming home soon, and if we see the mess left behind..."

"How about this - why don't we round up these Mr. Saturn creatures and bring them outside, and then we can go from there?" suggested Cilan. The others nodded at the connoisseur's suggestion; at this point, anything is better than nothing.

"Cilan that just might be a genius plan!" exclaimed Pac-Man. "Let's go round up those Mr. Saturns, and quick! Who knows when Master Hand will return!"

* * *

"Sorry Viridi, but there's nothing I can do about Pit, he's pretty much stuck in that spring," Palutena said to Viridi in the lounge, as Pit bounced away in his spring state. He'll have a very sore head once this whole ordeal is over.

"Lady Palutena I can't stop bouncing on my head, what if I get a concussion?" worried Pit as he continued to bounce. You'd think that an extreme weirdo like him would enjoy the bouncing, but evidently it's taking a physical toll on him.

"Heh, what a wimp, always depending on Lady Palutena and expecting her to solve every single one of his problems..." smirked Dark Pit, who coolly rested against the wall with his arms crossed. "Poor guy will be stuck to that woman forever!"

"Can we call a qualified doctor, like that Dr. Toadsworth guy Bowser brought over to treat Toon Link's sickness?" Viridi asked Palutena. Dr. Mario is no longer a qualified doctor? "Pit's spring condition, if it even is a condition, must have some sort of cure!"

 **Cloud: Wario has yet to return from "refining his superhero skills", and he probably expects Palutena to be outside when he saves Zelda and Aerith. Link and I aren't taking any chances, so we're getting Palutena right now.**

"Palutena, do you mind coming outside with me and Link, it won't take long, I promise you," Cloud approached the goddess of light, with Link right behind him. Palutena was suddenly skeptical, wanting to know what was going on outside that she has to see.

"Why do you boys want me outside for...this isn't a trap, is it?" questioned Palutena. The swordsmen were looking for a way to convince the goddess without spilling any beans, and just then, Link saw a Mr. Saturn walking about and grabbed it quickly.

"This isn't a trap, we're um, looking for a place for this Mr. Saturn, and we believe that uh, there are other Mr. Saturns outside," replied Link. Cloud was surprised that his friend was able to come up with a very effective excuse on the spot; he should be thanking that Mr. Saturn for showing up, otherwise he and Link would have been in hot water. "We were wondering if you can come with us and investigate."

"I suppose I can tag along with you boys. Just as long as there's no sort of trap present." So Palutena followed Link and Cloud, and Dark Pit and Viridi, suddenly feeling intrigued, tagged along as well. Pit tried to follow Palutena, but then...

"Oh no you don't, you're coming with me mister!" King Dedede snatched away Pit when the coast was clear, covering his hand over the angel's mouth so Palutena and company wouldn't hear his cries for help.

* * *

"That should be the rest of the Mr. Saturn creatures," Cilan remarked after he, Mario, Pac-Man, Isabelle, Mr. Game and Watch, Toon Link, and Alph cleared the mansion out of Mr. Saturns. "Though I can't help but feel that there might be one left behind..."

"What matters is that we-a got a majority of the Mr. Saturns out-a of the mansion, without breaking a sweat," stated Mario as the Mr. Saturns walked about in the mansion's front yard. "Regardless, they still-a need to be taken care-a of, can't have them walking all-a over the place!"

"Yoo hoo, up here!" a female voice called out; Mario and company looked up at the top of the mansion, and saw Zelda, waving to everyone below her. "Have any of you folks seen Wario anywhere? He ordered Aerith and I to stand on top of the roof, and wait for him to give us some cue, but it appears he hasn't returned yet!" Mario and the others either shook their heads or shrugged. Wario-Man has been gone for an awfully long time, and to say Zelda and Aerith were bored on the mansion's roof would be a vast understatement.

 **Isabelle: Master Hand had called on the mansion's house phone while we were rounding up the Mr. Saturns (don't even ask how he's able to operate a phone) and he said that he's returning to the mansion very soon! What would he think of me when he comes back, and sees the Mr. Saturn crisis, and everything else that Sonic had transpired? He would probably take my role as in assistant...and give it to someone like Lloyd Irving? Can you imagine someone like him relaying important messages?! *shudders in fear***

"Coming through!" Sonic sped past Zelda, starling the princess of Hyrule and causing her to stumble. Mario and company watched in horror as Zelda made one ill-fated misstep that saw her fall off the top of the mansion before hanging onto the roof for dear life. Aerith soon ran over to the princess, with a heavy amount of fright on her face.

"Zelda, reach for my hand!" the flower girl held out her hand to Zelda, whose grip on the roof was failing. Just then, Link and Cloud arrived outside with Palutena, Dark Pit, and Viridi, and they soon witnessed Zelda, who was hanging onto the roof, lose her grip and fall to her doom. Now would be a great time for Wario-Man to make his grand appearance and save the day...but he has yet to show up!

"Zelda! NOOOO!" Link did what every other boyfriend would do in this situation and scream at the top of his lungs, as he saw Zelda fall off the mansion...and wind up in the arms of Cilan, who stepped in just in time to save the princess of Hyrule. Cilan 1, Wario-Man 0.

"You nearly had us there," Cilan smiled at Zelda as he gently placed the princess on the ground. "For a minute it looked like you could have been a goner."

"Well at least there was a hero present to save me..." Zelda smiled as Link ran up to his woman and embraced her, glad that she's in one piece. However, Cilan's good deeds may not be done yet...

"Um, how am I supposed to get down from here?" asked Aerith, still on the mansion's roof. "Don't feel like going down from the roof by myself..." Suddenly Diddy Kong breezed by on his malfunctioning rocketbarrel pack, accidentally knocking into Aerith and sending her over the roof. The flower girl would scream as she fell until Cilan rose at the most opportune moment as Aerith landed safely in his arms, right when Cloud was about to make the save. Cilan 2, Wario-Man 0.

"Another great deed done," Cilan placed Aerith gently on the ground, as the flower girl held her hand over her heart and took a deep breath. No way she was ever gonna go on the mansion's roof again.

"Look what we have here, a herd of Mr. Saturns!" Link exclaimed as he took the Mr. Saturn in his possession and placed it with the others, before looking back at Palutena. "And you thought Cloud and I had a trap..." Palutena just shrugged, she had no idea what Link and Cloud had in mind.

 **Black Knight: It's been a long day, and my proposition for Mr. Game and Watch has yet to come to fruition. Perhaps there must be something to charm him, to make him content... *spots several Double Cherries and Spring Mushrooms on the floor, as well as a Smash Ball bouncing about* I wonder... *strokes chin thoughtfully***

Mario was busy introducing Cilan to the others, talking about his profession as a Pokemon connoisseur and how he's also a grass-type Pokemon gym leader, when Wario-Man finally showed up, with several pieces of wood in his hand. The fat superhero was whistling as he walked when he caught the attention of Mario and company, who looked at him somewhat suspiciously. Why would a superhero like Wario-Man need wood in the first place?

"What exactly are-a planning to do with-a that wood, Wario?" Mario said to Wario-Man, who began to sweat profusely in fear. The superhero looked towards Zelda and Aerith, both smiling as the anticipated to see how Wario-Man would weasel his way out of the current situation. But like every superhero, he has a plan...

"You see Mario, I was planning on using this wood...to fence off these here Mr. Saturns!" Wario-Man said, pointing to the peculiar _Earthbound_ creatures that had just caught his eye. "I've been working my butt off regulating the Mr. Saturns after they were released in the mansion (dumb things were running in stampedes, I had witnessed a few), and I was gonna bring 'em outside and fence them off...although you had taken care of the first part of my plan already."

"Way to conveniently change the plan in a very drastic manner, right on the spot," Cloud murmured to Link; the Hylian couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well a superhero (or should I say, _fake_ superhero) like yourself can't do a task like fencing by yourself," said Pac-Man. "How about we all pitch in and help Wario-Man build a fence to keep the Mr. Saturns from wandering off?" At first, mostly everyone wasn't down on the idea of building fences and whatnot, but turning down Pac-Man's offer would be a bad look in several ways, so pretty much everyone to oblige.

"I'll get the wood glue!" Dark Pit volunteered as he ran back inside the mansion. Don't be so surprised if the angel doesn't come back out again.

* * *

Clone Fox and Clone Falco continued to do their parkour thing, jumping off of walls, doing random back-flips, opening/closing random doors, and the like. They kept doing all these things and more until they stopped and saw King Dedede, who apparently enjoyed the clones bouncing on his belly. Did he like it so much that he wants the clones to do it again?

"Hey boys, I see you're still doing that parkour stuff," said the penguin, holding something behind his back. "As much as I know you fellas want to bounce on me again, I had something else in mind that you might like...TA-DA!" King Dedede revealed to the clones Pit, stuck inside a spring, with a cloth wrapped around his mouth. "Why bounce off of me, when you can bounce off of this kid and reach extraordinary heights?! You could even reach the top of the mansion if you wanted to!"

 **Doc Louis: Look you guys, I don't wanna do this, not to my baby...  
** **Fiora: Doc, for the last time, that thing is NOT your "baby", it'll be gone sooner than you know it!  
** **Falco: Fiora's right bruh, you have to give it up otherwise Shulk's plan would be an ultimate failure! You wanna see Shulk fail? Or are you gonna cry like a big baby and blow our cover?  
** **Doc Louis: I never want to see anyone fail...but my precious, I just can't...  
** **Shulk: For cripes' sake, you're practically turning into Gollum...give me that!**

"I know you fellas wouldn't pass on this opportunity, so come and get it while ya can!" King Dedede said to the clones, who came closer to the penguin...when a chocolate bar was thrown in the middle of the hallway. The Fox and Falco clones looked at the chocolate bar, then at Pit, then at the chocolate, then at Pit, and then ultimately decided what would be the better decision...the clones came straight for the chocolate bar. They've been hanging around with Doc Louis so much, they've practically turned into Doc Louis themselves!

"Now, King Dedede, throw Pit!" Shulk's voice was heard, as the penguin did as he was told, throwing Pit straight at the clones, too busy fighting over the chocolate bar. Right at the very moment, Diddy Kong came blasting through on his rocketbarrel pack, and he collided with the clones and Pit, resulting in a minor explosion. Shulk and company came out of the hiding spot to go investigate - only thing in the vicinity other than King Dedede was Pit (no longer inside a spring), Diddy Kong (no longer riding on his malfunctioning rocketbarrel pack) and the somehow unharmed chocolate bar, lying on the floor.

"I'm not stuck inside a spring anymore, I can move my limbs again!" Pit exclaimed after checking himself out. Diddy Kong looked behind his back, and saw no rocketbarrel pack on him.

"And that stupid rocketbarrel pack is finally gone, no more flying for me!" the spidermonkey exclaimed as well. King Dedede ran over to Pit and Diddy, giving them a huge hug, slightly thankful that they're back to normal again. Moments like this prove that Dedede isn't as villainous as he seems.

"I calibrated Diddy Kong's rocketbarrel path precisely, and it led to a great result!" stated Shulk, channeling one of his victory poses from _Super Smash Bros 4._ "Overall this was a win-win all-around - the clones are gone, Diddy Kong's rocketbarrel pack is gone, and Pit is a normal boy again! Couldn't have drawn this one up any better!"

"Aren't you boys supposed to do me a favor for me, just like you promised?" Fiora grinned at Fox and Falco, who either looked down at the floor or to the side. A disgruntled Dunban threw his arms in the air, wondering if he'll ever receive an apology for Clone Falco riding him like a horse. Should be glad that perhaps only Doc Louis witnessed it.

* * *

Back outside, the Mr. Saturn fencing was just about done, and it was all thanks to the wonderful work of Mr. Game and Watch, the master housekeeper. Once the finishing touches on the fence was done, the 2-D man would be lauded for his efforts, with Mario and company complimenting him for his hard work.

 **Mario: After we fenced-a off the Mr. Saturns, I think I learned-a something today - that Mr. Game and-a Watch is severely underappreciated! Why, he deserves-a to be paid, think of where the mansion would-a be without his presence! I could pay him with-a the money from my wedding budget-a if I truly wanted to!**

But Mr. Game and Watch wouldn't be the only person appreciated for his efforts - Wario-Man, having reverted back to Wario, was getting some props from Palutena for suggesting that the Mr. Saturns should be fenced off, even though his plan was to save Zelda and Aerith in an act of heroism.

"Always have known that deep down inside, there's a kind-hearted soul!" the goddess of light said to the fatso. "So proud you showed that you're not all about money and fame..." Palutena would do the near-unthinkable, as she _kissed Wario on the cheek_ before walking away. Wario smiled lovingly as he lost his balance out of love and fainted on the ground. Link and Cloud stood over the fatso, in disbelief that a woman like Palutena would dare to kiss Wario. Forget Pit - someone needs to check _her_ for a concussion.

"Did Wario ever tell you why he had those pieces of wood in his possession?" Link asked Cloud, not caring at all about Wario's current condition.

"He claimed that he was using the pieces of wood as stakes to mark his territory when he saves Zelda and Aerith from danger, so he wouldn't get that far, or something like that," explained Cloud. "Bet he's glad he even brought the wood, had he not he would have found himself in a heap of trouble..."

"I'm baaaack!" Master Hand would make his glorious return to the Smash Mansion, startling everyone as he magically appeared in front of Mario. "So I see that you and Pac-Man have returned from your trip, did you enjoy your time? Also, who's this green-haired weirdo standing before me?"

"That's Cilan, a gym leader from Striaton City!" replied Pac-Man. "He'll be staying with us for the time being and work on Mario's wedding cake." Cilan held out his hand to Master Hand, hoping to shake his hand. Always gotta make a great impression for the Smash universe creator.

"Well I hope you enjoy your stay at the Smash Mansion - keep in mind that most of the residents are pretty insufferable from time to time, so just notify me whenever you need to and I'll take care of anyone that irritates you." Master Hand would then notice the Mr. Saturns fenced off, and seeing that they were out of the storage room... "ISABELLE, WHAT ARE THESE MR. SATURNS DOING OUT HERE, TELL ME NOW AT ONCE!"

The shih tzu would come before Master Hand, telling him the story of how Sonic released the Mr. Saturns, Double Cherries, Spring Mushrooms, and Smash Balls from the mansion after he believed he had Mr. Game and Watch's consent. Mario would then pitch in and tell Master Hand that Sonic is still masquerading as Super Sonic, upsetting _Dragon Ball Z_ fans everywhere. The hedgehog has yet to return, which might make Master Hand's punishment for him all the more swifter.

"Sonic's punishment will have to wait till later, I'll deal with him once he returns," stated Master Hand. "Take me to the storage room at once, I must see if there was any other items taken out!"

* * *

 **Master Hand: Sonic is honestly about to drive me insane, his antics are over the line and make me question his overall sanity at times. Wouldn't be surprised if he was diagnosed with anti-social personality disorder. Good thing I have the perfect punishment for him - he may not like, but it's what he deserves!**

Mario, Isabelle, and Mr. Game and Watch took Master Hand to the storage room, and to their surprise, they saw the Black Knight restocking the room with the Double Cherries, Spring Mushrooms, and Smash Balls he found throughout the mansion. He had just closed the door and locked it tight when he saw Master Hand and company, and was overly delighted.

"Ah, Master Hand, you have returned!" the Black Knight exclaimed. "Surprised that you were able to leave the mansion without triggering that tracking device around your finger."

"It was no biggie, had Crazy Hand disable the device in no time!" said Master Hand. They don't call him Crazy Hand for a reason! "Mario and Isabelle had told me that certain items were released from the storage room thanks to Sonic...but it looks like you've taken care of the issue."

"Somebody had to do it, and it had to be me...and since you all are here, I've been thinking...why not a tea party? You four have been working pretty hard - Mario, preparing for your wedding; Isabelle, doing your thing as an assistant; Mr. Game and Watch, keeping the house tidy and clean, and Master Hand...I've been proposing this tea party to you for the longest, yet you always decline!"

"I can't help that I'm busy most of the time, watching over the mansion and doing everything else is very time consuming! But I suppose I can make some room for your tea party, it'll be absolutely glorious!" How is Master Hand supposed to drink a cup of tea? Considering he was able to consume waffles, anything is possible for him.

"Sup you guys, how's it going?" Sonic showed up, eating a chili dog in his regular state. "You wouldn't believe how many DBZ fanboys I ticked off in my Super Sonic form - I told this one dude that I was better than Goku and Vegeta combined, and I made him cry, such a wimp! And this other guy..." Sonic stopped when he saw Mario and company frowning at him, disapproving of the hedgehog's action. "Why are you looking at me like that, do I have food on my face?"

"Go to my room and stay there until I tell you to leave..." ordered Master Hand, and Sonic scurried away.

* * *

"Here's some more tea for you, Isabelle!" Cilan smiled as he poured tea from a teapot into the shih tzu's teacup. Isabelle was sitting at a coffee table with Mario, Master Hand, and the Black Knight, who allowed Cilan to officiate the entire tea party. Every tea fanatic needs a break every now and then.

"Are you all ready for the main course?" Fiora asked, coming to the table to ask the guests this question. Mario gave the Homs two thumbs up. "Alright boys, bring it out!" Fox and Falco appeared, carrying a giant plate of apple strudel that they offered to help Fiora make, and placed it on the table. They weren't frowning because they had to make the strudel - they were frowning because Fiora forced the pilots to wear maid costumes.

"I'll be right back with you folks, just give me a quick minute!" Cilan left the tea party, and went to a nearby room, where Pit, Viridi, Toon Link, Alph, and Diddy Kong were playing a board game on the floor.

"So happy that you're back to normal, Pitty, I was worried sick about you!" Viridi said to the angel, embarrassing him. Being called pet names is something absolutely no boyfriend wants.

"No Viridi, not in front of the boys..." grumbled Pit, but Viridi would keep the embarrassment going for Pit as she kissed him multiple times on the cheek. Toon Link, Alph, and Diddy Kong did their best to stifle their laughter as Cilan looked at himself in front of a mirror, adjusting his bowtie.

"Mario and his friends are such great company, not to mention that the youngsters aren't so bad when you get to know them..." Cilan said to himself. Once he was finished with his bowtie, he looked at himself in the mirror one more time, and flashed a smile as he saw Mr. Game and Watch in the background, cleaning up a spill in the hallway. Even though the 2-D man was at a tea party, his housekeeping job, role, or whatever you want to call it is still a high priority for him. And making the perfect wedding cake for Mario's and Peach's wedding will be a high priority for Cilan during his stay at the mansion.

"...I think I'm gonna enjoy my time here," would be the last words Cilan would say before heading back to the tea party.


	45. Episode 45: Mendacity

_Author's Note:_

 _Since Halloween - a holiday that I never ever bothered to care about throughout my life, no matter how hard I try - is coming up, and I figured people might ask me to do a Halloween-based chapter, I decided to do this installment of Smash Life as a bit of a homage to "It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown", the only Halloween-related thing I ever really cared about aside from "The Nightmare Before Christmas". So I hope you enjoy...but first, some guest reviews!_

 _"Please don't make a wario/palutina fan fiction,I much rather her become you said 'mere mortals can't go out with immortals'"_

 _No worries, I won't make a Wario x Palutena fanfic ever, and I still remember when Palutena said that quote to Captain Falcon. You'll see how it all plays out later on...next up, we have Pretty Palutena:_

 _"Lol, Sonic always gettin in trouble Anyways, this story needs more Palutena! And maybe a little less Link and Cloud lol. And maybe a weird Bowser and Peach thing before the wedding. Love this story tho, keep it up!"_

 _This story can definitely use some more Palutena, and I'll definitely have some weird stuff going on between Peach and Bowser, just you wait and see. As for Link and Cloud, I can't really limit how much of their interactions appear in the story, given that they're two of the unofficial main characters in the story, but I'll see what I can do. Lastly, we have Philippe, who has an interesting question concerning episode 42:_

 _"Why can they prank people from their own team!?"_

 _Eh...that would be very mean-spirited. And that would also make you a sellout. No one loves a good sellout._

* * *

 **Episode 45: Mendacity**

As a direct order from Peach, passed on through Master Hand, Roy and Lloyd Irving were tasked with finding a pumpkin from a local pumpkin patch. The pumpkin these two are looking for won't be no ordinary pumpkin - the orange fruit would eventually be used as a jack-o-lantern for the traditional October holiday of Halloween.

Like several others out there, Master Hand despises Halloween with a passion. He's miffed by the fact that "inconsiderate" parents would allow their children to knock on strangers' doors and "beg" the person at the front door for candy, while wearing a fitting costume. What's the point of going to strangers' houses to get candy for free, when you can just buy candy from the store anytime you want? Master Hand asked several brawlers this question, though some refused to answer.

Both Roy and Lloyd are rather indifferent on the subject of Halloween, compared to other holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Year's Day - they just enjoy the camaraderie that happens around this time of year. However, getting a pumpkin to do a jack-of-lantern is the most crucial thing that needs to be done, as Peach stresses the importance of decorations from time to time.

"Do you know the story about that British kid named James who enters a giant pumpkin and meets these giant insects inside?" Lloyd spoke with Roy, sparking a conversation. Engaging in a conversation with Lloyd, especially one that's meant to be intelligent and constructive, is an awfully hard thing to accomplish.

"Correction: it was a giant _peach_ ," Roy corrected for Lloyd. "You know insects like grasshoppers and spiders don't live inside pumpkins." Lloyd may not be the best travelling buddy for Roy, but the red-haired swordsman would rather take anyone he can get, rather than going solo.

 **Roy: Although I don't really care that much for Halloween, I'm not horribly slanted against it as much as Master Hand is - I'm not gonna pity the kids who knock on the door and ask for candy, and then scare them away by emitting some evil laugh. Halloween is one of the rare occasions everyone in the mansion puts aside their differences and band together and have...togetherness, for a lack of a better term. Some residents have probably never even heard of Halloween to begin with... *cough* Corrin *cough* ...so it would be a new experience for them.**

"How does this pumpkin look to you?" Lloyd lifted up a medium-sized pumpkin and held it up for Roy to see. It was a little beat-up, but Lloyd saw nothing wrong with it. "Peach never really specified if the pumpkin is supposed to be in good condition or not..."

"Nah, Peach definitely wants a pumpkin in good condition, she has very high standards for things especially since she's a princess," replied Roy, looking around him for a good pumpkin to use. "This one doesn't look so bad!" The swordsman found a large pumpkin, and mustered all his strength to pick it up. "It would like great as a jack-o-lantern!"

"A little too big, but I suppose it will do," Lloyd shrugged as he dropped the medium-sized pumpkin back to the ground. Had the pumpkin had sentimental feelings, it would have shed a tear after being tossed away like that. "I think we should get another pumpkin, just in case."

"Yeah you're right, Cilan might want to make some pumpkin pie. Can't be any better than the pumpkin pie Palutena makes!"

* * *

Speaking of whom, Cilan - the Pokemon gym leader and connoisseur who offered to come with Mario and Pac-Man to the Smash Mansion to work on Mario's wedding cake - was in the dining room, dusting off the table. As he was dusting, he spotted Pit furiously writing on a piece of paper. This greatly befuddled Cilan; during his short time at the mansion, the connoisseur learned that Pit was one of the more unintelligent residents, rarely using his head or his brains all the time, so to see the angel writing aggressively by himself with little to no help was quite the surprise.

"Already getting a head start on your Christmas list?" Cilan asked Pit, dusting off the rag he was cleaning with. "Or are you writing a letter to Santa Claus?"

"Close enough - I'm writing a letter to The Great Pumpkin!" replied Pit. Cilan truly wanted to laugh at the angel, but it wouldn't be nice to laugh at a kind-hearted fool. "Every Halloween he's supposed to show up at pumpkin patches throughout the world, but he never appears at any of the pumpkin patches in Seattle..." And we can all wonder why... "However, that won't stop me from seeing him in person for the first time, and I won't stop until I see him!"

"They were so right about this kid..." Cilan rolled his eyes and shook his head, walking away with his cleaning rag. Pit looked questionably at the connoisseur, wondering who "they" was, but he decided against questioning Cilan and continued to write his dumb letter to the obviously nonexistent Great Pumpkin.

 **Cilan: Mario's wedding cake won't be no walk in the park - after all, Mario _did_ say that he wants the cake to be the biggest, grandest thing ever created. (He might be exaggerating a little bit...) However, no challenge is big for me, and no challenge is too small! I'll get this wedding cake done in a jiffy, and when I'm not working on anything pertaining to the cake, I'll participate in a few Pokemon battles here and there, with my grass-type Pokemon companions...but everyone except for Red stinks at Pokemon battles! Why can't I get a pushover every now and then?**

Bitter that Cilan refused to be believe in The Great Pumpkin, Pit set out to find out others who might have some belief in the holiday figure's existence. First person he asked was Ganondorf...who laughed heartily in the angel's face. At least someone other than Cilan has sense.

"Pit you ignoramus, there is no such thing as a 'Great Pumpkin', it's all in your stupid head!" the Demon Lord chuckled. "And if he were to exist, he would only exist in the _Peanuts_ comic strip, that must be where you got this Great Pumpkin mess from!" Pit opened his mouth to say something, but Ganondorf was right on cue to stop the angel from spewing any more nonsense. "And no, we're not warping you inside the comic strip. We already tried that before with Yoshi and _Garfield_ \- poor dinosaur had suffered from severe vertigo for an entire week."

An embattled Pit then went over to Luigi's house, to see if the plumber, his wife Daisy, or even Yuffie believed in the existence of The Great Pumpkin. Luigi has a very firm belief in the supernatural - he _does_ own Polterpup as a pet dog - so he should believe in the The Great Pumpkin's existence...or so Pit thought.

"Hate-a to break it to ya Pit, but the Great-a Pumpkin is fake," Luigi had to put it bluntly for the angel, doing some aerobic exercises in front of his TV. "Only you think-a that he's real." When a supernatural expert like Luigi refutes the existence of The Great Pumpkin, that should be tell-tale sign that the so-called holiday figure is all make-believe, and that you should stop pestering people about The Great Pumpkin while you can...but alas, Pit's work is apparently not done.

"Hey Yuffie, you think that The Great Pumpkin is real, right?" the angel would go upstairs to ask the ninja girl, who was busy doing Daisy's hair. Daisy's stomach was noticeably getting bigger; according to Pit's rationale, the princess of Sarasaland is "officially" pregnant.

"I would say yes to your silly question, but I'm not really that much of a liar," replied Yuffie. "But go ahead, keep believing in your own fabricated fallacies, see where it gets ya..." Pit refused to stop, not until he finds someone other than him that believes in The Great Pumpkin.

"What about you Princess Daisy, certainly you have seen The Great Pumpkin once before!" Daisy flashed a disgusted look at Yuffie - when will this kid ever stop?

"Yeah, because I know _exactly_ what The Great Pumpkin looks like, and how he sounds and what he does..." the princess responded in a very sarcastic manner. "Please get out of my house Pit, we can't tolerate your foolishness any longer."

 **Luigi: Pit's strange-a fascination with The Great-a Pumpkin is a long, storied one...last Halloween, Pit had begged-a Jacky to drive him to a down-a town pumpkin patch, so he could-a see The Great Pumpkin in person for the first-a time. Akira had called-a Jacky and told him to leave-a Pit behind, just to teach-a him a lesson, but the racer decided against-a it and willingly waited with-a Pit to see The Great Pumpkin...it was arguably the biggest waste-a of time in human history, and something Jacky now looks-a back on with regret.**

With Cilan, Ganondorf, Luigi, Daisy, and Yuffie refusing to believe in The Great Pumpkin, there was one person left that Pit should ask - one person that is intelligent and wise, and knows everything that should be known. This person spends most of their time in the mansion's workshop, working on various projects and putting them to work. This person's name, you might ask? _Samus Aran. "_ Hoo boy" doesn't even begin to describe how toxic the end result of Pit's interrogation with the space bounty hunter will be.

"Inform me, dear Pit - you claim that the so-called 'Great Pumpkin' pops up at every pumpkin patch in the world, is that correct?" asked Samus, who was building a giant mechanical wrench before Pit interrupted her; the angel eagerly nodded his head. "So he's supposed to appear at every single pumpkin patch, ON JUST ONE DAY?!" The logic behind The Great Pumpkin's supposed existence is evidently failing.

"Duh, he's not called The _Great_ Pumpkin for a reason," answered Pit. Oh how much Samus wanted to slap Pit now... "He's better than Santa Claus, better than the Easter Bunny - heck, he's even better than the tooth fairy!"

"Too bad the people that you just mentioned never, ever existed..." Not wanting to deal with Pit any longer, Samus quietly resumed her work on her mechanical wrench. Why did she make it so big, what would she use the wrench for anyways?

"Silly Samus, the tooth fairy is the only one who has credible evidence of existence! How else do you think I get money under my pillow every time I wake up after losing my teeth? How do you explain that, huh, HUH?"

"Pretty sure it was Palutena who was leaving behind those meaningless monetary gifts under your pillow..." This "shocking" revelation alarmed Pit, who gasped in shock with his hands on his face. It was like he was imitating the guy from _The Scream._

"Say it ain't so! I knew it! I knew Lady Palutena was the tooth fairy this whole time, I just didn't want to out her in front of everyone else!" Rather than questioning Palutena about her being the tooth fairy, Pit decided to stick to his silly Great Pumpkin quest. "I shall interrogate Lady Palutena later, right now I must continue my search for Great Pumpkin believers!"

Pit ran out of the workshop, and once he was gone, Samus let out a heavy sigh, extremely thankful that the angel had departed. She would resume working on her nifty invention in peace and without interruption...until her cell phone rang on the workshop desk.

* * *

 **Peach: Just so I can get it done with and out of the way, Mario suggested that we start working on a wishlist for our wedding. Only problem is, since that I'm a princess, I already have everything I want and more...a hair dryer, some expensive makeup, a complete jewelry set, and even that pair of unflattering yoga pants that I have yet to wear! So I'm stuck on what items I want to put on my... *hears a knock on the front door* Ooh, wonder who that could be!**

Peach quickly made her way to the front door, though a certain someone would beat the princess to it when the following words were emitted from behind the front door: "TRICK OR TREAT!" And to make matters worse, these three words came straight out of a child's mouth.

"OH NO YOU DON'T, NOT TODAY, NOT EVER!" Master Hand bellowed as he arrived at the front door before Peach could. The princess, who just arrived at the foyer, watched with caution as Master Hand was ready to open the door. "YOU STUPID IDIOTS HONESTLY THINK THAT YOU CAN GO TRICK-OR-TREATING A FEW DAYS EARLY?! WELL I SAY THIS!" Master Hand opened up the door... "I BETTER NOT SEE YOU KIDS...on the...day of...Halloween." ...before trialing off when he saw Toon Link, Young Link, Villager, and the Koopalings behind the door, wearing Halloween costumes.

"We're just practicing for Halloween, no harm done whatsoever!" exclaimed Villager, who was wearing the Doctor Strange costume he was forced to wear back in episode 30. Likewise, Toon Link wore his Chase Stein outfit, and Young Link wore his Cannonball suit. The Koopalings, on the other hand, were dressed as ghosts with simple white-sheet costumes with eye holes over their heads; either they had no ideas for Halloween costumes, or they're super-cheap. Pick whichever one you think it is.

"Good, I sincerely hope that on the day of Halloween, you insolent children will all get kidnapped by some child molester residing in a van on the street and puts a shellacking on your ignorant behinds, if you catch my drift." This greatly alarmed the trick-or-treaters, especially Lemmy, the youngest and most innocent one. "...Did I just say that out loud?"

"Yes you did, loud for everyone to hear..." responded a now afraid Ludwig. He knows Master Hand's bitter hatred of Halloween well, a little too well to be exact. "But our trick-or-treating won't affect you, since we would be away from the mansion all night long."

"It would affect me once a child molester gets a hand on you kids. Though you and your Koopaling siblings won't look so innocent once the molester takes that stupid white cloth off of your heads, he'll spare you all...as for you, Villager, Toon Link, and Young Link, guess I won't be seeing you three after October 31st! MWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

"Master Hand I'm starting to think that your hatred for Halloween is slowly turning you into Crazy Hand," remarked Toon Link. "It's kinda scary depending on which way you look at it." One Crazy Hand is tolerable enough, but TWO Crazy Hands?! The Smash universe in its entirety would be in grave danger!

 **Master Hand: Pfft, I don't outright HATE Halloween...I just despise it with a burning passion. Wait, that still sounds like I hate Halloween...I _greatly dislike_ Halloween, though the greatly kinda suggests that I still hate it...I _disapprove_ Halloween, and everything that is entailed to it. Yes, I'll just leave it at that, that shouldn't offend anyone, should it?**

"Mario can-a you come with-a me for a minute?" Mario came to his fiancee, sporting a vampire outfit. His getup greatly concerned Master Hand. "Hopefully it won't-a take long..."

"Anything for you Mario!" smiled Peach as she followed her fiance to wherever the heck he's taking her to. "I must admit, you look good in your vampire costume!" What if Bowser wore a vampire costume, would Peach think he would look good in it?

"You stupid kids done already, we ain't got all day you know!" Bowser called out from outside, standing at the driveway. What does the Koopa King mean by the word "we"...? "Do you want to continue your silly practicing or not, we have plenty of other houses to go to!"

"We're coming, father!" Bowser Jr. squealed at the top of his lungs as he closed the front door, returning to Bowser. With the trick-or-treaters taken care of, Master Hand opted to spy on Mario, to see why he was dressed up as a vampire. It's way too early to be playing dress-up.

* * *

"'You have been invited...to a club of exquisite proportions...more details to follow,'" Chrom read a card that was given to him by Marth as he and Captain Falcon walked through the hallways together. "Marth told us to meet in the room where Bowser used to hold his putrid lessons, and I'm starting to have second doubts..." Not much was known about the club, except for the card and the location.

"Perhaps it's a sports club, where we get to talk about nothing but sports all day long!" gleamed Captain Falcon, who was arguably more optimistic than Chrom. "Wouldn't that sound like a ton of fun?" Not unless you enjoy talking about the SAME FREAKING SUBJECT for an entire day, ain't nobody got time for that!

"Marth is hardly ever into sports, except for the Super Bowl, the Olympics, and the World Cup, so I seriously doubt the club would be sports-related. Whatever he has planned for us, it better be beneficial...'

 **Chrom: Knew I should have joined Link's and Zelda's Intelligent Scholars club...I would join, but I would feel like an old man compared to the likes of Viridi, Diddy Kong, and Lucas; only good thing that would come out of my membership would be the secret hand signal the club members do. As for the knitting club...did you see how they practically forced Roy's head down the kitchen sink when he pranked them by saying he would join their club? They know no mercy whatsoever...**

"Well it looks like we're here!" announced Captain Falcon once and Chrom arrived at the room where the club was supposed to take place. Both men cautiously entered the room, and inside they saw Marth and Geno standing at the front of the room, with Ganondorf and seated at a table. The Demon Lord and the fatso looked grumpy, feeling like they regretted joining the club already.

"Welcome boys, come right on in and make yourselves comfortable!" greeted Marth; Chrom and Captain Falcon glanced at one another, and did as they were told, taking their seats at the table. "So glad you four could take the opportunity to..."

"Okay, Hero-King, let's cut to the chase, why did you invite us to your stinking club?" frowned Wario. He can grow to become quite the impatient fellow when nothing is done, and Wario's known for doing something, all the time. "There better be some incentives, and the incentives better be money! Otherwise me joining this club will all be for naught!"

"I invited you and the others to the club because the four of your have something in common...you're all pursuing love! Welcome to...the Romance Club! Geno, cue the confetti!" Geno uncorked a champagne bottle, and a slew of confetti erupted out of it, while Chrom, Wario, Captain Falcon, and Ganondorf looked on with blank faces. What a rousing start to the Romance Club! (Sarcasm level is over 9000, might be even higher.)

"...so do we get any money at all? If not, then I'm leaving!" Wario has all the money he ever wanted and more, no point of him accepting monetary incentives from Marth, especially when his bank accounts are more than full.

"It's always about money with you, just be glad that a man like Marth is willing to help you with your romantic chemistry with Palutena," said Ganondorf, still in disbelief that the rich fatso has feelings for the goddess of light. But then again, the Demon Lord himself has some feelings for Rosalina, still.

"Thank you Ganondorf, for looking on the bright side of things, and not worried over trivial matters such as money," thanked Geno. Wario will probably jaw the Star Warrior's ears out for calling money trivial. "Once we're done with this club's proceedings, you four men will be married like Marth in no time!"

 **Geno: Sure, I'm extremely clueless when it comes to love - only chance I have at getting a girlfriend is a female Luma - but I can always be a Robin to Marth's Batman. Every great individual needs a strong sidekick at their side.**

"Geno's right, you four need this Romance Club more than anything," said Marth. "Some of you have already been on a date, some of you have a particular woman in mind that you want to start a formal relationship with, and some of you are still shopping for hot girls on the market (sorry Captain Falcon), but together, we can change all of that and make significant strides in your love life!" Wario slowly raised his hand, hoping he would be called upon. "...and yes, depending on how far we get in this club, I'll pay you!" Wario grinned as he turned his raised hand into a pump fist.

* * *

As you may know already, Sonic is serving a punishment for his actions in the previous episode. His actions resulted in Fiora's apple strudel getting ruined, Diddy Kong's rocketbarrel pack malfunctioning, an invasion of Mr. Saturns, clones of Fox and Falco performing what they believe is parkour, Zelda and Aerith falling off of the roof of the mansion, Wario masquerading as Wario-Man, Mr. Game and Watch in a state of despair, and multitudes of Dragon Ball Z fans triggered all over Seattle, King county, and maybe even beyond. In order for Sonic to pay for the trouble he had caused and then some, Master Hand knew exactly what to do...

"Let me just say you're not exactly the best person to be stuck with, but you're more tolerable than Tails and Knuckles in certain aspects," Sonic said to Bowser, whom he was stuck with. Yes, the hedgehog is stuck to Bowser, wedged in between the spikes on his shell, in a way that he wouldn't be inflicted by said spikes with pain in any way. It might sound a little over the top, but then again, it's what Sonic deserved.

"Shut up man, you're killing my vibe," retorted Bowser, who was monitoring the trick-or-treaters (the Koopalings, Young Link, Toon Link, and Villager) as they were "practicing" a few days before the day of Halloween. The kids are at someone's house right now. "Better be glad Master Hand wouldn't let me put a hurting on you!"

"Of course, I'm way too precious and innocent anyways!" Take this time to laugh your butt of at Sonic's comment, if you will. "What person would want to harm the most fast thing on the planet?"

"Go ask an entire room of brawlers that question and 'll guarantee you everyone will raise their hand."

 **Bowser: My day was already rough, what with me having to monitor these dumb kids while they do their silly "practicing" for trick-or-treating, like they have some skills they need to hone on before Halloween, but when Master Hand told me that I must carry Sonic around on my shell as the hedgehog's punishment, that's when...  
Sonic: *from behind* Um, Bowser, have you forgotten that I can still hear you? Don't you dare say anything negative about me, I may not be the most bearable person out there, but I still have feelings!  
Bowser: And feelings are meant to be hurt...but since you're acting like a whiny little child, I'll let you off the hook!**

"No, we don't want any candy sir, we're just rehearsing for Halloween so we won't experience any problems," Roy said to the man at the front door of the house the trick-or-treaters were at. Bowser kept watch from the sidewalk. "Halloween can become very hectic during the night hours..."

"Don't worry kiddo, I fully understand why you're all doing this, practice makes perfect!" the man gleamed. "I can always give you kids some homemade popcorn balls, how does that sound?" The trick-or-treaters all nodded their heads with glee. Sonic was suddenly feeling bored - looking at nothing but houses and people walking by while unable to move your arms or legs can make you bored as heck - and he needed something to keep him going.

"Hey Bowser, do you mind if I sing some Chance the Rapper to pass the time?" the hedgehog asked the Koopa King, who was more than quick to say no. "Got a song in my head and I need to sing it out..."

"You don't need to sing it out, why not hum it instead?" suggested Bowser, fearful that the man at the front door and those walking by would hear Sonic's endemic singing. You'd be hard-pressed to find any failed singer on _American Idol_ that sings worse than the hedgehog. "It's just as effective as..."

"YOU DON'T WANT NO PROBLEM, WANT NO PROBLEM WITH ME, HUH! YOU DON'T WANT NO PROBLEM, WANT NO PROBLEM WITH ME!" Everyone from the Koopalings, to the two Links, to Villager, to the man at the front door, to those walking by, heard Sonic's terrible singing and all thought their eardrums were melting. That's how bad Sonic's singing is; Mega Man once had to subject himself to this torture when he had to ride with Sonic to Dr. Light's lab. Sonic's singing voice still rings in the robot's ears...or auditory canals...or auditory chips...or however the heck that robot's supposed to hear.

"My goodness, what is that horrid sound?" the man, holding a plate of popcorn balls, grimaced. "Sounds like my mother-in-law when she's crying! Don't think I can take this anymore, sorry kids!" Unable to take Sonic's singing anymore, the man rushed back inside his house, closing the door, locking it shut, and closed the curtains, as "Baba O'Reily" by The Who was blasted from inside the man's home, in an attempt to drown out Sonic's singing voice.

"Nice going father, we could have gotten some popcorn balls if not for you!" Bowser Jr. and his pals frowned at Bowser, who threw up his arms in the air. Sonic continued to sing, and it practically scared everyone on the block away.

"Yeah Bowser, for real man, way to be a jerk to your own kids, and to Young Link, Toon Link, and Villager as well!" Sonic momentarily stopped singing just to tell Bowser this, before resuming his singing. This is gonna be a long, awful day for the Koopa King...

* * *

 **Roy: *carrying two pumpkins in his hands* Peach is gonna squeal when he sees how great this pumpkin looks...woman practically screams about every little thing, like that one time Takamaru bought her a cheap spray bottle from a dollar store!  
Lloyd: Well to be fair, Takamaru claimed that it was the best spray bottle out there, he basically had to hype it up like it was the most essential thing to get, otherwise if not for that, Peach would have thrown that bottle in the trash!  
Roy: Oh yeah, I remember that, it was the only way Peach would have accepted it in the first place...gotta admit, a dollar for a spray bottle is a real bargain, though fifty cents would sound just about right.**

Roy and Lloyd arrived at the Smash Mansion, and were taken back at the decorations they saw - gravestones at the front yard, spiderwebs covering the door frames, giant fake spiders littered all over the mansion's interior - makes both swordsmen wonder how Master Hand was able to let all of this slide.

"Someone definitely went full ham with the Halloween decorations..." Lloyd remarked, and Roy nodded his head as the two entered the mansion. Once inside, they were greeted by Zelda, who was wearing a Harley Quinn outfit. (And for your information, it's _not_ the outfit from _Suicide Squad._ Zelda would think of that outfit as way too skimpy for her tastes.)

"Welcome back you two, did you like the decorations Peach put up?" the princess asked the swordsman duo; Roy and Lloyd both nodded their heads, lest shaking their heads no would equate to Peach's feelings being hurt.

"Well I'm glad to hear it! And it looks like you found the perfect pumpkin for the party!" What party is Zelda speaking of? "Come with me, Peach must see the pumpkin right away!"

Zelda led Roy and Lloyd to the gaming room, where - surprise, surprise - a Halloween party was going on. It had the works - decorations, candy, a punch bowl, everyone in costumes, and "Monster Mash" by Bobby Pickett playing in the background. Only thing that was missing was Sonic scaring the pants out of everyone and complaining about a lack of chili dogs, like everyone's supposed to care.

"A Halloween party and I wasn't even invited..." Lloyd held his head down in sadness. Dude should have seen it coming, nobody in their right mind would invite Lloyd to any get-together. "Freaking story of my life..."

"Lloyd everyone was open to attend the party if they wanted to or not, it was pretty much your decision," explained Zelda. "Thought we established this yesterday morning at breakfast." Lloyd thought over this, then suddenly remembered when Peach made the announcement about the party, much to Master Hand's chagrin - or so it would have been, had he been present when Peach made the announcement. Link would come near the Lloyd and the others, sporting a Heath Ledger Joker getup.

"You three care for...a magic trick?" the Hylian asked as he pulled out a pencil, doing his best Heath Ledger impersonation. "I can guarantee you it won't disappoint..."

"Link, have I not told you to quit it with the whole Ledger impersonations, it's becoming quite old," Zelda said to her boyfriend. Link heaved a sigh, indicating that the impersonations will be no more...for now, at least.

 **Link: *smiles evilly at the camera while pulling out a knife* Do you want to know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick...you can't savor all the...little emotions. In...you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?  
** **Peach: *from afar* Oh dear, my cutting knife has gone missing, how will I ever do the jack-o-lantern now?  
Link: One more thing I must get off of my chest, it's a bit of advice...Smile, because it confuses people. Smile, because it's easier than explaining what is killing you inside. *smiles evilly at the camera one more time before concealing knife and running away*  
**

"Excuse me for trying to have fun," a now disgruntled Link folded his arms. No point in wearing a Heath Ledger Joker outfit if you can't stay in character. "Just wanted to liven up the party..."

"My oh my, what mighty fine pumpkins you boys have there!" Cilan approached Roy and Lloyd, paying no attention to Link's Joker outfit, which in turned ticked off the Hylian. "Mind if I borrow one for a short while?"

"Only if you agree to give it back," replied Zelda, as Roy gave Cilan the pumpkin. "Peach will need it to do a jack-o-lantern." Peach would have done more jack-o-lanterns, but the princess didn't want to have Roy and Lloyd go through the trouble of finding multiple pumpkins in the pumpkin patch. Peach is a very considerate person.

"No worries, fair princess, I'll bring this pumpkin back in a jiffy!" Cilan gave an empathetic thumbs up to the princess as he ran out of the gaming room, pumpkin in hand. Zelda didn't mind the Pokemon connoisseurs candor, but Link, Roy, and Lloyd had their doubts about Cilan, they thought that he was too...jovial, for his own good. Which gives them the power to assume other jovial individuals shouldn't be trusted, like Toad for example - he may or may not be a drug lord!

"Excuse me boys, but you aren't using that pumpkin, are you?" Palutena came over to Roy and Lloyd to ask them this question. "I'm in a mood for making some pumpkin pie, and that pumpkin you got there is the perfect pumpkin for baking!"

"Eh, you can take it if you wanna, we didn't really know what to use it for," Roy gave the pumpkin to Palutena, and the goddess walked away. This made Zelda more curious as to whether or not Cilan would return the pumpkin in one piece.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF ALL OF THIS, WHY IS THERE A HALLOWEEN PARTY HAPPENING ON FRIDAY?!" Master Hand boomed when he made his appearance at the party; everyone looked at the giant hand before resuming the party. Master Hand would find Ike in a mummy costume, near the punch bowl. "Ike, my man, tell me why there's a party today and not on Halloween!"

"Because nobody agreed to having a party on Monday," the swordsman replied as he took a sip from his cup. "Besides, having the party today would help get everyone in the mood." Master Hand angrily swatted the bowl of punch onto the floor, and Mr. Game and Watch was there to clean up the mess.

"But we had a stinking cookout on Independence Day, which took place on a Monday this year, so what's so wrong about a Halloween party on Monday?!"

"Independence Day and Halloween are two completely different things, judging from which way you look at it. Heard that some elementary school teachers have Halloween parties on Friday, since that's the last school day of the week..."

"You're telling me that elementary school teachers have the gall to shove Halloween down the throats of their children?! What do the children's parents think of this?!" Their parents probably don't care either way...now Master Hand has a vendetta against Halloween _and_ elementary school teachers everywhere.

 **Master Hand: Absolutely horrible...the public schools are brainwashing the poor innocent schoolchildren into thinking that Halloween is an acceptable holiday, and it all starts at the stage of elementary school...this is how countries like the Soviet Union rose to power, they thrive on brainwashing the masses to achieve their goals in order to remain a Communist state...wait, they must have been doing Halloween parties at school since the education system was established...THE UNITED STATES HAS BEEN A COMMUNIST COUNTRY THIS WHOLE TIME, AND NOT A SINGLE SOUL EXCEPT FOR I KNOWS IT!**

"Looking mighty fine-a in that vampire outfit, Peach!" Mario complimented his fiancee as Peach came out of a dressing room, wearing one of three vampire outfits she had to choose from. It was up to Mario to decide which outfit Peach looked the best in. "Out-a of all the outfits, you look-a the best in that one!"

"Why thank you so much Mario, I was stuck on what outfit I should wear, but thanks to you, I found the perfect one!" gleamed Peach, which led one certain brawler to ask the following question...

"Since when did the gaming room have a dressing room?" Takamaru asked Heihachi Mishima. Both men weren't wearing costumes, but it wasn't like it was a requirement or anything in order to attend the party. "Seems out of place, doesn't it?"

"Watashi wa dai teitaku o tateta yōna hōhō o watashi wa shitte iru hazudesu,-sōde wa arimasen!" Heihachi angrily replied. "Watashi wa dai teitaku no furoa puran o shitte iru ka, subete no heya ga doko ni aru ka o seikaku ni shitte inai, sore wa watashi no shigotode wa nai nodesu!"

"Alright now big guy, don't get so furious, I was just asking an honest question..." At least there's someone in the mansion who's able to translate what Heihachi is saying. Tails is the other person, but sometimes he gets tired of being a translator.

* * *

At the Romance Club, Marth and Geno had Chrom, Wario, Ganondorf, and Captain Falcon write a "practice" love letter to the girls they like - Chrom was writing a letter to Raven, Wario was writing a letter to Palutena, Ganondorf was writing a letter to Rosalina, and Captain Falcon...well, we'll just say that he's writing a letter.

"Sincerely with much love, Captain Falcon..." Falcon wrote the ending to his letter. "Oh man, Alisa Bosconovitch would definitely enjoy this letter if she ever read it!" Wario did a clockwise motion with his finger near the side of his head to Chrom and Ganondorf, indicating that Captain Falcon may either be crazy or smoking something good, and Chrom and Ganondorf nodded their heads in agreement.

"Pass your letters to me so Geno and I can go other them," Marth said to the four men; the men did as they were told, and Marth and Geno inspected each letter accordingly, _especially_ Captain Falcon's. "Captain Falcon, was it really necessary for you to mention your F-Zero accolades? And does Alisa Bosconovitch even know you?"

"She'll know me eventually, just you wait and see..." Captain Falcon cockily smirked while lying back in his chair...before falling backwards and falling out of said chair, landing on the floor. The others couldn't help but laugh; the racer deserved it.

 **Captain Falcon: Alisa Bosconovitch has what every boyfriend wants and more - a cool name, a fighting attitude, a great physique, great looks...uh,** **a cool name, a fighting attitude, a great physique...care to help me out?**

"For our next activity, we'll have someone who's in a current relationship to tell us how love works, and all the ins and outs a relationship can provide," stated Marth. "Please welcome...Cloud Strife!" The hero-king applauded as Cloud grudgingly entered the room, and judging by his facial expression, he would rather be at the party in the gaming room.

"This better be worth the hundred bucks man," the swordsman stared down Marth, making him nervous. You don't wanna tick someone like Cloud off, by any means.

"Thought I threw in the extra fifty not to mention that in front of the club members...anyways, Cloud, enlighten us if you will, what are the positives and negatives of a relationship, and what advice would you give to the four men that you see before you?"

"Really the only positive I can tell you is that you have a companion that cares about you, from an intimate standpoint. A negative would be that you have to cater to your girlfriend's every demands, just to make her happy. Don't know what advice I would give out." Cloud has never been the type of guy to express his thoughts on love and romance, he's just a lowkey guy who wishes to go with the flow, and that's the way Aerith likes it.

"Well said Cloud, thank you for presence," thanked Geno; Cloud nodded and quickly exited the room, wanting to take care of other, more important things. "So as you can infer from what Cloud had said, you can keep a relationship going if you put your mind to it...just like Captain Falcon, who is not even listening to me and is apparently drawing a drawing of Alisa Bosconovitch on a piece of paper."

"Does this drawing of Alisa look good to you?" Falcon held up his drawing of Alisa for Geno and the others to see. It's safe to say he'll be falling far behind as the Romance Club progresses.

* * *

Despite what many, many people were telling him, Pit was still adamantly convinced that The Great Pumpkin exists, and he won't stop until he finds anyone else who shares his false belief. The angel had found one Great Pumpkin supporter in Kirby (pink puffball will willingly agree with Pit, in spite of any moral guidelines), and was looking for another. And he knew just the person to ask...

 **Pit: Luigi and Daisy won't let me back inside their house, Wolf thinks I'm the biggest idiot ever, and Ashley is now concocting a potion that would cure me of my "stupidity", and it's all because they refuse to believe in The Great Pumpkin. But I know one other person (aside from Kirby, at least) that knows that The Great Pumpkin is real and not a fallacy, and she's...the goddess of nature...**

"No Viridi, how can you do this to me, I thought we were friends!" Pit cried to Viridi, hands around her ankles, as the goddess tried to walk away. Count Viridi as one of the many people who refuted the existence of The Great Pumpkin.

"Pit The Great Pumpkin is NOT real, deal with it!" Viridi would tell Pit as she tried to break away from her boyfriend, but to no avail. "Clearly you have been that Halloween _Charlie Brown_ special more times than one!"

"That Halloween special speaks the truth Viridi, it practically confirms the fact that The Great Pumpkin exists! Charles Schulz is a very smart and intelligent man, Viridi, smarter than Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking COMBINED!" ...so where is Mr. Schulz's theories and whatnot?

"Wait, did you say...The Great Pumpkin?" Fox approached Pit, with his buddy Falco tagging along. Both Star Fox pilots were wearing shirts that had "The Great Pumpkin is Very, Very Real" on them. "Yo, we're The Great Pumpkin's biggest fans!"

"Say it ain't so, you awesome dudes know what's up!" Pit's spirits were lifted up, as the angel excitedly gave dap to Fox and Falco. Guess "bright" minds think alike... "So how long have you two believed in The Great Pumpkin?"

"We've believed in The Great Pumpkin for as long as we could remember, Charles Schulz really opened our eyes and informed us very well," responded Falco, resulting in Viridi rolling her eyes. "In fact, Fox and I are looking for The Great Pumpkin's whereabouts!"

"Three heads are better than two - would you like to come along Pit?" Fox asked the angel. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" Knowing Pit, he couldn't possibly say no to the offer.

"Of course I want to come along, let's go!" Pit agreed to Fox's offer, and so the angel and the Star Fox pilots banded together to find The Great Pumpkin together, only to be in for a very rude awakening later on. "Hey Kirby, we're going to find The Great Pumpkin, come join us!"

"Poyo poyo!" Kirby ran past Viridi and went to go join Pit, Fox, and Falco in their Great Pumpkin escapades. Viridi stroked her chin, wondering if the Star Fox pilots' belief in The Great Pumpkin is genuine, or the two are plotting something big for Pit.

* * *

 **Young Link: That old lady we went to gave us a lot of candy, even though we didn't need any. She gave me some Reese's Pieces, what about you guys, what did you get?  
Wendy: I got some Skittles! *holds up a bag of skittles*  
Villager: I got mini Snickers bars! *holds up a miniature Snickers bar*  
Iggy: I got some lollipops! *holds up a few lollipops in his hand*  
Toon Link: I got Sour Patch kids! *holds up a bag of sour patch kids*  
Morton: I got a rock... *holds up a measly rock***

"You kids hurry up with your stupid trick-or-treat 'practicing', this dumb hedgehog is practically driving me insane with his humming!" Bowser said to the trick-or-treaters as Sonic hummed a few Chance the Rapper songs. That Halloween Kit-Kat commercial must have turned Sonic on to the Chicago-born rapper.

"Did you not recommend to me that I should hum the songs in my head?" Sonic questioned Bowser, who was about to lose his patience at any given moment. "I'm just doing what you told me to do!" Sonic continued to hum as Bowser facepalmed, regretting some of the things he had said.

"S-Sonic, is that you, stuck to Bowser?" Amy's voice called out, and soon enough, the pink hedgehog was seen from across the street, holding her purse. "Stay right where you are, I'm coming to save you!" Amy ran over to Bowser as quickly as possible.

"Great, now your stupid girlfriend thinks I abused you or something and she's gonna blame me for something I didn't do! Why must this stuff happen to me?!"

"You let him go, you big meanie!" Once Amy had caught up with Sonic, the hedgehog whacked Bowser violently with her purse. Bowser winced as he shielded himself from Amy's attacks, for he couldn't hurt a girl outside of battle by any means. He can kidnap them, but hitting them would be a no-no for the Koopa King.

"Yeah Amy, you go girl, take that man Bowser to school, he deserves this beating big time!" Sonic cheered on for his girlfriend as the beating continued. Do you see anything wrong with what's going on, and what Sonic had just said?

"Were you...hitting my father just now?" Roy marched over to Amy, prompting the hedgehog to stop. Bowser Jr. and the rest of the Koopalings followed Roy's lead.

"About time you stinking kids came, knew you wouldn't let some prissy hedgehog hit on me forever!" said Bowser, grateful that he has individuals willing to look after him. "You know how embarrassing it would be for someone her age to be hitting on me?! (Not in a romantic way, of course.)"

"So sorry for hitting your father," Amy apologized to the Koopalings, holding her purse below her. "You will forgive me, right?"

"No, you didn't have to apologize - we just wanted to join in on the fun!" exclaimed Roy; Bowser's eyes bulged out with shock, surprise, and anger. How could his own children do him like this?! "Let's get him, you guys!" So the Koopalings beat up their own father, and a no longer apologetic Amy went back to hitting Bowser with his purse, as the Koopa King laid on the ground with his hands over his head. Toon Link, Young Link, and Villager, had no other choice but to join in on the beating, with the two Links using their swords, and Villager using his stick.

 **Bowser: *now covered in bruises and bandages* Dumb kids think they can beat up on their old man and expect to get away with it...remind me to ground every single one of them once we get back home... *rubs his head* I'm gonna need an aspirin real bad...**

* * *

Back at the Halloween party, Link was dying to do his magic trick with his pencil. And with Zelda absent at the moment, the Hylian can do as he please.

"One volunteer for my magic trick, one volunteer is all I need!" Link said to a crowd of Little Mac, Doc Louis, Roy, Lloyd, Akira, and Olimar, doing his best to stay in character. "I'm gonna make this pencil disappear, and all I need is a volunteer...how about you, short astronaut man? Step right up!" Link pointed to Olimar, who reluctantly got up from his seat and walked over to Link, who was standing at a small table with the pencil sticking upwards. Then the Hylian did the unthinkable - he slammed Olimar's head into the pencil, as the astronaut fell backwards onto the floor. "Ta-daa! It's..it's gone." The pencil was no more on the table; like Link said, it was gone, just like that!

"Um, Link, I'd look behind you if I were you..." Akira said to the Hylian, pointing behind him. "I'd do it right away..."

"That's the Joker to you!" Link snapped at Akira, still maintaining character, until he turned around and saw Zelda behind, frowning at him with her arms folded. Link shrieked as he fell back on the floor, next to Olimar. The pencil was stuck in the astronaut's helmet, leaving behind a hole once Olimar took the pencil out.

"Oh dear, I have a hole in my helmet, I might run out of oxygen soon!" the astronaut panicked as he got up...only to find out that he could still breathe. "Silly me, I can breathe just fine in the earth's atmosphere!" Took that man long enough to figure that out...

 **Link: *looks around to make sure the coast was clear* As you know, madness is like gravity...all it takes is a little push... *sees Little Mac walking by, pushes him to the floor*  
Little Mac: *angrily gets up and confronts Link* Dude what the heck was that for, it's not like I did something to you or anything!  
Link: Thanks for proving my point...  
Zelda: *calling out* Link are you still acting like the Joker, we already had a few discussions about this!  
Link: A few more words of wisdom before I go away...what doesn't kill you, simply makes you stranger! *smiles evilly at the camera before darting away, leaving Little Mac to wipe his mouth off***

"Zelda told me that Cilan was using the pumpkin, and Cilan has yet to return with it," Peach said to Mario as the two were seated together on a couch. "It's been an awfully long time..."

"Don't worry, I know-a Cilan has very good-a intentions, like-a several others!" assured Mario. Bet he thinks Toad has good intentions to, wait until Toad reveals himself as a drug lord and soon Mario will be eating his words. "Isn't that right-a Toad?" Speaking of whom, Toad the presumed drug lord was taking a sip from his cup of fruit punch when asked by the plumber.

"Cilan has done no wrong since he arrived at the mansion, he's totally not hiding anything from us as far as I'm concerned!" replied Toad. Pot calling the kettle black much?

"How do you know, he might have all of his secrets concealed back at Striaton City," said Bayonetta, who was seated on the couch across from Mario and Peach, overhearing the conversation about Cilan. "His brothers might be doing all the dirty work, ensuring that not a single soul finds out about the secrets Cilan has..."

"Wow Bayonetta why do you have to be so cynical, just let the man live!" Toad is hardly surprised Bayonetta had made those remarks, she's renowned for sparking trouble with her mouth whenever she can.

"Don't say that I didn't warn you..." Bayonetta got up and seductively walked away. "You should never trust a man whose title is a 'Pokemon connoisseur', such a title can hold a lot of secrets..." The Umbra Watch would wave to Mario, Peach, and Toad, sporting a wry smile, before making her grand exit.

"Some-a times I will never understand-a that woman," Mario shook his head disapprovingly at Bayonetta, wondering why the Umbra Witch was talking junk about Cilan all of a sudden. What if she was right...or maybe she's just playing mind games with Mario?

* * *

"The Great Pumpkin could be anywhere, we just have to stay vigilant and scour every area, every inch!" Fox said to the group of Falco, Pit, and Kirby as they searched for the nonexistent holiday figure, who's less real than other figures like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, in a sense that people have actually _seen_ the latter figures' physical appearance before. "He's got to be inside this mansion, I just know it!"

 **Pit: Fox and Falco are going to find The Great Pumpkin with me, and I'm gonna be stoked if I finally see The Great Pumpkin IN PERSON! I'd have the biggest heart attack of all time, it'll be bigger than Michael Jackson's heart attack...is it just me, or did that come off as insensitive?**

"I fully suspect The Great Pumpkin to be in this room, it's perhaps the only place in the mansion he can make his abode without causing much chaos," stated Falco, once the group was behind the doors leading to the ballroom. "I betcha he's pretty big, and he doesn't want to go about through the hallways scaring the crap out of people. So the ballroom must be the safest place for him to reside."

"Well what are we waiting for, we ain't got nothing to lose!" an eager Pit burst through the door, and stopped in his tracks once he was in the ballroom. Fox, Falco, and Kirby ran inside, and marveled at what they saw - a giant pumpkin. But this was no ordinary giant pumpkin - it was The Great Pumpkin! He actually exists!

"It's The Great Pumpkin, he's here, he's here!" Fox exclaimed as fell to his knees before The Great Pumpkin, with the bright yellow light emitting out of its cut-out eyes and mouth. "Yo, Great Pumpkin, the four of us, we're your number one fans!" The Great Pumpkin laughed heartily, filling Pit and company with the utmost glee.

"Silly fools, everyone is a number one fan of The Great Pumpkin if they believe in me!" the holiday figure bellowed. "Since you four have believed in my existence and have now seen me in person, you can have my reward..." The Great Pumpkin opened up his mouth, just enough four Pit and company to enter in. "Come inside my mouth, and claim what is yours!"

Pit and Kirby eagerly ran inside The Great Pumpkin's mouth, expecting to claim their reward...though the angel and the pink puffball would be ultimately dumbfounded. Instead of their reward, Pit and Kirby saw X, and standing behind him was Cilan, Luigi, Daisy, Yuffie, and Samus. The inside of "The Great Pumpkin" was all mechanical, and Pikachu and Pichu were seen running on a conveyor belt - they were the reason they kept the light coming out from the pumpkin.

"Well, well, well, look who fell right for our trap," grinned X, sardonically clapping his hands at Pit and Kirby, but most importantly Pit. "Still think The Great Pumpkin exists, huh?"

"I had-a contacted Samus about-a your Great Pumpkin fascination, and Cilan came-a over to tell-a me about your fascination as well," explained Luigi. "After Ganondorf had told-a us, we decided to band together and prove-a to you that The Great Pumpkin does-a not exist!"

"And there's no way of getting past the truth Pit, you just have to accept it," added X, as Pit lowered his head in sadness. What will the angel do annually on Halloween now?

 **X: Ganondorf was supposed to be in my spot, but he had to join some Romance Club hosted by Marth, so Samus asked me of all people to fill Ganon's void. Do you not know how hard it is to tell Pikachu and Pichu to keep running on the treadmills, and not get easily distracted. Their attention spans are shorter than my patience...**

"Built this bad boy entirely by myself, and I wouldn't have done it without this," said Samus, pulling out the giant wrench she was working on earlier. "Used this wrench to increase the size of the pumpkin, and then I went to work inside and inputted every little thing you see before you. Had Pikachu and Pichu run on the treadmills to keep the pumpkin powered."

"Hoo boy, about time we can take these stupid shirts off..." Fox and Falco entered the pumpkin, ripping off their "The Great Pumpkin is Very, Very Real" shirts off. Expect the pilots to burn said shirts later on in the day.

"Fox, Falco, you were in on this too?" Pit asked the pilots. At this point, Kirby is the only person the angel can trust, for Kirby is an absolute yes man.

"I ordered Fox and Falco there to lead you to 'The Great Pumpkin' whereabouts, so we could prove to you that your beloved holiday figure has never existed," explained Cilan. "Those two were a huge help, I must say!"

"So The Great Pumpkin...is all a huge lie..." Pit began to feel even sadder, as the others gathered around Pit. Yes, Samus was a part of it, she literally had no other choice.

"Chin up Pit, there's many other ways to celebrate Halloween, aside from some silly holiday figure. You just need to have fun - and be realistic at the same time. With a spicy combination like that, you can make the best of Halloween!"

The sadness that Pit displayed on his face soon turned into a smile. Who needs The Great Pumpkin anymore - it's about time that Pit grows up!

* * *

The front door of the mansion opened, and a bruised and battered Bowser trudged his way inside, before collapsing onto the floor at feet of Isabelle, who was happily waiting. The Koopalings, Toon Link, Young Link, and Villager all filed in, standing in the foyer.

"Greetings Bowser, how was it monitoring the kids?" Isabelle asked the Koopa King, who gave a thumbs up. That thumbs up really says a lot. "And what about you Sonic, did you 'enjoy your punishment', as Master Hand would ask you?"

"Sure did, wasn't as bad as I expected!" Sonic replied as Isabelle helped the hedgehog off of the shell, pulling mightily to pry Sonic off. Must have used a lot of super glue. "Gotta admit, Bowser was a good sport, and I think we learned a lot from each other!"

 **Sonic: Truth be told, being stuck to Bowser wasn't so bad, the spikes didn't really hurt me. I kinda treated the spikes like they were my friends...friends that couldn't talk at all, but were able to comprehend what I was saying and understand my feelings. We all have had that type of friend before, the kind of friend that would quietly sit in class and absorb everything like a sponge...had Bowser not talked at all during the whole trick-or-treat practicing, he would have made a perfect example of what I'm talking about!**

 **Bowser: *glaring angrily at the camera* Two words...never again.**

"Oh man, Sonic was stuck to our father this whole time?" exclaimed Iggy; Bowser buried his face in the floor in utter defeat. "So that would explain all of the bad things that were happening to him! Sorry for the things we had done to you, father!" Bowser didn't accept Iggy's apology, he just laid there face-first on the floor, too bummed to even lift his head up.

"It's a darn shame that the Inklings couldn't join us," remarked Villager. Knowing the Inklings, they were probably having an epic paintball battle, and/or debating whether or not Marie or Callie was better than the other. "But they'll be with us when we officially go trick-or-treating on Halloween, that much I'm sure." Just then, X ran down the stairs to speak with Villager, in somewhat of a hurry.

"Hey Villager, you can use your Pocket ability to carry around large stuff, right?" the pacifist robot asked Villager, who nodded his head. "Can you come with me for a minute? It won't take long."

* * *

"Just want to say thank you for your attendance today, it really means a lot," Marth said to Chrom, Ganondorf, Wario, and Captain Falcon once their inaugural meeting was over. "Hope you all learned something today and didn't goof off at all...Captain Falcon, I'm looking directly at you."

"I totally learned something today Marth, this Romance Club has been a rousing success so far!" Captain Falcon gave a thumbs up, while holding his drawing of Alisa Bosconovitch close to his chest. Is Alisa the racer's newest crush? Too bad Falcon will never even get close to attaining her.

"Well, we have nothing else to say, so I guess that's a wrap," stated Geno, looking questionably at Captain Falcon's drawing of Alisa and noting how bad of a drawer Falcon truly is. "You're all dismissed. Don't forget to meet back here for our next Romance Club meeting!"

Chrom, Ganondorf, Wario, and Captain Falcon all filed out of the room, with Captain Falcon clinging dearly to his drawing of Alisa, for whatever reason. Wario didn't get that far from the room until he was stopped by Palutena, who was holding something behind her back.

"I was thinking about the great deed you did last week regarding the Mr. Saturns, and I felt that you deserve a treat for what you had did," said the goddess of nature. "So I baked you this with Dunban's help..." Palutena pulled out what was behind her back - some good ol' pumpkin pie - and gave it to Wario, who accepted the pie with much glee. Chrom and Ganondorf looked behind themselves and saw the offering, both in the highest form of disbelief.

 **Chrom: Just when I thought I had seen it all at this mansion...Palutena, Lady Palutena, gave that bozo Wario pumpkin pie. Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Ganondorf?  
** **Ganondorf: Didn't Palutena make some remark that mortals and immortals can't mingle with one another, in terms of love? We'll see how this thing between her and Wario plays out...**

 **Dunban: When Palutena told me that she wanted to assist her in making some pumpkin pie for someone, I was like, "Sure thing Palutena, I'd be more than glad to help!" When she said that someone was Wario, I was like, "..." *makes a blank face* All it took was for Palutena's threat to break my only working arm for me to oblige with her command.**

"Much appreciated Palutena, I've always loved your wonderful pumpkin pies!" gleamed Wario, staring very intently at his pumpkin pie. "Here's one down the hatch!" The fatso scarfed the pumpkin pie in its entirety down his mouth, and Palutena smiled. Chrom and Ganondorf glanced at one another before continuing down the hallway, wondering what the long-term ramifications of Wario and Palutena would be. That would be something worth discussing at the next Romance Club meeting, don't ya think?

* * *

With the help of Villager's pocket ability, Cilan managed to return the pumpkin he borrowed back to the party, and it was still in its "Great Pumpkin" state. The lights continue to emit out from the pumpkin's eyes and mouth, as Pikachu and Pichu ran inside the pumpkin-turned-jack-o-lantern to keep the power going.

"This giant jack-o-lantern is definitely the life of the party!" remarked Yoshi, who was standing with Peach and Cilan, admiring the jack-o-lantern's beauty.

"It very well might be the greatest jack-o-lantern I've ever seen, and I didn't even have to do any work!" exclaimed Peach. Now the princess won't have to worry about carving any pumpkins with her knife...especially since Link probably still has the knife to begin with. "Thank you so much Cilan, you really outdid yourself!"

"Oh don't thank me, thank Samus, she came up with the construction and all," stated the Pokemon connoisseur. "I was just there to ensure everything was done properly." Mario and Bayonetta watched from afar, and Mario was smirking at Bayonetta. Usually it would be the other way around.

"And you thought-a Cilan was up-a to trouble..." the plumber smirked, as Bayonetta treated herself to some Halloween cookies Robin and Fiora had baked.

"I suppose you may have won this round Mario, but we'll see where Cilan's true intentions lie later on," the Umbra Witch replied as she walked away, ever so seductively. Girl's always stirring up some trouble, she's like an agent of disaster.

"See Pit, The Great Pumpkin is just some imaginary figure, and you went through all that trouble for nothing, because of your own naivety," Viridi discussed with Pit, the two seated at a table with Kirby, who was chomping down on the Halloween cookies. He would suck all the cookies up with his gigantic mouth, but he was reprimanded from doing so. "So are you gonna put this whole Great Pumpkin thing behind you, once and for all?"

"Yeah, it's about time that I grow up and face the facts," replied Pit. "Like Cilan had told me, there's many other ways I can enjoy Halloween aside from following up some silly holiday figure, and this year, it's about time that I do just that!" Pit looked to his left, and saw Link, still in character as Heath Ledger's Joker, smiling at the angel, causing Pit to shriek like a little girl and fall out of his chair. Link must have enjoyed that a lot more than he should.

"Seriously Link, again with the Joker impersonations?" Cloud called out to his best friend; the swordsman was chilling with his girl, Aerith, when he heard Pit's girly scream. "Cool it off man, we don't need anyone to have a heart attack!"

"C'mon Cloud, even you have to admit that was funny!" retorted Link, momentarily breaking character. When is enough ever enough for the Hylian?

 **Link: *smiles evilly at the camera one last time* ...why so serious?**


	46. Episode 46: Jailbreak

_Author's Note:_

 _Oh joy, another Mega Man-related request, this one from sm0l child, I'm so excited..._

 _"Can we see Geo and Omega-Xis? Pleaseeee? ;A;"_

 _Fine, Geo and Omega-Xis are gonna be in this story, hope you folks are happy now...next up, we have Pretty Palutena:_

 _"Yes, Amy omg, I kinda want more Amy, she's so funny! Also, what if Toad actually is A drug lord?"_

 _You'll definitely see some more Amy, she won't be going anywhere as far as I'm concerned. And is Toad actually a drug lord? We'll be delving into him later on to find out! Here's Derick Lindsey, with some long-term ideas:_

 _"Man great chapter as always I have read your story from the beginning and I enjoyed every chapter sorry that I didn't leave a review all that time. I was wondering if you can continue next week with Link getting to into the joker character and can't stop himself so it's up to Zelda, Cloud, and Arieth to stop Link and snap him back to normal, also in the future as either a one year anniversary or if you decide to keep it going for a long time a 100th chapter you can make a lower deck chapter dedicated to some of the smashers who don't get featured often in this fanfic. Keep up the good work and hope that you continue this fanfic for a long time."_

 _Shoot, had I seen this review earlier ( tends to show guest reviews two or three days after they've been posted), I would have put the Link/Joker idea to work, but since I was already ahead of schedule in regards to this installment of Smash Life at the time, I was unable to do so. But I'll leave the idea on the table, as well as the one year anniversary and 100th chapter stuff, if I even make it to the end of the year or the 100th chapter, we'll see. One last review to answer, from Dongsayadaaaeeee:_

 _"If it's not too much trouble... I wonder what would happen if the other Links and Zeldas came for a visit?"_

 _I was kinda holding off the mansion visits for now, but I'll change my mind. We'll see some Legend of Zelda characters very soon. You'll just have to stick around._

* * *

 **Episode 46: Jailbreak**

Red the Pokemon Trainer was going through changes. No, not emotional changes, or even psychological changes - he was going through physical changes, and not the kind he expected.

At the beginning of the week, Red was just your normal, ten-year old boy, so obsessed with Pokemon that he would check out his Pokemon cards while talking a stroll outside or, even worse, while using a bathroom. (You honestly don't know what he does there.) But by Friday, the Pokemon trainer looked like a blatant sixteen-year old, with his height increasing and his voice deepening. It was freaking him out, and he had to ask someone what was going on.

Quite frankly, the only person Red could really ask was Dr. Mario, who was tidying up things in his doctor's office. To say Dr. Mario was an amateur doctor would be an understatement, due to his lack of a medical degree, but the doctor could still get the job done.

"Dr. Mario, I have a major problem on my hands, it's an emergency!" Red rushed inside the doctor's office. Once Dr. Mario saw a significantly older Red, he knew exactly what to do - he ran up to the Pokemon trainer, and knocked him down to the floor, pulling on his neck. Couldn't he just slapped him instead, like he tends to do?

"Tell me what you-a did to Red, you monster!" Dr. Mario angrily said to Red, now trashing his head to the floor. Not a single soul has ever seen the doc this aggressive before, it must be that time of the month.

"Who are you trying to kid, it's me, I'm Red!" the trainer frowned as he pushed Dr. Mario away and got up. "I just...had a few changes, and I look and feel older now!" Dr. Mario still wasn't convinced, as he was stroking his chin to figure out if Red was telling the truth or not.

"I don't-a believe you at all, I'm gonna need-a some substantial proof for me to believe-a you..." What "substantial proof" would Dr. Mario need?

"You want substantial proof, well I'll give you substantial proof...go, Ivysaur!" Red threw out Ivysaur, who appeared in front of a doubting Dr. Mario. "Ivysaur, use Bullet seed!" At Red's command, the seed Pokemon would fire seeds out from his bulb, as the seeds would fire into the air and eventually land on the floor. Did this convince Dr. Mario enough?

"I simply cannot-a believe it..." the doctor's eyes widened. "...you inserted a brain-a chip in that Ivysaur's-a head so it would-a listen to your command, and that way you could trick-a him to thinking you're Red!" Apparently the doctor wasn't convinced, leading to a facepalm from Red. "Some Pokemon-a trainer you're supposed to be!"

 **Yoshi: Yes, I'm Red's roommate. And yes, I have been paying attention to the changes Red has been undergoing as of late. In a span of less than a week, Red has grown from a boy...to a slightly older boy! Yet I can't help but think that he still looks the same...excellent Pokemon trainers must have great genes. I firmly believe Red is slowly turning into a man, and I'm not gonna tell anyone that until later, just to see how things play out...**

"Installing brain chips in Pokemon brains is inhumane, that's something a villainous group like Team Rocket would do!" stated Red. Dude better shut up, Jessie, James, and Meowth might be snooping around the mansion, and they might get some ideas if they had overheard what Red just said...

"Are-a you implying that you're a Team-a Rocket member?! It all makes-a sense now!" Dr. Mario went to the phone, as Red pulled on his hair in frustration. How can Mario be so dense in his doctor persona? "Isabelle, we-a have a 4-1-1, I repeat, we-a have a 4-1-1! There's a Team Rocket-a member among us, and he's-a in my office!"

"Say it isn't so - I'm sending Donkey Kong over right now!" Isabelle's voice was heard over the phone. In an instant, Donkey Kong arrived, ready to put a beating on someone. You wouldn't like this gorilla when he's angry - or hungry. Which is why you should always have a banana or even a Snickers bar around when ready.

"Where is the Team Rocket guy?" asked Donkey Kong; Dr. Mario pointed at Red. "You're going down fool!" The gorilla grabbed Red and held him up in the air by the collar, as Ivysaur braced himself for an attack, but before DK could beat the snot out of Red, he took off the Pokemon trainer's cap for closer inspection, and put him back on the floor once he fully recognized who he was.

"Why on-a earth did you put-a him back down, he's a part-a of Team Rocket!" frowned Dr. Mario, clearly the most dense person in the room. That head mirror must be doing some freaky stuff to his brain.

"Dr. Mario you silly buffoon, this guy is Red, albeit slightly older!" Donkey Kong placed the cap back on Red's head, and dusted him off. "Have you even been paying attention to Red at all this week? He's seemingly getting older by the day, and it's kinda freaky to be honest with you!"

"At least there's someone who knows what's going on..." Red mumbled as he returned Ivysaur to his Poke ball. "Can you solve my problem, Dr. Mario, I keep getting older and I don't know why!"

"I may not have-a the answer to your-a troubles, but fortunately I know-a someone who does," answered Dr. Mario. "He helped-a out one resident before, and he'll-a do it again..."

* * *

 **Wolf: Apparently my Star Wolf comrades issued out another bet...Panther Coroso did a bet between me, Andrew, Leon, and Pigma, saying that whoever can go a single day without having to eat or drink anything would get a free personalized vending machine, all to themselves! On the flipside, whoever loses the bet has to create an anime OVA, whatever the heck that's supposed to be, and show it to their peers, otherwise it would be constant prank calls for an entire month! I already had to make a horror film, and we know how that turned out to be, so I can't afford to lose this bet by any means! My dignity depends on it!**

In a sense, Wolf found winning the bet to be somewhat easy - just stay in your room all day long like Ashley does, and don't even think about food or drink, and you'll be just fine! The only time Wolf would need to exit his room would be when he has to use the bathroom, and the pilot would make a quick bathroom break, to relieve himself, because we all know how dangerous keeping your urine in is. As Wolf was heading back to his room, he spotted MegaMan .EXE in the hallway, speaking with some kid with brown spiky hair, a red shirt, blue shorts, red shoes, and glasses on his head. With him was some robotic dog-like creature, with red eyes, blue skin, and some green stuff coming out from its body and limbs, it's hard to perfectly describe what it was. Wolf had never seen this kid or his "pet" before, so he leaned over for closer inspection.

"So glad that you two could make it to the mansion today," .EXE said to the brown-haired kid and his robotic canine companion. "Hope you two can stick around for a bit longer, you know, get to see the stuff that goes on here and all."

"Eh, I would, but I gotta help Sonia prepare for a concert, I kinda became her de facto manager or something," the kid replied, folding his arms behind his head, as Wolf inched closer. "Girl's always looking for a new gig, and sometimes you gotta make some sacrifices to meet her..." The kid stopped when he saw Wolf inching towards him. "Hey, who's this wolf guy with the eye bandage? Is he some sort of pirate?"

"That wolf guy you see before you is Wolf O'Donnell, one of the many folks that live in this mansion. He's not exactly a pirate, he's more of a mercenary, though that's pretty similar to being a pirate, I must say." Mercenaries tend to have some aspirations for gaining money wealth, much like pirates, so the terms "mercenary" and "pirate" could be used interchangeably to describe Wolf in certain aspects.

"I honestly prefer pirate, but to each their own...who's that kid and his dog companion, they're not staying here, are they? We don't need anymore dogs running about, Duck Hunt Dog is already enough!"

"I'm Geo Stelar, and that's Omega-Xis!" the brown-haired kid introduced himself and his companion. "We just wanted to stop by and pay Mega Man and his pals a visit." Geo saw Link walking by the corner of the hallway, speaking with K.K. Slider who was holding his guitar. It was the dog's moral obligation to carry his trusty guitar everywhere he goes. "Woah, is that Link, the famed hero of Hyrule?! No way!"

"Pipe down kid, quit fangirling, otherwise that Link guy is gonna think you're a weirdo!" scolded Omega-Xis. "Don't make an utter fool out of yourself!"

 **Geo Stelar: A lot of famous people live at the Smash Mansion. You got Mario...Link...Samus...Kirby...Pikachu...Donkey Kong...Sonic...Cloud...Ryu...Bayonetta?! *screams excitedly*  
** **Omega-Xis: Time for you to turn in your man card, good sir...  
Geo Stelar: Come on Omega-Xis, wouldn't you be excited to meet some famous video game folk? You'd be geeking out just like me!  
Omega-Xis: I'd do so without sacrificing my manliness...**

"Planning for Mario's and Peach's wedding has me lost my passion for playing a bit," K.K. Slider discussed with Link as the two walked together. "I'm so busy picking what songs to play, that it's cutting into the time I need for my concerts!"

"K.K., picking songs isn't that hard, you're making it a much bigger deal than it's supposed to be," stated Link. What would he know, it's not like he's a renowned musician known for charming men and women, boys and girls of all ages. "Just jot down a list of songs that would be suitable in a wedding environment, and BOOM! You're done."

"But I hardly know any songs suitable for a wedding environment! That's why I had Rosalina take care of the duties at the wedding last year..." K.K. Slider would stop in his tracks, along with Link, when they saw Geo Stelar staring right at them (mostly Link) with a gleeful face, with his hands on the sides of his face. It's safe to say that the man has officially reached peak fangasm, and both men should be very, very afraid.

"Link I'm so happy to see you my name is Geo Stelar I'm a huge fan of yours love everything that you do and more also your girlfriend Zelda is like super hot and I'm just excited we finally got to meet in person!" Geo ran up to Link and vigorously shook the Hylian's hand, saying a mouthful of things to him without stopping to take a single breath. Once Geo inhaled, he then exhaled and said a lot more. "Just want to say that you're awesome and cool and great and very heroic and you're just super awesome in general and I love your sword!" Extreme fangasm achieved.

"Don't tell me he's always like this, his friends must go through so much," Wolf whispered to Omega-Xis, who felt pretty humiliated for Geo. It was like he was seeing a drastically different person.

"Only for famous people that he would never expect to meet in his life, such as that Link dude," explained Omega-Xis, while Geo continued to shake Link's hand, like's he's never gonna wash his hand ever again. He does realize he would have to wash it for sanitary reasons, right? "If he acts like this with people like Mario and Sonic, then I'm done, I'm out..."

 **Omega-Xis: Geo is getting a snack from the vending machine right now, and with him away, I can finally get something off of my chest...Geo better not make me look bad when he starts fangirling (yes, I said fangirling, would say fanboying but after seeing how he shrieked when he saw Pac-Man in the mansion's driveway, I fully digress...), I hope he realizes that I have a reputation too! Can't be seen with a kid who would probably wet his pants in excitement over paint drying!**

"So is that white dog with the guitar your pet dog, he looks so cool!" Geo knelt down at K.K. Slider, apparently convinced that he was owned by Link. Clearly he doesn't know _that_ much about one of his video game heroes. "Do you mind if I pet him?"

"First of all kid, that dog is not my pet, he's a resident of this mansion," Link had to set it straight for Geo. "His name is K.K. Slider, and he likes to play his guitar for us at some of the concerts or quartets he holds. Also, he hates it when people...pet him." Right before Link could say it, Geo was petting K.K. Slider on the head, and the hippie dog did not like it, not one bit.

"Mellow out man, I don't appreciate others doing that!" K.K. slapped Geo's hand away, and Geo rubbed it. "Please excuse me for my unnecessary attitude, it's just that...I've been planning for a high-profile wedding, and I'm starting to lose my patience...I don't even feel like having a concert anymore..."

"Funny you should mention that, I have a friend by the name of Sonia Strumm who likes to sing pop music, and she's looking for a place to hold her concert!" said Geo; the once downtrodden K.K. Slider soon saw his spirits uplifted the moment Geo mentioned a concert. Perhaps the fire within K.K. had somehow been restored by Geo, of all the people you could think of?

"Sing...pop music...concert?" the hippie dog tied these three words together, and got all giddy. "A music concert you want, a music concert you will get! Why, it can help get my mind off of things...and you boys are gonna help make the concert possible!"

"Technically I'm not a boy, I'm more of an adult, so I have no business being a part of this concert crap," stated Wolf, doing whatever is necessary to refrain himself from losing the bet. He can't possibly take any chances now.

"Very well then...you boys and the adult wolf are gonna help make the concert possible!" reaffirmed K.K., causing Wolf to growl in anger.

* * *

Life for Bayonetta was starting to become very boring, especially after the Umbra Witch's roommate, Snake, had been arrested for growing cocaine in the gardens. Seven weeks passed since the day Snake was arrested, and many brawlers were greatly missing his presence, and Bayonetta was one of them.

 **Bayonetta: To be honest with you, I miss having Snake as a roommate...just hearing him gripe and complain about today's culture and society, and always talking crap about the millennial generation, it was like music to my ears; cynicism on stereo. None of us know about Snake's current situation, other than the fact that he's incarcerated at some prison on a faraway island. Maybe a jailbreak is in order...?**

But Bayonetta couldn't organize a jailbreak alone, she would need a partner or two to assist her, she can't be a lone wolf. So she snooped around the mansion, searching for the two perfect candidates for the job. First up was Lucina and Robin, who were spending time together in the living room.

"Sorry Bayonetta, but Father wouldn't like it if I broke Snake out of prison, he would probably think less of me," Lucina kindly said to the Umbra Witch. Such a daddy's girl...

"I may be an expert strategist, but jailbreaks aren't exactly my specialty," stated Robin. "Thanks for asking us though." Bayonetta groaned and left the two lovers alone. The next duo the Umbra Witch interrogated would be the Ice Climbers, who were playing in the ball pit.

"I've been thinking about breaking Snake out of prison," Bayonetta had to raise her voice for the Ice Climbers, too busy having fun in the ball pit to even pay attention to the Umbra Witch. "Having some accomplices to tag along would be greatly appreciated!" Bayonetta raised her voice even higher, and still the Ice Climbers wouldn't listen. Bayonetta groaned as she left the Ice Climbers be, and a few moments after she left...

"Did you hear anything, or were my ears deceiving me just now?" Popo stopped playing and asked Nana, who simply shrugged. "Oh well, it might come to me eventually." Popo resumed playing in the ball pit, and Nana did the same.

Bayonetta would ask the Inklings if they wanted to come along, but they were involved in a high-stakes paintball match in the backyard, and there was so much paint splattered all over the place, that the Duck Hunt Dog had to relocate back inside the mansion, to keep himself safe. With the Inklings already busy, Bayonetta had one last duo in mind, and it was the last duo she considered asking...

"You want us to tag along with you to the prison where Snake's imprisoned at?!" exclaimed Pit, who was playing video games with Kirby in his room. Competition between the two must be very one-sided, for many obvious reasons. "We'd be more than happy to come with you Bayonetta, I really wanna see how Snake's doing!"

"We're not going to see how Snake's doing, we're breaking him out...thought I already cleared that up," said Bayonetta, now regretting asking Pit and Kirby. "I'll just tell Palutena that I...treated you boys to some ice cream, she'll buy it like it's nothing!"

"You're gonna treat us to ice cream after we rescue Snake, that's great of you Bayonetta, didn't know you were that nice!" Pit exchanged high fives with Kirby. Bayonetta must regret saying the ice cream part as well. Granted, she has the money, but would she spend it on Pit and Kirby? Kirby, yes, Pit, not so much.

 **Pit: So Kirby, what's your favorite ice cream flavor?  
** **Kirby: Ooh wah! *affably waves his hands in the air*  
** **Pit: Hey, that's my favorite flavor too, we certainly have a lot more in common than we think! Bayonetta is so nice, treating us to ice cream, a huge contrast from the time she chased me down for me being an angel...good times, good times.**

"We shall leave for the prison at seven o' clock sharp; first I must tell Mega Man and R.O.B. to get their teleportation device ready," notified Bayoneta. This instance would mark the second time the Umbra Witch used the device. "Might want to use this time to tell your significant others your goodbyes!" What significant other would Kirby have, little fella may not be interested in love, or even know how love works! "I'll be seeing you boys later!" Bayonetta waved to Pit and Kirby as she exited her room, right when Dark Pit entered in, looking questionably at the Umbra Witch.

"Bayonetta was flirting with you again, wasn't she?" the doppelganger asked Pit. "Or did she vow to kill you for being an angel?" Dark Pit seriously can't think he's safe from Bayonetta's crutches.

"She wants to treat me and Kirby to some ice cream later today!" replied Pit, and Kirby nodded his head, both lads downplaying the information they had gained earlier. As earlier stated by Bayonetta, Snake's jailbreak would be a very secret plan, and only her, Pit, and Kirby can know about it. "She didn't say where we'll be eating ice cream though, but I know we'll have a swell time together!"

"And she didn't even want to invite me..." Dark Pit shook his head, sitting on his bed as Pit and Kirby continued their extremely lopsided video game competition. Dark Pit will have his day, one day.

* * *

Marth and Geno held another organized Romance Club meeting with Chrom, Wario, Ganondorf, and Captain Falcon, and instead of meeting in the room where they usually meet, the six gathered outside the mansion for "some observational learning", as Marth called it. They would be watching certain couples flirt with one another, while taking notes on how flirting is done.

"Don't appreciate those men looking at us like that..." Aerith said to Cloud, the two sitting at a bench in a nearby park. The two lovebirds were being watched by Marth and company; Chrom, Wario, Ganondorf, and Captain Falcon were watching closely, with Captain Falcon taking notes on a notepad.

"I tried to warn Marth about this, but that man just wouldn't listen," responded Cloud, doing his best to ignore the Hero-King and the other club members. "He's going over the line with this Romance Club crap, and it's starting to get on my nerves. A part of me wants to tell him how I feel about his stupid club, but I'm worried about hurting his feelings; he is a pretty sensitive dude, after all."

 **Cloud: Marth had promised me he would leave me alone after I stopped by the Romance Club and tell the members what it's like to be in an ongoing relationship, and he even paid me a hefty fee to keep my shut up, and I kinda backed up on my promise (promises are meant to be broken anyway, so it's not like it's that big of a deal). Now Marth wants me to flirt with Aerith in a local park, to teach the members how to flirt and whatnot, and he didn't offer me a fee this time...I think a sucker punch to his face can cover for everything.**

"You two flirt already, there's a ladies show coming on television today and I can't miss it by any means!" Captain Falcon called out to Cloud and Aerith. "I must decide on which woman I want to make my future wife!" Wasn't this dude fawning over _Tekken's_ Alisa Bosconovitch last week, why must he flip-flop all the time? Just pick one lady, and stick to her!

"Can you boys excuse us for a minute, it won't take long!" Aerith said to the Romance Club members as she got up from the bench, suddenly feeling a strong urge to tell Cloud something important. The blonde swordsman himself sensed this when Aerith grabbed his arm. "We'll be back in a few, promise you we'll be back sooner than you know it!" Aerith took Cloud's arm, and took him behind a tree, faraway from Marth and company.

"Alright Aerith, you dragged me all the way here, so clearly you got some important stuff to share with me," inferred Cloud. There is no other valid reason for the two to be hiding behind a tree. "What do you have to say that's so important that you can't say it in front of the others?"

"It's a secret of mine that I kept hidden away from you and everyone else...a secret that would probably devastate many, I'm sure...my secret...my secret is that I'm not from universe, I never came back from the dead, as you and many others had assumed."

Upon hearing this, Cloud gave Aerith a funny look, then looked back behind himself, then returned his focus to Aerith. How can someone like Aerith claim that they never returned from the dead, while at the same time state that they're from a different universe? That's like Bill Clinton say that he never served a second term at the White House, and also stating that he's a naturalized citizen from Cuba.

"Aerith I honestly don't know what flowers you have been smelling in the gardens, but evidently they're not good for your well-being," Cloud said to his girlfriend, confused as ever and fearing for Aerith's overall sanity.

"No Cloud, I'm telling you the absolute truth, I wished to tell you earlier but I didn't know how you would feel," said Aerith, stressing the importance of her secret. "As I can already tell, you're very confused, and sharing any more information might not be the best thing to do..."

"We'll talk about it later, right now we gotta head back to the bench before Marth starts having a fit," Cloud grabbed Aerith's hand and walked her back to the park bench; once the two returned, Marth and company refocused their attention on the two, with Captain Falcon whipping out his notepad after several seconds of boredom.

 **Aerith: Not everyone doesn't know about my secret...Master Hand, Marth, and Luigi are the only three that know how I got here. Marth was the one who brought me here in the first place, and it was under the orders of Master Hand and Luigi. I entrusted those three not to spill the beans about my origins, for I fear that doing so on early notice would be very, very grave...**

* * *

Knuckles had done everything he had wished to and more in the beginnings of his rap career. He released his first mixtape. He released his first music video. Heck, he even squashed a beef with some sap name "G Hunnid the Big Thang", who was apparently Big the Cat. That dumb feline will do anything to make himself look cool.

Now the echidna is off to bigger and better things. He's gonna step up and take things all the way up to eleven and beyond. No, he's not gonna record another mixtape - he's gonna record his first album, marking a first of such a feat for Star Records. Before Knuckles could get into the grind of things, he first needs a legit album name, for he can't succeed without one. Which is why he's relying on his two favorite people to assist him...Sonic and Tails. (You thought Fox and Falco, didn't you?)

"C'mon Knuckles, picking an album name is not that hard - just write down a bunch of random words on pieces of paper, put the pieces in a bag, draw two pieces randomly, and use the words on those pieces of paper as a part of the title!" suggested Sonic.

"Sounds like a great idea, why haven't I thought of that!" exclaimed Knuckles. The echidna was getting all excited, as evidenced by him rubbing his hands together. You know you're in the groove if you're rubbing your hands together, like Montgomery Burns. "Tails, go get a sheet of paper and a sack or something, I'll instruct you on what to do once you get the materials!" Tails got up and flew away, to do as he was told.

 **Knuckles: Coming up with a legit album name is oftentimes harder than making an album cover - your title has to fit the entire motif of the album. I wish was proficient at titles and whatnot, like David Bowie...he was truly a music innovator. He was the only guy who could think up of an album name like "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars" and still receive high recognition for his works.**

"So have you come up with an album title yet?" Fox asked Knuckles as he walked inside the Star Records room, sipping some coffee. "Since you wanted to come to terms with a title by the end of the week, you'll have until the end of Saturday to reach a decision on a title, to keep up with things."

"No worries Fox - Sonic, Tails, and I are going to find out what the title for my first album will be very soon," assured Knuckles. Tails would return to the Star Records room, holding a sheet of paper, an ink pen, and a sack in his hands.

"The more pieces we have, the better," Tails placed the three materials on the Star Records desk, and ripped the sheet of paper into pieces, as Fox inquisitively looked at the yellow fox. "It might increase our chances of coming up with a more unique title."

"You're seriously using pieces of paper to decide on an album title?" Fox finally spoke up after several moments of judging the Sonic trio. "Are you three insane or something? Is that the best method you could come up with?"

"Any method is better than no method!" Sonic shrugged as he grabbed the ink pen, and wrote random words on the pieces of paper. "Yo, Tails, get my phone and call Amy, and tell her to bring her butt over here!" In the past, Sonic would be very hesitant to call Amy over to the mansion, but since him and Amy are on the same page, no more hesitation is needed.

"Unbelievable, just unbelievable..." Fox shook his head and walked away to another part of the Star Records room, as Tails fetched Sonic's cellphone.

* * *

In the mansion's lecture hall, Link, Wolf, MegaMan .EXE, K.K. Slider, Geo Stelar, and Omega-Xis were setting things up for a concert - Sonia Strumm's concert. Geo had told the young pop singer via phone that the Smash Mansion would be a great venue for one of her concerts, and Sonia obliged with much joy.

"A pop concert from this Sonia Strumm girl would do leaps and bounds for this mansion!" exclaimed Master Hand, who was with the men as they prepared the stage and whatnot. "I'll even make it open to the public, the Seattleites are more than welcome to attend!" The money generated from the concert could be contributed to Mario's wedding - but knowing Master Hand, he may or may not have other plans...

 **Master Hand: It is highly crucial that I (ahem, _we_ ) raise as much money as possible from the concert so I can buy that Lamborghini Veneno, priced at 4.5 million dollars...Yes, yes, I know, I know I'm universally incapable of driving, but why do you think people like P. Diddy have an egregious amount of cars and homes and stuff and flaunt them off to others? To remind the people below them how truly important they are, of course! Obviously I'm the most important person in the Smash universe, so I have to let the fools that cower before me to know what's up! Gotta put some respect on my name!**

"But Master Hand, you vowed not to any citizens of Seattle in the mansion without your permission after that whole tourist incident," Link said to the Smash universe creator, as he was setting up the lights. No musical concert is complete without a set of lights, that's an unwritten rule in music that's been proven time and time again. "Unless this is just a way for you to raise money to accomplish something that fulfills your selfish desires..."

"How dare you accuse me of raising money for selfish deeds!" Master Hand stuck his finger up in Link's face; the Hylian backed up against the wall. "In case you were wondering, I am raising money for my own ambitions, but I don't respect you for accusing me, I got a reputation you know..."

"Sonia is so gonna flip out when she sees what we've done with this stage!" Geo smiled as she did the decorations on the stage. Just then, a red-haired girl wielding a guitar approached Geo, who was standing on a small ladder.

"Hiya Geo!" this red-haired girl, named Sonia Strumm, exclaimed as loud as she could, causing Geo to scream and fall off the ladder and on his bum. Omega-Xis witnessed Geo's fall, and faceplamed out of embarrassment. His "reputation" has seemingly taken another hit. "Hey there Omega-Xis, didn't see you there!"

"Don't talk to me, I'm too embarrassed..." said Omega-Xis, still facepalming. "Just go somewhere...and practicing your singing or something..."

"I'll be rehearsing in a little bit, but first, a token of my gratitude..." Sonia dug into her pockets, and pulled out a couple of beef jerky sticks. "One stick of beef jerky for all of you!" Look at that Sonia, such a thoughtful little girl...

"Thanks a bunch Sonia, I could really go for something to eat!" Geo got up from the floor like his fall from the ladder never happened and grabbed a beef jerky stick. Link leaped down from the top of the stage and stuck a perfect landing (all without injuring himself) and grabbed a beef jerky stick from Sonia. And yes, he said "thank you", you know Link is a true gentleman. Gotta be one when you're the proclaimed hero of Hyrule.

"Since I'm a robot, I can't eat physical food, but I'll give my beef jerky to someone," .EXE accepted two beef jerky sticks from Sonia, giving one stick to K.K. Slider. That left Sonia with Wolf who, if you recall, can't eat or drink anything for a day due to a bet with his Star Wolf pals.

"Not really feeling hungry today, but thank you for the offer," the space mercenary kindly said to Sonia, who inched closer towards him, beef jerky in hand. "I said I'm not feeling hungry, I had five full course meals all to myself the other day and my stomach can't take it anymore!" Wolf would have to pull out all the stops in order to win the bet.

 **Wolf: Great, my stomach is cramping, and I'm feeling nauseated, and on top of that very dizzy...once I put on the finishing touches on the stage for this stupid girl's concert, I'm heading straight back to my room and just lie on the bed all day long...I'll just tell any who inquires me that I'm suffering from some rare disease called...called, uh...I'll think of a name soon.**

"One measly stick of beef jerky won't hurt anyone!" Sonia stuck the beef jerky closer to Wolf, who was steadily backing away, keeping his cool. Once he couldn't keep his cool anymore, Wolf snapped.

"I SAID I'M NOT FEELING HUNGRY TODAY, WHICH MEANS I DON'T WANT A SINGLE BITE TO EAT!" the space mercenary belted out at the top of his lungs, catching everyone by surprise - including Master Hand, who may or may not be somewhat jealous right now. "WHAT PART OF THAT DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND, WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?!" Sonia just stared at an irritated Wolf, blinking her eyes for a few moments.

"Okay then, I'll give this beef jerky to someone else!" the girl hummed happily as she exited the lecture hall, leaving Wolf behind on the floor in a fetal position, sucking his thumb. A rare sight to see a tough guy like Wolf in such a position.

"You guys finish up on the concert set, I'll take care of Wolf," Link instructed the others as he lifted up Wolf and carried him to another spot in the lecture hall, so he can have his moment to himself.

* * *

Once it was time, Mega Man and R.O.B. took Bayonetta, Pit, and Kirby to a prison island, where Snake was imprisoned. Mega Man had to do a quick background check to find out which prison Snake was at, and it turns out he was on a prison somewhere in Hawaii.

"Never would have imagined Hawaii having prisons, they way they present Hawaii as having hula girls and cool Samoan dudes, I thought crime was nonexistent here!" Pit spewed out ignorance from his mouth as he and comrades made their way to the prison where Snake was kept at. The angel is clearly very shallow about Hawaii, like he is with everything else. Remember, this is the same guy who thought he was in Jamaica when he was in Rio during the Olympics.

"Keep it down Pit, you're gonna blow our cover..." Mega Man whispered to Pit as the five made their way - or in this case, sneaked - their way to the prison. The five would arrive in time, but not before seeing two burly security guards blocking the entrance to the prison.

"Stand back boys and let a witch handle this," Bayonetta said to her troop as she seductively strolled her way towards the security guards. The Umbra Witch caught the attention of the guards, who did their best to look away, but Bayonetta's beauty and attractive nature was arguably hard for them to resist.

 **Bayonetta: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder..." In other words, beauty is something that cannot be judged objectively, one person might find someone beautiful but the other person may not... *strikes a seductive pose* It's such a shame I'm a living exception to that silly phrase.**

"We came here to pay a visit to a close friend of ours," Bayonetta said to the security guards in a charming way; both men's faces were turning red as Bayonetta stroke a pose. Whatever the Umbra Witch is doing, it's certainly working. "Will you boys let us through, or are you too 'chicken' to say no to a smoking hot babe like myself?"

One of the security guards fainted and fell to the ground, unable to take in Bayonetta's beauty anymore. The other security guard, not knowing what to do, ran for the hills. Hopefully Pit knows that Hawaii has hills, and not beaches as he would likely assume ninety-nine percent of Hawaii's geography is.

"BAYONETTA'S BEAUTY...CANNOT BE COMPREHENDED..." R.O.B. uttered, and Pit, Kirby, and Mega Man all nodded their heads in agreement. Bayonetta opened the prison doors as she and her troop entered the prison, strolling through the prison hallways in search for Snake. A prison warden spotted the five, and was about to notify the prison officials, until Bayonetta grabbed the warden by the collar and held him up to her face.

"Tell your henchmen about our presence in this prison or you will never see the light of day ever again..." the Umbra Witch threatened; the warden nodded, and Bayonetta kneed the poor man in the gut and threw him onto the floor. Bayonetta may be beautiful, but she's still a force to be reckoned with.

* * *

Since Dr. Mario was unable to solve Red's aging problem (no pun intended), the Italian doctor had to bring a familiar face back to the mansion. This person was a doctor just like him, and he tended to Toon Link when the Hylian had a cold. It was none other than Doctor Toadley, the man who claims to be a full-fledged doctor, despite his face veil and crystal ball. He looked more like a fortune teller than not.

"Shall I solve this Pokemon trainer's ailment? Of course I can!" exclaimed Toadley, answering his own question like a boss. "Let's see what we got here..." The doctor would analyze Red, inspecting his head, limbs, eyes, fingers, toes, stomach, and parts of the body in which Dr. Mario was instructed to leave so Toadley could check them out. Once his inspection was done, Toadley came to a decision... "Red is aging...due to innate factors! Factors he has zero control of! I think I know why...do you have a phone with you, Dr. Mario?"

"Why I sure-a do!" Dr. Mario gave Toadley his cellphone, and the veiled doctor looked up an image on Google (everyone's favorite search engine), pulling up an image that Red and Dr. Mario had to see. Once he found the image, Toadley revealed it to Red and Dr. Mario for them to see.

"This, is why Red is aging rapidly!" The image in question was Red and Blue, both middle-aged men. "It must be the changing canon that's making you older, there's no other explanation!"

 **Red: Ew, ew, and ew...they dare place me in the same image as that freak Blue? He's no good anyway, always talking about how he's the greatest of all time, and all that crap...has he forgotten who beat him in the Indigo League?**

"What must we do, you might ask? We must find ointment for Red's skin, since he finally reached puberty!" said Toadley. When you're around sixteen years of age, you tend to suffer from acne problems. Nothing like some good ol' skin ointment to diminish your acne woes! "Do you have any ointment? Red needs it right away!"

"There-a is some ointment in Wolf's-a room," stated Mario. Why would Wolf have ointment in his room, is it because of his roommate? Only one way to find out... "Let's go ask-a Wolf if we can-a borrow it!"

* * *

"Ultra...Star...Sisqo?" Amy read off the three words she drew from the sack of words, as she, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were drawing three random words and putting them together to form a name for Knuckles' debut album.

"Tails, why is 'Sisqo' a word, isn't Sisqo that R&B singer from the nineties?" questioned Sonic. For those of you who don't know, Sisqo, in addition to being an R&B singer from the nineties as Sonic just said, was a part of the musical group called Dru Hill. Sonic learned about this man during his "training" with Wario back in episode 37.

"Don't look at me, it was Knuckles' idea!" Tails accusingly pointed at the echidna, who eyed around the room innocently. "He's also the one who came up with strange words, like 'booyah'!"

"For your information Sonic, you once said that this idea would allow more variety, so I did what I had to do!" stated Knuckles. "It's not my fault you're not as hood as I am!" Was Knuckles trying to avert from playing the race card just now?

"Quit bickering you three, I've had just about enough of this!" frowned Amy, having to play the peacemaker during this whole activity. "I'm really starting to lose my patience here!"

 **Amy: Up until now, I had no idea that Knuckles had a musical career; strangely enough, I've always imagined him as Doc Louis whenever he's without his chocolate for a prolonged period of time - snapping on others for no blatant reason and talking about how "underprivileged" he is because of how black he is...so it's great that he's spending most of his time at the mansion doing something constructive.**

"Sorry Amy, but we can't let Knuckles get away with stuff like this, so _I'll_ have to do what I have to do," Sonic took the piece of paper with "Sisqo" on it and ripped it into shreds. Knuckles would take a heavy breather as Sonic performed the action. "Alright Tails, it's your turn!" So Tails dug into the sack, and pulled out three pieces of paper, and read the words on them.

"Cerebral...sickle...syndrome," Tails read the threw words he drew, placing them on the Star Records desk and arranging them in a way that made sense. "Cerebral sickle syndrome is what I got!"

"Cerebral sickle syndrome, sounds like a great album title to me!" Sonic wrote the phrase down on a slip of paper, and Knuckles just stared at his hedgehog friend, about to lose his last nerve. Figuratively though, how would Knuckles be able to survive with no nerves?

"You think that's a great title, huh?" the echidna snapped. "'Cerebral sickle syndrome'? You're kidding me, right?" Maybe Amy was on to something when she thought of Knuckles as being very snappy with others... "Well I say nein! NEIN!" Now Knuckles went from acting like a stereotypical angry black man to some random German guy...dude's becoming very versatile with his outbursts.

"Didn't you say that you wanted a title that sounded 'different' from others?" retorted Sonic. Oh how the tides are changing. "Excuse me for wanting to help out!"

"Please you two, not this again..." Amy spoke up, not wanting to play peacemaker again. "Let's let bygones be bygones, and have a normal activity that will yield..." Before Amy could go on, Knuckles rudely got up and exited the Star Records room, just when Falco entered.

"Bruh what's up with Knuckles, looking like Rouge violated him through some DMs or something!" Falco said to Sonic and his crew, wondering why Knuckles looked so angry. Instead of answering Falco, Sonic just looked down at the floor, feeling somewhat bad about himself.

* * *

Cloud and Aerith were still at the park, and they were sitting together at a lake, though they couldn't do so without some privacy - Marth and Geno, as well as Chrom, Wario, Ganondorf, and Captain Falcon were watching from afar, anticipating the couple's every move...only thing was, they weren't doing a single thing!

"If we keep still like this, then maybe they'll go away and leave us alone," Cloud whispered to Aerith, who followed along with the swordsman's plan. Time passed, and Marth had yet to take his boys and leave Cloud and Aerith be...must be that persistent.

 **Aerith: Cloud still refuses to believe that I'm from another universe...and I'm afraid that if he doesn't learn the truth, then grave consequences will soon arrive...oh how I miss the taste of sea salt ice cream...**

"Today would be nice, you two!" Wario called out to the _Final Fantasy_ couple. "We've been waiting all day long for you to do something, and you're wasting our time!" That's exactly what Cloud and Aerith wanted to hear.

"Hush your mouth Wario, we all know you have a secret bathtub full of money that you want to swim in," Ganondorf joked around. "Though that would explain why you always smell like garlic..."

"Listen up everyone, I just got a text message from Link!" said Chrom, who hopefully masted his cellphone right about now. It would sad if he was unable to, considering he had it for almost a year. "He said that a girl by the name of Sonia Strumm is hosting a concert at the mansion - which will be open to the public - and he wants to know if we want to attend! What do you think of that, Marth?"

"A concert would be a great idea, it can teach you how to spend time at recreational events, and it's something that most of us need..." replied the hero-king, strongly referring to Captain Falcon, who was now drawing a female face on the ground with a stick. This is what happens when you're terribly single for a long time.

"We should go now while the seats are available," stated Geno. Early bird gets the worm. "Would you two like to come with us to the concert, so you be an example of how a couple conducts themselves at a concert and similar events?" The Star Warrior asked Cloud and Aerith, with Aerith looking at Cloud, contemplating what should be done.

"Park's getting boring, so I don't see why not," Cloud shrugged. This will be the ex-SOLDIER's last straw - no more Romance Club favors from him.

* * *

Bayonetta led Pit, Kirby, Mega Man, and R.O.B. through the prison halls, and the Umbra Witch would "defeat" any prison warden that dared to challenge her, using her seductive nature and beauty to subdue any man who wished to try her. Quite frankly, Bayonetta has yet to submit to a single man.

"Feels like we're almost there boys..." the Umbra Witch said to her compadres. And she would be right - the five would find Snake in a prison cell, seated on the floor with his head held down, wearing an orange prison uniform and holding a piece of bread in his hands. Jackpot...

 **R.O.B.: WE SUCCESSFULLY REACHED SNAKE...WITHOUT ANY HINDRANCES OR OBSTACLES...BAYONETTA...YOU THE REAL MVP...**

"Yo Snake, over here, it's us!" Pit called out to the former spy; Snake looked up, and flashed a smile when he saw his fellow brawlers coming to rescue him. Not the ideal brawlers he wanted to see, but he's glad someone's breaking him out.

"Aw shucks, and here I thought none of you guys cared about me," said Snake, feeling like he should shed a tear. "So how are you gonna break me out?"

"Good thing we had a method in mind...Kirby, would you like to do the honors?" Kirby, who had his mouth full the entire time, would step in front of the prison bars...and spat out Dark Pit, breaking the bars in the process. Dark Pit was lying on the floor, covered in saliva, and slowly got up, analyzing his surroundings.

"Hold up, am I at a prison?" the doppelganger questioned. One moment he was stuck inside Kirby's spacious stomach, and now he's stuck inside a prison cell. "Pit, you said you would be taking me to that ice cream place Bayonetta promised she would take you and Kirby to!"

"Amazing how a simple white lie can make anyone a poor victim..." Bayonetta smirked as Dark Pit wiped Kirby's saliva off of him.

"There they are, let's get them!" a prison warden, accompanied with his goons, pointed at Bayonetta and company, right after Snake took one step out of the cell.

"Everyone make a run for it!" Mega Man shouted as the troop ran down the prison halls with fury. Dark Pit exited the cell once he got the saliva off of him, and when he saw the prison warden and his crew running, he ran after the others in an instant.

* * *

It was now time for Sonia Strumm's concert. The lecture hall was packing up, as many Seattlelites paid their money to see a young aspiring pop singer perform. Some people, however, had a hard time following instructions...

"Corrin, for the last time, you don't have to pay to get in, all residents of the Smash Mansion are allowed to attend the concert for free!" Wii Fit Trainer, who was put in charge of the concert tickets and letting people in and whatnot, kindly told the prince of Nohr, who wished to pay ten cents to see the concert - although the price was thirty dollars. Master Hand doesn't play around with this kind of stuff.

"But Wii Fit, paying my hard-earned cash - the only monetary value I have to spare - would be a great way to show Master Hand my full appreciation!" pleaded Corrin. Only ten cents is considered "hard-earned cash" in Corrin's textbook. "So please, I beg of you, take my money, or I won't see the show!"

 **Master Hand: Original pricing for the tickets was close to $150, but Zelda apparently talked me out of it and told me to drastically lower the prices, so we settled at $30 per ticket. But that won't be enough to afford that Lamborghini Veneno...I know, I'll force Sonia to do a concert every week until I raise enough money to buy the Lamborghini, and once I have it in my possession...Pfft, why would someone like me pay Sonia for her concerts, she's not going to contribute towards buying my dream car!**

"Can we get a move on please, we all have stuff to do, ya know!" a man angrily said at the back of a line, a line blocked up by none other than Corrin. Other individuals in the line shared the man's sentiments, as they booed and jeered at Corrin, and somehow the prince assumed King Boo was gonna pop out of nowhere and scare him, like the angry folks were trying to summon the ghostly creature.

"Fine Corrin, since you refuse to abide by the rules, I'll just take your measly ten cents and give you your ticket, if it will make the crowd shut up..." Wii Fit Trainer accepted Corrin's loose change and gave him a ticket. Everyone in the line grew content as Corrin entered the lecture hall, and once he was in, the line kept moving at a normal place.

While Sonia was on-stage rehearsing, Cloud and Aerith took their seats near the front of the lecture hall, as Marth, Geno, Chrom, Ganondorf, Wario, and Captain Falcon took their seats in the rows behind the lovebirds. Ganondorf would take a seat next to Rosalina, and Wario would do the same with Palutena.

"Didn't know you were into pop music," Palutena smiled at Wario, who cheesily grinned. "Do you know anything about this Sonia Strumm girl? From what I've heard, she's pretty good!"

"Eh, I hardly know much about her either, but given how Master Hand is hyping this whole concert up, I probably won't be disappointed," replied Wario. Attending a music concert wasn't the most ideal thing for Wario to do, but he supposes that wherever Palutena is, he must be there whenever possible.

"The programs for the concert seem very...basic, in many regards," Rosalina showed Ganondorf the program for the concert, which simply said "Welcome to Sonia Strumm's Concert" in bold lettering. "I understand that the concert was slightly impromptu, but whoever did the programs could have done a much better job..."

"Well this is the Smash Mansion, it's not like you can expect high-quality stuff," remarked Ganondorf, causing Rosalina to smile - a minor victory for the Demon Lord.

Unlike Wario and Ganondorf, Chrom nor Captain Falcon didn't have their significant other with them, so both men had to improvise. For instance, Chrom took a seat next to Lucina, and wrapped his arm around her, like he would have done with his lover Raven.

"Um, Father, what are you doing?" asked Lucina, feeling oh so embarrassed. "Can we please not do this when strangers are around?!" Lucina would hate to start a scene, especially right before a concert.

"Nothing like some good ol' father-daughter bonding time, am I right?" Chrom asked his now disgruntled daughter. The prince then looked up and saw Robin, looking him down with a deadpan stare. He was supposed to share this time with Lucina, not Chrom.

 **Robin: Oooh, I can just tell Chrom is still very jealous about my relationship with Lucina, there's no denying it. Seems to me like he's doing whatever he can to prevent my relationship from progressing, because he knows his relationship with Raven is futile! Don't think I'm not on to you Chrom, I already know what you're planning...**

"I believe you're sitting in my seat, good sir," Robin told Chrom, who sheepishly got up and allowed Robin to take his seat next to Lucina, while the prince moved one seat over. Let's go check on Captain Falcon, shall we?

"Hey babe, you wanna be my hot date?" the racer asked a woman sitting next to him; the woman would slap Captain Falcon silly, before getting up and finding another seat. Dude should just give up right now.

"Oh man, we nearly have a full house, this is rather groovy!" exclaimed K.K. Slider, who was standing on a far part of the stage where he could not be seen, with Link, MegaMan .EXE, Geo Stelar, and Omega-Xis. "Master Hand will be so proud of us!"

"Sonia is gonna absolutely deliver in her concert, I can just anticipate the applause she's gonna get from the audience!" Geo gleamed, before a question popped up in his head. "So Link, whatever happened to Wolf, is he feeling any better?"

"I'm afraid not, I had to escort him back to his room," stated the Hylian. "He kept complaining about how his stomach was bothering him, and how his head was hurting and dizzy he was, and a lot of other stuff. Zelda and Cilan are checking on him right now..."

* * *

Inside Wolf's room, Dr. Mario, Toadley, Red, Zelda, and Cilan were all crowded together at Wolf's bed. The space mercenary was sitting up on his bed, rubbing his head with one hand and clutching his stomach with the other.

"Please Wolf, just take this Pepto Bismol, it can heal your stomach!" Zelda kindly offered Wolf a spoonful of the pink medicine, although Wolf refused to budge. "One little spoonful won't hurt anyone!" Wolf still refused to comply, as he had his eyes closed. "I'm sorry, Dr. Mario and Toadley, but Wolf won't take the medicine, no matter how hard I try..."

"Nausea, headache, dizziness...are these symptoms of an illness I've never heard before? It has to be..." said Toadley, as Zelda put the Pepto Bismol away and looked for another medicine to use. "What is the name of the illness? That I do not know yet..."

"We should be less concerned about naming Wolf's illness and more concerned about making Wolf healthy again," stated Cilan. "And Red, stop fumbling around with Wolf's dresser, we'll find that ointment you're looking for later!" Red, who was messing around with the dresser, stopped immediately once Cilan called him out.

 **Cilan: Just when I about to start out my blueprint for the wedding cake, Zelda told me about Wolf feeling sick, and ordered me to be a "secondary nurse" to him. At this point, I'll never get started on the cake given the stuff going on!**

"Cerebral sickle syndrome..." a still very salty Knuckles walked by Wolf's room, uttering the same phrase over and over again. "...cerebral sickle syndrome..." Try saying that phrase three times fast.

"Eureka!" Toadley exclaimed out of nowhere. "I shall name the illness...cerebral sickle syndrome! Really rolls off of the tongue!" Now say those three words five to six times fast! Can't do it, can ya?

"Yes that's-a good and all, but we still-a need a cure for Wolf," said Dr. Mario. "The Pepto Bismol and all-a the other medicine Zelda offered to Wolf didn't work, so what-a does?"

* * *

The group of Bayonetta, Pit, Dark Pit, Kirby, Snake, Mega Man, and R.O.B. returned to the mansion safe and sound via teleportation device, glad they were able to escape the crutches of the security force at the prison. Snake inhaled and exhaled happily, grateful to be back at the mansion, as he ripped off his prison uniform.

"Man it feels good to be back..." the former spy grinned, when the faint sound of music reached Snake's ears. By that indication, the Sonia Strumm concert must have already started. "Are they playing some blasted pop music? Now that I mention it, I kinda wish I was still stuck at that prison..."

"Acting like a typical old man, that's the Snake we all know and love," Bayonetta smiled as she departed from the others. "I'll be seeing you back in the room, grandpa..." The Umbra Witch waved to Snake as she left for good; Snake was strongly angered by Bayonetta's "grandpa" comments, and you couldn't blame him.

"The gall of her to keep calling me grandpa like that...oh wait, I'm supposed to owe Wolf five bucks!" Snake reached into one of his shoes, and pulled out a crinkled five dollar bill. He held this bill in one hand, and the bread he received at the prison in the other. Should he have eaten it by now? "Talk to you boys later!" The former spy ran off with his five dollar bill and his slice of bread...

...and right after he left, Pit and the others were caught by surprise when a strange shadowy figure arose from the floor, sporting yellow eyes and antennae on his head. It looked at the group for a short while, then it went back into the floor and drifted out of the room to unknown places. Just what was this creature? Dark Pit was curious to find out what it was.

"You wimps stand back, I got this!" the doppelganger chased after the shadowy figure, while Pit and the rest stayed behind.

* * *

 **Master Hand: So far we have raised $4,500 (plus the ten cents from Corrin, which I won't really need) from Sonia's concert...doing the math, I would need Sonia to do approximately a thousand more concerts so I can buy that Lamborghini! She's young, she can deliver as many concerts she has to without losing her breath!**

The Sonia Strumm concert was going on very nicely, with Sonia singing her heart out and keeping the crowd entertained, when the concert had to be halted when the shadow creature that appeared near the teleportation device found its way to the lecture hall and crept up on stage. Sonia looked terrified, and the crowd was terrified...but Aerith was the most terrified of all.

"Oh dear, I knew this was going to happen!" the flower girl fretted as the audience remained weary and cautious. "Quick Cloud, we must go!" Aerith would grab the swordsman's hand and lead Cloud out of the lecture hall, while the ex-SOLDIER had a confused facial expression on his face.

"Where do you think you two are going, you're supposed to be a model for..." Marth called out to Cloud and Aerith, but once the two left the lecture hall for good, the hero-king grumbled and sat back down in his seat, folding his arms. It's not like Cloud and Aerith were doing much anyway as a couple for Chrom, Wario, Ganondorf, and Captain Falcon to learn from.

"Stay right where your are, vermin!" Dark Pit, who was chasing down the shadowy figure, would arrive in time, pointing at the creature. The dark creature would like at Dark Pit for a moment, before lurching itself at Sonia, tackling her to the floor. Sonia would wail helplessly as the creature was all up on her; Dark Pit went to go save her, but was attacked by yet another shadowy creature, this one restraining him from moving. Link, K.K. Slider, Geo, Omega-Xis, and MegaMan .EXE would find themselves in a similar predicament, as they came out onto the stage, all tormented by the shadowy figures. A state of commotion arose from the audience, with the spectators contemplating what needed to be done.

But it looked like help would be on the way, when Knuckles - so angry that he didn't even bother to greet Wii Fit Trainer at the lecture hall entrance - stepped inside the lecture hall and angrily made his way past the nervous and hostile audience members (Master Hand wouldn't let anyone leave until the concert was complete) and onto the stage, where he would clench his fists with fury.

"Knuckles don't just stand there like a dolt, do something!" cried out Link, who would have dispatched the shadow creature on him already if he had brought his sword with him. When Link yelled at Knuckles, the echidna couldn't take it anymore - he slammed his fist down on the stage hard, resulting in a wicked shock wave that knocked everyone back, and dispatched all the shadowy creatures in the process. When Knuckles looked up, he saw the audience staring for what could have been an eternity - and then erupted in a roar of applause and euphoria. Knuckles soaked in the moment, grinning and raising his fist in the air in victory, although he honestly had no idea what he had done.

 **Knuckles: Nothing could ever beat the feeling of standing on a stage, with thousands of people cheering for you and applauding for you, that's how it's gonna be when I go big one day and do my thing on stage in front of giant crowds and get that type of reaction... *snaps his fingers* ...now I have the perfect title for my album!**

"Sonia are you okay?" Geo checked on his friend, who was lying on the stage. He offered to help her up, and dust her off, because that's what most gentlemen do.

"Yes I'm fine, no bruises or anything," Sonia flashed a smile, checking out her guitar for any blemishes. Omega-Xis came over to Geo and Sonia, inspecting the both of them and seeing that they were okay.

"It's great that you two are having your little moment and all, but we have a concert to finish, the giant hand guy won't be giving the people their money back!" the dog-like robot creature told Geo and Sonia. "Also, one more thing - do you guys know what those black creatures where?" Geo and Sonia both shook their heads, and honestly they wanted to know what those creatures were too.

* * *

Back at Wolf's room, Dr. Mario and company were attempting many remedies on Wolf, many of which the mercenary objected to. There was a knock at the door, and everyone turned to see who it was - and Dr. Mario, Zelda, and Red were joyful to see who it was.

"Ah, Snake, you-a have returned, so glad to see-a you again!" Dr. Mario gleamed as Snake entered the room, shaking the doctor's hand, giving Zelda a slight hug, and giving a fist bump to Red. Toadley and Cilan just watched. "So how-a did you come-a back here?" Snake would tell everyone the story of Bayonetta taking her troop to the prison island, and breaking the former spy out of prison, escaping from a prison warden and all that good stuff.

"I think I learned my lesson during stay at the prison, no more growing cocaine for me," said Snake, vowing never to grow drugs in the mansion ever again. "I just came here because I owe my man Wolf something...move aside, pervert." The former spy rudely moved a miffed Cilan out of the way and walked over to Wolf, getting his five dollar bill ready, and when Wolf opened his eyes and saw Snake...

"YES, FOOD!" the mercenary lunged for the slice of bread in Snake's hand and ate it like a madman, leaving behind crumbs on his bed. And once he realized what he had done... "Dang it, I lost the bet!" ...he buried his face in his hands and groaned. It was certainly long while it lasted, and now Wolf has to take an L.

"Aha, so it wasn't cerebral sickle syndrome, it was hunger!" exclaimed Toadley. "The wolf was hungry this whole time, it would explain why his head and stomach were bothering him, he had not eaten a single thing for a prolonged period of time! Guess my work here is done, thank you Dr. Mario for allowing me to be of assistance again!" Dr. Mario nodded at Toadley as he exited the room. Will Toadley have to return to the mansion again? Only if it's necessary.

 **Toadley: Does cerebral sickle syndrome actually exist? The world may never know. Will Red ever stop growing at a rapid pace? Not until he becomes a middle-aged adult, I'm assuming. Why do I insist on answering my own questions? Shame on you for being nosy!**

"Hey Wolf, I know you're feeling ticked and all, but I was wondering if you had any ointment, for my skin," Red told Wolf, whose face was still buried in his hands.

"Look in the first drawer of my dresser..." the mercenary mumbled. Red did as he was told, grabbing the ointment from the first drawer like Wolf said. He then put some ointment on his face, only for good measure.

"Don't reckon seeing you before, what's yer name and what do you do?" Snake asked Cilan, the man who he called a pervert. A lot of explaining for the Pokemon connoisseur to do...

* * *

After returning to the Star Records room in a better mood, Knuckles would apologize to Sonic, Tails, and Amy for storming away, and also revealed the name he came up for his first album:

"'Standing Ovation'?" Sonic raised an eyebrow; apparently he was the only one who disliked the title. "'Cerebral Sickle Syndrome' sounded WAY better, but to each their own..." Just then, Fox walked in, and Knuckles told him the title he was going with.

"Man, what a great choice, perfect for a debut album!" the pilot responded to the title Knuckles gave him, making Sonic disgruntled. "I'll ask Falco what he thinks and then we'll just go from there!"

* * *

Speaking of whom, Falco was in the laundry room, doing his laundry and eavesdropping on a conversation between Cloud and Aerith at the same time. The two were huddled in a part of the laundry area where they could not be seen or heard - though Falco was able to make out every word they said.

"What were those beings called again?" asked Cloud, doing his best to keep his voice down to a minimum. The conversation was about the shadowy creature that popped out at the concert, and according to Aerith, there's _plenty_ of them causing havoc.

"They're called Shadows, they're classified Heartless - beings of darkness that hunt after peoples' hearts," explained Aerith. "These beings come from the same universe as I, and I'm afraid they're coming after me..." Cloud still refused to believe that Aerith was from another universe, but he will do whatever's possible to keep her safe from harm and danger.

"We can't let them linger around in the mansion, or anywhere else for that matter. They obviously look like dangerous foes. We'll just have to stay on our toes, and prevent them from harming anyone."

"I suppose I'll have to stay on my toes as well..." Falco said quietly as he stroked his chin, devising a plan that could solve the issue at hand. Looks like it's just the beginning...


	47. Episode 47: Objection

_Author's Note:_

 _Guest reviews...you know what the drill is._

 _"I absolutely love your fanfic. Giant two thumbs up! I do have a couple requests, if it doesn't bother you at all:_  
 _1\. I know Darth Sigma requested something that could neutralize this idea (or vice versa), but can you do Snake's trial with Ace Attorney characters?_  
 _2\. Crazy Hand visits the Smash Mansion._

 _"Once again, I absolutely adore your fanfic. Keep up the good work!"_

 _Your first suggestion sounds awesome, and I put it into action for this installment. Your second suggestion may happen sometime down the road, I'll keep it in my suggestion box until it's ready to be put into use. Next:_

 _"I think I have a little idea for if one girl actually wants to date with Captain Falcon but HE doesn't want girl I am talking about is Nowi from Fire looks like 12 years old,nor to mention her her and you will understand what I am talking about."_

 _Nowi from Fire Emblem Awakening? Yeah, she looks twelve...but she's still pretty regardless. Would she go out on a date with Captain Falcon? Don't know yet. Next:_

 _"Can u do a story where either bowser or dedede sends sonic something bad and then sonic gets to bend them to his will?"_

 _Would I do a story about Sonic and Bowser/King Dedede? Probably not. Would I do a chapter in this story about Sonic and Bowser/King Dedede? Hopefully, if I can generate some ideas. Now we have Derick Lindsey, with a suggestion from a famous Cartoon Network series:_

 _"...maybe in the future you can make a chapter based of the episode of Ed Edd n Eddy where everyone acts the opposite of what they would normally act due to a boomerang messing with them I feel it would be funny to see people like cloud act goofy while people like pit act serious, you don't need to though just something to think about."_

 _Yes, that sounds PERFECT! I can see it know - Kirby being an unpleasant puffball, Luigi showing more courage than he usually does, and Marth acting more...masculine. (Always thought he acted somewhat feminine.) I shall do a chapter on this sometime after Thanksgiving. Last but not least, we have J300:_

 _"Great chapter. A few questions...Where are the Miis? And also, why aren't the assist trophies in the mansion? Just curious. An idea before I go: what if the Shadows took over Master Hand and created Master Core? Wouldn't they kind of be like the Swarm?"_

 _Eh, I never really cared for the Miis to be honest with you. And I would have included assist trophies in the mansion, but there would be too much chaos, and too many characters for me to juggle with. As for your idea regarding the Shadows and Master Hand...it sounds like a genius idea! Keep in mind that more Heartless species will be appearing in some manner or fashion, so keep your eyes peeled for more!_

* * *

 **Episode 47: OBJECTION! (sorry but I just had to)**

Sometimes it feels great to be at home. Home is where the heart is - it's where your deepest affections lie, it's where you want to be, it's what you hold dear to yourself.

For Snake, returning to the Smash Mansion was a bittersweet moment. He enjoys everything that the mansion has to offer - a lounge, fitness center, gaming room, etc. - but the same could not be said for the different personalities he would have to put up with, like Wario (greedy fatso whose flatulent fumes are more obnoxious than his personality), Pit (can't even count down ten without having to ask Viridi and/or Palutena what number comes after one), and Sonic (you all know what the verdict on Sonic is).

Snake, who had already went to trial for growing cocaine in the mansion's gardens and was sent to a Hawaiian prison, will now be put on trial again for breaking out of prison with the help of Bayonetta, Pit, Dark Pit, Mega Man, and R.O.B. While Bayonetta and her crew were let off of the hook - Bayonetta wooed the legal officials with her seductive nature - Snake had to go to court partly because he was a prisoner who broke out before his sentence was up.

In order to ensure Snake had a fair and swift trial, Master Hand searched vigorously for the perfect attorney that met all of his requirements - just, fair, considerate, and able to get to the point. After a few days of searching, Master Hand found the guy he wanted...

 **Master Hand: Finding a good attorney is not an easy task in the slightest, it's hit-or-miss. You could find an attorney that looks good on the outside, but inside is a deceiving person intent on screwing you out of money. On the flipside, you could find an attorney that's dark and brooding, and looks dangerously close to Marilyn Manson...and he's one of the best attorneys out there! For me, I'm looking for at attorney who's in-between - not too bright, but not too dumb; not too shallow, but not too deep; not too ugly, but not too attractive...Sometimes when you're doing your job, you gotta look your best.**

"Can either of you boys explain why Master Hand is finding an attorney for me, when I could just do it myself?" Snake spoke with Sonic and Proto Man in the lounge. "I mean, this is MY trial, I'm supposed to do my own thing!"

"You know Master Hand is a bona fide control freak, quit acting so surprised!" said Sonic. Master Hand apparently feels that since he's the creator of the Smash universe, he has an obligation to dictate a majority of the brawler's personal lives. For instance, Robin literally had to ask the giant hand if he should start a relationship with Lucina, and Master Hand was more than quick to say yes.

"I know Master Hand is a control freak, I'm just saying that I should be able to do things by myself. I'm a grown man, after all!"

"Think you meant a grown senior citizen man," Proto Man joked with Snake, only to receive a death glare from the former spy in return. The robot held his head down, to avert his eyes from the glare.

"Mr. Snake are you here?" Isabelle entered the lounge, clipboard in hand; Snake raised his finger in the air so he could be identified. "Great news, Master Hand has found you an attorney for your trial!" One thing that should be mentioned: Snake's trial is supposed to take place later _today._ And now he finally has an attorney, albeit at a very impromptu time. "Here he comes!"

A black-haired man wearing a blue suit would enter the lounge, making his way towards Snake. This man wasn't alone - accompanying him was a woman with long black hair, a long purple jacket, a white dress, and some high heels. Just who are these two individuals, you might ask?

"Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey, at your service!" the blue-suited man held out his hand to Snake, who shook it with some reluctance. The former spy was already sensing a bad vibe. "Master Hand has told us about your situation and your trial, and we shall ensure that you're innocent, at whatever cost necessary!"

"With us, you have absolutely nothing to worry about, especially with Phoenix Wright at your side!" added Maya. Strangely enough, Snake trusted her more than he trusted Phoenix.

 **Phoenix: Never in a million, billion, trillion years would I have expected the opportunity to serve as the attorney for the legendary Solid Snake! My only gripe is that he were a tad bit younger; Master Hand told us that Snake is suffering from accelerating age, and he might act like a cranky old grandpa...I've dealt with elderly folks before, and they're the toughest kind of people to get around with!  
Maya: Regardless of Snake's conduct, we must ensure that our client gets a fair and speedy trial, and that he is innocent. Master Hand claimed that Snake had done nothing wrong, but we'll just have to find out for ourselves...**

"Before we can get settled before our trial, we must first find credible evidence in the relatively short timeframe that we have, if there is any evidence to begin with," stated Phoenix. "Master Hand reportedly said that your jailbreak was a 'mystical occurrence' of some sort, right Isabelle?"

"Frankly that's what he's been saying," responded the shih tzu. Is Master Hand trying to cover something up? "I've asked a few residents about Snake's escape beforehand, and one of them - Dark Pit, I believe - said that me might have some 'recollection' of what happened, but he refused to go into details."

"Dark Pit, you say?" Maya wrote down the angel's name on a notepad. "We shall interrogate with him later, looked pretty shady to me." It's not because of Dark Pit's appearance, is it? "Who else do you think we should interrogate, Phoenix?"

"Bayonetta is Snake's roommate, so we should interrogate her as well," the attorney replied. "I would also add Mewtwo and Bowser to the list, they both look like they know a little too much. Not to mention Bowser would be the type of guy that would contribute to someone breaking out of prison and all. He _is_ a master castle builder, after all." You can go ahead and nod your head to that. "Come with us Snake, let's get to business!" Snake got up from the couch he was sitting on and followed Phoenix and Maya out of the lounge. Isabelle would leave the lounge shortly thereafter.

"Sooo...you wanna try out the new arcade game in the arcade room?" Sonic asked Proto Man, who excitedly nodded his head

* * *

Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey weren't the only _Ace Attorney_ folks present at the mansion - one of their closest allies, Ema Fey, tagged along with the duo as a request from Link and Zelda, who wished to do something about the Shadow Heartless that infiltrated the mansion. The Hylian had seen a few Shadows pop up every now and then, with Zelda having seen a fair share of Shadows too, and they wished to expel them for good.

They wouldn't be alone however - Fox and Falco offered to be a part of the Hylians' fight against the Heartless. Keep in mind that Falco had eavesdropped on Cloud's and Aerith's discussion about the Heartless in the previous episode, so the Star Fox pilots aligning themselves with Link and Zelda must have been the avian's doing.

"Man, what is she doing in there, we ain't got all day!" an impatient Falco complained as he, Fox, and Link waited outside of the storage room for Ema, having asked Master Hand permission to use the room.

"Quit being impatient Falco, she's gonna come out of that room sooner or later," assured Fox, who was feeling impatient himself, but not as much as Falco was. "Though I could really use the bathroom right about now...but I can hold it."

 **Fox: Link described the Shadow creatures to us, recollecting what Cloud and Aerith had told him - they're apparently dark, shadowy creatures with antennae and yellow eyes, not to mention they have arms and legs and move about in the shadows.  
** **Falco: Basically they're a more complex form of ants, except they don't sting, they just fight random people, or at least try to. Anyone who attempts to take someone down by tackling them is a coward in my book!**

"Sorry I took so long, you guys!" Ema Skye - renowned forensics expert and a close friend of Phoenix and Maya, stepped out of the storage room, closing the door behind her. "Had to inspect most of the items present in the storage room, see what items would be useful for us...and everything had to be put back in place, otherwise Master Hand wouldn't let me hear the end of it!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, excuses, excuses..." smirked Link. "So what's your plan, how do we expel the mansion of these Shadows rummaging about?"

"First we have to find out where they're coming from, we can't go into action unless we identify the source of the problem. Where exactly have you seen the Shadows?"

"I saw a few in the gaming room, either inside the room or near the entrance," stated Zelda. Coincidentally enough, Aerith frequents the gaming room with Cloud on a timely basis. "The other places I've seen them would be the gardens and the beauty salon. Frankly I'm the only person who's been noticing these Heartless as of late."

"Bruh why would the Heartless be hanging around the beauty salon, like they're some street gang or something?" Falco questioned. These creatures, gathering together near a room most female residents visit, sounds strange in the slightest...but then again, Aerith goes to the beauty salon in a timely manner.

"Better question is: what if there are more types of Heartless, aside from the Shadows?" asked Fox. "Like bigger, stronger, faster Heartless? The mansion would be toast!" The Smash Mansion survived threats from Hades, Deoxys, Sephiroth, Dimentio, Tabuu, and Magalor and his pals, so everyone at the establishment has nothing to worry about.

"The other types of Heartless should be none of our concern right now," stated Ema, adjusting her specs. "Our number one goal is discovering the origins of the Heartless, and figure out why they're even here. Link, you did say that the Heartless were after Aerith, is that correct?"

"That's what Cloud had informed me," Link nodded his head. We'll see what Cloud's role in the Heartless situation is later on.

"I feel as if there's another reason for the Heartless being here, I just can't seem to put my finger on it...but we can find out sooner or later, right now it is imperative that we..."

"Help, help, oh some-a one help!" Luigi, came crying to Ema and company with Polterpup and Rotom trailing along, clearly in a need for help. "Strange-a creatures have infested my-a home, and they've taken Yuffie and-a Daisy with them!"

 **Luigi: I was at-a home, minding my own-a business and cutting my toe-a nails in my underwear in the privacy of-a my room...when I heard Daisy scream-a from downstairs. By the time-a I arrived, I saw her and-a Yuffie, carried over the backs of these-a strange humanoid creatures, with knight-a helmets and yellow eyes; a bunch of ant-a like creatures were accompanying them. Polterpup and Rotom tried-a to stop them, but to no avail, and the creatures ran-a out of my house with Daisy and Yuffie in their-a possession! This is not-a good, not good-a at all... *shakes head in utter despair***

"Luigi apparently got married to Daisy and got his own place before Mario could," Fox whispered to Ema, who refused to accept the fact that a star-studded video game character would allow his shy younger brother get married before him. "And Yuffie, you know her too, right? She has to reside at Luigi's place as a part of her house arrest for attempting to steal a cruise ship from Rio during the Olympics."

"Yuffie stealing a cruise ship, of all things?" Ema raised an eyebrow. A cruise ship sounded like something way out of Yuffie's league. "I understand that she's a thief and all, but still..."

"Rotom, Polterpup, and-a I tried chasing after these-a creatures, but they were too-a fast for us," Luigi continued. Either that, or Luigi and company were a tad too slow. "Now I don't-a know where they took-a Daisy...and Yuffie. Who knows what cruel-a things they might be doing to them!"

"Funny you should mention all of that, Link and I saw a few of the creatures you described - according to Aerith, they're called Heartless," explained Zelda. "We would be more than willing to help you locate Daisy and Yuffie, if you like."

"Splendid! Before-a we set off, let-a me get my Poltergust 5000, just in-a case!" What good would a ghost-capturing device do?

* * *

As you may have already known, Wolf lost a bet with his Star Wolf buddies - Leon, Panther, Pigma, and Andrew - and unfortunately for Wolf, all the four members mentioned won their bets, which made the mercenary on the losing end. His punishment? Having to create an original video animation, one that had to be as cute as possible. Cuteness overload, to be exact. But Wolf wouldn't be the only one doing it - for another brawler lost a bet.

After teaching Pit a lesson regarding The Great Pumpkin back in episode 45, X dared Samus to a challenge - whoever could go an entire week without inventing a new thing or upgrading anything would win the bet. Loser has to create an embarrassing video starring themselves, and Samus would find herself on the losing end of the bet, as her desire to create or refine something got the better of her. Coincidentally, her consequences for losing the bet were very much similar to Wolf's, and so the bounty hunter would team up with the mercenary to create an embarrassing OVA of cuteness together...and they needed one more person.

"Tell me why I have to be a part of this video?" Cilan asked as Samus applied some white powder to the Pokemon connoisseur's face. He was dressed up as a Willy Wonka character of sorts, complete with a top hat and a colorful suit.

"Because you were a witness when X declared the bet in the ballroom," stated Samus. "And for that, you have no choice but to be a participant in our OVA."

 **Wolf: My Star Wolf pals didn't give out any requirements for the original video animation, other than that it has to be anime and that it must cute to a tee. When Samus told me the bargain of her bet, she said she had to create an embarrassing video that will be aired to all the mansion residents, so we collaborated together and decided to work on the OVA out of mutual respect. Samus won't be the only person humiliating herself though, someone else will have to take the fall...**

"Great, now you look great and perfect for our OVA!" Samus grinned at Cilan, doing her best to stifle her laughter. Regardless, Cilan's confidence was taking a huge hit. "Now we have to get you out of the salon!" The bounty hunter escorted the Pokemon connoisseur out of the room as the ladies - Wii Fit Trainer, Palutena, and Fiora - looked on with amused faces. Why did Samus put the powder on Cilan in the presence of others, especially women?

"Really looking great in that Willy Wonka getup, Cilan!" Wii Fit Trainer called out to the Pokemon connoisseur, making him blush. "That suit really fits you!" Wii Fit's just saying to cheer Cilan up.

Once out of the beauty salon, Samus snapped a picture of Cilan on her cellphone, for she simply couldn't let an opportunity like that slip away from her. After the deed was done, the bounty hunter grabbed Cilan's hand and headed outside, where Wolf was waiting.

"About time you two came..." the mercenary uttered once Samus and Cilan arrived...and once he saw a glimpse of Cilan, he fell back-first on the ground, laughing. "Oh man, Cilan, you look freaking ridicolous in that outfit!" Cilan blushed harder than before as Wolf was on the verge of tears. "Why Samus, why did you have to do Cilan like that?"

"Like I had already told you and several others, I refuse to be the only person in the OVA embarrassing myself," replied Samus. "Other people will be watching our creation you know, hope you're aware of that." The bounty hunter has no idea what she will be dressing up as, but it won't involve her taking her suit off.

"Hey, as long as I'm only directing the video and I'm not in it, then it's all good," Wolf said as he got up from the ground. He then pulled out a digital camera, making sure that it was in the correct setting. "So have you come up with any ideas with what we're gonna do? Cute and embarrassing are very vague qualifications if you ask me, what exactly is cute and embarrassing in your book?"

"The caramelldansen dance is very cute, and so are kittens!" Cilan blurted out, receiving glances from Samus and Wolf. "Excuse me for wanting to help out..." The connoisseur kept his mouth shut.

"I suppose we could go forth with what Cilan said, the caramelldansen dance is very embarrassing to do," Samus agreed with Cilan, something she never thought she would have done, ever. "And with Cilan at my side, it probably won't feel so bad..."

 **Cilan: First saw the caramelldansen dance online, reenacted by many Pokemon such as Lucario, Absol, Espon, Pikachu, and pretty much any Pokemon that's not located in the Unova region. I thought that dance was honestly one of the greatest things I've ever seen...and then I saw a video of me, Chili, and Cress doing the caramelldansen. Still think of the dance as cute, but after seeing that video...I don't know if I should like or dislike the dance. I'm a bit torn.**

"Alright then, so it's settled, we'll do the stupid caramelldansen dance, and we'll have cats in the background," confirmed Wolf. "What we need to do is find a green screen for our background, and for you, Samus, to find an outfit..."

"I think I KNOW what I need to do," Samus frowned at Wolf, nearly making him wet his pants. She has been applying what she had learned from that John Marston book (go back to episode seven if you don't remember) very well.

* * *

With the Heartless still lurking about the mansion, Cloud wanted to do whatever possible to keep his girlfriend Aerith from harm. So he had to do what he had to do...he quarantined the flower girl in her room, safe and sound. He was in Aerith's room with the flower girl's roommate, Mario, who was getting a head start on his to-do list for Christmas. Advertisements for the jolly holiday have already started, weeks before America could cut the turkey on Thanksgiving, so Mario thought that he might as well join in on the early Christmas craze, somewhat.

"Cloud would you mind-a looking for a Christmas tree anytime-a soon?" the plumber asked the swordsman, who was leaning against a wall with his arms folded while Aerith wrote in a personal journal of hers.

"Only if no one else is available for the job," responded Cloud, willing to get a Christmas tree for the mansion. He vividly remembers lending a helping hand in setting up a Christmas tree, with Snake's encouragement. "You want a big Christmas tree, the tallest of its kind, is that what you're looking for?"

"Precisely, the tree must-a compliment the large-a size of the mansion. A small tree will-a do no good!" One thing Cloud simply cannot forget is getting a star to put on top of the Christmas tree - Robin and Ganondorf, who were tasked with finding a Christmas tree last year, forget to get a star, and were silly enough to ask if Luma could serve as the star.

"This will be the first time I'll ever celebrate Christmas - I heard that in this one world, everyone celebrates Christmas throughout the entire year!" Aerith exclaimed, making Cloud and Mario ever more suspicious about the flower girl. "But only in one town - in the other town, the citizens only celebrate Halloween, and they do so on a yearly basis!"

"A world that only has-a two towns?" Mario found this information hard to decipher, and Cloud, Aerith's love interest, was finding this factoid even harder to fathom.

 **Cloud: I have been staying with Aerith in her room for the longest now, and the stuff that comes out of her mouth scares me - talking about some talking duck selling sea-salt ice cream, a wizard who can cast magic spells, and a _Winnie The Pooh_ storybook that warps you inside the actual story itself. Hopefully Aerith didn't try out any of the cocaine Snake was growing in the gardens, if she did, then that would perfectly explain the zany stories she's been telling me to Mario and I.**

"Yes, only two towns exist in this particular world - and the Christmas-themed town is ruled by Santa Claus!" Aerith continued. "Or at least that's what they told me about their adventures..." Who is this "they" that Aerith speaks of? Mario and Cloud had to find out immediately.

"'They' must be people that we don't even know, I'm assuming," said Cloud, with more questions ever on his mind.

"But you know them Cloud, you've met them before - why in fact, you even fought against them, and _with_ them as well!" Again, Cloud was perplexed, and caught off-guard. The questions just keeping piling up! "Especially in that battle of a thousand Heartless, when you also fought along with Leon Squall!"

"Funny you should mention that, but I've never met Leon in person before." Cloud has always wanted to meet Leon, but he's not making such a big deal about it, he'll just meet him whenever he gets the chance.

"Of course you have Cloud, you did met Leon before...oh silly me, the Cloud I know is from the same dimension as I. Sorry for getting things messed up!" Aerith would flash a smile as Mario and Cloud looked at one another with concerned looks. How long will this last?

* * *

Before they could set off for Snake's trial, Phoenix and Maya wished to interrogate a few brawlers, to see if any of them knew about the former spy's jailbreak (even though you peeps know who was responsible). Dark Pit was the first to be interrogated, and the interrogation took place in a dark room, with the angel sitting in a chair and Phoenix and Maya flashing the light on him.

"You look like a pretty suspicious guy in general, Dark Pit, what with the dark attire and all..." Phoenix said with his arms crossed, as he walked back and forth, before pointing his finger accusingly at the doppelganger in famous "Objection!" fashion. "What do you know about Snake breaking out from prison?"

"...that he broke out of prison and returned to the mansion?" answered Dark Pit. He honestly didn't have that big of a role in Snake's jailbreak, aside from breaking the prison bars. "That's all the information I can give ya...

"Don't lie to me you cretin, I know you have more secret information up your sleeve!" Phoenix slapped Dark Pit silly, channeling his inner Dr. Mario. "I can just tell by your cocky smirk that you're withholding something, speak up or forever hold your piece!"

 **Dark Pit: *folding his arms* Oh yeah, of course I know everything that transpired in Snake's jailbreak, once I was spat out of Kirby's mouth...but I'm not telling a single person, especially Phoenix or Maya. You'll see why eventually.**

After being unable to pry any more answers out of Dark Pit, Phoenix called in the next person on the interrogation list - Mewtwo, the Psychic Pokemon, and the most easily irritated person in the mansion by far. Don't expect his meeting with Phoenix and Maya to be a rousing success.

"You're by all accounts a psychic-type Pokmeon, which means that you know almost everything that happens and such," Maya said to Mewtwo, who was already feeling bothered and ready to unleash Psystrike on the interrogators before him. "So you must have known about Snake's jailbreak when it happened."

"You must be terribly informed, Master Hand claims to be the one who knows every little thing, and every single event that happens in the universe," retorted Mewtwo. "But what do I know, I don't control the Smash universe, I'm just a lousy legendary Pokemon created by man..."

"Throwing others under the bridge, a useful tactic for keeping in information!" Phoenix accusingly pointed at Mewtwo. The Psychic Pokemon just stared at Phoenix; he would use Shadow Ball on the attorney, but he knew better than to attack someone who's in the legal system. "Spit out what you know, you craven!"'

"I have absolutely no time for this..." Mewtwo teleported away from the room, and Phoenix growled in anger as he slammed his fist on a desk. Except that there was no desk in sight, so the attorney essentially slammed his fist on thin air.

The last person to be interrogated was Bowser, and like Dark Pit and Mewtwo who had came before him, the Koopa King had some important matters to take care of.

"Can we hurry up with this meeting, I'm not yet finished with giving Morton a day's worth of spankings for beating me up two weeks ago!" frowned Bowser. Okay, so his business may not be that important, considering it involves the Koopalings being disciplined. Bowser can really have his hands full with those rascals.

"Likely story, King Bowser, we all know what you were really up to...bribing the prison officials to cover up Snake's jailbreak!" Phoenix accusingly pointed his finger yet again. "You would be the most likely person to do such a thing!"

"Pfft, I had nothing to do with Snake breaking out of prison, no thing whatsoever! But thanks for suggesting the whole bribing prison officials thing, I'll remember to do that whenever I get sent to jail!" Bowser wrote down Phoenix's "suggestion" on a readily pulled-out notepad.

 **Bowser: Only went to jail just one time during my time as a villain - Peach had filed a restraining order against me, and I was arrested and sent to jail for "violating" the order! Like I was supposed to know I wasn't allowed to be in the same building as Peach!**

"Thank you for your services, King Bowser," Maya thanked the Koopa King; Bowser grumpily got up from his seat and exited the room, passing by Snake as he went his way out. "Sorry Snake, but we can't seem to..."

"No, no, it's fine, it's all good, can't fault the both of you for trying," said Snake, holding a mug in his hand. "My trial starts in an hour or so, so we oughta hurry over there before anything bad happens." Just then, Pit scampered inside the room, and caught his breath after coming to a halt.

"You...got a trial...coming up...right?" the angel asked Snake, who nodded his head in curiosity. "Do you...and Phoenix...and Maya...mind if I come along?" Snake, Phoenix, and Maya all exchanged looks with one another, wondering why Pit wanted to tag along all of a sudden. Keep in mind that Pit had a role in Snake's jailbreak, and he was never interrogated...hold on to that bit of information while you can.

"Look kid, I have Maya with me, and if I have her, then I'm all set for any trial I have to do," assured Phoenix, wishing Pit would go away and leave him, Maya, and Snake alone. "So why don't you go and play with your silly little bow, and let us professional adults handle this?"

"Two heads are better than one, amirite? Therefore, I should be your secondary assistant during the trial, and I can bring Snake to justice!" Phoenix stroked his chin, contemplating bringing Pit on board. One look of the angel and the attorney could tell that he was a goofball - but he could prove to be a very useful and needy goofball, in times of need.

"Will you follow instructions and listen to everything I tell you?" Phoenix asked Pit, who happily nodded his head. "And are you a good at organizing, can I trust you to organize everything and ensure everything is in order?" Pit nodded again. "Good, because that's what Maya is really good for during trials! Welcome on board, Pit my boy!" Maya glared down Phoenix with her arms folded as Phoenix shook Pit's hand. What good would Pit be at Snake's trial? Only time will tell...

* * *

Sonic and Proto Man waited patiently in the arcade room as Mr. Game and Watch added on the finishing touches to the new arcade machine containing the new arcade game, _Shovel Knight._ Yes, the blue knight was getting is own arcade game, exclusively for the Smash Mansion.

"I'm so excited man, I can't contain it!" Sonic exclaimed after Mr. Game and Watch was done with the arcade machine. "We've been anticipating playing this bad boy for days, and we're gonna be the first two to ever try it out!"

 **Proto Man: _Shovel Knight_ is, by nature, a two-player game, but since I don't really trust Sonic that much, we are gonna make the one-player mode _two-player -_ I'll move Shovel Knight around, while Sonic does the attacking and the digging and all that good stuff. Our only issue would probably be Sonic using command buttons at the least expected and necessary times...**

Sonic and Proto Man stepped forward to play the _Shovel Knight_ game for the first time, but their opportunity to be the first to play the arcade game was suddenly dashed when Ryu beat them to it, stepping in front of the arcade machine and inserting a coin before starting a new game.

"Yo, Ryu just beat us to that arcade game, no fair!" frowned Proto Man, wishing to use his Charge Shot on the kung fu fighter. "Has he ever even played an arcade game before in his entire life?" Considering Ryu hails from a franchise renowned for arcade games, there's definitely a possibility the fighter has.

"No matter, we're not doing down without a fight!" vowed Sonic. "No way we're gonna let that man Ryu hog the arcade machine! Come with me, I got a plan!" Sonic led Proto Man to another part of the room, as King Dedede, apparently in charge of the arcade room (only temporarily), approached Ryu, followed by his Waddle Dees, and spotted the _Shovel Knight_ arcade machine and marveled at it.

"Oooooh, _Shovel Knight_ , always wanted to play that game!" the fat penguin rubbed his hands in classic Montgomery Burns fashion, albeit in a non-creepy way. "Do you mind if I take a crack at it after you're done?" At that moment, Ryu had somehow died (in the game's opening moments, nonetheless) and ultimately gave up.

"Drat, couldn't even make it past the first and most basic level!" the kung fu fighter grunted, walking away and collecting his dignity. "Go ahead and play that game, you can't possibly be any worse than me!" A few moments after Ryu had left...

"Hey Ryu, Chun-li just called the mansion's house phone a minute ago, and she wanted to know if you wanted...to go on a date with her..." Sonic said as he and Proto Man returned, before trailing off when he found King Dedede now playing the _Shovel Knight_ game. So much for playing the game now; Dedede is a very difficult person to stop or refrain from doing something. Tell him not to eat the cookies from the cookie jar, and the penguin will do it anyways.

"Yeah buddy, I love me some gems!" King Dedede grinned as the Waddle Dees stood by, acting as miniature bodyguards for Dedede. Any person that came across their way would pay the price...a cute and cuddly price, due to the cuteness and ineffectiveness of the Waddle Dees.

"First Ryu and now Dedede, when are we gonna get our turn?" asked a now angry Proto Man. Wouldn't it hurt to just ask nicely, rather than scheming?

* * *

 **Zelda: Luigi has been a nervous wreck - he won't stop fretting over Daisy's whereabouts, and contemplating whether or not she's still alive. Only way we could calm him down is by mentioning the one time he got pantsed by Wario on April Fool's day, and bringing it up always makes him blush. He may feel embarrassed, even more so in front of Ema Skye, but we would take embarrassed and humiliated over being a worry wart anytime.**

Link, Zelda, Fox, Falco, Ema Skye, Luigi, Rotom, and Polterpup were on the search for Daisy and Yuffie, who had been abducted by the Heartless. The group searched high and low for the two ladies, but no sign of them whatsoever.

"Luigi, didn't you say that the you saw Heartless that wore helmets?" Fox asked the plumber out of curiosity. "Would you mind giving us a description of what they looked like, and how they acted?"

"The Heart-a less that you speak of were-a humanoid creatures, with giant claws-a and a heart emblem-a on their chest," described Luigi, recollecting what he saw going down in the living room of his home. "Strong enough to carry Daisy and-a Yuffie out through my home..." Yuffie might be a pushover, but Daisy? She's pretty easy to carry around. Luigi had no problem lifting her up at his wedding, so he shouldn't be talking.

"Isn't that them over there?" Ema pointed to several muscular beings in body suits causing havoc in a nearby park. They were also wearing knight helmets. "They totally fit your description!"

"That's-a them alright, I can tell by their yellow eyes!" frowned Luigi, donning his Poltergust. "You guys stay-a here, I'll take-a care of this!" Luigi rushed into action, and Link, Zelda, Fox, and Falco, not wanting Luigi to do things by himself, joined in on the fight as Ema watched. Right before boredom could take over the forensics expert, her phone rang, and it was a call from Phoenix.

"Hello Phoenix, what's up?" Ema answered the call as Luigi and company continued to do their thing. Some more helmet-wearing heartless popped up every time one was defeated, and it was becoming quite taxing on the fighters.

"Oh hey Ema, just wanted to let you know that Maya and I are heading off to Snake's trial, and Pit for whatever reason is coming with us," Phoenix's voice emitted from the phone. "Says he wants to be involved in bringing Snake justice...anyways, Jacky Bryant had gotten off from his shift at some car dealership, and he's driving us to the courthouse, so I'll see you later. Wish me and Maya, as well as Snake and...Pit, I guess, the best!"

"Will do, I'll see you all later! Goodbye!" Ema promptly ended the phone call, just when Luigi and company took care of the Heartless.

"Piece of cake, those Heartless were no problem!" Falco cockily smirked as he stretched out his arm - only to crack it in the process. "Ouch man, why does this stuff always happen to me?!" Such moments are one of the many reasons most people assume karma exists.

 **Falco: *holding his arm in pain* The Heartless we took on were no slouch, they just kept punching and doing roundhouse kicks...bunch of Jackie Chan wannabes. Perhaps the lone cool thing about them was their heart insignia, and the helmets they wore.**

Just when everyone thought the Heartless were taken care of, a few more helmet-wearing Heartless were on the horizon, running off to places unknown.

"Maybe if we follow the Heartless, they'll lead us to where Daisy and Yuffie may be," assumed Link, and everyone did just that, as they followed the Heartless to whatever destination they're headed.

* * *

Back at the mansion, King Dedede was still playing the _Shovel Knight_ arcade game, with the Waddle Dees guarding the king although these lovable creates could be taken out very easily with little to no effort at all. Sonic and Proto Man schemed together to get Dedede away from the arcade machine, but as they were doing so...

"Hey King Dedede, can I play that new arcade game when you're done?" Zero approached the fat penguin to ask him this question. "Wanted to get some time in playing a few arcade games, and I want a crack at the new _Shovel Knight_ game before I go back to work in the workshop, if you don't mind."

"In that case, go right on ahead!" King Dedede, in seemingly an act of breaking character, stepped away from the arcade machine, allowing Zero to play it. "You can just pick off from where I left off, got you in a great position!"

"Thanks Dedede, that is very...uncharacteristic of you to do that." Zero walked over to the _Shovel Knight_ arcade machine, and when he unpaused the game...Shovel Knight into a pit of spikes, losing a life in the process. Zero then glared at King Dedede, who was pointing and laughing at the robot.

"Ha ha ha, you fell for it, a maroon you are!" While King Dedede laughed, Sonic and Proto Man returned to the arcade room, both carrying a pile of food, and grew angry yet again when they saw Zero playing the _Shovel Knight_ game, starting a new game. "Ooooh some name grub, thanks!" King Dedede saw a salty Sonic and Proto Man carrying the food in their hands, and scarfed it down like a madman. That bird is made for eating contests.

"Back to square one again..." Sonic seethed as Dedede continue to scarf down on the food vigorously. How much longer until the fat penguin makes his stomach implode?

* * *

Wolf, Samus, and Cilan were ready to shoot their original animated video - much to the chagrin of Samus and Cilan. The three were in the green screen room, where Donkey Kong and Red the Pokemon trainer were present - and Red was looking seven years older.

 **Red: I feel twenty-three years old right now, and according to Dr. Toadley, I won't stop aging until next Friday, the day in which Toadley predicted I will be thirty years of age. Due to me becoming an adult, I would be unable to do the things I would usually do as a child, like playing _Pokemon_ games all day long and going on the playgrounds...granted I could still do those things, but doing them as an adult would arguably be strange.**

"Let's hurry up with this stupid OVA so we can get it over with for good," Wolf said to Cilan (still dressed up as a Willa Wonka character) and Samus (wearing a cowboy hat), both individuals standing in front of a green screen. The humilation inside the both of them was already building. "You boys ready to go?" Wolf then looked over to Donkey Kong (wielding a boombox) and Red (wielding a laptop for the OVA's cat background).

"Ready when you are!" Donkey Kong gave an empathetic thumbs up, while Red nodded his head. "Gotta make sure I got the right tune and...yes, we're all set!"

"Good, now let's get this done. Three...two...one...ACTION!" At the command of Wolf's voice, Donkey Kong started playing the caramelldansen song (a song that may be nostalgic to you, depending on how old you are and/or when you first discovered YouTube), and once the song started, Samus and Cilan began the (in)famous dance, having to act as smiley as possible because no one frowns while during the caramelldansen.

"Do you mind if you watch over the laptop while I go away for a minute?" Red asked Donkey Kong, and the gorilla happily obliged. Red got up and walked towards the entrance to the green screen room, standing near a wall and silently snickering to himself. Just a short little sneak peak of what Samus and Cilan will be expecting when they shove their beloved OVA to everyone... (Wolf would be relatively unaffected, since he filmed the OVA rather than being in it.)

* * *

Zero was still playing the _Shovel Knight_ game, and it looked like he would be playing for a long time, exactly what Sonic and Proto Man expected. However, they weren't expecting the Inklings to approach Zero, wanting to play the _Shovel Knight_ game as well.

"Is that the new _Shovel Knight_ arcade game Master Hand was talking about?" asked the female Inkling. Knowing Master Hand, he must have gotten that _Shovel Knight_ arcade machine so he could charge the residents and use the money collected towards his Lamborghini Veneno. Every little cent counts!

"Yup, it sure is, it's just as great as everyone's been saying," replied Zero, and a moment later, he lost his last life, resulting in a game over. "Looks like I'm down for the count...you kids wanna try this game out? I'm very sure you'll both enjoy it!"

"Of course we wanna try it out, I've been waiting for this moment the entire week!" the male Inkling exclaimed as Zero stepped out of the way, allowing the Inklings to play the _Shovel Knight_ game. The female Inkling inserted a coin in the arcade machine, and started a two-player game - not a one-player game, which Sonic and Proto Man would have done, and there's no denying that Sonic repeatedly talked Proto Man into doing it.

 **Male Inkling: We both met Shovel Knight when he came over to fix the mansion's plumbing problem (started by none other than Wario, for many obvious reasons). What we liked the most about him was the way he talked, like he was from medieval times!  
Female Inkling: He _is_ from medieval times, genius...with that being said, where the heck does he live?  
Male Inkling: *folds his arms* I'm confident he has a pimped-out royal condo somewhere in Britain...**

The Inklings were getting into the thick of things with the _Shovel Knight_ game when Sonic and Proto Man returned with Ness, the three holding a giant bucket of water. The three were supposed to throw this water over Zero, causing him to malfunction and make him unable to play anymore, but now it seemed like their plan was derailed yet again.

"You know, we could make the Inklings go away by dousing this water over them, then they'll have to go and dry their clothes," Ness said to Sonic and Proto Man, making this suggestion for two reasons only - 1) so the water wouldn't be wasted, and 2) because the teen wished to get away from Sonic and Proto Man and resume his baseball practice with Lucas in the backyard.

"Yeah, good thinking Ness, let's give it a try!" said Proto Man, and so the three went forth with the plan - they dumped water on the Inklings, making sure not to get any liquid on the arcade machine. Doing so by accident would have _really_ set back Sonic's and Proto Man's plan by tenfold. And how did the Inklings react?

You honestly think throwing water on us would stop us from playing?" the female Inkling snorted. "Gotta try harder than that!"

"Well, at least we didn't get any water on the arcade machine," Ness smiled nervously as Sonic threw the empty bucket on the floor, like NFL player Rob Gronkowski spiking a football on the football field. One of the few touchdown celebration you could do nowadays...

* * *

"...and then Cid brought us over from Traverse Town to a place called Hollow Bastion, which had a beautiful castle," Aerith told another story from her dimension, as Mario and Cloud listened very closely. "The world had the prettiest castle - it even came with a library! How wonderful is that?"

"Our-a library is much better," Mario murmured out of clear bias. Does Hollow Bastion's library come with a set of computers, a revolving door, and an access to a lift stop? No, no, and...well, there's one thing Hollow Bastion's library has that the mansion's library doesn't.

"So there are apparently two different versions of Cid..." Cloud stroked his chin. Keep in mind that a Cid has always been present since _Final Fantasy_ _II,_ but Cloud learned that the Cid he knows also has an alternate dimension counterpart. "Anything else that we should know?"

"Yuffie and Leon also came along for the ride; they were involved in the fight against the Heartless." Now Yuffie and Leon (a.k.a. Squall Leonhart) have an alternate dimension counterpart. Sooner or later, Mario and Cloud will learn that they aren't the only ones...

 **Doc Louis: You askin' me if I had seen any Heartless rummaging around the mansion lately? Boy, I don't even know what a Heartless is! Unless you're talking about a heartless person. The only heartless person I've ever known was the lone woman I've ever dated in my life; I thought she liked me up until the moment when she called me out for my chocolate obsession and said that I was a weirdo for treating chocolate bars like sentimental beings...in front of my own parents, when I introduced her to them for the first time! No one, and I mean NO ONE, insults their lover in front of their lover's parents and expects to get away with it! So I did what I had to do...I broke up with her in the presence of my parents, and she just marched out of my parents' house acting all salty! Bet she was crying after the breakup...like how my parents were crying when I moved out of the basement of their house months after the incident.**

"Who else was involved in this fight against the Heartless?" asked Cloud; Aerith would count with her fingers as the names came pouring into her head. "You know what, I'll just ask you at a later time, don't feel like waiting for an answer..." Cloud and Mario needed an answer right away.

"In addition to the Heartless, we also had to go up against another evil force...a villainous group known as the Organization XIII," Aerith said this with fear and trepidation in her eyes. "They wear long black undercoats, and their goal is to collect hearts. They have have been defeated, but I fear that they're still around somewhere, working towards their goal..."

"So basically they're-a like the Ku Klux-a Klan, except they wear black-a coats instead of white-a robes and they go after everyone rather than-a minorities," stated Mario, receiving a dubious look from Mario. A very questionable analysis.

"...yes, I suppose you could say that. However, the Organization XIII are far more dangerous than the Ku Klux Klan, more dangerous than any group of individuals you could ever think of. They're not the ones to be taken lightly by any means..."

* * *

"Court is now in session!" the Judge from the _Ace Attorney_ series, who unfortunately doesn't have a name yet, struck his gavel against a sound block, commencing the start of Snake's trial as everyone sat down in the courtroom. The Judge sat at his judge bench, Snake and Phoenix sat at the defendant's table, the jury sat at the jury box, and the spectators sat in the spectators seats. And guess who sat at the plaintiff table? Dr. Light's former friend and arch-enemy Dr. Albert W. Wily, who was looking healthy and fine although he had been infected by the Roboneza disease.

 **Maya: It had been brought to our attention that Dr. Wily is apparently the owner of the prison that Snake was imprisoned at. How he's alive despite the rumors about his death spiraling out of hand is quite remarkable; the Roboneza disease should have taken care of him for good. Unless...**

"So, Dr. Wily, who's somehow alive for some reason..." Phoenix paced back and forth in the courtroom after the proceedings were done, still in disbelief that Dr. Wily was alive and doing well. "You claim that Snake broke out of your prison in which you apparently own...true or not true?"

"It is indeed true, and he wasn't the only person involved!" replied Dr. Wily, sporting his trademark evil grin. Not the kind of evil grin that would give you nightmares. "Is it too early to call someone to the witness table? Why not...that kid with the wings?" He pointed at Pit, who was idly standing by with Maya.

"I believe he was pointing at you," the angel whispered to Maya, before several prosecutors grabbed Pit and dragged him to the witness stand, where he was front and center. Being a witness was something Pit least expected to happen.

"According to Dr. Wily, who had reviewed the prison tapes following Snake's breakout, you were seen along with a few others assisting the prisoner in his escape!" the Judge said to Pit, who was nervously biting his nails. "What do you have to say for yourself, young man?" Pit looked to his left, and then to his right, wondering what he should say, when a light bulb flashed over his head.

"How do you know it was me; for all we know, the guy you saw in the security footage could have been a doppelganger, a fake!" the angel gave his witness testimony, resulting in a collective gasp from the crowd.

"Blasphemous, I know it was you, don't even try to cover your behind!" growled Dr. Wily, slamming his fists on the table. "You, and that witch, and that robot, and of course, my arch-enemy Mega Man - you were all there!"

"Settle down there Dr. Wily, we have yet to hear what Phoenix Wright has to say about this," the Judge said, before turning his attention to the famous attorney. "So what do you have to say, Mr. Wright, was Pit telling the truth or did he really break Snake out of prison?"

Before Phoenix could answer, two prosecutors came into the courtroom from the jury room, both mysteriously holding an unconscious Daisy and Yuffie in their arms. Suddenly shock and fear would overcome the entire courtroom when the prosecutors turned into Heartless - the helmet-wearing kind. Several more Heartless soon flooded the courtroom, leading to even more panic.

 **Security Guard: *guarding the doorway to the courtroom* Lots of screaming from the courtroom...really wanna go inside, but I gotta stay out here and guard the doors at all costs...could really kill for a doughnut though...**

"Everyone settle down, this will all be resolved quickly!" the Judge warned the panicky crowd. And he was right - the situation would be resolved, when several laser shots were fired at the Heartless, defeating them in the process. Fox and Falco appeared through the jury doors wielding their blasters, and Luigi, Link, Zelda, and Ema Skye would show up as well, having followed the Heartless to this very destination. The Judge was flabbergasted, much like everyone else, but Phoenix sought to find reason in Snake's trial, and he found the most opportune evidence he needed to bail out Snake.

"As you all had just seen, those creatures you have seen were able to turn into human beings, thereby proving they were capable of shape-shifting abilities," the attorney said, picking up the trial's pace. "Which means...those same creatures must shape-shifted into Pit and the others, and under their aliases, broke Snake out of prison, against his will! Isn't that right Snake?" Snake, although he knew the testimony Phoenix gave was untrue, nodded his head, not wanting to put the attorney in hot water. "So in order to find out whoever's in charge of the creatures, we must call someone to the witness table...why not Link, the famed hero of Hyrule?" Phoenix pointed at the Hylian.

"Why me, why do I have to be a witness?" Link frowned, as Luigi, Zelda, Fox, Falco, and Ema did their best to bring Daisy and Yuffie back to their consciousness. And there's your reason for why Link has to give a witness testimony. "It always has to be me, doesn't it..." the Hylian grumbled as he trudged his way to the witness stand, giving Pit some time to return to his post with Maya.

"So, Link what's-yer-last-name, you have valiantly fought many creatures in the past, some more stronger than others..." Phoenix paced back and forth at the defendants table, stroking his chin ever so thoughtfully. "Do you know anything about the creatures that you followed into this courtroom?"

"Yes I certainly do, seen a few of them pop up every now and then at my residence, the Smash Mansion. I have no idea where they're coming from, or who their leader or commander is..."

"That is the information we need to know, who is their leader? How do we find out, why don't we ask our plaintiff...Dr. Wily!" Phoenix pointed at Dr. Wily, who nervously looked around. When the chips are down, the robot inventor has no idea how to wiggle his way out of trouble.

 **Security Guard: The screaming has died down, which is good...but I really want a doughnut...now my stomach's grumbling... *clutches stomach***

"Dr. Wily, you were once infected with the Roboneza disease, a highly contiguous disease especially for humans..." said Phoenix, as the sweat came pouring down Dr. Wily's face like a waterfall. "...by all accounts, you should have been dead! Yet here you are, still alive, and owning a prison in Hawaii of all places...how did you return to full health again, after battling a fatal disease?"

"Because I was never really sick to begin with, I survived the Roboneze disease like it was nothing!" declared Dr. Wily, doing his evil laugh. Much like his evil grin, it won't give you nightmares of any sort. "I'm practically immortal, nothing can stop me..."

"OBJECTION!" At long last, Phoenix shouted his his trademark phrase, pointing accusingly at Dr. Wily who sat back in his seat. "You never survived the Roboneza disease, you had died in the hospital...and then you came back, like nothing ever happened! It's because you had made a deal with the devil...the devil known as the Organization XIII!"

A collective gasp in the courtroom transpired yet again. No one really knew who the Organization XIII was or what they do or where they originated, but just hearing that name could send chills down anyone's spine.

"What is this thing wrapped around your neck?" Phoenix stormed over to Dr. Wily, grabbing a heart amulet from around the robot inventor's neck. The heart looked oddly familiar to Link and company. "If you look closely, you can see that the heart insignia on this amulet is similar to the insignia on the humanoid Heartless! That would mean that the Organization XIII came to Dr. Wily in the hospital in his dying days, and in exchange for a large piece of his health back, they also gave this wretched man control over the Heartless - the Heartless that disguised themselves as Pit and company and broke him out of prison!" Whispers filled up the courtroom as Dr. Wily bit his nails, Phoenix was really throwing him under the bus. "But why would Dr. Wily command the Heartless to break Snake out of his prison for? It's simple, really - Snake's bail was ridiciously high, according to the documentation Maya and I gathered, and with no one willing to pay Snake's bail, it was up to Dr. Wily to pay it off - and he ordered the Heartless to break the retired FOXHOUND agent out of prison just so he wouldn't have to do so!"

"We will now have the jury decide Dr. Wily's fate," the Judge announced as the foreperson stood up, clearing his throat.

"After taking into account everything that was said, from Phoenix Wright's testimony to the testimonies of our two witnesses, we have declared Dr. Albert W. Wily...guilty!" the foreperson announced, and right on cue, the Judge slammed his gavel, before ordering the prosecutors to come and arrest Dr. Wily. It was a victory for Snake, and a loss for the evil robot genius.

 **Phoenix: The Organization XIII? Had no idea they existed until Pit told me about them on our ride to the courthouse. Aerith told him everything about this organization, talking about how they could control the Heartless and stuff.  
** **Maya: My best guess is that Aerith told him this information because she knew that Pit would too stupid enough to pass the information to anyone else. Who would have thought that Aerith would be a savior in Snake's trial...**

 **Pit: The only reason I came to the trial was to prevent the Judge and several others from learning the real truth about Snake's jailbreak, so I guess I did a pretty nifty job, if I do say so myself... *folds arms behind his head* You can call me, "Pit...Something, Ace Witness!" Nah, that doesn't really roll off of the tongue...**

"Solid Snake, for the lack of a better name, you have now been declared...innocent, in the name of the law!" the Judge declared after the final court proceedings. Snake cheered as he did a leap for joy before giving Phoenix a bro hug. Phoenix's best friend, Larry Butz, has given him these kinds of hugs before.

"Three cheers for Solid Snake!" exclaimed Jacky Bryant, who served as one of the spectators. "Hip hip..." No response whatsoever. "I said...hip hip..." Still no response, prompting Jacky to throw his arms up in the air. Will someone tell Jacky that nobody does that kind of cheers in a courtroom setting?

"Ugh, what happened, and how did I get here of all places?" Daisy finally awoke, and analyzed her surroundings, and once she saw Luigi smiling at her... "Oh there you are Luigi, never thought I would have seen you again!" The princess gave the plumber a hug, squeezing him tight.

"Can't...breathe..." wheezed Luigi, as Daisy released her hold. "I'm-a glad that you're in-a one piece, I've been-a worried about you this whole-a time!"

"Ow, my aching head..." Yuffie woke up afterwards, sensing her surroundings. "Is this some sort of dream? Why am I in a courtroom of all places? I'm not being put on trial, am I?" Being put on trial would turn this so-called dream into a utter nightmare!

"Once we return to the mansion, we're doing as much research on this Organization XIII as possible," Ema quietly whispered to Zelda, before preparing herself to ask the following question: "You wouldn't mind if I stick around just for a bit longer, do you?"

"I'm sure we can work something out..." Zelda said, hoping Master Hand could keep Ema around.

* * *

After what may have been an eternity, the Inklings were done playing the _Shovel Knight_ arcade game, after losing their last life. That meant Sonic and Proto Man could finally the game, after much time spent scheming and waiting.

"Aw yeah, been waiting for this moment the entire day!" Sonic exclaimed as he and Proto Man stepped towards the arcade machine...only to stop when the arcade room doors burst open and an exhausted Samus trudged towards the _Shovel Knight_ arcade machine.

"Look I understand that you boys are dying to play that game, but hear me out just this once," the bounty hunter said to Sonic and Proto Man, a deadpan glare very much prevalent in her visage. "But I had to go through torture today - I had to do the freaking caramelldansen dance with Cilan for almost an hour and a half, and I'm exhausted, and I need something to cool down. So if you let me play the new _Shovel Knight_ game, I'll leave you two alone and you can continue the rest of your day, in peace. Capiche?"

 **Wolf: Most OVAs tend to last for an hour or so, so I decided to ante up the stakes and make our OVA an hour _and a half._ Kinda explains how I got my spleen ruptured at the hands of Samus - thankfully no hospital visit was necessary.**

"I...suppose...you can play," Sonic stepped aside, and Proto Man would do the same. "We can always play tomorrow, the arcade machine will still be there!" Samus suddenly grew content as she made her way towards the _Shovel Knight_ arcade machine, feeling satisfied. It's not that often the bounty hunter felt that way.

"Looks like we kinda learned a valuable lesson today," Proto Man said to Sonic as the two exited the arcade room...while Samus inserted her blaster into the arcade machine's coin slot, turning the arcade machine into a supercomputer with the screen saying, "TARGET:X". Uh oh, looks like X now has a target on his back...

* * *

"Snake is now a free man!" Phoenix entered Mario's room to announce this to Mario, Cloud, and Aerith, with Maya at his side. "I don't know exactly how I did it, but thanks to Pit and maybe perhaps Link, I saved Snake from heading back to prison!"

"Well that's quite-a remarkable of you Phoenix," smiled Mario, wondering how Snake was innocent and why the former spy even needed an attorney in the first place, considering he was a part of the jailbreak at hand. "Wouldn't have never doubted-a you for a second!" Suddenly Phoenix's phone rang, and he saw that it was a call from Ema Skye.

"Just wanted to let you know that Master Hand is allowing me to stay at the mansion for a certain period of time," Ema said after she and Phoenix exchanged greetings and whatnot. "Gonna be doing some stuff about the Heartless, and then move on to bigger things...like the Organization XIII." At that moment, Aerith nervously gulped. How did Ema find out? (You already know the answer.) You've heard of them, right?"

"To a certain extent, I do," replied Phoenix, making Aerith even more nervous. Even he knows about the Organization! "I hope you can make the most of your time at the mansion, I know this Heartless thing has hardly anything to do with forensics, but I know you'll get the job done. Talk to you later!"

Once Phoenix and Ema exchanged goodbyes, Phoenix hung up his phone and placed it back in his pocket. Today was a job well done for the famous attorney.

* * *

However, the same couldn't be said for Dr. Wily, as he marched down the hall of a prison to his cell, being walked by prosecutors. On his way to said cell, a hooded figure wearing a black coat watched from afar, his arms folded. No, this wasn't some mage who got lost in a prison - this was someone from the infamous Organization XIII, who had somehow found his way to this very universe.

"We shall be speaking with him later..." the hooded fellow uttered as a dark corridor appeared behind him, and he walked through it to places unknown.

Just who was this Organization XIII, and what business do they have here?


	48. Episode 48: TeamRocket

_Author's Note:_

 _In anticipation of Pokemon Sun and Moon being released today (or tomorrow, depending on where you live at and what your time zone is), I've made this episode dedicated to the new Pokemon games. Not all the new Pokemon will be featured, though the main human characters save for the ones from Team Skull and the Aether Foundation will make an appearance. Keep in mind that the island kahunas and trial captains will all be called kahunas, since I'm still trying to distinguish the difference between the two. Now for some guest reviews:_

 _"One question: What's with Corrin? Has he gone through the events of Fates yet, or did he already go through them, and if so which path did he take?"_

 _We'll just say that Corrin went through the Conquest path, since he got to stick with his Nohrian siblings. We'll leave it at that. Kirby 123 has returned, with yet another Kirby suggestion:_

 _"How about you show people in the mansion how powerful Kirby is like a strength competition? I mean Kirby has capability to crack a planet in half and throw a ******* giant frying pan with a monster to ******* sun and back meaning he is very powerful! p.s. I pretty sure Kirby is a good cook so maybe him cooking or help cooking with peach... he probably eat all the food though."_

 _The next episode in Smash Life will be a Thanksgiving special of sorts, so we'll get to see Kirby cooking Thanksgiving dinner or something like that. The strength competition will have to be on hold until further notice. Last but not least, we have 0300:_

 _"I feel really weird today so I decided to come up with two characters names and a word that the chapter (might not) revolve around. Corrin and Pit, peanuts. I'm interested to see what you come up with."_

 _I'll see what I can do with Pit and Corrin and...peanuts. Got a lot to think about. Moving on:_

 _"Now with an actual plot suggestion:Do you think you could have Sonic ask Knuckles make a mixtape about Sonic's love for Amy because it's part of his social norms thing?"_

 _Yeah I could possibly pull that one off, what with Sonic and Amy now on the same page, and we haven't seen Sonic act like his typical self in a good while. Haven't touched on Sonic's social norms mentality for a considerable amount of time._

* * *

 **Episode 48: TeamRocket**

Mario and Master Hand both waited outside the Smash Mansion, with Mario checking his watch. Both the plumber and the giant hand were expecting a huge addition to the mansion to come, an addition everyone's a bit excited for. As you may already know, _Pokemon Sun and Moon_ was being released this week, and the native Pokemon of the Alolan region were coming to the Smash Mansion, to live in the mansion's Pokemon sanctuary.

Unlike most Pokemon in generation's past, this generation of Pokemon is a lot more diverse. You got your regular Pokemon, who are...well, just regular Pokemon. Then you have your four guardian deities - Tapu Koko, Tapu Lele, Tapu Bulu, and Tapu Fini - that guard the islands of Alola. And last but not least, you have your Ultra Beasts - creatures that may or may not be full-fledged Pokemon. Only the regular Pokemon will be occupying the Smash Mansion.

"Professor Kukui and his assistant should-a be arriving soon with-a the kahunas," Mario notified Master Hand as the wait prolonged. "There-a are seven kahunas in total coming, each one delegated-a to their own island."

"Um, don't you mean 'gym leaders', is kahuna supposed to be a Hawaiian term for gym leader or something?" questioned Master Hand, obviously not that well-versed in the realm of Pokemon. Mario had to do some last-night research on Pokemon so he wouldn't look like a total noob in front of Kukui and company. "And why are there only four of them, shouldn't there be eight? Are we missing one?"

"First off, Alola doesn't-a have gym leaders, they have kahunas that are-a in charge of Pokemon-related challenges. And I do think-a we're down one kahuna, though Kukui contacted me via phone and told-a me only seven kahunas were coming with-a him."

 **Cilan: I am more than excited that the mansion is receiving more Pokemon! Back in my home region of Unova, we don't have Pokemon from other regions like Kanto and Sinnoh, it's only the native Pokemon that reside in Unova. It's also a major reason why Bowser accused me and everyone else in Unova of being sheltered when I told him I never saw a Poliwhirl in person before prior to entering the Pokemon sanctuary.**

Soon a bus arrived, making its stop at the front of the mansion. A tanned, shirtless man wearing a Pokemon cap, glasses, a lab coat, and some sweatpants stepped off of the bus, and accompanying him was a young blonde girl wearing a white hat and dress, and a big old dude wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

"Mario, Master Hand, what's up my dudes?" the man in the lab coat greeted the plumber and the giant hand, surprising them both with his contagious charisma, a trait you'd be hard-pressed to find in other Pokemon professors. "The name's Professor Kukui, and it's a great pleasure to meet you both."

"Likewise, I can already tell-a we're building some great-a chemistry..." Mario happily shook Kukui's hand while seething inside, taking notice of the Pokemon professor's six-pack. Enough motivation for the plumber to get a six-pack of his own. "Why don't you introduce-a us to the blonde lass, and that guy-a in that Hawaiian shirt?"

"Ah yes, the young blonde lady in the white dress is my lovely assistant, Lillie, who's working for me for her own personal reasons. The man in the Hawaiian shirt is Hala, one of Alola's kahunas. The other kahunas will be coming out of the bus shortly, once they gather all the Poke balls."

"It's truly great that we could give a portion of Alola - our precious Pokemon - to this wonderful Smash Mansion!" remarked Hala; he won't think of the mansion as so wonderful if he were to live in it for an entire week. One full week and Ema Skye, who was invited to stay at the mansion, is now on her last nerve, having to put with so many colorful personalities on a daily basis. "Sorry we couldn't bring over the guardian deities - the islands must be guarded at all costs!"

"Yet you're fine with other Pokemon trainers catching the deities and using them on their adventures..." Lillie rolled her eyes at Hala. "But when I want to catch one, you and Kukui always talk me out of it..."

"...there are some things a Pokemon trainer can do that a Pokemon _assistant_ cannot. Also, did you not say that you were against Pokemon battles? You wouldn't want one of the guardian deities to be your housemaid, would you?" After Halu's response, Lillie grumpily folded her arms. As stated, this chick dislikes Pokemon battles - in fact, she would rather read books than engage in an exciting Pokemon duel.

"Alright you two, enough chit-chat, let's release the Pokemon!" Kukui headed to the bus and entered through the bus door...before noticing that something was terribly, terribly wrong. "Hala, you did say that your grandson Hau was coming along for the trip, right?"

"He told me he wanted to go at the last minute," Hala confirmed, nodding his head. "We didn't leave him behind, did we? I remember doing a roll call before we had departed, he should be here by all means!"

 **Hala: Hau is my dear grandson, he's a bit of an aspiring Pokemon trainer. We held a huge ceremony for him in celebration of the beginning of what will be a great, prosperous Pokemon training career! Call it a "rebirth", if you will...**

"All the kahunas out of the bus, front and center, don't worry about the Poke balls!" ordered Kukui, as the professor stepped out of the bus. The kahunas on the bus - Iliama, Lana, Mallow, Sophocles, Kiwae, Olivia - stepped out as well.

"Who is the mustached weirdo dressed up as Mario, is that really Mario himself?" Sophocles pointed at a now angered Mario. That's no way to talk to a world-famous video game character!

"Mario should be the least of your concerns! As you may know, Hau traveled with us to the Smash Mansion, and yet for some reason, he's absolutely nowhere to be found! He was on the bus when we arrived..."

"He must have sneaked out of the bus when no one was looking and sneaked inside the Smash Mansion undetected," assumed Lana. If that's the case, then how Hau get past the mansion's security system? "I know he hasn't gone that far, though he is quite the adventurous one, I will admit..."

"I was fearful this might have happened, wherever Hau is I sure hope he's safe..." Halu frowned, though his eyebrows make it seem like he's always frowning. The mythical abilities of bushy eyebrows!

* * *

Spying on Mario and company from as far away from the Smash Mansion as possible was Team Rocket - no, not the villainous team in its entirety. The trio of Jessie, James, and Meowth, who in case you weren't aware, exist in both the anime _and_ the games. Bet you didn't know that, did you?

"The famous Mario and the Smash universe creator Master Hand is talking to Alola's Pokemon professor as he speak!" Meowth said to Jessie and James, spying through a pair of hi-tech binoculars. Yes, the Meowth from the games can speak human language, it's better that way. "When are they gonna send out the Alolan Pokemon already, we didn't come all the way here for nothing! We have Pokemon to nab other than Pikachu!"

"Heard there's an Alolan form of Raichu, wouldn't that be better than a lousy Pikachu?" inquired James, garnering weird looks from Jessie and Meowth. "Why are you looking at me like that, an Alolan Raichu would be stronger, and more powerful, don't you think?"

"A Pikachu has been our main target, no need to go after its evolved form!" stated Jessie, slapping James silly. Sometimes she has to be the voice of reason in her group. "Once we capture a Pikachu, we'll then go after the Alolan Pokemon, and bring them to the boss!"

 **James: Despite the high amount of attention they get from the media and major publications, Pikachus are actually a pretty rare species in general. Catching a Pikachu in the Viridian Forest is like finding a half-dollar coin at the bottom of the fountain!  
** **Jessie: A special kind of Pikachu resides in the mansion, living among the other brawlers. The mansion is heavily populated, and we can't raise as much suspicion as possible with our Team Rocket uniforms, so we must need the perfect disguises to get in and grab that Pikachu!  
Meowth: After we capture the Pikachu, we'll then capture the Alolan Pokemon, and bring them to our boss, Giovanni! He'll be so impressed by our hard work, he'll be all like, "My goodness, not only did this trio capture Pikachu, but they also captured the Alolan Pokemon as well, I never should have doubted them!" I can already see the gleeful smile on his face...**

* * *

Inside the mansion, the residents were getting things clean and tidy for Professor Kukui and company when they enter the mansion. In fact, Mr. Game and Watch was the _only_ resident getting things clean and tidy for Professor Kukui and company when they enter the mansion; everyone else was doing their own thing. For example, Ema Skye, a temporary mansion resident, was conducting research on the Heartless and a villainous group known as the Organization XIII, and she was listening to a story from Captain Falcon, who had reportedly witnessed a strange being in the fitness center.

"It was dark, with yellow eyes, and it had a human-like structure..." the racer explained the creature he had saw to Ema, who was nodding her head at every remark Falcon had said. "Not to mention that it also had this crooked antennae, and large hands with claw-like fingers! Part of me wanted to ask the creature if it was a girl or not, but I didn't want to risk my safety!" Was Captain Falcon so desperate for love that he would go as far as asking out a presumed Heartless?

"Okay Falcon, you do realize that the creature you described is probably genderless, right?" asked Ema, causing the racer to snap his fingers in disgust. "However, it does sound a like Heartless, and a species new to the mansion, I'm assuming...follow me, Captain Falcon, I want you to make a drawing of this Heartless, so I can put it in my records."

So Captain Falcon followed Ema into the elevator and up to the fifth floor, where the forensics expert would take the racer to Star Records room, where Fox and Falco were present. Little Mac and Doc Louis were also present, with the former punching away on a poor punching bag.

"Found a new breed of Heartless?" Fox asked as he walked towards Ema, placing his blaster in his pocket, with Falco following him. "Give us the 4-1-1!" At Ema's command, Captain Falcon would describe the Heartless he had seen to the Star Fox pilots, while adding the part where he wanted to ask if the Heartless was a girl or not. Something both Fox and Falco felt Captain Falcon should have kept to himself; now they think of the racer as more desperate than usual.

"My man Little Mac will take out this Heartless threat with a quick two-piece!" stated Doc Louis, believing his protege will be a Heartless slayer. Evidently he believes Little Mac can do everything, like run for president; Donald Trump thought he could do that, and look at what happened, he's living the dream...only time will tell if Kanye West can live his dream as president of the United States.

"Thanks for the talk Doc, but I seriously think it'll take more than just me to defeat the Heartless," said Little Mac. Gotta give the man credit for keeping it real, which Doc Louis is apparently incapable of.

 **Doc Louis: The Heartless infiltrating the mansion is a situation that cannot be taken lightly. Aerith passed some information to Fox and Falco that the boys passed on to us, stating how the Heartless are after hearts! Let me tell ya, I got heart surgery on my heart, so I'm clear!  
Little Mac: What happens if a Heartless takes your heart, would you die right on the spot? Is that why they're called Heartless, because they yearn for hearts and they have to steal human hearts in order to feel complete? How would that be possible, when they don't even have a single body system!**

"Thank you Little Mac, for telling it how it is, unlike Doc Louis who sadly lives in his own world of delusion..." thanked Ema as she took out a slip of paper, infuriating Doc. "...anyways, Captain Falcon will draw a picture of the Heartless to the best of his ability, so we'll be on the lookout if we ever see it." Falcon took the slip of paper and drew a picture the Heartless he had seen with an ink pen, drawing on the Star Records desk. He didn't have to be a Pablo Picasso, he just needed to make a drawing that could be easily interpreted by others...

"Ta-da, here you are folks, one great-lookin' drawing of the Heartless I had seen!" the racer presented the drawing to Ema and company. It matched his description of the Heartless - dark skin, yellow eyes (though they're white), large hands, claw-like fingers, and a human-like body. Only problem was the words at the bottom: "FUTURE GIRLFRIEND/WIFE". Fox and Falco had no choice but to laugh at Captain Falcon's drawing, just because of that one delusional line.

"Captain Falcon, for the LAST TIME, Heartless don't have any genders, they're genderless creatures who are only interested in taking hearts! Are you that thirsty for a significant other to the point where you're flat-out stupid?!"

"Hey Captain Falcon, we're about to have another Romance Club meeting, it starts in five minutes!" Geno's voice sounded from behind the door. "Are you coming or not? Marth would be greatly displeased with you if you didn't!"

"Now's not the time to prove my intelligence to you, duty calls!" Captain Falcon remarked to Ema as he headed out of the Star Records room. "Just keep on keeping on, and stay fresh!" After his two-finger salute, Falcon exited the room for good and headed down to the Romance Club, where he would likely annoy his fellow members with his antics.

* * *

The doorbell rang, indicating that someone was at the door. Mario, who was already going over things with Professor Kukui and company in the foyer, answered the front door to see who it was, and saw Jessie, James, and Meowth...all three in disguises. Jessie and James were dressed up as reporters, and Meowth was dressed up as their cameraman. Yet Mario didn't seem to be unfazed by how short Meowth was, or how distinctively cat-like he looked compared to his compadres. Could be that the plumber had seen far too many anthropomorphic individuals in his lifetime to question anything.

"Uh, hello, Mario sir, we are a reporter-cameraman trio from a local television station, and we wish to take a peek inside the Smash Mansion and receive a tour of this fine establishment!" said Jessie, while Mario looked on, somewhat confused. "...basically we're doing a cover story on the mansion, if you don't mind."

 **Jessie: Our reporter get-up shouldn't fail, it's hard for anyone to see through it!  
** **James: Jessie's right, we've tried it out on a few Team Rocket grunts, and it took them forever to find out it was us! Though to be fair, evil grunts are exactly the brightest bunch...  
** **Meowth: And that's why our boss gives us the most high-stakes missions, we're the sharpest tools in the shed!...Why are you laughing?!**

"I dunno, Master Hand typically doesn't allow-a persons from local television-a stations inside the mansion, and we already have-a visitors..." Mario mused over the offer; apparently he sees the faux reporters as nothing but good people. Ash Ketchum has fallen victim to Team Rocket's ploys one too many times, and apparently his travelling buddies fall for it to. Perhaps travelling with him made them as stupid as he was. "...but I can't possibly say-a no to such an offer, you're welcome to come-a in!" Jessie, James, and Meowth smiled as they entered the Smash Mansion, but it wouldn't take long before Mario had to establish some rules. "Just so you-a know, you can't speak with the Alolan-a folks yet, I still have some-a business to conduct with them. But no-a worries, I got you all covered...Isabelle, can you come down-a to the foyer please?"

In a jiffy, Isabelle came running down the steps, happy to serve Mario as evidenced by the wagging of her tail when she arrived. Oh, how Team Rocket wished she was a newly discovered Pokemon...

"How may I serve you, sir Mario?" the shih tzu happily asked the plumber, who immediately pointed at Team Rock...erm, the _reporting trio,_ who were waiting by. "Came here to do a story on the Smash Mansion? Come with me, I'll show you everything we need to see!"

"One step closer to finding that Pikachu..." James quietly said to his teammates as Isabelle led them throughout the mansion, the shih tzu not knowing that the three she's doing a tour with are evil villains.

"Before we go off to the Pokemon sanctuary, let's make sure we have all the Poke balls..." Lillie looked inside the sack full of Poke balls, before panicking when she saw one Poke ball already open. "Oh no, one of the Pokemon escaped, this is not good at all!"

"Surely it's only a harm-a less Pokemon, one on the same-a caliber as a Magikarp," reassured Mario. There he goes, applying his Pokemon knowledge...before his rigorous Pokemon study, the plumber thought Blissey was the most worthless Pokemon ever, and he was just going off by its name!

"Whatever the Pokemon is, it better show up soon," said Hala. "Just like my grandson..." Let's see what Hala's grandson, Hau, could possibly be up to, shall we?

* * *

"Glad that you two like my malasadas - they're a popular Alolan treat!" the aspiring Pokemon trainer was in the mansion's cafe, where Pit and Kirby were chomping away on the malasadas (egg-sized dough deep-fried in oil and coated with sugar) he had brought along for the trip. Watching from afar was X, who was wondering how Hau got inside the mansion while breezing by the security system...was the system even on?

 **X: Security system's been acting up all day...one moment it would be working just fine, and the next it would go down in an instant and stop cooperating. While it was down, that kid over there sneaked inside the mansion undetected, and befriended Pit. I've tried asking Samus for assistance, but frankly she doesn't know what to do...**

 **Samus: *sitting in a chair in the workshop* Hijacking the _Shovel Knight_ arcade game and using it to disrupt the security system was totally worth it... *leans back in the chair with her arms behind her head* Nothing like some good ol' payback...**

"Do you have any more of these malasalads or whatever, they taste awesome!" Pit chirped, rubbing his stomach. Malasalads, he said, malasalads...

"I would give you some more...if your friend didn't suck up every single one of them," replied Hau, adjusting the hairband on his hair. "But frankly someone had to eat them, and you two definitely helped yourselves!"

"Poyo poyo poyo!" exclaimed Kirby, wanting more malasadas too. That pink puffball's hunger cannot be stopped...also was he using profanity words and/or street slang? With Kirby, it's oftentimes hard to tell...

"Hey Pit, who's your new friend?" Sonic entered the cafe to ask the angel. "Don't ever recall seeing him before, is he new? He does know who I am, does he? If he doesn't, then we're gonna have some very difficult complications..."

"This is Hau, he hails from the Alolan region, and his father is a well-respected Pokemon trainer," Pit introduced Hau to Sonic, who nodded thoughtfully at this information - information that the hedgehog will most likely wind up forgetting eventually. "He gave Kirby and I some malasadas, and boy were they great!"

"Sure don't know what these malasadas, but judging by the name, it must sound pretty tasty! You do have a few more malasades with you, do you Hau?"

"Sadly I don't, Pit and Kirby ate up all the malasadas I had left...but I know the recipe to make them. We can bake some in the kitchen, provided we have the necessary materials." Don't worry Hau, this is the Smash Mansion, they have everything you want or need and more in their kitchen.

* * *

Lucario was doing his daily yoga routine, doing yoga in the peace and comfort of the dancing room. It's a room rarely used by anyone, due to a poignant lack of bona fide dancers in the mansion, which makes it the perfect place for the aura Pokemon to get his yoga in. Lucario's peace and comfort would be momentarily interrupted when...

"Lucario we have no time, we need you immediately!" Cloud burst inside the dancing room and grabbed the aura Pokemon's hand before dragging him out. "I just got a text from Mario that an Alolan Pokemon broke out of its Poke ball, and with you on board, we can hunt it down and bring it to the Pokemon sanctuary."

 **Cloud: What kinda sucks about finding the Pokemon is that we don't know what it looks like, or how strong it is. So we'll just have to look for whatever creature we haven't seen in the mansion before, and assume that it's a Pokemon, and bring it to the mansion right away. Pretty much what King Dedede does with food - he would see food conspiciously lying somewhere, assume that it's his, and bring said food to his room where he would eat it in privacy...you wouldn't believe the amount of uneaten pizza slices I found in his room looking for my Materia.**

"Who is this 'we' that you speak of?" questioned Lucario, and soon enough, he and Cloud arrived in a room with Link and Mewtwo. In Link's hand was the empty Poke ball. And in Mewtwo's hand was...well, nothing really.

"Glad you could be here Lucario," Mewtwo said to the aura Pokemon, who didn't want to be here at all but had no other choice. "I'm sure Cloud has informed you about the Pokemon on the loose in the mansion, is that correct?"

"Uh, yes, yes he has. I had no prior knowledge of the situation until Cloud mentioned it to me." Lucario had expected to see some of the Alolan Pokemon today, but not in this fashion. "Link, why do you have an empty Poke ball, when Cloud said we're just bringing the Pokemon to the sanctuary?"

"Because I...well I have no idea, to be honest with you," was the Hylian's reply. He placed the Poke ball on the floor. "Could have been used as a part of a backup plan, but I suppose not..."

"Anyways, it is highly imperative that we find the rouge Pokemon before it harms someone," Mewtwo continued. "Especially when we have visitors over from..."

Suddenly a loud scream was heard; Mewtwo and company were able to distinguish Wii Fit Trainer's voice. So they headed off the where the workout warrior was, in the middle of the hallway confronted by a black humanoid creature with yellow eyes, funny-looking antennae, claw-like fingers, and large hands and feet. Sound familiar?

"Could one of you boys please get this thing away from me?!" Wii Fit Trainer asked the four men, and right on cue, the Flying Man would leap to action as he flew to the scene, standing between the black creature and Wii Fit Trainer.

"Why rely on those bums, when you can count on the mighty Flying Man to save the day!" the mythical beast exclaimed, prompting Mewtwo, Link, Cloud, and Lucario to roll their eyes in disgust. Vintage Flying Man at its finest. "I am your courage, no challenge is too big for I!"

Unable to take the Flying Man's crap anymore, the black creature tackled the mythical beast to the ground, punching him in the face for good measure. The Flying Man would just lie there on the floor, nursing his wounds.

 **Mewtwo: The Flying Man called me a bum... *eye twitches* Me, the most powerful Psychic-type Pokemon in the world, a bum... *shudders***

With the Flying Man now down for the count, Link quickly leaped to action, tackling the creature to the floor and holding its hands behind its back, like he was arresting it. And apparently that's what the Hylian did, when he pulled out handcuffs from his pocket and cuffed the creature. Link would get up and turn around, seeing Cloud, Mewtwo, and Lucario giving him weird looks.

"What's so wrong with me putting someone under arrest, don't think I would be a great police officer or something?" frowned Link. What swordsman would be a great policeman, has Link ever wielded a gun outside of a Smash battle?

"We're just surprised that you even had handcuffs on you to begin with," remarked Cloud, learning new things about his best friend. "But we're not gonna question you, we'll just let it pass, right guys?" Mewtwo and Lucario both nodded their heads, albeit with some slight hesitation.

"Thank you so much for saving me Link, I shall make it up to you later today!" Wii Fit Trainer thanked the hero of Hyrule. "So what are you and your boys gonna do with that ant-like fiend on the floor?" The ant-like thing in question (a.k.a. the black creature Link tackled to the floor, in case you weren't keeping up) was trying to break from from the handcuffs around his hands, but to no avail. Link really had those things locked on tight.

"Must be an Alolan Pokemon, Mario did say one was on the lose in the mansion," Link answered as he helped the black creature, the presumed Pokemon up on its feet. "He never did say what it looked like or anything, so this must be the one. What do you think, Mewtwo?"

"Does it look like I belong in the Alolan region?" the Psychic Pokemon rudely remarked. Don't expect him to apologize to Link for his rudeness, though Link has grown to accept the rudeness as a part of Mewtwo's personality. "Except maybe for the starter Pokemon, I have no knowledge of the Alolan Pokemon, nor would I bother knowing any Pokemon from this region."

"We'll take this Pokemon to the sanctuary, where it will be kept away from the brawlers," Lucario said as he and the others walked with with the presumed Pokemon in their grasp. Is it really a Pokemon, or is it something else...?

* * *

 **Doc Louis: Still trying to wrap my head around this whole Heartless concept...are these shadow beings former lovers who had their hearts ripped out (figuratively) by their significant other, who either cheated on them or had a nasty breakup with them? What about the others types of Heartless that wear helmets and whatnot, do they feel so naked from not being loved that they need to clothe themselves? Am I looking into this matter too much?**

Doc Louis remained in the Star Records room with Little Mac, Fox, Falco, and Ema Skye, when there was a knock at the door. At first, Ema thought Captain Falcon was coming back just to flirt with her (like he has been over the course of the week), and instantly feared for the worst.

"Hello, do you guys mind if I come in?" Zelda's voice sounded from behind the door, and Ema immediately let out a sigh of relief. "Think I found another Heartless, just wanted you guys to verify it..."

"Come right on in and we'll take a close inspection of it," said Fox. Zelda entered the room, holding a chimera by a leash. It had bird-like hands, a fish-like tail, and a strange-looking head which looked like an axe was stuck in it; all in all, it was the likes in which nobody in the Star Records room has ever seen.

"Bruh I need a picture of this!" Falco whipped out his phone and took a picture of the chimera, like it was nigh important. "Looks pretty scary too, I could scare the crap out of Lucina with this, she's a pretty easy person to scare!"

"Hmm, it looks like a Heartless to me, has a very unique design and all..." Ema knelt down at the chimera, analyzing its appearance and nature. The chimera just looked into Ema's eyes, looking into her soul... "I wouldn't risk harming it since we don't know if it's a legitimate Heartless or not, but we'll keep it in this room so it'll be safe..."

"It sure isn't acting hostile, that's for sure," examined Doc Louis while Little Mac continued his relentless attack on the punching bag. "Could be one of the more peaceful Heartless...where did you find this chimera-looking thing, Zelda?"

"In the laundry room, rummaging through the clothes in the laundry basket," replied Zelda, also taking notice of how peaceful the chimera was. Most Heartless are accustomed to attacking others, but this presumed Heartless, it wasn't attacking anyone. "We should probably get Link's consensus before we could declare the chimera as a Heartless..."

* * *

Sonic, Pit, and Hau were in the kitchen, making some malasadas with Hau's assistance. Guess who was their chaperone? Kirby, the lovable pink puffball! Don't take his cuteness lightly, Kirby is a master chef when it comes down to it, as he can cook just about anything his heart pleases.

"I can already tell that these malasadas are gonna be slammin'!" Sonic exclaimed before drinking an entire bottle of oil by himself, and when he was done and he was wiping his mouth and all that stuff, he saw Pit, Hau, and Kirby staring at him. "What, you guys wanted some too? My bad, sometimes I just can't help myself!"

 **Hau: I feel pretty bad for running out of the bus like that, bet my grandpa and the others are worried sick about me...but on a positive note, I got to make some new friends, and see what this mansion is made of! I'll have so many stories to tell my friends once I return to Alola!**

"Um, Sonic, we were supposed to use that oil to deep-fry the dough," stated Pit, wondering if Sonic somehow forgot how the recipe works. Moreover, what rational person drinks oil like Sonic just did? "Do we have any oil left for deep-frying?"

"We have this bottle of peanut oil, though I'm not sure how it would work with the malasadas," Hau grabbed a bottle of peanut oil, holding it up for the others to see. "It wouldn't hurt to try it out!" So Hau poured some of the peanut oil in the deep-fryer, and as he did so, Toad walked in the kitchen to see what the boys were cooking.

"Making some malasadas with your new friends?" the plausible drug lord asked Hau; he was one of the first residents to meet Hau, and try out one of his malasadas.

"Sure am, just carrying on an Alolan tradition!" Just then, something important popped up in Hau's head. "If you see my grandpa, tell him that I will meet up with him and the others shortly. You do know what he looks like, right? He's old, has these tan shorts..."

"I do believe I saw Mario speaking with him earlier. I shall notify him right away!" Toad scurried out of the kitchen, and he wouldn't get that far before X came up to him, still bitter about the security system malfunctioning. The robot's been looking for a remedy, but the issue has yet to be resolved.

"Hey Toad, can you go to Samus and tell her to meet with me outside?" X asked Toad, the drug lord who refuses to come clean. "The security system hasn't been acting normal lately, and we can't afford any intruders to waltz inside the mansion and stir up some trouble. You remember what happened the Friday before the Super Bowl? Some boxer went inside the mansion undetected and messed with Little Mac, forgot what his name was..."

"You can always count on me!" Toad saluted the robot as he dutifully walked away.

* * *

"And this here is the gaming room, where all the residents spend some quality time together and have fun!" Isabelle showed Team Rocket, dressed up as as reporters, around the gaming room. Jessie and James were writing down notes, though these notes did not pertain to the Smash Mansion in any way; they were just giving away the false narrative that they were paying attention to whatever Isabelle was showing them. For instance, James was writing, "Must buy new alarm clock", on his notepad; let's hope that Isabelle doesn't see his or Jessie's notepad.

 **Jessie: We've been in this cruddy mansion for what seems like forever, and still no sign of the Pikachu! Our mission would be a failure if we don't capture that lousy Pokemon!  
James: A Pichu lives at this mansion, right? Why don't we catch the Pichu, and level it up to a Pikachu?  
Meowth: You and your zany ideas...everyone knows Pichu can only level up with high friendship! You honestly think we would show friendship to some lousy Pichu? Give me a break!**

"Shulk you don't have to smile so hard, you're over-exaggerating a little bit," Fiora grinned at Shulk, who was smiling as hard as he possibly could as he waved to the camera Meowth was holding. Too bad the scratch cat Pokemon isn't recording - the camera's not even on!

"But Fiora, I might end up on the local news," Shulk said through his teeth, his large smile still present. Darn shame the Homs' minuscule dream won't come true.

"Pika pika!" the cry of Pikachu was heard, and Team Rocket got all excited. The precious Pokemon they're supposed to capture was nearby, and it seemed like a great opportunity to ditch the reporter gig and nab the mouse Pokemon before it was too late. However, they would have to give up the act at a reasonable time, only when it was necessary.

"Isabelle, I hope you don't mind asking us this, but can you show us Pikachu?" Jessie asked out of fake courtesy. "We're both huge Pokemon fans, and seeing Pikachu in person would make our trip to this mansion complete..."

"He's over there in case you want to see him," Isabelle pointed over to the far corner of the gaming room, where Pikachu was being petted by Rosalina. The mouse Pokemon was sitting in Rosalina's lap, soaking in every moment of the petting. Sometimes it's great being a Pokemon.

"Jackpot..." Meowth snarled as he pressed a button on his digital camera; a hookshot was fired out of the lens, and it grabbed Pikachu, reeling the mouse Pokemon towards Meowth. Everyone in the gaming stop whatever they were doing the moment Pikachu was captured, all taking hold of the reporters, who weren't reporters at all.

"What the...what is going on, please explain immediately!" ordered Isabelle, as Team Rocket threw away their reporter garb. It was now time for their motto, a motto they apparently have been rehearsing for a certain amount of time...

"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!" Jessie said as she was closing out the song, which you might know already and hold dear to your hearts. Also, how ironic that line was...

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" James chimed in, uttering his last line of Team Rocket's motto. Like Team Rocket has ever won a fight to begin with...

"Meowth, that's right!" the scratch cat Pokemon finished off the motto with these three words. He, Jessie, and James all struck a pose, with James holding a rose in his hand like he's supposed to be romantic or something.

 **Meowth: Our beloved motto is perhaps our finest staple, we've been perfecting it for the longest now. Whenever we say our motto to our foes, we expect to strike the utmost fear in them...**

"Woo, bravo, nice effort you guys, ten out of ten!" Olimar clapped for Team Rocket, irking them with his commendation. Some of the others clapped too, irking the three evildoers even more. Not the reaction Team Rocket expected to get out of everyone; they were kinda expecting someone to exclaim "Team Rocket?!" in amazement after having been bamboozled by their disguises. Happened to Ash Ketchum so many times, it's almost pitiful...

"Forget you guys, we got exactly what we came here for, and our business is done!" said James. "Ciao!" He, Jessie, and Meowth stormed out of the gaming room, with the Pikachu in their grasp.

"Oh no, Team Rocket got away with poor Pikachu!" panicked Isabelle. "How did I not see this sooner..." Now she knew how Ash Ketchum felt that one time...and that other time...and that other time...and that other time...

* * *

"You wanted to speak with me outside, yes?" Samus met with X in the mansion's backyard, near the Duck Hunt Dog's doghouse. "Make it snappy, I got things to accomplish, you know..."

"The security system, did you hijack it or something?" X questioned the bounty hunter; why he's so worked up over a lousy security system? "I know you were behind it Samus, don't try and hide it from me!" Rather than "amusing" X, Samus decided to fess up.

"Alright, it was me, I was the one who disrupted the system - I had hot-wired the _Shovel Knight_ arcade machine to the system, and did a little something-something that pretty much caused the system to go completely bonkers. No biggie..."

"But why would you want to do that for, intruders could sneak inside the mansion and do crazy stuff!" Eh, the mansion residents have done far crazier things in the past.

"Nice work genius, that's why I did it - since you're the main one responsible for installing the security system, you would take the blame for any intruders that sneak inside and do reckless things. Which makes for the perfect retribution for that bet..."

 **Master Hand: My precious _Shovel Knight_ game, it's currently out of order! This is horrible, I practically bought the game just to fund for my dream Lamborghini! What am I supposed to do now, have Diddy Kong tap dance on the street for cold hard cash?! *pauses thoughtfully* You know, that's not such a bad idea when you think about it...**

X's phone - the phone programmed inside his wrist - rang, and it was a call from Isabelle. Team Rocket was about to make a run out of the mansion with Pikachu, but with the security system down, the evildoers could actually get the job done...something their anime counterparts can't ever do.

"Help me turn the security system back on and we're even," the pacifist robot said to Samus. "Do we have a deal?" As much as she wanted X to pay, Samus couldn't afford X to be ostracized by Master Hand for wrongdoing; she wouldn't wish that fate on any soul.

"Follow me to the arcade room," Samus replied, leading the way. "Turning the system back on won't be a very difficult task, in all honesty."

* * *

"This has-a been a very great day all-around," Mario spoke with Professor Kukui and company outside the entrance to the Pokemon sanctuary, after they moved all but one Alolan Pokemon into said sanctuary. "The Alolan Pokemon will-a be a great addition to the Smash-a Mansion, and I'm sure-a the residents will be excited-a about having new Pokemon! Before you all-a go, I want you to meet-a someone who's well-a versed in Pokemon, a bit of a Pokemon fanatic...ladies and-a gentlemen, Red!"

Red the Pokemon Trainer would sheepishly come around the corner, greeting everyone with a wave. No longer was he a ten year old boy - Red was now a thirty year old man who apparently dresses up as a ten year old boy. Some things will never change...

"Pleasure to meet ya Red, heard a lot of great things about you!" Kukui shook Red's hand, surprised to see how mature the Pokemon trainer looked, clothing choice notwithstanding.

"Yeah I kinda get that a lot..." responded Red, surprised Kukui didn't mention Blue's name. Oh how he despised that name...Red would then formally greet the others, as Hala, Lillie, and the kahunas gave the Pokemon trainer his props.

"Hey Mario, we finally found the runaway Pokemon!" Link called out as he, Cloud, Mewtwo, and Lucario came forth with the black creature, still cuffed with his hands behind his back. The kahunas looked at one another, very wearily, for they have never seen the creature before, and Link sensed their facial expressions. "Is there something wrong?"

"Um, fellas, I hate to break it to ya, but...that's not a Pokemon," stated Kukui, and that's when Link and company instantly knew that they dun goofed up.

 **Mewtwo: Actually, I knew that black creature wasn't a Pokemon - in fact, I know all of the Alolan Pokemon, from the starters to the legendaries. I just wanted to see if Link, Cloud, and Lucario were keeping up with their Pokemon knowledge...and they all failed me.**

The black creature would break out of the handcuffs, scaring everyone as it looked left and right for a viable prey. And it would find one, in a short man wearing overalls and white gloves.

"Mama mia!" Mario shrieked as the black creature grabbed the plumber and ran away with him in his grasp. Lucario would chase after the creature, just when Toad would show up, seeing everyone bewildered by what had just transpired.

"Mr. Hala, your grandson Hau is in the kitchen and is coming over here to the sanctuary any minute now!" Toad notified the kahuna; Hala nodded his head, now knowing that his dear grandson was safe. However, with the creature on the loose, Cloud didn't think Hala wasn't so safe anymore.

"You should hurry to the kitchen and see if your grandson is safe," the swordsman told Hala. "We'll guard the sanctuary from any incoming threats."

"Very well then, I shall be on my way," Hala responded as he followed Toad to the kitchen, off to check on his grandson Hau.

* * *

Back at the Star Records room, Zelda and Ema had brought in Aerith to analyze the drawing Captain Falcon had drawn for Ema, while the chimera was under the watch of Fox and Falco. Its validity as a Heartless was still yet to be determined.

"Hmm, the creature Captain Falcon drew is indeed a Heartless, I think it's called a Neoshadow," Aerith gave her consensus on the drawing, taking note of the antennae, humanoid structure, and yellow eyes. "They're a pretty strong type of Heartless not meant to be taken lightly by any means."

"Thank you for your consensus Aerith, we shall be holding on to this drawing for future references," Ema thanked the flower girl, placing the drawing in a folder. "There are still much more Heartless species to discover."

"Um, Zelda, you might want to see this, it's about the chimera..." Falco nervously showed the princess of Hyrule an image on his phone, and Zelda's eyes widened in fear. Ema and Aerith also took a peek at the image as well.

"So that chimera is Type: Null...and it's an Alolan Pokemon?" Zelda worried. Yes, the chimera she brought inside the Star Records room - the one she assumed was a Heartless - was actually a Pokemon native to the Alola region. (Type: Null is a cool name for a Pokemon, isn't it?)

 **Little Mac: At first when I saw the chimera, I thought it looked kinda cool. And now that I learned that its name is Type: Null, it makes it even cooler! Man, and here I thought Dunsparce was the coolest Pokemon that ever existed... *snickering sounds from the camera crew conducting the talking head segment* ...but hey, every man has a right to their own opinion, am I right? *snickering sounds subside***

"I should take this down to the Pokemon sanctuary immediately!" Zelda hurriedly grabbed Type: Null's leash and exited the room, reaching the nearest elevator. Would you want Type: Null in your party of Pokemon?

* * *

Samus and X arrived at the arcade room, where Master Hand was watching over Mr. Game and Watch trying to get the _Shovel Knight_ arcade machine to work again. Apparently the machine is one of the many methods Master Hand expects to purchase his dream car, the Lamborghini Veneno. A huge waste of money, especially since MASTER HAND CAN'T EVEN DRIVE!

"Please man, fix this stupid machine, we're trying to raise funds here!" Master Hand angrily encouraged Mr. Game and Watch to get the machine working back to normal. "I need as much money as possible to afford my Lambo..." The giant hand turned around and saw Samus and X, standing by. "Ah, Samus, X, funny seeing you two here! As you can see, the _Shovel Knight_ game is currently out of order, and nothing that Mr. Game and Watch could do..."

"Let me take a crack at it..." Samus walked up to the arcade machine and inserted her blaster in the coin slot, transforming the machine into a supercomputer. After some funky typing on the keyboard, Samus pressed the enter key, and turned the _Shovel Knight_ game back on, as well as the mansion's security system. "Boom, problem solved, we're back in business. You boys can thank me later."

"I'm never doubting a single thing Samus does ever again," Master Hand remarked after he had seen the bounty hunter go to work; X nodded his head in much agreement.

* * *

Elsewhere in the mansion, Team Rocket was trying to make it out of the mansion with Pikachu in their possession, but a few brawlers would stop the evildoers in their tracks. One of the brawlers would be Yoshi, who had tackled James to the ground and was now licking the purple-haired man with his tongue. The dinosaur uses his trusty tongue for things over than grabbing things, you know.

"I may be a sucker but I'm no lollipop, get off of me this instant!" James said to Yoshi as the dinosaur continued licking him. Anyone know what episode of the _Pokemon_ anime this line originated from?

 **Jessie: Our escape plan are pretty impromptu, for the most part - whenever we do something right (which hardly happens, to be frank), we just don't know how to act and we just run off to wherever!  
** **James: For such situations, I recommend that we bring a smoke bomb, so we would leave our foes in a trail of smoke while we...uh...eh, a smoke bomb wouldn't make that much of a difference...  
Mewtwo: Obviously not, Magikarp-for-brains! What's up with you today, with these insane ideas?**

"James stop letting that dinosaur lick you like that, why don't you fight back for once?!" Jessie frowned at her partner, while she was wrangled with her arms behind her back by Ryu. The woman herself can't get herself out of her situation, whereas with James, he could just pepper spray Yoshi (if he had any pepper spray to begin with) and run for the hills.

"Don't think we're letting you get away with Pikachu this easily!" Ryu said to Jessie, holding the woman strongly in his grasp. Speaking of whom, Pikachu was in a tug of war with Meowth and Duck Hunt Dog, with the canine and the feline fighting over the mouse Pokemon. Meowth would prevail when he aggressively pulled Pikachu towards him, releasing Duck Hunt Dog's hold and throwing him back into a wall.

"I finally got secure possession of Pikachu, let's scram before it's too late!" the scratch cat Pokemon would scratch both Ryu and Yoshi with his claws. Both brawlers dealt with their pain, allowing Jessie and James the opportunity to break three, and the evil trio would run off with Pikachu, before running into the black creature that kidnapped Mario. According to Aerith, this was a Neoshadow, as it perfectly fit the drawing Captain Falcon had drew earlier.

"Any of you guys know if this thing is a Pokemon?" inquired Jessie, her eyes checking out the Heartless before they set on Mario. "Look, it has the famed Mario in his hands! Who would have thought?" Mario, likely to be kidnapped by Team Rocket? The plumber just couldn't fathom such a thing happening.

"Imagine the look on Giovanni's face when we show him we successfully kidnapped Mario, Nintendo's biggest breadwinner!" exclaimed James. "I'd say we take the yellow-eyed fiend with us, and take him...or her to our Rocket Hideout! And I know just the thing to lure it..." James reached into his pocket and pulled out a cleanse tag - an item used to repel Pokemon with low levels - holding it in front of the Neoshadow. Mario was hoping the Heartless would resist, but unfortunately for him, the Neoshadow was easily entranced by the cleanse tag, for whatever reason.

"It's working, he's attracted to the cleanse tag!" exclaimed Meowth, as the Neoshadow came closer towards the tag. "Now we really gotta reel him in and bring him out of the mansion with us..."

"Stop it right there, Team Rocket, you're going nowhere!" Lucario showed up, having followed the Neoshadow. Team Rocket panicked in fear, for they knew who they were up against; they certainly didn't want to trigger Mega Lucario by any means.

"Drat, it's the Lucario, the one that can talk!" panicked James. "Let's make a run for it!" Team Rocket ran away, and the Neoshadow ran with them, as James held the cleanse tag in his hand to lead the Heartless with him.

 **Zelda: *walking Type: Null through the mansion* I honestly had no idea this was a Pokemon, at first glance I wildly assumed it was a Heartless, though I should have known better. Now I have to take this Type: Null to the Pokemon sanctuary... *sees Team Rocket and the Neoshadow running by, with Lucario hot on their heels* ...or do I?**

Team Rocket and the Neoshadow made it down to the foyer, and Jessie tried to open the front door...but it was locked! If you recall earlier in the episode, Isabelle had contacted X about Team Rocket, and after Samus turned the security system back on, the robot was able to lock all the mansion doors that led outside. (Sucks for anyone doing anything outside, like Ness and Lucas for example.)

"We're trapped, this can't possibly end like this!" Jessie panicked, before she and the others turned around, and saw Lucario, charging up his Aura Sphere. Seemed like the end for Team Rocket and the Neoshadow...

"Hold your fire Lucario, let me take a crack at them," Zelda showed up, with Type: Null at her side. Lucario subsided, as his Aura Sphere died down.

"That right there is Type: Null, a synthetic Pokemon!" stated Meowth, applying his Pokemon knowledge. "It looks a lot more menacing than it looks!" Zelda was about to fire an attack at Team Rocket, but seeing that the Neoshadow held Mario in its grasp, she decided to go after the Heartless instead.

"Type: Null, use...um...er..." Unfortunately for the princess, she doesn't even know what moves Type: Null knows. "Type: Null...do...something." Type: Null indeed did something - it used Take Down on the Neoshadow, defeating it in the process and releasing Mario from the Heartless's hold, and also knocked Team Rocket to the floor. Doing so released Pikachu from Meowth's hold, and once he was free, Pikachu began charging up his cheeks with electricity. Team Rocket knew what was gonna happen next, and Type: Null, sensing what Pikachu was about to do, backed away as much as possible. Not even it wanted to be a part of Pikachu's attack.

"Pika...CHHHUUU!" Pikachu used his signature move, Thunderbolt, on Team Rocket, electrocuting them so hard it resulted in an explosion that sent them flying out of the front door and into oblivion.

"Team Rocket is blasting off again!" Jessie, James, and Meowth all said in unison as they were sent flying into the sky. Only thing missing was for Wobuffet to randomly cry "WOBUFFET!" right before Team Rocket making their grand exit.

"Thank you for saving me Zelda, you really commanded that Type: Null, really surprised me," Mario thanked the princess, while at the same time commending her. Zelda surprised her own self too, she had no idea Type: Null was going to obey her command!

* * *

 **Meta Knight: Pit apparently wants me to come to the dining room to try out some malasadas he made. The only reason he wants me to eat them is because he believes the malasadas have a Mexican origin, so evidently he judged them off by the name and how the name sounded. Does he not know that malasadas are of Portuguese origin?**

Once they were done making the malasadas, Pit, Sonic, Kirby, and Hau gathered together with Viridi and Meta Knight to eat the confections. So what did the goddess of nature and the Star Warrior have to say about the four boys' creations?

"Yum, these are very tasty, you boys did such a great job!" complimented Viridi. Probably just saying that because Pit's around.

"Much agreed, these malasadas really hit the spot," added Meta Knight, who turned away to eat the confections so the others wouldn't see his face. "I could tell that Kirby did a great job with the malasadas, I've always known him to be a superb cook."

"Hau is that you?" a voice called out; Hau looked up and saw his grandfather Hala, standing with Toad. Boy was the trainer happy to see him.

"Grandpa!" Hau got up out from his seat and ran towards Hala, giving him a huge hug. "So sorry for sneaking out of the bus like that, I just wanted to see what was inside the mansion! All there was to do was bring the Alolan Pokemon inside the sanctuary..."

"It's okay Hau, it looks to me like you made some new friends, and as long as you're happy, I'm happy! I'm afraid we don't have much time left, we have to return to our posse before Kukui questions our whereabouts!"

"OOOOHHH HE SAID THE P WORD!" Pit accusingly pointed at Hala. Childish is as childish does, and quite frankly Viridi accepts such behavior.

"He said the P word near his own grandson?!" Toad frowned, shaking his head in disbelief. "Hala how could you, why would you corrupt your grandson like that?! Some nerve you got!" Eh, Hau probably heard of the word somewhere on the Internet. The Internet can be a good thing, but it can easily corrupt and rot innocent minds.

"No I meant the _other_ P word - the one LeBron James had deemed derogatory and offensive earlier this week. According to him, we can't really use that word anymore."

"Before we go, can I give Sonic a little something to remember me by?" Hau asked Hala as his grandfather nodded; Sonic perked up when Hau walked to him, giving him a Poke ball. "You were arguably a lot of fun to hang around with, so I just wanted to give you this. A little token of my appreciation."

"Golly, Hau, I don't know what to say, never heard anyone said I'm a lot of fun to be around, aside from my two favorite people..." grinned Sonic. You know who those two favorite people are, don't you? One's red, the other's yellow. "So from the bottom of my heart, thanks a bunch!"

 **Sonic: Yeah buddy, I got... *strikes a pose, holding the Poke ball in the air* ...a Poke ball! *ends pose* I don't get it, when Ash Ketchum does it in the show, he makes it look cool and rad! How can someone who makes the littlest things like so great be so stupid at the same time?**

* * *

"So this is a Type: Null, huh?" Link spoke with Zelda outside of the Pokemon sanctuary, petting the synthetic Pokemon. "What Pokemon type is it?"

"According to Mario, it's a normal-type Pokemon, and it also evolves into Silvally, with high friendship," stated Zelda, also petting Type: Null. Pretty calm for a Pokemon that could easily scare the crap out of someone at night. "It's a synthesis Pokemon, which meant that it was single-handedly created - created from different Pokemon."

"Woah, a Pokemon that's created, so cool! Never heard anything like it!" Just then, Mewtwo hovered behind Link, displeased with what the Hylian had just said.

"It's not the first Pokemon to have that distinction, you know," the psychic Pokemon had to set it straight for Link, who shrieked and fell backwards onto the floor when he saw Mewtwo behind him. Zelda was giggling, and so was Cloud and Aerith, who were standing together from a far distance.

"New Heartless species spotted in the mansion, and that Pokemon over there took it out," Cloud spoke with Aerith. "Must be a very strong Pokemon, I must say..."

"And you thought the Neoshadow was a Pokemon this whole time," Aerith smiled at Cloud. The swordsman wanted to get back at Aerith, but instead he kept his mouth shut and held down an L instead.

* * *

"Thank-a you again, you all take-a care!" Mario waved to Professor Kukui and company, who all waved back, as the bus drove away, carrying the professor and everyone else back to their destination. X walked up next to Mario, checking on the security system with his wrist.

"I've been told that the eldest kahuna's grandson gave Sonic a gift," the pacifist robot spoke with Mario once he was done checking on the system. "Got any ideas what Pokemon might be inside?"

"No guesses from-a me, but I'll guarantee what-a ever Pokemon is inside will-a be Sonic's new buddy..."

* * *

"So are you gonna open up the Poke ball or not?" Tails asked Sonic as the two walked through the mansion, with Sonic holding the Poke ball Hau gave him in his hand.

"Eh, I would have waited until Christmas to see what's inside, but the anticipation would have literally killed me by then," replied Sonic. "So I'll see what Pokemon may be inside." So the hedgehog threw the Poke ball at the floor, and sent out a Pokemon...a white Pokemon that had grass-like fur and Gracidea flowers on its back. Now here's the real kicker - it looked _exactly_ like a hedgehog.

"Is that...is that a _Shaymin_?" Tails had to do a double-take, for his eyes could not comprehend what he had just seen. It was indeed a Shaymin, and Sonic ran up to it and hugged it, like it was his own.

"Yup, it's a Shaymin alright, and it's all mine! Oh man, oh man, wait until I tell the others!"

So Sonic finally got what he wanted, a pet Shaymin - a new companion. He can always thank his new friend Hau for making his dream of owning a Shaymin come true.


	49. Episode 49: Thankful

_Author's Note:_

 _If you go look on my profile, you'll see two polls regarding Smash Life - please make sure you vote on both of these polls, as it will offer me some much-needed feedback. Vote especially for the second poll, since it might determine what happens in the next chapter. I'm allowing five votes per person because I'm generous like that._

 _As specified in the last chapter, this is a Thanksgiving episode, and therefore I had to get this bad boy done by Thanksgiving. Because of this, I had to exert more effort into this chapter than I did in the past. If only I had the same effort for previous chapters...oh, and we got some reviews to answer:_

 _"I have another couple requests, if it's no trouble: Since the Pokemon Sanctuary in the Mansion has all the Pokemon, could you:_

 _1\. Have not just one, but all the Pokemon break out into the Mansion or into Seattle._  
 _2\. The Smashers have a Pokemon tournament where they choose Pokemon from the sanctuary (Zelda with Type: Null, Tails with Vulpix, ect.)_  
 _I know I just keep going, but I have a question: Are you going to do an arc where they fight the Heartless, or are you going to make it a seperate story that runs parallel to Smash Life?_  
 _Once again, awesome chapter; sorry for throwing all of that onto you. Until the next chapter, bye!"_

 _The only idea I could do would be the second one - having the Pokemon break out of the mansion would take a lot of hard work on my part, especially when it comes down to rounding up the Pokemon and everything. However, the Pokemon fighting the Heartless does sound interesting, but would I make it a separate story running parallel to Smash Life? Don't think I would have the time. Next:_

 _"Can you recreate that episode from TAWOG where Richard applies to a job but because of that universe starts collapsing?But instead of Richard there will be Pit who tries to be smart or Falcon giving up on trying to find girlfriend."_

 _I might be saving that idea for the episode with the boomerang, the Ed Edd and Eddy episode that Derick Lindsey had recommended. We'll see. Next up is J300:_

 _"I don't know if this would work, for the Thanksgiving special, but it could be cool to have the smashers could react to the Macy's parade."_

 _I only had a few smashers react to the parade, but only the ones I felt worked the best. You'll see later on. Kirby 123 is back with yet another Kirby request:_

 _"I'm sorry if I'm going overboard with Kirby questions but what if Kirby and some smashers ( I don't care who) go to dreamland for a picnic and Kirby shows him his mech suit from planet robobot?"_

 _A visit to Dreamland might sound_ _implausible, but I'm not ruling out Kirby's mech suit from "Kirby: Planet Robotot" making an appearance. GamerDutchess01 has returned, and with another suggestion:_

 _"...needs more Lucario! My most favorite fighting type!"_

 _Glad you recommended Lucario, GamerDutchess01; I have been playing as Lucario (he's my favorite fighting-type Pokemon too!) as of late on Smash 4 lately on For Glory mode, and I have picked up a slew of wins as of late (Zelda will forever be my main, though). For that reason, I've been trying to include him more in the story, so expect to see Lucario a lot more in the future. Lastly, we have the wonderful Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...are video game characters the only one that can show up in this fanfic or can other forms of media show up to like cartoons or anime because it would be funny to see characters from dbz or Simpsons or mlp or even south park show up and interact with everyone just listing examples it doesn't have to be any of them except for maybe dbz just so goku/vegeta can fight sonic because of him saying dbz sucks I remember him saying that in one of the chapters."_

 _Only way anime or cartoon characters (Goku, Homer Simpsons, Twilight Sparkle, Eric Cartman, so forth and so on) can appear is if the brawlers appear in their respective shows, using the DVR device in the movie room. I'm sure you remember Corrin stuck in the Friday movie._

 _Now with all that being said, I have one thing left to do...happy Thanksgiving to everyone!_

* * *

 **Episode 49: Thankful**

On this day, similar to what everyone else in America were doing, the residents of the Smash Mansion were celebrating Thanksgiving, the only holiday other than Christmas that brings everyone together, for a day of happiness, joy, euphoria, and other things.

What had started as a harvest by the Pilgrims in the New World in 1621 has now been observed as a public holiday since 1789, following a mighty proclamation from George Washington, who was a real G in his own virtuous right. Thanksgiving is a time of prayer, gratitude, giving thanks, and most importantly, feasting, as well as a few football games on national television. Can't be Thanksgiving without the Detroit Lions or the Dallas Cowboys!

So what did Mario, the most famous video game character of all time, do on this special day while Cilan and Kirby were cooking up a storm in the kitchen as a means to prepare for a Thanksgiving feast? Watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade, of course! The plumber was watching the parade with his lovely fiancee Peach on a new giant flatscreen that Wario had bought (took him a long time to cave in), and he was only watching it for one reason, and one reason only...

"Hoo boy, I can't-a wait to see my float!" Mario was getting all excited as the parade went on. "Hurry up-a with the parade, I wanna see Matt-a Lauer say awesome things about-a me!" Mario has been a staple at the Thanksgiving parade, as a float would appear in his likeness. He's not the only one though - Sonic and Pikachu are also featured at the parade as floats as well. Though Mario takes his float very seriously, from time to time.

 **Mario: I'm honestly neutral-a on other floats during the parade...Mickey Mouse? Eh. Ronald McDonald? Looks like a child-a molester to me...Spider-Man? Should-a have Captain America in his-a place. But whenever they show my parade float, I always-a get off of the couch and-a go completely bonkers over it. Then Luigi would-a come downstairs, thinking an NFL game-a is already on and some-a one just scored a touch-a down...until he sees that I over-a reacted to my own float and goes-a back upstairs. *sighs* But Luigi won't-a be doing that this time-a around.**

"You see-a that Dunban, that's what you-a call a real float!" Mario said to Dunban, who walked by, as he pointed at his float on the screen. Dunban was about to check on Cilan and Kirby to see how they were handling things; the Homs and Palutena mutually agreed to take Thanksgiving off, and have the Pokemon connoisseur and the pink puffball take care of cooking duties.

"Ease up Mario, it's just a lousy float, you don't have to be so extra," Dunban remarked, saying what you may have been thinking in your head right now.

"It's not a lousy float, it's-a MY float, best-a float in the parade! Why can't you recognize-a greatness?!" Surprising that Peach hasn't intervened yet - then again, she was on the phone, speaking with Toadsworth. The elderly Toad has to watch over the Mushroom Kingdom with Peach away, and with no viable threats in sight, it has been smooth sailing for him.

"No point in recognizing 'greatness' when I'm already living with the person who already has a float in their likeness." After hearing Dunban's remark, Mario leaped at the Homs, tackling him to the ground and slapping him silly. Mario evidently takes this parade stuff _very_ seriously.

"Wait just a minute Toadsworth, someone must have said things about Mario's Thanksgiving parade float again, I'll be right back with you," Peach kindly said to Toadsworth before putting her phone down and stepping in between Mario and Dunban, having to hold Mario back. "Mario why must you always be like this during the parade, don't hurt poor Dunban because he has a differing opinion!"

"I would have-a accepted his opinion if he-a didn't call my float 'lousy'," Mario remarked as Peach kindly sat the plumber back on the couch, before grabbing her phone and resuming her call with Toadsworth. Mario would glare at Dunban as the Homs got up - doing the "I'm always watching you" hand motion - as Dunban walked away, heading to the kitchen.

* * *

Inside the kitchen, Cilan and Kirby were cooking food for the Thanksgiving feast - broccoli salad, cranberry sauce, celery salad, beef loaf, stuffing, dressing, corn bread, casserole, and who could possibly forget the turkey?

"Oh no Kirby, we forget to get a turkey!" Cilan panicked, pulling on the green hairs on his head. Leave it to Cilan to forget the most important element of a Thanksgiving feast. Kirby's Kirby, so he gets a free pass. "How could we forget such an integral item, Master Hand would have my head for sure!"

 **Pit: So Cilan gave me the 4-1-1 for what we're gonna have for the feast, and I have to say, I am thoroughly displeased with the menu, and I'm sure Kirby (who will be cooking with Cilan) feels the same way too! Where's the popcorn?! Where's the buttered toast?! Where's the pretzel sticks?! Where's the jelly beans?! Has Cilan lived in Unova for so long that he lost sight of what Thanksgiving is meant to be?**

"How's it coming along boys, you need any assistance?" Dunban entered the kitchen, sniffing the air and sensing the lovely aroma from the food being cooked. The aroma should have convinced the Homs Cilan and Kirby are doing just fine by themselves, but it wouldn't hurt to ask.

"No assistance need, but thank you for asking!" Cilan grinned and did a thumbs up, only to nearly spill a pot of water on the floor; the connoisseur sheepishly smiled after retaining a firm grip on the pot's handle. "We do need a turkey however, forgot to purchase one while I was at the supermarket shopping."

"Sonic had mentioned to me that he had bought a 'backup turkey' for emergency precautions; you might want to ask him if he still has the turkey with him. Considering who we're talking about, I seriously doubt..."

"Here's a backup turkey in the event you guys need it!" Sonic showed up at the kitchen in blazing speed with a turkey in his hands, right before Dunban could finish his sentence. For once, Sonic proved the Homs wrong - Dunban never thought he would see the day.

"Thank you very much Sonic, just put the turkey on the counter so Kirby and I can season it," ordered Cilan; Sonic appeared to be confused by Cilan's command. To him, the turkey was already perfect - no need to add any preservatives.

"Why would you want to do that for, why not just throw the bad boy in the oven and bake it? Turkey looks relatively fine to me, it's just dying to be baked and eaten by the others!" Suddenly Sonic's phone rang, and the hedgehog saw that it was a call from his lover, Amy. "Sorry guys, but I gotta get this call - smell ya later!" Sonic sped out of the kitchen, leaving Cilan to shake his head at the hedgehog.

"Apparently Sonic doesn't believe in seasoning..." Cilan cracked a smile as he tended to the broccoli required for the broccoli salad. "I can already tell Amy would be doing all the cooking if she and Sonic ever get married and live together...how much are you willing to bet Sonic would bring Tails with him against his will?"

"Sonic is known for putting Tails through a boatload of crap, so I'm willing to bet the lottery on that proposition," chuckled Dunban, and Cilan had a chuckle as well. Kirby, on the other hand, tried to "fit in" by making cute faces and whatnot. Lousy attention seeker...and not a good one at that.

* * *

"Since Thanksgiving is a day of gratitude, I would like to express my gratitude to you, and give you food, wonderful food!" King Dedede offered a basket of food to the Waddle Dee family, who were living in a makeshift house next to the mansion. (You haven't forgotten about them, haven't you?) Cloud was accompanying the penguin, and for reasons that we'll get to later on.

 **King Dedede: In no way, shape, or form was I gonna let the Waddle Dee family living next to the mansion suffer any longer! They've been through rain, snow, and hail (well, mostly rain, don't recall any snow or hail yet in Seattle), and what do we give them? NOTHING! So I'm gonna give them a token of my appreciation and gratitude, and show the family of Waddle Dees that I still care about them!**

"King Dedede, you know the Waddle Dees can't technically eat food since they don't have any mouths to eat food with, right?" Cloud questioned the penguin, wondering where his common sense was. When you're as lazy as King Dedede, you tend to lack common sense time to time - or in Dedede's case, _all_ the time. "Also, isn't that holiday basket supposed to be for the needy? Seems like a complete and utter waste to me, try giving the basket to a family who actually needs it!"

"And that's EXACTLY what I'm doing right now, thank you very much," Dedede retorted before blowing a raspberry in Cloud's face, getting some saliva on the swordsman's face. Cloud would wipe the spit off his face with his arm, and retreat to Luigi's home, leaving King Dedede's lacking common sense self outside to waste the Waddle Dees' time.

Cloud was heading to Luigi's home instead of returning to the mansion, and it was so he could speak with Yuffie. The ninja girl's house arrest for attempted theft of the United States men's basketball team's Olympic cruise ship was set to end this Saturday, and Yuffie had told Cloud she hasn't made a decision on whether she would leave Luigi's home or not. That led Cloud to thinking...Yuffie's considering staying with Luigi and Daisy for a prolonged period of time?

* * *

"THE TURKEY IS ON-A FIRE!" Luigi screamed at the top of his lungs as he used a fire extinguisher to put out a fire on the stove. This is exactly what Cloud saw when he first walked inside Luigi's home, and a few seconds after the swordsman closed the front door, the fire was thankfully put out, and the turkey was unscathed, albeit covered in powder; thankfully the fire extinguisher was a water mist extinguisher. "Problem solved!"

"First Thanksgiving by yourself and you nearly burned your house down," Cloud said to Luigi in a somewhat sympathetic, rueful manner. Luigi was cleaning the extinguisher dust off the stove when he saw Cloud standing by near the front door.

"Ah, Cloud-a Strife, welcome back to-a my home! Care to stay-a over for my Thanksgiving feast? If you want to eat-a at the mansion, then fine-a by me!"

"I dunno if I wanna eat here or not, it'll only depending on who will be here. Can't enjoy a feast with King K. Rool and his lack of table manners, although apparently he isn't the only one." Cloud stepped forward to ask Luigi the following question: "You do know that Yuffie will end her house arrest sentence this Saturday, right? She told me she hasn't made a decision on whether she'll stick around with you and Daisy or not. Has she ever mentioned anything about her house arrest sentence, at all?"

"Not-a to my knowledge, she has-a been quiet about her house-a arrest ending, a little too-a quiet..." After cleaning off the stove, Luigi worked on the turkey aromatics, like sage, canola oil, cinnamon sticks, and onions; bet Sonic thinks aromatics are completely unnecessary when making a turkey. "You should-a make an effort to ask-a her at the feast, maybe she'll-a make a decision then."

 **Cloud: I wouldn't mind if Yuffie stayed with Luigi and Daisy or not, I mean it's her choice, she can do whatever the heck she wants. However, she is someone worth talking to, in terms of personal matters, aside from Aerith, Link, Zelda, and maybe Isabelle - she's always asking how I feel. Not that it's a bad thing, Isabelle is one of the more tolerable individuals in the mansion, and that's saying something...**

"There's a fire in the kitchen?" Daisy, still in her pajamas and wearing a housecoat, stormed downstairs with Yuffie, only to see that the fire had already been taken out. "Luigi honey, why are you cooking so early for, Yuffie and I haven't even had breakfast yet!"

"To be fair, Aerith did say Master Hand was planning on having the food cooked at the mansion early in the morning, so everything for the feast would be prepared," stated Yuffie. Does that mean Luigi is a follower, and not a leader? "Sounds like a pretty great idea to me the more you think about it."

"Eh, I suppose so...so what are we gonna do for breakfast, Luigi? You're not gonna make pancakes or waffles or anything? You honestly expect us to eat nothing but raisin bran cereal on a Thanksgiving morning, is that what you want?!"

"Of course-a not, I won't let-a you and Yuffie suffer; allow-a me to move everything so I can-a cook you some-a breakfast. Would you like-a some breakfast, Cloud? Let me tell-a you, my pancakes are-a the best!"

"I haven't had any breakfast yet, so I suppose so. Don't want to be hungry or anything." Cloud headed over to Yuffie, wanting to speak with her for a quick minute. "We need to talk later on, if you don't mind..."

"Sure thing, emo boy," Yuffie joked around with Cloud, angering the swordsman. Cloud hated being called "emo boy" by Yuffie because a) he's not emo, contrary to what most of his critics would say, and b) he's not a boy by any means. Look up the man's birth date, and prepared to be somewhat surprised...

* * *

Corrin and Sonic were now watching the Macy's Thanksgiving parade with Mario and Peach. The prince of Nohr and the hedgehog were waiting for breakfast to be ready; Cilan and Kirby were done with the Thanksgiving food (thanks to Kirby's excellent cooking prowess, the turkey was done in a jiffy), and were now working on getting breakfast ready. Sonic was holding his new pet Shaymin in his lap, petting her. (Sonic refused to believe Shaymin had no gender, so he designated the mythical Pokemon with a female gender because he felt it looked feminine. So for the sake of convenience, we'll give the Shaymin female pronouns.)

"I simply do not understand, what does SpongeBob Squarepants have to do with the holiday of Thanksgiving?" pondered Corrin; obviously this was his first time watching a Thanksgiving parade, let alone celebrating Thanksgiving in general. "Was he a pilgrim who came to the New World, and had his likeness recreated in a popular Nickelodeon animated show?"

 **Corrin: According to my siblings, Thanksgiving originated as a Pilgrim harvest in the New World in 1621, and would eventually become a public holiday celebrated by both the United States and Canada. Most of the things that are attributed to Thanksgiving include turkeys, pumpkins, and of course, the lovely Thanksgiving feast. However, they never mentioned characters like Snoopy and Bugs Bunny and even Mickey Mouse as integral parts of the Thanksgiving tradition! What business do they have at a Thanksgiving parade?!**

"Corrin you buffoon, SpongeBob has nothing to do with Thanksgiving, they just have a giant balloon of him at the parade because...because of many reasons," stated Sonic, unable to give a valid reason for why such balloons are featured at Thanksgiving parades. "Just shut up and enjoy the parade!"

"Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good day!" Bowser appeared, holding a clipboard that said "The List of Bowser" on the back. "Or a good feast, whichever fancies you the most."

"Why do you have-a that clipboard with-a you Bowser, and why does it-a say 'The List of Bowser' on the back?" Mario questioned the Koopa King. He knew instantly that Bowser was up to his tricks yet again.

"This List of Bowser is a list of stupid idiots I come across, and anyone who says or does something stupid will end up on the list! And since you questioned me for even having this list Mario, you'll be the first person added, your name will be at the top buddy!" Bowser wrote down Mario's name at the top of the list with a black ink pen, as Mario resumed watching the parade, shaking his head. The plumber wouldn't mind Bowser had he came up with this list of "stupid idiots" by himself, rather than getting the idea from a certain professional wrestler (can you guess who it is?).

"Hey Bowser, Corrin wondered why SpongeBob Squarepants was featured in the Thanksgiving parade, saying that Spongebob has nothing to do with the Thanksgiving tradition - do you think Corrin should be added to your list?" Sonic asked; Corrin tried to dissuade Bowser by waving his hands in front of him, but it would be no use.

"He really said that, huh?! Corrin, former pupil of mine and albino A-lister...you just made the list!" Bowser jotted down the prince of Nohr's name on "The List of Bowser", as Corrin threw his hands up in the air, greatly overreacting like the world was gonna end soon or something. Making it on "The List of Bowser " isn't really that big of a deal; in fact, it's almost trivial.

"Is breakfast ready, my stomach is growling..." Lloyd showed up, yawning. "Wonder if Cilan and Kirby are making sausage links, man I love sausage links..."

"Breakfast isn't even ready yet, you bum! You sir, just made the list!" Bowser wrote down Lloyd's name on his list; Lloyd, under the assumption that making the list was some sort of accomplishment, raised his fists in the air as he victoriously ran out of the living room. Wait until he learns what the list is really about, he won't be feeling so victorious then.

 **Bowser: Acquired the idea of making a list of "stupid idiots" while watching an episode of wrestling with Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings on Monday. The genius behind such a list, Chris Jericho, had shown a great deal of proficiency when adding people to the list as I watched previous wrestling clips online, and it kinda inspired me to...Am I going to add Sonic to the list, for the torture he brought upon me during the kids' "trick-or-treat practice"? In due time, I will, but I'll show him some mercy for now - gonna let him think things are fine and dandy, and when the opportunity strikes...BOOM! His name will be added!**

Feeling a strange need to add more names to his list, Bowser exited the living room and walked through the hallways of the mansion, walking until he came across Donkey Kong, eating a banana. The gorilla was just ripe for the taking...

"Eating food prior to our breakfast meal, you just made the list!" Bowser wrote down Donkey Kong's name on the list, and DK started to panic. What did he do so to warrant a spot on Bowser's list, is he in big trouble?!

"Oh man oh man oh man, I don't want to be on the list!" the gorilla worried. "Is it a list of the most greedy brawlers? I can't help the fact that I have a strong affinity for bananas! Please Bowser, I beg of you, take me off the list, I'll change my ways!"

"My list isn't a list of greedy folk, DK, it's a list of stupid idiots! And you're a stupid idiot for eating before breakfast, what sense does that make?" Donkey Kong, angered by Bowser's response, glared down the Koopa King as he inched towards him, clenching his fists. "Get away from me man, I don't mean any harm! Ooh, I know what might cheer you up - how about I scratch your name off the list, and add Funky Kong, would you be fine with that?" Donkey Kong, musing over Bowser's offer, gave a shrug, so it was a yes to Bowser. The Koopa King scratched out the "Donkey" in "Donkey Kong" and wrote "Funky" over it. Funky Kong won't even know that he had the dubious honor of making "The List of Bowser".

"Alright then, I'll leave you alone, as long as you don't add me to your list. See you at the breakfast table!" Donkey Kong departed from Bowser, as he continued to eat his banana. Oh how Bowser wanted to re-add his name to the list...

* * *

Back at Luigi's home, breakfast was already started, with Luigi, Daisy, Cloud, and Yuffie gathered around the table eating the pancakes Luigi had made. They wouldn't be the only ones - Link, Zelda, Aerith, Little Mac, Doc Louis, Jacky, Akira, Robin, Lucina, and Wolf also joined Luigi and Daisy for breakfast, all of whom were feeling quite hungry and need something to eat right away.

"Thanks for having some chocolate syrup with you Luigi, you're a real lifesaver!" Doc Louis heartily thanked the plumber just for having this particular breakfast item. Poor guy just can't live a single day without chocolate, it's more depressing than you think.

 **Doc Louis: I'm staying over at Luigi's...only temporarily, though. Unless Luigi has chocolate offered at his Thanksgiving feast, then I'm heading back to the mansion! And if there's no chocolate there, then Little Mac and I are eating out, whether Little Mac likes it or not!**

"What is it with you and chocolate Doc?" Lucina asked the boxing trainer. "Your obsession with it honestly scares me..." Doc Louis took great offense to Lucina's remarks, as he glared the princess down with his dark, beady eyes.

"For your information princess, chocolate is my one and only life source, it's the only thing that keeps me going, it's the reason why I'm here!" the boxing trainer valiantly defended his love for chocolate, while his protege Little Mac felt embarrassed as he had his face in his hands. He could have stopped Doc's chocolate obsession when he had the chance (i.e. episode 22). "Don't make me reveal my jaguar-patterned shirt, unless you know what's good for ya! You know your precious little daddy don't want to see you in the hospital!"

"Now now, Doc Louis, today is not the day for creating any dissension," Robin arose from his seat, playing peacemaker. "Today is the day we come together, and realize what Thanksgiving is truly all about..." Before Robin could continue, a pancake covered in syrup was thrown at his face; once the pancake slid off of Robin's face, the mage looked at the direction the pancake was thrown and glared down Link, who was whistling innocently while looking away. Zelda was glaring at the Hylian too, displeased with her boyfriend's candor at the breakfast table.

"Oh yeah, food fight, let's go!" Akira got all excited as he reached for the plate of butter, only to be stopped by Daisy, who put her hand over his arm. The princess of Sarasaland just wasn't having it. "Aw c'mon Daisy, what gives, any other instance you probably would have allowed a food fight to take place!"

"Not today Akira, not in my house," Daisy warned the kung fu fighter, making her stare as intent as possible. Gotta tell Akira how she really feels with the use of her eyes; sometimes the eyes are the best form of nonverbal communication.

"But Link started it, so why not end it?" Akira shrugged; Daisy made her stare even more intent than before. "Fine, I won't start anything..." Akira quietly resumed eating his food, and breakfast would resume in peace.

* * *

Over at the mansion, breakfast was (finally) done, as the brawlers met for breakfast in the dining room. Everyone was seated at the breakfast table, discussing things like sports, life, entertainment, and how the dog show after the Thanksgiving parade will turn out to be (don't kid yourself, no one really talks about the dog show).

"Hope you folks enjoy the food, Kirby and I have worked extra hard!" smiled Cilan, bowing down before everyone in courtesy. "Bon appetit to you all!" Funny how two of the most jovial mansion residents worked together to make breakfast...where was Toad, the lowkey drug lord?

 **Lucas: Allow me to be one of the first to say this...Cilan's cooking is SO much better than Palutena's. Not that Palutena isn't bad or anything, but her cooking is amateurish at best - not good, but not bad either. Cilan's food...it just has so much twang to it, it has the zest that Palutena's food lacks. Too bad Pit won't agree with me, sometimes he's such a mama's boy...  
Ness: *poking his head through a door* Not to be crude Lucas, but you were a mama's boy too, when you're mom was alive.  
Lucas: Pfft, that was in the past... *confidently smiles with his hands on his hips* ...I'm a man now, I don't need my mom! I'm not afraid of anything! *slowly cracks a worried facial expression as Ness closes his door***

"Yo, Cilan, where's the bacon, I need my bacon man!" Bowser called out to Cilan, demanding bacon or else the connoisseur would pay some consequences. You wouldn't want to upset the Koopa King in the morning; it would be wiser to do such a thing at night, when he forgets.

"I'm terribly sorry King Bowser, but we didn't have any time to cook bacon, my sincere apologies," Cilan apologized to Bowser, but unfortunately it wasn't enough as the Koopa King whipped out a certain clipboard and an ink pen. You know what's gonna happen next.

"What twisted person would make breakfast without any bacon?! You and Kirby both make the list, the list of stupid idiots!" Bowser wrote down Cilan's and Kirby's names onto "The List of Bowser"; Cilan looked distraught, while Kirby happily clapped his hands, apparently content with being deemed a stupid idiot in the eyes of Bowser. "Should have added your name already for not knowing that many Pokemon outside the Unova region..."

"You made a list of stupid idiots?" Ema raised an eyebrow at Bowser, shaking her head in disapproval. "Made the list out of a lack of self-esteem, I assume? Calling others stupid idiots so you could feel better about yourself?"

"Never did I lack self-esteem a single day in my life! Also, this list is 'The List of Bowser', not 'The List of Stupid Idiots'! And I made up the list because I thought it would be funny! For those reasons alone, you now have the distinction of being the first female to land your name on the list! Congratulations!" Bowser furiously wrote down Ema's name as the forensics expert unassumingly resumed eating her food, not giving a single crap about Bowser's list whatsoever. In fact, practically nobody does, unless you're Corrin. "Phoenix Wright and Mia Fey would be so disappointed in you if they hear about this! Heck, they even accused me of having a role in Snake breaking out of jail, so I'll might as well add their names to the list too!"

* * *

Outside the mansion, Sonic, holding Shaymin in his hands, was waiting on several of his friends to stop by. Of course he was waiting on Amy, his loving girlfriend who always goes crazy over him, but he was also waiting for two more hedgehogs - Shadow, his rival, and Silver, some hedgehog from the future. The two hedgehogs would eventually arrive via bus, as Shadow and Silver got off said bus and saw Sonic, waving to them.

"Hey what's up my dudes?" Sonic would greet the fellow hedgehogs, giving Silver some dap and doing a simple fist bump with Shadow. Shadow was never really the social type, so he prefers to do a simple fist bump rather than a perfectly rehearsed and executed handshake. "Glad you two could come over for Thanksgiving, I really appreciate it!"

 **Sonic: This will be the first time celebrating Thanksgiving (or any holiday for that matter) with my new pet Shaymin! *kisses Shaymin on the cheek* Should I give Shaymin a name? I tried asking Tails, but he was all like, "No way, who would give a legendary or mythical Pokemon a nickname, that sounds asinine!" And then I said, "Then how come Nintendo gives the option to name legendary or mythical Pokemon in the new _Pokemon_ games?" Dude couldn't say a single word after that, man I got him good...**

"You're very much welcome Sonic, although it did take a lot of convincing from me for Shadow to tag along," stated Silver. "You know how much Shadow hates social gatherings and such. As stated before, Shadow isn't the most social hedgehog out there, he's more of an introvert than anything.

"Thanksgiving is pretty stupid anyways in my opinion, everyone eats some stupid turkey on just one day," Shadow offered his take on Thanksgiving. Man must be horribly bitter about every little thing; Maria Robotnik's death must be to blame.

"Quit being so cynical Shadow, you'll kill the mood...so Sonic, where are we gonna celebrate Thanksgiving at? At the Smash Mansion, or over at Luigi's place?" Silver saw Luigi's green Dodge Charger parked in the parkway, and wondered how a meek, bashful man like Luigi was able to acquire such a sweet ride.

"We might as well go to the Smash Mansion, since Tails and Knuckles said they'll be staying over there. Besides, I don't wanna do anything that would upset Daisy, I had already ticked her off when I faked my own death..." Silver and Shadow both gave Sonic very questionable looks. "I'll explain the story and everything else once we get inside."

"Sounds good. Also, what a nice pet hedgehog you got there, must be pretty rare." Of course it's rare, it's a freaking mythical Pokemon!

* * *

The Thanksgiving parade was over, and it was now time for the most important afternoon Thanksgiving program taking place prior to football to start - the annual National Dog Show! Luigi and Little Mac sat in the living room as they watched the dog show.

"Luigi, ever wanted to enter Polterpup in a dog show?" Little Mac asked the plumber, while Polterpup laid on the floor next to Luigi's feet. "You two would be great together, though with Polterpup being a ghost, you could get away with A LOT of cheating..."

"Guess you're-a right, not to mention that Polterpup would-a intimidate some of the other dogs," said Luigi, gently petting Polterpup. Polterpup is everything you could ask from and more in a man's best friend. "If there-a was a ghostly competition of-a any kind, I would enroll Polterpup real-a quick!"

 **Little Mac: After seeing Sonic bond with Shaymin over the course of the week, I kinda gave some thought about owning a pet for myself...though I wouldn't have the time to do it. I spend an endless amount of time training and staying fit, and I still have some work to do with Star Records. Wouldn't afford to leave my companion in the dust, if ya know what I mean.**

"Football is about to come on soon...Minnesota Vikings vs the Detroit Lions," Link said to Cloud while hanging around near the steps, telling the ex-SOLDIER this like he actually cared. "Who you got winning? My money is on the Vikings, only because their mascot can wield a sword...hehe."

"You know pretty well I don't care about neither team, especially since they're not Super Bowl-caliber or anything," responded Cloud. Talk about having high standards - Cloud's probably a lowkey Seattle Seahawks bandwagoner. The presence of Kevin and Carrington in episode 42 could have swayed the swordsman. "But if I had to pick one team to win, it would have to be the Lions, because they have home field advantage. I know a lot of people take the concept of home field advantage very seriously..."

"You said you wanted to speak with me?" Yuffie came down the steps to ask Cloud. She, Aerith, Zelda, and Daisy were doing typical girl things upstairs, while Jacky, Akira, Little Mac, and Doc Louis were doing typical manly things outside.

"Yes, but not now - I'll discuss things with you during the feast. If not then, then maybe in private. But we have to hold our conversation before midnight, no ands, ifs, or buts about it. Got it?"

"What do you want to talk about so, is it girl advice? Trying to ask out Aerith on a date? Or are you wanting to propose to her?" Yuffie smiled as she leaned in closer to Cloud, who looked away. Yuffie just had to talk all this romantic stuff, especially with Link around... "If that's the case, then you came to the right gal!"

"It's nothing romantic, and it doesn't have anything to do with Aerith whatsoever...just wait until the feast, and everything will be explained."

* * *

More than half an hour after breakfast commenced, the foursome of Chrom, Ganondorf, Wario, and Captain Falcon met at the Romance Club...not to discuss romance and love, but to watch the Vikings-Lions game on a television Wario had hooked up in the room the four usually meet. Marth and Geno stood a few feet away from the couch that the four were sitting on, with Marth frowning with his hands on his hips. Totally not want the hero-king planned for - then again, who would want to do usual club things on a holiday?

 **Marth: At the last Romance Club meeting, my four "proteges" decided to spend their time at the Thanksgiving feast with their significant others - Wario will be with Palutena, Ganondorf will be with Rosalina, and Chrom says Raven will arrive at the mansion soon so he'll get some downtime with her. As for Captain Falcon...he can just bond with this inflatable blow-up doll I found in the storage room. *grabs a blow-up doll of a woman and shows it to the camera* I can imagine the conversations Captain Falcon would have... *sounding macho* Hey babe, you wanna take a sweet ride in my Blue Falcon? *now speaks in a girly voice* I want nothing to do with you, or your ride! You're the worst man a girl could ask for! *uses the blow-up doll's hand to slap his face* Sadly I could see something like that going down at the feast, Captain Falcon is horribly snakebitten...**

"So this is how you men wish to spend most of your Thanksgiving, huh?" asked a slightly disappointed Marth. "Here I thought you wanted to do something productive..."

"We're watching the game because we're real men and you're not; you're more of a girly man," stated Ganondorf, angering Marth. The hero-king doesn't like to be considered girly or feminine, though his hairstyle kinda suggests otherwise. "Men like you would rather watch the dog show over sporting events." Uh oh, Luigi and Little Mac, it looks like Ganondorf called both of you out!

"Whatever you say Ganon...I sure hope you men are ready for your significant others when the feast time comes. And Captain Falcon, you're in luck - found a blow-up doll for you to use. Granted it would embarrassing to flirt with it with visitors around, but I suppose it would do..."

"Appreciate what you're doing Marth, but I don't need a blow-up doll...I actually find a young lady that sorta likes me! She'll be arriving at the Smash Mansion in a jiffy!" Marth couldn't help but giggle at what Falcon had said, he was in the most utmost disbelief. Was he hearing correctly, or was Captain Falcon just messing with him?

"Settle down Falcon, you're quite the comedian, already had us laughing during breakfast. No need to pry any more laughs out from me, I can easily tell you're bluffing!"

"No he's being serious, he was speaking with this chick downtown and she agreed to come over for the feast at the mansion!" stated Wario, recalling Captain Falcon heading to downtown Seattle to take care of "important matters", as the racer had told the fatso. "Captain Falcon literally found a babe, and he did it with little to no failure!"

"Still don't believe any of this...do you believe this is all farce, Chrom?" The prince of Ylisse was feeling very uneasy - no, not because of the question Marth asked, but because his loving daughter Lucina was away with Robin at Luigi's place, and he's fearful of what Robin might be doing to Lucina. Most loving fathers are completely paranoid like that.

"I'm afraid it's true, Captain Falcon indeed found himself a lover," confirmed Chrom, resting slightly uncomfortably on the couch as paranoia enveloped him. "From what I've heard, Falcon's girlfriend will be taking a ride with Raven, whom she's apparently affiliated with."

 **Chrom: Captain Falcon's girlfriend is one of the best kept secrets going about in the mansion, and it has to remain that way in order to maintain peace and stability; I'm sure most of the men would be ticked if they found out a downtrodden man like Falcon finally secured a woman. Of course, this secret isn't exactly the best kept secret right now... *looks around to see if anyone's looking or listening before lowering his voice* I had gained some intel that Knuckles owns a statue of Rouge the Bat, and it's secretly kept in a private part of the mansion. Makes me wonder if Fox and Falco are paying Knuckles and giving him exquisite gifts under the table...**

"Well I won't believe it until I see it, this sounds too good to be true," said Marth, before turning his attention to Geno. "Do you know when the feast will begin? It is necessary that Raven and Captain Falcon's...girlfriend, make it ahead of time, so they'll get acclimated."

"The tentative start time is 4:30, according to Cilan," the Star Warrior answered. "Master Hand might try and change the time though." Does Master Hand have to interfere with every little thing? Let the residents live, for crying out loud!

"He would have to fight with Mario and Peach over that, they usually collaborate with whoever cooks the food and come to terms with when the feast begins. Peach will sweet talk Master Hand, I'm absolutely sure of it."

* * *

"How does the front yard look?" Roy asked Gil after the redhead raked up all the leaves in the front yard, gathering them up and putting them into one massive pile. "That should be all of the leaves." Mario wanted the front yard to look presentable when the guests arrive, and he put Roy and Gil up to the task.

"Yup, got every leaf in sight, now all we need to do is find out a way to dispose of the leaves," Gil said, stroking his chin as he looked around, before his eyes caught Pit and Kirby playing Frisbee. "Hey Kirby, can you do Roy and I a solid?"

"Ooh wah!" Kirby happily ran over to Roy and Gil, as Pit had to put his Frisbee game on hold. But Kirby wasn't in the mood of disposing the leaves - he was in the mood of jumping into the pile of leaves, and playing in said pile as the leaves went up in the air and slowly fell down. Just like that, leaves were all other the place again, although it wasn't really that much, thankfully.

"Kirby they wanted you to suck up the leaves, not play in them!" Pit called out to Kirby, as the puffball played in the leaves like a little child. Is he really a little child? Does anyone know how old Kirby is? "Why must I always clean up after Kirby's mess..." Pit ran over to the front yard of the mansion, as he grabbed Roy's rake and raked up the leaves back into the pile, before taking Kirby out of the pile of the leaves.

 **Gil: Leaves should have been raked the other day...Mario was supposed to do it, but nooooo, he wanted to help Peach make the Thanksgiving dessert! Gotta think of it, why make dessert before making the Thanksgiving course?  
Roy: Beats me; Cilan had also pitched in, so I'm assuming Peach wanted to see if Cilan was as great as advertised. Some of the food he made for us has been spectacular, to say the least. I'd say he's the best cook in the mansion now, with Dunban being a close second.  
**

"Now suck up those leaves Kirby, suck 'em up like a...like a lawn mower!" Pit exclaimed as he pointed at the pile of leaves, as Roy and Gil facepalmed at the angel's morbid stupidity. On command, Kirby sucked up all the leaves, and his mouth was full. Where is the puffball going to dispose the leaves? Good thing he had a plan in mind, as he ran off without warning. "Hey Kirby, wait up!" Pit, Roy, and Gil chased after Kirby, reaching the puffball at the Duck Hunt Dog's doghouse. There the puffball would do the unthinkable - he blew the leaves into said doghouse, filling it up with leaves in an instant.

"Um, do you think the Duck Hunt Dog would have a problem with this?" Gil nervously questioned. He seriously can't be afraid of some mischievous dog, if how he was feeling implied.

"Dumb mutt would just dig a giant hole to put the leaves in, no biggie," Roy shrugged. "Let's just walk away like nothing ever happened..." So Pit, Kirby, Gil, and Roy all walked away, and as they did so, a feather from one of Pit's wings slowly fell to the ground, next to the leaf-filled doghouse...

* * *

"So which player from the United States basketball team am I teleporting to the mansion?" Zero asked Master Hand in the teleportation room. What is that giant hand up to this time, and why is he fooling around with a lousy basketball player...

"You know who I want - the tall, lanky guy who everyone claims to be a villain!" Master Hand gave Zero a description of the player he wanted. "Don't exactly remember his name though, but I hope my description helped jog your memory!"

"Wasn't really a very good description, but I think I know the guy you're referring to..." Zero did some calibrations on the teleportation device, and pressed some buttons, and in an instant, a tall, lanky guy - just like Master Hand said - was warped to the mansion. It was Wayne, one of the dudes from the United States basketball team.

"Hold up, how did I get here?" Wayne asked as he looked around, and his face sank once his eyes fell on Master Hand. In that very moment he knew where he was - back at the Smash Mansion.

 **Master Hand: My stupid and completely unnecessary house arrest is set to end this week, which means I will no longer have this dumb tracking device around my finger. Doesn't matter anyway, because I violated my sentence multiple times - you see, I would secretly have Peppy Hare bring Slippy Toad over to disable the device, and then I do whatever I want! (Please don't tell the law enforcers that information, they'd might throw me in jail or prison.) With my sentence ending and all, I thought...why discuss some water under the bridge with one of the individuals I screwed over?**

"Hi there, guy-who's-name-I-sadly-forgot, long time no see!" Master Hand greeted Wayne with much joy, though Wayne didn't exactly share the joy the giant hand was exuberating. "Just wanted to say I'm sorry for attempting to steal the cruise ship at Rio during the Olympics. Your ship, it just looked so exquisite..."

"Dude you could have just apologized to the people who carry the cruise ship, they're the ones who financed it," stated Wayne, feeling a need to go back home and celebrate Thanksgiving, rather than celebrating it in Seattle in the Smash Mansion. "Now can you take me back home, I got a Thanksgiving dinner to attend to!"

"Does it start in the next few hours or so? If not, then I'm afraid you'll just have to stick around until it's time for your precious 'Thanksgiving dinner' to begin. Of course you don't have to stay at the mansion - you can just head over to Luigi's home and chill there until it's time for you to go! Zero will teleport you back to original location, isn't that right Zero?"

"I'll be here all day - just stop by here when you're all set to go!" Zero gave Wayne a thumbs up. Having gained this information, Wayne nodded his head as he went out of the teleportation room, looking for something to do. He ventured down to the kitchen, where Greninja was on dish washing duty, as the ninja Pokemon was washing the dishes, too apathetic to dislike the chore. Wayne looked at his cellphone and saw his battery dying, and needed to find an outlet real quick with the phone charger in his possession.

"Do you know where I can find an available outlet?" the basketball player asked Greninja; the ninja Pokemon, who has never owned a cellphone before nor cared about cellphones or cellular devices in general, shook his head. "Oh well, thanks, I guess..." Wayne continued on his way, until he bumped into Bowser, who was holding "The List of Bowser" in his hands. The Koopa King is on a mad scavenger hunt for any "stupid idiots" he can find.

"Well, well, well, look who returned to the mansion!" Bowser greeted Wayne after turning around to see who bumped into him. "Looks like you're by yourself, huh? In that case, why aren't you celebrating Thanksgiving with your family, like most sensible people do? For that reason alone, you just made the list!" Bowser wrote down Wayne's name on the list, but Wayne was more concerned about charging up his phone than earning his name on some dumb list. It's not like Bowser could use his list to contact others or anything like that.

 **Bowser: Added a bunch of stupid idiots to my "List of Bowser", want me to give you the rundown?...Alright then, here we go! I added Ike - the man who thinks hot dogs aren't sandwiches - to the list, I added the Flying Man - had the utmost audacity to call my list irrelevant - to the list, and I even added Isabelle - asked me how I was doing an hour after she asked the very same question - to the list as well! At this rate, everyone in the entire mansion will wind up on the list! Come Christmas time, I'll give everyone the greatest gift they could ask for...the gift of Bowser! *stretches arms out side, then inhales and exhales* Drink it in, man!**

"Look bro, I need to find an outlet to plug up my phone, my battery is running low very quickly," Wayne said to Bowser, not giving a crap about the list. Who does? "Know where I can find an available outlet?"

"What person brings their cellular device on low battery to a faraway destination?! You just made the list yet again!" Bowser wrote down Wayne's name on the list a second time, and Wayne, ultimately on the verge of giving up, decided it would be best to head over to Luigi's home, since it was relatively small; finding an outlet in the big and spacious Smash Mansion would be the ultimate hassle. Also, the people there would treat Wayne with the respect he deserves.

* * *

Sonic gathered with Tails, Knuckles, Silver, and Shadow in his room, playing with his pet Shaymin. Actually, Shadow wasn't really playing with the Shaymin; he just sat on Sonic's bed with his arms folded, figuring out why Sonic and company were so into a lousy mythical Pokemon. Yeah, the murder of Maria Robotnik must have taken a toll on the poor hedgehog, it's sad to see...

"I'm here boys!" Amy exclaimed as she entered Sonic's room, holding her purse...which she would drop to the floor in an instant when she saw the Shaymin sitting in Sonic's leap and squealed like an overly excited pig. "Sonic, is that your pet hedgehog?! It looks so cute, I must take a closer look!" Amy sat down next to her man, and inspected Shaymin, petting it gently. Shaymin would cower in fear, she didn't expect so many people to be fawning other here. Still getting used to the popularity. "It looks so adorable, I could pet it for days!"

"Shaymin is a she Amy, not an it," Sonic informed his girlfriend, wanting her and many others to accept this information. "Don't let the Pokemon professors and experts and maniacs tell you otherwise, they're all misinformed dummies - they'll bring you down to their level and defeat you with experience."

"Can't believe you're all worked up over a stupid pet..." frowned Shadow, feeling somewhat unloved. Poor guy never had anyone really to love him, like a parental figure - you could say Black Doom, leader of the Black Arms, would be a viable parental figure, but he's a villain, so...

 **Shadow: Last time I checked, Silver and I specifically came here to eat food, not to fawn over Sonic's stupid pet hedgehog. Obviously the turkey is the most important part of this Thanksgiving feast, so if the turkey isn't that great, then complying with Silver's demands to come with him to the mansion will be all for naught. I can feel my stomach growling already...**

"What's the matter Shadow - are you implying that you're jealous of Sonic's pet hedgehog?" questioned Amy, angering Shadow. Now's not the time for the Black Arms hedgehog to evince his true colors. "If you feel so salty about Shaymin, then why don't you leave?"

"Very well then, guess I'll leave...forget you losers," Shadow grumpily got up and exited the room, as Sonic and company continued to play with the pet Shaymin. Shadow would walk through the mansion hallway, feeling salty about himself and others like he always does, when he ran into the Flying Man, of all people.

"Appears to me that you're a little down on your luck!" the beast said to Shadow, who walked away as quickly as possible to avoid the Flying Man. But it was no use, the resident of Magicant was hot on his heels. "No need to feel like a glum chum on a wonderful Thanksgiving day like this! I can help cheer you up, for I am your courage!"

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that, if it helps you go the sleep at night..." Shadow rudely responded as he walked a distance far enough from the Flying Man, with the beast no longer able to bother the hedgehog. The Flying Man snapped his fingers in disgust, seeing another potentially good deed gone to waste.

* * *

It was an hour to 4 o' clock, which meant that the Thanksgiving feast at the Smash Mansion will begin very soon. Many guests came over to the mansion, such as Fiora, Luka Redgrave, Krystal, and several others. Captain Falcon waited outside at the front of the mansion, anticipating the moment his girlfriend came.

"YOU of all people now has a girlfriend?" Diddy Kong snorted at Captain Falcon, as he waited for Cranky Kong and Dixie Kong to arrive. "I find this very hard to believe! Was she desperate or something?" This is the most typical question Falcon was asked when telling others about the girlfriend he now apparently has.

"Desperate for love, I reckon?" responded Captain Falcon. "By all accounts she was, she was looking for a fine, stellar man, and I had to make my move!" Diddy turned away and laughed, now in even more disbelief. Just then, an Uber car arrived, and Raven, Chrom's girlfriend, got out of the car.

"Thank you very much for the ride!" the female mage would thank the Uber driver. But she wasn't the only person that rode in the car - also exiting the vehicle was a young-looking green-haired maiden, and accompanying her was a small green-haired girl, most likely her daughter. Judging by their attire, it looked like they both hail from the _Fire Emblem_ universe.

 **Captain Falcon: I've been waiting for this day for as long as I could remember...this is the day that I shun my romantic failures in the past, and prove to everyone that I am indeed efficient in picking up girls! Once everyone sees my girlfriend, they'll gasp in shock, and say, "Oh, Captain Falcon, we're so sorry for doubting you in the past, you really are a ladies' man!" *rubs his hands, Montgomery Burns style* Time to make a bunch of believers out of nonbelievers...**

"Diddy Kong, I would like to introduce you to my lovely girlfriend Nowi, and her daughter Nah," Captain Falcon introduced the spidermonkey to Nowi (the youthful woman) and Nah (her daughter) as they walked up to the front with Raven. Diddy Kong's jaw dropped to the ground in an instant; the disbelief building up inside of the spidermonkey had finally reached its boiling point, and it resulted in Diddy Kong laughing hysterically as he fell to the ground in inconsolable laughter.

"Is he going to be alright?" Raven asked Captain Falcon as Diddy continued to laugh; Falcon simply shrugged. "He'll likely get over his laughing fit soon, I hope...I'll just head inside the mansion, and let you and Nowi have your little moment together." The female mage entered the mansion to look for Chrom, leaving Captain Falcon, Nowi, Nah, and the laughing Diddy Kong by themselves outside.

"I am SO looking forward to a wonderful time together!" Nowi squealed with joy, as Nah nonchalantly watched on. You will see later on that Nowi has a very childlike personality, and Nah is kind of serious, though not as the same degree as Lucina. "We still have so much time until the feast, what shall we do then? Ooh, there's kids living here, right? Why don't we play with the little children?"

"Not now babe, before we do any of that, I must show you around to the others, just to prove how romantic I truly am," said Captain Falcon. "Then we'll play with the children; we got a ball pit for outgoing folk for you to play in!"

"A ball pit in the mansion?! Why didn't you tell me you had a ball pit?!" How is Nah able to cope with her mother's mannerisms? Gotta give the young girl credit for remaining serious and mature while dealing with her mom. "You must take me there right away!"

"Okay, okay, I'll take you to the ball pit...as long as he hold hands, just for effect." The effect Captain Falcon is yearning for is the reaction of the residents when they see the racer with an actual woman. "Are you down with that?" Nowi excitedly nodded her head. "Alright then, let's go!"

So Captain Falcon and Nowi held hands, and entered the mansion, with Nah accompanying them, as they made their way up to the ball pit. They ran into Wayne, who was about to head off to Luigi's home.

"Looks like you finally found yourself a girlfriend, huh?" the basketball player said to Captain Falcon, recounting the moment he met the racer back in episode 35, as he checked out Nowi. He would have asked the half-Manakate how old she was (she's actually over a thousand years old!), but now wouldn't be the perfect time. "Congratulations man." Wayne walked past Falcon and headed out of the mansion.

 **Wayne: Feels great to be back here in Seattle...played my first year in the pros in this city, won a Rookie of the Year award...man, how time flies...**

After the meeting with Wayne, Captain Falcon, Nowi, and Nah continued through the mansion, walking past the residents who all had varying reactions to Falcon's girlfriend. First, Falcon and company walked past R.O.B., who at first glance of Falcon and Nowi started malfunctioning until his system completely shut down. Then they walked by MegaMan .EXE, who had lost his balance and fell to the floor because he couldn't believe what he had seen. The last person Falcon and company walked by was Bowser, with his "List of Bowser".

"Tell me what your name is so I can put you down on my list!" the Koopa King called out to Nowi, chiding the woman for liking Captain Falcon. Soon Falcon, Nowi, and Nah arrived at the ball pit room, and Nowi squealed when she saw Toon Link, Young Link, Villager, and the Inklings playing in the ball pit. As you can tell, children are the half-Manakate's cup of tea.

"Woah Captain Falcon, who's your girlfriend?" Toon Link asked the racer when he saw his woman, as the other kids perked up. The Hylian was more considerate than R.O.B., MegaMan .EXE, and Bowser combined. "She looks very pretty!"

"Boys and girls...well, just girl...this woman you see before you is Nowi, a half-Manakate!" Captain Falcon introduced his woman to the youngsters, as Nowi happily waved to them. "And this is her daughter Nah!" Nah didn't wave, she just flashed a smile. She has a very lowkey personality.

"It's very nice to meet you, Nowi and Nah, hope you're enjoying your time at the mansion so far," said Young Link, the courteous one. Same can't be said for R.O.B., MegaMan .EXE, and most definitely Bowser. "Want to play with us in the ball pit?"

"Why of course I do!" Without warning, Nowi jumped into the ball pit, and began playing with the children. Nah, although she didn't really want to, joined her mom in the ball pit, playing with the fellow youngsters.

"Looks like I had found myself the perfect woman..." Captain Falcon confidently smirked as he folded his arms and watched Nowi in the ball pit.

* * *

 **Fox: Well, I hate to say this, but it appears to Falco and I that no one is really in the Thanksgiving spirit!  
** **Falco: My man Fox speaks the truth - everyone here is just dying to eat some turkey (and I personally don't blame them one bit), but they're forgetting the other things that make Thanksgiving what it is today! And we plan to change that...**

"Happy Thanksgiving everyone, what a time to be thankful!" Fox yelled out loud in the living room, with him and Falco throwing leaves about. Both Star Fox pilots were dressed up as pilgrims, and Mario, Peach, and Krystal - all of whom were waiting in the living room for the feast to begin - just watched.

"They're not always like this, are they?" Krystal just had to ask Peach this question. "I mean, I appreciate the message they're trying to deliver, but the way they're delivering it...eh."

"Not all the time, they're pretty mellow men," responded Peach, downplaying whatever fears Krystal may have had. Regardless, prancing about in the living room in pilgrim attire is not acceptable for Krystal by any means. "Did you know that Fox and Falco are in charge of an upstart record company called Star Records?"

"Yeah, Fox has been telling me about his Star Records escapades, talking how successful Knuckles has been and how Little Mac is essentially playing catch-up...guy should have just stuck to boxing." Little Mac is technically retired from boxing, as revealed in the final events of _Punch-Out!_ (Wii version) but he still trains to this very day.

"Come on you guys, why aren't you in the Thanksgiving mood, you're supposed to be feeling thankful!" Falco scowled Mario and company. "Mario, tell us what you're most thankful for, certainly you're a pretty thankful guy!"

"Yes I am-a thankful - thankful for life, liberty, and-a pursuit of happiness!" exclaimed Mario; unfortunately for him, his answer didn't seem to please Falco, who stared at the plumber with a straight face. Fox did the same thing too, resulting in Mario becoming suddenly confused.

"...Peach, what things are you thankful for?" Falco then asked Peach, after finding the courage to speak again. "Being that you're a ruler over the Mushroom Kingdom, there must be a lot things you're thankful for."

"I'm just thankful for the fact that I have Mario, and that the two of us will be husband and wife sooner than we know it!" the princess gleamed, as Fox and Falco nodded their heads and clapped. Clearly they liked Peach's answer over Mario, for some strange reason.

"Thank you for giving us a suitable answer Peach, much appreciated," thanked Fox, being thankful. "Try being more original next time, Mario." What's wrong with saying life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, is that not what Thomas Jefferson wished for in the Declaration of Independence?

 **Mario: So you-a shouldn't be thankful for life, liberty, and-a pursuit of happiness, but you should be-a thankful for having a future spouse-a instead...if not-a for those three provisions on-a the Declaration of Independence, I wouldn't even-a have Peach right now!**

"What are you thankful for Krystal, my smoking hot girlfriend?" Fox asked Krystal, who rolled her eyes at the "smoking hot girlfriend" remark. "Are you like Peach, are you thankful for having a boyfriend like myself?"

"I'd be more thankful if you and Falco take off those ridiculous costumes," was the vixen's response. Fox and Falco scoffed at Krystal's response, for they will be dressed up as pilgrims _all day long._ Yes, even around the guests.

* * *

Several denizens from the Smash Mansion - Olimar, Alph, Nana, Popo, Ness, Lucas, Wario, Palutena, Meta Knight, Black Knight, and Ike - headed over to Luigi's home to have the Thanksgiving feast there, disheartening Cilan and Kirby to a certain extent. It was at Luigi's home that the plumber wished to show the men (including Wayne, who found an available outlet for his phone charger in the house) a new addition to his home.

"Gentlemen, I would like-a to introduce you...to my-a man cave!" Luigi opened a door, revealing his man cave. It had everything a man cave was supposed to have - some comfy sofas, a deer head bust, a billiards table, a giant flatscreen TV, and many other features. "Mr. Game and-a Watch helped me work-a on the man cave." The men were impressed, with a few nodding their heads.

"Yo, are the Redskins playing now?" Wayne looked on the TV and saw the Washington Redskins come out of the tunnel, indicating that their game against the Dallas Cowboys was set to begin. "Oh man, I gotta see this!" Wayne, a Redskins fan, sat on one of the sofas to check out the game.

"Alright boys, the feast is all ready!" Zelda announced to the men, after Daisy put on the finishing touches on the Thanksgiving food. "Come and get it while it's hot!"

"Nah, we might get it later, we can always wait until halftime. How does that sound, you guys?" Wayne asked the men, who all nodded their heads in agreement, much to the chagrin of Zelda.

"You're going to eat the food, and you're going to eat it NOW." Zelda was glaring with evil intent when she said this. "Daisy has everything prepared, so come and get your food so you can watch your precious football game. Do I make myself clear?"

"Just do what she says man, you would't like Zelda when she's angry..." Link had warned Wayne, and as the boyfriend of the Hyrulian princess, he would know.

 **Daisy: I've told Luigi time and time again not to get the man cave for the house, but of course he refused to listen and had Mr. Game and Watch build him one anyways...once I deliver the baby, Luigi better not spend more time in his dumb man cave than he does with the child, unless she spends time with the child in the man cave... *strokes her chin thoughtfully* ...nah, wouldn't be worth it.**

* * *

Having stolen a turkey leg from the kitchen, the Duck Hunt Dog, turkey leg in his mouth, trotted to his doghouse...only to find it stuffed with leaves. As the mutt looked for the culprit, he found a unsuspecting white feather lying on the ground next to his doghouse, and instantly knew who the culprit may be... _Pit._

Meanwhile, inside the mansion, the residents were enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving feast together, enjoying peaceful conversations and discussing life, when a now salty Duck Hunt Dog entered the dining room, gritting his teeth with his turkey leg in his mouth.

"Look Pit, the Duck Hunt Dog wants to speak with you!" Viridi grabbed her boyfriend's attention, pointing at the angry dog. "But he looks pretty angry...does he have a turkey leg in his mouth?"

"Aha, so the Duck Hunt Dog had the missing turkey leg all along, I knew it would be him!" exclaimed Cilan, who was eating at the dinner table enjoying his food. Seems a bit nonchalant about the whole situation, don't you think?

"Hey Duck Hunt Dog, why are you looking at me like that?" Pit questioned the mutt, who was glaring angrily at him. Suddenly the Duck Hunt Dog threw his turkey leg at Pit, striking him square in the face. A turkey leg - or any food item for that matter - to the face could only mean one thing...

"FOOD FIGHT!" Shulk bellowed out at the top of his lungs, and after the battle cry was called, everyone at the table fought against one another in a food fight of epic Thanksgiving proportions. Raven poured a bowl of gravy down Ganondorf's pants, Knuckles pied Yoshi in the face with some coconut pie, King Dedede stuffed K.K. Slider's head in the turkey, and plenty of other things went down during the food fight.

"Please stop it you guys, this is not how the feast was supposed to go down!" cried out Peach, one of the few who refused to participate in the food fight. Other non-participants, such as Ashley, Isabelle, and X (who would have guessed) ditched the dining room when they could. Suddenly a pie was thrown at Peach, and the princess turned around and saw that it was Cranky Kong, on his wheelchair.

"Just because I get another chance to appear in this story again doesn't mean I'm forbidden to do whatever I want," was the elderly Kong's excuse. Too bad Peach can't seek retribution on the Kong, given his age.

 **Cranky Kong: *doing talking head segment as Lloyd and Silver dueled with one another with turkey legs as weapons in the background* I would make a joke that would involve me breaking the fourth wall, but I just can't seem to think of anything. Now where was I... *grabs a glazed carrot and jumps back in to the food fight, joining the duel between Lloyd and Silver***

"Ooh, a food fight, this is so much fun!" Nowi gleamed as she threw food about, not giving a single care in the world. Captain Falcon and Nah both hid behind chairs, pelting others with food from a close distance.

"Your mother is a very outgoing person, she's the perfect gal a man could ask for!" Falcon said to Nah. Oh how Nah wished to say "nah" to what Falcon had just said...speaking of which, how did the poor girl acquire the name "Nah" in the first place?!

"Yoo hoo, over here hedgehog guy!" Nowi called out to Shadow, who was about to throw a plate of dressing at Takamaru's head when his name was called. "How would you like to work with me, and prevail over the others and be the last one standing? We can share all the glory!" Any other time, Shadow would say "Nah" (hehehehe...), but sharing the glory with another person? Shadow wished he could have shared the same attention with Shaymin back in Sonic's room. Poor guy always feels neglected sometimes.

"I'd be more than glad to join forces with you..." the hedgehog answered Nowi's offer with the smile, and soon he and the half-Manakate would be working together, taking others down with food. And Shadow enjoyed every second of it, too.

* * *

Having escaped from the mansion before the food fight could really get going, Bowser headed down to Luigi's home, wanting to add more "stupid idiots" to his list. The Koopa King was going over the list by the time he reached the front door of Luigi's home, where Doc Louis would barge outside and stormed away, dragging Little Mac by the arm against his will.

"Come on Little Mac, since Luigi won't offer any chocolate at his Thanksgiving feast, we'll just go celebrate Thanksgiving somewhere else!" the boxing trainer said to his protege as they headed downtown. "Better be a Golden Corral open!" What if Golden Corral doesn't offer chocolate at their restaurant, what would Doc Louis do then?

Once Doc and Mac were gone, Bowser entered Luigi's home and saw that the feast had yet to begin; evidently Luigi and Doc Louis had a fallout over why there wasn't any chocolate at the feast, hence why Doc Louis took Little Mac and left on his own accord.

"Lucas would-a you like to say a prayer before-a we begin the feast?" Luigi asked the timid boy, whose legs were quivering when given the task. Lucas had no other choice but to say yes, he simply couldn't let Luigi down.

 **Popo: Luigi and Doc Louis did have an altercation, and it was mainly over the lack of chocolate at the feast, apparently. They were arguing very loudly, so we all had to chill in Luigi's new man cave until the confrontation died down. Thank goodness there was enough room for all of us...**

"Uh, sure Luigi, I can do a prayer, I suppose..." replied Lucas. "Here goes nothing, I guess..." So Lucas delivered a prayer, giving thanks for important things like food, and life, and togetherness...and then giving thanks for the most random things, like Wayne's presence, Captain Falcon's girlfriend Nowi, the city of Seattle having professional sports teams, and many other miscellenous things. Lucas finished off the prayer with an "amen", which meant it was now finally time for Luigi and company to dig in!

"Hey Luigi, mind if I jump in on the feast?" Bowser asked the plumber, and Luigi gave the Koopa King a thumbs up. "Sweet! Black Knight, fix me a plate, on the double! Unless you wanna wind up on my list..."

"I'm only doing this for you because it's Thanksgiving..." the Black Knight murmured to Bowser as he grabbed not one, but two paper plates and fixed him and Bowser some food.

As the feast went on, Cloud decided that now was the time discuss Yuffie's house arrest sentence with the ninja girl. After a short private conversation, Yuffie felt like she had to make a major announcement.

"Excuse me everyone, but may I have your attention?" the ninja girl spoke up at the front of the kitchen, gathering everyone's attention from the dining area to the living room. The dudes in Luigi's man cave came out to see what Yuffie had to say. "As you may know, I was put under house arrest for attempting to steal the cruise ship that belonged to the United States men's basketball team..." Yuffie glanced at Wayne, who was nodding his head. "...and my term is set to end this Saturday. I would leave Luigi and Daisy in a jiffy, but however...they've showed me so much kindness during my stay, and I felt very grateful for it. And since I pretty much have nowhere to stay...I have decided to stay with Luigi and Daisy, for an indefinite amount of time." Yuffie's decision was met with warm reception from everyone, most notably Luigi and Daisy - everyone except for Bowser, who frowned in disgust.

"You seriously want to stick around with that perpetual loser Luigi, what is wrong with you woman?!" the Koopa King shook his head at Yuffie. "Here I thought Daisy made the biggest mistake in wanting to marry Luigi...Yuffie Kisaragi, you just made the list!" Bowser wrote down the ninja girl's name on the list, as Wayne walked towards the Koopa King, wanting to do some justice.

"Hey bro, can I see your list for a quick minute?" the basketball player asked Bowser. The Koopa King happily gave his clipboard to Wayne...who broke it _in half_ with his knee and threw the pieces on the floor. "How about you be a leader, instead of a follower? Come up with your own shtick, man." And with that, Wayne left Luigi's home. Some strong words from him.

* * *

 **Cilan: Our Thanksgiving feast, as you could imagine, was an ultimate disaster. Food was wasted in the dining room, and everyone was covered in food. But at least the guests enjoyed how everything turned out, Captain Falcon's girlfriend apparently enjoyed the food fight...how did he even get a girlfriend in the first place?! I give up on life...**

"Don't feel so down Peach, it could have been worse...someone could have had a heart attack and died," Ashley said to Peach, who was sobbing in the dining room over how the feast ended. "I guess that's the one lone positive." Ashley got up and left the kitchen, just when Wayne had entered. The basketball player saw Mr. Game and Watch cleaning up the dining room, but more importantly Peach by herself, sobbing.

"Lemme guess, an epic food fight started?" Wayne asked the princess, and Peach, sobbing more quietly now, nodded her head. "Look, I understand, things happen, lots of things happen...but you have to know that things will eventually get better soon before you know it. Just have to look on the bright side of things, you know, be more optimistic. This Thanksgiving may not have went the way you planned, but you can use the setbacks and learn from them, so you can make the next Thanksgiving great." Wayne checked his now fully-charged phone, looking at the time. "Well, I gotta get back to my place, before my folks start wondering why I've been gone for so long. Take care." Wayne gave Peach a comforting pat on the shoulder, and made his way to the teleportation room, where Zero would send him back to his destination.

After Wayne left, Peach looked up, flashing a smile. This year's Thanksgiving was now in the past - time to focus on the next one.


	50. Episode 50: Self-Defense

_Author's Note:_

 _The poll is closed, the results are in, and the character that I should write about the most is...Tails, who led the way with three votes. Not really surprised, everyone loves Tails. Ryu, Meta Knight, and much to my surprise, Dunban, received one vote each; I was even more surprised that no one voted for Ashley or Zero, but that's just me. I'll try and focus on the four aforementioned characters in this chapter, and give them more focus as the story goes along (especially for Tails, who had the most votes out of anyone)._

 _Moreover_ _, there is new poll on my profile page, in which you can vote for your favorite Smash Life character(s). Again, I'm allowing up to five votes per person, because I'm just that generous. Now on to the reviews, first with Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...I was hoping that you could do a chapter about the smashers going to a wwe event either raw or smackdown or do a conjoined ppv like royal rumble or wrestlemania because there is so much you can do with the smashers..."_

 _Only problem is, I can't really do a chapter around RAW or Smackdown or even a wrestling PPV, that kind of stuff would have to happen on a Thursday or a Friday (the days the chapters typically take place). Also, I would have to "bend" the rules for the wrestlers, so the speak, so that's also a factor. Moving on:_

 _"...also what's the story with cilan being at the mansion not that I don't mind since I like Cilan but what made you decide to add him into your story."_

 _Cilan's main purpose is to work on the wedding cake for Mario's wedding, and it will likely take him forever to complete the task. These past few chapters or so saw Cilan adjusting to life in the mansion, so he'll get started on the cake in this chapter. Next is Kirby 123, who has a King Dedede suggestion this time:_

 _"I just feel like that king dedede should be possessed by dark matter again and cause mayhem all over the mansion and dark matter itself would fight something after he gets beaten out of king dedede."_

 _King Dedede being possessed in general would perhaps lead to a lot of great moments, so I'll leave this idea on the table for now. Lastly, we have 0300:_

 _"One of these times, I want to see someone (not Fox, Falco, or Sonic (cause it's what they do) rebel against Mario and Master Hand and they bet Mario and MH up."_

 _Yeah, using Fox, Falco, or Sonic in such an instance would be WAY too easy. I would need someone that could overwhelm both Master Hand and Mario and push them to their limits. So I'll have a lot to think about._

* * *

 **Episode 50: Self-Defense**

In many instances, Sonic receiving a pet Shaymin from Hau was a dream come true for the hedgehog. He has always implored whether or not a hedgehog Pokemon existed, and when he found out and did research on Shaymin, his interest piqued to unconstrained levels. Now he has his dream pet, a Pokemon that he could call a good companion of his. However, Sonic was not alone.

Ever since episode 41 or so, Tails would conduct research on Vulpix, studying everything about the fox Pokemon from its body style, to its height, to even its base friendship stat. (Friendship isn't meant to be taken lightly in _Pokemon,_ in some cases it must be high for a Pokemon to evolve.) So when the Alolan Vulpix arrived with the other Alolan Pokemon the week before Thanksgiving, Tails did some research and studying on it, and was surprised to learn that the regular Vulpix and the Alolan Vulpix were so similar in many ways. It was only their typing that separated the two.

While inspecting the Alolan Vulpix, the fox Pokemon would slowly warm up to Tails, i.e. rubbing its head against the fox and always trying to get his attention. This alarmed Tails, for the regular Vulpix would never do such things - it would quietly sit on Tails' desk, waiting to be returned to the Pokemon sanctuary where it belonged. But this Alolan Vulpix was something different, something Tails wasn't used to.

"The regular Vulpix was never friendly with me before," Tails discussed with Ryu in the kung fu fighter's room; Ryu was punching away on a punching bag as the conversation carried on. Tails was holding the Alolan Vulpix in his hands (he named the Alolan Vulpix Suzie; kudos if you know which character from the _Pokemon_ anime the fox Pokemon was named after). "You think this Vulpix likes me more than the other one?"

"Only way to find out is if the Vulpix has made any friendly or romantic advancements with you," Ryu stated as he ruthlessly punched the punching bag with all his might. That punching bag has a family, for crying out loud! "You did say the Vulpix rubbed its head against you, and by all indications, it must certainly like you!"

 **Ryu: Seen it several times on television - usually when a couple is cuddling together, the girlfriend would rub her head against her boyfriend's torso! With that reasoning, Tails' Vulpix is indeed a female - it would be weird for the cuddling to be the other way around, with the male rubbing against the female! I would try this practice out, but on Chun-li? No thanks!**

"So does that mean I should keep Suzie around as a pet?" Tails then asked, as Ryu delivered one last devastating punch to the punching bag. He punched the punching bag so hard, it flew through the wall and landed in the next room.

"Ow my leg, thanks a lot Ryu!" Robin called out from his room, his voice heard through the hole in the wall Ryu had left. Mr. Game and Watch will have to patch up the wall in due time.

"If the Vulpix likes you that much, then I suppose you have no other choice but to keep it as a pet," Ryu offered his take, wiping the sweat off of his sweat and then tasting said sweat, to see what it tasted like (just kidding, Ryu would never stoop down to that level). "Sonic has a pet, so you should have a pet too! Has he become overly incessant about his pet Shaymin?"

"Yo Tails, you wouldn't believe what Shaymin and I did together today!" Sonic barged into Ryu's room with his Shaymin. "We ate a bunch of noodles Palutena made, and slurped them down together in less than THREE MINUTES! After we did that we..." While Sonic rambled on with the faux accomplishments he and Shaymin did together, Tails looked at Ryu in a rueful manner, and Ryu instantly knew what Tails would had to go through from now on. "Isn't that great Tails, aren't Shaymin and I bonding so quickly?" Sonic would ask his fox friend after he was finished running his mouth. "You and Suzie have a long way to go buddy!"

"Sonic I have a proposition to ask you, if you don't mind," Ryu approached Sonic, kneeling down at the hedgehog's side. "Since Tails is taking into consideration making the Alolan Vulpix his pet, I have an idea...why don't you show Tails how to be a great pet owner?" Ryu himself thought this would be a good idea, since it would humble Sonic while at the same time allowing the hedgehog to be a mentor to his best friend. A win-win scenario all around.

"You want to slurp noodles with your pet Pokemon, too?" Sonic asked Tails, with the fox having no other choice but to nod his head. "Cool beans! Before we can get to that, I must show you the basics..." _This_ is what Tails is interested in, not slurping noodles obviously.

* * *

Many of the Smash Mansion may not know this, or have apparently forgotten, but Meta Knight is not only a Star Warrior, but a flaring Latin knight. He typically speaks with a strong Hispanic accent, and acts just like Zorro, the fictional thief who dons a mask, just like Meta Knight himself. However, Meta Knight can fly at will, something that Zorro cannot brag about.

 **Meta Knight: Luigi's Thanksgiving feast would have been better...if he only offered Latin food at the feast! But before you can say, "Meta Knight, it's a Thanksgiving dinner, nobody eats Latin food on that day!", let me tell you some food items that would fit with the holiday of Thanksgiving... _el pavo, el vistiendo, la cazuela, las pantatas dulces..._** ***briefly pauses before breaking down into a fit* Oh who am I kidding, the Spanish recipes for Thanksgiving I have, neither Luigi nor Cilan would have used them! I might as well have my very own Thanksgiving feast by myself, and no one can attend this feast but me...and maybe Kirby. Why must he be so sensitive?**

In order to remain in touch with his Latino roots, Meta Knight decided to - wait for it - learn how to play a guitar. Now you're probably thinking, "What on earth does playing a guitar have to do with being Latino?". It's pretty simple - guitar playing is an essential part of mariachi, and Meta Knight wishes to play some mariachi music during his free time. Can't hurt to learn something new.

The only person Meta Knight could ask guidance for in playing a guitar would be K.K. Slider, who told the Star Warrior he would be more than delighted to help Meta Knight, and the hippie dog said that he could offer guitar-playing lessons, to which Meta Knight had agreed upon. However, K.K. refused to have Meta Knight be the only student, so he enticed the mansion residents with the prospect of having guitar lessons, and to his surprise, Link, Pac-Man, Alph, and Dunban all agreed to take some guitar lessons.

"Before we begin, I would like to go around the room, so we can discuss why we're all here," K.K. started things off in the cafe, where he and his five students agreed to meet. "We'll start off with you Link - what convinced you to play the guitar? Was it the joy, the passion, the willpower to uplift others through music?"

"Nah, I just wanted to learn how to play musical instruments I'm not really accustomed to," was Link's response; K.K. Slider held his head down in shame. What, did he honestly think Link would say the three things he mentioned?

"This was the only venue for me to get away from those knitting club freaks," Pac-Man said, before leaning over to whisper the following: "Don't tell Ashley, Yoshi, or Toad I was ever here." Knowing those three, they'll might find out eventually.

"I'm here because I thought learning how to play an instrument would be a skill useful later in life," said Alph. He's a young whippersnapper, so he'll have _plenty_ of time to learn how to play a guitar.

"Sharla put me up to it when I told her about the guitar lessons, apparently she thought I could 'serenade the ladies' with a guitar," said Dunban. And no, he and Sharla aren't romantically intertwined, so just save your _Xenoblade_ shipping for Shulk and Fiora.

That left Meta Knight alone to give his reason for why he wished to learn playing the guitar. K.K. Slider and company were all ears, wanting to hear the Star Warrior's reason. The fact that Meta Knight is a lowkey dude who seldom involves himself in any of the mansion's activities has done nothing but made the others more intrigued than they should.

 **Pac-Man: Learning how to play a guitar would be a good thing to do before Mario and I resume our wedding planning. We shall pick up right where we left off once the holidays are over, or until after New Year's Day, depending on how things go. Who knows, maybe by then I'll become a master guitar player, and then I'll teach Mario a song or two that he could use to serenade Peach...**

"The reason I'm here...is to be able to play mariachi music," said Meta Knight, albeit with some reluctance. "I feel that doing so would help me stick to my Latino roots, while at a same time learning a new skill, so to speak." The Star Warrior would brace himself for what the others might say...

"You know, that's not a bad reason at all, not bad!" exclaimed K.K. Slider, as Link, Dunban, Alph, and Pac-Man nodded their heads in approval. "I've always wanted to learn how to play some good ol' mariachi music - I've mastered every single music genre except for that. But with you on board, I can learn mariachi music, and become a masterful musician! But before we do that, we must first have our first guitar lesson! Let's begin, shall we?"

So K.K. gave his students a chord to play, and it was up to the students to play said chord when they were told to. As they took turn playing guitar chords, a Shadow Heartless sneaked its way inside the cafe, and at the very same time, Dunban was playing a chord terribly - so terrible that the Shadow had to cover its ears, and was seemingly defeated by Dunban's guitar playing, refusing to take the dreadful sound anymore.

"Woah, did you guys see that, Dunban single-handedly defeated a Heartless with his guitar playing!" exclaimed Link, grabbing the attention of everyone in the cafe. "Here I thought the only way to defeat the Heartless was through physical force..." Just then, another Shadow crept inside the cafe, and everyone saw it front and center.

"I think Dunban's ineptitude at playing the guitar is causing the Heartless to go away!" inferred Alph, wanting to see if his theory rung true. "Dunban, play that chord again and see what happens!" So the Homs played the same chord, albeit horribly, and the Shadow was later defeated, just like the one that came before it.

"Well I'd be, my own inability to play a guitar well is able to take out the Heartless," remarked Dunban, somewhat impressed. Same can't be said for how he played the guitar, however. "Do you think dreadful guitar playing is a weakness of the Heartless?" The Homs then asked K.K. Slider.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't, but that's up for Ema Skye to try and figure out," the hippie dog replied. "We shall confront her later and tell her about the rocking discovery we made, but for now, we must continue our guitar lessons!" What about the Heartless, isn't the Heartless situation (although minor at the moment) going to be resolved soon?

* * *

 **Lucas: A few days ago, Luigi took me to a boxing class at a local YMCA as a means for me to overcome my shyness. At first, I was reluctant to come, but after Luigi enticed me by taking me to the cheesecake factory afterwards, I quickly obliged. (It was just a cheap trick to get me to come, Luigi knew I loved cheesecake and he took full advantage of it...) Unfortunately the boxing class was all full by the time we arrived...so we apparently settled for a women's self-defense class instead, since Luigi thought me being THE ONLY MALE in such a class was nothing wrong. However, I did learn some valuable information from this self-defense class, like how you should yell "THAT'S MY PURSE, I DON'T KNOW YOU!" as a self-defense tactic; saw the teacher shout the phrase out in a demonstration where a robber tried to steal her purse, she even kicked the dude in the groin after she said it! Now whenever I'm threatened by someone, I'll just shout out that phrase, and kick them where it hurts...**

Lucas was chilling in the gaming room, minding his own business while sitting on a couch next to Rosalina playing his Nintendo 3DS, when Ganondorf confronted the PSI whiz, feeling some type of way. Looks like Lucas was sitting in the Demon Lord's spot, and he was about to make him angry! You wouldn't like Ganon when he's angry, for his anger is a volatile force that cannot be stopped by anyone other than Master Hand.

"Hey kid, you're sitting next to my woman, how about you scram if you know what's good for ya..." Ganondorf threatened Lucas. The "kid" is actually a teen, but let's let Lucas' cuteness mislead Ganondorf. It won't stop the PSI master from what he was about to do next.

"THAT'S MY PURSE, I DON'T KNOW YOU!" Lucas leaped from the couch and delivered a flying roundhouse kick to Ganondorf, striking him just below the belt. Ganondorf would wheeze in pain as he crippled on the floor, clutching his stomach. The pain was evidently too much for him to bear, it was one of the most painful sensations the Demon Lord has ever dealt with.

"Now Lucas, that wasn't very nice of you, apologize to Ganondorf at once!" scolded Rosalina, displeased with the actions Lucas took. This was definitely a side of Lucas she had never seen before.

"Sorry Ganondorf, I didn't mean to kick you that hard, it was only out of self-defense," Lucas apologized to the Demon Lord, who was in too much gut-wrenching pain to listen to Lucas' apology. "Hopefully it won't happen again." Lucas quietly left the gaming room, leaving Ganondorf still crippling on the floor, and as he walked out of the gaming room and into the hallway, he accidentally bumped into Takamaru, the ever-respectful samurai.

"Better watch out where you're going Lucas, you could easily hurt someone by not being cautious and well-aware of your surroundings!" Takamaru said to the teen, sporting a smile. Lucas perceived what Takamaru had said as a threat, and his smile as a facade for malice, so he did what he had to do...

"THAT'S MY PURSE, I DON'T KNOW YOU!" the PSI whiz kicked Takamaru in the crotch, claiming a second victim in the process. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, and this instance was one of them.

"Of all the people, and it had to be me..." Takamaru squeaked as he clutched the place where Lucas struck him. Lucas, now feeling guilty about himself, ran away out of the fear of being reprimanded for his actions.

 **Takamaru: *reclined on a chair* This is only...a minor setback...the pain will go away shortly...or so I hope...  
** **Wario: Hey bub, whatcha doin' on my new reclining chair?! Get off of it or else I'll call in Master Hand!  
** **Takamaru: But I can barely move my legs...  
** **Wario: Oh, so you're becoming a bit too adjusted to my chair, huh?  
** **Takamaru: Well you see, what happened was...  
** **Wario: I don't wanna hear it - stay right here while I get Master Hand, he'll take care of you!**

Lucas scurried down to the kitchen, were Mario and Cilan were present. Cilan had a bowl of frosting in his hand, and offered a spoonful of said frosting to Mario. By the looks of it, the Pokemon connoisseur was ready to start on the wedding cake.

"This is the frosting I have in mind, it's called...'Frostberry Delight'!" Cilan told Mario as the plumber sampled the frosting, The connoisseur really has a way with naming things. "So what do you think, do you like it?"

"I don't-a like it...I LOVE IT!" Mario exclaimed with much joy. Imagine how funny it would have been if Mario just said he didn't like it, and said no more. It would have greatly devastated poor Cilan. "I can already tell-a that the wedding cake-a will be a perfect ten!"

Lucas was quietly making his way over to the over part of the kitchen when he accidentally knocked down a broom conspicuously lying against a wall, which fell over to the dish rack and knocked several dishes to the floor, breaking them in the process. Mario and Cilan were both startled by the noise, and the next moment they saw Lucas standing nervously to the broken dishes, shaking in fear. The teen could have ran away to avoid suspicion, but once fear had overtaken him, there was nothing the PSI whiz could do.

"Lucas how could-a you break those dishes, do you not-a know how expensive they were?!" Mario was quick to scold Lucas, making him shiver in fear. Dude needs a spine real quick, he's too old to be acting like this. "Accident or-a not, you're gonna pay for-a the dishes you have broken!" In that very moment, the instinct within Lucas kicked in - his self-defense instinct.

"LET GO OF MY PURSE!" Lucas screamed at the top of his lungs at Mario, confusing both the plumber and Cilan. Was Lucas talking about a regular purse, or a man purse? That was the question on their minds.

"What purse are you talking about Lucas, we don't see a purse anywhere..." said Cilan, staying cautious of Lucas. "Why don't you just take a deep breath..."

"I DON'T KNOW YOU!" Lucas screamed directly at Mario, and the plumber instantly knew that Lucas was coming for _him._ So the plumber shrieked as Lucas chased him out of the kitchen, and throughout the halls. Mario would eventually find solace when he entered an elevator with King K. Rool, of all people.

"Which floor are you heading to?" the Kremling asked an exhausted Mario, who simply shrugged. "Fourth floor it is!" Rool pressed a button, and the elevator doors closed...just when Lucas was about to enter inside. Rool just did Mario a real solid there...

 **King K. Rool: The elevators frankly aren't enough, the mansion is missing something else...the mansion needs escalators! You can get to and fro from your destination without having to worry about working yourself out and passing out on the steps of a regular staircase. And if you wanna be innovative, you can do cool escalator tricks, like planking on the handrails. Those mall security bums wouldn't let me do such tricks at their mall, but I'm sure someone like Master Hand wouldn't mind...**

Once Mario and Rool arrived on the fourth floor, the elevator doors opened, and to their surprise they saw Lucas standing behind the doors, delivering a roundhouse kick to the crotch... _Rool's_ crotch. The Kremling, who only took three mere steps out of the elevator, fell to the floor in agonizing pain, and once Lucas saw that he attacked the wrong person, he ran away. He's seriously going to get himself in a heap of trouble if he keeps this shenanigans up.

"I'll have a word-a with you later Lucas!" Mario called out to the teen as he dragged a slightly incapacitated Rool back inside the elevator and pressed a button, closing the elevator doors and sending the contraption back down.

* * *

"Man, thanks a whole lot Cloud, I could always count on a guy like you!" Captain Falcon thanked the swordsman, speaking with him in the foyer while wearing a suit. So why was the racer thanking Cloud, and why was he wearing a suit? It's because he was about to go on a date with his girlfriend Nowi - adorned in a lovely pink dress - and he and Nowi wanted Cloud to watch over Nowi's daughter Nah while they were away.

"Eh, it's the least I could do, should be glad that I had nothing planned for today," replied Cloud, with Nah standing next to him. Seriously, who thought it would be a genius idea to name that poor girl Nah?

"You be a good girl now, don't do anything stupid or silly!" Nowi, who knelt down at Nah, advised her daughter. "I can't afford to have anything bad happen to you, my little precious one!" Nowi pinched Nah's cheeks, and judging by how Nah looked, she looked very annoyed.

 **Cloud: Captain Falcon finally found himself a girlfriend...and I have to say, I'm pretty happy for him. Now he's going on his first date, so a bunch of firsts for him. His girlfriend Nowi looks pretty if I do say so myself, although she looks _way_ below her actual age. I'm not digging the idea of "babysitting" her daughter while she's away; Lord knows why I have to watch over a kid who's probably close to Pit's age...**

"Shall we head to our destination, my fair lady?" Captain Falcon asked Nowi, holding out his hand. The half-Manakate lovingly took the racer's hand, and the two lovebirds would exit the mansion together, holding hands in unison. It was a sight for sore eyes for Cloud, seeing a previously downtrodden Captain Falcon now on the winning side of love.

"Alright kid, let's go over some ground rules," Cloud said to Nah after Falcon and Nowi had left. "First things first, I'm the authoritarian, so you pretty much have to listen to whatever I say." Nah looked behind her, and saw Pit and Viridi hiding at a corner, motioning Nah to come over. "Secondly, you're not allowed to intrude in Master Hand's room, for his room is...hey kid, where are you going?" Cloud saw that Nah had left him, leaving him alone in the foyer. The swordsman went to go look for the half-Manakete, and he would find her in Pit's room, where Pit was sharing some malasadas (the Hawaiian treat Hau helped him and Sonic make) with her, Viridi, and Kirby. Pit apparently had done some cooking in the kitchen since Hau visited the mansion.

"Lady Palutena offered to assist me in making the malasalads," stated Pit. Now it all makes sense - doesn't excuse Pit for pronouncing malasadas yet again. "I'm more than welcome to give you the recipe to make them, if you like..."

"That would be absolutely lovely, I could always learn a thing or do while I'm here," responded Hah as she happily ate the malasadas. Cloud watched the foursome from Pit's doorway as Aerith approached her man, smiling gently.

"I've heard that you're on 'babysitting duty'," the flower girl said to Cloud. "Hard to believe you took up the offer." It's not like Cloud had any other choice, Captain Falcon was the happiest he's ever been and Cloud didn't want to let the man down, lest it would damper his spirits.

"Someone had to step up, and that someone had to be me. Apparently it doesn't seem like Nowi trusts her daughter enough to remain on her own, it looks like she's having a great time with Pit and the others. Must have befriended them last week, did you see them bonding or anything?"

"I do recall Nah speaking with some of the younger brawlers after we returned from Luigi's house following the feast, she got along with them pretty well. I got to speak with her that evening, and she was quite serious in her tone and behavior...same can't possibly be said for her mother, though."

"Nowi is a work in progress, I'm certain." Anyone who is over a thousand years old and acts childish like Nowi is _not_ a work in progress by any means. "Well I have to watch over Nowi, since I'm apparently slacking off on my babysitting job as it looks like..."

 **Aerith: Haven't seen a single Heartless during the entire week of Thanksgiving. Maybe they decided to take a couple of days off? Sure hope they'd continue to do just that...**

"I bet you wouldn't mind if I joined you, I have nothing to do today except for tending to the flowers in the gardens," Aerith said to Cloud. This would be great for some bonding time. "Besides, we can just spend some time together while Nah bonds with the others..."

"Do you guys want some malasalads, they're quite tasty!" Pit called out to Cloud and Aerith, offering some malasadas. How long will it be until the dude pronounce the Hawaiian cuisine correctly?

"Pit's right, they're one of the best things ever invented!" added Viridi. Bit of a stretch there... "When you eat these things, it's like you're in a completely different realm...it takes you on a journey of deliciousness!"

"Well you're more than welcome to come in, the others certainly wouldn't mind," Cloud responded, and so he and Aerith entered Pit's room to try out the malasadas.

* * *

Fox, Falco, and Ema Skye were huddled together near the mansion's lake, with a Crabrawler, an Alolan fighting-type Pokemon. (Judging by its name, you would assume it was a water-type Pokemon instead.) Several aquatic Heartless - giant anglerfish-like creatures called Aquatanks - were fired out from the lake, and landed on the ground, splashing about.

"Now Crabrawler, use Crabhammer on the Heartless you see before you!" commanded Fox, and the boxing Pokemon did as he was told, using the water-type move on the Aquatanks and defeating them in the process. Fox and company watched as hearts appeared from the Heartless after they were defeated and rose up into the air, before disappearing in thin air.

"I believe that's all of the Heartless," Mega Man appeared out of the water, hovering on the water's surface inside his Rush Marine. The robot drove the submarine contraption to the lake surface and got out, as Rush reverted to his normal form. "Rush heard some strange noises coming from the lake, and I was able to discern the Heartless through the water, since they had the Heartless symbol. Glad you guys could take care of the Heartless for me!"

"Eh, it was the least we could do," shrugged Falco. Just then, Link and Zelda showed up, with the former playing his guitar. "What in the world...do I even need to ask?"

"Sorry we were so late, Link apparently wanted me to show me some guitar skills he learned during K.K. Slider's guitar lesson," stated Zelda, as Link continue to play. Unlike Dunban, the Hylian's guitar playing wasn't so shabby. "It was only the first lesson, yet it appears Link progressed the most out of his contemporaries..."

 **Meta Knight: Our first guitar lesson with K.K. Slider...was an absolute disgrace! When are we going to learn the complex forms of guitar playing? I want to play mariachi music for crying out loud, not playing stupid chords or know the parts of a guitar! That's irrelevant, what is relevant is that I learn how to play music fitting to my culture! Now K.K. said that whoever can give him a great guitar solo will be allowed to participate in a second guitar lesson...might as well work on my guitar solo while I have the time.**

"You guys didn't really miss much, we just took out some aquatic Heartless with the help of Mega Man and this Crabrawler," said Ema, as the Crabrawler put up its dukes to the forensics expert, wanting to fight her for some odd reason. Ema kindly pushed the boxing Pokemon away. "This is the first time I've seen this type of Heartless, makes me wonder if there's Heartless that are capable of flying..."

"There you are Link, I've been looking all over for you!" Dunban appeared, wielding his guitar, and Link instantly feared for the worst. "So I've been working on my guitar-playing skills, and since you guys are all here, Link won't have to be my only spectator...so here we go!" Dunban played the guitar, and his guitar playing was just as bad as it was during the guitar lessons, if not _worse._ Everyone covered their ears, with Rush lying on the ground with his paws over his head and Crabrawler scurrying to the lake to avoid the dreadful sound. "So what do you think, was that one of the best guitar solos you've heard in a long time?" Dunban would ask everyone after he was (thankfully) done playing.

"...uh, yeah, most definitely, great job!" commended Link, only saying this if it would make Dunban content with his guitar skills. "Huge improvement from when I heard you the first time! K.K. Slider would be immensely proud of you!"

"You're right Link, and you know what, I'll take your word for it...I'll give the same guitar solo to K.K. Slider at once! First I must find him..." Dunban departed, and Link nervously smiled as the others glared at him. The Hylian has no idea of the damage he's about to cause...

* * *

"I'm telling you Heihachi, you can't sleep on The 1975, they're one of the best modern bands out there," Lucario discussed with Heihachi Mishima as the two fighters strolled through the hallways. "They have that infectious 80s pop feel, and you can feel it in some of their more synthpop-style songs."

"Idaina bando no yō ni kikoeru, watashi wa itsu demo sorera o chekku auto shimasu!" Heihachi said, before stopping in his tracks when he saw Lucas walking with Ness. Lucario would come to a sudden stop as well. "Sore wa karedesu, soreha seishoku oni no kikkādesu!" Heihachi pointed at Lucas, and he and Ness were both confused.

"Let's scram before he can attack either one of us!" Lucario said as he and Heihachi ran away from Lucas, not wanting to deal with Lucas again for the rest of the day. It has now gotten to the point where every male resident is fearful of Lucas, everyone except for Ness, who has no idea what's going on.

 **Lucario: This is all Luigi's fault, ever since he took Lucas to that boxing class at the YMCA, Lucas has been going around threatening to kick dudes in the crotch! The class seems shady, why would they teach students how to kick others in the groin?**

 **Heihachi Mishima: Watashi wa watashi ga tatakatta tatakai no ōku de mata ni kera rete kita, soshite watashi wa anata ni iu koto ga dekimasu, sore wa kore made no saiaku no mono no hitotsudesu! Watashi no saiaku no teki ni mo sore o nozonde inaidarou!**

"Wonder what that was all about," Ness told Lucas, who shrugged as the two best friends continued down the hallway. Lucina and Robin were approaching the two, and Robin's foot was still sore after Ryu inadvertently punched the punching bag through his room.

"You're walking awfully better than you were when I first diagnosed your foot," said Lucina. Robin was indeed walking better, though he wasn't at one hundred percent just yet. He'll get there soon. "My Eastern medicine techniques must have done the trick, huh?"

"Yes, I will admit that acupuncture is a very effective method, although I had thought otherwise - thanks for proving me right, Lucina," responded Robin. The moment the mage saw Lucas walking towards him, he shrieked and hid behind Lucina.

"What's the matter Robin, you're scared of two tiny little teenagers?" Dang, Lucina just called Ness and Lucas tiny...you can bet the two didn't take that lightly. "Scared of their baseball bats or something? Never seen you this frightened before..."

"It's Lucas, he's the one I'm afraid of..." Robin whispered to Lucina in her ear. "I saw him kick Ganondorf in the nether regions in the gaming room, and I heard him do the same to Takamaru in the hallway..."

"Obviously we can't allow Lucas' little reign of terror to go on any further, so why don't we have Master Hand deal with the situation?" Lucina whispered to Robin, and the mage agreed as he nodded his head. "Oh Lucas, would you mind coming Robin and I, hopefully it won't take that long!" Lucas took a few steps forward, and nervously looked behind him at Ness, who motioned his best friend to move forward.

"I'll be outside in the backyard waiting for ya," the baseball-cap wearing teen reassured Lucas, and Lucas would then follow Lucina and Robin to Master Hand's room. It was now make it or break it time for him.

* * *

Speaking of the backyard, Sonic, Tails, and Ryu were at this very location, where Sonic was teaching Tails how to be a good pet owner. He was grooming Shaymin with a hair brush, and Tails was doing the same with Suzie, the Alolan Vulpix.

 **Sonic: Not fair, how come Tails was able to come up with a name for his pet Pokemon, and I'm still trying to figure out a name for Shaymin? And don't even give me that "Well you can't give Mythical Pokemon nicknames, it doesn't really work" crap, if people are allowed to give legendary Pokemon nicknames in the _Pokemon_ games, then so can I! This is a two-way street, everyone should have their fair share...dang it, now I'm sounding like a socialist!**

"You are making steady progress with your Vulpix Tails, just remember to be gentle and everything will go smoothly!" Ryu said to the yellow fox. He was serving as Tails' de facto trainer, making sure that he was doing everything Sonic was doing correctly.

"Brought some Pokemon food for your darling Pokemon!" Palutena called out to Sonic and Tails, wielding a tray with two bowls of Pokemon food on it. There was also a plate of poffins, which look like buns, contrary to what the name implies. "I had worked extra hard to prepare the food, I know your pets will like them!"

"Thanks a bunch Lady Palutena, this is just what we needed," Tails thanked the goddess of nature as she placed the tray on the ground - though her action would be briefly interrupted when an awful guitar sound was heard. Palutena and company looked towards Meta Knight, who was sitting on the fence practicing his guitar playing.

"Woah Meta Knight, you're learning how to play the guitar, that's so rad man!" exclaimed Sonic, much to Meta Knight's chagrin. He didn't want ANY of the hedgehog's crap, for it would only lead to trouble, trouble, and even more trouble. "Knuckles is about to record another song, and he wanted someone to play the guitar in the background and..."

"I do not care for Knuckles' song, or even his rap career in general!" retorted Meta Knight. "Besides, I just started learning how to play the guitar today, so hold your horses!" Meta Knight continued practicing his guitar playing, albeit poorly - though it wasn't as poor as how Dunban played the instrument.

"Meta Knight's guitar skills are pathetic, any worse and he could easily make a grown man cry!" Ryu scathingly critiqued the Star Warrior's musical ability. "Maybe if we have the Shaymin and the Vulpix dance to Meta Knight's guitar playing, it would make him play much better!"

"Good thinking Ryu, let's try it out!" said Sonic as he and Tails brought Shaymin and Suzie over to Meta Knight, leaving Palutena distraught. "Can't hurt to try!"

"But what about the food I made for the Pokemon...?" asked Palutena, not wanting the food to go to waste. Ryu was there to save the day, as he grabbed the Pokemon food and the poppins and ate them like a madman...before throwing up behind a nearby bush. "Common sense should have told you not to consume standard Pokemon food...though I do appreciate you not wanting the food I prepared to go to waste!"

"Why must you two insist on bothering me?" a loathsome Meta Knight asked Sonic and Tails, who were with their pets. "Ah, no matter, I'll just continue practicing and pretend you two aren't there..." So Meta Knight played his guitar, and something inside Shaymin propelled her to dance. The gratitude Pokemon started dancing, and Suzie would dance with her, and Meta Knight, seeing this dancing unfold, felt somewhat enlightened, and he began to play the guitar much, much better than before. He hasn't reached Blake Shelton's level yet, but he was certainly getting there!

 **K.K. Slider: About the cool cats taking my guitar lessons...I'm giving them one opportunity to participate in the next guitar lesson, and all they have to do is give me one rocking guitar solo great enough to impress me! Unless they show any improvement in their guitar skills, no more lessons for them!**

"The Pokemon dancing, and the joy they're exuberating...it's somehow making my playing better!" Meta Knight exclaimed, and soon he was strumming away on the guitar like a pro. "Now I can finally deliver K.K. Slider a guitar solo he can be proud of! Thanks a whole bunch, Sonic and Tails!"

"Wait, why do you have to give K.K. a guitar solo right away, can't you just wait until a later time?" asked Tails. Meta Knight typically hates when others intrude upon his business, but for now, he'll just answer Tails' question.

"K.K. Slider told me, Link, Pac-Man, Alph, and Dunban that we must give him a guitar solo before midnight, as a means of evaluation. He says he doesn't want us to practice the guitar over the span of one week, and show up next Friday and finding out you can no longer have guitar lessons with him!" Sonic and Tails inquiringly looked at one another, not even they understood this. "Yes, I understand it may make no sense, but K.K. Slider apparently has some high standards..."

* * *

"Alright, King-a K. Rool, you're all set-a to go!" Dr. Mario said to the Kremling after diagnosing him in his doctor's office. After running several tests, Rool was revealed to be in no way injured from the kick Lucas had delivered to his groin.

"Thanks Dr. Mario, I can always count on a guy like you!" Rool replied, leaping off the patient bed. "Man, it feels great to stand up straight again!" The Kremling walked about for a few seconds before exiting the doctor's office, just when Villager came in with a splinter on his spoon hand.

"I got this splinter while trying to catch a bug, I was very tenacious - and reckless - chasing after it," the young lad explained to Dr. Mario. The splinter itself was pretty big, and had a giant rash around the surrounding area. "I don't trust myself pulling the splinter out..." You can't blame Villager - it would only take a trained specialist like Dr. Mario to solve this problem.

"No-a worries Villager, I'll take the splinter out-a in a jiffy!" Dr. Mario kindly sat Villager on the patient bed, and then went to fetch some ointment nearby. Ike entered the doctor's office, needing to tell Dr. Mario some nigh important information.

"Yo, Dr. Mario, we seriously gotta do something about Lucas, the dude just kicked Wolf in the jewels for no reason and he needs to be stopped," the swordsman said w with much concern, being one of the many folks concerned with how Lucas was acting today. "We can't let him do this any longer!"

 **Ike: After hearing what had happened to Ganondorf earlier, I started wearing a cup, to fend myself from Lucas. I even had him try it out - I asked him if he wanted to fight me, and then he said his stupid little catchphrase, and then he kicked me below the belt...and I didn't even feel a single thing! Now he thinks I'm Superman or something... *smirks while folding his arms***

"I was hoping some-a one would come to-a me about the issue," said Dr. Mario, right when he found the ointment he needed. "Go give-a the full diagnosis to Luigi, and-a see what he can-a do!" What better way to solve a problem than going to the person that allowed the problem to exist in the first place?

"Good thinking Dr. Mario, I'll might as well bring Lucas along, just so Luigi could speak with him," Ike said as he departed.

* * *

"And so there I was, in the arcade room, simply minding my own business, when I kicked that twerp to the floor by accident," Zero was in Master Hand's room, telling a story to the giant hand. "He angrily got up and confronted me - it was the angriest I've ever seen him, mind you - and he told me..."

"Master Hand, may we speak with you for a quick minute?" Lucina entered the room, with Robin and Lucas at her side. Zero panicked the moment he saw Lucas. "It has much to do with Lucas here."

"THERE HE IS, THAT'S HIM, THAT'S THE GUY THAT TRIED TO KICK ME EARLIER!" Zero accusingly pointed at Lucas, making the teen feel guilty. "Catch ya later, Master Hand, I gotta get away from that serial kicker!" Zero exited the room, glaring at Lucas as he made his exit. Just imagine how Zero would have been if Lucas followed through with his attack.

"Zero explained to me earlier that Wolf had suffered an injury below the belt at the hands of Lucas," said Master Hand, using his majestic powers to close the door behind Lucina and company. When you're the creator of the Smash universe, you can do whatever the heck you want, no limits whatsoever. (You may have already learned that during Master Hand's house arrest.) "Can someone confirm if this is true?"

"It's indeed true; to my knowledge, Lucas has done it to Ganondorf, Takamaru, and Rool," confirmed Robin, as Lucas held his head in shame. The teen was just using some self-defense measures, what's so wrong with that?

"Very well then - Lucas you have the floor, why don't you tell us about your encounter with Wolf. Better yet, why don't you tell us why you're even kicking others in the crotch lately?" This is the most important question at the moment, for Master Hand, Lucina, and Robin have no idea about the origins of Lucas' behavior.

 **Ness: Lucas oughta hurry to the backyard soon, hope he didn't get grounded or anything...won't be baseball practice without hitting your best friend with a mere love tap from a baseball by accident and watching him cry about it like a baby. Hehe...**

"It all began when Luigi took me to a YMCA class in an effort for me to be less reserved and more extroverted; he saw how I was acting at his Thanksgiving feast last week, and he wanted to change it," explained Lucas. "The original plan was to enroll in a boxing class, but it was full, so Luigi opted to put me in a self-defense class with only women instead." And that's where the whole problem belied, Luigi inserting Lucas in a self-defense class _for women._ Poor decision-making on the plumber's part. "In this class there was a demonstration, with this guy in a ski mask and the teacher, where the guy took the teacher's purse and the teacher yelled, 'THAT'S MY PURSE, I DON'T KNOW YOU!' and kicked the guy in the gonads, sending him to the floor in pain. That's where I got the whole self-defense thing from."

"Good, now explain to us why you used this self-defense mechanism on Wolf, was he bothering you in any way?"

"He kinda was - I had taken the last of the mooncakes from the kitchen, and Wolf angrily confronted me in the hallway, telling me how he was going to be the person that would have the last mooncake. I knew he was going to harm me, so I looked at him dead in the eye and defiantly pointed at him, saying, 'WOLF O'DONNELL, LET GO OF MY PURSE!'" Lucina looked on in confusion, while Robin chuckled, putting his arm around his mouth to stifle his laughter. "Wolf then looked around, all confused, and I added, 'I DON'T KNOW YOU!' That's when I kicked him in the groin, and he fell to the floor instantly! Don't think he'll ever bother me again!"

"So because Wolf had your imaginary purse in his possession, and because you had no idea who Wolf was, despite living with him in this mansion for who knows how long, you felt like you had a moral obligation to kick him where it hurts."

"Yeah, and I kicked him really, really hard, like this!" Lucas would demonstrated as he savagely kicked Robin in the crotch. The mage's eyes bulged out after Lucas had kicked him, but a moment later, he eventually played it off. "Oh no, Robin, I'm so sorry, I didn't really mean to..."

"No, no, Lucas, it's alright, I'm just fine," Lucina reassured the PSI whiz, kneeling down at his side so he could look at the teen face to face. "No need to feel sorry." The mage gave Lucas a reassuring hug, as Lucina looked on smirking, contemplating whether or not Robin was really fine or he was masking the pain. The princess was slightly leaning towards the latter.

"There you are Lucas, I've been looking all over for ya!" Ike arrived at Master Hand's room. Robin slowly stood up, albeit struggling mightily. "Master Hand, do you mind if I bring Lucas over to Luigi and discuss the whole situation? Lucas' erratic behavior was mostly Luigi's fault, in a way..."

 **Master Hand: Lucas kicking others below the belt may sound funny when you think about it...but sounds wrong on so, so many levels. It could hurt the morale in the mansion, turn everyone against one another. Nobody trusts anyone anymore! Heck, the residents don't even trust me, you think I'm fine with that?**

"I was about to have Lucina and Robin do the same exact thing," replied Master Hand. After what Lucas had did to him, Robin may not be up for the task. "Since you suggested it first, I'll let you take Lucas over to Luigi's residence. Don't even bother returning to the mansion until the entire issue is solved!"

"It will all be resolved soon, just you wait and see!" Ike gave Master Hand a reassuring thumbs up, as Robin kindly pushed Lucas forward to Ike. "Why don't the two of us pay Luigi a little visit?" Ike grabbed Lucas' hand, and walked him out of the room. Robin got down on one knee and clutched his stomach with his hand.

"Want me to be your escort?" Lucina asked the mage, who was coping with the pain. Robin almost felt like on the verge of vomiting. "I mean, I _was_ kind of escorting you earlier, what with your foot and all..."

"That would be very kind of you," Robin replied as Lucina offered to help the mage up. "Just don't tell Chrom about what happened, he would laugh at me to no end..."

* * *

Speaking of whom, Chrom was in the lounge, reading the latest edition of _Swordsman Weekly,_ while Bayonetta was sitting on the same couch as the prince, reading a beauty magazine. Dunban entered the lounge, and once Chrom and Bayonetta saw that the Homs was wielding a guitar, they instantly feared for the worst.

"Salutations, friends, I would greatly appreciate it if I have your uninvited attention please," said Dunban; Chrom and Bayonetta had no other choice but to put their magazines down and give Dunban their full attention. "I've been working on a guitar solo, and I must perform the solo to K.K. Slider in order for him to bring me back for a second guitar lesson." The question on Chrom's and Bayonetta's minds wasn't why Dunban wanted to give them a guitar solo - rather, they wanted to know what possibly convinced the Homs to learn how to play a guitar in the first place.

"Don't mind if I ask this Dunban, but how long have you been working on this guitar solo?" inquired Chrom. The amount of time Dunban put into his guitar solo will determine how well or poor the solo will turn out to be.

"Eh, I'll say...ten minutes." Ten minutes? Just ten minutes?! With how Dunban sounded earlier, he should have dedicated way more time to his craft! Gotta blame Link for giving him false hope. "Every second of practice counts!"

 **Zelda: So Link, do you even feel bad for lying to Dunban and telling him "great job" after that horrendous solo he played for us with his guitar?  
** **Link: In some ways I do, but this could be a blessing in disguise for everyone involved! K.K. Slider will tell Dunban he can no longer learn how to play the guitar, and Dunban will learn a new instrument to play - something he could greatly excel at, like the triangle. *Zelda rolls her eyes* As for me, K.K., Pac-Man, and Alph, we don't have to put up with Dunban playing the guitar anymore! It's a win-win all around!**

"Well we're ready when you are, we're all ears," said Bayonetta, just when a bunch of Neoshadows popped up out of the shadows. Chrom immediately noticed this, but Bayonetta and Dunban didn't.

"Alright then, here goes nothing!" Dunban played his guitar solo, emitting a sound so cringeworthy it would make your face rot. It was so cringeworthy, that the Neoshadows, who are preparing to attack Dunban and company, were stopped in their tracks when they heard the dreadful sound of Dunban's guitar solo, if you even want to consider it a guitar solo, and were seemingly defeated due to the terrible sound. "So what do you guys think?" Dunban would ask this after his solo was (thankfully) over and the Heartless were defeated.

"Your solo may not have been the best guitar solo, but I'm positive K.K. Slider will see it through and give you another chance," Bayonetta kindly offered her two cents, right before Chrom could commend Dunban for unknowingly defeating the Heartless. The Umbra Witch had to tell Dunban how she felt without having to hurt his feelings. Link should have learned to do the same thing.

"Thank you for the feedback Bayonetta, much appreciated!" thanked Dunban. "Looks like Chrom was too speechless to give his take!" Chrom wasn't speechless because of that reason, he was speechless because Dunban single-handedly took out a horde of Neoshadows with his awful guitar playing. "Now I must deliver the guitar solo to K.K. Slider, and knock his shoes off...figuratively speaking, of course." Dunban left the lounge, and Chrom didn't speak up until the Homs had left.

"He's in for a rather rude awakening..." Chrom shook his head at Dunban in dismay. "...but did you see how the Heartless went away after hearing Dunban play the guitar? You think there are multiple ways for the Heartless? This would be a great theory to present to Ema Skye!"

"Hold your horses, Prince of Yliesse, I don't think subpar music is one of the Heartless' weaknesses," replied a slightly skeptical Bayonetta. "I detect some foul play in the matter, it must be a device doing all the work..." Who's running this particular device anyways?

* * *

Ike and Lucas were at the front door of Luigi's home, and Ike knocked on the door. A moment later, Yuffie answered the door. If you recall from the previous episode, Yuffie agreed to stay with Luigi and Daisy for the long run, a decision that was deemed unpopular in the eyes of Bowser.

 **Yuffie: Bowser had a lot of nerve for putting me down as a stupid idiot on his stupid "List of Bowser". Funny thing is, after his precious list was broken, Bowser held a makeshift funeral to celebrate the "loss" of the list; he had the Duck Hunt Dog bury the remains of the list, and forced his children to wear all black, like they were attending an actual funeral or something. He said that with the list now behind him, he'll work on giving everyone "the gift of Bowser" for Christmas this year...and I'm expecting a huge prank of epic proportions.**

"Hi Yuffie, nice to see ya," Ike greeted the ninja girl. "Is Luigi home? Lucas here apparently learned a rather...violent cue at the YMCA Luigi took him to, and he's been causing all sorts of ruckus at the mansion."

"Did-a someone call my name?" Luigi asked, running out of the bathroom, and saw Ike and Lucas standing at the front door. "Ah, Ike, Lucas, come on-a in and have a seat!" Ike and Lucas entered the home, taking a seat in the living room. "So what-a brings you boys here?" Ike told the green plumber the entire story involving Lucas kicking others, and the story greatly alarmed Luigi. "Oh-a my goodness, I had no-a idea! This truly is-a my fault, the boxing class-a was full, and I should have known-a better to put-a Lucas in the self-a defense class, especially with all those-a women in there, thought they could have-a toughened him up...I know just the thing-a that will solve the problem, I'll give-a Lucas a boxing class of-a my own!" Luigi headed over to the staircase to call out to his wife, Daisy. "Daisy, could you call-a the mansion's house phone and-a tell Cilan to come over here?"

So Daisy called Cilan over, and the princess and the Pokemon connoisseur were with Luigi, Ike, Lucas, and Yuffie in the garage of Luigi's home. Luigi would put his green Dodge Charger in said garage, but the plumber claimed he needed the space, likely for moments like these.

"Cilan would-a you mind summoning one-a of your Pokemon to partake in this-a boxing training?" Luigi asked of the connoisseur. The plumber would be the instructor, telling Lucas what to do. Lucas had boxing gloves on, and also had timidity taking over his body.

"Sure can do Luigi - Simisage, I choose you!" Cilan threw out a Poke ball and sent forth Simisage, the thorn monkey Pokemon. Simisage wasn't a fighting-type Pokemon, but he could get the job done. "Put these on Simisage, these are boxing mitts. The mustached plumber over there named Luigi will tell you what to do, if necessary." Cilan handed his Pokemon boxing mitts, and the thorn monkey put them on.

"Honey, are you sure this is a good idea?" asked Daisy. "What if Lucas doesn't do very well, and he gets angry and unleashes his anger upon us?" You know what Lucas would resort to if that were to happen.

"I was the one who-a started this mess, so I'll-a be the one to end it!" Luigi responded firmly, taking full blame for Lucas' actions.

 **Daisy: I actually heard about what Lucas was doing to others at the mansion via phone; Peach had called me and told me what was going on. At first, I was impressed with Lucas, impressed with the fact that he was being more courageous and sticking up for himself...and then Peach told me about his little "self-defense" method. I just knew Luigi would somehow corrupt that boy...**

"Now Lucas, just punch-a into those boxing mitts, try and hit-a them ten times if you can!" ordered Luigi, confident that Lucas would pass the trial. Simisage held up the boxing mitts, and Lucas attempted to punch them, although he whiffed at literally every single attempt.

"C'mon Lucas you can do it man, give it your best shot!" Ike rooted for the PSI whiz, despite the misses racking up. All seemed hopeless for Lucas at this point. "Keep your eyes on the prize, don't let down!"

Once Lucas missed the boxing mitt for the nth time, he HAD it. He was so ticked, that he had no other choice but to resort to his infamous self-defense maneuver. Of course he couldn't use it on the Simisage, since he was a Pokemon, so instead he decided to use it upon the instructor... _Luigi._

"Lucas why-a are you looking at-a me like that..." Luigi slowly backed away from Lucas, who was breathing heavily while glaring down the plumber. The PSI whiz had reached peak frustration, and Luigi was the unfortunate candidate for Lucas to unleash his frustration upon. "Aren't you supposed-a to continue punching the boxing mitts?"

"THAT'S MY PURSE, I DON'T KNOW YOU!" Lucas screamed at Luigi, making the plumber shriek as he ran out of the garage and into his home. Lucas went Super Saiyan as he chased after the plumber, hot on his heels.

"On a somewhat positive note, at least we get to see a different side of Lucas we've never seen before," remarked Daisy, as the others nodded their heads in agreement.

* * *

Before he could actually give his guitar solo to K.K. Slider, Dunban wanted to give said solo to one more group for any additional feedback- and would possibly be better than Cloud and Aerith? Yes, the Homs was torturing the lovebirds with his guitar playing in Pit's room, and Pit, Viridi, Kirby, and Nah had no other choice but to suffer as well.

"Bayonetta said the solo is ready for K.K. Slider to hear, and I heartily agree!" gleamed Dunban. No point for Cloud and company to refute that, for the damage has already been dealt. "So what do you guys think?" Not a single soul opened their mouth. "What, nothing? Speak now or forever hold your piece...okay then. Now if you excuse me, I have a guitar solo to deliver...either I impress K.K., or no more guitar lessons for me!" As Dunban was about to make his exit, Cloud saw a few malasadas left on a plate, and conjured a plan in his head - a plan that would save Dunban AND K.K. Slider's ears.

 **Cloud: Captain Falcon and Nowi are likely to return from their date soon...thank goodness. Not that I don't mind watching over Nah, it's just that it's boring having nothing to do other than looking over someone's else kid. Sure, Aerith is there, but she can only do so much.**

"Hey Dunban, before you can play your solo to K.K. Slider, why don't you give him these malasadas, as a token of appreciation?" Cloud quickly grabbed the plate of malasadas and handed them to Dunban. "These malasadas, they take you to a completely different realm, it's like...a journey of deliciousness. Isn't that right, Viridi?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth!" replied Viridi. "Dunban, you HAVE to make sure K.K. tries out the malasadas if he hasn't already, he'll love them!"

"I'll take your word for it and give the malasadas to K.K. Slider, as a way to thank him for giving me and the others a guitar lesson," said Dunban. "However, I can't carry the plate, since you know, I no longer have feeling in my left arm, so Cloud, would you mind following me to K.K. with the malasadas?"

"Aerith, can you watch over Nah and make sure Pit doesn't do anything that annoys or upsets her?" Cloud asked Aerith; the flower girl nodded her head with a smile while Pit grumpily folded his arms. Yet Cloud said Aerith "can only do so much"...

* * *

Meta Knight was now putting the finishing touches on his guitar solo, while at a picnic with Sonic, Tails, Palutena, Ryu, Shaymin, and Suzie. And yes, Palutena made the food; do you honestly trust _any_ of the males preparing the picnic?

"Hmm, it seems as if the presence of the Pokemon is what's making my guitar playing grand!" exclaimed Meta Knight. "The happiness and joy they show, it must have a positive correlation on my playing ability!"

"They don't call my Shaymin the gratitude Pokemon for nothing!" grinned Sonic, seemingly bragging. No matter what, the hedgehog has to take in most of the credit whenever possible. "Must be her undying gratitude that's making you play better!" Tails, holding Suzie in his arms, glared at Sonic, wondering if Suzie also deserved any credit. "...Tails' pet Vulpix may also be a secondary reason, she's just as helpful..."

The picnic would soon be interrupted when a horde of Neoshadows appeared and gathered around Meta Knight and company. Shaymin and Suzie were scared, both Pokemon huddled close to their respective pet owners.

"Great, just what we needed, a bunch of Heartless wanting to steal our hearts!" grunted Ryu as he got up. "You folks stay here, I'll take care of business!" Ryu's not going to fight by himself, is he? Is he underestimating the power of the Heartless?

 **Ryu: In wake of the Heartless infiltrating the mansion, I've been working hard on my fighting craft, in the event a hostile Heartless takeover were to happen anytime soon! My apocalypse training is arguably more reasonable than Corrin, who I had seen slaying cardboard aliens in his room; after watching the film _Mars Attack_ yesterday, that fool is now practically convinced that an alien invasion (he has been crazy about extraterrestrials, in case you haven't noticed) will transpire one day, and that Natalie Portman of all people would somehow wind up as president of the United States after much of civilization has been wiped out! Corrin's thought process is scarier than seeing Chun-li in her angry mood... *shudders***

"GET BACK HERE LUIGI, I DON'T KNOW YOU!"

That cry belonged to none other than Lucas, who now chased Luigi out of his own home. The plumber ran towards Meta Knight and company, screaming at the top of his lungs, as he ran past each individual Neoshadow. Lucas would wildly kick with his foot, believing he was so close to Luigi, but instead he would strike the Neoshadows, defeating them in the process. By the time Lucas chased Luigi towards the mansion, the Heartless were all dispatched.

"I should probably perform my solo for K.K. Slider before any distractions arise," suggested Meta Knight as he departed from the others, guitar in hand.

* * *

"You know, we could have made it to your room already had you not stopped for a bathroom break," Lucina said to Robin, the person he was escorting. Robin was still reeling was the pain after Lucas accidentally kicked him where the sun doesn't shine, and he was experiencing from symptoms such as a weak stomach legs that felt like gelatin. Heck, just simply walking was almost a bit of a struggle for him.

"Like I would walk down the hallways with a full bladder, you must be out of your mind..." retorted Robin. "I really feel like throwing up right now..." Robin had said this and other similar sayings for the past few minutes - at least he's being original instead of repeating the same thing over and over again.

"Help-a me!" Just then, Luigi ran up to Lucina and Robin, coming to a stop after running out of breath. "Lucas is chasing me-a down, and I did-a nothing wrong! I just wanted-a to give him the boxing lesson he-a was supposed to have, and now..."

"LUIGI, LET GO OF MY PURSE!" Lucas soon arrived, standing at the end of the hallway while pointing at Luigi. After a running start, the PSI whiz came running towards Luigi, who shrieked as he hid behind Lucina and Robin, as Lucas kicked someone in the crotch.

And it definitely wasn't Luigi...or Robin, for that matter.

* * *

"Jig, Jigglypuff..." Jigglypuff sang as she and K.K. Slider were practicing in an empty room, where Bowser Jr. was playing his Nintendo 3DS. Jigglypuff's singing wasn't strong enough to put the young koopa to sleep.

 **Jigglypuff: Jiggly jiggly Jigglypuff! *curiously draws a smiley face on camera lens***

"Can you two please keep the noise level down, I'm trying to catch a Rattata, and I need all the concentration I can get!" Bowser Jr. barked at K.K. and Jigglypuff. Why would he need concentration, it's a stinking Rattata for crying out loud!

"Salutations K.K. Slider, don't mean to disturb your practice or rehearsal or whatever you wish to call it," Dunban entered the room, with Cloud behind him with the plate of malasadas. "I have been working on my guitar solo just like you asked, and I feel it's great enough to warrant me a second guitar lesson!"

"But first, some malasadas, a Hawaiian speciality," Cloud offered the confections to K.K. Slider, Jigglypuff, and even Bowser Jr. (you'll eventually see why he got one) before having a malasada for himself. "You ready Dunban?"

"I was born ready, here goes nothing!" So Dunban played his guitar solo, and right before the solo started, K.K. Slider and the others took a bite out of the malasadas, and suddenly they were stuck in a trance. It was like they were in their world, and they had to keep on eating the confection in order to stay in that world. Viridi had said earlier that the malasadas take you to "a completely different realm...on a journey of deliciousness" ...and the confections had certainly lived up to the billing. Coincidentally K.K. Slider and company were done eating by the time Dunban's guitar solo commenced, meaning that they didn't hear a single thing due to their trance - just as Cloud had expected. "So what do you think K.K., was that one of the best guitar solos you've ever heard?!"

"To be honest with you, I hardly heard a thing...but I'll just go out on a limb and say you passed," replied K.K. Slider, greatly delighting Dunban. "See ya at the next guitar lesson!" Dunban cheered and did a fist pump as he exited the room; Cloud, smugly smiling to himself for a job well done, followed after the Homs. A while later, Meta Knight entered the room, ready to do his guitar solo. He was very confident his solo would be (obviously) better than Dunban's.

"Wait just a second, you're playing a guitar too?" Bowser Jr. looked up at Meta Knight, with some disbelief. "You don't even have any fingers!" The koopa laughed at Meta Knight, and all it took was a death glare from the Star Warrior to make Bowser Jr.'s laughing subside.

 **Bowser Jr.: So what possibly convinced Meta Knight to learn how to play a guitar, is he trying to be like one of those Mexican guys that plays a guitar in mariachi bands? Where the heck is his sombrero, he can't play a guitar without one!**

"I'm now ready to give you an excellent guitar solo, one that you should actually be proud of," Meta Knight said to K.K. Slider, throwing some slight shade at Dunban. He saw the Homs celebrating that he passed, and wondered what was up with K.K.'s hearing ability.

"Give your best shot, I'll all ears!" responded K.K. Slider, and so Meta Knight played his guitar solo - a solo that was better than Dunban's solo by tenfold and was able to keep Bowser Jr. piqued. And what did K.K. have to say once the solo was over? "Eh, I didn't really feel it, felt like it was missing something important, could be just me. Sorry Meta Knight, but I won't bring you back for a second guitar lesson."

"Y-You have to be joking, right?!" questioned Meta Knight, just as surprised as Jigglypuff and Bowser Jr. were. "I've been putting time and effort into that guitar solo, and that's all you have to say?! Please, K.K., oh please, give me another chance!"

"Oh yeah, why should I?" Soon K.K. Slider looked up, and saw Sonic, Tails, and Ryu now in the room, flanking Meta Knight. The Star Warrior has some backup!

"Hear him out, K.K. Slider, the three of us heard Meta Knight work on his guitar solo, and he had shown great improvement in his guitar playing skills since we heard him play the first time!" stated Sonic, intimidating the hippie dog with his frown.

"If you're gonna give Dunban a second chance, then you might as well give Meta Knight another chance too!" added Tails, also frowning. If Dunban gets another chance, then so does anyone else.

"...Fine then - Meta Knight, you're back on board, I'll see ya around in the cafe for the next lesson," said K.K. Slider. Sonic and Tails did a small cheer and exchanged a high five, while Ryu picked up Meta Knight and hoisted him in the air in victory.

"One day you'll be the best musician in the mansion, or perhaps in your native homeland of Dream Land!" the kung fu fighter said to the Star Warrior. Not that many musicians exist in Dream Land, so Meta Knight has virtually no competition.

"Put me down this instant, you fool..." ordered Meta Knight, and Ryu did as he was told, not wanting anything to do with Meta Knight's sword.

* * *

 **Aerith: Cloud just received a call from Captain Falcon - Falcon said that he and Nowi were heading back to the mansion soon. So I'm here in the foyer, where Nah is still under the watch of Cloud, and Link is still apparently playing that guitar of his...**

Aerith sat with Nah in the foyer with Cloud, Zelda, and Link, who was still playing his guitar. And yes, he already performed his guitar solo to K.K. Slider and passed - Alph and Pac-Man also passed, but they're not important right now.

"Those malasadas worked to absolute perfection," said Cloud, as Link continue to play. "K.K. Slider and the others didn't hear a single note from Dunban's solo as they ate them. Even better yet, K.K. assumed Dunban's solo was on point, and allowed him back for a second guitar lesson. Dunban kinda owes me a huge thank you."

"Link, I appreciate it that you're learning how to play a new instrument, but I wish you could be less...incessant with your guitar and everything," Zelda kindly said to her boyfriend, before hearing a knock on the door. "That must be Captain Falcon, I'll go answer the door." Zelda got up and answered the door, seeing Captain Falcon and Nowi holding hands.

"Greetings Zelda, and others!" Falcon greeted the princess and the others remaining in the foyer, as he and Nowi took a step inside the mansion. "Has Cloud been an excellent babysitter to Nah?" For some reason, Cloud found the title "babysitter" irksome for him.

"I didn't let you down," replied Cloud as Nah went to her mother. "She wasn't a hassle at all, it was smooth sailing." Just then, Yoshi walked by, writing random stuff *cough* fanfiction *cough* down on a piece of paper, and when he saw Captain Falcon and Nowi together, he instantly panicked.

"C-C-Captain Falcon has an actual girlfriend?!" he exclaimed. Clearly the dinosaur hasn't been paying much attention as of late, too much into his own fanfiction and devising twisted pairings it appears. "Why must this stuff happen to me?!" Yoshi ran away sobbing, giving Cloud and company a reason for them to smile.

* * *

"I simply cannot thank you boys enough for knocking some sense into K.K. Slider and make him give me another chance," Meta Knight spoke with Sonic and Tails, who were carrying their darling Pokemon in their hands. "Now I must work on my craft, so I can play authentic mariachi music as a means to stay in touch with my Latino roots, even if it means having to put up with K.K. until the bitter end!"

"Yeah man, just do you, just don't give up," responded Tails; Suzie sneezed, and the fox started the worry about the Alolan Vulpix's health. "Uh oh, looks like Suzie has the case of the sniffles! Would you guys like to come with me to Dr. Mario's office, to see if he's there?"

 **Tails: I learned a lot of things from Sonic today, a whole lot more than I typically would. He taught me how to groom Suzie, how to spend time with her, and how to scare others and make them wet their pants (won't be doing that anytime soon). More importantly, he taught me that having a pet is one of the great feelings anyone could have, as long as you cherish every moment together.**

So Sonic and Meta Knight accompanied Tails to Dr. Mario's office, where they found Wolf sitting on the floor next to the door. The mercenary was feeling better after Lucas attacked him earlier, but he was still pretty sore.

"Have you fellas encountered Lucas at all today?" Wolf asked Sonic and company, who all shook their heads. "Good, because that twerp was going about causing all sorts of mayhem today, and he got his just desserts when Master Hand grounded him for two weeks...should have grounded him until Christmas..."

"You should be glad Lucas is now kept away in his room and not causing any harm," remarked Sonic as he knocked on the door; Dr. Mario opened the door in a jiffy and was delighted to see Sonic and Tails with their Pokemon. Now would be the time for him to work some Pokemon doctor expertise.

"Ah, Sonic, Tails, I see-a that you've brought your-a Pokémon!" the doctor gleamed; Meta Knight, who was even recognized, suddenly felt neglected. The story of his life... "So what-a brings you both here?"

"It's my Alolan Vulpix, Suzie...I believe she the sniffles," explained Tails. "I want to make sure she doesn't have an underlying illness or anything."

"Thankfully Professor Kukui gave-a me some Pokémon medicine during his-a visit, the medicine could-a do the trick. Why don't you boys come on in and have a seat?"

So Tails and company followed Dr. Mario inside his office, and took a seat. In the doctor's office was Lucina, who was sitting on the patient bed with Chrom holding and caressing her hand. The princess was feeling dizzy, nauseous, and was unable to feel her legs. The Ice Climbers were also present in the office, with a giant bucket of ice. Any wild guess as to whatever happened to Lucina?

"Better be glad you're a woman, if ya know what I mean..." Chrom smirked at Lucina, who rolled her eyes at her father's somewhat pathetic attempt at generating humor out of the situation. "Also, Luigi wanted to wish you an apology, said it was mostly his fault for..."

"It was _entirely_ his fault, he was the man responsible for Lucas' actions," corrected Lucina. She felt like throwing up at any minute now. "Speaking of whom, how has Master Hand handled the whole Lucas situation?"

"He grounded Lucas for at least two weeks. Sure hope Lucas learned a lesson today, and won't harm others like he did again."

 **Ganondorf: That kick Lucas gave to me earlier? *snorts* I had felt absolutely nothing. I reacted the way I did to make it seem like I was in pain, to guilt trip Lucas just to mess with him.  
Mega Man .EXE: Ganon you left this in the bathroom. *gives Ganondorf an ice pack*  
Ganondorf: That's not mine, I don't know what you're talking about...**

"What happened to Lucina, why does she look like she's in pain and junk?" Sonic asked Dr. Mario, who came over to give Tails the medicine needed for Suzie. The doctor then whispered the reason why into Sonic's ear. "Oh...so THAT'S what Lucas had been doing the entire day. Gotta admit, that sounds awesome!" Dr. Mario exchanged questionable looks with Tails and Meta Knight. Would Sonic think it's "cool" if a similar fate were to happen to him?

"Hmm, this ice pack isn't cold enough, still feels lukewarm for some reason," Popo said after inserting ice into said ice pack and inspecting it. "Something must be wrong with this stupid thing..." Nana looked around for a solution to Popo's problem, and her eyes fell upon Suzie, who felt better after Tails gave her the medicine.

"Tails, do you mind if we borrow your Alolan Vulpix for a second?" the Eskimo asked of the fox. Is she really an Eskimo? Then again, she wears a parka at all times, even during the summer months.

"Sure thing," Tails headed over to Nana with Suzie, and Nana grabbed the ice pack from Popo. "You want the ice pack to be colder? Suzie, use your ice breath on the ice pack!" Suzie did as she was told, blowing her breath on said ice pack to make it cold. She couldn't blow real hard, for her breath was at -58 degrees Fahrenheit - enough to freeze just about anything.

"Thank you very much Tails! Here ya go!" Nana gave the ice pack to Lucina, who placed it a certain part of her body (but which body part is it?). Chrom helped his daughter off the patient bed and escorted here out of the doctor's office, with Lucina struggling to walk as Robin had earlier.

"Thank you again Dr. Mario, and Ice Climbers, for your assistance," Chrom thanked the three. "And thanks to you too Tails, I can already tell you and your Vulpix will get along just fine..." The kind of words Tails exactly wanted to hear.

* * *

Upstairs in the Star Records room, Pit was sharing a second batch of malasadas with Fox, Falco, and Ema, when Dunban had to rain on their parade and enter the room with his awful guitar playing. When will the torture ever end?

"Great news friends, K.K. Slider is allowing me to continue my guitar playing efforts, which means I might be a bona fide musician one day!" the Homs told Pit and company the "great" news, when he saw a Shadow appearing out of the shadows. He played his guitar horribly, and the Shadow was seemingly defeated in the process. "Also it appears as if my guitar playing is...causing...the Heartless...to go away..." Dunban trailed off when he saw that Ema had a remote device in her hand, and she had already pressed the button.

"Oh, you haven't seen this latest device, haven't you?" asked the forensics expert. "Samus helped me in making this - whenever I press this button, it emits a sound that only the Heartless can hear, and it's potent enough to make their brains explode and kill them. Pretty nifty, I must say. So yeah, your guitar playing is virtually ineffective regarding the Heartless."

"Heh, Dunban's guitar playing is virtually ineffective either way," joked Pit. Dunban suddenly stepped up to the angel, trying to initiate a fight, and Pit screamed as he flinched and fell back on the floor, as Dunban and company laughed at the angel. They were too busy laughing to notice a hooded figure in a black coat - a member from the Organization XIII - spying on them from afar.

"Keep on laughing, you cravens, we'll see who will have the last laugh..." the hooded figure snarled.


	51. Episode 51: Yuletide

_Author's Note:_

 _As stated in the previous author's note, the chapters of Smash Life take place on Thursdays and Fridays, which led Derrick Lindsey to ask the following:_

 _"So since chapters usually take place on Thursday or Friday I'm guessing there is no Christmas themed one unless you make one about the craziness of holiday shopping which would be a lot more entertaining especially since it would be two or three days before Christmas."_

 _The next three chapters or so will be mostly centered around Christmas, and you'll see the brawlers doing a Secret Santa thing in the beginning moment of this chapter. Here's some more of what Mr. Lindsey said in his review:_

 _"One thing I wanted to know was how did you come with this fanfic? What inspired you to make this, also I don't know why but I can picture a chapter where everyone is forced to sing by Master hand or face punishment so literally the whole chapter every sings even when they just have a casual conversation because Master hand being the **** that he is I can see him do it for ***** and giggles or just because he wants a good excuse to punish someone cause he's in a bad mood."_

 _Why inspired me to write this fanfic? That's a really great question...that won't be answered until at least the 53rd chapter, in which I will likely write a lengthy author's note. As for your idea however, it sounds pretty_ _manageable._ _Ki_ _rby123 is back, and with a non-Kirby request:_

 _"I feel like everyone in smash mansion should have their archenemies to run around cause destruction. examples: meta knight vs galacta knight etc. you do NOT have to do everyone in one chapter also do the characters you want to use."_

 _Why not have the archenemies antagonize against their rivals? Sephiroth could possibly lead a gang of Bass, Galacta Knight, and also Shadow and Blue the Pokemon Trainer (yes, I would include him). Yeah, I like the sound of that. Next up is 0300:_

 _"So...what is Lucas grounded from? Couldn't he still nether kick people? Or is he grounded from using his legs for "evasive maneuvers?" "_

 _Lucas is being grounded for "evasive maneuvers", as he's supposed to remain in his room at all times, unless he wants to face Master Hand's fury. Moving on:_

 _"Also, if you could have King Dedede make a Survivor reference? He seems to like those shows..."_

 _I honestly would have that fat greedy penguin make a Survivor reference...if I actually knew some stuff about the show. Don't want to make a reference and have it fall flat, if you know what I mean. Two more guest reviews to answer:_

 _"Can u make one of sonic and bowser being stuck together again but this time sonic has to watch bowser and punishes him when he dose wrong but in the end bowser looses it on sonic?"_

 _Eh...I would do something like that, but now...I don't know. One more guest review to answer:_

 _"So, out of curiosity, are you going to do a one year anniversary, a Christmas special, or both?"_

 _Presumably both, that's the goal. One more thing from the review:_

 _P.S.: Is Suzie also the name of the Pokemon breeder who gives Brock his Vulpix?_

 _DING DING DING DING DING! You got it correct! Bravo!_

* * *

 **Episode 51: Yuletide**

"Alright now everyone, listen up for the roll call! Ike? Here..Red? Here...Olimar? Here...Ashley? Here...Jacky Bryant? Here...Ness? Here...Toon Link? Here...Kirby? Here...Falco Lombardi? Here...Mario? Here..."

Isabelle was doing the roll as the Smash Mansion residents gathered in the meeting room for a semi-important meeting. They were about to do Secret Santa, and as a requirement, everyone was forced to partake in the Christmas tradition, whether you were a happy-go-lucky pal like Kirby who's optimistic about almost anything, or a uncaring and apathetic Samus who's on the verge of being completely done with life. Luigi, Daisy, Yuffie, Amy, and Fiora were invited to do Secret Santa, the latter two having frequented the mansion multiple times to be under consideration.

"Master Hand, what is the price range this year?" inquired Peach. A part of her wished she would draw Mario's name, although it probably won't happen. "We don't need to have Roy buy a 24K gold cellphone, like he did for Dark Pit last year!"

"It was totally worth it, in my opinion," Roy remarked while folding his arms. Dark Pit, the very recipient of the gift, nodded his head in agreement. Roy's Secret Santa gift truly made the angel's Christmas spectacular.

"To prevent similar incidents like the golden cellphone from ever transpiring again, I'll make the price range fifty bucks," stated Master Hand. Quite a generous price range for Secret Santa. "Anyone who exceeds the amount will not receive any Christmas presents this year, and will have their presents given to charity!"

 **Master Hand: Me, giving Christmas presents to charity? *laughs* Clearly you don't know me that well. I'll sell the gifts for cold hard cash, which I will then contribute to the budget for my Lamborghini Veneno, a dream car I have my eyes set on! My only other option would be to take the money out of Mario's and Peach's wedding budget, and transfer it over to my budget, but I don't wish to deteriorate the partnership between Mario and I.**

"Isabelle will now pass around the sack so you can draw names," Master Hand announced after the shih tzu was finished with the roll call. Isabelle, going around the room first went to Sonic, who sat at the front end of the meeting room. The hedgehog reached into the sack, and drew a name.

"Sweet, I pulled out Ashley's name, now that's what's up!" he exclaimed, holding up a slip of paper with Ashley's name on it while the others facepalmed. "Ashley should be one of the easiest people to buy a gift for!" The obvious objective of Secret Santa was to draw a person's name, and reveal that person's name until _everyone_ drew a name. Sonic would consistently be the only one that jumps the gun and announce who he drew, thereby causing everyone to start the whole drawing names thing over again. Sucks when Sonic announces whose name he drew, and since he would be one of the last persons, everyone had to start all over again. So Mario had to sit the hedgehog in the front to prevent such a thing from happening again.

"Every freaking Christmas you have to do this..." groaned Master Hand, needing a giant face for him to facepalm. "Sonic, put that slip of paper back in the sack and draw someone's else name, and don't even THINK about shouting out the name you drew." So Sonic placed Ashley's name back in the sack, and drew a new name, placing the slip of paper under his leg so he wouldn't be tempted to announce the name he drew.

"Has everyone drew a name?" Isabelle asked everyone after going around the room, and drawing the last name available in the sack. No one said a thing, so Chrom had to do a thumbs up. "Great, now let's see whose name we drew...Lloyd Irving?!" Isabelle was feeling pretty optimistic about Secret Santa, but now...all that undying optimism went down the toilet.

"I got Aerith, let's go!" cheered Lloyd. Aerith looked at Cloud with a rueful glance, and Cloud smiled, as if assuring the flower girl everything will be alright. "No worries Aerith, I won't let you down!" Lies, such blatant lies...

"Whose name did you draw Kirby?" Samus asked the pink puffball, and Kirby was more than elated to show the bounty the name he drew...and the name "Samus Aran" was written on his slip of paper. "Why did I bother asking you..."

 **Samus: Kirby is perhaps the most strangest gift buyer in all of existence. He buys you the most strangest things - like that one time when he bought a ginormous George Foreman grill the size of a MASTER BEDROOM for Daisy as a wedding gift - and here's the thing: we don't even know where Kirby is getting all the money to purchase such ridiculous crap! Try asking him about it, and he'll give you his unintelligible answers, along with that stupid smile of his! *pauses* Could it be that his gifts are all from Nightmare Enterprises?**

"Aw what, I got Sonic of all people?!" frowned Link, salty about his selection. In case you haven't been paying attention to Link's interactions with Sonic in past installments of _Smash Life,_ then you must not be aware of the salty relationship the Hylian has with the hedgehog. "Master Hand can I please get a do-over?"

"If you want a do-over then everyone else has to do a do-over, and we've done that in consecutive years, so no to you, good sir!" replied Master Hand, as Link grumpily folded his arms and sat back in his chair. He'll just buy Sonic a new pair of running shoes and go on with his life.

"Just for the record Link, you're NOT getting Sonic new shoes, that's way too easy," Zelda told her boyfriend. So much for that. "Why don't you challenge yourself and get Sonic something he would never expect?"

"Something like his dignity?" Link joked, only to receive a somewhat angry stare from Zelda. The Hylian looked down at the floor, pressing his thumbs together in solemn awkwardness.

* * *

Once the Secret Santa festivities were over, Lucas returned to his room, chilling out with his buddy Ness. The young teen was grounded by Master Hand for his actions in the previous episode - going about and kicking residents in the crotch, all while screaming his infamous battle cry "THAT'S MY PURSE, I DON'T KNOW YOU!", even though he had no purse and he knew just about everyone in the mansion. Lucina was the last - and only female - resident to be kicked by Lucas, and her caring father Chrom stopped by Lucas' room to check on the PSI whiz.

"So I heard that you drew Geno's name at the Secret Santa meeting," Chrom said to Lucas, taking a seat on his bed. Lucas was lying on top of his bed, thinking about life and whatnot. Just a bunch of general things. "Have you decided yet on what you're going to get him, or will you need more time?"

"Geno is a hard person to buy a gift, so it'll take me some time," responded Lucas. "Guess I would have to find Geno's gift from the comfort of my room, on a laptop or something...if I ever had a laptop in this room to begin with."

 **Sonic: Don't see why Lucas is grounded, I don't see what he did that was so wrong! Dude was just trying to defend himself from others, and he did so without acting like a scaredy cat, which he's practically known for! And the phrase he shouted before attacking someone..."That's my purse, I don't know you"...such creativity cannot be overlooked. Ranks up there among the greatest lines ever uttered, along with, "Mikhail Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"**

"I'm sure Master Hand would let you out of the room just to look for a present," said Ness, playing with his yo-yo. He may not be the best yo-yo tactician on the planet, but the trusty toy is pretty effective in Smash battles. "But you would probably have to ask him for permission though."

"This is just unfair, I can't do anything staying in this room..." Lucas pouted as he folded his arms. Could have been worse...he could have been kicked out of the mansion, and forced to live with the Waddle Dee family until further notice. Lloyd had underwent this form of punishment several times, and for many valid reasons.

"Well how about I tell you some of the things Lucina can't do after you attacked her last week?" asked Chrom, taken back by Lucas' profound saltiness. "Let's see...she can't stand straight, nor walk straight; she can't sleep on her stomach; and she can't see clearly due to some dizzy spells." As you would might assume, Lucina is suffering from some long-term effects from Lucas' shenanigans, compared to the other victims. "Although you did apologize to Lucina earlier in the week when she came to your room (with Robin's help, nonetheless), it unfortunately won't make up for..."

"Yo yo yo, Lucas who-has-no-last-name, what's good my man!" Sonic entered the room, much to the chagrin of everyone present. The hedgehog's arrival was a good enough incentive for Chrom to leave, as the prince got off of Lucas' bed. "Hey Chrom, where are you going, I just got here!"

"I believe I hear Lucina calling, think she wants something drink," Chrom hurriedly exited the room before Sonic could pester him with further. The prince wasn't in the right mood to put up with Sonic's silly ways.

"I sure can't hear her, unless my ears are playing tricks with me again...probably got too much ear wax, I'll resolve the issues later on." Sonic took a seat on Lucas' bed, and now all of a sudden Lucas felt like relocating to Ness' bed. Quite frankly, Ness didn't want Sonic either. "So I heard that you're now the bad boy of the mansion...like Isiah Thomas from the Bad Boys Detroit Pistons...like Michael Jackson during his "Bad" phase...like Walter White from _Breaking Bad..._

"Okay, okay, enough with the 'bad' comparisons, we get it," groaned Ness, already fed up with Sonic. Didn't take that long for him.

"Um, is your name Lucas, is there by chance you have blonde hair and a orange striped shirt and stuff like that?" Following Sonic's remark, Ness got up and left. What a horrible friend he is...leaving poor Lucas to suffer with Sonic. The nerve of him...

 **Ness: My person for Secret Santa is Villager; I would buy him a fish mount, but he already has too many of those loitering about in his room. I might as well ask Jacky to take me to the toy store to buy Villager a gift, before I forget.**

"Apparently Mario and Master Hand wanted to change your bad boy persona - a stupid decision on their parts - and they had the gall to ask me to do it, since Little Mac and Doc Louis were off doing their escapades at a Gold's Gym," explained Sonic, as Lucas miserably moaned. Of all the people Mario and Master Hand could have chosen from, and it had to be Sonic? "Aw, don't be so glum, chum - I understand that you want to keep your reputation as a bad boy, and you being grounded is suppressing you from flaunting your new attitude in front of others. But when you love something, you have to set it free..." To say that analogy was weird would be a huge understatement. "...and sadly that's what I have to do. So let's begin!"

"Begin with what, do you even have any equipment?" questioned Lucas. "Did you come in here unprepared?" Considering how Sonic is, we could say yes to Lucas' question.

"Pfft, we don't need 'equipment' - I'll just explain what we're doing along the way. Trust me when I say this Lucas - I won't let you down by ANY means!"

* * *

"Thank-a you boys for coming with-a me to find a replacement Christmas-a tree!" Mario thanked Fox and Falco as the two Star Fox pilots rode in Mario's car. A car that the plumber had rented, mind you. "And thank you-a for coming too Ema, I really appreciate-a it!" The forensics expert was also tagging along, wanting to see if there Heartless in public places in Seattle. Can't hurt to look around every now and then.

"You do realize I'm not here to help you look for a new Christmas tree after Red burned down the last one, right?" asked Ema. No, it wasn't Ashley's assistant, Red, who burned down the tree - it was Red the Pokemon Trainer's fault: he had Charizard light up the fireplace one night, and one of the flame Pokemon's embers from his flame breath reached the Christmas tree in the living room. Red then summoned Squirtle to douse the fire, but it was unfortunately too late. "I'm just here do some 'investigative' work, so to speak."

"Of course, you do-a know a thing or two about-a investigating, given your profession! Fox, Falco, and I will-a do our thing, while you do your-a thing!"

 **Fox: Why do people insist on buying green Christmas trees? Green is too mainstream of a Christmas tree color, you gotta change it up!  
Falco: So while we're at Lowes, or Home Depot, or wherever the heck Mario is gonna get a Christmas tree from, we're gonna convince the man to buy...wait for it...a purple Christmas tree! How does that sound Fox?  
Fox: Man, if I had a dime for every time you didn't think the same way I did, then I'd have zero dimes...**

Mario and company arrived at not Lowes, not Home Depot, but Walmart, and boy it was packed. Mario's decision to look for a Christmas tree at the world's second largest retailer was met with disdain from the Star Fox pilots.

"Dude, Mario, why do you hate us so much?" Fox questioned the plumber as he and the others got out of the car. "Why do we have to shop here, when there was a Home Depot downtown? What have we ever done to you?!"

"C'mon, what's-a so wrong with Walmart?" asked Mario, wanting to shed some light on the situation. He certainly didn't want to start a scene once on arrival. "It's honestly not-a that bad of a store!"

"Bruh Walmart originated in Arkansas, that's how you know it sucks," Falco offered his take on why Walmart isn't so grand. A fairly stupid take, but a take nonetheless. "There's literally nothing good about Arkansas, except maybe for their college football team. WOOOO, PIG SOOIE!" Falco uttered this call of the University of Arkansas mockingly, in a highly sardonic manner. Never change, Falco, never change.

"Can we PLEASE find this stupid Christmas tree before the store gets packed or something?" asked Ema, the sole voice of reason. "So how about we hurry on inside, and...Mario, why do you look like that?" Ema saw that Mario had a shocked expression on his face, for the plumber saw some familiar faces. From a far distance he saw the threesome of Rayman, Barbara, and Globox...but what shocked Mario the most was that Rayman and Barbara were walking together, like a couple would, whereas Globox was following behind.

"Rayman and Barbara are here-a in Seattle?!" exclaimed Mario, completely ignoring Globox as if he wasn't that important. "And they're-a walking together? What is this-a sorcery, there-a must be an explanation!"

"Mario tends to be somewhat jealous towards other couples, whether they're a legit couple or not," Fox whispered to Ema, giving her the 411. The pilot should know, Mario would openly criticize his relationship with Krystal, always talking junk about how the two don't really connect as much and constantly bringing up that one time Krystal joined Star Wolf. Just then, a guy in a black hooded coat - obviously from the Organization XIII - showed up, and hid behind a wall where he wouldn't be seen by Mario and company...though he would be seen by folks entering and exiting the store and some person from the Salvation Army ringing a bell. But those individuals don't matter one bit.

 **Anonymous Organization XIII Member: I've tracked those fools down using Aerith's scent...practically everyone in the mansion interacted with Aerith, so they should all carry the scent...which means that whenever they leave the mansion, we can always follow them...also, would you stop videotaping me, you'll blow my cover!**

"Alright, change-a of plans - Ema, you go look-a for a Christmas tree," Mario ordered the forensics investigator, who didn't seem to agree with the task handed out to her. "Fox, Falco, and I will sneak-a on Rayman and Barbara, and find-a out if they're an item!" Both Star Fox pilots felt like turning down Mario's offer, but given how adamant the plumber was, they decided it would be best not to do so. Too bad Ema didn't think the same way they did.

"But what about the Heartless, what if a Heartless invasion occurs in the store and..." Ema started, before Mario's laughter made her stop. Mario sure is treating the Heartless situation a bit more nonchalant than others...

"A Heart-a less invasion in Walmart? Give-a me a break! I can halfheartedly guarantee-a you that there will be no-a Heartless in the store, everything will-a be nice and dandy! Now let's head inside!" So Mario led the way inside the store, and Fox, Falco, and Ema had no choice but to follow along. Mario was the man, and they had to do whatever he told them to, lest they suffer the consequences.

"The plumber is making my job somewhat easier..." the Organization XIII dude snarled as he hurried inside the store...only to be stopped by some guy from the Salvation Army, ringing his bell joyfully. "No, I don't want to contribute to your stupid Salvation Army, so don't bother me again if you know what's good for you." The Organization XIII dude then headed inside the store for good.

* * *

Peach gathered with Zelda, Palutena, and Rosalina in the dining room to plan for the Christmas party taking place two weeks from now. With Cilan now working on the wedding cake for Mario's and Peach's wedding, Master Hand asked the fiancee of Mario to plan the party accordingly.

"Before we get into the thick of things, we must first decide what decorations we must have for the party," Peach started off. Christmas decorations are an absolute must, your Christmas party would feel naked and bare without 'em. "So do you ladies have any good suggestions?"

"Some fake presents would be nice," suggested Zelda. Just get a bunch of boxes and wrap them in and Christmas wrapping paper, and boom, problem solved.

"I can make paper snowflakes to hang from the ceiling!" suggested Palutena. The goddess of light would have to make plenty of those!

"Why not have miniature Christmas trees on the tables?" suggested Rosalina. Where are they gonna get miniature Christmas trees from?

 **Peach: This has been the third consecutive year I've planned a Christmas party, and I had to take over the reins from Sonic, since his Christmas parties would typically result in the mansion catching on fire. Hopefully this Christmas party will be the best Christmas party ever...but they always say that about everything, like how such-and-such movie is the greatest movie ever in the movie franchise, although it might be as good as the previous movies. Guess that's how they get people interested and all hyped up...**

"Some very nice ideas, I'll take them into heavy consideration later on," Peach wrote down the ideas presented by Zelda, Palutena, and Rosalina on a small notepad. "Now, I had Link, Cloud, Wario, and Ganondorf work together on a snowman decoration, and they should have been done right about now..."

"Hey Peach, we're done with the snowman," Cloud entered the dining room, as Peach and company gasped in shock and surprise. The snowman looked seriously on point - it had a nifty winter cap, a colorful scarf, an authentic carrot nose, and a smile that would make your heart melt. But the snowman wasn't what amazed the ladies the most - the ladies were amazed by how Cloud himself looked. He had a black eye and several bruises on his face and arms. Clearly he and the other men were involved in some fighting, even though their task of designing the snowman was as simple as bursting a pimple with your fingers. (Unless you enjoy digging bacteria deeper into the infected areas of your skin, do what is best and don't _ever_ burst pimples manually with your fingers.)

"Cloud, what on earth happened to you, you look like you were beaten in a dark alley!" fretted Rosalina, as Cloud casually took a seat next to the mother of all Lumas. A beatdown probably didn't mean anything to the man. "Please tell me it wasn't Ganondorf who did this to you..."

"It was him and Wario, they were the ones who instigated the fighting. The four of us were bickering over what should go on the snowman, and Wario punched Ganondorf, and Ganondorf punched Wario back, and their fight kinda carried over to Link and I and would you know it, we were all fighting..."

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" Bowser barged into the dining room wearing a Santa Claus outfit, white beard and all. "Ho, ho, ho, pimp!" The Koopa King then pointed at Zelda, Palutena, Rosalina, and Cloud respectively prior to taking a seat next to Peach. Cloud facepalmed at Bowser as the Koopa King laughed, with Peach somewhat glad Bowser didn't point at her for various reasons.

"Looks like someone's really in the holiday spirit..." It was awfully hard for Cloud to get into the Christmas joy, though with Aerith around, he could get some Yuletide cheer injected into his system. "Tell us why you're here Bowser, so you can scram and annoy the crap out of everyone else."

"I'm just here to remind you hot babes...and man...that a few days before Christmas, or maybe perhaps on the actual day of Christmas, I'll give everyone in the mansion the gift...the gift of Bowser!" Bowser inhaled and exhaled, with his arms out at his side. "You gotta drink it in man...and hot babes."

"Could you possibly give us some hints as to what this so-called 'Gift of Bowser' is, is it an actual gift or another one of your stupid pranks?" inquired Palutena, wanting to entertain Bowser's foolishness. The man just keeps on trucking, creating new things to irk the mansion residents and to a lesser extent, Master Hand.

 **Bowser: "The Gift of Bowser" is currently a secret, no one knows exactly what it is but I! When it gets real close to Christmas, I'll show everyone one the gift of Bowser truly is, and prove to them that this gift is the greatest gift of all time! It doesn't need to be gift-wrapped, and it doesn't need to be put under the Christmas tree either - you just gotta drink it in, man! *inhales and exhales deeply with arms at his side***

"Let's get this straight woman - the gift of Bowser is NOT a prank, so don't get your panties in a twist about some assumed 'prank'!" frowned Bowser. "Oughta be happy my List of Bowser is gone, otherwise you would have made the list!" Palutena didn't care either way, so she just rolled her eyes at the Koopa King. "And you have the audacity to roll your eyes at me too?! That right there would have counted as a double offensive, you would have had your name on the list BIG TIME missy!"

"Like I'm supposed to care..." Palutena and the ladies went back to planning the Christmas party, angering Bowser. He hates it when others don't pay attention to him.

"Can't wait to see this 'gift of Bowser' that you're hyping up," Cloud gave the Koopa King a pat on the back as he returned to Link and the others, although he really didn't want to. "Surely it will be worth all the anticipation and excitement." Cloud's remark was enough to turn Bowser's frown upside down, and give the Koopa King a hint of confidence, as if he really needed it anyways.

* * *

"'Dear Santa Claus, I have known you for a majority of life, and let me start off by saying this - you're one of my many, many role models, a guy I could look up to in times of need,'" Pit said as he wrote a letter to this fictional holiday figure in the comfort of his room. Hoo boy, it's like The Great Pumpkin all over again... "'The way you fly across the world, delivering presents and going down the chimneys of random houses without getting caught...you're the realest G I've ever known! Words cannot begin to describe how much you mean to me - I just look at your many accomplishments, and wonder what it's like to be you!'" What accomplishments would Santa have, other than delivering presents? "'You're a truly special person, and I hold you dearly in my heart!'"

"Aw, how sweet, you're writing me a love letter!" Viridi entered Pit's room to speak with the angel, after overhearing the last line he uttered and assuming that Pit was confessing his love for the goddess of nature. "To think that this whole time, I thought you were unable to write anything of pure substance!"

"Funny you should mention that, I thought the same thing too!" Goes on to show you that Pit relatively lacks self-confidence in his own abilities. "But I hate to break it to ya Viridi, but I'm actually writing a letter to Santa..."

"Again with this whole following up a fake holiday figure crap?!" Viridi frowned, upsetting Pit for a brief moment. That allowed Viridi to catch herself before she could say anything else to hurt her boyfriend's feelings. "...I mean, I appreciate that you're writing a letter to Santa Claus, but why exactly are you writing to him for?"

 **Viridi: Have I ever believed in the existence of Santa Claus? Absolutely not, he sounds way too good to be true! One does not simply goes down chimneys with a fat, obese figure to deliver presents to every house in the world, and ride on a sleigh carried by flying reindeer...all on Christmas Eve! Also, the line from the song "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town", it goes along the lines of "...he sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake..." Are we seriously glorifying a senior citizen stalker, who has a particular penchant for children? This whole Santa craze is just flat out appalling to me!**

"I'm writing to him to express my joy and gratitude towards him, tell him how great of a man he is!" Pit happily explained. "Santa is a real G, an ever greater man than Abraham Lincoln will ever be! President Lincoln has nothing on Santa Claus!" This dude's saying a lot more than he can chew. "Once I tell Santa how great he is, I'll write down my wishlist...I want a new Nerf gun, a Lightning McQueen toy car, a Scooby Doo DVD case, a Monopoly board game..." As Pit went on and on about his Christmas list, Viridi quietly exited the room, disheartened with her boyfriend's obsession with Santa Claus, when she spotted Knuckles walking by. What if the echidna could make Pit snap out of his Santa craze?

"Knuckles I need to speak with you right away, it has something to do with Pit!" Viridi approached Knuckles, who tried to run away the moment the goddess of nature mentioned Pit's name. In that very moment some vividly bad memories from the cruise ship formulated in the echidna's head.

"Please tell me you and Pit didn't break up and you want to get back together again!" Knuckles panicked, right when Viridi caught up with him and grabbed his arm to prevent him from getting far. "I'm not the right guy, my relationship with Rouge isn't that grand so my own experience could kill me...why don't you ask him, he practically writes romantic fanfiction in his spare time!" Knuckles pointed at Yoshi, who walked by writing on a notepad. The dinosaur looked really salty, like he had soaked in the mighty depths of saltwater for days.

"Captain Falcon now has a girlfriend and he didn't bother to remind me..." Yoshi grumbled, writing whatever the heck he was writing on his notepad. He's still bitter over that? Serves him right for not being observant at the Thanksgiving feast.

"Ah, Yoshi, you're perfect for what I must accomplish with Pit!" Viridi gleamed at the dinosaur, making Yoshi stop in his tracks. "You don't believe in Santa Claus, do you? I mean, you kinda look like someone who would..."

"Nope, can't say I believe in Santa Claus, not ever since I placed those chocolate chip cookies near the chimney that one Christmas and nobody ate them; that was all the evidence I needed!" Yoshi baked cookies all by himself? What a shocker.

"Hold up, what does Santa Claus have to do with you wanting to get back together with Pit again?" Knuckles questioned Viridi, leaving the goddess of nature to slap the echidna silly. "Ow, what was that for, I was just asking a simple question!"

 **Knuckles: You're asking me if I believe in Santa Claus... *pauses* You're asking ME, if I believe in Santa Claus...does it even look like I believe in Santa Claus? Why would I believe in some elderly pimp who wears all red and goes about calling imaginary women prostitutes?**

"We're not reaffirming my relationship with Pit, you buffoon, for we never even broke up!" replied Viridi. "Instead, we're gonna show Pit that his beloved Santa Claus is a mere fictional holiday figure used to mess with the minds of kids!" Does that mean Pit himself is a kid? Considering his mentality, of course! "So here's what we're going to do..."

* * *

Tails flew to Lucas' room, carrying Suzie and Shaymin in his arms. With his best friend Sonic reforming Lucas and teaching the teen that kicking others in the groin was downright rude, the yellow fox had to watch over the two Pokemon while Sonic was away. Once he stopped by Lucas' room and opened the door...

"I'm only doing this to teach you a lesson!" Sonic, down on one knee, spanked Lucas, who was on the knee of the hedgehog, wincing repeatedly. Sonic stopped when he looked up and saw Tails staring at him inquisitively. "Oh what's up Tails, didn't see you there! Have you been taking good care of Shaymin? What a good friend you are!"

"Do I even need to ask what's going on here...?" Tails spoke up after finding the courage to speak. So many more questions were going through the fox's mind. "Why are you spanking Lucas?"

"Because Mario and Master Hand want to suppress his bad boy image, and something frankly had to be done!" And spanking Lucas was the only way to do it? Certainly there must have been other methods the hedgehog executed on the PSI whiz...speaking of whom, Lucas looked at Tails with beady eyes, with a facial expression that literally cried, "Save me...".

"You know what, I'll just chill in here, since I really have nothing to do," Tails flew inside the room and sat on the bed of Ness, a terrible, awful friend who would willingly allow you to receive endless torture at the hands of Sonic. But what would you expect from a guy who constantly says "Okay!" during Smash battles?

 **Master Hand: Lucas' grounding will remain intact for another week or so, or until Lucina feels better again, whichever comes first...and to tell you the truth, I'm hoping Lucina's road to recovery takes much longer than expected! *laughs evilly***

"Well Tails, now that you're here, you can partake in the next method to execute on Lucas to make him good again!" exclaimed Sonic, making Lucas very nervous. "Since he's being punished for kicking others in the crotch...why don't we return the favor?" Lucas was quick to object this idea, as he shook his head at Sonic. Why not kick Luigi in the crotch instead, he was the reason Lucas was kicking others in the previous episode! What was the point of the plumber enrolling the blonde teen into a YMCA class full of _women_? What possibly made him think that was a great idea?

"I don't want to be kicked in the crotch, I already learned my lesson!" stated Lucas, shaking in fear. Sonic was flexing his fingers, meaning that he was ready to do some vicious kicking. "I won't harm anyone again, I promise!"

"You may think that you've learned your lesson, but in order for you to fully learn it, you must learn...through experience! You must know what it's like to be hit in the neither regions - having your stomach hurt, grasping for air, struggling to stand still..." All these symptoms Sonic presented made Lucas and even Tails feel uncomfortable. "Sometimes you gotta see through someone else's eyes, understand the feelings and emotions they go through during times of hurt!"

"Sonic, getting hit in the nether regions doesn't equate to seeing through someone else's eyes, some people may experience painful sensations much different from others," Tails had to set it straight for his best friend. Sonic hates it when Tails has to educate him, so the fox's remark was met with some disdain from the blue hedgehog.

"Keep saying stuff like that mister and you'll get kicked too! Now first, we have to get things set up...Lucas, would you mind standing at the front of the door?"

"May I use the bathroom first please?" asked Lucas. A bathroom was in the vicinity of the room; Lucas could hide in there, and wait until the coast was clear and reemerge, returning to his room. But Sonic was seemingly able to see through the PSI whiz's plan.

"Sure thing bro, I can always walk with you to the bathroom! You can sit on the toilet or whatever, while I face a wall while tempting myself not to look for whatever reason! Sounds like a good plan, let's go!" So Sonic walked Lucas out of the room, as Lucas shot a pitiful look at Tails as he and Sonic exited. Tails could only imagine some of the other things Sonic might have put Lucas through prior to his arrival.

* * *

 **Cloud: It's been made official - Wario and Ganondorf are no longer allowed to do anything involved with planning for the Christmas party, although I honestly don't know why Peach asked them in the first place. Link and I are still doing things for Peach and company, but we won't get back to work until Link's head feels better. Wario and Ganondorf got him pretty good...**

"Oh, my aching head, I can't take it anymore..." Link moaned and complained as he laid in a bed in the fitness center. Wii Fit Trainer offered to watch over Link for Zelda while the princess of Hyrule continued planning for the Christmas party.

"If you need anything, then just let me know, I'm all ears," Wii Fit said to Link as she did some stretching on the floor. "Those aspirin pills should be enough to calm your headache, I can give you some more if you like..."

"Forget some stupid aspirin pills, what I need is an ice pack," groaned Link. The Hylian lifted up his head, and saw Morton Koopa walking by with a protein shake in his hand. Gotta keep those muscles strong and hard! "Hey, Morton, can you do me a favor and fetch me and ice pack? I would ask Wii Fit over here, but as you can see, she's a bit busy..."

"What's in it for me, pal?" a now interested Morton spoke up; Link grumbled as he dug into his pants pocket, pulling out a five dollar bill. It was the only amount of money the Hylian had on him, and he found this particular dollar bill in a park. "Sweet, a cool five bucks! Favor accepted!" Morton ran in to grab the five dollar bill from Link, and promptly exited the fitness center to fetch Link an ice pack.

However, only one problem arose - where would Morton find an ice pack in the first place? There were no ice packs in the freezer, and there were no ice packs in Dr. Mario's office, for that matter. But there was one place where an ice pack was available, and that place would be Chrom's room, where the prince of Yliesse remained with Lucina, while she sat on her bed flipping through channels on a small television. Morton poked his head through the doorway as he watched Lucina channel surf, looking for a program remotely interesting for her to watch.

"Nope...nope...nope...nope...nope..." Lucina plainly said as she pressed the channel button on the TV remote, flipping through a whole variety of channels, losing interest very quickly. Endless channel surfing could make you easily the most bored person on the planet in an instant. "Father, do you know any programs worth watching, I can't seem to find one..."

"Nothing good really comes on during this time of day, so I'm afraid I don't have any great suggestions," replied Chrom, sitting on his bed ogling at hot pics of his girlfriend Raven. Just kidding...he was actually looking at gift ideas online, so he could think of a gift for his Secret Santa person, Amy Rose.

 **Chrom: Amy Rose kinda reminds me of what a typical girl would be - loves pink, acts feminine, fawns over boys...doesn't mean I would buy a gift for Amy that would be deemed "girly" in any way or fashion. Perhaps a new pair of bedroom slippers would do the trick...and there's no guarantee they will be pink.**

With Lucina momentarily distracted at the moment, Morton sneaked inside the room and grabbed the ice pack from the princess, before darting away. Too bad Lucina caught the Koopaling after he ran away, now she has knowledge of the perpetrator.

"Morton get back here this instant!" she called out to the Koopaling, as she slowly swung her legs over the bed, now sitting up. She then put one foot down on the floor, and then the other foot, and slowly stood up, wincing in pain. "Had a feeling something like this would have happened to me..."

"Need any assistance in hunting down Morton?" Chrom offered his daughter. "You know I have a ton of experience chasing down the Koopalings, given the amount of times they've stolen my Falchion." What would they want with Chrom's stinking sword anyways?

"No Father, I got this completely under control, but thank you for the offer..." Lucina replied as she limped out of the room and through the hallways, using a nearby wall as a means of down Morton will be a serious struggle for her...

* * *

Meanwhile, the threesome of Mario, Fox, and Falco were spying on Rayman and Barbara (Globox was there, but he's not important to Mario) in a Walmart store, hiding behind a large stack of toilet tissue, while Ema was tasked with finding a new Christmas tree for the mansion. Rayman and Barbara were in the baking aisle, obviously looking for ingredients to bake some Christmas cookies, but Mario apparently suspected some foul play afoot.

"They must-a be gathering cooking materials to-a bake a cake...a cake-a of love!" proclaimed Mario, raising his voice loud enough to garner unwanted attention from the Walmart shoppers. Fox and Falco, not spying at all but rather looking at stuff on their cellphones, really wished they were somewhere other than Walmart. Mario was giving the pilots a seriously bad look!

"Yeah man totally, definitely not like they're buying stuff to make Christmas cookies and junk," asserted Falco. Mario quickly downplayed this blatantly obvious notion, and was still under the assumption that Rayman and Barbara wished to make their relationship official through the means of baking.

 **Ema: Finally got a Christmas tree, which Mario was supposed to do... *holds up an exquisite frying pan* ...and I also got this frying pan, for Cilan - the person I have to buy a gift for as part of the Secret Santa tradition. (Coincidentally we both drew each other's names.) Once I check both items out, we can finally head back home...**

"Excuse me fellas, but can I help you out?" a Walmart employee asked Mario and company as they hid behind the toilet tissue; Mario whipped out his F.L.U.D.D. and doused water on the employee, making him run away. "Alright, alright, I'll go away, sorry for asking!" The employee quickly departed from the plumber, his uniform now soaking wet. How will he ever explain that to his manager?

"Yeah you better run, if you know what's good for ya!" F.L.U.D.D. called out to the employee before Mario put the water pack back where it belonged, in his imaginary pocket. Only an imaginary pocket is able to carry all sorts of crud like F.L.U.D.D. everywhere you go. Mario crept away from the stack of toilet tissue, with Fox and Falco carefully following behind him, until...

"Well if it isn't the mighty Mario and the famous Star Fox pilots, Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi!" Rayman exclaimed when he exited the baking aisle with Barbara and Globox and saw the three brawlers. Mario would have retreated, but it was now too late. "Nice seeing you guys here, haven't seen you since the wedding. Or did I see you in Rio during the Olympics? Might've seen your faces..."

"Hey-a Rayman...why were you and-a Barbara in the baking aisle just-a now?" Mario accusingly pointed at Rayman, starting a scene. Just exactly what Fox and Falco needed. "I know what-a you're up to..."

"Woah, how did you know we were gonna bake Christmas cookies? You must be some sort of psychic or something!" Mario just stood there with his mouth agape, and then looked towards Falco, who cockily smirked while nodding his head. The avian pilot tried to tell Mario, but that darn plumber just wouldn't listen. "Yo, Barbara, Globox, you think we should bake Mario and his pals some Christmas cookies?"

"The more the better, as I would always say!" exclaimed Barbara, with an ever toothy grin. Joke's on her, she has never even said that phrase before!

"Globox thinks we could handle close to a hundred people, a hundred people doesn't sound like a lot!" added Globox. Who's willing to bet Globox doesn't even know what two plus two is? He's not exactly the brightest shed in the tool...erm, brightest _tool_ in the shed. Great...

 **Rayman: Still feeling pretty bitter about not receiving an invite to join _Super Smash Bros,_ I would have been the perfect addition...working alongside Mario and Sonic, besting against stellar swordsmen like Marth, fighting on the grandest stages, using a Pong game to aid me in battle... *sighs happily* Those online leaks really gave my hopes up...**

"Since you laddies are here, why don't we have some Christmas fun, what do ya say?" Barbara asked Mario and company, wrapping her arms around Fox and Falco. By no means would Fox's girl Krystal appreciate that if she was present. "You know what I mean Rayman, do ya?"

"Yes I know Barbara, but I warned you about doing this in public..." replied Rayman, making the three brawlers nervous about what Barbara meant by "Christmas fun", and soon they would learn what she meant - the barbaric princess kicked Falco down to the floor, and with the pilot on his hands and knees, Barbara got on his back and wrapped some rope around Falco's muzzle, like a horse, and proceeded to ride on Falco throughout the store, as the others looked on in bewilderment.

"Giddy up horsie, giddy up!" Barbara channeled her inner Jessie from _Toy Story_ as she rode Falco through every aisle of the store. What sucked for Falco is that he couldn't stop this madness, he had no other choice but to be Barbara's "horsie" until the princess ran out of energy. The torture would end for the bird, when Barbara came to an abrupt stop in the garden center of the store and got off of his back.

"Ran out of energy and excitement that quick?" Falco asked Barbara, who was standing there with a look of fright on her face. Falco looked forward, and saw a hooded figure standing before him and Barbara - a member of Organization XIII.

* * *

"Sure been sitting on that toilet seat for an awfully long time," Sonic said to Lucas as he was facing a wall, waiting for the PSI whiz to be done using the bathroom. Only thing was, Lucas didn't even have to use the bathroom - he just wanted to get away from Sonic, but sadly his plan failed. So he just sat on the toilet seat until Sonic got bored and wanted to leave.

"Freaking creep, in the same bathroom as Lucas..." Lucario muttered to Sonic as he came in the bathroom to wash his hands. "Don't know what Amy sees in you..."

"And here you are walking into an occupied bathroom, who's the real creep!" Sonic retorted as Lucario exited the bathroom. "You've been taking an awfully long time Lucas, are you either constipated or suffering from diarrhea?" The hedgehog refused to leave until the sound of a flushing toilet was heard.

"Might be a little constipated," replied Lucas, holding in his laughter. Will Sonic continue to fall for Lucas' shenanigans? Why not keep the fun going? "Let me see if I can do a little bowel movement..." Lucas stealthily dug into his pocket, pulling out a rubber ducky (he's too old to be carrying that around), and threw it into the toilet; once the sound was made, Lucas flushed the toilet and got off of the toilet seat, before washing his hands. Sonic was left satisfied; he would have asked Lucas how he was able to use the bathroom without pulling down his shorts, but he was just glad Lucas was finally "done".

 **Tails: Lucas and Sonic have been gone for a long time, and it's pretty obvious that Lucas wasn't in the need to use the bathroom, he was just trying to get away for Sonic (and I can't say I blame him). However, it seems like Sonic has yet to notice this, and that would mean he and Lucas would have to remain in the bathroom forever...a part of me wishes it should only be Sonic who remains in the bathroom.**

"Sonic we have a dire emergency, no need to explain!" Knuckles approached Sonic and Lucas, with Yoshi at his side. "You must come with me and Yoshi right away, before it's too late!" Sonic would come with the echidna and Yoshi, but what about Lucas, who would take over for reforming Lucas while the hedgehog was away? Sonic would ask Tails, but the fox was but a year younger than Lucas, believe it or not.

"I dunno, this all seems shady to me," replied Sonic. "Everything at the mansion was going fine and dandy, and all of a sudden a 'dire emergency'?" The skepticism inside of Sonic was slowly building up. "Any dire emergency, Master Hand can handle!"

"Come with us and we'll give you free chili dogs!" enticed Yoshi; Sonic was left unconvinced, for he already had secret chili dog stashes in secret areas of the mansion. So what exactly did Yoshi do to fully sway Sonic. "Not just free chili dogs...jumbo-sized chili dogs, the biggest chili dogs you'll ever see!"

"J-J-Jumbo-sized chili dogs?! I'm in! Sorry Lucas, but you're on your own, remember what we did together and take it to heart!" Sonic would leave Lucas in the dust as the hedgehog followed Knuckles and Yoshi to who-knows-where. Lucas began whimpering like a baby, with nothing to do - Sonic left him in a heartbeat, and his terrible friend Ness was likely playing with his yo-yo in an unknown location. Just then, Morton came running by, with the ice pack he had snatched from Lucina's room. Not the kind of person Lucas wanted to be with, but he supposed Morton would do.

"Hoo boy, all this running, I'm not meant for that kind of stuff..." Morton came to a stop and took a breather, huffing and puffing, not enough to blow down a little piggy's house though. After the Koopaling was done, he returned to form, like he wasn't even exhausted. "So Lucas, would you be a great buddy and come with me to Ashley's room? That witch girl still scares me..."

"You and me both Morton, she gives me the creeps sometimes, especially the way she looks at me...but I can come with you, if you like. Gotta return quickly to my room though, before Master Hand comes in and sees I'm gone..."

* * *

"...sincerely, with much love from your number one fan, Pit!" the angel wrote these last words as he finished up his letter to Santa Claus, an imaginary jolly human who embodied everything Christmas was and then some. Viridi walked into Pit's room, and saw that the angel was done writing...came in right on time.

 **Viridi: Sonic is a part of my plan to make Pit disbelieve in Santa Claus, and my mission can be accomplished through two words...Doctor Eggman. Granted Dr. Eggman has been banned from ever returning to the mansion ever since that whole Tabuu incident with the statue of Master Hand, but Sonic did mention that he had a Doctor Eggman costume of sorts in a closet in the mansion...**

"All done with your letter to Santa Claus?" Viridi asked Pit, pinching her boyfriend's cheek. Pit was in too much of a jovial mood to chide Viridi for the very action she was doing. She could poke Pit on the cheek multiple times, and the angel still wouldn't care either way.

"Yup, sure am, Santa is gonna love this letter!" exclaimed Pit. Too bad Santa Claus can't read the letter, because that fat bearded walrus doesn't even exist! Ayoooooo! "Do you know the exact address of his workshop? It's up in the North Pole, that much I know..."

"Why send the letter up to the North Pole, when he's in this very mansion RIGHT NOW?" Pit's eyes widened the instant Viridi said this, and his heart rate was moving at a very rapid rate. The angel even had to take a deep breath, for he was uncertain if Viridi was playing tricks on him.

"I won't believe it until I see it! Take me to Santa Claus Viridi, he must read my letter right away!"

So Viridi guided her gullible boyfriend to the gardens, where the jolly ol' fellow was hanging out with Knuckles and Yoshi, of all people. Pit was super delighted to see his main man Santa out in the gardens - if Santa was here, then why wasn't there a huge hullabaloo going about, why weren't the youngsters turning up for Santa? Why was Santa only hanging out with Knuckles and Yoshi, and not with the others? Did Pit not question this at all?

"Santa Claus, you're here, you're actually here, I don't believe it!" Pit ran up to meet Santa Claus, shaking his hand with one hand and keeping his letter in the other. It was indeed Santa Claus - white beard? Check. Red suit? Red hat? Check. Elderly disposition? Check. All that was left on the checklist was his voice...

"Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas to you, old sport!" Santa bellowed happily with a deep, jolly voice. Yup, it was definitely Santa Claus, no mistaking it. "You're really excited to see me in person, aren't ya? Trust me, I get that a lot, everyone comes running for me, and boy is it a great feeling!"

"I have a super special letter to give to you Santa, I've been working my butt off perfecting it!" Pit handed Santa his letter, and the jolly ol' fellow skimmed the entire thing. Even he was surprised by the fact that Pit was able to write a full letter on his own.

"Well I'd be, a Christmas letter written for me! Ho, ho..." Suddenly Santa ripped the letter in half, and then in half again. "...ho." Santa then dropped the pieces of the letter onto the ground, leaving Pit in utter shock.

 **Yoshi: Would my disbelief in Santa Claus prevent me from being fully enveloped in the Christmas spirit? If that were the case, then everyone except for Pit would be prohibited from ever celebrating Christmas! You and your silly questions!**

"S-Santa, wh-why would you rip up my letter like that, I worked long and hard on it!" exclaimed Pit, nearly on the verge of tears. Santa would truly reveal to the angel who he really was, when he took off his hat, and his red suit, and even his beard, revealing himself to be none other than Dr. Eggman. But it wouldn't stop there - Dr. Eggman seemingly _opened in half,_ revealing himself to be a robot, and guess who was inside this Eggman robot?

"Ha ha ha ha, you fell right for our trap, not surprised in the slightest!" Sonic, who was piloting the Eggman robot, pointed and laughed at Pit. The Eggman costume Viridi had spoken about in her talking head segment was not a costume, but rather a robot, and with the help of Knuckles and Yoshi, the goddess of nature was able to disguise the robot as Santa Claus, and it was up to Sonic to pilot the robot and speak as if he was Santa Claus himself, in order to fool Pit. And he ultimately succeeded.

"Wow, I cannot believe it, I just can't...Dr. Eggman's alter ego is Santa Claus! His portly body, his affable nature, it all makes sense! And he had the gall to have you pilot one of his robots and meander as Santa Claus, because of his ban!" Oh, Pit, you never cease to amaze anyone with your sheer stupidity.

"No Pit you bozo, Dr. Eggman is NOT Santa Claus, and Santa Claus doesn't even exist, it's all in your head man!" Pit refused to accept this obviously known fact, as he grew angry and his fists were tightening. "Woah Pit, chill out, I was just trying to keep it real..."

"Nobody talks crap about Santa Claus and gets away with it!" Pit lunged at the hedgehog, fighting him inside the compartment of the Eggman robot, and Pit accidentally kicked a switch, causing two rockets to pop out of the robot's side and ignite them, as the robot up, up, and away from the gardens. Viridi, Knuckles, and Yoshi watched as the robot flew away, likely to crash land and be destroyed sometime soon.

"So...I overheard that Peach wanted some Christmas cookies for the Christmas party, you guys want to bake some?" asked Yoshi, after a long, awkward silence.

* * *

Master Hand checked on Lucas, to see if the teen remained in his room, but when he stopped by, he only saw Tails present, watching over Shaymin and Suzie. Sonic and Lucas were nowhere to be found!

 **Master Hand: Sonic may not have be the right choice to reform Lucas, but he's a bad boy, and Lucas is a bad boy too at the moment, so two wrongs can equal a right...right?**

"Where in blazes are Lucas and Sonic, they should have remained in this room!" boomed Master Hand, letting Tails feel his wrath and anger. Shaymin and Suzie, both intimidated by the giant hand, hid behind Tails, shaking.

"Lucas had to use the bathroom, and Sonic apparently tagged along," explained Tails, trying his best not to further anger Master Hand. "My best guess is that they went somewhere else, for whatever reason..."

"Has Sonic completely neglected Lucas' grounding?! And was Lucas perfectly fine with it?!" Master Hand's voice grew in many decibels. So much for not wanting to anger the giant hand any more... "Oooh, when I get my hands on those two..."

* * *

"All this searching is making Globox very hungry!" Globox moaned as he, Rayman, Mario and Fox searched for the whereabouts of Falco and Barbara. Ever since Barbara rode through Falco on horseback throughout the store, the barbaric princess and the avian pilot had yet to return.

"Sorry you fellas had to witness Barbara being Barbara," Rayman apologized to Mario and Fox. "She has a very potent tendency to do weird stuff like that in public, to say it's humiliating would be an understatement."

Rayman and company entered the garden center of Walmart, and to their surprise, it was empty! Sure, there were Christmas trees and other Christmas supplies present, but the garden center was practically devoid of Walmart employees, it was alarming to say the least.

"There you are Mario, I've been looking all over for you," Ema entered the garden center through a different entrance, with the Christmas tree and the frying pan (both items were checked out) in her possession. "Have to admit, you move awfully fast..."

"Fox is that your new girlfriend, did you dump Krystal for a human chick?" Fox and Ema both cringed at Rayman, who looked down at the floor with regret. Probably should have kept that question to himself.

 **Rayman: Just to be on the safe side, Fox and Krystal _are_ still a couple, correct?**

"No I didn't dump Krystal, we're still dating...somewhat," corrected Fox. His relationship with Krystal was still a bit murky. "This right here is Ema Skye - forensics scientist and occasional detective. She's been staying with us at the mansion tracking down these beings called Heartless."

"Heartless, you say? I've heard a lot about them...no wait, I practically control them!"

Suddenly the Organization XIII member with the black coat appeared, walking towards Mario and company. Mario instantly knew he was a part of the Organization, remembering how Aerith described the Organization's attire, and braced himself.

"So you guys have been dealing with Heartless in your area, is that right?" asked the anonymous Organization XIII member. "Just as I figured...how about I tell you a little story of why the Heartless started popping up all of a sudden?" The hooded man walked back and forth, like how most villains do when discussing stuff. "It all started sometime before that precious wedding...one of your compradres just so happened to enter our universe just to retrieve someone, and you know what it did? it left a huge tear, an opening rather, in our universe, and it granted the Heartless access to your universe and cause all sorts of havoc! Once we, the Organization XIII, found out about this tear, we sent in more and more Heartless into your universe, as a means to collect hearts - it's kinda the Heartless' specialty, and our specialty too."

"You think Aerith coming into our universe might have something to do with this?" Fox whispered to Mario, who nodded as the anonymous Organization XIII member pulled out two gun-like weapons, loading them up with ammo.

"And now I have the chance to get some fresh hearts for myself...so before I start working on the folks in the back...why not get some first blood on you punks?"

Before the hooded man could do anything, the Dr. Eggman robot came flying down from the sky and flew throughout the garden, with Pit and Sonic still inside. Their voices could be heard, the two arguing with one another, as the robot zipped through the aisles of trees and past the anonymous Organization XIII member, who jumped out of the way as the robot crashed into a room in which the door was completely blocked off. And would you know it, Falco, Barbara, the Walmart employees, and a slew of shoppers were inside, and now they were free.

"FREEDOM!" one of the employees cheered, his fists in the air, as he ran out of the room, leading his fellow workers and the shoppers out. During this wave of commotion, the anonymous Organization XIII member, but before he could sneak away through an available entrance, Falco and Barbara came over to block said entrance, preventing the hooded man from making his escape.

 **Falco: It was horrible being stuck in that room, too many people which meant that it was entirely crowded. Even worse, I was stuck with some fat bozo with a gut that was this wide... *spreads out his arms* ...and he had a highly upset stomach. Thank goodness the guy was only capable of passing gas, could have been much, much worse...**

"Going somewhere, laddie?" questioned Barbara, battle axe in hand. The anonymous Organization XIII member gritted his teeth, his plan of collecting hearts foiled by Pit and Sonic...speaking of whom, Ema headed over to the crash site of the Dr. Eggman robot (which was now in shambles) to see if the two were okay, and the angel and the hedgehog were still fighting. Ema had to break up the fight in an instant.

"You punks haven't seen the last of me!" the anonymous Organization XIII member vowed as he summoned a dark corridor behind him, and walked through said corridor before it dispersed. After he left, and the commotion in the garden center died down, business resumed as usual.

"Glad to see you and Barbara are okay," Fox said to Falco as the avian pilot came over to greet his friend. "We finally saw someone from the Organization XIII, now we gotta tell Aerith and the others the details!"

"My hero!" Barbara, under the assumption that Rayman saved her, ran up to the limbless hero, hugging him and giving him a kiss on the cheek. Mario smirked as he looked towards Falco, who shook his head in disdain. Who knows, maybe Rayman and Barbara might actually be a legit couple...

* * *

Link, his head still hurting, continued to lay on the bed in the fitness center, with Wii Fit Trainer providing the Hylian with some company. Cloud was also there, after Link had Wii Fit text the swordsman and tell him how bored he was.

"Oughta be glad only your head's hurting, given how Wario and Ganondorf toyed with you, you could have been in a more seriously worse state than now," stated Cloud, also glad he only got away pretty easily. Roy finally arrived with the ice pack, and he had brought Lucas and Ashley along.

"I'm only here because I don't trust neither one of you with my potions," explained Ashley. In her hand was a potion, a healing potion that could heal just about anything - a broken ligament, a sore thumb, a broken cellphone, etc.

"Lucas why are you out of your room, didn't Master hand ground you for your actions last week?" Wii Fit Trainer asked the PSI whiz; Lucas was apparently too nervous to answer the fitness guru's question.

 **Ashley: My potions are very delicate, day in and day out I create new potions and if one of them were to be misused, or even wasted, then I have to hold the perpetrator accountable. *holds up wand to camera* And trust me, you don't want to face the wrath of my wand...**

"Hand me the ice pack so I can apply the potion to it," ordered Ashley, as Morton handed her the ice pack. "The effects of the potion only last for a short amount of time, so you have to apply it to Link before the effect wears off." Right after Ashley poured the healing potion on the ice pack...

"Finally found you...Morton...give me the pack...or else..." Lucina entered the room, hobbling inside the room while holding on to the wall for support. She had followed Morton from her room to the fitness center, while in pain...someone oughta give that woman an ice pack. And that's exactly what Lucas planned to do.

"May I see this Ashley?" the teen asked the young witch, and Ashley gave him the ice pack. Lucas gave said ice pack to Lucina, who was sitting on her knees, and the princess was astounded by Lucas' generosity. She accepted the ice pack from the teen, and applied it to the area where Lucas kicked her in the previous episode, and in what may have seemed like a miracle of sorts, Lucina slowly stood up, only this time, she was in no pain whatsoever.

"Th-This is unbelievable...I can firmly stand up straight again!" the princess rejoiced. "And I feel so much better too; thank you very much Lucas!" A warm smile would appear on Lucas' face, but that smile would fade away real quick when Master Hand appeared, in an angry mood.

"What in the name of Masahiro Sakurai's haircut is wrong with you, sneaking out of your room?!" the giant hand put Lucas on full blast. "You're supposed to be grounded, for crying out loud! You really want to extend the duration of your punishment, is that what you want?!"

"Master Hand, you won't believe it, Lucas gave me this ice pack, which came with some strange healing powers, and now I feel well again! See?" Lucina demonstrated for Master Hand as she walked around, exhibiting no signs of pain or discomfort. Master Hand was very well pleased.

"You actually healed Lucina's injury?" he asked Lucas, who nodded with a confident smile. "Well in that case, I suppose I'll make it up to you and remove your punishment, you're no longer grounded."

"Hey what about me, my head still hurts!" Link sat up and threw his arms up in the air, wondering where his respect. Everyone just looked at the Hylian, not wanting to help the man out or anything.

"Yeah, what about you Link?" questioned Master Hand; Link groaned as he laid back down in his bed, disgruntled. "Before I retreat to my room, I must ask, has anyone seen Sonic anywhere?"

 **Master Hand: Sonic won't be punished, I'll just...give him another task to keep him occupied. Him reforming Lucas was the only thing that would have prevented him from doing any silly shenanigans. What would be a good task for him that would easily bore him, making him suffer? *snaps his fingers in delight* Ooh, I think I have the _perfect_ job for Sonic, he would _love_ it...**

* * *

The hedgehog in question had returned to the Smash Mansion via Mario's car (thankfully the car had seven seats, which meant he and Pit came along for the ride), and was lying on the couch in the living room while Fox and Falco set up and decorated the new Christmas tree. Mario checked on Peach and the ladies in the dining room, Ema discussed with Aerith the anonymous Organization XIII member she and the others saw at Walmart, and Pit offered to assist Viridi, Yoshi, and Knuckles with the Christmas cookies. All he was required to do was decorate the cookies that had just finished baking, he couldn't possibly screw that up.

"How does this candy cane look to you?" Pit showed Yoshi a candy cane decoration he made for one of the cookies, and it looked _atrocious._ Yoshi simply nodded his head, not wanting to give Pit a scathing critique and hurt the angel's feelings in the process. The dinosaur walked away, just when Viridi came over to check on her boyfriend's progress - and to ask an important question.

"Do you still believe in Santa Claus?" she asked. Inside the goddess of nature was saying, "Please say no, please say no, please say no..."

"You know Viridi, I thought long and hard about that question, and then Sonic said to me on the ride back to the mansion, 'Why do you believe in that jolly man for, no person can be that happy!' And then he also said, 'How would someone like Santa be able to go down chimneys, and ride on a sleigh carried by reindeer, and deliver presents on the day before Christmas without being caught?' To me, it all lacked logic, and kids are known for having zero logic, and by the sound of it, I act like a kid, So I did what I had to do...I manned up, and threw away my belief of Santa Claus, and decided to move on! It's like I matured in a way, and that's what kids have to do, right Viridi?"

"You hit the nail right on the head..." a now happy Viridi kissed Pit on the cheek as she walked away, leaving Pit alone to make even more lousy Christmas cookie decorations that would make one assume a kindergartner did them.

Pit has yet to fully exit his kid phase. But by all accounts, it looks like he's getting there.


	52. Episode 52: Jewelry

_Author's Note:_

 _Since I'm done with school (or the fall semester, at least) and gained an endless amount of time on my hands, I had more time to work on this story. Will this mean the updates will take place sooner in the week, rather than traditionally on Friday? We'll see..._

 _As specified in the previous author's note, I'll be writing a very lengthy author's note/letter for the next chapter, so if you have any requests you wish to make known in your reviews, please save them until after chapter 53, that's all I'm asking from you lovely folks. However, that won't stop me from answering some reviews right now, first one from Roydigs22:_

 _"I love this fanfic, and I have an idea... Lucario needs a love interest ( say gardevoir and you die, they aren't in the same egg group) in the form of lopunny. Perhaps it could go something like this: gardevoir, her brother gallade, and her friend lopunny visit the mansion in hopes of seeing a smash bros battle. Gallade knows of lucario's crush on lopunny, and challenges lucario to a duel( battle) if lucario loses or runs, gallade shows lopunny lucario's journal, where he has written many things praising her. Lucario wins, but gallade gives her the book. Lucario takes the book back, but lopunny sees a heart on a page before he does. Later( about evening) lucario is writing in his journal on the roof. Lopunny hops up and they chat for a bit. Lopunny asks"_

 _Sadly, this idea won't work because A) Gardevoir, Gallade, and Lopunny are all at the sanctuary as I speak, so they can't outright visit the mansion, B) the idea implies some talking from the three aforementioned Pokemon, something I will heavily rule out, and C) I honestly can't see Lucario as a romantic type, although I can see GamerDutchess01 try and convince me otherwise. Next up is J300, with what may be a suggestion for the next chapter:_

 _"I have an idea for a Secret Santa gift or two:_  
 _Try give Hihachi and the Pokémon and Kirby translators so they can talk to other people. It would be interesting jo see how it would play out._  
 _Then I have one more use for Corrin: Xander and his siblings get tired of him and have to call in female Corrin to set things right."_

 _Those would be the perfect Secret Santa gifts, gotta figure out how to utilize it perfectly. And bringing the female Corrin over has been long overdue; I know a previous reviewer had a suggestion involving the female Corrin, but sadly this suggestion never came to fruition. Kirby 123 also has a Secret Santa suggestion:_

 _"Make everyone who can't speak English speak English! Example: and watch and Kirby"_

 _Mr. Game and Watch, you say? There will certainly be a lot of English translators being exchanged during the Secret Santa festivities..._

* * *

 **Episode 52: Jewelry**

Pit's birthday was coming around the corner, and the angel was more than excited for the day, December 19 (thirty years ago on that particular day the first _Kid Icarus_ game was released). He found it convenient that his birthday was a week before Christmas, which meant that he could get presents on Christmas and a week _before_ Christmas as well. The benefits of being born during the holidays...

But unbeknownst to Pit, the angel also happened to share a birthday with another brawler - the sultry Umbra Witch Bayonetta. As you may recall from the earliest episodes of Smash Life, Bayonetta used to feud with Pit, partly due to her knack of hunting down angels, and she would chase Pit throughout the mansion, whether he liked it or not. The relationship between Pit and Bayonetta eased up over time, and nowadays you'd be hard-pressed to see Bayonetta express any sort of animosity towards Pit, or even Dark Pit for that matter.

Someone had to buy a birthday gift for Bayonetta, unless some heads were gonna roll. And that someone would be none other than the Umbra Witch's boyfriend, Luka Redgrave, who had sneaked to the mansion in hopes of finding a person willing to assist him in finding a gift. But why was Luka at the mansion, when he was supposed to be delivering flyers and whatnot? If you recall from episode 41, Luka's boss, Rodin, restricts his lackey from seldom having any days off.

 **Luka: Some of the few days Rodin lets me off the hook from delivering flyers are Thanksgiving, Christmas, and five other days out of the year. I personally asked Rodin to give me a day off today so I could look for a birthday gift for Bayonetta, and he was quick to oblige. He even said that if the gift was underwhelming, or if Bayonetta didn't like it, then I won't have another day off for the next year...**

"Got any suggestions for what I should get Mario for Secret Santa?" Meta Knight conversed with X in the middle of the hallway. Shouldn't be discussing such matters out in the open, especially if Mario were to talk by. "I would have to get him something that he would need, a necessity of some sort."

"Hate to say it Meta, but you're out of luck, I ain't got nothing," responded X. The pacifist robot's person for Secret Santa was Isabelle, and it was a good thing that he knew what to get the shih tzu. Too bad he had no gift ideas for Meta Knight. "I would advise asking Peach, she might give you some ideas."

"Excuse me men, but have you two seen an angel with brown hair and a white toga?" Luka approached Meta Knight and X, holding a can of soda he got from a vending machine. Only purchased the drink for the sake of his taste buds. "I take it his name is Pit, is it?"

"You can find him playing in the ball pit room, it's not that far from here," replied Meta Knight. "Just take a left and then on your right you should..." the Star Warrior trailed off when he saw that Luka had left. Clearly the journalist/escape artist was on a mission.

"Don't play so rough Viridi, my body is more delicate than you think!" Pit said to his girlfriend as he and Viridi happily played in the ball pit room, messing around in the colored rubber balls. This is evident proof that Pit has yet to exit his kid phase, no grown person would play in a ball pit (unless you're someone like Ryu and enjoy resting underneath the rubber balls). "My skin quite frankly can't handle your aggressive ways..."

"Well that's mostly your fault, not mine, I have no control over your body," Viridi responded, playfully throwing a few rubber balls at Pit. The angel shielded himself by blocking the rubber balls with his arms in X formation. Soon Luka entered the room, and when he saw Pit and Viridi having fun in the ball pit, he assumed he came at a very wrong time. But his assuming only lasted for a short moment.

"May I please have your attention, you rascals?" asked Luka; Pit and Viridi stopped what they were doing and looked up at Luka Redgrave, remembering the journalist from his past visit to the mansion, although Pit arguably had a harder time recognizing Luka than Viridi did. "In case you two may have forgotten who I am, I'm Luka Redgrave, and you may know me as the love interest of..."

"Yeah I know you, you're one of those guys from that Chris Pratt movie, _The Magnificent Seven_!" exclaimed Pit, pointing at Luka with intrigue. Luka sighed and took off his hat, dismaying Pit when he showed the angel who he really was. "Oh it's you again..." Pit moaned as he held his head down.

 **Luka: I can't believe I'm doing this, but I've decided that I'll have Pit help me in finding the perfect birthday gift for Bayonetta. Granted Pit's intelligence will more than likely prevent me from ever having days off in 2017, but I'm utterly confident that he will help me find the best gift for Bayonetta...just as long as Viridi comes along. She'll be the deciding factor.**

"As I was saying...you may know me as the love interest of Bayonetta, and with Bayonetta's birthday coming up on the nineteenth..." Luka got down on one knee. "...I was wondering if you two could help an honest man out in finding a birthday gift for my girl. I promised her a birthday gift last year, but I had to fall back on my promise, no thanks to Rodin. So I have to make it up to her this year."

"Funny you should mention that, my birthday is on the nineteenth too!" Pit chirped, now learning that he and Bayonetta have something in common. "Meaning that Bayonetta and I will be the only people in the mansion to get presents early! How cool is that?"

"Let me tell you something even cooler...if you and your lover help me find Bayonetta a birthday gift, then I'll return the favor and give you a gift for your birthday." Pit was quickly pleased by the offer, it was simply too good for him to pass up by any means. "I'll just send it in through the mail, Paradiso's postal service is pretty efficient on earth, I should say. So do we have a deal?" Luka held out his head to Pit.

"It's a deal, we're gonna find Bayonetta the best birthday gift EVER!" Pit excitedly shook Luka's head, slightly exaggerating when he said "best birthday gift ever", because any future birthday gifts Bayonneta gets might be even better. "Don't you think so too, Viridi?" Pit asked the goddess of nature, who was oddly feeling some type of way.

"Um, yeah, sure, I guess so..." was Viridi's reply. The goddess was actually salty because she was planning on buying a birthday gift for Pit, and now Luka said he would buy a birthday gift for the angel if the mission of finding a gift for Bayonetta's birthday was rousing success. What if Luka's birthday gift for Pit was better than Viridi's? That's what was going on the goddess of nature's mind right now.

* * *

Since it was a Thursday, Shulk opted to take his girlfriend Fiora out to a Seattle Seahawks game, where the hometown team would play the Los Angeles Rams. Sure the game doesn't have that much on the line - Seahawks would have to win to clinch a division title, and they would have to do so against a lowly team like the Rams, who haven't been close to relevant in over a decade - but it would be a great thing to take your girl out to...and that's why Shulk pressured Mario, Luigi, Link, and Cloud to bring their girlfriends along. You'll see why Sonic couldn't go later on.

"Seriously Shulk you're making a huge mistake, wasting the time of Mario and the others," Samus told the Homs as Shulk checked himself out in front of a mirror in the foyer, adorned in a Seahawks #25 jersey. "The game is meaningless, it's just a lousy way for the NFL to see if people would actually give a crap to watch football on Thursdays. The unappealing matchup isn't helping either..."

 **Samus: Last time I remember Mario and Luigi attending a Seahawks game, it was a conference title game a year ago, last time the Seahawks had went to a Super Bowl. Due to their "legendary video game status", which sounded like a bunch of balooney, both Mario and Luigi were invited to stay up in the luxury box, and it was there that Luigi tried out this new burger and came back home with food poisoning. Captain Falcon contracted the illness and was sick for like an entire week... *smiles to herself* ...so yeah, it was kinda bittersweet.**

"Mega Man and R.O.B. informed me that the teleportation device is all set to go," Fiora approached Shulk, wearing a Seahawks hoodie that her boyfriend had practically forced to wear. "We'll be all ready to go once Mario finds his cap..." Mario would have rented a van so he could take everyone to CenturyLink Field, where the Seahawks play, but he didn't feel like renting another vehicle.

"We also have to make sure Luigi and Daisy are ready as well, can't leave them behind," replied Shulk. A knock on the door was heard. "Aha, that must be them!" Shulk opened the front door, and saw Luigi and Daisy, adorned with Seahawks gear. Also with the married couple was Rotom...although he looked very much different. "Hello there, Luigi, Daisy...and Rotom."

"Hello to you too Shulk, zzt!" the Rotom, which now resembled something like a Pokedex, waved to the Homs, surprising him. Shulk shrieked as he leaped into the arms of Fiora, who was thankfully behind her boyfriend. Had she not been present, it would have ended very badly for Shulk.

"Oh yes, I forgot to tell-a you and the others about-a Rotom," said Luigi. "A few weeks ago, when-a Professor Kukui and-a company came to visit, I showed-a him my Rotom before he departed, and he-a gave a Pokedex to Rotom...and viola! Rotom is now-a in Pokedex form!" This didn't seem to amuse Samus, who thought the whole upgrade was totally worthless.

"So basically Kukui gave Rotom an upgrade that you don't need," the surly bounty hunter remarked. "You're just gonna stay in your house all day long, it's not like you're going out on a Pokemon adventure or something."

"I'm more than just a Pokedex - I can also give great cooking evidence, and also useful beauty tips, zzrt!" Rotom explained. It would take a lot of time for the others to adjust to the plasma Pokemon speaking human language.

"It's true, Rotom gave me a few pointers on applying makeup, and all of them worked!" stated Daisy, though Samus refused to believe this was true. "He even forced Luigi to apply makeup to my face, and he practically guided Luigi along the way!" Samus thought that statement was true, seeing Luigi as a submissive being that would agree to whatever anyone told him to do.

"Yes, and I had-a Rotom delete the video too before he could-a upload it to YouTube," added Luigi, stating that Rotom was recording Luigi applying makeup to his wife. Imagine if Bowser were to encounter the video online...the very thought of that nearly made Luigi shudder in fear.

 **Rotom: Prior to Professor Kukui's visit, I was nothing more than a mindless Pokemon pet, possessing whatever home appliance I had my eyes set on and use said appliance to torture my owners, as well as Polterpup and Yuffie, while occasionally messing with the mansion residents playing in the front yard. Now I'm a lean, talking machine, who's capable of doing just about anything; I'm like a digital Mr. Do-It-All! No more chasing around Ness and Lucas as a lawn mower or dousing Yuffie as a washing machine from me, zzrt!**

"Excuse me everyone, just got a text from Peach," Shulk pulled out his cellphone and read the text message sent to him. "She says that Mario has finally found his hat, which means we're off to CenturyLink Field!"

"Do they disallow Pokemon inside CenturyLink Field?" inquired Rotom; not a single person knew how to answer the plasma Pokemon's question. "If not, then I would like to go CenturyLink Field and enjoy the experience, zzrt!" Luigi would look strange being accompanied by a Pokemon resembling a Pokedex, but the plumber saw nothing wrong with it...though Samus did.

* * *

"That should be the last of the plants," said Cloud as he was watering the plants in the mansion's gardens for Aerith, because that's why great boyfriends do for their significant others. Cloud's main man Link -wearing a custom jersey with the number one and "PIMP OF HYRULE" on the back - was with the swordsman, having received the text message from Peach.

"Mario found his cap...about time," the Hylian remarked after reading the text. "That means we can finally meet up with Zelda and Aerith in the teleportation room, but before we go..." Link turned around, showing off his jersey to Cloud, whose amusement level was similar to McKayla Maroney's when the gymnast did the infamous "not impressed" face at the 2012 Olympics. "...what do you think of my sweet jersey? Looks great, don't it?"

"Link for the last freaking time, you're not the 'pimp of Hyrule', you're only a hero. Stop letting Meta Knight feed you with lies, hardly any of that stuff from the Urban Dictionary is remotely true."

"It's true to me, dang it..." Link grumbled as he and Cloud headed to the teleportation room. The Team Rocket trio of Jessie, James, and Meowth, all three watching from the rooftop of the mansion, were observing the swordsmen from afar. But they weren't alone...Delibird and Wobbuffet were also present, although the latter Pokemon probably nagged Jessie to bring him along to the mansion.

"Once Mario and his crew leave the mansion, it's go time!" exclaimed Meowth, who was using hi-tech binoculars that were able to pick from Link's and Cloud's voices from a faraway distance. "And with Master Hand on his holiday shopping excursions, kidnapping Pikachu will be like a walk in the park!"

"Nobody will ever notice us in our elf costumes, these ears are very pointy I must admit!" added Jessie, who was wearing elf ears. James and Meowth were wearing elf ears too; it would be a real mystery if anyone looked at Meowth right now and assumed he was a full-fledged elf.

 **James: The elf costumes were given to us from Team Rocket; after we told them that our previous costumes were a failure, they sent us the elf costumes since they said it would allow us to "blend in" during the holiday season.  
** **Meowth: Wanna know what's great about these costumes? *holds up elf shoes to camera* The shoes have bells on them! *rings bell by shaking his foot around* Team Rocket really knows what's up!  
James: Now that we're here, and we're attempting to nab the Pikachu...why not nab the Pichu as well? Then we can give it to someone, and they'll show enough friendship and compassion to make it evolve into Pikachu, and then we'll take the Pikachu away from that person so we'll have _two_ Pikachus in our possession!  
Jessie: You and that stinking Pichu... *strokes her chin thoughtfully* ...though your plan does sound interesting, I suppose...then it's settled: we shall kidnap the Pikachu _and_ the Pichu, and have someone level up the Pichu to Pikachu before we turn both Pikachus to the boss! Our plan cannot fail now, especially in our elf getup!  
Wobbuffet: WOOOOBBUFFET!  
Jessie: *facepalming* Why did I agree to bring you along...**

* * *

While Master Hand went shopping for some lovely Christmas gifts, Sonic was tasked with cleaning the bathrooms in the mansion while the giant hand was away. If you recall from the previous episode, Master Hand wanted to give Sonic a task that would keep the hedgehog busy, and cleaning bathrooms - many of which were in very poor condition, due to the uncleanness of the brawlers - was the only way to go. And Sonic absolutely hated cleaning bathrooms too...that's what made it worthwhile for Master Hand, seeing the hedgehog suffer.

"May I interest you with a very intriguing offer?" Olimar approached Sonic in the bathroom, while the hedgehog was scraping underneath the toilet. A lot of rust down there Sonic did not know about, yet he did not want to see.

"Does it involve cleaning up after the residents and cleaning out baths and showers and toilets and whatnot?" asked Sonic; Olimar shook his head no, and Sonic was immediately sold. "Alright then, give me your offer! It better be something good!"

"I think it would be best if I showed you, rather than telling about it. It will make your reaction even better..."

So Olimar guided Sonic to the gaming room, where they would Doc Louis, Little Mac, and the Koopalings, the eight kiddies under the watch of their father Bowser. Sonic's jaw dropped to the floor when he saw Doc Louis in a Santa Claus outfit, and Little Mac in elf attire, complete with elf ears. Pikachu and Pichu were also present, wearing Santa hats and just...well, acting like typical Pokemon.

"Ho, ho, ho, sonny, Merry Christmas to you!" Doc Louis greeted Larry as he sat on his lap. And yes, Doc Louis was eating a chocolate bar while on the job. One does not simply underestimate that man's love for chocolate. "So what do you want for Christmas? A new video game? A bike? A Nerf gun?"

"All I want is my two front teeth back!" Larry pointed at his mouth, where his two front teeth were. "Lost both of 'em in an epic paintball fight with the Inklings, and Iggy and I won, so our victory was bittersweet..."

 **Bowser: Dumb kids apparently wanted to see Santa Claus *uttered Santa Claus' name in a childish voice* before Christmas, so I had Doc Louis throw on a Santa getup and fool the kids into thinking he was the real the Santa Claus. Like any other parent, I would have taken the Koopalings to the mall to see a Santa there, but seeing how they treated me during their "trick-or-treat practicing", I had to make them stay at the mansion, as a bit of a fair punishment.**

"Sorry kiddo, but I can't just give you your two front teeth back, you might want to ask the Tooth Fairy to do that," said Santa Claus...erm, Doc Louis. Expect Bowser to convince Palutena to undergo some Tooth Fairy gimmick just to appease Larry. "Just tell the Inklings to be less reckless in their paintball battles before they physically harm someone real bad! Next!"

"Please tell me I don't have anything to do with Doc Louis being a snowman..." Sonic moaned as Iggy was the next to sit on Doc's lap. Olimar pulled out a Santa hat and placed on it Sonic's head, much to the chagrin of the hedgehog. Anything better than cleaning up bathrooms, he supposed...

"You're perhaps the only viable candidate for the job of being Santa's Little Helper," explained Olimar. "You'll just do what Little Mac is doing and just stick around Doc Louis and keep everything decent and orderly. We want to create a family-friendly environment of sorts."

"Isn't 'Santa's Little Helper' supposed to be some stupid dog?" Kudos if you know the famous American family that owns the dog named Santa's Little Helper.

"'Santa's Little Helper' is also a film produced by World Wrestling Entertainment, so you might as well shut your yap and take whatever you can get. I'll be right back to check on you once I'm done gathering the Christmas candy. Cilan brought a whole bunch of them, and the candy would be a great treat for the youngsters!" Olimar would depart from the gaming room, as Sonic collected whatever dignity he had inside of him and trudged towards Doc Louis, just after the boxing trainer finished his round with Iggy.

"Ah, Sonic, glad you could join us!" Little Mac said to Sonic as the hedgehog rudely walked past him and took his spot next to Doc Louis. "You're not digging this whole Santa assistant thing, are ya?" Sonic had a salty look on his face, and Little Mac grew quiet, knowing it would be best to keep his mouth shut. Don't want to make Sonic even more angrier than he already was.

* * *

"Come here Heartless, come on boy, don't be shy now - it's just nothing but Christmas candy, nothing to be afraid of."

No, Fox wasn't speaking to a pet Shadow, for that would be weird, owning a pet from a monster species that you're trying to dispose of. He was trying to lure the Shadow to a conspicuous pile of Christmas candy lying on the middle of the hallway, while he was in a hiding spot with Falco, Ema, and Cilan. Rosalina spoke with cilan about how the Heartless were seemingly attracted to the Christmas candy, and Cilan wanted to see if this was true.

 **Cilan: The Christmas candy is pretty cheap here in the States, a whole lot cheaper than I would have ever expected. Compared to Unova, the candy - or should I say, rare candy - is worth close to five thousand Pokemon dollars. Pokemon currency can be a real pain in the butt sometimes, having to pay thousands of dollars on vitamins for your Pokemon...**

The Shadow inched closer and closer to the plate full of Christmas candy, but before it could advance any further, it had to make sure the coast was clear. When it saw no one coming, the Shadow moved further to the candy...

"Now Simisage, use seed bomb on that Heartless!" commanded Cilan, and the connoisseur's Pokemon Simisage did as he was told, using the grass-type move on the Shadow. A barrage of hard-shelled seeds were fired at the Shadow, resulting in an explosion that defeated the Shadow in the process. "Nice work Simisage!"

"Well Rosalina was definitely right, the Heartless indeed are attracted to the Christmas candy..." Ema came out from the hiding spot and walked over to the plate of Christmas candy, picking a piece of candy up and inspecting it. "But when we present to them regular candy, they seldom care about it, they act like it's not there...I wonder why that is so..."

"Yeah I wonder the same thing too, junk just doesn't add up," remarked Falco, who had now appeared behind Ema eating up the plate of Christmas candy. Ema gave the avian pilot a questionable look, and Falco just shrugged.

"You do realize we're gonna use the candy to run several more trials, right?" At Ema's remark, Falco kindly sat the plate of Christmas candy back down, and walked away like he was innocent. He'll have his chance some other time...

"No worries Falco, I have plenty of more Christmas candy in the kitchen, you can have as much as you like!" exclaimed Cilan; Ema angrily looked at the connoisseur with her finger pressed to her lips, silently telling Cilan not to encourage Falco. All the Christmas candy would be gone by the time Falco had his hands on it. When it comes to sweets, the avian pilot knows no mercy.

"Cilan, is there by chance I can 'borrow' the Christmas candy in the kitchen?" Olimar approached the connoisseur. "I want to give it to the children, you know how Bowser can be if he doesn't make his kids happy." Cilan looked towards Falco and Ema, who were both shaking their heads for different reasons - Ema, because she wanted there to be as much Christmas candy as possible to lure more Heartless, and Falco, because he wanted there to be as much Christmas candy as possible for him to eat. And no, he won't be sharing any with his buddy Falco.

"Go ahead, be my guest, take as much candy as you want!" And so Olimar scurried to the kitchen, while Ema and Falco both groaned at Cilan for his decision. Will there be any candy left for them to use...or consume?

* * *

 **Cloud: We just made it inside CenturyLink Field after Shulk paid for all of our tickets, and there's already too many people inside one stadium...we seriously need some some of plague to hit the Seattle area.  
** **Aerith: Now, now, Cloud, no need to be so introverted! I understand that you feel somewhat squeamish when a bunch of people are around, but at least liven up and have some fun!  
** **Mario: Aerith's right, Cloud, you'll-a damper the mood with-a your attitude! Seattle's already-a dreary enough...don't need-a you to make it any more-a depressing than it already is!**

"The capacity of CenturyLink Field is 69,000, though the seating can be expanded to 72,000 for special events!" Rotom stated nonchalantly, like Mario and company were supposed to know this information. "The record attendance for this stadium was reached last month with an attendance of 69,100, when the Seattle Seahawks defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 26-15! It was in this particular game that..."

"Does Rotom always go on factual tangents like these?" Mega Man, who along with R.O.B. accompanied Mario and company to CenturyLink Field, had to ask Luigi, the pet owner of Rotom, while the plasma Pokemon kept running his mouth. "Pet owner" may not be the best term to describe Luigi, considering Rotom's upgrade.

"Most-a of the time, but not-a all of the time," replied the green plumber, surprised he survived more than five minutes inside a sports stadium without being jumped by a rabid fan. A new personal record for him. "I'll have to admit that-a Rotom gives some great-a information when needed..."

"...and that is how the Dallas Cowboys will be primed to appear in the Super Bowl this season!" Rotom finally finished. He just went from CenturyLink Field to the Dallas Cowboys...pretty remarkable when you think about it.

"Here we are, front seats in the house!" Shulk announced as he led his crew to their seats, which were located in the front of the Seahawks end zone. "We got the best view out of everyone in this section! So whenever a Seahawk (or maybe a Ram) scores a touchdown, they can just come over to us and give us a football, so we can keep it as a souvenir!" What if the football player who scores doesn't want to give away the football...what if he wanted to give it to the referee instead? Referees are people too!

"They're not going to give us a football," Zelda quietly said to everyone but Shulk, and everyone shook their heads in agreement. Mario's stomach was suddenly growling, and so was Link's, meaning that the two heroes needed some food in their craw. The two looked at one another, thinking the same exact thing.

"Link and I are-a going to the concessions stand, to get-a some food before the game-a starts," Mario notified the others as he and Link got up from their seats. "We'll-a be back sooner than you-a know it!"

"You two better hurry back before the game begins," said Cloud, although he hardly ever cared for the Seahawks game to begin with. The swordsman didn't even know why he agreed to come with Shulk in the first place; the Homs did say attending the game would be a great way to spend time with your woman, so that could have been what reeled Cloud in.

 **Aerith: No, we don't have sports from the universe I'm from...but we do have magic! There's this magician I know (he's more of a wizard, but sometimes I like to consider him a magician) that knows every magic spell in the book! In fact, he has all sorts of books with magic spells, some of which he probably never even used! Not to mention that he has a very long white beard, a beard I really want to stroke...without the presence of others, at least.**

"I shall come with you two to ensure you will make healthy food choices, zzt!" Rotom said to Mario and Link. Who honestly makes "healthy food choices" at a football stadium, when they sell crap like hot dogs, hamburgers, donuts, and the like? And if you think that's bad, then wait until you see what baseball stadiums offer...

"Um, thank-a you Rotom, I suppose..." replied Mario, not wanting to upset the plasma Pokemon. Who knows, maybe Rotom's guidance could save Mario from a heart attack. He is quite the flabby guy, after all.

* * *

Toad drove Pit, Viridi, and Luka to a nearby jewelry store, driving the three with Luigi's sweet ride, the green Dodge Charger. (Toad asked the plumber for permission, and Luigi was quick to oblige.)

"A fine piece of jewelry would be the best birthday gift for Bayonetta!" Toad exclaimed as Luka and company looked around the store for something to get for Bayonetta. Viridi didn't appear to share Toad's sentiments, as she looked down at the floor feeling somewhat glum. She knew that if she and Pit assisted in finding Bayonetta a birthday gift, then Luka will return the favor by giving Pit a birthday gift - and she certainly didn't want Luka's gift to be better than the birthday gift she has in mind. Sounds like she really wants to impress Pit, don't it? "What should we get her? A necklace? A ring? A...um...uh...what else counts as jewelry?"

"Ooh, I know, a horseshoe!" Pit blurted out, grabbing the attention of the shoppers in the store. Only Pit... "Yeah, why not get Bayonetta a horseshoe, she would absolutely flip out when he sees it!" Luka and company walked away from Pit as much as possible, not wanting to be in any way associated with a guy who believed a horseshoe was a piece of jewelry. So much for the angel to learn...

"This here necklace would like awfully nice around Bayonetta's neck," Luka spotted a dark blue necklace, picking it up and inspecting it. Bayonetta's favorite colors were black and blue, if her default attire in _Smash 4_ is any indication. "What do you guys think?" the journalist (and Rodin's personal lapdog) showed the necklace to Toad and Viridi, wanting their honest opinions.

"What a nice-looking necklace, never seen anything like it!" exclaimed Toad, the type of guy who would say a positive remark about literally anything, such as a zit on Peach's face. Viridi was about to make her response, until an idea popped up in her head. Why not make Luka purposefully fail his task of finding a great birthday gift of Bayonetta, so that Luka won't buy a birthday gift for Pit? Sure it would cost the journalist a few days off from delivering flyers, but at least he would have Thanksgiving AND Christmas off!

 **Viridi: Still haven't figured out what I should get Pit for his birthday...but I REFUSE to let someone like Luka buy a better gift! I'M Pit's girlfriend, so I should get him better stuff! *grumpily folds her arms* And before you even ask, I'm not going full yandere...**

"Why don't we get Bayonetta THIS?" Viridi picked out a necklace with a skull on it. Luka and Toad both grimaced. "What, you two don't like skulls, I betcha Bayonetta is a secret fan of skulls! She has hidden depths, you know!"

"For the last time bub, horseshoes are NOT jewelry, they're metallic products designed to protect a horse's hooves," a jewelry store worker said to Pit, on the verge of annoyance (if he hasn't been annoyed already) as he tried to walk away from the angel. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Viridi holding the skull necklace in her hands. "You folks wish to check out now?"

"Yes sir, we would like to check out this lovely skull necklace, if you don't mind!" replied Viridi; Toad quickly got out his wallet, Luka gritted his teeth in anger, and Pit was still wondering if a horseshoe was a piece of jewelry.

"I shall pay for the skull necklace with my hard-earned money!" exclaimed Toad. Yeah, the hard-earned money you probably gained from drug dealing...refusing to let Viridi get just the skull necklace, Luka wanted to even up the score a little bit.

"...and we would like to check out this dark blue necklace as well!" the journalist held up the necklace for the worker to see; Toad was glancing through his wallet, Viridi tightened her fists in anger, and Pit was now asking random shoppers if a horseshoe was a piece of jewelry.

"...I can pay for the blue necklace too!" Toad sounded more nervous, because he knew his drug dealing money may not be much to cover for two expensive necklaces... _or_ because he didn't want to pay for two expensive items. We could presumably go with that reason.

* * *

Fox, Falco, Cilan, Simisage, and Ema were now in the Pokemon sanctuary, running another trial with the Christmas candy Cilan bought to see if the Heartless were truly attracted to the sweets. What if someone were to interfere in the trial, and attempt to go at the candy? Good thing Ema instructed Fox and Falco on what they should do in such a situation...

"What's this, Christmas candy conspicuously lying in the Pokemon sanctuary of all places?" Lucario, who was walking by, came to a halt when he saw the Christmas candy, and rubbed his hands together in a way Montgomery Burns would be proud of. "Well if no one else is going to claim the candy, then I'll have some for myself..."

 **Lucario: Master Hand has always refused to buy Christmas candy...says he doesn't want "stupid kids ravaged on sweets" to go full ham inside the mansion. So when Cilan bought Christmas candy, it was a blessing, it kinda made up for all the times we celebrated Christmas without the sweet taste of Christmas candy in our mouths. Cilan should be glad he's making the wedding cake for the wedding in June, otherwise Master Hand would have likely punished him for an eternity!**

Lucario tip toed towards the Christmas candy, looking around to make sure no one else was coming for the candy...when all of a sudden, Fox and Falco appeared out of nowhere and ambushed the aura Pokemon, tackling him to the floor. Fox put Lucario in the crossface submission move, while Falco put the aura Pokemon in the angle lock. Two of the most painful, grueling moves used in wrestling, utilized on poor Lucario...

"The candy before you is only for the Heartless, you bum!" Fox told Lucario as he kept the crossface locked in. Lucario kept tapping out, but Fox and Falco both ignored the aura Pokemon's silent plea for mercy.

"Better check yourself, before you wreck yourself Lucario!" added Falco. Suddenly the sound of munching was heard, meaning that a Heartless was now eating away at the candy...or was it? Fox, Falco, and Lucario all looked up and saw Greninja sitting on the floor in a cross-legged position, happily munching away on the Christmas candy as he held the plate in his hand.

"Greninja, why must you ruin our trial..." Ema moaned as she, Cilan, and Simisage appeared out of their hiding spot. "Well at least there wasn't a Heartless nearby, that would have made the trial even more of a failure if we were close to..." And would you know it, a Shadow appeared, and crept towards the candy Greninja was holding in his hand, and as it got closer to said candy, Greninja defeated the Heartless with a Water Shuriken, before it continued eating the candy in peace.

"The Heartless was defeated, so this trial wasn't an outright failure," Cilan sheepishly grinned at Ema, who shot the connoisseur with a blank stare.

* * *

"...and I also want a giant paint brush, a new paint gun, a bunch of grenades with paint in them, another paint gun, but this one with heat-seeking missiles and a motion tracker..." the female Inkling, sitting on Santa Claus... _Doc Louis_ ' lap, gave the jolly ol' fellow... _boxing trainer_ a rundown on what she wanted for Christmas. A now miserable Doc Louis just sat in his chair with his chin resting on the palm of his hand, waiting for the very moment (or even day) that the female Inkling was done. And it didn't seem like that moment or day would be coming anytime soon.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, you want a bunch of things with paint, Satna can get you all of that and then some, now move along kid!" Doc rudely pushed the female Inkling away, allowing the Inkling's male counterpart to sit on the boxing trainer's lap. Team Rocket was spying from a faraway distance, but they weren't spying on Doc Louis...they were spying on Pikachu and Pichu, still at their posts with their Santa hats on, as they sought to capture the two electric-type Pokemon.

 **Jessie: If we're going to nab the Pikachu and the Pichu, we need to proceed with action when everyone's distracted. Given how attentive everyone is, our mission would be very difficult to proceed...  
** **Meowth: The only person that would be distracted would be Doc Louis, when he's eating his chocolate bar. We would need some sort of diversion to distract the others though, they're the ones we need to look out for!  
** **James: I think Delibird has a great distraction in his sack... *Delibird pulls out a smoke bomb from his sack* Ooh, a smoke bomb, excellent choice Delibird, we can always count on...  
** **Wobbuffet: WOOOOOOBBUFFET!  
** **Jessie: Are you TRYING to blow our cover?!**

"Man, all this playing Santa Claus is making me hungry!" Doc Louis, after he was finished with the male Inkling, exclaimed as took out a chocolate bar and ate it. Knowing Doc, he's probably hungry all the time. Team Rocket would go after Pikachu and Pichu at this very moment, but Sonic and Little Mac remained on their posts, being vigilant and whatnot.

"Don't think you're down yet Doc, you have yet to ask Lemmy what he wants for Christmas!" Bowser said to the boxing trainer as he presided over his Koopalings scarfing down the Christmas candy Olimar brought to the gaming room under Cilan's permission. Lemmy was using the bathroom around the time his Koopaling siblings were doing their rounds with Santa Claus...erm, Doc Louis.

Suddenly a smoke bomb was thrown in the area, and it resulted in a bunch of smoke filling up the entire room. Everyone coughed and gagged as the smoke penetrated the air, like how a man...we'll just stop right there.

"Where is all this smoke coming from?" Sonic wheezed, just like a certain poison-type Pokemon James owns, or may owns. Who knows what Pokemon James has in his party. "Hope it's not another fire, we already had one when Red accidentally burned the first Christmas tree down!"

By the time the smoke had cleared, everything returned to normal. But one, or two, things were amiss - Pikachu and Pichu were both kidnapped! Only thing left from them were the Santa hats they wore on their heads.

"Pikachu and Pichu must have been kidnapped, obviously a work from a devious villain or two!" remarked Bowser. "No fair, how dare they use villainous tactics that I have yet to use!" Bowser was acting like he invented the concept of throwing a smoke bomb and kidnapping someone while the smoke persisted. He's not _that_ sneaky, he's best known for creating grueling dungeons that test Mario's every whim.

"The only people I can think that would kidnap both Pikachu and Pichu would be Team Rocket," said Little Mac, before looking towards Sonic. "We oughta find them before it's too late!" Sonic nodded at Little Mac, glad that he had something exciting to do rather than being "Santa's Little Helper".

* * *

Mario and Link were at a concessions stand at CenturyLink Field, figuring out what food they should order, while Rotom dictated what they should buy. To tell the truth, Rotom was only controlling the decision-making of Mario, while Link was relatively left alone by the plasma Pokemon.

 **Rotom: Luigi has always spoke about Mario having gastric problems when consuming Mexican food, and I fear that Mario may suffer from underlying problems with other kinds of food, like junk food for example! Too much cholesterol from eating junk food might very well end up with you-know-what! I'm here to save Mario from the inevitable and help him make great choices!**

"No Mario, you can't have the nachos," Rotom told the plumber when Mario pointed at some nachos at the concessions stand. The plumber would then point at other food... "...and you can't have the pulled pork either...or the tater tots...or the chili dog." There must be something for Mario to eat, and the plumber simply refused to go down without a fight.

"Can I at least-a have this?" Mario picked up a doughnut burger with cheese, bacon, and everything else required to make the burger the most caloric thing sold at sports stadiums.

"I'm terribly sorry Mario, but you cannot have the doughnut burger, it has way too much calories! Who knows how much fat is in that thing!" Mario gritted his teeth in frustration; a part of him wanted to take Rotom by the neck, if it ever had a neck to begin with, and strangle him to no end.

"Can _I_ have the doughnut burger?" Link asked Rotom right before Mario could throw the burger on the ground. Would have been a giant waste of food...and calories. And fat and cholesterol.

"Of course you can Link - heck, you can buy as many doughnut burgers as you wish!" responded Rotom. Mario stomped his foot on the ground as Link paid for the doughnut burger with whatever money Zelda supplied him with. As the Hylian happily ate his calorie-inducing burger, Mario felt like he had a score to settle with Rotom.

"What is-a your problem man, why must you-a dictate what I can and-a can not eat?!" the plumber snapped on the plasma Pokemon, inadvertently causing a scene as many Seahawks fans were now looking. "I'm the hero of-a the Mushroom Kingdom, the biggest bread-a winner for Nintendo, and therefore I should-a make my own decisions with-a out losers like YOU having to preside-a over every little choice I make!" Mario's rant made Rotom tear up, and that's when the plumber knew that he goofed up.

"Excuse me for helping you make wise choices and protecting you from future health problems, excuse me for just doing my job, zzzrt!" Rotom floated away in tears, as the fans around Mario shook their heads at the plumber, who was now full of regret. The way Mario snapped on Rotom, it was slightly uncharacteristic.

"Dang Mario, I didn't know you had that much in you," Link remarked, as he was halfway done with his doughnut burger. The Hylian may have reached his daily maximum of calories, fat, salt, and even protein at this point.

"I should have known-a better than to snap on Rotom like-a that, he was just looking out for me..." said Mario, wanting to make things right with the plasma Pokemon. So he did what he had to do... "Rotom, come-a back, let-a me apologize!" The plumber ran off, with Link following along, doughnut burger in hand.

 **Link: I gotta say, this doughnut burger is the bomb...so what if it has like 2,000 calories...so what if it's packed with fat and sodium...so what if... *looks around* Wait, where did Mario go? Crap, where did he run off to?**

* * *

Let's go check on Shulk and the others, shall we? The game was about to start, as players from both teams were warming up on the football field, dressed in their uniforms. Kickoff was a couple of minutes away.

"Ooh, the game is about to start and Mario and Link have yet to return!" fretted Peach, seemingly forgetting about Rotom. But Luigi took it in stride, for he knew what it was like to be forgotten. "Hope there isn't a long line at the concessions stand!"

"Just look at how close we are to the players, it's amazing!" exclaimed Shulk, pointing at the Seahawks players warming up. "I could just jump out of the stands and touch one of them!" ...that's it? Just touch them, and return to your seat? No autograph or anything, just touch a player and that's it?

"I would highly advise you not to do that," warned Zelda, fearing for Shulk's safety. "We don't want to make yourself look like a fool in...front of...others..." The princess trailed off when she saw Shulk reaching for a player's helmet, though he wasn't close enough.

"Please Shulk, get back in the stands before you fall out and hurt yourself..." Aerith kindly said to the Homs, whose entirely body was stretched over the fencing as he reached for the player's helmet. He had reached so far that he fell out from the stands, and after being down for a brief moment, Shulk rose up and cheered as he jumped his fists in the air. The Seahawks fans from above were cheering on for the Homs, apparently encourage his behavior. The man was living the dream!

But unfortunately for Shulk, the dream would come to a bitter end when the Homs strutted around the football field, only to be taken down by not one, but two security guards. One guard held Shulk down on the ground while the other handcuffed him. The two security guards helped the Homs up, and walked him out of the football field.

"Great, now Shulk got himself in a whole heap of trouble," sighed Cloud. This was one of the reasons the swordsman deviated from attending the game, he knew one of his male buddies would make a complete fool of himself. "C'mon Fiora, let's go claim your boyfriend before they kick him out of the stadium." Cloud grabbed the female Homs' hand and made their way towards the security office of CenturyLink Field.

* * *

Toad drove Luka, Pit, and Viridi back to the mansion, with the dark blue necklace Luka picked out and the grotesque skull necklace Viridi picked out in their possession. Viridi desired to get rid of the former necklace, and she needed a viable way to do so...but how could she do it?

 **Luigi: Toad is one-a of the few people I can-a trust with driving my Dodge-a Charger - he's an experienced driver who can-a drive just about any vehicle you give-a to him. One thing I'm entrusting Toad-a in is not to let any hitch-a hikers in my vehicle, as long as he can do-a that much, then we're straight...**

"Pull over this instant if you know what's good for you!" a robber wearing a ski mask and carrying what may be a giant sack of money called out to Toad on the road; Toad, not wanting to start anything, pulled over and let the robber inside the Charger. "Thanks man, the last three or so people I asked a ride from were pretty rude to me, driving off like I wasn't even there...now step on the gas! Take me to the city's industrial area at once!"

So Toad stepped on the gas (how he was able to given his short stature was a mystery) and sped away, as he took the robber to his destination. Soon enough, a bunch of police cars were following the Dodge Charger, since the robber was inside.

"Aw man, a bunch of police cars are chasing us now!" Pit looked out the back window and saw red and blue lights flashing as the sound of sirens was heard. "Why'd you do it Toad, why did you let this robber inside the car?"

"Shut your mouth kid or I'll make your girlfriend an ex in an instant!" the robber threatened Pit as he pulled out a gun, pointing it at the side of the angel's head. How did he know Pit and Viridi were a couple? Because they were holding hands, like how most couples would do in a situation where a runaway robber is with you in a speeding car. "Do you know how to slow down the police cars?" the robber asked Toad.

"We can always slow them down with these bananas!" Toad pressed a button with a banana on it (yes, the Dodge Charger came with _Mario Kart_ items, Lili de Rochefort clearly knew Luigi that well), and bananas starting firing out from the back of the vehicle, littering all over the road. Several police cars slipped on the banana peels and crashed, as a few more police cars continued chasing the Dodge Charger. Toad then pressed a button with a green shell on it, and a green shell was fired from the vehicle, hitting several police cars and making them crash along the road. However, there were a few police cars remaining, as the car chase wore on.

"The police is still on our tail, we have to expel of them immediately!" exclaimed the robber, not wishing to go to jail. "Is there any other buttons you could use to take them out once and for all?"

"I'm glad you asked, for this button can sure come in handy!" Toad pressed a button that suddenly caused the Charger to go completely invisible, like how the vehicles in _Mario Kart_ become visible after one loses all their balloons in battle mode. Toad then shifted into reverse and backed up as the police cars trailed by, and then he pressed a blue shell button that was fired at the police cars, destroying the cars and injuring several police officers in the process.

 **Toad: Luigi had shown me the capabilities of his car, like the bananas, shells, and even the golden mushroom. Lili de Rochefort must be a pocket _Mario Kart_ fan...she has very great taste!**

After the car chase was over, Toad headed to the industrial section of Seattle - where CenturyLink Field was located - and made the Dodge Charger visible again. Luka, Pit, Viridi, and the robber were in for one heck of a ride, for that car chase was surely a speedy adrenaline rush.

"Thanks for the ride man, I greatly appreciate it," the robber thanked Toad as he got out of the car and hurried to his destination.

"Thank goodness that was over, the robber looked a lot more dangerous than he appeared to be..." Luka sighed in relief as he looked around...only to notice something was missing. "Where did the dark blue necklace go, it was here a while ago!" The skull necklace Viridi picked out remained in the car, but the other necklace was nowhere to be found.

"No it can't be missing, I practically spent thirty-five thousand dollars on that necklace!" worried Toad. He raised $35,000 from dealing drugs to others in Seattle, and likely throughout the country as well? "If the necklace is indeed missing, then it's surely a huge waste of money..."

"And a huge waste of money is certainly is..." Viridi quietly said as she devilishly smiled to herself, knowing that the robber now had more than just the sack of whatever's inside (could be money) in his possession...

* * *

Fox and company ran a third trial with the Christmas candy at a place other than the mansion - Luigi's home. Don't worry, they didn't break inside the plumber's home or anything, Fox had found Luigi's house key lying on the patio next to the house, meaning that the plumber obviously dropped it. He'll be thanking Fox later.

"As long as Polterpup doesn't interfere in this trial, then we're good," stated Falco as he and the others hid behind a couch, as a Neoshadow crept towards the plate of Christmas candy lying on the living room floor. As the Heartless reached for the candy and picked up a piece, Polterpup came over to tackle the Neoshadow to the floor, licking its face. The Neoshadow couldn't stop the ghostly dog, only thing it could do was allow Polterpup to lick him like it was his personal lollipop.

"So it's not only the Shadows that are attracted to the candy," said Ema as arose from the behind the couch, writing down several observations on a notepad. "Can one of you boys take out the Heartless?" Fox got out his blaster and fired a shot at the Neoshadow, defeating it in the process.

 **Ema: Our Christmas candy trials are not done...not yet, at least. I wanna see if we can attract a new species of Heartless, one that we have never seen before. I'm somewhat optimistic that it would be Christmas-themed, but I'm having a hard time visualizing a Heartless related to Christmas, or any holiday for that matter...**

"We shall execute one more trial, this time outside in front of the mansion," Ema told the others. "I want to have as much candy as possible - Cilan, how many packs of candy do you have left?"

"Definitely a lot more than I can remember, I'll bring them all outside right away!" the Pokemon connoisseur exclaimed. They were now going all out with the last trial, but would it pay off?

* * *

Team Rocket stealthily sneaked through the mansion, with Pikachu and Pichu in their hands, but just when it seemed like they were about to make their grand escape, they were suddenly stopped in the middle of the hallway by Red the Pokemon Trainer, who was again trying way too hard to be cool by looking down at the floor, cap titled and all. You'd think that since he was thirty years of age, he would already accept the fact that he's not cool enough, and that Blue's eons better than him.

"You think you can get away with those two Pokemon, but you all have thought wrong!" Red looked up and pointed at Team Rocket, who were laughing inside at Red's attempt to act/look cool. "I won't let you get away while I'm around! Go, Squirtle!" Red threw out a Poke Ball, summoning the tiny turtle Pokemon. "Use Water Gun!" Squirtle fired a gush of water out from his mouth at Team Rocket, and right on instinct...

"Wobbuffet, quickly, use Mirror Coat!" commanded Jessie, and the patient Pokemon's body became surrounded in a white reflective color. Once the water hit Wobbuffet, it bounced off of the Pokemon and attacked Squirtle. Frankly countering Pokemon attacks is the only thing Wobbuffet's capable of...

"Squirtle, NOOO!" Red screamed in a rather overreacting manner as he checked on his beloved Squirtle, making sure he was okay, while Team Rocket sneaked right by with Pikachu and Pichu. Too bad Little Mac and Sonic were following the evildoers closely behind...

* * *

"You know-a Link, maybe I shouldn't have-a yelled at Rotom in such an angry matter," Mario spoke with the hero of Hyrule as the two video game heroes continued looking for Rotom. They would have found the plasma Pokemon by now, but Link apparently headed back to the concessions stand to buy another doughnut burger. Don't be surprised in the slightest if the Hylian suffers from a heart attack in the next episode or two. "Maybe he was-a right, I should refrain from-a eating too much junk-a food, do what's-a best for my health..."

"Yeah Mario, that's the spirit, always put your health first!" exclaimed Link, ironically eating the doughnut burger in his hands. Mario was generally surprised that Link was able to handle such a fat-inducing caloric sandwich.

 **Daisy: The first quarter just started, and Mario, Link, Cloud, and Fiora have yet to return...and Luigi's worried about the whereabouts of Rotom. If Mario and Link return and tell us that Rotom is lost, then my precious Link will no longer have a twin brother, and Zelda will be looking for another Hylian man to call her own...**

Mario and Link made their way through the corridors of CenturyLink Field, and when they had stopped by the home squad locker room, where the Seahawks get dressed and all that good stuff, they heard several voices inside. So Mario opened the door to the locker room...

...and inside they saw an Organization XIII dude holding Rotom, Shulk, and the security guards - all with duct tapes on their mouths - hostage on one side of the locker room, and Cloud and Fiora on the other side, with Cloud staring the Organization member down. Mario instantly knew it was the same member he saw last week, for he was wielding gunblades.

"I'm not asking much from you Cloud - just tell your lady friend Aerith to bring her scrawny butt over, and I'll let these folks free and nobody gets hurt," said the hooded man. He knew who Cloud was, but Cloud didn't know him, it was the swordsman's first time seeing someone from the Organization. "Or I can do you one better - if you don't bring Aerith, then not only would I refuse to let these fools go, but I will also blow up this entire stadium, and put the blame solely on you! Oh man, the entire city would hate you FOREVER!"

"Stand back Mario, and Link, I got this..." Cloud assured the two, knowing that they were behind him without having to look. Great friends like Cloud always know when other friends are present. During this moment, the very robber that hitched a ride on Luigi's Dodge Charger sneaked his way inside the locker room, and tip toed towards the hooded Organization member, dropping the sack on the floor as he pulled out a necklace - the dark blue necklace Luka had bought from the jewelry store! Viridi must have given it to him when Luka and company were least expecting it.

"I will give you until the count of ten to go outside this locker room, and fetch Aerith for me, before I have to take matters into my own hands," the hooded man continued as Cloud, Fiora, Mario, and Link held their breath, for the bank robber was nearing close towards the hooded man. "I will start the countdown, and I shall start right about..."

Suddenly the robber took the necklace and wrapped it around the hooded man's neck, bringing him to the floor. The robber then nodded to Cloud and company, motioning them to save the folks the Organization member was holding hostage. So Cloud, Fiora, Mario, and Link quickly escorted Shulk, Rotom, and the security guards out of the locker room, and by the time they had left, the robber released his chokehold on the hooded man, before putting the dark blue necklace in his pocket.

"What is your problem man, who in blazes are you?!" the hooded Organization member questioned the robber as he got up, and soon the robber would eventually reveal who he was...

"Missed me?" the robber took off his ski mask, revealing himself to be...Dr. Wily? Who would have guessed! Certainly someone must have broken him out of jail.

 **Dr. Wily: *taking off ski mask* Master Hand had came to me in my jail cell, and offered to pay my bail and release me from jail to make up the trial, which I was _clearly_ innocent for (don't know how I was ever convicted in the first place). After I was released, Master Hand told me about the whole dealio with Organization XIII, and asked if I wanted to get back at the Organization for anything wrongdoing they've done to me. One of the Organization members told me that I was no longer "a trustworthy person" while I was imprisoned, and it made me feel some kind of way...and with this here tracking device I invented myself... *shows tracking device to camera* ...I can hunt down any Organization member in the area, and prove to them how trustworthy I can be! *puts ski mask back on and runs away***

"It's, it's you again, how did you break out?" the hooded man backed away, pointing at Dr. Wily. The evil robot inventor grabbed his sack and opened its contents, revealing a Guts Man-style robot. If you ever played the _Mega Man_ games, you can tell that Dr. Wily _really_ loves him some Guts Man.

"Merry Christmas!" Dr. Wily laughed manically as the robot chased after the hooded man, who summoned a dark corridor to escape the premises. The robot tried to enter the dark corridor, but it vanished in the nick of time. "Ha ha ha, that oughta teach him..."

* * *

Ema and the others ran their final trial of the day, with a giant pile of Christmas candy in the center of the mansion's front yard. The forensics expert hid behind the mansion with Fox, Falco, Cilan, and Simisage, as they anticipated a Heartless - or preferably a new species of Heartless - to consume the candy. Just then, Team Rocket exited the mansion with Pikachu and Pichu still in their grasps, and saw the Christmas candy before them.

"Well look what we have here, loads of Christmas candy, just for us!" Mewoth exclaimed, thinking the candy was meant for Team Rocket, as he, Jessie, James, Wobbuffet, and Delibird gobbled down the candy like madmen. Another trial, another failed attempt, and Ema groaned as she facepalmed, though Cilan hadn't given up hope just yet.

"I wouldn't be sulking just yet Ema, looks like we have some company..." the connoisseur spoke up when multitudes of two new species of Heartless - one that looked like a purple gargoyle and the other that looked like a mummy, all bearing the Heartless symbol on their chests - flanked around Team Rocket, though they were eyeing the candy.

"That's weird, those Heartless look like they're Halloween-themed, why would they want Christmas candy for?" questioned Fox, stroking his chin. Team Rocket looked up and saw the Heartless swarmed around them, though they weren't afraid - in fact, they were actually quite curious.

"Are these new undiscovered Pokemon we've never seen before?" questioned James, looking around. Obviously this man has never looked at a Alolan Pokedex before, same could be said for his accomplices. "Is it just me, or are they're getting closer to us?"

"Clearly they want the Christmas candy, and we can't let them have any of it!" replied Jessie, going back to scarfing down the Christmas candy. "Eat up boys, don't let these vermin touch our beloved sweets!" So Jessie, James, Mewoth, Wobbuffet, and Delibird continued eating the candy, although the Heartless kept drawing near.

 **Lucario: The Christmas candy I ate earlier...was one of the greatest things I've ever tasted! Every piece I ate, it made me feel like I was in bliss, every taste was so, so appeasing...don't you think so too, Greninja?  
** **Greninja: *nods happily while eating an armful of candy*  
** **Lucario: Are you seriously still eating the Christmas candy you found in the sanctuary? Or did you steal some candy from the kitchen without Cilan's permission? *Greninja nods his head* Why did I expect anything else from someone like you...**

Team Rocket kept eating the candy like scoundrels, while the Heartless drew in closer...but the Heartless would go away in an instant when Sonic unleashed his spin dash on the creatures, defeating all the Heartless in the process. Little Mac came in, throwing punches at Team Rocket left and right and making them scatter away, making them drop Pikachu and Pichu in the process. The evildoers would realize the terrible mistake they made when they saw the two mouse Pokemon aligning themselves with Sonic and Little Mac, who came in the save the day.

"Pikachu, Pichu, I think you both know the drill...go ahead and use Thunderbolt on those bums," commanded Sonic, and Pikachu and Pichu did as they were told, unleashing their signature attacks on the evildoers before them. The result was a wicked explosion that propelled Team Rocket away for good.

"Team Rocket is blasting off again!" Jessie, James, and Mewoth exclaimed as they, along with Delibird and Wobbuffet, were sent flying through the air.

"WOOOOOBBUFFET!" Wobbuffet made this one final remark before he and his compadres were gone for good. Sonic dusted his hands off as he and Little Mac grabbed Pikachu and Pichu and carried them back to the gaming room, while Bayonetta exited the mansion to investigate a little bit.

"What was with all that commotion, did I hear something along the lines of 'Team Rocket is blasting off again'?" the Umbra Witch questioned once she was outside. Toad and the others arrived as Toad pulled Luigi's Dodge Charger up on Luigi's driveway, and he, Luka, Pit, and Viridi got out of the vehicle and headed to the mansion, with Luka holding the skull necklace in his hands. The journalist planned to conceal the necklace once he was inside the mansion...but it was too bad Bayonetta spotted him.

"Oh, uh, hi there Bayonetta, lovely seeing you on my day off," Luka nervously said to his girlfriend, quickly hiding the necklace behind his back, though it was a good chance Bayonetta probably saw it already. Pit squealed at the Christmas candy he saw before him, and soon scarfed down the sweets as Viridi and Toad stood by and watched Fox and Falco come over and restrain Pit for eating any more candy before he could choke himself.

"Nice seeing you too Luka, nicely dressed as always..." smiled Bayonetta, paying attention to the item Luka had behind his back. Her curiosity was peaking, and it couldn't be contained. "What is that you got behind your back, an early birthday gift I assume? Show me or else I'll have to use force!"

"I guess you can call it an early birthday gift, found it at a jewelry store with the help of others..." Luka showed Bayonetta the skull necklace, while Pit, Viridi, and Toad (but especially Viridi) looked on attentively, waiting to see Bayonetta's reaction. "So what do you think, you like it?"

"Silly Luka, I don't like the necklace...why, I absolutely LOVE it!" Viridi looked on in shock, her mouth completely agape, while Pit and Toad both felt happy for Luka. "And to think, this whole time, I thought you didn't know that I secretly like skulls, my liking for skulls is a bit secretive...so evidently you know me very well! Thank you for the early birthday present, my dearest!" Bayonetta gladly accepted the skull necklace and gave Luka a hug, smooching him on the cheek.

 **Viridi: *seething bitterly while looking down at her hands* Why did I give the man in the ski mask the wrong necklace, why did Bayonetta have to like skulls, why couldn't she just tell everyone what she likes and doesn't like... *growls angrily as she kicks an unsuspecting Waddle Dee into the air***

* * *

Unlike Shulk and company, Mega Man and R.O.B. didn't care much for the Rams-Seahawks game (same could be said for Cloud, but Aerith wanted to know how it felt like to attend a sporting event), and so they chilled out in the pro shop (another word for a gift shop) until the game was over. Seahawks fans (and maybe a few occasional Rams fans, too) started filling up teh surrounding game, indicating that the game was finally over. Shulk and his crew would show up in the crowd of fans.

"I TAKE IT...THAT THE SEAHAWKS WON?" R.O.B. asked the group, noticing how elated the Seahawks fans were.

"Seahawks won baby, let's go!" Shulk cheered, giving a chest bump to a random Seahawks fan. "Seattle Seahawks 2016 NFC West champions, baby!" Seahawks haven't clinched a division title yet, their divisional rivals the Arizona Cardinals could still be in the division race if they win on Sunday...that's how you now Shulk is a bandwagoner, like how most Seattleites are accused of.

"Nothing is-a given Shulk, we have plenty of foot-a ball left, Hawks may need another team-a to falter for the division crown-a to be theirs," stated a reasonable Mario. The plumber turned his attention to Rotom, having something to say to the plasma Pokemon. "Rotom, I just want to say-a that I'm dreadfully sorry for how I treated-a you at the concessions stand...I will admit that junk-a food will be my vice, and I must limit most of my-a intakes if I want to value my health..."

"Apology accepted, it's all water under the bridge!" Rotom accepted Mario's apology with a grin. "If you ever want to make healthy food choices, then you know exactly who to ask, zzt!"

"I would like to make an apology too - just want to say sorry for how I acted before the game, when the players were warming up," apologized Shulk. Hey, at least the Homs got to be in the presence of a few Seahawks players, although he had already seen two Seahawks players present at the mansion, if you recall. "Certainly made a fool out of myself, and I will vow not to do such a moronic thing ever again! Also, whoever that guy wearing the ski mask was a huge help, wish I could thank him!"

"Can we head back home now, Peach and I have some finishing touches to do for the Christmas party," stated Zelda as Luigi stealthily tip toed towards a pro shop. "Don't think I can't see you Luigi, I know what you were trying to do..." Luigi snapped his fingers in disgust as he returned to his place.

* * *

 **Master Hand: Just returned to the mansion from some Christmas shopping, and upon arrival, Isabelle notified me that Olimar had made Sonic act a "Santa's Little Helper" towards Doc Louis, who was rocking it as Santa Claus. Now tell me this, was Sonic feeling miserable and ticked?...He was? Mwha ha ha ha, maybe I didn't have to make him clean the bathrooms after all! Olimar, you're a genius!**

"Boy, I can't thank you enough for saving Pikachu and Pichu, had Team Rocket gotten away with them, we would have been in a hot mess!" Doc Louis, still wearing his Santa getup, said to Sonic in the gaming room, commending him for his heroic efforts. Doc had commended his protege Little Mac a while ago. "You're truly are Santa's Little Helper, the best one a Santa could ask for!" Doc Louis laughed heartily while Sonic laughed too, albeit awkwardly.

"Guess you could say that, although I was just doing my job," Sonic slightly chuckled, feeling more pleased than he was at the beginning of the episode. Elsewhere in the gaming room, while Bayonetta was trying on her new skull necklace in Luka's presence, Pit was sharing his Christmas candy with his buddy Kirby (Cilan promised the angel he could have the rest of the candy, as long as he shared with others), while Viridi sat with the two lovable dudes, all doom and gloom.

"What's the matter Viridi, got feelings of a Blue Christmas?" Pit asked his girlfriend, not standing to see her saddened anymore. Kirby couldn't stand it either, it tore the pink puffball's heart to see others depressed. "Peach's Christmas party will change all of that!"

"No it's not that, it's just...with Luka buying you a birthday gift, and me wanting to buy you a birthday gift too, I just don't want Luka's gift to be better than mine's, and I feel that since I'm your girlfriend..." Viridi started off, before Pit rested a reassuring hand on the goddess' shoulder.

"Viridi, just because you're my girlfriend and all...doesn't mean you have to impress me with extravagant gifts. I mean, I'm already thankful I have a gal like you as a romantic partner, you're perhaps the only girl in the world tolerant of my mannerisms and actions, and I can't thank you enough for it. So even if your birthday gift for me is underwhelming, and Luka's birthday gift is eons better...just know that having you around, to love me and care for me, is the greatest gift I could ask for."

And just like that, Viridi's frown immediately turned upside down, forming a gleeful smile. How very nice of Pit to tell her such kind words - those words were certainly worth more than material things like jewelry.


	53. Episode 53: Get-Together

_Author's Note:_

 _So at this point in the story, after approximately a year has passed, you're all probably wondering the same old question: "CrashGuy01, what possibly motivated you to write Smash Life?" Well let me just say that it kind of started with one man, and one man only..._

 _John Krasinski. Yes, you read that right -_ _John Krasinski._

 _And now you probably have conjured another question in your head: "CrashGuy01, how could someone like John Krasinski lead to you wanting to write Smash Life?" Well how about I tell you a little story..._

 _It all started during the summer of 2015, when I was watching an episode of Lip Sync Battle online. (I also watch the show on television, if I remember to, that is). The particular episode I was watching pitted Anna Kendrick against John Krasinski. Now I already knew who Anna Kendrick was, for I already knew her from Pitch Perfect, but John Krasinski was quite frankly a name I never heard of, and I felt pretty guilty for not knowing who the man was. (Coincidentally, I had no idea who Krasinski's wife, Emily Blunt, was prior to watching Lip Sync Battle, how about that?)_

 _Out of my own intrigue, I looked up John Krasinski on Wikipedia and IMDB (the Internet Movie Database, of course), and was generally surprised to learn that he was a lead character on the hit TV show The Office. Now I knew Steve Carrell was on the show (just from watching a few Office GIFs online) but learning that Krasinski was on the show too was a bit surprising to me. And I guess that's what compelled me to watch The Office._

 _So for a vast majority of my summer that year, aside from listening to wrestling theme songs and watching old wrestling matches (i.e. the 2003 Royal Rumble, and no I didn't watch the entire thing), I watched a bunch of Office videos, compilations, and deleted scenes, and by the time summer was over, I knew every character by name and also knew some of the more notable episodes of the series. It was also during that time I was working on my first ever Smash story, "Super Random Bros", which as the name implies, is completely random in every sense of the word. Unfortunately it got too random, and I had to cancel the story, so to speak, sometime after the 4th of July._

 _Soon my first college semester came that fall, and I wasn't all that crazy about The Office then, because I was mostly focusing on my studies and whatnot. When you're transitioning from high school to college, you gotta make some sacrifices. However, it was during the semester that I got the chance to play Super Smash Bros 4 for the first time at the college I'm attending, and made some new friends along the way. I fondly remember my first ever Smash 4 match being a chaotic 8-player match on Gaur Plains, and I was playing as Shulk, perhaps the only newcomer I cared about playing at the time. Although I had lost the match (in actuality, I had to forfeit because I had to get to class on time), I found the match a lot more enjoyable than having to play against level nine CPUs on Brawl._

 _Once the fall semester ended and Christmas was around the corner, I felt somewhat compelled to start of a major Smash story, one that I could be consistent with. So I decided to combine two of my favorite things - The Office and Super Smash Bros - and viola: "Smash Life" was created. The brawlers all participating in a documentary-style story in the Smash Mansion...I thought it was a pretty great idea. Just the thought of the brawlers doing talking head segments, like the characters from The Office, made the idea all the more appealing to me_

 _The original plan I had for the story was to center it mostly around Cloud, as the documentary (or should I say, mockumentary) would follow him as he dealt with the antics of the mansion, but I felt that Mario, Link, and Sonic simply couldn't be overlooked, so I made them unofficial main characters, along with a few others. Oh, and the characters who have a DLC costume in their likeness? I inserted them into the story, simply because I didn't feel like recycling the same old characters over and over again. More characters to work with meant more options. Also, I didn't intend this story to carry the "romance" genre, but seeing how well I did with many of the story's pairings - Pit/Viridi, Link/Zelda, Mario/Peach, Lucina/Robin, and several others - I just had to make this story a romance fanfic. In the past, I felt very iffy about romantic fanfiction, but as I wrote this story, my stance on romance in fanfiction changed._

 _And now a year has passed, and I'm fastly closing in on 300 reviews...pretty crazy to think about, huh? Sometimes when I read the reviews, I see how many of you dub "Smash Life" one of the best fanfics ever written, and I feel very thankful for such kind words. I mean, I still consider "World's Conquest" by AuraChannelerChris, "Banana Babe Beach Blast" by SmashKing24 (finally favorited the story today, even though I kept telling myself I was going to), and perhaps "Icarus Chronicle" by Paradigm of Writing to be better stories, but hey, I'll take whatever I can get. Just seeing and reading reviews charms me inside, and makes feel better about my work...which is occasionally ravaged by careless writing errors and grammar mistakes, which I would see when reading over past chapters of "Smash Life". I would go back and revise my work...but sometimes I don't really feel like it. Shame on me for wanting to make every chapter so freakishly long..._

 _Regardless, writing this story on a weekly basis has always kept my head high, and kind of prevented me from ever feeling down or stressed; I just write, and write, and write, until I can't write no more or until it's time to go to bed. (Usually it's the latter.) I always feel content reading reviews, whether they offered critique, suggestions, or anything else, because it shows me that people care about this story, and it's certainly a lot more than I would have ever imagined. The support on the Super Smash Bros archive is pretty neat, I should say._

 _Before I write off this author's note, I would like to give a few shootouts to a few individuals..._

 _-Paradigm of Writing, for being the first person to review and favorite my story, and giving me a sense of hope and confidence in this story._

 _-ultimateccc, for usually being the first person to leave a review on every new chapter of Smash Life. Always delights me seeing your name first when looking over the reviews._

 _-GamerDutchess01 (formerly known as Glamorous Cat), for writing reviews that always put a smile on my face. Same goes for you, a man._

 _-Kirby 123, for persistently giving me suggestions regarding Kirby and Meta Knight...although I honestly haven't used any of your Meta Knight suggestions. I'll try to use them though,_

 _-Darth Sigma 86, Derick Lindsey, and J300 (or 0300, whichever one you prefer), for supplying me with great ideas as of late for me to use._

 _-And of course, a huge shootout for the many guest reviewers, and the many authors who have either reviewed, followed, or favorited this story - MetaGiga, SolarEnergy07, robotortoise, Luca the Wolf, sdgeek2003, Red Fiend, Veymorak, MidnightAngelCedric, HyperDiamondSonic, YugiohOriginalFan4Life, SonicFan1991, V.G.B.305, Metroid-Killer, thatoneautisticgamer, Team Wingless, and many more of you, whose names I can't exactly remember at the top of my head. Don't worry if you didn't get mentioned, because the follow/favorites I've accrued from writing this story is what keeps me going._

 _Since a year has passed and all, and this chapter is the last Christmas-themed installment of 2016, I decided to do a year-end chapter, consisting of many individuals who have stopped by the mansion and/or had some influence in many of the story's shenanigans. Although I had said in a previous author's note that the chapters take place on Thursdays and Fridays, this particular chapter will take place on a Saturday, since there will be a Christmas party and nobody hosts a Christmas party the day before Christmas Eve. It will also be a montage of some of the stuff that transpired in the story this year, including some moments in Smash Life that I particularly enjoyed over others. I have a LOT of favorite moments in this story, as well as a lot of favorite chapters, and I can never settle down on which chapter's my favorite. How dare I write such great chapters...so yeah, I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it._ _Will I continue working on this story until next year and have another year-end chapter? Only time will tell._

 _Kinda funny to think that if I had never watched that episode of Lip Sync Battle versus John Krasinski and Anna Kendrick, and if I never did some "research" on Krasinski and learned he was in The Office, I never would have watched and got into The Office, and I never would have gotten the inspiration to write "Smash Life". Sometimes curiosity can lead to great things, at least in my case. And now, I shall conclude this author's note with one more thing..._

 _Thank you very much for sticking around for such a long time (especially for the longtime readers), and Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...or day! Also, one more thing before I forget - may the force be with you!...or live long and prosper. Whichever one fancies you the most._

* * *

 **Episode 53: Get-Together**

It was the most wonderful time of the year - the time with kids jingle belling, holiday greetings, gay happy meetings, parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting, caroling in the snow, scary ghost stories, tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago, and a few other things Andy Philips mentioned in the song "It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year". In all honesty, who would tell scary ghost stories during Christmas, what ghost stories would anyone tell little kids aside from Krampus? You can't twist _A Christmas Carol_ and make it a horror story, that's not the way Charles Dickens intended it to be.

In case you didn't remember from episode 51, or you decided to forget on purpose, Peach was working on this year's Christmas party, and she did so with the great assistance from Zelda, Rosalina, and Palutena. (Funny how their names end with the letter 'a'...Lucina and Fiora should have also assisted Peach.) Cilan was originally slated to plan for the Christmas party, but he already got started on the wedding cake for the Mario's and Peach's wedding, and Peach was the only option. Peach absoutely adored the holiday season, more than anyone else; she didn't choose Christmas spirit, Christmas spirit chose her.

 **Peach: Planning the Christmas party has been my first rodeo since the Super Bowl party back in February. Red and his friends had used up all the soda cans, and they had to order a whole batch of new ones, and somehow, someway, Peyton Manning and Mike Tyson were somehow tied in...so I'm hoping we have no high-profile guests at the Christmas party, and I've told Mario specifically not to let any stars in the mansion. He knows more than anyone Manning and Tyson would have been goners had Master Hand been present at the time...**

As Peach and company did preparations for the Christmas party in the ballroom, Alph came in, having to do an errand for Peach. The young astronaut approached the princess, who was standing on a chair in high heels hanging up a banner with Zelda as her spotter.

"Please don't fall on the floor Peach, we can't afford to have you stuck on crutches or in a wheelchair during the party," Zelda pleaded to the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, before looking down and seeing a meek Alph, fiddling with his fingers. "Oh hey there Alph, didn't see you there."

"Hello princess Zelda, it's fine if you didn't see me, I certainly get that a lot..." said Alph. Moments like these make the astronaut wish he wasn't so short, sometimes people forget he's even there! "Peach asked me to fulfill a favor of hers, and now that I'm here..."

"Ah, Alph, you're finally here, I was hoping you would show up!" Peach exclaimed as she mindlessly toppled off of the chair, before falling off and landing in the arms of Zelda. "Thank goodness you saved me Zelda, who knows what would have happened to me!" Zelda flashed a smile at Peach as she gently placed the princess on the floor safely. "I have a short little task to ask of you, if you don't mind...can you go up to the fifth floor of the mansion, where the Star Records room is? I've concealed a key underneath the desk in the room, and I want you to retrieve it for me. I'll explain what is for once you get it."

"Why would you want to put the key up in..." Zelda asked before Peach placed her finger on the princess' lips, silencing her. Bet Peach doesn't even know why she put the key up there in the first place; after all, she can be somewhat eccentric from time to time.

"I shall get the key for you in a jiffy Peach, you can count on me!" Alph saluted the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom as he exited the ballroom, on a mission to save the world (in only a figurative sense. Would you trust someone like Alph to save the planet?)

* * *

Once he stepped outside the ballroom, Alph saw the Romantic Club members - Marth, Geno, Wario, Chrom, Ganondorf, and Captain Falcon - standing together wearing the Marvel costumes Master Hand pretty much forced them to wear back in episode 30. (Geno, who never had his clothes stolen, was never given a superhero costume, and he didn't care either way.) Marth was the Black Panther, Wario was Wolverine, Chrom was War Machine, Ganondorf was Doctor Doom, and Captain Falcon was the Daredevil.

 **Captain Falcon: Just when I thought either Master Hand or the others threw the superhero costumes away, I looked inside Master Hand's spacious closet out of my own intrigue, and saw all the costumes we wore, looking good as new! I took it upon myself to ask (or in this case, beg and indulge) Marth to wear my Daredevil suit at the Christmas party, and Marth, not wanting me to bask in all the humiliation, forced my fellow Romantic Club comrades to dress up as superheroes too! Though I couldn't help but feel that Wario, Ganon, and Chrom felt somewhat jealous of my Daredevil suit, since at the room we meet at, they were glaring me down, like they wanted to kill me or something...but Samus has always wanted to kill me, so it's no biggie. Now I must ask you this oh so important question... *flexes biceps* ...what would Nowi think of me in this wonderful Daredevil suit?**

"As I had stated earlier Falcon, we're only doing this so you wouldn't look like the only fool at the Christmas party," Marth reminded the racer. "Alas when one crew member of the ship goes down, all the crew members go down, and sadly we must all sacrifice our own dignity for the betterment of your own..." Captain Falcon just looked at Marth with a funny facial expression; since when was wearing a superhero costume to a holiday get-together ever accounted for a lack of dignity?

"Enough with all that silly talk Marth, people are gonna think I look awesome dressed up as the Daredevil!" the racer proclaimed, lifting his arms in the air like he was WWE superstar Randy Orton. "They'll be all like, 'Hey, look at that man Captain Falcon, rocking that Daredevil superhero suit, it's no surprise a gal like Nowi would be in love with him!'"

"I'm thoroughly sure Nowi and her daughter would feel embarrassed not only for you, but for themselves, since they would be tied in with you," stated Chrom, who knew Nowi personally while fighting with her during war. He had grown to accept the half-Manakate's childishness over time. "But as long as you don't do or say anything embarrassing, then we have nothing to worry about."

"And how much are you willing to bet that doesn't happen?" Wario asked the prince of Yliesse, as a now offended Captain Falcon glared at Wario with his hands on his hips. Alph walked past the Romance Club members as he continued his way to the Star Records room.

* * *

So remember back in episodes 17 and 18, when Wolf shot a horror movie with Donkey Kong, Lucina, Ludwig, and others, after losing a bet with his Star Wolf buddies? As a part of the deal, the mercenary would have to show his beloved movie to everyone in the mansion. Well Wolf indeed showed it to everyone in the mansion...everyone in the Pokemon sanctuary at least. Wolf wasn't confident yet to show the movie to his fellow brawlers, and it would remain that way when he showed the movie to Diddy Kong, Shulk, Fiora, Lucario, and Ryu in the movie room.

"What do you guys think of my horror flick, definitely deserving of an Emmy, huh?" Wolf asked his audience once the movie concluded. Whatever criticism he received, he would try to take it with attentive ears.

"Hold up just a second, that was a horror movie?" exclaimed Diddy Kong, who like the others, spent an hour and a half or so laughing their butts off. "Seemed very low budget to me, but at least you tried!" Wolf probably should have picked a time other than the holidays to have his confidence levels drastically lowered.

 **Shulk: Don't know what the most cringeworthy aspect of Wolf's "horror" movie was - Lucina acting ghetto, Donkey Kong's poor line delivery, Pit as the Undertaker, or the movie in its entirety. It wasn't exactly the most cringeworthy thing I've seen all year...after all, Little Mac's seminar still exists.**

"I didn't need a budget, I just worked with whatever resources I had at my disposal..." Wolf angrily gritted his teeth at Diddy Kong, as Alph poked his head through the movie room door. "And for your information buddy, I worked long and hard on that movie, you wouldn't know how much time and effort I devoted to it!"

Wolf brutally defending his movie made Diddy and company laugh, and it made Wolf even more mad. At this point, showing the entire mansion his horror flick would make the mercenary the laughingstock of the mansion. However, Wolf knew one way to counter such a fate...

"If you guys think that's funny and humiliating, then get a load of this!" Wolf pulled up the caramelldansen video of Samus and Cilan he recorded with the help of Red the Pokemon Trainer and Donkey Kong, the video he worked on back in episode 47, on the big screen. And yes, he had to make this video after losing another bet with his Star Wolf buddies. Didn't have to be that way, but Wolf had to pretty much starve and first for a prolonged period of time, and the man really needed something to eat. Once the video started, everyone started watching, including Alph, who had creaked the door wider so he could see.

"This dance Samus and Cilan are performing, it looks as if they're swinging their hips while giving away the false impression that they're rabbits!" Ryu analyzed the dance; little did he know that he accurately described how the caramelldansen dance worked, all without mentioning the bunny ears aspect. "I'd say this is even more cringeworthy than the movie you showed us!" Not exactly what Wolf wanted to hear, but he'll take what he can get.

* * *

Alph resumed his trek to the Star Records room, when he accidentally bumped into Pit in the hallway. The angel slowly turned around, and Alph saw that he was wearing sunglasses, and sporting a somewhat cocky smile. Never before had Pit tried to be/look hard to the nth degree.

"Tell the Pit what your name is, punk!" Pit demanded as he took his sunglasses off in a way that he hoped would make him look cool, although there was no agreeable way on how to take your sunglasses off while looking cool.

"Y-You wish to know what my name is?" Alph spoke up, completing whether or not Pit had amnesia, or if the astronaut really underestimated Pit's profound lack of intelligence. "Since you want to know, my name is..."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS!" Has "The Pit" from episode 4 returned, or was Pit just messing with Alph for the laughs?

 **Pit: They all want The Pit to raise the People's Eyebrow, they all want The Pit to drop the People's Elbow, layeth the smacketh down with the Pit Bottom, and they want to hear without a shadow of a doubt the most electrifying line in Super Smash Bros, period. And here it is... "To BE the man, WHOOO, you've got to beat the man..." No, that's not it. That's not it, jabroni. This is it: "OOOOhhhhh YEEEAAAAAH DIG..." Ah, dang it, that's not it either. This is it... "Whatcha gonna do, when the TWENTY-FOUR INCH..." That's not it either. Here we go "I am the best there is, the best there was..." No, no that's not it. That's sure as heck not it. *pause* This is it, the most electrifying line in Super Smash Bros, if ya SMELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL what The Pit is cooking... *takes off sunglasses before whispering* No, I didn't lose my memory again, I just felt like acting the Rock again, for some reason. He has some of the best wrestling quotes ever spoken!**

"Yeah you better walk away jabroni, if you know what's good for ya!" Pit taunted Alph as the young astronaut sheepishly walked away, wondering what just happened. "Don't come across The Pit yet again, or The Pit will layeth the smacketh on your candy behind!" Alph ignored Pit and marched his way forward, before running into another interesting character - Link, who was reprising the Joker from the famous movie "The Dark Knight". Perhaps Heath Ledger's finest acting work, you'd be hard-pressed to find a single video of Ledger's acting on YouTube that would make you disagree.

"Let me ask you an honest question: do I really look like a guy with a plan?" Link asked Alph, who opted not to answer and just listen, as long as he got to the Star Records room on time. "You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it! You know, I just, do things. The brawlers has plans, the Pokemon have plans, Master Hand's got plans. You know, they're schemers. Schemers trying to control their worlds. I'm not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how, pathetic, their attempts to control things really are."

"Link where the heck are you man, these Christmas wreaths aren't going to decorate themselves, you know!" Cloud's voice called out to his best friend. "Why did Sonic buy plain-looking wreaths for..." Someone else probably should have handled that task, Sonic's not really the trustworthy type. Marth learned that the hard way, when he entrusted the blue hedgehog to get wedding rings for Luigi and Daisy and he dropped them by accident at the jewelry store.

"Before you go, just a little something I would want you to do...introduce a little anarchy. Upset the established order, and everything becomes chaos. I'm an agent of chaos. Oh and you know the thing about chaos, it's fair." Link darted away, and Alph shook his head as he pressed forward.

* * *

"Ew, why do you insist on reading printed books, it's all about the tablets!" Akira Yuki discussed with X as the two exited the library. X was holding a book about robot mechanics in his hand, and it slightly bothered Akira very much.

"At least with printed books, you don't have to charge them up until they're full battery," X remarked as Akira nodded his head, the pacifist robot had a valid point there. "And you don't need some silly password to turn it on when the screen goes out - with printed books, you need no screen whatsoever, just flip the page!"

"Silly password, huh? You trying to say that simply using the word 'password' is silly?" Unless you want your personal stuff to be looked at by intruders, then it's not so silly to begin with. Akira suddenly stopped in his tracks when he saw a nickel lying on the floor. "Aw sweet, a nickel, a nickel saved is a nickel earned!" The kung fu fighter picked up the nickel and placed it in his pocket.

 **Akira: *holds up nickel to camera* Imagine all the things I could do with just one nickel! I could buy lemonade from a lemonade stand! Fancy wood plugs! A plastic metal magnetic catch for closet doors! *gasps* I could use this nickel to buy Yuffie something for Secret Santa!...We're exchanging gifts TODAY?! Shoot, I gotta act quick!**

"Pretty sure they use that phrase with a penny, not a nickel," stated X. Akira was about to make a retort, saying "Does it really matter?" or something along the lines of that, when he saw Doc Louis, stopped in his tracks. The boxing trainer was holding a chocolate bar in his hands, and the chocolate bar was dropped on the floor with a thud as Doc glared down X.

"Oh so you want to start this up again?!" Doc snapped on X, under the assumption that the robot had used a certain racial slur against him. "Guess you haven't really learned your lesson, huh?!" The boxing trainer chased down X, as the robot ran away from Doc. Doc Louis would ruthlessly chase down X as Alph walked by, glad that he wasn't Doc's victim.

* * *

Alph finally made it up to the mansion's fifth floor, where he saw Mario and Luigi speaking with Paper Mario, Paper Luigi, and Goombella, but mostly Goombella and Paper Luigi since Paper Mario was incapable of speaking.

"Sorry you guys, but we can't attend your Christmas party, for we are having a Christmas party of our own back in the storybook!" stated Goombella. Christmas is recognized as a holiday in the _Paper Mario_ universe? Who knew. "Paper Princess Peach is hosting the party at her castle in the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Not to mention that-a our Christmas tree is the biggest tree-a in all the kingdom!" added Paper Luigi, seemingly bragging, as the only thing Mario could do was nod his head in agreement. "It's so-a big, Paper Bowser would be jealous!" Like Paper Bowser would ever give a crap about a stinking Christmas tree...

"Well we hope-a that you enjoy your Christmas-a party while we enjoy ours, Peach has been-a planning real hard to make our-a party perfect," said Mario. As the love interest of the princess, Mario should know. And so should Cilan, who watched Peach prepare everything in the kitchen while he worked on the wedding cake.

"Yes, it would greatly dismay-a Peach if the party turns-a out to be a complete blunder," added Luigi, fearing the idea of the Christmas party being ruined and Peach going full psycho. You wouldn't want to see Peach _ever_ going full psycho. "Only way that would-a happen is if Bowser does-a something that would ruin the vibe. He was insufferable enough-a at my Thanksgiving feast, with his so-a called 'List of Bowser'..."

 **Bowser: Out with the old and in with the new, am I right? With the Christmas party likely having loads of guests, I'm bringing back my list, and calling it The List of Bowser 2.0! Lots of stupid idiots to add to the list! I hope that skinny black guy who broke my original list is present at the Christmas party, so he can be the first person on my list... *strokes his chin* But Peach apparently doesn't want any star-studded folks at the party, like the dudes from the United States basketball team. Unless...**

After overhearing the conversation between Mario, Luigi, and their _Paper Mario_ counterparts, as well as Goombella, Alph entered the Star Records room, and saw Knuckles and Big the Cat having a rap battle. Episode 39 saw Knuckles embroiled in a rap beef with some sorry up-and-coming rapper named "G Hunnid the Big Thang", and as it turned out, this "G Hunnid" bum was actually Big, of all people. So when Big came over to the mansion to attend the Christmas party, Knuckles brought the cat up to the Star Records room so he could squash his beef with Big.

"Yo, yo flow is so wack, yo, I got a lot of rhymes for show, yo..." Big attempted to rap against Knuckles, albeit horribly. But it wasn't the worst set of bars ever spat. Just look up "Worst Rap Battle Ever" on YouTube with the two white kids and prepare to be amazed.

"What are we gonna do with this glucose monitoring system we bought for Isabelle, we can't just throw it away," Fox discussed with Falco, both sitting at the desk, while Knuckles was giving Big a lyrical manslaughter of a lifetime. "We pretty much started up Star Records just to buy this system for Isabelle, and now that she's free from having diabetes..."

"Heard that Blaze the Cat might have diabetes, we could always give this device to her," suggested Falco, eating a malasada. Pit and Viridi made more of these Hawaiian treats for the brawlers to consume. Alph, using his short stature to his advantage, sneaked underneath the desk when Fox and Falco weren't looking.

"That's just a lousy rumor going about, think it was started by Sonic. Dude's nothing but trouble." Fox suddenly felt something crawled underneath his legs; the pilot looked down and saw Alph crawl from underneath the desk, with the key Peach asked the astronaut to retrieve. "Alph, what where you doing underneath the desk just now, and why do you have that key in your hand?"

"Oh, uh, you mean this key?" Alph nervously replied, pointing at the key. "I was just using this key to open one of Gil's secret chests! It has a lot of secret stuff in there, that I know..."

"Pfft, secret chests are for losers with insecurity issues, bet Gil has matters with his privacy and junk," remarked Falco. Just then, loud crying could be heard from underneath the Star Records room, crying that was so loud it stopped Knuckles' and Big's rap battle.

"DON'T THINK I DIDN'T HEAR THAT!" Gil, the guy that was crying his eyes out, sobbed as the sound of a door slamming was heard. Maybe _The Tower of Druaga_ protagonist does struggle with insecurity and privacy...

 **Gil: No, I'm not extremely insecure or worry about privacy, I'm just...I'm just over-observant, and too protective, not that it's a huge problem...And no, I still don't know how Tumblr works, although I have seen a bunch of pictures piled on top of one another so I'm assuming it's some crappy collage website. But that's just my two cents...**

"I should be going on my way now, sorry for bothering you," Alph apologized to Fox and Falco as he sheepishly walked away and exited the room, returning to the ballroom where he would give the key to Peach. But what was the key for? That question remained in Alph's mind.

* * *

"About time we had our chess match Corrin, I've been waiting since the summer," Meta Knight said to the prince of Nohr as he dueled in a chess match against Corrin in his room. The Star Warrior wanted to do this match back in episode 29, but Bowser had claimed Corrin and made the prince partake in his lessons.

"I've been practicing for this very match, so I came very well prepared," stated Corrin. Suddenly an angry black man, one with a bald head, and a crazy eye look, and a long-sleeved flannel shirt, popped up behind Corrin, staring him down. Meta Knight looked afraid, so afraid he stopped playing chess. "Meta Knight, what seems to be the matter?" Corrin would ask the Star Warrior, before turning around and seeing Deebo standing right behind him. The prince shrieked like a ninny as he jumped on Meta Knight's bed, away from Deebo.

"Gimme your money or else Red, I ain't playing around no more!" Deebo screamed at Corrin, who shuddered while using a pillow on Meta Knight's bed as a shield of sorts. Little did the prince and Meta Knight know that Deebo was actually a hologram, projected from a device MegaMan .EXE found in the movie room. The robot was showing off this device to Alph, as the two stood at the doorway of Meta Knight's room.

"All you have to do is insert a movie in the device, and it will project a hologram of a random character from that movie," .EXE explained to Alph exactly how the device worked, and Alph was left very much impressed. "Surprised that Deebo still recognized Corrin as that Red guy, which must mean he would also recognize Pit as Red since Pit was also in the _Friday_ movie."

"This device is a really cool device, I might even use it in the future," remarked Alph, before remembering he was on a mission. "I should go now, gotta deliver this key to Peach right away!" .EXE nodded to Alph as the astronaut ran away, in a hurry.

* * *

Alph was now on the third floor of the mansion, walking towards his destination, the ballroom, when he heard the following...

"What do you call an alligator wearing a vest? An investigator, of course!" This joke permeated in Alph's ears, and left the astronaut just standing there like a stone wall, unable to process the cheesy joke he had heard. How could a joke be so cheesy, and so corny as well? It was nearly criminal for a joke to be uttered! So Alph did some investigating, and went to the place where he heard the joke, the gaming room, and saw Lucina on stage, telling jokes to an audience of Robin, Chrom, Phoenix Wright, and Maya Fey. The latter two, who obviously came for the Christmas party, had no idea what they were getting themselves into...

 **Chrom: Lucina had a lot of jokes left over from that time she did stand-up comedy, and it was a whole list of them. I had told Lucina to get all of the unused jokes out of her system, and then burn the list so she wouldn't have to deal with the jokes ever again. Aren't I such a great father?**

"There was a frog waiting at a bus stop, and he was waiting on the bus...because his car was TOAD!" Lucina said yet another cheesy joke, while Toad, playing ping pong with Mewtwo, looked up thinking the princess had called his name. Nothing but silence from Lucina's crowd.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" The silence would soon come to an end when Robin laughed the most egregiously fake laugh in the history of laughs. Chrom, wanting to show Lucina how much of a great father he was, simply flashed a fake smile, although the smile wasn't seen because of his War Machine getup.

"OBJECTION!" Phoenix stood up and pointed at Lucina, starting a scene. "The frog's car cannot be toad, for as you see my darling Lucina..." Phoenix was about to continue until Maya stood up and whispered in the attorney's ear, explaining the joke. "Oh, never mind, Maya had to explain the joke for me, how embarrassing...carry on with your jokes." Phoenix sheepishly sat back down in his seat, while Alph walked away.

* * *

Alph arrived at the second floor, and in the hallway he saw fellow Hocotate Freight employee Olimar, speaking with someone on the phone in private. Not so private when you're standing in the middle of the hallway.

"Oggy oggy oggy, oink oink oink!" the veteran astronaut said into the phone, communicating with his son. "Okay then, I'll see you and the others soon!" Olimar ended the phone call, just when Alph approached him.

"Hey Olimar, I take it your son is coming to the party?" the young astronaut asked the veteran. Olimar was alarmed that Alph had listened to his phone call, and that he still remembered what his son's name was.

"He won't be the only one - my wife and daughter will be coming too," replied Olimar. "It will be a family affair for all of us." Olimar's phone rang, but it wasn't a call from his son, it was a rather foreign number. "Excuse me Alph, gotta make this call...hello, who is this?"

"You know who this is, don't think I'm not angry at you for those English lessons you did with Takamaru, how dare you take away my job!" said the mysterious voice on the phone, angry and ticked. But Olimar was able to recognize this familiar voice.

"First of all, this is the wrong number. Also, is that you Ike?" The phone call ended in a hurry. Evidently Ike still felt somewhat bitter towards Aerith ever since the events of episode 25. He may never let it go...

* * *

 **Meowth: We're gonna try and nab Pikachu (and maybe Pichu, if we have the time) for the second consecutive week! But get this - the trial captains and kahunas from the Alola region are returning to the mansion for the Christmas party, and they might bring their beloved Pokemon!  
James: According to the research I've done on the trial captains and kahunas, one of the trial captains, Mina, has a level 61 Granbull, and it knows Earthquake and Stone Edge! Not bad for a fairy-type Pokemon!  
Jessie: Not only that, but there's a kahuna named Nanu who happens to own a level 63 Krookodile that knows Earthquake and Swagger! These Pokemon are just dying to be kidnapped!**

Alph was getting closer to the ballroom as he was now on the second floor, and on this floor he saw two trial captains, Mallow and Mina (the latter wasn't able to make it to the mansion during the events of episode 48), hanging out with Heihachi Mishima and Shovel Knight. The knight was invited to the Christmas party by Peach, and Mario still felt bitter towards him.

"These are a bunch of sushi rolls I had made at the academy, hope you enjoy them!" Mallow offered Heihachi and Shovel Knight some sushi rolls, while Mina painted a portrait of Shovel Knight, at the knight's demand. Yes, Shovel Knight demanded the trial captain to paint him, and he did so in the most formal way possible.

"My goodness, thy sushi rolls are edible masterpieces, thou hast completely outdone thyself!" complimented Shovel Knight, who was amazingly able to consume the sushi rolls without taking off his helmet. "Perchance thou would give up your title as trial captain and become a full-fledged chef?"

"Mallow is _never_ going to give up being a trial captain, she loves Pokemon as much as she loves cooking," stated Mina, finishing up on her Shovel Knight portrait. She sounded spacey and airy, like she was doing some hippie doing drugs...Toad must be her drug dealer. Toad can't hide his secret for long.

"Watashi wa totemo kimochi ga waruku, totemo memai ga ari keikaidesu..." Heihachi, grabbing his head, moaned after eating a sushi roll, before falling to the floor with a thud, alarming Shovel Knight and the two trial captains. There was a tranquilizer dart on the kung fu fighter's arm with an 'R' on it, meaning the tranquilizer must have been fired from Team Rocket. Mallow and Mina must have been their targets, but clearly the evildoers were a little bit off the mark.

"Oh no, someone must have tranquilized him!" Mallow fretted as she knelt down at Heihachi's side; the kung fu fighter was now unconscious. Wasn't the first time in _Smash Life_ it happened. "I don't think any of my cuisines would bring him back to his senses..."

"Not so fast, my fair lady, I believe I have a remedy!" Shovel Knight dug into the pockets of his armor, if his armor really has pockets, and pulled out some cocaine. Mina suddenly stopped painting and looked at the cocaine in Shovel Knight's hands, somewhat entranced. "I acquired this cocaine from my last visit to the mansion, when that chap Snake was growing coca plants in the gardens. Good thing I had borrowed some of the cocaine for emergencies like these!" Shovel Knight knelt down at Heihachi's side, lifting the cocaine up to the fighter's nose, while Alph walked past the scene without being detected. Heihachi sniffed the cocaine, his nose taking in the strong smell, and quickly got back up like it was nothing.

"Mōichido kokain o kagu yō ni kyōsei shinaide kudasai!" the kung fu fighter angrily pointed at Shovel Knight, and the knight, unable to understand a single Japanese word, just assumed that Heihachi was thanking him. Shovel Knight always felt great doing good deeds for others, it was his civic duty.

 **Heihachi Mishima: Shaberunaito wa, kokain o suu yō ni watashi ni kyōsei-teki ni ikutsu ka no shinkei o motte ita! Tashika ni watashi wa ishiki shite inai kamo shiremasenga, tashikani kishi wa kusuri ni tayoru yori mo, watashi o mezame saseru hokanohōhō ga arimashita!**

* * *

Alph neared closer to the ballroom on the first floor, and once he was there, he saw King Dedede, who was fretting because he had missed the special holiday special of his favorite show, _America's Got Talent._ He had no business worrying, it wasn't like any acts were eliminated; most of them came back to sing classic holiday tunes, or did holiday-related stuff.

"Can you tell me what happened on the AGT holiday special Lloyd, you said you watched it live when it aired on Monday!" King Dedede asked Lloyd of all people at the entrance to the ballroom. "Why do I still entrust my Waddle Dees to record my favorite TV shows for me..."

"Jackie Evancho, the runner-up from season five...her dress mysteriously caught on fire during her performance, and she suffered from first and second-degree burns," Lloyd gave this false information to Dedede. "And you know the act known as Silhouette? One of the performers threw up on the floor, and they had to stop the performance prematurely. Lots of crazy stuff went down on Monday." Lloyd looked behind him at Bowser, who was concealed in a hiding spot giving the swordsman a thumbs up. Since the Koopa King knew whatever information he told King Dedede the penguin would perceive as a lie, why not have someone else relay false information instead? To Bowser, Lloyd was the right choice.

"Not Jackie, anyone but Jackie, I've followed her ever since she first appeared on the show! I even frequent her fan page on a daily basis, just to see what she's up to!" Did King Dedede just out himself as a stalker? He's been following Jackie Evancho for pretty much six or so years...freaky when you think about it.

Alph walked past King Dedede and Lloyd, and entered the ballroom, where he saw Peach, Zelda, Rosalina, and Palutena together standing on a table. Why were the four ladies on a table, you might ask? It was because a giant spider was in the ballroom, a spider even bigger than the one Peach and Zelda found in the living room back in episode 23. It was mainly up to Cloud and Shulk to eradicate the spider; it was supposed to be Link working with Cloud rather than Shulk, but Cloud sternly told the Hylian to drop the Joker act, and now Link was washing the Joker makeup off from his face.

"Don't worry ladies, I'm here to save the day!" said Shulk as he valiantly approached the spider with a broom, only to slip on the ballroom floor and perform a half-split. Cloud sighed as he grabbed the broom from Shulk and viciously whacked the spider with it, before whacking the arachnid again for good measure. The spider was dead in a heartbeat, thanks to the mighty heroics of Cloud.

 **Peach: *shudders* Why do spiders have to be so creepy, with their eight legs and their hairy bodies and their eyes...UGH! Thank goodness Cloud killed the spider, if I saw that eight-legged thing at the Christmas party, I would have had a heart attack...**

"The spider has been vanquished, so you ladies can all come down now," Cloud said to Peach and company as the four women got off from the table, looking at the spider's dead body. The poor arachnid was squashed, its guts spilling out; Rosalina almost felt like throwing up!

"Much appreciated for going in for the save Cloud, I should work on my bug-killing technique more often!" Shulk got up from the floor, dusting himself off. "Thanks for killing the spider for me!" The Homs held out his hand to Cloud, and the blonde swordsman looked at it. He had already put Shulk in a similar precarious situation in episode 16, and he didn't want the Homs to undergo eve more embarrassment, especially with Peach and company around. So he did what he had to do...

"No problem man, glad we got rid of the spider before it would alarm anyone at the Christmas party," Cloud shook Shulk's hand, and just like that, Shulk received instant gratification. The grin on the Homs' face said so.

"Here's the key you wanted Peach, sorry it took me so long to get it," Alph handed the Mushroom Kingdom princess the key, apologizing for how long it took him to complete his duty. "A lot of stuff happened along the way, and my attention span..."

"No Alph, it's fine, you had to take your time and I fully understand," Peach smiled as she headed over to a _Legend of Zelda_ -esque treasure chest. She inserted the key inside the chest and opened it, taking out some Miss Santa Claus outfits from the chest and showing them to her female companions. "Look what I have here ladies, Miss Santa outfits for us to wear at the Christmas party! What do you think?"

"They look nice I suppose, though I fear we would be looked at by the male brawlers, but in a bad way," Rosalina gave her two cents, wondering what Ganondorf would have to say about her in a Miss Santa outfit. Suddenly Sonic's voice was heard as the hedgehog sounded as if he was falling, and seconds later, a thud.

"Was that Sonic just now, did he seriously jump off from the roof of the mansion?" worried Palutena, recollecting Sonic's suicide attempt from episode 15. "Someone must go investigate at once!"

* * *

Alph, Cloud, and Shulk would be the ones investigating, as they arrived outside at the front of the mansion and saw Sonic sprawled on the ground, with blood pouring from the side of his head. Isabelle and the Duck Hunt Dog were present at the scene, mourning over the death of Sonic.

"I was just feeding the Duck Hunt Dog, and then I heard a loud thud and when I came here, I saw Sonic DEAD!" Isabelle explained to Alph and company, almost about to cry. Perhaps the first time she ever cared about Sonic on a emotional level, or at all. "Master Hand and the others would be devastated if they find out a fellow resident has died..."

 **Master Hand: Hmm, good question - what would I do if one of the mansion residents were to die for any reason? It's very simple, really - I'll just take the resident's life insurance stuff, and spend it all on my dream car, the Lamborghini Veneno! Whatever money I get left over will be given to the residents, and have them fight over it in a one-for-all battle. Survival of the fittest!**

"HA HA HA, GOT 'EM!" Sonic rose up from the ground, alarming everyone. "Man, and you losers thought I was actually dead! I got you good!" Turns out the blood was fake, and Sonic didn't jump from the roof like everyone had presumed. "With this bad boy, I had everyone thinking I literally jumped off from the mansion!" Sonic pulled out a voice recorder and played it, and it sounded like how Sonic would sound whenever he would be KO'd on _Smash,_ screaming as he faded out from the screen. "Good you good, like Luigi, and Daisy, and Yuffie...and Lucina...and Robin..." Sonic grew nervous when Isabelle and company cornered the hedgehog, glaring him down.

"Guys you gotta check it out, the United States basketball team is here, and they're on the basketball court as I speak!" Dark Pit excitedly came over to alert Isabelle and company, before they could beat Sonic to a pulp. "Seriously you guys, you have to come quick!"

* * *

So the group of Sonic, Isabelle, Duck Hunt Dog, Alph, Cloud, and Shulk followed Dark Pit to the basketball court, where the men's basketball team from the Olympics were balling out on the court. The entire team was there - Wayne, Alex, Jamal, Amir, Hyland, Bryce, Andrew, Jim, Trece, Kyam, Darnell, and K-Low - all doing shootarounds and whatnot. But how did they get here was the question.

"Great pleasure seeing you folks again," said Coach, who was idly standing at the side of the basketball court as he waved to Dark Pit and company. Now Coach was present as well, even though he lived on the east coast in North Carolina...so how did he get to Seattle in one piece?

"Sup dudes, you wanna join us or something?" Hyland asked the group of mansion residents, who just stood there starstruck. Cloud, the slightly apathetic one, wasn't so awestruck. "You can do more than just look at us, you know!"

"I have finally returned, Sonic, and I have returned...with a much bigger vengeance!"

The basketball players stopped what they were doing as they and everyone else looked over and saw Mecha Sonic, standing a faraway distance from his nemesis Sonic. The robot marched forwards towards the hedgehog as everyone else watched on.

"Bro who brought this sorry Metal Sonic wannabe over here?" questioned Wayne; Mecha Sonic fired a beam at the basketball player, and Wayne moved his head out of the way in the nick of time.

 **Mecha Sonic: My last attempt to avenge Sonic was a failure...a failure at the hands of that pink puffball! Once I neutralize that punk, Sonic will be all mine, and no one can stop me! Sonic the Hedgehog, your demise is near...**

"I've been waiting for the day I would see you again, and I have been planning ever since our last encounter," Mecha Sonic said to Sonic, who didn't care either way. Everyone else shared the hedgehog's sentiments. "Unlike last time, I shall reign successful as I will be the one left standing, after your demise..."

"Oh Mecha Sonic, where are you, my lovely personal servant?" Candy Kong's voice was heard from afar, and Mecha Sonic felt like blushing. Candy was really hurting the robot's credibility, especially when he called him "personal servant". "I have some Christmas cookies to deliver to Peach, and I would greatly appreciate your assistance!"

"Our business is not finished yet, vermin..." Mecha Sonic pointed at Sonic as he walked away; Coach looked towards Sonic, as the hedgehog shrugged, not even he knew what just went down.

* * *

The basketball team would continue doing their thing on the basketball court until it was around 8 o' clock, when the Christmas party was set to begin. Master Hand got in touch with Coach, and told him to bring the team to the ballroom where the party would take place. Coach and the team arrived on time - and were surprised to see how many guests were present - Candy Kong, Professor Kukui and the trial captains/kahunas, Hau, the Nohrian siblings, Nowi, Nah, Raven, Knuckle Joe, Olimar's family, Krystal, Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, Toadsworth, Bald Bull, Fiora, Shovel Knight, Phoenix Wright, Maya Fey, Team Chaotix, Amy Rose, Big the Cat, Cream the Rabbit, Mecha Sonic, Blaze the Cat, Shadow, Silver, Dr. Light, Roll, Geo Stelar, Omega-Xis, Sonia Strumm, Chun-li, Tifa Lockhart, Luka Redgrave, Rodin, and Enzo. (Rodin was formally invited to the Christmas party, so it was more than likely he gave Luka another day off so he could attend the party as well.)

"IS THAT THE UNITED STATES MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM, I ALWAYS WANTED TO MEET..." Slippy Toad squealed at the top of his lungs when the basketball players caught his eye, only for Peppy Hare to keep his mouth shut by placing his hand over the amphibian's mouth. Slippy was fangirling again, like he was back in episode 3.

"Please Slippy, just formally greet them, no need to bring unwanted attention upon yourself!" Peppy scolded the frog, and yes, Slippy is a frog; like Bald Bull once alluded to, Nintendo canon can be rather confusing at times.

"What on-a earth are you guys-a doing here, you're not supposed-a to be here in the first-a place!" Mario approached Coach and the men's basketball team, knowing that someone must have tampered with the teleportation device. And that someone must have been Bowser.

 **Bowser: Used the teleportation device to warp the men's basketball team and their beloved coach to the mansion, so I can not only have as many names as possible for my List of Bowser, but so more people can receive the Gift of Bowser! I even brought two of the best Olympians from this year's Olympics here as well, the more the merrier! Now if you excuse me, I must prepare my Gift of Bowser... *extends arms to the side, inhales and exhales* Drink it in, man!**

"Why you don't want us here, you racist towards black people or something?" inferred Darnell, which prompted him to call out to the party-goers: "MARIO IS RACIST TOWARDS BLACK PEOPLE Y'ALL!" Everyone gasped collectively in shock, unable to imagine Mario ever being a racist.

"Knew it was only a matter of time..." Knuckles glared down Mario and shook his head before moving to the back so he wouldn't be seen by the Italian plumber. Doc Louis would follow suit, following the echidna to the back as well.

"No, no, you got it all-a wrong, it's not that I'm-a racist towards black people, it's just that Peach-a doesn't want you here!" This made the basketball team even more hurt; Coach didn't feel a thing, for he felt unaffected by Mario's words.

"CORRECTION Y'ALL: IT'S PRINCESS PEACH WHO'S RACIST TOWARDS BLACK PEOPLE!" Darnell shouted yet again, as everyone gasped collectively in shock yet again. "I REPEAT, PRINCESS PEACH IS RACIST TOWARDS BLACK PEOPLE!"

"Whoever said I was ever racist to begin with?" questioned Peach, who had just exited from a closet in her Miss Santa attire, before coming to a stop when she saw the men's basketball team and Coach standing at the ballroom entrance. Some of the players wanted to check Peach out, but decided against doing so in the presence of Mario. "Oh, Mario, what did I tell you about inviting high-profile guests to the mansion, we already had a good discussion about this!"

"C'mon Peach, you were fine letting us have dinner with y'all after that bowling match in August, so what's so different now?" questioned Kyam. "I mean, if you invite all of these people to the party, then you could have at least bothered to invite us as well! Ain't that right, you guys?" Kyam's Olympic teammates all nodded their heads in agreement, feeling they were disrespected.

"Hold up, hold up, let me be the voice of reason!" Master Hand appeared, wanting to bring order and peace to the situation. "Peach, did you not say that folks who visited the mansion would be allowed to attend the party? The men's basketball team has obviously visited the mansion, and therefore they are completely allowed to join us for the party, no ands, ifs, or buts about it!" Peach grumpily folded her arms and looked to the side, salty that Master Hand was telling her - the party planner - how to run her Christmas party.

"Well I certainly don't remember _them_ visiting the mansion..." Peach referred to Rayman, Barbara, Globox, Fred, and Rose, who had just entered the ballroom; the latter two were participants of the 2016 Olympics, both having their run-ins with the brawlers.

 **Rayman: Mario sent the three of us lowkey invitations to the Christmas party at the last minute, though he didn't elaborate what would be happening at the party, so we're in for a surprise...  
Globox: *claps hands excitedly* Ooh, how I love surprises! I hope Santa Claus comes to town and makes a surprise appearance at the mansion, and gives us all gifts!  
Barbara: *whispering* You did...tell Globox that Santa Claus doesn't exist, right?  
Rayman: Are you seriously overlooking Globox's lack of intelligence?**

 **Fred: Could have spent my Christmas Eve with my wife and son...but somehow, someway, I was warped to this "Smash Mansion", at the hands of Bowser. He told me to attend the Christmas party going on, otherwise he would put me on his "List of Bowser", and I would be forever deemed a "stupid idiot". I told him how redundant it was for him to call me stupid and an idiot...and that's when he wrote my name on the list.**

 **Rose: Eh, I don't care either way about attending the Christmas party...just as long as that lousy Pokemon trainer stays in his lane and keeps his distance from me, if he knows what's good for him. Wanna go back home without having to be annoyed...**

"Um, just for the record, Barbara, Globox and I were invited to the party by Mario," explained Rayman, as Peach gave Mario a questionable look. "And as for these two..." Rayman then pointed at Fred and Rose. "..let's just say that Bowser invited them to the party."

"Seems fair, I see nothing wrong with it," stated Master Hand, dismaying poor Peach. "These folks won't ruin your beloved party Peach, they're all dignified people and should be trusted to the utmost degree." Master Hand then floated over to the center of the ballroom, making sure everyone was present. However, someone was missing... "Has anyone seen Bowser anywhere? Thought I told him the party would begin at eight, what gives?"

Suddenly the lights went out, resulting in a state of panic within the ballroom. People were screaming, worrying, or even wetting themselves in fright (thankfully only a few select people were doing just that) as the lights remained out.

"Mario please tell me you remembered to pay the light bill!" Zelda asked the plumber, remembering how the blackout in episode 40 occurred. After a few minutes, some red lights were dimmed (yes, the ballroom has lights of different colors), and everyone was in shock by what they were seeing.

No, it wasn't Luigi strangely dancing with Mr. Game and Watch, though the plumber and the 2-D man immediately stopped once the lights dimmed. Rather, what caught everyone's attention was a rising platform at the front of the ballroom, with a mysterious caped figure standing on top. A piano solo was sounded as a spotlight dimmed on the mysterious figure everyone saw before them.

"GLORIOUS! No, I won't give in, I won't give in, till I'm VICTORIOUS, and I will defend, I will defend!" WWE superstar Bobby Roode's theme song sounded as the mysterious figure turned out to be none other than Bowser, who revealed himself and roared mightily as the theme song's guitar solo sounded.

"You have got to be kidding me, how very egotistical of Bowser..." Proto Man shook his head in dismay as the rising platform lowered, and Bowser had his arms raised to the sky. Clearly the Koopa King devoted much of his time into whatever he was doing right now, what with him getting the rising platform in the ballroom and all.

"GLORIOUS, no, I won't give in, I won't give in, 'till i'm VICTORIOUS, and I will defend, I will defend, and I'll do what I must, no, I won't give in, I wont give in, oh, so GLORIOUS, until the end, until the end!" As Roode's theme song continued, Bowser lip synced the lyrics, his arms still raised up high. Everyone just looked on, either cringing at Bowser's profound arrogance or just waiting for the Koopa King to end his shenanigans. Once the rising platform reached the floor, Bowser got off and after another epic guitar solo, the Koopa King raised his arms to the sky one last time. "GLORIOUS, no, I won't give in, I won't give in, 'till i'm VICTORIOUS, and I will defend, I will defend, and I'll do what I must, no, I won't give in, I wont give in, oh, so GLORIOUS, until the end, until the end!"

 **Wii Fit Trainer: Pranking others? Typical Bowser. Giving us an unneeded "fire safety" lesson and running us through a "fire safety" simulation? Typical Bowser. Getting the entire mansion sick with Toon Link's germs? Typical Bowser. Teaching Shulk, Corrin, and even Link false information? Typical Bowser. Writing down a "List of Bowser" full of "stupid idiots"? Typical Bowser. Posturing on a rising platform in front of a giant crowd while a somewhat arrogant theme song plays in the background? I think we've just seen vintage Bowser at work...**

 **Bowser: Bobby Roode, some wrestler from the WWE, was the** **inspiration for my epic introduction at the Christmas party - I saw him doing his entrance at some WWE event, and thought it was the most powerful, majestic thing I've ever seen with my two eyes. Awesome does not begin to describe what I had witnessed!**

"So what exactly was that all about Bowser, what's with the whole entourage?" Silver would ask the Koopa King after Roode's theme song concluded and Bowser was done posturing. "Wanted to remind every single one of us how awesome you are or something?"

"What you just witnessed, Silver the Hedgehog, was the precious Gift of Bowser!" explained Bowser, as the brawlers rolled their eyes, for Bowser was talking up this "Gift of Bowser" like a storm ever since Thanksgiving. "You were all supposed to drink it in - did you drink it in like I expected you all to do?" Not a single person said a word. "That's it, you're all stupid idiots! You're all going on my list!"

"Worry about your list later Bowser, we have some stuff to accomplish before we can begin the party," said Master Hand. "We shall start things off with the Secret Santa thing, we'll exchange gifts and whatnot, but first, I had Mega Man prepare a little Christmas video for you all to see..." At the snap of Master Hand's fingers, a giant video screen descended from the ceiling. As you might already tell, the ballroom certainly comes with a boatload of features. "Mega Man, would you like to do the honors?"

"Yes sir, Master Hand, let me get out my remote control first!" responded Mega Man as he pulled out a blue TV remote, and used it to turn the video screen on. Instead of the Christmas video that Master Hand asked for, the fire safety video Bowser showed the brawlers back in episode 6 played on the screen, showing the shot of the Duck Hunt Dog wearing a firefighter hat and licking his privates. The shot of Mega Man on fire would have been more tolerable. "Excuse me everyone, having some technical difficulties here..." Mega Man grinned nervously as he pressed an arrow button multiple times, flipping past the movie _Friday,_ the video of Luigi and Marth dancing in the dancing room, Wolf's horror movie, the _Super Mario Bros Super Show,_ the Legend of Zelda cartoon, and the video of Samus and Cilan doing the caramelldansen, before finally reaching the Christmas video. No description for the video was needed; it was basically Doc Louis in a Santa Claus costume, talking about how great the holidays are and stuff before finishing things off by exclaiming Merry Christmas, with the words "FIN" at the very end of the video.

"So what do you guys think of that wonderful video, did it make your eyes tear up, did it fill you up with Christmas spirit?" Master Hand asked the party-goers. To be honest, there wasn't a single non-dry eye in the ballroom, as everyone had mixed feelings on the video they watched.

"Was that video really necessary for us to watch?" asked Coach, who felt the party was now all for naught and also felt like going back home.

"When are we going to start the party?" asked Toad, who wished to forgo the Secret Santa proceedings just to eat some grub.

"Does this mean that Santa Claus is actually black?" asked Lloyd, baffling everyone with his incompetence.

 **Master Hand: THOSE FOOLS did not enjoy my video, do they not know the hard work I put into it? Do you realize how hard it was to entice Doc Louis to put on a Santa suit, without having to resort to chocolate? On top of that, I had Isabelle write the script for the video, telling her not to make it sound cheesy, and I had her rewrite the script EIGHT TIMES! I repeat, eight times! And not a single person felt emotional or happy from watching the video? Are they robots or something?!**

"Apparently none of you enjoyed the video I worked hard on perfecting, so I guess we'll just start the Secret Santa gift exchange," said Master Hand, now holding a grudge against pretty much everyone in the ballroom. "Rosalina, you're up first - someone bring her a fancy chair for her to sit in!"

Rosalina would be the first to receive her gift, courtesy of Shulk, and then it would continue with Falco, Bayonetta, Gil, Yoshi, King Dedede, so forth and so on. Some got extravagant gifts, like Samus receiving a high-tech space rifle gun from Kirby (He and Mr. Game and Watch both got voice translators, expect to see both translators go into work in the next episode or so. Also, how Kirby acquired this gun was a question on everyone's minds). Some got gifts they absolutely hated, such as Link receiving remakes of the _Legend of Zelda_ CD-i games from Little Mac; he promptly threw both games in the garbage can when no one was looking. Some got gifts that Master Hand wasn't very fond of...

"A massaging chair, just for me?" Wario exclaimed when he received a massaging chair from Lucario; the fatso hadn't had one ever since episode 12. "Thank you very much, Lucario, you shouldn't have! I'll place this bad boy in the back of the ballroom, just for now!" Wario would put his gift in the back, while Master Hand looked on, seething. The mighty creator of the Smash universe, having a great disdain for massaging chairs...

The Secret Santa gift exchange would continue, and soon it was Aerith's turn to receive a gift. Lloyd, the man who got a magic eight ball from Isabelle, would be the one to give a gift to Aerith, who sat in the "special chair", as Master Hand had called it, nervous as ever.

"You're gonna love this gift very much, I can already tell," Lloyd smiled as he walked towards Aerith, holding his gift behind him. The flower girl braced herself as Lloyd presented to her a present, accepting it and unwrapping it and opening it and anything you're supposed to do to open a gift that doesn't involve gnawing at the wrapping paper.

"A new necklace, and it looks so pretty and exquisite too!" Aerith took her gift out from the box - a dark blue necklace - and held it up for everyone to see. Mario, Cloud, Pit, Luka, and a few select others closely inspected the necklace, and saw that it was the very necklace from the previous chapter - how did it go from being in Dr. Wily's possession, to Lloyd's possession, and now Aerith's? "Tell me how you were acquire this necklace, it certainly looks expensive!"

"I get around town a lot, no biggie!" That must mean Lloyd must have met with Dr. Wily in the past week, or the week before.

 **Lloyd: As I was walking home from the comic book store, I saw this old guy in a lab coat, and I saw it was Dr. Wily. I gave him some dap (old people are apparently horrible at doing cool handshakes), and asked him how it was going and stuff. He showed me this dark blue necklace he acquired from "some girl that likes flowers" while involved in a high-speed chase in Luigi's car, and talked about how he used the necklace to strangle this guy from the Organization XIII. Wily then gave me the necklace, and told me to give it to that girl that likes flowers...and so I did just that during the whole Secret Santa shindig.**

The Secret Santa proceedings would continue until Yuffie was the last person to receive a gift. Her Secret Santa, Akira, clenched his teeth nervously as he approached Yuffie with his gift...and held out a tiny gemstone in his hand. That very gemstone was Yuffie's gift, and what an underwhelming gift it was.

"Thanks Akira, you shouldn't have..." Yuffie grudgingly accepted the gemstone from Akira, and simply placed it in her pocket, where it would probably remain forever. "No, seriously, you shouldn't have, you could have just saved your money."

"Only had to spend five cents for that gemstone," confessed Akira, as several folks behind the kung fu fighter laughed behind his back. Yuffie should be glad she got something, rather than nothing...

"Good, everyone exchanged gifts, and everyone's happy...well mostly everyone's happy, now let's get this party started!" exclaimed Master Hand, as Kirby placed the "special chair" back where it belonged. "Can't afford to waste the time of our lovely guests!"

"Master Hand, there's a strange brown substance on the floor!" Isabelle alerted the giant hand, pointing at a brown substance lying on the floor. "It smells horrid too!" Isabelle held her nose, and others did the same as they retreated from the strange substance.

"Aerith Gainsborough..." Mario glared at Aerith, who shook her head to downplay the fact that she was the person responsible. Mario may have accused the flower girl of wrongdoing back in episode 28, and Aerith refused to let the plumber accuse her now.

* * *

After the brown substance was cleaned up (turned out the Duck Hunt Dog was responsible, for he defecated on the floor), the Christmas party commenced, and everything was going smoothly, with K.K. Slider as the DJ playing Christmas tunes, and Sonia Strumm playing said tunes on her guitar. (Master Hand threatened to charge anyone that wanted to watch Sonia a fee, like he did back in episode 46, and again it would be Zelda who would have to talk the giant hand out of it.) Mario spoke with Xander, Corrin's older brother, his role as an officiant at the plumber's wedding; Rodin was giving Link props for his wrestling skills in the Hylian's one and only wrestling match; Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey went over some legal matters with Snake; Mecha Sonic tried to extract revenge on Sonic, only for his attempts to be stopped in some manner or fashion by Candy Kong; Bowser was adding every party-goer's name to his "List of Bowser"; and the men's basketball team were...well, just being themselves.

But the men's basketball team, Fred, and Rose weren't the only star athletes present at the party - as he was at the appetizer table, Villager looked up and to his left, and saw Abraham, the pitcher from the Seattle Mariners who went off on the young lad in episode 38. Villager cowered in fear at the sight of Abraham, though his fears would be lifted when Abraham flashed a smile at the youngster.

 **Abraham: First things first, I fully regret my previous actions at the mansion, I shouldn't have unleashed my anger upon Villager and the guy with the white hair, it was very uncharacteristic of me. With that being said, I learned upon arrival at the party that Mario's rival, Bowser, was responsible for Villager being the most wanted criminal in my home country of Venezuela, thanks to a prank call. I shall deal with him later on...**

"No worries Villager, I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to have a good time, just like everyone else," assured Abraham, as a comforting smile formed on Villager's face. "Someone explained to me the full scope of the situation (I believe it was a Pokemon), and now I would like to apologize to you for the harm I've brought upon you. Do you wish to accept my apology?"

"Apology accepted, it's all now water under the bridge!" Villager responded with a smile. Abraham wasn't the only Seattle sports star in attendance - Kevin and Carrington - two participants from the mansion's prank war - were also at the mansion, and Carrington was at the punch bowl, fixing himself a drink.

"Don't take that guy's nice guy persona for granted, he's actually a lowkey thug!" Bowser said to Shulk, pointing at Carrington, who may or may not have outed himself as a Seattle Seahawks player back in episode 42. "Not to mention that his wife..."

"Nice try Bowser, but that stuff doesn't work on me anymore," Shulk smirked as he walked away from Bowser and went to go hang out with his girlfriend Fiora, who was speaking with Little Mac as Doc Louis looked on, wondering about what could have been...

"Stupid idiot!" Bowser would call out to Shulk, just when his former student Corrin walked by. Bowser grabbed the prince of Nohr and pulled him to the side. "See that guy over there Corrin?" The Koopa King again pointed at Carrington, as he walked away from the punch bowl. "He's a thug and a criminal!"

"Say it isn't so!" exclaimed Corrin, buying into Bowser's lies. Not so far from Bowser and Corrin, Rayman and Barbara were chilling together with Globox, when Fred came over to them, smiling to himself.

"I believe you two are under the mistletoe," the Olympian said to the presumed couple; Rayman nervously looked up, and Barbara would do the same without any nerves, and indeed there was a mistletoe hanging above them. Just what Rayman wanted to see...

"Today's your lucky day, lover boy!" Barbara said to Rayman as he took the limbless hero to the center of the ballroom and kissed him _on the lips_ for everyone to see, with Globox holding the mistletoe over her and Rayman. Everyone cheered on for Rayman and Barbara as the two kissed (against Rayman's will), with Abraham playfully covering Villager's eyes with his hands so he wouldn't see.

"This is the breakthrough I needed!" Yoshi exclaimed as he whipped out a notepad and started writing. "Hoo boy, I can already tell this fanfic is gonna be the BOMB!"

 **Yoshi: 2016 was a year of failures for me...none of the pairings I came up with seemed to work. Lucina and Shulk didn't work, Samus and Ganondorf didn't work, Wii Fit Trainer and the Flying Man most certainly didn't work either...good thing I had the knitting club to keep my head up.**

"Don't know about you guys, but I think it's about time we play some REAL Christmas music!" Pit spoke up, as he marched towards K.K. Slider and Sonia. "Play _Carol of the Bells_ at once!" K.K. and Sonia looked at one another, contemplating what they should do. Pit wasn't that big of a threat, so they didn't have to worry about the angel beating them up if they didn't comply to his command.

"How about we ask the others what they want to hear instead?" offered Sonia, only for Pit to push her aside as he made his way to K.K. Slider. He pressed a button on the hippie dog's synthesiser, and _Carol of the Bells_ by the one and only Trans Siberian Orchestra began playing through the loudspeakers, filling up the ballroom with its majestic sound. Sonia had no other choice but to play this song on her guitar.

"Yeah buddy, now we're talking!" exclaimed Pit, although not a single person was talking. "Real Christmas music is in the building, folks!" Pit would begin playing an imaginary violin, making a complete and utter fool out of himself. "C'mon Kirby what are you waiting for, why don't you join me?"

So Kirby would join Pit, as he played some imaginary drums. The pink puffball wouldn't be the only person to join the angel - Sonic, Diddy Kong, Slippy Toad, and the men's basketball team's own Alex would join Pit, with Sonic playing the imaginary cello, Diddy Kong playing the imaginary guitar, Slippy Toad playing the imaginary keyboard, and Alex...playing the imaginary triangle. The four playing their imaginary instruments was arguably more entertaining and amusing than whatever Pit was doing, didn't even look like he was _trying_ to play a violin.

"Could really kill for a soda right now..." Blaze said as she reached into an ice cooler and grabbed a can of soda...only for the soda to be squirted in her face when she opened the can. "Is this some kind of joke, why did I get a faulty can?!"

"Half of the soda cans are fizzy, while the other half are relatively normal," Ashley had to explain to the cat. Wario sneaked up on Blaze, reaching for her pants pocket hoping there would be money inside, only for Blaze to swipe the fatso's hand away. "The fizzy sodas were from the prank war we had, and Aerith had some left over - all the sodas could have been normal, if not for Red and his silly soda chugging competitions..." Ashley glared at Red the Pokemon Trainer, who sheepishly grinned; you'd think that since he was thirty now, he would have learned his lesson.

"This drink looks awfully nice, bet it tastes pretty good," Jim headed over to the ice cooler and pulled out a drink, which was actually one of Ashley's potions inside the cooler. You know Red dun goofed up when Ashley's potions are a drinking option for the party-goers. Jim would drink the potion in one gulp, much to the chagrin of Ashley, and suddenly Jim found himself doing the infamous pee pee dance. "Bro why is my bladder acting up all of a sudden, I just drank that drink!"

"What you just drunk was a potion, and since you consumed the entire potion...you'll have to deal with some urinary problems," Ashley explained as Jim continued to do the pee pee dance, before running out of the ballroom, stiff arming Professor Kukui on his way to the nearest bathroom as Coach looked on.

 **Coach: Was I dismayed by Jim's actions at the party? Not in the slightest - sometimes when a man has to go, he has to go. I'm just glad Jim didn't pee in the punch bowl...**

 _Carol of the Bells_ would reach its climax point, as Pit, Sonic, Diddy Kong, Slippy Toad, and Alex continued to play their imaginary instruments. As the climax went on, Dr. Light, Snake, kahuna Hala, and even Coach joined in, as they played imaginary guitars. This would continue until the last chord of the song was played, when Pit fell to the floor on his knees and did one interesting violin solo.

"CHRISTMAS, YEAH!" the angel did the sign of horns as he shouted like a maniac. Sonic and the others, watching Pit's exuberance, awkwardly walked away, not wanting to associate themselves with the angel anymore.

"You rocked, Santa!" Sonic jokingly said to Dr. Light as the two walked away, only to receive a death glare from the robot genius.

"I feel somewhat bad for being a part of that..." remarked Hala as Coach nodded his head in agreement, both men returning to their respective parties.

"Alright, now that Pit finally got to live out to his favorite Christmas song, I think it's about time we do some karaoke!" exclaimed K.K. Slider, as he and Sonia got ready. "Play me a beat Sonia, and a good one too!"

"You got it!" Sonia gave K.K. a thumbs up, as she played some electric chords on her guitar, while K.K. played some techno music. Nobody bothered to sing along with the beat, until Link, recognizing the music, was getting all pumped up for no reason, as evidenced by the bobbing of his head. The Hylian grabbed a microphone, and got himself ready as Cloud and Zelda wearily looked on.

"Oh yeah, bringing back an old classic, gotta get schwifty..." Link sang in a low voice into the microphone as he danced along. Remember the song from episode 38? "We all getting schwifty in here, gotta take off your pants, and your panties, and poop on the floor, getting schwifty in here..." Just like he did in episode 38, Link got low to the floor, as Cloud, Zelda, and everyone else cringed at the hero of Hyrule.

"Uh, I'm not wearing any panties, so I can't be a participant in this song," said Carrington, raising his finger so he could be recognized.

"I'm not wearing pants nor panties, so I can't participate either!" added Donkey Kong, glad that he was disqualified from getting "schwifty", whatever the heck that was supposed to mean. DK thought it would be best not to figure out the meaning, given Link's strange dancing.

 **Young Link: Quick question: what does it really mean to "get schwifty" anyways? *makes disgusted face when cameraman tells him the answer* ...Ew, gross, are you serious?! Please tell me Link doesn't do that...So he was just singing a song? Whew...**

"Okay Link I think you already had your turn, why don't you let someone else be great at karaoke," Cloud said to his best friend as he grabbed the microphone and gave it to K.K. Slider before pushing Link away. The blonde swordsman felt more embarrassed for Link than he ever has for him the entire year.

"Thank you Link, for your...rather interesting song," K.K. thanked the Hylian, hoping to put Link's karaoke moment behind him. "How about we take some song requests...Captain Falcon, do you have a song you wish to sing to?"

"You bet I do!" the racer, adorned in his Daredevil suit, joined K.K. Slider and Sonia, accepting two microphones from K.K. and whispering his song choice into the hippie dog's ear. "Pac-Man, why don't you join me up here, we'll have an epic duet together!" Falcon called out to the eater of ghosts as K.K. looked for the racer's song selection.

"Guess I have no other choice, might as well make it quick..." Pac-Man sighed as he joined up with Captain Falcon, accepting the microphone from the racer. Pac-Man and Captain Falcon singing karaoke? Now that's a sight for sore eyes!

"This is a tune that might resonate well with Luigi and Daisy, the folk lovebirds who tied the knot back in June," said K.K. Slider, more than ready to hit the play button. "Singing 'Forever', by Chris Brown, here is Captain Falcon and Pac-Man!"

Once the intro finished and stuff, Captain Falcon and Pac-Man started singing the lyrics to the song. It wasn't the greatest singing, or the worst singing either, it was just in-between. The party-goers either paid attention to Falcon and Pac-Man, or did something else, like grabbing more grub or talking with others - the perfect time for Team Rocket to sneak their way inside the ballroom undetected. One of the basketball players, Amir, caught the evildoers stealthily hiding behind a table on his way to the appetizers, and accidentally bumped into Kevin. A little known fact, Kevin is a type of person that you _do not_ want to mess with.

"Bro why did you bump into me for?!" Kevin angrily retaliated as he grabbed Amir by the collar, getting into a bit of a scuffle. Captain Falcon and Pac-Man had to stop singing halfway through the song as Dunban and Chrom sought to restore peace and order to the ballroom, stepping in between Kevin and Amir. The Homs and the prince pushed Kevin away, while X and Mina came over to take Amir away from Kevin.

"Just calm down, no need to get all angry and emotional..." Mina did her best to seethe Amir as she and X sat the basketball player in a chair, the "special chair". "Master Hand wouldn't mind that we used this chair, would he?" Mina asked X, who responded with a dubious shrug.

 **James: We've done it, we've actually done it - we sneaked our way inside the party without being detected! Or so I hope...  
** **Jessie: Doesn't matter, that Pikachu is as good as ours! Know do us a favor and get away from us, before you bring us unwanted attention!**

Captain Falcon and Pac-Man would have continued their karaoke, but there was nigh tension in the ballroom. Although Amir looked like he was relatively calm as he sat in the "special chair", the same couldn't be said for Kevin, who was still angry as Dunban and Chrom did their best to calm him down. To Sonic, Amir didn't look like he was as calm as the others assumed, and the hedgehog wished to make the basketball player fully content again.

"A can of soda oughta cheer the guy up!" Sonic exclaimed as he reached into an ice cooler and pulled out a can of soda, before heading over to Amir and giving him the soda. "Here ya go man, a can of soda just for you!" Keep in mind that Sonic was behind Amir when he gave him the soda. When Amir accepted the can from Sonic and opened said can, he was greeted with a splash of soda to his face, making everyone gasp - yes, Sonic had picked out a fizzy soda, rather than a normal one, and boy did it tick off Amir...

"Bruh why'd you do that to me for, that ain't funny man!" a now enraged Amir hopped up from his chair and jumped over a table, and rather than attacking the person who gave him the soda, Sonic, he instead went after the person whom he assumed gave him the soda, Link, and grabbed him by the neck with both hands. Cloud would step in to push Amir away from Link, and Ike, Wolf, Luka, Zero, and others would join in to break up the fight. Falco, recording the scuffle on his phone, wanted to ante up the stakes, and so he snatched the new baseball bat Lucas received during the Secret Santa exchange from the PSI whiz, in hopes of giving it to Amir and having him whack Link with the bat to no end. Good thing one of Amir's Olympic teammates, Jamal, caught the avian pilot just in time.

"C'mon man, we don't need that baseball bat, get that out of here!" the basketball player reprimanded Falco, taking the baseball bat away from him. "I mean, the fight's already bad enough as it is..."

"THAT'S MY PURSE, I DON'T KNOW YOU!" Lucas belted out his now-infamous battle cry as he went to get back his baseball bat, running up to Jamal and kicking him in the jewels, making him drop the baseball bat in the process. Considering how Jamal went about kicking others in the NBA playoffs, he certainly had it coming for him... "Oh I'm so sorry, I meant to kick Falco instead but somehow I missed..."

"Nah man, it's all good, I kind of deserved it..." Jamal said as he slowly got back on his feet. Around the time Jamal got up, the scuffle between Link and Amir would end in surprising fashion, when Link, after letting Amir grab his neck for who knew how long, grabbed the basketball player by the waist and body slammed him unto a table. Wasn't as epic, since the table didn't break, but Link flaunting his surprising amount of strength was shocking to everyone.

"We definitely taught Link how to do that," the Flying Man said to Meta Knight, reminiscing Link's wrestling training in episode 42, as he exchanged a high five with the Star Warrior. Meta Knight doing a high five, without having anyone telling him to do so?! Was this a different Meta Knight?!

 **Meta Knight: Sometimes when I'm all alone, or when nobody is looking, I tend to act..."cool" to a certain extent. Can't let a majority of people see me doing things that are deemed cool, because they would make me do all these other things, like trying out the new dance craze...and frankly enough, I've seen enough dance crazes already this year.**

Once Amir got off of the table, and Kevin was calmed down, Team Rocket made their presence known to the party-goers, as they appeared out from a hiding spot with Pikachu in their hands. The fight was just the distraction they needed...

"Thanks to the shenanigans during the party, we were able to complete our mission and come away with Pikachu!" stated Meowth, holding the mouse Pokemon close to him. "You can't possibly stop us now!" Team Rocket ran away, which led Snake to wondering...

"When was Pikachu ever present at the party to begin with?" the former spy questioned. So is he in no way concerned about Pikachu's well-being? Or is it because that Team Rocket is so incompetent, he felt he and the others shouldn't have a thing to worry about?

"Honestly I don't know why he would even be here in the first place, I don't think Pokémon should be allowed at the party," answered Andrew; Lucario, Jigglypuff, Greninja, and Pichu all glared at the basketball player with much disdain.

"Why Pikachu was attending the party should be none of our concern!" said Master Hand. "What should be our concern is getting Pikachu back! And I know what to do...Isabelle, go and get the urn. Knuckle Joe, go and get that tall box you brought over here. As for you two..." Master Hand turned his attention to Red and Rose, only to be interrupted by a certain canine assistant.

"B-B-But Master Hand, we c-can't release the contents of the urn, b-because of..." Isabelle stammered, knowing what was inside the urn - something so powerful, the shih Tzu dare not tamper with by any means.

"You heard me woman, get that urn or else! Everyone else stay here and remain calm, and try not to get all nervous and throw up on the floor, we don't need Mr. Game and Watch to clean up after you...and yes, Kirby, I'm looking right at you, stop acting all innocent! Your smile can't fool me!"

* * *

"Man do I feel relieved..." Jim remarked as he exited the bathroom after emptying his bladder. It didn't take the basketball player that long until he was knocked to the floor by Team Rocket, who was making their way out of the mansion with Pikachu in their possession.

"We're so close, I can almost smell the exit!" James gleamed as Team Rocket were nearing the exit, making their way into the foyer. Could they actually fulfill their mission, for once? "Once we're out of the door, we're home free!"

Suddenly the lights went out, and Team Rocket was in a state of panic. Their overall panic would increase by tenfold when the lights came back on...and Cloud's arch-enemy Sephiroth was staring them down, with his Masamune sword. Just the mere sight of the one-winged angel made Jessie, James, and Meowth cower in fear.

 **Master Hand: Given how immensely powerful Sephiroth is, I'm surprised he didn't have the gall to break out of his urn prison and rage war on the mansion. But hey, all the residents are under Luigi's healthcare plan, so if anyone gets hurt, then it's all on Luigi. So I wouldn't care what Sephiroth does either way, as long as he doesn't do any damage to the mansion.**

"I suggest that you all turn around before you die..." Sephiroth threated Team Rocket, pointing his Masamune at the evildoers. The villainous trio nervously turned around and walked away, only to be greeted with Knuckle Joe, standing coolly while resting his hand on a tall box - the box he used to deliver back in episode 7.

"Got a special delivery for ya, hope you enjoy..." the fighter smirked as he took down the front side of the box...revealing a Type: Null. Team Rocket still had vivid memories of the chimera Pokémon attacking them, so understandably they were afraid.

"Ooh, not this wretched Pokémon again!" Jessie gritted her teeth in anger. "Let's turn back around!" So Team Rocket did just that, only to be greeted Sephiroth, who remained in his spot with his Masamune sword. Team Rocket literally had nowhere else to go!

"I'm back and I'm lock and loaded, squeeple!"

This saying belonged to none other than Squirps, who was piloting the robot Samus and Zero had built for him. Fred and Rose were standing at his side, with Fred wielding the _Paper Mario_ storybook. Using his hookshot hand, Squirps snatched Pikachu away from Meowth, and held it in his other hand.

"Pikachu, I think it would be best if you saved your little Thunderbolt, at least for now," Knuckle Joe said to the mouse Pokémon. "How about we let this here Pokémon take care of the job..." Type: Null would walk out from the box, nearing Team Rocket, and then unleashed a wicked Hyper Beam on the evildoers.

"Allow me to get the door for you..." Sephiroth said as he opened the front door, and Jessie, James, and Meowth were blasted away out of the door and out of the mansion. Once they said their famous line, "TEAM ROCKET IS BLASTING OFF AGAIN!", Team Rocket vanished into the sky, never to be seen again. "Now that I'm free and all, I should be going..." So Sephiroth exited the mansion...only to be greeted by Gyarados. Evidently Master Hand came pretty well prepared. "You have got to be kidding me..." Gyarados used Hydro Pump on the one-winged angel, and Knuckle Joe got the urn ready as Sephiroth was blasted into the urn at the hands of Gyarados.

"You'd think that given their past failures, they would have given up doing evil stuff by now," Fred had this to say about Team Rocket as Knuckle Joe sealed the urn real tight, returning it to the supply room where it belonged. "You know, since there's a Pokémon here and all...you could challenge that Pokémon trainer to that Pokémon battle he wants with you..." Fred jeered at Rose, who shot back at the Olympic swimmer with a glare.

* * *

 **Master Hand: Sephiroth? Yeah, I knew he would try and sneak out of the mansion, good thing I had Corrin sneak out of the mansion and get Gyarados positioned and ready in time. As for Squirps, I saw Mario carrying the _Paper Mario_ storybook around, and I had those two Olympians summon Squirps and rescue Pikachu, just so they could feel important. And Type: Null, that Pokémon has a habit of sneaking out of the sanctuary and walking all over the mansion for no reason, and conveniently he stopped by the ballroom just when I needed him. Saw it poke its head through the ballroom door...**

Many minutes after Pikachu was saved from the clutches of Team Rocket, the Christmas party commenced, and a majority of the guests left the mansion, though some offered to stay behind; for instance, the men's basketball team, including Coach, offered to stay over and clean up everything in the ballroom, with Villager, Greninja, and of course, Mr. Game and Watch offering to help. Rayman and Barbara were asleep together under the mistletoe, as Jigglypuff drew marker on their faces.

"Hey pops, this person on the phone wants to speak with you," Bowser Jr. approached Bowser, who was trying to find a way to get his rising platform out from the ballroom, with a phone in his hand. Bowser snatched the phone from his only biological son, as Bowser Jr. scampered away.

"Hello who is this, and make it snappy!" Bowser said into the phone. When you're a villain, you tend to have terrible manners when it comes to making phone calls.

"Greetings good sir, is Mike there?" said the person on the phone. Who exactly is this Mike person, and what does the person on the phone want with him? "His last name is Crotch, he might be in the ballroom..."

"Hold on, lemme check..." Bowser placed the phone down and said the following to the men's basketball team. "Have any of you guys seen Mike Crotch around here?" The players didn't specify where "Mike Crotch" was - they just laughed at the Koopa King instead. Say "Mike Crotch" out loud and you'll see what the laughing matter was all about. "Guys this is no laughing matter, I'm looking for Mike Crotch! Why can't I find Mike Crotch?" Bowser suddenly heard laughing nearby, and out of intrigue, the Koopa King looked inside a nearby closet...and saw Villager and Abraham inside giggling, with Villager holding Abraham's cellphone. (Abraham did say he would get back at Bowser, and he and Villager didn't disappoint in the slightest.) Bowser would roar at the two and chase them out of the closet and then out of the ballroom, as Peach, down in the dumps, sat in a chair with Mario and Zelda comforting her.

"Another perfect holiday party ruined..." the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom sighed, looking down at the floor. "And it was all Bowser's fault too, he was the one who invited all those athletes, even when I told him not to..."

"It's okay Princess-a Peach, it won't be the only time-a Bowser refuses to listen to instructions," Mario assured his fiancée, as Shovel Knight came over to speak with Peach. Mario, who still felt someone bitter towards the noble knight, allowed the man in blue armor to speak with his woman.

"I refuse to see 'tis fair maiden full of sorrow and despair!" said Shovel Knight, wanting to solve things. "Good thing I know what might cheer such a lovely maiden up..." The knight held out his hand to Peach, and Mario looked at it with some contempt. "Princess Peach, dost thou wish to dance with I? What dost thou have to say, Mario?" In any other instance, Mario would put Shovel Knight on blast and kick him out of the mansion, but seeing that his fiancée was depressed, he thought her dancing with Shovel Knight would be the best thing to do. So he sucked up all of his pride, and gave Shovel Knight a thumbs up.

"Really Mario, you're fine with me dancing with Shovel Knight?" Peach asked the plumber, who nodded his head with a smile. "Well if it's fine with you, then it's fine with me!" Peach took Shovel Knight's hand, and rose up from her seat. "Zelda, why don't you play a Christmas tune for us, just for the mood?"

"Better be glad I've been practicing some Christmas songs in private..." Zelda responded as she turned into Sheik and pulled out her trusty harp (Zelda tends to play the harp better under her Sheik persona). Sheik would play a tune as Peach gracefully danced with Shovel Knight, and Mario looked on. Once Peach got into the groove, the sadness of her face dissipated, as the princess felt more jolly than she felt all day long. Just then, Fred came over to Mario, and saw Peach and Shovel Knight do their thing.

"So I've been told that you're going to marry that woman, is that correct?" the Olympian asked Mario, who nodded his head. "Well let me just say that you got a good one, she's the perfect woman for you...well I should be going now, hopefully someone here other than Bowser knows how to operate that funky teleportation device. Merry Christmas, man."

"Merry Christmas to you-a too," Mario would say to Fred as the Olympian walked away.

Did the Christmas party end exactly as planned? Probably not. But as long as Peach was content, then Mario was content as well.


	54. Episode 54: Kindred

_Author's Note:_

 _It's been a long time coming, but it's finally happening...this chapter will mark the first time Kamui ever appears in this story. She could have appeared much sooner, but frankly I never used the Kamui-related suggestions from the reviewers, so if you wanted to see Kamui in Smash Life, prepare to have your day made. Keep in mind that this chapter is mostly linear (the chapter was written in akin to the first chapter of the story) as it is mainly focused on Kamui._

 _In the 52nd chapter, I had told you readers to save any suggestions until the 53rd chapter or so, and just as I figured, some of you went ahead and gave a suggestion, and so we'll start with anonymeme:_

 _"...Can we see Axl?"_

 _Hoo boy, another Mega Man-related request...Axl may or may not appear in the next chapter, so hold your horses. Now we have another rebel in YoKaiShoubiao:_

 _"Story idea: Ness makes Lucas participate in a newcomer welcoming association so the latter can become more outgoing. And guess who the others in the association are? None other than Sonic, Lucina, and Doc Louis."_

 _You know, I could make this suggestion an actual story, given that Smash Life is the only story I'm working on at the moment...but if you want me to make it a chapter in this story, then just let me know. Roydigs22, the person who wished to see Lucario, is back to make some amends for the aura Pokemon:_

 _"...how about something like: ...maybe lucario leads the sanctuary pokemon against an army of heartless? I want you to represent lucario's true awesomeness"_

 _A Pokemon vs Heartless battle is kinda what I'm working towards, but Lucario would definitely be the leader/general of the Pokemon army. He would be a much better leader than Mewtwo, in my opinion. We have one more rebellious reviewer, in Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...I just want to ask if after the holidays are over a chapter where a manaphy gets loose in the mansion and switches everyone around or would that be too much?"_

 _Eh, sounds a bit too similar to that idea you proposed about a boomerang in the mansion altering everyone's personalities -that'll be the subject of the next chapter. I wouldn't rule out an appearance from Manaphy though. Now on to reviews from the other chapters:_

 _"...another request that may or may not be too much trouble. In the chapter, the Orginization XIII guy was saying that the Smashers were dealing with the Heartless in their area. Do you think you could do an episode or two where the Smashers have to connect with the Playstation All-Stars and share information on the Heartless, much to the chagrin of both parties?"_

 _I may not include characters from PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale in Smash Life - third-party characters are fair game, but as for characters owned by Sony...I'm a little iffy about. Another anonymous guest review:_

 _"Can you please do a idea I have. Master hand is getting nervous of new threats coming to the mansion. So he made everyone compete in rounds of smash to see who is the strongest"_

 _Sounds like a tournament to me...I dunno how that would solve any of the problems Master Hand is facing. Perhaps I could work something out in the near future. Time for a character suggestion, from Dark Pit awesome:_

 _"please...more dark pit!"_

 _More Dark Pit you want? More Dark Pit you shall get! Gotta think of it, I don't ever recall Dark Pit having his own Day in the Limelight episode, but it'll come eventually. 0300 is back with another suggestion:_

 _"...wondering if you could use more of R.O.B.'s gadgets more often. Just to see what all he can do."_

 _Never thought about showcasing R.O.B.'s gadgets, might as well start doing so. Lastly, we have GamerDutchess01, with two questions and a suggestion/idea:_

 _"1. How and what made you bring up with humor for this? (If you could talk about it a little)"_

 _Let me tell you a little secret...80% of the story's humor is my own doing, and roughly 20% is mostly from The Office (both versions) and other miscellaneous stuff. Hoped that answered your question. Moving on to the second question:_

 _"2. Do you even know some Japanese since Heihachi always speaks that language? (Althogh i tend to skip his "interviews",whatever its called when talking to a camera, since i never understood)"_

 _Nope, don't even know a single Japanese word other than "konichiwa" - I just time some stuff into a English-to-Japanese translator on Google Translate, and copy and paste. Now you know two secrets of mine. Let's see what idea you have in store for me..._

 _"...what if the Pokémon League Champions get invited by Cilan? (If Mario allows him)..."_

 _I'm gearing towards including more human Pokémon characters, and adding the Pokémon League Champions (Gary, Lance, Steven Stone, Wallace, Cynthia, Alder, and Diantha) would be a good thing to do, although I can have Cilan invite gym leaders and frontier brains as well. (Anabel from Pokémon Emerald is my favorite frontier brain, just wanted to get that off of my chest...)_

* * *

 **Episode 54: Kindred**

Corrin patiently waited outside the Smash Mansion, expecting a gift from his lovely siblings from Nohr. The prince had received a letter from his big brother Xander, detailing how he, Leo, Camilla, and Elise were "observing" him from afar and saw that he had not made any progress since that one time they visited him back in episode 42.

So to help Corrin for the better, they were sending the prince a belated Christmas gift of sorts - exactly what Xander stated in his letter - and after minutes of waiting, the Mailman (the one that delivers Link his mail) stopped by, pushing what appeared to be a giant casket towards the mansion. Were Corrin's siblings giving him a dead body for him to look over?

"Special delivery for Corrin!" the Mailman exclaimed as he did this funny pose for Corrin. It was a very weird pose for Corrin to look at, something the prince of Nohr may never erase from his memory. "No paperwork for you to sign - just read this letter your brother Xander wrote for you." The Mailman took a slip of paper from the casket and handed it to Corrin. "Pretty much explains the purpose of this gift and all. Well then, have a good day!" The Mailman would tip his hat to Corrin before running away, albeit awkwardly, as Donkey Kong and Akira Yuki came outside.

"We'll gladly take this coffin inside for you, Corrin!" Donkey Kong said to the prince as he and Akira lifted up the casket, carefully taking it inside while Corrin entered the mansion reading the letter out loud. His siblings had a lot of nerve sending him a dead body, if there was perhaps a dead body inside of the casket.

 **Mailman: To be frank and honest, Corrin's gift isn't really a "gift" - it's more of a help than anything. In fact, I wouldn't even consider Corrin's gift an "it". You'll eventually know what I mean by that.**

"'This gift, or offering, we send to you is for no one's benefit but yours, and we sincerely hope you treat the gift with respect, honor, and affection,'" read Corrin, almost done with Xander's letter. "'We wish nothing but the best for the rest of your time in the Smash Mansion. Until we see each other again, take care! Sincerely, Xander.'" Corrin placed the letter on a nearby table as he went over to inspect the casket, as Donkey Kong and Akira inspected it as well.

"Wonder what possibly convinced the Nohrian family to deliver this," Akira stroked his chin, contemplating what was inside. If it was a dead body, he would most likely leap in the arms of Donkey Kong, who would immediately drop the kung fu fighter to the floor in an instant. "I'm just dying to see what could possibly be inside!"

"Well we won't know unless we open up the casket and see its contents," remarked Donkey Kong. "Corrin, would you like to do the honors?" Corrin let out a breath of fresh air as he nervously lifted up the lid of the casket, seeing what was inside.

"Oh junk, there's a girl inside, and she kinda looks like Corrin!" Akira analyzed what was inside the casket - a young, fair maiden, one with silver hair and pale skin, with her eyes closed. Just like Akira said, she looked like Corrin - similar hair color, similar skin tone, similar attire. She even had pointy ears, just like the prince himself.

"Sure hope she's not dead, appears as if she's asleep..." said Corrin, reaching out his hand towards the girl...only for his hand to retract when the girl's eyes opened, revealing red eyes. From the looks of it, it could be that the girl might very well be Corrin's twin sister. The girl sat up, and looked around, before setting her eyes upon Corrin, who was now nervous to the bone.

"Greetings, dear brother, so lovely to finally see you in person," she said to Corrin, as the prince of Nohr cautiously looked on with Donkey Kong and Akira. "I am Kamui, and I am your twin sister. I have been living in Nohr with your brothers and sisters while you were away, and as a command from our father, Garon, I was sent to the Smash Mansion, so I could live with you..."

"Y-You're living with me?!" Corrin stammered, pointing at himself. He was looking at a potential roommate, and he already had one in Robin. "Why would Garon and the siblings want you to live with me?"

"Silly Corrin, your naive nature is why all of this is possible - I'm only here as a means to help you, to guide you through all the antics and mishaps of the mansion." The fact that Kamui knew Corrin's name did nothing but make the prince even more nervous than he was before.

 **Donkey Kong: So, so, so...Corrin had a twin sister by the name of Kamui this whole time, and his siblings never disclosed it to him...must be the biggest kept secret in the entire Kingdom of Nohr! What if Hoshidio had infiltrated Nohr, and kidnapped Kamui and took her to their kingdom? Corrin did say the two kingdoms have been warring against one another for the longest now, and Corrin returning to Nohr to rescue Kamui single-handedly would make him the toughest guy in his kingdom...the toughest _skinny_ bad guy in his kingdom, that is!**

 **Akira Yuki: Kinda cool that Corrin has a twin sister, although his family are lowkey jerks for keeping his sister as a secret away from him. From the looks of it, Kamui may very well be like Corrin, but more wise - one that doesn't think babies come from alien spaceships, and assumes that iPhones and tablets are inventions from alien creatures, like Corrin does. If she ever confesses her belief in aliens, then I'm done...**

"I feel very rested, that long slumber certainly did wonders," Kamui remarked as she got out from the casket, stepping out and stepping on the floor, before standing up and stretching her arms and whatnot. "So where shall we get started, twin brother? We have so much things to accomplish before I can fully settle in!"

"We must first speak with Mario, he's kinda the boss around here," replied the prince. He would take Kamui to Master Hand's room, but the giant hand was currently busy at the moment. "Donkey Kong, do you know where we can find Mario?"

"He must be in the living room with Pac-Man, planning for his wedding," the gorilla explained. "He may be a little busy, but not as much as Mario. I'm sure he and Pac-Man will give you some time to speak with you two."

* * *

Mario and Pac-Man were in the living room, and with the holidays over, the two video game icons resumed their planning for the wedding. They were busy going over the guest list when Sonic appeared, holding Shaymin in his arms.

"Guys, guys, you won't BELIEVE what Shaymin did while we were playing catch in the backyard!" the hedgehog, who was rather excited, told Mario and Pac-Man, who didn't even bother to pay any attention to Sonic whatsoever. "So I threw the ball like really, really far, and Shaymin had went to go retrieve it...and when she came back, she appeared in a DIFFERENT FORM!" Sonic was expressing joy and excitement in every word he uttered from his mouth, but alas his emotions couldn't defeat the apathy evinced from Mario's and Pac-Man's silence.

"Yeah Sonic that's pretty awesome man, great to see you and Shaymin bonding and growing together," Pac-Man had this to say, upsetting Sonic due to the fact that he didn't even bother looking up at the hedgehog. "I can tell you and Shaymin are gonna go pretty far in life, I can just already tell." Pac-Man was just saying these things hoping to appease Sonic, but instead he was making the hedgehog even more angry than before.

"Mario may I speak with you for a quick second?" Corrin asked as he and Kamui entered the living room; Mario and Pac-Man were interested now given the presence of Kamui, much to the chagrin of Sonic. "My folks back at Nohr 'sent' my twin sister here Kamui to the mansion, and I was wondering if you would mind allowing her to live at the mansion..."

"No Corrin, it's-a fine, King Garon had sent-a me a private letter detailing everything Master Hand-a and I needed to know about Kamui's arrival!" said Mario as he and Pac-Man got up from the couch they were sitting on to greet Kamui. "I'm Mario, and this-a yellow fellow with me is Pac-Man, the blue hedge-a hog sulking away is-a Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog!"

 **Mario: Kamui coming to the mansion was-a in the works for a long-a time, ever since Xander told-a me about her some-a after the prank-a war concluded. The matter wasn't how we-a were bringing Kamui to the mansion, the matter was-a _when_ it would be-a necessary...and Corrin's naive, nonchalant-a behavior at the Christmas party showed that something had-a to be done.**

"It is indeed a great pleasure to meet all of you, it really is," Kamui bowed in front of Mario, Pac-Man, and Sonic, displaying courtesy, honor, and respect for the video game icons. Sonic was the only icon that didn't return the favor, as he was feeling pretty salty about Kamui all of a sudden. "Xander, Leo, Camilla, and Elise - they've all been telling stories about you, and they've always spoke about you in a positive light..."

"Did they say anything good about me, please tell me they did!" indulged Sonic, no longer feeling ticked off in any way. He just wanted to hear what good things Corrin's siblings were saying about him, if any.

"...they just said that you like chili dogs, and that's pretty much the lone positive aspect they've mentioned. I guess you can assume the overall nature of the other aspects they told about you." Sonic held his head in sadness, for he knew that Corrin's siblings most likely despised him - just like roughly ninety percent of the mansion residents.

* * *

"Alright then boys, it's official - the Friday after New Year's Day, the first Friday of 2017, we'll go look for that tear in the universe where the Heartless are coming from," Ema discussed with Fox and Falco in the dining room, while Shulk and Rosalina were cooking things in the kitchen. The scent from the kitchen infiltrated the dining room, where there was a bowl of malasadas in the center of the table which Ema, Fox, and Falco were eating from. "We just need to ask Marth for some assistance, since he was the one who went into Aerith's universe to retrieve her under Master Hand's command."

"I think we should bring Luigi along too, he wanted to bring Aerith here, and in turn it allowed the tear in the universe to form," stated Fox, who felt Luigi hasn't done that much in regards to stopping the Heartless. The plumber has been lax concerning the issue at hand. "His Rotom would be quite handy, what with the upgrade and all..." Just then, Toon Link showed up, tip toeing towards the table, and an ever keen Falco caught him in the act.

"Why you peeping in here Toon, what's with the whole tip-toeing schtick?" the avian pilot questioned the young Hylian, who stopped in his tracks when his name was uttered. "Better have a good enough excuse, otherwise Fox and I will rough ya into oblivion..."

"I just wanted that bowl of malasadas, that's all," explained Toon Link, not wanting to start any drama. Especially when he didn't have his sword to fend himself from the Star Fox pilots. "But don't worry, I promise you I'll bring it back soon..."

 **Fox: Falco I gotta ask ya, my man, why do these malasadas taste so freaking good? *holds up a malasada to the camera* No other snack we have at the mansion compares to this magical delicacy - ice cream bars? Nope. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? Not even close. The Ice Climbers' crummy sundaes? Don't even make me laugh...  
Falco: Hau is forever the real MVP for bringing his malasadas with him to the mansion, and for giving Pit the recipe required to make them. His recipe will go down as the greatest gift of 2016...even greater than Bowser's so-called "Gift of Bowser". What the heck was that all about anyway?  
Fox: I dunno, but it kinda made me feel uncomfortable...just seeing Bowser descend on that rising platform with his arms out in the air like that, expecting us to bow down to him or something...it just didn't feel right.**

"You're more than welcome to have the malasadas, Fox, Falco, and I already had our fair share," Ema kindly gave the bowl of Hawaiian treats to Toon Link, as Fox and Falco inquisitively looked on with disgust. "Just don't get any on the floor, okay? Lloyd is almost infamous for doing that, it seems..."

"I'll give these malasadas back to you guys in a jiffy!" Toon Link assured the three as he exited the dining room. Fox and Falco glared down Ema, disgusted with some of the choices she was making (i.e. giving a bowl of malasadas to someone deemed unworthy), and just then...

"Who here wants some steak kabobs?" Shulk entered the dining room with a plate of steak kabobs, quickly grabbing Fox's and Falco's attention. "Rosalina and I worked on these bad boys together, and I'm very confident these kabobs will hit the..." Before Shulk could finish, the Homs was immediately ambushed by Fox and Falco, with Fox tackling Shulk to the floor, and Falco quickly grabbing the plate of kabobs before it could fall onto the floor. Ema just shook her head at all of this; amazing what Fox and Falco would do just to acquire food.

"Thank you for bringing us these malasadas, Toon Link - I would have retrieved them myself, but knowing that Fox and Falco were around, I knew my attempt would have ended up in trouble," Corrin thanked the young Hylian as he accepted the bowl of malasadas, standing with Kamui away from the dining room. The prince grabbed one of the yeast-filled confections, and gave it to Kamui, who took it and ate it in a hearbeat. "So Kamui, why do you think, do you like it?"

"Oh yes, I enjoy it very much, one of the best things I've ever tasted!" Kamui responded with a smile. It was arguably her first time tasting something that wasn't a Nohrian cuisine, and she was in a state full of bliss. Wait until she tries out pizza for the first time. "Certainly there must be other great foods for me to try out, I simply can't wait!"

"Aren't we going to have some Mexican food tonight?" Toon Link quietly asked Corrin, who responded with a sly nod. Yup, Kamui is about to enjoy her tine at the mansion a whole lot more than she really should. "Hoo boy, I AN'T WAIT TO SEE HER REACTION THEN..." Toon smirked as he rubbed his hands together, only for Kamui to notice. She didn't seem to care about the Hylian's mannerisms, she was too busy enjoying the second malasada she was eating to question him.

"Kamui are you here?" Isabelle showed up, wielding a clipboard; Kamui perked up when here name was called. "Nice to meet you - I'm Isabelle, the lovely assistant of Mario and Master Hand! We have already prepared your room for you, you'll be in a bunk bed with Corrin. I'll shall take you to your room, and then I'll get you adjusted around the mansion."

* * *

 **Isabelle: You could never have too many people living inside one mansion, especially given how much room and space we have here. Sometimes, the more people the better, and it always leads to great camaraderie and chemistry among the inhabitants. Kamui may enjoy her time at the Smash Mansion, or her time would be terrible if burdened by some of the more insufferable residents, like Wario. I would say Kamui would have nothing to worry about concerning Wario, but considering Wario was once in love with a high school cheerleader...**

"Guess who caught all 802 Pokemon yesterday in _Pokemon Sun_?" Zero asked Roy as the two were walking through the hallway together. "This guy!" The robot sported an arrogant smirk as he proudly pointed this thumbs at himself, as Roy looked on with much disbelief. Much of the disbelief came from the fact that not every single Pokemon was available in either _Sun_ or _Moon;_ both versions are chock full of Kanto and Alolan Pokemon, and other Pokemon are available via transfer.

"Yeah you're a robot, so it's blatantly obvious you cheated the system and captured every single Pokemon there is..." Roy retorted, before stopping in his tracks when he saw Corrin, Kamui, and Isabelle walking towards him and Zero. The swordsman was mostly interested in Kamui, as evidenced by him checking out the young maiden, looking at her up and down, up and down, up and down... "Say Corrin, who's that chick with you, is that your twin sister or something?"

"Yes, this is Kamui, and she is indeed my twin sister - she came all the way from Nohr," Corrin introduced Kamui to Roy; Kamui appeared to be unnerved by the fact that the residents were already checking her out, and the oh so naive Corrin didn't seem to care - or even know - either way.

"Woah dude, quit it out, you can't be checking her out, you're still in love with Lilina, remember?" Zero slapped Roy silly, snapping him out of his trance. For those of you who may not know, Lilina is a close childhood friend of Roy, and the two have been romantically intertwined for the longest now. It would greatly dishearten Lilina if she ever found out Roy cheating on her with another _Fire Emblem_ character, such as Kamui. "Corrin's sister has probably been here for a short period of time, no need to make her welcome feel uneasy..." Zero walked Roy away from Isabelle and company, only for Roy to look at Kamui stealthily doing the "I'm always watching you..." hand gesture. Wouldn't be doing such a thing if Lilina was around, would he?

"That was very strange...and weird," Isabelle remarked, never remembering Roy to act like he did before. Maybe he acts differently around _Fire Emblem_ females, Lucina notwithstanding? "Let's just get you to your room quickly Kamui, before other episodes like the one we just witnessed happen."

* * *

Isabelle, Corrin, and Kamui finally reached the room without any interruption, and in the room was a bunk bed that replaced Corrin's previous bed. Corrin's roommate Robin was present, speaking with Bowser; the Koopa King was annoying the mage about what food would be served at the New Year's party.

"Whaddaya mean, we can't have alcoholic beverages at the party?" Bowser frowned at Robin, with his arms folded. "It's a New Year's party, gosh darn it, we're supposed to be wild like the folks on Time Square!" Alcoholic beverages were a strong rarity at the mansion, and Bowser has always sought to change that, but to no avail.

 **Bowser: Peach decided she wasn't going to do the New Year's party, after how the Christmas party ended last week (gotta admit, the fight between the big tough guy and Link was pretty legit, and Link suplexing the guy onto the table was the epic icing on the cake), and she appointed Robin as the planner of the New Year's party. Part of me wished I had saved my "Gift of Bowser" for the New Year's party, what with the whole rising platform thing, but at least I reminded everyone how great I am! The goal for this week's party is to somehow surpass last week's "Gift of Bowser", and doing so would be a high order to accomplish...**

"Little children will be present at the party, they cannot be in the vicinity of alcoholic beverages," Robin plainly stated for Bowser, hoping the Koopa King would shut his mouth and leave him alone. "Look at your son Lemmy - he's crazy enough as it is, imagine him if he were drunk..." An insane youngster like Lemmy, intoxicated? That would be an imaginable sight for just about anyone!

"Figured you would say that Robin, which why I propose this - why not two separate parties, one for the grown-ups, and one for the youngsters? You can't possibly say no to that, it's a win-win all around for everyone involved!"

"I'm terribly sorry Bowser, but Master Hand made it clear that we will have only one party on New Year's Eve, having too would be too much work." Robin looked behind Bowser and saw Kamui, idly standing with Corrin and Isabelle. "Ah, Kamui, didn't see you there, hopefully you didn't have to wait too long! The name's Robin, you may know me as the closest friend of the prince of Yliesse, Chrom. And this right here is Bowser, the self-proclaimed Koopa King. He's a bit of an evil fellow, I should say..."

"Yeah it's real great to meet you, Corrin's hopefully-just-as-incompetent twin sister, welcome to the Smash Mansion!" Bowser greeted Kamui by eagerly shaking her hand in a slightly violent manner. The Koopa King was looking straight in the eyes of what he hoped would be a future "pupil" of his. "Hope you enjoy your time and get to know me...and everyone else living here! They're all great folk, just like myself...and Master Hand!"

"Speaking of whom, may we go see Master Hand, given that he isn't busy or anything?" Kamui asked Isabelle, angering Bowser for no longer paying attention to him. Probably should have mentioned Kirby instead of Master Hand. "Xander has always had something of good report about him, and I wish to see if Master Hand is as great as advertised..."

* * *

Extremely bitter about how his exchange with Kamui ended, Bowser stopped by the lounge, where Mario, Young Link, Kirby, Pit, and Dark Pit were present. Pit and Dark Pit were embroiled in an epic staring contest, with Mario and Young Link presiding over it.

"Pit is about to crack very soon, I can just tell," Young Link offered his take as the staring contest went on. The Hylian's prediction seemed like it would be true, what with Pit twitching his eye as his doppelganger Dark Pit sported a cocky smile.

 **Dark Pit: Everyone knows I always kick Pit's behind at every little competition we do, I practically have the dude's number every time. Only time Pit ever beat me was in a match of table tennis...granted he needed Kirby to assist him in winning, but that was the only occasion Pit ever beat me, so I'll hand it to him, I guess.**

"I highly concur, this enduring staring contest will soon be bygones in less than a few seconds," Kirby spoke through the translator he received during Secret Santa at the Christmas party. Keep in mind that the translator is emitting a computerized voice, for Kirby is typing into the Dynavox translator what he wants to say. "Even if he were to lose, Pit has shown great pertinacity, and as his best friend, I am assiduously impressed by his cogent efforts!"

"You owe-a me five bucks," Mario held out his hand to Young Link, and the Hylian grumpily handed the plumber a five dollar bill. Every time Kirby uttered a vocabulary word, someone would have to owe Mario one dollar, and since Kirby said five vocabulary words, Young Link had to owe five dollars. It was a great way to raise funds for the wedding, at least in Mario's eyes.

 **Dark Pit: One more thing...after the Christmas party, I learned that me and everyone else COMPLETELY underestimated Kirby's intelligence. When Mr. Game and Watch received his voice translator manufactured by Dynavox, he was speaking just the way we would imagine him to be, using simple language and basic words...but as for Kirby, he has been using all sorts of big words with that translator of his, words that Pit doesn't even know (although Pit doesn't really know that many vocabulary words). I have to admit, it's becoming quite hard adjusting to Kirby...who speaks unintelligibly...using big words like he's doing now...**

Pit would eventually crack under the pressure, as he blinked his dry eyes multiple times and rubbed them. Dark Pit, basking in his victory, got up from the chair he was sitting in with his arms in the air; only thing that would be needed would be for Bobby Roode's theme song to kick in, with the word "GLORIOUS" being chanted heartily.

"Ha ha ha, I won again, just like I expected!" the doppelganger exclaimed, with his fists raised in the air. "Now hand me back my 3DS if you know what's good for ya..." Pit grumbled as he dug into his pocket and handed his counterpart his gaming handheld device back. Now was the perfect time for Bowser to consult Mario, as the Koopa King made his way over to the plumber, needing to speak with him right away.

"I know we don't usually talk to one another like this, but I got something I need to get off of my chest," Bowser said to Mario, who was all ears. If it had anything to do with finding a female soulmate to serve as the Koopalings' mother, then Mario would ditch Bowser in a heartbeat. "It's that new girl, Kamui... she said to my face that I was the most horrid thing she ever looked at, she even called me the love child of Godzilla and Voldemort! Usually I'm very sensitive when it comes to my grotesque looks, and Kamui's comments made me feel very triggered...she might be very trigger-happy, so to speak." Bowser has never been sensitive about his looks, or anything else for that matter - the man's just stirring up trouble again, as usual. "Are you gonna let Kamui's reign of terror continue, or are you and Master Hand gonna do something about it?"

"I don't think I have-a ever established any ground-a rules with Kamui, so I suppose Master Hand-a and I might as well speak with her immediately," responded Mario, stroking his chin. At the moment he didn't seem to ponder over whether or not Bowser had meant what he said, or he was just twisting the truth so the plumber could listen.

* * *

"Keep it coming Mac, you lookin' mighty fine as always!" Doc Louis encouraged his protege Little Mac as the young boxer went ham on a poor punching bag in the fitness center, delivering wicked punches left and right. That punching bag probably has a family, but Mac doesn't seem to care - he has no heart, he has no conscience, and he has no soul! How could an honest man live without those three things? The very thought of it sounded almost inhumane, especially for an individual like Little Mac.

"This is the part of the mansion where we work out and stay fit and in shape," Corrin explained to Kamui, showing his sister around the fitness center. The prince doesn't use the fitness center as much (he thinks of working out as a means of attention-seeking - don't ask), but it was worth showing Kamui around. "We have everything from weights to treadmills, so there's a lot of resources available for you to use."

 **Corrin: Never have I worked out a single day at the fitness center, for working out is just a way for you to crave attention, you're silently begging others to pay attention to you! Don't believe me, just look at Roy, a prime suspect - how would you explain him going from a string bean in _Melee_ to being buff in the fourth _Smash_ tournament? He obviously gained muscles so he could get some looks...looks from none other than Masahiro Sakurai!**

"Hey hey hey, looks like we got ourselves a newcomer!" Doc Louis exclaimed when he turned around and saw Kamui, earnestly smiling at him. Little Mac turned around and saw Kamui too, taken back by the Nohrian princess' looks, as evidenced by his starstruck look. "Allow me to introduce myself - you can call me Doc Louis, and I'm the finest boxing trainer there is!"

"I'm Kamui, I'm Corrin's twin sister!" Kamui introduced herself to Doc Louis and Little Mac - the latter was still in awe of Kamui - he didn't even blink a single time as he continued to stare at the princess of Nohr. It was getting to the point where saliva was slowly pouring out from his mouth, that's how entranced the boxer was. "My father Garon, the king of Nohr, sent me to the Smash Mansion so I could live with my dear brother, and I'm sure I'll have a great time here!"

"Absolutely sure you will, we have plenty of nice folks that'll give you a very warm welcome! Certainly you have been acclimated with your _Fire Emblem_ brethen, if ya know what I mean!" Doc Louis looked over to Little Mac, who was still entranced. "Yo, Little Mac, you gonna introduce yourself or something, having your mouth agape like that ain't gonna tell this girl who are you are!" Little Mac suddenly snapped out of his trance, shaking his head and regaining his composure.

"Uh, nice to meet you, my name is best friends, but my Little Mac just call me friends," the discombobulated young boxer introduced himself, mixing his words around. Sometimes when you're coming back to reality from a prolonged trance, you tend to speak funny.

"A pleasure to meet you too...'friends', if that's really your real name," Kamui responded before looking at Doc Louis, who shook his head as a way to tell the princess that "friends" wasn't really Little Mac's name. "Or is Little Mac really your name? Please tell me how you acquired the name Little Mac, I'm quite curious..." Instead of giving Kamui the story about his name, Little Mac fainted to the floor, and frankly Mario wasn't around in a referee shirt to give the young boxer to the count of ten to get back up.

"You gotta excuse my man Little Mac, he must be seriously winded from our training session," Doc Louis apologized to Kamui as he knelt down at his protege, attempting to bring him back to his consciousness. As he continued to do so, Isabelle entered the fitness center to speak with Kamui.

"Master Hand is now ready to see you!" the shih tzu notified the princess of Nohr.

* * *

Isabelle brought Corrin and Kamui to Master Hand's room, where the creator of the Smash Universe was with Mario to discuss some things with Kamui. The two had just went over some of the mansion's house rules, and now it was time to discuss Bowser's accusation of Kamui being a big fat meanie towards the Koopa King.

 **Master Hand: Mansion's becoming a little cluttered now, too many people living here...we need some form of epidemic, like a bubonic plague, to strike the Seattle area (just like Cloud once said, Aerith told me about it), and wipe these fools out. Luigi's medicare plan can compensate the deaths of the residents, am I right?**

"Bowser has told Mario that you called him ugly and hideous," Master Hand said to Kamui; the Nohrian princess frowned in response to this accusation. "Can you confirm if this is true or not? Don't want Bowser to incessantly run his mouth about someone criticizing his looks! He's an insufferable one already!"

"Why, I would never criticize Bowser's looks, or anything else about Bowser for that matter!" asserted Kamui, in utter disbelief Bowser would make silly accusations about her. Poor girl was getting an early taste of typical Bowser behavior. "I want to treat everyone at the mansion with a great ounce of respect, never would I want to start strife and tarnish the camaraderie around here! That would be simply unlike me!"

"This must-a mean that Bowser has-a been pulling our tails yet again..." said Mario. "...and why am I not-a surprised. Should-a have known early on. Ah well, we shall-a make Bowser pay for-a his actions soon."

"And make him pay we shall, hopefully before the end of the day," stated Master Hand, just dying to dole out some punishments. He has a very strange obsession for punishing others, in case you haven't noticed. "We'll just let him think everything is going just dandy, let him assume we punished Kamui or something...and BANG! We'll punish him, and punish him by forcing him to enjoy labor!" Master Hand then glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand - a nightstand he probably doesn't even need. "Well would you look at the time, it's almost time for dinner! Tonight will be the first time you'll be having dinner with us Kamui, and we're having Mexican food! You know, tacos, burritos, nachos, and all that good stuff...ever had any of that stuff back in your homeland?"

"No sir, only just beans and meat, and occasionally some fruits and vegetables," answered Kamui, perhaps going down as the only person to ever address Master Hand with "sir". It even caught Master Hand off by surprise. "It'll be my first time trying out non-Nohrian cuisine."

 **Kamui: Beans and meat aren't the only things we eat at Nohr - we also have other things, like steak, chili, sushi, tofu pudding...the list just goes on and on. I just didn't want to overwhelm Master Hand with the vast food choices my kingdom has. I'm sure you have told Master Hand and others about the Nohrian cuisine before, have you, brother?  
Corrin: They have TOFU PUDDING back at Nohr?! Ooh, how come you get all of the good stuff when I'm away... *grumpily folds his arms*  
Kamui: *smiling* We all can't get whatever we want, we all can't have nice things - for that would make life unfair. You should just remain content with what you have!**

Mario exited Master Hand's room, and the plumber bumped into Bowser, who was calmly waiting outside the Smash universe creator's room, with only one question on his mind:

"What did he say, what did he say, what did he say?" the Koopa King pestered Mario in regards to Master Hand, hoping the giant hand "reprimanded" Kamui of her actions. You see, Bowser wanted Master Hand to scold Kamui, and then he could barge inside the room and offer to teach Kamui lessons in respect and courtesy - lessons that would eventually turn into teaching false information just to mess with the princess of Nohr.

"Master Hand said-a that Kamui did nothing wrong and there-a fore she should not receive any repercussions for her-a actions," Mario bluntly explained to Bowser, walking on his way to the dining room. Bowser snapped his fingers in disgust, for his devious plan had failed.

* * *

Dinner time had commenced in the dining room, as the residents all gathered in the room eating to their heart's desire. Cilan had prepared the food, and taste tested each and every food item to ensure it was the highest quality.

"Just for the record, this is my first time dabbling in Mexican food, so any feedback or constructive criticism would be nice!" the Pokemon connoisseur said to everyone, standing at the front end of the table watching everyone eat their food in a hopefully non-creeper way. Corrin and Kamui were both seated near Wario, and seating within the same vicinity as the fatso would be a decision both twins would regret.

"You're a princess from the kingdom of Nohr, which must mean that you're filthy rich!" Wario pointed at Kamui, wishing to rob Kamui of her riches. He would opt to invade the entire kingdom of Nohr and steal all their values, but he felt that would be too much work. "So gimme all your money, if you know what's good for ya!"

"Leave her alone Wario, let her enjoy the dinner in peace," Wii Fit Trainer sternly told the fatso, who didn't bother to listen to whatever Wii Fit had to say. Acquiring Kamui's wealth was the fatso's only main concern. "Are you going to hound her for money to no end?"

"Unless she gives up whatever money she has with her, I won't! My Warioware, Inc. empire has to grow, you know, it can't be stagnant forever!" Wario's remark sparked an argument between the fatso and Wii Fit Trainer, and Kamui, unable to take it anymore, got up from the dinner table to get some seconds...only to bump into Cloud Strife, who was also getting seconds.

 **Cloud: I understand what Kamui may be going through as a newbie at the Smash Mansion, it's a long process getting adjusted and everything. You have to put up with a bunch of eccentric personalities, and learn how to get your fair share in a building chock-full of people. Corrin will always be there to make Kamui's welcoming easy for her, as he can give her the guidance she would need to survive...hard to believe Corrin ever giving _anyone_ guidance...**

"Cloud Strife, nice to meet you," Cloud held out his hand to Kamui, and the princess affably shook the swordsman's hand.

"Yuffie Kisaragi, nice to meet ya too!" Yuffie, who was invited to the dinner along with Luigi, Daisy, and even Rotom, ran up to Kamui and shook her hand as well, while Cloud looked on, shaking his head.

"Aerith Gainsbourgh, nice to meet you as well," Aerith walked up to greet Kamui, hopping on the greeting bandwagon. Wherever Cloud was, the flower girl will always be...most of the time. "We were one of the earliest folks to receive news about your arrival, and so we've been planning something for you...isn't that right, Cloud?"

"We planned something for Kamui?" Cloud questioned, only for Aerith to frown at him. Way to ruin the surprise, Cloud, ya dun goofed up this time. "Oh yeah, we did, I just remembered. Follow us, Kamui." Downplaying the memory lapse he had, Cloud, along with Aerith and Yuffie, led Kamui to Marth and Tails, who were both sitting together. No, they weren't the surprise Kamui was expecting, nobody would want to see that good-for-nothing, woman-looking doofus Marth. Same couldn't be said for Tails, compared to Marth, the yellow fox had tons of swag.

"Ah, Kamui, so good to see you!" Marth greeted the princess. "I'm sure you know me as the hero-king of Akanea, your family must have been talking up a storm about me, I know..." Kamui couldn't help but roll her eyes at Marth, and everyone else around the hero-king would do the same. "I take it you're ready for your surprise?" Kamui eagerly nodded her head. "Well I'm afraid we would have to wait until dinner, now wouldn't be the perfect time to..."

"But Marth, I thought you agreed upon showing off the surprise during dinner, since _you_ were the one who took charge in planning it," stated Tails, as Marth nervously fiddled around with his fingers. What was the man hiding... "Besides, it's not like anyone here would care, they're too busy enjoying the food to..."

"Excuse me everyone, may I please have your attention?" Link spoke up as he rose up from his seat, garnering the attention of Master Hand and everyone else gathered around the dinner table. "Since I was thrust into this position by none other than Mario, I will have to make the most of it...ladies and gentlemen, and Pokemon, I would like to formally introduce you all to our newest resident of the Smash Mansion...Kamui!" The Hylian pointed at the princess of Nohr, who sheepishly grinned as everyone cheered and applauded and whatnot. Kamui's arrival at the mansion was evidently a big deal.

"How about a speech from Corrin's smoking hot twin sister?" asked Captain Falcon, dignifying himself as a pervert if you consider the age gap between him and Kamui. Then again, Falcon was the same guy who was flirting around Lucina on the cruise ship, so no need to be all surprised. "Speech, speech, speech, speech, speech!" Captain Falcon chanted, and soon others would join in. At this point, Kamui had no other choice but to deliver a speech, it would be rude for her not to.

 **Captain Falcon: Corrin's sis Kamui is a ten, just as I figured...though I kinda wish she would be a tad older for my tastes. But I got Nowi as my main chick, so I ain't complaining...**

"Since you folks want a speech, I suppose I can give you a short one," Kamui said, clearing her throat. "Just wanted to say that it's a pleasure to be at the Smash Mansion, and it will be fun getting to know you all and learning about what truly makes the Smash Mansion great as it is. My four siblings - Xander, Leo, Camilia, and Elise - have all said good things about all of you...well, some of you..." The princess looked at the direction of two culprits, Sonic and Bowser, both of whom were oblivious. "...and now I get to see whether or not the things they said were true. That's all I truly have to say." Kamui's short speech was met with warm reception from the residents, as they all applauded for the princess - and it certainly left a smile on her face.

"Thank goodness that was over, that was pointless," Zelda remarked as she grabbed Link's hand, and headed over to where Kamui was. "Hello Kamui, how are you doing tonight? Sorry Link here had to put you on the spot, it was mostly Mario's doing..."

"No it's fine, whatever they want me to do, I'm fine with," assured Kamui, as Pit walked by to put away his plate; his stomach was unable to take anymore of the Mexican food. On his way, he saw Kamui, and in astonishment he dropped his plate to the floor.

"You must be Kamui, Corrin's twin sister, I've been looking all over for you!" the angel pointed at the princess as Mr. Game and Watch nonchalantly came over to sweep up the pieces of Pit's broken plate.

"Good-for-nothing messy scoundrel..." the 2-D man said to Pit with his Dynavox translator, although Pit didn't hear for he was still pointing at Kamui, like he was planning on catching her with a Poke ball or something.

"Do you like to play video games? Please tell me you like to play video games, because I'm been playing video games with Kirby and he sucks big time and I tried Dark Pit to play with me but I know he would whip my butt regardless all I'm asking for is a fair game!" Pit was now getting all up in Kamui's grill, showing his desperation for a video game buddy that a) has fingers and opposable thumbs, and b) isn't too good or too bad at video games, just somewhere in between.

"Woah, Pit, back away from the girl, let her breathe!" Fox came in to break Pit away from Kamui; with Falco coming in to escort the angel back to his seat. "Sorry you had to witness that, Pit's been going on about needing a new person to play video games with, and he's been annoying everyone about it...so did anyone tell you about the surprise, are you ready or what?"

"I'm more than ready to see what this surprise is all about!" responded Kamui; Fox nodded to Cloud, Aerith, Yuffie, Marth, Tails, Link and Zelda, as they departed from the dining room to assume their positions. You'll see what they have planned for the Nohrian princess eventually.

 **Fox: Bro Kamui is gonna freak out when she sees our surprise, she'll be all like, "EEEEEIIIIEEEEEEE!" Pretty much what Amy does when Sonic correctly remembers what her favorite things are. And yet that man Sonic claims I don't know Krystal that well for me to be her boyfriend...  
Falco: Little does he know it, but Corrin will be involved in the surprise too, bet he doesn't even know...**

* * *

"Just follow to-a me you two, and prepare-a to be amazed!" Luigi told Corrin and Kamui as he led the two to who-knows-where. "What you're about-a to see has been-a prepared for quite some-a time!"

"'Follow to me'?" Kamui sneered, smiling at Corrin, as Corrin smiled back. Soon the three arrived at their destination - the living room, where Kamui first met Mario, Pac-Man, and Sonic. Why did Luigi bring the two Nohrian siblings here, of all places?

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KAMUI AND CORRIN!" All of a sudden, Mario, Pac-Man, Cloud, Aerith, Yuffie, Marth, Tails, Link, Zelda, Fox, Falco, and Daisy appeared from the hiding spots, all in unison wishing Corrin and Kamui happy birthday at the top of their lungs. K.K. Slider also appeared, playing the "Happy Birthday" tune on his guitar.

"Aw, you all knew today was our birthdays, how very sweet of you!" Kamui remarked on behalf of her and Corrin. If nothing else, this birthday surprise solidified Kamui's welcoming to the mansion.

"My birthday was today?" Corrin stroked his chin, apparently to naive to remember when his birthday was. "This whole time I thought it was next week..." Better be glad his fellow brawlers remembered, otherwise Corrin would have been the most bummed out person of all of 2017.

"Of course no birthday can't go without any cake!" Dunban appeared, with Fiora holding a birthday cake in her hands. "Happy birthday!" was written on top, with sixteen lit candles surrounding the old saying that has been uttered from generation to generation to generation...so forth and so on, you get the picture. "Had Shulk and Rosalina bake this earlier today, while they were making steak kabobs - I hope you enjoy it!"

"Thank you for this cake, we greatly appreciate it!" Kamui accepted the cake from Fiora as Corrin continued to look confused and bewildered. One can already tell that between Corrin and Kamui, the latter is easily the wisest of the two - good chance Kamui instructed her prior to her arrival at the Smash Mansion, in wake of Corrin's profound naivety.

* * *

As she consumed the cake, Kamui became best friends with Fiora, as the two were discussing typical girl things, like hair, fashion, and a bunch of other things. What Kamui like about Fiora the most was her British accent, and also her fashion sense.

"You HAVE to try out this _Space Invaders_ game, it's my favorite arcade game and one of the most classic arcade games there is!" Fiora said to Makui as she led the princess to the arcade room. Upon arrival, the two ladies saw Wolf hogging the _Space Invaders_ arcade machine, even though the mercenary already beat the high score back in episode 38.

 **Wolf: *laughs evilly* Ever since I crowned Zero's sorry behind in _Space Invaders_ and beat the new record,I've become the self-proclaimed champion of the game (at the mansion, at least) and nobody can stop me! To ensure nobody dares to come close to my record, I splay _Space Invaders_ day in and day out, refusing to stop until I acquired a score close to my record, or until I break the previous record considering I'm very close to beating it. You can call it an obsession, but I like to think of my valiant efforts as nothing but profound dedication!**

"Booyah, still the Smash king of _Space Invaders,_ 24,321 points for me!" Wolf exclaimed, raising his fists in the air after he was finished with his game. 24,321 points may not sound like a lot (the highest score ever for _Space Invaders_ is a whopping 110,510), but compared to the other scores, it was pretty much a big deal as Wolf made it out to be. "Ain't nobody coming close to my record, you can all just try!"

"May I have a shot at this record of yours?" asked Kamui, as Wolf scoffed at the princess' offer. No way was he gonna let a newcomer take a crack at his _Space Invaders_ record - though it wouldn't hurt to say Kamui try.

"So you wish to break my record, huh?" Wolf tossed a quarter to Kamui, as the princess walked up to the arcade machine. "Go ahead and be my guest, bet you won't even come close!" After finding the coin slot for the quarter, Kamui pressed the start button, and immediately got to shooting down alien spaceships. Can she eclipse Wolf's record? Only time will tell...

"It was so cool and legit Amy, one moment I threw the ball really far, and the next moment Shaymin returned the ball looking very much different!" Sonic said to his girlfriend as the two were sitting on stools in the arcade room, while the hedgehog's pet Shaymin was playing with Pikachu on the floor. "Had to do a double-take to ensure it was my precious Shaymin!"

"You should go tell what happened in regards to Shaymin to a Pokemon professor, like Professor Oak, maybe they might know what Shaymin changed forms," replied Amy. She didn't really know much of what Sonic was talking about, she was just happy that the blue hedgehog was speaking to her. "Or you could ask Tails, he's pretty knowledge when it comes to Pokemon!"

"Eh, Tails doesn't really know _that_ much, I would need a Pokemon professional to tell me what's going on with Shaymin,. I'm afraid Tails doesn't have enough experience to give me the information I need."

 **Sonic: My pet Shaymin is now officially THE coolest pet ever, nobody can hold a candle to her! Tails' pet Vulpix Suzie may breath ice and all, but is she a mythical Pokemon? Nope! Cloud's pet Chocobo Cloud Jr. can fly, but can that bird fly AND change forms? No way! Luigi's Polterpup may be a ghost, but can Polterpup... *pauses* ...alright, so Shaymin isn't _exactly_ the coolest pet ever, but she's one of the coolest, that's for sure!**

Bowser made his way over to an arcade machine, and along the way he nearly stepped on both Shaymin and Pikachu. Both Pokemon got out of the way in the nick of time, but Sonic and Amy were furious at Bowser for his actions.

"Woah dude, you nearly stepped on my Shaymin, not cool bro!" Sonic frowned, seemingly ignoring that Pikachu was even present. "I oughta jack you up for that!" Bowser turned around and snorted at Sonic, in disbelief that a small fry like Sonic could beat the likes of the Koopa King. Bowser could literally crush the blue hedgehog if he ever wanted to.

"Like some pipsqueak hedgehog like yourself is gonna kick my behind, that would a sight for sore eyes!" taunted Bowser, cracking his knuckles. "How about I jack you up instead and make you my personal footrest!" Not wanting to see her pet owner Sonic get pummeled by Bowser, Shaymin knew what she had to do...she used Energy Ball on Bowser, firing a greenish-blue ball of energy at the Koopa King and sending him flying towards a wall, only to land on the floor with a thud and fall down, slightly unconscious!

"Wow Sonic, your Shaymin just used a very powerful move on Bowser!" exclaimed Amy; Energy Ball is indeed powerful, as it packs a power level of 90. "That must mean your Shaymin is high-leveled!" Shaymin doesn't learn Energy Ball until level 73...which must mean that Shaymin is level 73 or higher, and also means that Hau had given Sonic a high-level Pokemon unbeknownst to the hedgehog.

"And I couldn't be any more proud of her too..." Sonic picked up Shaymin and embraced the mythical Pokemon in his arms, as Amy and Pikachu looked on, the latter feeling salty for being ignored for so long.

Meanwhile, Wolf was hyperventilating, but it wasn't due to the shortness of breath...it was rather out of anger. Kamui, who was playing _Space Invaders_ for the first time in her entire life, was actually beating Wolf's score by twofold, and her sheer dominance was making a huge crowd grow around her.

"She's actually doing it, she's breaking the mansion's _Space Invaders_ record by a very wide margin!" Falco exclaimed as Wolf did everything he could to conceal his fury, restraining himself from doing something devious, like unplugging the arcade machine for example.

"Corrin's twin sister is obliterating Wolf's record in _Space Invaders,_ this is too freaking funny," Samus snorted as she took a sip from her cup of coffee. Once her ship was destroyed, Kamui looked up at the game over screen and saw her score - 55255! Multiply that by two, and you have the all-time record of 110,510.

 **Fiora: Watching Kamui dominating in _Space Invaders_ was just...so amazing. Even more so by the fact that it was her first time playing an arcade machine, and she looked like a pro! Corrin should feel grateful and blessed to have such an awesome sister!**

"My goodness, 55255 points?" Kamui was in awe at her score, she felt like it was a mere figment of her imagination. "I mean I knew I was doing very well for my first try...but 55255 points?" Kamui's first day at the Smash Mansion was getting better and better.

"Guess you now hold the newest _Space Invaders_ record!" Fiora said to Kamui, wrapping her arm around the princess and smiling at her, as Kamui smiled back. Wait until Kamui tells her folks back at Nohr what she was able to accomplish during her short time at the mansion.

"This is blasphemous, a farce, that girl cheated!" frowned Wolf, so bitter about his record being broken that he was now coming up with excuses for why Kamui beat his score. He grabbed a nearby stool and kicked it, as everyone slowly backed away from Wolf and allowed him to have his little tantrum.

"At least we don't have to hear Wolf run his mouth about him being the _Space Invaders_ GOAT anymore," the male Inkling said to the female Inkling, who responded with a grin. Kamui just saved the residents a whole lot of trouble...

* * *

"Mario we have a serious emergency, the guest list has gone missing!" a very frantic Pac-Man ran into the printing room to alert Mario, who was busy printing off some fax information from a fax machine for Master Hand.

"The guest-a list has gone amiss?!" panicked Mario, sharing Pac-Man's level of concern. He and Pac-Man were working and looking over the guest list earlier, and know it's nowhere to be found! "Where could it have-a gone off to?"

"You said something about a list?" asked Mega Man, who was in the printing room fixing one of the printers. "I may have seen a list in the laundry room - it may not be the list you're looking for, but it can't hurt to go investigate."

* * *

So Mega Man guided Mario and Pac-Man to the laundry room, where Lucina and Luigi were washing their clothes while Mewtwo and Lucario were folding up the dry clothes, doing a huge solid for Peach. Luigi's Rotom was with the plumber, instructing him on how to do his laundry.

"Tide detergent works best with fabric, so make sure you use an ample amount, zzt!" the plasma Pokemon told Luigi, although the plumber knew this information already. It wasn't the man's first time dealing with laundry...

 **Rotom: My only duty as the pet of Luigi and Daisy is to give both individuals vital information they must use and apply in their daily lives. I'm more than just a Pokedex you know, especially if my different forms are any indication!**

 **Daisy: Rotom can be very annoying at times, but I guess his annoyance is his charm...he's kinda like that one character from that cartoon show that you find irritable at times, but you're supposed to hate, you love to hate them at all times...I think Rotom fits the bill _perfectly._**

"Luigi why are you washing your clothes here, can't you just do it at your home instead?" Lucina asked the plumber, taking care of the laundry duties for Chrom and Robin. "I understand that our laundry room is superior to yours, but still..."

"Eh, I would wash-a my clothes at my home, but unfortunately the washing machine-a malfunctioned," Luigi responded as he threw his overalls into the washing machine. "Mr. Game and Watch promised-a me he would fix-a the machine before the end-a of the week." And with Mr. Game and Watch's voice thingamajig, Luigi received a direct answer of yes or no, rather than a few beeps. Granted the 2-D man still makes his beeping sounds every now and then.

"What are you guys here for, looking for something?" Lucario asked Mario, Pac-Man, and Mega Man as they snooped around the laundry room. They searched everywhere, from the laundry baskets to even the insides of the drying machines.

"The guest list for Mario's wedding is missing, and so we're looking for it in the laundry room," explained Mega Man, using his strength to pick up and unused washing machine as he looked under said machine. The might powers of Guts Man's Strong Arm - and y'all wonder why Dr. Wily likes Guts Man enough to make dozens of robots in his likeness.

"Well I'm afraid this is the wrong place to be looking for such a list, unless you were looking for a laundry list," stated Mewtwo, who was folding up the clothes with the use of Confusion. No hands required. "You might as well look somewhere else, or even write another guest list from scratch..."

"I think I may-a have seen the list in-a the mansion's gardens," Luigi spoke up. "I would help-a you look for it there, but as you can-a see, I'm a bit tied-a up with all this-a laundry..."

"I can take over for you while you're away, zzrt!" Rotom offered, giving Luigi a salute. Knowing Rotom, he could just turn into Wash Rotom and wash and dry Luigi's clothes, no biggie.

* * *

The group of Mario, Luigi, Pac-Man, and Mega Man arrived at the gardens, where Viridi was showing Geno and Tails a new species of flower that had sprung up. Tails was doing research on this peculiar flower with some special device of his.

"I had just left the gardens to attend some business with Lady Palutena, and when I came back, I saw these flowers popping up all over the place!" Viridi explained; the flowers in question were red, and had six petals. Tails couldn't help but feel that the flowers looked oddly familiar...

 **Viridi: Taking care of and overseeing the mansion's gardens has and will always be my number one duty! Any suspicious flower detected in the gardens must be purged...given that they don't harm anyone. Not every flower or plant is inherently bad, it's what you do with them that determines the malevolence of what you wish to accomplish... *cough* Snake *cough***

"According to this source I found, these flowers are classified as Gracidea flowers, they're pretty prevalent in the Sinnoh region," stated Tails, reading from a source he found on his device. "Strange that they would pop up here in the gardens..."

"Not to mention that the flowers kinda look like that one flower on Shaymin's head," observed Geno, taking a closer look at the Gracideas. "Shaymin's presence could be the explanation for the flowers popping up in the gardens." Shaymin is a mythical Pokemon after all, so Geno's theory could hold true.

"Excuse-a me, but have you three-a seen a list anywhere, it's a guest-a list for the wedding," Mario approached the threesome of Viridi, Tails, and Geno. "Pac-a Man lost it, and we can't seem-a to find it anywhere...I would hate-a to write up another list..."

"Nope, can't say I ever saw such a particular list lying about. What about you guys?" Geno asked Viridi and Tails, and Tails suddenly remembered seeing the list before...and he knew who may have taken the list too.

"I saw someone with the guest list earlier today," the fox said, intriguing Mario and his troupe. "I may know who it was, I can take you to the culprit if you like."

* * *

So Tails guided Mario, Luigi, Pac-Man, and Mega Man, and on the way they bumped into Link and Cloud, both swordsmen on a mission.

"Hey Mario, are you ready for..." Link looked around before he said the following, "...the big surprise?" Obviously the manner in which Link said it meant that the big surprise was a secret - a secret that a nearby Fiora and Kamui overheard.

"What is this 'big surprise' that you speak of?" asked Kamui, leading Cloud to think on the fly and downplay the big surprise Link was talking about.

"The 'big surprise' is really Link's new Master Sword, nothing you would really care about," the blonde swordsman told Kamui. There was only one Master Sword in existence, but at least Kamui bought into what Cloud said. "Also, aren't you ladies supposed to be looking for Corrin? You completely left that man in the dust just to play some arcade games."

 **Corrin: Kamui eclipsed Wolf's record in _Space Invaders?_ Why, that is incredible, I'm very happy for her...no matter how many times I play _Space Invaders,_ I always wind up with embarrassingly low scores, as my ship is constantly destroyed in the early goings of the game...it must be the aliens' doing! They know I'm on to them, and to make me pay for my ****suspicions, they hack the arcade machine and rig it in a way that I would lose every time! *points at the camera* Don't worry aliens, I'll get back at you and your kind real soon!**

"Oh yes that is right, Peach did say she wanted to see Corrin..." said Kamui. "We'll just be going on our way then." Kamui and Fiora departed, and once the coast was clear, the men resumed their conversation.

"Sorry Link, and Cloud, but I can't-a be a part of the surprise, the guest-a list for the wedding is missing and I can't afford-a to write up another one," Mario kindly told Link and Cloud, who both understood; they both assumed Mario misplaced the list, and the list was later eaten by the Duck Hunt Dog. "You might as-a well count me out, until I find-a the list..."

"It probably won't be the same with you around, but just take your time finding that list of yours," Cloud said to Mario as he and Link walked away. "You're more than welcome to come by once you find what you're looking for."

With Tails knowing who the culprit may be, Mario might find that list sooner than later...

* * *

"So did you two finish checking the package to make sure we got the right thing?" Zelda asked Pit and King K. Rool as she entered a private room in the mansion. The angel and the Kremling were just finished inspecting a giant box delivered from UPS. The Mailman could have delivered the box himself, but his frail stature wouldn't be able to handle such a large weight.

"Sure did, we looked inside and saw the contents and all that stuff!" Pit gave Zelda a thumbs up. "But alas, we only have one slight problem..."

"We have no wrapping paper to wrap this bad boy up!" Rool finished for the angel. "Master Hand must have used up all the wrapping paper for the Christmas gifts!" There were plenty upon plenty of Christmas gifts this year, so Master Hand truly had his work cut out for him.

"This is just wonderful, and here I thought you boys already wrapped up the box..." Zelda facepalmed, before a light bulb lit up above her head. And no, it wasn't an actual light bulb, for that would be nigh impossible. "There should be some wrapping paper left in the attic! Stand right where you are, I'll be right back!"

* * *

 **Fox: The surprise we held for Kamui (and Corrin) during dinner was just a beginner's surprise, it was to see if Kamui would be overwhelmed by a dozen of people popping out of nowhere and wishing her happy birthday. I imagined she would be more overwhelmed by the fact that a dog was able to play "Happy Birthday" on his guitar, but I suppose Kamui had seen weirder things in Nohr.  
Falco: Bruh can you believe Corrin forgot today was his birthday?! *laughs* How more stupider can that dude become? It baffles me!  
Fox: Um, Fox, you just said "more stupider"...  
Falco: Yeah, well who are you trying to judge?  
Fox: I'm not judging, I was just... *shakes his head* ...anyways, we have an even bigger surprise for Kamui (and Corrin), one that will involve a full-out celebration. Kamui is gonna have a heart attack when she sees what we did for her, she'll be screaming like a banshee! Then she'll faint to the floor, and then someone would have to give her CPR... *sneakily looks at Falco*  
Falco: Why are you looking at me for, I ain't touching that girl's lips! *pauses* ...Not that I wouldn't want to.**

After finding Corrin in his room, Kamui and Fiora met up with Peach in the living room, just as they had been told to. The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom pulled out two blindfolds, giving one to both Corrin and Kamui.

"Just put these two on, and don't say a single thing until I tell you otherwise!" instructed Peach, as Corrin and Kamui placed the blindfolds around their eyes. "Now Fiora and I will take you to a very special place in the mansion - keep those blindfolds on tight!" Peach and Fiora would escort Corrin and Kamui away from the living room, and to places unknown.

"Do you know if Zelda finished wrapping up Corrin's and Kamui's gift?" Fiora whispered to Peach, speaking in a low voice so Corrin nor Kamui could hear her. "I saw the package earlier, and it was quite big..."

"She should have already wrapped it up by now, so we should be expecting to see the gift in one piece in the ballroom," Peach whispered back. Why would the gift be in the ballroom of all places? You know the answer to that question, given the context clues.

* * *

"I'm back boys, finally got the wrapping paper," Zelda returned to the room where the package - the very gift Fiora was alluding to - was located. With the help of Pit and Rool, the princess was able to wrap up the entire box with whatever wrapping paper she found in the attic. Only one thing left to do was take it down to the ballroom - squeezing the box through the doorway was the only obstacle.

"We may not be able to take this present down to the ballroom, but Villager sure could!" stated Pit. Villager's neutral special, Pocket, can pocket just about anything, and the giant present was no exception for the youngster. "Let me call Villager right quick and see if he can help out!"

* * *

Peach and Fiora escorted Corrin and Kamui to the ballroom, and walked the two inside. Though they were blindfolded, Corrin and Kamui could detect a ginormous presence in the room they were in.

"You two can take off your blindfolds now," said Peach, and when Corrin and Kamui took off their blindfolds...

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAMUI AND CORRIN!" ...they were suddenly greeted by Master Hand and the mansion residents, who all wished the two happy birthday in unison (everyone had to participate, lest they would get punished). Keep in mind that Mario, Luigi, Tails, Mega Man, and Pac-Man weren't present; they were most likely still searching for the culprit who took the guest list for the wedding. Zelda, Pit, Rool, and Villager were absent as well.

 **Master Hand: What I had Mario and a few others do was throw a "minor" birthday surprise for Kamui and Corrin, not only to see if Kamui remained calm afterwards, but also to see if Corrin remembered his birthday. Kamui didn't have a heart attack or go into cardiac arrest, which meant that the even bigger surprise was a go. As for Corrin...he better know what today is, or we'll leave him out of it and just celebrate Kamui's birthday instead from here on out!**

"Wow, I don't know what to say - at first, I thought the previous birthday surprise was special, but this...this is just amazing," remarked Kamui, at a loss of words as she eyed the large birthday cake in the center of the ballroom, made by yours truly, Cilan. Corrin didn't say a single word.

"You can speak now if you like, Corrin," Peach told the prince, under the assumption Corrin was taking Peach's instruction of not saying a single thing until she tell him otherwise a bit too far. Corrin is known for taking everything too far, just look at his obsession with aliens.

"Are you guys sure today is supposed to be my birthday?" the prince of Nohr questioned, leading everyone to either sigh, facepalm, or shake their heads. "Sure it isn't until next week, or the week after that?" And yet he wondered by his siblings sent Kamui to live with him in the mansion.

"About time those two made it here, let's go ahead and cut the cake," said Bayonetta as she seductively pulled out a knife, mesmerizing the men flanking around her. They can look, but they can't touch!

"Hold yer horses lady, we have until everyone is present!" boomed Master Hand, who planned out this whole shindig with some assistance from Mario. "Where is Zelda with that blasted birthday gift?"

"We're finally here, Master Hand!" Zelda announced as she barged into the ballroom with Pit, Rool, and Villager. "Villager, would you like to do the honors?" Villager, using his Pocket ability, displayed the present to Corrin and Kamui; the box was just as tall as them!

"What are you two bums waiting for, open it up already!" frowned Rool, wanting to see what was inside so he could possibly hog it in the future, and Corrin and Kamui worked together to unwrap the gift, and open up the box. They couldn't believe what was inside.

"Is this...is this a Smart TV, the one they show on television?" Corrin marveled at the gift he and Kamui received. It was indeed a Smart TV, one that was 55 or so inches in length and had a 1080p HD resolution. "This is rather unexpected!"

"And it will look awfully great in our bedroom, too," grinned Robin; Master Hand believed Robin didn't need a TV in his room since he was always glossing at his spells books, so the mage had to pretty much indulge the giant hand to get a television for his room - and the Smash universe creator chose an absolutely perfect time for Robin to have one.

 **Robin: The original plan was to get Corrin and Kamui tablets - Kamui may have known how to use hers, but for Corrin, it would be a huge waste of money. The end goal was to get a gift, or gifts, that both Corrin and Kamui could mutually enjoy, and that's when I suggested a television...boy did I have to borrow a lot of money from my fellow brawlers to afford it.**

"I obviously never watched television back in Nohr, since we're not that technologically advanced yet, so this television is a tremendously fabulous gift, thank you very much!" thanked Kamui, bowing down to everyone in courtesy. Heihachi Mishima would soon approach the princess with a bouquet of flowers, and Shaymin, who was with Sonic and Amy, suddenly perked up when she saw the flowers. They looked so familiar to her...

"Karera ga kirei ni mieta to omottanode, watashi wa anata ni sorera o ataetai to omotta!" Heihachi handed the bouquet to Kamui. Viridi squinted her eyes at the flowers as she inspected them, and saw that they were the Gracedia flowers that sprung up all over the gardens.

"What Heihachi just said is that he found those flowers in the gardens, and wanted to give them to you," Kirby explained with his Dynavox device. The pink puffball was able to translate Japanese language...the residents were slowly learning secret depths of Kirby that they never knew about before. "Those flowers he found look awfully nice!" Kamui accepted the flowers from Heihachi, as Shaymin leaped down from Sonic's arms and walked towards the bouquet in Kamui's hands.

"Um, Shaymin, what the heck are you doing?" Sonic questioned as Shaymin neared Kamui, looking up at the Gradecias. The gratitude got a bit closer to Kamui...and then suddenly, it coughed out a white fur ball, covered mostly in bile. Except it wasn't a white fur ball - Isabelle inspected the object that came from Shaymin's mouth, and shuddered as she unraveled it...before being in astonishment of what it was.

"Sonic, what was this doing in Shaymin's belly?" Isabelle sternly asked the hedgehog as she held up the item in question, a piece of paper with a list - the guest list for Mario's wedding. Sonic chuckled and grinned nervously, for it was the right thing for him to do at the very moment.

* * *

"...basically I was feeling salty about you not caring for Shaymin's new form, and paying more attention to Corrin's sister than Shaymin, so I had Shaymin swallow up your guest list when Pac-Man wasn't around as an act of retribution," Sonic explained to Mario in the gaming room, where the plumber was watching a college bowl game on a giant television screen. Mario and company missed most of Corrin's and Kamui's birthday celebration since they were busy looking for the culprit...and the very culprit was at the celebration with Shaymin in his possession. "Don't know what convinced me to do it, must have been unnecessary anger, so I'd like to say I'm sorry for tampering with your list like that." Sonic apologizing to someone?! That's something you don't hear everyday, Mario even had to clean out his ears out to ensure he was hearing right.

"Apology accepted, although Pac-a Man will have a tough-a time cleaning up the guest-a list, too late-a to transfer it to another piece-a of paper," Mario accepted Sonic's apology as he took a sip from his bottle of root beer. "You're free to go-a now, go hang out with-a Shaymin, or Amy, or Tails, or-a Knuckles...whatever." So Sonic left Mario be, just when Kamui approached the plumber.

"Sorry you and the others weren't present for Corrin and I's birthday celebration, we still had a great time regardless," the princess of Nohr said to Mario, who smiled, knowing that Kamui and Corrin were content. "I have to ask you though - were you the one responsible for getting us that television?"

"Your room-a mate Robin pitched in, but it was-a I who took out-a money from my wedding budget to afford-a the teleivision, so you should-a be..." Before Mario coudl finish, Kamui gave the plumber a heartfelt hug, and it made Mario smile.

"That's all I needed to hear. Thank you very much for the gift Mario, I greatly appreciate it. I can just tell I'm going to have a splendid time here at the mansion!" Kamui gave Mario a kiss on the forehead, and left the gaming room, as the smile on Mario's face grew bigger.

Kamui probably had the best day of her life, and she couldn't be any happier.


	55. Episode 55: Boomerang

_Author's Note:_

 _This chapter is mostly dedicated to Derick Lindsey - he suggested an idea for a future episode of Smash Life, and now his wish has been finally granted, so I hope he enjoys. Speaking of whom, Derick also has provided me with another Cartoon Network-related suggestion, this one hailing from one of my favorite shows, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends:  
_

 _"Also another suggestion is based of the episode of Foster's home for imaginary friends Squeeze the day (if you watched it that is) where Bloo and Mac have the whole house to themselves and try to make the most of it while everyone else went to the beach so I was wondering if you can do the same here with anyone you think would fit the story best."_

 _"Squeeze the Day" is actually one of my favorite Foster's episodes, and I've actually watched that very episode on more than one occasion. So I'll do a chapter based around that episode when the time comes. 0300 has asked me a very important question that must be answered right away:_

 _"Also, how is Garon still alive? In all of the paths of Fates, Garon died a while ago and is just a fake."_

 _Eh, we'll just say that Corrin, Kamui, and their siblings never knew Garon was a fake, and that Corrin was added to the mansion prior to Garon's reveal. That should make things less complicated...I hope. One more guest review to answer:_

 _"I have no ideas. But I just want to say keep up with the good work. Also I was the one who made that fighting idea, and you are right how will it help. But I just want to see more Ike"_

 _Ike will appear in this chapter, and hopefully the next chapter. Compared to Lucina, Chrom, Corrin, and maybe Robin, the Fire Emblem characters haven't had that much proper representation in recent chapters of this story. Moving on:_

 _"This is a suggestion but pls do one where bowser makes sonic do whatever he wants"_

 _I would have probably shot this idea down, but given that Sonic and Bowser are two of the biggest jerks in the mansion BY FAR, I could perhaps work on their relationship/chemistry a bit more. They might even be the central focus of the "Squeeze the Day" chapter, who knows. One more thing I must cover:_

 _"Can we have some more Kirby and Game & Watch in next chapter? I have seen them only on a certain occasion in this chapter..."_

 _I believe MikySP said something of similar substance in his review. Since Kirby and Mr. Game and Watch are now capable of using human language, you shall see those two a bit more often._

* * *

 **Episode 55: Boomerang**

It was a new year, which meant a time for fresh starts and new things in the Smash Mansion. A lot has happened since the start of last year up to now - Luigi and Daisy got married, new Pokemon were added to the sanctuary, Captain Falcon found himself an actual girlfriend, and Aerith joined the residents at the Smash Mansion, causing Heartless to invade Seattle in the process partly due to the fact that Aerith was essentially from another universe.

The ongoing issue of Heartless popping about all over the Smash Mansion and the surrounding areas of Seattle had prompted Fox, Falco, and Ema Skye to rush into action and stop the problem at hand before it would be too late. So the three decided to work together and find the source of the problem - if you recall from episode 51, the anonymous Organization XIII member mentioned that there was a tear in the universe left when someone (Master Hand) sent a person (Marth) to his universe as a means to retrieve Aerith. As a result, Heartless shortly sneaked their way through the tear, and since then have been causing nothing but mayhem.

Fox, Falco, and Ema, not knowing where the tear might be (they asked Marth about the tear, and he said that he was sent Aerith's universe in Master Hand's room under the watch of the giant hand), ventured through the outskirts of Seattle, along the borderline of King County where Seattle was located. They were scavenging through a forest when Fox spotted a conspicuous blue boomerang lying on the ground, and out of intrigue, he went over to inspect it.

"Guys look at what I found, it's a boomerang!" the pilot grabbed the boomerang and held it up for Falco and Ema to see; Ema shook her head in dismay, while Falco headed to his best friend to check out the boomerang for himself. Who needs to look for a tear in the universe that could cause a lot of calamity, when you found a freaking boomerang in the middle of the forest? How often does that happen?

"Bruh let me take a look at it!" Falco said as Fox handed him the boomerang; the avian pilot inspected it like it was the ring from the _Lord of the Rings,_ like it was his precious. In other words, he was acting like he had never seen a boomerang in person before. "Why was this boomerang left in the forest of all places, could it be that someone dropped it by accident?"

 **Ema: We would have found the tear in the universe by now...but as you can see, Fox's and Falco's attention spans are our only obstacles that are preventing us from completing our mission. If we don't find the tear in time, then more powerful heartless would enter our universe, and might possibly spread throughout Seattle, the state of Washington, the entire United States, and perhaps the entire world! But it's a good thing I brought a fourth wheel with us, since Fox and Falco cannot be trusted by any means...**

"Sorry I took-a so long, my tinkle took far longer then-a I expected," Luigi apologized as he appeared behind Ema. Rotom was accompanying the plumber, as Ema had told Luigi to bring the plasma Pokemon along since it possessed some vital information.

"Luigi, you do know there's a public restroom somewhere in this forest, right?" asked Ema, with her arms folded. Would have been a bad look if Luigi was handling his business with others watching. "We're in Lake Forest Park, after all, we're in the vicinity of a small town..."

"I had told Luigi that the public restrooms around here may not be in the best condition, and so Luigi didn't want to take any risks," explained Rotom, as Luigi sheepishly zipped up his overalls when Ema wasn't looking. "Although the people of Lake Forest park are good people, they should not be trusted, zzt!"

"They all look pretty trustworthy to me...well, now that you're here and all, could you knock some sense into Fox and Falco over there? They're messing around with that boomerang for whatever reason, instead of focusing on the task at hand..."

So Rotom went over to Fox and Falco, who were looking at the boomerang together as they held it in their hands...and grabbed said boomerang with its plasma hand and threw it away in the far distance, as it spun away in the air.

"Hey man, why did you throw away that boomerang, we weren't done with it yet!" Fox frowned at Rotom. To be fair, he and Falco weren't really using the boomerang or anything; they just looked it like it was something special.

"Finding the tear in the universe is more important than a silly boomerang," stated Rotom, wagging his plasma finger at Fox and Falco. "We must make haste, zzrt!"

* * *

The boomerang continued traveling in the air until it landed on the fertile ground near the Smash Mansion, where the Ice Climbers - Popo and Nana - were gathering fruit produced in the front yard. You may know the two friends...or siblings...or lovers...to specialize in vegetables, but they also specialize in fruit, and the two, with Master Hand's consent, grew some fruit in the mansion's front yard.

"Look what I found Nana, it's a boomerang, the kind they use in _Mario Kart_!" Popo saw the boomerang and held it up for Nana to see. "How about we play with this boomerang after we gather up the fruit - the best fruit in all of Seattle?"

 **Nana: *sigh* Just to think that a few months ago, Popo was continuously running his mouth about the sundaes we made, and how great they were, even though they weren't that great and there were other great sundaes out there (don't tell that to Popo, otherwise you'll never heard the end of it). Now that we're growing fruits, he has been taking a great deal of pride and them, and talking all this crap about how he's a "fruit expert", despite vegetables being his forte. If only there was a way to make him snap out of it...**

"We'll play with the boomerang later, when we're all relaxed and whatnot," stated Nana, placing a bunch of apples into a basket. "Right now we must finish gathering up all the fruit, before Master Hand comes and yell at us because he feels like it. You know how he can be."

Suddenly a strong gust of wind blew, causing the boomerang to fly out of Popo's hands and land near Pit and Kirby, as the two best buddies were in Toon Link's bouncy house when the boomerang landed near them. This caught the attention of Kirby, as the pink puffball exited the bouncy house to inspect the boomerang on the ground.

"Hey Kirby, the heck are you going?" Pit questioned as he exited the bouncy house to confront his friend. "You know I can't bounce all by myself, I need a bouncing buddy so whenever I accidentally deflate the bounce house, I'll know who to put the blame on!" Pit has constantly implored his girlfriend Viridi to be his "bounce buddy", but given the credentials, the goddess of nature refused the angel's offer each and every time.

"Was this boomerang near the bounce house before, I don't ever recall seeing it..." Kirby said using his Dynatox device to communicate. The pink puffball would pick up the boomerang, but since he was using the device (albeit typing with NO fingers), Pit picked it up instead.

"Boomerang looks nice and all, but it's not really a thing I would enjoy, I prefer playing catch instead. Maybe someone else might want to play with it!" Pit threw the boomerang away as it spun away in the far distance, likely never to be seen from Pit and Kirby again.

"I prefer that you would have given that boomerang to someone instead of throwing it away...but whatever works best for you, I opine," remarked Kirby as he returned to the bounce house, before looking back at Pit to make sure he was coming along. "Um, Pit, are you going to join me in the bounce house? We still have some bouncing left to do!"

"Bounce houses just aren't my thing, that's just kiddie stuff," Pit replied, looking and sounding serious in terms of stature and tone. Kirby scratched his head and uttered "Huh?" as Pit looked into the far distance. The angel had never acted serious a single day in his life, and now he just called bounce houses "kiddie".

"Pit what has gotten into you, what's with the change in attitude?" Kirby refused to allow his best friend to change for the better (or for the worse in the pink puffball's case, but for Pit, it's kinda for the better), and surely Viridi would feel the same exact way.

"We can't change the way we act, or the way we feel...only thing we can do is adapt to our surroundings, and make life the most of it." Dang, now Pit was dropping nuggets of wisdom and knowledge on Kirby! This obviously must be the work of the boomerang, Pit has been acting differently since he touched the object.

 **Kirby: Hey, don't get me wrong, I appreciate the change of demeanor in Pit, mainly because he's acting more intelligent...but I kinda miss the old Pit, the one that had that infectious charm of his with his childish behavior and way of doing things. This new Pit, the one that acts serious and philosophical and wise...while is great and all, can't possibly compare to the original Pit.**

"Now if you excuse me Kirby, I must sit near the mansion's lake and think thoroughly about life, and how meaningless it can be," said Pit as he went on his own way, leaving his pink puffball friend in the dust. "I suggest you do the same, my good friend, for your optimism is nothing but a deadly virus." Kirby looked on in a distraught state as Pit made his way to the lake, now a lone wolf pursuing his own ambitions and goals.

"That boomerang must be the reason for Pit's complete change in personality..." Kirby pondered, knowing what must be done. Suddenly the thought of the boomerang entering the mansion and the residents coming in contact with it crept inside the puffball's head. "I have to locate that boomerang at once! But first, I must contact Mario, Master Hand, or Isabelle..."

* * *

Yuffie stood outside Mario's room, holding Polterpup in her hands as she knocked on the door. With Luigi and Rotom in Lake Forest Park with Fox, Falco, and Ema, and Toad driving Daisy to the nearest supermarket in Luigi's Dodger Charger, Yuffie was feeling all sorts of bored by herself at Luigi's home, and was in dire need of some company. Therefore, she decided to chill out with Aerith and Mario (but mostly Aerith) in their room with Polterpup until either Luigi or Daisy returned. The ninja girl would hang out with Cloud, but she feared that the ex-SOLDIER would be too moody for her to handle.

"Peach you wanted to pay-a me a visit?" Mario asked as he opened the door, only for the smile on his face to dissipate when he saw Yuffie holding Polterpup, the latter wagging his tounge at the plumber. So much for getting some quality time with Peach... "Oh it's just-a you Yuffie, and Polterpup...not Peach..."

"Hello Yuffie, never would have expected you to stop by and pay us a visit!" Aerith gleamed as she wrote into her personal diary/journal. Mario grumpily sat back on his bed, waiting for the very moment Peach would come by and talk to him. "How is everything going at Luigi's?"

"Everything has been dandy for the most part - Luigi and Daisy both had the gall to leave me and Polterpup behind, so I wanted to chill here just for a bit." Yuffie entered the room and took a seat on Aerith's bed; she didn't trust Mario's bed enough to sit on it, especially with the famous plumber occupying at. "So Aerith, how are things with you and Cloud, you two getting it on?" Before Aerith could answer Yuffie's question...

"Sup dudes how's it going?" Cloud barged in the room, acting all sorts of silly. He was giving a cheesy grin to Mario and company, and looked more fidgety than usual. "Hey you guys, guess what I can do!" The swordsman made farting noises with his armpit, and the sheer joy he displayed in doing so concerned and even frightened everyone in the room.

 **Meta Knight: While I was outside practicing my matador prowess with a Tauros, I saw a mysterious blue boomerang zing past in the sky and towards the mansion, crashing through a window in the third floor. I had ran inside the mansion and reached the third floor via elevator, and there I saw shattered glass, and Cloud lying unconscious on the floor, with the boomerang lying on the floor next to him. But this is where it gets weird - I had woken up Cloud, helped me to his feet, and then...he goofily shook my hand, saying "Thank you Mr. Dentist!" and then happily danced and skipped away in a nonchalant manner, like nothing ever happened. Obviously the boomerang hit him in the hand and caused his brain to completely alter his personality. Too bugged out by what I had witnessed, I walked away from the scene...however, I forgot to bring the boomerang with me and return it to its rightful owner. By not doing so, I may have inadvertently triggered a whole heap of trouble transpiring...**

"Cloud you're-a honestly scaring me, you're acting like-a Pit..." Mario said nervously as Cloud was now blowing raspberries with his mouth. "...did you and-a Pit switch personalities?" Not a very strong argument for Mario - Pit wouldn't be silly enough to make farting sounds with his armpit or blow raspberries with his mouth. He may do the latter action if he ever wanted to.

"Me, change personalities with Pit?" Cloud pointed at himself, acting like a little child. "Why I would never do such a thing! But I would do this..." Cloud took off his shirt, and did something the Cloud we all know and love would never willingly do - he pinched his nipples with his fingers, and made a rather perverted smile, a kind of smile Wario would make if he ever found an album of hot Samus pictures on the internet. Yuffie and Aerith both looked down at the floor, as Mario sought to bring Cloud back to his senses, until an idea formulated in his head.

"I know just-a the thing to bring-a back the old Cloud!" the plumber remarked as he snapped his fingers. "You two wait right-a here and keep-a Cloud company!" Aerith and Yuffie looked at Mario in utter disgruntlement as the plumber zipped past Cloud and exited the room.

"You're seriously going to let Cloud torture us like this?" a frowning Aerith asked Mario before the plumber left the room, but Mario didn't listen, nor did he bother to do so. The man was on a mission, a mission for a remedy to Cloud's antics.

* * *

Kirby scourged through the mansion in search for Mario when the pink puffball bumped into a fellow "Original Twelve" member in Link, who appeared to be experiencing problems of his own. Was it girl problems, was Link at a romantic standstill with Zelda and needed to find a way to get himself out of his problematic love situation? The Hylian's issue may or may not surprise you.

"Kirby you're just the guy I needed to see, I'm afraid there's something wrong with Peach," Link said to Kirby, who was willing to put aside looking for Mario if it meant lending Link a helping hand. "Zelda told me that Peach has been acting less girly, and more tomboyish, almost to the point where she doesn't even like the color pink anymore!" Peach not liking the color pink anymore? This greatly alarmed Kirby; to him, it sounded like someone was possessing Peach and taking over her mind!

 **Link: Usually I let Zelda handle most of her situations and stay out of it, especially whenever Peach is involved - no man like myself would get involved in girly matters or affairs. However, when Zelda told me about the severity of the situation, I had no other choice but to put an end to the situation at hand - I'm sure that's what most good boyfriends do, doing solids for their girlfriends.**

"This sounds preposterous, Peach loves pink, in fact, she practically breathes the color pink!" said Kirby, who also liked the color pink. And it was for reasons other than the color of his skin. "You must take me to Peach pronto, so I can see for myself!"

So Link took Kirby to the lounge, where Zelda was present with Peach. The two saw that Peach was wearing attire entirely different from here royal getup - instead of a crown, pink dress, and high heels, the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom wore a sideways baseball cap, blue overalls, and some sneakers - a complete 180. To Link and Kirby, Peach was an entirely different person, it was almost as if they were looking at the princess' rowdy twin sister - one that would burp without warning, which is what Peach just did as she sat on the couch.

"Peach will you please say excuse me next time, that's very rude of you to burp and not use your manners..." Zelda scolded Peach, as the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom shrugged and leisurely laid back on the couch, resting her feet on Zelda much to the chagrin of the Hyrulian princess.

"Oh please Zelda, manners are for proper people who try way to hard to respect their elders!" Peach snorted as she took a sip from a can of root beer, which may or may not secretly have an alcoholic drink inside. The princess spoke less feminine and more manly, more tomboyish so to speak. "Of course you're a princess, so I suppose you have to follow your little made-up rules!"

"You're a princess too Peach, quit acting like you aren't one..." remarked Zelda before she looked up and saw Link and Kirby, the two coming over to greet the princess. "About time you came here, Peach was starting to annoy me and I needed someone to..."

"What's so private that you have to discuss in secret with your boyfriend that you can't discuss with me!" Peach frowned, before letting one rip - and yes, it was from her butt. Very unprincess-like for the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. "I get that you want you want your private conversations with Link since you're lovers, but no need to leave me out of it!" Peach pouted as she looked the other way with her arms folded. She could always talk to Kirby, but she preferred Zelda mainly in part to her being a girl.

"...as you two can tell, Peach has underwent a change in personality and demeanor, and it was mostly due to a boomerang that struck her in the head. I'm afraid someone may be throwing that boomerang around inside the mansion, with little to no care in the world. It is imperative that you two find the boomerang, so I can see hitting Peach in the head with it can bring the old Peach back. It may not work, but it's worth the shot!"

* * *

 **Ryu: Chun-li contacted me via text message and told me that she wishes to stop by the mansion and spend some quality time with me. One thing I'm nervous about is that she brings one of her kids along - all of her kids are adopted, and they're also students in martial arts! What if Chun-li brought along with her Li-Fen - although Li-Fen is young, her strength abounds in every move she makes!...I know, I can tell Chun-li that I despise kids, and that would make Chun-li less likely to bring Li-Fen with her...while on the flipside it would make my breakup with Chun-li more likely to transpire! *shakes his head* I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place, with little to no wiggle room!**

Ryu patiently waited in the foyer, expecting Chun-li to arrive at any minute now, when Sonic appeared eating a chili dog with one hand and holding Shaymin in his arm. Ryu was presumably thinking, "Just the guy I wanted to speak to..." in his head, rather willing to speak with Shaymin over Sonic. Shaymin would be more relatable and understanding than her pet owner would ever be.

"Sup my man Ryu, how's it going, going great, chilling in the cut as always?" Sonic greeted the kung fu fighter, who already had an undying desire to punch the hedgehog's face in. The conversation had just started! "How is your girlfriend Chun-li doing, is she doing just fine, have you proposed to her yet, or did she have to propose to you?"

"Chun-li is doing just fine...and no, I did not propose to her yet, although we're making slight progress," replied Ryu, who was lying through his teeth - he could have proposed to Chun-li at the Christmas party, but decided against doing so in a highly populated room. "Chun-li is coming over to visit, and I must leave a lasting impression on her to keep our relationship going! But how will I ever make this lasting impression to begin with?"

"Why not share a little lunch together in the dining room - you could have Cilan prepare the food, so that when Chun-li walks in, she'll think you did and she'll be left very impressed! How's that for a lasting impression?"

"Sonic, you won't hear me say this to you a lot...but you're a brilliant genius! There's no way your plan could fail! Go tell Cilan to prepare everything, and tell him he better be done by the time I get to the dining room!"

Sonic gave Ryu a salute, chili dog in hand and all, as he went to the dining room to fulfill his duty. A while after the hedgehog left, there was a knock at the door - Chun-li must have finally arrived! Only way to find out...Ryu nervously crept towards the front door, and opened it, and saw Chun-li standing behind it. The kung fu fighter secretly released a sigh of relief when he saw that Li Fen wasn't there, she could have created a levy of problems for him.

"Welcome back to the mansion Chun-li, come right on it!" Ryu allowed his girlfriend inside the mansion, before closing the front door behind her. "So tell me, how are Li-Fen and the rest of your children doing, are they doing just fine?"

"Yes, they're all doing okay...don't know why you cared to ask for, you seldom ask about the kids," replied Chun-li, glancing at her nails. As stated earlier by Ryu in his talking head segment, all of Chun-li's kids are martial arts students, and boy do they have an awesome teacher to guide them. "In a perfect world I would have brought Li-Fen with me, but she wasn't down for it, apparently."

 **Chun-li: Raising a bunch of kids can be very hard, even more so if you're a single parent like me. Which is why I'm hoping to tie the knot with Ryu real soon (whenever that will happen) so Ryu can take some of the pressure off of me. Given that Ryu falters when it comes to being romantic, it may take eons upon eons until the two of us get married...but I'm not letting my hopes down by any chance. Ryu will come around eventually.**

"Hi Chun-li!" Viridi exclaimed as she ran up to Chun-li and uncharacteristically hugged the kung fu fighter's leg. "It's so great to see you again! Haven't seen you since the Christmas party!" The fact that Viridi was _willingly_ hugging a human prompted Chun-li to look questionably at Ryu, who sported a nervous grin - not even he knew why Viridi was suddenly breaking out of character.

"Thought you said that this girl had a serious vendetta towards humans," Chun-li smirked as Viridi continued to hug her leg. Any chance the goddess of nature came in contact with the boomerang?

"Perhaps she is expressing a change of heart, Master Hand has effortlessly tried to make Viridi appreciate humans more, and it looks like his efforts finally paid off!" explained Ryu, coming up with the perfect excuse for Chun-li to buy. "Allow me to take Viridi off of you." The kung fu fighter knelt down at Chun-li's leg, and pried Viridi off of it, before he saw Marth walk by. "Look Viridi, it's Marth, and he's a human, why don't you hug him?" Ryu pointed at the hero-king, and Marth looked behind him when his name was called.

"MARTH I LOVE YOU SO MUCH COME GIVE ME A HUG!" Viridi happily ran towards Marth, who ran away screaming at the top of his lungs. Viridi's strange behavior was already making Chun-li's visit feel slightly uncomfortable, but it was a good thing Ryu knew how to liven up the mood.

"Come with me Chun-li, I've prepared something in the dining room just for the two of us, I'm sure you'll enjoy it!" Ryu took Chun-li's hand, and walked to their destination, hoping Sonic nor Cilan let the kung fu fighter down.

* * *

Ryu and Chun-li arrived at the dining room, and to Ryu's dismay...he saw a bowl of Cheetos, a plate of Vienna sausages with an unknown sauce on them, a plate of _Mike and Ike_ candy, and two cups of Powerade. A upstart rookie in the NFL once had these four food choices as dinner once, and he was blasted on Twitter for it, and rightfully so. Who would drink Powerade for dinner, or in Ryu's and Chun-li's case, as lunch?

"Some preparation you did here, gotta give you an A for effort I suppose," Chun-li remarked as she took her seat, and Ryu grudgingly did the same. By the looks of it, it seemed like Sonic prepared the food, rather than asking Cilan to do it; Ryu should have known a lot better than to ask the hedgehog for assistance.

 **Sonic: Cheetos, Vienna sausages, _Mike and Ike_ candy, and Powerade as a drink...now before any of you point your fingers at me, let me just say that I had _nothing_ to do with Ryu's lunch, I just did what the man instructed me to do. So he should be angry at himself, rather than at me.**

"I know it's not the most modest thing in the world, but I gave it my best shot..." Ryu grinned as Chun-li took a Vienna sausage and ate it, only to grimace when she tasted the mystery sauce. The sauce was enough to make the fighter take a quick sip of her Powerade in order to make the horrid taste go away. "Obviously food isn't my forte, but I utilized whatever experience I had regarding food as a means to please you!" Underneath the table, Ryu was pressing his thumbs against one another, under the fear that Chun-li's visit may be already sabotaged and making it any better would be fruitless.

"You two enjoying your lunch, mind if I have a Vienna sausage?" Sonic approached Ryu and Chun-li as he grabbed a sausage from the plate. "Ryu, do you mind if you come with me, gotta speak with you in private real quick..." The hedgehog was expressing sorrow on his face, leading Ryu to assume that Sonic was pulling his tail - something must clearly be going on!

"I'll be right back Chun-li, I won't be gone for long," Ryu said to his girlfriend as he got up from his seat and followed Sonic. "I'll be back sooner than you know it!" With Ryu gone, Chun-li slowly brought the plate of _Mike and Ike_ candy towards herself...and ate them all by herself. The candy was all for her to enjoy!

* * *

Link and Kirby continued to look for the blue boomerang when they saw Isabelle idling standing in front of a locked room, writing away on her clipboard. Intrigued, the Hylian and the pink puffball headed over to see what was up.

"Hey Isabelle, what's in that room you're guarding, found a super powerful Heartless or something?" Link asked the shih tzu, for he heard a bunch of noises from the locked room. Some noises were more distinctive than others.

"No, it's a room full of the residents who have been quarantined," responded Isabelle, leading Link and Kirby to question in their minds who would need to be quarantined. Wario, to prevent him from stealing money from others? Yoshi, to make him quit his fanfiction writing altogether? Bowser, because of how much of a jerk he is to others? "You have heard about the blue boomerang meandering through the mansion, right? All the individuals inside this room have been affected by the boomerang, and have been acting...very strange, I should say."

"Quit it, Viridi, please contain yourself!" Marth said to Viridi, who was hugging the hero-king, as he approached the room; Isabelle unlocked the door and opened it, as Marth threw Viridi inside the room. Isabelle then closed the door, and locked it real shut, right before Viridi tried to escape so she could have some more Marth for herself. The hero-king took a breath, his hand resting against the wall. "Viridi was way too much for me to handle, she was quite a tussle..."

 **Marth: Viridi's actions and behaviors towards me made me feel strange and weird inside...but it will be very fun and amusing when Viridi reverts to being her normal self again, and learns that she had came in contact with humans - a race she claims she utterly despises, yet insists in living with them in this mansion. Just the very thought of touching humans would make her suicidal...even though she can't really feel that way due to her being immortal and all. Goddesses like her and Palutena have so many great things that us humans don't...**

"Do you mind if we take a look-see inside the room?" Link asked Isabelle, as the shih tzu mused over the Hylian's offer. "We won't harm anyone, we'll just...take a look around and see what's up." Link clearly meant what he said, and it's not like he would use any of his weapons to reason with those affected by the boomerang. Kirby didn't even carry any weapons with him, so Isabelle didn't have to worry about the pink puffball as much.

"If you two are so intrigued, then I suppose I can let you in," Isabelle unlocked the door and opened it, granting Link and Kirby access to the room. Once the two were inside and Isabelle locked the door back, they saw many individuals who had came in contact with the boomerang, and were acting differently. Lucario, the Pokemon known for being calm and collected, was now an absolute chatterbox, annoying everyone in the room. Dark Pit, an angel who was cocky and arrogant to a tee, sat on the floor doubting himself and his abilities. Doc Louis, a man whose obsession with chocolate knew no bounds, was instead eating saltine crackers. And Akira Yuki, a _Virtua Fighter_ possessing renowned strength, couldn't even pick up a mere penny off of the floor.

"Can you help an honest man out and pick up this penny for me?" the fighter asked Kirby, after struggling mightily to pick up the coin with just his _two hands._ Kirby simply grabbed the penny, and placed it in the palm of Akira's hand. "Thanks bro!" Akira thanked Kirby before he fell to the floor, as if the coin weighed a coin and was weighing down on him. To say the adverse effect that was happening to him was destroying his confidence would be an understatement.

"Why are you taking me to this room, I thought you said you need to speak with me in private!" Ryu said to Sonic as the two entered the room, having to ask Isabelle permission to get inside. Sonic pointed at the far corner of the room at Cilan, who sat in a chair looking downtrodden. "There you are Cilan, I have a bone to pick with you!" Ryu angrily marched towards the Pokemon connoisseur, who was looking down at the floor. "You prepared the lunch in the dining room, didn't you? Do you call sausages, candy, cheese puffs, and sports drinks lunch?! Especially to be eaten when you're with your significant other?!"

"My sincerest apologies Ryu, but...it's just that I lost my touch for food. Earlier today I was working on the cake, as well as making some chili...and then I was struck in the head by a boomerang of some sort, and just like that, I lost my cooking touch, and my passion for food! No longer was I able to work on the cake, or on the chili...that's why the lunch I presented for you and Chun-li were average, it was my lack of passion for food that doomed me!"

"So because you lost your passion for food due to some boomerang that hit you in the head, you were reduced to only providing nothing but candy, cheese puffs, sausages, and sports drinks to Ry and Chun-li, thereby possibly deteriorating their relationship," clarified Sonic, with the latter details being a mere assumption the hedgehog assume would transpire.

 **Cilan: With my food affinity all but gone (hopefully for the time being), I have no choice but to seclude myself in this room with the others so I won't be tempted to do anything food-related and fail miserably! From this point onward and until further notice, I'll remain in this room once my love for food returns, and I will...  
** **Lucario: *popping up next to Cilan* Hey what's up Cilan how's it going my man how's life how's the cake coming along why are you here and not in the kitchen working on the cake what kind of wedding planner are you also why did you make your hair green?  
** **Dark Pit: *moving about on the floor in a fetal position* I'm not that good of an angel, I'm not that good of an angel, I'm not that good of an angel...  
** **Lucario: Dark Pit get off of the floor like that man no need to be down on yourself man you got this you just have to keep your head up at all times like I do and don't worry about a single thing and then you'll have everything you want in life and more and... *accidentally knocks saltine cracker out of Doc Louis' hand as he ran his mouth* Whoops my bad Doc Louis I'm so sorry I did that to you I didn't really mean to do it it was an accident I'm honest will you forgive me?  
** **Doc Louis: Nah Lucario, you good man, wasn't like I was gonna rip off my red jacket and beat you to a pulp or anything! *happily takes out another saltine cracker and eats it* Besides, I gave my jaguar-patterned shirt to Little Mac, I'm positive Mac will enjoy it very much!  
Akira: Guys I dropped my wallet on the floor and I can't pick it up at all...can anyone pick it up for me?**

"If I do remember correctly, I saw a giant figure holding the boomerang as I got up from the floor," Cilan continued his story as Link and Kirby walked over to listen in. "The figure had some hair, and I believe I saw spikes from its back...could it be...could it be that the person who threw the boomerang at me was _Bowser_?"

"It is Bowser, after all he would be the kind of person that would go about hitting people with a boomerang if he knew the boomerang could alter a person's personality or mannerisms," stated Kirby, who wasn't surprised in the slightest about Bowser's despicable actions. "Pit had came in contact with the boomerang in question, and when he threw it, the boomerang must have flew inside the mansion, where Bowser found it! And knowing Bowser..."

"Well we can't let the man go about causing mayhem, he has done enough ill will to us already!" Doc Louis spoke up, raising him from the chair he was sitting in. "I'd say we hunt down Bowser and have a real stern talk with him, that oughta teach him a lesson!" The regular Doc Louis would teach Bowser a lesson by putting the Koopa King in a headlock and punching him repeatedly until he cried uncle. How come nobody ever cries auntie in such situations?

"We're never going to get that boomerang from Bowser in time, we're not match for him..." Dark Pit sighed depressingly as he looked down, exuberating zero confidence in not only himself, but for everyone in the room. "Might as well let his tyranny persist forever..."

"Remaining in this room isn't going to stop Bowser - we have to band together and stop him, once and for all," stated Link, having no other choice but to be the voice of reason. The individuals affected by the boomerang were really dampening the mood, and Link refused to let them dampen it any more. "But before we give Bowser a piece of our minds, we have to come up with a brilliant plan...who here has their cellphone with them?"

* * *

The person of interest, Bowser, was up to no good, as the Koopa King was busy looking for folks to take out with the boomerang in his possession. The victim he was desiring to go after was the newest addition to the mansion, Kamui, who was arranging flower pots in the hallway with Ike and Mr. Game and Watch.

"Come to papa, future pupil of mine..." Bowser eyed down the princess of Nohr, wishing to make her naive just like her brother Corrin and teach her false things. "No one is gonna save you now, not even your stupid brother Corrin..." Bowser was about ready to hurl the boomerang at Kamui, when all of a sudden...

"Bowser have-a you seen Ike anywhere, I have to speak with-a him at once!" Mario popped up behind the Koopa King; Bowser turned around and hid the boomerang behind him. He was thankful Mario didn't see the boomerang, for that would have greatly deteriorated his plan.

 **Bowser: *holds up boomerang* It all started when I was on the third floor, carrying a bunch of sports balls with me to fill up the elevator, when this here boomerang caught my eye as it lied conspicuously on the floor. This boomerang could belong to anyone - a random Australian guy, a kangaroo, or even a postman! I would have returned the boomerang to its rightful owner...but then I remembered that it was January, and not December, when it's Christmas, and the "season of giving" and stuff is happening. Obviously that made-up season was over, so I took it upon myself and snatched the boomerang before anyone else could, and threw it at Viridi's head (on accident, mind you, I was just trying out the boomerang's capabilities), and then just like that, Viridi started loving humans as much as she loved flowers! That's when I learned that this boomerang can make you the exact opposite, which is why I plan on using it to find a pupil...or some pupils..**

"Ike is over there arranging some lousy flower pots with Kamui and Mr. Game and Watch," Bowser pointed at the swordsman, who was almost done with his task. "Now if you excuse me, I must be going now..." Bowser walked away with the boomerang concealed, his plan to make Kamui naive dashed at the hands of Mario. The Koopa King now had his eyes set on Tails, one of the more intelligent folks in the mansion. One whack to the head with the boomerang oughta make the fox stupid as ever.

"That's the last of the flower pots!" Mr. Game and Watch said, wiping off the nonexistent sweat from his face, even though 2-D characters like him can't sweat. "Thank you two for your assistance, never would have done it without you!"

"All in a day's work, glad Kamui and I could be of great assistance!" replied Ike, as Mario approached the swordsman. "Yo, Mario, you look like you're in a bit of a hurry, what appears to be the problem?"

"Something's wrong with-a Cloud, he's been-a doing childish things, like blowing rasp-a berries and pinching his nipples," the plumber explained, greatly disconcerting Ike and company. Cloud pinching his nipples sounded very much unlike the blonde swordsman, and so was blowing raspberries. Speaking of whom, the ex-SOLDIER must still be with Aerith and Yuffie - what torturous things was he doing to his lady friends at the moment? "I was-a thinking that exposing Cloud-a to ayuverdic herbs would bring-a him back to his senses and make-a him sane and normal again. Where can we find-a the herbs?"

"The plants in these flower pots are mostly used for making ayuverdic herbs, we can use them to make the herbs and use them on Cloud. How about it, Mr. GW?" Ike asked the 2-D man; having just set up the plants, Mr. Game and Watch didn't want to use them for anything other than decor, but after listening to Mario's story concerning Cloud...

"Let's use the smallest plant, I want the bigger plants kept around for decoration," answered Mr. Game and Watch, before directing his attention to Kamui. "Kamui, do you know where the mixing bowl is, the one for making medicine and stuff?"

"It's somewhere in Lady Paluatena's room, right?" asked Kamui, formally addressing Palutena; Corrin just calls the goddess of light by her name, and sees nothing wrong with it whatsoever. "I will be right back!" The princess of Nohr left, as Mr. Game and Watch picked a leaf from the small plant, albeit with some reluctance.

* * *

 **Nana: Popo and I are finally done, we gathered up all the fruits in the garden, and gave them to Dunban so he could take them inside. Popo has been acting arguably more humble ever since he found that boomerang, and was giving credit to Fox and Falco for their smoothies, something he has never done ever since we had that throwdown with the Star Fox pilots. However, he decided to take his parka off, and instead opted to wear swimming trunks, _in the cold..._ on another note, it was the first time I seen his hair in what may be an eternity!**

Popo rested comfortably on a beach chair in the front lawn, not giving a single crap that it was thirty-something degrees outside and it was bound to get colder as the day wore on. His friend/sister/girlfriend Nana looked on with her arms folded, wondering what had gotten into her friend/brother/boyfriend.

"Um, do you not realize how cold it is outside, Seattle isn't known for having warm weather you know!" Nana angrily said to Popo, who took a sip from a coconut drink he forced Toad to make. What are the odds that drug lord Toad lowkey littered Popo's drink with drugs? "Also, what did you do with your parka? You didn't throw it away, didn't you?"

"I gave it to Toad and told him to put it back in our room, so I can wear it during the summertime," stated Popo. Hoo boy, this dude got his seasons all mixed up, not a good sign - he probably thinks spring is autumn, and autumn is spring! "So until then, it'll be nothing but rest and relaxation in the sun..." Popo sighed happily, putting his arms behind his head, as Nana facepalmed. Soon Ema, Luigi, and Rotom arrived from their trek in Lake Forest Park, with Fox and Falco strangely absent.

"Any reason why you're-a shirtless outside in the cold?" Luigi questioned Popo, who was too relaxed to respond; the plumber then looked towards to Nana, who could only reply with a shrug. Luigi had other questions to ask, like the whereabouts of Popo's parka, but he decided to save them for later at a convenient time.

"Great news: we have officially located the tear in the universe where the Heartless are coming from!" announced Rotom. "We had Luigi contact Master Hand so he could deal with the tear himself, so that no more problems will persist, zzrt!" After Rotom made this announcement, Fox and Falco showed up, albeit running very, very slow. These two pilots were renowned for being fast, but this time, they were anything but.

"About time you slowpokes arrived, what took you so long?" Ema questioned, her hands on her hips. At their current speed, Fox and Falco would be beaten by a snail in a race, which is a strong testament of how fast they were moving.

"Cut us some slack Ema, we're only moving as fast as we possibly can!" retorted Fox, who looked as if he was running in slow motion. Same goes for Falco. "Don't know what's wrong with our bodies, we seldom move this slow!"

 **Fox: Unless you're living under a rock, or have been sheltered for a ridiculously long time, then you might know Falco and I as the fastest dudes in _Super Smash Bros_ history - or one of the fastest dudes. Sonic and Captain Falcon are both constantly vying for the top spot.  
Falco: But today, we're not as agile as we're supposed to be. Case in point... *points to a random fisherman at a pier* ...record how fast I steal that man Fox. *Fox pulls out a timer and hits the start button as Falco runs up to the fisherman and knocks him into the water, before running back to Fox* How did I do, what was my time?  
Fox: Your time was...seven minutes and thirty-five seconds! A new personal record, you just beat your previous time by a minute and thirty seconds!  
Falco: See what I mean? If I had my normal blazing speed, I would have knocked that fisherman into the lake and returned to this point in less than a minute! What gives?  
Fisherman: *angrily gets out of water and back onto the pier, before pointing at Falco* Was it you who knocked me into the lake twice?! You and your friend are gonna pay! *runs towards Fox and Falco*  
Falco: Crap, he's gonna get the both of us! Run for it! *runs away with Fox very slowly***

"I think I know what it is, it must be that blue boomerang we touched!" Fox came to a forgone conclusion. "Ever since we found it in the forest, we've been moving slow ever since, the boomerang could have stolen our abilities!" Little did the pilot know that the capabilities of the boomerang were far deeper than he knew...

"You saw the boomerang too?" Nana asked Fox, joining in on the conversation. "Popo here found it while we were gathering up the fruit, and then the wind blew the boomerang away...since then he's been acting like it's summer or something!" Popo was now putting tanning lotion all over his body, with sunglasses on his face; safe to say the Ice Climber was losing it.

"Any idea where-a the boomerang could have gone-a off too?" asked Luigi; Nana disconcertingly shook her head no. "Who's-a willing to bet the boomerang might-a be inside the mansion?" The boomerang was indeed inside the mansion, though acquiring it would be a hard task to accomplish.

* * *

Pit continued to sit by the lake, now a loner in his own right. He didn't need Kirby, he didn't need Viridi, heck, he didn't need Palutena either. He was going to do things the way he was going to do it, and no one was going to stop him...not even a certain hooded fellow who happened to take a seat next to the angel.

"What's a kid like yourself doing all alone near the lake, shouldn't you be with your mother or something?" the anonymous Organization XIII member, the one who has been messing with Mario and company for the longest now, asked Pit before looking across the lake.

"I'm a man on my own now, I don't need to look after anyone but myself," answered Pit, throwing a rock across the water surface. "Leave me alone if you know what's good for ya..." The Organization XIII member really liked Pit's attitude, and wished to make the absolute most of it...and he knew just what to do with the angel.

 **Anonymous Organization XIII Member: So they finally got rid of the tear in the universe, huh? Took them long enough...too bad that I can still go to and fro from their universe to mine! The tear they got rid of was a pretty small one...which is why I'm gonna make another tear, this one even bigger than before! But an honest man like myself can't do such a task on my own, I might need a second wheel...**

"How about a little offer - why don't you help me create another tear, one that leads to my universe?" the anonymous Organization XIII member offered to Pit. With the normal Pit, he would have no luck, but with this serious Pit, the member might have a good chance at fulfilling his task.

"Hmph, what's in it for me?" asked Pit, hoping to receive something good in return. All this talk about tears in universes and stuff sounded intriguing to the angel.

"I'll leave you alone and let you sit by the lake for as long as you please. So how about it?" The anonymous Organization XIII member held out his hand to Pit, and the angel looked at it, musing over the options he had. Was working with the anonymous Organization XIII member totally worth it?

"You got yourself a deal, let's make it happen..." Pit shook hands with the anonymous Organization XIII member, looking at the hooded fellow straight in the eye...if he could see the guy's concealed face. Little did the angel know that he was making a horrid mistake...

* * *

Back to Cloud Strife, who was still annoying Aerith and Yuffie with his childish ways (Polterpup was fast asleep, saving himself from the torture). This time, the ex-SOLDIER was wiggling his finger on his mouth, as he continued to stand at the doorway. Help would soon arrive, when Mario and Kamui confronted Cloud, with Kamui holding a bowl of ayuverdic herbs.

"May I interest you in some...leaf candy?" the princess of Nohr enticed Cloud, playing with the swordsman's mind. She winked at Mario as Aerith and Yuffie looked on.

"Sure thing Doc, I'll have as many as I like!" Cloud took the bowl from Kamui and scarfed the ayuverdic herbs down like a madman. Once the herbs were consumed, Mario, Kamui, Aerith, and Yuffie all waited patiently... "Well that was sure delicious, now back to being awesome!" ...only for Cloud to resume his childish ways. Apparently the ayuverdic herbs didn't work as Mario intended, so how would Cloud and the others return to normalcy?

"Ah, Mario, just the man I needed to see!" Shulk approached the plumber, with a remote control in his possession. "I'm sure you're aware about many of our fellow residents acting strange and unalike...such as Cloud over there." Shulk looked at Cloud and pondered over the idea of recording the swordsman on his phone, just for the laughs and giggles, but the possibility of Cloud finding such footage on Shulk's phone crept into the Homs' mind. "...and according to Isabelle, with confirmation from Cilan, it was because of a strange boomerang that has infiltrated the mansion and changing anyone that it comes in contact with! And to make matters worse, Bowser now possesses the boomerang, and he may not give it up anytime soon!"

 **Link: Here's the plan that I have in mind...we're gonna make Bowser give up the boomerang, mostly through the process of angering him, and then once we have the boomerang in our grasp, Shulk will install some funky chip to it, and use a remote control of his to control the motion and movement of the boomerang!  
** **Kirby: But here is where the plan gets complicated - in order for the plan to work, Shulk would need to strike everyone who in the mansion who has been affected by the boomerang, and not only that, but Shulk would have to consistently keep up with the boomerang as he controls it.  
Dark Pit: That plan sounds so complicated, no way we're gonna be successful...why can't we just throw in the towel already...  
Cilan: I know, why don't we gather the folks who were affected by the boomerang and line them up in a distinct path? It would make Shulk's job much easier!  
Lucario: Yeah man totally no way we can fail with a brilliant idea like that Cilan you're a freaking genius you're such a beast what would we do without you if not for you we would be a bunch of failures and nobody likes failures I should know because... *quickly gets mouth duct taped courtesy of Link***

"Of course-a Bowser would be behind-a all of this, why didn't I question-a him when I saw-a him earlier..." Mario said in utter regret. He kinda knew that Bowser was up to no good again, he just couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Tell-a me Shulk, what must-a be done?"

"First we have to make Bowser give up the boomerang, and we all know Bowser hates giving stuff away," stated Shulk. Bowser is never really in a giving mood, even during Christmas. "Once we have the boomerang, I'll install this chip inside of it..." The Homs held up a chip for everyone to see. "...and use this here remote control to control the boomerang. It gets harder from that point on, but you'll see eventually."

* * *

Wanting to spruce up the dining room a little bit, Mr. Game and Watch arranged several exquisite plants on the dining room table, while Chun-li was lackadaisically reading the latest edition of "Coffee News", remaining in her seat for an awfully long time. Ryu's talk with Sonic has been lasting for a pretty long time...

"Beautiful day outside, isn't it?" Mr. Game and Watch asked Chun-li, attempting to spark a conversation. Chun-li looked up in surprise and astonishment, only to see Mr. Game and Watch's Dynatox voice thingamajig. There would have been a lot more questions for her to ask Ryu had she not seen the device.

"Yeah I suppose so, too bad I'm cooped up in this mansion waiting on Ryu to return," replied Chun-li, letting out a sigh. "We were supposed to have some quality time together, but he would rather dawdle with that annoying imbecile Sonic over some time together with me..."

The conversation between Mr. Game and Watch and Chun-li was suddenly interrupted when Peach the tomboy entered the dining room and belched louder than any of the frogs from that famous _Budweiser_ advertisement. It certainly caught Chun-li off-guard, enough to nearly make the _Street Fighter_ veteran's heart stop!

"Where is that man Cilan, why isn't he in the kitchen making some good ol' grub for me to chow down on?" Peach questioned as she snorted, inhaling a bunch of mucus. Very unprincess-like, what would Toadsworth have to say about such behavior?

 **Peach: *spits into an empty flower pot* Is it just me, or is this mansion more boring than it seems? Why does everything have to be so peaceful here, where's all the violence and guns and partying and stuff? And what's with all the...**

(Peach's talking head segment suddenly had to be censored with a long beep, due to the obscene language uttered from the princess; Robin walks by and looked on in sheer amazement, hearing the words coming out of Peach's mouth, before fainting to the floor)

"Aha, finally found you right where I want you!" Ryu entered the scene, grabbing Peach and stuffing her inside a sack he was holding, against her will. Chun-li and Mr. Game and Watch watched in utter astonishment as the action was completed. "Sorry you had to witness that Chun-li, but I'm afraid I have some business I must accomplish - I shall speak with you later at a convenient time!" Ryu gave his girl a thumbs up as he departed, with Peach now in the sack. But for what reason?

"Sometimes I'll never truly understand where that man's intentions lie," Chun-li remarked, shaking her head as she resumed reading the "Coffee News". She's not even drinking any coffee...shame on her.

* * *

"Here ya go Jacky, buddy ol' pal, have some free money!" Wario gave the race car driver some cash as he meandered through the hallway giving back some of his money. Obviously the boomerang messed with Wario's head; the typical Wario hardly ever gives back a portion of his wealth. He would snatch a dollar bill if he found it in a paper shredder.

"Nah Wario, I'm good, I'm making loads of money as the manager at the car dealership downtown, but thanks for the offer!" Jacky smiled as he repelled the wad of cash away from him. Yes, Jacky was still working at the car dealership, even though Mario's budget may have been reached already - can't hurt to have some good money flowing in, could it?

"No Jacky I insist, you gotta take my money, you need it more than I do!" Wario was about to offer the money to Jacky yet again, until he saw a younger, peppier Snake walking by. Not a single strand of facial hair existed on the former spy's face. "Snake, would you mind some free money? You could use it to buy some...some camouflage stuff! Because you know how rowdy it can be at the dinner table...you can get whatever food you want without getting caught!"

"Camouflage is something I'm not interested in buying, but I'll take the money anyways, thanks," Snake gladly accepted the money from Wario, as the big fatso continued on his merry way. It was nothing but rainbows and sunshine for Wario...for the moment, at least.

 **Wario: Today I learned a great lesson today...it's never good to have too much of what you love. (Look at King Dedede and his affinity for eating food, he's so fat he could give Fat Albert a run for his money!) Hence the reason why I'm giving away my hard-earned cash to those who are less unfortunate than I! The money I'm giving away is coming from the many places I store my dollar bills in, as a means of safekeeping - in my closet, under my pillow, and even in my stomach!...Yes, I ate my own money, but that was in the past - I'm a changed man!**

 **Snake: *looking at himself in front of a hand mirror* Oh yeah, I'm really digging this new me, I look so youthful and handsome...and dare I say it, _sexy..._ *smiles creepily* Meryl would be a fool to turn down such a pretty-looking face, she'll practically dump that Johnny Sasaki jerk (through divorce) and have me as her husband instead...**

"You're gonna be such a great teacher Bowser, derr herr herr, can't wait for you to give me your great knowledge!" said Tails, who was following the Koopa King like a lapdog and acting stupid at the same time. Bowser had used the boomerang on the poor fox to not only make him dumb, but to make him a perfect student for his "lessons". He would have used the boomerang on Samus, but the bounty hunter was a bit too old for the Koopa King's tastes.

"I can see Bowser in the clear, and he still has the boomerang..." Shulk, along with Mario and Kamui, eyed Bowser from afar, hiding behind a corner in the hallway. The Koopa King had the boomerang in his possession, and he was about to use it on Ashley, who was being offered money by Wario (and she was rejecting the fatso multiple times). "Good thing I know just the thing to make him give it up..." Shulk appeared out in the opening, and belted out the following to Bowser: "HEY BOWSER I WISH TO BE YOUR STUDENT AGAIN, I REALLY ENJOYED YOUR LESSONS AND I WANT TO BE A PART OF YOUR TEACHINGS AGAIN!"

"Glad you finally came around Shulk, luckily I know just the thing that will make the lessons all the more worthwhile..." Bowser threw the boomerang at Shulk, as the flying object sailed past Wario, Ashley, Snake, and Jacky...only to be caught by a particular plasma hand. Bowser looked on in shock when he saw who was responsible.

"Does this boomerang belong to you good sir, zzt?" Rotom appeared from the corner, holding the boomerang in his grasp. Keep in mind that Rotom was in no way affected by the boomerang, as it shown no signs of change. "Why don't I return it to you?" The plasma Pokemon winded up his arm, ready to deal the boomerang back to Bowser.

"Oh snap!" Bowser yelped when Rotom threw the boomerang his way, faster than a bullet. The Koopa King ran off in fear as the boomerang struck Tails, and then Wario and Snake as the object returned to Rotom. In a matter of seconds, Tails was smart again, Wario was back to his greedy self, and Snake's grey hair and facial hair reappeared, much to the chagrin of the former spy.

"Gimme back my money scrub!" Wario angrily approached Snake and took back his money...before stuffing it down his mouth and walking away. Does he not know that the money would be digested if it remains in his stomach for a long period of time? Or is he that possessive of his money?

"Thanks a bunch Rotom, really appreciate Luigi for allowing you to be of assistance!" Shulk thanked the plasma Pokemon, as Rotom gave the Homs the boomerang. Shulk installed the chip in the object, and turned on his remote control. Soon the boomerang was up in the air, flying on its own (at the moment, to be exact; Shulk will be controlling it). "Now we're finally in business, baby!"

* * *

 **Ema: Once we got inside the mansion, we saw Link and told him about Fox's and Falco's situations...and coincidentally he said that there was a similar problem going on inside the mansion, what a couple of residents acting strange. He told us about some sort of magical boomerang that was responsible for causing this problem, and gave us a plan for how to fix said problem. Needless to say, Fox nor Falco were favorable of what Link had in mind...**

"Look, I get the whole gist of the plan - having us all in a straight line - but this whole rope-tying thing, I'm not particularly fond of," Fox remarked as Ike was tying up him and Falco together. Cloud, Cilan, Dark Pit, Akira, Lucario, Doc Louis, Peach, Popo, and Viridi (who was happily hugging Doc Louis) were also being tied up, with Zelda, Link, Kirby, Ryu, Sonic, Nana, Yuffie, Aerith, Ema, and Luigi doing the honors. The affected residents were all being tied together in a straight line, all in one hallway.

"Can you please hurry this up already; if you don't, I'll have to go full Wario!" frowned Peach. You do NOT want to know what going "full Wario" meant, by any means.

"Guys I don't know about you but this rope is holding me tight, like a boa constrictor!" complained Akira. That boomerang made that man seriously weak.

"I love you so much Doc Louis, you just don't know!" gleamed Viridi, as she was tied together with the boxing trainer, whom she was hugging.

"Where is Shulk and the others with that boomerang, does it take that long to get the boomerang from Bowser?" Ike asked after he finished tying up the Star Fox pilots. Soon the boomerang arrived, hovering in the air, and Shulk and company would arrive soon thereafter. The boomerang sailed past the tied up individuals; it didn't have to be precise, but the boomerang had to at least touch each individual for it to fully work its magic. Once the deed was done, Sonic sped through the line of residents with a knife, cutting away the rope with the blade without harming anyone. It didn't matter whether Sonic had to cut the rope or not, for everyone was back to normal!

"Aw yeah, I got my swagger and confidence again, I'm still the best angel there is!" boasted Dark Pit. Why couldn't he be the only exception?

"I got my confidence back to, and my love for food has returned as well!" remarked Cilan. No more sausages and cheese puffs for lunch ever again.

"What on earth am I doing in this hideous attire?" questioned Peach, looking at her overalls and sneakers. The princess could rip off her attire if she wanted to.

"Yuck, why am I hugging a human?" Viridi broke away from Doc Louis and held her arms out at the side, as if she was soaking wet. "Lady Palutena, I need the disinfectant, and a nice, long bath too!"

"I feel so naked without my parka!" Popo, still in his swimming trunks, covering himself with his hands before running off. "Don't worry my lovely parka, daddy's coming to get ya!"

 **Fox: Falco and I got our speed back, and boy does it feel good! I feel like running around the mansion, and maybe run laps throughout the state of Washington... *Falco appears in the background doing the running man challenge, as Fox turns around* Seriously bro, the running man challenge? That was 2016, it's no longer mainstream!  
** **Falco: The year of 2017 is still young, which means I got some time to do some 2016 crud... *switches to the side* Besides, this challenge is the only challenge that kinda counts as a workout.**

 **Cloud: Aerith and Yuffie both informed me that I was pinching my nipples in front of them and Mario with my shirt... *smirks halfheartedly* I suppose that it made Aerith smile, and whenever she smiles, I feel...You said that she was brutally disturbed? *facepalms out of embarrassment* Great, now she thinks I'm a huge dork now...**

"Mario thank goodness you found the boomerang, we have one more resident left to change back to normal!" Isabelle approached Mario in a state of panic. "I just saw Pit not that far from the mansion, and he was acting serious and whatnot...and he was with someone in a black coat, a member of the Organization XIII!" This alarmed Mario, but it alarmed Aerith even more, for she was more familiarized with the evil organization than Mario was.

"Wherever the Organization is, I must go, it's what's best for Aerith," said Cloud, volunteering in order to keep Aerith safe at all costs. However, the flower girl refused to be placed in a damsel in distress situation.

"I want to go too, it will be my first time dealing with the Organization since I arrived at the mansion!" stated Aerith, also volunteering. Not wanting to be the odd one out, Yuffie had no choice but to tag along.

"I shall embark on this quest as well, just to acquire some information about this so-called Organization XIII, zzrt!" volunteered Rotom, doing a salute.

* * *

Isabelle led Mario, Cloud, Aerith, Yuffie, Rotom, and Shulk to Pit's whereabouts, with Shulk controlling the boomerang with his remote control. They would soon find Pit not that far from the mansion, with the anonymous Organization XIII member. No tear in the universe was created, meaning that Mario and company may have just arrived in time...

"Is it just me, or do I see some very familiar faces?" the anonymous Organization XIII member looked out before him, seeing Cloud, Aerith, and Yuffie and recognizing their faces. "Guess it's about that time I reveal myself..." The anonymous Organization XIII member took off his hood and revealed his appearance (or at least the appearance of his head); he had gold eyes, an eyepatch, elf-like ears, upturned eyebrows, and a ponytail with grey streaks running through it. Aerith was very quick to remember who this member of the Organization was.

"Got any idea who this guy is, Aerith?" Yuffie asked the flower girl, who wearily nodded her head when she fully recognized who it was.

"Why yes I do, his name...his name is Xigbar!" answered Aerith. Kudos if you know how Xigbar got his name.

 **Shulk: So Xigbar is the name of the hooded man who has been lurking about...and I gotta say, he looks like a pirate! Only thing missing is a pirate hat, and maybe a sword...that hideous black cloak would have to go.**

"Yup that's right, Xigbar's the name - got it memorized?" said Xigbar, uttering the latter part of the sentence to everyone not named Aerith as he pointed at his head. "I just happened to find this kid sitting by himself near the lake, and then I thought, 'why don't I work with him and create another tear in the universe, a gigantic one at that, to let even more Heartless in?' And so he obliged, and here we are!"

"Not so fast Xigbar, your petty Organization is toast!" exclaimed Shulk, as he moved the flying boomerang towards Xigbar. He sent the boomerang flying towards the man, but Xigbar warped away and warped right back to his original position, catching the boomerang in the process.

"Ooh, a flying boomerang, I'm _so_ scared!" Xigbar then wagged his finger at Shulk and company, shaking his head. "It's gonna take more than just some silly boomerang to stop me! I had expected more from you folks...yet you let down." Even though the boomerang was in his grasp, Xigbar wasn't acting different...what gives?

"Wait just a second, isn't that boomerang supposed to alter Xigbar's personalities or abilities, why isn't anything happening?" Yuffie questioned as a sly smirk formed on Xigbar's face; evidently he knew the answer to the ninja girl's question.

"The answer is simple, really - this boomerang has no effect on me 'cause I'm a Nobody! Why don't I give you a good lesson for those of you who don't know...a Nobody is what remains of one who lost their heart, they're made up of body and soul. I'm a lucky guy, my heart was super strong - hence why I look like a human, and not one of these creeps!"

Xigbar snapped his fingers, and a horde of creatures - all with muscular but thin bodies, and looking like they were wearing jumpsuits with the zippers as their mouths - appeared and flanked around the Nobody. These creatures were something that Mario and company (sans Aerith) had never seen before.

"The creatures you see before you are called Dusks, they're the weaker ones that no one really cares about," Xigbar continued. "Unless you want to see what these bad boys are capable of, I suggest you stand back and let me and angel boy do our thing..."

"Those Dusks don't look so tough, I can take them on, zzrt!" Rotom said as he confronted Xigbar, while Mario and company looked away. Was Rotom sealing his death wish? Does he not know what Xigbar is fully capable of?

 **Master Hand: Thanks to my profound awesomeness, the tear in the universe were the Heartless were coming from has been neutralized, which means that hopefully no more Heartless will meander around these parts again...but what if the Heartless find another way to our universe, what if there's an army of them? Aerith told this tall tale about some guy wielding a blade and slaying a thousand Heartless single-handedly by himself...do I trust Link, Cloud, or any dude from the _Fire Emblem_ universe to do the same? Unless they can beat the mighty likes of myself, then I say NEIN! Nein I tell you, NEIN!**

"Well how about I take you on myself?" asked Xigbar, getting the boomerang ready. "Or better yet...how about I take you out instead? You don't look that tough, or that strong either - one smack from this boomerang might do the trick!"

"Suit yourself..." Rotom grinned devilishly...as he pulled out Shulk's remote control from behind its back. Little did Xigbar know that even though he had the boomerang, he still didn't have the remote control to control it; obviously Shulk had given the remote control to Rotom, and you'll see why now, as Xigbar was lifted up in the air by the spinning boomerang in his hand.

"Don't just stand there like buffoons, stop that thing!" the Nobody commanded, as the Dusks came after Rotom, slithering like snakes. Every time a Dusk approached Rotom, the plasma Pokemon would make the boomerang come towards it, and use said boomerang to defeat the Dusk, all while Xigbar was screaming at the top of his lungs. Rotom itself would be hit by the boomerang as a Dusk came towards it, but here's the thing - Rotom was left unaffected each time the the boomerang touched it, contrary to Peach, Cloud, Viridi, the Star Fox pilots, and others. Had Shulk taken care of the Dusks instead of Rotom, he would presumably change personalities in and out like Dr. Jekyll, but only on a more frequent basis.

Once all the Dusks were gone, Rotom piloted the boomerang towards Pit - who was busy thinking about life at the moment - inadvertently knocking the angel to the ground as Isabelle came over to check on him. The plasma Pokemon then pressed a button that read "maximum power", and sent the boomerang flying away at the speed of sound, the flying object carrying along Xigbar.

"You fools won't be so lucky the next time around!" Xigbar vowed as he called out to Mario and company before he and the boomerang were no longer in sight. Rotom gave the remote control back to Shulk, whom it exchanged a high five with, as Pit sat up, observing his whereabouts.

"Strange, how did I get from the bounce house to here?" the angel asked; it was a mystery that nobody could really solve, had it not been for a lack of witnesses.

"It was through magic that you got here, the kind of magic you see in Disney movies!" Isabelle gave this somewhat valid excuse to a gullible Pit, who was nodding his head while mouthing "Oh...". Chances are that he'll forget the excuse Isabelle gave him, and come up with his own.

* * *

 **Black Knight: With all the folks that have been acting unlike themselves, what's better than cooling off with some tea, made by yours truly? You see, my tea works for just about any occasion - birthday parties, Christmas parties, New Year's Eve parties, breakfast, lunch, dinner, vaping...** ***sighs* But unfortunately, Master Hand won't allow me to fully display my tea-making prowess...one day he'll see, one day!**

"Anyone care for some more tea?" Black Knight asked a crowd of Mario, Luigi, Peach, Lucario, Cilan, Kamui, Ike, Kirby, Fox, Falco, Popo, Nana, Mr. Game and Watch, Wario, Shulk, Snake, Tails, Sonic, Ema, Cloud, Aerith, Yuffie, Ryu, and Chun-li, all of whom were gathered together at the dining room table; Luigi raised his finger for the Black Knight to see. "Alright Bowser, now's your time, fill 'er up!" As punishment for his shenanigans, had to serve tea to those affected by the boomerang (and a few others), and he had to do so in a clown costume, as an insult to injury. The Koopa King grumpily poured tea into Luigi's cup from a tea kettle, gritting his teeth as he did so.

"Kirby said I was acting all serious and philosophical due to the boomerang, what about you?" Pit asked Viridi, taking a sip from his cup of tea. It was his sixth cup so far; either the angel had zero impulse, or he just liked to irk Bowser.

"I was apparently hugging a bunch of humans..." Viridi replied, with her arms folded. "You wouldn't believe the amount of disinfectant Lady Palutena had to put on me..." Not that far from Pit and Viridi was another couple in Ryu and Chun-li, if you wish to call them one.

"Sorry of these conditions aren't ideal, I intended it to be just the two of us," Ryu earnestly apologized to Chun-li, rubbing the back of his head. But Chun-li smiled, indicating that Ryu may or may not have needed to apologize to her.

"You didn't have to apologize Ryu, what matters is that we're both here, and we're spending actual quality time together," the female fighter replied. "I'd rather take a bunch of people here than just being alone by myself."

Chun-li's kind words were enough to make Ryu smile. And a smile from Cilan and a reassuring thumbs up from Sonic - yes, Sonic, of all people - did nothing but make Ryu even happier.


	56. Episode 56: Gluttony

_Author's Note:_

 _Enjoying the story so far? Then go ahead and check out another Smash story I'm writing, called "City Above the Clouds". It's a space Western fanfic involving Shulk and others as bounty hunters, hunting criminals down - I had jumped the gun and uploaded the story earlier than I should have, so the first chapter may be unpolished. Any feedback is welcome. Now for the guest reviews:_

 _"...because I'm a selfish jerk, I wanted to make some requests (most of them revolve around Corrin to some extent or the other, actually):_

 _"1. This one's a little out there with the whole related to Corrin thing, but could you do one where Mario and a couple of characters that had a less than stellar TV show in their pasts find out about the machine that Corrin used to get into Friday and Mario tries to use it to fox his show, as well as get other Smashers to do the same (some of which against their will, but knowing Mario he'll drag them in somehow)."_

 _Haven't used the machine ever since the events of the sixth chapter, I can always do a chapter around such a contraption again. Here is the second idea:_

 _"2. Felicia and Flora from Fire Emblem Fates are sent by Garon to serve Corrin and Kamui, and to keep them company."_

 _Felicia and Flora remaining at Nohr sounds pointless, because they both have to serve Corrin and Kamui. For that very reason, they shall make their first appearance in Smash Life in this chapter. Time for the third and final idea:_

 _"3. An alien race (any race is ok) is infultrating the Smash Mansion for some reason, and Corrin sees some of them. He tries to warn the other Smashers of the situation, but they think he's just going on about aliens like he usually does. In the end, there's either a huge battle with the aliens involving all the Smashers, or Corrin gets a small team of characters (mostly consisting of the likes of Pit, Lloyd, ect.) to stop the infiltration."_

 _Oh yeah, I love this idea...I can only see it working with the Shroobs from Partners in Time though. The hard part would be finding a way for them to return to existence, since the Mario Bros (and their baby counterparts) pretty much eradicated the entire race. Regardless, Corrin will be the most important character. As much as I would want to do the Shroob invasion right away, I'll save this idea until later, hopefully before the big wedding between Mario and Peach. Derrick Lindsey has come forth with a very important question, concerning Aerith and the Kingdom Hearts universe (as well as an aspect from the Ed Edd n Eddy episode that I apparently overlooked:_

 _"...we finally get to see who the anonymous organization 13 member was and it was Xigbar, now I'm curious to see if we see any of the other members of organization 13 like Axel or Xnames._

 _"Also I just wanted to know where in the kingdom hearts timeline does Aerith come from, just wanted to know so I can understand who you'll be using and what events you'll reference from the games. I really enjoyed this chapter thanks for doing it and happy new year and nice to know you'll do the foster's home idea for the future but the only regret I have is not having someone do the Rolf opera singing part (easily the best part of the episode) since that would have hit the nail on the head (now imagines Ganondorf or Mewtwo doing it and laughs hysterically)."_

 _Aerith hails from the part of the KH timeline after Dream Drop Distance, when the true Organization XIII was revealed. For that very reason, Xemnas will likely appear in Smash Life, but Axel won't since he's no longer a Nobody. And as for the Rolf opera singing thing...how did I miss on such a golden opportunity, a serious character opera singing?! This is my mistake for not caring about Rolf as much as I should have, Edd (a.k.a. Double D) was always my favorite character...but I digress. Moving on:_

 _"But seriously thanks for this chapter dude/dudette (since I'm not sure if you're a boy or girl) and keep on writing you rock, also does this look better then having to read one huge paragraph because this is what I will do from now on every week."_

 _...I'm a dude...just wanted to clear that up. And yes, your review format is better than a huge paragraph, much easier to read. One more thing:_

 _"One last thing sorry for all of the suggestions I make every time I write a review but in the future can you make Bowser and Wolf team up so they can try to make Kamui's life miserable since Wolf would want vengeance for her breaking his high score and Bowser because he's a jerk and since Kamui isn't naive like Corrin and won't believe in anything Bowser says he'll just make life miserable for her instead."_

 _Bowser and Wolf shall have their revenge on Kamui soon - how they shall do so is the remaining problem. Smasherfan88 here has a Pokemon-related request:_

 _"...I also have a suggestion, of Red trying to get master hand to allow him to invite fellow trainers for some kind of Pokemon club seeming as he is the only person there that knows a lot about Pokemon"_

 _The goal is to include more human Pokemon characters - I won't have a Pokemon club, but I'll find a way to get all the gym leaders and champions and others involved in some capacity. Last but not least, is 0300:_

 _"I have an idea for Bowser's next scheme. He exaggerates what the boomerang made the affected do - i.e. Akira falling over because he couldn't even carry anything, and Cilan's food was poisonous."_

 _Sounds promising, also sounds like typical Bowser in some ways. Now to finish up the review:_

 _"Do you think you could maybe give music recomendations while reading the chapter? It might bring more hilarity, but I understand if you can't because finding the right track is hard. Also, will there be a Vallentine's day party?"_

 _I've actually given thought to music recommendations, especially when listening to certain songs while I type up this story (helps me get in the groove), but like you said, finding the right track is hard. As for the Valentine's Day party, there will be one, since I didn't have a Valentine's Day-related chapter last year. Expect to see a lot of the residents' boyfriends/girlfriends to make their debut appearance in such chapter._

* * *

 **Episode 56: Gluttony**

To say that King Dedede had a huge appetite would be a nigh exaggeration. Much like Wario, the fat penguin would eat just about anything, regardless of nutritional value. In fact, Dedede would even eat random household objects, like sofas, nightstands, and even the mansion's Christmas tree, just to fulfill his appetite (and you can bet Master Hand has always held King Dedede for paying for whatever non-food items he eats).

King Dedede's willingness to eat food in competitions such as eating contests has never been challenged, not even by the likes of Wario. But the fat penguin would be challenged today, when Olimar's co-worker Louie comes over to the mansion. Dedede had issued the challenge out to the Hocotate Freight employee when he overheard Olimar's phone call, with Louie talking about he would eat "just about anything", and now the king of Dreamland was practicing for his eating contest with Louie in the dining room, where Cilan was feeding him whatever food was available. The Pokemon connoisseur had to ensure that there was an ample amount of food left over when King Dedede was done, otherwise the residents would be starved to death without any food to please their hunger.

"At this rate, there's no way you can lose the eating contest, you got this one in the bag!" Cilan remarked as he looked at his stopwatch, as King Dedede furiously chowed down on the bundles of food like a madman. Just then, Mario entered the dining room, and was dismayed to see Cilan slacking on his duties - the very duties for why he was even at the mansion.

"Hey, hey, hey, why aren't-a you working on-a my wedding cake?" the plumber scolded Cilan, with his hands on his hips. Cilan looked down and saw an angry Mario, and didn't know what to say. He was most definitely in the wrong here, what with the connoisseur feeding King Dedede food from the cabinets and all. "I didn't bring-a you to the mansion just-a to indulge King Dedede, he can indulge-a his own self!"

 **King Dedede: Everyone thinks that eating contests are just about eating glorious junk food, but it's more than that, eating contests are constantly full of mind games! As you're furiously eating the food provided to you, you don't know if the guy (or gal) next to you is doing better than you, because you're so involved with your food that you can't break away and see the progress of your competitors! That is why every time I eat at the breakfast table, or the dinner table, I treat every breakfast or dinner like a eating contest, I just look at my food the entire time and don't pay attention to anyone or anything; I have given the cold shoulder to one too many folks, but every time I do it, it's completely worth it!**

"I'm taking a break from the cake to prepare King Dedede for his eating contest with Louie, Olimar's close friend!" Cilan explained, as Mario's face turned one and his lips turned inwards. "You see, Louie has a very large appetite, and he can eat anything at will...is everything okay Mario?" the connoisseur asked Mario, who then burst into tears of laughter. He was finding it hard to imagine Louie having a ginormous appetite, let alone going up against King Dedede in a eating contest. It was like he was begging the penguin to gift-wrap him an L.

"Silly Cilan, Louie can't-a be in an eating contest, it would-a be too much for him-a to handle!" Mario stated as he continued to laugh away. King Dedede, not wanting to see Mario dress down his competitor, stopped eating in an instant to tell Mario straight.

"So does that mean Olimar is a liar for saying his fellow employee doesn't have a large appetite?" the fat penguin questioned Mario. He had never seen Louie in person before, but he knew that he would be a very tough opponent to compete against. "Olimar said that he can eat almost anything you feed to him, anything at all!"

"Having a large-a appetite doesn't equate-a to doing well in-a eating contests, King Dedede, eating contests usually involve-a skill and preparation. You honestly think-a Louie is capable of-a winning an eating contest?"

"As long as he's capable of consuming food," was King Dedede's reply; Cilan agreed with the king of Dream Land with the nodding of his head, much to the chagrin of Mario. The plumber gave up, as he threw his arms up in the air and sighed, and walked away, leaving King Dedede and Cilan be. They'll learn sooner or later, he supposed.

* * *

"Dear brother, are you awake? Oh please, give me a response, I can't bear to see your breathless body on a deathbed!"

Corrin suddenly opened his eyes slowly as he woke up, seeing Kamui looking down on him with a bright smile. The prince of Nohr was asleep on the bottom of the bunk bed; Kamui, as you may assume given the information, slept on the top bed. The princes played her brother in a game of rock-paper-sciccors to determine who would sleep on the top bed, and Corrin lost simply because he drew scissors _every freaking time._ But to be fair, Captain Falcon told the prince that you should always draw scissors when playing rock-paper-scissors, and instead of helping Corrin win, as the racer intended, he caused him to lose miserably.

"Kamui I just had the strangest dream..." Corrin said as he sat up, scratching the back of his head. Expect Corrin's dream to have something to do with aliens and extraterrestrial life. "I was on a picnic, in a open field, with Viridi and Luigi...when suddenly Viridi turned into an alien, with giant tentacles, and used one of her tentacles to rip Luigi's head off and eat it with her razor sharp teeth! I would tell you the rest, but the details are too gruesome..."

 **Corrin: Aliens are very much real, I tell you, they just don't want to reveal themselves that's all, hence why no human eyes has ever seen one in person before. They're just like Shy Guys - there's a whole bunch of them, an entire race, and yet they do not wish to reveal their identities for everyone to see! *strokes his chin in deep thought* What if...the Shy Guys are actually _aliens_?!**

"Corrin I see you're finally awake, thank you Kamui for waking your brother up!" Master Hand appeared in the room, making his presence known to Corrin. "I would have done it myself, using my epic majestic voice to not only wake you up but to scare the living daylights out of you, but knowing how fragile you are, I had Kamui do the honors of waking you up instead."

"It's not that often you visit me in my room, Master Hand, is there something wrong?" asked Corrin. "Has the kingdoms of Nohr and Hoshido gone to war again? Allow me to return to my homeland and defend my glorious kingdom!" If Nohr and Hoshido were to go to war, Nohr probably wouldn't need Corrin in their ranks - in fact, they must be elated that the naive prince was gone, so elated they must have threw a party to celebrate him going away!

"No, no, there's no war between Nohr and Hoshido, I'm sure the relations between both kingdoms has been peaceful...for now, at least. I'm just here to let you two know that your father, Garon, has entrusted me with two maids, both of whom worked under you back at Nohr. Since they couldn't serve anyone other than you two, Garon had no other choice but to send the maids to the mansion, so that they can...well you get the whole point of what's going on." Corrin didn't get what was going on, for he was scratching his head in confusion. "Felicia, Flora, get your scrawny behinds in here! Corrin and Kamui are both ready to see you!"

Two maids, one with salmon pink hair in pigtails, the other with blue hair, also in pigtails, soon arrived, standing at the doorway of the room. Corrin squealed with joy when he saw the short maid, the one that had the pinkish hair. He couldn't believe what his eyes were saying, they must be playing tricks on him...but what he was seeing was the real deal.

"Felicia you're here, I can't believe it but you're actually here!" Corrin exclaimed screaming at the top of his lungs, unable to contain his excitement anymore. The prince was so excited that he could potentially wet himself, but for the sake of everyone in his vicinity, we hope that doesn't happen.

"Greetings Corrin, Kamui, it's been a while since we last saw each other," Flora greeted the prince and the princess, as Corrin came running towards her. "It shall be an honor to serve...you?" Corrin didn't come to hug her...the prince instead hugged Felicia, sighing happily as he had his arms wrapped around the maid. If you ever played any of the _Fates_ games, you may know Corrin and Felicia to have a bit of a strong relationship with one another - a very loving strong relationship, to be exact.

 **Master Hand: Heh, not surprised in the slightest that Corrin was fawning over Felicia, I think that boy harbors a secret crush on that chick. I remember Isabelle telling me how Corrin was fretting over Felicia's safety whereabouts when Bowser started a fire in the mansion while I was away, although Felicia was nowhere to be found. What I find funny was how Corrin apparently thought Felicia was stuck inside that _Friday_ movie, and assumed that she had taken on the identity of a black woman, just so she could go about acting like a slut and doing acts of prostituion and whatnot. Isabelle also added how that Deebo guy from the movie stole Corrin's sword, and Corrin had to retrieve otherwise it would disrupt the "time-space-movie continuum" - just some lousy crap concept MegaMan .EXE came up with on his own. Personally I don't blame Corrin for wanting to get his sword back - can you possibly imagine an intimidating black guy like Deebo walking around the hood with a chainsaw sword?!**

"Both Felicia and Flora will be serving you two, but they'll also be doing maintenance stuff around the mansion, like cleaning and dusting all that good stuff maids typically do," explained Master Hand; Corrin was too busy embracing Felicia to even listen to a single word that came out of Master Hand's nonexistent mouth. "It will take most of the workload off of Mr. Game and Watch's shoulders."

"Felicia, you must tell me how you are! Are you doing just fine? Did anyone from Nohr harm you in any way? Did Xander and the other siblings treat you right?" Corrin was bombarding poor Felicia with an onslaught of questions, some of which Felicia didn't feel like answering. "Please answer me Felicia, I'm absolutely begging to know!"

"I'm doing just fine milord, nobody harmed me in any way or fashion," Felicia assured Corrin as she pushed the prince of Nohr away from her. Just a reminder: Flora and Felicia will be addressing Corrin and Kamui formally as "lord" and "lady" respectively, so you better get used to it before it's too late. "Master Hand, where will Flora and I be staying at? Do you have a room ready for us?"

"Glad you asked - I prepared you two a room in my own room, it has a ton of space for you two to use," the giant hand replied, not telling the maids that the room was in fact his closet, which he had cleaned out just for them. "Corrin, Kamui, would you two kindly escort Felicia and Flora to their rooms? I'll force Pit to bake some malasadas for you if you do!"

"We'd be more than happy to do so, Master Hand," Corrin smiled as he locked arms with Felicia, who giggled at the concept of Corrin seemingly trying to flirt with her. Since when did the prince of Nohr decide to become a playa?

Corrin and Kamui would take Felicia and Flora to their room (*cough* Master Hand's former closet *cough*), and on their way there, they saw a few banana peels lying on the hallway floor. This was none other than Diddy Kong's doing, as the spidermonkey was now eating a banana. Once he was done with the yellow fruit, he threw the banana peel on the floor...only for Felicia to swoop in and save the day by catching the peel before it landed on the floor, sliding on the floor like how a baseman on the baseball field would when making the catch.

"It's never nice to leave banana peels lying about, especially in a mansion as great as the Smash Mansion," Felicia told Diddy Kong as the maid got up and dusted herself off, before picking up the other banana peels and throwing them away in an nearby trash can.

"Uh, I'm sorry, random-maid-chick-that-I-never-saw-before," Diddy apologized to Felicia, although his apology wasn't really heartfelt - he was too busy trying to figure out who Felicia was, and when she and her sister Flora came to the mansion. "I have a very strong habit of leaving banana peels lying around."

 **Diddy Kong: A lot of the maneuvers I do in _Smash_ battles kinda carry over to life in the mansion; not only do I leave my banana peels around, but I also tend to leap at others I see in the hallway, and in some cases, I cling onto their face and double chop them to no end. Good thing Master Hand brought some maids to the mansion to correct me for any wrongdoing I commit.  
** **Wario: *overhearing Diddy* Did you say something about Master Hand bringing maids? Do we have to pay them, or does Master Hand pay them? Please tell me we don't have to pay them, I have some money I'm saving up for a gift I plan to buy for Pal...Pal... _Palpatine,_ Emperor Palpatine! There's this guy who frequents the mall whom we call ****Emperor Palpatine, because he looks like that guy from _Star Wars!  
_ Diddy Kong: And who exactly is this "we" that you speak of?  
Wario: Me, myself, and I, of course! You seriously think I would go to the mall with anybody else?  
Diddy Kong: Do you even go to the mall to begin with...?**

"Just don't let it happen again!" said Felicia, pointing her finger at Diddy Kong as a warning, before she, Corrin, Kamui, and Flora continued on their way. Diddy Kong watched as the young maid and her sister walked away, with the former's arm locked with Corrin's. She had no other choice but to let Corrin have his way. But now it seemed like Diddy was going to have _his_ way...

"What's the point of me picking up after my own self when I have the new maids to do the dirty work for me..." the spidermonkey thought out loud to himself, stroking his chin. "I wouldn't have to throw away my banana peels anymore - the maids can do it for me!" Just then, Ness approached Diddy Kong, and saw Corrin and company before him, paying close attention to Flora and Felicia.

"Master Hand got himself a pair of maids, huh?" the PSI whiz said, seeing Corrin's arm locked with Felicia. Ness simply couldn't believe what he was seeing. "And is Corrin seriously trying to flirt with one of them? That guy knows he isn't smooth, in fact he's far from it!"

"Yeah tell me about it, Corrin isn't that really of a romantic type - but I'm not entirely surprised, I mean, he was practically fretting about Felicia during that 'fire drill'. All Knuckles did was utter a famous saying, and Corrin got all frantic and stuff for no reason! Good times, good times..."

* * *

"Thanks a whole bunch for stopping by Kumatora, and another thank you for bringing along Boney as well!" Lucas thanked his red-haired lady friend as the two were in the PSI whiz's room, petting Boney - the adoring pet dog of Flint, Lucas's father. Kumatora, the princess of Osohe Castle, figured Ness and Lucas might need a faithful companion like Boney to keep them company at the mansion, and asked Flint for permission to give the dog to the two _Earthbound_ buddies.

"You should be thanking your father, he was the one who allowed Boney to live with you and Ness," Kumatora replied as she rubbed the soft brown hair of Boney. The canine had an orange bandanna around his neck - made sense since Flint dresses up as a cowboy. "Speaking of whom, how has Ness been lately?"

Bowser happened to walk by Lucas's room, only to walk back and stand at the doorway as he watched Lucas giving Kumatora the 411 on Ness, talking about how great of a friend Ness was to him (and presumably talking about how bad of a friend he was as well, if you recall Ness leaving poor Lucas behind with Sonic in episode 51). Bowser, perceiving Kumatora as not a lady friend of Lucas, but a secret girlfriend the PSI whiz was too afraid to tell anyone not named Ness, found himself suddenly intrigued, and for all the wrong reasons.

 **Bowser: Several things have transpired today that make me wonder if pigs are flying in the sky right now...first I overheard from Olimar that his main man Louie will be going up against King Dedede in an eating contest. Then I saw the new maids, and Corrin had his arm locked with one of them, like how couples do! And now it appears that Lucas has found himself a girlfriend! What's going to happen next, Red is going to give up Pokemon altogether and pursue a career in accounting?**

"Hey Lucas, who's your new girlfriend?" Bowser asked the blonde teen, as Kumatora felt almost offended by the Koopa King's question. "I'll admit she kinda looks out of your league..." Kumatora felt even more offended with this remark.

"Who on earth are you, you horrendously ugly fiend?" Kumatora questioned the Koopa King. Bear in mind that the princess is a tomboy, and a very rude one at that, so she may treat others with impoliteness and discourtesy. "My eyes hurt just looking at you, do you even have a spouse?"

"Ooh, your girlfriend is super fierce, I like that!" Bowser rubbed his hands together in an enticing manner as he poked his head out the door to yell out the following: "LUCAS FINALLY HAS A GIRLFRIEND YOU GUYS, COME AND CHECK HER OUT!" Bowser turned back at Lucas, who was now frowning at the Koopa King. The PSI whiz and Kumatora were only best friends, shame on Bowser for starting up unnecessary rumors! "You can thank me later Lucas!" Bowser gave the teen a thumbs up as he departed from the room, just when Sonic arrived with Tails. Poor Tails was dragged to the room against his own will.

"What's up Lucas's girlfriend how's it going, my name is Sonic the Hedgehog and my friend here is Miles Prower, but everyone else like me calls him Tails, nice to meet you!" Sonic greeted Kumatora before holding his hand out to her, expecting a handshake, but the princess refused to shake it. Unwritten Rule #1: when somebody holds out their hand for a handshake or some dap, you never leave them hanging. Apparently Kumatora's rudeness was preventing the princess from fulfilling this number one unwritten rule.

"I don't wish to shake hands with the likes of you!" Kumatora looked the other way with her arms folded, breaking Unwritten Rule #1 like a real G. This greatly dismayed Sonic, for a world-class jerk like him wished to make a good lasting impression on any new person he met.

"Sonic why did you bother bringing me here, I don't care about Lucas's 'girlfriend'," stated Tails, trying to fly away although Sonic held his hand to prevent him from escaping. "I wanna return to the workshop and help Samus work on her latest invention!"

"Shut up Tails, quit being so insensitive towards Lucas and his girlfriend - just because a nervous wreck like Lucas found love before you did gives you little to no reason to act so salty," Sonic scolded his best friend, wagging his finger at the yellow fox. "No need to hurt Lucas's feelings like that!" Lucas wasn't hurt in any way whatsoever...he just wanted Sonic to take Tails and leave him and Kumatora be. However, Sonic refused to go away, especially when he spotted Boney the dog. "Yo, Lucas, is this your pet dog? What is his name?"

"His name is Boney, he's my father's pet," Lucas had no choice but to introduce the dog to Sonic, if that would make the hedgehog (and Tails) leave. "As you can see, he has a bandanna around his neck, much like how my father has one around his."

 **Sonic: *glaring at Tails* You never told me that Lucas has a father! This whole time I thought his mom got pregnant from some random sperm donor, and she killed herself because she was too afraid to tell Lucas the juicy details!  
** **Tails: Sonic can you please get your facts straight? Lucas's mother never committed suicide - she was killed by a Drago.  
Sonic: A _Drago_? Not a dragon, but...a Drago? The heck is that?  
Tails: A dinosaur-like species that's mostly green in color?  
Sonic: So wouldn't they be called "Dinos" instead? Maybe you're the one who needs to get your facts straight!  
Tails: *rolls his eyes***

"How about I challenge you, to a race..." Sonic pointed at Lucas, with the blonde bracing himself for what Sonic could possibly have in store for him. "Your pet Boney, my pet Shaymin, and Tails's pet Suzie: three pets competing to see who's the fastest!" Tails facepalmed as Sonic's challenge; Sonic's Shaymin may be fast, but she might not be fast enough to win a race. Sonic was seemingly setting his Shaymin up for failure. "No wait, we can't do it, it simply won't do..."

"Whew, for a minute for I thought you were actually going forth with the race," Tails let out a sigh of relief, wiping away the sweat from his forehead. But then Sonic quickly grabbed the yellow fox with his hands, bringing Tails closer to him and looking at him face-to-face.

"No it's not that, it's just that three competitors isn't enough, we need more, more I tell you!" Sonic dropped Tails to the floor with a thud. A race between Shaymin, Boney, and Suzie didn't sound that appealing to the hedgehog, it just didn't sound sexy enough, wasn't yet enticing. "Good thing I know the right people to ask...Lucas, you and your girlfriend stay right where you are - Tails and I are gonna do some recruiting!" Finally, at long last, Sonic left Lucas and Kumatora all alone, as the hedgehog took Tails and departed from the room.

"Is he always like that?" Kumatora asked Lucas; what she had seen was a mere microcosm of Sonic's annoying ways.

"I'm afraid so..." Lucas held his head down, knowing that Sonic (and Bowser) probably left behind a terrible impression on Kumatora on behalf of the residents.

* * *

"Now Ivysaur, use Vine Whip on that vacuum to vacuum the floor!" Red the Pokemon Trainer commanded the seed Pokemon as Ivysaur summoned a whip from his back and grabbed the handle of a hi-tech vacuum, turning the switch on with another vine and immediately vacuumed away once the device was on. Ivysaur did this in the living room, with Red, Rosalina, and Mega Man all present.

"The old vacuum was tearing down a bit and declining in quality, so I kinda took it upon myself and invented a new and improved one," stated Mega Man, the inventor of the vacuum. "It's able to pick up dirt across a wide distance, and also has an infinite storage space, so you won't have to empty it out." With those features, Mega Man's vacuum might very well be the greatest vacuum to have ever existed!

"Thank you for this new vacuum Mega Man, the old one just wasn't getting the job quite done," Rosalina thanked the Blue Bomber. Sonic and Tails arrived in the living room, and Rosalina feared for the worst...but she wasn't fearing Tails, hardly anyone fears the yellow fox (except maybe for a very timid Chao). The mother of Lumas was more concerned with Sonic, and just about anyone would.

 **Mega Man: No, I'm not stopping with the vacuum, there are plenty of other things in the mansion that could be replaced with something newer. Take the refrigerator in the kitchen, for instance - it makes this strange droning noise, and during nighttime hours, one could hear the noise and assume that a zombie is nearby, and that a zombie apocalypse is on the horizon. But that's what Villager thinks when he hears the noise, don't know about what the others think...although I don't really want to know.**

"Your Iyvsaur, your pet dog Rush, and your Luma, up against Lucas's dog, Tails's Suzie, and my beloved Shaymin, in an epic race to determine who's the best and fastest pet is!" Sonic challenged, pointing at Red, Mega Man, and Rosalina in that order. "Of course my Shaymin may win the race, but we'll get to see who'll settle for second place..." Great, now Sonic is already gloating...just what Tails needed.

"Um, Sonic, I thought I told you and several others already, Luma is NOT a pet by any means," Rosalina corrected the hedgehog, although Sonic detected some farce in the statement. He was horribly convinced that Luma was a pet, and surely others apparently feel the same way.

"We all know you discarded the evidence Rosalina, throwing Luma's collar away to make others assume that Luma is your companion...but I know you treat her like a typical pet! Or is Luma a he? I can never correctly guess that star's true gender." Tails facepalmed and shook his head; sometimes he contemplated the things that he done that resulted in him having Sonic as a best friend.

"Luma is a boy, and he never had a...oh, never mind, there's no point in explaining to you." Like Tails had learned from experience, Rosalina knew reasoning to Sonic and explaining things to the hedgehog clearly never goes the way you want it to.

"I'm always up for a good challenge, I can enlist Ivysaur in this race of yours," said Red, perhaps the only individual in the room other than Sonic who wished to see the race happen. "It would be a great way to see how fast Ivysaur is. Don't you think so too, Iyvsaur?"

"Saur! Saur! Saur, Saur, Saur!" the seed Pokemon exclaimed, uttering the phrase he would usually say when winning a battle in _Brawl._

"If you really want Rush to participate in this race...then I suppose I'll have him as a participant," sighed Mega Man, only wanting to do the race just to make Sonic shut his mouth (but only temporarily; the Blue Bombers fears that Sonic would annoy him again after the race is over, especially if Shaymin were to win). The race was really cutting into the robot's plans for the rest of the day.

* * *

Unfortunately for poor little Tails, Sonic wasn't done yet finding more pets to participate in the race. The yellow fox had no choice but to follow the hedgehog to the fitness center, where Cloud and Link were lifting dumbbells. Cloud was under the assumption that Link looked too frail to lift up a dumbbell weighing close to twenty pounds, and much to the swordsman's surprise, the Hylian was able to lift five times that amount!

 **Link: *rolls sleeve down and flexes triceps* You see this, you see these muscles Cloud? And you thought I was nothing but a scrawny twig...time for you to eat your words, buster!  
Cloud: Not gonna lie, your outfit made it seem like you were skinnier than usual, must be how the sleeves look...speaking of your outfit, why do you insist on wearing your gloves inside?  
Link: Oh yeah?! Well why do you...um...uh...why do you have a sleeve...with your attire? Huh?! How do you explain that?!  
Cloud: Actually it's a cloth...but meh, I'll give you an A for effort...**

Cloud was just about to return his weights back to where they belong, and once he saw Sonic nearing him, the swordsman quickly returned to his spot and continued lifting weights, this time facing the wall to make it seem like he was too busy building muscle to hold a conversation. Too bad for him, as Sonic quickly saw through his plan with keen eyes.

"Don't even try to back away from me Cloud, I know what you're up to!" Sonic pointed angrily at the swordsman as Cloud grumbled to himself. Why couldn't the hedgehog bother Link instead? "Anyways, I was wondering if your pet Chocobo Cloud Jr. could be a part of a little pet race I got going on. It will be a race to see not only who the fastest pet is, but also who's the best!"

"Man, I didn't know being fast and speedy equate to being the best," Link remarked, lifting a dumbbell with his hand. "Going with that fantastic logic, Usain Bolt must be arguably a better Olympian than Michael Phelps ever was."

"Can your mouth hole Link, I wasn't talking to you! So Cloud, are you in or are you out? Better say in, the race will do all sorts of wonders for Cloud Jr!" As much as Cloud wanted to say no, he knew that Sonic would go full ham to prepare for the race, and it would dismay the hedgehog if the ex-SOLDIER enlisted his pet Chocobo in the race.

"Cloud Jr. can't fly, he would have to do the race on foot, right?" Cloud asked just for clarification, he didn't want Cloud Jr. to cheat - although Sonic might do everything in his power to help Shaymin come out victorious. He just wanted to know if he would perhaps even up the score, if necessary.

"Correctamundo! No cheating whatsoever, it will be a fair, clean race!" Cloud quickly took Sonic's words with a piece of salt - a ginormous piece of salt. "I'll be seeing you and Cloud Jr. around!"

* * *

Just when Tails thought he was done with Sonic and he could go back to the workshop, the blue hedgehog brought the yellow fox along for one more quick visit, and this time Sonic and Tails stopped by Luigi's home, to ask the green plumber if Polterpup wanted to be in the race. Sonic knocked on the front door, and Knuckles opened it, holding a tub of ice cream with an ice cream scooper in it. No doubt the echidna was splurging on Luigi's food. He saw Sonic and Tails, the former looking tough.

"Are you...trying to be hard or something Sonic?" Knuckles questioned his hedgehog friend, not feeling intimidated in the slightest. "'Cause if you are, then you're not doing it right - luckily I can give you some pointers on how to do so!"

 **Knuckles: All tough guys, like myself, has their perks which makes them stand out from regular bums, such as Mario and Luigi. You get to walk up to scrawny dudes and show off your toughness and physique, making them feel scared for their lives at times... *looks on shoulder and sees a baby spider crawling on him* GAAAAAAAH! THERE'S A SPIDER ON ME! GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF! *flails arm violently, knocks nearby rake down with arm, which falls on a water hose faucet, which turns on due to the broom hitting it, as the water hose douses water at Polterpup, who runs away in fright and runs into a small tree, which falls onto the Duck Hunt Dog's doghouse in a unfortunate yet hilarious chain of events*  
Greninja: *walks by and sees the damage done, shaking his head while groaning*  
Knuckles: Oh you think I was responsible for that, not Polterpup?! You wanna fight me son?! Well go on ahead!  
Greninja: *angrily confronts Knuckles with water shuriken* Gre gre Greninja?!  
Knuckles: *backing down* You know what, on second thought, I'll just let you have this W, I'll walk away and leave you be... *punks out and walks away in fear***

"If you're looking for Luigi, he's upstairs with Daisy in his room...getting it on with his wife, I believe," stated Knuckles, saying the latter part of his response in a creepy manner, with a creepy smile. He must be thinking about getting it on with his own woman, Rouge the Bat. But he had to do so at the right time, for he knew that Rouge's not the kind of woman you would want to play with. "But that's just guessing from the noises I heard from the room - the door's locked, so you can just let your imagination fly or whatever."

"I only need to speak with him for a quick minute, that's all," said Sonic; Knuckles let his friends inside Luigi's home, as Sonic and Tails walked through the living room, passing by Yuffie (who was asleep on the couch with the television on), and through the kitchen and up the stairs, arriving at the second floor where the master bedroom was. They both could hear the sounds from the room, and like Knuckles said, it sounded like Luigi and Daisy may actually be getting it on...but why when Daisy's still pregnant though?

"Sorry Tails, but you'll have to stay behind, let a grown-up handle this!" Sonic advised his best friend as he nervously made his way to the master bedroom door, gently placing his hand on the doorknob.

"But you're only sixteen years old, you're not even a grown-up yet!" Tails pointed out as Sonic, almost reluctantly, opened the door wide open, and caught Luigi and Daisy in the act, the married couple on the bed...feeding each other chocolate-covered strawberries. Daisy was about to feed her loving husband Luigi a strawberry when she and Luigi looked up and at Sonic, who was standing at the doorway not knowing what to say or even think.

"May we...help you, Sonic?" asked Daisy, ending a long period of silence. Sonic, who was still dumbfounded, shook his head and brought himself back to reality.

"I'm starting up a pet race outside, and I figured that Polterpup would be a great participant for such a race,"explained Sonic, walking to the bed to snatch a chocolate-covered strawberry...only for Daisy to swipe his hand away. "So Luigi, do you want Polterpup to race his heart out, or are you gonna let him chew on the living room furniture, like he's doing right now?"

"Polterpup is chewing on-a my furniture again?!" Luigi immediately sprung up from the bed and ran off, only to be stopped in his tracks by Sonic. The hedgehog needed a definite answer from Luigi before the plumber could punish Polterpup for his actions...or at the very least try to do so. "Oh, yes, the race, I suppose-a I can enroll Polterpup in it, there'll be no-a harm done..."

 **Sonic: The race is gonna be so legit, and it's gonna be even more legit if Shaymin wins! I'm extremely tempted not to skew the race in Shaymin's favor, maybe if I wasn't so unlikable - according to the folks to have to put up with me - I would rig the race, but I'm afraid my reputation cannot be tarnished anymore!**

 **Daisy: Sonic is gonna screw over the race, I can already tell...he loves his precious Shaymin too much to not guarantee her to win a race that HE proposed to all the resident pet owners. I'll be keeping a very close eye on that hedgehog...**

 **Rosalina: Just for clarification, Luma is NOT a pet, HE is a nothing more than a companion that accompanies me. Do I pet Luma? No. Do I walk Luma around the block? No. Do I feed Luma? Well, of course, he needs his daily dose of Star Bits...point of the matter is, Luma is just a buddy, and not an actual pet that you can train or anything.**

 **Link: *arms behind his back* Would be awfully nice if Cloud Jr. were to win the race...though Cloud wouldn't seem to care about the result either way. Don't get me wrong, he loves Cloud Jr., it's just that he would put his pet Chocobo in pet competitions like pet shows, that's just not him. And by all accounts, I wouldn't blame him - pet shows are just exhibitions for objectifying pets. Westminster is the only pet show that operates contrary to all the other selfish pet shows out there.**

 **Lucas: This is all my fault...I should have kept Boney away in the closet so nobody like Sonic would see him...but that wouldn't matter since he would be barking through the closet doors...now Boney's stuck in some stupid race and I'm the one to blame...  
Kumatora: *resting an assuring hand on Lucas* It's not your fault Lucas, it's that dumb hedgehog's fault for wanting to do the race in the first place. Why is he naked, does he wear any clothes at all?  
Lucas: Not at all, really...except for that one time he attended a wedding in flannel attire. Really bad look for the wedding guests...**

 **Captain Falcon: A race outside the mansion? I'm all in for any form of racing event, so I'll be there in attendance! *leans in closer to camera, likely to share some secret information* This was actually done in private, but I asked Sonic if I could enroll the Duck Hunt Dog into the race, and he obliged...I'm only doing this because I told Nowi that I was a world-class pet owner (she loves it when I tell her tall tales, she takes them in like how a Sunflora takes in sunlight) and to prove it to her, just so she won't have any future suspicions, I decided to put the Duck Hunt Dog in the race to show Nowi that I have been "training" the mutt to be the fastest dog ever! *excitedly rubs his hands together* Ooh, I hope there is a trophy for the winner...**

* * *

Proto Man headed down to the mansion's foyer, where he saw Olimar standing by, waiting for someone to come by. The space astronaut was walking back and forth looking down at the floor.

"Hey Olimar, you waiting on someone?" Proto Man asked the astronaut, just to see if his suspicions were true. Since the Olimar wasn't up to his "Oggy Oggy Oggy, oink, oink, oink!" shenanigans, he must be expecting someone other than his son to arrive at the mansion.

"Yes, I'm waiting for King Dedede's eating contest opponent to arrive," responded Olimar, briefly looking up to tell this information to Proto Man. "Dedede has been preparing for the contest throughout most of the day, and I'm sure that..." Suddenly the doorbell rang, and Olimar got all giddy. "That must be him!"

The Hocotate Freight astronaut ran up to the front door and opened it, and Proto Man was suddenly greeted by Olimar's co-worker, who was standing outside with his adorably dopey face...Louie.

"Hi Olimar, hi Proto Man, hi Ganondorf," Louie waved to the astronaut, the red robot, and the highly realistic statue of Ganondorf that he thought was actually Ganondorf himself. "I'm all ready for the eating contest! Where is King Dedede, is he hiding from me? Too afraid to lose to the mighty likes of I?!"

" _You're_ going up against King Dedede in the eating contest?" Proto Man asked Louie, stifling his smile to prevent himself from laughing at the astronaut. Judging by his appearance and looks, Louie didn't look like he would be a big eater, but as Proto Man will learn eventually, it's never wise to judge a book by its cover. "Do you honestly have any idea who you're going up against?"

"I do know who I'm going up against - and that's why I'm more than ready to kick King Dedede's butt!" Louie's remark was too much for Proto Man, the robot couldn't take it anymore - he fell onto the floor laughing profusely, showing no signs of returning to his calm temperament.

 **Bowser: So now I just learned from Proto Man that Olimar's derpy co-worker Louie will be going up against King Dedede in an eating contest, pigs are definitely flying now...if Red doesn't quit Pokemon and become an accountant, then I'll be shocked as ever!**

"You truly think that's funny, don't you Proto Man?" Olimar scolded the red robot as his laughing persisted. At this rate, the laughing fit from Proto Man will likely go on forever and ever! "Well how about I put you against Louie and King Dedede in the eating contest, how do you like those apples?!" Proto Man's laughing fit suddenly ended, as the robot sprung up and shook his head at Olimar, dissuading the astronaut but only to no avail.

"But Olimar you can't do that to me, I mean I'm a freaking robot for crying out loud!" an exasperated Proto Man tried to tell Olimar, but the astronaut looked the other way, leaving Proto Man in a more bitter state. "How would that work, a robot like me eating physical food?"

"Oh you'll make it work sweetheart, that much I'm certain of. Why don't you get Samus to build you a mod that allows you to consume food? That is, only if she's in a relatively good mood..."

* * *

Mario returned to the dining room to check on King Dedede, only that this time around it was Pit, Kirby, and Wii Fit Trainer who were helping the fat penguin prepare for his upcoming duel with Louie by eating the food provided to him. Pit and Kirby were cheering on for Dedede, while Wii Fit would use some sort of calorie tracker to keep track of Dedede's health and status.

"Dedede, he's our man, if he can't do it, no one can!" chanted Pit, apparently not knowing that King Dedede was going to be in an eating contest. He was just there because his buddy Kirby was there to support his arch-rival.

"King Dedede for the win!" Speaking of whom, the pink puffball was waving his flags, encouraging the king of Dream Land to not only eat his heart out, but to raise his cholesterol levels to unfathomable heights. Because that's what good arch-rivals do.

"Your blood pressure is...120 over 80, just near the level of prehyperstension!" Wii Fit Trainer, using a blood pressure monitor to check King Dedede's blood pressure once the fat penguin took a breather. "It is nigh imperative that we keep your blood pressure regulated until the eating contest begins, otherwise you'll end up in some big trouble...no pun intended!"

"What are-a you doing, why are you encouraging that obese-a king to eat all this-a junk?" Mario questioned Wii Fit and company, glancing at the hot dogs, hamburgers and whatnot. Wii Fit's typically not that fond of such food, but this instance was the only exception. "Who prepares-a for an eating contest anyways?"

"I'm just here to ensure that Dedede will be healthy and fit for his upcoming duel with Louie. Pit and Kirby are just here to be Dedede's faithful supporters; cheering him on was their decision, not mine!"

 **Cilan: Since Mario regulated me (or rather, _forced_ me) to work on the wedding cake - not believing that I should ever take a break from doing so - I had Wii Fit Trainer take over from where I left off with King Dedede; I understand that she has been trying to make him lose weight and all, but I refuse to see the sight of a bitter King Dedede wailing about losing to Louie, or just about anyone for that matter! I've been bad-mouthed many times by Dedede for not allowing him seconds during dinnertime, whenever I cook dinner, I've already been through so much...**

 **Proto Man: *in a sardonic tone* "Why don't you get Samus to build you a mod that allows you to consume food?" Is Olimar stupid, does he not know the type of person Samus is? She's the type of woman that would leave you all alone to feel miserable at a blind date, and then text you the next day saying, "Oh, did I leave you all by yourself last night? Too bad...I guess." SHE DOESN'T FREAKING CARE ABOUT ANYTHING, OR ANYONE! Heck, she's the only individual I know that shows animosity towards Isabelle, Isabelle of all people! How can you be possibly mean-spirited to one of the most nicest folks you'll ever meet, how is it possible?**

"King Dedede, are you ready to meet your competitor?" Olimar entered the dining room to ask the penguin. "He's more than ready to face you - in fact, he claims that he'll kick your butt!" King Dedede laughed at Louie's boast, laughing so much that he was banging his fist on the table. Pit laughed along with the King of Dream Land, although he wasn't exactly sure why he was laughing to begin with...

"Your co-worker honestly thinks he can beat ME?" chuckled King Dedede, regaining his composure. Wii Fit Trainer had to check the penguin's blood pressure again, for his laughing could perhaps raise his blood pressure. "Where is he anyways, where is Louie? Show me who my mighty foe is!"

So Olimar motioned for Louie to enter the dining room, and when King Dedede's eyes fell upon the Hocotate Freight employee, the penguin broke into another laughing fit. If his blood pressure wasn't high already, then it must be now - a bit of a hassle for Wii Fit Trainer.

"That pipsqueak is gonna go up against me in the eating contest?!" questioned King Dedede, on the verge of tears. "This has got to be a joke, where's the real guy I'm going up against? Is he hiding somewhere?"

"Nope you're looking at the real deal, I'm your worthy opponent!" exclaimed Louie, wanting to prove that he wasn't no joke. "My grandma has said that I have a very voracious appetite, and soon, King Dedede, you'll see that..."

"Ooh, your grandma thinks your appetite is 'voracious', whatever the heck that word is supposed to mean, I'm soooo scared! Is voracious even a word, did your grandma make up that word on her own just to make you feel better?"

"Nah, she just told me to use that word to see if you had a failing vocabulary - and quite frankly, I'm afraid that she was right." Louie's remark effectively shut King Dedede's mouth, and also prompted Pit to go "Ooooooh...", like how a kid in school would say whenever someone gets in trouble during class and is sent to the principal office. Such a fate would constantly happen to Pit if he ever attended public school - and unfortunately for him he doesn't have the brain power to succeed in school anyways.

 **Louie: Silly King Dedede has been preparing for the eating contest by eating food...as for me, I've been preparing by keeping my mind sharp and my wits intact. From what I've heard from Olimar, King Dedede tends to cheat from time to time (most greedy folks like himself are prone to cheating), and so I'll have to keep a very close eye on him...and maybe his Waddle Dees as well. Those who look cute cannot be trusted!**

"Proto Man will be a part of the eating contest too, he had no choice but to participate," stated Olimar, not giving out the reason for why Proto Man was forced to be a part of the food competition. "I expect him to find a mod that will allow him to consume food soon..."

* * *

"Hard to believe Sonic practically indulged us to spectate the pet race outside," Donkey Kong discussed with his nephew Diddy Kong as the two Kongs walked through the mansion. Sonic was rounding up a horde of spectators, and he had to do whatever means necessary to sway the residents.

"Hard to believe that he promised us banana splits to be spectators!" remarked Diddy as he happily ate a banana. He and Donkey Kong saw Felicia and Flora speaking with Pac-Man up ahead; Diddy slyly smiled as he walked past the two maids, dropping his banana peel to the floor. "Oh no, I dropped my banana peel, whatever shall I do?" The spidermonkey said in a fake tone, with hands on his face to help convey the situation. Flora saw the banana peel lying on the floor, and gasped in fright as she whipped out a dust pan and a small broom and swept the peel onto the dust pan.

"Felicia, would you be a dear and discard of this banana peel in the nearest trash can?" the maid asked her younger sister; Felicia happily nodded as she took the dust pan and the small broom and ran off to complete her mission.

 **Diddy Kong: So the other maid takes her job seriously as well, did you see her freak out when I "accidentally" dropped my banana peel onto the floor? *rubs hands together* This is gonna be good...**

"You should be more mindful about where you leave your banana peels at, better be glad Felicia and I were here to clean up after you," Flora said to Diddy Kong. The spidermonkey certainly was glad...but for all the wrong reasons. "It shouldn't take Felicia that long to throw away a lousy banana peel...knowing her, she must have tripped on the floor and injured herself. She's quite the clumsy one...sorry Pac-Man, for I must leave and check on my sister..."

"Go on ahead, the Kongs will keep me company!" Pac-Man gave Flora a thumbs up; the Nohrian maid nodded her head as she set off to look for Felicia. "I take it you boys are heading outside to see that pet race? Got my money on Lucas's Boney, I think he has that underdog mentality just like Lucas!"

"I'm going for anyone other than Shaymin to win, hearing Sonic gloat about his pet Pokemon would be unbearable," Donkey Kong offered his take on who he wanted to win - a take that others surely share. "On the flipside however, if Shaymin loses, Sonic will complain about the race being 'rigged' and unfair...so either way, we're all going to lose no matter what."

* * *

Samus was in the workshop, joyfully repairing her power suit - if "joyfully" equated to having an extremely blank stare indicating that you were close to being done with life for good - when to her annoyance, someone stopped by at the workshop, that someone being Proto Man.

"Samus I need you to make me a mod that allows me to consume food, can you do that for me please?" Proto Man begged the bounty hunter, his hands clasped together in a begging motion. Samus groaned, and rolled her eyes, as she wheeled her rolling chair over to a cover sheet and pulled the sheet off, revealing a small bed.

"Get on here and I'll see what I can do..." Samus sighed, as Proto Man hopped on the bed and laid down; his feet made it past the bed, but he didn't care, he needed that mod real quick.

"Samus I put the Duck Hunt Dog in that pet race and I need him to win in order to show my girlfriend Nowi that I'm an excellent pet owner, would you mind giving him something that can make him go fast?" Captain Falcon ran inside the workshop, holding the Duck Hunt Dog in his hands; at this point, Samus wanted to cry out of utter frustration.

"Couldn't you have asked Ashley instead so she could give you a potion?" the bounty hunter asked; Captain Falcon just shrugged. "Put that stupid mutt on that desk, and make sure he doesn't urinate on my power suit..."

* * *

 **Fox: Sonic put us awesome dudes in charge of making a racecourse for the pets to race on... *whispers* ...and he also mentioned to lay out some booby traps for the racers to "unexpectedly run into"...you thinking what I'm thinking, Falco?  
** **Falco: Sonic wants us to rig the race in a way that Shaymin will come away with a victory?  
Fox: No, whoever said anything about that? Sonic is so insecure about laying out booby traps on the race field that he wants us to...you know what, you now owe me a dime. *holds out his hand to Falco* Pay up, son!  
Falco: *grumbles as he digs into his pocket and gives Fox a dime***

"How does the fencing look to you, Falco?" Fox asked his best friend after he finished hammering away on the last nail of the fencing. Falco, who was observing the makeshift racetrack from afar, gave the pilot a thumbs up. "Sweet, lemme go find Sonic and tell him we got everything set up!" Fox ran inside the mansion, as Zelda approached Falco.

"Master Hand says he doesn't approve you guys building a race track around the mansion, especially if it's blocking access to the front door," the princess of Hyrule relayed Master Hand's overall concerns about the pet race to the avian pilot. "Is there a way that you could perhaps move the fencing somewhere else, maybe in an open field?"

"Sorry princess, but no-can-do - Fox and I, we worked hard on building the racetrack, ain't no way we're gonna do more work taking the fencing down and moving it somewhere else!" responded Falco. He does realize he'll get into trouble with Master Hand for that remark, right?

"I don't care if you win or not Boney, I'm just happy that I have you around to keep me company," Lucas said to his pet dog, kneeling down at the dog's side and petting him as Kumatora looked on. Luigi, Mega Man, Red, Tails, and Cloud were also present outside with their respective pets, but Sonic was absent; according to some folks, the hedgehog was on the phone with Amy, apparently guaranteeing his girlfriend that Shaymin will win the race. Sometimes ego is a terrible thing.

"Aren't you glad I brought Boney?" Kumatora asked Lucas, who eagerly nodded his head. "To be honest, I don't care about the race either - doubt anyone would - but I'm happy that you finally have a companion other than Ness around. Ness can only do so much for you, and Boney here can do the things that Ness can't...like playing dead without flinching." This made Lucas laugh, and Kumatora would laugh too. Lucas's laughing would attract the attention of Luigi and company, all of whom weren't used to seeing the PSI whiz in such a jovial manner.

"Yeah, Ness would make for a terrible extra in a horror movie - hence why he wasn't cast in Wolf's horror flick. May I tell how how bad that movie was?"

* * *

The eating contest between King Dedede, Louie, and Proto Man was about to begin, with the three competitors gathered at the dining room table with plates of pizza, hot dogs, French fries, and burgers available. Mario, Cilan, Pit, Kirby, Olimar, and Wii Fit Trainer were present, with Cilan calling the action.

 **Wii Fit Trainer: The pessimist in me thinks King Dedede will win, the cynic in me thinks Louie will win, and the optimist in me thinks Proto Man will win...so as you could tell, I have no idea who I'll be rooting for. I just hope the three men in the eating contest to devote themselves to eating more healthy once the competition is over with.**

"Alright boys, here are the rules - in order to win, one must consume the food provided to them," Cilan explained the rules, rules that the participants probably knew already. "However, if any one of you stops eating for whatever reason, such as a full stomach, then you're out! Now are you three ready?"

"More ready than we'll ever be!" King Dedede gave Cilan a thumbs up. He and Louie felt pretty confident about their chances, Proto Man, not so much...

"Let's go King Dedede, you can do this, we're rooting for ya!" Pit cheered on, just learning that the penguin was in an eating contest.

"Don't let the lovely folks of Dream Land down, this one is for the Land!" added Kirby. Way to steal LeBron James's shtick...not cool, Kirby, not cool at all.

"I shall be starting off the countdown," stated Cilan, getting his bowtie adjusted. Like it had to be adjusted in order for him to do the countdown. "On the count of three...three...two...one...DIG IN!"

King Dedede and Louie all chowed down on the food, scarfing down the hot dogs and burgers and whatnot in madman fashion. Proto Man took a slice of pizza, and ate it...and was instantly amazed at how good it tasted. First time consuming pizza, and the robot suddenly wondered how much he was missing out on.

"I know I never had actual food before, but this is the best thing I've ever tasted!" Proto Man exclaimed, holding the pizza slice in hand and looking at it, soaking in its glory and goodness. Eventually the robot worked away on the burgers, hot dogs, and fries, also taken back by how those food items tasted. Just like that, he was now in the thick of things, fully competing against King Dedede and Louie.

But unfortunately for King Dedede, he would be out of the thick of things, when his stomach began rebelling against himself by grumbling, making King Dedede feel full and nauseous, unable to consume another bite. It was at this very moment that the penguin made a horrible mistake...a mistake of preparing for the eating contest by consuming food _prior_ to the food competition taking place. As a result, his stomach had reached full capacity, and that also meant the penguin would more than likely lose eventually.

"I don't feel so good..." King Dedede moaned...and just like that, the penguin fell onto the table, burger in hand, unwilling to continue anymore. Pit and Kirby, who were cheering on for Dedede, were just as shocked as Mario, Wii Fit Trainer, Olimar, and Cilan, but Louie and Proto Man, they kept eating away.

 **Mario: Ha ha ha, I just-a knew King Dedede would take-a an L and be the first-a to lose...but I will-a admit, Louie and Proto Man have-a definitely surprised me. Color me-a shocked!**

* * *

Outside the mansion, the pet race was set to begin - Shaymin, Suzie, Boney, Iyvsaur, Rush, Cloud Jr., Polterpup, and the Duck Hunt Dog were all set to go, with the pet owners and others serving as spectators (the non-pet owners were pretty much forced to spectate).

"Hey, where the heck is Rosalina with her pet Luma?" questioned Sonic, leading some to facepalm at the hedgehog. "A no-show, huh? Punked out at the last minute? I knew she and Luma were nothing but a bunch of chickens!"

"Tails who are you going for, are you going for your pet Suzie to win, I'm assuming?" Corrin asked the yellow fox, accompanied by Kamui, Felicia, and Flora. The prince thought taking his sister and the maids to the pet race would show them how cool of a guy he was...too bad he's not cool to begin with! Ayoooooo!

"I'm going for anyone other than Sonic's pet Shaymin to win, Sonic whining over a loss is bad enough, but Sonic gloating over a win is ten times worse," Tails offered his take. He didn't feel like being outside, but he had no other choice but to support his pet Vulpix, Suzie.

"You wish to see your best friend fail in a friendly competition?! What kind of friend are you supposed to be?! You should feel very, very ashamed of yourself!" Not wanting to be blinded further by Corrin's blatant ignorance, Tails moved to another part of the racetrack, away from the prince of Nohr.

"You guys ready to see this super awesome race?!" Fox asked the crowd of spectators; Sonic exclaimed "Yeah!", while others gave responses like "Meh" and such. "Yeah, I feel ya, I don't blame you guys...but like all the NASCAR races out there, the show must go on! Are all pets ready?" The pets quickly got into position. "On your mark...get set...GO!"

The pets all took off, but the Duck Hunt Dog - who received a "buff" from Samus - took off the fastest, circling around the racetrack and fastly approaching the finish line...only to burn out when he reached the checker flag, which was held by Falco. The mutt collapsed unto the ground, as he had completely ran out of energy and laid on the ground incapacitated.

"No, Duck Hunt Dog, it can't end like this!" a panicky Captain Falcon ran onto the racetrack, picked up Duck Hunt Dog, and stepped out of the racetrack, holding the mutt in his hands while looking up at the sky and crying, "NOOOOOOOOO!" So much for proving to Nowi that he was an "expert pet owner".

 **Samus: *smirking with her arms folded* Silly Captain Falcon wanted to impress his wee girlfriend Nowi, a woman he didn't even deserve...so, as a means of perhaps ending their relationship, I gave the Duck Hunt Dog a supplement that would make him go fast...and then burn out in an instant. If everything goes as planned, then the dog will run out of energy, and lose the race in dramatic but humorous fashion...and Falcon hopefully loses having Nowi as a girlfriend. Don't know what that chick sees in that man...**

Aside from the Duck Hunt Dog's burnout, the pet race went smooth for the most part...save for Polterpup and Cloud Jr., both of whom fell into the booby traps Fox and Falco laid out, pit falls the pets fell into. Mostly everyone gasped in shock when the pets fell in the pit falls, though a few weren't surprised.

"Sonic did litter the racetrack with booby traps, why am I not surprised," said Cloud, who wasn't even surprised in the slightest. Dude never let his guard down.

"How on-a earth could do such a thing?!" wondered Luigi, as he and Daisy were concerned about the safety and well-being for Polterpup. Yuffie would be concerned, but she was still at Luigi's home, likely still asleep.

"Yeah man, for real like, who would sabotage the race like that?" Sonic spoke up, only to bring attention to himself. At that moment, everyone knew the hedgehog was the culprit. It was also at that moment Shaymin was at the halfway point, sniffing some nearby Gracedia flowers - the flowers Viridi discovered in episode 54. Sonic caught his Pokemon in the act, and was angry. "Shaymin, andale, andale, get a move on, will ya?!"

Diddy Kong, in attendance, took out a banana and ate it, and when he saw Felicia and Flora nearby, the spidermonkey was ready to drop the banana peel on the ground for either of the two maids to pick it up...then all of a sudden Boney and Ivysaur, both vying for first place, rushed by, making Diddy drop the banana peel onto the racetrack by moving his arm forward. Felicia took sight of the peel, and leaped unto the racetrack to retrieve it...only to be knocked down by Rush. The maid fell to the ground, hurting herself, and Rush, sensing the pain the maid was in, barked loudly to call some medical attention upon Felicia.

"Felicia, NOOOO!" Corrin screamed as he ran onto the racetrack, checking on Felicia and inspecting for any injuries. Suzie neared Felicia, and stopped to see if the maid was doing just fine. "Please tell me your okay Felicia, answer me!"

"I'm just fine milord, nothing but a few scrapes and bruises," answered Felicia, although the pain was hard for her to deal with. She held her leg in pain as others looked on. Sucks that the maid had to go through this on her first day at the mansion.

"We need a medic over here, can someone heal Felicia?" It seemed like nobody was up for the task, until...

"I'm no medic, but I'm certain I can get the job done!" Wait, who was that? Who did that voice belong to? Everyone looked about, looking for the mysterious voice...

...and just then, Shaymin appeared, although she looked...very different, like she had taken on a different form. Instead of the hedgehog form so many were used to, the gratitude Pokemon now looked like a reindeer, maintaining the green and white motif. Shaymin descended upon the ground next to Felicia, with a Gracedia flower in her mouth; this flower was the very flower responsible for Shaymin's new form, the Sky Forme, which can only be initiated during the daytime.

 **Pac-Man: Maybe Sonic was right, Shaymin does have a second form...great, now Sonic will run his mouth even more about how awesome of a pet Shaymin is since so many people have seen Shaymin's second form...but on the plus side, a certain someone _did_ do us all a huge favor.**

"Here, eat this, it's a Sitrus Berry!" Shaymin handed Felicia a Sitrus Berry, which the maid ate. "It can heal you and give back a portion of your health. Kept it around in my fur! Not sure if it works on humans, but it's worth a shot..." After consuming the berry, Felicia suddenly looked like she was feeling better. "So did it work?"

"It most definitely did, I feel better already!" Felicia gleamed, as Corrin helped the maid up and walked her out of the racetrack. She wasn't at a hundred percent, but at least she could stand up to her feet again. "That berry did the trick!"

"Yeah that's great and all...SHAYMIN HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN THAT YOU'RE DOING A RACE?!" Sonic yelled at his pet, garnering Shaymin's attention. Only Sonic would put a race over Felicia and her well-being.

"Too bad Sonic, for we already have a winner!" Falco announced; Sonic looked up in shock as Lucas's pet dog, Boney, had crossed the finish line; apparently the race went on while Felicia was being tended to, and Boney took advantage of the opportunity and won, beating out Iyvsaur in a closely contested battle for first place.

"You did great Boney - a bit surprised at the final result, but you did a great job regardless!" Lucas congratulated his pet dog as he petted him. The PSI whiz who initially didn't care one bit about the race was suddenly jovial about Boney's victory, and Kumatora shared Lucas's joy. However, Sonic was bummed out that his precious little Shaymin didn't win the race that _he_ started up, and the hedgehog felt even more bummed out when Cloud and Luigi interrogated him.

"We need-a to talk, now..." Luigi said sternly to Sonic, wishing to discuss what went down with Polterpup and Cloud Jr.

* * *

The eating contest was drawing to a close, as Louie and Proto Man were eating away until there was one man left standing. Louie looked like he had this one in the bag, until his stomach felt like it was about to give up. The astronaut picked up a French fry, and looked it at...he wanted to eat it, but something in his mind told him otherwise. But he had to do what he had to do...

"Grandma...this one...is for you..." Mustering all his strength, Louie ate the fry...and then collapsed unto the table, admitting defeat. To add insult to injury, he only had a plate of French fries left...as for Proto Man...

"Well dress me drag and blackface and call me Jynx - Louie has refused to eat another bite, and Proto Man has eaten all his food, which means Proto Man is the winner!" announced Cilan, as the dining room erupted into an euphoria of applause from Mario and company. Weird analogy by Cilan...cultural critics are gonna have an absolute field day with him.

 **Proto Man: Super happy that I won the eating contest, gotta thank Samus for that mod...though I wish I had a trophy for my efforts. But hey, I beat King Dedede in a fair competition, so that's a huge plus.**

"Come to papa..." Kirby said as he sucked up the remaining fries Louie didn't eat, even sucking up the plate. Speaking of Louie, Olimar came over to comfort his fellow employee, whose head was still lying on the table.

"Nice effort you gave Louie, really proud of ya," Olimar gave Louie a comforting pat on the back. Louie's grandma must be proud, too.

* * *

"Don't worry Falcon, it's not the end of the world, you're still a great pet owner!" Nowi assured her boyfriend, Captain Falcon, as the two were in the fitness center. Falcon was carrying the Duck Hunt Dog in his arms, like the mutt had died or something. (When will he have the guts to tell Nowi that he's not really a full-fledged pet owner?) The couple were waiting to seek treatment from Wii Fit Trainer, who was tending to Felicia - accompanied by none other than Corrin - when Sonic came forth, with Shaymin, still in Sky Forme, leading the way.

"C'mon Sonic, say it, you know you have to!" Shaymin encouraged her pet owner, who was looking down at the floor in a disgruntled manner. "The blonde guy and the mustached man put you up to it!" As you might tell, the gratitude Pokemon was still in the process of learning names.

"I just want to say that...I'm sorry for wasting your time and forcing you to attend that pet race," apologized Sonic. Luigi and Cloud had the hedgehog apologize to them for sabotaging their pets, and also apologize to everyone else involved in the pet race for wasting their precious time when they could have been doing important things. "Also sorry for not caring about your safety...Felicia, is that right?" The maid nodded her head. "When I saw the pet dog Lucas had, I wanted to show everyone that my Shaymin was better...and it wasn't worth it."

"Apology accepted, glad you learned a lesson today," replied Corrin, anticipating that the lesson Sonic learned will be forgotten in due time. Diddy Kong also approached Corrin and Felicia, and he was feeling genuinely apologetic, looking down with his baseball cap in his hands.

"I would like to say sorry too, Corrin..." the spidermonkey began, "...sorry for messing around with your maid. I kinda figured that since she takes her job as a maid seriously, much like her sister, she would constantly clean up after me, and I can always leave my banana peels lying about and expect it to be disposed of right away...but I should have known better. Discarding the banana peels should be my duty, not anyone else's."

"Well, Felicia, do you accept Diddy Kong's apology?" Corrin asked his maid, and Felicia nodded her head. "Guess it's all settled then...all wrongdoings have been put aside, and now we can go forward in peace!"

* * *

"Aw, Kumatora, do you really have to go now?" Lucas asked the princess, who was standing at the front door. Boney was at the PSI whiz's side, panting happily. Who pants happily? Only dogs do.

"Someone has to preside over Osohe Castle," replied Kumatora, with her hands on her hips. "Besides, Duster and Wess must be worried sick about me!" Apart from Lucas, Olimar and King Dedede were also saying farewells, farewells to Louie.

"You surprised me King Dedede, and in a big way - I didn't expect you to be the first man out," Louie said to King Dedede, discussing the eating contest. The penguin in question was drinking a literal gallon of Pepto-Bismol, to ease his stomach.

"Yeah whatever, you're just lucky that I helped you win!" retorted King Dedede, not knowing that it was Proto Man who had won. The king was a bit unconscious when the robot won. "Go home and enjoy your victory, for all I care!"

"Actually I didn't win, it was Proto Man...but I suppose I'll get going. Goodbye Dedede, goodbye Olimar - tell Proto Man I shall challenge him in another eating contest in the near future!"

"Will do!" Olimar gave Louie a thumbs up as his co-worker exited the mansion. Perhaps Louie could also challenge Wario, his appetite is also pretty big.

"See ya around," Kumatora finally said goodbye to Lucas as she too exited the mansion. She waved to Lucas, and Lucas waved back, as the princess closed the front door behind her. Proto Man witnessed this as he walked by.

"Was that supposed to be Lucas's girlfriend?" the robot quietly asked King Dedede and Olimar, who both didn't know the answer to the question. Surely Lucas did.

 **Mario: Lucas and-a Kumatora as an item? *shakes his head* Nah, can't-a see that happening...but Corrin and Felicia as an-a item? *nods his head* Now that's a relationship that might-a last for a lifetime...**


	57. Episode 57: Duffelbag

_Author's Note:_

 _Guest reviews to answer, let's get to it...first anonymous review:_

 _"Do you plan on adding more characters from Nintendo, Sega, Namco or Capcom? Here's some ideas, Adeleine and Ribbon from Kirby 64, Pauline and Stanley the Bugman from Donkey Kong, Reiji, Xiaomu, Saya, and Sheath from Namco x Capcom and Project X Zone, KOS-MOS and T-elos from Xenosaga, Segata Sanshiro, and Alex Kidd, and finally Captain Commando and Strider Hiryu. P.S. sorry for the long list, great chapter by the way."_

 _Yes, yes, and YES! I'd be more than welcome to add those characters to Smash Life. Thank you very much for the list. Second anonymous review:_

 _"Nice chapter but can you add more of the blue blur?"_

 _Of course I can, Sonic is one of the unofficial main characters of the story. I only had him appear minimally in the previous chapter so I could focus more on Mario, Bowser, and Dark Pit. Third anonymous review:_

 _"I have a idea. A random person( Xinbger) is giving lucina good jokes. Which Pit and Kirby have to solve the cases( because lucina will alsways have corny jokes) These jokes turn into heartless when said"_

 _Xinbger...Xinbger... *shudders* Although your idea sounds promising, it sadly cannot work, since Heartless can't turn from corny jokes. Roydigs22, whose favorite smasher is Lucario (haha, I got it right!) is back with another suggestion for his favorite:_

 _"I also have another story idea: lucario, wanting to fulfill his canine instincts, delves into, and aces, the wonderful world of barbecue (you know, lucario is a jackal, something like that"_

 _Lucario will be getting into barbecue soon, just you wait and see. Smasherfan88 has returned, with two questions and two requests. First question:_

 _"1. Is Master Hand looking for any new fighters? Since there hasn't been an "Offical" smash brothers match yet"_

 _Not, not unless a new fighter (one who is a playable character in Smash) has been confirmed for the new Smash game, if a Smash game for the Nintendo Switch has been confirmed. Second question:_

 _"2. Since Star Wars and Jar Jar was mentioned, is it out of the realm of possibility to see Star Wars characters that debuted in games like Galen Marek/Starkiller or Dash Rendar thus not really breaking Sakurais rule number one of that a character must have debuted in a video game (though I'm fine if others that didn't debute in games appeared)"_

 _Hmm, I don't know...I mean, I played Star Wars: The Force Unleashed a couple years back back in the summer of 2011, so I'm already familiarized with Galen Marek and his character/personality, but as for him making an appearance...who knows. First request:_

 _"Could we see some sort of story based around Sonic and the Inkling Boy And Girl (also I suggest calling them Agent 3 G and Agent 3 B, for the inklings, cause game references) and their hatred of water? (Since water does splat inklings and sonic can't swim)"_

 _I'll still call them Male Inkling and Female Inkling; the agent names may not be used unless I do something Octo Valley-related. But a chapter revolving around the Inklings, Sonic, and their fear of water can be done. Second request:_

 _"And could we see the Dubstepping DJ Octavio in the future? (and if master hand is looking for newcomers still, make him one?, if not that's fine, just would think him and the star records crew would have...interesting interactions)"_

 _Oh yeah buddy...I can DEFINITELY make that happen, just without Octavio staying at the mansion. Derick Lindsey has questions concerning the Nintendo Switch:_

 _"The Nintendo Switch chapter sounds like it will be pretty good and will Link and Zelda change in any way just like Red changed into a 20 something year old due to Pokemon Sun and Moon, like change their outfits or look different physically whether it's for that chapter only or it could be a permanent thing? Also which games are you looking forward to the most this year as in both the 3ds and the switch?"_

 _The games I look forward to this year on the 3DS and the Switch (provided I get both consoles this year) are Breath of the Wild (unanimous choice), Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Sports Superstars, Splatoon, Fire Emblem Warriors, and the new Sonic game. And as for Link and Zelda, they will only change their outfits - no change in physical appearance, since they are different incarnations from the Link and Zelda in Breath of the Wild. J300 has returned with more lovely suggestions:_

 _"Do you think you could maybe put either Bowser Jr. or the Koopalings in a new chapter? I'm thinking of who hasn't had much screen time and that's what comes to mind."_

 _I have been seriously underrating Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings the more I write this story, and sadly I couldn't find a scenario for the kiddies to appear in this chapter. I will make plans to have them appear in the next one though. Moving on:_

 _"One other suggestion: Do yz think Team Rocket and Xigbar at one point be in the same episode, either as allies or getting in each other's way?"_

 _Funny thing is, I had planned on having Team Rocket and Xigbar work together in a chapter last year, prior to Xigbar revealing his identity, but the idea never came to fruition. Expect Team Rocket and the Organization XIII to have some future run-ins. One more review to answer, this one from MegaHeracross2.1; since he disabled private messaging on his account, I'll answer his review here:_

 _"I know it is called "Smash Life", but can we see how relationships on the off days influence the matches."_

 _Nah, I can't really do that, much of Smash Life is mostly restricted to whatever goes on inside the mansion, no focus on the matches. MegaHeracross2.1 also has some ideas, which I had overlooked in his previous review:_

 _"1. All of the people that don't have emotions or barely show them would be a part of the Loners Club. The founding members would be Mewtwo, Lucario, Meta Knight, Lucina, Rosalina, Ashely and Cloud. The reason they formed this group, you ask? Because Joker Link disturbed the residents in the Smash Mansion so badly that they all became his slaves! Only the people without emotions are safe (and Luigi, since he doesn't live in the Smash Mansion). But after everybody is saved, they must disband. They'll pretty much be like the League of Legs (look it up)._  
 _2\. Yoshi finds something that makes his biggest dream come true: to make all his pairings come to life. It's up to Mewtwo and the robots to save the day!_  
 _3\. Put a smasher in the Empty Room (QuixoticQuiddity wrote about it.)."_

 _The first and third ideas will be merged together, since I know the show where the League of Legs came from and I don't want to deal with anything from that show. I just...as a DC fan, I just can't, if you catch my drift. (And no, there won't any Joker Link disturbing residents and making them their slaves, sounds too complex.) The second idea will be done in a later time._

* * *

 **Episode 58: Decorative**

For Hisui and Kohaku Hearts, the first week at the mansion had gone smoothly for the two siblings. Master Hand and Mario, the head honchos of the mansion, treated the Hearts with respect and courtesy, and Wario never bothered the two about handing him money, as the fatso would tend to do with newcomers. Kohaku also took a liking to the Pokemon in the Pokemon sanctuary, but the girl was particularly fond of Luigi's pet Rotom; when the plumber brought the plasma Pokemon over to the mansion one day to microwave Sonic's chili dogs (Peach had warned Sonic not to use the microwave in the kitchen to microwave his chili dogs, since the dogs would eventually explode, the hedgehog took it upon himself and begged Luigi to use his microwave, and the plumber just allowed Sonic to use Rotom instead), Kohaku took a great interest in the plasma Pokemon, amazed by its ability to alter forms.

As for Hisui, the eighteen-year old has mellowed out as the week wore on and grew to be more easygoing with others, though he wouldn't hesitate to unleash his fits of anger upon anyone who dared to bother his little sister Kohaku. Bowser was one of the more prominent folks to mess with sweet little Kohaku, and the Koopa King has never bothered the girl ever since Hisui snapped on him.

However, Hisui would have to worry about another annoying mansion resident, and his name was none other than Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog. The Heart siblings were not yet that familiarized with the speedster, as Sonic would spend more time bonding with Shaymin and Amy than hang around the siblings and get to know them better. It has completely gotten to the point where the hedgehog would forget how Hisui and Kohaku both looked. So when the hedgehog encountered Hisui in the hallway...

"What's up Alice Cooper, loving that tan of yours!" Sonic greeted the teen, holding his hand up and expecting a high five. "Also liking those eye contacts, they really make your eyes pop out more!" Alice Cooper? Since when did Hisui ever look like Alice Cooper, of all people?

 **Hisui: No, I haven't really gotten a chance to strike a conversation with Sonic. From what I've heard from the others, he's a jerk, but judging from the observations I've made about Sonic from afar, he's not really that bad of a guy...perhaps he picks and chooses who he wants to be a jerk too.**

"Who are you calling Alice Cooper - I'm Hisui Hearts, I'm the new guy around here," stated Hisui, having to reintroduce himself to Sonic...who was scratching his head curiously, trying to remember the teen's name. Hisui sighed, having to give the hedgehog a few hints to jog his memory. "My sister and I fled here after being chased by someone from the Organization XIII, and your folks were kind enough to allow us to stay."

"Oh, so YOU'RE Hisui Hearts - this whole time I thought you were some Vietnamese matchmaker who was interested in improving Yoshi's fanfiction writing skills!" exclaimed Sonic, after a brief moment of confusion. Hisui really wanted to facepalm right now. "Glad we finally got that cleared up! So I take it the girl with the funny white bodysuit is your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend, I thought I made it clear that she's my sister. Do you not see any resemblance between the two of us?" Sonic stroked his chin as he mused over Hisui's question. "You know what, never mind, forget about it...so where are you heading off to, Sonic?"

"Well since you're so interested, guy-who-knows-my-name already...I'm heading off to the lounge, to help Tails with some stuff regarding the Super Bowl." Hisui did not know what this Super Bowl was, but given the name, it sounded important, almost intriguing.

"Mind if I tag along? I've honestly never heard of anything about this 'Super Bowl', so I wish to see what it's all about." Hisui's offer both delighted and concerned Sonic, for the hedgehog felt the teen and his sister were missing out on so much. His goal? To fill Hisui and Kohaku in on the Super Bowl as much as possible.

"The Super bowl is one of man's greatest creations, a real American treat! I shall tell you everything you need to know about the Super Bowl and more, just follow me and I shall show you the way!"

* * *

Tails wouldn't be the only person doing preparations for the Super Bowl - Master Hand tasked Marth to buy some food supplies for the Super Bowl party (early bird always gets the worm, as the giant hand had persuaded the hero-king), and what better way for Marth to get the shopping done than to have the Romance Club do the work for him?

"Here is the shopping list of stuff we'll need for the Super Bowl," Geno handed Marth a lengthy shopping list that Master Hand penned. Gotta give the giant hand some credit for writing up the list with his gigantic fingers. "The items highlighted are the food items we must get, everything else we can buy at a later time if it's not at the store. Master Hand says that the underlined items are the food items that will supposedly make the party 'glorious'." If only Geno had arms so he could raise his arms to the heavens, like how WWE superstar Booby Roode would do during his entrance. Also should have been more enthusiastic as well when saying "glorious".

 **Marth: *glancing at the grocery list in his hands* So chicken wings, potato chips, miniature sausages, and pizza rolls are deemed "essentials", but things like fruit and vegetables aren't... *distastefully throws list unto the floor behind his back* Why must it be always about junk food at Super Bowl parties, why not healthy food to even things out? Is Master Hand purposefully trying to raise our cholesterol levels?!  
King Dedede: *sees grocery list on the floor* Ooh, some good ol' toilet paper, just what I need! *grabs list and runs off*  
Marth: No Dedede, come back here, that ISN'T toilet paper! *chases after King Dedede***

"Go tell the club members to meet up here in the foyer," Marth told Geno, raveling up the grocery list. "...and don't forget to bring our 'rookie' and his girl. I'll explain why he'll be coming along with us soon, now go get the boys before Captain Falcon does something stupid, like Falcon Punching that portrait of me for example. He already destroyed the first one, and if he obliterates the new portrait I got...ooh, he will pay..."

So Geno departed from the foyer, and a while later, he returned with Chrom, Ganondorf, Wario, Captain Falcon, and the newest member of the Romance Club - Corrin. The prince of Nohr was accompanied with Felicia; Geno persauded the prince to bring the maid along.

"Alright then men, now that you're all gathered here, we're ready to embark on a shopping trip, one where we shall purchase these items for the Super Bowl party," announced Marth, holding up the grocery list. Wario saw things like chicken wings and pizza rolls underlined, signifying their importance; clearly Master Hand knew what was up. "Captain Falcon, is the Blue Falcon all ready to go?"

"Wait, so we're taking a ride in my Blue Falcon?" the racer perked up, as Marth groaned - but the hero-king wasn't surprised by Falcon's unpreparedness in the slightest. Captain Falcon seldom prepares for things, he just rushes into action all willy-nilly without a trace of thought. "It's a little rusty, but I can get it started up!"

Captain Falcon dashed outside through the front door, and went to go look for his Blue Falcon (yes, look, apparently he doesn't even know where he last left his racing vehicle at) so he could start it up and take the Romance Club members (and Felicia) to the store. It was Corrin's and Felicia's first time going shopping, and they were both weary about what may happen.

"Sure hope there aren't any aliens out in the public, especially those behind human disguises!" fretted Corrin, addressing his concern over extraterrestrial life; Felicia gave the prince an assuring smile as Robin spied on the maid and the prince from afar...and then shot a quick glare at Marth.

* * *

"Peach, Zelda, I thought-a you said this-a would be fun," Mario told Peach and Zelda as the plumber and Link were making quilts - NFL-themed quilts, that is. Mario and Link were making an Atlanta Falcons quilt, and Peach and Zelda were making a New England Patriots quilt. Both teams will be vying for the Vince Lombardi trophy in the Super Bowl, come February 5th.

"But Mario, making quilts _is_ fun...unless Master Hand forces you to make quilts," remarked Peach, before bowing her head in sadness. "Then it's not fun at all..." Master Hand's capable of making universally anything not fun; if he saw a bunch of kids at an ice cream truck having fun, he would make it not...that way, by setting the ice cream truck on fire and laughing manically about it. There's so much to hate about the things that Master Hand chooses to be...why must he be the way that he is?

 **Peach: Master Hand was the one who came up with the silly idea of having quilts at the Super Bowl party...he wants the two quilts to be hanging at opposite sides of the living room, with the Patriots quilt on on side, and the Falcons quilt on the other side. Then whoever picks the Patriots to win stays on the Patriots side, and** **whoever picks the Falcons to win stays on the Falcons side. Given the large brand of the Patriots, I suspect a majority of everyone will be flocking to the Patriots side...**

 **Link: Mario you wouldn't...judge me if I told you I was a Minnesota Vikings fan, huh? I only like them because vikings have swords and they pillage and... *shrugs* ...that's pretty much it.  
Mario: I have a confession to-a make too...I'm a pocket New York-a Giants fan! Bet you already know-a why!  
Link: Yeah, yeah, I know the story, you and Luigi were plumbers in the sewers of New York City...now I gotta ask you, why'd you leave the plumbing business, was saving Peach too big of a priority, or were you and Luigi too great at doing your jobs?  
Mario: I guess-a you could say it was-a both...some-a times greatness leads to big-a opportunities.**

Robin entered Peach's room and saw the princess and company, making the quilts. The mage then eyed at Mario and Link, wondering which one he should goad into being a part of his plan, a plan that he could very well be a part of, thought it would make things obvious. Robin would soon make his decision...

"Link, I need you to go with Marth and the others to the grocery store and spy on Corrin," the mage told the Hylian. "I'm afraid Marth is teaching Corrin how to be romantic with Felicia, and I don't want him stealing my thunder..."

"Why do you want Link for, isn't the Romance Club members going with Marth?" Zelda questioned Robin, Corrin's love mentor. Robin may not be the best mentor for love out there, but he certainly utilizes his experiences with Lucina very well. "Also, what would be the point of Link spying on Corrin in the first place - it's not like Link has a phone to relay information!"

"Yes Zelda, I know Link doesn't have a cellphone on him...which is why when he returns from the shopping trip, he'll tell me everything I'll need to know and more about the things Marth has done with Corrin." What if Marth strayed away from Corrin at the store and focused on buying the food, what would Link have to say then? "So Link, are you in...or are you out?" The way Robin was looking at Link, the Hylian had no other choice but to say yes. Say no, and Robin may lose his cool.

"Any other instance I would say no...but I'm getting pretty tired of making these dumb quilts, so I suppose I can go with Marth and his crew," was Link's reply. Not that the Hylian didn't mind going out shopping, but he would take that over quilt making any day of the week. "But you're gonna have to take my spot in the quilt making, you know that, right?" Robin nodded his head.

* * *

"Cloud you absolutely have to check out this room, it's the bomb!" Master Hand said to the ex-SOLDIER as he led him through the hallways of the mansion. Usually whenever Master Hand says that something is the bomb...it really isn't. "...or is it? I don't really know..."

"And yet you claim to be the all-knowing one," remarked Cloud, wanting to go back to his room. Should have remained in a bathroom when he the chance, Master Hand wouldn't have bothered him then. "I expected more from the creator of the Smash universe."

"I would smite you for making such a rude, snarky comment, but since I respect you too much, I suppose I'll let you off the hook!" Master Hand showing respect for a lowly brawler?! Even Cloud himself was surprised by this, and very rarely did the man feel surprised at all.

 **Master Hand: Cloud won't be the first individual to take a sneak peek at this new room I found, mind you - I found some folks worthy enough to check this room out, and I'm assuming they all like it. In fact, I offered them a chance to stay in their room, to get a feel for it, you know? You know how when you try new things, you gotta get all comfy and eased, so you can always expect the unexpected.**

"We're finally here, this is the room!" Master Hand announced as he and Cloud stood in front of a door; Cloud had seen this door before, but he never bothered to look inside. Something about the door just looked...almost suspicious, yet interesting at the very same time. "Cloud I must ask of you, you must see what's inside this room at once! Do it, and I won't leave you alone for the rest of the day!"

"If it will make you shut your mouth...your nonexistent mouth, that is...then I'll do it," replied Cloud as he opened up the door...and saw Mewtwo, Lucario, Meta Knight, Lucina, Rosalina, and Ashley, all inside a room that was perpetually empty. No chairs, no windows, no light - just a pitch black room, with Lucina using her phone as a means for lighting. Just when Cloud was ready to question Master Hand, the giant hand flicked Cloud inside the room, making him fall unto the floor. A cameraman from the documentary crew was also thrown inside, to capture the events that went on in the room.

"Hope you enjoy your little stay in the Empty Room Cloud Strife!" Master Hand snickered evilly as he closed the door, locking it. Cloud slowly got up, and saw the others looking at him. Lucina shone her phone light on the swordsman, just to make sure it was him.

"Glad that you could join us Cloud...although it seemed like you were forced to stay in here," the princess was the first to speak. Lucina knew how Master Hand was able to goad her into entering the Empty Room; the giant hand had told the princess that Robin found the room, and was stuck inside, and it was up to Lucina to save her man...only to find out that Robin wasn't in this room and that she was perfectly fooled by Master Hand. Though she was a princess, Lucina's naivety knew no bounds.

"You can say that again, I can't believe I actually followed up Master Hand," replied Cloud, shaking his head. He'd rather be stuck inside a bathroom than in the Empty Room, at least with a bathroom, you have _some_ lighting, lighting that fills up the entire room. "But this is what I get for my very careless nature..."

"It's not entirely your fault, you know how much of a master manipulator Master Hand can be," stated Meta Knight; the Star Warrior himself was manipulated when Master Hand told him that his two enemies, Galacta Knight and Dark Meta Knight, were lurking inside the room, and Meta Knight took it upon himself to defeat his enemies once and for all...and that's how he ended up inside the Empty Room. "I just wish we had something to eat, before we become starved...I could really go for some malasadas right about now..."

"What I'm more concerned about other than food is how long we have to stay in this room," said Mewtwo, looking around for some escape hatch. Hard to see in the darkness, when the light from Lucina's phone is the only source of light you have. "We can't really stay in her forever, we do have lives after all."

 **Mewtwo: Being the psychic-type Pokemon that I am, I have the ability to use Teleport. I would teleport out of this room, but Master Hand said that I would face punishment if he saw me out of the room. I can't afford to force his hand (no pun intended) and wind up in a uncompromising situation as a means for my punishment...I've been punished this one time where I broke an expensive vase in the foyer, and Master Hand forced me to bathe Wario, a man too lazy to even brush his teeth or trim his mustache, as punishment; I simply refuse to bathe that man Wario ever again. Literally had to hold my nose the entire time I bathed Wario...**

"I'm worried about Luma's safety - Master Hand refused to let him inside this room, for whatever reason," said Rosalina; although she had her trusty wand, she didn't have her dear Luma, and she felt somewhat incomplete without the star at her side, especially during such situations like the one she was in.

"Master Hand also refused to allow my assistant Red inside the room, and he never said way," added Ashley, who thankfully had her spellbook with her so she wouldn't feel bored. Now would be a great time to try out some new spells on the others. "I fully expect Red to keep my room tidy, and not let any miscreants inside..."

"I just hope that we all can maintain our sanity, there's not much going on in here, and boredom could lead to some bad things..." remarked Lucario, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. "Suppose I'll take a quick nap, just wake me up until we're released from this wretched room..." Lucario is gonna sleep against the wall? What a way to go...

* * *

Of all the people living in the mansion, nobody was more excited for the Super Bowl than Falco. Why was the avian pilot so excited, you might ask? It was because he's a diehard Atlanta Falcons fan, partly because of him being a falcon and all. The moment the Falcons won the conference championship game and earned a right to play in the big game, Falco has been walking around the mansion, wearing his beloved Julio Jones #11 jersey, flaunting it like a boss.

But today, Falco's Falcons jersey suddenly went missing! When the pilot woke up this morning to put his jersey on, he looked inside his closet and saw that it wasn't there! He then looked in the laundry baskets of the laundry room, and his jersey wasn't there either. So Falco assumed someone must have stolen his jersey, likely because the culprit was salty about the pilot's team being in the Super Bowl and not theirs, and so some interrogations had to be done...

"You and me, I don't think we ever see eye to eye..." Falco said as he walked about in the darkened interrogation room, which unlike the Empty Room had a ceiling light, though it wasn't used right now. "When I went over my list of key suspects who may have stolen my jersey, I couldn't overlook your name my any means, for you, my friend, are far too suspicious to not be held accountable for your actions...which leads me to ask this million dollar question...was it YOU who stole my Falcons jersey?"

"Pika pika pi?" Pikachu questioned as he sat in the interrogation chair, with Falco pointing at the mouse Pokemon with a crazed look on his face. "Pika...CHUUUU!" To make Falco pay for his zany assertions, Pikachu zapped the avian pilot with his signature move Thunderbolt. After being shocked and falling to the floor...

"Aha, so it really was you all along!" ...Falco sprung back up and accusingly pointed at Pikachu once more, looking even crazier than before. "You honestly thought electrocuting me would make me forget about you being the perpetrator? Nice try buddy, but your tricks won't work on me!"

 **Pikachu: *facepalming while shaking his head* Pika pika pika pi...pika pi.**

"Falco you in here buddy?" Fox asked as he entered the interrogation room with a cup of coffee; Falco immediately ambushed him, placing both hands on the fox's shoulders and making him drop his coffee to the floor. Thankfully the cup had a lid over it, so not that much coffee was wasted.

"Great news Fox, I actually found the bozo that stole my Julio Jones jersey, it was Pikachu all along!" Falco told his best friend, pointing at an innocent Pikachu. The mouse Pokemon looked on, veritably confused as ever. "Go get Master Hand and tell him to take that yellow thing to the Pokemon slammer!"

"I don't think Pikachu would be interested in stealing someone's sports jersey, it's not like the little fella really knows what's going on in sports," Fox calmly said as he gently took Falco's hands off of his shoulders. Pikachu took great offense to Fox's comments; just because he had the inability to talk didn't necessarily mean he doesn't know what's going on in the real world. "Nobody stole your jersey Falco, it's just a fabricated conspiracy all made up inside your head..."

"Somebody stole my jersey Fox, it's the only explanation for its disappearance. So if it's not Pikachu, then who else could it be?" What if Falco's jersey was never stolen - what if Ashley used some magic potion on the jersey, causing it to sprout legs and walk away? That would be very illogical for Falco to think about, however.

"How about you just go back to your room and just chill, while I find the culprit," Fox pushed his buddy Falco out of the interrogation room, and promptly closed the door immediately, so he could have a quick word with Pikachu. "Between you and me, Pikachu...I know what happened to Falco's jersey. Just need you to do me a quick solid..."

* * *

Sonic and Hisui met up with Tails, Toon Link, Young Link, Ness, and Jigglypuff in the lounge, with Amy Rose joining the crew on late notice. Not wanting her to be left behind, Hisui brought his little sister Kohaku to the lounge, so she could be a part of things.

"Glad you all could be here today, for what I hope will be a very constructive day for everyone involved," Tails started things off, briefly glancing at Sonic when he said the latter part of his sentence. The hedgehog may or may not be a distraction, depending on his mood. "We're going to work on a giant banner, a Super Bowl banner, and it will have two teams on it, the teams playing in the Super Bowl - Hisui, Kohaku, do you know who these teams are?"

"Wait so the Super Bowl isn't some fancy dish or something like that?" asked Hisui, who assumed the Super Bowl was anything other than an American football game played on Sundays and watched by millions.

"The New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons are the two teams participating in the Super Bowl!" Sonic valiantly answered for Hisui and Kohaku, even though Tails didn't even call his name, for the hedgehog knew the answer already.

 **Sonic: Yeah, I would have filled Hisui and Kohaku in on what the Super Bowl was all about, but sometimes when you're a novice, you gotta start off small, real small...and that's what I'm doing with the Hearts. Can't fill their heads with too much knowledge, otherwise their brains would explode! As much as I would want to do that to them and literally see their brain go kabloom and see brain bits and blood splattered all about, that would be no way to treat our newest residents...Corrin doesn't know that much about the Super Bowl, does he? Perhaps I should make _his_ brain explode!**

"Thank you Sonic, would have preferred one of the Hearts siblings to answer the question, but I can't fault you for providing them the answer," thanked Tails, with Sonic responding with a thumbs up. "Here's how we're gonna do things - Sonic and I will do the Super Bowl 51 logo, Toon Link and Young Link, you'll do the Patriots logo, and Hisui and Ness, you'll do the Falcons logo. Amy, Jigglypuff, and Kohaku, you three ladies will look online for pictures of the players playing in the game. I've created a list of the three most notable players from both teams, so you'll know who to look for."

"Sounds like a good plan, it's a good thing I've been practicing drawing the Patriots logo for some time now," said Toon Link; all of his unnecessary practicing has finally led up to this moment, the work he put in was suddenly meaningful now.

"Jiggly Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff found the list of Super Bowl players on a nearby table and scanned the list. Tom Brady's name was at the top, no surprise there - he's arguably one of the most popular players in the NFL, and some even say that he's perhaps the greatest quarterback in history. After Brady's name, all the other names looked pretty foreign to the balloon Pokemon, as it probably would be for most casual folks.

"You do know how this Falcons logo looks like, do you?" Hisui asked Ness, and while the PSI whiz may be a upstart baseball pro, he was also knowledgeable in other sports as well. "Me, I'm far from a sports guy, so I don't wanna screw things up for everyone..."

"Don't worry, I know how the logo looks and stuff, and trust me, it doesn't have to be detailed," assured Ness. "It just has to look very similar to the real deal, it must be fully recognizable." Hisui and Ness could draw the Falcons throwback logo, which would be a lot easier to draw (go look online for yourself), but the two had to keep things current.

* * *

"Nowi has such the prettiest laugh, feels like whenever she laughs flowers bloom on a flowery meadow..." Captain Falcon sighed happily as he went grocery shopping with the likes of Chrom, Ganondorf, and Wario at a nearby Walmart store. (Marth should have shopped at Kroger, but like Mario, he didn't know any better.) The other three Romance Club members had to put up with Falcon talking up a storm about his woman. "Her personality is absolutely off the charts, even if she acts like a little child!"

"Never thought I would say this, but your girlfriend is less mature than you," remarked Chrom; Captain Falcon took great offense to the prince's remark, believing what he had said was a lowkey insult at Nowi. "The fact that you even have a girlfriend and that Nowi sees something in you that other women don't is flat out surprising."

"Don't be jealous that I have a better _Fire Emblem_ girlfriend than you Chrom, quit being so salty!" Chrom wasn't even salty to begin with...

 **Wario: I saw him, I actually saw him...the Emperor Palpatine-looking guy I saw in the mall weeks ago! He was in the bread aisle, looking for some raisin bread; I tried to show him to the others, but those three bums refused to listen. When we passed by Corrin and his crew of Marth, Felicia, Geno, and Link, I told Corrin all about the guy (since he has been fond of the _Star Wars_ series as of late), and now Corrin has made it his duty to find the Emperor Palpatine lookalike before our shopping trip is over! And I'll make sure to keep a close distance from Corrin if he ever meets the guy, he would be downright humiliating for everyone involved...**

"Enough of all this chit chat about girlfriends and whatnot, it's gettin' on my nerves!" frowned Wario. "I'm so glad none of the items we have to purchase are that expensive!" The fatso, having a big money grip, was appointed by Marth to pay for the groceries, a decision Wario wasn't very fond of because it involved him bringing his mostly unused wallet to a public place.

"Is it just me or did we somehow end up in the electronics section?" Ganondorf questioned, as the four men suddenly came to a stop when they found out they were in a a section of Walmart filled with flatscreen televisions, video games, and all sorts of other stuff you'd find in the electronics section. Chrom, Ganondorf, and Wario glared at Captain Falcon, the man pushing the shopping cart, who was so busy running his mouth that he kinda took a detour while shopping...

"Hehe, silly me..." the racer could only chuckle as his Romance Club buddies suddenly felt an indignation to beat him to a certain extent.

* * *

"Yeah, I would have had you stuck with the others, but I was afraid you wouldn't be able to put up with Captain Falcon's ridicolous crap," Marth explained to Link as the swordsmen and Geno stood next to a shopping cart of food in the frozen aisle, while Corrin and Felicia were picking out bags of pizza rolls and deciding which type of pizza rolls the residents would enjoy more. Not exactly a big decision on their part, but most of the residents can be very picky and particular...

"You can say that again," said Link, who suddenly felt the need to ask Marth and Geno an important question, with an answer he could relay to Robin. "Why are you two just standing around and making Corrin and Felicia do all of the shopping?"

"It's a way to help the two build some sort of chemistry with one another," responded Geno, as he watched Corrin interact with Felicia very intently and taking notes in his head. "Whatever experience they have at Walmart, they can apply back at the mansion and grow as a couple. Sure, they may disagree and argue in this setting, but it's for the best - no pain, no gain." Geno has suddenly taken a great deal of interest in Corrin's relationship with Felicia, don't you think?

"Ah, I see what you're doing here...and I'm kinda liking it." Would Link keep Geno's answer to himself and not relay any information to Robin? More likely than not, doing so would stop some temper flares between the tactician and the hero-king. And Lucina wouldn't want her man feuding with one of her ancestors.

 **Geno: The shell life of Corrin's relationship may be a month, presumably because Felicia would grow tired from having to put up with Corrin's naivety. What Marth and I are doing with Corrin at the store is to work out any kinks he may have with Felicia so that no problems may arise in the future...Wait, what was that you said?...Flora takes a certain liking...towards _Dark Pit?_ Dark Pit, of all the people... *looks away in utter disbelief* I need a minute, be right back... *hides behind a nearby aisle, silently laughs to himself, then reappears* Ah, glad I got that out of my system...**

Link continued to watch Corrin and Felicia from afar with Marth and Geno, until a giant hand grabbed the Hylian and dragged him away to a restroom...the _women's_ restroom. He would seemingly be dragged there for a good reason, for he was face-to-face with a female being, one that he has adventured with during his travels in _Twilight Princess._

"M-Midna?!" Link stammered this oh so familiar name, as the being standing...or rather, _floating..._ in front of the Hylian, grinning her teeth. There was no mistaking it, it was indeed Midna, and strange enough, she was in her imp form, not her true form. Then again, she appears in imp form in most Smash battles when summoned, so there's that. "What are you doing here, of all places?"

"Surprised to see me again, and at a public setting like this, no?" Midna smirked, as she laid in thin air like she was laying on a bed, her chin resting in the palm of her hand. "Never would imagine a so-called 'hero of Hyrule' going on a shopping spree, I take it that the Goron Mines are freezing over?"

"Tell me why you dragged me all the way to the women's restroom, I don't wanna be here! I'm a guy!" Just then, a women exited one of the restroom stalls, washed her hands and dried them, and suddenly stopped in her tracks when she saw Link standing near the doorway. To add insult to injury, the women didn't even see Midna; the imp must be hiding.

"Freaking pervert..." the woman shook her head in disdain as she left the restroom. Link tried to call the woman back to clear things up, until Midna magically reappeared after hiding herself away in the wall.

"Ha ha ha, that woman called you a pervert...and I bet it wasn't for your childish getup," the imp snickered, as Link looked down at his tunic and pants. He didn't think his attire was that childish, it must be his green cap that would make people think that way.

"You never told me why you're here Midna, does Zelda even know about your presence?" asked Link, really wanting to change the subject from the way he dressed. "She is the princess, after all, she should know..."

"Of course you would place a high priority on the princess of Hyrule, some so-called hero of fate you're supposed to be...but since you're so concerned about your woman, I'll just tell you that I haven't spoken with her...not yet, at least. Regardless, I have some important information to feed you...some _very_ important information." Midna shot a glare at the camerawoman in the restroom recording the conversation, signifying how secretive the conversation was, and so the camerawoman scurried out of the restroom in fear.

 **Midna: Our conversation went nicely, Link learned a lot of things from me, and I've learned a lot of things from him, so we're both at an equal understanding. However, the information I gave to Link, I shall give to Princess Zelda, and those two shall NOT, by any means, tell another soul what they have learned from I. Just so Link wouldn't be tempted to spill any beans, since I trust him less than I trust Zelda, I've forced him to agree to a deal he cannot turn down...**

* * *

"Banner's looking real great, you guys, can't believe we're almost done!" Amy remarked as she looked over at the work of Tails and company. Indeed, they were close to finished, as the boys were putting on the finishing touches on the magnificent banner. However, not all the boys were there, one was missing...

"Yeah I can't believe it either, we truly came a long way and our hard work is paying off!" agreed Sonic, who stood over the banner with a cup of coca cola in his hand. The hedgehog hardly worked on the banner at all - he made poor Tails work entirely on the Super Bowl logo by himself, while he treated himself to some food and drink and whatnot. Sad thing is, at the end of the day, Tails will still be a friend of Sonic's, but what you're about to see the hedgehog do may or may not put a strain on the friendship between Sonic and Tails.

"Easy for you to say Sonic, you've been doing nothing but slacking off and not working. Also since you're drinking, can you please get that cup away from..." Tails tried his best to warn Sonic, but it was too late - the hedgehog took a step forward and tripped, spilling his soda all over the nearly completed banner. Tails looked at the soda stain left on the banner, his eyes twitching and his breathing increasing, before erupting into an uncharacteristic fit of laughter.

"Look what you've done Sonic, you've made poor Tails go crazy!" Amy scolded her boyfriend, as Tails was now on the floor laughing, with Ness and the others having to contain the yellow fox and bring him back to his sanity. Seeing a genius act uncontrollably was a sight for sore eyes, not unless that genius was a mad scientist whose experiment has either gone well or awry. Sonic saw that Amy and company had printed out pictures of the players in the Super Bowl (Tom Brady and others) and knew the only thing that could perhaps ease the situation...he intentionally spilled the rest of his drink on the pictures, making them wet in the process.

"There, now the banner AND the pictures have been ruined, so everything has been ruined in harmony!" As Sonic said this, many of the folks surrounding him were glaring at him, disgusted with his actions.

* * *

Cloud and company remained in the Empty Room, with the swordsman reflecting on his life, Lucina toying around with her cellphone, Rosalina being concerned about Luma, Lucario sleeping away, Ashley reading her spellbook, Mewtwo looking for a way out, and Meta Knight...well he honestly wasn't doing anything to begin with, he had left his sword back in his room.

"You know if I could I would eat you and your spellbook on the spot," the Star Warrior told Ashley, feeling a sudden need to consume something. Ashley, now placed in an awkward situation, opted to say nothing to Meta Knight, and continued glossing at her spellbook. The Empty Room was making even Meta Knight act different...

 **Master Hand: How long do I plan on keeping the seven in the Empty Room? Haven't decided yet, maybe I can keep them inside the room forever, for all eternity! *laughs evilly* Cloud Strife? Link can always befriend another blonde swordsman, and Aerith's from an alternate universe so her relationship with Cloud wouldn't matter anyways! Ashley? Red can be an assistant for someone else! Lucina? Pfft, I'm positive the kingdom of Yliesse will be in good hands after Chrom steps down or passes away, they won't need Lucina!  
** **Isabelle: *from behind* Master Hand, Meta Knight is trying to eat Ashley's spellbook, you think that we should...  
** **Master Hand: Woman, if you don't get back to my room and survey the seven in the Empty Room on that computer, then I'll force you to ask K.K. Slider out on a date! I know how much you love him! *Isabelle scurries back to Master Hand's room* Now where was I? Oh yes...Rosalina? Peach can serve as the mother of Lumas! Lucario? I'm sure he would love to stay in the Empty Room forever! Meta Knight? Nobody likes that loner bum but Kirby! Mewtwo? *pauses* Hmm, I don't have anything to say about Mewtwo...I'll just say he's the greatest legendary Pokemon to ever exist, and leave it at that.**

Cloud yawned and stretched his arms; staying inside the Empty Room was awfully making the swordsman feel very tired. After Cloud was finished yawning, he suddenly saw a black creature in the Empty Room, one with yellow eyes and antennae...

"Guys stand back, I detect a Shadow Heartless in the Empty Room!" the ex-SOLDIER alerted everyone, whipping out his Buster Sword. Rosalina and the others watched in confusion as Cloud slashed away at the nothingness in front of him; evidently the swordsman was hallucinating. The mighty powers of the Empty Room. Lucario woke up and saw Cloud going completely ham on the nothingness, and wished to help Cloud snap out of his hallucinating trance.

"Woah Cloud, chill out man, there's nothing there!" the aura Pokemon walked up to the swordsman from behind and grabbed him with his arms, pulling him away from the nothingness. "It's all in your head man!" Cloud aggressively pushed Lucario away, thinking that there was something wrong with _him._

"Can you not see that I was finishing off that Shadow?!" the swordsman angrily pointed at the nothingness, only to look back and see that there was no such Shadow present. That was when Cloud realized that he was hallucinating, and all he could do was sheepishly chuckle, it was the only thing that would make him feel less awkward than the awkwardness of the situation in general.

* * *

With Robin's help, Mario was able to finish the Atlanta Falcons quilt, and the plumber and the mage were finished before Peach and Zelda were done with their New England Patriots quilt! Of course, the two princesses were left in shock.

"You three may not know this, but I did some quilt making in secrecy back at Yliesse, it was a hobby I picked up during the war," Robin would tell Mario, Peach, and Zelda as the four headed down to the living room, where Pit and Viridi were apparently setting up Super Bowl decorations, under the orders of Master Hand. That giant hand couldn't wait until next week to have someone put up the decorations, could he?

"All done with those quilts?" Pit asked Mario and company as he was plastering a Fathead of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan on one of the living room walls. Viridi was replacing the couch pillows with football pillows. "Give that Falcons quilt to me so I can hang it up on this side, and give the Patriots quilt to Viridi so she can hang it up on the other side!"

"Pit can you go see if Mr. Game and Watch is done with the tablecloths?" Viridi asked the angel, and Pit flew away in an instant. The goddess of nature then turned her attention to Mario and company. "Master Hand has us doing so much decorating today, and he has yet to give us a single break...all this work is very tiring...though I don't mind in the slightest."

 **Pit: I'm going for the Falcons to win the Super Bowl, only reason being is that falcons have wings just like me...or do falcons really have wings to begin with? I know for sure Falco is a falcon species, but yet I wonder if his hands are actual hands, or wings that look like hands. Falco is such an ambiguous bird in general, at one point I thought he was an eagle!...Eagles _are_ a type of bird species, right?**

 **Viridi: Personally I have no interest in watching the Super Bowl, no point in watching a sports competition consisting of male humans wearing football tights fighting over some lousy pigskin. However, I will say that watching the game (and the halftime show) would be a great experience if I sit next to Pit, therefore I probably should reserve a spot next to him, before someone like Kirby beats me to the punch. I'll try my hardest not to ask Pit any unnecessary football questions, don't want to be that kind of girl watching an American football game...**

 **Mr. Game and Watch: Aw yeah, my first talking head segment, been waiting forever since the documentary first started for this very moment...What was your question again? Who am I going for in the Super Bowl? The Patriots, 'cause they have Tom Brady, Tom Terrific!...Man, that's such a bad nickname, I feel bad for even saying it...**

"Football-themed tablecloths, coming right up!" Mr. Game and Watch appeared in the living room with Pit, as the 2-D man draped the living room tables with the tablecloths. "Don't know why Master Hand wanted us to decorate so early, he really takes this 'early bird gets the worm' thing to the nth degree!"

"You can say that again, Master Hand likes taking things to the extreme sometimes," smiled Robin as he looked up at the decorations, eyeing the Patriots and Falcons Fatheads on the wall. "If only my Saints made it to another Super Bowl, maybe next year..." Seriously, when did Robin become a fan of the New Orleans Saints? When did he become a fan of the NFL to begin with?

"My oh my, this living room looks too nice!" remarked Master Hand as he magically appeared in the living room, checking everything out. "Pit, Viridi, you two have done a stellar job at decorating the living room, I never doubted you both for a single second!" Don't believe in that lie, Pit and Viridi, Master Hand was hoping you two would fail just so he could point and laugh in your faces. One of the many ways Master Hand receives enjoyment and pleasure in his life.

"I kinda helped out too by designing the tablecloths," stated Mr. Game and Watch stated, raising his hand, but Master Hand paid him no mind whatsoever, leading the 2-D man to hang his head in shame. The hand was instead inspecting the quilts done by Mario and company, and was astounded by what he had seen.

"And these quilts, these quilts look like they came from...from...from a quilt store!" Yeah, a quilt store. Not a fabric store, a _quilt_ store. Nice one, Master Hand, nice one. "Fresh and new, that's what they look like! Mario and crew, you have simply outdone yourselves!"

"It was all thanks to Robin," remarked Zelda, as the mage flashed a confident smile and thumped his chest. Not that often you see Robin doing that.

* * *

"Dryer keeps acting up, huh?" Fox asked Luigi as he stood in the laundry area of the plumber's room, with Pikachu at the pilot's feet. "Dumb thing has been acting up since the start of the new year, hasn't it?"

"Every week-a or so it wants-a to stop working, it's quite-a frustrating," Luigi confirmed with the nod of his head. While Luigi and Daisy were able to use the washing machine, and Rotom's Wash form as well, washing the clothes wasn't a problem - the only problem was drying them. "You think there might be some-a electrical bugs plaguing the machine?"

 **Luigi: Drying our clothes-a at the mansion isn't-a so bad...it's not like-a the laundry mats down-a town where creepy folks look-a at you like they're creepers, and old-a ladies want to pinch-a your butt, not to mention the strange-a voices that I hear some-a times... *shudders* I think one-a of the laundry mats in-a Seattle may be haunted...**

"Well it's a good thing I brought Pikachu along," said Fox as Pikachu stood in the forefront. "Alright Pikachu, you know exactly what to do, just do your thing and Luigi and I will stay out of the way..." Fox and Luigi backed away from Pikachu, as the mouse Pokemon started generating electricity in his cheeks.

"Pika...CHUUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt on the drying machine...and purged a Shadow Heartless out of it. Luigi shrieked as he jumped into the arms of...well, no one, really, so he landed on the floor on his butt, while Fox took out the Heartless with his Blaster. The pilot then pressed a button on the dryer, and just like magic, the machine instantly turned on - everything was back to normal, it seemed.

"Your dryer is finally up and running again, hopefully that Heartless was the only one present in this house," remarked Fox, putting his Blaster back where it was. Luigi was slow to get up, as he rubbed his now aching butt.

"Thank-a you Fox, and you-a too Pikachu, my dryer would not have-a worked again if not for you," Luigi thanked the pilot and the mouse Pokemon; with the dryer working again, the plumber could resume his laundry duties in the pleasure of his own home. "Now where-a is Rotom, I got some-a clothes for it to wash!"

"In that case...would you mind washing something for me? It's something that Falco's been wearing all week long, he practically sleeps in it too on some nights...so it's been stinking up the joint. I want it to be as fresh as possible in time for the big game, and Rotom may do the trick..."

* * *

With the Romance Club (and Felicia) gathering every single item on the grocery list, it was now time for Link, Marth, and the entire group to finally check out their stuff. It was now the moment of truth for Wario...would the fatso purchase the food with his own money, or would he turn down due to his stingy ways?

"Your total amount will be...$598.24," the cashier told Wario after tallying up all the prices. As you would might assume by the price, Marth made Corrin and Felicia buy a lot of stuff. "Do you have a Walmart savings card with you, good sir?"

"Knew we should have went to a self-checkout station, would have gotten away filthy rich..." Wario grumbled as he pulled out his wallet and whipped out his Walmart card. He looked up and saw a familiar face heading towards the exit. "Hey, look you guys, it's that Emperor Palpatine guy I was talking about not so long ago!" Wario pointed at the man in question, though Marth and company didn't bother to pay the man any mind...but Corrin was intrigued.

 **Corrin: Emperor Palpatine is one of my favorite _Star Wars_ characters, unlike that horrendously hideous fool Jar Jar Binks. I love how he has a black hood over his head, which increases his mystique and makes him look somewhat polarizing. As much as I would want to wear a black hood like him around the mansion, I can't afford anyone to sound any false alarms and claim me to be one from the Organization XIII.**

"Emperor Palpatine, is that really you?" Corrin broke away from the group to inspect the man that supposedly looked like the _Star Wars_ characters. The man just looked questionably at the prince, who inspected his face and came to a wonderful conclusion... "It really is you Palpatine, what a good pleasure to see you in person, at a superstore of all places!" The man looked around pointing at himself, wondering how he looked like Emperor Palpatine to begin with. Corrin was already starting a scene, what with customers a many looking at him, but the prince would prolong the scene and embarrass his fellow brawlers in the process when he got down on one knee, kneeling before the man and said, "What is thy bidding, my master?"

"Corrin you buffoon, get back here this instant!" Marth yelled at the prince, acting like he was his mother. That was how it looked to some, Marth being a father figure to Corrin. "You're not Darth Vader, and that man is NOT Emperor Palpatine! He's just a regular guy!"

Corrin would ignore Marth's command and continue to kneel in front of the man, awaiting instruction, and Link, who was standing nonchalantly, saw Midna float out from his body, much like how she did in _Twilight Princess._ This was the deal Link had to agree to - Midna would reside in Link's body, and would appear to Link at various times (or if Link calls her out).

"Are you seriously going to let that boy make you and the others look like complete fools, or are you going to do something about it?" the imp questioned Link, pointing at an absent-minded Felicia. That girl's meant for Corrin, you just don't even know. "She likes Corrin, doesn't she? Here's an idea for you, doofus - get her to knock some sense into Corrin's head!" Once Midna returned to Link's body, Link knew in that moment what he must do.

"I believe you should go talk with your man," Link whispered in Felicia's ear, and Felicia's eyes widened. Was it worth the shot, would Corrin listen to her?

"You really think it would make him stop acting like a fool?" asked Felicia, as Link responded with a confident nod. So the maid went up to Corrin, still kneeling down on the floor, and whispered to him, and just like that, Corrin stood up, apologized to the man for believing he was actually Emperor Palpatine, and quickly walked back to the others, with Felicia at his side. Those who stuck around as Corrin was being Corrin also walked away, all dying to tell their loved ones the story of an albino lad mistaking someone for being Emperor Palpatine and wanting to serve them.

"Nothing like some romance to solve all of your problems..." Midna remarked from inside Link's body, her voice loud enough for the Hylian to hear. Captain Falcon, who had a keen sense of hearing, suddenly heard Midna's voice and looked around to see where the voice came from.

* * *

 **Tails: Our second banner is almost done, and we've worked harder on this banner than we ever did on the other one - hard work, no matter the quality or quantity, always pays off! Though our working ability was much improved since I demoted Sonic...and speaking of whom...**

Sonic was tied to a Xatu, a mystic Pokemon (Tails would have tied up his best friend to a totem pole, but he couldn't find one, and the Xatu wasn't the closest thing to a totem pole), with an apple in his mouth, as Tails and company were putting on the finishing touches on their second banner.

"Looks like we're finally done!" remarked Young Link, wiping away the sweat from his forehead, as he and the crew looked at the banner. "This banner looks awfully better than the original one!" Perhaps because there were football players added to it, it's all about the aesthetics.

"Now that we're done with the banner, what's next on our agenda?" asked Kohaku, whose curiosity over the Super Bowl increased with each and every waking minute she worked on the banner. "Will we give Master Hand a sneak 'preview'?"

"Correctamundo - Master Hand literally begged us to make this banner, so he should be the first to see it," confirmed Tails, as he grabbed one end of the banner, and Toon Link grabbed the other. "We should show the banner to him right away, he should be in his room right now." Tails and company walked out of the lounge with the banner, leaving Sonic behind with Xatu.

"Um guys, are you forgetting someone, someone IMPORTANT?!" the hedgehog spat out the apple and called out to the group, though nobody bothered to come back and untie him; not even Sonic's girlfriend Amy cared to untie her man. "You can't possibly leave me behind, I deserve better than this!"

* * *

Cloud and company remained in the Empty Room, dying to taste the sweet taste of freedom, when Mewtwo suddenly found an object in the room as he searched for a way out - it was a knife! The psychic Pokemon picked up the blade and looked at it, making sure that he wasn't hallucinating like Cloud had earlier.

"Mewtwo what's that you got there in your hand?" Lucario, who was done napping, asked the psychic Pokemon, who held the knife behind his back. Way for him to make himself look even more suspicious...

"Nothing in particular, I was just...checking out a piece of lint on the floor, but it's gone now," answered Mewtwo, backing away as much as possible from the others. Ashley looked behind Mewtwo's back, and saw the knife in his hands, able to see the blade in the faint darkness.

"MEWTWO HAS A KNIFE!" the young witch exclaimed. It was the most expressive the girl had ever been...and the expression she eschewed was _fear._

 **Master Hand: Got a real icebreaker for you folks...the Empty Room is not just a room...it's a game. A competition where only one winner, and I mean one, can come away with victory. The victory is sweet, but the prize may be even grander...**

"Oh man that's not a good sign..." Lucario quickly got on the offensive, and Cloud and Meta Knight would do the same, both swordsmen behind the aura Pokemon. Lucina, Rosalina, and Ashley wearily looked on. "Hand over the knife Mewtwo, we know how predictable you are..." Mewtwo refused to give up the knife; he pointed the blade at Lucario, seemingly threatening the aura Pokemon and his allies.

"That's it I'm calling Father..." said Lucina, who finally had the gall to call someone, as she dialed Chrom's phone number...only to remember that Chrom was still at the store, most likely heading back home right about now. The call wouldn't have mattered anyway, for the call strangely failed when the voice messenger claimed that the number couldn't be reached. "My phone doesn't seem to be working, the phone service must be down in this room! What gives?"

"Back away from me, and nobody gets hurt..." warned Mewtwo, the knife still pointed at Lucario and company. Lucario took a step forward, and Mewtwo reacted quickly, pulling the knife up so he could potentially harm Lucario. "YOU ASKED FOR THIS LUCARIO!"

"Congratulations Lucario, you have passed the test!" Isabelle happily exclaimed as she opened the door to the Empty Room; everyone looked at the shih tzu, including Mewtwo who was about to stab Lucario with the knife. "Out of the seven individuals in this room, you showed the most courage and bravery...not that you showed any, Meta Knight and Cloud...and it left a bit of an impression on Master Hand!" The giant hand in question was behind Isabelle, waiting to tell Lucario what he shall receive for being the supposed winner.

"Did I hear someone say...courage?" the Flying Man arrived at the scene; Master Hand looked at the mythical beast and pointed down the hall, as the Flying Man walked away holding his head down. He might be everyone's courage...but just not now.

"Master Hand, would you like to tell our winner Lucario what he shall receive as a prize for his efforts? After all, you did pick him to be the 'winner'..."

"I very well shall, I can guarantee what I tell Lucario will knock his socks off!" replied Master Hand; Isabelle stepped out of the way so Lucario could see the giant hand in full focus. "You see, Cloud, Ashley, Meta Knight, Mewtwo, Rosalina, Lucina, and most importantly you, Lucario...this was a competition between seven of the most boring and expressionless folks in the mansion." That didn't offend any of the seven in any way. "What I had Isabelle do was not only make this room empty and dark, but to also put a knife. The goal was for someone to find the knife, and the other person to see the person with the knife and stop him...and that, my good friends, is how Lucario became the winner, because he single-handedly prove that even the most drab person can be heroic and courageous in times of need! Now Lucario's time for your prize..." Master Hand saw that Lucario's eyes were widened, and his pupils were dilated. "Alright Lucario, I haven't even said what the prize was yet, so calm down..." Lucario wasn't so concerned with the prize, for he had something else in mind...

"FREEDOM!" the now-crazed aura Pokemon ran out of the Empty Room, finally freed from the room. The mighty Empty Room had a winner...and a victim, all in one.

 **Cloud: From now on, whatever Master Hand says, I shall take with a grain of salt. This guy claimed that he respected me too much...so much that he had the audacity to call me "boring and expressionless". Easy for him to say, considering he doesn't even have a face...**

* * *

"Master Hand is gonna flip out when he sees how well we did the banner!" an excited Toon Link gleamed as he, Tails, and the others walked through the hallway, dying to show their work to the creator of the Smash universe. However, they did not expect a frantic Lucario to run by, running through the well put together Super Bowl banner and tearing it in half in the process as he kicked an unsuspecting Alph out through an open window in the hallway.

"TELL MY STORY!" the young astronaut yelled out to no one in particular as he fell out of the window and onto the ground, only to get up and see that he was still alive. Heihachi Mishima was nearby, apparently growing some plants in the garden.

"Anata wa watashi no gādeningusukiru no tame ni watashi o handan suru tsumori wanaidesu ka?" Heihachi asked Alph, worried that the astronaut may be judging the kung fu fighter for gardening, and not training or anything of that nature. "Watashi mo fukami o kakushite iru, anata wa shitte iru!" Now back to the inside of the mansion, where Master Hand and Isabelle, both of whom were chasing down Lucario, only to stop when they saw the torn Super Bowl banner. And Master Hand was so very disappointed.

"So you bums have been working on the Super Bowl banner for Lord knows how long, and THIS is all you have to show me?" Master Hand scolded Tails and company, believing the torn banner was the final product, like the banner was ripped in half solely on purpose. "I expected more from all of you, especially you Tails - just stick to inventing new technological crap kid, decorating things ain't your thing." On that remark, Master Hand and Isabelle continued on their way.

"Anyone here got any super glue to patch the banner up?" Tails asked his comrades, not in any way fazed by Master Hand's comments.

* * *

Earlier in the day Fox told Falco to stay in his room and not worry about his Falcons jersey...but Falco, being an impetuous one, did not listen at all. The avian pilot was still convinced somebody stole his jersey, and so he was back in the interrogation room, interrogating another culprit.

"As I narrowed down my list of culprits, I had a very glut feeling it would be you responsible for the heinous crime," said Falco, walking back and forth. "Once I crossed off the last name on the list, my suspicions were indeed true...it was YOU who stole my Julio Jones jersey!" Falco pointed at Pichu, who sat on a small stool with the bird's finger in his face. "Admit it, you hate Julio Jones, you think he's the most overrated receiver of all time! Well let me tell you buddy, that he's the best of all time; Michael Jordan is half the athlete Julio Jones is!"

"Pichu Pichu?" questioned the tiny mouse Pokemon, wondering why Falco was naming him the culprit when he did nothing wrong.

 **Pichu: *arms folded with his head to the side* Pichu Pichu Pichu Pichu!**

"Again with the random interrogation, really Falco?" Fox questioned as he entered the interrogation room, holding something behind his back. "Way to stoop real low man, this is getting pathetic..."

"Got some good news Fox, the real culprit has been found!" exclaimed Falco. "It was Pichu all along, he think he could use his cutesy appearance to get away with..." Falco would suddenly shut his mouth and gasp when Fox revealed to him his Falcons jersey, fresh and clean like it was just brought from the store. The avian pilot quickly grabbed the jersey, and held it close to his chest. "Where'd you find it Fox?"

"I didn't find it anywhere, I just took the jersey out of your room and kept it around until I had Rotom wash it. Wash Rotom is way better than the washing machines we have in the mansion, boy where do I begin..."

Fox didn't have to begin anywhere, because before he could get into details, Falco gave the pilot a bro hug, thanking him for returning the jersey. Evidently the Falcons jersey meant a lot to the avian pilot, it was a sign of his Falcons pride.

* * *

"You all ready to go?" the male Inkling, carrying two paint guns with red and blue, asked the female Inkling, carrying a machine gun with black paint. Both were in the living room, with Mario and company hiding away.

"I'm ready when you are!" the female Inkling replied, and so the two Inklings fired away at the living room walls, spraying the colors of the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons all with cover sheets on the furniture and floor. Once the kiddies were done and Mario took the covering off, the living room looked revitalized, with colors of red, blue, and black to go with the already present decorations.

"Nice-a work you two, this living room-a is OFF THE CHAIN!" exclaimed Mario, making a very cringeworthy attempt at being cool. Peach, Zelda, Robin, Pit, Viridi, Mr. Game and Watch, and the Inklings all cringed at the same time.

"Wow is this how the living room will look like for the Super Bowl?" Villager appeared, marveling at the living room and soaking in all the colors and decorations and such. "Don't care if this is temporary, this is the best living room EVER!" Villager sat on one of the couches, and grabbed a TV remote and turned the television on. It's safe to say the young lad will be spending more of his time in the living room, for the time being.

"Who wants some good ol' malasadas, for a job well done with the living room?" asked Dunban, poking his head through the living room door. "I'm sure Master Hand our Super Bowl party guests will appreciate the hard work you folks did!" Everyone was on board for some malasadas, as Mario, Peach, Viridi, Mr. Game and Watch, and the Inklings would follow the Homs to the kitchen; Zelda and robin were about to head off too, when Link entered the living room, having returned from the shopping trip.

"So Link, tell me the details that I need to know," Robin asked the Hylian, quick to ambush; he wouldn't even give Link a chance to settle down! "Did Marth do anything with Corrin, anything at all?"

"Well to be honest with you, Marth was a bit...laissez-faire with Corrin and Felicia, so to speak," replied Link, telling the mage the honest truth. "Barely even talked to the guy, just focused on ensuring the grocery list was complete...

"NO WAY MAN, I CAN'T DO THAT, WHAT KIND OF PRIZE IS THAT?!" Lucario yelled from afar, his booming voice catching Link and others by surprise. "You seriously put me in that Empty Room just for that?! What sense does that even make?!" Master Hand just informed the aura Pokemon on his "prize", and clearly Lucario didn't like his prize one bit.

"...what was that all about?" Zelda asked Link, Robin, and Villager, all of whom either shook their heads or shrugged. "Oh well, whatever 'prize' Lucario won, we'll find out later, you boys up for some malasadas?" Robin and Link nodded their heads, and followed Zelda to the kitchen, while Villager stayed behind, refusing to leave the living room.

"These 'malasadas' better be tasty..." Midna silently murmured as she remained in the body of Link, hoping to make her presence known to Zelda soon. She had to speak with the princess ASAP, whenever the time was right.


	58. Episode 58: Decorative

_Author's Note:_

 _Guest reviews to answer, let's get to it...first anonymous review:_

 _"Do you plan on adding more characters from Nintendo, Sega, Namco or Capcom? Here's some ideas, Adeleine and Ribbon from Kirby 64, Pauline and Stanley the Bugman from Donkey Kong, Reiji, Xiaomu, Saya, and Sheath from Namco x Capcom and Project X Zone, KOS-MOS and T-elos from Xenosaga, Segata Sanshiro, and Alex Kidd, and finally Captain Commando and Strider Hiryu. P.S. sorry for the long list, great chapter by the way."_

 _Yes, yes, and YES! I'd be more than welcome to add those characters to Smash Life. Thank you very much for the list. Second anonymous review:_

 _"Nice chapter but can you add more of the blue blur?"_

 _Of course I can, Sonic is one of the unofficial main characters of the story. I only had him appear minimally in the previous chapter so I could focus more on Mario, Bowser, and Dark Pit. Third anonymous review:_

 _"I have a idea. A random person( Xinbger) is giving lucina good jokes. Which Pit and Kirby have to solve the cases( because lucina will alsways have corny jokes) These jokes turn into heartless when said"_

 _Xinbger...Xinbger... *shudders* Although your idea sounds promising, it sadly cannot work, since Heartless can't turn from corny jokes. Roydigs22, whose favorite smasher is Lucario (haha, I got it right!) is back with another suggestion for his favorite:_

 _"I also have another story idea: lucario, wanting to fulfill his canine instincts, delves into, and aces, the wonderful world of barbecue (you know, lucario is a jackal, something like that"_

 _Lucario will be getting into barbecue soon, just you wait and see. Smasherfan88 has returned, with two questions and two requests. First question:_

 _"1. Is Master Hand looking for any new fighters? Since there hasn't been an "Offical" smash brothers match yet"_

 _Not, not unless a new fighter (one who is a playable character in Smash) has been confirmed for the new Smash game, if a Smash game for the Nintendo Switch has been confirmed. Second question:_

 _"2. Since Star Wars and Jar Jar was mentioned, is it out of the realm of possibility to see Star Wars characters that debuted in games like Galen Marek/Starkiller or Dash Rendar thus not really breaking Sakurais rule number one of that a character must have debuted in a video game (though I'm fine if others that didn't debute in games appeared)"_

 _Hmm, I don't know...I mean, I played Star Wars: The Force Unleashed a couple years back back in the summer of 2011, so I'm already familiarized with Galen Marek and his character/personality, but as for him making an appearance...who knows. First request:_

 _"Could we see some sort of story based around Sonic and the Inkling Boy And Girl (also I suggest calling them Agent 3 G and Agent 3 B, for the inklings, cause game references) and their hatred of water? (Since water does splat inklings and sonic can't swim)"_

 _I'll still call them Male Inkling and Female Inkling; the agent names may not be used unless I do something Octo Valley-related. But a chapter revolving around the Inklings, Sonic, and their fear of water can be done. Second request:_

 _"And could we see the Dubstepping DJ Octavio in the future? (and if master hand is looking for newcomers still, make him one?, if not that's fine, just would think him and the star records crew would have...interesting interactions)"_

 _Oh yeah buddy...I can DEFINITELY make that happen, just without Octavio staying at the mansion. Derick Lindsey has questions concerning the Nintendo Switch:_

 _"The Nintendo Switch chapter sounds like it will be pretty good and will Link and Zelda change in any way just like Red changed into a 20 something year old due to Pokemon Sun and Moon, like change their outfits or look different physically whether it's for that chapter only or it could be a permanent thing? Also which games are you looking forward to the most this year as in both the 3ds and the switch?"_

 _The games I look forward to this year on the 3DS and the Switch (provided I get both consoles this year) are Breath of the Wild (unanimous choice), Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Sports Superstars, Splatoon, Fire Emblem Warriors, and the new Sonic game. And as for Link and Zelda, they will only change their outfits - no change in physical appearance, since they are different incarnations from the Link and Zelda in Breath of the Wild. J300 has returned with more lovely suggestions:_

 _"Do you think you could maybe put either Bowser Jr. or the Koopalings in a new chapter? I'm thinking of who hasn't had much screen time and that's what comes to mind."_

 _I have been seriously underrating Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings the more I write this story, and sadly I couldn't find a scenario for the kiddies to appear in this chapter. I will make plans to have them appear in the next one though. Moving on:_

 _"One other suggestion: Do yz think Team Rocket and Xigbar at one point be in the same episode, either as allies or getting in each other's way?"_

 _Funny thing is, I had planned on having Team Rocket and Xigbar work together in a chapter last year, prior to Xigbar revealing his identity, but the idea never came to fruition. Expect Team Rocket and the Organization XIII to have some future run-ins. One more review to answer, this one from MegaHeracross2.1; since he disabled private messaging on his account, I'll answer his review here:_

 _"I know it is called "Smash Life", but can we see how relationships on the off days influence the matches."_

 _Nah, I can't really do that, much of Smash Life is mostly restricted to whatever goes on inside the mansion, no focus on the matches. MegaHeracross2.1 also has some ideas, which I had overlooked in his previous review:_

 _"1. All of the people that don't have emotions or barely show them would be a part of the Loners Club. The founding members would be Mewtwo, Lucario, Meta Knight, Lucina, Rosalina, Ashely and Cloud. The reason they formed this group, you ask? Because Joker Link disturbed the residents in the Smash Mansion so badly that they all became his slaves! Only the people without emotions are safe (and Luigi, since he doesn't live in the Smash Mansion). But after everybody is saved, they must disband. They'll pretty much be like the League of Legs (look it up)._  
 _2\. Yoshi finds something that makes his biggest dream come true: to make all his pairings come to life. It's up to Mewtwo and the robots to save the day!_  
 _3\. Put a smasher in the Empty Room (QuixoticQuiddity wrote about it.)."_

 _The first and third ideas will be merged together, since I know the show where the League of Legs came from and I don't want to deal with anything from that show. I just...as a DC fan, I just can't, if you catch my drift. (And no, there won't any Joker Link disturbing residents and making them their slaves, sounds too complex.) The second idea will be done in a later time._

* * *

 **Episode 58: Decorative**

For Hisui and Kohaku Hearts, the first week at the mansion had gone smoothly for the two siblings. Master Hand and Mario, the head honchos of the mansion, treated the Hearts with respect and courtesy, and Wario never bothered the two about handing him money, as the fatso would tend to do with newcomers. Kohaku also took a liking to the Pokemon in the Pokemon sanctuary, but the girl was particularly fond of Luigi's pet Rotom; when the plumber brought the plasma Pokemon over to the mansion one day to microwave Sonic's chili dogs (Peach had warned Sonic not to use the microwave in the kitchen to microwave his chili dogs, since the dogs would eventually explode, the hedgehog took it upon himself and begged Luigi to use his microwave, and the plumber just allowed Sonic to use Rotom instead), Kohaku took a great interest in the plasma Pokemon, amazed by its ability to alter forms.

As for Hisui, the eighteen-year old has mellowed out as the week wore on and grew to be more easygoing with others, though he wouldn't hesitate to unleash his fits of anger upon anyone who dared to bother his little sister Kohaku. Bowser was one of the more prominent folks to mess with sweet little Kohaku, and the Koopa King has never bothered the girl ever since Hisui snapped on him.

However, Hisui would have to worry about another annoying mansion resident, and his name was none other than Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog. The Heart siblings were not yet that familiarized with the speedster, as Sonic would spend more time bonding with Shaymin and Amy than hang around the siblings and get to know them better. It has completely gotten to the point where the hedgehog would forget how Hisui and Kohaku both looked. So when the hedgehog encountered Hisui in the hallway...

"What's up Alice Cooper, loving that tan of yours!" Sonic greeted the teen, holding his hand up and expecting a high five. "Also liking those eye contacts, they really make your eyes pop out more!" Alice Cooper? Since when did Hisui ever look like Alice Cooper, of all people?

 **Hisui: No, I haven't really gotten a chance to strike a conversation with Sonic. From what I've heard from the others, he's a jerk, but judging from the observations I've made about Sonic from afar, he's not really that bad of a guy...perhaps he picks and chooses who he wants to be a jerk too.**

"Who are you calling Alice Cooper - I'm Hisui Hearts, I'm the new guy around here," stated Hisui, having to reintroduce himself to Sonic...who was scratching his head curiously, trying to remember the teen's name. Hisui sighed, having to give the hedgehog a few hints to jog his memory. "My sister and I fled here after being chased by someone from the Organization XIII, and your folks were kind enough to allow us to stay."

"Oh, so YOU'RE Hisui Hearts - this whole time I thought you were some Vietnamese matchmaker who was interested in improving Yoshi's fanfiction writing skills!" exclaimed Sonic, after a brief moment of confusion. Hisui really wanted to facepalm right now. "Glad we finally got that cleared up! So I take it the girl with the funny white bodysuit is your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend, I thought I made it clear that she's my sister. Do you not see any resemblance between the two of us?" Sonic stroked his chin as he mused over Hisui's question. "You know what, never mind, forget about it...so where are you heading off to, Sonic?"

"Well since you're so interested, guy-who-knows-my-name already...I'm heading off to the lounge, to help Tails with some stuff regarding the Super Bowl." Hisui did not know what this Super Bowl was, but given the name, it sounded important, almost intriguing.

"Mind if I tag along? I've honestly never heard of anything about this 'Super Bowl', so I wish to see what it's all about." Hisui's offer both delighted and concerned Sonic, for the hedgehog felt the teen and his sister were missing out on so much. His goal? To fill Hisui and Kohaku in on the Super Bowl as much as possible.

"The Super bowl is one of man's greatest creations, a real American treat! I shall tell you everything you need to know about the Super Bowl and more, just follow me and I shall show you the way!"

* * *

Tails wouldn't be the only person doing preparations for the Super Bowl - Master Hand tasked Marth to buy some food supplies for the Super Bowl party (early bird always gets the worm, as the giant hand had persuaded the hero-king), and what better way for Marth to get the shopping done than to have the Romance Club do the work for him?

"Here is the shopping list of stuff we'll need for the Super Bowl," Geno handed Marth a lengthy shopping list that Master Hand penned. Gotta give the giant hand some credit for writing up the list with his gigantic fingers. "The items highlighted are the food items we must get, everything else we can buy at a later time if it's not at the store. Master Hand says that the underlined items are the food items that will supposedly make the party 'glorious'." If only Geno had arms so he could raise his arms to the heavens, like how WWE superstar Booby Roode would do during his entrance. Also should have been more enthusiastic as well when saying "glorious".

 **Marth: *glancing at the grocery list in his hands* So chicken wings, potato chips, miniature sausages, and pizza rolls are deemed "essentials", but things like fruit and vegetables aren't... *distastefully throws list unto the floor behind his back* Why must it be always about junk food at Super Bowl parties, why not healthy food to even things out? Is Master Hand purposefully trying to raise our cholesterol levels?!  
King Dedede: *sees grocery list on the floor* Ooh, some good ol' toilet paper, just what I need! *grabs list and runs off*  
Marth: No Dedede, come back here, that ISN'T toilet paper! *chases after King Dedede***

"Go tell the club members to meet up here in the foyer," Marth told Geno, raveling up the grocery list. "...and don't forget to bring our 'rookie' and his girl. I'll explain why he'll be coming along with us soon, now go get the boys before Captain Falcon does something stupid, like Falcon Punching that portrait of me for example. He already destroyed the first one, and if he obliterates the new portrait I got...ooh, he will pay..."

So Geno departed from the foyer, and a while later, he returned with Chrom, Ganondorf, Wario, Captain Falcon, and the newest member of the Romance Club - Corrin. The prince of Nohr was accompanied with Felicia; Geno persauded the prince to bring the maid along.

"Alright then men, now that you're all gathered here, we're ready to embark on a shopping trip, one where we shall purchase these items for the Super Bowl party," announced Marth, holding up the grocery list. Wario saw things like chicken wings and pizza rolls underlined, signifying their importance; clearly Master Hand knew what was up. "Captain Falcon, is the Blue Falcon all ready to go?"

"Wait, so we're taking a ride in my Blue Falcon?" the racer perked up, as Marth groaned - but the hero-king wasn't surprised by Falcon's unpreparedness in the slightest. Captain Falcon seldom prepares for things, he just rushes into action all willy-nilly without a trace of thought. "It's a little rusty, but I can get it started up!"

Captain Falcon dashed outside through the front door, and went to go look for his Blue Falcon (yes, look, apparently he doesn't even know where he last left his racing vehicle at) so he could start it up and take the Romance Club members (and Felicia) to the store. It was Corrin's and Felicia's first time going shopping, and they were both weary about what may happen.

"Sure hope there aren't any aliens out in the public, especially those behind human disguises!" fretted Corrin, addressing his concern over extraterrestrial life; Felicia gave the prince an assuring smile as Robin spied on the maid and the prince from afar...and then shot a quick glare at Marth.

* * *

"Peach, Zelda, I thought-a you said this-a would be fun," Mario told Peach and Zelda as the plumber and Link were making quilts - NFL-themed quilts, that is. Mario and Link were making an Atlanta Falcons quilt, and Peach and Zelda were making a New England Patriots quilt. Both teams will be vying for the Vince Lombardi trophy in the Super Bowl, come February 5th.

"But Mario, making quilts _is_ fun...unless Master Hand forces you to make quilts," remarked Peach, before bowing her head in sadness. "Then it's not fun at all..." Master Hand's capable of making universally anything not fun; if he saw a bunch of kids at an ice cream truck having fun, he would make it not...that way, by setting the ice cream truck on fire and laughing manically about it. There's so much to hate about the things that Master Hand chooses to be...why must he be the way that he is?

 **Peach: Master Hand was the one who came up with the silly idea of having quilts at the Super Bowl party...he wants the two quilts to be hanging at opposite sides of the living room, with the Patriots quilt on on side, and the Falcons quilt on the other side. Then whoever picks the Patriots to win stays on the Patriots side, and** **whoever picks the Falcons to win stays on the Falcons side. Given the large brand of the Patriots, I suspect a majority of everyone will be flocking to the Patriots side...**

 **Link: Mario you wouldn't...judge me if I told you I was a Minnesota Vikings fan, huh? I only like them because vikings have swords and they pillage and... *shrugs* ...that's pretty much it.  
Mario: I have a confession to-a make too...I'm a pocket New York-a Giants fan! Bet you already know-a why!  
Link: Yeah, yeah, I know the story, you and Luigi were plumbers in the sewers of New York City...now I gotta ask you, why'd you leave the plumbing business, was saving Peach too big of a priority, or were you and Luigi too great at doing your jobs?  
Mario: I guess-a you could say it was-a both...some-a times greatness leads to big-a opportunities.**

Robin entered Peach's room and saw the princess and company, making the quilts. The mage then eyed at Mario and Link, wondering which one he should goad into being a part of his plan, a plan that he could very well be a part of, thought it would make things obvious. Robin would soon make his decision...

"Link, I need you to go with Marth and the others to the grocery store and spy on Corrin," the mage told the Hylian. "I'm afraid Marth is teaching Corrin how to be romantic with Felicia, and I don't want him stealing my thunder..."

"Why do you want Link for, isn't the Romance Club members going with Marth?" Zelda questioned Robin, Corrin's love mentor. Robin may not be the best mentor for love out there, but he certainly utilizes his experiences with Lucina very well. "Also, what would be the point of Link spying on Corrin in the first place - it's not like Link has a phone to relay information!"

"Yes Zelda, I know Link doesn't have a cellphone on him...which is why when he returns from the shopping trip, he'll tell me everything I'll need to know and more about the things Marth has done with Corrin." What if Marth strayed away from Corrin at the store and focused on buying the food, what would Link have to say then? "So Link, are you in...or are you out?" The way Robin was looking at Link, the Hylian had no other choice but to say yes. Say no, and Robin may lose his cool.

"Any other instance I would say no...but I'm getting pretty tired of making these dumb quilts, so I suppose I can go with Marth and his crew," was Link's reply. Not that the Hylian didn't mind going out shopping, but he would take that over quilt making any day of the week. "But you're gonna have to take my spot in the quilt making, you know that, right?" Robin nodded his head.

* * *

"Cloud you absolutely have to check out this room, it's the bomb!" Master Hand said to the ex-SOLDIER as he led him through the hallways of the mansion. Usually whenever Master Hand says that something is

"And yet you claim to be the all-knowing one," remarked Cloud, wanting to go back to his room. Should have remained in a bathroom when he the chance, Master Hand wouldn't have bothered him then. "I expected more from the creator of the Smash universe."

"I would smite you for making such a rude, snarky comment, but since I respect you too much, I suppose I'll let you off the hook!" Master Hand showing respect for a lowly brawler?! Even Cloud himself was surprised by this, and very rarely did the man feel surprised at all.

 **Master Hand: Cloud won't be the first individual to take a sneak peek at this new room I found, mind you - I found some folks worthy enough to check this room out, and I'm assuming they all like it. In fact, I offered them a chance to stay in their room, to get a feel for it, you know? You know how when you try new things, you gotta get all comfy and eased, so you can always expect the unexpected.**

"We're finally here, this is the room!" Master Hand announced as he and Cloud stood in front of a door; Cloud had seen this door before, but he never bothered to look inside. Something about the door just looked...almost suspicious, yet interesting at the very same time. "Cloud I must ask of you, you must see what's inside this room at once! Do it, and I won't leave you alone for the rest of the day!"

"If it will make you shut your mouth...your nonexistent mouth, that is...then I'll do it," replied Cloud as he opened up the door...and saw Mewtwo, Lucario, Meta Knight, Lucina, Rosalina, and Ashley, all inside a room that was perpetually empty. No chairs, no windows, no light - just a pitch black room, with Lucina using her phone as a means for lighting. Just when Cloud was ready to question Master Hand, the giant hand flicked Cloud inside the room, making him fall unto the floor. A cameraman from the documentary crew was also thrown inside, to capture the events that went on in the room.

"Hope you enjoy your little stay in the Empty Room Cloud Strife!" Master Hand snickered evilly as he closed the door, locking it. Cloud slowly got up, and saw the others looking at him. Lucina shone her phone light on the swordsman, just to make sure it was him.

"Glad that you could join us Cloud...although it seemed like you were forced to stay in here," the princess was the first to speak. Lucina knew how Master Hand was able to goad her into entering the Empty Room; the giant hand had told the princess that Robin found the room, and was stuck inside, and it was up to Lucina to save her man...only to find out that Robin wasn't in this room and that she was perfectly fooled by Master Hand. Though she was a princess, Lucina's naivety knew no bounds.

"You can say that again, I can't believe I actually followed up Master Hand," replied Cloud, shaking his head. He'd rather be stuck inside a bathroom than in the Empty Room, at least with a bathroom, you have _some_ lighting, lighting that fills up the entire room. "But this is what I get for my very careless nature..."

"It's not entirely your fault, you know how much of a master manipulator Master Hand can be," stated Meta Knight; the Star Warrior himself was manipulated when Master Hand told him that his two enemies, Galacta Knight and Dark Meta Knight, were lurking inside the room, and Meta Knight took it upon himself to defeat his enemies once and for all...and that's how he ended up inside the Empty Room. "I just wish we had something to eat, before we become starved...I could really go for some malasadas right about now..."

"What I'm more concerned about other than food is how long we have to stay in this room," said Mewtwo, looking around for some escape hatch. Hard to see in the darkness, when the light from Lucina's phone is the only source of light you have. "We can't really stay in her forever, we do have lives after all."

 **Mewtwo: Being the psychic-type Pokemon that I am, I have the ability to use Teleport. I would teleport out of this room, but Master Hand said that I would face punishment if he saw me out of the room. I can't afford to force his hand (no pun intended) and wind up in a uncompromising situation as a means for my punishment...I've been punished this one time where I broke an expensive vase in the foyer, and Master Hand forced me to bathe Wario, a man too lazy to even brush his teeth or trim his mustache, as punishment; I simply refuse to bathe that man Wario ever again. Literally had to hold my nose the entire time I bathed Wario...**

"I'm worried about Luma's safety - Master Hand refused to let him inside this room, for whatever reason," said Rosalina; although she had her trusty wand, she didn't have her dear Luma, and she felt somewhat incomplete without the star at her side, especially during such situations like the one she was in.

"Master Hand also refused to allow my assistant Red inside the room, and he never said way," added Ashley, who thankfully had her spellbook with her so she wouldn't feel bored. Now would be a great time to try out some new spells on the others. "I fully expect Red to keep my room tidy, and not let any miscreants inside..."

"I just hope that we all can maintain our sanity, there's not much going on in here, and boredom could lead to some bad things..." remarked Lucario, leaning against the wall with his arms folded. "Suppose I'll take a quick nap, just wake me up until we're released from this wretched room..." Lucario is gonna sleep against the wall? What a way to go...

* * *

Of all the people living in the mansion, nobody was more excited for the Super Bowl than Falco. Why was the avian pilot so excited, you might ask? It was because he's a diehard Atlanta Falcons fan, partly because of him being a falcon and all. The moment the Falcons won the conference championship game and earned a right to play in the big game, Falco has been walking around the mansion, wearing his beloved Julio Jones #11 jersey, flaunting it like a boss.

But today, Falco's Falcons jersey suddenly went missing! When the pilot woke up this morning to put his jersey on, he looked inside his closet and saw that it wasn't there! He then looked in the laundry baskets of the laundry room, and his jersey wasn't there either. So Falco assumed someone must have stolen his jersey, likely because the culprit was salty about the pilot's team being in the Super Bowl and not theirs, and so some interrogations had to be done...

"You and me, I don't think we ever see eye to eye..." Falco said as he walked about in the darkened interrogation room, which unlike the Empty Room had a ceiling light, though it wasn't used right now. "When I went over my list of key suspects who may have stolen my jersey, I couldn't overlook your name my any means, for you, my friend, are far too suspicious to not be held accountable for your actions...which leads me to ask this million dollar question...was it YOU who stole my Falcons jersey?"

"Pika pika pi?" Pikachu questioned as he sat in the interrogation chair, with Falco pointing at the mouse Pokemon with a crazed look on his face. "Pika...CHUUUU!" To make Falco pay for his zany assertions, Pikachu zapped the avian pilot with his signature move Thunderbolt. After being shocked and falling to the floor...

"Aha, so it really was you all along!" ...Falco sprung back up and accusingly pointed at Pikachu once more, looking even crazier than before. "You honestly thought electrocuting me would make me forget about you being the perpetrator? Nice try buddy, but your tricks won't work on me!"

 **Pikachu: *facepalming while shaking his head* Pika pika pika pi...pika pi.**

"Falco you in here buddy?" Fox asked as he entered the interrogation room with a cup of coffee; Falco immediately ambushed him, placing both hands on the fox's shoulders and making him drop his coffee to the floor. Thankfully the cup had a lid over it, so not that much coffee was wasted.

"Great news Fox, I actually found the bozo that stole my Julio Jones jersey, it was Pikachu all along!" Falco told his best friend, pointing at an innocent Pikachu. The mouse Pokemon looked on, veritably confused as ever. "Go get Master Hand and tell him to take that yellow thing to the Pokemon slammer!"

"I don't think Pikachu would be interested in stealing someone's sports jersey, it's not like the little fella really knows what's going on in sports," Fox calmly said as he gently took Falco's hands off of his shoulders. Pikachu took great offense to Fox's comments; just because he had the inability to talk didn't necessarily mean he doesn't know what's going on in the real world. "Nobody stole your jersey Falco, it's just a fabricated conspiracy all made up inside your head..."

"Somebody stole my jersey Fox, it's the only explanation for its disappearance. So if it's not Pikachu, then who else could it be?" What if Falco's jersey was never stolen - what if Ashley used some magic potion on the jersey, causing it to sprout legs and walk away? That would be very illogical for Falco to think about, however.

"How about you just go back to your room and just chill, while I find the culprit," Fox pushed his buddy Falco out of the interrogation room, and promptly closed the door immediately, so he could have a quick word with Pikachu. "Between you and me, Pikachu...I know what happened to Falco's jersey. Just need you to do me a quick solid..."

* * *

Sonic and Hisui met up with Tails, Toon Link, Young Link, Ness, and Jigglypuff in the lounge, with Amy Rose joining the crew on late notice. Not wanting her to be left behind, Hisui brought his little sister Kohaku to the lounge, so she could be a part of things.

"Glad you all could be here today, for what I hope will be a very constructive day for everyone involved," Tails started things off, briefly glancing at Sonic when he said the latter part of his sentence. The hedgehog may or may not be a distraction, depending on his mood. "We're going to work on a giant banner, a Super Bowl banner, and it will have two teams on it, the teams playing in the Super Bowl - Hisui, Kohaku, do you know who these teams are?"

"Wait so the Super Bowl isn't some fancy dish or something like that?" asked Hisui, who assumed the Super Bowl was anything other than an American football game played on Sundays and watched by millions.

"The New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons are the two teams participating in the Super Bowl!" Sonic valiantly answered for Hisui and Kohaku, even though Tails didn't even call his name, for the hedgehog knew the answer already.

 **Sonic: Yeah, I would have filled Hisui and Kohaku in on what the Super Bowl was all about, but sometimes when you're a novice, you gotta start off small, real small...and that's what I'm doing with the Hearts. Can't fill their heads with too much knowledge, otherwise their brains would explode! As much as I would want to do that to them and literally see their brain go kabloom and see brain bits and blood splattered all about, that would be no way to treat our newest residents...Corrin doesn't know that much about the Super Bowl, does he? Perhaps I should make _his_ brain explode!**

"Thank you Sonic, would have preferred one of the Hearts siblings to answer the question, but I can't fault you for providing them the answer," thanked Tails, with Sonic responding with a thumbs up. "Here's how we're gonna do things - Sonic and I will do the Super Bowl 51 logo, Toon Link and Young Link, you'll do the Patriots logo, and Hisui and Ness, you'll do the Falcons logo. Amy, Jigglypuff, and Kohaku, you three ladies will look online for pictures of the players playing in the game. I've created a list of the three most notable players from both teams, so you'll know who to look for."

"Sounds like a good plan, it's a good thing I've been practicing drawing the Patriots logo for some time now," said Toon Link; all of his unnecessary practicing has finally led up to this moment, the work he put in was suddenly meaningful now.

"Jiggly Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff found the list of Super Bowl players on a nearby table and scanned the list. Tom Brady's name was at the top, no surprise there - he's arguably one of the most popular players in the NFL, and some even say that he's perhaps the greatest quarterback in history. After Brady's name, all the other names looked pretty foreign to the balloon Pokemon, as it probably would be for most casual folks.

"You do know how this Falcons logo looks like, do you?" Hisui asked Ness, and while the PSI whiz may be a upstart baseball pro, he was also knowledgeable in other sports as well. "Me, I'm far from a sports guy, so I don't wanna screw things up for everyone..."

"Don't worry, I know how the logo looks and stuff, and trust me, it doesn't have to be detailed," assured Ness. "It just has to look very similar to the real deal, it must be fully recognizable." Hisui and Ness could draw the Falcons throwback logo, which would be a lot easier to draw (go look online for yourself), but the two had to keep things current.

* * *

"Nowi has such the prettiest laugh, feels like whenever she laughs flowers bloom on a flowery meadow..." Captain Falcon sighed happily as he went grocery shopping with the likes of Chrom, Ganondorf, and Wario at a nearby Walmart store. (Marth should have shopped at Kroger, but like Mario, he didn't know any better.) The other three Romance Club members had to put up with Falcon talking up a storm about his woman. "Her personality is absolutely off the charts, even if she acts like a little child!"

"Never thought I would say this, but your girlfriend is less mature than you," remarked Chrom; Captain Falcon took great offense to the prince's remark, believing what he had said was a lowkey insult at Nowi. "The fact that you even have a girlfriend and that Nowi sees something in you that other women don't is flat out surprising."

"Don't be jealous that I have a better _Fire Emblem_ girlfriend than you Chrom, quit being so salty!" Chrom wasn't even salty to begin with...

 **Wario: I saw him, I actually saw him...the Emperor Palpatine-looking guy I saw in the mall weeks ago! He was in the bread aisle, looking for some raisin bread; I tried to show him to the others, but those three bums refused to listen. When we passed by Corrin and his crew of Marth, Felicia, Geno, and Link, I told Corrin all about the guy (since he has been fond of the _Star Wars_ series as of late), and now Corrin has made it his duty to find the Emperor Palpatine lookalike before our shopping trip is over! And I'll make sure to keep a close distance from Corrin if he ever meets the guy, he would be downright humiliating for everyone involved...**

"Enough of all this chit chat about girlfriends and whatnot, it's gettin' on my nerves!" frowned Wario. "I'm so glad none of the items we have to purchase are that expensive!" The fatso, having a big money grip, was appointed by Marth to pay for the groceries, a decision Wario wasn't very fond of because it involved him bringing his mostly unused wallet to a public place.

"Is it just me or did we somehow end up in the electronics section?" Ganondorf questioned, as the four men suddenly came to a stop when they found out they were in a a section of Walmart filled with flatscreen televisions, video games, and all sorts of other stuff you'd find in the electronics section. Chrom, Ganondorf, and Wario glared at Captain Falcon, the man pushing the shopping cart, who was so busy running his mouth that he kinda took a detour while shopping...

"Hehe, silly me..." the racer could only chuckle as his Romance Club buddies suddenly felt an indignation to beat him to a certain extent.

* * *

"Yeah, I would have had you stuck with the others, but I was afraid you wouldn't be able to put up with Captain Falcon's ridicolous crap," Marth explained to Link as the swordsmen and Geno stood next to a shopping cart of food in the frozen aisle, while Corrin and Felicia were picking out bags of pizza rolls and deciding which type of pizza rolls the residents would enjoy more. Not exactly a big decision on their part, but most of the residents can be very picky and particular...

"You can say that again," said Link, who suddenly felt the need to ask Marth and Geno an important question, with an answer he could relay to Robin. "Why are you two just standing around and making Corrin and Felicia do all of the shopping?"

"It's a way to help the two build some sort of chemistry with one another," responded Geno, as he watched Corrin interact with Felicia very intently and taking notes in his head. "Whatever experience they have at Walmart, they can apply back at the mansion and grow as a couple. Sure, they may disagree and argue in this setting, but it's for the best - no pain, no gain." Geno has suddenly taken a great deal of interest in Corrin's relationship with Felicia, don't you think?

"Ah, I see what you're doing here...and I'm kinda liking it." Would Link keep Geno's answer to himself and not relay any information to Robin? More likely than not, doing so would stop some temper flares between the tactician and the hero-king. And Lucina wouldn't want her man feuding with one of her ancestors.

 **Geno: The shell life of Corrin's relationship may be a month, presumably because Felicia would grow tired from having to put up with Corrin's naivety. What Marth and I are doing with Corrin at the store is to work out any kinks he may have with Felicia so that no problems may arise in the future...Wait, what was that you said?...Flora takes a certain liking...towards _Dark Pit?_ Dark Pit, of all the people... *looks away in utter disbelief* I need a minute, be right back... *hides behind a nearby aisle, silently laughs to himself, then reappears* Ah, glad I got that out of my system...**

Link continued to watch Corrin and Felicia from afar with Marth and Geno, until a giant hand grabbed the Hylian and dragged him away to a restroom...the _women's_ restroom. He would seemingly be dragged there for a good reason, for he was face-to-face with a female being, one that he has adventured with during his travels in _Twilight Princess._

"M-Midna?!" Link stammered this oh so familiar name, as the being standing...or rather, _floating..._ in front of the Hylian, grinning her teeth. There was no mistaking it, it was indeed Midna, and strange enough, she was in her imp form, not her true form. Then again, she appears in imp form in most Smash battles when summoned, so there's that. "What are you doing here, of all places?"

"Surprised to see me again, and at a public setting like this, no?" Midna smirked, as she laid in thin air like she was laying on a bed, her chin resting in the palm of her hand. "Never would imagine a so-called 'hero of Hyrule' going on a shopping spree, I take it that the Goron Mines are freezing over?"

"Tell me why you dragged me all the way to the women's restroom, I don't wanna be here! I'm a guy!" Just then, a women exited one of the restroom stalls, washed her hands and dried them, and suddenly stopped in her tracks when she saw Link standing near the doorway. To add insult to injury, the women didn't even see Midna; the imp must be hiding.

"Freaking pervert..." the woman shook her head in disdain as she left the restroom. Link tried to call the woman back to clear things up, until Midna magically reappeared after hiding herself away in the wall.

"Ha ha ha, that woman called you a pervert...and I bet it wasn't for your childish getup," the imp snickered, as Link looked down at his tunic and pants. He didn't think his attire was that childish, it must be his green cap that would make people think that way.

"You never told me why you're here Midna, does Zelda even know about your presence?" asked Link, really wanting to change the subject from the way he dressed. "She is the princess, after all, she should know..."

"Of course you would place a high priority on the princess of Hyrule, some so-called hero of fate you're supposed to be...but since you're so concerned about your woman, I'll just tell you that I haven't spoken with her...not yet, at least. Regardless, I have some important information to feed you...some _very_ important information." Midna shot a glare at the camerawoman in the restroom recording the conversation, signifying how secretive the conversation was, and so the camerawoman scurried out of the restroom in fear.

 **Midna: Our conversation went nicely, Link learned a lot of things from me, and I've learned a lot of things from him, so we're both at an equal understanding. However, the information I gave to Link, I shall give to Princess Zelda, and those two shall NOT, by any means, tell another soul what they have learned from I. Just so Link wouldn't be tempted to spill any beans, since I trust him less than I trust Zelda, I've forced him to agree to a deal he cannot turn down...**

* * *

"Banner's looking real great, you guys, can't believe we're almost done!" Amy remarked as she looked over at the work of Tails and company. Indeed, they were close to finished, as the boys were putting on the finishing touches on the magnificent banner. However, not all the boys were there, one was missing...

"Yeah I can't believe it either, we truly came a long way and our hard work is paying off!" agreed Sonic, who stood over the banner with a cup of coca cola in his hand. The hedgehog hardly worked on the banner at all - he made poor Tails work entirely on the Super Bowl logo by himself, while he treated himself to some food and drink and whatnot. Sad thing is, at the end of the day, Tails will still be a friend of Sonic's, but what you're about to see the hedgehog do may or may not put a strain on the friendship between Sonic and Tails.

"Easy for you to say Sonic, you've been doing nothing but slacking off and not working. Also since you're drinking, can you please get that cup away from..." Tails tried his best to warn Sonic, but it was too late - the hedgehog took a step forward and tripped, spilling his soda all over the nearly completed banner. Tails looked at the soda stain left on the banner, his eyes twitching and his breathing increasing, before erupting into an uncharacteristic fit of laughter.

"Look what you've done Sonic, you've made poor Tails go crazy!" Amy scolded her boyfriend, as Tails was now on the floor laughing, with Ness and the others having to contain the yellow fox and bring him back to his sanity. Seeing a genius act uncontrollably was a sight for sore eyes, not unless that genius was a mad scientist whose experiment has either gone well or awry. Sonic saw that Amy and company had printed out pictures of the players in the Super Bowl (Tom Brady and others) and knew the only thing that could perhaps ease the situation...he intentionally spilled the rest of his drink on the pictures, making them wet in the process.

"There, now the banner AND the pictures have been ruined, so everything has been ruined in harmony!" As Sonic said this, many of the folks surrounding him were glaring at him, disgusted with his actions.

* * *

Cloud and company remained in the Empty Room, with the swordsman reflecting on his life, Lucina toying around with her cellphone, Rosalina being concerned about Luma, Lucario sleeping away, Ashley reading her spellbook, Mewtwo looking for a way out, and Meta Knight...well he honestly wasn't doing anything to begin with, he had left his sword back in his room.

"You know if I could I would eat you and your spellbook on the spot," the Star Warrior told Ashley, feeling a sudden need to consume something. Ashley, now placed in an awkward situation, opted to say nothing to Meta Knight, and continued glossing at her spellbook. The Empty Room was making even Meta Knight act different...

 **Master Hand: How long do I plan on keeping the seven in the Empty Room? Haven't decided yet, maybe I can keep them inside the room forever, for all eternity! *laughs evilly* Cloud Strife? Link can always befriend another blonde swordsman, and Aerith's from an alternate universe so her relationship with Cloud wouldn't matter anyways! Ashley? Red can be an assistant for someone else! Lucina? Pfft, I'm positive the kingdom of Yliesse will be in good hands after Chrom steps down or passes away, they won't need Lucina!  
** **Isabelle: *from behind* Master Hand, Meta Knight is trying to eat Ashley's spellbook, you think that we should...  
** **Master Hand: Woman, if you don't get back to my room and survey the seven in the Empty Room on that computer, then I'll force you to ask K.K. Slider out on a date! I know how much you love him! *Isabelle scurries back to Master Hand's room* Now where was I? Oh yes...Rosalina? Peach can serve as the mother of Lumas! Lucario? I'm sure he would love to stay in the Empty Room forever! Meta Knight? Nobody likes that loner bum but Kirby! Mewtwo? *pauses* Hmm, I don't have anything to say about Mewtwo...I'll just say he's the greatest legendary Pokemon to ever exist, and leave it at that.**

Cloud yawned and stretched his arms; staying inside the Empty Room was awfully making the swordsman feel very tired. After Cloud was finished yawning, he suddenly saw a black creature in the Empty Room, one with yellow eyes and antennae...

"Guys stand back, I detect a Shadow Heartless in the Empty Room!" the ex-SOLDIER alerted everyone, whipping out his Buster Sword. Rosalina and the others watched in confusion as Cloud slashed away at the nothingness in front of him; evidently the swordsman was hallucinating. The mighty powers of the Empty Room. Lucario woke up and saw Cloud going completely ham on the nothingness, and wished to help Cloud snap out of his hallucinating trance.

"Woah Cloud, chill out man, there's nothing there!" the aura Pokemon walked up to the swordsman from behind and grabbed him with his arms, pulling him away from the nothingness. "It's all in your head man!" Cloud aggressively pushed Lucario away, thinking that there was something wrong with _him._

"Can you not see that I was finishing off that Shadow?!" the swordsman angrily pointed at the nothingness, only to look back and see that there was no such Shadow present. That was when Cloud realized that he was hallucinating, and all he could do was sheepishly chuckle, it was the only thing that would make him feel less awkward than the awkwardness of the situation in general.

* * *

With Robin's help, Mario was able to finish the Atlanta Falcons quilt, and the plumber and the mage were finished before Peach and Zelda were done with their New England Patriots quilt! Of course, the two princesses were left in shock.

"You three may not know this, but I did some quilt making in secrecy back at Yliesse, it was a hobby I picked up during the war," Robin would tell Mario, Peach, and Zelda as the four headed down to the living room, where Pit and Viridi were apparently setting up Super Bowl decorations, under the orders of Master Hand. That giant hand couldn't wait until next week to have someone put up the decorations, could he?

"All done with those quilts?" Pit asked Mario and company as he was plastering a Fathead of Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan on one of the living room walls. Viridi was replacing the couch pillows with football pillows. "Give that Falcons quilt to me so I can hang it up on this side, and give the Patriots quilt to Viridi so she can hang it up on the other side!"

"Pit can you go see if Mr. Game and Watch is done with the tablecloths?" Viridi asked the angel, and Pit flew away in an instant. The goddess of nature then turned her attention to Mario and company. "Master Hand has us doing so much decorating today, and he has yet to give us a single break...all this work is very tiring...though I don't mind in the slightest."

 **Pit: I'm going for the Falcons to win the Super Bowl, only reason being is that falcons have wings just like me...or do falcons really have wings to begin with? I know for sure Falco is a falcon species, but yet I wonder if his hands are actual hands, or wings that look like hands. Falco is such an ambiguous bird in general, at one point I thought he was an eagle!...Eagles _are_ a type of bird species, right?**

 **Viridi: Personally I have no interest in watching the Super Bowl, no point in watching a sports competition consisting of male humans wearing football tights fighting over some lousy pigskin. However, I will say that watching the game (and the halftime show) would be a great experience if I sit next to Pit, therefore I probably should reserve a spot next to him, before someone like Kirby beats me to the punch. I'll try my hardest not to ask Pit any unnecessary football questions, don't want to be that kind of girl watching an American football game...**

 **Mr. Game and Watch: Aw yeah, my first talking head segment, been waiting forever since the documentary first started for this very moment...What was your question again? Who am I going for in the Super Bowl? The Patriots, 'cause they have Tom Brady, Tom Terrific!...Man, that's such a bad nickname, I feel bad for even saying it...**

"Football-themed tablecloths, coming right up!" Mr. Game and Watch appeared in the living room with Pit, as the 2-D man draped the living room tables with the tablecloths. "Don't know why Master Hand wanted us to decorate so early, he really takes this 'early bird gets the worm' thing to the nth degree!"

"You can say that again, Master Hand likes taking things to the extreme sometimes," smiled Robin as he looked up at the decorations, eyeing the Patriots and Falcons Fatheads on the wall. "If only my Saints made it to another Super Bowl, maybe next year..." Seriously, when did Robin become a fan of the New Orleans Saints? When did he become a fan of the NFL to begin with?

"My oh my, this living room looks too nice!" remarked Master Hand as he magically appeared in the living room, checking everything out. "Pit, Viridi, you two have done a stellar job at decorating the living room, I never doubted you both for a single second!" Don't believe in that lie, Pit and Viridi, Master Hand was hoping you two would fail just so he could point and laugh in your faces. One of the many ways Master Hand receives enjoyment and pleasure in his life.

"I kinda helped out too by designing the tablecloths," stated Mr. Game and Watch stated, raising his hand, but Master Hand paid him no mind whatsoever, leading the 2-D man to hang his head in shame. The hand was instead inspecting the quilts done by Mario and company, and was astounded by what he had seen.

"And these quilts, these quilts look like they came from...from...from a quilt store!" Yeah, a quilt store. Not a fabric store, a _quilt_ store. Nice one, Master Hand, nice one. "Fresh and new, that's what they look like! Mario and crew, you have simply outdone yourselves!"

"It was all thanks to Robin," remarked Zelda, as the mage flashed a confident smile and thumped his chest. Not that often you see Robin doing that.

* * *

"Dryer keeps acting up, huh?" Fox asked Luigi as he stood in the laundry area of the plumber's room, with Pikachu at the pilot's feet. "Dumb thing has been acting up since the start of the new year, hasn't it?"

"Every week-a or so it wants-a to stop working, it's quite-a frustrating," Luigi confirmed with the nod of his head. While Luigi and Daisy were able to use the washing machine, and Rotom's Wash form as well, washing the clothes wasn't a problem - the only problem was drying them. "You think there might be some-a electrical bugs plaguing the machine?"

 **Luigi: Drying our clothes-a at the mansion isn't-a so bad...it's not like-a the laundry mats down-a town where creepy folks look-a at you like they're creepers, and old-a ladies want to pinch-a your butt, not to mention the strange-a voices that I hear some-a times... *shudders* I think one-a of the laundry mats in-a Seattle may be haunted...**

"Well it's a good thing I brought Pikachu along," said Fox as Pikachu stood in the forefront. "Alright Pikachu, you know exactly what to do, just do your thing and Luigi and I will stay out of the way..." Fox and Luigi backed away from Pikachu, as the mouse Pokemon started generating electricity in his cheeks.

"Pika...CHUUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed Thunderbolt on the drying machine...and purged a Shadow Heartless out of it. Luigi shrieked as he jumped into the arms of...well, no one, really, so he landed on the floor on his butt, while Fox took out the Heartless with his Blaster. The pilot then pressed a button on the dryer, and just like magic, the machine instantly turned on - everything was back to normal, it seemed.

"Your dryer is finally up and running again, hopefully that Heartless was the only one present in this house," remarked Fox, putting his Blaster back where it was. Luigi was slow to get up, as he rubbed his now aching butt.

"Thank-a you Fox, and you-a too Pikachu, my dryer would not have-a worked again if not for you," Luigi thanked the pilot and the mouse Pokemon; with the dryer working again, the plumber could resume his laundry duties in the pleasure of his own home. "Now where-a is Rotom, I got some-a clothes for it to wash!"

"In that case...would you mind washing something for me? It's something that Falco's been wearing all week long, he practically sleeps in it too on some nights...so it's been stinking up the joint. I want it to be as fresh as possible in time for the big game, and Rotom may do the trick..."

* * *

With the Romance Club (and Felicia) gathering every single item on the grocery list, it was now time for Link, Marth, and the entire group to finally check out their stuff. It was now the moment of truth for Wario...would the fatso purchase the food with his own money, or would he turn down due to his stingy ways?

"Your total amount will be...$598.24," the cashier told Wario after tallying up all the prices. As you would might assume by the price, Marth made Corrin and Felicia buy a lot of stuff. "Do you have a Walmart savings card with you, good sir?"

"Knew we should have went to a self-checkout station, would have gotten away filthy rich..." Wario grumbled as he pulled out his wallet and whipped out his Walmart card. He looked up and saw a familiar face heading towards the exit. "Hey, look you guys, it's that Emperor Palpatine guy I was talking about not so long ago!" Wario pointed at the man in question, though Marth and company didn't bother to pay the man any mind...but Corrin was intrigued.

 **Corrin: Emperor Palpatine is one of my favorite _Star Wars_ characters, unlike that horrendously hideous fool Jar Jar Binks. I love how he has a black hood over his head, which increases his mystique and makes him look somewhat polarizing. As much as I would want to wear a black hood like him around the mansion, I can't afford anyone to sound any false alarms and claim me to be one from the Organization XIII.**

"Emperor Palpatine, is that really you?" Corrin broke away from the group to inspect the man that supposedly looked like the _Star Wars_ characters. The man just looked questionably at the prince, who inspected his face and came to a wonderful conclusion... "It really is you Palpatine, what a good pleasure to see you in person, at a superstore of all places!" The man looked around pointing at himself, wondering how he looked like Emperor Palpatine to begin with. Corrin was already starting a scene, what with customers a many looking at him, but the prince would prolong the scene and embarrass his fellow brawlers in the process when he got down on one knee, kneeling before the man and said, "What is thy bidding, my master?"

"Corrin you buffoon, get back here this instant!" Marth yelled at the prince, acting like he was his mother. That was how it looked to some, Marth being a father figure to Corrin. "You're not Darth Vader, and that man is NOT Emperor Palpatine! He's just a regular guy!"

Corrin would ignore Marth's command and continue to kneel in front of the man, awaiting instruction, and Link, who was standing nonchalantly, saw Midna float out from his body, much like how she did in _Twilight Princess._ This was the deal Link had to agree to - Midna would reside in Link's body, and would appear to Link at various times (or if Link calls her out).

"Are you seriously going to let that boy make you and the others look like complete fools, or are you going to do something about it?" the imp questioned Link, pointing at an absent-minded Felicia. That girl's meant for Corrin, you just don't even know. "She likes Corrin, doesn't she? Here's an idea for you, doofus - get her to knock some sense into Corrin's head!" Once Midna returned to Link's body, Link knew in that moment what he must do.

"I believe you should go talk with your man," Link whispered in Felicia's ear, and Felicia's eyes widened. Was it worth the shot, would Corrin listen to her?

"You really think it would make him stop acting like a fool?" asked Felicia, as Link responded with a confident nod. So the maid went up to Corrin, still kneeling down on the floor, and whispered to him, and just like that, Corrin stood up, apologized to the man for believing he was actually Emperor Palpatine, and quickly walked back to the others, with Felicia at his side. Those who stuck around as Corrin was being Corrin also walked away, all dying to tell their loved ones the story of an albino lad mistaking someone for being Emperor Palpatine and wanting to serve them.

"Nothing like some romance to solve all of your problems..." Midna remarked from inside Link's body, her voice loud enough for the Hylian to hear. Captain Falcon, who had a keen sense of hearing, suddenly heard Midna's voice and looked around to see where the voice came from.

* * *

 **Tails: Our second banner is almost done, and we've worked harder on this banner than we ever did on the other one - hard work, no matter the quality or quantity, always pays off! Though our working ability was much improved since I demoted Sonic...and speaking of whom...**

Sonic was tied to a Xatu, a mystic Pokemon (Tails would have tied up his best friend to a totem pole, but he couldn't find one, and the Xatu wasn't the closest thing to a totem pole), with an apple in his mouth, as Tails and company were putting on the finishing touches on their second banner.

"Looks like we're finally done!" remarked Young Link, wiping away the sweat from his forehead, as he and the crew looked at the banner. "This banner looks awfully better than the original one!" Perhaps because there were football players added to it, it's all about the aesthetics.

"Now that we're done with the banner, what's next on our agenda?" asked Kohaku, whose curiosity over the Super Bowl increased with each and every waking minute she worked on the banner. "Will we give Master Hand a sneak 'preview'?"

"Correctamundo - Master Hand literally begged us to make this banner, so he should be the first to see it," confirmed Tails, as he grabbed one end of the banner, and Toon Link grabbed the other. "We should show the banner to him right away, he should be in his room right now." Tails and company walked out of the lounge with the banner, leaving Sonic behind with Xatu.

"Um guys, are you forgetting someone, someone IMPORTANT?!" the hedgehog spat out the apple and called out to the group, though nobody bothered to come back and untie him; not even Sonic's girlfriend Amy cared to untie her man. "You can't possibly leave me behind, I deserve better than this!"

* * *

Cloud and company remained in the Empty Room, dying to taste the sweet taste of freedom, when Mewtwo suddenly found an object in the room as he searched for a way out - it was a knife! The psychic Pokemon picked up the blade and looked at it, making sure that he wasn't hallucinating like Cloud had earlier.

"Mewtwo what's that you got there in your hand?" Lucario, who was done napping, asked the psychic Pokemon, who held the knife behind his back. Way for him to make himself look even more suspicious...

"Nothing in particular, I was just...checking out a piece of lint on the floor, but it's gone now," answered Mewtwo, backing away as much as possible from the others. Ashley looked behind Mewtwo's back, and saw the knife in his hands, able to see the blade in the faint darkness.

"MEWTWO HAS A KNIFE!" the young witch exclaimed. It was the most expressive the girl had ever been...and the expression she eschewed was _fear._

 **Master Hand: Got a real icebreaker for you folks...the Empty Room is not just a room...it's a game. A competition where only one winner, and I mean one, can come away with victory. The victory is sweet, but the prize may be even grander...**

"Oh man that's not a good sign..." Lucario quickly got on the offensive, and Cloud and Meta Knight would do the same, both swordsmen behind the aura Pokemon. Lucina, Rosalina, and Ashley wearily looked on. "Hand over the knife Mewtwo, we know how predictable you are..." Mewtwo refused to give up the knife; he pointed the blade at Lucario, seemingly threatening the aura Pokemon and his allies.

"That's it I'm calling Father..." said Lucina, who finally had the gall to call someone, as she dialed Chrom's phone number...only to remember that Chrom was still at the store, most likely heading back home right about now. The call wouldn't have mattered anyway, for the call strangely failed when the voice messenger claimed that the number couldn't be reached. "My phone doesn't seem to be working, the phone service must be down in this room! What gives?"

"Back away from me, and nobody gets hurt..." warned Mewtwo, the knife still pointed at Lucario and company. Lucario took a step forward, and Mewtwo reacted quickly, pulling the knife up so he could potentially harm Lucario. "YOU ASKED FOR THIS LUCARIO!"

"Congratulations Lucario, you have passed the test!" Isabelle happily exclaimed as she opened the door to the Empty Room; everyone looked at the shih tzu, including Mewtwo who was about to stab Lucario with the knife. "Out of the seven individuals in this room, you showed the most courage and bravery...not that you showed any, Meta Knight and Cloud...and it left a bit of an impression on Master Hand!" The giant hand in question was behind Isabelle, waiting to tell Lucario what he shall receive for being the supposed winner.

"Did I hear someone say...courage?" the Flying Man arrived at the scene; Master Hand looked at the mythical beast and pointed down the hall, as the Flying Man walked away holding his head down. He might be everyone's courage...but just not now.

"Master Hand, would you like to tell our winner Lucario what he shall receive as a prize for his efforts? After all, you did pick him to be the 'winner'..."

"I very well shall, I can guarantee what I tell Lucario will knock his socks off!" replied Master Hand; Isabelle stepped out of the way so Lucario could see the giant hand in full focus. "You see, Cloud, Ashley, Meta Knight, Mewtwo, Rosalina, Lucina, and most importantly you, Lucario...this was a competition between seven of the most boring and expressionless folks in the mansion." That didn't offend any of the seven in any way. "What I had Isabelle do was not only make this room empty and dark, but to also put a knife. The goal was for someone to find the knife, and the other person to see the person with the knife and stop him...and that, my good friends, is how Lucario became the winner, because he single-handedly prove that even the most drab person can be heroic and courageous in times of need! Now Lucario's time for your prize..." Master Hand saw that Lucario's eyes were widened, and his pupils were dilated. "Alright Lucario, I haven't even said what the prize was yet, so calm down..." Lucario wasn't so concerned with the prize, for he had something else in mind...

"FREEDOM!" the now-crazed aura Pokemon ran out of the Empty Room, finally freed from the room. The mighty Empty Room had a winner...and a victim, all in one.

 **Cloud: From now on, whatever Master Hand says, I shall take with a grain of salt. This guy claimed that he respected me too much...so much that he had the audacity to call me "boring and expressionless". Easy for him to say, considering he doesn't even have a face...**

* * *

"Master Hand is gonna flip out when he sees how well we did the banner!" an excited Toon Link gleamed as he, Tails, and the others walked through the hallway, dying to show their work to the creator of the Smash universe. However, they did not expect a frantic Lucario to run by, running through the well put together Super Bowl banner and tearing it in half in the process as he kicked an unsuspecting Alph out through an open window in the hallway.

"TELL MY STORY!" the young astronaut yelled out to no one in particular as he fell out of the window and onto the ground, only to get up and see that he was still alive. Heihachi Mishima was nearby, apparently growing some plants in the garden.

"Anata wa watashi no gādeningusukiru no tame ni watashi o handan suru tsumori wanaidesu ka?" Heihachi asked Alph, worried that the astronaut may be judging the kung fu fighter for gardening, and not training or anything of that nature. "Watashi mo fukami o kakushite iru, anata wa shitte iru!" Now back to the inside of the mansion, where Master Hand and Isabelle, both of whom were chasing down Lucario, only to stop when they saw the torn Super Bowl banner. And Master Hand was so very disappointed.

"So you bums have been working on the Super Bowl banner for Lord knows how long, and THIS is all you have to show me?" Master Hand scolded Tails and company, believing the torn banner was the final product, like the banner was ripped in half solely on purpose. "I expected more from all of you, especially you Tails - just stick to inventing new technological crap kid, decorating things ain't your thing." On that remark, Master Hand and Isabelle continued on their way.

"Anyone here got any super glue to patch the banner up?" Tails asked his comrades, not in any way fazed by Master Hand's comments.

* * *

Earlier in the day Fox told Falco to stay in his room and not worry about his Falcons jersey...but Falco, being an impetuous one, did not listen at all. The avian pilot was still convinced somebody stole his jersey, and so he was back in the interrogation room, interrogating another culprit.

"As I narrowed down my list of culprits, I had a very glut feeling it would be you responsible for the heinous crime," said Falco, walking back and forth. "Once I crossed off the last name on the list, my suspicions were indeed true...it was YOU who stole my Julio Jones jersey!" Falco pointed at Pichu, who sat on a small stool with the bird's finger in his face. "Admit it, you hate Julio Jones, you think he's the most overrated receiver of all time! Well let me tell you buddy, that he's the best of all time; Michael Jordan is half the athlete Julio Jones is!"

"Pichu Pichu?" questioned the tiny mouse Pokemon, wondering why Falco was naming him the culprit when he did nothing wrong.

 **Pichu: *arms folded with his head to the side* Pichu Pichu Pichu Pichu!**

"Again with the random interrogation, really Falco?" Fox questioned as he entered the interrogation room, holding something behind his back. "Way to stoop real low man, this is getting pathetic..."

"Got some good news Fox, the real culprit has been found!" exclaimed Falco. "It was Pichu all along, he think he could use his cutesy appearance to get away with..." Falco would suddenly shut his mouth and gasp when Fox revealed to him his Falcons jersey, fresh and clean like it was just brought from the store. The avian pilot quickly grabbed the jersey, and held it close to his chest. "Where'd you find it Fox?"

"I didn't find it anywhere, I just took the jersey out of your room and kept it around until I had Rotom wash it. Wash Rotom is way better than the washing machines we have in the mansion, boy where do I begin..."

Fox didn't have to begin anywhere, because before he could get into details, Falco gave the pilot a bro hug, thanking him for returning the jersey. Evidently the Falcons jersey meant a lot to the avian pilot, it was a sign of his Falcons pride.

* * *

"You all ready to go?" the male Inkling, carrying two paint guns with red and blue, asked the female Inkling, carrying a machine gun with black paint. Both were in the living room, with Mario and company hiding away.

"I'm ready when you are!" the female Inkling replied, and so the two Inklings fired away at the living room walls, spraying the colors of the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons all with cover sheets on the furniture and floor. Once the kiddies were done and Mario took the covering off, the living room looked revitalized, with colors of red, blue, and black to go with the already present decorations.

"Nice-a work you two, this living room-a is OFF THE CHAIN!" exclaimed Mario, making a very cringeworthy attempt at being cool. Peach, Zelda, Robin, Pit, Viridi, Mr. Game and Watch, and the Inklings all cringed at the same time.

"Wow is this how the living room will look like for the Super Bowl?" Villager appeared, marveling at the living room and soaking in all the colors and decorations and such. "Don't care if this is temporary, this is the best living room EVER!" Villager sat on one of the couches, and grabbed a TV remote and turned the television on. It's safe to say the young lad will be spending more of his time in the living room, for the time being.

"Who wants some good ol' malasadas, for a job well done with the living room?" asked Dunban, poking his head through the living room door. "I'm sure Master Hand our Super Bowl party guests will appreciate the hard work you folks did!" Everyone was on board for some malasadas, as Mario, Peach, Viridi, Mr. Game and Watch, and the Inklings would follow the Homs to the kitchen; Zelda and robin were about to head off too, when Link entered the living room, having returned from the shopping trip.

"So Link, tell me the details that I need to know," Robin asked the Hylian, quick to ambush; he wouldn't even give Link a chance to settle down! "Did Marth do anything with Corrin, anything at all?"

"Well to be honest with you, Marth was a bit...laissez-faire with Corrin and Felicia, so to speak," replied Link, telling the mage the honest truth. "Barely even talked to the guy, just focused on ensuring the grocery list was complete...

"NO WAY MAN, I CAN'T DO THAT, WHAT KIND OF PRIZE IS THAT?!" Lucario yelled from afar, his booming voice catching Link and others by surprise. "You seriously put me in that Empty Room just for that?! What sense does that even make?!" Master Hand just informed the aura Pokemon on his "prize", and clearly Lucario didn't like his prize one bit.

"...what was that all about?" Zelda asked Link, Robin, and Villager, all of whom either shook their heads or shrugged. "Oh well, whatever 'prize' Lucario won, we'll find out later, you boys up for some malasadas?" Robin and Link nodded their heads, and followed Zelda to the kitchen, while Villager stayed behind, refusing to leave the living room.

"These 'malasadas' better be tasty..." Midna silently murmured as she remained in the body of Link, hoping to make her presence known to Zelda soon. She had to speak with the princess ASAP, whenever the time was right.


	59. Episode 59: Pigskin

_Author's Note:  
_

 _Guest reviews...you know what it is. First anonymous review:_

 _"Here's one last list of characters if you want to add them, Kirby's animal buddies from Kirby's Dreamland 2 & 3, Andy, Max, Sami, Rachel and Jake from Advance Wars, Vyse, Aika and Fina from Skies of Arcadia, Ryo Hazuki from Shenmue, Chie, Yosuke, and Teddie from Persona 4 (since Sega technically owns Atlus), Ulala from Space Channel 5, Taki and Ivy from Soul Calibur, Tales of Xillia cast (Jude, Milla, Alvin, Elize, Teepo, Rowen, Leia, Gaius, Muzet, Agria, Presa, Wingul and Jiao) Dante, Vergil, Trish and Lucia from Devil May Cry and finally Leon and Ada from Resident Evil. P.S. sorry again for this really long list."_

 _Thank you for this second list, didn't mind the amount of characters one bit. I'm already familiar with Vyse, Aika, Fina, Ryo, Ulala, Taki, Ivy, Dante, Virgil, and Leon, but the other characters, I'll have to spend some time familiarizing with. The only characters from that list that will debut in this chapter will be the crew of Persona 4, they'll fit in well with what this chapter is about. Yu and Yukiko will be appearing as well, can't leave them out of the equation. Next anonymous review:_

 _"Can u include kuma in smash life to live with heihachi. Also, can you have link do the schwifty song at the super bowl halftime show. Also, can u make a chappy on daytona 500"_

 _Maybe, not really, and no. The schwfity song was meant to be kept away in the annals of 2016, but I suppose I can have Link sing it one more time...just not at the Super Bowl halftime show. The Daytona 500 chapter I may not do, but I may make some racing references. Got some more character requests, this one from Weird Maccorioni:_

 _"I know we already saw Geo and Mega, but... Could we see MegaMan from StarForce?"_

 _Eh, he appears in Mega Man's final smash, so I can make some room for him. Here's Smasherfan88 with their character request:_

 _"could we see bomberman?"_

 _Yes of course, I honestly think Bomberman has a lot of potential to be in the next Smash game. This last character request is from Mark Thomas, let's see what he has to say..._

 _"_ _Could you see if you could include possibly Haru and Gatchmon from Digimon Universe? I like a lot Digimon, and would like to see them. If you don't know Digimon, then can you at least go to a anime site..."_

 _No worries, I do know what Digimon is, I watched that show when I was a kid and at the time thought it was just an anime series. Haru and Gatchmon will be making an appearance if I find the right opportunity for them to do so. Now we have SamuraiBlue:_

 _"Can you rite a chapter wher a few smashers get transported to the miss universe pageant by teleporting to the phillipines. Also can you have lady gaga invite one of the smash kids to the super bowl"_

 _Didn't the pageant happen already? Also, I can't have Lady Gaga invite anyone to the Super Bowl (read chapter 50's author's note for why that's the case), but I can "bend" the rules for Lady Gaga...next up is J300._

 _"Will there be any football stars this year, or will there be something completely different?"_

 _This chapter is football-themed, so I'll have to bend the rules here and include some stars. Derick Lindsey has a question concerning a Valentine's Day chapter:_

 _"I just want to know if the chapter after Valentine's day on either the 16th or 17th depending on if you upload the chapter Thursday or Friday we'll see a valentine's themed chapter even though the holiday already passed..."_

 _Next week's chapter will be a Valentine's Day special of sorts, and as stated earlier before, a lot of characters shall be making their "Smash Life" debut. YoKaiShoubiao has returned with two suggestions:  
_

 _1) Lucina can't take take Yoshi's fanfiction anymore, so she takes his phone and fixes it. However, it backfires, as Yoshi gets all the credit and becomes more confident in his writing skills... Much to Lucina's chagrin._  
 _2) Bowser finds a machine that lets him change the languages that individual people can speak. Lucas manages to take it from him, but has to get past a password lock... And there are no passwords in Nowhere._

 _I shall take these two ideas into consideration. Lastly we have Roydigs22, with a question to ask me:_

 _"...would you rather: take mega lucarios uppercut, or full power mega lopunny ear smack?_

 _An ear smack from Mega Lopunny doesn't sound that bad, I'd rather take that over an uppercut any day of the week. One more thing Roydigs22 mentioned:_

 _"IF lucario does get a girlfriend, make sure it is lopunny or else..."_

 _Good thing the next chapter is Valentine's Day-themed, amirite?_

* * *

 **Episode 59: Pigskin**

Super Bowl 51. The championship game of the NFL, taking place in Houston, Texas. Two teams would do battle for the Lombardi Trophy - the New England Patriots, led by none other than one of the greats, Tom Brady, and the Atlanta Falcons, one of the hottest teams in the NFL.

As much as Master Hand would love to take the residents and Luigi's folks to Houston to see the Super Bowl live in person, the giant hand couldn't afford tickets for everyone, not to mention that there might not be enough seats for the residents to sit in. Master Hand didn't want to leave anyone behind, lest anyone would be punished be being forced to stay at the mansion and find something to do...all by themselves.

Around the mansion the residents (for the most part) were getting ready for the big game. And what better way to prepare yourself for the Super Bowl than to play a football game in the mansion's backyard? The team of Mario, Donkey Kong, Red the Pokemon Trainer, the Flying Man, Ganondorf, Hisui Hearts, and Mega Man X was going up against the team of Link, Dunban, Sonic, King K. Rool, Captain Falcon, R.O.B., and Luigi. Team Link now had the ball, with Team Mario now on defense.

"Hut one, hut two, hut three...HIKE!" Link shouted as Rool snapped the football to the Hylian, who immediately ran a play-action trick play of sorts - he faked the ball off to Dunban, making it seem like he was handing the football to the Homs, then Sonic came running by and Link handed the ball to him. The hedgehog stopped, and threw a legal forward pass to Link, who was standing by himself, making the throw just in time before the Flying Man tackled the hedgehog to the ground. Once Link caught the ball, the Hylian threw it towards Captain Falcon, who was wide open, but unfortunately for Link the ball was tipped in the air by Red and picked off by Hisui, who lateraled the ball to X, who then ran past R.O.B. and Luigi only to be taken down by Dunban, who made the save.

"Phew, that was a close one, could have been a big play..." Dunban got up from the ground and wiped away the sweat from his head, grateful he made the game-saving tackle. Both teams were currently tied at 17, and any score could win the game. Team Link had to make a huge stop on defense in order to get the ball back.

 **Mario: Who am I going-a for in the Super Bowl? Easy...I'm-a going for the Patriots. So then Eli Manning and the Giants-a can claim that they're the only ones-a to ever beat Brady and-a his Patriots... *devilishly rubs his hands together***

 **Link: None of the teams' mascots wield swords, but if I had to pick between the Patriots and the Falcons...I'd pick the Falcons, because I like birds...No, I don't necessarily like _all_ birds, there are some bird species I'm fond of more than others... *shrugs* ...but I don't discriminate.**

 **Captain Falcon: In order to determine who I want to win the Super Bowl, I had to do "research" on the cheerleading squads for both teams, and let me just say that the Patriots cheerleaders...are SMOKING HOT! (But they're not hotter than my beautiful girlfriend and future wife Nowi, nobody can come close to her.) For that very reason, I'm picking the New England Patriots to win!**

 **Red: Going for the Falcons to win because their primary team color is red, and red is my favorite color. Also a huge fan of the Falcons quarterback, Matt Ryan, dude's a freaking beast and will be MVP real soon. *looks up thoughtfully with his finger on his chin* Wonder if Ryan or any of the other Falcons players play _Pokemon..._**

 **Sonic: I think the Patriots will prevail over the Falcons in a close, highly contested game, but you know what would be even sweeter? NFL commissioner Rodger Goodell handing Brady the Lombardi trophy on the podium! I can see it now - Patriots coach Bill Belichick, showing raw human emotion for the first time since the last Patriots Super Bowl victory; the team owner, Robert Kraft, mostly likely wasted as all heck and acting like a drunkard; and the cherry on top, Goodell awkwardly giving Brady the Lombardi trophy with a fake smile on his face. Then it gets better...after Brady accepts the trophy, he gives a Stone Cold Stunner to Goodell, making him fall off the podium and unto the football field where he'll lay unconscious, all while Stone Cold Steven Austin's theme song sounds throughout the stadium with Brady chugging down a few beers Stone Cold style and flipping his critics and detractors off, the sound of Terry Bradshaw (who'll be likely doing the proceedings and whatnot on the podium) shouting "STONE COLD! STONE COLD! STONE COLD!", permeating in the ears of the viewers watching back home...is that too much to ask for?**

"Omaha, Omaha!" Mario the quarterback shouted out the play call, emulating the great Peyton Manning, a real G in every sense of the word. "Hike!" The Flying Man snapped the ball to Mario, who ran forward with the ball...before tossing the pigskin to Hisui. The teenager ran down the field with the ball before making it to the endzone and scoring the game-winning touchdown. Hisui spiked the ball emphatically as his teammates ganged up on him, celebrating their victory by tackling poor Hisui to the ground. Mario and X being in the pile, sure, but Donkey Kong being a part of it was overkill. Once the celebrating commenced, the victorious Team Mario paid their respects to Team Link.

"Good game, you guys, we all played our hearts out," remarked X as he gave Captain Falcon a handshake. "You guys up for a rematch? We could always give you another L to hold." X's trash-talking game was on point, you would never expect any form of trash talk from a pacifist like him.

"Thanks, but no-a thanks, I'm already sweaty and I need-a to take a shower at-a once," replied Luigi, and some of the others shared the plumber's sentiments. Sonic walked over to the football left on the ground where Hisui spiked it, and picked it up, analyzing it. He couldn't help but notice that there might be something wrong with the football, something was amiss...

"Does anyone know if this football may be deflated?" Sonic asked the others, holding the football up in the air. This was no matter that should be overlooked, it must be addressed right away. R.O.B. came over to see if Sonic's suspicions held true, as he took the football from Sonic and weighted the pigskin.

"THIS FOOTBALL, IN TERMS OF PRESSURE...DROPPED BY 1.8 PSI..." announced the robot, leading everyone to be rather shocked. Maybe the football was deflated, there must be a perpetrator behind this! But who could it be?

"Mario was the one who brought the football to the backyard, so he probably deflated the ball to give his team a fair advantage!" Rool accused the plumber, who looked around with guilt. Keep in mind that Team Mario and Team Link both had their own football, and the team captains (Mario and Link) were responsible for bringing a properly inflated football to the game. But in Mario's case, however...

"Is it true-a brother, did you stoop so-a low that you would-a deflate a football?" asked Luigi, not sure if he could trust Mario anymore. Provided that Mario was indeed the culprit, his goody two shoes reputation and persona would take a mighty hit.

"Luigi you know-a better than anyone I wouldn't do-a such a thing!" attested Mario, ticked that Luigi would think of him as a main offender. "Toad was-a the one responsible for ensuring that-a the football was at a proper PSI, I just watched-a over him!"

 **Master Hand: Everything for the Super bowl has been set: the living room is ready, we have all the party food we need, I decided the guests who can and cannot be at the party (Waluigi's name is at the very top of the list), which means that we're all set to go! *pauses, then sniffs* I smell controversy...I'll be right back. *vanishes***

"In that case, it was TOAD who deflated this football to give an unfair advantage to Mario's team!" confirmed Sonic, adamant Toad was the real culprit. "And he did it in the presence of Mario...knew Toad simply couldn't be trusted!" Only a matter of time until Toad's dark secret of him as a drug lord gets evinced.

"What's all this chatter about deflating and footballs?" Master Hand appeared, just when the issue was gaining momentum. It seemed like everyone except for Mario and a few of his teammates was convinced Toad was behind the football's deflation, and that Mario either did not know about it or allowed Toad to deflate the ball.

"Toad deflated the football for Mario's team and gave the team an unfair advantage!" Captain Falcon pointed at Mario, who was now placed in a precarious situation. Master Hand was suddenly angry at the plumber, in utter disbelief that Mario actually had the gall to cheat.

"You were the one who had Toad regulate the football...is it true Mario?" Master Hand asked Mario, who was about to answer before Master Hand had some more things to say. "Before you can proclaim your innocence, I must ask you a few questions to see if you're guilty...you were in the room with Toad when he inflated the football, right?" Mario nodded his head. "And you inspected the football prior to the football game, is that correct?" Mario nodded his head again. "...then you must also be involved in the deflation of the footballs, you chose not to do anything about the under-inflated ball, and opted to use the ball because of the benefits! You knew that with the under-inflated ball, you would have a very firm grip on it, not only for you but your teammates! Since you're the captain and you authorized this conspiracy between you and Toad, I shall punish you swiftly...you're temporarily banned from the mansion and its premises until further notice!" This sudden punishment not only alarmed Mario, but also alarmed everyone else. Master Hand, banning the head guy of the mansion _from_ the mansion? "Enjoy living at the motel downtown!"

"Master Hand, certainly you can't just outright punish Mario like that without a well-developed investigation to detect any form of wrongdoing," said Dunban, taking the football from R.O.B. and seeing for himself if the ball was indeed inflated. "How about you have somebody investigate this football, and look for any faults?"

"Good thinking Dunban, I can have Samus inspect the football, it's not like she's doing much anyways," replied Master Hand as he accepted the presumably deflated football from the Homs, before turning his attention to Mario. "As for you Mario, you and Toad are welcome to stay at Luigi's place until the investigation is over, and you may appeal your potential ban from the mansion if you wish. Just know that I got my eye on you...now if you excuse me, I'll have to look for that little miscreant Toad!"

Master Hand went away, and Mario looked down at the floor, heaving a sigh, as Luigi rested an reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder. Link stood afar looking at Mario; he had a glut feeling Mario did nothing wrong, and the Hylian desired to prove it...

* * *

 **Zero: In the wake of this whole deflating of footballs thing, which I feel like will be MASSIVELY overblown as the day goes on, Master Hand asked me (or in his case, forced) to use the teleportation device to find an investigation team to see if Mario, Toad, or both were involved in the deflation of their football during that football game. And while the investigation crew does their thing, Samus will be running some "tests" on the deflated football, to see if it was truly deflated or not. If the results come in and reveal that the ball was never deflated, then Sonic - the guy who sparked this whole thing, will have some explaining to do...**

"Samus Aran, I have an important mission for you to do!" Master Hand entered the workshop, where Samus was working on upgrading Cloud's Buster Sword, with Pikachu being utilized as the source of electricity. The swordsman and the mouse Pokemon were in the workshop with Samus, who rolled her eyes when Master Hand said her name. "Mario and others were playing this football game in the backyard, and it has been brought to my attention that Mario's team CHEATED, according to Sonic, because Mario and Toad were responsible for the deflation of this football!" Master Hand threw the football on the desk Samus was working at, next to the Buster Sword, and Samus just plainly stared at it. "I want you, and maybe Cloud and Pikachu, if they feel like it, to determine the PSI of the football and figure out if Mario cheated. Send me a typed up report once your finished!" Master Hand left the workshop, and Samus, Cloud, and Pikachu all exchanged looks of skepticism and confusion with one another.

"The very thought of Mario cheating at anything just doesn't sound right to me," Cloud had to say; he had always known Mario to be a clean-cut guy, a man with a strong sense of integrity. "Certainly there must be some underlying stuff going on, I can just feel it..."

"Yeah, and the fact that Sonic was the one who accused Mario makes it sound even fishier," added Samus, stroking her chin. "But unfortunately since Master Hand wants us to 'investigate' this issue, we'll just have to do what he says...you boys up for some PSI testing?" Cloud and Pikachu truly wanted to shake their heads in reply, but they had no other choice, especially when Master Hand was adamant on wanting an actual full-fledged report.

"Guess we have no other choice but to solve this problem and prove Mario's innocence..." Cloud rolled his rolling chair up towards Samus and removed his Buster Sword from the desk. The beloved sword will have to be upgraded some other time, the swordsman supposed.

* * *

"Look Pit, as much as I'm interested in this 'Pokemon Bowl' concept, I don't think the idea will be a success," Kamui said to the angel as the two walked through the hallways. Apparently Pit wanted to intertwine the Puppy Bowl and Pokemon, and make...wait for it...the Pokemon Bowl! Needless to say, the angel was hardly getting any support for his wacky idea from the others (sans Kirby, of course). "What Pokemon would even be participating anyways?"

"Only the Pokemon that can walk on all fours," replied Pit, with his arms crossed behind his back. "You know, like Sandile, Furret, Electrike...would it be weird to have a Sneasel on all fours?" Yes it would Pit, yes it would.

 **Pit: Alright, so I got this Pokemon Bowl thing all mapped out...Chrom will be the referee, wearing a striped shirt, and Ken the Reporter (or Anchorman Ken, whichever one he goes by) will call the action! We already have the Pokemon and Chrom; the only problem would be finding a way to bring Ken over to the mansion. Heard he and Wario are pretty tight, perhaps Wario could bribe Ken into being the announcer.**

Pit and Kamui arrived at Kamui's room, and once Kamui opened the door to her room, she saw Corrin sitting on the bunk bed, his eyes glued to the Smart TV. The television was paused, and both Pit and Kamui were figuring out what was up.

"Brother what seems to be the matter, why is the TV paused?" Kamui asked as she and Pit stepped inside the room. Corrin slowly turned his head towards the two, and had a crazed expression on his face, like he had made a very important discovery that should be documented at once.

"The man I met at Walmart last week whom I thought was Emperor Palpatine wasn't Emperor Palpatine..." uttered the prince of Nohr; anyone could have told him that much. "But this man, the man on the television, may be Emperor Palpatine...going incognito!" Corrin pointed at the television screen, and on the screen was a frowning man, in his sixties, wearing a Patriots hoodie with the hood concealed over his head. The way the man looked, it appeared as if he was ready to unleash a diabolical evil plan on the world at any given minute.

"Hey I know that guy, that's Bill Belichick, the coach of the New England Patriots!" exclaimed Pit. Hard not to mistake Belichick's unfriendliness and scorn. "Boy he sure looks ticked...then again, he looks like that all of the time."

"Yes, the name Bill Belichick is an alias Emperor Palpatine assumes when he's on Earth; he masquerades as the coach of New England, using his Earth job as a means to not only steal American money from the Patriots organization, but to devise evil plans to conquer and rule the Earth while quarterback Tom Brady deflects the attention (well, most of the attention) from him!" Corrin's crazy theory was enough to make Pit look at Kamui and circle his finger around the side of his head, indicating to the Nohrian princess that her twin brother had officially lost it.

"I believe that's enough television for one day, Corrin," Kamui took the remote control and unpaused the Smart TV, before turning the television off and putting the remote away in a place where Corrin won't be tempted to find it. The prince was apparently determined to prove his theory to others, no matter how many people will outright ridicule him.

* * *

Viridi, Aerith, Kohaku, and Peach were in the gardens, doing some decorating and whatnot to spruce things up. All four ladies worked dutifully on the task at hand, and out of the four, Viridi was the most happiest worker, for one of her favorite musical artists was bound to give a memorable performance at the Super Bowl.

 **Viridi: Last week I had said I wasn't interested in the Super Bowl, partly because of the amount of humans involved, but then I suddenly remembered that Lady Gaga, one of my favorite singers, will be performing the halftime show! Lady Gaga is one of the rare few humans that I have no resentment or disdain for, for her talent simply makes up for her being a human and all! I would want to go to Houston just to see her live, but Master Hand forbids anyone from the mansion to depart for the Super Bowl...that dummy is such a huge jerk!...Hopefully he didn't hear that.**

"Princess Peach, are you here, where are you?" Isabelle's voice was heard, and soon enough the shih tzu appeared. "A few folks would like to speak with you! So if you would, can you follow me? I'm afraid Mario is in some trouble..."

"Mario's in trouble?!" gasped Peach, and that was all the princess needed to hear. No way was she gonna let her man remain in trouble, not one bit. "Can these folks solve whatever problem Mario is in? I demand to see them at once, take me to them!" So Isabelle escorted Peach inside the mansion, leaving the threesome of Viridi, Aerith, and Kohaku by themselves.

"Guess it's just the three of us now," Aerith smiled as she was arranging a few plants in the garden. "Whatever situation Mario's in, I sure hope he bounces back from any problems that he has and keep his head up. We wouldn't want the man of the mansion to be stuck in any adversity, would we?"

"Aerith this may sound like a random question, but...in your world, or universe, did you have any singers?" Viridi asked out of curiosity. The goddess of nature didn't really know much about the alternate universe Aerith was from, so it couldn't hurt to ask.

"Well, there is this one world, one with mermaids, and talking sea animals, and they would have these musicals and symphonies underwater!" Underwater musicals and symphonies? Sounds like something you'd see in a Disney movie...unless... "I've never seen these spectacles myself, but I've heard all sorts of great stories about them, stories that swell my heart up with joy!"

"Not exactly sure if you know this, but in our world, we have plenty of talented singers, oodles upon oodles of them. I have a favorite singer in particular and her name is Lady Gaga - she'll be the woman doing the Super Bowl halftime show!"

"But I thought the Super Bowl was all about football and commercials, what would be the need of a halftime show?" questioned Kohaku, who was still relatively green when it came to football, and sports in general. She and her brother Hisui still have lots to learn.

"Eh, it's probably just a way to get teenage girls to have some interest in the game. Sometimes the halftime show gets better ratings than the game itself."

 **Aerith: This Super Bowl halftime show sounds so much better than advertised...what if they bring the singing mermaids and sea animals from that underwater world to next year's Super Bowl and perform the halftime show? Granted, a lot of the budget would be drained due to finding an ample amount of water for the aquatic performs to perform in, but the show would be the greatest thing since sliced bread!**

 **Kohaku: Football, commercials, musical guests...so many things going on in the Super Bowl! What's next, are they going to add a talent show to the Super Bowl? As nice as it sounds...**

"Judging by her name, this Lady Gaga woman sounds like a very interesting person," remarked Kohaku. Fun fact: Lady Gaga got her stage name from one of her producers via text message. Bonus points if you know where the term "Gaga" hails from. "I would love to see her in person, given we have the opportunity to meet her and all. That would be swell!"

"My dear Kohaku, swell wouldn't even _begin_ to describe the thought of seeing Lady Gaga in person, she's practically the only human on this planet I wouldn't mind coming in contact with!" said Viridi, expressing her joy for her favorite singer. Midna was nearby, eavesdropping on the conversation and stroking her chin before flying away in search for Link, her host.

* * *

Isabelle guided Peach to the meeting room, and Isabelle peeked behind the door to make sure the guests were here. Peach was fiddling around with her fingers, hoping her man Mario was doing just fine.

"Since I know you're worried and you have a bunch of questions racing through your mind, I'll tell you what's going on..." Isabelle said to Peach, bracing herself for a long explanation. "So what happened was that Mario and Link and their respective teams had a football game in the backyard, both teams required to bring their own individual football, and Team Mario beat Team Link in a close game, and after the game concluded Sonic had inspected Team Mario's ball and felt as if the ball was deflated, and it was later revealed that Toad was the one responsible for the football's PSI, and Mario was monitoring Toad as the football pressure was done, and soon Master Hand intervened and told Mario that until further notice he'll be punished, and if he was indeed responsible for the deflation of the football, then he'll be banned from the mansion temporarily, and right now Sams are inspecting the supposedly deflated football to see if it was truly deflated or not and now I regret stating all this information in such a long run-on sentence." Isabelle took a heavy breather following the long explanation, allowing Peach to process the information.

"Well that is very...unfortunate for Mario," was all the princess had to say. She may have missed some important details during the explanation. "So who are these people that wish to see me, why do they want my presence for?"

"The people behind the door are so-called 'investigators' Master Hand found from this place called the TV World. They'll be investigating the whole shindig involving Mario and determine if Mario or anyone else was involved in the deflation of the football. They're all ready to see you now, so come right on in!"

 **Master Hand: The investigators I hired to investigate the whole football deflation scandal are indeed full-fledged investigators. They investigate all sorts of crap, like murders, and...um...let's see...I said murders already...well that solve murder cases, and that was convincing enough for me!**

So Isabelle let Peach inside the meeting room, and the princess was greeted by five individuals - two boys, a silver-haired male teen wearing a white shirt and black pants, and an orange-haired male teen in all black, and two girls, one with a green athletic jacket and the other with in a red high school uniform. Then there was the fifth and final individual - a bear mascot that kinda creeped the heck out of Peach. A part of the princess wanted to unzip the bear mascot and see who was inside.

"Princess Peach, I would like to introduce you to Yu Narukami, Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, Yukiko Amagi, and Teddie," Isabelle introduced the princess to the group of investigators; all five of them smiled, with Yu, the silver-haired lad and the leader of the group, waving to Peach, and Peach waving back. "They'll be conducting a little interview with you before they can start any full-fledged investigation. I'll let you folks have it!" Isabelle exited the meeting room, leaving Peach alone with the investigators.

"Pleasure to meet you, Princess Peach, congratulations on finally being married to your long-time boyfriend Mario," said the leader Yu. "Isabelle told me the details, in case you may be wondering. Speaking of whom, I'm afraid Mario may be a troublemaker of sorts...deflating a stinking football, what a guy..."

"Before we can have a word with your fiance, we want to ask you a few questions if you don't mind, so let's begin!" exclaimed Chie, whipping out a notepad and a pen. Chie was the most perky of the five, she could flawlessly make just about any murder trial a comedy act. "First I gotta ask you, did Mario, Toad, or both mention anything about deflating footballs, or was there even any mention about the football game in the backyard at all in the mansion?"

"Nope, not at all, the football game was slightly impromptu, it was decided to be done the other day," replied Peach, as Chie wrote down this bit of information on her notepad. "So there was no chatter about deflating footballs or anything like that."

"Don't mind if I butt in, but did you see Mario or Toad today prior to the football game?" Yukiko jumped into the conversation, and Peach shook her head no. "Hmm...got any more questions to ask her, Chie?"

"I do, but it seems as if we're practically getting nowhere," replied Chie. Maybe starting off the investigation with Peach wasn't the right thing to do. "I'd say we go find Mario and interrogate him, see if we could pry any information out of him.

"Don't forget about Toad, we gotta interrogate him as well," Yosuke spoke up. Can't leave out the presumed drug lord. "Don't know why, but I can already tell there's some mighty fishy stuff going on around here..."

 **Yu: Out of all the cases I've done, a huge bulk of them being murder cases, I've never had to do a case pertaining to...the deflation of a lousy football. *shakes his head* Upon hearing about this whole scandal, it sounded like Master Hand was seemingly making something out of nothing. But if this whole thing is a real issue, and Mario and Toad were responsible for any wrongdoing...  
Teddie: Hey Yu, did you check out Peach in that meeting room? Looked way hotter in person! Oh boy, what I would do to claim her!  
Yu: Sucks that she's already been claimed...did you not see the engagement ring on her finger? Peach is going to be marrying Mario sometime soon...  
Teddie: *sighs* It's always the goody two shoes guys like Mario that get whatever they want, how unfair...  
Yu: You'll find your mate soon, Teddie. Just gotta hang in there.**

* * *

"Link are you sure this is such a good idea, your plan sounds risky," Zelda said to her boyfriend Link as the Hylian was doing some calibrations on the teleportation device with the assistance of MegaMan .EXE. The princess was left with no choice but to support Link's (mostly) wacky plans, even if they made zero sense at all.

"Trust me Zelda, I know what I'm doing, nobody is going to be harmed by any means," Link assured as he was glancing at some cords in his hands. "Hey MegaMan, where do these cords go at?" .EXE looked at Link, and groaned. Why the Hylian was fiddling around with technological stuff was anyone's guess.

"Thought I told you not to touch the cords..." .EXE sighed, shaking his head as he made his way over to Link. "Gimme those cords Link, and don't touch a single thing unless I tell you otherwise." While .EXE placed the electrical cords back where they belonged, Midna floated her way in the teleportation room, so she could have a word with Zelda.

"What do you want, Midna?" Zelda asked the Twilight imp; for those of you who may be wondering, Midna already had her important conversation with the Hyrulian princess - the conversation had to take place when the documentary crew wasn't around and the cameras weren't rolling. Midna whispered something into Zelda's ears, something that made the princess widen her eyes with intrigue. "Are you so sure about that?" Midna whispered once more, and soon Zelda was convinced. Midna floated back into the host body of Link when the Hylian didn't expect it, just when .EXE was finished plugging back in the cords that numskull Link took out for whatever reason.

"Alright, we're all set to go, everything's plugged back in and everything is working properly. All the calibrations have been done, thanks to you Link, which means that we can now teleport..."

"Excuse me MegaMan, but do you mind if we...teleport one other person to the mansion?" Zelda asked the robot, who was more than welcome to bring someone else on board - after all, what could possibly go wrong?

* * *

 **Ganondorf: This whole hubbub about Mario cheating to give our team an advantage is nothing but blasphemy. Why does ball regulation matter, I thought that as long as the dumb football is inflated, then you could play any football game regardless! Isn't that right Lucas, do you feel the same way I do...why are you crying?  
Lucas: *wiping away tears* Mario is nothing but a liar...I asked him while he was at Luigi's home if he had deflated the football, and he said he wouldn't do anything that would break the rules... *sniffles* ...but I know he's guilty, he can't hide it any longer...I don't believe what he says anymore, anything that comes out from his mouth is farce...  
Ganondorf: Kid what are we gonna do with you...**

The two culprits, Mario and Toad, remained at Luigi's home, with Mario a little flabbergasted, and Toad doing his best to remain optimistic. In order to distract Mario and Toad from the football deflation saga, Fox and Falco, along with the help of Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, performed a drumline performance for the plumber and the presumed drug lord in Luigi's living room.

"Here we go Falcons, here we go!" chanted Falco, rooting for his favorite football team while Fox and the Koopalings recreated the Atlanta Falcons Drumline. "It's never too late to change your pick you guys, you can be Falcons fans for like a day, and you won't regret it!"

"I think we'll still take our chances with the Patriots..." responded Toad, as Daisy entered the living room, befuddled by all the noise. Her husband had invited Fox and company inside their home, even though the princess of Sarasaland objected.

"Luigi, where on earth are you, can you please bring your scrawny butt over to the living room please?" Daisy called out to her man, her voice having to be raised up a few decibels for Luigi to hear over the sound of drums. Luigi scurried down the steps and hurried towards Daisy, nearly tripping along the way. "How long will our 'guests' remain in our house?"

"We ain't moving out of here until Mario and Toad are declared to be innocent men and cleared of any wrongdoing whatsoever!" stated Fox, and Falco and the Koopalings all agreed by shouting "Yeah!" in unison. Since when did the Koopalings care that much for Mario and Toad? "We might even have to stay in your home until midnight if we have to! FREE MARIO AND TOAD! FREE MARIO AND TOAD!" Soon Falco and the Koopalings joined in on Fox's chant, while they still performed their drumline act.

"Sadly the man-a has spoken, they won't leave until-a justice has been-a served..." Luigi said to a now ticked Daisy, who couldn't put up with the sound of drums in her living room anymore. "All we can do-a is wait for a conclusion to all this foot-a ball hullabaloo, and then we'll-a be at peace..."

 **Fox: I see what's happening with Mario and Toad as akin to the whole Deflategate drama involving Tom Brady and the Patriots - everyone was under the assumption the Patriots did cheat, and then BOOM! The controversy was later revealed to be not only a sham, but a witch hunt started by NFL commish Roger Goodell to put Brady in his place!  
Falco: Betcha this Deflategate thing started because of Goodell's profound jealousy of Brady...he was probably thinking after the Pats won that conference championship game a few years ago, "No way that man Brady can be so perfect...he has a smoking hot model for his wife, he looks and plays pretty good for his age, and he's too darn popular... _I_ should be popular, I'm the freaking commissioner of perhaps the best sports league in the nation, I should be the one grabbing headlines left and right!" Goodell's jealousy must have done him in.  
Fox: Man if Goodell was here and he heard that theory, he would slap you with a 25 thousand dollar fine...  
Falco: *scoffs* Yeah, like some stupid "fine" would scare me...Ooh, 25 grand, I'm soooooo afraid...**

"Mario, Toad, are you two in here?" a voice said at the front door after a knock or two. Fox and company stopped playing their drums, as everyone in the living room tried to recognize the voice, a voice nobody present has ever heard before.

"Yes they're both-a here, you're welcome to come-a on in if you-a like," answered Luigi, and soon the investigating crew of Yu, Yosuke, Chie, Yukiko, and Teddie entered Luigi's home. Understandably, Mario, Luigi, Daisy, and the Koopalings had no idea who the five were, because they've never seen them before obviously, but the way the five looked was somewhat intriguing.

"The guy up front with the silver hair kinda looks like a wannabe K-pop star," Morton whispered into Larry's ear, and the blue-haired koopa nodded as he looked up at Yu. The investigator would return the favor, looking at Larry as he made his way over to Mario and Toad, leading his crew along the way...

"Hey what's up Mario, how ya doing man it's great to see you!" Yosuke ran past his fellow investigators to greet Mario, gleefully shaking the plumber's hand like a dork. Luigi looked on, hoping that Yosuke would potentially notice him...but unfortunately he didn't. "We've been informed about your wedding to Princess Peach, and let me just say that..."

"Ahem..." Yu cleared his throat, grabbing Yosuke's attention; the investigator ran back to align with the investigating group. "I would like to apologize for that Mario and Toad, we're here to conduct business, and that was very...unbusinesslike. Greetings everyone, my name is Yu Narukami, and these are my good friends - Yosuke Hanamura, Chie Satonaka, Yukiko Amagi, and Teddie. We're all investigators, and we've been brought here by none other than Master Hand to investigate this thing about Mario and Toad deflating a football for a football game you had with your fellow brawlers outside in the backyard." Mario heartily laughed, feeling as if Master Hand was purposefully wasting Yu and company's valuable time.

"You kids don't have-a to be here, this is all a non-a issue," Mario told the group of investigators, slowly stifling his laugh. "This thing will all-a be sorted out soon, not-a by you but some-a one from the mansion I'm-a hoping..."

"Well we're terribly sorry Mario, but we refuse to leave until a full investigation has been done!" stated Teddie, much to the chagrin of the plumber. But at least Mario didn't have to put up with Bowser mocking him and calling him a cheater...yet. "So until we come to a consensus, we'll continue to fight for you and Toad to the bitter end!"

 **Yukiko: We've had a few brief discussions with some of the brawlers that played in the football game in the backyard: Donkey Kong, a friendly rival of Mario's, claimed that he didn't feel any deflation whatsoever in the football. The Flying Man, who was Mario's teammate just like DK, had nothing to say, but reminded us that he was Mario's courage...something about that guy, or bird, or whatever, just throws me off.  
Chie: Then we asked Link and his teammates - while Link and the others offered some valid takes on the controversy at hand, Sonic was apparently laughing his butt off when we mentioned Mario deflating the football! But don't worry, we got our eyes peeled on the hedgehog, there's a very good chance he won't be laughing for the rest of the day...**

"Is there by any chance you have a football pump with you?" Yukiko asked Toad, as the presumed drug lord happily gave the girl a football pump from his imaginary pocket, a pocket able to store all kind of things. You could literally store an elephant in an imaginary pocket and walk around like it was nothing. "I don't see any faults whatsoever with the pump..." Yukiko inspected the pump, looking at it from the front, back, and side.

"You're not looking at it hard enough, lemme see!" Yosuke rudely grabbed the pump from Yukiko, and looked at it very closely, a lot closer than he truly should. The boy then pressed down on the valve, with the pump facing him, and a gush of air was blown in his face. Everyone laughed at Yosuke, including the ever so stoic Yu, who chuckled at his friend's interesting inspection.

"Look at that doofus blowing air in his face, some investigator you're supposed to be!" Lemmy jeered at a now humiliated Yosuke, pointing and laughing at the boy. Yosuke gritted his teeth at the young Koopaling, wanting to ring his neck to make him stop laughing.

"I'm one of the best investigators there is, wait until you see the work I did regarding the murder case of Mrs. Yamano and Saki-Senpai!" the young investigator snapped on Lemmy, as Chie took the football pump from his hands.

"This pump doesn't look suspicious to me, so that can't be the reason for the deflated football," Chie observed the pump before giving it back to Toad. As she gave the pump back to the presumed drug lord, a certain someone entered Luigi's home, taking the attention from Fox and company. "So how else are we going to gather up all the evidence to crack the case?"

"Truth is, you don't even need any evidence in this matter - all the proof you need is nowhere to be seen."

Chie suddenly looked up, and looked behind her to see the individual who entered the home and caught everyone's attention. It was a tall white male (hopefully that didn't sound racist in any way), wearing a Patriots beanie on his head, a Patriots hoodie, and...wait for it...some black sweatpants. What, you expected the guy to wear some Patriots-themed pants, didn't you?

"And just who are you supposed to be?" Yu asked the man, who was all smiles as he closed the front door behind him. There was a lot of murmuring among the Koopalings, the Star Fox pilots, Mario and others concerning who this man was.

"Well technically since I'm not supposed to be here and all, I'll just cut to the chase and say that you're welcome to call me...you can just call me Thomas," was the man's reply, as the sound of the murmurings increased. But "Thomas" didn't seen to care about the murmuring going on at all.

 **Thomas: As you would imagine, I was freaking out a little when I was suddenly warped to this so-called mansion, but my short little culture shock of sorts would die down when I was suddenly greeted by this funny green tunic wearing guy who looked like Link from those _Legend of Zelda_ games. (That _was_ Link, was it?...Oh okay then, just making sure I wasn't seeing things, if I haven't already.) Anyway, Link was telling me about his fellow Nintendo buddy Mario, and how he went up against Mario in some backyard football game with others, and mentioned that each team had to bring their own individual ball to the game - don't know whose bright idea was that. Link then added that Mario was apparently accused of deflating his team's football on purpose, or rather that his sidekick Toad was the one who deflated the football and Mario authorized it... *looks away, chuckling for a short period of time while shaking his head* ...so this is like deja vu to me, in a way.**

"Okay then, 'Thomas', if that's-a even you're real-a name..." Mario spoke up, as Thomas listened very closely to the plumber. "...since you claim-a that there is-a no evidence or even-a proof...does this mean-a that Toad and I are innocent?" In response to Mario's question, Thomas goofily grinned, almost laughing as if.

"Mario, Toad, you fellas have no idea how innocent you are," replied Thomas, making Mario and Toad feel relieved. "This whole thing about you deflating a lousy football and being accused of cheating...it all seems like a witch hunt conducted by that giant hand your friend Link was talking about."

"HA I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT ALL ALONG!" exclaimed Falco, garnering strange looks from everyone in the living room. Thomas sternly looked at Falco, making the avian pilot feel bad about his outburst as he sheepishly looked down at the floor.

"You know what, how about we discuss this little matter somewhere else, so we can be at an equal understanding?" Thomas asked Mario, Toad, and the investigators. "We can go back to the mansion and have our little discussion, it'll save us and some of the others some trouble..."

* * *

"Lady Palutena, have you seen Corrin around anywhere?" Pit entered the kitchen to ask the goddess of light, who was busy cooking some chicken stew. Eating the stew tonight for dinner will make the mansion residents yearn for the Super Bowl snacks on Sunday even more.

"He's over in the dining room with Cilan speaking with a guest of ours," responded Palutena; a good chance that the guest was brought to the mansion from the teleportation device. "He has been concerning me as of late with this strange new thought process he's been showing off, and I don't think not even his twin sister can stop him from..."

"Say no more, Lady Palutena, I know what Corrin may be up to, and I'm here to knock some reasoning inside his head!" Pit trying to reason with someone, especially someone like Corrin? Eh...Palutena flashed a smile as Corrin ran into the dining room, where he saw Cilan, Corrin, and the guest all sitting at the table. The guest in question was a big, muscular white guy (that shouldn't have sounded racist at all in any way), wearing a tank top and some shorts. He was eating a sandwich that was made by Cilan.

"Seems like you're really enjoying that sandwich Broski, and that makes me very gleeful - I've poured out my heart into making it the most perfect sandwich there is!" gleamed Cilan; feel free to roll your eyes if you feel the need. One more important detail - the tank top "Broski" was wearing had a Patriots logo on it. Good chance Broski was teleported to the mansion with Thomas, and like Thomas, had to assume an alias, and apparently Broski was the alias.

 **Broski: *throws his arms out at the side* What's not to love about this place, the Smash Mansion? You got video game characters that are popular, video game characters that you've never heard of before, anime chicks, an arcade room, more anime chicks, a ball pit with colored balls, I said anime chicks already, all-you-can-eat food...I think you can eat all the food you want here, I mean, I'm a guest technically, so it's not like I have to pay for anything! *shrugs***

"Meh, it's not the greatest sandwich I've had, but it's definitely not the worst!" was Broski's critique, and it disheartened Cilan a little. Broski looked up, and saw Pit standing near the table. He would ask the angel how he got his wings and how much they cost to wear them, but that would be a question for him to ask another time, if there's even another time. "Sup bro, who are you supposed to be? Are you Hermes or something?"

"Close, but no cigar- I'm Pit, and I'm the distinguished leader of Palutena's Army!" Pit grinned, pointing his thumb at himself. What does Broski have to say, did Pit leave a lasting impression on the guy?

"Yeah man, that sounds pretty cool, good for you." Broski, not longer interested in Pit anymore, suddenly turned his attention to Pit, who was looking at two pictures - one with Emperor Palpatine, and the other with Bill Belichick evilly wearing a hood over his head, like he was ready to plot his plan to rule the world. Belichick has already ruled the NFL on a few separate occasions, perhaps he could be more than willing enough to do humanity a favor and spare the world. "So uh, Corrin...your name is Corrin, right?" The prince of Nohr looked up, and nodded his head in response. "What are those pictures you're looking at?"

"Two distinct pictures of Emperor Palpatine - one with him in his regular form, and the other undergoing his alter ego as Bill Belichick, Super Bowl-winning coach of the New England Patriots!" replied Corrin, holding up the pictures of Palpatine and Belichick. Broski, Pit, and even Cilan laughed at the prince of Nohr, confusing him; Corrin couldn't be serious, but sadly, apparently, he was serious to the bone.

"Dude I hate to burst your bubble, but Belichick is _not_ an alter ego of Palpatine, he's just a regular person like you and me. Besides, how could you explain a fictional character like Emperor Palaptine going from the _Star Wars_ films to coaching a football team?" Broski smirked and folded his arms, waiting for Corrin's answer.

"The answer is very simple - he switches to his Belichick persona to keep those who oppose the Galactic Federation off-guard! It's to fool his enemies, keep them at bay!" Corrin sure knows an awful lot about the _Star Wars_ universe...and that may or may not be a bad thing.

"Yo, Broski, we need you, it's something very important!" Thomas whispered, poking his head through the entrance to the dining room. Broski nodded his head, for he knew what business he must accomplish with Thomas.

"Alright boys, I'll chat with you later, got some important matters to do," Broski said to Cilan, Corrin, and Pit as he got up from his seat and exited the dining room, but before he exited... "Oh, and Corrin, Belichick and Palpatine are two totally different people. Make sure you remember that, bro!" Ain't no way Corrin is going to heed what Broski had said.

* * *

 **Link: *walking through the hallway with Zelda* Can't believe we have to do this...do we really have to do it Zelda, is it too late to turn back now?  
Zelda: Midna was the one who put us up to it, so we have no other choice but to oblige. You wouldn't want to make her angry, would you?  
Midna: *appearing out from Link's body to confront the Hylian and Zelda* Get a move on, you two, we have to make haste! Please tell me you don't always walk this slow...**

Aerith, Kohaku, and Viridi continued to work in the gardens without Peach's help, when the twosome of Link and Zelda arrived. Why did Midna want the Hylian couple to speak with Aerith and company, was there something going on?

"Aerith, Kohaku, Viridi...there's a very special guest in the gaming room performing with K.K. Slider, you have to see for yourselves," Link told the three ladies, who all stopped working and looked up in intrigue. "Can't tell you who it is though, it's a bit of a surprise."

"Is it a good singer, I refuse to come unless this 'special guest' has a single ounce of dignified talent!" stated Viridi. Someone here has some very high expectations. But what else would you expect from a gal like Viridi?

"Oh yes, it's a really great singer, she'll blow you away!" exclaimed Zelda, as the word "she" made Viridi even more interested. "Please, we implore you, you must see her right away! You won't be disappointed in the slightest!"

So Link and Zelda took Aerith, Kohaku, and Viridi to the gaming room, and upon arrival, they saw a slew of residents gathered together, all spectators in a performance from K.K. Slider and the "special guest" in question. The special guest was indeed a woman, and she was wearing an Islamic scarf and some black clothes. And boy did she sing her heart out...it truly captivated every single soul in the gaming room.

"Now THIS is what you call a five-star performance," Red the Pokemon Trainer said to Lucario, sipping a can of soda. The trainer was now thirty years of age, which meant that he learned his lesson from last year - no drinking any soda cans that's for the super Bowl party. "It looks like you're pretty interested too Lucario, rarely are you interested by anything!"

"Hey man, I'd take this performance any day of the week over any of Jigglypuff's performances," was the aura Pokemon's reply. And you couldn't possibly blame them, Jigglypuff's singing performances are enough to make anyone go to sleep!

"I'd take three hours of a Snorlax snoring over Jigglypuff's singing performances," Little Mac chimed in. Snorlax snoring over Jigglypuff's singing? Talk about a low blow!

 **Lucario: What prize did I receive from Master Hand and Isabelle for "surviving" the Empty Room? Apparently I was told not to share the so-called prize with anyone else, but Isabelle did give me this to hold on to. *holds up a baton to a camera* Not exactly sure what I would need this baton for, but it's sure pretty nice to twirl around... *twirls baton before accidentally striking himself in the eye* Gah, right in the eye! Now that I mention it, this stupid baton might not be so nice after all...**

 **Little Mac: Come this Sunday, I shall be either a Patriots fan or a Falcons fan...as you might have known in the past, I used to be a Denver Broncos fan for most of 2016, but unfortunately Denver lost my trust as a fan when they came up short of qualifying for the playoffs. Why did you do it Peyton Manning, why did you have to retire?!**

"Alright you groovy cool cats, that's all for now!" K.K. Slider announced into the microphone. "Feel free to get some food or drink, or even have a chance to meet our guest of the hour, Joanne!" Yes, Joanne was the name of the woman with the Islamic scarf that sung for the residents, and Viridi was rather quick to pounce upon the opportunity of meeting the blonde singer.

"Hi my name is Viridi I'm the goddess of nature and let me just say that you sound just like my favorite singer Lady Gaga!" Viridi gleefully ran her mouth once she was in the mighty presence of Joanne, who cracked a smile, a smile that could possibly be hiding something. Viridi didn't care if Joanne's smile was concealing a secret or two, she was just more excited than a slaphappy jackrabbit.

"Well those are some very nice words, so thank you very much!" responded Joanne; the fact that the incognito singer spoke to Viridi was enough to delight the goddess of nature. Just then, Link ran unto the stage, rudely shoving Viridi to the side with some disrespect. What does the Hylian possibly want?

"Hi my name is Link I'm the hero and pimp of Hyrule and I want to know if you can do a duet with the likes of me!" Link greeted Joanne, goofily shaking the singer's hand, but not in an endearingly goofy way. Zelda was watching from afar, feeling humiliated as she facepalmed.

"Um, I can't do a duet with you right now, I mean, I _have_ to take a break and all, it's what's best for my vocal chords. But once the break is over, I suppose...we...can..." Joanne slowly watched as Link creeped his way over to K.K. Slider's unsuspecting keyboard. Clearly the Hylian wanted to sing, and he wanted to sing now!

"Link you idiotic buffoon, what in Hylia's name are you doing?!" growled Midna, her voice resonating from inside Link's body. "You're practically throwing the plan off the rails, stop this madness at once!"

"Sorry Midna, but I've waited since the beginning of the year to do this!" Link pressed a button on K.K. Slider's keyboard, and K.K. and others feared for the worst as a dreaded familiar techno tune played from the keyboard. All their fears were suddenly met when Link grabbed a microphone and began singing... "Oooooh yeaaaahh...you know what time it is...it's time to get schwifty...gotta get schwifty in here...you know what you gotta do...take off your pants, and your panties...poop on the floor...yeah, that's how you get schwifty..." Link was now getting low, and it was making Joanne cringe nonstop. Talk about leaving a lasting impression on a guest.

"This guy is the famed hero of Hyrule, he sure acts like a dork sometimes!" Hisui, with Kohaku now at his side, had to say about Link as he watched the Hylian do his thing. Zelda would go up to Hisui and defend her man, but at this point, Link was utterly indefensible.

 **Hisui: Whenever I think of someone who carries the moniker "hero of Hyrule", I think of someone who has all the qualities of a hero, like respect, honor, wisdom, and other traits...and on that stage in the gaming room, Link completely threw all those heroic qualities out the window with his strange singing and dancing ensemble. Sucks for me that his stupid song is now stuck in my head...**

"FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, WILL YOU PLEASE STOP?!" Joanne screamed, making Link stop whatever he was doing and turn the techno song off on K.K. Slider's keyboard. Everyone looked at Joanne, wondering what had gotten into her. "...what I'm trying to say is, your song is not as great as you seemingly make it out to be. And by the looks of everyone here, everyone is tired of hearing the song. Why don't you just do everyone a favor, and stop?"

"Yeah you're right, I have to admit I was a little flamboyant with the song," replied Link, understating how annoying his song was. The Hylian then decided to address those in the gaming room. "Guys, I'm afraid I have no other choice but to retire the schwifty song..." This announcement was met with cheers from the mansion residents. "...but the good news is, I have another song for you to enjoy!" And just like that, the cheers immediately turned into groans, as Joanne shook her head at Link in disdain. Link headed back to the keyboard, and played a different techno tune, a tune that made Doc Louis bob his head.

"Aw yeah, I can get behind this, this beat is slammin'!" the boxing trainer exclaimed as he made the ill-fated decision to join Link onstage. He was eating chocolate too, he can't go inside an elevator or even inside the bathroom without a chocolate bar in his hand.

"Alright! Uh huh, here we go! We got Jerome Doc Louis in the house, yeah! Drop to the beat, go the club, here we go, say it with me now..." Link sang. Brace yourselves for what he and Doc Louis are about to do. "Head bent over, raised up posterior...head bent over, raised up posterior...sing it with me now..." Yes, Link and Doc Louis were literally bending their heads over, and raising their butts up to the sky. What possibly convinced Link to sing this song was a mystery everyone had in mind.

Suddenly the lights went out, and the techno music from the keyboard stopped playing shortly thereafter, as a state of panic filled up the room. After a minute or two passed, the lights dimmed back on, and the panic subsided...somewhat.

"Woah Nelly, everyone calm down, the lights are back on!" Doc Louis said into Link's microphone, as the panic finally subsided for good. "Obviously that blackout was a work committed by none other than some lousy evildoer, might be Team Rocket, or even worse...the Organization XIII! Bet they kidnapped sweet Aerith, and took her away to..."

"Um, Doc, I'm still here," stated Aerith, raising her hand for the boxing trainer to see. But there was someone noticeably absent from the gaming room...

* * *

Samus, Pikachu, and Cloud were still in the workshop, determining whether or not Mario had allowed Toad to deflate the football Mario's team used in the backyard football game outside. Sure, this whole thing was being overblown, but Master Hand allowed it to completely snowball out of hand. And speaking of snowballs, the Ice Climbers, as well as Ema Skye, were brought to the workshop for a little assistance.

 **Cloud: Starting to believe that Master Hand secretly hates me...last week, he had me stuck in the Empty Room with others as some part of a stupid "competition", and now he has me do some lousy investigation...he sure knows how to waste my time, I'll give him that.**

"Here is the football we properly inflated, now subjected to freezing temperatures!" Popo gave the football Mario's team used (Cloud had inflated the football back to the standard pressure of 13 psi) to Samus, who stuck an air pressure inside the pigskin.

"The pressure of the football is...10.7 psi!" the bounty hunter read the number off the meter, as Ema recorded the data on her notepad. The group were running a few trials with the football, to see if the cold weather outside may have been responsible for the decrease in football pressure. They did five trials, and Ema added up all the numbers from the trials and divided it by five, using a calculator (of course).

"I've added up the numbers, and our mean is 11.4," the forensics expert stated. Looks like the theory was starting to hold true. "You guys think we should inspect the football Link and his team used, just for good measure?"

"Samus, are you and the others still in here?" Dunban's voiced called out after a knock on the workshop door. "Someone here would like to speak with you." The Homs opened the door to the workshop, revealing Sonic. Dunban and the hedgehog walked inside, and Sonic appeared to be holding something behind his back. "Alright Sonic, spit it out, say it or forever hold your peace and let Mario soak all the blame!"

"Fine, fine, since you want me to do it so bad, then I'll do it!" Sonic fired back at Dunban, before heaving a sigh. "I just wanted to say...that at the backyard football game, I was bitter about losing to Mario's team, so bitter that I accused Mario of cheating by deflating his own football...when that really isn't true." Sonic took out the object he held behind his back, and it was the football his team had used. He tossed the football to Samus, who then inserted the air pressure thingy inside the pigskin.

"Let's see, the pressure for this football is...11.5 psi!" announced Samus, her eyes widening when she announced the pressure. "But Mario's football had the same exact pressure...Nana, Popo, what's the temperature outside?"

"The temperature outside, according to this thermometer, is around forty degrees," the Ice Climber replied, reading off from a thermometer in her hand. "Must have been colder when that football game was played outside! Which must mean...both footballs decreased in pressure due to the cold weather!"

"Yeah, I could tell our football felt a bit different as the game went on, I kinda overlooked it on purpose," confessed Sonic, sheepishly scratching the back of his head. By the looks of it, the hedgehog was coming off as a somewhat of a sore loser, and he had a habit of being a sore loser at times.

 **Dunban: Saw Sonic took our team's football with him inside the mansion, and he was guarding the ball at all costs, refusing to let anyone touch it. That was when I kinda knew Sonic was salty about the loss today, and didn't want anyone to find out that we were playing with a deflated ball, like Mario's team. I also think Sonic was also keeping the football away from Tails, who would perhaps inspect the football on his own accord and discover that it was deflated...a revelation like that would make Tails lose some trust in Sonic, and a loss of trust would have an adverse effect on the fox's friendship with the hedgehog.**

"Looks like the jury is finally out - both footballs deflated due to the cold weather, meaning that Mario's team didn't cheat at all," confirmed Samus, bringing the seemingly pointless investigation to an end. "It was the weather that played a tricky part in that backyard football game. Now to type up the report..."

* * *

"So what you're trying to tell us is, Toad didn't deflate the football _at all_ ," said Yu as he and his investigating crew, as well as Mario, Toad, Thomas, and Broski met outside at a picnic table. (They would conduct the meeting outside, but Master Hand refused to let Mario and Toad in due to their temporary ban.)

"Yup, according to science, or at least the ideal gas law, the lower the temperature, the lower the pressure," explained Thomas, finishing off his explanation by smirking and crossing his arms. "So because of the cold temperatures outside, not only did Mario's team's football decrease in pressure, but so did the football Link's team had used. Science is a pretty fun thing, isn't it?"

"Had it not been cold outside, both footballs would have most likely remained the same!" stated Toad, giddy about the thought of now being innocent. "That must mean that Mario and I were dragged through the mud for no reason!"

"You got it right, man - it's all a witch hunt!" said Broski, confirming what was on Fox's and Falco's minds. "A witch hunt started by someone who's egotistical, someone who loves to punish others for no reason, someone who loves to see others suffer, someone who hides and only appears at opportune times..." Huh, that description awfully sounded a lot like NFL commissioner Roger Goodell...or maybe even Master Hand himself!

"Would you like another cup of lemonade, milord?" Flora approached Thomas, holding a plate with a glass of ice-cold lemonade in her hands. Flora typically calls Corrin milord, but with Thomas being a guest, he was an exception to the rule.

"Did you just call me 'milord'?" Broski asked Flora, under the assumption she was talking to him. "Yeah, I like the sound of that!" The man grabbed the glass of lemonade, which was meant for Thomas, and heartily drunk it, as Cloud and Pikachu arrived at the picnic table, with Pikachu carrying a folded-up paper in his mouth.

"Here is the full report for the whole deflation thing, this should definitely clear things up," Cloud, holding Pikachu in his hands, placed the mouse Pokemon on the picnic table, and Pikachu gave the folded-up paper to Mario, who unraveled it and read it with Toad. It was the report Samus had typed up.

 **Samus: No, I certainly did not hold back when I typed up the report. Sometimes, you gotta give credit where it's due. Master Hand won't be the only one getting credit for screwing a famous guy like Mario over...**

The report regarding the whole investigation was called the "Aran Report", and it looked a lot like this:

 _THE ARAN REPORT_

 _Mario, Toad, or anyone from Mario's team did not cheat_

 _Both footballs for the backyard football game decreased in pressure due to cold temperatures_

 _Mario and Toad were innocent all along from the very start, much like Tom Brady and the New England Patriots_

 _The accuser, Sonic the Hedgehog, was being a sore loser about losing_

 _Team Link's football, and the Indianapolis Colts' footballs in the 2014 AFC championship_

 _Decreased in pressure due to cold temperatures yet nobody gave a crap whatsoever_

 _Mario, Toad, and Tom Brady were both essentially punished for wrongdoing that never existed_

 _It is more probable than not that Master Hand and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell are egomaniacs and power-thirsty fools_

 _Both individuals, who love to recklessly punish those below him, should stay in their lane and quit acting foolish_

 _The Deflategate scandal from 2015 was a sham perpetrated by the NFL, much like the "controversy" surrounding Mario_

 _Master Hand and Roger Goodell should both quit their day jobs, or relegate their duties to someone else_

 _Mario should demand an apology from Master Hand, if that numskull hand has a single shred of dignity_

"Dang dude, that girl Samus Aran just WENT IN!" exclaimed Yousuke, having read the report over Mario's shoulder. "Hoo boy, can't wait until Master Hand gets a load of this, he's gonna be TICKED!"

 **Samus: Do I have any regrets about the report? My only regret would be not making the report long enough, the report had to be done today. I had a lot of other things to say, would have taken me until at least past midnight to type up the other things I had in mind.**

* * *

A certain man, a stranger by the mansion's standards, walked through the hallway by himself, wearing a Patriots hoodie while eating a banana he had found on the floor. This man, who appeared to be lost, was grumpy; he was so grumpy, he would make Dopey from _Snow White_ more dopier than he probably should. The man was so grumpy, he would easily put Arin Hanson and Dan Avidan from _Game Grumps_ to utter shame. The man was so grumpy...that we'll call him Grumps, just because the name fits him perfectly.

"I did it Saix, I finally got the girl!" Xigbar exclaimed, holding a sac with someone in it, as he was with someone wearing an Organization XIII coat like him. The Nobody fulfilled his promise; he alluded to bringing a fellow Organization member with him on his next mansion visit, and the promise was delivered. Saïx, the guy Xigbar brought along, took off his hood, revealing his blue hair, yellow eyes, and the "X" mark on his forehead.

"Excellent work Xigbar, knew I could count on you," the Nobody said to his one-eyed partner-in-crime as he opened up the sack and felt...dismayed. Saïx found a unconscious Joanne inside the sack, and shook his head. "Xigbar, you got the wrong woman, you were supposed to get Aerith!"

"Well to be fair, I had to carry out the mission in the dark, so nobody would see me! Not my fault I can't see in the dark, I was just trying to make things more effective, you know?"

"This is just great...how are we going to lure the Cloud from this universe to our universe, and continue with our plan?" Saïx groaned as he looked to his right, and saw Grumps staring at him, with a bored facial expression. Either that, or he's just really, really grumpy. "Who are you looking at, you fool?"

"Oh, nothing, I was just curious as to what you and your friend were discussing," replied Grumps, as he and Saïx continued to stare at one another, like they were having a staredown of epic proportions. Xigbar kinda got in-between the two, anticipating something exciting to happen from the tension...but unfortunately neither Saïx nor Grumps were capable of excitement.

 **Grumps: *looks at the camera with an uninterested look* You seriously have to ask me why I was warped here? Does it look like I even know the answer to that question? I was never given any instruction or directions, I just...wandered on my own. Nothing wrong with that, is it?**

"Emperor Palpatine, get away from those evildoers, they're nothing but bad guys!" Corrin's voice boomed, the prince of Nohr standing at the end of the hallway pointing at Xigbar and Saïx. Pit claimed that he was going to reason with Corrin...evidently the reasoning didn't work. Then again, it's Pit...

"Our cover has been blown, we have to retreat!" Saïx told Xigbar, who nodded his head as a summoned a corridor of darkness. "Hopefully the next time we can successfully capture Aerith!" Grumps watched as both Nobodies went through the corridor, before the corridor disappeared. The man didn't even bother stopping the two evildoers, he must have been too uninterested. Corrin ran up to Grumps, who turned around to face the prince of Nohr.

"Thank you for saving me kid...I guess," the man thanked Corrin, who gleefully smiled. "Didn't need that much saving, those two were just running their mouths, and I was curious about their 'plan', that's all."

"You're very welcome, Emperor Palpatine," replied Corrin, catching Grumps off-guard. Seriously Corrin?! "Since I saved you, you must pay me back in some way...why don't you take me to Naboo, where the Death Star is? Please, I beg of you..."

"Look kid, I appreciate the offer, but I'm _not_ Emperor Palpatine. Thanks for noticing, though." Grumps walked away, but he would only walk a few feet before Corrin grabbed unto his leg, holding on for dear life. "For the last time, I'm not Emperor Palpatine, and I'm not taking you to some fictional place named Death Star!"

"But you're here Palpatine, so everything is now real to me!" replied Corrin, his body scraping against the floor as Grumps tried to walk away. At this point, not even Kamui could save her hapless twin brother from being himself.

"Wh-what happened, where am I...?" Joanne suddenly awoke, and found herself in the sack. She looked up, and saw Grumps walking away, with Corrin still holding unto the man's leg. How she wanted to be back in the gaming room...

* * *

"So what do you think of the report, Master Hand, are you gonna let Mario and Toad be free?" Samus, joined by Mario, Toad, Thomas, Broski, and Yu's investigation crew in Master Hand's room, asked the giant hand, who was reading the report as Isabelle held it in her hands.

"I concur with everything this report has to say, except for the remarks about me, those are obviously not true," replied Master Hand. As former wrestler Kurt Angel would say, it's true, it's darn true! "Mario, Toad, you've been cleared of any wrongdoing, and therefore you are free to go!" Mario and Toad were elated, as they jumped up and down in celebration and cheers. "Oh, and I'm sorry for dragging you two through the mud. Hopefully Sonic, the accuser, will give you an apology later today, otherwise I'll have to use force on him!"

 **Master Hand: *seething* Samus had called me an egomaniac...and accused me of acting foolish...one does not simply tick off the creator of the Smash Universe, and for poor little Samus Aran, she'll learn that the hard way!**

 **Yukiko: Yeah, safe to say that the mansion residents will be feeling some of Master Hand's wrath for the time being...I'm surprised Master Hand took the report with stride, thankfully he didn't unleash his anger upon us!**

 **Thomas: *hands on his hips* Justice had to be done, and I'm glad Mario and Toad are now off the hook. Fellas should have been off the hook in the first place - all it's been has been nothing but silly ball talk.**

"You are welcome to stay around a bit longer if you like," Isabelle said to Thomas, Broski, and Yu's investigating crew. Thomas and Broski turned around, and saw Grumps walk by, Corrin still grasping unto his leg.

"Kid, if you don't get off of my leg, I'll have to get somebody to restrain you..." threatened Grumps, pulling away with all his might. If only he had pepper spray on him, to spray in Corrin's eyes...

"PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME, EMPEROR PALPATINE, TAKE ME WITH YOU I INSIST!" Corrin cried out, leading Mario and company to have some pity for the prince of Nohr. Even the eccentric Teddie thought that the way Corrin was acting was hard to watch.

"We would stay around, but Broski and I gotta get back to our destination, got some stuff to take care of," Thomas answered Isabelle's question. The stuff he and Broski had to take care of couldn't be told to others.

"We have to go too ourselves, we _are_ high school students after all," said Yu, on behalf of his fellow investigators. "Teddie, he doesn't go to school, he just...hangs around in the TV World, so we have to get him back soon."

* * *

"Do you really have to go so soon Joanne, can't you stay until it's nighttime and sing a few more songs?" Viridi asked Joanne, who was kneeling down on the floor holding Viridi's hands in the teleportation room. Thomas, Broski, and Grumps were ready to be teleported away by Link and Zelda, both of whom had to pry Corrin off of Grumps' leg.

"I would Viridi, but I have to do some...some important things back where I'm from," replied Joanne, looking behind at Link and Zelda, with Link giving the incognito singer a smile and a thumbs up. "If the opportunity ever arises, I can come back and sing some more for you and your friends. Does that sound alright with you?" Viridi eagerly nodded her head, as Link approached Thomas and company to ask them one question...

"Did you three complete your mission?" the Hylian asked; Thomas and Broski confidently nodded their heads, while Grumps looked around, thinking, "What mission?"

After a couple of goodbyes were exchanged, Link and Zelda teleported Thomas, Broski, Grumps, and Joanne back to where they came from. Viridi exited the teleportation room in a happy state, knowing that Joanne might potentially return to the mansion one day. Shortly after Viridi left, Midna floated out from Link and with her hands on her hips, flashed a smile and sighed happily.

"We certainly accomplished a lot of things today..." the imp remarked. And she was feeling rather...gleeful, even caught Link and Zelda by surprise.


	60. Episode 60: Valentine's

_Author's Note:_

 _As advised from Darth Sigma 86, I shall return to updating this story on Fridays, rather than Thursdays. (Now that I think of it, I haven't posted a chapter on Friday since chapter 51...) Regardless of the release date, this won't prevent me from answering guest reviews..._

 _"Question, which Zero are you using in this fic? Megaman X version or Megaman Zero version?"_

 _The Zero in this story is the Megaman X version. Next up, we have Kirby 629:_

 _"I'm sure you own a Mii Fighter of yourself so why don't you add yourself to the story."_

 _Joke's on you, my friend, I don't even have a Mii Fighter! Hahahahahaha...but even if I had a Mii Fighter created in my likeness, I would never add myself to this story. I don't do self-inserts. Smasherfan88 has returned, and with a whopping seven requests:_

 _"1. we see a Kirby character (who I thought should've been playable in smash 4) the one of a kind...Bandana Dee! (as fans call him, Nintendo just calls him Waddle Dee)  
2\. It seems Ike has not appeared a lot, so could we see more Ike?_  
 _3\. More CRAZY HAND_  
 _4\. King Boo was at luigis wedding, it just seemed off to me of him not doing anything villainous, could we maybe see some kind of evil plot from the king of ghost?_  
 _5\. I suggest Corrin go to comic-con(or maybe even Star Wars celebration 2017 when that happens this year) where Ian McDiarmid is (the actor of Emporer Palpatine/Darth Sidious/Sheev Palpatine) and Corrin thinks he's not the Sith Lord, Emporer Palpatine (mostly a suggestion since I think this would be funny)_  
 _6\. Can Yooka-Laylee(aka Yooka and Laylee, from the game Yooka-Laylee, since it's made by playtonic, which is made up of old rare employees and people who made Banjo-Kazooie) make an appearance? (or Banjo and Kazooie...or both)_  
 _7\. Remember when Link and Mario found their old T.V. Shows? Can we see Kirby and Sonic finding their respective shows? (Kirby right back at ya, and um...one of the various sonic cartoons)_

 _1\. I'll see what I can do with Bandanna Dee.  
2\. Expect to see Ike featured in this chapter, and in future chapters.  
3\. Hopefully Crazy Hand will make an appearance prior to Mario's wedding.  
4\. Of course, you just gotta be patient...  
5\. Hmm, sounds intriguing.  
6\. Yooka-Laylee, yes, Banjo-Kazooie...we'll just have to see about that.  
7\. I got something planned that might be even better..._

 _Last up is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"I just wanted to know who you were rooting for [in the Super Bowl]...I'm only rooting for the Patriots just because Salty Falco would be funnier to read about then Bragging Falco..."_

 _I'm a Buffalo Bills fan, and since the Bills play in the same division as the Patriots, I was rooting against the Pats by default. I do agree that Salty Falco would be funnier than Bragging Falco - perhaps Tom Brady and a few Patriots players discovered "Smash Life" during halftime, and read about Falco's fanboying over the Falcons, and engineered the comeback in the Super Bowl so the Falcons would lose and they would get to see Falco being salty in this chapter. But that's a theory for another day..._

* * *

 **Episode 60: Valentine's**

Valentine's Day. The one day of the year in which a lover expresses their love for their boyfriend or girlfriend, either through chocolate, candy, or even a love song. Can't go wrong with either one of those methods, just as long as you know what you're doing. One bad mistake could put your relationship in a shaky state.

Even though Valentine's Day was on a Tuesday this year, Master Hand wanted to celebrate the day earlier than usual, since unlike Halloween last year, the giant hand had an actual plan he wished to carry out, and pretty much everyone in the mansion will be a participant in this plan, whether they like it or not. Master Hand would ask every resident to do one thing, and one thing only...

...find a significant other as soon as possible, lest you wish to face any consequences.

For folks like Mario, Lucina, and Ganondorf, their significant others were always nearby in the mansion. For folks like Ness, Knuckles, and Bayonetta, they could just contact their significant others and tell them to come over to the mansion. But for folks like Meta Knight, Cilan, and Snake, finding a significant other would be hard.

Some brawlers also gave up their pride in order to meet Master Hand's commands. The male and female Inklings, despite being best friends, decided to become lovers, but only for a day. The Ice Climbers Nana and Popo, though we don't know if they're friends, siblings, or lovers, opted to go with the latter just for a day as well.

"Waiting for your girlfriend to arrive too, Roy?" Knuckles asked the swordsman, the two standing around in the foyer waiting for their girlfriends to arrive. Out of the two, Knuckles was the most nervous; his girlfriend was Rouge the Bat, and Rouge had a tendency to be very, very unpredictable...and flirtatious. She could make a tough guy like Shadow the Hedgehog blush.

"Yeah Lilina should be coming very soon, Lilina's a childhood friend of mine," responded Roy, prompting Knuckles to look at him like he was crazy. "What, I'm not allowed to to have a childhood friend as a girlfriend? At least I don't let Lilina steal stuff from me in my sleep!" On that remark, Knuckles stopped looking at Roy - he knew what the swordsman had said was too true.

 **Roy: What's funny is, everyone was under the assumption that my lover was Lyn, probably due to Bowser's incessant ship-teasing (why a grown man like him even does that is beyond my level of understanding). So when I told my buddies that Lilina will be coming over as my Valentine, everyone looked at me like I had gone insane, and assumed I was cheating on Lyn! Good thing my man Marth was there to clear things up.**

 **Knuckles: Rouge stealing my stuff is nothing new, she has been doing it for the longest now. What she would do is stop by the mansion when everyone is in the bed, hack the security system (she's a master hacker, in case you didn't know, and that makes her hotter), and with the security system down, she sneaks her way inside my room and steal my stuff, before turning the security system back on once she's done and high-tailing out of the roomy like nothing ever happened! Last night, she stole my Air Jordans, AND my television, AND my _B_ _arbie_ Bridal Set, all without a single peep whatsoever! To make matters worse, my idiotic roommate Yoshi, who had stayed up all night "perfecting" some of his newest pairings, like Cilan and Wii Fit Trainer... *points at his open mouth to signify the how bad the pairing was* ...claimed that he didn't see Rouge stealing my stuff at all! Must not have been that observant then...oh and for the record, just pretend you never heard anything about that _Barbie_ set. But if you must ask, that set was supposed to help me prepare for a future wedding, when I marry Rouge. I have to admit, the girl's a keeper...a keeper of my stuff.**

Knuckles and Roy continued to wait in the foyer, until a certain white bat swooped down and landed behind Knuckles, smiling devilishly. This was none other than Rouge the Bat, who sneaked up on her man Knuckles...

"Happy Valentine's Day, my lovely Knuckles!" Rouge yelled at the echidna, making him shriek and jump into Roy's arms, sucking his thumb. Though he was a tough guy, the cunning nature of Rouge was enough to make Knuckles act the exact opposite. "Why hello there Roy, long time no see, how do you do?"

"I'm doing awesome, thanks for asking Rouge!" Roy happily answered the bat's question. How come Rouge greeted Roy much differently than her own boyfriend, what's up with that?!

A knock was at the front door, indicating that Lilina must have arrived. With Roy still holding Knuckles in his arms, Marth walked by and opened the front door, and saw four _Fire Emblem_ ladies together - Nowi, Raven, Lilina, and Marth's wife, Caeda. Expect Caeda to turn a lot of heads today.

"Greetings, ladies, come right on in and make yourselves at home," Marth let the four ladies inside the mansion, and upon entering the foyer, Lilina saw her man Roy, still holding a frightened Knuckles. The moment Roy saw his woman, the swordsman dropped Knuckles to the floor like he was worthless trash and ran up to Lilina.

"Lilina!" Roy screamed in the name of love as he hugged Lilina and lifted her up in the air, spinning her around. Rouge and company looked on, feeling happy for the two; the only one that wasn't looking was Knuckles, who was now in a fetal position sucking his thumb. "Did you get here safely? Nobody harmed you or anything? How are you feeling today?" Roy would ask Lilina after putting her back on the floor.

"I'm doing fine Roy, quit being such a worrywart," Lilina smiled. "You kinda sound like a very overprotective father." A very overprotective father like Chrom? The man is always asking his daughter about her morale and well-being, like she was some hospital patient on the brink of death.

"I guess...that's what happens when you don't see your lover in such a long time. We haven't talked that much ever since our last date...you do remember the date, do you?" It was a rather embarrassing date for Roy; he and Lilina wet dining at a Japanese restaurant, and Roy made the dumb mistake of drinking a glass of lemonade prior to his date...and as you would imagine, it got the swordsman's bladder going. So when Roy had to go, he made a mad dash for the restroom, and he relieved himself...at the time he reached the restroom door.

"Yes I do remember, but I only remember the positives...just for your sake. I was just as humiliated on that day as you were, Roy." Lilina placed a reassuring hand on Roy, who flashed a smile. Gotta give Lilina some credit for being such a great girlfriend to Roy, able to sympathize with him and stuff.

 **Rouge: Don't tell anyone this, but I was hiding up in the ceiling of the mansion's foyer since last night. I turned the security system off...and then turned it back on and waited in the foyer for my moment to pounce. Whoever installed the security system didn't do that great of a job, considering I never was detected all night long... *strikes a seductive* ...or maybe I was too sexy to be detected by the system at all.**

"I have been preparing something for you Caeda, it has been something I've taken a bit of pride in," Marth said to wife, involved in a conversation with a woman most residents assumed was just an imaginary woman. "I would show it to you right away, but I know you wish to settle down before..."

"No Marth, it's fine, I'm already settled," replied Caeda, who was now at the Smash Mansion for the first time - which meant there was a lot for her to explore. "Now that I'm here...would you mind showing me your room? You did say that you were roommates with Ike in that letter you wrote to me, did you not?"

"Why are you so interested in Ike, do you wish to see him?" Marth suddenly found himself scratching the back of his head, irked that Caeda would mention Ike of all people. The princess of Tayls was smirking at the hero-king, waiting for an answer, and there was an answer that the fair maiden preferred. "Fine, I suppose we can go see Ike, but I better not see you trying to flirt with the man..."

"A married woman like me flirting with others? Give me a break Marth, I'm not a skank..." And Tayls wouldn't want a skank in their mighty throne, would they?

So Marth, heeding to a command that he did not wish to carry out, escorted his loving wife Caeda to his room, and on the way, the hero-king and the pri"ncess were suddenly approached by Meta Knight and King Dedede. Never did Marth expect to see the two denizens of Dream Land together in such an instance.

"Marth we need to speak with you right away!" King Dedede grabbed the hero-king, and pulled him inside a nearby room, with Meta Knight following after; Caeda just looked on, wondering when Marth will be done.

"Alright you two, what do you want, can't you see I'm trying to spend some quality time with my wife Caeda?!" Marth frowned after being thrown inside the room. Both Meta Knight and King Dedede were genuinely surprised when Marth said that the woman walking next to him was his wife.

"We need your help finding us a woman before Master Hand punishes us," explained Meta Knight, who never had a romantic partner before. A mysterious, stoic swordsman like him wouldn't need a woman anyways. And a greedy, selfish king like King Dedede wouldn't need a woman either. "Will you find us one before it's too late? Who knows what Master Hand would do to us..."

"Since I refuse to let Master Hand harm anyone, I suppose I can put off my time with Caeda and lend a helping hand. We all have yet to learn why we would need a significant other, but whatever floats that giant hand's boat..."

 **King Dedede: Meta Knight, you never told me that Marth was actually married! This whole time, I thought him being married was just a lousy rumors, and you, one of the few who knew Marth well, never told anyone that...  
Meta Knight: I did tell you that Marth was married, you lazy buffoon! You just never bothered to listen to me!  
King Dedede: Don't feed me your lousy excuses, I understand if you may be somewhat envious of Marth having a hot babe as his wife, I bet you fantasize her feeding you grapes and wine! Don't try and hide it from me, bub!  
Meta Knight: So what you're saying is Marth's wife feeds me even while I'm wearing my mask...I believe you're fantasizing right now.  
King Dedede: *snaps out of a minor trance* ...am not, you're just imagining things!**

* * *

"C'mon Falco, get over it, the Falcons lost, and the Patriots won," Fox said through the locked door of his room, accompanied by his girlfriend Krystal. Falco was in the room, and he had the door locked; the avian pilot, a huge Atlanta Falcons fan, was feeling pretty salty all week along about his team taking an L to the mighty New England Patriots, and hearing all the chatter about Tom Brady being the GOAT (at least when it came to quarterbacks) didn't help the bird that much. "Just be happy that the Falcons made it to the big game and fifteen other teams in their conference didn't."

"Hey guys, what's up?" asked Ema Skye as she approached Fox and Krystal, wondering why the couple was standing outside Fox's room. "Let me guess - Falco is still reeling after the Super Bowl and is continuing to sulk in the privacy of his room."

"Yup, you got it right Ema - the man can't stay in this room forever," replied Krystal; the blue vixen got to know Ema very well at the Christmas party, and some would say they became best friends on the spot. "There has to be some way to get him out."

"I need Falco to be my valentine for today, if it will please Master Hand. Falco may not be the best candidate, but hey, I'll take whomever I can get. Have you ever tried mentioning the Falcons choking in the Super Bowl to Falco?"

"Krystal and I decided against doing that, we thought that it would be..." Fox started off, only for a deviously smirking Ema to near the bedroom door, and yell the following to the oh so bitter Falco Lombardi...

"THE ATLANTA FALCONS BLEW A 25 POINT LEAD!" the forensics expert yelled at the top of her lungs. The remark was enough to get the now hot-blooded Falco all riled up, as the avian pilot opened the door in a snap and grabbed Ema by the collar. The forensics expert wasn't intimidated at all - in fact, she was grinning! She never expected Falco to go ham like that.

 **Fox: But that Super Bowl though...man that was an awesome game. What sucks now is that we now have to put up with Tom Brady fanboys claiming their beloved quarterback to be the greatest thing since sliced bread, only for the time being. Safe to say Falco hasn't been taking the loss well; really, the only time we see the guy is for breakfast and dinner. He'll have conversations with his fellow brawlers, ignoring any mention about the Super Bowl whatsoever, and then head back to his room and sulk. It's a good thing he didn't burn his Julio Jones jersey, even though that thing still stinks up the room to some extent.**

"Do you not realize how much that factoid haunts me, do you know the torture I have to undergo as a sports fan from now on?!" frowned Falco, shaking Ema silly. "Whenever I tell someone that I root for the Falcons, they'll be all like, 'Oh, so you root for one of the biggest chokers in sports history, how troublesome!' And deep down I know you're gonna be that type of person! So what do you have to say to me? Say it now, or forever hold you piece!"

"...you wanna be my valentine for today?" asked Ema, unfazed by Falco shaking her. Falco, who had a strong, firm grip on the forensics expert, immediately released his hold on Ema, making Fox and Krystal surprised that Falco cooled down that quickly. In most cases, it would take the two several minutes to resolve his state of mind.

"Eh, I don't see why not, it's not like I have a valentine either," a now resolved Falco shrugged. Fox and Krystal were left dumbstruck as Falco walked past the couple. "What's up Fox and Krystal, why are y'all looking at me like that? You know it's rude to stare at others with your mouth agape, right?" Fox suddenly fainted to the floor, unable to comprehend what he had seen.

* * *

"Kohaku for the last-a time, you can't have-a Rotom as your valentine, he's a Pokemon and-a you're a human!" Mario tried to tell the young girl, who was profusely hugging the plasma Pokemon in the living room of Luigi's home. Mario, Luigi, and Hisui looked on, wondering whenever Kohaku would stop with the unnecessary hugging. "If you-a want, then I can ask-a Ike to be you valentine, he's-a single!"

"But Rotom is so cute and adorable, how can you not like him?" asked Kohaku, as she stroked Rotom's chin, or where the Pokemon's chin would be. Rotom giggled, enjoying the treatment very much with its arms folded behind its head. It could never recall Daisy or even Yuffie cuddling him like Kohaku was. "I could care less if we're not the same species, it doesn't take away from how precious Rotom is!"

"I do have to admit, when given the chance I can swoon plenty of charming ladies," remarked a grinning Rotom, now being filled with strange delusions of attraction due to the treatment Kohaku was giving it. Rubber would meet the road when the "charming ladies" find out that Rotom has no gender whatsoever.

 **Yuffie: Master Hand stopped by Luigi's home around twelve o'clock to "remind" me that I needed a boyfriend "real soon", or else he'll find a way to punish me, all while telling me the importance of this deed. If it's so important, then why did Master Hand bother telling me at the last minute, shouldn't he have told me earlier this week if he was planning extensively for some big shindig at the mansion? Sometimes I will never fully understand that guy...I _can_ call him a guy, can I?**

"So Hisui, who's your valentine-a going to be, have you found-a one yet?" Luigi would ask Hisui, who was chilling on the couch with one leg on the floor and the other leg resting on the furniture. To some, Hisui might not look like the ideal romantic type, but you'd be surprised - the teen sure loves to flirt with the ladies!

"I do indeed have a valentine, it's a friend of mine," answered Hisui, looking cool as he looked up at the ceiling. "Her name is Lithia Spodumene, she used to reside in Kohaku's Spiria for some time. I've tried to hit on the girl, but she would always play hard to get." Either that, or Hisui wasn't trying hard enough. "She should be arriving soon, don't know who'll be taking her though..."

Suddenly there was a sound of someone knocking on the screen door of Luigi's home. A curious Luigi headed to the back of his home where the screen door was and opened said door, letting a mysterious man inside. The man had long black hair and a red coat, and looked stoic as ever, probably even more so than Cloud.

"Thank you for letting me in Mr. Luigi, much greetings to you," the man thanked the plumber as he took a step inside the home. He followed Luigi to the living room, and suddenly found himself surprised when Mario, Kohaku, Hisui, and Rotom were all present, looking at him. This man was none other than Vincent Valentine, a Turk who underwent genetic modification from Professor Hojo, preventing him from aging. Basically he was like Captain Falcon's girlfriend Nowi, but only a thousand year younger. "Well well well, so much for making a stealth entrance...no doubt I haven't seen a few of these faces before..."

"Ah, Vincent Valentine, haven't seen-a you since Luigi's wedding!" exclaimed Mario, inside wondering why his brother Luigi would let a guy like Vincent in his house through the screen door in the back. To any stranger, Vincent would look an awfully lot like a completely shady individual, his deadpan stare promising to commit some devious deeds. "You have never met-a the Hearts, did-a you? The girl with the long black-a hair is Kohaku Hearts, and her brother, Hisui Hearts, is the young-a lad resting on the couch!"

"Who's the strange, red thing smiling at me?" The strange, red thing Vincent was referring to was none other than Rotom, who was smiling and waving to the Turk. The plasma Pokemon was very close to checking out Vincent, but upon further inspection he learned that Vincent was a guy who happened to have long hair.

"That would-a be my pet-a Pokemon Rotom," explained Luigi, confusing Vincent a little considering that Rotom looked an awful lot like a standard Pokedex. "It can assume-a many different forms, and the form-a you see before-a you is its Pokedex form!"

 **Vincent Valentine: I could be with my woman Lucrecia Crescent, but she's in the lab in Nibelheim working on something for Professor Hojo, so I had no other choice but to give her the space and time she needed. So instead of having her as my valentine today, I have...**

"Vincent you finally made it!" Yuffie, who had just came downstairs, exclaimed as she saw Vincent standing in the living room. The Turk quietly moaned as the ninja girl came running up to him, giving him a big hug. "Knew you would come around eventually!"

"Yeah, well you better be glad Lucrecia's busy right now with Hojo..." remarked Vincent, pushing Yuffie away from him. He was definitely not the kind of guy who would willingly accept hugs from others. "Was it too hard to ask Barret to be your valentine?"

"He's probably spending some time with his adopted daughter Marlene, so I didn't want to distract him from his 'father-daughter bonding' - the type of stuff Chrom and Lucina do. That kind of stuff means a whole lot to Barret, you know."

"Chrom is the father of Lucina?" Vincent raised an eyebrow, in utter disbelief he did not know this information before. "Here I thought they were siblings..." Mario chuckled at Vincent's ignorance, while Luigi and Hisui did their best to stifle their laughs.

* * *

 **Diddy Kong: Thanks to the wonderful help of Cilan and Palutena, I have prepared the most epic banana split known to man, and monkey! It's 4.5 feet long, and five meters wide, and it has the works - ice cream, bananas, chocolate, whipped cream, cherries, and caramel to top it off! My lady friend and potential girlfriend Dixie Kong will be arriving soon, and I plan to share my beloved banana split with her and eat it together! I practically stayed up all last night to ensure the banana split was without blemish, and now my time has come! Nothing can stop me now, this is an opportunity I simply cannot squander by any means, any means at all!**

Unfortunately for Diddy Kong, the spidermonkey would squander his opportunity - moments after the talking head segment was completed, Diddy took the large bowl that had the banana split and carried it through the hallway, but the bowl was too heavy for him and eventually the spidermonkey dropped the bowl onto the floor, wasting its contents. Now in a furious state of panic, Diddy Kong tried to clean up the mess, grabbing a dustpan and a small broom and sweeping up the ice cream and whatnot, but to no avail. Donkey Kong came near and saw his nephew cleaning up the mess, pitying him as time went on.

"Need some help cleaning that up?" the gorilla asked Diddy Kong, who was too busy to even pay attention to his uncle. "Allow me to fetch one of the maids for you!" So DK retreated, and later came back with Flora. The maid gasped as she was taken back at how big the mess was; she knew that it would take more than just one individual to clean the mess up.

"Stand back Diddy, let a professional like myself handle this!" Flora went inside a nearby closet, grabbed a large broom and a giant dustpan, and effortlessly swept the mess the banana split left behind.

"Hey woman whaddaya doing, I was doing just fine by myself!" frowned Diddy, ticked that he was suddenly pushed to the side. "How about you scram and clean someone else's mess, and leave me be!" Donkey Kong was about to scold his nephew, before he saw that Flora was slowly starting to tear up. Diddy just told the maid to stop doing her job, and she was unable to handle it; if someone were to tell Flora to stop cleaning up the kitchen, poor girl would have a panic attack in a heartbeat. Flora, a maid with severe self-esteem issues, took a great amount of pride in her work as a maid, and to have someone like Diddy to tell her to stop the one thing she felt she was capable of doing was devastating.

"B-B-But I was only just trying to help you...I don't mean any harm whatsoever..." stammered Flora, as Diddy suddenly realized what he had done. To make things worse for the spidermonkey, Dark Pit showed up, and saw Flora about to cry.

"Diddy what in the heck did you do to Flora, why'd you upset her?" the doppelganger frowned at the monkey as he went to console Flora, preventing the maid from breaking down into tears. "Let's go Flora, we don't need bums like Diddy making you cry!" Dark Pit, holding onto Flora, walked the maid away from the scene, glaring down Diddy as he and his presumed woman made their exit.

"Well we have all the cleaning supplies we need, now let's clean this mess up before someone like Master Hand sees it!" Donkey Kong grabbed the broom and dustpan Flora was using and cleaned up the mess, while Diddy Kong just stood there, feeling some regret for his previous actions.

 **Dark Pit: Flora's self-esteem issues are more grave than you think...one day she came to me while I was owning Pit at video games, and she asked if she was the prettiest female in the mansion. Wanting to keep it real while making her happy, I told Flora that she looked pretty, but not pretty enough to be the prettiest, and just like that, on the spot, she ran away crying her eyes out. And I was _this_ close to saying that she looked "alright" I would have lied to her and told her that she was the most beautiful face the mansion has ever seen, but that would fill her up with way too much confidence, and too much confidence can break ya down. *cockily smirks while pointing thumb at himself* But if you're like me, and know how to use your confidence correctly, then it's smooth sailing!**

While he cleaned up the banana split mess, Donkey Kong suddenly felt the need to use the bathroom, and so the gorilla ran to the nearest bathroom to take care of his business. When he came back, he saw the Duck Hunt Dog and Pit licking the ice cream and stuff off of the floor. The Duck Hunt Dog had every right to lick the mess, since he was a dog and probably couldn't help himself (he had to make sure not to taste the chocolate though), but Pit had little to no excuse to do what he was doing.

"You two get away from the mess, I have to clean it up before somebody gets reprimanded!" Donkey Kong angrily grabbed the giant broom, and used it to repel the Duck Hunt Dog and Pit away. As Pit tried to run away, Donkey Kong grabbed the rascal by his wings and dragged the angel towards him, meeting him face to face. "Now why is a guy like you licking up the ice cream just now, you trying to be a dog or something? Have you forgotten your role?"

"Oh I'm sorry DK, it's just that what the Duck Hunt Dog was doing looked pretty cool, and so I wanted to join in on the action," stated Pit, which made DK frown. The gorilla looked around, and saw that Diddy Kong was nowhere to be found - was he seriously going to clean up the mess his nephew created by himself. "Hey, where did Diddy run off to, he spilled the banana split so he should be cleaning his mess up!"

"He said he wanted to clear some wrongs he committed against Flora and Dark Pit. If I were him, I would tell Dark Pit that he's a jerk and doesn't deserve to have Flora or any other chick. How that guy acquired a girlfriend is one of the mansion's many mysteries that shall never be solved!" Like you're the one to talk Pit, we may never understand what Viridi sees in you...

Once Pit told Donkey Kong what he needed to know, the gorilla instantly assumed that Diddy was now looking for Dark Pit and/or Flora, and wished to apologize to either one. DK ran off in search for his nephew, not wanting Diddy to do things (well, certain things) by himself.

* * *

"Would you like another cup of soda pop, Felicia?" Corrin would ask the maid in the lounge, holding two cups of soda in his hands - one for him, and one for Felicia. The maid in question should be doing her mansion maintenance duties, but Corrin "enticed" her into taking a short break. We may never know how short the break would be, for all we know, it could last forever!

"Yes I would, thank you so much Corrin!" Felicia happily accepted the cup of soda from Corrin, who looked behind him at Robin, who was seated on a couch with Lucina, the princess of Yliesse reading the latest edition of _Swordsman Weekly._ Corrin gave Robin a triumphant thumbs-up, and the tactician gave a thumbs-up right back.

 **Robin: With Marth stuck finding both Meta Knight AND King Dedede a temporary valentine (good luck with that...), I can spend more time teaching Corrin the ways of love! Today is Valentine's Day, which means that there's oodles upon oodles of things for Corrin to learn...but no worries, I'll teach him that you can express your love to your significant on days other than Valentine's Day, that you don't have to only give Felicia chocolate on one certain day of the year...speaking of which, maybe I should purchase Corrin some chocolate to give to Felicia!**

"I think Corrin would be fine by himself learning how to be a model boyfriend to Felicia," remarked Lucina, who didn't even need to look up from her magazine to know that Robin and Corrin were silently communicating with one another. "I understand that he may be naive, but he still should learn from experience without people like yourself having to hold his hand."

"Well Marth is practically doing the same thing too, is he not?" frowned Robin, even though he started it. "I'm just trying to show Corrin the right way to be a good boyfriend, Marth is corrupting the poor guy and I refuse to let him terrorize Corrin anymore!" Lucina sighed as she continued to read her magazine; now wouldn't be the right time to be arguing with her man.

"Excuse me you two, but have you seen a woman around here, I had bribed...erm, _asked_ her to be my valentine," Wolf approached the _Fire Emblem_ duo. Of course the mercenary had to bribe someone to do his bidding... "She has white hair, tied back in a ponytail, and she also wears red makeup, around her eye...I know I'm not being descriptive enough, but have you two seen a woman of that description anywhere?"

"No we haven't, but we'll keep our eyes peeled," assured Robin, as he took a quick look at Corrin who was chillin' with Felicia, just to make sure the prince of Nohr wasn't screwing things up. He and Felicia were both prone to making mistakes. "If we see the woman you speak of, we'll make sure to notify you right away. Isn't that right, Lucina?" The princess, who was hardly listening, barely nodded her head. Convincing enough, Wolf assumed.

"Alright then, I shall resume my search. Let me know soon if you find the woman - Master Hand is planning something in the ballroom, and I gotta be with the woman by the time we meet in the ballroom. Who knows what may happen to me if I show up by myself!" And with that, Wolf left the lounge, and once the mercenary was gone, Lucina slowly looked up from her magazine, with a puzzled look on her face. Evidently the princess did listen to the conversation between Wolf and Robin.

"Didn't Wolf say that the woman he was looking for had white hair and red makeup around her eye?" Lucina questioned Robin, suddenly intrigued. "Do you have any idea who he was talking about?" Robin stroked his chin thoughtfully, as the image of a certain Hylian permeated in his head...

* * *

"Thanks a bunch for helping me find a valentine Sonic, you sir just made up for all the jerkbag things you've done to me in the past!" Takamaru thanked the blue hedgehog, the samurai's arm wrapped around his valentine...Blaze the Cat. The purple feline shot a glare at Sonic, who smirked while innocently shrugging. The guy was just doing a solid, and besides, it wasn't like Blaze had a boyfriend to begin with...lest she was in love with Silver the Hedgehog.

 **Sonic: Yup, I spent a lot of time looking for the perfect valentine for Takamaru, though it was no easy task. I went through an entire list of suitors, but none of them exactly were Takamaru's cup of tea. Ilia? Takamaru wouldn't dig her, and Link probably wouldn't want that girl inside the mansion. Chie Satonaka? Might be a bit too tomboyish for Takamaru's tastes. Soon my list of suitors was dwindling down, and I was suddenly left with only one choice in mind...**

 **Blaze: *facepalming* Look, I don't mind being a temporary girlfriend - what I do mind is being a temporary girlfriend of a person I hardly know, like Takamaru. Perhaps the only redeeming thing about him is the fact that he's a samurai, but other than that...**

 **Takamaru: This is my first experience having a girlfriend, and I'm so excited! Granted I wanted to have a human girlfriend, just for reasons such as chemistry, but I suppose having a feline love interest will do. Sonic did say that Blaze is great to get along with once you look past her shyness, and I must admit, there's something endearing about the shy types...**

"How long do I have to stay with this poser?" Blaze asked Sonic as she pulled Takamaru's arm away from her. The undeterred samurai tried to use his other arm to wrap around Blaze, but the cat swiped that arm away real quick. "He's really starting to bug me..."

"Like I said before Blaze, this is only temporary, by the end of the day you'll be through with Takamaru," replied Sonic. Just then, Ike entered Takamaru's room, with a puppet in his possession. This puppet strongly resembled Mia, a character from _Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance_ and a close friend of Ike's.

"Say hello to my awesome girlfriend Mia!" Ike exclaimed, as Sonic and company looked on wondering what was up with the Radiant Hero. Why couldn't he get the real deal, why a puppet of his woman. "Don't be shy, tell her how you really feel, greet her or something! Can you honestly believe these people, Mia? They don't even wanna speak with you, what's up with that?"

"For real though Ike, these guys aren't showing me a ton of respect, shame on them!" replied the Mia puppet, her voice provided by none other than Ike, who was speaking in a girly tone. "That is why you're the only person I know that loves me, Ike..." Sonic looked at Blaze and Takamaru, doing a circling motion near the side of his head to signify that Ike may have lost it, and Blaze and Takamaru both agreed with the hedgehog with the nodding of their heads.

 **Ike: No matter how hard I tried, Mia refused to come around agree to terms with being my valentine...but I'm sure glad I made a puppet version of Mia to serve as a substitute! You're not afraid of Master Hand, are you Puppet Mia?  
Puppet Mia: Of course not, Master Hand is not as intimidating as he constantly makes himself out to be! He's just a lousy floating hand, why would anyone be afraid of some giant hand is beyond me!  
Ike: True dat, true dat...I can tell we're already building some great chemistry, Puppet Mia - dare I say it, you might be even better than the actual Mia I know!  
Puppet Mia: Yeah, that Mia will be nothing but old news soon, I'm like the new and improved Mia! That girl ain't got nothing on me!**

* * *

"I can't believe Marth actually followed on his promise and got us a valentine, I'm so excited!" King Dedede grinned as he and Meta Knight were waiting for the hero-king in an empty room. Both Dream Land denizens were blind-folded, to increase the allure of the surprise.

"I can't believe you haven't wetted yourself yet, the room still smells normal," Meta Knight remarked, unable to detect a foul urine stench with his nose. Does the guy even have a nose to begin with?

"Alright you two, I have returned, you ready for your surprise?" Marth asked as he entered the room, followed by two ladies whose identities will not be revealed as of yet. The sound of the footsteps of both women kept Meta Knight and King Dedede very interested. "You two can take off your blindfolds now!"

So Meta Knight and King Dedede took off their blindfolds, only to be captivated by the two beauties they saw before them. Meta Knight found himself looking up at an android by the name of Alisa Bosconovitch, a _Tekken_ veteran; granted she looked like she was a teenager, but she had no age so Meta Knight couldn't care less. King Dedede on the other hand was looking straight in the eyes of Sarah Bryant, Jacky's younger sister; the _Virtua Fighter_ blonde found herself unnerved by Dedede's "love trance".

"Alisa Bosconovitch, a pleasure to meet you," Alisa smiled as she shook Meta Knight's hand; the Star Warrior just kept looking, too amazed to even speak.

"I'm Sarah Bryant, I'm sure Jacky has been talking up a storm about me so I probably won't have to go into detail with my introduction," Sarah said to King Dedede, who gave the blonde a big, fat hug. "You're...crushing...my insides..." King Dedede apologetically smiled as he released his bear hug on the woman and placed her back on the floor.

 **Marth: I hope Meta Knight is happy with Alisa Bosconovitch, and I wish the same for King Dedede and Sarah Bryant...though I feel somewhat cynical about how Dedede will treat Jacky's sister. To be honest with you, Alisa wasn't the first choice I had in mind for Meta Knight - I was close to choosing another _Tekken_ veteran, Christie Montiero, to be Meta's valentine, but she was 19 and I didn't know how old Meta Knight was...judging by the sound of this voice, I'll go out on a limb and say that Meta Knight's 60. Is that a bit too far off?**

"Alisa, the short fellow with the mask is Meta Knight, and Sarah, the obese penguin you see before you is King Dedede, ruler of Dream Land," Marth introduced the two brawlers to the ladies. King Dedede shot a quick glare at Marth when the hero-king called him obese. "I'll leave and let you all get to know each other a little better."

"We'll see you around, I suppose," Sarah said to Marth; the hero-king nodded as he exited the room and headed down the hallway. As he continued through the hallway, he saw Kamui speaking with some dude with white hair, tied in a short ponytail; Marth could tell by the guy's attire that he was presumably from the kingdom of Nohr.

"I do not recall seeing you before, just who are you supposed to be?" the hero-king approached the guy, not wanting to sound blunt. He just wanted to make sure the guy was from the same gaming universe as he was.

"I'm Jakob, and I'm a butler sent from the kingdom of Nohr to serve as Kamui's valentine," the dude responded, affirming Marth's concerns. "I met with the owners of the mansion, Master Hand and Mario, and they said that they would welcome me to serve as a butler of the mansion, so that Felicia and Flora can serve under me while I take care of certain aspects of the mansion. And by the looks of it, you must be Marth, the legendary hero-king!"

"Why yes, that would be me...didn't expect another Nohrian citizen to stop by. To have you as a butler...that would be an awfully nice addition to the mansion. Now if you excuse me, I must get back with my wife Caeda, she's probably worried sick about me..." Marth continued on his way, sporting a curious look on his face. Having a butler would be nice, but how well would Jakob get along with the others?

"Hope you have a great rest of the day with your wife!" Jakob called out to Marth before resuming his conversation with Kamui.

* * *

For the first time this entire week, Falco stopped by the gaming room, sitting on a couch chilling. Ema was seated close to the avian pilot, assuming that being around the pilot would keep his tempers down...

"So Falco, what are your bold predictions for your Atlanta Falcons next year?" Gil, sitting on a couch opposite to Falco with his presumed girlfriend and valentine, Ki, asked the Star Fox pilot. The very mention of the Falcons was enough to get Falco's blood broiling. "I mean, I know they lost in the Super Bowl this Sunday, but I think they can make it back to the big game in Minnesota..."

"Why so you can see them choke another lead and prove to the world that the Falcons are world-class chokers like the Golden State Warriors?!" Falco angrily grabbed Gil by the collar and held him up to his face. "At least the Falcons' MVP showed up on the big stage when it mattered the most, unlike that man Stephen Curry!"

 **Lloyd: You wanna know how the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2016 NBA Finals? It's simple, really: the Patriots scored 31 unanswered points after being down 28-3 in the Super Bowl. 28 plus 3 equals 31. The Warriors were up on the Cavaliers 3-1 after Game 4 of the NBA finals...and that, my friends, is how the Warriors blew the lead in epic fashion in the Finals.**

"Please put Gil back down this instant, he doesn't mean any harm, he was just asking an honest question!" Ki pleaded to Falco, standing up. "I came here to have a good time, not to see my love potentially beaten to a pulp!" Aha, so Ki IS Gil's girlfriend! Clearly Gil has very good taste.

"Shut your trap girl, your man was asking for this beating!" Falco pointed at Ki, making the girl sit back down on the couch, before reverting his attention to Gil. "Now you listen here Gil, my Falcons, despite what went down in the Super Bowl, are eons better than your team will ever be!" Does Gil even support an NFL team to begin with. "So how about you know your role, and shut your mouth, if you know what's good for ya!"

"Woah Falco, easy there, Gil wasn't ridiculing your team, like Ki just said, he was asking a mere question!" Shulk the peacemaker intervened, rushing in just in time. "So why don't you put the man back down, and just pretend that this never happened, capiche?" Falco frowned at Gil, who was smiling innocently, and heeded Shulk's order, as he placed the brown-haired lad back on the couch he was sitting on. Falco then gave Gil the "I'm watching you..." hand gesture, and moved to another part of the gaming room, with Ema following the pilot.

"Are you okay Gil, he didn't rough you that badly, did he?" Ki asked the swordsman, who caught his breath; Falco had exerted some force on his neck, but it wasn't enough to do any substantial damage.

"No I'm fine, I'll be just alright Ki," Gil reassured, making his girlfriend calm as she pulled away from the swordsman. Unwritten Rule #71: It's never wise to discuss sports with a salty sports fan after their team suffered from a devastating loss, especially one that came in a championship game.

* * *

"We're actually going to spend our first Valentine's Day together, aren't you excited?" Aerith asked the ever excitable Cloud in his room, and Cloud was so excitable, that he was literally leaning against a wall with his arms folded, not giving a crap about Valentine's Day or holidays in general. Except Christmas, maybe, nobody except for Ebeneezer Scrooge dislikes Christmas with a passion.

"I bet there's a world from your universe where the inhabitants celebrate Valentine's Day day in and day out," said Cloud, uttering this random thought that generated in his head. Aerith did say there was a world where the folks celebrate Halloween on one side of the world, and Christmas on the other side.

"Wouldn't be surprised if there was such a world, there's so many worlds out in my universe to explore!" Thankfully Aerith didn't go on a long tangent listing all the worlds that existed, for Cloud would have toned her out real quick.

 **Cloud: *holds up a heart gift box, takes off cover to reveal chocolate pieces* Robin stopped by a dollar store not so long ago and bought two boxes of Valentine's Day chocolate, and gave one of the boxes to me so I could give it to Aerith. Normally I wouldn't trust any food product from a dollar store, but it wouldn't hurt to see how the chocolate tastes... *takes a chocolate out, and eats it* Hmm, not bad, this is actually pretty tasty! I could go for another one... *eats another chocolate* Oh man, this chocolate was better than the last! One more and I'll give this heart box to Aerith. *eats yet another chocolate* You know what, screw it, these chocolate pieces are too delicious, and I bet Aerith probably has chocolate allergies or something. So she wouldn't mind if I ate these chocolates by myself... *looks around, then runs inside the nearest closet so he could eat up all the chocolates in peace***

"Just spoke-a with Master Hand, he said that everyone-a must meet in the ball-a room for a Valentine's Day dance with their valentine!" Mario stopped by Cloud's room, standing at the doorway, to give the news. So that's why the giant hand forced everyone in the mansion (and Yuffie) to find a valentine soon... "Which now leads-a me to ask...which should-a I wear, the black-a suit, or the red-a suit?" Mario held up a black suit and a red suit at his sides, confusing both Cloud and Aerith.

"There's a dress code for the Valentine's Day dance?" asked Cloud, raising an eyebrow. "I think you're supposed to go to the dance with whatever you have on, I don't recall any of the guests bringing a suit or formal dress or anything." Imagine if Master Hand did enforce a dress code, everyone would be screwed!

"Mario, if you're trying to impress Peach, then dressing formally at the dance wouldn't be the way to do it, in my opinion," stated Aerith, leading Mario to heave a deep sigh as he lowered the suits in his hands. It was worth a shot... "Why don't you impress Peach another day, a day that _isn't_ Valentine's Day? Overreaching people like yourself are kinda the reason Valentine's Day gets such a bad rep as a holiday."

"You're-a right, maybe a suit isn't-a worth it..." Mario lowered his head as he walked away. "Sorry for interrupting you-a both..." Cloud and Aerith exchanged looks of remorse with one another, not meaning to put the plumber in a bad mood. They were just trying to do what they thought was right.

* * *

"Diddy Kong where are you my boy?" Donkey Kong called out, as his search for his nephew led him outside the mansion. "Have you apologized to Dark Pit and Flora yet?" The gorilla's search would led him to a tea party, hosted by yours truly the Black Knight. Attending the tea party was Dark Pit, Flora, Wii Fit Trainer, and Wii Fit's male counterpart. Oh, and Diddy Kong was also in attendance.

"I thoroughly enjoy your tea Black Knight, it's not too sweet but not too bitter, it's just right!" the male Wii Fit Trainer gave the knight a thumbs up. Both Wii Fit Trainers had an "exercise-off" to determine who was better at doing various exercises (the female trainer won), and there's nothing like some good ol' tea to drink down after a grueling physical competition.

"Much appreciated, making tea is one of my many specialties!" exclaimed the Black Knight, getting all giddy for no apparent reason. Apparently tea makes the guy turn up, it must be the amount of sugar in the tea that's responsible. "I made the tea especially great this time around, since we have visitors like yourself!"

 **Wii Fit Trainer (Male): As much as I would to stick around at the mansion permanently and be a secondary fitness trainer, I'm afraid that I cannot stay in one city for so long...for I am a traveling fitness guru! Everywhere I go I teach others to stay in fit, and to eat healthy! Most of the time I drop little nuggets of knowledge on the folks I meet everyday, motivating them to be the best! Though some people don't listen to my words...perhaps they just don't want to be motivated.**

"There you are Diddy, I've been looking high and low for you!" Donkey Kong interrupted the tea party when he interrogated his nephew. "Why are you hanging out with Dark Pit and Flora, shouldn't you be apologizing to them for the incident earlier involving the banana split you spilled on the floor?"

"Nah DK, it's all good, Diddy already apologized and explained to us the situation in its entirety," assured Dark Pit, surprising the gorilla. Strange enough, Donkey Kong was totally looking forward to helping Diddy give an apology to Dark Pit and Flora, but he assumed his assistance wasn't needed...why would it be needed anyways?

"Yeah, and after I apologized and all, Flora and I went back to where I wasted the banana split and we cleaned up the mess together," added Diddy Kong, making his uncle proud that he realized the error of his ways. "So everything is good now - Dark Pit is no longer angry with me, and Flora's happy and content again!"

"Well I'm glad to hear that Diddy!" DK remarked as he looked over at the front of the mansion, and saw his girlfriend Candy Kong pulling her car up the driveway. "Oh snap, Candy's here! I'll see you folks later!" The gorilla ran off, and after he was gone, the tea party immediately resumed.

* * *

Zelda was sitting by herself in the foyer, reading a Hyrulian book, when Link and Akira approached the princess of Hyrule. Link was clearly holding something behind his back, and Akira...who knows what he was doing here.

"Wrote this for you, hope you enjoy it," Link sheepishly gave Zelda a Valentine's Day card, and the princess, accepting said card, opened it and read its contents. Link waited nervously, awaiting Zelda's feedback if the princess bothered to provide any.

"Why thank you Link, I greatly appreciated this card of yours," remarked Zelda, placing the Valentine's Day card next to her. "But I must ask, why did you wait until today to write such a card to me, you know there are other days of the year to express your love to me!"

"That's what I tried to tell him, but he just wouldn't listen!" said Akira, only to receive a punch in the gut courtesy of Link. That must have been why the kung fu fighter was following Link, to dissuade the Hylian from wasting Zelda's time and giving her that Valentine's Day card.

"For the record Zelda, I thought that giving you a card on any other date would be out of place, so I wanted to give the card to you on a day it would be necessary," explained Link. "I've been working extensively on that card ever since last year's Valentine's Day." It took the man 365 days to work on a measly card? Should have prepared more romantic gifts to give to Zelda.

 **Link: Could have bought more Valentine's Day gifts for Zelda, but all of my money either was stolen or magically disappeared, for whatever reason. One night, I locked up my wallet with ten dollars inside in a safe so Wario wouldn't steal it, and when I woke up the next morning, I opened up my wallet, and saw that I was only left with FIVE DOLLARS! Maybe my money disappear at all, Wario or someone else must have figured out the code to the safe and raided my wallet in my sleep...**

 **Cloud: Confession time...I was the one who took money from Link's safe. Dude wasn't even being descreet with the code for the safe - he would always do the code in broad daylight, for anyone to see - heck, if someone walked by our room and took a peek inside, they could see Link unlocking the safe, and they would also see the code in broad daylight as well. If I remember correctly, the code to the safe is 36, 39, 42. Keep being secretive all you want Link, but just know that no secret of yours is safe from me...did I seriously make a pun just now?**

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the hero of Hyrule and the Twilight Princess..." remarked a woman with a long white ponytail. Link, Zelda, and Akira took a glance at the woman, and all three of them recognized who it was, although it took Akira longer to get the full recognition.

"Hello Impa, very funny seeing you here," Zelda said to the Hylian. This was a young, peppy Impa, not the old Impa that would instruct Link during the events of _Skyward Sword._ "I take it that you have a valentine?"

"Why yes I do. The man who asked me to be my valentine practically begged me to be his valentine, and even attempted to indulge me with money to sway me over. Knowing how pathetic his attempts were, I caved in and agreed to be his valentine for today." Indulging with money? That sounded an awful lot like someone Link, Zelda, and Akira knew all too well...

"There you are babe, I've been looking all over for you..." Wolf appeared in the foyer, walking towards Impa with a grin on his face. Link and company watched in absolute horror, with Akira fainting to the floor in an instant. Wolf and Impa as a couple, whether temporary or not, was something you certainly don't see everyday.

 **Akira: *does the infamous shocked reaction of Wee-Bey Brice from _The Wire_ ***

"Y-You're valentine is Impa, of all people?" a shocked Link asked Wolf, who was insulted that the Hylian would dare to ask such a question. Whoever said mercenary wolves and time-traveling Hylians couldn't mingle for just a day?

"What you got a problem with that, bub?" the space mercenary frowned, grabbing Impa's hand and walking away. "Let's get away from these losers Impa!" Impa would give Link and Zelda a somewhat remorseful look that literally screamed "Sorry you folks had to see this..." as Wolf took the Hylian away. Midna floated out from Link's body, having seen what just unfolded, and was just as shocked as the others were, if not disturbed.

"He must have tried extremely hard to get Impa to come around..." the imp shook her head, heavily discouraged that Impa would even dare to serve as Wolf's valentine. Even Captain Falcon would be better for Impa to be with.

* * *

Throughout most of the day, Bowser was feeling rather salty, salty that most of the residents, despite their quirks, had a valentine. Cilan, a Pokemon connoisseur who adored cracking cooking puns from time to time, asked a fellow Unova gym leader in Iris to be his valentine. Ashley, perhaps the most quiet and stoic girl in the mansion, managed to get Young Cricket as a valentine after sending him a love potion through the mail (with a picture of Ashley as well). Heck, even Lloyd Irving got himself a valentine, when he asked his childhood friend Colette Brunel to be his valentine.

Undeterred, Bowser sought to find a valentine and be at the dance in the ballroom. He went to the teleportation room, and turned on the teleportation device, which was previously used by Marth. Normally someone like Mega Man or R.O.B. should be turning on the device and warping people and whatnot, but this is Bowser we're talking about, the Koopa King wants to do things his way without the need of others.

"I think I know the perfect girl to be my valentine..." Bowser evilly rubbed his hands together, dying to see the girl he was about to warp to the mansion. "Let's take a look-see in...the TV World..." You could possibly assume where this was definitely headed.

* * *

The dance in the ballroom had just started, and Isabelle was standing at the entrance, allowing folks inside the ballroom provided they had a valentine. The shih tzu's valentine was K.K. Slider, and it was a bit of a dream come true for her.

 **Isabelle: I'm positively sure you knew this already, but I'm a huge fan of K.K. Slider and his songs. I would tell him how great his songs are, but frankly I don't have the courage to do so...I'm afraid that I might stutter in front of K.K., and leave behind a bad impression on him! Granted he's very forgiving and all, but I don't like taking any chances...**

"Sorry Snake, but I can't let you inside the ballroom, you'll need a valentine to get in!" Isabelle kindly explained to the former spy after letting Hisui and his woman Litha Spodumene. "That's a direct order from Master Hand!"

"I thought he said he had to at least be in love once to be granted access to the dance!" frowned Snake, obviously hearing some very false information. "Yoshi must have told me wrong, when I get my hands on him..." Snake looked around and saw Samus, who had just ended a call on her cellphone. The spy tried to ask the bounty hunter to be his valentine, but Samus immediately recognized what the man's intentions were.

"Yeah, I just got off the phone with Anthony Higgs and he agreed to come with me to the ballroom dance, so don't even bother asking me," the bounty hunter shot Snake's offer down, making the former spy snap his fingers in disgust. But then he suddenly thought up of a backup plan...

"Wait right here Isabelle, I'll be back with a suitable valentine!" Snake told the shih tzu as he ran away, running at the speed of light...yeah right.

* * *

"Whaddaya mean, there's no so thing as a female Kremling, I need a valentine to get into the ballroom, and I need one NOW!" King K. Rool frowned as he was speaking on the phone outside at the front of the mansion with one of his Kremling underlings. "And don't even give me any crap about evolution, that's not gonna help me with the situation I'm in!"

Just then, Snake ran out of the front door and stiff-armed Rool to the ground as he made a mad dash to Luigi's car. He got inside the vehicle, pulled out a key, turned on the ignition, and turned the car on, before opening the car door and looking at a nearby cameraman...

"I'm coming for you, Meryl, I'm coming to get ya!" Snake vowed as he pointed at the camera before closing the door back and driving out of driveway, and driving towards who-knows-where.

* * *

Back inside the mansion, Master Hand was now at Isabelle's side at the entrance to the ballroom, helping the shih tzu with her job. Ike headed to the ballroom entrance with his puppet of Mia, only to be stopped by Master Hand.

"Hold it right there Ike, no way I'm letting you in with a puppet for your valentine!" the giant hand pointed his finger at the swordsman. "You seriously couldn't ask the actual Mia to be your valentine? Did she reject you or something? Unless you can acquire the HUMAN Mia, then I won't let you inside!"

 **Ike: Apparently Master Hand refused to let us inside the ballroom, but I won't let this setback tear us apart! Ain't that right, Puppet Mia?  
** **Puppet Mia: You said it Ike, and besides, we don't need those losers in the ballroom anyway, we can just hang by ourselves! Who wants to be at some lousy dance anyways?  
** **Ike: I like the way you think, Puppet Mia, so great that we're mentally on the same page...**

"So you won't grant me access inside the ballroom but you'll let those two bozos inside?!" Ike angrily pointed at Doc Louis and Black Knight, who respectively had a chocolate bar and a tea bag as their "valentines". Isabelle let the two inside the ballroom, and Master Hand saw nothing wrong with it.

"Me and you, we're gonna have the time of our lives!" gleamed Doc Louis, talking to his chocolate bar like it was a sentimental being. You literally couldn't make any of this stuff up...

"Neither man has a girlfriend, and they apparently love non-living objects, so they're fine with me," stated Master Hand, though he felt like he should be reprimanding both Doc Louis and the Black Knight. But that must be his conscience telling him to punish others for no good reason at all. "As for you, you like girls, and therefore you should _be_ with a girl, and not a puppet!"

"Oh yeah, is that how it's gonna be?!" frowned Ike, holding Puppet Mia out in front of Master Hand. "Puppet Mia, show Master Hand what you're made of!" Master Hand, ever so unimpressed, simply flicked the puppet away with the flick of his finger, sending Puppet Mia flying. "Oh no, Puppet Mia!" Ike chased after the puppet, and Master Hand let out a sigh of relief, glad that the swordsman was gone. Good riddance...

* * *

"Man I gotta say, Master Hand has done a bang up job with this ballroom dance," remarked Luka, as he was standing with his woman Bayonetta at the wall, soaking everything in. A lot of couples were in the ballroom - Tails and Cream, Toon Link and Toon Zelda, Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong - Luka himself had never seen most of these folks before.

"Planning get-togethers has always been a specialty of Master Hand's," stated Bayonetta, just when a certain koopa finally arrived at the ballroom. The Umbra Witch squinted her eyes, and saw Bowser, wearing the white attire from the _Super Mario Odyssey_ trailer. But that was the least of Bayonetta's concerns - Bowser had his arm wrapped around his valentine, and who was his valentine, you might ask? Yukiko Amagi, the young investigator who appeared in the previous episode. Yukiko looked like she didn't want to be here, and you couldn't blame her for feeling that way!

"Lookin' fresh as usual Lucario!" Bowser said to the aura Pokemon, who was with Lopunny, as he strutted like a pimp. Lucario was pretty much forced to find a Pokemon valentine by Master Hand, partially because of "his human-like abilities". For that reason, Mewtwo had to come to the ballroom dance with Gardevoir as his valentine.

 **Lucario: No, I still can't tell anyone what the "prize" is, however Master Hand did give me another object for me to hold on to... *holds up a whistle* He told me not to blow into the whistle, since it emits an ear-piercing sound of sorts that can be heard from miles away. I refuse to believe in such tall tales, and therefore I won't blow into the whistle by any means...now that I think of it, I should keep the whistle away from Kirby. He sure loves to blow into things, even into things that don't even require any blowing.**

"Bowser what's up with the attire, and why do you have Yukiko with you?" Toad questioned the Koopa King, as he was standing with his valentine Toadette. "She's a high schooler, for crying out loud!"

"Who is this 'Bowser' fellow you speak of - I'm A Pimp Named Bowser, and I'm the coolest cat in this room!" A Pimp Named Bowser exclaimed, telling Toad how it was. "Yukiko agreed to be my valentine, for she thinks that loser Yu is overrated!" For those of you who may not know, Yu and Yukiko are believed to be romantically linked, but only to some extent.

"I never even said that to begin with..." grumbled Yukiko, though A Pimp Named Bowser assumed that the girl was just talking silly. The Koopa King brought Yukiko closer to him, and the raven-haired lass felt a sudden indignation to punch A Pimp Named Bowser in the gut.

"How are all my groovy people doing tonight?" K.K. Slider, the DJ, said into a microphone, and was greeted with a response of cheers from the crowd. "First off, let me just say that it's sweet seeing everyone gathered here, getting all lovey dovey and whatnot...and speaking of love, let's hear it from the man about to get married to the woman of his dreams, Mario!" Everyone cheered and applauded for the plumber, who was still bummed out about not wearing a suit to the dance, for whatever reason.

"How about a speech from the mighty Mario?" exclaimed Toon Link, even though Mario wasn't in the right mood to give a speech. "Speech, speech, speech, speech, speech!" Toon Link started the chant, and soon enough everyone else joined in. Mario practically had no other choice but to deliver a speech, it was what the people wanted. So the plumber headed over to where K.K. Slider was, and took the microphone from the hippie dog, as the chants died down.

"Is everyone-a here having a great-a time?" Mario asked the crowd, and soon the ballroom erupted into another wave of cheers. Why did Mario bother asking that question, he wasn't having a great time himself. "Well I just wanted-a to say that I'm glad to be-a marrying Peach, it's been a long-a time coming, and soon my dream-a will finally be-a realized..."

Mario was about to go on a self-deprecating rant, talking about how he was dissuaded from wearing a suit to the dance and discussing a few romantic blunders he suffered with Peach, until he took a quick glance at A Pimp Named Bowser. The Koopa King was flaunting around like he was a pimp, showing off his attire and Yukiko to the others, even though they didn't care one bit. He was showing off, expecting other to care about him, and it rubbed off Mario the wrong way.

"But if there's-a one thing I learned-a about being in love, it's that you should-a never make a great-a effort to impress-a your love, or others around-a you," Mario continued his speech, throwing the mic stand down, most likely just for effect. "You just-a have to be-a yourself, be true-a to who you are! Don't-a be like Bowser over there and try-a to make a good-a impression!" A Pimp Named Bowser looked up at Mario angrily, disgusted that he left out the "A Pimp Named..." part in his name.

"That's A Pimp Named Bowser to you!" the Koopa King/Pimp pushed Yukiko to the side (Chrom saved the high schooler in the nick of time before she fell on the floor) as he ran towards Mario, only to slip on an unsuspecting banana peel strangely covered in ice cream and chocolate. A Pimp Named Bowser fell on his bum in front of everyone, being ridiculed and laughed at by everybody.

"Some pimp you're supposed to be!" Sonic jeered at A Pimp Named Bowser, who grumbled as he stood up, his white tuxedo now ruined. The Koopa King/Pimp angrily pointed at Mario, and stormed out of the ballroom, not even bothering to retrieve Yukiko and take her back to where she belonged.

"That's odd, I never threw that banana peel out in the open..." wondered Diddy Kong, scratching his head, before he looked to his right and saw Flora with Dark Pit, smiling and waving at the spidermonkey. In her hand was a banana, one with ice cream and caramel on the peel, and the moment Diddy saw the fruit, he smiled right back at the maid.

 **Diddy Kong: You know, I think tonight should make up for the past things I've done to Flora. A few weeks ago I accidentally hurt her sister, and earlier today I snapped on her and nearly made her cry. But then we made up and cleaned up the mess I left in the hallway, and after what went down in the ballroom with Bowser... *shrugs* ...I'd say all is forgiven.  
Bowser: *overhearing Diddy from afar* It's A Pimp Named...you know what, forget about it!**

"What a fabulous speech Mario, I enjoyed every second of it!" Peach said after running up to her man, giving him a huge hug. It might not have been the greatest speech, but knowing Peach, she was probably just saying to make Mario feel more content. "What possibly convinced you to talk about impressing others and all that stuff? I never would expect such words from you!" Mario, thinking of an answer, looked towards Cloud and Aerith, who were chilling in the back of the ballroom, cheesing it up. Cloud cheesing it up? Such fallacies...

"Let's just-a say that I'm grateful to be-a in the presence of some great-a people," smiled Mario, hoping that his answer wasn't as cheesy as it might have sounded.

But it didn't matter, for the plumber did have a valid point..., in fact, he was in the presence of great people right now.


	61. Episode 61: Robotics

_Author's Note:_

 _Before I answer reviews, I have a little announcement to make: YoKaiShoubiao, one of my lovely guest reviewers, now has a Fanfiction account, and has published their first story, "Smash Mansion: The Worst Idea of My Life"! So if you can, show YoKaiShoubiao some love and check out his/her story when you have the time. (Here's the link to the story, if you're interested:_ _s/12360673/1/Smash-Mansion-The-Worst-Idea-of-My-Life.)_ _Moving on to the guest reviews:_

 _I know I ready gave a long list of characters for you to add, but do you think you can add, the Golden Axe characters, Toma and Cyrille from Shining Force EXA, Frank West from Dead Rising, Tessa and Mai-Ling from Red Earth/Warzard and Morrigan and Lilith from Darkstalkers? (Since there are fans out there that like to ship Pit and Dark Pit with them.) P.S. will the other Xenoblade characters appear in this story as well?_

 _Woah, woah, woah, hold the phone...people ship Pit and Dark Pit with...Morrigan and Lilith?! Well, when I think about it, I could see where these folks are coming from...the characters you mentioned can be added to the story, and Xenoblade characters such as Reyn and Sharla will be appearing too. Here's another anonymous guest review:_

 _"Story centered on bowser and sonic?"_

 _I've been planning something great for the two, and I shall unleash it upon you readers hopefully two weeks from now. One more anonymous review:_

 _"How about some Mario Kart fun? The main Mario characters and some guest characters be racers while the rest are spectators. Could be in line for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe."_

 _Mario Kart 8 Deluxe won't be released until April 28, right? I'll do a Mario Kart-related chapter on that day. MegaHeracross2.1, who was locked out of his account, left behind this plot idea under a guest account:_

 _"Plot idea! Unknown to most of the smashers, Lucario is friends with a tomboyish Lopunny (that can talk), who has a crush on him. A female Gardevior has just been brought to the Pokémon Sanctuary, and Lucario falls in love with her. Unfortunately, a (talking) Gallade has also fallen in love with it. They decide to have a DEATH BATTLE to chose who gets her and...well, you can fill in the blanks."_

 _Roydigs22 mentioned something similar in a previous review...eh, I suppose I'll see what I can do. Speaking of Roydigs22, let's see what they have to say:_

 _"Good chapter, but one problem: the way (you guessed it) lucario is portrayed. When I picture lucario and lopunny, I imagine ALMOST a knight and princess relationship. Also, as a general rule of thumb, lucario are gentle, brave, and kind; NOT the way you pictured him. One weird thing before I go: lucario can have chocolate:_

 _Yeah, I guess you're right, in a way...I barely even had Lucario appear that much in the previous chapter! He won't show up at all in this one (please don't hurt me!), but he'll definitely be included in the next chapter, for sure. But wait, there's more!_

 _"One other thing, I know how the battle of smash mansion should end SPOILERS AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! So here's what should happen:_  
 _Despite the pokemon army's best efforts, plus assistance from EVERYONE ELSE IN THE MANSION, the hands included, they are losing. Something about seeing his family, friends, and brethren falling in battle just makes something in him snap. He gets an idea: 6 attack and speed, thrown using ears holding all items that boost close combat. He uses extremespeed to give the attack one last boost after mega evolving uses close combat on the leader heartless who is 200 feet tall, right through the center, and punches clean through, with destructive force rivaling that of the FALCON... PAWNCH! 1 MILLION times over. The shockwaves of the attack are felt for 5 miles, and is so powerful that it erases all the heartless from existence. Such power comes at a cost though, and for 10 minutes... Lucario's heart stops beating. Lucario is hailed as a hero, and when he recovers, he sees thank you's from all the smashers and pokemon, along with (aww) a flower from lopunny. Okay?"_

 _I like the way you think, Roydigs22...I'll take all of this into heavy consideration once I get back to the Heartless plot. This scenario kinda reminds me of "Heroes" by David Bowie in a way, a song I've been listening to long before the Regular Show finale (I listen to it everyday whenever I can, even when I'm writing this story!) Up next is Sarah Valentina, with five questions to ask me:  
_

 _"1. Will there be Miis? Even if you don't have one, will there still be three joining the mansion?_  
 _2\. Will there be Naruto characters? If someone has already suggested it then I'm sorry. I just love Naruto... If possible, will there be NarutoxSakura?_  
 _3\. Can we see Elsword characters? Apparentely there is a upcoming Elsword anime, and it was called El Lady... It will be releasing the second episode and further episodes in 2017, not sure about date._  
 _4\. Can we see some Persona 5 characters? It will be released this month..._  
 _5\. Will there be DFO characters? DFO is for Dungeon Fighter Online (Remastered since 2015)..."_

 _1\. I may have mentioned this before, but I'm not fond of adding Mii characters to the mansion._  
 _2\. Sorry, but no anime/manga characters making any full appearances. I love Naruto too, I practically listen to the opening and closing themes of the show whenever I get the chance, but I can't make it happen._  
 _3\. An Elsword anime? Sounds interesting...as for Elsword characters, I'll see what I can do._  
 _4\. I'll have to do some research on Persona 5 before I can come to a valid decision on that. Also, wasn't Persona 5 already released, if I'm not mistaken?_  
 _5\. I'll have to conduct research on Dungeon Fighter Online as well before I decide upon adding characters._

 _Smasherfan88 is back with even more requests!_

 _1\. Can we see some Overwatch characters if possible? I have a feeling this may getting answered with a maybe or a no due to the fact they Overwatch isn't on a Nintendo console (would be cool if it got a smash port though)_  
 _2\. Since plants vs zombies was on the Nintendo DS, could we maybe see some of those characters? Like Crazy Dave and Dr. Zomboss? (Even though garden warfare hasn't been on a Nintendo console, if any plants were to appear, I'd think it'd make sense for the notable ones to appear how they do in those games)_  
 _3\. Technically it's Lego, but this character first appeared in a video game, and it is even nintendo exclusive to the Wii U and 3DS! (Well for now, since a ps4 port is in the works) this character I'm speaking of would be Chase McCain from Lego Undercovered and Before the Chase (I think the 3DS version was called that at least...) plus I just think it'd be funny since Corrin and Kamui (at least going off of canon) don't wear socks or shoes...I think it's obvious what I'm alluding to what could happen..._

 _1\. I want to yes, but like you said, Overwatch is not on a Nintendo console. But I love Tracer...I'm so conflicted!_  
 _2\. Crazy Dave and Dr. Zomboss would be very eccentric characters to have interact with the brawlers._  
 _3\. Eh, I'm a bit iffy on Lego characters, just as much as I am with Mii characters._

 _J300 also has a few requests to share with me:_

 _1\. I was wondering if Bowser could actuably teach Kamui with his lessons BUT, Kamui only goes along with it to humiliate Bowser in the long run and to prove that Corrin shouldn't listen to Bowser._  
 _2\. Maybe showing a little snippet of what Swordsman Weekly is like in the magazine._

 _The first request may happen this summer, or maybe even sooner. The second may be done in the next chapter, who knows. Last up is Mr. Macoroni:_

 _Now, let me get to the point. This is actually a comment regarding .EXE's presence at the Smash Mansion. Because NetNavis are basically data programs, hence the .EXE extension in a Navi's name, they cannot exist physically outside of their NetOp's PET- unless a Dimensional Area is present, of course. Which brings up the question- Are there Dimensional Areas in the Smash Mansion? Or is the Mansion itself a Dimensional Area?_

 _I guess you can say there's a couple of dimensional areas in the mansion, never really thought about this. Moving on:_

 _This leads to my next concern- Lan's complete absence. Lan is 's NetOp, and as such I personally would expect to see him there with .EXE, whether .EXE is able to exist physically in the real world due to a Dimensional Area, or it's just him inside Lan's PET. If you could, I would like to see possible answers to these questions in the future._

 _I have completely neglected Lan, haven't I? As much of the "MegaMan: NT Warrior" that I've watched in my childhood, I should at least had Lan appear once in the story. But I shall make some recommendations for him in the future. One more thing:_

 _"Speaking of NetNavis and NetOps, I would also like to see Chaud and make appearances, preferably in multiple chapters as recurring characters."_

 _Chaud is a very fascinating character. I shall make recommendations for him as well._

* * *

 **Episode 61: Robotic**

Dr. Light was a man respected on many, many levels. He graduated from Robert Institute of Technology, graduating with a PhD in robotics. He received a Nobel Peace prize for his works, and invented many robots such as Proto Man and Mega Man X. He invented many Robot Masters over the years, starting off with the original six (Cut Man, Guts Man, Elec Man, Ice Man, Fire Man, and Bomb Man), and moving on to other Robot Masters, all with their unique abilities.

But Dr. Wily, envious of Dr. Light and the fact that he was better than him, kidnapped the inventor's robots, and turned them evil. And it would be up to Mega Man to defeat the Robot Masters and stop Dr. Wily for good. After the Robot Masters were defeated, the ever kind and caring Dr. Light, who always cared for his robots, was generous enough to let the Robot Masters stay with him and Roll at his laboratory, where they would do...robot things. Dr. Cossack, a Russian inventor who had Robot Masters himself, allowed his creations to stay with Dr. Light.

On this particular day, Mega Man and Rush stopped by Dr. Light's laboratory, to check on the inventor and Roll. Both individuals were doing just fine, especially with no evil threat like Dr. Wily rummaging about. While Roll was doing her thing in the living room, sweeping things up, Mega Man and Rush walked with Dr. Light through a dark corridor, with the robot inventor wanting to speak with the Blue Bomber. Mega Man had a glut feeling Dr. Light wanted him to complete some sort of important mission, and the robot was up for anything.

"I've been doing some cleaning around the laboratory, and my cleaning has finally led me to this area where the Robot Masters stay," Dr. Light told Mega Man and Rush as they continued through the corridor. Mega Man suddenly remembered the last time he stopped by Dr. Light's laboratory - the time Sonic pestered Dr. Light about his martial status and called him "Santa Claus"...those were some very bad memories. "So that I'll be able to focus on the task at hand without being irritated in the slightest, I'll leave you with some of the more 'insufferable' Robot Masters to stay with you at the mansion until further notice. I already spoke with Master Hand about this on the phone and he was quick to agree to the terms."

 **Dr. Light: Honestly I was surprised Master Hand agreed to allowing a couple of Robot Masters to stay at the mansion, given that the chaos that goes on there. One day while I was working on a new robot theory, I looked outside my window and saw a ginormous atomic bomb cloud erupt from the Smash Mansion, and it left me alarmed. I alerted Roll about the explosion, and she said that she witnessed the explosion and that she was calling Mega Man to make sure everything at the mansion was okay. Once we got Mega Man on the phone and asked if he was okay, he said that it was Wario who was responsible for the explosion - he let a seriously big one rip and inadvertently intoxicated the entire mansion with his toxic flatulence fumes... *grins* ...evidently the guy ate one too many onions. Someone should perhaps dissuade Wario from eating those onions, lest they don't care about breathing in clean air.**

Mega Man, Rush, and Dr. Light arrived at a door at the end of the corridor, and Dr. Light entered a secret code, a code so secret he didn't even want Mega Man to look at it, having his hand covered over the keypad. Once the code was entered, the threesome took a step inside a large, spacious compartment of the laboratory where the Robot Masters presided. In the center of the main room a few Robot Masters were playing baseball, with Strike Man as the pitcher, Tomahawk Man as the batter, and Guts Man as the umpire. Usually playing baseball didn't end well for Tomahawk Man, since he would always use a tomahawk as a baseball bat, and whenever he attempted to hit the baseball, the ball would either be sliced in half or struck out of the laboratory. Fortunately for the Native American-themed robot, it would be the latter, as he struck the baseball with the silver side of his Tomahawk, sending the baseball flying out through a window, breaking said window in the process.

"It...could...go...all...the...way!" commentated Drill Man as the baseball flew to realms unknown, channeling the legendary ESPN broadcaster Chris Berman. Most of the Robot Masters present were getting all hyped for no reason, until they saw Mega Man and company staring at them. That's when the euphoria came to an abrupt stop.

"Thought I told you fools good not to play baseball and other sports in my laboratory," Dr. Light scolded the Robot Masters, though they didn't care either way about the robot inventor...for their attention was on the Blue Bomber, Mega Man.

"Well, well, well, look who finally showed up after leisurely spending their time at the precious mansion!" Jewel Man exclaimed, not knowing that Mega Man was at the laboratory last year around. "The mighty Mega Man has finally returned to his roots!" Soon enough, the room was filled with all the Robot Masters, chanting Mega Man's name in unison. To think that they were previously antagonizing against the robot in the past...and now it seems like they're best friends with the guy.

"Alright now, alright now, settle down, I'll give you all a chance to speak with Mega Man, I have an important announcement to make," Dr. Light calmed down the robot masses, and the crowd noise came to a sudden halt. "As some of you may know, I've been doing a lot of cleaning around my laboratory, and that so I won't be easily distracted or anything, I've elected ten robots, all of whom I've considered the most irritating, to stay with Mega Man at the mansion until I tell you to return."

"What, that's your big announcement?" frowned Gemini Man, with hands on his hips. "Here I thought you would buy me a giant mirror for me to look at and adore my precious looks! I _am_ the best looking robot there is..." All the other Robot Masters rolled their eyes at Gemini Man, for the robot was very conceived and arrogant, taking way too much pride in his looks.

 **Gemini Man: With my absolutely gorgeous looks, I should be entering a plethora of beauty contests all across the world...but what stinks is that all of them feature women! Where's the diversity, what's so wrong with having beauty pageants with both women AND men, is it because of the femininity the pageants exude? To make things worse, they don't even focus on the "beauty" part of the pageants - they also do things regarding the contestants' intelligence and talent! It's a BEAUTY PAGEANT, so the judges should be focused on nothing but the contestants' beauty!**

"Now let's get to business..." Dr. Light pulled out a list of Robot Masters that will be temporarily staying at the mansion. "The ten Robot Masters that will be staying over at the Smash Mansion will be...Fire Man, Shadow Man, Splash Woman, Star Man, Blade Man, Burst Man, Quick Man, Top Man, Ring Man, and Flash Man." The ten bots who had their names called out were complaining about the idea of going from the comfort of the laboratory to the Smash Mansion, where they would likely either be bored as heck or annoyed by the residents.

"Awww, why do I have to go to the Smash Mansion?" moaned Splash Woman, holding her trident in her hand. Moving around in the mansion would be hard for her, due to the fact that she was essentially a mermaid robot. "Not that I don't mind as much, the brawlers could really hear my magnificent singing..."

"And your singing is the main reason why I want you to stay at the mansion - as great as your singing is, I'm afraid it would enough to distract me from my work. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, you're all welcome to speak with Mega Man, while I look for Auto and ask him if he has a vehicle to transport Mega Man and the ten robots." Auto was Dr. Light's secondary assistant, and he would always come in times of need for the robot inventor. And now would be one of those times.

* * *

"Here we are folks, we've arrived at the Smash Mansion!" Auto, driving a large version of the Rightot'n Half-track vehicle with Mega Man, Rush, and the ten Robot Masters, exclaimed as he pulled up to the mansion. The green robot saw the state of Master Hand sitting at the front of the mansion, in all its glory. "Um, Mega Man, why is there a statue of Master Hand? Is he really that conceited?"

"I'm afraid so Auto, his ego grows more and more as time goes on," replied Mega Man, as the robot and the others got out from the vehicle. "I've overheard that apparently Master Hand now yearns for a Lamborghini, just so he could show it off to others...don't know the stuff that goes on in that mind of his, and quite frankly I don't wanna know at all..."

"Well I gotta head back now, gotta help Dr. Light with the rest of his cleaning duties...I'll call you when Dr. Light's ready for you to bring back the robots. If you have any concerns, you know just the guy to call!" Auto drove away on his vehicle, leaving Mega Man alone with the ten Robot Masters. Blade Man looked down and saw Polterpup standing at his feet, with his tongue out and his tail wagging.

"Aren't you a cute little fella!" the robotic swordsman said to Polterpup, who proceeded to chomp down on one of Blade Man's arm blades. "GAAAAH THE BLASTED DOG BIT ME! GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF, GET IT OFF!" The robot ran about flailing his arms, with Polterpup's mouth stuck to the arm blade.

 **Luigi: No, I see-a nothing wrong with letting Polterpup-a roaming about outside, it's not like he could bite-a someone, he doesn't even have-a any teeth to begin-a with...Polterpup bit some-a one? And it was one-a of the Robot Masters Mega Man-a brought along?! *puts his hands over his head* Ooh, I hope who-a ever it was, they didn't have any significant-a damage done to them, Dr. Light would-a kill me...**

"I think I should take you guys inside the mansion now," Mega Man said, while Shadow Man did the honors of taking Polterpup off of Blade Man. Once the deed was done, Shadow Man placed Polterpup back on the ground, and the ghostly dog ran away. Soon enough, Shadow Man and Blade Man both realized that they were by themselves!

"Hmm, that's weird, where did Mega Man and the others go?" wondered Shadow Man, apparently not believing that maybe the robots WENT INSIDE THE MANSION?! And if you thought that was bad, Blade Man didn't know the answer to the question either!

"You know, I actually enjoy being outside, we've been cooped up in Dr. Light's laboratory for so long, that I'm starting to crave the feeling of the outdoors!" exclaimed Blade Man, dying for something to do outside, as long as it didn't have anything to do with dogs biting you and whatnot. The swordsman looked around, and saw Yuffie, Sheik, Greninja, Link, Cloud, and Aerith seated at a table, enjoying a tea party. "Why don't we go join those folks over there, they seem like a very friendly bunch!" Blade Man pointed at the group, while Shadow Man valued his options.

"I could go for some tea...but the only problem is, drinking any form of liquid would disrupt our systems. I suppose we could chill at their little tea party, and get to know them well." The fact that Yuffie, Greninja, and Sheik were all ninjas made Shadow Man more interested in joining the tea party, for he never really met fellow ninjas like himself. Maybe he could learn from Yuffie and her ways!

"More tea please, fill 'er up!" Link exclaimed as he held his tea cup out to Yuffie, who poured tea from a teapot into the Hylian's teacup. Both Link, Cloud, and Aerith were invited by Yuffie to join her crew at one of their tea parties, this particular tea party being the first to be held outside, and Link and company agreed to the offer, though it would take a long time for Cloud to come around. "Gotta admit Yuffie, this is some nice tea! Did the Black Knight help you with making it?"

"Nah, Sheik and I tried to make the tea ourselves," replied Yuffie as she placed the teapot back on the table. "But the Black Knight was being incessantly annoying about not being able to help; every now and then he would stop by the kitchen and be all like, 'I'm the best tea maker there is, why don't you have me make the tea instead and you ladies make some scones?!'" Yuffie shook her head as she took a sip from her cup of tea. "We thought making him bake the scones would shut his mouth, but frankly it didn't help much, he kept running his mouth like there was no tomorrow..."

"He even forced us to taste the scones, and ordered us to give him some feedback on how they tasted," added Sheik, who found it increasingly difficult to eat and drink by removing the bandages around her mouth. Apparently the ninja girl didn't want to reveal her mouth to the others, must be some sort of protocol. "Yuffie and I tried to be as blunt as possible, but then we saw that the Black Knight had a sword in his hand, and was ready to strike..."

 **Black Knight: *seething* Yuffie and Sheik had the utmost audacity to call my scones "one of the worst things" they've ever tasted! Any person with actual taste buds would say that the scones were stupendous, and profoundly delicious! I was _this_ close to unleash my wrath upon the ninja ladies and using my sword on them, until Dunban entered the kitchen and held me back! With my bloodlust still apparent, I stabbed Dunban with my sword, and made him fall to the floor in pain, clutching his wound and bleeding while I laughed maniacally at his expense...and so that's how I ended up being on dish duty for the entire month of February. It was still worth it though, the agonizing sounds Dunban made were music to my ears!**

"Excuse me everyone, but may we have your attention please?" Blade Man asked as he and Shadow Man approached Yuffie and company, garnering their uninvited attention. "Allow me to introduce ourselves - I'm Blade Man, and this ninja fellow is Shadow Man. We're both Robot Masters hailing from Dr. Light's laboratory, and Dr. Light wanted us and a couple of others to remain at the Smash Mansion for the time being. However, my friend and I saw this tea party, and I must ask...may we be a part of your party, if you don't mind?"

"Don't know why robots like yourselves would want to be a part of a tea party to begin with, but you can go ahead and take a seat, we have two chairs available!" exclaimed Yuffie, as Blade Man and Shadow Man sat in the two available chairs. Yuffie and the crew would introduce themselves to the Robot Masters, and would ask them about life at Dr. Light's laboratory. Blade Man and Shadow Man were quickly adjusting to the group, and were becoming more comfortable with their surroundings.

As the tea party went on, Blade Man discussed how he used to be a guide to an ancient castle, and that his design was heavily inspired by the castle's lord, who had an affinity of swords. Link, being the master swordsman that he was, took a great amount of interest in Blade Man's knowledge of sword, which was almost encyclopedic, and asked him a bunch of questions about swords and whatnot.

"So you're telling me that you have extensive knowledge about Hylian swords, like the legendary Lokomo Sword?" Link asked the Blade Man, as both individuals were embroiled in a lengthy conversation about swords. The others were bored out of their minds, waiting for the very moment the conversation would come to an end...provided that there was an end!

"I also know about the Four Sword, Phantom Sword, and all the other swords there is throughout the land of Hyrule," Blade Man responded with an affirmative nod. "I also happen to know about Cloud's Buster Sword, and what it is fully capable of." Link was about to ask Blade Man another question, until Cloud dissuaded the Hylian from doing so by placing his arm in front of Link.

"Link, man, please do all of us a favor and quit it with the unnecessary questions," advised Cloud, as a now saddened Link sat back in his seat. "We get it, we get it - Blade Man here knows a lot about swords, and has built-in knowledge of every single sword in existence. How about we all talk about something that's mutually interesting, a conversation we all can be a part of?"

"Like you're the one to talk, guy who remained silent most of the time," stated Shadow Man. Dude had a point - after Cloud introduced himself to the Robot Master duo, he just sat in his seat and just chilled, opting not to say a single thing until now.

 **Mega Man: Once I got the Robot Masters inside the mansion, I counted them all until I saw that Blade Man and Shadow Man were both missing. I kinda panicked a little, what with me running about screaming and flailing my arms about like it was the end of the world...before I looked out a window and saw the two robots enjoying a tea party with Yuffie's ninja friends and others. Seeing that kinda put a smile on my face, for I knew that Blade Man and Shadow Man would be getting along with the others quite well...**

"Oh yeah, well you were doing the same thing, were you not?" frowned Cloud, getting up for no reason other than to be mad. "You should stay in your lane and keep your mouth shut, if you know what's good for ya..." You know things are heading south when Cloud of all people is standing up and getting all mad with others.

"Those are some big words from a guy who looks like a perpetual loner!" This snide remark from Shadow Man did nothing but make Cloud's temper flare up with even more anger, as the swordsman clenched his fists with the utmost fury. Yuffie and company looked on, hoping Cloud wouldn't snap, for _that_ would be a sight for sore eyes.

"Please Cloud, I cannot stand to see you this angry, please sit back down..." Aerith tried her best to calm down the swordsman, who continued to glare down Shadow Man. The Robot Master would glare right back, like that would make Cloud feel intimidated.

"You know what, forget about it, I'm done with this party..." a now salty Cloud quickly left the premises, walking away from the tea party. Shadow Man cockily smirked as he sat back in his chair, with his arms folded. He truly got the best of Cloud, you could say he might have cut in deep into the swordsman.

"Cloud come back, you can't be mad at Shadow Man forever!" Aerith got up from her seat and chased after Cloud, who went back inside the mansion. This left Yuffie and company in an awkward atmosphere, which was best personified by Greninja facepalming at his end of the table.

"...can you tell me everything I need to know about the Great Fairy's Sword?" Link asked Blade Man, leading the others to groan. The last thing they wanted know was for another lengthy conversation between Link and Blade Man about swords, especially one that would turn into a long lecture about just one little blade.

* * *

"I know you have received good word about it, but I must say, your mustache is simply on point!" Flame Man said to Mario, with a strong Arabian flare in his voice, as he and Fire Man were chilling with the plumber in the laundry room. Mario was doing Peach a solid by doing the laundry for her, allowing his fiancee to take a short break from her normal mansion duties.

"Why thank-a you Flame Man, I work on a daily basis to keep-a my mustache neat and-a trim!" responded Mario, stroking his trademark mustache. The mustache's trademark is so prevalent, it was even used as a basis for leveling up in _Superstar Saga_!.

 **Peach: So happy Mario was kind enough to do the laundry for me, now I'm able to take care of some of the things that I must get done...since we're on the topic of laundry, considering Mario and I move out (which would be inevitable), should we split of some of the housework duties once we presumably move in into our new home? Like for instance, Mario washes the dishes and does the laundry, while I sweep up the living room and organize the pantry! *looks up thoughtfully* Would we even need a pantry anyways? We have a pantry here at the mansion, and nobody hardly uses it! Except for Cilan, maybe...**

 **Cilan: A pantry, you say? Yup, I know all about it, found it the other day and saw nothing but bananas! Glad I now know where the Kongs store their beloved bananas at! *looks around to ensure nobody was around* Since I'm all alone, I have something important to say...I've heard from Takamaru that Master Hand and Mario are apparently looking into replacing me with that loser Jakob once my time at the mansion is up, and he'll serve as the mansion's butler and do what I do here and more! He's not the right guy for the job - he can be very blunt at times, and is incredibly rude to anyone who's not a _Fire Emblem_ character. He and Master Hand have met with one another over the week, and they're conducting another meeting ****right now as I speak...if you ask me, Master Hand and Mario should save themselves some trouble, and cut any ties with Jakob!**

Also present in the laundry room was Villager, who was getting his "#1" T-shirt washed. For the time being, the young lad was wearing a blue-striped shirt, while playing with a paddle ball. He played the heck out of that thing, he hit that ball in the center of the paddle like a G, like Bloo from _Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends._ The ball, on one instance, traveled very far on the string, far enough to strike Fire Man in the shin. And boy was the robot mad - so mad, that the fire on the top of his head flared up as anger filled up inside the robot.

"Hey kid what's the problem, watch where you're hitting that thing!" Fire Man scolded Villager, making sure the boy felt all his wrath and fury. Villager cowered in fear, not wanting Fire Man to douse his flames on him. An innocent boy like him didn't deserve any third-degree burns at the hands of Fire Man.

"I'm so sorry sir, I didn't mean to hit you with the ball!" Villager apologized to Fire Man, who only backed away a few feet while Mario and Flame Man looked on. "It was a harmless accident I tell you, I meant no harm whatsoever!"

"Woah, woah, woah, what's-a going on here?" Mario got between Fire Man and Villager, trying to bring peace back to the laundry room. He certainly didn't want Fire Man to burn the entire room down in flames. "Did this-a boy do something to you?" Mario asked the Robot Master, whose flare calmed down, but not by a whole lot.

"Yeah that brown-haired kid hit me with his paddle ball, and it was uncalled for!" Fire Man accusingly appointed at Villager, who was trembling in fear holding his dear paddle ball close. He oughta be glad Mario came in to save the day. "Sure I'm made out of metal and the hit didn't bother me as much, but still!"

"All worked up over some innocent young boy accidentally hitting you with a ball, what has gotten into you, Fire Man?" Now Flame Man intervened, and soon he and Fire Man were now embroiled in a long, petty argument. Mario quietly grabbed Villager, and escorted him out of the laundry room, while the quarrel persisted.

* * *

The spacetime robots Flash Man and Star Man were chilling on the fifth floor of the mansion in the Star Records room, with Fox, Falco, Ema, and Ike (who brought his Mia puppet along). And yes, in case you were wondering, Falco was still salty about his Falcons losing in the Super Bowl, even though close to two weeks have passed.

"Why did they do it man, why did they let Tom Brady win a fifth Super Bowl?" frowned Falco, who was starting to despise Tom Brady and his guts. "He has enough rings already, not to mention that he has a supermodel wife! What more could this man possibly want?!"

"Brady could probably run for president, he is friends with Trump after all, and Trump could put him on the right path," replied Fox, garnering a glare from Falco. A guy like Brady being president of the United States was a proposition the avian pilot did not want, especially after what went down in the Super Bowl.

 **Fox: A lot of good and bad has gone on with Falco...the good is that the man is finally out of his room, and is doing productive things. The bad is that he's still bitter about the Super Bowl, and now questions if his Falcons will even be good this year, or next year, or the year after that, or the year after that...but hey, at least he's not some cynical bandwagoner.**

"Quit being such a negative nanny Falco, no way to be so critical of your own team!" said Ike, attempting to encourage the avian pilot. That's pretty much what he was here for. "Why don't you look on the bright side of things, look at all the positives?"

"Yeah Falco, the Falcons didn't make to the Super bowl by mistake!" added Puppet Mia, whose voice was again provided by Ike having to sacrifice his manliness to speak in a girly tone. Apparently the swordsman still carried that dumb puppet wherever he went. "They might make it back to the big game next year and redeem themselves by winning!" Falco rolled his eyes at this remark, for dozens of folks have told the avian pilot similar things, making the bird assume that they were just being nice in a somewhat politically correct sense.

"Nice puppet you got there bro, I could tell you worked hard on it," Star Man complimented Ike and his puppet. The Robot Master had a distinct fondness of opera and musicals, and that could have played into him suddenly taking interest in the Mia puppet. "Also like how you give the puppet a distinct character, and let me say, I love me some operas, so I know a thing or two about characters..."

"Thanks man, I've been receiving a ton of flack for my awesome puppet, bunch of haters roaming in the mansion!" Ike replied with a grin. The swordsman would receive all sorts of negative comments about his puppet, with some folks questioning his overall sanity and asking him if he truly had friends to begin with. Ike's famous catchphrase "I fight for my friends" had become more and more ironic to the residents.

"Screw you Ike, and screw your puppet too!" Falco snapped on the swordsman after Star Man was finished with the compliments. "I don't need any of your positive comments, and I don't need any of y'all! Making me feel more miserable than I'm already am..."

"You really think you feel miserable sweetheart, I've been feeling the same way ever since Dr. Wily made me bald..." said Flash Man, who was sulking with his arms folded. The Robot Master despised being bald - so much, that he would cringe whenever he saw a commercial for any hair product on television. Whenever Flash Man went shopping (a very rare occurrence) and see a _Just For Men_ box in the beauty aisle (why he would even be there, no one will ever know), he would just shudder at the sight, making onlooking shoppers around him question if he had some sort of beef with hair care products, as well as why he would even be in the aisle in the first place given he was a robot.

"Maybe Dr. Wily preferred you to be bald," Ema said with a simple shrug, though Flash Man was quick to downplay this notion. "You can't really change who you are, just gotta do with what you got..." Flash Man now looked down at the floor, thankful the floor wasn't a mirror or something. Had Gemini Man been here...

 **Ema: After the Valentine's Day dance, which I thought was pointless beyond belief (and several others think the same way, but don't say it to Master Hand unless you want to end up like poor Ness and have your intestines turned inside out), I thought Falco would mellow out and quit it with his bitter self, but it turned out I was dead wrong. Back to the same old blame game crap...and now Falco added Tom Brady bashing to his repertoire. When will it ever stop?**

"Dr. Wily would never do such a thing, being bald blows!" said Flash Man, shaking his head in disdain. "Certainly he must have made a mistake..." Is the robot now making up excuses? Not a good way to combat his misery.

"Bruh my Falcons made a ton more mistakes than Dr. Wily in that Super Bowl, it's no secret that we lost," stated Falco. A part of him wanted to burn his Julio Jones jersey, the one he wore around the mansion stinking up the joint. "My Falcons may never recover, at least from a mental standpoint, I can already see a losing season looming this year..."

"C'mon man, quit being so down on your team!" Star Man said to Falco, unnerved by the pilot's pessimism about the Falcons. "I saw that Super Bowl, from start to finish, and I saw nothing from that Falcons team that would guarantee a losing season! They have all the potential to be great!"

"Yeah, but not great enough, I'm afraid..." It's sad to see what such a devastating loss would do to a die-hard sports fan like Falco. It's sadder from the standpoint of Fox, Falco's best buddy.

"Oh how I wish to have hair, I'd be the first robot to have artificial hair on my body..." complained Flash Man, rubbing his yellow bald head. He was very prone to complaining, and it would annoy his colleagues very much.

* * *

"You sure Felicia would love to watch this movie?" Corrin asked Robin as the prince stood outside the entrance to the gaming room with the mage. Robin was holding a copy of _Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,_ finding the DVD in the movie room. Corrin was already immersed in the _Star Wars_ universe, so it wouldn't hurt to get him into _Harry Potter,_ would it?

"Of course she would love to watch it, what's not to love about wizards fighting against the forces of evil?" was Robin's response, as he gave the DVD to Corrin. "And besides, the movie has Emma Watson in it, and after Felicia watches the movie, Watson will be her favorite actress ever! She's practically everyone's favorite actress ever, and that's a completely unbiased opinion!" By the sounds of it, it might seem like Robin loves himself some Emma Watson...

"I suppose I'll take your word for it," Corrin said as he walked inside the gaming room towards Felicia, with Robin following him. Corrin would ask the maid if she wanted to see the _Harry Potter_ movie, and she was quick to say yes. Robin found himself smirking, and Chrom, who saw the smirk from afar, got up from the couch and headed over to his best friend, to see what was up.

 **Chrom: Last Wednesday Robin had the utmost audacity to call my relationship with Raven "fake", talking all this nonsense about how I don't keep in contact with her that much and how we don't go on dates that often. The many times I've tried to contact her, she refused to reply back, but when I told that to Robin, he assumed that Raven was possibly "looking for other men" and that she was no longer interested in me! Maybe she just has a busy schedule and can't keep in touch with me. I wouldn't blame her either way for it, we all have busy times in our lives.**

"Still trying to teach Corrin how to be a great boyfriend to Felicia I see," Chrom said to Robin, who was now rubbing his hands together and smiling creepily as Corrin popped the _Harry Potter_ DVD into the DVD player and pressed play on the remote. The mage's plan was slowly coming to fruition, and it was up to Corrin to not screw things up.

"One day Chrom, I shall prove to you that I'm arguably a better romantic expert than you'll ever be!" vowed Robin, infuriating Chrom. He still didn't like whenever people would consider him a "romantic expert", especially when he was a part of the Romance Club as a novice.

"For the last time, I'm NOT a romantic expert, just because a lot of women flirted with me in the past doesn't mean anything!" Chrom stomped his foot on the floor, as Robin ignored the prince's outburst. He was vividly more interested the interactions between Robin and Felicia.

"Making Corrin watch some silly movie about wizards with Felicia...Robin's doing it all wrong," Marth said as he peeked inside the gaming room door. Standing with the hero-king was Burst Man and Splash Woman, both Robot Masters "hired" by Marth to do his bidding, whatever it was. "Alright you two, here's what I want you to do...Splash Woman, use your lovely singing voice to sing this song." Marth gave the female robot a song sheet with lyrics on it. "Burst Man, you go outside and get out your bombs to make fireworks. Together we can show that loser Robin how it's done!"

"My singing voice will swoon Corrin over, and his girlfriend too!" exclaimed Splash Woman, holding her trident up in the air. The trident got in the way of Marth, who moved his head back in time.

"I'll be outside in the front boss, just let me know when you're ready to go!" Burst Man walked away, giving Marth a thumbs up as he walked away. Now back to the gaming room, where Corrin and Felicia became suddenly invested into the early goings of the _Harry Potter_ film.

"You know, I wish I had remembered to pop some popcorn..." Corrin uttered this random thought, leading Robin to silently snap his fingers in disgust. How could he possibly forget to tell Corrin to pop popcorn, watching great films without popcorn is nigh impossible! And just then...

 _"You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek Life beyond the shore just out of reach..."_ the lyrics of _Fire Emblem Fates'_ main theme, "Lost in Thoughts All Alone", was sung by a beautiful singing voice and everyone in the gaming room looked around searching for this lovely voice. Corrin stood up, recognizing the song and believing Azura was lurking by.

"Azura must be around here somewhere, we must look for her immediately!" Corrin grabbed Felicia's hand and dashed out of the gaming room, leading Robin to wonder who was singing and why this singer would have the gall to lead his protege away from the vicinity...with the _Harry Potter_ movie still playing on the television screen.

 **Corrin: Azura and I, we haven't talked at all ever since Luigi's wedding. I would call her on a cellular device, but Nohr doesn't have cellphones...and I can see why they don't! You see, cellphones were invented by aliens, and cast down from their home planet of Mars to Earth as WMD - weapons of mass distraction! It's all a part of their diabolical plan - with the human race distracted by their cellphones, the alien race can pounce on the opportunity of an alien invasion and invade the entire earth with a majority of humans preoccupied!**

"Azura where on earth are you, show yourself!" Corrin said as he and Felicia followed the singing voice, provided by Splash Woman. Since the robot could hardly move on land, Marth had to literally drag her, and soon the hero-king would lead Corrin and Felicia outside, on the balcony.

"We managed to get both lovebirds outside, now cue the fireworks!" Marth, now outside with Splash Woman seated underneath the balcony, quietly called out to Burst Man, who set off his bombs. The bombs then turned into fireworks, flying up into the air and exploding. Corrin and Felicia looked up and said fireworks, firing in the shape of red and pink hearts, and were in awe, while Splash Woman continued to sing "Lost in Thoughts All Alone".

"D-Did you plan all of this, the song and the fireworks?" Felicia asked Corrin, who did not know what to say...in fact, he _did_ know what to say.

"Yes Felicia, yes I did, I planned all of this, just for you!" Corrin excitedly nodded his head, all caught up in the moment. "I did this...I did this out of love!" The prince would suddenly find himself doing something he never, ever thought he would even consider doing...

... _he_ _kissed Felicia._ That's right, the gullible and naive prince of Nohr kissed Felicia, as the fireworks display continued in the sky above. A dumbfounded Robin was standing outside on the balcony, his mouth agape watching Corrin and Felicia kiss, with Chrom at his side smirking with his arms folded.

"Some romantic expert you're supposed to be," the prince of Yliesse chuckled, as Robin continued to stand there, like a statue.

* * *

"Man what an awesome fireworks display, someone must have planned real hard for that!" remarked Sonic as he looked up at the sky, marveling at the fireworks Burst Man had set off. The hedgehog was standing outside with Quick Man, Ring Man, and Jacky Bryant, with Quick Man having challenged the hedgehog to a race to see who was the fastest.

"Yo Sonic you done yet, we have a race to do!" Jacky said to the hedgehog. Sonic sheepishly smiled as he got in starting position, next to Quick Man. "All ready? On your mark...get set..."

"You got your Ring Boomerang all ready to go?" Quick Man quietly asked Ring Man, who nodded evilly as he held up his signature weapon. Sonic and Jacky did not see this, though later they might probably wish they did, if Ring Man were to help Quick Man cheat.

 **Sonic: My race with Quick Man was started by an accident rather than either one of us challenging the other - when I first saw Quick Man, I told him that he was a crappy knockoff of DC Nation hero Flash, and the guy took great offense to my remark. He then started talking all this crap about him being the fastest thing alive, and challenged me a race, a race between the fastest dudes ever known! So basically the race was conceived out of Quick Man unable to accept the truth, but you know how the old saying goes...the truth shall set you free!**

"GO!" Jacky shouted at the top of his lungs, and Quick Man and Sonic took off, running at the speed of sound. The two speedsters would circle around the mansion, and as they neared the imaginary finish line where Jacky was present, Sonic would trip and fall to the ground when Ring Man unsuspectingly hurled his Ring Boomerang at Sonic's feet, causing the hedgehog to trip and land face-first, leading to Quick Man winning the race.

"Well guys it's now official, Quick Man is the fastest being to have ever existed!" announced Jacky as Quick Man ran up to the racer, who held up the robot's arm in victory. Sonic slammed his fists on the ground as he got up, and angrily marched over to Jacky and Quick Man.

"I think that your little friend of yours helped you cheat and win the race!" Sonic said to Quick Man, pointing at Ring Man who was trying to play down the fact that he messed up the hedgehog. "I demand a do-over this instant, right here right now!"

"Me, helping Quick Man cheat in a genuine race?" Ring Man held his hand to his chest, taken back by Sonic's accusation. Remember two episodes back, when he accused Mario of cheating in a backyard football game? Sonic was getting his just desserts...except this time around, there was actually cheating involved, no science was in play. "Why I would never do something so preposterous, how absurd of you to accuse me!"

"Sorry Sonic, but we can't do another race, regardless of whether there was cheating or not," Jacky apologized to Sonic, who grumpily folded his arms as Quick Man stealthily smirked, giving Ring Man a secret thumbs up. "So you'll just have to accept the final result..." Sonic was going to have his way with both Quick Man and Ring Man, and he knew just the right guy to ask for some form of retribution...

* * *

"Any reason why you insist on wearing your hair in a ponytail, when we're in the year 2017?" Pit asked Jakob, a man whom Master Hand and Mario were pursuing to be the mansion's butler. "I could if you were doing some school play and it took place in the early 1800s, but if not..."

"Plenty of men from the kingdom of Nohr wear their hair in ponytails, it's a custom of Nohr," stated Jakob, coming off as very blunt. Like Cilan had mentioned in his talking head segment, Jakob had a strong tendency to be rude to others, and Pit was absolutely no exception. "You shouldn't be talking boy, after all you wear a laurel wreath on top of your head..."

"Oh, so _that's_ what they call this thing!" Pit took the wreath off of his head and marveled at it in his hands, glad to know what the headdress was called. Jakob, having received an early dose of Pit's ignorance and stupidity, could only facepalm at the angel.

 **Jakob: Felicia and Flora are already working at the mansion as maids, which means that I'm all but guaranteed to serve as the resident butler. Master Hand and Mario would be very unwise to not hire me, it would be hands down the biggest mistake and each of their lives. Besides, the residents would be _thrilled_ to have me around, for I know that compared to the likes of someone like Mario, I'm more competent and trustworthy...no way you can find a single blemish in me.**

"Can you two please keep it down, Mega Man is fixing my alarm clock over here!" Master Hand boomed at Pit and Jakob, while Mega Man was fixing an alarm clock the giant hand probably never used. Pit and Jakob were in Master Hand's room, and Jakob was having a period of negotiations with the creator of the Smash universe, his eyes set on being the mansion's butler.

"Just for the record, it was Pit who was being loud, I've been keeping my voice level down to a minimum," Jakob explained to Master Hand. Just then, Mega Man was finished with the giant hand's alarm clock, after screwing the last screw in.

"Alright, Master Hand, I'm finished with your alarm clock, it should be good as new!" exclaimed Mega Man, awfully sounding like he was just dying to leave Master Hand and continue his day without having to do the hand any more favors. Face it, you would feel the same way if Master Hand forced you to fix an appliance of his.

"Thanks a bunch Mega Man, I could always count on a robot like you!" thanked Master Hand as he followed Mega Man out his room, much to the chagrin of the Blue Bomber. But once Mega Man and Master Hand were outside the room...

...they were suddenly confronted by a crowd of residents, namely Mario, Sonic, Cloud, Aerith, Robin, Falco, and Ema. All of them were staring at Mega Man, leading the robot to instantly assume the ten Robot Masters were up to no good.

"What's all of this, why are you all here?" Master Hand questioned the group, and right on cue, the residents sounded off, talking about the Robot Masters and some of the antics they were pulling off.

"Flash Man won't stop complaining about his baldness and how being bald sucks!" stated Ema. Famous people like Samuel L. Jackson are bald, and you don't see the complaining about their baldness!

"Blade Man and Shadow Man both ruined Yuffie's tea party, at least for me," stated Cloud. Who wants to bet Blade Man is still giving Link a lecture on swords?

"I saw Marth working with two Robot Masters, and together they made Corrin and Felicia have a romantic moment that _I_ was supposed to put together!" stated Robin, garnering strange looks from the others. "What, I'm a romantic expert, and Marth stole my idea...sort of. It was supposed to be _me_ setting off fireworks and getting somebody to sing a song in a moment that would lead to Corrin and Felicia kissing!"

 **Master Hand: Fireworks set off at the mansion before Independence Day?! Ooh, if Marth indeed was behind this, then he shall pay, he knows better than anyone that no fireworks should be used before the 4th of July! I understand that he wanted Corrin and Felicia to have their little "romantic moment" together, but Marth wasting fireworks on fools like Corrin will only add salt to the wound!**

"Woah, woah, everyone calm down this instant!" boomed Mega Man, as the noise level died down in an instant. "If you have any problems or concerns with the Robot Masters, then ask Mega Man here, he knows those robots like the back of his head...or helmet." Mega Man stepped into the forefront, for he knew just the answer(s) to the residents' problems.

"Well it seems like the Robot Masters are annoying you, so you guys just have to give them a little taste of their medicine," stated the robot. He knew that the only way for the residents to get even with the robots was to utilize their dislikes against them. "So here's what I want each of you folks to do..."

* * *

Flame Man and Fire Man were inside the storage room with Mr. Game and Watch, and Flame Man was asking the 2-D housekeeper for oil to keep his energy source replenished. The oil Mr. Game and Watch had in the room was rather cheap oil, something Flame Man wasn't fond of.

"I'm so sorry sir, but we only have gas station oil, it's the only oil Master Hand allows to be kept in this storage room!" Mr. Game and Watch tried to tell Flame Man, who was growing angrier by the second. The robot would change his oil three times a day, following a very punctual oil-changing schedule.

"Tell Master Hand that he's a cheapskate who wishes to see everyone suffer!" demanded Flame Man, wanting Mr. Game and Watch to tell the giant hand an obvious trait about him, a trait he refuses to admit true. Mario neared the thermostat for the storage room, flashing a devious smile.

"It's-a time for Fire Man-a to chill..." the plumber made a rather cheesy pun as he decreased the temperature on the thermostat and tip toed away without being seen. A minute later, the temperature went down considerably, giving Fire Man and Flame Man the chills.

"Is it just me, or is it getting cold in here?" Fire Man shivered, holding his arms close to him. Flame Man and Mr. Game and Watch also found themselves shivering, and the two fire-based Robot Masters couldn't take the cold anymore.

"It's simply too cold in here, we must leave!" Flame Man said to Fire Man. "Our fiery energy source must not be hampered by the cold temperatures!" So the two robots scampered out of the mansion, as Mario watched from afar...a part of the plumber wished Flame Man could stick around. He really liked the robot's mustache.

* * *

"Man we got Sonic good, and Jacky refused to acknowledge that we cheated to win that race!" Quick Man discussed with Ring Man outside, bragging about his victory over the hedgehog. "Like that man said, I'm the fastest person there is, nobody can come close!" Sonic would step out of the mansion, with Pit, Kirby, Viridi, and the Inklings at his side. Time for some payback...

 **Sonic: Mega Man told me that Ring Man despised children, and that Quick Man is unnerved by slowness. So for Ring Man, I'm gonna have Viridi and the Inklings annoy the crap out of him! And as for Quick Man...Mega Man didn't really specificy what kind of slowness bothered Quick Man, but Pit is the epitome of slowness, from a mental standpoint that is, so he and Kirby could perhaps do the trick.**

"PAINTBALL FIGHT!" the female Inkling exclaimed at the top of her lungs after Sonic gave her and the male Inkling a cue, as the two Inklings ran towards Ring Man, splattering paint everywhere. Paint was spread on the trees, all over the grass, everywhere!

"Oh no, not kids, anything but kids!" fretted Ring Man, who as Sonic stated, disliked children. The robot ran away from the Inklings, only to be stopped in his tracks by Viridi, who was smiling as she held out a rose to the robot.

"Would you like a lovely red rose, good sir?" the goddess of nature asked Ring Man, who fainted as he fell to the ground. The Inklings saw the robot faint, and claimed their victory with the male Inkling proudly placed his foot on top of the robot like he was a deer hunter who successfully shot down his prey.

"Our robotic prey has been defeated!" the Inkling proclaimed, as Quick Man attempt to run away, but before he could run off with breakneck speed, he was suddenly confronted by Pit and Kirby, who numskulls who were literally meant for one another in so many ways.

"Hey guy, did you know that pinto beans are really a pint of beans?" Pit said to Quick Man, who was suddenly taken back at this bit of previously known information. "Did you also know that 3.14 is the complete opposite of pi?! Who would have guessed?!" Kirby, forgoing his Dynatox translator, followed up Pit by emitting a "Ooh wah!" as Quick Man collapsed to his knees.

"THAT DOESN'T EVEN MAKE ANY SENSE!" the robot, with his hands apart, cried out, acting like he was seemingly done with life.

* * *

"Oh Flash Man, I have a gift for you..." Ema said as she returned to the Star Records room, holding a gift bag behind her back. Flash Man perked up, and headed over to the forensics expert, wanting to see what Ema had for him. "I hope you like it very much!" Ema handed the gift bag to the robot.

"Ah a gift for me, from one of the mansion residents!" Flash Man gleamed as he accepted the gift bag from Ema. "Thank you very much, Ema Skye, you really...shouldn't...have..." Flash Man trailed off as he took out the object inside the gift bag...a hair growth product. But it wasn't just any hair growth product - it was a product specifically designed for robots!

"I told Mega Man about how bitter you were about being bald, and so he gave me that," explained Ema, as Flash Man stared at the hair product in his hands in the utmost disbelief. "So do you like it or not?" Flash Man responded with a hug, which caught Ema off by surprise - clearly the robot did like the gift.

 **Flash Man: I've known Dr. Wily to be an inventor, an evil genius, and occasionally a blowhard... *holds up hair product with Dr. Wily's name and face on it* ...but I would have never expected him to specialize in hair care products for robots! I understand if he joined the hair industry just to make a quick buck after the multiple times Mega Man defeated him, but such a revelation is still hard for me to grasp!**

 **Zero: Dr. Wily gave that hair product to me to keep my luscious blonde ponytail neat and tidy. I felt that my ponytail no longer needed any maintenance, so when Mega Man asked me if he could have my "Dr. Wily's Miracle Hair Growth and Repair", I was quick to oblige! *smirks* Also, the name of the product...why did Dr. Wily bother putting "Miracle" in the title for, did he honestly expect to make big sales with that move?**

"Heh, for a minute there I thought you were gonna cut in deep into Flash Man," remarked Fox, who was in the back of the room chilling with Star Man and Ike (as well as Puppet Mia, if you wanna include her). "I don't think any of us would put up with more complaining from Flash Man, to be honest."

"Now now, Fox, you know I wouldn't dare to do such a thing," Ema said with her hands on her hips. Just then, Falco entered the Star Records room, and in his hands was his beloved Julio Jones jersey, the one he would wear around the mansion. He hadn't wore the jersey since the Super Bowl, so it was still kinda fresh.

"You know, I kinda looked past on my behavior for the last two weeks, and I'll admit that I was a lot more...abrasive than usual," Falco openly admitted, as Fox and company perked up to hear what the pilot had to say. "And I should know better than to act like a huge jerk when guests are around, though I should have learned that lesson last week. So I'd just like to say...I'm sorry for my saltiness, and I promise that if my Atlanta Falcons ever suffer a devastating loss in the Super Bowl, or any other crucial game, I won't be so bitter about it." Falco finished off his apology by wearing his Julio Jones jersey, and he wore it with pride. "Man it feels great wearing this jersey again!"

"Great to have you back, Falco!" exclaimed Fox, finally relieved that he Falco he knew was back again. Granted, the avian pilot might be prone to losing his temper, but Fox would prefer that over self-loathing and bitterness.

"Always remember Falco, pessimism is never good for the soul!" said Star Man, giving the pilot this much-needed advice. "Pessimism and expectations should never go hand in hand!" He could say that again...

* * *

"...and that is how powerful the Galaxia sword truly is!" exclaimed Blade Man, finishing off a long lecture about Meta Knight's sword at Yuffie's tea party. The ninja girl and her pals, Sheik and Greninja, were absolutely bored out of their minds, but Link, a sword fanatic, was listening to every word Blade Man said. As for Shadow Man, he was so bored that he even fell asleep!

"What about Kirby's sword, the one he uses in his Final Smash, you must tell me all about it!" demanded Link, placing his hands on the table to reinforce how demanding he was that Blade Man told him the story. Sheik would calm the Hylian down, making him sit back in his chair.

"Enough demanding stories from you Link, we've had just about enough of Blade Man's sword drabbles," the ninja would say to Link, and just then, Cloud and Aerith returned to the tea party, the lovebirds smiling somewhat devilishly. "About time you two returned, where have you been?"

 **Cloud: Mega Man said that the only way I can get back at Shadow Man is to play a practical joke on him. I'm a pretty serious dude, so practical jokes aren't my thing...but Aerith knows a thing or two about practical jokes, right babe?  
Aerith: I do, sort of, but I thought a little something in the Inklings' room that would be...worthwhile. When those two Inklings aren't spraying one another in paint, like a bunch of French girls, they sure do provide some useful stuff...  
Cloud: "Like a bunch of French girls"...do I detect a lowkey _Titanic_ reference?  
Aerith: *smiling* You know I'm a sucker for romantic movie flicks...**

"Aerith and I wanted to take a little break from the tea party, that's all," replied Cloud, as he looked towards Shadow Man. Greninja nudged the ninja robot, waking him up and pointing at Cloud to let him know that the swordsman wanted to speak with the guy. "How about a handshake, to put aside our differences?" Cloud held out his hand, and Shadow Man got up and walked towards Cloud, seeing the swordsman's hand. The robot wasn't particularly fond of shaking the hands of others, but given the brief episode he had with Cloud, he believed it was worth it.

"Let's put our little dispute behind us," Shadow Man proudly shook hands with Cloud, putting an effective end to a short-lived beef. "It's best to not talk about it ever again." Shadow Man would return to his seat, but when he sat down...a farting noise was emitted from his bottom. The ninja looked down, and saw a whoopie cushion in his chair, a whoopie cushion that Aerith conspicuously placed during the handshake. Aerith and company laughed away as Shadow Man angrily looked up at Cloud, who was grinning. Laughing was not in the swordsman's nature, grinning or smiling was the most he could do.

"Wow Shadow Man, I honestly had no idea you were able to pass gas as a robot!" Blade Man said to his robot friend, as Shadow Man quickly grabbed Blade Man and ran away from the tea party, while the others continued to laugh.

* * *

Corrin and Felicia, who shared a kiss on the mansion's balcony, were now bonding with one another in the lounge, with Splash Woman singing a few romantic songs and Burst Man just chilling (Master Hand interrogated the robot earlier, and advised him not to use any explosives at the mansion ever again). Marth was watching all of this with a smile, proud of the work he had done.

But a seething Robin was standing in the lounge, his fists clenched as he intensely glared down the hero-king Marth. The mage tried to explain to Mega Man about how Marth was using Splash Woman and Burst Man to do his bidding and make Corrin more romantic, and wanted to know how he could extract revenge on Marth, but Mega Man called Robin petty and suggested that he should be thanking Marth for doing his work for him, rather than starting some lousy beef. With Mega Man refusing to help out Robin, the tactician decided to take matters into his own hands...

"SPLASH WOMAN IS THE WORST SINGER I'VE EVER HEARD WITH MY OWN TWO EARS!" Robin called out, making Splash Woman stop singing for a sudden moment. Who would say such things about a singer so great, great enough to receive offers to enter the show business?

"Wh-Who said that?" Splash Woman looked about, and Robin quickly hid behind a large couch, undetected. His plan was about to be a success, just can't let a single soul see him...

 **Robin: Apparently Mega Man refused to help me seek vengeance on Marth...and I could see a reason why. He doesn't understand what it's like to be doing hard work, and then someone comes in tries to work as hard as you, and then that someone steals your idea and makes your idea grand and spectacular! He doesn't understand a circumstance to be in, when you're working your butt off in school, and your rival classmate works their butt off too, and when you have to complete a school project you have this epic idea you want to pursue, but your rival steals your idea and does it even better! A crime-fighting robot like Mega Man wouldn't know such things, he never even received any education nor a does he have degree!**

"SPLASH WOMAN SUCKS, SPLASH WOMAN SUCKS, SPLASH WOMAN SUCKS!" Robin chanted from behind the couch, making Splash Woman tear up. Burst Man immediately saw this, and refused to see the fellow water-based robot break down in tears.

"Sorry boss, but I gotta go, Splash Woman looks like she's about to cry her eyes out any minute!" Burst Man would apologize to Corrin as he grabbed Splash Woman and ran out of the door. Consider Robin's plan a success, if you will.

"But what about those love songs, who will sing to us now?" Corrin would ask, and right after he asked his question, Splash Woman instantly erupted into tears, inconsolably sobbing. Marth was dismayed at this turn of events, wanting to find the perpetrator who made Splash Woman cry.

"What heartless person would say such rude things about such a talented singer?" the hero-king wondered, as Robin appeared from the couch. Marth caught the mage in the act, and designated him as the culprit. "It was you, wasn't it Robin? Why did you sadden Splash Woman?!"

"Because YOU, you heartless person, stole my awesome idea for Corrin and Felicia, to have them kiss with fireworks as a backdrop!" Robin angrily pointed at Marth, marching towards the hero-king. "I have been building up Corrin and Felicia to be the perfect couple, and here you are stealing my thunder! Making them go shopping at Walmart? What couple would want to shop at Walmart, of all places?!"

"Like you can name a store better than Walmart, at least I know more about romance than you, I'm the founder of the Romance Club while you're just some silly mage who thinks they're so above it all because they're dating Lucina!"

"You're the one to talk Marth, you look more feminine than every _Disney_ princess in existence! Your crown looks like a crappy tiara!" Corrin and Felicia watched this epic quarrel between Marth, not caring whichever guy won the verbal spat. Corrin was really wishing he had popcorn now...

"Oh yeah, well you don't see me flirting with my best friend's daughter, do you?" Marth got Robin real good, and the mage knew it. His face furrowing with rage, wanting to diss Marth right back, Robin took his L and stormed out of the lounge with whatever dignity he had left, leading Corrin and Felicia to continue their bonding like nothing ever happened.

"Robin you have to try out these oysters Palutena got from the store, they're delicious!" Chrom, standing near the lounge, told the mage, who stormed away, not wanting to speak with anyone. "Hey Robin, wait up, you gotta at least try one, one oyster wouldn't hurt!"

* * *

 **Mega Man: Just got a call from Dr. Light, he said that he's ready for the ten robots he sent to the mansion to return! Dr. Light also said that Auto's half-track broke down once he reached the laboratory, so he'll have to take a ride on Search Man's "critter gitter", which is an actual vehicle most hunters use...the name to me sounds vaguely politically incorrect, but since it's Search Man we're talking about, I highly digress.**

"This looks like the Smash Mansion, does it not?" asked Search Man, as he and Auto pulled up to the establishment on the critter gitter. "Yup, it sure is, this is definitely the one!" The camouflage robot answered his own question, just like Dr. Toadley; this was due to Dr. Wily wanting to give Search Man two minds and make him a wiseguy that would throw Mega Man off-guard, but the evil genius forgot to add two distinct personalities. To this day, Search Man gets himself confused when he switches from head to head.

"Lemme go inside and see if Mega Man has the Robot Masters ready..." Auto hopped down from the vehicle and went inside the mansion, seeing the ten Robot Masters gathered in the foyer. Fire Man and Flame Man were both still feeling rather cold; Splash Woman was crying her eyes out, Flash Man was busy applying the robot hair product to his bald head; Shadow Man was feeling bitter about being humiliated by Cloud and Aerith; Ring Man was covered in paint; and Star Man, Burst Man, Quick Man, and Blade Man were just being themselves. Standing with the ten robots was Mega Man, who had a rather cheesy grin on his face. "Well it certainly looks like you had a lot of stuff happening with these dudes, Mega Man! Did any of the brawlers get to meet the robots?"

"Some of them did, though I kinda wish certain ones never interacted with any of the robots," replied Mega Man, specifically referring to Robin and others, but mostly Robin. Marth had told the Blue Bomber what went down in the lounge.

"Now that I'm looking at Splash Woman, I could see why...we should be going now, Dr. Light doesn't want me to be late! I'll catch you later Mega Man!" Auto would wave to Mega Man as he led the ten Robot Masters out of the foyer.

"Hope I'll get to visit you, Dr. Light, and Roll another time!" Mega Man called out to Auto, as the helper robot nodded. "Oh, and tell Beat and Eddie I said hi!" Auto would give Mega Man a thumbs up as the Robot Masters exited through the door, and with that, Auto closed the door behind him, just when Proto Man walked up next to Mega Man, yawning and stretching out his arms.

"I just had an extraordinarily long nap, good thing I woke up..." Proto Man remarked after he was done yawning. He looked at his young brother Mega Man, wondering why he was standing in the center of the foyer. "...so did anything good happen while I was napping away?"

"Oh nothing, just had a bunch of familiar faces stay at the mansion for a short while," Mega Man replied with a smile. The Blue Bomber would be down to allowing Robot Masters to stay at the mansion, if more than ten was allowed...

...only when the time was right. And today was one of those times.


	62. Episode 62: Interview

_Author's Note:_

 _More reviews, let's get it!_

 _"Here's another list of characters, this list is a bit short, Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima from Yakuza, Ichiro, Sakura, Erica and Gemini from Sakura Wars, Dig-Dug, and Mr. Driller, Haken and Kaguya from Endless Frontier, Jin Saotome from Cyberbots, and Regina from Dino Crisis."_

 _Thank you again for this list. If you have another list of characters in the future, don't hesitate to share it with me. Next up is SamuraiBlue:_

 _"Can megaman and ryu have their reaction to their tv shows and ac man as well. I know heihachi wants to put his cents about the tekken films."_

 _There was a Street Fighter show on television and I didn't know about it?! I shall watch a few episodes of this series in my free time. Moving on:_

 _"Can we see raphael from soulcalivur mess with link and heihachi since the share a story battle in scII."_

 _Of course you can, his would perhaps be a great way to introduce Taki and Ivy, both of whom were suggested in the past. One more thing:_

 _"Lets have an episode where bowser gets good vy the dog whisperer based on a south park episode called tsst"_

 _Don't really watch South Park at all, but I'll have to check out this episode soon. Next up is_ _anonymeme:_

 _"Can we see more of the Inkling boy and girl?"_

 _Ha ha, I knew someone was gonna ask this...but no worries, I can grant your wish. Smasherfan88 is back, back for more..._

 _"Are the Organization XIII in the story KH2 Organization XIII, or the True Organization XIII that was shown in dream drop distance and the soon to be KH3?"_

 _It's the true Organization XIII, in case you were wondering. Now for the requests:_

 _1\. Could we see something based along the lines of K Rool somehow getting into an argument with the New Donkey Kong Country games villains? Since I believe the studio that makes them has expressed wanting to have the Kremling King return_  
 _2\. (Even though this will probably happen when Splatoon 2 comes out) Can we maybe see the inklings travel to Inkopolis? (And of course eventually the new plaza which was Inkopolis something)_  
 _3\. Can we eventually see the boss characters appear? As it seems like they're the only thing in smash 4 that haven't appeared (maybe besides some assist trophies and trophies and what not) like Ridley, Metal Face and Yellow Devil and I guess Rayquaza?)  
4\. Can we see Neku Sakuraba from the world ends with you? As its a square enix game after all, (and he appeared in dream drop distance for the 3DS)_

 _1\. King K. Rool would benefit from something like this, in a way.  
2\. Yes, but someone else would have to come along, just for the sake of humor.  
3\. That would actually be a slightly hard thing to do...  
4\. I can't see why not._

 _Our last person for the day is Roydigs22:_

 _"...you said lucario would have barbecue soon, when does that happen?"_

 _Glad you asked that - hopefully it will be before the wedding, that's all I have to say about the matter. Here's what else Roydigs22 said:_

 _"Just out of curiosity, does the thought of 1 million falcon punches scare you?"_

 _Nah, I can think up of a hundred things that would be worse..._

* * *

 **Episode 62: Interview**

In what might appear to be a lousy attempt at "improving" mansion morale, Master Hand ordered the residents to fill out a survey - a survey that would determine who the best resident was. The criteria was based upon things like hygiene, friendliness, work done around the mansion, and a boatload of other things. These surveys had to be done by today, as a direct order from Master Hand.

With all the residents gathered inside the meeting room, Isabelle collected the surveys from Mario, Kirby, and others, and tallied up all the scores to find out who the most liked (and least liked) resident was. The shih tzu had a glut feeling she would be one of the candidates for best resident, but if she didn't grade out, she wouldn't care either way.

"Isabelle are you done yet with those surveys?" Master Hand asked the canine assistant, who was finishing up her task. "Good golly woman, you're taking forever, these people have stuff to do you know!" Some of the residents nodded their heads in agreement with Master Hand; it wasn't that often that you would find yourself agreeing with the oh so eccentric creator of the Smash Universe.

 **Master Hand: Made the surveys to not only see the morale of the mansion as a whole, but to make the losers that live in my lovely establishment to feel important in some way. You can't help but feel that a sorry sap like Lloyd saw Mario's name on the survey and was like, "Oh yeah, the famous Mario, wish I could be like him!" and gave him the highest grade possible out of all the items possible! So that's the other reason for what the surveys are for - to make people feel better about themselves by giving others the glory. It practically writes for itself, I tell you!**

"I'm finally done, time to see the results!" Isabelle exclaimed after tallying up all the scores for the surveys. "Leading ahead of the pack, by a wide margin, we have...a tie!" This revelation surprised most of the residents, emphasis on most. Not that many cared about the surveys to begin with. "Kirby and Aerith Gainsborough are both tied, meaning that they're both the best residents of the mansion!"

"Not that genuinely bewildered, I knew I would win by a landslide," was all Kirby had to say, not impressed with the results. He was too nice and caring to receive anything but a top score for the best mansion resident.

"Don't really care at all for this survey, but I'll take whatever I can get!" remarked Aerith, sporting a smile on her face. The flower girl was generous enough to give everyone high scores, even for the people she felt were total jerkbags.

"As for the worst resident in the mansion..." Isabelle would have said "drumroll please", but she knew very well that nobody would have a drumroll. Master Hand tried it before, and needless to say, it didn't work. "...Wario wins, also by a landslide!" This obviously displeased Wario, who was now begging for answers.

"Hold up just a minute, why do I have to be the worst resident, what do I do that would warrant me the worst resident in the mansion?!" the fatso frowned, making the brawlers feel his fury. The reasons were quite obvious, but unfortunately somebody had to tell it straight for Wario.

"Because you're a filthy, grotesque, greedy fatso who refuses to share and passes gas like it's nobody's business," explained Hisui, making Wario calm down for the fatso knew the teen was telling the truth. "You constantly eat up all the food we have for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, refusing to leave behind seconds for the others. What would honestly in your mind convince you that you wouldn't be the worst resident?"

"Where am I Isabelle, how did I do in the surveys?" asked Captain Falcon, going as far as getting down on his knees and asking the shih tzu, his hands clasped together. If the racer's girlfriend Nowi was here...she would probably encourage Falcon to beg Isabelle for an answer, she's too happy to ridicule her man.

"You're right in the middle, in between MegaMan .EXE and Diddy Kong!" exclaimed Isabelle, leading Captain Falcon to fall into the floor breathing a sigh of relief. As long as he wasn't close to the end of the spectrum, that's what mattered the most to the racer.

 **Isabelle: No, I don't believe the surveys were skewed in a way, I'm not certain that someone tampered with the results before I tallied up the scores. Even the folks whom I suspect to do such a thing can't even read OR write a complete, well-thought sentence...and quite frankly, Pit isn't one of those folks. He's simply too dumb for words, as much as I hate to say it.**

After Master Hand said a few words to the residents, mostly talking about things like changes to the mansion (if any) and what was for dinner tonight, the giant hand released the residents from the meeting room, allowing them to continue the rest of their days in peace. One of the residents, Robin, headed over to surveys to see how well he scored...and saw that he was at the low end of the spectrum, dangerously close to Wario! How could that be, how is it that a decent person like Robin possibly score so low?

"Someone must have sabotaged the surveys, no way I can have that low of a score, I don't even do anything that would annoy or unnerve the others!" said Robin, scratching the back of his head. "Evidently there was a culprit behind this...and I know exactly who was responsible!" Robin darted out of the meeting room, seeing all the residents walk together, and spotted Pit and Kirby, walking together away from the pack. Robin ran up to the two best friends, asking them to do a favor. "Hello Pit and Kirby, how would you two like to be...buddy cops?"

"We've been waiting for someone to ask us that for a long time!" replied Pit, so excited that he could wet his pants with excitement. Kirby couldn't wet his pants, because he had no pants! Does that pink puffball even urinate? "Granted we don't have the uniforms and all, but we can still get the job done!"

"Who is it that we're trying to 'arrest', or capture, is it someone here at the mansion?" asked Kirby. Robin was especially happy that Pit and Kirby agreed to the terms, inside he was rubbing his hands together in an evil manner.

"I'm afraid someone tampered with the survey scores, and made me one of the most disliked residents in the mansion," Robin gave Pit and Kirby the 4-1-1. "And I'm afraid that someone must have been...the hero-king Marth! I could see why he would stoop so low to do that, his bitterness disallowed him to accept the fact that he was knowingly stealing my thunder when I was advancing Corrin and Felicia's relationship!" Hoo boy, is that man still salty about last week? You could make an argument that Robin was more bitter than Marth... "We're gonna have to bust him, and bring him to justice at once!"

* * *

Mario, now in his doctor's office, put on his lab coat and head mirror, and got to business. His patient, sitting on the patient bed with bruises all over his body? Toon Link. Poor fella got seriously trampled by the residents, and nobody except for Mario bothered to help out the young Hylian. Might as well change the survey scores of the individuals who stepped over Toon Link and didn't care enough to help him up.

 **Dr. Mario: Thought it was about-a that time, the time-a I find a nurse to work-a under me! Doing all the work by my-a self can be very tasking at-a times, which is why I will-a need a nurse to take some of that-a pressure off of me! And you know-a what Peyton Manning said-a about pressure..."Pressure is something you feel when you don't know what the heck you're doing!"...As quoted by the one-a and only Peyton "Pimp" Manning. Ooh, that quote would-a make a great-a quote on Tumblr!**

"I don't look so good, do I Dr. Mario?" Toon Link asked the doctor, who checked the Hylian's pulse. It was imperative for all doctors across the globe to check the patient's pulse, even if it wasn't necessary - just to be on the safe side. "I've got bruises all over my body, even in places I don't wanna mention..."

"I've checked-a out your bruises, they all seem-a fine to me," responded Dr. Mario after he was done checking the pulse. "They'll heal up-a soon, just remember to take-a your aspirin!" ...that's it? Checked Toon Link's bruises, checked his pulse...and now he's letting the Hylian go? Some doctor Dr. Mario was supposed to be...the doctor handed Toon Link a small bottle of aspirin, and a lollipop for good measure. No doctor's appointment for any youngster would be complete without a lollipop.

"Thanks a bunch Dr. Mario, hopefully I will be healed soon!" Toon Link gleamed as he hopped down from the patient bed and exited the doctor's office, aspirin and lollipop in hand. A few moments later, Link, Cloud, and Hisui entered the office, obviously brought here by Dr. Mario for a reason. Wasn't like either three of them needed a checkup, it's not like they would all have appointments together...for that would be very weird.

"What's up Mario - uh, I mean, Dr. Mario," Cloud greeted the doctor as he, Link, and Hisui looked towards a blackboard on the back wall of the office, which had the following quote enough to make Cloud and company cringe in horror:

 _"Pressure is something you feel when you don't know what the heck you're doing- Peyton 'Pimp' Manning"_

 _\- Dr. Mario_

"Oh, you fellas like-a that quote I coined, don't-a you?" Dr. Mario smirked, pointing at the blackboard while taking a bit of pride in the quote he quoted...from the great Peyton Manning. He had a devious grin on his face as he nodded his head, as the pride inside him was filling him up with...well, just more pride.

"Last time I checked, Peyton Manning was a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, not some 'pimp',' stated Link. To be fair, Manning is the one the leading athletes (former athletes, rather) in making funny advertisements, at least he has that still going on. "So why did you call us here, Dr. Mario, why...do...you need...us for?" Link would find himself trailing away as Dr. Mario reached inside a closet and pulled out a long desk, moving the patient bed to the far corner of the room.

"I'm-a looking for a nurse, since Peach-a refused to fill-a that role, and I need-a you three to help conduct-a some interviews," explained Dr. Mario, as he got the desk situated. Cloud and company felt like they were unworthy for the task, due to them not having any experience or knowledge in the medical field. They could screw up the whole interviewing process, and make the nurse job unsatisfying to potential candidates.

 **Cloud: This is infuriatingly stupid, why would Dr. Mario ask a bunch of random dudes to conducts interviews for some new nurse? Peach had past experience as a nurse, why couldn't Dr. Mario ask her instead? What on earth is that guy smoking...  
** **Hisui: Cloud you think everything possible is stupid...but for once, I have to agree with you. I just hope that these interviews will be a breeze, and that none of the candidates are strange folks. We don't need another weirdo in the mansion, we have plenty of that already! Also, where's Link?  
Cloud: In his room getting changed. Said he wanted to look professional and all. Me, I don't sweat this whole interviewing thing, it's not like Dr. Mario is gonna hire anyone anyway, just keeping it real...**

"Here's the list-a of candidates that will-a be stopping by," Dr. Mario gave Cloud a list of candidates, as the swordsman skimmed the list in its entirety...before a certain name jumped out to him, a name he was too familiarized with.

"Dr. Mario, why the heck is Slippy Toad on this list?" asked Cloud. Nothing wrong with having a male nurse around, it was just that Slippy Toad, being a Star Fox pilot and techie, wanting to be a nurse sounded very...interesting, to say the least. "Not hating on the guy, I'm just a bit curious. Was Peppy Hare fine with it?"

"Peppy never told-a me about the interview - Slippy him-a self told me the full-a details - but I'll just-a go out on a limb and-a say yes." Dr. Mario got out five chairs - four for him and his posse to sit in, and one for the interviewee. "Our first candidate should-a be arriving shortly. Make-a sure you boys are-a ready!"

* * *

After grabbing a quick bite to eat in the kitchen, Heihachi Mishima headed to his room, and when he went inside, he saw a letter lying on his bed. Rarely did the kung fu fighter received any mail to begin with, the letter on his bed must be fan mail. Who knew that Heihachi had fans who would write letters to him in the first place!

"Link's mailman buddy delivered some mail earlier, said that the letter was for you," Ryu stated as he was on the floor training, referring to the Postman. Yes, Ryu was Heihachi's roommate, Master Hand paired up the two believing they could learn some fighting techniques from one another. Ryu and Mega Man as roommates would have made more sense though, since they hail from the same video game company.

"Naze, subete no hito no yōna hito ga watashi ni tegami o okutte kuremasu ka?" Heihachi questioned as he grabbed the mail and opened it, skimming the entire thing. He would read it out loud, but frankly the fighter couldn't speak a single English word, no matter how hard he tried. "Dareka wa watashi ni tatakai ni chōsen shitaidesu ka?! Naze kare wa watashi o erabudarou ka?"

"I think you should accept the challenge, it's never wise to back down from a fight!" Ryu offered his two cents, being one of the few residents to understand Heihachi's Japanese language, and another one of the few to actually feel like translating every word that came out from Heihachi's mouth.

 **Ryu: I've fought against many opponents before, but fighting against an unknown opponent is something that I've never done before...except for this one time, when I was challenged to a fight by some peon online. When I went to the destination of this fight...I found out that my opponent was none other than some elderly old lady, who had thought that she had come in contact with her ex-husband on the internet and wanted to settle some things for good! You could only imagine how embarrassed the both of us felt!**

Heihachi, still looking at the letter, exited the room, until Fox and Falco bumped into him. This little incident knocked the letter out of Heihachi's hands, and the kung fu fighter quickly knelt down and retrieved his letter before the pilots would notice. But unfortunately for Heihachi they did, and now it was time for some good ol' questioning.

"Yo Heihachi, who's that letter from, did your wife Kazumi send you a letter or something?" inquired Fox, making Heihachi wish the fox and his bird friend would leave him alone and scram. But that would be too much to ask for from the pilots.

"Sore wa kazumi kara no ai no tegamide wanai, soreha kara no tegamida!" explained Heihachi, leaving the pilots to scratch their hands, wondering what on earth Heihachi was talking about. If only there was an invention where English subtitles appear in front of a person speaking a foreign language; that could be the invention of the future!

"Bruh what did you say, can you write it down for us?" asked Falco, enraging Heihachi. "Do you even know how to write English words?" Now was the time for Ryu to do his thing, as he stopped training and poked his head out through the bedroom door.

"An anonymous fighter has challenged Heihachi to a fight, a fight to the death!" explained Ryu. "Or something along the lines of that, hopefully without death! We cannot afford Heihachi to die!" And with that, Ryu returned to the room and continued his training, as Fox and Falco, now knowing this information, nodded their heads thoughtfully...before they were no longer intrigued.

"Eh, a love letter from Kazumi sounds more likely," said Fox...before the words "anonymous fighter" permeated in his brain. "Wait, did Ryu just say anonymous fighter" Heihachi nodded his head; Fox was immediately under the assumption that Heihachi would win this fight, but nothing is given!

"Shiatoru no dauntaun no kita ni aru KeyArena de notatakai o nozonde imasu!" Heihachi continued, as "KeyArena" was the only word Fox and Falco were able to make out. Both pilots knew what KeyArena was - an arena (of course) located in Seattle's entertainment complex - the only problem was where this arena was located. "Kare wa mata, watashi ga sugu ni tōchaku suru no o matte iru to iimashita!"

 **Falco: A fight involving Heihachi sounds like a finesse business decision... *strokes his chin* ...think about it. The fight will take place inside an arena, and we can get people to pay to watch said fight, and we can provide food and cheerleaders and...  
Fox: Woah, woah, woah, let's ease up there for a second...the fight is meant to be only between Heihachi and this mystery fighter. We can't just bring spectators to the fight and milk the whole thing out of it, for it would lower the entire significance of the battle. Also, how are we gonna get people to pay to get inside without any tickets, it's not like we can bribe them!  
Falco: Fox, my man...it's pretty evident that your business acumen is very low, a lot lower than I would have ever expected. In order to attract consumers, you gotta play to the consumer's heart. What do consumers love the most?  
Fox: Since when did you ever become a business expert, Falco?  
Falco: I'll greatly answer your question if you answer mine - what do consumers love the most?  
Fox: Well I don't know... *shrugs* ...far-fetched guarantees, I guess?  
Falco: DING DING DING DING DING! You got it right, my friend! If we hype up the fight in the short amount of time we have by telling folks that Heihachi would _easily_ sweep the floor with the mystery fighter, then the folks will buy into it and pay money to see the fight!  
Fox: Aight, aight, I see where you're doing with this...so are you gonna answer my question or not?  
Falco: Sorry my friend, but no-can-do! That's the thing about business, you make a bunch of promises that you cannot fall back upon! Pretty much has do with with the guarantees we're gonna give to the folks, they'll eat anything up!  
Fox: I'm actually starting to despise this plan now...**

"Okay, so the fight will take place in the city's KeyArena," stated Fox, affirming the only thing he knew from Heihachi's response. "Unfortunately neither of us know exactly where KeyArena is, and I'd hate to scour the entire city to find the place...it's not like I can frequently fill up my Landmaster's gas tank like how people do with their fancy cars."

"KeyArena is located in the Seattle Center, on 305 Harrison Street!" Ryu poked his head out of the door once more to give this information. How would a guy like him know the location of this arena? This was the question on the minds of Fox, Falco, and Heihachi, as they looked at Ryu with a funny expression on their faces. "Don't ask me how I know the location, totally not like it has anything to do with my lover Chun-li!" Ryu quickly retracted his head, the speed of him doing this action not doing him any favors whatsoever.

"So our destination is 305 Harrison Street in Seattle Center," confirmed Falco, writing down the address on a slip of paper. "Do you wanna do any training before we take off, Heihachi?" The kung fu fighter shook his head no, just as Fox and Falco figured. Even though he was getting up there in years (he's 75 right now), Heihachi could still kick anyone's butt any day of the week.

"If you don't wanna train, then I suppose we can hop on the Landmaster and get this fight over with," Fox said as he led his troops to the front of the mansion. "I can already tell that this 'anonymous fighter' is gonna hold a big, fat L - the fattest L anyone ever has to hold! Would be funny if he cried about his loss..."

The only person that didn't share Fox's sentiments was Ryu, who poked his head out through the door once more as he watched Heihachi and the pilots walk away. Inside the kung fu fighter was seriously doubting Heihachi's chances at beating the anonymous fighter, fearing that it could be a strong foe Heihachi would be no match for.

* * *

Sonic, Tails, and Amy were hanging outside, with Sonic playing catch with Shaymin, Amy collecting a few flowers for herself, and Tails observing caterpillars with a magnifying glass. (Knuckles could be out here, but he was doing some Star Records-related stuff in the Star Records room.)

"Fetch, Shaymin!" Sonic would throw his ball real far out into the distance, and Shaymin, in her Sky Forme, would retrieve said ball as she flew away to fetch it. The gratitude Pokemon's Sky Forme was one of the many reasons Sonic considered the Pokemon to be the greatest pet in existence.

 **Sonic: Playing catch with Shaymin in her standard form is embarrassing as heck, what with me throwing the ball a short distance and me waiting tediously for Shaymin to return the ball...but playing catch with Shaymin in her Sky Forme? It's off the chain! I could throw the ball all the way to Spokane, and Shaymin would retrieve the ball in breakneck speed...well, not exactly breakneck speed, but I wouldn't have to wait that long for Shaymin to return! *puts his hands on his hips* ...yeah, either way, she still takes a long time. Bet she looks for a soulmate when getting the ball...and truthfully, I'm not ready to be a parent. I have yet to marry Amy, for crying out loud!**

"Guys you have to check out this caterpillar, look at this unique design!" Tails, holding a caterpillar on his finger, showed off the insect to Amy and Sonic. Amy was delighted by the little multi-legged fella, while Sonic on the other hand wasn't that impressed.

"Look Tails, I might have told you this already, but inspecting insects outside when we have bug-type Pokemon in the sanctuary is both asinine and redundant," remarked Sonic, looking behind him to see if Shaymin had returned. "I understand that you want to get out of the mansion more and not be secluded indoors like most other nerds are, but still you should think up of another excuse to waste your time outside in the future." Sonic's response was met with a glare from Tails, who certainly didn't appreciate being called a "nerd".

"Aw, Sonic, don't be so mean to Tails, maybe he was conducting research on the caterpillar, must be a part of his...new project or something!" Amy gleamed. Hard to conduct any sort of research when you don't even have a writing utensil and paper to write on...just then, Shaymin returned, landing at Sonic's feet as she dropped the ball on the ground.

"Sonic, can you not throw the ball as far next time?" the gratitude Pokemon would ask the hedgehog, dismaying Sonic. Throwing the ball far would test Shaymin's abilities, shorter distances were boring to Sonic. "Try keeping it in the vicinity of the mansion!"

"If that's what you want Shaymin, whatever floats your boat..." Sonic sighed as he threw the ball into nearby shrubbery. "Now fetch, girl!" Shaymin nodded as she valiantly flew over to the shrubbery, making some rustling sounds as she searched for the ball...

"Hey Sonic, I think I found a friend of yours hiding in these bushes!" Shaymin called out, followed by the unanimous friend whispering to the gratitude Pokemon telling her to hush or she'll blow their cover. Sonic did not know whether this was indeed a friend, or some loser hedgehog pretending to be him, so he grabbed a nearby stick and readied himself.

"Sonic you're not going to hurt the person in the bushes...are you?" Amy questioned her man. She did not support violence enacted against others...unless she had her Piko Hammer with her. Since she didn't have her famous hammer, the fellow hiding in the shrubbery would be spared.

"No, I'm not going to hurt the guy...or girl, I'm just gonna use this stick to ensure that the person's still alive," replied Sonic, who obviously didn't hear the person in the shrubbery whisper to Shaymin. "Just follow my lead, and hopefully nobody gets hurt, except for Tails maybe." Tails would roll his eyes as Sonic led his buddies over to the bushes, and once he drew near...pulled the shrubbery back and saw Lucario, hiding with Shaymin next to him. The aura Pokemon looked worried, but he was too much of a tough guy to be in a fetal position.

 **Lucario: Another week, another gift courtesy of Master Hand and Isabelle...and this time, they gave me this... *holds up a black flag with the Smash logo on it* Apparently they gave me this random flag to hold on to, and they wanted me to keep it in a place where it will not be seen...speaking of which, excuse me as I go look for a good hiding spot. I would tell you why I'm hiding, but I can't get into the gritty details, somebody's looking for me and I cannot make my presence known! *runs off in fear***

"Lucario is that you, why are you hiding outside in the shrubbery?" Tails would ask the aura Pokemon. Lucario looked up when his name was called, startled to see Sonic and company in his presence. Having Shaymin around was startling enough for him.

"I would tell you the truth, but I'm afraid you guys will either laugh at me or not believe me at all," responded Lucario, looking back down at the ground, having a staring contest of sorts with the grass. The grass must win each and every time. "So I'll just keep my mouth shut, until you guys leave me alone."

"We're not gonna leave until you tell us Lucario, are you implying that you're _afraid_ of us?" Amy asked, placing her hands on her hips. The hedgehog was trying to guilt trip Lucario into spilling the truth, and her plan would seemingly work as the Pokemon quickly stood up, dusting himself off.

"Well since you want to know so bad, I'll tell you guys...so you remember two weeks ago, when Master Hand had that Valentine's Day dance and he pretty much forced everyone to find a valentine and attend the party?" Sonic and company nodded their heads, all wishing that the dance had never happened. "As you may know, I snagged a Lopunny from the Pokemon sanctuary as a valentine, but little did I know that the Lopunny apparently had a lover...and her lover was a Gallade!" Sonic and company gasped collectively, all in shock from this revelation.

"Dang, I had no idea it was possible for a rabbit and some knight-looking thing to be girlfriend and boyfriend!" remarked Sonic, and yes, he seriously called Gallade a "knight-looking thing". Granted, the name Gallade implied that the blade Pokemon, well, uses blades, but still.

"Lopunny must have told Gallade about the dance, and now Gallade thinks I'm in love with his woman and now he wants to attack me for what I've supposedly done! I can't let this go on any longer, I'm not trying to start any beef, especially with another Pokemon! What's worse is that Gallade knows a move called Psycho Cut, which is super effective against fighting-types like myself!"

"I know Pokemon have issues of friction with one another, but I've never heard anything like this before!" remarked Amy, slightly amazed by Lucario's story concerning Lopunny and Gallade. "Is there anything we can do to help solve this situation?"

"I know, why don't we have a word with Lopunny and Gallade, and see if we can come in terms with a peaceful agreement of sorts?" suggested Sonic, garnering strange looks from the others. "I'll speak with Gallade, and Amy will speak with Lopunny, and we can come together and be in one peace!" Sonic then noticed the strange looks he was receiving, which made him frown. "What, you don't think it's such a good idea, you don't think we can speak with Pokemon? Humans do it all the time in the anime, and it works for them, so why wouldn't it work for us?!"

 **Tails: I'm not concerned at all about how to speak with Pokemon, I've mastered that aspect in the past when I was observing the regular Vulpix not so long ago. What I'm most concerned about is if the situation Lucario is in would increase in magnitude, depending on how the conversations between Lopunny and Gallade will go. Sonic told me and Shaymin specifically to stay with Lucario and keep him calm, and I'm afraid that it will be the last time I'll never have a chance to hang out with Lucario...**

* * *

"Just for the record, the three of us are idiots for agreeing to be a part of this," Cloud would say to Link and Hisui, both of whom nodded their heads in agreement, as Cloud and his amigos were seated at the table, wearing laboratory coats like Dr. Mario, to give away the assumption that the trio were full-fledged doctors. All three had name tags on their coats, and for an example, here's what Cloud's looked like:

 _Cloud "Cloud Strife" Strife, D.D.S._

"Dr. Mario, how come you gave Hisui and I nicknames?" Cloud questioned the doctor; Hisui's nickname, in case you were curious, was "Kingdom", and if you put that together, you get Hisui "Kingdom" Hearts! Does that ring a bell? "Why does Link not get one? And why did you use my full name as my nickname?"

"Because giving you-a both a nickname would increase-a your credibility, unfortunately Link doesn't-a have a last name so he was dis-a qualified from having a nickname for his name-a tag," explained Dr. Mario, sitting at the end of the table, grinning profusely. "Also, you and-a Hisui didn't have cool nick-a names, so I had to improvise a little."

The first client arrived in the doctor's office, and it was the green dinosaur that we all know and love as Yoshi. Yoshi held a pen and sheet of paper in his hand, closing the door behind him, and when the dinosaur looked up, he saw Dr. Mario and company seated at the table, and looked confused as ever.

"Is this where the J.K. Rowling autograph signing takes place?" Yoshi would ask the four men. Was he at the right place, and also what was this about some J.K. Rowling autograph signing?

"No, this is where the interviews for the nursing job take place," Hisui kindly responded, and on that remark, Yoshi dropped his paper onto the floor and ran off, running down the hallways, past the vending machine room, heading down to the foyer, and ran out the front door, now on a mission - to get that Rowling autograph one way or another. Too bad he left his materials back at Dr. Mario's office.

"This is gonna be a long day, I can already tell..." sighed Link as he lowered his head, weary of who the next candidate will be. Better not be Slippy Toad...

* * *

 **Snake: Got a house arrest for speeding on a highway, so here's the story of what went down - as you may know, I "borrowed" Luigi's car to go look for my former love, Meryl Silverburg, a few weeks ago when Master Hand hosted that Valentine's Day dance. I was speeding away at the speed of light, speeding so fast that I caught the attention of a slew of police cars that were chasing me. Pulling an O.J. Simpson, I drove _super_ slow, believing I could waste the policemen's time and make them feel so bored that they would no longer bother chasing me...unfortunately my plan didn't work, since they were still chasing me, but hey, I managed to get on local TV, there was a freaking news helicopter flying above me! Dumb police cars caught me at the end of the highway, and then they tasered me and arrested me, and they charged me for theft, since I kinda stole Luigi's car...I tried to tell the officer that I was speeding out of love, and told her everything about Meryl, but the officer called me "delusional" and slapped me with a house arrest penalty. *sighs* Guess the officer never knew what it was like to be in love...she looked like a total nerd, so I wouldn't blame her.**

"Tag, you're it!" "...no, you're it!" "Nuh uh, you're the one who's it!" This was the type of responses Snake would be used to as he sat in the ball pit room in a folding chair, watching the male and female Inklings play tag in the ball pit. Snake has always considered children to be his vices, and the Inklings playing around was one of the many reasons.

"There, you're both it, now quit it with your stupid game of tag!" a disgruntled Snake grabbed the hands of both Inklings, and placed them on each other's shoulders, resulting in a double tag. A strong rarity in a game of tag.

"Wow Snake, I know that you're pretty salty about being arrested again, and undergoing house arrest, but that gives you no reason to feel so angry!" said the female Inkling, making Snake grit his teeth. The former spy returned to his folding chair and sat back down, looking to his right at the room entrance and saw a blue-haired man wearing a long black coat walk by, flanked by some dudes wearing white full bodysuits. Snake knew that the guy was up to no good, and he had to let the Inklings know right away.

"Did Aerith once say that the Organization XIII wore black coats and whatnot?" the former spy would ask the Inklings shortly after the man passed by. Both Inklings nodded their heads. "I think I saw someone from that dastardly organization walk by, and they had a bunch of white jumpsuit guys following him..."

"Yeah, Shulk said that the white bodysuit people are creatures called Nobodies, and those things in particular are called Dusks," explained the male Inkling, recollecting what Shulk had told the others after taking care of Xigbar back in episode 55. "We would tell you the other details about them, but knowing that you have memory loss, you would end up forgetting any new information..."

"Do you kiddies have your little paint guns on you?" Snake asked the Inklings, who both pulled out their trusty Splattershots from underneath the multitude of plastic balls. Who would keep their paint guns in a place like that? Only the Inklings... "It's about time we put the Organization in their place, make them stop coming here for good...so here's the plan."

* * *

"My goodness Flora, I must admit, the way you're pouring that lemonade, it's so...so tense, yet exquisite," Zelda remarked. The princess was in the gaming room, and Flora was pouring some lemonade into the princess's cup, although she looked rather tense doing so - it was because Jakob, a potential candidate to be the mansion's butler, was overseeing the maid, and could be perhaps "practicing" his overseeing duties. The butler kinda treated Flora like trash back at Nohr, but now he has been a lot more kind and considerate to the blue-haired maid.

 **Jakob: Mario, or should I say, Dr. Mario, is offering multiple candidates to become a nurse at the mansion. Mario, as well as Master Hand, are offering only _one_ candidate to become a butler at the mansion. And that one person, you might ask, is _me._ *points thumb at himself* To prove not only to Mario and Master Hand, but the residents, how effective I can be as a butler...and one way to do that is by establishing my dominance over Flora. You see, Flora is but a frail soul, she has grave self-esteem issues and doubts herself so much, it's not even funny. Those traits alone make her susceptible for heavy manipulation...**

"That's enough lemonade for Zelda, Flora, you may stop pouring," said Jakob, and Flora, following the butler's command, did as she was told, lifting up pitcher of lemonade up. The maid heaved a sigh, glad she was done with the task; Jakob watching her every action was awfully making her uncomfortable.

"You're very much welcome Zelda, hope you enjoy your lemonade!" Flora would formally bow to Zelda before the princess could have the chance to thank the maid...who sheepishly departed from the gaming room, as Jakob stared at her. Flora could sense the butler staring at her, his gaze tearing into the back of her soul...almost made her shiver, almost.

"Someone is very commanding of Flora, I see..." smirked Bayonetta, who was sitting on the same couch as Zelda. Also sitting with the Umbra Witch and the princess was Marth, still angry with Robin over his despicable actions last week. The hero-king reached out to Splash Woman at Dr. Light's lab, and offered her a sincere apology.

"Comes with the territory of being a fine butler," Jakob responded with a confident grin. Marth and Zelda could tell that there was something up with Jakob, although they can't quite put their finger on it...but they do know that Mario and Master Hand should not take the butler for granted, no matter how worthy he was of being hired by the both of them.

"Marth, we need to talk immediately!" Robin frowned as he, Pit, and Kirby stormed inside the gaming room. Pit had two finger guns as weapons, whereas Kirby...had his cute, adorable face as his weapon of choice. "I know you were the one who screwed over the surveys so that I would be one of the most disliked people in the mansion!"

"Why I would never do such a dastardly thing, it's simply not in my nature!" Marth defended himself as he stood up from the couch, wishing Robin and company would just go away and leave him alone. "I had nothing to do this, honest! So take Pit and Kirby with you and let me be!"

"We know you did it Marth, you're just trying to teach Robin a lesson, that's all!" stated Pit, holding his finger gun real tight. We all know he would struggle greatly struggle with an actual gun in his possession. "But we all know that YOU'RE the one who needs to be taught a lesson, a lesson in respect!"

"Shut up you, stay out of this, this is only between me and Robin! You and Kirby have nothing to do with this!" Marth snapped on Pit; if folks like Fox and Falco were present, they would be all like, "OOOOOOOOH!", overreacting and ruining any budding tension between Marth and Robin. "Robin, if you seriously think I was trying to steal all of your credit, then you're poorly mistaken, you're absolutely delusional if you honestly think otherwise!"

 **Pit: Kirby and I, we're kinda like Starsky and Hutch. I'm like Starsky - got street smarts for days - and Kirby's like Hutch - quiet yet intellectual. Mix those qualities together, and you got yourselves a combination that simply cannot be beat!  
Kirby: Street smarts? Pit, you let coke dealers on the street swindle you out of your money! How exactly do you have "street smarts for days"?  
Pit: *gasps in shock"* Those people were coke dealers?! This whole time, I thought they were aspiring small business people! I was just trying to help them out with their business by giving them free money! Guess you learn something new every day, huh...**

"You _were_ trying to steal my credit, I already had Corrin and Felicia heading in the right direction, and then YOU had to come in and make a mess out of my plans!" Robin retorted, while Pit, Kirby, Zelda, Bayonetta, and Jakob helplessly watched on. "To make matters worse, you stole the perfect idea I had for Corrin and Felicia, and you did it better than I would have ever imagined..."

"I'm getting sick and tired of watching this melodrama, I have important matters to get to..." Jakob quickly departed from the gaming room. Zelda and Bayonetta would have done the same, but things were getting awfully exciting...

"Your plans sucked to begin with, what's so grand about having Corrin fix tea for Felicia and watching _Harry Potter_ films together?" questioned Marth, enraging Robin to a tee. The mage could burst with a fury of emotions at any minute, but he was doing a fine job at keeping his emotions in. But would that be a wise thing to do?

"And you think that having the two shop at Walmart and being watched by your girly self was even grander?" Robin fired back. "I know you were the one who tampered with the surveys, so come clean I'll have to use force!" What, is Robin going to use his tome to cast magic spells on Marth? Good luck with that...

"For the last time Robin, I did not...you know what, I've had enough of this little argument, I'm out." Marth left the gaming room, purposefully bumping his shoulder into Robin as he made his exit. Robin apparently still had his eyes set on "exposing" Marth, and at whatever cost necessary.

"This is so utterly unbelievable..." Bayonetta facepalmed as she shook her head. "Can't believe that this is actually happening..."

"Yeah I know, like how can Marth not be honest enough to admit that he was wrong?" agreed Robin, garnering strange looks from Zelda and Bayonetta. What was this man talking about? "I mean, first he had the gall to steal my epic idea, and now he won't admit that he messed with the surveys, and behind Isabelle's back nonetheless? How could he do such a thing to poor Isabelle?!"

"No Robin, I think Bayonetta's talking about the fact that you're still bitter with Marth, and you refuse to let bygones be bygones," Zelda explained for Robin, who now had a sense of regret filled up in him. Perhaps he was taking this whole thing a bit too far. "Accusing him of tampering with the surveys was very much unlike you Robin, and you know that too."

 **Bayonetta: So, someone messed with the surveys...how very cheeky. The only question now is who did such an act of mischief - if not Marth, then who could have done it? Got my money on Mewtwo, could have messed with the surveys out of utter spite...**

 **Mewtwo: There's a handful of residents that I greatly despise, but there's also a select few that I have no ill will towards. Aside from Isabelle, who practically does nothing but ask me how I'm doing and serve as Master Hand's lapdog (no pun intended whatsoever), a few of the other residents I respect are Peach...no, scratch Peach, she's too girly...another person I respect is Link...no, not him, he's too frail...would say Lucina, but her and Chrom are nothing but dorks...What's this about the tampering of the surveys?...You're saying that I did it?! No, no, no, you're sorely mistaken...you should go ask Ganondorf, I saw him with the surveys in the meeting room before we all met inside. He could be the culprit, for all I care.**

"Why don't you stay here, while I go find Marth and speak with him?" Zelda asked Robin as she got up from the couch, taking a sip from her cup of lemonade before placing it down on a nearby table. "I refuse to let this situation go out of hand quickly." So the princess left the gaming room, and Robin took one of the available seats on the couch. He might as well do what Zelda says, he supposed.

"Wanna play a game of darts?" Pit asked Kirby, alluding to a nearby dartboard and completely forgoing the mission of busting Marth. Throwing darts at the dartboard and totally sucking at doing so was the number one priority on the angel's mind now.

"I don't see why not, it seems like our work with Robin is finally done," agreed Kirby, under the assumption that his and Pit's usefulness for Robin had been used up. The two buddies headed towards the dartboard and grabbed a couple of darts, ready to throw some darts.

* * *

"Okay Olimar, but you do realize you need to have a history in the medical field to qualify as a nurse, right?" Link would ask the astronaut, who was one of the mansion residents interviewing for the nursing job. Why someone like Olimar would be interviewing for such a job was beyond anyone's imagination.

"Well yes, but this one time, I was a pseudo-nurse at Hocotate Freight!" exclaimed Olimar, doing his best to explain why he should be the mansion nurse, although the odds were mostly against him. "Louie had twisted his ankle this one time on a space mission, and I used some Eastern medicine techniques to heal his ankle in a jiffy! Soon he was up and walking again!"

"'Pseudo-nurse' does not count towards being an actual nurse, an actual nurse does a lot more than just healing ankles and applying methods of Eastern medicine," explained Cloud. Though the title on his name tag said otherwise, Cloud "Cloud Strife" Strife was giving some good medical information! "You have to take care of the patients, and a bunch of other stuff. And I don't think you're up for that."

"Yeah you're right, I would be a sucky nurse, my own kids would probably be ashamed of me...sorry for wasting your time..." Olimar held his head down as he hopped down from his chair (yes you read that right, goes on to show you how short the guy was) and headed towards the door.

"Thank-a you for interviewing with-a us, Captain Olimar!" Dr. Mario thanked the astronaut with a gleeful smile as Olimar exited the doctor's office. "Next-a client!" Soon entered the man that Dr. Mario, Link and Cloud did not want to see - Slippy Toad. The bullfrog entered the room sipping from a cup of coffee, somehow tripping himself up as he neared the desk. Hisui was about to get a little taste of why many consider Slippy to be the most disliked _Star Fox_ character by far.

 **Hisui: Can you two please explain to me why Slippy Toad is so universally disliked? I asked the others about him, and while the ladies said that they don't mind Slippy, a majority of the men said otherwise.  
** **Cloud: First things first, Slippy sounds like a freaking girl. You'd never expect him to be male when you hear his voice the first time around.  
** **Link: He's also prone to fangirling, but you're not that relatively known to common people, so he won't fawning over you like he did to Cloud.  
** **Cloud: Dude practically gave me a bear hug when he saw me in person for the first time. If he says something like "OMG LINK AND CLOUD YOU'RE BOTH HERE TOGETHER, THIS IS SO COOL!", I'm gonna sock that stupid toad...or frog, or whatever the heck he's supposed to be.**

"OMG LINK AND CLOUD YOU'RE BOTH HERE TOGETHER, THIS IS SO COOL!" exclaimed Slippy, and now Cloud felt like giving the bullfrog a sucker punch of a lifetime. The bullfrog sat in the chair, ready for the interview to start.

"Welcome back-a to the mansion, Slippy Toad, you ready for-a your interview?" Dr. Mario asked Slippy, who nodded his head in excitement. "Hopefully this interview will-a be short, sweet, and-a to the point..." The doctor said this while trying his best not to sadden Slippy. "First-a off, tell us about-a yourself..." Slippy Toad would tell Dr. Mario and company about himself, but we know who Slippy was and what he was all about so we won't need to go into detail about what he said.

"Okay then, some nice details about yourself, good, good..." Link nodded his head as he wrote some stuff down on some notebook paper. "Now tell us, Slippy Toad - why would a pilot and tech junkie like yourself want to be a nurse?" When Link said the word "nurse", Slippy's eyes widened...in confusion. In that moment, the bullfrog knew that something was wrong.

"Oh, so this is an interview for a job as a _nurse,_ I thought this was an interview in order to receive a purse, like a man purse!" exclaimed Slippy. Dr. Mario's eyes twitched; how did Slippy possibly get nurse mixed up with purse? Now the doctor was about to lose himself another candidate for the job. "Well in that case, I should be going off then...bye Dr. Mario, bye Link and Cloud, bye emo-looking guy!" Hisui would grit his teeth as Slippy got up from the chair and left the office, beginning his search for a man purse. Why would he need one anyways?

"I know it was just a small sample size, but now I know why a lot of you guys hate Slippy," Hisui remarked once Slippy was gone. The residents dodged a major bullet...

* * *

Fox, Falco, and Heihachi arrived at KeyArena via Landmaster, and once the threesome entered the arena, they continued down the tunnel, until they reached the open space, standing on the wooden floor. Standing at the center was Heihachi's anonymous foe...Akuma, of _Street Fighter_ fame, his yellow eyes glistening and his red hair...well, being red.

"So you've finally arrived, Heihachi Mishima..." Akuma grinned, his arms folded as he analyzed his opponent. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Akuma, and you may know me as one of the best fighters in the world. It seems like you've brought some friends along as well, too bad they're the only spectators who are allowed to stay!" Fox didn't care either way, but Falco snapped his fingers in disgust.

"Welp, so much for promoting the heck out of this fight..." the avian pilot sighed. Falco was fancying the idea of printing out flyers to give to Seattleites to promote the fight, but doing so would have been an absolute waste of paper and money.

 **Fox: On our drive to the arena, Falco was delving into his plan, talking about the prices of concessions and having the Seahawks cheerleaders cheering on for Heihachi...and then he talked about having the fight in its entirety _televised,_ on national television. *shakes his head* Look, I'd want to raise money to help out Mario's wedding too, but this is just too much!**

"Anata wa Akuma o kudatte imasu, anata wa watashi no sukinahito ni wa matchi shimasen!" Heihachi pointed at Akuma, telling him that he was about to lose. But Akuma couldn't help but laugh at the fighter's remark.

"If you say so...how about we cut a deal?" asked Akuma, making Heihachi and the pilots interested. "You win, I find you the best English tutor in the world to teach you how to speak English. But if I win...you'll forever be banned from the Smash Mansion for all of eternity!" Akuma laughed evilly; Heihachi would back down from this challenge (and he probably should), but a guy like him would _never_ back down from anything.

"Anata wa Akuma ni iru, watashi wa anata to yuka o suwaipu shimasu!" Heihachi pointed at Akuma once more, again proclaiming that he was going to win. And once again, Akuma laughed; he certainly wasn't going down without a fight.

"We'll just have to see about that...let's get this fight started already, I can just imagine the beatdown I'm gonna put on you!"

So Heihachi met Akuma at the center of the arena, both fighting getting into fighting stances, and then the fight officially began. Heihachi would strike first by throwing a punch at Akuma's face, but Akuma would grab Heihachi's fist, and throw the Japanese fighter onto the floor, before firing a Hadouken fireball in his face.

"C'mon Heihachi, you can do it, don't let that man Akuma beat you up like that!" Fox cheered on for Heihachi, as Akuma delivered a low sweeping kick to the fighter. It would take more than just support from Fox and Falco for Heihachi to beat the mighty likes of Akuma...

* * *

"Soooo...how's your meditating coming along?" Tails spoke with Lucario, as the fox and the aura Pokemon sat outside the Pokemon sanctuary. Evidently Tails didn't have much to talk about with Lucario.

"Save for some of the distractions from the Duck Hunt Dog and others, it's coming along pretty well, I should say," replied Lucario, his arms crossed behind the back of his head. The aura Pokemon would perk up when Sonic and Amy exited the sanctuary...accompanied by Gallade and Lopunny. "Shoot, why did you bring those two out here, what did they say?!" Lucario angrily got up, but Sonic was there to cool him down.

"Woah, Lucario, chill out man, it's all good!" Sonic soothed the aura Pokemon, who sat back down with his arms folded. "Amy and I, we talked with Lopunny and Gallade, and as it turns out...it was all just a big misunderstanding!" Lucario's eyes widened, and suddenly he felt more relieved.

 **Sonic: As it turned out, Gallade was in love with Lopunny solely because there wasn't a female Gardevoir in the sanctuary, and how Gallade was able to find out that the Gardevoir was male seriously begs to question. I'm gonna ask Master Hand later if we could bring in a female Gardevoir, so then we can have TWO Gardevoirs in the sanctuary, one male and the other female! *scratches chin thoughtfully* But how would we be able to differentiate between the two?**

"So that's why you were so angry with me, you thought I stole your girlfriend in Lopunny, and you liked Lopunny because there wasn't a female Gardevoir here in the sanctuary?" Lucario would ask Gallade after Sonic told him the story. Gallade confirmed this with a nod, and Lucario smiled, knowing that this whole thing was now behind him.

"See how we resolved this whole entire issue?" smiled Amy, as everyone was at one piece now. "If it weren't for us Lucario, you would have been in some deep trouble with Gallade!" Lucario originally didn't want help from Sonic and his crew because, well, Sonic was involved, but now he was glad the hedgehog and his pals were willing to help him out.

"Thank you guys for putting an end to this whole shindig, now I won't have to worry about Gallade wanting to attack me or anything...now that this has been settled, I can go back to my meditating session." Lucario would leave the premises, and as he did so, Lopunny would look at the aura Pokemon, seemingly checking him out...before Gallade nudged the rabbit Pokemon, motioning her to return to the sanctuary.

* * *

"Alright-a boys, this is our last-a person to interview, I sure-a hope we can hire this person..." Dr. Mario said to Link, Cloud, and Hisui, and for once, the three men found themselves agreeing with the doctor. Soon in came a young, female brunette, with green eyes and a white dress and headband. Could this be the nurse Dr. Mario is looking for. "Welcome, take a seat-a please!" The girl took a seat in the chair, as Dr. Mario glanced at his list of interviewees. "I take-a it that your name is...Leia Rolando?"

"Yup, that would be me!" the girl chirped up, sounding like she was just dying to conduct this interview. After Dr. Mario, Link, Cloud "Cloud Strife" Strife, and Hisui introduced themselves, the interview began.

"So Leia, tell us something about yourself," Hisui started things off, as Leia talked about her positive attitude and how kind and considerate she was to others. "Why do you want to be a nurse at the Smash Mansion?" Leia then talked about how she worked as an apprentice nurse at a clinic, and how she wished to return to the medical field. "You had another job after you quit being a nurse?"

"I used to work as a newspaper journalist, it was a very enjoyable experience for me," explained Leia. She could probably write for _The Seattle Times_ in her downtime if she wanted to, if only she was sixteen years of age.

 **Leia: If I don't get the job as the mansion nurse, then I won't sweat it, I can always return to my newspaper job...but the folks that read my columns would be tired of all the emoticons and smileys I use in my writing...some of the elderly folks that read my columns don't even know what emoticons are, and why they're so happy, so that's one demographic I wouldn't have to worry about.**

"Give-a us one reason why we should-a hire you, Leia," Dr. Mario said, before his cellphone started ringing. The doctor saw that it was a call from Isabelle, and so he answered it right away. "Hello? Yes, Isabelle?...They're-a here again?! And it's some-a one different?! We'll be there-a soon!" Leia and company looked confused as Dr. Mario promptly ended the call; clearly something was going down.

"What's the matter, Dr. Mario, do we have to cut this interview short?" asked Leia, worried that she might not get the job. The interview was going well too, momentum was swaying over to the brunette's side.

"I'm afraid-a so, we have an un-a wanted intruder inside the mansion. The intruder in-a question comes from a group-a called the Organization XIII!" The mere mention of the evil group was enough to make Link, Cloud, and Hisui more concerned than they should be.

"Did Isabelle say where the Organization XIII member was?" asked Link, ready to whip out his Master Hand if necessary.

* * *

The Organization XIII intruder in question was Saïx, who was standing in the fitness center with Wii Fit Trainer, Little Mac, Ness, and Dunban all writhing on the floor, as the Dusk Nobodies danced around them in victory. Only person left standing was Doc Louis, who was throwing a flurry of punches at Saïx, his chocolate bar in one of his hands, as the Nobody just stood there with a blank expression.

"You want these hands fool, come and get 'em!" Doc would challenge Saïx as the flurry of punches continued. Saïx, unfazed by the boxing trainer's boxing prowess, simply punched Doc in the chest, sending him to the floor and knocking his chocolate bar out of his hand in the process.

"Thinking your best boxer impersonation could beat me, that's cute," Saïx snarled as he stepped on the chocolate bar on the floor. Doc looked up when the Nobody did this, and gasped in shock - how could he do such an evil thing to the boxing trainer's one and only true love? (To be fair, Doc could always get another chocolate bar and treat it as if it was his girlfriend.)

"No, not my boo Erica, I was gonna propose to her tomorrow!" Doc Louis seriously gave that chocolate bar a name? And he was going to propose to it too?! "But hey, at least she lasted longer than my previous boo, Tiffany, I'll give her that!"

 **Saïx: I've returned to the mansion for one reason, and one reason only...to capture Aerith and bring her back to our universe, in the hope that we could perhaps lure the Cloud from this universe and his friends to ours and destroy them. With him and the others neutralized, we could take over this entire universe, and claim it as our own, a universe dominated by the Organization XIII...**

"Dude you're freaking out over a chocolate bar?" questioned Ness, his body racked with pain. "You seriously need to get over yourself..." Doc Louis gave Ness a death glare, and the PSI whiz shut his mouth real quick.

"Enough talk out of you!" Saïx essentially told Ness to shut up, although Doc Louis already took care of that. "Someone better bring Aerith to me, and if not, I might have the Dusks rip this mansion down to shreds..." Clearly Saïx really wanted Aerith, and would resort to whatever measures necessary to do so.

"Yoo hoo, over here!" Aerith's voice called out, and Saïx smiled evilly. His prey was finally here, in his vicinity, and it was about time the Organization claimed her. Saïx heard Aerith's voice behind him, from behind a door, and so he turned around and headed towards the door of the fitness center, expecting Aerith to be behind said door...

...but instead of Aerith, the Nobody only saw Snake, his arms folded with a voice recorder in his hand. Standing at the former spy's feet were the Inklings, armed with their Splattershots. Saïx just got played by the jack-of-all-trades Snake, and the only thing he could do was give a shocked expression.

"Fire away!" ordered Snake, and the Inklings did as they were told, making their way inside the fitness as they fired paint at Saïx and the Dusks. The paint may not have done much damage to Saïx, but it was apparently strong enough to take care of all the Dusks that were doing their best to dodge the substance. By the time all the Dusks were dispatched, Saïx was left smothered in paint, gritting his teeth at the Inklings.

"Looks like I'll have to bring better backup next time around..." Saïx seethed at the Inklings, as he summoned a corridor of darkness and went through it, the paint dripping off of him. Once he was gone and the corridor dispersed, Snake entered the fitness center, proud of the Inklings' work. They certainly made up for annoying him previously in the ball pit room.

"Great work, you two, that should keep the Organization away for the time being," Snake commended the Inklings for their efforts, as Dr. Mario and company arrived at the fitness center, with Leia tagging along. Dr. Mario gasped when he saw the carnage, with Doc Louis and others on the floor in pain.

"Oh my-a goodness, we're-a too late!" the doctor exclaimed in horror, before inspecting the paint and seeing that it was paint, rather than blood, which he apparently mistook the paint for. "Sorry everyone, it's just-a paint..." Dr. Mario's apology was met with groans from most of the folks inside the fitness center.

 **Male Inkling: We sure took care of that Organization XIII creep, did we?  
** **Female Inkling: Sure did, but what was he talking about when he said "better backup"? Is he fancying the idea of bringing a fellow member along? The one we dealt with previously isn't that much a slouch, he's too easygoing. Or maybe he was talking about the lesser known Nobodies, like those jumpsuit dudes that were dancing seductively!  
Male Inking: I dunno, I think one of those jumpsuit people was trying to hit on you...not sure if it was playing a game of limbo, or performing some freaky Latino dance!  
Female Inkling: Maybe the Organization trains the Nobodies that don't look like humans how to dance, to give them confidence in their ugly selves! You have to admit, they look kinda ugly...**

"These poor people must be very hurt!" Leia exclaimed as she ran over to one of the injured folks, Little Mac, and knelt down at his side. "I should nurse them at once!" Little Mac looked up, and saw Leia, and smiled all goofily. You could guess the thought process going on inside that head of his.

"You can nurse me all day long if you like..." the boxer grinned, hoping that Leia didn't catch him in the act. He only knew the girl for a short while, and he did not wish to blow his cover early on.

"Link, Cloud, Hisui, assemble the patient-a beds!" Dr. Mario commanded the three men, who nodded as they did the doctor's bidding. "It's-a time to see what our-a potential nurse Leia is-a made of!" Here comes Leia's big test - a test to prove her worth to not only Dr. Mario, but the injured residents.

* * *

Zelda spoke with Marth in private if he was truly the one who messed with the surveys, and the hero-king pleaded his case and said that it wasn't him who was responsible for the act. So just for clarification, Zelda and Marth went to Master Hand's room, and asked the giant hand to review the security footage of the meeting room, when the surveys were present prior to the meeting. Master Hand brought X and R.O.B. over to bring the security tape.

"NOW PULLING UP...VIDEO FOOTAGE OF MEETING ROOM..." R.O.B. announced as he pulled up an earlier video of the meeting room on X's laptop. Once the video played, everyone looked at the laptop screen, watching as a mysterious fat figure sneakily entered the meeting room.

"That plump figure looks awfully short, could it be..." X analyzed the video as the figure reached for the surveys, pulled out a pencil, erased some stuff, and filled some stuff in, before snickering and running out of the room. Didn't take rocket science to know the guy responsible. "Yup, this was definitely Wario's doing, can't mistake that short, fat figure for anyone else!"

"Alright Marth, so I guess you really weren't the culprit after all," remarked Zelda, as the video played over again. Robin should now owe the hero-king an apology for falsely accusing him. "You really were innocent this whole time!"

"I tried to tell Robin, but he refused to listen," replied Marth, shaking his head. "I think I know why Wario did this: he knew he would be at the bottom of the resident favorability rankings, and so he took it upon himself to bring someone like Robin down, to make himself feel better. A good, stern talk with him oughta teach him a lesson..." So the hero-king exited Master Hand's room, and found Wario at the end of the hallway, scratching his butt, and instead of talking with the fatso, Marth walked up to Wario and...gave him $20 bucks? The heck?!

"Much appreciated for the compensation Marth, your secret is safe with me!" Wario greedily accepted the money from Marth and gave the hero-king a thumbs up, as Marth smiled back and continued on his merry way. Once again, the heck?!

 **Marth: No, I don't believe the business I conducted with Wario was wrong. Sometimes when life gives you lemons, you either make lemonade or hurl the lemons right back - and I'm doing both with Robin. Trust me, my friends, this is only the beginning...**

* * *

Back to the fight between Heihachi and Akuma, and both men were still going at it. Heihachi used moves like the Tsunami Kick and Dragon Uppercut, whereas Akuma used moves like the Shakunetzu Hadouken and the Tatsumaki Zankukyaku, all while Fox and Falco were cheering on for Heihachi throughout the battle. It was an equally fought battle, and it seemed like it would come to a close, when...

"SHIN SHUN GOKU SATSU!" Akuma unleashed his ultra move, using a combo consisting of two light punches, a light kick, and a hard punch, sending Heihachi flying towards the wall. Heihachi's back crashed against said wall, as Akuma walked closer to him, snarling.

"He's coming for you man, don't let him win!" Fox called out to Heihachi, as Akuma was nearing his opponent. "Get back on your feet before he uses another fancy combo on you!" Too late - Akuma finally reached Heihachi, and he clutched his chest...only for Heihachi to strike back and clutch Akuma's chest. Both men were in pain, as they grabbed the arm of their opponent. Now it was only a matter of who was the strongest.

"Watashi wa... gaishutsu shimasen... kono yō ni!" vowed Heihachi as he clutched Akuma, while Akuma clutched him. The chests of both men were hurting, both could possibly be suffering from a loss of breath!

"I won't go down without a fight either, this win is mine!" Akuma gritted his teeth as he clutched Heihachi's chest even harder. Just when it seemed like the fighter was about to admit defeat to his opponent...

"SHORYUKEN!" A certain someone delivered this famous fighting move to Akuma, sending the man flying up in the air, nearly reaching the roof, before crashing down onto the floor and leaving behind a small crater the janitors would hate to patch up. And about that certain someone...

"Bruh Ryu, is that you?!" exclaimed Falco, as he and Fox were both in shock. Indeed it was Ryu; the fighter tightened his headband as Heihachi fell to the floor on one knee, clutching his chest and catching his breath.

"It is I, and it appears I came just in time," responded Ryu, as he helped Heihachi up to his feet and patted him on the back. "I did not wish for Heihachi to lose, no matter the effort, so I sneaked my way inside the Landmaster to help him win."

 **Ryu: While Fox and Falco were preparing the Landmaster for the trip to KeyArena, I sneaked inside the flying contraption, and hid inside the somewhat spacious glove compartment, where I found some interesting items inside...like a rubber ducky, some candy wrappers, and even a Justin Bieber CD! I suspect Slippy Toad to be the sole owner of these belongings, but this is a contraption Fox and Falco use, however...**

"Ryū, arigatōgozaimashita!" Heihachi, still catching his breath, thanked Ryu for helping him out and securing a win over Akuma. "Anata wa Fox to Falco yori mo yakunitatsu!" Fox and Falco thought Heihachi was praising the both of them (he really wasn't) and so the pilots found themselves nodding their heads in agreement.

"It was no problem, a great fighter always sticks up for his fellow man!" replied Ryu, making sure Heihachi was okay. The fighter then looked over at Akuma, who slowly rose up from the small crater he was win. "It is imperative that we take you both to the mansion at once, so someone can get you back to shape! I'm afraid Master Hand wouldn't be keen about paying for anyone's hospital bill, so the hospital would be greatly out of the question...

* * *

"I don't think that we can thank you enough for all that you've done for us...what was your name again?" Dunban asked Leia, as he and the others rested on patient beds in the fitness center. Leia was tending to the injured, while Dr. Mario was absent, letting the candidate for the nurse job do her thing.

"Leia, Leia Rolando's the name!" the brunette replied as she gave Doc Louis a chocolate bar, like he needed one. Expect him to give the chocolate name soon. Also lying on patients bed were Heihachi and Akuma, after Ryu and the Star Fox pilots hurriedly brought the two fighters in.

"So who exactly is this Akuma guy, why is he here?" Wii Fit Trainer wondered, as the fighter in question was taking a short, little nap. Either that, or he passed out due to the injuries he suffered in the fight.

"From what I've heard, he and Heihachi got into a fight in downtown Seattle," explained Little Mac, as Leia now tended to him. "He's bruised pretty badly, so he'll likely stick around in the fitness center for the time being."

"Leia, may I speak-a with you for a quick-a second, it won't-a be long..." Dr. Mario showed up, and Leia stopped tending to Little Mac (much to the chagrin of the boxer) as she followed Dr. Mario out of the fitness center, standing with the Italian man outside the entrance. "I've watched-a you from afar...not in a perverted-a way, but you know what-a I mean...I've seen-a how you interacted with-a the patients, and I've noticed a certain kind-a ness with you...how gentle you-a are and how considerate you are-a and...well you get-a the point...the real-a point of the matter is...I've been-a impressed from what-a I've seen, and I think you should-a be justifiably rewarded, which-a means...you got-a the job, congratulations." Dr. Mario shook hands with Leia, who had a shocked expression on her face. "I look-a forward to working with-a you soon!" Dr. Mario patted Leia on the shoulder as he walked away, just when Link approached Leia, still wearing his lab coat with his name tag.

"I take it you got the job?" Link asked Leia after analyzing her facial expression, and the brunette would respond by happily hugging Link. Certainly caught the Hylian off-guard. "I'll take this hug as a resounding yes..." Leia suddenly looked up, and saw Link's name tag, with the initials "M.D." next to the Hylian's name.

"You...and Cloud and Hisui...are not really...doctors, are you?" she asked Link, who shook his head no. "Ah, I figured, you three looked way too cool to be doctors - not that Dr. Mario isn't cool or anything." First time in a very long time anyone has ever called Link cool. "Well, I should go back to monitoring the patients, hope to speak with you again soon!" Leia rushed back inside the fitness center, as Midna hovered out from Link's body and watched the brunette.

"Is it just me, or should Mario have invested in a nurse a long time ago?" the imp asked Link out of curiosity. Imagine how the interviews would have went had Midna been a part of them...she could have scared everyone away!

"He tried asking Peach to be a nurse in the past, but she turned down the offer several times," replied Link. "I seriously doubt Peach would want to be a nurse again, although she was really good at it one time."

"Hmph, I see, I wouldn't want to work with Mario either..." Midna stroked her chin, and found herself...smiling, for some reason. "Can't help but feel that this new Leia nurse would be of great use in the future..."

What "great use" could Midna possibly be talking about?


	63. Episode 63: Tenacious

_Author's Note:_

 _THE NINTENDO SWITCH IS GETTING RELEASED TODAY! LET'S GOOOOOOOOO!_

 _...now that I got that off of my chest, time for the guest reviews:_

 _Here's another list of characters, Axel and Blaze from Streets of Rage, Vectorman and Ristar, NiGHTS, Claris, Elliot, Will and Helen from NiGHTS Into Dreams and NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, Zephyr, Leanne and Vashyron from Resonance of Fate, Jin, Xiaoyu, and the rest of the Mishima family, Kite, Blackrose, Tsukasa, Subaru and Mimiru from the Dot Hack games, Terror Mask from Splatterhouse, and Ryu, Nina and Lin from Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter._

 _I always rub my hands together evilly when I read your lists...but thanks again. Let me say that the Resonance of Fate characters may be a long-shot, since they never appeared on a Nintendo console. Next up is Roydigs22:_

 _"Nice to see you address the gardevoir male problem. So, I take it love might actually be in the air for everyone's favorite jackal?"_

 _Yup, I might've led way to yet another couple...just what I needed. Last up, we have Smasherfan88, again with more requests:_

 _" we see Chibi-Robo? I feel like little robot could help in some ways (though seeming as Flora and Felicia kinds of the maid thing, I don't think he'd be able to do what he's best known for, aka cleaning and making people happy of course)  
2\. Could we see Chell from portal? I mean her only appreance on a Nintendo system is Lego dimensions... But it's still portal!_  
 _3\. Can we see Pichu and Young Link? I think I remember them being in the early chapters of this story but we haven't seen them since (tbh I'd think it would be funny if cloud and snake was forced to babysit the kids of the smash mansion while everyone else left to do something else)_

 _1\. Since the mansion has maids, Chibi-Robo would be kinda pointless in most regards...  
2\. Eh...not so sure on that one.  
3\. Pichu and Young Link haven't appeared since the 58th chapter. I'll give them some love this time around._

* * *

 **Episode 63: Tenacious**

Throughout the history of Hyrule and throughout the Zelda timeline, there have been multiple incarnations of Link and Zelda. What started off with the formation of Hyrule from Din, Nayru, and Farore would later lead to a conflict dubbed the "Ancient Battle", with the famous Triforce relic on the line. The Goddess Hylia would be entrusted to protect the Triforce from the Demon King Demise, who desired to take over the world, and she ultimately prevailed.

What people may or may not know is that there was an incarnation of Hylia now living in the mansion - and that person was none other than Zelda, whose descendants are all related to the goddess. What's more, there was an incarnation of Demise living in the mansion as well, and if you could infer by the title, his name was Ganondorf. As for Link, well, he's an incarnation of...the original Link, from _Skyward Sword,_ but all the other Links that came before him possess the Spirit of the Hero in them.

Wanting to perhaps meet with a Link, Zelda, or Ganondorf incarnation that did not hail from _Twilight Princess,_ MegaMan .EXE and X did a couple of modifications to the teleportation device, allowing the device to warp any Link/Zelda/Ganondorf incarnation to the mansion with the mere press of the button. This was met with approval from Master Hand, who told .EXE and X to only warp the Link and Zelda incarnations from _Breath of the Wild_ to the mansion. The two robots could warp Calamity Ganon as well...but they obviously did not want to risk the mansion being destroyed.

"How's it coming along down there?" X asked .EXE, who was on the floor plugging some cords together. The NetNavi would give X a thumbs up; he was almost done with his task. "You folks ready to have your socks blown off?" X would ask Link, Young Link, Toon Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf, who were brought to the teleportation room for obvious reasons.

"Yeah, yeah, make it snappy, Rosalina and I, we got some matters to take care of together..." replied Ganondorf, garnering strange looks from Link and company. Maybe Ganon shouldn't have said that out loud... "...and no, it's not anywhere close to what you peons are thinking. Get your minds out of the gutter, will ya?!"

 **Ganondorf: Rosalina was kind enough to give me an offer - an offer of her painting a picture of yours truly, to hang in the foyer! Of course, with my majesty and allure, I should have artwork of myself hanging at every corner of the mansion, but I wouldn't want to be a person others would aspire to be, they should aspire to be themselves. The only thing though is, Rosalina said that I would have to stand still as a statue in my majestic pose while she draws the painting, so I gotta take care of my business before she gets started. And no glasses of lemonade either, that can really give my bladder a very hectic time...**

"Everything is plugged in X, we're all ready to go!" .EXE announced after plugging in the final cord. It was now time for the three Links and Zelda to meet a different incarnation of themselves (Ganondorf has been omitted, and you should know why), as X pressed the button on the teleportation device.

"This process may be faulty, so don't be surprised in the slightest if we get some 'guests', so to speak," X would tell Link and company as he pressed the button. "Either way, we'll still get the Link and Zelda incarnations, that's the main goal we have in mind..."

After some funky technological sounds were made and whatnot, the teleportation device finally did its job - the Link and Zelda incarnations from _Breath of the Wild_ appeared on the teleportation pad, looking about at their surroundings. They were not in Kansas...erm, _Hyrule_ anymore. The two Hylians analyzed their surroundings, marveling at the teleportation device and whatnot.

"Well this certainly looks new, don't recall ever being here before..." remarked BOTW Link, as he looked around, before his eyes fell upon Link. The Hylian in blue jumped back, as he and BOTW Zelda took hold of the folks before them. Behind him were three "guests", all of whom were brought to the mansion incidentally, as X had figured - a Goron with white hair, a blue Rito tribesman, and a red Zora were all standing behind BOTW Link and Zelda. Their names were Daruk, Revali, and Mipha, respectively.

"Allow me to introduce myself and the others, my name is Mega Man X," X would introduced himself to the BOTW, startling them considering he was a robot. "And these folks all hail from Hyrule - that's Link, Young Link, Toon Link, Zelda, and Ganondorf." The original Link troupe would then introduce themselves to the BOTW folk, because it was the right thing to do, you just can't socialize with a few strangers who were warped to an unknown place without preexisting knowledge. You gotta show them how kind and friendly you are. "As you can see, these are other incarnations of yourself and Ganon, and they have been living here at this mansion, the Smash Mansion!" X would continue, putting some unnecessary emphasis on the words "Smash Mansion". Master Hand must have put him up to it.

"Do we have to worry about any Bokoblins while we're here?" BOTW Zelda asked; she would ask about Ganondorf if he was some evil pimp, wanting to take the princess to a secret place and do...things with her, things that don't involve painting pictures, but at first glance, the Demon Lord looked like a pretty chill guy to here.

"Nope, no Bokoblins at all, the weirdos that live inside this mansion are the ones you have to be weary about. They'll always bring you down to their level and beat you you profound experience." X looked at the watch programmed onto his wrist, glancing at the time. "There's a certain someone who would like to meet you, he's basically the owner of this mansion. If you would, follow me please..."

* * *

 **Cloud: As you would imagine, Link was more than excited about getting to hang out with another Link incarnation, especially one that looked a lot like him in terms of looks and physical appearance...he was so excited, that he apparently wrote down a lengthy list of things he wanted to do together, and apparently I'm involved, as well as Mario. I found the list lying on Link's bed... *holds up a long list* ...so let's see what heinous things this man wants to do. *glances at the list* "Play basketball on the basketball court"...meh. "Catch insects in the front yard"...not interested. "Talk about swords all day long"...oh man, don't EVEN get me started on that one, I still have yet to recover from Link's pathetically long lecture with Blade Man, and the same could be said for the others attending the tea party.**

After the _Breath of the Wild_ crew met with Master Hand (it wasn't that spectacular so we won't go into details about what was discussed) Link brought BOTW Link with him to the arcade room, while BOTW Zelda and the "guests" got to hang out with the other mansion residents. Inside the arcade room were plenty of brawlers, which Link introduced his fellow incarnation to, but the two brawlers he was more concerned in introducing the new Link to was a certain plumber with a mustache and a blonde swordsman who rarely gave a crap about anything (unless his girl Aerith was involved, that is).

"Link, I would like to introduce you to two rather famous folk, Mario and Cloud Strife," Link would introduce BOTW Link to the two popular video game heroes, who were sitting on red built-in bar stools, next to the token machine. Yes, the machine is still around, it's one of the few ways Master Hand raises money to buy his Lamborghini dream car.

"Howdy, my-a friend, nice to meet-a you!" greeted Mario, tipping his hat to BOTW Link. "Always great-a to meet another Link-a incarnation!" Unlike Mario, Cloud was a bit more...apathetic towards BOTW Link, as he looked down at the floor with his arms crossed.

"Hey man, how's it going," was the only words the swordsman used to greet the Hylian. Reading Link's list in its entirety must have seeped all the joy out of him. Or maybe he was like this prior to coming to the arcade room.

"Don't mind Cloud, he always looks salty for whatever reason." Cloud took Link's comments with heavy stride; at least he was saying something relatively true about the guy, even Cloud would admit he was salty 24/7. "However, his saltiness will NOT deter us from the awesome things the three of us are gonna do together!"

"So talking about swords nonstop is deemed 'awesome' in your eyes?" Man, Cloud can really be such a buzzkill sometimes...how does a perky, upbeat chick like Aerith manage to stay afloat with the guy? Cloud could kill her optimism just with a single deadpan remark.

"Cheer-a up Cloud, I'm sure Link has-a that as the last-a thing we'll do today!" exclaimed Mario, trying to cheer up the ex-SOLDIER the best he could. "After all, who would-a want to start off a day-a of fun with something so-a boring?" Link took great offense to Mario's remark, and was about to fight him, only for BOTW Wild to hold his fellow incarnation back. "Why do you think-a we're here in the arcade-a room anyways?"

"I only agreed to do this because it was the right thing to do, it's not like I would enjoy doing any of the activities on Link's list." This remark from Cloud also offended Link, mainly because he got a sneak peek of the Hylian's list earlier. Link should have hid said list somewhere on his nightstand, just for good measure.

 **Master Hand: Finally got the chance to meet Link and Zelda, the ones that have nothing to do with Twilight and stuff, and also got the chance to meet the Zora, Goron, and Rito guy as well. But I must say about that Zelda, she looks very handsome...her eyebrows, yes, those eyebrows of hers look very, very handsome! Chicks with thick eyebrows are undeniably the cutest...tell a single soul that and I'll have your head for sure!**

"Looking at other's people stuff, huh Cloud, I'll deal with you later..." frowned Link - his fault for leaving his list out in the open for onlookers to see. "...but for now, we'll get started with the list, and the first thing we'll do is..." Link took out his list, and glanced at it. "Play the good ol' _Simpsons_ arcade game _,_ four-player style! Link my man, have you ever played an arcade game before?" Link would ask BOTW Link as he wrapped his arm around the Hylian.

"No I've never heard about arcade games or _The Simpsons,_ can you tell me what they're all about?" asked BOTW Link, who was arguably more old-fashioned than regular Link. He was slowly transitioning into a bit of a culture shock.

"Good, now let's get started, shall we?" Link, forgoing any form of explanation whatsoever, would take his troupe to the _Simpsons_ arcade machine...only to find Wolf playing the heck out of it. The mercenary was really into the game too, looked like he wouldn't allow anyone else to play it for the remainder of the day.

"Yeah you go Lisa, you beat the heck out of Principal Skinner!" Wolf snarled as he tried to beat up the _Simpsons_ character, but to no avail because Skinner was an NPC and not an actual enemy. Also, what possibly convinced Wolf to play as Lisa? Bart would have been the perfect choice for a guy like him.

 **Wolf: Wanna know what's so great about the _Simpsons_ arcade game? There's no high score, or score rankings! What's great about it is that I could beat up people for days and days and days, and wouldn't have to worry about anyone eclipsing my greatness! Everyone's a winner, but out of all the winners, I'm the greatest of them all!**

"Um, Wolf, would-a you mind allowing the four-a of us play that game, just-a for a little while?" Mario asked the mercenary, his eyes fixated on the game, still hitting Principal Skinner with Lisa's jump rope. The man was playing a 4-player game just by himself, where's the fun in that?!

"Ain't no way I'm letting you scrubs play, why don't you leave me alone and go play patty cake or something?" retorted Wolf, who gritted his teeth when Skinner ran away once the enemies came into the screen. "I'm trying to beat a game here, in case you haven't noticed yet!"

"Welp, Wolf is hogging the arcade game and won't let anybody else play anytime soon, what's next on your list, Link?" Cloud asked the Hylian. But Link was determined to play that _Simpsons_ game, he refused to scratch off the first item on his list without actually participating in it. That's now how he envisioned to start off his day.

"We're gonna play that _Simpsons_ game, one way or another..." vowed Link; would he have to fight with Wolf over the arcade machine? Then so be it...

* * *

Leia Rolando, the new nurse, certainly had her hands full during her first week on the job. She had to care for two patients - Heihachi Mishima and Akuma - while Mario went off to do other things. (Truth be told, she did not know that Dr. Mario was a alternate persona of the famous plumber.) Both fighters would remain in the fitness center, healing from their injuries as they rested in their patient beds.

"Get that disgusting crap away from me, you vermin!" Akuma ordered Palutena, who tried to feed the fighter some medicine. The goddess of light held out a spoon with the medicine, and whenever she tried to feed it to Akuma, the fighter would try to slap the spoon away, only for Palutena to pull her hand back at the nick of time.

"Now now, Akuma, if you take this medicine I promise you your wounds will heal quicker," stated Palutena. The wounds may not heal fast, but the goddess had to do something to make Akuma take the medicine. Heihachi took the medicine, and even though he didn't like it, it had to be done...

"D'oh...why are most of the things that are good for you taste so bad, why can't it be the other way around?" Sucking up all his bravery and willpower, Akuma allowed Palutena to spoon-feed him the medicine, and after swallowing the medicine, Akuma gagged and coughed, the terrible taste permeating in his mouth. Nothing sweet, like candy or syrup, would make the horrid taste go away.

 **Palutena: I find it nice that we now have a nurse at the mansion, even though Mario's a full-fledged doctor and all, he can't carry the burden of caretaking the residents. Not only that, but he sometimes has very...eccentric ways to cure illnesses and ailments. Like this one time when I got the cold from Lucas, and Mario - or rather, Dr. Mario used this, rather strange ointment on my nose...which was later revealed to be Ike's "condensed" sweat. *shudders* I know I shouldn't be asking this, but where exactly did Dr. Mario receive doctorate from? I demand answers...**

"Are you two feeling alright, do you need anything?" Leia asked Akuma and Heihachi as she poked her head through the door; both fighters shook their head no. "Okay then...but before I leave, I got some great news!" Akuma and Heihachi both perked up. "Well, only for Heihachi, at least." Heihachi kept his head up, while Akuma looked down, dismayed. "Some visitors would like to see you Heihachi, they've been alerted by Master Hand about your fight and they wish to see how you're doing!"

"Ichibu no hitobito wa watashi o mitaidesu ka?" questioned Heihachi, surprised Master Hand would be thoughtful to bring guests to see the injured fighter. Too bad Akuma probably won't have the same treatment. "Watashi wa sorera o motte kuru to iu!" Heihachi motioned Leia to bring in the guests, and so the nurse happily poked her head out of the doorway, and opened the door wide, as she walked the two guests in the room while Heihachi's face fell. Standing next to Leia was a Japanese man adorned in black and red with a hood over his head, and a Chinese girl wearing a school uniform. Heihachi knew these two too well...

"Ni hao, Heihachi Mishima!" the Chinese chick greeted the kung fu fighter in Chinese, even doing the traditional Chinese bow. "Jiàn dào ni hěn gāoxìng!" The Japanese dude, on the other hand...

"Hey grandpa..." he coldy greeted Heihachi without even looking at the guy. What grandchild does that, who would greet their grandparent without a single shred of emotion, with their hood over their heads?

"C'mon Jin, that's no way to greet your grandpa, I understand you two have a b it of a family beef, but still..." the Chinese girl lectured the Japanese man before she looked and took hold of Palutena and Akuma, looking at her. "Oh, hello there! Sorry about Jin, he can be very crabby at times..." The Japanese man named Jin looked to the side. "I'm Ling Xiaoyu, and this is my good friend Jin Kazama. We've heard from the owner of this mansion about Heihachi, and so we..."

"Kanojo o Tome masete, kono shunkan kara watashi no mago o tsurete ikou!" Heihachi rudely cut off Ling, pointing at Leia and demanding that the nurse escorted Jin out of the room, while allowing Ling to stay. Evidently the man did not like his grandson that much, and if you looked into the Mishima family feud, you would see why.

"Um, Jin, I think Heihachi wants you to leave..." Ling said to Jin, who didn't mind either way - in fact, he was having an epic glaredown with Heihachi, as the two fighters stared into each other's souls. "Jin are you even listening to me?" Ling waved her hand over Jin's eyes, trying to make him break from his glaring trance, but to no avail. "I absolutely hate it when you do stuff like this..."

 **Jin: This is a pathetic waste of my time...I don't want to see my old man lying in some stupid hospital bed, he betrayed me and I will never forgive him for what he has done!  
Ling: Aw, but Jin, he's your grandpa, you should be nice to him when you see him! He did take you under his wing...  
Jin: Yes, and that was a long time ago, we're in present times now. I could care less what that man has done for me - his betrayal has negated all the positive things he...  
Ling: Can you _at least_ acknowledge your grandpa's presence, can you do that much?  
Jin: *heaves a heavy sigh* I suppose I can...**

"Actually I think Jin should stay behind and bond with his grandfather," suggested Leia, garnering an angry look from the Japanese fighter. The nurse knew it was coming, too. "Ling, Palutena, you should leave the premises and let Jin and Heihachi...try and work things out."

"But what about me, what if Heihachi and his grandson get into some verbal altercation and it becomes physical?" questioned Akuma, wanting to be transferred over to a new room. He saw the building friction between Heihachi and Jin, and wanted no part in what the end result might be.

"Oh I'm sure you'll be fine Akuma, they probably won't even notice you're there!" That was perhaps the only thing Akuma was hoping for...

So Leia kindly escorted Ling and Palutena out of the fitness center, leaving poor Akuma to deal with Jin and Heihachi as they try and rebuild on an already broken grandfather-grandson relationship. Much emphasis on "try". As she exited the fitness center, Ling looked around for something to waste her time with until she was allowed back inside, until she came across a group walking throughout the hallway. Daruk, the muscular Goron (aren't all Gorons muscular) was leading a group of Pit, Kirby, Young Link, Villager, Pikachu, and Pichu to honestly who knows where. It's not like Daruk could teach the kiddies, as well as Pikachu and Pichu, how to eat rocks.

"You fellas ready for some action-packed fun?" Daruk would ask his assembled troupe of boys and Pokemon...and Kirby. Alas, wherever Pit was, that pink puffball was bound to follow. "I promise you all that you won't be disappointed!"

"With a cool guy like yourself, we'd hardly be disappointed one bit!" exclaimed Young Link, holding Pikachu in his arms. In all honesty, he was the only person in the group that deserved to hang out with Durak, since he actually met a couple of Gorons in one of his adventures.

"Pika pika PIKA!" exclaimed Pikachu, who much like Kirby would agree to just about anything. You could tell the mouse Pokemon to nibble on Wario's ear when the fatso was asleep and he would do it, regardless of the major consequences.

"Viridi advised me not to hang around with strangers like yourself, but you don't look so bad to me!" Pit said to Daruk, disobeying Viridi's commands. What boyfriend does a thing like that, not listening to their girlfriend? Pit knows no bounds...

"Where is he taking them to?" Ling quietly wondered to herself as Daruk continued to lead his troupe through the hallway. "Gotta see what's up..." Ling would follow closely behind the Goron, making sure not to be seen him, the troupe, or any unsuspecting resident.

* * *

 **Sonic: Alright folks, this is it, today is the day...the day that I overcome my fear of water! Granted, I'm not _entirely_ afraid of water, I don't mind swimming around in it if it meant saving the world or finding Doc Louis's missing chocolate bar in the mansion's lake (he now has another chocolate "babe", after he ate his last chocolate bar two days ago), but I'm afraid of staying in the water for a long period of time, out of the fear that I might drown! Of course, I can't instantly get into the thick of things, you gotta start off with baby steps, and then work your way up until you can become a big boy and face your biggest fears! So until I'm ready to be fully submerged in the lake...**

"Are you sure this is really a good idea Sonic?" the female Inkling, as she and her male counterpart were outside with Sonic, wielding water guns in their hands. Both Inklings feared water, for getting a single drop of the liquid on them would make them dissolve, like the Wicked Witch from _The Wizard of Oz._ "I'd hate to get any water on any of us!"

"The water's supposed to be on ME, not you guys!" frowned Sonic, wanting to get these "baby steps" over with, so he could hurry to the real deal. "It's not like the water guns are gonna seriously backfire and douse water on you, amirite?" The Inklings nervously looked at one another, much to the chagrin of Sonic.

"Can't we just have Greninja use Water Shuriken on you instead?" asked the male Inkling. Only setback would be that the Water Shuriken would send Sonic back into the wall of the mansion; the hedgehog preferred to stay in one place.

"Yeah I tried asking him, but he just used his smoke bomb and disappeared, and I didn't even get the chance to tell him what he had to do! Definitely not the social type...or the helpful type either. That was when I asked you guys to help me out!" Although the Inklings did not wish to help Sonic, mainly because water was involved, the hedgehog had to get over his fear of water somehow...

"Well here goes nothing, I suppose..." the male Inkling nervously said as he and the female Inkling locked and loaded their water guns, and fired water on Sonic, who accepted the many droplets of water with his arms open and his eyes closed, his head titled to the sky. Meta Knight walked by and saw what the Inklings were doing, and shook his head in utter dismay.

"Gave those two $25 on something to spend on together and they use that money to do that..." the Star Warrior sighed, as he watched the Inklings douse Sonic with water. Hopefully the two kiddies won't throw their water guns away, and not use them to spray water on others, especially those who force them to do so; they would do water gun battles and whatnot, but as it was stated earlier, a mere drop of water could make the Inklings dissolve in an instant.

 **Meta Knight: Found a $20 bill and a $5 bill on one of my strolls around Seattle. I also found these denchers on the sidewalk, and it looks awfully clean to presumably have been on the ground for so long. *pulls out denchers and holds them up to camera* In the event Snake were to fully succumb to accelerated aging and lose all of his teeth, these denchers would come in handy...but fortunately for him, he won't have to suffer from tooth loss, hair loss, or even mental loss for the time being...though I might be generous about the mental loss, he's getting crankier by the day! *looks at the denchers* But I've always wondered what it was like to wear these denchers...only one way to find out! *turns around, takes off mask, inserts denchers into mouth, puts mask back on, and turns back around* Gotf the denchfers inf fmy mouf...andf itf hurfts fso mufch...ay yi yi, mi bocfa...**

The Inklings continued to fire away at Sonic with their water guns, while Meta Knight walked way, still shaking his head feeling discouraged. The spraying of water would persist until Sonic told the Inklings to stop, meaning that he was now ready for the big test, the one he has been waiting for.

"Thank you for this 'first trial' you guys, couldn't ask for a better duo to profusely spray me all over my body!" Sonic thanked the Inklings, who now held their water guns down. "...that might have sounded wrong, but I don't care." Sonic confidently looked over to the lake, looking and feeling bold as he marched over to the body of water with his hands on his hips, his gaze fixated on a Swanna floating on the lake surface that probably felt unnerved by the hedgehog looking at it. "Now all I have to do is jump into this lake, and stay submerged for a lengthy period of time whist holding my breath, and then I can fully overcome my strong fear of..."

"I take it that you're trying to learn how to swim?" a voice said behind Sonic, causing the hedgehog to shriek and nearly fall into the lake. The hedgehog would catch him, landing on the ground as he looked up at the person that was speaking to him, the Zora named Mipha.

"Woah, don't scare me like that, you could have given me a heart attack! Also, whoever said that I wanted to swim, I'm just trying to get over my longtime fear of water! Just who the heck are you anyway, you look like someone from the lost city of Atlantis or something!"

"I'm sorry for scaring you, truly I am...I'm Mipha, and I'm a Zora from the land of Hyrule." The fact that Mipha was a Zora was enough to intrigue Sonic, for he heard Link and Zelda say plenty of things about this particular aquatic species in the past. "Do you not know how to swim? If you were to learn how to swim, then you could move on to other things, like staying underwater for a lengthy period of time."

"Aw what, I have to do more baby steps until I can reach the big test?" Sonic sighed as he got up, dusting himself off. "I suppose I can try out this swimming thing...and then we can move on to the whole submerging thing, right?" Mipha nodded her head, pleasing Sonic. "Alright then, so where do we start? Do I need any swimming gear? Anything?"

* * *

"Yo Fox, bruh, you aren't going to believe this text I received from Katt Morone, it's really got me thinking," Falco said as he entered the Star Records room. "Girl has been flirting with me all week long, and you gotta...see...what...she said..." Falco would trail off once he was inside the room, seeing Fox chatting with Revali. Many folks who saw the _Breath of the Wild_ reveal trailer said that Revali resembled a lot like Falco, and now the Star Fox pilot and and the Rito were now standing in each other's presence, for the very first time.

 **Falco: Katt Morone is a bit of a stalker, but not on the same degree as Amy was. She's not gonna appear in the kitchen cupboard and follow me throughout the mansion, even going with me to the bathroom. Katt even considered joining the Star Fox crew, just so we could be co-pilots. Now that doesn't sound stalkerish, but I've known the chick since forever and I know what she's capable of...**

"No worries bro, Mr. Game and Watch and I, we got it all covered, you don't have to worry about a thing..." Fox said to Revali, deep in conversation, as he turned around and saw Falco looking at him with his mouth agape. "Ah, Falco, about time you came man! Revali, this is Falco, Falco, this is Revali, and Falco, please close your mouth, I understand that Revali may look very similar to you but there's no need to..."

"You dare hang out with that, that...THAT loser over me?!" Falco frowned at Fox, confusing not only the pilot, but Revali as well. Big Top, who was quietly sitting on top of the Star Records desk, was smiling away, not even paying attention. What if, in some way, in some fashion, this smiling hat was a part of Toad's drug lord schemes? What if Toad carried his crack inside Big Top?

"I believe you were specifically referring to this smiling blue hat?" asked Revali, pointing at Big Top. Dang, Revali cut in deep, was Big Top going to do something about it? Nope, he won't do a thing, just smiles all day, every day...

"No I'm wasn't talking about him...I was talking about YOU!" Falco accusingly pointed at Revali, and the Rito, with the bird's finger pointed at him...laughed heartily, with Fox and Big Top laughing along with him. Big Top had no idea whatsoever what was so funny. "Shut up, all of you, shut up! I know what you're trying to do Revali, if that's even your real name...you're trying to steal my best friend Fox, you wanna be his best bird friend!"

"Ease up Falco, Revali's not trying to replace you, I'm just..." Fox stifled his laughter, trying to tell Falco what he must hear, but it was too late, the bird marched towards the door, but before he could leave the premises, he looked back at Fox, wanting to say one more thing to his best friend...his _former_ best friend, that is.

"Go ahead and keep your new best friend for all I care, I'll just go find a new best friend for my own! That we, we can both be even!" After making this statement, Falco left the room, slamming the door behind him. He stormed off in anger, before he bumped into the Flying Man, who was minding his own business. Why was this mythical beast on the fifth floor?

"Greetings Falco Lombardi, I see that someone peed in your Cheerios today!" said the Flying Man, cracking his knuckles. "Should I be your courage and find the perpetrator responsible for such a dastardly deed? I promise you I won't show no mercy!"

"How would you like to be my new best buddy, Flying Man?" Falco asked the mythical beast; sure we would have opted for someone other than the Flying Man, but the avian pilot had to do with what he had, and he would save himself from asking a few candidates around the mansion. "I know you don't have that much friends...

"Whaddaya mean, I don't have that much friends, I'm practically friends with every living thing! I'm everyone's courage, I have great chemisty with just about anyone!" That much is debatable...the Flying Man wrapped his arm around Falco, who was regretting befriending the mythical beast. "Of course I can be your best friend, the two of us, we could be unstoppable!"

 **Flying Man: As I said some time ago, I have friends, but I never really had a "best" friend before. I find it shocking that Falco would want me as a best friend, since he already has one in Fox, unless the two are having a falling out of sorts. Their friendship can be mended at a later time, but for now, I must be the greatest best friend that has ever lived!**

* * *

"Your eyebrows look so nice Zelda, they really compliment your face well!" complimented Kohaku, who was getting her nails done by Aerith in the beauty salon. No, the young girl wasn't talking to the Zelda of _Twilight Princess_ fame - she was talking to BOTW Zelda, whose hair was braided by Ashley. Very seldom did the young witch girl Ashley go to the beauty salon for any purpose.

"I agree, for a princess of Hyrule, you have some very magnificent eyebrows!" added Lucina, also getting her nails done, giving BOTW Zelda her honest opinion. Sometimes women give each other great compliments, and BOTW was getting all sorts of great compliments today.

"Thank you everyone for the nice comments, never had such many people compliment my looks," smiled BOTW Zelda, as Ashley rolled her eyes in disgust. The young witch clearly wasn't about that life, someone must have forced her to braid the princess's hair. "I really do appreciate it though!" Robin, who was sitting next to Lucina (why he was even in the beauty salon begs to question) got up from his seat and walked over to Zelda, who was busy filing her nails.

"May I help you Robin?" asked the princess; she didn't even have to look up to know Robin was standing behind her.

"You know, that Zelda incarnation has been getting a lot of attention today for her fabulous eyebrows..." said Robin, resting his elbow on the chair Zelda was sitting in. "Would be such a shame if something bad were to happen to that sweet, little princess..." The mage deviously smirked as he walked away, and suddenly he got Zelda thinking...

* * *

Link was pacing back and forth in a room connected to the arcade room, thinking of a plan that would get Wolf away from the _Simpsons_ arcade machine. Sitting on a table watching this unfold was Midna, who momentarily disrupted Link's train of thought by yawning loudly.

"Have you devised a plan yet, I'm sure your friends are waiting on you!" said Midna, and much to the imp's delight, Link finally decided on a plan, indicated by a grin and a snap of his fingers. "This plan better be good, Link!"

"Why don't we make it seem like the police are coming to arrest Wolf - Mario could alert the guy that the police are coming, and we could have someone sound off police sirens to make it seem like police cars have arrived at the mansion!" Link told his plan to Midna, who facepalmed. "What, you don't like it? I think it's absolutely genius!"

 **Midna: That poor, poor Link...no I'm not talking about the Link I'm stuck with, I'm referring to the other Link, the one dressed in blue. He was supposed to have the best day of his life, but NOOOOO, my Link has to be extremely adamant about playing that stupid arcade game! Are all the other arcade machines not available?**

"About time you were done with your 'planning'," Cloud said to Link, as he came out from the room. The ex-SOLDIER was hanging out with Mario and BOTW Link, waiting for Link to return. The Hylian would explain his plan to the others, what did they think? "Link, I'm sorry man, but you're smoking some awfully good stuff if you even think that dumb plan of yours would be a rousing success." And of course, Cloud had to offer a very crude analysis...

"My thing-a is, who would sound-a the police sirens?" questioned Mario, since somebody would likely have to be outside. Another question the plumber had on his mind was how Link was going to acquire any police sirens, unless he had any with him.

"I think this plan is worth a shot, even though I don't know much about these police sirens," stated BOTW Link, trying to remain somewhat optimistic. He refused to let his day at the mansion go to waste.

"Mwha ha ha ha, I've beaten Montgomery Burns at his own game yet again!" bellowed Wolf, as he defeated the final boss of the _Simpsons_ arcade game for a consecutive time. Now would be a great time for the mercenary to let someone else play the game, but nope, Wolf had to insert another coin into the slot, and start another game by himself...this time playing as Marge Simpson. What's so wrong with Homer?

"Wolf you gotta hurry outta here man, the police is coming for ya!" Cloud alerted the mercenary, running up to the arcade machine, but an unfazed Wolf continued playing the arcade game, his focus unbreakable. The police sirens sounded from outside, and Wolf tuned it all out. (These "sirens" were actually stock sounds from Mario's phone.)

"Tell the po-po that I'll accept any punishment for resisting arrest another time, I got a game to beat!" the mercenary said, beating up all enemies in sight. There were some large footsteps on the stairs near the arcade machine, meaning that the police could be coming, but it was actually Link and BOTW Link making a bunch of noises on the steps.

"I dunno Wolf, I think I can hear the police coming right now, they're coming up the steps!" Again, Wolf completely ignored Cloud, and continued playing his game, wanting the swordsman to leave him be.

"Couldn't they just taken the elevator instead?" questioned the mercenary; Cloud threw his arms up in defeat and left the arcade room, making his way to the staircase where the Links were stepping up and down the steps. They saw Cloud, who shook his head to indicate that the plan was a failure.

 **Link: Drat, my plan failed...maybe if I had used space police instead, it would have been more convincing. But I don't know if space police use different-sounding police sirens...no matter, that arcade game will be ours!**

* * *

Pac-Man was happily cleaning his room, dusting and vacuuming and everything else, when Zelda entered the eater of ghost's room with her hands behind her back. She wished to borrow something from Pac-Man, though the use of this particular item was slightly concerning the princess.

"Hello there, princess Zelda, figured you would be hanging out with that Zelda incarnation Master Hand's been talking up a storm about!" Pac-Man greeted the princess, placing some old CDs in a box. Master Hand surely had to be talking about BOTW Zelda's eyebrows, everyone's been talking about that. "So what brings you to my room?"

"I was wondering if...I could borrow your shaver for a quick minute," replied Zelda, now holding her arm. Why would she need a shaver for, and why would a hairless fellow like Pac-Man have one?

"You're more than welcome to borrow my shaver, don't know why I still have that thing with me." Apparently Pac-Man did have a shaver, as he took one out from one of the drawers of his dresser and gave it to Zelda. It was an electric shaver - no cords or plugging required.

"Thank you Pac-Man, I'll give this back to you as soon as possible," Zelda thanked the eater of ghosts as she exited the room, leaving Pac-Man humming happily to himself as he resumed cleaning out his room.

* * *

Jin remained with his grandfather Heihachi in the fitness center, the two refusing to talk with or even look at one another. Akuma stayed cautious of the two, as Leia applied some ointment to the fighter's wounds.

"Aw, come on, I know you two could at least acknowledge each other's presence," the nurse said to Jin and Heihachi, but neither man dared to do such a thing. Kinda shows you how screwed up the Mishima family situation was.

"I wouldn't look at my old man even for a million dollars," remarked Jin, looking at the wall with his arms folded. What would his mom, the magnificent and beautiful Jun Kazama, think of his son's behavior around his grandpa?

"Kare ga itta no to onaji koto!" added Heihachi, sharing his grandson's sentiments. At least they could agree on something...

 **Leia: When I came to the Smash Mansion, I came here with one thing on my mind - to pick up from where I left off as a nurse, and be able to nurse and care for the wonderful residents...NOT serve as a liaison for a bitter Heihachi and his grandson. Mario can go ahead and have all the fun in the world, while I solve this family crisis...but rest assured, whenever a resident has a falling out with a loved one, I won't have no part of it!**

"I've arrived some some delicious treats!" Cilan exclaimed as he entered the room, holding a plate of malasadas. Leia was delighted, Akuma was curious, and Jin and Heihachi...didn't care either way. "Dunban helped make these malasadas, so I hope you all..."

"Nobody gives a crap, now leave," Jin rudely said to the Pokemon connoisseur; an offended Cilan would have asked Jin who he was, but by the look of the guy's face, he chose not to.

"Leia you haven't tried out these malasadas before, but let me tell you, these things are the talk of the mansion, everyone loves them, even Ganondorf!" Cilan made his way over to the nurse, plate of malasadas in hand...before Jin knocked the plate down to the floor, the Hawaiian treats spilling all over the place. A disheartened Leia gasped at the sight, now missing out on eating malasadas for the first time.

"Like I said man, nobody gives a crap, so why don't you leave before I bury your face in?" Jin rudely said to Cilan, who depressingly sighed as he picked up the malasadas, placed them back on the plate, and left the premises, his head hanging low. This was becoming out of hand, Jin was snapping on innocent folks...Leia had to do something real quick.

* * *

Daruk continued to lead his crew throughout the hallway, but only for more kiddies to add to his troupe. Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings agreed to follow Daruk to wherever the heck he was going, and a certain goddess also joined as well.

"You're gonna enjoy this Viridi, I can already tell!" Pit told the goddess of nature, who was now bored out of her mind. The angel practically begged Viridi to tag along, and Viridi, wanting Pit to stop crying, bowed down and complied with her boyfriend's demands.

"Pit, we've been walking around this mansion for a painstakingly lengthy amount of time, and we don't know where we're going," Viridi kindly told Pit, not wanting to destroy his optimism. "Also, this Goron doesn't seem that trustworthy to me..."

"But Viridi, that's the point, you're not supposed to know where we're going, it's all in the wonderful name of...suspense!" Pit said the word "suspense" with some flair, accompanied with some intense finger moving action to convey the word. Needless to say, Viridi wasn't impressed.

 **Ganondorf: Rosalina has yet to begin the painting, she's still looking for some paint colors to use. She's particularly looking for some dark colors, and some light colors as well to balance everything out. But why use light colors, I exude darkness, everything about me is dark...You're implying that Rosalina needs light colors because of my hair? Well how about I dye my hair then, just for this one time! I can rock some white hair for my painting...but that would only make me look old. In no means am I a geezer!**

"So what do you do for a living, big Goron guy?" Roy Koopa asked Daruk, apparently not learning the Goron's name. Major shame on him.

"I'm the Goron Champion and protector of Hyrule, my duty is to protect Hyrule at all costs!" Daruk happily answered the Koopaling's question; most of Daruk's troupe expected the Goron to say something like consuming rocks and sumo wrestling, prototypical Goron activities. "I also pilot a Divine Beast by the name of Vah Rudania! Do any of you know what a Divine Beast is?"

"A beast that descended from the heavens?" Bowser Jr. gave a wild guess on what this Divine Beast could be. Little did the Koopaling know that he was wrong, and far away from what these Divine Beasts were.

"No, but good guess, young one - a Divine Beast is a mechanical construct Champions like myself to pilot. Calamity Ganon corrupted the Divine Beasts and they wrecked havoc all over our land, until the hero of fate Link..."

Daruk's explanation about the Divine Beasts came to a stop, when he saw Bowser standing in front of him, a stern frown on his face and his arms crossed. The Koopa King was tapping his foot as he glared at the Goron before him.

"You honestly think that some big tough guy like yourself can take my kids to wherever and get away with it?!" Bowser scolded Daruk, who was relatively confused as heck. Bowser was starting to cut into the Goron's plans. "I say my kids can follow some loser Goron around when I say they can, so how about you let them go!"

"Who are you supposed to be, their father?" questioned Daruk, scanning Bowser up and down. He believed he could take the Koopa King on, if necessary. "Then where's their mother, I don't recall seeing her around!" This stumped Bowser - he usually gets stumped whenever someone asked who the Koopalings' biological mother was.

"Um, th-their mother...is no longer with me...she's now my ex-wife. She still misses me...but her aim is getting better!" Bowser said the latter part of the last sentence whilst doing a pelvic thrust, only to get no reaction from Daruk and company. "I said HER AIM IS GETTING BETTER!" Bowser repeated, doing yet another pelvic thrust, but still no reaction. Which meant that the Koopa King had to explain the joke. "It's funny because marriage is terrible, which explains why I'm currently single!"

"...let's go, you guys, no point in entertaining this fool anymore," Daruk led his troupe past Bowser, who was standing there dumbfounded as his kids walked past him. The Koopa King failed to notice a certain Chinese chick by the name of Ling also pass by, still high on Daruk's heels and doing her best not to be noticed.

 **Ling: By the looks of it, the Goron doesn't look like a bad guy, and perfectly harmless as well...but why on earth is he leading a bunch of kids around? I could see if this was a field trip, but that little troop of his lives at the mansion, I'm sure. Also, who in their right mind would take a group of kids on a field trip to the Smash Mansion?**

* * *

"No Sonic, your swimming motion is poor, it looks like your splashing about and moving at the same time," said Mipha, who was instructing the hedgehog on how to swim. The Zora believed swimming was a major step towards Sonic getting over his fear of water. "Just stop swimming, your swimming technique is starting to make me cringe..."

"Thank goodness, I've been waiting for you to say that!" exclaimed Sonic as he swam back to the land surface, albeit horribly. "This swimwear I'm wearing is starting to feel mighty uncomfortable!" Once the hedgehog reached land and pulled himself up to the land's surface, he stood on his feet, as Mipha giggled at him, much to his chagrin. No, the Zora wasn't amused because Sonic had the gall to wear his signature red shoes while swimming - she was laughing at the hedgehog's speedo, which Master Hand gave him to wear. Good thing Amy wasn't around...

"Nice speedo Sonic, where did you get it from, from your girlfriend Amy?" taunted Red the Pokemon Trainer, calling out to the hedgehog. Sonic found himself blushing, all while trying to form a somewhat proud look on his face.

"Amy isn't about-a defamation of character...Doctor Egg-a Man must have-a sent the speedo via mail," joked Luigi, making Sonic blush even harder. You know it was bad when someone like Luigi makes fun of you.

"I'm sorry you have to endure this embarrassment Sonic, but like Master Hand said, that speedo was the only swimwear he had..." Mipha apologized to the hedgehog. Sonic was about to open his mouth and say something, until...

"AAAAAAAAIIIIIIEEEEE!" a girly scream was heard from the mansion, as Sonic, Mipha, Red, and Luigi looked at one another in confusion. This scream clearly came from a girl, and her scream was enough to penetrate the ears of those outside. Her scream must have reached to those inside of Luigi's house!

"Everyone stand-a where you are, while I go-a investigate..." Luigi told the others as he made his to the mansion. Once the plumber entered the foyer, he saw a sobbing BOTW Zelda sitting in a chair, her back turned, while Peach and Kamui were comforting the princess. Jakob stood a few feet from the ladies, facepalming.

"It's okay Zelda, this is only just a major setback..." Peach kindly told the princess, who was sobbing harder. Not even the kind words from a fellow princess could cheer up the _Breath of the Wild_ brunette.

 **Peach: What transpired to Princess Zelda - of _Breath of the Wild_ fame, that is - has been tragic... *giggles* ...but on the other hand, it's also funny! *goes back to looking depressed* Yet still troublesome at the same time...**

"Can some-a one please explain what's-a going on here?" asked Luigi as he stepped forward for him to be seen by Peach and company. Kamui bit her bottom lip as she and Peach nervously looked at one another, wondering who was going to tell Luigi what happened, but Jakob offered to tell the plumber the juicy details.

"Our guest of the hour here was busy getting her facial done in the beauty salon, when a dastardly soul did something unthinkable to her," the butler explained to Luigi. "Let's just say that the sight of this horror...may not be for the faint of heart. Zelda, would you turn around please?" So BOTW Zelda got up from the chair and turned around...and much to Luigi's shock, _the princess's eyebrows were gone!_ Gone were the thick eyebrows everyone complimented her about, they were no longer on the princess's lovely face.

"MAMA MIA!" Luigi shrieked as he ran out of the mansion and ran up the nearest tree; once he reached the top, he began sucking on his thumb in a fetal position, on top of a long, wide branch. The fact that Luigi was scared enough to hide up in a tree suddenly made Sonic rather curious.

"Pfft, whatever's inside the mansion can't be that scary..." the hedgehog scoffed as he coolly strutted his way inside the mansion, trying to be brave. Seconds later, the Sonic screamed and sped out of the mansion and up the tree, where he would hide with Luigi for the time being. Time to spark a conversation with the plumber while he was at it. "So Luigi, how's Daisy pregnancy coming along, heard she's gonna deliver that baby two weeks from now!" Luigi was too much into his fetal position to even listen to Sonic.

* * *

"Like I tried to tell you Link, that police plan would not work by any means," Midna told the Hylian, who was back to the drawing board, as he walked back and forth in that private room devising a plan. "Knowing Wolf, he probably grown used to escaping from police officers in space, so he has grown...some intolerance towards any kind of police force."

"Ooh I know, why not have Mario fake his own death?" suggested Link; Midna wanted to say no, but not at the risk of having to watch Link walk back and forth for a longer time. "He's a greater actor than people give him credit for, and if we could only get Wolf to pay attention to the faux death..."

 **Cloud: Link just told us his latest plan...apparently he wants Mario to play dead in front of Wolf, and apparently he expects the guy to notice Mario "dead", like he's gonna turn his attention away from the game...Link's "diabolical planning", as he calls it, is suddenly turning into desperation.**

Wolf was still playing the _Simpsons_ game, this time playing as Homer Simpson (about time he picked a male character...), when Mario approached the mercenary, ready to work his magic. The plumber clutched his chest, and breathed heavily.

"Oh no, my-a chest, I think I'm-a done for..." Mario collapsed to the floor, and was sprawled about, expecting Wolf to look and apply CPR to him. The mercenary did not notice, but rather Ike did...he and his Mia puppet. Link's second plan was moments away from utter failure.

"Look, Puppet Mia, Mario's down on the floor, possibly breathing his last breath!" Ike pointed at the plumber, who was faking his death. Why does Ike still carry that puppet around? This is the guy who once proclaimed that he had friends... "We gotta do something, and fast!"

"Must apply CPR to Mario!" exclaimed Puppet Mia as she applied CPR with her mouth to Mario with the help of Ike. During this, Wolf continued to play the arcade game, ignoring the madness transpiring behind him.

"Guess we should have taken Ike out of the room, huh?" BOTW Link asked the original Link, the two incarnations watching through the crack of the arcade room door. The original Link breathed a heavy sigh, letting his fellow incarnation feel his disappointment.

* * *

With Fox no longer his best friend, Falco started hanging out with the Flying Man, who was doing good deeds for others. The mythical beast was doing good deeds for Alph, helping him grow plants in the gardens, and Falco had no other choice but to help out as well.

"Isn't it great to do great things for others, Falco my boy?" the Flying Man asked Falco, who felt bored as he watered a few plants. The avian pilot felt like yawning, but he did not wish for the Flying Man and Alph to see his display of boredom.

"I can't thank you two enough for offering to water these plants for me, they've been nothing but trouble!" exclaimed Alph, as Falco rolled his eyes. "Not knowing how much water to give them, knowing when to water them...such a hassle!" Evidently it was a hassle for Falco, as he dropped his watering can on the ground, grabbed the Flying Man's hand, and ran off without warning. "Where are you two going, you have more plants to water!"

"We're going to handle some business - with Fox McCloud!" Falco replied as he and the Flying Man left the premises, leaving poor Alph alone with his plants. Olimar was available, the young astronaut could ask him for a helping hand.

 **Alph: These plants obviously aren't going to water themselves, somebody's gotta water them, and that somebody has to be me. Some of these plants are rather docile, while others, like this Piranha Plant... *Piranha Plant comes to life and grabs Alph's head with his mouth, before swinging him about in the air* HELP HELP SOMEBODY HELP ME, SAVE ME BEFORE THIS THING EATS ME ALIVE!**

"Why are we back up here, I thought you were done with Fox for good!" the Flying Man said to Falco, the two back on the fifth floor standing at the Star Records door. "Don't you want to go back to the gardens and..."

"No, I don't want to water any more crappy plants, I want to settle the score with Fox!" Falco responded, rather angrily. The Flying Man was displeased to see Falco in such an angry mood. "We're gonna bust inside this room, and I'm gonna give Fox a piece of my mind, and there's nothing you can do about it!" So Falco aggressively opened the door, kicking it to the side, and once he and the Flying Man entered the room...

"There you are Revali, repaired your bow so now it's good as new!" Mr. Game and Watch said, giving the newly repaired bow to Revali, who was sitting with Fox and the 2-D man at the desk. Fox looked up, and saw Falco and the Flying Man standing at the entrance; the former's mouth was fully agape.

"Back so soon Falco, done with your little temper tantrum?" Fox asked his buddy, whose mouth was still agape. A moth could fly inside Falco's mouth, and the pilot would be too dumbfounded to even care. "Never thought I would see you again for the rest of the day after that knee-jerk reaction you did..."

"So you're not replacing me as your best friend with that bird guy that looks like me?" questioned Falco; Fox was about to answer, until he burst out laughing. Revali would laugh as well, and even Mr. Game and Watch found himself laughing too!

"Fox wasn't trying to replace you as your best friend, he just offered to fix my bow here!" stated Revali, holding up his newly repaired bow for Falco to see. "It was all a big misunderstanding, your friendship is still very much intact!" Falco felt relieved, worried that he would have beaten up his "former" best friend for nothing. Suddenly Fox's cellphone rang, and the pilot answered the call, with Revali marveling at the cellular device.

"Hello? Hey Daisy. What's up?...Luigi's stuck up in a tree?...Sonic too?...Aight, we'll be there soon." Fox ended the phone call and placed his cellphone back in his pocket. How Revali wanted to snatch the device from the pilot and see what it was capable of... "Just got a call from Daisy, apparently her hubby and Sonic are stuck up in a tree, and she's been trying to get them down without calling the fire department. You know how she can be when Luigi does crap like this..."

* * *

"Got all the materials that I need, we're all ready to begin!" announced Rosalina, who was in the lounge with Ganondorf. The Demon Lord struck a pose, raising his fist in the air in triumph. "Ooh, nice pose, I really dig it!" Rosalina using the phrase "dig it" delighted Ganondorf...kinda put a smile on his face.

 **Rosalina: You can never really go wrong with too many paintings of Ganondorf in the mansion, that only means more eye candy for me...a-and the others as well! I'm sure someone else likes Ganondorf! Like Ashley for example, she must be fond of old men like Ganondorf! Not trying to say Ganon is necessarily old or anything...I'll just stop right there.**

"We made it kids, we've finally reached our destination!" Daruk whispered to his troupe as they arrived at the lounge, while Rosalina painted Ganondorf on the painting canvas. Viridi was going to point out how Daruk passed the lounge multiple times, but she held her breath. "Now here's what I want you all to do..." Daruk whispered his plan to his troupe, and you'll see it carried out soon.

"Make sure you get every little detail possible!" commanded Ganondorf, maintaining his powerful yet graceful pose. The Demon Lord failed to notice Daruk and company appear behind him, striking a funny pose as if they were doing some mannequin challenge. Rosalina was told to get every detail, so she had no choice but to paint the unwanted guests into the painting...

"Don't worry Ganon, I'm getting all the little details," the mother of Lumas smiled, doing her best to stifle her laughter. Daruk and company were giving Rosalina a tough time in regards to painting Ganondorf, and that kinda displeased the Demon Lord.

"I just knew you were up to no good!" exclaimed Ling, the girl who had been following Daruk for the longest now. She was standing at the doorway of the lounge, pointing at Daruk...but instead Ganondorf thought Ling was pointing at _him._

"You DARE interrupt the making of my wonderful painting?!" the Demon Lord, breaking from his pose, snapped on Ling, who was suddenly afraid. "I'll teach you not to meddle in the creation of stellar art!" Ganondorf chased Ling out of the lounge, the Chinese girl screaming for her life.

"He _was_ kidding when he said 'stellar art', right?" Pit asked Rosalina; for all things righteous, the mother of Lumas desired to say no.

* * *

"I know you got this, Little Mac, got this one in the bag!" Doc Louis encouraged his protege, the two standing in the fitness center. Little Mac told Doc about his crush on Leia, and the boxing trainer wished to ensure his protege had a significant other, a year after the whole Fiora incident. "What do you have to lose, son?"

"Well I'm not particularly in favor of this...gift you want me to give to Leia," replied Little Mac, holding up a gift bag with a "miracle" hair growth product inside. And no, it wasn't created by Dr. Wily, his products only work on robots.

 **Doc Louis: All should go well with Little Mac and Leia, I think Leia's the perfect gal Little Mac needs in his life! Don't want him end up like me and have chocolate as his lover, it's horrible I tell you - one moment you found your soulmate, and the next you're suddenly single again! Why must all my ex-girlfriends be so delicious? *takes out a chocolate bar, eats it, and sighs* Well there goes Meredith...she'll be deeply missed.**

"C'mon Little Mac, everyone knows them chicks dig hair care products!" Doc Louis nudged his protege. What a very baseless statement about women. "Why else do you think you see women featured on such products?"

"...Because they're tailored towards women who wish to use the products you speak of?" replied Little Mac, wanting to return the product to wherever store Doc Louis bought it from.

"Exactly, and that product was specifically tailored for Leia! Now go get her, champ!" Doc Louis pushed Little Mac forward, and the boxer made his way to the room where Akuma and Heihachi were. Jin still refused to acknowledge his grandpa, and Leia was still nursing the two patients.

"I bought you something Leia, it's not much, but it's still serviceable," Little Mac said to the nurse as he meekly approached her. Jin glared at the boxer, wanting him to leave at once. Dude was more bitter than dark chocolate.

"Um, thank you, Little Mac, never would have expected a gift, especially from you," thanked Leia as she walked up to receive her gift...only for Jin to punch the gift bag out of Mac's hands. The bag fell onto the floor, with everyone except for Jin looking on in shock.

"Watashi wa mago o mitomenakereba naranai, sore wa subarashī panchidatta!" Heihachi commended Jin, catching his grandson off-guard. The man looked at his granddad, taken back by these kind words.

"You really think that?" questioned Jin, and Heihachi responded with a smile, and a laugh to boot. First time today the fighter felt jovial and happy.

"Anata no okāsan ga anata o yoku oshiete kuremashita!" Heihachi complimented Jin's mom, and now Jin found himself smiling. Little Mac may have inadvertently brought some peace to the turbulent Mishima family...

"Pardon me for the interruption, but does anyone here know where we could find a hair care product of some sort?" Dunban asked as he barged inside the room. Little Mac picked up the gift bag, and took out the hair care product Doc Louis gave him, feeling all sorts of heroic.

* * *

 **Red: Luigi and Sonic are still up in that tree, and no matter how hard Daisy, Mipha and I try, we can't get the two down. Our only option would be to call the fire department and have some firefighters rescue the two, but that would be awkward for the firefighters, having to get a grown man and a speedo-wearing hedgehog down from a tree. Would be very newsworthy, but still not worth the chance.**

"Luigi, Sonic, you two better get your behinds down here this instant!" Daisy called out to the plumber and the hedgehog, who were still hiding up in the tree. The princess's stomach was growing bigger, meaning that the arrival of her child was drawing near.

"Nah, I think we're fine up in this tree, really nice view!" stated Sonic, defending his reasoning for being up in the tree, while Luigi remained in his fetal position sucking his thumb. That thumb of his must taste really good, granted he was only sucking on his glove.

"Stand back folks, Revali is here to save the day!" exclaimed the Rito, as he and Fox arrived at the scene. Revali got his bow ready, and he fired a flame arrow at the branch were Sonic and Luigi were located. The arrow scorched the branch, and the branch fell to the ground, with Luigi and Sonic descending.

"Just wait until I get my hands on you!" Ganondorf shouted at Ling as he chased the girl out of the mansion. The Demon Lord chased Ling past the tree, only for Luigi and Sonic to unexpectedly land in his arms. He then observed the two fellow brawlers in his arms...and couldn't help but chuckle at Sonic. "Are you wearing a speedo?" he asked the hedgehog.

"Put me on the ground if you know what's good for ya..." Sonic warned the Demon Lord, as he placed the hedgehog and Luigi back on solid ground. Luigi ran up to his wife Daisy and gave her a hug (go figure) while Ling stood as far away from Ganondorf as possible, taking a short breather.

"Did I miss anything?" Daruk asked as he appeared outside, no longer affiliated with his troupe. Rather, the Goron was affiliating himself with the fellow Hyrulian champions, having seen the crowd outside and wondering what all the hullabaloo was about.

"Oh nothing really, just rescued a person or two from this tree, that's all," Mipha replied with a smile. Sonic frowned at Mipha with his hands on his hips, disgusted that the Zora made the rescue seem like it was nothing important...

"Sonic are you seriously wearing a speedo?!" Daisy pointed and laughed at the hedgehog, as the others laughed at the blue speedster, making him feel humiliated. This was a day Sonic will forget forever.

* * *

"First the police sirens, and now Mario's fake death, I'm running out of ideas!" Link walked back and forth yet again as Midna watched, because the imp had nothing else better to do. Sometimes when you remain in Link's body all day, you gotta find something to waste your time with when you're out of the Hylian.

 **BOTW Link: I'm sorry but this day has been dull for me...we've been doing nothing except forcing Wolf to step away from that arcade machine. At this point, I'd be more interested in counting all the grass in the mansion's front yard! Heck, I could fit my head inside the kitchen sink, and I'd still be more entertained than I already am!**

"Well here's an idea, genius - why don't you and that other Link confront Wolf, make it double trouble?" suggested Midna, who was nearly falling asleep. "That way you could intimidate Wolf, and from there..."

"Ooh I know, I could get my fellow Link buddy, and confront Wolf and intimidate him, which would make him flee!" exclaimed Link; Midna rolled her eyes and shook her head. "What do you think of that, Midna?" The imp refused to respond, for she felt rather flustered. "I'll take your silence as a yes! Alright then, let's go!"

Back to the arcade room, where Wolf was still playing the heck out of that _Simpsons_ arcade game. He was about to defeat Montgomery Burns yet again, when someone tapped the mercenary on the shoulder. Wolf gritted his teeth as he paused the game.

"Link I know that was you, so if you truly value your life, you oughta..." the mercenary said as he turned around...only to stop when he saw _two_ Links - the original Link and BOTW Link - with their Master Swords. "Wait, what, so there's two of you now?!" Obviously Wolf never heard anything about _Breath of the Wild,_ must have been living under a rock. "Go ahead and play this stupid game, I don't care anymore! I'm out!" Wolf finally retreated from the arcade room, and once he was gone, Link whistled to Mario and Cloud, who entered the room and were surprised to see Wolf gone.

"Gotta hand-a it to you Link, one-a of your plans actually worked!" exclaimed Mario, who was too tired to even bother playing a single arcade game, as evidenced by him yawning. Cloud himself was feeling tired too. "But I'm-a not up for any games-a now..."

"Yeah, same here, had we gotten rid of Wolf earlier, it would have been different," agreed Cloud, sharing Mario's sentiments. "I suppose you two can play that arcade game for as long as you like, count Mario and I out..."

"So how about it, you up for some butt kicking?" Link asked BOTW Link, holding up a game token. The latter Link, who thought his day at the mansion would be wasted by his fellow incarnation, flashed a grin on his face.

"You bet!" he exclaimed as the original Link inserted the token into the slot and started up a new game - a two-player game in which both players could share all the glory.

* * *

Thanks to Little Mac's hair care product, BOTW was able to grow her eyebrows back, and in rapid time no less! Now it was time to find the culprit responsible for shaving off the princess's eyebrows...and Robin knew who the culprit was.

"It was...it was HIM!" the mage pointed at Marth, showing Master Hand the perpetrator in the hand's room. BOTW Zelda was there, and Kamui was there too to comfort the princess, and she gasped once the accusation was hurled at the hero-king. "Marth was the one who shaved off Zelda's eyebrows!"

"Marth how could you do such a dishonest thing?!" the silver-haired princess scolded Marth, who was wondering why he was even brought to Master Hand's presence when he did no wrong. "Messing with a guest, and making her cry...do you know no shame?!"

"But I never even used a shaver before, how would it be me?" questioned the hero-king. Marth never used a shaver? Probably because he was simply too fabulous (and girly) to even use the appliance on his hair, or his face.

"Zelda, what do you think, do you believe Marth was the perpetrator behind the shaving of your eyebrows?" Master Hand asked BOTW Zelda, who observed Marth. She didn't want to declare him to be the culprit, but there were no other viable culprits around...

 **Master Hand: Great, just great...the _Breath of the Wild_ Zelda had her eyebrows shaved off, and now she's gonna hate me forever...this sucks, I'm supposed to be one of the most likable beings, when it comes to approval I should be higher than someone like Abraham Lincoln...stop laughing or I'll turn your innards inside out! And I mean it, too!**

"Well you are the princess, so what you say goes..." said Master Hand, as he looked at a timid Marth. "Marth, for the devious actions you've perpetrated against a Zelda incarnation, a princess of Hyrule, a descendant of the mighty Hylia...you shall be punished throughout the next week! Do I make myself clear?"

"But I didn't even..." Marth was about to proclaim innocence, before knowing that doing so against Master Hand would be an automatic failure. "You know what, never mind, I'm outta here..." The hero-king accepted his punishment, and left Master Hand's bedroom...all while Robin was slyly smiling to himself, feeling like he had accomplished something big today. A now relieved BOTW Zelda also left the bedroom, and saw Zelda, the original Zelda, who was feeling slightly guilty as she fixed her hair in front of a mirror.

"You wouldn't believe what happened to me today - someone shaved off my eyebrows while I was in the beauty salon, unbeknownst to me, and I was left without any eyebrows whatsoever!" BOTW Zelda said to her fellow incarnation, who tried to ignore her. "Can you believe that someone would do such a thing?"

"To tell you the honest truth..." Zelda spoke up after she was done with her hair, ready to drop a bombshell on BOTW Zelda.

"But you know, I would _never_ expect such behavior from the likes of you." So much for that bombshell... "After all, you are a princess, and princesses are supposed to be good people, who perform good actions and show good behaviors...shaving one's eyebrows, that sounds so unlike you."

Zelda might as well save her little confession for BOTW Zelda for another time - given that there's another time.


	64. Episode 64: Vacation

_Author's Note:_

 _There is a new poll up on my profile. Make sure to cast your vote ASAP, if you know what's good for you..._

 _This episode of "Smash Life" is a merging of two television episodes - "Squeeze the Day" from Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends (one of my favorite episodes) and "TSST" from South Park (never really watched that show to begin with, though I'm familiar some of the characters) - both recommended by Derick Lindsey and SamuraiBlue, respectively. I hope you folks enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it. Now on to the guest reviews:_

 _"Not gonna list a lot of characters this time, can you add the Jet Set Radio characters, Hatsune Miku and the other Vocaloids? Can you also get some of the characters react to the Dorkly parodies of them?"_

 _Beat and Gum probably have the best chances out of all the characters from Jet Set Radio to make it into this story. And the Vocaloids are somewhat doable, since they're video game characters. I'll have to see what I can do with anything Dorkly-related. Another guest review:_

 _"Didn't you say that you had something special for sonic and bowser for this week..."_

 _Oh yeah, I did say that...but then I remembered the Switch was being released that week, so I had to write up a chapter pertaining to the "Breath of the Wild" launch title. Smasherfan88 has two questions for me this time around:_

 _1\. Even though this would probably mess up a timeline or something, but can we see the Master of Masters from KH X Back Cover_  
 _2\. Will Mario's cap get eyes when Odessey is near release?_

 _1\. Yeah, I'm afraid it would mess up the timeline, considering the Master of Masters is technically from the past...unless...  
2\. More probable than not that will happen._

 _Up next is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...when will Master Hand get a Lamborghini because I really want someone to go a joyride with it and destroy it and end up making him furious (I wonder if a floating hand can end up having a heart attack or a rage induced stroke lol)."_

 _Just for mentioning that last bit about Master Hand having a heart attack or stroke...I'm totally having Master Hand purchase a Lamborghini before the end of March. Master Hand's reaction shall be... *raises arms to the skies* ...GLORIOUS! And now we have J300:_

 _"Question: Where'd you come up with the name Raven? Request: Can Lucina make Switch puns? Also, it would be cool for Luigi to practice being a father with 1 2 Switch with that baby minigame."_

 _ultimateccc recommended in a previous review that I should give the female Robin the name Raven. As for the requests regarding Lucina and Luigi, I can definitely make it happen, especially the latter request..._

* * *

 **Episode 64: Vacation**

It was a bright and sunny day in Seattle, and Sonic the Hedgehog woke up from his slumber, rising up and yawning in his bed as he stretched his arms out wide. The best part about waking up for Sonic wasn't having Folgers in his cup, it was seeing Tails's face, seeing his roommate and his best friend across from him...

...except that Tails wasn't even there! Sonic panicked, and then looked at his alarm clock, and saw the time - 12:01 P.M.! The hedgehog must have overslept, and Tails was already up; Sonic probably missed breakfast in the dining room. Why didn't Tails bother waking up the hedgehog, he typically did so whenever the speedster was asleep and breakfast was nigh approaching.

Searching for answers, Sonic sprung up out from the bed (he didn't need to put on his trademark shoes, because he apparently sleeps in them...) and scoured the entire mansion for Tails's whereabouts. What alarmed the hedgehog was that nobody was around - Palutena nor Cilan were in the kitchen, the gaming room was empty, and heck, even Master Hand wasn't in his room! Was everyone in hiding, trying to pull off a massive prank on Sonic? The hedgehog seemed to think so, as he headed to the place where such a prank could be conducted...the lecture hall.

But much to his dismay, nobody was in the lecture hall either. It was like a ghost town, but inside the Smash Mansion, and Sonic felt unnerved about being alone by himself. He truly valued companionship, and without a companion to keep him company, how would Sonic handle himself?

"Mario? Link? Pit? Where the heck are you guys?" Sonic called out, walking through the hallways, as he called out the names of his fellow brawlers, only to receive no response. The hedgehog would suddenly encounter the Duck Hunt Dog in the middle of the hallway, scratching his fur for fleas. Fleas are the universal bane of canines everywhere, much like how canines are the universal banes of felines. "Duck Hunt Dog, man I'm glad to see you! Do you know what happened to the others?" Duck Hunt Dog shook his head no, wishing he knew the answer.

 **Sonic: So, so, so, everyone at the mansion has completely gone missing...you know what that means? I can invite Amy over and we can do stuff together...but nothing sexual though, we can Netflix and chill, only without the chill part. Just sit on the couch in the living room, watch some movies together, eat pizza rolls and whatnot...then we can snuggle with one another until the others magically reappear. You can't draw up a more perfect time of romantic bonding than that!**

"Alright Kamek, just remember to feed the Chain Chomps, you know how they can be when they don't get their lunch," Bowser said on the phone as he exited a nearby bathroom, alarming both Sonic and the Duck Hunt Dog. "I shall speak with you again later today, when I get the chance. Adios!" The Koopa King ended the phone call, and when he looked up, he saw Sonic and the Duck Hunt Dog, just staring at him. "Ay, Sonic, good afternoon my man!" Bowser ran up to the hedgehog and gave him a bear hug, completely ignoring the Duck Hunt Dog like he wasn't even there. "For a minute I thought I would be a loner, all by myself..."

"My insides...are hurting...very much..." Sonic wheezed, prompting Bowser to put him back down on the floor. "Looks like we're the only ones in the mansion, huh? You have any idea about the current whereabouts of Mario and the others?"

"I called Mario in an attempt to ask where he was, but he didn't answer. Let me call him again and see if he would answer..." Bowser whipped out his cellphone from his imaginary pocket, and dialed Mario's number with his sharp fingernails. Using his fingers would crack the phone screen (Bowser's cellphone is an iPhone). After waiting for a few moments, Mario finally answered the call.

"Hello?" the plumber greeted; Bowser and Sonic could hear beach sounds, i.e. seagull calls, waves splashing about, voices of little children, some actual beach music, and other things over the receiver. Was Mario on a vacation?

"Mario is that you, please tell me it's you! I can't afford to lose my favorite arch-nemesis! Feuding with Luigi would be mostly one-sided, not to mention that he's a nervous wreck! I need someone brave like yourself to consider a rival!" Not that often you hear Bowser backhandedly praise Mario.

"Ah, greetings Bowser, sorry for not-a answering your call earlier, I was...a little-a busy. I'm here in Disney World-a with Luigi, Peach, Daisy...and-a others." The way Mario said others, he was seemingly implying that Yuffie and the mansion residents also tagged along with the plumber and his crew to Orlando. And that kinda made Bowser and Sonic very ticked.

"You went to Disney World, and you didn't invite me or Sonic?!" Bowser was now ready to smash his phone on the floor and break other random stuff. "Who else went to this dumb California city anyways?!" The Koopa King didn't consider San Diego "dumb" before, but after learning that Mario and others were vacationing there...

"Pretty much-a everyone in the mansion except-a for the pets. Akuma treated-a us to this vacation after he was-a done healing from his wounds. We're supposed-a to be staying in-a Disney World until Sunday or-a Monday, depending on how-a Master Hand's feeling." Who knew Akuma was affluent enough to afford not only a vacation for the residents, but rooming for them as well? "I kinda told-a Akuma in private that you and-a Sonic were bad-a news, so we left-a for Orlando while you two were-a still asleep." Bowser's only response was in the form of irate growling, growling that could make Mario wet his overalls.

 **Duck Hunt Dog: *laughs while turned to the side***

"So if you guys are down in Disney World...then what the heck are Sonic and I supposed to do by ourselves...and the pets?" asked Bowser, the indignation inside of him increasing and multiplying by tenfold. Mario was going to pay once he returned to Seattle, and the same could possibly be said for the rest of the vacationers.

"I'm sure you and-a Sonic can get a lot-a of things done while we're-a away," replied Mario, not wanting to further upset Bowser. "Sonic still-a desires to end his aquaphobia, maybe you could-a help him with that! I should be-a going now, Luigi and I are about-a to have a massaging session! Okay then, bye!" And with that, Mario ended the phone call. Way to make Bowser and Sonic even more ticked by mentioning this massaging session to them...

* * *

While a few cameramen from the documentary crew stayed at the mansion with Bowser and Sonic, Master Hand took a large handful of the other cameramen with him to Disney World in Orlando, so they could videotape the activities of the brawlers while they enjoyed their vacation. Mario and Luigi were about to start their massaging session at an outdoor spa in Disney World, the two plumbers lying down on massaging beds, with their backs exposed. The famous twin brothers weren't the only ones who would be having their back massaged...

"I don't think-a we can thank you-a enough for this wonderful vacation Akuma!" Luigi thanked the fighter, who was on a massaging bed adjacent to the plumber. "How did-a you manage to pay for-a everything, like where to-a stay at and all?"

"Sometimes when you're one of the greatest fighters on earth...you tend to receive a lot of financial 'rewards', so to speak," replied Akuma, as the massager applied some massaging oil to the fighter's back and massaged it. Akuma's back was a sight the massager did _not_ wish to see. "Could you move up just a bit? I feel a slight soreness in the area near my neck..." The massager, albeit with much reluctance, granted Akuma's wish as she massaged the area. "Oh yeah, that really hits the spot..."

"Hmm, I wonder how Peach-a and Daisy are handling themselves," pondered Mario, as he was being massaged by a male massager, much to the plumber's chagrin. Not that Mario didn't mind, he just preferred a female massager because...because of reasons. Let's hope he doesn't end up like George Costanza once his massaging session is finished...

 **King K. Rool: There's a myriad of hot babes at Disney World, that I know. In fact, there's hot babes at every vacation spot you could think of, it's a relatively known fact that many are too afraid to admit. Before we return to the mansion, I'll make it my personal goal to acquire one of these hot babes, and make her my girlfriend! And if they turn me down, I'll give them this... *holds up a wedding ring* Just a little false advertising to change her mind, it won't hurt anyone!**

"So Daisy, you're expected to deliver your first child next week...are you nervous at all?" Peach asked the princess of Sarasaland, the two princesses chilling in a pool outside with other women. Daisy at first hesitated to answer this question, but after mustering all the courage and strength inside of her, she had the guts to answer Peach's question.

"Yes I will admit, I'm a bit nervous...but pretty excited as well," Daisy replied, after letting out a breath of fresh air. "Obviously I've never experienced giving birth to a child before, so this would be a new experience not only for me, but for..." Daisy looked to her right, and to her and Peach's shock, saw King K. Rool chilling in the pool with them, chilling like how a villain should.

"Nice day to be in a pool with smoking hot girls, don't ya think?" the Kremling asked the two princesses, who stayed cautious and weary of him. You'd do the same thing if you saw perhaps the ugliest creature in existence with you inside a pool of actually attractive folks. "How about you share some of your love with me, Mr. Kingpin, how about it?" Mr. Kingpin? Is that Rool's pimp name or something?! "No need to kiss me on the lips, a peck on the cheek will do..."

"Rool, please leave us alone and leave the premises," Peach ordered the Kremling, keeping her inner fury inside of her. She had brought a frying pan with her to the pool for moments like these.

"I ain't leavin' until you lovely ladies grant my wish, now pucker up or else!" Rool leaned in closer to Peach and Daisy, who both flinched at the sight of the Kremling drawing his grotesque face closer to them. Peach had no other choice but to strike...

"I said LEAVE!" the princess struck Rool on the head viciously with her trusty frying pan, leaving behind a giant bump on the Kremling's head. Rool grumbled as he collected his dignity and left the pool, so that he could nurse his injury.

* * *

" _GANDALF!"_ Elijah Wood screamed as his main man Ian McKellan had his hand on the broken bridge, his fingers trembling with might as he tried to maintain his grip on the stony surface with the Bottomless Abyss below him, where a Balrog had his whip around McKellan's leg. If you consider yourself a fantasy fan and believed that the aforementioned scene looked familiar, then it should - it was from _The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Two Rings,_ a movie in which Bowser was watching on the television in the living room while walking Boney on a treadmill (he expected Lucas to thank him later). Frodo (played by Elijah Wood, of course) and his squad were at the Bridge of Khazad-Dum, and their squad member and O.G. Gandalf (played by Ian McKellan, who was an actual O.G. in real life) found himself on the brink of death, teetering on the broken bridge.

 **Bowser: The _Lord of the Rings_ movies have always been a true guilty pleasure of mine...it's always great seeing Frodo and his crew go on lengthy journeys and whatnot just to destroy some stupid ring, and requiring three movies to complete the task. I also like _The_ _Hobbit_ trilogy as well, the main character dude reminds me of that Martin Freeman guy from the British version of _The Office..._ Hold up, so that guy from _The Office_ and _The Hobbit_ are the same person?! You mean that I actually have a chance at meeting Ricky Gervais if I ever got a chance to meet Freeman in real life?! Gervais and I, we could form a power duo, one that would rule the world with an iron fist...heck, we could be the greatest duo since Ernie and Bernie, how about that!**

"Fly you fools..." Gandalf would say to Frodo and company; instead of flying as they were told to, Frodo and the squad watched helplessly as Gandalf's grip on the broken bridge slipped, and the long-bearded O.G. descended into the Bottomless Abyss, with the Balrog taking the old man with him along for the ride.

"HA HA HA HE DESERVED IT BIG TIME!" Bowser laughed as he pointed at the television screen, all while Elijah Wood...erm, _Frodo,_ cried out Gandalf's name. The Koopa King would spill his bag of popcorn all over the floor as he laughed, much to his dismay. But Bowser was rest assured, knowing that a certain hedgehog was around. "Sonic I accidentally spilled my popcorn on the floor, would you mind popping me another bag?"

"One bag of popcorn, coming right up..." Sonic called out from the kitchen, moaning in response. Bowser made the hedgehog his servant for the day, since Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings were off in Orlando without parental guidance from their father (oh dear), and Sonic hated every bit of it. He would protest, but being scorched alive by Bowser's mighty flames was a fate the hedgehog did not wish to suffer from. Once the popcorn was finished popping, Sonic grudgingly brought the bag of popcorn to the living room, and handed it to Bowser.

"Thanks Sonic, you're the best!" the Koopa King happily accepted the bag of popcorn and ate a small bit of it...only to spit the half-eaten popcorn in Sonic's face. "Bleh, I say, bleh! Where's the butter and pepper?! Pepper, I'm not mad about, but the butter - how can anyone eat popcorn without butter?! I demand that you get me some butter to do with this popcorn!" Sonic would have done the task, but he was done taking orders from Bowser. He wasn't gonna let the koopa bully him all day long, especially when he had the entire mansion to himself!

"No way Jose, I'm not taking any crap from you anymore! If you want your own personal servant, why don't you make Boney to all of your dirty work? I quit!" Sonic grabbed Bowser's bag of popcorn, savagely spiked it on the floor like a football before storming off in anger. Getting along with Bowser was evidently not working well for the blue blur.

"Can you believe that guy Boney, the nerve of him..." Bowser shook his head in disgust once Sonic left, unnerved by the hedgehog's actions. "...the audacity of him to call me Jose, when my real name is Bowser! I ain't no Mexican koopa!" Bowser suddenly looked at Boney in a intrigued manner, and stroked his chin. "Huh, since Sonic refuses to do my bidding...then maybe I could hire someone to make him more...obedient..."

* * *

 **Master Hand: Honestly I would have made Marth stayed with Sonic and Bowser at the mansion, but I was afraid those two would have drove Marth insane and completely bastardize the man's "** **fabulousness", if that's even a word. Marth's fabulousness, much like all the half-Asian chicks living in America, is a national treasure, and must be preserved at all costs. However, at the same time, he must be punished for his actions the previous week, so to punish him AND keep his fabulousness at an all-time high, I struck a deal with one of the Disney World managers...**

"Man it must really suck for Marth, having being punished for shaving your fellow incarnation's eyebrows," Link privately discussed with his girlfriend Zelda, the two Hylians watching some Disney World musical involving _Finding Nemo_ in a musical theater. The musical was now in intermission; Part 2 was about to start soon. Chrom, Robin, and Lucina were also in attendance, one of the few brawlers among a crowd of ordinary people. "Hard to think everyone was complimenting her looks, just because she supposedly had nice eyebrows...I've never seen anything like that before."

"Yeah, I know, kinda surprised me a lot too..." replied Zelda, looking down at the floor. Deep down she knew Marth wasn't the culprit, she knew the real story of what went down with BOTW Zelda, but she was too afraid to tell the truth to anyone, even her own boyfriend.

"Zelda you don't have to look so down, I understand if you're feeling sentimental about your incarnation. I mean, I felt sentimental for my incarnation too after I obliterated in that _Simpsons_ game and wiped the floor with him and almost made him rage quit - despite the game being a two-player game - but I learned to move on and look towards the future." In Zelda's case, however, moving on might be a hard thing to accomplish.

Once the lights dimmed, it was now time for Part 2 of the _Finding Dory_ musical to began. The curtains rose up, and the actor playing as the clownfish Marlin was center stage, as the play resumed for where it last left off.

"He's gone. He can't be gone!" Marlin exclaimed, obviously talking about his son Nemo who, in the original film, thought he was the most savage fish in the ocean when he disobeyed his father by slapping a boat with his fin. "Has anybody seen a boat? Please, they took my son! I'm coming, Nemo!" A few moments later, nothing happened, and Marlin was growing ticked. "...hello, lost my son over here, anyone coming to help me?"

"La la la la la la la la..." Marth sang rather dully as he entered onstage, wearing a Dory costume. A lot of giggles and laughs came from the crowd, especially from Robin who was enjoying Marth's theatrical debut. "Lookout!" the hero-king crashed into Marlin, knocking him to the floor. "Oh, I'm so sorry sir..." As Marth helped Marlin back up, the hero-king shot a quick glare at Robin, who was still laughing.

"Talk about some fine quality entertainment, amirite Chrom?" Robin, still laughing, nudged his best friend, who tried to keep an open mind while watching the musical, doing his best not to have a laughing fit while watching Marth in full humiliation mode. The hero-king's dull line delivery as Dory would greatly sadden Ellen DeGeneres.

"Clearly Master Hand had the best intentions forcing Marth to participate in this play," Chrom grinned, all while Marth loathed every little second on being onstage, with an onslaught of strangers watching him do this thing.

 **Lucina: You know, I'm actually conflicted about this Disney World visit...on one hand, I want to enjoy the experience and enjoy seeing all the happy faces, but at the same time, I feel creeped out by the Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto costumes people walk in around the amusement park. I think the man in the Pluto costume might've pinched my butt...or I could be imagining things.**

 **King K. Rool: *looks creepily at the camera while rubbing his hands together* Mission complete...**

* * *

Bowser stood outside the mansion tapping his foot, waiting for a special guest to arrive. The Koopa King called this guest while Sonic was using the bathroom, and he expected this guest to discipline the hedgehog and teach him a lesson or two in obedience. Soon a cab pulled up to the front of the mansion, and a gray-haired fellow of Mexican descent exited the car, bringing Bowser's long wait to an end.

"You can keep the change," the Mexican man said to the cab driver as he got out of the car, the cab driver driving off as the man walked up to the mansion to greet Bowser, a guy he did not expect to see. "So you're Bowser, the evil villain of _Mario_ fame? Nice to meet you!"

"Same here buddy, glad you could make it!" replied Bowser as he gleefully shook the Mexican man's hand, before commencing a moment of brief introductions. The man's day job was a dog whisperer, and he once ran a show in which he dealt with problematic dogs (Bowser told him not to bring a camera crew, since there were cameramen already present at the mansion). We shall call this canine behaviorist Favela.

"Never would have expected you of all folks to be a dog owner...so where exactly is your pet dog?" After Favela asked this question, the Duck Hunt Dog came running out of the front door through the pet door, happily running about Favela's feet. "Oh, so this little guy is your pet dog, eh? Funny how you happen to own this dog!"

"This mutt from the _Duck Hunt_ game is my dog? Well he's not really my dog...he's everyone's dog, he's the dog of everyone living at this mansion." Favela appeared to be confused by Bowser's response, his confused face begging the Koopa King for much-needed clarification. "My pet is not exactly a pet...he's more like a best friend to me, in several ways." There goes Bowser, talking out of the side of his mouth...

"...which would imply that your pet is indeed a dog, yes?" A dog is a man's best friend after all...if you want to consider Bowser a man rather than a Koopa.

"Eh, it's probably better if you see for yourself. Come right on in, make yourself at home!" Bowser let Favela inside the mansion, and as he did so, he flashed a devious grin on his face. Sonic had no idea what was coming for him.

* * *

"Don't know about you, but I'm tired of wearing this dumb Mickey hat out in the public with strangers," Cloud said to Aerith as the two lovebirds took a stroll through Disney World, wearing Mickey hats on top of their heads that came with ears. Had Cloud been a young boy, he wouldn't have complained. "Why not wear that blue wizard hat instead, the one with white stars all over it?"

 **Cloud: Except maybe for the Star Wars-related stuff, and the Animal Kingdom Theme Park...nothing about Disney World really appeals to me. Most of the rides are too family-oriented, the stupid kids are practically driving me insane, and I'm gonna punch the guy wearing the Goofy costume in the gut if that sucker attempts to hug me one more time. Aerith is the only person in the world that's allowed to hug me, and she hasn't hugged me ever since Luigi's wedding...and that's how I want it to be.**

"Brighten up Cloud, that hat doesn't look so bad on you!" exclaimed Aerith, who was excited about being in Disney World for obvious reasons that we cannot delve into. Over the far distance, the flower girl saw the group of Corrin, Kamui, Flora, Felicia, and Dark Pit, gathered together with King Dedede near a Disney World ride, dubbed Tomorrowland Speedway. "Let's go see what Corrin and the others are up to!"

"I don't think that's such a good idea..." Cloud desired to refrain from being seen with any of the residents during the Disney World vacation, but unfortunately for the swordsman Aerith was the complete opposite, as she grabbed Cloud's hand and ran up to join with Corrin and company.

"I'm terribly sorry sir, but you're just too big to go on this ride," the operator of the ride kindly told King Dedede, who was holding up all the others. The fat penguin's thickness was the only obstacle preventing him from going on the ride, the operator fearing that Dedede may not be able to even get out one of the moving cars!

"B-But sir, I can take up two seats on one car, problem solved!" King Dedede did his best to plead his case to the operator, who wouldn't budge in the slightest. "I have no problem riding all by myself, it's not like I would be an utter nuisance!"

"Yeah, still not letting you in, how about you go find another ride to go on, you're hogging up the line." This dismayed King Dedede, who was very adamant on going on that Tomorrowland ride, and his adamant nature went way back - back when he saw one of his favorite actors, George Clooney, on the silver screen in the film "Tomorrowland". He liked every bit of Clooney - from his funny-looking mullet when he was young (Google it and prepared to be amazed), to his suave charm - and to be riding on a ride that the penguin believed had much to do with Clooney, it would apparently be a dream come true.

"Don't worry, King Dedede, you can just wait out here until we're finished with the ride," Kamui comforted the fat penguin as he sat on a nearby bench, feeling disheartened and saddened. "Surely there are other rides you can ride on in Disney World, right?" Not wanting to see King Dedede being all depressed in Disney World, a vacation place where dreams supposedly came true, Cloud actually decided to fight for Dedede's rights and confronted the operator of the Tomorrowland ride.

"Now you look here man, that penguin you just disrespected, he's actually pretty famous - he may not look like it, but he's one of the more famous folks vacationing in this whole entertainment complex," Cloud said to the now nervous operator, telling him exactly how it was. "So how about you let the man in the ride, or I'll have to teach you a lesson about respect?" The blonde swordsman whipped out his Buster Sword, causing a scene as everyone cautiously looked on. In that moment Aerith's fears were suddenly realized - Cloud legitimately brought his freaking sword to Disney World, which was something Link would be more prone to doing.

 **Corrin: Going about Disney World and enjoying all the sights and sounds, I was fully convinced that this vacation hotspot was one of the few sacred places on earth safe from alien activity...until Felicia and I went on a _Toy Story-_ themed ride, and to my shock, there were aliens - the aliens from the very movie! Those three-eyed fools, with their Gremlin-looking appearances and their blue spacesuits, staring into my soul... *shudders* This whole time I thought those wretched and heinous aliens were fictional, but apparently they weren't, and now they have their eyes set on invading Disney World, and later, THE ENTIRE WORLD! To make matters worse, the folks dressed up as _Toy Story_ characters weren't doing anything to solve this madness, they're allowing this deviant behavior to progress into things we might never imagine!  
Felicia: My goodness, please calm down Corrin, you're acting like such a drama queen...hopefully you won't go overboard when we see these "wretched and heinous" on the Tomorrowland attraction!  
Corrin: See what I mean, their invasion on Disney World has already begun, and the Tomorrowland attraction has been designated as the start of their nefarious deeds! George Clooney would be so displeased...  
Felicia: Guess I can't mention the fact that these aliens you speak of are in claw machines around this park...  
Corrin: ...and now they're pushing their agenda and propaganda on the innocent little ones, as a means to corrupt their innocent minds?! This cannot be happening... *facepalms in disappointment*  
Felicia: *whispering to the camera* Would it break Corrin's heart if I told him that Stitch from _Lilo and Stitch_ is an alien from outer space, and not some mutated blue koala bear?**

"Woah woah woah, ease up there guy, no need to start a scene," the operator said to Cloud, fearing the swordsman's Buster Sword like anyone should. "I can let your penguin friend on the ride, free as charged!" The operator looked over to King Dedede, who was still feeling depressed. "Yo, obese penguin guy, you're allowed on the ride!" Dedede went from melancholy to happiness real quick, as he sprung up from the bench and gave the operator a big fat hug.

"Knew you'd come around sooner or later!" the king of Dream Land continued to hug the Disney employee, not knowing that Cloud did him a huge solid. "I promise you I'll keep my hands and feet to myself, and not disturb a single soul!" King Dedede then kissed the operator on the forehead, and happily got inside one of the cars of the Tomorrowland ride, ready for the ride to begin.

"Wow Cloud, you really are a bro, sticking up for King Dedede like that," Dark Pit said to the swordsman as he and Flora went to go on the Tomorrowland Speedway ride. Cloud smiled, although he didn't feel like he deserved any praise or merit for what he did - he did what he believed was the right thing to do.

"How about a ride on the Tomorrowland Speedway, my fair lady?" a more content Cloud held out his hand to Aerith, who giddily accepted it without hesitation. Seeing Cloud feeling somewhat happy always charmed the flower girl. Cloud and Aerith, hand in hand, walked together as they got inside one of the cars, and after everyone was situated, the ride of Tomorrowland began.

* * *

Sonic was finally finished using the bathroom, as he exited the bathroom whistling. To tell the truth, the hedgehog had taken care of his business a long time ago - he was in the bathroom trying to call Amy, but to no avail. Little did he know that Bowser contacted the pink hedgehog earlier and told her that Sonic went to Disney World with the others, and calling him while he was "vacationing" would be unwise, hence the reason why Amy didn't bother answering Sonic's call; she probably thought it was a fake number. Sonic would soon find out why the Koopa King did this, as the hedgehog encountered the giant koopa with Favela in the hallway, coming to a sudden halt.

"I would like to introduce you to my adoring pet hedgehog, Jose," Bowser introduced Favela to Sonic, who was confused as ever; Bowser came up with the name "Jose" for Sonic on the fly, remembering when the hedgehog used that "no way Jose" phrase on him. It was best to cover up Sonic's true identity, since the thought of a famous video game villain owning an anthropomorphic video game character as a pet sounded asinine. "He's been nothing but trouble, and I'm confident your dog discipline can be applied to my pet hedgehog."

 **Favela: I've disciplined many, many dogs during my career, and I continue to discipline these wonderful canines on my new show...but disciplining an animal other than a dog will be a great challenge for me. If Bowser's pet is one I can easily be comfortable with, and not entirely dangerous, then hopefully I can make it out of this mansion alive...sometimes a pet's candor is reflective of the pet owner, and Bowser is...well you know.**

"Hi Jose, how are you doing little fella?" Favela asked Sonic, kneeling down next to the hedgehog. He was gonna question Bowser why his "pet hedgehog" looked like a certain famous blue hedgehog, but he would save that question once his work with Sonic...erm, Jose, was done. "Bowser has told me how bad of a pet you have been, and I'm here to change your behavior, and your attitude!"

"Look dude, I don't know why you're even here, or why you're even talking to me, but I don't care either way," replied Sonic, disheartening Favela with his rudeness. "So why don't you take your belongings, if you brought any, and get up out of..."

"TSST!" Favela suddenly nipped at Sonic's seemingly nonexistent neck, causing the hedgehog to flinch and grab his neck like he was fatally shot there. Sonic was speechless, but not because he was disciplined - he just found Favela nipping at him rather strange.

"Dude what was that for, do you have a problem..." Sonic spoke up after finding the words to speak, before Favela nipped at him again. "Quit it out man, you're scaring the heck out of..." And Favela nipped at him yet again. "Please man, you don't have to do this, we can talk it out..." Another nip from Favela. "If you don't stop nipping at my neck, I'll break your hand!"

"See what I'm doing Bowser?" Favela asked the Koopa King, who was nodding his head and scratching his chin. "By nipping at Jose's neck, I'm establishing dominance over him, by causing him to flinch and submit to my dominance. Jose must be dominated at all times, and now we must go one step further..." Sonic instantly feared for the worst when Favela pulled out a dog collar and a leash. "Have you ever tried walking your pet hedgehog? It's another way to establish dominance over Jose, and when you're walking Jose, you should have dominance over him at...all times?" Favela looked at Sonic, only to find out that Sonic wasn't even there, the blue blur having sped away from the dog whisperer.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention one thing, Jose is...a very fast runner," explained Bowser, chuckling slightly as he scratched the back of his head. "Sometimes he prefers to run rather than walk, which is why I can't walk him around the block..." Despite this, Favela was adamant on getting Jose...erm, Sonic, to submit at all costs.

* * *

The threesome of Pit, Viridi, and Kirby were inside one of Disney World's many attractions, the Hall of Presidents, at Liberty Square under the supervision of Palutena...or so it would have been, had Disney World not closed the attraction down to add a Donald Trump figure to the hall. Imagine if they had a fan near the figure, to blow on Trump's majestic hair!

 **Pit: Is it just me or...does attorney general Jeff Sessions look an awful lot like Dopey from _Snow White?  
_** **Kirby: Might be the other way around...Dopey looks like attorney general Jeff Sessions! But I suppose your assumption holds true - could explain why Trump acts grumpy! Because Sessions is dopey! Trump is grumpy because Sessions is dopey!**

 **Viridi: *sighs happily* Disney World _is_ the place where dreams come true...and my dream of going on a vacation with Pit has been realized! To make things better, he hasn't said a single stupid thing during our Disney World vacation, or embarrassed me in front of others! Granted this is only the first day, but it's good progress to me!**

Instead of looking at the many former presidents inside the Hall of Presidents (which won't be open until June 30th), Palutena had her crew opted to take pictures with several costumed Disney characters near the attraction. Palutena sure was glad she brought her digital camera with her.

"One...two...three...SMILE!" exclaimed Palutena as she snapped a picture of Pit, Viridi, Kirby, Chip, and Dale on her digital camera. The costumed chipmunks kinda creeped Viridi out to some extent, because the goddess knew there were humans in those costumes, but thankfully she was friendly enough to be around the duo.

"Taking pictures with Disney characters, I see?" Bayonetta appeared, taking a stroll by herself while her man Luka Redgrave (whom the Umbra Witch brought with her to Disney World) was off handling some business. "How very cheeky...Luka and I would have done the same thing, but he's off trying to win me a plush doll at some nifty carnival stand of sorts, and I'm afraid he'll be there all day until he's successful..."

"Ah, Bayonetta, just the gal I needed to see! Would you like to take a few pictures of me and Pit's friends?" Palutena held out her digital camera to the Umbra Witch, who took the camera as the goddess of light aligned herself with Pit and company.

"This picture taking session should be able to make up for any lost opportunities with Luka, I suppose..." remarked Bayonetta as she got the digital camera ready. Before the witch could even snap a picture, a certain costumed character approached Pit and company. It was a character Pit had dying to see, one he always saw on television and wishing to see in person.

"Hey, it's Mickey Mouse, the best Disney character ever!" the angel exclaimed, and you couldn't possibly argue with what Pit said. The winged fellow greeted Mickey Mouse with a handshake and a slight hug; he would give the costumed mouse some dap, but the angel was afraid the person in the costume would be unable to successfully master his rather complex handshake. "How have you been Mickey, you're doing just fine?" Mickey nodded his head, as Viridi looked on, hoping Pit wouldn't do anything embarrassing... "I finally met Mickey Mouse everyone, my vacation wish has officially been fulfilled!" Pit would announce to the vacationers nearby, most of them smiling slightly as Viridi facepalmed. So much for Pit not doing anything embarrassing...it transpired later than Viridi expected.

* * *

After spending much of his time running away from Bowser and Favela, Sonic sought to find solace and peace outside of the mansion. Although Luigi, Daisy, and Yuffie weren't home, it didn't stop the hedgehog from entering Luigi's house using a special house key Mario dropped on the floor one day. Sonic would have returned said key to the plumber, but he kept it with him for moments like these.

 **Sonic: This is getting way out of hand...Bowser brought that dog whisperer over to the mansion just to mess with me, and that dumb koopa is enjoying every little second of it! What's worse is that the dog whisperer apparently wants to walk me around the block...who in their right mind walks a hedgehog and puts a leash on them? If this shenanigans keeps up, then I'm calling animal protective services on Bowser's behind!**

Using Mario's key, Sonic opened the front door of Luigi's home, and gently closed the door behind him, as he tip-toed his way over to the kitchen to grab himself a quick bite to eat (and you know it would be a chili dog). The tip-toeing hedgehog suddenly stepped on something round, something that made a squeaky noise - and it was a squeaky canine ball. Sonic looked down and saw not only the ball, but Polterpup, happily panting as he looked up at the hedgehog.

"Sorry Polterpup, but I can't play with you right now, I'm a bit preoccupied," Sonic apologized to the ghostly dog as he made his way into the kitchen, making Polterpup whimper in sadness. It was going to a long weekend for the canine without anyone for him to play with. "Bowser has gone bonkers, and I gotta hide from him at all costs! But I can't hide on an empty stomach..." Sonic looked inside the oven, to see if Luigi left anything in there, but when the hedgehog opened up the oven door...

"BOOGALA BOOGALA BOOGALA!" Bowser popped out from the oven, with the Majora's Mask over his face, scaring Sonic as the hedgehog shrieked louder than Amy and fell back on the floor, like he had seen his entire life flash before him. How Bowser managed to fit himself inside the oven was a mystery the Koopa King probably didn't have an answer for. "Ha ha, I knew from the get-go you would retreat to Luigi's home as a safe haven, so I entered this house through the back door (which was apparently left unlocked) and hid in the oven right before you arrived!" Bowser got out from the oven and stood towering over Sonic, who was shaking in fear.

"Wh-Why are you doing this man, what have I done to deserve this?" Sonic asked Bowser, as the Koopa King picked up the hedgehog and smiled with an evil intent at him. His work with Sonic was not done yet...

"It's all because of your disobedience and unruly nature that you're receiving this treatment. Now let's return to the mansion, we still have lots to accomplish!"

* * *

The _Tales_ foursome of Hisui, Kohaku, Lloyd, and Leia were playing a game of beach volleyball at Disney's Beach Club Resort in their beach attire, with Hisui and Kohaku on one team, and Lloyd and Leia on the other. Little Mac watched this game with Fox, Falco, and Doc Louis from afar, though the boxer was watching this game for one particular person in mind - _Leia._

"You see that girl over there, serving the ball back to Hisui and Kohaku?" Doc Louis, taking an apparent interest in Little Mac's love life, knelt down at his protege as he pointed at Leia, who served the ball with grace and beauty. "That girl right there is destiny, and sometimes you gotta grab destiny real quick before it gets away from ya! You catchin' my drift, Mac?" Little Mac nodded his head, although he was slightly weirded out by Doc's strange analogy.

 **Fox: Little Mac told Falco and I about his crush on the Leia chick, and the two of us thought Little Mac and Leia would look cute together. And so we're giving Mac the romantic guidance he needs to make his relationship with Leia work... *smirks* ...too bad only one of us knows what it's like to actually be in love and have a girlfriend.  
Falco: Bruh what are you talking about, I got a girlfriend too! Don't you remember Katt Monroe? She's not exactly my girlfriend, she texts me more than I text her, so...  
Fox: Katt's supposed to be your girlfriend?! *grins* Man, was she desperate or something?  
Falco: *grabs Fox by the collar* Krystal's gonna be the one desperate once I put an end to you!  
Fox: Alright, alright, chill out Falco, I was just joking man! *Falco releases grip on Fox, who turns to the side to murmur something* ...Katt's probably using you anyways.**

"Here's what we want you to do, Little Mac - you walk over there to Leia and the others, and once you're close enough, drop dead unto the sand and make it seem like you're dead or something," Fox explained to the young boxer. Didn't Link tell Mario to follow a similar act in the previous episode with Wolf?

"When Leia momentarily stops the volleyball match and sees you lying on the sand unconscious, she'll then come over and give you CPR, and that'll be your cue to suddenly wake up, and then you can confess your love for Leia," added Falco. "Should anyone other than Leia give you CPR, the plan will be a colossal failure." Out of the _Tales_ folk not named Leia that would give Little Mac CPR, Lloyd was dead last on the boxer's shortlist.

"You guys really think I can do it?" Little mac asked the Star Records crew, who all nodded their heads in agreement. Doc Louis nodded his head the fastest, for he wished to see his protege with a girl to call his own.

"Go get her champ, it's all you now!" the boxing trainer pushed Little Mac forward, as the boxer confidently marched his way to "destiny", getting as close to Leia and company as possible before adhering to the plan and collapsing to the sand in an instant. Leia didn't notice this, but Hisui, who was ready to serve the ball, did.

"Timeout, you guys, I think something's wrong with Little Mac!" the teenager alerted the others, halting the volleyball match. Hisui and company headed over to Little Mac, who was playing dead extremely well. "You think the sun might've gotten to him?"

"Only one way to find out..." Leia knelt at Little Mac's side, checking out the boxer's forehead and throat before checking his pulse. All were okay to the nurse aide. "I detect no cold or fever, and his pulse is relatively normal...I don't see what the problem could be!"

"Maybe Little Mac is DEAD!" Lloyd exclaimed as he knelt down at Little Mac's other side. "LITTLE MAC CAN YOU HEAR ME, ARE YOU DEAD? IF NOT, THEN SPEAK UP OR GIVE US A THUMBS UP!" No response; done yelling, Lloyd looked up at the others, who were baffled by the swordsman's stupidity. "Guess Little Mac is officially dead, gotta go tell Master Hand the bad news..." Just then, Captain Falcon and his woman Nowi, as well as Nowi's daughter Nah, were walking along the coastline, until Nah noticed the _Tales_ crew flanked around Little Mac.

"Look mom, it's that boxer guy from the mansion, something must be wrong with him!" the young girl grabbed Nowi's attention, pointing at Little Mac and the _Tales_ crew surrounding him. "You think he might be...might be dead?"

 **Nowi: Captain Falcon's so sweet, asking Nah and I if we wanted to go to Disney World...in no means would I pass up an opportunity like that! That's almost like passing up a chance to automatically win a million dollars at the lottery without having to use a scratchcard to win! And yet still, Samus keeps telling me to "save" myself and cut off my relationship with Captain Falcon...must be jealousy talking! I'm sure she'll find her significant other sooner or later!**

"Captain Falcon, do you think he's okay?" Nowi would ask the racer, who looked out before him to see if Little Mac would respond, but nothing happened. Time for the Blue Falcon rider to put on his best heroic effort.

"Only one way to find out!" Captain Falcon ran to the scene, sand blowing away in the wind as the racer furiously ran at the speed of light, running as fast as the Road Runner, if not faster. "Stand aside kiddies, let a professional do this!" The _Tales_ crew stepped away from Little Mac, and Captain Falcon braced himself...

...as he got on the sand and gave Little Mac mouth-to-mouth, breathing air into the boxer's lungs. Nowi, Nah, and the _Tales_ crew wearily looked on, while Fox and Falco, watching from afar, were distraught that Captain Falcon was unknowingly sabotaging their plans.

"Should we...tell Captain Falcon to stop?" Kohaku asked the others, feeling that the racer was taking too much time applying CPR to Little Mac. But when the boxer's eyes were lifted, albeit rather slowly, he didn't see Leia applying mouth-to-mouth to help...all he saw was the red helmet and visor of Captain Falcon, who was just done with the CPR, the racer grinning because of a job well done. You could guess what transpired afterwards.

"GAAAAAAAAH!" Little Mac sprung up and ran into the water out of fear and shock, only to swim away from the others. Captain Falcon placed his fists on his hips and sported a confident grin on his face, as Nowi went up to the racer and gave him a hug.

"Right from the get-go I knew you could get the job done!" the half-Manakete gleamed, Little Mac swimming away as Fox, Falco, and Doc Louis saw a wave of disappointment wash over them. What are the odds Little Mac would return to the beach surface?

* * *

"Jose, your unruly nature and erratic behaviors has been very, very disconcerting," Favela scolded Sonic in the foyer, with Bowser looking on with his arms folded. But the hedgehog wouldn't be the only one receiving a scolding. "And YOU, Bowser, are responsible for allowing this to happen! That is why Jose has been acting the way he has been, you're simply not being dominant enough with your pet hedgehog!"

"You're saying that if I become dominant with...um, Jose, then I can make up for all the times I wasn't dominant with him?" Bowser asked Favela, who nodded his head with a smile on his face. Sonic's worst fears have now been realized. "I've been waiting for this very moment..." Bowser rubbed his hands together as he neared Sonic, who was backing away.

 **Favela: At the end of the day, I not only expect Jose to learn a lesson, but Bowser to learn a lesson as well. He should learn that it is always imperative to establish dominance over any pet you own, whether it be a dog, cat, hedgehog, ferret, or even manatee. (Are pet manatees even legal?) Bowser learning how to be a dominant pet owner will not only be beneficial for him, but for his pet hedgehog Jose.**

"Bowser can you seriously back away from me, I don't like that look in your eyes..." Sonic pleaded to Bowser, who was looking evilly at the hedgehog. Sonic found himself pinned against a wall, with nowhere to go; even if he ran away, Bowser would still hunt the blue blur down.

"TSST!" Bowser nipped at Sonic's neck, and the hedgehog flinched. Sonic tried to tell the Koopa King to stop, but each attempt at doing so would be followed by another nip to the neck from Bowser. This would continue until Sonic finally admitted defeat, lying against the wall with the willpower to stop Bowser for good having gone away.

"Aha, I just knew you could do it Bowser!" Favela commended the Koopa King for his efforts. "By establishing dominance over Jose, you have exerted control and power over him, which will make him a more obedient and caring pet." Now it was time to see if "Jose" would be a more obedient pet. "Go on, give Jose a command to do to test his obedience!"

"No problemo..." Bowser flexed his fingers as he looked at Sonic, the hedgehog looking up at the Koopa King with some nervousness in his bones. "Jose, I want you to pop me a bag of popcorn, pronto! Chop chop!" Feeling defeated, Sonic steadily got on his feet, and heaved a heavy sigh. At this point, there was nothing the hedgehog could do to stop Bowser.

"Whatever you say Bowser..." Sonic held his head down as he walked to the kitchen to fulfill Bowser's order. But once the hedgehog stepped inside the kitchen, a sudden thought prevailed inside his head. "Wait a minute, why am I acting so down? I'm changing for the worse! I'm practically letting Bowser change me and disrupt my mojo, and that can't be!" Soon another thought prevailed in the hedgehog's head...a rather evil and devious thought. "I know, I'll just kill Bowser so I wouldn't have to deal with the man ever again! Sure Bowser Jr. and his siblings will be orphans, but the others will be thanking me forever and ever!" You know things are heading south when Sonic develops qualms to kill a fellow brawler.

* * *

"It kinda sucks that Sonic can't be here at Disney World, but at the same time, it's been a huge blessing in disguise for the rest of us," remarked Tails, as the yellow Fox was with Knuckles, Ema Skye, Shulk, Fiora, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Lucas, Mewtwo, and Gil at Disney World's Animal Kingdom Theme Park, checking out the gorillas in the gorilla exhibit. No doubt going to this exhibit was the Kongs' doing.

"Heh, I'd rather have Sonic over Bowser - Bowser would have done something stupid enough to get us all booted from Disney World!" stated Shulk, imagining how different the vacation would be had Bowser been present. The Homs's imagination was looking rather bleak...

 **Bowser Jr.: This Disney World vacation just isn't the same without our dad...when he takes us to theme parks, he would always get us a lot of perks most other children don't get!  
** **Ludwig: *eating cotton candy* Yeah, like that one time when we couldn't get on one of the rides at Universal Studios Hollywood, because we were deemed too short. Our good ol' dad blew his mighty flames on the operator of the ride, nearly scorching the man alive, and thanks to him, we had unlimited access to _every_ ride at the theme park! Pretty much everyone feared our dad!  
Bowser Jr.: And one day I'm gonna follow him in his footsteps and become fearsome enough to scare theme park vendors and operators everywhere... *rubs hands excitedly* Hoo boy, I can't wait for the day!**

"So Knuckles, I heard from Shulk that you're a huge fan of rap," Fiora struck up a conversation with the echidna, who was happily licking a vanilla and chocolate ice cream cone he had purchased. "I know you're aren't into k-pop like I am...but have you ever heard of a k-pop boy band by the name of BTS? One of their members is a rapper, I'm sure you would like him..."

"Lemme guess, does BTS stand for 'Boys That Suck'?" Knuckles responded with a Cheshire Cat grin on his face, only to receive a glare from Fiora. While this conversation persisted, nobody seemed to notice Lucas getting a closer look at the gorillas, climbing over the fencing only to fall down into the exhibits, thankfully away from the gorillas that were looking at the PSI whiz with interested looks.

"Lucas just fell into the gorilla exhibit!" Gil alerted the others, as a horde of vacationers circled around the exhibit, seeing a timid Lucas by himself. "Somebody oughta go save him!" Why don't you do it Gil, you were the first person to see Lucas in his predicament!

"Don't worry, I shall save Lucas before he gets hurt!" Donkey Kong said heroically as he leaped into the exhibit. More and more folks were circling around the exhibit to see what was going on, and it was making Lucas rather nervous.

"Um, DK, I don't think you're the right person for the job..." Gil called out to Donkey Kong, but it was too late - instead of picking up Lucas and guiding him to safety, DK did the erroneous choice of dragging the teen across the water, causing many of the onlookers to scream in shock. It was in that moment the gorilla realized the mistake he had committed.

"LOOK YOU GUYS DONKEY KONG IS IN THE GORILLA ENCLOSURE AND HE'S PULLING A HARAMBE!" a random dude called out, bringing even more onlookers to the scene. Just wanted Donkey Kong and Lucas needed. "EVERYONE UNZIP YOUR PANTS RIGHT NOW!"

"By 'everyone' he only meant males, right?" Ema would ask Diddy Kong as a select group of males, mostly millennials for sure, unzipped their pants so they could reveal a certain body part that would be used as a sign of "respect" for Donkey Kong, only to be arrested and whisked away by the Disney World security. Shame on them for performing this action in the presence of minors!

 **Mewtwo: *shaking his head as the males behind him are whisked away by security* ...every day we stray further and further away from God's light.**

"Stand back everyone, lemme take care of this gorilla!" a Disney World officially arrived at the scene with a tranquilizer gun, and fired a tranquilizing dart at Donkey Kong in the butt. Seconds later, everything went dark for the iconic gorilla.

* * *

"Sonic I'm not sure about killing Bowser, he's a pretty great guy!" Shaymin discussed with Sonic as the two were heading down to the foyer. Sonic laughed at the gratitude Pokemon's assertion about Bowser, almost on the verge of tears. Apparently he was using Shaymin to kill Bowser, hoping her Energy Ball would be strong enough to mortally wound the Koopa King.

"Bowser a pretty great guy, in what world?" the blue hedgehog questioned. "Have I not told you the horrible things he and his Mexican dog whisperer friend have done to me today? It's about time we teach that man Bowser a good lesson in messing with others!"

"But would killing him be the way to do it though?" Shaymin just now learned a lesson Tails and others have learned in the past; talking Sonic out of things and reasoning with him was no bueno.

"I simply cannot thank you enough for everything you have done today, I learned so much!" Bowser said to Favela in the foyer. The dog whisperer felt that his work was done, and now it was time for him to take off.

"You're very welcome Bowser, after today Jose should be a more obedient pet, though it must be up to you to establish dominance over Jose to keep his obedience intact," said Jose, who expected Sonic to return to the foyer with Bowser's bag of popcorn; the dog whisperer assumed the hedgehog didn't know how to operate a microwave because he was a pet. "Well, I should be going now, my cab will be arriving shortly. Good bye Bowser - may I wish you the best with Jose! Don't forget what I have taught you!"

"You don't have to worry about me! Take care!" Bowser waved to Favela as the man exited the mansion, and once he was gone, Sonic and Shaymin appeared behind Bowser, with Sonic ready to execute his evil plan. Bowser had toyed with the hedgehog all day long, and the blue blur was ready to strike back.

"Alright Shaymin, we got Bowser right where we want him..." Sonic said as he looked at Bowser, who was now checking his phone. "Charge up the Energy Ball!" Shaymin reluctantly charged up an energy ball, and as she did so...an electronic sound came from the teleportation room upstairs. "Crap the others must have returned to Disney World! But I thought they would be staying until Sunday at the earliest..."

"Mario and company have returned from Orlando?!" exclaimed Bowser, having overheard Sonic. Shaymin stopped charging up her energy ball as Bowser hurriedly ran upstairs to the teleportation room, where he saw Mario, Wolf, Cilan, and others exiting the room, all with disgruntled looks on their faces as they rolled their suitcases.

"Hey Bowser, how's it going man..." a ticked off Popo asked the Koopa King as he and Nana rolled their suitcases out of the room. "I take it you and Sonic had a blast all by yourselves?" What gives, why was everyone returning to the mansion on early notice?

 **Popo: At Disney World, Nana and I both got to meet Olaf, from _Frozen!_ Or rather some guy in an Olaf costume. But it was a darn shame his costume wasn't actually made out of snow, a costume made entirely out of snow would be so awesome!  
** **Nana: ...yet expensive at the same time. Why don't you make a snow costume, you seem to take great pride and self-confidence in everything else!  
** **Popo: *shaking his head* Nana, Nana, Nana...pride and self-confidence are two different things. It's not pride unless you're being over-exuberant!  
Nana: *rolls her eyes***

"What's going on, why are you people returning to the mansion already?" questioned Bowser, as more and more residents exited the teleportation room with their suitcases. The Koopa King demanded an answer at once.

"Donkey Kong pretty much went full Harambe to save Lucas, who had fallen inside a gorilla enclosure, and he got tranquilized and got us booted from Disney World," Zero explained to Bowser; he didn't need a suitcase, for he was a robot who didn't have to worry about changing clothes and all. Only thing he brought was that hair product Dr. Wily created. "We could have been banned from Disney World, but Master Hand fortunately talked the officials out of it."

"All that money I spent for everyone, paying for a room to stay, and everything else...all wasted by that dumb gorilla," growled Akuma as he walked out of the teleportation room, most likely going to give DK a stern talking to in the immediate future. "Should I ever take you guys out on a vacation again, I might not even bring Donkey Kong, I'll just bring his nephew Diddy!"

"Save your petty excuses for later, banana brains..." Samus said to Donkey Kong as she walked away from Donkey Kong with her belongings. The others followed suit as DK tried to apologize to the others, but to no avail.

"Please everyone, I didn't mean to drag Lucas like that, he shouldn't have fallen in the exhibit in the first place!" the gorilla said to the others, before encountering Pit who was grinning slyly. Donkey Kong looked down at the angel, and soon discovered why the winged fellow was smiling. "Oh for the love of...Pit will you please put that thing back in your pants where it belongs?!"

"It's not a 'thing', it's a..." Pit was about to say before Palutena grabbed the angel by the ear and pulled him away. Whatever he was doing just now was worthy enough to earn him a big fat punishment from the goddess of light.

Down in the foyer, Sonic was sitting on the steps with Shaymin, when Mario and Lucas headed down the steps to join the hedgehog and his pet Pokemon. Sonic would have gotten himself a chili dog to eat, but he felt a bit too lazy to even get up.

"Hi-a there Sonic, I see that-a you and Shaymin have-a been doing some-a stuff while the rest-a of us where at Orlando," Mario said to the hedgehog, who looked at the plumber with a smile. "Has Bowser been-a annoying you all day while-a we were gone?"

"When is that man not annoying, it nearly got to the point where I wanted to kill the guy!" replied Sonic, shocking both the plumber and Lucas. They couldn't imagine Sonic taking another person's life. "I heard from Knuckles that Donkey Kong got you guys evicted from Disney World, is that right?"

"Yeah, though it kinda was my fault - I fell into the enclosure where the gorilla were, and Donkey Kong had to save me, albeit erroneously," said Lucas, taking the blame for the whole "Harambe" incident. "Had I not fallen in, we could still be at Disney World..."

"You know-a Sonic...I shouldn't have-a talked Akuma into not inviting you-a to Disney World, you're not that-a bad of a guy," Mario said to the hedgehog, patting him on the back (where his spikes weren't present). "Granted you have your-a moments, but Bowser has-a _way_ more moments. In fact, I only had-a you stay with Bowser because I feared-a that Bowser would have been-a lonely. I thought it was-a for the best."

The fact that Mario entertained the idea of Sonic being allowed to go to Disney World was enough to make the hedgehog smile with the utmost glee. Maybe there was hope for the blue hedgehog after all..


	65. Episode 65: Barbecue

_Author's Note:_

 _Guest reviews, per usual..._

 _"Can you add the characters from Tales of the Abyss? (Since that game got a 3DS port.) and when will the rest of the Tales of Xillia characters show up?"_

 _The more Tales characters the merrier! And the rest of the Xillia characters will have to wait until I find a good use for them. Next is Smasherfan88:_

 _"1. Can we see the new/original characters made for Fire Emblem Heroes?_  
 _2\. If Bomberman ever appears, will he appear with his four brothers? (black bomber,yellow bomber,green bomber, and blue bomber) and two sisters? (Pink Bomber and Aqua Bomber)_  
 _3\. Since skyrim is confirmed for the switch will we see the dragon born? Or no?_  
 _4\. At least a cameo of those things you play as in snipperclips"_

 _1\. I shall look into these characters during my spare time.  
2\. Bomberman has brothers?!...Uh, I mean...sure we can include his brothers...and his sisters.  
3\. Ehhhhhhhhh...I dunno.  
4\. Now that would be rather fun!_

 _Derick Lindsey has another suggestion for a chapter I should do:_

 _"...was there ever a chapter where Wii fit trainer decided to be King Dedede's fitness coach to help him lose weight, because if not could you make a chapter about that in the future."_

 _I think I was teasing a premise like this back in episode 56, with the eating contest...I shall make such a premise a reality in the coming weeks. Last up is Roydigs22, with a few questions not pertaining to "Smash Life":_

 _"1. Which " unique mechanic" character is your favorite?  
2\. Battlefield or final destination?_  
 _3\. True or false? Lucario's height is accurately represented in super smash bros._  
 _And a game mode: DODGEBALL. Bomb items only, enclosed map, 150 hp"_

 _1\. Lucario, one of my many secondary mains in Smash.  
2\. Final Destination, no question.  
3\. I'll go on a limb and say false._

 _So, a dodgeball game with bombs, eh? Would be a great way to introduce Bomberman...and his siblings._

* * *

 **Episode 65: Barbecue**

Luigi and Daisy, the wedded couple, have been waiting for this very moment. From the very first moment Daisy conceived, and from the moment the princess told Luigi the good news, the lovebirds have been waiting until March for the day their first child would be born.

As great of a moment that would be, it would frankly have to wait until it was time for the birth of the child to arrive, at an unexpected time. For now, Luigi and Daisy were left with nothing to do but celebrate the upcoming birth of their first child with the mansion residents, at a barbecue held outside. Peach wanted to have a baby shower with the ladies instead, but Master Hand overruled her and opted to do a barbecue because in the mighty words of the Smash universe creator, "baby showers are sexist for not including men". Also, you wouldn't believe who was in charge of the barbecue, grilling the food and whatnot...

"I'm so glad that you had the gall to volunteer and grill the food for the barbecue Lucario - from Cilan, Lady Palutena, and myself, we thank you," Dunban thanked the aura Pokemon, who rolled his eyes as he was tending to a couple of meat patties on the grill. Lucario was even wearing a grilling apron that said, "KING OF THE GRILL", complete with the face of Hank Hill underneath the wording. Isabelle was the one who provided the grilling apron, having found it when Captain Falcon was cleaning out his room one day.

"For the last time I did not 'volunteer', Master Hand pretty much forced me to grill the food for the barbecue," explained Lucario, flipping a patty over before applying some barbecue sauce to the grilled chicken. The Pokemon had to set it straight for those who commended him for volunteering. "Can't believe I'm saying this, but I wished Peach was able to have her little baby shower...grilling just isn't my thing."

 **Lucario: Before I could start working on the grill, Master Hand and Isabelle came to me and gave me another item to hold on to for the time being. *holds up badge with the Smash logo on it* I was then told not to wear this badge around the mansion, but I dunno, wearing badges would demand you a ton of respect...and quite frankly I don't get enough respect around here. You wouldn't believe how many times my meditating mat ended up in the garbage bin.**

"How's the food coming along Lucario, almost done?" Master Hand asked the aura Pokemon. All the mansion residents were outside at the front of the mansion, waiting to devour the (hopefully) delicious food Lucario cooked. "The others are starving, and if I hear Wario gripe and moan and complain about not having a single morsel of junk food in the next hour, I'm gonna kill someone! If it ever comes to that, who should I kill off? Lloyd? Black Knight? Cilan? I think I should kill Lloyd, he could be easily replaced by someone even more incompetent! It would be a win-win for everyone!"

"I'm just about finished Master Hand, once I add the finishing touches to the chicken, we'll be all set," responded Lucario, before a sudden realization entered the Pokemon's head. "Oh crap, we don't have any soft drinks! We don't have any soda bottles or anything! I meant to go ask Captain Falcon to get some sodas, but it may be too late now..."

"We could go without the sodas for now, just finish up the chicken and I'll get Mario to get some drinks. Drinking is not that much of a necessity." Not unless you were stuck in the middle of the desert, with not a single source of water in sight. "Let me go find Mario, hopefully he's not busy..." Master Hand left Lucario alone as he began his search for Mario, but he wouldn't get that far before Isabelle came running up to him, in a need for delivering some important news.

"Master Hand, the guests are pouring in - Team Chaotix, Waluigi, Cranky Kong, Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, Silver and Shadow, Professor Oak, and even Ridley have arrived to be a part of the barbecue, as well as a few others!" Isabelle said to the giant hand; surprising that the residents didn't vote on having Waluigi banned from the barbecue. One of the names Isabelle mentioned greatly intrigued Master Hand.

"Ridley's here?! Man, I haven't seen that dragon since forever! Of course, he probably came to the barbecue just because of the food...take me to Ridley, Isabelle, we have a lot of catching up to do!" So the shih tzu assistant took Master Hand to where Ridley was - chilling near a tall tree while holding a conversation with Professor Oak, a world-renowned Pokemon scientist. Red the Pokemon Trainer had told the scientist about Luigi's first child (he didn't tell Oak's grandson Blue, because he thought he was a pompous jerk), and Oak headed to the Smash Mansion just so he could be a part of things.

"So Ridley, who do you think is the greatest dragon-type Pokemon to have ever existed?" the Pokemon scientist asked Ridley; the dragon responded with an ear-screeching roar, one that could be heard throughout the entire city of Seattle and surrounding areas. "Ah, yes, great choice, great choice indeed! Had a feeling you would go with Rayquaza!" Wait, so Oak could understand Ridley, while Samus couldn't? Ha ha, take that Samus - Professor Oak just pwned you!

 **Professor Oak: Luigi and Daisy preparing for their first child reminds me of when I was preparing for my first grandchild, my lovely grandson Blue! I remember being at the hospital and trying to dissuade Blue's parents from naming him after a color of the rainbow, but then I recalled that one time a Pokemon trainer came to me with a Zubat named "Trash Heap"...and then I rested my case.**

"See, Master Hand, Ridley is in a vegetative state and is not attacking or eating anyone," Isabelle said to the giant hand, pointing her stubby arm at the dragon. Master Hand, who seemingly didn't hear a single word out of Isabelle's mouth, hovered over to Ridley to greet him. "Master Hand wait up, I hate it when you drift off like this!"

"Hello Ridley, long time no see!" Master Hand said to the dragon, who happily responded by screeching yet again. The surrounding residents had to cover their ears, but unfortunately it would not be enough. "Yeah man same here, great to see you too!" Zing! Another person that knew the things that came out from Ridley's mouth! Samus should start taking L's from here on out. And speaking of whom...

"Um, Master Hand, why the heck is Ridley here?" Samus approached the giant hand, concerned about the safety of those outside. Never before did the bounty hunter care so much about the folks she constantly forced herself to deal with on a daily basis.

"He's here to enjoy the food of course, no need to be so insensitive towards Ridley! Just because he's a extraterrestrial dragon who killed your parents and did a bunch of other villainous crap gives you no right whatsoever to disallow him from hanging out with common folk. Put some respect on Ridley's name, will ya...or is it 'respeck'? Whichever works best for you, Ms. Aran."

"You're gonna regret keeping Ridley around, that much I know..." Samus had this to say as she walked away. Seeing Master Hand so carefree about Ridley's presence was enough to lower the level of concern the bounty hunter had for her fellow residents.

"The chicken and the hamburgers are done, people - which means that the barbecue has now officially begun!" Lucario announced, resulting on a wave of cheers from the many folks that were waiting for the food to be done. The announcement also remind Master Hand of something he meant to do...the giant hand disappeared, and reappeared next to Mario, who was having a conversation with his fiancee Peach.

"Lucario informed me about a lack of drinks...could you go to the store and get some soda cans please?" Master Hand asked Mario; the plumber had no choice but to fulfill this task for this was one of the rare times Master Hand used the word "please".

"There's a dollar store-a not that far from-a here, I can get the soda cans-a from there," replied Mario, as he looked towards Shulk and Hisui, who were standing together. They both saw Mario looking at them with a wily grin on his face, indicating that he wanted the two to complete some sort of mission with him. Saying no to Mario would be utterly fruitless.

 **Shulk: It's nice that Luigi and Daisy are about to witness childbirth for the first time...and sooner or later Fiora and I will have our own child soon! Right Fiora, are you down with starting a family? *nudges Fiora*  
** **Fiora: Why, I've always dreamed of starting a family...but the idea of having to give birth almost scares me. Also, are Homs capable of childbearing?  
Shulk: Technically we _are_ humans...and technically we're capable of doing the many things humans are capable of doing, like breathing, eating, lounging about, and shaking your buns...speaking of which, did I ever tell you about the time King Dedede...  
Fiora: Please, Shulk, I don't wanna hear it...**

* * *

Sitting at the very front of the barbecue were the two most important people of the day - Luigi and Daisy. The married couple were sitting in exquisite high chairs, like they were king and queen. That certainly didn't stop folks like Sonic from interacting with them.

"Sonic can you please stop rubbing my stomach, the food's ready so why don't you help yourself to some ribs or something?" Daisy questioned the blue hedgehog, who was rubbing the princess's large stomach. This made Sonic look like an utter doofus in front of the others, but he didn't seem to care either way.

"This is for the betterment of your baby Daisy, I'm giving him or her special powers that they will be blessed with upon birth!" stated the blue blur, as Daisy and Luigi glanced at one another with weird looks on their faces. "And besides, Amy is fixing my plate right now, which means that I have enough time to..."

"Sonic I just fixed your plate, and I have a seat reserved just for you!" Amy called out to her man, standing at a table with a bunch of chairs (because what table would be complete without chairs to complement it?). Seated in one of the chairs was Shadow the Hedgehog, who was contemplating why he agreed to attend the barbecue despite his distant, anti-social nature.

"Well looks like my time is up...for now. I'll speak with you two later!" Sonic winked and pointed his finger at Daisy and Luigi as he went to his seat; the married couple were finally relieved that the hedgehog finally left them alone, for now at least. Better make the most of the time they had with Sonic not around!

"I, I will be king...and you, you will be queen...though nothing, will drive them away...we can be heroes, just for one day..." K.K. Slider sang this famous David Bowie song, dubbed "Heroes", on his trusty guitar for Luigi and Daisy. Although the couple didn't ask for K.K. to sing to them, they certainly preferred the hippie dog singing over Sonic rubbing Daisy's stomach on so, so many levels. "We can be us...just for one day!"

"Thank-a you K.K., very fitting song I must-a say," Luigi thanked K.K. for the mostly unwanted musical performance. Just then, Cloud approached the plumber and Daisy, holding two plates of food in his hands. You would assume the swordsman looked like he was mildly uninterested, but shockingly he was more upbeat and less moody than usual.

"You two oughta be glad today's a special day for you guys, otherwise I wouldn't be doing this for you," Cloud said as he handed the plates of food to Luigi and Daisy. His candor was enough to surprise the married couple. "And for the record, this was done on my own behalf, Aerith didn't tell me to do this or anything like that." That only made the couple even more surprised!

 **Cloud: *smiling* In all brutal honesty, I'm actually anticipating the birth of Luigi's first kid. The man deserves it, after all the crap he had to put up with all these years. Having to live in the shadow of his arguably more popular twin brother, Mario...and now Luigi, in addition to being the first of the two to be married, will have another last laugh.**

A short while after Cloud left Luigi and Daisy alone, Fox and Falco approached the married couple, needing to ask them an important question. A question that has been lingering with the pilots ever since episode 37...

"Are you gonna apply what we taught you when Daisy goes into labor?" Fox would ask Luigi, referring to that pregnancy "simulation" in episode 37, in which Falco "gave birth" to a Smoochum and a Magby to teach Luigi what to do to guarantee a successful birthing. Luigi wished that the pilots would never bring that instance up ever again, but here we are.

"No-a worries Fox, I can rest-a assure you that I will-a get Daisy to the hospital on-a time once she goes-a into labor," assured Luigi, taking a bite from his barbecue chicken and enjoying the heck out of it. Lucario really did a better job with the food than everyone expected.

"But what if you don't make it to the hospital in time, what if your car broke down on the road and Daisy had to give birth on a highway or something?" questioned Falco. What was with these extreme circumstances? "Did you not think about that, Luigi?!"

"Luigi and I got it all under control, just leave us be!" ordered Daisy, as Fox and Falco walked away with their heads drooping. Fox suddenly lifted his head up, and saw Isabelle in the far distance, with a group of seven folks following behind the shih tzu.

"Yo Falco, is it just me or do those folks with Isabelle look somewhat familiar to you?" Fox nudged his buddy, and Falco looked up and saw Isabelle and company, stroking his beak inquisitively as he observed the seven folks.

"Might have saw one of them before, but I can't quite put my finger on their name..." the avian pilot responded, in much thought. To him it felt like he was looking at a potential Star Records client or two...

* * *

"Chrom where are you, some folks would like to see you!" Isabelle called out, maneuvering through the barbecue as she led the group of seven to Chrom's whereabouts. The shih tzu would eventually find the hero-king, seated at a table with Robin, Lucina, Link, Zelda, and a fellow who was brought to the mansion on a few occasions, sitting in a wheelchair. The fellow was none other than Wayne, the star basketball, whose knee injury unfortunately prompted Master Hand to bring him to the barbecue, even against his will. Does Master Hand love the guy or something?

"And that folks, is the story of Sumia's baked pie, which I probably won't tell ever again," Chrom just finished up a story regarding Sumia he told to Wayne and company, a story enough to make the listeners grimace. Sumia was known by Chrom, Lucina, and Robin for constantly making pies, most of the time doing so in an attempt to swoon Chrom, so Lucina nor Robin should have no reason to be making the faces they were making.

 **Wayne: *sighs, then shakes his head* Yup, I could have been back at my place, chilling and resting my injured knee...but nope, Master Hand just had to teleport me back to his dumb mansion and practically forced me to attend a barbecue he's got going on for Luigi and his woman, all because I said the thought of Luigi having his first kid "would be legit" when my Olympic teammates and I had dinner at the mansion back in August. I wasn't even the only person who said that, three of my other teammates said something similar, so why am I here? *shakes his head again* But hey, at least I have someone to push me around on my wheelchair, I guess that's nice...  
Link: *runs up to Wayne* Hey man look what I found, it's an onion ring! *gives onion ring to Wayne* You always wanted a ring, isn't that right?  
Wayne: *glares intensely at Link***

"I didn't know Sumia was that... _unique_ when it came to baking pies," remarked Zelda, the only person at the table who had the courage to speak up. Soon Isabelle arrived at the table with the group of seven, and Chrom was rather delighted to see the group in person.

"Hello there Chrom, long time no see my friend," said the leader of the seven, a young man by the name of Itsuki Aoi. He and Chrom worked together after Chrom lost his memories, having been corrupted by an deity known as Medeus.

"Likewise, my old friend, it's great seeing you and your friends again," smiled Chrom, before turning around to those sitting at the table. "Everyone, I would like to introduce to you my friends, and Mirage Masters - Itsuki Aoi, Tsubasa Oribe, Touma Akagi, Kiria Kuruno, Eleonora Yumizuru, Mamori Minamoto, and Yashiro Tsurugi. Caeda and I, as well as a few others, worked with these individuals to defeat an evil known as..."

"Oh junk you got friends Chrom?" asked Wayne, only to receive a strange look from the prince, Robin, and Lucina. Robin felt disrespected, for he was a really good friend of Chrom and Wayne seemingly didn't acknowledge their friendship. Either that, or he just straight up forgot. "Sorry for asking that, I'll just...I'll just keep my mouth shut..." Way to make yourself look bad in front of Chrom's friends, Wayne.

"Didn't expect so many people to be outside, what's the big occasion?" questioned Tsubasa, who had the biggest bust out of all of Itsuki's lady friends. Expect her to receive a bunch of looks from the males present outside.

"You all have heard of the famous Mario Bros, Mario and Luigi, right? Don't know why I asked that, everybody knows who they are..." And if you don't, then you got A LOT of catching up to do. "...anyways, Luigi is married to Princess Daisy of Sarasaland, and they're about to have their first child today. To celebrate the joyous occasion, Master Hand, the guy who owns the mansion, is holding a barbecue."

"Sure really explains a lot, Isabelle didn't tell us that when we arrived. Too busy finding you to give us any additional information." Itsuki leaned in closer to Chrom, needing to say something mightily important. "I didn't wish to disclose this at a time like this...but I'm afraid Medeus the Shadow Dragon has returned, and he might be lurking somewhere at this barbecue, I'm afraid."

 **Itsuki: Medeus was a Shadow Dragon who reigned supreme in the island of Archanea, and he gave the hero-king Marth all sorts of fits. He had taken on a human form when the Manakete dragons dwindled, and guarded the seal of the wild Earth Dragons. Seeing how the Manaketes were mistreated over time, Medeus rallied his fellow Manaketes in an effort to enslave humanity and...How do I know this, you might ask? Chrom gave me a little history lesson some time ago. Dude takes an apparent pride in being a descendant of a royal prince...**

"But I thought Medeus was already taken care of...how do you know he's here?" asked Lucina, who learned about the dragon through Chrom's and Marth's stories.

"We felt his presence somewhere in Seattle, and we also detected some massive thing flying over the Space Needle!" exclaimed Touma, using as much emotion as possible to stress how important an evil Manakete in Seattle was. You could make an argument the dude was a little scared at the moment. "If we don't find Medeus soon enough, then everyone at this barbecue - and pretty much everybody else in Seattle - would be toast...and the rest of the world would fall victim to Medeus!"

"You said that the being that owns the mansion is named Master Hand, right?" asked Kiria; Chrom nodded his head. The thought of a hand creature owning a mansion in Seattle was a concept Kiria and company found hard to grasp. "Where can we find him?"

"He's over there speaking with Donkey Kong," Link pointed at the giant hand, who was in a conversation with DK, most likely putting the gorilla on blast for getting everyone kicked out of Disney World last week. An incident Donkey Kong may never live down for the time being. "You could speak with him later on, when he's not busy or talking with anyone."

"Yeah, I suppose we could chill out and eat the food and whatnot," shrugged Itsuki, putting the mission on hold for now. "But we shall keep a close eye on Medeus's whereabouts, wherever he may be..."

* * *

Lucario was still working at the grill, still working the Hank Hill grilling apron Isabelle had given him, when Jigglypuff approached the Pokemon grill master with an empty plate, wanting some seconds. More folks present for the barbecue meant more food for Lucario to cook, and fortunately the aura Pokemon was up for the task.

"Jiggly jiggly Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff held her plate up to Lucario, demanding more hot wings. Believe it or not, the balloon Pokemon possessed an unsustainable hunger that rivaled Kirby's, a hunger that in most cases could not be tamed by any means. You would never expect that from a cutesy Pokemon like Jigglypuff, would you? Kirby is just as cutesy, so don't even try to act all surprised by this Jigglypuff revelation.

"You want more hot wings, well you got them!" Lucario, using cooking tongs, grabbed a few hot wings and placed them on Jigglypuff's plate. At first, he was against this, for he knew how hot these hot wings were, but with Jigglypuff, nothing could really go wrong.

 **Jigglypuff: *eats an entire hot wing and chews it, before face turns red from fiery heat and breaths fire unto an unsuspecting Silver the Hedgehog, whose car immediately catches on fire*  
Silver: GAAAAH MY HAIR IS ON FIRE, PUT IT OUT PUT IT OUT PUT IT OUT! *screams, then runs away as he jumps into the mansion's lake*  
Shadow: *standing over the lake in which Silver fell in* ...why do I suddenly feel like ditching this place now? *shrugs* Eh, it's not like I have anything else better to do...**

After Jigglypuff left Lucario alone, Lucario suddenly felt someone pinching him on his arm. The aura Pokemon yelped in pain and turned around to face Pit, who was snickering to himself. Pit might have chosen to pinch the wrong guy...the aura inside of Lucario was slowly building up.

"Ow Pit, why did you pinch me for?" frowned Lucario, as Pit snickered even harder. Had the aura Pokemon not served as the barbecue grill master, he would have likely sought revenge on Pit by socking the angel in the face. "What have I ever done to you, man?!"

"Ease up Lucario, today is St. Patrick's Day!" exclaimed Pit, after he was done snickering. "Have you forgotten like everyone else?" If Pit remembered St. Patrick's Day and the others didn't, then everyone at the barbecue sans Pit would now have to hold a big, fat L.

"No Pit I haven't forgotten, I know what today is...I guess today's festivities concerning Daisy giving birth to her first child kinda got pushed too far." Pit gasped in shock, and his reason for gasping like such may or may not surprise you, depending on how well you know Pit.

"Today is the day Daisy is gonna give birth?! Why didn't anyone tell me this?! I thought Lady Palutena was supposed to keep me in the know, you know?" Maybe Palutena did tell you the news Pit...you just didn't decide to listen. "But no matter, it won't stop me from pinching others for not wearing green on St. Patrick's Day!"

"You're not wearing green yourself, Pit, so why don't you pinch your own self for not following the St. Patrick's Day customs?" All Lucario ever really wanted from Pit was for the angel to go away, if he could only do that then the aura Pokemon would be forever content for remainder of the day.

"Yeah you got point a there Lucario, how dare I not wear my green toga today! Shame on me!" Pit walked away, pinching himself all over his body and saying "Ow!" every time he did so. Lucario let out a sigh of relief and shook his head as he returned to the grill, when Touma and Eleonora approached the aura Pokemon.

"I take it that you're grilling the food for the barbecue?" the redhead asked Lucario, holding a plate in his hands. Eleonora, who wasn't feeling that hungry, did not have a plate with her.

"Apparently Master Hand, the head honcho of the mansion, designated me as the grill master for the day," replied Lucario, causing Touma to squeal, but not in a necessarily girly way. It was a manly squeal, a squeal of excitement, a squeal enough to make Touma blush a little bit.

 **Touma: *rubbing hands together excitedly* There's a lot more ladies at this barbecue than I would have thought...and many of them are absolutely ripe for the taking...I shall claim one of these lovely vixens as one of my own!  
Eleonora: How do we know most of these "vixens" aren't already taken? *places her hands on her hips* We already know Princess Zelda is already taken by Link, not like you would have a good chance at asking her out or anything...so any other cuties you see that fit your type?  
Touma: Well there _is_ this one girl that caught the corner of my eye - she has black hair in pigtails, and also has these menacing red eyes to boot! Sure she might be shorter than me, but I have no preference for height!  
Eleonora: I'm sure the girl you're referring to is a little girl, a few years below your age...**

"Aw sweet, a talking Pokemon, so cool!" exclaimed Touma, acting much like Geo Stelar when he met Link and a few others back in episode 46. "Touma Akagi and Eleonora Yumizuru, pleasure to meet ya!" Touma wished to shake Lucario's hand, but worried that the spike on Lucario's hand would get in the way.

"You can call me Lucario, the aura Pokemon - I'm from the Sinnoh region," introduced Lucario, who really had no other available choice but to introduce himself to Touma and Eleonora. "Where exactly are you two from?"

"We're from Japan, a part of an entertainment agency called Fortuna Entertainment. It employs singers, actors, actresses, and every other job in the entertainment industry you could think of. Eleonora here wants to be an actress, while I on the other hand aspire to be a hero!"

"A hero in a tokusatsu show, that's the closest you'll ever get to living out your dream..." remarked Eleonora. For those of you who don't know, a tokusatsu show is a Japanese live-action series with nothing but special effects. Think of the _Power Rangers_ series as a major example of this genre.

"Well it's nice to meet you both, never did I expect an aspiring actor and actress from Japan to be at the Smash Mansion, on a day like this." Lucario was unsure whether to classify Touma as an actor or not, but since he wanted to be a hero, the aura Pokemon thought it was fitting enough.

* * *

"Alright Mac, you couldn't do it last week at Disney World, so we're gonna pick up from where we left off," Doc Louis said to Little Mac, pointing at Leia. The nurse was seated at a table with Toon Link and Villager, going over her March Madness bracket with the two boys. In case you didn't know already, Leia was really into sports. "That girl likes sports as much as you do, Little Mac, she would make the perfect girlfriend for you! Are you gonna let her find some other man?"

"No sir, not by any means!" shouted Little Mac, who was still unnerved by the idea of Doc Louis taking a personal interest in his quest to win Leia's heart. He was only just making the chocolate fanatic happy. "As long as Leia's single, I'm always ready to mingle!"

"Yeah, that's the spirit, that's the Mac I know! Now go get her, champ!" So Little Mac confidently trotted towards Leia...only to trip and fall face-first into the ground. A few feet away from where Leia was sitting. _Ouch..._

 **Doc Louis: The end goal for Little Mac is to pair him up with Leia before the end of March, so they'll get the entire month of April to show love and affection for one another! And we're running out of time too, like how I'm running out of girlfriends! *looks at chocolate bar in hands, and takes a bit out of it* I'm so sorry Helga...it's not you, it's me...though you were the one who had to be so delicious. I didn't choose chocolate...chocolate just happened to choose me.**

"I dunno about you guys, but I think Villanova might win the whole tournament, they're perhaps the best team in the..." Toon Link was busy discussing the March Madness tournament with Leia and Villager, until his eyes fell upon Little Mac, lying on the ground not doing a single thing.

"Um, why exactly is Little Mac on the ground?" questioned Villager, unsure if he should call the EMTs to come and take the young boxer to the hospital via ambulance. The barbecue was really putting a ton of weight on the mayor's actions. (Quick question: who fills in as mayor of Smashville with Villager and Isabelle away? Tortimer?) "Could you see if he's okay, Leia?" Much better option than calling the EMTs over and wasting their precious time.

"Why of course I can, we have to make sure Little Mac isn't exhausted or anything!" Leia got up from her chair and got on the ground, kneeling down next to Little Mac and turning his body over. The nurse then checked the boxer's pulse and whatnot, and as she did so, Little Mac lifted his eyes open slowly, and looked into the eyes of Leia, doing his best not to smile. "Little Mac, are you okay? Please tell me that you're okay!"

"I'm just fine Leia, lost my breath for a second there..." Little Mac replied, looking lovingly into the eyes of Leia. The nurse smiled and felt glad, knowing that Little Mac was doing just fine even though he was doing fine in the first place; that accidental trip nearly ruined his momentum. Robin, Link, and Wayne were watching from afar, and it seemed like they were all thinking the same thing.

"So...is Little Mac trying to score with that chick or not?" Wayne asked Link and Robin, believing the two might have the answer to his question. "I never thought Little Mac was interested in looking for love."

"Yup, the girl's name is Leia Rolando, Mario hired her to work as a nurse at the mansion," Robin explained to Wayne. Leia's presence arguably has taken a load off of Dr. Mario, scarcely has the doctor checked in ever since Leia was hired. "Apparently Little Mac is doing everything he can to win that girl over, with the help of Doc Louis and others..." Robin suddenly found himself scratching his chin - and smiling rather deviously. "You fellas stay here, I'll be right back!" The mage ran off, leaving Link and Wayne in a state of confusion.

"Please tell me that man isn't going to interfere with Little Mac and that girl..." This was Wayne's major concern; dude was more concerned than the thought of Daisy dealing with complications when giving birth. What's up with people and their lack of priorities these days?

 **Marth: Don't think I've forgotten about Robin setting me up a few weeks ago, when I "allegedly" shaven off Zelda's eyebrows (not the Zelda I'm living with, mind you, I'm referring to the _Breath of the Wild_ one) because I was "jealous" of her fabulousness! (Fabulousness was a new word Master Hand invented, and has now taken an abnormal amount of pride in for some reason.) How about this - from what I've heard from Pac-Man, Zelda came to his room to borrow his shaver, which he apparently has, and Zelda told him once he returned the shaver that her fellow incarnation's eyebrows were shaven off... _and she wasn't the one who did it!_ That princess tasked someone else to do the dirty work for her, most likely out of guilt and fear of suspicion, I'm assuming, and this has all the makings of a mystery a person like myself can solve...**

"I sure hope not, he tried to do the same thing with Corrin and Felicia, and now he's off feuding with Marth to this very day," Link said as he rolled Wayne away on his wheelchair, being a rebel by not heeding Robin's words and staying put. "Wanted to prove to everyone how much of a so-called romantic expert he was."

"Uh huh..." Wayne nodded his head, at first befuddled by this idea of Robin wanting to be a romantic expert, until the name Corrin permeated in his brain. "Hold up just a second, Corrin was looking for love too? That sheltered albino kid?"

* * *

Kiria and Yashiro, two prominent singers from Fortuna Entertainment, were having a bit of a conversation among themselves at an unattended table, while Fox and Falco were watching from afar, but not in a necessarily creepy way. The pilots were looking at potential clients for Star Records, and wished to sign Kiria and Yashiro away from the company they were signed to.

"Yeah I think I know who those two are - the chick is Kiria Kurono, one of the top female artists in Japan, and the guy in the suit is Yashiro Tsurugi, a superstar jack-of-all-trades," stated Fox. "They would be GREAT assets to have with Star Records, don't ya think so Falco?"

"True date, but convincing them to sign with us would be a difficult task in itself," replied Falco. The new head of Fortuna Entertainment, who happened to be Itsuki, would not budge with the Star Fox pilots, no matter the offer. "We gotta really reel them in, and give them an enticing enough offer they cannot refuse! And it's a good thing I know a good offer that would..."

"...we're NOT doing that 'dark chocolate' thing, we tried it with Sonia Strumm and thanks to you, she might never sign with us for who knows how long." For those of you who wish to know about this dark chocolate incident...it's probably best if you didn't know. Just know that Doc Louis apparently had much to do with it, and that whatever the boxing trainer did was enough to mentally scar Sonia forever. "Why don't we handle things like adults, and negotiate a deal with Kiria and Yashiro, and see if we could get them to sing with us?"

"Nah, sounds too mainstream, and besides, negotiating is super boring. Still think we should go forth with my plan - you know, the 'dark chocolate' thing which you're against for some reason. It's not as bad as you think, Sonia liked it the last time we used my awesome method!"

 **Fox: Falco's 'dark chocolate' scheme, the first time we used it...was an utter travesty. Basically we had Sonia Strumm enter this dark room after that concert she held last year, and locked her inside. Then we turned on the lights...and Sonia eventually found herself in a room with a shirtless Doc Louis, who was gyrating his hips with the words "Sign with Star Records and your dreams will come true!" written over his torso in chocolate. The next thing we knew, or at least _I_ knew, Sonia ran out of the room screaming at the top of her lungs and crying her poor eyes out. Think of this little incident as a Bloody Mary stunt, but with no use of mirrors and some obese black man scaring the crap out of you instead of some ghost woman. As for saying any words...I believe Sonia's screams were more than enough.**

"No, we're never gonna do that again, we can't afford to have Kiria and Yashiro ravaged with nightmares of Doc Louis for years on end," said Fox, doing his best to dodge a major bullet. "Let's just handle this like men, and if the two turn down our offer...then so be it."

"Okay then bro, but we still could use my wicked plan as a backup, who knows..." responded Falco; Fox just shook his head as he and Falco stepped forward to have a word with Kiria and Yashiro. But they wouldn't get that far, when...

"We've returned, and we brought-a drinks!" Mario announced, as he, Shulk, and Hisui returned to the barbecue with soda cans in their possession, and they returned right when everyone's thirst was just dying to be quenched. Kiria and Yashiro got up from and headed over to where Mario and company would place the drinks at, right when Fox and Falco were about to approach them.

"Dude, Mario has to ruin everything, we were so close to giving them that offer!" frowned Fox, snapping his fingers in disgust. Just to be clear, the Star Fox pilots did not have a legit offer laid out, aside from asking Kiria and Yashiro if they wanted to join Star Records. No contract or anything. "I bet Kiria and Yashiro would be less likely to sign with us now!"

"It's never too late for some 'dark chocolate'..." Falco smiled devilishly, before Fox grabbed his friend's feathery hand and stormed off. There was always a second chance, though Fox wasn't such a firm believer in that concept at the moment. Falco was, but Fox wasn't willing to give his best friend's rather strange idea a chance, after knowing the consequences of what happened last time.

* * *

"Excuse me, but is anyone sitting here?" Mamori Minamoto approached Ashley, holding a can of soda in her hand. The young black-haired witch, sitting at a table with her lovely assistant Red, looked up at Mamori with a blank expression written on her face. Ashley wished to say no to the eleven-year old, but Mamori, much like Itsuki and company, were relatively new and Ashley didn't wish to upset the kimono-wearing girl.

"Sure go ahead, nobody else is sitting in that chair," Ashley replied while trying not to be blunt or rude, and so Mamori sat in the empty seat. The kimono girl opened her can of soda, and took a sip out of it, Ashley doing her best not to pay her any mind.

"I'm Mamori Minamoto, I'm an entertainer from Japan who works for a company called Fortuna Entertainment!" And now Mamori was introducing herself to Ashley. Just what the witch girl needed, a conversation with a person she never met before... "What about you, what's your name, and who's that red thing with you?"

 **Ashley: I hate get-togethers with every fiber of my being...just seeing hordes of people gathered together in one setting is enough to make me puke. That nasueous sensation continues with me to this very day each and every time Master Hand forces me to attend these get-togethers, so I could "socialize" with others and "find a potential soulmate". If that dumb hand forces me to attend some lousy New Year's Day party in New York City, in Times Square, then the entire human race would be put on notice...**

"My name is Ashley, and this is my assistant Red," Ashley introduced herself to Mamori, with Red waving to the kimono girl once his name was called. "I like to make potions in my spare time...but to be honest, that spare time makes up most of my time in a single day. Really, I don't have that many friends, I'm a bit of a loner..."

"I don't have any friends either...at least around my age," stated Mamori, causing Ashley to perk up for a quick second. "You know, I could be your friend - I mean, I like to make stuff too...or microwave stuff. It's all a part of my show, 'Microwave Idol Mamorin', where I microwave food and sing ballads at the same time!" To the average person, a combination of food and ballads would sound weird when put together, but for Ashley, she thought the combination was absolutely genius, and the pure embodiment of Japanese culture. The awesome Japanese entertainers could make something like a poncho-wearing grizzly bear shampoo-covered pizza rolls remotely entertaining to their audience.

"Microwaving food and singing ballads at the same time...that doesn't so bad. Maybe not to anyone else, but I actually like the concept of your show." For the first time since episode four with the Ice Climbers, Ashley was demonstrating valid chemistry with another person...

"Hey there Ashley, my good pal Ashley, how's it goin' Ashley..." Robin approached the young witch, sporting a somewhat affable attitude as he pointed his fingers coolly at Ashley with a grin on his face. This display of affability was enough to make Ashley feel concerned for her own safety and concerned about Robin's well-being. "So Ashley, the oh-so wonderful Ashley, the most radical witch of the land Ashley..."

"Spit it out Robin before I have to use force..." demanded Ashley, getting her wand ready. The young witch's eyes were turning red, a cue for Robin to say whatever he needed to say before something bad happened to him.

"...I just want to borrow a love potion from you, that's all. One without any varying side-effects will do." So Ashley grumbled as she dug into the pocket of her dress and pulled out a vial, with a love potion inside, and handed it to Robin. "Thank you very much Ashley, I'll be seeing you around, favorite witch girl of mine!" Robin winked at pointed at Ashley one more time as he walked away. Ashley was so close to turning the tactician into a frog - could have been Lucina's Prince Charming.

* * *

"Wow Link, you're such a gentleman, helping that wheelchair friend of yours," Midna said to Link, the imp and the Hylian inside Luigi's home waiting for Wayne to finish using the bathroom. "You could have helped him use the bathroom and all, given he's not that mobile, but I understand you granting his privacy..."

 **Midna: Got nothing but bad vibes about Luigi and Daisy's first baby being born today...I'm afraid a bunch of evildoers would kidnap the poor infant, and use him or her as ransom for their nefarious deeds...I would give out the names of these evildoers, but I suppose you can guess who they are. Everyone loves a good guessing game, no?**

"When a good man's down, a fellow man has to help him during his time of need," Link replied in the most humble response he could think of. "I just feel bad that Master Hand forced the guy to attend the barbecue, must be a huge fan of his."

"I overheard Master Hand talking up quite a storm about the man, so I'm not that surprised..." Midna's eyes darted around, and she smiled deviously, as she was ready to drop a bombshell of a secret on Link. "So Link, I'm sure you're aware of your precious girlfriend Zelda shaving off the eyebrows of that Zelda incarnation that came to visit the mansion, am I right?"

"Yeah I know - Zelda apparently used Pac-Man's shaver to commit the act. Didn't know Pac-Man even had a shaver, he must've had hair when he was younger..." Most boyfriends would rebuke their girlfriend for committing despicable deeds like the one Zelda did, but Link on the other hand would constantly tell Zelda to keep her head up, and not worry much about what she had done. Knowing him, he probably did something like shaving one's hair off when they least expected it, that would explain his nature towards Zelda regarding the situation.

"Or so you may have thought...what if I told you that it was _I_ who shaved off the incarnation's eyebrows?" This revealing information was met with Link raising his eyes with much intrigue. "While you and your friends were persistently driving Wolf away from that arcade machine, I went to go check on Zelda, and she told me about her eyebrow-shaving plan in full detail! She tasked me with doing the job because of the amount of guilt built up in her! And to this day, she still feels guilty for carrying out the plan!"

"Well that certainly explains a lot...but I don't get it though, why would Zelda want to shave off her fellow incarnation's eyebrows for? Seems so unlike her, and besides, the two were getting along very well right from the get-go." Time for Midna to shed even more light on this eyebrow-raising situation (no pun intended).

"Because someone else put her up to it - Zelda also told me about how Robin 'influenced' her to carry out the plan, and what did he do once the plan was fulfilled? He told on Master Hand and said that Marth was the one who committed the act, even though Marth had nothing to do with it! Now ask yourself this, Link - what do you think Robin is doing right now, and how would Little Mac and his crush Leia be a part of the mage's devious plot?"

The sound of a toilet flushing from the bathroom, a cue for Midna to return to Link's body, was heard as Midna's question permeated inside Link's head, with the Hylian pondering over what Robin could be doing right now - and whatever the mage was up to may not be good. After washing his hands and whatnot, Wayne rolled out of the bathroom, having to move his wheels with his hands since Link wouldn't go inside the bathroom and help the man out.

 **Wayne: I think I've had about enough of that man Link - giving me an onion ring as a ring I "always wanted" was a low blow and enraging enough to get on my nerves, but leaving me unattended at the barbecue, all out in the open with a possibility of getting hurt up in the air, is enough to make me punch Link in the face. Oughta be glad I'm in a wheelchair.**

"Bruh you look like you had seen a ghost or something..." Wayne said to Link, who was still thinking about Midna's question. The Hylian would snap out of it once Wayne spoke to him. "Just to be clear, there isn't a ghost inside this house, is there? Since Luigi lives in this mansion and all?"

"No there is no ghost, I was just...thinking about stuff," responded Link, to put things broadly for Wayne. Just then, Rotom barged inside Luigi's home, needing to tell Link and Wayne some important information.

"Itsuki Aoi and Tsubasa Oribe informed me that they have located Medeus the Shadow Dragon!" the plasma Pokemon announced. "I repeat, the Shadow Dragon Medeus has been located, and he's at the barbecue as I speak! Must make haste!" Did Medeus finally make his presence known to everyone outside? Only for Link and Wayne to find out...

* * *

"Everyone run away from the dragon before it eats us!" Geno cried out as a bunch of people were running away from a dragon...a dragon by the name of Ridley. The space dragon was busy cutting the rug...or in this case, the grass, as he danced around, with K.K. Slider playing some dance music from some loudspeakers.

"Every man for himself!" Roy screamed as the dancing Ridley accidentally knocked the swordsman away with his mighty tail. Roy was sent flying towards Link and Wayne, who were now standing with Zelda, Chrom, Itsuki, and Tsubasa, before landing on the ground next to the five. "Why did K.K. start playing dance music when Ridley was around..." Roy wondered as he got up, dusted himself off, and walked away as far as possible from Ridley - the only person, or being, that was dancing.

"See you guys, told you Medeus would be here at the barbecue!" Itsuki said to the others as he pointed at the dancing Ridley, dancing in the open space around him; everyone except for Itsuki and Tsubasa could only shake their heads at the error made.

"Don't know how to break it to you two...but that's not the dragon you're looking for," stated Zelda, as Itsuki and Tsubasa suddenly found themselves rather dumbfounded. How could they have made such an damning mistake?

"That dragon you see before you is actually Ridley, a long-time arch-nemesis of Samus Aran," explained Chrom, as Ike, Donkey Kong, and Ganondorf had to come in and restrain Ridley, albeit struggling to do just that. "I'm sure you thought Medeus had changed forms or something. Good thing the others weren't here to see the mistake you have made..."

 **Itsuki: *facepalming* How very preposterous...I had brought my friends to the Smash Mansion to hunt down Medeus, and our visit turned out to be all for naught...this is a bad look for all of us, and now we have to head back to Japan with our heads hanging in shame...  
Tsubasa: Look on the bright side Itsuki - we got a chance to catch up with Chrom! Is that not a resounding positive?  
Itsuki: Heck, for all we know, Medeus could be wrecking havoc in another city, like New York or Washington, D.C.! And we're letting him get away with it, some heroes we are...  
Tsubasa: I think you're overreacting just a little...**

"See Master Hand, you could have told Ridley to scram while you had the chance, and now he's causing a ruckus at the barbecue," Samus reprimanded the giant hand, as Ike and company dragged Ridley away with the dragon's tail, as an effort to calm him down.

"Don't blame me, blame K.K. Slider, he was the one who wanted to play some music!" Master Hand fired right back. "How dare that hippie dog try and liven up the atmosphere, how very shameful of him!" Samus could only roll her eyes as she walked away from Master Hand, no longer wanting to give the giant hand another piece of her mind.

* * *

Lucina was seated at a table with Little Mac and Leia, as the princess was noodling away on her phone while Leia took care of Little Mac, whom she thought was suffering from some sort of ailment since the boxer had seemingly collapsed in a two-week span, at least to the nurse.

"About time you returned, I've been waiting for you..." Lucina said to Robin, who was panting as he ran to the table with the love potion vial in his hand. Once Lucina saw the vial, she instantly feared for the worst. "Please tell me you aren't returning to your matchmaking thing, did you not learn your lesson regarding Corrin and Felicia?"

"This vial is none of your concern but mine, Lucina," responded Robin as he placed the vial on the table. "Now if you excuse me, I have to help Cilan and K.K. Slider set up something, so I want you to keep watch of the vial and make sure nobody snatches it." Robin darted away, as Lucina went back to noodling on her phone.

"I appreciate you checking me out Leia, I know you're a nurse and all but this is too kind and generous of you," Little Mac said to Leia, the boxer resting in his chair. He would tell Leia that he had tripped to the ground and didn't collapse, but that would break the nurse's heart.

"Just doing my job, though you should tell Doc Louis not to overwork you, could explain the reason for your collapses," stated Leia, patting Little Mac on his shoulder. Oh if only she knew...but no point in telling her the truth, just keep the momentum riding.

"Is anyone using this vial?" a certain someone said, grabbing the vial left on the table - Leia and Little Mac looked up and and saw Marth, holding the vial in his hand. Lucina, who was instructed to watch the vial, didn't even bother looking up. Probably was too disgusted with Robin to give a crap.

 **Lucina: "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again..." In all seriousness, Robin should stop following that mantra before he completely embarrasses himself again. I don't know where he got this "romantic expert" aura from, but if he thinks he could surpass Father in terms of romantic knowledge and wherewithal, then he's sadly mistaken. As big of a dork Father is...nobody will _ever_ surpass him in anything...except maybe for dorkiness. We might be neck-and-neck in that category...**

"No, not to my knowledge - I didn't see the vial there," answered Leia; Lucina still didn't look up from her phone. What if, she was ignoring Marth _on purpose?_

"In that case, I can just 'borrow' it, for the time being," said Marth as he walked away, grinning to himself. "Thank you very much for your cooperation." A while after Marth left, Robin returned, and when the mage saw the vial was gone, he panicked in an instant. And he knew who took it, too.

"Did Marth walk by here and take the vial?" Robin would ask Lucina, who just stared at her phone and didn't respond. "I told you good not to let that man take the vial, do you not realize what you have done?"

"Ooooh Robin...I think you might have a secret admirer...why don't you look over here at this pretty face?"

Robin looked up in confusion, and looked at the direction where the voice came from...and suddenly found himself as the most nervous person in the entire world. Staring right at the mage was a pink creature, with a red bow on their head, and a funnel-shaped mouth, complete with a body structure similar to Yoshi. The green dinosaur did not want this person at the barbecue, and for reasons he could not explain. Who exactly was this pink thing staring intently at Robin? _Birdo._

"Time to pucker up, big boy!" Birdo screeched as she ran after Robin. The tactician screamed at the top of his lungs as he ran away from Birdo, while Marth watched from afar with a devious smile on his face. And Lucina? Still did nothing but noodle around on her phone.

"Take good care of Birdo, Robin, you're gonna need it!" a somewhat relieved Yoshi called out to Robin. If only Robin had Birdo as his valentine at the Valentine's Day dance...would have done Yoshi a huge solid.

* * *

Once the whole Birdo chasing Robin episode ended at the intervention of Master Hand, it was time for Cilan to say a few words about Daisy, the most important gal of the day. The connoisseur was standing onstage with K.K. Slider, with a microphone in his hand.

"Let's all hear a round of applause for Princess Daisy, and his loving husband Luigi!" Cilan said into the mic, as a wave of applause for Luigi and Daisy was heard. "Luigi why don't you be a gentleman and escort your wife onto this stage, will you?" Luigi would do just that, as he locked arms with Daisy and walked with his woman to the stage, the lovebirds joined with Cilan.

 **Pit: Today's the day, eh? The very day Luigi's first child is born, the day in which we get to see a baby come out from Daisy's stomach!  
** **Kirby: Silly Pit, Daisy's baby won't come out from her stomach, it will come from Daisy's womb, where it has been developed for nine months.  
** **Pit: Dang, Daisy was pregnant THAT long?  
** **Kirby: Well the timeframe for a woman's pregnancy is nine months, Pit...  
Pit: So then what's the timeframe for a dude's pregnancy, is it shorter or longer? *gasps* What if I became pregnant?!  
Kirby: My goodness Pit, you have so much to learn...**

"Would you two like to say something to the crowd?" Cilan asked Luigi and Daisy; Luigi sure as heck didn't want to say a single word to the crowd, but his wife Daisy was a mere exact opposite.

"I have a couple of words to say to everyone..." Daisy grabbed the microphone from Cilan, and faced the crowd. "Now I know I don't know much of you people out here as well as some of the other folks that I've grown accustomed to at the mansion...but I would just like to thank everyone for the support throughout the trials and tribulations of my pregnancy. So many people I want to thank...Luigi, for being a great husband; Mario; for being a great brother-in-law; Peach, for always caring for me in my times of need; and a slew of others I'm sure are worthy of thanks. But in short, I would just like to thank everyone for for everything you've done." And with that, Daisy handed the microphone back to Cilan, as applause filled up the air yet again.

"Those were some very nice words, Princess Daisy, wouldn't have said it any better if I were in your shoes. Thank goodness I'm not a woman..." Cilan scanned Daisy, and noticed something rather different about her... "Say, Daisy, there isn't any chance that you changed your dress, did you?"

"The dress I'm wearing right now?" Instead of the classic yellow dress Daisy was known for, the princess was wearing an orange dress, which still had the flower motif and all. The woman really had an affinity for flowers. "Yeah, my water broke not so long ago, no biggie..." This response was met with whispering and murmurings from the crowd, who were afraid that the time was approaching near...

"Your water...broke? And you're not concerned at all?" Cilan slowly showed concern for Daisy, and he wouldn't be the only one - Mario, Luigi, Peach, and even Master Hand were growing rather fearful for Daisy.

"Not really - I mean it's just some water, it's not like my..." Daisy replied, only for her response to be cut short when she grabbed her stomach in pain. Her first contraction had just taken place, and Luigi knew the tell-tale sign.

"Mama mia, Daisy's going-a into labor!" the plumber announced, as everyone fretted for Daisy while Luigi helped the princess down from the stage with Cilan's help. Many people moved away to create an open space for Daisy to walk through.

"Oh snap Daisy's finally joining the workforce?" exclaimed Pit during this time of peril, his ineptitude in biology showing immensely. Kirby wished to educate his angelic friend, but not during a time like this.

"Quick, somebody call the ambulance, we gotta get Daisy to the hospital!" shouted out Toad, as frenzy made its way into the barbecue scene, everyone wondering what they should do. Some folks, like Lloyd, were running about screaming at the top of their lungs like it would magically cause Daisy to instantly give birth.

"Nope, ambulances are for emergencies only; you call an ambulance, I call the police!" said Silver, preventing Lucina from calling 9-1-1 on her cellphone. "Somebody's gonna have to drive Daisy to the hospital!"

"Screw the hospital, we can just take care of this matter right now!" Bowser said as he got in front of Daisy with two separate blades in his hands and knelt down at the princess's stomach. "You folks oughta be glad I came prepared for this..."

"Get out of the way Bowser, we don't need your meddling!" Peach came in and slapped Bowser away, sending the Koopa King to the ground with a thud. Exactly what he deserved for wanting to cut Daisy's stomach open. "Come with me, you three..." Peach would take Daisy, Luigi, and Cilan over to Mario, who was close to becoming a nervous wreck.

"Who-a here knows the quickest-a way to the hospital?" Mario asked the crowd before him, as he now held Daisy in his arms with Luigi. Fox and Falco raised their hands for the plumber to see. "Who _else_ -a knows the quickest way-a to the hospital?" Mario asked again, not wanting to take a chance with the Star Fox pilots, who were now holding their heads in sadness.

"I happen to know the quickest route to the hospital near the mansion, I can take you guys there!" volunteered Jacky. "Lemme go get my car!" The Indy driver ran off, and later came back with his Wanderlust vehicle, right before Daisy's contractions were worsening. "Hop on in, you guys, we got no time to waste!"

 **Jacky: Filled up my sweet ride Wanderlust with a full tank, in the event Daisy went into labor at the barbecue and someone (like me) would have to drive Daisy to the hospital. Mario and Luigi would be idiots not to call on me!**

"Don't forget about me, Jacky!" said Akira as he hopped in the passenger seat of Wanderlust, after Mario, Luigi, and Daisy got inside Jacky's car. "Alright then, let's go!" So Jacky stepped heroically on the gas pedal, and sped away from the mansion, on the way to the hospital. Not much time to lose!

"Okay everyone, by a show of hands, who would want to see Daisy and Luigi's child at the hospital?" Master Hand would ask the crowd after Mario and company had left, and just about everyone (sans Ashley and Shadow, to name a few) raised their hands. "Drat, why must you people so curious..." Only one problem got in Master Hand's way - transportation. "Now how are we gonna get everyone to the hospital, I refuse to boot up the teleportation device!"

"Well we can't exactly fit everyone in the Landmaster or Captain Falcon's vehicle," stated Samus, looking around before her eyes fell upon a purple dragon and arch-nemesis - one by the name of Ridley. "Unless..."

* * *

Jacky drove Daisy and others to the hospital, with the wind riding along with the race car driver. Nothing could stop Jacky during this time of heroic virtue, right?

"Why are you stopping Jacky, are you insane?!" questioned Daisy as Jacky came to a sudden stop, before pointing at a lake for no reason. So much for heroic virtue...

"That lake was where I saw Rayquaza at, he was up in the skies, the skies I tell you!" the driver replied, still pointing. "Isn't that so cool?!" Luigi didn't seem to think so, as he whacked Jacky with his green cap.

"Get a move-a on, will-a ya?!" the plumber frowned at Jacky, who quickly pushed the stick shift out of neutral and continued driving to the hospital, all without being pulled over and receiving a ticket (for that would be disastrous). Jacky and company would finally arrive at the hospital, parked in the ambulance lane. Mario and Luigi would escort Daisy out of the car, and Jacky and Akira would get out as well, but the five wouldn't get that far to the hospital before being confronted by a hospital employee.

"I'm terribly sorry, but you can't park here!" the employee said to Jacky and company, only for Akira to grab Jacky's keys and do something that would put a strain on his friendship with the fellow _Virtua Fighter_ veteran.

"Well that's too bad, because we just did!" the kung fu fighter threw Jacky's keys inside a nearby lake, causing the hospital employee to give him a crazy look. Akira's decision may have prevented the employee from moving Jacky's car, but a tow truck would do the employee's work anyways.

* * *

 **Mega Man: While everyone was fussing over what mode of transportation they would use to get to the hospital, I contacted Auto, asking him for a ride, and he stopped by the mansion with Search Man's "critter gitter"...for some reason, I still think that name sounds non-PC, although I've tried downplaying that notion from time to time. Maybe it's the way gitter is spelled that keeps throwing me off.**

"Just received a text from Luigi, he said that Daisy is about to deliver the baby," said Mega Man, checking his cellular device, as he walked through the hospital with Auto, Peach, Toad, Pit, Kirby, Link, Zelda, and Wayne. The robot was kind enough to let the latter six ride with him and Auto on the "critter gitter". "They're in room C10 of this hallway, now all we have to do is find it..."

"Is it just me, or is that Mario at the end of the hallway jumping like a maniac?" questioned Wayne, as he saw a short man with a mustache jumping up and down with much excitement. Indeed it was Mario, and his happiness could only mean one thing...

"We're coming for you, Mario!" Link called out to the plumber, as he and the others quickly made haste towards Mario. They got to see the plumber's exuberance up close, it was the most excited he has been in a good while.

"Some great-a news - Daisy just delivered-a the baby!" announced Mario, making the others feel relieved that the birthing went well for Daisy. "Do you all-a wish to see-a the baby?"

"What kind of dumb question is that, of course we wanna see the baby!" replied Pit, this response coming from the same dude who wondered if men could become impregnated. So Mario let Pit and company inside the C10 room, where a bunch of paramedics were standing by. A turn around the corner, and there they were - Luigi standing next to the hospital bed, Daisy in the hospital bed, and a young infant in Daisy's arms - a baby boy, the very first child of Luigi and Daisy. And the baby looked an awful lot like Baby Luigi, but with Daisy's hair color, how about that?

"Awww, he's so adorable!" Peach squealed with joy as she headed over to the baby, while Pit was left in confusion, somehow believing that the baby was a girl. "Have you given him a name yet? Please tell me you've given him a name!"

"Luigi and I have been thinking long and hard about a name..." remarked Daisy as she smiled at Luigi, who smiled right back. "...and we mutually decided to name our first son...Charles." Could have named him Luigi Jr., but that would have been too boring.

"Darn-a it, I was gonna name-a my first son Charles!" frowned Mario as he stomped his foot on the floor in anger, garnering some laughter from everyone in the room. Also, major kudos if you know the reason why Luigi and Daisy chose the name Charles.

* * *

 **R.O.B.: FINALLY ARRIVED AT HOSPITAL...WEIGHT OF BABY CHARLES...7.6 POUNDS...PERCENTAGE OF CHARLES'S CUTNESS...150 PERCENT...**

A while after Peach and company got a first-hand look at Luigi and Daisy's baby, the others soon arrived at the hospital, and were all lining up outside C10 to see the baby for themselves. Master Hand bullied the hospital employees into allowing such a thing to happen, and he also bullied those waiting in line to pay $20 to see the baby, depending on how much money you had. Those who already seen the baby had to wait in the waiting room on the floor, and given the long line, all the waiting rooms in the hospital would probably be taken!

"You're such a bro Ridley, letting me and the others ride on top of you to the hospital!" Takamaru said to the dragon, who was taking up a majority of the space in the waiting room. Too bad there was nothing the hospital employees could do to stop it, lest they wished to face Master Hand's fury. "Don't you think Ridley is a nicer dragon than people take for granted, Samus?" Takamaru asked Samus, who was sitting next to the samurai filing her nails.

"Yeah I guess he's not that bad..." Samus mindlessly shrugged, but once Takamaru looked away from Samus, the bounty hunter almost smirked...almost. Wasn't a definite smirk, but an almost smirk.

"Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi, pleasure to meet you," Fox introduced himself and Falco to Kiria and Yashiro, finally getting the chance to meet the Japanese idols. Conveniently for the pilots, Itsuki, Tsubasa, Touma, Eleonora, and Mamori were seated with the two idols. "And we take it that you're Kiria Kuruno, Yashiro Tsurugi, Itsuki Aoi, Tsubasa Oribe, Touma Akagi, Eleonora Yumizuru, and Mamori Minamoto, correct?"

"Yes, that would be us," replied Kiria, taking a good look at Fox and Falco. "So what do you boys want, you're not here to sign autographs, are you?"

"No, no, we're not here to sign autographs..." replied Falco, who alarmed Kiria and company when he pulled out seven sheets of paper, with all sorts of legal stuff written over it. "...we're here to sign contracts. Or rather, you're here to sign contracts. How would you like to work at Star Records?"

"What's the catch, why should us great entertainers sign with your company, what's the catch?" questioned Yashiro, folding his arms. Fox and Falco looked at one another, with grins on their faces.

"The catch is you get to work for two awesome dudes like myself in the America where you can easily expand your entire audience worldwide," Fox said rather quickly, enough to make Itsuki and company consider their options. Would signing with Star Records be worth it?

 **Falco: Ashley told Fox and I on our way to the hospital about how she met that kimono girl Mamori, and they were having a brief conversation about the president of the company Mamori worked for - Maiko Shimazaki. Apparently Ms. Shimazaki had a drinking problem, and it was rather disconcerting for Mamori and her older friends, and nearly gotten to the point where Ms. Shimazaki stepped down and Itsuki kinda had to take over. Ashley actually wanted Mamori and her friends to sign with Star Records as much as Fox and I did, and she was nice enough to make these contracts with some potion of hers, and I don't know how she did it...but how great would it be to have a dude like Itsuki work for us, and _with_ us?**

"But that's not all - you get to live in the Smash Mansion, where Star Records is located, and there you can do your thing and live out your careers, free as charged!" added Falco. After heeding this information, Itsuki would slowly rise up from his chair, and looked down at the floor, before looking up at Fox and Falco and saying three words that would be nigh important...

"It's a deal!" the black-haired fellow shook hands with Fox and Falco, signifying a coalition between the pilots and the former Fortuna Entertainment stars they would hopefully last forever. But where would that leave Fortuna Entertainment, with Itsuki and friends leaving the company? What about the staff members that work for the company? Only time would tell of Fortuna's fate...

* * *

...but for now, it was a time of joy, what with baby Charles having been born on St. Patrick's Day, perhaps Luigi's favorite day of the year. The plumber remained in room C10, now cradling Charles in his arms while his wife Daisy, as well as Mario and Peach, watched on.

"I can already tell that Luigi is going to be an excellent father," remarked Peach, her desire of starting a family increasing by tenfold after today's events. Her marriage to Mario couldn't happen any sooner!

"Peach you've-a been saying that ever since-a Luigi and I broke-a the news about Daisy's pregnancy," smiled Mario, who was patiently waiting for the chance to hold Charles in his arms. A lot of folks have come and gone, and many of them got to hold Charles...but Mario still hasn't gotten his chance.

"Yes, that is true...but even before then, I knew Luigi would be a splendid parent. Oh, he must be the happiest person in the world right now..."

"Mario would-a you like to hold-a the baby?" Luigi would ask his brother, even though there was a line of people waiting outside the room dying to see Charles. The paramedics wouldn't let anyone in without the consent of Daisy or Luigi.

"I've been waiting for-a someone to say-a that..." Mario took Charles from Luigi, and held him in his arms and flashed a warming smile. The plumber was now holding his dear nephew, a nephew he had wanted for so long.

And one day, Luigi will have a nephew of his own.


	66. Episode 66: Orbicular

_Author's Note:_

 _Only a few guest reviews to answer, so let's get to it!_

 _"Can you add the Giana Sisters? (Since they basically ripped off the Mario Bros. But had a game on the DS and Wii-U.) can you also include the other Xenosaga characters, Shion, MOMO, Chaos, and Jr.? Finally, will the other Fire Emblem characters such as Say'ri, Tiki, Gangrel, Walhart, and Emmeryn show up as well?"_

 _Yes to the Giana Sisters and Fire Emblem Awakening characters, maybe to the Xenosaga characters. Another guest review, from the person who requested a chapter with Sonic and Bowser:_

 _"I really like 64 w bowser and sonic but now can you do a sonic and deeded one"_

 _Ha ha, figured you would say this...your wish is my command, it shall be granted next week. Last up is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"One last suggestion then I won't bother you with suggestions for three weeks/chapters has any one made a suggestion where Yoshi finds magic/possessed simulator or book that makes his shipping's occur in real life, like two people that he pairs up actually get together and either he goes mad with power or sees how much damage he caused tries to destroy the simulator/book and gives up on pairing people together? (Sorry for not saying this in a shorter way or easier way to understand it but hopefully you get the gist of it.)"_

 _MegaHeracross2.1 suggested this a while back, a scenario where Yoshi made his strange pairings come to life. I shall make this happen next week, along with Sonic and King Dedede._

* * *

 **Episode 66: Orbicular**

Just last week ago, perhaps one of the greatest days in the lives of both Luigi and Daisy occurred - the day in which the couple's first son, Charles, was born. It was a day celebrated by not only Luigi, Daisy, and Mario (as well as Mario's future wife, Peach), but by Master Hand and all the residents in the mansion, many of whom got to see baby Charles for the first time last week in the hospital.

When Luigi and Daisy returned to their lovely home on Jacky's ride, they returned with a strong sense of happiness, gratitude, and whole bunch of other positive feelings. The couple, along with resident ninja Yuffie, would spend the next week caring for sweet little Charles, with Daisy breastfeeding Charles, Luigi playing with Charles, and Yuffie babysitting Charles while Luigi and/or Daisy were away. It was thanks to the ninja girl that Charles grew acclimated to Polterpup, the ghostly dog that the poor baby was initially afraid of.

Yuffie would have another time of babysitting to spend with Charles, when Luigi and Daisy told the ninja that they were going on a bit of a "shopping excursion" to shop for some new furniture and whatnot for their home. Lillie de Rochefort, who had already given Luigi monetary supplements in the past, gave the plumber some cold hard cash in the mail days after Charles's birth, likely as a celebratory stipend. To ensure Yuffie wouldn't be bored all by herself, Luigi hired three folks to lend the ninja girl some aid in babysitting Charles.

"I just-a knew three would-a come around, especially you-a Mario," Luigi said to Mario, Pit, and Viridi as he walked the three inside his home, while Daisy was getting ready and all. "You wouldn't say-a no to anything, you're that-a kind of guy!"

"I'm pretty sure Mario agreed to this by default simply because he's your brother," stated Viridi, after Luigi closed the door behind her and the others. Pretty weird for the goddess of nature to be babysitting a human baby, given her great disdain for the human race.

 **Viridi: Why am I involved in the babysitting of Charles, you might ask, despite my hatred for humans? It's because Charles is but a one-week infant, he's too young to know about how much I dislike humans (sans Lady Gaga, of course), and therefore I shall give him a pass. Once Charles reaches the age of four, I shall greatly despise him until the very end!**

"Yuffie where are-a you, are you taking good-a care of Charles?" Luigi called out to Yuffie, wherever she may be, the plumber's unusually loud voice resonating throughout the entire household. Luigi and Daisy had doubted Yuffie and her babysitting prowess, but the ninja girl surprised the couple with how well she was able to keep Charles's temperament down, and how she effortlessly changed Charles's diaper, a task the ninja greatly despised for many good reasons. Luigi and Daisy should have known better than to doubt a peppy ninja girl who did nothing but lounge around the house and eat up all the food in their kitchen.

"Shhh, don't be so loud, he's fast asleep..." Yuffie shushed Luigi as she stepped out from the nursery room, holding Charles in her arm, before her eyes fell upon Mario and company, standing with Luigi. "Oh hey there, Mario and others, you came to see the baby?" The ninja girl who told Luigi to be quiet suddenly spoke up rather loudly, and it caused Charles to wake up and cry his baby eyes out.

"WAAAAAH, WAAAAAH, WAAAAAH!" wailed Charles as he did a cry similar to Baby Mario's, while Yuffie did her best to calm the baby down. You know that you secretly loved that lovely sound of Baby Mario crying his cares away in _Yoshi's Story,_ don't even try and deny it.

"What on earth is going on, who made Charles cry?!" questioned Daisy as he ran down the stairs in her trademark yellow dress. The princess arrived at the living room, looking at Yuffie; the ninja pointed at Luigi, who then pointed back at Yuffie. It didn't require rocket science for Daisy to find out the culprit. "Yuffie I know it was you, I bet you probably yelled so loud you woke up Charles and made him cry! My sweet Luigi would never do such a thing, for he scarcely yells!"

"B-B-But Luigi was yelling throughout the entire household not too long ago, did you not hear him?!" questioned Yuffie, but Daisy remained a woman of his word as she walked past Yuffie, taking a crying Charles out from the ninja's arms as she made her way to greet Mario and company.

"Great seeing you three here, haven't seen your lovely faces ever since the barbecue! Well, except for you Mario, you have been a great brother-in-law, as always...I take it you three came here to join Yuffie in some babysitting?"

"Yeah, we came to babysit good ol' Charles, she'll be just find while you and Luigi are away!" exclaimed Pit, the angel apparently still very much unaware that Charles is a _boy,_ and not a girl. This fact was enough to make Viridi sigh at her boyfriend's stupidity, and for Mario, Luigi, Daisy, ad Yuffie to look down at the floor with some remorse. "You know, since she's a girl, we should call Charles 'Charlie' like that girl from 'Good Luck Charlie'," Pit would whisper this to Viridi, who sighed yet again as Charles's crying finally ceased.

 **Pit: _Good Luck Charlie_ was a truly great Disney show, a show so great that Disney Channel was left with no other choice but to air reruns on their channel to this very day for people like myself who crave nostalgia. Though it's a darn shame that Viridi never enjoyed that show as much as I did...Apparently she's not a fan of shows like _Friends, Cheers, Seinfeld,_ and other shows that typically display humans in a positive light and feature them facing everyday problems. She would rather watch that awkward aardvark dude with the glasses from _Arthur_ punch innocent kindergartners to the ground over Jerry Seinfeld dealing with the hectic city life of New York City. Speaking of whom, what was the name of the aardvark, and why did he randomly punch that littler aardvark girl to the ground? Did he not know about what the feminists would do to him for punching little girls?**

"Pit I thought we already discussed this back at the hospital - Charles is a _male_ baby," Daisy had to correct Pit for the nth time. Pit had asked some of his fellow brawlers after they had seen Charles if the baby was female, and many of them refused to entertain the angel any longer and ignored him.

"How can Charles not be a girl, I mean, you both have similar hair colors!" stated Pit, using perhaps his one and only argument for why Charles was considered a girl to him - and what a lousy argument it was.

"Just because Charles and I have the same hair color does not make Charles a girl. He just inherited a few genes from me, that's all. It's called genetics, Pit - explains why some people are the way they are." Unfortunately genetics fell under the area of biology, and as you have learned in the past, Pit and biology don't necessarily go hand in hand. It's one of the many, _many_ things Pit is inept at.

"Well, Luigi and I should be going now, the furniture can't buy itself! Oh how convenient that would be..." Daisy would hand Charles off to Mario, as she and Luigi headed out of the front door. "Luigi and I should be back after a good while. I want nothing bad to happen to Charles, you hear me?" Knowing what Daisy was truly capable of doing, Mario and company nodded their heads in an affirming manner. A very upset Daisy would very much equate to a bunch of heads that were gonna roll, with Luigi probably doing nothing but restrain his wife. He had never really seen Daisy vehemently angry before, and the plumber wished to keep that way.

"You folks-a have a good time-a with Charles, good bye-a now!" Luigi waved to Mario and company as he and Daisy left to do some shopping. Once the plumber and his wife departed, Charles went back to crying, much to the chagrin of his babysitters. So much for starting this babysitting on a somewhat positive note...

"It's sure a good-a thing that I have some-a experience of dealing with-a babies," remarked Mario, recollecting that one time he and Luigi worked with their baby counterparts to thwart a Shroob invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom. Those babies were afraid of nothin', and only time would tell if Charles would be as fearless.

* * *

Fox and Falco stood in the Star Records room, with Knuckles, Little Mac, Doc Louis, and the seven newest recruits - Itsuki, Tsubasa, Touma, Eleonora, Kiria, Mamori, and Yashiro, all having been signed away from Fortuna Entertainment. Thanks to a move enacted by two Fortuna staff members, Ayaha Oribe and Barry Goodman - the latter staying in Japan to study the otaku subculture - Fortuna Entertainment merged with Star Records, and in doing so, brought Ayaha, Tsubasa's older sister, to the Smash Mansion to serve as a secretary for Fox, Falco, and Itsuki.

 **Ayaha: Thanks to a deal I negotiated on the phone earlier in the week with Star Records owners Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi, Fortuna Entertainment has merged with the recording company in Seattle, and I've been granted permission to serve my secretary duties at the Smash Mansion, the current location of Star Records, since we all know I can't do my job away from the company in Japan. I asked Barry if he wanted to return to America and continue working as a staff member, but he declined the offer, stating he wished to stay in Japan and "immerse" himself in the country's anime and otaku subculture... *shudders and slightly shakes head* I've also informed Maiko Shimamaku, the former president of Fortuna Entertainment, about the move, and she was fine with it, as long as it was best for the perseverance of the company and its legacy.**

 **Falco: Tsubasa's smoking hot sister Ayaha, who I'm still not convinced is not Tsubasa's twin, was kind enough to come over to the mansion to work as a secretary for Star Records. That is pretty exciting - we never had a secretary work for us before! So what do secretaries do again?  
Fox: Nothing but boring business management stuff - Ayaha basically handles the finances and operations of Star Records and leaves us awesome dudes with the fun stuff.  
Falco: Wow, the way you put it Fox, it doesn't sound exciting at all...well for Ayaha at least. We're practically making her do all the dirty work! *snickers to himself*  
Fox: Yeah I know, right? She can't turn back now, we made a deal...**

"You seven listen up, and you listen good!" Fox said to Itsuki and company, speaking like some army commander in the U.S. army. "Falco and I let you maggots off the hook, while you grew accustomed to the mansion and adjusted to mansion life...but today is the day that we kick into full gear! No more horse-playing, no more goofing around, and no more flirting with the ladies - Touma, I'm looking right at you buddy!" Fox shot a quick glare at Touma, who looked to the side and innocently whistled. He couldn't help with the fact that Samus chose to be single, and he wanted to mingle. At least the bounty hunter spared Touma's life...

"We'll give you folks a flexible schedule to work with, we'll give you all the time you need to be creative," added Falco, eating a doughnut. "Creativity is more important than style - style is vastly overrated unless you're into fashion! Are any of you fashion designers?" Itsuki and company shook their heads no, though Tsubasa was the most reluctant to shake her head. She actually had a sweet spot for fashion, which grew the more she worked for Fortuna Entertainment. "Oh, and one more thing - whatever you do, DON'T tick this man off!" Falco was referring to Doc Louis, patting the boxing trainer on the back. "He may be docile in nature, but say something about him or take one of his chocolate bars away, and you'll pay the consequences!"

"And always call me by the name Doc, ya hear?" Doc Louis wagged his finger at Itsuki and company, his booming voice enough to even make the stoic Yashiro feel somewhat uncomfortable. "Doc Louis, that's what you will all call me!"

"Whatever you say, Jerome," smirked Kiria, causing Doc Louis to grow angry. The boxing trainer angrily came towards Kiria, only to be held back by Knuckles and Little Mac. The audacity of Kiria to call Doc by his real name...

"Chill out Doc, Kiria didn't mean she was just joking, right Kiria?" Knuckles asked the idol singer, who continued smirking. "See, she just doesn't want to admit it, she wants you to find out the answer yourself! She's lowkey playing mind games with you, Doc!"

"Likely story..." Jerome "Doc Louis (hehe) glared down Kiria as he went back to his spot. Kiria oughta be glad she was a Star Records recruit, otherwise Doc Louis would have given her quite the mouthful.

"So um, Tsubasa, when is your sister Ayaba gonna show up?" Fox asked the black-haired girl; he and Falco hadn't seen the secretary all week, they were off doing a myriad of things while Ayaba was lurking around the mansion and whatnot.

"She's off discussing some legal matters with Isabelle at the moment, she should be coming by soon to speak with you and Falco," answered Tsubasa, who was looking forward to continue working with Ayaba. Though things for her and the others won't be the same without Barry Goodman.

* * *

 **Master Hand: *laughs rather manically* The Lamborghini which I worked extensively to purchase...I'm finally gonna get it today! All that time I spent of screwing Mario and others out of their money and having them pay for snacks from the vending machine and for tokens at the arcade has finally led up to this very moment! But what sucks is that I'm supposed to have someone drive the car, not just flaunt it about - it was a minor detail in the deal I agreed to that I sadly overlooked. But no matter, the Lamborghini shall remind everyone of my glorious power, and how truly great I am! Now to find someone worthy enough to drive my dream car...**

"Master Hand, did I not remind you that I cannot drive, by any means?" a man with short blue hair and a crown on his head asked the giant hand, the two standing outside at the front of the mansion. "I don't even have a driver's license, for crying out loud, I could get arrested!" This man was none other than Marth, who was designated as the driver of Master Hand's Lamborghini, despite having zero driving experience.

"It will be a great learning experience for you Marth, you could perhaps be more technologically advanced than your smoking hot descendant Lucina!" replied Master Hand, concerning the hero-king when he called the princess of Yliesse "smoking hot". Was Master Hand even allowed to say that? "The more you drive, the more you learn, and the more you learn, the more you know, and the more you know, the more you..."

"Okay, okay, I get it, I'll learn a lot about something I've never done by doing it, no matter the risks..." Marth folded his arms and looked to the side. The hero-king wouldn't be at all surprised if he crashed Master Hand's dream car - the giant hand would definitely have it coming for him if the event were to transpire.

"Yeah that's the spirit Marth, gotta be positive and upbeat when you're trying new things, that's arguably the best way to learn!" Master Hand looked over the far distance, and saw a blue Lamborghini drive towards the mansion. "And look, our sweet ride...or should I say, _my_ sweet ride...is making its way over here!" The blue Lamborghini finally reached the mansion's premises, and rolled up to the mansion's driveway. The driver of said Lamborghini came out of the vehicle, and it was a Japanese woman with short black hair, a pink tank top, black pants, and high heels. Strangely enough, Master Hand was checking her out...

"Hi there, Master Hand, Reiko Nagase's the name!" the Japanese woman greeted the giant hand, shaking his gigantic hand. "I imagined you to be a lot bigger in person, but I guess I was wrong..." Reiko turned her head towards Marth, who wished he was doing something else right about now. He would rather be pranked endlessly by Robin over having to drive Master Hand's lousy car. "I take it that you're Marth, emperor of Plegia?"

"Emperor of _Archanea_ ," corrected Marth, disgusted with Reiko's ignorance. Evidently the hero-king hated it when people got facts about him all mixed up. "Plegia is just a neighboring country near Yliesse, where one of my descendants, Chrom, is a prince."

"Sheesh, I didn't need a history lesson, I didn't need to know about your relatives and stuff and what kingdom they're from..." Reiko's remark was enough to make Marth sigh. Hopefully driving the Lamborghini today would be just a test drive, and everyone else would be allowed to drive the vehicle and not just the hero-king.

 **Robin: So, so, so, Marth has been chosen as the unfortunate soul to ride Master Hand's Lamborghini...and if he were to crash the Lamborghini, he would have to face the ire of Master Hand for an eternity since MH worked his butt...off to acquire his dream car...sure hope nothing bad happens to Marth while he's driving the car, it would suck if he were to crash the Lamborghini...or leave a huge, gaping dent in it...*rubs hands together while smiling deviously*  
Birdo: *from afar* Yoo hoo, Robin, where are you? *appears behind Robin, who turns around in shock* Ah, there you are, I've been looking all over for you! Bowser and Yoshi weren't help at all, and Wario threatened to kick me out of the mansion if I didn't give him a "pricey stipend"...but now that you're here, I won't have to spend a dime!  
Robin: You stupid bird...thing, I thought I told you to leave me alone, I'm already in a relationship! *Birdo runs towards Robin, who runs away screaming* Why can't you just let me be?!**

"Marth here will be driving the car for me, and you can just show him the ropes while I follow along and watch Marth's progress," Master Hand explained to Reiko. Reiko believed the thought of Master Hand buying a car just to flaunt his prominence was as asinine as leaving Halloween decorations on your house until Christmas time, hence the reason why she order the giant hand to have someone drive it around rather than using it as a symbol of self-importance.

"So basically you want me to teach Marth how to drive, with his first car being a Lamborghini of all things," clarified Reiko, to which Master Hand gave a resounding thumbs up. Apparently he had a lot of confidence Marth's first ride would be a success, and there will be no accidents or the like on the road. "Okay then...but just know that if Marth were to crash the Lamborghini, which is under your name, then you'll be the one paying for it..." Given that Master Hand practically wasted all his money on the Lamborghini, he could not afford an accident by any means.

Marth and Reiko both got inside the car, with Marth getting in the driver's seat, and Reiko getting in the passenger seat. Both riders buckled in their seat belts, and Marth soon braced himself for whatever may happen. The hero-king couldn't wait for the ride to be over - and he hasn't even turned on the Lamborghini yet!

"First things first...press that button to turn the car on," Reiko pointed at a button on the dashboard, which read "START" (also had "STOP" but that's not relevant now), and Marth pressed the button, turning the Lamborghini's ignition on. "Good, now kick the stick swift to reverse, so we can pull out of the driveway. Use the gas pedal to..." Marth placed the stick shift on reverse, mashed the gas pedal down with his foot, and backed out of the driveway, hitting a trash can and knocking it over in the process as he backed out. "...may not have been the most graceful reverse driving, but since we're on the street, it'll do. Now kick the stick switch to drive, and let's get on the road!" So Marth placed the stick shift on drive, and drove away from the Smash Mansion, thankful that he hadn't crashed the Lamborghini yet. Master Hand followed behind the hero-king and Reiko, eyeing his dream car affectionately.

But once the giant hand, Marth, and Reiko departed from the mansion, trouble appeared to be lurking, when a large submarine resembling a Sharpedo arose from the mansion lake, and pulled up to the surface. A pirate wearing a blue bandanna and a blue aquatic wetsuit of sorts leaped out from the submarine, and two of his subordinates - one being a shirtless, muscular guy with blue pants, and the other a dark-haired woman with blue highlights in her hair - also leaped out from the submarine, landing next to guy that looked like a pirate. Unless you've never played _Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire_ or the remakes, then you might know this pirate as Archie, the leader of Team Aqua. And in his hands was an orb, but not just a regular orb - a Jade Orb, used to summon Rayquaza.

 **Wolf: I dunno why, but drinking this coffee in my hands is making me go crazy. Took a sip out of my coffee after breakfast today, and I saw that the clock in the living room was one hour ahead of the one in the clock in the kitchen, on the stove! I thought that someone must've tampered with either one of the clocks, so I just shrugged it off and took another sip from my coffee...and then I saw Lucina yelling at her man Robin, putting him on blast for seemingly allowing Yoshi's girlfriend Birdo inside the mansion! Rarely does that chick yell, at anyone at the most! Starting to freak out a little, I took one more sip from my coffee...and that's when I looked out a window and saw a most freakishly gigantic Sharpedo arise from the lake...maybe I should stop putting so much creamer inside my coffee. If I just drink the creamer separately, it might not be so bad...**

"Here we are mateys, at the magnificent Smash Mansion!" Archie said to the two subordinates standing at his side, Matt and Shelly. "As much as I would love raiding the mansion of its Pokemon, we should focus on the main goal at hand - to summon Rayquaza, using the power of this orb!" Archie cackled as he held up the Jade Orb up in the air. How funny it would be if a giant bird were to swoop by and snatch the orb out of Archie's hands.

"But Archie, I thought you wanted to do away with meddling with legendary Pokemon, after that whole Kyogre incident," stated Shelly; the incident in question was enough to make Archie question his ways, but unfortunately it seemed like the pirate was back to his dastardly ways.

"Yeah that's right boss, after that whole incident you vowed to find another way to make the world a better place for Pokemon, ahahaha!" added Matt, laughing when it wasn't even necessary. Dude had a strange habit of laughing...oughta get used to it as quickly as you can.

"Aye, that much is true...but I still think that this world could be a better place for Pokemon to live in, and with the help of Rayquaza, we could make that dream a reality! We could expel all the Pokemon inside the mansion out, and have them enjoy the wonderful environment this earth provides, all with the..."

"Long time no see Archie, I figured we would meet you again at this very location," said a stoic voice, a voice so stoic it apparently caused Archie to shriek and drop the Jade Orb onto the ground. The Team Aqua leader looked up and saw who it was - the leader of Team Magma, Maxie, accompanied by his subordinates Courtney and Tabitha. Poor Tabitha, stuck with a girly name...

"Look what we have here - the wannabe Pokemon school teacher, the cute little psychopath, and the fat Makuhita!" snarled Matt, ending his remark with a laugh. Out of the three, Tabitha took the greatest offense to what Matt said, and wanted to throw some hands.

"How dare you call me Makuhita again, just because I always have my eyes closed like that Brock guy from Kanto doesn't mean a thing!" the fatso came for Matt, only to be restrained by Courtney. She wasn't gonna have any of Tabitha's crap today.

"Can we not do that, at least at all today?" the pink-haired woman told her fellow subordinate. "We're here to work together with Team Aqua, do you not remember? It was what our leader Maxie wanted!" This caused Archie to raise an eyebrow, now under the assumption Maxie was planning on betraying him later today.

" _You_ want to work with the likes of _me_?" the pirate pointed at Maxie, and then back at him, in a state of surprise. "But we're supposed to despise one another, we're on rivaling villainous teams for crying out loud! Why do you want to work with me and my hearties for?"

"To be fair we _are_ best friends, after all, we have been for a long time," grinned Maxie; an anonymous grunt from either Team Aqua or Team Magma once confirmed this in the original _Ruby/Sapphire_ games. "So why don't we reconstruct our friendship and summon the dragon you're looking for - the one by the name of Rayquaza?" Archie smiled at the sound of this - he and Maxie were seemingly on the same page, though he still suspected that the Team Magma leader might turn his back on him.

"Very well then, but in order to summon Rayquaza, we must utilize the Jade Orb..." Archie looked down at the ground for the Jade Orb...but the orb wasn't even there! Archie looked up at Matt and Shelly, who both shook their heads and shrugged. "Drat! Someone must've taken the orb and ran inside the mansion with it! No matter, we can sneak our way inside the establishment and retrieve it!"

 **Shelly: When Archie called me up and said he was interested in reforming Team Aqua with just me and Matt, I thought he was completely out of his mind. Then Maxie comes in and regroups Team Magma with Courtney and Tabitha, and told Archie he wished to work with him. Something fishy might be going on, but with Maxie, you may never know...**

* * *

"Simply cannot thank you enough for inviting me to your tea party, Princess Peach!" thanked Kohaku as she was sitting across from Peach at the table in the room where Peach usually held her tea parties with Zelda, who was busy handling things. "Having Rotom present with us makes it even better!" Indeed, the plasma Pokemon was in attendance, situated next to Kohaku; the girl asked Luigi and Daisy for permission to borrow Rotom.

"No Kohaku, thank you for agreeing to be a part of my tea party, if it weren't for you and Rotom, this party would have been cancelled!" gleamed Peach. The princess never cancelled a single tea party in her life, and she wasn't willing to do that today.

"Woof woof!" the Duck Hunt Dog barked as he ran inside the room, with an object in his mouth. The mutt had a tendency to bring whatever he found outside the mansion to Peach, for whatever reason.

"Princess Peach, what on earth is that?" Kohaku asked the princess, who shook her head as the Duck Hunt Dog dropped the object onto the floor. Rotom saw the object, and couldn't help but feel that it looked familiar...

"This strange objects must be the Jade Orb, an object used to summon forth Rayquaza, the sky high Pokemon!" the plasma Pokemon scanned the object - the Jade Orb, now dripping in saliva, that Team Magma and Team Aqua were now looking for. "How the Duck Hunt Dog discovered this item shall remain a mystery! Regardless, this orb is full of power, a power not found anywhere else on Earth!"

"Man I need something green and exquisite for my next music video, since those dumb echidnas apparently won't let me borrow the Master Emerald..." Knuckles said as he walked past the room where Peach and company were in...only to return and see the Jade Orb. "Yeah, that orb will do!" The echidna ran inside, grabbed the orb, and ran out like it was nothing, leaving Peach and the others befuddled.

"Were we supposed to stop Knuckles from taking that orb?" questioned Peach, after Knuckles ran away with the Jade Orb; not even the knowledgeable, informative Rotom had the answer to the princess's question, as it chose to be silent. It usually had an answer for anything, but not for this moment.

* * *

"Oh man, this music video's gonna be so legit fam!" Knuckles said to really nobody in particular as he walked through the halls, gazing at the Jade Orb in his hands, before unsuspectingly bumping into Akuma. The echidna fell onto the floor as he dropped the orb, as Akuma turned around and saw the echidna lying on the floor with his eyes closed, seemingly knocking the wind out of him. The kung fu fighter saw the orb Knuckles had dropped, and picked it up and held it in his hand.

 **Akuma: Donkey Kong still owes me one for ruining the vacation I organized for everyone, his idiocy kicking us out of Disney World. It was my only chance to prove my worth to Master Hand and the others...sort of, and Donkey Kong had to spoil all the fun! All that money I spent for hotel rooming and service, all wasted by that stupid primate...**

"What's this, a random jade orb?" questioned Akuma as he held the orb, only to feel the power inside of it pulsating in the palm of his hand. "No wait, this isn't just a random orb, it's a random _powerful_ jade orb!" The fighter suddenly gasped, as an interesting thought prevailed in his mind. "...I could sell this on eBay or some other site and get back the money Donkey Kong wasted!" You'd expect Akuma to make the Jade Orb bless him with special powers or something. "Ridiculously easy money, here I come!" Akuma excitedly ran inside the nearest elevator, and once the doors opened, saw Donkey Kong, Bayonetta, and Ryu all standing inside. The fighter joined the gorilla, the Umbra Witch, and the _Street Fighter_ veteran in the elevator, and the doors closed...

* * *

"...and so I would like to apologize to you for my actions at Disney World two weeks ago, and ask for forgiveness if you're willing to give any," Donkey Kong had just finished apologizing to Akuma as he and the fighter, as well as Ryu, walked out of the elevator on the fourth floor. Bayonetta got off on the third.

"Seriously, it took you _that_ long to apologize?" frowned Akuma, who wasn't going to forgive DK due to the time that passed since the vacation. "I could have been dead by the time you wanted to give me your apology!" Donkey Kong held his head in shame, but at least he gave it a shot.

"Um, Akuma, didn't you have an orb in your possession?" asked Ryu, as he looked down at Akuma's hands. Akuma lifted up his hands, and saw that the Jade Orb was now gone!

"Somebody stole the orb?! Who could have done such a thing?!" Akuma suddenly remembered who was in the elevator with him, Ryu, and Donkey Kong. "Ooh, I think I know who it could be..."

* * *

Outside in the mansion backyard, Yoshi, Tails, Diddy Kong, and the Inklings were playing a game of kickball, which was essentially baseball and soccer mixed together, if you apparently didn't know. Spying on the five through in the bushes were Courtney and Shelly, two female subordinates who once antagonized against one another, were now working together to find that Jade Orb.

"So why are we out here again, shouldn't we be in the Smash Mansion looking for that orb?" Courtney questioned Shelly as the male Inkling was ready to kick the ball - which was actually Kirby. The pink puffball would enjoy the physical punishment of being kicked around, because he was a weirdo like that.

"For all we know, the Jade Orb could still be outside, someone must have moved it to another location," replied Shelly, keeping her eyes fixated on the kickball game. "Besides, the men are the ones infiltrating the mansion, so we can just stay outside..."

 **Yoshi: Man, I wish there was an official ball for kickball...I mean, you have one for football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and even dodgeball...but nothing for kickball! How can one function with that?! That is why we're gonna use Kirby as our ball for our kickball game, and Kirby's gonna enjoy it because he enjoys anything! Try putting him in an oven on 450 degrees for thirty minutes and see how happy (and horrifically singed) the guy is!**

(In fact, there _is_ an official ball for kickball - Master Hand just didn't feel like getting one, probably because he was a cheapskate who would rather spend money on useless cars that he can't even operate)

"Alright guys, here goes nothing!" the male Inkling kicked Kirby, and he kicked him as far as he could...which was only a mere five feet. Kirby landed on the ground, and exclaimed "Poyo!" as he happily waved his arms in the air, begging for the Inkling to kick him again because he was a weirdo like that.

"You know, this is exactly why we don't have enough people playing kickball," stated Diddy Kong, with his arms folded. "We seriously need a better ball, Kirby can only do so much for us!"

"If you're looking for a better ball, then why not trying something like an orb?" Bayonetta showed up, holding the Jade Orb in her hand. Courtney and Shelly saw this, and gasped simultaneously, an action most people in hiding would do in this situation. "It might not be much, but I'd kick this over Kirby all day long if you ask me!"

"Go Mightyena, retrieve that Jade Orb!" Shelly popped out from the bushes with Courtney and threw her Poke Ball, summoning Mightyena. The bite Pokemon came for Bayonetta, who used Witch Time to slow down the Pokemon before directing her attention to a shocked Courtney and Shelly.

"Looking for this here orb in my hand, hmm? Well if you want it...then go get it!" The Umbra Witch threw the Jade Orb over the heads of Courtney and Shelly; Shelly sent Mighytena back inside her Poke ball as the admin and Shelly ran off in search for the Jade Orb - which now landed in the mansion's like, while Red the Pokemon Trainer and Pac-Man were fishing.

"Woah Pac, did you see that orb fall in the water?" Red asked the eater of ghosts, dropping his fishing rod to the ground in shock. "I believe that's the Jade Orb, you can use it to summon Rayquaza!" Of course Red knew this, dude's practically obsessed with anything pertaining to Pokemon.

"I'll dive in the water and retrieve the orb, while you keep watch!" Pac-Man said to Red as he dove into the lake. Red suddenly saw Courtney and Shelly approaching, and the Pokemon Trainer hid away from the villainnesses behind a tree - the very tree he crawled up in back in episode 63. Once the two ladies were gone, Red walked away from the tree, just when Pac-Man came out from the water, Jade Orb in hand.

 **Red: Although I never saw them in person (until today), I know that Team Aqua and Team Magma aren't the type of guys you would want to mess with. Like Team Rocket, they have these wicked ways to conduct their plans, and with the two teams now working together it seems like, their fearsome nature has been increased by twofold! Regardless, they're still way more intimidating than Team Flare from Kalos; I could never take their style and mannerisms seriously.**

"I'll take this orb inside the mansion and store it in a place where bums like Team Rocket or any over evildoers would ever find it!" Pac-Man told Red, who nodded his head as the eater of ghosts made his way to the mansion, while Red remained on the lookout for any Team Magma/Team Aqua members.

* * *

"So...what do you ladies think?" asked Zelda standing alongside with Samus, showing Tsubasa, Eleonora, Kiria, and Mamori an indoor mural of the seven mirage masters, located on a wall near the living room. "It's a little something for you ladies (and the men) to remember Fortuna Entertainment by. Took Samus and I a good while to make this mural, sometimes Samus refused to cooperate..."

"Eh, what can I say, I'm not really an artistic person," Samus apathetically shrugged in response. "I told you good that I didn't want anything to do with this stupid mural, but nope..." Just then, Pac-Man ran inside the hallway, huffing and puffing as he took a breather. Dude should probably exercise more often, he wasn't running that much of a distance.

"Red and I...found this orb...in the lake outside..." Pac-Man panted as he showed the Jade Orb to Zelda and company. "Red said that the orb can summon Rayquaza, so evidently it's quite powerful. Don't want it to fall into the wrong hands!"

"Give the orb here, I can hand it to Link," said Zelda, and Pac-Man did as he was told, handing the orb to the princess. "Link would know where to store powerful objects such as these." Zelda took off, leaving Pac-Man alone with the rest of the ladies. The eater of ghosts looked up at the mural, his eyes deadlocked on Kiria and all her beauty. She wasn't a beautiful idol singer for nothing!

"I gotta say Kiria, you look mighty fine in this mural, I'm sure all the dudes back in Japan were dying to see you..." Pac-Man smiled, with his hands on his hips.

"Yeah, and I'm still more attractive than your wife will ever be," Kiria retorted with a sly grin. Pac-Man couldn't say a single word after that, Kiria got him _good._

* * *

A knock was at the front door of Luigi's home; Mario answered it and saw Nana and Popo, holding sundaes in their hands. Mario thought the Ice Climbers wished to share their delicious treats with him and the babysitters, and was delighted.

"Ah, I see you came-a with some treats for us-a babysitters, thank-a you Ice Climbers!" the plumber exclaimed, confusing Popo. Nana saw this confusion, and bit her lip.

"No Mario, you got it all wrong, these sundaes aren't for you - they're for the baby!" clarified Popo, and now Mario was the one who was confused. Maybe this was an April Fool's joke that Popo accidentally carried out a week before.

 **Popo: Charles is but a week old, and you know what that means? It means that he's open for manipulation! We can "condition" Charles into loving sundaes and other ice cream products at a very early age, so that Luigi and Daisy won't have to!  
Nana: Now Popo, Charles is just a baby who was born a week ago, we should be feeding baby food, feeding him ice cream could be hazardous!  
Popo: Pfft, you're insisting we should feed him that disgusting Gerber's crap?! *grimaces* That junk is inhumanely disgusting, and I should know, I tried it out before and threw that garbage where it belonged, in the trash! Anything I eat that I don't like should not be consumed by others!**

"I don't believe-a feeding Charles sundaes would-a be appreciated by Luigi and-a Daisy..." Mario said nervously as Popo grabbed Nana's arm and walked inside the house, making his way to the nursery where Pit, Viridi, and Yuffie were interacting with Charles, who was sitting on the floor and being happy and all that good stuff.

"What's good my party people, the Ice Climbers have arrived!" Popo exclaimed upon entering the nursery, and just like that, Charles started crying right on cue. Yuffie and company looked up and glared at Popo, who apparently thought he did nothing wrong.

"Nice going you loser, you made poor Charles cry!" frowned Viridi, as she picked up the crying Charles and cradled him in her arms. Perhaps the only time the goddess would come in contact with a human being not named Joanne. "What do you have to say for yourself!"

"I once beat Ganondorf in a fair game of arm wrestling, who are you calling a loser?!" Disclaimer: Popo did not beat Ganondorf in an arm wrestling match - rather, Ganondorf broke the Ice Climber's arm so badly that the poor fella had to be carried away via helicopter to the hospital. "If you're looking for a loser, then why don't you look at yourself in front of a mirror?!"

"You're gonna wish you never said those words!" Viridi handed Charles to Pit as she angrily got up to confront Popo, who dropped his sundaes on the floor and screamed like a little girl at the sight of a ticked off Viridi. Mario had to rush inside the nursery and hold the goddess back from Popo.

"Charles you don't need to see this, pretty girls like yourself shouldn't be subjected to angry fits of rage as an infant!" Pit shielded Charles's eyes from Viridi being held back by Mario and now Nana. Someone gotta tell Pit that Charles was a boy real quick.

* * *

"Ever heard of a band by the name of Dragonforce?" Link asked his best friend Cloud as the two swordsmen were playing billiards in the gaming room. The Hylian struck a blue pool ball with his cue stick, straight into a group of racked pool balls and sending the balls rolling across the pool table.

"No and I'm not interested in checking them out, sounds like an artist wizard nerds and medieval freaks listen to," replied Cloud, relatively aloof as he looked out across the gaming room. "Considering where you're from and the stuff that you wear and the things you do, you must certainly fit into either group of fanatics."

"It's never nice to stereotype others Cloud, you don't see me classify you as an emo loser..." Would it be a fair assessment to call Cloud emo? Aside from his haircut and looking aloof, he doesn't strike anyone as overtly emo.

 **Link: Picture this - you're riding on a plane, with Mario on your left and Sonic on your right, and your asleep with headphones in your ears while you're listening to your tunes, when all of a sudden, "Through the Fire and the Flames" by Dragonforce comes on, and then you suddenly wake up and spaz all over the place, playing the air guitar furiously while others seated around you look at you like you're a crazy moron! *proudly puts his hands on his hips* Yup, I was thankful enough to enjoy that wonderful experience, roughly two years ago when Mario, Sonic, and I flew on a plane to Costa Rica, where Master Hand had his "indefinite vacation". Wanted the three of us to check everything out before he started his little vacation - and he refused to lend us money to pay for the flight back to Seattle! What a guy...or hand.**

"There you are Link, figured you would be here with Cloud," Zelda entered the gaming room, giving the Jade Orb to Link. "This is an orb that is said to summon Rayquaza, according to Red - given that you know where to store items like these..."

"No worries Zelda, I got it all under control!" Link gave the princess a thumbs up. Zelda smiled and departed from the gaming room, as Link marveled at the orb. "eh, it doesn't really look that powerful, but I can definitely feel something from inside of it, that's for sure..."

"Better conceal that thing before somebody snatches it away," advised Cloud; Link was at first apathetic towards Cloud's words of advice, but a few moments later the Hylian would wish he had listened.

"Aw sweet is that a shiny green orb?" Sonic approached Link, who quickly hid the Jade Orb behind his back, but it was too late - Sonic zipped right past the Hylian's back, snatching the orb away. "Thanks for the orb Link, I'll give you my full thanks later!" Sonic called out to Link as he left the gaming room, leading the Hylian to stomp on the floor in anger.

"See man I tried to tell ya, you should know better than to underestimate Sonic." Now Zelda was probably going to kill Link now.

* * *

"I like to call this tea the black herb tea, with a slight touch of honey!" Black Knight offered Kamui a cup of tea in the lounge, the princess of Nohr accepting the cup and drinking the tea. "So what do you think?" After tasting the tea, Kamui at first grimaced, but then remembered that the Black Knight was still around and forced a smile.

"It tastes...it tastes delicious, I should say," the princess responded in the most politically correct way she could without hurting the Black Knight's feelings. Sonic soon sped inside the lounge with the Jade Orb in his possession.

"Yo, princess Kamui, happy birthday!" Sonic handed the orb off to Kamui, who looked at the object feeling confused, concerning Sonic. "What, you don't like it? I didn't even have to spend a single penny on that thing, and THIS is what you do to me?!"

"Um, Sonic? My birthday isn't a few months from now." Sonic snapped his fingers in disgust, not for just having learned this information, but for looking like a complete fool in the presence of Kamui and the Black Knight.

 **Sonic: Oh man, I've done it now, now Kamui is forever going to think I'm a dummy and then she'll tell the others about my lack of intelligence which would in turn make me even more universally disliked! Or even worse - what if Kamui tells Amy about my mental error and causes her to break up with me, and also tells Blaze which would dissuade her from having me as a boyfriend! Who else would I turn to? I can't have a six-year old like Cream as my lover!**

"Well I hope you enjoy your early birthday gift, I guess..." Sonic threw his arms up in defeat and walked out of the lounge, as Kamui looked at the Jade Orb in her hands. Would keeping the orb with her be worth it?

"So are you going to keep that thing or not?" asked the Black Knight, holding his pitcher of herbal tea in his hands. "It would look nice for decoration..."

"Eh, I can just give it to Bowser or his son, they appear to have a strange affinity for anything green," shrugged Kamui. Why don't we check on the Koopa King and his son, shall we?

* * *

"C'mon son I know we can beat 'em, we just gotta put a little oomph into our step!" Bowser said to Bowser Jr., the two Koopalings running in a race against time...or rather on the treadmills in the fitness center, running up against - wait for it - Pikachu and Pichu, also on treadmills. Yes, Bowser challenged the two mouse Pokemon to see if he and his son were faster than the Pokemon, and so far, the two Koopas were getting their butts kicked.

"Pichu pichu pichu pi!" Pichu called out to Bowser and his son, although the duo did not understand what the Pokemon had meant. "Pichu pichu pichu pi" could truly mean a whole lot of things.

"Did Pichu just trash-talk us just now?" questioned Bowser Jr., nearly running out of breath. He couldn't be any more out of shape than Pac-Man was. "We're not gonna take that, are we pops?"

"I'm not gonna take you running out of breath, pick up the pace son or I'll ground you once this is over!" And so Bowser Jr. picked up the pace, running faster than any man - or koopa - has ever did before.

"Sorry to disturb you both, but I have something that you two would mutually like," Kamui approached Bowser and Bowser Jr., holding the Jade Orb. Pikachu looked to his right and saw the orb in Kamui's hand, and quickly recognized it.

"Pika pika pika!" the mouse Pokemon hopped off the treadmill while it was still running and grabbed the Jade Orb from Kamui with his mouth and carried it on his back before running away with it. Kamui watched as the Pokemon ran away; perhaps he too had an affinity for all things green?

"Come back here, you yellow vermin, my son and I have yet to beat you fair and square!" Bowser called out to Pikachu, pointing at the mouse Pokemon. Bowser, beating anyone fair and square? Please.

 **Bowser: Bowser Jr. is so out of shape...and I could say the same for his siblings! (Especially Roy and Morton, those fatties...) If I want them to get fit and in shape, then I gotta give them an incentive to...oh, I know - I'll take away their privileges for an entire year and lock them up the fitness center where they have to do different exercises each day to stay fit! It's not terrible parenting unless there's instant results!**

* * *

Pikachu ran furiously through the mansion with the Jade Orb, until he encountered Mewtwo and Wario walking in the hallway. He had to give the orb to the most trustworthy of the two brawlers, and that person...was Mewtwo. (If you thought Wario, then you should feel real ashamed of yourself.)

"Pika pika Pikachu, pika pi pika pika Pikachu!" Pikachu dropped the Jade Orb on the floor and told the story of how Kamui had found said orb and brought it to the fitness center. Thank goodness Mewtwo was able to understand what the mouse Pokemon was saying...

"An orb like this shouldn't even be here, how Kamui discovered it begs to question," Mewtwo held the Jade Orb, while Wario looked at it stroking his mustache with a devious smile. You knew what that fatso planned to do with that orb. "We must return the orb back to where it belongs, or else..."

"Legendary Pokemon Mewtwo, right where we want him!" shouted Matt, who came out from a hiding spot with Tabitha. That poor, poor guy...not Matt, mind you. "And he has the Jade Orb, ripe for the taking!"

"...just what we needed, Team Magma and Team Aqua...thought they were already defunct." Mewtwo handed off the Jade Orb to Wario, and fired a Shadow Ball at the ceiling, leaving behind a gaping hole. "I want you to take this orb and take it out of the mansion. You got it?" Mewtwo said to Wario, who was apparently more concerned about making money off of the orb than securing it.

"Do I get to sell the orb online if I complete the task?" asked Wario; Mewtwo sighed and used Confusion to send Wario up into the ceiling, leaving the Psychic Pokemon and Pikachu to deal with Matt and Tabitha. No way the two evildoers were gonna let Wario get away for long.

"Koffing, go inside that hole in the ceiling and chase after the short fat guy with the mustache!" Tabitha sent out Koffing, and the poison gas Pokemon did as he was told, flying up the hole in search for Wario. Koffing might not be that mobile, but he knew a very deadly weapon to use on Wario...

* * *

"I got a four of a kind, what about you, Captain Falcon?" Snake asked the racer, placing his cards on the poker table, as he, Falcon, R.O.B. Takamaru, Olimar, and Alph were playing a game of poker in a separate room. Olimar, a somewhat experienced poker player, was showing his protege Alph the ways of poker, one step at a time.

"Got myself a full house, hehe!" Captain Falcon grinned as he placed his cards on the table. "What about you, Takamaru, what did you get?" The samurai laid down his cards, and the hand he drew almost dismayed his opponents.

"Straight flush, first time ever I got that playing poker!" exclaimed Takamaru, feeling real good about his chances of winning. "It's your turn R.O.B. - I know I won already, so don't be so reluctant to..."

"ROYAL FLUSH...BOOM SHAKA LAKA..." R.O.B. laid down his cards on the table - a king, queen, joker, ace, and a ten card - and scored a royal flush. The robot coolly leaned back in his chair with his arms behind his head while his opponents grunted and moaned in defeat, slamming their poker chips on the table and whatnot.

"Dang nab it R.O.B., how do you keep on winning these poker games, you must be cheating!" Snake accused R.O.B., though that could be his absolutely bitter sore loser self talking.

 **R.O.B.: WHILE THOSE BUMS WERE FIDDLING AROUND WITH THEIR CARDS...AND DECIDING WHICH ONES TO DRAW...I PRINTED UP MY OWN CARDS, IN SILENCE...AND THAT'S HOW I KEEP GETTING ROYAL FLUSHES...HATERS GONNA HATE...**

Suddenly the sound of Wario coughing was heard from the ceiling, indicating that Tabitha's Koffing may have used his Poison Gas to fill up the mansion's ventilation system with...well, poisonous gas. The coughing would continue until the Jade Orb was dropped through the air vent, tearing out the vent in the process, and fell upon the poker table, with the poker players looking at the object.

"Oh, look, a random green orb that fell from the ceiling and is most likely valuable," remarked Captain Falcon, and would you know it, he grabbed the orb, initiating a fight between the other poker players to see who would get the orb. While the fight continued, Olimar and Alph crawled away, and crawled out of the room...with Alph holding the Jade Orb! Goes on to show you what advantages short people could have.

"Wow, this orb sure looks nice," Alph analyzed the orb as he closed the door, the fight still going on. "But do you think this belongs to Luigi? Someone must have taken it from his home for whatever reason and forgot to bring it back."

"Luigi and Daisy went shopping, according to Mario; they should have returned home by now," replied Olimar. How did the astronaut know if the couple really returned, what if they were now eating out? "I'm sure Luigi would appreciate it if we gave this orb back to him."

* * *

So Olimar and Alph, with the Jade Orb now in their possession, set off for Luigi's home, as they made their way down the foyer. That's how far the two astronauts would get, because standing in their way was a bunch of Dusk Nobodies...and three instances of a new type of Nobody, a Nobody that were hovering in the air and had a long robe hanging over their entire body, including their head. These beings were called Sorcerers; it was the likes of which Olimar and Alph had never seen before.

"Is it just me, or are those floating dudes with the robes supposed to be...bosses, like the ones that tell you what to do?" a shivering Alph asked Olimar. Now would be a great time for the young astronaut to soil himself out of outright fear.

"The ones with the robes aren't the Nobodies' bosses... _I'm_ their boss, the boss of every Nobody in existence," said a mysterious voice, an emotionless voice that filled up the entire foyer. An Organization XIII member appeared in front of Olimar and Alph, walking through a corridor of darkness. Alph should have probably soiled himself at this point - same goes for Olimar.

Then the Organization XIII member pulled off his black hood, revealing his visage to Olimar and Alph. It was a Nobody who shared traits similar to Xigbar and Saïx - amber-orange eyes and pointy ears - with silver hair and slightly dark skin. One would assume this guy was the leader of the Organization XIII...and he wasn't, though he was leader of another Organization in the past.

"Allow me to introduce myself...my name is Xemnas," the Nobody introduced himself to Olimar and Alph, his voice chilling enough to strike intimidation in the two astronauts. If only Mario and Master Hand were here to...oh yeah, that's right.

 **Wario: *coughing and wheezing* Mewtwo is a jerk... *coughs* ...for throwing me up in the ceiling like that... *coughs* ...that Koffing nearly took the fight out of me... *coughs* ...but that's no matter... *coughs* ...because I got the orb out of the mansion... *coughs* ...or did I?**

"It seems like you have a valuable item in your hands," Xemnas said to Alph, staring right into the young astronaut's soul with his stare. "It would deeply hurt if someone were to...take it from you." And that's exactly what happened, as a Dusk danced his way over to the helpless Alph and took the Jade Orb, before giving it to Xemnas. "Hmm, I wonder what this orb is capable of doing...no point in doing it inside this mansion. Why don't we take our business...outside?"

So Xenmas headed outside and to the mansion's lake, while the Dusks and Sorcerers led Olimar and Alph outside to where Xemnas was. The Nobody held up the Jade Orb in the air, expecting something big to go down.

"Yes, with this orb, we the Organization XIII can achieve our goals, and dominate this world with an iron fist!" bellowed Xemnas, feeling like he had the entire world in the palm of his hand. "Nobody can stop me, nothing can stop me, not even..."

"Now Crobat, use Screech on those monsters!" said a voice that probably belonged to a pirate. A Crobot swooped by and used Screech on the Nobodies, making them vibrate rather violently as they quickly disappeared to avoid the noise. Xemnas looked behind him and saw this, shocked by his Nobodies completely bailing.

"Camerupt, unleash your Flash Cannon on the gray-haired man before you," said another voice, this one stoic in nature. A Camerupt stepped forward, grabbing Xemnas's attention, and gathered up all the light energy and fired it straight at the Nobody, sending him flying to the ground and making him drop the Jade Orb? Who was responsible for giving Camerupt the command, you might ask? Let's just say that it was a specs-wearing dude who walked up to the Jade Orb and grabbed it before it could fall into the lake, and accompying him was a dude wearing a blue bandanna.

"Aye, your Camerupt ain't so bad at all!" Archie, the man with the blue bandanna, commended Maxie, who was holding the Jade Orb in his grasp. "Though my Crobat is just as capable, laddie!" Maxie couldn't help but roll his eyes at that remark.

"You're only saying that because he can fly, which isn't that big of an advantage," stated Maxie. "Here's your Jade Orb..." The Team Magma leader handed off the orb to Archie, who stared at it with a grin like it was lost treasure. Had the pirate been by himself, he would have probably licked the orb.

"I may be down...but I'm certainly not out!" Xemnas said as he struggled to get back on his feet. "Wait until you see the full scope of my awesome power..." Unfortunately for Xemnas, his opportunity to show Archie, Maxie, Olimar, and Alph his power would be cut short.

"COMING THROUGH!" Master Hand's voice boomed as Marth sped through on the giant hand's Lamborghini, running over Xemnas as he drove past the lake and drove the Lamborghini to a stop, mashing on the brakes. So much for Xemnas showing off his "awesome power"...

"Don't think this is over...I will...be back..." these were the last words the Nobody said as he faded away into darkness. No, Marth didn't defeat him by running him over, mind you, Xemnas was returning to his universe before another bad thing happened to him.

 **Master Hand: Marth really impressed me today...not only did he show that he was a better driver and Reiko and I took for granted, he also proved he could be a deviant criminal by successfully running over a random person and getting away with it! I could use Marth as a means to commit crimes like robbing the bank, or stealing jewelry from the jewelry store! Anything to increase my power and wealth! *laughs evilly***

"Wow Marth, you did a great job driving today, a very great driving student!" Reiko commended the hero-king for his efforts, as she and Marth got out of the Lamborghini once it was turned off. Reiko then tossed the car keys to Marth, since Master Hand didn't have a pocket to store the keys in.

"Yes I do agree, it was an enjoyable experience for the three of us!" exclaimed Master Hand, garnering weird looks from Marth and Reiko. "I enjoyed the experience vicariously through your perspectives, okay?!" That didn't do much to stop the weird looks Master Hand was receiving.

"Still doesn't make any sense, but whatever floats your boat," said Marth. Master Hand inspected his car to sure it there were no scratches...and gasped when a saw a huge dent on the side of the Lamborghini. Marth was gonna get it now...

"Look what you did Marth, you left a big dent in my car, and now my precious baby has a boo-boo!" Master Hand unleashed his fury on the poor hero-king. Archie and Maxie saw this fit of rage, and looked at one another and nodded, agreeing that they should head back inside the mansion. Olimar and Alph quickly did the same.

"B-B-But I don't know how it could have a dent, it's not like I crashed into anything..." Marth's defense wasn't enough, as Master Hand was now hyperventilating. Part of him wanted to squeeze Marth in his hand until he couldn't feel anymore.

"...I'll take this Lamborghini over to the car repair shop, they can fix it up in a jiffy," Reiko awkwardly grabbed the car keys from Marth's pocket, made her way to the Lamborghini, and got inside the vehicle and turned it back on. "Have fun with Master Hand, hero-king!" The woman then called out to Marth as she drove away, leaving the poor hero-king alone with a now ticked off Master Hand.

* * *

"So you managed to get a Waddle Dee to leave a dent in Master Hand's Lamborghini, to get back at Marth for making Birdo attracted to you?" Red asked Robin, to which the tactician nodded his head as he and the Pokemon Trainer were walking in the hallway.

"Did the job as Marth was backing out of the driveway, Geno saw it first-hand from the fourth floor and told me about it,"replied Robin; he had hired Geno to be on the lookout for the Waddle Dee. "Surprised that Master Hand and the others didn't notice..."

"I still find it funny that Marth got Birdo to fall in love with you - bet he used one of Ashley's love potions, didn't he?" Robin heaved a heavy sigh when Red said this, and it alarmed the Pokemon Trainer to a certain extent.

"I was gonna use that love potion to make Leia fall in love with Little Mac - but Lucina let Marth take it. It would have been my only chance to show everyone that I'm the real romantic expert, not some guy like Chrom who I bet hasn't contacted Robin at all this month."

 **Red: Honestly I think this whole Robin-Marth beef is going a bit too far, but I can see why Robin is playing matchmaker and stuff. I'd hate it too if I had a dorky friend who's deemed a romantic expert, just because he got around with the ladies during some wartime conflict. Heck, Blue is a dork too, and he still gets the ladies! "Smell ya later"? *scoffs* More like...um, more like...I have another wording of that stupid line, but it might come off seriously wrong...**

Red and Robin would arrive at a room, a room where Matt, Shelly, Courtney, and Tabitha were bound and gagged and tied up in chairs, with Mewtwo and Pikachu watching over them. Red, who found Shelley and Courtney outside the mansion, brought the two ladies inside the mansion, and brought them to this room and had someone tie them up. Mewtwo would do the same with Matt and Tabitha, after he and Pikachu took care of them.

"Any sign of Archie or Maxie?" the Psychic Pokemon asked Red, who shook his head no. Just then, the Pokemon Trainer received a notification from his PokeNav, and saw that it was a text; Red read the message in its entirety. "Just got a text from Pac-Man - he said that Master Hand just punished Marth for denting his Lamborghini, and Archie and Maxie are now in his room. Shall we take these four to see their leader?"

"I suppose we can, keeping them around in this room would be pointless. I shall do the honors of untying them."

* * *

"We're-a back!" Luigi announced as he and Daisy returned from their shopping trip, stepping inside the living room holding bags of stuff. Not a single peep was heard - the couple ventured to the nursery, where they found Mario, Pit, Viridi, Yuffie, and the Ice Climbers, all gathered around playing a board game to pass the time. And Charles? He was sleeping away in his crib, soundly.

"Ah, Luigi, Daisy, didn't hear-a ya come in!" Mario looked up and saw the couple, and the others did the same. "We've been-a taking great-a care of Charles while you were-a away, no problems-a whatsoever!" Daisy made her way over to Charles, and picked him up and held him in her loving arms.

"He's fast asleep," said Daisy, her voice low so she wouldn't disturb Charles. "Luigi and I really appreciate you guys for babysitting Charles for us. Wouldn't have expected anything less."

"I do believe we deserve to be paid for our efforts," Popo walked up to Daisy and held out his hand, expecting some money. A few gold coins would do.

"Uh, Popo, we didn't ask you and Nana to babysit Charles. So why don't you take your wife or cousin or whatever, and get out of our house?" Popo certainly wasn't going to leave without payment, but Nana was fine either way.

"We should be heading back to the mansion now," Nana grabbed Popo, who was still holding out his hand, and dragged him away. The Ice Climbers were about to leave the nursery, until Isabelle ran poked her head through the nursery door, needing to relay an important message to Mario.

"Sir Mario, something big is going down at the lake, you have to see it!" the shih tzu said to the plumber, her voice loud enough to wake up Charles and make him cry. Nice one, Isabelle.

* * *

 **Master Hand: Ahahaha, I did it, I actually did it! I goaded Archie into bringing that Jade Orb to the mansion! All I had to do was uncover this PokeNav I found in the attic, give Archie a call, and be all like, "Bring the Jade Orb to the Smash Mansion in Seattle so we can summon Rayquaza and make the world a better place for Pokemon", and BOOM! He brought two of his lackeys to the mansion with the Jade Orb in his possession! He may not know the truth now, but once I tell him after Rayquaza is summoned, he and his lackeys will laugh and be like, "Oh, you evil scalawag, you, you got us!"**

 **Pac-Man: So why is Master Hand interested in seeing Rayquaza? Only because Jacky claimed to have seen the dragon in random places of Seattle. Daisy told Master Hand all about it. Unless we see the sky high Pokemon in person, then the jury's still out on Jacky.**

"Now Archie, lift that orb up into the sky!" Master Hand commanded Archie, who was standing lakeside with Maxie and the four subordinates, as he lifted the Jade Orb up into the air. Gathered outside were Luigi, Daisy, the Ice Climbers, the babysitters, and a large group of select residents (pretty much anyone who either saw the Jade Orb or came in contact with it). Jacky was also outside, slightly dying of anticipation.

"Is it time yet?" questioned Jacky, as he glanced at the clock on his phone after waiting for a good while. All of a sudden, the Jade Orb was glowing a bright green color, and a large dragon descended from a sky, a green dragon with yellow-like ring symbols running down its body. It was known by only one name...Rayquaza.

"Ha ha, there it is, told you guys I wasn't crazy! Rayquaza's here!" A now jovial Jacky was now full of himself, though nobody paid him any mind - they were too busy entranced by the presence of Rayquaza, the Pokemon flying about in the air.

"We did it Master Hand, we summoned Rayquaza!" exclaimed Archie, clenching his fist in victory. "Now we can work together and make this world a..." Archie would soon be cut off when Master Hand heartily laughed, and heartily laughs were pretty uncommon for Master Hand.

"You fool, I only said that just to convince you to bring the orb!" stated Master Hand, dismaying Archie. "I don't care about 'making the world a better place for Pokemon', I just wanted to see Rayquaza!" (And ensure that Jacky wasn't a crazy loon, as everyone had assumed.) "Haven't seen the darn Pokemon in such a long time!" This confession was enough to make Archie's mouth agape, and Matt and Shelley felt their leader's level of distraught.

"This was part of the reason why I opted to work with you..." Maxie said to a still shocked Archie. "I kinda knew that Master Hand was up to no good. I had planned on dissuading you from letting him see the orb. Any mere mortal should know better than to trust him." Master Hand should make Maxie pay for keeping it real, the giant hand hated like remarks like the one Maxie made.

"What's with all the commotion, why is everyone outside?" questioned Star Records secretary Ayaha, who had just finished a conversation with Fox and Falco as she stepped outside the mansion, hearing the folks outside go "Ooh..." and "Aah.." and stuff at Rayquaza, probably because they didn't know what to say other than saying mostly intelligible words of sheer amazement. Ayaha looked up at the sky and saw Rayquaza, then looked forward and saw Tsubasa with her fellow Star Records buddies, marveling at at the sky high Pokemon. Ayaha ran up to greet her sister, who was smiling.

"Is this your first time seeing Rayquaza in person, big sis?" Tsubasa asked her older sister, who was unsure what to make of Rayquaza. It looked somewhat intimidating to her, could be because of the dragon's design.

"Certainly doesn't look that dangerous, although it does have a bit of an intimidating factor," replied Ayaha. "Are you sure that isn't a Shadow Dragon?" Ayaha only asked this just to be on the safe side of things.

"It's a Pokemon, Ayaha, not a Shadow Dragon. We have nothing to worry about." Ayaha decided to take Tsubasa's word for it - though there would be some problems if Rayquaza started attacking people for no reason.

While the Rayquaza aerial show continued, a black-cloaked individual stood at the top of the mansion unseen, observing the sky high Pokemon. It was Xemnas, and the Nobody had returned just to see what the Jade Orb was capable of. Xemnas may have had a forgettable first experience at the Smash Mansion...

...but next time around, he'll ensure that everybody knows his name, for better or for worse.


	67. Episode 67: Enamor

_Author's Note:_

 _More guest reviews...let's get it done._

 _"Can you add the Senran Kagura characters? (Since they did have 3 games on the 3DS) If not, can you add Emil and Marta from Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World? Ibuki from Street Fighter III? (Since there's a small fanbase that ships her with Strider Hiryu) and Cassandra and Sophitia from Soul Calibur? (Since I forgot to inculde them a while back.)"_

 _I can add the Senran Kagura characters, and I can also add all the other characters that you have mentioned. Next review:_

 _"Maybe you could have both Yashiro Tsurugi and Robin (Reflet) do a performance together as they have the same (Japanese) voice actor. Though idk if you will go with this if you haven't played the games they are in."_

 _Being honest here...I've never played Tokyo Mirage Sessions OR any of the Fire Emblem games. But learning that Yashiro and Robin share the same Japanese voice actor is fascinating. A performance with those two would make for some great comedy. Derick Lindsey has a question regarding this chapter:_

 _"...will the couples be based on ones you made, have it decided randomly or both?"_

 _For the most part, the couples in this chapter are mostly random. I think you'll be very surprised. Last but not least, we have Star Trekkin:_

 _"0/10 needs more Inklings. Nah, man, I kid. I love this series and it brings a smile to my face, cheesy as it is."_

 _Heh, what can I say, I love cheese. Cheese makes the world go around. But that's a conversation for another day. Moving on:_

 _"However, I would like to see more of the Inklings. Maybe even Callie and Marie? To be honest, Callie is totally my favorite, even though I love both. But I digress."_

 _I've been receiving a lot of Inkling-related requests in recent times...I promised I would feature the Inklings more often, but so far I've been falling back on that promise. Perhaps I should bring Marie and Callie back to the mansion to solve the issue._

* * *

 **Episode 67: Enamor**

No one at the mansion knew exactly when Yoshi started writing romantic fanfiction. It just seemed so odd to them - a happy-go-lucky green dinosaur that was not only into knitting, but into writing fanfic stories all day long. The latter hobby would be a whole lot tolerable for the residents, if not for Yoshi's weird pairings.

Here are a couple examples of the strange pairings Yoshi came up with over the past - Peach and Meta Knight (a peppy princess who was already engaged to Mario at the time the pairing was made and a somewhat Hispanic swordsman who didn't need a woman), Link and Samus (a blonde dude who carried a sword and a blonde lady who was a renowned bounty hunter), and more recently, Tsubasa and Cilan (a cheery aspiring pop singer and a Pokemon connoisseur who would crack food-related puns from time to time).

But wait, there's more! Yoshi also extended his pairings to folks outside of the mansion - amazingly, the green dinosaur came up with pairings like Kalos Elite Four member Malva and Galactic Federation soldier Anthony Higgs, Panther Coroso and Rouge the Bat, and other pairings that would make you scratch your head and wonder if Toad the lowkey drug lord (you know it's true) was Yoshi's coke dealer.

For months on end, Yoshi always wanted to make his weird pairings come to love, to see something like Peach feeding Meta Knight grapes, or Cilan cooking food for Tsubasa, or even Malva sitting on a couch stroking the chest of a shirtless Anthony Higgs...seriously, you couldn't make any of this stuff no matter how hard you tried. Constantly the dinosaur asked Ashley if he could borrow a few potions or one of the young witch's spellbooks to make his pairings happen in real life, and Ashley would always have one answer in mind...

"No Yoshi, now leave me alone before I use my wand to make you miserable," the young witch, standing on a stool and adjusting a camera on a camera tripod, said to Yoshi, who was practically begging on his knees. Ashley and Yoshi were with Mamori in the kitchen, and the Fortuna Entertainment girl was wearing a chef outfit, preparing for the first edition of _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ \- the American edition. Mamori told Fox and Falco all about the show and how it operated, and the two pilots agreed to let the young girl do an Americanized version of her show on Star Records' YouTube channel, which Mega Man was given the honors of doing.

 **Ashley: As you may or may not know already, _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ is a show that involes Mamori cooking stuff in the microwave and singing a song about it, and apparently I've been cast as a part of the show by Mamori. I like to imagine the show as what would happen if the Swedish Chef had his own show where he was singing and cooking - only difference is that with Mamori, you could actually understand what she's saying. Since this is the first "Americanized" episode, Mamori opted to have Cilan make a guest appearance in said episode, to appeal to the many Pokemon nerds living in the States. I sure hope none of these freaks after watching the episode become compelled to visit the Smash Mansion just to see me, because if they do, then there's gonna be a graveyard located next to the mansion... *holds up wand while her eyes glow red***

"But if you just let me borrow a spellbook I will leave you alone, forever and ever!" begged Yoshi, now getting real desparate. Ashley mused over the offer given to her, then suddenly examined the substantial consequences of lending Yoshi a spellbook, and then completely ignored the green dinosaur as she resumed adjusting the camera, not paying Yoshi any mind. "Just this once Ashley, I promise you I'll give it back!"

"Eh, you'd probably do a whole ton of damage by the time you give it back, and you'd be even more disliked than Sonic as well," responded Ashley as she hopped down from the stool she was on. "Not giving you a spellbook would be best for not only you and me, but for every single person you've been pairing up."

"Are you done with adjusting the camera Ashley, I'm all ready to go!" exclaimed Mamori, with her chef hat on and her smile already present. Ashley nodded to the girl, giving her the thumbs up. "Sorry Yoshi, but you'll have to leave - you can go bother Ashley some other time! Maybe at your next knitting club meeting!" Given how annoying Yoshi was, there was a strong chance Ashley wouldn't even be at the next knitting club meeting.

"It was worth a shot..." Yoshi held his head low as he exited the kitchen, expecting Ashley to express some empathy for the green dinosaur and change her mind, giving him the spellbook. Too bad the young witch was incapable of showing empathy - it was not in her blood to show care for others. That didn't make her a sociopath by any stretch of the imagination, the idea of empathy just never resonated with Ashley. And Ashley never resonated with empathy, and never cared to try.

Yoshi continued out of the kitchen, until he saw Ashley's assistant Red at the entrance, fiddling around with some notebook and writing stuff in it. Interested, Yoshi approached the little red demon to see what the notebook was all about.

"Hey Red, what's that you got there?" the green dinosaur asked, kneeling down at Red's side. The imp was startled to see Yoshi, unnerved by how big he was compared to his size. Poor fella had nightmares of dudes like Bowser and King K. Rool.

"Oh, I'm just writing stuff into this notebook, and whatever I write comes to life!" explained Red; he demonstrated by writing "make a Goomba appear in front of the kitchen", and just like magic, a Goomba magically appeared in front of Red and Yoshi. Since it had no evil ambition and nothing to do, the Goomba mindlessly walked away, probably expecting Mario to stomp on it eventually.

 **Mario: Peach may-a have not believed-a me when I told her-a this, but I've been managing some self-a control over the past few-a weeks or so. Some of the things-a I've done to maintain-a my self-control include refraining from-a yelling at Bowser, refusing to eat-a fatty foods, not overworking my-a self, and... *sees the Goomba walk by* ...a wild Goomba appeared! It must be vanquished! *runs to Goomba and jumps on it multiple times, even to the point where it was unnecessary, until it was defeated* ...phew, crisis averted. *wipes off forehead* So what-a was I saying about-a self-control?**

"You wouldn't mind if I...borrowed that notebook of yours, do you?" asked Yoshi, while Red considered his options. Would it be wise to lend a powerful, magical notebook to a guy like Yoshi - a reptile who once fancied the idea of seeing Ike and Samus making out with a romantic backdrop? Perhaps if Yoshi's romantic dreams came true, then there would be no point in him writing fanfiction or making pairings anymore!

"I suppose I can let you borrow this notebook, I wasn't really writing anything appealing in at the moment," Red kindly handed the notebook off to Yoshi, who accepted it with the utmost glee. "You're free to use it for as long as you like, free as charged!" Yoshi giggled in a somewhat creepy way as he ran off, holding the notebook to his chest. "I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun with that notebook..." Red said this deviously, with an evil look on his face. What was that imp up to...?

* * *

"The key is always to focus on your tummy!" Wii Fit Trainer exclaimed, and no, she wasn't acting like DJ Khaled on his Snapchat, not like she mentioned anything about being successful and whatnot- the fitness workaholic was exercising in the fitness center, although she was already fit. It helped keep her mind fresh, and her body...well, you know. "Now it's time to reach for those toes!" Wii Fit Trainer reached for her toes, with her legs far apart, starting with her left foot.

"Yo Wii Fit, have you ever considered working out one of the mansion's fatties and making them slimmer?" Sonic asked the fitness trainer, running backwards on a treadmill set on the highest level. No treadmill in existence could slow down the blue blur. "My friend Big the Cat could really use your guidance!"

"Glad you asked that question, Sonic - however, I will say that your friend Big would be out of the question, he might be too dim-witted for my tastes." Wii Fit Trainer then stretched out to her right foot. "I would need someone whose intelligence and ability to follow commands is above-average, someone who would put past their hard-headed nature and aspire towards being fit, someone like..."

A disturbing image caught the side of Wii Fit Trainer's left eye, and that image was King Dedede, walking in the fitness center and having the audacity to eat a bag of potato chips in said fitness center, especially in the presence of a now shook Wii Fit Trainer. Even worse, King Dedede was leaving crumbs all over the place, not caring one bit about cleaning up his mess. But what would you expect from a guy like him?

"King Dedede...what on earth are you doing?" Wii Fit Trainer asked the fat penguin. Unwritten Rule #43: NEVER, under any circumstance, eat junk food in the fitness center. One of the few unwritten rules that apply to the Smash Mansion.

"Eating potato chips?" responded King Dedede, his tone suggesting as if Wii Fit had never seen anyone consume potato chips before. "You want some?" The penguin offered some chips to Wii Fit Trainer who slapped the bag of chips to the floor in disgust, causing Dedede to gasp in shock. How could she possibly do such a thing?!

 **King Dedede: Mr. Game and Watch seriously needs to step up his game regarding the vending machines...nowadays there's nothing but potato chips and candy bars! Whatever happened to variety, how come there are no more doughnuts in the vending machines? Only a heartless person like Mr. Game and Watch would want me to spend my hard-earned money on stuff I could get here! *takes a bite from his doughnut* Paying fifty cents for this doughnut at a convenience store was one of the hardest things I've ever done in recent memory...**

"King Dedede, I think you're getting fatter each and every day..." remarked Sonic, concerned for the penguin's health. Didn't require rocket science to tell that Dedede was dangerously overweight. "You should seriously work out with Wii Fit, she can get you fit in no time!"

"Pfft, me working out, in your dreams!" scoffed king Dedede, folding his arms and looking to the other side. "I don't need to lose any weight, I'm fine just the way I am! Haven't had any health problems due to weight - you're just overreacting!" Only Dedede would believe in such lies - him and his Waddle Dee lackeys that follow and listen to his every whim.

"But would you want to find a woman, a woman who wouldn't tolerate your large weight and prefer you to be slim?" asked Wii Fit Trainer, as King Dedede pondered over this thought. The only woman he ever had was Jacky's sister, Sarah Bryant, and that was only temporary. "No sane woman would be seen with a fatso like yourself - heck, even Sarah Bryant talked about how humiliating it felt to be associated with you at the Valentine's Day party!"

"Clearly my lovely Waddle Dees have told me otherwise, my large weight _is_ working against me..." What was Dedede talking about, the Waddle Dees can't even speak! "You know what, maybe I do need to lose weight! Wii Fit Trainer, can you show me the ways, just this once?"

"King Dedede..." Wii Fit took a brief pause before saying the following, "...I've been waiting forever for you to say that!" The trainer then looked towards Sonic, who was now showing off while running backwards on the treadmill. "Sonic, would you like to help King Dedede lose weight?"

"Anything to get rid of that big belly of his!" was the hedgehog's reply. Usually he didn't help out fellow brawlers often, but this would be one of the only few exceptions.

* * *

"I'm so proud-a of you, Diddy Kong, going on your first-a date!" Mario commended Diddy Kong, as the spidermonkey was getting dressed in his tuxedo shirt in front of the mirror in his room (the only piece of clothing he was wearing). Yes, Diddy was about to go on his first date - a date with the love of his life, Dixie Kong. If his uncle Donkey Kong went on a date with Candy Kong, then what's stopping Diddy from going on a date with his woman?

"Been a long time coming, but finally it's happening - here's hoping I don't screw things up!" remarked Diddy as he fastened his bowtie. Seriously, wouldn't it hurt for the monkey to at least wear some pants? Would be informal to go to a restaurant on a date pantsless.

 **Donkey Kong: Cranky Kong couldn't believe it when I told him that Diddy was going on his first date - he was all like, "Sixty-seven chapters in and that dumb author is finally allowing Diddy Kong to go on a date?! What's next, he's gonna have Link and Zelda marry one another in an impromptu wedding?!" All fourth-wall breaking aside, Cranky was very astonished about Diddy dating, and also very proud - and I couldn't be a more proud uncle than I am right now!**

"Your boutonnière is ready, can't wear a tuxedo in public without a boutonnière!" Donkey Kong entered the room, giving the flora decoration to Diddy. Admit it, you had now idea that the flowers you see on tuxedos were called boutonnières until now. "I guarantee you Dixie will be blown away at how dapper you look!"

"Dixie would be blown away regardless, she'll melt out of love!" said a slightly confident Diddy, as he placed the boutonnière on his tuxedo shirt. "Alright Mario, I'm all ready to go, ready when you are!" Mario agreed to drive Diddy to the venue of his date - a pacific northwest restaurant called Canlis - and the plumber rented a car fro the dealership Jacky was working at.

"The car's-a ready, I'm-a ready, you're-a ready, so let's-a go!" exclaimed Mario as he walked Diddy Kong and Donkey Kong out of the room. The plumber got out his phone and played the song "Toast of the Town" by Motley Crue, as he walked Diddy Kong and his uncle to their destination, while many onlookers watched on.

"Lookin' good Diddy, have fun on your date!" Captain Falcon saluted to the spidermonkey, who was strutting his stuff down the hallway.

"Don't do anything embarrassing in front of Dixie!" Larry called out to Diddy from afar, giving him strong words of advice.

"Hable con su corazón no con su mente!" Meta Knight also called out to Diddy with words of advice, albeit in Spanish. What a showoff, that guy...

After walking through the halls of the Smash Mansion like a bunch of real Gs, Mario, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong finally arrived outside, and walked towards the car parked at the driveway, next to Master Hand's Lamborghini - a red 2016 Ferrari. Master Hand was outside, having appointed another unfortunate person to drive his dream car. The person picked was Tails, who was well below the age limit for driving.

"But Master Hand, I can't drive yet, I mean I have a SEGA license, but not an actual driver's license!" the yellow fox tried to tell the giant hand, but Master Hand believed that Tails was making up lousy excuses to prevent himself from driving the Lamborghini. "Why not have Knuckles drive instead?"

"You have driven a helicopter before, haven't you?" questioned Master Hand, pointing his giant finger at Tails. "If you can drive a helicopter, then you can drive just about any vehicle in existence! And you've competed in races against the likes of Sonic and Dr. Eggman, so you're the perfect guy for..." Master Hand was cut off when he saw Mario and company approach the Ferrari, and got inside. "Where on earth are you blokes going off to?"

"I'm-a taking Diddy Kong on-a his first date!" explained Mario before he got inside the car, leaving Master Hand rather unamused. Though it was hard to tell if a giant hand was unamused, given the lack of a face.

 **Yoshi: Ha ha, at last, I can finally earn the respect I've been craving for so long! Gone will be the days I get ridiculed by my peers, gone will be the threats I receive from Master Hand to change my ways ways, gone will be the demands to be kicked out of the mansion for good - once I'm through with my awesome deeds, everyone will be in perfect harmony, and soon they'll all forever be indebted to me!**

"Diddy Kong's going on his first date, eh?" Master Hand raised an imaginary eyebrow. "Well I sure hope all goes well for him. He knows how chicks can be!" Master Hand returned his attention to Tails, who was lowkey feeling miserable now. "Let's get this show on the road Tails - show me what you're made of!"

"Whatever you say, Master Hand..." the yellow fox sighed depressingly as he turned the Lamborghini on, and drove out of the driveway, before heading out on the road.

"You fellas all-a buckled in?" Mario asked the Kongs after Master Hand and Tails left; Donkey Kong and Diddy buckled their seatbelts in. So they can be safe, as Dora the Explorer would say in third-person. "Excellent, now off-a to Canlis we-a go!" Mario started up the Ferrari, and drove out of the driveway and to the restaurant.

* * *

Away from the driveway and near the garden shed, Cloud was resting away in a hammock, while his woman Aertih was tending to the plants in the gardens. The flower girl's busy time in the gardens gave Cloud a chance to be his individualistic self, allowed him to soak in solitude and peace without being bothered. But the swordsman would be bothered, when a baseball landed on his stomach, causing him to open his eyes and see the ball on his stomach.

"What the..." Cloud picked up the baseball and held it in his hand, as Toon Link and Ness came over, the latter holding a baseball bat. "You two were playing baseball in the backyard, weren't you? Can you try not to hit a home run over here next time?" Cloud asked the two baseball players once he noticed them.

"Sorry about that Cloud, we tried not to put too much oomph into hitting the baseball," apologized Ness, scratching the back of his head with a nervous, apologetic grin. "Guess we put a little more oomph than usual when hitting that baseball in your hand..."

"If you want, we can play far back in the backyard, so we won't risk hitting the ball out far deep," said Toon Link, as Cloud handed the baseball back to him. The ex-SOLDIER wasn't in much pain - he was just glad he wasn't struck in the nether regions. That would have been bad. "Or we can play in my bounce house, we won't be able to disturb you then! Unless we make too much noise..."

"Cloud, Cloud, you gotta come quick, Aerith's up to no good!" Link came running to his best friend, in a state of hurry. Cloud quickly got out of the hammock, wanting to see what all the hullabaloo was about. "You're not gonna like what you're gonna see..."

"Aerith's off planting stuff in the gardens, I think you may be blowing things out of proportion Link," stated Cloud, doing his best to calm Link down. But the way Link was, clearly something was up with Cloud's woman.

"Aerith _was_ planting stuff in the gardens, now she's...well, you have to see for yourself." This suddenly made Cloud more intrigued, and an eavesdropping Ness and Toon Link rather curious.

* * *

 **Proto Man: I'm sorry but I can't stay in that gaming room...a bunch of freaky stuff's going down there. Can't really say what was going on, but if I had a human stomach, I'd be throwing up all over the place right now...**

Link guided Cloud, Ness, and Toon Link to the gaming room, and upon arrival, the Hylian pointed at the far corner of the gaming room, where Aerith was sitting on a couch. Cloud looked over at Aerith, and was suddenly taken back by what he was seeing...his girlfriend Aerith seated on a couch next to Ike, and _flirting with the man._ Cloud's nightmares were now realized.

"You know, I have a soft spot for men with swords..." Aerith said romantically as she started to cuddle with Ike, much to Cloud's dismay. For once, the swordsman's mouth was fully agape. "But you...with your cheekbones and blue eyes...you're irresistable..." How could Aerith be saying such things when Cloud was around?

"That's right, baby girl, you better recognize!" gleamed Ike; no doubt Cloud was gonna pummel Ike for calling her "baby girl". "I'm the best swordsman there is, not that pathological loner Cloud!"

"Ike, Ike, he's our man, if he can't do it, no one can!" cheered Puppet Mia, her voice provided by yours truly, Ike. "Give me an I, give me a K, give me an E, what does that spell? IKE!"

"Shut up Mia, you're ruining my flow..." Ike threw away Puppet Mia like she was hot trash, throwing her on the floor. About time the man disposed of that stupid puppet. "So Aerith, how about I tell you the story of how I became the Radiant Hero?"

"Enjoy having your heart broken," Ganondorf chuckled as he walked past a still agape Cloud, patting the swordsman on the back. The Demon Lord would take a sip from a soda can he was holding in his hand...only to spit the contents out when he saw Rosalina, leaned against a wall, speaking with Cilan. And yes, if you were following along from Ike and Aerith, Rosalina and Cilan were _flirting_ with one another, much to Ganondorf's chagrin.

"We make a nice pair Rosalina...you'll always have a pizza my heart!" Cilan said to Rosalina, making the mother of Lumas giggle with his use of love-related food puns. Ganondorf fumed, as he crushed his soda can with the strong grip of his hand; Cilan went from Pokemon connoisseur to Mr. Steal Yo Girl real quick!

"Okay this is getting insane and completely out of hand," remarked Cloud, as he broke out of his gaze. "Do you know what caused Aerith to fall in love with Ike, Link?" Link was nowhere to be found. "Link, where'd you go man?" Cloud looked around for his best friend, his head turning left and right.

"I think Link just found himself a new soulmate..." Toon Link said nervously as he pointed at the Hylian...who was seated at a table flirting with Samus, the least romantic person in the mansion. One moment, Link had brought Cloud to the gaming to show him that Aerith was cheating on him with Ike, and now the Hylian was cheating on Zelda...with Samus, of all people. Some strange magic clearly must be afoot!

 **Cloud: I've been used to Samus being an uncaring apathetic lady, so to see her being romantic with Link, watching her flirt and making all these sexy faces and smiling nonstop... *shivers* ...that's a mental image I won't get out of my head for a good while. However, I don't think Zelda would strongly appreciate Link cheating on her, she and Link were meant for each other. Like how Aerith and I were meant for each other. If there's not an outside force making Ike flirt with my woman, and he's flirting on his own accord, then the man who "fights for his friends" won't ever see his friends again once I'm through with him...**

"This makes no sense, how did Link suddenly fall in love with Samus that quickly?" questioned Cloud, as the Link and Samus connection continued. "Also, was Samus even in the gaming room to begin with?" Ness pondered over Cloud's question very thoughtfully...until he snapped his fingers when he assumed who the culprit was.

"I think I might now the person behind all of this," the PSI whiz said to Cloud and Toon Link. "But before we bust the culprit, we gotta tell Zelda the bad news before she later finds out!"

* * *

"So why exactly are we watching random wrestling videos with Pit and Kirby?" questioned Touma, as he, Itsuki, Fox, and Falco were in the movie room, watching some recent wrestling footage with Pit and Kirby. Wrestlemania 33 was two days away, and Pit and Kirby were at peak excitement (though to be fair, Kirby was always at peak excitement all the time).

"You said you wanted to be a tokusatsu hero, did you not?" replied Fox, who was eating popcorn that he refused to share with anyone, not even his main man Falco. "The dudes you see fighting on TV are like tokusatsu heroes - they act, they fight, they deal with drama, and all sorts of stuff."

"I shouldn't even be here, I don't even watch wrestling or tokusatsu shows," stated Itsuki, raising his finger to be seen. The fellow was an everyman - an ordinary guy folks can identify with - and that kinda made him slightly boring.

"Wow Itsuki, way to be extremely intolerant towards what other people like!" frowned Falco, shaking his head at the Star Records employee and staff member. "If you wanna be so intolerant, then why don't you take your intolerant behind outta here?"

"BUT YOU AND FOX PRACTICALLY FORCED ME TO WATCH THIS WRESTLING CRAP, AND THREATENED TO FIRE ME FROM STAR RECORDS IF I DIDN'T COMPLY!"

"And now you have the gall to yell out obvious facts while Pit and Kirby are enjoying wrestling? Don't you have any nerve, man?!" Itsuki ultimately decided against arguing with Falco, for that would take him on a road to nowhere. And nobody likes being stuck in nowhere.

 **Pit: Viridi sent me a text earlier notifying me that she dumped me for Lloyd...and I'm taking that text message with a strong grain of salt. For all we know, Viridi could be using Lloyd as leverage, manipulating him to buy me that new _Metal Gear Solid_ game. After all, Toon Link did say last year that Viridi would buy me a new _Metal Gear Solid_ game, and that's pretty much the reason why our relationship has remained intact. I'm giving Viridi all the time in the world to fulfill her promise - the promise she was too afraid to tell me!**

"SUPERMAN PUNCH, SUPERMAN PUNCH!" WWE commentator Michael Cole said, as he was commentating a match between WWE superstars Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman - a Samoan bad guy who wasn't really much of a bad guy in kayfabe (look it up) vs a long-lost member of the _Duck Dynasty_ crew. Reigns delivered a Superman punch to Strowman, and then followed it up with a spear, before pinning Strowman and accruing victory.

"Aw yeah, Roman Reigns won!" cheered Pit, he and Kirby getting all pumped up for a match they already saw live last week. "Sucks that Reigns might lose to Undertaker at Wrestlemania though, wonder why Taker never buries the foes he defeats at Wrestlemania in his graveyard..." Maybe because Undertaker wasn't an actual undertaker in real life?!

"This whole watching of wrestling stuff would have been a lot more beneficial to me had we watched some masked wrestlers or something," remarked Touma, as he got up from his seat, yawning and stretching his arms. Masked characters are a staple in tokusatsu shows, with _Power Rangers_ obviously being a very strong example.

"Is there a way to stop this video recording?" asked Itsuki as he walked up to the VCR - a rather high-tech VCR. The young man saw a button on the VCR, and wondered if it was a stop button. Curiosity couldn't stop him now. "I wonder what this button does..."

"No man, don't press it, you don't know what it can..." Fox tried to warn Itsuki, but it was too late - Itsuki pressed the button, and suddenly the television screen went off, the last image being Roman Reigns on top of a turnbuckle with his arms raised in the air in triumph. Next thing that transpired next, a beam shot out from the VCR, as a pixelated version of Roman Reigns formed in front of Itsuki and company. The pixelated wrestler was standing, with raised arms being the last thing to be generated. Ituski and company were in complete awe.

"What is this place?" Reigns looked around, no longer inside a WWE ring and now pixelated inside the Smash Mansion. His eyes suddenly fell upon Itsuki, and then the others, with Pit and Kirby super close to fangirling all over the place. "What are you punks looking at?!"

"Looks like some introductions are in order..." Fox heaved a heavy sigh. No doubt Pit and Kirby were gonna be all over the grill of Roman Reigns, one of the favorite wrestlers. They'd better not annoy the heck out of the others with their fangirling.

* * *

While a guy like Roman Reigns was already fit, a certain penguin by the name of King Dedede was doing everything he can to become fit, and was relying on Wii Fit Trainer and Sonic to help him lose some weight, and maybe a few carbs. The fitness trainer and the blue hedgehog had Dedede all sorts of exercises, from running on a treadmill to jumping rope, and as you would believe, Dedede's weight was mostly working against him. But the king of Dream Land yearned for a smaller body, no matter the cost or the consequence.

 **Wii Fit Trainer: King Dedede has been showing tremendous progress so far - he's far more capable at doing certain exercises than Sonic and I would have ever imagined, and he's been a very great sport too! I have yet to hear him gripe or complain with how rigorous the exercises are!**

 **Sonic: At the end of the day, King Dedede isn't just going to be a loser jerk who bullies other people - he's gonna be a loser jerk who bullies other people AND beats them up to a pulp without the use of his hammer! Heck, once we're through with him, he might as well give up his giant hammer, give it to someone else...like me! Then Amy and I can be the Bash...Couple! Yeah, the Bashful Couple, sounds legit!**

"C'mon King Dedede, we know you can do it!" encouraged Wii Fit Trainer as she and Sonic oversaw King Dedede doing sit-ups in the fitness center, or at least trying to sit-ups while fighting against his massive weight. "Sonic, I think we need to kick this into full gear!"

"Right on Wii Fit, time for some true workout music!" Sonic sped out of the fitness center, and came back with a boombox. The blue blur placed the boombox on the floor and pressed the play button, as the _Rocky_ theme blared from the boombox. With the music blaring, King Dedede pushed himself to the limit, but unfortunately the effort he put in was all negated by his big frame, and soon the penguin gave up, before the _Rocky_ lyrics were sung. Sweat was pouring down his blue face, as the king of Dream Land huffed and puffed - but in no condition to blow any little piggie's house down.

"I don't think I can do it, I give up..." declared King Dedede, alarming Wii Fit Trainer and Sonic very much, but Wii Fit Trainer the most. "I've been giving it my all, and I still see no progress...maybe you guys can, but as for me..."

"Don't give up, King Dedede, I know you can do it!" Wii Fit got on the floor on her hands and knees, looking at Dedede straight in the eye. "You may not see it, but Sonic and I have, and we see progress - we see a seemingly changed person, the progress we see is more than just physical! The previous King Dedede would have whined about having to do these grueling workouts, and would have thrown in the towel right from the start. But you're changed now, you've gradually changed in front of the eyes of Sonic and I, and for that..."

Suddenly something clicked inside Wii Fit's head, as the trainer stopped speaking, like some important realization had formed in her head. Sonic and King Dedede briefly looked at one another, wondering what was going on.

"Um, Wii Fit, you feeling alright, why'd you stop?" questioned Sonic; what happened next may or may not disturb you to some degree.

"And for that..." Wii Fit Trainer picked up from where she left off, "...I love you very, very much." She said this rather romantically, and it was enough to make Sonic a little sick. King Dedede would have been disgusted as well, the thought of Wii Fit Trainer falling in love with him possibly unnerving the penguin, but however...

"I love you very much too, babe.." King Dedede said to Wii Fit Trainer, and then the penguin and Wii Fit started making out on the fitness center floor, making Sonic even more sick. A barf bag would come in handy right now.

 **Sonic: Okay, just let me get this off of my chest for good...the sight of King Dedede and Wii Fit Trainer kissing one another, _on the lips,_ was perhaps the most disturbing thing I've ever seen. *thinks for a brief moment* Actually, that was the _second_ most disturbing thing I've ever seen. The most disturbing thing I've ever seen would probably be seeing Luigi naked in the bathroom, after finishing taking a shower. Does that man believe in locking bathroom doors? I guess not...I mean, he left his entire house unlocked during the Disney World vacation. His coffee maker was absolutely ripe for the taking!**

* * *

"Darn it Mario, thanks to your gas station visit and filling up the car's gas tank, we've arrived at Canlis on a very late notice!" frowned Donkey Kong as he, Mario, and Diddy Kong got out of the car at the Canlis parking lot. Mario and DK only came just to see how Diddy would fare on his first date, in case you didn't know yet. "Poor Dixie must be waiting tirelessly for her Prince Charming to arrive, and you've been holding things up!"

"Oh, so it's-a MY fault the gas pump refused-a to cooperate!" Mario fired back, putting the blame on some lousy gas pump because he was the most notable Nintendo person and was probably deflecting all of the blame. "Maybe you should have-a filled up the gas-a tank!"

"Can you two please stop arguing, I wanna start my date off on a positive note!" shouted Diddy Kong, bringing the short argument to a solemn end. Mario and Donkey Kong quickly put their differences aside, at least for the time being, that is...

The threesome of Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, and Mario entered the Canlis restaurant, and soaked up the atmosphere - a very formal, orientated atmosphere. A waiter was standing at the front podium, and Diddy Kong ran up to said waiter, with Mario and Donkey Kong tagging along.

"Hello there, good sir - I do believe I reserved a date here at Canlis," the spidermonkey greeted the waiter, who glanced at the primate and then looked up at Mario and Donkey Kong, both video game icons towering over Diddy (though Mario wasn't towering as much).

"You reserved a date for Mario and Donkey Kong - an Italian plumber and a gorilla?" questioned the waiter, alarming Diddy. Time to clear things up before the waiter started generating some ideas in his head...

"No, you got it all wrong, let me clarify...I reserved a date for me and my woman, Dixie Kong. She must have arrived long before I did." The waiter nodded, now having received this bit of clarification from Diddy Kong.

"Ah yes, Dixie Kong...she has been waiting for your arrival, and now that you're here, it seems like her patience has finally paid off. Your date is seated over there, in the far right corner of the restaurant." The waiter pointed to where Dixie Kong was, and Diddy and company went in that direction. Dixie was seated at the table, with her adorned pink dress; she couldn't have picked a more perfect outfit for her first date with Diddy.

 **Snake: Yes, yes, I'm aware of Diddy Kong going on his date with Dixie Kong, my memory loss isn't failing me now...though it will fail me whenever I have to use the bathroom, can't wet my spy suit again. Speaking of Diddy's date, Hisui did a bet with me, and I can only win the bet if Diddy somehow screws up his date with Dixie. A guy like myself would spy on Diddy, but I've been spying on two previous romantic dates in the past, and spying on this one would be deemed cheating. Like the old saying goes, cheaters get stitches...or is it snitches who get stitches? Why would they even need stitches in the first place?**

"Hi Dixie Kong, you look extremely nice today," Diddy greeted his date, complimenting her good looks and her dress; Mario and Donkey Kong sat at an occupied table, watching all the action unfold without Dixie having to see them.

"Oh, hello there, Diddy Kong, about time you showed up..." replied Dixie; the way she sounded, it seemed like she didn't want to see Diddy. All that waiting must have taken all the emotion and joy out of her system.

"What's wrong Dixie, you're not excited to see me? Did I have you waiting too long? It was Mario's fault, he drove me to this restaurant and thanks to his little pit stop, we arrived very late, so you can put all the blame on him!" Mario felt unpleasant about Diddy Kong designating him as the blame guy, and wished to give the spidermonkey a piece of his mind, but suddenly remembered that he was in a restaurant, a restaurant full of people that wouldn't hestiate in the slightest to whip out their smartphones and record some nifty footage of a grown Italian man berating the ever-living heck out of an innocent spidermonkey embarking on a date.

"The long wait is one reason for my lack of excitement...my other reason is that...is that I'm not really that interested in you anymore, Diddy. At least along the terms of love and romance." This remark obviously broke Diddy's poor heart, and shocked Mario and Donkey Kong. How on earth could Dixie no longer love Diddy, this was the same chick who texted the spidermonkey nonstop back in episode 38, when Diddy constantly pestered Robin for some love advice!

"So you're saying that you no longer love me?! Why didn't you tell me this before, DK and I practically worked our butts off to afford a reservation at this restaurant, it was supposed to be our special moment, me and you! If you don't want to go on a date with me...then who else do you want a date with?"

"Sorry I'm so late babe...it was all on late notice," said a low, broad voice, a voice that Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong, and Mario knew too well. "I was a little busy taking care of some business with the Black Arms, and thankfully the government didn't get involved in my affairs..." This voice belonged to an anti-hero, it belonged to an all-powerful being, and most importantly, it belonged to a hedgehog... _Shadow the Hedgehog._ Diddy and company looked on in sheer shock as Shadow strutted his way to Dixie's table, with a smile that one would be hard-pressed to see on the hedgehog's face. Shadow would lightly brush Diddy aside as he walked towards Dixie, holding a rose in his hand.

"About time you arrived Shadow, you kept me waiting..." Dixie was now smiling, as Shadow sat at the table and placed his rose on the table, pushing the rose with his index finger towards Dixie, who was smiling even harder. Diddy held his head down in sadness, his perfect day ruined by Shadow...but since when was Shadow ever the romantic type?

"Shadow shouldn't-a be this romantic, or show so much-a emotion..." Mario stroked his chin, observing how romantic Shadow was with Dixie. "Clearly there's-a something going on that's-a causing Shadow's change-a in behavior." Donkey Kong agreed with a nod of his head.

* * *

 **Proto Man: Okay, this has seriously gotten out of hand...nearly everyone in the mansion is falling in love, it seems like. Link and Samus...Rosalina and Cilan...Wendy Koopa and Knuckles... *shudders* Who could possibly be next?**

"He is MY man, get your filthy claws off of him!" Tsubasa lashed out at Eleonora, as the two Star Records employees were fighting over Hisui in the middle of the hallway, with Tsubasa tugging on Hisui's right arm, and Eleonora tugging on the dude's left arm.

"You're wrong, Hisui is mine, mine for the taking!" Eleonora retorted, tugging on Hisui's arm and bringing him over to her side. "You don't deserve Hisui, or any other man in this mansion!"

"The chicks, they really dig me," grinned Hisui, the lowkey ladies man; he could care less if Tsubasa and Eleonora were fighting for his love and affection, as long as more chicks were fighting for him - the more ladies, the better! While Tsubasa and Eleonora continued to fight over Hisui, Birdo was holding her man Robin by the hand as she led the mage throughout the hallway...and Robin was allowing this to happen!

"Where are we going to, my love?" asked Robin, who was once running away from Birdo in the two previous episodes, now enamored with the bird creature and seemingly pushing his girlfriend Lucina to the side.

"Wherever our loves takes us, dear Robin, just hold your horses!" replied Birdo as she led Robin to who-knows-where, as the bird creature and the mage walked past Proto Man, who was left shaking his head in distraught. Who would ever imagine Robin hooking up with Birdo after being disgusted with her for the past two weeks?

"This day just keeps on getting weirder and weirder..." remarked Proto Man, before he heard a knock at the front door. Proto Man, who was already on the first floor, dashed to the front door and opened it, surprised to see a lovely woman, with her pink hair in long ponytails and red-shaded glasses over her eyes, with a sleeveless black turtleneck and red pants to boot. Proto Man quickly recognized who this woman was. "Kalos Elite Four member Malva?!" he blurted out in shock.

"Greetings, adorably cute red robot," smiled Malva, leaving Proto Man to wonder whether Malva was complimenting her or not. The robot had learned from Cilan about how Malva tended to operate, in terms of personality and getting along with others. "Is Mr. Game and Watch here? Had to quit my Holo Caster broadcast in order to..."

"I'm right over here babe!" Mr. Game and Watch called out to Malva; he was busy sweeping the floor until he dropped the broom onto the floor...out of the name of _love_. Proto Man watched in horror as Malva made her way inside the mansion and strutted towards Mr. Game and Watch...and gave him a kiss on his head.

"My apologies for being away from you for so long, you know how busy it is being a news reporter and all..." Malva grabbed Mr. Game and Watch's hand, and led him out of the foyer, while Proto Man looked on in disgust. "How about we make up for some lost time?"

"You don't have to ask me twice! I know, let's go over to the gaming room, on the third floor - that's the best place for making out!" Proto Man awkwardly closed the door and walked away, hoping to get the mental image of Malva and Mr. Game and Watch out of his head sometime soon.

 **Proto Man: Malva and Mr. Game and Watch? Now _that's_ the most disturbing pairing I have seen all day long. *pauses* ...and I think I know who would come up with such a demented pairing in the first place! But I can't deal with this situation alone though...it might take a Blue Bomber or two to solve this little crisis...**

* * *

"Are you really sure he's the one behind this mess?" Yuffie asked Sheik, as the two female ninjas and Greninja were patrolling the mansion for the culprit responsible for the strange pairings that have been happening today. Cloud, Ness, and Toon Link had told Zelda about Link falling in love with Samus, and then told the princess about all the other couples that transpired out of nowhere, and then Ness offered his take on who the bozo making these couples come to existence was. And now Zelda, taking up the persona of Sheik, rounded up her crew and were looking for this suspect.

"Ness clearly stated who it was, and our suspect has a long history of..." Sheik stated before receiving a tap on her shoulder from Greninja. "What is it Greninja, did you find him?"

"Gre, gre, Greninja!" stated the ninja Pokemon, pointing far down the hallway at not the culprit, but a group of seven individuals walking towards the ninja trio. Sheik squinted her eyes, trying to make out who this seven was.

"Let's see...there's Fox and Falco...Pit and Kirby...Itsuki and Touma...why does the seventh guy look somewhat familiar?" The seventh guy Sheik was referring to was the pixelated Roman Reigns, who judging by his facial expression was looking for a fight. The ninjas would have hid in a hiding spot, but it was too late, for Reigns and company had caught up to them.

"Hey you guys, look who's here, it's Roman Reigns!" exclaimed Pit, pointing at the pixelated wrestler. "Say hi to Sheik, Yuffie, and Greninja Reigns!" Reigns didn't greet the ninjas - he just wanted to challenge them to a three-on-one fight. No challenge was too big for the big dawg.

"The blue frog guy doesn't look so shabby to me," Reigns whispered inside Fox's ear, not in the slightest intimidated by Greninja. He could turn the ninja Pokemon into frog sushi in just the blink of an eye.

"Well he _is_ a Pokemon, so..." stated Fox. He and Falco would have returned Reigns to where he belonged, but Pit and Kirby indulged the Star Fox pilots to keep the Samoan wrestler around, just for fun.

 **Reigns: They call this place the Smash Manison? *scoffs, then chuckles* So far it has been anything BUT the Smash Mansion, it's like they've taken the word "Smash" out of it and replaced it with "Love"! Seriously, all I ever see is folks either being romantic or making out with one another, it's like some crazy disease hit this place! When I was brought here to this mansion, I expected to see a fight, not some _Bachelor_ crap everywhere I go!**

"Lemme guess - Pit and Kirby are the reason why there's a pixelated wrestler in the mansion," guessed Yuffie. The ninja wrestler was somewhat right - Itsuki was responsible for warping Reigns out of the TV, but Pit and Kirby wished to keep Reigns around.

"Actually it was my doing; we were watching a few wrestling clips in the movie room, and I accidentally pressed the wrong button on the VCR and that's why Reigns is here with us," explained Itsuki. "He claims that he's looking for a fight, and so we've been walking around the mansion for a challenger of sorts to fulfill his desire to fight someone. Given that he's pixelated, I doubt that he can hurt us..."

"Well why don't we just see for ourselves?" Reigns punched Itsuki's left arm, and the dude yelped in pain and clutched the place where he was punched. "Pfft, I bet I didn't hit that hard...what a wimp."

Suddenly Reigns and company heard a muffled voice, coming from a nearby closet - a closet next to Sheik. The Hylian ninja kicked the closet door down with authority, and was surprised to see who was inside - Ashley's assistant Red, bound and gagged to a chair.

"Red!" Sheik yelled out the imp's name as she entered the closet and untied the imp, then taking the duct tape off his mouth. "Who did this to you, who in their right mind would tie you up and lock you inside a closet?"

"If I recall correctly, it was some eyepatch man wearing a black coat," replied Red. An eyepatch man wearing a black coat?! That could mean only one thing...

* * *

Xemnas stood outside in front of the mansion's lake, laughing like a maniac as Red walked up to the Nobody. No, this wasn't Red the Pokemon Trainer, it was Red the assistant of Ashley. But now you're thinking, "How could Red be outside with Xemnas, when he was with Sheik and the others?"

The Red that was with Xemnas? He was holding an orb in his hands - the Jade Orb. And he suddenly _transformed_ into a Dusk Nobody, and handed the orb to Xemnas, meaning that the Red outside was an _imposter._

"Our little spy of ours certainly did the trick, did he not?" grinned Xigbar as he approached Xemnas, who was now holding the Jade Orb in his hand. "Gave the notebook to the right person, and then take the Jade Orb out of the mansion while everyone was making out? Genius!"

 **Xigbar: At our last Organization meeting, my man Xemnas was going into detail about how he saw this powerful dragon called Rayquaza out at the mansion's lake, and our boss was interested in turning this Rayquaza into a Heartless. Given that Rayquaza's a dragon and all, I already got in mind what kind of Heartless he shall be...Oh, so Rayquaza doesn't have a gender because it's "legendary"? Good to know... *nods his head***

"With everyone distracted, our plan can go as planned without interruption, and we can destroy this putrid city with an iron fist!" stated Xemnas, as he held the Jade Orb up at the sky. The orb started glowing green, and moments later, Rayquaza descended from the sky, greeting Xemnas and Xigbar with a deafening roar.

"So that's Rayquaza, huh?" Xigbar stroked his chin while sporting a grin. "Didn't expect it to be so skinny...but I can't imagine how much damage it can do to this city once we turn it into a Heartless..."

"One thing I can guarantee you Xigbar...the destruction shall be glorious..." At this point, nothing could deter Xemnas and Xigbar from their devious plans.

* * *

Like Sheik, Greninja, and Yuffie, the threesome of Cloud, Ness, and Toon Link were looking for the whereabouts of the culprit Ness believed to be behind the strange pairings that have been happening today. Their search led them to the kitchen, where Palutena and Dunban were smooching on top of the kitchen counter. You seriously couldn't make this stuff up.

"Please get a room, you two..." Cloud said to the the Homs and the goddess of light as he opened a kitchen cabinet...and saw Yoshi inside, writing away furiously in a notebook of his. "The heck are you even doing in here?" Cloud snatched the green dinosaur from the cabinet and showed him to Ness and Toon Link.

"Yeah, that's the guy, that's the one we're looking for!" Ness pointed at Yoshi, who was now feigning innocence. "Let's bring him over to the dining room, ask him a bunch of questions!" So Cloud would bring Yoshi to the dining room, where Ashley and Mamori were present, with Ashley on a laptop editing a video - the first episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin._

"Look here, you guys, Mamori and I are busy editing this video and upload it online, so if...you...don't..." Ashley started once she heard footsteps enter the dining room, only to trail off when she looked up and saw Yoshi, being held by Cloud. And in his hands was a notebook.

"Hiya Ashley, how's your _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ thing coming along, you finished already?" Yoshi asked the young witch, before Cloud sat the green dinosaur into a chair with aggression. The swordsman then snatched the notebook out of Yoshi's hand and looked through it, seeing things like "Link-Samus", "Palutena-Dunban", "Malva-Mr. Game and Watch"...maybe Ness really was right about Yoshi.

"Yoshi, where did you get this notebook from, and how did you acquire it?" Cloud interrogated the green dinosaur about the notebook; the swordsman had seen enough, seeing Malva's name tied to Mr. Game and Watch's was unsettling for him.

"Got it from Red, he was outside the kitchen and he was writing stuff in it, and he made a Goomba come to life, and then he gave the notebook to me, and then I wrote down all my awesome pairings down in the notebook and made them come to life, and then..." Yoshi ran his mouth about the notebook, before Toon Link motioned the dinosaur to hush; Cloud and company had heard enough.

 **Mamori: The first Americanized episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin..._ was great! Got a lot of cooking and singing done, and although she refused to show it through that blank stare of hers, Ashley had a lot of fun being on the show! I wished Cilan was there to serve as our guest star...**

"Red was hanging around outside the kitchen?" frowned Ashley, her eyes close to turning red. That would be a red flag for Cloud and company to back away from the young witch as much as possible. "I told that imp to stay in the room until I was done with Mamori..."

"You mean this imp?" asked Sheik, who was standing at the dining room entrance with Yuffie, Greninja...and Red, who was more than delighted to see Ashley. The imp excitedly ran to Ashley and leaped into her arms, givign her a hug, and Ashley hugged the imp back...and boy was it awkward. "Glad we found you Ashley...your assistant was trapped inside a closet, and he said he was tied up by a man in a black coat - likely from the Organization."

"Did you ever give a notebook to Yoshi?" Ashley asked Red - the real Red and not the Red that was actually a Nobody. "Yoshi claimed that you were the one who gave him this notebook..." The young witch held up the notebook for Red to see, but the imp furrowed his brow, indicating that he never saw it before.

"Nope, I never interacted with Yoshi at all today...but I do recall this jumpsuit guy turning into me before I was trapped in the closet," explained Red, as Cloud and the others listened attentively. "Maybe he was the one who gave away that notebook!"

* * *

"I'm telling you man, we need to make all these couples break up, you really think Master Hand would appreciate all the romance taking place in his household?" Proto Man asked Mega Man, conversing with the robot and X, Zero, .EXE, and Mewtwo in the movie room.

"Like I said before Proto Man, it would be impossible to make everybody break up with each other all at once, we would have to gather everyone inside a large room for our plan to actually work," stated Zero, fixing his blonde hair. "And you know how much trouble that would be..."

"What do you have to say Mewtwo, you've been quiet during this whole meeting!" .EXE said to the psychic Pokemon, whose eyes were closed as he was deep in thought. "We would really like to hear your input!" Suddenly Mewtwo's eyes opened, and .EXE leaned in closer to hear what the Pokemon had to say...

"I detect an evil presence in the city of Seattle..." said Mewtwo, making out a mental image in his head. "I detect...a giant flying Heartless! And the Organization XIII is riding on top of it - two members, to be exact! The Heartless hasn't destroyed anything yet, so that's a positive..."

"Oh great, first everyone in the mansion is practically in love, and now there's a giant Heartless in the city, what could possibly happen next?!" frowned Proto Man, and right on cue, the group of Fox, Falco, Itsuki, Touma, Pit, and Kirby returned to the movie room...and the pixelated Roman Reigns was still with them.

 **Reigns: This place flat out sucks...all that walking I did with the boys, and nobody wanted to challenge me to a fight...they would rather kiss and smooch all day long than fight me! The ones that I fought would be worthy opponents, they were too in love to do a single thing! At this point, I would just fight some local jobber and get it done with...**

"Sorry we couldn't find you a worthy opponent to fight, bro," Falco patted Reigns on the shoulder; Reigns had saw Ryu, Heihachi, Akuma, and Akira all in the mansion and wanted to fight either one of them, but Ryu and Heihachi were stuck in a love triangle with Bayonetta, and Akuma and Akira were stuck in another love triangle with Star Records secretary Ayaha - all thanks to Yoshi and his matchmaking shenanigans.

"It's okay man, nobody wanted to fight me, I understand..." replied Reigns, before looking up and seeing Mega Man and company before him. "Well there goes some great opponents, nothing like some powerful robots to beat up, amirite?" Mega Man and the others weren't interested in fighting Reigns...they were interested in using the pixelated wrestler to fight someone else.

"Good thing I had upgraded the teleportation device..." remarked X, knowing what use Reigns could be of.

* * *

Diddy Kong sat outside Canlis with Mario and Donkey Kong, looking down at the ground still wearing his tuxedo shirt. Mario would have taken the Kongs back to the mansion, but Diddy was too defeated to get inside the car. To think his girl Dixie Kong was now in love with Shadow...if only he knew that Yoshi was responsible for inadvertently breaking his heart.

"Look on the bright side, my boy - at least Dixie wouldn't have to worry about being single!" grinned Donkey Kong, nudging Diddy...who looked up at his uncle with a crazy expression on his face. Mario looked up at the sky, and gasped in fright as he saw a giant beast flying towards Canlis, with the Heartless insignia on its mouth. This beast was a Heartless known as the Storm Rider, and Xemnas and Xigbar were riding on top of it, looking down at the city.

"Giant Heart-a Less spotted at three-a o'clock!" Mario alerted the Kongs, as Donkey Kong and Diddy got up and saw the Storm Rider fly towards them. They could tell that the heartless was coming towards them - they were just trying to figure out how to take care of the flying beast.

"My Rocketbarrel backpack would really come in handy right now..." said Diddy Kong, before he noticed a muscular figure warp unto the Storm Rider, catching the attention of Xemnas and Xigbar. "Is that who I think it is?"

The person that was now on top of the Storm Rider with Xemnas and Xigbar? It was none other than the pixelated Roman Reigns, who who taunted Xemnas and Xigbar before running up to them and delivering his trademark Superman punch, knocking them off the Heartless. The two Nobodies would fall to the ground, near Mario and company, as Reigns delivered a very wicked punch to the Storm Rider, causing the Heartless to yelp out in pain as it fell to the ground, as far away from Canlis as possible.

 **X: Yeah, I gave the teleportation device a new upgrade - you can enter something like, "random coffee shop in Milwaukee" and the device will warp you to any coffee shop in Milwaukee. So I typed in "flying giant Heartless piloted by Organization XIII in Seattle", and just like that, the device warped the pixelated Reigns to the Heartless's current location...or so I hope. *clasps hands together, as if he was praying* Please work, please work, please work...**

"We've been bested...by some pixelated peon?!" Xemnas frowned as he and Xigbar got up from the ground, only to see Mario, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong ready to fight the both of them. After seeing how their evil plot turned out, Xemnas and Xigbar were in no mood for fighting.

"This ain't over yet - just be glad you never got to fight any Heartless!" Xigbar pointed at Mario and company, summoning a corridor of darkness. "Trust me, we have _plenty_ of other Heartless at our disposal - some much stronger than the one you saw in the skies! Better be prepared, if you know what's good for ya!" And with that, Xigbar and Xemnas went through the corridor of darkness - bitter about their defeat but confident that they would get the job done next time around. Once the corridor of darkness went away, the cry of Rayquaza was heard, as he flew up from where the Storm Rider had landed. In case you didn't know already, Rayquaza _was_ the Storm Rider, having been turned into a Heartless by Xigbar. Now back to normal, Rayquaza flew away, as Mario and the Kongs looked on.

"Didn't Aerith once say that if you become a Heartless you return to your original form once you're defeated?" asked Donkey Kong, recollecting the bits of information Aerith would tell him and the others about the Heartless. Diddy Kong looked down and saw the Jade Orb on the ground - likely dropped by Xemnas as he landed - and picked it up. "Is it even possible for Pokemon to become Heartless?"

"Well it's great-a to know the rules-a that apply in Aerith's-a universe also apply to-a ours," remarked Mario. The plumber looked to his right, and jumped in fright when he saw Reigns, in his pixelated glory.

"Roman Reigns, pleasure to meet you," the pixelated wrestler held out his hand to Mario, who nervously shook it. "I take it that you're the famous Mario? Never thought we would ever meet, but here we are...granted I may be some pixelated dude, but hey, I'll take whatever I can get..."

Before Mario could have a chance to speak to Reigns, the pixelated wrestler suddenly faded away, as his pixels slowly dispersed one by one, meaning that X was most likely warping Reigns back to the mansion. Mewtwo must have detected that the Storm Rider was gone, and therefore it was time for Reigns to return.

"There you are, my sweet babboo!" Dixie Kong suddenly rushed out of Canlis, channeling her inner Sally Brown, as she ran up to Diddy Kong and gave him a hug. It wasn't a bone-crushing hug, but it most definitely surprised Diddy.

"What are you doing outside Dixie?" questioned Diddy, as he looked back and saw Shadow exit Canlis, frowning with the rose in his hand. "Did you and Shadow break up or something?"

"Shadow broke up with me! Actually, I don't exactly remember what happened, it was weird - it seemed like Shadow and I were in love, and then a moment later we were no longer...in love. So I guess we're still boyfriend-girlfriend!" Just like that, Diddy's broken heart was mended back together again.

 **Shadow: Before I move the embarrassment of falling in love with a monkey and going on a date with her at a restaurant chock full of people behind me forever, I have these three words to say...love is overrated. *tosses rose into a nearby lake and walks away***

"All's well that ends-a well..." Mario smiled as he watched Diddy and Dixie embrace one another with Donkey Kong. "But I must-a say, how on earth-a did Shadow and Dixie become-a enamored with one another?"

* * *

The reason for the Dixie-Shadow couple was none other than Yoshi, scribbling this odd couple down in a notebook a Dusk Nobody in the form of Red had given him - and now this notebook was being burned by Tails, who had lit the book on fire. The yellow fox and Master Hand returned from their Lamborghini ride, and after Toon Link told Master Hand about Yoshi's shenanigans, Master Hand ordered Yoshi to give the notebook to Tails, so the yellow fox could burn it to smithereens. The burning took place outside, with Zelda, Cloud, Ness, Toon Link, Ashley, Mamori, Yuffie, and Greninja witnessing the act.

"Ugh, what happened..." Link wondered as he arrived at the scene, rubbing his head. "Samus slapped the crap out of me for no reason..." The Hylian had proof of this, as evidenced by the red marks all over his face.

"You were being romantic with Samus in the gaming room and doing all sorts of romantic things with her," explained Zelda; Link suddenly felt naseous, as he ran to the mansion's lake and threw up in it. Those poor water-type Pokemon swimming in the lake...

"Please come back babe, we were just getting started!" Mr. Game and Watch cried out to Malva, the 2-D man holding onto the reporter's ankle as Malva exited the mansion through the front door, having to drag Mr. Game and Watch with her. "You can always come back!"

"I don't know how I got here, and I don't know why I'm here either, now leave me alone!" Malva snapped on Mr. Game and Watch, shaking him loose. "I never want to see you again!" Malva marched away, leaving a somber Mr. Game and Watch on the ground wailing. His Dynatox voice thingamajig wasn't doing him any favors.

* * *

"Let's see, King Dedede, you have lost...fifty pounds!" exclaimed Wii Fit Trainer, reading the fat penguin's weight on a scale with Sonic. Wii Fit and Dedede were no longer in love (thank goodness), and with both brawlers feeling awkward afterwards, they decided to call it quits for today's exercising. "Told you some progress was made!"

"Yeah, I should have known better than to doubt myself, I'm kinda surprised with how well I did today," remarked King Dedede, patting his tummy. "Still think that my frame looks the same, doesn't look like I lost fifty pounds to me...but I sure do feel good!"

"As long as you don't make out with Wii Fit the next time we do the exercise stuff..." Sonic began, only to receive a glare from both King Dedede and Wii Fit Trainer. "What, it wasn't like I was making fun of either one of you, I was very much disgusted!"

 **Sonic: *snickers as he holds up his cellphone* Got the entire kissing session all on my phone...a million views on YouTube, here I come...**

"Well I'm glad that we can finally put that little incident behind us once and for all," Wii Fit Trainer said as she grabbed her white towel and placed it behind her neck, now calling it a day. "I'm gonna go get me a snack now, there should be some malasadas left in the kitchen!" So Wii Fit left the fitness center, and to her surprise, she saw a depressed Yoshi, sitting near the entrance with his head down. "So I heard that you were the one who paired me up with King Dedede and made all those other crazy pairings, is that right?" Wii Fit asked Yoshi, sitting down next to the green dinosaur while a screaming Robin ran down the hall past the fitness center entrance with Birdo hot on his heels.

"That notebook was my only chance to make my dreams come true...to make my awesome pairings real..." sighed Yoshi. Awesome pairings? Ha! "But all I did was cause a huge mess, and if what Zelda said was true, I've allowed the Organization XIII to carry out their nefarious plans while everyone was kissing and stuff..."

"You should know better than to play with the emotions and feelings of other people - you think you caused harms to folks who were in a relationship, having their heart broken because their lover suddenly fell in love with another person?" Diddy Kong certainly comes to mind. "Even worse, what if the Organization's plan was a success, that would be even more harmful!"

"I think I learned my lesson today...might as well give up writing romantic fanfiction altogether..." That would be a huge blessing.

"No, I don't think that would be necessary - just don't do anything like that again, writing into some magical notebook and making your pairings come to life. Messing with people's emotions and especially their love life, that's not right." Wii Fit Trainer got up after saying this. "But it's good that you learned that the hard way." And with that, the fitness center walked away, leaving Yoshi alone...until the pixelated Reigns walked by, accompanied by Pit and Kirby fawning over him. Fox and Falco agreed to have the two best friends hang out with Reigns before they warped him back inside that wrestling video.

"Roman Reigns you're so awesome, there should be a new word in the dictionary to describe how awesome you are!" Pit gushed all over Reigns, who was sporting a confident smile on his face as he walked. "Why are you so awesome Reigns, tell us your secret!"

"Sorry kid, but I don't really have a secret...I just do things," responded Reigns, making Pit and Kirby all giddy inside. "If anything, I just make sure not to mess with the wrong people, or mess with people and their emotions at all unless there's something good out of it. Could get yourself in a whole heap of trouble!"

As the pixelated Reigns and his groupies walked by, Yoshi nodded his head with a smile. Not mess with people, and their emotions...something the green dinosaur should have done today.


	68. Episode 68: Tryouts

_Author's Note:_

 _Been in a relatively happy mood this week, what with my favorite wrestler (Jeff Hardy) and my favorite WWE duo (Hardy Boyz) returning to WWE (I was screaming like a little girl when the Hardys returned at Wrestlemania, no joke), and my level of excitement kinda caused me to finish this chapter ahead of schedule...but that won't stop me from answering a few guest reviews!_

 _"Can you add Kurt Irving, Riela Marceris, and Imca from Valkyria Chronicles? Senel and Chloe from Tales of Legendia? And maybe a chapter with the Tales of Symphonia, Legendia, Abyss, Hearts, and Xillia characters meeting each other?"_

 _A meeting of Tales characters? Ooh...that sounds tough, but somewhat manageable. The Valkyria Chronicles characters shall be added to my character list. One more anonymous review:_

 _"Sonic x Gannon?!"_

 _You mean like as an interaction between the two, like how Sonic interacted with Bowser and King Dedede? I'll save that for next week. Up next is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"I legitimately laughed out loud when Roman Reigns was transported to the smash mansion and just kept looking for a fight while everyone was in love but I think that would have fitted Braun Strowman more..."_

 _I chose Roman Reigns over Strowman because I felt like more readers would identify more with Reigns, since he's one of the biggest faces of WWE. Derick also has more to share..._

 _"...must resist urge to suggest transporting Jericho into Mansion so he can put people on lists, urge failing (you must of done this on purpose so I can break my promise to not suggest stuff for three chapters because it's April fools day by the time I read this."_

 _No worries, my friend, I was not purposefully trying force you to give me a suggestion. As for a pixelated Chris Jericho and putting people on his list, I can't really do that, for I've retired the list thing back in chapter 53. Roydigs22, after a long absence, has returned:_

 _"Sorry I haven't reviewed in a few weeks. Chrome decided to hate me."_

 _Yup, happens to all of us...now let's see what Roydigs22 wishes to ask me:_

 _"So! Is lucario getting his glory moment soon?"_

 _Lucario's glory moment will finally take place in the next chapter. I've been planning since chapter 62 for the very moment._

* * *

 **Episode 68: Tryouts**

"I'm gonna warm up your heart, with the press of a button!"

Mamori always ended her episodes of _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ with this line. The line was a staple of a show, a part of the show's fabric, and it kept the cuteness of Mamori's series intact. Mamori's first "Americanized" episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ was a rousing success, achieving the million view mark on YouTube in less than a week, and although the intended guest, Cilan, was too lovestruck with Aerith to appear on the web series thanks to Yoshi, _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ was mostly enjoyed by the mansion residents, and of course, Luigi, Daisy, Yuffie, and even baby Charles, despite the baby not knowing what was going on - he was just happily clapping away at all the cuteness.

However, not everyone watched _Microwave Idol Mamorin -_ the only individual that had yet to seen the video was not Samus (surprise, surprise), but rather Master Hand, who was not only busy during the week, but didn't know how to operate a laptop or computer due to him being a giant hand and all. So today, Fox, Falco, and Ayaha were showing the giant hand the first episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ in his bedroom, wanting to see what his opinion was.

"So Master Hand, what do you think - Mamori and Ashley did a great job in the first episode, no?" Ayaha asked the giant hand, after the video was over. Master Hand initially didn't say anything; perhaps he was piecing his thoughts together. Gotta give the creator of the Smash universe some time to get his feelings out.

"I really enjoyed the video, I really do..." Master Hand finally spoke, "...but I feel like the series needs some fanservice, for the male demographic." This response was met with shocked expressions from Fox, Falco, and Ayaha, with Falco so shocked that he fell to the floor and laughed. He expected Master Hand to state that he was kidding about the fanservice thing, but apparently the hand was being serious...

"Master Hand we can't just add fanservice to _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ you don't typically see fanservice on cooking shows," stated Fox, still in disbelief about what MH had said, though Ayaha was in ever more disbelief. "And besides, the cuteness of the show should do enough to bring in male viewers."

 **Master Hand: What's so wrong with having fanservice, every Japanese show has it! Naruto has it, Dragon Ball Z has it on occasion, Sailor Moon has it in bundles for the most part - heck, even those strange Japanese commercials that give me nightmares have fanservice, depending on the product and the message! Wait a minute, I'm freaking Master Hand...why do I even have nightmares? Do I even sleep?**

"I don't see anything wrong with it," said Master Hand, wishing he had shoulders to shrug with. "Don't get me wrong, Mamori and Ashley are fine as they are, but I feel like they could use an older female character that the male viewers can relate to more, you know what I mean?" Fox and Ayaha didn't know, as evidenced by the weird looks they gave one another. Falco wasn't even listening, he was on the floor recovering from his laughing fit.

"And how do you expect us to acquire this 'older female character', should we have tryouts or something?" asked Fox, and Master Hand snapped his fingers, indicating that either Fox gave the right answer or the giant hand remembered something he was supposed to do today.

"Yeah, that's what we'll do, we'll hold tryouts in the lecture hall to find a third character for _Microwave Idol Mamorin!_ The candidates have to have cooking experience, and we can't allow Palutena to participate, she'll serve in the capacity of making guest appearances."

"Honestly we could have Palutena as a third wheel, she's old and she's female," suggested Ayaha; would Palutena appreciate being called "old"? Given that she doesn't take it well when being called a ma'am, one might assume not. "Granted her cooking is not the best, but she's still serviceable..."

"While that is true, Palutena is an immortal being, who truly knows how old she is. We would need someone no more than five years older than Ashley and Mamori to be a third character, to serve as a 'big sister' companion. Ayaha, I want you to look for the best candidates you can find, and bring them to the mansion. Fox and Falco, I want you to judge the candidates, and decide which candidate will appear on the show! Do I make myself clear?"

"We won't let you down, Master Hand," Ayaha nodded her head, and Fox and a fully recovered Falco gave a thumbs up. All three mutually felt like Master Hand was making a big mistake.

* * *

"It's great that Lady Palutena was nice enough to go on a camping date together, you and I," remarked Pit, as he was walking with Viridi to some campgrounds in Seattle, both lovebirds carrying camping supplies like a tent, a water cooler, some bug ointment, a frying pan, a sack of food, some laxatives maybe (who knows), and other essential items guaranteed to make the camping date a success.

"It's even greater that Jacky was kind enough to drive us to our destination!" added Viridi, who was wearing sunglasses to block the sun's dastardly rays. Yes, Jacky drove Pit and Viridi to a place called Saltwater State Park in Des Moines, Washington, but he dropped the lovebirds off not so far from the campgrounds because he apparently didn't trust Pit that much. Must have been that Great Pumpkin incident long ago.

 **Jacky: Pit and Viridi could have stayed at Saltwater for an entire weekend, but they were given a curfew by Master Hand that was passed down from Palutena, who was worried that some giant bear would appear and eat Pit and Viridi alive. The camping date would be a great test for Pit, it could determine if Pit is a man that can stand up for his lover, or if he'll just remain a boy who plays with _My Little Pony_ dolls. Got video evidence of it too!**

Pit and Viridi, after much walking, arrived at Saltwater State Park, marking their destination at one of the campsites within the park. Pit set up the tent, albeit struggling and somehow nearly injuring himself in the process, while Viridi got out all the equipment, ensuring that the couple brought everything they need. Now it was time to start a fire, to cook stuff on...

"Didn't bring a lighter with me, thought this would be better..." said Pit as he pulled out a Poke Ball, and threw it at the ground, sending out a fire-type Pokemon...but instead the angel sent out Banette, a ghost-type. Viridi looked inquisitively with her arms folded at Pit, who was grinning nervously. "No need to fear, I think this Banette can do the job...Banette, use one of your moves to light a fire on those sticks!"

So the marionette Pokemon would surprise both Pit and Viridi used Will-O-Wisp on the sticks, firing blue flames at the sticks resulting in a campfire of blue flames. It was the likes of which Pit and Viridi never saw before, it left them in awe.

"Yup, I totally knew that was gonna happen," Pit remarked confidently with his hands on his hips, downplaying the fact that he accidentally brought the wrong Poke ball with him on his camping date. So far, it looked like the date was off to a wonderful start.

* * *

"Sir Mario, I have an important document I must share with you!" Isabelle called out as she searched for the Italian plumber. She would find the Italian plumber speaking with Geno and Yashiro in the gaming room. "There you are, Sir Mario - I have a restraining order you have to read at once."

"Did-a you say restraining order?!" panicked Mario, leaping into the arms of Yashiro, who would drop the plumber to the floor if Peach was not present in the gaming room, speaking with Toad. "Who would-a want to file a restraining order against-a ME?"

"No, it's not you who's receiving a restraining order - it's Mr. Game and Watch who's getting one." This caused Mario to furrow his brow in confusion, as Yashiro placed the plumber back down on the floor. "Malva of the Kalos Elite Four filed the restraining order against Mr. GW, after the events that transpired last week, and sent it to the mansion via mail. I believe Mr. GW was already notified by Master Hand about this restraining order. I thought that you would want to take a look at the restraining order and verify everything - I filled most of it out." Isabelle handed the restraining order to Mario, who skimmed the document up and down, front and back, and even checked for grammatical errors.

 **Mr. Game and Watch: Why would Malva want to file a restraining order against me, I'm a good, genuine guy! Does she not know the struggles of being single? Surely she's single as well, so us starting a relationship would be a win-win for the both of us! Perhaps she's not interested in men like myself, she would rather date a bad guy, a troublemaker...and I can be that guy! Just watch! *knocks down a nearby flower pot* See what I did there, I knocked down a flower pot, without even looking! Would Malva love me now?!**

"Yoshi has been unusually quiet over the past week," stated Yashiro, as Mario continued to skim the restraining order. Not only that, but the green dinosaur did not write any fanfiction stories, nor come up with any weird pairings. "I may not have known the dinosaur for that long, but this must be uncharacteristic of him, is that right?"

"Yeah, I'll say; whenever Yoshi doesn't write his fanfiction crap, it's typically a big deal, mostly depending on how long he doesn't write," confirmed Geno, who was relieved that the whole pairing situation last week commenced. Having to see Wendy Koopa and Knuckles act romantic with one another was highly disturbing for the Star Warrior; he could only imagine what it would be like if Wendy's dad, Bowser, was being romantic with any lady not named Peach.

"Make sure-a Mr. Game and-a Watch sees this restraining order," Mario handed Isabelle back the restraining order. "Has a court-a date been set? I can see if-a Phoenix Wright can-a serve as Mr. GW's attorney, if needed."

"The court date is on Monday; we can have Mr. Wright serve as Mr. GW's attorney, but I doubt he won't have that much of an impact in court," stated Isabelle. "From what I've heard from Red the Pokemon Trainer, Malva is a _very_ persuasive woman..." Considering Malva used to be a Team Flare member, that's not much of a shocker.

"Very well-a then, off-a you go." And with that, Isabelle left Mario be, as the plumber returned his attention to Geno and Yashiro. The idol and the Star Warrior were having a brief conversation while Mario was handling business with Isabelle, and the conversation led to an offer Geno wished to propose to Mario.

"So you've noticed that Yoshi has been acting very differently, correct?" the Star Warrior asked Mario, who nodded his head affirmingly. "I believe that his actions the previous week has been making him feel somewhat remorseful, and for that reason, he hasn't been writing or matchmaking or the like - dare I say it, he might even be a little moody. Bringing a familiar face over to the mansion and hang out with Yoshi could lift his spirits up."

"And just who do you have in mind?" asked Mario, now agreeing with Geno's plan. Just who was this so-called "familiar face"?

* * *

"See that lovely girl over there, Little Mac?" Doc Louis asked Little Mac, as he pointed at Leia who was outside monitoring a one-on-one basketball between Sonic and Gil, a game Sonic easily could win. "That girl was flirting with Gil of all people last week, she flirtin' with a bookworm for crying out loud! You gonna take that?"

"No sir, not by any means!" shouted Little Mac, sounding like a soldier receiving orders from an army general. He didn't care that Leia was in love with Gil, partly because it was only temporary, but Doc Louis was using the incident as motivation of sorts.

 **Doc Louis: Thankfully I wasn't caught up in Yoshi matchmaking misadventures, but I couldn't blame him for pairing me up with anyone - not that many sistas that would look good with Jerome "Doc" Louis, if ya know what I mean! Besides, sistas are strong, independent women, they don't need no man, they can just rely on themselves! Me, I'm a strong independent black man who don't need no woman, for I got all the chocolate that I need to keep myself happy! *takes a bite out of his chocolate bar* Dang, Meredith, why'd they have to make you taste so good...**

"Here's what I want you to do Mac - I want you to walk to Leia, grab her, and then dip her and confess your love to her," commanded Doc Louis, making Little Mac scratch his head. "Once you do that, you smooch Leia to no end, until Sonic or Gil look over and tell you to stop...or you can stop on your own accord." Little Mac wasn't exactly in favor of this plan, but whatever pleased Doc, he supposed. "Do I make myself clear?"

"The plan may not go as expected, but I suppose it's worth a shot," Little Mac shrugged as he braced himself. There was a good chance Leia would be angry with Little Mac and slap him, screwing up the boxer's chances of winning the nurse's heart. "Well, here goes nothing..."

After taking a deep breath, Little Mac coolly walked over to Leia, trying to make it seem like he had a ton of swag. Once he reached Leia, he tapped the nurse on the shoulder, and Leia turned around, with a smile on her face. It was a smile that warmed up Little Mac's heart, and it was enough to make him freeze up.

"Hi Little Mac, you look...less confident than before," greeted Leia, taking note of the now nervous deposition on the boxer's face. "You wish to tell me something? I'm all ears, so don't hesitate to tell me what's on your mind!" Unfortunately for Mac, he didn't have anything on his mind; he was too much in awe of being in Leia's presence, so much that he was uttering unintelligible sayings from his mouth while sweat poured down his face. "...is there something wrong with you, Little Mac?"

"Watch out!" Sonic called out, as a basketball was thrown at Little Mac and Leia's direction; Leia got out of the way, but the starstruck Little Mac didn't, taking the blow from the basketball to the head and falling to the ground in the process, while Doc Louis shrieked like a manly man. "Gil, what did I tell you about blocking my shot like a manic, you're not Dikemebe Mutombo! You don't even have the size to be making crazy blocks!"

"Oh, so it's MY fault you jump ridiculously high - sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do!" frowned Gil, initiating an argument between him and Sonic while Doc Louis and Leia were checking on Little Mac. The boxer was now back to normal, as he lifted up his head and rubbed it with his hand.

"Nearly had me worried Mac, thought you were a goner!" said a super extra Doc Louis. How can one be a goner from a hit to the head from a basketball? "Don't know what I would've done without you, son..."

"Chill out Doc, it was just a lousy basketball, nothing serious," smiled Leia as she checked out Little Mac. "Mac might've lost a few brain cells from the impact, but other than that, he's relatively fine."

 **Leia: What do I love the most about being a nurse at the Smash Mansion? *thinks for a second* Probably having the opportunity to serve so many different and eccentric characters and helping them with their ailments and all. My good friends Milla and Jude both thought I was crazy for taking the job, and my other friend Alvin even said I would later become depressed from having to deal with some many people inside one household...but so far, I'm proving them all wrong!**

"How about we take you to the fitness center so you can rest, hmm?" Leia helped up Little Mac to his feet with some assistance from Doc Louis, as she and the boxing trainer escorted Little Mac to the mansion. Sonic, who was done arguing with Gil over why you shouldn't block basketball shots, no matter the circumstance, saw Little Mac walking away, and stroked his chin.

"Is it just me, or does Little Mac have a crush on Leia?" Sonic asked Gil, who wasn't inclined to answering. The de facto librarian was still angry with Sonic, but he might as well answer the hedgehog's question, before any pestering begins.

"Seems like it, I always see him trying to make a move on her," replied Gil, as he fetched the basketball and brought it back to the court, bouncing it on the concrete. "Why are you so interested for?"

"Little Mac hasn't been in love since he asked out Fiora on a date - and we all know how that went, So this time...why don't we have things work in his favor?" Was Sonic fancying the idea of pairing Little Mac and Leia together?

* * *

Heihachi Mishima walked out of the bathroom, and he walked out of it feeling somewhat happy. No, he wasn't just smiling about the fact that his grandson Jin Kazuma actually took the time to call him on the mansion's house phone - though that definitely made his week, since Jin was actually being respectful and kind towards his grandpa (Ling Xiaoyu could have been the reason for that). Mishima was smiling about the fact that he now had something in common with the mansion residents, something he could take pride in. Just what was that something?

"Looking good as always, Rosalina, that blue dress of yours really suits you!" Heihachi complimented the mother of Lumas, who was standing in the hallway with Luma minding her own business. If you recall from episode 62, Akuma promised Heihachi that he would get him the best English tutor in the world to teach him how to speak English if he won the fight against him, and so Akuma brought an English tutor to the mansion to teach Heihachi English, and by Thursday, Heihachi became very fluent in the language.

"Um, thank you Heihachi, this is the third or fourth time you complimented me today," smiled Rosalina, still getting used to Heihachi speaking fluent English like the others were. "Thank goodness Ganondorf wasn't around to hear that..." Rosalina muttered this under her breath as Heihachi confidently walked away.

 **Heihachi: Don't know why, but I feel like a changed person now that I know a lick of English! When my grandson Jin called me, I was speaking to him in terribly broken English; I was trying to show off how much I learned. But now that I'm astute in English, I can now talk with my son while barely having to resort to my native Japanese! Who knows, lengthy phone calls over the phone with my son could slowly build our relationship back together again! As for my son, Kazuya? Eh, screw him...**

"Link, for the last freaking time, qwerty is NOT an applicable word," Zelda said to Link, the two Hylians playing a game of Scrabble with Cloud, Aerith, Shulk, Fiora, Tsubasa, and Itsuki in the lounge. "It's just a keyboard layout, it's not like it's a word found in a standard dictionary."

"But qwerty has its own entry on Wikipedia, so it should count!" Link explained to Zelda, whom he was working with. The eight Scrabble players were playing against one another in teams of four, and yes, Itsuki and Tsubasa were working together as a team, as a couple. Although Itsuki at times refused to acknowledge that he and Tsubasa were a thing.

"Using Wikipedia to justify using qwerty, what a way to go Link," remarked Cloud, he and Aerith currently in the lead. Nothing could stop the lovebirds from giving up their lead, not even...

"What's good, my awesome peeps!" greeted Heihachi as he entered the lounge, attempting to be cool; all he did was make everyone in the lounge feel sorry for him. "Playing a game of Scrabble, I see? Mind if I join?"

"Sorry Heihachi, but you'll need a lady friend to join!" replied Shulk, and so Heihachi ran out of the room faster than Road Runner and Speedy Gonazales combined, and later came back with Kiria, holding the woman by her hand. Both Itsuki and Tsubasa took note of the disdain on Kiria's face, sympathizing for their fellow Star Records worker.

"Alright, I got my lady, now restart the game so the two of us can play!"

"Heihachi we can't just start the game over, you'll just start off at the bottom and have to work your way up," stated Itsuki. Why did Shulk tell Heihachi he needed a female partner to participate in Scrabble? "Just because you can finally speak English and all doesn't mean..."

"Playing Scrabble would be a great test of my knowledge of the English language, and I REFUSE to play in an unfair game! I wish to start a new game of Scrabble, where everyone starts off small!"

"Or you and I can leave these people play their game and continue with our lives without interrupting them," suggested Kiria, feeling a sudden need to yawn. "I have stuff to do, you know, being a singing idol isn't as easy as it looks..."

"I think Heihachi playing with us would be a good idea, so why don't we start a new game and include him and Kiria?" asked Aerith. And so there goes Cloud and Aerith's lead, with Aerith cleaning off the Scrabble board while Link folded his arms and angrily looked at Heihachi.

 **Link: *seething with anger* So close...so close...we were _this_ close to beating Cloud and Aerith, but NO, Zelda had to overrule me and say that qwerty "isn't a word found in the standardized dictionary". We could have had the lead right there! Now Heihachi wants to join in our game of Scrabble, all because he thinks he's so superior with his newfound ability to speak English...watch him spell out some fake word like "fleek" and score points for it! *looks around* Quick question: would it be wise to use fleek in a game of Scrabble?**

* * *

"So glad you could join us at the judges panel, Ema," Fox said to Ema, who was sitting between Fox and Falco at a table in the lecture hall. The forensics expert was hired by the Star Fox pilots to serve as a third judge, for both pilots thought that having a female judge would be necessary.

"This better be worth the manicure and foot massage you boys used as incentives to entice me enough for the judging job," said Ema, as she shuffled through her notes on the table. Why did she need those notes for? "Hopefully this whole tryouts thing will be swift."

"All the participants are ready for their tryouts," Ayaha walked on the lecture hall stage to tell the three judges, holding a clipboard. On this stage was a kitchen stove, a frying pan, and some food scraps Cilan found in the mansion's pantry. "Just to let you know, the participants are all shinobi from these ninja academies I've found, and apparently they're all pretty experienced when it comes to Japanese cuisine and cooking. Shall we begin?"

"Bring out the first chick!" ordered Falco; Ayaha nodded her head as she walked off the stage, and to the back where a bunch of girls were probably dying to audition. Soon enough, the first girl arrived onstage, and she had wheat-colored hair in pigtails, with a blue and white dress and a gold crown on the left side of her head. "Howdy, little miss, what's your name?"

"First of all, just because I may be short and all gives you no reason to call me 'little miss," the girl responded in a condescending way, getting Falco all riled up. "Secondly, my name is Kafuru, and I expect to get the role for _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ at whatever cost."

"Ooh, looks like we got a feisty one on our hands!" Fox rubbed his hands together excitedly, as Ema did her best to restrain Falco from jumping on the stage and beating up an innocent girl in Kafuru. "Well the stage is yours Kafuru, so show us what you're made of!"

"I don't _need_ to show you what I'm made of, I already have the perfect package - looks, talent, personality, and then some. So why don't you just give me the role and save yourselves from wasting your time with these sorry wannabe cooks backstage?" This response from Kafuru caused Fox and Ema to glance at one another with nervous looks; Kafuru was being a little _too_ feisty.

"Kafuru, we can't just give you the role, you have to show us your 'perfect package' so we can determine if you're the right person for _Microwave Idol Mamorin,"_ said Ema, doing her best to explain without hurting Kafuru's feelings. "But if you think so highly of yourself...then why don't you just walk off the stage and let a more humble person take the role you think you deserve?"

"Very well then, but you'll wind up regretting this," Kafuru said these parting words as she walked off the stage, while Falco reverted to his composed self. How long will the avian pilot maintain his composure for the remainder of the tryouts?

 **Kafuru: Of course I have a lot of confidence in my own abilities...too bad that the judges refuse to see it, for whatever reason. But sometimes, you just have to learn the hard way...**

* * *

Flora took a peek inside Yoshi's room, and saw that Yoshi was sitting on the bed, not doing anything except staring at the floor. The maid then stepped away from the door to speak with Mario, Geno, and Yashiro, all three men standing by.

"Yoshi is still in his room feeling down - shall we send in Geno's friend?" Flora asked Mario, who nodded his head. Geno's friend wasn't exactly a friend of the Star Warrior - it was just a person that Mario knew well.

"He's been-a waiting at the end-a of the hall for this-a moment," said Mario. "Notify Boshi to come over here!" the plumber said to Yashiro, who looked over at the end of the hallway, and motioned someone to come over, and soon a blue Yoshi with sunglasses by the name of Boshi ran to Mario and company.

"Is Yoshi inside that room, want me to talk with him?" Boshi asked Mario, who gave a thumbs up. "Excellent! I'll turn that frown of his upside down in a jiffy!" So the blue Yoshi entered Yoshi's room and sat on the bed next to Yoshi, while Mario and company peeked inside to watch the action. "Hey Yoshi, what's going on man, talk to me man I wanna know what you're up to!"

"Hi Boshi, thought I'd never see you again," replied Yoshi, still looking down at the floor. This bothered Boshi, for he was a perpetual loner, and Yoshi was showing all signs of being a loner.

"Why so glum, chum, Birdo broke up with you or something?" Yoshi didn't appreciate Birdo bringing up Birdo, he didn't even like the chick. "Or are you sad that your team lost in that March Madness tournament? Don't worry bro, there's always next year!"

"I screwed over a bunch of people last week...I paired them up, and I caused some...things to happen along the way." Yoshi got up, grabbed a malasada lying on his dresser, and then returned to his bed. "I fear that everyone still might hate me for what I did to them..."

"That gives you no reason to be so down on yourself! Remember that one time when you and Mario came to Yo'ster Island and beat me in a race? Beforehand I was all cocky and competitive, and refused to let the other Yoshis race against me. But then you beat me fair and square in that race of ours, and I've been a changed dinosaur...though I still feel like a bit of a loner. How about this - how about we make it up to the people you wronged so you can redeem yourself? Sounds good?"

 **Mario: The provisions on Malva's restraining order against-a Mr. Game and Watch are-a little...interesting, I should-a say. For instance, if Malva were-a ever to visit the mansion, then Mr. Game and-a Watch shouldn't be in-a the mansion when she's-a present. There-a fore, for future accommodations, I've been-a training a few "temporary" house-a keepers to maintain the mansion in-a the event Mr. Game and Watch has-a to take a temporary leave...**

 **Lloyd: *squirting window cleaner on a painting of Peach and then cleaning said painting with a wash rag, messing it in the process* Oh, Princess Peach, you're just as beautiful as a lake during the bright morning's dawn. *kisses the horrendously messed up painting of Peach***

"That would be really nice...I suppose," shrugged Yoshi, struggling to find the confidence he had lost. "But how am I gonna make it up to everyone I screwed over, would I have to go to every person individually and apologize to them?"

"Nah that would be tedious and take too long...we would need something really creative," replied Boshi, thinking for a brief moment before snapping his fingers once an idea generalized in his head. "And I know just the thing!" The blue Yoshi whispered something into Yoshi's ear, with the green dinosaur listening attentively. Mario leaned in a bit closer, to hear what Boshi was whispering.

"I thought you said you would let Boshi handle things, and now it seems like you wish to interfere in his affairs with Yoshi," remarked Yashiro, before Mario held up a finger to him ordering him to stay silent.

"It won't be-a just me who will-a be interfering..." said Mario, leaning in closer through Yoshi's door but not enough to be seen by either Yoshi or Boshi. "...what-a ever Boshi has-a planned, it shall-a be a joint effort!" Looks like Geno, Yashiro, and even Flora were being roped into doing a task none of them agreed to.

* * *

Pit and Viridi were enjoying their lovely time on their camping date at Saltwater State Park, and although the two lovebirds couldn't stay overnight and camp at Saltwater due to Palutena's concerns, that didn't stop them from doing fun activities together, like roasting marshmallows over a campfire of blue flames, for example.

"Since Undertaker has retired from wrestling and all, do you think he'll finally spend more time doing his undertaker job at some graveyard somewhere, and not train his butt off for Wrestlemania?" Pit asked Viridi, as this peculiar thought appeared in his mind. Viridi wished to tell the angel that Undertaker wasn't an actual undertaker, but his innocence would disallow him to accept this.

"On another note, I heard that the Undertaker's little brother Kane is running for Tennessee mayor," said Viridi, wanting to change the subject a little while at the same time suppressing herself from spilling the beans to Pit about Undertaker. "What are the chances that he would..."

"Kane, running for mayor in Tennessee?" Pit snorted out of disbelief. "Does he even have a first name, or a last name? Would that disqualify from running for any political office? Better question is, would the Tennessee government allow Kane to wear that red mask of his when conducting press conferences and whatnot? Or what about his choice for vice mayor, would he get the Undertaker? Is there even such a thing as a vice mayor?" Pit continued to ask rather pointless and mind-numbing questions, while Viridi rested her chin on her palm and sighed, not knowing what to do with the man she loved to death.

 **Viridi: Going on a camping date with Pit in a destination we've never been to before honestly isn't _that_ bad. Sure Pit does have his moments...  
Pit: STAND BACK VIRIDI THERE'S A GIANT CROCODILE AND IT'S APPROACHING THE CAMPSITE! ****DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE DELETE! *flails arm out to the side, Matt Hardy style, while the crocodile looks on, possibly feeling bad for Pit*  
Viridi: ...but those moments are what makes him irresistibly cute! I can't possibly by any means yell at him!**

"Shoot, my marshmallow's all burnt up," grimaced Pit as he took his marshmallow away from the fire, his marshmallow all black. Serves him right for running his mouth about Kane and his chances of being a Tennessee mayor. But Viridi on the other hand - her marshmallow was fine, white as a cloud in the sky, for she didn't run her mouth and actually watched her marshmallow roast over the campfire unlike Pit. "You want to cook the hot dogs now?"

"Sure go ahead, you do that while I eat my marshmallow," said Viridi as she popped her marshmallow into her mouth. Pit went to go fetch the bag of food, but he accidentally kicked it with his foot, knocking it down a slightly steep hill. The angel went to go chase after the bag as he rolled down the hill like tumbleweed, running fast but not fast enough to the point where he would lose his breath. After less than a minute, the bag of food finally came to a stop, and settled in one spot as Pit grabbed the bag, only to hear loud buzzing sounds. So Pit looked up...

...and saw that he was right underneath a giant beehive. At first, Pit was a little intimidated, but all that intimidation would quickly go away the more the buzzing sounds annoyed him. The angel, wanting to do something about the noise...

"Take this, you dumb bees!" ...idiotically threw a rock at the beehive, ticking the bees off and making them fly out of their home. The flying insects turned their attention to Pit, who was now grinning nervously, and then viciously chased the angel, who was screaming as he ran back to the campsite with the bag of food in his hands.

"Pit did you retrieve the hot dogs yet?" Viridi, now wielding a frying pan for the hot dogs, looked back at the tent for Pit...who wasn't even there, which caused the goddess of nature to worry. "Oh Pitty, where on earth are you? Don't tell me you ran away!"

"Here's the hot dogs, they're in the bag!" Pit flew by, throwing the bag of food to Viridi, as the angel was now flying away from the swarm of angry bees. Poor judgement has truly doomed the kid.

"Thanks Pit!" Viridi called out to the angel as she took out the hot dogs from the bag, certain that Pit would work his way out of his situation and make the swarm of bees go away. And that level of certainty was very, very low.

* * *

 **Ayaha: Something I've noticed about the shinobi trying out for _Microwave Idol Mamorin..._ a huge majority of them have rather big bust sizes, and you would never expect most of them to be fifteen or sixteen years of age!...Well, the only girl I'm most concerned about would have to be Ryona - she has perhaps the biggest rack I've ever seen, especially from a girl her age, and she's been showing her breasts off to the others and bragging about how big they are. I just hope that she doesn't show off to the judges during her tryout, but I'm afraid her voice would annoy the living crap out of them...**

"As you can see, cooking food is as easy as one, two, THREE!" exclaimed Ryona - a blonde, curvaceous girl in a white dress - as she worked the frying pan on the makeshift kitchen stove, her abnormally cutesy voice enough to make Fox, Falco, and Ema cringe in horror. "Sometimes you just gotta believe..."

"Okay Ryona, just stop it woman, just stop..." Fox promptly stopped the blonde shinobi, sticking his hand out in a way that would make Simon Cowell proud. "Look, the three of us, we don't necessarily like you - your cuteness is what we're looking for. However, you may _too_ cute, and we can't have too much cuteness. Sorry I have to say this, but you're not the right person we're looking for. Again, sorry."

"Oh, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for your criticism, I won't forget it!" Ryona, although she might not look like it, was apparently a masochist, and enjoyed all sorts of pain, and actually enjoyed being bullied. So for Fox to stop her act and criticize her...it apparently meant a lot to her. "May I wish the best to the rest of my competitors!" Ryona happily walked off-stage, as the three judges quietly discussed among themselves.

"That girl is in dire need of some serious help," Falco said to Fox and Ema; "serious" might actually be an understatement, in Ryona's case. "We can't have an overtly cute character on Mamori's show - just look at _My Little Pony._ Too many cute characters on MLP is the perfect reason for why most people think it sucks."

"Apparently fan service - and cuteness - are what we're looking for, and we better find someone before Master Hand loses his temper," stated Ema, who then turned to Fox. "Are we ready to call out the next chick?"

"Sure why not," replied the fox, and soon the three judges returned to their spots. "NEXT!" The next shinobi girl to walk onstage was a short black-haired girl adorned in a black Gothic Lolita dress which followed a cat motif of sorts, along with an eyepatch over her left eye. While the girl carried her black umbrella onstage, the judges were quick to notice that the girl was flat-chested, compared to the ladies that went before her. "Hello there, little miss, what's your name?" Fox greeted the girl.

"M-My n-name is Mirai," the girl replied, giving away the impression that she could be very timid and shy. "H-How long d-do I have to do this? J-Just curious..." Mirai was so shy, she even refused to give any of the three judges any form of eye contact.

"You're more than welcome to audition for as long as you like, we won't judge you until you're finished. Just don't let your nerves get to you, that will screw you up, big time. Now begin!"

"Okay then, here goes nothing, I guess..." Mirai took a deep breath, then walked towards the stove, nervously grabbing the frying pan. "Hello everyone, my name is Mirai, and today I'm gonna be cooking some...some stuff..." Mirai paused for a brief moment, before throwing the frying pan unto the floor. "I can't do it, I just can't! Why did I bother trying out for this stupid show, everyone from around the world would be watching me, what if I mess up? I can't do this anymore!"

And with that, Mirai ran off the stage, leaving the three judges bewildered. One of the shortest auditions the three conducted today.

 **Ashley: *sighs* Master Hand is out of his mind, we don't need another person on _Microwave Idol Mamorin._ Two's company, three's a crowd, and a third person would make things more crowded. It's bad enough that I have to subject myself to Mamori's singing...not that she's a bad singer. My tolerance levels for certain activities are very low, in case you didn't know.**

"Master Hand would absolutely flip out if we don't find somebody before the end of the day," remarked Fox, bracing himself for the next girl to walk onstage.

* * *

Leia remained with Little Mac in the fitness room, and she was even kind enough to give the boxer a back massage, while Doc Louis watched while eating a chocolate bar. To tell the truth, it was Doc who told Leia about Little Mac suffering from back spasms, and thought that some massaging would make the spasms go away. No, Little Mac did not have any back problems whatsoever - Doc was everything he could to make Leia fall in love with his protege.

But standing afar from Little Mac and Leia were a few dudes who wished to make Leia love Little Mac instantly - Sonic, Gil, and now Zero, who was persuaded by Sonic to lend a helping hand. In Zero's hands was a large gun - a gun loaded with one of Ashley's love potions.

"So Zero, what's the plan, how are we gonna get Little Mac and Leia to become an item?" Sonic asked the robot, excitedly rubbing his hands together.

"Using Ashley's love potion, I'm going to fire a gas produced by said potion into the room where Little Mac and Leia are present," Zero explained his plan to Sonic and Gil, his gun locked and loaded. "Our safest bet would be to fill up the entire room with the gas, but Doc Louis would be caught up in it, and we can't have a threesome - a grown black guy in love with a teenager would be highly unsettling!"

"That would probably mean that firing the gas when Doc isn't looking would be the way to go," affirmed Gil, scratching his chin. Doc Louis just had to (slightly) ruin the plan, why must that man be with Little Mac everywhere he goes ninety percent of the time? Does he even follow Little Mac do the bathroom? (Sure hope not...)

"Precisely, and with Doc Louis constantly preoccupied with his chocolate, he might not be that big of an issue. Just have to make sure that my aim and accuracy is on point and then we can..."

"Testing out a new ray gun of death, I assume?" asked a voice that startled Sonic and company. It was Marth, and he was wearing a costume - a Dairy Queen "Mr. Curly Cone" costume, which made the hero-king look like he was stuck inside an ice cream cone. In his hands was the head of the costume.

"What's up Marth, didn't see ya there, how's that Dairy Queen gig coming along?" asked Sonic, doing his best to stifle his laughter along with Zero and Gil.

"Aside from the physical torment I suffer from at the hands of minors...I've been having a pretty mediocre time. I feel hot wearing this dumb costume all day long, and wearing the costume is taking a huge toll on my dignity."

 **Marth: As a way to make up for the damage to the Lamborghini which I was NOT responsible for, Master Hand forced me to work an entire week as the mascot for the Dairy Queen restaurant downtown, forcing me to wear this stupid ice cream cone costume roughly seven to eight hours a day. I was supposed to do this for just a week, but Master Hand was sadistic enough to make me wear this costume again and dance outside Dairy Queen for another week just because he thought it was funny. One thing I'm grateful for, though...I'm sure glad I brought a cup to wear with me. The minors that attack me have no chill whatsoever.**

"Well my lunch break is over," Marth said after a conversation between Sonic, Zero, and Gil about how terrible life was for the hero-king the past two weeks. "Back to subjecting myself to more pain and torture from the little ones..." Marth sighed as he reluctantly placed his "Mr. Curly Cone" hat back on, and trudged out of the fitness center, quietly vowing to one day seek revenge on Master Hand.

"Okay Marth, see you around, try not to beat up any little kids!" Zero called out to the hero-king, who exited the fitness center. "Now let's get this bad boy..." Zero was about to use his ray gun, until he noticed that something was terribly amiss. "Crap, the love potion is gone! It was all loaded up in my ray gun, and now it's nowhere to be found!"

"Nice going Zero, way to screw things up!" Sonic scolded Zero, with his hands on his hips. "Our plan was about to be legit, but NOOOOO..." Why was Sonic so quick to turn on Zero, a while ago he was somewhat confident that the plan would go according to plan!

"Shut up Sonic, you were completely on board with Zero's plan, and now you want to turn on him to turn face, quit it out man!" frowned Gil, prompting Sonic to cross his arms. The two still must not be on good terms. "But I don't get it, how did Ashley's love potion go away like that? What a mystery..."

* * *

"Aw yeah, new word on the board, now give Kiria and I our points!" Heihachi said, slamming his fist on the table. So what word did Heihachi and Kiria (but mostly Heihachi) assembled on the board? _Grrrls_ _._ Heihachi asked Kiria if it was okay to use the word, and Kiria, who didn't even care about playing Scrabble, gave the kung fu fighter all the freedom to put the word together.

"Um, is that word even allowed?" questioned Tsubasa, unsure if "grrrls" was an applicable word used in Scrabble. "Can someone go online and check out the Scrabble dictionary to see if 'grrrls' is a legal word? If so, then I don't know what to say..."

"I think Merriam Webster has an online dictionary of words allowed by Scrabble, let's see what they have to say," Fiora pulled out her phone and went onto the Merriam Webster website, pulling up the Scrabble dictionary and searching the word "grrrls", and to her and everyone else's surprise... "Aha, the word 'grrrls' _is_ an applicable word used in Scrabble! It's a legal word that Heihachi and Kiria can use!" This greatly pleased Heihachi, who was now laughing manically; Kiria just looked bored out of her mind, like she was done with life.

 **Fiora: Did some personal digging on Merriam Webster on my own free time, and I was shocked at some of the words people can use in Scrabble...selfie, facetime, hashtag, newb, and even lolz are all words that have been added to Scrabble in recent times. And I must say...I had no idea Pit was in charge of running the Scrabble game. Only he would add such words.**

"What about qwerty, is that a legal Scrabble word?" Link asked Fiora, who quickly looked up qwerty on the Scrabble dictionary. If qwerty was an allowable word, it would make Link's day...hopefully that won't be.

"Yup, you're allowed to use the word qwerty, it's perfectly legal!" exclaimed Fiora, much to the chagrin of Zelda and the others. Link got all giddy as he grabbed the letter tiles available to him and Zelda and assembled the word qwerty on the Scrabble board, feeling all proud about himself.

"C'mon Link cut it out, it wasn't even your turn yet!" Cloud scolded his best friend, now ticked off at Fiora for giving Link the green light to use qwerty. Too bad the Hylian won't earn any points for using the word, for he did not wait for his and Zelda's turn.

* * *

"Alright you guys, this is it, we're down to our last person!" Fox said to Ema and Falco, having gone through at least twenty shinobi girls, all vying for a spot on _Microwave Idol Mamorin._ "Let me just say that it has been a blast doing this judge thing with you, even if Master Hand forced us to do it!"

"You mean Master Hand forced you and Falco to judge the girls, you two practically enticed me to be a judge," clarified Ema, adjusting her ponytail. "That pedicure and foot message better be worth all that imploring you boys did..."

"Our last shinobi girl is ready to go!" Ayaha walked onstage to announce to the three judges, before walking off. Then running onstage to greet the judges was the last girl Fox, Falco, and Ema would have to judge; it was a short brunette with her hair tied up in a white ribbon. She had a yellow vest over a white shirt, and a green skirt that matched the color of her tie, along with a short red scarf around her neck to boot.

"You sure look like a very excitable girl," said Falco, checking out the girl's appearance. Could this be the girl he and the judges are looking for? "Why don't you tell us what your name is?"

"The name's Asuka, and I'm a shinobi from the Hanzo Academy!" the girl introduced herself while doing a pose with the peace sign. Right off the bat, Fox and Falco fell in love with Asuka, while Ema remained neutral as she has been throughout all the tryouts.

"Aw yeah, really digging this enthusiasm, can't wait to see what you can do! Go and break a leg...actually, don't break a leg, we won't be able to pay for your medical bill, since we're judges. But you know what I mean!"

 **Asuka: Gotta tell you the honest truth...out of all the girls at the Hanzo Academy, I was the only one that watched the first episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ while everyone was perfecting their ninja craft. So when word broke out that the Smash Mansion was inviting all the shinobi girls from the Hanzo Academy and the other ninja girl academies to tryout for the show, I was super stoked! Here's hoping that my audition can go well...**

"Ahoy, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to yet another exciting and delicious episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin_!" exclaimed Asuka, who was now wearing a cooking apron; bonus points for her. "Before we can begin cooking, lettuce throw a celebration for food - I mean, what would we do without food, amirite?" Asuka held up a lettuce, keeping the judges piqued in interest. "If not for food, then all the lazy bums throughout the world would actually be depressed!"

"She actually has a fair point," Fox whispered to Ema and Falco, with Falco nodding his head in agreement as Asuka grabbed a banana.

"Also, just look at this banana! Don't you think that this lovely yellow fruit, a fruit consumed by monkeys, looks so...so appealing?" Asuka ripped a banana peel off of the banana, and her pun was enough to make Fox laugh. Sounds like he was amused by Asuka! "Of course, nobody cooks bananas on a frying pan over the stove...unless you're a brain-dead monkey that is; no offense to brain-dead monkeys." Now Falco and Ema were smiling, just a little. "Why don't we cook this instead?" Asuka held up a doughnut, and looked at it all crazy. "Wait a minute, what is this circular treat that I see before me? This _doughnut_ belong here!"

"STOP!" Fox yelled at the top of his lungs, about to go on a laughing fit. Asuka placed the doughnut down, as Fox did his best to control himself. "Falco Lombardi, Ema Skye...it looks to me like we finally found our girl."

* * *

"Did you enjoy your hot dogs, sweetums?" Viridi asked Pit, who was now covered in bee stings. The angel was swollen all over his entire body, enough to the point where even sitting down was a major pain.

"Viridi I told you good and well not to call me sweetums, it sounds way too close to Smoochum," stated Pit, his speaking muffled by his now swollen lips. Viridi was rubbing a lot of ointment over Pit's body; good thing she brought some for instances like these. "Viridi can I ask you an honest question? Do you think I'm the most dumbest person you've ever met?"

Viridi was now biting her lip as she was seemingly preventing herself from answering Pit's question. Forever she withheld telling Pit how slow and unintelligent he was, but now that the angel was asking the goddess of nature her honest opinion, she had no choice but to come clean.

"I have to admit Pit, you are pretty idiotic at times..." Viridi finally admitted to Pit after a brief sigh, "...but that's what makes you so endearing! I mean, when Lloyd does idiotic things, he makes a complete fool of himself, it's no wonder nobody likes him. But when you do idiotic things, most people perceive it in a mostly positive way, because it adds to your charm! I would also say Corrin does idiotic things, but his sheltered lifestyle has made him a product of naivety."

 **Palutena: Pit has shown a tremendous amount of courage, willing enough to take Viridi on a camping date to Saltwater State Park. He has shown that he would be courageous enough to defend Viridi from any harm or danger that would come her way. Yup, my adoring Pit is all grown up...well technically he can't really grow up, since he's an angel, but you know what I mean...**

"You really meant that about me, Viridi?" asked Pit, and Viridi nodded her head. The goddess of nature felt relieved, knowing that she finally got something off of her chest for good. Would be unwise to hold what she said in for a longer period of time.

"Meant every single word I said," Viridi kissed Pit on the cheek, or the area on the cheek where no bee stings were present. Just then, Jacky pulled up to Pit and Viridi, in his Wanderlust car with his good buddy Akira.

"Camping date's over, you two, time to head back to the mansion!" Jacky said to Pit and Viridi. Using Pit's phone, Viridi contacted Palutena and told her about Pit being stung by a swarm of bees, and the concerned Palutena told Viridi that Jacky would be picking her and Pit up and return them to the mansion so Dr. Mario and/or Leia could nurse Pit.

"Yeah you heard the man, pack up all your camping stuff and get inside the car!" ordered Akira, making sure Jacky's car had available room for the tent and other stuff Pit and Viridi brought along. "Let's get a move on!"

* * *

For the first time since last week's events, Birdo did not dare to stop by the mansion and chase down the man of her supposed dreams, Robin. The mage felt relieved, for now that he could actually hang out with Lucina and not be ridiculed by the princess of Ylisse for being chased by the bird creature.

"Birdo has yet to show up at this mansion this week," remarked Lucina as she and Robin were walking throughout the hallways. "I bet you're more than satisfied with her absence, Robin."

"She had no business running head over heels over me, especially when she has Yoshi as her love interest," stated Robin; to this day, Yoshi still refused to acknowledge Birdo as his girlfriend. "I'm sure Birdo's obsession with me was Marth's doing..."

"Like how you have an obsession with Marth?" joked Lucina, earning a quick, playful glare from Robin. "But seriously though, you two have been feuding for the longest now, can you give it a break now and forever?"

"Oh Robin...I think you have a new lover wanting to win your heart..." a seductive voice called out, and it certainly wasn't from Bayonetta. "Look up here, pretty boy..." So Robin and Lucina looked up...and to their shock, they saw Rouge the Bat, perched on the mansion's ceiling. Robin would scream as he ran away from Rouge, who flew down from the ceiling and flew after the mage. While Lucina looked on, Marth appeared out from his hiding spot with Young Link...who was holding one of Ashley's love potions.

 **Young Link: Marth's plan for seeking revenge on Robin was fairly simple - just take the love potion out of Zero's ray gun while Marth was speaking with Zero, Sonic, and Gil, and once that was done, have Knuckles call his on-and-off girlfriend Rouge the Bat over to the mansion, so Marth and I can show her a picture of Robin and make Rouge infatuated to him! Granted, Rouge would need to dump Knuckles in favor of Robin for the plan to work, but Knuckles can't be mad about that forever - Blaze the Cat is still on the market!**

"Much appreciated for your assistance, Young Link, don't know what I would have done without you," Marth thanked the Hylian, the sound of Robin screaming making Marth form a somewhat sadistic smile on his face.

"Glad I was able to help Marth, Rouge would give Robin an arguably harder time than Birdo did," remarked Young Link, knowing what Rouge was capable of. Spying on Marth from afar was Sonic, who saw the hero-king and then Young Link with the love potion, and furrow his brow as he scratched his chin.

"Stealing the love potion and using it as a means for seeking revenge on Robin, eh?" said the hedgehog, nodding his head after realizing what Marth's intentions were. "Two can play at that game...or three."

* * *

"Master Hand, I would like to introduce you to the latest addition to _Microwave Idol Mamorin -_ Asuka!" Ayaha presented the shinobi girl to Master Hand, who was checking her out, inspecting her face, body, and even her breasts - essentially scanning Asuka for any traits of fan service. Master Hand was checking out a _sixteen year old_...let that sink in for a bit.

"Nice to meet you, giant hand guy," greeted Asuka, intimidated by Master Hand's giant size like anyone would. Master Hand could make Chuck Norris wet his pants if he ever met the professional butt kicker.

"Likewise, Asuka, I can already tell that you will blend in well with Ashley and Mamori on their show! In fact, I'll let you and Mamori be roommates at the mansion, since Mamori doesn't have a roommate at the moment. How does that sound, would your Hanzo Academy peers be jealous?"

"Master Hand, you must come quick, there's a new addition to the dining room!" Isabelle alerted Master Hand, standing outside the giant hand's room. "I'm more than certain that you'll enjoy it!

* * *

Isabelle led Master Hand and company to the dining room, where there was a giant painting with a heart-shaped frame on the wall - a painting featuring many couples, like Link-Zelda, Cloud-Aerith, Lucina-Robin, Sonic-Amy, and even Ganondorf-Rosalina, complete with Mario and Peach in the center. The duo that worked extensively on this painting? The unlikely duo of Yoshi and Boshi, who were marveling at their creation along with the folks that assisted them in the painting - Mario, Geno, Yashiro, and Flora. Peach and the Scrabble players were also present to check out the painting after their Scrabble game was over...and Heihachi and Kiria won!

"I have to admit Yoshi, you did an excellent job with the painting!" commended Peach, no doubt favoring the fact that her and Mario were in the center of the artwork, being the main focus. "It really compliments the dining room well!"

"Couldn't have done it without my man Boshi, the painting was his idea," Yoshi wrapped his arm around Boshi, who was grinning. The blue Yoshi who mostly felt like a loner was now enjoying the presence of others, thanks to his artistic contribution.

"Yeah this painting is great and all...but in other news, or should I say, great news, I won my first ever Scrabble game with Kiria!" announced Heihachi...only to get zero response from everyone, much to his chagrin.

"And in related news, not a single person here gives a single crap," added Cloud, saying what was on everyone's minds.

 **Cloud: Look, I have no problem with Heihachi winning in Scrabble, I respect the man for waiting until his turn unlike some people I know *cough* Link *cough* but what dampened the mood of Heihachi (and Kiria) winning was that Heihachi constantly used slang words to win. I understand wanting to be cool and hip, but when you're doing it as a grandpa like Heihachi, it always comes off as cringeworthy.**

"What is all this hubbub about, why are you losers gathered in here for?" questioned Ashley as she and Mamori entered the dining room, before taking a look at the painting on the wall; Mamori enjoyed it, while Ashley remained forever indifferent. Master Hand turned around, and saw the two girls he was looking for.

"Ah, Ashley, Mamori, just the duo I needed to see!" gleamed Master Hand, prompting Ayaha to push Asuka to the forefront. "So as Ayaha informed you earlier, I had Fox and Falco judge several candidates for the third role on _Microwave Idol Mamorin_...and they've found the perfect gal, Asuka!" Asuka happily waved to Ashley and Mamori, excited to be in their presence.

"I've been hooked to your show ever since I saw the first episode online, and to be doing the show with you two would be an honor," Asuka said to Ashley and Mamori. "Unfortunately I have to leave my academy in order to work on the show...but it's a win-win all around, right?"

"The more regulars on my show the better, I suppose!" smiled Mamori; she didn't intend for a third person on her show, but after meeting Asuka, maybe a third person wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Eh, we'll take whatever we can get," remarked Ashley, doing her darnedest to give her opinion on Asuka without upsetting the ninja girl.

"Look at all these happy people Yoshi - just imagine until the others see the painting YOU did for them!" Boshi said to Yoshi, taking all of his credit and lumping it all upon the green dinosaur. "How does that make you feel, makes you feel good?"

"I'd say so," responded Yoshi, nodding his head before a giant smile formed on his face. "Why in fact, it makes me feel _jovial_! Yeah, doing this painting really took a lot of sorrow and despair off of me, and it was all thanks to you, Boshi! When you came to my room, I kinda wanted you to go away...but now I'm glad you were kind enough to pay me a visit!"

"Don't mention it buddy, just wanted to keep the head of a fellow Yoshi up! You and Mario did the same thing for me!"

And just like that, Yoshi was back to his usual self again - cheerful and jolly. Let's hope he can stay that way for a long time.


	69. Episode 69: Karabast

_Author's Note:_

 _Yeah, I said a while ago I shouldn't be posting new chapters earlier than Friday, but MikySP asked me to post the newest chapter on Thursday since he's in Italy and there's an Easter Festival...so I did what I had to do. Only two guest reviews to answer this time..._

 _"Can you add the characters from Dead or Alive? (Since they did have a game on the 3DS) can you also add the characters from Final Fantasy XIII? The F-Zero racers from GX/AX? Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine from Resident Evil? And finally if Agria shows up are you gonna pair her up with Leia? (Since a small portion of the Tales of Xillia fanbase tends to ship those two.)"_

 _I can do all except for the last request, since we have yet to reach a climax or conclusion with Leia and Little Mac. Also, yaoi/yuri just ain't my thing. Here's the other guest review, from Roydigs22:_

 _"YES! Finally lucario gets his glory moment. You remember all the details, right? Every. Single. Boost. In existence. To lucario and his all-out pummeling. Even if it can't happen in-game. That means 6 attack and speed, mega evolved, fighting gem and plate, expert and black belts, critical hit,right through the weak point of the large heartless. He used up all his aura, etc."_

 _Wait...oh man...this is awkward...when you said glory moment...you weren't referring to the instance in which Lucario has to fight to win Gardevoir's heart (which is happening in this chapter, I might add)? Did you even suggest that? Man, I'm such an idiot. But no worries, my friend, Lucario's true glory moment will be happening soon; I'm still setting things up until then._

* * *

 **Episode 69: Karabast**

Today was yet another day for a meeting between the members of Marth's Romance Club, and word has it around the mansion that it would be the last Romance Club meeting to take place. Two members of the Romance Club, Captain Falcon and Ganondorf, already had their ladies Nowi and Rosalina, respectively, down pact, but two of the other members, Chrom and Wario, still have yet to get anything going with their ladies, Raven and Palutena.

Marth almost knew for certain that once Chrom and Wario fully got comfortable with their ladies, then there would be no point in continuing the Romance Club...but then the hero-king suddenly remembered the latest addition to the club, Corrin. It was thanks to Marth that Felicia fell in love with Corrin, thus signaling the birth of a Nohrian love relationship - and Robin, who worked endlessly to make the relationship come to life _himself,_ would find himself feuding with Marth in a rivalry that was going on even to this very day.

To keep the Romance Club still intact, Marth decided to invite three new members to the club, members that were relatively young but were still interested in love. The hero-king reached the room where the club would meet and entered inside, seeing the Romance Club members and Geno waiting inside.

"Hello everyone, hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long," greeted Marth, closing the door behind him. "As I have already informed you, we will be having three new members joining us, since this is after all Ganondorf and Captain Falcon's last day at the club."

"Wait, so you're replacing us, is that what you're trying to do Marth?" fretted Captain Falcon, feeling somewhat offended. The racer enjoyed his time in the Romance Club, it was truly the only time where he could get along with Ganondorf and Wario without fighting over food at the dinner table, or bickering over trivial things like having underwear lying about in your room (...which was mostly Wario's doing). "Ganon and I can still stay, we can serve as mentor figures for the new ones!"

 **Captain Falcon: Marth can't just kick me out of the Romance Club without my consent, what am I gonna do now to soak up my free time, go back to challenging random people to race against me? I practically smoke everyone in Seattle, I could even outrun the fastest players on the Seattle Seahawks team! Sometimes being too great at what you do leaves you extremely bored...**

 **Ganondorf: Don't necessarily mind leaving the Romance Club - Rosalina and I, we made some progress ever since I joined the club, and we've been on good terms ever since. Rosalina is far more beautiful than any Gerudo lady in existence - I mean, Gerudo women look like ganguro ladies, but only more muscular! *strokes chin* Maybe that's where the term ganguro came from, from the Gerudo women...who knew us Gerudos were so influential in Asian culture! *pauses* Would Donald Trump be considered a rare example of a ganguro man?**

"No I'm not trying to replace you and Ganondorf - I'm just doing whatever means necessary to keep this club going," clarified Marth, as Captain Falcon felt a little relieved, but still a little salty. "Now the three individuals that will be joining the club are young, willing, and able - able to sustain a relationship that will last for a lifetime, or so I hope from the three. Everyone, please welcome the three new additions to the Romance Club, make them feel welcome as they start their lovely adventures with the Romance Club in style!"

So Marth poked his head out the door, motioning the three new members inside. Much to the chagrin of the Romance Club members, Pit, Dark Pit, and Little Mac entered the room - but it was the latter two brawlers that were the least of the members' concerns. Much of their concern rested upon Pit, who was already believed to be in a current relationship with Viridi...so why was he a part of the club now?

"Hold up just a minute, he shouldn't be here!" Wario pointed at Pit, who then pointed at Dark Pit, believing that he was now a part of some finger-pointing game where one would point at a person they believed to be a culprit of some sort. "Isn't he already in a relationship with Viridi?"

"While that may be true, Pit's intelligence, or the lack thereof, would greatly impair his relationship and make Viridi's interest in him weaken," explained Marth, as Pit mindlessly nodded to what Marth said. "Him being in this club would make him a more wise and astute boyfriend, it can keep his relationship going forever!"

"Pit's relationship with Viridi has been going on for a year it seems like, and he's the dumbest person I've ever known," stated Dark Pit, with his arms folded. Being in the Romance Club was already a hassle for the doppelganger, but in the club with Pit? He might as well leave the club after today. "Who knows, maybe Viridi has a particular soft spot for idiots like Pit...she gets along pretty well with Kirby, in case you haven't noticed."

'Are you implying that Viridi is in love with Kirby?!" Pit asked Dark Pit, either appearing to be unnerved by this claim... "How could she cheat on me with my best friend, what kind of woman does that?!" ...or in the false belief that the claim was apparently true.

"Chill out Pit, Dark Pit wasn't insisting that Viridi was cheating on you, he was just pointing something out," Little Mac said to the angel, though Pit was still under the belief that Viridi was cheating on him. He assumed that was the reason why he was brought to the Romance Club - to learn how to cope with yourself when your girlfriend was supposedly cheating on you. Marth must have "found out" about Viridi and therefore invited Pit to join his club.

"Thank you Little Mac, for hopefully ending Pit's concerns," Marth thanked the boxer as he redirected his attention to the club members...only to notice that one of the members was actually missing. "Where on earth is Corrin, I told him good to be present at today's meeting! Bet he's off mindlessly hunting for stupid aliens, isn't he?!"

 **Master Hand: So where did Corrin go off to, you might ask? Well, I didn't feel like telling this to Marth, who's probably expecting Corrin to be at another one of his dumb club meetings, but Corrin is in a...better place right now...No, no, he didn't die or anything, it's not like I killed him; killing a prince from a royal family would be too expensive anyways, I'd rather kill off someone meaningless like Toad, nobody really pays attention to that guy. Anyways, Corrin, he's off with Mario and Luigi...doing things.**

* * *

"Like I had-a told Peach, Luigi, Corrin needs a chaperone for stuff-a like this," Mario told his brother Luigi, as the two plumbers found themselves surrounded by stormtroopers, Jedi, and even a Chewbacca-looking fellow. The Mario Bros weren't stuck at some location within the Death Star - rather, they were stuck at a _Star Wars_ convention, which Corrin implored Master Hand to attend. Not wanting the prince to be by himself, Master Hand assigned Mario and Luigi to tag along with Corrin via the teleportation device to Orlando, where the convention was held. Speaking of whom, Corrin was on a mad hunt for his main man Emperor Palpatine, expecting the emperor of the Galactic Empire to be in attendance at the convention.

"I don't think we should-a have came as chaperones, considering that we also brought-a Kamui along for the ride," stated Luigi, as he observed Corrin inspecting a person he believed was Chewbacca, only to be dismayed when he stroked the creature's fur and discovered that it was just a man in a Chewbacca costume. You could only imagine the amount of disappointment that was inside of Corrin, he felt like punching the man in the Chewbacca costume for walking about as Chewbacca, and not being the deal real. If only had Corrin remembered to bring his sword...

"Look Corrin, it's a lightsaber sword, and it's glowing red!" Kamui approached her twin brother, wielding two red lightsabers, one for her and one for Corrin. The princess was at first against the idea of having to go to the _Star Wars_ convention, but since Corrin wished to go, she had no other choice but to make her twin brother's experience matter. "Do you want a lightsaber Corrin? I promise you'll regret not having one!"

"Is it just a toy lightsaber?" asked Corrin, to which Kamui shook her head, prompting Corrin to sigh miserably. "I'm not interested, you can keep that lightsaber, I guess...or you can give it to somebody at the mansion who might be interested..." Corrin sighed yet again as he sat down on the floor, and Kamui, wanting to see what was wrong, sat down next to Corrin. "When I came to this convention, I expected to see actual Jedi from all over the galaxy in Orlando, and stormtroopers willing to take a day off from serving the Galactic Empire to meet with one another in perfect accord...but all I see is a bunch of nerdy posers walking about as these men of honor."

"Corrin, I thought it was already clear and made established that this is a _convention,_ there's no actual stormtroopers or Jedi. All the people you see here are cosplayers dressed up as the characters you see in those _Star Wars_ movies." Kamui shouldn't be surprised by Corrin, for he did not know that it was a practice to dress up as fictional characters and attend nerdy conventions. All it would take was for someone to dress up as Corrin to make the prince of Nohr realize this concept.

"You're right Kamui, I'm starting to see that what you said is true...but I do know ONE person here that's not a cosplayer, and that man is Emperor Palpatine himself!" Poor Corrin, he's practically hopeless at this point; not even his siblings from Nohr can restore any sense of hope within him. "I've grown to accept that the previous two incarnations of Palpatine were not the real deal, after closer inspection, and I suspect the real Emperor Palpatine to be in attendance at this very convention!"

 **Kamui: Corrin's strange obsession with the _Star Wars_ franchise is bad enough, but when you factor in Corrin's superstitions about aliens being real...then you got yourself a very deadly combination of things you wouldn't want with an extremely naive person. What I fear the most is that the more _Star Wars_ movies Corrin watches, the more resentful he might feel towards aliens...it might even reach the point where Corrin might assume there's aliens living among us, residing in human disguises! Unfortunately it happened this past week, when Corrin accused Snake of being an alien for looking old despite being at the age of fourty-four, and Snake made poor Corrin pay by putting him in a headlock...with his legs! To make matters worse, everyone wanted to record the incident on their cellular devices over saving Corrin...ultimately I was the only person that offered to save him.**

"Um, are you fellas just going to stand here for the entire convention, or are you gonna enjoy yourselves while you can?" a man adorned in a Boba Fett costume asked Mario and Luigi, who were watching Corrin's conversation with Kamui from afar.

"Oh, sorry about-a that Mr. Boba Fett-a sir, we'll-a move out-a of the way!" apologized Mario as he and Luigi moved out of the way; the man dressed as Boba Fett walked on, looking back at the Mario Bros and wondering what business they had at a _Star Wars_ convention. Just then, Rotom stopped by, wearing a cap with the Jedi insignia on it.

"All sorts of items are avaliable for sale at the _Star Wars_ gift shop, zzrt!" exclaimed Rotom before exchanging an empathetic high five to a guy that walked by wearing a Darth Vader getup. "Space guns, lightsabers, car air fresheners...they have everything you want and more, vroom!"

"Rotom did-a you purchase that hat-a with any money, you know I didn't-a bring my wallet with-a me!" Luigi scolded the plasma Pokemon; only Luigi would forget to bring something as important as a wallet to places like _Star Wars_ conventions.

"I shoplifted the hat, and it was a highly gratifying feeling, zzrt!" This caused Luigi to faint, prompting Mario to drag his brother away to safety. Mario couldn't afford to get him, Luigi, Corrin, and Kamui kicked out of the convention because of Rotom's actions, it would break poor Corrin's heart.

* * *

Red the Pokemon Trainer paced back and forth in the foyer, feeling more nervous than he ever had been before. A special guest coming over to the mansion to pay the Pokemon trainer a visit, and it was a guest that Red did not desire to see. This individual was known for being a thorn in Red's side, and was a rival of the Pokemon trainer for a considerable amount of time.

"What seems to be the problem, Red my dear, you look like you seen a ghost, like King Boo..." Bayonetta approached Red, who was startled enough to scream from the top of his lungs, only to see the Umbra Witch smiling at him. "Hmm, judging by your reaction, you truly must have seen a ghost...too bad Luigi won't be here to take care of your ghostly problems!"

"No Bayonetta, I didn't see a ghost anywhere...I'm just a little nervous," stated Red, quickly regaining his composure. "Blue is gonna pay me a visit, and I'm afraid that he would embarrass me in front of the others..." Any guy who would use "Smell ya later!" as a parting remark would be most accustomed to embarrassing others.

 **Red: Blue is the absolute worst...he's constantly talking about how great he is and effortlessly puts me down, like I'm hot trash. Talking this and that about how supposedly "awesome" his Pokemon is, even though I've beaten him in the Indigo League...though he seldom talks about that. Bring that up to him and he'll be talking up a storm about the latest Pokemon he recently captured. Speaking of which, he told me via the PokeNav that he caught this "awesome" HOenn Pokemon, and plans to show it off to me. And yes, I have Blue's contact information on my PokeNav. Part of me wants to delete him for good, but I'd figure he would be crying about it if I didn't answer his calls.**

"I just can't believe it, how could I have lost to a man who just recently learned how to speak English?" questioned an exasperated Link, who was speaking with Cloud and Lucario as the three headed down the staircase to the foyer. Link was apparently salty about losing in Scrabble last week, and the fact that he lost to Heihachi did nothing but make the Hylian even saltier!

"Ease up Link, you're acting like it's the end of the world," stated Lucario, who like everyone else was tired of Link's griping. "Cloud here lost to Heihachi as well, and you don't see him complaining day in and day out."

"Of course not, because Cloud doesn't care about a thing - someone like Wario could steal all of Cloud's materia, and the man still wouldn't give a crap about it." Deep down Cloud knew this was true - partly because he knew Wario would somehow screw up stealing anything at all in the first place.

"The Scrabble game is over Link, just let bygones be bygones," Cloud said to his best friend. Before Link could say anything, the doorbell rang, and Red instantly feared for the worst. He knew behind that door was Blue, and he must be dying to get inside that mansion. Refusing to let the man inside would be discourteous on the behalf of Red.

"Here goes nothing, you guys..." Red nervously inched towards the front door, acting like he was doing some challenge on _Fear Factor,_ what with the nerves and all, as he slowly opened the front door, and saw an orange-haired Pokemon Trainer grinning at him - a trainer Red did not wish to see.

"Hey Red, my man, what's up, how's it going dude?" Blue would greet Red, as he stepped inside the mansion without anyone letting him in. The trainer suddenly took notice of the brawlers present in the foyer, and was left somewhat surprised. "Red are these guys your friends, I didn't know you had friends! Sup Link, sup Cloud, sup Lucario, sup Bayonetta, how's it going?" The burning indignation inside of Red was slowly building, as he clenched his fists with rage.

"So you must be the Blue fellow that Red was talking about before..." Bayonetta strutted her way to Blue, as Red was internally questioning the Umbra Witch for wanting to speak with the trainer. "Red would always talk up a storm about you, speaking about your Pokemon and that one time you lost to him in the Indigo League!"

"Me losing to Red in the Indigo League? Yeah I don't remember that." There goes Blue's selective memory working in his favor. "Anyways, Red, you just have to see this awesome Pokemon I recently caught! You wanna see for yourself?" Red did not answer, as he glared down Blue with his fists still clenched. "I'll take your visible rage as uncontainable excitement, which means it's a yes from you!"

So Blue took out a Poke ball, and threw it on the floor, sending out the Pokemon he had caught - Gardevoir, the embrace Pokemon. Lucario suddenly took hold of Gardevoir, his pupils dilated as his eyes were fixated on the Pokemon. There was something different about this Gardevoir from the one in the Pokemon sanctuary...the difference being that this Gardevoir was a _female._

 **Lucario: Out of all the items Master Hand and Isabelle have given me, this just might be the strangest one I've received... *holds up a pair of sunglasses* Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind these sunglasses, but compared to the other stuff I got in the past, this seems to be very random. *puts sunglasses on* Gotta admit, these sunglasses look nice...and they feel nice too... *looks around in sunglasses, before falling upon a rather disturbing sight* SNAKE FOR THE LOVE OF...PUT YOUR SPY SUIT BACK ON, NODOBY WANTS TO SEE YOU IN YOUR BOXERS!  
Snake: Freedom of expression, Lucario, deal with it! *grumpily walks away, spy suit in hand***

"See this rad Gardevoir Red, doesn't she look awesome?" grinned Blue, proud of the Pokemon he caught while Red continued to seethe with anger. "Too bad you'll never catch a Gardevoir anytime soon!" Blue laughed maniacally, but only in a very arrogant sense.

"Man, Red was right, Blue really can be a jerk sometimes," Cloud said to Link and Lucario...only to notice that Lucario was still starstruck by Gardevoir's presence. "Lucario, you okay man? You look like you never seen a Gardevoir before..."

"That Gardevoir...will soon be my mate..." uttered Lucario, still fixated on Gardevoir; Link and Cloud nervously glanced at one another, worried about what measures Lucario would go through to acquire Gardevoir - even if it meant Blue would be involved.

* * *

"...so in short, I want to do what's best for Flora, and I wish to keep her spirits up at all times," said Dark Pit, finishing up a story he was telling the Romance Club about Felicia and how the maid's lack of self-esteem would play a role in her relationship with the doppelganger angel.

"Nice story Dark Pit, wouldn't have told it any better myself," remarked Marth as he applauded; the rest of the Romance Club members, feeling inclined to do so, clapped along with the hero-king. "Now that Dark Pit told his story regarding Flora, we shall then move on to Little Mac. Are you ready to go, Mac?"

Suddenly there was a knock at the door; Marth answered it, only to be grabbed by a mysterious hand and dragged out of the door. Some punches and kicks were heard from behind the door, accompanied by some screaming from Marth. Awkward silence soon followed, and then in came Sonic - Sonic the Hedgehog. The Romance Club members looked perplexed as the blue blur stepped inside the room, before assuming the position where Marth was.

"Welcome, romantic gentlemen, to the new and improved Romance Club!" Sonic exclaimed with his arms out wide. The club members were unsure of what to make of Sonic as their mentor, but they were willing to give the hedgehog a chance. "Who's here to have some fun...in romance?"

"Sonic what are you doing here, what did you do to Marth?" questioned Geno, refusing to work with the likes of Sonic. "And whoever said that we were gonna have fun, we're here to learn about love!"

"Can you believe this guy?" Sonic pointed at Geno, like he was a culprit of some high-profile crime. "Refusing to intertwine fun with romance...it's no wonder that poor Geno still can't find himself a girlfriend." Technically he could have a female Luma as a girlfriend...but that wouldn't work so well.

 **Sonic: An old saying that we all know too well...if you can't beat 'em, join 'em! And if you join 'em... *punches fist in palm of his hand* ...kick 'em to the curb!**

"So who wants to go on a field trip to some places around Seattle?" Sonic asked the club members. A field trip to multiple Seattle locations? How would that work?

"I want to go on a field trip!" Pit raised his hand, having never been on an actual field trip before. It was perhaps the angel's only reason for wanting to attend public school in Seattle.

"Alright, really love the enthusiasm Pit, thank you for speaking up! Of course, I can't just take you...so everyone else, you're coming along too! Just follow me!" So Pit and the Romance Club members followed Sonic out of the room... "Actually, Chrom, Little Mac, Dark Pit, and Wario - you guys go wait in my room. You'll be much safer there with Tails." Why wait in Sonic's room for, why not just stay put? "The rest of y'all, let's go!" So the other members followed Sonic out of the room...with Geno being the last to follow - unsure of Sonic's intentions.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Star Records room, Fox and Falco were at the desk going over some important documents with Itsuki, while the threesome of Tsubasa, Eleonora, and the newest member of _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ Asuka, was at the far corner of the room having a conversation. (Eleonora must be envious of Tsubasa and Asuka, particularly about how bigger their breasts were compared to hers.)

"Let me get this straight - every single girl at the ninja academies knows how to cook," Eleonora said to Asuka, discussing how the girls at the Hanzo Academy and the other ninja academies have substantial experience in cooking. The sole reason the ninja girls were brought to the tryouts for _Microwave Idol Mamorin..._ aside from the other things Master Hand was seeking for in the show.

"Eh, more or less, though I don't know how that came to be," stated Asuka, who was growing more comfortable with the Star Records crew and everyone else in the mansion. "We're no amateurs, that's for sure..."

"Certainly you can cook better than Lady Palutena, she might be the worst cook in the mansion..." Tsubasa remarked with a frown on her face; just thinking about Palutena's cooking nearly made the girl sick. The door to Star Records opened, and in came the Inklings, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room.

"Fox, Falco, Itsuki, are you three busy?" the female Inkling asked the trio, with a nervous expression written on her face. Did the Inklings do something to either Fox's or Falco's Landmaster? If so, then why implicate Itsuki in the matter?

"We are busy, but if you have anything you need to tell us, we're all ears," replied Fox, putting the documents down. The male and female Inklings glanced at one another, prompting Fox to raise an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong, it's just that...a guy we know from Inkopolis wanted to see you guys," the male Inkling responded, ink-colored sweat running down his face. "He really wanted to meet you three, and he's here right now...waiting behind the door...we'll just let him in."

The Inklings headed out the door, and brought inside a red-violet octopus, one with a kabuto crown on his head. This octopus fellow was well known back at Inkopolis, and he was known by one name - DJ Octavio.

 **Female Inkling: You just had to do it, you just HAD to tell Marie and Callie about Fortuna Entertainment merging with Star Records, so they could tell DJ Octavio and prompt him to come to the mansion to give Fox and Falco a piece of his mind! Why'd you do it, man?  
** **Male Inkling: So you're insisting it's MY fault Marie and Callie wanted to spill the beans to Octavio? You're acting like I had prior knowledge of what the Squid Sisters were gonna do, I didn't tell me to tell Octavio about Star Records! Oh, and by the way, Callie is undisputedly the better Squid Sister, everyone knows that Marie is hot garbo.  
** **Female Inkling: Say that again, you stinking twerp! *punches the male Inkling in the face, starting a roughhousing fight***

* * *

Red and Blue were now chilling at the Pokemon sanctuary, with Gardevoir at Blue's side. And what was Blue doing now? Running his mouth about his latest accomplishments to Red, of course!

"After I swept the floor Pyramid King Brandon and made him cry (I think I made him cry), I then took on gym leader Candice, and completely smoked her Abomasnow with my darling Gardevoir!" the Pokemon trainer bragged, while Red felt miserable. Blue must be bluffing about his battle with Brandon, since the pyramid king would use Regice, Regirock, _and_ Registeel in his battles. "You should have seen the look on her face, it was priceless!"

"Gardevoir...sooner or later you're gonna be mine..." Lucario sighed lovingly as he looked at Gardevoir, still enamored with the embrace Pokemon. The aura Pokemon was in the Pokemon sanctuary with Link and Cloud, and the two swordsmen were present just to keep a close eye on their fellow brawler.

"I've never seen Lucario act like this before, it's not in his DNA," remarked Link, shaking his head in disbelief. "You think Yoshi used a love potion on Lucario and made him suddenly like any Gardevoir he sees?"

"Yoshi promised us he won't tamper with Ashley's love potions ever again, so I don't think he might be involved," stated Cloud; the residents must've felt relieved when Yoshi made the announcement. "Figured that Lucario would be more interested in a fighting-type Pokemon, but I suppose not..."

Speaking of fighting-type Pokemon, one particular fighting-type hailing from Sinnoh showed up, and it was Gallade - the very Gallade that Lucario thought was gonna pummel him back in episode 62. He glanced at Lucario, then at Blue's Gardevoir, then back at Lucario...and frowned viciously.

* * *

Mario and Luigi were trying to enjoy themselves at the _Star Wars_ convention, trying to cope with the strange cosplaying folks that were all over the place. One particular costumed fellow was enough to make Luigi shriek and nearly wet his overalls...a man wearing a C-3PO robot suit. Luigi might have nightmares about C-3PO tonight.

"Sorry for scaring you sir, I didn't meant to startle you," apologized the costumed man, staying in character as C-3PO. "I shall leave you and your brother be - enjoy the rest of the convention, and may the force be with you!" The man waved to the Mario Bros, as he walked away, walking like how C-3PO would.

"Can't believe-a that a lousy C-3PO was-a enough to make you wet-a your pants," Mario smiled at Luigi while shaking his head; Luigi could only muster a nervous, regretful chuckle. Imagine how Luigi would react if he ran into a person in a Darth Maul getup...poor guy would have a heart attack.

 **Luigi: I've always been-a afraid of several _Star Wars_ characters, most of them-a I'm too afraid to mention. For the longest-a I've been afraid of Jar Jar Binks - he looks-a like a crocodile...with-a special needs...sorry if I offended-a any special needs folks by mentioning their-a condition in the same-a breath as that loser, Jar Jar.**

"Are you sure you don't want this Sphero BB-8 toy robot, Corrin?" Kamui asked Corrin, holding a Sphero BB-8 toy robot in her hands. The two twins walked up to Mario and Luigi, and Corrin was still feeling somewhat depressed. "I practically bought it with the money Lucina lent me, and I'm not returning this robot back!"

"Unless that robot can accurately tell me the whereabouts of Emperor Palpatine, then I don't want it," replied Corrin, looking down at the floor. "Just throw him in the trash heap for all I care!" No way Kamui was going to throw a $130 toy in a trash can.

"Mario, Luigi, can you two please talk some sense into Corrin?" Kamui pleaded to the Mario Bros. "I can't stand to see him sulk like this, I want him to let loose and have some fun...he's at a convention, for crying out loud!"

"Cheer up Corrin, maybe one-a day you can find-a your main man Palptaine...just-a not here in Orlando," Luigi kindly said to Corrin, who now looked to the side. "But look-a on the bright-a side..." Corrin eye's widened and the prince suddenly gasped when his red eyes fell upon a man, a man that looked an awful lot like...

"Emperor Palpatine?!" Corrin exclaimed as he watched the man in question far away, walking and greeting _Star Wars_ fanatics. "That man has to be Emperor Palpatine, I just know it! Must use the restroom at once - can't meet my hero on a full bladder!" A now elated Corrin ran off to the nearest restroom, nearly knocking down people along the way.

"You stay right-a here Kamui, Luigi and I will-a prevent Corrin from-a leaving the restroom and tracking that-a man," Mario told the princess, who flashed a smile. How on earth would the Mario Bros keep Corrin inside the restroom at a convention with hundreds of people?

* * *

"So let me get this straight - you, of all people, wish to do a collaboration with us, Star Records," Falco discussed matters with DJ Octavio, who apparently wished to do a collaboration of some sort with Star Records. A DJ composing music with the likes of Knuckles, Little Mac, and the idol singers...sheesh.

"Preferably I want to do a collaboration with just the idol singers, if you don't mind," clarified Octavio, his giant eyes unnerving Falco and company. "Really wanna do a collab with the ladies, Kiria truly is a doll and I would work her...erm, work _with_ her any day of the week!" That certainly didn't sound creepy at all.

"Already this guy sounds like a pervert," Asuka whispered to Tsubasa and Eleonora, who collectively nodded their heads. "I'd stay weary of this DJ Octavio dude if I were you, he looks predictable..."

 **Ayaha: No, the idol singers haven't recorded a single song yet - Itsuki claims that they're still "looking for an inspiration" for a song. Well they better find this "inspiration" soon, these bills aren't gonna pay themselves...and the fact that Master Hand practically _taxes_ us to pay for his Lamborghini is downright asinine. Lord knows what goes on in that mind of his...if he even has a mind.**

"We can't do this collaboration if you don't have anything in mind, DJ Octavio," stated Itsuki, scratching the back of his head. After Octavio's comment, the collaboration might not be such a grand idea... "Do you have any bright ideas in mind? We would love to hear what plans you have with us...idol singers."

"DJ Octavio said that he had this one song idea from watching one of Kiria's songs online, and was unsure about putting it to action," stated the male Inkling. Octavio must really love himself some Kiria, huh?

"He told us about this idea, and we both thought that it was...very interesting," added the female Inkling, grinning nervously. Fifty bucks this idea had much to do with Kiria, it was probably a fan song about that woman. "We can't exactly say his...idea out loud, so could we say it...in private?"

"Sure thing kiddo, there's a secret closet over there that Falco and I never even know existed, you can tell us there," replied Fox, as he went to go open this secret closet, which wasn't so secret; Fox and Falco just weren't paying attention. Falco, Itsuki, and the Inklings stepped inside the closet, and Fox entered the closet thereafter and closed the door...what followed seconds afterward was inconsolable laughing from Fox, Falco, and even Itsuki himself, that alarmed Octavio and caused the octopus to frown.

"Starting to have doubts about this little collaboration..." Tsubasa quietly remarked under her breath, her optimism and open-mindedness for new musical projects now having reached an all-time low.

* * *

Lucario had left the Pokemon sanctuary, but the aura Pokemon would return with something in his hand - a rose. He asked Viridi if he could borrow a rose to give to Blue's Gardevoir, and the goddess of nature found it rather sweet that Lucario was in love. Lucario was humming happily to himself, when all of a sudden...

"Pichu Pichu Pichu!" Pichu ran up to the aura Pokemon, needing to tell him something. "Pichu, Pichu, Pichu Pichu Pichu!"

"What appears to be the problem Pichu - was Sonic up to no good again?" asked Lucario, and so Pichu would tell the aura Pokemon a story that he could only say by uttering his name multiple times...a a story that made Lucario afraid. The aura Pokemon dropped his rose on the floor and ran out of the Pokemon sanctuary, screaming like a maniac before running into Link and Zelda, who were speaking with one another in the hallway.

"My goodness Lucario, what has gotten into you?" questioned Zelda, with her hands on her hips. Lucario screaming like a maniac was something you don't typically hear every day. "Did Bowser scare you with one of his stupid pranks?"

"No, but this is even worse! So a month or two ago, this Gallade was antagonizing me because he thought I was in love with his Lopunny (since I was with her at the Valentine's Day dance), but it was all just a big, huge misunderstanding. We were both on good terms...but now Pichu just informed me that Gallade broke up with Lopunny for whatever reason so he could be with Blue's Gardevoir, whom he likes! And since he knows that I like Gardevoir too, for some reason...he wants to fight me in a death battle to see who can win Gardevoir's heart!"

* * *

 **Samus: Need to get away from the mansion, all the people there are gonna drive me insane, if they haven't already. Sure, Yoshi finally decided to mellow out and stop his fanfiction and matchmaking crap, an absolute godsend, but it still won't make up for the other crap I have to put up with, whether it be Bowser's pranks, Kirby eating up my food, and Hisui's pathetic attempts at flirting with me. He'll be feeling something painful between his legs if he flirts with me one more time, I'll guarantee that. So to get away from those losers - for the time being - I'll be flying around Seattle in my lovely Gunship...Yes, I suppose I can allow one of your stupid cameramen to tag along for the ride and see what's inside my Gunship. Not like they would learn anything anyways...**

Samus headed outside to where her gunship was, located not that far from Master Hand's Lamborghini, and opened up the hatch to the flying space vehicle. After letting the cameraman in first as a sign of forced courtesy, Samus followed in afterwards and once inside, the bounty hunter did some calibrations, checked the gas tank (which is mobile energy) of the Gunship, even adjusted her ponytail...before discovering a perky yellow fella inside the Gunship.

"Pika pika!" exclaimed Pikachu, popping up from underneath the dashboard, causing Samus to scream and nearly fall out of her seat. The cameraman remained calm and collected, somewhat gleeful that he captured Samus momentarily scared on film.

"Oh it's just you, Pikachu - thought you were one of Bowser's stupid children," Samus smiled as she took a breather. "How on earth did you manage to get inside my Gunship undetected? Ah, no matter, you're undeniably cute and adorable (unlike most other Pokemon) so I'll let it pass. You wanna tag along for a journey in the skies of Seattle?"

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu would love to get an aerial view of the city of Seattle, and to be doing it with Samus - whom the mouse Pokemon bonded with during the events of _Subspace Emissary_ \- couldn't be any better.

"Alright then, let's get this show on the road!" Samus turned the Gunship on, the vehicle rising to the air, and then the bounty hunter kicked the Gunship into overdrive, driving away at the speed of light. "Let me know if I'm going too fast in the Gunship!" Samus said to the cameraman, who was most likely scared for his life; the cameraman simply gave Samus a thumbs up.

* * *

"Itsuki, Fox, and Falco spoke with DJ Octavio, and apparently Octavio wishes to do a love song...with the five of us," Tsubasa relayed this information to Kiria, Mamori, Eleonora, and Yashiro in the meeting room. "Octavio's very adamant about this collaboration, and if we don't grant his wish..."

"Some wishes aren't deserving to be granted, I'd say we give Octavio one of our albums so he can be satisfied and leave us alone," stated Yashiro, with his arms folded. He encountered DJ Octavio earlier, and did not express any desire to perform with the giant octopus.

"Itsuki said that Octavio can be very violent if his demands are met...I'd say we just do this song and get it over with," said Kiria, not wanting any trouble with DJ Octavio whatsoever. Felicia opened the door to the meeting room, grabbing the attention of the idol singers.

"Excuse me, but am I interrupting your meeting?" asked the maid, who undoubtedly saved herself from going with Corrin to the _Star Wars_ convention; bless her heart if she fancied the idea of going. "Sonic would like to speak with you for a quick minute, if you don't mind!"

 **Sonic: You may not know this, but I'm actually doing Robin a huge solid...but I'm not really working _with_ him as much, mind you, I'm just keeping things even-keeled, for now and forever. Remember when I said "** **if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," and "if you join 'em, kick 'em to the curb"? I may have been exaggerating on the "join 'em" bit, but rest assured, someone _will_ be kicked to the curb...and it ain't gonna be Robin.**

"I suppose we can let him in, provided he doesn't annoy us," replied Kiria, and soon enough, Sonic rushed inside the meeting room, striking a pose as Felicia closed the door that Sonic refused to close. "...and he might've annoyed us already. Didn't take that long..."

"Word has it from my man Knuckles that you gals are gonna be doing a song with DJ Octavio," said Sonic, offending Yashiro by grouping him with the gals. "Good thing for you gals, I know just the place to do your song!" Now Yashiro felt offended for a second time.

"We could do the song in the recording studio, like most people do," stated Eleonora, worried about getting caught up on one of Sonic's schemes for the first time. The hedgehog wasn't exactly the most trustworthy person. "So what 'place' do you have in mind Sonic?"

"Of course I'm gonna let you record the song in the recording studio first, duh...but I was thinking; why not do a music video for said song in the ballroom?" The ballroom sure was an interesting choice, but why shoot a music video there?

* * *

"Um, can I please use the restroom, I can't hold it in anymore in this outfit..." some dude wearing a Darth Vader outfit asked Mario and Luigi, who were guarding the door to the men's restroom. The brothers weren't restroom monitors - they were just trying to prevent Corrin from leaving the restroom so he could track down a man whom he believed was Emperor Palpatine.

"Right-a this way, sir!" Mario allowed the man to pass through; the man exhaled deeply like Darth Vader would as he entered the men's restroom. "Quick Luigi - check inside-a the restroom and see if-a Corrin's still in there!"

"Drat, the man closed-a the door before I could-a get a peek!" frowned Luigi, snapping his fingers in disgust. Good chance the men's restroom was full, so looking for Corrin would be awfully hard. "But the other times-a I peeked inside, I didn't see-a Corrin...he must be in one-a of the stalls, dropping a deuce. Could be taking him-a forever to..."

"Corrin has been spotted somewhere in the convention!" Rotom appeared, alerting Mario and Luigi. Luigi had filled the plasma Pokemon in on what he and Mario were doing. "I repeat, Corrin has been spotted somewhere in the convention, he's out of the restroom, zzzrt!"

"But-a how, Corrin didn't even leave-a the restroom through this door while we were-a standing by!" exclaimed a perplexed Mario. Who knew Corrin was that sneaky? "How did-a he manage to escape?" Rotom opened the men's restroom door, and found some evidence - a few ceiling tiles lying on the restroom floor.

"Corrin must have went into dragon form and flew up to the ceiling to escape! A very street-smart move, zwoop!"

 **Corrin: *rubbing his hands together excitedly* This is a moment I've been waiting for, for a long time...I'm going to meet Emperor Palpatine himself, the real deal! Nothing can stop me now, not even... *looks to his right* Are those _Star Wars-_ themed cookies I spy? Certainly Palaptine wouldn't mind if I gave him some cookies!**

Kamui, who was told to remain where she was by Mario before the plumber and Luigi assumed their spots at the men's restroom, understandably grew bored and went to go look at some _Star Wars_ memorabilia and whatnot, until Mario, Luigi, and Rotom came to the princess, all in a dire hurry.

"Kamui have you seen-a Corrin anywhere, he's escaped-a from the men's restroom!" Mario said to the princess, who wasn't all surprised; even though she knew Corrin was a naive fool, she also knew that the prince could craftily get out of certain situations when given the chance.

"Haven't seen Corrin anywhere, but I sure hope he stays away from that man," responded Kamui, still holding the Sphero BB-8 toy robot in her hands. She still wasn't giving up that #130 toy. "We cannot afford any trouble while we're at the convention..."

"Too bad for that - Corrin is now advancing towards the man that plays Emperor Palpatine in the _Star Wars_ films!" Rotom spotted Corrin from afar, and Mario, Luigi, and Kamui all looked at the direction Rotom was looking, fearing for the worst...

There was Corrin, feet away from a man he believed was Emperor Palpatine. The man in question was busy signing the autographs of _Star Wars_ fans that had been dying to see him, for the man was a famous actor who played Palpatine; we shall dub him Mac. Corrin, who was slowly inching towards Mac, couldn't wait any longer and literally barged through the multitude of _Star Wars_ fans to reach Mac.

"Well hey there kid, how can I...help you?" Mac asked as he looked down...only to see Corrin hugging him, his arms wrapped around the actor's waist. A very embarrassing moment for Mario and company; it was good enough that they were as far away from Corrin as possible.

"I love you, Emperor Palpatine..." Corrin said happily, as he was stuck to Mac like glue. Nothing could take this moment away from him.

"Thanks kiddo, but I'm not really Emperor Palpatine - I'm just a guy who happens to play as him in the _Star Wars_ movies."

"I love you, Emperor Palpatine..." Corrin said for a second time, in slight disbelief that he was in contact with whom he believed was the real Emperor Palpatine.

"Haha, I love you too kid...now can you let go please? Got more autographs to sign, can't leave these people disappointed."

"I love you, Emperor Palpatine..." Corrin said once more, this time allowing the words to permeate inside of Mac and soak into the very marrow of his soul.

"Security!" But Mac would let Corrin's finest moment come to an end, as he called for security guards to take Corrin away. Prying the prince off of the actor was not an easy task for security.

"No, please don't take me from Emperor Palpatine, I have yet to have a legit conversation with him! So many things to discuss, like the state of the Galactic Empire, for instance, or why the stormtroopers are in Orlando!" Lord help this dude...

 **Mac: Yes, I shouldn't have let that silver-haired boy hug me for that long, but sometimes when you deal with _Star Wars_ fanatics, you gotta give them what they want. Most of my concerns hinge upon the fact that he believes I'm Emperor Palpatine, not the person who _plays_ as Emperor Palaptine...sadly some folks can't tell fantasy apart from reality. It's like a mental disease.**

* * *

The Romance Club returned from Sonic's field trip around Seattle, and they returned with a bunch of items too - chandeliers, new fancy tablecloths, fish tanks, some fine china, and new silverware. The field trip wasn't your ordinary trip - it was basically Captain Falcon shopping around Seattle for the aforementioned items, with Geno, Ganondorf and Pit shopping for said items with Falcon. Why weren't Dark Pit, Little Mac, Chrom, and Wario a part of this shopping spree, even though they were told to be a part of Sonic's "field trip"? You'll see later on.

"That's the last of the chandeliers!" announced Pit, who just finished installing the new chandeliers to the ballroom's ceiling. Now the big chandelier hanging in the center of the ballroom had other chandelier friends to hang out with - no pun intended.

"Atta boy Pit, good work!" Captain Falcon gave the angel a thumbs up; the racer was decorating the tables that were placed in the ballroom, all of the tables with the fancy tablecloths on them. "Sonic's gonna have his socks blown off when we see how we spruced up this ballroom, he'll explode off of his feet and Sonic will be like, 'Oh no, my socks!' Won't he?"

"Yeah, like Sonic's socks can actually explode, if that's even possible..." Ganondorf rolled his eyes at Captain Falcon, as he inspected the fish tanks installed in the ballroom, all installed under Master Hand's consent. Ganondorf's eyes suddenly fell upon Geno, who was standing all by himself, looking at the floor and not doing anything. "What's the matter with you Geno, you've been like that since our field trip...if you even want to call it a field trip. Why do you look so down?"

"No reason, no reason at all, just thinking about things..." replied Geno, still looking at the floor. Ganondorf knew that there was something going on in Geno's mind, and he wished to find out what it was.

"You've been feeling some type of way ever since Marth 'disappeared' on us and Sonic took his place. Do you miss being around with Marth, the leader of the Romance Club? Miss playing as an assistant to Marth, is Sonic not your cup of tea?"

"Sonic isn't the reason, in fact, I don't mind working with Sonic - though it's been a small sample size. But without Marth...the two of us won't be able to fulfill the true purpose of the Romance Club."

Ganondorf at first looked at Geno like he was crazy, and then the Demon Lord found himself bursting in laughter, humorously appalled by what Geno said. What other "true purpose" of the Romance Club was there aside from the members pairing up with their ladies?

 **Wario: Sonic can be such a jerk...not only does he disallow the four of us to go on his "field trip", but he also tells us to wait in his room until he gives us some silly cue! We're older than Sonic - except maybe for Dark Pit, but he's an angel so who knows how old he is - and therefore, we shouldn't be bowing down to him!  
** **Chrom: You're the only one crying Wario, you don't see my complaining. I'm sure the others had their fun on their little field trip with Sonic, wherever they went to.  
** **Little Mac: Man, what is wrong with Doc Louis...he keeps texting me and asking me when I'm coming back to train with him! Thought I gave him enough chocolate bars to hold him over until I return!  
** **Dark Pit: Sounds like Doc Louis really likes you, Little Mac...where's NAMBLA when you need 'em?**

"What 'true purpose' could you be talking about?" scoffed Ganondorf, in the most utmost disbelief. "Could this 'true purpose' possibly be Marth reducing his own ego by having his fellow brawlers find love, so he won't be so boastful in the fact he's married?"

"Actually Ganondorf, that is not true..." said Geno, bracing himself for the real whammy he was going to tell the Demon Lord. "...when Marth formed the Romance Club, he did not have the idea of improving the love lives of his fellow peers in mind." This shocked Ganondorf, whose eyes were now wider than the sun...if that's even possible. "Marth formed the club so he could prepare you...for a battle against the Heartless."

"But I haven't seen a darn Heartless ever since Ema closed that portal, why would Marth still be preparing us anyways? What was even the point of bringing Pit, Dark Pit, and Little Mac to the club anyways?"

"Marth figured that he would need some backup if necessary. Marth told me that when he was sent to Aerith's universe to retrieve Aerith so she could be at Luigi's wedding and make Cloud all happy and stuff, he was confronted by someone from Organization XIII, and that person said that he and his buddies were gonna track down Marth, and unleash the Heartless upon his universe...and take all the hearts from said universe, for the sake of this thing called Kingdom Hearts. Aerith talked about Kingdom Hearts in full detail, don't you remember? Marth believed that if he 'strengthened' the hearts of the Romance Club members like yourself, then you and the others could prevail against the Heartless, if a full-scale Heartless invasion were to happen."

"I see..." Ganondorf, having learnt this information, was now stroking his chin in thought, all while Pit and Captain Falcon were putting on the finishing touches on the spruced up ballroom. Watching from afar was Xigbar, who was hanging from the giant chandelier before warping away once the cameraman who recorded the conversation between Geno and Ganondorf caught the Nobody on his camera.

* * *

Samus and Pikachu (and the cameraman riding with them) were enjoying their flight over Seattle in the Gunship, as they passed the Space Needle. It was great that Samus was able to share such a joyous experience with a Pokemon she bonded with over time, Pikachu, and the bounty hunter felt like telling the mouse Pokemon how great of a companion he was.

"I know that you figured this out before Pikachu, but you're perhaps the only tolerable living thing I can deal with at the mansion," Samus said to Pikachu, who really wasn't that surprised. "It's just that...you hardly ever do anything that's enough to tick me off. You're not brooding and self-depreciating like Mewtwo, or overtly anti-social like Greninja, or a lousy singer like Jigglypuff, or rude as Lucario can be sometimes. You're probably my favorite Pokemon."

"Pika pika!" Pikachu exclaimed, taking Samus's comments with heart. Little fella was almost everyone's favorite Pokemon.

 **Master Hand: *floats over to Lamborghini outside, stops in place when he sees grass and debris all over Lamborghini due to Samus's Gunship taking off, then seethes in anger* SAAAAAMUUUUUSS!**

"But to tell you the truth Pikachu, I don't outright hate your Pokemon buddies..." clarified Samus, although she was giving away the impression that she hated Mewtwo and company. "...in fact, I don't hate the mansion residents either." Now this was a major shock to Pikachu, and even the cameraman. "Truth be told, I appreciate all their quirks - whether it be Peach's cuteness, Link's dorky ways, King Dedede's greedy nature, Wolf's arrogance, Hisui's sorry flirting attempts...the list just goes on and on, I tell you."

"Pika pika Pikachu?" Pikachu found himself scratching his head, not believing a single word Samus said. Same goes for the cameraman.

"Honestly I enjoy all of the residents' quirks - it's what makes them different and separates them from each other. Could you imagine how boring it would be to be stuck in a mansion with folks who are all similar, with no weird thing to tell them apart? Main reason why I can be so hard on everyone is because I have to deal with their quirks on a repeated and daily basis...when you put up with weird crap day in and day out, you tend to act like someone took a piss in your cheerios in return, if you know what I mean. You don't really have any quirks Pikachu, and that's way I seldom resent towards you. You catch my drift?"

"Pika pika!" Pikachu (and the cameraman) now fully understood what Samus said - deep down the bounty hunter appreciated the mansion residents, no matter how weird or annoying they may be, because they all possessed quirks that made them different. It was the fact that Samus had to put up with these quirks so frequently that make the bounty hunter constantly feel some type of way.

"Knew you would understand." Samus, in a moment of rarity, kissed Pikachu and patted the Pokemon on the head. Bounty hunter could always trust in a friend Pikachu.

* * *

"Link, where on earth are you two?" Midna called out these two names as he traveled through the mansion, hoping nobody would catch her out in the open. The imp momentarily exited Link's body to "conduct some business", and now she was looking for her host body, wherever he was. As Midna continued to look, she suddenly overheard a conversation between Roy and Wolf in Roy's room that may provide some details as to where Link could be.

"Yo, did you hear about that fight between Lucario and the Gallade from the Pokemon sanctuary?" Roy asked Wolf, as Midna leaned closer to Roy's door so she could hear the full conversation. "Apparently they're fighting over Blue's Gardevoir, to see who can win her heart!"

"I knew Blue's visit to see Red would be nothing but trouble - not only does he brag about his crappy accomplishments just to irritate us, but now the presence of his new Pokemon might screw Lucario over, big time!" frowned Wolf, who like Red was against Blue coming to the mansion. "Guy is nothing but trouble, I tell ya!"

"Blue was much worse than advertised, but I never expected one of his Pokemon to place Lucario in a pickle. Do you not know how strong Gallade is? He might be even stronger than Lucario himself!" Not really; Lucario is actually stronger than Gallade by seven base stat points. "Good thing Link and Cloud will be there to support Lucario during his fight!"

"Poor jackal would need all the support he can get..." Now having known about Link's whereabouts, Midna flew off to the Pokemon sanctuary where the Hylian was.

 **Midna: So you're telling me that Link would rather watch one of his fellow brawlers get pummeled by another Pokemon than spend time with Zelda and progress their relationship...Zelda must feel so lonely all by herself, without Link around. I'm surprised the woman keeps giving that bum so many chances.**

 **Cilan: Today a day of firsts...today is the first time I'll curate a Pokemon battle! Only difference is, there'll be no trainers involved, it'll just be a hard-fought battle between Lucario and Gallade. I tried inviting Red and Blue to spectate the fight, but Blue was too busy running his mouth about that one time he caught a Hydreigon, and Red looked too miserable to even care.**

"Are all participants ready?" Cilan asked Lucario and Gallade, the two Pokemon at a battlefield staring one another down with animosity. Midna arrived at the Pokemon sanctuary, and saw Link standing with Cloud near the battlefield.

"So that Pokemon friend of yours is fighting that over Pokemon over some lady Pokemon?" the imp floated over to Link and whispered into the Hylian's ear, recollecting the information she gained from Roy and Wolf's conversation.

"Evidently so, though I'm not so sure how it came to be," replied Link, who was oblivious to Gallade seeing Lucario lovestruck at Gardevoir earlier like Cloud. Had Link and Cloud seen Gallade, they would have talked things out with the blade Pokemon, and there probably would've been no fight.

"Well since nobody wanted to say anything, the battle shall begin," announced Cilan after a long brief silence, during which Midna returned to Link's body. "May the best Pokemon win!"

Gallade would attack first, as he ran up to Lucario with his Psycho Cut ready...but then Lucario used Double Team, creating illusionary copies of himself. The blade Pokemon would use Psycho Cut to take care of every copy of Lucario, but once he destroyed the last copy, he received an Aura Sphere from the real Lucario, as he was sent flying to the wall. But Gallade refused to give up.

Slowly getting up back to his feet, Gallade charged up a Shadow Ball, and fired it at Lucario. The aura Pokemon tried to repel it back with Force Palm, but it was too late - he was struck by the Shadow Ball, and was thrown to the ground in a giant thud, shocking Link, Cloud, and even Cilan! The impact left Lucario writhing in pain, in a newly created medium-sized hole of the battlefield, and the impact was enough to make two Pokemon trainers to do some investigation...

"What in the fiery flames of Moltres was that?" questioned Blue as he and Red infiltrated the battlefield, with Blue's Gardevoir following along; Red saw Lucario writhing in pain, and ran to the aura Pokemon's aid. He had never seen Lucario racked with so much pain.

"Lucario and Gallade were just in the middle of a fight to the death to determine who would win the love and affection of your darling Gardevoir!" Cilan happily explained to Blue, like a death battle was no big deal. Blue slowly turned his head toward Gallade, who was ogling Gardevoir in all her beauty.

"That Gallade over there...is in love with my Gardevoir?" Blue knew his Gardevoir was attractive, but he didn't expect her to be _that_ attractive.

"Not only that, but Gallade used to be in love with a Lopunny, and once he caught a glimpse of your Gardevoir, he broke up with Lopunny to pursue your Pokemon," explained Cloud, relaying the information that he gained from Link. "A pretty low move, if you ask me."

 **Blue: So not only is my Gardevoir strong...but she's also a dude magnet for male Pokemon! Man, I should have maximized upon Gardevoir's beauty, should have enlisted her in Pokemon beauty contests! But it ain't worth being a coordinator, don't feel like spending my grandpa's money on some goofy suit!...And yes, my grandpa still gives me allowance even though I'm thirty - you posers wish your grandparents could do the same thing!**

"Gallade you shouldn't just give up on Lopunny like that, I'm sure you two were already building great chemistry so why would you ruin that for another lover?" Gary questioned the Gallade, who was now expressing regret as he looked down at the floor. "I understand that you may have wanted to be with a female Gardevoir and all, but that should give you no reason to dump your former lover! You should go back to Lopunny, and apologize to her, and continue from where you left off. How can you call yourself a humble Pokemon when you dump one gal for another!" Gallade now held his head up, accepting blame for his actions and wishing to go back to Lopunny.

"Thanks for checking on me Red, I think all the pain went away," Lucario thanked the Pokemon trainer, who helped him up. Soon Blue came walking to the aura Pokemon, bringing his Gardevoir with him. What does Blue have to say to Lucario?

"So you really like my Gardevoir and want her to be your mate, huh?" Blue looked at Lucario with his hands on his hips. "I'll tell you what...I'll let my Gardevoir reside with you at the mansion, and I can go catch myself another Gardevoir and make her super OP! Sounds like a good offer?" Lucario was elated by his offer; he didn't even know a world-class jerk like Blue would even give such an offer! Was Blue changing for the better?

"Sounds fine by me, thanks a lot Blue!" Lucario exclaimed as he somewhat uncharacteristically gave Blue some dap and a bro hug. You can only see Lucario act like that whenever he was joyously happy.

"I've always wondered when you would ever mellow out," Red grinned at Blue, surprised by the Pokemon trainer's classy act of courtesy. Link and Cloud were left surprised as well; maybe Blue wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

"Itsuki man, there's something I've been needing to tell you..." Falco said to the dude in the Star Records room, heaving a heavy sigh. Clearly whatever Falco had to say was of a high magnitude, it must be told at once.

"Yeah Falco, what is it?" inquired Itsuki, as Fox looked up from his cellphone, waiting for the DJ Octavio collaboration song with the idol singers to be completed along with Falco and Itsuki.

"What did the five fingers say to the face?" Itsuki looked at Falco like he was crazy, and then it happened... "SLAP!" Falco slapped Itsuki in the face, and Fox got out of his chair and got all hyped, running around the room like he just witnessed someone getting roasted in a rap battle. "That was, in a word... _cold-blooded!_ Bang bang!" The amount of confusion expressed in Itsuki's face could not be understated; not even rubbing the place where Falco slapped him could make Itsuki wipe all the confusion off.

 **Fox: *standing formally with Falco* On April 12th, 2017, the world lost a man, a great guy whose younger brother was a famous dude named Eddie...Charlie Murphy.  
** **Falco: Murphy was a superb actor and comedian, and was responsible for many great sketch-comedy skits, all containing classic lines that were once uttered by high school kids during the mid-2000s. He left an undeniable mark on comedy, and will greatly be missed.  
Fox: And on that note... *holds up a plate of pancakes* ...pancakes. *both Fox and Falco burst out laughing*  
**

"What's with all the ruckus, what is going on?" questioned Asuka as she and Touma entered the Star Records room, having heard Fox going crazy for no reason. And the pilot was still going at it, before calming down once he saw Asuka and Touma.

"Oh nothing, Falco was just quoting some lines from _The Dave Chappelle Show,_ that's all," replied Fox, returning to his seat like nothing happened. "Hit show from the mid-2000s, you and Touma should check it out someday."

"Basically you were recycling lines from a show that was pretty much relevant over a decade ago," stated Touma, wishing he had video footage of Fox turning up on his cellphone. But hey, there was always next time...

"Bruh the lines from that show are all classic, you should use them, they could save your life one day," retorted Falco, although what he said has yet to be proven. Or has it been proven already?

"Move aside, tall guy and hot ninja girl, DJ Ocatvio coming through!" Octavio entered the Star Records room, pushing Touma and Asuka aside with his tentacles on his way to Fox, Falco, and Itsuki.

"Hello DJ Octavio - I take it that you finished your collaborative song with the idol singers?" asked Itsuki, the confusion on his face now gone for good.

"Yes, and it was stupendous, far better than I would have ever imagined! I was lying down the sick beats, Kiria was looking mighty fine, the other singers were staying in tune, and did I mention that Kiria was looking fine?" Octavio sure was obsessed with Kiria.

"Well we're glad that you got to fulfill your wish of producing a song with the idol singers, but I know something that could be better..." said Fox, prompting Octavio to widen his eyes with intrigue. "Why don't we film a music video for your little song...in our ballroom?"

"First I got to record a song with the idol singers, and now I can be in a music video with them?! Oh, do tell me all the juicy details!"

* * *

"You boys ready to see what's inside?" Sonic asked the group of Chrom, Wario, Little Mac, and Dark Pit, wearing a suit while in front of the ballroom door. Why the hedgehog was wearing a suit was beyond any of the four's understanding.

"Considering you had us wait in your terribly disorganized room for the longest, I'm actually curious as to what's behind that door," replied Chrom, now having some sympathy for Tails for having to deal with Sonic as a roommate. That fox has to go through so much...

"In that case, why don't we see what's behind this door?" So Sonic opened the ballroom door, showing the four what was inside the ballroom...and the four were left in awe by what they were seeing.

No, it wasn't Pit, Ganondorf, and Captain Falcon standing front and center, dressed up as waiters. What left Chrom and company in awe was how the ballroom was set up, it looked like a fancy elegant restaurant somewhere in Paris, or London, or even Barcelona! The lit chandeliers, the nice-looking tables, the atmosphere - it was perfect. What made it even more perfect was the musical stage at the end of the ballroom, adorned with decorations - Tsubasa, Eleonora, Kiria, Mamori, and Yashiro were standing on the stage, all dressed up like they were going to some high school prom. Behind them was DJ Octavio, with his turntable and other essentials.

 **Sonic: Marth, Marth, Marth...boy did he mess up big, when it comes to love. See, to learn what love is, you have to go out and experience it, you gotta hang out with your girl and spend time with her, go on dates and shop together! You can't be like Marth and force feed people how love works, and I'm surprised Captain Falcon and Ganondorf were able to use whatever crap Marth told them to keep things one hundred with their ladies! Sometimes you gotta learn by action rather than words, and so I'm doing the work Marth should have done with the guys still single!**

 **Geno: Ooh, I've done it now...I told Ganondorf about the true intentions of the Romance Club, and now Marth is gonna kill me...or can he? I know, I'll just bury myself alive in front of the mansion so Marth will never find me! Technically I'm a star, so I won't have to worry about the loss of oxygen...but losing my mind would be just as bad.**

"Yoo hoo, over here Chrom!" a woman called out to the prince, waving her arm to grab his attention. It was Chrom's girlfriend Raven, and she was seated at one of the tables; Palutena, Flora, and Leia were also sitting at a table. Chrom and the others looked at Sonic, who gave a thumbs up; the hedgehog really planned things out!

"I shall thank you later, Sonic," Chrom said to the hedgehog as he headed over to the table where Raven was sitting, while Dark Pit, Little Mac, and Wario headed to the tables where their ladies were seated. "Surprised to see you here Raven, haven't seen you since Valentine's Day..." Chrom said to Raven as he took his seat.

"Thought I told you I was always busy, it's the reason we don't get to communicate as much," Raven smirked as she looked lovingly at Chrom. First time since episode 39 the _Fire Emblem_ couple went out on a date. "Oughta be glad I wasn't busy today, otherwise I wouldn't be here! I have to admit, that blue hedgehog over there, he really has the best intentions..."

"You don't mind me going on a date with you, right Lady Palutena?" Wario asked the goddess of light, who was taking a sip from a glass of red wine Pit (apparently a waiter) fixed for her. Wario almost felt honored to be in Palutena's presence.

"Like I said before, immortals like myself cannot go out with mere mortals..." responded Palutena, initially worrying Wario. "...but since you've been unusually nice to me a few times before, I'll let this one instance pass!" And now Wario no longer had anything to worry about.

"First time ever on a date, huh?" Dark Pit asked Flora, who looked mostly nervous. It was a new experience for the maid, on a date with a guy who liked her sitting across from her, it was nothing like anything she ever had back at Nohr.

"It sure is, but I will make the most of it!" gleamed Flora, making the nervousness go away. Let's go check on Little Mac - was he about to do what Doc Louis has wanted him to do since a certain someone started their job at the mansion?

"Leia, there's something I've been needing to tell you..." Little Mac courageously said to Leia, who looked up from the silverware she was momentarily toying with. "We first met back at the fitness center - I was attacked, and you came to my aid. When I caught my first glimpse of you, I felt as if we could click, you know, like we could be a couple, you know? And I've been waiting and trying to tell you this, and I don't know how you'll receive it, but...I love you, Leia Rolando." Leia initially looked bewildered, slightly worrying Little Mac just a little.

"Little Mac..." Leia started, as sweat was just dying to gush down Little Mac's face. "...it just so happens...that...that I...like you too!" Leia's confession left Little Mac's mouth agape, agape in shock...and love. "I kinda knew that you had feelings for me, and I had feelings for you two, especially when I tended to you in the fitness center. I knew we could have that bond, that kind of bond that would...Little Mac?" Leia stopped when Little Mac fell face-first on the table, most likely out of disbelief. Safe to say Little Mac and Leia were an official item?

 **Doc Louis: Just got a text from my man Little Mac - he said that he confessed his love for Leia, and Leia confessed her love for Little Mac! *looks up at the heavens, sighing happily* So proud of that boy...had no idea he was able to text with those boxing gloves on! He'll never fail to amaze me...**

"Feels like I'm in a happy storytale ending..." Sonic sighed happily as he witnessed the scene before him, the sound of the idol singers singing and DJ Octavio doing his thing on the turntables permeating in the ballroom, all while Geno was recording the musical performance on a camera for the music video and presumably at the same time contemplating running away from the mansion to avoid Marth. Mario entered the ballroom, looking exhausted, and walked up to Sonic. "What's up Mario, how was the _Star Wars_ convention? Tell me something cool that happened!"

"Corrin embarrassed-a us by hugging a famous actor in front-a of strangers..." sighed Mario, who was actually exhausted from having to keep Corrin away from Mac (or as Corrin thinks of him, Emperor Palpatine), since the security guards kinda had to throw in the towel.

"No Mario, you were supposed to tell me something _cool_ that happened, not tell me something that I know would have happened! Sheesh..." Samus entered the ballroom, hearing the music and the commotion, and she was holding Pikachu in her arms as she walked up next to Sonic.

"Who was responsible for doing all of this?" asked the bounty hunter, as she observed Ganondorf serving Chrom and Raven; Sonic proudly pointed his thumb at himself. "You did this Sonic? Must say, I'm very impressed...don't know if this would make up for the jerky things you've done in the past, but keep doing stuff like this and you might be on your way to forgiveness."

"Excuse me Sonic, but can my lady and I join these festivities?" someone asked the hedgehog. It was Lucario, and he was standing with Blue's Gardevoir...whom Blue allowed to stay at the mansion, in the sanctuary, so she could be with Lucario.

"Sure man, go ahead, nobody's stopping ya!" replied Sonic, and so Lucario would escort Gardevoir to a vacant table, and moments later Gallade would arrive at the ballroom...with Lopunny, the rabbit Pokemon he once broke up with, and is now back together again. "Eh, I suppose you can join too - just don't brake the plates or the silverware. If you even need it..." Gallade escorted Lopunny to a vacant table, the blade Pokemon back on good terms again with Lucario.

"Sonic, are the men-a here supposed to be from-a Marth's Romance Club?" inquired Mario, seeing the faces of Wario, Captain Falcon, and others. "If you planned-a this, then what did-a Marth do?"

"Marth had no input at all, I had a good friend of mine beat the crap out of Marth, and I assumed Marth's place. Let's just say that Marth is in a better place right now..."

* * *

"Ugh, where am I?" Marth suddenly awoke, and he found himself in a darkened room, tied up to a chair. He had bruises and marks all over his body, and he didn't know where they came from. But the hero-king would find out the person who possibly gave him these body scars, and it was a red echidna that walked towards him with a flashlight in his hands...Knuckles the Echidna. "Kn-Knuckles? Why on earth are you here?"

"You think you can take my woman Rouge away from me, make her fall in love with some other man, and get away with it?!" Knuckles angrily slapped Marth, leaving a red mark on his face. "Well I got some bad news for you, buddy - you see, Robin found a spell in his tome of his that reversed the love potion you used on Rouge, and now she no longer loves Robin because the effects of the love potion were negated! And you know what that means?"

"What does that mean...?" fretted Marth, and so Knuckles would shine a light on a giant ray gun...and Rouge and Robin were sitting on it.

"Look at this dandy ray gun I stole from Dr. Eggman's evil lair...looks nice, no?" Rouge asked Marth, who was now at peak fright. Nothing can top being face-to-face with a giant ray gun.

"Marth we've been going at each other for some time now, so I was thinking...why don't we put a nip in the bud?" asked Robin, clearly enjoying this moment as evidenced by the evil look in his eye, and his smile. "Trust me Marth, this won't hurt one bit..." Robin pressed a button on the ray gun, and a beam started charging up, as Marth was now fearing for his life.

"Okay Robin, you won, you've officially won...you don't have to do this...no Robin...NOOOOO!" Marth would shout as the giant beam from the ray gun was ready to strike...

...while Robin enjoyed the last laugh.


	70. Episode 70: Switcheroo

_Author's Note:_

 _Out of all the chapters I've written for this story...this one might've been the hardest for me to write. You could assume that just by reading the title. Sorry if this chapter may be confusing to read for some. Now for the guest reviews:_

 _"Can you add other characters like, King Nimbus, Queen Nimbus, Frogfucius and Booster from Mario RPG? Agent G from The House of The Dead? Persona 3 characters? Final Fantasy XV characters? The characters from Battalion Wars? And the characters from the GameCube Custom Robo game?"_

 _Yes, yes, and yes - though Agent G might be a stretch. One more guest review:_

 _"Sonic and Gannon fanfic?"_

 _How about a Sonic and Ganon chapter? Thought I did one in the previous chapter, but it wasn't as big, so I'll make it up in chapter 71. Up next Roydigs22, who was understandably displeased with what went down with Lucario in the previous chapter, mainly because they recommended Lucario x Lopunny multiple times:_

 _"I specifically said lucario x lopunny. Lucario and gardevoir aren't even in the same egg group. Same goes for lopunny and gallade. Not cool. The battle against the heartless had better compensate for this... Or else."_

 _The Heartless battle shall compensate for last chapter's events regarding Lucario, and any other erroneous thing I've done in Smash Life up to this point. Roydigs22 also suggested a pairing request (Meta Knight x Jigglypuff) and an idea for a plot twist ("This isn't the first time that lucario has done this, for he is... The protagonist of pokemon mystery dungeon 2!") and I shall consider both going forth. Next we have i am the meme:_

 _"A Star Wars convention, huh? Can you do something Star Trek next?"_

 _I would do something Star Trek-related...but only when the time is right. J300 has returned:_

 _"Do you think that we could see Kamek some time? And I was wondering if you could somehow get the law involved with Master Hand so that he can't tax people for his Lamborghini? One last thing: could you have Corrin go inside the Star Wars movie And fangirl over Palpatine? And maybe have Ashley make a potion that educates Corrin and cures his naivety but has some nasty side effects."_

 _Kamek will appear soon, and the law will be involved with Master Hand, he's not as invincible as he thinks he is. All the stuff with Corrin may happen later on. Last up is Icarus:_

 _"Can you make the next chapter a lot more quicker please? It's just that, I don't want to have to wait a whole week just to read one new chapter."_

 _In a perfect world I would, but then I would have to overwork myself to post a new chapter quicker than usual. And earlier updates would kinda break the annual cycle. Not to mention that I always start each new chapter traditionally on Saturday. So there's that._

* * *

 **Episode 70: Switcheroo**

Robin did it. He finally did it. After close to eight episodes, Robin finally did it.

The white-haired mage felt somewhat proud of himself about the way he ended his little feud with Marth. A feud that all but started when Marth hooked Felicia up with Corrin, much to the chagrin Robin who wished to bring the two lovebirds together _his_ way. After a verbal altercation between Robin and Marth, there was a lot of events that had transpired ever since that defined the feud...

Robin's resident survey was tampered with at the hands of Wario. Princess Zelda of _Breath of the Wild_ fame had her eyebrows shaven off by Zelda. Marth was an actor in a _Finding Nemo_ play at Disney World. Birdo became enamored with Robin, and chased the mage throughout the mansion. Master Hand's Lamborghini was dented the very day he purchased his dream car. Marth had to wear a _Dairy Queen_ costume for at least two weeks. And Rouge the Bat fell in love with Robin...only for the mage to use a spell that would null the love potion that was used on Rouge, at the hands of Marth.

Marth and Robin's feud would come to a conclusive end, when Knuckles beat up Marth, took him to some darkened room, and had Rouge and Robin use one of Eggman's ray guns on the hero-king. Villager had heard the blast - and it was a loud one - and feared that someone must have died or something. But fortunately for Marth, he was still very much alive...although the current status of his health was not satisfactory.

"I'm back Marth, and I brought some more herbal tea!" Dunban entered the hero-king's room, holding a tray containing a tea kettle and two teacups with his only functioning hand. Thanks to the ray gun, Marth was left paralyzed, and was laying on the bed, his body stretched out. "Where do you want me to put it at?"

"Don't even know why you bother bringing me more tea, considering I can hardly move my arms..." frowned Marth; even moving his pinkie toe was a major struggle for the hero-king. "But if you must, you can put it on my dresser; hopefully Lucina can come by and feed me the tea."

"I thought Roy was supposed to do that, he's your roommate after all," Dunban inquired as he placed the tray of herbal tea on the dresser. "Guess he wasn't up for it, and decided to do something else instead. In all honesty, I wouldn't blame him for it..."

 **Roy: Ha ha ha, Marth is paralyzed and he'll likely be that way for a long period of time! And since I share a room with Marth, I can do whatever I want and he can't do anything to stop me! Heck, I could walk around the room going commando and his verbal demands to put my clothes on simply won't be enough! Or I could bring Lilina in, and the two of us can smooch all night long in front of Marth, whether he likes it or not! Oh man, the possibilities are perfectly endless... *rubs hands together in excitement***

"Oh, and I also came to give you this - it's a Pokemon buddy that will spend time with you, to keep you company," Dunban dug into his pocket, and pulled out a Poke Ball. "Red told Blue about your condition, and sent this Pokemon via mail to the mansion to spend time with you. So Manaphy, come on out!"

Dunban hurled the Poke Ball at the floor, sending out the blue water-type Pokemon known as Manaphy. The seafaring Pokemon happily greeted Dunban and Marth, as it flied around their heads and eventually all over the room. But Marth was frankly unimpressed.

"Of all the Pokemon Blue could have chosen from, and it had to be this...this thing," Marth looked on in disgust as Manaphy continued to dance around the room, a smile ever always on its adorable face. Dunban didn't seem to mind Manaphy; the Homs was hoping that Marth would appreciate the seafaring Pokemon, but apparently it was the other way around.

"He was considering bringing you a Meloetta, but he was afraid that it would bore you to death with its persistent song-singing," explained Dunban. Or so Blue thought - Meloetta's singing can fill any person's heart with joy. And Marth was mostly deprived of joy at the moment with his paralysis.

"I'd rather have that Pokemon sing to me over this flying blue thing in my room..." Marth's deprived joy was also making the hero-king a bit of a negative nanny, and Dunban was getting rather tired of it.

"Well I'm gonna leave you be now, got some cooking to do - let me go see if Lucina's busy so she can give you your tea." Screw the herbal tea, that was the only drink Marth consumed throughout his first week of paralysis. Someone get the man some pink lemonade! "If you need anything, then just call out my name, I'm sure someone will rush to the kitchen and notify me." Dunban said this as he left the room, leaving Marth alone with Manaphy. The hero-king just looked disgusted at the seafaring Pokemon...

...and as he looked at Manaphy, he suddenly remembered something - the seafaring Pokemon was able to learn the move Heart Swap. Heart Swap is a move that allows the user Pokemon to swap stats with its opponents...and the move also swaps bodies between two individuals. What if Marth used Manaphy to switch bodies with a fellow mansion resident, so that he won't have to deal with his paralysis? This made the hero-king stroke his chin thoughtfully, as he devised a plan...

"SOMEONE PLEASE HELP, I'VE FALLEN AND I CAN'T GET UP!" shouted Marth, loud enough for his voice to be heard, acting like one of those old folks on those somewhat nostalgic home security commercials on TV. Hisui would soon answer the call, running into the room and finding Marth, sprawled out on the floor. The teen decided against questioning how Marth fell onto the floor at this very moment.

 **Hisui: So Marth has been paralyzed, and will likely remain that way for a ridiculously long time... *smirks* ...serves that dude right. Kinda wish a similar fate had happened to Robin, seeing him and Marth feud with one another in their beef was like seeing two jealous high school jocks fighting over some hot chick sitting at their lunch table. The rivalry between the swordsmen was at times petty, and even made me question what Lucina has to put up with. How can a seemingly boring person like her be able to tolerate such eccentric personalities, and not lose her sanity? Tried asking Samus that question, but each of my attempts typically end with a swift kick to the gut. It will only be a matter of time until that woman hits me below the belt...**

"Do I even need to ask how you ended up on the floor?" asked Hisui as he knelt down at Marth, shaking his head. Once Manaphy crept up to Hisui to check him out, it was now time for Marth to do his thing...

"Manaphy...use Heart Swap," commanded Marth, and so the seafaring Pokemon would execute the move, as its attenae glowed pink and two pink hearts were exchanged between Marth and Hisui. Once the process of the move was over, Marth would slowly get up, rising to his feet... _inside of Hisui's body._ "Ah yes, this is more like it, I can actually move again!" the hero-king marveled as he moved around in Hisui's body, moving his fingers and other extremities.

"Wh-what just happened, why am I on the floor?" Hisui, now in Marth's body, wondered before looking up, and seeing Marth in his body. "Marth did you bring me here just to switch bodies with me? What did I fall for...give back my body this instant, I refuse to spend the rest of my day paralyzed on the floor!"

"I would give you back your body...but just not at this time! So many things I must now accomplish! Have fun being paralyzed!" Marth would wave to Hisui as he left the room, leaving Hisui sprawled out on the floor gritting his teeth in anger. The teen failed to notice that Manaphy left the room, likely plotting to cause some mischief.

* * *

"Mario I need to speak with you for a minute!" Pac-Man, holding a wedding checklist, was running towards Mario, who was walking in the hallway to who-knows-where. Pac-Man was quietly completing some tasks on the wedding checklist, and he needed to give Mario a quick update.

"Yes Pac, what-a is it?" Mario turned around to see Pac-Man, who finally caught up with the plumber as he took a breather. Seriously, the dude should work out some more, running out of breath from running a medium-long distance is inexcusable.

"Just wanted to let you know that the wedding rings have been purchased, and that the wedding favors have all been finalized!" When the wedding rings are purchased, that usually meant that a wedding was nigh approaching.

"Thanks for the up-a date Pac-Man, I can always-a count on a guy like-a you!" Mario was glad that he chose Pac-Man as his wedding planner; he felt that the eater of ghosts was a breath of fresh air compared to the likes of Marth.

"So Mario, where are you headed off to? The way you were walking, it seemed like you were on an important mission!"

"Mamori asked Peach and-a I if we wanted to guest-a star in her show, and we obliged to make-a an appearance. I was about-a to get ready for my web-a series debut!" Mario may not be the best cook around, but the plumber's presence on _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ could boost the prestige of the show.

 **Mamori: Yeah, Mario's a pretty busy guy, so I thought he wouldn't have enough time to appear on _Microwave Idol Mamorin..._ until he was kind enough to tell me he and Peach will make an appearance. Given that Mario is of Italian descent, I could have him cook a pizza on the show...but I'm strongly against promoting racial stereotypes on my show, whether true or not.**

"Before you can get ready for _Microwave Idol Mamorin..._ could you check on Lucario for me?" Pac-Man asked a suddenly intrigued Mario. What could possibly be wrong with the aura Pokemon? "Poor Lucario hasn't been feeling himself as of late, he's been spending a ridiculous amount of time in my room with a blanket over his head, and he'll never tell me why..."

"I shall check-a on Lucario right away, he rarely feels down-a in the dumps," replied Mario; Pac-Man nodded as he walked away, continuing the rest of the objectives on his wedding checklist.

* * *

"So what wacky experiment are we doing today, Tails?" Sonic, holding Pikachu in his arms, asked Tails, who was holding his pet Vulpix Suzie, as the two best friends were walking in the hallway with Shaymin following them.

"It's not an experiment Sonic - it's merely a breeding test involving Pikachu, Suzie, and two other Pokemon to see if they could breed well while being in different egg groups," explained Tails, who was interested in carrying this test out after learning that Lucario and his new love, Gardevoir, were in differing egg groups. Same thing applied to Gallade and Lopunny. "Got a male Salandit and a female Minccino in the Pokemon sanctuary, ready for breeding!"

"Aha, so it _is_ an experiment...and you're promoting bestiality as well! A mouse like Pikachu mating with a chinchilla? A fox like Suzie mating with a salamander? Jeepers, Tails, you're more of a creep than I ever imagined!"

"That's not bestiality, but whatever works best for you, I guess..." Before Tails could give Sonic the true definition of bestiality, Shaymin looked up, and saw a familiar blue face moving about close to the ceiling.

"Look you guys, it's Manaphy, the seafaring Pokemon!" Shaymin exclaimed, as the Manaphy drew near towards Shaymin and company. "This is the other mythical Pokemon from Sinnoh I was talking about the other day!" Manaphy was now looking at Sonic and Pikachu, taking a great deal of interest in the hedgehog and mouse Pokemon.

"Um, Shaymin, care to explain why your Manaphy friend is looking at us like that?" asked a worried Sonic, as Manaphy was gleefully smiling at the hedgehog and Pikachu, before executing its signature move...the seafaring Pokemon used Heart Swap on Sonic and Pikachu, switching the bodies of both individuals, and a moment later... "Wait, what am I doing in my own arms? Why does everything feel so...big?"

"Manaphy switched your body with Pikachu via Heart Swap!" exclaimed Tails, much to the dismay of Sonic. No wonder he felt so small. "Heart Swap can switch the bodies of two people, and I believe it's supposed to have a limited effect. So you can have your body back in no time!" At least there was some god news for Sonic.

 **Samus: Honestly I enjoyed riding over Seattle in my Gunship with Pikachu, I really did. Got a lot off of my chest, and now Pikachu is more understanding of how I really feel about the others. I _would_ share my sentiments with the fellow residents, but some of them might take the truth and stretch it beyond ways I could never imagine. If I told someone like Pit that I didn't mind his...egregious amount of slowness, he would automatically assume that we're best friends...like anyone would want to be best friends about that dork. *pauses* ...I kinda went back on my sentiments, did I? Well, I can always make a few exceptions for _some_ people...**

"Pikachu where are you, I need you to charge up my newly-enhanced Power Suit!" Samus's voice was heard from afar, and soon enough Samus appeared in the hallway, and saw Pikachu in Sonic's arms...not knowing that it was really Sonic who was in Pikachu's arms, thanks to Manaphy. "There you are, little fella, been looking all over for you!" Samus approached Sonic, eyeing him with a smile. It really unnerved Sonic seeing Samus being so happy; same went for the others. "Sonic, do you mind if I borrow Pikachu for a second?" Samus looked up to face Pikachu, who chose not to say anything for he was in Sonic's body, and saying something would blow his cover.

"I was about to use Pikachu for some research, but you're free to borrow him for as long as you like," Tails responded for Pikachu, as Samus took Sonic and held him in his arms. Felt weird for Sonic to be held in one's arms. "Just return him once you're done."

"Hopefully I won't take long with Pikachu, thanks for letting me borrow him." Samus walked away, cradling Sonic in his arms...and Tails and Shaymin couldn't help but quietly laugh behind Sonic's back. "Ready to use that electricity of yours, Pikachu?"

"Pika pika!" Sonic cheerfully responded in the most Pikachu way possible before turning his head towards Tails and company, mouthing a pitiful "Help me..." as he was carried away by Samus. It was not until after Samus was gone that a certain someone was now missing...

"Wait a second, where did Manaphy go off to?" Shaymin wondered as she, Tails, and Pikachu looked around for the seafaring Pokemon's whereabouts. Who's willing to bet Manaphy was off to cause even more body-switching mayhem?

* * *

Link and Cloud were outside, busy working on Link's truck, and the swordsmen's work was suddenly interrupted when a football was thrown at their direction, landing in the truck's engine. This wasn't the only time this happened before; a soccer ball once landed in the truck's engine, and after that, a hockey puck. The football, the soccer ball, and yes, the hockey puck, were assumed to be kicked by someone, and Link and Cloud knew the two persons that would even think about kicking a hockey puck.

"Stick here and keep working on the car, I got this..." Link told Cloud as he angrily grabbed the football and marched towards the front yard of the mansion, where Pit and Kirby were messing around with some sports equipment they found in the mansion. Villager, Toon Link, and Lucas were a part of the festivities, and Luigi was seemingly monitoring the boys was resting on a lawn chair, feeding baby Charles some milk.

"Alright you guys, I'm about to kick this tennis ball, here goes nothing!" exclaimed Pit, as he made a running start towards a tennis ball resting on a baseball tee. (He should have used a golf tee instead, but this was Pit we're talking about.) The angel kicked the tennis ball off the baseball tee, and the tennis ball flew and landed...in the hand of a ticked off Link, who was glaring at Pit, and at his pals for allowing Pit's behavior to subside. "Wow Link, nice catch, got them hands of glue!"

"Luigi, you're seriously allowing these dorks to kick random sports stuff over to where Cloud and I are, working on my truck?" Link frowned at Luigi, who looked up once his name was called. "You're just gonna sit there and feed Charles, and not scold Pit and his dumb friends for kicking stuff inside my vehicle?!"

"Don't get-a your panties in a twist-a Link, they're-a just being kids, they want to have-a fun!" was Luigi's response; judging by that response, Charles would have an effortlessly easy time walking all over Luigi once he's grown. And Luigi would simply allow it to occur regardless...

 **Cloud: Reason why Link hasn't been driving his truck around as much is because there's something wrong with his engine. Everytime Link starts up his truck, it starts making these sputtering sounds, like it was some old sick man coughing and wheezing all over the place. I may not be the most knowledgeable car expert around, but I can certainly get the job done...if not for Pit and his pesky friends playing outside.**

"Yeah, and see where that gets you with Charles when he grows up..." retorted Link as he angrily marched towards Pit and company, throwing the football down at their feet with authority. "Cloud and I are working on my truck, and we don't want your stupid sports crap in our working area, so how about you either play somewhere else or go back inside?"

"You're saying that like we should care about your stupid truck," Lucas responded like a savage, upsetting Link and prompting the Hylian to give the PSI whiz a piece of his mind. Fortunately Kirby was there to hold him back, and Villager held Link back as well.

"Leave him alone Link, it's not worth it, Lucas is just a kid...who is in reality a teen!" Villager said to the Hylian, mustering all his strength and willpower to hold Link back from Lucas. Soon Manaphy appeared to Pit and company, waving to the group; Pit and the others waved back. Manaphy then saw Link, Villager, and Kirb, and used a Heart Swap on two of the three aforementioned individuals. Pit and company were amazed by this psychic-type move; Luigi was busy feeding Charles so he didn't see the Heart Swap take place. Once its work was done, Manaphy flew away, just when Cloud arrived at the scene.

"Enough meddling Link, time to get back to work," the ex-SOLDIER grabbed Link and pulled him away, as Kirby and Villager released their hold on the Hylian. Cloud would drag Link away, as the scowl on his face on his face suggested that he felt like some long-suffering parent dragging their mischievous kid away.

"Good thing Cloud came in and took his best friend away, Link could have gave Lucas a real hard time!" remarked Pit, resting his hand on his best friend, Kirby. "Don't you think so Kirby? Link could have opened Lucas's stomach open and ate his innards!" Only a weirdo like Pit would think that..."

"Why is Cloud dragging my body away from me?" Link squinted his eyes as he watched Cloud drag his body back to the truck. And then it hit him... _Link was now stuck in Kirby's body!_ This was obviously Manaphy's doing, it switched Link and Kirby's bodies when the two least expected it. "Crap I'm inside Kirby's body! This can't be happening to me, I can't be stuck in such a small body! How could this happen to me?"

"A Manaphy came out of nowhere and switched your body with Kirby while Villager and Kirby were trying to hold you back," explained Toon Link, recollecting the events from before he very well could have stopped, but chose not to over wanting to be easily amazed.

"AND YOU PUNKS DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO STOP IT?!" No doubt Link despised Pit and his friends more than he did already.

 **Tails: From the Pokemon research I did, I learned that whenever a Heart Swap is used, the effects last for a certain period of time. I don't know exactly the amount of time the Heart Swap effects would last, but it would be wise to find Manaphy and fix the mess before it escalates, if it haven't escalated already. Could you imagine Peach being stuck inside Ike's body, and continuing to act girly and feminine as usual? *shudders* The very thought of Ike dancing and shaking his hips is now pervading in my mind...**

"Oh so that's what happened, for a minute I thought Kirby gained the ability to speak without his communication device..." said Pit, feeling bummed out while also lowkey showing his stupidity. Bear in mind that Kirby did not have his Dynatox device with him while he was outside.

"I demand that I get my body back, where is that Manaphy?!" growled Link, ready to punch someone in the gut really hard. Luigi looked up from feeding Charles and saw Link throw a fit in Kirby's body, finding it weird that the Hylian's voice was coming from inside the pink puffball.

"Is it just me, or did Kirby learn how to speak without that funky device of his?" questioned King K. Rool as he approached Luigi, licking from an ice cream cone.

"Link some-a how switched bodies with-a Kirby..." Luigi responded with his best guess, not knowing that Manaphy was creeping up on him, Charles, and Rool.

* * *

"Hey Link, can you pass me the adjustable wrench?" asked Cloud as he held out his hand, expecting Link to hand him the required tool. But Link couldn't do that, because Link wasn't even there!

"Poyo poyo poyo!" Kirby, now in Link's body, exclaimed as he played around with the adjustable wrench, away from Cloud and the truck. Cloud pulled his head from underneath the hood and looked at Kirby...all the swordsman had to do was listen to Kirby and observe his actions to know that something was up.

"Kirby what are you doing inside Link's body?" Cloud approached Kirby, and took the wrench away from him. "Did you switch bodies with Link or something? Guess I have to take you over to Zelda and Aerith, see if they can diagnose the problem..."

* * *

Mario arrived at Pac-Man's room, and found a figure sitting at the side of Pac-Man's bed, with a blanket draped over their head. Mario then took a few steps close to the figure, and pulled away the blanket, revealing a somber Lucario. The aura Pokemon showing any form of emotion was unsettling for Mario to see.

"What's-a the problem Lucario, why do you look-a so down?" inquired Mario, sitting on the bed next to Lucario. The aura Pokemon glanced at Mario like he was the Devil, like he felt unnerved being in his presence.

"None of your business man, go away and leave me alone..." Lucario grabbed the blanket and placed it back over his head, now turning away from Mario so the plumber would be less inclined to ask questions. But Mario remained firm, and opted to be tenacious if it was necessary.

"I'm not leaving until-a you tell me what's-a wrong, now spit out-a the truth!" Mario leaned in close to Lucario, close enough so that the aura Pokemon could feel his presence and warm up to telling the truth.

"Fine then, if you must know, I'll tell you...Gardevoir and I broke up." This came as a shock to Mario, who had witnessed Lucario "dating" Gardevoir at Sonic's ballroom setup in the previous episode. Both Pokemon looked so happy... "Turns out Gardevoir and I are from different egg groups, so our relationship was kinda never meant to be. Someone should have told me beforehand..."

 **Lucario: Usually I would show you guys a fancy "gift" Master Hand and Isabelle would give me, and the one I received this week was a real doozy... *sighs* ...but I'm too depressed to do a show-and-tell. Now I know what it feels like to have your heart broken, to have it ripped out from you when things are going great...on that note, Captain Falcon should have developed some sort of depressive disorder given the amount of breakups he suffered through prior to meeting Nowi.**

"Well Lucario, for all it's-a worth..." Mario started off, bracing himself for the bombshell he was about to drop on the aura Pokemon. "...I heard from-a Red that Gallade and Lopunny broke-a up as well." Now Lucario was the one who was shocked, as he took the blanket off his head and looked at Mario. "Similar situation - Gallade was in one-a egg group, and Lopunny was-a in the other. Some-a times Pokemon biology can-a work in funny ways..."

"So what does that mean for Lopunny and Gallade, and what does it mean for me?" asked Lucario, wondering if he should go back to Lopunny. Considering he was in the same egg group as her, maybe the aura Pokemon should...

"If I were-a you, here's what I would-a do..." Mario was about to give Lucario some advice, when Manaphy crept its way inside the room. The plumber and Lucario dumbfoundedly gazed at the seafaring Pokemon, who executed a Heart Swap on the two without either one of them knowing. Only took a while for the two to notice the change. "Oh-a no Lucario, I think I'm stuck-a in your body!" Mario lifted up his hands, and saw that they were Lucario's.

"And I think I'm in your body!" Lucario freaked out, glancing at the gloved hands of Mario's he could now control. "This must be Marth's fault, he was the one who received Manaphy from Blue, and he must have let Manaphy run loose in the mansion...what if Marth forced Manaphy to use Heart Swap so he could switch bodies with another person and get back at Robin? Poor guy can't seem to let things go..."

"Mario, Mamori and her crew are about to start the _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ show in a few!" Peach called out to the plumber, who was nervous about what to do now that he was inside Lucario's body; Manaphy flew away out of fear after hearing Peach's voice. The princess would arrive at the room, with her hands on her hips. "Well are you just gonna stay there do the show from there? You're not even in your proper attire, you said you would get dressed!" Peach would grab Mario's...erm, Lucario's hand as she took him out of the room and to who-knows-where, leaving Mario behind. The plumber, now temporarily a Pokemon, rose up from the bed, scratching his chin thoughtfully...

* * *

In the Star Records room, Itsuki and Tsubasa were showing off their music video to Fox and Falco - the music video they did with DJ Octavio - on Fox's laptop, and needless to say, both pilots were very much amazed by said video.

"Thought that DJ Octavio would have ruined the music video, but I'm glad the guy proved me wrong," commented Fox, having paid close attention to the octopus and was left surprised by how normal he was acting. His behavior was a far cry from his mannerisms when he first met the Star Records crew.

"And Eleonora's a better singer than I would have imagined," added Falco, who thought of the blonde aspiring actress to be the weakest of the idol singers, only to be left blown away by her talent. "I'm never doubting the abilities of any blonde ever again!"

 **Fox: Having the idol singers (and Itsuki...and Touma...and I guess Ayaha...) with Star Records has been an absolute godsend. The only downside though is that Master Hand believes idol singers equals more money coming in, and he taxes us so he can pay for his dumb dream car that can't drive.  
Falco: Yeah, Master Hand's car ain't that great - sure it's a sweet Lamborghini, but other than that, it's just a lousy car. But tell that to Master Hand and he'll have the cops come and arrest you for "libel and slander". Happened once to Akuma; dude had to spend up to a week in jail.**

"Eleonora has always been a great singer, don't know what you're talking about..." said Tsubasa. That's what great friends like Tsubasa do, stick up for the friends who get slept on by bums like Falco.

"Leave Falco alone Tsubasa, he wouldn't know much about singing - probably spends too much time texting that Katt Monroe girl to even know," joked Itsuki, receiving a playful nudge from Falco. The avian pilot still received text messages from Katt, and it got Fox and Itsuki wondering if Katt was in love with Falco.

"There is also some footage of DJ Octavio mingling with Little Mac, Geno recorded it for whatever reason. Let me see if I can pull it up..." As Tsubasa looked up the video in question on Falco's laptop, Manaphy crept its way inside the Star Records room, and used yet another Heart Swap on the group of Fox, Falco, Itsuki, and Tsubasa. The results, as always, were hilarious.

"Did you guys feel something happen just now?" Fox asked the others as he lifted up his hands...or rather, Itsuki's hands. "Crap, I'm stuck inside Itsuki, I'm inside a human body! Man this feels so weird, having human flesh and all..." Fox checked himself out, while Itsuki did the same while in Fox's body.

"Now I know what it feels like to have a tail," Itsuki remarked, wagging around the fox tail he now has control over. Fox seldom wagged his tail to begin with, so to see Itsuki wagging the tail was rather disconcerting for Fox.

"Quit wagging around that tail Itsuki, it just looks weird..." frowned Tsubasa, who now found herself inside Falco's body. And you know _exactly_ what that meant.

"Bruh, I'm inside the body of a human chick!" panicked Falco, as he now found himself stuck inside Tsubasa's body, overreacting just a little. "Why did this happen to me?! I can't go out like this! Why cruel world, why have you forsaken me?!"

"Look on the bright side Falco, you now have breasts!" remarked Fox; Falco looked down and noticed Tsubasa's assets. The girl's boobs looked a lot bigger than usual from Falco's perspective.

"Yeah buddy, got the biggest breasts in the mansion, right here!" Falco squeezed his breasts...erm, Tsubasa's breasts...much to the chagrin of Tsubasa, and looked up at the sky in disgust and shook her head in disdain. Now she was feeling disconcerted about someone using her body for the wrong purposes.

"Please Falco, I would strongly appreciate it if you stopped squeezing my breasts like that..." That didn't deter Falco from squeezing his...Tsubasa's breasts, like he was some curious little boy who gained boobs and was strangely excited to have them.

 **Tsubasa: Being stuck inside Falco's body won't be so bad...I mean, I can fly and all, but I don't know if Falco can even fly. If he can't...then why is he even a bird?**

 **Itsuki: So you're saying that the individual responsible for switching our bodies was a Manaphy? Is that some kind of magical sea animal, or am I thinking about something else?**

 **Falco: If showing off breasts in public is considered indecent exposure, then go ahead and lock me up...**

 **Fox: *opens his mouth to say something before breaking out into a laughing fit***

* * *

"Leave it alone Popo, for all we know that ice cream could already be consumed now," Nana tried to tell Popo, who was on a search for his beloved ice cream cone. King K. Rool had stolen the treat from Popo earlier, and was seen eating it while outside with Luigi. And Popo was apparently adamant on finding his beloved cone, even though it was probably in Rool's stomach, ready for digestion.

"But Nana you don't understand, that was MY ice cream cone - an ice cream cone that I made by MYSELF!" retorted Popo, being all extra, as Nana rolled her eyes. "Once I find Rool and my ice cream cone, I shall call the police and tell them to take Rool away, make him pay for his deviant behavior!" Have Rool arrested for stealing a measly ice cream cone? Popo couldn't be serious, right?

"In that case we should arrest some of the other men for their 'deviant' behavior; with that logic Dark Pit should be serving a life sentence in prison for the multiple times he stole cookies from the cookie jar."

"We don't even know if that's true or not, so Dark Pit should be spared," Popo made this remark as he and Nana exited the mansion, and saw Rool at the front. The ice cream cone wasn't in Rool's stomach, it was rather on top of his head...and the Kremling was seen playing in the mud, like he was some big ol' baby.

"I heard of age regression before, but it's unsettling to see Rool doing such a thing," remarked Nana, while Popo was left a loss of words. He would retrieve his ice cream cone, but given that it was now on Rool's body, it might not be a good idea to eat the treat now... "What do you think could have happened to Rool?" Why don't we investigate into the matter and see what could have happened?

* * *

Let's take the investigation to Luigi's home, where Daisy was busy feeding Charles some baby food. Or at least she was trying to, as Charles openly refused to eat the baby food by simply turning his head to the side whenever Daisy brought the spoon to his mouth. This greatly concerned the princess; other times, Charles would happily eat the baby food like it was nothing. And now the infant was showing signs of indifference at a young age.

"C'mon Charles, you have to eat at least one spoonful, this stuff is good for you!" frowned Daisy, as she tried to feed Charles the baby food yet again, but the young infant wouldn't budge, folding his arms and looking the other way. It was a side of Charles Daisy had never seen before!

"Yeah right woman, I wouldn't eat that disgusting crap even for a million dollars," remarked Charles, causing Daisy to gasp with her hand over her mouth. But that wasn't Charles's voice the princess heard...it was King K. Rool's voice! The Kremling switched bodies with Charles due to Manaphy, and had remained silent up to this point, which was very impressive.

"Who are you and what are you doing inside by son's body?!" Daisy angrily grabbed a frying pan and confronted Rool, her glare making Rool wet the very diaper he was wearing. Changing the diaper won't be a problem for Daisy.

"Chill out Daisy, it's just me, King K. Rool! Somehow I switched bodies with your son, and I have no idea how it happened!" After hearing this, Daisy slowly lowered her frying pan, before dropping it to the floor.

 **Popo: *shaking his head* Hoo boy, this is ain't good, not by any means...  
** **Nana: Tell me about it - seeing Rool act like a grown baby is so out of place, it's not even funny. You think he fell on his head somewhere and it caused him to...  
** **Popo: Ew, I wasn't talking about that Rool creep, nobody likes that pathetic waste of oxygen...I'm talking about my delicious ice cream cone, the one that Rool stole from me! It's been on his head, which means that it's been contaminated forever! Enough is enough, I'm calling the cops...  
Nana: Over a meaningless ice cream cone? *watches as Popo storms off in anger***

"What's with all-a the ruckus, why did I hear-a Rool just now?" questioned Luigi as he ran downstairs to the scene, where Daisy was pointing at Rool, nonchalantly sitting in a baby high chair and wondering what Daisy would do to him.

"Rool somehow switched bodies with Charles, and I don't know how to get him out!" explained Daisy, as Luigi headed over to Rool and and took him from Daisy, checking him out for any sign of evidence. "What if our precious Charles is outside in Rool's body, doing who knows what and possibly getting himself into trouble?"

"I would assume-a that the body switcheroo was executed-a by the Manaphy Red sent-a to the mansion to give Marth some-a company." Roy, Marth's roommate, could have provided some company, but the red-haired swordsman had other matters to take care of beside staying in his room all day with the hero-king. "Lemme call Mario and-a notify him about the situation, he would-a know what to do."

* * *

"It's _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ with your fabulous hosts Ashley, Asuka, and myself, Mamori Minamoto!" Mamori started things off on her show, _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ standing in the kitchen with Ashley, Asuka, and the two guests, Peach and Lucario, the latter having been forced to do the show due to being in Mario's body. All five individuals were in front of the camera (operated by Dunban), wearing a chef hat and an apron. "We're gonna warm up your heart, with the press of a button!"

"Today on our show, we have arguably the most famous video game couple in history, both hailing from the Mushroom Kingdom...give it up for Mario and Princess Peach!" Asuka introduced Lucario and Peach, as Dunban panned the camera to the two individuals.

"Such a wonderful pleasure to be on this great show!" Peach smiled as she waved to the camera; Lucario, who knew the damage he could deal by speaking, simply smiled and nodded his head, hoping that would compensate for his silence.

"Hasn't even been half a minute yet and I already want to die..." Lucario quietly whispered to Ashley, whom the aura Pokemon felt would share his sentiments; the young witch just stealthy shrugged and maintained her poise.

"So tell me, Mario and Peach, are you two feeling hungry?" asked Mamori; she would typically ask her guests this question, which would be a lead-in to introducing a dish of some sort, like a taiyaki or pork buns.

"Yes we are feeling hungry, haven't eaten a thing since breakfast!" replied Peach, not remembering chowing down on a mozzarella stick prior to _Microwave Idol Mamorin._ "Isn't that right, my darling fiance Mario?" Lucario again, not wanting to blow his cover, nodded his head, leaving Peach and the others dismayed.

"Well we sure got the right snack for you..." said Asuka as she showed Peach and Lucario a plate of... "...hot streaming Philly cheesesteaks, straight out of the microwave and ready to go down to your tummy!" Honest question: do people put Philly cheesestakes in their microwaves, aside from purposes other than heating it up for consumption?

"A Philly cheesesteak for Mario and I? Don't mind if we do!" Peach happily took the plate of cheesesteaks from Asuka, grabbing one cheesesteak before handing the other to Lucario. "Aren't you gonna take the cheesesteak Mario? I can guarantee you it will be delicious!" Lucario was now breathing heavily and hyperventilating, and also shaking as well, like he had enough. "...Mario?"

 **Asuka: No, we never had anything awry happen on _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ for the most part the only awry thing that would transpire would be the microwave smoking from microwaving certain foods at a higher temperature than usual. Learned that the hard way by microwaving sushi for two minutes and thirty seconds, I just wanted it to be warm...but I made it too warm. Other than that, everything's been normally swell...**

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS STUPID CRAP ANYMORE!" Lucario screamed at the top of his lungs as he grabbed the cheesesteak from Peach and threw it on the ground along with the cheesesteak in his hand, before angrily stomping on both cheesesteaks like a rabid madman.

"Please Mario, calm yourself, you weren't acting like this before we started filming!" Dunban stepped away from the camera to confront Lucario, who angrily grabbed a nearby broom and whacked the Homs with it, bringing him to the floor. Dunban would cover his head with his hands as Lucario continued the senseless beating upon him, while Peach and company looked on with shock.

"Don't think that's the real Mario we're seeing..." stated Ashley, who knew this because she heard Lucario's voice come from the mouth of the plumber's body. "The Mario we know would beat up Dunban with a hammer instead of a broom." Well she ain't lying...

"SCREW THIS STUPID SHOW, SCREW THE CHEESESTEAKS, SCREW MY LIFE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, SCREW EVERYONE!" bellowed Lucario as the beating on Dunban persisted. Lucario would shock the ladies more when he helped Dunban back to his feet, and suplexed him on the kitchen floor out of utter rage, likely dealing a serious injury to his head.

"Excuse us for a minute, Mario is just going through...some violent motions at the moment," Mamori said to the camera, while Peach and company tended to Dunban. "We'll be back very shortly to deliver for delicious goodness!" Mamori then added without a single shred of confidence in her.

* * *

Sonic was with Samus in the mansion's workshop, energizing the bounty hunter's upgraded Power Suit with the electricity inside Pikachu's body. Sonic never knew Pikachu's body to store that much electricity, day in and day out.

"Thank you Pikachu, for providing your wonderful electricity, don't know if I could get this bad boy powered up without your help," thanked Samus as she turned her Power Suit on, and much to her delight, the suit was fully working. Sonic noted that Samus was acting more affable than usual, but then assumed that it was because she was with her favorite Pokemon. "Mind if I tell you something, Pikachu? Promise you it won't take long, something I gotta get off my chest...it's about a good friend of mine you probably don't know I'm friends with."

"Pika pika!" Sonic responded in typical Pikachu fashion, wanting to hear some juicy details about Samus's secret personal life. He didn't enjoy having to speak in a high voice to mimic Pikachu, though.

"Okay, so you might know this person, or you might not...but his name is Anthony Higgs, he's from the Galactic Federation." The name sounded so familiar to Sonic, he must have heard Samus talking about this person before. "Him and I, we've been good friends for a ridiculously long time. But he's not the person I'm talking about. He's one of the two only friends I have. The person I'm actually good friends with is...Zelda." Sonic was surprised, but not fully surprised; Zelda was one of the most friendliest folks a person could know, even Meta Knight can get along with her. "She's the only logical person at the mansion who doesn't have any flaws on her. Not to mention she does anything that really aggravates me or gets on my nerves. Dare I say it, she might be the most normal person I've ever known in my life, aside from Anthony of course. And for that, I consider her to be a good friend of mine, she's the only person I could relate to. Not that many people know about our friendship."

 **Master Hand: Of course I know about Samus's friendship with Zelda - I'm Master Hand, duh! I know everything there is to know! Like how Alph looks up scantily-clad hot girls in bikinis on the computer in my room! *pauses* On that note, excuse me for a minute. *disappears***

"About time you admitted to having friends..." Sonic said in his regular voice, before covering his mouth. Did he just blow his cover by accident?

"Did you hear that Pikachu, was that Sonic's voice?" asked Samus as she looked around for the hedgehog's whereabouts. She even readied her blaster just for good measure, in the event of a sneak attack. "Wouldn't be surprised if he was hiding in the workshop this whole time..."

"Uh...pika pika?" Sonic promptly returned to his Pikachu impersonation, waiting for the moment he got his body back from Pikachu so he wouldn't have to speak in a high-pitched voice ever again (or for the time being).

"Hmm, must have been hearing things...thought I heard Sonic's voice. Speaking of whom, I can't stand that guy - he's probably the only guy in this mansion that I seriously dislike." That certainly didn't faze Sonic at all. "But I will say that he's slowly redeeming himself, throwing that restaurant fling in the ballroom for the Romance Club members was a great gesture from him, nice way to culminate things since the club's kinda over with."

"Thanks for the info..." Sonic grumbled, with his stubby Pikachu arms folded. He could electrocute Samus if he wanted to.

* * *

"Ooh wah!" Kirby happily played with Link's Master Sword in the Hylian's body, as he was in the gardens with Cloud, Aerith, Zelda, and Yuffie. Thankfully Kirby wasn't cutting any plants down with his careless sword-swinging; otherwise he would never hear the end of it from Viridi.

"Alright, so already we know that Manaphy was the Pokemon responsible for switching bodies between Link and Kirby," stated Cloud; the swordsman learned that Manaphy was the culprit from encountering Tails earlier on his way to Zelda and Aerith. "And Greninja is currently looking for Manaphy as we speak."

"We won't know if Greninja found Manaphy or not until he returns without the Pokemon," added Yuffie, as Greninja showed up, shrugging and shaking his head "...or maybe not." Suddenly, a slightly scary thought entered her head. "What if Team Rocket was around, and they found Manaphy before Greninja did?" Cloud and company glanced at one another...before breaking out in giggles.

"Unless you're speaking of the trio of Jessie, James, and Meowth, then I don't think Team Rocket capturing Manaphy would be possible," giggled Aerith, with her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. "Our concern would rest upon the Organization more than Team Rocket, the Organization is far more lethal."

"I can't see the Organization expressing any interest in a Pokemon that can switch bodies, it won't help them achieve their goals," stated Zelda, as Kirby was now trying to _swallow_ the Master Sword like it was a hot dog. Cloud had to prevent Kirby from performing his little sword-swallowing act. "Still seeing Kirby inside Link's body is a little...unsettling, at least for me."

 **Zelda: Type:Null? Ema mistakes it for being a Heartless. Gardevoir? Caused a huge fight between Lucario and Gallade, both fighting for her love. Manaphy? Switches folks' bodies for reasons that I cannot understand. Always seems like whenever we have a new Pokemon present inside of the mansion, something big always goes down...**

"Viridi told me these seeds can grow up to the most beautiful flowers ever seen if water properly," Alph discussed with Olimar, the two astronauts entering the gardens. The younger astronaut was holding garden seeds in the palm of his hand, and was holding a watering can with his other hand.

"Those seeds better not be those Piranha Plant seeds Viridi gave you weeks ago," said Olimar, and he remembered those Piranha Plants too well; one of them was trying to eat poor Alph back in episode 63. "We can't have another...LINK WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR SWORD?!" Olimar yelled at Kirby, who was now cutting down plants like a madman with the Master Sword; Cloud tried to restrain the guy, but he was no match for Kirby. "Oh man, oh man, Viridi's gonna kill me...well Alph, it's been real, looks like I'm a goner..."

"Quit it Kirby, watch where you're swinging that sword!" Cloud said to Kirby, as Aerith, Yuffie, and Zelda joined the ex-SOLDIER in restraining Kirby, all while Olimar was valuing the potentially last few moments of his life.

* * *

"You know how long you're gonna remain a human?" Touma asked Fox in the movie room, watching some Japanese _Super Sentai_ tapes he found in the movie library. "Seems like you're slowly adjusting to what it's like being a human and all! How's it feel to have human flesh, and human blood, and..."

"Okay, okay, I get it Touma..." replied Fox, effectively shutting up the redhead. "As of right now, I don't know how long I'll remain in Itsuki's body, but I will admit it feels weird not having a tail." Just then, the Flying Man entered the movie room, delighted to see Fox sitting on the couch.

"Ah, Itsuki Aoi, just the guy I needed to see!" the Flying Man approached Fox, not knowing that he wasn't really speaking to Itsuki. "Your lady friend and presumed girlfriend Tsubasa has been spotted inflicting pain upon herself in the printing room!" Most people assume Tsubasa to be Itsuki's girlfriend, but Itsuki would shoot down these rumors each and every time.

"Actually Flying Man, it's me, Fox, I'm stuck inside Itsuki's body...and Falco is stuck inside Tsubasa's body, so that means Falco is the one who..." Fox suddenly paused when he understood the news the Flying Man was telling him. "Take me to the printing room at once!"

So the Flying Man took Fox to the printing room, where he would see Falco abusing Tsubasa's body by sticking his hand in the copier machine. Having seen enough, the Flying Man grabbed Falco and pulled him away from the machine, before he could do any damage.

 **Falco: Yeah, the whole indecent exposure thing didn't go so well...caught the attention of some nearby police officers, and then they chased me down in an attempt to arrest me. But I eventually outran them, and thanks to me, I've made Tsubasa a wanted criminal in the local Seattle area...thereby giving her all the more reason to stay inside and record some new songs! Man, I can be such a genius sometimes... *arrogantly smirks***

"Dude what is wrong with you, why are you trying to harm Tsubasa's body for?!" Fox scolded his best friend, who felt like he did no wrong. It was perhaps his curiosity of the human body that done him in.

"I was curious about the amount of pain a human body can tolerate, that's all," explained Falco, rolling up his sleeve to reveal a bunch of scars, which shocked Fox and the Flying Man. "Apparently Tsubasa's body is more tolerant to pain than I thought..."

"Bro, Tsubasa is gonna kill you once she gets her body back." Deep inside, Fox knew he was greatly understating what he just said. "Don't think she'll ever forgive you for as long as you live."

"Itsuki...uh, _Fox,_ is right Falco, your 'curiosity' has led to bruises that will remain on Tsubasa's body for elongated periods of time, you should know better," added the Flying Man...as Falco quickly went back to sticking his hand inside the copier machine. "FALCO BACK AWAY FROM THE MACHINE AT ONCE!"

* * *

Lopunny sat in the Pokemon sanctuary by herself, likely reflecting on her short-lived relationship with Gallade, as Mario crept around the corner. He was about to tell Lucario something the aura Pokemon should do, and now that he was in Lucario's body, Mario felt like he should carry out the action now.

"Hello Lopunny, you look-a so lonely..." Mario approached the rabbit Pokemon, who got all excited as she rose up from her seat. "Ah, you like my Italian-a accent, don't-a you? I've been practicing it for-a some time, helps me charm-a the ladies...like yourself." Lopunny smiled, as she seductively walked up to Mario. "Anyways, I heard about-a your breakup with Gallade, and since that you're-a back to being single, like-a I am...how about we pick-a up from where we left-a off, and continue our-a relationship, you and me?"

Right before she could give an answer, Lopunny grabbed Mario's hand and guided him to a certain part of the Pokemon sanctuary. Mario did not know where the rabbit Pokemon was taking him, but he decided to go with the flow...

* * *

While Mario was trying to repair a relationship, a new relationship was already taking shape...Little Mac and Leia. The two lovebirds spending some time together in the lounge, on a date Robin arranged.

"Can I get you two anything?" the Black Knight asked Little Mac and Leia, who were both seated at a table eating some steaks Robin prepared for them. The mage was standing from afar, observing the lovebirds with Doc Louis. "More barbecue sauce, more red wine, anything you need?"

"No, we're good...just tell Doc Louis to calm himself," replied Little Mac, taking a bite from his steak. "I can hear his loud breathing all the way from here." No, Doc Louis wasn't having any issues with his breathing...he was just breathing out of the excitement of his protege in love with the girl of his dreams.

"I would actually like some more red wine, if you don't mind," Leia spoke up; the Black Knight nodded as he went away to fulfill the lovebirds' orders.

 **Robin: To prove everyone that I'm more of a romantic expert than that fraud Marth (Geno told me the juicy details about the Romance Club's true intentions), I'll be monitoring the former members of the club and improving their relationships, so that one day they'll be awesome boyfriends like myself. It's all for the greater good.**

 **Doc Louis: Words cannot express how happy I am for Little Mac, now that he has a girlfriend in Leia! In fact, I was so happy, that I already bought Little Mac wedding rings for the day he marries Leia! *shows off wedding rings to camera* Showed Mac these rings and said that he was "weirded out"...very evident that boy still has a ways to go about learning the true meaning of love!**

While the Black Knight was getting Leia some red wine, Marth sneaked his away inside the lounge, and crept towards Little Mac and Leia. He would grab the attention of the two lovebirds, as he accusingly pointed at Little Mac, his face full of contempt.

"Leia Rolando, you don't deserve this disgraceful peon Little Mac, he's nothing but trouble!" stated Marth, stirring up trouble just to irk Robin. Dude should just chill out and admit defeat. "He's a very scandalous fellow...for I caught him sleeping, yes sleeping, with my sister Kohaku!" Leia gasped, while Little Mac, Robin, and Doc just looked on in utter confusion. "His lack of moral ground is unnerving..."

"Is it true, Little Mac, did you really sleep with Hisui's little sister?" Leia asked the boxer, not knowing what to believe in anymore. Little Mac shook his head no, wondering where Hisui came up with such allegations...not knowing that this was Marth's doing.

"Hisui what you doin' man, why you gotta ruin Little Mac's date?!" frowned Doc Louis, who was now being held back by Robin. "Mac would never sleep with your sister Kohaku - she ain't that pretty to begin with anyway!" Ouch, Doc Louis being harsh...if only Hisui was physically here to hear that.

"Little Mac did sleep with Kohaku, I saw it with my own eyes!" exclaimed Marth, building up his made-up claim. "Saw it with my very own..." Suddenly Marth was caught off when he was suspended in the air by a telekinetic force, a force that bought him out of the lounge. Normalcy found its way back to the lounge, as the Black Knight returned to the room while the others looked at one another in bewilderment.

* * *

"Sonic, are you here?" asked Lucina as she entered the hedgehog's room, where Tails was at his desk working on some funky device while Pikachu played with Shaymin and Suzie on Sonic's bed. "There you are, I've been needing to ask you something..." Pikachu looked up at Lucina, who was holding two dresses in her left and right hands. "Since you're an expert on all things blue...which dress would look good on me, the dark blue one, or the light blue one?"

"Pika pika!" exclaimed Pikachu, providing one of the most ambiguous answers ever uttered. Tails just shook his head, wondering why Pikachu even bothered answering Lucina's question. Then again, it's not like he had a choice...

"Okay then..." Lucina awkwardly left the room with her dresses in hand, just when Amy Rose entered the room. Poor hedgehog was in for a rude awakening.

"Hi Sonic, hi Tails, hi Shaymin and Suzie!" greeted Amy, glancing at Tails and becoming intrigued by what the yellow fox was working on. "Hey Tails, what's that you're working on? Some kind of new invention, I assume?"

"It's a device that allows you to locate certain Pokemon," the yellow fox explained, screwing in a few screws. Finding Manaphy was an imperative goal on Tails's mind. "A Manaphy is on the loose, and it made Sonic and Pikachu switch bodies."

"Oh I see..." Amy now fully understood the situation, as she looked at Sonic's bed and saw Pikachu rolling about on the bed. Sonic wouldn't roll around on his bed in a million years, especially given his spiky back. "Did Manaphy switch anyone else's bodies around?"

"Most likely, which is why I had Mewtwo hunt down any potential victims. It would be best if we have all the victims present so we can..."

"Did someone mention my name?" asked Mewtwo, as he entered the room, throwing Hisui on the floor with force. But if you recall, Hisui was inside Marth's body, and Marth was in Hisui's body...so Mewtwo essentially brought Marth to the room, having captured him in the lounge.

 **Mewtwo: Marth inside Hisui's body was the easiest victim of the day; heard the man talking about some plan he planned to enact on Robin to get back at the mage for paralyzing him with Eggman's death ray. But considering Marth had possession of Manaphy and allowed the Pokemon to do whatever it wanted, he might not be a "victim" after all...**

"If I recall correctly, it was Marth who received Manaphy from Dunban, and now here he is, inside of Hisui's body," Mewtwo explained to Tails and company, sitting Marth upright against a nearby wall. "Which means that he must have commanded Manaphy to switch his body with Hisui, so he could extract revenge of some sort on Robin; can't seem to let things go..." Tails and Pikachu weren't surprised; they both knew Marth still had some beef with Robin, even though Robin no longer had any beef with the hero-king after last week's events.

"Marth how could you...you know what, forget about it," Tails was about to interrogate Marth, but chose to save it for later, once the situation was solved. "Almost done with this device Mewtwo, it will allow us to track down any Pokemon - once I'm done, we'll use it to find Manaphy!"

"Let's save your device for another time - frankly I know where Manaphy is." Being a psychic Pokemon, Mewtwo knew everything there was to know, so Master Hand can't really proclaim himself as the only "all-knowing" being in existence. "No more capturing victims for me - I only wished to capture Marth just to prove that he was the one who started this mess. Once you're done with your device, we shall depart for the Pokemon sanctuary - that's where I detect Manaphy's whereabouts to be."

* * *

"Wow I'm-a still at a loss-a of words...didn't expect them-a to hook up that-a quickly!" Mario remarked as he and Lopunny were watching two certain psychic-type Pokemon flirting with one another in the Pokemon sanctuary...Gardevoir and Gallade. Lopunny brought Mario to the location of the two Pokemon, to show him that the hearts of both Pokemon were mended back together following their breakups. "Glad to see them-a together...again..."

Mario would find himself trailing off when he turned his head and saw three individuals he never wished to see again...Team Rocket - Jessie, James, and Meowth. The trio who returned to the mansion for the first time since episode 53's Christmas episode, with Manaphy in their possession inside of a cage.

"Would you look at that, Lucario and Lopunny together!" marveled James, stroking his chin. "Let's capture both of them and give them to the boss!" James received a backhanded slap from Jessie; poor guy can never catch a break, can he?

"I thought we agreed to capture one Pokemon, and that's it!" frowned Jessie, as James rubbed the back of his head. "And besides, that Lucario could kick our butt any day of the week, he's the last Pokemon we would want to tango with!"

"You got that-a right, now give-a up that Manaphy!" ordered Mario, greatly confusing Team Rocket. That didn't sound like Lucario's voice to them, too much Italian flair.

"Since when did Lucario speak with an Italian accent, and why does the accent sound so much like Mario's?" questioned Meowth, scratching his head. "Something ain't right around here..."

 **James: Our last visit to the Smash Mansion was an utter humiliation...a Christmas party with a plethora of guests, and Master Hand had the gall to kick us out before we could get away with Pikachu!  
** **Jessie: It wasn't until after we blasted off again that we learned the error of our ways...the more time we spend trying to capture Pikachu, the more likely we are to fail! It was a correlation that could be proven even scientifically!  
Meowth: So to make our boss Giovanni proud and have one of our missions be successful, we'll focus on capturing a Pokemon _other_ than Pikachu, and any Pokemon will do...**

"Pika pika!" Pikachu exclaimed as he, Tails, Mewtwo, and Shaymin arrived at the Pokemon sanctuary; Amy stayed behind to watch over Marth. Team Rocket heard Pikachu's voice, but they only a blue hedgehog wearing red shoes in the forefront.

"Is it just me, or did Pikachu's voice come out from Sonic the Hedgehog?" Jessie asked Meowth and James, left in even more confusion. Too bad for Team Rocket that Mewtwo happened to know a move by the name of Confusion...

"The gig is up, Team Rocket," the psychic Pokemon said as he used Confusion to lift the cage encasing Manaphy away from Team Rocket, giving it to Tails, before using a Shadow Ball on Team Rocket - a Shadow Ball strong enough to send the evildoers...well you know.

"Team Rocket is blasting off again!" Jessie, James, and Meowth all said simultaneously as they were blown out of the sanctuary and out of the mansion. Must be a chore to say that famous line after each and every defeat.

"Are you okay Manaphy?" Tails asked the seafaring Pokemon, releasing it from its cage prison. Manaphy happily flew out from its cage, expressing joy with its blue arms out wide. "...I'll take that as a profound yes! So Manaphy, how about giving some of the folks their bodies back? I know you caused a lot of trouble around here!"

And so Manaphy would obey Tails's command, starting off with Pikachu. The seafaring Pokemon executed a Heart Swap on Pikachu, and moments after the move was successfully executed...

"Sweet, I finally got my body back!" Sonic exclaimed after he found himself back in his own body, looking up at Manaphy who was smiling at him. "Thanks for giving my body back Manaphy - I was getting tired of Samus talking about how great of a friend Zelda is..."

"Samus is friends...with Zelda?" said a stunned Mewtwo. Samus probably won't appreciate Sonic spilling out these details, but then again she had no idea the hedgehog was in Pikachu's body the whole time. "Well you learn something new everyday, don't you?" As Sonic relished being in his body again, Manaphy then performed a Heart Swap on Mario, and gave Lucario his body back.

"Yes, back in my own body, about time!" the aura Pokemon exclaimed, before he was caught off-guard by Lopunny, who was standing right next to him. "Oh, uh, hi there Lopunny, didn't see you there, hopefully you didn't..."

Before Lucario could say anything else, Lopunny kissed the aura Pokemon, in front of Sonic and company. It was a rather intimate moment, a moment in which Sonic had to cover Tails's eyes, even though it wasn't really necessary. Once the kiss was over, Lucario saw Gardevoir and Gallade standing in his presence, both looking rather jovial.

"You two are together, and Lopunny and I are together...guess we're all officially on good terms now," stated Lucario, as Manaphy flew out of the Pokemon sanctuary to undo some of the body switching it did throughout the episode.

* * *

 **Little Mac: At first, I thought that Hisui was super jealous of my relationship with Leia, and was trying to start stuff so he could entice Leia to break up with me and he can claim her...but later I got a text from Tails, saying how Marth was inside Hisui's body thanks to some Manaphy and that HE was the one who made those Kokahu claims! Apparently Marth was still bitter at Robin, so I guess the guy wanted to get one more last laugh before finally admitting defeat. Either that, or he wants to keep the feud ongoing. Yet Robin paralyzed him so that the feud would no longer persist...**

"I don't want you telling anyone about my lowkey friendship with Zelda, you hear me?" Samus told Pikachu, the mouse Pokemon back in his body. "Granted you can only say your name, but people can still understand what you're saying...which I kinda don't get."

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed with a salute - not even knowing what Samus was even talking about. It was his first time learning about Samus having a friend, aside from Anthony Higgs - the Pokemon missed out on some great information.

"Good, I don't want people to say stuff about me and talk about how I'm not as indifferent as I appear to be. Just want things to stay the way they are."

* * *

Link, still inside Kirby's body, was on a lawn chair reading an edition of _Swordsman Weekly,_ while Pit, Toon Link, Lucas, and Villager were working away on the engine of the Hylian's car. It was the only way to prevent them from messing around with sports equipment and causing mayhem in the process.

"Hey Link, what does a wrench look like again?" asked Pit; that guy cannot be that dumb. Or maybe he just chooses to be dumb.

"It's a silver tool with a u-shaped opening at the end," explained Link, sighing as he turned the page of the magazine he was reading. At least Pit was (sort of) learning, the Hylian seemingly supposed.

"Oh so this is what you're talking about!" Instead of a wrench, Pit held up a screwdriver, while Link shook his head. "Thanks for the info Link!" The angel would use the screwdriver to fasten the nuts and bolts on Link's engine, failing oh so miserably.

Then something happened to Link - something that made him blink and look around in confusion, like he had arrived at some new surroundings. Toon Link looked over and saw these actions carried out.

"Something wrong, Link?" the young Hylian approached Link, and then Link uttered a "Poyo!" out of his mouth, followed by a smile. In no way was that Link just now. "Hey you guys, I think Kirby's back! Kirby is back!"

"Hooray, Kirby has returned!" Pit exclaimed as he and the others ran over to Kirby, the pink puffball back to his normal self as he was all smiles. "Man, Kirby, you had no idea about the torture Link put us through when he was in your body...made us repair the engine of his truck and refused to give us breaks! Can you believe that Kirby? So now that you're back, I was thinking...why don't we make Link pay for throwing his stupid commands at us and completely dismantle his truck? How does that sound, Kirby?"

"Ooh wah!" exclaimed the pink puffball; little fella would agree to just about anything, no matter what.

* * *

 **Daisy: *holding Charles in her arms* Luigi just got off the phone with Mario - Mario said that there was a Manaphy that switched Charles's body with Rool, and that very Pokemon switched Mario's body with Lucario. Was it Bowser who released Manaphy into the mansion? Wouldn't be surprised if Bowser was a culprit, I got a lawsuit against him that I've been preparing for years...**

"Wh-What is this?" Marth questioned, as the hero-king no longer found himself in Sonic's room inside Hisui's body...but back in his room back inside his own paralyzed body, sprawled out on the floor. "Did that Manaphy give Hisui back his body? Ooh, once I get my hands on that..."

"Marth, we seriously need to talk!" Hisui barged inside the hero-king's room, angry as heck. "You owe me an apology, right here and right now!"

"Pfft, I don't need to owe you some stupid apology..." Now Hisui stepped back, and nodded his head, oddly smiling.

"You're right, you're right, you don't have to owe _me_ an apology...you have to owe all of us an apology!"

Right on cue, Mario, Link, Itsuki, and all the folks who were victimized by Manaphy's shenanigans (sans Kirby) arrived in Marth's room, with were shouting their complaints to the hero-king, with Tsubasa complaining about the harm Falco did to her body, Lucario griping about having to appear on _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ while he was still heartbroken, Olimar carping about Kirby cutting down several plants in the gardens with Link's Master Sword, so forth and so on.

"Alright, alright, simmer down everyone, sound like a bunch of rabid barking dogs!" Master Hand appeared, having heard the complaining all the way from his room. "So what's the dealio, why are you all shouting at an innocent paralyzed man sprawled out on the floor?"

"That paralyzed man you speak of used Manaphy to switch bodies with Hisui and allowed it to switch people's bodies around!" explained Dunban with an ice pack on his head, having learned this information from Hisui and Tails.

"And he posed as Hisui so he could mess with me, Little Mac, and Leia!" added robin, who was apart of the group giving Marth a piece of his mind.

"Many people had their bodies switched around by Manaphy, and yet Marth didn't seem to care!" added Tails, who brought the seafaring Pokemon back to the Pokemon sanctuary for safekeeping. "He was more concerned about getting back at Robin than anything, I assume!"

"Oh is that so?" Master Hand turned his attention to Marth, who was grinning nervously. "I knew I should have discouraged Blue from sending you that Manaphy, figured you would use its Heart Swap move to fulfill your silly goals! And you've brought harm upon your fellow residents too! No wonder Isabelle notified me about Manaphy being locked up in the sanctuary - it was done to prevent more trouble, the trouble YOU allowed to happen!" Master Hand pointed at Marth, too paralyzed to even shiver in fear. "I shall deal with you later, Isabelle owes me a sponge bath which must be done in five minutes, she's excellent when it comes to bathing. Everyone else, you're free to leave!"

So Mario and company departed from the room, with Robin being the last to leave as he shook his head at Marth with a grin on his face before making his departure. Geno was standing at the doorway to Marth's room, looking at the paralyzed hero-king before somberly looking down at the floor.

 **Geno: Figured that Marth would use Manaphy to switch bodies with someone else and commit his nefarious deeds. I would have talked him out of it...but from what I gained from past experience, it was best that Marth learned his lesson the hard way.**

* * *

"Defeated yet again, nothing ever goes our way when we want it to..." frowned James as he, Jessie, and Meowth found themselves in the mansion's garbage pin, finally escaping from the piles of garbage bags they were wedged between.

"Well look on the bright side, this is the closest we've ever been to capturing a mythical Pokemon!" exclaimed Meowth, trying to put some light on the situation. And oh, how hard he tried... "We're making progress, you guys!"

"Nothing ever goes your way, huh?" said a mysterious voice, as Team Rocket looked around, wondering where this voice came from. "I think we can help with that..."

"Who goes there, what do you want from us?" questioned Jessie, before her eyes fell upon a certain man with long gray hair in a long black cloak. It was Xemnas, making his presence known to Team Rocket for the very first time.

"Allow me to introduce myself...my name is Xemnas," the Nobody coolly introduced himself, as Team Rocket climbed out of the garbage bin. "By the looks of it, it appears to me that you three...

"MY TRUCK!" Link screamed, his voice heard from afar. Poor guy went outside and found his truck, discombobulated and completely undone. All the work he did on repairing the engine, now nullified by Pit and his pals.

"...it appears to me that you three are typically on the losing end when it comes to completing missions at this mansion, which makes us similar - you are from Team Rocket, and I am from a group called the Organization XIII, and even we find ourselves on the losing side."

"How did he know we were even in Team Rocket?" Meowth whispered to James, unsure if Xemnas was a trustworthy person.

"He must be a presumptuous stalker, I can tell just by his demeanor and how his voice sounds," James whispered back, hoping Xemnas didn't hear his whispers. The Nobody most likely did.

"I've been 'spying' on you three while you were inside the mansion," Xemnas continued, affirming James's presumptuous stalker claims. "You mentioned of your leader, Giovanni - very coincidental since we, the Organization XIII, have our own leader, in Master Xehanort. All great leaders think alike, most of the time - so how about we arrange a meeting between your Giovanni and our Master Xehanort, hmm?"

Giovanni _and_ Master Xehanort, meeting one another? Sounds cool and awesome...yet potentially dangerous at the same time. Dangerous for all the wrong reasons.


	71. Episode 71: Lemonade

_Author's Note:_

 _Was gonna add two new permanent characters (and by permanent I mean that the characters would live in the Smash Mansion) suggested by Darth Sigma 96 in this week's installment of "Smash Life", but the release of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe interfered with my plans...curse you Nintendo, and your release dates! With that out of the way, we can move on to the guest reviews:_

 _"Can you add Joe Musashi, Hotsuma, and Hibana from Shinobi? The characters from Monster Hunter Stories? How about a Crazy Taxi chapter? A chapter with Cloud and Aerith interacting with the Final Fantasy XIII and XV cast? And if Jude and Milla show up will they be a couple? (Since both Xillia games screwed them over of them ever getting together.)"_

 _Jude and Milla were never a couple?! I shall fix all of that soon. All the characters you mentioned will be open for an_ _appearance, and there will definitely be a Crazy Taxi chapter. One more anonymous review:_

 _"I wanna see interactions between particular characters, especially rivals like Mario and Wario. Those interactions are between Marth and his descendants, Marth and Pit, and maybe Marth and Lucas. Also, DK and Rool, Ness and Lucas, Marth and Roy, and a few others I don't feel like writing."_

 _I shall take this into consideration. There was one more request this reviewer had:_

 _"Also, could Sylux and the other Metroid Prime Hunters appear (Spire, Trace, Weavel, Kanden, and Noxus), and maybe Medusa of Kid Icarus (Even though she's dead again, also, Hades is supposedly dead after Uprising to be revived later)?"_

 _The Hunters would be hard to work into "Smash Life"...but the same might not be said for Medusa, despite what you said about her being dead. Moving on to Kellan:_

 _"...could you have the smash characters play a game of football this time?"_

 _I might save that until September, when the new NFL season starts. Next up is Roydigs22, who was relieved that I fixed Lucario's love situation, coming forth with another pairing:_

 _"So... Meta knight and jigglypuff?"_

 _Still giving this some thought. Moving on:_

 _"Did you try the dodgeball game that I suggested? And also, how about a double date with the two resident pokemon couples?"_

 _Was gonna do that this week, if not for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe; I'll save that next week, and do the double date a week after if I can. Up next is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...can you remind me when Mario and Peach's wedding happens because it feels like it's so long since Luigi and Daisy's had theirs that I forgot the date?"_

 _The wedding will be on June 23rd, eight weeks from now. Now here is your local meme:_

 _"You'll do something Star Trek-themed... When the time is right? Whazzat mean?"_

 _When they do a Star Trek celebration, that's what I meant to say. Think there's a Star Trek celebration this September. Last up, vj:_

 _"Sonic and Ganon? Why?"_

 _Because one of my readers suggested it a while back. And it will be happening in this chapter!_

* * *

 **Episode 71: Lemonade**

You may have forgotten about it or had no idea it ever existed, but in the backyard of the Smash Mansion there was a racecourse, one ripe with obstacles that every _Mario Kart_ track contained. This racecourse had not been used ever since Daisy's birthday party back in episode 11 - no, not even Jacky Bryant or Captain Falcon gave the track a spin.

But today, for the first time since Master Hand's return from his "indefinite vacation", the racecourse would be back in full use again.

Today was the day _Mario Kart 8 Deluxe_ will be released, and with it introduced two new racers to the _Mario Kart_ tradition, the Inklings. Wanting to see if the Inklings were great at racing as they were at paintball battles, Master Hand had Mario re-open the racecourse, so he could hold a race - a race between Mario, Donkey Kong, Wario, Yoshi, Link, Villager, and the Inklings, all eight competitors representing their respective gaming franchises.

"And then I told-a Peach, 'Whaddaya mean you drink-a decaf, why can't you just-a pour that garbage down-a the drain'?" Mario spoke with his buddies Luigi and Yoshi, earning a laugh from the plumber and the dinosaur. The three were chilling while Isabelle was getting the racecourse set up. "...honestly I don't-a think Peach actually poured her-a coffee down the drain, she could-a have saved herself."

"Decaf coffee is the absolute worst; it kinda takes like poop, if poop had any flavor to it," Yoshi gave his rather blunt take on decaf coffee...while drinking a bottle of bitter lemon, which possibly couldn't be any better. "I'll just stick to these carbonated soft drinks, really puts a yum in my tum!"

"I would-a drink sugary drinks, but my stomach can't-a handle it well," said Luigi, jumping into the conversation. No sugary drinks for Luigi...must really suck for the guy.

 **Master Hand: What I'm yearning for is a great race between Mario and his pals, and that nobody crashes their vehicle and gets hurt in any way, shape, or form...especially since that buffoon Luigi took the Smash Mansion off of his insurance plan ever since Charles was born. Ooh, I know, I can _kill_ Charles and make Luigi all depressed, which would then make him easy to manipulate, and then I can convince him to put the mansion residents back on his insurance plan! Charles's death would be swift, I'll just chop him up into a million pieces and sell his remains on eBay...What do you mean, I can't kill Charles, he's not an onion! It's not like anyone would cry if they chopped Charles up! I mean, Luigi would cry, but Daisy would be mostly chill about it...mostly.**

Soon Link would join the three, his head hanging low with a downtrodden expresison written on his face. The Hylian was feeling down because of Pit and his crew; they dismantled Link's truck in retaliation for the last episode's events, leaving Link to take the remnants of his truck to the car dealership Jacky worked at so it could be put together again.

"Hey Link, how's-a your truck coming along?" Mario asked the Hylian about his vehicle; not even the cheerfulness of the plumber could turn Link's frown upside down.

"They're three-fourths of the way to finally putting it back together," responded Link, before heaving a heavy sigh. He really took an immense amount of pride in his truck, more than Zelda and anyone else could ever imagined. "And I would have driven it for this race...now I have to settle for that silly Hylian bike..."

"Master Hand probably wouldn't let you use your truck anyways, he's been stressing about using _Mario Kart_ vehicles on the racecourse," stated Yoshi as Link heaved yet another sigh. "I will admit, using non-sanctioned vehicles in the race would make things very interesting..."

"Who's willing to bet-a that Master Hand would break-a his own rule and enroll himself in the race, having some-a one drive his Lamborghini?" questioned Luigi; considering Master Hand's ginormous ego, this could very well happen.

"Or better yet: SOMEONE like myself races against Master Hand and YOU PUNKS in the very race!" boomed a very loud, yet insane voice, as Luigi and company all cowered in fear. They looked up, and saw a giant hand floating above them, and it wasn't Master Hand...it was Master Hand's buddy Crazy Hand. "HELLO boys, long TIME no see!"

"Ah, Mario, I see that you're speaking with Crazy Hand almost a year after Luigi's wedding!" approached Master Hand, siding himself with Crazy Hand. "How about the good ol' handshake-a-rooni, Crazy Hand?" The two giant hands did a rather complex dap in front of Mario and company, a dap the four brawlers had no idea either hand was capable of doing.

"Um, Master Hand, why is-a Crazy Hand here, and why is he en-a listing in the race?" asked Mario, worried that asking such a question would earn him torture from Master Hand himself. "I mean, he doesn't even-a have a vehicle, and it's not-a like he can drive-a in it!"

"Crazy Hand isn't enlisting himself in the race, you flipping bozo...he's enlisting his clown car in the race! And before you can open your stupid mouth and ask who's gonna drive the car, how about I introduce him to you...Kefka Palazzo, get your scrawny butt over here!"

Right on cue, a blonde, extravagant jester fellow leaped to the scene, sporting a grin as he stuck the landing. This jester was the mighty Kefka Palazzo, and while he was no Dimentio, this man still possessed sociopathic tendencies, meaning that Mario and company would have to stay very weary of him.

 **Kefka: *does trademark evil laugh* Pleased to meet you, Kefka Palazoo's the name! Crazy Hand invited me to partake in a _Mario Kart_ race of epic proportions, and he gave me the opportunity to be the first ever person to drive his new clown car! Now as much as I would love to make the race a demolition derby, Master Hand told me that NOT to put anyone in harm's way...but that's just a silly rule, and nobody said all rules have to be followed!**

"My name is Kefka Palazzo, but you can just call me Kefka!" the jester eagerly shook hands with Mario and company, desiring to bully Mario, Link, and Yoshi on the racecourse. "May the best racer win...or should I say, _let_ the best racer win, or there shall be consequences!" Kefka did his evil laugh before leaping away, making Mario and company question his sanity.

"How very fitting that buffoon is driving Crazy Hand's car..." remarked Link, disgusted with the fact that Master Hand and Crazy Hand would break the rules and have some non- _Mario Kart_ person participate in the race. "So Master Hand, are you gonna enter your car in the race?"

"Already did, look at the hot babe standing over there with my Lamborghini - she'll be the one driving my sweet ride!" Master Hand pointed over to the far corner of the racecourse at Reiko Nagase, who smiled and waved to Link and company as she stood next to the Lamborghini. "Now if you excuse me, I must check on Isabelle's progress and see if she's done with the racecourse. I'll let you fellas know when the race shall begin!" And so Master Hand went away, and so did Crazy Hand, albeit laughing like a madman for no reason.

* * *

All the racers for the race were all ready...except for two exceptions, the Inklings. Both kiddies had completely forgotten about the race held today, and were in a mad rush to get prepared.

"Where's my paintball gun, I can't be seen without my paintball gun!" exclaimed the male Inkling as he looked about in his room for his paintball gun, like he would actually use it in a race. It wouldn't be allowed anyways.

"Your paintball gun? My beloved Splattershot has gone completely missing!" fretted the female Inkling throwing stuff all about in the room all willy-nilly. "I need to have my Splattershot with me at all times!" Even during nighttime hours, sleeping in the bed?

"Yeah whatever, just keep your eyes peeled for my paintball gun!" The search for the unnecessary items continued for the Inklings, while Hisui and Kohaku stood by the door, watching all the action unfold. Hisui just shook his head with a grunt, while Kohaku seemingly admired what the Inklings were doing.

"Don't you just love it when you see siblings such as the Inklings having a strong bond together?" Kokahu asked her brother with a smile, leaving Hisui confused. "Reminds me of us in a way, we've had a strong bond ever since we lost our mother..."

"Pretty sure the Inklings are just friends, and not siblings," corrected Hisui, knowing that the Inklings shot down every accusation of them being related to one another. They would shoot down accusations like they were straight-up insults! "But they do act like siblings in a way - fighting with one another, spending time together, sharing similar interests and enjoying the same activities - maybe they're related through a blood oath they signed. Who knows."

"I just think it's cute the way the Inklings bond, it's so fascinating to watch..." Seconds later, Zero walked past the Hearts, before the actions of the Inklings inside their room caught the robot's eye.

"Do I even need to ask what those Inklings are looking for?" Zero asked the Hearts, going against his own judgement. The way Inklings were throwing stuff around, it was making their room look like an absolute pigsty.

"The Inklings are looking for their silly ink weaponry," explained Hisui, now regretting standing by the Inkling's doorway. Made him and Kohaku look like weirdos. "Don't know why they would need it for, since they're gonna be in that race."

"Oh yeah, the race in the backyard, the one Master Hand forced the Inklings to participate in...I'm actually going to see the race with X."

 **Zero: Residents of the mansion are welcome to come to the race, free as charged, but as for the citizens of Seattle...well they have to be charged. $50 just to get an available seat. Master Hand is apparently charging folks to pay for the race so that taxing Star Records won't be his only means for paying off his Lamborghini. *sighs* At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if Master Hand straight up married his Lamborghini...and forced everyone to partake in his "wedding". Citizens of Seattle included.**

"Yes, I finally found my paintball gun, now I can race in style!" the male Inkling proclaimed, holding up his weapon of choice after throwing his belongings all over the place in his room. "Hopefully the race hasn't started yet!"

"And I found my Splattershot, can't be seen racing without it!" the female Inkling proclaimed, holding up her Splattershot. "To the racecourse, we don't have much time to lose!" The two Inklings departed from their room, which was now a mess.

"Well, time to tell X that the race will begin," said Zero as went to go search for his best friend. "I'll be seeing you Hearts around." The idea of having a race between the likes of Mario, Donkey Kong, and others enticed Kohaku, and it even intrigued the girl enough to ask Hisui the following...

"Big brother, can we go see the race ourselves?" Kohaku would ask Hisui; the older Heart would have objected, but watching a race would be a great experience for him and his sister to share.

"As long as it's free, I wouldn't mind being a spectator," Hisui shrugged, as he and Kohaku walked away from the Inklings' room. "Might be in for a great race..."

* * *

"So tell me again why we're here in the living room?" Cloud asked his woman Aerith, the two lovebirds sitting on a couch in said living room. Doc Louis was sitting next to the swordsman, eating his chocolate bars, and his loud smacking was slightly ticking Cloud off. Little Mac was on the living room floor, doing crunches.

"Because we're here to meet two very special people!" gleamed Aerith, who had met these "special people" online on some messaging site. "They have so much in common with us - they like Chocobos, and they can summon monsters, and they can..."

"Liking Chocobos and summoning monsters, those are some 'special' people right there." Why must Cloud be so darn cynical? Hasn't even met the two visitors yet, and he was already being a hater.

"Did I hear something about summoning monsters?" Lloyd asked as he entered the living room, much to the chagrin of Cloud and pretty much everyone else. "Are we about to be visited by wizards, like the ones from Hogwarts? I'd pay to see one of them!"

"Shut up Lloyd, nobody said anything about wizards and Hogwarts or any of that stuff - Cloud and Aerith are expecting a visit," explained Little Mac as he continued to do his crunches. "I'm assuming they're on _Final Fantasy_ fame, since I heard something about Chocobos..."

"Wizards that ride on Chocobos? That sounds so cool!" And just like that, Little Mac had a sudden indignation to sucker punch Lloyd in the face.

 **Lloyd: You know what would be cooler than wizards riding on Chocobos? Wizards that can fly!...Well actually, they can fly on their brooms...how about the ability to turn invisible?...Nope, wait, most wizards can do that too...what about the ability to...nah, pretty sure they know how to teleport...why must wizards be so overpowered sometimes?**

"Aerith Gainsborough, are you here?" a female voice called out, and later two individuals would arrive at the living room; one was a girl with pink hair tied into a ponytail, and the other a black guy with funny-looking afro. Aerith was quick to recognize who these two were.

"Ah, you two finally made it!" the flower girl exclaimed as she got up to greet the two, capturing the attention of Cloud and company. "Everyone, I would like to introduce you to some friends I befriended online - Serah Farron and Sazh Katzroy. Serah and Sazh, this is Lloyd Irving, Little Mac, Doc Louis, and my boyfriend, Cloud Strife."

"Pleasure to meet you," Cloud got up and greeted Serah and Sazh, shaking both of their hands. He didn't want to, but he had to be courteous in front of Aerith.

"Likewise, buddy, though reaching the Smash Mansion was no easy task," remarked Sazh, after shaking Cloud's hand. "We had to hitch a ride on a taxi driven by some guy name B.D. Joe to get here." Does the name B.D. Joe ring a bell to anyone?

"He was a very nice fellow, nice than most cab drivers loved that toothy smile of his," said Serah, as Doc Louis took a sudden look at Sazh. He reminded him of someone, and he just couldn't put his finger on it...until now.

"Ay, Richard Pryor, back from the dead, what's good my man!" the boxing trainer got up and greeted Sazh, confusing the airship pilot. "Beat Tupac Shakur to the punch, huh? But we all know that man is still hiding in Cuba!"

"Since when was I Richard Pryor...?" Sazh furrowed his brow, while Doc Louis continued to hold his hand. No doubt the boxing trainer was a little starstruck, and for all the wrong reasons.

"Mr. Pryor, lemme tell you something, straight from the heart...you've always been my favorite comedian. Watched all your stand-up performances on YouTube, kept me laughing all night long. And I want to see you recreate your best stand-up moments and tell us the finest jokes around, in the gaming room! I can guarantee you you'll keep people laughing until the next day! So how about it?"

"Uh...what's this about doing stand-up and telling jokes?" Sazh didn't want to do this stand-up jig, but Doc Louis was adamant on seeing "Richard Pryor" in person perform in front of a crowd, it would be a dream come true.

"Okay then, excellent, I'll see you later today!" Doc Louis broke his hand away from Sazh, as he proudly walked away, leaving Cloud to shake his head. He could only feel how embarrassed Little Mac felt right now.

"Wizards..." Lloyd said quietly, eyeing intently at Serah and Sazh, now having learned that Richard Pryor was apparently a wizard.

 **Sazh: Why did that man Doc Louis assume that I was Richard Pryor, just because I got an afro and I'm black don't mean anything! And he wants me to do a stand-up comedy act?! I don't even know that many good jokes! I'm just a reasonable, logical guy who pilots an airship! Not even Serah can bail me out of this...**

* * *

The race in the backyard was almost ready to start, as the participants had their engines ready, and the stands were filling up with residents and Seattle citizens alike. However, the race couldn't start just yet...for the Inklings have yet to arrive.

"So Isabelle, are all the obstacles and whatnot ready?" Toad asked the shih tzu, standing at the starting line with the checkered flag in hand. The presumed drug lord was meant for waving the checkered flag.

"Yup, everything is all set - we just have to wait on the Inklings to arrive," replied Isabelle, as the Inklings' vehicles - two color-coded Instrikers - were positioned near the starting line. "They should be here by now, if they don't show up..."

"We're finally here!" the female Inkling announced as she and her male counterpart showed up, taking their vehicles. Kefka suddenly took notice of the Inklings, and stroked his chin while smiling devilishly. What could this evil jester possibly be up to?

"About TIME those darn Inklings arrived, the wait was taking FOREVER!" remarked Crazy Hand, who was located near the stands with Master Hand, his impatience slowly getting the best of him. "So Master Hand, shall we get STARTED with the race?"

"All the participants are here, so we're all set to go!" responded Master Hand, looking over to Isabelle and giving a thumbs up. Isabelle whistled, and a Lakitu in a cloud descended, holding a starting light on a fishing pole. After Lakitu did the countdown, the racers took off, with Kefka leading the back in Crazy Hand's clown car and Reiko closely behind in Master Hand's Lamborghini.

"Thought the race was supposed to be between select _Mario Kart_ veterans, why is Reiko Nagase and that jester girl in the race?" questioned Hisui, seated with Kohaku, Zero, and a few others. The teen suspected some cheating to be taking place.

"They're both in the race because Master Hand and Crazy Hand are egotistical jerks," explained Zelda, watching closely at Link, the Hylian seamlessly dodging a banana laid out on the road. "Crazy Hand is like Master Hand's more insane counterpart, in case you didn't know."

"A giant hand that's more insane than Master Hand himself? Yikes...wouldn't wanna mess with him!" If only Hisui knew the things Crazy Hand was fully capable of doing with that crazy mind of his...

 **Zelda: I wouldn't mind if Link loses the race, I just hope that nothing bad happens to him, as it does most of the time when Link participates in most competitions. He can never really earn respect from his opponents, or even his teammates, and it is becoming frustrating for him. Could be because of the way he dresses, or it could be because of other factors that I'm not aware of...but honestly it could be because of the attire. Hard to respect someone who wears a funny hat and tunic day in and day out.**

"If anything, I'd keep a close eye on Kefka, the jester guy," Zero said to Hisui, watching Kefka hit Wario with a red shell and laughing in his face. "He's very unpredictable, like Crazy Hand, and is prone to causing mayhem and destruction. Read nothing but bad things about the guy..."

"Seeing the misery on your face makes me so full of glee!" Kefka shouted at Wario, his voice heard from the crowd. Guy acts like the Joker of DC fame; he and the Joker would make for great friends.

* * *

"Are you _sure_ we can't start an American k-pop group with the _Fire Emblem_ boys?" Fox discussed with Kiria in the Star Records room, annoying the crap out of the agitated idol singer. "Chrom can be the lead singer, and Roy can be the rapper, and..."

"For the last time Fox that's not gonna work, I don't even think the men know a single lick of Korean to begin with," Kiria tried to tell Fox his idea was a bad idea, but there was no stopping the pilot, apparently. "I think you're becoming slowly desperate..."

"Oh, so thinking of brilliant ideas is now deemed being 'desperate'?!" frowned Fox, with his hands on his hips. A figure walked inside the room, breathing heavily, and it caught Kiria's attention. "You're telling me you'd rather go with Falco's crazy idea of Ganondorf being a reggae artist? Suit yourself!"

"Um, Fox, I think you should turn around..." advised Kiria, and so Fox did just that...only to be greeted by a fellow in a Darth Vader costume. He was breathing heavily, staring at Fox very intently.

"Fox McCloud...I am your father..." the individual spoke in true Darth Vader fashion. Didn't take Fox that long to recognize the person who would partake in such foolishness.

"Corrin, why on earth are you dressed up as Darth Vader?" the pilot questioned the prince of Nohr, who groaned in frustration once his name was called. Corrin and the person that bought the Darth Vader costume now has to hold an L for life.

"I am not 'Corrin', I am Darth Vader, the right-hand man of Emperor Palpatine! Do not talk to your own father that way, if you know what's good for you!"

"Dude you have some serious problems, you might need some help." Disgusted by Fox's comment, Corrin tried to use the Force on the pilot, tightening his hand in a fist, but it had no effect on Fox whatsoever because of obvious reasons. "Thank you for proving my point..."

"I shall deal with you later...son." On that remark, Corrin stormed out of the room, just when Falco arrived, looking back at Corrin like he was some crazy person.

"Why was Darth Vader in our Star Records office just now?" Falco asked Fox and Kiria, hoping they would know the answer. Because he had a ton questions running about in his head.

"That was actually Corrin in a Darth Vader getup," clarified Kiria, leading Falco to nod his head knowingly. It all made sense to him now...

* * *

 **Sonic: This is just unbelievable...here I am, in the Smash Mansion full of all sorts of famous video game guys and gals...and not a single person in this establishment owns a Nintendo Switch! You're telling me that not even Mario, or Link, or even Donkey Kong own a Switch? I was actually hoping one of the Hyrule champions that visited us would give us a Switch, but they didn't even have one! And for that, Mipha loses all her credibility as a swimming teacher, her swimming lesson with me has forever been negated! So to raise some money to buy a Switch, I convinced my main man Tails to help me set up something that will reel in easy dough...**

"Surely you realize that I won't be the one doing all the work," Tails said to Sonic, standing with the hedgehog and Shaymin at a lemonade stand. Yes, Sonic was raising money for the switch by selling lemonade, and he enlisted Tails and Shaymin to assist him in making money.

"Whoever said you'd be doing all the work?" questioned Sonic, ashamed Tails would ask such a question. "Our duties will be split up - you make and serve lemonade to people, while I posture enough to bring potential costumers to our stand! Shaymin will be our mascot!" Those certainly were terms Tails did not agree with by any means. "Look Tails, our first customers, look alive!" Sonic looked natural as Ness and Ike approached the lemonade stand.

"Selling some ice-cold lemonade, I see?" Ness asked Sonic and Tails, feeling a little thirsty. That's what hitting baseballs outside will do to ya. "Gotta admit, the lemonade sure looks delicious!"

"Sup Ness, sup Ike! Hey Ike, didn't you have a puppet with you?" Sonic looked at the swordsman's hands, and saw Puppet Mia missing. "Did you and your puppet girlfriend have a 'falling out' and broke up?"

"Duck Hunt Dog was responsible for our breakup...rather, he broke Mia up into pieces with his gnashing teeth," explained Ike, holding up the remnants of Puppet Mia. "Poor Mia didn't even have a chance..." Puppet Mia being torn up was probably best for Ike anyways.

"Sorry about your loss man...anyways, would you care for some lemonade? Made it all myself!" It was actually Tails who made the lemonade under Sonic's command, but of course Sonic would take as much credit as possible.

"Thanks, but no thanks...Ness and I just wanted to see what you and Tails were up to. We'll just settle for some water inside the mansion." Ike would leave with Ness, as Sonic sported a frown on his face. Talk about a blown opportunity.

"Look on the bright side Sonic, at least someone had the gall to stop by our lemonade stand!" exclaimed Shaymin, garnering a glare from Sonic that was enough to make her grin with nervousness.

* * *

While Viridi tended to a flower in a small flower pot, her boyfriend Pit was busy playing games in the arcade room with Kirby, when suddenly the goddess of nature heard some voices from a nearby room. These voices sounded like grown men, and the way they were talking made it seem like they were bad guys.

 **Viridi: I don't care if Pit received a mouthing from Palutena for dismantling Link's truck, Link shouldn't have ordered my boyfriend to repair his stupid truck in the first place! *sighs lovingly* But it would have been lovely if Pit was working on Link's truck shirtless, and I was there to see it in person...the most perfect eye candy there is!**

"Sorry to interrupt you boys, but I hear some manly voices coming from that room over there," Viridi said to Pit and Kirby, who were busy pounding enemies on the _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ game they were playing. Nothing could deter the duo from beating the snot out of Shredder's henchmen.

"Not now Viridi, we're so close to beating the game!" said Pit, even though he and Pit started up a new game a while ago. "Kirby and I have a lot of carnage to do!"

"But Pit, I heard some very manly voices from the room, and it seemed like they're discussing something suspicious!" Despite Viridi's complaints, Pit and Kirby continued to play their game, leading the goddess of nature to unplug the _Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles_ arcade machine altogether.

"Viridi you hideous monster, why do you refuse to let us be great?!" Kirby frowned at the goddess, who grabbed both Pit's and Kirby's ears (does Kirby even have ears?) as she dragged the duo to the room, opening the door just a little so the trio could peek inside...

...and they were all left in shock by what they were seeing. Inside the room was two men, flanked by their respective henchmen. On one side of the room was the leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni, sharply dressed in a black suit while being flanked by Jessie, James, and Meowth. On the other side of the room was some bald old guy with his back hunched over, with yellow eyes, pointy ears, and a black and white coat, flanked by Xemnas and some guy wearing a traditional Organization XIII cloak.

"Tell me more about this 'invasion' you speak of," Giovanni spoke with the old man, as Viridi and company looked on; whatever information the trio acquired from eavesdropping could be passed on to Master Hand.

"It's just a Heartless invasion, which will first start off in this city," the old man explained his diabolical plan to Giovanni, speaking with evil intent. "Once we conquer this city, we shall conquer the rest of this putrid country...and later on, the rest of the world!" Clearly world domination was a central goal for the old geezer.

"And what about the legendary Pokemon Team Rocket captured, do you wish to use them in the invasion?" Team Rocket, successfully capturing legendary Pokemon? That's something their anime counterparts can't ever do.

"The more legendary Pokemon you have, the merrier - I can change them into giant, destructive Heartless that have the potential to level cities! Does that sound enticing enough to you, Giovanni, or do I need to convince you a bit more?"

"No, no, you already gave me a convincing enough offer...shouldn't expect anything less of the leader of the Organization XIII. Nice doing business with you...Master Xehanort." Giovanni evilly shook hands with the old man, Master Xehanort, leaving Viridi and company shocked. Viridi and Kirby were shocked to learn that Team Rocket was now officially working with the Organization, and Pit...not so much.

 **Pit: Wait, so let me get this straight...the Master Xehanort geezer in the arcade room...he's not an ice cream truck guy? Maybe to you he isn't, but I'm affirmative that the old guy is drives an ice cream truck around the city, that coat of his is a dead giveaway.**

"We have to do something, and quickly!" Viridi said to Pit and Kirby, stressing the mighty importance of telling someone about the newly formed Team Rocket-Organization XIII coalition. Some major trouble was looming ahead for the residents of the Smash Mansion...and everyone in Seattle and around the world.

"Yeah we should, we can't have Team Rocket commit evil deeds with an evil ice cream truck guy, who knows what tricks he has up his sleeve!" exclaimed Pit, loud enough for Giovanni, Master Xehanort, and those inside the room to hear. Viridi closed the door in the nick of time before the cover was blown.

"...Master Hand must be at the race, so we'll just have to tell someone trustworthy about the meeting so they can pass it on to Master Hand," whispered Viridi, at first angry with Pit but later forgiving him because he was her boyfriend.

* * *

Back to the race in the backyard, which was closely contested - a lot of lead changes, and a lot of blue shells going about. Right now Link was in the lead, and his lead would come to an end when Kefka passed by, firing some poison gas in the Hylian's eyes and making him drop to fifth place. Only a few spectators noticed this.

"Is it just me, or did Kefka just cheat?" questioned Wii Fit Trainer, seeing Kefka use the poison gas with her own clear eyes. "Don't think poison gas is an acceptable weapon in a _standard_ Mario Kart race!"

"Pfft, don't know why you're so concerned, I practically cheat in _Mario Kart_ races all the time without anyone knowing!" bragged Bowser, garnering the attention of spectators around him. "Yeah, so what if I cheat?! You punks all wish you could do the same thing!"

"Bowser, are you wearing a 'I always root for Mario' t-shirt?" Wii Fit analyzed the very shirt the koopa king was wearing, which came with the text and the head of Mario, smiling like a goober. Bowser looked down at the shirt, and feigned innocence.

"What shirt are you talking about, I don't wear shirts, I just wear my trusty green shell all day!" frowned Bowser as he took off his shell, before taking off the shirt in question, allowing nearby folks to see his gnarly back before putting the shell back on. "You must be seeing things, Wii Fit, might wanna go see a psychiatrist real quick!" Bowser would throw the Mario shirt at the racecourse, where it would land in the hands of Kefka, who then threw the shirt in the face of the male Inkling, who was behind the jester. The youngster would scream and panic as he lost control of his kart, before crashing into a wall. The female Inkling would pass by and see her fellow Inkling buddy, bruised and battered, and drove over to check on the male Inkling before parking her kart on the grass and getting out of the vehicle.

"Master Hand that STUPID Inkling has seemingly pulled HERSELF out of the race!" exclaimed Crazy Hand, visibly disgusted by the Inkling showing compassion for her best friend. Compassion was one of the many positive traits not seen in Crazy Hand's DNA. "Are we just going to let the race CONTINUE?"

"Might as well, a stoppage would keep people waiting," said Master Hand, left with no other choice to have. "The longer they wait, the more impatient they'll become, and the more likely they'll leave and ask for a refund!" As for Master Hand, generosity was a positive trait not found in his DNA.

 **Master Hand: Sure I boatloads of money from the crowd, but it's not enough - I will need more! More money to not only pay the car bills for my Lamborghini, but to upgrade my lovely car! Jacky can flaunt his "built-in video game system" all he wants, but I'll do one better...I'll install a flat-screen TV in my Lamborghini for the driver to watch! Everytime they look at the TV screen and not at the road, I'll zap 'em each time, and it's more than likely they'll look at the TV screen more than anything - which will mean more gutless torture for me! A win-win all around!**

* * *

"Thank you for the free lemonade Sonic, much appreciated buddy!" Itsuki thanked the hedgehog as he and Tsubasa took a sip from their lemonade, which they received from Tails. Sonic wanted the Star Records duo to pay for the lemonade, but Tails had completely forgone that.

"Don't mention it, it's my pleasure," replied Sonic, as he glared at Tails, who was smiling intently. No way would the yellow fox force Sonic to make his fellow residents pay for some lousy lemonade.

"Um, Sonic, I don't mean to dishearten you, but...I think you got some competition on your hands," Tsubasa said, pointing at something; Sonic would look at the direction the idol singer was pointing, and immediately feared for the worst...

There was another lemonade stand, set up in the hedgehog's vicinity! This lemonade stand was manned by Mega Man, who was accompanied by Ganondorf; the blue bomber sold some lemonade to a customer, making Sonic furious - how dare that robot sell lemonade before he did!

"Have a great day, take care!" Mega Man called out to the customer, walking away with a cup of lemonade in their hand. Mega Man would look to his right, and saw Sonic, seething in anger. "Hey Sonic, didn't see you there! You're selling lemonade too? That's great!"

 **Mega Man: The reason why I'm selling lemonade is to raise money to purchase Dr. Light a new computer - Knight Man accidentally broke the original computer with his Knight Crusher, so I'm buying Dr. Light a totally new device. Since Proto Man is off watching the race, Ganondorf will be my sidekick for today...**

"Just ignore him Mega Man, he's just trying to make a good impression on others," chuckled Ganondorf, remembering what Sonic did back in episode 69. "How can it be that a jerk like him be doing such great things in recent times? He's just trying to save face, that's all!"

"Let me at him, let me at him!" Sonic tried to run over to Ganondorf so he could throw hands with the demon lord, but Tails and Itsuki had to hold the hedgehog back. While they did so, Cilan approached Mega Man's lemonade stand, checking the stand out and all.

"Nice lemonade stand you got there, Mega Man!" commented the connoisseur, before taking out a five dollar bill from his wallet. "You mind if I purchase a cup of lemonade? I know I probably shouldn't, since we live in the same building together, but Master Hand still has us paying for snacks in the vending machine room..."

"No worries Cilan, it's all good, five dollars would be great for our funds," said Mega Man as he accepted Cilan's five bucks, and gave the connoisseur a tall glass of lemonade, as the fury and indignation inside of Sonic slowly built up. "Spread the word about our lemonade stand to the folks around the city, we'll need as many customers as we can get!"

"I'd be glad to promote your lemonade stand - business will be booming for you in no time!" Cilan gave Mega Man and Ganondorf a thumbs up as he walked away with his lemonade, ready to tell the citizens of Seattle about the lemonade stand. And that left Sonic ticked as ever.

"Told you we should have made Itsuki and Tsubasa pay for their drinks, now we're behind in funds," Sonic scolded Tails, before an interesting thought popped up in the hedgehog's head. "Ooh, I know, how about we have Shaymin promote our lemonade stand by flying around Seattle and telling people that we're selling lemonade in front of the Smash Mansion? What could possibly go wrong?"

"Sonic you ignorant buffoon, that promotion plan of yours won't work," stated Ganondorf, giving his two cents. "Everyone would be scared to death at the sight of a flying reindeer talking to them!" Dude had a fair point, a flying talking reindeer would be something out of the ordinary.

"Shut up Ganon, no one told you to be eavesdropping on my plans! How about you stick to selling your crappy lemonade, and leave us alone!" Looks like a lemonade competition was brewing...

* * *

Having been forced into a stand-up comedy gig by the man who mistook him for Richard Pryor, Doc Louis, Sazh was seated in the gaming room, going over some cue cards Cloud found for him in Lucina's room, all with jokes written on them. And yes, the cue cards were written by Lucina, so you should know how stupendously great the jokes were.

"'A clown opened the door for me the other day...and I thought it was a nice jester'?" Sazh read one of the cue cards out loud, baffled by how corny the joke was. "Cloud, my man, I can't use these jokes, it'll make my stand-up routine become an absolute cringefest!"

"The jokes worked for my friend Lucina, so it would work for you," was Cloud's response; the jokes only worked because Amy Rose pretty much paid off Lucina's crowd to laugh at the jokes back in episode 31...just to weaken Sephiroth. "Besides, what do you got to lose? If you bomb the comedy act, then Doc will no longer think you're Richard Pryor, and he'll leave you alone."

"Wait, so you're NOT Richard Pryor, the comedian?" Diddy Kong, who had walked by overhearing the conversation, gasped as he looked at Sazh with astonishment. "Doc Louis, of all people, lied to me?! This is unacceptable..." Diddy Kong angrily walked away, his day having been ruined.

 **Diddy Kong: As anyone else, I was super pumped to learn from Doc Louis that Richard Pryor had returned from the dead, looking like he did when he was younger, to deliver a stand-up comedy act of the ages at the Smash Mansion. But now I've learned that the chocolate Doc has been eating is rotting his brain, and unfortunately there's no stopping Doc's chocolate addiction anytime soon.**

"How's it coming along boys?" Aerith asked Cloud and Sazh as she and Serah approached the men. "Are you still going forth with the stand-up gig, Sazh? Doc Louis is madly promoting it around the mansion as we speak!"

"I don't know man, I would give it up, but Doc Louis is making it hard to do so..." frowned Sazh, looking down at the floor. This was not how he envisioned Smash Mansion visit to carry out. "But Cloud did say that if I bomb on purpose, then Doc will no longer think I'm Richard Pryor, and then he'll leave me alone for good! At the same time though, Doc would react negatively if I were to do that..."

"Ay, Richard Pryor, what up my man!" Doc Louis exclaimed as he entered the gaming room to greet Sazh, who wanted nothing from the boxing trainer. "Getting prepared for your awesome stand-up comedy routine, I assume? I told many people around the mansion about your routine, and they all said that they cannot wait to see you do your thing!" No doubt Doc Louis was bluffing just to make Sazh feel better. "Ready to give the crowd what they came for?"

"Can we just cancel the routine all together and let me be? Is that so hard to ask for?" Already Doc Louis was putting unwanted pressure on Sazh, and the boxing trainer _really_ wanted to see some greatness from Sazh.

"Look Richard, I know what you're thinking - you want to live life to the fullest after returning from the dead, you wanna relax and enjoy what these modern times have to offer, I get it! But you're Richard freaking Pryor, you'd love to make folks like myself laugh their butts off! I'm absolutely positive that your stand-up comedy act will be a rousing success, just you wait and see!" Doc Louis would give Sazh a comforting pat on his shoulder as he walked away, leaving the airship pilot to look down at the floor again.

"We could always pay off the audience to laugh at Sazh's jokes, if that will make Doc happy," suggested Serah; it worked for Lucina in the past, so why wouldn't it work for Sazh?

* * *

Discouraged by the lack of customers, Sonic did whatever means necessary to bring customers to his lemonade stand. And what better way than to have your best friend spit out some bars about lemonade to bring customers over?

"Having your friend rap for you isn't going to give you customers, Sonic," Ganondorf told the hedgehog as Mega Man made yet another transaction. Already there was an overwhelming crowd near the robot's lemonade stand, and it was overbearingly hard for the blue bomber to serve so many people.

"At least Sonic is slowly learning," Mega Man said to Ganondorf after selling a cup of lemonade to someone. He can buy that new computer for Dr. Light in no time. "Slowly, but surely...he'll get there soon."

 **Random Man: *holding lemonade in his hand* Of course I would be open to buying another cup of lemonade from Mega Man, his lemonade is absolutely slammin'! But would I get lemonade from Sonic the Hedgehog? *thinks for a second* Probably not, his rapping friend Knuckles is lowkey scaring me away from the lemonade stand. Not to mention that he had the audacity to call out my mom for no reason because I didn't buy any lemonade from Sonic! You don't talk about anyone's mom like that, unless they throw shades at your Jordans! Then it gets personal!**

"Yo, y'all trust those blokes at that stand selling lemonade?" Knuckles rapped, trying to bring Mega Man and Ganondorf down for the benefit of Sonic and Tails. "Mega Man looks like some silly cosplaying boy, and Ganondorf in his life will never get..." Before Knuckles could finish his rap, he was suddenly attacked by Ganondorf, who kicked the echidna to the ground. The crowd was turning up for no reason, with some individuals pointing and laughing at Knuckles as he writhed on the ground.

"Hey man, you can't just bully my mascot like that, he's supposed to be bringing me in good business!" Sonic frowned at Ganondorf; what "good business" was the hedgehog even talking about? Knuckles didn't even bring a single soul to his lemonade stand!

"Oh so he's not your best friend, he's just a 'mascot' to you now? You're just using your friendship with Knuckles expecting to get some money! Well that's now how business works, you can't just have someone rap about your lemonade stand while throwing jeers at your competition for no reason!"

"Ganondorf leave Knuckles alone, we got some more lemonade to sell," Mega Man said to the demon lord, who returned to his lemonade stand while engaged in a staredown with Sonic, doing the classic "I'm always watching you..." hand sign to the hedgehog. "Sonic may continue to remain a thorn in our back throughout most of the day, but that should give you no reason to attack one of his friends!"

* * *

Ema Skye was in the workshop, working tirelessly on a new invention of sorts. It was something the forensics investigator has been working on ever since she first arrived at the mansion, and she never had the time to really work on it until today.

"Hey Ema, watcha working on?" Kamui entered the workshop, seeing Ema busy at the desk. The invention was a lengthy ray gun, one with all sorts of miniature gadgets on it. "Working on a ray gun that can paralyze people like Marth?"

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that, it's far from it," assured Ema, sporting a smile on her face. "This is a ray gun I've been working on since I've been here, and it has much to do with the Heartless. Can't really go into detail about what it can do yet..."

"Is it a ray gun that can effectively defeat Heartless?" Kamui's question made Ema think about her response for a bit, and it suggested that maybe defeating Heartless wasn't the main function of the ray gun...maybe there was something more, something deeper than that.

"I wouldn't say it can outright _defeat_ Heartless - let's just say that it does something, and leave it at that. Don't want to give you and the others any spoilers, it would greatly ruin the surprise!"

 **Ema: We haven't had a Heartless threat ever since that dragon tried to attack the city four weeks ago, so yeah, it's been pretty peaceful in Seattle for the most part. Now that I mention it, I've hardly seen the Organization since then! Must be on a vacation...considering the fact they're "nobodies", does the Organization even go on vacations? Or are they just boring villains wearing black cloaks to make others feel intimidated? Well it's surely not working on me...**

"There you are Kamui, glad we found you," said Fox as he and Falco entered the workshop, quickly grabbing the attention of the Nohrian princess. "There's something seriously wrong with your twin brother."

"Tell me something I don't know..." remarked Kamui, wishing Corrin was normal like her. You'd think that twin siblings would be on the same page, both in terms of not only knowledge but behavior. "What is Corrin up to this time, I wonder?"

"He's been walking around in a Darth Vader costume and acting like Darth Vader himself," Falco explained like it was urgent that Kamui knew this information. "Betcha he's going about telling random people he's their 'father'..."

"Oh I see...knew I shouldn't have bought Corrin that costume at the _Star Wars_ convention." Now Kamui has to hold down an L for life with her twin brother, only she would have the gall to buy a Darth Vader costume for that simpleton Corrin.

"Why would you buy him something from there in the first place?" questioned Ema, recollecting the Sphero BB-8 toy robot Kamui bought for Corrin; nobody knows if Corrin ever uses that thing, or if Kamui still kept it somewhere. "As his sister, you should know what that boy is capable of."

"Yes, I know buying him the costume was a bad idea, but I just wanted him to be happy and all...and I have to admit, he does look good in black."

* * *

The lemonade stand competition (...or the lack thereof) between Sonic and Mega Man was at an all-time high, with dozens of people flanking Mega Man's lemonade stand, and literally nobody at Sonic's lemonade stand except for the blue hedgehog and Tails; Shaymin flew off to who-knows-where. Sonic, growing more and more desperate by the minute, was adamant on finding customers.

"Either you losers buy our lemonade, or I'll electrocute this koopa and his siblings to death!" threatened Sonic, situated near the Koopalings, who all had electrical wiring wrapped around at their ankles. This wiring was connected to a remote control Sonic was holding, which had a red button.

"You wouldn't dare to electrocute us, we all know you aren't capable enough!" Bowser Jr. jeered at Sonic; the koopa's father was busy watching the race, so using the Koopalings to attract customers was all good for Sonic.

"Oh yeah, well how about you watch me try, and then we'll see who's talking!" Two minutes passed, and still no one came to Sonic's lemonade stand. "What is WRONG with you people, you'd want to see these poor, young koopas electrocuted because of your disgusting sense of apathy?"

"Just give it up Sonic, none of your 'marketing and promotion' ploys are gonna work," Tails told the hedgehog, feeling bored with his chin resting on the palm of his hand. "At this point, we might as well throw in the towel, we're not gonna sell a single cup of lemonade today..."

 **Sonic: What could possibly be drawing people to Mega Man's lemonade stand, what is that robot's secret? Could it be charm? No, that can't be it, Ganondorf's ugliness negates any charm Mega Man has. Could it be friendliness? I mean, I'm not the friendliest guy out there, but compared to Ganondorf, I ain't that bad. Could it be because of the cheap prices? Both our lemonade were worth $5...until Ganondorf suggested to Mega Man that they lower the prices of their lemonade by half. *snaps fingers* Aha, that's it, Mega Man is only selling lemonade because of Ganondorf's presence! If I can replace Tails with a Gerudo that can intimidate folks, then I'll be selling lemonade and making dough in no time!**

"If it helps, you could sabotage Mega Man and Ganondorf by peeing in their lemonade," suggested Iggy, which got Sonic thinking. "That would really drive the costumers away and bring them over to your stand!"

"Good thinking Iggy, why haven't I thought of that?" said Sonic, putting his Gerudo idea to the side (for now). The hedgehog looked at his best friend Tails, who looked dismayed as heck. "Tails, would you be a dear and pee in Mega Man's lemonade? I promise not to give you noogies for an entire week if you do!"

"Sonic, I'm not going to sabotage Mega Man and Ganondorf, it would do us more harm than anything," stated Tails, angering Sonic. Shaymin returned to Sonic's lemonade stand from her little excursion; who knows where the gratitude Pokemon went off to.

"Shaymin can you pee in Mega Man's lemonade, since Tails wants to be a class-A jerk for whatever reason? Might even fire the guy, if that will do anything!" Tails wouldn't give a crap either way.

"Pee in Mega Man's lemonade?" Shaymin raised a curious eyebrow at Sonic. "Oh yeah, I just did that, when nobody was looking! Wanted to tinkle in one of the bushes, but there were some poison ivy, so..."

"Good girl, you're so many eons ahead of Tails, I could always count on you Shaymin!" Sonic would pet the gratitude Pokemon, leaving Tails to look away and facepalm. "Didn't even know Pokemon like yourself have urinary movements - you learn something new every day, don't ya." Sonic would watch as Ganondorf served Mega Man's now contaminated lemonade to a customer, who took a sip from the lemonade before grimacing.

"Ugh, this lemonade tastes like piss, with sugar added to it!" the customer frowned, shaking his head with disgust. "Still worth two dollars and fifty cents, though!" Sonic's jaw would drop to the ground as the customer happily walked away with his urine-filled cup of lemonade in his hand.

"Perhaps I should have defecated in the lemonade as well, that would've done the trick," remarked Shaymin, Sonic's mouth still very much agape in shock.

* * *

"How are you enjoying your tea Nowi, does it taste like pure bliss?" Captain Falcon asked the woman he was on a date with in the lounge, Nowi. The half-Manakete giggled, leaving Falcon confused whether or not his analogy stunk.

"Pure bliss just might be an understatement," smiled Nowi, leading Captain Falcon to smile as well. As you would believe, Robin was the one who set up the date, and yes, he had the Black Knight serve Captain Falcon and Nowi some tea. The mage was chilling in the back, monitoring the date.

 **Robin: Already worked with Dark Pit, Chrom, Wario, and Ganondorf with their dates over the past week, and they were all a rousing success! Today I'll be working with Captain Falcon and his girlfriend Nowi, and I still can't believe that...  
Black Knight: *running up to Robin* Hey Robin, wouldn't it be funny if we put poison in Nowi's tea, and placed the blame squarely on Captain Falcon? Oh man, that would be rich, I can see Captain Falcon be all like "No babe, it wasn't me!", and then Nowi splashes her tea all over the guy, and then storms out of the room in anger! Would that count as wishful thinking?  
Robin: Yes, and that would also count as the end of my romantic expert ways...don't screw anything up, Black Knight.**

"Robin we have a dire emergency on our hands!" exclaimed Viridi, as she, Pit, and Kirby ran inside the lounge, the only room where they knew they would find the tactician. "Organization XIII is up to no good again!"

"The Organization has returned to Seattle again?" questioned Robin, putting the date on hold. Captain Falcon and Nowi both looked up, equally concerned. "What are they up to this time?"

"They're plotting to take over Seattle and then the rest of the world with Team Rocket and a old ice cream truck guy!" explained Pit, leaving Robin and company half confused - they were shocked to learn that Team Rocket and the Organization were actually working together, but were strongly caught off-guard about the ice cream truck guy assertion from Pit.

"...what Pit is trying to say is, the 'ice cream truck guy', a.k.a. the leader of the Organization, Master Xehanort, had a meeting with Giovanni, and both men agreed to embark on an invasion of Seattle," clarified Kirby, as Robin and company were no longer confused. "Once they're finished with Seattle, they'll aim for global dominance and take over the rest of the world...with Heartless!"

"Yeah, that's right, the ice cream truck guy and the leader of the Organization struck a deal with Giovanni earlier today!" This statement left Pit depressingly confused. "Wait, so where did the Organization leader come from? I didn't even see him!"

"Notifying Master Hand or Isabelle would be the best way to address the situation, but I'm afraid they're both at the race outside, which I assume isn't finished yet," said Robin as he stroked his chin, thinking of a suitable plan until a good one generated in his hand. "I know, why don't we put an important note on Master Hand's bed explaining the situation? We could call Isabelle, but that girl seldom answers her phone..."

* * *

The greatly one-sided lemonade stand competition between Sonic and Mega Man was drawing to a close, as Ganondorf sold the last bit of lemonade to the very last customer, making up over a thousand dollars in lemonade sales. Sonic and Tails, on the other hand, did not sell a single drop of their lemonade, and it made Sonic very discouraged to not have one customer at his stand.

"Thank you for your service, have a nice day!" Ganondorf called out to the customer, as Mega Man tallied up the money accumulated. With the money he got today, the robot could spend the cash on things other than Dr. Light's computer. "How did we do, Mega Man, what's our final total?"

"We have...let's see, carry the one...up to $1,500 total from selling lemonade!" exclaimed Mega Man, much to the chagrin of a bitter Sonic. "Now I can buy that new computer for Dr. Light, and maybe a bunch of stuff I can use for myself! Thanks for helping me out Ganondorf, really do appreciate it!"

"Don't mention it...though it would be worthwhile if you share some of the money with me once you buy that new computer." Knowing Mega Man's generosity, the robot would be more than willing to share money with the demon lord.

 **Ganondorf: What do I plan to do with the money Mega Man will share with me? Easy - purchase Rosalina an expensive gift she will enjoy! But I can't be too cliche with the gift - so beauty products are terribly out of the question. Fancy dresses are out of the question too, I'm sure Rosalina can find herself some lovely attire at a clothing store somewhere. That would leave me with...nothing, for the most part. Why must women always make it infuriatingly hard to find them the perfect gift?**

"What's good, my cool kats, how are y'all doing today?" K.K. Slider asked Mega Man and company as he was wheeling a drum set to the mansion. It was a drum set the hippie dog kept in the mansion's shed, and he would only use the set for special occasions.

"Hey K.K. Slider, what's with the drum set, are you having a performance this evening?" Tails asked the hippie dog, as Sonic angrily poured his lemonade all over the grass in defeat and frustration.

"Wouldn't exactly call it a performance...but I'll tell you the story. A friend Aerith met online, Sazh Katzroy, paid a visit to the mansion with a girl named Serah Farron, and upon first glance, Doc Louis assumed that Sazh was Richard Pryor, reincarnated and in the flesh! And now Doc wants Sazh to do a stand-up comedy routine, and I'll be drumming away at the drums, to make Sazh feel somewhat better about performing. Apparently Doc Louis went about telling people about 'Richard Pryor' coming back to life, and expects people to be in attendance for Sazh...they'll probably show up just to make Doc feel content. Aerith was the one who put me up to the whole drumming thing, by the way."

"Given the predicament Sazh found himself in, we could just show up and laugh at each one of his jokes to make him feel more comfortable." The laughing would have to be very geniuine, too. "Where exactly is the comedy routine going to take place at, K.K.?"

"At the gaming room; Doc Louis wanted to start our 'Richard Pryor' fellow Sazh off small. I'm expecting a medium-sized crowd to show up, depending on how intrigued people are."

* * *

While the race in the backyard continued, presumably lasting as long as a standard NASCAR race, the male Inkling was accompanied by the female Inkling, being inspected by nurse assistant Leia in an infirmary tent. Leia didn't expect to be tending to anyone who suffered injuries during the race, but here she was now.

"Is he going to be okay Leia?" the female Inkling asked the nurse, as the race outside continued. Mario was currently in the lead, on the last lap, with the evil jester Kefka hot on his tail.

"Your Inkling buddy will be just fine - thankfully his injury wasn't the same magnitude as Dale Earnhardt, Sr," replied Leia, checking the male Inkling's vitals and all. Had the male Inkling's injury been more serious, there would have been a small likelihood he would survive.

Now back to the race; Mario and Kefka were now fighting for first place, the plumber and the jester closely contested with one another. After taking out Villager with a red shell, Link would join the fray, and now he, Mario, and Kefka were fighting for first place. The finish line was in the sight of the three racers, and Toad, standing near the finish line, was ready to wave the checkered flag. Kefka laughed a devious laugh, and he pushed the pedal to the metal and zipped past Mario as he crossed the finish line, Toad waving the checkered flag...

...as the jester only finished in second place. But if Kefka only passed Mario, then that would mean...

"Well put me in a fancy housecoat and call me Hugh Hefner - Link actually won the race!" announced Master Hand, as he and Crazy Hand were left astonished. "That Hylian actually won something of utmost significance, pigs must be flying!" The crowd was cheering for Link, who was pumping his fist in a victory lap, but Zelda was cheering the loudest for her man.

 **Zelda: To think that Link, who was moping and whining about his truck, went from melancholy to gleeful after winning a highly competitive race with his friends...and two others... *smiles* ...it just puts a smile on my face thinking about it. I think that Link has officially gained back the respect he craved from his contemporaries...although that respect will go away when they remember that I'm older than Link. What's the big deal about that, I wonder?**

"Not FAIR, Kefka was SUPPOSED to win, not that LOSER Link!" complained Crazy Hand, as Link skidded to a halt at the finish line, waving the checkered flag with Lakitu raining confetti on him and Toad pouring beer all over the Hylian, befitting of any NASCAR champion. "I bet Link cheated throughout the entire race, when not a single person was looking!"

"Man, talking about the pot calling the kettle black..." groaned Master Hand, having witnessed Kefka's cheating full-hand but decided against doing anything because he knew it would stop the race - and Master Hand made it clear he wouldn't stop the race for any reason. "Just be glad that your man Kefka got second place, and my woman Reiko...got seventh place. She must not be that great of a driver, no way would my precious Lamborghini finish seventh in a race! If only I got to see more of the Inklings...they were the reason why I wanted to do a race."

"Nice race, buddy, you really surprised me and a whole bunch of others," Kefka commended Link, who was now holding a trophy given to him by Lakitu. Accompanied by Kefka was Mario and the other racers, wanting to give Link some props.

"I agree, you were perhaps-a the best racer out-a there!" stated Mario; how do we know he wasn't just saying that to make Link happy? "You were in the thick-a of things throughout the entire race!"

"Now we have to hear from Crazy Hand the rest of the day about Kefka not winning," grinned Reiko, who couldn't care less if she won or lost.

Zelda, running down from the stands past the spectators that were leaving, ran up to Link, and surprised him with a hug and a kiss. Letting the two Hylians have their moment, Kefka walked away, and would stop in his tracks...when he saw the female Inkling wheel the male Inkling out of the infirmary on a wheelchair. Kefka had messed with the Inklings earlier today...and judging by the evil smirk on his face, he was about to commit another devious deed against the youngsters.

* * *

Once the festivities at the race were over, Master Hand happily returned to his room, leaving poor Isabelle and Toad to clean everything up. The giant hand would find Pit and Robin in his room, with Robin placing a letter on his practically unused bed.

"Pit, Robin, what are you bums doing in my room without my permission, and what's that letter for?" Master Hand questioned the angel and the mage. "Is that a romantic love letter you wrote for me that I can give to any woman I fall in love with? Well, aren't you the generous duo!"

"No Master Hand, it's nothing like a love letter - it's something more serious," explained Robin, grabbing Master Hand's attention right from the get-go. "Pit, Viridi, and Kirby saw a meeting between the leaders of Team Rocket and Organization XIII in a room adjacent to the arcade room, and both factions agreed upon a Heartless invasion of this city."

"And there was also an evil ice cream truck guy at the meeting too!" added Pit; poor fella will never let this false factoid go.

"Team Rocket and the Organization of all groups working together?! Not on my watch! Pit, Robin, tell Lucario to bring his scrawny behind to this room, I have some important matters to discuss with him..." Pit and Kirby looked at one another, confused as to why Master Hand would need Lucario for. "Enough of your confused looks, just do as I say!"

* * *

 **Serah: It's now time...time for Sazh to do his best Richard Pryor impersonation and hope for the best. We had to move the comedy shtick from the gaming room to the lecture hall, since apparently Doc Louis ran outside to the mansion's racecourse, where they had a huge race, and told the crowd who was leaving that Richard Pryor was back from the dead, to give a "legendary" performance for the ages in the mansion...and now it seems like the lecture hall is nearly packed. With all that in mind...why don't we have a moment of silence for whatever dignity Sazh will have left?**

Aerith looked through the curtains of the lecture hall, and saw the crowds at the racecourse, all filing inside the lecture hall and taking their seats. The residents were also taking their seats, wanting to see if Doc Louis's claims about Richard Pryor being back from the dead were true or not (and they weren't).

"A very big crowd this evening - Doc Louis truly outdid himself!" Aerith went over to tell Sazh, who was seated in a chair with his face buried in his hands. Cloud and Serah were standing near the airship pilot, but their presence wasn't able to take away Sazh's doom and gloom. Another person who was feeling doom and gloom was Sonic, who was forced by Tails to attend the the comedy act with an aching Knuckles, if it meant turning the hedgehog's frown upside down.

"Hey you guys, got here as soon as I could!" said Amy as she took a seat next to Sonic and friends; Tails believed that Amy would be enough to make Sonic feel content, but nothing was happening yet. "Sonic, what's the matter, why do you look so glum?"

"I tried to sell some lemonade with Tails and Shaymin and not a single person offered to buy a single glass..." Sonic explained, heaving a heavy sigh. "To make matters worse, Mega Man and Ganondorf were also selling lemonade, and they raised far more money than anyone would have ever imagined!"

"Oh is that so, huh..." Amy was now looking down at the floor, like she had something to say...and now was the time to say it. "Sonic, I think I know why nobody came to your lemonade stand...it's because...it's because I told the citizens of Seattle to go to Mega Man's lemonade stand instead!" As Amy expected, Sonic looked at her with a shocked facial expression.

"Amy why would you do that for, you trying to force a breakup between us or something?! I wanted to raise money so I could buy a Nintendo Switch, and I wasn't gonna buy it for myself - I was gonna buy for everyone, for everyone to play with!"

"Well that's the thing...I already bought a Nintendo Switch for the Smash Mansion." Now Sonic looked at Amy with a surprised facial expression. "When you told Tails that you were going to sell lemonade to raise money for the Switch, Tails then told me, and then I told him about the Switch and all, and I told him I would deter people away from your lemonade stand, so you wouldn't be able to raise money to purchase something I already bought...I already hooked up the Switch in the living room for you guys to play, by the way."

"That's very nice of you Amy...aside from the keeping people away from my lemonade stand part. Guess I owe you a thank you!" Sonic looked at Tails, who smiled while giving a thumbs up; Mega Man, who wasn't so far from the _Sonic_ crew, looked at Sonic, and also gave a thumbs up.

 **Sazh: Can't keep the crowd waiting, time to go onstage...whatever happens onstage stays onstage, and if this goes down as the most humiliating experience of my life...then so be it. Good thing my son Dajh won't be here to see my embarrassment.**

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, people of all ages..." Yashiro spoke into a microphone, dressed in a sparkling suit and standing on the lecture hall stage ready to call upon the attraction of the night. "Put your hands together for...the great Richard Pryor!" The crowd was cheering and applauding initially...and the cheers and applause would die down as Sazh walked onstage, waving to a crowd that was expecting Richard Pryor...it was in this very moment that the audience learned that Doc Louis was a delusional fool.

"City of Seattle, what's poppin'!" Sazh greeted the now dead silent crowd, glad they didn't have to pay any money. "How y'all feelin'? Feelin' alright?" Understandably, nobody bothered to answer the question...unless you were Lloyd Irving.

"Yeah, Richard Pryor in the house, let's go!" the naive swordsman cheered, whistling loudly for Sazh while others seated around him just looked at the guy like he was crazier than Doc Louis. Speaking of whom, Doc was seated next to Little Mac, wondering why Lloyd was the only person cheering.

"My guy right there, that's my guy!" Sazh pointed at Lloyd, who was clapping as he sat back in his seat. Earlier today Lloyd was convinced that Sazh was a wizard, and now he thinks the guy is Richard Pryor, like Doc Louis? "Boy let me tell y'all folks - you got no idea what it's like to be alive again! When I came back to life, one of the first things I did was go fishing with Skrillex - everyone knows him, right?" Nothing but dead silence. "Shame that our fishing trip didn't go so well...because that man Skrillex kept dropping the bass!" After this joke was uttered, K.K. Slider performed a "ba-dum-tiss" on his drum set...and got no reaction from the crowd. The hippie dog was now understanding the humiliation Sazh was going through...

Suddenly the lights went out, and everyone was panicking, what with screaming, some flailing, and some individuals wetting themselves...with Lloyd being one of them. The lights would turn back on...but now standing on stage was Kefka, and he had the male and female Inklings hanging from the upper stage by a rope tied to their ankles.

"Isn't that the jester fellow from the race?" asked Rosalina, afraid just like everyone else. "Shouldn't Crazy Hand have taken Kefka back to where he was?" Crazy Hand was probably back at his place, moping and whining that Kefka didn't win the race.

"Greetings everyone, Kefka Palazzo's the name - but I bet some of you knew that already!" Kefka introduced himself to a mostly nervous crowd. "Tonight, we have two Inklings, one male and the other female...and you folks get to decide which one shall lose their life!" Only a sociopath like the Joker would think of something like this. "So who's it gonna be?"

"The one with the blue hair!" Fox called out, garnering glares from folks around him. "What, this is arguably more entertaining than that crappy excuse of a stand-up comedy act! Don't you think so, Falco?" Before Falco could answer, a certain individual would walk onstage to join Kefka and Sazh, dressed in all black...Corrin, in his Darth Vader costume.

 **Corrin: *breathing heavily* Emperor Palpatine will no doubt be proud of the work I've done around the Smash Mansion...he shall be indebted to me forever and ever...the rest of Seattle shall be next, and one day, everyone around the world, and across the galaxy, shall recognize...  
Samus: CORRIN, FOR THE LAST TIME, THE TOASTER IS NOT USED AS A HEATING PAD, NOW PUT THE TOASTER BACK WHERE IT BELONGS!  
Corrin: ...excuse me while I handle...some important business to attend to.**

"Kefka Palazzo...Richard Pryor...I am your father..." Corrin would point at both men, leading some in the audience to laugh at the prince of Nohr. Both Kefka and Sazh were left deliberately confused.

"Why didn't we stop this guy when we had a chance..." Fox, now feeling for Corrin, pinched the bridge of his nose, wishing for the prince to get off the stage. But he might be staying onstage for a little bit longer...

"C'mon you two, why you gotta ruin Richard Pryor's moment?!" Doc Louis angrily got up, calling out Kefka and Corrin. "The man is doing his first comedy gig since returning from the dead, and this is how you treat him?"

"You idiotic fool, this isn't Richard Pryor...this man is Sazh Katzroy, a famed airship pilot!" Kefka had to explain to Doc Louis, who was now feeling foolish as he sat back down in his seat and remained silent. "Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted..." Kefka dug into his pants, and pulled out a long sword, licking the very blade. "How about we get to business and eradicate one of the Inklings, shall we...wait, what are you doing?!"

Kefka would ask this question to Corrin, who took the sword out of the jester's hands...with just the clenching of his fist. Somehow, someway, Corrin was using the power of the Force to take the sword away from Kefka, even though it didn't work for him first time around.

"Please, good sir, give me back my sword, I promise you I'll make my act short, sweet, and to the point..." Kefka practically begged to Corrin, who was walking towards the jester with his sword. "You don't have to use that sword, you know, you can always give it back, hehe..." Corrin took one step closer, and Kefka couldn't take it. "You know what, forget about it, you can keep that sword for all I care, doesn't even belong to me! I'll just do this act another time, and you'll all enjoy it!" Strangely admitting defeat, Kefka ran offstage, and out of the lecture hall. Corrin, seeing the crowd before him, would perform a bow, greeted by the applause and cheers of those in the lecture hall.

"About time the Force mechanism Zero installed in my Darth Vader costume worked..." Corrin said to himself, as he would use this so-called Force mechanism to lower the ropes the Inklings were tied to down to the stage, untying them both with Sazh's help. "Are you two Inklings okay?"

"Yeah we're both fine, thankfully neither of us died or anything," replied the female Inkling, smiling at the male Inkling, who smiled right back. "Don't know what I would do if something were to happen to my Inkling buddy..." Maybe that's why Kefka took such a strange interest in the Inklings, because of their friendship and how tight they were? The world may never know...

Now fully convinced that Richard Pryor truly didn't return from the dead, everyone left the lecture hall, to enjoy themselves for the rest of the night. Doc Louis, however stayed behind, and walked onstage to ask Sazh, who was speaking with Cloud, one important question...

"Are you positive that you aren't Richard Pryor?" the boxing trainer asked the airship pilot, making Sazh grin in delight. Some folks will never accept the truth...

* * *

Lucario would (finally) show up at Master Hand's room, holding an item we won't discuss until later, and would find the giant hand looking rather agitated and impatient. Master Hand was under the belief that Pit and Robin were unable to complete such an easy task.

"Sorry for showing up so late, Doc Louis said that Richard Pryor had came back from the dead and I wanted to see if it was true or not," apologized Lucario, somewhat thankful that Kefka cut into Sazh's cringeworthy performance. "So what do you want me for?"

"Pit and Robin have brought to my attention that the Organization XIII is teaming up with Team Rocket to start a Heartless invasion in this very city," explained Master Hand, explaining clearly so Lucario could get the full details. "It seems like the items Isabelle and I have been giving to you has led up to this very moment...do you have the army general sash with you?"

"You mean this thing right here?" Lucario held up the item he brought with him - an army sash. "I've seen pictures of army generals wear these around their..." Lucario suddenly remembered all the items Master Hand and Isabelle had given him in the past. "Does this mean that...?

"In light of a possible Heartless attack, I had Isabelle assemble an army of Pokemon that would counter the threat, and I also had her set up the Empty Room to find a possible general of the army...and you happened to win the distinction that day. And with that..."

"Hurry up man, I got stuff to do...don't leave me hanging, just tell me what I earned from surviving that stupid Empty Room crap."

"...Lucario, I officially declare you, General of the Pokemon Army!"


	72. Episode 72: Conquerors

_Author's Note:_

 _Before I begin, just want to share some good news with you all...I FINALLY GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE!_

 _...a two-year college, that is. Earned an Associate in Science degree. So yeah, I'm pretty happy. And stoked. And a lot of other things. This is just the halfway point in my collegiate career, as I'm hoping to transfer to a four-year institution (University of South Carolina - go Gamecocks! And yes, that's an actual team name, in case you didn't know...) this year and get my bachelor's degree there._

 _Writing this story has kept my head up during the first two years of college, and reading your feedback just puts a smile on my face. During my two years, I saw new faces, and made new friends...and started this wonderful story called Smash Life, where I had the opportunity to meet folks like you. While I've been keeping up with my GPA (which is a 3.3, I believe), I've been keeping up with this story, and to this day, I'm surprised I haven't had a writer's block yet - but you people and your requests prevent that from ever happening._

 _Since I still feel pretty elated about graduating (to this day, I'm still playing "Graduate" by Third Eye Blind to celebrate the occasion), I won't be answering any reviews this week, but I promise you I'll answer them in the next author's note. However, I will answer this one review, from Roydigs22:_

 _"...I just want to say that sometimes the new smash life chapter can be the highlight of my week. Never stop writing. Please."_

 _Writing this story has been the highlight of my last three semesters in college, and seeing people reading this story and reviewing it and all that good stuff has made it all worthwhile. So I give you folks one thing you must do, to keep Smash Life ongoing...never stop reading and reviewing._

 _Please._

* * *

 **Episode 72:** **Conquerors**

As you have learned in the previous episode, Lucario was appointed by Master Hand to be the general of the Pokemon Army. The aura Pokemon won this distinction by "surviving" the Empty Room in episode 58, and leading up to his appointment, the Pokemon had been receiving "gifts" from Master Hand and Isabelle that seemingly foreshadowed the fact that he would be Pokemon Army general.

In spite of all of this, however, there was one particular Pokemon that had felt some time of way about Lucario's title, and this Pokemon was a legendary Pokemon, one known by a very popular name among the _Pokemon_ community...Mewtwo. The psychic Pokemon felt almost disrespected that Master Hand would give Lucario a title in the Pokemon Army over him, and he's been feeling bitter about it all week.

No longer wishing to allow his bitter saltiness get the best of him, Mewtwo headed over to Master Hand's room so could give the giant hand a piece of his mind. But when he arrived, he saw that Master Hand was busy - turns out that Master Hand was adding two more non-brawler individuals to the mansion. Sitting at a table across from Mario and Isabelle was a couple, consisting of a young green-haired man adorned in blue knight's armor, and a young red-haired woman wearing a lovely white dress. From the get-go, Mewtwo sensed that the couple was in fact a married couple...even though they looked a little too young to be wedded.

"Before we can offically sign any paperwork, I must ask you this...are you two sure about leaving your home continent of Valentia?" Master Hand asked the couple, just to be on the safe side. The giant hand wouldn't mind ruling over Valentia with an iron fist.

"Eh, they're apparently renaming Valentia Valm, as a homage to myself, so the leaders there can do whatever they want," replied the young man, named Alm. "Not necessarily a huge fan of the new leadership there."

"Yes, Alm and I, we used to have control over Valentia...until some things happened along the way and now there's a new ruler in place," added the young woman, named Celica, whose face was so pretty, Master Hand even found distracting (but in a somewhat good way). "So we wish to move to the Smash Mansion, to not only continue our marriage, but to distance ourselves from some of the newer folks in rule at Valentia...erm, Valm."

 **Mario: Alm and Celicia have-a been frequenting the mansion over the course-a of the week - they've been-a considering living at the Smash-a Mansion in wake of all that's-a been happening in their home-a** **continent, and they've been staying at a hotel down-a town until we could-a negotiate a deal-a with them to live at the mansion. Of course, we don't-a do this with new folks-a living at the mansion, but Alm and Celicia used-a to be king and-a queen, which means that Master Hand-a has been trying to pry into their...financial matters...**

"Alright then, it's a done-a deal!" announced Mario, gladly shaking hands with Alm and Celicia. "You two are both-a officially residents of the Smash-a Mansion!" No more having to deal with crappy Seattle hotel room service for the Valentian couple.

"Allow me to show you where you'll be staying - Mr. Game and Watch, our housekeeper, has been preparing your room extensively in preparation for your move-in!" Isabelle said to Alm and Celicia as she led the couple out of Master Hand's room. Mewtwo waited for the shih tzu and the couple to depart (he would introduce himself to Alm and Celicia, but he already took care of that when the couple made their visits to the mansion), once they were gone, it was time for him to make his move.

"Master Hand, you mind if I speak with you for a quick second?" the psychic Pokemon asked the giant hand, while Mario placed the table back where it was...too bad he didn't even know where the table came from. "It's about the Pokemon Army..."

"How on earth did you know about the Pokemon Army, I thought I told that dumb woman Isabelle to keep it a secret from the..." Master Hand snapped on Mewtwo, before remembering that Mewtwo was a psychic Pokemon and that he knew everything that was going on. "...oh, you must have eavesdropped on my conversation with Lucario in your mind from afar, sorry for my aggressiveness. So what's this about the Pokemon Army?"

"Well I was thinking that, since you gave Lucario a title in the Pokemon Army, maybe perhaps you could give me a title as well." Master Hand mused over this offer; giving Mewtwo a Pokemon Army title would make a ton of sense in most aspects, but would it be totally worth it?

"Hmm, I'll give it some thought over the course of the day. I could really use a lieutenant in the Pokemon Army, one that could work alongside with Lucario and serve as a second-in-command. That would be really useful."

"Yes, yes, name me the lieutenant of the Pokemon Army, that's the perfect job for...me?" Mewtwo watched depressingly as Master Hand floated away, leaving the psychic Pokemon in the dust. This made Mewtwo very angry, and you wouldn't want to see this Pokemon in an angry mood.

"Don't-a worry Mewtwo, Master Hand will give-a you a lieutenant title soon, just gotta give him-a time!" Mario, still looking for a place to put the table at, tried to cheer up Mewtwo, only to receive a Shadow Ball courtesy from the psychic Pokemon, a Shadow Ball enough to send Mario flying towards a wall and break the table in the process. That Shadow Ball really helped with Mario complete his task...sorta.

"I don't need the lieutenant title soon, I need it NOW! What could Master Hand possibly be giving thought about, what Pokemon in this mansion would be a great candidate for the lieutenant job?!" Gallade comes to mind, he would be a great candidate for the job. "If I want Master Hand to give me the role of Pokemon Army lieutenant, then I must do something to gain his trust, something that would instill faith in him that I can get the job done...and _you're_ going to help me!" Mewtwo furiously pointed at Mario, his aching back against the wall.

"Mama mia..." the lumber moaned as he slowly slid off the wall, before falling to the floor. He could really use a chiropractor right about now.

* * *

 **Alm: Don't get me wrong, Celica and I would have _loved_ to spend our married lives in Valentia...or should I say, _Valm..._ but we're not a huge fan of the direction the kingdom is taking, and so we're moving on to bigger and better pastures - the Smash Mansion, where we'll live with the residents, and get to know them, and make some new friends!  
** **Celica: Granted we're not "brawlers", but you don't have to be a brawler in order to enjoy life at the mansion. We shall make great use of the opportunity we have, and get to know the others well!  
Alm: Hey Celicia, I saw that they sell tofu in one of the vending machines in the vending room...wanna go check it out later?  
Celica: *smiles as she gazes into Alm's eyes* You completely had me at "tofu"...**

After Alm and Celica were guided to their room by Isabelle and got all their stuff arranged (they didn't have much belongings to bring with them), the couple headed down to the gaming room, to spend some quality time together and form new bonds with the mansion residents. Once Celica stepped foot inside the gaming room...

"Yoo hoo, Celica, over here!" Zelda called out to the queen (yes, Celica's a queen), seated next to Aerith, Rosalina, and Kiria, engaged in some girl talk. Zelda and Celica bonded a lot during Celica's visits to the mansion. "We have a seat reserved just for you!"

"Looks like you're on your own, Alm," Celica smiled at the king (and yes, Alm's a king) as she went to go join Zelda and company. Alm now had his hands on his hips, looking for something to do, when his eyes fell upon Link and Ganondorf, two bitter rivals going at it in a game of table football. Itsuki was standing near the two, noodling around on his cellphone, and Alm, wanting to spark a conversation with Itsuki, quickly headed over to the Star Records manager. Itsuki would look up, and see Alm coming towards him.

"Don't think we've ever met before, though I did see you and your hanging around - Itsuki Aoi's the name," Itsuku would introduce himself to Alm, shaking hands with the king. "I take it that you're name is...Alan?" Alm just glared at Itsuki, in pure disbelief that he would botch his name.

"The name is Alm..." the king blankly replied, his glare intact for a few more seconds before going away. "...but it's nice to meet you. Really enjoy your fashion sense, that jacket really suits you well. I don't know much yet about American fashion, so you can just take that with a grain of salt..."

"To be fair, this attire I'm wearing technically isn't American fashion...but hey, I'll take whatever I can get." Suddenly out of nowhere, Link would scream in typical Link fashion, as he scored a goal in Ganondorf's net to secure victory over the demon lord, now ticked that he was defeated by his arch-nemesis.

"In your face Ganondorf, I beat you at your own game, fair and square!" Link taunted in the face of a rather salty Ganondorf, disgusted with his loss. "Now you know what the deal is...gimme back my wallet!" Link was playing in a game of table football to win his wallet back? Apparently it seemed like it, as Ganondorf grudgingly reached into his pocket and pulled out Link's wallet, handing it back to the Hylian.

"You may have won this time, Link...but the next time, I'm coming for your Master Hand, and there's no way you can win it back!" vowed Ganondorf as he angrily walked away in defeat. He then looked towards Rosalina, who was deep in conversation with her lady friends, motioning the mother of Lumas to come to him. Ganondorf would look inquisitively at Ganondorf, and then at Rosalina as she made her way to the demon lord, and stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"I do believe that the Ganondorf is a villain of sorts, is that correct?" Alm asked Itsuki; he would ask about Ganon's ethnicity, if he wasn't so unsure if Ganondorf was even a human species.

"Correctamundo - he's been a huge thorn in the side of Link, Zelda, and pretty much everyone living in Hyrule," explained Itsuki, as Rosalina followed Ganondorf to a far corner of the gaming room, making Itsuki raise an eyebrow. "Though he does tend to show a softer side, which is what I believe he's doing with Rosalina right now..."

"Itsuki, did you see my radical win over Ganondorf in table soccer, wasn't I great?!" Link asked Itsuki, shaking him like a maniac out of sheer glee. He then saw Alm, and gave him a bro hug for no reason other than excitement. "I've been on a tear as of late, and what a tear it has been!"

 **Link: Ever since I won that race last week, I've been going ham in every single competition I've been in ever since! *starts counting with his fingers* Buried R.O.B. in a game of Scrabble, beat Ike in an arm wrestling battle, and even smoked Knuckles in an air guitar contest! The list goes on and on, and it might go on forever! *smiles confidently* ...So what's this about Pit and his friends supposedly dismantling my truck?**

"Nice seeing you being exuberant for once Link, not sure if we should feel concerned about your well-being..." remarked Itsuki, as Alm broke away from Link's bro hug turned bear hug. Alm continued to watch Ganondorf, watching the demon lord mingle with Rosalina and private, and couldn't help but wonder if Rosalina was evil by association with Ganondorf.

"Excuse me for a moment, I will be right back..." said Alm as he headed over to where Celica was, enjoying a great conversation with her lady friends. "Celica, may I speak with you for a quick minute? It won't be long, I promise you."

"I'll be right back, ladies," Celica would say to Zelda and company as she followed Alm to a far corner of the gaming room. "What is it, Alm, what's with the frown? Did someone tick you off or something? Wouldn't exactly be a great first impression if you ask me..."

"No Celica, nobody ticked me off...but I'm afraid that we have a evil king and queen running rampant in this mansion. Those fiends over there..." Alm pointed at Ganondorf and Rosalina, still hanging out with one another, and at the sight of Rosalina...Celica burst into laughter, concerning Celica.

"Rosalina, an evil queen? Just because she's best friends with Ganondorf doesn't mean that she's evil." Little did Celica know that Rosalina and Ganondorf were a lowkey item, although Master Hand would prevent the relationship from being anything but lowkey. "Ever heard of the phrase, 'opposites attract'? Already you're making random generalizations about the folks we'll be living with..."

"Rosalina is very much an evil queen, you'll see Celica..." So wearing a crown and an elegant dress and being with Ganondorf makes you evil? Maybe to Alm it does...

* * *

For what seemed like an eternity to him, the mighty King Koopa Bowser hasn't planned an elaborate prank on his fellow residents. It wasn't so much that he was refrained from pranking by Mario and Master Hand...it was just that he didn't have any great prank ideas to execute...until today.

Today's prank was a classic door prank - a prank where one steps inside a room through a door, only for something contained inside a bucket to fall on their head. Bowser asked one of King Dedede's Waddle Dees to fill a bucket with any item of his choosing, and placed said bucket of contents on the door to the vending room. The Koopa King would be inside the vending room, with Akuma and Fiora inside. Both the fighter and the Homs would have left already, but they had to remain in the room because of Bowser's prank.

"Just wanna let you know beforehand Bowser, you're gonna regret doing this prank!" Akuma warned the Koopa King, who was too busy laughing and rubbing his hands together, thinking of how legit his prank would be if executed correctly. "What if you prank the wrong person, and they become spiteful towards you forever?"

"That's the whole point of the prank, you bozo, to make them feel some type of way, that's what pranks are for!" Bowser snapped on Akuma, before promptly returning to rubbing his hands and smiling. "No matter who gets pranked, I'll always have the last laugh, while the victim's dignity reaches an all-time low!"

 **Bowser: I haven't pranked in what seems like a ridiculously long time, so if I'm going back to pranking, then I have to start off small, and work my way back up. That's exactly how life works: you start off small, as a baby, and then you work your way up until you can reach your peak. It's like an American Dream that can apply to anyone who's willing to put in the work! But me, I don't do work - work is for loser bums who wish to enslave themselves to the demands of society, so they can get the things they want in life! I already got the things I want, so work ain't even in my DNA! ENJOY YOUR CRAPPY JOBS, YOU STINKING LOSERS!**

"To be fair, Bowser _is_ one of the more disliked individuals in the mansion, so executing this prank properly honestly won't do much to hurt his reputation," Fiora stated to Akuma, recollecting the multiple times she and her boyfriend Shulk have been victimized at the hands of Bowser. Seemed like everyone in the mansion had been victimized by Bowser at this point, save for some of the newer additions to the establishment.

"How dare you say false facts about me, I'm the most beloved person there is!" frowned Bowser; no way he even believes that fallacy. "Heck, the high school students I paid their college tuition for love me! Peach loves me, that much I'm certain! And I bet there's so people who love me secretly, and are too afraid to tell me how truly awesome I am! You're so gonna be pranked next, Fiora, just you wait and see!"

"Ooh, a meaningless prank, I'm _so_ scared..." Fiora rolled her eyes, as Bowser was now ready to execute his plan. If he wanted someone to fall for his prank, then he would have to entice that person to enter the vending room, and with an enticing offer...

"FREE CHEESY NACHOS INSIDE!" The Koopa King shouted out at the top of his lungs, expecting someone gullible enough to enter the vending room. Moments later, the unfortunate person would be none other than Lloyd, who Bowser kinda expected to fall for the prank.

"Aw yeah, free cheesy nachos, I'm down for that..." Lloyd said as he walked inside the vending room, and as he opened the door...a large rock fell upon the swordsman's head, as the bucket on top of the door fell with its contents falling upon poor Lloyd. Bowser and Akuma looked on in horror, and Fiora gasped as Lloyd was knocked out unconscious by the large rock and fell upon the floor, his body sprawled out.

"Bowser you ninny, you had a giant rock inside that bucket?!" scolded Akuma; he just knew Bowser would somehow screw this prank up. "Why not something like water, or some other liquid, who would use a rock for pranks like those?"

"This must be that Waddle Dee's fault, knew I shouldn't have borrowed King Dedede's servants..." Bowser said as he knelt down at the floor, checking to see if Lloyd was alive. The swordsman's pulse and heartbeat was still intact, but the same couldn't be said for his consciousness. "C'mon Lloyd, wake up, don't do this to me man, wake up, just this once, just for me..." No matter how hard he tried, Lloyd wouldn't respond to Bowser's commands and wake up, he was truly out of it. "Crap, I think I got Lloyd in a coma! Gotta take him to the fitness center right away before I get in trouble! Leia will know what to do with the kid!"

* * *

Back at the Hanzo Academy, one of Asuka's favorite things to eat would be a futomaki roll. It was a special kind of sushi roll, a vegetarian roll containing Tamago (a sweet Japanese omelette) and Gobo (pickled burdock root). Asuka had brought a recipe of this sushi roll to the mansion with her, and she was happily eating a futomaki roll right now in the foyer, until she was suddenly startled by a loud bombing sound outside. Hoping that there wasn't a terrorist lurking about (Snake would have handled a possible terrorist anyways), Asuka stepped outside to investigate, and saw Pit, Kirby, Fox, Falco, Donkey Kong, and Diddy Kong, all playing with nine youngins messing around with their bombs...these youngins were known as the Bombermen, and they were led by their man guy, White Bomberman. We'll call him White Bomber for short.

 **Fox: The Bomberman crew are truly a fun bunch to be around - Falco and I first met them at some fun park in Seattle. The vendors at the place refused to let the kiddies in because of their silly bombs, so Falco and I had to fight for their rights!  
Falco: And we put up a good fight too - we had to tell the vendors that bombs are used for relatively good things, like blowing up old, useless buildings and dropping things down the toilet for relief (I think the latter one flew over the heads of the vendors). The vendors still were convinced, so we had to beat the snot out of them, and then just like that, the vendors let the Bomberman crew inside the fun park...while kicking us out for good.  
Fox: I dunno, Falco, maybe we need to give those vendors another beatdown, make them change their mind and let us back in...**

"Here's a big bomb, coming right up!" exclaimed White as she hurled a bomb at Donkey Kong, who punched the bomb to smithereens with his giant fist, causing a wicked explosion to occur. Diddy and the others were turning up, running about and shouting at the top of her lungs with excitement, like the dudes from "The Rap Battle Parody".

"Uh...what the heck is going on here?" questioned Asuka, a little concerned for her overall safety what with the bombs and all. "Who are these people, and why are they throwing bombs all willy nilly?" Asuka then asked about the Bombermen, whom she caught the attention of.

"Howdy friend!" White Bomber waved to Asuka, halting the unnecessary bomb hurling. "Don't believe we've met before, have we? I'm the White Bomberman, and these are my siblings - you got Black Bomberman, Red Bomber, Blue Bomber, Green Bomber, Yellow Bomber, Pink bomber, Aqua Bomber, and Pretty Bomber...though we don't talk about Pretty Bomber as much, I think she only exists just for the sake of promotion." Pretty Bomber held her head down in sadness after hearing this. "Nice meeting you...what's yer name?"

"My name is Asuka - and I have to say, you have a very beautiful family." Does Pretty Bomber count? The way White Bomber introduced her, it sounded like the female bomber was the least loved out of all the Bombermen.

"That's it? Asuka? No last name? Suit yourself..." Soon Ashley and Mamori stepped outside, having heard the bombing from inside the mansion. "Welp, looks like more introductions are in order...howdy friends!"

Far and away from the front of the mansion, Sonic was off running several errands for Master Hand, errands Isabelle would have done if she was super fast like the blue blur was. Once the hedgehog was done with the errands, he returned to the Smash Mansion, and upon arrival, he skidded to a halt and gasped in horror, as he saw White Bomber holding a bomb, his brothers and sisters (...and Pretty Bomber) standing behind him. The bomb looked like it was about to detonate at any minute, and Asuka and company were just standing about, not doing anything.

"Stand back, you guys, I got this!" Sonic would say this as he used a Spin Dash on White Bomber, knocking the robot to the ground before grabbing his bomb and throwing it up at the sky, where it would detonate. "No need to thank me guys, sometimes the most heroic acts go unrewarded, so I wouldn't mind at all if..." Sonic found himself trailing off when he noticed White Bomber's siblings, as well as the others, glaring him down. "What's the matter, you guys salty that I did something that none of you couldn't do? You're envious of my Spin Dash? I know that it's a huge trademark of mine, but still..."

"Sonic you ignorant slut, why'd you attack that man for, he wasn't doing any harm!" Fox scolded the hedgehog, as Sonic now felt bad about himself. "That was the White Bomber, and he was trying to show Asuka and her friends how effective his bombs were!"

"My robot bones are aching as I speak..." moaned White Bomber, who remained on the ground racked in pain. The Duck Hunt Dog saw the robot from afar, and would run over to said robot and pee on him, much to the chagrin of the White Bomber who was moaning even more.

 **Pretty Bomber: Fox and Falco are such nice guys...inviting us Bombermen to the mansion to hang out with their friends! But I do wish that the others would stop with their negative comments about me, especially White Bomber - he harbors a crush on me, Aqua Bomber told me all the details! The audacity for him to say that I only exist "just for the sake of promotion"...I don't exist for promotion, I exist to provide eye candy!...Nope, that's not any better...**

"Oh junk, are you people supposed to be Bombermen?!" Sonic would ask the Bomberman group, feeling even worse than he did before for attacking the innocent White Bomber for what the hedgehog perceived was an attack on the Smash Mansion. "Sorry about taking out your leader..." Sonic suddenly took notice of the eight Bombermen standing before him, and stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Say, since you guys have bombs...and there's nine of us, including me...and nine of my friends on the opposing side..."

"Sonic where are you getting at?" questioned Donkey Kong, knowing that involving involving both Sonic and explosives would turn out ugly. "Why are you siding with the Bombermen all of the sudden, after you taken the White Bomber out?"

"This stupid mutt won't stop licking me..." White Bomber complained, as the Duck Hunt Dog was now licking his head. The robot would rather take that or needless sniffing over another pee break from the dog.

"Not even gonna let me finish, aren't you Donkey Kong?" Sonic said, shaking his head at the gorilla. "What a jerk you are..." Like the hedgehog is the one to talk. "Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted...why not have a dodgeball game with BOMBS?"

"A dodgeball game with bombs sounds totally new and interesting, I'm down with that!" exclaimed Pit, perhaps the only person who would agree to play in such a dangerous game, along with Kirby of course. Everyone else was seemingly roped into a situation they couldn't get themselves out of.

"The man has spoken - we're gonna have the first ever game of 'Dodgebomb'! This is gonna be so exciting...stay right where you are, I'ma run inside and ask Dunban to set up the dodgeball net!" As Sonic sped off and ran inside the mansion, the others looked at one another, wondering what they were getting themselves into.

"Quick question: since we're technically playing a game of dodgeball, isn't Chuck Norris supposed to be around and be a judge or something?" Pit's question was enough to make several folks facepalm, or shake their heads at the angel's stupidity. Pit shall never cease to amaze, regardless of the effort.

* * *

"Still can't believe that Doc Louis somehow mistook Sazh Katzroy for being Richard Pryor," Cloud discussed with his main man Link, the two swordsmen chilling out in the comfort of their room. "I mean sure, Sazh has an afro, but Pryor didn't even have an afro to begin with...did he?"

"He might have had a giant afro when he was young, and there were no pictures online to document it," assumed Link, still feeling great about his win over Ganondorf, a win he might flaunt for the time being. "Pryor's tobacco smoking was kept a secret, wasn't it? Maybe the man had other secrets we don't know about, like a third eye concealed above his hairline!"

"Only weirdo nuts like yourself would believe in such nonsense..." Just when Cloud said this, Alm entered the room, a man on a mission.

 **Cloud: Who's Alm again?...Oh, the green-haired king from Valentia, who's married to that girl Celica. Yeah, he's a pretty nice dude, and his wife is beautiful beyond words...but I don't mean that in a way in which I'm insisting on stealing Celica from Alm, I'm not a Mr. Steal Your Girl type of guy. I'm the kind of guy that can take the ladies' breath away.**

"Hello to you both, Cloud Strife and Link Triforce," Alm greeted the two swordsmen, formally bowing to each individual. The king believed that Link felt incomplete without a suitable last name, and so he gave him the perfect one.

"What's up Alm, how's it going," Cloud greeted the king, failing to notice his pet Chocobo Cloud Jr. flew inside the room through the open window. "How are you adjusting to your first full-fledged day living at the mansion? Better question is, what are you doing in our room?" Not that Cloud wanted Alm to go away - the ex-SOLDIER was just curious.

"I'm here to tell you some bad news, I'm afraid some evil is afoot...a mighty duo, consisting of an evil king and queen, wishing to take over the entire world, and rule it with an iron fist...and their names...are Ganondorf and Rosalina! They must be put away at once!" Link and Cloud looked at one another, both smirking and thinking the same thing. Alm couldn't be serious, could he?

"First of all, Ganondorf may be your prototypical villain, but he hardly commits any evil act at the mansion, aside from leaving the toilet seat up," Link had to set things straight for Alm. "And secondly, Rosalina may be in love with Ganondorf (and I don't know why...), but that doesn't make her a villain like Ganon."

"Aha, so you do admit that Ganondorf and Rosalina are an evil couple, one bent on destruction and terror! For that reason, I was hoping that you and Cloud would join forces with Celica and I, and stop this tyranny before it happens and the world has to suffer! So who's with me?" Link nor Cloud spoke up; they just let the ignorance soak up inside Alm before ether swordsman had the courage to speak up.

"Just let it go man, Ganondorf and Rosalina don't mean any harm to anyone, you shouldn't have to worry about them," Cloud advised Alm, but the king was still steadfast in the fact that Ganondorf and Rosalina both had secret evil intentions to take over the world, as a means for world domination.

"The mostly unaware shall fall away asleep, but the informed shall remain awake forever more..." stated Alm, making nifty quotes for no good reason. "Cloud Strife, Link Triforce...sadly you two are still asleep. But Celica and I, we shall stay awake and conquer our fears and anxieties! Good day to you both, gentlemen, I shall take care of this crisis with my woman, at whatever the cost!" On that note, Alm confidently left the room; once the king was gone, Link looked at Cloud and did a circling motion at the side of his head, worried that Alm might be a crazy loon on the loose.

* * *

"How is he doing Leia, is Lloyd gonna survive?" Bowser would ask the nurse assistant, as Leia diagnosed Lloyd in the fitness center. Talk about being overdramatic - Lloyd was doing just fine, Leia just needed to wake the swordsman up from his unconscious slumber.

"Of course Lloyd is going to survive, if you stop being such a worrywart, then maybe I can get Lloyd to wake up quicker..." Leia replied, holding two smelling salts to Lloyd's nose. After sniffing said salts, Lloyd suddenly woke up, as he lifted his eyes and rose up from the patient bed, sensing his surroundings. Was Lloyd back to his normal self, or did something change within the swordsman? One way to find out...

 **Leia: *shaking her head* Lloyd can be so infuriatingly stupid, it makes me wonder how he's been able to survive all these years with his profound amount of ignorance inside that noggin of his. I just wish that some fairy from somewhere would hit Lloyd on the head with their wand and grant him the wisdom that he so desperately needs...but we all know most fairies don't exist. Just like the Tooth Fairy - she was fabricated out of lies parents tell to their children to make them think that loosing teeth is a good thing.**

"Lloyd, are you okay, did you lose any part of your memory?" Bowser quizzed the swordsman, to ensure that he was doing alright. "Do you still know my name? Say my name, just like that Destiny's Child, say my name!" Lloyd did just more than saying Bowser's name...

"Greetings, Bowser and Leia Rolando, how do you do?" the swordsman formally greeted the nurse and the Koopa King. "Did you two know that the average human body carries ten times more bacterial cells than human cells? Very fascinating, don't you think?" Bowser and Leia glanced at one another in shock - did Lloyd just say something intellectual and factual?! Maybe that coma from the falling rock resulted in the rewiring of Lloyd's brain.

"Would you mind giving us another fact Lloyd?" asked Leia, making sure that this wasn't a fluke and that Lloyd was actually intelligent now. The nurse was still in plain disbelief, and would have left her mouth agape if doing so wasn't considered rude.

"How about this: did you know that a single solar flare can release the equivalent energy of millions of 100-megaton atomic bombs? That's quite the impact!" Bowser clearly agreed with this statement, as he wrote down Lloyd's factoid on a notepad, under a list called "Inventive/Creative Ways to Destroy Stuff and Rule the World". Getting solar flares from the sun to the earth would be nigh difficult for the Koopa King.

"Lloyd is incredibly smart now, and it's all because of me and the prank I pulled!" exclaimed Bowser, taking all the credit for something that he did not intend to happen by any means. "I must show Lloyd's intelligence to Master Hand, Lloyd will take his breath away!" So Bowser grabbed Lloyd's hand, and ran out of the fitness center, only to be stopped by King Dedede upon exiting. The king of Dream Land was looking remorseful, like he had a lot to get off his chest.

"Bowser I'm so sorry that my Waddle Dee had to be a stupid idiot and insert some giant rock inside that bucket for the basis of your prank..." King Dedede apologized to the Koopa King, feeling more sorry than he truly should. "I punished that fool by putting him in the same room with a Mightyena AND a Lycaroc, to teach him a lesson!" Sounds a bit harsh for a harmless Waddle Dee creature, don't you think? "Don't know if that was enough to make it up to you..."

"No Dedede, it's all good, the giant rock was actually a blessing in disguise! When the rock fell upon Lloyd's head, it screwed up the kid's brain...but in a good way, it made him smarter! After Lloyd woke up from his sustained coma, he instantly started spewing facts, it was incredible!"

"Speaking of incredible, how about an incredible fact...you can burn more calories sleeping than you do watching TV!" stated Lloyd, causing King Dedede's jaw to drop to the floor. The fat penguin expected a Waddle Dee to come by and pinch him, for Lloyd speaking true facts was but a weird dream to him.

"Did Lloyd just say something factual?!" Master Hand appeared, in as much shock as King Dedede was. The giant hand playing with Lloyd would be meaningless now. "This has to be a dream, or at least a nightmare! It has to be a nightmare, how will I ever make Lloyd look more stupider than he is already?" Oh the irony...

 **Master Hand: Pfft. I didn't say anything ironic earlier today. I'm freaking Master Hand, I'm immune to irony, and a plethora of other things. Rain. Snow. Hail. Freezing temperatures. Gunfire. Dial-up Internet sounds. Justin Bieber's old music. However, I'm immune to only two things - adorable cat videos and half-Asian chicks. You'd be hard-pressed to meet any half-Asian chick that wasn't pretty.**

"'More stupider' is not the best way to word your thoughts, Master Hand," said Lloyd, taking the giant hand to school. "You should have said 'how will I ever make Lloyd look dumber than he is already' instead. But we all know that would be impossible with my amount of intelligence!"

"Shut up you little twerp..." retorted Master Hand, before taking a brief pause to realize the things he could do with a smarter Lloyd. There were so many possibilities running through the giant hand's mind, which would signify proof that maybe Master Hand does have a mind. "Lloyd, we cannot let your intellect go to waste, we must show it off for the world to see! Bowser, Lloyd, come with me, we have horizons to reach, together!"

So Master Hand would lead Bowser and Lloyd down the hallway...only to be stopped in his tracks by Mario and Mewtwo, with Mario holding a homemade statue Mewtwo had made by himself. The psychic Pokemon was thirsty for a lieutenant role in the Pokemon Army, and was prepared to go through whatever means necessary to prove his worth to Master Hand.

"Master Hand, I made a statue out of your likeness, better than the one in front of the mansion!" Mewtwo showed off his statue to Master Hand, who was not at all impressed. Had the giant statue of him outside not exist, maybe he would have been intrigued.

"Look Mewtwo, I get it, I get what you're trying to do - you're sucking up to me as much as possible enough to the point where I would be open to giving you a lieutenant role in the Pokemon Army, I get it," said Master Hand, dismaying poor Mewtwo. "Try as hard as you might, and keep on dragging Mario in the mud, although I would do the same thing too, but you'll never get the lieutenant role if you keep this crap up. Now if you excuse me, Bowser and I must make money...erm, publicity out of Lloyd's newfound intelligence, and we shall do so by entering the young lad in a World's Smartest Person Contest! If there isn't such a contest already, then I'll bribe the folks of Seattle into creating a contest!"

"A smartest person contest would be an exquisite way to display my profound intelligence," said Lloyd, catching Mario and Mewtwo off-guard by using a vocabulary word he would have never learned before. "Chew on this...the 8GB iPod can hold up to 2,000 songs, up to 7,000 photos, up to 8 hours of video! All of that, stored up in just one small device!" Now Mario and Mewtwo were really stunned, what with Mewtwo shaking his head in disbelief and Mario fainting to the floor. Clearly they were dreaming just like King Dedede and Master Hand, somebody oughta pinch those two.

"Quit it out Lloyd, save your little facts for the contest, saying them out loud will be worth it there! I'll be seeing you later Mewtwo, and I sincerely hope that you cut it out with your butt-kissing! Butt-kissing is never good, unless you're the WWE if you know what I mean!"

On that remark, Master Hand led Bowser and Lloyd away, leaving a dumbstruck Mewtwo and a still fainted Mario be. It was in this very moment that Mewtwo conjured an idea...an idea that would led to Master Hand appointing the psychic Pokemon to a lieutenant job in the Pokemon Army, without any questioning.

"Well Mewtwo, I think-a it's all over, nothing else we can-a do would persuade-a Master Hand..." said Mario, as he woke up and got off of the floor, recovering from his fainting like nothing ever happened. "We might as well-a call it quits..." But Mewtwo wasn't ready to throw in the towel just yet, for his idea might very well work.

"If I want to prove to Master Hand that I'm worthy to be a lieutenant, then I must do so by showing my intelligence and psychic powers!" exclaimed Master Hand, foreshadowing something Mario was mostly against. "And the only way I can do that...is by entering that World's Smartest Person contest!" Oh how much Mario wanted to object Mewtwo's idea. "Where do we sign up?"

 **Mewtwo:** **I do believe I have a good chance at winning this World's Smartest Person Contest...provided that they allow talking Pokemon like myself to be participants. Lloyd's newfound high intelligence may be only temporary, as I expect his intelligence to fade away given that he had suffered any form of brain damage. Worst case scenario is that someone cheats to win the contest, but I seriously doubt there'll be any cheating going on when a psychic Pokemon like myself is around.**

* * *

After Dunban set everything up, it was time for the first ever game of Dodgebomb to begin. On one side of the dodgeball field was the team of Sonic and the Bomberman crew (sans White Bomber, who was still injured and has been relegated to a cheerleader), and on the other side was the team of Fox, Falco, Pit, Kirby, Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Ashley, Mamori, and Asuka. Dunban was standing at the front to call the match.

"The rules for this Dodgebomb game are the same as a regular dodgeball game, but with a twist," stated Dunban, about to give out some rules for the players to (hopefully) abide by. "To eliminate someone, you simply grab one of the bombs lined up at the central line, and throw them at your opponent. If the bomb explodes in the opponent's face or whatever, then they are eliminated. If an opponent throws a bomb at you and you catch it before it detonates, then that opponent is eliminated. Unfortunately if you get hurt, then tough luck, since Master Hand is too frugal to afford us another healthcare plan. With that out of the way, is everyone ready to begin?"

"Pichu Pichu Pichu!" exclaimed Pichu, who was one of the cheerleaders on the sidelines, cheering on with Pikachu, Jigglypuff, and White Bomber, the robot having been reduced to being in a wheelchair.

"Jiggly Jigglypuff!" exclaimed Jigglypuff, shaking her pom-poms. White Bomber just pumped his fist, waving a white flag with a bomb on it.

"Alright then, let's get this show on the road! Begin!" shouted Dunban, starting off the Dodgebomb game. Diddy Kong, Mamori, Kirby, Aqua Bomber, Black Bomberman, and Green Bomber each grabbed a bomb at the central line, and were squaring down their opponents. Green would throw his bomb at Ashley, and the young witch's teammates would move out of the way as the bomb exploded, leaving the witch covered in soot.

"Meh, I expected to be eliminated first anyways," a now eliminated Ashley shrugged as she walked off the field. Moments later, Diddy Kong would hurl his bomb at Black Bomberman...who caught the bomb with one hand. Dude must have hands like glue.

"Get off the field, monkey fiend!" Black taunted Diddy Kong, who walked off the field to join Ashley with his levels of salt raising. Black would proudly laugh in Diddy's face, only for a bomb to be thrown at him and explode, with Falco doing the honors. "...I'm the first to be eliminated?! How can this be?!"

"Nice way to keep your guard down!" Falco called out to Black, who grudgingly walked off the field. Red Bomber grabbed one of the bombs lined up at the central line and threw it at Falco, who caught the bomb and held the fuse before the bomb could detonate, eliminating Red Bomber in the process.

 **Dunban: I shouldn't even be officiating such a violent game of "Dodgebomb", there's a high risk of participants suffering injuries from the bombs, and I'm afraid that Master Hand would refuse to cover for their health benefits. Also, what if something happens, and one of the bombs gets carried away by the wind, and gets carried to the mansion and explodes upon impact? What if the bomb left behind a huge hole in the mansion? It can get pretty rainy in Seattle, and we wouldn't want the mansion to be flooded...though Greninja would find it convenient.**

"C'mon, Red Bomber, I thought you were better than that, way to let your team down!" Sonic scolded the Red Bomber, as he was chilling in the back, nonchalantly eating some chili dogs. The hedgehog's teammates looked at him, even including the two that were eliminated.

"Sonic why aren't you participating in this Dodgebomb game, the very game you created?!" Pretty Bomber frowned at Sonic, only for a bomb to be thrown at her by Donkey Kong. The bomb would explode, as Pretty's entire back was covered in soot.

"Now look what you've done, you got yourself eliminated, shame on you Pretty Bomber, shame, shame, SHAME! Go join the other two losers, Black Bomberman and Red Bomber!" Pretty would do just that, glaring down Sonic as she joined her eliminated teammates. Sonic may be very competitive at times (key words: at times), but there's no denying that he can be a terrible teammate.

* * *

"Just a bit over to the right...no, to the left...a bit more to the right...perfect!" Ganondorf was instructing Roy and Ike, who were holding yet another painting of Ganondorf to hang on the wall. "Move the painting up a little bit, and...there we go!" Ganondorf gave a thumbs up, with Roy and Ike still holding the painting of the Demon Lord. Just how many paintings does the dude even have?! "You boys stay right here, I'll get Mr. Game and Watch to hang the painting up." Ganondorf would walk away, in search of Mr. Game and Watch so that the 2-D man could hang up the painting and remind everyone in the mansion how huge Ganondorf's ego was.

"This picture frame is too heavy, don't think I can hold it much longer..." whined Roy, who was apparently struggling to hold up the Ganondorf painting. You'd think that a strong swordsman like him would find holding a painting to be effortless.

"Bro you have muscles, you shouldn't even be complaining," stated Ike, not struggling in the slightest. "Also, you're holding the frame with just one hand."

"You're holding the frame with one hand too, and you're making it look easy..." Maybe those muscles of Roy's are fake; Corrin did say that the red-haired swordsman could have taken a few steroids.

 **Midna: Being inside of Link's body has gotten boring over the past weeks...not that many adventure and just little excitement. And hearing that dumb Hylian boast ever since he won that dumb race is enough to make me pull my hair out! So I kinda escaped while Link and his friend were asleep, and went to go do some sight-seeing...which is what I'm doing right now. But there's hardly any sights for me to see, save for a Waddle Dee walking about. Where does that King Dedede keep those things anyways?**

Midna would continue her sight-seeing - feeling more bored by the second - as she flew throughout the mansion hallways, looking for anything interesting that wasn't one of King Dedede's lackeys. The imp would suddenly find Ganondorf, a slight arch-nemesis of hers, speaking with Mr. Game and Watch. The 2-D man was busy vacuuming the floor when Ganondorf approached him.

"Of course I'll hang up that painting of yours Ganon, free as charged!" Mr. Game and Watch told the demon lord. "Just let me finish cleaning this floor, and then I'll find the stuff I need to hang up the painting." Does Mr. GW not realize that he could possibly be feeding Ganondorf's ego?

"Much appreciated, Mr. Game and Watch - just take all the time you need," Ganondorf would say to the 2-D man before walking away. Midna would follow closely behind Ganondorf, cautiously spying on the demon lord, until Ganondorf ran into Alm, who was glaring down the Gerudo. "Hello Alm, strange seeing you by yourself without your wife...why are you glaring at me like that?"

"I know what you and Rosalina are plotting...you are plotting to take over the world!" Alm accusingly pointed at Ganondorf...who just chuckled at the king's ignorance. Midna sighed, feeling somewhat bad for Alm, unsure if he was birdbrained or stupid.

"You fool, Rosalina and I aren't plotting world domination, we're practically harmless! Have you been smoking crack lately? Where on earth did you possibly get this assumption that I would plot to take over the world with Rosalina? Rosalina doesn't look like the type of woman that would be interested in world domination!"

"What's this about me and world domination?" asked Rosalina, who approached Ganondorf and Alm from behind, accompanied by Luma. Midna found herself smiling, seeing this encounter become even more intriguing.

"This fool Alm thinks the two of us are plotting to take over the world!" Ganondorf told his woman, heartily laughing and making Alm frown even harder. The king's race was turning red, redder than a tomato. "Can you believe this guy? And he calls himself a king...he's a very ignorant king, I'll give him that!"

"Oh yeah, well how about Celica and I stop you from starting your world domination plans?! You and Rosalina, vs me and Celica, in this mansion! And if we win, then you must agree to put away your evil desires, and put away your world domination ambitions! Do we have a deal?"

"I think we should agree with his terms, just to prove to Alm that it's all a big misunderstanding," Rosalina whispered in Ganondorf's ear, and the demon lord nodded. Once this fight was over, Alm will (hopefully) leave Ganondorf and Rosalina alone.

"You got yourself a deal bub - but you have to agree to my terms!" Ganondorf said as he shook hands with Alm. "We shall conduct our fight in the Pokemon sanctuary, it's the only place suitable for our bout. You and your wife are going down, that much I can guarantee you!" Midna excitedly rubbed her hands together, wanting to see this fight go down.

 **Rosalina: I feel so bad for Celica...she probably has been discouraged by Alm's claims about me and Ganondorf, and now she has been roped into a fight that she did not agree to. If I have to fight her, and Ganondorf fights with Alm, then I'll just let Celica off easy...  
Luma: Yeah that's right mama, don't rough her up too bad!**

 **Celicia:...are you telling me that Alm challenged Ganondorf and Rosalina to a fight...and I have to fight alongside with him? *facepalms* I just knew this thing would snowball out of hand, should have stopped it when I had the chance...**

 **Midna: Finally, something remotely interesting is about to go down at the mansion! It will arguably be hilarious seeing this Alm person not only bow down to Ganondorf, but also learn that Ganondorf is not interested in world domination, and has become too relaxed to even think about such a thing. The look on his face will be PRICELESS!**

* * *

Much to the chagrin of Master Hand, there was no "World's Smartest Person" contest going on in Seattle. So what did the giant hand do to solve the problem? Force some Seattle officials into starting up such a contest, of course! The contest was held in Seattle's Paramount Theatre, and was set up like the game show _Family Feud,_ only without the digital game board, the tables that the contestants stand at, and Steve Harvey. In the center was a podium, where Lloyd and another person would stand at. The contest worked like this: Master Hand would select a random person from the crowd of spectators to go onstage to challenge Lloyd, and Bowser would ask five questions, in rapid succession. If you beat Lloyd to the punch and answer all five questions correctly, you would win one million dollars - a prize Bowser obtained from asking a local Seattle millionaire. But if Lloyd answers all the questions correctly, then you're eliminated...and you also had to give all the money you have to Lloyd.

"On average, how deep is the ocean?" Bowser asked Lloyd and a random contestant; the contestant tried to hit the button so Bowser could call upon him, but Lloyd was far quicker. "Lloyd Irving, what is your answer?"

"The ocean is 12,080.7 feet deep - which is equivalent to 3,682.2 meters," the swordsman proudly answered, like he knew the answer right from the get-go. Given Lloyd's profound intelligence, there was no way he could lose to anyone.

"That answer is..." Bowser glanced at his cue card. "...correct! Great job Lloyd, you answered the fifth consecutive question correctly! Sorry about your loss Brad, there's always next time!" The contestant named Brad sighed as he handed Lloyd all the money in his wallet and walked offstage, accepting his loss. Lloyd was becoming richer by the minute.

"Since I've been picking out random people so far, I shall issue an open challenge," Master Hand said to the crowd. Deep down he knew whoever dared to challenge Lloyd will be humiliated by the swordsman's intellect. "Who here thinks they're worthy enough to challenge the mighty Lloyd Irving?"

"I would like to challenge Lloyd Irving, good sir!" a brave person raised their hand; it was a cat-like creature with a flannel shirt, glasses, eyebrows, a mustache, and a nose like Groucho Marx, and also had a rather long tail. "My name is Mitch, and I wish to go up against Lloyd, in a fight of ultimate intellect!"

"People like you make me laugh...but I'll save the laughing till after your loss. Come right on up, if you dare!" So Mitch headed onto the stage, and joined Lloyd at the podium, facing the swordsman face-to-face.

"Welcome, Mitch, I can't tell you that you're gonna do well against Lloyd, but I suppose you can give it your best shot," Bowser told the mustached creature. Mitch reminded the Koopa King of someone he saw at the mansion, a person the koopa would see daily. "Now let's begin! First question: how many bones does an adult human skeleton have?" Lloyd was about to press his button...but Mitch was the first to press his.

"The human skeleton has 206 bones total," answered Mitch, causing the audience to gasp. It was the first time someone other than Lloyd answered a question right.

"Nice one, Mitch! Next question: what disorder makes people struggle to recognize faces?"

"Prosopagnosia," Mitch answered yet again after pressing the button. Lloyd was now sweating, and Master Hand and Bowser were getting nervous...

"Wow Mitch, you're on a roll! Third question: how many eyes does a..."

"A scallop has 100 eyes."

"Didn't even finish but...fourth question..."

"Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis."

"Woah Mitch, chill out, at least let me..."

"...Leeroy Jenkins." Mitch answered the last question as he folded his arms. A distraught Bowser threw his cue cards down, while Lloyd looked to the side in disbelief.

 **Master Hand: It's gonna be flat-out silly seeing Lloyd flaunt his intelligence for the crowd, he's gonna put on a mental clinic for everyone to see! At the end of the day, Lloyd will be leaving the entire crowd SPEECHLESS!**

Mitch left the entire crowd SPEECHLESS, not a single person knew what to say. The creature beat Lloyd fair and square, and he left the swordsman shook as ever.

"Um, uh, congratulations Mitch, somehow you won the grand prize!" Bowser commended Mitch, hoping Lloyd would win so he could keep the money himself. "The million dollars is yours, buddy!"

"Oh, I'm not here for the million bucks..." stated Mitch, as he took off not only his flannel shirt, but his glasses...which were connected to his nose and mustache. In that very moment, Mitch revealed himself to be one person, or Pokemon... _Mewtwo._ The audience gasped; apparently none of them expected Mewtwo to be masquerading as a guy named Mitch. "I'm here to earn the title of Pokemon Army Lieutenant!"

"So this 'World's Smartest Person' Contest was a contest to determine who would be a lieutenant in this so-called Pokemon Army?" someone from the crowd spoke up. There were now murmurings among the audience, wondering if they had learned the true intentions of the contest.

"SILENCE YOU FOOLS!" Master Hand shouted at the crowd, silencing everyone before turning his attention to Mewtwo. "Mewtwo, I thought I told you not to be here, why must you sabotage my contest?! Why did you do it man?!"

"First off, you never told me to be at this contest," stated Mewtwo, looking up at Master Hand with an intent glare. He really wanted that lieutenant role. "And secondly, I did not sabotage your contest, I won it fair and square. Now, about that lieutenant role..."

"I don't think this is the correct venue to discuss the matter...once we clean things up around here, how about you meet in my room and we'll discuss everything."

* * *

The Dodgebomb game was almost over, as there were now two competitors left - Asuka and Sonic. The ninja girl and the hedgehog were the only ones left standing, and they were vying to accrue victory for their respective team.

"Don't let us down Sonic - even though you slacked off during the entire game until you were the last person remaining on our team, I know you got this!" Green Bomber called out to the hedgehog, who was staring down his opponent, Asuka. No way Sonic could lose, especially considering that he hardly participated at all.

"If you want our team to win, then you gotta put the team on your back, and will yourself to victory!" added Pink Bomber, which got Sonic thinking. The hedgehog hardly participated with his teammates, and it was time for him to make it up to them...

...and so he did what Pink told him to do - he put the team on his back.

"Sonic, when I said to 'put the team on your back', this is NOT what I meant," Pink said to Sonic, as she and the entire Bomberman crew (White Bomber included) were literally on Sonic's back, with one Bomberman piled on top of another. Sonic couldn't (and shouldn't) be able to throw a bomb now, but there was no stopping him...

 **Sonic: Since my teammates are off killing the opposition, and I'm on my last chili dog, I just wanted to pull a Joe Namath and guarantee a victory for my team, the great Dodgebomb team in existence! Granted, we're one of the first two teams to ever play this new sport I invented, but lemme tell ya, we're on the cusp of greatness!**

"I owe you guys one, I've been a sucky teammate this whole time and so I gotta make it up to ya!" Sonic said, as he confidently grabbed the bomb lined up at the central line, and squared down Asuka, who had a bomb herself. "This one is for all the marbles, this one is for victory!" Sonic would throw the bomb, throwing it with all his might and power, as the bomb elegantly sailed...

...and landed at Asuka's feet. Asuka just looked at the bomb and picked it up, before holding the fuse to prevent the bomb from exploding. To say Sonic was disappointed with his throw would be an understatement.

"Does this...technically count as an elimination?" Asuka asked Dunban, who was shocked by how crappy that throw from Sonic was. The stuff of legends. "I mean, I prevented the bomb from exploding..."

"I guess...I guess it does!" exclaimed Dunban, once his moment of shock ended. "Team Asuka accrues victory!" The aptly named Team Asuka cheered on for Asuka, along with the three Pokemon cheerleaders as they lifted the ninja girl on their shoulders and celebrated with her. Ashley, the ever anti-social one, refused to participate in such an activity.

"Let's go Asuka, Asuka's number one!" Diddy Kong cheered on for the ninja girl, as a frustrated Sonic threw the Bomberman crew off his back and unto the ground. Why was he taking his anger out on the robots, they weren't responsible for his egregious throw!

"Man, you guys are the worst, no word can begin to describe how terrible you guys are!" a now salty Sonic snapped on his teammates, before storming off to the mansion. "Good day to you, you stinking losers!" The Bomberman crew just looked at one another, wondering what Sonic was so upset about.

* * *

Two couples were gathered in the Pokemon sanctuary - Alm and Celica, and Ganondorf and Rosalina. The latter couple was accused by Alm to be evildoers, an evil king-queen duo who had their eyes set on world domination, and Alm wished to put an end to their plans, along with the help of Celica who wanted nothing to do with this fight. Midna was watching from afar, wanting to see who would be the victor.

"Just like we planned, Celica - I fight with Ganondorf, you fight with Rosalina and Luma," Alm went over the plan with Celica, who was reluctant to fight anyone. She wanted to spend her first day living at the mansion in peace, not getting into a fight. "Do you understand?"

"But Alm, I don't think it would be worth it..." Celica tried to tell Alm, but the king refused to listen - he really wanted to kick Ganondorf's butt. Literally, too.

"Excellent, now let's do this!" Alm unsheathed his sword, and Ganondorf would unsheathe his, and so the king and the demon lord would duel it out, Alm's blade clashing with Ganondorf's Sword of Sages. Celica would awkwardly approach Rosalina, unsure of what to do.

 **Rosalina: No, I've never been interesting in taking over a world...but I wouldn't mind taking over an entire galaxy. World domination just sounds so boring - once you're done taking over the world, what's next on your agenda? That's way galaxy domination is far more superior, when you're done taking over one planet, you can just go ahead and create another planet to dominate! Only problem though would be finding hungry Lumas...and finding star bits to feed said Lumas.**

"Celica, I understand if you don't want to fight, and that's fine by me, I don't want to fight either," Rosalina said to Celica, who was slowly tearing up. "But a fight your husband wants, a fight your husband...shall get?"

"Look mama, Celica's sobbing!" observed Lumas, as they were tears flowing down from Celica's eyes. The queen's face was in her face as she sobbed away. "Does this mean that the fight is over?" Alm and Ganondorf both heard Celica's loud sobbing, and stopped their sword fight and looked over at the saddened queen.

"If anyone asks, you were responsible for this..." Alm said to Ganondorf as he headed over to Celica, while Midna looked on to see what the issue was. "Celicia, what's wrong, why are you sobbing?"

"I don't wish to fight another resident of this mansion..." sobbed Celica, wiping away her tears. "...I just want to live with them, and get to know them better, and maybe make some new friends and acquaintances...is this not what you wanted?" Alm did say the things in his first-ever talking head segment, and the king was feeling guilty, since instead of making friends and learning about others, he accused two residents of wrongdoing and challenged them to a fight.

"Celicia, I'm very, truly sorry I put you through this trouble, this is all my fault...I judged a book by its cover and accused Ganondorf for things he never did, like world domination..." To be fair, Ganondorf _did_ attempt world domination, with Zant. Alm, who was on one knee, got up, and looked at Ganondorf and Rosalina. "Ganondorf, Rosalina, I'm deeply sorry for the false accusations against you two - I can be stubborn at times, and I suspect my stubbornness to be the reason for this debacle taking place. Will you two accept my apology?" Ganondorf and Rosalina both glanced at one another, and Ganondorf would extend his hand to Alm...expecting his hand to be shaken by the king.

"Your word is as good as mine - consider your apology accepted," said Ganondorf, and Alm would proudly shake the demon lord's hand, putting their beef behind them for good. Midna, wanting to see some bloodshed, sighed as she vanished away, returning to the boring prison that was Link's body.

* * *

In Master Hand's room, where Sonic was seated next to the entrance on the floor with his arms folded and feeling salty, Master Hand was speaking with Mario and Mewtwo, debating whether or not he should give Mewtwo a lieutenant role in the Pokemon Army.

"Master Hand, Mewtwo has-a been persistent about this-a lieutenant role throughout the day, you have-a to give him the job or else!" Mario pleaded to Master Hand, who refused to budge. If Alm thought he was stubborn, wait until he gets a load of Master Hand.

"Why should I make him the lieutenant?" questioned Master Hand, before looking at Mewtwo, who was glaring down the giant hand, enough to make him slightly shiver. Mewtwo's glare...an unspoken third vulnerability of the giant hand. "Fine, Mewtwo, I'll make you the lieutenant of the Pokemon Army, just leave me alone! You're nearly reaching stalker levels, you know..."

"Thank you for naming me the lieutenant, Master Hand," thanked Mewtwo, satisfied that his work is now done. "I'll be ready to go when the time comes. Until then, I shall remained prepared for anything that comes our way."

And on that note, Mewtwo teleported away from the room, leaving behind Mario and Master Hand, as well as Sonic who was still at the doorway sulking. Little did Mario and Master Hand know about an old man in a robe standing at Master Hand's window, peering through...it was none other than Master Xehanort.

The two also failed to see an evil, sadistic grin forming on Master Xehanort's face...might be devising some evil ideas for his Heartless invasion in that evil head of his.


	73. Episode 73: Motherly

_Author's Note:_

 _I never answered the reviews from chapter 71, since I was chipper than usual after graduating college, so let's get to that:_

 _"Can you add the characters from Samba de Amigo and Xenoblade Chronicles X? Is Cloud wearing his outfit from the games or from Advent Children? Since Leia and Little Mac are a couple does that mean Alvin will be paired up with Presa? (Since they have a history.) Can you include a small scene of Palutena interacting with Lightning and Presa? (Since they share the same English voice actress, Ali Hillis, though she only voiced Palutena in Uprising and in the animated shorts.) And finally can you add a chapter of the characters reacting to their respective Death Battles?"_

 _I'd be more than welcome to include characters from Samba de Amigo and Xenoblade Chronicles X. Cloud is wearing his outfit from Advent Children. Alvin and Presa will be a couple. I could do a scene with Palutena, Lightning and Presa, if I can. And I would love to have a few characters reacting to their respective Death Battles. Two more anonymous reviews:_

 _"Can we see more of the melee cuts? We rarely see them besides the occasional Mewtwo and Dr. Mario. Could we see the original twelve and Marth and Pit race in a Mario Kart-like thing, cause' Master Hand wants them to?"_

 _I feel so guilty...I frequently play as Roy in Smash 4, yet I hardly give him any love in this story. I'll hopefully make it up to him and Pichu soon. As for the race...I'll be putting off a race for a long time. One more anonymous review from chapter 71:_

 _"Can,you please put Black Rock Shooter in Smash life?"_

 _Is Black Rock Shooter a Playstation-exclusive character? Eh...moving on to Icarus:_

 _"Can you make Ene from Mekakucity Actors appear in the series?"_

 _Eh, I would, but it's a no from me. Moving on to the reviews from chapter 72:_

 _"...can you also include a small scene of Lucina, Serah, and Marta interacting with each other as well? (Since all three are voiced by Laura Bailey) Can you also add the characters from Tales of Graces F and Tales of Zestiria?"_

 _Laura Bailey, my favorite voice actress! (Aside from Tara Strong.) I could do a scene with Lucina, Serah, and Marta, and maybe Blaze since Bailey voices her as well. But I might hold off on the Tales of Zestiria/Graces F characters until I actually start including characters from other Tales series. Another anonymous guest review:_

 _"So, how about a appearance from Dry Bones? More R.O.B? Maybe more of Luigi and Daisy?"_

 _Ah yes, Dry Bones! Loved playing as him in Mario Kart before I permanently settled on Daisy for good (though I ocasionally play as other characters, like Peach). Speaking of Daisy, I can always do more of her and Luigi, and R.O.B. too. Daisy is my favorite princess, after all, even though I may not show it at times. Next up is Roydigs22, with three questions to ask me:_

 _"1. When playing classic mode, which enemy is the scariest to face with the metal power?_  
 _2\. How fast would and actual battle between lucario and the puff last( hint: jigglypuff's pokedex category)?_  
 _3\. Also, could we maybe see lucario training the pokemon army?"_

 _1\. I'll go out on a limb and say...Ganondorf?_  
 _2\. I think it would be a pretty swift battle._  
 _3\. There's a sneak preview of Lucario and Mewtwo working with the Pokemon Army in this chapter._

 _And last, but not least, is Derick Lindsey_

 _"I love how Lloyd Irving is now a super genius but I'm guessing it will only be temporally before he gets hit on the head again and go back to being a stupid idiot (I'm sad that Jericho is leaving I'm gonna miss him man)."_

 _I was contemplating whether to have Lloyd's heightened intelligence be temporary, or have him be permanently intelligent for the reminder of the story. You folks could give your two cents on what you think I should do with Lloyd. And as for Chris Jericho...I'm gonna miss him too. But fortunately he'll be coming back soon, he's too loyal of a guy to not return to the WWE. His latest run with the company might've been the best we've ever seen from Jericho, and it will be a sad day in wrestling when he retires..._

* * *

 **Episode 73: Motherly**

Mother's Day. It was a day, celebrated one day in May, in which all the mothers in America are honored. It was a custom to buy your mother a fancy gift on this particular day, or give her a Mother's Day card to show her your full appreciation.

At the Smash Mansion, only a few residents had a mother figure that was relevant to most general gamers. Pauline, the woman who appeared in the original _Donkey Kong_ game, is believed to be the mother of Mario and Luigi, but some people dispute that to this day. Donkey Kong used to have a grandma, Wrinkly Kong, who passed away a long time ago and now travels in spirit. Red the Pokemon Trainer has a mom, though he hasn't seen her much ever since he's been at the mansion. As for Samus's mom...well, we all know what happened to her.

"Palutena is so gonna freak out when I give her this Mother's Day card!" Pit exclaimed as he walked with Viridi through the hallway. Even though Palutena wasn't technically Pit's mother, the angel still considered the goddess to be a mother figure to him, and so he wished to show Palutena how much he appreciated her. "She'll be all like, 'Wow Pit, I didn't know you were capable of writing! Not a single grammatical error at all!'"

"She was already like that when you showed her your letter to The Great Pumpkin," stated Viridi, who had to proofread Pit's card for any mistakes. "She still thinks you hired Kirby to write that letter for you." Way to show confidence in your own "son," Palutena.

"Eh, that was the first time I've written anything with substance. But this time, when Palutena reads the card and sees how much I love her (if that's the right word), then she'll change her..." Pit came to a stop when he noticed something funny about the tall lamp in the hallway; its base was a human body, one adorned in a spy suit. "Is it just me, or did Mr. Game and Watch buy a new lamp? This one looks more different than the others!"

"Go away, please just go away..." the lamp spoke, making Pit and Viridi jump in fright. Seeing that it was no longer a lamp, Viridi reached for the lamp shade and pulled it off...revealing Snake's face. "What did I tell you kids about going away, why can't you listen?!"

"Woah, Snake, did someone like Kamek turn you into a lamp?" If that were the case, then where would the lightbulb be? "Is the lightbub inside of your head? Where's the light switch at?" Pit scoured Snake's body for a light switch, only for the former spy to swipe Pit's hand away.

"I didn't turn into a lamp, you bozo! I'm just hiding...I'm hiding from my mom, EVA. She's coming over to spend Mother's Day weekend with me." This confused Pit and Viridi, for Snake said that EVA died three years ago in the Volta River at age 78...so how was she alive again?

 **Snake: Don't even ask me how my mom came back to life again...all I know is that I got a call from that woman, and she told me about wanting to spend time with me. I don't want her to see me, not in the state I'm in due to accelerated age...I'm seemingly growing and looking older by the day! At this point, I could pass for being my mom's husband... *shudders***

"Your mom's back to life, and you don't want her to see you?" questioned Viridi, saving any questions about EVA's return for later. "C'mon Snake, she's your mom, you HAVE to let her visit!" Snake did not seem to agree, as he looked to the distance and frowned.

"She wouldn't like to see me the way I am now...just look at me, I look like a senior citizen, and I feel cranky like a senior citizen too! I wouldn't want my surrogate mother to see how much I've changed in three years..."

"Psst, Viridi, what's a surrogate mother?" Pit whispered to Viridi, having apparently heard this term for the first time.

"A surrogate mother is a woman who takes on a role of a mother to another person," Viridi whispered back, as Snake continued to look in the distance. "The surrogate mom carries the baby in her stomach, and the newborn becomes her child."

"Oh, so basically EVA didn't want to have Snake and his twin brother in her womb, but she had no other choice in the matter and was forced to do it anyways, for the benefit of science." Actually, a surrogate mother had to agree to the terms of carrying pregnancy for another person. But this was Pit after all, a guy who's inept when it comes to biology.

"I know, how about you kids hide me in my room, with Bayonetta!" suggested Snake, quickly breaking away from his stare. "I'll just stay inside and keep that dumb witch company, talk with her to keep my mind off of things, while you two and maybe Kirby guard the door. If my mom comes by, then you can just tell her that I'm terminally ill due to accelerated age, and that I'm contagious with some disease, and then she'll leave the mansion for good." Viridi noticed one slight flaw in Snake's idea...

"If you were to be 'terminally ill', then we would have to remove Bayonetta from the room so she won't annoy you," stated the goddess of nature. "Bayonetta is a very talkative person..." Not to mention that the Umbra Witch loved to get on Snake's nerves, which would upset the former spy and make him curse, which would kinda blow his cover.

"...I'll just duck tape Bayonneta's mouth when the time comes, if I hear my mother coming by. Might as well board up the windows in my room for good measure, in the event my mom tries to sneak her way in my room." Pit and Viridi both exchanged nervous looks with one another - was Snake's plan worth it?

* * *

While Mother's Day was a positive day for many folks out there, it was a celebratory day bitter to some who lost their mother...with Lucas being one of them. His mother, Hinawa, was killed by a reconstructed Drago, and the event was responsible for making Lucas more shy and timid than before. Every Mother's Day, the teen would lament over his mother's death, wishing he could see her again.

To keep his mind off of things in preparation for Mother's Day, Lucas played a game of catch outside with Link, Cloud, and his main man Ness. The four brawlers were tossing a football around, the cloudy skies above their heads.

 **Ness: Yeah, we don't ever bring up Mother's Day when Lucas is around - gives him a ton of bad memories. But I feel so bad for the guy, losing your mother at a young age and seeing your dad become depressed and visiting your mom's grave everyday...from what I've heard, Hinawa was so beloved in her village that when she was killed that all the villagers were saddened by her death...you'd be hard-pressed to see anything like that anywhere else.**

 **Cloud: Don't really understand the point of Mother's Day, you can celebrate your mother any day you want. Same goes for Valentine's Day - why pick just one day in the year to show your romantic partner how much you love them? Why not do that throughout the year, like Mario does with Peach? I despise how society operates sometimes...**

 **Link: *scratches his head* Do I even have a mom? Or a dad?  
** **Midna: *flies out of Link's body to face Link* You came into the world somehow... *slaps Link silly* ...so quit acting like you're Pit. *flies back inside Link's body***

"Better hurry up before it starts raining," said Lucas, throwing the football to Link. The clouds above were getting dark, hinting a potential rainfall coming to Seattle. "You know how much I don't like getting wet..."

"Oh Lucas, over here..." a voice called out to Lucas, making the PSI whiz turn his head. His eyes soon fell upon a brunette standing far away, wearing a red dress. Were Lucas's eyes deceiving him, was this person...his mom? "It's your sweet mother, Hinawa! I'm here to see you!" Indeed it was, it was her in the flesh- Hinawa wasn't a ghost, like she was in the Sunflower Fields near Tazmily Village.

"Um, Lucas, are you okay?" Cloud asked the PSI whiz, who was looking like he was seeing a ghost. But Lucas refused to believe that Hinawa was a ghost, he felt as if she was the real deal. "We can't finish playing catch with you looking like that...are you even listening to me?"

"Come follow me Lucas - we have a lot of catching up to do!" Hinawa motioned Lucas to come over, and the brunette would walk away, expecting Lucas to follow her. But the teen was still starstruck - he hadn't seen his mother since who knows how long.

"Guys I think I saw my mother, I think she's alive!" a jovial Lucas told the others, certain that his mother was alive and that the Drago accident was just a fallacy. "We have to go follow her, it's imperative that we do so!"

"Aw man, do we really have to, it looks like it's about to rain and I can't afford to have my tunic soaked in rain!" complained Link; was this the Hylian's number one concern? Ensuring his tunic was dry? "Also, isn't she supposed to be dead, how'd she come back to life?"

"Well we can't have Lucas look for his mom by himself, there's a good chance she might be an imposter," stated Ness, although Lucas didn't think the person he had seen was some person posing as his mom. "He can really use some backup, in the event something goes down." Ness turned to face Lucas, who was just dying to see his mom. "Lucas, I don't know if I should believe you or not, but judging by that determined face of yours, we might as well should. You lead the way!"

* * *

With the wedding six weeks away, Mario and Peach were working on last-minute preparations for the big day, mailing out invitations to those invited to attend the wedding ceremony. They were working nonstop in Master Hand's room with Pac-Man, placing the invitations into letters at a furious rate; Pac-Man was responsible for writing the address on each and every envelope containing an invitation.

"Mario, Peach, you guys still in here?" Bowser called out, entering the room carrying a suitcase. The Koopa King approached Mario and company, placed the suitcase on the desk the three were working at, and opened it up...inside of it was the money accrued from the "World's Smartest Person" contest. "Thought I would give a last-minute donation to your wedding budget, which I bet is ridiculously high..."

 **Bowser: At first I assumed Lloyd's heightened intelligence would be only temporary, but the kid is still amazingly smart! This might be the greatest thing I've ever done, I inadvertently made Lloyd a young Albert Einstein, all because of my prank! I oughta thank that Waddle Dee for finding the giant rock used for the prank...heck, I might as well accept him as my son! Could be smarter than most of my children!**

"Thanks for the money Bowser, this is a very kind gesture!" thanked Peach, as Mario counted the money Bowser offered. Out of all the wedding budget donations, Bowser's was by far the most generous. "Always knew that in that villainous body of yours you had a soft side!"

"'Kind gesture'?" snorted Bowser, disconcerting Peach. "I only donated because I didn't know what else to do with the money! Master Hand barred me from using the money to build a bar in the mansion, kept whining about 'the kids'...I'm sure he'll come around in the future." Bowser left the room, leading Peach to wonder if Bowser truly did have a soft side. After Bowser left, Lucario entered the room.

"Hey Mario, mind if I speak with you and the others for a quick minute?" the aura Pokemon asked the plumber, holding a clipboard. Ever since being appointed general of the Pokemon Army, Lucario has been preparing nonstop in preparing the Pokemon in the Pokemon sanctuary for the Heartless invasion. With his right-hand man Mewtwo, who was appointed lieutenant, the aura Pokemon has been training the Pokemon, by having them fight certain brawlers to hone their fighting skills. Nobody knew how many Heartless the army will face, or the types of Heartless used, but Lucario wished to have his Pokemon troops prepared so they can be ready for anything.

"Sure-a thing Lucario, take a seat-a if you like," responded Mario; Lucario didn't want to take a seat, so he just stood near the three instead. "So what-a brings you here, Pokemon Army general? I'm allowed to say-a that, right?"

"The 'secret' is out, so you have all the jurisdiction in the world. Don't know why Master Hand and Isabelle would want to keep my general title a secret in the first place. Anyways, I was wondering if you three could come to the Pokemon sanctuary, and check out the progress Mewtwo and I made."

"We'd love to Lucario, I can finish up the invitations there and let Mario and Peach see what's going on," stated Pac-Man, having finished writing on an envelope, containing an invitation that would be sent to Team Chaotix. "Working all day at this desk has been boringsome...I need to see some action and whatnot to get me pumped!"

"Did...you just invent a new word, Pac-Man?" Peach asked the eater of ghost, having heard the word "boringsome" for the first time. A first for Mario and Lucario as well. - there's a first for everything!

"I'm sure that's what most people do when they're bored...let's just get out of this room, before I start inventing more dumb words..."

* * *

 **Luigi: May 14th will-a mark the first time ever that-a I'll write a Mother's Day card for Daisy. It does feel weird-a though, writing such a card for a woman-a who's your wife...so to make-a writing it feel less-a weird, I'll make it seem-a like the card was written by-a Charles from the future, and that it was sent-a to the past via Professor E. Gadd's-a time machine. Yes, it sounds-a like a stretch, but stranger things-a have happened with the time-a machine...with a Shroob invasion-a being one of them.**

Luigi would write a Mother's Day card by himself in the comfort of his home, but he felt like it would be too underwhelming, so he asked upon three individuals to write a card just for good measure...Fox, Falco, and Yuffie. The pilots and the ninja were with Luigi and Charles in Luigi's kitchen, seated at a table.

"Um, just to be clear, I never had a strong relationship with my mother, so I don't know if my card will turn out good," stated Yuffie, raising her finger so she could be recognized. "Also, writing it from Charles's perspective is gonna make writing the card feel...strange. And maybe tedious."

"Please just bear with-a me this once, we'll make it through if we-a put our thinking caps on," said Luigi. Daisy was out shopping with Zelda and entrusted Luigi in watching over Charles, so the cards would have to be finished in time before the princess returned home. "Now, we'll be-a writing these cards from Charles's perspective when-a he's ten years old."

"Bruh you told Fox and I that we would be writing these cards from Charles's perspective when he's fifteen years old!" frowned Falco, believing he and Fox were fed false information beforehand. "Make up your mind, bro!" Fox had to calm Falco down; had the bird gotten angrier, he would have made poor Charles cry.

"No, no, I've settled-a on ten, I think ten is the perfect-a age for Charles to write a love-a letter sent to the past. Before we can-a begin, we must first visualize our-a selves as Charles, and imagine where Charles would-a be in ten years. So we'll-a go around the table, starting off-a with Yuffie. Where do you see-a Charles in ten-a years?"

"Experiencing acne for the first time," said Yuffie. Not fairly common for children to get acne that young.

"Kidnapped and used as a ransom by some evil guy," said Fox. Someone like Bowser would definitely come to mind.

"Doing time in juvenile detention for inappropriately soliciting his fourth-grade teacher," said Falco. Only he would think of something dumb like that.

"No, not-a even close...and you're-a an idiot," Luigi would say respectively to Yuffie, Fox, and Falco in that order after hearing their responses. "Certainly you three could do better than that! Let's just-a say that Charles is a fourth-a grader, and leave it at-a that."

"A fourth-grader who solicited his teacher," murmured Falco, earning an intense glare from Luigi. It was nothing like his death stare in _Mario Kart,_ though.

"Don't make-a me kick you out of my-a house..." the green plumber threatened, prompting Falco to keep his mouth shut. "Good, now let's-a begin!"

* * *

 **Sonic: Here at the mansion, we have a very sucky welcoming committee...hardly anyone welcomed Alm and Celica to the mansion, they never gave them gifts or anything! How can you show your appreciation for a pair of newcomers and not spoil them with gifts? That's like giving some singer an endorsement deal, and not showering them with a horde of endorsements! You gotta make them feel welcome, make them feel like, "Yeah, I'm gonna love it here, these people know what's up!" So, to make up for the mistakes my Smash Mansion brethren have done, I'll be giving Alm a gift that he could use at a later time. He might not like the gift, but sooner or later, he's gonna thank me!**

Contrary to what Sonic believed, the residents of the Smash Mansion _were_ welcoming Alm and Celica - they just didn't needed to do so by giving gifts and whatnot. Everyone welcomed the married couple from Valentia (now Valm) with opened arms, and have been spending time with the couple over the course of the week. While Celica was getting her nails done in the beauty parlor, Alm was off spending time with Tsubasa and Eleonora in the Star Records room, telling the idol singer about his epic adventures.

"So there I was, leading a counterattack on Rigel with my army..." Alm told the story, exuberating vigor and bravery in his storytelling. "We captured a fortress belonging to Nuibaba, a sorcerer, and there we found a prisoner, Tatiana, who was a saint!"

"Why did this Nuibaba person have Tatiana imprisoned for?" asked Eleonora who, like her friend Tsubasa, was thoroughly engaged into Alm's story. Alm might have found his niche early on at the mansion - as a storyteller.

"Nuibaba had captured Tatiana to make her lover, Zeke, fight. After seeing that Tatiana was safe, and that Zeke was fully cooperating, my army was able to defeat Jerowm, a corrupt general of Rigel who raided the..." Alm was about to continue the story until he looked behind him and saw a person he least wanted to see...Sonic.

"Hope you guys weren't saying any bad things about me!" exclaimed the blue hedgehog, as Tsubasa and Eleonora exchanged looks at one another, their looks presumably saying, "What business does this dumb hedgehog have here?". Alm remained cautious of Sonic, even backing away just a little for good measure.

"Why are you here Sonic, we were busy enjoying a good story from Alm until you came along," Tsubasa said to the hedgehog. In Sonic's hands was an envelope, most likely for Alm. For all we know, it could be a monetary gift for the king.

"Pfft, my stories are _way_ better than Alm's - that one story where I outran a G.U.N. helicopter at breakneck speed will trump ANY story Alm tells." Dude talks about that city escape moment like it was the greatest thing since the beginning of time. And it annoys the crap out of everyone. "Speaking of Alm...I'd like to give this to you." Sonic handed the envelope to Alm. "Don't open it, just look at the envelope."

"Thanks Sonic, you shouldn't have," Alm reluctantly thanked the hedgehog as he glanced at the envelope...and cringed at the label he saw on it.

 _To: My beautiful and smoking hot mom, Celica_

 _From: *insert child's name here*_

 _(Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog had no involvement in writing the card inserted in this envelope)_

"Inside that envelope is a Mother's Day card that you can give to your future son so he can give it to Celica!" exclaimed Sonic, as Alm continued to cringe at the words on the envelope. Whatever respect the king had for the hedgehog was now gone. "I essentially did your son a huge favor, and wrote a Mother's Day card for him, isn't that nice? Just give that envelope to your son at the appropriate age, and tell him to give it to Celica on Mother's Day! But you might want to use white-out on the 'insert child's name here' part, replace it with your son's name."

"What if I had only a daughter, what would I do then?" inquired Alm, who felt like ripping the envelope in Sonic's face. Lighting the envelope on fire and forcing Sonic to watch would be just as great, and just as effective.

"Eh, I would have written a Mother's Day card for a potential daughter to give to Celica, but I thought that would be too much work." Alm allowed Tsubasa and Eleonora to see the envelope, and they too were cringing. "Either way, I saved your kid from a lot of trouble."

 **Alm: Am I going to keep the envelope Sonic gave me? *scoffs* Not by any means. From now on, whatever things I receive from Sonic, I will promptly throw away in the garbage, where it belongs. Even if it was something like a kitchen appliance just for me and Celica to use, I would still throw it away if it was from Sonic. That kitchen appliance could possibly be haunted, or even prone to exploding at any given minute.**

 **Sonic: Put a lot of heart and soul into that Mother's Day card, I think Celica is gonna enjoy it when she reads it for the first time. Provided that Alm still has the envelope with him in due time...but no worries, I made multiple copies of the card in the event Alm loses the envelope. It's the thought that counts!**

"That's all I want to share with you, for today at least," Sonic said to Alm as he was ready to make his exit. "Got a bunch of awesome and cool stuff to give to you and Celica, just gotta make sure Knuckle's credit card is still good. Poor guy is in credit debt because of me - when you do good things for others, it can take a toll on you, and your pals. See ya later!" Sonic finally left the room, leaving Alm alone with Tsubasa, Eleonora, and the envelope the king planned on disposing of later.

* * *

Under the watch of Lucario, the Pokemon Army was training extensively in the Pokemon sanctuary, training with several of the residents. While Pac-Man was off finishing the wedding invitations, Mario and Peach were watching the progress of the Pokemon troops with Lucario and Mewtwo, Lucario's second-in-command.

"Wonder if Master Hand-a would allow you to use-a all the Pokemon in the sanctuary," Mario asked Lucario as they watched Little Mac and Knuckles fight with Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee, respectively. The residents were ordered not to viciously harm the Pokemon - they just had to help them hone their fighting capabilities and make it look like they could be trusted in a battlefield setting. Think of it as a big-name wrestler like John Cena putting an up-and-coming WWE superstar over with the wrestling fans in a well-fought match.

"Only the lousy Pokemon like Magikarp and Feebas will be omitted from being in the army, all they do is use Splash," replied Mewtwo, carefully observing another fight taking place - Diddy Kong vs an Infernape. "Goldeen uses Splash too, but at least it knows actual Pokemon moves."

 **Mewtwo: Allow me to say that I've been completely in the wrong for the actions I took last week towards being named lieutenant of the Pokemon Army. I was acting like a different person, I let my goal of winning the lieutenant role alter my ambitions, my behaviors, my personality, and others things that would remain stable. In fact, I hardly remember any of the things I did, for I was too ambitious...Mario even claimed that I entered Master Hand's "World's Smartest Person" contest wearing a flannel shirt and a Groucho Marx glasses... *shudders* ...who knows what the scientists responsible for my creation would have thought of me.**

"Hey Mario, Peach, check this out!" Knuckles called out to the plumber and the princess as he tried to deliver a punch to Hitmonchan...only for the kicking Pokemon to grab the echidna's fist and throw him to the floor, where he and Hitmonchan ganged up on the poor Master Emerald guardian. "Yo Little Mac, help a brother out and get these Pokemon scum away from me!" Knuckles called out to the boxer, who headed over to Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee and restrained them, while Knuckles screamed in pain and agony.

"Ah, nothing like hearing the sound of screaming agony to get you pumped up and write wedding invitations!" Pac-Man sighed happily, as he was working away on the wedding invitations. He was only a few feet away from Meta Knight, engaged in a duel with Bisharp, but that didn't distract the eater of ghosts from his hard work.

"I think we should move Pac-Man, he could possibly get himself hurt," Peach spoke with Mario; even though Meta Knight and Bisharp were confined in a space that would prevent the fight from spilling out, the princess still wasn't feeling confident in Pac-Man's current location.

"Eh, Meta Knight and-a Bisharp don't have any project-a tiles that would harm Pac, so I think he's-a fine where he is," responded Mario, only for a sharp, metal gear to fly out of nowhere and strike Pac-Man in the head, courtesy of Proto Man who was fighting an Ampharos that happened to know the move Reflect. Even though there was now a gear stuck in his now bleeding head, Pac-Man kept on keeping on and focused on his work at hand.

"Whoops, sorry about that Pac, by bad," Proto Man apologized to Pac-Man, the eater of ghosts being tended to by an Audino, a hearing Pokemon. Lucario and Mewtwo entrusted Leia to train Audino, Chansey, Blissey, and Wigglypuff, and have them serve as Pokemon nurses. So far, the nurse aide's work was paying off.

"You know Mario, now would be a perfect time for me to try on my wedding dress," Peach said to Mario, talking about the wedding dress Daisy bought for her earlier in the week. "Give the folks in the sanctuary a sneak peak...if you know what I mean." Mario knew exactly what Peach meant, as he nodded his head with a creepy smile...expecting Peach's "sneak peak" to only be for him.

"Go ahead and try-a on your wedding dress...I'll be waiting for-a you," said Mario, now envisioning Peach wearing her wedding dress in his head. Peach left the sanctuary to retrieve her dress, and Mario was still thinking of Peach.

"Um, Mario, you there man?" Lucario asked the plumber, seeing that Mario was out of it. The aura Pokemon waved his hand in front of Mario's eyes, but the plumber refused to budge; his mind was still on his woman. "Mewtwo, I think Mario is in some sort of trance..."

"Let me take care of this..." Mewtwo approached Mario, and used Disable on him, stunning the plumber in the process and ending his little trance. "My Disable should have snapped Mario out of his trance - he'll be back to normal soon once his daze wears off. Let me go check on how the Ice Climbers are doing with Beartic." Mewtwo departed, leaving Lucario alone with Mario - whose daze ended.

"Peach, where'd you go, did you retrieve your dress yet?" Mario questioned as he looked around, even though his woman had already left.

* * *

 **R.O.B.: MOTHER'S DAY...MAY 14TH...TWO DAYS AWAY...YET SOME FOLKS ARE CELEBRATING EARLY...NO ONE SHOULD CELEBRATE EARLY...ESPECIALLY FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS...**

"How very despicable of you, not wanting to celebrate Mother's Day with your mum..." Bayonetta shook her head at Snake, who vowed to remain in his room to avoid his visiting mom, EVA. And yes, Snake did board up the windows just for good measure. "Back from the dead after three long years, and yet you wish to deny her company! What do you have to say for yourself, you senile old man?"

"Quit testing my patience, woman..." seethed Snake, clenching his fist. He was lying on his bed, just to play up the "terminally ill" fallacy. "Also, quit calling me 'senile old man', it's becoming old. Why can't you people think of something original to describe me?"

"What would your twin brother Liquid Snake think of you, not wanting to see your formerly deceased mother? Why, if he was here, he would welcome his mum with open arms, embrace her and show his love for her!" This made Snake roll his eyes; he wished he had a cigar to light up right about now. "Bet you're happy that he's dead, and you're the only Snake slithering about!"

"I never said I was happy about Liquid Snake being dead - I still miss the guy, ever since he died in the Shadow Moses incident in February of 2005. Granted we had our little rivalry, and he always had an inferiority complex, but I still liked Liquid...somewhat. We might have had our battles, but it was all great company."

"Now why can't you be like that towards your mother?" Bayonetta smirked, resting her chin in the palm of her hand as she leaned in closer to Snake. She was giving the former spy all he could handle.

"What is it with your obsession with mothers...'If you need to learn how to talk to a lady, ask your mum'...you're such a weird woman."

* * *

Pit, Kirby, and Viridi were outside Snake's room, guarding the door with all their might. Snake instructed the three to guard the room, and prevent EVA from entering the room at all costs. However, Snake did not give the trio instructions on what to do if someone questioned them for standing near someone's room.

"What are you three doing standing near Snake's room, don't you have anything important to do?" MegaMan .EXE asked as he walked by. "Got some great movies for you three to watch in the movie room!" As tempting as the offer was, Pit and company remained faithful to their duty.

"We're testing to see if loitering inside the mansion gets you punished by Master Hand," explained Kirby; .EXE decided to go along with this, and continue on his way. Soon Ryu walked by, and also questioned Pit and company for standing near the room.

"Shouldn't you three be exercising and building up strength?" questioned the _Street Fighter_ veteran. Pit and Viridi could exercise, but Kirby...he might be a stretch.

"Standing near certain bedrooms of the mansion can grant you strength and power!" exclaimed Viridi, saying this from the top of her head. "King K. Rool told me this this, he's a guru on building strength and muscle!"

"Since you gained this information from Rool, I'll take your word for it! Keep up the good work, keeping standing strong!" After saying the lame pun, Ryu walked away, knowing what was going to be on his training regimen today.

 **Ryu: I detect a major flaw in the info Rool gave to Viridi and friends...how is it that the goddess and her pals stand near Snake and Bayonetta's room, and not gain a single morsel of strength, or muscle? Does this "standing near certain bedrooms" myth work depending on whose room you stand near to? To test this myth out, I'll be standing outside of Jacky and Akira's room for the rest of the day, and until the next day! Screw sleep - sleep is for the weak and ill-minded anyways! Those times you would sneak inside my room after midnight - I just had my eyes closed to make you assume that I was asleep!**

However, there was one passerby that was a tougher egg to crack, and his name was Shulk. The Homs was an upbeat, honest person, lying to his face would be like licking your own elbow - totally impossible. Shulk would see through your lies, and find the bitter truth no matter how long it takes. Pit and company would be put to the test, when Shulk appeared and saw the trio guarding Snake's room.

"Very peculiar to be standing in front of someone's room this time of day, amirite?" the Homs asked Pit and company, his cheery grin enough to break any cover you put on when he's around. "What's the special occasion, don't want Bayonetta to exit her room and flirt around the mansion? Or maybe you're trapping Snake inside and making him crankier in the process?"

"We're Bayonetta's new bodyguards!" exclaimed Pit; Shulk at first didn't buy this, but considering Pit's history with Bayonetta in the past, Pit's claim was somewhat believable. "Bayo tasked us with guarding her at all times! She's busy at the moment, so we're guarding her room until she's available."

"Do you know how long she will be busy? I have something to ask her, just one question and I'll leave her be. Can you please knock on the door, and ask Bayonetta if I'm welcome to enter her room?" Pit and company were now placed in a precarious situation; what if they knocked on the door and asked Bayonetta if Shulk was welcome to enter the room? Snake never mentioned anything about letting individuals not named EVA in the room. However, Snake did mention using his fake terminal illness as a means to keep EVA away, and Viridi would use this fake illness in this given moment.

"I don't think we can let you in - Snake's inside the room, and he's terminally ill and contagious, doesn't want any visitors," explained the goddess of nature, hoping that Shulk would somehow see this through. "I mean, you wouldn't want to contract his illness, would you?"

"But Bayonetta is in the room with Snake, I heard her have a short conversation with the guy! And if Snake is supposed to be 'terminally ill and contagious', to the degree in which he wouldn't want any visitors, then why is Bayonetta in the room with him? Explain that for me!"

"Maybe Bayonetta doesn't...have an immune system because she's an Umbra Witch?" Not the best excuse, but it was well worth a shot.

"Yet she suffered from the cold that one time the entire mansion was sick...just knock on the door and ask Bayonetta if she can let me in, I just need to her ask one question, and then I'll..."

Not wanting to take anymore of Shulk's crap, Kirby sucked up the Homs, and held him in his mouth. Shulk's cries for help could be heard from inside the pink puffball's mouth; poor Shulk would have to stay in Kirby's mouth until the coast was clear.

"Snake's mom can't show up any sooner..." sighed Pit, already growing tired of guarding Snake's room. Why did he and his pals agree to follow Snake's plan...

* * *

"Just keep following me guys, we'll find my mom sooner or later!" a confident Lucas said to Ness, Link, and Cloud, the three dudes all tired and worn out. Lucas was leading his crew to the outskirts of King country, now in the Sammamish Plateau, in search for his formerly deceased mother, Niwana.

"Should have ditched Lucas earlier when we had the chance," an exhausted Link said to Cloud and Ness, who were both exhausted as well due to walking for a long period of time. "Then Lucas will eventually discover that his 'mom' was just some silly delusion in his head, and then the joke's gonna be on him."

 **Lucas: What a great way it would be to kick off Mother's Day weekend - reconnect with my mom, and bring her to the mansion and spend time with her and all that good stuff! I know for a fact that she's the real deal; this wasn't like that one instance in Sunflower Fields when I encountered a spirit of my mom. I don't care how my mom came back to life again, or if she survived that Drago attack, I'm just happy to...  
Link: *walking to Lucas* Hey Lucas, do you know where the nearest restroom is? I gotta go man...  
Lucas: No, but you can always pee in one of the bushes. Nobody's around here in these parts, so you can just give it a go.  
Link: I can't do that, Midna...erm, _Zelda_...would probably judge me...  
Lucas: Except that Zelda isn't even here...  
Link: Correct you are, my good friend...you know what, I'll just take care of my business now... *walks away***

"We can't just abandon Lucas, he would have a crying fit if he saw that we deserted him," stated Cloud, wiping the sweat off his face. The swordsman was starting to feel hungry from exhaustion; if only there was a Burger King nearby. "How about we ditch Lucas once we find the kid's mother, and then we'll let him and his mom share their moment together."

"What if we left Lucas alone, and we leave him with an IMPOSTOR?" asked Link, fairly certain that Hinawa was some impostor trying to play a deliberately cruel Mother's Day prank on Lucas. "Even worse - what if, the impostor turns out to be a CHILD MOLESTER? Oh man, Lucas would be the perfect victim for that kind of stuff! Just look at that cute face of his, any child predator would want him!" Would be awkward for any child predator to learn that Lucas was thirteen years of age.

"Did you seriously just said that Lucas had a 'cute face'?" Ness questioned Link, making the Hylian think about the words that just came out of his mouth. Suddenly, Lucas and his crew reached a dead end, having been stopped in their tracks by a spacious lake.

"Looks like we've reached a dead end - though we could walk around this lake and see if it will get us anywhere," Lucas accessed the situation, with his hands on his hips. This was the most confident the teen has ever felt before.

"Oh Lucas, mommy's over here!" a feminine voice called out, and Lucas could recognize that voice from anywhere. Standing at the other side of the lake waving to her son was Hinawa, still in the flesh. "I see you've brought some of your friends along! Splendid! Come meet me at the other side of the lake and follow me, I've got a huge surprise for you!" Hinawa walked away, walking deep into the Sammamish woods.

"Fifty bucks that woman over there is a Hinawa impostor," offered Link, pulling out his wallet. The Hylian only had fifty bucks on him, but did he care about losing it in a bet? Not unless he borrowed some money from Jacky...without the racer's permission.

"Hope you three are ready for some more walking!" Lucas said to his crew, who had reached their breaking point in terms of exhaustion. Maybe the three should have ditched Lucas when the time was necessary.

* * *

"Whaddaya mean, you don't have that much money on you, you're a freaking king!" Wario pestered Alm, who was walking through the hallway with the envelope Sonic gave to him, containing the hedgehog's Mother's Day card for Celica, written from the perspective of Alm's son. Alm tried to get Mr. Game and Watch to throw the envelope away, but after the king told the 2-D man the entire story, Mr. GW thought Sonic was just doing a good gesture, and told Alm to keep the envelope.

"I may be a king, but that doesn't mean Celica and I arrived at the mansion with currency in our possession," stated Alm, trying to walk away from Wario, only for the fatso to catch up each and every time. "We decided to start off on a clean slate, start off with a new beginning."

"That might be THE dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life! No one comes into the United States without anything in their pocket! They gotta bring some cash with them, use it to afford rent, get some food, make it rain, and other necessities!" Why would making it rain at nightclubs be considered a "necessity"? "But if you wanna enter this country with a 'clean slate', then go ahead and be my guest!"

 **Wario: Haven't celebrated Mother's Day in a long time, partly due to the strained relationship I have with my mom. Everytime that woman calls me, her calls immediately go straight to voicemail where they belong; I delete her voicemails without even listening to them. Thankfully she doesn't know how to text yet, but when she does, I'll make necessary precautions and change my phone number ASAP! Or I can redirect my mom's calls to Chrom's phone, the guy hardly uses his device anyways!**

"Whatever floats your boat, I suppose..." Alm sighed as he walked away even faster from Wario, to the point where the fatso couldn't keep up and fell onto the floor from walking fast with his stubby legs. Alm would soon encounter the individual he needed to see, R.O.B.; the robot was busy checking out the ladies in the beauty parlor and he saw Alm staring at him interestingly. R.O.B. was rather quick to regain composure.

"...HELLO NEWCOMER ALM...DIDN'T SEE YOU THERE..." the robot greeted the king, hoping Alm wasn't looking at him for long. He had a reputation to uphold. "I DETECT AN ENVELOPE IN YOUR POSSESSION...WHAT IS INSIDE?"

"Just some lousy Mother's Day card Sonic wrote for me - it was written from the perspective of my son from the future, he said. He expects me to give the card to my son so he could give it to Celica and...I just don't know. I tried to get Mr. Game and Watch to dispose the letter, but he refused."

"GIVE ME ENVELOPE...I CAN EXCHANGE CARD INSIDE ENVELOPE...WITH ANOTHER MOTHER'S DAY CARD...THROUGH TECHNOLOGY..." So Alm would give R.O.B. the envelope, not at all thinking how in the world the robot could magically exchange cards in a jiffy. Must be a new upgrade of his.

"And you're going to dispose of the card afterwards...right?" Alm tried to ask R.O.B., who went away with the envelope in hand. At least Alm got rid of the envelope, and so he walked away, to continue the rest of his day.

* * *

"'Dear Mom, I love you very, very much - even more so than Dad,'" Yuffie was reading her Mother's Day card to Luigi, Fox, Falco, and Charles, and she was making Luigi feel some type of way. "'Happy Mother's Day...with much love, your awesome son Charles.'" After she finished reading, Yuffie looked up at Luigi, and as evidenced by his frown, he didn't approve of the ninja girl's card.

"All that time-a I gave you, and that's the best-a you could muster?" Luigi disappointingly shook his head at Yuffie, apparently expecting better from the ninja girl. "What do you have-a to say for yourself?"

"Like I told you before, I never had a strong connection with my mom, so I don't know why you expected more from me." Luigi was about to argue with Yuffie, but the plumber had to admit the ninja had a point; Yuffie's mother died when the ninja was young, and so a mother-daughter relationship hardly took form.

"What about you-a Fox, what do you have to share-a with us?" Luigi moved on to Fox, whose Mother's Day card was decorated with glitter and stickers. Luigi told the pilot to worry about decorating later, but Fox just couldn't wait.

"Ready to have your socks blown off?" asked Fox, getting his card ready. "Prepare to listen to the best Mother's Day card ever read..." After clearing his throat, it was time for Fox to read his card. "'Wishing you the best, and everything else life has to offer...from the bottom of my heart and Samantha's heart...Happy Mother's Day. With much love, Charles.'" Once Fox was finished, Luigi and company looked at one another with strange faces.

"Who the heck is Samantha?" asked Yuffie, wondering if this Samantha chick was Charles's fourth-grade girlfriend. Luigi and Daisy wouldn't allow Charles to have a girlfriend at ten years old anyways.

"That would be Charles's little sister, and the second child in the Luigi clan." Fox looked towards Luigi, who still had a strange look on his face. "You _are_ going to name your daughter Samantha, if you have a daughter, right? Please do it man, I wouldn't want to throw this decorated card away for nothing..."

 **Fox: Luigi and Daisy arguably made the best decision they ever made in their short time as parents by not naming their son Luigi Jr. Naming your son or daughter after you has become too mainstream, and gets boring if the child you named after yourself continues the tradition and names their kid after _them._ Not only is it boring, but it is also ****repetitive, and repetition gets you nowhere unless you're exercising on leg day.  
Falco: For that very reason, we must ensure that Luigi and Daisy don't name their daughter Daisy Jr., for it will have a strong chance of said child having her kids and grandkids sharing her name. Diversity is what we're looking for!**

"Let's see what you got, Luigi..." Fox grabbed the plumber's card...and hardly saw anything written on it! The words "Happy Mother's Day" were on the front of the card, but nothing else written. "Dude, you didn't even write anything save for the title, what gives?!"

"I was-a having a writer's block, that's-a all," Luigi nervously responded, fiddling with his fingers. Fox and company didn't buy the plumber's claim one bit.

"So are we going to read my Mother's Day card or not?" inquired Falco; he was writing his card at a rapid pace, though it was likely he just wrote nothing but chicken scrabble to write a somewhat acceptable card. "Cause I got a Mother's Day card that will..."

Suddenly the doorknob of the front door was turning - Daisy and Zelda were home! Luigi hurriedly snatched up all the Mother's Day cards and placed them underneath a nearby toaster oven, before returning to his seat just when Daisy and Zelda entered the home. The two princesses saw Luigi and company sitting at the kitchen table, sporting grins that may or may not suspicious.

"Hello sweetie - glad to see you've brought some company over while I was gone!" Daisy greeted her husband, as she closed the door and placed the bags of stuff on the floor with Zelda's assistance. "So what were you doing while Zelda and I were shopping?"

"We were, uh, spending quality time-a with Charles!" replied Luigi; he would have used "playing a board game" as an excuse, but he didn't have a game board with him. "Fox, Falco, Yuffie and-a I were having lots and lots-a of fun while you were away!" Fox, Falco, and Yuffie all nodded their heads simultaneously, which may or may not be as suspicious as the grins on their faces.

"Well I'm glad to see you all enjoyed yourselves while we were gone," said Zelda, after she placed all the shopping bags on the floor and took out the contents. "Hopefully Link was able to enjoy himself while I was away."

* * *

Speaking of Link, why don't we check on our favorite Hylian? The hero of Hyrule was still following Lucas, along with Ness and Cloud. Hinawa was leading the four deeper into the Sammamish Plateau, deep into the forestation of the area.

"Are you still following me, my dear Lucas?" Hinawa called out, her voice heard from afar. "And you're still bringing your friends too, right? Can't wait to show you the surprise Lucas, I'm sure you'll love it!"

"This 'surprise' sounds mighty suspicious, don't you think?" Midna popped out from Link's body for a brief moment to ask the Hylian, in a position at Link's side where neither Cloud nor Ness could see her before returning to her host body. Midna's question did nothing but make Link feel somewhat cynical...

* * *

 **Peach: Just finished trying on my wedding dress, and now I'm heading to the Pokemon sanctuary to show it off to Mario and the others! But I'm afraid my dress has adverse effects on the men...for example, when I walked out of my room I saw Gil, he began sweating as his face turned red and he collapsed at the very sight of me - my dress must have given him a heart attack! Then I saw Wolf in the hallway, and once he saw me in my dress, he began to hyperventilate, and said he needed to go to the bathroom, before running off! Ooh, I hope my dress didn't give Wolf respiratory problems! Mario has a few health problems, so I hope my wedding dress doesn't affect him!**

 **Wolf: Took the longest shower ever in my entire life thanks to seeing Peach in her dress. Do I have any regrets about it? *pauses, then looks around* Ask me again after I consider my options of crashing the wedding and marrying Peach on the spot...**

 **Gil: *wiping his face* Is it bad that I wish for Mario and Peach to get divorced so Peach can be single again?**

"Finished up all the wedding invitations Mario!" a now bandaged Pac-Man notified the plumber, having finished up all the wedding invitations in the Pokemon Sanctuary. Apparently hearing the sounds of the residents clashing with members of the Pokemon Army was enough motivation for the eater of ghosts to finish his task. "Think I did a great job all by myself?" Mario went over the envelopes containing the invites, and saw one person's name on an envelope that made him cringe.

"Why did-a Peach consider inviting Waluigi to-a the wedding..." Mario shook his head disapprovingly as he sighed. The plumber was still grateful to Waluigi for saving his behind back in episode 11, but he was against having the guy attend his wedding - and he wasn't the only one who felt that way.

"Peach is making a huge mistake inviting that man," remarked Lucario as he and Mewtwo headed over to Mario to glance at the envelopes, and see who else was invited to the wedding. "Waluigi is like Scrappy Doo - nobody likes him. I don't even think Scrappy would like Waluigi if he knew the guy!"

"Yeah, not to mention Waluigi is the biggest kissup in all of existence, always kissing up to Wario and following up that man!" added Diddy Kong, joining in on the conversation. He was eating a banana, and not fighting any of the Pokemon.

"Who told you that you could have a lunch break?" Mewtwo glared at Diddy, letting his glare permeate inside of the spidermonkey's soul and make him shiver. Diddy nervously chuckled and threw the banana away, before darting off. He knew better than to get on Mewtwo's bad side.

"Oh Mario, I'm in my wedding dress, ready when you are!" Peach's voice was heard from afar. Just like that, Mario's heart was fluttering, as the plumber was just dying to see how hot and sexy Peach looked in her wedding dress.

"I'm-a all ready, just come on in so we-a can all see!" Mario called out, and soon enough, the princess would arrive - wearing a white off-the-shoulder mermaid wedding dress that showed off her beauty and complimented the princess well. Mario was quick to become enamored with Peach in her wedding dress, but he wasn't the only one...

...everyone else was enamored as well! Lucario looked at Peach with a lovestruck gaze, while Mewtwo, trying to maintain his composure and status as a collected and stoic individual, looked to the side. Even Meta Knight, who was just as stoic as Mewtwo, found himself in love with Peach because of her wedding dress; feeling too lowly and unworthy to be in the princess's presence, Meta Knight walked away, trying to get the mental image of Peach out of his head.

"None of you are saying anything, does that mean you don't like my dress?" asked a concerned Peach, as Mario and others checked out the princess in her dress. "If you don't like my dress, then say it now or forever hold your piece!"

"Wow Peach, you look...nice in that wedding dress of yours," Chrom said to the princess as he passed by, stunned by how beautiful Peach looked in her dress. He would just stand there and gawk at the princess, but the prince of Yliesse was a respectful man.

"Thank you Chrom - glad you had the courage to say something!" smiled Peach; Chrom nodded and continued on his way, glad Raven wasn't around to see.

 **Chrom: It would be nice for Lucina to enjoy Mother's Day for once; I don't think Lucina remembers her birth mother well, and to be frank, I don't remember her as well. Did she have blue hair like me? Ah, that's something I'll revisit later in time. Gotta propose to Raven sooner than later, so I can not only make her and myself happy, but Lucina happy as well.**

 **Red the Pokemon Trainer: Lucina is about to have one smoking hot mom soon once Raven and Chrom tie the knot... *shakes his head* Why must everyone in the Marth clan look so freaking good?!**

"Shoot, forgot the rose that comes with the dress!" frowned Peach, seeing that the flower was missing from her attire. "I'll be right back to fetch the rose, you boys wait right here!" So Peach left Mario and company, and once the princess exited the sanctuary, Mario and the others were finally relieved, with some letting out a sigh of relief.

"Is she gone, did Princess Peach finally leave?" Meta Knight showed up, carrying a bottle of water in his hand. You probably know what the Star Warrior was going to use that bottle for. "That woman nearly caused me to fall in love with her...and you know I don't do romance!"

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want to play the 1-2-Switch game Amy bought for us?" Toon Link asked Pit, who was still standing at Snake's bedroom door with Viridi and Kirby, fulfilling his mission. "I can guarantee you it'll be more fun and entertaining then standing by some bedroom door all day long!"

"Like I've been trying to tell you, Toon Link, sightseeing inside the mansion is always great when you're doing it from Snake and Bayonetta's room, you should try it someday," Pit told the young Hylian. "I'll play 1-2-Switch tonight if I can, or maybe tomorrow. It's not like the game is going anywhere!"

"Okay then, suit yourself...just know that you're missing out on a lot of fun..." Toon Link held his head down as he walked away, making Pit feel remorseful. The angel would love to play with Toon Link, but Snake's unwillingness to see his mom was tearing into the angel's plans. Fortunately for Pit and company, the time spent guarding the door would pay off when an elderly blonde woman approached the three, greeting the trio with her hand on her hip.

"Why hello there, you three adorable children..." the woman greeted Pit, Viridi, and Kirby; would it be right to consider Kirby a child? "Allow me to introduce myself...my name is EVA, and you may know me as the surrogate mother of Liquid Snake and Solid Snake. I've been told that Solid Snake is behind that door, and since I promised him I would spend the Mother's Day weekend with him..."

"I'm sorry ma'am, but you can't see Snake, he's terminally ill," stated Viridi; Snake, who heard his mother's voice, played up this "terminally ill" facade by coughing, wheezing, and gagging. "He's been in hospice care for the longest now, and he has shown no signs of recovering..."

"Silly little girl, I called Snake earlier today, and he was fine when I called him. You're saying that my son suddenly became terminally ill after the call was made? I know he doesn't want to see me, for whatever reason. So how about you let me in, before I have to force my way inside the room?"

"Snake is very much terminally ill, he was healthy before, but now he's in critical condition! And he's very contagious, coming in contact with him would probably make you terminally ill too!" EVA saw through this blatant lie, and suddenly became more determined to see her darling son.

"Guess I have to take matters into my own hands..." EVA sighed, as she snapped her fingers. To Viridi and company's shock, a bunch of Dusk nobodies were summoned, all surrounding EVA...who suddenly turned into a Dusk herself! EVA was really a Nobody in disguise!

"So it looks like I have to do things the hard way, huh?" snarled an individual that appeared out from a dark corridor, wearing an eyepatch. It was Xigbar, and he had his fancy guns in his possession. "Get that Snake dude before I have to torment these kids!" The Dusks did as they were told, slithering their way inside Snake's room. The door was quickly kicked down to the floor, and Pit and company jumped out of the way as the Dusks were carrying Snake out of his room.

 **Xigbar: Saïx told us about this guy named Snake, who masterminded the dismantling of our plans three months ago -** **Saïx learned the guy's name by spying on him and the others. Despite his old age, Snake still was a wise dude, and his wisdom could be vital to Master Hand and his dumb residents. If the losers in the mansion try to start some counterattack or something during our invasion, then there's a good chance Snake would have a hand in it and nullify the invasion's success! So, we developed a butt-kicking plan, which has something to do with Mother's Day - by having one of our members infiltrate the mansion, we were able to acquire Snake's personal information, and we learned that he had a mom, named EVA, who died in some island somewhere. After stealing some dude's phone, we had one of the Nobodies pose as Snake's mom, and contact Snake on the mansion's phone and tell the dude that "she" was planning on spending time with him on Mother's Day...when in fact we're actually attempting to capture Snake and take him to our world, where we could brainwash him and force him to side with us! Master Hand and his bums would be HOPE** **LESS without someone like Snake on their side!**

"Why are you just standing there all scared, do something!" Snake yelled at Pit and company, carried by the Dusks; Kirby, whose mouth was full, spat Shulk out at a couple of Dusks, defeating them in the process. The remaining Dusks snatched up Snake, and held the former spy in their arms.

"Ooh, spitting some blonde dude at the Dusks, so effective...NOT!" scoffed Xigbar, as Shulk, now out of Kirby's mouth, rubbed his head. "Now if you excuse us, we're gonna take our prisoner and skedaddle..." So Xigbar and the Nobodies walked away with Snake, as Pit and company were still in shock by what went down. Shulk got up, and saw Xigbar and his crew walking away.

"Is that the ponytail guy from the Organization?" the Homs observed as Xigbar and the Nobodies walked away with their prey, Snake. Talk about accomplishing squad goals. "Shouldn't we go stop him?"

"Have you not taken into account the Organization's track record in this city?" asked Bayonetta as she poked her head out of the bedroom door, nonchalant about Snake's kidnapping this whole time...and for a somewhat good reason. "Somehow, someway, the Organization's plans always come to ruin. So why don't we relax, and let things play out?" Shulk was unsure about Bayonetta's method, but he decided to go along with it. Pit, on the other hand, did not.

* * *

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the group of Lucas, Ness, Link, and Cloud caught up with Hinawa, meeting Lucas's mother among some shrubbery in the Sammamish Plateau. The brunette was beaming as she was standing by herself, in front of Lucas and company.

"You finally made it Lucas, and with your friends too, deep down I always knew you a tenacious and will-powered boy!" gleamed Hinawa, making Lucas happy when she said these words. "Now come and give your mom a hug!" Lucas ran into Hinawa's open arms, embracing his mother in a heartfelt hug.

"I always knew you weren't dead, I just wouldn't believe it..." smiled Lucas, tears running down his face. Ness, Link, and Cloud all looked on, feeling happy for the PSI whiz, though Link felt somewhat cynical. "Can't wait until Dad and everyone in Tazmily Village see you again!"

"It will certainly be a surprise...speaking of which, are you ready for your surprise?" You know Lucas was eager to nod his head yes. "Oh, you're more than ready to see what the surprise is! In that case...why don't we unveil it?"

Suddenly three Dusk Nobodies appeared from the ground, each one grabbing Ness, Link, and Cloud by the arms and constraining them. And Hinawa? She turned into a Dusk as well, constraining Lucas. Much like EVA, Hinawa was a fake!

"So, Lucas, and friends...did you enjoy the 'surprise'?" a bald, pointy-eared old man appeared in a robe, his yellow eyes and devilish smile apparent. "We've never formally met before, have we? Master Xehanort's the name, and I am the leader of the Organization XIII!"

 **Master Xehanort: Filming some "documentary series" about the folks living in the mansion, eh? Well there won't be no documentary series anymore once we commence our Heartless invasion! I've assigned Xigbar to capture the man known as Solid Snake and bring him to our lair, thereby taking away a mastermind that could prevent our invasion from being a success. As for me, I will be focusing on luring Lucas, and kidnapping him and taking him to our lair as well! I've had my men spy on the residents and take notes on them, to see which individuals would contribute the most to the mansion's effort in stopping the invasion, and Xemnas told me that Lucas, despite his shy exterior, had a distinct sense of bravery, courage, and determination, and could light a fire under anyone...and we cannot afford to have that fire ignite! After gaining some personal information from sneaking inside the mansion, I've decided to enact the plan of having a lowly Nobody pose as Hinawa, and lead Lucas to a specific, faraway location, and kidnap him on the spot and take him to our stronghold!**

"I just knew that you would arrive here, following your 'mother'...just couldn't believe it when you saw 'her' in the flesh!" Xehanort snarled at Lucas, looking at the young teen in the eye. "It was so tempting, seeing her face again - you couldn't resist following 'her' to places unknown, even if you knew it was wrong!"

"And I took it for granted..." Lucas sighed as he looked down at the ground...before looking back up. "Do you know if my mom is truly dead or not? Please sir, if you know the answer, tell me right away!" Wow, Lucas was sure growing desperate...

"Silly boy, I don't know about the status of your mother, I was just using her physical appearance as a means to manipulate you! And now that I have you in my possession...why don't we take you and your friends to our world, a world where the Organization..." Suddenly a giant hand smacked the back of Xehanort's hand, making Lucas giggle. "Boy, why are you giggling, and who just hit me just now?! I'll let you know right now, you're dealing with..."

As Xehanort turned around, he suddenly came face-to-face with a flying imp, with her hair in some hand form...an imp known as Midna. She was grinning at Xehanort, as Link, Cloud, and Ness were now free from the Dusks, Midna seemingly dispatching them. Midna would dispatch one more Dusk, as she wiped the Dusk holding Lucas from existence just by smacking it with her hand, releasing Lucas in the process.

"Since you introduced yourself already, how about I do an introduction..." snarled Midna, as Xehanort gritted his teeth. "I'm Midna, and I'm a denizen of the Twilight Realm...and your biggest nightmare!" This caused Xehanort to laugh - how could a small imp like Midna be his 'biggest nightmare'?

"You fool, do you not know who I am?! I am Master Xehanort, the most devious mastermind anyone has ever..." Before Xehanort could finish, Midna grabbed the geezer by the throat with her giant hand, and looked at him straight in the eye.

"Since I'm in a relatively good mood, I'll leave you off with a warning...but I better not see you or any of your cronies next time, if you know what's good for you! Do you understand?" Xehanort kinda understood...after all, he looked afraid for the very first time! Then again, Midna _was_ choking him...

"Could you please get your hand off my neck, I can't breathe..." wheezed Xehanort; Midna would fulfill the geezer's command, as she not only released her hold on Xehanort, but threw the geezer onto the ground. "You may have won this round, but we'll be seeing who gets the last laugh once the Heartless invasion begins! This entire, putrid world will eventually be ours for the taking!" Xehanort said these parting words as he summoned a dark corridor and went through it.

"Well that takes care of that..." Midna smiled as she turned to face Link, with Lucas now standing at the Hylian's side. "So Link, where are we off to now? We've walked a long distance from the mansion, so how are we getting back home, hmm?"

"Link, you sure got some explaining to do on the way home..." Cloud said to Link, now having met Midna for the first time. Midna might have some explaining to do herself.

* * *

 **R.O.B.: MOTHER'S DAY CARD EXCHANGE...HAS BEEN COMPLETED...THANKS TO TECHNOLOGY...TECHNOLOGY RULES...**

R.O.B. was minding his business as he strolled through the mansion, envelope in hand, when he suddenly encountered Xigbar and the Nobodies, who still had Snake in their possession. How surprising that nobody stopped them yet...

"ORGANIZATION XIII MEMBER...AND NOBODIES...PREPARE TO FACE MY EYE-BEAM LASERS..." R.O.B. said. The Dusk Nobodies didn't have to prepare, for they beat up poor R.O.B. and threw him out of a nearby window for good measure. So much for those eye-beam lasers.

"Great work, you guys...if it's correct to call you guys," Xigbar commended the Nobodies, as he continued on his way. "Now let's get out of this mansion, we keep getting lost in this place, and thankfully we haven't been seen until...now?" Xigbar stopped in place, as he gawked at Peach, the princess happily humming to herself as she walked by in her wedding dress with the rose she finally found. And that left Xigbar and the Nobodies open for attack.

"Found you right where I want you!" a voice called out, as a flurry of blue arrows were fired at the Dusks, defeating them as Snake fell unto the floor. Xigbar looked behind him, and saw Pit, bow in hand, with Viridi and Kirby. Just the three he wanted to see.

"You brats want your old man back that bad, huh?" frowned Xigbar, seeing that none of his henchmen were around to help him. "Well you can have him, but don't worry, we'll be back to claim our prey - just as long as you meddling kids aren't interfering with our plans!" Xigbar exited via a corridor of darkness, and once he was gone, Pit and company went over to check on Snake, who slowly got up and scratched his back.

"Snake are you alright, did they harm you?" Pit asked the former spy, worried that he arrived too late and that Xigbar probably did something to Snake.

"No I'm just fine, thank you for saving me," thanked Snake, now standing proudly on his two feet. "Glad you came by, R.O.B. was absolutely no help..."

* * *

Stuck in the bushes outside in the front yard was R.O.B., nearly malfunctioning due to the fall. Takamaru walked by, and saw R.O.B...and the envelope in the robot's hand, sticking out for anyone to grab. Takamura, taking hold of the opportunity, grabbed the envelope, read it, and took out the card, before reading the envelope again.

"A Mother's Day card written for Celica?!" the samurai exclaimed, in no way concerned about R.O.B.'s well-being. "I should give this to her! But she's not even a mother yet...eh, I'll just leave this on her bed, she can decide what to do with it." So Takamaru walked away, leaving poor R.O.B. behind in the bushes.

* * *

"Uh huh...yes...so Link is safe?" Zelda was still at Luigi's home, now speaking on the phone with Cloud. "...and Ness and Lucas too? Great! You want either Fox or Falco to pick you four up on the Landmaster?...Okay, I'll tell them. See you later." Zelda hung up the phone, and went over to Fox and Falco, who were speaking with Luigi in the living room. "Link, Cloud, Ness, and Lucas somehow ended up at some place in King County, and Cloud was wondering if either one of you boys would pick them up in your Landmaster," Zelda explained to Fox and Falco.

 **Zelda: Cloud told me the story of Lucas following his mother Hinawa to the Sammarish Plateau, only to find out that "Hinawa" was actually a Nobody used to lure Lucas and the others. It was there that the boys met the leader of the Organization XIII, Master Xehanort, whom Cloud described as an old man with pointy ears, a hunched back, and a robe...certainly not an ice cream truck man, as Pit apparently assumed Xehanort to be.**

"I shall do the honors," Fox volunteered as he got up from his chair and made his way to the front door. "Don't do anything stupid while I'm away!" the pilot would say to Falco as he exited the house.

"I won't do anything of the sort if you aren't around!" Falco gave a thumbs up to Fox as the pilot left, and once Fox was gone, Falco tip-toed to the kitchen, past Daisy and Yuffie, who were speaking with one another, and to the toaster oven, where the Mother's Day cards were hidden underneath. Falco grabbed his card, and tip-toed to the staircase and sat down on one of the steps to read his card...only to notice something different about it. "Bruh this ain't my card, this handwriting is horrendous, it's chicken scrabble, it's...it's Sonic's handwriting! Sonic must've written this crappy card, no wonder it's so unreadable! But how on earth did he exchange his card with mine when he wasn't even here...?"

* * *

"Thank you for spending time with me Celica, I greatly appreciate it," Celica thanked the goddess of light, who walked the queen to her room. Celica spent her day with the lady residents, and got to know her fellow female residents a lot better.

"Don't mention it Celica, I just wanted you to feel well at home here!" gleamed Palutena, as she and Celica arrived at Celica's room. Palutena saw an envelope on Celica's bed, and gave it to Celica as the two ladies read the label together:

 _To: My beautiful and smoking hot mom, Celica_

 _From: *insert child's name here*_

 _(Disclaimer: Sonic the Hedgehog had no involvement in writing the card inserted in this envelope)_

"If you ask me, Sonic definitely wrote the card inside," stated Palutena, as Celica took out the card from the envelope. "Might be a Mother's Day card, apparently. Even if it was some card sent from the future (which may be what Sonic intended), no child would EVER call their mom smoking hot."

"You definitely have a point there, let's just see what Sonic wrote..." Celica said as she nervously opened up the card, and started reading...

 _To whom it may concern...a beautiful lady like you should have zero concern in your life._

 _A lady like you is strong, hardworking, and courageous to the fullest._

 _A lady like you should never be discouraged, for you have the greatest support system a woman could have._

 _I mean, you're like Wonder Woman and Superwoman combined, you're unbreakable, unpenetrable._

 _Nothing can shake you or harm you. Nothing at all._

 _Not to mention that you have the most handsome husband in existence._

 _You love for him and you care for him...and I know you wouldn't hesitate to do the same for your own children._

 _And that is why, in my humble opinion, you have the utmost potential to be THE great mother ever._

 _Just keep on keeping on, and don't ever let your guard down..._

 _With much love_

"Well, maybe it wasn't a Mother's Day card after all, I think," Palutena said to Celica, who was now beaming with a smile on her face. "Celica, are you okay? I've never seen you this happy before!"

"Excuse me for a moment, Lady Palutena, I'll be right back..." Celica placed the card down on her bed, and left the room, leading Palutena to pick up the card. The goddess of light could tell by the handwriting that Sonic did not write the seemingly unfinished card - but a tiny speck of feather gave Palutena a clue as to who the true author of the card was.

* * *

Happily eating his chili dog, Sonic exited the arcade room, having owned Ike in a game of _Space Invaders._ The hedgehog headed to his room, and on his way there, he came across Celica...who knelt down and hugged the hedgehog. So much confusion inside Sonic's head.

"Um...may I...help you, Celica?" the blue blur asked the queen, looking around to see if Amy was nearby. Celica couldn't afford a whack of Amy's hammer onto her head.

"Just wanted...to show you my appreciation and gratitude to you," responded Celica, hugging Sonic tightly. "I know everyone likes to think of you as a jerk and an obnoxious person...but now I see that you're caring and considerate as well. And I would like to thank you for showing your traits to me. You've proven that anyone can have a heart of gold...and for that, I am sincerely indebted to you."

"I'm sincerely indebted to you too Celica, glad you felt that way," Sonic patted Celica on her shoulder. "Nobody ever says nice stuff like that to me, except for my girlfriend Amy! So I appreciate your kind words - just please let go of me!" Celica would stop hugging Sonic, as R.O.B. was spying on the queen and the hedgehog. The robot was holding a slice of pie in his hands, and after using some eye-beam on said slice of pie...the food item instantly turned into a slice of pizza, and later the sound of Wario complaining about how his slice of pizza was replaced with pie was heard from afar.

 **R.O.B.: FULFILLED ALM'S ORDERS...BECAUSE OF TECHNOLOGY...AND INADVERTENTLY MADE ALM'S WIFE CELICA HAPPY...BECAUSE OF TECHNOLOGY...NOTHING CAN TRUMP TECHNOLOGY...AND LOVE...AND KINDNESS...MISSION COMPLETE...**


	74. Episode 74: Treasure

_Author's Note:_

 _New poll set up on my profile; go check it out whenever you can. Also, I f_ _inally got accepted into the University of South Carolina, so hooray for me! Now on to the guest reviews:_

 _"Can you add Sänger Zonvolt from Super Robot Wars? (Since he showed up in Project X Zone) Alyssa from Clock Tower 3? Fiona and Hewie from Haunting Ground? The characters from Burning Rangers? A Panzer Dragoon chapter? A small scene of Chrom, Leon S. Kennedy, and Alvin interacting with each other? (Matt Mercer voices them) and finally when will Reiji, Xiaomu, Saya and Sheath show up?"_

 _It's a yes from me for everything you have mentioned. When will Reiji and the gang show up? I don't know yet. Second anonymous review:_

 _"Can you make Sans from Undertale appear in smash life?"_

 _As much as I would have having Sans cracking puns...Sans in "Smash Life" ain't happening. Sorry about that. Third anonymous review:_

 _"Can you have Soda appear in smash life? Can you also make sure he takes part in the War?"_

 _Of course I can - I could have Doc Louis recruit guys like Soda and Glass Joe to partake in the war. Fourth anonymous review:_

 _"...could we see on Father's Day Flint for Lucas and Ellwood for Roy?"_

 _Unfortunately due to the Heartless storyline and the upcoming wedding, we won't be seeing Flint and Ellwood anytime soon..but if I continue this story into next year (if I'm alive, Lord willing), then I'll do a Father's day chapter then. Last anonymous review:_

 _"Can you make Lann and Reynn from World of Final Fantasy appear in the series, along with the Mirages? Please?"_

 _I would love to! Still think Lann looks like Roxas from Kingdom Hearts. Bear in mind that I won't be featuring all the Mirages. Now we have Roydigs22:_

 _"Will the threesome be a part of the [Pokemon] army?"_

 _The threesome of Lucario, Lopunny, and Gallade? I've been considering having those three, Gardevoir, and Mewtwo lead the Pokemon Army for the longest now. Don't know if I was correct about the threesome you were referring to. J300 has returned yet again:_

 _1\. Could you have some Street Figher veterans come over to the mansion in celebration of Ultra Street Fighter II? Al, the Organization XIII uses Ryu and Ken (I forget how they do it) to turn into Evil Ryu and Violent Ken?_  
 _2\. If you can, try and incorporate the Squid Sister Stories for Splatoon 2?_  
 _3\. Have Samus create a feature on her power suit that reveals she Heartless's true forms even if they look like real people._  
 _4\. Maybe as a follow-up to the smartest person contest, have Lloyd and a few other smashers compete on either Jeopardy, The Price is Right, or Wheel of Fortune._  
 _5\. Maybe do a little part of a chapter on the Indy 500._  
 _Some Character Requests:_  
 _Shareena, Alfonse and Veronica from Fire Emblem Heroes, Silas from Fire Emlem Fates, and Antasma from Mario and Luigi Dream Team._

 _1\. Yes to the Street Fighter celebration...no to Evil Ryu and Violent Ken.  
2\. Is Squid Sister Stories a video series? If so, I'll check it out this weekend.  
3\. I'll give it some thought.  
4\. Ooh...that sounds splendid!  
5\. When exactly is the Indy 500? I'll go out on a limb and say Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the race._

 _I will also accept your character requests, especially Antasma...though reviving Antasma will be a hard task._

* * *

 **Episode 74: Treasure**

Despite his past affiliation with pirates, Toon Link has never found a single treasure chest ever since his days of riding on the King of Red Lions. Those days of traveling at sea and finding sunken treasure chests while saving Hyrule from destruction seemed like a long time ago for Toon, and the young Hylian would long for those good ol' days, just as much as he longed to see his grandma and little sister again.

One particular hobby that would remind Toon Link of his adventures at sea was fishing - it would remind him of fishing for treasure, and finding fifty rupees in nearly every treasure chest he found. It would remind him of striking enemy ships with bombs, and it would also remind him of the seagulls that would fly in the sky whenever the sun was shining bright.

Although he didn't have the King of Red Lions with him, Toon Link did have a buddy with him who was fishing with the Hylian at the mansion's lake, and it was a young lad by the name of Villager. Villager had a strong affinity for fishing, and his affinity certainly didn't stop him from griping about every Magikarp or Feebas he caught. Not that he necessarily hated it, he just wished there was more variety in the fish he would catch.

"I still can't believe Midna was hanging around for that long," Toon Link said to Villager as the two youngsters were fishing. After spending more than fifteen episodes inside Link's body, Midna finally revealed herself when she dealt with Master Xehanort in the previous episode, and her appearing led to questioning in which the imp, Link, and even Zelda were subjected too (Ganondorf somehow got off the hook). "And to think Link willingly agreed to let her live inside his body...I wouldn't wanna do anything like that, no way!" After meeting with Master Hand, Midna was forced to live outside of Link's body, until she received further notice from Master Hand himself.

"Yeah same here, I don't know how Link was comfortable with that, especially for a span of like three months," Villager replied, as he reeled in not a Magikarp, or a Feebas...but a Remoraid! Sure it wasn't much, but a Remoraid was always an improvement over... "Aw man, the Remoraid fell back into the water..." moaned Villager as the Remoraid wiggled itself off Villager's hook and fell back into the lake, before swimming off. "Why do all fish Pokemon hate me..."

 **Bowser: Don't tell anyone this, but a long time ago, when Villager first arrived at the mansion...I switched the kid's fishing rod with an Old Rod, and told him that the Old Rod was the greatest rod around, because it cannot be bought NOR sold! (Used that reverse psychology on Corrin before). Would you know it, the kid believed me, and to this day, he still reels in a crapload of Magikarp and Feebas (and an occasional Psyduck), expecting that one day, a Seaking or something will be caught!...What did I do with Villager's original fishing rod, you might ask? Sold it to some local fisherman for some cash. Given that the fishing rod was able to be sold, clearly it wasn't that "great". *flashes a devious smile***

"Cheer up Villager, not all fish Pokemon hate you...I mean, the Magikarp and Feebas keep coming back for a reason," grinned Toon Link, receiving a glare from Villager. As Toon Link tried to reel in his catch, he felt something heavy as he turned on the spinning rod. It was so heavy, the Hylian couldn't even lift it up! "Oh man, I think I got a big catch! Might be a Wailord!"

"Don't worry Toon Link, I got you!" Villager ran over to the Hylian, and pulled on him with all his might, but to no avail. Donkey Kong and Luigi, who were walking by, saw the young fisherman trying to reel the catch in, and wondered if they needed any help.

"You thinking what-a I'm thinking?" Luigi asked Donkey Kong; it would be very rude and inconsiderate for the gorilla to say yes.

"Ready to make the greatest banana split in existence?" grinned Donkey Kong; Luigi frowned and pointed at Toon Link and Villager, who were still struggling. DK now realized how much of a fool he was. "Oh yeah, the youngsters catching some giant fish...let's go help them out!"

So Donkey Kong and Luigi went over to Toon Link and Villager, and together the four were all pulling together, trying to reel in Toon Link's big catch. With Donkey Kong's immense strength, the foursome were able to reel the catch out of the water and onto dry land, and Toon Link's big catch turned out to be...a treasure chest?! A treasure chest located at the bottom of the lake, who would have thought!

"Mama mia, it's a treasure-a chest, an actual-a treasure chest!" exclaimed Luigi, as Toon Link was marveling at the giant treasure chest before him. Imagine all the rupees that must be inside... "But how on-a earth did it get in-a the lake?"

"Who cares, I'm stinking rich, let's go open the chest and see what's inside!" Toon Link exclaimed as he ran to said treasure chest...only to be snatched up by Donkey Kong, who held the Hylian in the air by the back of his tunic.

"Not so fast, little one, you can't just keep all the contents of the treasure chest to yourself, ever heard of a thing called sharing?" asked DK; Toon Link wasn't a spoiled rich valley kid, so certainly he knew what sharing was and how it worked. "Villager initially helped you in reeling in that treasure chest, so it's fitting that you split up the values inside the treasure chest with him. Maybe he could use whatever's inside the chest to buy himself a better fishing rod..."

"Why don't we get Link to inspect the treasure chest?" suggested Villager, as Donkey Kong placed Toon Link back on the ground. "He knows a thing or two about treasure more than anyone, I think we should seek his input just in case."

* * *

"Gil, can you please explain to me why I need this library card, when I live here at the mansion?" Heihachi Mishima questioned Gil, the de facto librarian, in the library, speaking in a loud voice that would make any ordinary librarian shush.

"Because you refuse to return the library books after you're finished reading them; that library card is meant to keep you in check and be more considerate about returning books," explained Gil, as he dusted off a bookshelf. Maintaining and keep up with the library was his bread and butter. "Don't think that just because you've recently gained the ability to speak English that you can leave books lying around in the mansion..."

 **Heihachi Mishima: Too many cards these days...you got credit cards, debit cards, gift cards, business cards, and now library cards? What's even the point of a library card, why can't you just pick out whatever book you want to read, without having to worry about returning it? Do libraries seriously expect you to read a particular book in a certain time limit?! Who are they to determine how people should spend their leisure time!**

 **Gil: I'm forcing Heihachi to use his library card for just a short period of time - once he learns his lesson in returning things where they belong, then I'll take his library card away from him and I'll cut it up into pieces... *thinks for a brief moment, then shudders* ...on second thought, I hope Heihachi never learns his lesson. Some lessons are better off unlearned.**

"You're making it seem like I live miles away from the library and I have some 'overdue' book..." Heihachi shook his head as he walked away. "Still don't even know what 'overdue' means in that context..." As Heihachi left the library, Midna passed by the fighter, catching poor Heihachi off-guard. "Gah, don't scare me like that - you could have made me shriek loudly, which would in turn damage my tough guy reputation!"

"Pfft, there's hardly anyone here, so quit your whining," Midna rolled her eyes as she entered the library, and found Zelda by herself at a table, writing down something. A curious Midna flew over to the princess, and saw the Hylian scribbling away. "What's that you're writing, Princess Zelda - a love letter, I presume?"

"It's a progress report of the Pokemon Army that Lucario and Mewtwo asked me to write," explained Zelda; Lucario and Mewtwo would have done the report themselves, but neither were confident in their writing abilities. "I had to watch over the Pokemon's training, and write down what I saw, listing things like pros, cons, all that good stuff."

"Glad to see that you're taking an initiative...so have you seen Link anywhere? Villager and Toon Link somehow found a treasure chest at the bottom of the lake, and they want Link to 'inspect' the contents, whatever that means." Hearing there was a treasure chest in the lake was a surprise to Zelda, for the princess thought that the lake, aside from the Pokemon, was emptier than Shadow the Hedgehog's life (no offense to Shadow, but Zelda legitimately thought that).

"Link's off handling some business in Seattle, I don't know when he'll come back. But I'll let you know when he returns."

* * *

As you have figured out already, Doc Louis always had a chocolate bar with him, nearly 95 percent of the day. His chocolate bar never leaves his sight, and whenever the boxing trainer finishes his chocolate bar, you would always expect him to pull out another.

However, no one has really seen Doc Louis without chocolate, no one except for Little Mac. The boxer would detail a sans-chocolate Doc as a "monster", and even said that your life would be a living nightmare if Doc didn't get his chocolate fix in. Today, individuals other than Little Mac would experience first-hand how drastically different Doc was whenever there wasn't any chocolate around. Not only that, but Little Mac and others will also experience a broken-hearted Doc Louis first-hand.

"Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, Zip-A-Dee-A..." Doc Louis would sing as he strutted his stuff to the gaming room. "My oh my, what a wonderful day..." The boxing trainer was heading to the gaming room to check on his protege, Little Mac, and upon arrival, he saw the boxer, seated on a couch with his lover Leia. "Yo, Little Mac, my man! You treatin' Leia with respect?"

"As always, Doc Louis, treating her with one hundred percent respect!" replied Little Mac; he would give a thumbs up, if not for the fact that he was wearing boxing gloves. Does he not know that he could take those things off?

"Yeah that's right, that's my boy!" Doc Louis would give a thumbs up himself, as he continued his way to Roy, who was playing on a golf simulator. "Hey Roy, I didn't know you were into golf! I happen to like golf, too! Tiger Wood's my favorite golfer!"

"That's...good to hear...I suppose," smiled Roy as he looked around, wondering why Doc Louis was speaking to him for no reason. The boxing trainer was a bit chipper than usual.

 **Roy: I feel like my swordsmanship has helped me excel at golfing...though it could be because that I grip a golfing stick the same way I do with my sword. Sometimes when I play on the golf simulator, holding that golfing stick as I strike with all my might...I feel like using said golfing stick to beat the ever-living crap out of someone. And it's always an extremely joyous feeling.**

"You wanna give it a go at the golfing simulator, Doc?" offered Roy, holding out the golfing stick to Doc Louis. The boxing trainer broke out into his trademark laugh, an infectious laugh that could be heard from all around the gaming room.

"I would give this bad boy a swing - no pun intended - but you know I can't do it on an empty stomach!" Doc said after he was finished laughing. He dug into his pocket for a chocolate bar...but his favorite treat wasn't there! So he dug into his other pocket, but there was no chocolate bar there either. "Oh man, this ain't good..." Doc was now inspecting his pants, his shirt, his shoes, and even his underwear, searching for the chocolate bar that was nowhere to be found.

"Doc Louis, is anything the matter?" Flora asked the boxing trainer, as she wearily approached a now sweaty and panicky Doc Louis. Little Mac looked on with caution, ready to intervene if necessary.

"My chocolate bar has gone missing, I just had it not so long ago!" Doc Louis was panicking even more. "My sweet LaToya, we've only met today, and I haven't gotten the chance to know her! WHERE IS SHE?! She has to be here!" Doc Louis grabbed a nearby stool and threw it, before seeing Kirby and kicking him away like a soccer ball. Flora and Little Mac rose to the occasion, as they both grabbed Doc's arms to restrain the angry black man.

"Is LaToya an actual woman Doc Louis met, or just a silly name for another one of his chocolate bars?" Lucina asked Chrom, who was sitting nearby. Sometimes it was hard for the residents to distinguish a named chocolate bar from a lady friend of Doc Louis...if Doc had any lady friends.

"Felicia, where are you, I need some backup!" Flora called out, and as soon as her name was called, Felicia arrived at the seeing, seeing her sister and Little Mac struggling to contain Doc Louis's wrath. But the maid would come to the rescue, as she not only restrained Doc Louis, but soothed him as well.

"Easy there Doc Louis, no need to be so angry, please stop channeling your angry emotions..." Felicia consoled Doc Louis, and even though the boxing trainer was still ticked, he was no longer violent, all thanks to Felicia. "We should definitely take Doc Louis out of this room before he causes more mayhem," Felicia said to Little Mac and Flora, who were completely on board with the maid's plan.

* * *

"How nice of you to invite me to play _Yooka-Laylee,_ Dark Pit, always knew you cared about me!" Pit said to his doppelganger, as Dark Pit was playing the _Yooka-Laylee_ game on the Switch in the living room. _Yooka-Laylee_ was a one-player game, but Dark Pit successfully manipulated Pit into thinking otherwise.

"Sure thing bud, glad that I could spend this opportunity with you!" sneered Dark Pit, as he was the only one able to play the game. The doppelganger, maneuvering throughout the course as Yooka, the chameleon, had told Pit that he would get to play as Laylee, the bat, as a "default" player-two option, when Pit didn't know that Dark Pit could have control of both Yooka and Laylee. That meant the angel was holding his Joycon controller in his hands, dying in anticipation for the moment that he would actually play the game as Laylee.

"Man, even though I haven't played yet, I'm already having more fun than that one time we played _Shantae: Half-Genie Hero_ together - good times, good times!" Yes, that _Shantae_ game was a one-player game too - Dark Pit convinced Pit that it was one of the best dual player games in video game history!

 **Dark Pit: Pit is such a gullible clown, you can tell him anything and he'll believe it...heck, if you told him that Donald Trump got impeached as President and got replaced by someone like Morgan Freeman, then he would believe you right on the spot! Pit's mind is more malleable than clay!**

Suddenly Pit and Dark Pit heard Doc Louis screaming from upstairs, the boxing trainer shouting obscenities and whatnot. Both angels headed upstairs to investigate, and they saw Little Mac trying to force Doc Louis inside his room, while Felicia and Flora watched. Clearly both maids didn't want any part of of Doc Louis, whose hands were on the doorway as he held on for life.

"I'm terribly sorry Mac, but I refuse to enter my room until I find out where LaToya is!" exclaimed Doc Louis, restraining with all his might. "Gotta make sure if my baby is safe and sound! I need my chocolate, pronto!" Who knows how explosive Doc would react if his chocolate bar was eaten by someone the like Duck Hunt Dog.

"Um, what is going on here, why is Little Mac forcing Doc Louis inside his own room?" Dark Pit asked Felicia and Flora, hoping they would know the answer. You could imagine how embarrassed Little Mac was feeling at the moment.

"Doc Louis's chocolate bar has gone missing, and he's been throwing a needless tantrum over it," explained Flora, as Little Mac finally forced Doc Louis inside the room, before locking the door shut. The boxer now rested on the locked door, taking a breather. "Not to mention he keeps going on about this LaToya woman, but she's irrelevant now...didn't even know Doc Louis had a girlfriend, or had an actual dating life. Would you boys like to look for this chocolate bar, before Doc starts annihilating people and things?"

"It's just a measly chocolate bar, so finding it won't be that hard," replied Pit, hoping to restore an orderly piece of mind to Doc Louis. Dark Pit, on the other hand, was hoping finding this chocolate bar would make Flora think more favorably of him.

"How about you lovely maids look for the chocolate bar as well?" Dark Pit asked Felicia and Flora, though he was more concerned with asking Flora. "We could work together, the four of us..." However, Dark Pit only wished to work with Flora; he didn't care much for Pit and Felicia.

"That sounds ideal, don't you think so Flora?" Felicia asked her twin sister, who nodded her head. Dark Pit's plan was working far better than he originally expected - just gotta hope Pit doesn't somehow screw things up.

* * *

While Peach was on X's laptop, looking up marriage licenses online, Mario was speaking on the phone with the Seattle Mariners president, discussing the plans for his wedding. The wedding will still take place at the Mariners home field, Safeco Field, and Mario wished to have his wedding done prior to the Mariners' game against the Houston Astros, which would start around 7 o'clock at the earliest. And yes, Corrin's brother Xander was still the wedding officiant.

"Yes, yes, I've-a found a wedding officiant, I've discussed all his-a duties with him and he's-a well comfortable with his role," Mario spoke with the team president over the phone, while X monitored Peach as she used the robot's laptop in Mario's room "One o'clock is the most ideal-a time for both parties - my wedding should-a be finished well before-a your base-a ball game. Anything else you would like-a to know...yes, Waluigi will-a be in attendance at the wedding. Trust-a me, I don't want that-a guy at my wedding either, but there was no point in convincing-a my fiancee to keep-a him away...okay then, I shall-a see you on-a the 23rd of June. Alright. Take-a care. Goodbye!" Mario ended his call on the cellphone, just when Peach found a marriage license online.

"How does this license look?" Peach showed the license to Mario and X. The license didn't need to look fancy - it just needed the right requirements. It's essentially a certificate of sorts.

"Seems legit, let me print this license in the printing room," X said as he took his laptop from Peach. "I'll give the license to Isabelle so she can fill in everything. You might wanna check over her work, just in case." X would then leave the room, and a while after he left, a journalist trio made their presence to Mario and Peach, and it consisted of a tall guy, a short dude, and a woman.

"Good afternoon Mario and Peach, sorry if we're intruding upon your time," the female reporter spoke with the soon-to-be married couple. "We're journalists sent here from _The Seattle Times,_ and we were wondering if we could speak with your long-standing rival, the mighty King Bowser." These journalists looked somewhat suspicious, what with the short journalist having a cat-like facial disposition and a cat tail, and the male journalist sporting purple hair...could this be Team Rocket, the threesome of Jessie, James, and Meowth?

 **Meowth: Master Xehanort of the Organization XIII was fancying the idea of recruiting one of the bad guys from the mansion into the Organization, to serve as a fourteenth vessel of the Organization. So what does that mean anyway?  
James: Apparently Xehanort wishes to make this fourteenth vessel like him, make him a Xehanort incarnation formed in his likeness. That's what Giovanni told me, and I'm still not down with the idea...wouldn't this vessel have to be a human for another incarnation of Xehanort to exist?  
Jessie: There's no villain at the mansion that's remotely human, that much we know...so we have to look for the baddest villain there is! What do you boys think about Bowser?  
James: He seems like a promising candidate...after all, he is a master planner, and can build all sorts of vehicles that would be of aid in the invasion! Imagine using the clown cars and all the other vehicles Bowser has at his disposal! Bowser would be a great addition to the Organization...though I can't envision him having yellow eyes and pointy ears. And wouldn't he have to grow his hair out so it can be gray like the other members?  
Jessie: I'm sure he can always use hair dye...**

"We just want to know more about his personal life, and the things that he does - just a little _Seattle Times_ feature, that's all," continued the female reporter, who was Jessie in disguise. Apparently Mario nor Peach did not know that the Team Rocket trio was disguised as journalists; right now they were making Ash Ketchum proud.

"Bowser seldom shares his personal life with anyone, partly because of him being a villain, you don't want to share any juicy details about your life," said the male journalist, who was James; did Mario and Peach not question why the man had purple hair? "You know where we can find Bowser, is he busy?"

"I don't believe he's busy, usually Bowser has a lot of spare time on his hands," replied Peach; Bowser would use said spare time to prank others. "But I did hear that he was hanging out with Lloyd Irving, he's been doing so since yesterday." Bowser was still taking credit for making Lloyd smart, to the point where it became flat-out annoying. "I can show you where Bowser might be, if you like!"

"Then lead us to him, we ain't got much time to lose!" exclaimed the short journalist, Meowth. Peach smiled as she got up and led Team Rocket out of the room, with Mario following after them. And not the plumber nor the princess knew that they were lowkey helping Team Rocket in their mission for the Organization.

* * *

"Yo, Wolf, you in there man?" asked Touma, as he knocked on the door of the mercenary's bedroom. Touma was standing with Kiria, and the two Star Records employees needed to speak with Wolf immediately. "Open up man, it's not like you're doing anything important!"

"I am doing something important, for your information, quit your whining!" Wolf's voice could be heard from behind the door, as the sound of pants zipping was heard. Touma and Kiria looked at one another nervously, and soon the bedroom door opened, revealing Wolf wearing a cool black jacket, like he was Michael Jackson from the _Bad_ era. "So, do you like my jacket, looks nice on me, don't it?"

"Isn't that _my_ black jacket? Yeah it is, that's the jacket Tsubasa gave to me! Why you little..." A ticked off Touma was about to fight Wolf, until Kiria stepped in between the aspiring superhero and the mercenary.

"You can worry about your stupid jacket later, right now we need to discuss some important business with Wolf," Kiria kindly told Touma, calming him down before redirecting her attention to Wolf. "So I see that you look very Michael Jackson-esque with that jacket of yours...I mean Touma's...which brings me to what Touma and I wish to discuss with you. Yashiro wishes to do a cover of MJ's 'Smooth Criminal' single, for whatever reason, and he wishes to do a recreation of the famous music video, he already sang the cover song and everything, all there's left to do is the music video. And he wants to know if you can be a backup dancer. We're kinda running on a small budget because of Master Hand so we have only but a few dancers..."

"First question: who will I be dancing with? Can't be seen with a bunch of posers. Second question: how much will I get paid?" Of course, Wolf would ask about being paid, and considering the music video will be done by Star Records, the mercenary expected to be paid very handsomely.

"We'll get to that later, right now we have to take you to the dancing room, where you'll change into your appropriate attire and show you what to do. The dancing room has been entirely decorated for the music video."

 **Fox: This year marks the 30th anniversary of Michael Jackson's famous song, "Smooth Criminal", and Yashiro felt compelled to do a tribute to MJ by not only singing a cover of his song, but to make the world famous music video of said song.  
Falco: However, one question lingers in everyone's minds, ever since the release of the song...who exactly is this Annie character? We all know that she was a woman attacked by a "smooth" assailant, but who exactly is she? Annie Lennox, the singer from Eurymthics? Annie Leibovitz, the portrait photographer? Annie, the little girl from the musical?  
Fox: Annie from the musical? Dude, she's a fictional character...  
Falco:...well she's real to me, dang it! *looks to the side, as if he was hiding something***

 **Yashiro: I'm more than excited to recreate the music video, it would be great to have under my belt as a singer. If it doesn't end the "Japanese David Bowie" comments I've been receiving from the others, then nothing will...just because I have different eye colors doesn't mean that I'm the "Japanese David Bowie", which I believe is a very strange moniker. And besides, Bowie had dilated pupils, one pupil was larger than the other. That's what made his eyes so different.**

After getting his jacket back from Wolf, Touma escorted the mercenary to the dancing room with Kiria, and when Wolf arrived, he saw that the dancing room was purely decorated to mimic the "Smooth Criminal" music video, sporting a 1930's gangster feel. In the center of the room was Yashiro, dressed up as an old-fashioned gangster in all white, speaking with Tsubasa and Elenora, both dressed up as flapper girls. At the far corner of the room was Fox, Falco, Sonic, Cloud, and Itsuki, also dressed up as gangsters but with different suits and hats.

"Remember guys, there's only gonna be like six of us (seven if Touma wants to be involved), so we gotta make our roles count," Itsuki explained to his crew, dressed in a dapper suit. "We could have more backup dancers, but Master Hand wanted to use a huge chunk of our budget for our video to pay for his Lamborghini, so we have to do with what we got, unfortunately."

"Do we technically have to dance in the music video?" questioned Cloud, who didn't wish to dance at all. Such an activity was not in the swordsman's system. "I'd rather just chill in the back, I'm not that big on dancing."

"You can do whatever you want in the video, as long as you're on camera. Tsubasa, Kiria, and Eleonora are gonna be in the video too, and they're gonna be flappers, so everyone will have equal camera time. Everyone will be involved, in some manner or way."

"We have brought the prisoner...uh, I mean, extra backup dancer," Touma said as he and Kiria brought Wolf forth to Itsuki and company. Fox and Falco were both laughing at the fact that Wolf would be seen dancing with him, and Wolf was now against being in the video because of it.

"How much am I going to be paid?" questioned a now salty Wolf, with his arms folded. "Anything less than a hundred grand is unacceptable from me..." Less than a hundred grand? Is he out of his mind?!

"Excellent, now get him dressed so we can do the music video," ordered Itsuki, ignoring Wolf's question, as Touma and Kiria walked an even saltier Wolf to the nearest dressing room. "While Wolf gets himself changed, I want to give you guys these..." Itsuki grabbed a toolbox, and pulled several items that caught the backup dancers' eyes...all of them were _guns._ "Yashiro wanted us to use guns during his music video, like we pose with them and stuff, and so Falco hooked up with some guy in Seattle and got these guns. So Falco, if anything bad happens when using the guns, you're taking credit for it..."

"No worries fam, anything that happens, it's all on me," Falco gave a thumbs up as he and the others received a gun from Itsuki. This was Sonic's first time holding a gun; now he and Shadow finally had something in common, aside from being hedgehogs.

"Aw sweet a gun, so cool!" exclaimed Sonic, as he was pointing his gun all over the place, slightly scaring the others. "I wonder if it's loaded..." Now very curious, Sonic pulled on the trigger...and fired a bullet, emitting a loud sound that made everyone jump as a bullet was fired at poor Cloud. Sonic looked on in shock as Cloud screamed in pain and fell to the floor, where he clutched the place he was shot at, his right leg. "Oh crap Cloud, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it, honest!"

"CLOUD!" Tsubasa shrieked as she ran over to check on the ailing swordsman, now crying in pain. "Someone, go get Leia, quickly!" Elenora was up for the task, as she ran out of the dancing room to fetch the nurse. A half-naked stepped out of the dressing to see what was going on, and Touma and Kiria were present as well.

"Wow, one of the guns were loaded, totally did not see that coming, hehe..." Falco nervously chuckled, as he secretly tossed his gun - which was loaded by the way - out of a nearby window. That gun better be hiding in the bushes, don't want a psychopath seeing firearms randomly lying about in the open.

 **Falco: *shaking his head* Asking that man Agent G to hitch me up with some guns just might be the worst thing I ever done. Knew I should have asked him for some knives instead...but 1930s gangsters don't carry knives. Screw old-fashioned gangsters and their weapons of choice, screw 'em all!**

* * *

Link, having completed whatever duties he needed to accomplish in Seattle, returned to the Smash Mansion, where he was told by Midna that Toon Link an Villager found a treasure chest at the bottom of the lake. Link, taking a strong interest in treasure, would meet with Toon Link, Villager, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Midna, and Zelda in a room, with the large treasure chest in the center of the room.

"So you found this bad boy at the bottom of the lake, huh?" Link analyzed the treasure chest, with his hands on his hips. "Do you know if this chest needs a key or not? Because most treasure chests require a key to open it..."

"Link, if you're insisting that we find a key, then I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken, we're not going to look in the lake for any key," stated Zelda, curious as to what was inside the treasure chest. Link was about to open his mouth, and Zelda was ready to shut her man down. "...and no, we're not having Mega Man use Rush Marine to find the key, it would be a waste of time." Link was ready to open his mouth once more, but Zelda was ready to strike. "I know you were going to suggest having Sonic, who's still afraid of water, mind you, to swim at the bottom of the lake for the key, so don't even think about it, Link."

"Meta Knight's sword is good at opening locks, perhaps we could use his sword to open up the treasure chest," suggested Villager; Meta Knight's sword may be pointy as heck, but its sharp edges could be useful for things other than fighting. "Who's gonna get him?"

"I'm on it..." Midna said as she departed from the room, and later came back with Meta Knight. The imp was holding the Star Warrior by his cape, and with his mask, it was hard to tell if Meta Knight enjoyed being carried around or not. "Okay, you pathological loner creep, use that sword of yours to open the lock to that treasure chest if you can!" ordered Midna, as she dropped Meta Knight to the floor with some amount of disrespect.

"You could have asked nicely, you know..." grumbled Meta Knight as he walked to the treasure chest, analyzing the lock. The Star Warrior inserted the tip of his sword inside said lock, did a few twists and turns here and there...and just like magic, the treasure chest opened. "Since I unlocked the chest, it's fitting that I receive a fair share of the valuables from the chest for being of great assistance..."

"Yeah, whatever, let's see what's inside..." said an eager Toon Link as he opened up the treasure chest, and marveled at what was inside...it was nothing but gold coins! Toon Link was now more eager than ever, as he was jumping up and down like he had toasted a bunch of folks at a Windfall Island auction. "Aw yeah, nothing but gold, just as I figured! I'm rich, I'm freaking rich!"

"I think you meant _we're_ freaking rich," corrected Villager, as he had to pull Toon Link away from the treasure chest. Couldn't fault the young Hylian; it was his first time in a long while seeing actual treasure. "We agreed to split up whatever's inside the treasure chest and have our equal share, did we not?"

"No we didn't, we never agreed upon that - that was just a suggestion from Donkey Kong." Toon Link tried to run back to the treasure chest, only for Villager to pull him back once more. "Besides, you don't need these gold coins, what would you use it for anyways?"

"Well what would-a _you_ use the gold-a coins for, Toon Link?" questioned Luigi, putting the Hylian in his place. Way to be assertive Luigi, do that with your son Charles and you'll be a top-notch father in no time.

 **Luigi: What would I use-a the gold coins for? Probably to set up-a Charles financially for the next-a few years. Daisy and I don't-a have a job as of now, and I'm not interested in-a returning to the plumbing business anytime-a soon. Maybe Professor E. Gadd will-a give me a call and pay-a me to vanquish his mansion of-a any ghosts...provided King-a Boo isn't around. He has-a gotten scarier over the years!**

 **Donkey Kong: You know what I would use the gold coins for - to buy an infinite supply of bananas for me and Diddy Kong!...Man, screw the other Kongs, they can make their own fortune and get their own banana supply! Opportunity is always knockin'!**

 **Meta Knight: Pfft, I don't need those stupid gold coins, they might be fake anyways. For all we know, they could be chocolate coins, wrapped in gold wrapping paper. I would see if my theory holds true by tasting the coins, but it's not worth taking off my mask, especially with the pimple on my face...don't tell anyone about my facial blemish, I want to keep the mystique around me intact...**

"I think we should give the cold coins to Master Hand - that way he can convert the gold coins to American dollars, and he can use the money to pay off his Lamborghini," suggested Donkey Kong, not at all paying attention to Toon Link. "That way we can stop him from taxing Star Records ever again."

"Sounds like a good idea - we just need Master Hand to stop meddling with Star Records in general," stated Zelda, before noticing that someone was missing. "Wait a minute, where on earth did Toon Link run off to? Please tell me he didn't steal any of the coins..."

* * *

"...so in short, the quantum theory explains that energy is made of individual units, units known as quanta," Lloyd discussed with Bowser in a room, a room where Bowser once held his "lessons". "It also states that energy and radiation can be quantized - this was proposed by Albert Einstein back in 1905."

"Wow Lloyd, I never knew that before, I'm really learning a lot today!" exclaimed Bowser, nodding his head as he took a sip from a cup of tea the Black Knight fixed for him. This was the most tolerant the Koopa King has ever been of Lloyd, and he was thanking himself for making Lloyd a genius. Talk about feeding your own ego. "Could you go over the atomic theory, if you don't mind?"

"Ah, yes, the atomic theory, proposed by John Dalton...it has three parts - one, all matter is made up of atoms; two, all atoms in an element are equal in mass and properties; and three, compounds are formed by two or more different types of atoms."

"Couldn't have explained that any better myself! Man Lloyd, you're the bomb, seeing you spew knowledge like this is incredible!" No doubt Bowser was thinking extremely high of himself right now. Just then, a knock was at the door.

"Oh-a Bowser, some journalists would like-a to conduct an interview with-a you!" Mario called from behind the door, and the plumber would let the three journalists in the room - the Team Rocket trio in disguise. At first glance, Bowser knew there was something fishy about the "journalists"...he just couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Hello King Bowser, how are you doing today?" Jessie would greet the giant koopa. "We're a trio of journalists from _The Seattle Times,_ and we wish to do a feature on you for the next _Seattle Times_ publication." The fact that the "journalists" refused to give their names only made things even more fishy.

"We would like to learn a bit about your personal life - the things that you enjoy, the things that make you tick, and other things we're oh so curious about," added James, getting his notepad ready. "But asking you questions in this room would be a tad too boring...so why don't we discuss things while walking through the mansion, hmm? It might jog your memory and keep those brain juices of yours flowing!"

"Is it okay if my man Lloyd Irving tags along?" asked Bowser, growing ever more suspicious by the second. "He's a young genius, and he knows all sorts of stuff - maybe you can do a feature on him! 'Lloyd Irving: Smartest Dude in Seattle, Even Smarter Than Bill Gates!' How does that sound?"

"Eh, I suppose he can come along, don't know if we would be asking him any questions though," replied Meowth, wanting to stick to the mission at hand.

* * *

 **Meta Knight: Don't know why, but I still think those gold coins from the treasure chest are actually chocolate coins...who would be stupid enough to throw a treasure chest of valuable coins in some random lake anyways? W** **ho would be stupid enough to throw a treasure chest of _chocolate_ coins in some random lake? ****I suspect Chef Kawasaki to be behind the act, I wouldn't trust that face of his even if I saw it on a doomsday button that would prevent the end of the world...I'd rather just let the world explode into a billion of pieces.**

Toon Link had done it, that sneaky devil...he escaped from Villager and company with a buttload of gold coins hidden underneath his tunic, and was now looking for a very secret place to stash them. The young Hylian was looking about in the hallways of the mansion when he encountered Ema Skye, holding the ray gun she's been working on; we first saw it back in episode 71.

"Where do you think you're going, Toon Link, hiding something?" Ema asked the young Hylian, looking at the bulge underneath his tunic. When it comes to being sneaky, Toon Link was now failing in that department.

"Uh, no...I just ate a bunch of junk food today, now my stomach's bloated," was Toon Link's crappy excuse. At least he tried. "And where do you think you're going with that ray gun, gonna kill someone with that thing?!"

"Like I would kill anyone ever..." Ema scoffed, sporting a grin. "This ray gun isn't that dangerous, or so I think. Still working on it. And I'm about to work on it some more, before I call it a day. I'll see you around, Toon Link!"

"Yeah, same to you!" the Hylian said to Ema, as he and the forensics expert went their own separate ways. Toon Link went back to looking for a hiding spot, until he bumped into Red the Pokemon Trainer. Both Toon Link and Red fell to the floor, as the gold coins hidden underneath Toon's tunic all spilled out.

"Hey Toon Link, watch where you're going, you could hurt someone!" scolded Red, rubbing his backside as he slowly got up, taking hold of the gold coins Toon Link was now picking up and trying to hide. "Hey, where did you get those gold coins from?"

"I have secret affiliations with Gold Mario, met him on a golf course a long time ago," responded Toon Link as he frantically gathered the gold coins. He couldn't gather all the coins, for he was on a mission and he couldn't give Red the real reason for finding the gold coins, lest he wanted further questioning. "Gold Mario wants his coins back, so I'm here to return his gold!" Toon Link ran off with whatever coins he was able to grab, hidden underneath his tunic. After Toon Link was gone, Red picked up one of the gold coins, and analyzed it as he furrowed his brow.

"Gotta tell Alm and Celica about this..." the Pokemon trainer remarked. What would Alm and Celica know about the gold coins?

* * *

Pit, Dark Pit, Felicia, and Flora were furiously searching for Doc Louis's chocolate bar as they were now in the mansion's cafe. The four decided to look around at the places Doc Louis would frequent the most, and the cafe would be one of the boxing trainer's favorite spots.

"Any sign of that chocolate bar yet?" Dark Pit asked the maids, as he tried to pry Pit's head out of a coffee maker the angel somehow got his head stuck in. Truly the stuff of legends.

"No, don't think we can find it here," replied Felicia, her and Flora having scoured every single inch of the cafe. "We've already looked in the arcade room and the vending machine room, and we couldn't find the chocolate bar there..."

"Well I don't know anywhere else the chocolate bar could be found, we've searched at all of Doc Louis's favorite places," stated Flora, wondering how Little Mac was containing Doc Louis at the moment. Doc could still be bitter about the disappearance of his "love". "It's not like we can find the chocolate bar in a place like the beauty salon, that's the most unlikely place for Doc Louis's favorite treat to be found..."

"How about we tell Doc Louis that someone probably ate his stupid chocolate bar and leave it at that," suggested Dark Pit, after prying Pit's head out from the coffee maker with all his might. "Pit will break the bad news to Doc, he'll serve as our sacrificial lamb."

"Ooh are we gonna eat lamb, I love lamb!" exclaimed Pit, oblivious to Dark Pit's plan. "Especially when it's broiled and seasoned with garlic! But I've never had sacrificial lamb before, I've heard people talk about it but I've never ate it, nor seen it...but I wouldn't mind eating some sacrificial lamb anyways!" Was Pit blindly promoting cannibalism?

 **Little Mac: Doc Louis is becoming more and more calm, because of me - I keep telling him to think of positive things, anything that has NOTHING to do with chocolate, or LaToya. Doc has been running his mouth nonstop about his boxing days, talking about all his matches with Bald Bull...  
Doc Louis: Man oh man, you should have seen those matches, Little Mac! Had Bald Bull on the ropes, literally! He was gassed out, pleading for mercy, but did I offer him any mercy? NOPE! I sucker punched him square in the face, leaving a big bruise mark on his face, and sent him crying, crying to his momma I'm assuming! Right after my match, I took a quick bite from my chocolate bar... *lip trembles as his eyes tear up* Oh, LaToya, sweet LaToya, where on earth are you? How can you leave me all alone like this?!  
Little Mac:...as you can see, when Doc Louis _does_ think about chocolate, he always thinks about LaToya, and sometimes goes into a crying fit. I've never seen Doc cry this much before...in fact, I've never seen a grown man cry at all! Thought grown men were incapable of crying, that's what Doc taught me! You learn something new everyday, don't ya?  
Doc Louis: *screaming with his arms out to the side* LATOYYYYYAAAAA! **

As Pit, Dark Pit, Felicia, and Flora exited the cafe, they came across Team Rocket...erm, the three journalists, but Team Rocket in disguise, interviewing Bowser as they were walking by. Lloyd was with them, but only because of Bowser.

"Yeah, I could have been a carnival owner, but I opted to be an evil villain instead, gives you a bunch of excuses to build castles and kidnap princesses," Bowser told the "journalists", going into detail about why he built theme parks, such as the one in _Super Mario 3D World._ "Besides, I can't stand little children most of the time - heck, I can't even stand my own children! I would punch them in the face if it didn't count as misdemeanor!"

"Very interesting, King Bowser, we never knew that you can't stand little children," Jessie nodded her head, as she pretended to scribble her notes down on her notepad. "All this walking is starting to make me somewhat tired...why don't we head down to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat?"

"Mamori and her pals are filming that show of theirs, _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ in the kitchen, so I don't know if they'll grant us any access. But it wouldn't hurt to ask them, we could just be in the background and speak quietly so they won't hear us." Jessie, James, and Meowth were down with this plan...but why take Bowser (and Lloyd) down to the kitchen for?

"Would we interrupt their show anyways?" questioned James, before realizing that _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ was irrelevant; what was relevant was bringing Bowser to the Organization. "Ah, no matter, asking this Mamori girl and her friends wouldn't hurt..." So Bowser and company would head to the kitchen, while Pit and his crew looked on with much suspicion, the foursome eyeing Bowser.

"You guys think Bowser has Doc Louis's chocolate bar?" Dark Pit asked the others, as Bowser was walking away. "He could have stolen the chocolate bar just to mess with Doc Louis. Why he would even do it, considering Doc's temperance, is beyond me..." Only one way to find out if Bowser was truly the culprit...

* * *

A now injured Cloud was comforted by Aerith in the dancing room; the swordsman was on crutches, with a cast on his leg, thanks to Sonic who accidentally shot him. Leia was able to tend to Cloud, as she stopped the bleeding and bandaged Cloud's leg. Even with Leia treating the swordsman, Itsuki called an ambulanace anyways, just to be on the safe side, and the paramedics stopped by the dancing room to check on Cloud.

"After diagnosing your leg, it appears that you'll be in walking on crutches and in a cast for at least a week or two," one of the paramedics gave Cloud a 4-1-1 on his leg injury. "Thankfully the bullet didn't strike your femoral artery, for if it did, then you would have bled to death in a minute or two." The femoral artery is a very large artery, and had it been ruptured by the bullet...game over for Cloud.

"Cloud man, I'm so sorry for accidentally shooting you, I shouldn't have pulled that trigger in the first place..." Sonic went over to apologize to Cloud, showing a sign of remorse Cloud nor Aerith had ever seen from the hedgehog before. "Darn my curiosity, and darn Falco for bringing loaded guns!"

"Yes, you should accept your friend's apology, Mr. Strife - like he said, the shooting _was_ an accident. Granted there should be no reason to have loaded guns at an environment quite like this, but you know, stuff happens..."

"Woah woah woah, whoever said Cloud and I were friends?" frowned Sonic, as Aerith rolled her eyes while Cloud shook his head. "I think acquaintances is the better word, I mean it's not like Cloud and I are really tight. C'mon man, get your facts straight!"

 **Yashiro: Even though Cloud is injured and unable to be in the music video (must be bittersweet for him, since he wasn't too fond of being a backup dancer, given he just wanted to chill in the background), I'm not that much concerned - when one man goes down, another one has to step up to the plate, which would mean that Touma HAS to be Cloud's replacement. Who knows, being a backup dancer might prepare him for his career as a tokusatsu actor...though there won't be that much fighting. But "Smooth Criminal" had some fighting scenes...would it be okay to use knives in my music video?**

 **Paramedic: ...that hedgehog is gonna end up in jail soon, I can already tell.**

"With this injury, I'm out of the video for good...so I guess that's a plus," shrugged Cloud, who could care less if he was in the video or not. He only agreed to be in it because of Fox and Falco, and the possibility of both pilots harassing the swordsman.

"But you would've looked fabulous in the gangster getup Cloud, I'd say it fits you perfectly," remarked Aerith; Cloud was still wearing his gangster outfit, and he would've taken it off had it not been for his injury.

"If you're saying that just to lift my spirits up, then nice try Aerith..." That Cloud, so cynical...elsewhere in the dancing room, Yashiro was speaking with Touma, who was named Cloud's replacement. Touma was now wearing a gangster outfit, and felt like holding a machine gun, Al Capone style.

"All you have to do is look cool and dangerous, while I sing my heart out," explained Yashiro, as the paramedics were leaving. "Dancing is somewhat optional, but don't do anything that would take the attention away from me, got it?"

"So if I'm supposed to look cool and dangerous...then wouldn't backup cool guy be a more appropriate title than backup dancer?" questioned Touma. Yashiro's cellphone suddenly beeped, indicating a notification.

"Eh, to each their own, I suppose..." remarked Yashiro as he took out his cellphone, and read the notification. "Oh crap, I'm late for my guest appearance on _Microwave Idol Mamorin_! I'm so behind schedule!"

"Hey what about your music video, are we gonna do it or not?" asked Wolf, who was chilling in the back with Falco and the others. The mercenary had things to do! "And when will I get paid?"

"The music video will have to wait, Mamori needs me!" Yashiro quickly put his cellphone away and ran out of the dancing room. "Just practice on your routine for the music video, I promise you I'll be back soon!"

"Aerith, can you hand me my phone?" Cloud said to his girlfriend, who promptly got up to retrieve her lover's cellphone. "I have an important call to make..." The swordsman would then say this as he looked at Sonic, who was now speaking with Eleonora.

* * *

"Doc Louis get back here, you have to stay in this room!" Little Mac said to Doc Louis, who ran out of his room, nearly losing his breath. That's what having a large potbelly will do to ya. "I won't let your bitterness and contempt allow you to harm anyone!"

"Shut up Little Mac, I know my precious LaToya is out there somewhere!" Doc Louis snapped on his protege, now on a mission. "I can hear her calling to me, her desperate cries for help...I think I know where she might be! I ain't got no time to lose!" The boxing trainer ran off, running as far as his legs could take him.

"Doc Louis wait up, let's sort things out before you do something stupid!" Little Mac ran after his trainer, mired in a situation he did not wish to progress.

* * *

After close to seven months of hard work, dedication, and other things...Cilan had finally done it. He finally completed the very task he was brought to the mansion for, the task he worked diligently upon to complete...and after many months, Mario and Peach's wedding cake was finally completed.

Cilan would show off the completed cake to Mario and Peach - which weighed around a whopping 15,000 pounds - in the ballroom, and the plumber and the princess were in awe. It was a cake just dying to be devoured by a multitude of wedding guests.

"Mama mia Cilan, this might-a be the best cake I've-a ever seen!" exclaimed Mario, having been speechless for a good while. "You have really out-a done yourself!"

"Gotta admit, Mario - even I was surprised by how this cake turned out!" grinned Cilan, rubbing the back of his head. "I figured that since you would have a boatload of guests at your wedding, I would have to compensate for everyone..."

 **Cilan: Since I've now completed the wedding cake...what's next for me? Will Mario and Master Hand let me stay at the mansion, or should I return to Striaton City with my brothers? I'm fairly confident Chili and Cress have been doing well without me...so would they mind if I return to the Striaton City Gym?**

Someone was knocking at the ballroom door, and Peach went to go see who it was. It was Link, Luigi, and Meta Knight, standing with the treasure chest of gold coins.

"Hello you two, what's with that treasure chest?" Peach would ask Link and Luigi, looking at the gold coins. The coins were small, so they couldn't have originated from the Mushroom Kingdom. "Where'd you find it?"

"Toon Link and Villager found-a it at the bottom-a of the lake," answered Luigi, as Link pushed the treasure chest inside the ballroom. "Toon Link took some-a of the gold coins, I'm assuming, and ran away with said-a coins to who knows where."

"Did some-a one say gold coins?" Mario, a gold coin aficionado, perked up. He and Cilan went over to the treasure chest, leaving Luigi and company to marvel at the wedding cake in the ballroom. Cilan picked up one of the gold coins, and inspected it.

"The texture of this coin...feels strange, almost like wrapping paper..." the connoisseur analyzed, as he scratched on the gold surface...revealing something brown underneath. "Aha, just as I figured! These coins are chocolate coins, wrapped in gold wrapping paper!"

"HA I KNEW IT!" Meta Knight, listening attentively, shouted out loud, garnering weird looks from the others before clearing his throat innocently.

"...which would beg to question...what business does a treasure chest of chocolate coins have at the bottom of the lake?" Maybe Alm and Celica might have something to do with it?

* * *

Even though Bowser and company weren't allowed in the kitchen, Mamori did tell them they could have their discussion in the dining room, which Bowser complied to. So Team Rocket, the fake journalists, continued their discussions with Bowser, while Lloyd listened. Pit, Dark Pit, Felicia, and Flora were spying on Bowser from afar, all in hiding.

"Is it just me, or do those journalists look familiar?" asked Pit, as he looked inquisitively at James. "They remind me of some villainous trio, I just can't put a finger on their name..." Pit was getting somewhere...

"The short journalist does have a tail, and he even has whiskers," said Felicia, looking at Meowth rather than Bowser. "His tail is sticking out from his pants..." The suspicion would grow by tenfold, when James pulled out a blue sea salt ice cream bar. Yes, an ice cream bar that tastes like salt.

"We have enjoyed this conversation with you, King Bowser, and to show you a token of our utmost gratitude, we would like to give you this fine delicy - a sea salt ice cream bar!" exclaimed James, showing the treat off to Bowser. Bowser was about to reach for the ice cream bar, until...

"DON'T DO IT BOWSER, IT'S A TRAP!" Pit yelled out to Bowser, blowing his cover and grabbing the Koopa King's attention. With Bowser momentarily distracted, James tried to force the ice cream bar into the Koopa King's mouth, but Bowser grabbed the man's arm in the nick of time, stopping James to the best of his ability.

"Just eat the poisonous ice cream bar, you turtle fiend!" frowned James, as he and Bowser were in a tussle involving the ice cream bar. Bowser would prevail, as he smashed the ice cream bar in James's face. With James cleaning the blue stuff off his face, Bowser turned his attention to Jessie and Meowth, who were nervously backing away from the koopa as they neared towards the back door in the dining room; Lloyd stealthily opened the back door, and Bowser roared, making Meowth and Jessie jump backwards out of fear and out of the back door, the two falling onto the patio.

"Now stay out of my mansion!" growled Bowser as he grabbed James and threw him out the back door at Meowth and Jessie, making him fall on his partners. The three Team Rocket members got up and ran away, as Lloyd closed the door.

 **Bowser: Pfft, I knew those fake journalists were Team Rocket, I could recognize Team Rocket's disguises from a mile away! Villains always know when other villains are disguised! Real recognizes real! Or in this case, real recognizes FAKE!**

"Bowser are you okay, are you hurt?" Flora asked Bowser, as she and the others went over to the Koopa King as he dusted his hands off.

"Me, being hurt from dealing with Team Rocket?" scoffed Bowser, laughing his tail off. If that was even possible. "I knew those journalists were Team Rocket at first glance, and I was busy entertaining them until the time was right! Pit gave me a head start, but at least I capitalized upon the opportunity!"

Unbeknownst to Bowser and company, Toon Link arrived at the dining room, still looking for a place to store his gold coins (which are actually chocolate). He kept looking about until he bumped into Pit, spilling the coins all over the floor. Bowser looked over at the Hylian, and then at the coins on the floor.

"Um, Toon Link...where did you get those chocolate coins from?" Bowser questioned the young Hylian. Wait, how did _he_ know the coins were chocolate?

* * *

"Welcome everyone, to another episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ starring yours truly - Ashley, Asuka, and myself, Mamori Minamoto!" Mamori said to the camera, standing with her friends and the guest of the day, Yashiro. "We're gonna warm your heart, with the press of a button!"

"Our guest today is a idol singer, a sharply dressed man with exquisite taste...Yashiro Tsurugi!" Asuka introduced the idol singer, who smiled and waved to the camera with a cheesy grin.

"So good to be on this show, hello to all the viewers out there!" smiled Yashiro, as he continued waving. "So Mamori and friends, what shall we cook today?" Mamori, Ashley, and Asuka all gave each other looks; clearly the trio had something else in mind.

"Today on our show, we'll be doing a little experimentation..." said Ashley, as she took out a chocolate bar and gave it to Yashiro. "...today, we'll be melting chocolate in the microwave!" About time they used an actual microwave on the show.

"Melting chocolate? I'm down with that! Our chocolate-melting experimentation shall be one for the ages!" proclaimed Yashiro as he held the chocolate bar up in the air...only to be tackled to the floor by Doc Louis, who quickly snatched the chocolate bar away from Yashiro.

"Boy have you lost your mind, why you got my sweet LaToya in your hand?!" Doc snapped on Yashiro; seems like the boxing trainer has finally been reconnected with his love. A freaking chocolate bar Doc sat in a nearby chair, cradling the chocolate bar in his arms. "It's okay LaToya, daddy's got you, you got nothing to worry about..."

"Guys I don't know about you, but...I think Doc Louis might need to see some therapy," Mamori said to Ashley and Asuka, as Doc Louis was spending time with his chocolate bar. Might, Mamori? What an understatement.

 **Wolf: Well Yashiro is hurt, thanks to Doc Louis, which means that music video may not happen...but I still demand to get paid, I expect to receive a minimum of $50,000 just for showing up! Pay the man!**

"Doc Louis where are you man?" Little Mac called out, the boxer soon arriving at the kitchen and seeing his boxing trainer cradling the chocolate bar like a weirdo. Bowser and company entered the kitchen from the dining room, and saw Doc Louis.

"Looks like Doc Louis finally found his chocolate bar..." said Felicia with a fake smile. The maid had now learned that LaToya was just a name for the chocolate bar, and now she felt like judging Doc Louis.

"LaToya, I promise you, I'll NEVER let you out of my sight again," Doc Louis promised to the nonliving, unsentimental chocolate bar. "In fact, I won't even take a bite out of you...though a nibble won't hurt."

"Quit it out man, it's just a stupid chocolate bar!" Dark Pit frowned as he grabbed the chocolate bar from Doc and took a huge bite out of it, like a savage. Everyone in the room gasped, while Doc Louis angrily stood up and glared down Dark Pit. The doppelganger, thinking he was acting cool, grinned at Flora, who was hardly amused.

"BOY THAT'S MALICIOUS MANSLAUGHTER, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" the boxing trainer was ready to pummel Dark Pit, but Little Mac came over to restrain his trainer, pulling him away from the doppelganger. Little Mac would then calm Doc down by putting him in a small sleeper hold; he didn't want to do it, but it was necessary. Once Doc was nearly gassed, Little Mac sat the trainer back in his chair.

"You guys keep watch of Doc Louis, I'ma go see if I can find a straitjacket around here," Little Mac told the others, as he exited the kitchen. "Can't believe that I actually have to resort to using a straitjacket on Doc..." As Little Mac exited the kitchen, he bumped into Red.

"Hey there Red, I'm glad to see you," the Pokemon trainer said to the boxer. "You know where Doc Louis is, right? Alm and Celica want to see him." Little Mac was about to respond, but Red had another question to ask... "You also know where Toon Link and Bowser might be?" Good thing those two were nearby.

* * *

Doc Louis was a rather sad man, once he returned to his normal self. He wished to reconnect with his love, LaToya, but Dark Pit had eaten the apparently named chocolate bar as Doc Louis was recuperating. For a moment, it seemed like Doc Louis would have to spend the rest of his day depressed...until Red stopped by.

Formerly losing his temper about his missing chocolate bar, Doc Louis was now rejoicing happily in the ballroom, as he was with the treasure chest, eating away the chocolate coins as his now relieved protege Little Mac looked on. But you're thinking, "Why would Doc eat chocolate coins from the treasure chest, when the chest was't even his?"

That's because the treasure chest _was_ his.

 **Alm: Over the course of our short time at the mansion, we have noticed that Doc Louis has a very...strange obsession with chocolate. His obsession is so strange, that he names the very chocolate bars he eats, and treats them like sentimental girlfriends!  
Celica: So Alm and I wished to curb Doc's obsession, to the point where it would be remotely normal...to do that, we had Bowser - who still had some money left from that contest he and Master Hand held two weeks ago - purchase a multitude of chocolate coins... _non-addictive_ chocolate coins, from some company we've never heard of before, and a large treasure chest to put said coins inside. Doc would be a fool to give silly names to some measly chocolate coins, especially non-addictive chocolate coins that would curtail his chocolate obsession!  
Alm: Hiding the chest was a high order in itself, and so we went with Bowser's zany idea of hiding the chest at the bottom of the lake. We thought nobody would find the chest there...only for Toon Link to prove us wrong during his fishing expenditure.  
Celica: And with the treasure chest in the mansion, we gave it to Doc Louis, as a sign of our gratitude...it's so great to give back after you've been on the receiving end of giving.**

"Thought giving back to someone like Doc Louis was an appreciative effort," Alm, standing with his wife Celica, and Mario, Peach, Link, Luigi, and Meta Knight, remarked while Doc Louis was eating away at the chocolate coins. "There's more appreciative deeds left to be done."

"Yeah, I didn't exactly give you ALL the money last week - I saved some just for other stuff," Bowser said to Mario and Peach. "I was gonna use the remaining money to buy a bunch of issues of _Victoria's Secret,_ just so I could ogle at the ladies,until Alm and Celica approached me."

"Thank goodness we stopped you from doing that..." stated Celica, rolling her eyes. "We would have given the treasure chest to Doc Louis at a later time, if Toon Link hadn't found it while fishing." Speaking of whom, Toon Link - looking down at the floor with a face full of remorse - would approach the group, led by Red.

"I think a certain someone here owes an apology..." Red smirked, as he looked down at Toon Link, whom he nudged. "Don't you have something to get off of your chest, Toon Link? I had you apologize to Villager and several others for your actions, and you returned the coins you tried to hide, like I told you to..."

"No, no, I got this..." Toon Link replied, as he cleared his throat and faced Mario and company. "I just want to say that...I'm sorry for my actions today - it's just that, I've been feigning for treasure for the longest now, and when I saw that treasure chest, I kinda let my greed get in the way of things. And I feel kinda bad...and it feels weird to be bad. Didn't know those coins were chocolate, got drawn in by the whole allure of the coins, what with the gold wrapping paper and all. Really drew me in big time. So I just want to say sorry for being greedy, that's all."

"Consider your-a apology accepted, Toon Link," Luigi responded with a smile, making Toon Link feel better about himself. "Hopefully that treasure chest-a of chocolate coins can keep-a Doc Louis contained, it should last-a him for a few-a weeks."

* * *

"Still can't believe you had the gall to eat Doc Louis's chocolate bar," Flora scolded Dark Pit, who returned to playing _Yooka-Laylee_ with Pit. And yes, Pit was still waiting for his chance to play the game. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Hey, Red said that Alm and Celica got Doc a treasure chest of chocolate coins or something, and Doc didn't seem to care about his dumb chocolate bar anymore...so it's all good," responded Dark Pit as he continued to play his game. "Also thought that I would look cool biting the chocolate bar, in front of Doc Louis...kinda did it for you."

"Well if you were trying to impress me, then it didn't work..." Flora's remark caused Dark Pit to feel some type of way. "...but since you wanted to leave an impression on me...I suppose I can give you an A for effort." ...and just like that, Dark Pit's spirits were lifted up. The doppelganger today, for the most part, wished to impress Flora, and his mission was complete (sort of).

While Dark Pit's spirits were high, the same couldn't be said for Sonic - feeling bitter that the hedgehog accidentally shot him, Cloud called in the police, and had Sonic arrested and taken away. The paramedic was right about Sonic getting arrested soon...though Sonic would have went to jail regardless.

"You guys can't take me away, I have so much to live for!" a handcuffed police officer pleaded to the police officers that were taking him away, as Pit, Dark Pit, and Flora watched Sonic and the policemen pass by.

"Tell that to the judge, hedgehog!" one of the policemen said to Sonic as the group walked away. With Sonic possibly gone for a certain amount of time, maybe the entire mansion can spend Sonic's time behind bars in peace...

 **Wolf: Yashiro injured his arm at the hands of Doc Louis, so unfortunately we're calling off the music video until he's fully healed. But I still demand to get paid, Touma and Kiria didn't force me to wear a gangster outfit for nothing...does Bowser still have money saved over from that contest? If he does, then I'll just have to pay myself...**

"Must suck to be Sonic right now..." remarked Dark Pit, shaking his head. "Wonder what he got arrested for, but knowing him, I'd rather not know...say, Flora, you wanna try out some of Doc Louis's chocolate coins? This _Yooka-Laylee_ game is starting to bore be a bit. I'm confident Doc will share his chocolate with us, if he's willing to."

"Only if Doc Louis even has any chocolate coins left," smiled Flora, as Dark Pit paused the _Yooka-Laylee_ game and went with the maid to the ballroom, leaving poor Pit all by himself. The angel would play the _Yooka-Laylee_ game by himself, but it wouldn't be the same without Dark Pit; he wished to play with the doppelganger, even though _Yooka-Laylee_ , by all accounts, was a ONE-player game.

"Dark Pit, Flora, you _are_ going to come back, right?" Pit called out to the doppelganger and the maid, receiving no response. "Dark Pit, is it okay if I played _Yooka-Laylee_ by myself?" Still no response. "I originally wanted to play the game with you together, but I can play the game without you...how do I turn on single-player mode, do I have to exit the game?"

* * *

"Ah, today was a great day...finally finished that wedding cake I worked so hard on," Cilan sighed happily, later that evening, as he was walking to Master Hand's room. "Hopefully the large covering I placed over the cake will prevent the mansion's greedy pigs from eating the pastry before the wedding. Now it's off to see Master Hand, ask him if he would allow me to stay at the mansion permanently..."

Cilan would eventually arrive at Master Hand's room, and once he stepped inside, he saw the giant hand himself, Master Hand, all by himself.

"You certainly look chipper than usual, Cilan," the giant hand said to the Pokemon connoisseur. "Must be rather excited about finishing that wedding cake...I expect that cake to be the greatest thing ever tasted by man, especially with the amount of time you put into it. Didn't treat you like crap all that time for nothing."

"I promise you Master Hand, it will be the best cake you've ever tasted...if you ever eaten cake, or anything for that matter." Master Hand _has_ eaten something, if you recall episode 20. "Besides, you treat all of us the same, so your treatment of me doesn't matter. So since I finished my main duty at the mansion, I was wondering if you could perhaps let me live her permanently - I mean, Palutena and Dunban could really use some help in the kitchen!"

"Sorry Cilan but as much as I would want to discuss your long-term living plans, our negotiations will have to wait for another time...for I sense some very bad mojo that's..."

"Bad mojo at the mansion?!" interrupted Cilan, his eyes widening. "Is the mansion morale going low? Is there another beef taking place, like the one Marth and Robin had? Did Doc Louis become sick from eating his chocolate coins and has killed the mansion's vibe with his illness?"

"No, no, and definitely no...or at least not yet. It's none of those things. But if I had to tell you what's going on, it's that...I've detected a serious traitor among us - a traitor only staying at the mansion as a means to achieve their nefarious goals."

A traitor, living at the mansion? Could they possibly be a secret agent for the Organization?!


	75. Episode 75: Camaraderie

_Author's Note:_

 _Ultra Street Fighter II is being released today, and I have some guest reviews to answer:_

 _"Can you add the characters from Famicom Detective Club? Dread Kong, Karate Kong, Ninja Kong, and Sumo Kong from Donkey Kong: Jungle Climber? Banana Fairy Queen from Donkey Kong 64? Soma and Alisa from God Eater? Will Hope and Vanille be a couple when they show up? Will we see the other Kid Icarus characters at all? Will the Sega characters be able to make Sonic act less like a jerk? And finally when Emmeryn shows up is she still gonna have her memories missing? Or will she get them back?"_

 _The characters from Fanicom Detective Club, the Donkey Kong games, and maybe God Eater will be added. Hope and Vanille will most definitely be a couple, no question. Other Kid Icarus characters will show up at the most continent time. The SEGA characters may be vital in Sonic's character development. And Emmeryn will have her memories...just to make things easier. Roydigs22 is next, with a plot idea:_

 _"...mewtwo is asked why he hates lucario (because replacement) and master hand shows m2 the smashers that wanted him back. The deciding vote...Lucario."_

 _You'll see Mewtwo develop some animosity towards Lucario in this chapter, just you wait and see. Last up, Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...is [Sonic] going to be gone for a while or will we see him bust out next episode?"_

 _I would give you the answer but...I'm not into giving out spoilers._

* * *

 **Episode 75: Camaraderie**

In spite of her stoic demeanor, and distinctive lack of personality, Lucina has always been known as one of the most beautiful ladies in the Smash Mansion - though you could make a very strong argument that every lady in the mansion was beautiful. However, Lucina's looks have received attention from many of the male residents, such as her boyfriend Robin, and the perverted Captain Falcon, prior to Nowi.

There was a general consensus going about in the mansion - was it possible for Lucina to look even more beautiful and attractive than before? Sure the princess had the looks, but what if there was one element - like a beauty mark, for instance - that would increase Lucina's beauty by tenfold?

The answer to that consensus would be answered today, after Chrom took his daughter Lucina to the eye clinic. The prince of Yliesse feared that Lucina's eye vision might be getting worse, what with Lucina seeing things blurry, and like any caring father, Chrom took his daughter to see an eye doctor right away, to see what the problem may be. As it turned out, Lucina was suffering from a case of myopia (nearsightedness) and the eye doctor found the perfect solution to the princess's problem...

"Much appreciated for taking my daughter and I to the eye clinic, Captain Falcon," Chrom would thank the Blue Falcon driver as he, Lucina, and Captain Falcon returned to the mansion, making their way inside the foyer. "Knew I could count on a guy like you."

"Don't mention it pal, all good deeds go unmerited!" Captain Falcon flashed a smile, before glancing at Lucina. "And I gotta say Lucina - you look better already with those glasses on!" Yes, Lucina was now wearing glasses, thick-rimmed glasses Buddy Holly used to wear. Albeit with a different style.

"Captain Falcon you complimented how I look with my glasses like fifty times already, can you please cut it out?" frowned Lucina, receiving a bad vie from the racer. Almost seemed like Falcon was slowly reverting to his days of flirting with Lucina and checking the princess out.

 **Lucina: So yeah, I'm actually wearing glasses now - not sure if it's a good thing or not, but my vision has been corrected so I'll have to deal with wearing glasses now. Would have preferred contact lenses instead of glasses, but father apparently thinks contact lenses are dangerous...this is the man who believes showering for more than five minutes, with warm water, is a "safety hazard".**

"My bad Lucina, it's just that you look like a completely different person with glasses on sometimes," apologized Captain Falcon. A completely different person with glasses on...hard for Lucina to buy that. "Now if you excuse me, I have some stuff to catch up on...enjoy the first day with glasses Lucina, don't let the boys pamper you, ya hear?" Lucina would roll her eyes as Captain Falcon walked away.

"Can we please go see where Robin might be?" the princess would ask Chrom, after Captain Falcon had left. "I would want to hang out in the gaming room, but I'm afraid the men there will be flanking at my side and flirting with me...especially that creep Hisui."

"Better hope Robin isn't at the gaming room, then," smirked Chrom as he and Lucina departed from the foyer. Robin would never expect Lucina of all people to be wearing glasses (Lucina did say she wanted contact lenses, until Chrom ruled contact lenses "dangerous"), so expect Robin to be very surprised soon.

However, when walking through the hallway, Lucina's greatest fears were realized. While a lady resident like Wii Fit Trainer or Kiria notice Lucina wearing glasses, they would just briefly look at the princess before turning their head away. But when

a guy resident saw Lucina wearing glasses, they would stop and look at the princess like she was a new face at the mansion, like she was an angel who fell from the sky.

"Looking mighty fine with those glasses on Lucina, no wonder Robin picked you to be his girl!" Doc Louis would say to the princess as he walked by. How awkward for a grown black man to compliment your looks. To make matters worse, the person Lucina least wanted to see, Hisui Hearts, was walking towards the princess, who arrived with Chrom at the second floor; Hisui would look romantically at Lucina, grinning at the princess who was frowning, as he walked by...only to not see where he was going, and fell down a nearby staircase, making several painful noises along the way.

"I'm okay, Jigglypuff down here broke my fall," Hisui called out from the first floor once his descent ended. Chrom and Lucina just ignored the dude and continued on their way, before seeing Pit and Kirby just up ahead.

"Drat, someone must be calling me..." Chrom said as he felt something vibrate in his pocket. The prince took out his cellphone and looked at the phone ID, furrowing his brow at who it was. "...Cranky Kong? What is he calling me for, and how did I even get that monkey's contact information? I'm sorry Lucina, but I have to answer this call - you'll just have to deal with Pit and Kirby yourself." So Chrom would leave Lucina behind, showing how uncaring of a father he was by leaving his poor daughter with Pit and Kirby, who were approaching the princess.

"If they call the race the Indianapolis 500...then why aren't there 500 laps, or 500 race car drivers?" Pit discussed with Kirby. Probably because 500 laps would be too tiring for the racers, and 500 drivers would likely equal more crashes on the racecourse. "Did they randomly went with the number 500 because it rolls off the tongue?" Pit's discussion with Kirby would come to an end as he and the pink puffball ran into Lucina, who probably should've ran away from the two goofballs when she had the chance. "Well hello there stranger, don't recall seeing you before!" Did Pit not recognize Lucina in glasses, is he that dumb?! "What's your name?"

"Pit you already know my name..." Lucina said plainly, but Pit would find himself laughing his butt off, like Lucina had told the funniest joke in history. "Has wearing glasses really made that big of a difference...?"

"I don't know your name silly, we've just met today! Mind if I take a guess at what your name is? Is it Clarissa? Ember? Gretchen? Joyce? What about Henry, is your name Henry?" What girl would be named Henry?

"Ugh..." facepalmed Lucina, miffed by Pit's intelligence, or the lack thereof. If punching the angel in the face make him intelligent like Lloyd, Lucina wouldn't hesitate in the slightest to give Pit the five fingers.

 **Chrom: Just got off the phone with Cranky Kong...that phone call was perhaps THE strangest phone call I've ever done. Not only did Cranky ask me how Lucina's eye appointment went, he also wanted to know if Lucina was wearing glasses and if she was looking prettier with them on...right before going on a tangent about how the author of the story sucks for not showcasing him more often. (Don't know what he means by that, he must be smoking some really good crack.) Also, who told Cranky Kong about Lucina's eye appointment?**

 **Geno: ...eh, what can I say, I just can't help myself sometimes.**

"It's certainly nice to meet you, Ugh, welcome to the Smash Mansion!" Pit goofily shook hands with Lucina, who wished to squeeze the angel's hand hard and tight to make him pay for his stupidity. If only Chrom was here to set things straight.

"Pit, I do believe that's Lucina wearing glasses..." Kirby tried to tell his best friend, but Pit didn't listen; he was too busy being all welcoming to a person that was already living at the mansion for a considerable amount of time.

"How about I show you around the mansion Ugh, all the people here are very caring and accepting! I would introduce you to Master Hand first, but he's not in his room right now, he's kinda busy at the moment...but we'll see him later today!" Yeah, and then Master Hand will greatly punish Pit for the idiot he was. That's what Lucina was hoping for, anyways. "So what are we waiting on, let's go!" Pit would take Lucina's hand and led her through the hallway, while Kirby followed behind wishing to tell Pit the truth.

* * *

Receiving consent from Master Hand, Ryu and Akuma were granted permission to host a small party in a ballroom - a small part only consisting of _Street Fighter_ veterans. Living at the mansion would prevent Ryu and Akuma from interacting that much with other _Street Fighter_ veterans, and so the two fighters would change all of that by inviting their fellow veterans over to the mansion for a little get-together. It would give them an opportunity to catch up with people like Ken, Chun-li, Cammy, and several others.

However, Ryu nor Akuma knew how to host a party. While they were great fighters, hosting parties was never their thing; they would rather attend parties and soak in all the fun and atmosphere rather than organize one. That meant Ryu had to do what he had to do - he sought advice from two individuals who knew how to host parties, two individuals that would make the _Street Fighter_ party a blast.

"So Toad, are you ready to serve-a as the photographer at the wedding?" Mario asked Toad, as he and Peach were going over things at the wedding with Toad and K.K. Slider in the plumber's room. Only Mario and Peach would want a drug lord like Toad as their wedding photographer.

"Been ready since Luigi's wedding, I'll all ready to go!" smiled Toad; that smile of his could only do much to cover up a lowkey history of drug dealing. "I promise you my camera will be fully charged in time for wedding pictures, unlike King Dedede last year..."

"That's-a why I asked you-a to be the photographer...what about-a you, K.K. Slider, have you picked-a out the songs you'll be using at the wedding?"

"The songs I've selected are just as great as the ones I used at Luigi's wedding, if not better!" responded K.K. Slider, who again will serve as the wedding DJ. Jimmy T. must be feeling salty right now. "Quick question: will we be doing another wedding dance, down the aisle?"

"One wedding dance is enough..." Peach said, her hand resting under her chin. "But Mario and I will come to a decision on that. But for now, you two are dismissed!" Toad and K.K. Slider left the room, anxiously waiting for the wedding. "When are you going to discuss the officiant duties with Xander?"

"Corrin did say that-a Xander and his siblings will-a be stopping by next-a week - so I'll speak-a with Xander then," replied Mario. More likely than not Corrin's siblings were going to stop by to see if Kamui has been beneficial, at all, to the prince.

 **Corrin: All I'm asking for when my siblings visit the Smash Mansion is that they don't try and force any lessons upon me - that one time they were teaching me at Luigi's home was the most boring experience of my life! I was bored out of my own misery, falling asleep was the only option I had (or would have had, if not for Leo and Elise repeatedly waking me up). I do believe I had actually died during that awful experience, only to be somehow revived by my lack of excitement.**

 **Kamui: Why yes, I'm more than excited to see my siblings next week...although I'm still slanted against them for sending me to the mansion inside a coffin. Looking back on it, that was a very messed up thing for my siblings to do...**

"Mario, Peach, I am here to ask you of much-needed assistance!" Ryu entered Mario's room, grabbing the attention of Mario and Peach. "Not sure if Master Hand told you this, but Akuma and I are hosting a small party in the ballroom with our fellow _Street Fighter_ friends, but neither one of us know how to host a party!"

"Why host a party when-a you don't even know what-a you're doing?" questioned Mario, receiving a nudge from Peach. "...um, what I meant-a to say was, what do you and-a Akuma need help-a with regarding your party?"

"EVERYTHING! We need help with everything!" Totally wasn't an answer Mario and Peach were expecting. "The decorations, the food, the atmosphere, the music, we need help with every single aspect of the party! What would Chun-li think of me if she and the others had to attend a crappy party?"

"Chun-li wouldn't mind either way, as long as you're there at the party to entertain her," smiled Peach, her smile enough to radiate happiness inside of Ryu. "Also, why are you so concerned with how Chun-li feels, hmm? Why not care about how the others feel?"

"Because Chun-li has, um...she has a special affinity for partying and whatnot, and if I...I mean, Akuma and I...don't have a top-notch party, then Chun-li will break up...break up the Master Hand statue outside! Break it up into little pieces! Chun-li has a tendency to break things whenever she's ticked!"

"The man definitely likes-a Chun-li, I'll give-a him that..." Mario quietly whispered to Peach, who nodded in agreement. Ryu wasn't hiding a thing. "Okay Ryu, since Peach and I have-a completed our wedding planning for today, we can help you and Akuma with-a the party."

* * *

"The Enlightenment, which lasted from 1685 to 1815, was an age taking place in Europe - an age in which new intellectual ideas were introduced to the world," Lloyd said, as he was teaching the Koopalings. Yes, the swordsman was now teaching, and under the supervision of Bowser, he was teaching the Koopalings, who were all seated at school desks and taking notes. "It introduced things like liberty, fraternity, separation of church and state, and a whole lot of other things."

"Sure hope you kids are taking some great notes!" Bowser said to his kids, who were scribbling away with their No. 2 pencils. How do we know the Koopalings were drawing pictures instead of writing words. "Having Lloyd teach you is the only way to make up for not sending you to public school - gotta cram in as much information as possible into your brains before summer vacation!"

"But dad, you said that we won't be going on summer vacation this year, so why do we need to learn this stuff anyways?" questioned Bowser Jr., garnering a glare from the elder Bowser. You wouldn't want a guy like Bowser glaring at you, especially after the remark Bowser Jr. had made.

"How dare you get smart with your own father! I'd give you a weeks worth of detention if we were at school, and I was the teacher! Heck, I'd give you all detention for a week, teach you some respect! That's how the real world operates, you can't get everything you want - sometimes you have to suffer!"

 **Bowser: No, I do not believe that I was out of line with my comments earlier, I truly meant what I said. I'm essentially doing what every parent should be doing - instilling fear and dismay in their children. Today's parents, they don't wanna do that, they don't want to teach children about hardships and struggles and not getting what you want...instead they'd rather give participation trophies just for showing up at certain events, like soccer games! Makes me sick to my stomach - everyone in this stupid world should receive a participation trophy with how things are nowadays!**

"Sorry for interrupting you Lloyd and having to put my son in his place, boy I tell you, kids these days..." Bowser apologized to Lloyd as he shook his head. "You can resume your little lesson, I promise you I won't interrupt you next time around."

"Thank you Bowser, always a pleasure seeing a great father like yourself disciplining your children," replied Lloyd. Yeah, if you want to call Bowser a "great" father...Lloyd was possibly returning the favor of sucking up to Bowser. "Moving on...during the Enlightenment, there were many philosophical thinkers that rose to prominence, such as..." As Lloyd went over the bucket list of famous people during the Enlightenment, a bored Wendy looked outside through the slightly closed door, and saw through the open crack an individual - an individual whose blue hair, blue skin, red eyes, and white uniform caught the Koopaling's attention.

"Daddy, there's a strange blue-skinned man walking about in the mansion, don't know if we've seen him before," Wendy said to Bowser, grabbing the Koopa King's attention. "He looks pretty scary too..." Must be the red eyes.

"Well if this man dares to interrupt my youngins' learning, then he must be stopped!" Bowser said as he got up from his seat, ready to call some rounds. "Lloyd, you keeping on teaching, while I deal with this peon!" Lloyd gave a thumbs up as Bowser exited the room, and confronted the strange individual, who was about to continue down the hallway until Bowser approached him. "Hey there you, you think you can walk around here and distract my kids from their learning?! Who even are you anyway, and why are you here?!"

"We have never met one another, have we?" the blue-skinned man said, holding out his hand. "Grand Admiral Thrawn, at your service, nice to meet you." Bowser could tell that Thrawn was a villain, and as much the Koopa King wished to shake hands with a fellow villain, he didn't trust Thrawn one bit.

"Hold up just a second, I think I know who you are...you're Grand Admiral Thrawn!" That's exactly what the guy just said... "You're that creep from the _Star Wars_ franchise, the guy who commands the Imperial military! How can you possibly exist, when you're nothing more than some fictional character?!"

"Sometimes there's more the reality than fantasy, and I toe in between that line. People may think I'm just a fantasy character, I'm too good to be true...but other people know otherwise. If you must know my business here...I'm here to scope, to investigate, to see just how beneficial this mansion would be to the Galactic Empire. Apparently this conversation is taking too long, it's damaging my plans...and for that, I must bid you adieu."

"Uh...adieu to you too, good luck on fulfilling your business or mission...or whatever," Bowser said as he sheepishly returned to the room, now bugged out by Thrawn. But there was something off about Thrawn...something about his head size, Bowser assumed.

"I've yet to know that turtle's history, philosophy, and art...but no matter, I shall deal with him later," remarked Thrawn as he went on his own way; unbeknownst to him, the Team Rocket trio - Jessie, James, and Meowth - was spying on the man, hiding at a closet with the door halfway open.

"The Organization could really use someone like that Thrawn guy, he looks like the real deal," exclaimed James, observing Thrawn through the creaked door. "What do you think of the guy, Ansem?"

"Judging from his dialogue, he's an interesting character...but he's well worth a shot," answered a man hiding in the closet with Team Rocket, speaking in a relatively deep voice that was almost reminiscent of Xemnas's. Only except this man wasn't Xemnas...it was someone else.

 **Jessie: Organization XIII and Giovanni were understandably upset with us for failing our mission last week, so to guarantee that this week's mission will be a rousing success, Master Xehanort send one of the Organization members with us to the mansion.  
Meowth: The guy's name is Ansem, and according to Giovanni, Ansem supposedly stole the name from some "sage-king" named Ansem the Wise, and he's been flaunting around with the name ever since. Giovanni did say that Ansem was a Heartless, so maybe Ansem was desperate for a name.  
James: What I don't get is how this Ansem the Wise character could be a sage-king, yet he was described as wearing a lab coat...so wouldn't that make him a professor or doctor instead? The Organization's universe is weird in so many different ways...**

* * *

Link and Asuka was in the Pokemon sanctuary, fighting against two Kalos Pokemon - Aegislash and Greninja. While Link and Asuka were acclimated with Greninja, for several obvious reasons, Aegislash was a Pokemon the Hylian nor the ninja were that familiar with - and that proved to be a great challenge to the both of them.

"Don't rough 'em up too bad, just make them look strong!" Lucario called out to Link and Asuka, as he watched over the two clashing with Aegislash and Greninja. Having humans fight against Pokemon was definitely something Lucario did not have in mind, but that's what he had to come to. "So how's that report coming along, Zelda?" Lucario would ask the princess, who was furiously writing away on a report, while Midna monitored her.

"It's coming along nicely Lucario, though I would appreciate if you'd stop pestering me every minute or so," answered Zelda, as she wrote away wishing Lucario would stop bothering her. She would work on the report in the library, like she did in the last episode, but Lucario forced the princess to complete the report in the Pokemon sanctuary, for "instant results". Interpret that however you will.

"Diddy Kong is apparently having another slap fight with Infernape," Mewtwo went over to notify Lucario, who was still watching over Aegislash and Greninja. "Stopped the fighting between the two last time - would you like to do the honors?"

"Huh, there's a fight going on between Diddy Kong and some Pokemon?" questioned Lucario, who clearly didn't listen to Mewtwo, save for hearing Diddy Kong's name. "You can go ahead and stop the fighting, I'll just stick here and watch how Aegislash and Greninja are coming along." Mewtwo was dumbfounded by Lucario; how could Lucario not listen to one of the most important Pokemon of all time? Mewtwo deserved to be held to a higher respect.

"Lucario did you even listen to a single word I said? Like I told you before, I stopped the fight between Diddy Kong and Infernape last time, and I'm not going to do it again! One time is already enough for me!"

"Oh, quit your complaining Mewtwo - you sound like a bratty teenage girl who doesn't get her way!" Lucario fired back at the psychic Pokemon. Link, Zelda, Midna, Asuka, Aegislash, and Greninja all stopped what they were doing and watched. Lousy rubbernecks. "You think I don't have a tough time overseeing the Pokemon Army, and ensuring everything is decent and orderly, huh?!"

"Well at least I don't need some pretty Pokemon lady flirting with me while I do my job..." Mewtwo retorted, referring to Lucario's love interest Lopunny. Now the argument was taking a more personal turn.

"For your information, Lopunny has hardly spoke with me since I was named Pokemon Army general - she knows to stay in her lane and let me do my thing. It's best for the both of us - she won't distract me, and I won't..."

"Let you do your thing? What is this 'thing' that you speak of? Do you do more than just overseeing the Pokemon, like I do?" If any of the rubberneckers could, they would pop a bag of popcorn and watch the action between Lucario and Mewtwo unfold.

"But you haven't done anything other than..." At this point, Lucario was completely fed up with Mewtwo. "...you know what, I can't take this anymore, I don't think I can work with you any longer. We're done!" And just like that, Lucario angrily stomped away and out of the Pokemon sanctuary, leaving Link and company to stare dumbfoundedly at the retreating Pokemon.

"Great that we can finally agree on something, Lucario...because I don't think I can work with you too, I'm done as well!" Mewtwo called out to the aura Pokemon, as he went his own way to leave the Pokemon sanctuary. The general and the lieutenant were no longer on the same page - and that could bode badly for the Pokemon army, especially with a Heartless invasion approaching near.

 **Lucario: Pfft, I don't need Mewtwo as my lieutenant, I'm well enough alone without the guy. Besides, the man whined his way to the lieutenant role, sucking up to Master Hand just so he could get the job. You think I would want someone like Mewtwo as my second-in-command, given the things he had done to earn the role?**

 **Mewtwo: Lucario is a _terrible_ general, all he does is watch over the Pokemon and force poor Zelda into writing some dumb reports about the Pokemon army that we don't need. Writing up the reports wasn't my idea, it was Lucario's idea...and he makes it seem like we came up with that idea together. That alone should show you that the two of us can't work together.**

"Lucario and Mewtwo, both at a standstill...Master Hand ain't gonna like that," remarked Link, still in disbelief from what went down. Lucario and Mewtwo were the least unlikeliest two to be involved in any argument.

"Eh, it was bound to happen soon, it was all going to come to a head sooner or later," Midna had this to say, giving her two cents as she does most of the time.

"What possibly made you think that Midna, did you see some building tension between Mewtwo and Lucario?" asked Zelda, not caring about writing the report. No point in writing one when the two most important individuals of the Pokemon army aren't on the same page.

"As you know, Lucario and Mewtwo are both similar and different - similar in mood, temperament, and personality, but different in how they conduct their business. Knew the latter would greatly interfere in their general/lieutenant relationship - when two different styles clash, it can make or break things...and unfortunately it broke the bond between Lucario and Mewtwo."

"Clearly we can't let this bond be broken - the Pokemon army needs Lucario and Mewtwo, and Lucario and Mewtwo need each other for the army to be stable," stated Asuka, thinking up of a plan...until the perfect one entered her head. "I think I have a plan that would bring Mewtwo and Lucario together, but it's very high risk, high reward...but it's well worth it!"

* * *

Mario and Peach were helping Ryu and Akuma set up things for the _Street Fighter_ party, and the soon-to-be married couple weren't alone - Mega Man, X, .EXE, Zero, and Proto Man were all helping out as well, the five robots doing a huge solid for their fellow _Capcom_ brethren.

"Um, Mario, what's up with that banner?" Mega Man questioned Mario, who was hanging up a banner with Zero that read "GET TURNT" in huge lettering. The scowl on Zero's face indicated that Zero wasn't that much of a fan of the banner like Mega Man was.

"What, you don't like-a the banner?" asked Mario, disappointed that Mega Man didn't like the banner. "'Get Turnt'! Sounds-a tight, doesn't it? Put a lot of creativity and mind into making that phrase!" That so-called creativity and mind was incredibly lacking right now.

"Tried dissuading you from hanging this banner up but you wouldn't listen to me..." Zero sighed and shook his head as he climb down the ladder he was on to hang the banner up. Once the robot was back on the floor, he saw Akuma, looking at a notepad in his hand. "Hey Akuma, what's that you're looking at?"

"Just a guest list of the folks that will be attending the party," the fighter responded, briefly looking up at Zero before looking back at his notepad so he could read off the names to the robot. "It's gonna be Chun-li, Ken, Cammy, Fei Long, Zangief, Sagat, Dee Jay, and plenty of others who'll be in attendance. Surely you must know most of those names."

"Know 'em like the back of my head...though I can't really see the back of my head that well due to my awesome ponytail. Gonna be exciting to see Chun-li, Ken, and the rest of the gang at the party...provided you and Ryu would let me attend."

 **Akuma: Ryu's romantic relationship with Chun-li? *scoffs* It's so hard not to notice, even more so when you ask Ryu about the woman and he gets all nervous and sweaty. Ryu is constantly trying to be macho, always looking like some tough guy who would never cry, not even at a funeral...but ask him about his woman, and he does a complete 360. Quite fascinating and very intriguing, I tell you.**

"Anyone else I would say no, but seeing that you're a _Capcom_ guy, I'll make reservations for you and your robot friends," offered Akuma, giving Zero a deal the robot was more than comfortable with. Cloud entered the ballroom, and he did so while walking on crutches; the swordsman was still suffering from a gunshot to the leg at the hands of Sonic, who was now doing time in jail for his accident in the previous episode. Cloud expected his wound to be healed in less than a week.

"What the heck is going on here, what's with all the decoration?" the swordsman looked around at the ballroom, seeing balloons, party streamers, and even the egregious "GET TURNT" sign hanging up high. "X, is there some get-together happening here soon?"

"Ryu and Akuma want to hold a party with their _Street Fighter_ buddies," explained X as he was decorating a table full of appetizers. Can't have a party without any appetizers. "So Mario, Peach, and us robots are lending a hand in preparing things."

"I only see Akuma...where is Ryu? Bet he's trying on some lousy suit just to impress Chun-li." Ryu was noticeably absent from the ballroom - perhaps he was hiding himself so Chun-li won't see him when she arrives at the party?

"Think I saw him go into that room over there," X pointed at a room with the door mostly open. "You might wanna go check in there, Ryu might be having second thoughts about hosting the party with Akuma."

"Ryu and Akuma, hosting a party together?" That was something Cloud would've never heard in a million years. "Eh, I won't question it." The ex-SOLDIER headed over to the room, and inside, he saw Ryu sitting on a chair, with Peach over him with her hand on the fighter's back. Ryu looked dismayed, like he had just received the worst news anyone could receive and was now down in the dumps.

"Inviting Chun-li to the party was a mistake - what if I suck at hosting the party and it leaves a bad impression on Chun-li?" worried Ryu - poor guy was still worrying about his woman Chun-li. "Even worse - what if I leave a bad impression on the others? They'd think I'm the biggest fool there is!"

"Quit being so down on yourself Ryu, not everyone can be perfect!" Peach offered these words of encouragement to Ryu. "Also, you're making it seem like you're the only one host the party - you'll have Akuma at your side!"

"Easy for you to say - Akuma is a novice like me when it comes to parties! We should've just had a large picnic outside, but we only have just one picnic table!" They could have a picnic at a park somewhere in Seattle...but Ryu was apparently too distressed to think of any rational options. "I'd say you and Mario host the party, while Akuma and I take all the credit for setting things up! That would work best for everyone!" Everyone except Mario and Peach.

"Ryu are you okay, I've never seen you distressed like this," Cloud approached the fighter, who tried to look more relieved. It didn't work, needless to say, Cloud knew what Ryu was attempting to do. "Getting all worked up over a party man, just because of Chun-li? That's not the Ryu I know."

 **Cloud: You'd think that given how high up there Ryu and Chun-li are in years, the two would actually tie the knot...but I'm afraid Ryu is the only one stopping that knot from ever being tied. He can be very sensitive when it comes to Chun-li - like if you randomly asked Ryu about the woman, he would try and change the subject, or not talk to you for the rest of the day, just to avoid any suspicion. But little does he know that by not giving a clear answer, he's bringing upon more suspicion to himself...**

"I don't know why I feel and act so differently when it comes to Chun-li - I mean, I had no problem with the woman when she stopped by the mansion at the start of the year!" stated Ryu. "One of my new year's resolutions was to improve upon my relationship with Chun-li, but I fear that I might squander at the party and ruin my resolution completely!"

"Dude you're just hosting a party, it's not that serious," said Cloud, making Ryu feel better about himself. "So what if you or Akuma screw things up - what matters is that you get to spend some downtime with Chun-li. She won't think much differently of you based on how well you host the party...though the same won't be said for your friends."

"You're right Cloud, I need to stop worrying - I need to be a man, and act like a man!" Ryu confidently stood up, exuberating manliness and strength. "So what if I screw things up, as long as it doesn't prevent me from having a great time, and everything goes according to plan, then I have nothing to worry about! It's all in my head, and now I must get it out of my head!"

"Yeah, that's the spirit Ryu...so are you gonna wear a suit or tuxedo to the party, just to impress Chun-li?" Ryu originally found himself stumped by this question - but he knew that dressing fancy for a small party wouldn't be that necessary.

"A suit or tuxedo wouldn't impress Chun-li...but spending time with her and making her happy certainly will!" answered the kung fu fighter, as Cloud nodded - this was the answer the ex-SOLDIER expected.

"Good...oh, and one more thing - your fly's down." Suddenly Ryu looked down at his pants for his nonexistent zipper, as Cloud exited the room on crutches, sporting a grin on his face. He may be cynical, brooding, and apathetic at times, but in seldom moments, Cloud can show a modest sense of humor.

* * *

"Male Inkling, female Inkling, I would like to introduce to you both Ugh - this lovely woman is spending her first day at the mansion!" Pit, accompanied by Kirby, would introduce "Ugh" to the Inklings in the lounge. Both Inklings were confused, because they could see that Ugh was clearly Lucina, wearing her new glasses. "Just to make sure, you _are_ a woman, right?" Pit asked Lucina...erm, Ugh, just to be on the safe side.

"Pit for the last time, I'm Lucina, you've known me for the longest now..." stated a facepalming Lucina, disgusted by Pit's stupidity. To make matters worse, the princess's father Chrom has never even thought about bailing his daughter out. So much for being a caring father.

"Please excuse Ugh's shyness, she's so shy that she doesn't even want to show her face...also, she believes that just because she looks like Lucina, she wishes to be addressed by the name Lucina, but we all know that's not her name!"

"I'm sure she doesn't mind being called Lucina at all," stated the female Inkling - and she knew this because this character Ugh was just Lucina wearing glasses.

 **Female Inkling: Man, Pit has to be THE dumbest person in existence! How does he not know that Lucina is wearing glasses, it's not like she's a newcomer at the mansion for the first time! Does Pit need glasses himself?!  
** **Male Inkling: Gotta admit, Lucina looks ten times hotter with glasses on...don't know if the glasses brings out her eyes more, or what...  
Female Inkling: *slaps the male Inkling silly* Oh please, you have literally no chance at winning Lucina's heart. You think you can be Mr. Steal Yo Girl and take Lucina away from Robin?  
Male Inkling: Robin honestly ain't that great of a boyfriend...he may have the magic and the fancy spells and all, but I got the paintball guns and the hotspur to go along with it!  
Female Inkling: *checks out the male Inkling* Hotspur? Where at?  
Male Inkling: I told you the hotspur goes along with the paintball guns...you may not see the hotspur now, but eventually...  
Female Inkling: How can you possibly have something you never even had?**

"It was nice meeting you Ugh, hope you take it easy here at the mansion," the male Inkling said to Lucina - feeling strange that he was addressing Lucina by a name other than her own - as he and the female Inkling walked away. With the Inklings gone, Pit grabbed Lucina's hand and walked her out of the lounge, while Kirby tagged along; Lucina found it strange that Pit was leading her around the mansion, holding her by the hand and introducing the princess to people she already knew. One of those people was Kokahu, whose brother Hisui was injured earlier in the day for checking out Lucina, falling down the steps and likely breaking several bones in his body.

"Hi Lucina, I really love your glasses!" Kohaku said to Lucina, coming across the princess and Pit in the hallway; Lucina would tell Kohaku thank you, if not for Pit chuckling at Kohaku for what she just said.

"Silly Kohaku, this isn't Lucina - this is Ugh, a woman (I think) who looks like Lucina, but ISN'T Lucina!" Pit introduced Lucina to a now confused Kohaku; who's he to call another person silly? Also, where's Chrom to save his darling daughter Lucina from Pit?

"...so what you're trying to say is that Lucina looks different with her glasses on." This prompted Pit to chuckle once again, like Kohaku was the dumbest person in the world...a bona fide pot calling the kettle black moment in the making.

"Lucina, of all people, wearing glasses? Glasses would diminish Lucina's looks, it would make her look like a total dork!" Captain Falcon, Doc Louis, Hisui, the male Inkling, and maybe a handful of others would disagree with that. "Ugh, while she may look like a dork, and maybe a nerd, is still a great chick when you get to know her, despite her glasses!"

"Whatever you say Pit..." Kohaku knew entertaining Pit further with his ignorance would be pointless, so now would be a good time to end the conversation. "Now if you excuse me, I have to find a ice pack for my brother's back. Hurt himself pretty badly after falling down the stairs - said he was 'looking at a personal suitor for himself', whatever that's supposed to mean. I'll be on my way." So Kohaku would leave, looking for an ice pack for her brother.

"I don't understand Ugh, everywhere we go people keep assuming that you're Lucina," frowned Pit, also not understanding how completely stupid he was. "Could it be because of your blue hair, or your blue eyes, or the way you're dressed? No worries Ugh, sooner or later everyone will know your name soon!"

"Father, where on earth are you..." Lucina moaned as Pit grabbed her hand and led her away, ready to introduce the blue-haired lass to even more folks. If only the angel would hear Kirby out...

* * *

"Man, I haven't felt this great since I don't even know when!" Fox sighed happily as he was resting on a lawn chair in the Star Records room, sipping on some ice cold lemonade, while his buddy Falco was doing the same thing, situated next to his buddy.

"Much agreed my friend, feels like I'm in paradise!" exclaimed Falco, as he toasted Fox with his glass of lemonade. "Don't you feel the same way, Sonic?" The avian pilot would ask Sonic...or rather, a stuffed animal of Sonic, resting on a lawn chair like Fox and Falco with a glass of lemonade next to his hand. "You feel the same way too Sonic? That's great man!"

 **Tsubasa: Ever since Sonic was arrested last week, there has been a great wave of euphoria that has taken over the mansion throughout most of the week, since Sonic's absence has resulted in less annoyances for us residents. Regardless, Sonic is still a part of the mansion family, so to compensate for his absence... *holds up the Sonic stuffed animal* ...I bought a stuffed animal of Sonic online to take the hedgehog's place! Put some extra stuffing in it so it could be the same size as Sonic. In addition to the chew marks provided by the Duck Hunt Dog, there's also some signatures written on this Sonic stuffed animal, let's see what we got here...Ashley says Sonic is "a living cancer", Yoshi wrote that Sonic is "painful and sometimes insufferable", what else do we have here...d'aww, Rosalina even called Sonic an "ungrateful whore"! How very sweet of her!**

"I've brought you gentlemen a plate of malasadas," Yashiro, his right arm in an arm sling, entered the Star Records room holding a plate of malasadas with his left hand. "Also, I do not wish to serve as your maid, for there's two maids here that can do your bidding."

"First off, Yashiro, there's no such thing as a male maid, it's not like we're forcing you to wear traditional maid attire, so you're not our maid," stated Fox, prompting Yashiro to frown. "You're just doing us a bunch of solids. Secondly, you can just put the malasadas on the desk - Falco and I will devour them soon."

"Even if I'm doing favors, I deserve to be treated better..." Yashiro mumbled as he neared the Star Records desk...

"BOO!" ...then suddenly, the desk drawer opened, and out appeared Sonic, who scared Yashiro to the point where he shrieked and dropped the malasadas to the floor as he fell back, catching his breath. "Scared ya real good, didn't I Yashiro? King Boo ain't got crap on me now!" Sonic turned to face Fox and Falco, who were equally shocked that the hedgehog returned. "Sweet, you bought me a stuffed animal made in my likeness? Always knew you guys cared for me!"

"Sonic how'd you fit inside...how did you even...you know what, forget it," said Falco, still shocked as ever. "Why aren't you doing time in jail?"

"My sentence was supposed to end tomorrow, but the prison officials released me a day earlier. The inmates even indulged the officials to release me!" By the sounds of it, Sonic was even irritating to his fellow inmates! "Bond didn't even matter at that point, the inmates cared so much about me that they wanted me out of prison. Can't thank those guys enough! So once I returned to the mansion, I hid in the desk drawer, waiting to strike!"

"Well it's great to have you back Sonic...I guess," replied Fox, feeling lukewarm about Sonic's return. "Certainly hope you learned your lesson while in jail, otherwise your experience would be all for naught."

"I think I did learn something...but I'm not so sure if I did. So! Have you guys been taking care of Shaymin for me while I was away?" The answer was no, as evidenced by the nervous looks Fox and Falco exchanged.

* * *

"WEEEEEEEE!" Shaymin squealed as she was flying around the ballroom, with party streamers in her mouth. The gratitude Pokemon was unknowingly screwing up the party decorations, and it was up to Mega Man, flying on Rush via Rush Jet, to stop the Pokemon.

"Hurry up and catch that Pokemon, Ken and the others will be here soon!" Ryu called out to Mega Man; the fighter was notified by Ken via phone that he and the others were on their way to the Smash Mansion, and now Shaymin was busy screwing things up. "Why do I wish Sonic was here to stop this madness..."

"Got her!" Mega Man announced as he snatched Shaymin, bringing Rush down to the floor. The robot then hopped off of Rush, and exited the ballroom to return Shaymin back where she belonged.

"You can't keep me away forever, I will be back!" the gratitude Pokemon vowed as Mega Man took her out of the ballroom. With Shaymin gone, Ryu and company now had to rearrange the streamers Shaymin messed up.

 **Proto Man: Wait a sec, why am I invited to the party? I can't eat any of the food, and I hardly know any of Ryu's friends! Sure I know their name, but that's it! Why did I bother helping?**

"Someone must be at the door," Cloud, still at the ballroom, notified Ryu and company, who were almost done undoing the mess Shaymin created. "I'll answer the door, you guys get the decorations back in order." So Cloud headed over to the door on his crutches, and when he opened it, he saw not the _Street Fighter_ crew...but rather Akira Yuki and Jacky Bryant, who both seemed like they were waiting at the door for forever.

"Yo, Cloud, when is the party gonna start?" asked Akira, just itching to get inside. "Jacky and I, we're fighters too, so I think the two of us, and maybe Heihachi should be part of the festivities!" How was Cloud going to handle this situation?

"Well I don't see Heihachi anywhere around here," the swordsman answered, not wanting to upset Jacky and Akira while steering them away from the ballroom. "Also, are you two on Akuma's guest list?"

"Technically we are guests - Akuma just forgot to write down our names on his list," replied Jacky; like Cloud would buy that excuse. "But in his head he knows we're invited to the party, so why don't you let us in?!"

"Okay, okay, I'll let you in, but only until the party begins." Granted Jacky and Akira will be denied access, but Cloud had to draw them away somehow.

"Really, you'll let us in? Thanks Cloud, you're awesome man! Is there any way we can repay you?" Cloud did have one thing in mind...

"There is one thing you can do for me...walk away and leave me alone." Jacky and Akira, now in a happier mood, were eager to fulfill Cloud's request.

"Sure thing Cloud, we can't wait for the awesome party!" exclaimed Akira; Cloud smirked as he closed the ballroom door. "It will be a blast!" Akira and Jacky walked away, and they both failed to notice a hooded Organization member, stealthily standing unseen in the hallway as he watched Akira and Jacky pass by.

* * *

Donkey Kong was happily humming to himself as he headed to the storage room, where he and Diddy Kong would store their bananas. The gorilla was eager to count the number of bananas in his current supply, like he does every day...how boring. But when DK arrived at the storage room, he found Chrom counting his bananas, inspecting each and every fruit.

"Um, Chrom, care to explain why you're counting my bananas?" DK would ask the hero-king, who looked up at the gorilla. No doubt Chrom was feeling silly holding one of DK's bananas in his hand.

"Nothing needs to be explained, just making your work easier, that's all," Chrom grinned innocently as he placed the banana back in a large pile of bananas...causing said pile to collapse to the floor. "...if you must know, your grandfather Cranky Kong called me and told me to count your bananas, for whatever reason."

 **Donkey Kong: So not only does Cranky Kong have phone numbers from Olimar, Wolf, and Knuckles...but he also has Chrom's phone number as well! How does he get people's contact information, who gives him random phone numbers?!**

 **Geno: I got nothing to say...other than that Cranky Kong _really_ gets around really well.**

"Oh yeah, Cranky Kong called me earlier today and I forgot to answer his call, must have tried to remind me about counting the bananas," said Donkey Kong; Cranky Kong was quietly showing signs of a prototypical Jewish mother, nagging DK on what must be done. "Have no idea why he called you for and do my work. Anyways, I'm afraid your daughter is caught up in some trouble with Pit...the little fella thinks Lucina is some new person with her new glasses on, a person named Ugh, and he's 'introducing' your daughter to everyone around the mansion!"

"Crap I forgot all about Lucina!" frowned Chrom, grabbing a banana and throwing it at the floor just to show how angry he was. Shame on him for being an uncaring father. "Should have been with her because of people like Pit...guess I have some resolving to do."

* * *

"Did you know that there's a traitor living among us in the mansion?" Cilan conversed with Samus, walking with the bounty hunter to the workshop. Samus was holding her BFF Pikachu in her arms, but we know her real BFF was Zelda - a secret she keeps from others. "Master Hand told me this last week!"

"Pretty sure Master Hand doesn't want you sharing information openly like that, he can punish you in a snap," replied Samus, who wouldn't mind seeing Cilan receiving punishment from Master Hand himself. "Probably turn your innards inside out and choke up with them." The kind of punishment Samus would love to see.

"Master Hand would never do that to me, I'm too precious and pure!" A statement for Samus worth rolling her eyes to. "You'd have to agree with that, right Pikachu?"

"Pika pika!" exclaimed the mouse Pokemon; like Kirby, Pikachu would agree to just about anything.

"Pikachu will agree with anything you tell him, so it's not like his response will mean anything...also, since you're done with the wedding cake, aren't you supposed to leave the mansion? Not saying that you have to, but..."

"That's a decision I'm still considering," Cilan said as he, Samus, and Pikachu reached the workshop and entered inside. "Still evaluating my options, asking others what they think, and WHAT IS THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON EMA, it looks fantastic!" Cilan would exclaim as he saw Ema Skye working on that ray gun of hers at the desk, screwing in a few screws with her wrench.

"Cilan this is the ray gun I've been working on since like forever...I already showed it to you before," said Ema, as Cilan was gushing over the ray gun he had previously seen before, according to Ema. The connoisseur must have hit his head somewhere and suffered from memory loss after seeing Ema's ray gun.

"But it looks so NEW! The design, it's so exquisite, and the structure, it's nothing like I've ever seen before!" As Cilan continue to gush over Ema's invention, Samus and Pikachu just looked at the connoisseur, not sure what to think of him. "With this ray gun, perhaps you can take out this traitor Master Hand spoke up, and make him pay dearly...you never heard anything about this traitor, right?"

"Yeah...how about you just leave me alone? Trying to work here, and your heavy breathing is rather distracting." So Cilan inched away from Ema, who promptly resumed her work. What if the forensics expert knew herself who the traitor was?

* * *

It was now time for the _Street Fighter_ party to begin. Ryu and Akuma were ready, Mega Man and his crew were ready, and Mario, Peach, and Cloud were ready as well - they were invited just for helping out. Ken and the others finally arrived at the mansion, and were now making their way to the ballroom.

 **Ayaha: Asked Ryu and Akuma if they wanted any music at their party...and Akuma gave me this. *holds up _Street Fighter_ soundtrack album, from the 1994 film* If the _Street Fighter_ movie was crap, then who knows how good this soundtrack might be.**

"Just stay calm, and everything will be alright..." Ryu said to himself as he was standing at the now opened ballroom door to greet the party guests. First up was Ken Masters, a friendly rival of Ryu's. "Ah, Ken, my good friend! Welcome!"

"Long time no see, my old friend!" Ken greeted Ryu, exchanging a handshake. "How have you been, man? Eh, I'll save questions like those for later. Time to enjoy the party! Thanks for inviting me, man!"

"It was the least I could do!" As Ken entered the ballroom to greet the others, Chun-li would walk up to greet Ryu. "Chun-li, you look better than you did the last time I saw you - got some new makeup, I assume?"

"Save the flattery for later," Chun-li smiled as she entered the ballroom, and Ryu would find himself smiling as well - that exchange went better than he imagined. Up next was Zangief, the Russian wrestler.

"Ryu, how do you do!" Zangief greeted the fighter with a hand-crushing handshake. "Nice of you and Akuma to have this party, though I don't really go to parties, not a party person. Would you like to see how stronger my triceps have become?"

"Go into the ballroom and enjoy yourself before I have to make you leave..." threatened Ryu, and so Zangief would enter the ballroom, as more _Street Fighter_ folks started pouring in. Songs from the _Street Fighter_ soundtrack album were blaring through the loudspeakers, and the songs were provided by the de facto DJ, Ayaha Oribe, who was standing at a turntable.

"Don't play MC Hammer's 'Straight to My Feet', and you'll be just fine," Akuma would say to Ayaha, as a song from Nas was heard throughout the ballroom. What's so wrong with a little MC Hammer?

"But how do I adjust the volume or skip certain songs...?" Ayaha would ask Akuma, who walked away to fulfill his party host duties. Cloud was chilling at a wall with Mario, soaking in the party atmosphere; the swordsman doesn't typically do parties.

"A lot of Ryu and Akuma's friends are here," remarked Cloud, seeing the faces of Fei Long, Dee Jay, Cammy, and several others. "Gotta say, Cammy looks more muscular than Ryu made her out to be..."

"Most-a certainly so, though I wish-a Cammy would wear some-a thing less revealing than her green-a leotard," stated Mario, trying not to look at Cammy's backside. While the party ensued, Jacky and Akira entered the ballroom without Ryu, Akuma, or anyone else noticing to join the festivities - Cloud _did_ say they were welcome to attend, right?

* * *

 **Asuka: About to start my master plan to bring Mewtwo and Lucario back together...and it can end in two ways. Either Mewtwo and Lucario make up and put their differences aside for the sake of the Pokemon army...or we can further damage the relationship between the two and somehow implicate Lucario's love life. Why are Lucario's personal matters involved? You will see...**

Mewtwo was sulking outside the mansion, sitting on a log and thinking about how sucky life was, while still angry with Lucario. Link, Zelda, Midna, Asukan and Greninja were spying on the psychic Pokemon from afar among the shrubbery, and with the group was Lopunny - Lucario's girlfriend and the catalyst for Asuka's plan.

"You ready to go Lopunny?" Asuka would ask the rabbit Pokemon, who was always ready, willing, and able. "Great, now go get him!" So Lopunny would hop away from the shrubbery and towards the despondent Mewtwo. With Mewtwo's visage, it was hard to tell if the Pokemon was either happy or sad.

"What do you want Lopunny, can't you see I'm busy sulking and being angry?" Mewtwo would look up at the rabbit Pokemon, telling her his sole reason for existing. By saying her name over and over again, Lopunny was somehow able to tell Mewtwo a story, or an explanation. Pokemon language works in funny ways. "Lucario is getting beat up?! By two Pokemon? At the ball pit room?! Knew I shouldn't have left Lucario firsthand...take me to Lucario!" So Lopunny would lead Mewtwo inside the mansion, leaving Link and company to give weird looks at Asuka.

"The ball pit room, seriously Asuka?" frowned Link, saying what was on everyone's minds. "Nobody ever gets beat up there...except for Villager whenever he's in the ball pit with the Inklings. Poor kid never stands a chance."

"Eh, I would have went with the storage room, but Donkey Kong said it was 'off-limits'," answered Asuka. DK must be counting his banana supply. "...the storage room is not a good spot either, is it?" Link and company shook their heads simultaneously on that one.

* * *

Grand Admiral Thrawn continued to patrol the Smash Mansion, looking for someone he could best with his three favorite things - history, art, and philosophy. His search would come to an end, when he came across a man wearing a hooded cloak - a man from Organization XIII.

"Fancy meeting you, General Master Thrawn..." the Organization member said with his deep voice, as he took off his hood to reveal himself. He had long silver hair, yellow eyes, pointy ears, and dark skin - traits inherited from Master Xehanort (minus the long hair). "My name is Ansem, and I'm here to recruit members to join the Organization XIII...how would you like to be a member?"

"Only on one condition...will I be able to use history, art, and philosophy to defeat my opponents?" asked Thrawn; if the answer was yes, then he's in. "Otherwise the deal is off..."

"I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter, Thrawn..." Ansem snarled, as Team Rocket came out of nowhere and ambushed Thrawn, sending the Grand Admiral to the floor. Jessie and James had Tharwn's hands behind his back, while Meowth had the admiral's face.

"We got him, right where we want him!" exclaimed Jessie, restraining Thrawn to the best of her ability. "Can't believe we're about to complete a mission for once!" If at first you don't succeed, right?

"Giovanni's gonna be so proud of us, and Master Xehanort will enjoy this new addition to the Organization!" added Meowth, his hands still on Thrawn's face...but when the Pokemon looked at his paws and saw blue paint on them, he knew something was up. "Um, James, do you have that water pistol with you?"

"Still don't know why I have one, but I suppose you can use it," James took out a water pistol from his pocket, and gave it to Meowth, who squirted water on Thrawn's face and hair. To the shock of Team Rocket and Ansem, blue and green paint flowed down from Thrawn's face and hair, until the only thing left was silver hair and red contact lenses. "Wait a minute, this isn't Grand Admiral Thrawn - that's the naive boy at the mansion, Corrin!"

 **Corrin: Yes, in addition to Darth Vader, I also cosplay as other _Star Wars_ characters - bought the cosplay attire online with Wario's debit card, don't tell him. Today I wanted to cosplay as Grand Admiral Thrawn, because he has great knowledge in the art, history, and philosophy fields. And with my siblings visiting next week, I spent much of my time perfecting Thrawn's craft, from his personality to his intelligence, studying history and philosophy so that Xander and the others come to visit next week, they'll see a more smarter me...I think I said that right.**

"Would you look at the time, my sister must be calling for me..." Corrin grinned, although Kamui's voice was not heard. Ansem stared down Corrin, before grabbing the prince and throwing him over his shoulders.

"He may not be much, but I see a lot of potential in him," Ansem, a Heartless, said to Team Rocket, speaking of Corrin's use to the Organization. They could really use a dragon hybrid on their squad. "Let's see what Young Xehanort thinks of our prey."

"First a Master Xehanort, and now a Young Xehanort...either Master Xehanort had a son with some desperate woman, or he might be into cloning," remarked Mewoth as he, Jessie, and James followed Ansem, in search for this Young Xehanort.

* * *

"Ugh, I would like you to meet my awesome girlfriend, Viridi - she's a goddess of nature and she loves gardening!" Pit, still accompanied by Kirby, would introduce "Ugh", a la Lucina, to Viridi in the gardens, who was confused as ever. "Just so you know Viridi, Ugh can be rather shy, so don't be surprised if she doesn't speak to you."

"Pit...I'm pretty sure that's Lucina, with her new pair of glasses, not this 'Ugh' character you speak of," explained Viridi, wondering how Pit could possibly be this dumb - if not dumber.

"Been trying to tell Pit that, but he won't listen..." sighed Kirby, who was trying to tell Pit the truth throughout most of the day. Hope was all but lost for Pit...

...but help would soon be on the way, when Chrom entered the gardens, running up to Pit and company before stopping and taking a breather. Clearly the prince was looking for Lucina, he didn't know where she was...talk about being uncaring.

"Got here as soon as I could..." panted Chrom, and once his panting was done, the prince regained his composure. "Pit, you think that blue-haired woman with the glasses is Ugh, is that right?" Pit eagerly nodded his head. "What if I told you...that Ugh is really an imposter?!"

"What do you mean by that?" questioned Pit, and so Chrom would show the angel...he took the glasses off of Lucina, and Pit gasped in shock. "Lucina, how the heck did you get here?! Good timing though, because you get the opportunity to meet my new friend..." That's when Chrom placed the glasses back on Lucina, and just like that, Pit was bewildered. "Am I...missing something here?" Then the angel finally realized... "...Lucina was wearing glasses this whole time?!"

"THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN..." Kirby was ready to break character and unleash upon Pit, before realizing that it wouldn't be necessary. "Never mind..."

"But I don't get it...if you're here Lucina, with your glasses and all...and Ugh isn't here...then where exactly is Ugh?" Pit was now dismayed; the angel needed answers, and fast.

"Ugh _is_ here Pit...she's here, in your heart," Lucina knelt down at Pit and touched the angel's heart; Pit placed his hand on his heart and credulously said "Oooooh...". Lucina stood back up and smiled at her father, who cheesily smiled right back.

 **Lucina: That hand to heart thing I did with Pit? A little thing father used to do with me when I was a kid, constantly telling me that my friends were "always in my heart". Like father, like...daughter... *shudders***

* * *

Lopunny would guide Mewtwo to the ball pit room, where the psychic Pokemon would find Lucario writhing on the floor, getting ganged up by Gardevoir and Gallade - two Pokemon the aura Pokemon was mutual friends with. To see Lucario getting beat up by his friends was peculiar for Mewtwo to see.

"What in the name of...you two back away from Lucario!" intervened Mewtwo, confronting Gardevoir and Gallade. "Back away, I say, get back!" Gardevoir and Gallade would stop beating up Lucario and backed away, as Mewtwo helped the aura Pokemon to his feet.

"Man, Mewtwo, I'm so glad to see you," a battered Lucario said to Mewtwo, who was frowning for some reason. "You had no idea of the torture I went..." Before Lucario could finish, Mewtwo slapped the aura Pokemon silly, angering him. "Ow, what was that for?!"

"I can't believe you - call yourself the general of the Pokemon army, yet you let your friends beat you up. Starting to think we should switch titles, or better yet...demote you as general and give the job to someone more deserving, like me."

"No Mewtwo, hear me out - Gardevoir and Gallade beat me up because they were angry that I didn't give them any roles in the Pokemon army. You know, friends with benefits...only except that I wasn't giving my friends benefits at all."

"Gardevoir and Gallade weren't even concerned with having army roles to begin with...was this some silly scheme to reaffirm our partnership?" Lucario bit his lip when Mewtwo asked this - indicating that he may be in on Asuka's plan all along.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't - but the point of the matter is..." The real point of the matter was that Mewtwo was still at odds with Lucario, the psychic Pokemon looking down at the floor as he was about to leave the room.

"Should've expected better from you Lucario, I had a feeling you would be a terrible leader. Master Hand would be so disappointed in you...who knows, maybe you might be the traitor Cilan's been running his mouth about." Before he left, Mewtwo looked at Lopunny, shaking his head before finally leaving the room. Asuka and company would soon arrive, not without seeing Mewtwo walk away back to his sulky ways.

"Nice going Asuka, you seemingly made Mewtwo's relationship with Lucario even worse..." Link scolded the ninja girl, who could only give an innocent grin. Because of her, the Pokemon army leadership was in a much worse state than before...perhaps having Lucario and Mewtwo talk things out privately would be a better idea.

"So...you two interested in being co-privates of the Pokemon Army?" Lucario asked Gardevoir and Gallade, looking for a positive out of the situation.

* * *

"Thanks for this pet cage, Mega Man, now I won't have to worry about Shaymin flying loose ever again!" Sonic would thank the robot, as the hedgehog was in his room. Shaymin was indeed in a pet cage, situated near Sonic's bed, and she didn't like it one bit.

"Eh, it was the least I could do..." replied Mega Man, before needing to ask Sonic a very important question on his mind. "Sonic, aren't you supposed to be at jail or something? Ayaha mentioned that your sentence wouldn't end until tomorrow."

"It was supposed to end tomorrow, but the inmates cared about me so much they asked the officials to release me!" Wasn't really care from the inmates, but don't tell Sonic otherwise.

"Figured they would be tempted to release you early, good thing you didn't know about the party that's..." Suddenly Mega Man's eyes bulged. "Oh no, I totally forgot about the party! Ryu and the others might need me!"

* * *

 **Ryu: Cloud was right, who cares how well I host the party - I must make use of the opportunity to spend quality time with Chun-li! And that's exactly what I'm doing - chatting up a storm with my woman and enjoying the party at the same time! *pauses* I think I hear Chun-li calling my name, obviously she can't get enough of me...time to keep the party going** **!**

"Wow Akuma, I've been impressed by you and Ryu, really did a bang up job with this party," Cammy commended the fighter, as the two were sharing a conversation near the punch bowl. "So far you two haven't done anything embarrassing as party hosts."

"Like I told the residents of the mansion, if you're great at fighting...and you're great at everything else!" Akuma responded with a gleeful smile...only for said smile to fade away when "Straight To My Feet" by MC Hammer blared through the loudspeakers, as everyone stopped what they were doing. Akuma would glare at Ayaha, who was at the turntable not sure what to do. "Woman, I thought I told you not to play that song! Nobody likes it!"

"And you expected me to know that?!" retorted Ayaha, her hands on her hips. Mario tiptoed over to the turntable and pressed a button, playing a Public Enemy song; the party quickly resumed, as peace and order was restored.

"Nice save," Cloud said to Mario, who returned to his position at the wall. As the party went on, Mega Man returned to the ballroom, and following him was Sonic, who brought along Shaymin in her cage.

"Don't know why you're here, there's no have chili dogs," stated Mega Man, as Sonic snapped his fingers in disgust. "Make sure nobody sees you, we don't want any questioning..." Sonic was about to respond, until Ryu grabbed a mic, wanting to speak to the party crowd.

"Hello to my _Street Fighter_ brethren, how are you doing today?" the fighter asked, receiving cheap cheers from his fellow fighters. "First of all, I want to thank you all for being here, means a lot to Akuma and I. Secondly, I want to give a big shoutout to Mario, Peach, Cloud, Mega Man and his robot pals for putting this party together, wouldn't have done it without them!"

"Yeah Mario, you're the best, you're awesome man!" cheered Jacky, who was strangely at the party even though he wasn't supposed to.

"Everyone else is awesome too, you guys rock!" added Akira, who was with Jacky chilling near the appetizers. Cloud was now thinking that he goofed up when he was handling the Virtua Fighters, and was feeling bad for it.

"Jacky, Akira, why are you here, you weren't even invited to the party!" frowned Akuma, wanting to pummel the duo to oblivion.

"But dude, Cloud told us that we were welcome to attend the party, that's what he said," stated Jacky...who just entered the ballroom along with Akira. But he was already with Jacky near the appetizers...where there now two Jackies, and two Akiras?

Suddenly, the Jacky and the Akira near the appetizers smirked deviously, as they turned into beings Mario, Cloud, and the residents were familiar with...Dusk Nobodies! If you thought that was enough, a dark corridor appeared in-between the two Dusks, and out of it came an Organization member, who took off the hood off his black robe to reveal himself as...a teenager version of Master Xehanort himself, had all the traits and everything. What gives?

"Hmph...talk about crashing a party," the teenager smirked, as everyone got on guard. "Xehanort's the name, but I suppose you can call me Young Xehanort, just for convenience sake..."

 **Young Xehanort: Understandably, Master Xehanort was skeptical about Team Rocket successfully finding a vessel at the mansion, even with Ansem being an aid to them, so he enlisted me in finding a vessel at the mansion just to be on the safe side. After doing some spy work, I learned of the party that was to be held in the mansion's ballroom. A party means a lot of people will be there...and it means perfect candidates for the Organization's new vessel.**

"I'd rather skip the formalities and get to the point," said Young Xehanort, as he summoned more Dusks with just the snap of his fingers. "Organization XIII needs a new vessel, and I see nothing but worthy candidates in this room...so Dusks, do your work!"

The Dusks would attack the _Street Fighter_ folks and others, as everyone fought against the Nobodies. Mario would take Peach to safety; Cloud would fight the Dusks with his crutches; Mega Man and the robots would fight alongside the real Jacky and Akira; and Sonic just chilled in the back, waiting for an opportune moment to strike.

"We went from partying to fighting this quickly?" said Dee Jay, as he pounded a few Dusks. "BEST PARTY EVER!" Several Dusks would throw themselves over Dee Jay, sending him to the floor, but the fighter would break out from the Dusk pile, erupting with a scream as the rest of the fighting within the ballroom continued.

After minutes of epic fighting, the Dusk Nobodies were all defeated. Mario, seeing the coast was clear, returned to the ballroom with Peach, as Ryu and company all stared down Young Xehanort, wanting more carnage.

"Not bad, especially from a physical group like yourself," Young Xehanort sardonically applauded everyone, with a smirk on his face. "But that was merely a test run...now it's time for the real deal..."

"How about THIS for a real deal!" Sonic exclaimed, rising to the opportunity; he took the now empty pet cage and stuffed Young Xehanort inside, and gave it to Shaymin, who was out of her cage. "Dispose of this dude at once - if you see Team Rocket, or someone wearing a black cloak, give them this...'delivery'. I'll get you a new pet cage, I promise!" Although she didn't want another pet cage, Shaymin went ahead and fulfilled Sonic's command, as she flew out of the ballroom holding the cage in her mouth.

"You can't keep me locked up forever, I shall make my return!" Young Xehanort vowed inside the cage (didn't Shaymin say something like that earlier?), as he was taken away. Sonic dusted his hands, and turned his attention to Mario, Cloud, and others, who were shocked to see the hedgehog again.

"Sonic you're supposed to be in jail, how did you..." Cloud was about to ask, before Sonic told him the full story. "Eh, I can't blame the inmates for that, I would have done the same thing if I were them..."

* * *

"Scoured the whole mansion without getting caught, and still no sign of Young Xehanort," frowned Ansem, who was standing outside with Team Rocket, Corrin still over his shoulder. "I just hope that he didn't get caught up in some tomfoolery..."

"Oh yeah, well I'll give you losers a tomfoolery of a lifetime, none of you have no idea of the tomfoolery I'll put on your behinds!" said Corrin, flailing his arms and legs. Congratulations dude, you played nobody but yourself.

 **Peach: Would you think about that, not even the jail inmates wanted Sonic...so what possibly convinced the prison officials that we would want Sonic back? That Sonic stuffed animal is more bearable than the actual Sonic, in my opinion.**

"Hey punks, you looking for this guy?" a voice called out; Ansem and Team Rocket looked up, and saw Shaymin, who dropped the cage encasing Young Xehanort on them. Ansem and Team Rocket jumped out of the way, as the cage broke once it reached the ground; Young Xehanort writhed in pain as he got up to his feet, all while Shaymin was charging up an Energy Ball.

"Why haven't I thought about using this..." Corrin took out his sword from his Thrawn garb, and struck Ansem with it, causing the Heartless to scream in pain and drop Corrin to the ground - just when Shaymin was finished charging up her Energy Ball.

"Hasta la vista!" the gratitude Pokemon said to Ansem, Young Xehanort, and Team Rocket, grabbing their attention as she fired the Energy Ball - Young Xehanort quickly summoned a corridor of darkness, as he and Ansem went through it...Team Rocket tried to go through the corridor, but it vanished at the last minute. Too bad for them, since they were struck by the Energy Ball and sent flyin'.

"Team Rocket is blasting off again!" Jessie, James, and Mewoth said collectively as they were, well, blasting off again. Once they were gone, Corrin slowly got up and looked at the palm of his now shaking hands, smiling with glee.

"This..this has to be a dream come true..." the prince trembled, his voice shaky as Shaymin flew down to greet the albino. "...I DEFEATED THE ORGANIZATION AND TEAM ROCKET ON MY OWN!" Would mean a lot if he defeated both groups _in their entirety._ "My siblings are gonna be proud of me when they visit next week!"

"But you didn't even..." Shaymin was about to start, before sighing and shaking her head. "Oh, what's the point..."

* * *

"What an awesome party Ryu, that fighting bit was beyond epic!" Ken said to his friendly rival, as he was leaving the party. Little did Ken and the others know that the whole Nobody thing was _not_ planned; it was the Organization just being the Organization.

"Uh, yeah, glad you enjoyed it!" Ryu responded with a smile, and as every _Street Fighter_ person left the party, they would all say the same thing Ken said, commending Ryu for the part of the party with the Nobodies, a thing Ryu nor Akuma didn't even plan, nor expect to happen. The only person who didn't commend Ryu for things he didn't do was Chun-li, the last person to leave the party.

"Not only are you a great fighter, but you're a great host as well..." the brunette said to Ryu, who was charmed. "...maybe in the future I might have you organize and host a birthday party for one of my kids." Chun-li then kissed Ryu on the cheek, making him smile in an enamored manner. "Till we see each other again, take care!" Chun-li waved to a still smiling Ryu as she left. Mario and Cloud exited the ballroom, and saw Ryu just smiling like a buffoon before fainting to the floor.

"Looks-a like Ryu had a rather romantic moment with-a Chun-li," observed Mario, as he poked the body of a now unconscious Ryu. "Should we get Leia to wake-a up Ryu with her smelling salts?"

"Nah, I'll just get Akuma to carry Ryu back to his room, no biggie," responded Cloud, as he went back to the ballroom, where Akuma and others were cleaning everything up, leaving Mario to continue poking Ryu's body.

Ryu and Akuma's party turned out better than expected...even if the Organization got involved.

* * *

Master Xehanort was standing by himself, located not that far from the mansion, likely devising some plans for his invasion. He had not received any word from Ansem, Young Xehanort, or Team Rocket...meaning that the five did not find a vessel for the Organization.

"No word from Ansem and the others, so I assume their missions were a failure," Xemnas approached Master Xehanort, conforming what Xehanort had assumed. "If we cannot find a fourteenth vessel...then what's next on our agenda?"

"You know what must be done - we must resort to our 'Plan B'," answered Master Xehanort, with an evil grin. Being the master planner that he was, Xehanort always had a backup plan in mind.

"Plan B...Plan B..." Xemnas clearly did not know what this Plan B entailed. "You're not talking about...kidnapping someone, are you?"

"Oh I certainly am Xemnas, the person we must kidnap has a time machine with him...and said time machine can be used to...let's say...revive a particular alien race our friend once spoke of."

By the sounds of it, maybe the mansion residents should have let the Organization get their fourteenth vessel. Now the invasion might've went up a whole other level...and who knew the Organization had friends?


	76. Episode 76: Discord

_Author's Note:_

 _Guest reviews...you know what it is..._

 _"Can you add Vent, Aile, Grey and Ashe from the Mega Man ZX games? Juri Han from Super Street Fighter IV? A scene with Guile, Knuckles and Gaius from Tales of Xillia interacting with each other? (Travis Willingham voices all 3 of them) is Faye from Fire Emblem Echoes gonna get over Alm if she shows up? Is Sorey gonna be paired with Alisha? (Since way too many people pair him with Mikleo) And finally can you add a the Virtuoids from Virtual On?"_

 _Shoot, I still have yet to showcase Axl...but I can add the three ZX characters to the story. Juri Han will appear if I can find the right scenario for her. A scene with Knuckles and company may or may not happen. Faye will most definitely get over Alm once she appears. Sorey will be paired with Alisha. And what are Virtuoids? Another anonymous guest review:_

 _"Can you make Sora from Kingdom Hearts appear in the series? Also, when is the war going to start?"_

 _Still undecided on an appearance from Sora in "Smash Life". As for the war, it will begin in the next chapter - it'll be a two-parter, if you know what I mean. Up next is Roydigs22:_

 _"...how about next chapter, we see [Lucario] training the army himself, maybe something easy for him, like a 3(you know who I mean) on one."_

 _Love the way you think Roydigs22 - I've taken your idea, and used it in this chapter. Last but not least, Derrick Lindsey:_

 _"I wouldn't mind seeing Cilan staying at the mansion since I like him, also I'm guessing this is Anime Cilan you went with since he's more shy and unconfident in the games."_

 _Actually, I had to "retcon" Cilan's personality, so the Cilan you read about is the one from the games, showing more confidence. Don't know how I would've dealt with an insecure Cilan..._

* * *

 **Episode 76: Discord**

Things between Pokemon army general Lucario and army lieutenant Mewtwo have not been at ease as of late. After an argument between the two Pokemon, the general and the lieutenant both went their own separate ways, not wanting to see each other again if it meant not working with one another in accord. Many residents have tried to bring Lucario and Mewtwo back to one peace, but to no avail.

And with an invasion from the Organization XIII impeding, the dire need to re-establish the rapport between Lucario and Mewtwo couldn't be any more high, especially when Master Xehanort considered the idea of having an alien race to partake in the invasion along with the Organization and Team Rocket, after the Organization's plan of finding a fourteenth vessel fell flat.

Regardless, Mewtwo made it clear to several folks that he did not wish to be in the Pokemon army if Lucario was general, and Lucario did not want Mewtwo in the army unless the psychic Pokemon changed his attitude. Mewtwo refused to change anything that would be of benefit to Lucario and the Pokemon army, and that would be the case, when Isabelle entered Master Hand's room, holding a clasp envelope in her hand.

"Special delivery for Master Hand!" the shih tzu exclaimed when he arrived at the room, seeing Master Hand looking through the window and gazing at his Lamborghini. Certainly the giant hand had more important things to do than gaze at some lousy vehicle. "It's a little something from Sonic, he wants you to read all the details."

 **Isabelle: Obviously the tension between Mewtwo and Lucario is not a good thing, especially if we don't know when this invasion begins. We want Mewtwo and Lucario to be on the same page, so they the Pokemon army will be ready to do when the Heartless come and destroy things. I've discussed the matter with Lucario, and he was willing to give his two cents, but the same cannot be said for Mewtwo - he only shares stuff with certain individuals. I've never known Mewtwo to be a pick-and-choose person...or maybe he just doesn't like me.**

"Well what are you waiting for Isabelle, open up the stinking envelope and take out what's inside," Master Hand turned away from the window to tell Isabelle. "Better be fan mail, otherwise an unfortunate soul at this mansion is going to pay dearly..." Isabelle ripped the clasp envelope open and took out a document, holding it up to Master Hand. "What do you think this is Isabelle, show and tell? Like I'm gonna assume what that paper is just by looking at it?! Tell me what it's all about!"

"Apparently it's a petition from Sonic, demanding that Lucario is demoted as general of the Pokemon army," explained Isabelle, as Master Hand read the provisions of the petition. "King K. Rool, Olimar, and Doc Louis have signed the petition so far, though I'm sure Sonic manipulated into doing so. Sonic has sided with Mewtwo, for whatever reason..."

"Does Sonic not know that most petitions don't work?" Especially the many petitions on . "I mean, I get it, the right to petition, it's in the First Amendment, but this petition looks like it will fail miserably!"

"Sonic believes that since this is an 'actual' petition, and not a petition you'd find online, it will go through with ease." Master Hand just had to laugh at that one - out of all the stupid things Sonic has done, a petition to demote Lucario was perhaps the stupidest.

"What, does Sonic think he'll get signatures from every person in Seattle?! Rip that stupid petition into pieces Isabelle, I don't care what Sonic has to say!" Isabelle did what she was told, ripping up the petition and throwing it away in a trash can. "Oh man, that man Sonic cannot be serious..."

"Oh, there's one more thing..." Isabelle took out another envelope, this one a white envelope with a crown insignia on top. "Got this strange envelope in the mail today. Don't know who it's from though..." Isabelle opened up the envelope and took out a letter, gasping when she saw who it was written by. "It's a letter from the Organization XIII!"

"Oh man, I didn't know anyone from the Organization was capable of writing!" To be fair, the Organization is full of evil masterminds, so writing has to be one of their assets. "Read the letter right away woman, it might have some juicy information!" So Isabelle quickly read the letter, making sure not to skip over a single word.

"Basically it says that the Organization has a third party working with them and Team Rocket, and that the invasion will start next week. Says that we'll likely be unprepared the events to follow...now would be a great time to get Lucario and Mewtwo back together again."

"You're most certainly right Isabelle, we gotta do it before the end of the day..." Just then, an idea appeared in Master Hand's mind. "Put Lucario and Mewtwo back in...the Empty Room. And lock up the room too, so they can't get out! Maybe some small talk might help put their differences aside!"

* * *

 **Corrin: Been ready for my siblings ever since they notified me about their visit...I'm excited, Kamui's excited, and hopefully everyone else in the mansion is excited. When Xander and the others see how much more intelligent I have become, they'll be blown away...but hopefully not in a literal sense. I can guarantee you I would make either Elise or Camilla faint, though.**

"So Mario, are you ready to see my siblings for the first time?" Corrin asked Mario, whom he was standing at the front of the mansion with, while Kamui was at his side. "They're great company, I'll tell you that!"

"Corrin, I already saw-a your siblings before, and on two-a occasions - after the prank-a war, and at-a the Christmas party," stated Mario; while Corrin may have improved in intelligence, he was still slightly forgetful. "I must speak-a with your brother Xander, to confirm his role-a as officiant of my wedding next-a month."

"Still can't believe my siblings had the audacity to send me to the mansion in a coffin..." said Kamui, shaking her head with disdain. "They practically drugged me to sleep and everything...good thing I was still asleep in that coffin, being awake in there would've been scary..."

"Look on the bright side Kamui, I've been through worse - one time last year, Donkey Kong threw me in a garbage bin because I called his girlfriend Candy Kong horrendous, and he left me in there for an entire weekend! But I will admit, the smell of garbage was so lovely..." Sure it was Corrin, sure it was.

A couple of minutes after Mario and company waited, the four Nohrian siblings - Xander, Leo, Camilla, and Elise - would arrive at the Smash Mansion via taxi. Corrin and Kamui were delighted to see their four siblings exit the taxi - a taxi driven by a man named B.D. Joe.

"Just so you know, we're never driving a taxi again," Xander would tell his siblings as he got out of the taxi. "We'll just travel on horseback, if necessary." And how would that work in a modern city like Seattle.

"C'mon man, don't let this one taxi ride deter you from ever partaking in public transportation again!" B.D. Joe said to Xander, trying to cheer the guy up. "I mean, I'm one of the best taxi drivers on the street, everyone knows my name!"

"Having peons know your name isn't something worth bragging about..." retorted Xander, as he and his siblings went to the front of the mansion, where they would find Corrin and Kamui standing by. "Greetings my twin siblings, Corrin and Kamui! It has been a long time since we last seen each other."

"Xander, Leo, Camilla, Elise, you all made it!" exclaimed Corrin, as he and Kamui would greet each and every sibling, while poor Mario was completely ignored. It was like the Nohrian siblings thought the plumber was invisible.

"So glad you came to visit, how very sweet of you!" Kamui said to her siblings, once the greetings were over and the total disregard for Mario reached an all-time high. Even B.D. Joe felt bad for the plumber.

"Garon forced us to visit you guys," Leo murmured under his breath, only to be nudged by Elise. "...yeah Kamui, we're glad to be here, I bet a lot of stuff happened since the last time we went to the mansion!"

 **Leo: Our visit to the mansion isn't exactly genuine...Garon deliberately kicked us out of the kingdom to do some "spring cleaning", and feared that we would get in his way, so he forced us to stay at the mansion with Corrin and Kamui. Master Hand better have some guest rooms, because if I have to sleep with that loser Corrin, then we're gonna have some problems...**

"Yes, yes, a lot has happened since our last visit - I have become smarter!" stated Corrin, though Xander and the siblings refused to buy the prince of Nohr. "Did you know, that in 428 BC, Plato founded the Academy in Athens, and studied there for twenty years before founding another school, the Lyceum?" Xander and the siblings were now stunned by Corrin delivering this fact - it was like this was a doppelganger Corrin, and the real Corrin was locked up somewhere! But this was the real Corrin - the new and improved Corrin, to be exact.

"Corrin...you didn't...learn that on your own, did you?" asked a very surprised Camilla. It was like Corrin finally decided to teach himself new stuff, after he refused to pay attention during the lessons at Luigi's home in episode 42.

"Of course I learned it on my own, it's the only way! Did you also know that Vincent van Gogh created around 2,100, with 860 of them being oil paintings?" Corrin's siblings were now even more amazed, as the prince proved that his intelligence was not a fluke.

"Would you look at that, our dear brother Corrin is finally the genius we always wanted him to be!" gleamed Elise, as she hugged Corrin. Now Mario was desiring a hug, and he didn't care if it was from Corrin, Kamui, their siblings, or even B.D. Joe, for that matter.

"Hello, do I get a tip for driving you to the mansion?" B.D. Joe called out to Xander and company, who were invested into Corrin and not caring about the taxi driver. B.D. Joe would understand the pain Mario was going through, as he looked to the side with a frown and with his arms folded.

"To see how much you've grown since we last saw you Corrin...this has truly been a blessing," smiled Xander, no doubt proud of his little brother. "Certainly you must show us more of your knowledge, just wait until Father hears about this!" Corrin and Kamui would lead their siblings inside the mansion, and Mario was too busy being salty about being ignored to notice the Nohrian family was gone.

"Xander? Corrin? Kamui? You guys in-a side the mansion?" Mario called out, getting no response. Then he realized the Nohrian crew were in the mansion. "Wait up for-a me, I have some important-a business to discuss!" Mario would enter the mansion, leaving poor B.D. Joe all alone outside. Dude might never get his tip from Xander, so he might as well go on his way.

"Man I can't believe it...I was considerate to them, and they won't be considerate to me!" frowned the taxi driver, stomping his foot on the ground in anger. "Treated 'em with respect, engaged in small talk with them, even asked Leo if he was looking for girls...I think his name was Leo. Point of the matter is, that family still owes me a tip, no ands, ifs, or buts about it! You know what, I'll just chauffeur people around Seattle for a while, and then I'll come back to the Smash Mansion and demand my tip! At least Sazh and Serah gave me a tip, and a very generous one at that!"

So B.D. Joe was about to hop in the driver seat of his taxi and do some rounds around Seattle before asking Xander for a tip, before he saw Fox and Falco coming towards him, clearly wanting to go on a taxi ride. In Fox's hand was a list - could be a shopping list, or even a hit list.

 **Fox: The growing animosity between Lucario and Mewtwo is obviously not a good thing. You can't two bad cookies going against one another for no good reason. Did Lucario and Mewtwo not learn from that beef between Robin and Marth?  
** **Falco: Sadly Fox, some people these days don't wanna learn, they wanna be stupid forever...if we're gonna do what's right for the Pokemon army and the Smash Mansion as a whole, we have to do something that would make bring Lucario and Mewtwo back together, and we know just the thing...**

"Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi, at your service," Fox would introduce himself and Falco to B.D. Joe, standing before the taxi driver with the list in hand. But B.D. Joe knew who the pilots were, and was excited to be in their presence.

"Yeah I know you guys, you're the star pilots from the Star Fox crew!" the driver grinned, as he proceeded to give Fox and Falco some dap. "What's good fellas! Always wanted to meet you guys!"

"Appreciate it man, never thought we would see your face here in Seattle!" exclaimed Falco; turns out he and Fox knew who B.D. Joe was prior to this meeting. Real recognizing real, as Bowser would probably say. "So, are you available at the moment? Can you take Fox and I to a few places around town?"

"I'd be glad to! But only if you pay up - the last people I drove around in a taxi didn't even offer me a single cent! Drove a royal family to the mansion, and nobody gave me a single lick of money! Those albinos gonna have to pay up soon!"

"A royal family of albinos?" Fox raised an eyebrow, before knowing who B.D. Joe was talking about. "Oh, you must be talking about the royal family of Nohr. A guy we know, Corrin, and his twin sister, Kamui, they live at the mansion and their siblings must had wanted to visit them and stuff. I will say that the Nohr family is very stingy - asking them for a nickel is like asking Donald Trump to shut down his Twitter account, it ain't gonna work...sure, the Nohr family may not have U.S. currency, but that's no excuse."

"In that case, I guess I won't be getting that tip then...so where are you boys headed off to? A restaurant? A library? A park, to meet some hot girls?" As much as Falco would love to go to any park in Seattle (and for the wrong reasons), he had to adhere to the task he and Fox must complete.

"Sam's Club - we would like to go to Sam's Club," the avian pilot stated, as he and Fox held up their Sam's Club membership cards. Had all three of them for their own use too. "Got all the cards, which means we can get all the goodies..."

"Alright then, let's get going! Hop on in the taxi and let's roll!" So Fox and Falco got inside B.D. Joe's sweet ride, and Joe himself would get inside, as he started up his taxi and drove off to the nearest Sam's Club. But seriously, why do Fox and Falco have three membership cards each?

* * *

Zelda and Aerith were busy doing laundry in the laundry room, while Link and Cloud were with their girlfriends chilling out because that's what great boyfriends do. Midna was also in the laundry room, rummaging through a laundry basket full of clothes.

"Link is there by any chance you wear this?" the imp poked her head out from the laundry basket, holding up what appeared to be a short green dress. Midna wildly assumed this garment was a long tunic Link would probably wear, and this seemed to offend Link greatly.

"I do believe that's one of Lady Palutena's clothes, for your information..." the Hylian frowned as he snatched the garment away from Midna. This would be a bad move for Link however, since Palutena saw through the Hylian holding one of her clothes in his hands through the laundry room door. Link saw the goddess of light through the doorway, glaring at him; the Hylian sheepishly threw the garment back in the laundry basket and grinned innocently, as Palutena walked away shaking her head. Midna sure loves to put Link through uncompromising things, doesn't she?

 **Midna: Say, Link, since the leadership of the Pokemon army is more or less in shambles, why don't you take on being the general of the Pokemon Army? You did say you always wanted to lead an army through battle, and it's not like the Pokemon army has much to lose anyways... *snickers*  
Link: Well I do think of myself as a formidable army general, all I would need is my Master Sword and a horse Pokemon on ride on...wait a sec, why are you laughing? Were you being sardonic just now?!  
Midna: YOU were able to detect my sardonicism? Huh, you're smarter than I've ever given you credit for...still dress up like a girl though. No man would ever wear a stupid tunic like yours.**

"I see that you're happy about being out of your cast and no longer on crutches," Aerith said to Cloud as she was busy folding clothes. Hard to tell if Cloud was happy or not, since he would always have the same facial expression 247.

"Kinda wish Sonic was still in jail, so it's a little bittersweet for me," stated Cloud, coolly leaning against a wall in the laundry room. "Sonic's gonna get it from the law enforcement anyways for escaping from jail, so having him serve another sentence would be inevitable."

"Heard that Sonic is supposed to go on trial sometime next week for his escape," said Zelda, remembering some information she heard Isabelle tell Master Hand. "What are the odds Sonic will find a way to weasel his way out of court, and accrue even more punishment in the process?"

"I think that the odds of that happening are very..." Aerith was about to answer Zelda's question, but the flower girl's head started aching like crazy. Aerith would hold her head in her hands, as the pain pulsated; Cloud, Link, Zelda, and Midna were all concerned for Aerith's well-being, and that concern would intensify as Aerith fell to her knees in serious pain.

"Aerith what's wrong, are you suffering from a migraine or something?" asked a worried Cloud, as he went over to consult a now ailing Aerith. Link and the others were about to come closer, until Aerith started throwing up all over the floor. "Yikes, this isn't good...Midna, go find Leia, and quick!"

"Screw that, we should definitely escort Aerith to the fitness center, Leia will be there anyways," stated Link, right before Midna could take off. "It's not that far from here anyways, it's just down the hallway..."

"My head...and stomach...hurts so much..." grimaced Aerith, as the pain started spreading throughout her body. Cloud refused to take any chances, so he scooped up Aerith in his arms and took her out of the laundry room, before turning his attention to the others.

"Link, you stay here and clean up Aerith's vomit," Cloud ordered the Hylian; why give Link the disgusting tasks? "Midna, Zelda, you ladies come with me." So Midna and Zelda would follow Cloud out of the laundry room, leaving poor Link behind to clean up Aerith's mess.

"'Clean up Aerith's vomit', he said..." Link repeated Cloud's instructions in a mocking manner, shaking his head. "...sometimes I despise that man, always makes me do the most inconvenient things." Link now looked for something to clean up the vomit with; hopefully there was a clean towel nearby.

* * *

 **Corrin: Not sure why, but it seems like my siblings have started appreciating me a whole lot more ever since I showed up how much I've grown in intelligence ever since I started cosplaying as Thrawn. I mean, I know they loved me before, but they actually want to spend time with me, and they don't mind being seen with me when other people are around... *gasps* ...perhaps they plan on using me and my intelligence to commit evil deeds at Nohr! They must be conspiring to take me back to the kingdom to complete immoral tasks for my father Garon, and leave Kamui behind, and let her enjoy everything the mansion has to offer while I suffer! That must be the true intent of their visit...**

 **Mario: Has been-a almost an hour, and Xander nor his-a siblings have even-a noticed me...it's like I'm a ghost-a to them, they treat-a me like I'm Waldo! No matter how hard I try-a to get their attention, none of Corrin and-a Kamui's siblings notice me! Heck, I don't even think-a Corrin and Kamui know I'm-a there! How dare they choose-a to ignore a man to be wedded-a to the most beautiful woman on-a the earth...it's a conspiracy, I tell-a you!**

"...and then, a year after the D-Day invasion was launched on western Europe by Allied forces, the United States bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus putting an end to World World II!" Corrin was giving Kamui and his siblings a history lesson in the living room, while a perpetually ignored Mario was sitting on a sofa opposite Corrin, looking at Corrin feeling all salty that the prince was getting all the attention, and that he was getting none. "I would have mentioned Adolf Hitler's murder-suicide, which transpired between the D-Day invasion and the bombings, but virtually nobody likes him so I'll just leave him out." There's no denying Hitler's impact on world history, though.

"My goodness Corrin, you have greatly shown us how much you've grown since our last visit, and I'm sure that Kamui has been proud of your growth!" exclaimed Xander; Kamui couldn't be fully proud, since Corrin's improved intelligence has lasted for at least a week or so. "Sending Kamui to the mansion was a great decision on our part..." Xander would murmur this to Leo, Camilla, and Elise, who all nodded in agreement.

"Oh, but wait, there's something I did last week that will captivate all of you! So there's this evil group, known as the Organization XIII, and there's this other group, named Team Rocket, who's working with the Organization in a partnership. And guess what I did last week? I defeated the both of them, on my own!"

And that's when Mario, who was silently feeling salty about being ignored, finally garnered the attention of Xander and company, as the plumber laughed hysterically at Corrin's faulty claim. First off, Corrin didn't defeat Organization XIII AND Team Rocket, it wasn't like he beat up all the members of both organizations and their leaders. Secondly, it was Shaymin who did all the work, when she dealt with Young Xehanort, Ansem, Jessie, James, and Meowth. Only thing Corrin did that was so special was striking Ansem with his sword, since the Heartless had the prince over his shoulders.

"Why hello there Mario, can't believe we didn't see you there," Xander would greet the plumber, who was now content, but not a hundred percent content. "How are you today, how's your fiancee Peach doing?"

"Hello to you-a too, Xander - Peach is doing just-a dandy, we're more than-a ready for our wedding in a couple-a of weeks," replied Mario, glad that Xander was kind enough to ask about Peach. Showed that the eldest sibling of Nohr's royal family still remembered the wedding. "Speaking of-a the wedding..."

"Is it about my officiant role at the wedding? If so, we'll talk about that later. Right now I'm more concerned about Corrin defeating this Organization XIII and Team Rocket by himself...did it happen Mario, or is it a tall tale?" Corrin looked at Mario, expecting the plumber to tell his siblings the "truth".

"No, Corrin is just-a talking out of his-a behind - he did not 'defeat' Organization XIII and Team Rocket by-a himself." A now dismayed Corrin just smiled sweetly, believing this would negate the fib he told his siblings. "But if you must-a know, Organization XIII is a group-a of evil men wearing black-a cloaks, who mostly aspire-a for world domination. Recently, they've been-a working with Team-a Rocket, a criminal organization that does immoral things-a to Pokemon..."

"Both organizations have been a thorn in our side over time, showing up every now and then and causing mayhem of some sort," Kamui would explain to her siblings. As the princess gave her siblings a full explanations of the stuff Organization XIII has been doing since the start of the year, Corrin looked through the entrance of the living room, and saw a purple mushroom-like creature, with red eyes, sharp teeth, and a ray gun from afar. That ray gun could only mean one thing...

"ALIENS!" Corrin stood up and screamed at the top of his lungs, as he pointed at the purple mushroom creature, who now teleported away out of suspicion. Mario and company looked at where Corrin was pointing at, seeing only Mr. Game and Watch, who just passed by.

 **Mr. Game and Watch: So I'm an alien now, huh? It's because I'm different from everyone else, isn't it?! *strokes chin thoughtfully* Eh, I'd rather take it over being called a "2-D man". That name just sounds so generic...**

"Woah Corrin, chill out - just because you're smarter and all gives you no reason to go all conspiracy theorist on us," Leo did his best to calm Corrin down, but the prince was still on the lookout for this supposed alien creature, refusing to sit back down in his seat until the creature showed up again.

"You have to excuse Corrin, he's been extremely paranoid about aliens as of late," smiled Kamui, feeling embarrassed not only for Corrin but herself. Xander and the siblings will probably blame the princess for allowing Corrin to act like a complete goofball. "He watched a few sci-fi movies, and I think...that might've...progressed his whole alien paranoia."

"Perhaps a change-a of scenery will make Corrin less-a crazy," suggested Mario, as he got up from his seat; everyone else followed suit. "Let's-a go to the gaming room, some folks-a there might wanna see you!"

"How do we know you aren't saying that..." mumbled Leo as he and the others followed Mario out of the living room. Corrin looked behind him, looking for the purple creature, and once the living room was deserted...the purple creature would teleport itself to said room, ray gun in hand. What kind of business was it up to?

* * *

"I can rest assure you Mewtwo, you're gonna be thanking me later for this," Isabelle would say to the psychic Pokemon, holding his hand as she led him to the Empty Room. Mewtwo certainly didn't like Isabelle holding his hand and leading him through the mansion, but if the shih tzu would leave the Pokemon alone for good afterwards, then so be it.

"I hope you remember that I can teleport at ease, so I better not find Lucario at this location you're taking me to," stated Mewtwo, glad that nobody was in the hallway to see him with Isabelle. "Otherwise I'll have to teleport away just to distance myself from that fiend..."

After much walking, Isabelle and Mewtwo would arrive at the Empty Room; Isabelle opened the door to the room, which was now...empty. Not a single person was inside, not even Lucario...as Mewtwo had intended.

"Just sit anywhere in this room you like," Isabelle told Mewtwo, who entered the Empty Room and opted to stand instead. Wasn't like he would be in the room for that long anyways, or at least the Pokemon hoped. "Hang on tight until I come back!"

"There better be a reason for why I'm here," was what Mewtwo said to Isabelle before the shih tzu closed the door. The canine assistant walked away to go look for Mewtwo, and her search would be stopped momentarily when a streaking blue blur quickly zipped past the dog. Moments later, the blue streaking would come to a stop, when Sonic revealed himself to Isabelle.

"Hi Sonic, you look happy today!" chirped Isabelle, slightly dismaying Sonic. The hedgehog was surprised that Isabelle didn't question the blue streaks zipping around her, like Isabelle was supposed to be scared out of her mind and be like, "What is this blue speeding thing?" Could be that the shih tzu knew Sonic too well to be questioning anything the hedgehog would do.

"Master Hand was right, you really are a hard person to frighten..." said Sonic, baffled by Isabelle's courage and lack of fear. "Now that I've found you, I must ask...what did Master Hand think of my petition? He liked it, right?" Isabelle panicked; she can't outright tell Sonic that she was forced to rip up the petition to shreds, it would break the poor hedgehog's heart!

 **Sonic: Came up with the petition shortly after the whole Lucario-Mewtwo saga began. Mewtwo is _very_ intent on having Lucario demoted as Pokemon army general, so I'm doing the man a favor and saving him from doing the hard work by starting a petition to get Lucario kicked to the curb! All I need is a couple signatures for this petition to work, even if it means getting the mayor of Seattle to sign said petition. Some chili dogs mind change the man's mind if he were to decline the offer.**

"Yes, he loved it very much, agreed with all the provisions and everything!" replied Isabelle, doing whatever means necessary to keep Sonic at bay. "Even kept it at his room so no one would dare to tamper with it!"

"Sweet, in that case, I'll just head over there and retrieve the petition!" exclaimed Sonic as he was about to take off, only to be stopped by Isabelle. She didn't know why she stopped the hedgehog, but at the same time, she knew what must be done.

"No Sonic, I think you should save your breath and let me get your petition, I know exactly where it is in Master Hand's room." Inside a trash can, ripped up into pieces. "Why don't you enjoy the rest of your day?"

"I'm already enjoying my day, but I wouldn't hurt to enjoy it a bit more. Thanks Isabelle, you really are a great lapdog!" No way Isabelle was going to take that as a compliment.

"Before you go Sonic, do you know where Lucario is? I need him and Mewtwo to apologize to one another, and I think that talking things out might do the trick..." Sonic made a look on his face - a look that indicated Lucario might be doing mighty important at the moment.

"Lucario's off in the Pokemon sanctuary, Tails told me that he was single-handedly training the Pokemon army by HIMSELF!" Lucario training an entire army by himself? Talk about taking an initiative. "Too bad he won't be army general soon...I can take you to Lucario, provided he isn't busy now."

* * *

Link was still going at it in the laundry room, cleaning up Aerith's vomit while moaning and complaining silently about his task at hand, when Pit and Viridi walked by and saw Link in the laundry room, looking miserable as heck. The young couple figured that the Hylian could use a little help at the moment.

"Hey Link, what's up?" Pit asked the Hylian as he and Viridi entered the laundry room, wanting to know where the vomit came from.

"Nothing much, just cleaning up this mess Aerith had made," replied Link, as he was cleaning up the vomit with a clean towel. "Aerith was feeling sick and was throwing up all over the place, and so Cloud forced me to clean the whole mess up while he remains with Aerith at the fitness center. This stuff is hard to clean up..."

"Well how about we help you clean this muck up, a good friend like Cloud would make you clean up all by yourself!" said Viridi as she and Pit grabbed a towel and cleaned up the vomit. They would have Kirby suck up all the vomit, but that alone would be vomit-inducing for everyone not named Kirby, and Link cannot afford any more vomit to clean up. "So, Link, do you know who this so-called traitor Cilan is rambling on about could be?"

"Asked Master Hand about the whole traitor thing - he believes that anyone who was not originally living at the mansion prior to Aerith's arrival has a strong chance of being the traitor," responded Link; that would mean Lucario's chances of being the traitor, as Mewtwo assumed the aura Pokemon to be, are very slim. "So it could be Ema, Leia, Alm, Celica, or even the idol singers! We all know Cilan isn't a suspect."

 **Cilan: Would Master Hand appreciate me telling everyone the news about the traitor living in the mansion? As much as I would worry about receiving punishment from Master Hand, I've been punished by him so many times that it has become customary. For instance, when he inspected my cake and saw there were no sprinkles, he placed me in a room with Wario, and fed Wario cans of refried beans and glasses of milk, mostly against his will,...you can assume what happened next. I kindly tried to tell Master Hand that using sprinkles on the wedding cake would be messy, but I don't think he heard me other the sounds of Wario's flatulence. It was like being stuck in a gas chamber of fumes, I tell you! Wario is like a walking atomic bomb of gastric fumes, just ready to explode!**

 **Wario: *grins as he cracks his knuckles* Heh heh, really gave Cilan all I could handle! Man couldn't even smell for two days straight! Looking forward to devouring that wedding cake by myself once it's time for the wedding!**

"Did Master Hand or Cilan ever specify what exactly the traitor is doing?" asked Pit, who was getting tired of his towel and was now looking for a sponge. Cleaning up vomit with a sponge without any cleaning supplies is no bueno. "I heard something about 'using the mansion to commit evil deeds', but that's pretty much it."

"Mewtwo would probably know who the traitor is, what with him being a psychic and all, but given the mood that he's in, asking him won't be a grand idea," stated Viridi, now wishing the whole Lucario-Mewtwo beef would come to an end. "We could start looking for clues and find out anything about this possible traitor!"

"Let's go searching for clues once we finish cleaning this mess up," said Link, to which Pit and Viridi agreed to. But Pit would raise his hand to ask a question... "No Pit, you're not doing to dress up as Scooby-Doo and act like a dog - we'll have Duck Hunt Dog as our canine investigator. And if you were gonna ask questions about dressing up as either Freddy and Shaggy, then you can just put your hand down and leave it there forever mister..." ...and that's what Pit immediately did.

* * *

"How's she doing nurse Leia, is she feeling any better?" Midna would ask Leia, as she was with Cloud and Zelda in the fitness center, checking on Aerith. Leia was nursing Aerith, who was resting on a patient bed with an IV and all sorts of things inserted into the flower girl's body, with a heart rate monitor beeping away. A scene that would be taking place at a hospital somewhere in Seattle, but rather inside the Smash Mansion...shows that Leia was really a top-notch nurse.

"Aerith's getting better, but she has a long way to go before she's a hundred percent," explained Leia after she was done checking Aerith's temperature. "Headache, fever, dizziness, cough, nausea, nasal congestion, pain coursing throughout the body..." Leia was running off a list of symptoms Aerith had. "...this is unlike anything I've ever seen before! This can't be because of anything Aerith has eaten, some icky must have found its way inside Aerith and has been doing terrible things to her body."

"I suspect the Organization to be behind this, they must have poisoned Aerith," Cloud gave his take on the situation. "Probably did it during nighttime hours, when everyone was in bed fast asleep."

"Usually I wouldn't jump to such accusations...but after hearing that list of Aerith's symptoms, I do think the Organization might be responsible for Aerith's illness," said Zelda, who found it painful to see her friend ailing in the bed. "We all know Team Rocket isn't capable of doing it, unless they sent a trio other than the lame duck one we've been dealing with to poison Aerith."

"Regardless, we gotta heal Aerith and make her well again, before the symptoms start ramping up," said Leia, after checking Aerith's heart rate. "I'll try and make an antidote for Aerith's illness - you guys stay with Aerith and keep her company." And with that, Leia left the room, to make a new kind of medicine that would miracously heal Aerith. Following Leia's departure, Aerith slowly lifted her eyes, and she was pleased to see Cloud, Zelda, and Midna - the three also pleased to see the flower girl wide awake.

 **Leia: Aerith's condition is unlike anything else I've ever seen, so concocting an antidote to cure Aerith will be an extremely hard task in itself. The antidote would have to remedy all of Aerith's symptoms, and should be in a long term effect. Master Hand apparently doesn't have that much ingredients to make antidotes (considering he doesn't even have a health plan, I shouldn't be THAT surprised), so I gotta do with what I got...**

"You all came to see me, that's so very sweet of you," Aerith smiled at Cloud, Zelda, and Midna...before realizing that someone was noticeably missing from the group. "Where is Link, he's not busy, is he?"

"He's busy cleaning up your vomit in the laundry room, as I told him to do," stated Cloud, receiving a nudge from Zelda. Why tell that to Aerith for? "Uh, I mean, he's folding up the laundry so all the clothes will be folded up soon."

"I have heard about your illness, and I have come forth...with this," Dunban appeared, as he made his way into the room holding a tray with his only operating hand. On this tray was a bowl of soup...chicken noodle soup, which Aerith grimaced at. "What, you don't like chicken noodle soup? Sadly for you, it's the only thing you'll be eating until you're well again."

"It's not that I don't like chicken noodle soup...but thanks for bringing me some anyway," thanked Aerith, as Dunban placed the tray on top of the flower girl. "I'm more concerned with who made this soup in the first place..." Aerith saw that there was more broth than actual noodles - not that it was a bad thing, but there were only but a few noodles in the soup. "Do you know who made it?"

"Shulk made the soup - I wanted to help him make it, but he kept telling me that he was fine by himself. But I don't know why your chicken noodle soup looks...meager, to say the least."

"Also, where is the chicken? You can't have chicken noodle soup without the chicken, otherwise it would be just noodle soup! But there's hardly any noodles.

"Dunban, can you come here real quick, I have a small emergency!" Shulk's voice was heard from behind the door, though the tone of his voice did not indicate there was an emergency of any sort taking place. "I think I know where the chicken was!"

"This will either be beneficial, or a complete waste of my time...I'll be right back, Aerith," Dunban said to the flower girl as he exited the room and proceeded to the main part of the fitness center, where he saw Shulk. The moment he saw the Homs standing with King Dedede, Dunban immediately feared for the worst. "Do I even need to ask where the chicken went?"

"There's a reason why there was no chicken in that can of chicken noodle soup..." said Shulk, before pointing at a guilty King Dedede. "This bird buffoon took all the chicken in the can out, ate it when no one was looking, and sealed the can to eliminate any sort of evidence!"

"Yeah I was the one who did it..." King Dedede fessed up, looking down at the floor with sadness...but he couldn't be sad for long. "...ate some of the noodles too. but for what it was worth, that chicken broth sure tasted good! Especially when I sloshed it in my mouth like mouthwash...man that felt good!"

"But if that's the case, then that would mean..." Dunban furrowed his brow, as King Dedede's confession permeated inside his brain...and that's when the Homs ran off to alert Aerith: "AERITH WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT EAT THE SOUP!"

 **King Dedede: Wait, so that chicken noodle soup was for Aerith? Aerith's sick as ever? *smiles* I'm positive my saliva has healing powers that bring bring Aerith back to full health. After all, kings like myself do have strong powers...**

* * *

Fox and Falco now completed all the stuff they had to complete today. They went to Sam's Club, got some gasoline cans from the gas station for their Landmaster, and even stopped by a Seattle park to flirt with some single ladies (Falco was the one who did the flirting, Fox just stayed behind and ensured all the ladies were single; Falco flirting with a woman who was already dating would be disastrous if her boyfriend was around). So what did the pilots do, as B.D. Joe -a man generous enough to take Fox and Falco to multiple stops - was driving them home? Sing some songs from The Offspring, of course!

"Give it to me baby!" sang Fox, trying to make his voice sound feminine as possible while "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)" by The Offspring was played on B.D. Joe's radio.

"Uh huh, uh huh!" Falco sang right back, his voice not feminine-ish like Fox's but still high in tone.

"Give to me baby!"

"Uh uh, uh huh!"

"Give to me baby!"

"Uh uh, uh huh!" Now it was time for Falco to sing with a slightly macho voice. "And the girlies say I'm pretty fly for a white guy..." B.D. Joe found Fox and Falco's renditions of the famous Offspring song to be rather funny, as the taxi driver was laughing his butt off.

"Aw man, you guys hilarious, too funny!" chuckled B.D. Joe, as he was wiping away a tear from his eye. "You two are really a fun bunch to be around!" Several of the mansion residents have learned that from experience. "This might be one of the best taxi rides I've ever done! Didn't yell at me or constantly tell me where to go...you still are gonna give me a tip, right?"

"We'll do you one better - we'll give you not only our tip, but the tip your previous passengers refused to give," replied Fox, and B.D. Joe was getting all giddy. Who knew Fox was that generous?

"Wow man, thanks a whole bunch, sweet gesture my man!" B.D Joe was now a happier man as he continued to drive his taxi throughout Seattle. During the ride, the taxi driver saw an old man wearing a lab coat on the side of the road, holding out a hitchhiker's thumb. "Yo, what's that old guy doing on the side of the road? What's with his getup, is he some kind of doctor or something? And why does he look familiar...?"

"Lemme get a closer look of him..." Falco leaned over to check out the hitchhiker, and instantly recognized his face. "Bruh that's Dr. Wily, Mega Man's arch-nemesis! And he looks poor and frail too! B.D Joe, pull over the taxi now!"

"Sorry bro, but I can't just let that man in all willy-nilly, I don't take hitchhikers," explained B.D. Joe, but Falco would do something that would change the taxi driver's mind in a snap...

"You do now..." the avian pilot took out his Blaster and pointed it at B.D. Joe, threatening to shoot the taxi driver if he didn't follow his command.

"Dang straight!" B.D Joe stepped on the gas pedal, and drove up to Dr. Wily, who quickly got inside the taxi without any introduction. The look on his face indicated that he was in quite a hurry.

"Take me to the Smash Mansion at once!" demanded Dr. Wily, without even greeting Fox, Falco, or B.D. Joe; that's how much of a hurry the evil genius was in.

"Um, can you ask nicely? I understand if you're in a rush, and I can tell just by the look on your face, but you could at least..."

"Are you hard of hearing?! I said take me to the Smash Mansion! Step on the gas!" So B.D. Joe stepped on the gas pedal, and sped off to the Smash Mansion, not even knowing what business Dr. Wily had there.

* * *

 **Lucario: Obviously I can't let the friction between me and Lucario bother me, I still have to train the Pokemon army so they'll be ready for anything the Organization plans on doing. With Mewtwo temporarily out of the picture, I have to do things on my own...but not without a friend or two.**

Sonic and Isabelle were in the Pokemon sanctuary, and they were watching Lucario train several Pokemon from the Pokemon army. But the aura Pokemon was alone...with him were his two co-privates, Gardevoir and Gallade, and the three Pokemon were fighting a Darmanitan.

"Lucario pretty much devoted today to training each individual Pokemon one-on-one...or in this case, one-on- _three,_ " Sonic explained to Isabelle, who was busy writing down notes on her notepad so she could share the things she observed with Master Hand. "I asked Lucario earlier, and he said that this kind of training can help the Pokemon in pressure situations, like when they have to deal with multiple Heartless at any given moment."

"Well it's great to see Lucario taking an initiative and not sulking like Mewtwo is," remarked Isabelle. Some lousy lieutenant Mewtwo's supposed to be. "I do have to admit, naming Gardevoir and Gallade as co-privates was a good move on Lucario's part, kinda serves as an insurance plan for disaster."

"Hoo boy, just imagine if Lucario gave his girl Lopunny an army title, Mewtwo would have a field day with Lucario on that one..." Sonic looked at the time, glancing at a Noctowl-stylized clock on the wall, and saw that it was time for him to leave. "Well Izzy, I gotta run, got some stuff to take care off! My petition it still in Master Hand's room, right?" Sonic's petition - how could Isabelle forget?!

"Um, yes, yes it's still in Master Hand's room!" Isabelle quickly responded, too worried to even deter Sonic from going to Master Hand's room.

"Sweet, I'll catch you later! Thanks!" Sonic sped off at the speed of sound, leaving an exasperated Isabelle alone with Lucario, Gardevoir, Gallade, and the Ursaring the Pokemon trio were about to train next.

* * *

"So, Lucy, did I ever tell you how great you look in glasses today?" Robin asked Lucina, the two lovebirds chilling out in the gaming room. Lucina was busy reading a magazine with her new glasses on, and Robin kept running his mouth; this was one of the few times Lucina wished her boyfriend wasn't around.

"Don't call me Lucy, you know how much I hate that pet name," replied Lucina, her eyes fixated on the magazine in her hands. "And yes, you already complimented my looks, as did every other male in this mansion it seems like. It's nothing new for me."

"Not my fault you had to look even more beautiful." Figuring that Lucina wasn't in a mood for a conversation, Robin looked around the gaming room, and saw Mario, and Kamui, and Corrin, with Corrin speaking with his siblings, as well as Felicia. "Look at Corrin, Lucina, talking with the girl of his dreams! It was all thanks to me that the prince is living out the dream...the dream of love!"

"Save the whole love affair crap for some Disney movie crap, and leave me alone..." Lucina said flatly as she turned the page of her magazine.

 **Robin: I would love to tell Corrin's siblings about how I helped their brother fall in love with Felicia, but I'd rather just let Corrin take in all the credit, he truly deserves it. Besides, if I told Corrin's siblings the truth, they'd probably think of Corrin less. I want Xander and company to think that Corrin is a smooth fellow...but just having Felicia won't fit the narrative. It would take a bunch of girls flirting with Corrin to display the narrative well! Would Corrin handle it? He will, with proper time.**

"It was Heraclitus who once said, 'It is hard to contend against one's heart's desire; for whatever it wishes to have it buys at the cost of soul,'" quoted Corrin, who amazed his siblings with his newfound knowledge of philosophy. "I've been applying that quote to my life for a very long time." If by 'a very long time', he meant a week or two, then sure.

"The fact that you were able to recite that quote perfectly is stupendous, excellent job brother!" commended Xander, before leaning over to Leo, Camilla, and Elise, as he whispered the following: "Father is going to be so proud once we tell him about Corrin's progress..." And Xander's three siblings nodded in agreement.

"Why thank you Xander, I really appreciate the kind words you've been saying to me," thanked Corrin. The prince was about to speak more, until he saw the same purple creature he saw in the living room, snooping around the gaming room entrance. "THE ALIEN, IT HAS RETURNED! EVERYONE RUN FOR COVER!"

"Corrin for the last time, there is NO alien in sight," Leo said to his brother as the purple creature scurried away after hearing Corrin's voice. "So why don't you stop humiliating yourself and calm down..."

Suddenly some screaming could be heard from the hallway, alerting everyone in the gaming room. Corrin, confident that the purple creature was responsible for the scare, smirked cockily with his arms folded as he looked at Leo, who just rolled his eyes.

"Stay right-a here folks, I'll go do some-a investigating," Mario told Corrin and company as he got up from his seat and exited the gaming room. In the hallway he saw Fiora standing by herself, shivering as if she had seen a ghost. "What-a happened Fiora?"

"Th-there was a purple mushroom creature, and it had a ray gun, and it was about to harm me!" explained the Homs, and Mario's face sank when he knew _exactly_ what this creature was.

"Where did it go-a to?" Mario knew that this creature was a dangerous foe - a dangerous foe he and Luigi had to deal with in the past.

"It ran down the hallway after I screamed." So Mario headed down the hallway, hoping this creature hasn't caused any chaos yet...

* * *

Mewtwo continued to sit in the Empty Room, waiting for Isabelle to return. The psychic Pokemon would leave on his own accord, but he didn't feel like it. He might as well chill in the Empty Room until it was dinnertime.

"Yo yo yo, Mewtwo, what it do!" Sonic greeted the Pokemon as he entered the Empty Room. Mewtwo wished that Sonic would go away and disappear forever, but that was wishful thinking that will never happen. "Chilling in the cut, I presume?" Sonic took a seat next to Mewtwo, who inched away from the hedgehog as much as possible.

 **Sonic: Bummer that my precious petition has been ripped up into pieces... *holds up remains of petition* Either Master Hand didn't like the petition or he loved it so much that he was going to make a copy of it, but placed the petition in a paper shredder instead of a copy machine...except that there's a copy machine in the printing room. But this is Master Hand we're talking about, so I don't know.**

"Got some bad news Mewtwo...the petition's been torn into shreds," Sonic said to the psychic Pokemon, who couldn't care less about the stupid petition. He didn't give Sonic any permission to start said petition in the first place. "So our plan to demote Lucario as Pokemon army general has been derailed."

"You mean _your_ plan, not 'our' plan," corrected Mewtwo, shaking his head. "Just like Lucario, grouping me into things I don't even agree upon. That's why Lucario and I can't ever get along..."

"Speaking of Lucario...I think I know the reason why you're slanted against him." Now Mewtwo was all ears; what does Sonic know that the psychic Pokemon does not?

"And what do you think this reason might be? Go ahead, entertain me, I dare you." Being put to the challenge, Sonic decided to lay out the truth on Mewtwo.

"The reason is...the reason is that you're jealous. Jealous of the fact that Lucario's general of the Pokemon army and you aren't. Beforehand, you couldn't care less if Lucario was receiving gifts and whatnot. But it wasn't until after Lucario was appointed general that you started feeling salty, and wanting to become some lieutenant if it meant getting closer to that general gig. Heck, you might have been jealous of Lucario, because he won that Empty Room contest thing or whatever, and had you won, that general title would've been yours. And I know another thing that might be fueling your jealousy - the fact that you get overlooked and that hardly anyone likes you. I mean, nobody likes me, save for Amy and my best friends, but you don't see me moping around like Eeyore from _Winnie the Pooh._ "

Mewtwo was looking down at the floor, not knowing what to say. Sonic was right about what he said - Mewtwo indeed was jealous of Lucario, and Mewtwo indeed felt salty about not being liked and being overlooked in favor of Lucario. All those things perfectly explained the current strife between Mewtwo and Lucario - and now Mewtwo now sought to end that strife, once and for all.

"When you're a clone of Mew who was created for just experimental purposes, you tend to feel angsty sometimes..." admitted Mewtwo, before slowly standing up with a shred of confidence. "...however, I won't let my angst tear Lucario and I apart, especially with the Organization's invasion drawing near. Can't believe I'm saying this...but thank you Sonic, for the pep talk."

"Don't mention it Mewtwo, just trying to cheer you up and steer things in the right direction!" Sonic gave a thumbs up. For once in a while, Sonic actually did something right, without being overtly annoying.

"Now if you excuse, I must make amends with Lucario - it's more than likely he's busy at the moment, so I shall speak with him later at a convient time." Mewtwo teleported away, leaving Sonic behind in the Empty Room. Thank goodness there was light coming in through the doorway, because the room was dark as heck...and Sonic felt like the room could use some "remodeling"...

* * *

Having finished cleaning up the mess in the laundry room, Link, Pit, and Viridi were now searching for clues around the mansion regarding the traitor, and leading the way was the Duck Hunt Dog, using his nose to sniff for any clues.

 **Link: Duck Hunt Dog always has a nose for trouble, but his nose can also be used to find stuff - hey, the mutt found my missing Twilight Sparkle toy horse thing outside in the backyard one day...only have that thing because it's a pony and all, and I like any horse breed (tell Zelda anything about that Twilight Sparkle toy and I'll kill you...). Based on that instance alone, the Duck Hunt Dog would make for a great detective dog.**

 **Duck Hunt Dog: *holds up Link's Twilight Sparkle toy, complete with a Link costume, and laughs***

"Found anything yet, Duck Hunt Dog?" Viridi asked the mutt, as he sniffed the floor for any clues...then suddenly the dog pointed forward, directing Viridi and company's attention to the purple creature Corrin had seen earlier. The creature was at the end of the hallway, and it looked up and saw that it had company.

"Get back-a here you!" Mario's voice was heard, as the purple creature ran away from the approaching plumber...too bad it ran into Link and company, who wouldn't mind putting on a beatdown on the creature in front of them. But alas, the purple creature teleported away to avoid the beatdown, as the Duck Hunt Dog now ran off to search for the creature's whereabouts. Mario ran up to Link and company, searching for the creature. "Where did that thing-a run off to?"

"It teleported away before we could get a chance to lay a finger on it," explained Pit, now wishing he had the ability to teleport. Would be faster and more convenient than flying all over the place. "It reminds me of some alien race, think I saw or read something about this race before...you think that there might be aliens rummaging about, Mario?"

"Yes, I'm afraid-a so, Pit...somehow, some-a way, the Shroobs have-a returned!" Was this the alien race the Organization XIII brought back from the dead?

* * *

Ema Skye had now finished the ray gun she was working tirelessly on for months, and she was looking for a great place to store it at until it was time to use said gun for use. Nobody knew exactly what this ray gun would be used for, but Ema did say it had something to do with the Heartless...

"Excuse me Young Link, but do you know where I can store this ray gun?" Ema asked the Hylian, who was in the foyer practicing his ocarina playing. "You have quite a penchant for storing stuff, so I was wondering if you know the perfect spot to keep this bad boy at."

"The storage room is always available, just gotta find some available space," answered Young Link - hard to find any space at all with the Kongs' banana supply. "A ray gun of that size should be able to fit in the storage room somehow."

"Sure hope it does - Cilan has been fawning over my ray gun for the longest now, and I'm getting pretty sick and tired of it. Thanks a bunch, Young Link!" So Ema headed to the storage room, and Young Link continued playing his ocarina...before he heard the doorbell ring. The Hylian opened the front door, and seemingly right on command, Fox and Falco barged through with bags of groceries in their hands, knocking Young Link down to the floor and running over him in the process.

"Dude we need to find Lady Palutena, so we can bake this cake!" said Fox as he and Falco ran to the kitchen. Why not have Cilan assist them in baking the cake instead, did the pilots not get a preview of the wedding cake? Young Link slowly got up, holding his head, only to be knocked down to the floor and ran over again, this time by B.D. Joe who ran into the mansion without warning.

"Anyone here have any gas?" the taxi driver asked to nobody in particular, as he looked around for anyone who had any gasoline with them. "My ride's running low on gas, and I don't think I can make it to a single gas station!"

 **B.D. Joe: Gotta think of it...maybe I don't need to go to a gas station to fill up my taxi's gas tank. After all, Fox and Falco did say that going to the gas station was overrated, since you have to lose gas on the way there to get gas. From now on, I'll just keep gas tanks at my house in the backyard and fill up my taxi there! Only problem is...I live at an apartment. I'm sure nobody would mind if I kept the gas tanks in the apartment's laundry area.**

After B.D. Joe had left, Young Link got up for a third time...and for a third time, he was trampled yet again, this time by Dr. Wily, who made sure to close the door behind him, despite he was in a hurry.

"Why does it feel like I murdered someone in cold blood..." the evil genius wondered, and he would turn around and see Young Link, sprawled out on the floor in pain. "My goodness, I didn't see you there!" In a rare act of kindness, Dr. Wily helped Young Link up, and dusted off his tunic. "Sorry about that sonny, I'm in quite a rush..."

"No man, you're fine, I've been trampled twice before, so it's all good," replied Young Link, before taking a good look at Dr. Wily. "Wait, aren't you Dr. Albert Wily, Mega Man's arch-nemesis? Why are you here?"

"Do you know an old man by the name of Professor E. Gadd?" Young Link nodded his head yes, hoping nothing bad happened to the professor...but the Hylian's hope would soon be shattered. "I'm afraid E. Gadd...has been kidnapped! And I think I know someone here who knows how the kidnapping transpired..."

* * *

Dunban waited inside the fitness center, waiting for Shulk to make another bowl of chicken noodle soup...this time without King Dedede tampering with it. The blonde Homs would enter the fitness center with a newly prepared bowl of chicken noodle soup, and he was holding it very cautiously.

"About time you were done Shulk, nice job at keeping Aerith waiting," Dunban mocked Shulk, who was walking very slowly with the soup in his hands. "Can you please keep up the pace, certainly you can be more cautious than that!"

"Slow and steady wins the race Dunban," responded Shulk. Suddenly the Duck Hunt Dog ran inside the fitness center, knocking down Shulk from behind and causing the Homs to spill the soup onto the floor. So much for winning that race.

"See Shulk, had you walked faster, you would have made it to Aerith on time and we wouldn't have to worry about the soup being wasted!" Shulk couldn't hear Dunban scolding him over the sound of the Duck Hunt Dog, who was barking in a rabid manner. "What's the matter, Duck Hung Dog, what's with all the barking!"

"Woof woof woof!" the mutt barked as he pointed at a creature nearing the room Aerith was in...it was the purple creature that's been lurking around all day. But Dunban knew what this creature was called.

"That thing over there must be a Shroob! Mario and Luigi said they wiped their kind from existence a long time ago...so how is that Shroob even here?" Having been detected, the Shroob ran inside the room, and Dunban and Shulk were about to stop it...

...until a few moments later, a bright light was emitted from the room, as the Shroob was sent flying out of the room and landed on the floor. Leia stepped out of the room with a frown on her face, holding a staff in her hand. It was the angriest Dunban, Shulk, and even the Duck Hunt Dog had ever seen the nurse!

"Stay out of this mansion, if you know what's good for you!" Leia yelled at the Shroob, who got up and scurried away. Once the Shroob was gone, Leia looked towards Dunban and Shulk, who were, to say the least, shocked. "Oh, this was your first time seeing the angry side of me, huh?" Leia flashed an innocent smile on her face, holding her staff behind her back. "And you saw that I'm capable of fighting too...hope you know I'm more than just a nurse!"

 **Midna: *smirking* Told Link that Leia would be of great use one day...but today was just a foreshadowing of Leia's value, which shall be displayed very soon. Like she said, she's more than just a nurse!**

"Turns out you're capable as a nurse _and_ as a fighter..." remarked Dunban, stroking his chin. "...you learn something new everyday, don't you? So how's Aerith doing, is she feeling any better?"

"Why don't you see for yourself?" answered the nurse? So Dunban and Shulk would follow Leia into the room...and to their shock, Aerith was lively and well again! The flower girl was sitting on the patient bed, affable as she ever was.

"Hello, Dunban and Shulk," Aerith said to the Homs duo, who was shocked to see the flower girl back to full strength again. "Surprised to see that I've recovered that quickly from my illness, no?"

"Leia learned that Aerith's illness was caused by a Poison Mushroom, after Leia gave Aerith the antidote," stated Cloud, who like any great boyfriend remained with his girlfriend until she was well again. And Zelda, like any great friend, remained with Aerith too, and so did Midna (just because Zelda was around). "She saw a Poison Mushroom lodged in Aerith's stomach by running some x-ray scans, it was causing all the bad symptoms Aerith was having...so the antidote kinda decreased the mushroom in size."

"Asked Mario's brother Luigi about the Poison Mushroom - he thinks it got inside of Aerith when she was sleeping, and grew over time," added Leia, recollecting the information Luigi had told her. "Also said that the Poison Mushroom is a specialty of the Shroob alien race...was that thing I dealt with a Shroob?"

"Certainly it was - I thought they were done for, but apparently it looks like the Shroobs are back somehow..." replied Dunban, fearing for the worst. "...that purple rapscallion must be the one who inserted that mushroom inside Aerith. But why did it to that for? Could its kind be sending a message...?"

* * *

The lone Shroob was now looking for a way out of the mansion, not wanting to deal with any more trouble. But it would soon find trouble, when it encountered the foursome of Mario, Pit, Viridi, and Link in the hallway.

"Going some-a where Shroob?" Mario questioned the alien, who knew that teleporting would be the best available option. So that's exactly what the Shroob did, as it teleported away to avoid any trouble. "Blasted Shroobs are back-a again...how is that-a possible?"

"Mario, are you there?" Elise's voice was heard, and soon the youngest Nohrian sibling would appear, along with her other siblings. "You've been gone for a long time - was Corrin right, was there really an alien afoot?"

"Yes, I did-a find an alien...but I'm afraid there-a might be more aliens around," said Mario, as bad memories of the Shroobs were racing in his head. "The alien belongs-a to an alien race-a called the Shroobs, and I fear that some-a one might've brought them back-a to life...someone like-a the Organization XIII!"

"Sir Mario, I have an important letter to give to you!" Isabelle showed up, holding a letter in her hand and giving it to the plumber. Mario took the letter and read it...and was absolutely stunned.

"The Organization can-a write and have great-a penmanship, who would have-a thought!" Mario exclaimed, before reading the letter again a second time... "The invasion will-a begin next-a week?! Mama mia!"

 **Corrin: Ha ha, I tried telling people aliens were real, and now they've been all proven wrong...that alone makes me even more smarter than I already was! *pauses* "Even more smarter"...yeah, that sounds right, that should sound right - after all, I'm now a GENIUS! Take that, world!**

"Can someone please explain what's going on with this Organization XIII and invasion and whatnot?" demanded Xander, and so Mario would give Xander and his siblings the 4-1-1 on the Organization, the Heartless, Team Rocket working with the Organization, and any other vital information. "I see...how about this - since our father won't let us return to the kingdom anytime soon, why don't my siblings and I stay over at the mansion, and when this Heartless invasion comes, we can all work together in an effort to combat the plans of the Organization, Team Rocket, and the Shroobs, provided the Shroobs are working with the Organization."

"That would be absolutely splendid!" exclaimed Mario, completely on-board with the idea. "We should have some-a guest rooms for you to stay-a in."

* * *

"Nice job Nidoqueen, great effort, loved the fighting techniques and everything!" Lucario commended the drill Pokemon; Nidoking was the last Pokemon Lucario, Gardevoir, and Gallade had to train today. "Go back to your habitation spot and rest, you've earned it!" So Nidoking returned to her habitation, as Lucario cracked his knuckles after a hard day's work. "Yup, I think we whipped the Pokemon army up into good shape...and we did it without Mewtwo!"

"Saying something about me?" said a voice; Lucario turned around, and saw Mewtwo, who was looking all apologetic and stuff.

"Fancy seeing your face again Mewtwo, after you've been avoiding me all week..." Lucario could tell there was something different about Mewtwo, but he just couldn't quite put his finger on it. "What do you have to say for yourself, mister?"

"What I have to say is...I'm sorry for my behavior in regards to my role as lieutenant of the Pokemon army." Mewtwo apologizing and showing remorse...was this a different Mewtwo Lucario and company were witnessing?! "This whole time I've wanted to lead the Pokemon army, and my desire not only gave me my lieutenant role...but also increased my against, which resulted in the friction between us. I've become obsessed with power, and my obsession nearly screwed things over along the way. And you, Lucario - I hope you can look past my faults and forgive me. You are the general, and whatever you say goes. I'll be your second-in-command, and won't let anything get in-between. Do you accept my apology, or not?" Lucario took Mewtwo's words to heart, and thought about what he said, and then...

"Apology accepted!" ...the aura Pokemon shook hands with Mewtwo, reaffirming the partnership between army general and lieutenant. Just then, Asuka entered the Pokemon sanctuary, running up to Mewtwo.

"Mewtwo-san!" the ninja girl said to the psychic Pokemon, nearly losing her breath from running. "I know it's been a week now, but...I'm sorry for angering you last week trying to bring you and Lucario back on the same page again. That whole thing I did, with Gardevoir and Gallade...that was my idea, and I just want to say..."

"No you're fine Asuka, Lucario and I already made up, he accepted my apology and now we're back on good terms."

"You guys made up that quickly? Huh, guess we won't need to show you the cake Fox and Falco made..." What cake was Asuka speaking of? Lucario and Mewtwo were suddenly intrigued.

* * *

 **Fox: Cake brings everyone together - it marks a new beginning for a newly wed couple, and it also gives people a good excuse to attend birthday parties. Can you imagine a birthday party without any cake, Falco?  
** **Falco: Fox, that my man, is straight up inhumane...if we ever want to bring Lucario and Mewtwo back on the same page again, then we have to bake them a cake...a friendship cake!**

Mewtwo and Lucario were in the kitchen, and they were looking at a large cake, one with words like "Friendship!", "Companionship!", "Bromance!", and other things written all over it. Fox, Falco, and Palutena were standing by, wondering what the Pokemon thought of the pastry.

"This is weird, idiotic, and blatantly unnecessary all at the same time...but in a strange way, I like it," remarked Mewtwo, whose facial expression suggested otherwise. Then again, he always had the same expression all the time.

"Fox and Falco really worked hard on this cake (if it wasn't for me) so I think you two should show them your full appreciation!" exclaimed Palutena, as she got out some plates and eating utensils. "What better way to show them your appreciation than to eat and enjoy their creation?"

"All that training I did today made me hungry, I suppose I can go for some cake," said Lucario as he grabbed a plate and a fork from Palutena, as Fox went to go find a knife to cut his and Falco's "friendship cake". Lurking near the kitchen was Dr. Wily, who was looking for the person who might know about Professor E. Gadd's kidnapping...but it seemed like the evil genius hasn't found them yet.

"Still no sign of the Organization XIII's little ally..." frowned Dr. Wily, stroking his chin. "Guess I'll have to lurk around the mansion until I find this ally, wherever they might be...where is that Young Link lad, he can just let me stay in his room secretly until I find the person I'm looking for! Gotta make sure Mega Man and his friends don't see me...they'd think I'm returning to villainy!"

What if this Organization ally and the traitor...were the _same person?_


	77. Episode 77: Invasion Part 1

_Author's Note:_

 _An earlier update than usual this time around. Before I answer the guest reviews, I'd like to take the time to promote a story that I feel is severely underrated...though I feel like it shouldn't even be underrated in the first place. It's called Syrenet, and it's written by a friend of mine on this site, Paradigm of Writing. I've read Syrenet since the first chapter, and it's a really good story. Paradigm really wants more people to be invested in his story, so show the man your appreciation and check out Syrenet if you can. Now to the guest reviews:_

 _"Can you add Princess Elise from Sonic '06? Velvet and Laphicet from Tales of Berseria? Klonoa? Lana, Cia, and Linkle from Hyrule Warriors? Sigma, Vile, and every maverick from Mega Man X through X8? (Maybe a Maverick war story arc?) Will Pit ever stop being dumb? Is Viridi ever gonna let go of her hatred of humans? Will Leon and Ada be a couple when they show up? Is Lloyd gonna be paired up with Sheena or Colette? And finally, can some of the Tales of characters show up to assist in the upcoming battle?"_

 _Expect to see a few Tales characters in debuting in this chapter. All of your character requests have been accepted, though I may rule off a Maverick war story arc. Pit may never stop being dumb, but Viridi can get over her xenophobia - it would be great for her character development. Leon and Ada will most definitely be a couple (why aren't they an official couple yet?). And Lloyd is paired up with Colette - I believed I mentioned Lloyd with Colette in the Valentine's Day chapter. Moving on to Derick Lindsey:_

 _"Any chance on making a chapter where Kirby and Viridi either hang out since Pit would be busy with something or work together to either plan a party for Pit or rescue him if he goes missing just to see how they would interact with each other by themselves?"_

 _Why haven't I thought of that? A chapter with just Kirby and Viridi interacting is a missed opportunity that should have been done. Next is Roydigs22:_

 _"A shroob attacks jigglypuff(which my phone tried to auto correct to nitroglycerin btw) but she is saved by meta knight. Ship? Maybe?"_

 _Nitroglycerin from Jigglypuff...hehe. Not really digging Jigglypuff x Meta Knight the more I think about it...now as for Jigglypuff x Kirby? I could get behind that. One last guest review which I read just in time before the publication of this chapter, this one coming from PokFanMan15:_

 _"1. How about naming Sonic's Shaymin, Grace (as in Gracidea)_  
 _2\. What about adding characters from the game Cave Story, since it is available on the Wii, 3ds, and soon to be Switch."_

 _1\. ...now why haven't I thought of that?  
2\. I'll try and check out Cave Story over the weekend before coming to a decision on that._

* * *

 **Episode 77: Invasion Part 1**

After having spent seven or so weeks paralyzed at the hands of Robin, the hero-king Marth was back to his usual self again. The bluenette was up and walking again, and he was cherishing every little moment of it, given how long he was paralyzed.

Marth was forced to spend all of his paralysis in bed, and because of it, he missed all the great stuff that happened - the lemonade "competition" between Mega Man and Sonic, the huge race held outside in the mansion's backyard, Lloyd Irving becoming a genius, the brief strife between Lucario and Mewtwo, the _Street Fighter_ party, and a plethora of over things. Heck, Marth didn't even know about Alm and Celica being at the mansion - his roommate Roy was supposed to fill him in on that one. But at least the hero-king had the opportunity to screw over Robin in episode 70 - though his efforts were a failure.

But now Marth, who had to eat breakfast and dinner and watch TV and other things in bed, was now strutting his stuff through the mansion, greeting the may folks who were dying to see the hero-king again (okay, not everyone was excited to see Marth). It was quite refreshing to see people other than Roy for once in a while.

"Wonder what that loser Robin is up too lately, bet he's gloating his butt off ever since he dared to paralyze me," wondered Marth, as he walked through the hallways. He would walk past Young Link's room, and the hero-king could hear a conversation going on between Young Link and another person...so he returned to the room to eavesdrop a little.

"If Mario or Master Hand finds out about this, they're gonna be upset, and very ticked," said Young Link - was there a big-time secret being disclosed? Keeping secrets stowed away from Master Hand was no bueno, especially considering that the giant hand thinks of himself as "all-knowing".

"That is why I must expose her before the truth comes out, otherwise the Organization XIII's doomsday plan will take on another level," said another voice, this one seemingly coming from an old man. Who's this "her" that the presumed old man is talking about? "The fate of this city - and the world, for that matter - depends on it!"

"Man, of all the people in this mansion...well you learn something new everyday. I'm still in disbelief and shock. So did I ever tell you that Master Hand is preparing everyone for the Heartless invasion as I speak?"

"Everyone? In this mansion? I thought it'd be just the Pokemon army doing all the work, but the more the merrier, I guess..." Ever since word broke out about the invasion, Master Hand warned the mansion residents to prepare for any attack from the Organization XIII. "If every person in this mansion has to be a part of the effort, then I suppose I'll have to take matters into my own hands...you can go along now, Young Link, I have some important things to do now."

"Okay then, I'll see you later then," Young Link said as he exited his room, with Marth clinging close to the wall so the Hylian wouldn't see him. A lot of questions were running through Marth's head right now, and maybe the old man in the room might answer them.

 **Young Link: You said I was having a conversation with someone in my room? *looks around* Uh, yeah, I was having a conversation...with Navi! Yeah, that stupid fairy came flying into my room today, with its stupid voice, and so...I used this potion on it to give it a different voice and make it sound less annoying!...We were talking about exposing someone? Oh no, that's Navi's doing, it's gonna expose some lady or something... *chuckles nervously* So yeah...this lady...better watch out...for Navi...**

Curious, Marth sneaked his way inside Young Link's room, searching for the person Young Link was speaking with. He checked behind the bed, underneath the desk, and inside the closet...and in this closet was an old man, wearing a lab coat and blue jeans, putting together some funky contraption with his back turned.

"Um, may I help you, good sir?" Marth tapped the old man on the shoulder, and the geezer screamed as he turned around to face Marth, with surprise on his face. Marth instantly knew who this old man was... "...Dr. Wily?!"

"Ah, Marth, the hero-king, knew I'd see you here!" Dr. Wily got up and shook Marth's hand, his face now beaming with a genuine smile. "How is Aerith doing, is she handling herself well?"

"She is doing just fine - we've protected her mightily from a group called Organization XIII. Don't think Luigi and I ever thanked you for using that invention of yours to retrieve Aerith." So it was Dr. Wily who was responsible for Aerith jumping from one universe to another - the more you know.

"No, you should be thanking Master Hand for granting you permission to retrieve Aertih...but I will admit, my universe transfer machine comes quite in handy. So you got any plans for today before this big Heartless invasion begins? I've been building something that would be of aid..."

"We're about to have a meeting in the meeting room to discuss our strategy for taking care of the Organization," answered Marth, briefly interrupting Dr. Wily. "Would you like to join us?" Dr. Wily would accept the offer, but his reasons for declining were slightly understandable.

"I can't be at the meeting, what if Mega Man and his robot cronies are in attendance? The moment they see me, they'll threaten to beat me to a pulp! I would attend the meeting being invisible...but I haven't invented anything that would allow me to do so...but I'll add it to my bucket list of future projects, right under the evil coffee maker machine. That one will be a hit one day!"

"I'll give you something to disguise yourself so nobody will recognize you. Don't worry if anyone questions you, I'll take care of it..."

* * *

The meeting room was jam-packed as everyone was inside the room - from the Koopalings, to the idol singers, to the leaders of the Pokemon army, to Amy and Fiora, to even Luigi, Daisy, and Yuffie (Rotom was told to babysit Charles). And as Master Hand had stated earlier, there would be more people coming to join the meeting - which Alph didn't like.

"Did Master Hand ever specify who would be joining the meeting, and how many guests will be coming?" the young astronaut would ask fellow Hocotate Freight employee Olimar, as the residents were chatting among themselves until the meeting began.

"Expect A LOT of people to be showing up later," answered Olimar, who was busy checking his phone. "This whole invasion thing is obviously a big deal, so we'll need as many bodies as possible to stop the Organization for good."

"We could just have the Pokemon army do all the fighting, but Master Hand kept running his mouth about us not doing a thing," Alm had to explain for Alph, his arm wrapped around Celicia. "So unless you want to be kicked out of the mansion, you have to do some fighting...even if it's just defeating one measly Heartless."

 **Alm: I've never seen a single Heartless in person before...what exactly is a Heartless?  
** **Celica: Aerith told me that the Heartless are beings of darkness, devoid of heart and emotion. And they come in many different shapes and sizes, too.  
Alm: So you're telling me that they're really a horde of emo kids with no sense of direction...now that I think of it, beating up innocent emo kids sounds wrong on many levels.**

"Master Hand didn't say anything about fighting...just as long we're participating," smiled Celica; what she was trying to say is that you don't have to do any fighting at all, you can just be on the battle scene and make it look like you're fighting. Many residents will most definitely take that approach.

"I just want this whole Heartless stuff to be over with for good, this invasion will be cutting into my workout time!" stated Wii Fit Trainer, who was busy doing some stretching before there was a knock at the meeting room door. "Oh, is that the other people that will be fighting with us?"

"Must be - I'll go get the door!" replied Sonic as he ran to the meeting room door and opened it, seeing Silver, Shadow, Blaze and Team Chaotix. "Perfect timing, we're just about ready to start the meeting! Come right on in!"

"Thanks for inviting us, Sonic," Silver would thank the blue blur, although it was Master Hand who did the inviting. After Silver, Shadow, Blaze and Team Chaotix entered the meeting room, more guests started filling in - the Star Wolf crew, Peppy Hare, Slippy Toad, Waluigi (bleck), Raven, Nowi, Nah, Caeda, Lilina, Phosphora, Magnus, Reyn, Sharla, Soda Popsinki, Glass Joe, Professor Kukui and his trail captains/kahunas, the _Persona 5_ investigators, Ken, Chun-li, Tifa, Barret, Vincent Valentine, Sazh Katzroy, Serah Farron, Serah's sister Lightning...and Shovel Knight.

"Hail fellows, 'tis day a fine day for some jolly good carnage!" exclaimed Shovel Knight as he proudly raised his shovel in the air, as everyone groaned. Less than ten seconds, Shovel Knight was already on everyone's bad side.

"Master Hand, what was you thinking man..." Barret faceplamed as he, Vincent, and Tifa made their way over to where Cloud, Aerith, and Yuffie were sitting, greeting the three. The _Final Fantasy VII_ exchanged words of goodwill and friendship in their conversation, until Serah approached the six with Lightning.

"Hi Cloud, Aerith, and others," greeted Serah, unsure if she should've addressed Tifa, Barrett, Vincent, and Yuffie by name. "I would like you all to meet my lovely sister, Lightning Farron - she's quite popular among many folk, and I just wanted to formally introduce you to her."

"Cloud Strife, Aerith Gainsborough, Tifa Lockhart, Barret Wallace, Vincent Valentine, and Yuffie Kisaragi...it's a pleasure," Lightning greeted to the _Final Fantasy VII_ crew, as a few more folks entered the meeting room. Leia, Lloyd, Hisui, and Kohaku, all being of _Tales_ origin, instantly knew who these folks were - Alvin, Presa, Marta, and Emil, all hailing from the _Tales_ series. Master Hand really reached out, didn't he?

"Wait, so all these people are are going to be a part of the ice cream social?" frowned Emil, frowning with disgust. More probable than not Master Hand enticed the _Tales_ folks by telling them something they would agree to, like an ice cream social as Emil stated. You'd think anyone would agree to battle and bloodshed?

"Pretty sure it was just some silly lie fabricated by Master Hand to allure us to this mansion," replied Alvin, as he and Presa looked for an available seat. "Wouldn't trust anyone whose name is Master Hand..." Doc Louis looked suspiciously at Alvin and Emil, and then at Leia, and then at Alvin and Emil who, along with Marta and Presa, opted to sit with the nurse.

 **Doc Louis: Master Hand can invite as many guests to the meeting as he likes, but he better remember one thing - none of the guests are gonna get in-between Leia and my man, Little Mac! I'd better not see a single guy try and make a move on Leia, otherwise I have to show them these hands! *holds up fists to the camera* To Little Mac, and Leia, I'm like their papa wolf - I'm like that dad who inspects his daughter's boyfriend, looking for strengths and weaknesses and any secrets, and make him catch a fade if he tries to pull something funny and put the daughter in danger! I'll guard Little Mac, Leia, and their relationship with my life, and lay a beating upon anyone who gets in their way...and my way! *pulls out chocolate bar* And as long things are peaceful, there won't be anything that will deter me from my love - chocolate! Come to papa, Shaurice, come and feel my love! *takes a bite out of chocolate bar***

"You see that Little Mac, those posers are trying to make a move on your woman!" Doc Louis said to the boxer, as he pointed at Alvin and Emil. Neither fellow were even talking with Leia; rather, they were busy talking with Presa and Marta, with Marta being Emil's girlfriend. "You just gonna sit here and let 'em get away with it?!"

"Doc, I think those two gentlemen already have girlfriends, Leia is safe as she is," Little Mac tried to tell Doc Louis, but the boxing trainer was certain Alvin and Emil had an ulterior motive up their sleeves - and he was ready to expose them if necessary.

"That's what they want you to think - those two brought their lady friends to pose as 'girlfriends'! They're giving away the false narrative that they're in love, when actually they're plotting to steal your woman's heart! One Mr. Steal Yo Girl is enough, but two of them?! Somebody's behind is gonna get beat!"

"Sometimes you can be so infuriatingly humiliating..." It was about time Little Mac finally admitted this, it was a matter of time.

"Attention everyone, I said attention everyone!" Master Hand shouted, effectively silencing all the chit chat in the meeting room as everyone directed their attention to the giant hand at the front of the room. "Good, now that I finally have your attention, it is time for..."

"When do we get our free ice cream?" interrupted Emil as he raised his hand to ask Master Hand his question. Marta facepalmed and shook her head, as Emil was already making himself look foolish in a room full of strangers.

"Couldn't even let him finish what he's saying..." moaned Marta, feeling a sudden indignation to punch Emil in the gut. The blonde lad deserved it.

"There will be ice cream until this meeting has been adjourned," answered Master Hand, before clearing his throat and picking up from where he left off. "Anyways, now that I have your attention..." Suddenly Master Hand was interrupted yet again, as a loud fart sounded in the meeting room. Everyone looked at the only culprit possible...Wario.

"Oh, so it's MY fault somebody left a banana split on the kitchen counter!" frowned Wario, folding his arms grumpily. "Someone had to eat it before it went to waste..." ...and that someone definitely wasn't Wario.

"That was my banana split you ate..." Diddy Kong glared down Wario, angrily getting up from his chair while Donkey Kong tried to calm down his nephew. "Why you little..."

"ONE MORE INTERRUPTION OR PEEP OUT OF ANY OF YOU AND YOU WILL ALL SUFFER!" boomed Master Hand, scaring the pants off of everyone as Diddy Kong calmly sat back down. "Before I was so rudely interrupted, it is now time...time to discuss our strategy for stopping Organization XIII's Heartless invasion!"

 **Emil: Wait...so there won't be any ice cream? At all?**

 **Presa: Should have known this was a trap, the information on those invitation cards were a lie...we've been tricked!**

"Now, now, this is not the time for panicking and worrying and stuff like that," warned Master Hand, even though not a single person was panicking...not yet, at least. Wait until the action starts, then you'll see people afraid for their lives. "This is the time for finding out a way to defeat the Heartless, and dispose of the Organization once and for all! If you feel intimidated about discussing the Heartless or the Organization, I suggest that you leave whenever you need to!"

"I feel intimidated already, so I'll just take your suggestion to heart!" remarked Glass Joe, as the nervous wreck got up and ran out of the meeting room, like a scared little scaredy cat. No wonder Glass Joe was the first boxer you face in _Punchout!_

"Hopefully that guy comes back, didn't bring him here for nothing...anyway, I shall turn things over to Mario, so everyone give the world famous plumber a round of applause!" Mario got up and went over to the front of the meeting room, as Luigi was the only person clapping. The green plumber stopped when he realized he was the odd man out. "Seriously you people, is this how you treat the greatest plumber of all time?! Let's try this again - Luigi, you were the only person clapping, so you'll lead things off!"

"No Master Hand, I don't deserve-a any applause," smiled Mario, as he turned to face everyone in the meeting room. "Greetings everyone, to my fellow-a residents, and to our guests, even those-a I've never met before. This is a day that-a me, Master Hand, and a few-a others did not want-a to happen, but prepared-a for...the day that the Organization XIII embark-a on their Heartless invasion! Before we continue-a this meeting, any questions?"

"After this invasion is over, do we get ice cream?" asked Emil, raising his hand once more. The indignation inside of Marta was slowly building up; that punch to Emil's gut might happen sooner than later.

"Eh, you know-a what, scratch the questions, we have no time-a for that. I'll just lead things-a off to our Pokemon-a army general, Lucario!"

So Mario stepped aside, allowing Lucario to get up and take the plumber's spot at the front of the room. The aura Pokemon would be the one doing all the strategy, discussing what must be done and everything.

"Thank you Mario," Lucario thanked the plumber before facing the meeting room occupants. "Great to see everyone gathered here today, whether you like it or not...but that's not the point. Just wanted to say that this meeting was rather impromptu, didn't even know we were gonna have a meeting until Master Hand told me today." Emil raised his hand, expecting Lucario to call upon him. "And no kid, we're not having any ice cream, stop trying." Emil slowly lowered his hand, holding his head in sadness. "First we shall talk about the Heartless, the Organization, and the Organization's allies - Team Rocket and the Shroobs. Never thought I'd see the day, Team Rocket and Shroobs working together...but here we are. So what do we know about Organization XIII?"

"They're a bunch of emotionless sociopaths trying too hard to be a secret society," answered Kirby, noting Organization XIII's hooded dress code. Xigbar might be the only member who wasn't a sociopath...and that's not saying much.

"Seems fairly accurate...now what do we know about the beings associated with the Organization - the Heartless? Anyone wanna take a crack at it?" Emil raised his hand, albeit nervously... "Kid, if you're about to ask another stupid question about ice cream, then I suggest you put your hand back down. We got more important matters to discuss." ...and then Emil put his hand back down.

 **Lucario: I know Master Hand mentioned to me about the meeting...but he never told me about any of the new faces joining us. This better not be some lousy attempt to bring new people to live at the mansion, we already have enough bodies as it is. Do you not realize how hard it is having to share the bathrooms...not that I would _use_ a bathroom since I'm a Pokemon, but it's kinda convenient...**

"The Heartless are all scrubs and they all deserve to die," Knuckles answered Lucario's question, before looking around for his girlfriend Rouge. The echidna was somewhat glad the bat wasn't present. "That's what I have to say about those creeps."

"Eh, I suppose I'll take that," shrugged Lucario - wasn't the best answer, but it was an answer nonetheless. "We already know about Team Rocket, for the most part, so we don't need to delve into them...but what about the Shroobs, who are believed to be aligned with the Organization?"

"Shroobs are ugly, evil, and I have a bunch of them in my freezer back at my castle!" answered Bowser, garnering suspicious looks from everyone. "...said freezer had to be cleaned out pronto so I could make some room for pizza rolls! Everyone loves pizza rolls, even the young ones! Right kids?" Bowser asked his Koopalings, who all nodded their heads simultaneously and bringing upon even more suspicion to Bowser in the process.

"A freezer full of Shroobs...not sure if that's true or not, but I can always send someone over to your castle and investigate. Might have a Shroob vs Shroob showdown, who knows. Now it's time we discuss our strategy..." Lucario walked towards a pull down map, and pulled down the handle at the bottom, revealing to everyone a large map of Seattle. "In order to know where the Heartless would strike first, we have to look here on this map for the most likeliest spot..." Lucario quickly grabbed a yard stick, and pointed it at the center of the map. "What is this place that I'm pointing at?"

"Pretty sure you're pointing at some secret message on the map," giggled Rosalina; Lucario took a closer look, and saw the words "PIT WAS DEFINITELY NOT HERE", written in red permanent marker at where the aura Pokemon was pointing his stick at, along with a damning drawing of Lucario written underneath the text, also in red permanent marker. There was some giggling in the meeting room, as Lucario quickly gave a death glare to Pit, who pointed at Kirby...in turn, Kirby pointed at Pit. The culprit of this heinous crime was very obvious...

"Pit, once this meeting is over I'm gonna have a word with you..." Lucario warned the angel before getting back on track. "This place I'm pointing at on the map, which has been bastardized by Pit's tomfoolery, is this establishment - the Smash Mansion! Why do you think the Heartless would come after the Smash Mansion in the first place?"

"If I recall correctly, the Heartless are constantly searching for hearts, so they would start off at this mansion to collect hearts," replied Mr. Game and Watch, recalling whatever information he gained from Aerith.

"Yes, that's true...however, they're coming for one particular person in mind, and that person...IS AERITH!" Lucario pointed at Aerith, like he was accusing the flower girl of wrongdoing, like she was a criminal in sheep's clothing. "Why do you think the Heartless were lurking about? To get Aerith. Why do you think the Organization keeps coming back to the mansion, despite us getting in their way? To get Aerith. And why do you think we're in this whole predicament now?"

"...so we can get free ice cream?" answered Emil, receiving a nudge from Marta. Kid really wants some ice cream, huh?

"No...we're in this predicament because of Aerith! Don't take it the wrong way Aerith, this wasn't your fault...a few months since Aerith came to our universe, the Organization XIII and their Heartless came along and start ruckus, just so they could kidnap Aerith. Why they just want Aerith, that we do not know...but we gotta keep Aerith out of harm's way, if that would derail the Organization's plans. So I need someone to take Aerith to a remote place, where the Organization, Team Rocket, or even the Shroobs would never find her."

"I shall embark upon this mission, for I am Aerith's courage!" volunteered the Flying Man, raising his hand up high. "Good thing I know a great place in this city where Aerith will remain safe!"

 **Flying Man: The KeyArena is a perfect spot to hide precious Aerith - it's pretty abandoned for the most part, nobody ever uses it anymore. Organization XIII and the Heartless are least likely to target desolate places, so they would overlook KeyArena during their invasion. Aerith would need something to do in her spare time while hiding...perhaps I can buy the woman some flowers! But what if she gets tired of smelling said flowers, what then?**

"Thanks for volunteering, Flying Man, knew you'd be the right person for the job," Lucario thanked the mythical beast, before looking back at his map again. "In addition to this mansion, there are other places in Seattle that are likely to be..."

Suddenly there was a great tremor, as the mansion was shaking rather violently, as everyone panicked. The tremor lasted for a short while and went away, but the fear and panic inside the meeting room was still nigh.

"Ack, the Organization and Team Rocket must have started their invasion!" fretted Master Hand, signifying one of the few moments we'll ever see the giant hand in a state of panic. "I sense a giant Heartless afoot or several giant Heartless afoot...somebody go look out the window!"

"I'm on it!" volunteered King K. Rool as he got up and ran to the nearest window, looking outside at the city of Seattle before his face sank. "Um, guys, I think you should check this out..." A few people got up from their seats and gathered around the window, and were shocked by what they were seeing...

Thousands upon thousands of Heartless were outside. Some Shadows, some wearing knight armor, some flying in the air, some wielding swords, and some...well, taking on the form of automobiles. Several giant heartless were flying in the skies, ready to turn Seattle into a ruin.

"Are-a those...multiple flying Heartless?!" exclaimed Luigi, in disbelief of what he was seeing. "Mama mia..." The green plumber immediately fainted into the arms of Daisy, who was thankfully nearby to catch her man.

"Alright people, it's now or never, this is it!" announced Mewtwo, eliminating the panic in the meeting room and arming everyone with a shred of confidence. "I know we didn't prepare for this invasion like the Pokemon did, but I want each and every one of you to treat this thing like you're going up against your mortal enemy and you have nothing to lose."

"What if you don't have a mortal enemy, what would you do then?" asked Olimar, who didn't have anyone he would antagonize against. The astronaut was too derpy to even have a mortal enemy in the first place.

"Then just fight like your life fully depends on it. Do whatever you can. Lucario and I will take our Pokemon army to central Seattle, and move around the city and eradicate any Heartless we detect. The rest of you, spread out and split up and destroy all the Heartless you can find!"

* * *

 **Bayonetta: Fighting against the Heartless...how very cheeky. Though it'll be bittersweet for me, since Jeanne, Rodin, and Luka won't be around...but who says none of them can make a surprise appearance?**

 **Glass Joe: This is it, you guys...I'm gonna die out there...my legs are shaking at the thought of fighting anyone...I can never win...unless...**

 **Itsuki: My friends and I have taken on our Carnage Forms, and as you can see, I'm wearing this fancy attire, and I even have a sword to boot! *holds up sword to camera* Haven't done any fighting since we dealt with Medeus, so forgive me if I'm a bit rusty.**

 **Wario: Fact: garlic can make you gassy. Another fact: garlic can make me EXTREMELY gassy! So if I eat as much garlic as I possibly can, I can let out an atomic bomb-sized fart that would kill all the Heartless and Shroobs, and force the Organization and Team Rocket to leave Seatlte forever! Then everyone will anoint me as a hero, and then I'll have my own statue, and I'll be recognized as a legend, forever and ever! *takes a bite out of some garlic* My road to being legendary starts now!**

"See, Dr. Wily, told you nobody would notice you in your disguise!" Marth said to Dr. Wily, who was wearing a poncho and a sombrero. The two were walking through Seattle searching for Heartless, and Dr. Wily really wasn't digging his disguise. "Everyone was too busy talking to even know about your existence!"

"And you couldn't get me anything better than this..." grumbled Dr. Wily, holding in his hands the invention he was working on earlier - some giant cube with a large button on it. He had just finished it while the meeting was taking place. "Better than nothing, I suppose, but I would have opted for a cloak or something."

"With a hood over your head? Someone would accuse you of being affiliated with the Organization," said Marth, before stopping in place when he saw a bunch of Shroobs up ahead, teaming up with some Heartless as they were terrorizing innocent townsfolk. "Looks like we found some enemies to dispel...you want to give your invention a go?"

"Eh, I would, but I wouldn't use it for instances like these, it has a much different purpose," answered Dr. Wily - but the evil genius didn't have to worry about using his cube thingamajig, when a large powerful burst came out of nowhere and struck the Shroobs and the Heartless, essentially wiping them from existence. This burst came from someone Dr. Wily did not wish to see...Mega Man, who appeared out in the open with Ryu and saw the evil genius and Marth.

"Ahoy Marth, who's your friend there?" Mega Man asked the hero-king; Dr. Wily would walk away to avoid Mega Man, but no doubt doing that would make him look like a suspicious, unsociable fellow.

"Oh this isn't my friend...he's just a random Mexican geezer I saved from the Heartless," explained Marth, thinking on the fly. "His name is Hector, I believe...either that or Jorge. Think it's Jorge. Say hello to my friends, Jorge!"

"Ole," Dr. Wily greeted Mega Man and Ryu, showing how little Spanish he knew. But Mega Man nor Ryu didn't seem to care, just as long "Jorge" was safe.

"Hmm, Jorge must be a shy man..." remarked Ryu, stroking his chin and not questioning why "Jorge" was wearing a lab coat with his poncho. "...but he's safe from the Heartless so we shouldn't judge his sociability! There must be more people terrorized by the Heartless - Marth and Jorge, would you like to partner up with us?" Dr. Wily was going to tell Marth to say no, however...

"That would be lovely!" answered Marth, causing Dr. Wily to groan. His cover was bound to be blown soon.

* * *

"Just like old-a times, eh guys?" Mario asked his crew - Link, Pit, Kirby, Yoshi, and two addition members, Midna and Ema Skye, as they traversed through Seattle. Ema was carrying her ray gun in her hands, and no, she did not tell anyone what the gun's function was yet.

"Certainly don't remember Ema teaming up with us in our fight against Subspace...lest she was invisible the whole time and we didn't know she was fighting with us," remarked Yoshi, scratching his head. "Same goes for you too, Midna."

"The green dinosaur must be even goofier than I imagined," Midna quietly whispered to Link, who nodded his head in agreement. The Hylian, having put up with Yoshi's fanfiction work for so long, knew how eccentric Yoshi truly was.

 **Midna: Got a bad vibe regarding Ema Skye...seems as if she's up to something evil. Ever since she's worked her butt off on that precious ray gun, I feel like that...  
Link: Midna you're not feeling skeptical about Ema, are you? Did you not learn your lesson from Meta Knight?  
Midna: Alright, so maybe I thought Meta Knight was an evil villain because of his mask...and his yellow eyes...and his cape...and his voice and demeanor...but be honest Link, would you wet your pants if you saw Meta Knight in a dark alley?  
Link: Wet my pants if I saw Meta Knight in a dark alley? Absolutely not...but I would most definitely crap my pants if that encounter were to happen.**

"Heartless spotted at 3 o' clock!" alerted Pit, as he and the others came across a large purple Heartless, flanked by meager Heartless. "Is it really 3 o' clock? Let's see what my imaginary watch says..." The large Heartless was called a Behemoth; Mario and company would be intimidated, but they've faced larger enemies before.

"Midna, Ema, you ladies stay right where you are," Link said to the imp and the forensics expert, unsheathing his sword. "We got this under control!" So Link and his men ran to fight the Heartless, leaving Midna and Ema to scoff at Link. How dare the Hylian doubt the ladies' fighting capabilities!

"Would you believe that Ema, Link has zero confidence that we can defeat the Heartless!" frowned Midna, pointing at Link with disgust. She might slap the Hylian silly once he was done with the carnage.

"I know right, makes me feel like Link has something against girls," remarked Ema, as she watched Mario and company eradicate the Heartless one by one. "I feel your pain Midna - having to follow Link and carry him around must be very tiring for you."

"You have no idea...sometimes Link can be thicker than a pile of books, it's troublesome." Midna would float over to Ema, smirking as she looked at the brunette's invention. "Been working on that thing a lot as of late...since we're by ourselves, would you mind telling me what it does?"

"No can do - I would be sharing a secret with someone. And you know what happens when you share a secret...it goes from one person to another, until it spreads out, like bacteria on food. Works like a rumor, only except that it's even worse...

"But your secret is safe with me, I promise I won't tell your secret to a single soul..." Ema was about to say something, only to be interrupted by the Behemoth, who was wailing...in pain. Mario and company defeated the giant Heartless, as it collapsed to the ground.

"Ended a lot quicker than we expected, but I ain't complaining..." remarked Yoshi, as the Behemoth slowly faded into darkness and a heart was released from it. But the Behemoth didn't really fade into darkness...sure there was darkness coming from the ground, but the Heartless was seemingly turning into something...

...something brown, with a cloud of smoke for a mane, and it had four legs and a star-shaped faceplate...and it resembled a leonine creature. Mario and company were quick to realize what - or rather, _who_ \- this creature was.

"Is that...is that-a an ENTEI?!" questioned a stunned Mario, as Entei, once collapsed on the floor, rose up to its feet to face Mario and company, seemingly thanking the five in his mind. It would speak to each individual brawler, but the volcano Pokemon couldn't talk...unless it was in a _Pokemon_ movie. "How did Organization XIII acquire-a Entei? Or was it Team-a Rocket's doing?"

"Giovanni did say he would allow the Organization to use Pokemon as Heartless in the invasion," stated Pit. "That's what he told the evil ice cream guy." In case you didn't know already, or have forgotten, the "evil ice cream guy" Pit spoke of was actually Master Xehanort.

 **Kirby: Allowing Organization XIII to turn the legendary Pokemon they've captured into giant Heartless... *shakes his head* ...this might very well trump any heinous act Team Rocket has done in the past. But by the looks of it, they tasked their most competent grunts to capture the legendary Pokemon, rather than their most incompetent...you know who I'm talking about.**

* * *

"As long as you're here with me Aerith, you're safe and sound - just know that I am your courage!" the Flying Man said to the flower girl, watching over her in the safety and comfort of the empty KeyArena. "If any evildoer sneaks their way inside in an attempt to harm you, I shall give them a beating of a lifetime, one they'll never, ever forget!"

"Okay, Flying Man, but I really would appreciate it if you stopped saying stuff like that over and over again," smiled Aerith, as the Flying Man was in the middle of striking a majestic pose. Dude probably thought he was some all-powerful Greek god or something.

"Forgive me Aerith, if I'm being too overdramatic, but this is a mission I cannot fail by any means! The Organization, Team Rocket, and the Shroobs get your hand on you, and it will be over not only for me, but for everyone else! It should be over just for those three evil forces, and the braves folks fighting for our universe will make sure it ends that way!"

"True, but I wish I had someone else here, it feels...so boring..." Little did Aerith know that her wish would soon be granted...

"Good thing for you, that someone just arrived," said a familiar voice from behind; Aerith turned around, and to her shock and glee, she saw her boyfriend Cloud - looking like he didn't do any fighting at all! The swordsman was looking fresh, as Aerith ran up to him and embraced him in a hug.

"Oh, Cloud, I knew you wouldn't hesitate to come and visit me! This is such a wonderful surprise!" Now Aerith won't have to put up with the Flying Man being all macho and talking about how he was the flower girl's courage.

"Couldn't beat up a single Heartless if I didn't know you were safe," smiled Cloud; usually he would stop Aerith from hugging him, but this was one of the few instances the swordsman would allow Aerith to hug him for as long as she liked. "So how's it like being all alone with the Flying Man?"

"I will admit, having to put up with his histrionics is becoming annoying real fast," replied Aerith, after the hug ended. "But now that you're here...maybe you can shut him up temporarily?" Cloud looked at the Flying Man, doing even more majestic poses, and knew something must be done.

"Perhaps a sword to the face will teach the guy a lesson..." Cloud marched towards the Flying Man, getting his Buster Sword ready, until a strange noise was heard - sounded like random unintelligible garble. To the shock of Cloud, Aerith, and the Flying Man, a short old man, one wearing glasses and a straitjacket and with duct tape on his mouth, hopped out from a tunnel, before falling onto the floor trying to get out of his straitjacket. After close inspection, Cloud recognized the fellow - a fellow the swordsman met for the first time at Luigi's wedding.

"Professor E. Gadd!" Cloud shouted out the geezer's name as he ran towards him, with Aerith and the Flying Man following along. Cloud knelt down at E. Gadd's side, and took the straitjacket and duct tape off the inventor, before helping him up to his feet. "Professor E. Gadd, are you okay?"

"I am now, much thanks to you!" the elderly inventor heartily replied, glad he was now out of the straitjacket, as evidence by him moving his arms about freely. "Had a feeling there would be someone here to rescue me!"

 **E. Gadd: I was captured by a group known as Organization XIII...I was busy working in my lab, when those hooded fellows appeared and demanded that I let them use my time machine to bring back the Shroobs. Now I knew what the Shroobs were capable of, if past history is any indication, but the Organization were very importunate with their demands, and when I asked them how they knew Shroobs existed, they claimed they found out about this alien race from some person who I believe is affiliated with them...so when I declined their offer, it all went black...and when I woke up, I found myself in this arena, in a straitjacket. I assume the Organization used my time machine to bring back the Shroobs, I assume...sounds like we got an alien invasion on our hands...**

"Professor E. Gadd, how the heck did you get here?" Cloud questioned the inventor, with questions running through his mind at the prospect of E. Gadd being bound and gagged and kept away somewhere in the KeyArena.

"It was Organization XIII - I refused to let them use my time machine, and so they kept me away in this vacant arena while they used my time machine to bring back the alien Shroobs," explained E. Gadd, and now Cloud and company knew the story of how the Shroobs came back. "I think they used my time machine, I think...do any of you three know if they did?"

"The Shroobs are out causing ruckus in Seattle with Organization XIII _and_ Team Rocket." This was obviously alarming for E. Gadd - poor geezer felt like he could have prevented the Shroobs from being involved. "It will only be a matter of time before the rest of the world falls prey..."

"I knew this would happen...I had told Dr. Wily to check behind him in regards to that universe transfer machine...but alas he didn't, and it allowed the Organization to enter our universe and run amok."

"Wait, so you and Dr. Wily worked on that machine that brought Aerith to our universe?" Cloud was learning new information he couldn't get anywhere else.

"Partially - I just guided Dr. Wily along as he invented the machine. Dr. Wily was supposed to add something to the machine that would prevent folks from Aerith's universe entering into ours, but he decided against it, and I believe that's how the Organization made it through, along with those Heartless creatures. And if I recall correctly, Dr. Wily had control of the Heartless at one point...Organization XIII must have granted him the power to wield Heartless! Why he agreed to their terms, Lord knows why..."

"Whew, that certainly is a lot...obviously we can't be here anymore, Organization XIII will know you're here, and if they come back here they'll find Aerith, and we gotta keep Aerith away at all costs. So let's move out!"

* * *

Lucario, Mewtwo, Gardevoir, and Gallade were in the center of Seattle with the Pokemon army, dealing with a bunch of Heartless and Shroobs running about and causing mayhem. Thanks to the effort of the Pokemon, all the Heartless and Shroobs were defeated...only for bigger and badder ones to appear shortly thereafter, marching their way towards the Pokemon army. Taking the "next man up" mantra to levels never before seen.

"Guess we have to kick things into full overdrive..." said Lucario, as a Delibird approached the aura Pokemon with a sack. The delivery Pokemon took out Mega Stones, and gave Lucario, Mewtwo, Gardevoir, and Gallade their respective Mega Stones. However, there was one Mega Stone left, and Delibird was holding it in his hand.

"A fifth Mega Stone, who could that be for?" questioned Mewtwo, noting how the Mega Stone was brown and yellow in color. Those two colors reminded the psychic Pokemon of a particular Pokemon...Lopunny. And to Mewtwo's chagrin, Lopunny appeared from the crowd of Pokemon, and went up to Delibird to retrieve her Mega Stone.

"Surprise, surprise," Lucario grinned nervously at a facepalming Mewtwo, as Lopunny was now aligned with her man. "Disgusted" was an understating word to describe how Mewtwo felt.

 **Lucario: *shrugs* Girl just came up to me and asked if she could be an assistant general. Saying no to Lopunny with her puppy eyes look was like saying no to a cancer-ridden kid at a St. Jude's hospital. One negative answer and you'd be seen as a heartless person with no soul.**

"I feel like you deserve a long talk about this..." said Mewtwo after he was done facepalming. "But we have Heartless and Shroobs to take care of, so I shall talk with you about your...vulnerabilities later." Mewtwo and the four other Pokemon out in front activated their Mega Stones and initiated their Mega Forms, just when the Heartless and Shroobs were getting close. The fight was just beginning...

* * *

Elsewhere in Seattle, B.D. Joe was driving around his new best friends Fox and Falco in his taxi, crashing through car-like Heartless called Hot Rods and Mad Rides. Situated at the tail end of the taxi firing away on a machine gun was Shadow, shooting any Heartless he saw.

"B.D Joe, can you _please_ cut it out with the sharp turns?" the angsty hedgehog snapped on the taxi driver as he was endlessly shooting away at the Heartless. "You could make me fall off the vehicle with that excessive turning!"

"Nah Shadow, you fine dude, my turning ain't that suspect!" replied B.D. Joe; the scared looks on Fox and Falco's faces suggested otherwise. "Just because you're a bitter hedgehog and all gives you no reason to criticize my driving skills! Maybe some Bad Religion might cheer you up!" So B.D. Joe turned on his radio, and was blasting Bad Religion's "Atomic Garden" loudly, as he was driving even faster than before. The music had an adverse effect on the Heartless, as many of them were initially shook and later succumbed to the sound.

"Yo, the Heartless hate this loud music just like how they hated Dunban's horrid guitar playing!" observed Fox, noticing how more and more Heartless were being defeated. Suddenly bad memories were suddenly coming back to Falco.

"Bruh don't remind about Dunban's guitar playing, thought we all agreed to never speak of it again..." shuddered Falco, as he covered his ears. Does the guy even have ears, and if so, where would they be at? "Just thinking about that crap makes me shiver..."

"Let's see if we can...turn things up a notch, no pun intended," Fox turned up the volume of the radio, making the music louder and destroying even more Heartless. And Shadow wasn't quite enjoying it.

"Can you please turn the music down, I'm trying to concentrate!" the hedgehog yelled, although Fox, Falco, nor B.D. Joe could hear him. Not only that, but Shadow was feeling quite queasy from B.D. Joe's driving. "I think I'm gonna hurl..." And that's when the hedgehog vomited all over the Heartless. _Yuck._

* * *

While Mario and friends already defeated a giant Heartless, which was revealed to be none other than Entei, the group of Lucina, Blaze, Serah, Marta, and Chun-li were trying to defeat a giant Heartless themselves, this one called an Antlion. This Heartless was attempting to destroy a tall building, but Blaze and company were there to save the day. Using her pyrokinesis, Blaze doused fire on the Antlion, and then Marta hurled her weapon of choice, a saw-like spinner, at the Heartless, bringing it crashing to the ground. Lucina, Serah, and Chun-li, then went ham on the fallen Antlion, as they attacked it relentlessly, while a pedestrian looked on with a saddened face. Poor guy - his car must've been crushed by the Antlion.

 **Pedestrian: *scratching the back of his head* Yeah, about that car insurance...you know what, I should have those five ladies pay for my car, they're the ones who destroyed it! They'll also be responsible for telling an alibi as well; none of my fellow workers would believe me if I told them some giant monster crushed my Prius. But if someone like a purple cat in fancy attire were to tell them what happened...**

Blaze and Marta would join in on the fun as they beat up the Antlion, and after taking quite a beating, the Heartless was finally defeated, as it faded away into darkness and a heart was released, flying up into the air and fading away. What was left of Antlion, you might ask? Genesect, the Paleozoic Pokemon.

"What do you know, this legendary Pokemon was turned into a raging monster," marveled Chun-li, as Genesect stood up to its feet. Instead of attacking Chun-li and company, like the killer Pokemon it was supposed to be...the Paleozoic Pokemon did nothing. Not being under the control of Team Plasma could be a factor.

"Well, it seems like this Pokemon, despite looking threatening, is on our side now," remarked Marta as she petted Genesect...and the Pokemon still did nothing! There must be a glitch in its system, why wasn't it killing the five ladies senselessly?!

A Shroob UFO was flying overheard...no, there were _multiple_ Shroob UFOs flying overheard, and they were all targeting the five women, with their laser guns directed at the ladies. Genesect turned around and saw the UFOs - and fired a Techno Blast at all of them in one go, sending the flying saucers burning and crashing to the ground. Now that's the Genesect we all know and love!

"Bringing this Genesect along with us would be extremely ideal," Blaze said after witnessing Genesect's greatness, and the others nodded in agreement.

* * *

The swordsman duo of Chrom and Alvin were in one of Seattle's park, dealing with the countless number of Heartless and Shroobs swarming them. Neither swordsman lost their cool as they slashed away with their swords.

"I must admit, you're quite the swordsman Alvin," Chrom complimented the brunette, not losing his focus as he slashed away at a couple of Lance Warrior Heartless, who also wielded swords as their names implied.

"Quit it out with the flattery, I've heard comments like those for years so your words mean nothing to me," smirked Alvin as he defeated a few Armored Knight Heartless, and yes, their names implied that they wielded swords too. "Bet you don't know how to use a gun!" Alvin placed his sword away in favor for a gun, and he fired away at the Lance Warriors and Armored Knights, dispatching them and impressing Chrom in the process. The prince was too impressed to even fight anymore!

"Got outperformed by a swordsman who can use a gun masterfully...looks like I'm losing my edge." Chrom and Alvin would share a laugh at Chrom's remark, but the laughing would soon come to an end. A giant shadow would grow over Chrom and Alvin; the two swordsmen looked up and saw a giant Shroob standing over them...it was a Yoob, the gigantic Shroob version of the Yoshi race.

"Some bigger fish to fry, eh? About time we get a good challenge..." Alvin placed his gun back in its holster, and took out his sword, as he and Chrom got ready. "Don't know about you Chrom, but those Heartless weren't that tough as they seemed - so this thing better put up a fight."

Chrom and Alvin didn't have to worry about doing any fighting - as the Yoob was gearing up to attack the two swordsmen, a lightning-fast figure raced around the giant Yoshi, striking its pressure points. Yoob, now racked with pain, fell onto the ground, with Chrom and Alvin jumping away at the nick of time. Seconds later, Espio would jump on top of Yoob, folding his arms as he assumed victory over the gigantic beast; Vector the Crocodile and Charmy Bee now joined the chameleon, as Chrom and Alvin looked on.

 **Alvin: That blasted chameleon managed to defeat the giant dinosaur before I did...hmph. I could have done much better than striking the beasts's pressure points. And why bring up Chrom? I was going to do all the work, and have him clean up after me.**

"You two took too long, so I kinda had to intervene," Espio said to Chrom and Alvin; Chrom didn't mind Espio helping out, but Alvin was bitter that he couldn't show Chrom how better of a swordsman he was. "But no worries, you'll be thanking me later...we got some more work to do around here."

"Hold up just a second, Espio...I think Chrom and his friend here could use some help," said Vector, to which Chrom and Alvin disagreed with. They were just fine fighting by themselves. "After all, five heads _are_ better than two...right Charmy?"

"Ain't that the truth, you always know what's best Vector!" exclaimed Charmy. What a cute little suck-up, that adorable Charmy Bee was.

"I suppose Chrom and I can join your little squad, us two could be of great assistance..." smiled Alvin, giving a smile an evil villain would probably do. Was it right for Team Chaotix to trust Alvin?

* * *

"...and then I told Knuckles, 'You can't have girls dancing on your stage during rap concerts, they'll act like sluts and do slutty things!'" Sonic was standing at a hot dog cart in Seattle, telling a story to a bored as heck hot dog vendor while eating a chili dog. "But then Knuckles was all like, 'Nah bro, not all backup dancers are bad, there's a few diamonds in the rough here and there!' So then I was all like..."

"Sir, are you going to pay for your chili dog or not?" asked the hot dog vendor. That Sonic, dude was eating a chili dog and he hasn't even paid for it yet! A true vintage Sonic moment right there.

"Oh yeah, forgot to pay, sorry about that," Sonic took out a five dollar bill and gave it to the vendor, paying for the chili dog that was more than halfway eaten at this point. And just when the vendor hoped Sonic would speed off and leave him alone... "...so anyways, I was all like, 'Dude, have you not SEEN any rap concerts recently, do you not pay attention to the dancers? You're an up-and-coming rapper, you're supposed to analyze all aspects of a rap concert and get in the know!'" Now the vendor had completely given up hope, as he threw his arms up in the air in utter defeat. Suddenly, a Heartless, one called an Assault Rider, neared the vendor and Sonic with a guan dao in its hand.

"Um, sir, not sure if you're aware or not, but there's a big monster that probably wants to kill us," the vendor alerted Sonic about the Assault Rider; Sonic turned around and saw the Heartless, and ate his chili dog. No time for chowing down on food now - it was time for business!

"Heh, this guy doesn't look so tough to me..." scoffed Sonic, and then the hedgehog did a Spin Dash on the Assault Rider, bringing it down to its feet before performing his signature move on the Heartless multiple times until it was defeated. The hot dog vendor, despite being impressed by Sonic, now hoped for the hedgehog to leave him alone for good...but would you know it, the blue blur came right back to the hot dog cart after his deed was done, much to the chagrin of the vendor, to finish up his story. "Back to what I was saying...Knuckles was ticked off about my response, as evidenced by the glare on his face, and then he told me..."

"Hey Sonic!" a voice called out - it was from Tails, and the yellow fox was riding in a large truck driven by Barret. Barret would drive up to the hot dog stand, and was looking down at Sonic.

"You need a ride Sonic?" the burly man asked Sonic, as Tails opened the passenger door on Sonic's side. "Well then hop right on in!" So without hesitation, Sonic hopped inside the vehicle, and closed the door as Barret sped away.

"Thank you..." the hot dog vendor quietly said in a happy and relieved tone, his hands clasped together as if he was praying, as he looked up at the sky with his eyes closed. Peace and quiet...

* * *

 **Master Hand: Ah, the mansion is completely devoid of people, which means that I have the entire building all for myself! No litter left on the floor, no hearing the Duck Hunt Dog barking and wailing, no loud music coming from the Kongs' room, and most importantly, no Isabelle to repeatedly ask me how my day's doing! I'm Master Hand, every day for me is great! *giggles* Now the thought of Isabelle doing actual fighting just popped up in my mind...bet you she's attacking a Shadow Heartless ruthlessly with her clipboard.**

 **Glass Joe: Everyone has left the mansion to fight against the Heartless and the Shroobs...but I've stayed behind to save myself. I can't even fight against a midget boxer, last time I had to face one I fainted at the very sight of him! What makes Master Hand think I can beat up a single Heartless or a Shroob, I'd be dead meat out there!**

Glass Joe nervously walked around, his legs shaking, as he traversed through the empty Smash Mansion, hoping nobody was hiding somewhere to pop out of nowhere and scare the crap out of the boxer. Joe would make his way to Master Hand's room, and he would find the giant hand, relaxing on Wario's massaging chair. For whatever reason, Master Hand had a vendetta against massaging chairs, but now it seemed like the Smash universe creator finally got over his irrational fear.

"Oh baby yes, this really hits the spot..." Master Hand sighed happily as he continued to relax, before he sensed Glass Joe standing near the doorway to his room. "Glass Joe, is that you?! Why are you here, and not beating up foes outside and putting your life at risk like American soldiers do?"

"Sorry Master Hand, but I can't go out there, I would get myself killed!" stated Glass Joe, quivering at the thought of fighting a Heartless, even if it was a Shadow. "Just the thought of going against the Heartless OR the Organization makes me feel nervous and sweaty..."

"I can tell, you look like you were trapped in sauna...count this as motivation, Glass Joe - would you let a nice, nonviolent person like Isabelle put you to shame fighting the Heartless and Shroobs outside? I bet you she took down a giant Shroob just with the whack of her clipboard!"

"Now that you mention it..." Suddenly a Shadow Heartless appeared, and they it crept up to Master Hand. "Uh, Master Hand, there's something black heading towards you...I think you should..."

"Something black? You're not talking about Doc Louis, are you?" Multiple Shadow Heartless appeared, and they were all flanking Master Hand. "Glass Joe, that's very uncalled for, especially from you! Doc Louis, can you believe this man? You deserve a..."

Master Hand didn't speak anymore, as a flood of Shadow Heartless overtook the giant hand and enveloped him completely. The giant hand was screaming, as Glass Joe ran away from Master Hand's room, before tripping up on an urn. The boxer got up, dusted himself off, and found the urn lying on the floor, before picking said urn up and glancing at it and realizing the power that was inside. It was at this moment Glass Joe realized he didn't need to be Glass Joe - the Heartless just took Master Hand down, and the giant hand may not be the same once the Heartless attack was over. It was time for Glass Joe...to be Stone Joe!

"No more hiding away in the mansion like a ninny..." Glass Joe said as he looked at the front door, feeling heroic. "Everyone needs a hero!" Glass Joe ran out of the mansion, feeling the most confident he had ever felt in his life.

* * *

Several flying Heartless - Tailbunker, Avalanche, Wavecrest, Phantomtail, Windstorm, and Dustflier - were flying along with the Shroob UFOs in the skyline of Seattle, firing attacks at the city. But these flying beasts and UFOs wouldn't be causing terror any longer, as they were taken down one by one by Leia, who was putting her staff to good use. The nurse was standing on top of a statue, firing shots from her staff at the flying Heartless and UFOs. Dustflier was hard to take down, but the nurse managed to land a good shot on the Heartless, striking its chest and sending it flying to the ground. Dustflier would fade away into darkness as its heart was released, and Ho-oh would appear lying on the ground once all the darkness faded. The rainbow Pokemon slowly lifted up its head, and flapped its wings, and flew up high. Emil, accompanied by Itsuki and Tsubasa, arrived at the scene, and saw Ho-oh, and were amazed.

 **Emil: So is Master Hand saving the ice cream until after all the fighting is done, as a reward for our efforts? There has to be ice cream - I know Master Hand didn't lie in that invitation!  
** **Itsuki: Kid, for the last time, there's NO ice cream...Master Hand straight up lied to you if it meant drawing you to this mansion. You had no idea what you were getting yourself into...  
Tsubasa: Leave him alone Itsuki, it's fairly obvious Emil here...isn't the sharpest needle in the haystack.**

"Considering Dustflier was really a legendary bird Pokemon, the other dragon Heartless must be legendary bird Pokemon as well" remarked Tsubasa, as she and the others watched Ho-oh fly away. "Good thing Leia brought them back to normal." Leia would leap down from the statue, sticking a perfect landing, and saw Ho-oh flying away, its rainbow dust falling from its wings.

"Aw, sorry I didn't give you guys a chance to beat the living snot out of that Heartless," the nurse would apologize to Emil and company, who didn't mind, now that Ho-oh has been restored. "Maybe next time I'll save you guys another chance at beating up a weakened Heartless?"

"As long as you aren't doing our dirty work, it's fine by us," smiled Emil, as he moved in two inches closer to Leia. The blonde lad would soon regret doing this, when Doc Louis appeared, holding a chocolate bar. He wasn't here to check on Leia, was he? Why was the boxing trainer so concerned about Leia all of a sudden?

"Boy what in the world are you doing, why you tryin' to flirt with that girl?!" Doc Louis angrily approached Leia, who was now backing away quickly until he was backed up against the wall of a nearby building. He had nowhere to go, as Doc marched up to him and got all up in his grill. "Leia is already taken, do you hear me?! I don't want you flirting with her anymore, you understand?!"

"I wasn't even flirting, and besides I already have a girlfriend..." Emil tried to tell Doc Louis, but his voice was low so Doc couldn't hear him well. He was now looking around, hoping someone would save him from his verbal punishment.

"Boy have you lost your mind? 'Cause I'll help you find it! Whatcha lookin' for, ain't nobody gonna help you out there! Jesus could show up right here at this very spot, and he's not gonna help you if you don't stop flirting with..."

"Um, Doc Louis, I think Emil has heard enough, leave him alone," Itsuki approached the boxing trainer, putting a comforting hand on his back and leading him away from Emil. The blonde now looked scared as Doc Louis looked back at him, with an intent glare.

"I'll be always watching you..." Doc Louis said to Emil in a quiet yet threatening tone. Emil oughta stay out of Doc's way, if he valued his well-being.

* * *

Mario and company (and Entei) continued trekking throughout Seattle, clearing the city of any Heartless or Shroob, until they came across Zelda and Lightning, the two lovely ladies fighting together against the Heartless on a cliff. Pit looked up, and saw a familiar face standing by himself on the Space Needle.

"Look you guys, that's the evil ice cream guy I was telling you about!" Pit pointed up at the man standing on the Space Needle, grabbing everyone's attention; the man was in fact Master Xehanort. What ice cream guy would stand on top of the Space Needle?

"That's no ice cream guy, that's Master Xehanort, leader of Organization XIII!" exclaimed Link, recognizing the geezer's face. "He's the one who caused all this trouble..." Zelda and Lightning, having finished off the Heartless, saw Mario and company, and wondered what they were looking at.

"What are you all looking at, is there another giant Heartless afoot?" questioned Zelda as she and Lightning made their way towards the group.

"Even worse - we found the Organization XIII leader, Master Xehanort, on top of the Space Needle!" Yoshi pointed at the Space Needle at Master Xehanort...but he was now gone! Almost like the man straight up disappeared into thin air.

 **Master Xehanort: Seems like the forces have been dwindling down...just as I figured. Those peons are a lot stronger and we've given them credit for. But if we want our master plan to be a success, then we'll just have to do another...blast from the past. And our "ally" will help us out...time to make my - or should I say, our - dramatic appearance!**

"I don't see anyone up there, unless he jumped down or something," remarked Lightning, looking up at the Space Needle for Master Xehanort. "Even then, he would die from the height..." Who knows, Master Xehanort could be immortal! "So, would you care to explain how you found your little Pokemon friend there?"

"You talking about-a Entei?" asked Mario, rubbing the volcano Pokemon's mane. "It was turned-a into a Heartless by the Organization - we assume-a that Team Rocket captured legendary Pokemon-a like Entei and turned-a them into Heartless."

"I see...and Giovanni is still the leader of Team Rocket, right? I could see him selling out to the Organization if it means advancing the plans of not only for Organization XIII...but for Team Rocket."

"A smart, intelligent woman like yourself simply knows too much..." said a voice that definitely came from an evil villain. That evil villain was none other than Giovanni, who arrived at the scene accompanied by Master Xehanort. Xehanort really knows how to get around! "This is my first time meeting you all in person, isn't it? Well allow me to introduce myself...I'm Giovanni, and you may best know me as leader of Team Rocket. And this is my good friend, Master Xehanort. Would you like to do an introduction too, Xehanort?"

"No introduction needed..." Master Xehanort snarled, as he looked at Mario and company, who were ready to fight. "But I do believe a certain someone here has a secret they must reveal..." Nobody had a clue what Master Xehanort was talking about, until the geezer shifted his head to the side...

...and that's when Ema, holding her ray gun in her hands, tossed her beloved contraption to Giovanni, before grabbing Zelda and pulling her away from the others, as she took out a knife from her pocket and held it close to Zelda's neck. A huge turn of events that caught everyone off-guard.

"Ema...what in Hylia's name has gotten into you?!" Zelda questioned the forensics expert, who had a tight grip around her neck. This was a question that needed an answer badly.

"Had a feeling she was gonna turn on us..." Midna sighed as she waited to see how this whole ordeal would turn out.

"The heck are you doing Ema, that's my girlfriend!" Link scolded the forensics expert as he ran closer to Ema, who drew back from the Hylian with her arm around Zelda's nec. Link and company had no other choice but to keep their distance.

"Get back, all of you!" Ema shouted, sporting a side of her nobody had ever seen before. "If you ever want to see your princess Zelda alive again...then you better do as they say or there'll be consequences!" Ema pointed at Master Xehanort, who were really enjoying the shocked expressions on everyone's faces.

"Yes, that's right, you better do as we say or there'll be consequences..." grinned Master Xehanort, enjoying every little bit of this moment. "Now, unless you want your fair princess safe and sound, hand over Aerith and we'll put this whole thing behind us! And if you don't, then you'll see what this ray gun can do...and you won't like it!"

"EMA SKYE, STOP WHAT YOU'RE DOING THIS INSTANT!" called out Fox - everyone looked and saw B.D. Joe speeding to the scene on his taxi with Fox, Falco, and a nauseous Shadow. The taxi driver stopped at the scene, as Shadow got out of the car...and fell to the ground and puked. Fox and Falco got out of the car as well, and instead of saving Zelda, as Mario and company had assumed...the Star Fox pilots got out their cellphones so they could record Ema, who still had Zelda in a chokehold with a knife close to her neck. Priorities, man...

 **Shadow: B.D. Joe is the worst...driver I've ever seen...nearly crashed into multiple people...and didn't even apologize...and because of him...I feel...so... *pukes***

"Fox, Falco, I know you're prone to doing stuff like this, but I kinda expected better from you," Ema said to the pilots, who wished the forensics expert could shut up. Their patience was wearing thin.

"Shut up Ema, hurry up and do your thing already!" Falco snapped on Ema, making sure he and Fox were in the right position. "We're looking at the next viral video, and your talking is ruining it!" If Ema had to slit Zelda's throat already, she honestly could - but answers were needed.

"Okay, Master Xehanort, what's hold-a up, why did Ema have-a to turn heel on-a us?!" asked Mario, demanding a story. Time for Master Xehanort to tell the full story of what Mario and company didn't know...

"It's simple really - this whole invasion plan was in the works ever since Aerith came to your universe," Master Xehanort started off, going back to episode 24. "We're interested in looking for seven guardians of light, and we have scoured our universe for these seven...and we believe Aerith might somehow be one of the seven. So ever since she started living at the mansion, we've not only spied on her ever since...we've been also spying on each and every mansion resident, even when they were away from the mansion, if it meant getting closer to Aerith! It wasn't until Ema was offered a chance to stay at the mansion that we came to her, and gave her an offer she couldn't refuse...we told her about us wanting to kidnap Aerith, and our invasion as a backup plan, and we said that if she helped us out in retrieving Aerith...then I would revive a woman by the name of Mia Fey! Now Ema didn't know Mia well, but her friends Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey did...ooh, they would _kill_ to see Mia Fey back to life! Ema would've been a fool to turn our offer down! This whole time, we had Ema working with you, just to make it seem like she was on your side when in actuality she was on _ours_ \- and most of the incidents she involved herself in were set up by us to reinforce that!"

"As for this ray gun Ema's been working on...it was a suggestion from Master Xehanort," added Giovanni. "Ema has been working on the ray gun in spades since joining the mansion, and Xehanort even had her steal parts from Professor E. Gadd's lab during midnight hours while you were asleep - parts from a time machine and some universe transfer machine invented by Dr. Wily that helped Aerith get to this universe. Build both parts together, and...viola! You get this ray gun that Ema worked hard on! Gonna use it to execute Xehanort's plan B." Giovanni took the ray gun from Master Xehanort, and pointed it at the sky. "So, are you going to hand over Aerith, or not?"

"Then you'll just have to pay the price..." Giovanni turned around and pointed the ray gun up at the sky and pressed the trigger button, as a beam shot out from the gun and was fired up at the sky, where it would create a vortex. Monsters fell from the vortex and into Seattle, and they would spread about across the city.

"What exactly are those things?" questioned Lightning as she looked up at the vortex. More and more Unversed fell from the vortex, at a never-ending pace.

"Those things you speak of are called the Unversed," explained Master Xehanort, looking over the cliff as the monsters did their thing. "They're composed of negative emotion, produced by a former apprentice of mine...but, if you wish to give me Aerith, then I'll take these monsters away, and I'll put this invasion to an end." Master Xehanort summoned a dark corridor, and Giovanni went through it. "I'll give you a lot to think about, Mario and friends - and if you ever want to see your precious Zelda again, then you better do as I say! Let's get moving, Ema Skye!"

So Master Xehanort went through the dark corridor, leaving the passage open for Ema. The forensics expert, who still held Zelda captive, looked at the residents she lived, and felt some remorse - clearly she did not what she wanted, but rather what Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey wanted. And in the end, she betrayed the residents and now left with Mario and company a sour taste in their mouths.

"I'm sorry I had to do this but...I felt like I had no other choice," was Ema's only words as she took Zelda with her into the dark corridor, which vanished once the forensics expert had entered. Nothing but awkward silence now, as Fox and Falco put away their cellphones, too dismayed to have recorded a single thing, and Shadow continued to vomit until he was through.

 **Pit: Does this mean that Ema was really a friend who was in fact an enemy? Or an enemy who was really our friend? Was she both, for that matter? I'm too hurt and confused to know...**

Soon Barret would arrive at the scene, driving his large vehicle up to the cliff and nearly crushing B.D. Joe's taxi in the process. He, Sonic, and Tails got out, and saw the vortex, and the Unversed falling down.

"Yo, a giant vortex in the sky with monsters falling from it!" observed Barret, as the vortex was getting smaller and smaller. "These Organization punks are really giving it their all, huh?! Doesn't matter, this just means more butt for us to kick!"

"Mario, do you know how that vortex got there?" Tails asked the plumber, who was distraught by the events that transpired. Mario had never felt betrayed since...heck, the plumber didn't even know!

"Let's just-a say...that we got-a betrayed, Tails," was the only response Mario could provide.


	78. Episode 78: Invasion Part 2

_Author's Note:_

 _A little heads-up - chapter 57 has the content of chapter 58 for some reason, and I'm trying to solve this issue at hand. Just wanted to let you know. On to the reviews:_

 _"Running out of characters for you to add. Can you add Wes, Rui, and Michael from Pokemon Colosseum and Pokemon XD: Gale of Darkness? The other heroes and villains from Fire Emblem Echoes? Gunvolt from Azure Striker Gunvolt? The characters from Final Fantasy X and X-2? A Final Fantasy Explorers chapter? Is Pauline gonna show up at Mario and Peach's wedding? And finally is Alvin going to backstab the characters for comedic or dramatic purposes?"_

 _Characters from Pokemon Colosseum, Fire Emblem Echoes, Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy Explorers, and Azure Striker Gunvolt will be added. Pauline will show up at the wedding. And Alvin...won't spoil anything about him. Another guest review:_

 _"When are Lann and Reynn going to appear in the series? Also, can you make Aqua, Ventus and Terra from Birth by Sleep appear in Smash Life?"_

 _They'll show up shortly after the wedding. As for Aqua, Ventus, Terra...they won't appear, for various reasons. Our last reviewer of the day is TrekkieNerd:_

 _"Are you gonna do something special when Star Trek Discovey comes out?"_

 _Gotta find out when Star Trek: Discovery will debut. It will presumably air this fall._

* * *

 **Episode 78: Invasion Part 2**

Just when it seemed like the forces of the Heartless and the Shroobs were weakening a little, thanks to those fighting against Organization XIII's resistance, Master Xehanort and Giovanni would take their invasion to a whole other level when they used a ray gun to create a vortex of Unversed, these creatures likely hailing from Aerith's universe, but wrecking havoc in the past.

Master Xehanort best described the Unversed as creatures composed of negative emotions, and to be frank, they were seriously causing a lot of negativity in Seattle, as they were now helping the Heartless and Shroobs to keep the invasion going. But there were some negative emotions building up inside Mario and company, as they stood on the cliff...and it was because of one woman, Ema Skye.

As it turned out, the forensics expert was lowkey working for the Organization - she had no qualms about joining the mansion, until Master Xehanort came to her and promised to revive Mia Fey - a deceased friend of Phoenix Wright and the late sister of Phoenix's assistant, Maya Fey - if she helped out with Organization XIII's plans. It was Ema who invented the ray gun that would be used to send out the Unversed, as she was instructed by Master Xehanort to steal certain parts for said gun from Professor E. Gadd's laboratory. So this whole time, a con artist was living in the mansion with the other residents, and nobody even knew about it...

"So you're telling me that Ema really was a double agent for the Organization this WHOLE time?!" exclaimed Sonic, after Mario recounted the whole story to the hedgehog, Tails, and Barret. Barret wasn't that all shocked, since he hardly knew Ema, but Sonic and Tails were completely astonished. "I know I might get a lot of flak for saying this, but I think it's awesome that a double agent was living with us for like seven months! Adds so much mystery and intrigue and..."

"Bet you don't think that ray gun being used to send out the Unversed is awesome," remarked Lightning, effectively shutting up Sonic. Now that the hedgehog thought about it, it certainly wasn't fun anymore.

 **Midna: *smirks* Hehehe...I had a glut feeling Ema was up to no good. Seriously, the woman is a forensics expert, why would she be building some ray gun in the first place? That should have been a clue that Ema was hiding something, and that she was likely working for someone during her stay at the mansion...and if today's any indication, her stay will end today. But still, how did anyone not know Ema was trouble? People are becoming stupider each and every waking day...**

"Obviously somebody's gotta beat up these Unversed fools, it's not like they can beat up themselves," said Barret, although the Unversed defeating themselves would be most convenient for everyone. "So I'ma head back down to downtown Seattle and clean things up. You boys ready to go?" Barret asked Sonic and Tails.

"Sure thing Barret...unless anyone else would like to join us," Tails responded, glancing at Mario and company. Who would be willing to ride along Barret? Mario? Link? Pit? Lightning? Or what about Fox or Falco?

"I guess I'll tag along with you losers," volunteered Shadow, who was finished vomiting - thereby leaving his stomach empty and his nauseousness go away. "B.D. Joe here is a pretty terrible driver, I'd rather be stuck at sea and struck by lightning twice at the same time than go on another ride with Joe..."

"You don't even mean that!" frowned B.D. Joe, folding his arms in disgust. B.D. Joe may not be the best driver around (just watch any video of _Crazy Taxi_ on YouTube and you'll see), but Shadow still wasn't taking any chances. "Come along for one more ride Shadow, I'll drive even better!"

"Don't try and allure me with your silly promises, I'm not gonna take any risks with you," Shadow said to B.D. Joe as he entered Barret's vehicle without Barret giving the hedgehog any jurisdiction. That was Shadow being Shadow - doing things his way regardless of anything anyone tells him. "What are you punks waiting for, - let's get moving!" Shadow snapped on Barret, Sonic, and Tails. "This dumb invasion is messing my day up, and I want it to be over with immediately!"

"Man, talk about being a bitter sourpuss..." Barret muttered under his breath as he, Sonic, and Tails got inside the vehicle and buckled their seat belts. Shadow, believing he was about everything and anything, decided not to buckle his seat belt. We'll see if he'll wind up regretting his decision later. "Me and my boys are gonna teach those Unversed a lesson - you guys should focus on rescuing Zelda and finding the whereabouts of Organization XIII and Giovanni! And maybe even the leader of the Shroobs, if she's here!" Any idea who that is? "Stay safe out there!" And with that, Barret drove off to return to the fighting.

"We should be going too - got a major bone to pick with Ema soon, if I even see that woman again," said Fox; considering how the pilot and Falco interacted with Ema since episode 47, there was no doubt that the Star Fox pilots felt the most ticked out of anyone else. "Pit, Kirby, Yoshi - you three wanna come with us? We got some room in the back - and in the trunk too!" Who would ride in the trunk? Perhaps Kirby, he would willingly agree to being used as an actual car wheel. That would sure come in handy if B.D. Joe were to experience a flat tire.

"Wouldn't six persons in a taxi be unsafe and against the law?" questioned Yoshi, being a stickler for the rules. Unwritten Rule #23: NEVER be a stickler for the rules. You'll end up universally disliked or in some cases be subjected to bullying.

"Bruh we got an invasion taking place, you really think some dumb police officer is gonna pull B.D. Joe over?" responded Falco, obliterating Yoshi's concerns about passenger safety and illegal driving - like the green dinosaur would actually care about such things. "For all we know, every police officer in this city might be scared to death of the Heartless and hiding away at police stations, waiting for this whole shindig to end."

 **Wolf: Something I've realized long after the invasion began...not a single law enforcement officer has been spotted in Seattle! That means I can actually rob a bank, or a jewelry store, or even a cheesecake factory...provided those places I mentioned haven't been destroyed by Heartless or Shroobs. Nothing can stop me now, I'm now INVINCIBLE!**

 **Lucina: *reading off an alert notification on her phone* "Effective until 7:00 PM at the latest, all police stations and fire stations in Seattle will be closed until the crisis in the city has been resolved." *gives a deadpan look at the camera* ...you're kidding me, right? You're telling me that the brave men who save and protect our lives as their civic duty are not even man enough to challenge a single Heartless? Or a Shroob? At times I'd like to think how well off this city would be if not for us brawlers...**

"Can Kirby and I play a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide who will be riding in the trunk?" asked Pit, even though everyone thought it would be Kirby chilling in the trunk of the taxi and enjoying it like the weirdo he was. B.D. Joe gave the two goofballs a thumbs up, kickstarting the rock-paper-scissors duel between Pit and Kirby that was super intense, despite how short the duel was. Kirby drew rock, and Pit...drew scissors, meaning that Kirby won and the loser Pit now had to ride in the trunk. "Dang it Kirby, how come you always win rock-paper-scissors and I don't?!"

"Like I told you before Pit, I can only draw rock because I have no fingers," explained Kirby, as he, Fox, Falco, and Yoshi got inside B.D. Joe's taxi. "I've convinced you many times to use paper again me, but apparently making your hand flat is an increasingly hard thing to perform..." Pit didn't agree with this, rolling his eyes as he hopped inside the taxi's trunk and closed the lid...nearly chopping his fingers off on the process. The angel would definitely be drawing rock in rock-paper-scissors games for the rest of his life if his fingers were gone.

"Okay boys, buckle in your seat belts and let's get this show on the road!" B.D. Joe told his passengers, who all buckled their seat belts (except for Pit, who'll have to settle with tumbling around in the trunk of the taxi because of his stupidity). B.D. Joe drove off, leaving Mario, Link, Lightning, and Midna by themselves on the cliff.

"Since Master Xehanort wanted to add a flair to this invasion...how about I add a flair of my own?" Midna smirked deviously, as she floated over to Link, who was worried about what the imp could possibly be thinking about. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Link?"

"I think I know what you're thinking, but I hope that you're not thinking about what I'm thinking what you're thinking," replied Link, slightly confusing himself with what he just said, until Midna's smirk grew into a wicked smile. "Oh, please don't tell me..."

"Yes, Link...I'm about to do something I've just been _dying_ to do ever since I found you. Why don't we show Mario and the pink-haired woman...your wild side?"

Midna took the Master Sword from Link and pointed it at the Hylian, and snapped her fingers. Mario and Lighting looked on in shock as Link was transforming before their very eyes, transforming into a form the Hylian would take on whenever he was in the Twilight Realm...Wolf Link. Midna hopped on Wolf Link, who now had to follow the imp's directions in this canine form.

"Now if you excuse us, _we'll_ be the ones looking for Zelda - you two can just focus on finding anyone from Organization XIII," Midna would say to Mario and Lightning, with Wolf Link growling to show Midna how much he resented being a wolf. Lots and lots of bad memories. "Until we see each other again, look out for danger and don't get killed! Surprised nobody has died yet...though I could be wrong." So Wolf Link leaped off the cliff to fight some Unversed, as Mario and Lighting were now alone with Entei, making for quite a threesome.

"The three-a of us, working together, how-a very unlikely..." remarked Mario, who never imagined he would be fighting against the forces of evil with freaking Lightning Farron and Entei, the volcano Pokemon. That was something he could probably brag to Bowser and his friends. "You don't-a mind, do you?"

"Sure, as long as your future wife Peach doesn't mind," smirked Lightning, leading Mario to blush. Who told Lightning about Mario and Peach's wedding, was this Zelda's doing?

* * *

 **Dr. Wily: Criminy, criminy, criminy...I couldn't stop Ema Skye in time, and now she has given Master Xehanort that ray gun used to send out the Unversed, and now this invasion has...How did I know about Ema building the ray gun? One of the Organization members, Young Xehanort, told me all about it - how Master Xehanort asked Ema to build the ray gun and prompted the woman to stay at the so she could work on the ray gun. Of course, I wouldn't let this happen, so I broke out of prison so I could find a way to derail Organization XIII's plans...and stopping Ema before things headed south was one thing I had in mind.**

Marth, Mega Man, and Ryu, who were previously dealing with the Heartless, were now dealing with the new enemies that joined the invasion, the Unversed, and were fighting against three of the more common types of Unversed - Floods, Scrappers, and Bruisers. While the Floods and Scrappers were easy to take care of, it was the Bruisers that posed to be a problem for Marth and company...but the three managed to defeat the Unversed and get the job done.

"That should be all of them - don't know exactly what those creatures are, or where they came from," said Ryu as he tightened his headband, before noticing that a certain geezer was missing. "Oh no, where is Jorge? We didn't leave him behind and allow him to be killed by the Shroobs, did we?!"

"Calm down, I'm right here you buffoon..." spoke up Jorge - who was in fact Dr. Wily, having been forced by Marth to wear a poncho and sombrero to mask his identity. "Jorge" was standing near a street light, and made his way towards Marth and company when the coast was clear. "I didn't want to face those monsters, I don't even know what they are!"

"Frankly we don't know what they are either - though I'm assuming they're reinforcements Master Xehanort and the Organization recruited from their own universe," stated Mega Man, looking around to see if there was any Unversed nearby. "They kinda function like the Heartless, I will admit..."

"Marth, are you okay?" a female voice called out; Marth turned around and saw his wife Caeda, running to the hero-king with her troupe of Raven, Lilina, and Kamui following closely behind. Once she caught up with her man, Caeda checked out Marth for any bruises and injuries. "Oh thank goodness you're safe...we saw you fighting those peculiar blue monsters, and feared for the worst!"

"Yeah we all thought you, Mega Man, and Ryu would succumb to those monsters and die, thought you'd be goners," added Lilina, earning a frown from Marth. What a great way to have the utmost confidence in Marth and company's abilities, Lilina, how will they ever thank you?

"So Marth...who's this old Mexican man accompanying you?" Raven would ask the hero-king - it was now a make it or break it time for Dr. Wily. Will he keep his guise up, or will he crack under pressure?

"This man you see here...is a man I single-handedly rescued myself," explained Marth, hoping he wouldn't crack under the pressure too. "His name is Hector."

"But you said that his name was Jorge," corrected Mega Man, putting Marth in a sticky situation. Dr. Wily, who did not wish to be called Hector or Jorge, nor did not wish to be wearing a poncho and sombrero all day long, decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Getting about tired of this foolishness...time to show everyone who I really am!" Dr. Wily took off his poncho and sombrero in dramatic fashion, making everyone gasp as the evil genius revealed his true identity. No longer was he Jorge...or Hector. Just pick whichever one you prefer more, and stick to it.

 **Marth: Having to admit, the whole sombrero and poncho getup for Dr. Wily worked a lot better than I expected. Much better than that other idea I had, dressing Dr. Wily up as a mime. The attire wouldn't be a hassle, but as for the face paint...now that's a different story. And what about the whole boxing in thing, how would that go?**

"Dr. Wily, what business do you have here?!" Mega Man questioned his arch-nemesis, getting his Mega Buster ready as he gazed at Dr. Wily's newest creation - the cube he was working on earlier. "Working with Organization XIII I assume?"

"No Mega Man, just hear me out, I'm fighting against the Organization, not with them!" explained Dr. Wily, but Mega Man refused to believe the evil genius. "I made a huge mistake...they gave me an offer to control the Heartless, and I accepted the offer out of my own foolish ways. And when I was in jail, one of the Organization members told me about their plans...and so I'm here to correct all the wrongs that I may have played a role in. I just know that the Organization is interested in kidnapping Aerith, and I won't let them be successful!"

"Don't mind me asking, but what is that cube thingy in your hands?" Nowi inquired Dr. Wily about his cube-like invention in his hands. "Is it something that will make Organization XIII and company go away?"

"More or less - this cube I've built is a dimension cube, and it's made up of parts I used from a similar machine I had invented to send Aerith into our universe. It can transfer Organization XIII back to their universe, and it can also transfer someone from their universe into ours. Both uses can only be used twice." At least Dr. Wily was willing to tell others what his invention did, unlike some people we know... "It may not make the Heartless and Unversed go away, or wipe out the Shroob race, but Organization XIII is what we're most concerned about."

"I take it the Unversed were those creatures we just fought?" asked Ryu, to which Dr. Wily nodded his head. "So if we defeat the Heartless, the Shroobs, AND the Unversed, we can focus on getting Organization XIII out of our universe for good!"

"Precisely, and we must use the cube whenever the time is right. I'll be holding on to this cube till then, can't let it fall into the wrong...hands?" Just then, Captain Falcon arrived, piloting his Falcon Flyer. Falcon didn't find any point in using said vehicle until the invasion sprung up.

"You folks looking for a ride?" the racer asked the group, while Nowi beaming at her man. Nah just rolled her eyes, wondering what her mom saw in Captain Falcon...

* * *

"See any Heartless anywhere, you guys?" Yu asked his crew - Chie, Yosuke, Yukiko, and Teddy - as they were standing on top of a Seattle building, on the lookout for any Heartless they spotted. The Heartless numbers were dwindling down, and the same could be very much said for the Shroobs.

"No Heartless in sight, the others must have already taken care of them all," replied Yosuke, who was looking down at the city through his cupped hands. "Either that, or the Heartless spread out to the outskirts of the city."

"Yeah, and I don't see any Shroobs either - haven't seen a UFO flying about in a good while," added Yukiko, as a large Unversed popped up behind the _Persona_ crew, accompanied by four UFOs. "Do you guys feel like there's...something behind us?" Yukiko slowly turned around, and saw the Shroob UFOs and the giant Unversed, which was called Metamorphis.

"Ack, it's a giant Heartless!" panicked Teddy, before taking note of the emblem on Metamorphis - which didn't look like the Heartless emblem at all. "...or is it a giant Heartless? Whatever that thing is supposed to be, it sure looks scary!"

"Pokemon Army aerial force leader Shaymin, to the rescue!" a certain Pokemon called out, as a flying reindeer of sorts flew by, firing an energy ball at Metamorphis. This Pokemon was none other than Shaymin, of course (if you thought it was someone else, then something's wrong with you), and accompanying Shaymin was Red the Pokemon Trainer, who was flying on Charizard, now in his Mega Evolution form. Mega Charizard X blew blue flames at the UFOs, lighting them on fire and sending them crashing to the ground, before using a Fire Blast on Metamorphis that killed the Unversed and put it out of its misery.

 **Red: Oh yeah, Lucario and Mewtwo asked me if I wanted to be a part of their Pokemon Army. At first I felt honored, because I would be the only human being that would do actual fighting alongside the strongest Pokemon around...and as it turned out, Lucario and Mewtwo only wanted me because of my three Pokemon. So essentially I'm being used...and here I thought I would get to use some Jeet Kune Do I learned online against the Heartless. Been learning in secret on my own, and practiced on Yoshi, my live test dummy, last week...Yoshi hasn't talked to me ever since. Wasn't my fault he fell into a coma!**

"Good thing we came in time who knows what that floating alien-looking thing could've done to you guys," Shaymin said to the _Persona_ crew as she and Red landed on top of the building. "Not sure if it was a Heartless, a Shroob, or both!"

"Thanks for the save - we're not entirely sure what the giant monster was either," replied Chie, speaking about the Metamorphis creature. "Teddy saw the emblem on its body, and it didn't look like the heart emblem we saw on the Heartless..."

"Well, I saw a vortex earlier, and there were all sorts of monsters coming out of it...so that monster we destroyed must have came from the vortex," explained Red; good to know someone around here had some awareness. "Saw Mario while I was flying overheard and asked him if he saw the vortex...he told me those monsters were called the Unversed...so the alien creature must be some large Unversed. Just another bunch of enemies for the Pokemon army to eradicate..."

* * *

Speaking of whom, let's see how the Pokemon army is handling things...Lucario, Mewtwo, Lopunny, Gardevoir, and Gallade, all in their mega forms, were leading the way, as the Pokemon army were plowing through the Unversed while advancing through the city. The numbers of the Heartless and Shroobs were decreasing, but the amount of Unversed was quite plentiful.

"Come to think of it, I've yet to see a single Nobody during this invasion, or even the leader of the Shroobs, Elder Princess Shroob, for that matter," Mega Lucario told Mega Mewtwo while beating the living snot out of the Unversed. Perhaps Organization XIII was saving Elder Princess Shroob and the Nobodies for something bigger down the road. "Whatever the heck these new creatures are, they're pretty easy to take care of..."

"I detected a vortex forming in the sky, with the creatures falling out from it - they must come from Organization XIII's universe," explained Mega Mewtwo as he dispatched a few flying Unversed. "They act and behave just like the Heartless, I've noticed - so it's no wonder defeating them is easy. We've learned the attack patterns of the Heartless, and we've applied what we learned to these new creatures."

"Yeah, and if Organization XIII knew any better, they would just have the big and bad Heartless do all the fighting...but whatever works best for them, I suppose." Suddenly Mega Mewtwo stopped fighting, as he was looking out in the distance, like he had realized the oven was left on back at the mansion, and some lights were left on as well. Those light and utility bills would definitely be skyrocketing to the roof. "Mewtwo, what's the matter, why'd you stop fighting?"

"I've felt the presence of a giant Heartless making its way towards the city...truly must be the largest of its kind. And as strange as it sounds...I fear that something bad might've happened to Master Hand himself."

* * *

 **Glass Joe: Alright, so I'm now outside the mansion, and I got this urn in my hands...got no clue what's inside, but I feel something powerful inside. Usually I would be afraid to check out its contents...but I'm a man now, a true hero! Glass Joe, I won't be no more! If I wanna be a hero, I might as well be a hero NOW! *opens up urn, and releases a long, silver-haired man wearing black attire and carrying a sword...you know who this is*  
Sephiroth: Ah, finally free from my wretched prison, and now that I'm here, I must extract my revenge on...Cloud? *looks at Glass Joe, who is now shivering in fear with his hands blocking his face*  
Glass Joe: Pl-Please don't hurt me Sephiroth, I-I come in peace! Spare me, if you will!  
Sephiroth: You are such a pathetic man...but I see some use in you. Emphasis on some. Do you know about Cloud's whereabouts?  
Glass Joe: Cloud? As in like, Cloud Strife? *Sephiroth nods his head, like he believed that Glass Joe was a dummy* Wish I knew where he was...**

Cloud, Aerith, the Flying Man, and Professor E. Gadd were looking for a way out of KeyArena, any way at all, but there was one problem at hand...all the exit were blocked off! Even the entrance Cloud used to enter the arena was blocked off, what with a large object in front of it preventing an exit. It seemed like Cloud and company were trapped, with no way out!

"I would fly us out of here, but I wouldn't want to risk flying out through the ceiling and leaving behind a hole in the process," stated the Flying Man; nobody ever uses KeyArena anymore, so nobody would mind...except maybe for the folks that own the building. "If there was glass, I would fly through it, but that would be dangerous - what if the glass shards fall on us, and we start bleeding? And I would opt to dig underground and dig through a tunnel, but I fear that we might be lost and there would be..."

"...Professor E. Gadd, please tell me you have some wacky invention that would teleport us outta here - the Flying Man is starting to annoy the crap out of me and I really feel like punching his beak inside that stupid face of his," Cloud implored E. Gadd, expressing extreme interest in laying a beating on someone for the first time. The Flying Man was starting to get on the swordsman's nerves.

"All of my teleportation devices are back at my lab," stated E. Gadd; the Flying Man better get ready to catch some hands from Cloud. "Sadly we'll have to put up with our bird friend's antics until he drives us crazy and kills us with his annoyance..."

"...or we can kill all of you...except for sweet, precious Aerith," a low, deep voice said - a dark corridor appeared, and Xemnas walked out of it. Cloud readied his Buster Sword, the Flying Man got in a fighting stance, Professor E. Gadd...well he just stood there, like the goofball he was. "It appears that you saved Professor E. Gadd, our little prisoner...but we have no need for him anymore. It's Aerith that we want!"

"You can't have Aerith, no way we'd give her away to guys like you," said Cloud; unbeknownst to him and the others, another dark corridor appeared, this one generating behind them. "If you want Aerith so badly, then you'll just have to get past us!"

"Why would I have to get past you...when someone can retrieve Aerith _behind_ you?" snarled Xemans; Cloud and company turned around, and to their surprise, they saw Saïx dragging Aerith away, his arm over the flower girl's mouth as he dragged away.

"Oh no you don't!" Cloud ran after Saïx to retrieve his woman, but Saïx took out his weapon of choice, a Claymore, and directed it at Cloud, making the swordsman stop where he was. What a wimp that man Cloud was, scared of some silly weapon...must not be as tough as he makes himself out to be.

"Run along now, your woman is ours now," Saïx told Cloud, but Cloud, wanting to prove that he really was tough, and not afraid of some silly claymore that could...possibly kill people, Cloud ran to Saïx with his Buster Sword, but was promptly knocked away by the Nobody, as he landed on the floor, learning of the true power of Saïx's claymore. Thankfully the dude didn't die.

"Face it Cloud, we now have Aerith in your possession, and there's nothing you and your friends can do about it," said Xemnas, as Cloud tried to lift himself up from the floor, despite being racked with pain. "So why don't we take our prey with us, so that we can..."

Right before Xemnas could finish, the Nobody suffered from a little deja vu...as the Falcon Flyer came crashing through the KeyArena and running over poor Xemnas in the process. Everyone except for the ailing Xemnas looked on in shock as Captain Falcon and his passengers - Dr. Wily, Marth, Mega Man, Ryu, and Caeda's troupe - hopped out of the Flying Falcon. somehow unscathed. Surely Captain Falcon wasn't the one driving the vehicle.

 **Marth: Amazingly, we all survived the ride in Captain Falcon's flying machine of death, and without injury...talk about cheating death. But the Falcon Flyer _wouldn't_ be a flying machine of death...if it weren't for the person driving it.**

"Some top notch driving right there Nowi, I'm really impressed!" Captain Falcon commended the half-Manakete for whatever reason, just being nice to his girlfriend. Also, what in his mind convinced him that having a childish person like Nowi operate a flying vehicle for the first time was a good idea? While Captain Falcon was doing everything to be a good boyfriend, he may be taking things too far.

"Thank you Captain Falcon, I'd knew you had a great time!" exclaimed Nowi, although none of the other passengers necessarily enjoyed Nowi's driving. Especially Nah, who was facepalming at her mother and now wished she had a different upbringing.

"What in the...what is going on, where did you all come from?" questioned Saïx, wondering where Captain Falcon and company came from. When our fateful heroes saw Aerith in Saïx's clutch, they all got on the offensive, but that didn't do much to release Aerith. "And what are you doing with those cravens, Dr. Wily, I thought you were supposed to work with us! We had a deal, we even gave you control of the Heartless!"

"Yes, we had a deal...but now the deal is off!" stated Dr. Wily, as he got his cube ready. "The deal is off for one reason, and one reason only...I've detected a flaw in your plan! When one of your members, Young Xehanort, went over the details about your little plan, he stressed the importance of kidnapping Aerith, whom you believe is one of the Seven Guardians of Light, and to be one of the seven, Xehanort said you had to wield this blade, called the Keyblade...AND AERITH HAS NEVER EVEN WIELDED A KEYBLADE BEFORE!" This left Saïx stunned - how did he and the Organization possibly goof up?! "I should know, there was another Aerith that died some time ago, and I'm sure if they she wielded a Keyblade...then that Aerith would wield a Keyblade too!"

"You're telling me that there was another Aerith? And that this Aerith in my possession isn't even a Keyblade wielder? We've been lied to, we were told that the seventh Guardian of Light was likely a woman who was adorned in pink..."

"My...back..." Xemnas writhed in pain, as he crawled away from the Falcon Flyer. Why couldn't the Nobody just be run over by Master Hand's Lamborghini again?

"But no worries Saïx, with this invention in my hands, I can easily teleport one of the Guardians of Light right here, so that you and your pals can leave this universe once and for all! I know how you want the Seven Guardians of Light yourselves, so you can keep them away for good and focus on your other goals, so consider this as making up for my...betrayal." Mega Man and company would stop Dr. Wily, but it seemed like the evil genius knew what he was doing.

"This better be the person we're looking for, otherwise I'd have to kill you on the spot..." Understanding the stakes that were against him, Dr. Wily turned on his cube, and pressed one of the two buttons on it. A blinding burst of light was the result of pressing the button, as everyone shielded their eyes, and once the light went away, there was someone now standing in front of Dr. Wily and company...a guy with brown spiky hair, blue eyes, tanned skin, and a black attire, wielding some blade that resembled a key in his hands. Saïx knew this fellow all too well...

"No...it can't be..." the Nobody said in disbelief as he released his hold on Aerith, pushing her away, while the still ailing Xemnas shared a similar disbelief. Saïx was so distraught, that he literally had to utter the name of the boy he was looking at. "...Sora?!"

 **Dr. Wily: *grinning as he twists his mustache* Ah, my alternate universe cube worked better than I expected! Bonus points for Sora having his Keyblade with him, made things much more convenient. I learned about Sora when I conducted some "research" on his universe upon returning to my lab, looking for a viable candidate to put a dent in Organization XIII's plans. I had three other potential candidates in mind the more I did my research, but their surprise appearances simply couldn't be done...one is comatose, one is stuck in what is essentially Hell in Sora's universe, and one is actually taking up _two_ vessels of the Organization, figuratively speaking. Try and guess who those two are.**

"What's the matter Saïx, you scared to see me again?" Sora asked the Nobody as he readied the key-looking blade in his hands, fittingly called the Keyblade. "How about we fight again, just for old time's sake!"

"B-But how, how are you here?!" questioned Saïx, still distraught as ever. "This is just what we needed...don't be so gleeful Sora, we'll be coming for you later!" Saïx summoned a dark corridor and went through it, and right before Sora could chase after the Nobody, the dark corridor vanished. Xemnas secretly summoned a dark corridor as well and crawled through it, still in pain. Organization XIII now had Sora to deal with...he was already a pest to them in the past.

"If what Saïx said is any indication, the rest of Organization XIII must be lurking around..." Sora thought out loud, as the others were marveling at the sight of the Keyblade wielder. "...eh, as long as I can take 'em out, then it's all good." Sora turned to face Aerith, who was now safe and sound from Saïx's clutches. "Oh hey there Aerith, long time no see! How ya doing? Saïx didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Hello Sora, it's good to see you again," smiled Aerith, as she and Sora were now cherishing their little moment together. "No, Saïx didn't hurt me, but it's a good thing you came along to deter Saïx away." Don't forget Xemnas - Aerith must've forgotten about the guy ever since Nowi ran him over.

"Just doing my job as always, everyone has to be a hero sometimes..." remarked Sora, as he looked around at Dr. Wily and company. "Well, I sure as heck don't know what world I'm in, but it's pretty clear that you made some..." Sora would come to a stop, when his eyes fell upon one person he recognized...Cloud Strife. Little did Sora know that this Cloud was _not_ the Cloud from his respective universe.

"Any idea why this Sora kid is looking at me?" Cloud whispered to Ryu, as Sora was looking at the blonde swordsman with starstruck eyes, like he was a fangirl in the presence of a pop superstar. Sora ran up to Cloud, more eager than an eager beaver.

"Cloud my man, how you been doing?" Sora greeted the ex-SOLDIER, wanting to hug Cloud but didn't knowing that Cloud (or at least _his_ universe's Cloud) wasn't a huge fan of hugs (unless it was from Aerith). "How did your fight with Sephiroth go? Did you win? Ah, who am I kidding, I know you were the one who came out on top!"

"Well I did fight with Sephiroth once...happened almost a year ago. Dude tried to kill Aerith or something, but thanks to Tifa and I..." Sora furrowed his brow in confusion when Cloud mentioned Tifa's name; this was a detail the Keyblade wielder found quite peculiar.

"But how? Last time I remembered, you and Sephiroth flew up to the skies to start your duel, and then Tifa showed up afterwards and said that you would return soon. You're telling me Tifa somehow discovered your whereabouts?"

"Should we tell Sora, or just keep this playing out until he learns the truth?" Lilina whispered to Dr. Wily, while Sora went on and on and Cloud did his best to tune the brunette out. Now Sora was talking about how Cloud supposedly went ham at some coliseum, and wrecked the competition.

"We'll just give him thirty to forty minutes, at the very least," replied Dr. Wily, wanting to focus on the task at hand - getting rid of the Organization.

 **Sora: Tell me, what exactly goes on in this world that I need to know? Is there any bad guys being bad?...There's _multiple_ bad guys in this world?! How many?...Too many to count?! *dons Keyblade* Just wait until they get a taste of my Keyblade, that'll teach 'em a lesson!**

* * *

Corrin, Kamui, and their siblings - Leo, Camilla, Elise, and Xander - were going up against four Unversed in Seattle's shopping district, called Iron Prisoners. These Unversed proved to be tough foes for the Nohrian family, and at one point, all the siblings were lying on the ground after the beating the Iron Prisoners gave them.

"Woah would you look at that, Corrin and his folks just got pummeled by those strange creatures!" exclaimed Vector, as he and his Team Chaotix buddies, as well as Alvin and Chrom, arrived at the shopping district. "So who's gonna go over there and help them? Those bad guys are really creeping me out, especially the one with the giant hammer! Kinda reminds me of Amy's hammer..."

"Not so fast, we got more Heartless on our hands," alerted Alvin, as a group of Shadows appeared. Alvin and company could easily sweep the floor with these Heartless, though Alvin wished these Shadows were more challenging... "Let's take care of these pests before we help out..."

Before Alvin could finish, a bunch of large ice shards were poured on the Heartless, wiping them from existence. A moment afterwards, the Ice Climbers, Nana and Popo, leaped down from a burning Shroob UFO; said UFO crash-landed, killing the poor Shroob inside in the process.

"Samus was right, flying in a space vehicle _is_ fun!" exclaimed Popo, shortly after he and Nana leaped from the UFO. Technically the Ice Climbers were flying _on_ a UFO, not in it...but whatever floats Popo's boat. "Admit it you guys...we looked legit defeating those Heartless! Bet you're super jealous!"

"Like we would be jealous of you, amirite...Alvin?" said Chrom as he turned to face Alvin...but Alvin wasn't even there! In fact, the swordsman was now taking on the Iron Prisoners, fighting the Unversed like a boss without any help whatsoever. "Can you believe that, Alvin straight up betrayed us! The nerve of that guy..." Once he finished off the Iron Prisoners for good, Alvin turned to face Chrom and Team Chaotix, who were all salty about his betrayal.

"Chrom, Team Chaotix, it's been real - but there's more work that needs to be done," Alvin called out to the four; while Alvin was a traitorous fool, what he did was nothing compared to Ema's actions. "I'll be doing things on my own for now. Ciao!" Alvin gave Chrom and Team Chaotix a two-finger salute as he ran off. After Alvin departed, Corrin and his siblings all woke up from their unconsciousness, and saw that the Iron Prisoners were all gone.

"The chained monsters we faced...they're all gone..." observed Corrin, as he steadily rose up to his feet. Xander and the others did the same. "This can only mean one thing...I was responsible for making those monsters go away!" Corrin's siblings all rolled their eyes at their brother, who was making himself out to be some goofball acting like he eradicated all the Unversed creatures.

"Corrin you silly brother you, it's pretty evident someone took care of the monsters while we were down for the count," smiled Kamui, as Corrin flaunted about his "victory" and his siblings felt somewhat embarrassed for him. "We may never know who this person was, but we should be grateful that..."

"...YOU should be grateful that my presence was enough to make those monsters go away. The monsters ran off because they knew how capable I would be at defeating them once my consciousness returned! They wanted to save themselves!"

 **Corrin: Ever since I cosplayed as Grand Admiral Thrawn, I saw my levels of confidence completely skyrocket. I feel more confident in my abilities, and my strengths, and more willing to accept my weaknesses and faults!  
Leo: *appearing behind Corrin* Really Corrin, cosplaying? You went from some idiotic doofus to some loser dressing up in costumes? And you say that dressing up and playing pretend gives you "confidence"?  
Corrin: Leo, Leo, Leo...it's not called "playing pretend" - I like to think of it more as, an "artistic voyage", "art in motion" if you will. *Leo shakes his head and walks away sighing* YOU SHOULD TRY IT OUT ONE DAY LEO, IT'LL CHANGE YOUR LIFE FOREVER, LOOK WHAT IT DID FOR ME!**

"Would you look at that, the brown-haired swordsman did all the work for the Nohrian siblings, and Corrin is acting like he did some great deed," Nana said as she, Popo, Chrom, and Team Chaotix watched Corrin continue to make a buffoon of himself. "Someone oughta go over there and knock some sense in him!"

"Stand right here Nana, I got this..." Popo told his best friend...or sister...or girlfriend...or side chick...cracking his knuckles as he headed over to Corrin...and doing the exact opposite of what Nana expected from her best friend...or brother...or boyfriend...or side guy. "Corrin, you idiotic buffoon, you didn't defeat those monsters...because that was MY doing! Stop taking all my glory!"

"What is this 'glory' that you speak of?" Corrin fired back at Popo, as Nana facepalmed at her best friend/brother/boyfriend/side guy (is there such a thing as a side guy?). "Obviously my presence was enough to scare those monsters away - the monsters you didn't even know were here!"

"Yeah, yeah, you and your folks wouldn't be alive if it weren't for me, it was thanks to the ice I brought with me from the mansion's freezer that I managed to defeat those creatures. You all should be thanking me and kissing my feet..."

Suddenly a loud noise was heard, accompanied by the rumbling of the earth. Corrin, Popo, and everyone else looked around, wondering if there was some earthquake about to occur in Seattle...it was certainly no earthquake, but it was something just as bad, if not worse. Why don't we check it out?

* * *

"Did you guys feel any rumbling?" Lucina asked her troupe of Serah, Chun-li, Blaze, and Marta, as they were inspecting the outskirts of Seattle. "If there's going to be an earthquake, then I'm done." Accompanying the five ladies was the Paleozoic Pokemon Genesect, who was using its Techno Blast to good use by dispatching as many Heartless, Shroobs, and Unversed as possible. The ladies hardly had to do any fighting!

"I do hear some loud roaring up ahead - might be another giant Heartless," stated Serah, as she heard a loud roar followed by another shaking of the ground. "Sure hope it would be the last Heartless we have to deal with..."

Now on the fringes of the city, Serah and company finally encountered the thing that was responsible for all the tremor...it was indeed a giant Heartless (who would have thought) but this one was perhaps the biggest of 'em all...it was a titanic Heartless called the Groundshaker, and its size was enough to send shivers down the ladies' spines...Genesect didn't have a spine, so it just felt nothing.

 **Mega Mewtwo: Still not quite done with the Heartless, or the newer creatures that are now fighting along with them - Lucario and the army are taking care of the Heartless right now. But I'm afraid there's one large Heartless left, and it's quite immense and strong...it would take a joint effort to take it down. Right Lucario? *looks behind him for Lucario, who wasn't with the Pokemon army* ...Lucario? Lopunny? Where'd you run off to?**

"Ahoy ladies - you weren't gonna beat that thing by yourself, are you?" a voice called out from above; the ladies turned around and looked up, and saw Professor Kukui, flying on a Lugia. Four trial captains - Kiwae, Lana, Sophocles, and Mallow - were riding on top of Moltres, Articuno, Zapdos, and Ho-oh, respectively, and they were flying high with Professor Kukui and Lugia.

"We found these legendary bird Pokemon shortly after they were freed from being Heartless," explained Mallow, as the legendary bird Pokemon were making Genesect feel somewhat jealous. If the Paleozoic even knew what feelings were. "After seeing this Heartless from up in the sky, we wanted to take care of it because it enters the city and start some trouble!"

"While that Genesect may be strong, you can't rely on it forever - one legendary Pokemon isn't going to defeat a Heartless of that size." Even Professor Kukui was intimidated by how massive the Groundshaker was. "But six legendary Pokemon...now we're talking!"

"Your help would be most appreciated," remarked Marta - she and the others were gonna need all the help they could get.

* * *

Snake, Shulk, Reyn, Ness, and Lucas had just finished off a bunch of Shroobs, and just when it seemed like the four would be done with Shroobs, a Shroob mothership flew overheard, meaning that there was more Shroobs to dispatch.

"This better be the last batch of Shroobs I have to take care of, otherwise I'm heading back to the mansion and calling it quits," remarked Snake as he and the others pressed forward, before Barret drove by in his vehicle.

"You boys need a ride?" the burly man asked Snake and company, opening the back of his vehicle just by pressing a button on his dashboard. "Think I got just about enough room for y'all!" Snake and company were unsure about riding in Barret's trunk compartment, but it might be a (somewhat) smooth ride.

"Sure thing pal, we'll just hop on board...or in the back of the truck, it should be cozy in there," replied Reyn as he and the others got inside. Once they were all inside the vehicle, Barret drove off, chasing after the mothership. B.D. Joe would drive up next to Barret, joining in on the chase after the mothership.

"B.D. Joe you chasing after the spaceship too? I would question you, but seeing your passengers..." Barret glanced at Fox, Falco, Kirby, and Yoshi, who all look like they would have no problem with the Shroobs. Only person Barret didn't see was Pit, who may find riding inside the trunk of the taxi boring and lonesome (unless he was some weirdo who enjoyed boring and lonesome things).

"Obviously I won't be doing any fighting - I'll leave that up to my passengers," stated B.D. Joe, as he and Barret chased after the mothership. They wouldn't be the only ones chasing the spacecraft, when a certain Gunship would join in on the chase, flying in-between the taxi and Barret's vehicle.

"Hope you boys aren't trying to capture my prey; after all, I've been chasing that alien mothership longer than you both have," Samus said to B.D. Joe and Barret, her voice heard from inside the Gunship. "And if anyone here knows a thing or two about aliens, it's me..."

 **Samus: *wearing her Power Suit while Pikachu rests on her right shoulder* Been a long time since I found a great excuse to wear this thing again... *pats Arm Cannon* ...and it's only fitting enough that I can do what I love against the Shroobs. Fighting against the Shroobs (and the Heartless, but I've reached the point where I don't even care about the Heartless anymore) would be more grander if Anthony was here...I bet you he'll show up randomly and say some crappy cheesy line like "Remember me?" to a bunch of people he has never even met before. Anthony would easily make himself out to be the biggest fool of the entire invasion, and the Galactic Federation...and I would be enjoying every little moment of his humiliation.**

"Wait, so you're insinuating that the Shroobs were actually aliens this whole time?" exclaimed Pit, his voice heard from the trunk of B.D. Joe's taxi. "Man, this whole time I thought the Shroobs were zombified Toads or something! Why didn't anyone disclose this information to me?"

"Pit why are you even..." Samus was about to question why Pit was riding in the taxi trunk, but knowing Pit, the bounty hunter opted to save her breath.

The chase after the Shroob mothership would continue, until a mass of dark particles passed by, nearly knocking Samus off-course. The bounty hunter knew exactly what this dark mass was, and she was determined to defeat it.

"You boys keep chasing after the mothership - apparently I have bigger fish to fry," Samus told B.D. Joe and Barret as she drove away on her Gunship. A foe Samus once dealt with had somehow returned...

* * *

Mario, Lightning, and Entei were on the hunt for Organization XIII, and they would find several membersOr on top of the Columbia Center - the tallest building in Seattle with a height of 933 feet (967 to the tip). The members were standing on the building's roof, looking over the chaos and mayhem that was taking place.

"Guess we finally found-a where Organization XIII is-a located," stated Mario, as he looked up at the Columbia Center. Only problem was how to get to the Organization, all the way from ground level. Could Entei perhaps perform some super epic jump that would take Mario and Lighting from the ground, all the way to the Columbia Center roof? Sounds impossible, yet entirely epic at the same time.

"Surprised they didn't take over this entire building and held everyone inside hostage, if they haven't done that already," remarked Lightning, also seeing Giovanni on the roof speaking with someone on his cellphone. "What if they turned everyone in the building into Heartless...?"

"There you are Mario, we've been looking all over for you!" Peach's voice was heard; Mario and Lightning turned around, and Mario saw his fiancee fastly approaching, accompanied by Luigi and Daisy. Once she reached Mario, Peach embraced her fiance in a hug that nearly suffocated the plumber. "Not a single scratch or mark on you - you're still safe, just as I hoped!" Peach ended her hug after she said this, much to the joy of Mario.

"Hehe, those Heartless were-a no match for me...especially with-a this Entei me and-a my crew found," Mario pointed at Entei, who acknowledged the presence of Peach, Luigi, and Daisy with a nod. "Entei was turned into a Heart-a less by the Organization, and..."

"Outta our way, coming through!" shouted Yuffie, as she and Greninja came through, riding on an Raikou and a Suicine, respectively. Mario and company both had to jump out of the way as both Raikou and Suicine came to a stop, joining their fellow legendary beast buddy Entei. "You were right Luigi, these Pokemon really are strong! Stronger than I've ever imagined!"

"Oh yes, Raikou and Suicine were both turned into Pokemon too...Luigi, Daisy, and I saved them, and Yuffie kinda begged us if her and Greninja can ride on them," explained Peach with a smile. "I'm sure they're both having tons of fun!"

 **Greninja: *shakes his head in indifference***

 **Luigi: I take it that-a the pink-haired-a woman with Mario is Lightning Farron? Gotta admit, she looks-a beautiful...but second only to-a Daisy in terms-a of looks! Daisy, if you-a ever see this...I did not mean-a a single word I just-a said!**

"You've-a never met Lightning Farron, have-a you?" Mario asked Peach, bringing her fiancee closer to Lightning. "Peach, this is-a Lightning; Lightning, this is-a Peach. Of course-a you know that Peach is my-a fiancee, some-a one must have..."

Mario would soon be interrupted, when Captain Falcon's Falcon Flyer came through, landing a few feet away from Mario and company. Captain Falcon, who had dropped off Caeda and her lady friends somewhere in Seattle, leaped out of the Falcon Flyer as the hatch opened. Inside was Dr. Wily, E. Gadd, Marth, Mega Man, Ryu, the Flying Man, Aerith, Cloud and Sora..and Sora was chatting away with Cloud, wanting to "revive" the swordsman's memory.

"Kid for the last time, I've never met Squall Leonhart in person," Cloud tried to tell Sora, who wasn't convinced that this was true. "And I'm quite sure he wouldn't like to be called Leon. Never met any of the Gullwings either."

"But you did Cloud, you were fighting at their side against the..." Sora ran his mouth, until his gaze fell upon a certain ninja girl, sitting on top of Raikou. "Yuffie!" Sora exclaimed Yuffie's name, and the ninja looked around in confusion.

"Um, do I...know you?" questioned Yuffie; apparently Sora did know the ninja, as he gleefully hopped out of the Falcon Flyer to greet a chick who may have her own alternate universe counterpart in Sora's universe.

"Wow Yuffie, you look pretty much the same since I last saw you! Maybe you know what Leon is up to!" As Sora was now annoying Yuffie, Luigi looked over to the Falcon Flyer, and saw Dr. Wily and E. Gadd - two inventors the plumber kinda wanted to see.

"Dr. Wily, Professor E-a Gadd, how do-a you do!" Luigi greeted the geezers, who felt obliged to hop down from the Falcon Flyer and speak with Luigi. "Haven't seen-a you two since last-a June. Funny seeing your-a faces during this invasion!"

"Ha ha ha...we both had our own various ways of ending up here," chuckled E. Gadd, fixing his glasses. Very common tic of most glasses-wearing folks. "Organization XIII took my time machine when I refused to give it to them, and then they held me hostage in this city's KeyArena. It was thanks to Cloud and friends that I'm now free!"

"As for me, I knew what Organization XIII's plans were, so I decided to take action and stop them," added Dr. Wily, making sure he had his cube with him. "Apparently the Organization enticed Ema Skye, the brunette who's been at the mansion, to assist them in their plan - which had to do with finding the Seven Hearts of Light and holding them hostage so they could focus on their other devious plans. But I saw a flaw in their plan - they thought Aerith was one of the Seven Hearts...but in order to be one of the seven, you must be able to wield a blade called a Keyblade, just like that boy over there!" Dr. Wily pointed at Sora, who was still running his mouth with Yuffie. "Reason why this invasion is happening is because you guys refused to give up Aerith, and now that the Organization has learned the truth...I think they have changed their course of action."

"Ema Skye, a double agent? I never would-a have guessed! So what should we-a do to drive Organization XIII away?"

"We must send the Organization back where they came from with this," Dr. Wily held up his cube for Luigi to see. "If we can somehow get the leader of the Organization, Master Xehanort, to press this button I'm pointing at, and his fellow members are within his vicinity, then the Organization will be sent back to their universe, and we won't have to put up with them again!" Dr. Wily looked towards Sora, who was now speaking with Mario and Peach and introducing himself to the future married couple...Dr. Wily stroked his chin as he thought up of a plan.

 **Dr. Wily: I got the perfect plan to send Organization XIII back to their universe. If they want to leave in one piece...then you gotta give them what they want.**

* * *

Somehow, someway, by their own true ambition, several cameramen of the _Smash Life_ documentary crew managed to climb up the Columbia Center and to the roof, where Organization XIII belied. Whether they climbed up the stairs or used an elevator shall remain unknown, but let's just hope they went with the latter option. Anyways, the cameramen were hiding away on the roof, capturing footage of Giovanni who was still on the phone.

"How many times do I have to tell you, you were NOT planned to come with me to Seattle!" Giovanni spoke on the phone with a few Team Rocket grunts, most likely Jessie, James, and Meowth. "Thought I made that clear in our meeting yesterday. I'll be the one representing Team Rocket proud. Got it?...Okay, just don't bother me again, please! Thank you and goodbye!" Giovanni ended his phone call and walked towards Master Xehanort, who was looking over the city with Ansem and Xemnas. "So now that we've learned the truth about Aerith, what's next on the agenda?" Giovanni asked the three Organization members.

"A boy that has been a thorn in our side, named Sora, has somehow appeared," stated Xemnas, still in some pain from being run over by Nowi. "We had planned to make him a vessel in our Organization...so we suppose we'll pick right up from where we left off."

"Sora is a very strong fighter, and he has a lot of...darkness, within him," added Ansem, though Giovanni was unsure what particular darkness Sora possessed. "He would be a stellar asset to our..." Ansem would be cut short, when a wolf ambushed the Heartless and tackled him to the floor of the roof. That wolf was none other than Wolf Link, who was now gnashing away at Ansem as the Heartless tried to get the wolf off of him.

"Where in blazes did that wolf come from?!" Master Xehanort wondered as a large hand grabbed both Xemnas and Giovanni and tossed them to the side aggressively, knocking both of them out as their heads hit the roof floor. That hand belonged to none other than Midna, who gained Xehanort's attention by tapping his shoulder. "You again?! How did you get here, what do you want this time?!"

"Climbing up buildings is pretty easy when you're riding on a wolf..." replied Midna, before grabbing Master Xehanort by the collar and lifting him up in the air. Forget Sora - Midna must be Master Xehanort's number one enemy! "Princess Zelda...where are you keeping her? Tell me now, or I'll end you and throw you over this building!"

"Th-The princess is with Ema and the others in the Sky View Observatory! We ran everyone in there out, so we could..." Having heard enough, Midna dropped Master Xehanort and called out to Wolf Link, who stopped attacking Ansem and went to Midna, who sat on the wolf as they pressed forward to the Sky View Observatory.

* * *

With a lone cameraman now accompanying them, Wolf Link and Midna journeyed to the Sky View Observatory to rescue Zelda...but when they arrived at the observatory deck, they saw Saïx, Xigbar, Young Xehanort, and several hooded Organization members lying on the floor unconscious. Standing in the center of it all was Sheik, who was holding an unconscious Ema Skye over her back.

"Usually I don't tend to mind playing the damsel in distress role, but I'm sure you two know that I can handle things myself," Sheik said to Wolf Link and Midna, who were shocked, but not entirely shocked. Why didn't Zelda change into Sheik earlier? "Allowed myself to be kidnapped just so I could...gain some intel. Also nice seeing you back in your wolf form again, Link."

 **Sheik: Had a pretty candid private conversation with Ema when I was being held hostage...she only agreed to work for Organization XIII because she knew how much Phoenix and Maya missed Mia, especially Maya - poor girl must still be depressed with Mia's death, and how Mia died. Ema was doing favors for the Organization thinking she was doing something good...when in actually she was doing something very, very bad. So, after I turned into this persona and creamed the other Organization losers, I knocked Ema out unconscious and I'm planning her to bring her back to the mansion, so she can fess up to _everyone._**

"Well you certainly saved us a lot of work, that's for sure," remarked Midna, as Wolf Link walked towards the large window of the Sky View Observatory. "Let's get out of this place before any of these creeps wake up..."

* * *

Samus finally caught up to the dark mass in downtown Seattle, with Soda Popsinski, Heihachi, Eleonora, Bayonetta, and Presa fighting against said mass. Samus parked her Gunship, and her and Pikachu got out of the spacecraft to fight the dark mass...which was actually Master Core, now in its Master Giant form.

"Anyone know how to defeat this thing?" Eleonora asked the others, her arrows not working on Master Core. Bayonetta, who fought this Master Core on occasion before, was ready to provide an answer.

"Only the strongest of attacks will work on Master Core, and as it takes damage, it will change forms," stated Bayonetta, as she summoned a fist of Madame Butterfly, hurling it into Master Core. The dark mass screamed, as it changed into its second form, a Master Beast. "Aha, Madame Butterfly certainly has done the trick!"

"Perhaps another punch will finish it off for good!" exclaimed Soda Popsinski as ran up to the Master Beast to deliver a wicked uppercut, only to jump away in fear when the beast attempted to bite the Russian boxer. "...on second thought, Madame Butterfly might have to do the work for us!"

" _Or_ Pikachu and I can do all the work and destroy Master Core by ourselves," stated Samus, grabbing everyone's attention, as she and Pikachu started charging up. Samus fired a large Charge Shot, and Pikachu fired Thunderbolt, all on Master Beast, and the monstrosity screamed in pain before turning into its third form - Master Edges.

"Great, just how many forms does this thing have..." groaned Presa, too distraught to even be intimidated by the Master Edges. Not even the size of the swords made Presa feel afraid. "This better be the last form we have to deal with."

"Crap my Arm Cannon isn't working..." worried Samus, as her trusty Arm Cannon was not cooperating with the bounty hunter. Without a well-functioning Arm Cannon, Samus was pretty much rendered useless. "Do you have any electricity left in you, Pikachu?"

"Pika pika..." replied Pikachu, trying to generate electricity but failing to do so. That Thunderbolt he unleashed on the Master Beast unfortunately drained all the electricity out of the mouse Pokemon. Well worth the risk, though.

But help would soon be on the way, when a bright beam of light was fired, and struck the Master Edges. This beam was strong enough to defeat the Master Edges _and_ Master Core entirely, as the dark matter was slowly fading away due to the light. Samus and company were also able to make out a few Shadow Heartless within dissipating dark matter that were being destroyed by the light beam, and once all the dark matter and Shadow Heartless went away...only thing that was left in the center of the scene was Master Hand, who was sprawled out with his hand open.

"Master Hand!" exclaimed Heihachi as he and the others ran over to the giant hand to see if he was okay. "Please tell us you're alive! Do you need CPR? Granted you don't have a mouth...but I can find it!" Heihachi's worries would soon vanish away, when Master Hand slowly rose up from the ground, shaking a little, before outstretching his hand and sighing in relief. Just like that, Master Hand was back to normal.

"Ah, I feel alive and well again!" the giant hand exclaimed, as he looked around and Heihachi and the others. "I can't believe you all came over to see if I was okay! Especially you Samus, deep down I always knew you were a caring person...still owe me one for what you did to my Lamborghini."

 **Samus: Totally forgot Master Hand still owns a Lamborghini...I pray and hope that the Heartless destroyed that overrated piece of junk.**

"Obviously none of you saved me from the Heartless that went all Grand Theft Auto on me, so who should I be thanking?" wondered Master Hand as he looked around for his hero. That hero would show up at the scene with a staff, and Doc Louis and Little Mac following her for whatever reason...that hero was Leia Rolando.

"Excuse me everyone, but did that dark matter stuff go away, I kinda saw it from far away and I wanna know if it's gone," Leia said to the group. Little did she know that the dark matter was actually Master Hand...who now grabbed the nurse and held her real tight. "Hey, Master Hand, what gives? Put me down!"

"Leia, you saved me from those stupid Heartless! Don't know what that staff of yours does, but I know that it got the job done, and now I'm saved! Normally I refuse to tell others this, but...Leia Rolando, you're my hero!" Would what Master Hand is doing to Leia constitute as a hug?

"Enough with the flattery, just put me down already..." Midna was right - maybe Leia really was more than just a nurse.

* * *

Barret and B.D. Joe finally reach the Shroob mothership, which was positioned near the Space Needle. Barret, B.D. Joe, and their occupants all got out of their vehicles to confront the mothership, which had a large laser gun sticking out of it.

"It's not going to obliterate the Space Needle, is it?" fretted Ness, but his concerns would soon be met when the mothership directed the laser gun at the Space Needle. Of course the Shroobs would go after the most notable landmark in the city...

"We can't just stand around and let the Shroobs destroy valuable public property!" stated Fox; the Space Needle, being "valuable public property"? "Time to take action and stop these fools!" Fox whipped out his Blaster, and fired shots at the mothership. The mothership turned its attention to Fox and company...and reverted their attention back to the Space Needle they were preparing to destroy. "...good thing I didn't waste any ammo."

"I would take down this mothership with a rocket launcher...but I forgot where I put that darn thing," said Snake, scratching his beard. Memory loss must be a truly terrible thing. "Curse you accelerated age..."

Pit, the only person in the group that could fly, would see if he could take the mothership down, but the angel didn't have to...as a flying figure slashed the mothership's laser gun completely with a long sword, before slashing the mothership and sending it crashing to the ground, a couple of yards away from the men. The figure would descend to the ground afterwards, revealing himself to be none other than Sephiroth. The group was in awe of the one-winged angel.

"Typically I don't work for the good guys, but I had no choice in the matter," stated Sephiroth, brushing his hair back. "That craven over there put me up to it." That craven was none other than Glass Joe, who arrived at the scene feeling somewhat confident.

 **Sephiroth: Here I am, working with the most futile human being I've ever seen in an effort to save the world, when I could be using my time looking for Cloud...the two of us have still unfinished business, if you didn't know.**

"Move aside boys, the new and improved Glass Joe has arrived!" exclaimed Glass Joe, who was no longer scared of Sephiroth after the initial meeting. The boxer strutted his way to the downed mothership, as Fox and the others laughed at Glass Joe's claims. Glass Joe stopped at the mothership, and winded up his fist for a punch.

"You know things are headed south if Glass Joe has to do something heroic and impressive," snickered Yoshi...right before Glass Joe delivered a wicked, powerful punch, strong enough to send the mothership flying into the sky where it would explode into pieces. Glass Joe dusted off his shoulder as Yoshi and company looked on in shock, wondering if Glass Joe had taken steroids prior to the invasion.

"Just like I said, I'm new and improved, ain't scared of nothing now!" Yet Glass Joe was afraid of meeting Sephiroth earlier... "Though I wouldn't feel that way if it weren't for Sephiroth! Hats of to him!"

"I don't need your remarks, I only helped out because I felt like it," replied Sephiroth as he cleaned off his Masamune sword. "Now that we got that done, show me where Cloud is, before I...wait, what are you doing, why do you have that thing? You're not gonna put me back inside there, are you?!" Sephiroth panicked as Glass Joe whipped out the urn, and opened it; Barret, seeing where this was going, grabbed Sephiroth and threw him towards the urn, with the artifact sucking up the one-winged angel and Glass Joe closing the lid once the action was done.

"Cloud is _so_ gonna thank me later for this," grinned Barret, wiping some sweat off his forehead.

* * *

The battle between the Groundshaker and Lucina, Serah, Marta, Blaze, Chun-li, Genesect, Professor Kukui, Kiwae, Lana, Sophocles, Mallow, and the legendary Pokemon birds was still going on, as everyone was doing everything they could to wear the Heartless down. Four others would join in on the fight - Phosphora, Magnus, Tifa...and Shovel Knight.

"Come hither, foul beast, and receive a mighty taste of my shovel!" Shovel Knight dared the Groundshaker, who was already preoccupied with the legendary birds flying about and attacking its head. "...verily today would be nice!"

"Less talking and more action!" Magnus shouted to Shovel Knight as he struck one of the Groundshaker's legs with his sword. "You've been nothing but an absolute chatterbox, so will you please..." Magnus would be cut off short when the Groundshaker knocked him away with its massive feet.

"Aw Magnus, you sound such like a downer, why can't you just tune out Shovel Knight like me?" asked Phosphora...who wasn't even participating in the battle. Probably just wanted to receive the credit of actually being present.

 **Magnus: The work I'm doing in this invasion will be all in vain if I don't get any money. Sole reason why I bothered to come here was to get some good ol' moolah...I think that's how you say it.  
Phosphora: *scoffs* Only here for the money, unbelievable...I, on the other hand, am here looking for cute guys! Haven't found one yet, but I'll keep my eyes peeled!  
Magnus: So really we both have no business being here... *nods his head* ...makes sense.**

"It really would be nice if Lucario and his Pokemon army came by and killed this thing," remarked Tifa, punching the Groundshaker hard, but little did she know that her wish would be answered...half-answered. The Pokemon army didn't show up to face the Groundshaker...but Mega Lucario and Mega Lopunny did, and Mega Lucario looked stronger than ever.

"Everyone get back from the Heartless, I got this..." the aura Pokemon said, but nobody hardly listened. "I SAID, EVERYONE GET BACK FROM THE HEARTLESS!" Now you knew everyone listened then, as they all did as they were told and backed away from the Groundshaker. Mega Lucario took a deep breath, as he marched towards the Groundshaker feeling bad...in a good way, of course!

"Lucario are you okay, you look...different," Blaze said to the aura Pokemon, as a rainbow color pulsated around him. (Hint, hint?) The Groundshaker turned his focus to Mega Lucario, who was more than ready to kick some Heartless butt.

"Ran back to the Smash Mansion and consumed as much protein, calcium, and rare candies I could find..." replied Mega Lucario, tightening his fists and cracking his knuckles. The aura Pokemon meant business! "This ends right here, right now...FEEL MY POWER!"

After shouting from the top of his lungs like a crazed maniac, Mega Lucario unleashed a flurry of punches all over the Groundshaker, travelling all over the Heartless's body via ExtremeSpeed. This was enough to bring the Heartless down to its feet, and once he was done, Mega Lucario unleashed Aura Storm on the Groundshaker, screaming with all his might, as he unleashed a powerful beam. The impact did not only defeat the Groundshaker for good...it also resulted in a massive shockwave that was slowly spread throughout the area, and into Seattle.

* * *

"See those guys mingling about over there?" Wario asked Ike and Roy, as he pointed at a bunch of Heartless, Shroobs, and Unversed from a far distance. "Once I eat enough garlic, I'll unleash a fart of epic proportions that will spread throughout Seattle like wildfire, and kill the Heartless, the Shroobs, and those other things that fell from the vortex in the sky! Almost reaching my goal!" Wario, wanting to be a folk hero, chomped down on a garlic, before chomping down on another one...and another one...and another one...

"Should we...go take on the Heartless ourselves?" Roy asked Ike, as Wario continued to eat the garlic. Nobody was stopping the swordsmen.

"Nah, I wanna see if Wario will get bloated from eating too much garlic, I'd laugh in his face if that happens," replied Ike with a chuckle. But Ike nor Roy wouldn't have to worry about the Heartless...

...when the shockwave from Mega Lucario's Aura Storm passed through, wiping out the Heartless, Shroobs, _and_ Unversed completely. Wario, Ike, and Roy were stunned, and seconds later Wario's cellphone rang - it was a call from Dark Pit. The fatso answered the call right away.

"Wario, did you witness that shockwave that breezed through the city just now?" Dark Pit asked Wario on the phone, which was on speakerphone. "I'm scanning the entire city, and the shockwave wiped out ALL the Heartless, Shroobs...and those creatures we never saw before. But all those evil guys and whatnot are all GONE!"

 **Ike: Hmm, not sure what's more impressive...the fact that the shockwave wiped all the Heartless and company from existence, or the fact that said shockwave didn't destroy any buildings, or killed anyone for that matter. I do see some damage on a few buildings, but not a lot. Magic, bro...**

* * *

"Master Xehanort, all our members have been rendered unconscious," Ansem told Xehanort, the remaining Heartless having to bring the last unconscious Organization member to the Columbia Center roof where the other unconscious members were. "Is there something wrong, Master Xehanort? You aren't responding..."

"The Heartless, the Shroobs, the Unversed...they've all been wiped out!" exclaimed Master Xehanort, having witnessed the shockwave. "A shockwave came through and...where did the shockwave come from?"

As Master Xehanort looked for answers, the Falcon Flyer flew up to the Columbia Center roof, and hopping out of it and onto the roof of the building was Sora, holding a large sack in his hands. Master Xehanort saw the Keyblade wielder, and he smiled evilly...his future fourteenth vessel had returned to his presence.

"Hey Master Xehanort, hey Ansem, you two missed me?" Sora greeted the two, sounding _way_ too candid in the presence of two villains. Granted Sora was an easygoing guy, but still...

"Greetings Sora...I've been told that you were here," Master Xehanort smiled even more evilly, wanting Sora to be in his Organization pretty badly. Didn't care if the brunette was being candid with him, and not beating him up or anything like that. "Tell me, what's in that sack?"

"Oh, nothing...just the Seventh Guardian of Light I heard you guys were desperately looking for." Just like that, Master Xehanort's smile had more of an evil tint to it. "And, since I know you wanted me as a vessel in your Organization...I'm officially turning myself in!"

"Yes, Sora, that's a good boy, knew you would come around!" Sora walked towards Master Xehanort with the sack, while Ansem looked on suspiciously. Sora was acting a little _too_ nice. "But before you can turn yourself in, why don't we see what's in the sack?"

"Sure thing Master Xehanort, I'd be glad to show you what's inside!" Sora placed the sack down at Master Xehanort's feet, and opened up the sack...

...as Peach popped out from the sack, with Dr. Wily's cube in hand. Master Xehanort was shocked, and Ansem was just as shocked too. Master Xehanort, the master manipulator, just got hosed!

"You said you were looking for a woman adorned in pink...so here I am!" Peach exclaimed to a shook Master Xehanort. "Here you go!" The princess smashed the cube against Master Xehanort's face, making sure Xehanort's nose hit the button that wasn't used. A bright blinding light radiated from the cube and spread about, and while Master Xehanort and Ansem shielded themselves from the light, Peach ran over to grab a still unconscious Giovanni as she and Sora ran back to the Falcon Flyer and got inside.

"Enjoying your little gift, Master Xehanort?" Dr. Wily poked his head out from the Falcon Flyer to jeer Master Xehanort. "Enjoy it all you can, because it's gonna take you back to your universe, where you belong! And you can't come back either! So with that being said...tootles!" Dr. Wily waved, before returning to the Falcon Flyer.

"Dr. Wily, you can't do this to us, I thought we had a deal..." said Master Xehanort, the light from the cube covering the entire roof of the Columbia Center and encompassing all the Organization members as the Falcon Flyer flew away. "We had a deal Dr. Wily, you had your end of the bargain and you didn't do it...how could you betray us like this?! DR. WILLLLLYYYYY!"

Soon after the Falcon Flyer took off, the light shone brighter than before, then completely vanished, along with Dr. Wily's cube...and Organization XIII.

* * *

 **Captain Falcon: Today was a great day...got rid of Organization XIII, got rid of the Heartless, and got rid of all the other creeps that were wanting to start stuff. But just to make sure things are back to normal, I'll just do a quick scan of the city in my Falcon Flyer...**

"Ryu will you PLEASE get your butt out of my face?!" Daisy snapped at Ryu, as the princess was crammed inside the Falcon Flyer with not only Ryu...but Mario, Luigi, Peach, Lightning, Sora, Cloud, Aerith, Dr. Wily, E. Gadd, Marth, Mega Man, Flying Man, Yuffie, Greninja, and the three legendary beasts - Entei, Raikou, and Suicine. Yuffie really wanted to bring the beasts along for the ride. "I'm trying to breathe here, you know!"

"How about you get your face out of my butt?" Ryu fired back, even though Daisy couldn't get her face out of Ryu's butt. Also, that sounded wrong on so many levels. "Captain Falcon, when will you be done with your scanning of the city, so we can land?"

"Hold that thought Ryu - I'm getting a call from Lucina!" responded Captain Falcon, taking out his cellphone and answering the call. Calling someone and driving at the same time has and will always be a dangerous hazard, but don't tell that to Captain Falcon. "Sup babe, how's it going?...You don't want me to call you babe? Anymore? Whatever you say, babe...Lucario isn't responding?! Oh man...I'll be down there real quick...Bye."

* * *

Captain Falcon would land his Falcon Flyer at the site where the Groundshaker was fought; the racer and his passengers all got out of the vehicle, and saw a large crowd of people, consisting of the Pokemon army, everyone who fought in the invasion, as well as a few noisy pedestrians. Mario and company raced to the crowd and pushed people aside until they arrived at the heart of the scene...a seemingly lifeless Lucario, now in his regular form, was on the ground. Leia was doing her best to revive the aura Pokemon, as Mewtwo, Lopunny, and everyone else looked on with concern.

"Mama mia, what-a happened to Lucario?" questioned Mario, as Leia was now using smelling salts on Lucario...which didn't work.

"Lucario pretty much went full ham on this colossal Heartless by using up a whole lot of aura, and he may have lost all his life energy in the process," explained Kiwae, as Leia continued to work on Lucario and revive him. "Tried using a max revive on him, but it didn't work..."

"I'm afraid Lucario's heart must have been stopped - checked his pulse earlier and felt nothing," added Link, who was now back to his original form. No more Midna telling him what to do. "Would really suck if Lucario really is dead..."

Sora soon arrived at the open area, and saw Lucario down for the count, and Leia doing everything she could to revive the Pokemon. The Keyblade wielder wanted to help out in any way he could, and he stroked his chin in thought...before snapping his fingers when he came up with a brilliant idea.

"Maybe the power of love can bring this Lucario dude back to life," Sora whispered to Mario, at which Mario thought over. The plumber thought it was a good idea, so he went over to Leia and whispered to her Sora's idea.

"Really, you're sure it can work?" Leia asked Mario, who shrugged; either the idea will work, or Sora will be the biggest idiot at the scene. But it was trying this idea out, so Leia motioned Lopunny to come over. "You think kissing Lucario might revive him?" Going forward with what Sora originally suggested, Lopunny knelt down at Lucario's side, and gave the aura Pokemon a genuine kiss, a kiss that little kids like Toon Link couldn't see due to an adult like Ganondorf shielding their innocent eyes...

...and then, by some crazy miracle, Lucario lifted open his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Lopunny, his lover. The aura Pokemon slowly sat up, receiving some cheers from the crowd, before getting up and standing on his own two feet, receiving even more cheers as the crowd showed Lucario all their love and appreciation. Lucario, general of the Pokemon army, was now standing strong!

 **Meowth: That kiss...Lopunny gave to Lucario...felt so cheesy and somewhat cliche. Yet just like that friendship cake Fox and Falco caked, I strangely liked it...I haven't been feeling the same ever since I became Pokemon army lieutenant, I feel so sentimental...must be some sort of virus on me.**

"Lopunny...did you do something to resuscitate me just now?" Lucario asked the rabbit Pokemon...who gave the aura Pokemon yet another kiss. The crowd went "Aww...", as little kids like Toon Link were still prohibited from seeing this PDA take place. "...I'll take that as a resounding yes!"

"Guys, I have terrible news, my Lamborghini's been DAMAGED!" Master Hand showed up, the only person who wasn't initially present at the scene. Sounds like Samus's prayers were answered. "Went to go check on my boo, and I saw scrapes and flat tires and everything! I blame those Heartless and Shroobs, they must have..." Master Hand stopped when he saw Lucario and Lopunny, standing in the center of the crowd. "Did I miss something important? Blah, no matter, I'll hear about it from Isabelle later. Since I was busy with my Lamborghini...Lucario, can you provide me with an update on the..."

"...all the Heartless, Shroobs, and other creatures have been vanquished, Master Hand," answered Dark Pit, leaving Master Hand pleased. "Flew over Seattle to check everything, not an evil creature in sight!"

"Not to mention-a that we got rid-a of that nasty Organization XIII too," added Mario, leaving Master Hand even more pleased. He would credit Dr. Wily for coming up with a plan to send Organization XIII away, but the evil genius probably opted to go incognito, for now.

"Excellent work, everyone (except for you noisy bystanders), you all pitched in, and your efforts have paid off! Now we won't have to deal with Organization XIII OR the Heartless ever again." Master Hand looked around at the crowd, and saw Zelda standing with Link and Midna, an unconscious Ema still over her shoulder. "I take it Ema got knocked out cold in battle?" The giant hand asked the princess, who smiled faintly.

"Well actually..." Zelda started, as she looked at Link and Midna. Some things were gonna be explained soon...

* * *

While some of the guests left Seattle and return to their destinations (you know Shadow was one of those guests), other guests opted to remain at the Smash Mansion and chill for a bit. However, the many denizens of the Smash Mansion were told to gather in the meeting room, where Ema had to issue an apology to everyone, under the order of Master Hand. Luigi, Daisy, Yuffie, E. Gadd, Dr. Wily, and even Sora were in attendance - you'll see later on why the latter person was sticking around.

"Yes, I know I was in the wrong for agreeing to work with Organization XIII...but they gave me a very enticing offer, an offer of bringing back Mia Fey," Ema said to the residents as she was giving out her apology. "Obviously Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey had a very deep connection with Mia, and I just wanted to make them happy...but I was ignorant at the time, ignorant of the Organization and ignorant of how the deal played out. Since Master Xehanort was from a different universe, reviving Mia was obviously nigh impossible...but alas, I got all caught up in the moment. So in short, I just want to apologize to everyone...to Master Hand, to Zelda, to Mario, and most especially to Fox and Falco, whom I worked with a lot during my stay at the mansion. And now I'm asking Master Hand...if I can leave the Smash Mansion, effective immediately. I will come back for the wedding, but since I lost the trust of many people here, I feel like my time at this mansion is...over. Again, I'm sorry, and I hope you will all forgive me soon."

"Well said, Miss Ema, hopefully you can own up to your mistakes soon," Master Hand said to the forensics expert, who nodded her head as she took a seat. "Quick question: did anyone turn Giovanni in to the police?" Peach gave Master Hand a thumbs up. "Okay, just making sure. Moving on to rooming matters...Soren, where are you? Did I get your name right, Soren?"

"It's Sora...and I'm right here," answered Sora as he raised his hand; wanting to save himself from more trouble, the brunette got up and walked to the front of the meeting room, standing with Master Hand. Leave it up to Master Hand to botch Sora's name.

"Whatever works best for you Soren...anyways, I want everyone in this room (except Ema and folks living at Luigi's place) to look at your future fellow resident, who happens to be from the same universe as Aerith. Dr. Wily brought this kiddo from Aerith's universe to stop Organization XIII (as Mega Man told me in private), and apparently Dr. Wily can't send Soren...or Sora, back to his universe because his stupid cube could only work _two_ times, and for two different functions, and now the cube is likely history, as far as I'm concerned."

 **Mega Man: Never had a chance to tell Dr. Wily this...but sometimes he can be a gigantic doofus. That alternate universe cube he invented was exhibit A. Dr. Wily would make Dr. Doofenschmirtz proud...**

"Before I continue, I must ask Soren/Sora this million dollar question...would you mind living here at this Smash Mansion, until Dr. Wily can make another invention that can bring you (and maybe Aerith) back to your universe?" Master Hand asked the Keyblade wielder, who thought over his options.

"On one hand, I can continue my Keyblade training here...but on the other hand, I will miss my good friends, like Donald, Goofy, Riku...but at least I have Cloud, Aerith, and Yuffie!" replied Sora - oh how Cloud and Yuffie yearned to slap Sora in the face.

"Sora is friends with Disney characters?" wondered Rosalina, after hearing the names Donald and Goofy.

"There's a Rikku from Sora's universe?" wondered Geno, putting his _Square Enix_ acumen to good use.

"Figured you would say that Soren, and it's a good thing I picked out your roommates..." said Master Hand, as he glanced at all of Sora's possible roommates (sans Ema, Luigi's crew, and the two scientists, E. Gadd and Dr. Wily). "Soren, or Sora, you will be bunking with...Cloud Strife!" Cloud angrily got up, displeased with the decision. "Congratulations Soren, you'll be roommates with Link AND Cloud! That's like winning the lottery right there!"

"Master Hand how could you...why would you..." Cloud, now at a loss of words, stormed out of the meeting room. "Thought you were better than this, Master Hand," Cloud said these words as he exited the meeting room, feeling bitter. Don't be surprised if Cloud has to leave the Smash Mansion altogether, if it meant getting away from Sora.

"Don't worry about Cloud, Soren, I'm positive he'll come around soon. Just gotta be patient with the guy, he requires a ton of patience...Aerith would know. Now that I got that out of the way...meeting adjourned." Everyone got up and left the meeting room, but Sora was the only person remaining; the Keyblade wielder had his hands on his hips, and sported a confident smile on his face.

"Training at this mansion may not have been intended...but I suppose I'll make the most of my opportunity," stated Sora, before exiting the meeting room and closing the door behind him. So Organization XIII and the Heartless are gone forever, and Sora has moved in into the mansion...

...out with the old, and in with the new.


	79. Episode 79: Dearlybeloved

_Author's Note:_

 _Didn't feel like doing this but...in the next chapter, I'll be doing a truth-or-dare thingamajig, involving only female characters. Feel free to leave behind any truth-or-dare suggestions for the next chapter (and they have to be non-NFSW, and fairly reasonable) if you like - but keep in mind that this truth-or-dare thing will be done for only ONE chapter, and one chapter only. Any truth-or-dare suggestions that are submitted after chapter 80 will be ignored...and I may ignore any reviewer that breaks the rule. I may even remove reviews if I have to. So please don't do that to yourself. On to the guest reviews:_

 _"Since I've run out of characters for you to add here are some questions. Is Milla gonna have all 4 Great Spirits when she shows up? (Efreet, Undine, Sylph, and Gnome are their names.) will you resolve the mistaken identity issue that Ada went through in Resident Evil 6? Is Mikleo gonna be paired up with Lailah or Edna? Are Senel and Chloe going to be a couple? Would Viridi hanging out with the Resident Evil characters be good or bad for her character development? Will the characters from Baten Kaitos appear? And finally will you include other locations like, Station Square, Angel Island, Bellbridge from NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, Soleanna from Sonic '06, Kanbalar from Tales of Xillia, and Metal City from Sonic Riders?"_

 _Yes. Maybe. He'll be paired up with Edna. Senel and Chloe will be a couple. Viridi hanging out with Resident Evil characters would be good. Maybe. And all those locations may or may not be included. Second anonymous review:_

 _"Can you go back to just doing the ssb4 characters with not as many new people because while your story's are still very good they are getting to be a bit confusing for those of us who don't know all of these guests"_

 _Ehhhh...I dunno. Third anonymous review:_

 _"So uh, are you gonna continue this? If so, will Hero (from Custom Robo, specifically the GameCube Hero), appear? Like he was gonna come to help with the invasion, but didn't because... Some reason, like the invasion of all worlds or something. Also, could Isaac (Golden Sun) and Saki (Sin and Punishment) appear too?"_

 _This story will most definitely continue! I've been thinking about Isaac and Saki, but I can always include Hero too. Last anonymous review:_

 _"Are you going to add the characters from Arms?"_

 _Arms was released last week, wasn't it? A few characters from Arms will be making their appearance in the future. On to Roydigs22:_

 _"I have an idea to introduce Kirby and jigglypuff. Kirby inhales a heartless that's about to attack her, and it just so happens to contain a fighting pokemon. You can finish it up yourself."_

 _No Heartless will be appearing ever again, so I'll have to find a way to make this thing work somehow. Last up is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...will there be any more sagas like [the Heartless/Organization XIII saga] who will it just be Slice of Life chapters from now on?"_

 _Might be slice of life chapters from now on, until further notice...emphasis on might._

* * *

 **Episode 79: Dearlybeloved**

The joyous day had finally arrived - the day that Mario and Peach would finally be wedded. It was a day that everyone marked on their calendars...more exactly it was a day that everyone who _had_ a calendar marked on their calendar. Some folks just don't believe in using calendars for whatever reason, clearly they're not all about that life.

From the moment Mario proposed to Peach and made the princess's day, Pac-Man has been working with Mario, from August 4 all the way to June 23, to ensure that the wedding would be the greatest moment in Mario and Peach's lives. Thanks to monetary contributions from individuals like Lili de Rochefort, the Squid Sisters, and even Mario's arch-nemesis Bowser, of all people, the wedding budget was ridiculously high. And thanks to Cilan, a wedding cake that will most likely wind up destroyed before the wedding reception even begins will be provided to the wedding guests.

In spite of all this, today was also a special day for another brawler - Sonic the Hedgehog. Yes, the blue blur was turning 17 today, and while he didn't expect a huge birthday party for him due to today's festivities, he still expected people to remember that he was becoming a year older.

"So Tails, did you and Knuckles purchase a birthday gift for me, I know you have!" Sonic said to his best friend, standing in front of a mirror as he was fixing his San Diego Padres cap. Remember last year, when Sonic attended Luigi's wedding in flannel attire? Well, the hedgehog decided to go one step further for Mario's wedding by wearing a baseball cap, a Brooklyn Nets jersey, some jorts, black sneakers, and to kick it all off, a Gucci chain most rappers would flaunt around their necks. Expect Sonic to be kicked out of the wedding in record time.

"No, Knuckles and I didn't get you a birthday gift, neither one of us had any money," stated Tails, who was dressed more formally as he was wearing a suit. The fox would serve as the ring bearer at a wedding for the second time. "Though I would appreciate if you took off those jorts...and ditched your attire, in general."

"What's wrong with this attire, aren't weddings supposed to be fun?" Most of the time, not really - unless you do a intricate wedding dance. "I just want to inject a little fun and swagger to the wedding ceremony, and if I have to be an outlier...then so be it!"

 **Sonic: When John Cena wears jorts in the wrestling ring, he gets all tons of praise and people don't judge his fashion sense, but when I want to wear jorts to what may be unfortunately a boring wedding, I get openly criticized! Don't see what the big issue is, I wore flannel to the wedding last year and I never received death threats or anything like that. And besides, I wanna spruce things up a little - weddings in America feel too classy, like it would be done by people in royalty...but royalty is for the British people. Us American people, we're supposed to have SWAG, and at today's wedding, I'll ensure there's plenty of swag to go about!**

"Yo Knuckles is that you man?" Sonic looked out the doorway of his room and saw Knuckles walk by, adjusting the bowtie on his tuxedo. The echidna heard Sonic, and went over to Sonic's room to speak with his best friend. "Tails supposedly claimed that the two of you didn't buy me a birthday gift because 'neither of you didn't have any money'...can you confirm if this is true or not? Don't want Tails to make himself out to be a liar."

"Sorry Sonic but Tails was indeed telling the truth," confirmed Knuckles, disheartening Sonic; who knows, maybe there was a surprise person that bought Sonic a birthday gift, and might surprised the hedgehog after the wedding. "I actually had a fair amount of money myself, but I unfortunately spent it all so I could pay for Rouge's rent..." This led to dubious looks from Sonic and Tails, looks that made Knuckles think twice about what he just said. "...Rouge's rent for a car she wanted to rent a few days ago! Yes, Rouge is gonna drive her way to the wedding, can you believe that?!"

"But Amy said Silver would be taking Rouge and a few others to the wedding," stated Tails, digging Knuckles into a bigger hole. So Silver can drive vehicles? Must do so by the graceful powers of psychokinesis. "That's what she told me."

"Amy wanted to be a little snitch, huh..." Congratulations, Amy Rose, you just earned yourself the number one spot on Knuckles's hit list! "Eh, I deal with her later. Talk to you guys soon." Knuckles left the room, and as he left, he was shaking his head...either at Amy for snitching or Sonic for his strange wedding attire.

* * *

Cloud's first week having Sora as a roommate was not particularly a great week for him. While Link (and maybe to a lesser extent, Midna) didn't mind Sora and actually treated him with respect, Cloud was becoming infuriatingly tired of the Keyblade wielder thinking he was from his universe, and telling random stories to him if it meant "bringing remembrance" to the ex-SOLDIER's memory. Needing to distance himself from Sora, Cloud opted to chill out with Mario and Aerith, with Mario grooming himself and preparing for his big day.

"I don't know-a about you Cloud, but I truly think-a Sora already likes-a you," Mario said to the swordsman as he brushed his hair, even though Sora was fond of Cloud after "reconnecting" with him in the last episode. It's been a living heck for Cloud ever since that meeting.

"Too bad that feeling isn't mutual..." sighed Cloud, dressed in his fancy suit. The swordsman typically didn't enjoy weddings, but with Aerith around, any wedding wouldn't feel so drab. "Aerith, you know Sora well, why can't you just tell him the truth?"

"Aw, I would, but I don't want to break Sora's precious little heart," replied Aerith, knowing how devastated Sora would be. The flower girl and the Keyblade wielder had quite the history together. "Sora is but an innocent, lovely soul, and if I tell him..."

"...if you tell them, then he'll stop bothering me and I'll be left alone for good. You may not want to break Sora's heart, but I'm at the point where I want to break his face, if that will get him to stop talking."

 **Cloud: ...did I seriously said that I wanted to break Sora's face?...Huh, it's amazing what things you say and do when you get pushed to your limit. Hopefully I won't reach a Limit Break...no pun intended whatsoever.**

"Cloud where are you, haven't seen you seen breakfast!" Sora called out, and Cloud panicked. He couldn't risk letting Sora find him in this room, and he couldn't risk jumping out of the room window to get away from Sora either - a one story fall would result in a trip to the emergency room.

"Of course Sora would be looking for me..." frowned Cloud; he would hide, but stealth just wasn't in his nature. "Make sure Sora doesn't enter this room - I'm afraid the guy has another crappy story he probably wants to tell me."

"Cloud just show up man, it's not gonna kill ya! C'mon Cloud, don't be like this!" Sora's voice seemingly got closer and closer, and Cloud couldn't take any chances...so he whipped out his Buster Sword, and stood in front of the bedroom door, as Mario and Aerith wearily looked on.

"I know I may be in the wrong for this, but once I'm through with Sora, you'll be thanking me later," Cloud said to Mario and Aerith, and a few seconds later the doorknob was turning. Cloud readied his sword as the door swung open...revealing Peach, adorned in her wedding dress, the one that caught everyone's attention.

"Excuse me Cloud - I wasn't in your way, was I?" Peach asked the swordsman, who shook his head as he sheepishly lowered his Buster Sword and tossed it on Mario's bed like it was nothing. Talk about a close call. "I just need to speak with Mario for a quick minute, if he's not busy."

"Over here, Princess-a Peach!" Mario waved his hand so Peach could see him, and the princess happily trotted over to her fiance. Relieved, Cloud was about to close the bedroom door back...but would you know it, Sora instantly showed up, much to Cloud's chagrin, and with Sora was his new buddy Link.

"Ha, I figured you would be here Cloud - you and Mario are pretty tight, after all," grinned Sora, as Cloud wished the brunette would magically vanish away. Sora did know a few magic spells. "Must say, Cloud, this is the nicest I've ever seen you in anything, that suit really compliments you well!" No way was Cloud going to accept Sora's comment - instead, the swordsman furrowed his brow and turned his head slowly towards Link, looking at the Hylian with disdain.

"Link, the fact that you're willingly hanging out with someone like Sora, means that you're now dead to me until further notice," said Cloud, stressing every word to ensure that Link knew what he had done to himself. "Enjoy have fun with your new friend, pal." Cloud exited the room and walked past Sora and Link, continuing on his way. Two's company, but three's a crowd...and Cloud wouldn't want to associate himself with Link is Sora was around.

"Don't mind Cloud and his behavior, he's just being very broody," Link said to Sora, after Cloud had left. "He'll be back to his good ol' regular self again soon...then again, being very broody _is_ his regular self..."

* * *

 **Master Hand: Bad news everyone...No, it's not about my Lamborghini, but no worries, she'll be back in top shape once Jacky finishes repairing her. Anyways, the bad news is about the mode of transportation. Remember at Luigi's wedding, when we had six limousines taking us to the venue of the wedding? Well that place isn't quite in business due to that stinking invasion, so I gotta find another mode of transportation to get us to Safeco Field, and in time for preparing stuff.**

Master Hand was outside, pacing back and forth. The giant hand was about to make a last-minute decision on transportation, and he felt lesser of himself for not solving this issue earlier. He had called the limousine place yesterday, and when the person on the phone told the giant hand the the business currently wasn't operating, Master Hand let the caller feel his rage in the form of profanity, shouting, and even more profanity.

During Master Hand's constant state of worry, the giant hand had completely forgotten that he had not one, but two assistants that could bail him out of any problem...Isabelle and Ayaha Oribe. While Ayaha was more of an assistant to Fox and Falco than Master Hand, her value was still high, and she would show how valuable she was when she and Isabelle approached Master Hand outside...now in a somewhat fetal position. Hard to make out what position Master Hand was in, considering his species.

"Master Hand, why are you curled up like that on the ground, what has gotten into you?" asked Ayaha, keeping her distance from Master Hand. Good chance the giant hand might break out into a random crying fit for whatever reason.

"I dun goofed up Ayaha...I didn't try and resolve the transportation issue until the last minute!" replied Master Hand. "Now we would have to walk to Safeco Field, we would have to walk together lines and hold hands and do all the other sorts of crap kindergarten teachers force their students to do!" Walking in lines and holding hands? Many folks would object to that. Xander arrived outside, and headed towards Master Hand, wanting to speak with him. Xander and his siblings have been living with Corrin and Kamui since episode 76, since their dad kinda kicked them out of the kingdom, and the siblings were participants in the fight against the forces of evil during the invasion.

"Please forgive me if I'm intruding upon your time, Master Hand, but I just want to affirm my duties as officiant of the wedding," said the eldest Nohrian sibling. Today was bound to be a day of firsts for him. "Since this is arguably my first time serving as officiant of a wedding, I just wanted to go over..."

"SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE XANDER, CAN'T YOU SEE I'M IN DESPAIR?!" Master Hand snapped on the albino, who stepped back so he could give Master Hand some space; he had never seen the giant hand like this. "Oh what's the point, we might as well call the Mariners president and tell him that the wedding is off..."

"Actually Master Hand, since I know you're all worked up about this transportation matter...I had met with the woman who got you your Lamborghini, Reiko Nagase, after she took your car to the repair shop that one time, and I told her everything she needed to know about the wedding and...she agreed to have a bus ordered by _Namco_ to transport everyone to Safeco Field for the wedding." This was met with instant positive reception from Master Hand, who sprung up from the ground like he was never even distressed in the first place. "Yeah, Reiko, she kinda works for _Namco,_ and she relayed the news about the wedding to the company's higher-ups, and so they were considerate enough to afford this huge bus..."

"Quit talking Ayaha, I have heard enough!" Master Hand gleefully picked up Ayaha from the ground and squeezed her tight, like he was hugging her - just like he did in the previous episode to Leia. "Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for saving my hide! If I had a mouth, I would kiss you to no end!"

"Thank goodness you don't have a mouth, then..." remarked Ayaha as Master Hand placed the now aching woman back on the ground; Ayaha's sides were aching from how hard Master Hand was squeezing her.

 **Falco: Still no word yet on if we're doing a wedding dance down the aisle for Mario and Peach's wedding...it would be a darn shame if we don't do the "JK Wedding Dance" routine for the second time, anything else would be... _obsolete._  
Fox: Well said, Brother Falco, well said...it is nigh imperative that we make today the greatest day in Mario and Peach's lives, and in order to do that, we must do something at their wedding that would be... _delightful._  
Falco: Are we putting too much emphasis on certain words, or is it just me?  
Fox: I dunno Falco, but I kinda like it...picked it up from Pit and Kirby one time. We should totally do this more often!**

"I'll just give you some chocolate instead, chocolate is the universal substitute for kisses if you ask me," Master Hand said to Ayaha, before directing his attention to his primary assistant, Isabelle. "Ah, Isabelle, didn't see you there...I take it that you've been informed about the bus taking us to Safeco Field?" Master Hand asked the shih tzu, to which Isabelle nodded her head. "Excellent! Do you have any idea when this bus will show up? The driver driving the bus better not ask their passengers for money like most public bus drivers do, stealing people's hard-earned money is MY job!"

"The bus is free as charged, Master Hand, it won't cost anyone a single penny!" smiled Isabelle, as Master Hand let out a sigh of relief - the hand was one mere step away from raging a war against bus drivers everywhere! "The bus should be arriving within less than hour; that'll give us enough time to arrive at the venue and prepare everything for the big wedding. I'll go see if the others are ready."

* * *

"Yeah...I don't think I can Pocket this, Cilan," Villager said to Cilan, as the young mayor and the Pokemon connoisseur were standing in front of the gargantuan wedding cake in the ballroom - the very cake Cilan worked hard on. "Might be too hard for me to carry to Safeco Field. Sorry about that Cilan, I'm sure you'll find a way..."

"You don't have to apologize Villager, it'll be alright," assured Cilan, now realizing that Villager using his Pocket ability to carry the wedding cake failed from a logical sense, given the cake's size. "Unfortunately I'll have to find some wacky way to get this cake out the mansion and to the wedding unscathed..." Cilan stroked his chin as he looked around the ballroom...his eyes soon falling on MegaMan .EXE, who was busy adjusting a tie on the Duck Hunt Dog. "Hey MegaMan, you got a minute?" Cilan called out to the NetNavi.

"Hold on just a second, lemme finish tying this tie, and...there we go!" MegaMan .EXE said after he finished tying Duck Hunt Dog's tie. The NetNavi then proceeded over to Cilan, who was already wearing formal wedding attire, ever since he arrived at the mansion. "So what's up Cilan?"

"As you can see here, moving this cake out of the ballroom and out of the mansion would be a struggle, so I was wondering if you had some fancy ability or invention that can move this cake...well, you know." .EXE thought long and hard about a solution to Cilan's dilemma, before snapping his fingers when the perfect idea formulated in his head.

"Mega Man has a invention like the teleportation device, it can teleport large objects like this wedding cake to certain locations. I can ask him if we could use his invention to teleport the cake to Safeco Field, so we won't have to worry about taking the cake inside a vehicle or anything like that. I'll go speak with Mega Man right now."

So .EXE ran out of the ballroom in search for his fellow robot buddy, and he would pass by Pit and Viridi, the latter being nervous about attending the wedding. Viridi was nervous due to her xenophobia - the goddess of nature had a great disdain for humans, despite living with said humans in the mansion. (Though she has cleared this up by saying that folks like Mario and Little Mac are "tolerable", and don't take advantage of nature - the one and only reason for Viridi's xenophobia.)

 **Viridi: The wedding last year was one of the most unnerving experiences of my life...the wedding reception was chock full of humans, and being in the presence of so many humans just gives me the creepies...and to make matters worse, Sonic's arch-nemesis Dr. Eggman had the absolute gall to TOUCH me! *shudders* ...I may never forget the moment he petted my shoulder for as long as I live.**

"Why are you so worked up Viridi, it's not like any of the human guests will do anything bad to you," Pit did his best to comfort Viridi, who thought otherwise. The goddess felt like all the humans in the world (sans the ones living with her) were out to get her.

"Pit, Dr. Eggman _touched_ me at Luigi's wedding, and you know how emotionally disturbed I was after that incident," said Viridi, making it seem like Dr. Eggman was some kind of sexual predator. Dr. Eggman being a predator would mean bad news for anyone - just look at the guy! "Therefore I want you and Kirby to serve as my 'bodyguards', and ensure that no human comes in contact with me."

"Hey Viridi, can I ask you something for a quick minute?" Ike would approach the goddess of nature, wearing his lovely tuxedo. But the poor swordsman had no idea whom he was speaking to when...

"BACK AWAY FROM ME, YOU HOMOSAPIEN FREAK!" Viridi whipped out a spray bottle - appropriately named "Human-B-Gone" - from underneath her wedding dress and sprayed it viciously in the eyes of Ike, who screamed in pain as Viridi sprayed. Because who wouldn't scream in pain if they had stuff sprayed in their eyes? You could be the toughest person in the planet, like Chuck Norris, and having stuff sprayed in your eyes would still be hard to overcome.

"Gah, Viridi, why'd you do that for, I just wanted to ask you how I looked in my tux! Now I have to wash my eyes out..." Ike bitterly walked away, albeit struggling a little as he was covering his eyes in pain. That "Human-B-Gone" spray sure was effective!

"...put this in your pocket, that way I won't be tempted to harm anyone," Viridi gave Pit her spray bottle, and Pit promptly placed the "Human-B-Gone" spray bottle in the pocket of his slacks. The angel wanted to see if "Human-B-Gone" worked on non-humans, but that was an experiment for another day...

* * *

Once everyone got dressed, did their makeup, made a quick stop to the bathroom, set _The View_ to record on the DVR, and all that good stuff, it was time for everyone to depart from the mansion, and head off to the wedding venue, Safeco Field. The wedding was set to begin at 4 o' clock, and that would give the Mariners an ample amount of time to prepare for their baseball game against the Houston Astros, that would be taking place approximately three hours later.

And Namco really outdid themselves regarding the bus...when everyone arrived outside, there was a bus that was _101_ feet long, and it looked like it could hold a lot of passengers inside. Amazing what a chance meeting between Ayaha and Reiko can get you.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce to you all, the AutoTram Extra Grand bus - the longest bus in the world," Ayaha introduced the bus to everyone, who were completely in shock. To some, the bus looked like three buses stuck together, like someone had used the strongest superglue around. "Namco had ordered this bus after hearing about the wedding, but it was mostly thanks to..."

"Ayaha Oribe, I love-a you so much, you're a life-a saver!" exclaimed Mario as he ran up to hug Ayaha, who was feeling salty about being hugged for the second time today. And if that wasn't enough, Mario was repeatedly kissing Ayaha on the cheek (you know it's bad when Mario had to bring Ayaha all the way down to her knees) and the assistant had to push the plumber away. Save that kissing for Peach.

 **Ayaha: Eh, getting a bus was the least I could do - I didn't want everyone to feel all bummed out come wedding day because of Master Hand, so I took some very necessary precautions and got in touch with Reiko and...everything else from there went along as planned. Still not fond of the love and appreciation though...it's not like I cured cancer or AIDS at the same time.**

After thanking Ayaha, Mario took Peach's hand, and the two would lead everyone to the bus door. The door opened up, and inside the bus behind the driving wheel was a person everyone _least_ expected to see.

"It's-a me, Waluigi, here to be your bus driver for today!" Waluigi the bus driver said to everyone. A majority of people were dismayed to see Waluigi as the bus driver - people like Itsuki and Asuka, who had never met Waluigi or don't know him that well, didn't even want the guy. But it was Mario who felt dismayed the most.

"Nope, nope-a, nope, the wedding is-a cancelled," the plumber grabbed Peach's hand and marched back to the mansion, passing by the crowd of residents. "Everyone back-a inside, we'll just call-a off the wedding until next-a week..." Mario wouldn't get that far, when Master Hand appeared in front of Mario and Peach, nearly scaring the pants off of Mario.

"Just because Waluigi's driving the bus should give you no reason to call off the weeding and retreat back to the mansion," Master Hand pointed his finger in Mario's face, his voice booming with power and enforcement. "That right there is discrimination, and that is not allowed in today's time! So unless you want your putrid life to end right here, right now, you better head back to that bus and take your seat, and show Waluigi some proper respect!"

"Yeah you heard the man, they didn't sign me off the street for nothing!" Waluigi called out to Mario; not wanting Master Hand to yell in their faces, everyone started filing into the bus. "You want your wedding to happen today? Then get on in!" Heaving a heavy sigh, Mario took Peach to the bus and entered in, as the 101-foot bus started filling up. Ayaha would be the last person remaining, for she had to give Master Hand some important details...

"Original bus driver got sick, so Waluigi got hitched to drive the bus," the assistant said to the giant hand, who will likely arrive at Safeco Field earlier than everyone else since he could teleport. Same goes for Mewtwo. "That's what _Namco_ told me. But if you asked me, I would have preferred B.D. Joe..." Ayaha went to the bus and got on inside...

...only to see Cloud and Doc Louis arguing over a lousy bus seat. Doc Louis was seated at the front of the bus, next to King K. Rool, while Little Mac and Leia were seated right behind him. Cloud would sit next to Link, but Sora was already seated next to the Hylian, and while Aerith had an available seat for Cloud, the swordsman saw Sora was within the flower girl's vicinity, and didn't want to take any chances.

"C'mon Doc, just let me take your spot and we'll quickly put this thing behind us," Cloud said to the boxing trainer, as Mario and Peach, who were seated across from Doc Louis, and the other bus occupants looked on. "I refuse to sit anywhere near Sora."

"Sora ain't that bad of a guy, you make it seem like the kid's the Devil or something!" frowned Doc Louis, refusing to move a single inch as he ate his chocolate. "How about you just leave me be and skedaddle!" A few individuals like Sonic went "Oooh...", though it wasn't something worth giving a reaction to.

"I never said Sora was the Devil, I just find him very annoying. And Link is making a big mistake sitting next to Sora. So why don't you just sit next to Aerith, and I'll take your seat and let bygones be bygones."

"Getting sick and tired of this...listen to the man Rosa, get to the back of the bus!" Waluigi ordered Doc Louis, who gave the lanky bus driver a glare for his insensitive comments, and he wasn't the only one...everyone was glaring at Waluigi, who could only chuckle nervously. "...what I meant to say was, please move to the back of the bus Doc Louis, so Cloud can stop...glitching. Whew, close call..."

 **Mewtwo: *arms folded, standing in front of Safeco Field* Pitiful fools...while everyone was busy doing their hear and looking in front of the mirror, I teleported to Safeco Field, so I wouldn't have to worry about riding in the same vehicle as that gasshole Wario and that idiotic King K. Rool. The wedding guests are arriving one by one, and judging from whom I've seen so far, I don't think Mario and Peach went over their guest list...together.**

* * *

The ride to Safeco Field was a peaceful ride, and while that was a good thing, Sonic thought otherwise due to a lack of fun and entertainment. What better way to do that than singing a song in a bus chock full of people?

"Shabooya sha sha shabooya ROLL CALL!" Sonic started singing, as everyone looked at the hedgehog like he was on crack. "Shabooya sha sha shabooya ROLL CALL! My name is Sonic..." No response. "I said...my name is Sonic..." Still no response, and Sonic was becoming impatient. "You all missed your cues...not sure if I should be impressed or disappointed!"

"Were you...trying to sing a song just now, Sonic?" wondered a puzzled Mamori, who thought Sonic's singing was enough to even make her ears cringe. "If you wanted a song, then you should've said so, I'd love to sing a song or two during our ride!"

"Nah Mamori you're good, I'll be the one doing the singing...now everyone, since you obviously never did this song before...after I say a line, you all say 'YEAH!' in unison, got it?" Nobody agreed to these terms, as evidenced by the bored looks on everyone's faces. "Good, okay then, from the top! Shabooya sha sha shabooya ROLL CALL! My name is Sonic..."

"Yeah..." Everyone said in unison, devoid of any excitement and enthusiasm.

"I'm faster than any truck..."

"Yeah..." Everyone said in unison again, more bored this time around.

"And I don't do leg day..."

"Yeah..." Everyone said in unison once more, until one person had the courage to stand up against Sonic.

"BECAUSE YOU STRAIGHT UP SUCK!" said this brave, courageous person. Sonic glared and turned his head towards this brave, courageous person...Samus Aran, who was smirking at the hedgehog deviously. That smirk showed that the bounty hunter was fearless, and had virtually no chill.

"How are you, going to tell me - the birthday man - that I suck? Who, in their right mind, tells someone that they suck on their birthday?"

"Nobody cares about your birthday Sonic, just being honest." Samus, wanting to stress how right she was to Sonic, turned her attention to her fellow bus passengers. "Who here gives a crap about Sonic's birthday?" Tails and Knuckles meagerly raised their hands; everyone else did nothing. Samus gave another devious smirk to Sonic, who was convinced that the bounty hunter was just manipulating the others, like she was playing mind games.

 **Peach: Yes, we knew today was Sonic's birthday - we had hoped that the things we did for Sonic's birthday last year would leave Sonic content, and pleased with his gifts so he wouldn't hound us about throwing him another birthday party...but alas, that wasn't the case. That will NEVER be the case, considering who we're talking about.**

 **Donkey Kong: I gave Sonic a birthday gift today...a birthday card, to be exact. Once Sonic opened the card and saw there was no money inside, he immediately threw the card away, and told me never to get him another birthday present ever again...guess I'm not giving him that new snowboard he always wanted today.**

On the ride to Safeco Field, Mario noticed that there was something off about his fiancee Peach. The princess was looking down at the floor, and she had a saddened look on her face, like she was about to cry and burst into tears. Mario desired to see what the problem was - no way he was gonna let the bride feel some type of way going into the wedding.

"Peach, is there some-a one or something bothering you?" Mario asked his future wife, as a tear slowly ran down Peach's cheek; Peach quickly wiped said tear away to discard any form of evidence.

"No Mario, there's nothing bothering me, I'm just fine," replied Peach, but her behavior was contradictory to what she said. Mario had a dig a little deeper...

"I take-a it that you're-a dealing with allergies?" The Kongs were sitting directly behind Mario and Peach - perhaps their brown monkey fur was causing harm to Peach's sinuses.

"I don't have any allergies Mario, you should know that more than anyone else." With Peach having dismissed this second question, Mario was left with no other choice - the third question may or may not give great insight into why Peach was all depressed.

"Did Ganondorf touch-a you?" Mario asked this rather loudly, leading Peach to give a crazy look to her future husband. Many of those near the soon-to-be married couple were looking on in shock, with Ganondorf glaring at Mario.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT ME?!" the Demon Lord angrily stood up, with Rosalina having to soothe him and sit him back down.

"Ganondorf didn't touch me, he would never do such a heinous thing," replied Peach, after her initial shock went away; Mario, still not convinced, nodded his head as he looked towards Ganondorf, furrowing his brow as he did the "I'm watching you..." gesture to the Demon Lord.

"Please don't harm Mario before the wedding begins, Ganondorf..." Rosalina said to the Demon Lord, who was now engaged in some kind of staredown with Mario.

* * *

The bus ride would come to a close, when the AutoTram bus arrived at Safeco Field. Some wedding guests had already arrived, such as Luigi, Daisy, Charles, Rotom, and Yuffie, who all arrived in Luigi's green Dodge Charger.

"Mario and the others have arrived, zzrt!" announced Rotom, as it watched the bus passengers exited the AutoTram bus, relieved about no longer having to ride in a vehicle with Waluigi as the bus driver. Better cherish the time they have until Waluigi shows up for the big wedding.

 **Daisy: Our wedding last year was so great...the wedding dance down the aisle was awesome, and the wedding reception was great too. Remember during the toasts, when Corrin gave us an ACTUAL toast? *laughs*  
Luigi: Ah, yes, that was-a rich...what if they did a roast-a of Mario and Peach and Corrin brings-a some pot roast? Since Corrin's siblings and-a Kamui are here, I'm sure they'll-a talk Corrin out of it...**

Master Hand was busy speaking with Crazy Hand when he saw the passengers exited from the AutoTram bus. But the giant hand was fixated on Mario, who was walking with Peach - he saw that Peach was sobbing just a little, and he knew darn well Mario wasn't responsible for the princess's mood.

"Wait right here Crazy Hand, our bride and groom...and the others, have arrived," Master Hand said to Crazy Hand, who gave a resounding thumbs up as Master Hand headed over to Mario and Peach. "About time you got here! And why on earth are you sobbing Peach? Did Ganondorf touch you?!"

"Sure let's all blame the evil Gerudo guy, like that's ever going to solve anything," complained Ganondorf as he threw his arms up in defeat. Rosalina quickly grabbed Ganondorf's hand, and walked to the Safeco Field entrances, where the others were heading to.

"Already tried-a that, Master Hand...I've tried-a asking Peach what's-a wrong during the bus-a ride, but she refuses-a to tell me," Mario explained to Master Hand. To see Peach sobbing hours before her wedding was alarming, and Master Hand wanted to cheer Peach up as much as Mario did.

"Well Peach, we can't have you sobbing forever - besides, it's completely ruining your makeup! Starting to look like Lady Gaga from that 'Applause' single cover...man, what a great song." Master Hand looked around, and saw the Black Knight pass by. "Hey Black Knight, Peach's sobbing over here! Why don't you take her away and cheer her up?"

"No princess or bride should be in tears on their wedding day!" exclaimed the Black Knight as he marched over to Peach, and took her hand. "Mario, I promise you I'll make Peach happy and content again, one way or another! Come with me Peach, and prepare for the greatest tea party of your life!"

"You say that about every tea party you force me to attend..." Peach said as she wiped away her tears, following the Black Knight to who-knows-where. This tea party better turn that frown of Peach's upside down, that's for sure.

"Now you're probably wondering why I had the Black Knight console your woman, Mario - it's because I had spoken with a man earlier who is interested in meeting you. Peach may not interested in him, so I had to 'save' her from the man. His style may not mesh well with Peach at all, I'm afraid. Lemme show you who this man is."

* * *

"The main thing you have to do is, maintain your composure, take deep breaths if you have to," Chrom spoke with Xander, giving the officiant of the wedding some times on officiating Mario and Peach's wedding. The two swordsmen were having a private conversation near Safeco Field, and Chrom was giving some pointers he learned himself from officiating the wedding last year.

"I've been doing some deep breathing during the bus ride," said Xander, who was also keeping his composure intact. Had to keep his composure relatively normal until the wedding started. And speaking of composure... "Now about the distractions: how would I handle that?"

"Obviously you never officiated a wedding in a modern setting, have you? Aside from coughing, sneezing...and _maybe_ an occasional streaker or two, you'll have to worry about someone's cellphone going off. But other than that, you'll be fine from distractions..."

 **Leo: On a scale from 1 to 10, what confidence do I have in Xander as officiant of the wedding? Don't you mean 0 to 10? Guy deserves a zero out of ten. Just keeping it real...**

 **Camilla: I think I'll give Xander a 5 or 6, this _is_ his first time officiating a wedding, after all. The number of guests attending the wedding might add to Xander's anxiety.**

 **Elise: I'll always show an unwavering support for my big brother, so I'll give him a ten! Even if he were to mess up his lines, or faint during the vows, Xander will be a perfect ten in my eyes regardless!**

 **Corrin: Does a 1 mean it's good, and 10 is bad? Or is 10 good, and 1 is bad? I'm so confused...General Admiral Thrawn would be most displeased with me...**

 **Kamui: How Xander does as officiant of the wedding does not matter - what does matter is that he enjoys the experience, as much as Mario and Peach will. The wedding will be a joyous occasion for everyone involved!**

Master Hand would guide Mario the Safeco Field parking lot, where a man wearing a top hat, brown coat, and brown pants was speaking with a young boy who looked like his protege, or assistant. The two were enjoying a conversation until Master Hand brought Mario along.

"Mario, I would like to introduce you to a man who solves all sorts of mysteries, like Sherlock Holmes...Professor Herschel Layton," Master Hand would introduce Mario to the detective, who tipped his hat to the plumber as a greeting. "With him is his lovely apprentice, Luke Triton. I had contacted these two while they were in London and invited them to the wedding, on short notice."

"Being at this wedding is quite a honor, I should say," Layton said to Master Hand, before turning his eyes to Mario. "It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Mario. I've heard all about your fascinating tales, and to finally be in your presence..."

"Mr. Mario, let me just say that I feel honored to meet you, I've always admired you and wanted to be like you, and so many other things!" said Luke, gleefully shaking Mario's hand as Layton looked on. Last time Layton checked, _he_ was the one Luke admired and wanted to be like.

"Okay kid back-a off, next thing I know-a you'll start hugging me," Mario kindly pushed Luke away, before the young lad could take his fanboying to levels not meant to be reached. "So I take it this-a is your first-a time in the United States? Enjoying Seattle-a so far?"

"We sure are, though I can't help but notice some noticeable damage here and there," replied Layton - no one but Organization XIII to blame. "Luke and I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation we had with Master Hand, and he went into detail about the prestigious Smash Mansion...he even said that non-brawlers live there, and that there was a space available...hint hint."

"The space-a has been available two weeks-a ago - Ema Skye, a forensics expert, used-a to occupy it before-a she sold out...it's a long story." And Mario certainly wasn't in the mood for telling (or hearing) long stories. "You know anything about-a Ema Skye?"

"Other than being close with Phoenix Wright and Mia Fey, not really," replied Luke; it would be interesting if Ema went with her word and showed up at the wedding, and if Phoenix and Mia were to show up, then Ema would have no choice in the matter but to attend. "Professor Layton, you're not hinting at living in the Smash Mansion, are you? If you do live at the mansion...would you please bring me along? Pretty please?" Luke, who was fawning over Mario a few moments ago, was now tugging on Layton's coat, as his eyes were starting to form tears.

"I would leave you behind Luke, a great master never departs from his apprentice," Layton said comfortingly, patting Luke on the shoulder and making the boy smile. Luke has been a huge asset to Layton during his adventures, so him leaving Luke behind would be borderline stupid.

"Mario, are you and Peach busy?" Toad called out from Safeco Field, his voice loud enough to be heard from where Mario and company were. While his voice may be squeaky, Toad the drug lord could still be heard from miles away. "We're about to start with the wedding photos!"

"Um, Princess-a Peach will have-a to wait for a while," Mario called out, unsure if Peach was finished with her sobbing fits. "But I'll be-a there shortly!"

* * *

 **Master Hand: Glanced at the guest list for the wedding...and I felt like it wasn't enough. Luigi and Daisy, it didn't matter how many wedding guests were there...but this is freaking Mario and Peach we're talking about, the entire world should be watching! We're talking about a wedding on the same magnitude as Prince William and Catherine Middleton, a wedding that will be talked about and discussed for years to come! Obviously this wedding is deserving of A-list stars, so I tried asking the United States men's basketball team from the Olympics if they were interested...but when I called Coach, he talked me out of it and told me to let the basketball stars enjoy their summer and not waste my time and energy getting them to Seattle...like that would require time and energy at all, what with Mega Man's teleportation device. But no worries, for I found a pair of two Olympians - two gold medalists - that wouldn't mind being wedding guests...**

Mario and company entered Safeco Field, stepping into the ballpark. This was the very ballpark that would house the wedding of Mario and Peach, and while Peach had other venues in mind, Mario ultimately settled on Safeco Field, because reasons. Maybe the plumber wasn't all about moving to a different city or country just to be wedded to the woman of his dreams.

Standing in the center of the field was the wedding photographer, Toad - the presumed drug lord was snapping photos left and right with his digital camera. He had just snapped a photo of Lucas and Ness, with the Flying Man situated between the two teens.

"You fellas want to see your photo?" Toad asked the _Earthbround_ trio; Ness and company went over to the drug lord to glance at their photo, and to Lucas's dismay, his eyes were closed shut. It must suck when you're taking a photo, and you blink at the wrong second.

"Dang it, blinked yet again!" frowned Lucas, disgusted with his own self. He could blame the flash of the camera for making him blink, but Lucas wasn't that type of person, blaming inanimate things all willy-nilly. "Can we get a do-over, Toad?"

"Fine, but this is the last time I'm taking a photo of you guys! I have more folks deserving of a wedding photo, you know!" Lucas, Ness, and the Flying Man quickly got back into position, as Mario, Professor Layton, and Luke looked on.

"Hey Layton, those two kinda look like you, what with the eyes and the mouth!" Luke pointed at Lucas and Ness, observing their facial structures as Toad snapped the photo of the _Earthbound_ trio...and thankfully Lucas didn't blink this time around. No more do-overs!

"You mean Lucas and Ness?" Layton smiled as he stroked his chin. "I do have to admit Luke, their eyes are _way_ too big...so I think you might be a little off about Lucas and Ness looking like myself." What, does Layton have something against people with large eyes? Does Layton thing he's far more superior than Lucas and Ness because his eyes are smaller than theirs?! How could an honest, respectable man like Layton feel so superior of himself?!

As Jacky and Akira were getting ready for their wedding photo to be taken, Mario turned looked around, turning to his left...only for his face to sink when he saw two familiar faces he did not even invite to the wedding - Fred and Rose. The Olympian pair was all dressed up for the wedding, and they were in line to have their photo taken by Toad the drug lord. Fred and Rose being at the wedding had Master Hand's name written all over it...

 **Fred: Wouldn't miss anything like Mario and Peach's wedding for the world, so when Master Hand called me and asked me if I was interested in being a wedding guest, I just had to say no! Please don't ask me how Master Hand got my phone number, still trying to figure that out myself...like I'm trying to figure out how I was magically teleported here to Seattle. Weird stuff going down in this city as of late...**

 **Rose: Same rules apply from before...Pokemon Trainer stays out of my way, and nobody gets hurt.**

"Layton, Luke, you three-a wait right here, I'll-a be back..." Mario said to Layton and Luke as he angrily marched towards Fred and Rose. The Olympians were delighted to see them, but Mario wouldn't return the delight back.

"Well look who it is, the man of the day, Mario!" exclaimed Fred as Mario marched towards him, wanting to say the plumber's last name if he had a last name to begin with. "How it's going man?" Fred would extend his hand for a high five, but Mario grabbed the Olympian's hand and Rose, and walked the two over to the far side of Safeco Field, needing some things to be cleared up.

"Who told-a you two that you were-a allowed to attend-a my wedding?!" Mario interrogated the Olympians, not even bothering to say hi. That's no way to treat two gold-winning Olympians, especially if you were the most decorated Olympian of all time like Fred.

"Master Hand was the one who invited us - he was all like, 'ARE YOU READY TO WITNESS THE GREATEST WEDDING OF YOUR PUTRID LIFE?! THEN COME ON DOWN TO SEATTLE, AND PREPARE TO SEE GREATNESS BEFORE YOU VERY EYES!'...and that's when we were warped to the mansion, in the middle of the night, in secret, just so we could attend your wedding. Master Hand did a bang up job selling us on attending the wedding."

"Figures, Master Hand-a does a lot of crap when-a I'm not around to..." Now another question was on Mario's mind. "...when-a did Master Hand warp-a you two to the mansion, and at what-a time?"

"Sometime after 2 o' clock, after everyone was asleep and in the bed," explained Rose, as Link and Cloud were ready to have their photos taken. "We were asleep too, but Master Hand bought us attire for the wedding, so that made it all the more worthwhile..."

"NO WAY AM I GOING TO TAKE A photo WITH THAT MAN!" yelled Cloud, after Link asked his buddy if Sora could join in the photo. Sora was idly standing from Link and Cloud, wanting to have his photo taken with the two swordsmen, but Cloud wouldn't allow it. "Link man, I told you already that you were dead to me, and now you're doing nothing but adding salt to the wound. Why am I taking a photo with you anyways?"

"Because you know very well that despite me being 'dead' to you, we're still the best of friends and Toad wishes to symbolize our friendship in an awesome wedding photo," answered Link, as Sora inched closer to Link and Cloud, only to back away when Cloud gave him a death glare. "Sora is a good guy who has never done anything wrong...or so I believe, and the least we could do for him is include him in our photo."

"Link's right Cloud, Sora has been at the mansion for two weeks, and you've been treating him like utter crap!" Toad scolded the swordsman, who didn't seem to care either way. "What has Sora ever done to you?"

"He exists, and that alone is a valid reason," answered Cloud, refusing to take a photo if Sora would be in it. It didn't take that long for Sora to get on Cloud's last nerve.

 **Sora: Cloud has never acted this bitter before - he was always acting bitter before, but now he's more bitter than ever. I think he's still fighting against the darkness inside of him, even after his big fight with Sephiroth, and this internal struggle might be wearing him down...Would hitting Cloud with my Keyblade extract the darkness out of him? Eh, I wouldn't hit Cloud with my Keyblade...but if we were fighting for some prestigious cup, then I won't be taking any prisoners... *smiles***

* * *

Toad would continue taking wedding photos, as the vendors started setting up everything for the wedding - which meant that Toad and the others had to take their wedding photos at another part of the Safeco Field ballpark. While Fred and Rose were busy having their photos taken, Mario went to go speak with the Mariners president, who authorized the plumber to have his wedding held at the ballpark.

"Sorry we couldn't schedule your wedding after an early afternoon Mariners game, just as we agreed to," the Mariners president spoke with Mario in his office, sipping on a cup of coffee. "Stinks that MLB has to be the ones doing our schedule. "Now, we don't have any space in our baseball stadium for your wedding reception, especially with our game against the Astros coming up, and that will fill up every luxury space we got...so we were kind enough to book you a spot for your wedding reception at the Four Seasons hotel! Five minute drive from this stadium, everything will be set up upon arrival."

"Thank-a you, Mr. President, I was-a worried about where the wedding reception would-a take place," Mario thanked the Mariners president. "Me, I'm not the best-a when it comes-a to planning things..."

"Don't be so down on yourself Mario, we all have our faults...not everyone is perfect. Just a heads up, we'll start letting guests in around 3:30, and the wedding will begin thirty minutes later. Make sure everyone leaves once the wedding is over, gotta clear the field for our..." Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Zelda opened it, wearing her beautiful white dress.

"My apologies if I'm interrupting this meeting," the princess apologized as she entered the office, closing the door behind her. "May I speak with Mario for a quick minute? It won't be long, hopefully..." Zelda said to the Mariners president.

"Of course you can, as long as it pertains to the wedding," answered the president, leaning back in his chair as he placed his cup of coffee on his desk. "Take as much time as you need, I'll just chill here and...listen along, I guess. You wouldn't mind if I eavesdrop, do you?"

"No sir, you're fine," Zelda smiled at the president, before turning her attention to Mario. "I just found Peach in the Mariners' locker room, at some tea party with the Black Knight...and she's not quite enjoying it. She's been sobbing nonstop - I tried to cheer her up, but nothing I do is making her feel any better..."

"The bride is sobbing nonstop, on her wedding day?!" exclaimed the president, getting out of his chair and standing up to his feet. "Did someone touch her?" Thank goodness the president didn't put the blame squarely on Ganondorf. "Bet you it was that dark-skinned man with the orange locks, whom I saw speaking with that blonde lady in the light blue dress and her star friend! Guy looks mighty suspicious!" ...and so much for that.

"You're not implying that...Ganondorf touched princess Peach...did you?" Zelda asked the president, who just shrugged - he didn't even know who Ganondorf was until Zelda mentioned his name. "Mario, you have to come over to the locker room at once, I fear that Peach might have some...long-term concerns, if you know what I mean..."

* * *

 **Sonic: I know today's the day of Mario and Peach's wedding, but the least Master Hand and others could do was have a little birthday party fling for me, preferably after the wedding when the moment of Mario and Peach kissing (blegh) is no longer fresh in everyone's minds. I'm sure Cilan baked me a birthday cake after he finished with that gargantuan wedding cake, deep down I know that man cares about me, and I know everyone else not named Amy...or Tails...or Knuckles...or Blaze...or Silver...or maybe Shadow...aside from those names, I'm fairly positive that everyone likes me, they just wanna be like Samus and not show it.**

"Fox, Falco, for the last freaking time, we're NOT doing another wedding dance, one is enough," Master Hand told the Star Fox pilots, during a private conversation somewhere in Safeco Field. "Talked with Peach about it, and she has openly stated that she doesn't want a wedding dance at her wedding, so if you two try to pull of something silly, I'll have no other choice but to temporarily ban you."

"So basically you're implying that Peach is boring, and wants her wedding to be boring like most other weddings," inferred Fox, feeling a little bummed out. He and Falco would campaign for a wedding dance, but not at the risk of being banned from the Smash Mansion.

"And considering that Mario went forth with Peach's sentiments, that would mean that he's boring too," added Falco, stroking his chin in thought. "So what do Mario and Peach want at their wedding? Flashing lights? Broadway dancers? A random cameo appearance from Slash, delivering some wicked wedding-related guitar solo for the guests? What is it that Mario and Peach _want_?!"

"What Mario and Peach want is for you two to stop dictating how their wedding should be run, and let them do their own thing," replied Master Hand, effectively shutting up Fox and Falco for good. "Sound like a bunch of insolent, spoiled brats complaining about not getting your way...now get out of my sight, or I'll have to bring my man Ridley here and feed you to him!" Fox and Falco went away, and Master Hand let out a sigh of relief, only for another person to come along and annoy him...Sonic the Hedgehog, the birthday man.

"Yo yo yo, Master H, original gangster Master Hand!" Sonic would greet the giant hand, who let out a sorrowful, miserable groan. Going from Fox and Falco to Sonic was quite a transition for Master Hand. "Since you claim to be all-knowing and stuff, you definitely know about my birthday, amirite?"

"You must be a fool if you even think, just for a second, that I forgot about your birthday, Sonic. With the wedding approaching, I haven't thought about your birthday as much...but no need to fear, I'll make it up to you soon. Gotta be patient, which is frankly something you're not good at...but practice makes perfect! Excuse me while I go check on Isabelle...she's doing some...busy things, yes, very busy things regarding the wedding. Also, can you change your clothes to something more formal! That whole John Cena getup just doesn't look right on you."

"Don't see anything wrong with this attire, not like it offends anyone." Unless you were a persnickety, upper-class socialite who would gasp at the sight of some bum wearing a tank top and shorts to a prestigious party...then yeah, Sonic might have a good point. "John Cena would wear an attire like this to his wedding!"

"John Cena right now, or John Cena circa 2010?" Sonic thought long and hard about Master Hand's question, and the giant hand had enough of it. "Bah, forget about it, let me go look for Isabelle, while you hopefully change your clothes. What is wrong with you, man...did you not learn your lesson from last year?"

"There was no lesson for me to learn from last year, and besides, nobody learns stuff at weddings. Even you should know that."

"...goodbye for now, Sonic," Master Hand said before vanishing away. Once the hand was gone, Sonic continued on his way, strutting his stuff, until he bumped into some guy with silver hair, tied into a ponytail. The guy turned around and saw Sonic, recognizing his face.

"Oh, didn't see you there, my apologies," the guy said, not at all amused to see Sonic (like anyone would). This was none other than Jakob - the butler of Corrin and Kamui, hailing from Nohr.

 **Jakob: Why was I away from the mansion for so long, you ask? Had to take care of my son, Dwyer. With the wedding today, and Garon continuing his so-called "spring cleaning", despite summer just having started, I entrusted Niles to watch over Dwyer - a decision I'll wind up regretting later - while I traveled to the wedding, and not only partake in the wedding festivities, but ask Master Hand and Mario if I can serve as the butler of the Smash Mansion. Flora and Felicia, they really could use my guidance...**

"Hey I know you, you're Jakob - that butler guy who constantly sucks up to Corrin and Kamui, and treats pretty much everyone else like utter crap!" exclaimed Sonic as he pointed at Jakob. The hedgehog was right on the money about Jakob.

"Yes, and you are Sonic the Hedgehog - the same fellow who at once believed that I was a woman," replied Jakob, that ponytail of his must have thrown Sonic off. "I take it that you're not attending the wedding?" Jakob checked out Sonic's attire, and assumed that the hedgehog was planning on attending some local rap concert.

"I am attending the wedding - I just felt like wearing casual attire. Can't rock a suit or a tuxedo, but I wouldn't know if I never tried!" The very sight of seeing Sonic in jorts was enough to make Jakob cringe in horror.

"Dressing formally will do you a lot of favors, I'll say...enjoyed talking with you, Sonic, see you around at the wedding." Jakob walked away, and grimaced as he tried to get the thought of Sonic wearing jorts out of his head. Sonic walked away too...only to bump into his girlfriend, Amy Rose.

"Happy birthday Sonic!" the pink hedgehog exclaimed as she gave Sonic a hug, and a big smooch on his cheek. "Unfortunately I don't have a present for you, but I just wanted to show you my love!"

"Aw shucks, thanks a bunch Amy, this might be the best gift I've received all day!" replied Sonic, before looking over Amy's shoulder and seeing Zelda and Mario, in the far distance, walking to who-knows-where. "Sorry Amy, but I gotta go..." Sonic broke away from the hug, and went to go follow after Zelda and Mario, while Amy looked on happily with her hands clasped together.

* * *

Zelda took Mario to the Mariners' locker room, where the plumber would find Peach and the Black Knight, seated at a table and enjoying a tea party. Rather, it was only the Black Knight who was enjoying the tea party, for Peach was still in a saddened mood.

"This right here is Oolong tea, it's produced through a plant-withering process which is done under strong sun and oxidization," the Black Knight held up this particular cup of tea to Peach, who tried to force a smile as she fought back tears. "Are you still depressed Peach? Is it because of that black tea I shared with you? If you didn't like it, then I don't blame you, I don't like it either, despite the many times I drink that crap, but the least you could do is tell me you didn't like it...unless you're sad about Ganondorf touching you."

"No Black Knight, I'm fine, really I am, and no, Ganondorf didn't touch me," smiled Peach, although she has felt anything but fine all day long. "My eyes are just bugging me, that's all." Sonic entered the locker room, most likely looking for Mario, and he would fine the plumber, making his way towards his fiancee.

"Aw what, Black Knight is hosting a tea party and he didn't invite me?!" frowned Sonic, stomping his foot in anger. Like he would actually want a tea party on his birthday. "Ooh, the nerve of that guy..."

"Tea party's not for you, Sonic...it's for Peach," Zelda explained to the hedgehog, as Mario took a seat next to Peach. "Peach hasn't been feeling like her usual self all day, and the Black Knight is doing everything he can to cheer Peach up." Now intrigued, Sonic headed over to the Black Knight and company, so he could eavesdrop on a conversation between Mario and Peach.

"Peach, I've just about-a had enough of your sadness and-a your moping, you have to tell-a me what's wrong!" Mario said to the princess, who still refused to share her feelings with Mario. It was like she was withholding a huge secret, a secret that would tear apart her and Mario forever.

"I would tell you Mario, but you wouldn't understand..." replied Peach, but Mario did want to understand, just like any understanding spouse. Can't hold anything from your loved ones forever.

"Just-a tell me Peach, and I'll accept-a anything you say with-a open arms. You have-a _nothing_ to repress-a from me - I'm your future-a husband, after all." At that moment, Peach looked up at Mario, and she was now showing some signs of confidence.

"Well, Mario, to tell you the truth, it's just...it's just that...I don't think I'm ready for this marriage thing." Was that so hard to keep under the wraps? In Peach's case, maybe so. "Remember that conversation we had in your room, while you were getting dressed? You had tuned me out most of the time, for whatever reason...but I was talking about my second thoughts about getting married...I mean, I know I've been optimistic about this day ever since the moment you proposed to me, but the more optimistic I grew...the more cynical I became. Kept thinking about the future, thinking about the negative things, like would our marriage ever fall apart...it just kept lingering in the back of my mind, and I didn't feel like telling you this today...shoot, I didn't even feel like putting on this wedding dress. I just wanted to call off the entire marriage, and let bygones be bygones, but I didn't want to dismay anyone...especially you."

 **Pac-Man: A couple of guests have started filing in into Safeco Field, and on early notice too...but I have yet to see Mario and Peach anywhere! Tried calling their phones, but neither of them would answer. Those two better not have eloped in secret, after all the hard work I've done for them...but at least the work I done kept me away from those knitting club losers. Huge blessing in disguise for me!**

"You want to call-a off the wedding and not cherish the best-a day of our lives?" questioned Mario, getting in close to Peach - too close for comfort. "Are-a you kidding me right-a now?"

"Are you kidding me right now?" Sonic repeated what Mario just said, wrapping his arm around the plumber as he joined in on the pep talk.

"There's nothing to be afraid-a of."

"There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Honestly, I'm-a just as scared and nervous as you are."

"I'm scared and nervous too."

"I'm shivering, I can feel my arms and legs shaking," said the Black Knight, only to receive a stern look from Mario. Yet Sonic has been repeating everything the plumber has said, and gets away with it...

"And you know-a what happens today? We're going to get-a married..." gleamed Mario, smiling in delight; just saying this was making him giddy.

"We're gonna get married, fam," repeated Sonic, and now he finally got that stern look from Mario. Sonic sheepishly smiled, as he backed away.

"Obviously we can't-a get married here...so why don't we do it out-a side where the others are waiting?" Mario lent his hand to Peach, who smiled as she took Mario's hand, albeit with a little reluctance, and rose up from her seat. TIhe bride and groom, now holding hands, walked out of the locker room, as Zelda, Sonic, and the Black Knight soon followed them out.

* * *

It was getting close to 4, and more and more guests were coming in. Aside from Fred, Rose, the Nohrian family, Professor Layton, Luke, and the newcomers of the Smash Mansion, pretty much all the guests who were in attendance for Luigi and Daisy's wedding had returned, along with several new faces - Blaze the Cat, Funky Kong, Glass Joe, Soda Popsinki, the _Final Fantasy XIII_ crew, several employees from Hocotate Freight, Olimar's family, and many, many others. Phoenix Wright, Mia Fey, and Ema Skye were in attendance, though Ema was keeping a very low profile. Heck, even Pauline was here!

"Here's your wedding program, hope you enjoy the wedding!" Toon Link handed a wedding program to Pauline, the beautiful brunette wearing a red dress. Red has always been Pauline's favorite color. Pauline glanced at the wedding program as she took a seat next to Cranky Kong, who was delighted to see her.

"Well if it isn't miss Pauline, long time no see!" the gorilla greeted the woman that he kidnapped and placed inside a cage. Some good memories were formulating inside of Cranky's head. "Last time I saw you, we were on top of a construction site..."

"Shut your trap Kong, I don't wanna hear it," Pauline snapped on Cranky, her eyes on the wedding program in her hands. Some bad memories were formulating inside of her head.

 **Cranky Kong: So after what's been almost over a year, the author of this lame story decides to bring me back in full physical appearance...just for this wedding. It's been practically 55 chapters since! Fifty-five! But hey, I'd take this over giving my son phone calls any day of the week.**

"Viridi can you watch my seat for me, I gotta make a quick pit stop to the restroom," Pit said to Viridi, who gave a thumbs up to the angel as he ran off to the restroom. Seconds after Pit left, Viridi saw Professor Layton and Luke make their way towards her, and feared for the worst.

"Pit can you come back, there's two humans that probably want to sit near me..." Viridi called out to Pit, needing her Human-B-Gone spray. Pit had this particular spray, and now Viridi was left defenseless, as Layton and Luke approached her.

"Excuse me, little miss, but are these two seats next to you available?" Layton kindly asked Viridi, who was silently hyperventilating as the fear of either Layton or Luke touching her permeated in her mind. "Professor Herschel Layton's the name, but you can just call me Layton. This right here is my apprentice, Luke Triton. He's been stuck to me like glue for as long as I can remember!"

"I'm Viridi, the goddess of nature...you can take those two seats if you want." Having to sacrifice her xenophobia towards humans to display good manners, Viridi allowed Layton and Luke to take the two available seats next to her, and Luke was sitting close to Viridi.

"Never in a million years would I ever imagine sitting next to a goddess!" Luke said as he marveled at Viridi, who wouldn't mind Luke if he wasn't a human. "I've met a Golem once before, but an actual goddess?" Luke was about to poke Viridi, but the goddess slapped Luke's hand away in a snap.

"Please don't touch me...I have a strict 'no humans touching me' policy." Luke was very confused by Viridi's so-called policy, and his confusion was clearly showing on his bewildered yet curious face.

"What does being a human have to do with anything? You and me, we're still people, right? Just because you're a goddess and all gives you no obligation to feel some type of way about humans."

"But humans are constantly taking advantage of nature, and I don't like that...so my hatred of humans is totally justified, in that regard." Heck, Viridi has even kickstarted several conflicts because of her beef with humans!

"Not all humans take advantage of nature, some humans know how to treat nature with respect. You just enjoy showing contempt for the human race, all because of actions a few humans had done. So why take out your anger and frustration on an entire group, when there's only a select few doing all the bad stuff?"

"I guess...I guess you're right, maybe I do go to the extremes too much," grinned Viridi, grabbing her arm as she looked down at the ground. "I should stop being so dismissive of humans, they aren't bad as I make them out to be...perhaps I should start practicing showing respect to humans, can't be mad at them forever." Viridi looked behind her and saw Daisy at the end of the wedding aisle, waving to the goddess. "Whoops, I forgot I was supposed to be the flower girl...I'll talk with you later!" Viridi said to Luke as she ran off, leaving Luke smiling at himself.

 **Viridi: Said something positive about humans... *shudders* ...but I'll have to remain true to my word, and respect humans more. Got a lot of progress ahead of me...**

"Where on earth is Mario and Peach, it's about time for the wedding to start!" frowned Xander as he looked around for the couple's whereabouts. He would soon find Mario and Peach exiting a tunnel, followed by Sonic, Zelda, and the Black Knight; Mario quickly ran to the altar where Xander was, while Peach went somewhere else.

"Sorry we were little-a late, Peach and I got lost-a in the stadium," Mario quietly apologized to Xander, who rolled his eyes. Mario had zero excuse for being late, and for getting lost, prior to his wedding. "Wedding shall go-a on as scheduled."

"For a minute I thought you and Peach backed out at the last minute..." It seemed like Peach was going to back out, until Mario swayed her mind. Xander looked towards K.K. Slider, who was manning an organ, and gave the hippie dog a thumbs up. K.K. Slider played the traditional wedding theme on his organ, signifying the beginning of the wedding.

First to walk down the aisle was Fox and Falco, who were containing their levels of saltiness as they walked down the aisle, unable to do any wedding dance. Following them were the married couples - Luigi and Daisy, and Alm and Celica. After them was Cloud and Aerith, Link and Zelda, Red the Pokemon Trainer and Cilan, Corrin and Felicia, Dark Pit and Flora, Viridi the flower girl, Tails the now confident ring bearer, and several others. Pac-Man, the best man and man of honor, walked down the aisle with Bayonetta, a move that was finalized at the very last minute.

Last to walk down the aisle with a bouquet in her hands was the bride, Princess Peach, as everyone stood up and applauded for the blonde. Peach, feeling more confident, took a deep breath as she marched down the aisle. Peach was all smiles, her eyes fixated on Mario, as she meet her groom halfway at the middle of the aisle. The bride and the groom locked arms, and happily marched down the aisle and to Xander, who was more than ready to starting the opening remarks.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today..." Xander started off, only to be interrupted by Cilan throwing up on the ground. Red did his best to stifle his laughter as Pac-Man went to go clean up the mess, if he could. After the clearing of his throat, Xander started over. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Mario and Peach, in holy matrimony..."

"'Dearly beloved' sounds like a great title for an epic orchestral song, if you ask me," Sora whispered quietly to Geno, as Xander continued speaking. Geno just nodded his head, not knowing what to contribute to the conversation.

After Xander's opening remarks, Mario and Peach did their vows, confessed their love to one another, agreed to take each other as their lawful spouse, put on their wedding rings, and everything else you expect to see at a wedding...all leading up to the big moment.

"By the authority vested in me by the kingdom of Nohr...excuse me, _state of Washington,_ I now pronounce Mario and Peach...husband and wife," announced Xander. "Mario, you may now kiss the bride..." And that's exactly what Mario did, as he dipped his wife like a boss and kissed Peach, to the response of an applauding crowd. Donkey Kong was clapping like a madman, Pauline looked on with a happy smirk on her face, Bowser was expressing regret about stopping the wedding in time, and everyone else were giving their own special reactions.

Mario and Peach were now finally married...it's been a long time coming for those two.

* * *

 **Xander: Aside from Cilan's little blunder, the wedding has been perfect...though I didn't appreciate the way that Meta Knight was looking at me. Everytime I looked at his direction, with his yellow eyes...he looked like he was ready to pummel me until I was bloody and beaten. If he was looking for a fight, I'd give him one...and let my siblings do all the work...No, I'm not _afraid_ of Meta Knight, I just want my siblings to prove their worth to me by defeating a worthy opponent. Then, when Meta Knight is down to his last breath, I'll finish him off for good! You see, I'm not a coward by any stretch of the imagination...I'm just very opportunistic.**

With the wedding now over, Mario, Peach, and the wedding goers went to the Four Seasons Hotel, where the wedding reception would take place. Cilan had no idea where the reception took place, so when MegaMan .EXE warped the wedding cake, he warped the giant pastry to Safeco Field. Now Cilan had to find a way to get his cake inside the hotel, without a single blemish.

"Shouldn't have even baked a cake that huge in the first place, regardless of how many people would show up at the wedding," said Pauline, as she was enjoying a conversation with the now married Mario and Peach outside the Four Seasons Hotel, while everyone else was waiting outside said hotel. "Did you even bother telling him how the height of the cake should be?"

"Mario and I thought it would be in the best interests of both parties involved if we just let Cilan do his thing," explained Peach with a comforting smile. Just then, Elise ran up to Mario and Peach, needing to speak with the newlyweds.

"Cilan wants to speak with you inside the hotel...and yes, it's about the wedding cake," the youngest of the Nohrian siblings said to Mario and Peach. "He's in the ballroom; I can take you to him if you like."

"Excuse-a us for a minute Pauline, we'll be right-a back," Mario said to Pauline as he and Peach followed Elise to the Four Seasons hotel; Pauline smiled and waved to the newlyweds as they followed Elise inside the hotel.

* * *

Inside the ballroom of the Four Seasons hotel, Mario, Peach, Cilan, and Elise were looking up at the wedding cake...which had three-fourths of it cut off. The other fourth was placed on one of the tables in the banquet, a table where Mario and Peach would be sitting at.

"Hehe, I kinda had to cut off the top part of the cake so it could fit in the banquet room," Cilan explained, scratching the back of his head. While baking a large cake was a fun experience, there was bound to be some setbacks. "You two are fine with that, are you?"

"Eh, as long as we got-a this cake in the hotel, that's-a what..." answered Mario, before stopping as he sniffed the air around him. "Do you guys-a smell something? Smells like skunk-a spray...or some dead-a animal..."

"I can smell it too, must be coming from there," Peach pointed at the far corner of the ballroom, at a large closet. Peach and company cautiously went over to the closet, and opened the closet doors...

...and saw three steel propane cylinders, all opened as what sounded like a teapot whistling was heard.

And nobody knew how the propane even got here.

* * *

Meanwhile, everyone was still waiting outside for the reception to begin, including Link - the Hylian was busy adjusting his bowtie when a mischiveaous imp sneaked up on him, behind his back...

"BOO!" the imp exclaimed, scaring the Hylian and making him jump in fear. This imp was none other than Midna, who was laughing at Link being scared. Good thing hardly anyone saw Link's reaction.

"Midna, I thought I told you good not to scare me from behind like that..." Link scolded the imp, who thought she did no wrong. She just loved scaring the pants off of Link, he was such an easy target. "Also, why aren't you at the wedding? Figured you'd leave me after the whole invasion thing."

"I'll stick around a bit longer, until I feel bored. And I didn't want anything to do with that wedding, too much romance for me. I just noodled around, and decided to come back until the reception, just for the food...hopefully good food."

"So basically you're some kind of freeloader...but the worst kind. Never would have expected that from you."

Suddenly a large explosion occurred in the Four Seasons hotel, catching everyone off-guard. A state of shock overwhelmed those outside, as several hotel employees ran out of the building, running for their lives as the hotel caught on fire.

"MAAARRRIO!" screamed Pauline, fearing for Mario's safety only and neglecting Peach entirely.

"PEEEAAACH!" screamed Bowser, fearing for Peach's safety only and neglecting Mario entirely.

"My sister Elise is in there, along with Cilan!" shouted Corrin, fearing for Elise's safety only and nobody else's. "This has to be a warning sign from God, as punishment for our terrible taste in everything!" Let's not be overdramatic, Corrin...

Now a second explosion went off in the hotel, and a third one, as the fire slowly escalated to the top of the hotel and more employees ran out of the building...but no sign of Mario, Peach, Elise, or Cilan. All the folks who were waiting outside were now either screaming, crying, or running for their lives, all while Jigglypuff off all people was calling the EMTs on some cellphone she found.

"Jiggly jiggly Jigglypuff!" the balloon Pokemon said on the phone, as she watched the Four Seasons hotel ablaze. "Jiggly Jigglypuff, jiggly jiggly..."

"Ah, there's my cellphone, knew I dropped it somewhere," Fred approached Jigglypuff and snatched his cellphone away from the Pokemon, before holding it up to his ear as the chaos outside ensued. "Sorry about that sir...oh yes, the emergency - a few explosions went off at the Four Seasons hotel, and now the building is practically on fire! We had just finished a wedding, and were about to start a wedding reception at the hotel..."

What was meant to be a special day for Mario and Peach...was now a day disrupted by complete and utter chaos and destruction.


	80. Episode 80: Hospitable

_Author's Note:_

 _More reviews to answer...also, thanks to Derick Lindesy for the suggestions._

 _"Is Hades gonna show up in future chapters? Is the Terror Mask gonna be the one from the 2010 Splatterhouse game? Will the other Tales of Hearts characters show up? Are Velvet and Laphicet gonna be residents of the Smash Mansion when they appear? (They deserve a happy ending after Tales of Berseria screwed them over of them ever getting one) And finally, can you also add the antagonists from the Mega Man ZX games?"_

 _Hades will show up sometime in the future. The Terror Mask will indeed be the one from the 2010 Splatterhouse game. Other Hearts characters, like Koa Metora, will appear in due time. Velvet and Laphicet may not be Smash Mansion residents, but I WILL give them a happy ending of some sort. And I may add the Mega Man ZX antagonists. One more anonymous guest review:_

 _"In this canon, are Roy and Lilina married? If not, a wedding for them in the distant future would be interesting."_

 _Roy and Lilina are married - they're kinda like Marth and Caeda, being long-distance lovers. Now we have Roydigs22:_

 _"Do you think maybe you could do a picnic episode to celebrate the beginning of summer ( complete with lucario x lopunny fluff)?"_

 _Eh, I did a barbecue episode, so a picnic episode, I might not do...but I'm open to showcasing more fluff between Lucario and Lopunny._

* * *

 **Episode 80: Hospitable**

Mario's eyes finally opened, and the plumber would find himself awake, inside a unfamiliar place and location. Tucked in a hospital bed, his blue eyes moving left and right as they analyzed everything in sight, Mario soon discovered that he was inside a local Seattle hospital, with an IV and all other sorts of stuff connected to and inserted inside his body.

Today had marked a week ever since Mario and Peach's wedding day ended in a destructive disaster. As Cilan was showing the newlyweds - as well as Corrin's little sister, Elise - his wedding cake, and how his beloved creation had to accommodate the size of the Four Seasons hotel ballroom, where the wedding reception would take place...a propane explosion of epic proportions transpired, setting the hotel ablaze and resulting in a hectic frenzy outside.

Mario honestly had no idea how he was still alive - last thing he remembered, there was nothing but fire, and explosions, and smoke, filling up his lungs. He didn't know if the Four Seasons hotel withstood the explosions, or if Cilan's cake survived...or if Cilan, Elise, or even Peach survived in general. But little did the plumber know that he wasn't alone in this room...for he had some good company.

"About time you woke up, sleepyhead," a sweet, soothing voice said to Mario - a voice the plumber could easily recognize from a mile away. He turned his head to the left, and was delighted to see his wife, Princess Peach, in a hospital bed, smiling away. Peach's luscious blonde hair was now short; most of her hair was likely lost in the explosion. At least her crown remained intact on her head, somehow. "Hello, my dear husband Mario, I've been waiting for the moment you wake up from your coma!"

"Hello to you-a too, my lovely wedded-a wife Peach!" exclaimed Mario, returning the favor. He couldn't be stuck in a hospital room with a more worthy person than Peach, the woman he just married. "Was I really stuck-a in a coma? Feels-a like today's still-a our wedding day!"

"You were in a coma for a week now, and the doctors were afraid that you might never wake up...or worse." No imagining how Peach and the others would have felt if the "worse" part indeed happened. "But I'm glad to see that you proved those doctors wrong! The others will be relieved when they see you're wide awake!"

"Yes, I'm-a sure they will...so what about Cilan and Elise? Did they survive-a the hotel explosion? Does anyone know who-a was behind the attack-a on the hotel in the first-a place? I want-a some names..."

"Nobody knows who the culprit behind the explosions is, not yet. Cilan is still alive - suffered a few second-degree burns, but overall he's doing fine - got released from the hospital earlier in the week if I'm not mistaken. As for Elise..." Peach bowed her head in sadness, which led Mario to believe that Elise was quite unlucky. "I heard from Daisy that the paramedics found Elise's body, but Elise wasn't breathing, and her heart wasn't beating and...Xander wanted to take her back to the kingdom of Nohr, since he didn't trust any of the Seattle hospitals taking care of Elise. Corrin and Kamui returned to Nohr along with Xander and the others, so they could return Elise and tell the bad news to their father, Garon. They spent almost a week with Elise and their sibligns - should be back by now. Oh, I know those two have very heavy hearts, not knowing if their sister will survive..."

 **Doctor: Thankfully everyone survived that Four Seasons hotel fire, albeit with some injuries - like burns, broken limbs, and even a loss of sanity. Not sure if that's a legit injury, but that's what my teacher back in medical school told me. Anyways, the survivors from the hotel fire are alive and well, but there's no looking past the fact that a hotel fire in this city of Seattle is quite momentous, and the general public may believe that this fire could be some sort of orchestrated terrorist attack. The hotel fire's been receiving A LOT of national media attention, even more so with that big wedding involving Mario and Peach, who I assumed were keeping a low profile before the hotel incident. If terrorists were behind that fire, and they're lingering around in Seattle, seeking for other methods of carrying out their wicked deeds, then I must make sure these wretched terrorists don't come after my prized possessions... *reaches into the pocket of his lab coat, and pulls out an Elvis Presley bobblehead* You're still safe with me, leather... *kisses bobblehead***

A nurse poked her head through the door, and was delighted to see Mario finally awake from his coma. The nurse and her fellow hospital employees were probably holding prop bets in the back, on how quick Mario would wake from his coma. Likely chance the nurse won said prop bets.

"Good evening, Mr. Mario, glad to see you're finally awake from your coma," the nurse said to the plumber. "And good evening to you too, Princess Peach. You have a horde of visitors that wish to see you, Mario - do you want to see them now?" Mario would be a blundering idiot to tell the nurse no.

"Of course-a I do, bring them-a on in!" exclaimed Mario, and so the nurse left to fetch two visitors - according to hospital guidelines, only two visitors can visit a patient at a time. A minute or two later, the nurse returned with the first two visitors of the evening - Peach's new brother-in-law Luigi, and Mario's new sister-in-law Daisy. The foursome of Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Daisy, all related...how about that? Luigi walked in holding Charles in his arms, and Daisy was holding Mario's signature red hat.

"Hey bro, hey Princess-a Peach!" Luigi would greet the plumber and the princess, waving his hand and nearly dropping Charles on the floor in the process. Cut it out Luigi, you know you aren't smooth. "I was afraid-a you would never wake-a up Mario, so seeing your blue-a eyes just made-a my day!"

"And we remembered to bring your signature red hat - the hat you left behind at the mansion in preparations for your wedding!" Daisy handed Mario his red hat, complete with the "M" on the front and the red color and...huh, when you think about it, Mario's hat was more basic than it looked.

"Thanks for my-a hat Daisy, I would have-a felt naked without it!" thanked Mario, as he happily placed his hat on his head. "So the nurse told-a me and Peach that there-a were a horde of visitors wanting to see-a us...is that true?" Luigi and Daisy exchanged nervous looks at one another, with Luigi biting his bottom lip...that told Mario and Peach that Master Hand might have something to do with this horde of visitors.

"Well, let's just say that...Master Hand wanted everyone to visit you and Peach, but since you were stuck in your coma, the doctors apparently didn't want any visitors in this room, even though we were told Peach has been awake for the longest now. So today will be the first time everyone will be seeing you since the wedding."

"Master Hand has-a been worried sick about-a you - heard him-a crying to sleep all the way from-a my house, almost every night!" added Luigi, although Master Hand could be crying about his Lamborghini possibly being damaged again. That hand hardly cares for anyone. "Cared so much-a about you both that he had-a the gall to bring everyone-a to the hospital, just so they could-a pay you a visit."

"Wait, when you said everyone...you didn't mean, _everyone_...did you?" fretted Peach, hoping that Master Hand didn't bring every single person in the mansion to the hospital for paying a visit to the newlyweds...

* * *

...but frankly, that's exactly what Master Hand did, as the mansion residents brought to the hospital. Some were gathered in the waiting room of the floor Mario and Peach were, some were traversing throughout the hospital nonchalantly, and some were even waiting in the nearby hallways! This boded to be a problem not only for the hospital staff, but for the hospital goers who wished to see their loved ones.

 **Master Hand: The explosion that occurred that the Four Seasons hotel was an unimaginable disaster, and a lot of bad has resulted from it - Mario and Peach got injured, Elise got hurt real bad and had to be sent back to Nohr, and worst of all, all the potential wedding photos I could have taken during the reception are gone FOREVER! I could have sold those photographs online! Would have been the easiest money grab in history. On the down side, Cilan got released from the hospital early, and he's been annoying me ever since with his wack food puns...a part of me wished Cilan was the only person that died in the burning hotel. Why didn't I tell that bum to take his scrawny behind back to Unova, when I had the chance? Who cares if he's a better cook than Palutena - that's literally nothing to brag about! Heck, I can be a better cook than that woman!**

To highlight how big of a problem this was, take for instance Bowser, Robin, and Lucario playing cards in the middle of the hallway. A middle-aged man, who was just dying to see his loved one, wanted to traverse through the hallway, but the three brawlers were in his way.

"Um, excuse me sirs, but I'm here to see my son..." the man said to Bowser and company as they ignored him and continued playing their card game. Robin was really kicking Bowser and Lucario's butts. "He got hurt real bad in a motorcycle accident, and I promised him I'd see him today..."

"Why did it have to be today, why couldn't it be yesterday, or the day before, or the day before that?" Bowser asked the man, not even bothering to look at him. He was too busy trying to dig himself out of the hole Robin was putting him in.

"Because he injured himself last night, and I didn't know about his motorcycle crash until today. So I told him on the phone that I would visit him at the hospital today, and I even brought his favorite..."

"What kind of sick father are you - making promises to your son on the phone rather than in person?!" Given Bowser's past history in _Smash Life,_ he shouldn't even be dressing down the man like he was doing now. "Why couldn't you visit your son during the morning hours, it's not like you were doing anything important!"

"Please you guys, I just wanna see my son, I don't mean any trouble whatsoever..." The man was now pleading to Bowser and company, but the three brawlers wouldn't move an inch. This type of behavior was expected from Bowser, but certainly not from Robin nor Lucario.

"Oh yeah, well you should have saved yourself AND your son some trouble by telling him to stay safer on the road! Be a good parent like me, and tell your children from right and wrong, and you'll do them and yourself a huge favor, trust me!" Defeated, the man walked away in sadness, holding his head down as he exited the hallway and went to the nearest elevator, hoping to see his son another time. After the man had left, Bowser had one question in mind that he wanted to ask Robin and Lucario... "Just so were clear, that guy _was_ a paid actor trying to elicit some reaction out of us, like they do on the pranking videos, right?"

"Honestly I'm not sure if that guy was genuine or not...I just wanted to finish this card game," stated Robin, before laying the last card down on the card pile. "...and now I'm victorious! Enjoy the sweet taste of defeat, losers!" Robin proudly smirked and folded his arms cockily as Bowser and Lucario frowned and threw their cards on the floor in disgust.

* * *

"Professor Layton, I thought we were going to see Mario and Peach, like Master Hand had said," Luke spoke with Layton in the hospital's gift shop, as Layton was glancing at a bunch of knick-knacks. "Then we could ask the two some questions, and then we can start our new case, and then we can..."

"Patience, Luke, patience," smiled Layton, wagging his finger at his young apprentice. "Patience is a virtue - it can prove your worth and teach you to respect others. Without patience, you can do nothing." Luke, having learned this important, valuable lesson in life, smiled in awe as Layton made his way through the gift shop, with young Luke following him wherever he went.

 **Layton: The day following the wedding and the attack on the hotel, Master Hand reached out to Luke and I, and gave us a chance to crack the case, to find out the rotten culprit behind the attack. Master Hand said that if we fully win his trust, he'll let us stay at the mansion...  
Luke:. ...so that we'll solve even more mysteries and find new clues and all sorts of fun stuff! Aren't you excited Layton, aren't you feeling as excited and giddy as I am?  
Layton: Now, now, Luke, remember what I said about patience...all those fun things will have to wait, but for now, it's nothing but business! We have to find the mastermind of the Four Seasons hotel attack soon, before any more developments arise!  
Luke: What are you talking about Layton, we always have fun when we solve mysteries and look for clues and all that good stuff! Not everything has to deal with doing business!  
Layton: Does that mean discovering Aurora's fate was considered fun? *smirks as he folds his arms*  
Luke: Huh, now that you mention it...not so much...**

Layton and Luke would exit the gift shop after Layton was done window-shopping and not buying a single darn thing (what a jerk he was), and the first thing they encountered after leaving the shop was a hand...Master Hand. The giant hand was breathing heavily, leaving Layton and Luke to wonder if there was something going on with him. Did Master Hand suffer from memory loss, and was excited to be in the presence of Professor Layton? Was he dealing from some kind of illness, an illness that gave him respiratory problems? Do beings like Master Hand even have respiratory problems?

"Have you two find out who the perpetrator was?" Master Hand asked Layton and Luke, seemingly wanting this case to be resolved right away. Maybe Layton should give the giant hand a lesson in patience and virtue. "I bribed the Seattle police department and told them that they won't have to do any digging on the hotel attack case since you two are doing their jobs. Did the same thing for the government officials back in Washington, D.C. - saved them a lot of work and time. They'd be stupid to turn down 500 grand! Though I wouldn't have acquired that much money if it weren't for Star Records...with them, it's like a cat stealing cheese from a helpless mouse, Tom and Jerry if you will!"

"Luke and I were just taking a break from the investigation, and so far we have found two clues," Layton said to Master Hand, digging into his pocket and pulling out a pair of red glasses, and a receipt for the tanks of propane that set off the explosion at the hotel. "Luke and I had returned to the hotel shortly after the attack, and we found this receipt and some shades at the ballroom, where the explosion took place."

"I also found this not so far from the ballroom," Luke dug into his own pocket, and pulled out a clue he found himself - a Poke Ball. Of course, this Poke Ball could belong to anyone - an aspiring Pokemon trainer, some homeless guy on the street, a kid who acts and dress like Youngster Joey, or even your sweet grandma - but one look at that Poke Ball, and Master Hand seemed to have formulated in his mind who the culprit behind the hotel attack was.

"Judging by this piece of evidence in Luke's hands, the perpetrator, or perpetrators, behind the hotel attack were Pokemon trainers, or folks who happen to use Pokemon to commit acts of terrorism," stated Master Hand, analyzing the Poke Ball in Luke's hands. "Professor Herschel Layton, Luke Triton, I want you two to investigate Cilan and Red, and see if they were behind the crime. Red may not be a viable culprit, but Cilan...taking into consideration how much he contributed to the planning of the wedding, I would assume he had some underlying motives along the way..."

"But why would you think Cilan have anything to do with the explosions, considering he was there at the scene when it happened?" questioned Layton, who couldn't see a cheery, happy-go-lucky fellow like Cilan ever being a culprit of anything. Unless that cheerfulness and happiness and joy was just a cover...a cover for sociopathic behavior. "And why would he target Mario and Peach, after all he has done for them?

"Maybe Cilan was just there to ensure the explosions occurred, and risked his life to ensure his plan was a success," said a sultry voice, coming from a smoking hot babe wearing a black bodysuit and glasses. Bayonetta walked by, grabbing everyone's attention and nearly causing Luke to faint to the floor with her seductive walking. "Like I had told Mario and Toad before, Cilan might have secrets concealed away, and he may not be as trustworthy as he appears to others. Never judge a book by its cover...or in this case, trust."

 **Bayonetta: Wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Cilan was truly the culprit behind the wedding attack - he looks like the kind of guy that would have all sorts of tricks under his sleeve. When I first saw Cilan, I felt something...off, about him. In fact, I even tried to dissuade Mario from bringing Cilan over to the mansion, when that portly plumber entertained the idea of having a Pokemon connoisseur - a retired gym leader - work on his wedding cake at the mansion. So why would Cilan - a man enjoying the benefits and perks of retirement - be so quick, and so willing, to bake something that he probably has never baked before in his life, hmm? *smiles***

"I always judge a good book cover whenever I see one, and when I see Cilan...I see him as a perfectly blameless person," stated Layton, to which Bayonetta rolled her eyes in disgust. The Umbra Witch might be the only person who saw concealed flaws within Cilan. Everyone else thinks Cilan could rescue a cat from a tree and be anointed as the greatest hero in all of Seattle. "I may not agree with Master Hand's reasoning, and your reasoning too, Bayonetta...but if Cilan - or Red - are indeed the culprits, then we shall investigate both of them until we can gather more evidence and come to a valid conclusion to our investigation. You ready to go, Luke?"

"Sure am, Professor Layton, let's get this show on the road!" exclaimed Luke, as he followed Layton. The two detectives went inside an elevator, and as the elevator doors closed, Layton and Luke were gearing up for an exciting investigation.

"That Luke kid must have some serious dependent personality disorder - Lord knows how he would control himself if Layton was't around," remarked Master Hand, before turning his attention to the lovely Bayonetta. He had an important favor to ask of the Umbra Witch...a pretty stupid favor, but a favor nonetheless. "Tell me, Bayonetta - did you ever have a slumber party before, a sleepover?"

"Unless I was friends with Jeanne at the appropriate age for having sleepovers, I would say yes...but I'm too old for silly sleepovers. Leave that stuff to youngsters like Amy Rose, I'm like a centenarian compared to her!"

"Whoever said youngsters and centenarians can't enjoy sleepovers together?" Master Hand holding a sleepover with Amy AND Bayonetta, is that what's he's getting at? Bayonetta suddenly found herself weary...

* * *

Link, Cloud, Pit, Kirby, Sonic, and Corrin were enjoying themselves in the waiting room, as they were playing _Cards Against Humanity_ \- a card gave Yuffie had given to Cloud so he and the boys could pass the time. _Cards Against Humanity_ was "a party game for horrible people", and Corrin was playing the game, yet he still felt horrible about what happened to his sister, Elise...so the prince was essentially a living double negative.

"What gives me uncontrollable gas?" Link read off a black card, as the other players picked out a card from their deck and laid it down on the table. Once everyone had went, Link gathered all the cards, ready to read them one by one. "Starting off with Pit, here goes nothing...what gives me uncontrollable gas?" Link grimaced when he read the card Pit summoned. "...necrophilia. Of all the cards..." Link stared at Pit, who just shrugged - the object of the game was to pick the gnarliest card for the prompt, after all.

"Only cards I had left was Robert Downey Jr. and a sneezing fetish, so I had to go with the best answer..." was Pit's response. Fairly understandable. But getting uncontrollable gas through necrophilia? Sounds messed up when you think about it, but that's what adds to the allure of _Cards Against Humanity._

 **Cloud: Sora somehow grew more annoying over the week - kept pestering me about some demonic wing I had on my back. He claimed that I had this wing due to some dark powers I was supposedly using, and even wanted Aerith to prove that what he was saying was true, but I told that woman good not to entertain Sora's silliness. Should have told that to Link too, when I had the chance...and now he and Sora are best friends. I'm supposed to be Link's best friend, not that loser Sora. Three words always come into my mind whenever I look at that guy's shoes...and frankly I don't have the enthusiasm to say these words out loud.**

"Eh, you got a good point there - still a weird selection though," remarked Link as he placed Pit's card away, pulled out another card from the pile. "Let's see what card you drew Corrin...what gives me uncontrollable gas?" Link now squinted his eyes in confusion when he read Corrin's card. "...depression? Depression gives you uncontrollable gas, Corrin?" Link glanced at the prince, who wasn't exactly feeling it - he felt despondent as he looked down at the floor, heaving a heavy sigh. "Corrin all the cards you've drawn so far have some kind of melancholy feel to it...are you sure you want to continue playing?" Corrin heaved another sigh, which meant it was a definite no.

"I'm not...I'm not feeling very hungry today..." Corrin, losing his trace of thought, got up and walked away, leaving on a very awkward note. Link and the guys looked at one another, wondering what must be done to cheer up Corrin.

"You guys play on without me, I'll go cheer up Corrin and bring him back to his spirits," Sonic told the crew as he got up and ran after the prince of Nohr. Sonic was actually taking an initiative in wanting to turn someone's frown upside down?! The hedgehog had done it before with Mewtwo back in episode 76, so don't even act surprised.

"Let's just start the game all over, we weren't that far ahead anyways," said Cloud, as Link reshuffled all the cards. "Hopefully we can start a new game before... _he_ wants to join in." Cloud's face sank when he saw Sora approach him and the others, with a grilled cheese sandwich in hand.

"First time ever at a hospital, and this place sure has some great grub!" exclaimed Sora, as he took a bite from his grilled cheese sandwich; pretty sure the hospital food, such as the sandwich, was for hospital patrons only, but it would be hard to convince a noob like Sora otherwise. "Hey, are you guys playing a card game? Mind if I join in on the fun?"

"Sorry man, but only up to four people can play this game, maybe you'll get an opportunity to play some other time," Cloud responded on the fly; Kirby, sensing what Cloud was trying to do, wished to include Sora in the card game.

"You're more than welcome to join us, Sora - why, we were just about to start a new game!" exclaimed the pink puffball, much to Cloud's chagrin. Why did Kirby have to be so friendly for? His friendliness was sure causing a lot of problems, at least in Cloud's case.

"Thanks a bunch Kirby, you're a very nice guy! Since you're sitting with your best friend in Pit...why don't I sit between my two favorite people?" Sora sat in-between Link and Cloud, and the Keyblade wielder flashed a toothy grin at Cloud, who fired back with a glare. Sonic and Corrin couldn't return any sooner...

"Let's make this game as quick and swift as possible," said Cloud, wanting this card game to end ASAP so he could get away from Sora as far as possible.

 **Aerith: Would tell Sora the truth - but I'd figured he would have to learn the truth himself. Learning is the best experience, and experience can make you stronger and more powerful! Granted Sora is already strong and powerful in my eyes, but the gift of knowledge can certainly take him to places he has never been before! I mean, he learned something new about Marth!**

 **Marth: *facepalming* Took Sora _two_ weeks to realize that I wasn't a woman...Caeda keeps telling me to ditch my haircut, but I'll continue to stick to my guns and keep my hair intact, even if it comes at the risk of having my manliness questioned. Might start a new hair trend, if I have to...**

* * *

Mario and Peach were still chilling with Luigi and Daisy in their room, enjoying a wonderful conversation while Charles was finding new and different ways to entertain himself. The conversation between the four adults would soon come to an end, when Master Hand randomly showed up in the room, scaring the pants off of everyone.

"What's good, my amigos, how y'all doing?" Master Hand greeted everyone in the room, doing his best to sound cool but seemingly failing in the process. "Peach, you may be the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom and all, but I don't think you ever had a full-fledged slumber party before, or a sleepover - I'm sure Toadsworth would be the one to blame for that. How would you like to have your own sleepover, in the comfort of this hospital room?"

"I may not have had a sleepover before, but to be honest Master Hand, I'm not quite sure it would be necessary," Peach kindly responded with a smile. "Especially if having a sleepover here would be highly against the rules of the hospital..."

"Too bad, because you and Daisy are gonna have a sleepover anyways!" This was Master Hand for ya - even if you were to tell him no, the giant hand would still against your own response in order to pursue what _he_ wanted. "Screw the hospital rules - rules only exist just for the sole reason of being broken! Name me one good instance of anyone in history adhering to the rules of anything." Peach and company, not knowing how to answer Master Hand's question, opted to remain silent. "Yeah, that's exactly what I thought! Now it's time for the sleepover to begin...come on in ladies!"

At the command of Master Hand, all the ladies of the Smash Mansion - Zelda, Midna, Samus, Wendy Koopa, Wii Fit Trainer, Jigglypuff, the female Inkling, Lucina, Kamui, Celica, Felicia, Flora, Palutena, Viridi, Aerith, Tsubasa, Eleonora, Kiria, Mamori, Ashley, Asuka, Leia, Kohaku, and Bayonetta - all filed into the room, including ladies like Yuffie, Amy Rose, Fiora, and even Lopunny. Thankfully the room was spacious enough to hold all the female residents.

"Luigi, go find a nurse and ask her to take Mario out of this room - I want you, Mario, and Charles out of this room pronto," Master Hand told the green plumber, stressing the need to have a ladies-only sleepover. "Princess Peach, ladies, are you ready to have the greatest sleepover ever, to have the greatest time of your lives?!"

"Master Hand, don't you think it's a little too early to be having a sleepover?" questioned Ashley, looking at a clock on the wall as Luigi went to go fetch a nurse. "It's getting close to six, and it hasn't even been nightfall yet..."

"Not only that, but why are Jigglypuff and Lopunny a part of the sleepover, it's not like any of them can speak English!" added Wii Fit Trainer; granted the two mentioned Pokemon can hear and understand English, but speaking it? That would bode to be an issue for the other ladies.

"Discriminating against Pokemon and trying to establish superiority over them because of their inefficiencies...I had expected better from you, Wii Fit Trainer," remarked Master Hand, as Wii Fit simply rolled her eyes. Luigi would return with a nurse, and when the nurse saw the ladies gathered inside the room, she knew there was a problem.

"Look everyone, I'm sorry, but the limit for visitors in this hospital is five, you all shouldn't be here," the nurse explained to the lady residents, who frankly didn't want to be here anyways, so they couldn't blame the nurse either way. "I understand that Mario and Peach want visitors, but the hospital policy states that..."

"Listen up lady - your so-called policy is complete and utter crap, and you should change it right away. Now how about you take Mario to another room, before I have to take matters into my own hands?"

"I cannot take Mario out of this room unless you tell all the ladies to leave, since having too many visitors in one room poses as a safety hazard. Also, if I have to move Mario, I would need consent from someone from the hospital staff..." Master Hand, down to his last nerve, was ready to unleash upon the nurse.

"Either you take Mario out of this room, consent or not, or I will take the innards out of your body, and turn your body inside out, and then warp your innards around your body in a way until that grotesque wouldn't even _begin_ to describe what happened to you."

Not wanting this fate to happen to her, the nurse quickly unhooked Mario from the cords and whatnot from the wall, and hurriedly rushed him out of the room, as Luigi followed after the nurse with Charles. Hard proof evidence of why talking Master Hand out of situations may not be a great idea...

 **Master Hand: Everyone at this hospital knows my name, it's just like that TV show _Cheers,_ when everybody knows who you are. Whenever I make my grand appearance at the hospital, I greet the hospital staff with a very sincere "Hello!", and the first thing the staffers do is crouch on the floor and cover their heads in fear. Rarely do you see a bigger sign of respect than that anywhere else.**

"Obviously no sleepover would be complete without a game of truth-or-dare!" stated Master Hand, shortly after the nurse took Mario, Luigi, and Charles to a different room in the hospital, as he summoned a bag of cards at the end of Peach's hospital bed with the simple snap of his fingers. "So to keep Peach's spirits high, and keep her content and all that stuff, you'll be playing truth-or-dare, and enjoy everything this sleepover has to offer. Don't worry about being kicked out - I'll 'negotiate' with the hospital staff and ask them if they can keep the sleepover going until the next day. Hopefully these negotiations won't end with any deaths whatsoever." Fiora looked through the bag of cards, reading and inspecting each card. The cards were two-sided; one side a truth challenge written on it, and the other side a dare challenge.

"Please tell me you didn't make these cards yourself, Master Hand..." the Homs stated. Some of the truths and dares on the cards were...a little interesting, though interesting might be an understatement. Fiora wasn't even sure she would do _half_ of what the cards entailed.

"What kind of stupid remark was that, of course I did those cards Fiora! Some of them were done at the last minute, as you will see the more you play the game. I'll go away and leave you ladies at it - have fun, home girls!" Master Hand vanished, signifying the beginning of a sleepover that Peach and the other ladies did not agree to.

"Guess we have no other choice but to get this truth-or-dare thing started with...good chance Master Hand is watching us, somehow. I suppose we'll start things off with you, Peach, since Master Hand made you out to be some kind of maid of honor..."

* * *

"Us hospital staffers have a very long, complicated history with Master Hand in case you boys didn't know," the nurse told Mario and Luigi, pushing Mario through the halls of the hospital as she was looking for an available room to place Mario in. Charles would listen to the nurse, but he was at an age where listening wasn't really an essential asset. Reciting Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have A Dream" speech to Charles would be like random sounds and noises to the infant, given his meager levels of comprehension and understanding. "Wanna hear a long, complicated story?"

"We have-a known Master Hand to be a very precarious and-a tumultuous fellow, so this story should-a be a good one," answered Mario, as he was being whisked away to another room by the nurse. This long, complicated story should be loads of fun!

"It all started a few years ago, when Master Hand was looking for a health care plan..." Here we go, a problem that was once highlighted back in episode 32. "He came to us and demanded that we provide him some kind of health care plan for his mansion, and we tried to tell them that hospitals can't give out health care plans like that. As an act of 'retribution' of our 'ignorant behavior', Master Hand placed giant slabs of lead in _every_ elevator of the hospital, until we came around and give him a health care plan. Going up and down the stairs had never felt so tiring..."

"Heh, that sounds-a so much like the Master Hand-a we know and love," grinned Luigi, shaking his head. "Not so sure-a about the love part, but-a hey, we still appreciate-a the guy...or hand...or what-a ever he wants to-a be identified by."

"But the whole lead in the elevator thing was apparently just the tip of the iceberg. Wanting to seek 'vengeance' upon us hospital staffers for not following his demands, Master Hand would return a day later, and clog all the toilets and urinals in the hospital!" the nurse continued her story, as she finally reached a suitable room to place Mario in. "It was downright horrible, even worse due to the fact that..." the nurse opened the door to the room, and stopped telling her story as she stopped in place, baffled by what was already taking place inside the room.

Inside the room was Fox and Falco, and the two _Star Fox_ pilots were playing _Arms_ on the Nintendo Switch. On a medical monitor. The nurse, Mario, and Luigi just looked on in bewilderment as Fox and Falco did their thing, wondering how the pilots managed to hook a video game system up to some medical monitor when there was a TV already available.

 **Fox: Amy Rose stopped by the mansion a few days ago, and she brought a new Nintendo Switch game...ta-da! *holds up the game cover of _Arms_ up to the camera* This game is like that boxing game from _Wii Sports,_ but with more colors and good original characters, and the use of special moves!  
** **Falco: We would play this game on the television at the hospital, but that would be too mainstream. And besides, the televisions in each room are too high up, we would be far away from all the action. So we're taking things to the small screen, and play _Arms_ on the medical monitor, one way or another! Who's gonna stop us?  
Doctor: *approaching Fox and Falco* I'm sorry sirs, but you can't play video games inside the hospital, it's against our policy...you'll just have to take your fun elswhere.  
Fox: Bro you're drinking coffee and it's during the evening time, so who are you to talk?  
Doctor: For your information buddy, I didn't get any coffee this morning, not to mention that I'm feeling pretty tired, but judging by the look on your face, you don't seem to be amused...and neither is your friend, and I'm probably making myself look like an utter fool, so I'll just...leave and let you boys...do your thing...for now... *awkwardly walks away***

"Ha ha ha, won yet again!" exclaimed Falco after winning his match against Fox, pumping his fists in the air as Fox threw his Joy-Cons onto the floor in bitter defeat. "Game, set, match Fox McCloud, you ain't got nothin' on me!"

"Enjoy your eleven-game winning streak as long as you can Falco, because in the next match you won't be feeling so victorious!" vowed Fox, before turning around and seeing Mario, Luigi, and the nurse. "Ay, Falco, the newly-wedded husband Mario has arrived!" Falco stopped celebrating his victory and headed over to Mario and Luigi, pushing the nurse to the side as he made his way to Mario.

"Yo yo yo, Mario, give me some dap bro!" Falco said to the plumber as he held out his hand for some dap; Mario was in no physical condition to give a full-fledged dap, so Falco pretty much had to do the work himself. "How you feeling bro, feeling alright, chilling in the cut?"

"Nice to see-a you again, Falco...I suppose," said Mario, as Fox and Falco were now flanking at his side. It was like the pilots were meeting Mario for the very first time, and were delighted to be in his mighty presence. "Why are you two-a playing _Arms_ at this hospital, and on-a the medical monitor no-a less?"

"One, we didn't want to play the game until Friday; two, playing on a television would be too mainstream; and three, the television was too high up for us anyways," explained Fox, as Falco returned to the Switch so he could start another match. "Do you have any idea how annoying it would be having to look up the television screen and kick Falco's butt at the same time?"

"For the record Fox you have yet to kick my butt, if the previous eleven matches were any indication," stated Falco, selecting his fighter. The fighter the avian pilot chose was Spring Man - no, not the Robot Master from _Mega Man 7_ built by Dr. Wily, the cover art guy on the _Arms_ video game cover. He will likely be the face of the game in due time. "You wanna start another game or not?"

"Of course man, like I said, I'm not stopping until I finally beat you. Might take me until midnight if necessary." Fox picked up his Joy-Cons off of the floor, and selected his character of choice - Max Brass, the greatest champion in ARMS Grand Prix history. If Fox wished to defeat Falco at his own game, then he had to aspire for greatness and play as one of the greats.

"Let me get you adjusted and everything, Mr. Mario..." the nurse said to the plumber, pushing him to the side of the room where all the cords and whatnot go at. "If you two wish to play your little video game, then I'm afraid you'll have to do it elsewhere - Mario may need a little privacy," the nurse told Fox and Falco, who started their match, as she plugged up everything she had unhooked, including reading Mario's heart rate.

"No, they're-a fine, they're welcome-a to stay for as long they-a like," Mario told the nurse as his heart rate and pulse was being checked. Luigi had a nervous look on his face, unsure if Mario was making the right decision or not.

 **Luigi: Fox and-a Falco are a very bashful duo to-a be around...they have-a the excitability of a jack-a rabbit, combined with-a the irritably of a flying gnat and the erratic-a nature of a category five-a hurricane. Highly doubt-a that a still recovering Mario would-a enjoy Fox and Falco's presence, but-a if they annoy him-a to no end, then he better not-a come crying to me... *strokes chin in thought, smiling* ...though the crying part-a would be sorta nice.**

"Okay then, I'll take your word for word - I'll be back to see if you need anything," the nurse told Mario after she was done, as she exited the room, leaving the plumber, Luigi, and Charles alone with Fox and Falco, the pilots playing _Arms._ The nurse peeked through the door as she closed it, wondering if Mario had might the right decision.

* * *

Back to the _Cards Against Humanity_ game, with Pit, Kirby, Link, Cloud, and the fifth member, Sora - the Keyblade wielder was doing exceptionally well for his first time playing _Cards Against Humanity,_ even if he didn't understand a majority of what the cards said.

"Who the heck is Donald Trump, is he some kind of duck?" Sora questioned as he read one of the black cards, which read "Donald Trump has nominated _ for his VP". The name "Donald" brought a famous _Disney_ character to his mind; surely the brunette didn't identify someone's species just by their name, that's some messed up thinking!

"He's basically a presumably evil human guy with an ugly blonde toupee and orange skin who is the reason why most foreign countries aside from Russia don't take America seriously anymore ever since he was named President," Cloud had to explain to Sora, who raised his finger to signify that he had another question. "President is just some fancy title that means you're the leader and commander-in-chief of this country. Now how about you draw your card already, so we can get this game moving along?"

"Good grief Cloud, you could have asked nicely...but since you're a cool guy, I'll give you a pass." Sora laid his card unto the pile of cards, and Pit gathered up the cards and began to read them one by one.

"Your card was at the top Sora, so I'll read yours first," stated Pit, putting on his reading glasses. Where he got these glasses from will remain a slight mystery, but the angel could really use them. "Donald Trump has nominated...Deez Nuts for his VP." Pit couldn't help but smirk when he said this. "Golly Sora, that's not a bad choice, might be the funniest card you drawn so far!"

"Wait, so the goal of the game is to draw the funniest card possible for each of the black card prompts?" asked Sora, as Cloud facepalmed at the brunette's ignorance. "Honestly I thought Deez Nuts was an actual person. Trust me, I've met folks with even stranger names throughout my adventures..."

"Cloud, Sora, may I see you two for a quick minute?" Aerith asked the two frenemies (if you wish to call them frenemies), approaching the _Cards Against Humanity._ The smile on the flower girl's face led Cloud and company to assume that she was up to no good. "It won't be long, I promise you!"

 **Aerith: What I'm about to do with Link and Cloud may or may not be disastrous to my relationship with Cloud...however, it must be done, and for the greater good, I suppose...sometimes I wish I had a backup boyfriend.**

"How long will you need Cloud and Sora, Aerith?" asked Link, who refused to play _Cards Against Humanity_ with Pit and Kirby. Kirby, the Hylian didn't mind that much, but Pit? Jesus would definitely have to take the wheel. "We were just getting into the thick of things!"

"Like I said, it won't be long, the two will be back sooner than you know it!" responded Aerith, as Sora and Cloud got up - Cloud with some reluctance - and followed Aerith away, to who-knows-where. Shortly after Aerith and the boys left, Gil appeared, and frowned when he saw Pit, with some familiar oculars on his face.

"Pit why are you wearing my glasses?" Gil questioned the angel, angrily stomping towards him and snatching his glasses. "Just because I don't wear these bad boys all the time doesn't mean that people like you can..." Gil looked down at the table, and saw black and white cards laid out. "Ooh, are you guys playing _Cards Against Humanity_? Mind if I join in?"

"As long as we continue from where we left off, then you're welcome to join - we had to restart the game because of Sora," replied Link, who had wished Gil would just replace Pit. "He and Cloud were playing this game, and now that they're gone...you can just go ahead and take their places."

* * *

"Whatever you have to show us Aerith, it better be good..." Cloud said to his girlfriend, as he and Sora were led by Aerith to an unknown location in the hospital. Considering Cloud was with his least favorite person in the world in Sora, the swordsman was willing to give his hopes up.

"Aaaand here we are!" exclaimed Aerith, as she and the boys arrived at the destination...some random door to a room that didn't appear to be frequented much. Sora and Cloud exchanged looks with one another, both sharing the same amount of confusion. "What, you boys don't like it? Surely you'll appreciate it a lot more if you take a look at what's inside!" Aerith opened up the door, revealing a large, spacious closet, and turned on the lights.

"Please tell me you aren't gonna throw us in there Aerith..." Cloud's fears would soon be realized, when the flower girl grabbed the swordsman and Sora, and threw them inside the closet, closing the door immediately. "Aerith you can't do this to me, you can't leave me alone in the same room with this twerp Sora!" Cloud tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge - Aerith must have placed something in front of the door to prevent Cloud or Sora from escaping!

"Sorry I had to do this to you Cloud, hope you'll forgive me!" Aerith apologized to Cloud, her voice trailing off as she ran away. Cloud certainly didn't appreciate his girlfriend locking him inside a random closet in the hospital...and he certainly didn't appreciate being stuck with Sora, who had his arms out wide as the ex-SOLDIER turned around.

"We have never hugged things out during all the time we have known each other, and seeing that you're still in a grouchy mood...why not a hug, to cheer you up?" Sora asked Cloud, who did his best to keep his distance from the Keyblade wielder. Good thing there was a cameraman recording all the action in the closet that Cloud could use as a human shield.

* * *

 **Kohaku: Our game of truth-or-dare, so far, isn't as bad as we thought it would be. Granted, most of the things that the cards - erm, _Master Hand_ \- wanted us to do, like steal Doc Louis's chocolate bar or discuss our most embarrassing bathroom moment, were strange, but sorta made the game fun. *pauses* Think it's my turn next, I have to do a truth challenge. I'll be back... *hurries back to Peach's room, sprinting past Doc Louis*  
Doc Louis: Hey Kohaku, have you seen my precious Sherelle anywhere? One minute I was making love to her, and the next she's gone! Who keeps stealing my chocolate bars?!**

Kohaku would return to Peach's room, where Samus was doing a truth challenge - the bounty hunter had to cite one person she loved very much, and since the ladies expected her to talk about Anthony Higgs, Samus went with someone else instead.

"Loved my little brother Solomon, he was like, two years younger than me," Samus gave the ladies a little history lesson on her little brother. "When Ridley and the space pirates attacked the human settlement my family lived at, my brother went missing and everyone presumed him to be dead. I assume that nobody felt like looking for my brother given the chaos that went down, but that's just my little theory..."

"Thank you for sharing that with us, Samus," thanked Fiora, who was in charge of the truth-or-dare game. "Next up for the truth challenge is Kohaku...is Kohaku anywhere around here?" Fiora looked around the room for Kohaku, seeing the bluenette situated between Zelda and Palutena, like she had never left. "Glad you came back Kohaku - we were just about to skip you!" Skipped or not, Kohaku wouldn't have cared regardless. "Here is your card!" Fiora drew a card from the bag, and handed it to Kohaku, who read both sides of the card and smiled at the truth prompt.

"Truth or dare...Rosalina?" Kohaku asked the mother of Lumas, being immediately put on the spot. Rosalina, not wishing to do any action that would be humiliating or make her look bad in general, opted to go with the safest choice possible.

"I'll go with truth, and the question I'm being asked better be good," answered Rosalina, anticipating what Kohaku was going to ask her. But the smile on Kohaku's face was slowly killing Rosalina's anticipation.

"Okay then...what is it that you like about your love interest - who we all know is Ganondorf?" Rosalina bit her lip after the question was asked, for the secret was out...and it was pretty much out for a long time. Ganondorf and Rosalina had been an item since episode 22, and since then the residents have been wondering what kept the romance between the Demon Lord and the mother of Lumas intact.

"What do I like the most about my love interest Ganondorf, you ask? Well...I think that he's very manly, and although he may not look like it, he can be also very caring, and also considerate...he's a lot nicer than most people think..."

"C'mon Rosalina, that's not juicy enough - who cares if Ganondorf is manly, or caring, every man is like that!" Tsubasa said to Rosalina; this reply was coming from an idol singer who's too afraid to ask Itsuki out on a date. Tsubasa always had a minor crush on Itsuki. "Tell us what you _really_ like about Ganondorf - something that you refuse to tell anyone else!"

Rosalina would avoid answering the question (for the moment, anyways) when Aerith returned to the room, closing the door as she catched her breath. There was a look of concern on the flower girl's face as she returned to her seat.

 **Cloud: Aerith, you're coming back to save me, right? Can't leave me in here forever with Sora, I thought you were better than this Aerith!  
Sora: You know Cloud, since we're stuck in this room and all...why not have an epic duel? You and your Buster Sword, against me and my Keyblade! It'll be legit, I tell ya!  
Cloud: Thanks, but no thanks Sora - the last thing I would want is for you to... *gets struck by Sora's Keyblade as he falls to the floor* ...ow, did you just hit me with your stupid Keyblade Sora? *gets hit by Keyblade again* OW! Quit it out man... *and again* OW! Hit me one more time and I will... *and again*OW! Aerith, if you don't... *...and again* DUDE STOP IT ALREADY!**

"How did it go, did you complete the dare?" Midna asked Aerith after the flower girl was situated. The imp wanted no part of the truth-or-dare game - she just wanted to see the ladies embarrass and humiliate themselves. "Did Cloud spew his hate upon you after you locked him in with that Sora dweeb?"

"I'm afraid Cloud didn't vent his anger until after I left, hopefully he'll forgive me once I free him from his little prison," replied Aerith, before looking at Wendy - the girly koopa having given Aerith the dare. "Hope you got what you wanted, Wendy!"

"Hey, I was just following what the card said," Wendy shrugged innocently. "Master Hand must be a very sadistic individual if he wanted to see Cloud and Sora stuck in the same room together." Wendy then turned her attention to Rosalina, who still had some unfinished business. "Don't you have a question to answer for us, Rosalina?"

* * *

The investigation by Professor Layton and Luke Triton, as the detective duo were now interrogating Red the Pokemon Trainer. Both Layton and Luke found it suspect that Red was chilling on the first floor of the hospital, and not on the floor Mario and Peach were at, but as it turned out, the Pokemon trainer was trying to heal his Pokemon, who had become exhausted after some rigorous training.

"Apparently this hospital is super cheap - tried asking the lady at the front desk if she could heal my Pokemon, and she claimed that the hospital can't do it," Red explained to Layton and Luke during his interrogation. "Reason why I'm on the first floor is so I could look for anyone that can heal my Pokemon in some way or fashion."

"Hmm, seems fair...but do you know who might be behind the Four Seasons hotel attack?" Layton would ask Red, as Luke showed Red the pieces of evidence - the Poke Ball, the red shades, and the receipt. "Master Hand suspects Cilan to be the main culprit behind the attack...do you agree with Master Hand, Red?"

"Well it would be hard to believe Cilan had anything to do with the attack, since he was there when it happened and all...but the guy healed from his wounds rather quickly and was sent home from the hospital sooner than any of us expected, so that seriously begs to question. I think you should interrogate Cilan, just to be on the safe side - you might him in the hospital's cafeteria. Dude's always seen whenever food is abound."

"Then we shall head to the cafeteria immediately," said Luke, ready to continue the investigation. "Thank you for your compliance, Red!" Red nodded his head as Layton and Luke went away, leaving the Pokeon trainer to wonder how on earth he was going to get his Pokemon healed with no Nurse Joy in sight.

* * *

"Yashiro you were right, wearing surgical masks is fun!" exclaimed Touma, looking around the hospital for his friend, and yes, he was indeed wearing a surgical mask. It was a common fashion practice done in Asian countries, and not that many people were sure when this practice started.

 **Touma: Allow me to explain to you how Asians wearing surgical masks in public became a thing...it all started years ago, when the bird flu panic struck the world. Wanting to protect themselves from infections, Asians started wearing surgical masks, and it has been catching on ever since. Surgical masks have become a bit of a fashion statement in Asian countries, as it enhances your good looks, or something like that - that's what Yashiro told me, he's a fashion guru so his word is bond. And no, I didn't _steal_ this surgical mask, I just found it lying on the floor. One man's trash is another man's treasure... *pauses* ...or should I say, one man's _treasure_ is another man's _trash!_ *nods head with a non-confident smile* Yeah, we'll just go with that...**

"The heck are you Yashiro, you didn't get lost, did you?" Touma called out as he looked for Yashiro...before hearing some loud sobbing nearby. This sobbing was coming from a men's restroom nearby; Touma entered said restroom and saw Corrin sitting on the floor sobbing, with Sonic sitting next to him and actually comforting him. Watching over the two was Yashiro, who was standing up and wearing a surgical mask.

"Touma can you please close the door, do you think the people in the hospital want to hear Corrin's crying?" Yashiro told the redhead, who immediately closed the door and headed over to see what was going on. He had never seen Corrin in such an emotional state.

"What's up with Corrin - did someone tell him that the new _Star Wars_ movie sucked?" Touma had figured Corrin's obsession with _Star Wars_ had reached emotional levels, to the point where even the most negative comments could make the prince of Nohr feel some type of way.

"No, Corrin's still very upset about Elise - he's certain that Elise is dead, even though Kamui made it clear that Elise has been recovering well since the hotel incident. Xander said so in some letter he sent to Kamui - he sent the letter to Kamui only, and honestly I couldn't blame him!"

"Elise was so young, and so innocent too...she didn't deserve to go out like that!" sobbed Corrin, wiping his tears away. "Sorry my baby sister had to die on your birthday Sonic - talk about the worst birthday gift ever! And it was all because of me...why didn't I know about the explosion beforehand? I could have very well prevented..."

"Woah Corrin, chill out, this wasn't your fault!" Sonic interrupted the prince of Nohr, calming him down. "None of us knew the explosion would take place, I was just as shocked as you were! Also, if Elise were to be dead, wouldn't your folks formally address that to you and Kamui? Ever thought of that?"

"Sonic has a valid point, you know," Touma said to Corrin, who was miffed by the surgical masks he and Yashiro were wearing. "Kamui is sad about Elise too, but you don't see her wearing her sadness on her face. You gotta be a man Corrin, you can't let Elise's current condition take all the fight out of ya! Stay strong, and remain steadfast, and you can do anything!"

"You're right, you guys, I can't be sad about Elise forever, even if she's dead or not..." Corrin slowly rose up to his feet, now exuberating confidence. "I have to be a man, and I have to be strong!" Yeah Corrin, that's the spirit!

"Well we're glad to see you happy again Corrin - I have to admit, seeing you down disturbed even me," said Yashiro; how do we know Yashiro wasn't just saying that to keep Corrin's spirits high? "So please don't feel so depressed Corrin - you might hurt the morale of the mansion by killing the mood."

"I understand that Yashiro...but if I wish to keep my mind on positive things, then I must strengthen the bonds I have between my siblings, like Kamui! I demand to know where Kamui is!"

"Um, what does Kamui have to do with anything we just said?" questioned Corrin, who was fearing that the prince was becoming overconfident...and for all the wrong reasons in the world. "And how are you going to strength the bond you have with Kamui?"

"A great person - like me - never tells their secrets to anyone! Just tell me where Kamui is, and nobody gets hurt!"

* * *

 **Falco: Welp, Fox finally did it, finally beat me in a game of _Arms..._ *smirks* ...after like, eighteen tries. So my record is 18-1...now I know how the Patriots felt back in the Super Bowl in 2008. Still hate the Patriots though.**

 **Fox: Ha ha ha, in your face Falco, I beat you at your own game! How do those tears taste, do they taste salty? Man do I feel invigorated! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! *does the "Yes!" chant as a doctor and a nurse awkwardly walk by*  
Doctor: Now I understand that Daniel Bryan originated from Seattle and Seattlites are pretty fond of the guy...but this is too much.  
Nurse: Let the fox have his fun John, the people that used to do that chant back in the day did it for a good reason...**

Once Fox was done celebrating his victory, he and Falco returned to Mario's room, so he could augment his one-game winning streak against his best friend. The pilots continued playing when Mario's nurse returned to the room, shocked that Mario and Luigi were able to tolerate the pilots for so long.

"Mr. Mario, a few guests would like to see you!" the nurse told Mario, and in came the threesome of Yoshi, Toad, and Meta Knight. Yoshi - carrying a large present - and Toad were smiling, and Meta Knight could be smiling too - we just don't know because of his mask.

"Hi Mario and Luigi...and Fox and Falco," Yoshi greeted the Mario Bros, and the pilots. Poor Charles didn't get any love - just because he was a baby don't mean anything.

"We have come forth with a special wedding gift for you, Mario!" exclaimed Toad, as Yoshi placed the present on top of Mario. "We had this wedding gift kept away at the mansion for emergency reasons...with that hotel fire being one of those reasons, hehe."

"I was forced to come here because of my intimidating looks," added Meta Knight; hard to tell if he wanted to be here or not. "Was enjoying my alone time until these two simpletons came along...please Mario, open up that stupid present so I can resume my usual activities..."

"Open-a up the present I shall, don't have-a to tell me that twice!" exclaimed Mario as he gleefully tore off the wrapping paper, like some giddy little kid opening up Christmas presents on an early Christmas morning. Mario noticed there was something about the wrapping paper...

...there were small, miniature holes in it! Not only that, but the box itself had small holes too! Growing ever more curious, Mario cautiously lifted up the lid of the box...and out came a spotted dog, that leaped unto Mario and licked the plumber profusely with his long red tongue. Mario couldn't help but chuckle as the dog happily licked his face.

"Mario, I would like you to meet Poochy - a good companion of mine who will undoubtedly be a good companion to you and Peach as a pet!" Yoshi introduced the plumber to Poochy, as the licking persisted.

"Since Luigi and Daisy already had two pets in Polterpup and Rotom, we figured you and Peach might want a pet too!" added Toad. So when do Alm and Celicia get their own pet?

"I solemnly regret ever being a part of this," remarked Meta Knight, who may not be smiling after all. We can only imagine...

"Ah, thank you for-a this wedding gift guys, any other wedding gift-a would mean-a nothing to me now!" thanked Mario, having enough of Poochy as he grabbed the excitable dog and placed him on the floor. "Peach will most-a definitely enjoy our-a new pet!"

* * *

"You DARE infringe upon our freedom of assembly?!" Bowser snapped on a woman, as he, Robin, and Lucario were now playing bingo in the middle of the hallway and creating problems for everyone. "You know what I think of peons like you who violate the rights of the First Amendment?"

"I just want to see my grandma, all I want to do is pay her a visit, and that's all," the woman explained to the three brawlers; Lucario and Robin would let the woman through, but Bowser prevented the two from doing so.

"...that's all you want to do? Visit your grandma, and nothing else? What, you're just gonna walk on in the room and be like, 'Hey grandma, how you doing, you feeling alright, well I better go now, take care, goodbye!' and then walk out? Is that what you're planning to do?"

"This is unbelievable, I'm getting one of the staff members to take care of you three..." Admitting defeat, the woman walked away to get a doctor, a nurse, a surgeon, or even a security person - anyone that can take care of Bowser and company.

"Freaking snitch..." murmured Bowser, as he resumed the card. Robin and Lucario couldn't help but feel bad for the woman, and yet they did nothing to stop Bowser.

 **Lucario: According to the First Amendment, the freedom of assembly is applied when people gather together for a certain cause. Bowser was totally in the wrong, and telling him the truth wasn't worth a trip to the ER for Robin and I. Would be awkward to be injured inside a hospital...**

An elevator feet away from Bowser and company dinged, and coming out of the opened elevator doors was Professor Layton and Luke. The duo didn't find Cilan at the cafeteria, so they continued their investigation as they searched for the Pokemon connoisseur.

"We were certain Cilan would be at the cafeteria, Red did say he loved food!" said Luke. Red was giving out false information, and putting a dent in the investigation...maybe he really IS the culprit! "Where else would Cilan be?"

"Just have to keep on looking - who knows, maybe Cilan will show his face when we least expect it!" replied Layton, as he and Luke kept walking until they heard some loud sounds coming from a nearby room. The detectives headed over to where the noises were coming from, and they were coming from behind a door, blockaded by two wheelchairs. Layton removed both wheelchairs and opened the door...before getting out of the way as Sora came flying out through the doorway, falling to the floor as Cloud came through the door with his Buster Sword in hand.

"Man, Cloud, you've grown stronger since the last time we fought!" Sora commended Cloud, who drew closer to the Keyblade wielder. "Tifa would be most impressed!" Cloud was about to deal a finishing blow to Sora...before finally realizing that he was now free! Cloud never enjoyed the taste of freedom more than he did now.

"Huh, finally out of that stupid closet," the swordsman remarked, putting his Buster Sword away before turning his attention to Sora. "I'll spare you this time kid, but in the future you may not be so fortunate. Just wanted you to know that. Now if you excuse me, I have some 'reprimanding' to do with Aerith." Cloud walked away, and Sora, looking in awe, followed after the swordsman, making sure he wasn't seen.

"Who knows how long those two were trapped together in that room - surprised neither one of them lost their mind," remarked Layton, before turning around and jumping in shock when he saw a certain connoisseur behind him...Cilan, eating a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Sora was right, the food at this hospital is good!" remarked Cilan, before seeing a startled Layton in front of him. "Oh, hi there Layton, sorry if I scared you!" Layton quickly regained his composure, acting like he wasn't scared in the first place.

"I wasn't scared Cilan, I was alarmed - scared and alarmed are two different things, if you ask me," replied Layton, readjusting his hat. Sure Layton, believe what you wanna believe. "But tell me this - how is it that you suffered from injuries similar to Mario, Peach, and Elise...and healed quickly and got released from the hospital on early notice? How would you explain that?" Cilan gave a hearty laugh, and it kinda befuddled Layton.

"It was thanks to this elixir I brought with me to the States that I healed myself from my injuries in due time!" Cilan held up a bottle of elixir, which was half-empty. "My brothers Cress and Chili made me several bottles of this elixir to take with me to the Smash Mansion. The elixir has rapid healing abilities; drinking this stuff will make you a hundred percent again in a snap!"

"Then how come you didn't give any of the elixir to Mario and Peach?" Luke questioned Cilan; you'd think the connoisseur would give his magic healing stuff to a now-married couple he had grown to admire over time.

"I would have given Mario and Peach my elixir, but the doctors wouldn't let me. Foreign objects policy, or something like that. But I did have Kamui send her sister Elise some elixir through the mail to Nohr, not sure if Elise's folks received the elixir or not."

 **Cilan: Unfortunately, I do not know what the ingredients of the elixir are...if I did, I would give the recipe to each and every person! But if Chili and Cress don't wish for the ingredients to be revealed, then I shall respect their wishes... *strokes chin in thought* Wonder if this elixir can cure cancer. Would be nigh convenient for the human race.**

"Thank goodness we got that cleared up - Master Hand apparently thought either you and Red were culprits behind the hotel attack," Luke said to Cilan, who raised an eyebrow as the young detective pulled out the three pieces of evidence - hopefully you know what these pieces are by now. "Layton and I returned to the Four Seasons hotel shortly after the attack, and found these clues." Cilan took the red shades from Luke, and analyzed them as he furrowed his brow.

"Red shades look awfully familiar..." stated the connoisseur, trying to jog his memory. "Forgot who exactly these shades belong to..."

* * *

Back to the truth-or-dare game, where Viridi was dared by Leia to give one of the ladies a hug - and Leia put a twist on the dare by telling Viridi to hug a _human_ lady. The goddess of nature didn't have her Human-B-Gone spray - Pit never gave it back to her - and so she was left with no other choice but to hug one of the female humans...that human being Lucina. Viridi was acting like she had contracted AIDS after her hug with Lucina was over.

"Excellent job Viridi, didn't know you had that much in you," Fiora said to the goddess, who was now shuddering. She couldn't wait to take a _long_ shower once she returned to the mansion. "You're up next Felicia - go ahead and pick a card." Fiora held the bag of cards out to Felicia, who grabbed a card and turned it over.

"Ooh, this truth challenge sounds fun!" the maid gleamed, reading the back of the card in her hand, as she looked to see whom she should challenge. "I shall issue this challenge out...to my twin sister, Flora!" Flora suddenly grew nervous; the maid had severe self-esteem issues, and anything humiliating would ultimately break her.

"What question do you want me to answer, sister?" asked Flora with some reluctance, taking a deep breath as she tried to regain her sense of dignity.

"Let's see...if you can change one mistake you made in the past, what would it be?" Thankfully for Flora she didn't have to answer this question, when a surgeon randomly entered the room, closing the door behind him. The surgeon then took off his surgical mask, surgical cap, and scrubs...revealing himself to be Corrin. Dude's a master stealth guy.

"Corrin what business do you possibly have here?" Flora questioned the prince of Nohr, who made his way to Kamui and took her to the front of the room, grabbing the ladies' undivided attention. Whatever he was about to do, it may not be pretty...

"Ladies, obviously you know what happened to my little sister Elise, and the pain and tribulations my family and the kingdom of Nohr had to undergo ever since," Corrin said to the ladies after a long, deep sigh, while Kamui looked on with concern. "At first, I was sad about Elise, I let my depressive, negative emotions get the best of me..."

"Corrin what are you doing, I demand an explanation!" demanded Kamui, as Corrin was holding her like in an awkward manner. A lot of potential worst-case scenarios were about to be played out soon.

"...but after a prep talk from Touma, Yashiro, and Sonic, I learned that I cannot remain saddened forever, that I can't wear my sad emotions on my sleeve! But in order to refrain myself from being sad, I must strengthen the bonds I have with my siblings, aside from Elise, and today I must strengthen the bond I have with my twin sister! Let this moment be a moment you will never forget!"

"Please let me go Corrin, I refuse to be any part of your..." Kamui would soon be caught off, when Corrin dipped her and did something unthinkable. He kissed his twin sister...

 _...on the lips._ Granted Corrin wasn't outright smooching Kamui, but he was definitely leaving the ladies in the room in utter shock, with some ladies having her mouth completely agape. The awkward kiss would continue until Kamui uncharacteristically punched Corrin in the face, sending her brother to the floor as the princess was free from Corrin's grasp.

 **Flora: Easily the strangest thing I've ever seen Corrin do, I have no word to describe what he did with Kamui. Hope that he didn't give the wrong message to Felicia...**

 **Felicia: *stares at the camera in complete shock, with eyes wide and mouth agape***

"Wow, I can't believe that actually happened," said Zelda, with Kamui returning to her seat while Corrin was on the floor in pain. "Sorry you had to witness that...Peach?" Zelda looked towards the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, and found her sleeping away, with a smile on her face. "Well what do you know, Peach was fast asleep this whole time! No wonder she was quiet the entire time we were..."

"WHAT?!" Master Hand's voice boomed, startling the ladies and waking up Peach as the giant hand appeared in the room. "The special guest of honor, Princess Peach, sleeping throughout the game of truth-or-dare, and you let her remain asleep? How did I not notice that?!"

"Master Hand, you weren't watching us playing truth-or-dare this entire time, were you?" questioned the female Inkling, feeling her privacy being even more violated than before. "If so, then that's beyond creepy, even for you!"

"God watches over you all, day and night, and I don't see any of you complaining about that. So tell me Inkling, what point are you trying to make?"

"Princess Peach?" a doctor with a brown mustache and a noticeable underbelly entered the room, grabbing Peach's attention, as well as the attention of everyone else. "Special delivery for-a Princess Peach..." Peach, Daisy, and theothers quickly recognized the accent, and soon they saw the doctor take off his garb, revealing himself to be Luigi...and the underbelly? It was actually Poochy, the dog falling to the floor after Luigi took his lab coat off. "Yoshi and Toad brought-a this dog to Mario, and his-a name is Poochy," Luigi would explain to Peach. "They both figured-a you and Mario wanted a pet, since-a Daisy and I..."

"Ooh, I absolutely adore him, he's the perfect pet for Mario and I!" Peach gleamed at the ever-excitable Poochy - perhaps the only pet who was all smiles, and no other emotions. Grumpy Cat should take notes from Poochy! "Let me see him - I don't care if pets are allowed here!" So Luigi picked up Poochy and gave him to Peach, and the dog started Peach like she was some lollipop. Needless to say, Peach enjoyed every second of it.

"Guess we can finally leave now, about time..." remarked Kiria, letting Peach have her moment with Poochy as the idol singer and the other ladies exited the room. Some thought playing truth-or-dare was a waste of time, while others thought...well, it was a waste of time in general for everyone involved.

* * *

"HERE'S TWO CUPS OF LEMONADE...FOR THE BEST DETECTIVES IN THE WORLD..." R.O.B. gave Professor Layton and Luke a glass of lemonade each. The three were gathered outside the hospital, and Layton and Luke were chilling out after a long day of investigating.

"Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson would love to have a word with you about the 'best detectives' moniker," Layton told R.O.B. before sipping his lemonade. "But Luke and I will take whatever title we can get."

"Too bad we couldn't crack the case on the culprit behind the hotel attack, who knows if Master Hand will give us another chance," remarked Luke after drinking his lemonade. Soon Master hand would appear, making his presence felt before Layton and Luke.

"So, how did the investigation go?" the giant hand asked the detectives. "I wanted you to have few distractions, so I had all the female residents have a sleepover with Peach, so they wouldn't distract you from your work...and it turned out to be a slight blunder. Didn't want those girls sweet-talking you as you focused on cracking the case!"

"Yeah, about that...we couldn't solve the investigation - turned out Red nor Cilan were responsible. Surely you'll give us another chance, right Master Hand?" Any other instance, Master Hand would say no...but the giant hand had to admire how diligent Layton and Luke were during their investigation, and their diligence couldn't be overlooked.

"I have to admit, you two are pretty competent investigators, and you have a strong knack for finding clues as well...and for that, you have gained my trust. Tell you what - I'll let you boys reside at the mansion until we finally crack the case, and if you do crack the case, I'll give you an option of staying around longer. Do we have a deal?" Master Hand extended out his hand for a handshake, and Layton stepped up to Master Hand - a grin forming on his face.

"Have no worries Master Hand - we won't let you down by any means," the top hat detective replied as he shook hands with Master Hand, while Luke was quietly pumping his fists in the air with excitement.

Today wouldn't be the end for Professor Herschel Layton and Luke Triton...it would only be just the beginning.


	81. Episode 81: Buddycops

_Author's Note:_

 _Two reviews to answer this time around...first one up:_

 _"Could you add Arthur and Maximo from the Ghosts n Goblins games? Haseo from Dot Hack G.U.? Maybe a small scene of Sonic and Chris Redfield interacting with each other? (Roger Craig Smith voices both of them) A small scene of Amy and Senel helping Sonic and Chloe overcome their hydrophobia? Have any of the characters from Mario and Luigi: Dream Team appeared yet? and finally, can you include a chapter where the Xenosaga, Xenoblade Chronicles, and Xenoblade Chronicles X characters meet each other?"_

 _Arthur is a pretty underrated character, so I'll add him and Maximo to the story, as well as Haseo. Both scenes regarding Sonic will happen. No character from Dream Team has appeared yet, but that will change when Antasma shows up. The Xenoblade chapter will have to wait until Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is released. Other review comes from Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...would it be okay if Cilan joined them as Detective Cilan since his purpose of making the wedding cake is officially done?"_

 _Got nothing for Cilan at the moment, so Detective Cilan would be a good thing to do. Moving on:_

 _"I wonder how long it would take for Elise to recover and if she'll be able to return to the mansion soon? (also is it just me or does Elise remind you of Bayley from wwe?)"_

 _Elise will return to the mansion, along with her siblings, once she's fully healed - won't give the timetable for her road to recovery. And yes, Elise kinda reminds me of Bayley, in a way...cheerful, peppy who have been brought down by circumstances. Considering that I've been following Bayley since NXT (WWE's developmental territory, for those of you who don't know) and know she's stuck in the situation she's in, I really hope WWE pushes Bayley and does something a little different with her, and tweak her character a bit. Same goes for Becky Lynch...and Cesaro...and Finn Balor...and Sami Zayn. MR. VINCENT KENNEDY MCMAHON, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE READING THIS, OR IF YOU'LL EVER READ THIS FOR THAT MATTER, BUT IF YOU ARE, PUSH BAYLEY, BECKY, CESARO, FINN, AND SAMI, YOU WON'T REGRET IT GOOD SIR!_

 _...that is all._

* * *

 **Episode 81: Buddycops**

Five days after the events of the previous episode, Mario and Peach were both discharged from the hospital once the newlyweds recovered from the injuries they sustained at the Four Seasons hotel attack. They returned to the Smash Mansion peacefully, arriving to a wave of euphoria from the mansion residents, as they resumed their happy, normal, and now married lives.

However, the perpetrator behind the hotel attack was still at large, and Master Hand was determined to hunt the perpetrator down - so determined, that he enlisted in the help of two British detectives - Professor Herschel Layton and Luke Triton - to crack the case. Even though Layton and Luke couldn't solve the case back at the hospital, they did find some clues - a Poke Ball, a receipt for propane tanks, and a pair of red sunglasses - and the diligence in their investigation helped win over Master Hand's trust. The giant hand, confident in Layton and Luke's abilities, offered them an opportunity to reside at the mansion and continue in the case at hand, the two detectives taking Ema Skye's spot. That meant they were now roommates with Pokemon connoisseur Cilan - a man whom Master Hand originally suspected to be the perpetrator, along with Red the Pokemon Trainer.

While Mario and Peach continued their married lives together, and Layton and Luke worked together to solve the hotel attack case and find more clues, Nohrian butler Jakob was looking for a butler job at the Smash Mansion, and was negotiating with Master Hand and Mario regarding the job. These negotiations, which had already taken place, were put on hold when Jakob had to return to Nohr to take care of his son, Dwyer. With Corrin, Kamui, Felicia, and Flora already at the mansion, Jakob believed his chances of becoming butler of the Smash Mansion were greater than he imagined.

"I believe that every large household, like the Smash Mansion for instance, needs a butler to take care of things like the dining room and the pantry," Jakob explained to Master Hand and Mario in Master Hand's room. "Felicia and Flora can work under me, and perhaps be even more proficient in their jobs. As you may know first-hand, Flora has grave self-esteem issues, and I think I can do whatever is necessary to make Flora feel more confident in her abilities."

"Flora's self-esteem has always-a been an issue - not even Dark-a Pit, whom I assume Flora harbors a crush-a on, can raise-a Flora's levels of confidence," stated Mario. Dark Pit and Flora, whom many assume to be in some kind of relationship, never made their romance public, though the clues were very much present.

"Dark Pit is essentially a jerk to everyone, even to Lady Palutena of all people. No surprise that he can't lift up the spirits of Flora - in fact, I don't think even Flora's sister Felicia can turn her frown upside down. Flora's a lost cause, as far as I'm concerned."

 **Jakob: What do I possibly have to lose in my quest to come butler of the Smash Mansion? Aside from Flora and Felicia, everything will work out perfectly - I will be the butler, Cilan can be the head chef, Mario will remain the man of the mansion (provided he doesn't move out like his brother Luigi did), and Master Hand...well, he can continue being Master Hand. Only problem at hand would be finding a room for me to stay in, but that's irrelevant right now.**

"Some folks around here say that you're rude and condescending, and that your personality may not mesh well with the others," Master Hand said to Jakob; this was especially true and evident in the _Fire Emblem Fates_ games, if you study Jakob's interactions with others. "What do you have to say about that, Jakob?"

"Being condescending and wanting to demand respect from others are two entirely different things, I fail to see how I'm rubbing people off the wrong way," was Jakob's answer. Dude quietly appeared to be a little full of himself. "But that's their problem, and not mine, to each their own..."

"AAAAIIIIIIEEEEE!" a girly, ear-scratching scream was heard from afar, alarming Mario and company. The voice sounded like it belonged to Peach - was the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom in trouble? Or was she just reacting to a cockroach she saw in the hallway?

"Mario, was that your wife just now?" Jakob would ask the plumber, slightly covering his ears in the event Peach were to let out another scream that would rock the butler's eardrums. "My goodness, she's a loud screamer..."

"Yup, that was-a her, alright...let's-a go see what she's screaming about," replied Mario as he, Jakob, and Master Hand retreated out of the room...

* * *

...and arrived at Peach's room, where they saw the princess with a shocked look on her face, as she was looking around in her room for something. She was throwing stuff around, moving things to the side, rummaging through the closet, and all sorts of things - and she was leaving the room in a mess.

"Princess-a Peach, what's wrong, what are-a you looking for?" Mario asked his wife as the princess continued her search. Peach would stop searching and looked up at Mario, her face screaming worry and shock and a whole bunch of other emotions.

"Oh, Mario, it's terrible...my wedding ring has completely gone missing!" responded Peach, as Mario, Master Hand, and even Jakob collectively gasped in shock. "I had taken my ring off and left it on my dresser as I went to go take a shower, and when I came back to the room after I was done, my ring was nowhere to be found! Someone must have stolen it! Who in their right mind would ever think about stealing a wedding ring?!"

"No worries, princess, you can-a always borrow my wedding ring! I wear it one-a day, and you can wear-a it the next! We can-a alternate!" Jakob was heavily against Mario's strange idea, as he facepalmed and shook his head at the plumber.

"That would be impossible, your fingers are huge which makes your wedding ring unable to fit on any of my fingers...no offense, Mario." Peach looked underneath her dresser, and still no sign of the ring. "Still don't know who stole my wedding ring, and why they would even bother committing such an act..."

 **Peach: My marriage to Mario so far is off on a rocky start...first the explosions at the hotel, and now this whole wedding ring fiasco! It was bad enough that I lost most of my hair in the hotel fire, and now I have lost my precious wedding ring! Whoever was responsible for stealing my wedding ring...will pay... *holds up frying pan with contempt* ...ooh, who knew I could be so violent? I'm more than just a pretty face, you know!**

* * *

Moments after the news of Peach's wedding ring became known to the residents, Master Hand had Peach leave the room...which was now littered with yellow caution tape, at each and every corner. Many folks that this was excessive, including Hisui Hearts, who was present at the crime scene.

"Master Hand, don't you think this is too much?" the young man asked the giant hand, who was surveying the scene. He expected the wedding ring thief to come clean, and return the ring to Peach's room. The thief couldn't keep the ring in their possession forever, especially with Mario and Peach hanging around. "It's not like someone at the mansion got brutally murdered, evidently you care about this ring heist more than you probably should."

"Hisui, are you overlooking the magnitude of the crime at hand?" Master Hand asked Hisui, questioning him like he was some kind of idiot completely high on drugs. "Princess Peach's wedding ring got stolen, and that, my friend, is an ultimate travesty! If you were to steal something like a Ferrari, then go ahead, do you, that's your thing. But if you were to steal something like a wedding ring, from a freaking princess, then that's an entirely different beast. Maybe you don't care about this ring heist, but I certainly do!"

"Okay Master Hand, whatever you say," Hisui walked away, refusing to entertain Master Hand any longer. A minute later, Toon Link and Young Link walked by the scene, with Toon Link holding a fishing rod in his hands.

"I'm telling you, Young Link, that Whiscash I caught, it was the biggest of its kind!" Toon Link conversed with his fellow Link incarnation, detailing the Whiscash he had caught earlier while fishing at the mansion's lake. "Granted it was too big for me to handle, but the fact that I caught a flipping Whiscash was pretty awesome!

"Yeah, I don't I think would have handled a Whiscash myself, even though it weights like close to fifty pounds," replied Young Link, while Master Hand quietly eavesdropped on the conversation between the two Hylians. "Frankly its weight doesn't really equate to how big it looks in person..."

"Ah, Toon Link and Young Link, just the two I wanted to see!" Master Hand appeared in front of the Hylian duo, stopping them in their tracks. "Surely you have heard about the news of Peach's wedding ring being stolen, am I right?"

"Yes sir, we had learned the news from Diddy Kong," replied Toon Link; how surprising that it wasn't the mansion's resident snitch, Geno. "Mario said he was gonna help out in finding the ring, but I think he now has his hands tied with something Sora has been planning over the week." Whatever this was, it might not bode well for Cloud Strife.

"Figured Mario would be busy...but luckily I had a backup plan in mind." Master Hand would clear his throat for what he was about to say. "Toon Link, Young Link...how would you two like to be buddy cops and solve this crime together, and find the craven who stole Peach's wedding ring? You like that idea?" The Links were totally on board with the idea, with their happy faces providing just the answer Master Hand needed.

 **Young Link: Master Hand wants Toon Link and I...to be buddy cops? Oh man, this has to the best thing he has ever done for us, it completely negates the wrongdoings Master Hand has did to us in the past, like that one time he littered our beds with blood-sucking eels while we were asleep! We could be like the modern day Starsky and Hutch - fighting crime before bedtime!  
Toon Link: Pretty sure that's the Powerpuff Girls motto, Young Link - clearly your buddy cop acumen is nothing compared to mine. But this is very exciting for us; I've always wanted to be a cop of some sort, and thanks to Master Hand, I can finally live out my dream!  
Young Link: Do you think Master Hand would be fine letting us use guns, like other cops do, inside the mansion?  
Toon Link: We haven't really seen anyone use a gun ever since Snake "accidentally" fired shots at Ike two years ago...but that was when Snake's accelerated age started to kick in and take control of Snake's mind. So Snake probably thought Ike was Gray Fox, coming back from life.**

"We would love to be buddy cops, it has been a dream of mine...I mean, ours!" stated Toon Link, saving himself from a glare by Young Link by correcting himself in the end. "All that valuable time I spent watching _Starsky and Hutch_ has now led up to this moment!"

"No wonder those _Starsky and Hutch_ tapes no longer work, you used up all their usefulness..." Master Hand muttered under his breath. "But no matter, I can always afford new tapes with the profits I have. Why don't I show you boys your police uniforms?" Toon Link and Young now got even more excited, this was simply too good to be true! "I had Isabelle make some police uniforms as spare Halloween costumes, and I don't know if the uniforms will fit the both of you."

"Eh, we can always adjust, I suppose," shrugged Young Link, who didn't care about the comfortableness of the uniforms - he just wanted to masquerade around the mansion as a cop.

"That's the spirit, that's what I like, not giving a crap about anything! Follow me laddies!" So Toon Link and Young Link followed Master Hand to his room, departing from a "crime scene" wholesomely undeserving of caution tape. Where was the white body outline and everything?

* * *

"No Pit, how can you do this to me, what would I do without you?" Viridi asked Pit, who was marching down to the foyer. The angel was tasked by Sora to buy some "essentials" from a nearby Party City store, using the money the Keyblade wielder had given him...money Sora had "borrowed" from Link. "Please don't leave me alone like this!"

"You weren't acting like this before when Kirby, Bayonetta, and I went to go bust Snake out of prison," stated Pit, arriving at the front door of the mansion. How could he possibly overlook the unsung hero of Snake's jailbreak - the one and only Dark Pit? If it weren't for him, Snake would still be incarcerated right now. "Why are you suddenly griping and crying now?"

"Being in the gardens was my only solace when you were away...and since Olimar and Alph have restricted everyone from the garden for conditioning the Pikmin, I have nothing else to do! You helped me cope with the vile humans that live at this mansion Pit, without you, I'd be nothing..."

"Huh, never heard you say that prior to the start of our relationship...you aren't sucking up to me, are you? Though that would be nice - tried to get Kirby to suck up to me, but no luck whatsoever. Dude's smarter than his personality suggests."

The moment Pit laid his hand on the doorknob was the moment Viridi instantly panicked. And it wasn't until Pit opened the front door that the panic inside of Viridi skyrocketed. How could Pit do this to his own girlfriend, leaving her behind with a species the goddess of nature despised? Better question is...why would Viridi continue to live at the mansion given the high human population? Did she love Pit that much that she couldn't leave him by himself with the human race she despised so much, a human race she promised Luke she would adjust to?

"I'll be back soon Viridi, don't you worry about a thing," Pit calmly told the goddess, who apparently had tears welling up in her eyes. "Just gotta do some solids for Sora, he's got something big planned, and I can't let him down!" After saying this, Pit left the mansion, and once he left, Viridi fell down to the floor, on her knees, and started sobbing. That girl needed help, and in the worst way.

 **Sora: Think I know why Cloud has been feeling some type of way...he must have lost his memories, like I did, it perfectly explains why he's been so condescending towards me, and why he doesn't remember his past! Lost my memories a while back, when my good friends Donald and Goofy went to some place called Castle Oblivion. But it was thanks to a witch girl named Namine that I got my memories back, after spending an entire year being comatose. I'm not sure if the magic Namine used would apply in this world...but fortunately I found a way to give Cloud his memories back! Pit and Kirby were watching some old clips online, and they were watching this thing they called "wrestling", and there was this segment where this guy was doing a life retrospective for this dude called The Rock (who didn't look like a rock at all, unless I was imagining things). Perhaps a retrospective of Cloud's life can bring back his memories, and so with the help of Pit and Kirby, and a few others, I'll be recreating the wrestling segment, and remind Cloud of who he truly is!**

"Viridi, what's the matter with you, why are you sobbing on the floor?" Kirby would ask the goddess as he walked by, heading over to Viridi and gently patting her back as she sobbed away. "Did Pit break up with you for a second time?"

"Even worse - Pit's leaving me!" replied Viridi as she continued to sobbed, alarming Kirby with her answer. The pink puffball needed answers, he needed some context regarding the situation at hand, and he needed all of that pronto.

"Are you insinuating that Pit is leaving the mansion _for good?!_ Ooh, the absolute nerve of that boy..." This might very well be the angriest Kirby has ever been, and one of the few rare times we'll see him be angry in _Smash Life._ "Do you know where Pit went? I demand to know where he..."

"Pit is going to some Party City store and he's leaving me behind!" answered a still sobbing Viridi, cutting off Kirby, and that's when Kirby knew Viridi was just overreacting. Pit was just going on a harmless shopping trip to Party City to fetch some items, and Viridi was making it seem like Pit was leaving the Smash Mansion forever and taking his talents (or the lack thereof) to another residence elsewhere.

"That should give you no reason to have a crying fit, it's not like Pit would be gone for an indefinite amount of time," stated Kirby, helping Viridi back to her feet. The goddess stopped sobbing, as she wiped her tears away. "When Pit spends time away from me to do other things, you don't see me acting like it's the end of the world, like there's an apocalypse approaching. You should learn to enjoy time with others, like me for example!"

"I guess you're right Kirby, I really do take things to the extreme...my xenophobia must be to blame. I suppose I can always hang out with you until Pit returns, whenever that will happen - wouldn't be surprised if he went to the wrong store!"

"Heh, I've seen Pit erroneously enter a few women's restrooms in public, so I wouldn't even be surprised if he forgot he was still in Seattle. While Pit is off doing his shopping, we have to figure out what we should do with our time until he returns..." Kirby would scratch his nonexistent chin as he looked around in the foyer, his eyes falling on Alm and Celica. The two lovebirds were walking by, close to each other's side, stuck together like they were magnets.

"We were so meant for each other Alm, our love couldn't be any more perfect..." Celicia told her loving husband as the married couple continued to make their way through the foyer, and the way Alm and Celica were being all lovey-dovey with one another was sickening to Kirby and Viridi.

"Love is a very powerful emotion, and I think we display this emotion better than anyone else!" stated Alm, with a grin on his face. "Love never fails, especially not for us!" Once Alm and Celica were out of the foyer, Kirby had generated an idea in his head...an idea Viridi would be fully on-board with.

"Now I know this is not in my nature...but I would _love_ to mess the crap out of those two, Alm and Celica," said the pink puffball, turning his head to Viridi. "What say you, Viridi?" The goddess of nature nodded her head convincingly...and just like that, Kirby and Viridi now had something to spend their time with, like Pit was mostly likely asking someone where the nearest Party City was.

* * *

 **Snake: Yes, ladies, I'm still single...but that doesn't mean that I'm not ready to mingle! *chuckles* ...good grief, that was miserably cringeworthy. Although my accelerated age may be holding me back, it can't hold back my quest in looking for a potential mate. Meryl is already taken by that stupid idiotic jerk Johnny Sasaki, and I'm not taking any chances with Mei Ling. She might be a little too..."cold" for my tastes. I need a woman who ranges from lukewarm to hot, someone who can get my blood boiling...someone like Samus Aran. She's not romantically involved with Anthony Higgs, which means that she's still on the market... *rubs hands together, Montgomery Burns style***

Samus was quietly working away in the workshop, working on her latest project. Or she would be, had she started on said project later than usual. The bounty hunter was actually at the fitness center, working out in her crop top and shorts, and after a hard day's work, she cooled down by drinking a bottle of water, and wiped the sweat off her face with a towel. Samus was drinking her water when an unsuspecting Snake entered the fitness center, making his way towards his prey...the one and only Samus Aran.

"Hey there good lookin', what's cookin'?" the former spy would ask Samus, in a manner that was creepy even for him. Even Wii Fit Trainer looked up at Snake with a disgusted look on her face, like she couldn't believe Snake was actually attempting to flirt with Samus.

"No," Samus flatly responded as she walked away from Snake, but the former spy was hot on her heels, following her out of the fitness center and throughout the hallways, close to Samus but not close enough to invade her private space.

"I was wondering if the two of us could hang out together...I'm not doing anything important, and you're not doing anything important either, so maybe once you're done cooling off and all...maybe we can go on a...an excursion, perhaps? Not a date, an excursion, where we go on a long trip and look at new things and whatnot. Chrom, Lucina, and Robin did that some time ago."

"Just because they did it doesn't mean we have to do it, otherwise we'd be copycats. Besides, I wouldn't want to be seen with your wrinkly behind in public anyways." This comment offended Snake greatly; he may look old, but he certainly wasn't at the point where he was more wrinkly than an English bulldog.

"I scan my entire body everyday - from the head up all the way down to my feet, including my private parts - and I see no wrinkles whatsoever! Quit assuming I have wrinkles just because I look old! Did your parents teach you about making false generalizations?" Perhaps Samus's parents died before they taught the bounty hunter about generalizations and stuff.

"Please go away Snake, I've had just about enough of your mindless drivel," Samus told the former spy after she arrived at her room. "Speak to me again and you'll get what's coming for you," the bounty hunter said this to Snake before closing the door on his face. But the former spy was determined to win over Samus one way or another, even if it involved putting his dignity or even his livelihood at risk.

"Playing hard to get, huh?" Snake thoughtfully stroked his chin with a grin on his face. "Something tells me Samus is the _perfect_ soulmate for me. But how will I win her heart, what must be done? Two heads are better than one, I need some help!"

Snake would soon find some help, when he saw the threesome of Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails walking by. The former spy was only interested in seeking romantic help from Sonic, since Tails didn't have a girlfriend and Knuckles's relationship with Rouge was...questionable, enough to the point where Snake asking the echidna for romantic advice might not such a grand idea.

 **Snake: What do World War 2 soldiers, college students, and Ozzy Osbourne all have in common? They all come home. And sooner or later, Samus will be coming home..to yours truly. I don't care when, or how - she's gonna be mine...and I'll guarantee you she would be a better wife than Meryl. Got over that woman in a snap... *looks to the distance, nearly on the verge of tears* Meryl was supposed to be all mine, stupid Johnny Sasaki...**

"Got three tickets for _Spider-Man: Homecoming,_ boys - one ticket for the each of us!" Sonic told Tails and Knuckles, holding up the pre-ordered movie tickets in the air, only to be tackled to the floor and dragged away by Snake. Tails and Knuckles only saw their friend being tackled, but they didn't see him being dragged away against his own will, or even Snake for that matter. Needless to say, neither one of them were all that concerned.

"Isn't it a little too early for random tackling in the hallways?" Tails asked Knuckles, who responded with a shrug. "Usually that activity doesn't start kicking in until August when the college football season starts."

"Well I sure didn't see anyone wearing a football helmet, so I think we're in the clear," replied Knuckles, as he and Tails continued on their way. Must not care that much about Sonic...or the movie tickets to the _Spider-Man_ movie the hedgehog bought.

* * *

Peach was sitting by herself in the lounge, petting her new pet dog Poochy, sighing depressingly about her supposedly stolen wedding ring. Master Hand refused to have Peach grieving in the comfort of her own room, so the giant hand ordered the princess to taking her grieving to the lounge. Thankfully there wasn't anyone in the lounge other than Poochy...at least it would be, until Professor Layton and Luke Triton showed up.

"Princess Peach, may we speak with you for a quick minute?" Layton would ask the princess as he and Luke made their way towards the couch the princess was sitting on. "Just a little chit-chat, if you don't mind."

"Sorry boys, but I'm not in the mood for talking..." Peach sighed depressingly, looking down at the floor as Poochy did everything he could to cheer up his pet owner. "Ever since my wedding ring got stolen, I've been down in the dumps, and I don't even feel like continuing with my day...my marriage is already off to a bad start."

"Don't say that princess, no need to feel down on yourself - what happened to the wedding ring wasn't your fault," Luke assured Peach, as he and Layton sat next to Peach, at her sides. "How do we know the wedding ring was stolen?"

"My ring couldn't have gone missing Luke - I left it on my dresser before I took my shower, it's not like my ring grew legs and ran off!" Unless Kamek stopped by Peach's room unsuspectingly and doused some magic on the wedding ring. "Somebody stole my ring, I just know it, and whoever did it, will PAY!"

"Well I might know something that would keep your mind off your wedding ring..." Layton looked around for any eavesdroppers, before telling the following information to Peach: "...Proto Man, X, and Zero acquired security footage of the Four Seasons hotel prior to the attack, and they want you and Mario to see it."

"Hotel security footage from Proto Man, X, and Zero?" gasped Peach; she knew Zero had security footage from a supermarket Mario, Dark Pit, and Jacky went to back in episode 57. Who knew Zero could get around and get security footage like that? "Where can I see this footage?"

"In the Star Records room - Zero pulled up the footage on Fox's laptop, since X's laptop is charging as we speak. Apparently he has some silly rule that prohibits him from using a device while it's charging. Very, very peculiar..."

 **Zero: Asked the owner of the Four Seasons hotel for the security footage. Sadly he doesn't want Mario, Peach, Cilan, or anyone from the Smash Mansion to ever step foot in the hotel again, since he thinks we're bad news...like if we were gathered at some coffee shop, the coffee shop would be brutally attacked. So yeah, the hotel owner thinks we're all prey for terrorists now or something...man better not spread the word around town, if he knows what's good for him. *charges up Mega Buster***

Outside the Star Records room, Snake was having a private conversation with Sonic, explaining to the hedgehog about how he wanted Samus to he his, how he wanted the bounty hunter as his girlfriend and all that good stuff.

"Meryl is already taken, and I doubt Mei Ling would even want me, so Samus is perhaps the only chance I got at love," Snake explained to Sonic, who continuously nodded his head, with a finger placed under his chin. "Can't believe I'm saying this but...please help me Sonic, I know you have the experience to help me win over Samus's heart."

"What's in it for me, will I receive anything for my efforts?" asked Sonic; chili dogs was the only thing on his mind. Though money would be just as good.

"I'll decide what your reward is after you helped me. And no, it won't be chili dogs, so don't even bother asking. You've eaten too many chili dogs, about time you get a break from that crap."

"You may say I've eaten too many chili dogs, but my stomach says otherwise." Sonic patted his stomach, but his small stomach wasn't really a good indicator of how much chili dogs the hedgehog has eaten. Surprising that Sonic's stomach hasn't exploded yet. "I know a great way to swoon over Samus and get her to like you...lean in closer so I can tell ya what to do."

Inside the Star Records room, Peach was gathered with Layton, Luke, Fox, Falco, Zero, X, and Proto Man, with Zero pulling up the security footage from the Four Seasons hotel on Fox's laptop. Zero could have used the computer room, but all the computers were out of order at the moment.

"Things would have been so easier if we just used your laptop, X," Zero told his best friend, finding it a major struggle to find the security video on Fox's laptop. Everything on Fox's laptop was more complex, compared to X's laptop where everything was organized and sophisticated. Zero partly believed the random folders scattered about on Fox's desktop had something to do with his struggle.

"Like I told you before, using a laptop or cellphone while its charging can potentially kill the earth," stated X, a pacifist and most likely an environmentalist. How does he know that? "Obviously you wouldn't know that from the insane amount of time of spend playing the Nintendo Switch, and other home consoles."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah...quit it out with your environmentalist nonsense, bad enough I have to put up with that crap every day with you as a roommate. Also, why do you have so many folders on your desktop, Fox, what gives?"

"I don't know, but I do know that you better not click on any of those folders," replied Fox, before his eyes suspiciously darted left and right. "...because you would be distracted from your work, and trust me, I know how bad distractions can be. Heck, Falco and I are bona fide distractions, and Ema Skye certainly knows that from experience! Sold out to Organization XIII presumably because of guys like us..."

 **Falco: *smirking at Fox* Admit it, you got like a gazillion photos of Krystal in those folders on your laptop, fess up!  
Fox: Not just a gazillion photos of Krystal, Falco...a gazillion photos of Krystal _wearing a bikini._ And I got similar photos of your woman, Katt Monroe.  
Falco: Bruh that girl ain't my woman...but I do wanna see them pictures though. You're a good man, Fox McCloud! *fist bumps Fox***

Zero would finally found the media player on Fox's desktop, feeling pretty stupid of himself for not finding this application earlier. The robot clicked on the media player, and pulled up the security footage, after scouring Fox's entire file library for the file. Boy, was that an adventure. Zero clicked on the file, and pulled up the security footage on the media player, as Layton and everyone else got in closer to the laptop.

"Looks like we're finally in business folks!" exclaimed Layton with a smile, as the security video began. The camera was focused on the ballroom, where the explosion took place, and inside the ballroom was the wedding cake Cilan devoted his time to perfecting. Layton and company waited for something to happen, like someone like the culprit to sneak in and place the propane tanks...but nothing happened. "Is it just me, or are we far behind on this video? Zero, can you fast-forward?"

"That's what I'm trying to do, but it won't work..." replied the robot, as he was repeatedly and aggressively pressing the rewind button on the media player, but nothing was happening. "Guys, I think Fox's media player is jank as all heck."

"Had a glut feeling we would have a technical problem somehow, wished X's laptop was available," remarked Proto Man, resting his chin on the palm of his hand in a very bored manner. "Your laptop freaking sucks, Fox."

"And you suck just as much, if not more," Fox fired back with this weaksauce comeback. Proto Man's life would have been over for good had Fox's comeback had some actual substance to it.

* * *

Link and Cloud both exited from the gaming room, and standing near the entrance, smiling with her hands behind her back, was Aerith. Right next to the flower girl was Zelda, who was smiling too, but not as much as Aerith was.

"Hey Cloud...are you still angry with me about what I did to you last week at the hospital?" Aerith would ask her boyfriend, after the ever-stoic Cloud exited from the gaming room with his buddy Link.

"A little, but not a whole lot," responded Cloud, though it was hard to tell if Cloud was a little angry since he didn't even give his woman any eye contact. "Pretty messed up what you did back there, having the audacity to lock me up in the same room with that weirdo Sora."

"First of all, I only locked up in that closet with Sora as part of a dare. Told you I the ladies and I played a game of truth-or-dare against our own will. Secondly, Sora isn't a weirdo, he's just...a bit out there." And that alone qualifies Sora as a weirdo. Just admit it, Aerith.

"Isn't there a rule that states you can reject a dare, and choose to do another one? I hate that I had to be a part of your silly game, but it is what it is." Cloud and Link walked away, as Aerith and Zelda looked on - with Aerith fearful that Cloud would never forgive her.

 **Aerith: Cloud isn't exactly a very...forgiving person, sometimes it's hard for him to reveal his true emotions. With his disposition, you can't tell if he's happy...or sad...or bored...or angry...or ecstatic. Cloud has the very same facial expression, 24/7, and I want him to change that, for the better or for the worse...but for the better.  
Zelda: *pats Aerith on her shoulder* No worries Aerith, Cloud will come around soon. You wouldn't believe how much time I spent waiting for Link to be actually sociable! It was a long, tiring journey...that I do not wish to return to ever again. *shudders***

Link and Cloud continued on their own way, until they were stopped in their tracks by Dark Pit and Asuka. The doppelganger and the ninja girl were both grinning, and they were mostly grinning at Cloud, and not Link. Poor Hylian never gets any love from anyone not named Zelda.

"Are you busy right now, Cloud?" Asuka asked the blonde swordsman, who would have opted to say no if he wasn't so curious as to what Dark Pit and Asuka had in store for him. "Because there's a wicked awesome barbecue taking place at this city, and you're invited!" Asuka gleefully pointed at Cloud, who wasn't exactly amused. "Sorry, Link, but you weren't invited."

"Meh, I've never been formally invited to any barbecue, or any get-together for that matter," answered Link, looking down at the floor and shaking his head. "Luigi didn't invite me to Daisy's birthday party, although I had the honors of planning everything out, and Master Hand forgot to tell me about the Christmas party last year. I feel so unloved, most times Midna constantly reminds me of how unloved I am..."

"Cool story bro, way to sound even more bitter than Mewtwo," Dark Pit had this to say about Link's sob story, before turning his full attention to Cloud. "Yeah, Cloud, there's a barbecue held at CenturyLink Field, where the hometown Seattle Seahawks play, and you were one of the names on the guest list! We wanted to relay the information to you, in case you didn't receive it."

"I would ask who's in charge of this barbecue, and how long it was planned and how it was organized...but I'll save those questions for later. Gotta find myself a ride to CenturyLink Field, kinda doubt there's a barbecue taking place but it wouldn't hurt to look..."

"Stay right where you are, Mr. Strife - Dark Pit and I will find you a ride!" Asuka said to the swordsman as she and Dark Pit went away. "We'll go see if Captain Falcon is available!" Cloud was alarmed about the pleasant nature from Dark Pit and Asuka, _especially_ the former, but the swordsman was more concerned about this so-called barbecue taking place...

* * *

"Pop quiz: who was the man that assassinated Franz Ferdinand and started the first World War in the process?" Lloyd asked Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, teaching the eight in a room while Bowser was chilling in the back, looking on. "Lemme give you guys a hint - it was a Bosnian Serb!"

"Franz Ferdinand's killer was Gavrilo Princip, and Gavrilo killed Ferdinand and his wife on June 28, 1914!" Bowser Jr. answered Lloyd's question after raising his hand. "Austria-Hungary was ticked off with Serbia about the assassination, and so they declared war on the country exactly a month later!"

"Excellent job, Bowser Jr, great work with the additional details! You just earned yourself another sticker with that great answer!" Lloyd grabbed a sticker, and placed it next to the other stickers on the erase board, where Bowser Jr.'s name was. Unlike Bowser Jr., the Koopalings had little to no stars next to their names; Ludwig was the only competition Bowser Jr. truly had.

"That's my boy, Bowser Jr, keep up the good work!" Bowser stood up and applauded for the young koopa, showing blatant parental favoritism towards Bowser Jr. while the Koopalings felt unloved. "You keep up the good work too Ludwig, don't let Bowser Jr. show you up, you're a genius! The rest of you flat out suck, you should feel ashamed of yourselves!" That's something you wouldn't hear an average father tell his children.

 **Bowser: Recent studies have shown that more college kids are putting their butts behind desks and attending summer school and earning their credits now more than ever! Yes, college students would rather take an easy road to achieving their academic goals and attend summer school than getting wasted on booze all summer long. Assuming that my kids will make it to college one day (which I highly doubt they will, though Ludwig and Junior will receive the benefit of the doubt), I'm having Lloyd teach them throughout this summer, to teach them how important academics are!**

"Keep on teaching the young ones Lloyd, I'ma go get myself a glass of water," Bowser told the swordsman, who gave a thumbs up, as he exited the room. "My dry mouth is starting to kill me!" Bowser wouldn't get that far from the room, when an arrow struck the Koopa King in the leg, making him yelp and sending him to the floor in pain. A police siren sounded, and soon came Toon Link and Young Link - both Hylians wearing police uniforms, driving on Segways. With them was their police dog, Duck Hunt Dog, with a police siren on his head. The officers got off their Segways, and immediately confronted Bowser.

"State your business here, you fiendish surrender monkey!" Toon Link barked at Bowser, as he and Young Link had their bows pointed at the Koopa King. Bowser got up on one knee, wondering what had gotten into the Hylian duo.

"What gives, why did you fire an arrow at me for, I did nothing wrong!" This only earned Bowser an arrow to his other leg, sending him to the floor again. At this point, he should just lie on the floor to save him some trouble.

"We know you did it, King Bowser, we all know you were the one who stole Peach's wedding ring!" said Young Link, as Duck Hunt Dog sniffed Bowser for any clues. "Admit it, you were salty that your nemesis Mario married Peach, and so to get back at Mario, you went about and stole his bride's ring!"

"Now that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard - how is stealing a wedding ring supposed to count as an act of vengeance against Mario? I would never steal Peach's wedding ring, not in a million years, even if I really wanted to!"

"He's in denial, Young Link, and everyone knows that denial is the best antidote for coping with deviance," Toon Link said to his partner-in-crime, as Bowser rolled his eyes at the Hylian's logic. "Bowser wants to play hard to get, and prying information out of him might take us forever! We'll just have to let Bowser off the hook...but only for now."

"Your word is bond as always, Sergeant Toon," replied Young Link, as he helped Bowser up to his feet and took the arrows out of his legs. Those arrows stung just as much as when they dug into the Koopa King's skin. "Toon Link and I have decided to let you get off easy, King Bowser, but we'll come back for you once we deal with other suspects. Until we see each other again, stay fresh...and stay woke."

On that remark, Young Link and Toon Link hopped on their Segways and strolled away, the police siren sounding off as Duck Hunt Dog went with the officer duo. Bowser shook his head and walked away in pain, wondering if the Links were taking their police jobs too seriously.

* * *

Samus, after taking a shower from a day of hard work inside the fitness center, went to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat, while Mr. Game and Watch washing the dishes. The bounty hunter was looking through the refrigerator when Sonic was standing at the kitchen entrance, with Snake at his side.

"Remember what I taught you Snake, and don't lose sight of why you are here," the hedgehog said to the former spy, patting on him the back encouragingly. Snake had his eyes dead set on Samus - he knew he was gonna make the bounty hunter his own. "Don't screw up, and you'll be fine!" So Snake confidently entered the kitchen and coolly strolled towards Samus, with a heavy grin on his face.

"I'm tired of being alone, sick of being single, I think I need a girl, I need a girl like...you," Snake said to Samus before pointing at the bounty hunter, his gravelly voice filling up Samus's face with cringe given the words he just said. Sounded so unlike Snake!

 **Sonic: Millennials these days are doing this thing called the "song lyric text prank", where someone texts their boyfriend/girlfriend lyrics from a song, insisting that they're about to break up with their significant other. To help Snake win over Samus, I'm taking the same concept of the prank and twisting it around, where Snake uses song lyrics to _start_ a relationship, rather than break one up by accident and apologizing later, like I've seen most people do. The song I'm having Snake use is a pretty obscure song (it's a k-pop song Amy forced upon me), but I got some more well-known songs for Snake just in case!**

"Um, sorry to break this to you Snake, but you don't need a girl," Samus responded coldly as she grabbed some turkey breast and mayonnaise from the fridge, essential items needed for a sandwich the bounty hunter was about to make.

"How can you say that Samus, sure Snake may not be the most ideal boyfriend, but he's still deserving of finding love!" Mr. Game and Watch stood up for Snake. He should know about Snake's romantic shortcomings...he has heard the former spy moan and complain about his single life since forever!

"Explain to me why Meryl Silverburgh didn't tie the knot with Snake, if the guy is so 'deserving'." Unfortunately Mr. Game and Watch couldn't explain, as he kept his mouth shut and quietly resumed washing the dishes, clearing his throat as he resumed his duty.

"Girl, I need a girl, baby I need you, girl you need me too..." Snake said to Samus, who was awkwardly making her sandwich as Snake continued to charm her. "I love girls...girls I do adore..." That line was enough to make Samus quickly finish making her sandwich and depart from the kitchen, with blazing speed. A distraught Snake looked on, as Sonic approached the former spy.

"The day is still young Snake - just gotta keep on trying!" the hedgehog encouraged Snake instilling the former spy with a grain of confidence.

* * *

Cloud arrived at CenturyLink Field via Captain Falcon's Blue Falcon, and upon arrival, Cloud was escorted to the stadium by Tsubasa and Eleonora. The swordsman found it strange as to why the two idol singers were present and waiting for his arrival, but as he stated, he decided to save any questioning until later.

"Any of you ladies know why I of all people was invited to this 'barbecue'?" Cloud asked Tsubasa and Eleonora, as he was waiting with the two inside the tunnels of CenturyLink Field. "Do you also know who's in charge of the barbecue?" Of the questions Cloud had on his mind, this question he needed an answer to the most.

"We were just told to wait for you and take you outside until further notice," answered Tsubasa, keeping Cloud's suspicions at an all-time high. "That's really the only information we can supply you with right now." Just then Shulk popped up, giving Tsubasa and Elenora a thumbs up before running off to who-knows-where.

"Looks like it's time for the barbecue to begin," stated Eleonora, as she and Tsubasa took Cloud to wherever Shulk went to. "You're going to enjoy this barbecue Cloud, we just know it!"

But as it turned out, there wasn't a barbecue at all...Cloud, Tsubasa, and Eleonora stepped out from a tunnel, and both Tsubasa and Eleonora stopped as Cloud kept on walking, looking at the seats and seeing a bunch of common folks, cheering on for the swordsman. Although Cloud was bewildered enough, his bewilderment would increase by tenfold when he saw Sora standing on a large stage, holding a microphone in his hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the guest of the hour has finally arrived!" Sora spoke into a microphone, while Cloud maintained a confused look on his face. "Now Cloud, I know you may be angry, confused, or both, but I'm doing this just for you. You have lost your memories, that much I'm certain, and I'm here to bring them back for you! Cloud Strife...this is your LIFE!"

Right on cue, Pit and Dark Pit flew over CenturyLink Field, raining down confetti and balloons as the crowd cheered and some circus-like music played in the background. All while Cloud just stood there speechless, as the confetti rained down on his face, the animosity building up inside him enough to make both of his fists clench with rage.

 **Eleonora: You think Sora would pay us for our efforts?  
Tsubasa: Forget pay...I just hope Cloud won't hate us forever for our involvement in this thing.**

Against his own will, Cloud was escorted to the stage by Tsubasa and Eleonora, where he would find himself face to face with someone he desired to punch in the face with _both_ fists...Sora. The grin on Sora's face didn't do much to quell Cloud's anger.

"Let's start things off with two familiar faces - two of my most favorite people!" exclaimed Sora, as he turned towards the tunnel behind him. "Donald and Goofy, come on out!" Two goobers dressed up in Donald and Goofy costumes, respectively, came out of the tunnel while some fancy _Disney_ -esque music played, and joined Sora onstage, where the Keyblade wielder wrapped his arms around their heads. "Certainly you remember these two, Cloud - my traveling buddies Donald and Goofy! Traveled to all sorts of worlds together, all as a means to fight against the forces of evil! Since Donald and Goofy couldn't make it, I had to settle with these two guys kind enough to dress up as them." Tsubasa gave Cloud a microphone, and the swordsman knew what to say...

"Sora, the fact that you're best friends with fictional _Disney_ characters makes me question your overall sanity, and though I feel less than obligated to do this, I feel really bad for you about your lack of true friendship," Cloud spoke into the mic, stressing the meaning of his response.

"They may not be real to you, but they're real to me! Maybe the next guest will jog your memory a little bit! Everyone, give a warm welcome for the one and only...King Mickey!" The music played again as a man dressed up as Mickey Mouse exited the tunnel, and joined Sora onstage, waving to an indifferent Cloud. "I know you and King Mickey never met before, but Mickey is the king of Disney Castle, and that makes him well known by everyone! Remember when King Mickey went off during the Heartless battle? You and Leon were killin' it, too!"

 **Sora: Couldn't find King Mickey anywhere in this world, so I had to settle for a "costume" version of him...**

"The only Heartless battle I was ever a part of was the one that took place in the city," stated Cloud, not remembering King Mickey showing up. "And by Leon, you aren't referring to Squall Leonhart, are you? Truth be told, I never met the guy, or his woman."

"Figured you would say that...unfortunately Leon couldn't show up today, didn't know how to reach out to him," said Sora, as Cloud let out a sigh of relief. The swordsman didn't even want to see Leon anyways. Besides, everyone in this universe preferred Squall over Leon. "But we still have a ton of stuff to get to, so everyone hold your horses!"

* * *

Alm and Celica were in the dining room, enjoying a plate of spaghetti together as they were looking at each other lovingly in the eyes. Spying on the Valentian couple from afar was Kirby and Viridi, who were determined to mess the crap out of the couple.

"Alright, so here's the plan..." Kirby took out a bottle of liquid laxative he found lying about. "Since Alm and Celica are too busy looking at each other, you pour this liquid laxative in their spaghetti, without being caught. You think you can do that?"

"Pfft, how hard can it be, not like those two lovebirds will pay any attention," smirked Viridi, taking the bottle from Kirby. "Screwing up their spaghetti will be a piece of cake!" Viridi entered the dining room unsuspectingly, and secretly poured the liquid laxative in the bowl of spaghetti...too bad there were was already company in the kitchen, as the goddess of light, Palutena, was cooking away on the stove in the kitchen when she saw Viridi through the dining room entrance, pouring the bottle of lax into the spaghetti with the corner of her eye

"Viridi, what on earth are you doing to Alm and Celica's spaghetti?" Palutena asked the goddess of nature, during her act. Viridi had just poured the liquid lax into the spaghetti, and was now leaning over the dining room table.

"I was just...sprucing up their lunch, that's all!" answered Viridi, with an innocent smile on her face. "Nothing like some grated cheese on your spaghetti! Isn't that right, Alm and Celica?" The couple just looked at each other in bewilderment, unsure what to make of the situation at hand.

"I guess you're right Viridi, anything is better with cheese, I suppose..." replied Celica, although she and Alm didn't see any grated cheese on their spaghetti - unless it was invisible.

"Okay Viridi, just making sure!" gleamed Palutena, as she continued her cooking. Viridi quickly returned to Kirby, as Alm and Celica resumed eating their spaghetti.

 **Kirby: Found the liquid laxative lying in the hallway, near Yoshi's room. As strange as it may sound, Yoshi has some very interesting - and useful - objects lying near his room...wonder if Yoshi ever uses them.**

Kirby and Viridi kept a close watch of Alm and Celica, as Alm took a bite from the spaghetti with his eyes still focused on his smiling wife, Celica. Seconds after Alm ate his spoonful of spaghetti, he suddenly heard his stomach grumble, and the king clutched his stomach with both hands.

"Alm, what's wrong, did you eat too much spaghetti?" Celica asked her husband, who grimaced in pain as he fell down to the floor. Alm's stomach grumbled even harder, as Alm let out a yelp of pain.

"My stomach is killing me...and my anus...is killing me too..." replied Alm, as the pain soon become too unbearable for him. An upset stomach and an agitated anus only meant one thing...Alm was about to suffer from some serious diarrhea, thanks to the liquid lax Viridi poured in the spaghetti.

"I have to take you to the bathroom immediately, you must have a case of an upset stomach!" Celica helped Alm up to his feet, and escorted him out of the dining room and to the nearest bathroom. Kirby and Viridi, wanting to see the end result of their prank, followed Alm and Celica, passing by Yoshi along the way.

"Have you guys seen my bottle of liquid laxative anywhere?" Yoshi would ask Kirby and Viridi as the two passed by, only to walk away when he was ignored. "This is what I get for having Knuckles as a roommate, always throwing my belongings out of the room for no good reason..."

* * *

Lucina, having been the third woman to take a shower today, exited from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her body, texting away on her cellphone. The princess wouldn't get that far when a police siren sounded, and the twosome of Toon Link and Young Link arrived on their Segways, accompanied by Duck Hunt Dog.

"Walking around the mansion while wearing a towel - very scandalous, don't you think?" Toon Link interrogated Lucina, as he and Young Link had an arrow pointed at the princess of Yliesse. Lucina would be more intimidated by the police officers...if they weren't little kids with bows in their hands instead of guns.

"Don't you two look cute in your nice police uniforms..." said Lucina, to which Toon Link nor Young Link took as a compliment. "...and for your information Toon, I just got out of the shower, not like I was spending my entire day walking around with this towel on."

"Then tell us why you're texting someone, if you just got finished taking a shower," demanded Young Link; truthfully he didn't want to harm Lucina and fire an arrow at her, but if it had to come to that...

"Had my cellphone in the bathroom while I was taking my shower, and my phone has been blaring nonstop because of Father sending me text message after text message. So I'm texting Father right now, if that will make him shut up."

"How do we know Father isn't a pyromaniac bent on terrorizing kids like us so that adults can rule the world with an iron fist?!" questioned Toon Link; kudos if you know the guy he was referring to. "We all know YOU stole Peach's wedding ring, admit it Lucina!"

"Like I would ever steal someone's ring...and what would I do with Peach's ring in the first place? Sell it at some pawn shop in Seattle?" Toon Link and Young Link simultaneously gasped in horror, greatly befuddling Lucina.

"She admitted to stealing Peach's ring, and she sold it to some pawn shop!" exclaimed Young Link, with his hands on his head. "This is just the breakthrough we needed! You're under arrest Lucina, enjoy doing time in the slammer!" Young Link got out some handcuffs from his police uniform, and by the time he got the cuffs out, Chrom showed up, eating from a granola bar, and saw his daughter wearing a towel and the Links dressed up as police officers...too much confusion for the prince to handle.

 **Chrom: No wonder Lucina didn't answer my texts, she was too busy taking a shower...maybe I should have called her instead, her phone was in the bathroom, and I'm sure her phone answers calls automatically. Would it work if Lucina doesn't have her phone on speakerphone, though?**

"Great news, Chrom, we have caught the thief who stole Peach's wedding ring...it was your daughter Lucina!" Toon Link announced to the prince, as Lucina looked at her father and shook her head no. "She admitted to stealing the ring, and selling it at a pawn shop in town!" Chrom couldn't help but laugh at Toon Link's accusation - Lucina stealing _anything_ was so unlike her.

"Toon Link, Lucina didn't steal Peach's wedding ring, and I should know - I'm her father," stated Chrom, before giving a reassuring wink to Lucina. "Also, what evidence do you have that she was the culprit? I think you two should continue your investigation and search for more clues, instead of falsely accusing others."

"You're right Chrom, we were a little too quick to accuse your daughter...sorry about the false accusations, Lucina. We'll just be on their way." Toon Link and Young Link sped off on their Segways, with duck Hunt Dog accompanying them as the police siren sounded yet again. The case of Peach's wedding ring still had yet to reach a forgone conclusion.

* * *

With the mansion's security system experiencing an unforeseen glitch, and X stuck with Peach, Layton, and others at the Star Records room, Samus had to take matters into her own hands and fix the bug herself, completing her task in the arcade room as she accessed the security system on a supercomputer - a supercomputer that was actually the _Shovel Knight_ arcade machine, if you recall from episode 48.

"Samus I don't mean to rush you, but are you done yet?" Donkey Kong asked the bounty hunter as she was in the middle of duty. "My nephew and I would like to play the _Shovel Knight_ game, and I'm gonna cream him like I did last time!"

"I let you win last time DK, you just got lucky," said Diddy Kong, who may or may not be coming up with a crappy excuse to dismiss his poor play. "My green Knight is gonna wipe the floor with your..."

"Aaaaand...DONE!" Samus announced after she was finished configuring with the security system, as she return the arcade machine back to its original state. "Okay boys, I fixed the glitch in the security system, and now you can play your _Shovel Knight_ game. Enjoy...I guess."

Samus turned and headed to the arcade room exit, but when she opened the door...she saw Snake, standing at the doorway with his hand resting on the door frame. The former spy was smiling creepily, as he sprayed some breath freshener into his mouth, and advanced towards Samus, grinning somewhat seductively...

"Let me lick you up and down, until you say stop..." Snake said to Samus, who was nervously backing away. "Let me play with your body, make you real hot..."

"Snake what has gotten into you today, have you been smoking crack lately?" asked Samus as she backed away, while the Kongs looked on sharing the bounty hunter's levels of concern and nervousness. Snake crept closer to Samus, his grin still intact.

"Let me do all the things you want me to do...cause tonight, baby, I WANNA GET FREAKY WITH YOU!" Snake accompanied the latter part of the last line with some rather aggressive pelvic thrusting, prompting Donkey Kong to cover Diddy's eyes. Snake had gone full bonkers, and it was all because of Sonic.

 **Sonic: A great way to swoon over a girl is by using R &B songs, which I'm sure is what most black men like Knuckles have done. There wasn't a rule that stated white men like Snake can use R&B songs to charm a girl, however, which gave me all the more reason to use this 90's song, "Freak Me" by Silk. Would have used "Super Freak", but that was too obvious of a song choice.**

 **Diddy Kong: I think Snake unintentionally scarred me for life...**

Unable to tolerate Snake's foolishness anymore, Samus slapped the former spy silly, sending him back and out of the arcade room as he held his face in pain and fell onto the floor. Sonic appeared, and saw Snake face-first on the floor, seething with defeat.

"Samus rejected you for a second time, huh?" the blue blur asked Snake, who nodded his head to the best of his ability. "Man you were right, Samus really does play hard to get! But we can't throw in the towel just yet, gonna keep on trying!"

* * *

The "Cloud Strife: This is Your LIFE!" festivities continued at CenturyLink Field, with the spectators feeling bored as Sora was now introducing several species of Heartless to Cloud, who was still bewildered by everything. (Keep in mind that the "Heartless" were folks asked by Master Hand and Mario to dress up as Heartless.) The spectators who came to watch the festivities for free were only here because of Master Hand, who lied to everyone and told them there would be free food. Easy to sway just about anyone with free stuff, even if there's no free stuff whatsoever!

"Cloud, I know you probably don't remember any of the stuff I showed you, but the next guy coming out on stage will surely give your memories back!" Sora said to the swordsman, who didn't care who the next guest was. "Everyone give it up for the strong, the mighty, the one and only...Hercules!"

Some trumpets sounded, as a man dressed up like Hercules of _Disney_ lore walked out from the tunnel, flexing his muscles, before joining Sora onstage. Cloud, much like McKayla Maroney at the 2012 Olympics, was NOT impressed.

"This is a guy you should remember, Cloud, and his name is Hercules!" exclaimed Sora, as the Hercules man continued to flex his muscles. "The two of you competed at Olympus Coliseum, vying to see who was the stronger competitor! Did you know that, Cloud?"

"The only thing I know about Hercules is that there was a _Disney_ movie released about him in the nineties," replied Cloud, having seen the film during one of the Smash Mansion's movie nights. Aerith pretty much forced the guy to watch the film.

"Aw what, Hercules was a main character a theatrical film?! Were we in it?" Sora, realizing that he was getting ahead of himself, quickly regained his composure. "I'll ask you about that later, once this thing is over. If there was one thing you remember, it was that three-headed dog that crushed you and nearly killed you...and his name, is Cerberus!" More trumpets sounded, as Sora waited for a three-headed dog to exit the tunnel...but no dog came out. "...I said...his name, is Cerberus!" The trumpets sounded again, and no sign of the dog. Sora turned around, and saw not Cerberus, but Shulk standing at the tunnel entrance.

"Cerberus has ran away and may not return ever again!" announced Shulk, his voice loud enough for everyone to hear. "Carry on as planned!" The Homs went back inside the tunnel, leaving Sora greatly displeased.

 **Shulk: So apparently Sora wanted me to get a Houndoom, have it Mega Evolve, and tape two fake Mega Houndoom heads to the Pokemon and have it pass for Cerberus. Obviously I didn't want to offend the intelligence of anyone in attendance, especially Pokemon fans and Greek mythology fans, so I just came up with some lousy excuse.**

"Well, um...that's pretty unfortunate..." said Sora, after the news was announced. "But I guess that leaves us with our last guest of the day!" Cloud let out a silent breath of relief; his torture was about to end soon. "Here comes our last guest - he's the king of the Underworld, and has a very hot temper...HADES!"

"Excuse me, but did I just hear my name called out?" a loud voice was heard, walking half the crowd up from their nap. A moment later, a giant, humanoid demonic deity, with purple skin and a multi-colored hair, showed up at CenturyLink Field, his head hovering over the stadium. "I was just about to meet up with Ganondorf in this city when I heard my name called! Who dares call upon the mighty Hades?"

"Sup Hades, long time no see!" Pit, who was flying in the air with Dark Pit, waved to Hades, as Dark Pit facepalmed. Evidently Pit found nothing wrong with being friendly towards an enemy he tangled with before.

"Wow Hades, is that really you up there?" Sora asked Hades...but this wasn't the Hades that he knew. "You sure grew a lot in size, and your appearance has changed greatly too! So what have you been up to lately, you know what Maleficent is up to these days?"

"Silly boy, I'm not the Hades you may be thinking of!" Hades laughed at Sora's face. He probably thought the Keyblade wielder was the dumbest person in existence. "There is only one Hades in this universe, and that Hades is I! Also, what's with the festivities, why are all these people here?"

"I'm hosting this thing called 'Cloud Strife: This Is Your LIFE!' I'm helping my good friend Cloud Strife regain his memories, and I'm doing that by taking him on a little trip down memory lane. Doing what most good friends do."

"Cloud Strife's the sword guy with the blonde, spiky hair, right?" Sora nodded his head to Hades's question. "Just wondering...because that man you speak of is no longer here!"

Hades was right - Cloud was no longer on the stage, and he was no longer in the stadium. He must've ran off while Sora was distracted! Guy couldn't take it anymore, and you couldn't blame him...

* * *

 **Zero: The fast forward button on Fox's stupid media player still won't work, no matter how hard we try...so we're waiting for the video to show something interesting, how long that will take. Wish Little Mac and Knuckles were here, they would deliver a rap battle for the ages and easily end our boredom.**

Layton, Luke, Peach, Fox, Falco, X, Zero, and Proto Man remained in the Star Records room, feeling bored as the security footage played on Fox's laptop. Luke, wanting to end the boredom, wished to play a game to pass the time.

"Let's play a game called the Green Glass Door!" exclaimed the young detective, grabbing everyone's attention. "Basically you have to name people and things, and I can decide whether they can go through or not. Fox, would you like to start things off?"

"Sure thing, Luke - can I go through the Green Glass Door?" the pilot quickly asked Luke...who shook his head, much to his chagrin. "You for real bro?! What about my man Falco, can he go through the door?" Luke shook his head again, angering both Fox and Falco.

"What about me Luke, can I go through the Green Glass Door?" asked Peach, as Luke thought about the princess. The others waited attentively to see what the young detective's verdict was.

"As long as you enter the door assuming your title as a princess...then you're welcome to enter!" responded Luke, prompting Fox and Falco to throw minor fits of rage and anger. Either Luke was playing the game exactly how it was supposed to be played, or he was twisting the rules in Peach's favor.

"Huh, so I guess other hot babes like Samus and Celica and Aerith are welcome to enter the Green Glass Door," frowned Falco as he folded his arms, refusing to play Luke's little game anymore. Same went for Fox.

"Actually that's not true, they can't go through the Green Glass Door, but girls like Wii Fit Trainer and Bayonetta can!" This greatly befuddled Fox and Falco - what were the requirements for going through the door?! They just didn't understand...do you understand? (If so, then kudos.)

Layton looked on Fox's laptop monitor, and in the security footage, he saw a cloaked figure, entering the ballroom flanked by several dudes wearing suits and ski masks while holding propane tanks. Layton propped himself up to his seat, enthralled by what he was seeing.

"Guys, I think we have something exciting happen in that security footage!" announced Layton, as everyone looked at Fox's laptop screen. They all watched in awe as the cloaked figure directed the ski mask dudes to a faraway corner of the ballroom, where the propane was placed. Once the ski mask dudes were done with their deed, the cloaked figure and his goons retreated from the ballroom, as the security footage ended.

"That cloaked man (or woman) can't be Organization XIII, we already took care of them weeks ago," stated Peach, after the video was finished playing. "No way they could have returned to our universe. So who could that person be, and who were those men with them?"

"We may not know the answers to those questions now..." replied Layton, smiling as he tipped his hat, "...but we do have quite the mystery on our hands." Having seen the security footage, Layton and Luke were ready to roll!

 **Layton: Enjoy the time that you have, cloaked stranger...just know that Luke Triton and I are coming for you! *points at camera***

* * *

Following a long day of investigating, Toon Link and Young Link met in their "office", or rather, their bedroom, eating doughnuts and malasadas. On the wall were posted pictures of the mansion residents, and each every one of them a culprit in the case of Peach's stolen wedding ring.

"Alright, let's start off with our first possible culprit - Chrom," Toon Link started things off, taking Chrom's picture off the wall and showing it to Young Link. "What do you think of the prince, Young Link?"

"He was named after an internet browser, long before said internet browser was even conceived, so that automatically makes Chrom suspicious in my eyes," stated Young Link, as Toon nodded his head in agreement. "Not to mention that he named his daughter Lucina, when regular dads just name their daughters Lucy, so that makes Chrom even more suspicious..." ...or it just makes Chrom fancy.

"You and I, we think alike...and I like that from you," Toon said this as he placed the picture of Chrom on his dresser, before taking Olimar's picture off the wall. "What do you think of his potential culprit?"

"Olimar has his eyes closed all the time...except when he's stealing valuable items like wedding rings! Definite culprit in my eyes, no mistake about it!"

"Feel the same way too, there's a reason Olimar pretends to go about his day like a blind person. It's all an evil act..." Toon placed Olimar's picture on the dresser, and then took down a picture of Kiria. "And what about Kiria, do you think she was the culprit?"

"I don't know if Kiria's the culprit or not...but I do know that she's kinda hot..." Young Link smiled, as Toon Link raised an eyebrow at his friend. Was Young Link slightly corpsing? Somebody send for the man!

"The cuss are you even talking about?"

"The cuss am I talking about? Who the cuss are you?"

"You cussing with me right now?"

"You bet the cussing cuss I am! And don't cussing talk to me like that!"

"DON'T MAKE ME KICK YOUR CUSSING BEHIND, YOU CUSSHOLE!"

"OH FOR CUSS'S SAKE, I'D RATHER SEE YOU CUSSING TRY!"

Toon Link and Young Link soon became embroiled in a slap fight, their heads turned away as they flailed their arms about at one another. The noises they were making were enough to attract King K. Rool, who opened the door to the "office" to see what was going on.

 **King K. Rool: All this talk about Peach's stolen wedding ring...it's a good thing I wasn't convicted yet... *gives a toothy grin***

"Mario where are you, I have some important news to share with you!" Peach called out, running down the hallways, util she bumped into King K. Rool, knocking the Kremling over by accident. Both Peach and Rool fell to the floor, and a piece of jewelry fell out from Rool...Peach's wedding ring, which the princess noticed. "...Rool, is that my wedding ring?" Rool quickly looked at the wedding ring and scooped it up, as Peach angrily had her hands on her hips.

"Uh, this isn't your wedding ring, Princess Peach...it's just a very rare and expensive Ring Pop," stated Rool, an excuse Peach obviously didn't buy. "Allow me to show you." Rool was literally about to lick Peach's wedding ring...but thankfully two officers stopped the Kremling in his tracks, their arrows pointed at the true culprit - Toon Link and Young Link.

"Knew you couldn't resist the allure of jewelry, like Peach's ring...hands up where we can see 'em!" Toon Link said to Rool, who tossed the wedding ring to Peach and held his arms up. "King K. Rool, you're under arrest...and you're coming with us!"

* * *

"Honey how are you doing, you doing okay?" fretted Celica, her left ear pressed against the bathroom door as her husband Alm was using the bathroom, dropping deuces - and a whole lot of 'em, too.

"Can't...stop...the runs..." Alm's voice was heard from behind the bathroom door, as the liquid laxatives was taking over the king's body. Watching from afar was Kirby and Viridi, who were laughing at Alm's misfortune until their friend Pit met up with them, having returned from CenturyLink Field.

"So what are you guys laughing at?" the angel asked Kirby and Viridi; the latter gasped when she turned and saw Pit, and she gave him a huge hug. Alm and Celica no longer mattered to Viridi now, for her boyfriend had returned.

"Hi Pit, welcome back - Viridi and I messed with Alm, poured some liquid lax in his and Celica's spaghetti, and gave him the case of the runs," Kirby explained to Pit, who was trying to pry Viridi off of him. "Should've been there, Pit."

Walking by Pit, Viridi, and Kirby was Cloud, and man, was he ticked. The swordsman, who had walked home from the stadium, had a huge bulk of his day wasted by Sora, and not only that, he felt bad for anyone who had to involve themselves with Sora. They were bound to hold an L for all of eternity.

"How was the barbecue Cloud, did you have a great time?" Link asked the swordsman, who walked by his best friend and Zelda, storming off in anger and ignoring Link altogether. Poor Hylian is so disrespected, even by his best friend...

"Don't you think Sora may have something to do with Cloud's temper?" Zelda asked Link who, knowing from experience, nodded his head.

* * *

 **Cloud: Sora has officially crossed the line, and it seems like he won't be reprimanded for his foolishness. Somebody has got to teach that dude a lesson...and frankly it has to be me. But I won't do it alone...**

"Sure you want to go about this, Cloud?" Samus would ask the swordsman, the two exiting the workshop. "Master Hand would _kill_ you if you go forth with this plan!" Cloud didn't care - he just wanted Sora out of his life, for good.

"He can kill me all he wants - as long as Sora's taken care of, that's what matters," replied Cloud as he walked away, heading to his room. Samus sighed, wondering when Cloud became so...so ambitious, and was about to head to her room...

...when suddenly her cellphone rang. Samus looked at the caller ID, unable to recognize it, but answered the call anyways, just to see who it was.

"Hello...is it me you're looking for?" a gravelly voice said over the phone, and Samus was quick to realize who this voice belonged to. No point in entertaining a conversation with the caller.

"Sorry wrong number," the bounty hunter hung up her phone and walked away, pretending like the call never happened. Peeking from the corner in the hallway was Snake, using his codec, and snapping his fingers in defeat as Samus walked away. Sonic walked up to Sonic, placing a comforting hand on the former spy's shoulder.

"One of these days you'll get her Snake..." assured Sonic, watching Samus head down the hallway. "One of these days you'll be successful..."

* * *

"Thanks for inviting me over today Mario, really enjoy these negotiations," Jakob said to Mario, exiting Master Hand's room. "Still wish I wasn't part of that whole shindig involving Cloud, gotta feel bad for him." Arguably the lowlight of Cloud's day, and maybe Jakob's.

"Sorry I had-a to drag you in-a there, but Sora couldn't be a one-a man band, if you know-a what I mean," apologized Mario, expressing sympathy for everyone else who was involved with Sora today. "Shall we meet again-a next week?"

"Just like we agreed to.. Goodbye Mario - hope you and Peach enjoy your first _normal_ week as newlyweds. Take care!" Jakob waved to Mario, and Mario would wave back, as Jakob headed to the front door and exited the Smash Mansion. Once outside and on the front yard, the butler looked up at the sky, with his hands in his pockets and a smile on his face.

As the butler stated earlier, he had _nothing_ to lose.


	82. Episode 82: Missing

_Author's Note:_

 _First off...coming of with a title for this chapter was super hard. Might be because of the writer's block I was having when writing this chapter. Haven't really had a writer's block since chapters 15, 21, and maybe 36. Secondly, we got some reviews to answer:_

 _"Can you include the other Darkstalkers characters? (Jedah, Lord Raptor, Anita, and Felicia) Jake Muller from Resident Evil 6? are the Star Fox vehicles based on their appearance in Assault? Can you include a small scene of Asbel, Cloud, and Haseo interacting with each other? (They share the same Japanese voice actor, Takahiro Sakurai) are you gonna tone down the Terror Mask's foul mouth when he shows up? And finally, will any other Tales characters become residents of the Smash Mansion?"_

 _Don't know about the Darkstalkers characters. Jake Mulller may appear. The Star Fox vehicles are indeed based from Assault. May include a scene with Asbel, Cloud, and Haseo. Terror Mask's language will be toned down completely. And there probably won't be anymore Tales mansion residents. One more guest review:_

 _"Can you please add the character Garr and make him and sonic fight alot"_

 _Who the heck is Garr? Is he someone from the Archie comics? No anime/manga and comic characters allowed._

* * *

 **Episode 82: Missing**

Shortly after Mario and Peach tied the knot and got married, there was discussion about the newlyweds possibly moving out of the Smash Mansion and living in a separate home, like Luigi and Daisy did. Although Mario nor Peach never really entertained the idea, there were some residents of the Smash Mansion who would greatly miss having the presence of the plumber and the Mushroom Kingdom princess...and surprisingly, Master Hand was one of them. Poor hand was gonna miss messing with Mario on a day-to-day basis.

However, Master Hand felt like Mario and Peach couldn't live at the mansion forever now that they were married, and with Luigi having his own place, Master Hand felt that Mario was deserving of having his own place too. He couldn't care less if Mario wanted a home or not - he just wanted the plumber and Peach to live happily ever after, just like all the wonderful fairy tale couples you've read about when you were a kid.

Little did anyone know that Master Hand had secretly hired a group of carpenters to secretly build Mario and Peach's house, right next to Luigi's home, during night hours when everyone was fast asleep. The name of this group was...the Carpenters (what, you expected something more fancier than that?), and Master Hand would pay them early in the morning, before breakfast, for their efforts, before demanding them to depart from the mansion's premises, so nobody would ever know that they were responsible for building the house. However, on this bright, early Friday morning, the Carpenters were working in overtime, after having asked Master Hand for permission. Clearly the Carpenters wanted Mario's house to be completed ASAP.

"No slacking boys, I want this house done in top shape for Mario and Peach to see!" Mutoh, the bald-headed leader of the Carpenters, barked at his workers with his arms folded, with a grin on his face. "We're gonna blow Mario's pants off when we show him his home, he'll be like, 'Mama Mia, I lost-a my pants!'"

"But sir, Mario doesn't wear pants, he wears overalls," Ichiro pointed out, as he was working away at the exterior of the house. Mutoh shot a quick glare at Ichiro, letting the worker feel his fury and indignation. Mutoh was the kind of guy you didn't want to tick off, not by any means.

"How dare you make an obvious point and make me look stupid! Get back to work this instant!" Ichiro would point out that he was already working, but since he didn't want to further aggravate Mutoh, he just quietly continued working on the house, nervously looking away from Mutoh's face.

 **Mutoh: Master Hand hasn't exactly been considerate with his pay...he only gives us men one rupee apiece. Says that due to low funds, he can't give us something along the lines of a red rupee, or even a gold rupee...but ask yourself this. How can that man have "low funds", and yet able to afford and pay for everything in the Smash Mansion, and cover for everyone that lives in said mansion, huh? Bet ya he's just being frivilous and saving money for that stupid car of his...and let me tell ya, when I saw Master Hand's car for the first time, I thought it was some kind of evil monster! Thankfully the boys stopped me in time before I could lay a beating on the car...hoo boy, we would've been in big, BIG trouble with Master Hand then.**

Fox yawned and outstretched his arms as he exited the Smash Mansion, wearing his pajamas. The pilot had heard noises from inside the foyer, and came outside to do some investigating. He would find the Carpenters working away on Mario's house, now having learned who was responsible for the house's construction. Fox and Falco legitimately thought an alien race other than the Shroobs landed on earth, and were building a house next to the Smash Mansion, just so they could spy on the earthlings while residing in the facade of a normal, American home.

"So those guys are the ones building that house..." remarked Fox, scratching his chin inquisitively. No point in standing around any longer. "Might as well introduce myself to 'em, look like a friendly bunch." So the pilot walked up to Mutoh, and laid his hand on his shoulder; Mutoh screamed and turned around, like he had seen a ghost, only to see Fox standing behind him.

"Oh man, you scared the living daylights out of me, don't do that to me again!" frowned Mutoh, catching his breath with a hand on his chest. Once he was done with his breather, the carpenter regained composure - before bursting into a hearty laugh, which slightly befuddled Fox. "I do have to admit, that was one heck of a scare, got me real good! Gotta give you props for that. What's yer name?"

"Fox McCloud's the name - I'm an space pilot, and the leader of a mercenary team called Star Fox," Fox would introduce himself to Mutoh, shaking his hand. Mutoh had a very firm grip, but that's what you would expect from a strong carpenter like him.

"Nice to meet ya, Mr. McCloud - you can call me Mutoh. My boys and I are working on this house for Mario and Peach; Master Hand hired us to work on the house during nighttime, when Mario, Peach, and the others are asleep. Having to sleep in during the daytime is not the greatest thing in the world...and the pay Master Hand's been giving us hasn't done much to compensate for it."

"Trust me buddy, I know Master Hand pretty well, he's cheaper than your average dollar store. Asking him for money is like asking a bulldog to stop panting." Ain't that the truth. "So, have Mario or Peach seen this house you're building for them?"

"I reckon that they didn't - heck, I don't think they even know we're building a house for them! Probably haven't been outside, or payed much attention to construction us boys have been doin'. But mark my words - when Mario sees the house once it's finally finished, his pants will be blown completely off!"

"He doesn't wear pants..." cooed Ichiro; you probably know what was about to happen to the carpenter. Why did he even attempt that?

"You're not wearing pants yourself, so who are you to judge the fashion sense of the Mushroom Kingdom's hero?!" Mutoh snapped on Ichiro, who kept his mouth shut and resumed his work. "Yeah, that's what I thought, now I better not hear a single peep out of ya until this house is finished!"

 **Ichiro: On the plus side, I won't have to worry about Mutoh docking my pay, since Master Hand's the one who's paying us...d'oh, here I am, slacking off and not doing my work...I should get back to work before Mutoh yells at me again... *runs off***

"Tell you what Fox - how about you keep Mario and Peach away from the construction as much as possible, so that they'll be all surprised when they see a completed house," Mutoh said to Fox, who found this offer quite favorable. Easier said than done, though. "Their reactions will have much more meaning if they're not in the know, you know?

"Yeah man, I feel ya, I'll do as you say," Fox agreed to Mutoh's terms, as he shook the carpenter's hand. "I'll ensure Mario and Peach don't take a single step outside the mansion!"

* * *

Mario was in the kitchen, fixing himself a cup of orange juice. Like anyone else, the plumber would wait until breakfast was ready to get some orange juice, but his taste buds were really bothering him, and a cup of hot coffee certainly wouldn't do.

"Just couldn't wait until breakfast was ready, couldn't you?" sighed Dunban as he was cooking breakfast - waffles, bacon, and eggs for everyone. Granted, the Homs had a hard task ahead of himself whenever he cooked breakfast, since he had to cook for at least over a hundred residents, but no challenge was too big nor too small for the mighty Dunban.

"My mouth-a was killing me, I needed some-a thing sweet like some orange-a juice to make-a my mouth feel better," stated Mario after he was finished drinking his orange juice, placing his glass on the kitchen counter. "I simply couldn't have-a waited until breakfast to satisfy my taste-a buds."

"You could've done what I do and just eat a spoonful of syrup, that's what I would have done if I were you." Mario didn't care that much for Dunban's silly method - he was just glad that his mouth was back to normal. That's what mattered the most.

"Hey, Mario, my main man, top of the morning!" Fox would greet the plumber as he entered the kitchen, catching the plumber off-guard with his enthusiasm. Also, why was Mario Fox's main man - was Falco demoted or something? "Got anything planned for the day? Planning on spending some R&R with Peach after breakfast? Or how about spending some time with Poochy? Whatcha got planned?"

"Honestly I have-a nothing planned for today...except paying the bills-a that Master Hand wants-a me to pay," replied Mario, heaving a heavy sigh. Sometimes it was hard being the man of the mansion, though things won't get any better when Mario and Peach get their own place. "But, if you have-a something planned Fox, I can regulate the bills-a to Isabelle, she doesn't mind paying them-a one bit. In fact, she doesn't mind-a anything at all! Scrubbed my back and-a my feet...and other body parts I can-a not mention, yet I never heard-a Isabelle complain once!"

 **Isabelle: Yes, I have to admit Sir Mario made me massage nearly ninety percent of his body...even though I didn't want to, I just wanted him to feel happy and content. Even if it came at the risk of having to touch his buttocks.**

 **Fox: Three things are certain in life...death, taxes, and...crap, forgot what the third thing was. But no matter what, I'll avoid all of those three things, even if it's inhumanely impossible. *pauses* Inhumanely impossible? Heck, I'm a freaking fox, so I probably won't have to worry about death or taxes! *folds arms behind his head* Falco and I will be living in paradise, while those humans like Mario will be miserable! Talk about having a last laugh!**

"I was thinking that maybe you could join Falco and I in watching a movie...from the nineties," Fox said to Mario, putting some emphasis and flair on the word nineties just to sway Mario's mind. Because who didn't love the nineties? Mario mused over Fox's offer, before coming to a forgone conclusion...or rather, a request.

"Can Peach join-a us in watching the movie?" the plumber would ask Fox - no way was he gonna leave his sweet-loving wife out of the mix.

"Of course she can, it'll make our plans...our plans for _fun,_ more exciting - the more people the merrier!" Fox's Freudian slip caused Dunban to look at the pilot with an inquisitive stare, for he felt that for whatever reason, Fox and Falco were up to no good. "I was thinking that maybe we can watch the movie around noon, at least an hour after breakfast is over. How does that sound?"

"That's fine-a with me! I'll make sure to tell-a Peach about this." It was in this very moment that Dunban felt something must be done...like Fox and Falco had an ulterior motive, and said motive must be exploited quickly.

* * *

Breakfast was almost ready, and to mentally prepare herself for the day, Samus was meditating in the living room. Doing this meditation would help the bounty hunter tune out most of the distractions she had to put up with throughout the day, but one distraction in particular would advance to the living room, smiling and grinning creepily with intent as he made his way over to Samus.

"I can show you the world...shinning, shimmering, splendid..." the distraction known as Snake sang with his gravelly voice to Samus, who cringed like any other woman in this predicament would. "Tell me princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?"

"You aren't...singing to me, are you?" Samus asked as she looked around, hoping someone like Peach, Lucina, or even Daisy was around. Felt weird that Snake was calling her a "princess", Samus's mother never called her that (or so many would assume). "I take it that you're still smoking crack?"

"I can open your eyes...take you wonder by wonder...over, sideways and under on a magic carpet ride..." Snake whipped out a purple carpet, seemingly out of nowhere, and showed it to Samus, who wasn't impressed. It was like the bounty hunter's overall disdain for Snake had reached levels never before seen.

"Aw, you even brought a purple carpet, like the one from _Aladdin..._ too bad it isn't a magic carpet. But I can't fault you for trying to impress me. You're still not going to be my boyfriend, so how about you do this singing crap to someone who is _actually_ interested in starting a relationship?" Samus got up and walked away, leaving the living room to meditate elsewhere. And that left Snake quite disheartened.

 **Snake: "If at first you don't succeed, then dust yourself off and try again..." Those were the words from the late singer Aaliyah, and no, I don't like Aaliyah, or care for her music - Knuckles has been blasting Aaliyah's music nonstop, and I am ashamed to say that her songs and lyrics are now ingrained in my brain, all because of Knuckles. But make no mistake, if Aaliyah was in Seattle, I'd ask her to be my girlfriend on the spot, we're not that far apart in years. I'll just have to wait around, and wait for...Whaddaya mean, the woman's _dead?!_**

"So, how did it go?" Sonic would ask Snake, the former spy trudging to the foyer where Sonic was. "Did Samus say the golden word, did she agree to be your girlfriend, forever and ever until the end of time?"

"What does the look on my face indicate?" asked Snake, pointing at his face. His face was the pure embodiment of disappointment, sorrow, and negativity, like he had just found out that his closet relative had died. (Like Snake would actually care, since most of his relatives were dead. He and Samus have a lot more in common than you think...)

"She agreed to be your girlfriend, didn't she?! Oh man, I'm so proud of you Snake, goes on to show you that even senior citizens your age still got it!" Sonic happily threw his arms around a downtrodden Snake, who was ticked that Sonic apparently didn't get the memo. "Well technically you're not a senior citizen, but you know what I mean..."

"She decline me, you stinking hedgehog!" Snake angrily grabbed Sonic, and threw him unto the floor, before stomping his foot in defeat. "Samus rejected me yet again, and there's no point in going back to her again...why doesn't she want me? Is it because of how I look? Is it because of how I am? Has my accelerated age done more harm than I could have ever imagined?! Why me, cruel world, why me..."

"Um, excuse me, but...I could possibly be of assistance," said a voice belonging to a girl. Snake looked to his side, and saw Ashley, the young witch's general spookiness enough to spook the former spy. "I see that you're having trouble winning Samus's heart, and I think I might have the answer to your problems...do you want my help?"

"No, Snake doesn't want your help - he wanted to seek romantic advice from me, and me only!" Sonic frowned at Ashley, wishing the young witch would disappear and go away. "You've never been in a relationship before, so what assistance could you possibly have? And don't even bring up that Young Cricket guy - we all know he only went to that Valentine's Day dance with you because of Master Hand and his rule of 'needing a date to attend'! So tell me Ashley, what business do you have with Snake, huh?"

"I'm guessing you forgot about this..." Ashley dug into her pocket, and pulled out a love potion, which Sonic recognized. Ashley had used this love potions on the cruise ship, with Pit and Viridi...those were times Ashley wanted to forget. "I was gonna throw my love potions away after that Pit-Viridi fiasco, but I held on to them just in case...also, I didn't know where to throw away the potions. Would have thrown them in the lake, but I didn't want potions to soak in the water and cause the Pokemon to be start relationships with one another. Not even sure if that would be possible, according to Pokemon mating and all that stuff."

"Do you think that if Samus drinks that potion, then she'll fall in love with me?" Snake asked Ashley, not sure if he should trust the young witch or the love potions she had made. The former spy had never seen the love potions in effect - unless he forgot with his poor memory - but he was willing to take whatever chance he got.

"Yes, but in order for the potion to work, she would have to look at you. Otherwise Samus will experience some major body complications, as Pit once did. But Pit is a dummy, and Samus is far more wise...I think you'll have no problem winning over Samus."

 **Ashley: ...I think Snake is going to have MAJOR problems winning over Samus. If this was a younger Snake I was dealing with, no problem, but the Snake I'm stuck with is cranky, stubborn, and kinda smells. He would have to require full cooperation from Samus, and cooperation just isn't Samus's thing. So Sonic and I will do the dirty work for him.**

* * *

With Snake driving her out of the living room, Samus went to the lounge to meditate a little bit before breakfast. However, another distraction had made their way to the bounty hunter, although this distraction was a lot more tolerable...Cloud Strife.

"Top of the morning, Miss Aran," Cloud would greet the bounty hunter, interrupting her meditation as he showed a relatively rare instance of him demonstrating politeness towards a fellow resident. "How are you doing?"

"I was doing just fine until you interrupted my meditating..." muttered Samus, surprised by how friendly and polite Cloud was acting towards her. But she knew why Cloud was acting unlike his usual self, and why the swordsman was here in the first place. "You're here to ask me about that 'secret project', huh? Have you planned your obituary in case Master Hand finds out and gets your hand on you?"

"Why would I be afraid of Master Hand? He's always constantly talking a big game, and never backing up his words. He's kinda like that fake bully in class who talks about how great he is and how he's gonna kick your butt, yet does nothing. Lets his words speak for how futile he is." Bet you wouldn't say that if Master Hand was around, huh Cloud? "I just want Sora to leave me alone, go irritate someone else before I have to kill the guy."

"Look at you, being all savage and expressing desire to kill an innocent kid...gotta say Cloud, Sora's presence is starting to change you a little bit." Cloud refused to believe that Sora was changing him, as well as Sora being an "innocent kid"..."annoying pest" was a much better description. "I'm still working on the project - I'll let you know when it's ready. Then once the project goes into effect, you can continue the rest of your days without having to worry about Sora, and everyone lives happily ever after...you get the point."

"Alright, thanks for everything Samus. I know you didn't want to build anything, or help me for that matter, but hopefully your effort and work will pay off." Cloud would leave the lounge, leaving Samus to resume meditating, and Cloud would find Bowser standing near the lounge entrance, using a cellphone. "Since when did you start using a cellphone?" the swordsman would ask the Koopa King, who was greatly offended that Cloud had the gall to ask him such an asinine question.

"What, it is because of my large hands - you think my fingers would prevent me from texting anyone?!" Bowser barked at Cloud, getting spit on the swordsman and forcing him to smell his gnarly morning breath. "You think I'm just some guy that would text Peach only, and nobody else? Well let me tell you brother, that Peach ain't the only person I got on my contact list...I also got Pauline too! So now I have _two_ contacts on my phone, didn't expect that, did you? DISCRIMINATOR!" Cloud shook his head as he walked by, leaving Bowser to do whatever he was doing on his phone.

 **Bowser: Got Pauline's digits after the wedding, before that hotel fire started. I would have asked her out, but Pauline looks a bit too old for my tastes, she just ain't my type. Not to mention that she's believed to be Mario's mother, which would mean that if I married her, then I would possibly be Mario's...father. *strokes chin* Heh, that doesn't sound that bad when you think about it, then I can go around telling people that I'm Mario's daddy, like I own Mario - and Mario will NEVER live it down!**

"Hey Bowser, may I speak with you for a quick minute?" Dunban would approach the Koopa King, and after the exchange he had with Cloud, Bowser suddenly grew skeptical of why Dunban of all people wanted to speak with him.

"Why, you got something against big-handed people like myself too, think I shouldn't be operating a cellphone or any other device?" questioned Bowser; Cloud really put the Koopa King in a bad mood, although the swordsman had meant no harm. "Go ahead, point your finger at me and laugh away! I got a pretty thick skin, so your jabs and insults won't hurt me! Give me your best shot, I dare ya!"

"I'm not here to pick on you or insult you...I'm here to ask you for a favor." Bowser suddenly became all ears, as Dunban leaned in and looked around for any eavesdroppers, before whispering to Bowser. "Fox and Falco wish to watch a film with Mario, and Mario is bringing Peach along. I heard Fox slip and mention something about some 'plan', and I think he and Falco might have an underlying ulterior motive they plan to unleash on Mario..."

"Only one person is allowed to unleash some devious plan on Mario, and that person, is ME! Always knew Fox and Falco were up to no good - tried telling the others that, but they just wouldn't listen! Why wouldn't they listen, why do they refuse to accept the truth?"

"I think their reasons are pretty obvious..." Do you feel the strong aura of irony radiating from Bowser's comments? "Fox said that the film will shortly after noon, and that's when we'll strike! But we'll have to start off small...so here's what I want you to do..."

* * *

Once breakfast was over with, Toon Link and Young Link went to Master Hand's room...adorned in their police uniforms. The two Links had won over the trust of Master Hand when they found the thief who stole Peach's wedding ring (King K. Rool), and now they were about to receive the one thing every police officer flaunted on their uniforms...police badges!

"Before I give you your badges, I just wanted you boys to know that having Seattle's police department make the badges wasn't as easy as I imagined it to be," started off Master Hand, as Isabelle approached Toon Link and Young Link with a box in her hands. "Bribed them, threatened them...nothing worked on those guys. Threatened to throw them inside the Black Hole, or in some lake of fire, and they just laughed at me. But when Organization XIII unleashed the Heartless and the Shroobs on the city, what did those scrawny policemen do? Shut down the entire police department and let you guys do all the hard work! How is it that one can be scared of some lousy aliens and monsters...but not me?"

"Like I told you before Master Hand, you can't outright bribe or threaten people forever, it can only get you so far," stated Isabelle, having to lecture Master Hand on what he can and can not do for the nth time. "Don't think that you can abuse your power just because you created the Smash universe and all."

"'Don't think that you can abuse your power just because you created the Smash universe and all,'" Master Hand repeated what Isabelle just said, but in an extremely mocking and sardonic tone. "And don't think you can tell me what to do because you're my assistant, Isabelle. Can't have it both ways, you know. Now give what Toon Link and Young Link came for and give them their badges!"

So Isabelle took off the lid of the box, and showed Toon Link and Young Link their police badges, customized with the Smash logo on it. The police badges were really worth the time and effort and the great lengths Master Hand went to have them made.

 **Toon Link: *holds up police badge to camera* We finally got our own police badges, and man does it feel awesome! Wait until I tell my grandma and Aryll about this!  
Young Link: Yeah this badge feels awesome, we really worked hard to deserve it too! We're not like those lousy boy scouts who constantly pester random folks and beg them to buy cookies, mooching up to them just for some silly badges. Boy scouts get badges in the name of constant imploring and kissing up to strangers...Toon Link and I get badges in the name of justice!  
Toon Link: You thinking about grabbing some doughnuts and malasadas to celebrate the occasion?  
Young Link: Quit reading my mind...**

"Master Hand, we have a major issue on our hands!" Itsuki burst inside the room to alert the giant hand. "So remember two days ago, when I printed out a bank statement for Star Records? Well, I had left it on the desk back in the Star Records room, so Ayaha could proofread and analyze everything...and when I came to the Star Records room today, I saw that the bank statement...was GONE!" A missing bank statement? Sounded like a case for Toon Link and Young Link to crack.

"When was the last time you saw the bank statement?" asked Isabelle, having questions that needed to be answered. "Was the bank statement there when yesterday, do you know if Fox or Falco had anything to do with its disappearance?"

"It was on the desk yesterday, in the very same spot I put it. And Fox nor Falco had anything to do with the bank statement's disappearance, asked them about it this morning and they were both shocked. I wouldn't point fingers just yet...but I wouldn't be surprised if you were behind this, Master Hand."

"Oh yeah sure, blame the elephant in the room, blame the giant floating hand who could possibly do no wrong!" frowned Master Hand, if he even had the ability to frown or display any emotion. "Blame the head honcho of the mansion, and not yourself! Placing important documentation where it would be likely stolen...I thought you were better than this, Itsuki."

"And I thought you were better than stealing the money for our profits to make car payments for the Lamborghini that you don't even drive," Itsuki fired back - Master Hand certainly didn't have a retort for that. But he was still salty with Itsuki for accusing him. "Just help me find the bank statement, and then we'll just put this whole thing behind us and everything will be back to normal..."

"I may not help you, and neither can Isabelle...but the two police gentlemen you see before you definitely could," replied Master Hand, referring to Toon Link and Young Link. Both kids were craving for another case to crack, and solving the mystery of Star Records's missing bank statement could quench their thirst for solving crimes around the mansion.

"Eh, would've preferred an actual police cop duo, but I suppose these two will do..." Itsuki shrugged, before making his way to the Links and kneeling down at them, needing to tell them some vital information. "Now I will be gone for most of the day, since they're having a movie at the lecture hall, so I want you boys to find the bank statement for me and have it in Ayaha's hands before the end of the day. Can I trust you boys in getting the task done?"

"You can always count on us!" exclaimed Toon Link, giving Itsuki a confident thumbs up. Itsuki couldn't believe that he was putting his trust into two kids dressed up as police officers, but it wasn't like he had any other choice.

* * *

 **Dunban: I do not yet know the full extent of Fox and Falco's plan, but I do know the movie they're planning on watching with Mario and Peach...the _Titanic_ it would be something bootlegged, like _Despicable Me 3_. If I were to deter Fox and Falco's plan, I would not only require cooperation from just Bowser...but everyone else in the mansion. And maybe changing things up a little...**

An hour after breakfast, Mario and Peach headed to the lecture hall, sitting at the front row as Fox and Falco made preparations for the movie. Peach felt like she and Mario were receiving V.I.P. treatment, what with the married couple watching the movie by themselves, along with Fox and Falco.

"So nice of Fox and Falco to invite us over for a movie!" gleamed Peach, enjoying a quick conversation with her husband Mario before the movie began. "And what better movie to watch than the _Titanic,_ one of the most romantic movies ever created!"

"Well said-a Princess Peach, Fox and Falco couldn't-a have found a better movie than-a _Titanic!"_ exclaimed Mario, relaxing comfortably in his seat, looking at his wife to the left before looking to his right. "Don't you think-a so, Link?" Mario would ask the Hylian sitting right next to him...having to do a double take when he saw Link sitting at the front row, along with Zelda. "L-Link? Zelda? What business do you-a two have here?!"

"Word broke out that you and Peach were watching a movie, and so we wanted to see the movie with you guys," explained Link, holding a bag of popcorn. It was a bag of popcorn you would expect to see at a movie theater.

"Bowser and Dunban were very kind enough to give us food and drinks while we watch the movie too," added Zelda, who was drinking from a cup of grape soda through a straw. "I know this is way too early for movie night, but this is perhaps the best grub we've had at movie night, since ever!"

"And we got the front seats in the house!" Midna poked her head in between Link and Zelda, grabbing some popcorn from Link's bag and eating it. "Hmm, this is the first time I've ever eaten popcorn...not as bad as I thought it would be."

Fox and Falco, after they were done making preparations backstage, walked out onto the stage, and were shocked to see Link, Zelda, and Midna at the front row, situated next to Mario and Peach. Only Mario and Peach were allowed to watch the movie, but the Hylian couple and the imp didn't seem to care.

"Bruh, y'all have no business here, who told you that you can be here?!" Falco snapped on Link and company, nearly going off the stage before Fox came in and made the save before things got ugly. "Get out of our sight or else!"

"Why don't you tell that to everyone else wanting to see the movie?" retorted Midna. Fox and Falco looked up, and soon feared for the worst when the other residents filled in into the lecture hall, holding popcorn and drinks and candy and nachos and all sorts of things you would typically consume at a movie theater. This was a moment meant for Mario and Peach only...and now that moment was becoming mightily wasted.

"Thanks for the great snacks, Fox and Falco, this might be the best movie night to ever take place at the mansion!" Robin would thank the Star Fox pilots, who weren't even in charge of the concessions. In fact, the duo didn't even know how said concessions were acquired!

"Hold up, hold up, and hold up - where are you people getting those concessions from, Falco never brought any food!" Fox questioned those who were entering the lecture hall. But nobody, not even Robin, would bother to answer the pilot's question, as they took their seats.

"That was totally my doing - bought all the essentials, and had my kids give the concessions away for free!" a voice was heard, as a certain giant koopa would join Fox and Falco on the stage, eating from a bag of popcorn. Fox and Falco were disgusted to see Bowser, who was cheesing it up as he enjoyed the salty looks on Fox and Falco's faces. "Thought I could spruce things up and invite more people, and give 'em some free food as incentives for showing up! Everyone loves freebies!"

 **Bowser: Who doesn't like free stuff? Free hugs, free refreshments, free massages, and even free custom sports jerseys. (Unless you're into organized crime, since hat's the only way you can get 'em.) Granted, the popcorn, candy, and drinks I bought from the store wasn't free, but if there's anything I learned in life, it's that not everything has to be free. I think that's what the British tried to each Americans back in the late 1700s, before America wised up.**

"You tell everyone in this lecture hall not named Mario or Peach to leave this instant!" Fox demanded from Bowser, as he angrily pointed a the lecture hall seats, which were now filling up. But Bowser refused to budge; he wouldn't give in into the likes of Fox.

"No way Jose - I promised these people they would get to see a movie, and I enticed them enough with free grub to the point where they wouldn't even THINK about leaving, so ya better do with what you got!" retorted Bowser; Fox, throwing his arms up in defeat, walked away, with Falco following after him. "Yeah, that's what I thought - now go take your seats so we can get this thing started!"

Once the lecture hall was jam-packed, Fox and Falco would take their seats, taking the two available seats behind Mario and Peach. The Star Fox pilots would have taken the two available seats next to the newlyweds, but Luigi and Daisy had already taken them.

"Did Bowser ever specify where-a he purchased the concessions from?" Luigi asked Daisy, scarfing down on a bag of popcorn and drinking from his cup of soda at the same time. Dude was living the American dream. "I wouldn't-a trust Bowser in-a buying food, especially after that one-a time he bought me pound-a cake. Stupid pastry made-a me terribly sick!"

"Either Bowser bought you that pound cake out of complete spite...or your body just works funnier than usual," responded Daisy, taking a huge bite from her nachos. "After that whole soy sauce incident, I think I might go with the latter..."

"Please don't bring-a that incident up again, the end-a less humiliation I've-a suffered was far-a enough..." Wanting to change the subject, Luigi turned his head towards Mario, who was suddenly tempted to eat the nachos Pac-Man kindly got for him. The plumber wanted to eat said nachos, but as most previous chapters of "Smash Life" has taught you, Mario and Hispanic food was a very unwholesome combination. Mario didn't want to risk eating the nachos and having to miss the entire _Titanic_ movie because of an upset stomach, so Peach had to dissuade the plumber each time he was tempted. "Don't you think that-a the young ones would-a be disturbed by some-a of the scenes-a in this _Titanic_ movie?"

"Like that slutty French-a girl scene?" asked Mario, a mere second away from eating a nacho chip with melted cheese on it before Luigi asked him his question. "I'm sure the scene-a in question has been censored-a in this version-a of the movie. Right, Fox and-a Falco?" Mario turned around to face Fox and Falco, who were salty that Bowser was ruining their plan. But to the truthful, the pilots didn't really have much of a plan anyways...they just had to keep Mario and Peach away from Mutoh and the Carpenters as much as possible. So everything else didn't necessarily matter, like the residents wanting to see the movie and all.

"Eh, Falco and I didn't preview the movie beforehand, we thought it would require too much work, so if the youngins see any partial nudity or stuff like that...well, at least they're learning something new," was Fox's reply, not at all caring about the innocence of some of the younger viewers. Toon Link and Young Link would be able to miss out, since they were on the case.

Once everyone got situated and all, the lights in the lecture hall dimmed, and the silver screen turned on, as the movie _Titanic_ was about to start. But to everyone's confusion, the classic _Super Mario Bros_ theme song sounded, as the word "LIGHTMOTIVE" appeared on the screen, in rainbow colors. This was _far_ from the _Titanic_ movie everyone was expecting.

"This better not be what I think this is..." said Jacky, fearing for the worst like everyone else was, and soon the fears of everyone in the lecture hall was suddenly realized, when the title of the movie appeared on the screen... _Super Mario Bros._ A woeful movie so dreaded, it even accumulated over two hundred movie sins from the _CinemaSins_ YouTube channel.

 **Dunban: Went to the back after Fox and Falco went off-stage and changed the movie from _Titanic_ to _Super Mario Bros -_ that's the equivalent of Ben Affleck going from Jennifer Garner to someone like...say, Jocelyn Wildenstein, if you ask me. Don't know what role _Titanic_ would have in Fox and Falco's plan, but if changing the movie won't damper their plans, then inviting the residents to the see the movie (which Bowser helped me out with) should do the trick.**

"Those two Italian dorks kinda remind me of Mario and Luigi!" Pit would say to Viridi, pointing at the screen as the first scene of the movie took place. Less than two minutes into the movie, and the residents had just about enough.

"That's because those two Italian dorks you speak of _are_ Mario and Luigi," stated Viridi, as Pit was now looking at the screen in utter confusion. Obviously this was his first time watching the _Super Mario Bros_ movie...what a very fortunate dude.

"Although this may-a not be the _Titanic_...watching this crap-a movie with you-a makes watching the movie more-a tolerable," Mario said to his wife Peach...who was taking a nap, likely doing it out of missing the movie on purpose. With the princess asleep, Mario could eat his nachos in peace...and maybe miss out on the movie if his stomach acted against him. Everything seemed to work out perfectly.

* * *

While the mansion residents were subjecting themselves to pure, unadulterated torture by watching the trainwreck that was the _Super Mario Bros_ movie, two British detectives were busy snooping around the mansion for any clues regarding the hotel incident...Professor Herschel Layton and Luke Triton. The detectives have been searching all day long, even skipping breakfast and using breakfast bars to give them the fuel they needed to get them through the morning hours; Layton and Luke would have opted to take a break from their day of investigating and watched the movie in the lecture hall, but one look at the silver screen was all they needed.

"Gotta say Layton - the folks who were responsible for making that horrid film of Mario and Luigi are dumber than a bunch of rocks!" remarked Luke, as he and Layton were living room, looking for clues. They would look around at the Four Seasons hotel, but the hotel owner forbid _anyone_ from the mansion to ever step foot in the hotel again.

"Now now, Luke, no need to be all rude...there's no reason for you to insult innocent rocks!" smiled Layton, looking underneath one of the living room couches, before moving to the couch cushions. Either Layton was positive there were clues underneath the couch and under the couch cushions, or he was just buying time. "Apparently we're not allowed inside the hotel, despite having nothing to do with the explosion, so we'll just have to stay at the mansion and find any sort of evidence, if any."

"Disguising ourselves and infiltrating the hotel would be a great way to look for clues, if we have convincing disguises that is," suggested Luke, as he was checking behind the TV. Forget Layton - maybe Luke's the one who's buying time. "We can dress up as health inspectors, and tell the hotel employees that we're at the hotel to inspect the food, and then we'll find more clues that way! Provided we don't wind up buried."

"As long as the hotel staff doesn't try to kill us off with their food, then we wouldn't have to worry about the possibility of being buried," stated Layton, now looking underneath one of the living room tables when a certain paper lying on the floor caught his eye. The detective reached out to grab said paper, and rose up to his feet as he read the sheet the paper with curious eyes.

"What's that you got there, Professor Layton, is that an actual clue?" asked Luke as he came over to the detective, who was now looking at the sheet of paper with a shocked expression on his face. Layton must have found a clue...or maybe he just found a scandalous love letter that his eyes were not meant to see. Would be funnier if it was the latter.

"I do think we found another clue, Luke...golly, this might be the best clue so far!"

* * *

 **Young Link: Sometimes when you work as a police officer, you often have to take big risks, very big risks. Everyday police officers have to risk being with their family and loved ones to stop deviant crimes, and deal justice to wanted criminals who wish to harm others. Toon Link and I, we have to risk watching perhaps the most romantic movie in existence to help Itsuki find a bank statement from Star Records. Really wanted to see that "French girls" scene...  
Toon Link: You and me both, buddy...you and me both. But when there's a job that needs to be done, it's gonna be done. When there's foul play taking place, justice has to be dealt. When you see a grown man sagging his pants, you pull his pants up and tell him to show some respect! Nobody wants to see your business!  
Young Link: Are you insisting that sagging your pants is a devious crime?  
Toon Link: Great minds think alike, do they? *high-fives Young Link***

The police duo of Toon lInk and Young Link, eating their doughnuts and malasadas, were in the printing room looking for the bank statement, with their trusty police hound Duck Hunt Dog sniffing the floor for the missing document. The two Links assumed someone saw the bank statement lying on the Star Records desk and wished to make a copy of it, and they had left the document in the printing room by accident.

"Nothing in the copy machines, or Zero's funky printing thingamajig," stated Toon Link, after inspecting the devices he just mentioned. The Hylain was nearly to the point of pulling out his hair, as he was slowly becoming distressed; he really didn't want to let Itsuki down. "What about you, my partner-in-crime?"

"Just finished checking the printing machines, didn't find anything," replied Young Link, having just finished his glazed doughnuts. Glazed doughnuts and police officers truly go hand-in-hand - rarely do you see a police officer without a doughnut in his hand. "You don't think someone took the bank statement and shred it into pieces, do you?"

"That's kinda the thought I got going on inside my head, but who would even think about doing such a thing? What would be there to accomplish from shredding an important document that isn't yours? Wouldn't make a huge ton of sense. Did you find anything, Duck Hunt Dog?" The police mutt shook his head no, dismaying Toon Link and Young Link even more. The police duo had to find that bank statement - Itsuki was depending on them!

"Obviously the bank statement isn't here, so we'll just have to take our search elsewhere." So Young Link, Toon Link, and the Duck Hunt Dog exited the printing room, continuing their search elsewhere...until Toon Link saw a certain someone making their way through the hallway. The Hylian pulled Young Link and the Duck Hunt Dog away, as he hid himself and the others behind a large vase.

"Keep quiet, you two...I think I found the person who may be responsible for the missing bank statement..." Toon Link quietly whispered to Young Link and the Duck Hunt Dog, as he pointed at a short man, walking by wearing an astronaut suit with three Pikmin following him.

"It's the blindness faker..." mouthed Young Link, as Olimar and his Pikmin nonchalantly walked by. "What if...what if Olimar used his faux blindness as a ploy to steal the bank statement?" What would Olimar even do with the bank statement anyways...?

"Or even worse - what if when we interrogate him, he uses the victim card and uses his fake blindness in his favor, and paint us as VILLAINS? Olimar could make Master Hand lose our trust, and we would have our police badges taken away, and we would never go on police adventures ever again!"

"That sounds like a pretty scary thought...but just like you said, when there's a job that needs to be done, it's gotta be done, and if Olimar is truly the culprit in the crime, then justice must be dealt. So let's go get him!"

So Toon Link, Young Link, and the Duck Hunt Dog arose from their hiding spot, following closely behind Olimar and the Pikmin. Toon Link Both Links donned his bow, and had an arrow pointed at Olimar...and when the time was right, the Hylian fired the arrow at poor Olimar, striking him in the back of his knee and sending him to the floor in pain.

"Gaah, cramp, got a cramp in my leg!" wailed Olimar, under the belief he was suffering from a leg cramp...until he rubbed the back of his knee and felt Toon Link's arrow, pierced through his skin. "What? How did this arrow get here? This must be Dark Pit's doing, isn't it?" Olimar wouldn't speak anymore, when Toon Link and Young Link approached the astronaut, their bows pointed at him as he remained on the floor.

 **Olimar: *sitting on a patient bed at the fitness center* Walking through the mansion and minding my own business...and I take a literal arrow to the knee, or the back of my knee, rather. *sighs* The guys back at Hocotate Freight would never believe me if I told them the entire story.**

"You are now under temporary arrest, anything you say or do will be used against you in the Smash Mansion Court of Law!" Toon Link said to Olimar. Yeah, like the Smash Mansion Court of Law ever existed... "State your business - how come you were in the hallway, not watching the movie like everyone else?!" Olimar could just say that he didn't want to watch a crappy movie, but the astronaut had a legit reason for why he was out of the lecture hall.

"I was watching the movie, but I had to use the bathroom really bad so I had to go..." answered Olimar...only to feel a stinging, shocking feeling in the right side of his body. Young Link had just tasered him...but where in the heck did the Hylian get a taser gun from?!

"Did you not hear the man, he said anything you say will be used against you in the court, wouldn't want what you just said used against you, huh?!" Young Link snapped on Olimar, who never before has been more scared of two lousy kids than he was right now. "Now answer the question - why were you in the hallway and not in the lecture hall?"

"Why did you taser me for...like I had told you, I was..." And for the second time, Olimar got tasered. Dude might as well shut up, but he would probably get tasered again for not answering Toon Link's question. A lose-lose situation.

"This is pointless...we'll never pry an answer out of Olimar if we keep this up," said Toon Link, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Already fired an arrow at the back of his knee, so we could just take him to the fitness center and have Leia deal with him. Maybe once he's fully healed, he'll be more cooperative."

"How about we grab some more doughnuts and malasadas, and _then_ we'll take Olimar to the fitness center?" suggested Young Link; Toon Link would be a blundering fool to say no to that!

* * *

The _Super Mario Bros_ movie everyone was watching was (thankfully) halfway through, with some of the residents either sleeping away, on their cellular devices waiting for the movie to end, or checking to see if there were more concessions, like popcorn and candy and whatnot. Sonic was playing a game on his cellphone when the young witch seated next to him, Ashley, nudged him with her elbow.

"Do you see that, a few rows up ahead?" Ashley whispered to Sonic, pointing her finger at an individual seated three rows up from where she and the hedgehog where. Sonic squinted his eyes, seeing the individual in question in plain sight.

"Yeah Ashley, I do see that...and it's flat-out disgusting," Sonic whispered back, shaking his head in disdain. "Wario should know better than to scratch his privates with his hand in his pants, especially in the presence of others."

"I'm not talking about Wario, you buffoon...I'm talking about _her._ " Ashley pointed at Samus, who was busy noodling away on her phone in indifference. Bored was an understatement of a word to describe how the bounty hunter was feeling. "She's on her phone, looking at who knows what...how about you distract her, while I pull up a picture of Snake on her cellphone? Then you give Samus this love potion..." Ashley pulled out the potion from underneath her red dress. "...and have her drink it, so that the first person she'll see will be Snake, on her phone. Then Samus will fall in love with Snake, and everyone wins. Sounds like a good plan?"

 **Sonic: Was at first a bit skeptical in trusting Ashley...but the girl's got some mad love potions, so her value is only dependent on those love potions she makes. Knowing what happened with Pit and Viridi, if the use of the love potion goes worse than expected, then Samus might end up having urinary problems, like Pit once did. Hard to imagine Samus having to make constant bathroom breaks, since she wears her blue bodysuit 24/7. Wears that thing all the time and catches no flak from anyone, but people who spend their lives naked like me can't even go inside a JC Peny store without warranting an arrest! I blame sexism...**

"Eh I suppose, lemme make my way over to Samus..." replied Sonic, taking the love potion from Ashley and making his way over to Samus, making sure not to step on anyone's feet. And yes, the hedgehog did same "excuse me" and "pardon me" as he moved past everyone; while Sonic may be a jerk, he still knew to use polite phrases. Once Sonic saw there was an available seat next to Samus, who was sitting by herself to no one's surprise, the hedgehog took the empty seat, without Samus caring to notice.

"Thought you would be sitting with your pals Tails and Knuckles, Sonic," said Samus, her eyes fixated on her phone. Okay, so maybe Samus was more observant than everyone assumed she was. Good to know. "Can't even respect my personal space, can you?"

"Well I thought you were lonely by yourself, so I wanted to give you some much-needed company." Sonic, who was holding the love potion in one hand and an empty cup in another hand, took the top of the cup off and poured the love potion in it, before placing the top back on and handing the cup to Samus. At that time, the hedgehog saw Ashley advancing towards Samus, which gave the blue blur the cue. "Samus can you look over here, got something I want to give to ya..."

"This better be good..." Samus placed her phone down and looked towards Sonic, who offered the bounty hunter his cup...his cup of love potion. "Oh, look, a cup of soda just for me, you shouldn't have, Sonic..." Before Samus accepted the drink from Sonic, Ashley snatched the bounty hunter's phone, which was left unlocked, and pulled up a photo of Snake online, one that resembled him. Once the deed was done, Ashley retreated, running back to her seat. "Any other souvenirs you wish to give to me?"

"No, that's all I got for ya. I'll leave you be for now!" Sonic quickly returned to her seat, as Samus returned to her phone, which had a black screen on it, and pressed the button to turn the screen back on. Only time will tell if Samus drinks the potion...and sees that picture of Snake on her device.

* * *

Toon Link and Young Link, staying on their duty, traveled on their Segways as the looked around the mansion for the missing bank statement from Star Records, with the Duck Hunt Dog accompanying them. They searched high and low, left and right, inside and outside (the outside part didn't happen as much, they only went to the gardens), but still no sign of the document they were looking for. They kept searching, until they encountered two detectives in the hallway...Layton and Luke.

"Ah, Toon Link and Young Link, I see that you two are in your police uniforms," remarked Layton, who received a pass from being attacked by arrows from the Links because he was a renowned detective who could do no wrong. "And I see you must've earned your badges from Master Hand, too! Cracking another case, I assume?" Rather than answering Layton's question, Toon Link wished to make a remark about a somewhat momentous occasion.

"Here we are, standing in the presence of one another...two worlds collide!" exclaimed the Hylian, as Layton and Luke exchanged questionable looks with one another. "This is like Captain America meets Superman, Michael Jackson meets David Bowie, Gandalf meets Emperor Palaptine!" Good thing Corrin wasn't around when Toon mentioned Palpatine's name, otherwise the prince of Nohr would start fangirling. "This is a dream meeting that everyone would dream about, and love to see!"

"Yeah...so what are you two police officers up to?" asked Luke, awkwardly moving on from Toon Link's...erm, theatrics. "Since Layton and I can't look for clues at the hotel because of the owner, we have to look for clues here at the mansion, and we found this - a bank statement!" Luke held up the piece of paper Layton found to the Links...who were both astonished, but for a reason.

"Funny you showed that to us...because we were looking for that bank statement ourselves!" stated Young Link, to Layton and Luke's surprise. "Itsuki said that the bank statement was missing, after he placed the document in the Star Records room, and he wanted us to retrieve it for him so Ayaha could take a look at it."

 **Toon Link: This is beyond despicable...Layton and Luke essentially did our work for us! We let Master Hand down, because we showed that we can't even complete the easiest tasks, like finding missing papers! Let's hope Master Hand doesn't take our badges away...  
** **Young Link: Or even worse...disallow us from eating doughnuts and malasadas on the job! Those sprinkled doughnuts were starting to grow on me...**

"Itsuki wanted you to retrieve the bank statement and have Ayaha take a look at it, is that so?" Layton asked the Links, with a finger placed underneath his chin. "Luke and I analyzed the bank statement shortly after I found it in the living room and...well, you have to take a look."

So Toon Link and Young Link headed over to Luke, as the young detective showed the police officers the bank statement. It showed everything purchased by Star Records had purchased and afforded, like props, electronics, dental services...and several tanks of _propane,_ located at the bottom of the document.

"Someone from Star Records purchased propane tanks?" questioned Toon Link, who couldn't believe what he just read. He was almost at a loss for words. "Where these propane tanks responsible for the hotel explosion?" Layton nodded his head; he and Luke saw the security footage of the propane tanks being placed in the hotel.

"Last week Zero had security footage from the hotel, and it showed a hooded man and his goons place the propane tanks within the ballroom," explained Layton, taking the bank statement from Luke. "I would assume Itsuki was behind the explosion - he must have wanted Ayaha to use white-out on the line where it makes mention of the propane purchase, to cover up any evidence that _he_ was behind the attack."

"But I don't get it, how did the bank statement go from the Star Records room, to the living room? Was Itsuki trying to hide the document to avoid any suspicion?"

"Either he had second guesses about placing the statement in the Star Records room, or he wished to hide the statement and forgot where it was, so you boys could retrieve it for him and have Ayaha cover up the evidence, which I believe he forgot to do. But this all seems too confusing...so why don't we just show this to Mario and see what he thinks?"

* * *

The _Super Mario Bros_ movie was nearing its climax, and everyone was just _dying_ for the movie to end. Fortunately for everyone, the almost unbearable movie would come to an abrupt stop, when...

"STOP THE MOVIE THIS INSTANT!" Layton burst through the lecture hall doors, accompanied by Luke, Toon Link, and Young Link. The detective was angrily pointing at...no one, to be exact, but he did grab everyone's attention upon arrival.

"THANK THE GOD ALMIGHTY WE'RE FINALLY SAVED!" exclaimed Wolf, speaking for just about everyone as Fox ran onstage to stop the movie. He could have stopped the earlier, but you gotta give the people what they want, even if it sucks, right?

"Professor Layton, what's-a the matter, why'd you-a interrupt the movie, did you find-a a clue?" Mario asked as he got up from his seat and headed towards the detective, not caring if the movie was stopped or not. Once Mario reached him, Layton gave the plumber the Star Records bank statement. "What's-a this?"

"A bank statement Luke and I found in the living room, lying on the floor," replied Layton, as Mario read the bank statement. "Look at the last item on the list..." Mario looked at the last item...and gasped when he read the word "propane". "I believe someone from Star Records ordered propane tanks that were a part of the hotel explosion!"

"Oh is that-a so?" Mario scowled as he turned his head towards Falco and the Star Records crew, who were sitting together...all of them were confused, looking at one another with confused looks on their faces.

 **Doc Louis: Was THIS close to losing my cool from watching that crap movie and going ham on everyone out of anger until my man Layton saved the day and stopped that movie. So Professor Herschel Layton...you da real MVP.**

"Okay, who was the wise guy that swapped _Titanic_ with _Super Mario Bros?!"_ questioned Fox, walking from backstage after seeing someone had tampered with the movie player, with an angry look on his face. But Mario was even angrier, and so was Dunban, who felt fishy about Fox and Falco all day.

"I knew you and Falco were planning something all along!" the Homs rose up from his seat, pointing angrily at Fox. "You must be the one who purchased the propane tanks. and you had Mario watch a movie because you know he's the head of the mansion, and you didn't want any important information to reach his ears! Why did you buy those propane tanks for?! Tell us right now!"

"Chill out Dunban, quit accusing people..." Shulk tried to calm down Dunban, who refused to sit back down in his seat. "Making yourself look like a utter fool." 'Utter fool' may be an understatement, considering this is Dunban we're talking about.

"Never did I buy any propane tanks, and you must be a dummy if you think that. Also, the reason why I originally had Mario and Peach watch a movie with just themselves was because...because I felt like they needed more romantic moments together! Yeah, that's why. You were the one who invited everyone else to watch a movie, thereby ruining their perfect moment. Stupid jerk!"

"SILENCE!" Master Hand's voice boomed, as Master Hand appeared in the lecture hall. "Heard this stupid conversation about propane all the way from my room! Then again, I can hear pretty much anything from my room. I know, I feel special...now what's this about propane?"

Master Hand came forth to Mario, believing the plumber had the answers, and Mario would show the giant hand the Star Records bank statement, pointing at the propane listed at the end of the document. Having known that the propane tanks sparked the explosions from Layton, Master Hand seemed interested in knowing who the culprit was.

"Luke and I found this bank statement in the living room, on the floor," explained Layton, weary of Master Hand's reaction. He backed away a few inches, just to be on the safe side. "Not exactly sure how it got there..."

"This was the very statement Itsuki asked Toon Link and Young Link to look for..." stated Master Hand, slowly turning his attention to Itsuki and company, who were all growing nervous. "I won't accuse anyone just yet, since I know Fox and Falco are from Star Records and they didn't have anything to do with the explosion...but other than those two, I'm holding everyone one of you Star Records members accountable until we get this thing sorted out. Yes, that includes you Ayaha."

"Great thinking, Master Hand. Glad you weren't quick to accuse someone on the spot...unlike Dunban over there."

"Just doing my job. Now, Mario and Peach, there's something I wish to show you...it's a little surprise I've been preparing for you both."

 **Dunban: ...alright, alright, I'll admit, I was wrong about Fox and Falco, they didn't have an evil plan...they just wanted Mario and Peach to have romantic moments together. And Bowser and I ruined that. Of course a non-romantic person like me would ruin something romantic... *shakes his head* ...perhaps I should ask Vanea out on a date. Does she even do dates?**

* * *

Mario and Peach were standing outside, with Master Hand and the Carpenters gathered around. Mutoh had his hands over Mario and Peach's eyes, as the newlyweds were standing in front of something they didn't even ask for.

"Mario, Peach, I know you didn't ask for this, but I wanted to do it for you anyways, for I thought it would be for the absolute best," said Master Hand, with the anticipation inside Mario and Peach reaching unfathomable levels. "I didn't want you to find out about this today, but Fox was able to keep the surprise a secret, without me telling him to. Surprisingly. And now, I give you...the site where the future of your marriage will take place. Mutoh, you can remove your hands."

So the carpenter removed his hands from Mario and Peach's eyes, and once the newlyweds opened their eyes...they saw a house that looked eerily similar to Luigi's. Needless to say, neither of them expected a house built just for them - they were surprised, happy, shook, joyful, all sorts of feelings.

"Master Hand, you were-a building a house for us-a this whole time?!" asked Mario, who was happier than a jackrabbit. This was like receiving a Christmas gift you kinda wanted, but didn't asked for on your Christmas list. "I know Peach and-a I didn't make any mention...this whole-a time, when I saw-a the construction from inside, I thought you were-a building a brothel!"

"You perverted bozo, I wasn't building a brothel...Peach and the ladies would have talked me out of it anyways. I figured that since Luigi and Daisy were married and living on their own...maybe you and Peach could do the same. Had the Carpenters build the house while you were asleep, and their work has finally paid off!"

"Thank you so much, Master Hand, we never knew you were considerate enough to have someone build us a house to stay in!" thanked Peach, who wanted to kiss Master Hand but didn't know where to kiss him at. "And thanks to you too, Carpenters!"

"You're welcome princess - now you get an indefinite break from those mansion folks!" replied Mutoh, breaking into a laughing fit, before turning his attention to Master Hand. "So, Master Hand, about that pay..." ...and just like that, Master Hand immediately vanished. As Fox had told Mutoh earlier, asking Master Hand for money is like asking a bulldog to stop panting. Mutoh must have forgotten that. "...well at least I tried."

* * *

In the kitchen, Mamori, Asuka, and Ashley were about ready to start another episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin._ Like any given episode, the three girls had a special guest to microwave stuff with them.

"Welcome everyone, to another episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ with your hosts Ashley, Asuka, and yours truly, Mamori!" Mamori started things off, as Sonic stood from the kitchen entrance, eating a chili dog. "We're gonna warm up your heart, with the press of a button!"

"Today on our show we have another special guest...he's a veteran from _Virtua Fighter_ _,_ and he's pretty tough too!" added Asuka - any idea who it is? "Our guest for the day...Akira Yuki!" The fighter walked onscreen, wearing a white cooking apron. Sonic couldn't help but laugh at his fellow _SEGA_ buddy.

"How long do I have to wear this stupid apron, it's cutting into my masculinity..." frowned Akira, tying the strings on his apron, while Sonic continued to laugh. But the hedgehog wouldn't laugh anymore, when someone tapped him on the shoulder...Snake. The former spy looked like he was in a state of panic.

"Sonic, I don't think our love potion plan was a success..." said an exasperated Snake, before looking around like he was extremely paranoid. "Please tell me Samus drank that potion...or that she saw me, at least..."

"There you are Snakey, I've been looking all over for you..." said a female voice, but it didn't come from Samus. Rather, this voice came from someone Sonic did not expect to be in love with Snake, or with anyone from that matter... _Kiria._ The idol singer was standing a couple feet from Snake, smiling seductively and waving to the panicky former spy.

 **Samus: Yeah, like I would ever trust anything Sonic gives to me...gave that drink he offered to Kiria. Moments later, Kiria randomly fell in love with Snake, which means _I_ could have fallen in love with Snake...phew. Dodged a major bullet there.**

 **Kiria: I had zero interest in pursuing, and I didn't like older men...but once I took a look at Snake once I finished my drink, I just _knew_ he was the perfect guy for me. Love might not be so bad after all...**

"Come here, you lovable old man!" a now lovestruck Kiria chased after Snake, who screamed and ran away as Sonic looked on. By the looks of it, the hedgehog might need another love potion...and maybe a potion just for Kiria.

* * *

Later in the day, around the evening hours, Jakob headed outside and stood in front of Mario's house, instantly knowing that it belonged to the plumber. The butler, who just finished another round of negotiations with Mario and Master Hand, analyzed the house, scratching his chin.

"Mario must be moving out of the mansion soon with Peach..." remarked the butler, deep in thought and consideration as he continued to scratch his chin. "...which must mean that there's now a possible 'opening' at the mansion..." Now a smile was forming on Jakob's face...

...and like Jakob had said in the previous episode, he had _nothing_ to lose.


	83. Episode 83: Inkopolis

_Author's Note:_

 _Earlier update than usual this time around. Splatoon 2 is being released soon, so it'll be a Splatoon-themed chapter today. Not to mention that this story now has its own TV Tropes page, check it out here:_ _/FanFic/SmashLife._ _Also got some guest reviews:_

 _"Have any of Mario's allies from Paper Mario 64 and The Thousand Year Door appeared yet? Can you include a small scene with Pascal from Tales of Graces F, Agria, Lissa, and Alisa from God Eater meeting each other? (Kate Higgins voices them) A small fight scene with Tifa and Snow Villiers? Have Mouser, Tryclyde, and Wart from Super Mario Bros. 2 appeared yet? And finally, what are your thoughts on Alexis Tipton replacing Laura Bailey as Lucina for Fire Emblem Warriors?"_

 _PM64 and TTYD characters will be appearing when the time is right. The scene with Pascal and others probably won't happen. Could do a scene with Tifa and Snow. The SMB2 characters have not appeared, and I doubt they will. And I'm too salty to even answer the last question - got nothing against Miss Titpon though. Moving on to Koalia Limanson:_

 _"1. Could we maybe see the Digimon cast? I do recall someone who reviewed last year about the same idea..._  
 _2\. Bruh, it may be unlikely but shouldn't Pikachu and Pichu talk by now? I know there was this Christmas last year where Bowser gave Kirby and Game & Watch a translator, but since these Pokemon are brawlers, why not have them get one too?_  
 _3\. One more thing. Are you a male or female? Do you have a brother/sister?"_

 _1\. Mark Thomas asked me about that...Digimon in "Smash Life" has yet to happen._  
 _2\. I actually prefer Pikachu and Pichu not speaking, seems better that way._  
 _3\. I'm male...thought my pen name made that obvious. Since you're curious, I have three older sisters and one older brother, so I'm the baby of the family. One of my sisters is actually a writer on this site! Her pen name is Princess Kairi98, and she writes the ever-popular Naruto fanfic "Tomboy to Princess", a romantic fanfic involving Sakura Haruno and guys...a whole lot of guys. Recommend that you check it out, if you're a Naruto fan like myself. (Link to story:_ _s/3903942/1/Tomboy-to-Princess)_

 _Now we have a reviewer I haven't seen in a good while...J300._

 _"I hope you continue the Kirby prank train. Nice references, and can we see Luke play the umbrella game?"  
_

 _Nice seeing you again, buddy! The Kirby prank train will continue in the next chapter. And I would have Luke play the umbrella game...if I didn't have trouble understanding it. Moving on:_

 _"Can we see more Akira Ryu Red and Wario?"_

 _Wario will be featured in this chapter, but I will try and focus on the other three as much as possible. Last up is Roydigs22:_

 _"Could you do a miitopia arc when it comes out? The party will be: lucario- warrior, lopunny-cleric, gardevoir- mage, and gallade, theif"_

 _Probably won't be an arc, but we'll see how it goes..._

* * *

 **Episode 83: Inkopolis**

There was some major trouble brewing in Inkopolis, the hub for Inklings everywhere - most notably among the Squid Sisters, Marie and Callie. If you recall, there was a major Splatfest that took place last July, in which participants could vote for their favorite Squid Sister. And according to the final results, Marie was named the most favorite - which made Callie feel some type of way, like she was unloved.

While the Squid Sisters left the Splatfest arm in arm, smiling and laughing and having a great time, things wouldn't look so rosy after the Splatfest had come to an end. A huge rift grew between Marie and Callie, what with Callie being unresponsive and not showing up at the apartment where the Squid Sisters lived at. She never answered any of Marie's calls, and didn't let anyone know where she was. It was almost like the Inkling had gone missing! And it was tearing the friendship between the Squid Sisters apart.

Perhaps no one was more concerned, worried, and depressed about Callie's whereabouts than the male Inkling, who as you might recall from episode 32, had a _huge_ obsession with Callie, whereas his female counterpart was obsessed with Marie. Ever since Callie went missing, the male Inkling has been worried sick, to the point where he didn't want to have a paint battle, or do anything fun. When the female Inkling entered her room, she saw a despondent male Inkling lying on his bed, with a blanket over his head, the window shades down, and My Chemical Romance's "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" blaring from his radio. Pretty fitting song, don't you think?

"Wake up sleepyhead, I made you some breakfast," the female Inkling, holding a tray of waffles and orange juice, said to her male counterpart, placing the tray on the Inkling's dresser before pulling the shades up, shining light on the male Inkling. "Can't stay in your room forever, you _do_ have a life, you know..."

"I wasn't asleep, I was just resting my eyes," stated the male Inkling, throwing his blanket off of him and throwing it on the floor before taking a few sips from his glass of orange juice. "Oh, and thanks for the breakfast - didn't expect you of all people to fix breakfast for me."

"Ah yes, the good ol' 'I was resting my eyes' excuse...works every time." The female Inkling grabbed the blanket off the floor, and threw it in the clothing hamper. Would have been better if she threw the blanket like she was shooting a basketball. "Look, you can't be worrying about Callie forever - it's not like you're losing your only daughter or anything like that."

 **Female Inkling: Callie has been missing for almost a year, it seems like, and now all of a sudden her disappearance has gotten to my Inkling friend. Some think that she's taking a break from being with Marie all the time, while others assume that Callie is dead...don't know why these death theories exist, or how they even make sense. It's like if Mario were to go missing, everyone would assume the guy's dead, like someone killed him. Online theorists are some very interesting folk...**

"But Callie made the Squid Sisters a must-see attraction, she's the one that brings the Splatfests to a whole other level," explained the male Inkling, eating his waffes with his hands and not the utensils he was provided with. The female Inkling would agree with her friend...if she wasn't so pro-Marie. "Without her, the Splatfests will never, ever be the same!"

"Well look on the bright side...we got two new hosts, in Pearl and Marina! Two ladies from the band Off the Hook!" The male Inkling wasn't impressed in the slightest - he just wanted his girl Callie back. "Everyone loves them already...well, Pearl, not so sure, but everyone loves Marina! I think we should go to Inkopolis and get a chance to meet them in person!"

"And why would they want to meet two lousy scrubs like us? Don't think they would have any time in the world to meet us...besides, I refuse to go to Inkopolis unless I know what happened to Callie. Doubt Pearl and Marina will have any answers..."

"It wouldn't hurt to visit them, I'm sure they'll love us!" exclaimed the female Inkling, as Master Hand was outside the Inklings' room, eavesdropping on their conversation. The fact that Pearl and Marina were in a band almost intrigued the giant hand...

* * *

Mario and Peach were at their new house, checking out their digs as they looked at everything from the living room, to the bedrooms, to the bathrooms, to the laundry area, to even the game room, which had all your gameday essentials. It was pretty much like Luigi and Daisy's home, but with some slightly different alterations so it didn't feel the same.

"Still can't believe you thought Master Hand hired those lovely Carptenters to build some brothel," sighed Peach, as she and Mario were taking a peek at their master bedroom, which came with a ceiling fan that Mario was trying to get to turn on. "Why would Master Hand build a brothel, especially in the presence of minors like Young Link and Villager and the Inlklings?"

"Maybe Wario was-a the one who put-a Master Hand up to it," shrugged Mario, flipping the light switch that was supposed to turn on the fan, though nothing happened. Then the plumber saw a chain switch hanging from the fan; he hopped on top of the bed and pulled it, and just like that, the fan finally turned on, its blades circling about in a fast, spinning motion. "There, I got-a the fan on!"

"Hopefully we can just turn the fan on with just the light switch, without having to rely on the chain forever. Having to get on the bed to turn the fan on would be..." Peach came to a sudden stop, when she heard some murmuring from inside the master bedroom closet, followed by some quiet laughing. The princess headed over to the closet and opened the doors...seeing Pit and Kirby inside, snickering with one another. Their snickering would come to an end, when they looked up and saw Mario and Peach angrily looking at them, with Peach's hands on her hips. BUSTED!

"How did-a you boys get in-a side our closet?" Mario asked Pit and Kirby, who briefly looked at one another, seemingly to figure out which one of the two would tell the married couple the answer. The fact that the two were hiding in the clothes hamper made them look even more suspicious.

"Some evil guy mugged us and threw us in your closet," explained Pit, offering a story that was too hard for Mario and Peach to believe. And that was without mentioning the mugging part - what evil guy would want to deal with Pit and Kirby anyways? "Being stuck in this hamper has been a very cruel fate." Kirby quickly nodded his head, supporting his friend's strange explanation.

 **Pit: We were trying to scare Mario and Peach...when they were in their master bedroom, we expected them to open the closet door so we can spook them, and they'll be like, "AAAAAAAH!" and scream at the top of their lungs...but no, Kirby decided to pass gas, and make a laughing matter out of it! Who do you think you are, Wario 2.0?!  
** **Kirby: Pit you know well that I cannot fart, since I don't have an anus. So quit trying to put the blame on me. Thank goodness I don't have a nose...**

"Who exactly was this 'evil guy' that you speak of?" asked Peach, as Pit and Kirby pulled themselves out of the hamper. The hamper was empty, which likely meant that Mario and Peach had already washed their clothes.

"We would tell you, but we both lost our memory of who the person was when he threw us in the closet...or in the hamper, rather," replied Kirby, adding on to Pit's strange, unusual story. "Once our heads hit the bottom of the floor...or the hamper, we lost not only brain cells, but also..."

"So you don't remember the person behind your 'mugging', but you remember him throwing you two inside our closet. Tell me, Kirby, or Pit - how did this mugger gain access to our house? When exactly did this mugging take place? At morning, noon, or night?" It was at this moment that Pit and Kirby soon realized the flaws in their unbelievable story.

But the bumbling pair would soon be bailed out of having to answer more questions, when Master Hand magically appeared in the master bedroom. This was the giant hand's first time in Mario's home, since he promised the plumber he would leave him and Peach alone for a week as they got adjusted, and he really liked what Mario and Peach had done to their bedroom.

"Mario, Peach, I'm impressed by how well you did this bedroom!" Master Hand commended Mario and Peach for their efforts, scanning the bedroom in its entirety. "Really liked what you did here, wonder how the rest of your home looks like! But I'm not here to look around, for I have a 'mission' for you both...you see, the female Inkling wishes to take her Inkling friend to Inkopolis, to cheer him up about this whole Callie situation, and I was wondering if..."

"Let-a me guess - this 'mission' has-a something to do with the new-a _Splatfest_ hosts, Pearl and Marina," guessed Mario; the plumber had gained this information from the female Inkling, when the announcement concerning Pearl and Marina was heard.

"Presisely! Since Pearl and Marina are from a band called Off the Hook, I was wondering if you and Peach could travel with the Inklings to Inkopolis and see if you can 'lure' Pearl and Marina to the Smash Mansion. There is a likelihood that we might lose an idol singer or two if any of the performers from Star Records has been convicted of the hotel attack - if that bank statement is any indication - so I'm essentially doing Fox and Falco a favor by finding them suitable replacements, if we have to lose any Star Records employees."

"Ooh, can Kirby and I tag along, we always wanted to see Inkopolis!" Pit appeared out from the closet to ask Master Hand, excitedly raising his hand to be seen. Master Hand heaved a heavy sigh; he wanted just Mario and Peach to complete the 'mission', but there was no stopping Pit's overflowing curiosity.

"...I'll ask Mega Man about it, he'll have a final say on whether you can come or not." After saying this, Master Hand disappeared, as Pit was getting all giddy. Kid can't give his hopes up, it wasn't like there was a decision made on him and Kirby yet.

* * *

 **Samus: Finally finished with Cloud's little "secret project"...it will be ready to go very soon. Reason why Master Hand won't be so fond of it is because...well, let's just say that this invention of mine, while it's not really much of an invention, is up there with Navi in terms of annoyance. Master Hand apparently has a "Zero Navi Policy" in effect, and after today, he might have to make another policy soon...**

Aerith was mightily busy in the mansion's gardens, tending to all the flowers and the plants and all that good stuff, with some helpful assistance from Alph, who according to Olimar was a budding gardener thanks to his teachings. While Aerith and Alph were doing their thing, Link and Cloud were gathered far away from the gardeners, enjoying a conversation with one another.

"I'm surprised Cloud, Sora hasn't annoyed you all week long," remarked Link, as Cloud scratched his blonde hair. Sora keeping his distance from Cloud has saved him a beating of a lifetime from the swordsman. "You think it might have something to do with you walking out of that 'This Is Your Life' thing, the one Dark Pit was talking about?"

"Surely I wasn't the first person that walked out of that trainwreck," replied Cloud, after he was finished scratching his hair. "Poor Sora was trying everything he could to impress me - got some dudes dressed up as _Disney_ characters, and hitched up the sound guy from CenturyLink Field to play some stupid songs to keep the thing going. Feel bad for everyone involved."

"Wonder how Sora managed to get the whole thing set off, and asking the operators of the stadium to do that whole thing." Who knows - maybe Sora sweet-talked the operators into following his demands with his boyish charm. Although Sora was in his teens, his boyish charm remained with him to this day.

"It was mostly Mario's doing, he was involved in Sora's plan for reasons unknown. Instead of helping Peach find her wedding ring, like he should have done, he wanted to help out Sora..." And speak of the devil, Sora showed up in the gardens, and guess who he was holding in his hands? _Cloud Jr.,_ Cloud's adoring pet Chocobo.

"Wow Cloud, you have such a cool pet bird!" exclaimed Sora, petting Cloud Jr., as Cloud glared at the Keyblade wielder. Did Sora even ask Cloud permission to touch his pet Chocobo? The Keyblade wielder had just crossed the line this time. "Though I never seen this kind of bird creature before - what is it called?"

"Please tell me you didn't touch Cloud Jr. without me or Link's permission," Cloud said to Sora, who was stroking Cloud Jr.'s yellow feathers, including his "hair" at the top of his head. Sora might have also taken Link's Master Sword out of the room, and probably misplaced it somewhere for someone irresponsible to use it.

"I originally wasn't going to, but I asked Roy about it, and he said go ahead." Great, now Cloud had to owe Roy a beating. But he might go easy on him. "Found this little fella sitting on top of your bed. I would recommend putting him inside a cage, just in case, but that's just a suggestion, you don't need to do it..."

Cloud was about to speak, until a certain Chao flew down from the sky, descending down to where Link, Cloud, and Sora where. This Chao had a yellow propeller swinging from the top of its head, not to mention that it had a robotic body as well...which meant that this Chao was an Omochao!

"Do any of you know where I can find the Keyblade wielder known as Sora?" the Omochao asked, prompting Sora to raise his hand so he could be recognized. "Greetings, Sora - my name is Omochao, and I am here to serve as your guide! Nice to meet you!"

 **Samus: The "secret project", you ask? It's an Omochao. That's why I said it's not really an invention, since it has already existed before...the one I built is just a new and improved version. Master Hand doesn't like Omochaos because they constantly lecture you and stuff, and you know how much Master Hand hates when Isabelle has to lecture him and tell him right from wrong. Surprisingly he hasn't destroyed Isabelle yet, but he once said he's refraining from doing so because of Isabelle's "desirable cuteness". *shrugs***

"Uh...nice to meet you too, I guess?" replied Sora, bewildered as he was left scratching his head. To Sora, Omochao looked like a blue Moogle, but blue, robotic, without a nose, and with a propeller on its head. Oh, and with its eyes open, too.

"Are you ready to begin the best day of your life, Master Sora?" asked Omochao. Master Sora? The brunette could possibly get used to this kind of treatment.

"I suppose so, you seem like a very interesting guy to hang around with." Sora was still in a state of bewilderment, as Cloud ran over to the Keyblade wielder to retrieve Cloud Jr. without Sora knowing. Cloud quickly grabbed Link's arm as he rushed out of the gardens. Aerith and Alph spotted Cloud and Link making a run for it, with Cloud having to drag his friend along.

"Cloud, Link, where are you going, I thought you both said you would remain in the gardens until we were finished!" Alph called out to the swordsmen, watering a few plants and flowers. Most of the plants and flowers were actually Pikmin, mind you.

"Link and I remembered we had some important stuff to take care off, we'll be back shortly," responded Cloud as he and Link exited the gardens. Translation: Cloud and Link had nothing important to do, and Cloud just wanted to get as far away from Sora as possible.

* * *

Link and Cloud returned to the interior of the mansion, with Cloud looking back to make sure Sora hadn't followed him. The Keyblade wielder was still speaking with Omochao...just as the swordsman figured.

"Okay Cloud, you've been acting mighty suspicious - why did you take off like that after that Omochao showed up?" Link questioned his best friend, with his arms folded. "Did you know about Omochao beforehand, is this part of your master plan to keep Sora in check?"

"Did Samus tell you about or something?" retorted Cloud, inadvertently leading Link to know that his best friend really was up to no good. Way to expose yourself, Cloud Strife, could have just kept Link guessing... "Okay, so I may have something to do with Omochao, but look on the bright side - Sora gains a new best buddy, and Omochao will keep Sora occupied, and Sora will leave me alone forever. Everyone wins."

"Something bad is gonna happen from this Cloud...don't know what, but I can see something go down along the road. That Omochao might go rogue and abuse Sora, or even kill the poor guy!" Link was saying this like Cloud actually cared about Sora's fate. "And you had Samus build that Omochao, didn't you? Don't hide it from me Cloud, I know you can be secretive at times, but tell me the truth!"

"Well aren't you the noisy one..." remarked Cloud, as he was petting Cloud Jr. The pet Chocobo was safe and sound from Sora - who knows what the Keyblade wielder could have done to poor Cloud Jr. He could have painted the bird white, put him in a blue mage suit, and call him Donald Duck!

 **Layton: I have taken upon Luke's suggestion last week - the suggestion of disguising ourselves and infiltrating the Four Seasons hotel to search for clues concerning that explosion. In order for our mission to be a success, we would need convincing enough outfits, and so I've decided to seek some advice from a so-called "master of disguise"...well, that's what Mario told me. This so-called "master of disguise" actually used to be a drag queen, and from what I've heard, they pulled off the look very well! Their experience would be of great use for Luke and I.**

"Cloud Strife, may we speak with you for a quick minute?" Professor Layton approached the swordsman, with his apprentice Luke at his side. "We were planning on going to the Four Seasons hotel to look for clues, and since the hotel owner won't let anyone from the mansion step foot in his hotel ever again...I was thinking that maybe you could give us some advice in...pulling off a good look. We're going to infiltrate the mansion posing as health inspectors, and..."

"Sorry man, but I don't think I can give you any great pointers on..." Cloud started off, before grimacing when he realized what Layton was talking about. Some bad memories were forming inside his head...memories of blonde pigtails and a pink dress. "No, no, NO - if it has _anything_ to do with drag, I'm not gonna be a part of it. Told Aerith and Tifa I would never dress up in drag again."

"We don't need you to dress up in drag again, Mr. Strife - we just need some tips on how to wear a convincing enough disguise," clarified Luke, as Cloud let out a sigh of relief. No way the swordsman was going to wear Peach's pink dress. "But we might need some backup, so you and Link could possibly tag along." As long as Cloud didn't have to wear any dresses, he was fine with the idea.

"Just so we're clear - if Link and I do come with you to the hotel, I won't have to dress up in drag, is that correct?" Layton and Luke glanced at one another, before shaking their heads yes at Cloud. Not exactly a confident show of confirmation, but it'll do for Cloud. "Okay then. Follow me, I know a great place for costumes. Wario has all kinds of disguises and crap in his closet, hopefully his disguises will fit on us." Cloud would lead Layton and Luke to Wario's room, and Link was about to follow Cloud as well...

...before an orange hand grabbed the Hylian and pulled him back. The hand belonged to none other than Midna, the imp likely having eavesdropped on the conversation with Cloud and the detectives. And she appeared to have something in mind for Link...

"So you, Cloud, and those detective dorks are going to 'infiltrate' that lousy hotel and look for clues, eh?" grinned Midna, making Link feel uneasy. He knew the imp was planning on doing something ultimately humiliating for him. "I was thinking, why don't the others guise themselves as health inspectors...while you go to the hotel with an entirely different disguise?"

"Will this disguise be detrimental to my dignity?" asked Link; judging by the devious smile on Midna's face, the answer to Link's question was a definite yes.

* * *

Fox and Falco were left with a daunting tasks ahead of themselves - ever since the Star Records bank statement was found lying on the living room floor, and it was revealed that someone from Star Records purchased the propane responsible for the hotel attack, the Star Fox pilots were faced with the possibility of potentially losing one of their employees, whether it be Knuckles, Little Mac, Asuka, Itsuki, Touma, Ayaha, or one of their idol singers. Fox and Falco were looking for possible replacements, in the event someone from Star Records was fired and banned from the mansion for their involvement in the hotel attack.

 **Falco: You know who we should have signed to Star Records? Sonia Strumm. Girl had a rockin' concert at the mansion in November, and it generated a heck ton of money! Should have signed her after her concert was over!  
** **Fox: We did try to sign Sonia, but our "dark chocolate" ploy with Doc Louis, which we both agreed to never speak of again, scared poor Sonia away. But we could have...  
Falco: You know who _else_ we should have signed? Splash Woman. Marth said that she nailed that "Lost In Thoughts All Alone" song, and her rendition was powerful enough to make Corrin fall in love with Felicia! If you can successfully make Corrin of all people fall in love with ANYONE with just your singing voice, you're already a great singer in my book, or anyone's book!  
Fox: Dr. Light would never let us sign Splash Woman, he seems content on having her at his laboratory. Besides, how would she be able to...  
Falco: You know who _else_ we should have signed? That Joanna chick, who showed up in the week leading up to the Super Bowl! People who heard her sing talked up a storm about how crazy talented she was - heck, even Viridi liked her! Name me one human Viridi genuinely likes, just one!  
Fox: Of course Joanna is crazy talented, that's because she's actually...**

To prepare themselves for the inevitable, Fox and Falco were holding auditions in the recording studio. First to audition was K.K. Slider, a guitar-playing hippie dog the pilots probably should have signed during the early beginnings of Star Records.

"Carry on my wayward son...there'll be peace when you are done..." sang K.K., strumming away on his guitar as he was singing a 70s classic from the rock band Kansas. "Lay your weary head to rest...don't you cry no more...how was that?"

"Great, now keep on playing, don't stop until we tell you to!" replied Fox, and so K.K. went on a crazy guitar solo, showing off his masterful guitar playing skills. As K.K. Slider continued his audition, Little Mac entered the recording studio, approaching Fox and Falco. The boxer was fiddling with his fingers...if he even was able to fiddle with his fingers, that is, if not for the fact that he was wearing his trusty boxing gloves. Guy had his boxing gloves on 24/7 - it was always a miracle that he could fix a ham sandwich by himself without screwing up once.

"Fox, Falco, may I speak with you for a quick second?" Little Mac asked the pilots, albeit with some timidness, as Fox and Falco turned around and saw the boxer behind them. "It's about the propane, that thing listed on the bank statement...I just wanted to let you two know that I had NOTHING to do with purchasing those propane tanks. I would never wish to attack Mario and Peach, or anyone for that matter, and I wanted to clear things up before I..."

"Nah man, you're good, Falco and I know that you had nothing to do with the hotel attack," assured Fox, leaving Little Mac to let out a sigh of relief. Just like that, the timidness that was building up inside the boxer had all but went away.

"Yeah, and we kinda knew you weren't intelligent enough to pull off a hotel attack anyways, learned that through process of elimination," added Falco, leading Fox to nudge his avian friend. To be fair, Falco did have a somewhat valid point...

"Thanks you guys, knew you would have my back. Truthfully I don't think anyone from Star Records purchased the propane - the perpetrator behind the attack might've bought the propane under Star Records's name so they could spread some blame around. But that's what I think. Catch you guys later." Little Mac left the recording studio, feeling confident about himself...

...and then in came Kiria, who was feeling and acting more flirty than usual. It was all thanks to a love potion Samus had given her - the love potion was actually in a soda cup, offered to Samus by Sonic, and Samus, not trusting Sonic one bit, gave the "soda" to Kiria, who drank it and fell in love with Snake at first sight. Ever since then, Kiria has been thinking nonstop about the former spy, vowing to start a relationship with him and one day...wait for it... _get married_ to him. Yuck doesn't even begin to describe Kiria's romantic feelings towards Snake.

"Hey boys...have you seen Snake anywhere?" Kiria would ask Fox and Falco, grabbing their attention by striking a somewhat seductive pose, a type of Bayonetta would do. She not only got the attention of Fox and Falco...but she also got the attention of K.K. Slider, who stopped his performance and stared at Kiria, wondering what changed within the idol singer.

"We haven't really seen Snake since breakfast..." replied Falco, as he found himself staring at Kiria's pose. "Please tell me you aren't in love with that man still." Kiria's newfound romantic obsession with Snake was proving to be a problem for Fox and Falco, in case you didn't notice.

 **Kiria: Is it just me, or is Snake the most handsome man in the universe? What's not to like about him? His luscious blue eyes, his chiseled jawline, his excellent mustache...and those are just the facial features! Every man should aspire to be like Snake, Snake a a model for what every man should be! *sighs lovingly* He's a man I truly love...**

"What do you see in Snake anyways?" Fox questioned Kiria, as K.K. Slider resumed his audition although Fox and Falco weren't paying attention to him. "He's old, he's dingy, and he smells like burnt urine. Bet you the guy probably wets himself on occasion, both accidentally and purposefully. Wouldn't be surprised if he lost control of his bladder and has to wear a diaper..."

"How dare you say such hurtful things about my man!" gasped Kiria, although the things Fox said were true...though the claim about Snake smelling like urine may not necessarily be that true. "Don't you know anything about showing respect? Hmph!" Filled with disgust, Kiria exited the recording studio, before turning around to tell Fox and Falco one more thing. "I've asked Cilan to prepare a dinner date for Snake and I in the dining room, and Snake's interactions during the date will determine if he's truly the guy for me. But we all know Snake and I were meant for each other..." Kiria smiled as she exited the recording studio, leading Fox and Falco to exchange nervous looks with one another. This one-sided Kiria-Snake fling couldn't possibly end well for both persons involved...

* * *

"Upon further inspection, I can almost guarantee you...that cockroach is definitely faking," Akuma told Roy, as the kung fu fighter and the swordsman were inspecting a cockroach lying on its back in the middle of the hallway. Roy was the first to see the roach, and was unsure if it was dead, and so he asked Akuma to come over and confirm that the insect was truly dead.

"It can't be just because it's lying on its back, there has to be another way," said Roy, furrowing his brow as he stroked his chin. The "another way" he had in mind was a method the swordsman did not wish to do. "I think I should touch it, see if it moves!"

"Well, kid, I tried to tell you the truth, but if you want to touch that roach...then go ahead and be my guest." So Roy nervously approached the cockroach, kneeling down on the floor and extending his index finger as he simply gave the roach a small poke.

Suddenly, the cockroach jumped to life, its legs quivering about and its body flailing. Roy screamed like a little schoolgirl as he jumped up in fright, leaping backwards into the arms of Akuma, who was there to catch him. A true Scooby-Doo and Shaggy moment right there. The moment would be extremely awkward for Akuma and Roy when Sonic approached them, with a weird look on his face. The hedgehog needed A LOT of context for what he just walked into.

"Not really the weirdest thing I've seen all day, so I'll give you two a pass," remarked Sonic - what could be weirder than Akuma holding a scared Roy in his arms? "Have you two seen Snake anywhere?"

"No we haven't, unless Snake ran away from the mansion so he could find Johnny Sasaki and kill the guy so he could be with Meryl again," assumed Roy, as Akuma placed the swordsman on the floor; after Snake's romantic shortcomings with Samus, Roy's assumption was strongly plausible. "Dude's been doing whatever he can to mend that broken heart of his."

"Yeah man what a loser, over the age of fourty and he has never tied the knot with anyone," said a gravelly voice, coming from a nearby flower pot. Sonic, Roy, and Akuma glanced at a large flower pot, which moved for a brief moment, and Akuma broke the flower pot with a swift kick, releasing some dirt...and Snake, who had squeezed himself inside the flower pot. By the looks of it, the former spy was hiding from someone...

 **Snake: Life for me has been a living heck ever since Sonic and Ashley screwed up the potion thing (though Sonic deserves more of the blame just because he's Sonic). Thanks to those two, Kiria has been obsessing me, and following me, and pretty much stalking me like any obsessive girlfriend would, and she isn't supposed to be my girlfriend! She's like an Amy Rose to me, essentially. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...and I'm not digging the Kiria Rose phase one bit. Kiria should keep the obsessive girlfriend shtick to Amy - Amy was a master at that stuff.**

"Tell me you aren't bitter about not winning over Samus to the point that you had to hide in a flower pot," Sonic said to Snake, who got up to his feet and dusted the dirt off of him. "I would've let you lie in my bed and sulk, Tails and I would have provided you with top-notch hospitality. Tails would be your maid, and I would be..."

"I'm not bitter about Samus...got over it in like three days," stated Snake - hard to believe that. "I'm hiding from Kiria - girl's been obsessing over me nonstop, and I can't get her away from me! So I hid in the flower pot, so that way Kiria would never bother me."

"Hiding from Kiria, eh? Well that's too bad, because she told me, to tell you...that she wants to have a dinner date with you later tonight, prepared by Cilan." Snake frowned and facepalmed once he received this information from Sonic - why didn't Sonic talk Kiria out of the date? Was the idol singer too much for the blue blur to handle?

"There's no word in the English vocabulary to describe how much I hate you right now Sonic..." No turning back for Snake now - he had to suck up his pride and go forth with this date, and at least fake his enjoyment. "But if I have to do this date, then I'm not gonna do it alone..."

"Figured you would say that...which is why I developed a plan that will make Kiria stop obsessing over you. It shall go into effect during this dinner date." Snake hoped that Sonic's so-called plan would work...

* * *

Mario, Peach, Pit, and Kirby traveled with the Inklings to Inkopolis via the teleportation device, with the operators of the device, Mega Man and MegaMan .EXE, also coming along for the ride. As it was expected, Inkopolis was bustling with Inklings, with Inkling boys and girls at every corner of the city. Yet there was no sign of any adult Inklings. Why was that so?

"Don't think for a second that bringing Mario and the others along would cheer me up," the male Inkling said to his female counterpart, as the group traversed through the Inkopolis main square. A nearby conversation about Callie's whereabouts between two Inklings was making the male Inkling sick to his stomach.

"Mario, Peach, Pit, and Kirby came along because of Master Hand," explained Mega Man, who had brought his canine companion Rush to snap some pictures of Inkopolis. Mega Man wished to show said pictures to the others. ".EXE and I came along because we operate the teleportation device, and only we can warp you guys back to the mansion."

"Oh yeah, then how come you brought your pet dog along, does he operate the teleportation device too? Or is he just taking pictures of Inkopolis? There's no pictures worth taking here...I mean, what's the point where Callie's not even in town?"

"For all we know, Callie _could_ be somewhere in Inkopolis..." shrugged .EXE, as the group arrived at the Inkopolis Plaza. "...she might be going incognito, not wanting her identity to be revealed. Glad you aren't one of those folks who assume Callie died or something."

 **MegaMan .EXE: Inkopolis is a far better city than I ever would've imagined. Feels like I'm walking in Tokyo...but with hordes of kids with vampire teeth, and some Eiffel...Tower thing in the middle of the city...You say that tower is based off of the Tokyo Tower? So this city really _is_ Tokyo...**

Mario and company kept walking through the Inkopolis Square, until they found a mob of Inklings gathered around near some stage, where some music was playing. Wanting to see what all the hullabaloo was about, the group headed over to the stage, moving through all the Inklings before arriving at the front, where they saw two notable faces on the stage...Pearl and Marina. The two new hosts were throwing a small concert of sorts, likely to hype up the next Splatfest.

"Who here is ready for the next Splatfest?" Pearl asked the crowd, speaking into the microphone, and the crowd erupted into a roar of cheers and whatnot. "We hoped you enjoy the previous Splatfest, cake vs ice cream, and now we're getting ready for the next Splatfest to start!"

"The next Splatfest will be starting very soon, so if you plan to participate, then you better get ready!" added Marina, Pearl's partner-in-crime. Despite Pearl and Marina both being fan favorites already, Marina was already the more universally liked Octoling, and Pit seemed to have an answer as to why that was so.

"Look Kirby, a black Inkling onstage, and she looks just like Beyonce..." Pit whispered to Kirby as he pointed at Marina, not knowing that Marina was actually an Octoling. He might be right about Marina resembling Beyonce, though.

"Pit I'm pretty sure Marina is an Octoling, and not an Inkling..." corrected Kirby, as Pearl and Marina were now hyping up the crowd. Pearl, the expressive one, was letting the crowd feel it. Marina, the more reserved and timid one, just decided to play it safe, though she still was showing her excitement.

"So Inklings are white, and Octolings are black...good to know," Pit nodded his head, before noticing that Mario was sneaking unto the stage. The angel was the first to notice the plumber somehow getting by security and gaining access to the stage. Probably got past because of his video game status. "Is that Mario onstage?"

"Yeah that is Mario, what does he think he's doing?!" fretted the female Inkling, as Mario grabbed a microphone from someone after asking permission. The music would quietly die down when Mario approached Pearl and Marina from behind, nearly spooking the Octoling duo. Everyone was now confused - confused as to why a famous, portly plumber like Mario was onstage with the hottest pop group in Inkopolis right now.

"Um...may we help you?" Marina kindly asked Mario, who was just smiling away. "In case you didn't notice, we were busy hyping up the next Splatfest...and then you came along." Marina checked out Mario, taking notice how portly the plumber's body was. Looked like he had a lot more flab than what appeared to be.

"Allow-a me to say something to the crowd..." said Mario, before clearing his throat and turning his attention towards the Inklings in attendance. "Hello, all of-a Inkopolis! It's-a me, the one and-a only Mario, and this is-a my first time in Inkopolis! How is everyone-a doing today?"

The only response Mario received from the crowd was in the form of a tomato, as someone from the crowd threw the red fruit at Mario's face. And yes, tomatoes are indeed fruit. The more you know...

"What business does some famous plumber like yourself have at Inkopolis anyways?" Pearl questioned the plumber, with her hands on her hips. "You're cutting into our time, so why don't get your mustached self off the stage so Marina and I can enjoy our prime!" Pearl pointed to the left, wanting Mario to go away, eliciting an "Oooooh..." from the crowd with her rhyme. But Mario didn't listen - he remained on the stage, refusing to leave until he got what he wanted.

"I understand that you-a two are the new-a hosts of Splat-a Fest, but I have an offer that you can't-a refuse...a free expense at the Smash-a Mansion, in Seattle, Washington - home to the greatest music-a label in the universe, Star Records!" exclaimed Mario, as there was murmurings among the crowd. Would Pearl and Marina take up the offer? "Come-a to the Smash Mansion, and you-a will reach heights never before-a seen as a musical group! How does-a that sound?" Pearl mused over the offer, before something brilliant spurred inside her head.

"We'll accept your offer and go to the Smash Mansion in Seattle...but if you want us to accept your offer, then you'll just have to beat me...in a rap battle!" This elicited another "Oooooh..." from the crowd; Mario, going against someone in a rap battle?! That would be a sight for the ages!

"You got your-a self a deal!" Mario confidently shook hands with Pearl, although Peach and the others weren't feeling so confident about Mario's chances.

 **Peach: Oh, Mario, why must you make foolish choices...**

 **Female Inkling: Mario is essentially putting his pride and dignity on the line to win over Pearl and Marina, and there's a strong likelihood he'll flat-out embarrass himself in front of everyone...nice.  
Male Inkling: You know what would be even nicer? Callie making a surprise appearance during the rap battle... *sighs* ...a kid can always dream.**

 **Mega Man: Rest in peace Mario, you will sorely be missed...**

* * *

Things at the Four Seasons hotel were seemingly returning to normal four weeks after the explosion occurred. Granted, there was some evidence of the explosion left on parts of the building, but for the most part, everything going on at the hotel has been mostly mundane, to the point where the hotel explosion almost seemed like an afterthought.

In the lobby of the hotel was Layton, Luke, and Cloud, all wearing different attire so they could have access to the hotel. Layton and Luke weren't wearing their hats, and Cloud's hair was combed back so he couldn't be recognized. The hotel owner would arrive at the lobby via elevator, and saw Cloud and company standing by.

"These men are the health inspectors I told you about on the phone," the lady sitting at the front desk alerted the owner, who walked up to greet the "health inspectors" in his suit. It was a well-polished suit, too. "Came her to inspect the quality of our food."

"Welcome to the hotel boys - you're perhaps the first folks to arrive at the hotel ever since that nasty explosion transpired," the hotel owner greeted Layton and company, shaking their hands. After the owner introduced himself, it was time for the "inspectors" to introduce themselves. How will they fare?

"My name is Huckleberry Freeman, and these are my partners-in-crime...Walter Malone and Lucious Shuttlesworth," Layton introduced himself and his entourage, most definitely coming up with the names on the fly. Luke was Walter, and Cloud was Lucious.

"Nice to meet you Huckleberry, Walter...and Lucious." The hotel owner found Cloud's fake name funny, he had to literally bite his bottom lip to stifle himself from laughing hysterically. "Let me get someone to show you where the kitchen is. You can inspect the food there."

The owner quickly notified a hotel official, and told said official to take Layton and company to the kitchen, where the food was made. Once the official took the "inspectors" to the kitchen, the hotel owner was about to continue on his way...before he was stopped in his tracks by a fat, portly, mustached man in a purple superhero costume, with onions and a blue "W" on his suit.

"Wario-Man is here to investigate the hotel explosion!" Wario-Man proclaimed, pointing his finger up at the heavens as the hotel owner looked on unamused, with his arms folded. Didn't require any rocket science to know Wario-Man's true identity. "I shall find the culprit behind the explosion, and they shall pay for their..."

"Nice try Wario, I know it's you in that superhero costume," the hotel owner said; easy for him to spot Wario, his giant mustache gave away his identity. And so did the name "Wario-Man". "No resident from the Smash Mansion is allowed to step foot in my hotel ever again."

"How do you know I still live at the Smash Mansion, what if I moved out on my own and got my own place? One lousy explosion, and nobody from the mansion is allowed in your hotel again? Not like everyone from there can..."

"Like I just told you, no resident from the Smash Mansion is allowed to step foot in my hotel ever again. So how about you just show yourself out, before I have to get security to do the work for you?"

"Escorting a superhero out of a fine establishment is downright insane! Have you no respect for Wario-Man? Have you no respect for superheroes like myself? People like yourself make me sick..."

Wario-Man was unable to finish his little rant, as the hotel owner called in security and had the security guards throw Wario-Man out of the Four Seasons hotel. Literally. So much for respect.

 **Hotel Owner: The mansion folks are the reason why weird crap has been going down in Seattle. That flying blue dragon, the huge invasion...and I bet you they had something to do with that giant Galleon ship flying in the city's skyline. I'm just teaching Mario and company a lesson, that's all, and maybe one day, things in Seattle will be forever normal again...one can only hope.**

"The disrespect is out of this world, those losers don't know who they messed with..." growled Wario-Man, getting up from the ground and dusting himself off. The superhero went on his own way, heading back to the mansion...before he encountered some sorry sap in a clown costume, who looked like he was totally done with life. Wario-Man was about to question who this clown person was, until Midna appeared from behind the clown...disgraced clown person being Link confirmed.

"You want access inside that hotel, right?" Midna asked Wario-Man, who gleefully nodded his head...the glee would dissipate when Link pulled out a clown costume. "Well then you have to do things MY way!"

* * *

Sonic and Snake were standing in front of the Pokemon sanctuary, as Sonic required two certain Pokemon for his plan to make Kiria stop loving Snake. Mewtwo walked out of the Pokemon sanctuary, and groaned when he saw Sonic's face.

"Uh, it's you, Sonic..." sighed the psychic Pokemon, too disgusted to even acknowledge Snake's presence. "What do you possibly want?"

"One Pikachu and one Pichu please!" Sonic kindly said; Mewtwo returned to the sanctuary to retrieve the two Pokemon Sonic asked for. "In order for Kiria to stop obsessing over you, we'll just have to give her...a little shock, if ya know what I mean."

"You're not going to use Pikachu and Pichu to electrocute Kiria, are you?" Snake questioned Sonic - despite getting old, the former spy still had his morals. "That would be absolutely insane, Kiria would hate you forever for doing that!"

"I see nothing wrong with it, it will snap Kiria out of her romantic trance and make her normal again. Call it shock therapy, if you will."

"Sonic I know how shock therapy works - I worked for the government, so I should know. Shock therapy is mostly used to relieve someone from mental illnesses!"

"Love is a mental illness, is it not? The love Kiria has for you is extremely ill...in a bad way, and we're here to cure her illness before her body succumbs to it!"

"Here is Pikachu and Pichu, now go away and leave me alone," Mewtwo returned from the sanctuary, handing Pikachu and Pichu over to Sonic. "A Slaking in the sanctuary somehow found a television in his pen, and we're all binge watching Bojack Horseman. Needless to say, I'm actually hooked..." What's more unbelievable - the fact that the television Slaking discovered already had Netflix, or the fact that Mewtwo was now a Bojack Horseman fan?

After receiving Pikachu and Pichu from Mewtwo, Sonic and Snake went on their own way, so Sonic could start devising his plan. All of a sudden, Snake was no longer on board with what Sonic had in mind...

* * *

 **Samus: No doubt Sora is gonna have a lot of "fun" with Omochao...I've built Omochao so that it would not only cater to Cloud's needs, but Sora's needs as well. Cloud is gonna be thanking me later, I can already tell, and sooner or later he'll be kissing up to my behind and start acting more affable and friendly and... *cringes* ...can you imagine Cloud being genuinely happy? I still have bad memories from that one time he got hit by that boomerang...**

"You sure this is such a great idea, Omochao?" Sora asked as he was changing his clothes in his room. Judging by the tone of the Keyblade wielder's voice, Omochao was telling Sora to change into something unflattering.

"Trust me on this Sora - you'll become even more popular than you ever were before!" guaranteed Omochao, his exuberating robotic joy able to be heard from afar. "High risk equals high reward, am I right? And everyone loves rewards! Now take off that jacket so you can show the world what you're made of!"

So Sora did as he was told, unzipping his jacket and taking it off, before nervously exiting his room, Omochao following behind him as he gently closed the door. Sora then continued down the hallway, albeit nervously, as he was now receiving looks from many residents walking by. One particular resident was Pac-Man, who had to do a double-take when he saw the Keyblade wielder.

"Um, Sora...is everything alright?" Pac-Man asked the brunette with a faint smile, unsure what to make of Sora's new attire. But to tell you the truth... _Sora wasn't even wearing anything at all!_ The Keyblade wielder was only wearing his boxers, so he was essentially pulling a Shulk.

"Everything is all good Pac-Man, just feeling very..expressive today," replied Sora, trying to play it cool by folding his arms behind his head. "I mean, who needs clothes anyways? Sonic doesn't wear 'em, Donkey Kong doesn't wear 'em - heck, you're not wearing clothes yourself!"

"I guess you're right...me and my stupid small body. Only time I ever go to a clothing store is when Peach drags me along whenever Mario isn't available. Going shopping with Peach is always a horrible experience...even more so when Peach forgets to bring her debit card. Makes waiting in line more tedious than it should. Well, I'll be going now, hope you enjoy your...expressiveness, Sora."

Sora nodded as he and Pac-Man went their own separate ways, with Omochao still following Sora. The Keyblade wielder would continue walking down the hallway, feigning confidence, as he walked past by Zelda and Lucina. The two princesses were enjoying a conversation until Sora walked by, disturbed by his lack of clothes.

"Sora where on earth are your clothes?!" Zelda scolded the Keyblade wielder, as she and Lucina looked on with much distaste. "Have you got any sense at all?!"

"Didn't you guys hear, today is National Wear No Clothes At All Day!" exclaimed Sora. So he just went from using "expressionism" as an excuse, to coming up with a made-up holiday on the fly. Will be interesting to see what the Keyblade wielder will come up with next time he gets interrogated.

"Pretty sure such a day of observance doesn't exist, and even if it did, the government would do everything in their power to outlaw it," said Lucina. Hey there are other days of observance that are strange in nature...like Thread the Needle day, for instance.

"They do have 'Go Topless Day' on August 26...so we very well could be on our way to a day where we don't wear clothes at all," stated Zelda, and with that logic, she could very well be right... "Just hope undergarments wouldn't be classified as clothes..."

 **Zelda: I could never do "Go Topless Day" - a princess of high class like myself would never stoop low to the point where I would have my breasts exposed in the name of gender equality. Hylia would be so disappointed in me!  
**

 **Lucina: King K. Rool kinda has man boobs, and he goes topless a hundred percent of the time. Perhaps he should go and celebrate "Go Topless Day", he can celebrate with women and harass them all day long, like he does with us!**

"I strongly recommend that you do what I'm doing, it actually feels refreshing," Sora told Zelda and Lucina, as he continued on his merry way. "Much better than wearing formal attire all the time like you ladies tend to do a lot!" Zelda and Lucina exchanged looks of concern as Sora walked away, with Omochao following after the Keyblade wielder and not saying a single word.

Once Sora went down the stairs, he went to the gaming so he could show off his body to the others (his body wasn't all that impressive, not like he had a six-pack or anything; could explain why Zelda and Lucina were disgusted), but on his way there, he was stopped by Jakob. Like the others, the butler was appalled by Sora wearing nothing but his boxers, and was ready to question the Keyblade wielder's decision-making...but he would soon find the answer, when he looked up and saw Omochao, flying over Sora.

"Any chance you can explain why you're only in your boxers, and why there's a flying robot over your head?" questioned Jakob, not sure which one he should question more. Though Omochao, which Jakob had never seen before, begs to question.

"The flying robot you speak of is Omochao, he's the one who told me to take my clothes off and go without clothes for the reminder of the day," explained Sora, his explanation not doing much to quell Jakob's overall concerns. "He was also the one who advised me to put some oregano in Lady Palutena's chili. Basically Omochao has been telling me what to do all day long, and I feel like I should listen to what he says. Pretty smart robot."

"No wonder that chili tasted too spicy...when I told Palutena about the spiciness, she didn't believe me. She'll eventually see for herself. Now tell me Sora - are you going to do everyone a favor and put some clothes on soon. You can't possibly listen to everything that robot says..."

"But Omochao is a pretty knowledge robot, judging from the short conversation I had with him when we first met. If you want to hate on Omochao, then that's fine, go ahead. But don't go and rain on my parade." And with that, Sora and Omochao went away, as Jakob looked on, distraught. But that face of distraught would turn into a face of conniving intentions, as Jakob smiled devilishly as he rubbed his hands together.

"Sora may be acting like a fool because of that Omochao, but if I can somehow punish him for his ways, then Master Hand can see my...display of power, and then that butler job will be all mine..." Dude was definitely up to no good.

* * *

The health inspector trio of Huckleberry Freeman, Walter Malone, and Lucious Shuttlesworth - Layton, Luke, and Cloud, respectively - had told the hotel official they had to use the restroom, and so the official allowed the three to leave the hotel kitchen. Yet the official did not dare to question why three men coincidentally had to use the restroom at the same time. Layton, Luke, and Cloud sneaked their way to the ballroom, where the explosion occurred, and were looking for clues in the ballroom that still had signs of the explosion.

"Looks like they haven't really touched the ballroom at all ever since that explosion occurred - which means that we would have a greater chance at finding clues," remarked Layton, noticing that the tables were all set up - probably the only thing the hotel staff cared about fixing in the ballroom.

 **Hotel Official: *smiling* Not gonna lie, the Lucious Shuttlesworth guy looked kinda cute... *sighs* ...if only he had a less embarrassing name.**

Layton, Luke, and Cloud checked everywhere in the ballroom for clues - checked underneath the tables, the chairs, and even looked near the windows. However, there would be something that would stop them searching for clues...two clown fellows, entering the ballroom, one short and pudgy, the other tall and lanky. These two clown dudes, you might ask? Wario and Link, accompanied by Midna.

"Dang Link, I knew you rocked that Joker getup for Halloween, but you look downright goofy as a clown," remarked Cloud, not making Link feel any better than he did right now. "Don't know if it's the hat, or the wig, or the red nose..."

"My Joker phase died for this, apparently," sighed Link, looking down at the floor. Midna sure loves to punish the guy, doesn't she? "Midna apparently wanted me to wear this dumb clown costume, just because she hates me and wishes to torture me as much as possible."

"Who cares about that, the mighty Wario is in the building...which means that I can now assume my alter-ego!" proclaimed Wario, ripping off his clown costume and revealing Wario-Man getup. Impressive that he was wearing that superhero costume the whole time, considering he was wearing whiteface. "Where is the culprit responsible for the explosion and hurting Peach, the girl I wished to marry before Mario beat me to the punch?! Let me at 'em, let me at 'em!"

"You traitor, I thought we had a deal, you'd stay in your costume until the end!" frowned Midna, as Wario-Man was adjusting his cape. "And the culprit isn't even here, they might be hiding for all we know!"

"Might be right, the culprit may be hiding...hiding behind that door over there!" Wario-Man pointed at a random door at a far corner of the ballroom, and majestically ran towards it like any superhero would, knocking the door down not with his sheer strength...but with his fatness and weight. While Wario-Man recuperated from his injuries on the floor, Luke took a peek through what was behind the door, and found a clue...a device lying on the floor.

"I wonder, what on earth could this be?" questioned the young detective, picking up the device and showing it to the others, nearly stepping on Wario-Man along the way. "Found this device in that small room, looks like a communication device!"

What's more is that the device had the words "Holo Caster" on it...does that ring a bell to any _Pokemon_ fans out there?

* * *

The Inklings at Inkopolis were now getting pumped up for a rap battle - Mario vs Pearl. Stakes were on the line - if Mario beat Pearl in the rap battle (which was highly unlikely), then Pearl and Marina would have to join the Smash Mansion, and be signed to Star Records. Given Pearl's competitor, Off the Hook could very well stay in Inkopolis, and never sign with Star Records.

 **Pit: Mario wasn't feeling confident about his chances of winning against Pearl, so Kirby and I had to be his "ghostwriters" and write him some lines. Mario may lose regardless, but we'll just have to see, right? *shrugs***

"We are now ready to start the first ever Inkopolis Rap Battle!" Maria announced a massive crowd of Inklings, on a large stage where Off the Hook would typically perform. On this stage was Mario and Pearl, both wearing gold chains fitting for the occasion, and Judd, serving as the judge. "In this corner, hailing from the Mushroom Kingdom, we have Mario!" Mario greeted the crowd, smiling as he waved his hand, receiving only cheers from the mansion residents in attendance. "And in this corner, we have one-half of Off the Hook, our very own...Pearl!" Pearl received an uproar of cheers from well near every Inkling in attendance, as Pearl gave a peace sign to the crowd. "Judd will serve as our judge, he will decide who wins."

"Mario is about to fail miserably, I can already tell..." Mega Man whispered to .EXE, who nodded his head in agreement. "You wanna go look around at Inkopolis while Mario's busy taking his L with dignity?"

"Don't think Mario will have _any_ dignity once the rap battle is over with," replied .EXE, as he followed Mega Man and Rush away from the crowd. "Let's go see if the shops here have anything worth buying." As the robots left, a certain Inkling carrying a parosol saw them walk away...and quickly followed after them.

"Our homegirl Pearl will go first, so when you're ready Pearl, just do your thing!" said Marina, and Pearl got her microphone ready as the crowd cheered her on. Once the music started, Pearl faced Mario with her game face on, ready to drop some bars.

 _I'll be spittin' my bars, they'll be like a slap upside your head,  
_ _I'll be goin' off, and I'll leave you dead,  
_ _And while you'll be hating,  
_ _Your raps will be just imitating,  
_ _Me, I'm the real, the original,  
_ _I be bringin' the pain and all,  
_ _And there's nothing this little playa can do who thinks he's bigga  
_ _Than a certain gorilla but his rhymes don't even back up a figure of speech,  
_ _So just forfeit and take your owning with peace, in your sleep,  
_ _It sounds like you rap in your sleep anyway, counting sheep,  
_ _It's nonsense and intolerable crap,  
_ _I oughta slap the whack jack who tried to teach you to rap with a free app_

"OOOOOOH!" the Inklings reacted; Mario, knowing what he was up against, nodded his head as he got into the groove. Once the crowd died down, and the music started playing again, it was now Mario's time to shine...

 _Girl you think instigating is the solution,_  
 _But to witness my rhymes you need a higher resolution_  
 _When I rap I rap faster than every trash rapper_  
 _That finishes last or gets in my way, I'm bigger than every_  
 _Playa pull the trigger to death of their raps you're wack,_  
 _Can't come back,_  
 _Steppin' all over on the sidewalk crack_  
 _Breakin' more than just your mama's back_  
 _I'll beat you in a stack_  
 _Cause I got the knack for whack_  
 _In slack wack rhymes from blacks_  
 _So don't even pretend to be on my level,_  
 _Call me mega, 'cause I rock the bass AND the treble_  
 _Word!_

"OOOOOOH!" the Inklings reacted, as Mario left Pearl stunned. The mansion residents were even more stunned - who knew Mario had that much in him?!

 **Male Inkling: At first I thought Mario would be dead meat on the same stage as Pearl, but after his first verse...he might very well be an Inkopolis folk hero.**

"Well then...that was very unexpected," chuckled Marina, while Pearl regained her composure. "Let's see if Pearl will bounce back!" The music played, and Pearl readied herself for another verbal manslaughter:

 _I've been creating raps, the sap, the gap,_  
 _Between us is like a trap, your rhymes are crap,_  
 _Never ever get your snap on,_  
 _You're coming on my hour, against my power,_  
 _When really you're as humble and weak as a flower,_  
 _You're sour, you need a trip to a shower,_  
 _At the end of my raps, all you'll do is cower,_  
 _How're you, gonna compete with me,_  
 _This is a breeze, do with ease, bring you all the way down to your knees,_  
 _And it's like I'm coming at you like a swarm of angry bees_  
 _So just quit, fore I spit quick rhymes with a bit more light_  
 _Than your about-to-quit crap that's not even chic,_  
 _I got all of it down, I'm always wearing the crown,_  
 _You frown, you should just leave town_

"OOOOOOH!" the Inklings reacted once more, but Mario was undeterred, he wasn't going to let Pearl's verse bring him down. So the plumber got ready to fire back, and after the music started back up, he was ready to spit more fire:

 _I'm gonna wear your crown cause I'm gonna beat your sorry rapper self,_  
 _You make rhymes like you think you're one of Santa's elves,_  
 _They suck, they come from a factory you understand,_  
 _You can't handle the power of The Man,_  
 _I can't hear your raps without laughing,_  
 _But it's all the same cause I'll be blasting_  
 _Your raps out the sky, they're wounded birds,_  
 _You cringe at the awesomeness of my words_  
 _You can't take a playa so sweet at rappin all the time,_  
 _You only spit the crap words out your mouth that ain't worth a dime_  
 _I actually get hurt by your lame pathetic rap attempts_  
 _You'll go hide from me in the woods in your little tent_  
 _Now I got you frowning like one of Archie Manning's sons_  
 _Got this Octoling and her fan mob in some deep trouble...you all shook ones_

"OOOOOOH!" the Inklings reacted yet again, as Mario dropped his mic and smugly grinned at Pearl's frowning face. Mario had this rap battle in the bag.

 **Mario: Last-a set of bars was improvised...but I gotta give-a credit where it's-a due. Kirby is far-a more competent than I give-a him credit for. Props goes-a to Pit, too, though I think Kirby did-a all the work...**

"What an awesome comeback from Mario, he really brought his A game!" Marina said to a still raucous crowd, before noticing that Judd was waving his orange and blue flags around - orange for Pearl, and blue for Mario. "Uh oh folks, looks like Judd has already settled on a winner!"

Judd was moving his flags about, building up anticipation among the crowd, and he kept doing this until he held out one flag to the side...an orange flag, making the crowd gasp.

"Judd held up the orange flag, does this mean what I think it means?!" exclaimed Marina, with baited breath, as an appalled Mario looked on with his mouth agape.

"Mario performed a mic drop, which is against rap battling rules, meow," announced Judd, prompting Mario to throw his hat on the ground and stomp his foot in anger. "Therefore, your winner of the rap battle...Pearl!" The crowd cheered and chanted Pearl's name, as the Octoling happily waved and blew kisses and whatnot, while Mario remained enraged. Looks like Off the Hook is staying in Inkopolis!

"There's no rules-a in rap battles, this was rigged-a all along!" the plumber frowned, wanting to get retribution on Judd only to be held back by security and escorted off the stage. "I demand a rematch this instant! Where's my do-a over?!"

"Well there you have it folks, the winner of the first ever Inkopolis Rap Battle is our one and only, Pearl!" announced Marina, as the crowd continued to cheer on for the native Octoling. "Thank you everyone, for showing up, we really appreciate it. "Until next time...don't get cooked, stay off the hook!"

* * *

Snake and Sonic (who was holding Pikachu and Pichu) arrived at the darkened dining room, seeing Kiria seated at the table with a lit candle, waiting for her love. Snake heaved a heavy sigh - point in turning back now.

"Pichu pichu?" Pichu asked Sonic, as he pointed at Kiria. He had to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Yes, Pichu, Kiria is apparently in love with Snake, and she wanted to do this date," replied Sonic, who was impressed by how Cilan set things up for the date. "Some 'shock therapy' will bring back the normal Kiria, and Snake can put this whole episode behind him. You ready, Snake?"

"Let's just get this over with..." replied Snake, as he walked towards the table and took his seat. Kiria was delighted to see her man seated next to her, getting all giddy inside. "Hey Kiria, how ya doing?"

"I'm doing great now that you're here!" the idol singer exclaimed, as Sonic, Pikachu, and Pichu assumed their positions behind Kiria, where they wouldn't be seen. Snake saw them, but did not look at them as much, lest he would give away their cover. "Sorry I didn't wear any formal attire...not that I would dress formally anyway."

"Yeah, I didn't feel like dressing up either, not like we're going out to eat. I'm never in the mood for going out anyways." Cilan would enter the dining room holding a cloche, and placed the cloche on the table near Snake and Kiria.

"Smoked ham and appetizers for the lovebirds, from yours truly!" the connoisseur lifted up the silver covering, revealing the smoked ham and appetizers to Snake and Kiria. Suddenly, Snake was glad he came to the date, at first glance of the smoked ham. "Hope you enjoy, bon appetit!"

"Thanks for the smoked ham Cilan, though I would have preferred some salad instead," Kira thanked the connoisseur, reaching out for a knife and fork on the cloche and using said utensils to slice up smoke ham pieces. Sonic, seeing this as an opportunity to strike, got Pikachu and Pichu ready, as their cheeks charged up with electricity.

 **Cilan: Wanted Kiria and Snake's date to feel authentic as possible, hence the candle-lit dinner and the smoked ham. I wanted this date to be something Kiria and Snake would remember for the rest of their lives, something they can build their relationship upon. Who cares if Snake and Kiria are two decades apart in age! *pauses, then grimaces***

"Pika..." Pikachu charged up more electricity, as he and Pichu were about to let Kiria have it. But they would stop, however, when a certain brunette crashed the date, taking several slices of the smoked ham and eating them while wearing his boxers. Cilan and Snake curiously looked at Sora, who had sneaked up on Kiria from the side and was eating the smoked ham happily, until he got noticed.

"Oh, sup guys, Omochao told me there was a date going on, and advised me to crash the date, or something like that," explained Sora, before taking another slice of the smoked ham, as Pikachu and Pichu charged up even more electricity. "Gotta admit, this ham tastes pretty good!"

"I would recommend pouring maple syrup on the smoked ham - smoked ham always tastes better with maple syrup as glaze!" recommended Omochao; Sora, taking upon Omochao's suggestion, went to the kitchen to retrieve some syrup, leaving Kiria out in the clear for Pikachu and Pichu to strike.

"Thank goodness Sora's out of the way..." said Sonic, as Pikachu and Pichu's cheeks had reached full electrical capacity. "Pikachu, Pichu, you two know what to do...fire at will!"

So that's what Pikachu and Pichu did, as they both used Thunderbolt on Kiria, electrocuting her and hopefully bringing her back to her senses...however, that wasn't what happened. Sora had just returned to the dining room with the maple syrup, and instead of Kiria, Pikachu and Pichu struck Sora, who kinda got in their way, electrocuting the Keyblade wielder. Kiria and the others looked on as Sora got electrocuted, before falling to the floor covered in soot after Pikachu and Pichu were done.

"I'm telling you, Master Hand, Sora has been up to no good today - just saw him make his way to the kitchen area still wearing his boxers," Jakob told Master Hand, guiding the giant hand to the dining room, where they would find a sooty Sora lying on the floor, trying to get up. "There he is, on the floor - by the looks of it, it seemed like he was trying to sabotage this date between Kiria, and...and Snake...but he was stopped just in time!"

"You can thank us later," Sonic called out to Jakob on behalf of him, Pikachu, and Pichu, although Sora meddled with his plans. Sora got up, and saw Jakob and Master Hand looking at him, requiring answers.

"Sora what has gotten into you today man, are you out of your mind?!" boomed Master Hand, as Snake awkardly left the premises when nobody was noticing. Sonic would follow suit, bringing Pikachu and Pichu along. "First you meander in just your boxers, and now this?! What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Those were none of my intentions, it was Omochao who told me what to do," stated Sora, as he pointed up high at...well, nothing. Sora turned around, and saw that Omochao wasn't there! Robot fella must have deserted poor Sora.

 **Samus: One thing I forgot to mention about Omochao...I've programmed it so that it would flee whenever Master Hand was around, since Master Hand can't stand floating things that lecture you and stuff. This will buy some time and keep Sora preoccupied, and keep him away from Cloud as far as possible.**

"Likely story...I think a swift punishment will teach you a lesson," said Jakob, devising the perfect punishment for Sora. "A week's worth of massaging Wario's entire body would make up for Sora's...expressionism, as he once called it. What do you think, Master Hand?"

"Ooh, that sounds like a great punishment!" the giant hand exclaimed with much glee. Anything that pertained to punishing and humiliating others always lifted up Master Hand's spirits. "Would have preferred Sora to massage me, but Wario sounds more tortuous. Better bring a gas mask Sora - you might need it!"

"Thanks for bailing out on me, Omochao..." sighed Sora as he wiped the soot off of him. Jakob smiled devilishly again after Sora's punishment was dealt...for his "display of power" impressed Master Hand well. The butler job was nearly in the bag for Jakob.

* * *

After the punishment was dealt to Sora, Master Hand would return to his room, only to encounter Mario along the way. Time for the giant hand to see if the plumber completed his mission...

"Mario, about time you returned from Inkopolis!" Master Hand greeted the plumber, scaring him from behind. "So how did it go, did Pearl and Marina agree to reside at the mansion and sign with Star Records? Tell me where they are, I must meet them right away!"

"I'm-a sorry, Master Hand, I let-a you down, I - or we - failed-a the mission..." responded Mario, as he told Master Hand the entire story of how he was challenged by Pearl to a rap battle with stakes on the line. Master Hand thought it was perhaps the dumbest thing ever.

"Don't know what's worse - the fact that you even had a shot at winning a rap battle, or that you relied on Pit and Kirby to be your ghostwriters. You deserved every right in the world to lose, and you made yourself look bad in front of a gazillion Inklings!"

"But Master Hand, like I told-a you, I only lost because-a I supposedly broke-a the rules by doing a...mic drop." Master Hand refused to listen to Mario anymore, as he headed to his room full of disgust. Mario sighed and walked away, before encountering Luke, who was holding something behind his back. "Ah, Luke, you nearly scared-a me, like Master Hand did-a to me moments ago! Something you wish-a to share with me?"

"Layton, Cloud, and I infiltrated the Four Seasons hotel posing as health inspectors to search for more clues, and we found this," Luke held out the item behind his back, the Holo Caster, to Mario. Kid didn't even acknowledge Wario-Man, who played a huge role in finding the clue.

"That must-a be a Holo Caster - those things are all-a the rage back in the Kalos region. Meaning that the culprit could-a possibly be some-a one from Kalos...thanks for showing me-a this Luke! One-a step closer to finding out who-a dared to ruin-a my wedding day! You and Layton keep-a up the good work!" Mario patted Luke on his head as he walked away, leaving Luke smiling.

* * *

"Sorry that I couldn't stop Kiria's lovestruck ways, Snake," Sonic would apologize to the former spy in the gaming room. Snake was seated on a barstool, holding his head down with his arms on a pub table. "Sora kinda got in the way of things."

"Eh, I'll live an obsessed Kiria until you devise another plan," responded Snake, not looking up to face Sonic. "I'll just spend my time in my cardboard box 24/7, and feast on leftovers from breakfast and dinner. Kiria would never think about looking underneath a cardboard box anyways."

"If you say so...just do your thing and you'll be fine." Sonic said this as he walked away, walking past the Inklings who were seated at a sofa playing some _Street Fighter V_ on the television. Rare moment for the male Inkling to be willingly out of his room.

"Have you gotten over your precious Callie, did you finally move on and focus of things that are actually important?" the female Inkling asked her buddy, her Karin sweeping the floor with the male Inkling's Guile.

"If you asked me that before the trip to Inkopolis...I would have likely said no," answered the male Inkling, trying to land a few punches and kicks on Karin. "But I think that returning to Inkopolis, and seeing how euphoric the city was, and that rap battle too, even though Mario lost...I think I'm over it now. Maybe I should stop worry and obsessing over Callie, it's not gonna get me anywhere..."

 **Male Inkling: Hmm, I wonder how Marie is handling this whole Callie situation...**

* * *

"So you and Link _did_ have some important stuff to do, like you said earlier," Aerith spoke with Cloud, the two lovebirds walking through the hallway. Cloud will forever be known by the Four Seasons hotel folks as "Lucious Shuttlesworth", provided "Lucious" even returns to the hotel. "Nice of you to help out Layton and Luke."

"It was just to get away from Sora, that Omochao hopefully kept that guy busy while I was gone," remarked Cloud. Where exactly was Omochao, anyway?

Shortly after Cloud and Aerith exited the hallway and went down the stairs, Mega Man and .EXE quickly ran to Mega Man's room, with .EXE holding a sack over his shoulders. Once inside the room, .EXE gently placed the sack on the floor, as Mega Man locked the doors. The robots must have done some nifty shopping while they were at Inkopolis.

"The coast's clear, you can get out now," Mega Man said to, well, someone...as one-half of the Squid Sisters, Marie, exited from the sack, wearing a kimono as she took her parasol out from the sack. "Just so you know, we're only giving you one week to..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know - one week to stay at the mansion, so I can keep my mind off of Callie and stuff," replied Marie, standing on her own two feet. Most likely she'll be rooming with Mega Man for the time being. "Do tell, is there any pineapple pizza served at the mansion?"

"Nope, we have to order pizza ourselves. Would be convenient if we didn't though, I will admit..."

 **Mega Man: Think I know a great way to cheer up Marie and keep her spirits high. Just gotta ask Master Hand for some permission first...**


	84. Episode 84: Beachday

_Author's Note:_

 _I know I already stated this in the last chapter, but there's a TV Tropes page for this story, created by my friend YoKaiShoubiao. You're more than welcome to edit the page if you like, provided you have a TV Tropes account - I have an account myself, but I keep forgetting my login information. Also, I'm too lazy to edit that page anyways. I'm too lazy to even edit my own Fanfiction profile, for crying out loud. Though some of you may have known that already. Anyways, on to the guest reviews:_

 _"Will you include other characters from the Final Fantasy VII franchise? (Denzel, Marlene, Shelke Rui, Shalua Rui, and Genesis Rhapsodos) a chapter with Pit and Viridi hanging out with the Resident Evil characters? Is Vyse going to be paired up with Aika or Fina? has Captain Syrup from the Wario Land games shown up yet? Maybe a Super Robot Wars chapter? (Since Banpresto is part of Namco Bandai) and finally how soon will the other SEGA characters appear?"_

 _Maybe. Perhaps. Vyse will be paired up with Fina. Captain Syrup has yet to appear. Don't know about a Super Robot Wars chapter. More SEGA characters should be appearing in the next month or two. Next up is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...quick question when are you going to reveal the culprit will it be another few weeks or will it be less then a month from now?"_

 _Actually, it'll be MORE than a month from now. So I guess you can say it's the next arc of this story. J300 has brought to my attention something I feel stupid for not noticing until now..._

 _"I just want to say, congratulations on reaching the one million [word] mark next chapter (at least with the length of the chapters I think that will happen)! I am a horrible writer, so seeing someone who writes as well as you write that much makes me happy for you."_

 _Thanks a bunch! I haven't really paid much attention to the word count as of late until you pointed that out. Now for your request:_

 _"Can Cranky break the fourth wall with the million word mark? (Not sure if it would work, but hey, he's Cranky Kong, he breaks the fourth wall all the time)."_

 _Squeezed in a cameo from Cranky Kong in this chapter just to mark the achievement. Keep in mind that I may or may not be responsible for whatever comes out of that geezer's mouth._

* * *

 **Episode 84: Beachday**

Ah, summer - one of the four seasons, taking place in the middle of the year. Summer was a perfect time for hot days, going to the pool, celebrating the Fourth of July, playing with friends, and cracking a cold one with the boys (if you're into that kind of thing, that is).

Summer was also a great opportunity to go on vacation, to go to a beach or two a foreign city. The state of Washington was home to many vacation spots, like the Roche Harbor Resort in San Juan Island, the Kalaloch Lodge at Olympic National Park, and many, many others. The mansion residents had already went on a vacation before, back in episode 64, only for their vacation to abruptly end when Donkey Kong inadvertently pulled a Harambe just to save Lucas from a gorilla enclosure. Akuma had paid for all the vacation expenses, and those expenses were wasted, all thanks to Donkey Kong.

But fortunately for Akuma, Donkey Kong, and others, the residents would be going on yet another vacation, as a suggestion from Mega Man. The blue bomber and MegaMan .EXE had brought Marie over to the mansion following their recent trip to Inkopolis, and they both promised the Inkling they would keep her happy and content, and not be constantly fretting about the current whereabouts of her Squid Sister, Callie. Mega Man told Master Hand all about Marie's presence, and asked the giant hand if he could treat Marie and the mansion residents to a little vacation, like a day at the beach...to which Master Hand was quick to oblige.

 **Master Hand: About to embark on our vacation - we'll be spending a day or two at Alki Beach, here in Seattle. Honestly I wouldn't consider this vacation an actual vacation...feels more like a field trip, since we'll still be in the city. But this was what Mega Man wanted, and nobody felt like going somewhere that was across the country, or to some distant country...uncultured folk, I tell you.**

Marie and the mansion residents traveled to Alki Beach via bus, and everyone was at peace knowing that this bus wasn't driven by Waluigi. Whole trip would've been most likely cancelled if Waluigi was even spotted inside the transportation vehicle. The bus, which was the AutoTram Extra Grand bus featured in episode 79, was driven by Toad, who wished to give the bus a spin. Inside the bus, the occupants did everything they could to keep themselves busy and entertained until Toad arrived at Alki Beach, where there was a lot of beachgoers having fun and enjoying their time under the sun.

"Drat, why are there so many people at this beach?" frowned Master Hand as he and the residents filed out of the bus; Viridi was sharing Master Hand's sentiments, though she was ticked just because she didn't like humans in general. Though she was kinda warming up to them after her initial meeting with Luke. "Told you renting out this beach just for us would have been a killer idea!"

"So basically you wanted me to pull a Chris Chrstie and rent out the entire beach so we could get in trouble," stated Ayaha, who was wearing a swimsuit. Her sister Tsubasa and the other Star Records ladies - unpacking the beach essentials from the bus - where all wearing bikinis, so expect them to accrue some onlookers as the day went on.

"You would be the only person getting in trouble; I'd just tell everyone that renting out the beach was entirely your idea, and nobody would dare to accuse me." Either way, people would still figure out Master Hand played a role in renting out the beach. He's too big of an influence, no pun intended. "Now, I must ensure that everyone is here, I'd hate to return to the mansion and see someone like Pit still getting prepared. Then again, we are at the beach, so it's not like Pit would need to prepare anyways..."

"Actually Master Hand, I think everyone has left for the beach," stated Toad, as he got out of the bus, and he was right - only individuals standing near the bus was Master Hand, Ayaha, and Toad, the drug lord. No doubt he was going to sell some good crack today at the beach, if he can find any suitable customers.

"How dare they leave without me telling them what they can and cannot do at the beach! Those unruly folk, they will pay their negligence..."

* * *

Resting on the beach chairs were three married couples, basking in the sun - Mario and Peach, Alm and Celica, and Luigi and Daisy, with Poochy and Polterpup next to them playing in the sand. Upon hearing about this day at the beach, Luigi quickly implored Master Hand about bringing Daisy, Charles, Yuffie, and maybe Polterpup along, and Master Hand, seeing how bored Luigi and company would be while the residents were having fun, accepted Luigi's offer...although he kinda wanted to see the plumber suffer, just a little.

"Say, Luigi, where is your baby boy, Charles?" Alm asked the green plumber; this was an excellent opportunity for Alm and Celicia to get to know Luigi and Daisy a little better, since the Valentian couple hardly got to communicate with Luigi and Daisy ever since they joined the mansion. "And what about that ninja girl living with you, Yuffie, what is she up to?"

"I've entrusted-a Link and Cloud in babysitting Charles, I do hope-a that Sora doesn't bother those-a two, and aggravate Cloud to the point-a where he would be off-a task," explained Luigi, who has heard all sorts of tales about Sora and Cloud from Mario and Peach. "As-a for Yuffie, I think she's-a getting ready for a volleyball-a game with Tsubasa and a few-a others."

 **Tsubasa: Asuka was the one who challenged me to a volleyball game - she said that she and her classmates would have volleyball games back at Hanzo Academy, and she has always wanted to play a game of beach volleyball with us. So I took up upon her offer, and we both started putting together our teams, so, uh...may the best team win!**

 **Amy: Really happy Sonic asked me if I wanted to go with him to the beach, he truly is a great boyfriend! But yeah, Asuka asked me if I wanted to be on her volleyball team, and I was quick to tell her yes. Who doesn't love volleyball? Hopefully our team won't be full of scrubs...**

 **Robin: Tsubasa asked me if I wanted to join her volleyball team. Unless this volleyball game is anything like the one from _Avatar,_ I'm forfeiting...**

Standing as far away from the ocean as possible was Marie, who was alone by herself, holding her parasol over her head. Since Inklings were "allergic" to water, and would dissolve if any form of water came in contact with them, just like the Wicked Witch of the West, Marie had to keep away from the coastline. Given this information, one has to wonder why going to the beach was a good idea. Then again, Sonic despises much as Inklings do...

"Look at poor Marie, all by herself..." observed Peach, looking to her left and seeing the lone Inkling, soaking in everything that was taking place at the beach - the youngins running about in the dirt, the broskies hamming it up and acting reckless, Hisui attempting to flirt with every lady he saw...only for his sister Kohaku to stop him each and every time. "She must still be worried sick about Callie, that I'm certain. Perhaps going to the beach to cheer her up wasn't the best idea..."

"Our beach day would be worth it if there was _someone_ to keep her company," stated Celica, who may or may not be referring to Mega Man and .EXE. Those two robots brought Marie over to the mansion, so why weren't they spending most of their time with the Inkling. "Why don't we go spend some time with Marie? You boys wouldn't mind, would you?"

"The contentment of another always-a comes first, if I do say-a so myself," replied Mario, who was exposing poor beachgoers to his hairy chest. Peach should have reminded him to wax his chest prior to the beach day. "You ladies are-a excused - take as much time-a with Marie as you like!"

So Daisy, Peach, and Celica all got up from their beach chairs and went to go speak with Marie, leaving poor Luigi and Alm with Mario and his ghastly chest of hair. The three ladies would see Marie, adorned in her kimono and holding her parasol, standing near what appeared to be a mini Statue of Liberty. The Inkling was delighted to see the three ladies make her way towards her, because she was about to get some actual company.

"Hello Peach, Daisy, and Celica," Marie would greet the three princesses. The Inkling seemed to appear more friendly and calm since she made her "Smash Life" debut with Callie back in episode 42. "Cared to join me at this Statue of Liberty?"

"We couldn't stand to see the 'guest of honor' all by herself, so we came to provide you with some great company," explained Daisy, putting a smile on Marie's face. "Mega Man and .EXE, the nerve of those two...brought you to Seattle, treating you to a day at the beach...and what do they do? Leave you here all alone by yourself, with nothing to do but watch the others have fun!"

"Actually, Mega Man told me he was going to get me a drink, and advised me to remain at this statue until I returned. I should have told him just to get me some food since, you know, I can't really drink any liquids because of my vulnerability to water, and I fear that..."

"...you have nothing to fear Marie, as long as you're with us," reassured Peach, lying an assuring hand on Marie's shoulder. "Mega Man isn't exactly the best person to hang around with; granted he's a robot, but sometimes he does some...pretty irrational things. You should hang out with us, you won't regret it!"

So Marie, seeing Peach, Daisy, and Celica as already better company than Mega Man, followed the three princesses to who-knows-where, ready to embark on a day of fun...a while after the four ladies left, Mega Man showed up at the Statue of Liberty, holding a cup with some substance.

"Marie where'd you run off to, I got you a cup of ink!" Mega Man frantically looked around for the Inkling in question. Good call by the robot fetching some ink instead of a bottle of water, or soda, as Marie had feared. "Come back Marie, you wouldn't believe the trouble I went stealing this ink from the nearest copy place! Please make the trouble I went through worth it, please!"

* * *

 **Pit: Since Kirby wanted to ruin the prank we were gonna pull on Mario and Peach, for reasons unknown, we're decided to prank someone at the beach, thus ending our little pranking "hiatus".  
** **Kirby: Yeah, keep putting the blame on the person who doesn't even have an anus, or a butt for that matter...anyways, we have been spending the past week figuring out who to prank, and what we should do with our prank, and the answer dawned upon us when King Dedede said that he was bringing a portable cassette player with him to the beach, to tune out all the noises so he can relax in peace. But as George W. Bush and the Iraqi nations have proven, sometimes you can't have peace, even if you wanted to, and King Dedede is going to learn that lesson the hard way once he undergoes our prank. We're going to make Dedede's day at the beach a living heck!  
Pit: *raises an eyebrow* "A living heck"? That doesn't sound right. Don't you mean a living he...  
Kirby: Shut up Pit, there's young kids around...**

Preparations for the volleyball game were being made, with Donkey Kong and Bowser setting up the volleyball net. Donkey Kong was on Tsubasa's team, and Bowser was on Asuka; both Tsubasa and Asuka felt like they needed a powerful volleyball player to aid them in their chances of winning.

"Your team is gonna get creamed, Donkey Kong, I'm just giving you a warning!" Bowser trash talked the gorilla as the volleyball net was about finished being set up. "We're gonna make you losers the biggest jokes on this beach, and I'm gonna flat out dominate and show everyone that I'm the real deal! Following my dominant performance, I expected to be hand-fed grapes and soda by hot babes flanking at my side!"

"If the hot babes you speak of are the ladies from Star Records, then I'm afraid your fantasy may not come true," stated Donkey Kong, as he and Bowser finished setting up the volleyball net. "Would be a bad look for them if they were seen feeding you and your ugly self, especially given your history with..."

"The female idol singers being the hot babes? You do realize Mamori is one of those singers, right? Did you just refer to a minor like Mamori as a hot babe?! What kind of weird sicko are you?! I know you had relations with Pauline, who I believe is Mario's mother, but goodness gracious man, sometimes you have to chill!"

"Pretty sure it was only Cranky Kong who had relations with Pauline...Pauline and I, we're just friends, and by no means are we going any further than that!"

The conversation between Bowser and Donkey Kong would come to an end before it reached high levels of animosity, when some scientist dude approached the two on some hoverboard, holding a red ray gun in his hand. This scientist had black hair, yellow skin, and a large "N" on his gigantic forehead, perhaps the most noteworthy trait about his physical appearance. With this scientist was a floating black mask, with a seemingly permanent scowl on his face. Donkey Kong and Bowser were silently debating among themselves who was uglier - the floating mask, or the scientist. Not that hard for one to outdo the other.

"Greetings, tie-wearing gorilla and fiendish turtle person - my name is Dr. Neo Perwinkle Cortex, and this is who I like to consider my partner-in-crime, Uka Uka!" the scientist introduced himself and the floating mask to Donkey Kong and Bowser, like the two actually cared. We'll just call the mask Uka, just because."We are here looking for crystals - I had seen a lousy marsupial with a crystal, and I do believe he has washed up here! Any idea where I may find him?"

"Yellow-skinned scientist guy, with a large N on your head, and you came all the way here, looking for some silly marsupial with some crystal, all while being accompanied by some floating mask thingy," said Bowser, who couldn't even believe half the things that just came out of his mouth. "You should definitely do better things with your life, buddy."

"I already am doing great things in my life, I'm an evil scientist desiring to conquer the whole world!" Cortex looked up at the heavens with his arms out wide as he said this, leading Uka to roll his eyes. He's been with Cortex for the longest now, he has known all of his many shortcomings. "I can't conquer the world however, if I don't have all the crystals!"

"A villain who needs a bunch of crystals to complete his quest for world dominance?" Donkey Kong raised an eyebrow, now viewing Cortex as a somewhat pathetic villain, one he couldn't take seriously. Uka, yes, he could take seriously, but Cortex, not so much. "Sounds like you're just another lousy villain to me. Now if you excuse me, we have some stuff to do while we're at the beach..." Bowser and Donkey Kong walked away from Cortex and Uka, though they probably had no stuff to do prior to the volleyball game...they probably just wanted to get away from Cortex. Cortex's ugliness must have scared them away.

"Told you well this meeting would be an instant failure..." Uka told Cortex, who refused to listen to the floating mask's crap. One way or another, Cortex was bound to find that crystal...and maybe the marsupial, if he had said crystal.

 **Cortex: That crystal is mine, mine I tell you...I need it in order to fuel my latest death ray!...Yes, yes, I understand, almost every villain has a death ray of some sort...but my death ray is far above the rest! Not only can it kill innocent people senselessly, but it can also make homemade churros! My death ray is a killer machine and essentially an Easy-Bake Oven, all in one, which would mean that it's my greatest invention ever, even more so that my Evolvo Ray! And people say I'm not a genius...  
Uka: Well to be fair, people wouldn't be saying that if you didn't lose all the time. Also, what's so great about some death ray that can bake food - can it bake people _alive?  
_ Cortex: Now I know I'm crazy, but I'm not that crazy...every villain has their limits. But evidently you have no limits yourself!  
Uka: Eh, who needs them?**

* * *

King Dedede was resting comfortably in a beach chair - a beach chair that was surprisingly able to hold the fat penguin's weight - as he was listening to calming, soothing music from a tape on his portable cassette player. The king of Dream Land was at peace, felt like he was in paradise...then a beach ball bounced on top of the penguin's belly, before landing on the ground. King Dedede hit the pause button on his cassette player, and looked around, before seeing the beach ball next to him that disturbed his peaceful tranquility.

"Yo, fat bird guy, can you give us back our ball?" a kid, gathered with his friends, called out to King Dedede. The penguin felt insulted by the kid's remarks, but he knew better than to beat up a harmless kid, especially if his parents were around.

"One beach ball, coming right up!" exclaimed King Dedede, as he took off his headphones and grabbed the beach ball before getting off his beach chair so he could retrieve the ball to the kids, leaving his cassette player and headphones lying on the beach chair. This would give Pit and Kirby the opportune moment to strik, as they tiptoed their way to the beach chair. Kirby grabbed the cassette player and took out the tape, replacing it with a tape with the Smash logo on it.

"This tape I'm inserting into Dedede's cassette player is a special kind of tape," Kirby explained to Pit, as he was inserting the new tape inside the cassette player. "It's something I got from Nightmare Enterprises...basically you say something into this microphone..." Kirby took out a microphone and held it up for Pit to see. "...and whatever you say into the microphone will be played out in that tape, for King Dedede to hear. Just tell King Dedede what to do, and he will have no other choice but to do it!"

"Oh man, that sounds absolutely genius, we should definitely try it!" exclaimed Pit, before seeing that King Dedede was returning to his beach chair. "King Dedede is making his way back - time to retreat!" Pit and Kirby ran off and assumed their hiding positions, just in time as King Dedede returned to his beach chair and got back on it, after putting on his headphones.

"Back in my good ol' beach chair...it's a shame those kids wouldn't let me play with them, must've thought my weight would have held me back," said King Dedede, as he pressed the play button on his cassette. "But no matter, I can continue relaxing and enjoying what today has to offer..." But instead of his calming music, King Dedede got something else...

"Hello, young Padawan, and welcome to 'Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth, the 12th Edition'!" said the narrator on the tape Kirby just inserted, the narrator being Pit, hiding with Kirby as he spoke into the microphone. King Dedede got up in shock, wondering who had tampered with his cassette player. "Are you ready for a day of excitement, are you ready to have the time of your life, are you ready to..."

"I demand to know who this is!" commanded King Dedede, now ticked as ever. No one messed with the king of Dream Land and expect to get away with it. "Where's my soothing music, I wanna feel relaxed, I could care less about this so-called 'day of excitement'!"

"But you will feel relaxed, once we are through with this tape. If you listen to me, and follow my words, young Padawan, you will become more universally liked, you'll be the toast of the town! Everyone will be bowing down at your feet, and praise your name forever more!" The once angry King Dedede now found himself stroking his chin with a grin on his face; rarely did the penguin felt like a king in Seattle, so maybe if he listened to the tape, then his aspirations of being treated by everyone like the king he was supposed to be would come true.

 **Kirby: We don't really have a script for what we're gonna say to King Dedede...Pit will just tell that fat penguin to do humiliating things, making Dedede assume that humiliating himself could grant him the respect and reverence he supposedly deserved...when in actuality he'll end up being the biggest clown in all the city. And Dedede's shenanigans will be recorded by hundreds of folks on their phones, to be played over and over again for everyone's amusement until the end of time.**

"Okay, from now on, I shall do whatever you tell me to do, and I will do with with grace and power!" said King Dedede, agreeing to Pit's terms. Grace and power won't be required whilst making yourself out to be a colossal buffoon. "What's the first objective I must do, awesome narrator?"

"See that grown Japanese guy building a sandcastle with that kid?" Pit asked; King Dedede looked out in front of him, and saw Heihachi, helping Villager make a sandcastle. Heihachi looked pretty determined to make the sandcastle the grandest sandcastle to ever exist. "In order to prove your worth, you must sing and dance with that man, exuberating joy and happiness with every step you make, and with every word you sing!"

"Easier said than done, I'll go ahead and give it a shot," said King Dedede, as he made his way over to Heihachi, the Japanese fighter working out the details of the castle, like the castle walls. Villager, who was making a moat and a drawbridge, looked up and saw King Dedede.

"Hey King Dedede, care to join me in perfecting this sandcastle?" asked the young lad, but the penguin did not come to lend aid in sandcastle building. Instead, he came for Heihachi...as he pulled the Japanese fighter up to his feet and started dancing with him, the two holding hands like they were dancing on Broadway.

"King Dedede why on earth are you dancing, and with me of all people?" Heihachi questioned the penguin, as onlookers were watching Heihachi and Dedede dance. Some were recording the dancing on their phones, just as Kirby had figured.

"Hello, ma baby, hello, ma darling, hello, ma ragtime gal..." sang King Dedede, as everyone was pointing and laughing at him. But the penguin failed to see this, for his eyes were closed, and he also failed to hear the laughing too, since Pit was playing the song "Hello, Ma Baby!" through the microphone he was speaking into. "Send me a kiss by wire, baby, my heart's on fire..."

"I've had just about enough of this crap!" frowned Heihachi, letting go of King Dedede before shoving him onto the sand. But the fighter had made a very unwise effort...he shoved Dedede into Villager's sandcastle. The onlookers gasped as a now disappointed Villager looked at his sandcastle - or at least what was left of his sandcastle - all while Pit and Kirby were laughing away. King Dedede was undoubtedly the _perfect_ person for their prank.

"My sandcastle, Heihachi and I worked so hard on it..." moped Villager, as King Dedede rose up to his feet, dusting the sand off his red robe. "...now I feel to bummed out to make another one. Thanks a lot, King Dedede!" King Dedede certainly didn't like when blame was placed on him, so he was rather quick to let Villager know how he felt.

"Oh, so it's MY fault Heihachi was the one who shoved me to the ground!" King Dedede snapped on Villager, who now cowered in fear. The angry disposition on Dedede's face could make for some very nightmarish visuals. "It's MY fault Heihachi can't accept the great songs of the late 1800s, it's my fault he wishes to remain an uncultured swine!"

"To be fair, you _did_ sing and dance with the guy, for no reason at all," someone pointed out, though King Dedede was quick to dismiss their remark. The penguin he did no wrong - he was just doing what the narrator on his tape told him to do!

 **Doc Louis: As a well-respected black man, I found King Dedede's rendition of "Hello, Ma Baby!" to be somewhat offensive...perhaps I should stop viewing Dedede as a fat guy wearing some odd-colored blackface. Them lips of Dedede's keep throwin' me off!**

"Know what, forget you guys, I'm just gonna be great elsewhere!" King Dedede stormed off, bringing his cassette along with him, as Pit and Kirby were snickering at the fat penguin. This was only just the beginning...the pink puffball and the angel both had their eyes set on making King Dedede do even more silly stuff.

"This day is gonna be awesome..." remarked Pit as he and Kirby continued to snicker. "Do you wanna give it a spin, Kirby?"

"I would most definitely love to, thought of some great things that will make King Dedede the 'toast of the town'," chuckled Kirby, accepting the microphone from Pit. Considering Kirby and King Dedede were bitter rivals (although it wasn't really a rivalry, since Kirby actually respects Dedede), Kirby was gonna let the king of Dream Land have it.

* * *

Link and Cloud were chilling at inside a restaurant near near Alki Beach, babysitting Charles. The two swordsmen were watching over Luigi and Daisy's baby son, both taking turns watching over the infant because if they watched over Charles together, then they would be questioned by strangers...and for all the wrong reasons.

Right now it was Link who was watching over Charles, who was keeping himself occupied with Midna on the restaurant table while Link was busy cleaning his sword. Midna was surprisingly able to keep Charles happy and content, without having to lose her temper.

"Gotta say Link, this infant is way more tolerable to deal with than you are," Midna told the Hylian, stroking the luscious orange hair of Charles. "Always endearingly happy, and would agree to anything you say! If you told him that you would throw him down a meat grinder, I bet you he would mindlessly smile and clap, not knowing what the consequences are!"

"Of course he would mindlessly clap and smile, he's a infant less than a year old who only knows about the good things in the world," explained Link, after he was finished cleaning his sword. "He's not used to things like death, and the loss of others, and having to deal with death in general."

"That's why Luigi and Daisy should teach him those things now, so that he'll be in the know and will be more acclimated to death than his peers...and then he won't feel so somber at funerals, because he has grown to accept the fact that death is a depressing, yet necessary part of life." That was some very morbid thinking, but then again, it did come from Midna...

Cloud returned to the restaurant, heading over to where Link and company were sitting, and the swordsman was bringing an unwanted guest with him...Sora. The Keyblade wielder was running his mouth about how his homeland, or "home world", in his case - Destiny Island - had a beach, and how he and his friends would play in the beach, all in the name of fun.

"There was this one world, called Atlantica, were I was a mermaid!" Sora was now telling another story to Cloud, whose face indicated that he was done with life, or with Sora rather. "It was pretty neat - swimming about in the water, waving my mermaid tail, and fighting Heartless at the same time! Sadly Donald, Goofy, and I couldn't fight any more Heartless after our initial Atlantica visit, but we were a part of a big underwater musical, so it was all good."

"Like I said before about your stupid raft...congratulations," Cloud said to Sora as the two finally reached Link and company. The look Cloud gave to Link and Midna literally screamed, "Please put me out of my misery and eradicate this man Sora..."

 **Sora: My friends and I have always wanted to see all the other worlds out there, so we built a raft so we could see 'em. We had a race to determine who would be the captain, and since I won, I had naming rights! Got to name the raft Excalibur...sounds like a great name for any buoyant structure, don't ya think so Cloud?  
** **Cloud: Congratulations, dude...congratulations.  
Sora: Don't know what happened to that raft though - there was this big storm, and I think the storm ripped the raft apart. But I carried on the raft's legacy and named my Gummi Ship after it! Isn't that great, Cloud?  
Cloud: What, do you want some participation trophy for naming your ship Excalibur or something?  
Bowser: *walking by* Participation trophies are an abomination to society and the root of all evil! No one deserves participation trophies, including you Sora! So you better stop talking about your crappy ship or else you're gonna feel the pain!**

"Babysitting Daisy and Luigi's kid, huh Link?" Sora would ask the Hylian, as he grabbed Charles and held him in his arms, cradling him as the others looked on. "Don't think I've ever held a baby before, must be a first for me!" Does Sora want a participation trophy just for holding a baby? Bowser wouldn't like that one bit.

"Nobody told you that you could hold Charles," Cloud said to Sora, snatching Charles away from Sora and placing the infant back on the table. "Just like how nobody told you that you could touch my pet Chocobo, Cloud Jr."

"Sorry Cloud, but you're mistaken...it was Roy who told me I could touch your pet Chocobo. Also, what kind of name is Cloud Jr? Doesn't sound that creative to me." Uh oh, looks like things were quietly getting intense in the restaurant...several people were looking on.

"Well at least I gave it a name, so that's what matters. Any name would be better than Excalibur, if you ask me. What a lousy name for a raft, or ship, or anything that isn't a sword."

"What kind of pet owner are you, you just called your pet Chocobo an 'it!" Now the conversation between Sora and Cloud was quickly turning into an argument, as more and more people looked on. "Bet you don't even know what gender Cloud Jr. is!"

"Of course I know the bird's gender...Cloud Jr. is a male. Call Cloud Jr. uncreative all you want, but I don't see you calling out Bowser for naming his only biological son Bowser Jr. Or are you too scared to face the guy?"

"Um, guys, I don't mean to disturb you both, but..." Link spoke up; Cloud and Sora stopped arguing among themselves, before looking at Link, and then looking at the table...only to see Charles wasn't there! Did the infant crawl away as the argument persisted? Cloud and Sora could only look at Midna, who was sitting on the table like nothing bad was going on.

"Why are you boys looking at me for?" the imp questioned both Cloud and Sora. "Link and I were too busy watching the fireworks between you boys. If anything, the blame should be solely placed on you two for distracting us from Charles."

 **Link: Welp, we lost Charles, and now Luigi and Daisy are gonna kill us...though it would be Daisy who would do most of the killing. Luigi couldn't kill a ladybug even if the fate of the world depended on it.**

Concerned and ticked off about the disappearance of Charles, Link, Cloud, and Sora exited the restaurant, with Midna following them outside. Once outside, the foursome saw two particular buddy cops, speaking with someone who was an actual police officer - Toon Link and Young Link. The Hylians were receiving useful police tips from the police officer, who was standing next to his police car.

"One thing I tell rookie police officers is, is that you should never put yourself out in front of others," the police officer explained to the Links, with Toon Link writing down on a notepad. "Don't let your ego interfere you in the name of law - act professional, and do your job accordingly, and if you keep doing that, you'll be great policemen one day. That's all the tips I can share with you boys, hope you take them to heart!"

"Thanks a bunch officer, we shall definitely use your tips to good use!" Toon Link saluted the police officer, who smiled as he got inside his police car, turned on the ignition, and drove away, returning to patrolling Alki Beach. Once the police car drove off, Cloud and company approached the Links. "Greetings, law-abiding citizens, do you have a case for us to crack?" Toon Link would ask the group that approached him and Young Link.

"Can't believe I'm actually saying this but...Toon Link, Young Link, we seriously need your help," said Cloud, refusing to believe that he was asking two young wannabe cops to help him and his crew. "Link and I were watching over Charles at the restaurant, and Sora and I kinda got into it, and now Charles ran off and we don't know where he ran off to."

"Ooh, a missing child case...don't think we ever solved anything like that before," remarked Young Link, scratching his chin. "This could very well be the case that could make or break our careers as police officers. Looks like a mighty job for...the Seattle Vice!" Young Link placed sunglasses on his eyes, and Toon Link would follow suit.

"Yeah...so are you gonna help us find the kid or not? We don't want Daisy coming for our behinds soon...Luigi would be the least of our worries."

"Daisy's fury is like a fire-breathing dragon with an uncontrollable rage, seeking for whom it may consume with the intense flare of its fiery breath..." Very descriptive, Young Link. "We shall assist you in finding Charles, wherever he may be..."

* * *

Sonic was on the Alki Beach coastline, playing a game of Frisbee with with his pet Shaymin. Knuckles was off driving on a boat at sea with Tails, and Amy was getting prepared for the volleyball game, so Sonic was left with no other choice but to play with his pet Pokemon.

"Go long, Shaymin!" the hedgehog called out, as he threw the Frisbee as far as he could, throwing it the farthest he had ever thrown it before. Using her amazing flight abilities, Shaymin caught the Frisbee before it could leave the beach altogether, before returning the Frisbee to Sonic and placing it at the hedgehog's feet. "Good girl, and what an awesome catch! You keep getting more awesome each and every day!" Sonic petted Shaymin's head, making his pet smile.

"Aw, stop it Sonic, you're making me blush!" said Shaymin, while Sonic continued to pet her head. Suddenly, a cardboard box inched up to Sonic, before coming to a sudden stop; the hedgehog turned around, and saw the cardboard box, paying close attention to the red exclamation mark on the box. That exclamation mark provided a dead giveaway to Sonic and Shaymin as to who was the person hiding underneath the box.

"Sonic is that you underneath that box? You're not really fooling anyone, even the most average person would know it's you..." Sonic would soon be right, when a wave washed up onto the beach surface, washing away the cardboard box and revealing Snake, who was crouching on the sand, alarmed that his beloved cardboard box was gone. If only there was an exclamation point about Snake's head to indicate that Snake's cover was blown.

"Whatever you do, don't tell Kiria I'm here - had to spend most of my time at the beach hiding in my cardboard box just to avoid the chick," Snake said to Sonic and Shaymin, who knew better than to reveal Snake's whereabouts to Kiria. No way were they gonna let that lovestruck idol singer get close to the former spy. "Now it looks like I'll have to find myself another cardboard box...or I could just bury myself underneath the sand. Nobody would give a crap if I was still alive or not."

 **Kiria: Oh Snake, oh Snake, where art thou? I practically gave up my spot on Tsubasa's volleyball team just so I could look for you Snake, but yet you are nowhere to be found...my ever tormented soul longs to be with you Snake, why can't you see that with your...with your luscious blue eyes, which are as beautiful as the sea, more beautiful than any ocean of this godforsaken planet...this planet is incomplete if I don't have you Snake, why can't you just see that?!**

"It could have been a whole lot worse Snake...Birdo could have been the one obsessing over you," stated Shaymin, earning a glare from the former spy. Although Kiria was intolerable enough for Snake, the guy should be grateful his admirer was someone like Birido, who already had a pretty obsessive personality to begin with. Yoshi might now from experience. "Also, what is that orange thing lying on the sand?"

Sonic and Snake looked around and saw the orange thing in question - an orange marsupial washed up on the shore, wearing blue jeans and red sneakers. The marsupial quickly jumped up to his feet and shook the water off of him, before seeing Sonic, Snake, and Shaymin, and greeting them with a smile. So far this marsupial didn't look like a threat Sonic and company would have to dispose of, but Snake was quick to recognize the marsupial's face.

"This guy looks awfully familiar..." the former spy inquisitively remarked, narrowing his eyes as he analyzed the marsupial, from his hair and face, all the way down to his shoes. "Mind telling us your name?" The marsupial spoke, but it was all unintelligible garble, like it was a different language. Even more different than most indiscernible rap songs these days. "Just as I figured, the fella can't speak a single lick of English...how about you write your name on the sand?"

So Snake grabbed a nearby stick that was conveniently lying on the sand, and tossed it to the marsupial, who used the stick to write the name "CRASH', on the sand. Snake and company looked at the name, surprised that a marsupial who couldn't speak English was able to write a single word. Might be the only word in the marsupial's lexicon.

"Crash, as in like, Crash Bandicoot?" Sonic asked the marsupial, who nodded his head in glee. "Yeah, I've heard about you before, nice to meet ya!" Sonic would give some dap to Crash, signifying the first moment hedgehog and bandicoot meet in friendly fashion. "Mario has been telling all sorts of stories about you, most of them in an incriminating nature, but I assume that Mario feels bitter about any video game mascot. Used to feel bitter about me. Say, what's that you got in your hands?"

Crash held up the object he was holding in his hands...a pink crystal, its allure enough to distract Sonic. It was the very crystal Cortex had spoke of earlier, a crystal he needed to fuel with death ray...Crash oughta keep the crystal away from Cortex, if he knows what's good for him.

"Oh Snake, where are you Snake - come out, come out, wherever you are!" Kiria's voice called out to the former spy, who instantly froze as his name was called. "I know you're hiding in that silly cardboard box of yours...now be the man that I know you are and show yourself!"

"Crap that woman is on the lookout for me..." panicked Snake, who would've retreated to his cardboard box if the ocean didn't take his temporary hiding place away. "We gotta move, and fast!" Snake led Sonic, Shaymin, and Crash away, getting as far away from Kiria as possible.

* * *

It was now time for the volleyball game to begin, as both teams were getting prepared, while spectators came one by one to watch the match. On Tsubasa's team was Eleonora, Fox, Falco, Donkey Kong, Yuffie, Greninja, Amy, Shulk, and Fiora. On Asuka's team was Mamori, Jacky, Akira, Bowser, Lucina, Robin, Wii Fit Trainer, Lucario, and Lopunny. Yes, Lucario's babe Lopunny came along to the beach, since Lucario wanted to make a good impression on the rabbit Pokemon.

"Go and break a leg out there, Donkey Kong, but don't break your leg - break the leg of someone on the other team instead!" yelled Cranky Kong, who much to everyone's chagrin was invited to the beach. The old geezer talked his nephew into it. "I'd go for Wii Fit Trainer if I were you, she's pretty athletic and is really good at sports! Her loss will be your team's gain!"

"Why on earth did you invite your grandpa in the first place?" Fiora asked Donkey Kong, as she was stretching her arms and legs. "All he has done at the beach is nothing but whacking random people on the head with his stupid cane...you'd think the police would intervene and tell Cranky to stop!"

"Like I told others before, Cranky Kong is very persuasive and has a way with words - that's why I had to bring him to the beach," explained Donkey Kong, before looking at Cranky Kong. The elderly Kong was waving a flag with the initials "DK" on it, with Diddy Kong at his side. "Could have persuaded the folks he mistreated not to tell on him - he doesn't bode that well when it comes to snitches."

 **Cranky Kong: Can you believe that this crummy story is now over a million words? Think about that - the trash author who writes this story, because Lord knows why, has finally achieved one million words, and it only took him a year and a half at least to achieve the feat! By my calculations, if he keeps writing this story for four and a half more years...then he can surpass _Subspace Emissary: Worlds Conquest!_ To the _Worlds Conquest_ author...you better watch your back, sonny!**

"I always knew you were better than this, Tsubasa..." Fox said to Tsubasa, after the idol singer and team captain returned from who-knows-where with a volleyball. "I was afraid that you would take the boring route, and select only those from Star Records to be your teammates, but you have really left an impression on me. I should have known better than to doubt you."

"Playing for you will be totally worth it, since you will be playing in your bikini, and Fox and I will be...in the back, if you know what I mean," chuckled Falco, as Tsubasa rolled her eyes at the avian pilot's remark. Fox also glared at Falco, as his avian friend tried to feign innocence. "Oh, you and Krystal are still dating? You never told me anything recent about your relationship, unless something embarrassing went down and you wanted to keep it as a secret from me. Wouldn't blame you in the slightest. I got stuff I don't even wanna share with you, so I share it with the other. Paid them a hefty fee to keep it under the wraps, too."

"Yeah...you two just try not to suck, and we'll accrue victory," Tsubasa said to the Star Fox pilots, before turning her attention to Asuka, who was standing on the other side of the volleyball net, ready to start the volleyball game. "You ready to go, Asuka?"

"Ready to go when you are!" exclaimed the peppy ninja girl, as Tsubasa severed the ball to the back of Asuka's court. Using her athletic prowess, Wii Fit Trainer leaped and served the ball right back, only for Donkey Kong to serve the ball right back, and with added aggression. Bowser, feeling like he was the only player on Asuka's team to handle a volleyball with blazing velocity, tried to serve the volleyball back...

...but as the Koopa King got in position to strike, the volleyball struck one of the spikes on the koopa's green shell, deflating in the process. A suddenly deflating will soon enter its way into the scene (no pun intended), as the now pierced volleyball remained stuck in Bowser's shell, the spectators bummed out about an abrupt ending to what could have been a back-and-forth, intense game of volleyball.

"Nice going Bowser, you pierced the volleyball with your stupid shell, and thanks to you, we now have to grab another ball!" Wii Fit Trainer was quick to scold Bowser, who did nothing wrong. The blame should solely be placed on his shell, not him. "Why couldn't you just let me serve the ball back instead?"

"You already had your moment to shine, and I needed my moment badly!" replied Bowser, who was making a big deal out of nothing. Bowser could just chill in the back, doing nothing, and nobody would give a crap. "But since you want to blame me for something my shell did that _I_ didn't do, I suppose I'll just take my shell off..." Bowser, personifying his shell if it meant dealing with the blame, was about to take off his shell, as everyone wearily looked on. "Just so you know, I haven't washed my back in years, so try and not to be disturbed by how grimy and mangled my back looks..."

"No, no, you can leave your shell on, I'll just go fetch another volleyball," Lucario said to Bowser, who now left his shell alone, as Lucario left to retrieve another volleyball. How long would the second volleyball last?

* * *

 **Marie: Peach and her friends have been so nice to me...it's great to have a enjoyable, meaningful conversation with other females without someone like the female Inkling fangirling you and breathing on your neck. She has done that to me over the week, until Master Hand finally decided to give her a very stern talking to. I wish I could have such conversations with Callie... *sighs* ...wherever she is, I hope she's safe.**

Marie was still hanging out with Peach, Daisy, and Celica, and the Inkling was joined by two other ladies, Zelda and Aerith. The six women were hanging out on the pier, eating some popsicles Meta Knight was kind enough to purchase for them. Speaking of whom, Meta Knight was guarding the women with all his life as they were enjoying their popsicles, on the lookout with his eyes analyzing every person that passed by. The Star Warrior was only doing this because he was afraid some crazy _Splatoon_ fan might kidnap Marie.

"Are you sure it's okay for you to eat those popsicles, those things can turn into liquid very quickly if they melt in the sun for too long," Zelda asked Marie, who didn't seem to mind as she was licking away. "You did say that you can't have liquids like water in your body system..."

"If I can eat this popsicle before it melts, then I should be just fine," replied Marie with a smile. It was great that Zelda and the ladies were taking time out of their day at the beach to keep Marie's spirits up, and they were far better company than Mega Man and .EXE, who would leave poor Marie unattended and allow _Splatoon_ fans to hound her.

Suddenly trouble would loom for Marie and company, as a certain scientist and a floating mask arrived at the pier, with the mad scientist riding on a hoverboard. Cortex and Uka would make their appearing, and they were still on the hunt for Crash, Cortex's arch-nemesis.

"Uka, do you see that blonde lady on the pier before you?" Cortex asked the floating mask, pointing at Peach. Meta Knight took notice of Cortex and Uka, and watched them cautiously, anticipating any move they made.

"Yes I do see - it's a woman that you could never get in your putrid life, no matter how hard you tried," answered Uka, as Cortex gave him a blank stare. "Then again, I could say the same about the other ladies with her...your standards are far too low to get a chance with any one of them."

"That blonde chick is the famous Princess Peach, princess of the Mushroom Kingdom! And look! She's wearing a wedding ring, which means that she must have married the famous plumber Mario! I wasn't even invited to their wedding! Why wasn't I invited?!"

"I think the reasons for why you weren't invited are pretty obvious...and your perpetual ugliness is one of those reasons." Cortex had just about enough of Uka's mouth, as he now focused on the one thing he came to the pier for - to ask questions about Crash.

"Bah, no matter, I shall extract my revenge on Mario and Peach later, they'll get what's coming to them. Right now, I must ask Peach and her posse about Crash..." Cortex would turn his attention to Peach and company, who were enjoying quite the conversation. "Yoo hoo ladies, up here!" None of the ladies responded, so Cortex was left with no other choice but to get their attention by whistling. Once he whistled, Peach and company looked up at Cortex, flying on his hoverboard as Uka waited to see how the exchange would turn out. "Don't mean to interrupt your conversation ladies - Dr. Neo Cortex's the name. I have something I must ask you...have any of you seen a marsupial with a pink crystal in his possession?"

Peach and company just stared at Cortex for a good while...before continuing on with their conversation, like the guy wasn't even there. Cortex just looked on with his mouth agape - was he so disrespected that not even the heroines would take him seriously?

 **Cortex: Throughout my life, nobody has ever taken me seriously...not even my lab assistants, the minions I've created, my niece, or even my parents, for that matter! Personally I blame Crash, he has beaten me so many times that it has taken a huge toll on my villain status! Some people think that I never win against Crash, but they're wrong...for I've actually beaten Crash plenty of times before!  
Uka: You weren't going to mention those racing competitions, were you? Because those don't really count.  
Cortex: Why must you always destroy my confidence...**

"How dare you choose not to pay attention to Dr. Neo Ccortex, I thought I deserved better than this!" Cortex snapped on the six ladies, who did their best to tune out the mad scientist as his rant went on. "Do you have any idea who I am? I am a villain, one of the finest you'll ever see - I have the best minions any villain could dream of, and I also have the best evil lairs, and the best sense of humor, and the best..."

"So that guy on the hoverboard is the Cortex guy Mario and Snake would occasionally talk about?" Aerith would ask Peach, while the ladies had now tuned out Cortex completely while Cortex's rant persisted. The mad scientist was too ticked to even notice the lack of awareness from the ladies. "I have to admit, he is kinda hard to look at - can't look at him for a very long time."

"He is a lot more hideous in person; judging from Mario, I thought he would have been even uglier than I would have ever imagined," said Peach, before turning her attention to Meta Knight, who was watching Cortex ranting like a madman. And Uka was enjoying every little second of it. "Meta Knight, would you like to take care of Cortex for us? We have tuned him out, I don't think he's quite aware of it yet..."

"I've been waiting for one of you ladies to tell me that," replied Meta Knight, sword in hand, as he flew up to Cortex. The mad scientist stopped ranting and shrieked like a little schoolgirl when he saw Meta Knight, face-to-face; Uka quickly got out of the way as Meta Knight went to work on Cortex, slashing him with his sword as the mad scientist dodged every swipe, before retreating away on his hoverboard. "That's right, you better leave! _Salir! Salir!_ "

"Stupid flying mask-wearing thing, I shall deal with you later!" Cortex vowed, pointing at Meta Knight before flying off on his hoverboard, with Uka having to follow the N head because he was unfortunate enough to be stuck with him forever. Once Cortex was gone, Meta Knight flew back down to the pier, assuming his original spot.

"Man that guy looks like such a loser...someone oughta give that man a hug," remarked the Star Warrior. Honest question: has anyone ever willingly hugged Cortex?

* * *

King Dedede continued to listen to the tape in his cassette player, "Know Your Role and Shut Your Mouth, the 12th Edition", with Pit being the narrator of the tape, unbeknownst to the penguin. Pit would make King Dedede do all sorts of humiliating things at the beach, like using the women's restroom for example. Now Pit was having the king of Dream Land mess with Ness and Lucas, who were playing with water balloons. Or rather, it was Ness who was playing with water balloons, trying to get Lucas to join in on the fun.

"Don't tell me you're scared of some harmless water balloons, they're not going to kill you!" Ness told Lucas, as he was playfully throwing colored water balloons at his blonde friend, who was dodging each water balloon like he was auditioning for a _Matrix_ movie. "It's not like you're an Inkling and getting hit by a water balloon would make your body melt!"

"You should know how much I dislike getting wet!" frowned Lucas as he swatted a water balloon away from him, while everyone looked on wondering what was wrong with the PSI whiz. Good grief, Lucas must dislike every little thing... "We should have went to an aquarium instead of the beach, the aquarium is the only place I'll feel comfortable near water!"

"Have you ever been to an aquarium before?" Ness asked Lucas, who shook his head no. "Well you better take what you get buddy, you can't have everything you want, and that's a really sucky part of life. Gotta make lemonade out of the lemons life gives ya!" Ness hurled yet another water balloon at Lucas, who dodged it like a G.

 **Kirby: Our prank on King Dedede has been going absolutely swell so far! He has taken every single one of our orders like a guinea pig, without questioning at all how he acquired the tape, or why the narrator, Pit, was telling him to do embarrassing stuff.  
Pit: He keeps embarrassing himself all because we told him that the actions he does today will help garner him "respect" and will establish him as a rightful king...but instead he's establishing himself as a rightful clown. And the fun shall go on while the day is still young!**

"You see that blonde boy over there, the blonde boy known as Lucas?" Pit asked King Dedede, who dared not to question how the narrator already knew Lucas, like he knew every single person on earth. "He's afraid of water, can you believe that? But you, only you, can vanquish his aquaphobia!"

"Heh, I ain't surprised of this kid's aquaphobia - he's the same scrub that was once scared of the wet stain on his bed!" chuckled King Dedede, though it was likely that Dedede might have made the wet stain in the first place just to mess with Lucas. "Poor fella actually thought it was his own shadow, and that his shadow was coming to life! So how can I rid him of his aquaphobia, wise narrator?"

"Here's what I want you to do..." Pit discreetly whispered to King Dedede, who nodded his head after every piece of information he gained, and once Pit gave him the 4-1-1, it was time for King Dedede to act. The penguin took a deep breath, and ran towards Lucas and did the unthinkable...

...he scooped up Lucas in his arms, and ran towards the ocean, as Ness and everyone else looked on in confusion. What King Dedede was about to do next was even more unthinkable.

"SAY GOODBYE TO THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!" the fat penguin shouted to Lucas as he literally threw Lucas like a football into the ocean, as the beachgoers gasped at King Dedede's decision-making. The penguin turned around to face the beachgoers, raising his arms in the air like he had done something.

"You monster, how could you do something so heartless to that poor little kid?!" a distressed woman scolded King Dedede, having no idea that the 'poor little kid' she was talking about was actually a teen who looked pretty youthful for his age. But fortunately for Lucas, help would soon be on his way.

"Don't worry Lucas, I'm here to save you - I am your courage!" the Flying Man appeared, as if right on cue, as he leaped into the water to rescue Lucas. Suspense built up in the beach, as everyone waited patiently for the Flying Man to reemerge from the water with Lucas in his arms...and that's exactly what happened a couple of seconds later, as the mythical beast arose from the water, with Lucas in his arms. Everyone cheered on for the Flying Man as he heroically marched his way back to the beach surface, before placing Lucas on the sand and giving him CPR. Everyone save for King Dedede, who was nervously backing away, gathered around the Flying Man as he proceeded to give Lucas CPR.

"Lucas, please tell me you're still alive, I cannot bear you, or anyone else for that matter, to perish from drowning, please respond if you can..." the Flying Man told the PSI whiz after applying CPR. He and the others waited a few seconds...and everyone was suddenly relieved when Lucas awoke, opening his eyes as he rose up, coughing and gagging a little to get the rest of the water out of his system.

"Lucas, my man, you're still alive!" exclaimed Ness, being the first to hug his best friend. His hug left quite the smile on Lucas's face. "For a minute I thought you were a goner! Sorry about throwing those water balloons at you, I just wanted you to have fun, that's all. Water balloons can make anything fun, if you ask me."

"Nah, you didn't have to apologize, it's all good," replied Lucas, speaking for the first time ever since King Dedede threw the PSI whiz into the ocean. "Dedede sure was a jerk for tossing me into the ocean like that, sure hope he gets what he deserves!" The penguin in question was no longer at the scene, for he secretly retreated to avoid any condemnation...however, Pit and Kirby were present, hiding behind some shrubbery and laughing it up.

 **Pit: Do you feel bad about having King Dedede hurl Lucas into the water?  
** **Kirby: Not really - I mean, the Flying Man's here, and he's always prone to saving others during their times of peril, so it's all good. *pauses* Say, isn't there a volleyball game on the beach between Tsubasa and Asuka? How about we have Dedede interrupt their game?**

* * *

The famous buddy cop duo of Toon Link and Young Link were searching along the coastline for Charles, with Link, Cloud, Sora, and Midna also a part of the search.

"Look what I found, a king's crown seashell!" exclaimed Sora, picking up the seashell from the sand and analyzing it. Clearly the brunette cared more about finding exquisite shells than the safety and whereabouts of Charles. "Haven't seen quite a shell like this ever since I left Destiny Island!"

"We're not looking for any stupid shells, we're looking for Charles and finding him before Daisy kills us all," Cloud told Sora, slapping the seashell out of the Keyblade wielder's hands, and judging by his remark, he was not at all afraid of Luigi. Because who would? "Wish Omochao was here to take you away..."

"Focus, people, focus - we gotta find Charles before Daisy unleashes her unholy vengeance upon the entire city of Seattle and goes full Ted Bundy and killing everyone in sight with her uncontrollable rage," said Young Link, being very descriptive yet again. "Sure hope our case doesn't go from a missing child case to a child abduction case...that would make the work harder for us."

"True dat, though it would make the beatdown we would give to a potential child abductor all the more easier," said Toon link, who was intrigued by the idea of brutally beating up any criminal with his Master Sword in the name of the law. Suddenly, the Hylian caught a jet ski coming towards the group, with the rider accompanied by a floating mask, with the corner of his eye. "Jet ski coming in at 3 o' clock - everyone out of the way!"

On Toon Link's command, everyone moved out of the way, as the jet ski came up to the beach surface. The rider of the jet ski got off; it was a female bandicoot, with blonde hair tied into a ponytail, with blue overalls and pink sneakers. The mask accompanying her looked similar to Uka, but was much less evil in appearance. The female bandicoot didn't take that long to get situated, when she saw that Toon Link and Young Link had their bows pointed at her, ready to fire some arrows.

"State your business here, and why you were riding on a jet ski without a helmet on!" Toon Link interrogated the female bandicoot, who felt confused. What were these wannabe police officers doing with bows and arrows instead of guns and bullets? She presumably wondered.

"First off, there's no law stating that it's a requirement to wear a helmet while jet skiing," stated the bandicoot, as the two Links lowered their bows, albeit with some bitter reluctance. "Secondly, I'm here looking for someone named Crash Bandicoot, who I believe has washed up on the Washington state shore, according to the radar on my jet ski. I'm his little sister, Coco, and this flying mask with me Aku Aku, who acts as our guardian of sorts."

"It's great meeting all of you," Aku Aku would tell the group. Same rule applied to Uka will be also applied to Aku Aku. "Crash was last seen spotted with a crystal when he was washed away, and we expect him to still have said crystal in his possession."

"Blonde hair, blue overalls...are you in any way affiliated with the United States Department of Agriculture, or anything pertaining to farming?" Young Link would ask Coco, who was confused yet again. "Tell me now, or else you''ll be faced with the fury of my arrows!" So far, the Links were portraying themselves as poor policemen.

"Dude chill out, quit acting so unprofessional," Toon Link said to his partner, calming him down as Young Link lowered his bow. "This is what that police officer was trying to warn us about earlier. Would any great policeman act the way you did?"

 **Toon Link: So you know the famous YouTube channel CinemaSins? Young Link and I should do this thing called "PoliceSins", where we critique one another and point out flaws while doing our jobs, and then at the end of the day, we'll go over our sin count and give each other a sentence to describe our performance. Unlike CinemaSins, where the results are taken humorously, we'll take our PoliceSins results seriously... *pauses* ...we'll try and take them seriously.**

"What kind of stupid question is that, does it look like I'm from the United States?!" frowned Coco, shocked and appalled by Young Link's baffling question. "I practically came all the way from some island near Australia! I'm only here looking for my brother Crash!"

"Funny that you're looking for someone, because we happen to be looking for someone too," said Link, perhaps the only reasonable Link at the scene. "We're looking for an infant who ran away; it's kinda a long story. You're more than welcome to join us if you like..."

* * *

The volleyball game continued, and with a new ball to hit back and forth over the volleyball net. The group of Sonic, Shaymin, Snake, and Crash would arrive at the scene, with Snake leading them as far away from Kiria as possible.

"Don't think Kiria would be present at this volleyball game, so we should be safe here," Snake told his troupe as the four made their way to where Cranky Kong and Diddy Kong was. But they wouldn't get that far, when Jacky swatted the volleyball over to Tsubasa's side and nearly nailed Sonic - who saw the ball coming towards him and catching it, Odell Beckham Jr. style.

"Whoops, sorry about that Sonic!" Jacky apologized to the hedgehog. "Would you mind tossing the ball back over to us?" Before Sonic could do just that, he had one question, and one question in mind...

"How is it that my girlfriend Amy get to be a part of your stupid volleyball game, and I'm not in it?" the hedgehog angrily asked, directing his question to the two team captains, Tsubasa and Asuka. "How could you leave out the best team player in all of existence?"

"Last time you were a part of a competitive game, you sat around and made your team do all the work," Asuka told Sonic, referencing the "dodgebomb" game that took place in episode 72. To add insult to injury, Sonic didn't even do anything until the last minute!

"But Sonic, you told me you carried your team to victory, and put the team on your back!" Amy frowned at a now nervous Sonic; to be fair, Sonic _did_ put the team on his back...albeit literally. The blue blur was about to defend himself, but before he could, Crash took the volleyball from the hedgehog and looked at it...before biting into it, making the volleyball players and the spectators groan. Evidently this was Crash's first time seeing a volleyball.

"Guess we have to fetch another volleyball...I'm on it," sighed Fiora, as she left the volleyball court to fetch yet another dodgeball. The third dodgeball better not be tampered with this time...

* * *

Little Mac was chilling with his girlfriend Leia, while Doc Louis watched over the two. The boxing trainer had bizarrely accepted Leia into his life, much like how he accepted Little Mac into his life, and yes, many folks found that to be quite strange.

 **Doc Louis: I'm happy that Mac's happy, I'm happy that Leia's happy, and most importantly, I'm happy that I'm happy! But in order for Little Mac and Leia to fully experience happiness, they must have more romantic moments together...which is why I'm having Little Mac attend high school and get his GED so he can take Leia to a high school prom and be happy forever! *pauses* Do they allow you to attend prom if you're seeking a GED?**

"Thanks for buying us ice cream Doc Louis, though I could have bought some ice cream for Little Mac and I myself," Leia thanked the boxing trainer, who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and sandals. Seldom do you see Doc Louis wearing his non-traditional clothing.

"Don't thank me just for the ice cream Leia - thank me also that I helped you save some money!" said Doc Louis with a chuckle, before taking a bite from his chocolate bar. But the boxing trainer would nearly choke on his favorite treat went he saw a certain infant crawling in the sand, unnoticed by human eyes...and that infant was Charles. "Oh snap, Luigi and Daisy's kid is on the loose! You two stay right here, I'll be right back!"

So Doc Louis made a mad dash towards Charles, brushing people to the side as he made his way to the infant, performing a baseball slide just to get to him...but right at the last minute, someone on a hoverboard scooped up Charles, and stood in front of Doc Louis on the hoverboard few seconds later, holding a now crying Charles in his arm while accompanied by a floating mask.

"Well look what we have here, a stray infant, away from his parents!" snarled Cortex, holding Charles, as Doc Louis's eyes grew big with fear. "Either his mom and dad suck as parents, or they left their child in the hands of a crappy babysitter! Now what to do with this child..." A perfect idea came inside Cortex's head...which, quite honestly, doesn't happen as much. "Ooh, I know! I'll just use this baby as a ransom and get people to ask me where that dastardly Crash is with that crystal! I should ask the folks at the volleyball game, I could pry an answer out of them!"

"Cortex you thought up of a brilliant plan, this is very shocking!" exclaimed Uka, somewhat salty that he couldn't pick on Cortex if he came up with a sucky plan. "Now if only you came up with brilliant plans ALL THE TIME!"

"That will happen later Uka, but for right now, we have a bandicoot - and a crystal - to find! Let's go before I have to change this baby's diaper - his crying is already enough for me to bear!"

Cortex and Uka went away, with Cortex flying away on his hoverboard, as Doc Louis slowly rose up to his feet and dusted the sand off of him. The boxing trainer had to let Luigi and Daisy know about the situation with Charles, one way or another.

* * *

"These sundaes are just-a perfect, Ice Climbers, I could eat-a these all day long if-a I could!" exclaimed Mario, as he, Luigi, and Alm, still in their beach chairs, were eating sundaes provided by Nana and Popo. "Now I'm not sweating as-a much thanks to your lovely creations!"

"We do have the best ice cream treats on the planet, so we're not surprised that you enjoy them," said an overconfident Popo, as Nana rolled her eyes at her brother...or boyfriend...or best friend. Gotta wonder if the beachgoers questioned the Ice Climbers about their relationship with one another.

 **Popo: We've been trying to sell our world-famous sundaes to the beach folk, but they refuse to buy our tasty treats! What is wrong with people?! Do they lack any sort of sense?!  
** **Nana: ...or maybe they just don't want to spend over $250 for ONE sundae.  
** **Popo: Yet Gucci sells their chocolate products for over the same amount, so why can't we?  
** **Nana: Gucci sells leather products around that price range... *sighs* ...why am I even arguing with you...?**

"Mario, Luigi, Alm, we have a major crisis on our hands!" Doc Louis called out to the three, sweaty and nearly out of breath once he finally reached them. "It's about the baby, Charles...he's been kidnapped!" And just like that, Link and Cloud were forever stripped of their babysitting duties by Luigi.

"Who would dare to kid-a nap my son?" asked Luigi, getting out of his beach chair with his fists tightened. The green plumber was ready to throw them hands. "I demand-a to know who it was right-a away!"

"It was some short, yellow guy with a lab coat and an N on his head...there he is right now!" Doc Louis pointed at the sky; Mario, Luigi, and Alm looked up and saw Cortex riding on his hoverboard with Charles, and Uka tagging along. Mario squinted his eyes, making out Cortex's visage.

"He sure looks some-a what familiar..." remarked the plumber, before jumping off his beach chair. "Quick, we have-a no time to spare!"

* * *

The volleyball game continued, and with a third volleyball in play. None of the volleyball players were looking forward to another distraction, and neither were the spectators that were watching the volleyball game.

"Sure hope there'll be no more distractions, this volleyball game is really getting good," Diddy Kong said to Cranky Kong, who nodded in agreement. And would you know it, Cortex and Uka would arrive at the scene; Crash, being one of the spectators, hid behind Snake when Cortex showed up. Also, congratulations Diddy, you jinxed it.

"Stop this volleyball game this instant!" shouted Cortex; Yuffie, who was about to serve the volleyball, just caught the ball as everyone looked up at Cortex. "I'm here for one reason, and one reason only...to find my arch-nemesis Crash Bandicoot, and the crystal that he has! Tell me where he is, or else!"

"Eh, it's just Dr. Cortex - from what I've heard, he's not that threatening, so we can just ignore him," said Yuffie, as she served the volleyball to Tsubasa's side and resumed the game, leaving Cortex furious...time for plan B.

"Either you tell me where Crash is or I will shoot this baby!" Cortex took out Charles and his ray gun (kudos to him for expertly hiding the two behind his back) and held his gun at Charles's head, stopping the volleyball game again as everyone looked at the mad scientist, suddenly weary. "Oh, now you take me seriously...hmm, perhaps I should kidnap little kids more often. Might boost my villain cred."

"Dr. Neo Cortex, stop-a what you're doing!" shouted Mario, who arrived at the scene with Luigi and Doc Louis as the three made their way through the crowd. "That's my nephew you got-a there...let him-a go, and you better do it-a safely too!"

"Absolutely not, Mr. Doesn't-Invite-People-To-Weddings, not until I get what I came here for!" Suddenly, a sword was thrown at Cortex's head before landing on the sand...a Master Sword rather. But it didn't come from any of the Links...it came from Coco, who was accompanied with the three Links, Cloud, Midna, and Sora.

"We've finally found you Cortex - now stop what you're doing, or we'll have to get involved!" Aku shouted at the mad scientist, who was rubbing his head. Felt a little scratch near his right ear, but no blood.

"Really, did you have to throw my sword at the guy..." Link said to Coco; the Hylian was open to letting the bandicoot use his bow and arrows.

 **Coco: Would've been more rational and fired a bow at Cortex, but I was in the heat of the moment, and in such instances you're subject to very poor judgement, like I was. Also didn't trust my accuracy as much.**

"Drat, the girl bandicoot's here, and she somehow acquired a group of friends poised to stop me..." Cortex gritted his teeth, before remembering what he came to the beach for. "But no matter, that won't stop me from blowing his baby's brains out, if that Crash doesn't show up with the crystal!"

"LET MY SON GO!" shouted the mother of Charles...the one and only Princess Daisy, who arrived at the scene with Marie and the other ladies. "If you do one hurtful thing to my baby boy, I'm gonna kill you!"

"Oh please, certainly you could've came up with something better than 'Let my son go!' And you really think that death threat is gonna faze me? I've endured death threats during my schooling years, and that didn't shake me!" Cortex was seemingly leaving himself out in the open, and that allowed a certain Star Warrior to strike...

"Don't mind if I borrow this..." Meta Knight swooped by Cortex, snatching Charles out of the scientist's hands before flying off. Uka tried to stop Meta Knight, but he was unable to, as the Star Warrior returned Charles to Daisy, who embraced the boy in her arms.

"You DARE try and foil my master plan, before it could be an actual success?!" Cortex scolded Meta Knight, now charging up his ray gun. Now he was gonna let everyone have it. "Prepare to see this beach destroyed in a million pieces, once you witness, with open eyes, the great laser gun shot any mortal has ever..."

Before Cortex could finish, the mad scientist - and Uka too - was attacked by a flurry of paintballs, being shot like they were coming out of a machine gun. These paintballs were quite painful, and they were enough to sending Cortex and Uka crashing to the ground, the two breaking the volleyball next in the process. Once the firing ended, and Cortex and Uka were on the ground covered in paint and writhing in pain, everyone was left stunned, as they looked at the person responsible for the paintball attack...an unlikely Marie, holding a .96 Gal Deco in her hands. Needless to say, the Inkling was surprised by how shocked the others were.

"What, I'm a full-time agent from New Squidbeak Splatoon, sometimes they give me free stuff like this gun," explained Marie, as King Dedede now arrived at the scene, still listening to that tape. "The perks of having a war hero as your grandpa..." King Dedede, who had seemingly arrived late to the volleyball game, analyzed the scene - Cortex and Uka, soaked in paint and still in some pain - and so did Pit and Kirby, analyzing from their hiding spots.

"Alright, young Padawan, this is it, the moment of truth," said Pit, doing something much different from what King Dedede has been doing all day. "See those fools lying there on the volleyball court? I want you to suck them up, and spit them as far as you can!" Dedede found this task much different in nature compared to his other tasks, but the penguin was up for the challenge.

"Sucking up things is my specialty, and Kirby has always been trying to steal my thunder!" exclaimed Dedede, who huffed and puffed as me marched his way over to Cortex and Uka, breezing past everyone. "Time to show everyone who the real sucker is!" The penguin sucked up Cortex and Uka with all his might, and when he was done, he spat out the two evildoers into the sky, sending them flying away.

"YOUHAVEN'TSEENTHELASTOFME!" was the last thing Cortex said before he and Uka went away in true Team Rocket fashion. Peace and order was finally back at Alki Beach, and Charles was back in the loving arms of Luigi and Daisy, who were now comforting their son.

 **Kirby: We made King Dedede do a lot of stupid stuff today...so he wanted to make it up to him by having him do something heroic.  
** **Pit: Also, we didn't want to risk having the mansion barred from returning to Alki Beach ever again because of Dedede, especially after Donkey Kong pulled a Harambe at Disneyland. Speaking of Harambe... *pulls down pants*  
Kirby: NO KIRBY LEAVE THAT THING WHERE IT BELONGS!  
Pit: Just like DK, aren't ya? It's not a thing, it's a...**

"That penguin...that penguin is a hero..." a man pointed at King Dedede, who was now the center of attention. "Let's give him the praise and celebration he rightfully deserves!" Several beachgoers gathered around Dedede, and hoisted him over their shoulders, as they cheered him on and paraded him throughout the beach. Just as the narrator of his tape had promised, King Dedede was now universally liked, and the toast of the town...or the beach, rather.

"Well there goes our volleyball game..." remarked Fox, kicking the sand, as Coco and Aku were now looking for Crash. They would soon find the bandicoot, emerging from behind Snake when the coast was clear, and once Coco saw her brother...

"Crash, you're still alive!" she ran to the bandicoot, giving him quite a hug. Coco looked down, and saw in Crash's hands the crystal Cortex was looking for. "I see that you hid that crystal well...were you hiding from Cortex this whole time?" Crash eagerly nodded his head, as Coco embraced her brother yet again. "For a moment, I thought you'd be gone forever...glad to see you're safe and sound!"

"You had us worried when you got washed away, Crash," added Aku, joining in on the sibling reunion. "You're alive, and you still have that crystal, which means that we can now go back home..." Soon Master Hand showed up, salty that he missed all the action. He will likely blame Mario for no reason later.

"Curse you Wolf, and your missing speedo, thanks to you I have missed..." Master Hand grumbled, before he encountered Crash, Coco, and Aku. The three were in awe of the giant hand, and felt slightly intimidated. "Ah, Crash bandicoot, so good to see you! I see you've brought along your sister and your guardian mask. I'm Master Hand, creator of the Smash universe - I've tried to send you a _Super Smash Bros_ invite for the longest, but I couldn't due to some...complications. So how about I make it up to you?"

"And just how are you going to do that?" asked Aku, serving as Crash's mouthpiece. Master Hand was more than glad to answer that question...

* * *

The residents returned to the mansion that evening (partly because of Wolf and his missing speedo), and the residents would welcome three new faces to the Smash Mansion - Crash, Coco, and Aku. Crash at the mansion was a dream come true for Master Hand, much to everyone's shock.

"Hey Luigi, sorry about what went down with Charles today, Sora was kinda distracting," Cloud apologized to Luigi, who was feeding Charles milk in from baby bottle while in the dining room, where Cilan treated Marie, the three newcomers, and everyone else to some dinner.

"It's okay Cloud, Master Hand made-a sure he had Jakob punish-a Sora yet again, since Link shared-a your sentiments as well," replied Luigi; betcha Sora was back to massaging Wario's entire body. "So you and Link-a are off the hook..for now. Hah, I'm just-a kidding...or am I?"

"I know you're kidding Luigi, stop playing around," said Cloud, as he ate his food. Elsewhere at the dining table, Mario and Peach were enjoying a conversation with the newcomers Crash, Coco, and Aku, though it was Coco and Aku who was doing all the talking.

"Crash had found the crystal lying near the coastline, and when he went over to retrieve it...the waves came in and washed him away," Coco detailed the story of how Crash was lost at sea. "So it was up to Aku and I to save my brother, and we were both relieved that he was at Alki Beach."

"We could tell because of the radar on Coco's jet ski - Coco is a highly intelligent individual, as she's very inventive," added Aku, as Bowser was now eavesdropping on the conversation. Another person that could potentially teach his kids, he now saw in Coco. "Our nemesis Cortex is inventive too, but his constant failures drag him down a bit..."

"As I have told-a Peach before, Cortex is the definition-a of a loser, and everyone saw-a that today," said Mario, taking a sip from his glass of tea, before Marie approached him. "Yes, Marie, may I help-a you?"

"I'm ready to return to Inkopolis...just received word from a fellow agent of mine that Callie was spotted somewhere in Octo Canyon," said Marie; Octo Canyon was a hidden hub for Octorians, like DJ Octavio for instance. "Received the information on my phone, so I'm ready to head back...so here's Mega Man and his NetNavi friend?"

"Must-a be in their room; I shall go get-a them." Mario got up from his chair and left the dining room, while Crash dug into his food like a madman. Talk about a lack of table manners.

If what the New Squidbeak Splatoon had told Marie was true, then the other half of the Squid Sisters, Callie, was out there, somewhere, possibly in the Octarians' possession. Marie just had to hope and pray that Marie, wherever she may be, was doing just fine, even if someone like DJ Octavio, the Octarian leader, was making her do his every bidding.

And Crash, Coco, and Aku were now permanent residents of the Smash Mansion...how about that?


	85. Episode 85: SweeneyTodd

_Author's Note:_

 _What better way to start a new chapter of Smash Life with some guest reviews?_

 _"Have Lanky, Chunky, and Kiddy Kong appeared yet? Are Chie and Yosuke a couple? (Sorry to ask.) Can you include some of the Banpresto Original pilots if you decide on making a Super Robot Wars chapter? (Since they're game characters and not anime characters.) a small scene with Silver the Hedgehog, Snow Villiers, and Dezel from Tales of Zestiria interacting with each other? (They share the same Japanese voice actor, Daisuke Ono) if Morgan shows up will he and Lucina be siblings? Will the characters from Fire Emblem Warriors appear? And finally, what are your thoughts on IDW getting the rights to the Sonic comics?"_

 _The three Kongs have not appeared yet. Chie and Yosuke are a couple (so is Yu and Yukiko, hehehe...). I might include a few Banpresto pilots. Don't know about the Silver, Snow, and Dezel scene. Morgan and Lucina will be siblings. Fire Emblem Warriors characters will appear. And are they really continuing the Sonic comics? Thought the comic series would be over after Archie Comics ended the series. Up next is another person I've haven't seen in a good while...Kirby 629, with a different number in their name:_

 _"1. what if crazy hand splits and goes into the mind of every smasher and act as their "conscience" for a day._  
 _2\. What if Kirby gets tricked into eating all the food in the mansion even warrio's garlic._  
 _3\. Kirby and pac-man have a gourmet race like in super star ultra."_

 _1\. Sounds...doable, I suppose?  
2\. Very chaotic premise for any chapter of Smash Life.  
3\. I guess I could do that._

 _Last up is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"I thought of this idea that you might want to try out: Pit decides to become "Broken" ala Matt Hardy and tries to recruit Pittoo to be apart of his gimmick (he would call Pittoo brother kuro a reference the japanese word for black which is his name in japan) while Pittoo would avoid him at all costs hiding somewhere to get away from him (depending on when the chapter goes up have him interact with Cloud and Snake who are also hiding from their respective annoyances Sora and Kiria. You can even have the whole thing if you want (Viridi as Reby Sky aka Matt's wife, baby Charles can be king Maxwell and Kirby can be Senor Benjamin.)"_

 _Oh man, oh man, oh man...this practically writes itself! Pit being Broken, Dark Pit being Brother Kuro, Kirby being Senor Benjamin...the possibilities with this are absolutely ENDLESS! As stated before, I'm a HUGE Hardy Boyz fan, so you can only imagine how excited I am right now._

* * *

 **Episode 85: SweeneyTodd**

Things at the Smash Mansion got a tad bit more interesting when three newcomers joined the establishment - Crash Bandicoot, Coco Bandicoot, and their floating witchdoctor mask guardian, Aku. It's a lot weirder than it sounds. As previously stated by Master Hand in the last episode, having Crash join the Smash Mansion was a dream come true (only for Master Hand, it seemed like), what with Crash's former status as a gaming mascot.

The famous Crash Bandicoot was as scatterbrained as they come - he was also very limited when it came to English vocabulary, speaking in gibberish 99 percent of the time, while occasionally saying "Woah!" every now and then. Crash's sister, Coco, was lo and beyond far more superior in terms of intelligence than her older brother, and not only that, she was also a technology whiz, even hacking into computers from time to time. Aku, aside from being a guardian mask, was...well, there's nothing really interesting about Aku, other than his peaceful nature, but he was still very protective of Crash and Coco.

The three newcomers were spending their morning with the other residents, enjoying breakfast cooked and prepared by Cilan and Kirby. It was Palutena who was supposed to cook breakfast this morning, but Crash, who served as the goddess of light's apprentice of sorts, offered his blunt criticisms of Palutena's cooking skills to Master Hand in the best way he could, and thanks to the orange fur ball, there was a good chance Palutena may not cook breakfast again...much to the delight of the residents.

"My goodness Crash, do you not know anything about using table manners?" Marth scolded Crash, who was scarfing down scrambled eggs and bacon like a madman, like the bandicoot was seeing food for the very first time. Marth, who was completely disgusted by Crash, had to protect his plate well just in case Crash made a huge mess.

"Sorry Marth, but Crash apparently doesn't believe in using eating utensils," Coco had to apologize for Crash's actions. Expect the blonde bandicoot to apologize for Crash's actions _a lot_ while at the mansion. "He can be very...very hands-on, so to speak, as you can see right now..."

"Well he has to learn how to use them sooner or later, he can't eat like that out in the public...provided he has even been in the public in the first place. Judging by his bizarre behavior, I would assume not." Marth looked around at the breakfast table, and saw that not one, not two, but _several_ folks were missing. "Is it just me, or is the Star Records crew absent?"

"I would assume they're having some secret meeting in the Star Records room to discuss some business," replied Aku, who was just floating near Crash and Coco in the air since he couldn't eat anything. If he did eat, where would the food go to? That would be one of the many unsolved mysteries of the universe. "Then again, Fox and Falco are present, so who knows what they're up to..."

 **Aku: None of us have seen Dr. Cortex since last week, but I have a bad vibe going on, that Cortex and Uka will try and force their way inside the mansion, to eradicate poor Crash. But given Cortex's overall track record, I can't be that all concerned - and besides, if Cortex does attempt to infiltrate the mansion, there'll be plenty of folks capable to stop the evil doctor in his tracks and give him a beating of a lifetime, one that he'll never forget. Cortex might as well spare his minions from helping him out, unless he wants to pay for their hospital bills once the residents get through with them.**

Suddenly, as if right on cue, right after Aku made his remark, Yashiro arrived at the dining room, with a boombox that he sat on the floor. Everyone was quick to notice Yashiro's outfit; he was wearing some Victorian black-and-white clothing, like he was some kind of fancy Sherlock Holmes. Yashiro pressed the play button on his boombox and some music, which sounded like it would belong in a _Pirates of the Caribbean_ film, started playing, as Yashiro sang...

 _Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd._  
 _His skin was pale and his eye was odd._  
 _He shaved the faces of gentlemen_  
 _Who never thereafter were heard of again._  
 _He trod a path that few have trod,_  
 _Did Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street!_

"What is the meaning of this, why do I hear music and singing at the same time, this isn't a _Disney_ musical..." wondered Master Hand as he entered the dining room, only for his jaw to drop (like that was even possible) when he saw Yashiro singing and dancing, pulling a knife out. "Yashiro, my man, have you gone mad?! What's with your outfit, and that knife?! You're not gonna become a serial killer, are you?!" Yashiro just ignored Master Hand, as he continued singing his heart out:

 _He kept a shop in London Town_  
 _Of fancy clients and good renown._  
 _And what if none of their souls were saved?_  
 _They went to their_  
 _Maker impeccably shaved by Sweeney,_  
 _By Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street_

Yashiro would hold up his knife in the air, and as he did so, the rest of his Star Records buddies - Itsuki, Touma, Tsubasa, Eleonora, Kiria, Mamori, and even Knuckles and Little Mac - all filed into the dining room, dressed up similarly to Yashiro, as they wielded their knives in the air. Master Hand just remained puzzled, as Yashiro and company all sang in unison:

 _Swing your razor wide, Sweeney,_  
 _Hold it to the skies!_  
 _Freely flows the blood of those who moralize._

"Pit, when they said swing your razor wide, I don't think they were addressing that to you," Viridi kindly said to her boyfriend Pit, who was waving his butterknife in the air like a maniac. The angel could potentially hurt someone by accident if he kept that up.

"I don't know Viridi, this is quite the workout," replied Pit; Viridi simply rolled her eyes as Yashiro and his crew continued to sing:

 _His need were few, his room was bare:_  
 _a lavabo and a fancy chair,_  
 _A mug of suds and a leather strop,_  
 _An apron, a towel, a pail and a mop._  
 _For neatness, he deserves a nod._  
 _Does Sweeney Todd,, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street._

"Feels like I'm watching a live rendition of that show _Histeria!,_ but instead the singing is done by some Japanese pop singers, some midget boxer, and a red echidna...whatever the heck an echidna's supposed to be," Yoshi remarked to Hisui, who just nodded his head in agreement.

"Heh, and here I am trying to figure out what exactly a bandicoot's supposed to be," said Hisui, stating something that had been lingering in his mind ever since Crash and Coco joined the mansion, as the singing went on:

 _In conspicuous Sweeney was,_  
 _Quick and quite and clean 'e was._  
 _Back of his smile, under his word,_  
 _Sweeney heard music that nobody heard._  
 _Sweeney pondered and Sweeney planned,_  
 _Like a perfect machine 'e planned_  
 _Sweeney was smooth, Sweeney was subtle,_  
 _Sweeney would blink and rats would scuttle._  
 _Sweeney! Sweeney! Sweeney! Sweeney!_  
 _Sweeney!_

"JERRY, JERRY, JERRY, JERRY, JERRY!" chanted Doc Louis, pumping his fists in the air like he was sitting among the live audience on _The Jerry Springer Show,_ only to receive questionable looks from everyone in the dining room. Even Yashiro had to stop the music so he and the other singers could look at Doc Louis inquisitively. "Whoops, my bad, wrong chant. Please continue with your singing." Following Doc Louis's apology, Yashiro resumed the music, as he and the others were about to put the finishing touches on the song:

 _Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd_  
 _He served a dark and a vengeful god_  
 _What happened then, well that's the play,_  
 _And he wouldn't want us to give it away. Not Sweeney,_  
 _Not Sweeney Todd, The demon barber of Fleet Street!_

Yashiro and his singing crew would finish things off by striking a simultaneous pose, all holding their knifes out in the air. Frankly nobody was applauding - they were probably too weirded out to even show any reaction - until Jakob, Mario, and Peach all entered the dining room, clapping for Yashiro and company as the the singers were now taking a breather from their singing and theatrics.

 **Jakob: Overheard Yashiro and company rehearsing for their musical, or play, or whatever last evening, and I was surprised how in tune some of them sang...though you could assume I was only referring to Itsuki, Touma, Knuckles, and Little Mac, who have probably never sang a single day in their entire lives. Since Mario's the man of the mansion - or should I say, _former_ man of the mansion - I imagined that I should fill him and Peach in on whatever Yashiro has planned.**

 **Yashiro: My rendition of Michael Jackson's world-famous "Smooth Criminal" didn't go well...one of my backstage dancers in Cloud was accidentally shot thanks to Sonic (though Falco deserved most of the blame for bringing LOADED guns to the mansion), and before I could salvage the video altogether, I was injured at the hands of Doc Louis, while on the set of _Microwave Idol Mamorin._ Doing a play of _Sweeney Todd_ should make up for the shortcomings of the video, and introduce everyone (provided they haven't been introduced already) to the fine world of Victorian melodrama!**

"Bravo, bravo, and bravo, ladies and gentlemen, what a stupendous performance!" applauded Jakob, with him, Mario, and Peach being the only ones clapping. Yashiro was disturbed by the relative lack of reception, but the idol singer would take whatever he could get. "Heard you joyous singing all the way from the kitchen, and the three of us were taken back at how surprisingly well you sounded!"

"Yes, Jakob heard you-a guys rehearsing, and when he saw out-a side the mansion getting prepared for your-a little...introductory song, if-a you will, he was quick-a to tell Peach and-a I about it," added Mario, as he secretly grabbed a slice of bacon from Tails's plate and ate it without anyone looking. Savage. "So Yashiro, what's the special-a occasion?"

"I'm planning to do a famous play called _Sweeney Todd,_ " explained Yashiro. "We've been practicing in secret for quite a long time. I tried booking a gig at one of the performance theaters in town, like the Paramount Theater, but they all rejected me because I didn't schedule my play ahead of time." Either that, or the folks running the performance theaters were scared of Yashiro's eyes. That red eye must've done them in. "I would hold my play in the lecture hall, but only if Master Hand's fine with it..."

"I'm more than fine with it, your play would draw the biggest crowd the mansion has ever seen, even more so than Sonia Strumm's concert!" exclaimed Master Hand, although he has never seen a _Sweeney Todd_ play, or any play for that matter. This was the first time a theatrical performance was going to take place in the mansion. "We gotta get things set up, and fast! Isabelle, go see if the lecture hall is in the perfect condition. Link and Cloud, you set up the stage and props and all that good stuff, though Yashiro will tell you what to do. K.K. Slider, you're a music aficionado, so you pick out the songs for the play. And Coco, you could make yourself useful and get all the lighting and stuff prepared. Just keep your brother away from the electrical wires and you should be all good!"

"Um, don't mind if I ask, Master Hand, but...how are we sure this isn't some kind of money grab to pay off your Lamborghini?" Robin nervously asked; you'd think that Master Hand had enough money for a year's worth of car payments, given how many times he has screwed over Star Records.

"How dare you ask me a stupid question and wrongly accuse me of something I wouldn't do, at the same time! That right there is a double negative, worthy of a punishment! I would punish you myself, but since we have Jakob here, maybe he has something in mind..."

"You didn't assign anyone to being a janitor, did you?" Jakob asked Master Hand, who would shake his head if he even had a head to begin with. So he just did a simple thumbs down. "In that case, I think Robin would be a suitable janitor...after all, Yashiro and friends would need someone to clean up all the confetti once the play is over."

Jakob looked at Robin and gave him an evil smirk, as Robin just glared at the butler. Mario was quick to notice this silent exchange, and so was Aku...but neither did acknowledge this little staredown, lest it would spark any flares in the dining room.

"Alrighty then, almost everything is settled," remarked Master Hand, following a brief moment of silence, before exiting the dining room. "Everyone eat up, we have a big day ahead of us! This play is going to be the greatest play known to all mankind!"

* * *

 **Cortex: Respect. It's something earned, not something given. It is not imposed, nor begged. It's offered and earned. Respect is for those who deserve it, not for those who demand it.  
Uka: Okay...and why are you randomly saying this while in front of a portable potty? Not exactly the best venue to saying meaningful words if you ask me...  
Cortex: I'm saying this because today is the day I'll earn the respect of Mario and his friends, and earn my way inside that putrid Smash Mansion! Then, I'll be one of the residents, and I can get closer to Crash, and then I can finish off that stinking marsupial once and for all! Everyone will stop telling me how much of a joke I am as a villain, and I can spend the rest of my life in retirement, being hand-fed grapes by hot women and eating nothing but churros.  
Uka: Still didn't explain why you're standing in front of a portable potty.  
Cortex: I had to tinkle really bad, okay? Don't know why you're so concerned about my business...  
Uka: You do realize that portable potty was for the construction workers, right?  
Cortex: *eyes widen* Well in that case... *runs away at breakneck speed*  
Uka: *shaking his head* Why do I even bother hanging out with the man...**

Zero and X were at Mario and Peach's home, and they were busy programming the home computer. Not that many household really have a home computer - you'd figure Mario and Peach would have laptop devices for their own selves. But to each their own.

"Gotta make sure this computer comes with Google Chrome, that's like everyone's favorite internet browser these days," said X, as he was putting the finishing touches on the home computer. "Hehe, almost said internet _Bowser..._ could you imagine if someone like Bowser were to hack the internet and go from there to do evil things and take over the world? Just a random thought."

"Pretty sure he would have one of his lackeys, like Kamek, do all the work for him, and just take all the credit like it's nobody's business," remarked Zero, before the doorbell rang. Couldn't be Mario or Peach - they wouldn't bother ringing a doorbell just for access into their own house. "You keep working away on the computer, I'll go see who it is..."

So X kept doing his thing, while Zero got up from his chair and made his way to the front door. When he opened the front door, he was greeted by Cortex, who had his charged-up ray gun pointed at the robot. Uka was floating behind the mad scientist, likely ready to attack if Cortex were to somehow screw things up.

"Either you let me inside this house and let me speak with Mario, or I will blow you and this house to smithereens!" threatened Cortex, despite Zero not being concerned about this threat. Almost looked like he was already bored with Cortex, although this was the first time he met the N head in person.

"Sup man, how's it going, take care," was what Zero said to Cortex before closing the door on him. Understandably, Cortex was ticked off, enough to the point of charging his ray gun down and throwing it on the ground with frustration.

"He dares to close the door on the mighty Dr. Neo Cortex?!" the mad scientist raged with anger, while Uka humorously looked on. Okay dude, you alluded to being a failing villain who was not well respected by everyone several times before, quit calling yourself mighty and such. "He shall feel my fury in the future!" Cortex looked over to his left and saw Luigi's home, and assumed the green plumber and Daisy lived there. "I would go over and ask Luigi about his brother's whereabouts, but I'm afraid he might still be angry about me kidnapping his son...perhaps he should have left his son with a more protective babysitter!"

"You could try and get inside the mansion, though I seriously doubt your chances at success," suggested Uka, before offering some cynicism on the side. Cortex, seemingly left with no other choice, decided to go with Uka's plan.

And how did the mad scientist carry out this plan, you might ask? By doing the same thing he did at Mario's place...but with a different twist. Cortex rang the doorbell to the mansion, and Ike answered the door. The swordsman, who was drinking some orange juice, looked around, before looking down at the doorstep and seeing Cortex sprawled out, like he just got hit by a line drive from a baseball.

"Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" Cortex cried out, his voice muffled by the concrete. How would Ike handle this dire situation?

"Cool story, bro," the swordsman nonchalantly said as he closed the door on Cortex. Uka popped out from the bushes and hovered over to Cortex, whose face was seething with anger, a face Uka was unable to see.

"The audacity of that man to not help out an honest man when he needs help!" Cortex continued to seethe as he got up off the doorstep, dusting himself off. "That tactic must only work for senior citizens, it seems like." However, Cortex would later be proved wrong, when he sneaked around the side of the mansion looking for a way to get inside and saw through one of the windows Wario, lying face-first on the floor like he was in a world of pain.

"Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" Wario cried out - alright, so maybe Wario wasn't in a world of pain - he just might be lazy beyond words. Palutena walked by and saw Wario lying on the floor, and what the goddess of light did next was enough to leave Cortex shocked, with his mouth agape.

"Let me help you up, Wario," Palutena kindly grabbed Wario's hand, and lifted the fatso up to his feet, while Cortex looked on, still shocked. "There you are, back on your feet again! Nearly had me in for a scare!"

"Thanks for the assistance, Lady Palutena, hopefully an accident like that won't happen to me again," thanked Wario - before receiving a kiss from the goddess. Wario smiled whilst in a dizzy romantic trance before falling onto the floor...and Cortex was still shocked and agape. A hornet could fly into that giant mouth of his and build a hornet's nest at any minute now.

 **Wario: My budding relationship with Palutena hasn't been at its strongest as of late...poor Palutena's always busy, having to cook food and serve it to us residents, oftentimes us having to sugarcoat the quality of Palutena's food just to give her some sense of confidence in her, dare I say it, average cooking abilities...so yeah, I haven't gotten any time to talk with Palutena because of her somewhat busy schedule. Or maybe she's just playing hard to get, playing mind games with me to see if I've been playing along! If there's one thing I know about mind games, it's about always leaving out the aggression, and putting forth the passion! And trust me, the passion I have for Palutena ain't going away, not by any means!**

 **Palutena: The ladies all pitied and sympathized for me just because I gave Wario a harmless kiss on his cheek, kept talking about how he was possibly smelly and stinky and foul...but Sora (who unfortunately had to massage Wario again for a second consecutive week) said that Wario wasn't as pungent as everyone made him out to be, and considering how honest Sora is, I kind of took what he said to heart...emphasis on "kind of".**

"Did you see that absurdity Uka?!" Cortex asked the floating mask, angrily pointing at Wario through the window. "That man who was lying on the floor was perhaps just as ugly as I am, and he received help from some sort of goddess despite not being in need of any help at all! And to make matters worse...he received a kiss from said goddess! My mother hadn't even kissed me since I was three years old!"

"I dunno Cortex, you just might be uglier than that fatso," said Uka, which didn't do much to help Cortex's confidence. Uka sure loved to put Cortex down when the opportunity was nigh. "But at least you finally demonstrated self-awareness and admitted that you were ugly. When I comment on your looks, you act like I'm speaking some kind of profane talk, like some sort of blasphemy..."

"Yeah, whatever, my looks are not important now. What is important is that I find my way inside that mansion, and at whatever costs! If that means I have to lose my dignity if necessary, then so be it! Bring it on!"

"Earlier you were talking about earning respect, and now you're talking about losing your dignity - which one is it?" Cortex was ready to retort, but eventually decided to save his energy for later; right now, it was time for the mad scientist to step up his A game.

* * *

While Link and Cloud were on the lecture hall stage, setting up all the props with Little Mac and Knuckles, and K.K. Slider was picking out songs for the _Sweeney Todd_ play, as suggested by Yashiro, Coco was backstage handling with the "lighting and stuff", as Master Hand had told her to. The blonde bandicoot was checking all the light switches, ensuring that each and every light was working properly. This, however, befuddled Link and company as they were setting up the props, as the lights in the lecture hall were displaying a variety of colors, like red, green, cyan, so on and so forth.

"All the lights seem to work, so I guess my work here is done," remarked Coco after a job well done, as she left the backstage area where the light switches were located. The bandicoot wouldn't get that far when she encountered two detectives - one tall and slender, and the other short and child-like. In the latter detective's hands was a device discovered back in episode 82...the Holo Caster, of Kalos origin.

"Don't think we've ever formally met, have we?" asked the tall and slender detective, the famous Professor Herschel Layton. "Professor Heschel Layton's the name, and this is my lovely apprentice, Luke Triton. We're both British detectives, and we're here at this mansion to investigate a perilous explosion that went down at Mario and Peach's wedding, where the wedding reception was supposed to take place. May I ask what your name might be?"

"Coco Bandicoot - I came the mansion last week with my brother Crash and my guardian mask Aku," Coco would introduce herself to Layton and Luke; it wasn't that often the blonde bandicoot got to see tall dudes that weren't lab assistants working under Cortex. "We pretty much came from some island near Australia, after my brother got washed away at sea."

"Ah, yes, Crash Bandicoot - met that excitable fur ball a couple of days ago. His joyous demeanor and fun personality truly makes up for his lack of intelligence and incapable speaking skills, if you ask me. Can't believe we never got the chance to meet you, but then again, we have been quite busy over the past couple of days, we have been out of the mansion more than we have been in it..."

"Well, I suppose the duties of a hard-working detective are always busy..." Coco said before glancing at the Holo Caster in Luke's hands, suddenly finding herself intrigued by the device. "Say, what's that you got there in your hands?"

"It's a communication device called the Holo Caster," answered Luke, as he walked over to Coco and showed her the device in question. "Mario said that it's a device that allows you to communicate with one another via hologram." Kalos Elite Four member Malva (who had a cringeworthy romance with Mr. Game and Watch back in episode 67, thanks to Yoshi) once professed herself to be the star of this Holo Caster. "We're not quite sure how to work this thing, it won't even turn on..."

"Master Hand and the others (but mainly Master Hand) have spoken great things about your great levels of intellect, and your tech-savvy ways," Layton said to Coco, nearly causing the blonde bandicoot to blush. "Luke and I were thinking that maybe you could use your skills to work this Holo Caster, so that way we can gain more clues and press forward with the investigation. So I ask you, Coco Bandicoot...are you up for the challenge?"

"You said that this investigation has something to do with an explosion that occurred on the day of Mario and Peach's wedding?" asked Coco, to which Layton and Luke nodded their heads. "Any explosion that happens on wedding days is pretty messed up, especially if there's a culprit on the loose. I'll help you guys out." Coco was now on board with Layton and Luke - but where did that leave her brother Crash?

 **Coco: ...Eh, I can have Crash get involved and scour Seattle for any sign of the culprit, he has excellent senses. He can smell Cortex's dirty laundry from a mile away!**

Link, Cloud, Little Mac, and Knuckles were still working away on the _Sweeney Todd_ set, making sure every chair was in the right place and that all the props were set up accordingly. While the four men were doing their thing, a fifth person would join them onstage...you might have a clue as to who this person was.

"Hey Cloud, do you need any help setting up the stage?" the Keyblade wielder known as Sora asked Cloud, who did his best to ignore him. Ignoring him would do no good however, for Cloud had to give away a false allusion to Sora that he appreciated the guy.

"No thanks man, we should be done with the setup soon," replied Cloud - thank goodness the swordsman only had one prop left to position before his task was done.

"Oh I see...well in that case, did you see my new buddy, Omochao?" Sora asked yet again, this time introducing Omochao to Cloud and company. Though Cloud already met Omochao before - in fact, he asked Samus to build the robotic Chao to keep Sora away. Frankly the robotic companion wasn't doing his job. "Met him two weeks ago - great robot to hang around with, if you ask me."

"Nice to meet you Omochao...oh crap is that a Heartless?!" Cloud pointed at the lecture hall seats; Sora donned his Keyblade as he leaped down from the stage to look for the "Heartless", while Cloud motioned Omochao to come towards him. "Did I not tell you to lure Sora and keep him away from me? It was bad enough that I had to deal with the guy at the beach..."

"I'm dreadfully sorry Cloud, but I had to keep my distance from Master Hand - Samus did say that he had a great disdain for lecturing folks like myself," apologized Omochao, as Link, Little Mac, and Knuckles were eavesdropping on the conversation. "But no worries - with Master Hand out in the streets of Seattle and telling random people about the _Sweeney Todd_ play this evening, I will be able to complete my mission, with little to no interruptions!" Hopefully Master Hand wasn't bragging about the play and claiming it to be the greatest thing ever, better than any Broadway musical, for that would put a lot of pressure on Yashiro and company. Could you imagine the audience throwing tomatoes at Yashiro if the play was a failure? Also, where would the audience get the tomatoes in the first place?

"What is this 'mission' that you speak of, Omochao?" Link questioned the robotic Chao, growing suspicious of his best friend Cloud. "Trying to get Sora kicked out of the mansion, I assume? I mean, you had the guy walk around in nothing but his boxers...Zelda told me all about it, too!"

"Or maybe Omochao's mission is to have Sora KILLED!" said Knuckles, completely blowing this situation out of the water. Who would even do all the killing? Nobody would volunteer to kill Sora, maybe except for Cloud. "He's just making Sora look stupid, enough the point where Master Hand would have to hire a hitman to kill off Sora, once and for all! How he would have to tell that to Professor E. Gadd when that old geezer finishes that alternate universe thingy, that I don't know..."

"Guys, chill out...I'm not going to get Sora kicked out of the mansion, nor will I plot to kill the guy, that would be too much work," Cloud said to his fellow men, clearing things up before they got out of hand. "I'm just teaching Sora a valuable lesson - a lesson about staying in your lane, that's all. No harm done, right?"

 **Cloud: If I can't teach Sora about staying in his lane, then I know one guy that could definitely teach him...that obnoxious loudmouth named Lavar Ball, the guy with that stupid Big Baller Brand and that ludicrously expensive shoe. Pit told me all about him and his antics, and after looking him up online, I have to admit, he's...kinda laughable, to say the least. Dude makes Doc Louis look normal in comparison, and that alone is very, _very_ telling.**

"Bad news guys, I couldn't find the Heartless..." Sora said to Cloud and company, as he returned to the stage to deliver the "bad news". "Maybe it was just a false alarm. Or the Heartless might've punked out when it felt my presence. Can't say I blame it. So, Omochao, are you ready for a day of fun?"

"Sure am, Master Sword, let's get to it!" exclaimed Omochao; only seemed somewhat fitting that Omochao gave Sora the "master" treatment. The robotic Chao would follow Sora out of the lecture hall, looking behind at Cloud as it made its exit. Omochao really had to earn Cloud's trust if he wanted to complete this so-called "mission".

* * *

 **Sonic: Crash Bandicoot is really a big deal here at the mansion, and he's quite the lovable guy too - he's always happy, has a big heart, acts like a complete goofball, and possesses a great sense of humor (he's a master when it comes to slapstick). I want Crash to feel like a million bucks - despite being worth a million bucks already, since an** **anthropomorphic bandicoot would equal BIG money in the poaching business - and to do that, I'm gonna start a friendship with him and make him feel home. I would start a friendship with Coco, but she would rather waste her precious time with Layton ( _the_ most boring person on planet Earth right now) and Luke (the pure definition and embodiment of a munchkin, just look at that face of his...), so the more power to her. By the time she's done with those detectives, she'll be a lost cause...**

Sonic invited Crash to a game of football, as the hedgehog and the bandicoot were playing outside with Corrin, Shulk, Diddy Kong, and the male Inkling. Sonic, Crash, and Diddy were on one team, while Corrin, Shulk, and the male Inkling were on the other. So it was basically a team of animals vs a team of...a human, a Homs, and an Inkling.

"Hut...hut...hut...HIKE!" shouted Diddy as he snapped the ball to Sonic, who did a dropback stance just like any great quarterback would. Sonic surveyed the field, as Diddy Kong was blocking Shulk and the male Inkling, when he saw his man Crash run down the field...or rather, the backyard, with Corrin hot on his trail. Sonic would throw a perfect spiral, and this spiral was an absolute thing of beauty, it was so beautiful it could make any college or NFL scout drool...but that didn't matter, since Crash didn't catch the ball; instead he jumped out of the way when the ball was thrown at him, giving Corrin the opportune moment to intercept the ball. Had the prince of Nohr caught the ball with one hand (which we all know he couldn't do), that interception would've been far more spectacular.

"Timeout!" shouted the apparent referee of this football game, Aku, as he blew into a whistle, which was somehow wrapped around his neck despite not having a neck at all. Sonic had to make the ancient mask feel somewhat useful. "Crash, for the last time, why didn't you catch the football, Sonic was throwing right at you! And to make matters worse, you allowed Corrin of the opposing team to intercept the ball!" Crash didn't seem to care, as he was celebrating like he had just scored a game-winning touchdown. Would be extremely rare if any football player celebrated an interception by the opposing team - said player would be reviled by teammates, coaches, and fans for weeks on end!

"I think we should have explained the rules to Crash, but then again, I seriously doubt Crash's levels of comprehension..." Corrin, who was surprisingly well at playing defensive back, offered his take. "I mean, this is the same bandicoot that couldn't spell cat, one of the most basic words in the English language! Australian rules football must've been the only football played on Crash's home island."

"Like you're the one to talk about rules, Corrin...you used to think touchdowns should only count ONE point!" frowned Sonic, pointing at the prince of Nohr. Just one point? One measly point? That would lead to some _very_ boring football scores, depending on how you interpret the final scores of football games.

"Well I just think that with goals in hockey and soccer being worth one point, basketball shots being worth two points, and home runs in baseball (considering nobody's on plate) is one point, football should take the initiative and scale back their point system, so they can be like all the other contact sports! Also, think of the scorekeepers that have to put gargantuan scores for high-scoring games, think about what they have to go through!"

Sonic and Corrin soon become embroiled in an argument about the scoring system in American football, with Shulk and Aku having to play peacemaker. Crash, bored by the arguing, simply continued his celebration dance like nobody was watching...however, there _was_ someone watching, two individuals to be exact - Cortex and Uka, hiding at a spot where they wouldn't be found.

 **Yashiro: Do I feel nervous about performing the _Sweeney Todd_ play in front of a large audience? When you consider that the audience is a blend of people that I know and hordes of complete strangers, I guess you could say that, but at the same time, I've performed countless performances all over Japan, so I shouldn't be afraid. Thing is, I've never done a musical before, and neither have any of my fellow cast members. I can't imagine Knuckles pulling a Daveed Diggs and rapping onstage, in a play that where rap doesn't even belong...**

"Would you look at that Uka, it's Crash Bandicoot, and he's playing football with those nerds, and he's making himself look like a fool with that egregious touchdown dance!" Cortex said to the floating mask, oblivious to the fact that Crash didn't score at all, and instead let Corrin intercept the football. "How is it that Crash gets to play football, and I couldn't even make it onto the varsity football team at the Academy of Evil? They allowed some dork in a wheelchair on the football team, but not me!"

"You of all people, calling guys more physical endowed than you ever could be nerds?" chuckled Uka, while Cortex lamented about his ugly past at the Academy of Evil. "Hoo boy, just when I thought I've heard it all..." Fun fact: it was at the Academy of Evil that Cortex earned the giant "N" on his head.

"Nerds or not, they shall be feeling the fury of my ray gun if they don't surrender Crash to me! This is the closest I've ever been to Crash since he last defeated me, and I got him right where I want him...well, not exactly, but he's still within my vicinity, so it still counts, sort of!"

Sonic and Corrin's argument would persist, despite Shulk and Aku repeatedly telling the hedgehog and the prince of Nohr to stop, while Cortex got his ray gun charged up. Once his ray gun reached full power capacity, the mad scientist jumped out of his hiding spot, and whistled to Crash, who stopped dancing and turned around, stunned to see his arch-nemesis Cortex and Uka standing far away from him. Sonic and Corrin, upon hearing the whistle, stopped arguing, as the two and the others looked to face Cortex and Uka.

"Oh no, it's Dr. Neo Cortex, and he has brought Uka along with him!" exclaimed Aku, perhaps the only person who was legit afraid of Cortex. Crash and the others couldn't care less about what the mad scientist was preparing himself to do. "They must have followed Crash, Coco and I to the Smash Mansion..."

"It was the scent of the crystal Crash still had in his possession that brought me to the mansion in the first place!" explained Cortex- wait, so the guy was so enamored with crystals that he could actually...smell them? Not creepy at all, not creepy at all... "But I'm not here for the crystal...I'm here to finish off Crash, once and for all! Today is the day you meet your demise, Crash Bandicoot, and while your death will be bitter for Coco and Aku...it will be sweet for yours truly!" Cortex finished off his vow to kill Crash with an evil laugh, but Crash wasn't that concerned...and neither were the others!

"...that's it, you're just gonna kill Crash with that weak ray gun you got there?" Sonic questioned Cortex, who stopped laughing like any traditional evil villain would and shot a glare at the hedgehog. "Couldn't you just have gotten a death ray and kill Crash with that instead?"

"I would have brought my death ray...but I needed one more crystal for it to work, and Crash took the crystal that I needed! I can just get one of my minions to find a crystal for me. But for right now, I have a vermin to exterminate!"

Much like in the final boss battles of _N. Sane Trilogy,_ Cortex failed at defeating Crash once and for all, as Sonic used a Spin Dash on the mad scientist, knocking the ray gun out of his hand as the ray gun powered down. Corrin would then paralyze Cortex with his Dragon Fang Shot, followed by Diddy and the female Inkling firing peanuts and paint at the mad scientist from the Peanut Popgun and the Splattershot, respectively, before Shulk finished things off by delivering a wicked Backslash to Cortex, sending the mad scientist flying away like a faulty firework. A great deal of teamwork displayed by those involved - and Crash and Aku didn't have to move a single inch!

"I'll be coming for your hide later, Crash!" Cortex shouted to the bandicoot as he flew away, Uka having no choice but to follow him. He may be gone for now, but he was determined to come back and face Crash again, even though the result will be the same as all the other results before.

"Crash, I bet you already know this, just from previous experience...but you seriously need another evil guy to go up against, that guy Cortex is such a dweeb," the male Inkling would tell to Crash, who had to agree to some extent. The Inkling sure wasn't lying about Cortex being a dweeb...

* * *

 **Peach: Our home computer is all set up, thanks to Zero and X! The computer has all the works - Internet browsers, fun applications to mess around with, an online security system that was incorporated from the very security system in the mansion, and the best part? *looks around for Mario before whispering* All the Internet browsers come with incognito mode. Which means I can secretly watch episodes of _Game of Thrones_ and catch up on the series! Mario would never think that a girly princess like myself would be interested in such gruesome shows, but watching my favorite show on incognito mode will certainly keep my husband unknowing!**

Mario was busy in the living room, vacuuming the floor (he and Peach split up the house duties), while Peach was busy looking up some beauty products online while petting Poochy, who was seated beside her. Girls like Peach were always looking at beauty products when they were surfing the Internet, they had to look for what beauty products were new and hip so they could stay on top of their beauty game.

"So Peach, are you going to see-a Yashiro's _Sweeney Todd_ play?" Mario would ask his wife, vacuuming around the living room sofa. "You've never heard-a Yashiro sing, haven't you? I heard him once-a in the recording studio, his voice-a is really great!"

"I'm sure his voice is great, otherwise there wouldn't be any way Yashiro would be an idol singer," smiled Peach as she was tapping her finger impatiently on her mouse, like she wanted Mario to leave the house, like she wanted him to go take Poochy out for a walk or go shopping for groceries or something. "His eyes do bug me out though, wonder how his eyes ended up like that..."

"Asked Yashiro about-a it, he said that he has-a some eye condition called 'heterochromia iridium'...which I think-a David Bowie had. Called Yashiro the Japanese-a David Bowie afterwards, boy was-a he mad!" Suddenly Mario's cellphone rang; the plumber stopped vacuuming as he answered the call. "Hello, Mario speaking, how-a may I help you?"

"Yo, Mario, you gotta come quick - that Cortex guy is outside the mansion, and he's up to no good!" Fox's voice was heard over the phone, as Mario facepalmed, rubbing the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. The plumber clearly thought Cortex and Uka were done with. "He's on the roof, and he's trying to squeeze through the chimney, but due to his gigantic head he's kinda stuck, and can't move a single inch because his head is stuck in the opening of the chimney. Totally forgot we even had a chimney until today...but you gotta come out here and take care of Cortex. Seeing him stuck is very funny, and you'd think that way too, trust me."

"Had a feeling Cortex would-a show his face-a up here...he's not worth-a banning from the mansion though, he isn't anything-a like, say, Dr. Eggman." Did Mario throw shade at Cortex and call him some kind of poor man's Dr. Eggman? "I'll be out-a there soon." Mario hung up his cellphone and turned off his vacuum, putting it away as he was about to rescue Cortex from the chimney. Seldom did the plumber save any villain, episode 22 containing one of those seldom moments. "I have to go-a Peach, got some-a business to take-a care of!"

"Okay then honey, take your time and please don't hurt yourself!" Peach said to Mario as the plumber left the house. Weird seeing Peach call Mario "honey", huh? Well you better get used to it, since men and women have a strong habit of addressing their spouse by pet names. Once Mario left the house, and the coast was clear...

...Peach quickly ran into the kitchen, grabbed some bags of potato chips from the cupboards, grabbed some cans of Dr. Pepper from the fridge, and ran back to the computer with said items in her hand. Poochy looked on with much curiosity as Peach laid out her foodstuffs on the computer desk, before clicking away on her mouse as she was furiously looking online for a website to watch _Game of Thrones_ episodes she missed out on an incognito tab.

"Mario should be gone doing whatever he's doing for a considerable amount of time, which means that I have more time watching _Game of Thrones_ for me..." Peach smiled deviously as she was surfing the web, only for her search to be momentarily interrupted when Poochy started barking. Peach looked to her left, and was shocked to see Sora and Omochao, both in her presence.

"Hey Peach, sorry if we interrupted you," Sora would greet the princess before offering an apology. "In case you were wondering, Mario forgot to close the front door...in fact, the door was only slightly closed. An intruder could've very well invaded this house and rob you and put you in harm's way. Oh, have you met my friend Omochao? Say hi to Princess Peach, Omochao!"

"Greetings Princess Peach, princess of the Mushroom Kingdom!" Omochao would greet the princess, surprised that Omochao knew what kingdom she was the princess of. Granted it was a robot, but still. Samus might have programmed that information into Omochao just for good measure. "My oh my, do you have a lovely home! Would make for a great vacation home, if you ask me!"

 **Omochao: Have to be a robot of my word and complete my "mission"...my choice of wording may have accidentally placed Cloud in some hot water, and I suspect that his best friend Link doesn't really trust him 100%. Negating any suspicions anyone might have about Cloud will have to come later, but for now I must keep Sora away from Cloud at all costs!**

"I see you're noodling away on that computer while Mario is away, Princess Peach," observed Sora, as he took a little peek at the computer monitor. First time ever Sora was looking at an Internet browser. "And you're looking at...'game of thrones online'? What the heck is _Game of Thrones_?"

" _Game of Thrones_ is a critically received and highly acclaimed HBO television series, based off of a best-selling book series by George R.R. Martin," explained Omochao; Samus certainly has done a bang-up job with programming Omochao. "A series full of senseless violence, and graphic sex scenes!"

"Senseless violence and graphic sex scenes, you say?" Sora grinned as he looked towards Peach, who was slightly blushing. "Doesn't really sound like things a princess would find herself enjoying..." You could definitely say that again, Sora.

"I'm more than just a girly princess, you know, I can enjoy intense, violent shows too," pouted Peach, angrily folding her arms. Imagine how the princess would fare if her husband Mario found out about her little secret.

"Eh, I suppose you got a valid point there...so anyways, Princess Peach, how about you let me use your computer, see what you got?" Peach would be a fool to say yes to Sora; last time the Keyblade wielder used a computer, he got sucked into some computer, and had to fight his way out of it.

"Yes you may use the computer, but only until the _Sweeney Todd_ play starts. I'll let you use the computer till then." Congratulations Peach, you were now making a huge mistake...

* * *

Fox and Falco were joined by Mario outside the mansion, looking up at Cortex on the roof. The mad scientist was trying to sneak his way inside the mansion through the chimney, but thanks to his giant head, he got stuck in the opening. Uka would help the guy out, if it weren't for his lack of arms.

"Seriously though, I honestly had no idea this mansion came with a chimney," stated Fox, while Cortex made muffled sounds from the chimney, crying for help. "Should we call an ambulance and have some paramedics free Cortex, or not really?"

"We already had-a to call the EMTS to get-a Lucas down from the tree, so we're-a not wasting their time again," answered Mario; how did Lucas get stuck up in the tree in the first place? "Why don't we fetch-a Red and get his Pokemon to save-a Cortex?"

"Guy should be in the Pokemon sanctuary, lemme go get him," said Falco as he ran into the mansion to fetch Red the Pokemon Trainer. While the avian pilot was doing that, Isabelle approached Mario, holding her clipboard.

"Sir Mario, I have an update about Yashiro's _Sweeney Todd_ play!" said the shih tzu, as Mario was all ears. "The play will start at 8 o' clock, and the doors will open at least an hour earlier." 8:00 P.M. seemed like a great time for the play. "Master Hand is also selling tickets for $15." Now this bit of information surprised Mario; usually Master Hand would sell ticket prices with far more value.

 **Isabelle: *sigh* Apparently Master Hand talked up such a great deal about Yashiro's play, that he wished to cater to the high expectations he implanted in everyone interested in the play and sell tickets for $300. He must think Yashiro and his cast members are world-famous actors from Broadway. Once again, I had to change his mind, _drastically,_ and entice him to lower the ticket prices to $15. Pretty modest price, if I do say so myself...**

 **Master Hand: Isabelle, Isabelle, Isabelle...does she not know that ticket prices typically reflect the quality of what you're getting? I had the tickets originally priced at $300 to trick people into thinking the play was one of the finest theatrical plays known to man, and entice them and lure them to the mansion so they could see _Sweeney Todd!_ That way even if the play is crap, I will still have the audience's money, and you wanna know why? Because there will be NO REFUNDS! *laughs diabolically***

"Wow I have-a to admit, fifteen dollars is pretty generous-a from Master Hand," remarked Mario, not knowing the full story behind the ticket prices. "Yashiro's _Sweeney Todd_ play should-a be a good one. You won't-a be busy in time-a for the play, will you Isabelle?"

"It's a Friday, so I shouldn't be _that_ busy, but who knows," replied Isabelle, scribbling something down on her clipboard. Possibly a secret love letter to K.K. Slider. "Master Hand might give me some needless tasks to take care of, since he enjoys torturing me so...but if I'm available, I should be at the lecture hall int time for the play to start. Good thing the mansion residents get in for free. I should see you later!"

Isabelle left Mario to go handle some business (i.e. that possible K.K. Slider love letter), and after the shih tzu departed, Falco would exit the mansion with Red, bringing him over to where Mario and Fox were standing. Red certainly looked like he was in the middle of something until Falco came to him.

"What gives, Falco, I was busy owning Cilan in my Pokemon battle against him, and I was so close to beating him too!" the Pokemon trainer frowned at the avian pilot, before Falco turned him around and pointed up at the ceiling, where Cortex was still stuck in the chimney. "What in the heck...?"

"That guy up there has been trying to sneak his way inside the mansion, and got his head stuck in the chimney," explained Falco, while Cortex continued to make muffled cries for help. Even Red was shocked to learn the mansion came with a chimney. "He could really use your help...or rather, your Pokemon's help."

"Yeah, I think my three Pokemon can get the job done." Red sent out his three Pokemon, Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard, all of whom were surprised to be outside and no longer in the sanctuary. "So what do I do with this guy once I rescue him and all?"

"Well he's an evil guy, so you could just send him flying away from the mansion or something. Don't want his scrawny behind to show up here again." Red was fine with these times; been a long time since his Pokemon got a chance to kick a villain's behind.

"Sounds like a good plan," said Red, before turning his attention to his three Pokemon. "Alright, Charizard, you take Squirtle and Ivysaur up to the roof! The three of you rescue that guy in the chimney, and once you get him out, get him away from the premises as far as possible!"

The three Pokemon would follow their trainer's commands, as Squirtle and Ivysaur hopped on Charizard's back, and the lizard Pokemon flew up to the roof. Once the Pokemon were on the roof, Squirtle and Ivysaur approached Cortex; Ivysaur used Vine Whip to grab Cortex's waist, while Squirtle shot water at the chimney with Water Gun, allowing Ivysaur to easily pull Cortex out from the chimney. After a few tries, Ivysaur got Cortex out from the chimney, and the mad scientist was grateful, as he was gasping for air.

"Ah, the wonderful taste of air has never felt some lovely before!" remarked Cortex, before seeing Squirtle, Ivysaur, and Charizard looking at him. "Did you creatures save me from that chimney? If so, then allow me to thank you, and show you my full..." Charizard would grab Cortex by the collar with his mouth, and flew him away from the chimney, now flying over the ground. "Wh-What are you doing?! You're not going to drop me, are you?! Because I have a ray gun in my possession, and I'm not afraid to use it..."

Cortex wouldn't even get the chance to use his ray gun, since Charizard flung the mad scientist as far as he could, like he was throwing a javelin. Cortex was sent flying, screaming at the top of his lungs, as Uka chased after the N head to see where he would land, and also to see if he was okay...like that was any of his concern.

 **Mario: I would ban-a Cortex from the mansion, but he's not worth-a any time or energy to ban. Compared-a to other villains, Cortex is-a pretty pathetic, and some-a times has to rely on that floating mask of his, Uka. Also, I don't have-a any power to ban some-a one from the mansion in the first-a place...I'm my own-a man now.**

* * *

Layton, Luke, and Coco were in the library, with Coco trying to fix the Holo Caster. Gil the _de facto_ librarian was present in the library, doing some last-minute duties like cleaning the bookshelves and looking for misplaced books before the play started. Coco was fixing on the Holo Caster using tools and her immense intellect.

"Just so you guys know, I'm closing this library down in time for the play, don't want any strangers coming in and stealing the books," Gil told Layton and company, after cleaning off the last bookshelf. "A long time ago, before you guys came to the mansion, Ryu brought 'tourists' over to the mansion to help fund Star Records, and those tourists stole some of my books! Do you know how hard it was to replace the entire _World Book Encyclopedia_ set?"

"Appears to me that Star Records always had financial issues - first Ryu wanting to fund the records company, and now Master Hand stealing money from Star Records just to pay for his silly car, which he can't even drive," smiled Layton, adjusting his hat because he felt the need to. "We should be out soon, once Coco fixes the Holo Caster and gets it to work."

"Tell Coco to use that superior intelligence of hers and work on that thing faster, it's getting dark and I want this library closed pronto." Gil sure was growing impatient, wasn't he? Might be a sign that the _de facto_ librarian might be taking his job a bit too seriously...

"Aha, the Holo Caster is finally fixed!" announced Coco, much to the delight of Gil, as she held the Holo Caster up in the air. "Took me a while, but it was a fun effort. Now we just have to see if this thing will turn on, otherwise my hard work will be all for..."

The Holo Caster did turn on, as a hologram appeared from the device. Layton, Luke, and Coco quickly moved out of the way, as a hologram of a man with pointy hair, a black suit, and black gloves appeared on the Holo Caster. It was a tall man too, and he looked pretty evil too.

"Is this a transmission call on the Holo Caster, how come I don't see anyone?" the man questioned, his hands behind his back. "This better not be a prank call...though I don't know who would even think about doing a prank call on the Holo Caster in the first place." Someone had to respond to the man, to keep his suspicions low, and that someone would be Luke.

"Uh, it's me, sir, one of your favorite lackeys here, sir," the young detective said in a gruff, villainous tone. It was a pretty effective tone, too. "Drank some special potion so I could, uh, be invisible and keep my identity secret at the mansion, boss sir."

"That's Lysandre to you, and don't you forget about it!" Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare? Last time we heard from the guy, he was seeking to a create a new world, one beautiful in his image, and he reactivated this ultimate weapon, created a long time ago, to accomplish his goals. When the going got tough, however, he completely lost it, and unleashed his ultimate weapon on the Team Flare Secret HQ building, destroying said building and sending him under the rubble. Quite a miracle the guy was somehow alive. "Don't you forget my name again. So, since you're hiding at the mansion and all, do you know if the Cloaked One is still around?"

"Uh, yes sir, the Cloaked One is still very much around, still doing his thing." Was this Cloaked One the guy that directed those guys in ski masks from the surveillance video in episode 81? "We haven't really acknowledged each other's presence...but then again, I'm invisible, so...ha ha."

"Well at least the Cloaked One is still around. Do you know the current condition of Mario and Peach, have they suffered any serious injuries from that hotel attack?" Luke was about to answer, but Lysandre looked to his side, like someone was calling out to him. "Hold on to your answer; I'll have to ask that question another time. Xerosic needs me right now. Until the next call, stay hidden and don't let your identity be revealed! Lysandre, signing off!"

The call on the Holo Caster ended, with the hologram projection of Lysandre shutting off, as Layton, Luke, and Coco arose from their hiding spots. With the revelation of Lysandre and Team Flare possibly being involved in the hotel attack, there was a new layer added to an investigation that was now taking a very interesting turn...

* * *

 _Sweeney Todd_ was about to begin, with folks from all over the Seattle metropolitan area filing into the Smash Mansion's lecture hall so they could watch the play. They couldn't get in without paying tickets though, and they had to pay $15 for one ticket. Not a shabby price...unless you were Master Hand.

 **Master Hand: Fifteen dollars to see _Sweeney Todd_ is outrageous...that's like paying fifty cents for a burger from _Red Robin,_ when you know you could purchase something of high quality with much more money. (Not saying that Yashiro's play will be top notch, but I'm just looking on the bright side of things.) At the end of the day, my expenses from the play won't be able to cover the car payment for my Lamborghini, and I've grown tired of stealing money from Star Records...ooh, I know, I'll just "borrow" money from Wario instead! He hardly ever uses his money for anything useful.**

At the entrance to the lecture hall was Zelda and Fiora, who were selling the tickets to the folks that wanted to see the play. The two were standing at some stand, which strongly resembled a lemonade stand but didn't look as cheap. No offense to any lemonade stands out there.

"Thank you for coming, hope you enjoy the show!" Zelda said to the last folks that purchased their tickets; it was a couple that wished to spend their night watching _Sweeney Todd._ A great choice they had made, provided the play was as great as Master Hand told everyone it was. "See, Fiora, I told you attendance figures would rise if we sold the tickets at $15! And Master Hand wanted $300 apiece...does he think everyone in Seattle is rich?"

"Master Hand has always been about money, so I can't really be surprised," replied Fiora, after selling a ticket to someone, before looking to her left and seeing the two world-famous buddy cops, Toon Link and Young Link. The two Links had their bows and arrows, pointing their arrows at every person that entered the lecture hall and slightly intimidating them. "Um, what do you think you two are doing?" Fiora inquisitively asked the buddy cops.

"Checking for any cravens that dare to sell their _Sweeney Todd_ tickets for a higher price, thereby engaging in ticket scalping," answered Toon Link, as he was glaring down an innocent person who had their ticket in hand. "Ticket scalping is one of the biggest crimes currently going on in America, second only to drive-by dunking." No factual evidence that stated that, but whatever kept Toon Link awake and on the job. "It must be stopped at once, and we're here to prevent that such an illegal activity doesn't happen here!"

"Okay, I'm starting to think you guys are starting to take your jobs _too_ seriously, if you haven't already," remarked Zelda, as a short man with a large afro, funky-looking glasses, and some '70s style clothing approached the ticket stand. Zelda turned around and saw the man...she had to literally look down just to see him.

"One ticket for the _Sweeney Todd_ play, please!" the man held out his fifteen bucks to Zelda, who was unsure about accepting the money. There was something about this odd man that threw the princess off. "Are you going to take my money or not? Don't tell me your discriminating against me because of my excellent fashion sense! Discriminating against one's sex, race, or religion is one thing, but against one's fashion sense, that's an entirely different beast!"

"Is it just me, or do you look somewhat familiar?" Fiora questioned the short man, taking inquisitive look at him as a drop of sweat ran down the man's face. Young Link took an inch closer to the man, and ripped off his glasses and his clothes and even his afro...revealing the man to be Dr. Neo Cortex! That afro did an awfully great job at covering the large N on his head.

"Dr. Neo Cortex, back at it again!" exclaimed Young Link, as he and Toon Link quickly got on the offensive and had their arrows pointed at the mad scientist, causing a scene in the process. "No crappy evildoers allowed in this mansion! Now scram!"

"Oh, so you think that just because I have yellow skin, and an N on my head, and that I look like a mad doctor, that I'm Dr. Neo Cortex?!" frowned Cortex; whatever approach he was trying to take, it didn't like like it would work... "You think I'm stealing the man's identity? Think I'm engaged in identity theft? Why, I would never! Identity theft isn't a joke, after all, millions of families suffer every year! Why would I engage myself in something that victimizes poor families, year in and year out?"

"DONKEY KONG!" Zelda called out, and the gorilla would arrive at the scene, seeing Cortex near the ticket stand. DK would grab Cortex by the face, and drag him to the nearest window, opening said window and throwing him out, tossing him like a football, before closing the window and dusting his hands off. Taking out the trash has never been more easier for Donkey Kong.

 **Donkey Kong: Man, Cortex is starting to become a pest - a very annoying pest, like a mosquito you can't get rid of, or a nagging headache that just won't go away. We know he'll keep coming back for more because of Crash, but we'll do everything we can to keep the guy away; it's not like much effort is required anyways.**

The audience for _Sweeney Todd_ consisted of Seattle residents and mansion residents, and all were dying for the play to start as they were busy chatting among themselves. Perhaps nobody was more impatient than Sonic, who was seating next to his new best buddy in Crash.

"Honestly I have no clue why you're saving a seat for your sister, she's too busy with those detectives anyways," the hedgehog said to Crash, who kept himself entertained with the gum stuck to his seat until the play began while Aku just looked on. "And I don't get what the big deal is about her...yeah she's smart, and she's cute, and pretty capable at kicking butt and all, but she ain't all that great...oh hey, Coco, how ya doing?" Sonic suddenly had a change of tone when Crash's sister Coco arrived at the lecture hall, taking a seat next to Crash.

"Thanks for saving a seat for me Crash, you're such a great brother!" Coco thanked Crash, who briefly looked up at Coco before going back to chewing on the gum. Crash wasn't exactly a kind of guy that would receive thanks, he just went about and did his thing. "I see that you and Sonic have been bonding throughout the day...so I ask you Sonic, have you been treating my brother with respect?" Coco asked Sonic, who suddenly grew nervous, possibly because of the angry stare on Coco's face.

"Of course I've been treating your brother with respect, you think I'd mess with someone like this guy? We played football in the backyard, and he was absolutely going ham, it was a sight to see!" If allowing someone to pick you off and celebrating it accounted for "going ham", then whatever worked for Sonic...

"Everyone shush, the play is about to begin!" Ryu alerted the crowd, raising his voice as high as he could, effectively silencing the crowd, as Fox walked onstage, wearing a dapper suit. The pilot walked onto center stage and faced the crowd; could have seen Krystal's face among the audience members.

"Welcome everyone, to a showing of the greatest play you will ever see, _Sweeney Todd!"_ Fox said to the crowd, who erupted into cheers and applause. The play might not be the greatest thing ever, but it was a strong selling point Master Hand told everyone. "You all ready to see the greatest display of theater in your lives?" The crowd cheered yet again, probably because they felt the obligation to do so. "Excellent, now let's get this show on the road!"

The lights dimmed, and Fox walked offstage as the curtains raised, revealing the set of what appeared to be some kind of factory, as foreboding organ music played. Some factory whistling noises were heard, as well as other sounds, as Yashiro walked onstage wearing a waistcoat. The idol singer dramatically took off his waistcoat, as he started singing:

 _Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd._  
 _His skin was pale and his eye was odd._  
 _He shaved the faces of gentlemen_  
 _Who never thereafter were heard of again._  
 _He trod a path that few have trod,_  
 _Did Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street!_

"I'm confused - is Yashiro the main character or not?" Ganondorf would ask Rosalina, as Yashiro was almost finished with the song. Yashiro was the director of the play, but it didn't seem like he was playing the main character, Sweeney Todd. So who was it?

 **Yashiro: Forfeited my role of _Sweeney Todd_ to Little Mac... *sighs* ...and yes, it was because of Doc Louis. Doc apparently thought that if Little Mac played the role of the main character, he could charm Leia, and advance his relationship with the chick. I understand that Doc Louis is Little Mac's boxing coach, but never would I expect him to be his _romance_ coach.**

* * *

With Mario and Peach at the lecture hall watching Sweeney Todd, Sora was allowed to use the newlyweds' computer, as Omochao monitored the Keyblade wielder to ensure he didn't do anything silly, like breaking the computer with his Keyblade for instance. Kudos if you know a certain someone who had the audacity to destroy such technology with the very blade.

"Let's see what these so-called SmashBoards have to say about Mario and the guys..." said Sora, as he was scrolling through a _Super Smash Bros_ forum he had found online. He found a topic that read, "Who's Canonically the Strongest Character in Smash?", and was intrigued enough to click on it. "Let's see what the people have to say about..." Sora scrolled down, until he read a post that puzzled him greatly. "Jigglypuff the strongest character in _Smash?_ Just because of the move Rest? No, that can't be right..."

"Keep on scrolling and see what the other posters have to say," suggested Omochao, and so Sora scrolled down through the rest of the page, seeing names such as Samus, Ganondorf, and Rosalina mentioned over and over again. "I would say Ganondorf is canonically the strongest character in _Smash,_ and his other incarnations are equally as strong." And it didn't matter if these incarnations were Gerudos or ugly-looking boars, either.

"But Link once said that Ganondorf was nothing without the Triforce, so I'm calling bluff on Ganondorf being the strongest." Just then, a knock was at the front door - who would be at Mario and Peach's house at this time of the night, especially with a play taking place at the mansion?

"I'll get the door," Omochao said to Sora, as the robot flew over to the front door and opened it, surprised to see Jakob standing behind it. The butler had a sadistic smile on his face, like he was plotting something evil... "Jakob what are you doing here, aren't you supposed to be..."

Omochao wouldn't say anymore, as Jakob took out a sack, stuffed Omochao inside the sack, and hurled said sack behind him, as far as he could. Now Omochao knew how Cortex had felt all day long. Also, why did Jakob even bother taking out Omochao for? The butler didn't provide an answer for his actions, as he just waltzed inside the house and headed over to Sora, putting his hands on the Keyblade wielder and making him jump in fright.

"Woah, Jakob, you really scared me right there!" exclaimed Sora, when he turned around and saw Jakob. Jakob's sadistic smile was still prevalent, but less sadistic than before...guy clearly had an evil plot up his sleeves.

"You seem like you've been on that computer for a long time Sora...mind if I surf the web for just a few?" Jakob asked the Keyblade wielder; if Sora saw how sadistic Jakob's smile was, he would say no, but frankly he was too much of a nice guy.

"Yeah, I guess you're right...any longer, and I would be on this computer until midnight! You can go ahead and use the computer - I'll go take a quick bathroom break." Sora went to the bathroom as Jakob took a seat; the butler, taking a disc out from one of his pockets, inserted the disc into the computer, as his sadistic grin become fully sadistic yet again.

"Mario, you have truly made a horrible mistake...same goes for you too, Master Hand." Seriously, what exactly was Jakob up to?

* * *

"Mr. Todd! Mr. Todd! I found her!" Yashiro said to Sweeney Todd, a la Little Mac, as the idol singer and the boxer were onstage with Kiria, while Doc Louis wiped away a proud tear. So far, the _Sweeney Todd_ play was going well - no blemishes so far!

"I see that you have found Johanna," said Little Mac; Johanna was being played by Tsubasa, in case you were wondering.

"That monster of a judge has locked her..." Suddenly Yashiro's phone rang, leading to whispering from the audience. "...locked her away." The cellphone kept on ringing, and there was nothing Yashiro could do about it. The show must go on!

"There's a little bird fluttering around. Do hope it ceases chirping." Little Mac did his best to make light of Yashiro's embarrassing situation, and it generated laughter from the audience. Little Mac was a natural, he was displaying great acting skills in his acting debut.

"YO YASHIRO JUST TURN YOUR PHONE OFF, THAT WAY WE CAN ENJOY THE PLAY!" Captain Falcon stood up and shouted to the idol singer; everyone glared at the racer and told him to shush, and Falcon would sheepishly sit back down in his seat with a sheepish smile.

 **Captain Falcon: Should have known better than to disrupt the arts. But Yashiro was in quite a pickle, and I was just trying to help the man out. Texting him the solution to his problem would only make the problem even worse.**

"The bird continues to call...can someone please turn off their...bird?" Little Mac asked the audience, but the ringing continued, and Yashiro couldn't do anything to stop it. "Oh, for the love of...turn your phones off! There were signs about phones at the hall entrance!"

"Oh, it appears the bird was in mine own pocket this whole time," grinned Yashiro, as he turned off his cellphone in his pocket. Didn't want to do it because he was that much into his play. "He's gone to sleep now, I've closed his beak." Another wave of laughter from the audience.

"You know, Cloud...I'm kinda glad Sora wasn't here to watch this play," Link quietly said to the swordsman, the two seated at the front row with their girlfriends. "Would be asking too many questions, about Sweeney Todd and who wrote the play and all that stuff..."

"Well, now you know what Omochao is for," replied Cloud - too bad Jakob had taken care of Omochao, for whatever reason. A text message chime sounded on Yashiro's phone. Couldn't the guy just put his cellphone on silent?

* * *

After the play ended and the curtain call took place, the mansion residents and Seattle residents all filed out of the lecture hall, discussing the play, the quality of the play, and the many, many times Yashiro's phone had went off. Guy was too stubborn to put that cellular device of his on silent.

"Ah, what a fine-a play that was!" exclaimed Mario, as he exited the lecture hall with his woman Peach. "Wasn't as much singing as-a I expected. But Yashiro's phone antics were-a pretty funny - nice to see Little Mac play-a off of that."

"No doubt Doc Louis was proud of Little Mac's performance," said Peach; bet you Doc Louis was backstage with Little Mac, hugging and kissing his protege, telling him how he great of an actor he was and how better he was than someone like Robert Downey, Jr. and other ridiculous crap. "Guarantee you tomorrow morning Doc will talk up a storm about Little Mac, and will do so until the end of time!"

"Darn-a shame Jakob had to miss-a the play...must have had-a some important business to attend-a too..." If inserting suspicious discs into someone's computer was attending to important business...well, Mario should just be on the lookout for Jakob in general.

And the same could be said for everyone else. Jakob was already looking like a dangerous threat to anyone that dared to get in his way...


	86. Episode 86: Competitive

_Author's Note:_

 _Got three anonymous reviews to answer, so here's the first one:_

 _"Can you add Josh and Sheva from Resident Evil 5? Is Fake Crash gonna show up? Is Cortex using his Clancy Brown or Lex Lang voice? Will Dante's appearance be based on his Devil May Cry 1 or Devil May Cry 2 look? Will a Monster Hunter Stories chapter happen in time for the game's release? (September 8 is the release date) Can you make Saya and Sheath residents of the Smash Mansion? And finally, how will the characters be able to see some of the Tales of Zestiria characters? (Since Seraphims are invisible to some humans)"_

 _Probably. Fake Crash will show up eventually. Cortex is using his Lex Lang voice. Dante's appearance will be based on his DMC2 look. May do a Monster Hunter Stories chapter. I'll figure out something about the Tales of Zestiria characters. And who are Saya and Sheath? My ignorance is failing me...second anonymous review:_

 _"So...If Lucina is Morgan's Sister, then Lucina is Robin's daughter, but also Robin's girlfriend, meaning Morgan will eventually be Morgan's Niece and Morgan in turn will be Morgan's Uncle? What have you done"_

 _I...I don't even know. Fire Emblem canon can be confusing for me sometimes. Last anonymous review:_

 _"When are Lann and Reynn going to appear in Smash Life already?"_

 _Patience, my friend - I haven't found anything for Lann (*cough* still looks like Roxas *cough*) and Reynn to do yet. They could appear in the next chapter, or the chapter after that - just remain patient, and Lann and Reynn will apper soon._

* * *

 **Episode 86: Competitive**

Today was a day Luigi had been waiting for - the day the green plumber finally ate his beloved BLT sandwich.

Yes, you heard right, a BLT sandwich.

Now you're thinking to yourself, "What's so special about some lousy BLT sandwich, it's just like all the other BLT sandwiches!" What made this particular sandwich so different was that Luigi had sacrificed most of his time with Daisy and Charles to perfect this sandwich - earning some scrutiny from his wife in the process - and making sure it was the greatest sandwich ever created.

And now, it was time for Luigi to eat his greatest creation, his proudest achievement. The plumber, with Charles seated across from him in his baby chair, tied a napkin around his neck, his BLT sandwich on a plate just dying to be consumed, as he sat down in his seat...only to somehow fall onto the floor, landing on his bum in the process. Luigi frowned as he rubbed his now sore boat, seeing that his chair was now misplaced.

"Hey, what-a gives, where did my chair-a go?!" questioned Luigi, ticked as ever; what followed afterwards was laughing and snickering, from two space pilots responsible for moving the chair - Fox and Falco, with Falco holding a digital camera. They popped out from their hiding spots, laughing it up, with Charles laughing too. They were all laughing at Luigi, and the plumber angrily got up to confront the pilots. "You dare-a make me look foolish in front-a of my baby boy?!" Luigi angrily asked Fox and Falco, who just kept on laughing.

"Oh man, you should have seen the look on your face when you fell!" Fox said to a still ticked off Luigi, wiping away a tear from laughing too hard. "Your eyes were wider than the moon, it was like you had seen a ghost, like King Boo!"

"Yeah, we would have pulled the prank on your son, but we all know you and Daisy would be crying about it more than Charles would," added Falco, before his eyes fell on Luigi's BLT sandwich. The avian pilot's mouth was almost salivating just from looking at it, and he couldn't afford to let the sandwich go uneaten. "So, uh, Luigi, you're gonna eat that sandwich?"

"Yes, yes-a I am, keep your filthy hands-a away from it!" Luigi ran to his sandwich and held it away from Falco, like the sandwich was the One Ring from the _Lord of the Rings._ It was his precious... "How about you take-a your silly pranking shenanigans some-a where else, and leave-a me and my sandwich...and-a Charles...alone!"

 **Fox: We issued a challenge to Little Mac and Knuckles, a challenge easier said than done - we create YouTube channels, and whoever can accrue the most subscribers and views in a week will win...will win...well, they'll win something.  
Falco: My man Fox and I are doing a prank channel, and Knuckles and Little Mac will be doing a song channel, where they sing and rap various songs, as chosen by themselves. Speaking of singing, Little Mac did better than expected in that _Sweeney Todd_ play; granted, he was far from perfect, but he was a lot better than we ever would have thought, or given him credit for.  
Fox: And to think all that needed to happen for Little Mac to get his moment to shine was for Doc Louis to come to Yashiro, begging on his knees and demanding that Little Mac gets the role of Sweeney Todd. Words couldn't describe how proud Doc was after the play was over - think I saw the man crying his eyes out.**

"Fine then, we'll just take our pranking expertise elsewhere, since obviously you can't comprehend the meaning of fun," said Fox, as he and Falco left Luigi's home. Maybe the next person the pilots pranked would react to the prank in a happy, jovial manner, and not be salty about being pranked in general. However, that would only be contingent on how dumb the prank was.

Once outside, Fox and Falco spotted Mario playing Frisbee with Poochy. The plumber never really got a chance to truly bond with Poochy, so he had to cherish every second of this Frisbee game he could. Moreover, he was also open for a prank by Fox and Falco, and they had the perfect one in mind, as Falco pulled out his phone...

"HOLY SMOKES, THE COPS ARE COMING, I REPEAT THE COPS ARE COMING!" shouted the avian pilot, the sound of a police siren sounding from his cellphone, as he and Fox frantically ran away from the imaginary cops. But Mario kept his cool, and continued to play with Poochy, as he threw the Frisbee as far as he could over Poochy's head.

"Nice-a try boys, but it'll take-a more than just some silly police-a prank to fool me," grinned Mario, as Poochy went to go fetch the Frisbee. Fox and Falco would return to the scene, feeling defeated; but hey, at least they tried! (Although their effort could've been somewhat better.)

"Dang it, our prank didn't work...perhaps we would have had better results had we tried the prank on some black guy, like Doc Louis," remarked Fox. Imagine a big guy like Doc Louis running away at the sound of police sirens - would be as great of a workout as, say, riding on a bike during an epic training scene.

"Why don't we just go back to the mansion and prank someone there?" asked Falco, as Poochy returned to Mario with the Frisbee in his mouth. While Fox and Falco continued with their pranking ways, let's go see how Little Mac and Knuckles were doing...

* * *

"Little Mac, for the last time, we're NOT singing 'Untouched' by The Veronica, that song's pretty much written from a girl's perspective!" Knuckles said to the boxer, as the two Star Records artists were in the Star Records room, debating what song they should sing for their YouTube channel. "And I thought I told you we weren't singing any songs about romance!"

"Probably just saying that because you feel untouched by your woman Rouge," retorted Little Mac, and Knuckles couldn't say a word after that. Knuckles's relationship with Rouge, while not as fluctuating as Fox's relationship with Krystal, was still pretty rocky in most regards; Knuckles couldn't even remember the last time he and Rouge hanged out, aside from episode 69. For all he knew, Rouge could be starting a secret fling with Shadow... "If you don't wanna sing that song...then what other song do you want to do?"

"Tupac Shakur...'Hit Em Up'. We could send out a diss song to those freaks at the All-Star Manor, and then we can show it to Mario and make the man proud." Mario's stance on the All-Star Manor was still a pretty negative stance, especially after that whole Raiden incident that involved the former child soldier bringing Heihachi over to the manor during that cruise ship vacation.

"Mario would be perhaps the only person enjoying that song - everyone else wouldn't give a crap. Honestly, I think we should just do some karaoke - give it a gimmick to make it more interesting, like singing with helium or something like that.

 **Doc Louis: Words cannot even BEGIN to describe how proud I am of my boy, Little Mac! Not only was he great in his acting role as Sweeney Todd, but he was also a pretty effective and capable singer - never even heard the man sing a single day in my life! Some folks say that Little Mac was a little out of tune on certain notes, but those are just the haters talking. When you're at the top of the world, there will always be people trying to bring you down to their level of sorriness. But Little Mac, he's on another level -a level that NOBODY, not even the best singer or entertainer in the world, can reach!**

"Little Mac, what are you up to my man?" Doc Louis would ask his protege as he entered the Star Records room; Little Mac had a bummed out look on his face, and Knuckles would share his grief. "First off, let me just say that you went ham in that play last week, don't let anyone tell you otherwise!"

"Thanks Doc for telling me that for like, the gazillionth time today," Little Mac apathetically responded; Doc Louis, throughout the entire week, was heaping unwanted praise onto Little Ma, and at each and every moment he could - when Little Mac went to bed, when Little Mac woke up, before breakfast, during breakfast, after breakfast, whenever Little Mac was using the bathroom, during Little Mac's training, and other inappropriate times. To say Little Mac was getting a little tired of Doc's nonsense would be a understatement.

"No, that was the fourteenth time I told you that today, I've been counting, I tell you. So quit making up fake numbers just to prove a point!" Doc Louis counting the amount of times he praised Little Mac was making his praising all the more cringeworthy and creepy. "You never told me what you and Knuckles were up to - why do you have X's laptop up, and what's with that digital camera?"

"Little Mac and Knuckles are starting up a music channel on YouTube, they're in a competition with Fox and Falco to see who can accrue the most subscribers and views on YouTube in a span of one week!" Big Top kindly explained to Doc Louis. The boxing trainer took great interest in Mac and Knuckles's online musical pursuits, as he grabbed a chair and sat next to Little Mac so he could join in...just what Little Mac needed. "Mac and Knuckles are gonna sing songs all day long!"

"You know, there's this one song that's been stuck in my head all week...it's an Earth, Wind and Fire song. Ever heard of the song, 'Boogie Wonderland'?" Both Little Mac and Knuckles nodded their heads; either they did know the song, or they were just trying to make Doc happy and make him believe that folks their age appreciated the great artists and tunes of yesterday. "I think you boys should sing that song. Though it would feel incomplete without any instrumental accompaniment. I would suggest finding an instrumental version of 'Boogie Wonderland' online, but I would't risk it - it can be very hypnotizing! Trust me, I know just from experience..."

Another person would enter the Star Records room, and it was a person still lovestruck with a former spy known as Snake...Kiria Kuruno. Yes, Kiria still harbored a crush on Snake, and it was greatly concerning for Fox, Falco, Itsuki, and everyone else involved with Star Records. To avoid Kiria, Snake returned to hiding underneath a cardboard box, with the hopes that the idol singer would leave him alone once and for all.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting you boys, but have you seen Snake anywhere?" Kiria would ask Doc Louis and company, speaking in a tone that felt too romantic - almost like Kiria underwent a complete personality change after drinking that love potion. "I know he's just playing hard to get, but it's too bad for him that I'm a go-getter girl...Snake will be mine, one day..."

"Girl you got a serious problem, you should go seek some serious help!" Doc Louis angrily stood up, as he confronted Kiria. Doc, who was praising Little Mac like he was Lin-Manuel Miranda, was now being aggressive and fed up - that should show you how much the boxing trainer was disturbed by Kiria's romantic interest in someone like Snake. "Snake is at least twice your age, and you want to start a fling with him? Have you not considered his shortcomings in love? Have you not considered that his crush Meryl Silverburgh chose to marry someone else over him? Have you not considered..."

Doc Louis would be cut short, when...WHAM! A now disgusted Kiria slapped the boxing trainer in the face, slapping the taste out of his mouth. While Doc Louis recuperated from the shock ingrained in him from the slap, Little Mac and Knuckles just looked on in shock.

 **Knuckles: Dang, Doc Louis just got slapped by Kiria...now I can finally be at peace knowing that another man knows what it's like to be slapped by a woman out of nowhere. Rouge can sure hit hard!**

"How dare you question the insurmountable love I have for Snake - you're just jealous because you've never been in love yourself!" frowned Kiria, but that's where she's wrong, for Doc Louis has been in love...with a chocolate bar. _Multiple_ chocolate bars. "You can't comprehend what it's like to love someone, to have feelings for someone, to have a desire to be with someone you love forever and ever, until the end! You'd rather let your chocolate obsession distract you from the meaning of the true power of love!"

"Nobody talks to me and expects to get away with it!" retorted Doc Louis, digging into his pants pocket and pulling out the one thing that would teach Kiria a lesson in showing respect to elders...a chocolate bar, this one named Naomi. Little Mac felt so embarrassed for Doc Louis, and for himself. "C'mon Naomi, teach that woman Kiria how to respect others!" Unfazed by Doc's craziness, Kiria just snatched the chocolate bar out of the boxing trainer's hand and ate it, like it was nothing. Doc Louis was now full of rage, as he had witnessed his newest love interest consumed in savage fashion.

"I shouldn't be wasting my time with the likes of you...I should be dedicating my time looking for my precious Snakey-Wakey!" Yikes, Kiria was giving Snake pet names now? Things could only get worse from here on out... "I know he's out there, somewhere, in this godforsaken mansion, hiding under some cardboard box...I will find him, and I will make him mine!"

Kiria stormed out of Star Records room, furious as ever. But Doc Louis was ever more furious, still feeling the after-effects of the slap the idol singer delivered to him. The boxing trainer had just about enough of Kiria's romantic obsession over Snake, and he thought now was the perfect time to end this obsession, once and for all.

"Doc Louis are you feeling okay, still feeling pretty heated?" Little Mac would ask his trainer, feeling now was the appropriate time to ask Doc how he was feeling. "Sorry Kiria had to slap you like that..." Don't be a lousy suck-up, Little Mac. Doc Louis sucks up to you enough already as it is.

"No worries, Little Mac, Kiria's gonna get what's coming to her..." vowed Doc Louis, as he dug into his pants pocket and pulled out another chocolate bar. "Her" name was Nicole. "Her love for Snake has got to stop somehow! If we are to stop this lovefest Kiria has for the man, then it's gonna require someone who's already in love...someone who's married and knows the ups and downs of love...someone...like Mario!" What a relatively fine choice.

* * *

Pit and Kirby were in the living room, playing video games. The game they were playing? _NBA Live 2003_ , on the Nintendo Gamecube. (Playing this NBA classic on a gaming console not from Nintendo would be outlawed and almost guarantee you a ban from the Smash Mansion.) Kirby was playing as the Los Angeles Lakers, starring Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal, and Pit was playing as the Cleveland Cavaliers...before the team even drafted LeBron James. Pit was absolutely struggling, as the game was in Kirby's favor, 88-29... _at_ _halftime._ Pit was essentially getting his butt kicked by someone without fingers, or opposable thumbs.

Why were Pit and Kirby playing _NBA Live 2003,_ you might ask? It was because they were a part of the YouTube channel competition, and they wanted to pursue a gaming channel mostly centered around sports games, since it seemed like the in thing on YouTube these days. One thing though - they weren't even a part of the competition in the first place! Pit just eavesdropped Knuckles and the Star Fox pilots discussing the challenge, and told Kirby about it, and the two friends went from there.

 **Pit: Fox, Falco, Little Mac, Knuckles...they can all enjoy their pranking and singing, but just when either team think they have the competition in the bag, Kirby and I will swoop in, and enter the competition and win!  
** **Kirby: You heard it here first folks - it will be the two of us winning the competition! We're like the third wheel that nobody expects at a romantic date, that one guy at the party that steals the last slice of pizza...we seize the opportunity when said opportunity arises, and gain victory, sweet joyous victory!**

"Kirby, why must you be so great at sports games?" Pit asked his best friend, not ready yet to throw in the towel. A better question to ask would be: Pit, why are you so horrible at sports games, and how can you lose to someone without ANY FINGERS?!

"Well nobody's telling you to stop chucking threes, even when it's not necessary..." replied Kirby, as the second half of the greatly lopsided game was about to begin. "As a caring friend I would tell you to stop, but this margin of impeding victory is too sweet!" Dark Pit walked by and saw Pit and Kirby playing their game, and was shell-shocked by the score. Even though this was a video game, the doppelganger was shocked as ever seeing how huge the margin was.

"Let me guess...Kirby's the one playing as the Lakers," said Dark Pit, to which Pit reluctantly nodded as he shot a needless three-point, mere seconds after the third quarter began. "Heh, I should have known, Pit sucks at each and every little thing!" Dark Pit sure loved to put Pit down whenever necessary. "Also, why are you two playing some lousy basketball game from the early 2000's anyways?" Dark Pit could tell how old the game was just by looking at the graphics; all the players on the court looked cartoonish as heck.

"We're in this competition with Fox and Falco, and Little Mac and Knuckles, to see who can accrue the most subscribers and views on their YouTube in one week," explained Pit, who blatantly allowed Kirby to steal the ball from him. No wonder the poor angel was getting his behind whooped. "Technically we're not officially part of the competition yet, but later on when the subscribers and views start rolling in once we upload our videos, we'll make our surprise entry and take the competition by storm!"

"What's the point of entering this 'competition' if you can't even..." Dark Pit was ready to question Pit and Kirby, but he decided to save his breath. "...you know what, I'll just shut up and let you two be great. Seriously doubt Fox and the others will let you losers in their 'competition', but more power to you both..." Dark Pit was about to walk away, but an idea suddenly clicked in his mind...an idea involving someone the doppelganger actually liked. "Actually, I think that if you want to win this competition, then you should invite more people to play games with you. I mean, what fun is it to have just two gamers? People need variety these days, you know what I mean?"

"What are you getting at?" asked Kirby, unnerved by how affable Dark Pit was. Rarely was the doppelganger friendly or engaging, especially with the likes of Pit and Kirby, but the person he was about to mention would probably explain his change in attitude.

"I was thinking that...perhaps you could invite Flora and I to be a part of your channel? And Felicia, too?" This offer intrigued Pit and Kirby - both the angel and the puffball knew that Dark Pit took a certain liking towards Flora, which started back in episode 57. As you might recall, Flora suffered from grave self-confidence issues, constantly doubting herself and wondering if she was great at anything other than being a housemaid, and Dark Pit would constantly get the maid involved in certain activities to make her feel more confident in her abilities. This is what the doppelganger was trying to do now - get Flora in things outside of her maid duties.

"I dunno man - Flora sucks at each and every little thing," Pit smirked, doing his best to stifle his laughter as Dark Pit shot a glare at him. That was no way to speak about someone with confidence issues, but we all know Pit was just getting under Dark Pit's skin...this was one of the super rare moments that happened.

"Just wait until she kicks your behind - she'll have you crying and whining for months!" said Dark Pit, pointing in Pit's face as the angel caught a rebound...his first rebound in the entire game. Guy was looking like barbecue chicken in that game. "Enjoy your fun...if you're even having fun, that is...all you can, because Flora is going to give you a beating that you will never, EVER forget!"

Sure, Dark Pit, whatever keeps you happy and make Flora feel _somewhat_ content...

* * *

 **Layton: Thanks to the wonderful Coco Bandicoot, we have received new information about our investigation into the hotel fire accident...turns out Lysandre and Team Flare had some involvement in the hotel explosion that took place. I would assume that the men in suits that were in that security footage with whom Lysandre referred to as "The Cloaked One" were Team Flare members.  
Luke: However, there is some work left to do...there might be some previous calls remaining on that Holo Caster Coco got to work, and so we're having Coco see if she can find said calls so we can gather more clues and keep the investigation going.  
Layton: While Coco is busy with that, Luke and I will be looking for clues at Dr. Light's laboratory - Mega Man had received word from Dr. Light about some folks in red suits lurking around the lab, and so we're paying Dr. Light a visit and look for any signs of Team Flare. Could be some suspicious activity taking place, could be a false alarm...but it will give us a short break from the mansion, with X fixing the air conditioning.**

"Man, X needs to fix this air conditioning real quick, I'm sweating buckets over here!" remarked Sonic, wiping away the sweat on his forehead with his hand. The hedgehog was walking through the mansion with his new best friend Crash and Aku, and they were on their way to the workshop, where Tails was.

"I'm sweating buckets too, never would I expect a hot day in Seattle," said Aku, as Crash and Sonic gave the witchdoctor mask inquisitive looks. "The sweat is even running all the way down to the opening of my mouth...tastes too salty..."

"Dude you're a floating mask, how are you able to sweat at all?" Some logic was clearly missing here...or maybe it was all in Aku's mind, and the mask was just going crazy from the heat. Heat could make anyone go stir-crazy. "You don't even have a body, or a respiratory system! So how are you even able to breathe?"

"I'm a magical mask, my boy, and when you're magical, you can do very magical things! Yes, I will admit, that was a corny response, but how about you just go with the flow before questioning me more? I've had just about enough of you pestering me about my initial meeting with Crash..."

"Well, I just think that it was weird for you to meet Crash when he washed up on the shore...while stuck inside some orange crate. Sounds like something a child predator would do, chilling inside some crate waiting for some kid on the beach to abduct." Yet Snake has been hiding underneath cardboard boxes for years, even when he wasn't spying on others, and Sonic didn't think there was anything wrong with that...

Sonic, Crash, and Aku would soon arrive at the workshop, where they saw Samus working away on her Power Suit, with Pikachu perched on the bounty hunter's shoulder, watching the work being done. Also in the workshop was Sonic's pal Tails, and he was working...

...with Coco, on the Holo Caster. Yes, the yellow fox and the blonde bandicoot were working together, for the first time, and they were working on the Holo Caster, as Coco was trying to pull up previous calls made on the device.

"Thanks again for your assistance on this Holo Caster, Tails," Coco thanked the fox, as the two brainiacs were trying to figure out the Kalos communication device out. "Tried asking Mega Man and his robot pals for help, but they are so stubborn...especially Proto Man. He can be so aloof at times, always has his head in the clouds..."

"Proto Man has always been like that ever since I first met the guy - he's like a silent edgelord, keeps his thoughts to himself," remarked Tails, as he looked up and saw Sonic, his eyes wide and his mouth agape. The hedgehog was pointing at Tails, like there was a blood-sucking alien on the fox sucking the life out of his body. "...yes, Sonic, may I help you?"

"You're in love with Crash's sister Coco on the lowkey and you never told me?!" frowned Sonic, boiling internally with disdain. Samus kept continuing her work, doing her best not to pay any iota of attention to Sonic's shenanigans. "Man, I feel so hurt right now! I tell you my secret of using Marth's tiara as a backscratcher and yet you refuse to share with me any secret of yours!"

"First off, if I were you, I wouldn't tell a single soul that I use Marth's tiara as a backscratcher, not even my best friend. That's something you should definitely keep to yourself. Secondly, I'm not in love with Coco, I'm just doing her a solid. And if I were in love with Coco, then pretty sure I would tell the others, and everyone would know..."

"Aha, so you admit it, you admit to being in love with Coco! What do you have to say about this, Crash?" Crash, an excitable goofball who probably didn't even know what was going on, just gave a crazy smile that was hard for Sonic to interpret if it was a positive smile, or a negative one. Aku was about to open his mouth and give his two cents, but Sonic would turn his attention to someone else... "What do you think of Tails being in love with Coco, Miss Aran?" The blue blur asked Samus, who couldn't care less about Tails's romantic life.

"Yeah, I think Tails should be punished for keeping his romance with Coco a secret from you Sonic, screw him for not telling his best friend vital information," replied Samus, providing perhaps the most apathetic answer known to all mankind. It was safe to say Samus didn't give a crap about love...after all, it wasn't like she and fellow Galactic Federation budy Anthony Higgs were ever romantically linked. Oh, think of the possibilities!

 **Samus: Sure hope Sonic isn't one of those people that get all jealous when they have a girlfriend, and a best friend of theirs has a girlfriend too, which kinda equals up the score, in a way. But if Tails was indeed in love with Coco (can't see that happening, even with Tails and Coco having so many things in common), then why would it be that big of a deal if such a romance was kept a secret? Sonic better not let this jealous streak get the best of him, he's already irritable enough as it is...an annoying, jealous Sonic would be enough for me to ditch the mansion entirely and head back to the Galactic Federation. The people there may be pushovers, but the payoff for returning would be HUGE.**

 **Sonic: Not sure if anyone has noticed this before...but is it just me, or does Samus look like a taller, human version of Coco Bandicoot? Or is Coco a smaller, animal version of Samus?**

"I agree with you wholeheartedly Samus, Tails deserves punishment for keeping juicy secrets away from best friends!" said Sonic; Jakob wouldn't hesitate to punish Tails, since the butler had a little fling of being an authoritative figure as of late. "In fact...in fact...I don't think we're even best friends anymore, Tails!"

"Sonic I think you're taking this way past the extreme - Coco and I are not in love, and even if we were, I would never keep it as a secret from you," Tails told Sonic, who didn't know whether he should trust anything from the yellow fox's mouth or not. "This isn't worth anything ending our friendship over...I mean, for all we know, Knuckles might've kept his relationship with Rouge a secret from you until it..."

"Knuckles was open with his relationship with Rouge, unlike the likes of YOU!" Sonic was acting like Tails had slept with Amy in the past or something. "You better be glad I now have Crash a best friend, otherwise I would have only ONE best friend! Let's go, Crash...we don't need to be in the presence of secretive dudes like Tails! Let Jakob punish the man...whip him till he begs for mercy!"

"Don't you think that's a bit too harsh Sonic? It's not like we're living in the slavery times anymore..." Sonic was too ticked to even rationalize, at this point.

"But you are a slave, Tails...a slave for Coco's love! And therefore you deserve every right to be whipped to no end! C'mon Crash and Aku, let's leave this love slave toil in his wrongdoing, make him reap from his just desserts..."

"Sonic, don't you think you're completely blowing this thing out of proportion?" Aku, receiving a first-hand taste of prototypical Sonic, asked the blue blur, who took Crash's hand and stomped out of the laboratory, all while the bandicoot happily waved to a now bewildered Coco. Aku would follow Sonic and Crash out of the workshop, hoping Sonic would come back to his senses...like that would ever happen.

"Is he...is he going to be okay?" Coco would ask Tails, who heaved a heavy sigh. Considering that the yellow fox was often shipped with Cream the Rabbit, despite Cream being only six years of age, it was odd for Sonic to believe Tails would be in love with Coco, out of the blue.

"Sonic can be like that sometimes - he'll get over it very soon," responded Tails, as he and Coco resumed their work on the Holo Caster. "Or so I hope..."

* * *

Cortex was back at the mansion yet again, and he was more than determined to find Crash and annihilate him once and for all. Despite Uka repeatedly telling the mad scientist to give up and focus on other villainous pursuits, but Cortex refused to stop until he got to Crash, at whatever the cost...

"Hold on, hold on, hold your horses, I'm coming!" Lucario said as, approaching the front door as the person behind the front door was ringing the doorbell over and over again. Samus (once again) had to order pizza, and she ordered it earlier than usual because A) she would forget to order the pizza later, or B) she thought, "Ah, screw it..." and just ordered the pizza, not giving a crap about how cold the pizza would get later. And there were multiple boxes of pizza ordered, so putting the pizza in the oven would be no bueno. "I said I'm coming, stop ringing the doorbell!"

Lucario would finally reach the front door, and when he opened it, he saw the pizza delivery man, with yellow skin and a rather short stature...it was Dr. Neo Cortex, the pizza delivery man, wearing a cap that was big enough to hide the massive N on his head. With him were many boxes of pizza, as well as a few appetizers. Samus couldn't forget about ordering Wario's hot wings, lest she wanted to hear complaints from the fatso himself.

 **Cortex: Something I've noticed from certain villains is that they utilize a ploy of disguise to achieve their goals! So, in order to reach Crash, and destroy him, I've disguised myself as a pizza delivery man... *pauses* ...but to tell you the truth, I signed up with a local pizzeria for one day, since the staff wouldn't let me borrow one of their uniforms, so I could deliver pizza to the Smash Mansion and make my way inside said mansion to get to Crash! Lucked out greatly when I was told I had to make a delivery to the mansion!  
Uka: Honestly Cortex, you could have dressed in drag and get access to the mansion that way. Would guarantee laughs for everyone!  
Cortex: Everyone except for me...but I did consider dressing in drag one time, when I was at the Iceberg Lab and Crash and I were working together, in the hopes that it wouldn't attract the wrong kind of attention...  
Uka: But you were seen with Crash at the time, so what is this "wrong kind of attention" that you speak of?  
Cortex: ...just wait outside until I'm done Uka. And don't let anyone see you, either!  
Uka: You're saying that like you'll even succeed at your mission...**

"Hello, blue jackal creature, the name is Ne...Neil Cor...Corbin!" Cortex would introduce himself to Lucario, who found it strange that a random pizza delivery guy would introduce himself to the customer. "Neil Corbin's the name!"

"Yet your employee name tag reads 'Stacey'," said Lucario, looking down at Cortex's name tag. Cortex looked down and saw the name tag himself, gasping in fear. Apparently he didn't pick out the name tag himself...

"Oh, yes, for whatever reason, the pizzeria I work at didn't have a name tag with 'Neil' on it, so I had to settle with this one...hehehe." Though he wasn't present, and though he had no idea what was taking place, Uka was probably shaking his head at Cortex, knowing failure was soon on the way. "May I come in and place these pizza boxes and things inside the mansion? Bringing all this stuff in one piece was truly a hassle, so I should be paid handsomely for my efforts!"

"Come inside and just wait in the foyer, I'll get someone to pay for the pizza." Lucario would let Cortex inside the mansion, helping him carry the pizza and the wings and the breadsticks and others into the mansion. "YO JACKY, THE PIZZA'S HERE, IT'S YOUR TURN TO PAY!" Lucario called out to the indy car racer after he was done helping Cortex, walking away as Cortex was sitting on the couch.

"Going all-in and hunting down for Crash would be no good..." Cortex quietly said to himself, as he was looking around the foyer and soaking in everything the foyer had to offer. "I should just take the wait-and-see approach this time around, and wait for Crash to show up! Leaving my current post would effectively blow my cover...

* * *

Link and Cloud were with Mamori, Ashley, and Asuka in the kitchen, ready to shoot an episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ with Mamori and friends. The two swordsmen were dressed up as chefs, both wearing a chef hat and an apron.

"Can't wait to see what Mamori has in store for us on her episode today," Link said to Cloud, who didn't share the Hylian's level of optimism, as he tightened the strap on his apron. Today would be the first day both Link and Cloud got to cook something...even if it involved only a microwave.

"Got a sneaky feeling Mamori will invite Sora in her episode to be some stupid 'secret guest', I can smell an appearance from him coming from a mile away," stated Cloud, who felt downright goofy in his cooking apron. Granted the apron was black, much like his attire, but the chef hat on the top of his spiky hair wasn't doing him any favors. "Sucks for me that I can't ditch the episode altogether, so really I'm stuck here..."

After Ashley got the camera rolling, it was time for another episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ to begin. Link and Cloud quickly got out of the way, as Mamori, Ashley, and Asuka were now on-screen, three smiling faces looking at the camera (or two rather, since Ashley _never_ smiled).

"Hello, boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, wherever you may be!" Mamori greeted her audience, with her ever cutesy smile and deposition. "Welcome to another episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ with Ashley, Asuka, and yours truly, Mamori! We're gonna warm up your heart, with the press of a button!"

"Today on our show, we have two very special guests - one is best known as the hero of Hyrule, and the other is an ex-SOLDIER better known for his eco-terrorist works," said Asuka, as Link and Cloud were getting ready for their _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ debuts. "Everyone give it up two of the best swordsmen out there...Link and Cloud Strife!"

Ashley pressed a button on her remote, cuing the sound of applause, as Link and Cloud showed up next to Mamori and company. Link was happily waving to the camera, while Cloud just stood there, stone-faced, giving away a false narrative to the audience that he didn't give a crap about Mamori's show.

"Hello to all _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ fans, it's a pleasure to be on this show!" exclaimed Link, while Cloud stared at his best friend in a very questionable manner. "Cloud and I will make the best stuff ever on this show, just you wait and see!"

"If the microwave in the kitchen blows up for any reason, then go ahead and blame this guy," Cloud addressed the audience, pointing at Link. He wasn't the kind of guy that would make great introductions or greetings.

 **Master Hand: We can't afford to lose anyone from Star Records, losing someone would disrupt the entire mojo of the record company. The last person I would want to lose is Asuka...I mean, look at all the fanservice she provides on Mamori's show! She's practically the reason why the show has millions of views online, nobody willingly wants to watch videos of some little girl microwaving crap for entertainment! Look how big Asuka's bust is compared to other ladies, all of whom with the exception of Bayonetta are _flat-chested!_ A woman have a flat-chest and no boobs is like the male equivalent of a man with no muscle tone or definition! Girls like Zelda and Lucina, they could learn a thing or two from Asuka!**

"But wait folks, we have one more guest, and he wields a blade just like Link and Cloud!" exclaimed Mamori, as Cloud suddenly grew nervous, praying that the third guest was Lloyd, Shulk, or any of the _Fire Emblem_ dudes. "He hails from an alternate dimension, and he greatly values the power of friendship! Give it up for the Keyblade wielder, Sora!"

Ashley sounded the applause sound from her remote again, and Cloud looked disgusted as Sora entered the kitchen, wearing a red chef apron and hat. The Keyblade wielder would take his position next to Cloud, who now felt like Mamori was sabotaging her own show just by inviting Sora as a guest.

"Thanks for inviting me on your show, Mamori!" Sora thanked the young girl, who responded with a kind smile. "I've never really cooked anything before - maybe aside from the fish my friends and I caught on Destiny Island - but other than that, my cooking pedigree isn't the best..."

"That's okay, a majority of the guests on our show have never cooked before either," said Mamori, as Cloud moved several inches away from Sora. "However, that won't stop any of us from having a ton of fun! So Ashley, what are we gonna do today?"

"We're gonna have a food battle of sorts - Boys vs Girls," answered the young witch, trying to sound as enthusiastic as possible, as her assistant Red brought a spin-it prize wheel into the camera's focus. On this prize wheel were multiple food items, like hamburgers, hot dogs, mac n' cheese, and even hummus! "We'll be splitting into two teams - Mamori, Asuka, and I on one team, and Link, Cloud, and Sora on the other." Cloud and Sora, working together? That should be fun! "One person from both teams will spin the wheel, and whatever food item you land on is what you're making."

"Starting to like where this episode is heading..." grinned Link, flexing his fingers. The same couldn't be said for unfortunate Cloud. "Mind if I spin the wheel first for my team, Mamori?"

"Guests go first on our show, so go right ahead!" replied Mamori, as Link confidently marched to the wheel, and spun it with much aggression. The wheel kept spinning, and spinning, and spinning, until it finally landed on a food item...an item that made Link slightly disappointed.

"Ooh, a pizza...that's arguably a tough thing to make," remarked Asuka, having some sympathy for Link and company. "Let's see what us ladies have to make..." Link stepped to the side, as Asuka approached the prize wheel and spun it. The wheel spun right round, like a record, until it landed on...a grilled cheese sandwich. Now Link was feeling salty - making a pizza was a complicated task compared to making a measly grilled cheese sandwich.

"Well it looks like us girls are making a grilled cheese sandwich, and the men are stuck with making a pizza!" announced Mamori, as Ashley pressed a button on her remote that played the iconic _The Price Is Right_ theme. Very fitting, what with the prize wheel. "We shall start our food battle very shortly - may the best team win!" Link was ticked because Mamori and company had an easy task ahead of themselves...and Cloud was ticked just because of a certain someone in the kitchen.

 **Link: This must've been rigged from the start...how are Cloud, Sora and I going to make some lousy pizza? What size does the pizza have to be, what toppings are necessary? And to make matters worse, Mamori and her friends have to make a freaking grilled cheese sandwich! We were slated to lose from the very start, just so the female hosts could win on their own show...No, I'm not taking the anti-feminist route, I'm not one of those people that blame feminism for everything. I'm just addressing the unfairness taking place on the show...that came of as anti-feminist, didn't it?**

* * *

Kiria's search for Snake would receive a brief interruption, when Doc Louis brought the idol singer to Mario's home against her will. Kiria was sitting in Mario's living room, as Mario approached the idol singer, rubbing his hands together. Accompanying the plumber was Knuckles and Little Mac.

"Whatever you have planned for me better be worth the wait..." Kiria told Mario and company, as they entered the living room. "Regardless it doesn't matter, for you are intruding upon my time looking for my love, Solid Snake! He's so great at hiding...and that's why I love him so!" Kiria loves Snake because he's a stealth expert? Stealth wasn't exactly a quality you would look for in a romantic mate.

"Doc Louis, Little Mac, and-a Knuckles told me about their-a concerns regarding your romantic obsession with-a Snake..." Mario started things off, walking to the computer X and Zero installed for him and Peach last week. "...and given-a the details I was-a told, I think that TODAY is the day-a your obsession ends!" A now stunned Kiria looked at Mario, clutching her pearls - how could the plumber do such a thing to her, before she and Snake worked things out?!

"You, ending my interest in Snake?! Do you not know how long that man has been single? And now you wish for Snake to remain single forever, because you refuse to let me love him and show him how strong my love is? Mario, I thought you were better than this - you have absolutely no soul!"

"Maybe if you didn't stalk the guy, it would be easier for him to come around," murmured Knuckles, as Mario was pulling up a YouTube video on the computer. Even if Kiria stopped her stalking ways, Snake would never take a chance on the idol singer.

"The song you're about-a to hear should hope-a fully change your mind about loving Snake," said Mario, after pulling up the song. "It should-a change your ways, make you reconsider showing feelings-a for Snake. So here-a goes nothing..." So Mario pressed the play button, and the song started...

"ALL ABOARD, HAHAHAHAHAHA HAAAA!" Ozzy Osbourne's voice sounded, as his biggest hit "Crazy Train" played from the computer's loudspeakers. "AY, AY, AY, AY, AY, AY, AY..." Kiria, Litle Mac, and Knuckles were all confused - was a heavy metal song by Ozzy Osbourne supposed to make Kiria stop falling for Snake?

"Whoops, wrong-a song, sorry about that," Mario apologized as he returned to the computer and pulled up the _right_ song. Lord knows how he pulled up an Ozzy Osbourne song out of the blue. "Okay, found-a the right song!" Mario hit the play button, as "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac started playing. This was an instrumental version of the song, however. So...what about the lyrics?

"Loving Snake isn't the right thing to do..." sang Little Mac to Kiria, in a calming, almost hypnotizing manner. To say Kiria was disguised would be an understatement. "...how can you ever change things that you feel?"

"If you could maybe you'd give Snake your world..." sang Knuckles, and thank goodness his friends weren't present, otherwise they would pick on the poor echidna for weeks on end! "...how can you when he won't take it from you?"

"YOU CAN GO OUR OWN WAY, GO YOUR OWN WAY!" Little Mac and Knuckles were now singing the chorus in unison, singing louder than they were supposed to. "YOU CAN CALL IT ANOTHER LONELY DAY!" Mario was recording the duo singing on a digital camera, and for a good reason too.

 **Mario: Kiria needs to stop-a obsessing over Snake, Little Mac and Knuckles needs-a to record some video** **and upload-a it** **so they could beat-a Fox and Falco in their YouTube channel competition, so I'll-a be killing two birds with one-a stone and record-a Little Mac and Knuckles persuading Kiria to stop-a loving Snake...but how would-a killing two birds with one-a stone work? Would the birds have-a to be flying together? And how big-a should the stone be to kill-a two birds?**

Little Mac and Knuckles would keep on singing, much to Kiria's annoyance, until the song aprubtly stopped playing. Mario looked towards his computer, and saw that it was glitching; the plumber quickly stopped recording and placed the digital camera on a living room table as he ran to the computer to see what was going on.

"Um, you guys figure out what's wrong with that computer...I'll just leave you be..." Kiria said to Mario and company, who were now trying to fix the computer, as the idol singer slowly got up and walked out of the house, making sure to the close the front door quietly as possible. Time to resume searching for Snake!

"What gives, why is your computer acting funny all of a sudden?" Knuckles questioned Mario, as the computer continued glitching. Random dialog boxes were popping up all over the screen, and Mario couldn't exit out of any of them. "I think you made a terrible mistake having X and Zero program your computer, might've done some sneaky stuff when you weren't around!"

"X and Zero are-a respectful robots, they would never dare-a to corrupt my own-a computer for what-a ever reason," replied Mario, as the glitching intensified, making the plumber more frustrated. Only a robot could solve a problem like this. "Can one-a of you boys get one of-a the robots from the mansion to come-a here?"

* * *

While Mario, Little Mac, and Knuckles were trying to figure out what was wrong with Mario's computer, the Black Knight was enjoying a tea party with three guests - Bayonetta, Geno, and Kohaku. Also present at the tea party was Rotom, whom Kohaku asked Luigi and Daisy for permission to bring to the party.

"I greatly appreciate this shoulder massage Rotom - even if your hands are entirely made out of plasma!" Kohaku smiled, as the plasma Pokemon was rubbing the girl's shoulders, while the Black Knight was fixing himself a cup of tea."If only my brother was as nice and easygoing as you are..."

"Hisui is but a young adult, so he has a gaudy amount of time to do a complete 180 and change his ways, zzrt!" replied Rotom, its smile intact, while Geno and Bayonetta looked at Kohaku and exchanged questionable looks with one another. Kohaku had fallen in love with Rotom ever since episode 60, and several residents found the young girl's romantic fascination with a Pokemon to be a little...disconcerting.

"To think Hisui is fine with his little sister being in love with a genderless Pokemon..." Bayonetta whispered to Geno, as Kohaku was drinking her tea in peace. "Some big brother figure he's supposed to be..."

"Kohaku hardly ever sees any form of wrong in anything - in fact, she thinks there's nothing wrong with Toon Link and Young Link being buddy cops, although they kinda suck at their jobs," replied Geno - bonus points of Geno said the latter remark to the buddy cops' faces. "Like that one time when they tried to arrest Mr. Game and Watch just for entering a bathroom with a newspaper roll in hand! Everyone thought it was ridiculous, except for Kohaku! Thought the Links were keeping everyone safe...because we ALL know how scary Mr. Game and Watch is when he has a roll of newspaper in hand, amirite?"

"Well, that's what Mr. Game and Watch gets for...being black. It's not like he can help it." Ooh...well played, Bayonetta, well played.

 **Toon Link: Tons of people have given us flak for arresting Mr. Game and Watch, claiming that he was "innocent" and that "he was doing no wrong"...but we knew better than those dummies.  
Young Link: For all we know, Mr. Game and Watch could have concealed a small, yet deadly bomb in that roll of newspaper, a bomb destructive enough to blow up the mansion into pieces! We would have investigated the roll of newspaper to see if our suspicions were true, but it wasn't worth detonating it by accident at the cost of around a hundred lives. So we just gave it to Master Hand, and told him to throw it into Subspace, where it belonged. Nice try, wannabe terrorist Mr. Game and Watch... *dons sunglasses* ...better luck next time.**

The tea party continued, and everything was going swell...until Fox showed up, wearing some suit like he was a spy working for the government. The pilot, wearing some shades, was on the phone, keeping a close eye on the Black Knight and company.

"Got my eyes on the suspects..." Fox said to whoever was on the phone, while the tea party folk just looked on. "One suspect is wearing some extravagant black armor, like he's ready to go to some _Lord of the Rings_ convention...the other suspect looks like some puppet, and there's no strings attached to him, makes him look even more suspicious..."

"Fox is something the matter, why are you all dressed up?" the Black Knight asked the pilot, who briefly looked at the armored knight before ignoring him completely. The pilot certainly looked like he was in a very busy mood; he had no time to entertain any questions from the "suspects".

"We also have two female suspects...one suspect has black hair, and large blue eyes, wearing white clothing...the other female suspect is wearing a sultry black bodysuit, has black hair, and also wears glasses...looks like a slut to me. Might even be a pole dancer, for all we know..."

"Was that supposed to be some kind of insult?!" frowned Bayonetta, as she angrily stood up, only for Kohaku to calmly sit the Umbra Witch back down. "You're gonna get what's coming to you, fox boy!" Fox would ignore Bayonetta, continuing on with his phone call.

"Yes, I do believe these four suspects are all working under the Venomian Army...I think we've been compromised, I need you to take the shot! I repeat, I need you to take the shot, right now!" Fox quickly moved out of the way, as red dots were all over Black Knight and company. The tea party folk, with the threat of assassination looming over them...did nothing, as they pressed on with the tea party. Almost seemed like they were comfortable with dying!

"Really bruh, that's how y'all are gonna be?!" frowned Falco, appearing out from his hiding spot holding a laser point rifle, letting the Black Knight and company feel his and Fox's anger. "What if a situation like this went down, and it was legit, and y'all were falsely accused culprits? 'Ooh, look, red dots all over our bodies, someone's gonna shoot us! Let's act like nothing is going on and allow ourselves to be killed because we're STUPID IDIOTS!'"

"The stupid idiots that I see are you and Fox, for thinking that some dumb prank with laser guns and some phone call and Fox dressed up as a government spy would do so well," remarked the Black Knight, pouring some tea for Rotom even though the plasma Pokemon couldn't even drink tea. "So how about you take your stupid pranks elsewhere, and leave us be?"

"Let's just go Falco - obviously these fools don't comprehend of the meaning of fun or know how to take a joke," said Fox, as he and Falco walked away from the tea party, their salt levels rising. "Then again, who has fun at some lame tea party anyway..." Fox and Falco, once away from the tea part, approached Snake, who recorded the failed prank from afar on a camera, lying on the floor next to his cardboard box. "Thanks for letting us borrow your rifle," Fox thanked the former spy.

"No problem boys - just don't tell Kiria about my whereabouts," replied Snake, as Falco handed him the laser point rifle, and the former spy handed Fox the camera. Once Fox and Falco walked away, and the coast was clear, Snake retreated to his cardboard box, hiding underneath it.

 **Snake: *underneath his cardboard box* Go away, I don't want to entertain any questions...what if Kiria sees you near the cardboard box, and gets the idea that I'm hiding underneath it?...People in this mansion actually miss me, they miss my presence? Don't tell them I'm still around, make them think I'm dead or something! Some guys are more appreciated after their death, so, when I "come back to life", everyone will start appreciating me more...hopefully in a non-romantic way.**

Fox and Falco walked through the hallways, looking for someone else to prank, when they encountered Sonic, Crash, and Aku chilling out. Sonic and Crash were eating chili dogs...wait, was Sonic forcing his new best friend to like chili dogs? Granted, his friendship with the bandicoot was growing, but just because he liked something didn't mean that Crash had to like it too...

"Trust me Crash, you're gonna fall in love with these chili dogs - they're practically better than those so-called 'Wumpa Fruit' that Aku keeps raving about," Sonic said to the bandicoot, who was chowing down on a chili dog, before looking up at Fox and Falco. "Oh, hey Fox and Falco! Watcha doing? Why are you all dressed up Fox, going on a date with Krystal?"

"Falco and I are spending our entire day pranking others - it's a part of our YouTube channel," explained Fox, not caring to go into the details about the competition involving Little Mac and Knuckles...and Pit and Kirby, if they were even allowed to join. "We tried to pull off this sniper prank at the Black Knight's tea party, but unfortunately for us, the Black Knight and his guests were fun-intolerant..."

"Fun-intolerant? Sheesh, those are the worst kind of people around..." Just then, something snapped inside Sonic's head...and it wasn't good. "So, since you two are pranking and all...how about you pull a prank on Tails?"

"Why would we want to prank your best friend for?" asked Falco - the way he and Fox were seeing it, it was like Sonic wished to sever his friendship with Tails. But as you might recall earlier in this episode, Sonic told Tails that their friendship was over.

"Tails really isn't my friend anymore, for he kept a secret away from me...a secret about his undisclosed romance with Coco Bandicoot!" Fox and Falco simultaneously gasped, while Aku just shook his head. "Yes, my own friend, Tails, leaving me in the dark as he pressed on with his dark secret...of love! Relationships aren't something worth keeping a secret about! What if Tails needed relationship advice? Well, if he needs any advice, he better not come to me!"

"Dang Sonic, I feel bad for you, I know what it's like to have a best friend keep a secret from you..." said Fox, stroking his fur. "... _if_ that were to happen to me in the first place. But no worries, my man, for we're gonna make Tails pay!" Aku would talk Fox and Falco out of the prank, but what was the point...?

* * *

Pit and Kirby were still playing games, playing on the NES this time around, and they were playing with Flora and Felicia, as suggested by Dark Pit. Pit, wanting to introduce the two maids to the sport of the American football - especially with football season fastly approaching - challenged Flora to a duel...a game of _Tecmo Bowl._ At first, Flora was nervous, and seriously doubted her chances at winning, but thanks to a pep talk from Dark Pit, the maid was feeling more confident...well, only a little bit.

"Um, Flora, not sure if you know this, but...you can snap the ball already," Pit said to Flora, her hands shaking as she looked at the television screen. The controller was in her hands, but the maid was too afraid to even snap the ball! The fear of failure was looming over her, and it was making Pit quite bored. "Look Flora, if you don't want to play against me, then I understand - I might be too good for you anyways." Pit's _NBA Live_ duel with Kirby notwithstanding. "You could let your sister play for you, if you like!"

"No thanks Pit, I think Flora's got this," smiled Felicia, patting her sister on the shoulder. But Flora didn't get it, she was scared to the bone. She definitely didn't want to embarrass herself...especially if her opponent was Pit. Losing to Pit at video games would be like losing in blackjack to a toddler!

 **Dark Pit: Got a lot of faith in Flora's abilities, I think she will do absolutely well. I've been preparing Flora by playing games with her in the arcade room, and thanks to me, she's now a _Pac-Man_ champion! *pauses* ...took her forever to realize Pac-Man wasn't the bad guy in his OWN game, but having a great teacher (like myself) can show you the way.**

"Hey you guys, look what I brought!" exclaimed Dark Pit as he entered the living room, holding a box of pizza. The moment he saw Flora frozen, visibly afraid, he placed the pizza box on a nearby table and rushed over to the maid. "Yo, Flora, what are you doing, why aren't you doing anything?" Dark Pit asked the maid.

"I-I don't want to mess things up...what if I snap the ball, and something bad happens?" fretted Flora; she oughta be glad there were no delay of game penalties in _Tecmo Bowl_ otherwise she would be penalized _hard._ "What if I lose the ball, and allow the other team to retrieve it? What if I hardly get the ball at all during the game...?"

"Flora, you're playing against Pit, you have nothing to worry about - last time I played against Pit in this game, I put up so many points against the guy, that I nearly broke the game! Pit turned the ball over like he was giving out Christmas presents...if I can beat him, then certainly you can!" However, Flora still remained lacking in confidence, solemnly looking down at the floor, and Dark Pit heaved a heavy sigh. "...I can play for you if you want."

"Ooh, that would be really great, thank you very much, Dark Pit!" a suddenly lively Flora thanked the doppelganger, handing him the NES controller. Dark Pit sighed yet again, accepting the controller from Flora, as Kirby inspected the pizza box Dark Pit had brought in.

"Don't mind if I ask, Dark Pit...but aren't we supposed to have pizza tonight?" inquired the pink puffball, feeling tempted to eat a slice of the pepperoni pizza Dark Pit had brought. "Where on earth did you find this pizza?"

* * *

Dark Pit happened to find the box of pizza in the living room, where there were other boxes of pizza present. The person responsible for bringing these boxes was pizza-delivery-man-for-a-day Cortex...fast asleep on the couch in the foyer, his cap over his face. Zelda and Midna approached the sleeping scientist, but they didn't come for him...because honestly who would? They came for the boxes of pizza instead, as Midna grabbed a box. Zelda lifted up the cap on Cortex's face, and saw the mad scientist sleeping away.

"That man will do anything to get inside the mansion..." Zelda had this to say about Cortex, who was now drooling over the couch. He may not be allowed in the mansion, but at least he'll have something for the residents to remember him by. "Also, are you sure about this, Midna, wouldn't this constitute as cheating?"

"It's not cheating unless the person gets caught, otherwise it's fair game," remarked Midna, grabbing Zelda's hand and taking her to the kitchen. "Link and his friends could really use our help anyways!"

* * *

Link and company really did need some help, in their food battle against Mamori and the girls. They were in the kitchen, making a pizza, and following their hard work, they were finished with their pizza...which didn't look like pizza at all. Resembled more like a funnel cake draped in tomato sauce and cheese than an actual pizza.

"Don't know about you guys, but this might very well be the greatest pizza I've ever seen!" exclaimed Sora, as Link and Cloud gave the brunette judging looks. Clearly Sora never had pizza before - but that will all change tonight.

"Mamori can't possibly see this, she'll probably judge us forever," said Cloud. The "pizza" would have to be microwaved later, because of the use of microwaves on the show, but that wouldn't make a big difference either way. "We can just tell her that we forfeit, and then..."

"Psst, Link, over here!" Zelda whispered to the Hylian from the kitchen entrance, with Midna holding the box of pizza. Link walked over to the princess, and Midna showed the Hylian the pizza, and gave the pizza box to Link. The pizza looked small enough to fit inside a microwave...so it was passable.

 **Link: Like Midna once told me before, it's not cheating unless the person gets caught. Worked pretty well for Lance Armstrong...for a while.**

"Thanks a bunch you two, Mamori will never notice a thing," Link would thank Zelda and Midna as he returned to Cloud and Sora, who were feeling cynical about their chances of winning. Posing with a legit-looking pizza might do them in. "...like I told Zelda and Midna, Mamori will never notice a thing." Link assured his friends.

* * *

Tails and Coco were still working on the Holo Caster, and they were making little progress - but it was slow and steady progress, and progress nonetheless. Coco was working on the communication device until her work was interrupted by a text sent to her cellphone.

"Excuse me for a sec Tails, lemme see what this text is all about..." said Coco, as she checked her cellphone; for security and convenience measures, Master Hand had Coco receive contact information from every person in the mansion with a cellular device. "Oh, it's just a text from Sonic, and he sent me a...very unflattering picture."

"Let me take a look at it..." said Tails, as Coco showed him the image; the yellow fox would find himself cringing at a picture of him and Cream, making about profusely with a background of hearts in the background. "What in the heck? Why would Sonic send that picture to you? And when did he make the picture in the first place? This is what I get for introducing the guy to Photoshop..."

Then Sonic sent another picture to Coco's cellphone, and it was another photoshopped picture, this one with Tails and Cream cuddling and making out...on a bed, with Big the Cat in the background playing a saxophone. Coco showed this image to Tails, who looked at said image with his brow furrowing.

"This is completely getting out of hand, I need some answers..." remarked Tails...before a camera lens peeking through the doorway of the workshop caught the corner of his eye. The fox angrily got up and marched towards the workshop door, opening it and seeing Fox and Falco recording on a camera. Seated next to the door was Sonic, on his cellphone. "Okay you guys, what's the meaning of this?!" asked an angry Tails, the angriest he has ever been.

"Dude, Tails, you and Coco had perhaps _the_ worst reaction to any breakup prank I've ever seen," remarked Fox, and that got Tails even more angry. Breakup prank, involving him AND Coco? That had Sonic's name written all over it.

"Sonic were you responsible for the prank, did you send those pictures to Coco? Why'd you do it for?" Sonic was looking around for Crash to bail him out, but the bandicoot wasn't present...he was too busy indulging himself with chili dogs.

"Because...because I was still bitter about you keeping your secret relationship with Coco away from me," was Sonic's reply - a reply Tails didn't even understand. It was all in the blue blur's head.

"Sonic, I was never in a relationship with Coco - sure we may be smart, and we have a lot of things in common, but that doesn't mean I would be in love with her! We'e just best friends, nothing more and nothing else!"

"Yeah, sure man, keep telling me the stuff you want me to believe..." Sonic got up, facing his "former" best friend Tails. "I thought you were better than this...I always thought you were one of the most honest and trustworthy dudes around. But I see now that it was all a lie...a lie you want me and many others to believe."

"Chill out Sonic, you're blowing this whole thing out of proportion...you think that if I were to be in a relationship with Coco, I would go on a date or something, or hang out somewhere other than the workshop, like I don't know, the lounge?"

"There's more to love than just going out on dates, you know...but as far as I'm concerned, you're just a rookie, and I'm a pro. So if you need my help...then you better come crying your eyes out to someone else! No romantic pointers from me!"

An exasperated Tails watched as Sonic bitterly walked away, looking down at the floor. The Sonic-Tails friendship had seemingly reached a snag; it was a kind of friendship that didn't deserve to be severed in any way.

 **Fox: *sighs* Another failed prank...guess Falco and I are falling behind in this YouTube competition. Nobody would be interested in watching failed pranks, unless the prankster gets beats up or shot at.**

* * *

"Welcome back everyone, to part two of our exciting episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin!"_ said Mamori, gathered with Ashley and Asuka in the dining room. Link, Cloud, and Sora were also present. "Our food battle is now over, and it's time for our creations to be judged! And who better to judge our creations than the king of Dream Land himself, King Dedede?" The fat penguin was seated in his chair, waving to the camera as Ashley cued the applause sound from her remote.

"My overly spacious tummy is ready for the awesome food you're gonna feed me!" exclaimed King Dedede, excitedly rubbing his hands together. "Food better be good, otherwise I'm never appearing on this show again..." That wouldn't be the case today.

"Yeah, sure...first up, our wonderful grilled cheese sandwich!" said Asuka, placing a plate with a grilled cheese sandwich on it at King Dedede. It was cheesy, gooey, and everything else you would expect from a grilled cheese sandwich. King Dedede picked up the sandwich, and took a bite out of it...before eating the entire thing, and smiling afterwards. Typical Dedede.

"Oh yes, this grilled cheese sandwich, it's so perfect..the cheese is delicious, melted to perfection, and compliments the bread well...five stars!" Why have King Dedede as a judge, he would rate anything five stars!

"Now it is time for the boys to give Dedede their creation...an absolutely flawless pizza!" exclaimed Mamori, as she was taken back by the pizza Link was holding in his hands. Link was about to place the pizza on the table, but King Dedede, eyeing the cheesy flatbread like it was rare, expensive jewelry, sucked up the pizza, chewed it, and swallowed it...and fell in love.

"This pizza, it tastes so good...the sauce is exquisite and spicy, and the pepperoni is delicious, and the cheese is seriously on point! It tastes...it tastes...it tastes like a pizza from the pizzeria Samus orders from..." King Dedede frowned, as Link and company got nervous...

"Hey Ashley, look what I found - a pizza box!" Ashley's assistant Red interrupted _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ standing at the dining room entrance holding a pizza box. "Which means that the three guys didn't make their own pizza, or their pizza was awful and they ordered pizza themselves!" Mamori and the girls glared at Link and company, with Link having some explaining to do...

"It's not cheating unless someone gets caught...forgive and forget, amirite?" grinned Link, but his grin didn't save him from the uncompromising position he was now finding himself in. Even Cloud and Sora were glaring at the Hylian, for ruining their chances at winning!

 **Midna: Whoops, forgot to hide the evidence...but Link should have done that anyways. He was responsible for the pizza, not me!**

"Ladies and gentlemen, it appears that Link, Cloud, and Sora...cheated," announced Mamori, mustering up the courage to say the last word. "...which means that Ashley, Asuka, and I won! Congratulations to the three of us!" Ashley sounded _The Price Is Right_ theme song from her remote yet again, as Link and company basked in their defeat. Should have just went with their makeshift pizza instead.

"While we're here, aren't we supposed to have pizza tonight for dinner?" inquired King Dedede, now wishing he had another pizza to devour in one gulp. His hunger knew no boundaries.

* * *

Cortex was still asleep in the foyer, and the pizza was getting cold. The mad scientist still had yet to be paid, and that would change when Lucario returned to the foyer with Jacky, who would be paying Cortex.

"You and Akira really need to stop getting suck in the elevator, rescuing you two is becoming tiresome," Lucario would say to the racer, who stopped in his track when he saw Cortex sleeping away. "Something wrong, Jacky?"

"Why is the pizza delivery guy sleeping in the foyer?" questioned Jacky, taking a step closer to Cortex...before taking off the cap and seeing the giant N. Cortex suddenly woke up, seeing Lucario and Jacky glaring at him. Busted!

"Huh, where am I, how long was I asleep?" asked Cortex, with Lucario and Jacky still glaring at him, not answering. "Did Crash Bandicoot pass by? Don't tell me he walked by, and I missed my opportunity to destroy him!" Lucario and Jacky still didn't answer, their glares intensifying as Cortex grew afraid. "Oh poop..."

* * *

Layton and Luke returned from their trip to Dr. Light's laboratory, and although they didn't find any evidence of Team Flare there, they still were confident that more evdience would be abound in the future. As soon as the detectives arrived at the Smash Mansion, they witnessed Cortex being flung out of the mansion's front door, landing on the ground and writhing in pain. Uka, hiding conspicuously, looked from afar, not surprised that Cortex had failed yet again.

"Hmm, didn't know today was garbage day...the more you know," smiled Layton, making a lowkey jab at Cortex, as he and Luke stepped over the mad scientist on their way to the mansion. Another day, another failure for Dr. Neo Cortex...

* * *

Dark Pit completely whooped Pit's behind in _Tecmo Bowl,_ hanging a jaw-dropping _154 points_ on the angel. The doppelganger was playing for Flora, who apparently had zero faith in herself beating Pit. If you doubt yourself against Pit in anything, then you know you got serious confidence issues.

"Another awesome performance by yours truly," Dark Pit cockily smirked, dropping his NES controller to the floor like he was doing a mic drop. Mic drops were apparently against rap battling rules, according to Judd. "I would apologize for humiliating you Pit, but at this point it's like clockwork for me..."

"Oh, thank you so much Dark Pit, I knew you could get the job done!" Flora thanked the doppelganger, proceeding to give him a kiss on his cheek. Dark Pit's eyes widened, as he formed a smile on his face. "Watching you play has taught me a lot...I shouldn't have doubted myself in the first place, I should take things head-on and quit worrying all the time. So thank you, Dark Pit, for showing me the way!"

Dark Pit didn't respond, as he made some unintelligible sound before fainting to the floor. Flora and Felicia looked on...and so did Jakob, who had witnessed Flora kissing Dark Pit from afar.

 **Jakob: The others were right, Dark Pit and Flora _were_ secretly an item... *smirks* ...I'll just have to keep a close eye out on those two lovebirds.**

"Nice game, Dark Pit - maybe next time we play _Tecmo Bowl,_ I'll try and throw less picks, won't throw the ball into coverage that much," Pit said to the doppelganger, who was still out cold. Yeah, throwing less interceptions would help _a lot._ Pit walked over to the digital camera on a camera stand, a camera he used to record the videos of him being whooped by Kirby and Dark Pit in video games...before noticing something was wrong. "Shoot, I had the lens cap on the camera lens this whole time! That means we didn't record a single thing!"

"Pit I told you to take that lens cap off, yet you refused to listen, as always..." facepalmed Kirby, shaking his head, before taking the camera stand down and putting the camera and other equipment away. "But the competition is still young, we have until next week to win the whole shabang. You up for some _Mario Party_ tomorrow?"

"Actually Kirby, I had something else in mind that I've gave some consideration in doing..." answered Pit, stroking his chin, as he took a look at Dark Pit, still out cold. Whatever Pit had in mind had nothing to do with video games...but had the potential to be something greater.

* * *

Proto Man the silent edgelord and R.O.B. were at Mario's home, trying to figure out what was up with the home computer. Mario and Peach looked on, while Little Mac and Knuckles were in the living room, recording themselves rap battling one another.

"Yup, this computer looks like it contracted some sort of virus..." remarked Proto Man, after the efforts to solve the issue were useless. "But this is a virus that I've never seen before - never seen any computer device cut up like this!"

"Please don't tell us our home computer is kaput - X and Zero worked so hard on it a week ago!" fretted Peach, acting like an apocalypse was coming and fixing the computer would prevent said apocalypse from transpiring. Without the home computer, how would the princess be able to catch up on the latest episodes of _Game of Thrones?_

"Peach, I'd love to say no...but this is something else right here." Proto Man looked towards R.O.B., needing some sort of last-minute miracle. "Got any bright ideas that could be of use, R.O.B?"

"TRY HOOKING ME UP TO THE COMPUTER...I COULD DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM THAT WAY..." answered the robot, and so Proto Man took a cord from the computer, and hooked it up to R.O.B., taking forever to find an outlet. Once R.O.B. was hooked up to the computer, something strange happened...

...the robot started spazzing out, its eyes blinking and turning colors, as it fell to the floor, vibrating violently and making malfunctioning noises. Mario, Peach, and Proto Man looked on with fear, and Little Mac and Knuckles had to stop rap battling just to see what was going on. R.O.B., after a minute, stopped spazzing, and its eyes turned a deathly red, as an evil robotic voice was emitted from the robot:

"YOUR TIME IS COMING SOON - YOU SHALL PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE. DEATH WILL BE PLENTIFUL, RESCUE WILL BE OBSOLETE. NOTHING WILL SAVE YOU, YOU CAN ONLY HOPE AND PRAY THAT YOUR DEMISE WILL BE SWIFT, AND WITHOUT PAIN. BE WARNED, FOR YOUR DAYS ARE QUICKLY NUMBERING..."

A sense of fear enveloped the entire home, as R.O.B. returned to normal, the deadly red eyes fading away. The disc tray from the computer suddenly opened; Mario walked over to said disc tray, and found a disc, taking it out and inspecting it. Nothing was on it; it was just a plain, harmless disc that corrupted a computer. And speaking of which, the computer was back to normal...the background and desktop icons were present on the monitor.

"Some-a one's definitely on-a to us..." remarked Mario, furrowing his brow, as he looked at the disc in his hand...the very disc Jakob inserted into the computer in the previous chapter.

Although Mario and company didn't know yet, Jakob was quietly stirring up trouble...and oodles of it, too.


	87. Episode 87: Broken

_Author's Note:_

 _Lots of anonymous reviews this time around, so let's get to them:_

 _"Can you add the ships from Galaga, Galaxian, and Bosconian? (Since they're part of Namco Bandai) how soon will the Death Battle and Dorkly reaction chapters show up? Will we see the other members of the Mishima family from Tekken appear? Will any other Mega Man Star Force characters appear? And finally, Saya and Sheath are from Namco x Capcom and Project X Zone 2. (And I wonder how the characters who remember them would react to them if they were to become residents of the Smash Mansion)"_

 _Thanks for filling me in on Saya and Sheath. Might add the aforementioned ships. Reaction chapters should show up soon. More Mishima family members will appear, same might go for the Star Force characters. Second anonymous review:_

 _"Someone in the Smash Mansion desides to plant a hyper nova seed, not knowing what it is or what it does. Oncd the seed has fully grown, Kirby finds it (maybe by going to the garden with Viridi and Pit?) and desides to eat it, since it's one of his favorite foods. He then becomes Hypernova Kirby. You can choose what goes on from there. (I'm also going to name myself Keeby! Props if you know where that name is from.)"_

 _Yeah, Keeby from the Kirby series! Definitely knew that beforehand. (Thank you Google...) I shall use your idea at a later time. Third anonymous review:_

 _"Can we see the Assist Trophy characters that don't live in the mansion? Like uh, the ones that aren't Mii Fighter costumes like Dillon? Maybe Bowser gets a pet Chain Chomp? I dunno."_

 _Eh, I would add Assist Trophy characters, but if I did, I would have to split the Smash Mansion into two so every resident can have their fair chance in the spotlight. But I wouldn't rule out a Chain Chomp pet for Bowser. Moving on:_

 _"When we hopefully get to see Isaac or Saki in the future (You don't have to add them), I hope they become either regular visitors or permanent residents."_

 _Both are underrated Nintendo characters - they might be permanent residents in the near future. Though I might change my mind. Fourth anonymous review:_

 _"Now since Mania comes out in 2 days could we perhaps see The Hard Boiled Heavies from Mania in here? Despite their name, they're quite dangerous (from what we've seen in offical material). I also request the appearance of obscure Crash Bandicoot character: Rilla Roo. I'd also like to request Pokémon Colosseum protagonist: Wes. AND! More Crazy Hand."_

 _Yes, yes, yes, and YES! I played Crash Bash during my childhood, which means that I'm one of the selected few who knows about Rilla Roo's existence. Might add him to the story. Crazy Hand deserves more appearances, now that I think of it. On to Icarus:_

 _"Can you get Noctis to appear in Smash Life?"_

 _Of course! Noctis is a very complex character, and has a lot of depth, so incorporating him in Smash Life might be a hard task in itself. Last up is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...quick question you said that Tails was 6 years older then Cream but isn't Tails canonically 8 in the games and Cream 6?"_

 _Yes, Cream is six...somehow got Cream and Amy's ages mixed up. Fixed the error. Continuing on:_

 _"I also forgot did Jessie, James, and Meowth leave with Team Rocket at the end of the two part invasion?, because if not then could you have them team up with Cortex to invade the Mansion to get what they want (Crash and the crystal for Cortex and Pokemon specifically Pikachu for the TRio)."_

 _They did leave, but I can have them make a triumphant comeback and team up with Cortex. One last question from Derick:_

 _"...when is the Kiria crushing on Snake thing going to end?"_

 _September, at the earliest...OR I could drag it out till the end of the year. I kid, I kid..._

* * *

 **Episode 87: Broken**

This week has been a great week for Dark Pit - ever since Flora kissed him on the cheek in the previous episode, the doppelganger was prompted to spend more quality time with the maid, and doing more activities together and whatnot. This was a huge blessing for Flora, for as you might recall, the maid suffered from grave self-esteem issues, and was lacking in confidence.

But the more time Flora spent with Dark Pit, the more confident she felt about herself and her abilities. Never was the maid afraid to try something new, like the golf simulator in the gaming room, or cooking a brunch with Lady Palutena. Whenever Dark Pit was around, Flora always felt that everything was alright, everything would turn out great...and that in turn improved her supposed relationship with Dark Pit.

Dark Pit and Flora would continue their bonding in the mansion's foyer, sitting in the windowsill and enjoying some malasadas, which were still a thing at the mansion. Flora was on her break, and she decided to use her break wisely and spend some quality time with a guy everyone assumed to be her love interest, Dark Pit. Who would ever think either Dark Pit or Flora would be in love, let alone with one another? Just imagine if Yoshi hadn't discontinued his strange fanfiction writing - he would have written a _very_ intense fanfic about Dark Pit and Flora that would make anyone question his overall sanity.

"Just so we're clear, Master Hand was the one that allowed you to go on break, and not Jakob, right?" Dark Pit asked Flora; Jakob had said he was going to keep a close eye on Dark Pit and Flora in the previous chapter, and now the butler was standing at the top of the staircase, looking down on the maid and the doppelganger with an intent glare. Jakob was definitely appearing to be some sort of evil guy in recent weeks, and it would only be a matter of time before he started using pawns in his plans...like the two potential pawns he was very much looking at.

"Yes, but only through the jurisdiction of Jakob - Felicia and I worked under Jakob back at Nohr, and so the same thing is applied here," Flora answered with a nod, as Jakob walked away, unseen by anyone except the cameraman that took sight of the butler. Yeah, that guy was up to no good...if only Mario and the others could see it.

 **Jakob: To see Flora in a presumed relationship is, well...shocking, to say the least. Can't say the same for Felicia - from what I've seen with her and Corrin, she looks like a girl that could carry a relationship, by herself, and suffice for the flaws of her boyfriend (and trust me, I know Corrin too well, and he has _a lot_ of which I'm frankly too ashamed to even mention). Flora, on the other hand, struggles with self-esteem and anxiety, and although her self-worth seems to be improving because of Dark Pit, her anxiety is still at an all-time low...perfect for my own intent. *smiles somewhat evilly***

"Maybe it's just me, but I don't think Jakob is all that," remarked Dark Pit; good thing Jakob was no longer around to hear that. "He's just so condescending to everyone, unless you're Corrin and Kamui - those two get a pass. I mean, I can be pretty snobbish too, but I feel like Jakob tends to take his snobbishness to a whole other level, and he can be very blunt with the way he does things. Don't know what Mario and Master Hand see in the guy!"

"To be honest, Dark Pit, I pray and hope that Jakob doesn't become a permanent member of the mansion," said Flora; hearing that would break Jakob's heart...provided the man had a heart in the first place. "I know from experience - he's rude, dismissive, and at times impolite. And I fear that he might be expressing favoritism with Felicia over me...I can tell in the way that he treats her."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too, doesn't boss her around as much as he does with you. That does kinda account for favoritism if you ask...me?" Dark Pit suddenly grew concerned, when he saw Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, all dressed in black and wearing weird black-and-white masks. "Um, you guys do know Halloween isn't until two months from August, right?" Dark Pit would ask the Kooaplings.

"We have found the target...get him, guys!" ordered Bowser Jr., as the Koopalings ran towards Dark Pit, grabbing the doppelganger and throwing him to the floor, before giving him a classic _Boyz In Da Hood_ beatdown, like they were a bunch of gang members beating up someone from a rivaling gang. Flora could only watch in horror as Dark Pit got beat up, until Bowser Jr. held his hand up, ordering the Koopalings to stop. The son of Bowser walked up to Dark Pit, and pulled him up to his feet, the doppelganger staggering just a little.

"The deal has been done...it's time for you to make your appearing!" Bowser Jr. said to nobody in particular, but just then, a person walked out from the darkened portion of the foyer, dressed in a black robe and holding a black-and-white umbrella over his head. Dark Pit and Flora looked inquisitively, as this person had a childlike deposition, with blue eyes, yet with a strand of white in their hair.

This random person, dressed in black and carrying an umbrella, was apparently Pit, as the angel walked up to Dark Pit. What in the world was happening...

"Ah, Brother Kuro...I'd knew you'd be here..." echoed Pit, speaking with some strange British accent. Dark Pit tried to fight the Koopalings' grip, but it was no use. "You love Flora...you love Flora, more than you have ever loved me. I don't think, that you ever loved me at all, Brother Kuro...everyone in this mansion loves you, Brother Kuro, but not me...why is that so?"

"Because you have mad problems, and some serious issues, as you're proving to me right now," answered Dark Pit, as Pit maintained a serious persona about himself. It was the most serious he ever was since episode 55, when he was acting all emo and such. "A trip to a mental institution would work wonders for you."

"You've made a fatal mistake, Brother Kuro...your mistake, is that you never finished me!" When, during the events of _Kid Icarus: Uprising,_ or in a regular Smash battle? If the latter, why would Pit be so worked up over it? "You've left me broken, and yet you did not finish the job...but with my functioning brain, I have devised a plan - a plan that would lead to your destruction! Now, Brother Kuro, I want you...I want you to SUFFER!"

The Koopalings would proceed to beat up Dark Pit once more, with Bowser Jr. joining in this time. But Dark Pit would fight through the Koopalings, pushing Roy and Morton to the floor, as he grabbed Flora's hand and ran off, with Pit watching. Dark Pit had just about enough of Pit's nonsense...

"Keep running, Brother Kuro, but you cannot hide...you can never hide, from broken brilliance!" exclaimed Pit, before laughing like a typical villain, his arms held out to the heavens. Watching from underneath a cardboard box was Snake, who lifted down his box before scooting away unseen.

 **Snake: Come to think of it, having Pit sniff the cocaine to prove to him that it wasn't sugar might've been a bad idea, from a long-term standpoint...but hey, the kid acted like he smoked crack beforehand, so I can't feel _that_ guilty. Now back to hiding...**

* * *

Sonic was still hurt from Tails keeping his "secret relationship" with Coco away from him, so hurt that he couldn't bring himself to share the same bedroom with the yellow fox. So to distance himself from his "former" best friend, the hedgehog asked permission from Master Hand to swap rooms with Yoshi, and now the blue blur was roommates with Knuckles, his #1 best friend of _Sonic_ origin.

"You think you're ever gonna forgive Tails for keeping his relationship a secret from you?" Knuckles asked Sonic, who was feeding Shaymin, as he was doing sit-ups in the middle of the room. Hard to believe that Knuckles, as strong as he was, never had abs, but the echidna decided to change all of that today.

"Not unless Tails finally admits to being in the wrong and acknowledges that keeping secrets is never a safe thing to do," answered Sonic, after he was done feeding his pet Pokemon. "Hopefully Tails and Coco didn't fall in love at first sight - not only would that be cliche, but it would also sting, at least for me! Imagine keeping away a secret for like, three weeks! Three is never a good number - three strikes, and you're out!"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door; Knuckles finished his sit-ups and got up off the floor to answer the door. Once he opened the door, he saw Crash and Coco standing by, with Aku floating in the air.

"Well if it isn't the bandicoot siblings and the floating...talking...mask thing," remarked Knuckles, not knowing that Aku was actually a witchdoctor mask. And yet nobody, not even Crash or Coco, has ever saw Aku doing any witchdoctor stuff. Can't use his lack of limbs as an excuse! "You came to exercise, with the strongest echidna around, the guardian of the Master Emerald?" Knuckles flexed his muscles, thinking this would impress Crash and company...but it didn't. "Don't be shy to say no, you can always come exercise with me another day!"

"We're not here for any exercising, Knuckles..." stated Coco, with a smile on her cheery face. "...I just wanted to come here and...clear up some things with Sonic." On that remark, Sonic quickly placed Shaymin back in her cage, and hopped on his (new) bed, covering himself with a blanket. Pretty effective move, since everyone saw the hedgehog do this in broad daylight.

"Sonic the Hedgehog isn't here anymore ma'am, he tried to run away from the mansion yesterday and got ran over by a speeding vehicle," explained Sonic, speaking in a formal tone that didn't do much to quell anyone's suspicions. "His untimely death has not been reported until today, it should be in the crime blotter soon...or the obituary. Either one shall do."

"Yesterday I saw Sonic the Hedgehog throwing water balloons at Link's mailman, and not receiving any form of comeuppance for his behavior." And that's when Sonic remained quiet. "C'mon Sonic, I know you're hiding underneath that blanket, just give it up already!"

"Why do you instantly assume that Sonic is underneath this blanket? What if, the being underneath this blanket...was a ghost! Oooooooooh!" Sonic chanted, moving his arms about under the blanket like he really was a ghost. The only person legitimately scared was Crash, whose legs were quivering, but everyone else was unfazed. They were witnessing one of the crappiest ghost impersonations take place.

"Give it up Sonic, we all know you're under that blanket, we all saw you hide and everything," said Knuckles, and Sonic, finally admitting defeat, threw the blanket off of his head, before getting off the bed and approaching the bandicoots...and Aku. Sonic just stared at the three, with his hands in his pockets...something he would do if he had pockets in the first place. If only Sonic wore pants...

 **Tails: Am I at all worried about Sonic "ending" our friendship? Not in the slightest - this already happened before, but under a different circumstance. One time, Sonic called off our friendship when I openly stated that Amy Adams wasn't that pretty as everyone made her out to be, and Sonic kept rambling on and on about how Adams was the hottest actress in Hollywood and a bunch of other crud. It nearly gotten to the point where Sonic questioned if I even liked girls, all because of a simple, honest opinion I made! After five days of Sonic pretending I didn't exist, like I was some kind of invisible ghost, I took back what I said, and just like that, our friendship picked up right where it left off. *looks around* But to this day, I still don't think Amy Adams isn't that pretty. You won't hold that against me, would you?**

(Note: Tails's opinions does not reflect the opinions of the folks behind _Smash Life_ )

"Sup Crash, how's it going my man?" asked Sonic, giving some dap to the bandicoot. "Sup Aku, what's the weather like up there, feeling chilly?" Sonic, knowing he couldn't give dap to Aku, just acknowledged the floating mask by pointing at him. However, there was one person the hedgehog didn't acknowledge...Coco Bandicoot.

"Um, Sonic, I do believe that you're forgetting someone..." said the blonde bandicoot, as Sonic looked at her like she was some kind of foreign alien from a very distant planet. The body language should tell you everything you need to know about Sonic's current relationship with Coco.

"Oh, sorry, I don't talk with anyone associated with former friends. You're a part of Tails's secret relationship, so until Tails admits that he was in the wrong, you'll just remain the Chris Benoit to my Vince McMahon, if you know what I mean..." If Coco didn't, then Pit would be more than happy to fill the bandicoot in...if he wasn't "broken", as he called it earlier.

"You claim that you can't talk with anyone associated with former friends...and yet you've asked Master Hand to be roommates with Knuckles, who is a very close friend of Tails," pointed out Aku, who completely stumped Sonic. Aku was great at pointing out things logically...must come from the experience of following around a crazy goofball like Crash on his adventures.

"Just because we're roommates doesn't mean that we talk with one another! Yes, Knuckles may have spoken to me a minute ago, but because I know how truly tough the guy is! I mean, do you have any idea how strong and tough Knuckles is? He's so strong and tough, he could take on any wrestler, amatuer or professional, and make them cry for their mommy! He could give Chuck Norris nightmares - in fact, Knuckles is the only thing Chuck Norris is afraid of! It's no wonder we hardly see Norris these days, he's just trying to avoid Knuckles!"

"Funny you should mention the bit about wrestlers, Sonic - Master Hand is apparently bringing some wrestlers over to the mansion, so we could have some kind of 'early Summerslam', as he called it. Apparently he asked Mario to buy some tickets for Summerslam, and Mario didn't do it, and so now we're going to have our very own Summerslam, at the mansion, with wrestlers and whatnot...heard he's speaking with Itsuku and Touma right now about bringing over the wrestlers. I got a bad feeling about what Master Hand has in store..."

* * *

Shulk had a weird, annoying habit...a habit of telling everyone that he was really feeling it, whether he was brushing his teeth, playing billiards in the gaming room, or whenever he used the bathroom. (To be fair, anyone would be feeling it after a quick bathroom break.) But today, the Homs wasn't feeling it at all...for someone had ransacked his closet!

Yes, Shulk's closet was ransacked, and not only was Shulk affected, but his roommate Dunban, who shared the closet, was affected as well. Their clothes were stolen, from their regular wear, to their swimwear, to clothes that they didn't even know they had. The clothes were nowhere to be seen, not even at the laundry room. Not wanting to spend their day wearing boxers like Sora once did, Shulk and Dunban were determined to find fitting clothes that would suit them temporarily, and it wasn't until they were approached by Toad that their hopes of finding clothes were fulfilled.

"Please tell me you found clothes that aren't unflattering, I would hate to see Shulk and Dunban becomes jokes of the mansion," Fiora spoke with Toad, standing with the presumed drug lord outside of his room. "Though it would be worth it to snap some pictures and post it onto social media...but not at the cost of diminishing either Shulk or Dunban's dignity."

"The clothes I found for Shulk and Dunban were supplied by Heihachi, so you shouldn't have anything to worry about," assured Toad, as Fiora let out a sigh of relief. Will we see Shulk and Dunban dressed up as kung fu masters? "No part of their dignity will be lost, trust me. Alright, Dunban and Shulk, come on out!"

Shulk and Dunban would exit the room, both wearing outfits from _Tekken Tag Tournament 2..._ with Shulk dressed up as Sheik, and Dunban dressed up as Toad. The clothes weren't unflattering, and it didn't make either Homs lose their dignity...but Fiora couldn't help but chuckle at Dunban, being dressed up as Toad.

 **Dunban: *taking off Toad cap* Even while dressed up as Toad, I still have a lot of questions on my mind...how do we know Toad isn't keeping anything under his cap? Could be hiding shrooms under there...and not the good kind of shrooms.  
** **Shulk: What I wanna know is, how big of a risk would it be if I were to pose as Sheik in public, and make everyone assume that Sheik was a guy instead of a gal?  
Dunban: Only a select few of social justice warriors believe Sheik is a girl. So you should be fine regardless...**

"Toad, are you sure that this cap might be a little too big?" asked Dunban, as Fiora had her mouth covered to stifle her laughter. Meanwhile, Shulk was busy looking for his ponytail...only to realize that a ponytail didn't come with the outfit. That would have _really_ confused common folk.

"It was the only size Heihachi provided," answered Toad, who might be hiding shrooms underneath his cap. And you say he wasn't a drug lord... "Besides, I don't see anything wrong with it, it will keep your head all cozy! Just don't put the cap in the washing machine, or the drying machine for that matter, and you'll be fine."

"This cap may be comfortable and all, but I can't possibly be seen wearing this outfit all day long. I'm starting to miss my usual attire already..." Proto Man, the silent edgelord, walked by and saw Shulk and Dunban, adorned in their costumes, and said...well, nothing. Dude was just staring, not sure what to make of the Homs' attire.

"Eh, this isn't even the weirdest thing I've seen at the mansion, so I have nothing to say...I'll just let you two be great," remarked Proto Man, as he walked away, continuing his silent edgelord ways. Shulk and Dunban weren't mocked or made fun of, so that was a huge plus.

"Just give it one day, and maybe the next day, your clothes will show up, back in your closet," Toad said to Shulk and Dunban, instilling in the both of them a sense of confidence they did not care for. "I'm sure everything will be back to normal sooner than you know it!"

* * *

Dark Pit and Flora were running away from Pit, who had apparently went "broken", and they were also running away from the Koopalings, all of whom were semeingly working for Pit, for whatever reason. The two would reach the gaming room, where they saw Felicia completing her maid duties.

"You go help out your twin sister, while I hide somewhere!" Dark Pit told Flora; the maid nodded and went to her sister, while the doppelganger frantically ran to a couch, hiding himself underneath the furniture. Sitting on this couch, however, was Link and Zelda, and they saw Dark Pit in the act of hiding.

"Dark Pit, why the heck are you hiding under the couch for?" questioned Link, who was enjoying a little chit-chat with Zelda before Dark Pit ran out of nowhere and made the couch his hiding spot. There were far more better hiding spots available in the gaming room for the doppelganger to use. "Hiding under the couch is very typical Pit behavior - don't tell us you're starting to act like the guy!"

"Pit has gone crazy - he's dressed in black, and has this white streak in his hair, and he says that he wants to destroy me!" responded Dark Pit, poking his head out of the couch. "He claimed that I never loved him or something, and that I never finished him, and on top of all that...he referred to me as 'Brother Kuro'!" Link and Zelda found this too strange, but Zelda had an idea as to the reason behind Pit's odd behavior.

"Pit might be emulating something he saw while watching wrestling, I assume," stated the princess, recalling that one time Pit acted like Triple H and savagely attacked random people with a sledgehammer. Got grounded by Palutena after nailing Captain Falcon in the nether regions. "I'd say give it a few more hours until Palutena sees Pit acting crazy and punishes him."

"I can't wait a few more hours, what if Pit grows crazier? Dude already said that he was 'broken'...what could possibly be worse than that?!" Dark Pit shuddered to think upon it.

 **Pit: *standing next to a random Girafarig* Ah, George Washington, I knew you'd come... *laughs manically*  
Girafarig: *does nothing until Pit feeds him carrots*  
Pit: Yes, I've come forth bearing gifts...your favorite food, the carrot. But I'm here to ask you, George Washington, for I am at a crossroads...the Seven Deities told me, that I must destroy Brother Kuro...since you're my closest confidant in the Great War, you must tell me...what must I do? Enlighten me, I beg of you!  
Girafarig: *does a cry as he eats his carrots*  
Pit: Yes George, your advice is invaluable, it's priceless! You're the most wise soul to have ever existed! I now know what I must do, I must send out Vanguard 1...and Senor Kirby, to retrieve Brother Kuro!**

Kirby entered the gaming room, and the pink puffball wasn't alone...he was accompanied by a drone flying in the air, and the presence of the drone was enough to capture the attention of everyone in the gaming room, looking at the device before continuing their usual activities.

"Hey Kirby, nice drone you got there!" Kamui approached the puffball, complimenting the drone. "Haven't seen a drone like that ever since the Mario Bros, Corrin and I went to that _Star Wars_ convention. There was a drone flying all over the place, and Corrin was scared that it was some sort of alien UFO!" Lord help Corrin if an Amazon delivery drone came to the mansion to deliver something - there would be a potential lawsuit in the making if Corrin got involved.

"That is Senor Kirby to you, Miss Kamui," responded Kirby, having been sent to the gaming room by Pit under the advice of George Washington, a Founding Father of the United States apparently a Girafarig. "The drone you see before you is Vanguard 1, it can fire lasers and teleport people. We're here looking for Dark Pit - we must capture him and bring him to Pit so we can delete him and render him... _obsolete."_

"Dark Pit just ran inside the gaming room, I think he hid underneath the couch Link and Zelda are sitting at," Kamui pointed at the couch in question, as Dark Pit nervously gulped loudly. Kirby and Vanguard 1 walked over to the couch, as Link and Zelda did nothing that would fend Dark Pit from the puffball and the drone.

"I know you're hiding in there, Dark Pit, so just come out so we can make things easier..." ordered Kirby, but the doppelganger did nothing...so Kirby was forced to resort to other measures. "Didn't want to do this, but you left me with no other choice...Link, Zelda, I strongly recommend that you get out of the way." The two Hylians did as they were told, getting off the couch as Kirby huffed, and he puffed, and he sucked up Dark Pit from under the couch, now having the doppelganger in his mouth as he ran off, Vanguard 1 following after.

"Someone get me out of here, this sucks and I don't deserve this!" Dark Pit cried from inside Kirby's mouth, stuck inside a prison that had no exit. "Also, where on earth is your stomach Kirby?!" One of the many unsolved mysteries of the universe.

* * *

Today was the last day for the Star Fox pilots' YouTube competition with Little Mac and Knuckles, and Fox and Falco wished to end things with a bang and go all out with their pranks. The prank they were doing now involved pantsing residents, and they would find two poor victims in Ryu and Ike, the two walking together in the hallway discussing fitness.

"I bench pressed over 400 pounds blindfolded, without breaking a sweat!" bragged Ike - alright, so maybe they were bragging about their abilities more than they were discussing fitness. "Bet you can't even do that!"

"400 pounds is practically nothing for me - try bench pressing 1000 pounds, while standing on ONE FOOT!" retorted Ryu - he could pursue a career in powerlifting with a feat like that. "Your silly acts of strength mean nothing to me!"

Before Ike could fire back, Fox and Falco ran by, pulling down the pants of the swordsman and Ryu. Ike was wearing normal-looking briefs, whereas Ryu was wearing boxers...with Chun-li's face on it. No doubt Ryu was blushing a little.

 **Ryu: *shrugs* What, I gotta show _some_ support for my woman, even in the most unorthodox ways! Also, the boxers themselves were pretty cheap, too, it was quite a bargain!**

"Hey, this is very uncalled for, you two get back here!" an angered Ike called out to Fox and Falco, who were snickering as they ran down the hallway. Good thing no woman was around to whistle at Ike and Ryu.

"You pilots shall pay for this, you'll reap what you sow!" added Ryu, shaking his fist at the pilots as they made a turn around the hallway corner. Fox and Falco came to a stop, bursting into a laughing fit.

"Bruh, did you see Chun-li on the back of Ryu's boxers?" Falco asked Fox, having caught a glimpse of Ryu's boxers after pantsing the kung fu fighter. "I mean, I know he loves the chick, but dang bro, that's taking it too far in my opinion!"

"I expected something more ironic, like boxers with hearts on them...would really degrade Ryu's manliness," replied Fox, giggling, before his eyes fell prey on another victim...Lloyd Irving. The swordsman exited the vending machine room, holding a book under his arm. Lloyd's heightened intelligence really gave the swordsman a great appreciation for reading books. "How about we pull down Lloyd's pants? Looks like an easy target."

So Fox and Falco ran up to Lloyd, sneaking up behind him, and when the time was right...they simultaneously pulled down the swordsman's pants, exposing his boxers. Lloyd looked down as he was walking, seeing his pants pulled down and couldn't do anything to stop it, for he was in a state of shock.

"Wait, what, what the...AAAAAAAH!" the swordsman said as he continued walking, before slipping and falling, his head colliding against a nearby table before falling unto the floor. Fox and Falco laughed at Lloyd as they waited for him to get up...but the swordsman wasn't responding! Nervous, the pilots approached Lloyd, and upon further inspection...it looked like the swordsman was knocked out cold!

"Hoo boy, we definitely screwed up this time..." remarked Fox, shaking his head at an unconscious Lloyd. Gotta take the man to the fitness center ASAP.

* * *

Wii Fit Trainer was busy in the fitness center, doing her calisthenics, when she saw Fox and Falco enter the fitness center, with Falco carrying Lloyd in his arms like he just rescued him from a burning building. Lloyd's pants were pulled up to avoid any form of suspicion about his unconsciousness.

"My goodness, what on earth has happened to poor Lloyd?" gasped Wii Fit, as she stopped her calisthenics to check on the swordsman. "Did you find him lying unconscious somewhere, or was it a self-inflicted injury?"

"Lloyd's head injury was actually self-inflicted," explained Falco, as Fox quickly shot a disapproving look at the avian pilot, shaking his head. The pilots couldn't make any mention of them holding responsibility for Lloyd's injury. "...but that's what Fox and I believe. We actually found the man on the floor, and with the fitness center close by, we had to rush him said fitness center pronto."

 **Fox: I'm scared man...what if Lloyd getting knocked out affects his brain, and he goes back to being regular Lloyd - being stupid and annoying?  
** **Falco: It's bad enough that we have to go through a similar phase with Sora; Aerith is apparently too afraid to tell him the truth about Cloud. Said that the truth "might set Sora free"...yeah it will, it'll free him of his ignorance!  
Fox: Yeah, when you consider how Sora is, I hope Lloyd stays the same, and he can continue teaching Bowser's kids. Who needs public schools anyways?**

"I see...follow me, Leia will know what to do with Lloyd," said Wii Fit, as the trainer led Fox and Falco to a room where Leia was already present. "Miss Rolando, I'm afraid we have a patient...Lloyd here is knocked out cold, and Fox and Falco claimed they saw him lying on the floor by himself. Can you tend to him?" Leia, glancing at poor Lloyd, knew she would be an idiot if she answered no.

"Of course I can - put him on the patient bed and I'll see what I can do," the nurse responded, as Falco placed Lloyd on the patient bed, feeling nervous like Fox was...and for many guilty reasons.

* * *

Mario and Peach, wanting to spruce up their living room a little, were expecting Olimar and Alph to deliver some flowers from the mansion gardens to their home. While they were waiting for the astronauts, the married couple were trying to figure out if there were any secrets on the disc Jakob secretly inserted into their computer...but to no avail.

"Looked everywhere - on the hard-a drive, in the file explorer, and yet I can't-a seem to find the disc anywhere on-a the computer!" frowned Mario, after spending much of his time looking for the disc, with Peach standing over him. "Disc must-a have a one-a time use...never have I seen a disc-a like that!"

"With Toon Link and Young Link still doing their police escapades, perhaps we could ask them to find the individual with ownership of the disc," suggested Peach, before rethinking her suggestion after thinking about the Mr. Game and Watch fiasco. "...or we could ask Layton and Luke instead. That would work."

"Hmm, this whole-a incident might have some correlation to the hotel-a attack. The message on that-a disc definitely sounded like a threat-a directed at us. It's likely that..." Mario was suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door - Olimar and Alph had arrived. "Excuse-a me, princess Peach..."

Mario got out of his chair and went to the front door, and when he opened it, he saw Olimar and Alph, flanked by flowers of different shapes, sizes, and colors. The living room of Mario's home was about to look absolutely amazing.

"Howdy Mario and Peach - we've brought you the best flowers we could find!" exclaimed Olimar, making sure not to drop the flower pot he was holding in his hands. "Soon your living room will be the talk of the town...if people get to see your living room often, that is. Either way, it'll look great!"

"Can't thank you-a enough for bringing us-a some flowers - come right-a on in!" said Mario, allowing Olimar and Alph to enter Mario's home as the plumber assisted the astronauts in taking the flowers inside.

"This place looks nice already...can't wait till I have myself a wife and live out on my own!" remarked Alph, analyzing Mario's home once all the flowers were inside. "Have my place looking all nice and stuff..."

 **Alph: Everyday I yearn to find love at a young age, and I wish to find my true love at Hocotate Freight...but there's not a babe worthy enough for me. And don't you even DARE to bring up Brittney. Charlie can marry her and know what it's like to feel extremely miserable.**

"Alright, got the flowers in, so let's assemble them around the living room..." said Olimar, before his eyes caught a flower pot, with no flowers in it. The astronaut would take a look at the flower pot...and once he got close, a large Piranha Plant suddenly sprung out from the soil, eating poor Olimar and swallowing him whole. Mario, Peach, and Alph watched this go down in shock, as the Piranha Plant smiled once devouring its prey. "Hello, anyone here, why it's so dark?" Olimar's voice was heard from inside the plant. "Am I stuck inside a Piranha Plant again?! That's the ninth time this month...Alph, what did I tell you about bringing empty flower pots to Mario's place?!"

"My apologies, Captain Olimar, I was in a rush!" apologized Alph, but his apology wouldn't work because Olimar was still trapped in his botanic prison. "I just saw that flower pot by itself, and I grabbed it in a hurry! Thought we inspected all the empty flower pots, but turns out I was wrong..."

"Olimar is going to be safe in there, is he?" Peach disconcertingly asked Alph; she feared that the Pirahna Plant had dangerous plant fluids that could harm Olimar, and potentially disintegrate the astronaut if he were to come in contact.

"He will be, unless we can't find a way to get him out..." A regular Piranha Plant, no problem, but one larger than normal? Alph and company had their work cut out for them...

* * *

As orders from Master Hand, Itsuki and Touma were in the movie room summoning pixelated versions of WWE superstars, due to the fact that A) they were responsible for the Roman Reigns incident in episode 67, and B) Pit was too "broken" to complete the task himself, a task he would've enjoyed completing. Master Hand had high hopes for his "Mini Summerslam", and gave Touma a list of wrestlers he wanted to participated at his whack wrestling show.

"According to this list, Master Hand wants us to send out the following wrestlers - Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Tyler Breeze, Fandango, Sami Zayn...and Sting," Touma read off the list on his hand. The six wrestlers mentioned were apparently in a tag team match set up by Master Hand...Lord knows the referee refereeing that hodgepodge match.

"I'm sure one of the guys on that list is retired," said Itsuki, that wrestler being Sting. Very interesting choice by Master Hand. "Could be Sting, I could tell just by hearing that name. Sounds like a wrestler name for someone from the nineties. So how do we do this thing again?"

"Remember when you tried to stop that wrestling recording, and you hit the wrong button? Maybe if we hit that button again, we can send out the wrestlers that way. But first, we have to find clips of the wrestlers on the VCR...let's take a look at the video library..."

Touma glanced at the VCR's video library, and was stunned to see hundreds of wrestling clips on the video device. Most of these clips were aptly named with the names of the six wrestlers, making it easier for Touma to find the performers Master Hand wanted for his "Mini Summerslam". After pulling up a few clips and finding the wrestlers, Itsuki pressed the button, sending out six pixelated wrestlers in total, all of them standing in the movie room...Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Tyler Breeze, Fandango, Sami Zayn, and Sting, standing together in perfect pixelated glory. They may not be the real deal, but for Master Hand, they'll do...

 **Master Hand: Gonna be starting off small with my first-ever wrestling show, it will have a distinct indie feel - people will be sitting in folding chairs, inside a large room with a wrestling ring in the center, and spectators will be cheering on all night long. Don't know how big the wrestling scene is in Seattle, so I've opted to have several residents in attendance for my "Mini Summerslam"...whether they like it or not.**

"Hello to you all - I am Itsuki Aoi, and this here is my good friend, Touma Akagi," Itsuki would introduce himself and Touma to the pixelated wrestlers, who were very skeptical about the two. "We, uh, brought you six here so you can be a part of this, uh, wrestling show called 'Mini Summerslam'." The wrestlers, not sure what to make of this, made questionable looks as they glanced at one another. "Now I guarantee you, this is just like the actual Summerslam, but let's just say that..."

"Does this 'Mini Summerslam' have the same feel that the regular Summerslam does?" asked Zayn, raising his hand. Itsuki bit his lip, comtemplating whether he should answer the question or not.

"If Summerslam was an indie show, and not a big-time program...then yeah!" The six wrestlers, with their minds made up, nodded their heads, as they were exiting the movie room, one by one. "Hey, where are you guys going, are you gonna give the show a chance?!"

"Look man, we appreciate the offer, but it's a no from all of us," said Matt Hardy, turning around to provide Itsuki his answer. "Let us know when there's a legit wrestling show taking place, so we won't have to waste our time!" The elder Hardy was the last wrestler to leave, as Itsuki fell to his knees. A couple of rebelling pixelated wrestlers would definitely put a dent in Master Hand's plans.

* * *

Not wishing to be a part of Master Hand's silly wrestling show, the Breezango duo - Tyler Breeze and Fandango, dressed up as fashion police - patrolled the Smash Mansion, looking for someone they could give a ticket to for their fashion sense. They would come across Shulk and Dunban, who still couldn't find their clothes, and were also still wearing their costumes. The Homs stopped in place when they encountered Breezango, who got their notepads ready for writing up some tickets.

"Funny mushroom hat...unique ninja attire...I take it you fellas are about to embark on a video game convention of some sort?" Fandango asked Shulk and Dunban, clicking the ink pen in his hand. Breezango's first fashion tickets were about to be written sooner than expected!

"No sir, it's just that we've lost our clothes, and so we were left with no other choice but to wear these threads," explained Shulk, feeling the sudden urge to use the bathroom...if only his ninja outfit had a zipper. "We're only wearing these costumes temporarily until our regular clothes show up."

"And yet you couldn't find anything better to dress up in?" questioned Breeze, who had his ink pen ready to go. A pixelated pen, but a pen nonetheless. "Sounds like a fashion felony, doesn't it Fandango? Let's write these two blokes up!"

"No, wait, stop what you're doing!" Dunban halted Fandango and Breeze, stopping them in place before they could write their tickets. "My friend Shulk and I were busy looking for clothes...since you two are police officers...somewhat, perhaps you can help us look for our clothes." Breezango, mulling over this offer, ultimately decided that solving a fashion-related crime was eons better than some silly "Mini Summerslam".

"Missing clothes is quite a travesty...you boys got yourselves a deal," replied Fandango, agreeing to Dunban's terms. "Breeze and I will be looking for the clothes ourselves, and we'll be searching...undercover." And Breeze and Fandango sure experts at going undercover, too.

 **Fandango: Just walked by a grown man wearing a green elf hat and a monkey with a shirt, but no pants... *shakes head* ...I'm expecting to give out loads of fashion tickets at this fine establishment.**

* * *

So where would Master Hand's "Mini Summerslam" take place at, you might ask? It would take place at the dancing room, where Pit used to do his egregious wrestling training. Master Hand ordered Palutena to order a wrestling ring, like she did for Pit, and place it in the seldom-used dancing room, where there folding chairs all set up around the ring. Although the event didn't start until later, Isabelle was in the ring with the apparent referee, Wolf, discussing his referee duties.

"Whaddaya mean, I'm not allowed to harm any of the performers, where's the fun in that?!" frowned Wolf, showing signs of being a sucky ref early on. Or unless he wished to do someone a favor. "If I call the match like any other referee, it will make my job totally boring!"

"Hurting any of the wrestlers would give a narrative to the audience that you have a particular bias against that wrestler, and it would degrade the match," explained Isabelle, as Wolf scoffed and rolled his eyes. "We want to eliminate as much bias as possible, and have the match end cleanly."

"Oh I know, well how about I attack every wrestler participating - hit every one of 'em with a steel chair! I could be an equal opportunity referee - everyone gets a fair, equal chance at getting beat up!" Too bad no such type of referee ever existed in wrestling.

"No, you're going to call the match exactly how it's supposed to be called. No shenanigans or horseplay. Master Hand is apparently putting a lot of effort and heart into his wrestling show, and I don't want him to feel disappointed."

Isabelle exited the wrestling ring, as Wolf groaned, not in favor of his referee duties. Sonic and Knuckles entered the dancing room, holding wrestling flyers for the "Mini Summerslam". Only one match was advertised, a tag team match - the Hardy Boyz and Sting, vs Breezango and Sami Zayn. One of the more random match ever assembled in wrestling history.

"To think Master Hand called this match a 'dream match'..." Knuckles frowned, glancing at the flyer as he and Sonic placed the flyers on a nearby table. "Now where are the rest of the flyers, didn't Master Hand tell Crash to bring some?"

Right on cue, Crash entered the dancing room, spinning like maniac as he entered because, well, spinning was the bandicoot's specialty. Wrestling flyers were fling all over the place, until Crash finally came to a stop, posing in front of Sonic and Knuckles and saying "Ta-da!"

"In all my time knowing Crash, I could never understand how the man is able to spin like that without even losing his breath," Sonic would say to Knuckles, who nodded his head, for he did not understand either. Same possibly could be said for Aku, who arrived at the dancing room after looking for Crash.

"Next time you go on a spin-crazy sprint like that Crash, please warn me ahead of time, so I won't waste my time looking for you," the floating mask said to the bandicoot, still in his pose. "If I had an actual respiratory system, I would've ran out of breath because of you..." Aku lacks a respiratory system, and yet he sweats? Makes sense...

 **Aku: Monitoring Crash has its ups and downs, I have to admit - while Crash is quite a handful, he's much better than being stuck with Cortex. I feel so bad for Uka, having to follow Cortex 24/7, but he's evil, so he deserves it.**

 **Crash: *stares at camera, before licking it profusely with his tongue***

Tails and Coco entered the gaming room, enjoying a little chit-chat with one another, much to the chagrin of Sonic. The hedgehog didn't mind Coco's presence, but with Tails, it was a different story. Sonic couldn't stand to share the same room with someone so secretive, someone he couldn't trust to save him from drowning at a public pool - seeing Tails made Sonic feel some type of way about him.

"We all initially thought the prize money would go to the last person standing, but it turns out Bowser was destined to win the money from the very start," Tails conversed with Coco, discussing the epic prank war that took place at the mansion. The conversation would come to an end when Tails and Coco encountered Sonic and company, with Sonic glaring at Tails. "Oh, hi Sonic! I see you're getting the flyers ready for Master Hand's Summerslam thing!"

"And I see that you and Coco are still in love..." groaned Sonic, still glaring at Tails. Almost making the poor fox feel scared. "I would commend you for finding your true love so young, but seeing that we're no longer friends, there will be no commending from me!"

"Sonic are you still angry at me because I kept my 'relationship' with Coco a 'secret' from you? We were never in a relationship in the first place, we're just best friends. Like I said before, we're never crossing the line as far as our friendship goes. No romance from us!"

"'Just friends' is a cover most couples do as a front to dissuade others from learning the truth about their love. Your excuse isn't gonna work on me Tails, I know you and Coco got a relationship going! No point in hiding it anymore!"

"Yeah, sure Sonic...anyways, Lady Palutena made some malasadas in the kitchen, and they look delicious!" explained Coco, who never had the Hawaiian treat before. "Tails and I are about to grab some malasadas - I'd advise you guys get some before they're all gone! That goes especially for you, Crash!"

So Tails and Coco would exit the dancing room, with Coco looking back at Crash and Aku with a saddened face. She and Tails couldn't be in the dancing room for a full minute because of Sonic being Sonic, and her face seemed to pity Crash for having Sonic as a friend. But Crash didn't care.

Sonic and company were about to place the flyers on the folding chairs, when a pixelated wrestler, with white facepaint and brown hair, strolled into the dancing room with a cape on, holding a black baseball bat in his hand. This wrestler - an icon, a legend, a visionary - was known by one name, and one name only...Sting. This legendary pixelated wrestler kept strolling through the dancing room, his glance fixated on the wrestling ring in the center.

"Go ahead and eat your stinking malasadas with Coco, Tails, keep on progressing your relationship I don't care..." grumbled Sonic as he placed the flyers in the chairs, before encountering Sting. The hedgehog dropped the flyers to the floor, and looked up at Sting in awe. "Hey, I know you from somewhere - you're that Sting guy I saw on some wrestling show somewhere! It was when I was flipping through the channels one day - I saw you and some other wrestler going at it in the ring, and I just watched you two do your thing before changing the channel to some Paula Deen show. Think it was Paula Deen..."

Sting didn't say a word - he just stared at the hedgehog, and let his silence do the talking. Sometimes actions speak louder than words, and although Sting wasn't doing any actions, he still allowed Sonic to feel his pixelated presence.

"Ah, I see you got a baseball bat in your hands...which has got me thinking. Perhaps you can steal off my friend Tails for me, as an act of retribution? Not actually steal the dude, but hit him with that bat and making him pay. You see, Tails was in a secret relationship, and he withheld any information about said relationship from me, and that in turn made me feel hurt. So I want you to put the hurt on him, as a favor for me!"

Sting still didn't say anything, as he kept looking at Sonic. In his head he was probably thinking, _"Why does this hedgehog want me to beat up his best friend for, what is it that I might gain from doing this?"_ Sting's face was really open for interpretation.

"...I'll just take your silence as a resounding yes!" exclaimed Sonic, after waiting for an infinity for Sting's answer.

* * *

Leia was busy tending to Lloyd in the fitness center, the swordsman still unconscious. Fox and Falco were worried for Lloyd, with Falco pacing back and forth. In actuality, they were worried that Lloyd, should he wake up, call out Fox and Falco for being responsible for his injury.

"Is Lloyd going to be okay, is he ever gonna wake up?" Fox asked Leia, who was applying some strong smelling salts to Lloyd. Had different kinds of smelling salts held up at the swordsman's nose, just for good measure.

"I'm doing everything I can Fox, quit being such a worrywart!" frowned Leia, holding the smelling salts even closer to Lloyd's nostrils. A few seconds later, Lloyd finally woke up, sitting up in his patient bed, and scratched his head...

...before picking his nose and smiling as he did so. Something was clearly off here.

"Hi Fox and Falco, hi Leia, are we playing doctor?" Lloyd excitably asked the pilots and the nurse. The old Lloyd was restored, it seemed like...

* * *

 **Pit: Yes, yes...it is now time for Brother Kuro...to be rendered OBSOLETE! And once Brother Kuro is rendered obsolete, he shall be a part of my broken brilliance, and fight at my side in the Great War! But a task so great cannot be done alone...**

Dark Pit, who was fast asleep, woke up, and found himself inside a room, tied to a chair. The doppelganger, who wished to question why he was even asleep in the first place, analyzed the room, and saw Viridi, sitting at a piano and playing the instrument well. Viridi expertly playing a piano was quite a sight to behold for Dark Pit.

"I see that you're finally awake, Brother Kuro," Viridi said to Dark Pit, the goddess of nature apparently a part of Pit's shenanigans. "Pit has been waiting for your awakening - Senor Kirby had knocked you out unconscious with chloroform, since you kept complaining!"

"Viridi, are you seriously following up Pit and his nonsense?" questioned Dark Pit, before looking out a window and seeing a pink puffball tending to the front yard, singing "Obsolete!" over and over again. "And why the heck is Kirby is raking the front yard, and singing at the same time?!"

"That's Senor Kirby to you, and he's raking the front yard because that's his duty. Now, how about you enjoy a piano solo...from King Charles!" Dark Pit furrowed his brow, before looking down and seeing Luigi's son Charles, seated at a baby piano, playing the same tune Viridi was playing, albeit horribly due to his age. Sweet, adorable Charles was playing the piano, and Luigi nor Daisy weren't even around to witness it.

"Obsolete, obsolete, obsolete, obsolete..." sang Pit, entering the room, speaking in the same accent as before. "Viridi, your mastery of the 88 Keys of Aubrey is absolutely INTOXICATING! Your piano solo was intoxicating too, King Charles, and surely Brother Kuro will think the same way!"

"Can someone please tell me what's going on...?" questioned Dark Pit, losing his patience, as Pit approached him. The devious smile on the angel's face suggested that he wish to do some devious things to Brother Kuro, a la Dark Pit.

"Allow me to inform you, Brother Kuro...I have received a premonition, from the Seven Deities, who all agree that you must be rendered obsolete! Your soul and personality shall perish, and you shall become broken, like myself, and fight with me in the Great War!"

"Seriously dude, I think you've been smoking some really awesome crack as of late. And you're starting to bug me out. Can you just make me 'obsolete' or whatever so I can be free?" Dark Pit had some catching up to do with Flora.

"You will be free, Brother Kuro...you will be obsolete once we commence...the Final Deletion! Senor Kirby shall prepare the battlefield, and there you will meet your dutiful end! Your soul shall belong...to ME!"

Pit cackled evilly, laughing like a maniac, as the pixelated Hardy Boyz watched, perplexed. Pit was essentially copying their wrestling gimmick, and somehow dragged his friends Viridi and Kirby into it. That really bugged the two brothers.

"Don't know about you, but that kid is doing it all wrong," Jeff told Matt, pointing at Pit who was still manically laughing. Almost sounded like the angel really smoking some awesome crack! "We oughta teach him a lesson!"

"Agreed, I find his mannerisms to be somewhat offensive - no way we can let this continue any longer," said Matt, nodding his head, before he and Jeff looked behind him and saw Link, who was minding his business. The Hylian looked at the Hardy Boyz, and immediately froze in place.

"Um...can I help you guys?" Link asked the Hardy Boyz, who glanced at one another with a smile - indicating that they planned on using Link in some fashion to stop Pit's "broken brilliance".

* * *

Back at Mario's home, Olimar was still trapped inside the Piranha Plant, and Mario and company were doing everything they could to rescue the astronaut. They tried using sharp objects, like knives, to cut the Piranha Plant open, but its green skin was simply too tough.

 **Alph: Olimar is gonna hate me once he's freed from that Piranha Plant, he'll hate me because I accidentally placed his life in danger...Louie and Charlie and everyone else at Hocotate Freight will hate me too...Brittney? Pfft, I don't care what she thinks...**

"Hey Mario, Aerith said you might need some fertilizer for the flowers Olimar and Alph brought, so she gave me some fertilizer for you and Peach to use," said Cloud as he barged inside Mario's home with bags of fertilizer barging through the front door without ringing the doorbell, because the swordsman simply wasn't about that life. Cloud would stop in place and drop the fertilizer onto the floor when he took notice of the giant Piranha Plant in the living room. "...uh, do I even need to ask what's going on here?"

"Alph unknowingly brought a flower pot-a with a large Piranha Plant inside-a to the house, and now said Pirahna Plant ate-a poor Olimar alive," Mario explained to Cloud, who felt like the plumber was leaving out some details. Story sounded weirder than usual to the swordsman. "No matter what-a we do, we can't get-a Olimar out..."

"Well, it's a good thing I brought my Buster Sword, perhaps my blade can do the trick," Cloud donned his Buster Sword, and went to slice open the Piranha Plant...who caught the swordsman in midair and ate him alive. Mario and company gasped, as the only thing left of Cloud was his Buster Sword, the blade falling to the floor. "Yeah, I kinda knew that would happen..." Cloud mumbled from inside the Piranha Plant, where he would find a friend...

"Yay, I'm no longer lonely, thanks for dropping in Cloud!" Olimar thanked the swordsman, who could be heard sighing loudly. "Seeing all this green is starting to make me go crazy, but with you here, I won't feel so..."

"Shut up and don't talk to me, and I'll spare your livelihood, capiche?" On that remark, Olimar opted to remain silent. Just then, a pixelated wrestler kicked the already open front door wide open, making his presence known to Mario and company. This pixelated wrestler was Sami Zayn - the quirky and neurotic good guy who always had a smile on his face.

"Ahoy, my good friends, Sami Zayn's the name, I'm a WWE superstar and honestly, I have no clue why I'm even here..." Zayn would introduce himself to Mario and company, looking like he was running out of breath. "Five other wrestlers and I were told about some 'Mini Summerslam' that we're supposed to be a part of, sounds like malarkey anyways. I mean, one minute I was in the WWE ring, the next I found myself in some room with the other wrestlers, with a giant TV and movies and stuff. Reason why I came here is because I saw this spiky-haired blonde fellow carrying some bags of fertilizer, and since I wanted to help out, I followed him from the large mansion to this destination, and now I see the fertilizer...but not the blonde guy." Yes, Zayn was very talkative, as you just saw right now.

"Nice meeting you, Mr. Zayn, welcome to our home," Peach smiled at the pixelated wrestler. "Right now we can't use the fertilizer, for there's a large Piranha Plant in our living room, and we're trying to dispose of it." Zayn looked at the Piranha Plant, stroking his chin in thought.

"Yes, this Piranha Plant indeed is large, and it's quite a fearsome foe too...its sharp teeth might be a boding problem, and it will snap at anyone, like a viper, like Randy Orton, out of nowhere! I would wear it down with a Helluva Kick, but that would be risky...why don't we burn it down with fire?" Mario was fully against Zayn's idea, he couldn't afford to have his house burned down.

"Wouldn't that be riskier than-a your 'Helluva Kick'?" asked Mario, unsure if he pronounced Zayn's finisher move correctly. But that didn't matter right now.

"You're right, my mustached friend, don't know what I was thinking...oh, I know, we could light a match and throw it inside the Piranha Plant! Then the plant wheezes and coughs, with smoke coming out of its mouth, and then it will whither away and die! Yeah, sounds like a great plan, now just to be on the safe side, there isn't anyone inside the plant, correct?" Mario and company exchanged nervous looks with one another, for Cloud and Olimar were still trapped inside the Piranha Plant. "Hmm, judging by the looks on your faces, a lit match might not be our best option for slaying this botanic beast..."

* * *

 **Sonic: Enjoy your stupid romance with Coco as long as you can, Tails, because this guy... *points behind him at Sting, idly standing* ...this guy, will make you pay dearly! Ain't that right, Sting?  
** **Sting: *says nothing*  
Sonic: Uh oh Tails, Sting just sent you a death threat, without even opening his mouth...you better watch out!**

Tails and Coco were in the dining room, eating some malasadas, while Palutena was in the kitchen cooking another batch of the Hawaiian treats.

"Shoot, ran out of sugar..." frowned Palutena, when she noticed that there was no more sugar in the sugar canister. Nobody would enjoy unsweetened malasadas. "Should be more in the pantry!" The goddess of light departed from the kitchen, where Sonic and Sting arrived, staring down Tails and Coco.

"You see those no gooder Tails over there, Sting?" Sonic asked the pixelated wrestler, who nodded his head. "He thinks he can carry on with his romance with Coco, without MY prior knowledge! The nerve of Tails...I think we should teach Tails a lesson, a painful lesson that he won't forget! So go over there, and whack him with your baseball bat, as many times you want!"

So with Sonic stepping to the side, Sting went through the kitchen, and arrived at the dining room, encountering Tails and Coco. The pixelated wrestler got his bat ready, getting into a striking stance.

"Still can't believe Sonic thought the two of us were in love," chuckled Tails, as Sting was readying himself with his bat. "Even if we were in love, I wouldn't tell Sonic anyways, and for a variety of reasons. Sonic would tease me all day about being in love, about how I was in love with a bandicoot - he made fun of me because people shipped Cream and I together. Also, Sonic wouldn't handle a best friend of his in a relationship - he'd think I would be one-upping on him and stealing his shine!" Suddenly Sting drew his bat away, slowly...

"But I don't understand, Knuckles has a girlfriend and Sonic seems fine with it," stated Coco, as Sting's bat was no longer in the vicinity of Tails's head. "Does Sonic feel slanted against Knuckles, in a way?"

"More or less - he believes Rouge is better-looking than Amy, because of her sex appeal and all. Wouldn't say Sonic is insecure - I'd say he's more on the bitter side, and that could come with his sense of arrogance. Comes with being the fastest thing alive, I suppose..."

"Perhaps, though Sonic shouldn't be bitter. It's not like he's some single, lonely guy with nobody to love. He should be content with what he has. Someone should teach that to him!"

And that's what Sting decided to do, as he returned to the kitchen, seeing Sonic. The hedgehog was noodling on his cellphone when he saw Sting walking towards him, and was expecting great news.

"Did you get the job done, did you make Tails suffer?" Sonic asked Sting, who lifted up his baseball bat with might. That was the last image Sonic had seen before everything went dark...

 **Palutena: Frankly the pantry is nowhere close to the kitchen...it's actually near the living room, apparently. The pantry used to be a smoking room, which was later revamped because really Snake was the only person that used the room...now that I think of it, I've hardly seen Snake at all for the past couple of weeks. He didn't die, did he? Mario must've found Snake's body and buried him somewhere, without telling anyone. I'll ask him about it later today.**

Palutena was whistling to herself as she walked back to the kitchen, with a bag of sugar, and on her way there, she encountered Sting, who was dragging Sonic across the floor. The hedgehog was unconscious, and the sight of the blue blur was enough to make Palutena stop in her tracks.

"You can thank me later, at another given time," Sting said to Palutena, speaking for the first time, as he dragged Sonic; Palutena nonchalantly shrugged as she resumed her whistling, heading to the kitchen.

* * *

Master Hand arrived at the dancing room, to see if the pixelated wrestlers were making preparations for the "Mini Summerslam" later today, but there was one problem...none of the wrestlers were present! Instead, Master Hand saw Knuckles and Crash in the wresting ring, having some match together, with Wolf as the referee. As Crash went to pin Knuckles, Master Hand seethed.

"One, two, THREE!" shouted Wolf, doing the three-count, before grabbing a bell and ringing it loudly. "The winner of the match...Crash Bandicoot!" Crash got up, and celebrated, as Wolf raised the bandicoot's arm in victory. The celebration would end prematurely when Master Hand approached Crash and company, still seething.

"Why are you blokes in the wrestling ring?!" Master Hand snapped, as a frightened Crash retreated to the ring apron to avoid the giant hand's fury. "This ring is for the six competitors only, and Wolf has jurisdiction being in this ring because of his referring duties!"

"The six wrestlers all thought your wrestling show was stupid and so they all went rogue and did their own thing," explained Knuckles, as Master Hand groaned. He should have expected the wrestlers' refusal. "That's what Touma and Itsuki told me a few minutes ago."

"They better be glad I can't outright punish them, though that would be lovely..." Master Hand went to the dancing room door, so he could call out someone to gather up the wrestlers. "Jakob, bring your scrawny butt over to the dancing room, I need you to do me a favor!" Master Hand's voice boomed, and right on time, Jakob arrived.

"Good thing I was around the corner when you called," the butler remarked, fixing his magnificent ponytail. Don't even try to deny it. "What appears to be the issue?"

"The six wrestlers I wanted for my 'Mini Summerslam' have gone rouge and refused to partake in my wrestling show, and now I don't even know where they might be. I can't force...erm, _invite_ the residents to the show if the performers are absent! So I want you to find the wrestlers for me. They're all pixelated, since they came from a device in the movie room, so if you see any pixelated guy..."

"...then they're a pixelated wrestler that I must bring to this room. Got it." Jakob would leave the premises, ready to embark on his mission.

* * *

"We've scoured every inch of this mansion, and we can't find any missing clothes..." said Fandango, who exited from the ball pit room, wearing a Mario disguise. All in the name of going undercover. "Maybe, we're not good cops after all..."

"No, Fandango, we're not good cops...we're _great_ cops," amended Breeze, who also exited the room...wearing a Princess Peach disguise. Complete with the pink dress, crown, gloves, and earrings! Fandango and Breeze turned and saw Bowser, staring at the cops with his mouth agape, holding a cup of fruit punch in his hand as he dropped said cup to the floor in shock.

"I'm so very confused right now..." the Koopa King said as he awkwardly walked away, shaking his head. Proto Man walked by, and saw Breezango in their disguises, also shaking his head.

"Still not the weirdest thing I've seen at this mansion," the silent edgelord remarked, as Fandango and Breeze looked at one another. Perhaps they should have selected different disguises?

 **Breeze: I'm sorry, but if Dango and I dressed up as Nintendo's power couple isn't the weirdest sight to behold at this mansion...then this place is an absolute freakshow.**

Shulk and Dunban approached Breezango, still dressed up as Sheik and Toad, respectively. Questions were racing through his head when he saw the tag team duo in their undercover attire.

"Any sign of the missing clothes?" Shulk asked Fandango and Breeze, who both shook their heads. "Drat, where could they be? Our clothes were present last night - could a thief sneaked into our room during the middle of the night and stole our clothes and sold them at a pawn shop?" Seemed likely, yet a little improbable.

"Shulk, Dunban, why are you two dressed as Sheik and Toad?" Jakob showed up, questioning the Homs; that's when Shulk told the butler about the clothes having gone missing. "Missing clothes, you say? Think I might know where your clothes are..."

So Jakob would lead Shulk and Dunban to Duck Hunt Dog's room (stupid mutt didn't even need a room), with Breezango following them. It was at this room that Jakob showed Shulk and Dunban their clothes - inside Duck Hunt Dog's doghouse. A very large doghouse.

"Duck Hunt Dog must have went to your bedroom and rummaged through your closet, and brought your clothes to his room," explained Jakob, as Shulk and Dunban quickly retrieved their clothes. "Seen him carrying Zelda's wedding dress with his mouth one day. I'd advise locking your bedroom door next time around. As for you two..." Jakob turned to face Breezango, who were ready to give the butler a fashion ticket. "I do believe the case is now closed...follow me. We have some searching to do."

"Sounds to me like another crime...is afoot..." remarked Fandango, donning his sunglasses, as Jakob rolled his eyes.

* * *

Pit was "preparing the battlefield" or whatever outside for Pit, positioning ladders and fireworks and whatnot. Watching from conspicuously from afar was the Hardy Boyz, Matt and Jeff, and Link.

"Okay, this kid is doing it all wrong - he couldn't even wait until it was dark outside for the Final Deletion!" frowned Matt; Link wished to know what this "Final Deletion" was, but it would be better if he googled it instead. "Before the kid DELETES this 'Brother Kuro', we must DELETE the unoriginal impersonator ourselves!"

"And that's where you come along," Jeff said to Link, nudging the Hylian on the shoulder. "You must know a lot of magic voodoo, so perhaps your magic could stop this madness...amirite?"

"Well, you came to the right guy..." smiled Link, rubbing his hands together. His plan to stop Pit did involve magic...and a somewhat faithful companion. "Here's what I got in mind, might require some improv..."

* * *

Fox and Falco were in Little Mac's room with Little Mac, the YouTube contest officially over (and Pit and Kirby didn't even get to enter...like they had any chance). The participants polled up all the views and the subscriptions, and after the final tally was conducted...

"Hahaha, Star Fox pilots have won the contest!" announced Falco, who was now gloating in the face of a salty Little Mac. "Told you singing Friday would kill your channel!" "Friday", by Rebecca Black? Yeah, that was a channel killer right there...

 **Fox: Yup, Falco and I won the YouTube contest...and now we won...we won...well, we just won. Nothing special, really. Nothing worth texting Krystal about and bragging on social media. *pauses, then takes out cellphone and types quickly***

Fox and Falco left Little Mac's room, soaking in their victory, when they came across Lloyd in the hallway. The swordsman was back to his normal, stupid idiot self, and the pilots, realizing this, tried to make a run for it.

"Fox, Falco, I got a bone to pick with you!" Lloyd angrily told the pilots, stopping them in place. Was Lloyd about to call Fox and Falco out for injuring him? "I know what you two did earlier, and it was flat-out disgusting..."

"Look Lloyd, we're sorry for pulling your pants and making you fall and knock your head and get knocked out and stuff," apologized Fox, being as apologetic as possible. "We just did it for our YouTube channel, and we shouldn't have..."

"Pulling my pants down? What are you talking about?! I was just disgusted with how you were attempting to prank Leia, by messing with the medical monitor! Leia told me all the details. Do you have any respect for medical equipment?!"

Lloyd kept running his mouth at Fox and Falco, disparaging them for their actions, when Sting walked by, now carrying Sonic over his shoulder. Falco saw the pixelated wrestler, and also saw the bat in his hand.

"Let me borrow this for a quick second, fam..." the avian pilot said to Sting, as he took his baseball bat and whacked Lloyd on the head with it, knocking him out as he fell to the floor. "That should bring back genius Lloyd soon," said Falco, as he returned the bat to Sting. Jakob would show up later,with Breezango behind him with their miniature squirt guns. Who needs regular guns anyways?

"Another pixelated being spotted...Fox, Falco, take Sonic and take him to Leia ASAP, same goes for Lloyd," ordered Jakob; Falco grabbed Sonic from Sting, and Fox picked up Lloyd off the floor, as the pilots took the two to the fitness center. "Where could the other wrestlers be, I wonder?"

"We saw Sami Zayn follow this guy with fertilizer, so he might be outside growing plants and stuff," replied Breeze. Time for Jakob to take a look-see...

* * *

Speaking of plants, Mario and company were still dealing with the large Piranha Plant, with pixelated wrestler Sami Zayn at their side. Since Mario didn't wish to use fire in his own home, other measures were used...

"Now, Poochy, go-a for the head!" ordered Mario, Poochy in attack mode, as he leaped at the Piranha Plant...only to be eaten by the carnivorous being. The sound of Poochy barking was heard from inside the plant, followed by Cloud's sighing.

"Told you using your pet dog was a bad idea..." Zayn said to Mario, shaking his head in disapproval as Mario was now receiving a questionable look from Peach, having sacrificed Poochy for the greater good. "We could have used fire instead, but you didn't want to burn your precious house down...I'm sure you could build another house from scratch."

Jakob, who did not see Zayn outside, opted to speak with Mario and ask about the wrestler's whereabouts. And would you know it, Jakob stepped inside the plumber's home, and saw Zayn dealing with the Piranha Plant, without trying to get eaten. He also saw the Buster Sword lying on the floor, untouched.

"Surprised no one bothered to use this blade," the butler said, grabbing the Buster Sword and using it to slash the Piranha Plant, while it was distracted. Zayn backed away, as Mario and company watched Jakob slay the Piranha Plant, slashing the stem relentlessly before slashing off its head. The head of the Piranha Plant fell to the floor with a thud, as Jakob, wanting to see if the plant ate any victims, tore down the stem to rescue Cloud, Olimar, and Poochy.

 **Jakob: Wouldn't say that I'm an expert swordsman, but I did look like an expert wielding Cloud's massive sword. Sometimes you have to be an expert in every little thing that you do, even when you're not confident. A lesson Flora should be learning...**

"Uh, thanks for saving us Jakob, Mario and the others were honestly no help whatsoever," Cloud thanked Jakob, the first face he saw after being free. "I should be returning to the mansion, before another Piranha Plant eats me..."

"You're very much welcome, Cloud- I really put your sword to good use," replied Jakob, handing the swordsman his Buster Sword. Cloud nodded as he left Mario's home, before Jakob gave his attention to Zayn. "I want you to meet me outside, with your wrestling friends, now..."

* * *

Zayn would join Sting, Fandango, and Breeze outside with Jakob, the butler having called Isabelle outside for a roll call. Jakob would later learn that his work was not yet done...

"We're still missing the Hardy Boyz, Matt and Jeff Hardy," said Isabelle, reading off the wrestling program on her clipboard. "I spoke with Zelda earlier today, and she said she saw Link hanging out with some pixelated men. So that could be..."

"THE FINAL DELETION HAS FINALLY ARRIVED, PREPARE TO BE DELETED, BROTHER KURO!" Pit's voice was heard from the backyard. Something about Pit's outburst and strange accent was enough for Isabelle and company to question the angel's sanity.

"The four of you stay where you are - Isabelle and I shall investigate what's taking place in the backyard," Jakob instructed the four wrestlers, as he and Isabelle ran to the backyard. The four wrestlers were now left alone, as Fandango saw a vehicle decked in Seattle Seahawks gear zoom by on the road.

"This whole time, we've been in the city of Seattle...the Rainy Apple," remarked the fashion cop, almost soulfully with his voice low. "Rainy Apple" kinda had a little ring to it...

* * *

Jakob and Isabelle arrived at the backyard, and were shocked by what they were witnessing - Pit having the upper hand on Dark Pit, flying away from the angel who was firing fireworks at the doppelganger from a rocket launcher.

"Stay still and take your beating, Brother Kuro, we haven't even gotten to the ladders yet!" cackled Pit, with a sociopathic look on his face. He was really enjoying this, in case you couldn't tell. "Face your deletion like the man you are!"

"You practically dragged me outside for this crap, this isn't even funny!" Dark Pit frowned at Pit, effortlessly dodging a firework fired at him. "When you started speaking with that funny accent, I knew the conclusion of your madness would be downright insane!"

"We're going to get in so much trouble for this..." said Jakob as he and Isabelle watched the madness persist, guesstimating in his head how long it would take for the police to arrive and arrest Pit for his violent ways.

Pit kept firing fireworks at Dark Pit, but the angel and the doppelganger would stop what they were doing, when a small being descended from the sky, wearing some kind of weird mask. This being was actually Midna, though neither of the Pits knew this because of how big the mask was.

"The Seven Deities, have summoned me to this very destination, the Mansion of Smash!" exclaimed Matt, who arrived at the scene with his arms majestically in the air. He was speaking in a funny accent, too - was he "broken"? "While I may be in pixelated form, it was thanks to this Seven Deity in my presence that has allowed me to deliver this message, this premonition...to the imposter before me!" Matt pointed at Pit, who was quickly on the defensive.

"I do believe _you're_ the real imposter, you...you...being of pixelation!" Pit pointed back at Matt, seemingly less "broken" than before. Dark Pit, wanting to fly away, wished to stick around and see how the ordeal would end.

"Member of the Seven Deities, whom I cannot named...what must be done to this imposter?" Matt asked Midna, who chanted some made-up language that Matt was able to translate. "Yes, your advice is so valuable, it cannot be measured! I agree that we must DELETE the imposter from existence, and anyone else associated with him! The other Deities approve your advice, that I'm sure of!"

"Hold-a the phone, Pit is-a innocent, let me explain! It's not what-a you think..."

Climbing down from a tree, holding a camera and a controller, was Luigi, who grabbed the attention of everyone outside. You might think the plumber was hiding from someone, but that wouldn't be the case...

"This whole thing-a was staged, it was all part-a of some You-a Tube challenge Pit and Kirby wished-a to be a part of, which I'm-a sure is over already," explained Luigi; Pit tried to dissuade the plumber from speaking anymore, but Luigi kept on talking. "Pit thought that recreating some-a wrestling gimmick might bring in viewership and-a subscriptions to his YouTube channel, and he dragged-a poor Dark Pit into his shenanigans, as well as-a enticing Viridi to join. He even took my son-a for crying out loud!"

 **Luigi: Pit refused-a to give back Charles unless-a I filmed him being "broken"...he'll be "broken" in a more painful way soon!**

"I pretty much had-a to film Pit this whole-a time, just to get my son-a back," continued Luigi, as Dark Pit lowered himself to the ground. "And I had to control-a some stupid drone as well, with this controller in-a my hand. Granted Viridi might be taking care-a of my son now, but my wife and I still-a want our boy back! So, to finish things-a off, I want you to spare-a Pit, and leave-a him be!"

"The plumber of green has spoken...he wishes for the imposter to not be DELETED, but to have his existence spared," announced Matt, like he was at a wrestling event addressing the crowd. "What does the member of the Seven Deities have to say about the matter?" Midna spoke more of the made-up language, as Matt nodded his head at every little thing she said. "You think the imposter should be spared too? Then the decision has been met! Imposter, you are free to go!"

Pit, having been exposed by Luigi, did nothing, as Luigi gave him the camera and the controller and went inside, to fetch his son. Pit was looking at his battlefield, mostly ripe with ladders, when Dark Pit ran by, hitting him on the shoulder.

"You're gonna get grounded!" the doppelganger, jovial again, chanted at Pit, as the angel, not wanting a punishment from Palutena, chased Dark Pit into the mansion, as Link and Jeff popped out from the shrubbery, joining Matt.

"Your plan worked out better than expected, glad we sought help from you," Matt said to Link, reverting back to his normal self. "If it weren't for you, that imposter kid would have kept copying our brokenness forever...and by no means would we allow it!"

"Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, pleasure to meet you both," Jakob approached the brothers, who turned around and saw the butler. "Jakob's the name - I'm a butler working under a being called Master Hand. Speaking of Master Hand, he would like to have a word with you..."

* * *

"Whaddaya mean, you don't want to do the Mini Summerslam, have you got any idea what you're missing out on?!" Master Hand boomed at the six pixelated wrestlers, who were gathered in the movie room. Evidently they all wished to return to where they came from.

"Look, Master Hand, we appreciate the offer, we really do...but nobody would want to see pixelated dudes fight, even for free!" explained Zayn, giving out some logic that evaded Master Hand throughout this episode. "While we enjoyed our time, we don't deserve to hang around any longer, and therefore, we request that you send us back to whatever thing that brought us here. Sorry that we couldn't be a part of our little wrestling show."

"Do you all agree to this request?" Master Hand asked the five other wrestlers, who all nodded their heads, leading Master Hand to sigh. "Fine then...maybe next year I could bring actual wrestlers to my Mini Summerslam, the real deal! Next year...but before anyone gets sent back - Fandango, Tyler Breeze, please take off those outfits! You're not going undercover anymore!"

So Fandango and Breeze, still dressed up as Mario and Peach, respectively, took out their oufits, as Jakob watched through the doorway. The butler turned and walked away, and during his trek, he caught Dark Pit, who was sitting in the hallway with Flora. The two were giggling and enjoying themselves, picking up from where they left off earlier in the episode, as Jakob continued to look as he walked away.

"My actions today surely must have caught the attention of Master Hand, the all-knowing one," Jakob said quietly, an evil smirk forming on his face. "Hopefully I proved my usefulness to him...before matters start to take shape..."

Jakob was looking for pawns, it seemed like, and he might've found some good ones in Dark Pit and Felicia...the latter being slightly more intriguing.


	88. Episode 88: Gossip

_Author's Note:_

 _Three reviews to answer...tres reseñas para contestar._

 _"Can you add the characters from The Last Story and Pandora's Tower? Are Noctis and Lightning going to be a couple? (Since Final Fantasy XV was originally called Final Fantasy:Versus XIII) A small scene of Wingul from Tales of Xillia being attacked by Wingulls? A Crash Team Racing or Crash Nitro Kart chapter? Will the events of Resident Evil VII be mentioned? And finally will Gaius and Muzet's appearance be based on their Tales of Xillia or Tales of Xillia 2 look?"_

 _Characters from The Last Story and Pandora's Tower may be included. Might do a scene with Wingul and the Wingulls. (Hehehe...) Not sure about a Crash racing chapter. Resident Evil VII might be mentioned. Gaius and Muzet will have their appearances based on Tales of Xillia 2, since it's more recent. And Noctis and Lightning being a couple? Ah, the possibilities...moving on to Derick Lindsey:_

 _"Quick question: will we be getting any more clues next chapter about the wedding explosion and what Team Flare and presumably Jakob have anything to do with it? Oh and maybe have a chapter where someone thinks that Toad is a drug lord and follows him around trying to catch him in the act (whether he is an actual drug lord or not is up to you)."_

 _I'll be setting things up in this chapter where they'll be more clues in the following chapter. Toad being a drug lord shall also be explored - had that running gag going on since chapter 16, so it's time I actually incorporate it into an actual plot. Let's see what J300 has to say..._

 _1\. Could you do some sort of jumanji-esque chapter where Jakob has Sora clean out the mansion's basement (which cooincidentially links to Master Hand's closet)._  
 _2\. Do you think we can see Infinite in the very-distant-next year future? Also, could we see a Rabbid invasion, to celebrate Mario Rabbids?_

 _1\. Ah, Jumanji! Perhaps I could work a chapter like that very soon.  
2\. Infinite will appear around the time of Sonic Forces later this year. And I might have to rule out a Rabbid invasion, sadly._

* * *

 **Episode 88: Gossip**

Given how many people resided within the Smash Mansion, there was bound to be plenty of gossip to be spread about. Gossip was a very dangerous thing - false stories made up about someone that could damage one's reputation, depending on how big the gossip is.

This idle talk known as gossip was present everywhere - at the workplace, at schools, and especially on social media - and the Smash Mansion was no exception to this vile form of communication. Gossip could wreck personal lives, and bully others into doing your bidding.

And as amazing as it would sound, the Smash Mansion was hardly ever wrecked by this epidemic known as gossip - sure, there have been other cases in the past, but those were minimal. Today, however, would be the first time the Smash Mansion would be ravaged by gossip, and it all started when three familiar faces visited the mansion...Rayman, Barbara, and Globox.

Now why was the Rayman trio visiting, you might ask? Well, it was because that they honestly had nothing else better to do, other than sleeping all day long, not giving a single care about the world. Also, this was the first time the trio had been to the mansion ever since last year's Christmas party, so it wouldn't hurt to see how much has changed at the mansion since December.

"Here you are, Rayman and friends, a lovely dish of Wumpa Fruit Souffle!" exclaimed Cilan, as he placed a large dish of the souffle near Rayman and company at the dining room. The souffle sure looked delectable - it was enough to make Globox drool all over the table. "Contains Wumpa fruit, native to Crash's home island! Crash had stuffed the food in his pants, so it took me pretty long to sanitize all the fruit."

"Globox could eat this souffle in one giant gulp!" bragged Globox, the blue amphibian, as Cilan cleaned off the drool on the table. Globox was still speaking in third-person...some things may never change. "You two can get your own souffle!"

"Chill out Globox, this souffle was made for all of us," stated Rayman, inspecting the Wumpa fruit in the souffle; the limbless hero felt salty that Crash got an invite to the Smash Mansion over him, but once he got to know the bandicoot better, he felt more content. "You wouldn't want Cilan to ask Crash for another batch of Wumpa fruit, would you? Ever heard of a thing called sharing?"

"Who really cares about sharing, let's dig in!" grinned Barbara, as she grabbed her spoon and dug into the souffle. Rayman and Globox, not wanting Barbara to get too far ahead, started eating the souffle at breakneck speed, as Cilan looked on with a smile.

 **Cilan: Think I've made a great decision staying at the mansion...I mean, why would I leave the mansion in the first place? The residents are all caring folk, whether they want to admit it or not, and I have the freedom to cook whatever I want, when I want, without any apprehension from Master Hand! Surely Chili and Cress are handling themselves just fine at the Striaton City Gym - haven't heard a peep about the gym being burned down or destroyed, so that's a positive from me!**

Spying on Rayman and company through the kitchen entrance was Mario, the plumber eating from a bag of popcorn as he watched Rayman and friends devour the Wumpa Fruit Souffle. Mario, who could be at house doing, you know, spend time with Peach, playing catch with Poochy, or maybe even figure out the culprit responsible for harming his computer (*cough* Jakob *cough*), was instead at the mansion spying on innocent Rayman. He was apparently doing this for one reason, and one reason only...

"Mario, why on earth are you spying on Rayman, can't you just let the man and his friends enjoy their day at the mansion in peace?" Link asked the plumber, who jumped out of freight and clutched his chest when spoken to. The plumber was breathing heavily, having been scared by Link; imagine if Midna had scared him instead!

"I'm not 'spying' on-a Rayman, I'm just observing him-a and his friends from a far-a distance," clarified Mario, as Link had a skeptical look on his face. "I'm just-a looking out for their safety, don't want them to-a be hurt during their visit..."

"Been there, done that - tried the 'observing' excuse on Cloud before and it didn't work, so it won't work on me. Bet you're seeing if Rayman and Barbara are a legit couple, don't try and hide it!" Mario bit his lip, and looked nervous, as Link had his finger pointed at him. The plumber would give out another excuse for his behavior, but he was left with no other choice but to come clean.

"Fine, I admit it, I'm-a spying on Rayman and-a Barbara..." Mario finally fessed up; Link, proud of Mario for owning up to his shenanigans, folded his arms and smirked at the plumber. "But I'm doing it for-a certain reasons - I'm seeing how they have-a progressed since...since...since they kissed-a under the mistletoe at the Christmas party! Yeah, that's why I'm spying on-a them!"

"So basically your only means of spying on Rayman and Barbara is because they kissed under the mistletoe, just like any other two people would. In that case, you should start spying on Diddy Kong and Bayonetta, since Bayonetta kissed Diddy on the cheek under the mistletoe. For all we know, Bayonetta could be cheating on Luka with some spidermonkey, so maybe you could do some 'investigative' work on her." Mario had nothing to say after that; Link really put the plumber in his place. "Just leave Rayman and Barbara alone - if you keep this up, you'll be just like Sonic! And speaking of Sonic, the dude has been going AWOL ever since he 'unfriended' Tails over some make-believe relationship with Coco. Might wanna check it out for yourself..."

"On a scale from-a one to ten, how-a bad is it? Usually when Sonic is-a going AWOL, it's just-a Sonic being Sonic, and that-a could be the case."

"I'd probably say it's an eight or a nine, but I'll let you take a look for yourself. Depending on Sonic's level of temperament, we might have to send in Amy and talk to her man. That's the last thing we would want, especially if Amy was never informed about this whole Tails-Coco hullabaloo."

Link would draw Mario away from the kitchen, as he took him to Sonic's room. After the Hylian and the plumber left, Jakob would show up moments later, seemingly eavesdropping on the entire conversation between Link and Mario. The butler looked through the kitchen entrance, and saw Rayman and company in the dining room, having finished the Wumpa Fruit Souffle.

 **Jakob: Apparently Mario is convinced that Rayman and Barbara are an item, and for reasons that I cannot understand. Perhaps I should do some digging and find out if the two are indeed an actual couple, and share this information with Mario, so he will no longer be that creepy stalker that spies on random couples unseen. It will not only be for Mario's benefit...but for my benefit as well. *smiles intently***

* * *

Prior to moving out of the mansion, Peach was the number one person Master Hand could count on to get the laundry done, especially on time. She was like the head honcho of laundry, in most regards. But with the princess now living on her own with her adoring husband Mario, Master Hand was left with no other choice but to find a suitable replacement. The giant hand would find not one, but _two_ candidates to replace Peach, in Rosalina and Chrom; Chrom only got the laundry role because of his daughter Lucina, telling stories about how he was held responsible for cleaning women's garments with Sumia during the war against Plegia, and these stories were heard by Master Hand's ever-attentive and yet nonexistent ear. Because of this, Chrom sternly told Lucina to never tell a single soul another unflattering story about him ever again...but Lucina went against her father's wishes regardless.

"Lucina once spoke of this time when Sumia forced you to eat her elderberry pie, simply because you thought elderberries were disgusting," Rosalina said to Chrom, striking up a conversation with the prince of Yliesse, as the washing machines and drying machines were doing their thing. Chrom frowned, as some bad memories were forming inside his head. Memories including the very taste of the elderberry pie he despised oh so much.

"It was only because I didn't want any of her rhubarb pie - she kept offering that pie like there was nothing else to eat," explained Chrom, brushing back his blue hair. "Also, I told Lucina good and well not to tell a single story from the war of Plegia ever again...when and where did you hear this story from?"

"It was before Master Hand bestowed upon you the laundry duties, mind you - I think it was at Luigi's wedding, at the after party. Or it could have been before the wedding began. Either or." It was worth noting that Chrom was the officiant for Luigi's wedding, the most visible wedding official - Chrom facepalmed and shook his head, as Dark Pit entered the laundry room. "Hello Dark Pit - I take it that you're looking for someone?" Rosalina asked the doppelganger.

"Yup, sure am, I'm looking for Flora - her break is supposed to start around this time, and I want to spend some time with her before she resumes her work," stated Dark Pit, who has been bonding with Flora over the course of the two previous episodes. "I was thinking that maybe we could...you know...do stuff together. Flora's very limited when it comes to trying out certain things, in case you haven't noticed..."

"Do stuff together...how very specific..." remarked Chrom, who was no longer facepalming. The bad memories of that elderberry taste must've left the swordsman's head by now. "I would recommend looking in the gaming room, Flora could be waiting for you there."

"Good thinking Chrom. She'll either be in there, or at the lounge. Both are her favorite destinations for leisure." So Dark Pit ran out of the laundry room, and to the gaming room, but the doppelganger wouldn't get that far when he came across an obstacle, standing across from him in the hallway, sporting an all-black attire with Kirby accompanying him and a drone flying over his head...

Dark Pit found himself standing across from Pit, who apparently was still "broken", as evidence by the strange white streak in his hair, not to mention the scowl on his face. It was like Pit was trying to be some sort of villain from some British horror story, in spite of having a pink puffball in Kirby, a flying drone named Vanguard 1, and the first president of the United States George Washington, apparently a Girafarig, as his closet accomplices.

"Brother Kuro...I'd knew you come," snarled Pit, as a non-intimidated Dark Pit rolled his eyes. Pit and Kirby may have lost the YouTube competition, despite not being in said competition in the first place, but that didn't stop them from engaging with Dark Pit further.

 **Pit: Broken brilliance is very present in this Mansion of Smash, and it's ruling this establishment with an iron fist! My plans of DELETING Brother Kuro was all but dashed last week, and to make matters worse, I lost King Charles, one of my closet confidants! When I tried to seek retribution, I was stopped by the goddess of light, Lady Palutena, who dared to "ground" me simply because I wished to DELETE Brother Kuro! So I threatened to DELETE Palutena from existence, and she threatened to punish me further! But Lady Palutena is but a lousy peon who's way underneath me, for she cannot handle the power of my broken BRILLIANCE! *laughs manically***

"Dude why do you keep doing this to yourself, I thought Lady Palutena grounded you for trying to kill me!" frowned Dark Pit, but Pit chose not to respond. Did Dark Pit honestly think Pit would comply to Palutena given the state he was in?

"Enough talk from you, Brother Kuro...today is the day that you'll finally be...DELETED!" exclaimed Pit, flinging his arm out to the side as he said "DELETED" with much vigor and contempt. "You may have gotten off easy last week, but this time, you shall be mine! Together we can fight the Great War together, and nothing will stop us! It's never too late, Brother Kuro!"

"I suppose I can join you and fight at your side..." said Dark Pit, as Pit was smiling profusely, his smile intensifying with each and every second. "...but only if you tell me what exactly this Great War is supposed to be. I mean, you've been calling me Brother Kuro, and I don't know why, so perhaps you could fill me in and stuff..."

"Yes, Brother Kuro, I shall educate on this Great War, if your curiosity allows you! The Great War, an epic conflict, was started as a premonition from the Seven Deities, the seven beings who overrule the Broken universe..."

Pit kept rambling on about the Great War and the Seven Deities and all that crap, while Dark Pit slowly backed away, tip-toeing before making a run for it down the hallway. Kirby and Vanguard 1 saw a glimpse of Dark Pit running off, but it was only a small glimpse.

Dark Pit huffed and puffed as he ran, looking for a great hiding spot to conceal himself from Pit, until he saw a large cardboard box in the hallway. The doppelganger, more concerned about finding a hiding spot then questioning what this box was doing in the middle of the hallway, hid underneath the box, where he would find someone he hadn't seen in quite a while...

"Johnny Sasaki is that you, what's a woman stealer like yourself doing in my box?!" some old man angrily snapped on Dark Pit, making the doppelganger scream. "I'm gonna make you pay for taking my precious Meryl away from...Dark Pit, is that you?" The old man in the box wasn't an old man, but rather a former spy who happened to act like an old man...Solid Snake.

"Oh man, Snake, don't scare me like that ever again!" said Dark Pit, his voice heard from inside the cardboard box as he was recollecting his breath. "Was about to wet my pants there...didn't want to stoop down to Pit's level. So, what have you been up to lately? Haven't seen you since forever!"

"Haven't seen you in forever too, Dark Pit...same goes out to everyone else. Reason why I'm hiding is because of Kiria - that dumb lady is still infatuated with me, likely from that love potion Sonic was supposed to give to Samus. Should have known the hedgehog would fail at such a simple task..."

"A love potion...for Samus?! You have a crush on Samus, of all people?!" Dark Pit wouldn't be in so much shock if not for Samus being an ice queen, but the bounty hunter has been defrosting as of late, mostly when Pikachu was around.

"What, she's single, and I'm single, so we're both ready to mingle! Besides, Anthony Higgs never made a move on Samus, which means she's ripe for the taking! Tried serenading Samus with some songs, but unfortunately that didn't go too well..."

"Samus would've definitely be on your side if you fed her some space jargon she would be interested in. Some chicks just aren't swayed by songs - every girl has a different way of being charmed. Just gotta find their 'weak point', for the lack of a better term, and go in! Also, why the large cardboard box?"

"Palutena asked Mario about my whereabouts, and Mario found me under my regular cardboard box and threw me out. Didn't want Kiria to see my face ever again, so I got this...even bigger box from the storage room. It was the only box there."

 **Palutena: So Snake really wasn't dead this whole time...he just wanted to be secluded from everyone, that's all! If that was the case, then the retirement home downtown would be the best spot for him; he can hide in some lousy cardboard box all day, and form new relationships with senior citizens. Given his accelerated age, I'm positive one of the grannies at the retirement home could be his future lover.**

"Have you figured out how to counter Kiria's infatuation towards you?" asked Dark Pit, as Knuckles walked by listening to some jams on his Beats headphones. "Obviously you can't let Kiria love you forever, you gotta make it stop somehow!"

"Only way I can get Kiria away from me is if there was a love potion that could make someone no longer infatuated with somebody," answered Snake, knowing the chances of said potion existing were slim. "Ashley would have to make this potion, and I doubt that she will, since her last two adventures in love have been failures - first with Pit and now with me..."

"Don't be so down on yourself Snake, it's not your fault! Now Pit was definitely the one to blame for his own shortcomings, but as for you, you relied on Sonic to help you, and Sonic's not a helpful guy. Just give it some time, and maybe Ashley might make some anti-love potion, or you could ask Ashley yourself to make said potion, just for you!"

"Yeah, you're right Dark Pit, this was my fault for asking Sonic for romantic advice. Knew I should have asked Marth instead...before I forget, I gotta ask you...are you hiding from someone, too? If so, then allow me to go over some rules, so that we'll get along...as long as you're underneath this box, there will be no sneezing, burping, horseplaying, peeing, pooping, twerking, or anything of the like. Got it, mister?"

"So basically I can't do anything other than talk and breathe...seems fair." Hopefully for Dark Pit, it would only be temporary.

* * *

Cilan's Wumpa Fruit Souffle really put a yum in Globox's tum, and while the dish was appetizing, it was poor Globox who had stomach problems from eating it. So while Rayman and Barbara played some of the new games in the arcade room, the blue amphibian was busy taking care of business in the bathroom, making the poor toilet feel the fury of his upset stomach.

After dropping a deuce and forgetting to wash his hands, Globox exited the bathroom as he happily made his way to the arcade room. On his way there, he would come across Jakob, the butler standing in the middle of the hallway, needing to speak with someone...that someone being Globox.

"Hello there miss - a fine day outside, isn't it?" Globox asked Jakob, under the assumption the butler was a woman after seeing his ponytail. The black bow tying said ponytail wasn't doing Jakob any favors. "Globox was just about to head to the arcade room...would you like to come with Globox and play?"

"First of all, I'm a guy...Jakob's the name," Jakob would introduce himself to Globox, now greatly confused about Jakob's gender. "And secondly, I'm not interested in playing any arcade games, that's just isn't my thing. However, I've been needing to ask you a question...you know Rayman and Barbara pretty well, do you?" Globox nodded; the amphibian has known Rayman and Barbara for a pretty long time, though he and Rayman had been friends for the longest now. "Do you know if the two are...well, I don't know...dating, perhaps?"

"Rayman and Barbara...d-d-dating?!" Globox responded nervously, as he was fiddling with his fingers. "W-Well, there was this one time...where the three of us, um, went to some club, during the night hours, and Globox, uh, saw Rayman and Barbara...hanging out together...and Rayman had his arm, or hand, wrapped around Barbara...I don't know if that's a sign of them dating, but..."

"Oh, it sure sounds like they're dating to me...thanks for the info." Globox now covered his mouth, for he was afraid that he spilled some juicy details that could be passed on to someone (like Mario) and implicate his friendship with Rayman and Barbara. "But before I go, I must ask you one more thing...did you see any other suspicious behavior regarding Rayman and Barbara?"

"Nope, not all but...but Globox did see a mansion resident dancing with someone at the club. Globox saw Captain Falcon dancing with someone, on the dance floor...if Globox recalls correctly, it was some lady with pink hair, and red pants, and had glasses on..." Any idea who this lady could be?

 **Captain Falcon: Me, dancing with someone at some club? *snorts* Yeah, right! Like I would have any business at a young person's club...How did I know it was a young person's club? Well, they let me in, and I saw how young the club goers where, and I was like, "No way Jose", and so I left the club, without even looking back...And why did the bodyguards let me in the club, even though I wasn't a young person? They must've sucked at their jobs - these days, you could sneak an infant inside a club and get away with it. But I would never go to a club anyways, because then I would hook up with some woman, and I would never do such a thing because then I would no longer be faithful to my girlfriend, Nowi. As the biblical saying goes, "for faith without works is no work, but faith _with_ work is...love." That might be from the book of James. Or Romans. Correct me if I'm wrong...**

 **Rayman: Is it just me, or did we see someone from the mansion at the club we went to? Couldn't remember who it was, but I remember this person being tall and stuff. Thought that isn't very descriptive...  
Barbara: Pfft, sure isn't, almost everyone at clubs looks the same. But I do recall seeing your mom at the club.  
Rayman: Yeah...wait, you're not talking about Betilla, are you? She is not my...**

"Captain Falcon dancing with someone at a club does sound discontenting, especially if he's still dating Nowi," remarked Jakob, stroking his chin; the butler failed to see what Captain Falcon and Nowi saw in each other. "I shall address this to Mario and the others right away, perhaps in a meeting. Thank you for supplying me with this information, blue frog thing, my ears are now enlightened with knowledge."

"You're most welcome sir...or ma'am...or whatever," replied Globox, as Jakob nodded and walked away. "But before you go, Globox must know if you're going to tell anyone about Rayman and Barbara at this supposed meeting." Jakob would only tell Mario, just to quell his suspicions, but he was the only person worth telling.

"Might just tell Mario, just to make him stop spying on your best friends, but other than that, your secret is safe with me..." And on that remark, Jakob went down the hallway, as he and Globox went their separate ways.

* * *

Link had taken Mario outside, where he was showing the plumber Sonic selling most of his belongings to customers at a yard sale. No, this wasn't like in episode 8, where Mario and Ganondorf were involved in a yard sale battle of the ages - Sonic was out by himself, selling his stuff because Lord knows why.

"You call-a this going AWOL?" Mario asked Link, after witnessing the yard sale for a couple of minutes. "Sonic seems perfectly fine-a to me - most of the stuff-a he's selling must-a be old anyways; I'm-a willing to bet he's just raising some-a money to purchase a new-a game or something."

"Oh, really, well then take a closer look at the hockey stick Sonic is selling right now," Link said, pointing at Sonic as he was making a transaction with some hockey fan wearing a jersey of the Vancouver Canucks, the closest team to Seattle. Mario saw that the hockey stick had Tails's name on it...written in a sharpie pen.

"Yes, I see Tails's name-a on the hockey stick, but so-a what? That hockey stick looks-a old anyways - one man's trash-a is another man's treasure, as the old-a saying goes!" This response from Mario led Link to sigh heavily...time to tell the plumber what was going on.

"Don't you see, Mario - Sonic is practically selling the stuff Tails has given him!" Mario soon started to realize this, as he saw Sonic sell his Air Jordans - a pair of shoes he received on his birthday - to a customer. One man's treasure is another man's...treasure, in this case.

"Thank you for coming by, hope you enjoy those shoes!" the hedgehog called out to the satisfied customer, who walked away with his Jordans as Mario and Link confronted the blue blur. "Ah, Mario, Link, you wanna buy something from my yard sale? The stuff I have might not be much, but I'm sure you'll pay me handsomely with your gold coins and rupees...although I'm expecting coins, since Link always has his rupees stolen more than his money."

"Sonic, why the heck are you selling your stuff - the stuff Tails gave to you?" questioned Link, with his arms folded and a stern look on his face. "We just saw you sell your hockey stick and Jordans, and Tails gave those things to you. Ever heard of a thing called appreciation?"

"Wait, so you saw me selling my belongings, and you didn't bother to purchase something until now? Good grief...anyways, if you two are so concerned, I'm removing any form of evidence of the friendship I once had with Tails, and I'm doing this through a yard sale. Once the sale is over, I can move on with my life, and Tails will move on with his. Now are you gonna buy something or not? Gotta keep the line movin'!"

 **Sonic: Of course I didn't sell _everything_ Tails gave to me - I decided to keep one item from Tails, an item that would help me remind of the good times I had with my best buddy before he betrayed me and embarked on a life of secrecy. *holds up a teddy bear* This teddy bear was given to Tails from Cream, and Tails didn't care for the bear that much, and so he gave it to me, and I named it Mr. Buttons. Because it has eyes for buttons. Don't knock on me for my lack of creativity. The fact that this bear was from Cream helps nullify the hurt and pain I suffered when I called off my friendship with Tails. I'm sure I hurt Tails more than I hurt myself...**

"We're not-a here to buy something Sonic - we're here to demand-a that you call-a off this yard sale and get-a your stuff back!" Mario exclaimed with authority. But Sonic didn't buy into this authority, not one bit.

"Sorry, but I don't do refunds, so if anyone wants to return their stuff, then they better give it away to some thrift shop instead," stated Sonic - like anyone would ever buy a hockey stick with Tails's name on it. Only a desperate person would buy such an item. "Also, this is MY yard sale, so you can't tell me to call it off!"

"If you don't call-a off this yard sale, then I'm-a have to bring in Jakob!" Mario was now starting a scene, as several folks waiting in line cautiously backed away. "You wouldn't want me to bring-a Jakob here, would-a you?"

"No need to fear Mario, for I'm already here," said Jakob, who arrived at the scene, on the spot, mere seconds after his name was called. Dude sure was on point when it came to arriving on time. "I have some pressing information that I must share with some of the others, and I'm asking if we could have a meeting for said information to be disclosed. Therefore, Sonic, you must end his yard sale so this meeting can start on time."

"Can I just continue my yard sale in the meeting room instead?" the hedgehog asked Jakob, who responded with a frown. A frown that dug deep into the blue blur's very soul. "...yeah, screw this yard sale, let's get this meeting going!" a somewhat intimidated Sonic exclaimed with faux happiness.

* * *

Jakob and Master Hand would gather everyone in the meeting room, as everyone was filing in and taking their seats. Everyone from Mario and Peach, to Luigi and company, to even the Rayman trio were present. Cloud entered the meeting room with Aerith, with Sora telling the swordsman more lousy stories about his adventures.

"As it turned out, the more time I spent with Winnie the Pooh, the quicker he got his memories back!" Sora happily said to Cloud, who couldn't give a crap about Pooh or Sora's friendships. "Pooh sure was sad when I told him I had to leave, but I told them that we would always have a special connection...right here, in our hearts!" Sora happily pointed at his heart, and Cloud just looked at him like he was some crazy loon.

"Oh wow, you helped some lousy storybook character cure his amnesia, bet you feel very proud of yourself, Sora," said an apathetic Cloud, as he took his seat. Much to his chagrin, Sora would take a seat next to the swordsman. "And why am I not surprised that you're friends with someone who doesn't even exist..."

"Leave Sora alone Cloud, Sora has plenty of real friends - you just don't happen to see them," explained Aerith, sticking up for Sora. So she stood up for the Keyblade wielder, and yet she couldn't tell him the truth about Cloud. "Sora has told me about them, too - he's friends with a pirate, a solder from the Chinese Imperial army, an Arabian street rat..."

"...and three Disney characters, if I recall correctly. Those characters being a duck, a dog, and some mouse. May I also mention that Sora is supposedly friends with a mermaid as well? Does anyone know if mermaids even exist?" Aerith chose to remain silent. "Yeah, that's what I thought..."

 **Cloud: Sora has told me a lot of strange stories that I don't care about hearing, but do you wanna know the dumbest story Sora told me? The one where Sora talked about how he and his "friends" saved Christmas, and how he got to meet Santa Claus in Christmas Town, and how he was on the naughty list. You can't possibly tell me that some imaginary folk figure actually existed, and in some place called "Christmas Town". What, is the North Pole nonexistent? Because I'm pretty sure that's where "Santa Claus" lives...**

Once everyone got in and got settled, it was time for the meeting to begin. Standing at the front of the room with Master Hand and Mario was Jakob, with his hands behind his back.

"First off, I would like to thank everyone for being able to come to this meeting," Jakob started things off, commanding attention from everyone. Doing everything he could to win over Master Hand. "The matter of this meeting is to disclose some information, information that I believed was worth sharing with everyone here, information that has much to do...with that man over there!" Jakob pointed at Captain Falcon, who looked around in confusion when Jakob pointed at him.

"What, you found those romantic photoshopped pictures of myself, the ones I tried to send to my awesome girlfriend Nowi?" the racer questioned, pulling out his phone. "Ya gotta admit, I look pretty good in 'em, don't I?" As the suspicion grew in the meeting room, Globox started feeling guilty, and he was wearing his guilt on his face.

"You're not possibly talking about pictures like these, are you?" asked Diddy Kong, holding up his cellphone with a photoshopped picture of Captain Falcon on his screen, a picture of the racer sitting on a lawn chair at a beach. "Hope you do realize Nowi doesn't even own a cellphone..."

"Huh, you learn something new everyday...but I still look good in those pictures, right Diddy?" The spidermonkey opted not to answer, as he placed his cellphone back where it was. Jakob cleared his throat, as the attention in the meeting room was drawn back to him.

"Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted by the culprit...I had received intel, from someone within this mansion, that Captain Falcon...was at a club, and he was dancing not with Nowi...but with Kalos Elite Four member Malva!"

A collective gasp transpired in the meeting room, as everyone was looking around, looking at one another. Captain Falcon looked uneasy, as the guilt on Globox's face became more and more apparent. Tension was slowly building up, ready to boil over.

"Would Falcon dancing with Malva at a club mean that he's cheating on Nowi?" questioned Rosalina, who like many others hoped this wasn't the case. "Granted I think both Falcon and Nowi are crazy for liking each other, but Falcon so far has proven himself to be a great boyfriend." Captain Falcon agreed with this wholeheartedly, nodding his head excessively.

"Now this is my first time hearing about Captain Falcon having a girlfriend, and the same could go for my assistant Luke, and Crash, Coco, and Aku," said Professor Layton, speaking on behalf of himself and the newest additions to the mansion. "However, I wouldn't mind taking a break from investigating the hotel fire incident and conducting an investigation into Captain Falcon's personal life..."

"No, no, you're here to investigate the hotel attack, not interfere in Captain Falcon's life. Stick to what you were told to do." Jakob, after putting Layton in his place, turned his attention to Captain Falcon. "So, Falcon, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Well, I just have to say that you're a liar, and whoever told you that false information is a liar, too!" replied Falcon, giving Jakob a little bit of sass. "What was the point of this meeting anyway, you wanted to single me out in front of everyone by accusing me of something that I never did, nor would I ever do? I got one word for such crap...BLASPHEMY!"

 **Master Hand: For as long as I've been head over the Smash Mansion, I had never felt gossip to be such a powerful force inside my own establishment. This gossip creates such an intrigue that has never been present before, not even with the ongoing investigation surrounding the bozos ruining Mario and Peach's wedding day. I had spent hard-earned money - the same money I forked from Star Records without anyone's permission - to ensure the wedding reception was on-point, and to have it end like that...Layton and Luke better conclude their investigation on a high note, if they know what's good for them.**

"But if I'm a liar, then how come the person who saw you at the club, whom you think is also a liar, saw you dancing with a lady, with pink hair and red pants, and wearing sunglasses?" questioned Jakob, wanting to get all up in Captain Falcon's grill but instead choosing to remain professional, as sweat was steadily pouring down Globox's face. "With a description like that, the person Falcon was dancing with surely had to be Malva."

"Maybe the person who told you about Falcon was drunk, and imagined Captain Falcon at the club, dancing with Malva, all because of some hallucination," Zelda offered her take, trying to bring some logic and reasoning to the conversation. She was always the most logical person at most meetings. "Was this person a resident from this mansion?"

"I do not wish to put this person on the spot, like I'm doing with Captain Falcon right now, so I won't say anything about them." That didn't matter, for Globox was really starting to feel the pressure. Telling Jakob about Falcon was a truly bad idea. "However, I suspect that this person was being honest in their response, and so I do think that Captain Falcon is indeed guilty of..."

"You can't outright accuse Falcon if you don't even have the video evidence to back up your claim," interjected King K. Rool, cutting off Jakob. "I mean, for all we know, you could be spreading gossip just to ruffle some feathers!" Everyone seemed to agree with Rool, as several folks were nodding their heads. First time anyone willingly agreed to whatever Rool had to say.

"The thing is, uh...well, um, you see...there is no video evidence because..." Eyes a many were on Jakob, fumbling for an answer, as everyone was interested for what answer Jakob had for Rool's question. "You know what, forget about it, the person who told me about Captain Falcon must indeed be a liar. I was just passing the information on, and for all we know, it could very well be gossip. Meeting adjourned..."

"You all heard the man, meeting adjourned, everyone is free to leave!" announced Master Hand, as everyone got up and left the meeting room. "Everyone except for you, Isabelle, I must speak with you about the upcoming back massage you're gonna give me. And don't even sass me and tell me that I don't have a back - just use your imagination! All the little kids are doing it!"

* * *

"Man, that sure was a very weird meeting," remarked Rayman, as he, Barbara, and Globox exited the meeting room. Globox was sweaty as heck; both Rayman and Barbara assumed this was due to the thermostat in the meeting room. Might've been on 79 degrees. "That butler guy sure was insane accusing Captain Falcon of something he never had done!"

"Yeah, and whoever told that falsified garbage to Jakob must be the biggest buffoon in the entire universe," added Barbara, before nudging Globox with a toothy grin on her face. "You're a buffoon too Globox, but you're certainly aren't the biggest!"

"Ain't that the truth..." Globox chuckled nervously, with a genuinely fake smile on his face. He should run away from the mansion, as far away from Captain Falcon as possible, and that was what the amphibian planned on doing. "Globox thinks our visit at the mansion overstayed its welcome, we should go to an amusement park or an aquarium or somewhere that's fun...and stuff!"

"Nah, we should probably stay it's dinnertime, heard Cilan's gonna be cooking some Chinese food! I'd take his cooking over Palutena's endemic cooking any day of the week!" Barbara keeping it one hundred, even while being just a mansion visitor...even she knew what was up.

 **Globox: Globox feels bad, Globox screwed up...Globox made the man or woman look stupid in front of everyone...and made Captain Falcon look and feel guilty...Globox doesn't deserve anyone's pity, Globox should go away forever...**

Jakob was walking away from the meeting room, under the assumption that Globox had lied to him, when someone tapped the butler on the shoulder. Jakob turned around, and saw Captain Falcon, the only person he saw in the hallway. Clearly the racer had something to get off his chest in private...

"Hello there, Captain Falcon, presumed club goer...judging by the look on your face, you must be experiencing some sort of cramp, like a Charley horse, after I almost exposed you at that meeting," Jakob said to the racer, who was slightly panting from running. Unwritten Rule #2: never run indoors. "Got something you wish to tell me, wanna talk in private?"

"Just got one question I need to ask you, if you don't mind..." replied Captain Falcon, after he was done panting. "...who was the bozo that snitched on me about dancing with Malva at the club? Promise me you won't tell Nowi..." So Globox was right after all; no wonder the big fella was nervous. Jakob had a grin on his face, and Falcon couldn't detect the sheer slyness displayed on the grin.

"I won't tell Nowi a thing about you and Malva and the club...unless you can tell me why you were at the club in the first place, and why you were dancing with Malva, of all people." Better question was, what business did Malva have in Seattle? It wasn't like she was returning to the city to start some affair with Mr. Game and Watch, for that was a done deal.

"I was bored last night, that's all! Didn't want to start or be involved with any controversy, so going to a young people's club was the safest bet for me. Got no clue why Malva was there though - before we danced, it looked like she was at the club just looking around. Some funky tune erupted on the loudspeakers, and the two of us were on the dance floor, and she held her hand out and I took it...and would you know it, we were both dancing together. Pretty sure Malva was drunk, for she was kinda acting loopy..."

"Very interesting...Malva at some club in this city does seem off, though. If she was here, then I would interrogate her and ask her several questions about what she was doing at the club. 'Just looking around' sure sounds like a very ambiguous thing to do at places for social gathering like a club."

"Hey, I'm just telling you what went down during my club experience. Please don't tell Nowi, or anyone else for that matter, I can't afford to break up with me! Having Nowi in my life has made the happiest I've ever felt, and I cannot let my happiness fade!"

"Your secret is safe with me, Captain Falcon..." Jakob gave a thumbs up as he walked away. Captain Falcon smiled, and regained his composure, as he cheerfully strolled away, like nothing ever happened. But was it worth it to keep a secret with Jakob? Only time would tell...

* * *

Robin was coolly standing in the hallway, next to some door, reading from his tome. The mage's tome contained all the magic spells used in Smash battles. But why was Robin reading from a tome he typically had in his possession 100& of the time? No time to look for an answer, for Sora ran down the hallway, interrupting Robin during his reading...if he was even reading in the first place.

"Have you seen Cloud anywhere, Robin - I tried to speak with the guy after the meeting, but he was nowhere to be found," the Keyblade wielder asked Robin, who did not give any eye contact as his eyes were glued to his tome.

"Did you see him exit the meeting room with Aerith?" asked Robin, finally looking up at Sora. "Perhaps Cloud and Aerith went on a secret date somewhere in town. You know how secretive Cloud can be, he doesn't like disclosing information to others. I know that from knowing the guy for over a year and a half."

"Yeah, Cloud is very secretive - he was always like that at Olympus Coliseum." Sora said this like Robin was actually supposed to care. "Bet you they're at the fancy restaurant a few blocks from here!" So Sora ran off, on the search for his best buddy.

 **Captain Falcon: Okay, so what if I danced with Malva at some club? It wasn't like I initiated it, that was Malva's doing! I only obliged because I wanted to. I'm a charmer. The ladies swoon over me, with some too reluctant to do it. (Samus, for example.) But I can't let Nowi find out, she'll think I'm cheating on her and that I'm starting an affair with another woman. Her childlike heart wouldn't handle such heartbreak!**

"The coast is clear Cloud, Sora has run off thinking you and Aerith are on a date," Robin said through the door next to him, as Cloud exited from said door. "That means he should be gone for quite a while..."

"Quite a while is fine with me," remarked Cloud, as he closed the door behind him. The swordsman would prefer infinity over anything. "Thanks for being on the lookout Robin."

With Sora gone for "quite a while", Cloud continued his way down the hallway, not giving a care about the world, until he came across a large cardboard box in the middle of the hallway during his trek. It was the largest box Cloud ever laid his eyes on, and the swordsman was curious as to why this box was present, and if there was anything underneath it.

"You know what, I should ask Master Hand where Cloud and Aerith went to, he knows everything!" exclaimed Sora, his voice heard from down the hallway. Cloud couldn't afford Sora to see him, so the swordsman did what he had to do and hid underneath the large box. Sora headed down the hallway and past the large box, glancing at it for a brief moment, before continuing his way to Master Hand's room, while Cloud found two companions underneath the box...

"Cloud Strife, so nice of you to join us!" exclaimed Snake - you could literally feel the lack of excitement on Cloud's face. "Long time no see, haven't seen you since forever! Of course, I would show up and remind everyone that I'm not dead, but I can't because of stupid Kiria..."

"No, Pit is stupider for performing some stupid wrestling gimmick he saw on television, dude can't even be original," remarked Dark Pit; gotta wonder how he was able to hide under the cardboard box while adhering to Snake's rules. One little sneeze, and the doppelganger would get kicked out! "He has to leech off of someone, because being true to himself and doing his own thing just isn't in his blood. Palutena should punish him just for being unoriginal!"

"Can either one of you please explain why you're hiding underneath this random cardboard box?" questioned Cloud, feeling the sudden urge to leave and find another hiding place. "I'm surprised anyone that ever saw this box asked Master Hand about it..."

"Had to find myself a new cardboard box, since Mario confiscated the one I usually hide in," explained Snake, the sound of a lighter heard. Snake wasn't lighting a cigarette in a closed space, with Cloud and Dark Pit, was he? "So I found myself this cardboard box, from the storage room, and hit in it...and thank goodness my lighter works. Really needed some light."

"Basically you two are hiding from your annoyances...and since I have an annoyance myself in Sora, could I hang out with you guys? I'll probably just stick around until the coast is clear, but if I get bored, then I'm leaving..."

"Fine with us Cloud, but there are some rules that you must follow while you're under this box. Actually, there are a lot of rules. There will be no sneezing, burping, horseplaying, peeing, pooping, twerking..."

"Only thing you can do his talk and breathe, pretty much," explained Dark Pit, saving Cloud a lot of trouble. "Which means that you're pretty much fine..."

* * *

Wario was in the kitchen, preparing to devour a batch of cinnamon rolls. And yes, those cinnamon rolls were all for himself, for the fatso believed sharing was a practice only meant for brainwashed kindergartners. But if Wario did have to share, it would be with his Palutena, his crush.

"Those are some lovely cinnamon rolls you got there," Jakob said to Wario, who pulled his dish away, assuming the butler wanted some cinnamon rolls for himself. "Did Lady Palutena make them, or did you make them yourself?"

"Bought these from the store, they were pre-made," explained Wario, grabbing a cinnamon roll and stuffing it down his mouth. "Cooking stuff is too hard, and requires too much work!" The same couldn't be said for making money, however, in Wario's case.

"Mhmm...anyways, did you hear about Viridi? The girl is in a secret relationship with a human, a human boy!" This caused Wario to raise his eyebrows in intrigue. "The boy is the son of one of the richest folks in town, and he's human! So Viridi loves humans, after all - it's all an act of tsundere! And Pit doesn't know Viridi is cheating on him...therefore, we can't let anyone know about this. Got it?"

"Nobody will be hearing a peep from me!" replied Wario, zipping his mouth shut like a zipper. Jakob nodded and walked away, as Wario resumed eating his beloved cinnamon rolls, albeit vigorously. Dude's gonna choke himself real quick...

 **Jakob: How do you un-tell something? You can't. You can't put words back in your mouth. What you can do is spread false gossip so that people think that everything that's been said is untrue, including "Captain Falcon had a small affair with Malva". It's like that _Wizard of Oz_ movie, from the last movie night - no matter how many times you re-watch the film, you still don't know who the real Wizard is, or if there even is one, for that matter. It's a classic whodunit case.**

* * *

"What, Celicia has an eating disorder?!" exclaimed Nana in shock, as Jakob was telling the Ice Climbers all about the eating disorder the queen of Valentia was suffering from. "No wonder she keeps eating our desserts!"

"Celicia is suffering from a disorder called anorexia," stated Jakob, before looking down at the floor and feeling sorrowful for Celica, shaking his head. "Quite sad, really - poor Celica thinks eating your desserts could help her cope with her anorexia. But sundaes and cupcakes just won't cut it..."

"We can't just let her eat our stuff all willy nilly, we gotta help her out!" said Popo, for once putting aside his pride and arrogance for the sake of the greater good. "I didn't make my awesome desserts just so one person could eat them all up!" ...well, so much for that.

"Nothing can be done, for Celica is but a lost soul...we can only inform the others and pray that Celica will one day conquer her demons."

* * *

After speaking with the Ice Climbers, Jakob went to the lounge, where he would find Alm and Celica spending time together. Those two were practically inseparable.

"So worried about Nana, she's perhaps the weakest link of the Ice Climbers..." Jakob discussed with Alm and Celica, before heaving a heavy sigh. "At some point, Master Hand might kick her out of the mansion just for being useless!"

"Master Hand would never, and besides, Nana is the one keeping Popo in check," said Alm, offering his take. Having just one Ice Climber at the mansion would really be no bueno. "Imagine how exuberant Popo would be without his leash, Nana!"

"Yes, it would be a sight to behold...oh, and one more thing I must tell you...Fox is a bastard child." Neither Alm nor Celica couldn't believe this, as they gasped out of complete shock. Now there was something you would never expect to hear.

"Fox McCloud, a bastard child?" fretted Celica, refusing to accept whether it was true or not. Just think about Fox's reputation! "I must admit, this is very shocking..."

"Indeed - I'll let you two ponder over this, I have to go." Jakob left Alm and Celica shocked as he departed from the lounge, seeing Mewtwo walking by. "Mewtwo, may I speak with you for a quick minute?" the butler asked the psychic Pokemon, who followed Jakob to a place in the hallway to speak in private. "Did you hear the news about Peach? She's pregnant!"

"Princess Peach is pregnant?!" an alarmed Mewtwo raised his eyes. "Man, she's gonna hate being a mother..." Mewtwo said that like he was speaking from experience!

* * *

Fox was in the gaming room, playing on the golfing simulator. The pilot did a perfect swing, a thing of beauty, and got a hole in one. As Fox celebrated with a fist pump, King Dedede drew near, with a smile on his face.

"Nice swing you got there...inglorious bastard," chuckled the penguin, as a now offended Fox angrily turned around with his Blaster pointed at Dedede. "Woah, Fox, chill out man, it was just a joke!"

"Oh yeah, well say it again, one more time, to my face!" challenged Fox, with his Blaster ready. The pilot wasn't willing to take any chances, especially with King Dedede. "Go ahead, try me, see what happens!"

"No, Fox, you got it all wrong...the joke I told, it was supposed to be related to the rumor about you being a bastard kid." A stunned Fox held his Blaster down, looking all crazy...and he was feeling insecure. Was Dedede telling the truth?

"Wait, where did you hear this from? Who told you this? Wolf? Pigma? Leon? Caroso? Oikonny? Andross?" The insecurity was building up inside of Fox, as the pilot was now looking for answers - answers about his true past.

"Look Fox, I'm sorry about the joke, I should have thought it over, and I knew it would...hold up, where are you going?!" King Dedede and several others watched as Fox ran out of the gaming room, now looking for the answers he so desperately craved for.

 **Fox: I could be a bastard child...I mean, I don't know who my mother is - don't even know her name - and that right there is a telltale sign of being a bastard. But I refuse to believe that I was born out of wedlock, for my dad, James McCloud, would know better than to bang some chick prior to marriage. Gotta see what Falco thinks of this...**

* * *

While Fox played the golf simulator in the gaming room, his buddy Falco sought to find his own source of fun, playing a game of Connect 4 in the Star Records room with Eleonora. The avian pilot was so close to winning, ready to drop his colored disc into the suspended grid...

"Yo, Falco, I got a dilemma on my hands!" yelled Fox as he burst inside the room, making Falco instinctively bang his hands on the table and cause the Connect 4 grid to call over, the colored discs flying out. Eleonora covered her mouth to stifle her laughter, as Falco seethed with rage.

"Bruh I was so close to whooping Eleonora's behind at Connect 4, what the heck man!" Falco snapped on his best friend - mess with the avian pilot's competitive nature, and you were bound to feel his uncontrollable fury.

"I need to ask you a question, it's a very important question too...do you know if I'm a bastard child or not?" If Falco was drinking something, he would have done a spit take...and so, not wanting a missed opportunity, the avian pilot grabbed a cup from the Star Records desk, drank its contents, and spat out the drink, before gagging momentarily.

"Where did you hear this about you being a bastard child?" Eleonora asked Fox, as Falco, regretting his decision, continued to gag. The avian pilot would stop chocking seconds later, before standing back up and regaining his composure.

"King Dedede told me that I was a bastard child back in the gaming room, it was some kind of rumor. But that rumor might be true - after all, I was never really familiar with my mom, and I don't think I knew her at all...I'm so conflicted."

"Did you ever see your mom before, like did your dad ever show you pictures of your mom? And if he did...was your mom hot?" Fox gave Falco a weird look, or a glare...could be a mixture of both.

 **Falco: What exactly is my responsibility here? To comfort insecure bastard kids? That can't possibly fall to me.  
** **Eleonora: Oh, but asking if someone's mom is hot is...  
** **Falco: Sometimes you gotta be in the know...you know?**

* * *

The very thought of Peach being pregnant was obviously a big deal, and Mewtwo felt like others had to know the truth, especially if Mario nor Peach didn't want to make the big announcement. So the psychic Pokemon went to tell Aerith the big news, in the mansion gardens.

"How long has Peach been pregnant?" Aerith asked Mewtwo, as she was taming a few Piranha Plants. Obviously Alph forgot to check the flower pots, like he was supposed to do in the previous episode.

"Jakob informed me that Peach is two weeks pregnant," replied Mewtwo. "He is very close with Mario and Peach, so obviously he knows more than we do." The Rayman trio were watching from a short distance, having eavesdropped on the conversation. To them, Peach being pregnant was just a rumor.

"Hope these guys aren't believing every little thing they hear," remarked Rayman, unnerved by the many rumors flying about in the mansion. "I mean come on, Captain Falcon dancing at a club with Malva? At the club we went to? Today's a weird day for false facts..."

"Globox knows the reason for that..." said Globox, wanting to come clean, but not knowing how to, nor did he have the courage to own up to his actions.

* * *

Wanting more answers, Fox went over to Mario's place, so he could speak with Mario and Peach. The pilot would speak with Mario in his room, while Peach was downstairs doing stuff.

"I would hate to live the rest of my life forever stigmatized as a bastard child," Fox discussed with Mario, who nodded his head because he had no other way of showing Fox that he was listening. "I'll be one of the many people who never even knew their mother...but it would be better than not knowing who your father was, in a way. Either or, it ain't good..."

"Fox, do you know-a that your mom is-a Vixy Reinard?" asked Mario, as Mario went into his closet and pulled out a comic book, a Nintendo Power comic, which was _Star Fox_ -themed. The plumber flipped through the pages until he arrived at the page he was looking for, before pointing at a panel. "See? That's-a your mother, in-a the picture frame!" Fox squinted his eyes at the panel, and after close inspection...

"Dude that's not my real mom, that's from a stupid comic book! Get that crap out of my face!" Fox angrily slapped the comic book away, and fired shots from his Blaster at it, before sulking on Mario's bed. "Guess I'll just have to accept my fate as a bastard kid, no point in running away from my past..."

"Fox, cheer-a up, you don't even have-a all the facts yet! Are you gonna let-a this hubbub overwhelm-a you?" Fox turned over on his belly, his face in Mario's pillow, and groaned...which might've been a yes to the question.

"Oh Mario, we have some visitors!" Peach called out to Mario from downstairs, her ever cheery voice delighting the plumber. "Crash, Coco, and Aku are here!"

So Mario, leaving Fox to sulk on his bed, headed downstairs and to the living room, where he would find Crash, Coco, and Aku waiting. Once the plumber arrived...

"TA-DA!" Crash exclaimed with one knee on the floor and his hands out at his side, doing some jazz hands, as Coco popped some confetti. Mario and Peach were epicly confused by it all, if epicly was an actual word.

"Congratulations Mario and Peach, for embarking on your experience with having a first child!" Coco congratulated the bewildered princess, as Mario bit his trembling bottom lip. "Surely you're more excited than what your faces indicate, but I bet you're joyful about being pregnant, Princess Peach!"

"This is the surprise you wished to give to us?" questioned Peach, as Mario's face was suddenly turning red, Redder than a tomato. Even redder than the cap he was wearing.

"There are many great gifts in life, but there is no greater gift than welcoming a newborn baby into the world!" exclaimed Aku, while Mario's face grew redder. "Your nine-month journey shall be a great one, I'll guarantee that!" That's when Mario couldn't take it anymore, as he fell to the floor in burst into a fit of uncontrollable laughter, tears running down his face. Crash and company just watched as the doorbell rang; Peach went to the front door and opened it, and couldn't believe who she was seeing...

...Dr. Neo Cortex, holding not his ray gun, but rather a white onesie. With the smiling mad doctor was Uka, who clearly did not believe in smiling.

"Greetings, Princess Peach, I know we haven't talked to each other much, but allow me to congratulate you on your pregnancy!" Cortex said to the princess, coming off as nice and affable as he knew how. "I heard the wonderful news about your pregnancy, and so I robbed the nearest Babies-R-Us store (because I'm cheap) and got you this, a onesie for your infant! It's white, because it's gender neutral. Now I did see Crash enter your home...may I speak with him for a hot minute? Promise you I won't destroy him!"

"Thank you, Dr. Cortex, have a great day!" exclaimed Peach as she accepted the onesie from Cortex, before closing the door on his face. The mad doctor just stood there for a good while, before walking away in defeat.

 **Cortex: The one time I tried being nice with Mario and/or Peach, and I couldn't capitalize upon it and get closer to Crash! What could I possibly be doing wrong?!  
** **Uka: Maybe if you looked at yourself once in the mirror, you'll figure out the answer.  
** **Cortex: You should be doing the same thing yourself...**

* * *

It was now dinnertime at the Smash Mansion, with Rayman, Barbara, Globox, and the mansion residents all gathered in the dining room to enjoy Cilan's Chinese cuisine, in a peaceful manner...or so that's what Cilan wanted. But due to the many rumors going about within the mansion, there was a LOT of animosity going on among the residents. Jakob stood by himself, watching this all go down.

"Oh, so you really think I'm the voice actor for Elmo from _Sesame Street_?" Roy snapped on Wolf, who would be enjoying his chicken if not for Roy spitting in his face. "You think that just because I have red hair, and that I have a somewhat squeaky voice, that I voice some dumb Muppet?!"

"What are you talking about Heihachi, I have two kids - Alfendi and Katrielle!" Layton frowned at the kung fu fighter, pointing at him like he was Phoenix Wright. "How dare you call me a virgin!"

The bickering among the residents would persist, when Crash, Coco, and Aku arrived at the dining room, taken back by the large-scale dissension taking place. With them was Mario, who after hearing Fox's story, had a question on his mind...

"Excuse-a me everybody, but has-a everyone heard a crazy rumor about-a themselves today?" addressed Mario, raising his voice so that everyone could hear and stop arguing among one another. After hearing Mario's question, the residents either answered "Yes", or nodded their heads.

"Yes, Mario, there's been a lot of rumors going about today, so we should all discredit them," stated Jakob, before giving Mario a thumbs up of approval. "Good thinking Mario, great thinking indeed!"

"Yeah, sure, but...who's been saying all that stuff in the first place?" questioned Link, standing up from his seat. Who cared if he spilled some wonton sauce on his tunic.

"That's not important, Link, I just think we shouldn't listen to any of that crap. Now sit back in your seat and enjoy your dinner!" Master Hand was granting Jakob a lot of authority, wasn't he? And the dude had yet to be named the official butler of the mansion!

"I think we should get to the bottom of this, and find the person responsible for the rumors flying about," stated Cilan, as Jakob looked away in disgust. " Let's pick a rumor and trace it back to the beginning."

"Let me start things off...who said that there's a midget living inside me, working me with a video game controller and fighting my fights for me?!" Akuma angrily asked. Clearly did not enjoy this rumor about him at all.

"I heard that from Mewtwo," said Ness, as everyone looked at Mewtwo.

"I heard that from Jigglypuff," said Mewtwo, as everyone looked at Jigglypuff.

"Jigglypuff Jigglypuff!" said Jigglypuff, as she pointed at Kohaku, whom everyone looked at.

"I heard the rumor from Jakob," said Kohaku, as everyone looked at Jakob...

...who wasn't even there. Mario looked out the dining room entrance, and saw the butler sneakily walking away...

* * *

 **Aku: Almost everyone had a rumor about them today...but I was amazingly out of dodge! Could be because I don't do much other than protect Crash and Coco that would make someone create a rumor about me. Or it could be that I'm just boring in general...**

Cloud, Dark Pit, and Snake were still hiding underneath the large cardboard box, missing out on dinner and being exposed to rumors. However, the three were enjoying some great conversations, like the one they were having right now...

"What are your honest opinions on Jakob, the guy Master Hand is lowkey in love with?" Cloud asked Dark Pit and Cloud, interested in their responses. "Personally I don't think I would enjoy having the guy around as a butler, he's got something up his sleeve..."

"Other than Corrin, Kamui, Mario, or Master Hand, I cannot think of a single person Jakob gets along with well," added Snake, offering his take. "I feel like he irrationally hates everyone, and for petty reasons, or no reason at all..."

"I could tell, because earlier I heard Jakob speaking with Little Mac, talking about how Ganondorf's breath reeked," added Dark Pit. "Then Little Mac told it Luke, and Luke told it to Villager, and Villager ran down the hall so he could tell it to..." That's when Dark Pit came to a stop, and saw that something was wrong.

"...I think it's about time we stopped hiding under this stupid box," remarked Snake, throwing the box onto the floor in somewhat dramatic fashion. "Something fishy is definitely going on..."

* * *

"Yo, Jakob, where are you going man?" Red the Pokemon Trainer called out to the butler, as he, Mario, and a group of residents were chasing the retreating Jakob down the hallway. "Can't run from us forever, you know!"

"I'm going to speak with Master Hand and see what he says about the rumor situation!" replied Jakob, walking fast and steady. "Bet you he's in the Star Records room now, looting money like I saw him last night!"

Jakob would arrive at an elevator, and after the butler pressed the button, he turned around and saw Mario and company, cornering him. Jakob wouldn't have to worry about facing any ridicule from the others, for the elevator dinged and the elevator doors open...

...only to reveal Snake, Cloud, and Dark Pit inside. Snake must've used some tracking device to find Jakob; that could be a very logical explanation.

"Busted..." snarled Snake, as Jakob slowly backed away...only to back up into Mario. Time for the butler to fess up!

* * *

Once dinner was commenced, Jakob gathered everyone in the meeting room so he could address the rumors...and yes, the Rayman trio was present, with Mario and Peach present too.

"...Okay, I made it all up, none of the rumors are true," admitted Jakob, as everyone let out a sigh of relief. Now Layton no longer had to deal with being a virgin, and Nana didn't have to worry about getting her butt kicked from the mansion.

"Even the rumor that I'm a bastard child?" Fox asked Jakob, to which the butler nodded his head. "Yes!" a relieved Fox pumped his fists, as Falco patted him on the back.

 **Fox: Pssh, totally knew I wasn't a bastard kid this whole time, I was just...playing along...just for the fun of it... *nervously smiles* ...but it wouldn't hurt to find out who my mom really is, since my dad never told me. Might have to find out the truth on my own...**

"Why would you say all those things, Jakob, why?" asked Akira, who couldn't help himself but bring some egg rolls to the meeting. They were that good! "Why make up an eating disorder, Falcon's affair, me being Bruce Lee's long-lost relative..."

"You told everyone I was dancing with Malva?" Captain Falcon frowned at Jakob, getting his Falcon Punch ready. Hopefully you remember the last time the racer used Falcon Punch in the mansion, and how that turned out.

"There was one true rumor out there today, that I didn't want everybody to know what it was," explained Jakob, as a sense of anticipation enveloped the meeting room. "So all of you are off the hook, except for this one person...or couple, rather."

Jakob let the room be silent, allowing the silence to soak into the room and into everyone present, playing up on the drama and suspense. Mario sweated as he looked around, his eyes darting left and right, before blurting out the following...

"PRINCESS-A PEACH IS PREGNANT!" ...at the top of his lungs. Everyone gave their undivided attention to Mario, who had his mouth covered. Peach, the lady of the hour, remained silent, as the silence turned into slight awkwardness.

"Princess Peach is pregnant?!" boomed Master Hand, appearing in the room with cash in his hand...before dropping said cash unto the floor at the sight of Fox, Falco, and the Star Records folks. "Mario, Peach, why didn't either of you tell me this vital information, or anyone else for that matter?"

"I told Mario to address the news, but he was too reluctant," explained Peach, as Wario and several other people were grabbing the money from the floor and stuffing it into their pockets. Couldn't resist the power and allure of the green... "I'm only two weeks pregnant..."

"Two weeks is too long to not let anyone know about your pregnancy, except for Jakob!" Master Hand slowly turned to Jakob. "...you did know about Peach's pregnancy, did you?" he would ask the butler.

"Mario and Peach informed me about the pregnancy the day after Peach did her pregnancy test," replied Jakob, glancing at his fingernails for a second or two. "Unless Mario or Peach didn't want to address everyone, I thought about addressing everyone myself..."

"Good thing Mario told everyone the great news, am I right?" Something was off, however, at least to Master Hand...it didn't seem like anyone cared. "Why are you all so quiet for, Peach is pregnant, for crying out loud! Everyone give her (and Mario, I guess...) a round of applause!"

The entire meeting room into a roar of applause and cheers - some of it was genuine and heartfelt, some of it was done just to avoid scrutiny and punishment from Master Hand. Mario and Peach looked at one another and smiled, for they knew that the pregnancy was gonna be one wild, crazy ride, like the one Luigi and Daisy once experienced.

"May I be the godfather of your child?" Bowser asked Mario and Peach after the applause died down; only response the Koopa King got was in the form of a glare, from both Mario and Peach.

* * *

Having enjoyed their dinner, and with the moon rising up in the sky, it was time for Rayman and his friends to leave. As Rayman and Barbara were saying their goodbyes, Globox wished to speak with Captain Falcon, in private.

"Globox is very, very sorry for telling Jakob about you dancing with Malva in the club," the blue amphibian apologized to Captain Falcon. Instead of running away from Falcon out of fear, Globox did the right thing and make amends with the racer. "Globox learned a very valuable lesson today...never tell anyone incriminating information about somebody else, especially if you don't have all the facts. This whole gossip thing was mostly my fault..."

"No, Globox, I shouldn't have went to the club in the first place," stated Captain Falcon, looking down at the floor in regret. "Bad things always happen at the club, even when you're not involved. I should refrain from going to clubs, if it keeps Nowi happy. Speaking of Nowi...don't tell her what I did at the club, it might ruin our relationship!"

"Globox doesn't even remember what Nowi looks like, but he'll make sure not to tell her!" Globox gave a thumbs up as Captain Falcon smiled...with a lack of confidence.

* * *

Layton and Luke were seated on the porch, in some rocking chairs, looking up at the starry Seattle sky. The detective duo decided to kick it back and relax; they deserved it after all the investigating they've done since their mansion stay.

"Couldn't believe Jakob started up a rumor about me being a virgin, must've never saw my children before," smiled Layton, as Mario and Peach exited the front door. Layton would acknowledge the couple's presence with a nod, and Mario would nod right back, as he and Peach made their way back to their home.

"Feel so happy for Peach, about to have her first child with Mario and all," remarked Luke, smiling as Mario and Peach entered their own home. A curious thought suddenly sparked inside Luke's head. "Say, Layton, if Captain Falcon did go the club, and saw Malva...then what business did Malva have in Seattle?

"Considering that Malva is a former member of Team Flare...perhaps she was in town, digging up dirt on her former colleagues. And if her presence is any indication, there might be some Team Flare members located in Seattle...why don't we investigate the matter another time? Might give us more clues!"

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Layton and Luke should also be on the lookout for Malva during their investigation, if she ever shows up, for she might provide the detectives with some information...

...vital, non-falsified information, that is, unlike what the mansion residents were exposed to today.


	89. Episode 89: Painting

_Author's Note:_

 _Do I even need to mention what I'll be doing for this author's note?_

 _"Are Dr. Nitrus Brio and Dr. N. Gin going to appear? A villain team up with Antasma and Wizeman from NiGHTS? A small scene of X hanging out with his older siblings? (Since Mega Man, Roll, and Proto Man were created before him) Is Lloyd Irving using his Scott Menville voice or his Brian Beacock voice? A scene of Sora meeting the Final Fantasy X and X-2 crew? And finally, do you think Princess Elise from Sonic '06 gets way too much hate?"_

 _Brio and N. Gin will appear. Antasma and Wizeman together sounds enticing. The X scene will be done soon. Lloyd is using his Scott Menville voice. Don't know about Sora meeting the Final Fantasy X crew. And yes, I do think Princess Elise gets too much hate - kiss aside, had she not debut in Sonic '06, she wouldn't be hated as much. Same goes for Silver. On to Smashfan76:_

 _1\. Can you include Sceptile in the series?_  
 _2\. If Sceptile does appear in the series can we have a starter battle (Charizard, Greninja, Sceptile and maybe Pikachu?)_  
 _3\. Can we see Espio, Charmy and Vector help Professer Layton with the mystery?_

 _1\. Sceptile is in the Pokemon sanctuary with all the other Pokemon, so yes.  
2\. Maybe, perhaps?  
3\. Team Chaotix will do stuff with Layton, same goes for Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey. Next is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"Oh can I make a suggestion to maybe end the Sonic and Tails "feud": Alex Kidd shows up at the mansion to get revenge on Sonic for making him a forgotten character and being ignored by Sega so kidnaps him and tries to kill him only for Tails to show up at the last second saving Sonic and stopping Alex and then seeing Tails risk his life to save his Sonic feeling guilty for being rude to Tails apologizes and vows to not take anything out of proportion with Tails again."_

 _Alex Kidd is a seriously underrated character, and I like your idea, so I may go with it in the future. Last up is Keeby:_

 _"Can we see more of Villiger and R.O.B?"_

 _Not in this chapter, but in the next I'll make some magic happen for those two..._

* * *

 **Episode 89: Painting**

The word was out - Princess Peach, the wedded wife of the famous plumber Mario, perhaps the only famous plumber in the world, was now pregnant with her first child. To many, like Master Hand, this was quite the momentous occasion, one Mario nor Peach would ever forget.

To raise Mario and Peach's spirits about their first child, Master Hand deliberately forced everyone in the mansion to give the married couple words of encouragement, wishing them the best and all that good stuff. Most of it was genuine - some folks were willing to wish Mario and Peach Godspeed regardless of Master Hand. But for apathetic folks like Cloud and Samus, it was hard for Master Hand to get around.

Rather than giving Mario and Peach good tidings, the ever ambitious Sonic decided to go one step further, and have a Smeargle paint a painting of Mario and Peach, one the hedgehog hoped the married couple would enjoy. It only took about a week for Smeargle to perfect the painting, and Sonic wished it would be worth all the effort.

"It was so nice of Sonic for wanting to make us a painting, though I fear that the painting itself might be...questionable," remarked Peach, as she and Mario were sitting on the couch in their living room, waiting for Sonic and Smeargle to stop by. "If it's anything inappropriate, then we're throwing it in the trash!"

"Now-a Peach, we can't throw away hard-a work away like that...even if said work was-a inspired by Sonic," stated Mario, as he was petting Poochy. The dog wanted to see the painting too, as evidence by his ever present smile and his wagging tail. "We should give-a Sonic a chance, despite how the painting might-a be." A knock was at the door, signifying that Sonic and Smeargle were here. "The door's-a open, come-a on in!"

So Sonic and Smeargle entered the home, with Sonic dragging in a painting on wheels with a curtain over it. The hedgehog would position this painting in front of a weary Mario and Peach, before assuming his position next to Smeargle.

"Before I begin, I want to thank you both for giving me the opportunity to grant you an wicked awesome painting of you both, it was totally worth all the endless begging I did last Saturday," said Sonic, with his hands behind his back. "This painting, that you're about to see, represents the future...it represents what the future holds for two lovers, it critiques the wonderful nature of love, and exemplifies the power of beauty in its every form! Now that I got the theatrics out of the way, it's time to reveal to you...the painting of greatness!"

With the help of Smeargle, Sonic took the curtain off, revealing to Mario and Peach a painting that almost made them cringe. It was a painting based upon _The Creation of Adam_ , made by the ever famous painter Michelangelo, with Peach, naked, seated on some terrain, her hand stretched out, and Mario reaching out to his bride with his hand, also wearing a cloak, with several Toads surrounding him. Mario and Peach just stared at the painting, as Sonic excitedly looked on, waiting for a response.

"This...this isn't-a art, it's a straight-a up parody of a world-famous art-a work," Mario spoke up after finding the courage to do so, angering Sonic. All that time the hedgehog had Smeargle make the painting, and Mario said that the painting wasn't art?! The absolute nerve of that mustached plumber!

 **Sonic: How could that painting not be deemed art? Peach was wearing no pants, she was naked! If it's naked, then it's art! For that reason, I'm a living piece of artwork - there should be sculptures of me all over Venice! I deserve way more praise, absolutely universal praise!"**

"How can you possibly hate on this beautiful masterpiece?" Sonic questioned Mario, as Smeargle felt the sudden need to painting something, like the wall behind him. "I gave Rayman a sneak peek at the painting, since he knows a thing or two about paintings and whatnot, and he saw nothing wrong with it!"

"We would have appreciated it if this artwork was more...original, Sonic," Peach offered her take on the painting, as Smeargle continued to paint away with nobody paying attention to the little fella. "You can't just take a famous Renaissance painting and re-create it so it could feature us!"

"Oh, so you wanted me to photoshop you and Mario into a painting?" retorted Sonic; Peach opted to remain silent, not wishing to follow up on the hedgehog. "Yeah, that's what I thought...can you believe these two, Smeargle? Smeargle?"

Sonic turned around, and saw that Smeargle had painted a very unflattering picture of Mario on the wall - it displayed the plumber as being very fat and portly, with his hands on his stomach like he had eaten the biggest dessert in existence. Sonic, seeing this drawing, nervously smiled and chuckled a little as he slowly turned around, seeing Mario looking at the painting disapprovingly and seething.

"You take-a Smeargle and leave-a my house at once..." the angered plumber ordered Sonic, who scooped up Smeargle before he could put on the finishing touches on his drawing and sped out of Mario's home, leaving behind the painting. Obviously Mario nor Peach wanted the painting in their house, so what to do with it...

* * *

Once out of Mario's household, Sonic would make his way back to the mansion, before Tails caught his eye. The yellow fox was busy flying a kite near the lake, while Villager was fishing, hoping not to catch a Magikarp or a Feebas, or any other crappy Pokemon the young lad would catch most of the time. Sonic wanted to hang out with Tails, but he suddenly remembered that he ended his friendship with the fox weeks ago, and therefore he could not be seen with him. So the hedgehog looked away from Tails and kept walking back to the mansion...

...before hearing a nearby conversation, between Layton and Luke. Sonic was very cynical of the two detectives...he called Layton "the most boring person in all of existence", and believed that Luke was a munchkin. In addition, the hedgehog also criticized the detective duo's fashion sense, believing that they were lowkey time travelers from the times of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. But what Layton and Luke were discussing interested Sonic, and it sounded like the detectives were ready to embark upon doing what they did best - looking for clues.

"Smeargle, you go ahead on inside the mansion, I got some important matters to attend to..." Sonic told the painter Pokemon; Smeargle did as he was told as Sonic tip-toed around the corner, before finding Layton and Luke speaking with one another.

"As it turned out, Snake had used a tracking device of his to find Jakob and bust his cover last week," Luke said to Layton, as Sonic listened with ever attentive ears. "The tracking device can track just about anyone in the world, after you plug in the coordinates and everything. So with that in mind..."

"...we could use the device to track down Team Flare grunts, and get one step closer to cracking the case!" Layton finished for Luke, slamming his fist into the palm of his hand. Chill out dude, no need to get so eager - not like you were in some intense rock-paper-scissors tournament.

"First we need to ask Snake if we can borrow his tracking device. Oddly enough, he's been wearing the strangest disguises as of late, so if we see someone who looks out of the ordinary, then we'll know that's Snake."

 **Snake: *wearing a gorilla costume* Mario no longer wanted me hiding in cardboard boxes anymore, so to keep myself away from Kiria, I'll be wearing different costumes everyday to keep that woman at bay. I happened to find this costume on Party City online, and it's kinda itchy...could be the fur, perhaps.  
** **Pit: Brother Kuro, where are you? Make your presence known so that I may DELETE you from existence... *encounters Snake* ...Harambe, is that you, have you been resurrected from the dead?!  
** **Snake: No Pit, it's me, Snake...I'm hiding from Kiria, since she's still infatuated with me, and I can't...  
Pit: Oh man, I've always wanted to meet you in person, this is too unreal! Allow me to show you how much you mean to me, Harambe!  
Snake: Kid, this isn't necessary, you don't have to do this...WHY ARE YOU UNZIPPING YOUR PANTS?!**

"Yo, yo, yo, to the yo, yo, yo, what's good, my British fellas!" Sonic approached Layton and Luke, believing that acting hip and cool could cure Layton's boring nature. "About to search for more clues, like Bloo's Clues? Keep on doing what you do best...dudes!"

"We're going to look for Team Flare grunts - they had some involvement in the hotel explosion at the wedding two months ago," Layton explained to Sonic, unnerving the hedgehog with his monotone voice. It sounded monotone, at least to Sonic. "You're more than welcome to join us if you like!"

"So you're just looking for people, and not clues? How much more boring can you possibly get?!" Sonic, realizing what he just said, did not wish to make Layton feel ticked, and tried to change his tune. "...uh, I mean, sure I would love to join, what could possibly go wrong!" Sonic originally was going to reject Layton's offer, but whatever kept the detective happy...

"That's excellent Sonic - now we have you AND Coco coming along with us!" exclaimed Luke, as the mere mention of Coco's name made Sonic feel some type of way. How could the hedgehog possibly work with someone who was in love with his former best friend? Things would not work out well.

"Um, on second thought, I just realized that I had something important to do - Shaymin really needs a bath, and if I don't give her one, she'll be complaining until I finally give her one. Can't listen to her complain forever!" Sonic was about to make a run for it and rush inside the mansion, until Coco appeared, with Crash and Aku with her.

"Layton, Luke, is it okay if I bring Crash and Aku along?" the blonde bandicoot asked the detectives. "Crash has a really great sense of smell and can track down anyone easily by their scent, and Aku...well, he can just ensure that we're safe." Coco looked past Layton and Luke, and saw Sonic idly standing by, like he wasn't about to run off. "You're tagging along too, Sonic? Well, this should be interesting!" Sonic thought otherwise, but at least he would have his BFF around in Crash.

"Crash's sense of smell could be quite beneficial for us..." stated Layton, paying attention to how Crash was scratching his ear like a dog. The bandicoot was even seated like a dog! Just from looking at Crash, Layton's mind was all made up. "...and therefore, he would be an excellent addition to our squad! But before we can leave, we must first ask Snake for his tracking device."

* * *

Cloud and Aerith were in the foyer, waiting for visitors to arrive. Just like from episode 71, these visitors were of _Final Fantasy_ fame, friends that Aerith had befriended without Cloud knowing beforehand. And just like from episode 71, Cloud was very cynical about meeting these friends of Aerith's.

"You're acting like the people you're about to meet our the most wanted criminals in the world," Aerith said to the cynical Cloud, leaned against a wall with his arms folded, while the flower girl stopped Smeargle from painting on one of the paintings. The painter Pokemon, who was supposed to return to the Pokemon sanctuary, instead painted a monocle and a mustache on a painting of Rosalina. "At least give the two a chance!"

"Let me guess - are these visitors boyfriend and girlfriend?" questioned Cloud, not even caring to give Aerith any eye contact. "Brother or sisters? Or just best friends? Are they just like the Ice Climbers, and we have to figure out how exactly are they related?"

"Just try and be as friendly as possible, and don't be so cold and hostile, either. We want to make our visitors feel at home, and I fear that you might be the only obstacle in making our visitors feel content." Aerith held Smeargle in her arms until Mr. Game and Watch walked by, making beeping sounds with each and every step. "Hey Mr. GW, can you take this Smeargle back to the sanctuary?"

"Sure thing, Aerith!" replied Mr. Game and Watch, accepting Smeargle from Aerith as he walked away. Had to keep the painter Pokemon away from his face, just to be on the safe side...

 **Aerith: No, I didn't befriend anyone online like I did last time around...let's just say that however I met these people shall remain a secret. It's a brother and a sister, both twins, and they're both Mirage Keepers - not sure what that means. But I'm positive they'll absolutely LOVE what the mansion has to offer them!**

 **Cloud: Again with meeting Aerith's stupid new friends...I don't know who these new friends of Aerith's are, other than that they're "mirage keepers", but I'm willing to bet someone is gonna confuse them somebody else who looks like them, and they're gonna be dragged into a world of trouble. Happened once to Sazh, and it might happen again to either one of the visitors...**

"If anything, I'm gonna let you do all the talking, since I don't know jack about your new best friends," stated Cloud, as a discouraged Aerith looked at the now tarnished painting of Rosalina. "Only thing you told me about that is that they're Mirage Keepers, and I still have no idea what that...Aerith, are you even listening to me? Are you that concerned about that stupid painting?"

"Have to admit, Rosalina looks great with a monocle, though that mustache REALLY has to go..." Aerith, who completely ignored Cloud, and was seemingly in her own world, remarked as she stared at the painting. It wasn't until the sound of the doorbell was heard that Aerith finally snapped out of her mini-trance. "Oh, that must be them - Cloud, get the door!" Cloud did no such thing - he kept leaning against the wall, showing defiance towards his own girlfriend. "...since you want to make things overly difficult, I'll just have to do it myself."

Aerith made her way to the front door, and opened it, delighted to see two young individuals standing on the doorstep. Both had strawberry blonde hair, both had blue eyes, and both were around the same height - yup, these were definitely twins.

"Welcome, you two, come on in!" exclaimed Aerith, as she welcomed the twins into the mansion. Once inside, the twins found themselves in awe of Cloud, who couldn't care less that the twins were a little excited to see him. "Cloud, I would like to introduce you to Lann and Reynn, two Mirage Keepers who...do stuff as Mirage Keepers. Lann and Reynn, that swordsman you see before you is..."

"CLOUD STRIFE!" exclaimed Lann, as he excitedly ran up to Cloud and started to fanboy over him. "You're actually real! And here I thought you were just some silly folk hero made up just to swoon girls! And is that your Masamune?" Lann pointed at Cloud's Buster Sword, which was positioned next to him - no way Cloud was gonna let Lann's filthy hands on his beloved sword. "May I wield it, just for a minute? Promise you I'll give it back!"

"First off, kid, this is a Buster Sword, not a Masamune - my brotherly rival Sephiroth wields the Masamune," corrected Cloud, already seeing from the get-go that Lann wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. "Secondly, there's no way I'm gonna...let you...touch my sword..." Too late, for Lann snatched the Buster Sword when Cloud was looking, and was wielding it like a G, as Aerith and Reynn looked on.

"Oh yeah, definitely feel like the one-winged angel!" said Lann as he wielded Cloud's sword - did he somehow mix up Cloud's persona with Sephiroth's?! "Could wipe out legions of bad guys with a sword like this!"

"Can you please cut that out, you could hurt yourself swinging the sword like that!" Reynn approached Lann, and took the Buster Sword out of her brother's hands, before handing it back to Cloud. "Deeply sorry you had to witness that, Mr. Strife."

"No, it's totally fine - I now know what kind of brother you have to constantly put up with," replied Cloud, placing his sword back where it belonged. So far, so good, and Cloud was starting to warm up to the two twins. "So, Aerith told me that you two were 'mirage keepers'...care to explain what that means?"

"It's kinda hard to explain to some folks...but I'll give you the lowdown. Mirage keepers are those who wield these beings called Mirages - cute and adorable people, creatures, and monsters, all varying in different sizes. I can summon you one if you like!"

Without receiving a word of confirmation from Cloud, Reynn pulled out some funky blue object, which was called a prismarium, and used it to summon a Mirage - a Mirage of Cloud himself, but only in chibi form.

"Aw, look Cloud, it's you in chibi form!" gleamed Aerith as she pointed at the Mirage; to say Cloud was unamused would be a nigh understatement. "Looks so cute and adorable..." Those were words Cloud refused to let Aerith describe him as.

 **Cloud: Basically Mirage Keepers keep a bunch of beings that look like chibis...knew from the very beginning Aerith's friends were total nerds.**

"We got plenty of more Mirages with us, all contained in our prismariums," explained Lann, taking out the blue objects of question from who-knows-where. Might have an infinite amount of imaginary pockets. "Would you like to see the Mirages we've brought?" Aerith excitedly nodded her head, while Cloud was too indifferent to give a response. "I can see the excitement radiating from you two already!"

So Lann and Reynn got out more prismariums, and used them to summon more Mirages. These Mirages resembled many famous _Final Fantasy_ characters you knew and loved - from Vivi to Yuna, to Leon and Lightning. Heck, even Sora _himself_ had a Mirage!

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Cloud shook his head in disapproval at the Sora Mirage, who wielded his Keyblade with all his might. And would you know it, Sora would walk by when he saw his Mirage, getting all giddy inside.

"Woah, is that me, is that supposed to be me?" the brunette ran up to the Mirage, kneeling down and inspecting it. "Oh man, it looks just like me, has the spiky hair and the blue eyes and even has the Keyblade! This is so cool!" Sora stopped fanboying when he looked up, and saw Lann and Reynn, who were both excited to finally see the Keyblade wielder in person for the first time. "I take it you have control over this...mini me?" Sora would ask Lann.

"Y-Yes I do, and so does my sister," answered Lann, as Sora stood up to his feet. "It's called a Mirage, actually. Lann's the name, and this is my twin sister Reynn. We have full control of the Mirages, and we have TONS of 'em, too!"

"Nice to meet you, Lann, same goes for your sister! I do have to admit, you kinda remind me of Roxas - he's my Nobody! And you also remind of another friend of mine, named Neku - he's a pretty chill guy."

"Who would be friends with a Nobody...?" wondered Cloud, as Sora and Lann were now discussing things with one another. Never was there a more opportune moment for the swordsman to judge Sora than right now.

* * *

Not wanting Pit to ever mistake him again as Harambe, Snake would ditch the gorilla costume, and instead wore a Batman costume - a costume that really complimented his gruff voice. Want to know how Snake looked as Batman? Picture Batman himself, but with a grey beard.

Before his accelerated age would make him forget, Snake had to give his tracking device to Luke; said device would be useful for Layton and company as they searched for traces of Team Flare within Seattle. Luke would meet up with Snake outside the gaming room, with Snake's black cape waving in the back - not because of any dramatic effect, but because of the air conditioning.

"I want you to guard this tracking device with your life," Snake told Luke as he handed the young detective the device. "It's the only tracking device I carry with me, since I let that stupid Johnny Sasaki borrow my last one, and he never gave it back. Why I gave that stupid idiot my device, I have no clue...I must be the bigger stupid idiot. Anyways, just make sure this device doesn't get broken, or fall into the wrong hands. Won't find stuff like this anywhere else!"

"I'll keep this device protected like a newborn baby!" said Luke, with a comforting smile. "Won't ever let it out of my sight!" Luke would walk away with his device close to his chest, as Snake turned around and also walked away. The former spy would make his way back to his room, passing by Link along the way.

"Hey Link, thanks for the Batman costume, really appreciate it!" Snake thanked the Hylian, who had Midna accompanying him. Midna looked at Snake's costume, then at Link, then back at Snake's costume...and shook her head.

"You're welcome, Snake - if you're ever in the need for another costume, don't hesitate to speak with me!" replied Link, as Snake nodded his head and kept on walking down the hallway - feeling a revived desire of kicking bad guys' butts again.

 **Link: Got the Batman costume, free of charge, when I bought that Joker costume for that Halloween party. Really great deal, for I didn't have that much money with me at the time.  
Midna: "At the time"? Link, you hardly have any money on you at all! You let people like Jacky and Donkey Kong constantly steal your money from you, both in secret AND in broad daylight! Have you considered putting your money into a bank account? Heard Mario puts his money into his...  
Link: Pfft, bank accounts are for people with insecure problems. They put their wealth in places of storage, because they can't trust themselves to keep their wealth with them at all times, like I try to do. I'm not the kind of guy that would put away treasure in chests - that's what insecure losers do.**

(Gil, in the background of the talking head segment with a treasure chest in his hands, hears Link and runs off crying)

Link kept walking through the hallway, with Midna following him, until he walked by the room where the Knitting Club met. Link and Midna would peek inside the room, and see the four members - Toad, Yoshi, Ashley, and Pac-Man - gathered around sitting in their chairs, knitting away. Every Knitting Club meeting was almost the same - Toad the drug lord being happy as always, Yoshi basking in Toad's happiness, Ashley looking like she was done forever with life, and Pac-Man wishing he was in any club that had nothing to do with knitting.

"Please tell me those four have something better to spend their time with on Fridays..." Midna said to Link, refusing to believe that Toad and his friends would have the absolute gall to knit stuff, over things like video games, playing outside, and other activities that were actually fun.

"I'm afraid they don't, Midna - and in actuality, only three-fourths of the club enjoy knitting," answered Link, glancing at the downtrodden Pac-Man. "Toad, Ashley, and Yoshi, they practically forced Pac-Man to join their club, all because he asked the three to knit them a sweater for Cloud. Shulk put him up to it - doesn't make that much sense in context."

Toad would continue knitting when some beeping sound was heard. The presumed drug lord looked at his watch, and saw the time, realizing that he had some important matters to attend do. Possibly selling drugs to some folks around Seattle.

"Oh man, it's almost time for my meeting!" exclaimed Toad, as he stopped knitting and threw his fabric unto the floor. Yup, definitely sounded like Toad was a drug lord, no mistaking it... "I can't afford to be late!"

"Late for what, what is this meeting supposed to be about?" questioned Pac-Man; if Toad leaving on early notice meant that the Knitting Club meeting was cancelled, then that would really make Pac-Man's day.

"On every Friday the 1st, Toad has to attend this secret meeting, involving what he likes to call 'friends of a common allegiance,'" Ashley would explain to Pac-Man. So Toad could be meeting up with fellow drug lords somewhere in town. "He claims that everyone at such meetings are just like him, and they share a common goal, a common purpose...basically secret society stuff." A secret society composed of drug lords? Who knew!

"For the last time Ashley, it's not a secret society...if you ever attend one of my meetings, you would know," replied Toad, as he was about to exit the room. "But no one else in this mansion other than me is allowed to attend this meeting, so I suggest that you quit making assumptions about things you've never seen. Do you see me making rash assumptions about Niagara Falls, a beautiful sight that I've never seen in my entire life?"

"Nope, and that was a pretty terrible example you just used - at least you know what Niagara Falls is and where it's located. Me, on the other hand, don't know zilch about your secret society, or what you discuss at your secret society meetings."

"Again, it is not a..." Toad was about to correct Ashley one more time, but saved his breath for later, as he sighed. "...I'll see you guys later." Toad exited the room, not noticing Link and Midna, as he walked away.

Suddenly two hands snatched Link and Midna, dragging the Hylian and the imp to a closet. These hands were very feathery, which meant that they belonged to one certain avian pilot...Falco Lombardi, who was in the closet with a light bulb on, hanging from the ceiling.

"Y'all saw Toad walking away, did you?" Falco asked Link and Midna, as he closed the closet door. "Did he mention that he was going to some meeting? Well, I think I might know what's going on...Toad might be a drug lord, attending a meeting with drug lords like himself!" See, Falco knew what was up!

 **Falco: Saw it first-hand in July of last year - it was July 1, a Friday, and while Fox and I were trying to stop Zero from obsessing over Princess Daisy, we witnessed Toad leave the mansion, looking around suspiciously before leaving through the front door. We knew that guy was up to no good, and so when we asked Toad were he went to once we solved the whole Zero issue, he said that he had to attend a "very important" meeting, without giving us any details. Oh, and his breath? Smelt kinda funky...my nostrils picked up the scent just from a few meters away.**

"What can possibly make you think Toad of all people is a drug lord?" Link whispered to Falco, only whispering because he didn't want to bring any unwanted attention to the issue at hand. Someone with very attentive ears could be walking by.

"Think about it - Toads are associated with mushrooms, mushrooms are associated with shrooms, shrooms are associated with drugs...and therefore, Toad must be selling drugs," explained Falco, even though Link and Midna still weren't convinced. "Transitive property, bruh - it can save lives!"

"So you're insisting that Toad sells drugs, and that ALL Toads sell drugs...you know what, this theory of yours is pure blasphemy," Midna said in disapproval, as she grabbed Link's hand. "Let's go Link, let's leave Falco toil in his own stupidity!"

"No, wait, please stay!" Falco pleaded to Link and Midna, preventing them from leaving the closet. "My theory may sound untrue, but hear me out...Fox and I saw Toad leave for his last meeting, last year, and when we asked Toad where the meeting took place, he said that it was near an apartment complex. That's a great hotspot for selling drugs. So we'll go to this apartment complex, Fox included, and we'll see if Toad is meeting up with drug lords. If my theory holds true, then I'll be a man of my word, and I'll put the matter to death. But if I'm in the wrong...then I'll give you my personal deep fryer. Might not be much, but it's better than nothing..."

"Is it the electric deep fryer with the exhaust system that you hide in your room?" asked Link, as Falco nodded his head, albeit with much reluctance. "Then you got yourself a deal!" Link shook hands with the now nervous Falco, who was making an offer he now wish he could take back.

* * *

In reality, the Flying Man only had one duty at the mansion - that duty being everyone's courage. From Sonic, to Lucina, to the Inklings, and even Master Hand himself - the Flying Man indebted his life to ensuring the safety of each and everyone individual that walked through the mansion halls. You could say that this mythical beast was like a lifeguard, but on the job 24/7, with little to no breaks.

Being of Earthbound fame, the Flying Man had a particular alligeance to two PSI boys - Ness and Lucas. Ness was the more extroverted out of the two, as Lucas was still introverted in most regards, too afraid to step out of his comfort zone. But today, the blonde was too afraid to step out of his own room, when the Flying Man stopped by and saw the boy playing with several darts while on his bed

"Don't throw that dart Lucas, it could kill you!" the Flying Man ran inside the room to save the day, knocking the dart out of Lucas's hand all heroically and majestically and many other adjectives. Lucas just looked in confusion, as the Flying Man picked up the dart off of the floor. "See this, Lucas? This dart as a pointy tip! And you were going to inject it into your skin, weren't you?!"

"... _or_ maybe I was gonna throw the dart at the target over there," answered Lucas, pointing at the target hanging on the wall, on the opposite side of the room. The Flying Man, seeing this, sheepishly smiled, as he placed the dart where it belonged.

 **Flying Man: There is no off-day for me when it comes to being the courage for others and protecting everyone from harm. Whenever I see someone doing something, even if it's practically harmless, I always assume the worst. When Isabelle uses a pair of scissors, I assume that she'll accidentally cut herself and bleed to death. When I see Crash using the microwave, I assume that the microwave will turn into some mechanical beast, and eat the poor bandicoot alive. When I watch Luigi in his sleep, more often than not without his permission, I assume that he'll suffer from a cardiac arrest, or even worse...King Boo takes over his body, makes him walk to some cliff, and fall off said cliff, sending Luigi towards his inevitable doom. I see death at every venture of my day, wherever I go...I can't escape death, and death can't escape me! For I am death's courage... *shakes head* ...nah, doesn't roll off the tongue. Doesn't sound right, either...**

"Tell me, my boy - why spend this beautiful Friday in your room throwing darts at some wall, when you could be outside with your best friend Ness?" the Flying Man asked Lucas, taking a seat next to the PSI whiz on his bed.

"I've been trying to avoid Pit - ever since he went 'broken', he's been giving me the heebie-jeebies with his 'broken' nature, and his manner of doing things," explained Lucas, as he threw a dart at the target without the Flying Man's intervention. "Also, his monologues have become outright boring and redundant - keeps saying that he'll 'delete' Dark Pit from existence, and make the world more 'broken'. It's craziness, I tell you..."

"Oh my goodness, not the heebie-jeebies, anything but that! I wouldn't wish the heebie-jeebies on any soul, not even my worst enemy - it's worse than cancer and malaria COMBINED!" No need to be so dramatic, Flying Man. "But it's sure a good thing I don't have any mortal enemies to wish such a vile thing upon. Tell you what - how about you and I confront Pit, and tell him what he's doing is wrong, and we could tell him how the others feel as well. You will have nothing to worry about, because I'm your..."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it now, no need to repeat your favorite catchphrase a gazillion times..." How will Lucas and the Flying Man handle Pit's 'brokenness'?

* * *

For as long as they've been living at the mansion together, Red the Pokemon Trainer and Cilan seldom had a Pokemon battle together. It was quite a surprise that the OG Pokemon trainer and the Striaton City gym leader never had a battle together, but given Cilan's busy days as a mansion chef, it was pretty understandable.

All of that would change today, when Red and Cilan were embroiled in a Pokemon battle in the Pokemon sanctuary - normal conditions, three Pokemon from each trainer, first trainer to have all his three Pokemon faint would lose. Red was down to his last Pokemon - his powerhouse Charizard - and Cilan was down to his last Pokemon to - Ferroseed, the thorn pod Pokemon, who was super weak to Charizard given his grass/steel typing. One powerful fire-type move could spell the end for Ferroseed, but fortunately Cilan had a plan.

"Alright, Ferroseed, use Thunderbolt on Charizard!" commanded Cilan, as Ferrothorn started sparking with electricity, before releasing a powerful bolt of lightning at Charizard. The flame Pokemon was weak to Thunderbolt, and had to avoid it at all costs.

"Charizard, dodge the Thunderbolt and use Flare Blitz!" commanded Red; Charizard, who could've moved out of the way of Thunderbolt if he wanted to, did as he was told, dodging the electricity before cloaking his entire body in flames. Ferroseed was about to become barbecue chicken soon - not even his high defense could save him now.

"STOP THE BATTLE THIS-A INSTANT!" ordered Mario, as he ran into the battlefield wheeling Sonic's painting; Charizard, seeing the plumber in his view, cancelled his Flare Blitz move as he came to a sudden stop, the flames around his body dispersing. "Sorry I had-a to interrupt your battle, but I have quite-a the dilemma on my-a hands..."

"What exactly could this dilemma...be?" asked Cilan, only to make a questionable face when Mario turned the painting around, showing the plumber in his white gown and Peach in her naked glory to the Pokemon connoisseur. "My goodness, I've never seen quite a painting like this. Quite extraordinary, I should say!"

"That means-a you'll buy it from-a me, right? I'll accept any amount-a of money you give me - ten-a dollars, twenty dollars, a hundred-a dollars, I don't care! Please, just-a buy this painting, I gotta get it out-a of my house!"

"As much as I appreciate the offer, Mario...I would NEVER, in my life, buy a piece of artwork with someone like Peach bare-naked. I will respect the time and effort put forth into the creation of this painting, but I cannot...

"But what's so-a wrong with Peach being naked?! If it's naked it's-a art!" Mario was now using Sonic's crazy art beliefs as selling points for Cilan to buy the painting, but it wouldn't work on the connoisseur.

"Mario, I can't buy any artwork if it has Peach naked - why, I wouldn't buy any artwork of my own self if I was naked!" Not even if you had a small, green leaf covering your crotch area, Cilan? "Again, I appreciate the offer, but I'm not interested in buying."

 **Cilan: Once bought a painting before - it was a painting of Lugia and Ho-oh, got it for a hefty amount of money! Got jumped and lost all my savings the very next day. Despite the trip to the hospital, the beating was strangely an enjoyable experience!**

"Red, why not ask-a Charizard to burn down this-a painting with his Flamethrower, so I won't-a have to look at it again?" Mario would ask the Pokemon Trainer, turning the painting so it would face him. Red had a reaction very similar to Cilan's.

"Sonic showed me that painting after it was finished - adored it so much, that he even admitted he would break down in tears if something bad were to happen to it," replied Red, with Charizard and even Ferroseed wanting to continue their Pokemon battle. "So if I have Charizard burn the painting down, Sonic will be crying and complaining...and I don't think I can stomach any of that."

"Use-a less..." Mario sighed, as he rolled the painting off the battlefield, and out of the Pokemon sanctuary, leaving Red and Cilan to continue their Pokemon battle. Little did Mario know that he saved Ferroseed from getting murdered by Charizard!

* * *

With Cilan unable to get the painting off of him, and Red refusing to have Charizard burn the painting because he didn't know how to tolerate Sonic...Sonicisms, Mario would go to Meta Knight, a common frequenter of several art museums in town. Mario would visit the Star Warrior in his room, as Meta Knight analyzed the painting, stroking where his chin would be.

"You've-a seen many paintings during your trips-a to the art museums - do you think-a this painting would be a good addition for one of museums in-a town?" Mario asked Meta Knight, waiting for a response as he was sitting on Kirby's bed, apparently a king sized bed. Supposedly fit for a king, although Kirby was way too small.

"This painting is clearly missing something..." remarked Meta Knight, still analyzing the painting, noticing there was one blemish that was throwing the artwork off. "Your beard, _tu barba,_ it's not white enough. If the artist of this _Creation of Adam_ -esque painting were to fully capture the entire intent of the original artwork, all of the elements should be in place, from the aesthetics to the design. Princess Peach gets a pass though, due to her being a female - her hair color would have mattered a lot had she been a guy."

"So you believe-a that my beard not being white-a is the problem, but Peach being-a naked isn't." Mario failed to see the logic behind that. "Also, I don't-a even have a beard, so why do I even have-a one in that painting?!"

"Like I just said, if the artist of this _Creation of Adam_ -esque painting were to fully capture the entire intent of the original artwork, all of the elements should be in place, from the aesthetics to the design - and therefore he had to give you a beard in order to fully capture the intentions Michelangelo had during the process of his painting. And what's so wrong with Peach being naked? In my book, if it's naked, it's art!" Did Sonic get his art ideology from Meta Knight?

"That is THE stupidest thing-a I've ever heard in-a my life! 'If it's naked, it's art'...provide-a me with some examples, I dare-a you!" Meta Knight would accept Mario's challenge, and the inhale he did signaled a long list the Star Warriors was ready to provide to Mario...

" _Venus and the Lute Player, Venus and Adonis, Judgement of Paris, Last Judgement, Death and the Maiden..._ those are excellent examples of how incorporating nakedness in your artwork can easily enhance art and prestige. I've yet to delve into nude sculptures like _David,_ mind you."

Mario didn't know what to say - Meta Knight absolutely schooled him. Instead of retorting and risk making himself look like an uncultured fool, the plumber just took the painting and wheeled it out of the bedroom, off to who-knows-where.

"Nudity is always the way to go when you're stuck creatively, take it from me!" Meta Knight called out to Mario. Yes, a puffball who wore his mask all the time was telling Mario nudity was always the answer. That doesn't necessarily account for going nude.

 **Meta Knight: I prefer my ideal woman to be naked, without clothes or undergarment - embracing her natural body and the curves of her body. But sometimes, you can't have nice things. Stupid societal standards.**

* * *

Aerith, Cloud, and Sora were hanging out in the lounge with Lann, Reynn, and the Mirages the twins brought with them. Behemoth, Ifrit, Chocobo, Tomferry...these were the kind of Mirages Lann and Reynn summoned, in addition to the Mirages summoned earlier. What was truly remarkable was that Cloud was fine with Sora's presence...but only because he didn't want Lann and Reynn to assume he was a jerk by telling off the Keyblade wielder.

"Ha, never seen Tifa wearing a cowboy getup before," remarked Sora, kneeling down at a Tifa Lockhart Mirage, wearing a cowboy hat and skirt instead of the _Advent Children_ attire Sora was used to. "Tifa and I used to kick butt together - we defeated an entire army of Heartless without breaking a sweat, and Cloud, Leon, Yuffie, and the Gullwings all pitched in to defeat the Heartless too!" And what about Aerith, she was a participant in the battle! Granted she didn't do any fighting, but Sora couldn't simply ignore her efforts.

"Well, uh...good for you, then," Lann awkwardly responded, scratching his head and wondering how Sora came up with such a strange story. Now he knew how Cloud felt about Sora. A blob of orange paint was splat unto Lann's face; Reynn giggled at her twin brother as he wiped the orange paint off. This orange paint came from none other than the female Inkling, who was engaged in a paint battle with the male Inkling that was carrying over into the lounge.

"Didn't Master Hand tell you kids no more paint battles indoors?" Aerith scolded the Inklings, with her hands on her hips - the Inklings ignored the flower girl, continuing on with their paint battle. "Must I bring up the last time you got paint all over the mansion? Mr. Game and Watch and the maids had to clean up after your mess, and Flora was so overwhelmed by it all that she even broke down in tears!"

"Not our fault Flora gets distressed easily from cleaning up paint," the male Inkling replied, hiding behind a couch shooting from his splattershot, and being on the lookout for the female Inkling. He should also be on the lookout for Dark Pit; the doppelganger wouldn't appreciate the Inkling talking junk about his... _lovely_ friend. "She should find another job, let her sister Felicia do the work!"

"Found you!" exclaimed the female Inkling, finding her male counterpart behind the couch, as he splatted paint at him. "Don't think you could hide from me that easily!" The Inklings would continue their paint battle, leaving Cloud and company to hang out elsewhere.

"Eh, Master Hand will find these two and ground them or something," shrugged Cloud, as he was already making his exit out of the lounge. "Or he'll give them the benefit of the doubt and just have Mr. Game and Watch clean up the mess. Let's scram before we get caught up in the mix."

So Cloud, Aerith, Sora, and the twins left the lounge, leaving the Inklings to continue their paint battle and get paint all over the lounge, making Mr. Game and Watch's life harder in the process. However, the five wouldn't get that far, when Reynn felt that something was amiss...

"The Mirages, we completely forgot about the Mirages!" the girl panicked, as she ran back to the lounge to retrieve the cute chibi creatures...but they were nowhere to be found.

* * *

No longer in the lounge, the Mirages found themselves in some room, where Viridi was playing on some piano, and Pit was singing the word "obsolete" over and over again, like he was trying out for some downtown choir. Kirby was outside mowing the lawn, also singing "obsolete" repeatedly.

"Yes, I've found myself a legion...a legion of beings that will assist me in DELETING Brother Kuro for good!" Pit stopped singing, before addressing the Mirages gathered before him. "With Cloud and Aerith's friends, the Keepers of Mirages, having left the lounge, I struck upon the opportunity to bring you all here, so we can work together and DELETE Brother Kuro, robbing him of his soul! Would you like to participate also, Viridi?"

"No thanks Pit, I'll just remain here and practice my piano playing!" the goddess of nature happily responded. "My piano skills should be as INTOXICATING as possible!" How sweet of Viridi to be a part of Pit's shenanigans; when you're the girlfriend of an idiotic buffoon, you gotta make sacrifices!

* * *

 **Snake: *wearing Batman costume* This is SO much better than that gorilla costume...now when I go out in public, if that ever happens, I won't have to endure any Harambe jokes, or have people call me Harambe. Funny how it's been over a year since that gorilla got shot, and yet he's still treated as a folk hero. I've been shot multiple times before, where's MY folk hero status?!  
Yoshi: *approaching Snake* Adam West, is that you, did Master Hand revive you from the dead? *gets out notepad and ink pen* May I have your autograph, good sir?  
Snake: Yoshi, I'm not Adam West...it's me, Snake. I'm in incognito.  
Yoshi: In that case...YO, KIRIA, SNAKE IS OVER HERE, COME AND GET HIM WHILE YOU CAN!  
Snake: Stupid idiot! *runs away***

Layton and Luke, along with Sonic, Crash, Coco, and Aku, were rummaging in Seattle, looking for any traces of Team Flare. Sonic had two reasons for refusing to be here - one, he was very critical of Layton and Luke, and two, he refused to be seen with Coco, Tails's supposed girlfriend. But with Crash present, the hedgehog felt like tagging along. Oh, and Aku...he had no impact on Sonic whatsoever, he was just...there.

"Lovely weather we're having today, not a single cloud in the sky!" remarked Layton, looking up at the bright sun shining in his face. Sonic just looked at the detective with great disdain, shaking his head. He felt like sucker punching Layton when the opportunity arose, when nobody was looking.

"Here we are, looking for Team Flare grunts, or at least any form of evidence about that hotel explosion, and you're all, "Ooh, look at the sky, look how great the weather is, totally hype bro!' Sure man, just keep downplaying the matter at hand...basic man."

"Sometimes when you're doing busy things, you have to compliment on the bright and lively things about your day, it can't be all business. Like you're the one to call me 'basic man'...this coming from a hedgehog who only wears red shoes, never wearing the Jordans Tails gave him - the same Jordans YOU sold at your silly yard sale." This comeback from Layton was strong enough to elicit a reaction out of everyone - Luke went "Ooooh...", Crash pointed and laughed at Sonic, Coco covered her mouth to stifle her laughter, and Aku...just floated there, with a simple smile. Like he literally had no idea what just happened.

"For the record, nobody ever buys Jordans just to wear them - those are the kind of shoes that count as collectible items. The losers who wear the shoes just want to brag and show off and give away the false narrative that they're the best!"

"...this coming from a hedgehog who bragged about being the fastest mammal alive. What are you gonna say in retaliation about that? 'I'm just speaking facts.' There, I saved you from using a weak comeback attempt. You'll be thanking me later." Sonic was left speechless, Layton, Crash, and Coco were laughing at the hedgehog...and Aku was just...smiling, in an almost creepy way.

"Hey you guys, I think I've found a Team Flare grunt on this device!" Luke alerted everyone, glancing at the now-blinking radar on the tracking device, which had a map of the entire King county area. "According to this radar, the Team Flare grunt is spotted in the city's Chinatown-International district. Perhaps that's where they got the explosives for the hotel explosion?"

"Huh, I thought only only New York had a Chinatown, sounds like Seattle is just appeasing to their high Asian population," said Sonic, as Layton and Coco stared at the hedgehog, befuddled by his ignorance. Their attention would suddenly revert to a Landmaster flying over their heads, speeding through the Seattle skyline, with some trap music blasting loudly.

* * *

Piloting the Landmaster was Fox, and with him was Falco, Link, Midna, and some cameraman that was forced by the documentary crew to tag along. His passengers were treating him with respect...if you consider noogies and wet willies from Falco to be signs of respect.

"You know you could just fly over to the Riverpark Apartments, since that's where we're headed," Fox said to Midna, who had the ability to fly through stuff. Fox knew the location from asking Donkey Kong, who was told by Toad about where the meeting took place.

"Eh, don't really feel like it - I'm more interested in seeing how Falco's last minutes of righteousness turn out before he gets proven wrong," replied Midna, leering at a slightly nervous Falco. "Hope you enjoyed the last days with your stupid deep fryer, Falco..."

 **Donkey Kong: Found Falco's "secret" deep fryer in his room one time...used that thing many times afterwards to deep fry my bananas. *takes a bite from a deep fried banana* Anything is better deep fried anyways. Including non-food items, like this teddy bear! *takes a bite out of an apparently deep fried teddy bear, before grimacing* ...wait, isn't this Viridi's teddy bear? *looks around guiltily before dropping teddy bear and running off***

Fox would soon arrive at the destination, arriving at an apartment complex with some nice looking apartments. The group were at the Riverpark Apartments, where Toad's meeting with his fellow drug lords was to take place. Fox and company got out of the Landmaster, the trap music still playing as several folks near the apartments were giving the brawlers (and Midna) questionable looks.

"Just so people won't question our sanity again, we're never playing Migos again, you're not from Atlanta, mind you," Fox would say to Falco as the group began their search for Toad. Hopefully nobody ransacked Fox's Landmaster while the pilot was away.

* * *

Mario was still adamant on getting rid of that unflattering painting of him and Peach, but hardly anyone in the mansion refused to do anything with the artwork. Not even Master Hand, who kindly told Mario that burning the painting wouldn't even be worth it for him. However, Mario knew one person that would take the painting, and this person, like Meta Knight, had a fine hankering for fine arts...

"Samus, do you have-a any idea where Zelda might-a be?" Mario approached the bounty hunter, who was busy grooming Pichu in her room. Not only was Samus friends with Pikachu, she was also friends with Pikachu's pre-evolution buddy, it seemed like. "After all, you and-a Zelda are best friends, as one person told-a me..."

"How did you even...you know what, forget about it," Samus was about to question Mario, but decided to save it for another time, when she was in the mood. Kudos if you know the person that could've told Mario about Samus's lowkey best friend. "If you must know, Zelda is doing some dumb ninja initiation thingy with Greninja, Yuffie, and Asuka. You might find them in the backyard, or you might not find them at all...I don't care."

* * *

So Mario would take the painting with him to the backyard, where he would find Sheik, Yuffie, and Greninja gathered outside with Asuka. The three ninjas were letting the young peppy ninja join their ninja club, and if Asuka wanted in, she had to prove her worth first.

"You guys sure this is a good idea?" asked a blindfolded Asuka, as she was standing in the center with several sack dummies surrounding her. She was holding a long staff in her hand...she had to prove her worth to Sheik and company by pretending to be a butt-kicking monk?

"Of course it's a good idea, we did the same thing with Kirby...before we found out Kirby was just a phony," answered Yuffie, as she, Sheik, and Greninja were idly standing by, a safe distance from Asuka in the event the ninja started swinging like a madman and tried to kill someone with her staff. "You should never trust anyone who's a ninja only temporarily...though I deserve the blame for wanting to initiate Kirby in the first place. His cute, adorable face was too hard to resist!"

 **Sheik: Adding Asuka to our little ninja club would have been a done deal a long time ago - given her status as a Star Records member, we weren't sure whether to give the green light on Asuka or not. Then again, her only purpose on _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ is to provide "fanservice", as Master Hand calls it, to the perverted men that watch Mamori's show, for "fanservice" reasons, so Asuka might not be a true member of Star Records after all...**

"Don't start until we give you cue, I'll count you off," Sheik instructed Asuka, who still wasn't all that confident about this initiation. Wouldn't a truce be a better option than going ham on some sack dummies? "Are you ready for your initiation to begin, Asuka?" Asuka nodded her head, wearing nervousness on her face. "Okay then, here it goes...three...two..."

"Sheik, I have a problem-a on my hands!" Mario called out to the Hylian ninja, interrupting her count and at the worse possible moment too. A now angered Sheik turned to face Mario, and saw the painting...the bandages around her face were able to hide her cringe. "Sonic made-a Peach and I this-a painting, and I've been-a spending my entire day trying to dispose-a of it! Do you know what-a I can do? Please-a Sheik, you're my only hope..."

"Wow, I don't know what to do Mario, almost seems like _burning_ the painting would be a no-go in my book...hint, hint."

"But I can't-a do that, Sonic will find out and then-a he'll gripe and moan and-a complain that his beloved painting was-a destroyed. I just want-a this painting gone, not allow the mansion to endure-a suffering from Sonic!" Sheik, Yuffie, and Greninja were all shocked...who knew Mario cared that much about the mansion residents?

"So you're saying that you're afraid of Sonic and how he'll react...give me a break. C'mon, Yuffie and Greninja, let's help Mario with his problem before he goes ballistic and does something completely desperate." So Yuffie and Greninja would follow Sheik, with Mario wheeling away the painting...and a particular ninja being left behind.

"Um, Sheik, are you gonna give me the cue or not?" Asuka asked after Sheik and company departed, still standing with the staff in her hands. Asuka was already feeling a vibe that the ninja trio was playing a prank on her, giving her hopes up, and not initiating her at all...and that was a sucky vibe.

* * *

It was safe to say that Dark Pit's time spent with Flora was, for the most part, limited. Flora was always busy and on task with her maid duties, and since the maid felt like doing housework was the only thing she was good at, she would devote her entire day perfecting her craft, even if it came at the risk of spending more quality time with Dark Pit.

While Flora was dusting off tables, cleaning the floors, or anything she was called to do, Dark Pit was walking through the mansion strutting his stuff. He would do this until he came across a bunch of small chibi creatures, gathered together in the hallway and creating a blockade for Dark Pit...those chibi creatures being the Mirages.

"Woah, what do we have here?" smirked Dark Pit, folding his arms and admiring the Mirages' cuteness. "A bunch of _Final Fantasy_ characters, stuck in chibi form? How's it feel to be the small guy around here, Cloud?" If only Dark Pit knew...

"Brother Kuro, you fool, what you see before you is not Cloud, but rather a small representation of Cloud!" said Pit, who popped out of nowhere, with Kirby standing next to him, and the flying drone, Vanguard 1, hovering in the air. Dark Pit saw the angel and gritted his teeth, not wanting to put up with this foolishness again. "These are small creatures called Mirages, and they shall play a pivotal role in DELETING you from existence! Prepare to say your last words, Brother Kuro!"

 **Viridi: I've tried telling Pit to quit it with his "broken" madness, but he just won't listen to me...he keeps remaining in character, throughout the day, even when Lady Palutena takes him shopping for groceries. Luigi is through with Pit after the whole Charles incident, so now I'm controlling Pit's stupid drone...I want to tell Pit to stop what he's doing, but like I said, he won't listen... *sighs* ...still makes up for it with his cuteness, though.**

"Do not fret, Dark Pit, for I...no, _we_...are your courage!"

Dark Pit, fearing for the worst, turned around and saw the Flying Man and Lucas, right on time. While Dark Pit didn't want the Flying Man's help, if he got rid of Pit for him, and it wouldn't matter.

"Pit, you think deleting 'Brother Kuro' might solve your problems, but if you want to delete him, you'll just have to _delete_ us first!" proclaimed the Flying Man, as he and Lucas joined Dark Pit. The doppelganger could just go with Lucas, screw the Flying Man!

"You dare attempt to defy my broken brilliance?" questioned a disgusted Pit, who was left with no other choice but to use the Mirages. "Mirages, attack!" The Mirages would do as they were told, rushing towards Dark Pit and company, initiating a fight. The Flying Man and Lucas would be doing all the fighting though, as Dark Pit made a run for it.

"Keep up the good work, you guys!" the doppelganger would call out to his two compadres, as the Mirages were now getting the upper hand during the fight.

* * *

Dark Pit kept running, and he did so until he ran into Cloud and Lann. The swordsman and the Mirage Keeper were looking for the Mirages, and fortunately they ran into someone who knew where those creatures were.

"Pit, Kirby, Mirages, delete, fight, save me!" panted Dark Pit, almost out of breath, leaving Cloud to piece the words together. Lann, who wasn't exactly bright, had a hard time piecing the words together himself.

"Show us where the Mirages are," demanded Cloud, and so Dark Pit would lead Cloud and Lann to where the Mirages where, but once he returned...

...the Mirages, nor Lucas, the Flying Man, Pit, or Kirby were to be found!

* * *

Fox and company spent most of their time at the Riverpark Apartment complex, looking for any sign of Toad. They would find the presumed drug lord, gathered with other fellow Toads on some grassy terrain, behind the apartments. The brawlers...and Midna...assumed their hiding positions, as a Toad joined the meeting.

"Never seen so many generic Toads gathered in one location..." Fox muttered under his breath, as he counted over a dozen Toads gathered together. ".feels like I'm in a _Sticker Star_ game. Or _Color Splash._ Only without Mario in the fancy gimmicks."

"Shh, the meeting is about to begin!" Midna shushed Fox, as a Toad wearing some fancy robe stood out from the crowd, with a smile on his face. Yup...all those Toads were definitely drug lords. They were perhaps discussing starting their own drug cartel.

"Looks like everyone is present, which means we'll now kick things off," the Toad addressed his fellow Toads, speaking to his drug lord buddies. "Well, we've waited fourteen months for today, and so we gotta make today count. And now, I have one question to ask you, and one question only...WHO'S READY TO GET THIS FRIDAY THE FIRST FESTIVAL STARTED?!"

To Fox and company's confusion, all the Toads erupted into cheers, as confetti started popping out and balloons were being raised in the air. The Toads were all celebrating - bouncing beach balls over their heads, forming conga lines and dancing, all sorts of stuff! Maybe Toad wasn't a drug lord after all...

"...so this is what Toad and his buddies do every Friday the 1st?" questioned Falco, as "Celebration" by Kool and the Gang was playing from who-knows-where. A pretty funny location for the Toads to have their festival, don't you think?

"I do believe you owe me a deep fryer, good sir," smirked Link, as Falco guiltily looked around, pretending he didn't know what Link was talking about. "Coming to this place, I had a feeling I would have the bet won..."

"If they randomly start singing 'We Are Number One' out of nowhere, we're heading back to the mansion ASAP," stated Fox, who wished to stick around to see what else this "Friday the First Festival" had to offer. "I'd never take any Toad seriously if they sing that song as part of their stupid festival."

 **Donkey Kong: Okay, just told Viridi about me deep frying her teddy bear. I apologized to her, and she accepted my apology - she said it was only because I wasn't a human. Understandably, she didn't want her teddy back after what I did to it, which means... *holds up deep fried teddy bear, and eats it in one gulp* ...there, I feel so much better now!**

Fox and company would continue watching the "Friday the First Festival", as the Toads were now dancing to some Lionel Richie, the music blaring from some imaginary loudspeakers, it seemed like. Nothing the Toads were doing screamed "drug lord", which meant Falco was truly in the wrong this whole time.

The festival would be put on hold, however, when Falco's cellphone started blaring. And yes, it was trap music... _very_ loud trap music, rather. Loud enough to halt the festival, as the Lionel Richie music paused and the Toads were looking around, all confused.

"Katt Monroe's at it again..." sighed Falco, as he took out his cellphone and put it on silent. When he looked up, he saw an angry mob of Toads, looking at him and the others, strangely holding pitchforks and torches. Those Toads sure acted fast!

"Good thing we bought some pitchforks and torches prior to the festival, for moments like these...now let's get those trespassers!" the lead Toad pointed at Fox and company, who all ran away as the Toads were now chasing them. But much credit to the Toads for coming prepared, though!

* * *

Layton and his accomplices were in Seattle's Chinatown distract, looking for any signs of Team Flare. The district wasn't as concentrated and crowded, which raised the likelihood of finding someone with red hair, red glasses, and a red suit. The required dress code for all Team Flare grunts.

"Ha ha ha!" exclaimed Crash, showing off some dragon head he was wearing to Sonic. The bandicoot purchased this dragon head with money Coco gave him - the head wasn't heavy enough to make him topple over.

"Gotta admit Crash, you look kinda scary wearing that thing on!" Sonic complimented the bandicoot on his scariness, taking note of the dragon head's intimidating frown and scowl. "If only Layton was scary, instead of being boring all the time..." Sonic turned around, and was spooked by Layton, his eyes wide open while wearing a duck bill on his face. Sonic shrieked as he fell unto the ground; Layton chuckled as he took the duck bill off of him.

"Still think I'm the most boring person in existence, Sonic?" the detective asked the hedgehog, who was recuperating from his shock as he got back on his feet and dusted himself off, his heart rate at a rapid pace. Sonic was about to say something, until Coco and Luke showed up.

"Professor Layton, we've found the Team Flare grunt in the Chinatown district - and they're with another fellow grunt as we speak!" Luke informed the detective, still using Snake's tracking device. "They're located behind the China Gate restaurant."

Luke and Coco would guide Layton, Sonic, and Crash to the back of the China Gate restaurant, where they would find two dudes having a private conversation with one another. Both had red hair, and were wearing red suits, and had on red glasses - definite Team Flare grunts.

"Any word about the ally at the Smash Mansion?" the first Team Flare grunt asked. An ally at the Smash Mansion? Just who could this ally be?

"Nope, haven't really heard anything ever since the mansion had that _Sweeny Todd_ play, wish I was there," replied the second Team Flare grunt, as Layton and company were listening closely with attentive ears. "But Lysandre told us specifically to remain in Seattle, until further notice."

"And what about Malva? Spotted her last week, don't know what she was doing, or why she was even in town...you think Lysandre might have something to do with her presence?"

"Doubt it, unless Lysandre let her back in Team Flare and had her do some lowkey reconnaissance mission. That could be the reason."

 **Team Flare Grunt: When you're committing evil deeds, and doing evil stuff, you gotta do it... *strikes a pose* ...in style. Everything we do at Team Flare is in style, from her fashion sense, to the way we carry ourselves...Why isn't our leader Lysandre as fashionable as us? Well, it's hard for him to be fashionable at all with his goofy hair, his Pyroar-looking self...don't tell him I said that, I don't want to get fired!**

"Yeah, Lysandre and Malva possibly made up and we just didn't know it," said the first Team Flare grunt, before looking to his right and saw Layton and company, spying on him and his partner. "Wait a second! A blue hedgehog with red shoes...a tall British guy with a top hat...an orange-furred bandicoot and his sister..."

"...these must be the mansion residents our ally once told us about!" the second Team Flare grunt pointed at Layton and company, who all backed away. "Oh, you think you punks can try and run away?! Well think again!"

Both Team Flare grunts got out their Poke Balls, and sent out their Pokemon - a Houndoom, a Mightyena, and two Golbats. Golbats were a common staple for evil Pokemon grunts everywhere.

"Oh man, just wait until we tell Lysandre that we took care of some peons from the mansion, he'll be so proud of us!" the first Team Flare grunt said, feeling more excited than he should. "We'll be the most successful Team Flare grunts since...since...since ever!"

"You guys know what to do...RUN!" shouted Sonic, as he and the others ran away from the Team Flare grunts and their Pokemon. A lot of running taking place in this week's episode...

* * *

Captain Falcon, throughout the week, was nervous that the word about him dancing with Malva would somehow make it to Nowi, and the half-Manakete would break up with the racer. But fortunately for Falcon, that wouldn't be the case, as he was hanging out with Nowi in the gaming room, reeling sorta relieved.

Little did Captain Falcon and Nowi know that somebody was spying on them, peeking through the gaming room entrance unseen. This spy was Jakob, who said in an earlier episode that he would be spying on Dark Pit and Flora. Now he was taking his spying talents to Captain Falcon and Nowi...did the butler have some sort of fascination with cross-canon relationships involving _Fire Emblem_ characters? Or was it something deeper than that?

"Jakob, Jakob, we need-a your help!" Mario ran to the butler, wheeling the painting with the three ninja pals - Sheik, Yuffie, and Greninja - behind him. "I've been trying to get-a rid of this painting all day, but-a to no avail! I thought Sheik and-a her friends could help-a me, but none-a of their methods worked!"

"May I ask why Peach is naked?" said Jakob, looking inquisitively at the painting and stroking his chin. "Also, whose bright idea was it to make a damning rendition of _The Creation of Adam_ , and include you and Peach in it?"

"Mario said it was mainly Sonic's doing," stated Sheik; Jakob found very little reason for him to ask further questions.

"Hmm, that really explains everything. Only Sonic would think making this painting would be a brilliant idea. Gotta wonder what goes on in his head sometimes." Suddenly a loud shriek was heard, and it came from downstairs, too. "How about we see what's going on downstairs first?"

* * *

Mario, Jakob, and the ninja crew headed downstairs, and headed to the room where the shriek came from. Once inside, the five found Viridi playing on a piano, Pit singing off-key, and Lucas and the Flying Man, tied up together with the Mirages surrounding them. Pit and Viridi took sight of Mario and company, as Viridi stopped playing the piano.

"Ah, you all must've came to partake in my broken brilliance, to join me in the Great War!" said Pit, his arms raised out in the air. "Or, you're here to suffer a fate similar to Lucas and the Man of Flying...meeting your end from the Mirages!"

 **Viridi: The "Man of Flying"...the "Man of Flying"...why do I even...**

"Pit, with the jurisdiction bestowed in Mario and I by Master Hand, we command you to release Lucas and the Flying Man, and stop with this broken foolishness!" commanded Jakob, pointing at Pit with authority. But Pit did not know authority.

"Like you can talk to me like that, man who has yet to be named the official butler of the Mansion of Smash!" retorted Pit, ready to use his magical powers on Mario and Jakob...if he even had magical powers to begin with. "Don't make me have Vanguard 1 fire lasers at you!"

"A silly drone-a firing lasers at us, we're-a so scared..." Mario mocked Pit, pretending to be scared and angering the angel in the process. "Why waste your time-a with your drone...when you could-a get a load of this-a instead!" Mario would reveal to Pit and Viridi the painting - a piece of artwork enough to scar Pit's innocence, while Viridi looked away.

"AUGH, MY EYES, I WAS IN NO WAY PREPARED FOR THIS!" screamed Pit, squinting his eyes, as Mario and company made most of the opportunity, untying and releasing Lucas and the Flying Man, before gathering the Mirages and making their exit.

* * *

Layton and company were still running away from the Team Flare grunts and their Pokemon, with Sonic leading the way. The hedgehog looked up, and saw the Landmaster flying in the sky...albeit with many Toads on the flying vehicle, stabbing it with their pitchforks and torches.

"You guys see that?" Sonic asked the others, pointing up at the Landmaster. "Aren't those Toads violating a safety hazard of some sort?"

"Like you're the one to talk about safety hazards, Sonic!" replied Coco, not caring to look up at the Landmaster. Getting away from the Team Flare grunts was a much higher priority at hand.

"Luke, can you look at that device and see how far we are from the mansion?" Layton would ask his apprentice; this was by far the most physical thing the professor had ever done in his life.

"We're only a few miles away from the mansion - good chance Fox and Falco will beat us there!" replied Luke, looking at the device. Not unless the raging Toads bring the Landmaster down.

* * *

The Flying Man, who preached helping and saving others, got a taste of his own medicine, after Mario and company saved him from the maniacal Pit. Now the mythical beast and Lucas were in the foyer with their rescuers, the painting, and the Mirages.

"Yuffie for the last time, we're not selling the Mirages online, they already belong to someone," Sheik would say to Yuffie, who apparently wanted to make a profit off of the chibi creatures. "Did Aerith not tell you about the Mirage Keepers bringing the Mirages to the mansion?"

"Pretty sure she only told Cloud instead - I only found it by eavesdropping," stated Yuffie, as Jakob analyzed the painting of Mario and Peach, shaking his head. "And why can't we sell them online, we could profit from their cuteness! We could sell Kirby online if we wanted to!"

 **Yuffie: Selling Kirby online won't violate any human rights, what with Kirby being just a pink puffball...so what's there to lose?**

In almost the blink of an eye, Sonic ran inside the mansion, running through the front door before speeding through the foyer. The hedgehog would return to the foyer, however, to address what was going on.

"I was doing stuff with Layton and Chinatown, looking for evidence and whatnot, when we saw some Team Flare grunts that are now hunting us down," the blue blur would explain. "Or they _were_ hunting me down, or me rather - Layton and the others were running too slow for my taste, so I had to outrun them so I wouldn't be seen in public with a bunch of slowpokes. If they ask, tell them I fell off the wayside and fell into the water and got washed away. They'll believe it!" Sonic ran to his room, leaving the others slightly bewildered.

"Some trouble is clearly heading towards our way..." remarked the Flying Man, "and I don't believe I'm in any capacity to deal with any Team Flare grunts on my own, or their Pokemon for their matter." Lucas nudged the Flying Man, grabbing his attention. "What is it, my dear lad?"

"Why can't we just get these Mirages to do the work for us instead?" the PSI whiz suggested, and that got the Flying Man thinking...

* * *

Having been "betrayed" by Sonic, Layton and company finally reached the mansion, down to their last breath as the stumbled, coming to a stop so they could all catch their breath. The only person who was fine was Aku, who had simply floated to the mansion with ease.

"I may sweat buckets, but it's a good thing I can't sweat from floating too much!" exclaimed the floating mask, garnering glares from Crash and the others. Just then, the two Team Flare grunts and their Pokemon - Houndoom, Mightyena, and their Golbats - arrived at the Smash Mansion, striking a pose.

"Got you right where we want you..." one of the grunts snarled, looking stylish and cool even with a sweaty face. "All that running you did paid off - you practically led us to the mansion, where our ally is located!"

"Tell us who this ally of yours is this instant!" demanded a sweaty Layton, refusing to end today's investigation without any substantial information. An ally at the mansion was only a tipping point for Layton.

"Like we'll tell you who the ally is that easily...but we can tell you that soon that mansion will be blown up to smithereens, and Mario, and Peach, and their in-laws, and pretty much everyone else will suffer! Actually, I don't think I was supposed to say that...but oh well. Now, to take care of some business..."

Before any business could be taken care of, the Flying Man burst out of the front door, with authority, but he didn't come out alone...standing at his feet were the Mirages, all ready and positioned for battle.

"Are we...supposed to be scared of them?" the other Team Flare grunt asked the Flying Man, confused. Almost felt like laughing. "They're so small, and harmless, I could kick one of them far away...this isn't even worth a fight. Houndoom, use Fire Blast...I guess..."

"MIRAGES, ATTACK!" ordered the Flying Man, as the Mirages all advanced towards Houndoom and the other Pokemon, attacking them with their weapons and magic and such. Some Mirages attacked the Pokemon, while the others went after the Team Flare grunts. It was a great effort all around.

As the beating continued, and the Flying Man proudly watched the Mirages with his arms folded, Layton and company went inside the mansion, as the Landmaster smoothly landed in the driveway, with the Toads still hanging on. The Toads were giving Fox a hard time piloting his vehicle.

 **Fox: Remind me to purchase an invisibility feature for my Landmaster so nobody will attack it again...I don't care how expensive it might be.**

The vicious beatdown would come to a close, when all four Pokemon were down for the count, and both Team Flare grunts were battered and bruised. Clearly they had enough of the Mirages, as they returned their Pokemon back to their Poke Balls and slowly got away.

"Lysandre's plan will go through sooner than you think...just you wait and see!" the Team Flare grunt vowed to the Flying Man, as he and his partner ran off, losing like the other grunts were typically accustomed to.

"Don't ever underestimate the power of cuteness!" the Flying Man called out to the grunts, shaking his fist. The Mirages, after a job well done, saw the Landmaster, and saw the Toads wrecking havoc on it, and knew what they had to do...

Without any command from the Flying Man, the Mirages attacked the Toads, possibly because they sensed the Toads were being troublemakers, and any troublemaker in the Mirages' presence was bound to pay, as the Team Flare grunts had just learned. The Toads, saving themselves from any trouble, quickly got off the Landmaster, dropped their weapons, and ran off, and Fox, sensing that the coast was clear, exited the Landmaster, along with Falco, Link, and Midna.

"The fact that those Toads bought their own pitchforks and torches is the most asinine thing I've heard all week," remarked Fox, getting out of his vehicle, before seeing that one Toad was left...the Toad who led the festival, wearing his fancy robe. "State your business, tell us why you're here and what that festival was all about!" demanded Fox, pointing his Blaster at the Toad, who was left unfazed.

"Fox, what has gotten into you...it's me, your buddy Toad!" exclaimed the Toad, who was actually named...well, Toad. "That Friday the First Festival is a thing I do with my other fellow Toad buddies! It's a little something we do every Friday the 1st."

"But why did you keep it a secret, how come you would just tell everyone that it was just a meeting?" asked Falco, not ready yet to give up his deep fryer. "I thought you were a drug lord, doing sneaky things?"

"Me, being a drug lord?" Toad laughed at this thought, possibly thinking Falco was an idiot. "You think just because I'm associated with mushrooms that I sell drugs to others? Give me a break! And technically, the festival _is_ a meeting...a fun meeting, but a meeting nonetheless!"

"Oh, okay then, gotcha. Glad we got that cleared up. Sucks that I'll have to lose my deep fryer to Link because of this...it's a long story."

* * *

Fearing that their Mirages were lost forever, Lann and Reynn returned to the foyer, looking for any signs of the creatures...but when Lann stepped foot in the foyer, he gasped when he saw not Jakob, but rather Mario, the famous plumber.

"Mario!" the teen approached Mario, shaking his hand eagerly as Reynn looked on. "I've heard great things about you, and it's so cool getting to see you in person and..." Lann saw the painting next to Mario, and gasped yet again. "Is this a painting of you and Peach...with Peach _naked_?! Can I have it, please?!"

"Why would you want a painting like that - a princess lying naked is NOT in your taste!" scolded Reynn, with her hands on her hips. But Lann didn't care, as long as Mario was in the painting.

"You're a girl, of course you would be objected to any naked woman in art." Reynn would roll her eyes, as Lann returned his attention to Mario. "I'm willing to take this painting from you if you don't want it, Mario."

"Then-a go on ahead, be my guest!" replied Mario, as Lann took the painting and wheeled it over to his side. Where the heck will the teen put the painting at?

 **Lann: The painting would look great at the coffee shop, especially if we hang it outside. It'll bring a lot of customers...**

 **Reynn: *shaking her head* That painting is going to be shredded soon. Or burned. Either will do.**

The Flying Man would return to the mansion with the Mirages, along with Fox, Falco, Link, Midna, and Toad. Lann and Reynn were obviously delighted to see the Mirages, safe and sound and in one peace.

"Sweet, you found our Mirages for us!" exclaimed Lann, as Reynn counted the Mirages to ensure that all of them were present. "Thanks a bunch, flying bird dude!"

"That's the Man of Flying to you!" responded the Flying Man energetically, before realizing the error he made. "...I mean, the Flying Man. Stupid Pit..."

* * *

Later that day, when Link was deep frying stuff with the deep fryer Falco gave him, there was a visitor that came to the mansion, ringing the doorbell. Layton would answer the door, surprised to see a person of interest in the previous episode...

"Glad to meet you in person, Professor Herschel Layton," greeted Malva, the Pokemon trainer who once had ties to Team Flare. "Malva's the name, but I'm pretty sure you've already known me from somewhere."

"Good evening to you, Malva," Layton would return the greeting with a hat tip. "I am very much familiar with who you are, what you do, and your status as a Kalos Elite Four member. So what brings you to the mansion?"

"Funny you should mention that - I saw you and your apprentice and a few others in the Chinatown district, and I saw the Team Flare grunts chasing you out of the district with their Pokemon. Tried my best not to get myself involved..."

"Now I must ask you...why were you at Chinatown in the first place? And at the club Captain Falcon went to last week? I mean, I'm not entirely sure if Falcon _was_ at the club to begin with, or if he got drunk and was imagining things..."

"Captain Falcon was at the club, I saw him in plain sight too." Malva looked around, before saying the following in a quiet tone: "Been spying on Team Flare out of my own curiosity, they've been popping up within the city and the city limits. Looking for clues, just like you are. And speaking of clues..."

Malva would give Layton a clue she found herself - a pair of glasses, dusty to the point where the color could not be distinguished. Layton would accept the glasses from Malva, inspecting them closely.

"Can't tell you where I found those glasses, but I saw them at some site where a bunch of Team Flare grunts were gathered. Thought you might want to hold on to them, just for convenience sake's. Oh, and about Captain Falcon...I need you to watch him _very_ closely. Although he wasn't really in the wrong, he _is_ a part of setup that will be initiated later...a setup I felt stupid and ashamed to be a part of."

"What do you possibly mean by that, what is this setup about?" asked Layton, but Malva wouldn't answer, as she took a step away from the front door.

"That's all I have to share with you, for today at least. I'll keep you posted in the following weeks, if I can. Just stay safe and out of trouble, like I should've done!" And on that remark, Malva closed the front door, and left the mansion for good, as Layton stared at the glasses in his hand.

Things were suddenly starting to take shape...


	90. Episode 90: Headhunt

_Author's Note:_

 _In the wake of Hurricane Irma coming towards my state soon in a matter of days, I have some guest reviews to answer..._

 _"Can you include Marin from Link's Awakening? Hilda and Ravio from A Link Between Worlds? A small scene of Alisha interacting with Lucina and Clair from Fire Emblem Echoes? (Since all three are voiced by Alexis Tipton) Is Agria gonna give insult names to the Smash Mansion residents when she shows up? (Since she called Leia a pimple in the games) How soon will the Resident Evil and the other Tales characters appear? And finally, do you plan on doing something special for when Metroid: Samus Returns, Fire Emblem Warriors and when the Justice League movie comes out?"_

 _Yes to Marin, Hilda, and Ravio. Maybe to the Lucina/Alisha/Clair scene. I'll have to think of some insulting names for Agria to dish out. Still working on the Resident Evil and other Tales characters. And while I've been planning something for the Justice League movie on the lowkey, I'll be also planning for Samus Returns (which is next week, I believe) and Fire Emblem Warriors. Next up is Keeby, or Keebeep:_

 _"What are your mains and characters you hate battling?"_

 _Great question! My main gal is Zelda, been maining her for a very long time. Palutena, Lucina, Falco, King Dedede, and Mr. Game and Watch are my secondary mains. I hate fighting against Bayonetta - you probably know why. Roydigs22 has returned, and with questions in mind:_

 _"Could we maybe see Kirby and either ribbon from k64 or chuchu from Kirby's dreamland 3? And also maybe lucario, lopunny, gardevoir, and gallade?"_

 _I could make some room for Ribbon and Chuchu. And when was the last time Lucario and the crew all appeared together? Must've been since chapters 77-78. I shall feature them in the next chapter._

* * *

 **Episode 90: Headhunt**

Following seven months of April showers, May flowers, hot summer days, and cookouts under the sun, the greatest annual American tradition was back to claim its glory...football season. Although football season technically started in late August with college football, professional football was set to kick off that Thursday night, when the Super Bowl champions New England Patriots (a team Falco still greatly despised to this very day) played against the Kansas City Chiefs, a team that wasn't from Kansas, as the city name might imply. Shocker.

In order to get back into the football spirit, Mario wished to play a game of football in the mansion backyard. (He would play in his own backyard, but it was relatively small compared to the mansion's.) As much as the plumber wished to have a rematch against Sonic - a legit rematch, one without deflated balls and any other controversy - he knew Sonic couldn't be trusted, and so he challenged someone else to a game of football instead...his brother, Luigi.

Given Luigi's lanky and slender frame, one would assume the poor plumber would get mauled in any form of football that wasn't flag football. However, Luigi would make up for his lankiness with his tenacity and determination, both underrated qualities. He would love to go against Mario in a little brotherly competition - though things would be ten times sweeter if Luigi and his team came out with a victory.

The rules for the football game were as followed - seven players on each time, four downs, no punts, and all basic football rules were applied. Mario and Luigi spent most of their early afternoon recruiting players to their teams, having in mind who they believed would be a perfect fit.

"Corrin, for the last time...that guy is NOT Emperor Palpatine," Falco tried to tell Corrin, who was still convinced that the coach of the Patriots, Bill Belichick, was Emperor Palpatine, just because he wore a hoodie that portrayed him as some evil, calculating villain. Corrin was watching a press conference of the coach on the television in the living room, his eyes glues to the television screen. "Isn't Palpatine supposed to be ugly looking, just like Voldemort?"

"Like I told you before Falco, this is merely a human disguise Palpatine is using to keep his enemies at bay," explained Corrin, lecturing Falco like he was a college professor lecturing some ignorant college student. "It allows his enemies to keep scouring the entire earth for his whereabouts, while the Galactic Federation remains strong during Palpatine going incognito."

 **Falco: Yeah, you can say that I'm still bitter about the Super Bowl...but hey, today is the start of the new season. My team can redeem themselves, I'm confident they'll go on another great run, and cruise to the Super Bowl with easy and capture that Lombardi trophy! Lombardi... *looks to the distance, before shaking his head with a smile* ...what a great name that is.**

"Okay then, why would 'Emperor Palpatine' disguise himself in a place like New England?" asked Falco, wanting to see how Corrin answered this question. "Why not go into hiding in desolate places, like Wyoming, Maine, or even Fresno, for crying out loud? Nobody gives a crap about Fresno!"

"Palpatine did it because he figured none of his enemies would suspect him to be in Boston," answered Corrin, affirmative that his theory was true and therefor not a theory at all. "Upon hearing the term 'New England', they would look throughout England, not knowing that New England is actually applied to the northern states of the United States."

"That's...that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard you say. Granted you've said stupider things, but you just took the cake right now - your _own_ cake. Perhaps the worst cake of its kind!"

"Just so you know, Falco, 'stupider' isn't a word...I should know, I learned much from cosplaying Grand Admiral Thrawn once. Who knew cosplaying can be such a great learning experience?"

Unable to take anymore of Corrin's love for _Star Wars_ and his obsession with Emperor Palpatine, Falco left the living room so he could take with someone who wasn't a deranged, delusional nitwit, someone that had the mental capacity to separate fantasy from reality. Given the conversation Falco had with Corrin, anyone will do.

Moments after he left the living room, Falco arrived at the foyer, and saw Luigi speaking with Wario. The avian pilot couldn't make out what the plumber and the fatso were discussing, but judging by the smile on Wario's face, and the nodding of his head, Luigi must be offering him a very enticing offer he simply couldn't refuse.

"You got yourself a deal, Luigi - I'll join your football team!" said Wario, shaking Luigi's hand. His strong grip must be crushing Luigi's hand to the bone. "But only if I get paid for my efforts! I refuse to win this football game empty-handed, without anything to show for my efforts!"

"I got-a you covered Wario - heck, I'll pay every one-a on the team!" stated Luigi; surely the plumber is gonna regret that soon. "Might even throw-a some things in, like free-a food, just to improve-a team performance and morale. Nobody turns down free-a food. Well, Wario, I'll-a be seeing you later!" Luigi and Wario would go their separate ways, with Wario returning to his room, and Luigi looking for teammates...when his eyes fell upon Falco." Ah, Falco! You wish-a to join my foot-a ball team?"

"If I do join your football team...do I get any incentives if we win?" asked Falco, resting his feathered hand belong his beak. Luigi, albeit with some reluctance, nodded his head with a nervous smile. "Well well well...in that, I demand that you hand feed me grapes, and give me a full-course meal, and provide me the greatest selection of desserts known to man! And that's only if I...erm, _we_ win, so I better not see you try and throw the game away just to avoid fulfilling my wishes. Oh, and I also ask that Fox receives the same treatment I do. Capiche?"

"...I'll try and work-a some things out." First Wario's compensation request, and now Falco demanding that he and Fox be treated like kings if Luigi's team won. Luigi couldn't be a pushover for this long.

 **Falco: Do I feel wrong for asking Luigi to give me what I want for winning? Nope! In order to be like a winner, you have to feel like a winner, and Luigi will make sure of that. That man better not throw away the game, otherwise I'm giving his son away to Andross...provided he doesn't treat Charles like he's a morsel of some giant steak. Can't involve myself with infant cannibalism.**

 **Luigi: Don't think I'm doing anything-a wrong by giving Wario and Falco benefits and-a or incentives - hard-a work pays off, and the effort they-a put into the football game-a will be worth it. Unless they don't-a play to their fullest, there will-a be some consequences... *sighs* ...but I'm not good-a at handing out punishments. Whenever Charles makes a mess-a on his table chair, I just frown-a and point at him sternly...and let-a Daisy take care of the rest.**

* * *

Link was having a great first week with the deep fryer he got from Falco, after the avian pilot lost a bet to the Hylian concerning Toad's status as a drug lord. Apparently Toad wasn't a drug lord at all, meaning that his happiness and cheerful nature was genuine, rather than a facade for committing evil deeds. Perhaps he had other secrets we don't know about yet...what if, Toad was a mafia boss?! He was with a bunch of fellow Toads in the previous chapter, they could be all a part of a Toad mafia!

Whether Toad had any mafia ties will be explored sometime in the future, but for now Link enjoyed using the deep fryer, deep frying chicken, fish, fries, and other stuff in the kitchen- all at the same time! The deep fryer was everything Link thought of and more, and at some point the Hylian would fall in love with the appliance.

"Here's your fries, fish, and chicken combo, courtesy of yours truly!" exclaimed Link, as he handed his arch-nemesis Ganondorf a plate of the aforementioned food. The Demon Lord accepted the plate from the Hylian, surprised by how well done the food was.

"Gotta hand it to you Link, you're a far more superior cook than I've ever imagined..." remarked Ganondorf, as he took a fry and ate it, making some faces as he analyzed the taste, texture, and temperature of the fry before swallowing it. "...then again, it doesn't require that much skill to deep fry anyways - even Palutena would be an expert at that kind of stuff." Link gave Ganondorf an angry look - a look the Demon Lord didn't even find that intimidating. "Hey, I was just kidding, don't be so angry! I admit, you're a great cook, you should replace Palutena!"

"Heh, given Palutena's recent track record with her cooking, anyone would be a solid replacement over her," remarked Link, looking around to make sure Palutena wasn't around. "Did you have any of Palutena's vegetable soup on Wednesday? Found like three Pikmin in my soup, I almost ate them too!"

"You think that's bad? I found a fly in my soup..." That didn't sound so bad. "...and a severed human finger." Okay, now _that_ sounded bad. "The finger in my soup makes me believe that Palutena is a lowkey serial killer." A goddess of light in Palutena being a serial killer might sound way more plausible than Toad ever being a drug lord, or a mafia boss for that matter.

"I think Viridi has a bigger claim to being a serial killer than Palutena - I mean, she hates humans, and talks about how humans are crap, and how humans take advantage of nature and how they deserve to be punished for their actions and whatnot. Thankfully I'm a Hylian, so I get to avoid Viridi's hatred."

"Aren't Hylians technically humans, but with pointed ears?" asked Ganondorf, and Link quickly thought over this. The Demon Lord had quite a valid point.

Soon Mario entered the kitchen, on the hunt for residents willing to join his football team. The plumber just recruited Touma, believing that his "tokusatsu training" would make him a great football player, despite Touma not receiving such training at all. But the idol's affinity for tokusatsu shows didn't prevent Mario from recruiting him.

"Foot-a ball season is upon-a us, boys!" Mario announced to Link and Ganondorf, who were expecting the plumber to be decked out in football gear from head to toe with a soda hat on his head. Would seem fitting. "And Luigi and I are-a having a football game in-a the backyard, to get us-a in the football spirit!"

"What do you possibly mean by 'us'?" Ganondorf raised an eyebrow, as he was eating his chicken. "You're not trying to recruit us on your team, are you?"

 **Ganondorf: With my immense size and strength, and raw power, I would be the perfect football player - I could play at any defensive position, whether it be linebacker, end, or safety. But in today's NFL, I would never last that long - that manicial doofus tyrant of a commissioner Roger Goodell would accuse me of not belonging because of my dark powers, and go on some crazy witch hunt to drive me out of the league, just to prove how powerful he is.  
Link: Or he'll just kick out of the league altogether because you're an eyesore that turns the viewers away.  
Ganondorf: *frowning* You're not insisting that I'm...ugly, are you?  
Link: Eh, you may not be ugly at all...unless Rosalina is just seriously blind.  
Ganondorf: *gritting his teeth* Why you little...**

"Just a seven-a on seven football game, similar to the game-a Sonic and I played-a the Friday before-a the Super Bowl," replied Mario; Sonic was the last person Mario would recruit to his team. Only way the hedgehog would make it on the plumber's team was if all the residents except for him vanished, and Sonic was the only option Mario had left. "Me versus Luigi. I already recruited-a Touma to the team, and there's more-a spots open..."

While Link and Ganondorf mused over the offer, Jakob peered through the kitchen entrance, with his eyes narrowed. The butler had no business wanting to be on Mario's football team, but if this suspicious behavior was any indication, he wanted to have some role or capacity in the backyard football game. Whatever Jakob was plotting to do remained to be seen, but it kinda makes you wonder...

"I'll be on your team; I'll give you the strength and athleticism Luigi's team will surely lack," said Ganondorf, verbally agreeing to join Mario's team. He sure was confident in his own abilities.

"Spent too much time this week deep frying stuff, about time I get a break," said Link, suddenly finding the courage to walk away from his deep fryer. The Hylian's eyes were still very much on the large appliance, though. "So count me in Mario!"

"Excellent, I'll let you both-a know when the teams are-a full, then our foot-a ball game shall commence," stated Mario, as Jakob walked away from the kitchen, seemingly with a plan in mind.

* * *

For Crash and Coco Bandicoot, and maybe Aku, it was the first time they got to enjoy the wonderful sport of American football. Being from a remote island located near Australia, the bandicoots...and Aku...weren't really that much into sports, what with Crash being a dumb yet lovable goofball, and Coco being too much of a tech savvy chick to care about sports. But as Crash and Coco...and Aku...would learn, American Football was quite a big deal at the Smash Mansion, especially with the establishment being in a city rabid for the hometown team, the Seattle Seahawks.

The Seahawks' greatest running back, Marshawn Lynch, was a back known for breaking tackles and running over defenders, earning him the moniker "Beast Mode". Today, Crash would give his best beast mode impersonation, when Sonic gave the bandicoot a football (and no, it was given to him by Tails). As you will now see, many mansion residents would fall victim to Crash, who believed that he was Jim Brown in the flesh after touching pigskin for the first time.

"Come out come out, wherever you are, Brother Kuro!" shouted Pit, on the search for Dark Pit. Accompanying the 'broken' angel was Kirby, or as Pit would refer to him, "Senor Kirby". "Show yourself so I can finally DELETE you!"

"What about Flora, should we delete her as well for being associated with Dark Pit...uh, I mean, Brother Kuro?" asked Kirby, making sure to reaffirm what he said, otherwise he would be deleted himself! "Or should we use her as a tool, take her hostage until Brother Kuro accepts our demands?"

"That is very good thinking, Senor Kirby...but as our recent encounters have proven, Brother Kuro will not go down without a fight. It'll take more than just some silly maid to DELETE my brother, it'll also take..."

Before Pit could finish, the angel was aggressively knocked down to the floor by Crash, who was running through the hallways with his football in his hand. After shoulder-bumping Pit, Crash then bumped Akuma to the floor as he nonchalantly walked by, before running down the hall and taking out Alm, sending the prince of Valentia flying. Crash then bumped Doc Louis out of the way, making him drop his chocolate bar to the floor, as the bandicoot kept on running with the football. Once Crash left, Celica exited from a room, and gasped when she saw her husband Alm writhing on the floor, bleeding from his forehead.

"Alm!" Celica cried out as she ran over to her husband, kneeling down at his side. "Who did this to you? I demand names!"

"Crash came out of nowhere like a crazed maniac and knocked me to the floor..." replied Alm, as he rubbed his aching, bleeding forehead. "Had he spun me instead, I would have probably ended up in much worse state than now..."

"No, Susie, you're now contaminated!" cried Doc Louis, as he was consoling his chocolate bar, now infected by floor germs. The boxing trainer would hold the chocolate bar to his face, whispering to it softly, as Alm and Celica just looked at him with concerning looks.

 **Celicia: When we got that treasure of chocolates of Doc Louis, we expected his strange love for chocolate to be curbed dramatically, to the point where he wouldn't personify his chocolate anymore...but alas, he's still the same as we saw him the first time. Guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks...**

No one had a tougher job at the mansion than Aku, who had the sole responsibility of watching over Crash and protecting him. When Crash was going bonkers, finding the bandicoot was like finding a lost child in a heavily wooded forest. With this habit occurring more often that not, Aku knew the feeling too well...and now the witchdoctor mask was looking for Crash right now.

"Crash, I don't know where you are, and I know you can't hear me right now...but you have to stop," said Aku, on the search for the orange-furred bandicoot. "You act like a child lost in a superstore when you go aloof like this, and I feel like a worrisome mother looking for said child...granted we've never been to a superstore in the first place because we lived at N. Sanity Island, but please, Crash, just show yourself! Following you around is my lone life duty...hopefully nobody was around to hear that. They would think that I have a very depressing life!"

Aku would soon be relieved to find Crash, when he saw the bandicoot speaking with Luigi in the middle of the hallway. Luigi must be recruiting Crash to his football team, and the bandicoot could give the green plumber the speed edge over Mario's team.

"I just saw-a how you just took-a K. Rool down with ease, and I believe that with your fast-a speed, and relent-a less nature, you could-a be a vital addition to my football team," Luigi said to Crash, who was sweating and panting from running too much. "You probably don't know-a much about American football...yet, but let me just-a tell you that it's kinda similar to Australian rules-a football...but with pads and-a more masculinity."

"What's this I hear about a football team?" a now curious Aku approached Luigi and Crash, requiring more details. Sounded like the mask had to be a chaperone of sorts for Crash, what with the bandicoot being a nigh unpredictable being. "Does this have anything to do with the actual football taking place soon, the one with the Seahawks? I'd love to see a Seahawk in real life, if they actually exist..."

"Unfortunately, Sea-a Hawks don't exist...it's just some-a fancy team name that suits-a the city. Mario and I are having a foot-a ball game in the mansion back-a yard, and we're recruiting six-a people to our team. I was-a thinking about adding your 'son' Crash to my..."

"No, no, and no - don't you even dare!" barked King K. Rool, who angrily approached Luigi and company with a black eye, and a broken nose. "You'll make a huge mistake if you add Crash to your team! Did you not see what that guy did to me earlier?! He could have very well killed me! And now you want him to kill everyone in the backyard - including his teammates?!"

"Ray Lewis allegedly killed a man-a prior to the Super Bowl-a and nobody gave a crap." Not unless you were a Pro Football Hall of Fame voter who took off-the-field matters seriously. "There'll be no harm-a done if Crash were to kill-a someone during the game...which I doubt-a will happen."

"Okay then, Mr. Luigi, I'll take your word for it...but if Crash _does_ kill someone, whether it's from a serious injury or a fatal wound...then _you're_ gonna have to take the blame for it, and admit that you're wrong!" Yet another offer Luigi was left with no choice but to agree to.

* * *

 **Sonic: So who's my pick to win the Super Bowl this season? Pfft, that's an easy one...it will obviously be the Patriots! Brady will win his sixth Super Bowl, because he has all the tools he needs to succeed - a great coach, a solid defense, and a smoking hot wife that will motivate him in every step of the way! But just to play devil's advocate here...if a 40-year old quarterback does win a Super Bowl, then all the young, up-and-coming quarterbacks should feel ashamed for themselves.**

 **Hisui: Honestly, I have no clue who's going to win the Super Bowl - didn't even know there was another football season starting until I saw some NFL commercial on TV. If I had to choose a team though, it would have to be the Dallas Cowboys - everyone knows who the Cowboys are, even ignorant folks like myself!**

 **Roy: Rooting for the Seahawks to go all the way. *holds up a Seahawks #25 jersey* Been repping the Seahawks colors loud and proud since February 2nd, 2014! *pauses* That was the day the Seahawks won their first Super Bowl, right? Or did they win one before?**

Mario knew that if his team were to win, then he would have to enlist in the help of someone who knew how to strategize, and employ a game plan that would easily result in victory. Forming strategies was a special craft for the person Mario was looking for, and this person would be in the gaming room, doing what he did best...

"YES, NEW HIGH SCORE!" cheered Robin, as he was playing an arcade game. The mage was in the arcade room all day long, vowing to beat the high score of every arcade game there was. The game Robin just got a new high score in was _Galaga,_ which, believe it or not, originated earlier than Pac-Man. "Did you see that Lucina, I just beat the high score at _Galaga!_ " Robin turned to face his girlfriend Lucina, who was sitting on a stool in the far corner of the arcade room, reading the latest edition of _Swordsman Weekly_ with her thick-rimmed glasses. The princess was only present so she could be a "witness". Frankly, Lucina had no idea what exactly she was supposed to be a witness of.

"Robin, Robin, he's our man, if he can't do it, no one can..." Lucina chanted sardonically, before putting her magazine down and looking up at Robin. "Here's a little reminder that you should take to heart, Robin: You. Have. A LIFE. You can't possibly stay in the arcade room forever. This is kinda unlike you..."

"I'm very sorry, Lucina, but I gotta find my knack somehow - Cilan is known for his great cooking, the Flying Man is known for saving people, and Toad is known for...well, he's known for something. Nobody at this crummy mansion cares that I'm a great mage, so if I have to earn yself the reputation of being a great arcade player, then so be it!"

Lucina sighed and continued reading her magazine, as Robin went to the next arcade machine, _Donkey Kong_ \- a true classic. As Robin inserted a quarter into the arcade machine and started up a new game, Mario would enter the arcade room, on the search for a strategist - one that could lead the plumber's football team to victory.

"Red, is that-a you over there, may I speak-a with you?" Mario called out to Red the Pokemon Trainer, who was standing at a prize wall, over the counter. The plumber would make his way over to the thirty-year-old, passing by Robin. You thought Mario was going to recruit Robin, didn't you? "You do realize-a those prizes are for-a guests, right?"

"Yes, yes, that is true...but I really want that Poke Doll on that wall," said Red as he pointed at a doll on the prize doll, which resembled a Clefairy. "With that Poke Doll, I can end battles with wild Pokemon...and also stop any fight that I get into with others. Some guy tries to throw a left hook at me, then I show them that doll, and they'll surrender, and then we could go get some ice cream together or something like that. It's like a white flag that forces the other person to submit, rather than yourself."

"Okaaaaay...anyways, I was wondering if you-a wanted to be on my football team, for the foot-a ball game Luigi and I are-a playing later today. You played in the game-a two days before this-a year's Super Bowl, so I was thinking if-a me..."

"Say no more, sign me up!" Red happily shook Mario's hand, as Jakob was peering through the arcade room entrance. No, he wasn't looking at Robin, killing it at the _Donkey Kong_ arcade game. He also wasn't looking at Lucina, admiring her good looks - the butler would certainly catch a fade from Robin if the mage caught him, if Robin even knew what a fade was. Jakob was looking at Mario, who had just added another person to his team in Red.

 **Jakob: Football is a game of teamwork, it helps build strong bonds with others, and teaches the important lessons of life, like hard work and determination, and all the other qualities _Disney_ films have taught to children, rather than the parents teaching it to them. It is also a game where you can exploits vulnerabilities, find out who's the strongest and the weakest. I got my eyes peeled for the latter group...they'll be very useful for me in the long run, when the plans come to full fruition. *smirks evilly***

"Mario and Luigi will need some referring at their football game, to maintain a sense of peace in order while everyone is tackling each other to the ground," Jakob said to himself as he walked away from the arcade room, deep in thought. He would designate himself as the referee, but then he would interfere in his own "plans". "Wolf was a referee for Master Hand's crappy wrestling show, but refereeing in wrestling and football are two completely different realms...unless..."

Jakob would soon stop in his tracks, when someone flew down from the ceiling on a jetpack, leaving behind holes - or several holes, rather, since Jakob was on the first floor - as they landed on the ground with a thud. This person got up, rubbed their now aching head, and was accompanied by a floating mask named Uka. This person was none other than Dr. Neo Cortex, who returned to the mansion not only to fail in some capacity, but to destroy Crash once and for all...and then fail in some capacity. Failure was in Cortex's DNA.

"Dr. Neo Cortex, at your service, nice to meet you...whatever floats your boat," a slightly sooty Cortex held out his gloved hand to Jakob, who was skeptical of the mad scientist. Everything from the N on his head to the funny black hair was questionable about Cortex.

"Call me Jakob, very nice to meet you," Jakob reluctantly shook hands with Cortex, with Uka ticked off that Cortex didn't blast Jakob away with his laser gun. Unlike Uka, Cortex knew when to act evil and when to act civilized. "I heard Mario and Master Hand bring up your name in their conversations...both considered banning you from the mansion for good. But they said that it really wouldn't be worth it..."

"Well I can't say I blame them - I'm too good to be banned anyways," remarked Cortex, with a proud look, as Uka rolled his eyes. "If you don't know what I do for a living, then allow me to inform you...I'm a mad scientist, bent on destruction and committing acts of evil, and I enjoy building evil inventions and eating churros in my spare time!"

"Very lame evil inventions that don't work, I might add," said Uka, who has been a witness of Cortex's failures since his _Warped_ days. Boy, did he wish he could trade those days for something far more meaningful.

"Oh, and this is a floating mask that follows me around, his name is Uka. He's very, very cynical - I cant even make a simple PB&J sandwich without having him critique me! So what if I put ketchup in my PB&J sandwich...southern people do the same thing with their grits!"

"Thankfully for you, I'm not the type of person that would judge others...to each their own, I would say. In case you may wondering what my profession is...I'm a butler, from a faraway kingdom called Nohr, and I left my butler position at Nohr so I could pursue a position here at the mansion. Master Hand granted me a lot of responsibilities Mario used to have before he moved out with his wife. Speaking of whom, Mario is having a football game with his brother Luigi, and I was thinking that maybe the famous brothers might need a referee..."

"Well you can count me out - Mario and Luigi probably dislike me very much after what I did with Luigi's son. I've tried being nice to Mario's wife, Peach, but he shut me off and slammed the door in my face when I tried to make an appeasement...and don't get me started on Princess Daisy, she'd kick my butt for sure!"

"What a shame...I was thinking about 'rigging' this football game, and needing some assistance from a referee to carry out my deeds. Not rig it in a sense that I would favor one team over the other...let's just say, that I've been thinking about making some heads roll...in a very painful way." Jakob flashed a smile of evil intent when he said this, and Cortex and Uka were able to notice this, right off the bat.

"Oh, do tell me the details..." Cortex gleamed, holding his hands together like an evil villain would. For once, Cortex was actually getting somewhere...

* * *

Professor Layton was outside on the porch, in a rocking chair, analyzing the pair of glasses Malva gave him in the previous episode. These glasses were round, and dusty to the point where it was hard to distinguish what color they were, and it was bugging Layton all week long. The man cut off his leisure time and social time with others, trying to figure out the significance of the glasses and what role they played in the ongoing investigation.

 **Luke: *looking at Layton through a window in the foyer* Layton has been up late every night studying those glasses...he believes those glasses are a seriously big clue - a clue that would break this investigation wide open, and perhaps reveal who the instigator of the whole hotel attack was. Hardly recall the last time Layton was ever asleep, though I did catch him dozing off several times. Being sleep-deprived is especially bad for a man his age.**

Yes, not even the sounds of the Duck Hunt Dog barking, or Villager and Bowser Jr. playing a game of tag, or Cloud...being boring as heck as he chilled near a large tree - none of those sounds were able to distract Layton from figuring out what those glasses signified. He was obsessed with those glasses, much like how Doc Louis was obsessed with chocolate...just only in a less creepy sense.

"Tag, you're it!" exclaimed Villager, as he tagged Bowser Jr. in a game that was banned by multiple elementary schools throughout the state of Washington. That must mean Villager and Bowser Jr. are both lawbreakers!

"No, you're it!" exclaimed Bowser Jr., as he immediately tagged Villager right back. The two were now chasing each other around the tree Cloud was relaxing at, running in circles trying to tag each other and destroying Cloud's solitude in the process.

"Can't you two play tag somewhere else..." groaned Cloud, who was resting his eyes. But the noise level of Villager and Bowser Jr. was too much to handle, and so Cloud had to open his eyes. When the swordsman's eyes were opened, the first thing he saw was Layton, sitting on the porch looking at the glasses. It disturbed Cloud...seeing someone more isolated and less sociable than him. Okay, it didn't disturb Cloud, but seeing Layton so immersed in his studies made Cloud feel concerned, and the swordsman wished to do something about it. But R.O.B. would beat him to the punch, bursting through the front door with a tray of lemonade.

"LUKE WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU LAYTON...SO I BROUGHT YOU SOME PINK LEMONADE..." R.O.B. said to the detective, holding out the tray of beverages. But Layton didn't take a single glass, leaving R.O.B. concerned.

"I appreciate the offer R.O.B., but it'll be a no thanks from me, I'm very busy at the moment," Layton would say to the robot, before returning to the glasses. "These glasses, they look oddly familiar, like I'm supposed to know them from somewhere...or someone..."

"LET ME HAVE A LOOK AT THE GLASSES...I CAN FIND OUT WHO THEY BELONG TO..." R.O.B. could really be useful for Layton, but again, Layton would turn the poor robot down, even if it had a bunch of forensics tools programmed into its body.

"Again, thank you for the offer, R.O.B. - but I got this. I can figure it out on my own. Malva gave me those glasses for a reason, for she's on to Team Flare like Luke and I are. A former Team Flare member, now skeptical about what her former group is doing...almost like Malva's an inside agent, without even being on anyone's side!"

"Hold up - Malva gave you those glasses?" asked Cloud, who was already on the porch, startling Layton. "When did she give you those glasses?"

"Gave them to me last week, after I ventured to the Chinatown district with Luke and the others," explained Layton, giving Cloud the glasses so he could look at the oculars himself. Cloud thought the glasses looked familiar - he just couldn't figure out who the glasses belong to. "They've been practically on my mind, I've been horribly consumed with them..."

"PERHAPS I CAN RUN A DNA SCAN ON THE GLASSES...JUST GIVE ME SOMETHING TO DO, DANG IT..." said R.O.B., slowly losing his patience with Layton. "AT LEAST TRY MY PINK LEMONADE, DIDN'T MAKE IT FOR NOTHING..."

 **R.O.B.: SOMETIMES I FEEL...SO UNLOVED...I SHOULD GO BACK TO THE METAL SCRAPPER...IF I HAD A METAL SCRAPPER EVEN GO BACK TO...**

"You know what we should do, Professor Layton?" asked Cloud, as R.O.B. got all giddy inside... "We should give these glasses to Samus, and see if she can run a test on them, find out who they belong to." ...only for the robot to hold its head down in sadness. "Now would probably be a good time to ask her, since she'll be in a good mood and all."

"Yes, Samus is always so ticked off - makes me wonder if it's all an act," said Layton. Wouldn't say Samus's ticked off nature was act; just that the bounty hunter has a difficult time putting up with many eccentric personalities on a day-to-day basis. "But I'm really sure the two of us are exceptions."

So Layton and Cloud went back inside the mansion, to speak with Samus, leaving R.O.B. behind in the dust. The robot felt like a third wheel, desperately trying to fit in and be helpful - only to be ignored and neglected.

"WAIT UP YOU GUYS...DON'T LEAVE ME HANGING..." R.O.B. would chase after Cloud and Layton, while the front door was still open.

* * *

For Mario's football team to feel complete, the plumber would need a speedster on his squad, one that could break tackles with ease and zip past defenders like it was absolutely nothing. Obviously Mario didn't want to want Sonic, unless he was brutally desperate, and after Luigi informed him that Falco was on his team, Mario couldn't have Fox on his own team - it would cause unwanted friction between the Star Fox pilots. That meant there was one speedster that Mario could ask...and his name was Captain Falcon.

"Captain Falcon, my main-a man!" Mario would greet the racer in his room, addressing him as a "main man" even though he and Falcon weren't that tight. Just trying to sway the racer over, how pathetic... "You ready for the foot-a ball season?"

"You bet I am - even built myself a mini man cave, just for myself!" replied Captain Falcon, opening his closet and revealing to Mario a small TV, a chair, and some unopened snacks littered on the floor. What an underwhelming "man cave" it was. "Granted I could have done much better, but I had to make the small space work somehow...weren't any small couches that I could squeeze in. Probably the only major problem I had..."

"Well it sure ain't-a nothing compared to the man-a cave Luigi has. Luigi and I are having a football-a game in the backyard, and I've recruited-a Touma, Lucario, Red, Ganondorf, and-a Link to my team. How would you like-a to be the seventh man?"

"Hey, Captain Falcon, your girlfriend Nowi is at the front door, and she wants to speak with you," Mega Man poked his head through Falcon's doorway to alert the racer, who grew nervous about why Nowi came to the mansion. "She looks visibility upset...hopefully it has nothing to do with that club thing."

And that was what Captain Falcon was hoping for, as he nervously exited his room and headed down to the foyer, with Mario tagging along to see what was up. The racer and the plumber would soon find Nowi, at the front door, and she looked visibility upset, with her arms folded.

"Nowi, babe, why are you here, what's going on?" Captain Falcon asked the half-Manakete as he approached her...only for Nowi to slap the racer silly, with enough strength to nearly knock his helmet off. Mario just stood there dumbfounded, covering his mouth with his hand.

"You know _exactly_ what's going on!" frowned Nowi, now on the verge of tears as Captain Falcon readjusted his helmet. "How dare you dance with that skank Malva! Bet you think she's way prettier than me, don't you?!"

"Nonsense, you're the most beautiful girl I've ever laid my eyes on! I would never think any other woman on the face of this earth is more attractive then you'll ever be! You're my number one girl, and you'll always be that way, forever and ever!"

"Don't try and flatter me with your stupid words! I know you went to that club, dancing with Malva, and possibly starting an affair with her...are you starting an affair with Malva? Don't sugarcoat the truth and expect me to believe that everything is fine...tell me _everything_ that I need to know!"

"Who even told you that I went to the club? Globox promised me that he wouldn't tell anyone...but I should've known better than to trust that guy. He's so dumb, he probably doesn't know where his belly button is!"

"Aha, so you DID go to the club, and you didn't want anyone informing ME about it! Well, Captain Falcon, you can go ahead and enjoy Malva for all I care, she's all yours now...BECAUSE WE'RE THROUGH!"

Nowi would finish things off by slapping Captain Falcon once more, before slamming the front door and running off in tears. Captain Falcon just stood there, despondent, feeling like a thousand truckloads of manure. The Captain Falcon-Nowi relationship was fun while it lasted; some people didn't expect them to last that long. Others thought both lovers were downright crazy!

 **Nowi: I guess this means... *sniffles* ...that Nah is going to remain fatherless forever... *sniffles* ...she won't have a father to love, and to call her own, and she'll just have me as a parent forever... *sniffles* ...Captain Falcon, you ruined everything... *breaks down in tears***

"So...you still want to join-a my team or not?" Mario asked the depressed Captain Falcon, who was hunched over as he walked away from the front door. Only Mario would ask such a question during a time like this.

"Sorry Mario, but I'm too heartbroken to give my best effort at anything," Captain Falcon said with a depressing sigh, looking down at the floor with sadness. He and Nowi had such a good thing going on...and now it was gone away. "I'm no longer interested in that football game of yours...I'll be in my room if you need me. Going to that club was such a huge mistake..."

As Captain Falcon left the foyer, another person would enter therein. It was a person Mario did not wish to deal with today, but after what just went down, the plumber was left with no choice. This person Mario would now have to ask to join his team...was Sonic, the hedgehog having witnessed the breakup between Captain Falcon and Nowi go down.

"Captain Falcon and Nowi broke up just like that, huh?" remarked the hedgehog, as he stood next to Mario. "Their relationship lasted for ten months, didn't it? Which means Knuckles now owes me ten bucks!"

"It was fun-a while it lasted, but I suppose some-a good things all have to come-a to an end," said Mario, too reluctant to add Sonic to his team. He couldn't risk the hedgehog deflating any footballs for the benefit of the team. "Falcon may never have-a another chance at love again..."

"Amen to that...moving on to more _important_ matters - I've been hearing that you and Luigi are having a football game in the backyard, to kick off the new football season. Do you have any openings on your team, or do I have to..."

"...there's one-a spot left, you can join if you-a want," Mario deeply sighed, with a defeated look on his face. Sonic was overjoyed, as he shouted "WAHOO" and gave Mario a hug, before kissing him on the cheek. Mario maintained the same facial deposition, looking like he just got divorced from Peach, during Sonic's moment.

"Knew you would give me a chance even after that whole deflated football scandal back in February! You're the man, Mario, you rock! Two thumbs up! Now when does the football game begin?"

"Just show up at the back-a yard around four-a o' clock..." Mario would heave yet another sigh, as Sonic gave him a thumbs up and walked away. On the plus side, Mario did get the speedster he was looking for...

* * *

Luigi already found a speedster for him team in Crash (it'll be interesting seeing Crash and Sonic go against one another), and now the green plumber was looking to round out his team. So far he recruited Wario, Falco, Crash, King Dedede, and the Flying Man, and now he was recruiting the last person...which, to many, might seem like a very odd and interesting choice.

"Do you think I may be a little too...small to be playing football?" Olimar asked Luigi, who approached the astronaut in the mansion's gardens. Olimar didn't have an official height, but he was much shorter than Mario, which was saying something.

"True, but you do throw-a your Pikmin like you're throwing a spiral in those-a Smash matches of yours," said Luigi, doing his best to entice the skeptical Olimar. "When I see-a you throw your Pikmin, it brings me to my-a memory images of Peyton-a Manning, slinging the football with-a ease and grace...you remind-a me of Peyton Manning, and Peyton Manning reminds me very much-a of you." Yup, Luigi was totally phoning it in...but he did make Olimar blush.

 **Olimar: Many of my fellow brawlers chastise me to this day for using my Pikmin in battle, but in all honesty, I see nothing wrong with it - the Pikmin are what propels me to victory. Not to mention that I've yet to hear a single complaint from my Pikmin whatsoever! Of course, it's because they don't have mouths, but their silence speaks volumes...besides, I feel like a bad man whenever my Pikmin follow me around - I feel like a pimp, strutting my stuff, with my Pikmin trailing behind me! Got a ho train following me wherever I go like a bunch of groupies! *pauses* Hopefully my children won't hear that in the near future...**

"Okay then, consider me in!" said the no longer skeptical, and now motivated Olimar, as he shook hands with Luigi. "I guarantee you that I'll be the greatest passer to have ever lived! You can put all your trust in me!"

"See you at the back-a yard, soldier!" said Luigi, before saluting Olimar. The astronaut would salute right back, and Luigi would exit the gardens and head back inside the mansion, sporting a confident smile. For once in a good while, he could actually beat Mario at something!

Mario, the oldest twin brother, would dominate Luigi at almost any sport possible. Whether it was basketball, baseball, tennis, golf, volleyball, or even wife carrying (and that was a complete disaster, both Peach and Daisy nearly broke their hips), Mario would always have Luigi's number - but today would be the day the littlest brother turned the tables. It was now Luigi's time, and he picked the (seemingly) perfect team to win and guarantee him sweet, sweet victory.

"Mr. Luigi, may I have a quick word with you, it has much to do with your football game!" Jakob called out to Luigi from behind, making the plumber stop and turn around so he could face the butler. "In order to maintain a sense of order and peace in the backyard football game, I thought that maybe you and Mario could use a referee to officiate the game...and so I found this guy."

Luigi did his best to remain optimistic, but all that optimism would soon drain away, as Luigi's face completely sank when Cortex showed up on cue, wearing a referee shirt donning the black-and-white stripes. Good thing for him, he didn't have to change his black pants - though the yellow gloves had to go. Jakob believed the yellow gloves were a bit unprofessional.

"Man, do I look good in zebra stripes, I should wear this short more often!" exclaimed Cortex, as Luigi looked on in disgust. Of all the guys Jakob could have picked from, and it had to be Cortex?! "Why don't we do a test run?" Cortex took out his whistle, and blew into it, making Luigi and Jakob's ears ring as they covered their ears and flinched. Cortex then took out a yellow penalty flag, and threw it, nearly hitting Luigi in the eye.

"Jakob are-a you sure Cortex would-a be a great referee?" asked Luigi, rubbing the place where Cortex did hit him with the yellow flag, the bridge of his nose. "I mean, he nearly caused-a me to go blind by throwing that penalty flag! That flag-a hitting my eye could've resulted in blindness!"

"Pretty sure they just tell referees stuff like that just to prevent them from throwing flags all willy-nilly. And besides, Cortex is unarmed - he has no ray gun with him, and he has no qualms about harming your son Charles... _or_ his arch-nemesis, Crash. Is that right, Cortex?"

"Uh, I guess you could say that...I LOVE Crash, without him I'd be nothing!" Cortex nervously responded; with Crash being in the football game, Cortex would be tempted to make the bandicoot suffer.

* * *

Fox was pretty delighted when Falco informed him that he was participating in the backyard football game, and when Falco told him about all the incentives, he was even more than delighted. Feeling that the game would feel naked without any spectators, Fox was doing his best to drum up some interest around the mansion, starting with the Star Records employees, such as Tsubasa.

"Considering that you're from Japan, I bet you hardly know anything about American football - unless you watched that _Eyeshield 21_ anime," Fox conversed with Tsubasa, as they walked through the hallways. "Which is why you should attend the football game being played outside, so you can learn a thing or two about America's _new_ pastime. But don't tell any old guy I said that."

 **Fox: Not interested in the upcoming football season - or not interested in how my football team does, rather. Won't mention who my team is, but apparently they're going in full tank mode; they'll suck on purpose just for the long-term benefit of the team. Sucks knowing that before the season even begins, your team is bound to suck, and they'll probably suck for years to come, and all you have to do is "trust the process", as the Philadelphia 76ers once preached. Falco's Falcons will at least make it to the playoffs again...and choke yet again in the big game. Gonna need the Heimlich maneuver for the choking they're gonna do!**

"Actually, Japan _does_ have a national football team - _and_ a football league called the X-League," Tsubasa informed Fox, who was left impressed and shocked. Though he wasn't very fond of the X-League name. "Been around since 1971, and it has promotion and regulation rules, just like the soccer leagues throughout England."

"Not digging the X-League name...sounds too close to the XFL. That was quite a travesty - single-handedly proved that regular sports and sports entertainment _should_ never mix. Custom jerseys were the only good thing to come from that league. As well as the cheerleaders!"

Fox and Tsubasa would walk past the workshop, where Cloud and Layton would come to the aid of Samus and . The bounty hunter and the NetNavi were tasked with finding out who the glasses belong to, and Samus was quick to notice the minor detail that Layton sort of neglected, a minor detail that kept getting in his way.

"Professor Layton, have you tried _cleaning_ off the glasses?" Samus would ask the detective, cleaning off the glasses with a red cloth. The color of the glasses were revealed, showing a bright blue tint.

"Those glasses definitely look like they belong to someone," remarked .EXE, analyzing the glasses with a finger underneath his chin. The oculars looked like they could be a trademark of someone - a person who would be indistinguishable without them on. "Reminds me of some evil villain, a guy that was once at the mansion, possibly last year.."

Cloud, Layton, Samus, and .EXE...the four of them all thought together, thinking of who the owner of the glasses was. Like .EXE said, the glasses looked like they belonged to some villain, and this villain was present last year, before Layton arrived - so Layton shouldn't even be thinking right now. Just when it seemed like neither person knew who the person of interest was, R.O.B. poked his head through the workshop door, and saw the glasses, and with his robot eyes, he scanned the oculars, running tests and whatnot...

...before widening its eyes, knowing who the proud owner of the glasses was.

"THOSE BLUE GLASSES...BELONG TO DR. ROBOTNIK EGGMAN..." the robot said to Cloud and company, as the four looked up at the robot with stunned faces. Was it true, was it really true?

* * *

With Mario and Luigi's teams now full at seven players, it was time for the backyard football game to begin. Only a sparse crowd showed up, and it was mostly composed of several mansion residents. All that hyping Fox did clearly did not work.

Before the game begin, Mario and Luigi had to meet with their respective teams and discuss a strategy, while Jakob was going over rules and procedures with Cortex. Mario, like Luigi, was against Cortex as a referee, and did not want him anywhere near the mansion for that matter, but since Cortex being referee was Jakob's decision, Mario had to let things stand.

"Midna is fully certain that you'll wind up dying during the game, so she's not spectating because she doesn't feel like, and I quote, 'witnessing the obviousness take place,'" Zelda would say to Link, before the team meeting began. "So I'll be the only one rooting for you...and Ganondorf, if I can bring myself to it."

"You cheered for the man when he won that stuffed animal for Rosalina at the carnival game at Disney Land; I think you'll be fine," replied Link; Zelda smiled and gave Link a kiss on the cheek as the two Hylians went their separate ways, with Link meeting up with his teammates - Mario, Ganondorf, Red, Touma, Sonic, and Lucario. For whatever reason, Sonic brought a boombox to the meeting, leading his teammates to exchanged confused looks with one another.

"Felt like we needed a fight song to get us pumped, a team anthem our supporters could get behind," explained Sonic, placing the boombox on the ground. "It may not top the University of Tennessee's 'Rocky Top', but it's still up there..."

So Sonic pressed the play button, as the boombox played the "fight song" which was, oddly enough, entirely in Japanese! Well, except for the chorus...

 _Hey hey let's go kenka suru_  
 _Taisetsu no mono protect my balls!_  
 _Boku ga warui so let's fighting..._  
 _Let's fighting love!_  
 _Let's fighting love!_

 **Sonic: Lemme tell ya, finding the perfect fight song was a hard task in itself. I had to find a song that would easily make anyone pumped up, a song that would make the average listener appreciate football on a very high scale...and that's when I found the song, "Let's Fighting Love". It perfectly embodies the meaning of hard work, and fighting until the end, and most importantly...love. Makes up for the song being in Japanese!**

"Sonic, please tell us that some _South Park_ song isn't our 'fight song', just because it mentioned balls, and we're playing in a football game where we use a football," said Touma, not amused by the song choice like the others. The lack of amusement on everyone's faces made Sonic very ticked.

"A sicko like you would think I picked this song because it mentioned the word 'balls'!" Sonic pointed at Touma, who smirked a little. He was finding Sonic's anger more amusing than the song selection itself. "I picked the song because it teaches things like hard work and love, and playing with all the strength you got! You're from Japan, therefore you should appreciate the song!"

"Technically I'm from Japan too, but that doesn't mean I have to like the song," said Lucario, raising his hand so he could be recognized. "An anime song parody isn't exactly going to get us pumped for the game, Sonic." Apparently Sonic didn't understand that...

On the other side of the backyard, Luigi was going over the game, informing his teammates what position they'll be playing on both offense and defense. The Flying Man, who was large in stature, would play as an offensive lineman and a defensive end. Olimar, on the other hand, would play as a cornerback...and quarterback.

"Olimar here will-a be the quarterback for our team," Luigi would inform his team; Luigi's teammates looked down at Olimar, before bursting into a collective laughing fit. Even the Flying Man was laughing at Olimar!

"That little pipsqueak is going to carry us to victory?" snorted Wario, destroying Olimar's confidence as the astronaut solemnly looked down at the ground. "I knew our team would be done for once I saw this guy, but now...oh man, we're screwed!"

"Make me the quarterback Luigi - I could at least throw a spiral over the opponents' heads!" volunteered the Flying Man, giving Luigi a very valid reason for why he should be quarterback over Olimar. But alas, Luigi was adamant Olimar would get the job done, despite Olimar's short height.

"I've already made-a my decision, and we're sticking to-a it - Olimar will-a be our quarterback," affirmed Luigi, as his teammates sans Olimar groaned in disgust.

Going over the rules and procedures of refereeing with Cortex, who was reffing for the first time. Now it was quite odd for Jakob to be telling Cortex about his duties, since he was from a kingdom that hardly knew much about American football - it should be the other way around. But Jakob was actually telling some demands to Cortex that he must follow...

"Throughout the game, I want you to give orders to the players...tell them to hit each other in the head, and do so with much power and aggression," Jakob ordered to Cortex, talking very sternly to him. "Kill the head, the body will die...keep that in your head until you blow the last whistle."

"Will there be any bounties placed on anyone?" asked Cortex, to which Jakob shook his head no. What was the butler's endgame here? "So it will be just for fun? I love the way you think, Jakob! I won't let you down!"

"I'll be standing along the sidelines to make sure you maintain that promise." And on that remark, Jakob walked away, as Uka rejoined with Cortex. He saw the mad scientist rubbing his hands together evilly, and then saw Jakob walking away, wondering what was going on.

 **Uka: Just returned from my daily scheduled break from Cortex, which is _always_ needed...what did I miss?**

* * *

Cloud, Layton, Samus, MegaMan .EXE, and R.O.B. all looked at Eggman's glasses, which were resting on the desk in the workshop. Was Dr. Eggman the culprit responsible for the hotel attack? If so, since when did he enlist in Lysandre and Team Flare? Why did Eggman carry out the attack in the first place? These were some of the questions that were running through the heads of the four.

"Ha, you're still it, catch me if you can!" shouted Villager, as he and Bowser Jr. ran inside the workshop. Apparently their game of tag went from outside to the workshop, and now the two youngins were running about, nearly knocking things over.

"This is why I hate kids sometimes..." sighed Cloud, as he ran over to readjust a shelf Villager and Bowser Jr. nearly knocked over. However, the two did knock over the desk, knocking the glasses off and sending them to the floor, the oculars cracking in the process.

"Nice going, you two, you broke the glasses!" scolded Layton, causing Bowser Jr. and Villager to stop in place as the detective picked up the glasses. There weren't as many cracks as he expected. "This is a major clue in the ongoing wedding investigation..." Layton would clean off the glasses, but paused when he saw that something was up - there was blue paint on his fingers! "Well I'd be...these glasses are actually red! Meaning that they're not Dr. Eggman's glasses at all!"

"Or maybe Dr. Eggman just paints all his glasses blue," theorized Bowser Jr, getting weird looks from everyone. Hard to see through painted glasses.

"HOW DID I NOT DETECT THAT THOSE GLASSES WEREN'T DR. EGGMAN'S...I'M SUCH A SUCKY ROBOT..." lamented R.O.B, holding its head down in sadness. But Cloud would walk over to the robot, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Don't be so down on yourself R.O.B., we all mess up - even robots like yourself," said the swordsman, in a rare act of compassion. "That was just one little error you made, don't get so down on yourself. This only means that the investigation just took a very interesting turn...

* * *

It was now time for the football game between Team Mario and Team Luigi to begin, a game in which the spectators were ready for, and after a coin flip that Cortex messed up (twice), Mario's team elected to receive the ball. With both teams standing on opposite sides of the backyard, Olimar had to kick things off by throwing the football to the other team, and so the astronaut threw the pigskin, as far as he could, throwing a perfect spiral...

...which landed on the ground only a few meters away from his feet. Mario and company just awkwardly looked at the football, before Mario went to pick up the football, only to be tackled to the ground by the Flying Man.

"I may be your courage Mario but in this game, I am your enemy!" the Flying Man said to Mario, leaving the plumber to get up on his own, as Cortex blew his whistle to signify the end of the play. Time for Team Mario to go on offense.

 **Daisy: Do I have any predictions for the game's final score? Hmm...how does 13-10 sound to you?**

 **Lloyd: I'm a simple man - when I watch a football game, I expect high-scoring to take place. 49-45 is my prediction. If this game gets defensive, then I'm heading back inside!**

 **Yoshi: Bump predictions, I just came here to watch a great game, nothing more and nothing less!...What, is that not good enough for you?**

Mario got under center, his hands unfortunately placed under Ganondorf's buttocks, with Lucario behind him, and Touma and Sonic as the plumber's receivers. Interestingly enough, Sonic was going up against Crash, from Team Luigi.

"May the best team win," Sonic would shake hands with Crash, prior to Ganondorf snapping the ball to Mario. With the pigskin now in his hands, Mario analyzed the field, before throwing a spiral to Sonic, who caught the ball and tried to make a run for it, only to be tackled by Crash. The crowd cheered and Cortex blew the whistle, as Sonic and Crash both got up. When Crash headed over to the team huddle, he was stopped by Cortex, his arch-nemesis.

"Nice play Crash, nice job at stopping Sonic!" commended the mad scientist, before looking around to see if anyone was eavesdropping. "But if you _really_ want to stop Sonic, then you gotta go for the head. Take him out of the game!"

With Cortex's advice intact in his mind, Crash would join the team huddle, before breaking for the next play. The next play was a running play; Mario would hand off the ball to Lucario, who had to run past Wario, King Dedede, and the Flying Man with Ganondorf, Red, and Link blocking for him. Sonic was going to block for Lucario, but was blindsighted by Crash, who headbutted the hedgehog and sent him to the ground. Lucario would soon be tackled by Wario, but everyone's attention was focused on Sonic, who was out cold.

"Nurse, we need a nurse over here!" Jakob called out from the sidelines, and so Leia went over to check on Sonic. Mario checked on Sonic too, kneeling down at the hedgehog's side, while Cortex was speaking with Lucario in secret...

"Crash, are you still-a there, speak-a to me man!" Mario said to Sonic, and after a few seconds...Sonic opened his eyes, and saw Mario, and Mario only. Apparently Leia wasn't that important of a person for Sonic to look at.

"I think I'm done for Mario, my head is starting to kill me..." moaned Sonic, feeling light-headed and dizzy. Common symptoms of having a concussion. "Sorry Mario, but I think you're gonna have to sub me out for the entire game."

"THERE'S ONLY SEVEN-A OF US, THERE WON'T-A BE ANY SUBSTITUTIONS!" Now now, Mario, no need to yell at a concussed person! "...Leia, just take-a Sonic away, we got a game-a to finish."

Once Sonic was escorted off the field, the football game resumed, with Lucario carrying the ball for Team Mario yet again. For this play, the aura Pokemon was aggressive, punching Wario square in the face and knocking him out cold. This resulted in Lucario receiving jeers from the crowd once the play was over.

"What, dude kept grabbing my leg, I had to do something!" Lucario said to the jeering crowd, as Cortex was now speaking with Crash yet again. Coco, who was in attendance, saw this, and looked on inquisitively, her eyes squinted...

Wario was taken off the field, and Team Mario ran another pass play, with Link and now Touma being Mario's receiving options. So Mario would throw the ball to Link...only for the ball to be intercepted by Team Luigi's Crash, who headbutted Link as he ran down the field, before Touma tackled him to the ground. Another Team Mario player was out, and yet not a single flag was thrown by Cortex.

"Aw, come on, that should've been a flag!" Jacky yelled at Cortex, who remained mum, tuning out Jacky as tiptoed over to Ganondorf, speaking with the Demon Lord. Some very shoddy refereeing was taking place...

 **Jacky: Got $20 riding on this football game. Promised Akira I'd give his twenty back, and I'll get the twenty if Mario's team wins. Otherwise, I'll be known to Akira as the biggest liar in existence...**

Team Luigi was now on offense for the first time, and Olimar was at quarterback. The astronaut, after snapping the ball, threw a short pass to his running back, Falco, who ran into Ganondorf, who then grabbed the avian pilot and slammed him unto the ground, head-first. The crowd gasped, as Falco just lied there on the ground, as Ganondorf walked away like he did nothing wrong.

"FAAAAAALCOOOOOOOO!" Fox cried out as he ran to his buddy (stopping and checking his cellphone for notifications along the way) to see if he was okay. He knelt down at Falco's side, and picked up the pilots head, as he opened his eyes, slowly.

"Guess this is the end, Fox..." Falco whispered to Fox, who tried not to shed a tear, but shed one anyways. "No full-course meal...no desserts...no Luigi hand-feeding me grapes...I've let the team down..." Falco fell into a state of unconsciousness, his tongue hanging out of his beak.

"No...no...it, it can't be...I WANTED TO BE HAND-FED GRAPES TOO!" Fox cried out to the heavens, as Leia looked on, with her arms folded and her impatient foot tapping ever so quickly.

"So melodramatic..." the nurse shook her head, as Cortex was speaking with King Dedede. Kill the head, the body will die...that was the mantra Cortex kept in his head.

For the next six plays, someone was taken out of the game because of a head injury, in each individual play. First, Red was taken out by King Dedede. Then Dedede was taken out Ganondorf. Then Ganondorf was taken out by Crash. Then Crash was taken out by Lucario. Then Lucario was taken out by the Flying Man. Then the Flying Man was taken out by...well, he took his own self out, as amazing as it sounded.

Only two players from both teams were remaining...Mario and Touma, and Luigi and Olimar. Following a timeout from Mario, both he and Luigi mutually agreed that with so many injured players, the game would have to be cut short; so whoever was the first to score would win. Team Luigi was now on offense, with Olimar running the two-man offense.

"We got this-a in the bag Touma - apply what you've learned-a from your tokusatsu training and we'll be-a just fine!" Mario, in the linebacker position, said to Touma, giving the redhead a thumbs up.

"I've never had such training to begin with..." stated Touma, who was lined up behind Mario. Standing behind his center Luigi was Olimar, whose legs were shaking as the pressure was now on him.

"Take a deep-a breath if you need-a to, and don't rush-a the play," advised Luigi, as Olimar nodded his head. The astronaut wouldn't feel so nervous if he and Luigi weren't the only players on their team.

Olimar would do the snap count, and Luigi would snap the ball to him, as he ran down the field. Olimar saw that Luigi had to do battle with not only Mario, but Touma as well, and while Luigi had a height advantage over Mario, the same couldn't be said for Touma. Olimar had to throw the ball when the time was right, when Luigi was open, and when he felt like the time arrived, Olimar threw the ball downfield. The spiral flew in the air, the suspense palpating in the backyard, as everyone watched the spiral spin through the air, the pigskin eventually landing in the hands of Luigi, the plumber being tackled by both Mario and Touma, as he fell to the ground, the football held close to his chest...

...as he landed in the endzone. Luigi, shaking off Mario and Touma, got up, and saw that he was in the endzone, which was marked off by a white line, and raised his fists in victory, as the crowd cheered on.

"YEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" shouted Roy, screaming at the top of his lungs. At any other place or occasion, people would think the redhead was a crazed maniac.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" cried Jacky, falling to his knees, as the $20 from his bet was now gone. But who cared about that - Luigi actually beat Mario at something, and he did it in the most dramatic way possible!

 **Jacky: Welp, there goes the $20...Akira is really gonna hate me until I pay up...why'd I spend all my car dealership money on Wanderlust...**

"Good-a game, bro!" Luigi held out his hand to Mario, who got up with his dirty overalls, expecting a handshake. Would Mario shake his little brother's hand? You know he would.

"Good-a game indeed!" exclaimed Mario as he shook Luigi's hand, and right on cue, folks such as Roy, Shulk, Lloyd, Zero, and Dark Pit went over to Luigi and Olimar, and hoisted the two on their shoulders, and paraded them through the backyard. Only thing music would be some congratulatory music.

"Can't wait until I tell my wife and kids about this!" Olimar said to Luigi, who smiled in return. Luigi would be sure to tell Charles about the game, once his son reached an age where he could comprehend stories.

* * *

Since Team Luigi won, Luigi had to hand-feed grapes to Falco, as part of the negotiated deal. So the plumber found himself hand-feeding grapes to the avian pilot, who was recuperating in the fitness center with the other injured players.

"Thanks for the sweet cash Luigi!" Wario thanked the plumber, as he was counting the bucks Luigi had given to him and the rest of Team Luigi. "Don't know why you gave us free money, but thanks anyways!" Like he had promised earlier, Luigi had to pay his teammates if he won, and he held up his end of the bargain well. Good thing Crash didn't kill anyone; Rool would have forced Luigi to take the blame for it.

"Is it fine if I go over what Fox and I expect for our full-course meal?" asked Falco, digging into his pocket and pulling out a list...before making a funny face when he saw said list. "Huh, I don't remember writing any of this stuff down...Fox must've did it for me."

"I believe-a that you're suffering from a case-a of memory loss," said Luigi, daunted by how long Falco's list was. It nearly touched the floor! "You tend to lose-a brain cells from head-a injuries such as concussions, and with-a that comes a loss of memory. I'm afraid Wario has lost-a some of his memory himself..."

Watching the injured men from the doorway was Jakob, who had a sly smirk on his face. The butler instructed Cortex to have the players hurt one another, and the N head did exactly what his job entailed. Jakob would depart from the fitness center, and once in the hallway he saw Layton and Mario walk by, with Layton holding the red glasses.

"Given these specs, I would believe that they belong to someone from Team Flare - all Team Flare members, save for Lysandre, wears glasses," Layton said to Mario, as Jakob watched and listened closely. "I'll have Coco run tests on the glasses and find out who they belong to, since R.O.B. lost his confidence, apparently..."

After Mario and Layton walked by, Jakob continued on his way, before being stopped by Cortex and Uka. Cortex was holding out his referee shirt, which was neatly folded to perfection, to Jakob.

"Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be a referee Jakob, it was a fun learning experience!" thanked Cortex, expecting something in return for his efforts. "Witnessing Crash being clocked by Lucario will go down as a highlight of my life...as sad as it may sound."

"You're welcome, Dr. Neo Cortex..." said Jakob, accepting the shirt from Cortex. "...but I'm afraid you've used up all your usefulness." The way Jakob said this, it sounded like something bad was coming towards Cortex's way.

"Ha, even Jakob thinks you suck, face the facts Cortex!" Uka poked fun at Cortex, before making a questionable face at Jakob. "...whaddaya mean, Cortex used up all his usefulness, why not use him further?"

"He's expendable...everyone in this establishment is expandable. Even the visitors that frequent this mansion...like you two."

Suddenly, Jakob would grab Cortex and Uka, and forcibly drag the two (well, only Cortex was being dragged) outside, where the garbage bin was located. The butler then opened up the garbage pin, and threw Cortex and Uka inside, were heaps of junk and trash existed.

"I'll be sure to thank you two when the time comes, whenever that happens," Jakob said to Cortex and Uka, checking to see that they were both submerged in the garbage so nobody would find them. "Got some other matters to attend to. Take care..." And with that, Jakob closed the garbage bin, dusted his hands off, and walked away, whistling like everything was okay...

...although it was becoming the exact opposite.


	91. Episode 91: Streetracing

_Author's Note:_

 _Hooray, I survived Hurricane Irma! Well, technically, Hurricane Irma didn't hit South Carolina hard, as people had feared - only got high winds and heavy rain. But nonetheless, I'm safe. Also, there was supposed to be a scene in this chapter paying as a homage to "Metroid: Samus Returns", but I forgot about it at the last minute...so yeah. Now on to the reviews:_

 _Will you include the characters from Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones? Noel and Yuel from Final Fantasy XIII-2? Ethan and Mia from Resident Evil VII? A Donkey Kong family reunion chapter? Does Bowser have a British accent in your story? (The Dorkly parodies give him one) will we see more of Hades in future chapters? Is Vile's appearance going to be based on his Mega Man X, X3, or X8 look? And finally, how will Velvet and her brother, Laphicet debut in your story? (Since they were sealed away to a fate worse than death at the end of Tales of Berseria)_

 _Perhaps. Dunno about Noel and Yuel, or Ethan and Mia. There will be a DK family reunion chapter. Bowser has no accent - just the voice he had in Super Mario Sunshine. Hades will appear again in the future. Vile's appearance will be based off of his X8 look. And I haven't thought of anything for Velvet and Laphicet. Next is Keeby:_

 _"...would it be possible where (part) of the characters go to the yarn/wooly world? (Examples: Kirby's Epic Yarn, Yoshi's Wooly World) It would be great to include Prince Fluff!"_

 _Kirby's Epic Yarn...Yoshi's Wooly World...oh, how much I love both of those games. So yeah, I might include a trip to the yarn/wooly world. And Prince Fluff's quite the popular fellow, good chance he'll show up. On to Derick Lindsey:_

 _"When will Elise and the other siblings return, I just wanted to know that?"_

 _They'll return for the Fire Emblem: Warriors chapter, which won't be two weeks from now. And last but not least, J300:_

 _1\. Can we see a football-season long fantasy league? Different people (not everyone) would pick their team (because I feel like picking players might be a bit too much); take it how you want to._  
 _2\. Do you think Microwave Idol Mamorin would ever go livestream in thIs story?_  
 _3\. Also, who, if you actively play Arms, is your main?_

 _1\. I play fantasy football in my spare time (got six fantasy football teams...don't judge me), so I completely second this idea.  
2\. A Microwave Idol Mamorin livestream sounds like a good idea.  
3\. I've never played Arms...yet, but if I had to choose a main, it would be Min Min. Perhaps the only character I'm interested in playing as._

* * *

 **Episode 90: Streetracing**

It has been a week since Nowi broke up with Captain Falcon, putting an end to a relationship that lasted around ten months - much, much longer than anyone could have imagined. Evidently someone told Nowi about her man going to the club and dancing with Malva, and it possibly couldn't be Globox, who witnessed this go down - like Captain Falcon said in the previous episode, the amphibian probably didn't know where his belly button was.

Like any other person on the receiving end of a breakup, Captain Falcon was down in the dumps, contemplating if he would ever find another girlfriend again. For the next few days, the racer analyzed his current relationship status, and reflected on his shortcomings in love, and deep down he knew that Nowi was the perfect woman for him. Her childlike charm, her overall state of happiness, the way she would smile at Captain Falcon...poor Falcon could never get anything like that from any other woman, no matter how hard he tried.

But nonetheless, Captain Falcon wouldn't let this setback keep him down forever. The racer was determined to bounce back, to focus on the positive things in life and move on from his relationship with Nowi. If Falcon wished to start anew, and go on a fresh start, he had to try out new things, seek new horizons, go past his comfort zone and take on newer experiences...

...and that was what he had his eyes set on today.

 **Zelda: Today is the day the mansion's utility bill is supposed to be paid...Mario used to pay the bills himself, but ever since he and Peach moved out, Master Hand has apparently handed down the duties to me. Not that I would be complaining, but it feels lonely having to accomplish important tasks by yourself...which is why I'm bringing someone along with me for the ride. And no, it isn't Link...or Midna.**

Zelda was standing outside the mansion, waiting for a taxi to pick her up. The princess would wait at the front, near the mailbox that Link's Mailman seemingly pretends that it doesn't exist, as the sun rays rained upon her face. Standing next to Zelda was her traveling companion, a man who wore a red cap and blue overalls, and had a brown mustache that could be easily recognized from a mile away...

"You know Zelda, you could-a just tell me to pay the mansion's utility bill-a myself, I've done-a it plenty of times before," Mario said to Zelda, as he stretched out his arms; if you had no idea the person being described was Mario, then go ahead and slap yourself. You deserve it.

"As nice as that offer sounds, Mario, this is a task that I must have to do from now on - you pay your own bills, while I have to pay the mansion's bills," replied Zelda, who would've glanced at her watch - if she even had a watch to begin with. "I would never allow someone to do something that was meant for me to do - although I do wonder why Master Hand couldn't allow Jakob to handle such things."

"Jakob can't do-a everything, you know, there are limitations to his-a objectives." Objectives such as messing up computers, spreading gossip, and throwing evil geniuses inside garbage bins. "Would-a you want Jakob to do Flora and-a Felicia's maid work?"

"Well, taking Flora's self-esteem issues and self-doubt into consideration...I probably wouldn't. But what do you and Master Hand see in Jakob in the first place? Don't get me wrong, I have NOTHING against Jakob...but I just want to know what you think of him."

"There's plenty to like-a about Jakob - he's sensible, he's-a fair, he looks-a out for others...and a whole-a bunch of other qualities that I can-a not mention right now."

"So spreading false rumors is sensible, fair, and accounts for looking out for others?" Mario remained silent; Zelda shut that man down. "Sometimes you have to look past a book cover and find the true meaning, Mario - you can't automatically assume Jakob is a great individual because of what he does around the mansion."

Soon the taxi finally arrived at the mansion - and perfect timing too, given what Zelda just said to Mario. What drew Mario and Zelda's attention to the taxi was not only that the vehicle was dark blue, but also the words "Falcon Taxi Services" were written on the side, in black letters. Both Mario and Zelda were confused, but their confusion would betaken up to eleven, when the driver stepped out of the car, to greet the plumber and the princess while doing a two-finger salute, his yellow scarf flying in the wind.

Apparently, the driver of the taxi was Captain Falcon, and he looked like a (somewhat) changed man.

"Mario and Zelda, the first-ever customers of Falcon Taxi Services!" exclaimed Captain Falcon, as Mario and Peach exchanged worried looks with one another. What possibly convinced Captain Falcon to start his own taxi business? Was this really a great way to help him get over his breakup with Nowi? "Being the first customers of this wonderful taxi service is the equivalent of winning the lottery, if you ask me! So why don't you two take a seat, and get ready for the ride of your lives?"

 **Captain Falcon: Starting up a taxi business was _totally_ my idea - it's a great way of intertwining my love for driving, and making profits, all as a means to take my mind off of things...my breakup with Nowi being one of them. Taxi driving could perhaps introduce me to a new girlfriend, provided that the sexy ladies I drive around in my taxi are actually attractive. I'd hate to drive around some old hag that attempts to flirt with me and blows me kisses...but if she pays me handsomely, then she can do whatever she want to me. Even if she takes me to her place and cooks me in her pumpkin stew.**

"Captain Falcon, how were you able to afford starting up a taxi business, where'd you get the money from?" asked Zelda, who, like Mario, was too reluctant to enter Captain Falcon's taxi. For all she knew, Captain Falcon could be an imposter, and the taxi was actually a death machine designed to send any passengers to their death beds.

"B.D. Joe really helped out in financing the whole thing - got me all the essentials," explained Captain Falcon, rubbing his taxi with a proud smile like he was touching his Blue Falcon. "He's even running the taxi service with me, he's kinda like a co-owner. Our base of operations are at B.D. Joe's apartment - every great venture starts with a humble beginning! That should be a famous quote. So, where are you two headed?"

"We need to head downtown to 700 5th Avenue, that's where the Customer Service Center is. As you know, Master hand doesn't believe in paying bills online or by phone, since he believes that's the 'lazy' way to handle business...so Mario and I have to go to this service center, pronto."

"Of course I can't take you guys anywhere if you're standing outside the taxi...so what are you waiting for, get in!" So Mario and Zelda got inside the taxi - which looked like a mix between B.D. Joe's taxi and the Blue Falcon, somewhat - and buckled in their seat belts. To be safe, as _Dora the Explorer_ would preach. Captain Falcon would get in the driver's seat, and buckled his seat belt, ready to take his first customers to their destinations.

"700 5th Avenue, here we come!" the racer...or should we say, taxi driver...exclaimed as he turned on the ignition with just the push of the button, and kicked the stick shift into drive, as he drove away from mansion and to Mario and Zelda's destination. And as Captain Falcon was driving, the words Zelda told to Mario regarding Jakob were still going about inside the plumber's head.

* * *

R.O.B. had certainly lost a lost of confidence after he mistakenly detected the blue glasses from the previous episode to be Dr. Eggman's glasses. But as it turned out, those glasses were actually _red_ \- they just had blue paint on it. Nobody was sure why the oculars were painted in the first place, but the fact that R.O.B. messed still weighed in the robot's mind, even though it wasn't supposed to, and now R.O.B. started to think less of himself.

"...soooo, why exactly are you washing Rush?" Cloud would ask Mega Man, as he and Link were standing in the presence of the Blue Bomber, who was cleaning his companion Rush with a cloth in the living room. "Don't even try and work your way out of it, we see the cleaning supplies next to you, and our curiosity cannot be peaked anymore."

"I'm not exactly _washing_ Rush, I'm just cleaning off his robot armor," explained Mega Man, spraying some metal cleaner from a spray bottle on Rush's hind leg before cleaning off the body part with the cloth. "Or would it be robot _skin_? I wouldn't call it armor, but then again, robot skin sounds weird...let's just say that I'm polishing Rush, and making him look sparkly and clean, like a kitchen faucet."

"Pretty sure most of the bottles you're using are beauty supplies the ladies use...like that bottle in your hand," Link pointed at the bottle in particular, which had a comb and a pair of scissors on it. No metal cleaner would come with a spray bottle with such items on it, and no metal cleaner would be in a spray bottle, period. "That's Lucina's spray bottle, the one she uses for her hair, if I'm not mistaken."

"So you automatically assume that this spray bottle belongs to a girl because of the design? Well, what if Hisui used the bottle for _his_ hair? He does have some pretty slick-looking hair, you have to admit, so it can't be that far-fetched..."

 **Link: Say, Cloud, how come you never wash your pet, Cloud Jr? Can't recall a single time you've washed that thing since you received it from Knuckles as an early Christmas gift.  
Cloud: Cloud Jr. is a "he", not an "it", and he's also definitely not a thing, so you better get your facts straight Link, unless you want my Buster Sword down your spine...but since you're curious, I've never washed Cloud Jr., ever. Don't believe in washing birds, birds hardly stink at all. Universally accepted wisdom, anyways.  
Link: Pfft, that can't be true...you just say that and believe it so you won't have to worry about washing your stupid pet. Quit hinging your beliefs on what a huge majority of people think.  
Cloud: Did you just call my pet Chocobo...stupid? *pulls out Buster Sword*  
Link: Uh, no, not at all, I called your pet...your pet name stupid! Cloud Jr. just sounds so lazy...no, no, I was talking about your pet name, the one Aerith gives you...uh, what is it called?  
Cloud: It's "You're Toast"...  
Link: Yikes, that's a crappy pet name. Almost sounds dominatrix, if you catch my drift. Why not "The Big Toast" or maybe...Cloud, why are you nearing me? Cloud, I'm sorry, I'm sorry man...gah! *runs away***

"Have you guys seen my spray bottle?" asked Hisui, entering the living room, for his eyes to fall upon the bottle in Mega Man's mans. The teen frowned at the robot, gritting his teeth in anger. Displaying his hot-headed impulsiveness, Hisui ran over to Mega Man, knocked him unto the floor, and took the spray bottle out of his hands. Rush, who watched this go down, remained put. Probably didn't want anything to do with Hisui - can't say you blame him! "Next time when you wash your dog, use your own spray bottle, okay? Quit stealing mine and filling it with metal cleaner - do I look like I keep my hair clean with metal scratcher?!"

"I'm sorry Hisui, it won't happen ever again..." promised Mega Man, rising up to his feet and dusting himself off. "I'll make sure to get my own spray bottle!"

"...and that was the same exact thing you said last time. Do you regurgitate the same organized crap over and over again? You're a robot, you probably can't help yourself. Repeating stuff must be pretty common for you." Now with his spray bottle back in his possession, Hisui would leave the living room, but not before confronting Link and Cloud, the former having been proved wrong. "Sorry you guys had to witness that - Kohaku said that I sometimes get too...possessive when it comes to my belongings. A little something I should fix in the future. Speaking of fixing, perhaps you could fix R.O.B. - for whatever reason, he's sitting in the basement of the mansion, with the lights off, just staring into space...it's freaky, man."

"Not this crap again..." sighed Cloud, who knew the reason behind R.O.B.'s woes. Judging by his response, R.O.B. being lonely and despondent has been a problem throughout the week. "The nerve of that robot..."

So Cloud and Link would head down to the basement, which was pitch-black. That meant the two swordsmen had to watch their footing, and not slip up while they made their way down the steps...

...only for Link to slip and fall, and land at the end of the steps following his painful tumble. Cloud, finding a light switch at a very weird location on the wall, turned the switch on, and saw Link at the base of the staircase, looking like he just got squashed by a Rhypherior. Or sat on by a Snorlax.

"Eh, you really aren't the most graceful person around," remarked Cloud, not caring much about Link's current status, as he carefully made his way down the steps, watching his every step, before seeing R.O.B. seated by himself, underneath a heap of unwanted/unused belongings. Obviously the robot did not want any company.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE...WHY SPEAK WITH A FAILURE LIKE MYSELF...GO AWAY AND LEAVE ME ALONE..." R.O.B. said to the swordsmen, as Cloud drew near. But the robot backed away, allowing the heap of boxes and unused appliances overtake him.

"Link, come and help me remove all this stuff," Cloud said to Link, who was on the floor, writhing in pain...so Cloud had to do things himself, and take the heaps of stuff off of R.O.B., so the robot could be seen in plain sight. R.O.B. held his head down, not worthy enough to give Cloud any eye contact. "Look, R.O.B. just because you messed up last week doesn't mean that you can't let your error keep you down forever. I mean, Layton's having Coco find out who those glasses really belong to, so there's that. You know what, how about you hang out with Link and I, just for the day?"

"THAT SOUNDS REALLY SWELL...THE DARKNESS WAS STARTING TO BORE ME ANYWAYS..." responded R.O.B., moving away from the heap of unwanted belongings. "I'D LOVE TO HANG OUT WITH YOU AND LINK...IF IT CAN GET MY MIND OFF OF THINGS..."

"Yeah, that's the spirit - just let loose, and let Layton and Luke and Coco handle the whole glasses issue. You...probably don't do that much relaxing, do you?"

* * *

Speaking of whom, Layton, Luke, and Coco were in the library, with Coco using some gadget she invented and worked on over the course of the week. It was a gadget that could detect the DNA on items, and trace the DNA's history and find out what individuals came in contact with the item, as well as finding out the owner of said item just by glancing at the DNA history. Way more complicated and complex than it sounds.

 **Coco: This is a gadget that I've been working on and perfecting for a week now...I call it, the DNATector 3000! *holds up gadget to camera* Because I'm not that original, I had to add a 3000 to the invention name, since I couldn't think of any other number. But, if I were to be even more unoriginal, I would've added the prefix "inator" to the name, and dub it the "DNATector-Inator 3000"...something like that. However, in order for the gadget to be an "inator", it would be used only for dominating the entire metropolitan area, and also correct a wrong or two in my life...so I rest my case.**

While Coco and company were doing their thing, Crash and Sonic were on a computer, watching videos and eating bags of potato chips, albeit loudly. Gil walked by carrying books in his hand, whistling a happy tune, when he looked and Crash and Sonic, and paused once he saw what was on the computer screen...a _Dorkly_ video called "Sonic Meets Original Fan Characters". Sonic. Fan Characters. _Hoo boy._

"Do you see this Crash, you see how basic these 'original' fan characters are?" Sonic asked his best friend, pointing at a purple hedgehog on the screen named Dillian, who, as you may assume, looked like Sonic. "That Dillian creep looks just like me, but only with purple skin! And his girlfriend is no better - you can't just put a blue hedgehog in girly shoes and expect to be 'original'! When I think of originality, I think of something new, something that the world has never seen before...not crappy recolors that pop up a lot on Deviantart! Where on earth is the creativity, where's the originality that these so-called artists proclaim?! Is this what my legacy's gonna look like, having crummy original characters created in my likeness?! It's sickening, it's blashemy, it's, it's..."

"...it's quite appalling that you two would spend your day watching _Dorkly_ videos," Gil would finish for Sonic, finishing the hedgehog's rant. "Oh, and for the record, there's going to be _plenty_ of original characters in _Sonic Forces,_ so enjoy your little 'legacy' while you can..."

"I can forgive those original characters, since they actually exude originality and creativity, unlike the hedgehog knockoffs I've seen in fan art online that are supposed to look like me...oh and for the record Sonic, do not, and I repeat, DO NOT, google 'Sonic fan art', for your own safety. Your eyes will melt like an ice cream cone, and your innocence will be more scarred than a burn victim with first-degree burns. Take it from me, I know by experience..."

"So do I, Sonic, so do I..." Gil shook his head, looking down at the floor. There were some things the knight saw from Sonic fan art that really made him question life and the true meaning of existence. "Since you boys are eating potato chips, and leaving crumbs all over the floor...why don't you take out the garbage for me? I'm supposed to be doing it today, but as you can see, I'm a little busy at the moment..."

So Sonic and Crash, being good Samaritans, finished up their potato chips and took out the garbage, heaping large, black garbage bags over their shoulders. They would head outside, and to the garbage bin, throwing the bags of garbage inside.

"Nice work, buddy ol' pal, I'm sure Gil would be very appreciative of our efforts," Sonic said to Crash, dusting his gloved hands off, before he and Crash heard some mumbling from the garbage bin. Evidently there was someone trapped inside. "Woah, Crash, did you hear that? Someone must be stuck inside the bin! If it's some _Scooby-Doo_ villain trying to scare someone, then we'll just leave him be..."

Then there was more mumbling, but this time, it came from a different voice. Sonic and Crash exchanged nervous looks with one another, trying to figure out who was brave enough to check inside the garbage bin, and that person would be Sonic, as he opened up the bin and looked through the heap of garbage bags and other junk.

"Hmm, can't seem to find anything, we must've been hearing things," said Sonic, rummaging through the garbage, before a gloved hand grabbed him. The glove on the hand was yellow, and it made Sonic shriek. The hedgehog tried to pull away, but the gloved hand was on him, holding onto his arm. Crash would grab Sonic, and pull him away from the garbage bin, and eventually the bandicoot pulled Sonic away, sending him and his friend flying, as well as releasing someone trapped inside the garbage bin. This someone, with yellow gloves and yellow skin, was easily recognized by Sonic and Crash, and by one name only...

...Dr. Neo Cortex, his clothes dirtied as he was covered in garbage. Uka would arise from the garbage bin, after finding an opening, and soaked in the wonderful, fresh air.

"At last, I'm free, I'm finally free!" exclaimed the floating mask, as Cortex was now hugging Crash. A couple of chapters ago, the mad scientist wished to eradicate the furry bandicoot, and take the crystal that he was holding in his possession, but now he was thankful to be alive.

"Oh, Crash, I cannot thank you enough for releasing me from that awful prison that is the garbage bin!" said Cortex, hugging Crash with all his might. Crash looked over at Sonic, who could only shrug. "Having to eat the scraps of food that was available to me, listening to Uka moan and complain just for the sake of moaning and complaining...I wouldn't wish my experience on any human being! So I thank you Crash, for saving me!"

 **Sonic: All it took for Cortex to harmonize with Crash was for Crash to save him from the garbage bin...that must mean in order for Dr. Eggman and I to harmonize, I would have to throw him inside a garbage truck, and save him before he gets shredded into pieces! Cortex said that he wouldn't wish his punishment on any human being, but Dr. Eggman hardly looks human at all.**

"This idiotic fur ball was the one who saved us?" questioned Uka, as he confronted Crash, who mindlessly dug into his ear with his finger for ear wax...before inspecting the ear wax and eating it. Ew. "Cortex, you allowed your arch-nemesis to save you? Do you realize how sad that is?!"

"Technically, I saved you too - I was the one who found Cortex's gloved hand," stated Sonic, raising his finger so he could be recognized. Uka glanced at the hedgehog for a moment or two, before returning his attention to Cortex so he could enjoy putting him down more.

"Why couldn't you save us Cortex, rather than letting somebody else do the dirty work for you? What, was your ray gun low on battery, and you couldn't charge it? You could've used that to get us out of the garbage bin!"

"Well, it's not so much that I didn't charge my ray gun...I just forget to bring it with me," explained Cortex, as Uka shook his head. How could Cortex possibly be a respectable, competent villain when he was forgetting his evil weapons? "You'll forgive me, right Uka? Right...?"

"Let's just head inside the mansion and get ourselves cleaned off..." Uka responded with a heavy sigh. Uka didn't need that much washing anyways, at least compared to Cortex.

* * *

As you have seen over the past few episodes, Dark Pit - a doppelganger who was always brash and arrogant, and had the attitude of a bad boy - oftentimes showed a soft, tender side when it came to his lady friend/love interest, Flora. Dark Pit was very accepting of Flora's faults, such as her lack of self-esteem in confidence in anything not pertaining to maid work, and always helped the maid look on the positive side of life - even though she felt like she was totally worthless.

To show Flora how much he liked and appreciated her, Dark Pit opted to give the maid a box of chocolate sweets, as suggested by Flora's twin sister, Felicia. The doppelganger was walking through the hallways, keeping a close eye out for his nemesis Pit. Unfortunately for Dark Pit, the angel was just around the corner, and he would pounce once Dark Pit was in his view.

"Brother Kuro, I'd knew you come!" Pit would say to the very uncaring Dark Pit, before doing his signature "broken" laugh. Dark Pit had grown apathetic towards Pit's "broken" nature over time, to the point where he didn't even feel bothered anymore. "Today is the day Kuro, a WONDERFUL day - the day I finally DELETE you!"

"Nope," was all Dark Pit said, as he walked by Pit and onward to Flora, wherever she may be. But Pit wasn't willing to go down without a fight, especially if Dark Pit didn't give any effort at all.

"You can run, Brother Kuro, but you can't hide! Vanguard 1, chase down Brother Kuro, and bring him to me!" Soon the drone named Vanguard 1 (piloted by Kirby from a hidden location) descended from the ceiling and chased after Dark Pit...only for the doppelganger to shoot the device down with a bow from his arrow. Vanguard 1 came crashing to the floor, dying a slow, painful death as its red eye turned off.

"Nice try Pit," Dark Pit called out to the angel, continuing on his way as Pit stomped his foot in anger. Vanguard 1, his ally, was done for, and Pit didn't feel like having Kirby, Viridi, or even George Washington (a.k.a. Girafarig) hunt down Dark Pit, for that would be a waste of time. So the angel had to take matters into his own hands...

"I'M COMING FOR YOU, BROTHER KURO!" Pit flew through the halls, on the hunt for Dark Pit. Dark Pit turned and saw Pit flying towards him, before screaming and running away. It wasn't that often Dark Pit would be afraid of his more angelic counterpart...but here we are.

 **Kirby: Don't know about you...but I can't wait until Pit ends this "broken" nonsense. I only follow him up every day on the hope that he would revert back to his normal self, whenever that will happen. Hard for me to rock the "Senor Kirby" moniker when I don't know a lick of Spanish. Meta Knight still refuses to teach me...**

 **Viridi: Only good thing to come out of Pit's "broken brilliance" is that I've perfected my piano playing. And getting to spend time with Pit. But other than that? *gives two thumbs down***

Dark Pit would eventually outrun Pit, and once he saw that the coast was clear, he resumed looking for Flora, box of chocolates in hand, hoping Pit wasn't hiding and planning a sneak attack on the doppelganger. Dark Pit kept walking, being on the lookout, before bumping into two ladies, one furry and the other feathery, both wearing similar attire.

"Sister, sister!" exclaimed Dark Pit when he saw the ladies...who were actually dudes, named Fox and Falco. Understandably, both pilots were ticked. "Oh, uh, Fox and Falco, it's not what you think...I didn't mean to..."

"D-Did you just refer to Falco and I as females just now?!" questioned an angry Fox, his left hand on his Blaster. "You heard what Dark Pit just called us, right Falco? Were you ears deceiving you?"

"Yeah I sure did, this kid insists that we're twinning!" replied Falco, his hand also on his Blaster. Poor Dark Pit was going to be murdered in cold blood in the Smash Mansion...can the Blaster ammo actually kill someone, though? "Granted we're twinning all the time - sometimes great minds think alike - but for Dark Pit, to have the utmost audacity to refer to us as 'Sister, Sister', like that show from the nineties...absolutely disrespectful!"

"Please, hear me out, I can explain...I was caught up in the heat of the moment, and I completely mistook you two for someone else. I was running away...running away from Pit." This bewildered both Fox and Falco, for Pit was the last person you'd find yourself running away from. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone on the face on the earth who was afraid of Pit. "I wasn't running away out of fear, mind you...I was running away because I was growing increasingly annoyed by his stupid antics."

"He's still 'broken', isn't he?" asked Fox, to which Dark Pit nodded his head. "Yeah, Falco and I have been keeping our distance away from Pit ever since he went 'broken', and we both assumed that his stupidity somehow developed into a disease - one that could be contagious!"

"We refused to come in contact with Pit, under the fear that his stupid ways would be transferred to us via contact," added Falco, spraying some hand sanitizer on his hands just to be on the safe side. "Surprised you haven't done anything to stop him!"

"Eh, I would, but it wouldn't be worth my time," stated Dark Pit, folding his arms behind his head. "Also, Flora keeps me preoccupied. Perhaps you guys could do the work for me and bring back the normal, usual Pit...as much as it pains me to say it."

"No way bruh, Fox and I made an oath to keep away from Pit, even at mansion meetings." Falco then stroked his beak in thought, generating some ideas. "But we could use some fodder...and maybe a little music."

"You're not thinking about using our Star Records singers to 'serenade' Pit, are you?" asked Fox, as Falco flashed a devious smile. "Dude, I was thinking the same exact thing! Great minds think alike!"

 **Fox: In order to stop Pit, it won't just take Tsubasa, Eleonora, Kiria, Mamori, or even Yashiro. It will take someone else, someone completely out of the box, for our master plan to work. It won't take Knuckles and Little Mac either. We need a different style, a style different from pop and rap, a style that has some connection to Pit's "broken" nature...a style like country. You probably know where I'm going with this.**

* * *

Following a long traffic jam in downtown Seattle, Captain Falcon would arrive at 700 5th Avenue - the very location for Zelda and Mario to pay the mansion's utility bill. Given all the stuff taking place within the mansion, Lord knows how ridiculously high the utility bill was.

"Here we are folks, 700 5th Avenue!" announced Captain Falcon, acting like he was some Disney World tour guide on some tour bus. Mario and Zelda got out of the car, and tried to walk away, only for Captain Falcon to catch them retreating. "Um, I know you two aren't leaving without paying the GOAT taxi driver!"

"Hasn't been one-a day yet and Falcon already thinks-a he's the greatest taxi driver alive..." sighed Mario, as he pulled out his wallet and gave Captain Falcon thirty bucks, a very generous tip for a taxi driver.

"Thirty bucks, eh? Seventy dollars off from my expected taxi fare, but I'll take whatever I can get. Thank you for enjoying...Falcon's...Taxi Service." Captain Falcon trailed off when Mario quickly walked away, rejoining Zelda as the two entered the customer service building. The racer turned taxi driver sighed, and got back inside his taxi, before driving off and down the road, on the hunt for his next customer.

And if what Captain Falcon said was any indication, his taxi fare was _one hundred dollars._ One. Hundred. Dollars. Way high above the usual price of taxi fare, almost like twenty-five times the typical amount! As the old saying goes, money can't buy you happiness, but apparently Captain Falcon was thinking the exact opposite. He was searching for happiness after Nowi broke up with him, and he was looking for happiness in all the wrong ways...

"Taxi, I need a taxi over here!" a voice with a particular British accent called out, coming from a woman. Believing that this voice belonged to a woman that could potentially be his girlfriend, Captain Falcon immediately stepped on the gas pedal and drove towards the curb where the woman was standing, a suitcase next to her. He was checking the woman out, analyzing her brown hair, tied up in a ponytail, and her lovely brown eyes. He would've lick his lips if he wanted to, but he didn't want the brunette to think of him as a creeper.

"Hey there, good lookin'..." Captain Falcon asked the brunette, making her smile. So far, so good; it was too early for him to screw things up. "Wanna take a ride in my taxi, part of the best taxi service in town - Falcon's Taxi Service? Well hop on in!"

"Thank you, kind sir, I really appreciate it." The brunette would enter Captain Falcon's taxi, buckling in her seat belt and placing her suitcase next to her. Captain Falcon couldn't help but notice that there was something familiar about the brunette...like he was supposed to know who she was beforehand.

"Golly, you're perhaps the prettiest face I've seen thus far today, by far..." ...so what does that make Zelda then, huh? Or does she not count since Captain Falcon saw her on a day-to-day basis? "...but you look _very_ familiar...do I know you from somewhere?"

"You might know my name...Lara Croft," answered the brunette, affirming Captain Falcon's suspicions. Her hotness rating just skyrocketed now. "Archaeologist and tomb raider, that's what I do for a living. Came here to America for a quick vacation before I go back and do my usual thing...now I have to reach the airport before I miss my flight!"

"No problemo...just tell me the airport you need me to take you to, and we'll be on our way!" No doubt Captain Falcon was going to ask Lara out once he dropped her off at the airport. He could do with a long-distance relationship - his relationship with Nowi was pretty long-distance, the more you think about it.

* * *

 **Master Hand: Stupid utility place charges me $3,125 for the mansion's utilities...$3,125 under my name, for things that I don't even do! Do I use DVD players? Do I wash clothes? Do I search the Internet for anime adult films, like I've seen Ludwig do a lot during nighttime hours, when Bowser is asleep? No, no, and most definitely...actually, Ludwig really knows what's up, good kid. But I refuse to be held accountable for paying things that I don't even do!**

Zelda and Mario were standing in line, waiting to pay the mansion's utility bill. Of course, Mario didn't have to necessarily be in line - he could've waited for Zelda to take care of her business while sitting on one of the chairs near the wall - but the plumber wished to serve as Zelda's "moral guidance"...and also tell her something that she probably needed to hear.

"You know, Zelda, I've-a been thinking about what-a you said, about Jakob..." the plumber started things off, fiddling with his fingers. "About looking past a book-a cover and finding the true-a meaning of someone..."

"Not now Mario, you can tell me at a later time," said Zelda, standing at the front of the line and ready to speak with a customer service person, utility bill in hand. Jakob was the last thing on the princess's mind.

"But Zelda, this is-a important, and I have-a to get it off my chest as soon-a as possible. I've been-a thinking about Jakob, and his performance in-a recent weeks, and after the whole-a gossip thing, I've-a been thinking about..."

"Save it for later, Mario..." was the last thing Zelda told the plumber, as she went to go speak with a customer service person, behind their desk. Mario would allow Zelda to do her thing, as he sat down in a chair, looking out the nearby window.

* * *

Captain Falcon was a bit more dedicated, taking his third passenger of the day to their destination. It was because his passenger was the famous archaeologist and tomb raider Lara Croft. The taxi driver was determined to ask Lara out and spark a relationship, but if he wished to do that, then he would first have to spark a fruitful conversation.

"So, Lara, I heard that you like to search for...things, like artifacts, since you're a tomb raider and all," Captain Falcon said to the tomb raider - not the best conversation starter, but it was how the conversation went that mattered the most. "Got any interesting artifacts you've found that you wish to share with me?"

"One particular artifact I found in the lost city of Kitezh was an artifact called the 'Divine Source' - it's supposed to grant immortality," Lara shared with Captain Falcon, who nodded his head. Did Nowi ever come in contact with this Divine Source? She _was_ a thousand years old, after all, though her Manakete blood could be the reason behind her extended youth...both physically and perhaps mentally. "It was the city's biggest secret, and a group called the Remnant did whatever they could to protect it."

"Who exactly is the Remnant? Sounds like they're descendants of some ancient race of a time long past." Captain Falcon was really engaged into Lara's story, wanting more and more details...a good sign of things to come?

"Yes, they were - descendants of the followers of the Prophet of Constantinople. I was a close ally with their leader, Jacob, who wished to protect the Divine Source - which I later found out to be a large crystal - at all costs. Then some things happened along the way, and Jacob died by disintegration and his daughter Sofia assumed leadership of the Remnant - it's a pretty long story."

Captain Falcon would approach a red stop light, and came to a stop, for he was a great driver who respected the rules of the road. Just then, a motorcycle pulled up to Captain Falcon's taxi, with the rider being some dude wearing a long, black jacket with a long sword on his back. This man looked towards Captain Falcon, sporting a cocky, arrogant grin.

"Hey man, nice ride you got there," complimented the dude, revving up his motorcycle a little bit. "I'm Dante - demon-hunting vigilante, and the son of Sparda. In case you couldn't tell by my job title, hunting demons is kinda my thing." Lara Croft _and_ Dante, both in the same city?! Captain Falcon's day just got better!

"I'm Captain Falcon, F-Zero champion and one of the best racers around!" introduced Falcon, pointing at himself with his thumb and flashing a smile. "...or I used to be one of the best racers around. Now I run an upstart taxi business, gotta pay the bills...although I've never paid a single bill, ever. The perks of living at the Smash Mansion!"

"Oh yeah, the Smash Mansion, the place where weird crap goes down and nobody knows why..." Captain Falcon couldn't argue with that. But how did Dante know this, who told him? "Tell you what - you got a sweet ride, and I got an awesome motorcycle...so how about we have a little race, to see if you're really as great of a racer as you think you are? We'll race around town, what do you say?"

"I'm wholeheartedly against this, I have to reach the airport before I miss my flight..." replied Lara, tapping her foot very impatiently. "I must return to England soon, I have stuff to catch up on..."

"You got yourself a deal Dante - I'll give you a race you won't ever forget!" exclaimed Captain Falcon, completely ignoring Lara and willing to disobey traffic rules and regulations for the sake of some street race with demon hunter Dante. "Don't be crying your eyes out once I cream you!"

"We'll see about that..." smirked Dante, as he and Captain Falcon both got their vehicles ready. Lara sat back in her seat, bracing for the worst, as Falcon and Dante were waiting for the traffic lights to turn green...

...and once the green light showed up, Captain Falcon and Dante took off, racing away and speeding off like madmen.

* * *

 **Sonic: I've been having a nagging headache as of late...might've been from that hit Crash gave me in last week's backyard football game, could be a nagging symptom. While I would be ticked at Crash for putting the hurt on me like that, I had to understood that I was putting myself at risk for injury in that game, despite the lack of pads and helmets. Also, Crash suffered from a concussion himself, so we're kinda even. Crash could suffer from multiple concussions, and lose every single brain cell in his head...and still maintain his lovable personality and charm. Dude's practically invincible!**

Cortex was happily singing to himself as he was taking a shower, while Sonic, Crash, and Uka waited outside the bathroom door. Uka, being just a floating mask, didn't have to do any washing at all - a trip inside the dishwasher did the trick for him.

"Cortex has been in the shower for almost an hour now, I seriously doubt he's even washing himself..." Uka shook his head, as Cortex began singing off-key. Probably thinking he was auditioning for some Broadway musical. "Man seldom washes himself, so I can't be entirely surprised." Uka looked down at Sonic, who was rubbing his head; his headache was seemingly getting worse. "Look, I'm no doctor, and I don't wanna be a doctor anyways...but you should seriously go lie down, take a nap or something, if your head is bothering you, you should...oh who am I kidding, I'm evil! I should be telling you things like, 'bang your head against the wall and make your headache worse'! Yeah, you should definitely do that! I give out great advice!"

"Yeah...I wouldn't trust any advice from a floating tiki mask, even if said advice saves my life," said Sonic, still rubbing his head. "You look like a reject tiki mask anyways - no female mask would ever love you!" Uka was ready to snap on Sonic...

...but would have to hold his breath when his goody two shoes brother Aku drew near, having a conversation with Kamui. The mask was giving some words of advice himself to the princess of Nohr, telling her how she should deal with her naive as heck brother, Corrin.

"If there's anything I know from experience with Crash, it's that naive and stupid people alike are like drooling rottweilers - really great company, but oftentimes hard to deal with, especially as time goes on," Aku explained to Kamui, providing her with top-notch knowledge. "I'd suggest staying away from Corrin for a couple of days, see how he handles it, and maybe he'll change for the better." Aku and Kamui would come to a stop when they saw Crash and Sonic, with Aku's brother Uka floating over the duo's heads. "Uka, my brother, you've returned yet again, but this time without Cortex! Please tell me you didn't claim Crash and Sonic as your minions!"

"What is WRONG with you, do you have worms for brains or something?!" frowned Uka, although Aku didn't have a brain for he was just a mask. Only thing he had was a conscience. "Crash and Sonic are both unfit as minions - Crash is stupider than any inanimate object in existence, and while Sonic is a jerk, he's too big of a jerk for me to deal with!" Yikes, not even Uka appreciated Sonic...how telling. "The three of us are just waiting for that buffoon Cortex to finish his shower...if he'll ever stop his horrible singing."

"Cortex is in the bathroom taking a shower?" asked Kamui, raising an eyebrow. "I've heard that Mario and Master hand were giving some thought about banning him from the mansion, weeks after they viewed him as a non-threat." Finally done with his shower...and hopefully his awful singing...Cortex exited the bathroom, a white towel tied around his waist and his unshaven chest disturbing Kamui and company. Apparently the N head was still singing his heart out...

"I feel pretty, oh, so pretty, I feel pretty, and witty, and..." Cortex kept singing, until he saw everyone staring at him. Probably entranced by his hairy chest. "What are you peons looking at? Never seen a great singer before, did you?"

"Aku, why are you taking a shower at the mansion, couldn't you just take a shower at your own castle instead?" asked Aku, wishing he had a shaver so he could shave the thick hair off of Cortex's chest. It was best not to look at his chest for a prolonged time.

"I would...if my minions didn't drink up my water supply. Serves me right for keeping them athirst the entire summer. Also, I had to wash right away, since Uka and I were thrown in the garbage bin by Jakob." This bit of information shocked Aku and company, and especially Kamui, who would never expect Jakob to do such a thing. "I can explain to you guys what happened up until then..."

* * *

R.O.B., with his lack of personality and character because of his robotic ways, did not know the meaning of fun. Cloud, with his apathetic nature and uncaring ways, did not care to know the meaning of fun. But Link, having been reduced to crutches after his nasty tumble down the basement stairs, knew the meaning of fun, and was willing to teach this meaning to R.O.B., to keep the robot's spirits high.

 **Link: Fun isn't that hard of a concept to grasp, even Luigi's kid can understand it. It's just like how that Spongebob song goes..."F is for friends who do stuff together, U is for you and me, N is for anywhere and anytime at all, down here in the deep...blue...Emerald City...in Washington...Pacific Northwest...named Seattle...zip-a-dee".  
King Dedede: *popping up behind Link* Yes, Link, you called?  
Link: No, King Dedede, just singing a song...**

"Slow and steady...slow and steady always wins the race..." Ness said quietly, as he, Sora, and Yashiro were playing with a jumbling tower in the lounge, with the PSI whiz slowly and oh so carefully pulling a small brick out from the tower, not wanting said tower to tumble down...but would you know it, the tower of small bricks came falling down to the table, at rapid speed, after Ness pulled the brick out. "Aw dang it, we just started playing this game, too!"

"Well, Ness, if it wasn't for you, we would've have restarted this game for the third time," said Yashiro, as Sora was placing the jumbling tower back together. "Alas, everyone has to be a sore loser when it comes to this game..." As Sora was resetting the jumbling tower, Link, Cloud, and R.O.B. entered the lounge, needing to speak with the Keyblade wielder.

"You sure you want me to speak with Sora?" Cloud asked Link, who nodded his head. Cloud let out a sigh before approaching Sora, making him stop in his task. "Sora, usually I don't ask you for stuff like this...but I, or we, need some pointers. We're trying to let R.O.B. have fun, since he hardly knows what fun is, and you're a pretty fun guy, as hard as it is for me to admit, so..."

"So you want some pointers on fun, huh?" smirked Sora, as Fox sneakily entered the lounge to speak with Yashiro. After a quick conversation, Yashiro would leave with Fox, off to who-knows-where. "Back at Destiny Islands, some of the things I did for fun include playing in the sand, or running laps around the beach."

"That's good, but...did you do any fun activities INDOORS?" Cloud could care less if Sora played in the sand or ran laps around the beach; those were childish things.

"No, not really, unless I travel to other worlds, which doesn't happen that often." Ness turned around, and saw that Yashiro was gone, which left an opening for someone to play the jumbling tower game...and an idea for the PSI whiz.

"R.O.B. could play with this jumbling tower with Sora and I, if he doesn't mind," suggested Ness; Link and Cloud glanced at one another, and nodded their heads. "You and Link could join too if you want."

"Nah, I can get frustrated pretty easily...but Link will carry the burden for me," stated Cloud, patting Link on the shoulder. The Hylian, still racked with pain, flinched, nearly falling off of his crutches.

"Ow man, not so hard, that stings..." Link frowned at Cloud, even though Cloud didn't even pat him aggressively. "I mean, it's bad enough that I got this nagging headache going on...I can't trust Advil pills that much." First Sonic, and now Link...what does this mean for the other men who got injured in that backyard football game?

"Well in that case, it'll be just Ness, Sora, and R.O.B. playing. You should probably lie down on the sofa and get some rest Link, if your head is hurting you so. And you don't want to take any pills...your loss, bud."

So Sora finished up setting the jumbling tower back together, as Link rested on a nearby sofa, with his crutches on the floor. Once the jumbling tower was set back up again, it was Sora's turn to go first, as he took a brick from the tower. Afterwards it was Ness's turn, and he too took a brick from the tower...and much to his delight, the tower did not collapse. Then it was R.O.B.'s turn, and it pulled a brick from the tower...and the tower still didn't fall. R.O.B. had its arms up in the air, like it just won a robot fighting championship or something.

"I WON...HOORAY...I WON..." cheered R.O.B., as Ness and Sora just looked at one another. "TIME TO TELL THE WHOLE WORLD...I WON..."

"R.O.B., you just took a freaking brick from the tower, you haven't won yet," explained Cloud, as R.O.B. laughed sheepishly. First time the robot has probably ever laughed...about time it showed some character.

 **Cloud: R.O.B. laughed...R.O.B. legit laughed, and it was a genuine laugh too...not sure if I should feel shocked, or afraid, or some other feeling.**

* * *

The epic street race between Captain Falcon and Dante was intensifying, with the two racers racing throughout the entire city of Seattle, speeding through street lights and nearly running over walking pedestrians like it was nothing. Captain Falcon, who was brooding over his breakup with Nowi for an entire week, was now back in the racing spirit, reminiscing about his F-Zero days. Lara Croft, Falcon's taxi passenger, was holding unto her seat for dear life.

"When exactly is this race supposed to end?" asked Lara, who felt like throwing up all over her seat given how fast Captain Falcon was driving. It was way too fast for her own pleasure.

"Only got a few more laps to do, so just hang on tight!" exclaimed Captain Falcon, riding with the wind. To Lara, it felt like the race was going on forever, so Captain Falcon saying that there were only a few more laps to complete could mean that there were _many_ laps left in the race.

"Yo, Captain Falcon, you're not that bad of a racer, I see why you were F-Zero champion!" Dante called out to the taxi driver - wouldn't be surprising if the vigilante caught a few flies in the face.

"You're not that bad of a racer yourself, Dante - not bad for a demon-hunting vigilante like yourself! And I gotta admit, your motorcycle looks pretty sweet!"

"Thanks for the compliment man! Also I hear police sirens, I think the police are on to us!"

The police were indeed on to Captain Falcon and Dante, as a herd of police cars were chasing the two street racers down. Their police sirens could be heard from almost a mile away, and they were ringing loud in Falcon and Dante's ears.

"Great, now the police are chasing us..." worried Lana, looking behind her and seeing the red-and-blue lights flashing in an array. "Captain Falcon, you have to do something this instant!" she said to the driver, who was more concerned about winning the race than doing time in jail.

"Yes, Ms. Croft, I know _exactly_ what I must do..." Captain Falcon said in almost dramatic fashion, his eyes on the road. "...full speed ahead!" The taxi driver pressed hard on the gas pedal, increasing his speed, and Dante would increase his speed as well. Those two were bound for demolition.

* * *

Pit was down to only two faithful allies, after his previous allies were no longer in his disposal. Charles? Luigi and Daisy won't even let Pit near him. Vanguard 1? Was slain by Dark Pit earlier in the episode. George Washington? Master Hand refused to let the first president of the United States out of the Pokemon sanctuary. And for your information, George Washington was apparently a Girafarig.

But Pit couldn't care less if he was losing allies, for he had only one goal, and one goal in mind...deleting "Brother Kuro", a la Dark Pit, forever. This has been his end goal ever since he went "broken", and nobody was exactly sure why "Brother Kuro" had to be deleted, not even Kirby or Viridi!

"I can smell the scent of Brother Kuro, he must be nearby..." said Pit, using his "broken" senses to good use. As always, Kirby was with Pit, being on the lookout for Dark Pit. "Hurry Senor Kirby, we must find Brother Kuro, before it's too late!"

 **Pit: I have a premonition...a premonition from the Seven Deities...a premonition that details the moment, in which Brother Kuro will be DELETED! This moment will be WONDERFUL, and will not only be a victory for me, or for the Seven Deities...but for every confidant of mine in the Great War. *cackles like a villainous crackhead* Brother Kuro...his time will come.**

"Obsolete...obsolete...obsolete..." a female voice sang from far away, almost angelic. It was nothing like Azura's voice of _Fire Emblem_ fame, but it was still a very delightful sound to Pit, who stopped in place and placed a hand to his ear, to listen to the voice.

"Do you hear that, Senor Kirby, or are my ears deceiving me?" the angel asked his second-in-command, who could also hear the voice. But how could he? The pink puffball didn't even have any ears! Did he have auditory canals that couldn't be seen by the naked eye?

"Obsolete...obsolete...obsolete..." the voice grew louder and louder, pleasing Pit very much so; he wished to find out where this voice was coming from, so he could perhaps invite the singer to be his ally of sort in the "Great War".

"Follow me, Senor Kirby, we must find out where that voice is coming from!" Pit would lead Kirby through the hallways, getting closer and closer to the voice, and the angel and the pink puffball would stop in place, when they saw a floating imp floating a far distance from them, wearing a mask. "And just who are you supposed to be?"

"I am...I am one of the Seven Deities, here to make a...confrontation with you and Senor Kirby," explained this Deity, who was in fact Midna wearing a mask different from the one she wore back in episode 87. "The Deities have sent me to this location, the Mansion of Smash, for a premonition, one that affects you. May I take you to the place where this premonition shall take place?"

"Take me wherever you must, Deity! I'm sure this new premonition will be...WONDERFUL!" Pit exclaimed, raising his arms in the air. All of a sudden, Midna started to sympathize a little for Kirby...

* * *

Mario and Zelda were still at the customer service building, with Mario waiting outside a restroom. The plumber would wait for a good while until Zelda exited the restroom, before seeing Mario next to her and frowning.

"Got some nerve standing near the women's restroom like that..." the princess of Hyrule shook her head disapprovingly. "Surprised not a single woman slapped you...don't see a single red mark on my face."

"Wouldn't blame-a them...I'm too good to-a be slapped," remarked Mario, as Zelda rolled her eyes. "Anyways, now that we got-a the bill paid off, I still-a have that thing I need-a to tell you..."

"Not now, Mario, now's not the right time...let's just wait until our ride comes and picks us up. Try calling Captain Falcon's number, and see if he'll answer."

* * *

Unfortunately for Mario and Zelda, Captain Falcon wouldn't be able to answer any calls at all, for the taxi driver was still racing against Dante, with the police still hot on the racers' tails. Not even the sound of police sirens could slow the two racers down.

"Captain Falcon, we're going to crash and die if you keep driving reckless like this, stop it this instant!" Lara, still scared for her life, said to Captain Falcon, his eyes dead set on the road ahead of him. Where the heck was the finish line?!

"You're not my mother, Ms. Croft - I'm getting a little tired of your complaining!" Captain Falcon fired back, putting his passenger's life in danger. That was no way to treat a woman that he planned on asking out later.

"Yo, Captain Falcon, how about we finish our race at that pointy, tall building, the Space Needle?" Dante called out to the taxi driver; Captain Falcon had yet to give an answer, but Lara was nodding her head fast, wanting this race to end ASAP.

"Sure thing Dante, best place to end our race if you ask me! Don't think we're that far from the...ACK, GREY SQUIRREL!"

Captain Falcon had to swerve the taxi, when a grey squirrel crossed the street, and it caused the vehicle to spin around a little, before crashing into a nearby tree. Although the taxi was badly damaged, Captain Falcon and Lara were safe and unscathed, for the most part.

Suddenly, the police, as dozens of police cars were circled around Captain Falcon, their lights all flashing.

* * *

 **Coco: My gadget, the DNATector 3000...it actually worked! According to the data I've collected on the red glasses, the oculars belong to a Team Flare member, named Xerosic. My DNATector pulled up a picture of him...he must have some glasses collection or something. Layton said he originally received the glasses from Elite Four member Malva, which must mean Malva is doing some snooping around town. Wouldn't hurt if we have a former Team Flare member as part of the investigation, would it?**

Ness, Sora, and R.O.B. continued playing games in the lounge, and were ready to start a new game, with Link and Cloud chillin' on the sofas. Link's headache was slowly getting better, but the pain was still very much present.

"Hold up just a sec - this game won't be complete without a fourth player," stated Sora, as he and his buddies were about to play Apples to Apples. A much safer alternative to Cards Against Humanity, in terms of the overall nature - almost like a kiddie version. "We know Link and Cloud won't play with us...so who will?"

"Looking for a fourth player to play with you, eh? Well, the best player around has finally arrived, ready to make his mark!"

Everyone in the lounge looked towards the entrance, and saw a yellow man accompanied by an evil floating mask. Unless you don't care about descriptions, this duo was none other than Dr. Neo Cortex and Uka, both standing proud...well, only Cortex was the only one standing.

"Dr. Cortex's back again?" frowned Cloud, as he and Link got up and donned their weapons. Ness, Sora, and R.O.B. all got on the offensive, ready for any tricks Cortex tried to pull. But the mad doctor didn't have one single trick up his sleeve.

"Fellas, fellas, let's not be so hostile! I'm not here to hunt for Crash - in fact, Crash and I have made up...sort of...but things between us aren't as bad as they used to be! Just give me a chance to explain and maybe you'll...YOUCH!"

Cortex yelped in pain as he fell to the floor, an arrow stuck in his butt. Another arrow was fired, this one at Uka, but the mask dodged it with ease. These arrows came from none other than Toon Link and Young Link, the two young buddy cops arriving at the scene.

"State your business, Dr. Neo Cortex - have you come for Crash so you could take him to your evil lair and make him an evil minion?!" Toon Link asked the mad doctor, his foot placed over his back. "Or have you come to flirt with Crash's sister Coco, so you could kidnap her and turn her into a human and elope and..."

"Why I would never do such a gross thing! I may not know Coco's age, but still that's very creepy, and grosteque, even for me! Also, Coco isn't my type! Unhand me, uncouth fiend, before I have to use my ray gun...which I don't even have, frankly."

"Um, what the heck is going on here, why is there an arrow in Cortex's butt?" Coco appeared, holding one of Xerosic's many glasses in her hand. "What did Cortex do?"

"Cortex did nothing...other than being an evil villain and a recurring pest!" answered Young Link, with an arrow pointed at Cortex's face. "No worries Coco, we'll get this loser out of the mansion for good, and he'll never return again!"

"Guess you didn't get the memo about Cortex and Uka, huh? They're both going to stay at the mansion with us, Master Hand granted them residency!"

Toon Link, Young Link, Link, Cloud, Ness, R.O.B., Sora...they all couldn't believe this. In fact, they all simultaneously said "WHAT?!" after Coco announced the news. The idea of Cortex and Uka at the mansion was almost unfathomable for all of them, most of them thought Coco was joking.

 **Ness: Don't mind Uka at all, but Cortex's stay will be temporary...right? Right?**

 **Cloud: Every day we stray further from God's light...and every day I feel like revoking my mansion residency status.**

 **Toon Link: A month ago, Cortex put Luigi and Daisy's baby in serious danger. Now he gets to live at the mansion?  
Young Link: That's like giving Osama bin Laden a job at the White House for destroying the Twin Towers...but on a lesser scale, of course.**

"Yeah, Cortex and Uka were both thrown inside a garbage bin by Jakob after Cortex refereed that football game...so Jakob's status is kinda iffy at the moment," explained Coco. "Cortex made a very convincing case to Master Hand for why he deserved to stay, and even promised not to harm Crash...and now he and Uka are official mansion residents. Oh, and R.O.B., I ran a test on these glasses, and they belong to a Team Flare member, not Dr. Eggman. Hopefully you weren't bogged down about screwing up last week..."

"IT'S OKAY, I GOT OVER IT...THANKS TO NESS AND SORA..." stated R.O.B., having felt better after playing a few games with the PSI whiz and the Keyblade wielder. "ALSO, CORTEX TAKING AN ARROW TO THE BUTT...NOW THAT WAS FUNNY..." R.O.B. was laughing, and it was a very robotic laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.

"Glad to see that you're having fun, R.O.B.," Cloud said to the robot, as it continued laughing. It was crying tears of laughter...figuratively speaking, that was.

* * *

Midna would guide Pit and Kirby to a room, where the so-called "premonition" was to take place. This room was behind a door - a door where Hisui and Lucina were standing in front of, with Hisui handing Lucina the spray bottle from earlier.

"Thanks for letting me use your spray bottle, Lucina," thanked Hisui...which meant that Link was right all along! Hisui and Lucina would go their separate ways, as Midna, Pit, and Kirby arrived at their destination.

"The premonition takes place behind this very door," explained Midna, as Pit was rubbing his hands excitedly. He couldn't wait to see what was inside. "Enter in, and receive your premonition..."

So Pit chattered his teeth in excitement, as he and Kirby opened the door and stepped inside the room, which was emitting smoke. It was pitch-black - hard to tell which way you were going.

"Obsolete...obsolete...obsolete..." the lovely voice returned, but this time joined by other voices, almost like a choir was singing to Pit and Kirby. Kirby didn't care as much, but Pit...oh man, he was _so_ happy.

"Yes, the voice of loveliness has returned, and it has returned with more voices, all of which sound INTOXICATING!" exclaimed the angel, as the voices grew louder and louder, until they stopped momentarily. This made Pit very confused.

Obsolete...obsolete...obsolete..." a different voice was singing this time, but only with a guitar accompaniment. Pit would be even more confused, but all the confusion would go away, when the lights were instantly turned on...

Pit and Kirby found themselves in the center of the now lit room, surrounded by Tsubasa, Eleonora, Kiria, Mamori, Yashiro, and K.K. Slider - all of them were wearing masks similar to Midna's.

"Pit...we knew you'd come," said K.K. Slider, as Midna descended from above. "We all knew you'd come..." Pit looked afraid, as Midna was looking at him, dead in the eye.

 **Fox: Yeah...K.K. Slider isn't as "country" as we hoped, but he's still pretty effective. Dude could make a dying goat sound pleasing and tolerable.**

"Us Seven Deities have been disappointed with your performance, Pit..." Midna said to the shivering Pit, uncertain of his fate. "For weeks you were supposed to DELETE Brother Kuro, but the hourglass is now empty, your time is up...do you know what this means?"

"...I get another chance?" asked Pit, as the other "Deities" drew near. Something big was about to go down.

"No, you don't get another chance. Instead, you will no longer be in the Great War, and your entire existence will be utterly destroyed. Pit, by the power of the Seven Deities, you have been rendered... _obsolete._ "

The building tension would build up even more, as K.K. Slider strummed his guitar rapidly for dramatic effect and the "Seven Deities" drew closer and closer to Pit. Soon, they would all gang up on the Pit, bringing him down to the floor, as Pit screamed for help...

...but nobody bothered to help the angel. Not even "Senor" Kirby.

* * *

Captain Falcon was unable to answer any of Mario's calls, for obvious reasons, so after Mario called Master Hand and asked for a ride, he and Zelda had to wait outside the customer service building for someone to pick them up. Master Hand's Lamborghini would show up - with Master Hand being present, of course - and driving this Lamborghini was Ayaha, who looked uncomfortable about driving for the first time. In the seat next to Ayaha was Isabelle.

"Sorry if we took longer than expected - a bunch of kids were playing Frisbee, and I took their Frisbee and threw it far, far away, just to mess with them," explained Master Hand, who was doing typical Master Hand things. "It'll be a miracle if they find that thing...so! Was the bill paid off?"

"Yes, we won't have to worry about our services being turned off," answered Zelda. "I see that you have Ayaha driving your dream car..." Boy, did Ayaha look uninterested (and afraid) behind the wheel.

"I just want this nightmare to end..." sighed Ayaha, her impatient fingers tapping on the steering wheel. "Please get inside the car, before I go crazy..."

So Mario and Zelda, not wanting Ayaha to snap, got inside the Lamborghini, and Ayaha would drive off, heading to the Smash Mansion. During this ride, Isabelle felt the need to share some important info with Mario and Zelda.

"Captain Falcon's first day as a taxi driver didn't go so well..." the shih tzu stated, making Mario and Zelda wish she would get to the details besides stating the blatantly obvious. "Apparently he got into a street race with a motorcycle driver, and crashed his taxi and got arrested. Don't know what happened to the driver he was racing against."

"Oh my goodness, that's-a terrible!" exclaimed Mario, with an important question spurred in his mind. "Did Captain Falcon have-a any passengers in his-a taxi while the race was-a going on?"

"I'm afraid so - it was a female passenger, whom Falcon was supposed to take to the nearest airport," replied master Hand, whose presence over his Lamborghini made drivers on the road curious and scared at the same time. "She didn't get hurt that bad - paramedics took her to a hospital, checked her out, and released her afterwards. So she's fine..."

 **Master Hand: The female passenger in question was Lara Croft - met her at the hospital shortly after the car crash took place. Sadly she has missed her flight to London, and currently has insufficient funds to purchase another plane ticket...sucks to be her! *laughs evilly***

* * *

When the coast was clear, Dark Pit entered the room where Pit's "premonition" took place, and saw the angel, lying on the floor with his eyes closed. He was back to his usual self - no black clothes, and no white streak in his hair. To make sure Pit was truly back to normal, Dark Pit tiptoed over to the angel, to wake him up.

"Pit, can you hear me?" the doppelganger knelt down at the angel's side, shaking him aggressively. "Wake up already, I know you aren't dead!" Pit slowly opened up his eyes, and saw Dark Pit, looking at him...and smiled.

"Dark Pit...it's you!" the angel exclaimed, as he hugged Dark Pit, making his doppelganger counterpart feel confused. "Thanks so much for playing along, I just knew you would come around!"

"'Playing along'? Dude, I wasn't even playing with you, I just did my best to ignore you and avoid you at all costs! I would've beat the snot out of ya, but it wasn't worth my time..."

"But you were still engaging with me, so that constitutes as playing along! I should thank Viridi and Kirby for playing along too! Oh man, I can already tell our YouTube channel's gonna spike in views..."

"Wait, so this stupid 'broken' crap was for some dumb YouTube channel?! That's it, I'm done, I'm outta here..." Dark Pit broke away from Pit's hug, as he got up and walked out. Chasing after Dark Pit was Fox and Falco, wanting to know if their plan was a success.

* * *

Master Hand and company returned to the Smash Mansion, with Ayaha parking the Lamborghini in the driveway and quickly getting out, visibly shook. The passengers would also get out, with Zelda and Isabelle heading to the mansion, and Mario returning to his home.

When Mario stepped foot inside his house, he was generally surprised to see Peach speaking with another woman, on the living room couch. This woman had brown hair, tied up in a ponytail, and was speaking with a British accent.

"Our wedding cake was quite big - so big, that getting it to the reception was a very complicated task," Peach was telling the brunette a story about her wedding, when she looked up and saw Mario, closing the front door behind him. "Oh, Mario, you've returned! We have a very special person among us! Just came from the hospital!"

The brunette would stand up, and turn to face Mario...revealing herself to be none other than Lara Croft. Mario was stunned to see the tomb raider in his own house, let alone in the city of Seattle.

"Mario, this is Lara Croft, Lara, this is my husband Mario," Peach would introduce the two to each other. "Surely you're familiar with one another already..."

"Of all-a the people...I would-a never expect to meet-a you," Mario said to Lara, who could only smile. The plumber felt sweaty, standing in the presence of the mighty Lara Croft. "So this, this is-a quite the occasion..."

"Pretty sure it is, Mr. Mario," replied Lara, as Mario wiped the seat off his face. "I was supposed to take a flight back to London, but thanks to Captain Falcon, I instead got involved in a street race AND a car crash, and missed my flight...and now I don't have enough funds to afford another plane ticket. So I'm stuck here, for the time being..."

"That's-a okay, you're more than-a welcome to stay with-a us for the time being! We have a guest-a room. And I see that you have your suit-a case too. So you'll feel-a right at home!"

"That would be absolutely splendid! Thank you very much. I would start unpacking my things, but first...where is the bathroom?" Peach would point to where the bathroom was, as Lara headed in that direction. Once the tomb raider was gone, Peach came closer to Mario, wanting to speak with him in private.

"Yoshi just informed me that Cortex and Uka have been added to the mansion," said the princess, making Mario's eyes go wide. "Cortex told Master Hand that he and Uka were thrown inside a garbage bin by Jakob, so I'm assuming they got in out of sympathy."

 **Cortex: *doing some weird dance* We're staying at the mansion, we're staying at the mansion...we should celebrate, Uka! Why not have a huge celebration, with flashing lights and confetti, and noisemakers for all!  
** **Uka: Quit being so over the top Cortex, this isn't a New Year's Eve party! Celebrating also isn't my thing - when was the last time I ever celebrated your birthday?  
Cortex: Never, in fact...you don't even know when my birthday is...to be honest, I don't know either!**

"Yeah, I've been-a getting a hitch about-a Jakob..." said Mario, stroking his mustache. Jakob was on his mind for a majority of the episode. "Taking into account what-a he did to Cortex, and the whole gossip-a hullabaloo...I believe Jakob deserves-a some punishment."

* * *

Speaking of whom, Jakob was at some unknown location in Seattle, speaking with Dante, who was on his motorcycle ready to drive off. What was the butler up to this time?

"By initiating that street race with Captain Falcon, and landing him in jail...you sir, have progressed my plans," Jakob said to Dante, not yet revealing the full extent of what his plans were. "So I thank you for obliging."

"No problem man, glad I was able to do you a solid," grinned Dante, revving up his motorcycle. "Sucks for me, now that I have to drive all the way back to the All-Star Manor..." You know that would be a very long ride.

"Yes, yes, but before you go...about this All-Star Manor...Isabelle once spoke of a person there...by the name of Raiden..."

"Yup, I know him - former child soldier from Liberia, has post-traumatic street disorder, knows cool ninja moves...what about him?"

"Is he...is he still around?"


	92. Episode 92: Karaoke

_Author's Note:_

 _The 100th chapter is fastly approaching...and to mark the occassion, I've posted a new poll on my profile page. Since I'm a generous dude, I'm allowing everyone with an account up to TWENTY (yes, twenty) choices to pick from. The votes you cast in the poll will be integral for the story going forward. On to the guest reviews:_

 _"Will you include the Fire Emblem characters from Genealogy of the Holy War and Thracia 776? Bruce and Fong from Resident Evil: Dead Aim? Is Yuffie using her Mae Whitman voice? How soon will Morrigan and Lilith appear? The Final Fantasy XIII and XV crew meeting each other? Will Berkut and Rinea become Smash Mansion residents if they show up? And finally, do you believe the theory that Walhart is Alm's descendant?"_

 _Maybe. Perhaps. Yuffie is using her Mae Whitman voice. Don't know when Morrigan and Lilith will appear. Same goes for the FFXIII and XV crew meeting one another. Berkut and Rinea are going to show up, and they might be residents. And no, I do not believe the Walhart theory. But Walhart does look like a Japanese demon, though. The other review comes from Derick Lindsey:_

 _"Also I was surprised you never mentioned or referenced anything about Sonic Mania the week it came out unless you're waiting till Sonic Forces to come out to reference it since the two games are a two part story."_

 _Yeah, totally forgot about Sonic Mania...but I can wait until Sonic Forces is released to make some Sonic magic happen._

* * *

 **Episode 92: Karaoke**

Jakob, who was already on pretty good terms with Master Hand, suddenly found himself in hot water with the creator of the Smash universe himself. The butler, who has been yearning for a full-fledged butler job at the mansion, had done a lot of sneaky things over the past couple of weeks, such as corrupting Mario's computer, spreading gossip around the mansion, and throwing Cortex and Uka inside the garbage bin outside.

While Jakob's reputation was taking a huge hit, he would receive another blow to his status when Cortex, a newcomer to the mansion alongside, Uka, informed Master Hand earlier in the week about how he was instructed by Jakob to convince the players in the backyard football game to hurt one another, giving each other concussions and such. And Master Hand didn't like that one bit - he felt like the football game was tarnished as a result of Jakob's influence.

Wanting some answers, Master Hand told Jakob to meet him in his room, so they could discuss Jakob's time at the mansion, and if Jakob had any underlying motives. Jakob did say that he had a master plan up his sleeve, so this could be the episode in which we learn what this plan was.

 **Jakob: Do I feel like my days at the mansion are being numbered? If I were being cynical, I would say yes, but during times like these, you have to remain optimistic, and feel good about your chances...then again, I'm not the most optimistic person in the world, I can be quick to criticize people, but just because you criticize others doesn't mean that you're a cynic, you're just speaking from a heart, without a filter, and most optimistic people are like that. Yet Corrin and Kamui are optimistic themselves, and I don't see them criticize anyone. Maybe criticism isn't in their nature, but wouldn't that mean criticizing other people has nothing to do with being optimistic? *sighs* Raiden can't come here any sooner...**

"Let's start off with that whole gossip thing," Master Hand started things off with Jakob, in a meeting that had a bit of a job evaluation feel to it. "Why on earth were you spreading those false rumors in the first place? And how did you come up with those rumors, too? Gotta admit, Akira Yuki being a long-lost relative of Bruce Lee sure sounded creative."

"I haven't seen much strife at the mansion, so I wanted to see how the residents reacted to dealing with friction," explained Jakob; it was hard for Master Hand to tell if the butler was speaking the truth, or lying through his tongue. "To see people angry about the rumors about them spread around, wanting to know if the rumors were true or not, constantly debating with one another...I used it as a gauge of sorts, to determine who the believers and non-believers were."

"Okay then, now as for the football game, why did you have Cortex be a referee so he could tell the players to hurt one another? Do you have any idea how much trouble I would be in if the local community found out about the senseless violence that took place?!"

"Well, I think we can all agree that head injuries are an accepted risk of playing football, at any level or variation, so we can't look past that. Also, I was just...having someone dish out punishments, that's all. There's a reason why Touma and Olimar, along with the Mario Bros, weren't affected."

"Alright, so tell me why each and every person that got injured deserved to be 'punished', since I can hardly imagine why a lowkey guy like Lucario would receive punishment, whether physical or verbal." It seemed like the odds were against Jakob, but the butler was ready to give out his excuses.

"For starters, Lucario...he never really went public with his relationship with Lopunny, unlike any of the other males that are..."

"Like anyone is supposed to care about some stupid Pokemon relationship...you wouldn't see Red's rival Blue bragging about his Pokemon being in love, would you?"

"And as for Wario, he has all the money in the world, and yet he has never given back to the community..."

"Gave a cool ten thousand bucks to the Seattle Children's Hospital over a month ago. It was genuine too - nobody forced him to do it!"

"I'm pretty sure the residents have been complaining about the Flying Man being so annoying and over the top with his heroics, so I wanted to teach him a lesson..."

"That's funny, because I've yet to hear such a complaint AT ALL. And if they did have any complaints, they know they would come to me!"

"Sonic has been such a jerk for such a long time, and it was about time he was given some comeuppance for his behavior..."

"Which is why he's on dish-washing duty, for weeks on end. Bet you he's slacking off on his duties right now!"

"Falco could be the one behind the hotel attack, the propane purchased was under Star Records' name after all, and he might be working in secret with Fox...his reaction to the hotel footage could've been faked..."

"Why would Fox or Falco plot a random attack on Mario and Peach's wedding day for, what was there for them to gain, what were their motives? Do you know something that I don't?"

After that remark from Master Hand, Jakob couldn't really say anything else. He really had no valid excuse for Crash, King Dedede, Red the Pokemon Trainer, and others, and if he did, Master Hand would shoot those excuses down real quick anyways. The relationship Jakob had with Master Hand was dangerously close to reaching Michael Scott-Ryan Howard levels - no matter what the butler did, Master Hand would show him love and support. Jakob could literally kill Mario and kidnap Peach, and Master Hand would still give the man props. But now it seemed like that relationship was definitely souring.

 **Master Hand: Entertaining the idea of having a butler at the mansion was a bad idea on my part - the residents wouldn't know how to handle it. They would treat the butler with blatant disrespect, and mess with his belongings, and make him do stupid things or partake in their stupid adventures. In short, the butler would've been Mario 2.0. But with more formal duties.**

"I'm not liking what I'm seeing from you as of late, Jakob, and I don't like the people speaking very poorly about your presence," Master Hand said to Jakob. The butler didn't care for the latter part, he could care less what people thought of him. "For those reasons alone, I'm officially placing you on probation, until further notice. I'll be keeping an even closer eye on everything you do under this mansion roof, and I'll ask the others about your performance as well, before I make a decision on whether you should be the official butler of the mansion or not. Capiche?"

"Yes, Master Hand, I fully understand - I won't disappointed you, I promise," promised Jakob, although that promise could very well be a lie. Given the stuff the butler has done in recent episodes, he could very well be fibbing to Master Hand. You would have to be the ultimate savage to lie to Master Hand's...face.

"Good. I expect better from you, Jakob - I would _loathe_ to give Cilan the butler title. Got nothing against the guy, but he can be so happy and carefree and easygoing, all the time...the residents would have an absolute field day taking advantage of that man!"

Master Hand would leave his room, to embark on some business. Jakob was unsure what Master Hand would have to do during this time - probably wanted to scare the jeepers out of someone - but with the giant hand gone, it gave Jakob some private time, to be with himself and reflect on the conversation he had. The butler could no longer do any shady stuff, for Master Hand told him he would "be keeping an ever closer eye on everything" he did.

Raiden couldn't come any sooner...what would be Raiden's purpose at the mansion anyways?

* * *

As stated by Jakob earlier, the propane used in the hotel attack was purchased under the Star Records' name - it even showed up under the record company's bank statement, which was conspicuously found in the living back in episode 82. But Itsuki, one of the heads of Star Records along with Fox and Falco, didn't give a care about this issue, for he felt that someone purchased the propane under Star Records just to make the record company look suspicious. Fox and Falco felt the same way, though they weren't as carefree as Itsuki felt about the whole thing.

Itsuki was in the cafe, reading news on his cellphone and enjoying some afternoon coffee, to keep him up and alert. As the young man took a sip from his coffee, a good friend of his entered the cafe, all smiles. This friend, the peppy idol singer by the name of Tsubasa, walked over to Itsuki, peering over his shoulder and looking at his phone.

"Whatcha looking at?" Tsubasa asked Itsuki, who wasn't alarmed by the idol singer's presence at all. Itsuki was always calm and collected; nothing could startle him, not even the most wicked thunderbolt from Pikachu.

"Just catching up on the news from _The Japan Times,_ that's all," replied Itsuki; _The Japan Times_ was Japan's largest and oldest English-language newspaper. "Read it a lot during my down time, I try and stay away from all the controversial stuff if I can. Me and controversy, we don't go hand-in-hand..."

"I see...so, are you busy tonight? K.K. Slider is hosting something in the gaming room - don't know the full details yet, but by the sound of it, there'll probably be a lot of people there. Would you be interested in coming with me?"

"I'm sorry Tsubasa, but I don't think I can make it. You know how busy it can be being one of the heads of Star Records." Not the kind of answer Tsubasa wanted nor expected, but with Itsuki being in charge of Star Records, his answer was understandable.

"Alright then - just let me know if you change your mind!" Tsubasa would leave the cafe...but not before giving Itsuki a kiss on the cheek. Itsuki, who was diligently reading the text on his phone, dropped his cellphone to the floor as he suddenly found himself in a trance of sorts, just staring into space and rubbing the cheek Tsubasa just kissed.

 **Itsuki: Tsubasa kissed me...Tsubasa actually...she actually kissed me...this is... *nods head and smiles* ...this is quite literally unexpected.**

"And that, Mr. Lombardi, is why buttered popcorn tastes much better with chocolate syrup on top," Fox conversed with his buddy Falco, as the two pilots entered the cafe. Upon arrival, the pilot duo saw Itsuki, still sitting at his seat, his little trance still very much intact. Dude was really out of his element. "Yo, Itsuki, is everything alright, you look pretty spaced out..."

"Fox, you won't believe what just happened..." were the only words Itsuki could say, still staring in space. Way to leave Falco out of the equation.

* * *

Nobody was enjoying their week more than Dr. Neo Cortex, the newest addition to the Smash Mansion alongside his guardian mask, Uka. The mad scientist was strutting his stuff through the hallways, pointing at random ladies such as Samus and Celica and grinning, before giving them a wink as they went their way and rolled their eyes behind Cortex's back. Cortex wasn't sure if everyone was being nice and considerate to him because it was his first week, but he didn't care - this was the most lively he had ever felt in a long time. Not even Uka, who was accompanying him, could bring him down.

"Why must you constantly point and wink at the women even though you're undeserving of them?" the evil witchdoctor mask questioned Cortex, who just pointed and winked at Marth, apparently unaware that the hero-king was a dude. "Pretty sure you just winked at a guy right there, don't even try to defend yourself..."

"If that were the case, why would he be wearing a tiara?" questioned Cortex, stopping in place and sparking an argument with Uka. "What man would sacrifice their manliness and wear some dumb tiara on their head for?" Marth, offended by Cortex's comments, leaned in closer so he could eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Maybe he's just making some fashion statement and trying to prove that men can wear tiaras. He looks like he's from medieval times, so their sense of style could be much more different compared to modern times."

"Oh please - I've journeyed to the medieval times before, and I've never seen a man wearing a tiara - most of the men I saw wore crowns! Also, if that blue-haired woman is supposedly a 'man', then explain the hairstyle in slender body!"

"For your information, good sir, this is NOT a tiara - it's just a small crown," Marth joined in on the conversation, having heard enough. "And just because I have a girly hairstyle, and a slim body, doesn't mean that I'm not manly! We've known each other for a week now, you should've known already that I'm a man..."

"I dunno, Marth sounds like a pretty girly name to me. Names like Mark and Martin would be a _far_ better name choice for a royal prince." Unable to bear Cortex's mouth anymore, Marth was ready to take out his Falchion and teach the mad scientist a lesson...before he looked up and saw a certain winged fellow, flying up high near the ceiling and holding a Nerf gun in his hands.

"RUN!" the hero-king shouted, as he ran off; Cortex and Uka looked at one another, confused, before a soft dart was fired at Cortex, nailing him in the eye. The mad scientist clutched his eye and fell to the floor, as Uka chuckled heartlessly. Pit would fly down from the ceiling, Nerf gun in hand, to check on Cortex, who was writhing in pain.

"Dr. Cortex, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your eye like that!" Pit apologized to the mad scientist, who was moaning and yelping in pain. "I was trying to aim for Marth, but he saw me and ran off, and somehow I nailed you in your eye instead. Would have been funnier if I got you in the nether regions...or maybe not." Yeah, Cortex would never forgive Pit if he was attacked below the belt.

 **Pit: Kirby and I got ourselves these wicked awesome Nerf guns, from the money we earned from our YouTube channel. We had all our videos monetized thanks to Kirby linking up our channel with his Google AdSense account. You had to be eighteen years or older to sign up, but nobody honestly knows Kirby's age...  
Kirby: I've never understood the whole "have to be eighteen years or older" thing at all. You're telling me that you can't trust someone between 11 to 17 years of age to make a phone call and purchase some famous toy for their little brother or sister? What's the worse that could happen - some sexual predator on the other line hooks up with the caller, and gains all their information and stalks them to no end?! Give me a break...  
Pit: Remember that one time when you called Nightmare Enterprises to get that Secret Santa gift for Samus, before you got that voice thingy? The guy on the other line seriously thought you were a two-month old baby!  
Kirby: Please Pit, don't remind me...**

"You fired that dart at Cortex's eye?" Uka confronted Pit, who was worried that the mask would chastise him...if he understood Uka's relationship with Cortex any better, the angel would have expected the complete opposite. "I cannot thank you enough for giving that man what he deserves! Been irritating me all day with his constant flirting...thinks he's a ladies man or something."

"Nothing wrong with that - I like to consider myself a ladies man as well!" exclaimed Pit. Having a girlfriend in Viridi doesn't qualify you as one, Pit. Sometimes, you gotta get around, like the now imprisoned Captain Falcon. "...but only Kirby believes me. You don't have to flirt 24/7 to be a hoot with the ladies."

"That's what I've been trying to tell Cortex..well, about the flirting bit anyways. Poor guy has devoted so much time to villainy and being such a horrible villain, that I frankly believe his romantic life has already been buried in its grave. I would give Cortex romantic pointers, but I'm a floating mask, can't remember the last time I had to deal with love...also, Cortex isn't worthy of my advice anyways."

"I can hear that, you know!" said Cortex, lying on the floor and consoling his now blackened eye. So far, Pit has not given a single care about helping the mad scientist back to his feet.

"Ooh, you can hear me, well don't you feel special..." Uka had this to say before turning his attention to Pit. "You know kid, you're not so bad - granted you aren't the smartest kid around, but you make up for it with your charm...something Cortex could never do."

"I don't really have a charm to begin with...but I do have this friendship necklace Viridi got for me." Pit dug into his pocket, and pulled out a friendship necklace for Uka to see. It was adorned with hearts, all of which signified the love Pit and Viridi had for each other. "Took me a good while to find out that the hearts weren't candy...think I nearly choked on one."

"Yeah...so how about I follow you around, all day long, like I do with Cortex...or _used_ to do with Cortex, rather." Cortex, finally making it to his feet, looked on in shock - was Uka betraying him?! And for a non-villainous goody two shoes in Pit? "Are you down with that?"

"You got yourself a deal, evil mask guy!" exclaimed Pit, and so the angel walked away, Nerf gun in hand...and Uka following him along the way. Uka would turn around too look at Cortex, just for a good minute, before looking forward. Was this the end of the Cortex-Uka partnership?

"Uka, you can't leave me alone like this, certainly we can work something out..." Cortex called out to the mask, who did not respond. "Ooh, I know, I'll start a villainous group, with Bowser and Ganondorf, and the three of us will take over the world! You like that idea, right Uka?...Uka?"

* * *

 **Daisy: My darling husband Luigi has been feeling very...festive tonight, and wanted to throw a Mexican party at our home. He managed to hook up with Rayman and his friends over the week, and got a lot of party materials for his little "fiesta"...party hats, sombreros, a pinata, maracas...heck, some guy in a jalapeno costume even showed up! Better keep his distance away from Charles if he values his life. Mario and Peach were kind enough to come over and help set everything up, and their guest wanted to help out as well.**

 **Lara Croft: First time I've ever been invited to a fiesta, although I wasn't really invited to begin with...I just wanted to show Mario's brother some appreciation, that's all. Mario and Peach have been so kind to me during my first week at their home, so I wanted to give back a little token of my gratitude and do a favor for their next-door neighbors. The end goal during my stay, however, is to accumulate as much money as possible to purchase another plane ticket and get back to London ASAP. Wonder if Mario has any gold coins I could use?**

Mario, Peach, Luigi, and Daisy were busy setting up decorations in the living room for the big fiesta, while Lana and the Jalapeno costume dude were setting up the pinata, with Lara on the ladder and the costumed fellow pulling the string. We'll just call the guy in the jalapeno costume Mr. Jalapeno, just for the sake of convenience.

"Now don't eat too much food now, Mario - you know you're allergic to Hispanic food!" Peach reminded Mario, as the two lovebirds were setting up table decorations. "We can't afford to have you make routine trips to the bathroom!"

"I'm-a not allergic to Hispanic food - in fact, I don't-a think such an allergy exists!" Mario defended himself, always feeling ticked whenever someone spoke about the intense beef Hispanic food had with him. "My stomach just-a can't handle Hispanic food, that's all!"

"I dunno, Mario - that definitely sounds like a legit allergy to me!" Peach smiled, as Mario scoffed at this idea of him having such an allergy, and even being allergic to anything at all. Elsewhere, Lara and Mr. Jalapeno were still busy setting up the pinata, and a very interesting thought entered Mr. Jalapeno's head...

"Do you funny it funny how when you hit the pinata, candy spills out from its butt?" the costumed man asked Lara, who dared not to answer such a perverted question. Any question that pertained to a body part such as the butt should never really required a well-formulated answer.

"It does sound rather amusing, I suppose," Lara shrugged, which was perhaps the only thing she could do given the strange question she was asked. She could tell Mr. Jalapeno was doing his best to stifle his laughter under that red costume of his.

"What's even funnier is that when you eat candy, it gets digested and goes down your body, and then it exits out of...you know where the candy exits?" Mr. Jalapeno asked Lara yet again - another question Lara felt uncomfortable answering. She had to bite her bottom lip for this one.

"Can't say I do, do tell..." Once again, Lara had to play it safe, especially with Mr. Jalapeno sounding like he was quickly on the verge of hysterical laughter. The answer to his strange question could not be pretty in the slightest.

"The candy, after being eaten and going down the digestive tract, comes out...FROM THE BUTT!" And just like that, Mr. Jalapeno found himself in a hysterical laughing fit, dropping the string as he fell to the floor laughing, sending the pinata to the floor, much to Lara's display. Mario and company just looked at Mr. Jalapeno during his laughing fit, all mutually agreeing in their heads that he was beyond crazy, before resuming their work.

"Thought I told-a Rayman he should have brought-a some Mexican guy with a sombrero and a guitar to-a my fiesta instead..." Luigi would tell his wife Daisy. "But that would have-a been too racist anyways, unless they had some-a skeleton with a Meixcan-a mustache. Anyone would be-a fine with that. Also, where's-a Yuffie?"

"Yuffie's going around the mansion spreading the word about your little fiesta, it was the least she could do," answered Daisy, after Mr. Jalapeno's laughing fit finally came to an end. "She did want to avoid doing any work, so there's that..."

* * *

Out of all the dudes playing in that backyard football game, none of them had it worse than Link. Poor Hylian was dealing with nagging headaches, migraines, and other head-related symptoms all week along, and had to spend 90 percent of his time in his bed, to rest and heal. The other ten percent included things like going to the bathroom, or chasing down the Koopalings whenever his green hat was stolen.

 **Leia: After diagnosing the ten injured players, it turns out that Link and the Flying Man have worse symptoms compared to the others. Everyone pretty much has the more moderate symptoms, so their injuries aren't that bad, and won't be long-term. Two individuals managed to get out of dodge, however - Lucario, because of his constant meditating and berry eating, which easily heals his head and the rest of his body, and Crash, who I'm pretty sure doesn't have a brain. Might have a Wumpa Fruit in place of where his brain should be.**

 **Cloud: Cortex confirmed to Master Hand that he was named referee of the football game by Jakob so he could carry out Jakob's motives of having certain players injured... *folds arms* ...but I can't say I'm _entirely_ surprised, figured Jakob was up to no good. As I've told Dark Pit and Snake before, he has something up his sleeve, and I think Master Hand and Mario are starting to find out...took 'em long enough.**

"Ow, my head, my aching head..." moaned Link, as he was rubbing his head in pain. The Hylian was lying in his bed, with a blanket and pillow over his head, to keep himself away from the light. Cloud was on the opposite bed, checking out the hidden _NES Golf_ copy on the Nintendo Switch system, in its portable mode. "Wish I could get some...Magic Hammer and bang my head with it and make all the pain and suffering go away..." Cloud felt the need to get away from Link, for he could not bear the Hylian's complaining anymore.

"You know what, I'm gonna get myself a quick bite to eat," said Cloud, getting off of his bed and taking the Switch with him. "Can I get you anything Link, like a potion or...well I don't know...some headache pills." Link refused to take any pills for his head, for whatever reason.

"No thanks, I ran out of potions, thanks to Ashley...but if you see Midna flying around, please tell her to keep my distance from me as far as possible. I'd hate for her to run her mouth incessantly in my presence, like she tends to do a lot, and make my headache worse..."

"Gotcha. But if she comes through the walls or anything like that...then I can't stop her, so you gotta be on the lookout. I'll turn off the lights, if it makes you feel any better. Doubt it..."

So Cloud turned the lights off and exited the room, continuing on his way while playing _NES Golf._ He wouldn't that far when he encountered his ninja friend Yuffie, who was standing in front of him to ensure that the swordsman didn't mindlessly walk away and ignore her.

"Hey Cloud...are you busy tonight?" Yuffie asked the swordsman, trying to win him over with her cute, adorable smile. But Cloud didn't do cute or adorable - at times, he found those traits to be sickening.

"Wish I could say yes," replied Cloud, moving around Yuffie before continuing down the hallway. Knowing the frustration that came with getting Cloud to agree upon participating in fun activities, Yuffie had to chase Cloud down the hallway, keeping herself in distance with the swordsman.

"Luigi and Daisy are having a Mexican fiesta at their place, and I was wondering if you were interested! Who knows, Aerith might be there!" With the possibility of Aerith being at the fiesta, Cloud was tempted to say yes...but the swordsman remembered who was cooking diner tonight...Palutena, the most amateur cooking around. A definite yes from Cloud was in order now.

"Sounds like it would be worth going, Aerith would make the experience more enjoyable for me. Unless Mario chows down too much Mexican food, and starts gassing up all over the place. As bad as the probability of that happening sounds, he can't possibly outdo Wario."

"Ain't that the truth...hope to see you soon!" With the nod of his head, Cloud kept walking down the hallway, playing _NES Golf_ on the Switch, as Yuffie continued to spread the news about Luigi's fiesta. She would make her way to the ball pit room when she was approached by K.K. Slider, wielding his trusty guitar.

"Howdy Yuffie, how's my favorite ninja doing today?" the hippie dog asked the ninja girl, making Sheik, Greninja, and Asuka feel unloved. "I'm hosting Karaoke Night at the gaming room tonight, there's gonna be lots of food and appetizers for all! Savin' everyone from Lady Palutena's chili - last time I had her chili, a large tentacle came out from my bowl and tried to choke me. Even when I cried for help, nobody bothered to save me..."

 **K.K. Slider: Asked Master Hand if I could hold Karaoke Night at the gaming room, and once I got the thumbs up, it was a go! I had to give Master Hand a list of karaoke-worthy songs, and he not only approved the list, but also added some songs as well. Didn't get a chance to look at the added songs myself, but if I see "Barbie Girl" on the list, then Karaoke Night is cancelled...you know what, I can't wait to find out. *takes out song list, glosses over songs, and lets out a relieved sigh* Phew, "Barbie Girl" is nowhere to be found. My ears can rest easy tonight.**

"Luigi and Daisy are having a Mexican fiesta at their place, and they're gonna have lots of food, too..." Yuffie found herself stroking her chin, evaluating her options, debating whether she should attend the fiesta, or Karaoke Night. After thinking for a good while, the ninja girl made up her mind. "I'll just hang out with you and the others at the gaming room, especially if there's karaoke involved!"

"Groovy - hopefully Luigi and Daisy wouldn't mind your absence," said K.K. Slider. We'll just have to see about that. "I'll catch you later tonight, cool cat!" K.K. Slider smiled as he walked away, playing a joyous tune on his guitar.

"It will be a fabulous time, I'll guarantee you that!" Yuffie called out to K.K. Slider, as she walked down the hall, likely to inform others about the fiesta that she was no longer going to be attending.

Shortly after Yuffie and K.K. Slider went their own separate ways, a familiar cyborg would reveal his identity, turning off his stealth camouflage once the coast was clear and taking out his sword. Not only was this individual a cyborg, but he was also a ninja, a mercenary, a former child soldier...and for one episode, a kidnapper!

"About time I paid these Smash Mansion denizens a quick visit..." said this kidnapping ninja cyborg mercenary dude...a dude known to many as Raiden.

* * *

Cortex, dealing with a black eye, felt solemn and bitter about Uka ditching him for Pit of all people, as he was watching Uka, Pit, and Kirby being fascinated...by a newly-installed aquarium, one very large in size and containing multiple fish Pokemon. Uka wasn't as fascinated as Pit and Kirby were - he was still trying to figure out how the two best friends did things.

Regardless, the fact that Uka would rather be with Pit and Kirby over Cortex made poor Cortex heave a saddened sigh, as Crash and Sonic walked by, with Aku floating over their heads. The three found Cortex watching Uka from a far distance, and were curious as to why Cortex and Uka were so apart from one another.

"Dr. Cortex, this is the the first time we've seen you dejected since joining the mansion," Aku said to the mad scientist, who responded by letting out another solemn, sorrowful sigh. "This is by far the complete opposite of what we've been used to...or forced ourselves to feel accustomed to. Any explanation for what the problem is, and why you and Uka aren't together?"

"Uka betrayed me for Pit, simply because he thought Pit was better than me..." explained Cortex, leaving Aku and company in a state of shock. It sounded like Cortex was making it up just to receive sympathy, but apparently that's what happened. "Said that Pit had a charm that made up for his faults...but Pit doesn't have a charm, he's just dumb and stupid! I fail to see what anyone sees in that boy!"

"Yeah, that's just hogwash, Uka chose Pit over me, rejected me because I'm, and I quote, 'too big of a jerk'!" frowned Sonic, recalling what Uka said about him in the previous episode. "If you ask me though, Uka's probably using Pit for leverage. I've done the same thing with Pit countless of times before."

"Really, you think Uka's just taking advantage of Pit?" Judging by Pit's current actions, it's not like Uka would stick around with the angel for a terribly long time...the witchdoctor mask would have to give in sometime.

"That's just the way I see it, those are my two cents...hey, I know something that could cheer you up - Karaoke Night! Have you ever done karaoke before?" Cortex, who only considered building evil inventions and eating churros to be fun, shook his head no. "Excellent, that means you should come! It'll take place at the gaming room tonight, lots of food will be offered, I hear. My girlfriend Amy Rose is gonna be there!"

"Amy is going to be at Karaoke Night?" Coco's voice was heard, much to Sonic's chagrin. Coco Bandicoot showed up, holding her pink laptop at her side. "Oh yeah, I should definitely go to Karaoke Night now!" Coco met Amy Rose during dinnertime in episode 84, during Crash and company's first night at the mansion, and as you would believe, they discussed _a lot_ of girl topics with one another.

"Hooray, can't wait to see you there, it'll be fun..." said a now uninterested Sonic, who now found himself on the fence of attending Karaoke Night, because if Coco was going to be at Karaoke Night...then there was a good chance her "boyfriend" Tails would come along.

 **Sonic: No, I won't humiliate Tails at Karaoke Night, whether he's singing or not. He must bathe in his own shame, and fully understand the consequences of storing away secrets from people you consider your friends. He must feel the hurt and pain I had to deal with, from his life of secrecy and deceit, and still dealing with to this day. Then, and only then, will I forgive Tails... *snickers* ...no way I'm gonna forgive that man.**

* * *

It was close to nighttime in Seattle, and Luigi's fiesta was about to begin soon. The green plumber and his brother Mario waited outside, expecting guests to arrive. Yuffie had not returned, but given the conversation she had with K.K. Slider, the ninja might not be coming back...

"Yuffie has been gone for quite a while..." Peach told Mario and Luigi, joining the twin brothers outside. "Hopefully nothing bad happened to her..." Yeah, totally, like some comet from the sky came hurling down to Seattle and struck the mansion and killed poor Yuffie and others. Mario, Luigi, and Peach could see the smoke rising up from the impact from where they were standing. "I should go search for her..."

"Don't forget-a to turn your-a ringer on, just-a in case!" Mario called out to his wife as she began her search. The plumber glanced at his watch, and saw that it was ten minutes till eight. And not a single person showed up for the fiesta.

"Maybe we should call-a the fiesta off, obviously Yuffie didn't do-a her job well," said Luigi, although he didn't wish to cancel a fiesta he put so much time and effort into. But the plumber would soon be delighted, when Cloud and Aerith later showed up.

"Hi Mario, hi Luigi," Aerith waved to the Mario Bros; Cloud, being a lowkey guy who did not believe in waving, just nodded his head. "We heard that you were having a fiesta, and so we would like to join...just to avoid eating Palutena's chili. But that's not the only reason why we're here, I promise! Are we the first guests?"

"Yes, you sure-a are! Was worried that nobody would-a be interested in coming. Come right-a on in, and make your-a self at home!"

"May I?" Cloud held out his hand to Aerith, who giggled as the took the swordsman's hand, and walked hand-in-hand to Luigi's home. Once the lovebirds entered through the front door... "LARA CROFT?!" Cloud shouted this at the top of his lungs, in complete shock and amazement.

"...we should have-a given a proper introduction for-a Lara Croft to the others," Mario said to Luigi, who had to nod in agreement. Soon a few more individuals would show up for the fiesta - Bayonetta, the Black Knight, and Meta Knight. Given Meta Knight's Hispanic heritage, you know he was going to the fiesta. "Look, more-a guests, guess we won't have-a to call off the fiesta at all..."

* * *

K.K. Slider's Karaoke Night was ready to start, with residents a many filing into the gaming room. Gotta wonder how Palutena felt. Guests included Amy, Fiora, and Waluigi...everyone was unsure as to why Waluigi was even invited to Karaoke Night.

"Happy to see me again, eh?" the lanky man would greet everyone as they entered the gaming room, feeling disgusted inside. Sonic and Crash would feel disgusted themselves when they entered the gaming room, though Crash had never met Waluigi in person before.

"Notice how Professor Layton is nowhere to be found," Sonic said to Crash, as the two were looking for Amy. "Dude's so boring, he would miss out on having fun at Karaoke Night for Lady Palutena's chili. He must really enjoy tentacle arms choking him to death!"

"Yoo hoo, Sonic and Crash, I'm over here!" Amy called out to the hedgehog-bandicoot duo, who found the pink hedgehog waving to them, getting their attention. Sonic and Crash would make their way over to Amy, taking the available seats next to her. "Ah, I see you boys have been bonding a lot since you first met each other at the beach...I'm glad you found a new best friend, Sonic!"

"Too bad I had to lose another best friend in return..." sighed Sonic, leading Amy to wonder what was wrong. "Oh yeah, I never told you...Tails and I unfortunately had to end our long friendship." Amy gasped, clutching her pearls - her ears could not comprehend the "news". "Tails is apparently in a lowkey relationship Coco, and he was too chicken to tell me about said relationship, to my face. Kept it a secret from me!"

"My goodness, that's terrible, Tails should have known better...unless you're just blowing things out of proportion, and assuming Tails and Coco are an item just because they're close friends. I used to think Silver and Blaze were a couple, but as I learned later on, they had a really, really tight friendship..." Sonic thought over what Amy just said...was the blue blur truly blowing things out of the water?

"Hey guys, you ready for some great karaoke?" Tails asked Sonic and company, and guess who was accompanying the yellow fox? Coco Bandicoot...and Aku, if you want to include him. Sonic just looked at Tails and Coco together, wondering if he was in the wrong...which he was, to be honest.

"This Karaoke Night is gonna be a rocking time!" exclaimed Sonic with the swing of his arm, alarming Tails with his candor. Other times, the hedgehog would call out Tails for his secrecy, and tell the fox to scram if he knew what was good for him.

 **Amy: Sonic tends to blow things out of proportion...like that one time when I told him I was moving, and he went all out and got me a plane ticket, because he thought I was moving to a foreign country...when in actuality I was moving out of Cream's home. (Can't live with Cream and her mother forever - they're too soft for my tastes, no offense). Sonic essentially wasted up to a thousand dollars on a plane ticket to Istanbul, which could have been bought by someone else, and pretty much had to implore Jacky to lend him some money. I'm not sure if Tails-Coco is an actual thing, but if it isn't, and it's all just inside Sonic's head...then I can't say I'm terribly surprised.**

Tsubasa was seated at a pub table, supposedly saving a seat for her supposed man Itsuki. The young man in question would enter the gaming room, flanked by Fox and Falco. The pilots were informed by Itsuki about Tsubasa kissing him on the cheek at the cafe, and were now ready to give the young man pointers in love - despite Fox being more qualified.

"You see that girl, Itsuki - the girl by the name of Tsubasa Oribe?" Fox, his arm wrapped around Itsuki, asked the young man as he pointed at Tsubasa. "That girl, that girl right there is freedom...you claim her, you're free! Free of single-hood, free of constant searching, free of being stressed about your love life...you claim Tsubasa as your girl, and you're a free man, Itsuki! A free man - free at last! Free at last, free at least, thank God Almighty, we're..."

"Okay Fox, you're starting to sound like Doc Louis when he's hyping up Little Mac, and it's creeping me out a little, so please stop," Itsuki said to the pilot, getting his arm off of him. "So how do you think I should approach Tsubasa, you guys?"

"Just take the seat next to her, and start a conversation by asking her how her day has been," suggested Falco, using this basic advice. "Gotta start off small, before you work your way to the top!"

So Itsuki strutted his way over to Tsubasa, hand in his pocket, as he flashed a confident smile. He saw Akuma heading towards the available seat, and so he stiff armed the fighter to the floor, and he did so with ease. Almost made Akuma look incredibly weak, being shoved to the floor like that.

"Suppose I'll sit somewhere else then..." grumbled Akuma as he stood up to his feet, dusting himself off and glaring at Itsuki, before walking away. Itsuki was now in the sweet spot, in the seat Tsubasa supposedly made available for him...and Tsubasa looked at him in the eye!

"You actually made it to Karaoke Night, I knew you would show up!" the idol singer exclaimed with much joy. Must be a psychic, like Kanto's own Sabrina. "Will we hear any singing from you? Because as everyone knows, you're not that much of a singer..." Sounds like Tsubasa was starting the conversation herself, rather than Itsuki.

"I'll sing, but if and only if the songs are actually worth singing," replied Itsuki, glancing at Fox and Falco who gave him two thumbs up each. "I may not be the best singer in the world, but if I get a good song and get a good rhythm going...I can be serviceable."

"So happy I could spend this time with you Itsuki...nobody in this mansion is more worthy of spending Karaoke Night with than you." That was definitely enough to make Itsuki smile hard. "Granted there's other people, like Eleonora, and Zelda...but to spend this night with you, I couldn't ask for anything better."

"Wow, Tsubasa, I'm absolutely flattered, don't know what to say...other than it's a pleasure to spend Karaoke Night with you. As long as you're happy, I'm happy, and that's what matters the most." Fox and Falco, with proud faces, no doubt certain that Itsuki would go far with Tsubasa.

 **Falco: Knew Itsuki and Tsubasa as an item was gonna happen from a mile away. Tsubasa always had the hots for Itsuki, what with hanging out with him whenever she had the chance. And Itsuki would always act oblivious towards Tsubasa's advances, at least until today.  
Fox: Itsuki was probably just acting oblivious on purpose, waiting until the ripe opportunity to start a relationship with Tsubasa. It's the only explanation; you don't act all oblivious and unaware when a cute girl is within your presence. Tsubasa may have the looks, but she doesn't have the boobs, like Krystal...actually, I think Tsubasa's boobs are bigger than Krystal's, so she has the upper hand. Size matters.**

"Alright you cool cats, who's ready for Karaoke Night, hosted by yours truly, DJ K.K?" K.K. Slider, now under the alias DJ K.K. with his orange hat and thick-rimmed glasses, asked the crowd as he stood behind his turntable set. The crowd would erupt into cheers, ready for Karaoke Night begin.

"Don't start the party just yet, DJ K.K...for the champion of the earth and the sky...the conqueror of evil...the single white rose of Wutai...the one and only, Yuffie Kisaragi, has arrived!" Yuffie exclaimed, stepping inside the gaming room and posing as she pointed at the sky, only to receive no fanfare whatsoever. Ouch. "But WAIT! I have brought with me a very special guest, a name that is known across the nation, throughout the entire world...everyone give her a warm welcome!"

Everyone in the gaming room was expecting Tifa, Lightning, or any woman of _Final Fantasy_ fame - but cheers were sounded in the gaming room when the guest of honor walked in... _Princess Peach_. Was Peach missing out on Luigi's fiesta for Karaoke Night?! Did Yuffie convince her well enough to come?!

"Greetings everyone, so glad to see so many smiling faces tonight!" Peach gleamed as she waved to the crowd. "Mario and Luigi won't mind missing out on their fiesta and singing some karaoke instead...or so I hope."

"Welcome to the party, Princess Peach, always great having you around at the mansion!" DJ K.K. said to the princess. "As for Mario and Luigi, I'm positive they'll get over your absence soon. Now that everyone is ready, time to go over the rules..." DJ K.K. took out a microphone, holding it up for everyone to see. "The person who holds this microphone in their hand will sing a song, which will be selected from a song list that I curated. Once you're finished singing, you must then pass the mic to somebody else in the gaming room. Just don't throw it across the room like you're John Stockton, last thing I would want is for someone to get hit in the eye by a mic and suffer from a black eye..."

"Black eyes are the worst, take it from me!" shouted Cortex, seated in the far corner of the gaming room. Without Uka at his side, the mad scientist was a one-man band - no point in finding another worthy companion.

"Cortex and Uka got thrown inside the garbage bin, and were granted mansion residency status after gaining Master Hand's sympathy," Sonic explained to Amy, who had a frowning look on her face, questioning Cortex's presence. "Aw, don't look like that - gaining Master Hand's sympathy is a lot harder than it sounds! Imagine what I have to go through!"

"Thank you, Dr. Cortex...so are you cats ready?" asked DJ K.K. Slider, and the crowd erupted into cheers again. "Yeah, that's what I like to hear! Who will be singing first, I wonder! Let me see..." DJ K.K. scanned the room, looking for someone to pass the mic to...when his eyes fell on a worthy individual. "...Donkey Kong, you're up!"

DJ K.K. would toss the microphone to Donkey Kong, who caught the mic with just one hand. The gorilla was an expert when it came to banging bongas, but would he have the same expertise in karaoke? Time for DK to make his mark!

 **Donkey Kong: Karaoke is one of the easiest fun activities known to man - you just sing song lyrics off some screen, nothing more and nothing else. Sing well, you get applause and cheers, and maybe even a standing ovation. Sing poorly, and people will point and laugh at you, and you'll never show your face again! My voice might not be fit for singing, but I've heard Bowser sing multiple times before...sounds like a jolly pirate happily munching on Lucky Charms. Singing like he has his mouth full!**

"What song shall we start Karaoke Night with, DJ K.K.?" Donkey Kong asked the DJ, who pulled up the song on an interactive whiteboard next to his turntable. First song of the night? "Wannabe" by the Spice Girls. A very common karaoke song. "Spice Girls, eh? Can't do this alone...Diddy Kong, come on down!"

"Um, are you sure group performances aren't allowed?" asked a nervous Diddy Kong. The spidermonkey only came just for the food and appetizers; he could possibly care less about singing. "I mean, I don't wanna take away any shine from my uncle..."

"Joint performances are permitted - no more than two people can sing together," explained DJ K.K., as he got the song ready. Donkey Kong gave a goofy grin to Diddy, who still was pretty nervous about singing in front of everyone.

"Whaddaya waiting for, great nephew of mine, let's go and sing our hearts out!" the gorilla grabbed Diddy's arm, and rushed to the stage DJ K.K. was on, standing next to the DJ's turntable set. DJ K.K. started up the Spice Girls song, and the Kongs were ready (well, half-ready) to sing, as the lyrics appeared on the interactive whiteboard (Donkey Kong would sing Scary Spice's part, and Diddy would sing Ginger Spice's part):

 _Yo, I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want_  
 _So tell me what you want, what you really, really want_  
 _I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want_  
 _So tell me what you want, what you really, really want_  
 _I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha)_  
 _I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah_

 _If you want my future, forget my past_  
 _If you wanna get with me, better make it fast_  
 _Now don't go wasting my precious time_  
 _Get your act together we could be just fine_

 _I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want_  
 _So tell me what you want, what you really, really want_  
 _I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha) I wanna, (ha)_  
 _I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah_  
 _If you wanna be my lover, you gotta get with my friends_  
 _Make it last forever, friendship never ends_  
 _If you wanna be my lover, you have got to give_  
 _Taking is too easy, but that's the way it is_

"Wannabe" wasn't necessarily a deep song - it was just a regular song about friendship - but the lyrics, which talked about the past, getting your act together, friendship never ending, it struck a chord inside Sonic. The hedgehog ended his friendship with Tails because of the yellow fox keeping his "secret" relationship with Coco away from him. Sonic had zero evidence of this relationship, but Amy did tell the hedgehog that he was possibly blowing things out of proportion. Should Sonic forget about the past, and get his act together and make up with Tails?

Tonight was the perfect night for the blue blur to make some amends with his "former" best friend.

* * *

 **Cloud: ...Lara Croft. Famous tomb raider Lara Croft, at Luigi's fiesta of all places. At first I thought she was a ghost, a figment of my imagination, but Mario told me that she's the real deal - she's only sticking around with Mario and Peach until she can afford a plane ticket and return to London. Never realized how beautiful Lara looked in person, might be the most beautiful woman in the world...no wait, I can't say that, Aerith's my girlfriend, so she's the most beautiful woman in the world. Then again, she's from an alternate universe...so she's the most beautiful woman from her own universe. Man, I give up...**

Zelda and Doc Louis would join Luigi's fiesta, which was incredibly lacking in guests at the moment. There were five guests from the mansion in total - way below the number Luigi was expecting. Nonetheless, things at the fiesta were relatively fine, and everyone was having a great time. Meta Knight was enjoying the food, Luigi was trying to hit the pinata, and two female Brits were enjoying a conversation together - Bayonetta and Lara Croft.

"Mr. Mario is a lot worse than advertised - trust me, I know," Bayonetta said to Lara, trying to warn the tomb raider about the things she would have to put up with during her stay with Mario. "He's unprepared, unfocused, sees no fault in anyone, and sometimes can be quite a yes man. Especially when it comes to Peach."

"How odd, I've yet to see any of those traits from Mario first-hand," said Lara, furrowing her brow as she recollected the experiences she gained from her first week with Mario and Peach. "Perhaps I haven't spent much time with Mario yet to see his true colors..."

"You'll see what I mean in due time - this week is just a warm-up. Mario's only acting the complete opposite of how he really is just to make you feel welcome - give a sense of confidence and comfort during your temporary stay. The longer the stay, the more you'll see..."

"Speaking of Mario, where on earth is he? Don't see him near the food, or near the pinata...now Luigi's swinging the bat like he's trying to swipe someone's head off. Where's Mario when you need him?"

Mario, the plumber in question, was away from all the festivities, worried about his woman Peach. The princess had not returned to the fiesta - instead, she desired to spend her night at the gaming room for Karaoke Night, after being invited by Yuffie. Mario did not know this obviously, and the lack of Peach was constantly worrying him.

"Yo, Mario, can I speak with you for a sec?" Doc Louis approached Mario , wanting to speak with the plumber even though he wasn't in the mood. "Little Mac is at Karaoke Night, at the mansion, and he's about to sing and I can't miss out on an opportunity of greatness, so...I'ma bounce." Without even saying goodbye, Doc Louis would rush out of Luigi's home, huffing and puffing and losing his breath as he returned to the mansion.

Suddenly there was a knock at the back door. Mario went to the back door to see who it was, and when he opened the door, he didn't see Peach...but rather, some guy in an astronaut suit, like he just returned to earth from a space mission.

"Buzz-a Aldrin, I assume?" questioned Mario, saying the first name that popped in his head when he saw the astronaut. The astronaut would take off his helmet, revealing the visage of a person Mario knew too well.

"No Mario, it's me, Snake..." said Snake, as he took his astronaut helmet off. "Still hiding from that lovestruck Kiria - she's at the gaming room for Karaoke Night, and so I tried to avoid her by eating Palutena's revolting chili. A gorilla arm attacked me this time around -grabbed me by the throat, and held it real tight, before trashing me around on the dining room table. Feel like such an idiot for continuing to have faith in that woman's cooking..."

 **Snake: Would I rather be attacked by a tentacle arm, or a gorilla arm? What kind of question is that? How would you like it to have your breathing cut off, to be flung around like a rag doll? You people think you're safe, behind those stupid cameras of yours, but you have no idea the pain people like myself have to endure...**

"Of course, I wouldn't be in this astronaut getup had you not confiscated by cardboard box," added Snake, feeling the need to scratch his private parts. But he wasn't exactly in a comfortable position for any scratching. "It's never too late to give it back, you know."

"I only took away your-a cardboard box to teach-a you a lesson in tackling your problems," explained Mario, as Snake's itch grew bigger and bigger. "...and it seems like-a you haven't learned your lesson-a yet. So they're having karaoke back-a at the mansion, and they didn't invite-a me...could you go-a see if Peach is there? She's been-a gone for quite a while..."

"Eh, sure, why not...the things I do for people like you." Snake put his space helmet back on, as he closed the back door and returned to the mansion to retrieve Peach. He could always scratch his privates later.

* * *

 _Yes I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey_  
 _Ooh, the more I get of you stranger it feels, yeah_  
 _And now that your rose is in bloom_  
 _A light hits the gloom on the grey_  
 _Now that your rose is in bloom_  
 _A light hits the gloom...on the...grey_

Little Mac had just finished singing Seal's "Kiss from A Rose", and his boxing trainer had just arrived at the last minute to hear his protege perform, sweating buckets once he arrived. Seal's signature song was obviously a very romantic song...and it had Itsuki feeling all romantic, especially with Tsubasa seated next to him. The young man had to make a move on the idol singer, while the night was still young.

"Nice singing, Little Mac - and your boxing trainer came at the last minute to hear you sing!" DJ K.K. commended the young boxer - a part of Little Mac wished that he hadn't texted Doc Louis at all. "Pass the microphone on to someone else in the room!"

"How about we hear a taste of what the newbie's got for us?" said Little Mac, as he tossed the mic to Cortex. The mad scientist was shocked to be holding the microphone in his hands; he imagined Little Mac was showing him a kind gesture.

"Alright alright alright - prepare to be blown away folks!" said Cortex, as he went to join DJ K.K. on the stage, microphone in hand. "So what song will I be singing?" Cortex asked DJ K.K., who pulled up the song..."Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen", by Daimaou Kosaka. Master Hand most definitely picked that song out. "Hmm, sounds like a pretty easy song. Start it up!"

So DJ K.K. played the song, and Cortex got into the groove, before singing the following lyrics:

 _I have a pen, I have a apple_  
 _Uh! Apple-pen!_  
 _I have a pen, I have pineapple_  
 _Uh! Pineapple-pen!_  
 _Apple-pen, pineapple-pen_  
 _Uh! Pen-pineapple-apple-pen_  
 _Pen-pineapple-apple-pen_  
 _Dance time!_  
 _I have a pen, I have a pen_  
 _Uh! Long pen!_  
 _I have a apple, I have pineapple_  
 _Uh! Apple-pineapple!_  
 _Long pen, apple-pineapple,_  
 _Uh! Pen-pineapple-apple-pen!_  
 _Pen-pineapple-apple-pen!_

After Cortex sang those lines, the gaming room audience would applaud for the mad scientist. But Cortex didn't deserve any applause just yet - he felt like he had more to sing, and the song stopped abruptly, for whatever reason.

"Now now everyone, save your applause until after the song is over," the mad scientist told everyone, even though they were still applauding. "I've yet to finish my song, and I understand if my singing skills are already worthy enough for..."

"Um, I'm pretty sure you just sang the entire song..." stated Mamori, leading Cortex to hold his head in shame. The song he just sang, it was less than a minute - Cortex craved for more. But alas, he already had his turn, and he would solemnly toss the mic to Waluigi, before slumping back to his seat.

"Heh heh heh, it's Waluigi time!" exclaimed Waluigi, joining DJ K.K. on the stage. Of all the people that would be singing karaoke, and it had to be this lanky, mustached fellow.

 **Wario: No, I didn't invite Waluigi to Karaoke Night, he would've stolen my thunder. Dude practically invited himself! He's a blatant party crasher, Toon Link and Young Link should have him arrested, pronto!**

"Give me a song, any song if you dare - I guarantee you I'll blow it out of the park!" Waluigi said to DJ K.K., who selected a song - a song that the DJ hippie dog believed best personified Waluigi. The song started instantly, but Waluigi was quick to sing...

 _Oh, you touch my tralala_  
 _Mmm, my ding ding dong_

Waluigi then looked towards Peach, and danced all creepily, like he was trying to make romantic advances towards the princess. Peach just watched in utter cringe, as Waluigi sang the rest of the song:

 _Oh, you touch my tralala_  
 _Mmm, my ding ding dong_

"...the heck is a 'tralala' and a 'ding ding dong'?" Toon Link asked Young Link, the two off-duty buddy cops having enjoyed Karaoke Night up until the moment Waluigi touched the mic.

"Looked both terms up online, you seriously don't wanna know," responded Young Link, as he was doing his best to tune out Waluigi. He was unsure which made him more uncomfortable - Waluigi's singing, or dancing.

Tsubasa would watch Waluigi sing and dance, somewhat entranced by the lanky man's dancing moves, when she suddenly felt a hand touch her. She looked down at her right hand, and saw another hand on top of it. The idol singer looked up, and saw Itsuki, smiling.

"Your hand is very...cold, Itsuki," remarked Tsubasa, as she just left Itsuki's hand where it was. She said it was cold, but you don't see her moving it or anything.

"You're not thinking I'm someone else, are you?" asked Itsuki, with a smile on his face. A smile charming enough to make Tsubasa swell inside.

"Stealing lines from _West Side Story,_ I see...ah, such a wonderful play. Love the whole Romeo and Juliet theme...I take it that you want me to be the Juliet to my Romeo, is that what you have in mind?"

"Well I mean, we would be the perfect Romeo and Juliet - just without the whole bickering families thing. We can be lovers, and not have to worry about all that family crap. It'll be just you and me, and nothing else to separate us."

"Are you saying...that we should be...a couple?" Tsubasa's mind completely fluttered at the possibility of this happening. The mansion already had enough couples as it is, but sure, why don't we just add another one? What could possibly go wrong?!

"Only if you're fine with it. Best part about it is, we won't have to worry about our families getting involved...well, just for the time being. How about we just make the most of the night we have, before tragedy comes our way?"

Tsubasa could only smile in response, and Itsuki would smile right back, signifying what could be the beginning of a new relationship...Itsuki Aoi and Tsubasa Oribe. As if the mansion needed another couple in the fray...

 **Falco: Bruh, did you see that, Itsuki was being all romantic with Tsubasa, and he was looking pretty natural too!  
** **Fox: Yeah I saw it too, but it must suck for you...letting Itsuki connect with his one true love before you did. Gotta win over Katt Monroe, bro!  
Falco: Well Fox, love is a very long process, it's not like it's gonna take me forever for me and Katt to start a fling...I'm predicting it'll take me five years total to win over Katt. At the very least.  
**

 **Tsubasa: He did it, we're now in love, finally! Knew that kiss in the cafe would work! I'm so sweaty right now, and happy, can't wait to tell Eleonora the great news...**

* * *

Tsubasa's friend, Eleonora, wasn't at Karaoke Night, but rather at Luigi's fiesta, wanting to show the plumber of green some support. The idol singer had joined the party not so long ago, and was speaking with Zelda, while Luigi, who finally struck the pinata, was splurging on candy along with Meta Knight.

"Don't eat too much candy Luigi, otherwise you'll wind up with cavities!" Rotom, Luigi's Pokemon pet, warned the plumber. "Cavities can cause tooth decay and toothaches! A grown man like yourself shouldn't be eating candy like that!"

"Who did all the cooking - was it Luigi, or Daisy, or was it a joint effort?" Eleonora asked Zelda, as she was enjoying a taco. The idol singer could have dinner at Luigi's place everyday if she wanted to. "Gotta admit, this stuff is pretty good!"

"Luigi said he did most of the cooking himself, but I'm sure Daisy stepped in every now and then," stated Zelda. Just then, the Black Knight approached Zelda and Eleonora, and he just came over to ask one question, and one question only...

"Would any of you ladies care for any tea?" the armored knight asked; tea was a fairly uncommon drink at fiestas, but you know how the Black Knight operated. Zelda and Eleonora looked at one another, both ladies not wanting to tell the Black Knight no.

"No thank you, Black Knight, but thanks for the offer anyways!" responded Eleonora, as the Black Knight walked away, holding his head down. Mario would walk by, holding his head down also as well.

"Snake has yet-a to return with Peach...some-a thing must be wrong," worried the plumber, as Zelda and Eleonora exchanged looks of nervousness with one another.

* * *

 _Return to sender, address unknown._  
 _No such number, no such zone._  
 _Return to sender_  
 _Return to sender_  
 _Return to sender_  
 _Return to sender_

Heihachi had just finished singing the outro to Elvis Presley's "Return to Sender", and received some nifty applause from the crowd. With Heihachi's turn up, the kung fu fighter had to hand the mic to someone else...and he had the perfect person in mind.

"Show everyone that you're more than just some tough fighter, Ryu!" said Heihachi as he tossed the microphone to Ryu. The _Street Fighter_ veteran caught the mic with one hand, and walked confidently towards the stage as he assumed his position.

"Play me the freshest song you got!" Ryu said to DJ K.K., who immediately pulled up the song. Everyone's face would sank when the DJ started playing "Look At Me Now", by Chris Brown...Ryu wasn't gonna rap, was he? "Fast-forward to the Busta Rhymes part!" Oh dear...

"You got it!" said DJ K.K., as he fast-forwarded to the part. Ryu took a deep breath, before rapping...here's a gist of what he said...

 _Let's go!_  
 _'Cause I'm feeling like I'm running_  
 _And I'm feeling like I gotta get away, get away, get away_  
 _Better know that I don't and I won't ever stop_  
 _'Cause you know I gotta win everyday-day_  
 _See, they really really wanna pop me_  
 _Just know that you will never flop me_  
 _And I know that I can be a little cocky_  
 _You ain't never gonna stop me_  
 _Everytime I come, a playa gotta set it_  
 _Then I gotta go, and then I gotta get it_  
 _Then I gotta blow, and then I gotta show that_  
 _Any little thing that playa think that he be doing_  
 _'Cause it doesn't matter, 'cause I'm gonna da-da-da-da..._

Almost everyone had a stunned look on their face during the entire rap. Ryu. _Street Fighter_ 's own Ryu. Literally rapping for everyone. Then there was the chorus...

 _Look at me now, look at me now (Oh)_  
 _I'm gettin' paper_  
 _Look at me now (Oh) look at me now (Yeah)_  
 _Fresher than your mother, word!_

Ryu would direct the last line at Lucas, who as you know, had a deceased mother. Lucas started welling up with tears in his eyes, and Peach was quick to notice.

 **Heihachi: *stares dumbfoundedly at camera with mouth wide open***

 **Ryu: My rap performance, while surprising, was underwhelming...Chun-li being there would have made it ten times better. Regardless, seeing so many shocked faces in one kind of made it all the more worthwhile.**

"It's okay Lucas, we can leave the gaming room if you want..." Peach soothed Lucas, as she took his hand and led him out of the room. "We won't have to worry about meanies like Ryu anymore!" Shortly after Peach left with Lucas, Rosalina would enter the gaming room, and found Cortex in the back.

"Do you have a minute, Dr. Cortex?" the mother of Lumas asked the mad scientist. "It's about that mask of yours, Uka..." What was that ancient mask up to now?

* * *

Rosalina would take Cortex to Pit's room, and to Cortex's surprise...he saw Pit and Kirby, both unconscious and lying on the floor, with Pit's closet ransacked and guns all over the place. These were the Nerf guns Pit and Kirby had bought with the money they raised on YouTube, but there was one particular gun on Pit's bed that caught Cortex's eye...and it wasn't a Nerf gun.

"Saw Pit and Kirby in this condition while I passed by this room," explained Rosalina, as Cortex crept closer towards the gun lying on the bed. "I saw Uka accompanying Pit and Kirby throughout the day, so I'm assuming he was responsible for this..."

"YOU'RE DARN RIGHT I AM!" boomed Uka, frightening Rosalina as he flew from underneath Pit's bed. Been waiting patiently to scare someone. "Followed Pit only to find out if he had any useful guns...and as is turns out, I was right! Apparently he and Kirby bought a lot of Nerf guns, and they had this one particular gun they bought from this place called Nightmare Enterprises...so I hired someone to beat the living snot out of Pit and Kirby, so I would have an easier time looking for that gun, from Nightmare Enterprises..."

"Is this the one?" Cortex asked Uka, grabbing the gun from the bed and showing it to the mask. It was a standard ray gun, and it looked pretty powerful too.

"Yes, yes that's the one! Since you left your old ray gun at your lair, I thought you could use another one...a more efficient, powerful one." Cortex gasped - was Uka displaying a rare form of compassion?

"A ray gun? For me? Oh, Uka, I knew you still cared for me, even if you left me for Pit!"

"Why would I ditch you for Pit? That's like going from dumb to dumber! I was just using him as leverage to get that gun for you!"

"In that case, that means you never left me...which means we're still on the same page! How about we see what this ray gun can do, just the two of us!"

"Eh, I don't have a choice in the matter, do I? Let's just go..." So Cortex and Uka would leave the room together, as Rosalina looked on, in deep thought.

"To think Uka willingly spent an entire day with Pit..." the mother of Lumas said, shaking her head. "Wonder how he did it, without losing his sanity..."

* * *

Karaoke Night continued in the gaming room, with Cilan singing _Toy Story_ 's "You Got a Friend in Me". Yet another song mentioning friendship, and it got Sonic thinking...thinking about apologizing to Tails. He refused to speak with or be with the fox since episode 86, but now was time for the hedgehog to make things right again.

 **Knuckles: Got nothing to say on the "beef" between Sonic and Tails...but man am I glad to no longer have Yoshi as a roommate! No more snoring, no more random eggs invading my personal space, no more quoting from _Harry Potter_ films and books...those _Harry Potter_ books must've gotten Yoshi interested in writing fanfiction. He's such a _Harry Potter_ nerd...didn't know he was a huge fan of Stephanie Meyer. She ain't no J.K. Rowling when it comes to romantic stories...**

"Tails, there's something I need to tell you, and I need to tell you now..." Sonic said to the yellow fox, while Cilan was still singing. "It's an apology, one that you rightfully deserve...I was in the wrong this whole time..."

"Now's not the time Sonic," said Tails, doing his best to tune out the hedgehog and listen to Cilan. "Also, if you wanted to apologize, you should have done it before you sold away the belongings I gave to you."

"Like I said, I was in the wrong, and I'm here to make things right. There are things I shouldn't have done, but did anyways, because well, I'm a jerk, and I tend to do jerk things..."

"Oh, so NOW you admit to being a jerk," Tails raised his voice, grabbing the attention of everyone and causing Cilan to stop singing, as the focus was on Tails. "Took you long enough, huh? Also, why wait until now to apologize, when you could have done it the week after you 'unfriended' me?!"

"I didn't want to unfriend you Tails...I was just, just caught up in the moment, that's all. Got too heated, and acted only out of impulse. Should have known better..." Amy and Coco were looking on, wishing they could intervene.

"Shut up, I've heard enough. That excuse could be applied to all the other jerkbag things you've done in the past. Don't even bother saving face with me!" Everyone had just witnessed the angry side of Tails; nobody was sure how to react to such a kindhearted individual going off like that.

"Sorry man...excuse me for trying to fix things. But you're right - I could take that same excuse, and apply it to all the previous things I've done. That wouldn't matter at all in the slightest..."

On that note, Sonic heaved a sigh and left the gaming room, on an awkward note. Tails looked on, wondering if _he_ was in the wrong for putting Sonic on blast.

* * *

"Dumb woman is nowhere to be found...where could be she?"

Snake, after a holdup from Chrom, continued his search for Peach. The former spy went to the gaming room, but only after Peach had left. So he had to look for the princess elsewhere, wherever she was...

As Snake walked through the hallways, he heard a muffled voice, coming from a nearby closet. The former spy approached the closet, pressing his ear against the door to hear the muffled voice, before kicking the door open to reveal...

... _Princess Peach_ , bound and gagged to a chair with duct tape on her mouth. Wasn't she with Lucas earlier? Peach made muffled sounds, as Snake pulled out his codec to contact Mario.

"Mario, I think I found your wife..." Snake said into his codec. "...and she wasn't even in the gaming room."

* * *

Sonic walked through the hallways, feeling some type of way. The hedgehog tried to apologize to Tails, but the fox didn't want any of it, believing Sonic should have apologized weeks ago. Sonic sighed, wondering if he and Tails will ever be back on one page again.

"Sucks Amy had to witness that..." said the hedgehog, heaving another sigh, before looking up and seeing Peach, still with Lucas. But for whatever reason, the princess had Lucas in his arms, cradling him like a baby. What's more was that Lucas had his eyes closed...and he sure wasn't sleeping peacefully. "Um, Peach, why are you holding Lucas like that?"

"Why not to hold Lucas like this, is there a problem?" smiled Peach...when out of nowhere, Waluigi sneaked up on Sonic, grabbing the hedgehog and putting him in a chokehold. Now why was Waluigi doing this to Sonic, and why was Peach just standing there?!

"Go to sleep, little hedgehog, sweet dreams, yes..." Waluigi said sadistically, applying the chokehold to Sonic until he fell unconscious. Waluigi would then place the unconscious hedgehog on the floor, before taking off his overalls, gloves, hat...and oddly, his contacts, mustache and nose...revealing himself as a Team Flare grunt?! What in the world? "About time I took off that Waluigi costume, that mustache was kinda itchy...I think the coast is clear now."

"Don't have to tell me that twice," said Peach, as she pressed a button on her wrist...revealing herself to be actually Raiden, who arrived at the mansion earlier. Too. Many. Swerves. "Let me tell you...acting like Peach was one of the worst things I've ever done with this body transforming gadget. Having to act all girly...sheesh."

 **Raiden: My mission at the Smash Mansion? To find a "pawn". Anyone at the mansion will do. I found Peach walking about, so I gagged her and threw her in the nearest closet. She's not exactly the pawn I'm looking for, however... *presses button on wrist, assuming the identity of Princess Peach* ...who says I can't meander as the fair princess herself, and accomplish my mission at an easier pace?**

"Alright, we got the stinking kid, so what now?" the Team Flare grunt, now wearing his signature red shades, asked Raiden, stuffing his Waluigi garb inside a briefcase. Someone oughta tell him that Lucas was a teen, and not a kid.

"First thing we must do is get out of this mansion as quickly as possible," said Raiden, still holding Lucas in his arms. "We should receive further instruction until..."

Suddenly a wicked beam was fired at the Team Flare Grunt and Raiden, both men moving out of the way. That beam came from Cortex's sparkly new ray gun, which the mad scientist was testing out with Uka. The devious duo showed up in the hallway, ready to challenge Raiden and the Team Flare grunt.

"Crap, it's that blasted N head, sticking his nose up in our business!" frowned the Team Flare grunt; how did he know Cortex? "Let's scram!" Raiden would retreat by concealing Lucas underneath his arms and disappearing, with his stealth camouflage, whereas the Team Flare grunt, with his lack of options, just jumped out of a nearby window. Must've been a long fall.

"That's right, you better run...that's the only thing you can do when you're up against the mighty Dr. Neo Periwinkle Cortex!" shouted Cortex, shaking his fist. Hehe, his middle name is Periwinkle...Uka was inspecting Sonic, who was still on the floor, knocked out.

"A good scare oughta wake him up..." the mask said, before screaming in Sonic's ears at the top of his lungs. Sonic would spring up, screaming out of fright.

"NO AMY DON'T KILL ME, I DO LOVE CREAM THE RABBIT I LOVE HER VERY MUCH!" shouted the hedgehog, having woken up from his dream, before he saw Cortex and Uka staring at him. "Why are you two looking at me like that? Is there something up? It's Peach, isn't it? Where'd she go, did she still have Lucas when she ran off? What about that creep Waluigi, who did some sneak attack on me for no reason?"

"Well, um, let's just say that _someone else_ ran off with Lucas...and he had a little friend with him too..." Cortex allowed Raiden to run off with Lucas, and Lord knows what Raiden planned to do with the PSI whiz.

* * *

After receiving Snake's call, Mario would rush to the mansion, to check on Peach. The princess was in the foyer with Mario and Snake, explaining to the two how Raiden found her and threw her inside a closet.

"And that's when you came to rescue me, Snake," said Peach, who thankfully had no scratches on her. Mario would've been more ticked than he was already. "Whatever Raiden was here for, sure hope it wasn't to kidnap someone..."

"Bet you ten bucks he was attempting to kidnap Heihachi, lure him back to the All-Star Manor," said Snake; Mario's blood boiled hearing that name. "But I'll be keeping a close eye on Raiden, if he ever returns again."

Suddenly Sonic came running down the stairs, completely over with the episode he had with Tails. Only reason being was that trouble was looming ahead - and Mario, the first person Sonic saw, had to be in the know.

"Mario, I got some bad news...Lucas got kidnapped, by Raiden!" Sonic alerted the plumber once he reached the base of the stairs. "Cortex tried to stop him, but he was too late...or maybe he was too slow. Yeah, we'll go with that! Oh, and there was a Team Flare grunt too, he and Raiden might be working together."

"Raiden working with-a Team Flare, who would-a have thought..." remarked Mario, before realizing the most pressing matter of the issue. "But no matter, Lucas' safety comes-a first! Don't know what Team-a Flare would want with Lucas, but maybe we'll find-a out soon..."

* * *

"Thanks for coming out everyone, hope you all had a great time!" DJ K.K. addressed the crowd, once Karaoke Night commenced. "Have a great rest of the night, you groovy cats!"

The residents would leave the gaming room, but two particular residents would leave together...Itsuki and Tsubasa. The two had witnessed some good (and bad) karaoke, and were thinking about how to spend the rest of their night...only problem was, it was close to midnight.

"Well, looks like I should be heading to my room now," said Tsubasa, yawning and stretching her arms. "I can't thank you enough for coming to spend Karaoke Night with me, Itsuki, really means a lot."

"Pleasing the ladies is what I do...especially ladies like yourself," replied Itsuki, making Tsubasa blush. Itsuki was a natural, and he hardly needed any help from Fox and Falco. "Wanna watch a movie tomorrow night, like, I dunno, _Summer Wars_?"

"Yes, I would love to! How about...we make it just the two of us?" Itsuki obliged with a quick nod. "Great! Can't wait! I should be heading to my room now. See you tomorrow morning!"

"Likewise, Tsubasa. Good night, and sweet dreams!" Itsuki and Tsubasa would both head to their rooms, calling it a night. Tsubasa was feeling all gushy inside, as the prospect of starting a romance with Itsuki became reality.

Tsubasa's night couldn't have been any better. However, the same couldn't be said for others...


	93. Episode 93: Wanted

_Author's Note:_

 _A few weeks back, I said that I would do a Fire Emblem-related chapter for this week...but I had the fever and cold, and felt completely out of it. Worried about finishing the original chapter, and even wondered if I should continue writing this story or not during my illness. Football and wrestling were the only things that kept me awake inside._

 _Fearing that I wouldn't complete the original chapter in time, I've decided to move the Fire Emblem chapter until October 20, when Fire Emblem Warriors is released worldwide. I wrote this "replacement" chapter of sorts, while I was dealing with symptoms like runny nose, stuffed, coughing, and the like. Had a blast writing it. And now, without further ado..._

 _"Will you include any characters from Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Seasons? Are you using Classic or Reboot Lara Croft? Is the hero from the Gamecube Custom Robo going to be paired up with Marcia? A nod or reference to Gyromite in later chapters? How about Hope and Vanille hanging out with Pit and Viridi? And finally will Emmeryn show up in time for the Fire Emblem Warriors chapter?"_

 _Only when the time is right. Using reboot Lara Croft. The hero may be paired up with Marcia. Will think of a Gyromite reference soon. Hope and Vanille with Pit and Viridi sounds like a great idea? And Emmeryn will show up in the Fire Emblem chapter. Up next is Keeby:_

 _"Can we get an update on the Waddle Dee family? Also, since I don't have anything else to add on to that question, how do you think a Waddle Doo eats?"_

 _The Waddle Dee family actually appears in this chapter. And how does a Waddle Doo eat? With its mind, of course. Moving on to Derick Lindsey:_

 _"Oh are you going to do anything related to the remake of Superstar Saga that's coming out funny enough in exactly two weeks, like have Fawful, Cakletta, or even just have Popple show up at the mansion to start trouble."_

 _Superstar Saga...what a fun, joyous part of my childhood. The remake comes out next week, so expect to see some SS characters until then. Roydigs22 is back with another Pokemon suggestion._

 _"Pokemon quartet. Guitar hero. Through the fire and flames. Make it happen. Oh yeah, and miitopia maybe?"_

 _Ah, yes, "Through the Fire and the Flames" by Dragonforce! The unofficial theme song of Guitar Hero. I might consider this. Don't know about Miitopia yet, but I'll still give it some thought._

* * *

 **Episode 93: Wanted**

 **Toon Link: In the criminal justice system, offences outside of Smash battles are considered especially heinous. I** **n Seattle, at the Smash Mansion, the dedicated police officers who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the LPU, the Link Patrol Unit. These are their stories.  
Young Link: DUN DUUUUN!**

It was yet another lovely day at the Smash Mansion...albeit with several folks absent. One noteworthy person that was missing in action was Captain Falcon who, as you might recall from episode 91, was arrested after engaging in a street race with _Devil May Cry_ 's Dante (with a passenger in his taxi, no less), and was currently doing time behind bars.

Another noteworthy person who was also absent from from the mansion was Lucas, the PSI whiz having been captured by Raiden. The mercenary, who disguised himself as Peach to conduct the kidnapping, had some assistance from Waluigi...who was actually a Team Flare grunt who could actually pull off a Waluigi look. To this day, no one knew why Raiden would even kidnap Lucas in the first place...but that didn't stop Master Hand from finding out the answers.

Mario, under the orders of Master Hand, was instructed to find the whereabouts of Lucas, Raiden, or Team Flare - but the plumber couldn't do this job alone. So he asked Cloud, Pit, Kirby, Sonic, Fox, and Falco to enlist in his help. Usual folk you see in every episode. Only person missing from the fray was Link, who was still dealing with nagging head injuries, so he was replaced with Sora, much to Cloud's chagrin.

While Mario and his crew were doing their thing, the resident buddy cops, Toon Link and Young Link, were looking for a caseto crack, donning their bow and arrows, and eating their beloved doughnuts and malasadas. You'd be blind if you saw a policeman without a doughnut in his hand.

"What's the status for today Starsky, spotted anything worth checking out?" Young Link asked Toon Link, walking through the halls. Starsky and Hutch couldn't possibly be their secret code names...if said code names are even secret.

"Aside from that green glob I saw in the ball pit room...everything has been dandy, so everything's alright Hutch," answered Toon Link - yup, they were definitely addressing each other with code names...sooner or later one buddy cop will go by Doggett, and the other will go by Scully. Only a matter of time. "Thought the green glob was a green Chuchu, but upon further inspection, it was just...green jello."

"Ugh, green jello, how disgustingly inhumane! Must be something created by a foreign alien race!" It's not because the jello was green, right? "Did you have Corrin inspect this jello? He is truly an expert on all things extraterrestrial!"

"Sure did, gave him a whole plateful and he spat it out, all of it...therefore that green jello was i _ndeed_ created by aliens. There's no other explanation..."

Suddenly, a loud explosion was heard, followed by a scream, all from the cafe. Anticipating another case to crack, the Link buddy cops rushed to the scene, where they would find Felicia and Flora...and an absolute mess, with egg yolk all over the place. Felicia and Flora were covered in the egg yolk, with Flora hyperventilating.

"It's okay sis, it's not your fault, don't be so afraid..." Felicia did her best to soothe her sister, who was afraid that she would be blamed for creating the mess, and eventually be fired from her job. Maid work was the only thing Flora was good at, and even Flora herself admitted this was true. "I'm sure there's someone else responsible for the mess created!"

"No Felicia, this is all my fault, I opened up the microwave, and then the explosion happened, and now the microwave...the microwave...is GONE!" Felicia sobbed, as she fell to her knees and sobbed away, her face in her hands. Felicia went over to comfort her twin sister, rubbing her back and such, as Toon Link and Young Link started to sympathize a little for Felicia.

 **Felicia: Flora always had major issues with self-confidence, for as long as I could remember...in fact, her job as a maid is the only thing that keeps her confidence levels high. Other than that, she has a particular disdain for her own life, which she claimed would be meaningless if she gave up her job...I shudder to think how she would fare in the real world, as an adult.**

"What happened here ladies, why is there yolk all over the cafe?" Toon Link asked the maids, although Felicia was the only person available for answering, what with her sister still crying her eyes out.

"Flora just so happened to open the microwave, while it was still microwaving, since smoke was coming out of it," explained Felicia, as Flora was sobbing less and less, albeit her face still in her hands. "And would you know it, egg yolk erupted out of the microwave and covered the entire cafe, and the microwave is gone...so I assume the microwave kind of self-destructed, somehow. Yet I don't see any evidence, unless the egg yolk covered it..."

"Opening that microwave was a bad idea, and now I've put my job in jeopardy..." sniffled Flora, wiping away the tears from her face as Felicia continued to comfort and console her. "Master Hand will send the both of us back to Nohr because of my wrongdoings, and we'll receive ire from Garon and we'll be out of the job forever! Unemployed, all because of my own faults! I don't even deserve to live anymore!" Just like that, Flora was crying yet again, believing that he jeopardized her sister and herself all because of one little action.

"Don't say things like that - you shouldn't be so down on yourself! The two of us aren't going to get fired, I promise! I know you aren't at fault, you weren't the one who would put eggs in a microwave and put it on the highest setting and stuff! A culprit is afoot..." Felicia looked up at Toon Link and Young Link - two young buddy cops who looked like the perfect candidates for finding crooks. "Toon Link, Young Link...can you find the person responsible for creating this mess?"

"Can a platypus find the direction of his trail with just its shadow?" asked Young Link, as Felicia made a funny face. Even Toon Link made one. "...you know what, that was rhetorical question - a stupid, rhetorical question. Please don't answer it, Toon Link and I, we'll just be on our way..." Young Link would grab Toon Link's hand, and sheepishly walk out of the cafe, saving himself from a boatload of humiliation.

* * *

Upon exiting the cafe, Toon Link and Young Link would find their first clue of their investigation...a trail of footsteps, all of them in yolk. The two Links would follow this trail, wondering where the footsteps would take them.

"We should do a taste test, to see if the footstep substance is actually yolk, and not some alien substance..." said Toon Link, kneeling down at the floor and stroking his finger through the yolk, before tasting it as he inserted his finger into his mouth. "Tastes buttery...and bitter...either this is indeed egg yolk, or Cilan's horrible excuse of custard pie. Thankfully I haven't lived out my childhood long enough for it to be ruined because of my unwillingness to accept the fact that Cilan can't make excellent cuisines."

"If that yellow stuff is Cilan's awful custard pie, and if he was microwaving his custard pie in the microwave..." Young Link stroke his chin in thought, taking everything into consideration. "...then that must mean Cilan's the culprit! However, we don't really know _officially..._ we should enlist in hiring a forensics expert, to run forensics for us so we could solve the case quicker."

"Ema Skye would've been a fine person for the job, but we all know what happened to her - doubt Master Hand would ever let Ema back at the mansion after she sold out to Organization XIII like that. So who else?"

Toon Link and Young Link would seemingly find their man, when Villager was happily walking down the hallway, holding a piece of paper in his hands. Villager had a lot of aliases under his name: mayor of Smashville, _Animal Crossing_ boy, and the face of evil, possibly due to those eyes of his. However, those creep eyes weren't enough to unnerve Toon Link and Young Link, who were apparently interested in "hiring" him as a forensics expert.

"State your full name, and the rights that you own!" Toon Link barked at Villager, as he and Young Link donned their bows and pointed their arrows at the young lad, who held his hands up in fear. "Say it now, or go out in peace - your decision!"

"Uh...my name is Villager, and I have the right...to fish?" answered Villager, though Toon Link and Young Link weren't satisfied by the answers. "Villager" wasn't exactly a full name, and having the right the fish was nowhere to be found in the U.S. Constitution. But nonetheless, Villager answered, and that's what mattered the most.

"Good enough for us, I guess..." said Young Link, as the two Links placed their weapons away. "We have a major crack to case - a big explosion occurred in the cafe, with egg yolk all over the place, and we need a forensics expert to help us crack the case. You got any experience with forensics?"

"Does this count?" Villager held up the piece of paper he was holding, and it contained fingerpaint drawings...which looked strange and obscure since as you know, Villager didn't even have fingers in the first place. Just spoons for hands.

"Fingerpaint, huh..." Young Link analyzed the drawings, like they were paintings from Pablo Picasso. Like they were worthy of being submitted to the most famous art galleries in Europe. "That's good enough for us, don't you think so Toon Link?" The Hylian nodded his head in agreement with eagerness, agreeing wholeheartedly. "Well congratulations, Villager...you're on board! Welcome to the team!"

 **Villager: First time working as a forensics expert, oh yeah! Never held a job title before, aside from being Smashville mayor. I'm sure forensics has more to do with fingerprints and accruing DNA. Do I think conducting forensics for something minor like a microwave explosion is a bit too much? Sure, but Toon Link and Young Link are involved in cracking the case, and everything they do is in the name of fun. Their tenure as cops, it's just a way for them to have fun, they're not taking their jobs seriously...I hope.**

* * *

With Villager now "hired" as their forensics expert, Toon Link and Young Link continued in their investigation, as they went to the pantry to see if any eggs were taken, or as they were assuming, stolen. They saw that there were no egg cartons in the pantry...so they rummaged through every other item possible, like peanut butter jars, Pringles canisters, boxes of crackers, and soda bottles, just to be on the safe side. Because everyone knows eggs can be found in such items, right?!

"Oh boy, can't wait to make some homemade pizza, it'll save Samus time, and money...and also save the pizzeria from receiving another death threat as well," said Cilan, excitedly rubbing his hands together as he approached the pantry...only to stop inside and see Toon Link and Young Link making a mess. The connoisseur looked dumbfounded; a part of him wanted to tell on the Link cops and have Master Hand take away their badges. "What are you boys doing, nobody is allowed in the pantry except for me, Dunban, and Palutena!"

Upon hearing Cilan's voice, Toon Link and Young Link turned around, pointing their arrows at the connoisseur. Cilan would have his hands up in the air, sweat rolling down his face, not risking to feel the furry of the buddy cops.

"Enough out of you Cilan, we know you're the one responsible for the microwave explosion!" frowned Young Link, sensing the fear in Cilan's eyes. "...or at least you know you're the one responsible, since you probably placed that dreadful custard pie of yours in the cafe's microwave. Or we know that you know that you're the culprit at hand. Or maybe perhaps you know that we know that you know that WE know that you're..."

"Shut up Young Link, you're not going anywhere if you keep going down that verbal rabbit hole...trust me, I've been there," Toon Link said to his partner-in-crime, before reverting his attention to Cilan. "Now tell us, you not-so-fancy leprechaun...what possibly convinced you to come to the pantry, what business do you have here?"

"Like I told you already, no one is allowed in this pantry except for me, Dunban, and Palutena," stated Cilan. "I just came here to get some materials for the pizza I'm making tonight, everyone will love it!" The Links clearly weren't convinced by Cilan's story, as Toon Link took out his boomerang and struck Cilan in the knee with it, sending the connoisseur down on one knee. Young Link would then go in for the kill, performing a sick nasty elbow drop on Cilan and sending him face-first unto the floor, before pinning him so he wouldn't get up.

"Very likely story Cilan, we all know what you're REALLY up to!" said Young Link, lifting up Cilan's face off of the floor. "You've developed a plan, a master plan - a plan to bake even more crappy pies, and force them upon the mansion residents, and then forcing them on everyone around the world, before you take over the world with your stupid pies! And don't even try the 'everyone will love my food' game with us, we all know how your custard pie turned out!"

"My custard pie turned out great, it was delicious, tasty, and absolutely scrumptious! Kids like you don't know how to recognize superb cooking talent when you see it, you're culinarily blind!" Of course Cilan would think his pie was fabulous - he baked it, and was prone to being in denial about the quality, or the lack thereof, of the things he baked. "Also, what's this about me being responsible for some microwave explosion?"

"Felicia and Flora were caught in the middle of a microwave explosion in the cafe, with egg yolk all over the place," explained Toon Link, with Young Link maintaining a good grip on Cilan. "That egg yolk _could_ have come from your custard pie...do they put eggs in custard pies? They did lie about having corn in corn flakes, so I shouldn't have any obligation to answer that question. Anyways, we followed a trail that led from the cafe to the bathroom...and then we went to the pantry to investigate, because the business we would be doing in the bathroom would be the wrong kind of business. Also, Roy just came out from the bathroom, and we didn't know if he did a number two, and the coast was clear..."

And that's when it hit Toon Link - what if Roy was the one responsible for the microwave explosion? He had everything you would want in an innocent criminal and more - an innocent look, nice personality, and a never-say-die attitude. Most criminals didn't want to die, they wanted to commit crimes forever - and after thinking over that, and the two other superlatives, Toon Link was utterly convinced he knew who the true culprit was.

"Cilan, it looks like you're off the hook...I think I know the _real_ culprit behind the heinous crime," said Toon Link, as he headed towards the pantry exit. "Let's go, Young Link - we must find the real crook, before it's too late!"

So Young Link would follow Toon Link out of the pantry, as Cilan slowly got back to his feet, albeit struggling...only for Young Link to return and give the connoisseur one more elbow drop, before leaving for good. Poor Cilan was now back on the floor, moaning in pain.

* * *

 **Roy: Started a fantasy football league with me and many of the other guys around the mansion. We all have very unique teams...Corrin, for example, wanted to be a homer and have his team exclusively consist of New England Patriots players, because he's a Pats homer due to "Emperor Palpatine" being the coach. Dude's gonna bomb so hard when the Patriots have their bye week...and I'm playing against Corrin that week, so that's an automatic win. Pit, wanting to prove to everyone that he "doesn't see color", has his fantasy squad consist of nothing but white players, even the running backs are white dudes...not sure how Pit's proving his point by doing that, but the more power to him!**

Roy was just dying to check on the performance of his fantasy team - especially with a football game played the other night, with several players being on Roy's team - but unfortunately for the swordsman, he had no phone to check his team, and keeping with your fantasy team was a popular thing to do nowadays. Thankfully Jacky - who happened to be in the same fantasy football league as Roy - was there to save the day, as he allowed Roy to check his team on his cellphone.

"I'm telling you man, you should have dropped the Bears defense a long time ago, they're not what they used to be," Jacky said to Roy, who was nervously looking at the performance of his team. Roy's team, named "The Binding Blades", was currently down to Falco's team, named "Your Mom's Hot" (very interesting name choice from Falco). "And don't even bring up the eighties, you used that excuse the last time..."

"No worries, I'll beat Falco's sorry team this Sunday...if my best players weren't injured," frowned Roy. He should probably just throw in the towel, and just tank the entire season. Tanking in fantasy football was a seldom occurrence. "Gotta try out that waiver wire soon..."

"Yeah, looking at that team of yours, you should have checked out that waiver soon...now if you excuse me, I need my phone back. Promised Sarah I'd give her a call before the end of the day - can't make myself out to be a liar, you know!"

So Roy handed back Jacky's phone, and the two would go their own separate ways. Roy walked down the hallway, with Toon Link and Young Link spying on him through some large flower pots. They had their eyes closed in on Roy, watching him with snake eyes.

"What makes you think that Roy is the one behind the microwave explosion?" Young Link whispered to Toon Link, as Roy was now whistling innocently...unless his innocent whistling was just a facade for his heinous deeds!

"Roy is a ginger, gingers are believed to have no souls, and heartless sociopaths who murder and kill as they please are believed to have no souls too," explained Toon Link, as Roy came to a stop to speak with the male Inkling. "All of those things add up, and when they do, the obviousness becomes obvious, clear as day."

"Going by that rationale, that must mean...Roy is a heartless sociopath, one who plotted the microwave explosion and wanted the blame to be placed on Feliia and Flora, rather than himself! Ugh, how didn't I find out about this sooner?!"

"Because, Young Link, there are times when we choose to stay woke, and choose _not_ to stay woke." As he was saying this, Toon Link was resting a hand on Young Link's shoulder, like he was a wise Asian old guy hand-feeding a pupil of his vital information. "Fortunately for us, the former of those two moments happened, and we are blessed to be witnesses of that moment. Now let's go nab Roy, before it's too late!"

Toon Link and Young Link were now ready to pounce on Roy, with the swordsman being held up by the male Inkling, spreading the good news about Callie of the Squid Sisters, and how she and Marie were finally reunited.

"Everything is alright and well in Inkopolis - the Squid Sisters are reunited, and my babe Callie is still looking fine as always," grinned the male Inkling, thinking about how attractive Callie was...when out of nowhere, Toon Link and Young Link ambushed Roy, sending him to the floor. Toon Link would hold Roy's arms behind his back, while Young Link put the swordsman in an ankle lock. The male Inkling looked on bewilderment, wondering if he should run away for his own safety.

"Don't try and deny it, we know you're the one responsible for that microwave explosion in the cafe, now fess up you bland ginger!" frowned Toon Link, daring to pop Roy's arms out of their sockets if he had to go that route. Being called bland was one thing, but being called a ginger befuddled Roy even more.

"Um, just because I have red hair and all, doesn't mean that I'm a ginger!" the swordsman fired back at Toon Link, who pulled Roy's arms behind his back even more and putting him in a world of pain. "I was just born with red hair, doesn't mean I'm an actual ginger!"

"Look Roy, you can be in denial all you want, but there's no denying the fact that you tampered with the microwave in the cafe, and wanted Felicia and Flora to take the blame for your transgressions. Admit your faults, or pay the consequences, bland ginger!"

 **Male Inkling: Roy kinda has a point, he really isn't technically a ginger...his hair may be red, but not the kind shade of red that would qualify him as a ginger. Now the female Inkling, she could definitely count as being a ginger!  
** **Female Inkling: *angrily approaching the male Inkling* What are you trying to say, are you insinuating that because I'm a "ginger", that I have no soul, that I'm lifeless? DO YOU CALL THIS LIFELESS?!  
** **Male Inkling: No, no, not by any means, I would _never_ call you lifeless...babe. *grins innocently, as the female Inkling grows angrier*  
Female Inkling: OH, SO YOU'RE TAKING A PAGE OUT OF CAPTAIN FALCON'S FLIRTING BOOK, HUH? YOU'RE GONNA GET IT NOW! *whips out Splattershot, and chases a screaming male Inkling down the hallway***

"For the last time, I am NOT a ginger, and I'm not bland!" frowned Roy, while Toon Link continued to believe that Roy was in bitter denial. "I also had nothing to do with the microwave explosion! Still can't believe you called me a ginger - wouldn't I need to have orange hair to qualify as one!"

"Yes, that may be true, but even people with orange hair are called red-haired people, and therefore they are gingers,' explained Young Link, as the male Inkling slowly backed away. "However, because they're gingers and they have orange hair, and not red hair, doesn't mean a thing. So the way I see it, you're just being insensitive towards the men and women who are gingers, and have orange hair...because you're a ginger like them, with red hair and all, and refuse to accept your gingerness, for reasons unknown."

"I...am...not...a...GINGER!" Roy shouted at the top of his lungs, leading Toon Link and Young Link to think he was a crazy person. Like any other crazy person, Roy needed a little something to bring him back to normal...

"He's letting his denial take over his temper - Young Link, tase him!" ordered Toon Link, as Young Link took Pichu from underneath his police uniform and shocked Roy with the tiny mouse Pokemon. Question is, how long was Pichu hiding under Young Link's uniform? How was the Pokemon able to breathe? Regardless, seeing Roy being electrocuted was enough for the male Inkling to run away, not wanting a similar punishment to happen to him.

"Think Roy finally learned his lesson...but I do think he's a suspect," said Young Link after he was doe electrocuting Roy, who was now incapacitated fro the shock. "There might be one one more suspects roaming about that we must find...might be another ginger responsible for the crime. And I know just the one!"

"Lead the way, Hutch - take us to this soulless sociopath ginger!" exclaimed Toon Link, as Young Link would lead his partner-in-crime to the "other" ginger present in the mansion. Who could this ginger possibly be? Roy remained on the floor, struggling to get up, when Master Hand appeared.

"Dang Roy, you look like you just got struck by lightning!" exclaimed the giant hand, not at all concerned about Roy's well-being. "The average person has a 1 in 700,000 chance of being struck by lightning!" Evidently, Master Hand was more interested in spewing unnecessary facts. "Way more common than winning the lottery, which is a one and 175 million chance of happening. Bet you feel like 250 lottery winners - if you do the math, that is!"

"Toon Link and Young Link ambushed me for no reason - they tackled me to the ground and electrocuted me!" Roy explained to Master Hand, once he was up to his feet, dusting the soot off his garments. "There was a microwave explosion in the cafe, and apparently the two blamed me for it."

"The microwave in the cafe exploded? How very peculiar...it does sound like someone was responsible. I don't know if I should put my trust in Toon Link and Young Link to solve the crime...and find the right suspect, so I'll be doing some snooping around and maybe find some clues. Wouldn't want to waste Layton and Luke's valuable time..."

* * *

Love was in the air, at least for newly-formed couple Itsuki Aoi and Tsubasa Oribe. The couple was formed last week, during Karaoke Night, and was sort of triggered when Tsubasa kissed Itsuki on the cheek at the cafe. This gave Itsuki the green light, and express his feelings for Tsubasa, making the idol singer gush during her talking head segment. Itsuki and Tsubasa were outside in the front yard, relaxing on the soft, green grass, and enjoying the sunlight while looking at the clouds.

"Why are we outside again, was this what you had planned?" Tsubasa would ask Itsuki, who had his arms folded behind his back. If this was the only thing Itsuki had planned with Tsubasa for the day, then he had a lot of work to do as a sufficient boyfriend.

"Cloud told me that he usually spent time with Aerith outside...so I'm just doing what he told me to do," replied Itsuki. He and Tsubasa could be resting in the lawn chairs, near the mansion porch, but poor Itsuki hasn't gotten that far yet to consider that option.

 **Tsubasa: Each day keeps getting better and better, with Itsuki as my boyfriend...it's like everything's pushing up daisies for me. I thought I was the only idol singer in love, but I still think Kiria harbors a crush on Snake. Asked her about it the other day, and she said that she "adored wily old men with gruff voices and scraggly grey hair and magnificent cheekbones"...didn't know Kiria had an old man fetish. I would assume such a fetish is very unhealthy compared to other fetishes out there.**

 **Itsuki: Call me a rookie in love, if you will - every day for me is another learning step in becoming a good, if not great, boyfriend. Understanding Tsubasa's romantic cues, knowing what to say and when to say...it's all very complicated for me, at times. It's like learning an entirely new language, except this language could potentially make or break the rest of your life...**

"Probably looks at clouds because his own name is Cloud, hehe," giggled Tsubasa, before looking down and seeing Villager imprinting the fingerprints of her index finger onto a small slip of paper. Her fingerprints were on the paper, in black. "Um, Villager...what on earth are you doing?"

"Doing some forensics work, looking for potential suspects," explained Villager, as he inspected Tsubasa's fingerprint. "Microwave in the cafe exploded, and there's egg yolk or some other strange yellow substance all over the place. Judging by this fingerprint, I need more evidence..."

Villager would do the unthinkable, as he licked Tsubasa's fingers and tasted them. Every. Single. One of them. Tsubasa looked on in horror as Villager did his little taste test, and Itsuki looked on in horror too.

"Villager, why on earth would you think Tsubasa's the one to blame for the microwave explosion, she's always nice and cheery and happy!" Itsuki said to Villager after his taste test was over. Tsubasa was consoling her now contaminated fingers. "Who would ever suspect her to be involved in something like that?!"

"You expect me to believe that Itsuki...but trust me, I know better," said Villager, creeping out Itsuki and Tsubasa _just_ a little. "Toon Link and Young Link informed me that the most evil, dangerous, and wicked people are those who flaunt a happy facade, like Tsubasa herself." Itsuki and Tsubasa, after hearing this, just exchanged looks of concern with one another. "To us, they're our enemies, and ordinary people, like myself, are enemies to them. I do not wish to be your enemy, Tsubasa, but when push has to come to shove, then I _will_ be your public enemy, and we _will_ do battle."

"Villager, please go away and leave Tsubasa and I be." Villager would do just that, as he took his forensics work back to the mansion. The evidence on Tsubasa wasn't substantial enough...Villager had to dig a bit deeper.

* * *

Toon Link and Young Link were on the prowl, searching for the other "ginger" in the mansion with Young Link leading the way. The buddy cops would find this supposed ginger, when they arrived at the gaming room.

No, they weren't here for the female Inkling, who according to the male Inkling, was technically a ginger. If she were to cause the microwave explosion, it would have to be a joint effort with her male counterpart - no way would she do a terrible deed just by herself. Granted, the female Inkling was playing in the gaming room by herself, since she didn't want to play with the male Inkling after the comments he made, but as stated earlier, she wasn't the person Toon Link and Young Link were looking for.

Rather, Toon Link and Young Link were present for the "ginger" playing stick hockey with King Dedede...Crash Bandicoot. Yes, Crash was apparently a ginger, because he had orange-hair, and according to Young Link, if Roy were to refute that Crash wasn't a ginger because he had orange hair instead of red hair...Roy would be making himself out to be an insensitive fool.

"My goodness Crash, you're far better at stick hockey than I ever would have imagined!" exclaimed Aku, who was spectating the stick hockey match between Crash and Dedede, wishing he had arms so he could play. "Never should have doubted you from the start!"

"Hate to break it to ya Aku, but Crashy boy is going down, just you wait and see!" vowed King Dedede, furiously pulling away on the rods. But Crash would have the upper hand on the fat penguin, and would successfully score as he fired the puck into Dedede's goal. The king of Dream Land growled, expressing his anger as he grabbed a nearby stool and threw it across the gaming room (nearly nailing MegaMan .EXE in the head), before grabbing the stick hockey table and trying to throw that as well, only to realize that it was mounted to the floor. "Gaaah! You may have won this round, Crash Bandicoot, but I guarantee you, that the next time around, you won't be so..."

"How about you just enjoy your loss and deal with it before you challenge Crash to another stupid round of stick hockey? Let the bandicoot enjoy his moment!" A bad sport like King Dedede didn't want Crash to enjoy his moment...for the fat penguin wanted to enjoy that particular moment himself.

 **King Dedede: Yeah, I'm still very bitter about losing to Crash, the fact that I lost to a guy who can't even speak a single English word makes the pain of losing even worse...wanting to prove that I'm a good sport at heart, I gave Crash a trophy to celebrate his victory. Might not be much, but hey, it's always the thought that counts!**

 **Crash: *holds up a Care Bear with a trophy on its belly, given to him from King Dedede***

"STAY WHERE YOU ARE, GINGER VERMIN!" shouted Toon Link, as he and Young Link took down King Dedede, sending the penguin to the floor, before firing arrows at an innocent Aku. The witchdoctor mask would float out of the gaming room, letting Crash deal with the buddy cops himself. "We know you were the one responsible for the microwave explosion in the cafe, Crash Bandicoot, now tell us why you did it!"

Crash would try and explain to Toon Link and Young Link that he was innocent, and that he had no prior knowledge of this microwave explosion happening...but he was telling his story to the buddy cops in nothing but absolute gibberish. To any person, it would be hard to decipher exactly what Crash was saying. But Toon Link and Young Link, on the other hand, understood every single word of gibberish that came out of Crash's mouth...and they were both offended.

"Oh man, Crash Bandicoot just cursed the two of us out, how could he?!" Young Link gasped in shock, appalled that Crash would stoop so low to use profanity against two buddy cops on the job. "Please tell me my ears were deceiving me, Starsky..."

"Nope, I heard every single curse word, Crash was straight up talking dirty to our faces!" Toon Link shook his head, also appalled. Everyone in the gaming room was just watching the buddy cops, except for King Dedede, who was still down. "Even insulted us and said we sucked at our jobs! Guess it's official now...Crash definitely was the one who caused that microwave explosion!"

"You're right Starsky, the case is most certainly closed, now and forever...Crash Bandicoot, you are under arrest, for tampering with microwaves and setting off mass explosions within the Smash Mansion! Now put your hands behind your back so we can handcuff you! And don't scratch your butt either, don't wanna be handcuffing unsanitary hands..."

"What's this I hear about Crash tampering with microwaves?" Aku returned to the gaming room, somehow able to hear Toon Link and Young Link from a far distance. Or maybe he was just lurking around the gaming room entrance until the coast was clear. "When you said that Crash was tampering with microwaves, are you insisting that he was _using_ them?" Toon Link and Young Link looked at one another, and then nodded their heads. "Do you also think that Crash was responsible for any microwave explosions that took place?" Toon Link and Young Link looked at one another once more, and again nodded their heads. "Well let me boys tell you...Crash was in no way responsible for any microwave explosions that may have transpired, for he doesn't even know how to use a microwave to begin with! To this day, he still has an extremely hard time operating a remote control. So what possibly makes you think he could responsible for causing this 'microwave explosion', hmm?" Toon Link raised his hand. "If you're gonna use the 'Crash once used a jetpack against Cortex' excuse, then don't even go there..."

"Darn, guess this means Crash wasn't responsible..." sighed Toon Link, the case still yet to be solved. He and Young Link were so close, too. "So this must mean the other ginger, Roy, is the true culprit..."

"Assuming random people are culprits, are we? In what world would you think Roy would make a microwave explode? What, do you think he would randomly strike a microwave with his flaming sword, and blow it up to smithereens?" Young Link raised his hand. "Let me guess, you're gonna use the 'Roy's neutral special' excuse...put your hand back down where it belongs, boy." Young Link would do just that.

"Let's go look elsewhere, Starsky..." Young Link said to Toon Link, as the buddy cops exited the gaming room, leading Aku to shake his head at them. Good riddance.

* * *

 **Master Hand: What a fascinating, exciting time at the mansion...minus the whole Lucas situation, of course. Mario and his pals will find Lucas soon, unless they want to enjoy consequences. It's so great getting to solve mysteries, finding out who's the culprit, and finding clues and evidence and everything that comes with solving mysteries. It's why Layton and Luke have it so good, investigating day in and day out and digging for clues and maybe meeting hot ladies while on the job...Herschel Layton and Luke Triton, they're the real winners at life.**

If Master Hand wanted to find out who caused the microwave explosion in the cafe, he would have to look for the most unlikeliest suspects possible. The kind of people you would never expect to commit crimes. The kind of people who were less obvious than the average crook. Master Hand knew the people who fit this criteria to a tee...

"Confess your faults, and admit your wrongs - you're the ones responsible for making the microwave explode in the cafe!" Master Hand snapped, booming at the top of his lungs, raising his voice and letting his rage and fury known...to the Waddle Dee family living outside, next to the mansion. Master Hand apparently accused them of the microwave explosion, thinking that the Waddle Dees were trying to get a message across...a message that they wanted to live in the mansion. "I know why you did it too, don't even try to sugarcoat the truth! You want to live in the mansion? Well too bad, you'll just have to enjoy leaks through the cracks of your home when it rains, and the winds beating against the house's foundation, and a sleepwalking Luigi constantly knocking on your door every other night! Living ain't that easy, huh? MUAHAHAHAHAHA!" The Waddle Dees, who were likely scared to the bone, just stood around and did nothing. "...that is all, enjoy you the rest of your day!"

Master Hand didn't give a crap about the person behind the microwave explosion. In fact, he didn't give a crap about the case at all! He just felt like accusing random people, since he had a strange passion for yelling at people. The giant hand would find another person to put on blast, when he saw Lara Croft exit Mario's home. The tomb raider was still staying with Mario and Peach, and was only outside just to get a little sunlight. Master Hand saw Lara as a ripe opportunity to jaw out somebody who had literally no clue what was going on in the mansion.

"Lara Croft, how do you do, haven't seen you in forever!" Master Hand greeted the tomb raider, nearly scaring her. "You've changed a lot since I last saw you, haven't you? Is it just me, or do you look..sexier than usual?"

"Master Hand, it's been two weeks since you last saw me," Lara said frankly, finding this a somewhat inappropriate and inconvenient time to speak with Master Hand. "Did Mario not tell you that I'll be staying with him and Peach until I return to London? Thought he would've given you the memo by now..."

"Listening to the tone of our voice, you sound salty that I never came to visit you. Let me tell you, being the creator of the Smash universe isn't as easy as it looks...anyways, there's word about a microwave explosion that occurred in the mansion, and I do believe that YOU did it! Must've sneaked your way inside the mansion undetected, and made the microwave explode. I know you have legendary stealth skills, so don't even try to..."

"...now why would I ever sneak inside the Smash Mansion, when there's tons of people there that I've never met before? Cloud Strife and the others made such a big deal when they saw me at Luigi's fiesta. I could only imagine how everyone else would react to me..."

"Meh, you're just as worse as the Waddle Dee family...such a boring reaction. I was expecting you to be afraid, to be scared, to be crying your eyes out and be like, 'NO MASTER HAND, IT WASN'T ME, I DIDN'T DO IT'!...But nope, you had to take the boring route, and now I must bid you adieu. So boring..."

And with that, Master Hand vanished, leading Lara to enjoy the time outside by herself. What a weird conversation she had...

 **Lara: Mario and Peach have told me all sorts of crazy tales when they were at the mansion, and after hearing their stories...I'm thankful for my current living conditions. The mansion folk would drive me crazy...but I've seen crazier things before, some of which I'm too reluctant to mention.**

* * *

Nobody in the mansion was more hurt about the Lucas situation than Ness, who was sitting on his bed, head lowered, playing around with the baseball in his hand while Lucas' pet dog Boney was asleep. The PSI whiz lost his best friend, whose current whereabouts were unknown, and was starting to doubt that Lucas would ever return to the mansion again, let alone in one piece. What was the point of Ness enjoying his favorite activities, like playing baseball, or playing catch, without Lucas there to play with him? Ness could play with the Flying Man, but at this point, the mythical beast was nigh unbearable for him.

"Things just aren't the same without you, buddy..." sighed Ness, as he lifted his head up and looked across the room, at a picture of him and Lucas hanging on the wall...before looking back down and seeing Villager doing the fingerprint test on him. "Can't you see that I'm brooding over Lucas being missing, can you do your stupid fingerprint test sometime else? Or never, perhaps?"

"I'm terribly sorry Ness, but I must find out who's responsible for the microwave explosion in the cafe, and I must find out...through the power of FORENSICS!" exclaimed Villager, putting some pizzazz on the word 'forensics', as he concluded his fingerprint test. "But I know you were the one who did it Ness...you see, you've been so bogged down about Lucas, that you wished to express your anger, in violent ways, and making the cafe's microwave explode was one of the ventures you had to take to let out your anger!"

"Okay, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard - that's a theory Corrin could come up with, without even thinking or rationalizing. Now can you please go away, I'm trying to brood in peace!" Unfortunately for Ness, Villager refused to budge.

"No Ness, just hear me I out, I know the underlying problems existing inside of you! The pain...the pain you feel from Lucas, it's reeling inside of you, and it's turning into anger, and frustration, and even worse...destruction. You feel the need to destroy as you please, destroy every little thing, and destroy everyone in your way. But you can change from your perverse ways, Ness, it's not that hard to do! You must lay aside the negativity building up inside of you, compress it, keep it inside, and then you shall find your inner peace."

Ness had just about enough of Villager's ramblings, and he would grab his baseball bat off of the dresser, threatening to beat Villager to a pulp if he didn't leave. Villager, feeling threatened, sheepishly exited the room, for his own good and safety.

* * *

Toon Link and Young Link arrived at Shulk and Dunban's room, where they saw the two Homs chilling out with Fiora. The buddy cops where convinced one of the three Homs were the true culprits behind the microwave explosion case, and they had a hitch for who it was.

"Quick question...are Shulk, Dunban, and Fiora British, or are they New Zealanders?" Young Link asked Toon Link, also wondering if it was possible for Homs to have a nationality. A black Homs would blow the young Hylian away.

"They have a British accent...yet their teeth looks absolutely perfect," replied Toon Link, as he thought over Young Link's question. "They're definitely New Zealanders, for sure." Young Link nodded his head, now at peace knowing this.

 **Toon Link: While Hutch was interrogating Chrom, or as we like to call him, "Google Chrom", I took a sample of the egg yolk from the trail, and took it down to the boys at the lab...but later I found out that there were no boys, and there was no lab. I did find some fine ladies, though none of them were my type. I blame my youth...**

"Dunban and I will be back - Chrom just sent me a text that Young Link stuck his head in-between some elevator doors," Shulk informed Fiora, as Toon Link and Young Link hid close to the wall so they wouldn't be detected. "Didn't specify which elevator, so it'll be a while..." Shulk and Dunban would leave the room, and once the coast was clear, Toon Link and Young Link entered the room, where they found Fiora sitting on Shulk's bed. The Homs was looking at herself in a personal mirror of hers, when Toon Link and Young Link caught her attention, both buddy cops having their arrows pointed at her.

"Ah, I see you boys are back to your buddy cop shenanigans," smiled Fiora, as she placed her mirror back where it belonged. "So you are you arresting today, it can't possibly be me, is it?"

"You...it just HAS to be you..." seethed Young Link, frowning at a confused Fiora. "It was YOU all along! It was you who was behind the microwave explosion, and we know WHY you did it!" Now Fiora was confused even more, and she didn't have Shulk or Dunban to bail her out.

"What are you even talking about? I've been in this room all day, hardly got to talk to anyone as much outside of Shulk and Dunban. So if you boys would like to explain what's going on, then I would really appreciate it..."

"No point in explaining to a criminal who already possesses prior knowledge," said Toon Link, as Fiora eyed around the room. "We know why you did it, you were trying to frame Felicia and Flora all along! And we know why...Felicia, Flora, Fiora. Do you know what those three names have in common?"

"...the names all start with the letter 'f', and end with the letter 'a'?" That was the only correlation between the three names; at least that's what Fiora could think of.

"Exactly! Given your name, you want to be a maid, just like Flora and Felicia! But you feel out of the loop, you feel left out, and you wanted to send a message, to make your feelings known to Felicia and Flora...which is why you set up that microwave explosion, just to have the maids framed!"

"One, that's stupid, and two, I have no interest in being a maid. Your little claim is dumb as I know what." Fiora would get up off the bed, and snatch the bows out of Toon Link and Young Link's hands. "I think you boys need to learn a lesson, and maybe perhaps a reality check!"

"Hey, give our bow and arrows back, you criminal! You can't to this to us, now give our stuff back or else!"

"Oh yeah, well what are you boys gonna do about it? You're without your arrows...don't know why you even have them, since you're police officers, so what now?"

Toon Link and Young Link may not have their arrows in their possession...but they did have their boomerangs, and they put them to good use. Toon Link would strike Fiora in the shin, while Young Link on the other hand struck the Homs where the sun didn't shine. This was more than enough to make Fiora drop the bows to the floor, as she fell to her knees, clutching the place where Young Link nailed her at.

"Just had to use your stupid boomerangs, didn't you?" Fiora squeaked, as Toon Link and Young Link nodded their heads. Had to go with what they thought was the most effective move.

* * *

Master Hand continued his guilt trip around the mansion, now accusing Zero and X of the microwave explosion. Like the others, the robot buddies knew little about the microwave explosion that took place, and were confused as to why Master Hand was putting them on blast.

"For the last time, I don't have anything against microwaves, I'd be an idiot to hold a grudge against non-living objects," Zero tried to explain to Master Hand, who wasn't convinced by Zero's alibi. "Neither does X, and not to mention X is a peaceable guy who wouldn't make things explode."

"Exactly, you're just blowing this whole situation out of proportion, just like you do the many other times," added X, wanting to get away from Master Hand if he and Zero weren't being cornered by the giant hand. "Why not have Toon Link and Young Link find the culprit?"

"They _are_ finding the culprit behind the crime...I'm just, cleaning up behind them," stated Master Hand, as Proto Man, the silent edgelord, walked by. "Proto Man! Tell me you didn't make the microwave in the cafe explode!"

"Why would I ever do that?" questioned Proto Man, as he looked at X and Zero. Both robots shrugged; they were just as bewildered as Proto Man was. "What would even be the point of blowing up a microwave, what would be the goal?"

"The goal would be to rage a war against microwaves anywhere! You, Zero, and X are part of the effort to start this war, and I'm fairly confident that many other robots have joined you in the cause! Don't even try to hide it!"

 **X: Don't let Master Hand's paranoia fool you...there is no war between robots and microwaves. Would be a very one-sided affair, unless Dr. Wily goes bonkers and gives the microwaves sentimentality and powers. But he's preoccupied with that alternate dimension thing he's building for Sora and Aerith, so I shouldn't have to worry about such a dumb conflict...**

"I seriously think you're crazy, Master Hand, but I've known that the moment we've first met," remarked Proto Man, before a wicked laser beam was fired at him. The silent edgelord ducked out of the way, as he looked behind him and saw Cortex, testing out his new ray gun.

"You're really gonna kill someone if you keep testing your new gun of yours like that," Uka said to Cortex, the two at the end of the hallway. Cortex was still trying out the gun Uka gave to him in the previous episode. "Keep it up and we might get kicked out!"

"Haven't heard anyone complain, so I fail to see what the problem is," was all Cortex had to say. An evil villain like him didn't care about the safety of others. "And I can't believe you of all individuals would lecture me about not killing anyone! My, how much you've changed..."

"Hmm, I wonder..." Master Hand thought out loud, desiring a chin to stroke, as Cortex and Uka continued on their way.

* * *

Villager was now running a forensics test on Zelda, inspecting the princess' gloves for any yellow substance. When he saw that the gloves were clean and spotless, he gave them back to Zelda, who put them back on.

"This has been a waste of my time, but I do hope your little investigation comes to a conclusion soon, Villager," Zelda said to the young lad once her white gloves were back on. "Now if you excuse me, I must go check on Link...probably has a migraine."

Zelda would head to Link's room, as Villager walked away to conduct more forensics tests. As Villager walked down the hallway, he was suddenly greeted by a face he hadn't seen in a good while, carrying a suitcase and a Pikachu doll.

"Konichiwa, Villager-san!" said this person, shoving this Pikachu doll in Villager's face. It was Takamaru, and he went on a prolonged vacation to Japan. Needless to say, hardly anyone missed him... "Look at this Pikachu doll I purchased! It was a bargain!"

"Hey Takamaru, welcome back to the mansion," said Villager, pushing the Pikachu doll away from his face. "I would stay around and chit-chat, but I have some important business to do...Toon Link and Young Link tasked me in helping them solve this crime in the mansion, and I'm running some forensics tests on everybody to find the suspect."

"I've been away for a long time, so I know I'm not the suspect. Unless the suspect could possibly be...DR. NEO CORTEX?!" Takamaru shouted the name of the mad scientist, who just walked by. Takamaru was pointing at him, his mouth agape.

"I'm sorry, have we met before, or did someone already tell you about the great things I have done?" Cortex asked Takamaru, leading Uka to roll his eyes. "Glad you know my name, Dr. Neo Periwinkle Cortex...just cut out the Periwinkle. What's your name?"

"Get out of our mansion, you crook!" Takamaru took out his samurai sword, making Cortex shriek in fright. Cortex also pulled the trigger on his ray gun by accident, and the gun fired a laser that bounced all over the place, before knocking down a vase.

"Sorry, I flinched," was Cortex's excuse, as Villager took a close look at the mad scientist's gloves and saw a substance on them...

...a very yellow substance, to be exact.

* * *

 **Young Link: The investigation is now over. We have found our suspect in Fiora, and now she must accept the consequences of her crime. Master Hand will know what to do with her...**

Fiora, sitting on a chair with her hands tied behind her back, was in Toon Link and Young Link's "office", in front of a board with several pictures of suspects, and their monikers. Diddy Kong as "Fake Sean Combs", Cilan as the "tall leprechaun", Roy as the "bland ginger", Hisui as "Loverboy", Chrom, as "Google Chrom", and plenty of other suspects Toon Link and Young Link interrogated throughout the day. The buddy cops seemingly found the person responsible for the microwave explosion, as they were standing in front of Fiora, with Toon Link on top of Young Link so he could see Fiora, face-to-face.

"Fiora, do you accept the punishment for your heinous crime?" Toon Link asked Fiora, speaking like how a persecutor would during a court session.

"No, I didn't do anything wrong, and you should release me," answered Fiora, leading Toon Link to slap her silly. Fiora gasped. "How dare you slap me like that? Have you no shame?!"

"Let's try this again...Fiora, do you accept the punishment for your heinous crime?" Fiora still refused to answer yes; she could remain in the Links' "office" all day, if she had to.

"No, because I had nothing to do with this microwave explosion. And don't you dare slap me!" Young Link just kicked Fiora's shin instead.

"Hylia give me all the strength..." Toon Link said this almost prayerfully, before belting out the following: "FIORA, DO YOU ACCEPT THE PUNISHMENT FOR YOUR HEINOUS CRIME?"

"Toon Link, Young Link, I've found the criminal!" Villager barged inside the "office", entering with Cortex and Uka. "It was Dr. Cortex who was responsible for the explosion in the cafe!"

"It was Cortex all along?" asked an astonished Young Link, as Toon Link leaped down to the floor. "Great job, Villager, you're definitely getting a raise! So how did you find out it was Cortex?"

"Allow me to explain my story..." said Cortex, clearing his throat so he could give his testimony. "I had prepared an egg omelet earlier in the afternoon, and I had to microwave it in the cafe, since I was too afraid to use the oven. Don't judge me. Anyways, I got egg yolk all over my lab coat, gloves, and boots, and so I went to the nearest bathroom to clean myself off. When I returned to the cafe, I saw through the entrance Felicia and Flora, cleaning as always, and Flora was about to open the microwave. Wanting to test out my ray gun (and not wanting Flora to eat the omelet herself), I tried to use a laser beam that opened stuff, which Uka told me about...but unfortunately, I had it on the wrong setting, and when I pulled the trigger, it fired the wrong beam - a beam that struck the microwave and caused it to explode and leave yolk behind - just when Flora was about to open the microwave. Now I fear that I sent her in a state of despair..."

"Your entire life is a state of despair, to be honest..." remarked Uka, firing this jab at Cortex just because he felt like it. Picking on Cortex was his favorite hobby.

 **Cortex: Shouldn't have let Villager turn me it...I should have blamed the microwave explosion on Jigglypuff. Nobody would dare to excuse her for anything, even if she assassinated the President. Why haven't I thought of that, some villain I am...Oh no, what if I'm undergoing villain decay, and becoming less and less of a villain?! Living with Crash in the same establishment must be bad for my health...  
** **Uka: Bad for your health? More like bad for your sanity...**

"Well it looks like this case has officially been resolved - Cortex was the suspect behind the microwave explosion," said Toon Link, bringing the investigation to a close. "Hutch, untie Fiora so she can leave in peace."

"WHAT, THE INVESTIGATION IS OVER?" boomed Master Hand, who later appeared in the Links' "office". "Aw man, I was so close to making Isabelle cry, wanted to see the tears roll down her face...uh, I mean, who's the culprit?"

"It was me, Master Hand, it was me all along," Cortex raised his hand so he could be recognized. "I accidentally fired a beam at the microwave in the cafe, and cause it to explode and leave behind a big mess. I'm so sorry...wait, why am I being sorry, I'm a villain! ARRRGH!"

"Figured you would be trigger happy with that new gun of yours...you did say you tried to stop Raiden with that gun, so I can't outright punish you...though you did let Raiden get away. I'll just leave you with a warning, but if you screw up the next time, I might have to confiscate that ray gun for the time being."

"How surprising...you letting me off the hook like that. Thought you would have punished me instead. Although it could have 'gun' either way! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Unfortunately for Cortex, not a single person laughed at his corny pun. In fact, they were all feeling bad for him, and also questioning his thought process as the pun was being made.

"Oh, come on, you were all supposed to laugh! Like they do at the end of _Scooby-Doo_ episodes, after the bad guy is caught! Do any of you not possess a good sense of humor? People like you make me sick..."

Extremely rare for the "bad guy" in this episode to say the joke instead of the good guys, don't you think?

 **Toon Link: Today has been a great day...we found the suspect in Cortex, and Flora will no longer guilt trip herself to no end. Now she can resume her maid duties in peace...  
Young Link: Starsky, can I do it, can I sing the song?  
Toon Link: Go ahead, Hutch...sing to your heart's desire!  
Young Link: *sings _Law and Order_ theme song***


	94. Episode 94: Telepath

_Author's Note:_

 _Inching closer to the big one hundred...got some reviews to answer:_

 _"Will you include the characters from Final Fantasy IX? Will the other Crash Bandicoot villains like Tiny the Tiger show up? Are the Persona 5 characters going to appear? Are Gaius and The Chimerad from Tales of Xillia going to butt heads with the Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy crew if they appear? Is Master Hand gonna try and take Noctis's car when he shows up? And finally, how soon will the Vocaloids appear?"_

 _Perhaps. Other Crash villains will appear. The Persona 5 crew will appear very soon. Perhaps. Probably. And the Vocaloids...ah, I completely forgot about them. Gotta figure out how to utilize them. Here is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...when is Falcon expected to return and will he and Nowi ever get back together?"_

 _Won't provide any spoilers about Captain Falcon, or Nowi. And here we have Smashfan76:_

 _1\. Could we see characters from Undertale or Bendy and the ink machine appear in the series?_  
 _2\. Could we see Spyro and Cynder meet with Crash and Coco?_  
 _3\. Could we see more of the paper universe?_

 _1\. No characters from either game will appear.  
2\. I'll meditate upon this. Loved Spryo growing up as a kid, as much as I loved Crash. Good times...  
3\. More Paper Mario characters will debut, when I have the chance to showcase them._

* * *

 **Episode 94: Telepath**

Mario, who spent last week looking for the whereabouts of Lucas, Raiden, and/or any Team Flare members along with Sonic, Pit, Kirby, Cloud, Sora, Fox, and Falco, where unable to find any of the aforementioned individuals, despite searching high and low throughout Seattle, and the rest of King county. As stated earlier in the previous episode, Master Hand would punish Mario and company if their mission was unsuccessful, and because of their lack of success, some punishments were bound to be handed out.

Pit? Lost his cellphone privileges. Kirby? Barred from the kitchen. Fox and Falco? Had to give up money from Star Records to pay for Master Hand's practically unused Lamborghini. Sora? Wasn't allowed inside the gaming room. And Cloud? Was forced to _willingly_ give ten residents a hug. Didn't sound that hard, and wasn't even an actual punishment, but this was Cloud we're talking about...

Perhaps the only person who had it easy was Mario, who didn't receive that much of a punishment because he was a man living on his own, which meant he was free from Master Hand's punishing fetish. Only thing he got was a flick to the side of his head from Master Hand. Mario, who promised Master Hand he would search for Lucas another day, was now getting ready for breakfast, enjoying another fine Seattle morning.

"This woman is always-a misplacing my tooth-a brush..." sighed Mario, finding his toothbrush far away from the sink in the master bathroom. The plumber was standing in front of a mirror, looking for any other items Peach might've misplaced. Thankfully his toothbrush was the only item moved. "Maybe I should-a start labeling things, so Peach will think-a twice about touching them." After Mario placed the toothbrush in the cupboard where it belonged, the plumber got out his shaver, and some shaving cream. There was a lone hair on Mario's face, and it greatly unnerved the plumber seeing a facial hair that wasn't a part of his mustache. Mario was about to apply the shaving cream to his face (can't possibly use up one can just for one measly hair), when all of a sudden...

"WOOF WOOF WOOF!" some barking sounds were heard, making Mario jump and drop his shaver and shaving cream. The shaving cream landed on the floor, whereas the shaver landed in the sink, nearly going down the drain before Mario grabbed it in the nick of time. Mario would look down, and saw none other than Polterpup, wagging his tail, with a ball covered in saliva resting on the bathroom rug. "WOOF WOOF WOOF!"

"Play-a time will have to wait-a until it's afternoon, Polterpup," Mario said to his pet dog, kneeling down and petting him. "Gotta eat some-a breakfast first, can't start a day with-a out some breakfast in-a my stomach! Wonder what Peach is-a cooking this morning..."

 **Peach: With Lara as our guest, I wanted to give her and Mario a full English breakfast - fried eggs, sausage, pudding, bacon, mushrooms, baked beans, hash browns, and toast! Been trying to diversify Mario's food tastes, since pancakes and waffles are typical breakfasts for him. I do believe he's playing safe and avoiding as much dairy products as possible, he might be lactose intolerant...I would test it out for myself, but I wouldn't want to put Mario through any stomach trouble. I already learned my lesson from that one time we had hot wings for dinner; funny how Mario can use fire, but his stomach can't handle...fire.**

After shaving off the one facial hair that was apparently bothering him so, Mario put on his housecoat and headed downstairs to the kitchen. There he would find Peach, doing her thing and cooking to her heart's desire, and Lara, glancing at some pictures hanging on the refrigerator. One particular picture interested the tomb raider enough to take it off the fridge, and inspect it very closely.

"Good-a morning, ladies!" Mario would greet Peach and Lana, who both returned the greeting. "Is that the smell-a of sausage infiltrating my nostrils? Ooh, I can tell-a this breakfast is going to be-a well!"

"Mario...is this your arch-enemy, Bowser?" Lara asked the plumber, showing him the picture in her hand - it was a wedding photo, of Mario and Bowser standing side-by-side, with their arms wrapped around one another. The photo was a year old, hailing from Luigi and Daisy's wedding...and seeing two famous video game rivals standing next to each other in friendly solidarity was very questioning for Mario.

"...it...it was at-a Luigi's wedding, I had no other choice-a but to snap a picture with Bowser. King Dedede, the photographer, put-a me up to it." King Dedede, as a wedding photographer? Now Lara was even more bewildered.

"Mario and Bowser are actually quite friendly when they're not rivaling against one another and fighting for my affection," Peach said to Lara, who was certain Bowser harbored a crush on her judging by the many times the Koopa King kidnapped her. Made some sense in retrospect. "Mario might refuse to acknowledge it, but Bowser certainly doesn't."

"Bowser only acts-a friendly just to get on-a my good side," clarified Mario, as he went to go fix himself a cup of coffee. "We lived in the Smash-a Mansion together for a very long-a time, so he had no other choice-a but to try and act all-a nice and such. Same-a goes for the other villains."

"Obviously Bowser can't be evil _all_ the time, he has to balance it out every now and then," said Lara, hanging the wedding photo back on the fridge. The tomb raider never really had a villain she would constantly go up against; most of the bad guys she faced only hanged around for a short period of time. "I'm sure the other mansion residents are there to keep him in check."

"Well some-a do a better job than-a others, I will admit..." Mario had this to say as he went to the living room, cup of coffee in hand, to look out through one of the windows at the Smash Mansion...which had fire coming out from one of the dining room windows. "Mama mia, the mansion's-a on fire!"

"The Smash Mansion is on fire?!" fretted Peach, who immediately stopped cooking as she and Lara joined Mario at the window, seeing the smoke come out from the mansion and rise up to the sky. "Don't tell me Team Flare is involved..."

* * *

Team Flare wasn't involved in the fire - Lysandre, nor any Team Grunts, were found within the mansion's vicinity. The fire was taking place in the dining room, where all the mansion residents were trapped. Only ones absent were Master Hand and Jakob, as the doors were locked shut and there was nowhere to go.

"Oh no, another fire in the dining room, how could this be?!" panicked Bowser, as the fire, which was coming out from a trash can, was growing bigger and bigger. If episode 6 was any indication, then it was clear who started the fire...

 **Bowser: Yeah, I'm totally starting another fire drill in the dining room, just like last time! Gotta run another fire drill, especially for those who weren't around for the first one, like the idol singers, the bandicoots, and a slew of others. Told Master Hand about the rousing success of the first fire drill, and asked him if I should do another drill, and he gave me the thumbs up of approval! Jakob was somewhat cynical about the idea, but Master Hand said yes so that's what matters. They tell kids smoking hurts lives...but today, it will be the complete opposite!**

The fire drill, much like the previous one, was very, very hectic, what with people running about, not knowing what to do or how to solve the situation at hand. Even worse was that the dining room was now more concentrated, which meant more chaos was afoot.

"No need to fear guys, I can put this fire out myself!" Sora said heroically, getting his Keyblade ready as he faced the fire. "FREEZE!" The Keyblade wielder tried to fire some sort of ice spell at the fire, to freeze it, but little did he know that he was in a universe apart from his, which meant his magic would have no effect.

"Sora if we are to die here during this moment, allow me to be the first to say that you're an idiot," Cloud said to the Keyblade wielder, as he was trying to bring some sort of peace and reasoning to the dining room...but it was no use. Nobody would listen to Cloud anyways.

"Quick everyone, through the air vent!" Wario called out to everyone, as he tore off an air vent and tried to fit through the hole...only to get himself stuck because he was a fatty. "Crap, should have thought this plan out thoroughly..."

"My life and career cannot possibly end because of some fire!" exclaimed Yashiro, seeing his life flash before him as the fire grew bigger and hotter. "Take me with you!" the idol singer said to Wario, as he pushed him through the air duct...only to get Wario stuck for good. "Uh...does anyone have a plunger? Is there a plunger around here?"

"Keeping a plunger in the dining room is downright unsanitary," said Viridi, who was busy looking for Pit. "What we need is some water to douse the fire!" About time someone thought logically, rather than fearing for their life...

"Corrin and Kamui both wield the water element well, and so does Greninja - I think one of them should take care of the fire," said Ike, remaining cool and collected during the fire drill. Even though his hair was slightly on fire.

"Who needs water to vanquish the fire...when we can use the FORCE!" exclaimed Corrin, as he would use the "Force" on the fire; as you would expect, nothing happened as a result. But the fire did start firing some fire crackers at Corrin and several others; Bowser added fire crackers to the fire, for whatever reason. "Ack, the fire's shooting at us, we're definitely goners now!"

"This has officially gotten out of hand, let me know when this whole thing is over..." said Mewtwo, as he teleported away from the dining room. Shortly after teleporting, a cardboard box was moving across the dining room floor; inside this box was Snake, who forgot to put on his costume for the day. The former spy wouldn't get that far when someone lifted up the cardboard box...

...that someone being Kiria, who was now looking at Snake with loving eyes. Bringing a cardboard box to the dining room might not have been the best idea...

"If we are to die, right here and right now, let us die, together...in love," smiled Kiria, as she joined Snake on the floor, the cardboard box still in her hand. Snake instantly knew what Kiria was trying to do.

"No, Kiria, get away from me, I'm not in the mood..." Snake said to the idol singer, but it was too late...Kiria would place the cardboard box over her and Snake, and kissed Snake to her heart's content, as the fire drill persisted. Snake's muffled cries for help were not heard, as the chaos in the dining room was mounting.

"Maybe a laser from my ray gun can take out the fire!" said Cortex, as he fired a laser beam at the fire...only to make the fire even bigger. "...d'oh, had it on the wrong setting! Let me try again..."

"Hello, is everyone okay, where is there screaming?" Jakob's voice could be heard from behind the locked dining room doors, banging on the doors expecting a response of some sort. "Don't tell me Master Hand went through with the stupid fire drill..."

Suddenly, the fire from the trash can would slowly die down, as Master Hand slowly appeared in front of everyone, putting an end to the chaos. The giant hand was pointing at the dying fire, like he summoned it to die down, and once the fire was gone, Master Hand would address the crowd...

"Congratulations everyone, you all passed!" announced the giant hand, as everyone looked at one another in confusion. "What an excellent fire drill - it was awesome seeing you peons scream and cry and act like the whole world was ending. Gotta admit, it was kinda funny...but nonetheless, the second fire drill was a success! liked what I saw from the individuals who weren't present from the first one."

"What do you mean, 'second fire drill', you did something similar to this before?" asked Kohaku, as Kiria took off the cardboard box, finished with making out with Snake. The poor spy looked traumatized as heck.

 **Kohaku: The longer my brother and I live at this mansion, the more we feel that our safety is in peril...well, Hisui doesn't feel that way, but he's not self-aware like I am. Honestly surprised that he's still alive...**

 **Touma: This second fire drill better be the last drill to take place at this mansion. I've seen things during the fire that I never thought I would see. Dark Pit was legitimately crying, and Wii Fit Trainer was eating up all the breakfast food "to keep herself alive". Pretty sure this is some crazy, wacko dream I'm in, and everyone's too afraid to pinch me.**

"Yes, Kohaku dear, this was our second fire drill - Bowser had much to do with this one as he did with the first," answered Master Hand, as everyone glared at Bowser, who innocently had his arms folded. The only ones who weren't glaring were the Koopalings, who probably thought starting fires in dining rooms and concentrated places full of people was cool and acceptable.

"...on the plus side, nobody died like last time!" said Bowser, although it didn't diminish his thought process for doing another fire drill, despite the previous one being an incident the residents in the mansion at the time didn't want to acknowledge ever happened. "So just like Master Hand said, the fire drill was a success..."

"Nobody didn't die in the last fire drill, sure...but have you forgotten about Captain Falcon fainting after your drill was over?" asked Wii Fit Trainer, who tended to the racer after he fainted. "He could have died, for all we know!"

"But fortunately he didn't, and now he's living peacefully at the downtown jail, waiting for his sentence to end. I'd take Falcon's current situation over death, any day of the week! Amirite?"

"Everything is quiet in there now...why has all the screaming stopped, what is going on?" Jakob's voice was heard yet again; he really desired to know what was going on. The butler, still on thin ice with Master Hand and pretty much everyone else, wouldn't be granted any access.

"Go away Jakob, I'm handling things here - go and braid your hair or something!" Master Hand shouted at the butler; the sound of Jakob sighing and footsteps were heard seconds later. "Ooh, is that French toast waffles I spy on the table? Who do they belong to? Ah, no matter, I'm claiming them now! Someone get a fork so they can feed me!"

* * *

Once breakfast concluded - Wii Fit Trainer ate up most of the food after going stir-crazy, leading Cilan to cook breakfast all over again - Layton and Luke waited outside, expecting some visitors. These visitors were detectives, much like Layton and Luke, and were good friends with dudes like Sonic and Knuckles. Given these details, you should know the full identities of these visitors.

"Nearly lost my hat during the fire drill, don't think I would ever show my face in public again without it," smiled Layton, dusting off his signature hat. If you want to call it a signature hat, that is. "What about you, Luke, did you lose anything of some sort?"

"I lost one of my front teeth!" Luke opened his mouth to show Layton a gap in between his teeth. "Lucario knocked it out by accident, as he was looking for an escape. Tooth's in my pocket, safe and sound - gonna ask Leia if she can place it back in."

"Getting a checkup from Leia is better than having to pay for the dentist, as I would say..." Shut up Layton, you've never said that a single day in your life. That wasn't something you would randomly say in a conversation with someone. "Granted Leia can't do _everything,_ but she's way more serviceable than anyone could ever imagine - a true asset to the mansion."

The visitors would soon arrive at the mansion, with B.D. Joe pulling up to the driveway in his taxi, with a green crocodile, a purple chameleon, and a honey bee as his passengers. B.D. Joe, who was now operating Captain Falcon's taxi service by himself, would give a quick wave to Layton and Luke, who waved back.

"Here's your tip B.D. Joe, thanks for the ride!" the crocodile, known as Vector, handed the taxi driver his tip. Vector's buddies, Espio and Charmy, would exit the taxi along with Vector. "I'll make sure to give you a Yelp review if I can!"

 **Vector: Our good friend Knuckles called us a couple of days ago, and told us about how the two famous detectives, Professor Herschel Layton and Luke Triton, were at the mansion investigating the hotel attack at Mario's wedding. Layton and Luke believe Team Flare was responsible for the attack, especially after reviewing some security footage from the hotel. We were at the wedding, and we saw the hotel attack go down, and since we're curious about the intent behind the attack, we agreed to help Layton and Luke search for Team Flare!  
Espio: Mario and his friends went looking for Team Flare, but they didn't find any sign of them...must've been sidetracked. So we're essentially picking up behind Mario and his crew, because they frankly didn't do that great of a job.  
Charmy: Maybe Mario and friends failed because they weren't demonstrating unity, like the three of us do! They're not tight like we are, right guys? So how about it! *puts fist in center, expecting a fist bump from Vector and Espio, who both look at Charmy with questionable looks*  
Espio: No way am I going to be a part of this sorority-like crap... *walks away*  
Vector: Fist bump with your own self, kiddo... *walks away also***

"Appreciate it bro, I'll make sure to tell Captain Falcon about it if I can...once the guy gets released from jail," said B.D. Joe, giving Vector a thumbs up. "It ain't easy running a taxi service with the owner behind bars. But Falcon will greatly appreciate my efforts. Take care, y'all!"

And with that, B.D. Joe sped away from the mansion in his taxi, as Vector, Espio, and Charmy - Team Chaotix - headed over to Layton and Luke, the British detective duo waiting patiently for the three fellow detectives. What were the odds of Layton and Luke and Team Chaotix teaming up together and conducting an investigation? Possibly slim.

"Vector the Crocodile, Espio the Chameleon, and Charmy Bee, at your service!" Vector would greet Layton and Luke, as he and his buddies shook hands with the two British detectives. A classic example of real recognizing real.

"Professor Herschel Layton and Luke Triton, nice to meet you," Layton would introduce himself and Luke to Team Chaotix, in perhaps the most boring way possible. Sonic would be absolutely disgusted. "Imagined you three would arrive in your own vehicle..."

"Eh, we would have taken a ride in Vector's motorcycle, but there's frankly not enough room for the three of us," explained Espio, with his arms folded, maintaining his cool and collected demeanor. "We like to handle our business on foot - we hardly use any form of transportation."

"So I see...guess then we'll have to rely on one of the mansion residents to serve as our chauffeur. I know Link won't take us in his truck, for he's still dealing with head injuries. And Jacky doesn't have enough room for his car...so our options are pretty much limited."

Vector would soon think otherwise, however, when he turned around and saw Wolf, walking the Duck Hunt Dog. The space mercenary was stopped at the moment, holding the leash as the Duck Hunt Dog was sniffing around, looking for a good spot to pee at. The mansion's mailbox looked like a perfect spot to the mutt.

"How about we ask that guy if we can use his Landmaster?" Vector asked the others, pointing his thumb at Wolf, before heading over to the mailbox to speak with Wolf. The mercenary certainly looked annoyed, having to walk the Duck Hunt Dog all day long. But he was even more annoyed when he saw Vector approach him, and for only one reason...

"You again...what do you want?" Wolf questioned Vector, with an angry scowl on his face. "Came here to mock my horror movie again?" Wolf still thought very highly of his horror movie, even though virtually everyone in the mansion shunned it. Despite the quality, or the lack thereof, Wolf considered the horror movie to be his finest work. "Go ahead, do your worst, I don't even care anymore! Mock me all you want! Stick and stones can break my bones, but words will NEVER hurt me!"

"No you got it all wrong, I'm not here to make fun of your movie! Everyone else did, so mocking it wouldn't even be funny anymore." Wolf didn't need to hear that. "My boys and I - as well as Layton and Luke - need a ride, and I was wondering if your Landmaster was available." Wolf found it weird that Vector was asking him for a ride - and that Team Chaotix and Professor Layton were actually teaming up for an investigation. But Wolf, in a rare act of kindness, would say "screw it" in his head and give Vector what he and the others wanted.

"Sure, I suppose I'll give you and the others a ride...once this stupid dog is finished peeing. Has his hind leg up for as long as I know what...like he drank from a lake or something. I'll get my Landmaster up and going once this stupid dog is done with his piss break."

* * *

Kirby was in the kitchen, looking for something...or rather, _someone._ The pink puffball's best friend Pit had hightailed out of the dining room the moment the fire broke out, before the doors were locked by Master Hand, and Kirby assumed his friend was hiding somewhere in the kitchen, stuffed in a cupboard. Kirby would hear some moving nearby, and he would head to the nearest cabinet and opened it...finding Pit.

"The fire's gone Pit, it's okay to exit the cabinet now," Kirby told his best friend, who refused to move a single inch. "The firefighters are gone too, and they took their red firetruck with them." Only after Kirby said this that Pit left the cabinet - he wasn't afraid of firefighters, was he? Not that often you would come across a person who was scared to death of lousy firefighters.

 **Kirby: Believe it or not, Pit has a phobia for firefighters, after watching some fire escape videos online. He firmly believes that the firefighters stage fires all over America - either going to random houses and starting a fire, or paying someone under the hood to start the fire themselves, so they could stop said fire and "show off to everyone" how heroic they are. Because of this, Pit thinks that firefighters are the ones who start wildfires, and that they meet every now and then to determine where to start wildfires. Madness, I tell you, madness...**

"How long where the firefighters around, did they kidnap Viridi?" asked Pit, closing the cabinet door as he cautiously looked around. There could be a firefighter secretly hiding, ready to pounce on Pit at any minute.

"They were around for only less than an hour, Master Hand had to tell them off when a local news car arrived at the mansion," explained Kirby; Master Hand clearly didn't like being on the news, whether it was national or local. "Also, why on earth would they kidnap Viridi?"

"Duh, because they obviously hate nature...why else do you think they start wildfires? Their means of kidnapping Viridi would keep Viridi from stopping them. It's best to keep your enemies contained, than to have them disrupting your evil causes."

"Pit, can you hear me - I repeat, can you hear me?" Lucas' voice sounded, inside Pit's head. This voice was also heard by Kirby, who was ready to question Pit and his sanity when he heard Lucas. "Respond if you can, Pit!"

"Please don't tell me Lucas is around..." said Kirby, as he looked around in the kitchen. "If we did all that work looking for Pit, and he actually returned to the mansion without anyone knowing, then I'm going to be ticked off as heck..."

"Lucas is that you, how are you inside my head?" questioned Pit, who was starting to believe he was going fully insane. "Did you find a way inside my head, like that one episode from the _Magic School Bus_? You found a bus and shrunk it with your PSI powers, and used it to infiltrate my brain! Who's in the bus with you, huh?! Bet you got your girlfriend Kumatora in the backseat!"

"Kumatora is NOT my girlfriend, already had this discussion with you guys..." sighed Lucas, wanting to to get to the important stuff. "But let me cut to the chase - I can't tell you where I am, but I can tell you that I'm using my PSI Telepathy in order to reach you. Worked on my telepathy earlier, testing it out right now. But can you do me a little favor? What you must do is alert the others, tell them that Jakob cannot be trusted. I know he's already in hot water with Master Hand and the others, but I think I know the the entire gist of what Jakob is plotting...and it isn't good. So you gotta tell the others to keep watch on Jakob!"

"Many of us are keeping watch already, but I'll pass the word on if I can. I won't let you down, Lucas!" Au contraire; this was Pit carrying out Lucas' deed.

So Pit and Kirby (who heard the gist of Lucas' message to Pit) exited the kitchen, and the first person they saw was Lucina, leaned against a wall and reading the latest edition of _Swordsman Weekly._ A cover story about _Final Fantasy_ 's Orlandeau was inside.

"Lucina, I just received a telepathic message from Lucas...he told that Jakob cannot be trusted, and that we should stay weary of him!" Pit tried to alert the princess, who didn't seem to care. The _Swordsman Weekly_ was greatly piquing her interest, as always.

"Yeah, I know, don't trust Jakob, got the memo from Father," Lucina said flatly, as she turned the page of her magazine. "Will only be a matter of time until Master Hand finally removes Jakob from the mansion. Have no clue why he insists on keeping him around any longer..."

"But Lucina, you don't understand - Jakob has something big planned, and it could really affect everyone! This is huge news!" This was huge news...but it was stuff Lucina had heard from Chrom time and time again. Jakob isn't what he seems, can't be trusted, possibly up to no good, yadda yadda yadda...so to Lucina, it was a bit of old news that Pit was retelling to her for reasons unknown.

"Look, Pit, I get it, I really do - but you don't have to remind me. Father has a habit of doing that already. Acting like I have short-term memory loss, like I have Alzheimer's at a young age...the things Father does. Now if you excuse me, I have a magazine to read..."

And with that, Lucina would leave the premises, _Swordsman Weekly_ in hand, as Pit nervously bit his fingernails. As expected, the angel was failing his duty so far.

* * *

Mewtwo had accomplished a lot of things while the fire drill was taking place at the mansion. Skipped some rocks along a pond. Trying out a cheeseburger he found lying on the sidewalk somewhere. Took a bunch of selfies with diehard Pokemon fans. And a plethora of other stuff. The psychic Pokemon would return to the mansion when he felt like the time was right, and was in a conversation with Cloud, in the printing room.

"Saw perhaps the ugliest human being in existence while I was strolling through the city," Mewtwo said to Cloud, who was printing some papers for Zelda. "Had piercings on his chin, nose, ears, forehead, tongue...wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if he had piercings on his extremities. His purple hair didn't do any favors."

"A guy with purple hair and piercings all over his face...yikes, that would be quite a sight to behold," remarked Cloud, trying to get the image of such an individual out of his head. "Can't think of a guy that would do more of a disservice to himself...like Lloyd." Speaking of whom, Lloyd would enter the printing room, with a smile on his face. Expecting the swordsman to said something intelligent, right?

"Guys, you won't believe the fascinating discovery I made - llamas and camels _aren't_ the same species!" announced Lloyd, making it seem like he found the cure for cancer after years of research, as Cloud and Mewtwo exchanged looks with one another. "Who would have ever guessed that?! Man, and I thought the dolphin being the smartest marine animal was the most astonishing discovery I made..."

 **Samus: Ever since getting knocked out by Falco a couple of weeks ago, Lloyd has underwent a bit of a...personality crisis. One day, Lloyd is smart and intelligent, and sounds like an actual scholar, but on other days, he speaks and acts like his typical dumb self. On most days, he alternates between both mentalities. Like he has multiple personality disorder, but somehow skipped the abuse part.**

"Well they _are_ in the same animal family, called the camelidae," stated Cloud, recollecting what biological facts he knew. "They're also called camelids, and they all share the same qualities..."

"Ooh, camelids, what kind of animals are those?" asked an eager Lloyd, as Cloud felt a sudden indignation to punch the swordsman in the face. He was tightening his fist, doing his best to resist the urge. "Are they camels that look like llamas, or llamas that look like camels? Or is it both?"

"Lloyd you idiotic buffoon, a camelid is a member of the camelidae, and they can be llamas, camels, and alpacas," explained Mewtwo, also feeling a sudden urge to punch Lloyd in the face. And fire a Shadow Ball at him as well. "Must I explain to you what an alpaca is?"

"You don't need to explain anything to me, Mewtwo...because you're not even qualified, you're a freaking Pokemon for crying out loud! What would you know about real animals? You're not even a real animal yourself, you're just some emo cat guy who was created to duplicate a being way more perfect than you'll ever be!"

Mewtwo was ready to tango with Lloyd (in this case, tango means "fight", because you'd be hard-pressed to see Mewtwo dancing at all), but before the psychic Pokemon could land a finger on the swordsman, just when Cloud was ready to hold him back, Lloyd would fall to the floor, clutching his head in agonizing pain as he screamed. Cloud and Mewtwo would be concerned, but this was customary for them to see this, as Lloyd's pain would go away, and the swordsman would slowly rise up, back to his feet, before saying the following...

"You are right Mewtwo, camelids are members of the camelidae animal family, and I do know what an alpaca is." Just like that, Lloyd went from being your typical dumb swordsman to the scholar persona he gained after Bowser pranked him back in episode 72. "An alpaca, in appearance, resembles a small llama, and are mostly found in South America."

"Lloyd can you hear me, can you hear me Lloyd?" said Lucas, now speaking to Lloyd with his PSI telepathy. His voice could be heard by Cloud and Mewtwo, but not by Lloyd, who was still rambling about alpacas.

"Two breeds of alpacas exist - the Suri alpaca, and the Huacaya alpaca. The latter breed resides in the Andes, in the Altiplano plateau at up to 4,000 m above sea level. The Huacaya alpacas have a round and bulky physical appearance..."

"Are you even listening to me Lloyd, why on earth are you talking about alpacas? Are you being a smart aleck again? This isn't a good sign...oh, what am I saying, you being smart is supposed to be a positive thing! But you're running your mouth incessantly and ignoring my pleas...knew I should have contacted Kamui instead. I'll try her instead. Goodbye Lloyd, if you're even listening to me!"

"...and that, Mewtwo and Cloud Strife, is why the Huacaya alpacas are superior to the Suri alpacas...at least in my opinion. Any questions?" Cloud and Mewtwo did have questions...but the questions they had in mind had little to do with Lloyd's unnecessary lecture on alpacas. Rather, their questions had to do with a more important thing at hand...

"Was that...was that Lucas' voice we just heard?" asked Cloud, once Lucas' voice went away. The PSI whiz had enough of Lloyd - didn't matter if the swordsman was an intelligent genius, or a profound idiot.

"Sure didn't hear Lucas' voice...unless my ears were clogged. Sinus infections, allergies, and the cold are some of the main causes of clogged ears." Thanks for the info, Lloyd... "Fortunately for me, I don't have any of those. Now if you excuse me, I must teach the Koopalings about the entire history of the Korean War!" Lloyd would leave the premises, leaving Cloud and Mewtwo to wonder about the conditions and whereabouts of their fellow resident Lucas.

* * *

 **Zelda: Link has been really feeling down in the dumps for weeks on end...his nagging head injuries have done nothing but seep the enthusiasm out of his body, to the point where he even admitted he doesn't feel like living anymore. I've removed Midna from interacting with Link completely, since she'll do nothing but nag Link to death and make his headaches even worse, and considered having some "special entertainment" come to keep Link's poor spirits up. Haven't told Link who this "special entertainment" is, so I won't tell you, or anyone else...I just know that Link will have a smile on his face, at the end of the day.**

Zelda was making another visit to Link, who was in his bed with his eyes closed. He would have to keep his eyes open, however, for his "special entertainment" was about to arrive soon. Zelda had just informed the Hylian, who was now feeling very skeptical.

"Let me tell you that your 'special entertainers' are very nice people, and that they'll do little harm to you as they entertain you and keep your spirits high," Zelda informed Link, as the skepticism was building up inside of him. Screw a little harm - the hero of Hyrule wanted _zero_ harm. "I mean, what's the worse that could happen?"

"Oh, I don't know, a lot of things - they could have a magic trick, and set me on fire and let me burn alive," said Link, as the possibilities and scenarios were running through his head. "Or they could have a balancing act, and one of the performers lands on top of me and breaks my leg. _Or_ the entertainers could be comedians who tell funny jokes and somehow..."

"My goodness Link, you've become such a Debbie Downer...I'm sure it's because of the injuries you've sustained. But don't worry, the 'special entertainers' will make your pain and aching go away!" A knock was at Link's door. "Ooh, that must be them at the door. Come on in!"

Link tried to remain optimistic as the "special entertainers" entered his room...but there was no point for him to remain optimistic, as Fox and Falco entered his room, with Falco carrying a boombox. Were the Star Fox pilots seriously the best entertainers Zelda could find? She could have done so much better. So much for that smile Zelda guaranteed in her talking head interview.

"Yippee yippee yoo to the yippee yippee yay, what's good my...my neighbor Link?" Fox asked the now aggravated Link, almost prepared to address Link with a certain racial slur. Would have been bad, but would be even worse if Doc Louis was around. "Zelda has informed us that you were down in the dumps, but Falco and I are here to ensure that you're up in the...in the...help me out, Falco..."

"Up in the utopia, yeah!" Falco would finish for Fox, uttering this very cringeworthy phrase that made Link question his life and reason of existence. "I got the jams, and Fox has the cool stuff, add that all up and what do you get?"

"Fun, I suppose..." Link responded flatly, shooting a quick glare at Zelda, who smiled back. She was doing what she thought was best for her boyfriend.

"Yeah, that's it, the answer is fun! See, Link, you're learning so much, in so little time! But everyone knows learning doesn't count as fun. But singing, dancing, and maybe even pelvic thrusting most certainly does! Get ready to have the best day of your life, Linkster!"

"This was the best I could find...if Fox and Falco irritate you to no end, just let me know!" Zelda smiled at a still glaring Link, as she exited the room. Like Link could notify the princess, while he was in bed...also, the Star Fox pilots were irritating him, seconds after they entered his room.

"Alright now, let's get this party started!" exclaimed Fox, as Falco pressed the play button on the boombox, and "O.P.P." by Naughty by Nature started playing. And that's when the torture started for Link...

Fox was literally b-boying all over Link's room, nearly knocking stuff down as he was tearing up the floor...literally. The floor was hardwood, by the way. When you're tearing up hardwood floor, you know you're doing something wrong...but Fox frankly didn't know at all. The pilot was also singing and dancing at the same time, impressively, as he was singing into a microphone.

"You down with O.P.P.?" Fox asked Link, who was supposed to respond with an empathetic "Yeah you know me!". Instead, the Hylian had an angry scowl on his face, not feeling the excitement at all. "YOU DOWN WITH O.P.P.?!" Fox repeated yet again, and again he received no response from Link. "Alright, Link, digging the enthusiasm, ten out of ten! Where's my backup dancer? I need my backup dancer!"

Fox's backup dancer would soon arrive, when Coco entered Link's room carrying Crash. The blonde bandicoot would drop her brother on the floor, Crash plopping to the floor like he was dead, before getting up quickly and posing, exclaiming "Ta-da!" Link truly wished he had a gun right now, and for the wrong reasons...

"Crash, stop posing and dance with me, Link's excitement levels depend on it!" Fox scolded the bandicoot, who would be doing his own style of dance. This dance wasn't in rhythm with the song, but it was a dance nonetheless. Coco, laptop in hand, looked at the downtrodden Link, who was surely done with life.

 **Coco: Was informed about this "special entertainment" from Zelda. It's kinda like a kid's birthday party, and you go, and there's really nothing for you to do there. But the kid's having a really good time... *sighs* ...Link isn't going to have a really good time.**

"What on earth did I do to deserve this punishment?" Link asked Coco, who sat in the chair Zelda was sitting at, and pulled out her laptop. She smiled as she typed away, likely writing up a secret report for the U.S. government or something.

"Just do what I would do and fake your excitement," suggested Coco, as Fox and Crash were now b-boying together. "Chances are, if you smile profusely and keep that smile intact, Fox and Falco will leave you alone!" Didn't sound like a great plan to Link, but whatever worked best for him...

* * *

After feeding the Duck Hunt Dog, and giving him a bath, and assisting him with his online dating profile (don't ask), it was time for Wolf to prepare his Landmaster. Layton, Luke, and Team Chaotix were waiting patiently, while Wolf was doing his thing. Meanwhile, in the same vicinity, Mario was playing catch with Poochy.

"So because of Jakob, everyone thought I was a gremlin, because of my appearance and short stature!" Luke spoke with Charmy, the young detective and the bumblebee able to relate and converse with one another because of obvious reasons such as age. "Jakob would later apologize to everyone in the meeting room, but it didn't make up for the harm he brought upon everyone that day."

"Oh man, it must be terrible spending your entire day being called a gremlin, that's like being bullied at school!" remarked Charmy; thankfully there wasn't that much bullying taking place at the mansion, unless certain cases were swept under the rug when the documentary crew wasn't taping. "What other rumors were spread by Jakob that day?"

"Let's see...Layton was a virgin, Fox was a bastard child, Akira was a long-lost relative of Bruce Lee, Pit couldn't count to two...actually, I think that wasn't a rumor, that could very well be proven true. But all the other tales we heard were definitely rumors."

"Man, Jakob sure sounds like a class-A jerk, especially after hearing a story like that!" Thankfully Master Hand and a handful of others are starting to see that, seeing Jakob's true colors. "Does Jakob get along with anyone?"

"Corrin and Kamui, but only because he served under them while they were at Nohr. So he has a bit of history with them, a connection that he doesn't have with anyone else in the mansion. He's very loyal to the twins, however...in a strange way."

Mario would throw the ball over Poochy's head, and Poochy, being the great pet dog that he was, ran to chase the ball...which inadvertently flew inside Wolf's Landmaster, while Wolf was on the outside checking out his beloved space vehicle. Poochy would run inside the Landmaster to retrieve the ball, and Mario was determined to get the ball AND Poochy before Wolf took off.

"Get back-a here Poochy!" Mario called out to his pet dog as he ran inside the Landmaster, with not a single person noticing. Shortly after Mario entered the Landmaster, looking for his pet...

"The Landmaster is all ready to go boys!" Wolf called out to Layton and company, as he hopped inside his vehicle and turned it on. "Let's get this show on the road!" So Layton, Luke, Vector, Espio, Charmy...and a random cameraman...would enter the Landmaster, and with everyone on board and ready to go, Wolf would take off...

...uunbeknownst to him, Mario and Poochy were castaways, in his beloved vehicle.

* * *

"Suzie, where are you?" Tails called out to his pet Alolan Vulpix, as he flew through the hallways with his...well, Tails. "Please tell me you didn't run away..." Tails hadn't seen his pet Pokemon all day long; Suzie was the first thing the yellow fox would see in the morning, so when he didn't see Suzie, he was all sorts of concerned.

Despite his concern, Tails refused to throw in the towel. He would keep searching for Suzie, arriving at the foyer and seeing Alm and Celica, seated on the windowsill having a moment together. As stated before, those two were practically inseparable.

"Alm, Celica, have you two seen Suzie anywhere, I haven't seen her all day," Tails would ask the Valentian couple, interrupting their cuddling and any other romantic stuff they were doing. "Even worse, I didn't see her in my room when I woke up this morning, she might've ran away..."

"I believe I saw Suzie earlier today, but in the hands of someone, can't remember who this person was..." said Alm, as he thought about who this person was...when Sonic would arrive at the scene, and guess who he had in his arms? _Suzie._

"Sup Tails, how's it going my man?" Sonic asked a now scolding Tails, as he brushed Suzie's puffy blue fur with a brush. "Just doing you a HUGE solid, if you don't mind - Suzie could really use some grooming!"

 **Sonic: Did everything I could in my power to win over Tails this week...bought him tickets to the movie theater downtown, and he rejected them. Gave him a lollipop I found underneath the living room sofa, and he rejected it. Offered to set up a lovely picnic with Cream in the nicest park in the city, with some musical accompaniment to make their picnic even better, and he...well, you get the picture. *yawns* So, in order to really win over Tails, I've decided to get up early in the morning, sneak inside Tails' room, snatch Suzie, and take care of her all day long, leaving Tails with no choice but to rekindle our friendship. As famous dork wonder Timmy Turner would say, what could possibly go wrong?!**

"Sonic, why do you have Suzie, who gave you permission to groom her?" Tails scolded the hedgehog, as he continued to brush Suzie like nothing was wrong. Really, there wasn't anything wrong taking place, but don't tell that to Tails.

"You're making it seem like I'm molesting your pet or something," replied Sonic, taking out some Pokemon food and feeding it to Suzie. "I thought in order to remind you about how great friends we were, I should groom and feed Suzie all day long, to make up for the things I've done in the past weeks!"

"But you never took care of Suzie like this to begin with, so why are you doing it now? I could feed and groom her myself - I'm not a rookie when it comes to being a pet owner."

"Yes, yes, both of those things are true - you're not a rookie, and I've never really taken care of Suzie until now. But the reason why I'm doing this is because we're bros, we're supposed to do things for each other that make us more appreciative about our friendship! Bros before hoes, man, bros before hoes!"

"That saying doesn't even apply here...you know what, give me back Suzie!" Tails flew over to Sonic, to retrieve his pet, but Sonic would stiff-arm the fox, pushing him away. Alm and Celica watched attentively, and so did Suzie, wishing Sonic and Tails would stop.

"Dude quit it out, I'm just doing you a favor, it's not like I'm killing your pet or anything!" Having just about enough of Tails, Sonic would aggressively shove the fox to the floor, as Alm and Celica watched in shock, their mouths slightly agape. "...you know what, you don't even deserve Suzie, if you're gonna keep on acting like a jerk. But go ahead, be my guest, be a jerk all you want! People keep saying that I'm a jerk, so how about you take a walk in my shoes, I don't care! Unless you ease up, you're never gonna get your Suzie back!"

After establishing this mandate, Sonic would walk away, with Suzie depressingly looking at her owner, Tails. Tails would glare at Sonic, mouthing "Then so be it...", as he got up off the floor and flew away, the gap between him and Sonic increasing. Celica was about to get up and speak with Tails, when suddenly...

"Celica can you hear me?" Lucas' voice was heard, from inside Celica's head, making the princess of Valentia stop in place. Alm looked on, wondering just what the heck was going on. "I'm using my PSI Telepathy to contact you, and I can't give away my current location...but I can give you some important information."

"Well as long as you're safe Lucas, then that's what matters the most," replied Celica, while Alm remained confused as ever. He could hear Lucas' voice; he just didn't know where this voice was coming from, or why Lucas was contacting his wife of all people. "So what is this information that you have to pass to me?"

"First things first, nobody else can know about this - we'll just keep it between you and me." Better cover your ears, Alm. "Let's just say that this information, it has much to do with Sonic...and also Tails." But not Knuckles? Very interesting...

* * *

Fox and Falco, Link's "special entertainment", kept on entertaining the Hylian, much to his very great chagrin. The pilots were entertaining Link with the one thing that left smiles on kids' faces...magic tricks! Falco was doing a magic trick with Crash, with Crash seated on a stool, and Falco, wearing a magician hat, holding a cape.

"In this next magic trick, I will make this bandicoot...DISAPPEAR!" exclaimed Falco, as Link (and Coco) looked on with unamused faces. The avian pilot would hold the cape in front of Crash, shaking it for effect, before bringing the cape away...revealing nothing but a stool! Top notch magic right there. "Just like that, I made the bandicoot disappear, and to places unknown!"

"Oh no, you made my brother disappear with your magic, man I've never felt so afraid about Crash's whereabouts in my entire life..." Coco flatly said, spotting Crash hiding in the closet, with his signature sneakers out in the open. "Give it up Falco, I saw Crash hide in the closet the moment you held up that cape..."

"Shut up Coco, you're ruining the trick for Link..." Like Link was supposed to care. "And now, I shall make a Koopaling appear, in this very stool..." Falco would hold the cape in front of the stool, again shaking it for effect, and once he lifted up the cape...Bowser Jr. was sitting on the stool! The door opened during the process of Falco doing his cape thing, so the trick was ruined from the get-go.

 **Coco: You know what Fox and Falco's "special entertainment" reminds me of? Those crappy reject acts you see on those talent shows on television. The people in those acts think they're worth a million dollars, and they go audition and appear on TV, with the extremely deluded mindset that they could actually go somewhere in life if they win the approval of millions of adoring people. Now Fox and Falco, they're famed space pilots, so the fame is already there...but as for the reality bit, it's still trying to get its way to them.**

"Okay, I'm seriously bored now, either you actually entertain me, or I'm taking a nap," Link demanded from Fox and Falco, and the pilots were determined to raise up the ante, to turn Link's frown upside-down.

"You know what, if you can't appreciate magic tricks, then maybe you'll appreciate...something else," said Fox, as he went over to Link's dresser and grabbed the Hylian's Master Sword. Link and the others wearily looked on, as Falco got a sense of what Fox was ready to do. Crash was still hiding in the closet, his butt poked out in the air. Would be an unwelcome sight for anyone entering the room.

"Uh...Fox, what are you gonna do with that sword?" asked a concerned Bowser Jr, as Fox was mightily concentrating on the sword in his hand. He was looking at it intently, holding it up in the air, the pointy end pointed towards him.

"Scram kid, it's none of your business, what is about to happen is not meant for your innocent eyes!" Fox informed Bowser Jr, who did as he was told and scrammed out of Link's room. Fox returned his attention to the Master Sword, admiring its silver allure, before doing the unthinkable...

...the pilot opened his mouth, and would _lodge the Master Sword down his throat,_ as Link and Coco, both disgusted, looked on. Falco was cheering on for his buddy, while Crash remained in the closet. But the madness wouldn't stop there...

Fox would do squats with the Master Sword in his throat, with his arms held out at his side, before finishing things off with a backflip. And yes, the sword was still in his throat, and somehow Fox was able to stick the landing without injuring himself. The stuff of legends...to say Link and Coco were disgusted for life would be an understatement after what they witnessed.

"I do believe I'm deserving of much applause," remarked Fox, taking the sword out from his mouth, before performing a bow. Link and Coco were unable to clap for Fox, for they were both too disgusted to do a thing.

All the while, Crash still remained in the closet...

* * *

Wolf would land his Landmaster at 1015 2nd Avenue - the location of the Federal Reserve Bank Building. According to Wolf's radar, there was a lot of suspicious Team Flare activity taking place at this abandoned building, and Layton, Luke, and Team Chaotix were determined to find out what was going on.

"Well boys, we've finally arrived...now it's time to get to business," said Layton, as he, Luke, Vector, Espio, and Charmy got out of the Landmaster. Wolf would also exit the Landmaster, holding two stowaways in his hands...Mario and Poochy. Mario was nervously looking at Wolf, while Poochy maintained the affable smile on his face that made him so adorable.

"Could've just asked me if you and your stupid dog wanted to tag along..." Wolf said to Mario, shaking his head in disapproval. "...but nope, you just had to sneak your way inside my Landmaster without permission, and have your dog pee all over my cupboard, and my collection of magazines with hot women! What do you have to say for yourself, mister?"

"What-a I have to say is...one of those-a women on those magazine covers could-a be your future wife!" replied Mario, hoping Wolf would buy this excuse. The mercenary didn't, as he threw Mario on the ground, and did the same for Poochy. Mario would lie face-first on the ground, face full of concrete, while Poochy got up like it was nothing. Dog was invincible.

 **Peach: Mario and Poochy have yet to return to the house...Mario must be walking Poochy around the block!...But Mario gets exhausted just walking more than ten meters with Poochy...ooh, Mario must be treating Poochy to some delectable chocolate treats at the ice cream place downtown!...But dogs can't eat chocolate, if I recall correctly...oh, I know, Mario must have enrolled Poochy in a pet show! I'll be expecting a blue prize ribbon to hang up on the chimney when those two return!**

"Leave it alone Wolf, having Mario means that we have another person to sneak with us," Espio said to Wolf; sneaking was a specialty for Epsio, what with him being a ninja chameleon. "Only thing we have to worry about is Mario's stupid dog..."

"Mario has tamed his pet dog very well I'm sure, I think that mutt will be the last of our worries," remarked Vector, flexing his fingers. "Now let's hurry this thing up, so my boys and I can return to our joint and I can check out that new k-pop video, the one from that cute girl group called...you know what, please disregard the last part."

Vector and company would approach the door of the Federal Reserve Bank Building, as just as they figured, the door was locked shut. So Vector, the lowkey k-pop fan, with his raw strength and power, punched the door down, allowing his crew to step inside.

Once inside, Vector and company looked around, before they heard a bunch of chatter coming from a nearby room. The sneaky fellows would stealthily approach this room, a large, spacious room, and saw multiple Team Flare members, joined together.

"This building must definitely be a hiding spot for Team Flare," inferred Layton, as there was someone speaking to the Team Flare members. Mario listened attentively, able to recognize this voice.

"That voice, I've-a heard it from some-a where..." the plumber furrowed his brow, as he kept his ears very much peeled and continued to listen. The word choice of the speaker was very different...and to some, oddly familiar.

"All the fink-rats at the mansion won't have a single ounce of readiness for the revenge that shall rain over them!" the speaker proclaimed; does the word choice and manner of speaking sound familiar, in any way? "Their lives will be nothing but a caricature of a cartoon drawn by a kid who is stupid! They shall all fall and perish, while we have the last laugh!"

"Yes, I know-a who that is..." said Mario, as Team Flare were cheering on. "That person speaking to Team-a Flare is _Fawful_!" Mario took a peek inside the room, and his suspicions were true - standing at the front of the room, on a structure where he could be seen by everyone, was Fawful, who was strangely alive, despite his demise at the end of _Bowser's Inside Story._ "I thought-a Fawful died, he practically exploded!"

"Died, exploded, which one was it?" Vector asked Mario, unable to tie the two verbs together. "Regardless of Fawful's fate, how the heck is he alive again? Never met the guy, don't know him that well, but I sense a lot of missing details..."

"WOOF WOOF!" barked Poochy, as he ran inside the room without warning, grabbing the attention of Fawful and the Team Flare grunts as several grunts were knocked down to the floor. Poochy was standing by himself, with his ever happy deposition, as Espio and Wolf facepalmed.

"Poochy, you bad dog, get back here!" Layton scolded the mutt as he entered the room to retrieve Poochy...only to receive the attention and ire of Fawful and the grunts. "Uh...just to be clear, this isn't my dog, I'm just...babysitting it...or him, yes, him..."

"Fink-rat detected, interrupting our important meeting!" frowned Fawful, as the Team Flare grunts donned their Poke Balls. "Put away your Poke Balls, don't waste your precious Pokemon on this fink-rat..."

"Then how about you let-a them waste their Pokemon on-a us instead?" said Mario, as he joined Layton, getting in a fighting stance. Luke, Wolf, and Team Chaotix were left with no choice but to join Mario, all because the plumber said "us".

"Mario of the Mushroom Kingdom?! I have great fury...and also great vengeance! It shall be the demise of you and your fink-rat friends, if you don't leave..."

"Imagined you'd-a be gone forever, after Luigi and-a I finished you off for-a good. So tell-a me...how did you come-a back to life?"

"That information is none of the concern of you! And since you refuse to leave us be...Team Flare, ATTACK!"

So it was on - Mario and his crew, versus a horde of Team Flare grunts. Let's just hope Layton and Luke didn't do ALL the fighting...

* * *

 **Pit: Very obvious that everyone doesn't seem to care if Jakob goes full bonkers and kills everyone...Kirby and I have been trying to warn the others about Jakob, as Lucas told me (and maybe Kirby) to do, but not a single person won't listen to us! Do they know something that we don't?!  
Kirby: To be fair Pit, we've been telling everyone to be wary of Jakob...essentially we're telling everyone to do something that they're already doing.  
Pit: Yeah, Kirby, but think about this - certain advertisements are constantly telling people to eat healthy, right? We know people are eating healthy to begin with, but they have to be reminded about their eating habits, so said habit are kept intact. Similar to what we've been trying to do today!  
Kirby: That example you used doesn't even apply... *sighs* ...sometimes I loathe arguing with you, Pit.  
Pit: I love arguing with you too, buddy ol' pal!  
Kirby: *sighs again***

Pit and Kirby were in Bayonetta's room, informing the Umbra Witch about Jakob. Like the others, Bayonetta knew from the get-go Jakob couldn't be trusted, and felt rather bored from Pit and Kirby informing her.

"I'm sure Master Hand will take care of Jakob himself, you boys just need to stop panicking," Bayonetta said to Pit and Kirby, enjoying the room all to herself while Snake was absent. Possibly grossed out by Kiria kissing him during the fire drill. "I suggest you leave my room at once, or I'll have to use...some force."

"Like the 'Force' Corrin used to take out the fire earlier?" asked Pit, as he and Kirby snickered. Bayonetta didn't find Pit's joke to be that funny...

...and since the angel nor Kirby followed her demands, Bayonetta would send the two out of her room, using Madame Butterfly to send a fist hurling towards the two, sending them flying. Pit and Kirby would land on the floor, before getting up and dusting themselves off, cracking their bones back into place, etc. Just then, Akira walked by, sweating after a long, grueling workout.

"Yo, Akira, there's something important that we gotta tell you," Pit said to Akira, as the fighter walked by. "It's a matter of life or death, I tell you!"

"Let me guess, is it about how Jakob cannot be trusted?" asked Akira, walking by without even looking at Pit or Kirby. "'Cause Jacky told me the entire gist after you 'warned' him about Jakob. Tell me something I don't know, aight?"

Akira walked down the hallway, leaving Pit and Kirby to wonder if they failed their mission. Suddenly, Pit's phone rang; the angel glanced at the caller ID, and saw that it was Wolf.

"Hello Wolf?" Pit answered the call, only to be greeted by someone other than Wolf. "Oh, hey Layton! How's it going, what's with that ruckus in the background?...Ooh, Mario, Wolf, and Team Chaotix are fighting Team Flare grunts? And you need backup? Sure thing! Kirby and I will be there! So, where is this fight taking place?"

* * *

Yoshi always took great care of his Yoshi eggs - mainly because these eggs contained Baby Yoshis inside. Yoshi would lay these eggs at will, meaning that Yoshi was essentially a father...if the eggs were to hatch. But until the day the eggs did hatch, the green dinosaur would keep the eggs safe and comfy at the mansion's gardens, where he would find Alph tending to the flowers and plants...

...and Sonic, seated on the ground, grooming Suzie. Yoshi found it odd that Sonic was taking care of Tails' pet rather than his own, and also wondered if Shaymin was being neglected by Sonic.

"Sonic, why are you grooming Tails' pet, when you could be grooming Shaymin?" Yoshi asked after finally mustering up the courage to ask Sonic this very important question. "Shouldn't Tails be grooming Suzie herself?"

"Exactly the same questions I asked Yoshi..." said Olimar, as he was watering several flowers. Sonic could kill two birds with one stone, and take care of both Shaymin AND Suzie, but the hedgehog's focus today was entirely on Suzie.

 **Shaymin: No, I don't mind if Sonic would rather spend his day with Suzie than me...he's just, trying to spread the love around. But I'm not sure if I receive any love myself...Sonic has me in this cage most of the time, but I'm sure it's just for the best...or the worst...or it could be in-between...has Sonic ever cared to give me a collar, as a sign of pet ownership and care? Don't think a pet collar signifies care...**

"Tails could be grooming Suzie, but he was being a colossal jerk to me earlier today, and he deserved to have Suzie confiscated from him," explained Sonic, as Yoshi gave Alph a weird look; Alph could only shrug in return. "Until Tails learns his lesson, he won't be anywhere near Suzie. Now if you excuse me, I have a call to answer..." Sonic's phone rang, and the hedgehog would exit the gardens, taking Suzie with him.

"Just a random thought, but I shudder to think how Sonic would fare if he had children with Amy," remarked Yoshi, after Sonic had left; Sonic would ground his children for life if they said a song like "City Escape" wasn't that great. Sonic was that kind of person, after all.

"Aw what, an epic fight is taking place and you didn't invite me?" Sonic, on the phone, was heard from outside. "Stupid jerks...can I bring Suzie with me to the fight?...Yes, I'll ask for Tails' permission, he'll be perfectly fine with it!" Like Sonic would ever ask Tails for his consent. "Federal Reserve Bank Building? Yeah, I'll just Mapquest that...see ya later!" Sonic would speed away, and shortly after he departed...

"Yoshi, are you there man, can you hear me?" Lucas' voice sounded inside Yoshi's head, alarming the dinosaur and Alph. "It's me, Lucas - I'm using my PSI telepathy to reach you. May I have a quick word with you?"

* * *

Fox and Falco's "special entertainment" for Link would continue, as Fox was juggling several of Link's books. Fox was juggling four books at the moment, and Falco would toss another book, making his friend juggle five. Crash would pick up whatever books Fox dropped on the floor; Fox kept messing up, but that didn't stop him from doing his thing.

"Fox, can't you just juggle with something easier, like, I don't know...small balls?" asked Link, as Fox kept dropping the books during his juggling act. The books would land on his feet, breaking his cool.

"Balls are too mainstream as juggling items, sometimes you have to improvise with new stuff," explained Fox, as he turned around while juggling...and failed. "That's the problem with juggling nowadays, that's why juggling isn't that huge anymore...people don't know how to spice things up, to innovate their skills and enhance their talents. Same old, same old can only get you so far in life."

"Hold up Fox, I'm getting a call..." Falco alerted his friend, as his phone rang. He answered the call, and listened closely, nodding his head in-between pauses. Once the phone call ended, Falco would pass on the info. "It's Layton; he said there's a big throwdown at the Federal Reserve Bank Building, involving Team Flare. Might need some backup."

"Is Layton even participating at his throwdown?" asked Fox, as he stopped juggling. "Would love to see the man do some actual fighting. Him throwing a punch at someone would be hype!" Fox would turn his attention to Crash, who picked up the books and placed them back where they belonged. "Sorry Crash, but Falco and I got some business to attend to...you stay with Link and keep him entertained. We'll be back shortly."

Fox and Falco would depart from the room, as Crash turned to face Link, who was bummed out by everything that transpired today. But Crash, determined to turn Link's frown upside down, would do his patented Crash dance, complete with the signature pose at the end. And Link...was actually smirking, but only slightly, and for a reason other than Crash.

"Despite everything that I was unfortunately subjected to today, I have to admit...having company around was really great," remarked the smirking Link, making note of the lone positive he got out of today.

"At least you were able to bear through those shenanigans, and that's what matters the most," said Coco, as she patted Link on the leg, since there was nowhere else for her to pat. Crash, seeing Link smirking, instantly assumed that the goal for today - for Link to be happy and content, or as Falco said, to be "up in the utopia" - was fulfilled.

 **Crash: *does a victory dance for the camera***

* * *

Sonic, Pit, Kirby, Fox, and Falco would coincidentally arrive at the Federal Reserve Bank Building, but in different ways - Sonic, with his blazing speed; Pit and Kirby, with Pit's ability of flight; and Fox and Falco, with their Arwings, parked next to Wolf's Landmaster.

"Funny how the five of us arrived at the same time...pretty freaky," remarked Sonic, holding Suzie in his hands. And no, he did not ask Tails for permission, for Tails still had yet to learn his lesson.

"Any guess as to why Layton contacted us five and not nobody else, like we're an important bunch?" questioned Pit, slightly breaking the fourth wall with a rare sense of self-awareness.

"Layton called us for help because he adored us that much," was Fox's answer. "Or it could be that we're simply the coolest cats of the bunch. Either or. Now let's go kick some Team Flare butt!"

So Fox and company would enter the Federal Reserve Bank Building, passing through the entrance provided by Vector, and they would later see Mario, fending off several Team Flare grunts. The plumber would spot Fox and company, as he was weaving past the grunts' punches like a G.

"Ah, I see we have-a some backup!" remarked Mario, as a Team Flare grunt hurled a punch at him. The plumber would grab the grunt's arm, and toss him to his fellow grunts, sending them to the floor, before dusting his hands off. "A lot of Team-a Flare grunts in this abandoned-a building, they were a lot-a more than we could..."

Suddenly, Suzie sneezed, expulsing an icy air at the Team Flare grunts. This icy expulsion froze the defeated grunts, and it also alarmed Mario.

"...handle. Sonic, explain-a to me why you have Tails' pet-a Vulpix in your possession." Mario needed to know this before giving the five the 4-1-1.

"Asked Tails if I could bring Suzie along, and he obliged," answered Sonic, leaving Mario to be understandably skeptical about whether this was true or not. But there was fighting taking place in the main room, so the plumber had to accept the answer.

"Yeah, what-a ever you say...anyways, there's a bunch-a of Team Flare grunts in the room-a over there, and you boys-a look ready for some fighting. Team Chaotix, Wolf, Layton, and Luke are fending off the..."

"Professor Layton, actually fighting someone?!" Sonic couldn't help but laugh at the possibility of that. "Give me a break, Mario, everyone knows that man can't fight to save his life! Good joke..."

Sonic might think it was a good joke, but when Mario guided him and the others to the room...they saw Layton, in the middle of the scene, punching a Team Flare grunt square in the face and sending him to the floor, and standing alone, by himself, like a gangsta. Everyone in the room, from Mario to Team Chaotix, to Luke, to even Poochy, were left stunned, as Layton looked at their shocked faces and flashed a smile.

"When push comes to shove, you just have to fight back," Layton kept smiling, as Sonic, who thought Layton was the most boring man alive, fainted to the floor, with Mario grabbing Suzie before the hedgehog fell. Sonic would lie on the floor, just like all the unconscious Team Flare grunts.

"I take it...Team Flare was trying to blow up this building?" inferred Kirby, while Layton dusted himself off and fixed his collar, like he didn't just kicked the butts of several Team Flare grunts.

"Nope, they were just having some meeting, talking about revenge," explained Wolf. "Or at least that's what the speaker, Fawful, was saying." The mention of Fawful quickly grabbed the attention the five who just arrived at the building. "Yeah, somehow, someway, that twerp was alive, and he was the main speaker at the meeting said revenge would 'rain all over the mansion'...nonsensical crap like that. Little fella must've bailed during the fight!"

"The nonsensical shall be the very description of your lives once this revenge takes place!" exclaimed Fawful, who reappeared, on his flying platform. Mario and company all got on the offensive. "Your home that is called the Smash Mansion shall be no more, and you will..."

"Quick question...weren't you supposed to be dead or something?" asked Fox, raising his hand so he could be recognized, cutting Fawful off.

"Yes, the question you have asked me does reek of the truth...I was brought back by a man, but I shall not be involved in the revealing of who this man is! For now, I shall let you count the remaining days that you have, until demise comes your way! I shall leave now, on this note...I HAVE FURY!"

After exclaiming his catchphrase, Fawful would exit the building on his flying platform by crashing through a window, bumping his head as he made his not-so-grand exit. He'll work on that later.

"Well...at least we know that the person plotting this whole thing is a dude!" announced Pit, like anyone was supposed to care. That wasn't the most noteworthy subject about today.

The most noteworthy subject was the fact that Fawful was somehow back from the dead...Layton and Luke were bounding to do some more investigating. Team Chaotix might've serve them well this time around, but in order to find out more about Fawful's return...

...Layton and Luke might need some assistance from a couple of Phantom Thieves.


	95. Episode 95: PhantomThieves

_Author's Note:_

 _Yes, as you can tell by the chapter title, I finally found a way for the Persona 5 crew to appear in the story. I suddenly regret not doing this earlier. But anyways, time for some guest reviews!_

 _"Here's some questions since I'm out of requests. Is Lailah going to get into a pun-off competition with Lucina? Is Alisha gonna have her default outfit or the outfit she wore in her DLC story? Is Berkut gonna cause conflict or try to befriend the Fire Emblem characters when he appears? Will you still include the Palutena, Presa, and Lightning scene? Is Aerith using her Mandy Moore, Mena Suvari, or Andrea Bowen voice? And finally, do you think the Final Fantasy XIII games get way too much hate?"_

 _Holding off on a pun-off. Alisha will wear hear default outfit. Not spilling any details on Berkut. Still doing that Palutena scene. Aerith is using her Mandy Moore voice. And why do the XII games receive hate? The linearity could be to blame. Next is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"Seeing Duck Hunt Dog in this chapter gave me an idea for a suggestion it's from an episode of Dexter's Laboratory: Someone makes a collar or a vitamin for him to eat so he can talk and he doesn't shut up and just annoys everyone with his non stop talking (even people like Sora and Pit are annoyed)."_

 _Never saw this episode of Dexter Laboratory before...but I'll still this idea a go. Roydigs22 is back for more:_

 _"Can you bring in soma, mina, and the rest of the dawn and aria of sorrow cast? And maybe a battle between the pokemon quartet and fawful?"_

 _Eh, probably just do Soma and Mina. As for this Pokemon-Fawful battle...we'll see. Now we have a new face in the crowd...the Masked Rocker:_

 _"I love what you got going here but I have a idea how about have Snake get an assignment from master hand but make a certain Umbra witch his partner for said assignment to his absolute misery"_

 _Ooh...that just sounds so evil. Gotta end Snake's "fling" with Kiria first before this takes place._

* * *

 **Episode 95: PhantomThieves**

One of the duties Isabelle had at the mansion, aside from serving as the lapdog (no pun intended) for Master Hand, was organizing the meeting room, and ensuring the room was nice, clean, and tidy. Of course, this was something Mr. Game and Watch could do himself, considering he was the housekeeper of the mansion, but oftentimes the 2-D man would share meeting room duties with Isabelle, who has hosted many meetings in the meeting room herself.

Another set of visitors were about to visit the mansion, to work alongside with Professor Layton and Luke Triton - these visitors were known as Phantom Thieves, a group of high schoolers...and a cat...working together to purge the world of evil by "stealing the hearts" of the corrupt members of society. With Fawful somehow alive and kicking, being revived after his destructive death at the end of _Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story,_ Layton figured that the Phantom Thieves could perhaps find some clues regarding the revival of Fawful.

So far, Layton and Luke knew that the Beanish Fawful was affiliated with Team Flare, if that meeting they attended last week was any indication. But why was he with Team Flare, was he serving under their leader Lysandre? Fawful served under his former boss Cackletta, an evil witch who attempted to steal Peach's voice and use said voice to awaken the Beanstar, and by golly was he effective in that role.

As these questions continued to mount, Mr. Game and Watch was vacuuming the meeting room, where Layton and Luke would meet up with the Phantom Thieves. Isabelle scanned the entire room, looking for any spots that needed to be cleaned.

"The Phantom Thieves will be arriving at any minute now," stated Isabelle, glancing at her watch. "Don't know how many will show up, but their presence is what matters the most. Layton and Luke should have showed up by now..."

 **Master Hand: Layton gave me the 4-1-1 on who these Phantom Thief losers were. Nothing bunch a bunch of bratty, edgy high school teenagers whose number one mission is to rid the world of evil...such tomfoolery is why I scoff at such peons, vowing to change the world. How can you possibly get rid of something that's been around since the beginning of time, it's practically impossible! You're always gonna have your fair share of good and evil, to balance everything out. You realize how boring everything would be if everything was good and righteous? You know how bored out of their minds the media would be if they never get the chance to report the bad stuff that goes on today and sensationalize the masses, because of no more evil? You realize how differently people would react if I scared their pants off unsuspectingly? Usually when I scare someone like Viridi, they would call me "an evil individual", but if you take the evil out of the world, then whenever I scare someone, they'll actually compliment me, and ask me to scare them again! A person who is not only afraid of fear, but enjoys to take fear head-on...how messed up is that? A world without fear?Now that, THAT is a world I would refuse to live in!**

As if right on cue, Layton and Luke would enter the meeting room, just when Isabelle was starting to worry the two detectives wouldn't show up. But here they were, eating ice cream sundaes made by the Ice Climbers.

"Sorry we didn't come earlier than usual, Nana and Popo were making more of their world-famous sundaes, and you know Luke and I would never refuse free food," apologized Layton; either the sundaes were indeed "world-famous", or Popo had forced Layton to shove this lie down people's throats. "Might be the best sundaes I've ever tasted - I highly recommend you get a taste yourself, Isabelle!"

"Only if there's vanilla sundaes, otherwise I can't have any," stated Isabelle with a smile; a chocolate sundae would be absolutely deadly for the shih tzu, given that dogs consuming chocolate would result in a very fatal result. "Mr. Game and Watch, are you done cleaning the meeting room?"

"Yes ma'am - the entire room looks spotless and clean!" replied the 2-D man, after he was finished vacuuming. "It's ready for the Phantom Thieves, who I assume are already at the mansion. Probably got lost somewhere, I don't know."

"Well it is pretty easy to get lost inside this mansion...I've learned that the hard way, during my first day. Mario would later show the way, showed me where everything was, and ever since been, we've been very close with one another...but thankfully, I wasn't as lost as Sora was." Sora must've gotten himself lost by searching for Heartless. Would be the only viable explanation.

"Professor Latyon and Luke, I do believe that you have some visitors that wish to see you," Ganonforf informed the detective duo, poking his head in through the meeting room entrance. "Saw them in the gaming room, asked them why they were here and they told me they wished to speak with you two. Think one of them insulted my looks and called me ugly...but I know they were just joking around. Unless they don't care about life...oh, they're right behind me, hopefully the person I'm speaking of didn't hear that...are you ready to see the visitors?"

"Yes, bring them on in!" exclaimed Luke, as Ganondorf allowed five individuals...and a cat...inside the meeting room. These five...erm, six...individuals were known collectively by one name, and one name only...the Phantom Thieves.

Leading the pack was Akira Kurusu, a trickster whose trickster ways were kept concealed behind a meek exterior. Standing close to Akira was the deliquent of the group, Ryuji Sakamoto. With Akira and Ryuji were three ladies - Ann Takamaki, who as the first name implied, had some white heritage in her blood; Makoto Niijima, the president of her student council at the academy the Thieves attended; and Futaba Sakura, a programming prodigy with virtually no social skills. Oh, and the cat? His name was Morgana, and he had shape-shifting abilities, as well as some experience as a medic.

"Akira Kurusu, at your service," Akira would shake hands with Layton and Luke, as his friends would later introduce themselves to the detectives. During the introductions, Ganondorf and Mr. Game and Watch would leave the premises, as Isabelle sat in the back of the meeting room, to observe everything taking place.

"Glad we were able to keep in touch with one another, and I'm also glad you all obliged to work with us," smiled Layton, as he, Luke, and the Phantom Thieves all took a seat. "I would have reached out to the Yu Narukami and his group of investigators, but I didn't feel like accessing the TV World to reach out to them. Granted, we have a machine for accessing the TV World, but using it would be too much work...also, I imagined you six would be better off for what Luke and I have in mind for accomplishing today."

"Yu and his friends are perhaps handling important business in the TV World anyways, it wouldn't be best to bother them," said Akira, as he adjusted his glasses. This was a very common habit of his. "They also wouldn't be the best candidates for dealing with evil guys, like we do. As you specified in that couple a couple of days ago, you mentioned that you needed assistance in finding out the origins of the 'Beanish' by the name of Fawful...which I believe Yu and his friends wouldn't be up to the task for."

 **Peach: Mario informed me and Luigi about Fawful's return once he returned with Layton and Team Chaotix. Fawful working alongside Team Flare would be very disastrous and problematic, especially if he's working as the second-in-command of the leader. I would pass the information on to Bowser, and he didn't react to the news so well...**

 **Bowser: Yeah, I'm still butthurt about that Fawful jerk - he took complete control of the Mushroom Kingdom before I did, and took control of my own castle and my servants, thereby ruining my villain street cred! Not only that, but Fawful also terminated my bank account, abused my children, and worst of all, posted nude pics of myself online for everyone to see!...Okay, none of that stuff happened, and I do realize I'm technically nude, but if I hadn't stopped Fawful in time, those three things very well could've happened!**

"So who exactly is this Fawful twerp, and what is he up to?" asked Makoto, wanting information about the person her fellow Phantom Thieves were going to delve into for the day. Can't possibly hurt to know.

"Fawful is a Beanish guy who is very eccentric, and speaks kinda funny; he's working with Team Flare for reasons unknown," explained Luke, as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a photo Mario gave to him. "This is what he looks like; according to the famous plumber Mario, he tends to act more childish than he looks." The Phantom Thieves all took a look at the photo, which had Fawful donning his exquisite red cape.

"That's how Fawful looks, for real?!" questioned Ryuji, uttering his catchphrase in surprise. "Man, I thought he was supposed to look more fearsome and intimidating than that - looks like some loser nerd trying too hard to be a villain, like the supreme overlord of the universe! Where's the real bad guy we have to investigate?"

"Apparently you're looking right at him..." remarked Layton, sounding underwhelmed judging by the tone of his voice. "Mario and his brother Luigi spoke to me about how much of a pest Fawful is, and how he has improved in villainy as time went on. Don't think any of you see any form of improvement after seeing that photo."

"Sure don't, can't believe we came all the way here to investigate some stupid villain wannabe. A complete waste of our time! Where's Yaldabaoth when you need him, I'd rather fight him over this stupid crap!"

"Now now, Ryuji, there's a very good chance Fawful might be more intimidating than he looks in person," Akira told the deliquent, who folded his arms and looked the other way. "Looks can be deceiving, you know, and I should know that better than anyone. So Layton, has there been any suspicious stuff taking place at the mansion that we should know about?"

"Not that much, although two mansion residents aren't currently at the mansion," explained Layton, stroking his chin. "Captain Falcon, the famous F-Zero racer, was arrested following a street race, while he was doing his taxi service - the fact that the arrest happened a week after his breakup with his girlfriend Nowi makes it suspicious. The other resident, Lucas, was kidnapped by a ninja mercenary named Raiden, and taken to an unknown location. He's been reaching out to the others with his telepathy, but he says he can't disclose his current location."

"On another note, Mario did say that his computer was acting funny, and it was because of some disc installed into the computer," added Luke, bringing up this factoid that Mario told to him and Layton. "We're starting to think these instances and events are tied up somehow...and it's opening up our investigation even more."

"I know, why don't we all split up and find out some answers that way?" suggested Ann, as Layton and the others paid an attentive ear. "Futaba will scourge Mario's computer for anything fishy. Makoto will ask the residents about the telepathic messages they've been receiving from Lucas. And I'll do some investigative work on Captain Falcon's taxi service. Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana will work with Layton and Luke and find some clues regarding Fawful's sudden revival. How does that sound?"

"Wait, where does Mari live at, does he live at one of those two houses close to the mansion?" asked a now nervous Futaba. "Do I really have to go by myself?" As stated earlier, Futaba had very little social skills, and she didn't know how she would do in the mighty presence of Mario, let alone Peach.

"Oh, you'll be fine Futaba, it's not like Mario is going to hurt you or anything? Have you ever seen the guy? He's virtually harmless, won't lay a single finger on you!" Futaba apparently thought otherwise, as indicated by the nervous fiddling of her fingers.

 **Futaba: I'm not inherently afraid of Mario...I'm just afraid of how he would feel about me, and how he would interact with me in my presence. I know I'm very much a hermit, but I suppose I can do well in different environments...You say Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom is living with Mario? And she's his wife? Uh...is it too late to go back home now?**

* * *

Makoto would go around the mansion, asking random residents about Lucas, and whether or not they received any telepathic messages from the PSI whiz. Everywhere she went, the girl had a notepad, jotting down the responses of the people she asked.

"Lucas only contacted me once, and warned me to keep a very wary eye on Jakob, who is vying to be the official butler of the mansion," Rosalina would explain to Makoto, who jotted this information down on her notepad. "He has been in very hot water as of late, so him getting the job might not be a possibility..."

"It was Lucas who encouraged me to work out everyday, to get stronger and build muscle," said Akuma, as he flexed his muscles for Makoto to see, although she didn't care in the slightest. "Have no idea why he's so concerned with me working out, but whatever makes him happy, I suppose..."

"Lucas hasn't spoken with either one of us, and he shouldn't bother - he would distract us from our work in the kitchen," Popo said to Makoto, on behalf of him and Nana, who did not share his sentiments. "Also, you should try our ice cream sundaes - try it if you know what's good for you!" Popo held out an ice cream sundae to Makoto, who would indulge in the Ice Climbers' treats if she wasn't busy.

"Um, no thanks...I have important matters to take care of," Makoto said nicely as she left the kitchen; Nana had to hold Popo back as the male Ice Climber hurled unnecessary death threats at Makoto. Dude was a totally different animal when he was working his ice cream mfagic.

Makoto, still needing a few more responses, would venture to the mansion gardens, where she figured she would find a lot of people there. But instead of people, the girl would instead find dozens upon dozens of Yoshi eggs, all laid out with the plants and flowers and such. Makoto walked through the gardens, making sure not to stop on any eggs, as she observed the scene at hand.

"Hello!" an excitable voice greeted Makoto from behind, making her scream and jump as she turned around...only to see Yoshi, with a smile on his face. "Whoops, sorry if I scared the pants off of you...if you're really are wearing pants, that is." They're called pantyhose, Yoshi...don't get it twisted. "My name is Yoshi, but you can just call me Yoshi, if you want...what's your name?"

"M-Makoto Niijima, member of the Phantom Thieves," Makoto would introduce herself to Yoshi, feeling weirded out by the dinosaur's eccentric nature. "I'm here to investigate the kidnapping of Lucas, and I've been asking the residents about if they received any telepathic messages from Lucas...have you been contacted by Lucas yourself?"

"Yes I have - in fact, Lucas has been keeping in touch with me throughout the week. He's been telling me to raise the eggs you see around in the gardens, and has encouraged me to keep raising the eggs until they hatch." Yoshi dared not to question why Makoto was here, or how she knew Lucas or why she even cared about the teen to begin with...because Yoshi was now going into detail about the Yoshi eggs, telling Makoto every bit of information that she needed to know, although it wasn't a requirement.

"...and I take it you're raising the eggs all by yourself?" Makoto asked Yoshi once the dinosaur's long lecture of Yoshi eggs came to an end. He still had a lot more in the tank; he just didn't want to annoy Makoto.

"Good heavens, no - that would be too big of a burden for me to bear! Thankfully I have some friends that are splitting up the work in raising the eggs - namely Pit, Kirby, Viridi, and Aerith. Had I laid less eggs, then maybe I would do the task by myself..."

Two of Yoshi's fellow caretakers, Pit and Kirby, would show up at the gardens, with Pit carrying a few Yoshi eggs. The angel and Kirby took sight of Makoto, and were both easily in complete awe.

"Hey Yoshi, is that chick your new girlfriend?" Pit asked the dinosaur this idiotic question; Yoshi was offended, while Makoto felt disgusted that Pit would ask such a question. "Look, I know you're tired of Birdo, but dating human chicks isn't the answer!"

 **Viridi: Things between Yoshi and Birdo have been rather quiet as of late...either the two broke up, or Yoshi just doesn't want to disclose any information about his relationship with Birdo. Although it's a bit of a one-sided relationship...Birdo loves Yoshi, but Yoshi refuses to love Birdo back. Only reason people see them as a couple is because they're constantly shipped together.  
** **Pit: Shipped together? As in like, shipped in boats across the Atlantic Ocean to unknown places?  
Viridi: No, silly - shipped together, as in like romantic ships! When you take two people, put them together, and form a relationship!  
Pit: Wait, so how does that work, do the two people shipped together have to agree on certain terms?  
Viridi: Not specifically; they don't _have_ to enjoy the shipping particularly. It's just a thing people like to do for fun.  
Pit:...since when was matchmaking ever fun?**

"This isn't my girlfriend, Pit...I've just met this girl," Yoshi explained to the angel, who was still convinced Yoshi and Makoto were an item. "Her name is Makoto Niijama, and she does...things, for a living." Yoshi said this without a shred of confidence as he looked at Makoto, who could only nod with a smile. "Lots of things, oodles of things...she's a jack-of-all-trades."

"Just to clarify, I'm a member of a vigilante group called the Phantom Thieves," clarified Makoto, still feeling offended by Pit's idiotic question.

"Yeah, jack-of-all-trades, Phantom Thief...both are the same thing. Very fancy job titles. But Makoto here is NOT my girlfriend, just so you know, and non-human creature like myself would never have romantic feelings for a human chick. Contrary to what Bowser believes in."

"Does that mean Birdo is still your girlfriend?" Kirby asked Yoshi a question the dinosaur dared not to answer. Anything pertaining to Birdo, Yoshi refused to give his two cents on. "Or are you going through some 'rough patches' in your relationship?"

Before Yoshi could open his mouth, the Yoshi eggs in Pit's possession were starting to shake...they must be ready to hatch! Everyone in the gardens watched, as the eggs continued to shake, and their egg shells cracked, the shells chipping away as time went on.

And then, it finally happened...the egg shells all cracked upon, all revealing Baby Yoshis inside. These infant Yoshis were of three different colors - blue, yellow, and purple. Nobody was more excited for the birth of the Baby Yoshis than, well, Yoshi, who couldn't contain his excitement.

"Hooray, the first Yoshi eggs have finally hatched!" exclaimed the green dinosaur, wanting to give Makoto a big hug but unsure if hugging her would be a great idea. Probably didn't like being touched. "So excited that I just can't hide it!"

"Congratulations Yoshi - now you and Makoto are going to be full-time parents!" congratulated Pit, as Yoshi and Makoto both shot the angel a glare. Yoshi already informed Pit that he and Makoto weren't boyfriend-girlfriend, and if anything, Yoshi was the only parent of the Baby Yoshis, since he was the one who laid eggs at will. He was bound to have more and more "children" as more eggs hatched.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, MAKOTO IS NOT...you know what, forget about it. Let's just go tell Viridi and Aerith the great news..."

* * *

Futaba, mustering all the courage inside of her, tried to stand confidently as she stood at the front door of Mario's home. She had her fists clenched, and took a deep breath, gaining her composure. The programming prodigy, who has lived as a shut-in for much of her life, wasn't going to let her lack of social skills doom her, not this time. If she was going to conquer this social hurdle, she was going to have to conquer it head-on, and not let the pressure get to her.

So Futaba, her hand trembling, rang the doorbell, waiting for Mario to answer the door. The orange-haired girl was looking down at the ground, as a gloved hand opened the door, mustached and all while wearing his trademark blue overalls.

"M-My name...my name is Futaba Sakura...pr-programming prodigy...and I'm here...to fix...to check out your computer..." stammered Futaba, as the confidence inside of her - the confidence she thought she had - was suddenly expelled outside of her. The girl would look up...only to realize she somehow screwed up.

"Hmm, I don't-a remember calling a computer repair-a person to check-a out my computer..." said the mustached plumber in overalls...named Luigi. Yes, Futaba went to the wrong house, Luigi's house, and spoke with Luigi, rather than Mario. Now Luigi will think of Futaba as a socially awkward dork, who had no idea what she was doing. "Rotom, does our-a computer need fixing?" Luigi called out to the plasma Pokemon, who would join the plumber at the doorway.

"No you didn't, Luigi...in fact, you don't even have a computer to begin with, zrrt!" explained Rotom, as Luigi slapped himself on the forehead. How could he forget? "You and Daisy have your own personal laptops, remember? And your own cellphones, and your own tablets, and your own vape pens, which you never use, and your own..."

"That's enough-a Rotom, our guest didn't need to know-a about the vape-a pens," Luigi said to the plasma Pokemon, before redirecting his attention to Futaba...who was no longer there. "Wait, where did-a that girl run-a off too?"

 **Futaba: Of course I would mess up, going to the wrong house...I'm such a wreck, I have so many flaws it's not even funny. Knew I should have let Haru take my place in this mission instead, I'm sure she's a computer genius like me...just doesn't want to admit it. Couldn't blame her!**

After her awkward encounter with Luigi, Futaba would head to the _right_ house, Mario's house, which was next door, as she rang the doorbell. Peach, not Mario, would open the door, and was delighted to Futaba, whom she apparently mistook for someone else...

"Female Inkling, is that you?" asked Peach, and you couldn't blame the princess for asking this, for Futaba and the female Inkling looked very similar to one another. Could be because of the orange hair, the glasses, the slender frame, the similar clothing, or all of those reasons. "Had quite a growth spurt, didn't you? Say, the male Inkling must've had a growth spurt too, didn't he? Where is he, I want to see him!"

"I'm...I'm not this female Inkling that you speak of," answered Futaba, leading Peach to look on with a confused face. "I'm Futaba Sakura, and I'm a programming prodigy from Japan. Member of the Phantom Thieves - it's basically a teenage vigilante group working together to save the world from evil, pretty much!"

"Oh, a group of crime-fighting teenagers, how wonderful! It's very nice to meet you, Miss Sakura. So you're a programming genius, huh? That must mean you're here to inspect our computer." Futaba glad that her and Peach were on the same track, nodded her head. "Yes, something very odd happened to our computer a couple of weeks ago, a mere week after we installed it. This disc was loaded onto the computer, and it caused our device to act up in the strangest ways, before leaving behind a very threatening message. I've asked my husband Mario to inspect the computer for any viruses or malware, but he's either too lazy to do it himself, or to ask anyone from the mansion for assistance."

"Well it's a good thing I'm here to check things out...mind if I come in?" Peach would allow Futaba inside her home, as the princess showed the prodigy where the home computer was. Futaba would take a seat, and flex her fingers, before turning the computer on.

As Futaba logged into the computer under Peach's account (and yes, Peach typed in the password...the password being "toadstool"), Mario would come down from the stairs, indulging himself with some chocolate-covered raisins. Bought a box of them once from a convenience store, and has been hooked ever since. When the plumber arrived at the first floor, and went to the living room to see what his wife was up to, he would find Peach with Futaba, and his mouth fell agape, as he dropped his raisins to the floor.

"My goodness, female Inkling, how much-a you have grown!" exclaimed Mario, also mistaking Futaba for the female Inkling just like Peach. The programming prodigy might as well get used to this treatment for the day. "Tell me, what-a did you eat? Eggs? Beans? Yogurt? Drank some-a milk? Did the male-a Inkling have a growth-a spurt too? Tell-a me all the juicy details!"

"Mario, this isn't the female Inkling...this is Futaba Sakura, a programming prodigy who came all the way from Japan," Peach would introduce Futaba to Mario, as the girl turned to face the plumber and weakly smiled as she nervously waved to him. "Don't know what compelled her to come to our house and inspect our computer, but I don't think we have to pay anything...yet. Do we have to pay?" Peach asked Futaba, who shook her head no. "So we're getting free service! Isn't that great?"

"Someone is inspecting our-a computer, and I don't have-a to pay a single penny out-a of my wallet..." Mario smiled at the thought of this, nodding his head. "Great deal in-a my books. I'll just leave-a you be Futaba, let you do-a your thing...I believe you should-a follow suit, Peach."

"You're right Mario - sorry if I'm in your way, Futaba," Peach would apologize to the prodigy, as she and Mario would leave the premises, leaving Futaba alone by herself. Futaba would sigh, and it was a sigh of relief...about time she had some time to herself.

* * *

 **Ann: Asked the owner of the mansion, Master Hand, about Captain Falcon's taxi service, and he advised me to ask Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi about it, since they gave Falcon some advice prior to him starting his business. Both Fox and Falco have a lot of business experience as the heads of Star Records, and they're also affiliated with the co-owner of Falcon's taxi service, B.D. Joe. Obviously I can't talk with B.D. Joe right now, so I'll see what answers Fox and Falco will provide for me...**

Unfortunately for Ann, Fox and Falco wouldn't provide any answers for her, as the Star Fox pilots, Itsuki, and Knuckles were playing a very masochistic game called "Lightning Reaction Reloaded" in the Star Records room. The game was simple in nature - each player would grab a handle, press the button in the center, and watch the red light blink as suspenseful music played. The goal of the game was to press the trigger button as quickly as possible when the red light turned green...otherwise you'd be in for quite a shock!

"I have some very important investigative work to do, in case you boys weren't aware..." an annoyed Ann, her arms folded as she waited impatiently while sitting in a chair, said to Fox and Falco, who were both sweaty to the core as the four players listened closely to the suspenseful music, paying close attention to the blinking red light. The suspense grew inside the Star Records room, the tension could be cut with a knife...

...then suddenly, the green light flashed, and Itsuki was the first to press his trigger button, while Fox, Falco, and Knuckles all got shocked at the same time. Itsuki would slightly gloat in his victory, while his fellow players dealt with the pain of being shocked. Knuckles was being extra with his reaction, falling to the floor and flailing like a madman.

"I'VE BEEN SHOCKED YOU GUYS, I'M BLEEDING, SOMEONE CALL 9-1-1!" screamed Knuckles, flailing in faux pain. If he was bleeding, it would be hard to tell given his red skin. The blood would have to be crimson red for it to be distinguishable. Regardless, Fox, Falco, nor Itsuki did anything to help Knuckles during his time of "agony".

"Knuckles, we all know you aren't bleeding, quit being such a drama queen," Falco said to the echidna, after he shook off the shock. Knuckles grumbled, as he got back to his feet, acting like everything was fine.

"Yeah, I was just testing to see if any of you guys would come to my aid. Looks like I totally failed in that regard. Either that, or you punks are just heartless jerks!"

"Alright, your stupid game is finally over...now how about you tell me everything I need to know about Captain Falcon's taxi service?" Ann asked the Star Fox pilots, standing up with her hands on her hips. "I don't have all day you know!"

"Oh Itsuki, there's an ice cream sundae in the dining room with your name on it, prepared just for you!" Tsubasa poked her head through the Star Records doorway to inform her boyfriend. She had a smile on her face...then again, the idol singer was all smiles ever since Itsuki has been her boyfriend.

"Sorry boys, but it seems like Tsubasa is craving for my presence...I'll catch you guys later," Itsuki said to Fox and company, as he got up and left the Star Records room. The young man already won at Lightning Reaction Reloaded, so he might as well leave with a W under his belt.

"Falco already made it clear that we'll answer your questions until after he wins at Lightning Reaction Reloaded," Fox said to Ann, who grumbled as she folded her arms in disgust. "Yes, this might take forever, but patience is a virtue, as Ronald Reagan once said...I think he said it. U.S. presidents always have the best, most memorable quotes, it's a proven fact."

"Look, I don't care about presidents, or stupid quotes...I just need some answers. So why don't you and your friend Knuckles just let Falco lose this next round, so I can finally do my job around here?!"

"You really that desperate, huh?" questioned Falco, fed up with Ann. "Well allow me to help you do your stinking job!" The avian pilot would exit the room, and later return with Pikachu in his possession, handing him to Knuckles and Fox. "Now, Pikachu, electrocute both Fox and Knuckles, do it now!"

"Pika pika?" Pikachu looked in confusion, but it wasn't until Falco held his blaster against the side of the mouse Pokemon's head that all the confusion faded away.

"DO IT NOW, I SAY!" So Pikachu would use Thunderbolt on Fox and Knuckles, electrocuting the both of them and sending them to the floor, as Falco turned to face Ann and raised his arms in faux victory. "There, you got your victory, I won, Fox and Knuckles lost! Now you can do your stupid cover story, or something!"

 **Knuckles: Been electrocuted by Pikachu so many times, I've grown an invulnerability to his attacks. Electricity now acts like nutrients to me.**

Not wanting to make Ann angrier, Fox and Falco would oblige and sit down with the Phantom Thief in the Star Records room, giving her information about Captain Falcon's taxi service, and why they encouraged the racer to start a taxi business in the first place.

"Captain Falcon was undergoing a bit of a slump after his girlfriend Nowi broke up with him, and we suggested to him that starting a taxi service would be the best way to keep him happy with life," Fox explained to Ann, who jotted this information down on a notepad.

"The idea came to us when we chatted with B.D. Joe a few days prior - he's a great taxi driver, had a very memorable ride with him," added Falco, recalling the taxi ride in which he, Fox, and B.D. Joe were jamming out to The Offspring and singing to their heart's content. "B.D. Joe was a very excitable dude, could put a smile on anyone's face, even Cloud's...we figured that he could keep Captain Falcon's spirits up, and since both he and Falcon had an affinity for driving, maybe they could work together and start a taxi service."

"Professor Layton and Luke Triton informed me that Captain Falcon was arrested after being involved in a street race...do you have any intel on this?" asked Ann, wanting to know if Fox and Falco were aware about the street race the day it happened.

"We were told about Falcon's arrest by Mario a few hours after the street race went down in the streets of Seattle. Initially we were shocked by the news, but later on, we shouldn't have been that surprised...we kinda knew Falcon couldn't control himself when it came to racing in the streets. We did know he was arrested, but what we _didn't_ know was who Falcon had raced against."

"Miss Ann Takamaki, I've received this police report from Master Hand, he told me to hand it to you!" Isabelle ran inside the Star Records room, holding a police report in her hand and handing it to Ann. "He received it from the police department the other day."

"Let's take a look-see at what this report says..." Ann would analyze the police report in her hands, her eyes squinting when she saw a familiar name. "According to this police report, famous demon-hunting vigilante Dante was the one Captain Falcon apparently went up against in his street race. Not only that, but Captain Falcon was also racing with a passenger in his taxi, named Lara Croft...sounds like Mr. Falcon was in the presence of some great company prior to his arrest."

"Hold up...Dante was the guy Falcon raced against?" Fox raised an eyebrow - well Fox, that was what Ann just said. "That guy's from the All-Star Manor, the same place where Raiden resides at..." Just then, a shocking theory entered the pilot's head. "...what if Raiden and Dante are working together? What if Captain Falcon being arrested, and Lucas being kidnapped, is all part of some conspiracy with Team Flare? What if Team Flare, Fawful, AND everyone in the All-Star Manor were all working together, against us?!"

"Oh please Fox, the guy running the All-Star Manor is just some floating purple head, according to Mario," snickered Falco - kudos if you know who this floating purple head guy was. "Who would you rather take, a giant hand or a giant head? At least with a giant hand, you can grab women and stuff."

 **Ann: Falco's comment...about grabbing women...not sure if that was supposed to be sexist or not. But I'll let it pass, for now...**

"Can we PLEASE get back on focus here?" shouted Ann, nearly losing her patience with Fox and Falco. "It does seem odd that two individuals from the All-Star Manor were involved in incidents that involved two residents no longer at the mansion, at least for the time being. Might I ask when Lucas was kidnapped?"

"One week after Captain Falcon got arrested," answered Fox, and this made things all the more suspicious. Keep in mind that Jakob had kept in touch with both Dante and Raiden, and instructed the demon hunter and the mercenary on what to do.

"Gotta admit, the timing between both incidents is rather intriguing...nonetheless, I need a bit more information, so I can really understand what's going on regarding Captain Falcon. Now, this Nowi chick...do you boys know a way that I can contact her?"

"She's very old-fashioned, per se, so she doesn't have a cellphone on her, nor does she have any communication device," replied Falco, thinking of a solution before snapping his fingers, a light bulb, dinging above his head. "I know, we'll just go to Chrom - he knows Nowi better than anyone. Actually, he knows Sumia better than anyone...or it could be...let's just say that he knows _a lot_ of women from his country better than anyone, and leave it at that."

"Chrom isn't a womanizer, is he?" asked Ann, asking something that loomed in Fox and Falco's minds on an occasional basis. Chrom sure was a hoot with the Plegian ladies...

* * *

Sonic walked through the hallways, brushing the Alolan Vulpix named Suzie. Suzie, who was the pet of Tails, was being "confiscated" from the yellow fox by Sonic for acting like a jerk. Until he learned his lesson, Tails would likely never see his pet Suzie again.

As Sonic walked through the hallways with Suzie in his possession, he would pass by Celica, who received some vital information about Sonic and Tails in the previous episode. Lucas told the princess not to share this information with anyone else...but it wouldn't hurt to discuss this information with Sonic and/or Tails would it?

"Hello Sonic...I see that you're still caretaking for Tails' pet," Celica would greet the hedgehog, as Sonic smiled. Suzie, on the other hand, wanted to be with Tails.

"Yeah, that's right - Tails still has yet to turn from his jerky ways, and for that reason, his precious Suzie will remain with me!" explained Sonic, as he brushed the icy fur of Suzie. Completely acting like Suzie belonged to him. "Better not try to get back with me and take care of Shaymin, if he knows what's good for him! Just let that guy lay a single finger on my pet Pokemon..."

"Uh huh...so Sonic, how did you find out Tails was in a relationship with Coco? Was it on the day you found it? Did someone perhaps, well I don't know...spill the juicy details to you beforehand?" Sonic thought over Celica's questions, with a finger underneath his chin...

"Nope, can't think of an answer to your question. Someone could have informed me, unless I wasn't either paying attention or just not listening. For all I know, the person that could have informed me was a ghost, and I couldn't hear them for that very reason. But if I think up of an answer, I'll make sure to tell you. But only during your downtime. I'd hate to give you an answer while you and Alm are doing your daily smooching."

"...okay, I think I've heard just about enough from you, Sonic. Good day..." Celica, clearly bothered by Sonic's comment about her and Alm smooching on a daily basis, would walk down the hallway, as she and Sonic both went their separate ways.

 **Celica: Made a promise with Lucas not to pass the information he told me about Sonic and Tails to anyone in the mansion. Alm was listening in as Lucas was telling the telepathic message, and I hope he kept the promise too...sort of.**

 **Alm: Celica had to keep a promise with Lucas, to withhold the information he passed on to her...but Lucas never said anything about me making a promise to withhold anything. So, just to test the waters a little bit, I spilled the juicy details to some guy on the street wearing a Sonic t-shirt, and the next thing that happened, he laughed hysterically and rolled on the concrete sidewalk in laughter. Ran away as soon as I could. Word of the wise, kiddos...never communicate with a crackhead on the streets.**

* * *

Layton and Luke would lead Akira, Ryuji, and Morgana through the hallways, taking the three Phantom Thieves to a person that they believed would be the most helpful in finding out how exactly Fawful came back to life again. Morgana would walk with the crew, minding his own business, when...

"Hey...what the...?" the cat said, as something snatched him by the neck and dragged him away from Layton and company. As soon as the cat was behind a corner, unseen, he was face-to-face with Midna. "What...who are you, why do you want me?"

"Don't even know me, huh...man, you must be the most ignorant talking animal I've met," Midna facepalmed, as she shook her head. "If you're even an animal...might be some stupid ghost disguised as a cat. Mind if you do me a little favor?"

With Morgana off doing things with Midna, Akira and Ryuji were the two remaining Phantom Thieves, as they arrived at the ball pit room, where Cloud was monitoring the Koopalings. Bowser would monitor the young koopas himself, but he was off looking for a missing possession of his.

"Cloud, do you have a second?" Layton called out to Cloud, who looked over at the detective and saw Akira and Ryuji. Wanting to be friendly - because he really had no other choice but to - Cloud would head over to Layton and company, to greet the two Phantom Thieves. "Cloud, I would like to introduce you to Akira Kurusu and Ryuji Sakamoto - they work as Phantom Thieves. Fellas, this is Cloud Strife..."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're not idiots, we know who Cloud Strife is..." Ryuji cut off Layton, approaching Cloud with his hand in his pocket...before taking said hand out and offering it to Cloud. "Nice to meet ya, bud."

"Same here man, it's a pleasure," Cloud would shake hands with Ryuji, and after he was done, he would slightly wave to Akira, who waved back. "So what's the hitch, Professor Layton, why do you have these 'Phantom Thieves' with you?"

"We're sure Pit, Kirby, Sonic, or Fox and Falco have informed you about Fawful's return," said Luke, to which Cloud nodded his head to. Anything major that transpired, it was bound to be heard from the residents in due time. "And we know that you have dealt with Sephiroth in the past year, after he strangely came back from..."

"What does Fawful even have to do with Sephiroth..." Cloud raised a very curious eyebrow, feeling somewhat cautious. "...what are you even getting it?"

"Could we, well...chat with your arch-nemesis Sephiroth for a minute or two?" asked Layton; Cloud was more than ready to object to this. "After all, Master Hand did say that Sephiroth was kept away inside an urn, in the storage room..."

"Sephiroth still alive and inside the mansion, for real?!" exclaimed Ryuji, contemplating running from the mansion to avoid the fury of the one-winged angel. "Bump this mission, I wanna live! Don't want Sephiroth anywhere near me!"

"Chill out Ryuji - we're just going to speak with Sephiroth, and ask him how he came back to life, and then we'll just go from there," Akira said to Ryuji, before noticing that someone was missing. "Morgana must have gone missing...must be solving a mystery on his own."

* * *

Little did Ryuji know that Morgana wasn't solving a mystery...rather, the talking cat was forced to do Midna's bidding. He was standing outside Link's room with the imp, with Midna discussing some important business.

"You see that bum lying in the bed all day long, named Link?" Midna pointed at Link, as he rested; Morgana, believing that Midna was plotting to outright murder him, nodded his head, certain he would die on the spot if he didn't give a response. "And you said you can shape-shift, right? I want you to shape-shift into something, and charm Link, while I go off to do...girly things." Midna sighed when she said this, and her reasons were quite obvious...

 **Midna: Zelda asked me to join her in the stupid beauty salon and polish her nails for her...which I think is absolutely incredulous. Zelda wears her white gloves all the time, why would she need her nails polished for? Is someone like Link ever going to see her fingernails? Has Link ever seen Zelda's fingernails to begin with?!**

"You want me to shape-shift into something, eh..." said Morgana, as Midna nodded with a smile, hoping the cat would oblige. Getting into position, Morgana would shape-shift into an object that would entertain Link all day long...a classic jukebox. "How's this, is this good?"

"Not exactly what I had in mind, but it shall do; Link better like it, or else," replied Midna, knowing that Zelda was waiting for her presence. "If Link asks, just tell them that you're from the Twilight Realm, or something like that. Sounds weird, I know, but he's very gullible. You'll learn from your own experience. Now go in there, and do your thing!"

So Midna would fly away, as Morgana entered Link's room. The hero of Hyrule known as Link was still resting, looking up at his ceiling, as his head continued to aggravate him day by day. He would look up, and see Morgana the cat...uh, jukebox...and was momentarily scared for his life.

"Um, who are you, and why are you here?" Link asked Morgana, reaching out for his Master Sword even though his beloved blade was nowhere near him. Cloud had put the Master Sword in the closet just for safekeeping.

"I'm Morgana, a talking jukebox from the Twilight Realm!" exclaimed Morgana, making him out to be very suspicious. Talking jukebox? Twilight Realm? Link was aggressively reaching for his sword even more, knocking his belongings from the dresser all over the floor. "But do not fret, for I'm not here to hurt you!"

"Don't try and force your slanderous lies into my headache-riddled head, I know what your ulterior motive is! You wish to play demonic songs, songs that will not only give me nightmares, but give me the most inhumane headaches known to man! But as the hero of Hyrule, I know better...begone with you, foul demon!"

"Woah, woah, chill out, I'm not this foul demon that you speak of! I'm just a kind-hearted jukebox who just happens to come from a relatively dark place." The Twilight Realm sure sounded intimidating, the way Midna put it. "I can play any tune, any tune you request, and it will put a gleeful smile on your face!"

"Any tune...I dare you to play Saria's Song!" "Saria's Song" was to Link what "City Escape" was to Sonic; only difference was that Link never gave "Saria's Song" the distinction of being the greatest song of all time, even greater than "Heroes" by David Bowie and "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen.

"Saria's Song, coming right up! Searching, searching, searching..." Morgana would search his jukebox for the song Link requested, and a few moments later, a familiar melody and the sound of beautiful ocarina notes started playing..."Saria's Song" was playing from Morganan, and Link would nod his head to the beat, with a smile on his face.

"Oh yeah, this is definitely Saria's Song, sounds just like the original!" Link was now moving along, like he was dancing on the bed - it was the most Link had ever moved since he was doomed to stay in his bed and heal from his head injuries. "You're not that bad of a jukebox after all!"

"Stop it, you're making it blush..." Hard to determine if Morgana was blushing or not, given the form he was in.

* * *

 **Mario: Futaba informed-a me that she'll be scourging the computer in-a its entirety to look for anything-a remotely suspicious, and there are some-a things I wish Futaba would-a leave alone...like my secret folder of-a hot anime chicks...No, no, I don't-a look at them, I just analyze them-a for...artistic purposes, yes. If it's naked, it's-a art...probably shouldn't have said-a that out loud, Peach could-a have heard that. CURSE YOU META KNIGHT, AND YOUR STUPID, INSANE LOGIC!**

Lara Croft, who has been residing with Mario and Peach as a guest, had just finished an afternoon jog around the block, wanting to remain fit and healthy as her days in Seattle were (hopefully) dwindling down. The tomb raider, drinking from a bottle of water, would return to Mario's home, expecting to walk into a very peaceful household with little to no dissension.

But when Lara stepped inside Mario's home, she later found out that what she expected was the exact opposite. She saw Peach in the kitchen, she saw Futaba still working away on the computer...and she also saw Mario and Bowser, in the middle of the living room, arguing with one another.

"I know you stole my Yoshi stuffed animal Mario, give it up or else!" Bowser pointed in the face of Mario, who swatted the koopa king's hand away. "I can hardly sleep without my precious stuffed animal, how do you expect me to sleep again after you stole it?"

"Like I would ever steal-a your stupid stuffed animal!" retorted Mario, offending Bowser by calling the stuffed animal stupid. "You have-a yet to apologize-a for stealing my foot massager!"

"Well...you have yet to apologize for stealing my wife!" Bowser would angrily point at Peach - sometimes Peach wished she was left out of Mario's situations.

"YOU AND PEACH WERE NEVER MEANT-A FOR EACH OTHER, WHY CAN'T YOU-A EVER UNDERSTAND THAT?! WHY DO YOU THINK I SPENT-A ALL THOSE YEARS SAVING PEACH-A FROM YOUR IDIOTIC CASTLES?! WHEN-A WILL YOU EVER LEARN?!"

"Peach has been my wife, always has been...heck, she's even the biological mother of Bowser Jr! Ain't that right, Peach?" Bowser asked Peach, who looked up momentarily before resuming her kitchen duties. "See what I mean? If Peach wasn't Bowser Jr's biological mother, she would have stated that herself! Face the facts, Mario - you're just jealous of the love Peach and I have for one another, that's way you keep coming for Peach each and every time!"

"Shut up Bowser, everyone-a knows that you're-a the jealous one, and you've been-a jealous ever since Peach and I got-a married. Your Bowser Jr. argument is meaningless, you've used it time and time-a again but we all know it's-a false!"

"I think you're the one who needs to shut up Mario, for I speak the truth! Bowser Jr. IS the biological son of Peach! I know it, you know it, Peach knows it, the wannabe Inkling chick at your computer knows it, Lara Croft, who is standing near the front door knows it..."

Bowser, immediately after uttering Lara's name, would find himself in a bit of a romantic trance, as he turned to face Lara Croft, who was wary as Bowser advanced towards her, with a grin on his face. Mario and Peach watched cautiously, as Bowser rested his arm above the front door, leaned against the wall as he prepared himself to smooth talk Lara.

"So, uh...you come here often?" Bowser asked Lara, acting like the two were at a club. Bowser was seemingly starting off small. "Got a special place in my beloved castle, just for a hot babe like you..." At first sight of Lara, Peach had completely left Bowser's mind for good.

"No thank you, and for your information, I'm not interested in a relationship..." stated Lara, trying to back away, as Bowser quickly grabbed the front door handle and closed the door, making it so Lara wouldn't escape.

 **Lara: My first encounter with Bowser, and he attempted to flirt with me...somehow, I blame Peach for allowing that incident to transpire.**

"It's never too late to change your relationship status, you know..." said Bowser, as he leaned in closer to Lara, the tomb raider starting to fear for the worse...

"Aha, I found it, I found the program!" exclaimed Futaba, momentarily interrupting Bowser during his...strange romantic encounter. The computer genius, who had a thumb drive inserted into the computer the whole time, would take out the thumb drive and hop out of her seat. "Mario, Peach...I'll explain everything to you later on, but now I must hand this flash drive to someone...someone important. I'll be back!" A rather excitable Futaba rushed out of Mario's home, opening the front door and knocking Bowser down to the floor, as she headed to the mansion.

"...do you...do you want to be my girlfriend or not?" Bowser, lying on the floor, looked up at Lara, expecting her to say yes. But the tomb raider, kneeling down at the koopa king's side, would provide him a different answer...

"By no means would I ever date a fiendish turtle creature like myself...so it'll be a no from me," replied Lara, patting Bowser on the head. "Appreciate the effort, but I don't think I'd risk taking any chances with you..." Lara stood back up and headed to her room, as Bowser laid on the floor in defeat.

* * *

Makato remained in the gardens, with Yoshi, Pit, Kirby, Viridi, Aerith, and hordes of Baby Yoshis. More of the Yoshi eggs hatched since the hatching of the first three eggs, and Yoshi was undoubtedly joyous about all the Baby Yoshis that were present.

"Quick question: did Lucas ever tell you why you had to lay so many eggs and hatch them?" Makoto would ask Yoshi, as Aerith counted how many Baby Yoshis were present. Had her work cut out for her.

"We should sell the Baby Yoshis on Amazon, we could easily make a big buck that way," Pit said this random thought, earning weird looks from the others. "Think about it - nobody has ever sold a living being on Amazon - according to my knowledge - and we could be the first to break the mold! We'll be filthy rich!"

"Lucas told me not to tell anyone the full purpose of the whole egg laying and Baby Yoshi thing, so I'll respect his wishes," replied Yoshi, with a Blue Yoshi idly walking by unseen. "Aerith, are you finished counting?"

"Yes, just finished...I count 97 Baby Yoshis in total," answered the flower girl - and there were more eggs bound to hatch soon. "At this rate, we should find a separate room to contain the Baby Yoshis, one large and spacious enough."

"Right now we just have to make sure none of the Baby Yoshis leave the premises," said Viridi...and would you know it, the aforementioned Blue Yoshi was trying to make a run for it, leaving the gardens. "...and we have a runaway right now!" Viridi pointed at the Blue Yoshi, quickly grabbing Yoshi's attention.

"Won't be running away for long!" vowed the green dinosaur, as he got up and chased after the Blue Yoshi.

* * *

Cloud would retrieve the urn containing Sephiroth from the storage room, and brought said urn to Layton and company in the lounge. However, there was only one problem...the urn wouldn't open! It was sealed tighter than usual, likely as a safety precaution, and not Cloud, nor Layton, Luke, Akira, or Ryuji could get the urn open.

So Layton and company got Crash and Meta Knight to try and open the urn themselves. Crash would use his teeth to pry the urn open, whereas Meta Knight took a more conventional route and tried to pry the urn open with his sword. Both different methods, both not working as well as Layton and company hoped.

 **Master Hand: Glass Joe. Glass freakin' Joe. Not Knuckle Joe, heck, not even B.D. Joe... _Glass Joe_ was the one who opened that urn during the Heartless invasion and unleashed Sephiroth. To ensure losers like Glass Joe won't ever open the urn, I sealed that urn real tight, just for precautionary measures.**

"Crash, while I found your current method to be somewhat useless..." Meta Knight said to the bandicoot, like he was the one to talk. "...I have to give you credit for not spinning this urn to get it open. Aku still has yet to forgive me for you spinning me out of the window, from the _fourth_ floor. Granted you can apologize yourself, but you know nothing but gibberish, and as we know, Aku has to accept full responsibility for your actions, as a guardian mask..."

"Knew the scent of Crash was nearby!" exclaimed Cortex, as he entered the lounge. The fact that he was able to detect Crash's scent meant that the mad scientist was sort of obsessed with his arch-rival. "Just who are those two Japanese men standing with you, Professor Layton, found yourself more apprentices? You're that full of yourself, aren't you?"

"No, Cortex, these aren't new apprentices...they're Akira Kurusu and Ryuji Sakamoto, members of the Phantom Thieves," explained Layton; Cortex dared not to ask what a Phantom Thief was. "They're investigators, just like Luke and I! Thought bringing some fellow investigators might help speed up the investigation a bit. Right now, we need to open that urn you see in front of you, since there's a person trapped inside that could help us."

"Good thing I have a ray gun that can open things at will!" Cortex pulled out his ray gun - a gun that has caused the mad scientist trouble in recent weeks. "Crash, Meta Knight...stand back and let a professional handle this!"

So Crash and Meta Knight would move out of the way, as the "professional" Cortex fired a beam at the urn, to open it. Unfortunately, just like the microwave incident, Cortex would have the ray gun on the WRONG setting, and instead of opening the urn, the beam would destroy it completely. Darkness would soon exit out from where the now destroyed urn was, that darkness coming together to reveal itself as the famed one-winged angel... _Sephiroth_.

"Looks like...I'm finally free, from my prison," remarked Sephiroth, as he looked down and observed the pieces of the urn, scattered on the floor. Cortex was looking up at Sephiroth, his legs quivering as he quietly wetted his pants. Either Sephiroth was that intimidating, or Cortex was just a scaredy cat.

"I believe I heard Uka calling for me...I should go see what he wants..." said Cortex, as he bolted out of the lounge. Crash and Meta Knight, not wishing to deal with Sephiroth, would wisely follow suit.

"Sephiroth...it's been a while," Cloud would approach the one-winged angel, face-to-face with his nemesis for the first time since episode 31. Sephiroth found it odd that the ex-SOLDIER was empty-handed, leading him to assume that Cloud was surrendering.

"I see that you're without your precious Buster Sword...so, what's the hitch?" Sephiroth asked Cloud, preparing his grip on his Masamune sword in the event Cloud tried to pull something funny. His fingers were on his sword...

"Greetings Mr. Sephiroth, my name is Professor Herschel Layton, and with me is my apprentice Luke Triton, and Phantom Thieves Akira Kurusu and Ryuji Sakamoto," Layton would introduce himself and the others to Sephiroth, holding out his hand, as Cloud just looked on with disbelief. Layton, sensing that Sephiroth didn't feel like shaking hands, retracted his hand, and cleared his throat awkwardly. "...anyways, we wish to speak with you about your, your...revival, how you came back to life and such."

 **Master Hand: Isabelle just informed me that the urn in the storage room has been destroyed, thanks to Cortex...honestly, I could care less. The urn has been tainted ever since Glass Joe touched it, so it being destroyed is the least of my concerns. And who cares about what Sephiroth does, he could go full ham and kill everyone, and I wouldn't even care.**

"Questions about my revival, you say?" asked Sephiroth, as Layton nodded his head, hoping the one-winged angel wouldn't kill him. "I'm more than willing to bite...as long as Cloud is kept away at a distance. Might be tempted to fight him to the death."

"I fully second that, I share the same exact sentiments," stated Cloud, glad that he and Sephiroth were actually on terms with one another. A first for everything.

* * *

Fox, Falco, and Ann stood outside the laundry room, waiting for Chrom to finish his laundry duties. Fox and Falco claimed that Chrom was very close with Nowi, the prince bonding with the half-Manakete during the war, and they hoped Chrom would supply the information Ann needed.

"Chrom will be with you all shortly, he's almost done," Rosalina poked her head outside the laundry room door to inform Ann and company. "A bigger load than what we've been used to before...and it's for one person." A heavy load for just one person?!

"Tell them I'm finished Rosalina, the clothes are finally dried!" Chrom informed the mother of Lumas, as the sound of a dryer machine stopping was heard. What followed afterwards was a sigh of relief from Chrom.

"Well what do you know - Chrom is finished with his laundry duties. I'll go and fold the clothes." Rosalina would retract her head back inside the laundry room, and a moment later, Chrom would exit the laundry room, standing in the presence of Fox, Falco, and Ann.

"Sorry I kept you folks waiting, Ganondorf's clothes aren't exactly easy to wash...or dry," Chrom would apologize to Ann and company. "From his armor, to his cape...don't even know why his armor even needs to be washed. And I'm sure Ganon's capes are dry-clean only. So what's up?"

"Fox and Falco have informed me that you are a close friend of Nowi," Ann said to Chrom, having met the prince while he was doing his laundry duty so an introduction wasn't necessary. "As you know, Nowi was the girlfriend of Captain Falcon, and it was believed that Falcon started a taxi service to keep his mind off of his breakup with Nowi. Can you provide us any information regarding Nowi that could be useful?"

"I'm not sure, since Nowi and I don't keep in contact with one another like we used to...but I can always call Raven. She's my girlfriend." Chrom would dig into his pocket, and pulled out his cellphone, and dialed a number.

 **Chrom: People kept complaining about how Raven and I don't keep in touch with one another despite being boyfriend/girlfriend, so I did what any "great boyfriend" would do, and bought Raven a cellphone...in secret, so we can call and text one another to our heart's desire. I keep receiving text messages about "overage charges", but I'm sure that it's the cellphone service's way of telling me that I'm hitting the right strides as a boyfriend.**

"Hello, who is this?" a voice spoke from Chrom's phone, after the prince dialed the number. That voice belonged to Raven.

"Hi Raven, it's me Chrom...I see that you haven't set up my caller ID yet," answered Chrom, flashing a nervous smile. Fox and Falco were quick to infer what this nervous smile meant. "How are you doing?"

"Eh, I'm hanging in there, been practicing my spells and stuff...pretty much working on my craft. So why is a fine, handsome man like yourself calling me and distracting me from honing my spellcasting skills?"

"I just need to ask you a quick question, about Nowi, since you're closer with her than I am...did she ever tell you why she and Captain Falcon broke up? From what I've heard, the breakup happened because someone told Nowi about Captain Falcon at some club with Kalos Elite Four member Malva...I assume it was Globox, since he saw it himself."

"Someone did tell Nowi about the Captain Falcon incident...and it definitely wasn't Globox, he's too stupid to tell anyone anyways." This alarmed Chrom, and also alarmed Fox and Falco as well. "May I tell you who this person was?" Chrom looked at Ann, who nodded her excitedly; this was the breakthrough she needed.

"Yes, that would be very swell - might pass on this information to Master Hand. Could use it just for future reference."

"Okay, but not act all surprised when I tell you, alright? The person, who told Nowi about Captain Falcon at the club with Malva, was..."

* * *

Bowser returned to the mansion, walking through the hallways heaving a sigh. The koopa king flirted with Lara Croft and failed; any other instance when Bowser's flirting attempt failed, the koopa would "reconcile" with Peach, but with Peach married, there was no point in "reconciling" anymore.

Even worse, Bowser's stuffed animal was still missing. Mario didn't have, and neither did Peach, leading Bowser to assume that his stuffed animal was lost and gone forever, never to be seen again. As the koopa king moped, a nearby elevator door opened, and the Blue Yoshi ran out, with Yoshi still chasing the little critter.

"Get back here, I need you as a part of my...my...my peer group!" Yoshi called out to the Blue Yoshi. "You have no idea what it's like being the lone Yoshi in the mansion! Share the burden with me, I beg of you!"

Yoshi would keep chasing the Blue Yoshi, until the infant Yoshi ran into Bowser, who picked him up. Yoshi would stop in his place, and gasped in horror, certain Bowser was going to eat the Blue Yoshi whole.

"Yoshi, I know _exactly_ what you're thinking...you think I'm gonna sell this Baby Yoshi on Amazon, since selling pets online would reel in big dough," Bowser said to the green dinosaur; apparently he and Pit had the same aspirations. "But hear me out...I lost my Yoshi stuffed animal today, and it was blue, just like this little fella in my hands. I think my stuffed animal is lost, and that is no bueno - I need that thing to go to sleep at night. But this, this Baby Yoshi...would make for a bona fide replacement. He could be a living stuffed animal, and I can tuck him in with me at night and not run off...like I've seen other Baby Yoshis do. So Yoshi, I ask you...can I keep this Baby Yoshi with me?"

Yoshi mused over this offer - would it be wise for Bowser to keep the Blue Yoshi? Sure he was displaying that he had the right intentions, but this could possibly be a facade for committing evil deeds. But Bowser deeply cared about his stuffed animal, and was willing to replace it...even with a living, breathing, tiny blue dinosaur.

"...go ahead, knock yourself out, you can keep him," was Yoshi's reply, and seconds later, Bowser would rush to Yoshi and shake his hand eagerly, holding his new companion in his arm. Maybe the koopa king can sleep peacefully at night now...

 **Yoshi: Heh, had no idea Bowser was that kind and caring...well, to a stuffed animal, that is. Had no idea Bowser owned one. But with that Baby Yoshi, I think Bowser might change for the better...emphasis on "might".  
Aerith: *from afar* Yoshi, another Baby Yoshi just escaped. And Pit is trying to sell a Baby Yoshi online as we speak!  
Yoshi: Welp, duty calls...then again, that's what you expect as a father. *retreats***

* * *

"Been thinking about trading this Wishiwashi card for a Jolteon card..." Gil said to Robin, showing his collection of Pokemon cards to the mage outside the meeting room door. "...or maybe a Braviary card. Either one will do."

"I'm sure there's someone on the streets stupid enough to trade you a Shadow Lugia for that Wishiwashi card," said Robin, who apparently played with Pokemon cards just like Gil. The mage had interests other than magic, you know. "Go to one of the parks in Seattle, and you could trade a Magikarp for a Rayquaza C Lv. X! I kid you not, I've done it before!"

Suddenly the meeting room door opened, and first to come out was Sephiroth. Robin and Gil, at the sight of the one-winged angel, shrieked and ran away, as Layton, Luke, Akira, and Ryuji all filed out of the room.

"It was nice speaking with you Sephiroth, we have all learned a lot from you," Layton said to the one-winged angel, thankful that he life was still preserved once the meeting commenced. "Do you know what we ask from you?"

"Yes, I'm very much aware...I must search the earth for the individual responsible for reviving me, and bring him to the mansion for interrogation," replied Sephiroth, the Masamune in his hand enough to send shivers down Luke's spine. "With my enhanced strength and power, finding this individual will take swift effort."

"Just make sure to retrieve this person as soon as possible. I can already see this investigation coming to an end very soon. A few more steps along the way, and Luke and I shall find a fitting conclusion!"

Sephiroth nodded as he made his grand exit, flying out of the mansion through the ceiling and leaving behind a hole. Mr. Game and Watch is gonna be super ticked later today. Moments after Sephiroth left, Makoto, Futaba, and Ann would arrive at the scene, one-by-one.

"Ah ladies, you've all returned, and perfect timing too!" exclaimed Akira, with a big smile on his face. "Us men have finished our little investigation; we managed to get Cloud Strife's rival, Sephiroth, to do a favor for Layton and Luke. Incredibly long story. Now, what about you ladies?"

"I learned that Lucas informed one of the residents, Yoshi, to create an armada of Baby Yoshis," explained Makoto. "Yoshi was forbidden by Lucas to explain the purpose of this armada, though."

"I found the program on Mario's computer that caused the device to act funny," explained Futaba. "Saved it onto the flash drive, and pulled it up in the computer room - has information about who the owner of the program is."

"I received word about a person who snitched on Captain Falcon and triggered the events that lead to Falcon's time behind bars," explained Ann. "I suspect this person to be the one behind all the weird stuff happening around the mansion lately."

"Excellent work, ladies, very good..." said Akira, before noticing that one Phantom Thief was missing... "...argh, where on earth is Morgana?! Hasn't been going rogue all day, has he?!"

* * *

Morgana was indeed going rogue, as the shape-shifting cat remained in jukebox form, still playing music for the ailing Link. When Zelda and Midna arrived at Link's room from the beauty salon, they would find Link, resting comfortably on his bed, arms behind his head, as Morgana was playing Saria's Song...on _full repeat._

 **Zelda: Link LOVES Saria's Song, loves it to death. He can play that song on any instrument - ocarina, guitar, drums, xylophone, and even the triangle! It's the only song he's good at, unless you consider horse calls to be actual songs.**

"Told you to entertain Link before you went to the beauty salon...and I see that you found a long-term solution," said Zelda, observing how genuinely happy Link looked lying in the bed. "Link's actually smiling too...first time I've seen him in smiles ever since his head started bothering him."

"Wasn't like I had no other choice anyway...figured you'd be worried sick about Link, so I did what I had to do," replied Midna, as she watched Link. "Wouldn't want the princess of Hyrule to be constantly fretting about her boyfriend, would I?"

* * *

After viewing the program in the computer room with the Phantom Thieves, Futaba would return to Mario's home, bringing the Phantom Thieves along with her. There, Akira and company would introduce themselves to Mario and whatnot, and share with them what they learned throughout the day. Futaba would also pull up the program on Mario's computer, showing said program to Mario and Peach, and the person who created the program in the first place. Mario and Peach both felt informed, and so did Master Hand, who was in the know beforehand.

"What, Sephiroth was at the mansion and you never told me?!" Sora said to Cloud, following the swordsman through the foyer with a sundae in his hand. "Really wanted to fight him again, and prove victorious, just like last time!"

"You defeating Sephiroth, one-on-one?" scoffed Cloud, amazed by Sora's "vivid imagination", as he called it. "In your dreams kid...you can't even hold a candle to Sephiroth, dude could literally kill you if he tried."

"But that's where you're wrong Cloud, for I defeated Sephiroth not once, but TWICE! You were there the second time it happened...actually, you didn't show up until after the fight, but you were still there!"

Cloud rolled his eyes as he picked up the pace, walking even faster from Sora, as Jakob passed through the foyer. The butler still wasn't on good terms with Master Hand and the residents, but he still believed he had the official mansion butler job in the bag.

"Gotta hand it to those Ice Climbers, they make some really great desserts..." remarked Jakob, as he arrived at Master Hand's door, his hand on the doorknob. "If only Popo could chill out some. He might pop a vein, or even worse!"

When Jakob opened the door and stepped inside Master Hand's room, he was greeted by Master Hand himself...and Mario, who was glaring down Jakob with his arms folded. Some things were clearly going down, and they certainly weren't in Jakob's favor...

"Mr. Jakob...we need-a to talk..." Mario said to the now wary butler, his glare still intact.


	96. Episode 96: Accusation

_Author's Note:_

 _Rather than being a Fire Emblem: Warriors-centric chapter, as I had planned, this chapter will contain more or less a bunch of characters from across the Fire Emblem series. Keep in mind that no original Warriors characters will appear. Now for the guest reviews:_

 _"Can you add the characters from Star Ocean: The Last Hope? (Since they're part of Square Enix) the characters from Phantasy Star Universe? A Pokemon Puzzle League chapter? Is Lilith gonna stalk Dark Pit when she appears? (Since she might think he's a fallen angel) Is Vergil going to be using his original voice actor or the one from the controversial Devil May Cry reboot? Are Chaos and KOS-MOS from Xenosaga going to be a couple? And finally, which Fire Emblem characters are going to help Faye get over Alm?"_

 _I could do a little Star Ocean, already have an affinity for one of the characters (you probably know who this character is). I can do Phantasy Star as well. Might do a Pokemon Puzzle League chapter. Lilith will definitely stalk Dark Pit. Virgil will use his voice from the reboot. Chaos and KOS-MOS might be a couple. And as for Faye and Alm...won't be saying anything about that, for now. Now I received a few anonymous guest reviews, and I believe they're from the same person, so I'll put their suggestions together, and answer them in one response..._

 _"1. I have a little question... Will classic sonic appear in the sonic forces/mania episode?  
2\. I know it's a obvious no,but can you put cuphead and mugman at least as a cameo?(if you know about cuphead,that is.)"_

 _1\. Classic Sonic will indeed appear in the Sonic Forces episode.  
2\. I'm already familiar with Cuphead and Mugman...but don't expect a cameo from either one._

 _With Sephiroth now a free man, Derick Lindsey gave me this idea to ponder over..._

 _"...if I suggest Sephiroth destroys [Master Hand's] precious Lamborghini..."_

 _Why haven't I destroyed the Lamborghini yet? It's not like Master Hand needs it. Eh. Last up is J300:_

 _"1. Since Super Mario Oddyssey comes out soon, are you tying this arc in With the basic story?  
2\. Will the Broodals appear if and only if you think it would work in the plot?_  
 _3\. Could you show what are Corrin's reactions to the new Episode VII trailer for Star Wars?"_

 _1\. The current arc isn't tied with Super Mario Odyssey...but rather another game coming out soon. Won't say what it is.  
2\. Broodals could appear, just gotta find out how they would fit.  
3\. Yup, it's been a week since that Episode VII trailer...but I'll still show Corrin's reactions regardless._

* * *

 **Episode 96: Accusation**

Jakob's reputation at the Smash Mansion was already in hot water, given that he was losing the trust of Master Hand and the mansion residents. And if the ending of the previous episode was any indication, the butler was going to find himself in even more hot water...

Following a day of investigation involving Layton, Luke, and the Phantom Thieves, Master Hand and Mario had a long talk with Jakob, after there was some evidence found in the previous episode that had to do with Jakob. Jakob did everything he could to dismiss the validity of the evidence, but even after his talk, Mario and Master Hand couldn't help but grow even more skeptical of the butler.

Jakob, with his days seemingly numbering at the mansion, didn't act afraid in the slightest - he still believed that despite everything going on with him right now, he still had the mansion butler job in the bag. He would display a sense of confidence, as he spoke with Geno outside the kitchen that morning.

"Word has it that this could possibly be your last day at the mansion," Geno said to Jakob, who didn't appear to be unfazed one bit about this rumor. "Are you afraid, nervous, anxious, anything?"

"As the old saying goes, Geno, 'there is nothing to fear but fear itself,'" Jakob coolly replied, quoting the famous Franklin Delano Roosevelt. "Quite frankly, I don't have any fear in me - never did, never will. I tackle every day, every challenge, every circumstance, with a sheer amount of confidence, for I know that if I become full of fear, then that fear will turn into doubt, and doubt will prevent me from accomplishing my goals."

"I've also heard that a lot of _Fire Emblem_ folks are coming to the mansion...denizens from Nohr, Hoshidio, Plegia, Elibe, Athena, and other kingdoms are apparently coming to the mansion soon. Do you have any knowledge about this?"

"No I don't, though I should...any important matters is usually passed down to me from either Mario or Master Hand. Sure hope that their declining lack of trust doesn't mean that they can no longer share any news with me."

 **Jakob: The "evidence" the Phantom Thieves accrued last week? *scoffs* All of it is false, all of it. They're not real investigators, they're just a bunch of no-good kids who can't accept the fact that the world is genuinely full of evil people, and waste their precious time trying to evict the world of something that cannot be simply taken away. Layton and Luke's investigation is definitely taking a turn for the worse; two weeks ago, they needed the help of Team Chaotix, and last week they had to bring the Phantom Thieves over. How could one possibly trust those two detectives when they can't even do their job by themselves?**

Breakfast was coming to an end, and some of the residents were making their way through the kitchen. The first to come through was Fox...who much to Jakob's surprise, gave the butler some dap.

"Well, Jakob, it's been real my man," Fox said to the butler, acting like he was going away on some lengthy vacation, vowing to never return. "See ya on the flippity-flip...I guess. Or the floppity flop, but that doesn't make any sense. Anyways, take care!"

"What on earth was that all about...?" questioned Jakob, as Fox walked away. Later Doc Louis would exit the kitchen, emphatically patting Jakob on the back.

"You had a good run at this mansion Jakob, but all good things come to an end...actually, all _bad_ things come to an end," the boxing trainer said to Jakob, greatly befuddling the butler. "But don't worry, you'll see what I mean later on!"

"Something definitely is going on, and it must involve me..." inferred Jakob, stroking his chin. Coco would exit the kitchen next, and she just looked at Jakob, not knowing what to say.

"Eh, I would bid you with a farewell, but I haven't formed a strong enough opinion on you so I'll just tell you to take it easy and leave it at that," the blonde bandicoot would say as she left the premises. Jakob was growing even more confused, wondering why everyone was telling him their goodbyes all of a sudden.

"So many people telling me goodbye...I desperately need some answers." Asuka walked out of the kitchen, with a futomaki roll in their possession (too early to eat that; must be saving it for later), and Jakob was quick to approach the ninja girl, putting his hands on her shoulders and startling her. "Asuka, you must tell me...what is going on, why is everyone acting like I'm leaving the mansion?"

"How about you go find out yourself, I'm forbidden to tell you," replied Asuka, getting Jakob's hands off of her as she walked away. Since Jakob couldn't get the answers from Asuka, he now had to find the answers on his own...

Jakob hastily retreated, now on the search for the answers he needed. Since Asuka was forbidden to tell the butler the truth, there was a good chance everyone else in the mansion was forbidden as well. So Jakob had to look for physical evidence, if there was any evidence to begin with.

When Jakob went up to the second floor, he would pass by a room, and saw Mr. Game and Watch, working away. The butler, wanting to take a sneak peek, looked inside the room, and was left stunned...the room looked like a legit courtroom, with the two podiums, the seats, the jury's box, the judge stand, the witness stand, the evidence table, and then some. It was too much for an already confused Jakob to take in.

But when Jakob took a step back and looked up, he saw a sign posted above the doorway...

...which you won't see until later on, but the sign made Jakob even more shook, the butler taking multiple steps back as he stared at the sign. It was like he was stuck in some bad dream. The dream would continue, when the doorbell sounded. Jakob, fearing for the worst, headed down to the foyer, standing on the staircase, and saw Mewtwo, greeting two individuals and letting them inside...

...Phoenix Wright and Maya Fey. Jakob's bad dream was suddenly a dream come true...

 **Master Hand: Oh yeah, something big is gonna go down today, and it's gonna be big, even bigger than the...no, I'm not telling you exactly what's gonna take place! That's called spoiling, and spoiling ruins the fun in everything! Ruins the element of surprise, and easily kills off anticipation! Do you realize how hard it was to limit spoilers and leaks for newcomers like Mega Man and Cloud? Don't even get me started on Mewtwo!**

"Fancy seeing you back at the mansion, Phoenix and Maya," Mewtwo would say to the investigative duo, as Phoenix adjusted his tie and Maya fixed her hair. "How have you and Maya been since Mario's wedding?"

"I'm just...hanging in there, just doing my thing," answered Phoenix, after he was finished with his tie. "Had to crack a case with Athena Cykes of all people, and boy it was a nightmare...you have no idea how hard it was to work with a chick who fangirls over a STUPID LAVA LAMP!" Couldn't be worse than that one time Athena was fangirling over an aquarium,

"Yes, Athena does act like a complete dork...but you act like one too, Phoenix," stated Maya, earning a glare from her partner-in-crime. You might know about Phoenix's dorky, goofy side if you ever played any of the _Ace Attorney_ games. "Always dressing down Athena and talking up a storm about how much she unnerves...you don't have a crush on her, do you?"

"No I do not, why would I even harbor a crush on someone when I know any romantic feelings will interfere in my attorney duties?" Phoenix snapped on a now smiling Maya, before reverting his attention to Mewtwo and clearing his throat. "You must excuse my assistant for her idiotic questioning, Mewtwo - she has a potent tendency of shipping me with girls I don't even like, nor would want to be with even while solving a major case."

"Yeah, you don't look like you're cut out to be a boyfriend anyways," remarked Mewtwo; Phoenix wanted to give the psychic Pokemon a piece of his mind, but saved his breath. Defending himself would be opposite to what he said about romance distracting him from his attorney duties. "Professor Layton and Luke Triton have been informed about your arrival...would you two like to see them?"

"Layton and Luke...Layton and Luke...wait, why are they at the mansion? Did Master Hand extend to them an invitation to reside in the mansion? Master Hand must be giving out these handouts like crazy!" Phoenix sounded somewhat salty when he said this.

"A temporary invitation; Layton and Luke have been staying with us to investigate the Four Seasons hotel explosion that went down prior to the Mario and Peach's wedding reception." Now Phoenix was even more salty. "At this moment, we're not sure if the two will be permanent members once the investigation is over with..."

"How DARE Master Hand hire Layton and Luke to investigate the hotel attack, instead of hiring Maya and I! What do those two British detectives have that we don't?!"

"...for starters, Layton is more chill and down-to-earth than you are, and doesn't act like a...like a...a complete dork," Maya meekly offered her take, as Phoenix glared at her yet again. "Excuse me for keeping it real..."

"Both Layton and Luke are greatly anticipating seeing the two of you," said Mewtwo, fearful that Phoenix might pop a vein and go off for no reason. "Follow me, I shall take you two to where the British detectives are."

With Mewtwo leading the way, with Phoenix and Maya following after him, Jakob looked on, with a hand over his mouth, overwhelmed with worry. The courtroom, Phoenix and Maya, several residents saying their farewells...

...it seemed fairly obvious what was going to happen later on.

* * *

 **Chrom: My lovely girlfriend Raven is expected to come to the mansion, along with her lady friends Nowi, Caeda, and a few other girls that I cannot remember by name. I would like to spend my entire day with Raven, to prove to everyone that we're still going on strong as a couple...but I don't know if the other ladies would handle it. By it, I mean Raven and I as an item. I might have flirted with many ladies over the war, but I'm not exactly what you would call a womanizer...after all, Lucina was there. Had to keep a good reputation with my daughter around.**

Shortly after Phoenix and Maya arrived at the mansion, many _Fire Emblem_ folks came, and Ike had to stand by the now open front door and welcome them in. The swordsman, knowing a majority of the visitors, was unfazed during his one-man welcoming committee.

"Sup Lyn, how's the best Assist Trophy character doing?" Ike would greet the first _Fire Emblem_ character to step foot in the mansion, Lyn. Showing a whole lot of bias right now. "Those legs of yours looking nice as usual...don't give me that look, just keep on walking...Yo, Frederick, what's good my man? No, I haven't asked out Mia yet, but give me some time, not everything has to be instant, even love. Just don't try and start a fire, we just had a fire two weeks ago, aight?...Navarre, long time no see dude! Sorry for thinking you were a girl that one time, you should really look into cutting your hair, it's too long even for a man. Should also smile a bit more, having the same facial expression isn't really good for your health..."

All in all, twelve _Fire Emblem_ folks were at the mansion - Raven, Navarre, Lyn, Frederick, Anna, Niles, Berkut, Rinea, Soren, Caeda, Xander, and Nowi. They were all brought to the living room, where Mario and Cortex were holding forms in their hands. Uka was hovering over the two, his angry scowl enough to strike fear in Raven and the others.

"Before-a I begin, let me just thank-a you all for making it here-a today," Mario started things off, as Cortex picked his nose, contaminating his glove and disturbing the others greatly. "Now I know this might-a be the first time at the mansion for-a some of you, but I guarantee that you-a will find your way in-a no time!"

"Considering what you twelve will be doing for us today, the newcomers in the group won't even have to worry about being lost," added Cortex, as Mario glared at the N head. A clear indicator that Cortex said something he wasn't even supposed to say - he was almost giving away a spoiler, and as Master Hand said earlier, spoilers can ruin the fun of anything.

"Shut-a your mouth otherwise your head-a will be stuck in the chimney again..." Cortex, not wanting such fate to transpire again, kept his lips sealed. "Cortex and I will-a hand out these forms, and you have an hour to fill-a them out. So take-a your time!"

So Mario and Cortex would hand out the forms to the twelve; these forms turned out to be jury applicant forms. Asked for stuff like name, gender, residence, date of birth, occupation...typical fields you would see on an average form. Soren didn't want to even touch his form because of one reason...

"Um, Mario...I don't want to fill out this form, it might be infected," stated the mage, putting his form to the side it like was cancerous. Soren witnessed Cortex picking his nose, and the N head gave one of the forms to him.

"Everything is infected, everything has germs...your clothes, this form, the very sofa I'm sitting on, everything is infested with germs," stated Frederick, acting like he was some kind of scientist. "Germs are like the very oxygen that we breath...it's everywhere, and we can't see..."

"We didn't come to the mansion to hear you lecture us about germs Frederick, so why don't you just hush so we can fill out our forms in peace?" Raven said to the Great Knight, as Frederick shot a look at her. Some unwanted tension was building up in the living room.

"If you don't hush, then you're gonna make things even worse..." said Navarre, struggling to maintain his stoic nature. He should definitely follow Ike's advice, if he wanted to do what was "best" for his health. "Don't want to be a part of a fight..."

"Did someone say anything about a fight?" asked Lyn, taking out her Sol Katti. The tension was reaching a tipping point, and there was nothing Mario and Cortex could do, lest they wished to be caught up in all the hoopla. "I certainly don't like where this conversation is heading, but if you guys don't..."

"FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, WILL YOU PEONS PLEASE STOP?!" Uka boomed at the top of his nonexistent lungs, cutting off Lyn. Lyn meekly sat down, putting her sword away, and quietness would return to the living room, as Lyn and the others quietly filled out their forms.

 **Cortex: Those twelve _Fire Emblem_ folks honestly scare the pants off of me...especially that one guy with an eyepatch. If there's anything I learned in life, it's to never trust a man with an eyepatch!  
** **Uka: Worst life advice ever...  
Cortex: Another person I found to be frightening was that woman with the long black hair. Didn't say much, but she definitely look like she could kick my butt blindfolded!  
Uka: Pretty sure that was a guy...  
Cortex: Don't even get me started on the other lady in the living room, the one by the name of Caeda...she looked kinda intimidating as well! She looks oddly similar to Marth - must be a twin sister of hers.  
Uka: We've been through this conversation before Cortex, Marth is NOT a girl...  
Cortex: Marth's hair and stature keeps telling me otherwise...so checkmate, Uka!  
Uka: *rolls his eyes***

Xander would be the first to fill out his form, handing in his form and pen to Mario. The eldest son of the Nohrian royal family was dying to see Corrin and Kamui, and was interested in seeing how much Corrin has progressed in terms of knowledge.

"I would like to see Corrin and Kamui, so I can give a report of their status at the mansion to my father, Garon," Xander said to Mario, who was quick to oblige. "Kamui also wrote me a letter about Corrin worrying at times about Elise...our sister has been feeling better ever since the wedding explosion, and is back to a hundred percent. I must deliver the good news to Corrin and Kamui."

"Finished with the form, Mr. Mario, here ya go..." Niles would hand his form to Mario, before noticing Xander with the famous plumber. "Say, Xander, are you gonna see Corrin and Kamui? Haven't seen those two rascals in forever..."

"You're more than welcome to come along Niles...just as long as you keep your distance from the two." Xander had to keep a very watchful eye on Niles...

* * *

Mario would call in Sonic - who was still caretaking Suzie- to lead Xander and Niles to the Nohrian twins Corrin and Kamui, who were in the movie room looking for _Star Wars_ films. Or rather, that was what Corrin was doing; Kamui was just keeping watch of her twin brother. Pac-Man and Cloud were also present in the room, configuring the television.

"Just so you kids know, movie night has been cancelled this week, so don't waste your time looking for films that you won't even watch," Pac-Man warned the twins; movie night was formally cancelled by Master Hand, and for a good reason, a reason that will be revealed later on.

"I don't think Corrin can hear you, Pac-Man, he's too busy looking," Kamui informed the eater of ghosts, as Corrin was throwing DVDs over the place all willy-nilly, with Kamui having to catch these DVDs otherwise they'd land on the floor, and something obviously bad would happen to them. "He told me that he won't leave until he finds that 'Rogue One' DVD..."

"But we just saw that movie last week, why does Corrin need to watch it again?" questioned Cloud, being momentarily distracted from his work. "He was watching that movie more dutifully than everyone else! Pinpointing every little detail, critiquing the performance of the actors, making note of the special effects and camera shots and angles and..."

"...and that's why I got kicked out, before we even reached the halfway point of the movie," answered Corrin, continuing on with his search. "Master Hand apparently couldn't handle my critique and insight, and so he kicked me out of movie night because the information I supplied with everyone was too much to handle. Ignorance is bliss, sometimes at its pure finest..."

"You constantly bored everyone to death with your nonstop chatter, but I have to admit, the movie was a LOT more enjoyable once you left. Might've been the only movie night I enjoyed."

 **Pac-Man: Corrin can be very...adverse, when it comes to movie night. If it was a crappy movie like _Sharknado_ or _Baby Geniuses,_ Corrin would be fast asleep. If it was a legendary movie, like _The Lion King_ or _Jaws,_ Corrin would still be fast asleep. If it was even a mediocre movie, like the new _Mummy_ movie or every _Ice Age_ film after the original, Corrin would _still_ be fast asleep...but put any _Star Wars_ flick up on the movie screen, and Corrin would be all up on the screen like he was some infant watching television for the first time. Corrin's love for the _Star Wars_ franchise works in mysterious and strange ways, and in ways that I don't even bother to comprehend.**

Sonic would take a peek inside the movie room, and saw Corrin and Kamui. The hedgehog, with Suzie in his possession, would motion over to Xander and Niles, leading them inside the movie room.

"Corrin and Kamui, two very important people from the kingdom of Nohr would like to see you!" Sonic called out to the twins, who stopped what they were doing and turned around. Both were delighted to see Xander, smiling at them...though the same couldn't be said when their eyes fell upon Niles.

"Hello Corrin and Kamui, my two great younger siblings," Xander would greet the twins, his smile still intact - Corrin and Kamui could only wave. "I hope everything is well during your stay at the Smash Mansion. I'm more than pleased to tell you both that..."

"Hey Pac-Man, hey Cloud!" Niles would say hi to Pac-Man and Cloud, in a normal tone, cutting off Xander before his eyes fell prey upon Corrin and Kamui, unnerving the both of them with a creepy smile and demeanor. "Hey Corrin and Kamui..." Niles said in a creepier tone, filling up Corrin and Kamui with cringe.

"Woah dude, why did you say 'Hey Corrin and Kamui' like that?" questioned Sonic - Niles' demeanor and way of acting was why Xander had to keep a very close eye on the outlaw-turned-retainer.

"I like both Corrin and Kamui." This response, and the way Niles said it, was enough for Sonic to slowly back away...before speeding off at the speed of light. The hedgehog, having done his task, felt like now was a very good time to resume his previous activities.

"Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted..." continued Xander, shooting a glare at Niles, who quickly went back to being a normal, dignified person. "...I'm more than pleased to tell you both that Elise has been feeling better, and she's now back to being a hundred percent." Corrin absolutely felt like squealing inside. "The nurses have taken great care of Elise..."

"So Corrin, how's it like having the two maids Flora and Felicia at the mansion, feels great to have another set of Nohrian twins with ya, huh?" Niles, again cutting off Xander, would ask the prince, as Xander glared at him rather intensely. "Did you ever ask Felicia out on a date? I bet you did, didn't you? Tell me how your date went, tell me all the juicy details!"

"Will you please cut it out and quit interrupting me like that?!" Xander scolded Niles, smacking the back of his head. "Now as I was saying...the nurses have taken great care of Elise, and now the explosion that took place on Mario's wedding day is now a mere afterthought. Speaking of the explosion, has Mario found out the idiot responsible behind it?"

"Mario and Master Hand actually hired to detectives to investigate the explosion - Professor Herschel Layton and Luke Triton," replied Kamui; Xander recalled having a chance meeting with Layton and Luke before Mario's wedding started. "They believe they're almost close to solving the mystery, after they spent much of their time at the mansion looking for clues."

"That's good to hear, glad to see Mario and Master Hand taking the initiative. Whoever this perpetrator is, they will definitely receive their comeuppance..."

 **Xander: I thought you'd be better than this, Niles...you had one job, ONE JOB. And you know what that job was? To act like a normal person - noble and just, not striking anyone the wrong way...but what did you do? Smile creepily at Corrin and Kamui, and wave at them, not only frightening them, but making Pac-Man and Cloud question you. Why couldn't have Master Hand picked Azura to be at the mansion over you...  
Niles: Pfft, nobody wants that overrated singer anyways, she's only good for singing that one song. The better question is, why would Master Hand pick YOU of all people? Sure, you might be the oldest sibling in the royal family, but you're basic, with no spark...your personality and appearance is more bland than a regular bar of soap. Ladies all over Nohr would shun you!  
Xander: *stands up and takes out sword, scaring Niles* Say that again, I dare you...  
Niles: *cowering in fear* ...Xander, Xander, he's our man, if he can't do it, no one can!**

* * *

Out of the _Fire Emblem_ twelve, only two members were together, as a couple - Berkut and Rinea. Berkut, after overhearing that Alm and Celica were at the mansion, was stomping through the hallways, on a search for the Valentian couple...though Alm was the only person Berkut was interested in looking for.

"Berkut, you don't have to do this, why can't you just leave Alm and his wife alone?" Rinea would say to Berkut, the heir to the Rigelian throne, chasing after her fiance who was angry to the bone. "He has done nothing wrong, and neither has Celica! Just leave them be, will you?"

"Alm believes he's far more superior than I, doesn't he..." seethed Berkut, his fists clenched with rage as he marched down the hallway, not knowing where he was going for he was letting his beef with Alm take control of him. If Alm just showed up, then Berkut's method would pay off. "Thinks that he's better than me, that his stupid kingdom is better, thinks that his wife is better-looking than my fiancee..." Alm, a very humble guy, would never say or think such things...it was all just inside Berkut's head. "Today I'm gonna teach him a lesson that he'll never truly forget!"

"You must be out of your mind, it would be uncharacteristic of Alm to even say those things!" Rinea now found herself pulling on Berkut's arm, trying to drag the heir away, but only being dragged by Berkut in the process. "If you do talk with him, how about you just talk things out, find a common ground and put both of your differences aside, for once and for all?

"That is the noncomformist way to solve your problems...and by no means am I a noncomformist. Alm and I shall settle our differences our own way, and who knows, it might end with a fight to the DEATH!" Rinea certainly didn't want something like this to be the endgame.

Berkut would eventually find his rival Alm in the gaming room, having a chit-chat with Pit. The heir of Rigelia would peer through the doorway, spotting Alm speaking with Pit, the angel holding a Baby Yoshi in his hands.

"This Baby Yoshi can glow in the dark, like a night light!" Pit would explain to Alm, demonstrating as the golden Baby Yoshi was shining like a lightbulb, bright enough to make Alm and several others in the gaming room shield their eyes. "Very useful for going through dark forests, although I've never been through a dark forest before. Thought that was only a thing in story tales, but Viridi proved me wrong..."

"I know Yoshi has his hands full with these baby dinosaurs and all," remarked Alm, removing his arm from his eyes, as the Baby Yoshi stopped shining and Berkut sneakily advanced inside the gaming room. Rinea, who had some signs of social anxiety, would follow her fiance inside the gaming room, keeping herself wary of those present. "Yoshi's on-and-off girlfriend is Birdo, right? Has she been informed about the Baby Yoshis, or does Yoshi wish to withhold the news from her?"

"Yoshi has repeatedly denied Birdo as his girlfriend, so I don't think he has told her yet. But we all know that Yoshi has a new girlfriend already, that chick named Makoto who showed up last week...hey Alm, who's that guy glaring at you, do you know him?"

Alm turned around, and his face sank when he saw the man Pit was pointing at...Berkut, the heir of Rigel, glaring at Alm and looking into his soul. Berkut inhaled, then exhaled, likely done for dramatic effect, to silently remind Alm of how much he despised him.

"Alm, prince of Rigel, holy king of Valentia...we meet again..." snarled Berkut, as Alm looked uneasy. He did not wish to fight Berkut, but the heir of the throne was giving him the initiative to do so...

 **Pit: Woah...I had no idea Alm was a prince AND a holy king! This whole time, I thought he was a retired janitor, from some make-believe kingdom. Learn something new everyday...**

"Didn't I...kill you before?" asked Alm, remembering that one time he fought both Berkut and Rinea. "Rinea, is that really you? Weren't you supposed to be reborn as a witch, how come you look perfectly normal?"

"SILENCE YOUR MOUTH AND FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION BACK ON ME!" Berkut barked at Alm, grabbing the attention of everyone in the gaming room. "You thought I was dead, but by some incomprehensible nature, like a miracle, I've been brought back to life, and it was also thanks to him that Rinea has had her soul restored, saving her from being a witch. Now that I'm here, I can finally dethrone you, and become the prince of Rigel!"

"Okay, so let me get this straight - back when we had our beef, you wished to become the emperor of Rigel...but now you wish to be the prince? Sounds like a major step down from your original goal, don't you think?"

"Yeah Alm's got a point, wanting to be the prince rather than the emperor is like being an employee at a fast-food joint when you could be the CEO of a fast-food company," said Pit, backing up Alm with an analogy that did not apply to Berkut's situation in any way at all. Alm just nodded his head, hoping that Berkut would somehow apply Pit's strange analogy to his current situation and see the error of his ways...but we all know that wouldn't be possible.

"I did desire to be the emperor...but sometimes, you have to start off small, and work your way up to the top! Choosing not to do that and have my focus set on being the emperor was truly damning on my part, and might have contributed to my death...but I'm back, and better than ever! Isn't that right, Rinea?"

"Whatever keeps you content, Berkut..." Rinea meekly replied, backing away just a little. You wouldn't like Berkut when he was overtly ambitious.

"Not exactly a response of utmost confidence, but you're my fiancee, so I'll take it either way...now, Alm, prepare to feel my wrath, feel my rage, feel my..."

"Berkut, Rinea, where on earth are you?" Ayaha's voice was heard from the hallways, and soon enough, the black-haired assistant would find the couple in the gaming room, with Berkut about to go ham on Alm. "Ah, there you two are! Master Hand wants to meet with you in the others in the meeting room. Trust me, it won't be long!"

"I shall deal with you later..." Berkut would whisper to Alm, glaring at him one last time as he and Rinea followed Ayaha out of the gaming room. Alm could only chuckle, shaking his head with his hands on his hips, in great disbelief.

* * *

By now at this point in the episode, Phoenix and Maya would have met with Layton and Luke...but unbeknownst to Mewtwo, the two British detectives were randomly ordered by Master Hand to walk the Duck Hunt Dog around the block. (Technically Luke didn't have to walk the dog, but he just enjoyed the company of Layton, and Layton enjoyed the company of Luke.) So Phoenix and Maya pretty much had to wait in the foyer until Layton and Luke returned.

"Could've hired any duo in the world to investigate what went down at the Four Seasons hotel...and Layton and Luke were the ones chosen," Phoenix moped as he sat in a chair by himself, as Maya filed her nails to pass the time. "Could have been worse...Mario and Master Hand could have hired Apollo Justice AND Athena Cykes to crack the case!" Phoenix couldn't help but shudder at the thought of that.

"Get over it Phoenix, you've been bitter all day long," Maya said to the attorney, as Crash came over to sniff her fingers. The assistant had to slap the bandicoot away, as Crash quickly retreated. "Oughta be glad we didn't have to solve a case involving Furio Tigre!"

 **Maya: Furio Tigre is a loan shark in charge of a loan company called Tender Lender...or at least he used to be in charge. Thankfully, Tigre is now behind bars, and for a reason other than his murderous streak...his explosive temper. Convict him in court, and he'll scream so loudly, the lights in the courtroom will go out! Tigre has a very potent tendency to go Super Saiyan when angry, hence his fitting nickname. Furio's a guy that would go unleash his angry emotions all over you if you accidentally spilled coffee on his suit.**

Phoenix kept on moping, thinking about how unfair his job and life was, when the sound of the doorbell was heard. Do the residents not have a house key to enter the mansion? Presumably not. Phoenix would get up from his hair, and trudge over to the front door, opening it with disgust written on his face...

...only for said disgust to go away completely, when he was standing eye-to-eye, face-to-face, mono e mono, with the great Professor Herschel Layton. The very man he once worked with in the past. Sure, Luke was also there, standing with Layton, but he was irrelevant now.

"Professor Layton..." Phoenix would utter the British detective's name, not knowing what to say other than his name. The words would soon come later. "It's, uh...hello, er...how are you...going?" Phoenix was happy and angry at the same time - happy to see his old colleague, but angry that said colleague was doing something he and Maya could have done themselves.

"Hello to you two, Phoenix Wright, so good to see you again, my friend," smiled Layton; the term "friend" irked Phoenix, for some reason. "Heard you would be at the mansion today. Now how about a handshake? Can't remember the last time we even shook hands!"

Phoenix looked down, and saw Layton's extended hand, the detective expecting a handshake. Phoenix would take his hand, and slowly brought it over to Layton's hand, before the two hands met in perfect harmony, held together as the shaking of the hands commenced.

But it wouldn't stop there, oh no...Phoenix would pull Layton in close, towards him, and patted him on the back. Layton, out of confusion, would do the same to Phoenix. Maya and Luke looked on with cringe, no doubt feeling bad for both Phoenix and Layton.

"Hoo boy, it's been a while..." remarked Phoenix, wiping the sweat off of his forehead, as his awkward handshake-turned-hug with Layton - the crowning moment of awkwardness - came to an end. The attorney looked down at Luke, feeling silly for not acknowledging his presence sooner. "Ah, I see you've brought Luke Triton with you, love this little fella...how are ya?"

"Doing just fine, thanks for asking!" replied Luke, as Phoenix gave him a simple fist bump. Phoenix couldn't tolerate any more awkwardness. "So, uh, are you gonna let us inside? Not sure if you know this, but we kinda...live here, only temporarily."

"Oh yeah, come right on in, make yourselves at home...even though this is technically your home...temporary home, that is." Phoenix would let Layton and Luke inside the mansion, where they would find Phoenix's assistant Maya sitting on the sofa, smiling.

"Hello boys, long time no see," Maya would greet Layton and Luke, getting up from the sofa. "It has definitely been a long time since we last worked together. Ah...good times, good times. So how has your little investigation been so far?"

"It has been going very swell, Luke and I believe that we're almost done investigating," replied Layton, overjoyed to see Maya again. Same went for Phoenix, even after that awkward exchange he had with him. "Would you and Phoenix like to see the evidence we accumulated?"

* * *

Layton and Luke would take Phoenix and Maya upstairs to the Star Records room, where Fox had to pull out his laptop to show Phoenix and Maya the security footage from the Four Seasons hotel. But we all know how playing videos turned out on Fox's laptop...so he told X to get his laptop instead.

"As investigators yourselves, a duo like yourself should watch video film such as this," Zero said to Phoenix and Maya, as he pulled up the security footage on X's laptop. Said security footage was on a disc, inserted into X's device. "Layton and Luke got more security footage from the hotel, which you will see in a moment...they had to disguise themselves in order to get the footage in the first place."

"Why disguises though, why not just go inside the hotel like normal people?" asked Maya, as Phoenix quietly added "disguising oneself to enter buildings" to a list on his notepad. This list was called "Things Professor Layton Did That I Could Do Better".

"The owner of the hotel refused to let anyone from the mansion inside his establishment," stated Layton, hoping to never again go by the Huckleberry Freeman name. Luke was still trying to put the Walter Malone moniker behind him. "Apparently that rule applies to Luke and I..."

 **Layton: Still use the Huckleberry Freeman to this very day - even use it as a name on my debit card. Since Wario put me in a huge amount of credit debt, spending it on senseless things and never thinking about using his own cards...also use Huckleberry Freeman on Soundcloud. The people that visit that site now think I'm the hottest grime artist on the scene!**

 **Knuckles: Life pro tip: never do grime on Soundcloud, it's a huge contrast from all the emo rap songs on there. Also, having to fake a British accent while singing is hard! Why did Layton even set up a Soundcloud account in the first place? Fox and Falco must be desperately looking for new Star Records talent.**

Layton, Luke, Phoenix, and Maya all watched the security footage, and since the media player on X's laptop could actually rewind and fast-forward, Zero would fast-forward in the video to the moment the cloaked figure entered the ballroom, with the ski mask dudes in suits accompanying him. The guys in suits were the Team Flare members, but the identity of the cloaked figure had yet to be revealed.

"As you can see in the footage, that cloaked guy is directing the guys in suits - who are all Team Flare members - to set the propane tanks in the ballroom closet," explained Luke, as the video kept on playing until it reached an end. Phoenix watched intently, stroking his chin.

"Would that mean the cloaked dude would have to be Lysandre?" asked the attorney, going with a wild guess that could very well be proven true. "If Lysandre somehow survived the collapse of his Team Flare headquarters, then him being the cloaked dude would be probable."

"Well, we definitely know Lysandre is alive; Layton and Luke found a Holo Caster in the ballroom while they were disguised, and they initiated a call with Lysandre," said Zero, as he closed out of the security footage video. "However, I'm sure Lysandre is a very tall dude...the cloaked person is definitely on the short side. Lemme play another security footage video, we could find out the cloaked person's identity that way."

So Zero would pull up a different security footage video, and this video displayed security footage of the hotel foyer, were the reception was. The Team Flare grunts were filing out through the sitars, arriving at the foyer, with the cloaked one leading the way...and a certain Magikoopa directing them to where they must go.

"Hold up, is that Magikoopa?" questioned Fox, looking at the video as he walked by with a cup of cappuccino in his hand. "What's he doing there with the cloaked guy and those Team Flare losers? He and Fawful are working together with Team Flare? Sheesh..."

"If anything, Kamek's presence makes things a bit more intriguing," said Layton, wondering if that was indeed Kamek in the security footage and not just some random Kamek wanting to be a part of things, wanting to feel important rather than just being some generic _Mario_ enemy. "Zero, do you happen to have any security footage of the hotel exterior? There's a good chances our hoodlums are exiting the hotel!"

"Most definitely, Professor Layton, I got it all covered!" Zero gave a thumbs up, as he pulled another security footage video, of the Four Seasons hotel entrance. The cloaked one and the Team Flare grunts would exit the hotel, and then...

...the cloaked one would finally take off their hood, before taking off the cloak altogether. This individual would reveal themselves as some sort of animal - dark skin, with a silver metal mask on their face. Only one visible eye was on their face - a red sclera with a yellow iris and black pupil - while the other eye was covered. The animal-like creature wore black gloves with silver streaks, and also wore silver hi-tops.

Then, something freaky transpired...the creature would hover in the air, shrouded in a red aura, as Layton and company looked on in awe. Seeing this creature hovering in the air like that, it made them crave for them, made them want to see what this creature was up to and why he was possibly working with Team Flare, of all evil groups...

"PROFESSOR HERSCHEL LAYTON, LUKE TRITON, WHERE ON EARTH IS THE DUCK HUNT DOG?!" Master Hand's voice boomed throughout the mansion, startling everyone in the Star Records room. The giant hand's voice was enough to make the very foundation of the mansion shake, as the vibrations almost caused Fox to spill his coffee all over the floor.

 **Phoenix: Same old, same old...Master Hand is still extremely loud, and his yells can be heard from almost a mile away. Dude always acts like he's ticked out about something, like someone peed in his...in his...hand cereal. Also, what's this I hear about Master Hand apparently owning a Lamborghini?**

"Whoops, knew we were forgetting something when we returned to the mansion," Layton smiled as he looked down at Luke; evidently the apprentice forgot about the Duck Hunt Dog as well. "Must be at the convenience store on the other side of town...Roy did say that the store was the Duck Hunt Dog's favorite spot to hang out. Could be other dogs hanging out there, who knows. Fox, mind if we take a ride in your Landmaster, or Arwing?"

"We'll just take the Arwing - I have to conserve the energy for my Landmaster," replied Fox, as he drank the rest of his cappuccino and placed his coffee mug on the Star Records table, before grabbing his keys. "Let's go get the mutt before he starts peeing all over the parking lot." Layton, Luke, and Fox would leave the room, and shortly after they left, Isabelle would poke her head through the doorway.

"Greetings, Phoenix Wright, and Maya Fey, I'm sure you two are enjoying your trip back to the mansion," the shih tzu said, quickly grabbing the attention of both Phoenix and Maya. "Mr. Wright, Master Hand would like to speak with you in his room."

"I have to speak one on one with Master Hand himself?" Phoenix asked nervously, as Isabelle nodded her head. Phoenix heaved a nervous sigh, as he backed away from the desk and looked down at the floor. "Okay then, I'll just go...speak with the hand...Maya, I want you to stay with Zero, for your own safety. If I never come back, I just want to let you know, that I..."

"You'll be fine, Phoenix - quit acting like Master Hand is plotting to kill you!" smiled Maya, instilling some courage inside of Phoenix. "Do you seriously think Master Hand wanted you to come to the mansion just to kill you?" Unless Master Hand was a ruthless serial killer, Maya had a strong point. "Just face Master Hand like the man you're supposed to be!"

"Yeah, you're right Maya, I mean, if Layton can look at Master Hand in the eye...wherever his eye is, then so can I! Take me to Master Hand's room, Isabelle!" So Isabelle would escort Phoenix to Master Hand's room, as Maya and Zero remained in the Star Records room. The security footage was paused, and remained paused ever since Master Hand sounded off on Layton and Luke.

"Let's watch the rest of the security footage and see if anything noteworthy happens." Following Maya's command, Zero pressed the play button, as the security footage resumed playing. The footage showed the floating creature and the Team Flare grunts advancing towards someone. The face of this individual couldn't be seen, but they were wearing black clothes.

"Hmm, judging by the attire alone, the person they're approaching looks oddly familiar..." Zero furrowed his brow, watching closely, as the individual in question walked closer to the creature and the Team Flare grunts, with their arms behind their backs, making their visage visible.

Maya did not recognize this person of interest at all - she didn't recall seeing them before. Zero, on the other hand, just watched with his mouth agape...

* * *

Back to the courtroom, where Akuma would step inside, wearing a court dress with his hair dyed white and in long, flowing locks. Akuma, grumbling to himself as he made his way over to the judge bench with a gavel in his hand, started to rue what he was doing, and how the rest of his day would turn out.

 **Akuma: Today is a rather historical day for the Smash Mansion...a day in which we'll have our first court case, our first courtroom trail, as prepared by Master Hand. Ganondorf and I were apparently in consideration for the judge role, and apparently I "earned" the job over Ganon because not only of my large size, but because I have "luscious long hair". Those were the very words that came out from Master Hand's mouth. The ladies had to strap me down and dye my hair white, and I sure hope the hair dye can be washed out...otherwise I'll join Captain Falcon in jail for committing voluntary manslaughter.**

Akuma would reach the bench, placed in front of the American flag and a flag with the Smash logo on it, and took his seat grudgingly. Akuma looked down at this left, and saw the witness stand, polished and clean. Akuma then looked down at this right...and saw a blonde bandicoot typing away on her laptop, not giving a single care in the world.

"What in the name of...?!" shrieked Akuma, startled to see Coco next to him, nearly falling out of the bench. Coco would look up at Akuma, the _Street Fighter_ veteran clutching his chest and catching his breath. First time ever the bandicoot saw Akuma that scared.

"Ah, so you got the judge role over Ganondorf, nice!" exclaimed Coco, not at all concerned that she scared the living daylights out of Akuma. "In case you may be wondering, Master Hand designated me as the court reporter - basically I type every single thing that takes place in court. Every hearing, every proceeding...every single word. I've been typing for so long - my finger-typing muscles are ready for any challenge!"

"Don't appreciate you for scaring me like that..." Well maybe you should've have looked around Akuma, you did it to yourself. "When does this stupid court trial begin? I feel like an old granny wearing this stupid robe. My dyed hair isn't doing me any favors either..."

"First of all, what you're wearing is a court dress, NOT a robe." Same thing, as Akuma might be thinking right now. "Secondly, the trial should be starting very soon; when the courtroom starts filling up, then you'll know the court trial is about to start."

Walking into the courtroom was Ganondorf, who was for the most part thankful he wasn't named the judge. However, Master Hand, wanting to give the Demon Lord something to do, named him the bailiff. Basically all Ganondorf had to do was to stand at the courtroom wall and maintain order in the courtroom. Should a big fight break out of nowhere, or if the Inklings start a paint battle for no reason, Ganondorf would be the first person to stop the nonsense. A job so easy, even Pit could do it.

"Take it easy with your bailiff job Ganon, it could have been a whole lot worse..." Ganondorf would say to himself. "...at least you weren't named the judge." The Demon Lord would look up at Akuma, seeing the fighter in all his glory, with his white hair and all, and fell to the floor laughing his butt off.

"It's not that funny Ganondorf, please get off of the floor before I have to whack you with this gavel," threatened Akuma; he was gonna make sure the gavel struck hard, too, just like Amy's Piko Hammer.

"Where'd you get that stupid white wig from, Benjamin Franklin?" Ganondorf hopped back to his feet, still laughing while wiping away a tear from his eye, as he headed over to the wall. "Boy am I glad I got the bailiff duties!"

"I was deliberately forced to dye my own hair white...which, when you think about it, is just as bad as having to wear a wig. I just hope that this trial is short, sweet, and to the point, so I can get this stupid dye out..."

* * *

Phoenix would exit Master Hand's room, fastening his tie with a smile. The attorney, who was afraid that Master Hand could possibly kill him, actually enjoyed a wonderful conversation, which was mostly focused on the trial that was about to go down later in the day.

"Compared to the other cases you've done in the past, you'll have a LOT more control and freedom in the court proceedings," Master Hand explained to Phoenix as he exited his room. "Akuma and I will pretty much watch over the entire thing; Akuma is really just a placeholder. Every court needs a judge."

"True dat, Master Hand - can't wait to get this trial started!" exclaimed Phoenix, as Jakob would encounter the attorney and Master Hand. The butler, after seeing the sign earlier, was overwhelmed with worry, and was fearful about his fate.

 **Jakob: Can't believe it, I'm actually being sued...but by everyone! Who exactly could this everyone be? Everyone in the mansion? Everyone in the city of Seattle? Everyone from the kingdom of Nohr? This is an egregious witch hunt, I tell you...there'll be little to no evidence against me.**

"Master Hand, why am I being sued, you must tell me!" Jakob begged to Master Hand, still in a need for answers. He then pointed at Phoenix, mostly out of anger. "You must also tell me why _he_ is here! Is there some kind of conspiracy taking place, a conspiracy against me?!"

"I'm not inclined to tell you what's going on, for that would count as 'spoiling'," answered Master Hand, as Jakob had a minor fit, nearly pulling his hair out. "However, I want you in the courtroom in ten minutes, unless you want Donkey Kong to drag you over there."

"Oh, so you tell everyone else in the mansion, but you refuse to tell me, for some reason! Am I being blackballed, has my reputation been soured that much that I've been forbidden to learn any new information?"

"Like I just told, I can't tell you anything because then I'll be 'spoiling' you, feeding you spoilers and ruining the surprise. Now quit acting like a petulant child, and take your scrawny behind to the courtroom, or else!"

* * *

The courtroom started to fill up, as pretty much everyone in the mansion - and Mario, Peach, Luigi, and Daisy - took their seats. (Lara Croft, wishing to keep a low profile, opted to remain at Mario's house.) The _Fire Emblem_ twelve were in the jury box, finally realizing the reason why they had to come to the mansion.

"Looks like we all have to do jury duty," observed Caeda, who was sitting next to Xander, the foreperson of the jury. "First time I've ever had to do anything like this, same could be said about the rest of you guys...so who do you think is the accuser and the accused?"

"Chrom informed me that there will be one accused and _many_ accusers," explained Raven, before looking at Chrom, seated in-between Robin and Lucina. The prince goofily waved at Raven; Raven would wave right back. "I see Phoenix Wright making his way to the attorney desk, but other than that, I don't see anyone else..."

Jakob would arrive at the courtroom, under Master Hand's orders, but before he entered therein, he looked up at the sign above the doorway one more time. The sign, which you're so curious about what it said, had the following...

 _Jakob v. Pretty Much Everyone_

 _October 19, 2017_

Knowing what was coming to him, Jakob would enter the courtroom, heaving a heavy sigh. In the courtroom, the butler saw Akuma at the bench, Coco at his side, Ganondorf standing near the wall with his arms folded, and Master Hand, the apparent court clerk, hovering close to Akuma. The giant hand would point to the accused dock, and Jakob would reluctantly head over to said dock, many eyes looking directly at him, as he saw Phoenix to his right once he arrived at the dock and took his seat.

 **Larry: One thing I've always wondered about criminal trials...how could a lawyer defend a criminal who has killed another person? What would the lawyer even say? "Oh, this person, who I'm defending, was ticked off about this guy, and so he had to kill the guy because he was getting on his nerves, couldn't take it no more." What exactly is the lawyer supposed to say?!  
**

 **King Dedede: Question: does attending court count as civic duty?...Even if it's a makeshift court, like the one we now have in the mansion?...Okay then, thanks. I thought attending court cases would look good on a resume, but now I think not...**

"ALL RISE!" Ganondorf sounded off, as everyone in the courtroom rose. Lloyd, who was stuck in his "Dumb Lloyd" phase, realized that he remained sitting, and stood up very late. "Just wanted to see if everyone was listening properly...Master Hand said that part was optional. The Court of Smash is now in..."

"Um, excuse me, Ganondorf, sir, but may I be excused, I gotta go!" Pit, the only person left standing, raised his hand, holding his crotch as he was doing the famous pee-pee dance. A longstanding dance move that has gone on long without receiving a single patent.

"Yes, Pit, you may be excused...acting like you're in school..." Receiving the word of confirmation from Ganondorf, Pit blazed out of the courtroom, nearly knocking people down along the way. "The Court of Smash is now in session. Our judge, Akuma, isn't supposed to be here this early, so he must exit the courtroom, and walk back to his bench so everyone can be seated."

"Aw, do I really have to?" groaned Akuma, as Ganondorf nodded his head. Akuma, growling and grumbling at the same time, walked down from his bench and exited the courtroom. Seconds later, the fighter would return to the courtroom, walking to his bench and taking his seat, as everyone else in the courtroom took their seat as well. "Anything else I'm supposed to do?" Akuma asked Ganondorf.

"You're supposed to ask me to call the day's calendar, and then you ask the attorney if he's ready to begin the trial." Akuma, groaning yet again, had no other choice but to follow the basic court rules.

"Ganondorf, what is today's date?" This wasn't the correct way to do this, but Akuma at this point didn't care.

"Wasn't even the right thing to say, but...Your Honor, today's case is Jakob V. Pretty Much Everyone. Not sure who picked out the name of the case, but the trial must be completed today."

"Mr. Phoenix Wright, are you ready to begin the trial?" Akuma would ask a smiling Phoenix. With the loads of experience he had under his belt, Phoenix was ready for pretty much anything in court.

"Readier than a flower ready to bloom, Your Honor - let's get this started!" exclaimed Phoenix, as he directed his attention to Jakob, making his way to the accused dock and threw his hands on said dock. "So, Jakob...I heard that you're the butler from the kingdom of Nohr, wanting to be the butler of the Smash Mansion...is that so? Why the Smash Mansion, why this places, of all the other places in the world?"

"I chose the Smash Mansion because I believed that I could best utilize my talents here," explained Jakob, sounding clear and focused, not wanting to give off a nervous vibe. "A while later, I figured that with Mario moving out with Peach, I could take his role as man of the mansion, or at least work my way up to that role. Also, I had a support system already in place at the mansion - Corrin, Kamui, and the two maids, Felicia and Flora."

"So you say, Jakob, so you say...but do you have an explanation for the things that you have been accused of doing? Got an explanation for that? I think that in order to retrieve as much information as possible from this trial, we'll just have to start off asking a few witnesses..."

"Hmph, there's not a single witness that would even paint me as being guilty. This is not only a waste of my time, but a waste of everyone else's time." Snake, however, begged to differ...

"Au contraire, Jakob, I know what you're up to, I know what you did...YOU were the one behind the hotel explosion on Mario's wedding!"

Phoenix accusingly pointed at Jakob, who remained silent as everyone in the courtroom gasped. Was it true, was Jakob the main culprit all along?

 **Snake: Kiria's in the courtroom during the trial, which means that I can finally walk around the mansion, without needing a cardboard box or some stupid costume to hide my identity. Kiria hasn't been flirty with me as of late, I've noticed...**

"But, if you want to play your little game, then I'll just have to play along..." said Phoenix, as he looked towards the witness stand. "I call to the witness stand...Ayaha Oribe!" The financial assistant from Star Records looked around, as she pointed at herself, like she just learned her name or something.

"Miss Oribe, you heard the man, go to the witness stand at once!" commanded Akuma, and Ayaha would do just that, making her way from her seat to the witness stand, standing next to Akuma in front of all the residents.

"I have this piece of paper, in my pocket...this piece of paper being a bank statement from Star Records!' Phoenix dug into his pocket, and pulled the bank statement that was of central focus from episode 82. "According to this bank statement, it was printed...in June 2017!"

"June 24, 2017, to be exact," confirmed Ayaha, as Lloyd gasped. No one was sure why the gasp was even necessary. "Itsuki wanted me to look over the bank statement since Little Mac was using the money to purchase Gatorade chews..." Ayaha glared at Little Mac, who whistled innocently as he sneakily popped a Gatorade chew into his mouth. "When I saw the bank statement, what caught my attention were the propane tanks listed on the purchase list...the tanks were ordered on the 22nd, coincidentally a day before Mario's wedding."

"Okay Ayaha, we've heard enough - clearly everyone in Star Records plotted against Mario and Peach," said Jakob, feeling confident that the trial was over and the true culprits were sitting with the other residents. "Master Hand, shall we have all of them arrested?"

"Bruh I can't be arrested...I haven't even asked out Katt Monroe yet!" Falco angrily stood up, grabbing the attention of everyone. "Yeah, that's right, I love cats, ain't nothing wrong with that...if a fox like Tails can love a rabbit, then why not a bird and a cat?" So many things wrong with what Falco said...

"Um, who told you that you can run this trial?" Phoenix questioned Jakob, as Fox sat Falco back in his seat. "Since you want to be a jerk, I shall call another person to the witness stand...a person who Master Hand 'received' today..."

Phoenix grabbed a garbage bag from underneath the attorney desk, walked over to the witness stand, and opened the bag...releasing an Omochao. The robotic Chao would assume its position at the witness stand, as Sora felt something was familiar about this Omochao...

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Omochao, who according to Master Hand, was sent to this mansion, since it had Samus' name written on its backside," explained Phoenix, conforming that this Omochao was the very Omachao from episodes 83 and 85. "It was unresponsive, and it had to be turned back on. Now I must ask you, Omochao...what happened to you?"

"Glad you asked, Phoenix Wright!" replied Omochao, having scanned Phoenix's face to ensure that he was speaking with the real deal. "One day I was with Sora, in Mario's home, when Jakob answered the door. He answered the door, I asked him why he came...and then he threw me in a sack and threw me far, far away. A lot of grey area between what happened between then and now...though I do remember loud music and dancing ladies. And lots of smoke. Strange times..."

"That Omochao is obviously delusional, must be shut down immediately," said Jakob, feeling somewhat uneasy. "I'm pretty sure someone loved _Metroid_ so much that they scribbled Samus' name on that dumb robot."

"Starting to look very weary Jakob, but this next witness will make you feel even more weary, I'm sure..." said Phoenix, letting the suspense and drama build up in the courtroom just a little. "I call next to the witness stand...Princess Peach!"

Peach, having her named called, would walk up to the witness stand, as Jakob looked on. What kind of testimony would Peach give?

 **Bowser: Lara Croft was a no-show during the trial...missed opportunity. But everyone knows playing hard to get only proves your love to someone.**

"Princess Peach, you and Mario received a very threatening message on your home computer, from this very disc," said Phoenix, holding up the disc in question, provided to him by Master Hand. "Would you like to paraphrase what the message entailed?"

"Yes, I would love too - basically the message said that our time - me and Mario's time - was coming to an end soon, that our days were numbered, and that we had but a few days remaining until our deaths," explained Peach, recollecting what the message said.

"The disc also added a secret program to your computer, according to Master Hand - who supplied me with this flash drive." Phoenix held up the flash drive in question, the one Futaba used. "Do you know who the owner of the program was?"

"Yes I do, I found out the owner of the program through the programming prodigy named Futaba Sakura. And the owner of the program, which had the message...the name was _Jakob._ "

For the previous two testimonies, Jakob would have something to say. But for Peach's testimony...the butler remained silent. And Xander took notice of this, too. He was the foreperson, after all.

"Ahaha...things are getting spicy up in here!" exclaimed Phoenix, rubbing his hands together in excitement. "Next up to the witness stand...Dr. Neo Cortex!" Upon hearing his name called, Cortex would head over to the witness stand, standing proudly. "Dr. Cortex, when you were selected by Jakob to officiate that backyard football game a couple of weeks ago...did he tell you to manipulate the players and have them hurt themselves?"

"Jakob indeed told me that, and in retrospect, I kind of...regret it," answered Cortex, displaying some signs of "villain decay", as he would call it. "Though it was worth it seeing Crash hurt, not gonna lie." Some things will never change... "Sometime before the game, Jakob mentioned something to me about 'keeping the astute ones away'...whatever that meant." Astute ones like Link and the Flying Man, perhaps?

"Did Jakob ever tell you that after the game, he would throw you inside a garbage bin and leave you there indefinitely?" This brought back some bad memories for Cortex; Jakob remained at the accuser dock, still silent as ever.

"No he certainly didn't - he even called me 'expendable'! Only Uka is allowed to call me that!" Uka, in attendance, would confirm with a nod.

"Thank you for your testimony, Dr. Cortex, you may be seated." Cortex, like the other witnesses before him (save for Omochao) returned to his seat. "Got one more witness in mind, and this one folks, might break this entire case open...Nowi!"

Phoenix pointed at Nowi, in the jury box, and the half-Manekete was left wondering why she had to be a witness. But she had no other choice but to come down from the jury box and make her way over to the witness stand, to give her testimony.

"Just one question I have to ask you Nowi, and then you can return to the jury...who told you about Captain Falcon dancing at the club with Malva?" asked Phoenix, as Nowi started to tear up. Just thinking about Falcon made her all sad.

"The person...who told me...about Captain Falcon...at the club...with Malva..." sniffed Nowi, wiping away the tears from her face. "...was...was...it was..."

"STOP THE PRESSES RIGHT NOW, THIS TRIAL IS OVER!"

Zero said this, as he barged inside the courtroom, with X's laptop. The robot and Maya finally showed up, and Zero looked poised to end the trial for good.

 **Zero: Watched the rest of the security footage, and I've seen enough. I was shocked as ever...Maya herself wasn't shocked, but she felt shocked later on as we watched more footage. The answer was there, it was there all along...**

"Does anyone have a projector screen, please tell me someone has a projector screen!" said Zero. Maya found a projector screen in the near corner of the courtroom, and wheeled it over to the judge bench, where everyone could see.

"Zero and I watched some footage from the Four Seasons hotel, and we feel that this footage might break this entire case wide open," said Maya, as Zero handed her the laptop. "Put the clips together and edited it for everyone to see." The assistant plugged up the laptop to the projector screen, and the security footage would appear on the screen. "Now watch, and learn..."

Maya would press the play button, playing the footage. It showed the hooded fellow and the Team Flare grunts assemble the propane tanks, and the group heading to the foyer where Kamek was, and the group exiting, and the hooded creature revealing his identity, and the unnamed person from earlier walking towards the group. Maya would pause the video when the person was in full focus, their face and entire body seen, and everyone was in shock as they saw who this person was.

"JAKOB?!" exclaimed Master Hand. Yes, it was indeed Jakob - black attire, white hair, ponytail, everything. Jakob, sitting in his seat, couldn't go anywhere - he could only remain in his seat, and take his L with dignity.

"Yes, that's him, he was the one who told me about Captain Falcon and Malva!" said Nowi, as she started sobbing. Caeda came down from the jury box, went over to console the sobbing Nowi, and brought her back to her seat. Was Captain Falcon an "astute" one?

"But wait, there's more!" said Zero the faux infomercial salesman, as he zoomed in on Jakob's hand, showing an item he had in his possession. "Does this card happen to belong to someone, anyone in particular?"

"Hey, that's my credit card - which is under Star Record's name!" Itsuki angrily stood up, pointing at the projector screen, as there was mumbling in the courtroom. "Jakob, you stole my credit card, didn't you?" The pressure was definitely on Jakob now.

"ORDER IN THE COURT!" ordered Akuma, hammering with his gavel as Pit raised his hand. "Pit, you're not in a restaurant, so you better put your hand back down. Jury, have you come to a decision yet, on the accused?"

The _Fire Emblem_ jury, after soaking in everything they heard during the trial, privately discussed among themselves about their decision on Jakob, with Xander writing on a piece of paper. Once the jury was finished discussing, Xander, the foreperson, would address Akuma.

"Yes we have, Your Honor, we have come to a decision," said Xander, as he exited the jury box and handed the slip of paper. Akuma read the decision, nodding his head very thoughtfully.

"The jury has come to a decision," announced Akuma, as Jakob and everyone else looked on. "Jakob, by the jury, you have been found...GUILTY! Guilty of conspiring against Mario and Peach on their wedding day, and committing an act of terrorism at a hotel in Seattle, Washington!"

Jakob couldn't say anything...he just sank in his seat, discouraged by the decision. His bad dream was coming true, and there was no escape in sight.

 **Pit: Hahaha, take that Jakob! In your face!**

 **Aku: Jakob will likely be gone from the mansion for good..sometimes you reap what you sow.**

 **Diddy Kong: So Jakob was affiliated with Team Flare all along...can't wait for Team Flare to get their just desserts soon.**

 **Wolf: With Jakob working with Team Flare, I wonder if he knew about Fawful's...revival.**

 **Sonic: Who was that guy wearing the hood in the security footage? Think I'm supposed to know him...or her...or it.**

 **Itsuki: Lesson learned: never leave your credit card on the Star Records desk. Bad enough Falco used my card as a butt scratcher...**

 **Flora: Jakob got punished...I feel...happy, for some reason.**

 **Kamui: I don't know how I should feel about Jakob...could you tell me how I'm supposed to feel?**

 **Mewtwo: Did I know Jakob was guilty this whole time, as a psychic? I'm not telling you...**

 **Layton: I should probably ask Knuckles to write a diss track, about Jakob...would be beneficial for my Soundcloud persona.**

"Master Hand, would you like to decide Jakob's punishment?" Akuma asked the giant hand, who was a pro at dealing out punishments. The one he'll give to Jakob will be no different from the others he dished out. "Jakob will be banned indefinitely from the mansion for his actions, is that correct?"

"Yes, he will indeed be banned, forever...and then some," snarled Master Hand, as Jakob gulped in fear...

* * *

With the trial over, and Jakob dealt justice, everyone continued with the rest of their day. Zelda rushed to Link's room, where she saw the Hylian asleep in his bed, with Midna keeping him company.

"Link's been sleeping away like a baby, nothing I do can wake him up," said Midna, holding the Master Sword - makes you wonder what methods the imp used. "So where'd you go off to?"

"Had to attend some trial at the mansion - Jakob was convicted of that hotel attack, and isn't allowed to be in the mansion ever again," explained Zelda, taking a seat on Link's bed. "Master Hand informed us that today would be Jakob's last day at the mansion...and he wasn't lying!"

"It was Jakob all along, eh? Yeah, I personally never understood what Mario and Master Hand saw in him - always had this vibe about him that meant he was nothing but trouble. Good decision to boot him out for good."

Suddenly, Link woke up, grabbing Midna and Zelda's attention as he yawned. The Hylian was still dealing with his head injuries, but they were progressively getting better, as the days went on. Link was close to feeling great again.

"Sorry if I startled you ladies with my yawning - had a dream I beat up the biggest Bokoblin in existence," apologized Link, no doubt feeling proud of himself about some lousy fictional feat. "Anything interesting happened today?"

"Jakob was accused of the Four Seasons Hotel attack and has been banned from the mansion, just like Dr. Eggman," Zelda informed her boyfriend, whose eyes were as wide as the sun. Never did he suspect Jakob to be the culprit.

"Wow, so it was Jakob, all along...well I'd be. Anything else happen to him, anything at all?" Let's find out for ourselves...

* * *

"Wh-Where am I, why is it so dark in here?" asked a blindfolded Jakob, lying on the floor, sensing his hands tied behind his back. "Someone tell me where I am!"

"How about I show you, Jakob..." said a female voice, as a delicate hand untied the blindfold around Jakob's eyes. The butler would let out a sigh of relief, finally able to see again...

...as he was looking up at Caeda and the rest of the _Fire Emblem_ twelve, with their weapons and all. Jakob found himself in the basement, with nowhere to go, as he was practically cornered. He might be banned, but for now, Jakob seriously had to pay the price.

"Jakob, if my father Garon was here, he would be _greatly_ displeased with you..." said Xander, standing in front of Caeda and company. "I did not want to do this, but considering what you've put Mario, Nowi, Link, Cortex, and many others through...you deserve this." Xander and the others would near Jakob, who scooted away to the best of his ability.

"C'mon you guys, let's talk things out, I mean I can't be the ONLY person behind the hotel attack, there could be another person involved, you're acting like I deserve all the blame, and...CORRIN, KAMUI, HELP ME, PLEASE!"

* * *

Watching the senseless beating on Jakob from the basement door was Mario, Layton, and Luke. Mario had a smile on his face, glad that Jakob was receiving his comeuppance.

"Welp, all's well that ends well..." remarked Luke, watching the beating for a few more seconds before Mario closed the basement door. "The answer we were looking for was walking among us this whole time, who would've thought?"

"Yeah I should-a have never considered-a Jakob for the butler job, especially given-a his interactions with-a the others," said Mario, making note of how Jakob acted when he wasn't with Corrin and Kamui. "Might name-a Cilan as the mansion butler. So, Professor Layton and-a Luke, are-a you staying a bit-a longer?"

"While Jakob has been convicted, we still have yet to find out what he was working with Team Flare, and why the villainous group played a role in the hotel attack," replied Layton, wanting to find this out before he called off the investigation. "Also, that black creature in the security footage...need some information on him."

"Feel-a free to stay as long-a as you need-a to. Take your-a time and don't-a rush one bit!"

Today was a very noteworthy day, with Jakob accused of plotting the hotel attack and gone from the mansion forever. But there were still more answers out there...

 **Layton: Jakob has been accused, and now he's paid his price and is out of the mansion for good. Now Luke and I just have to focus on Team Flare and Fawful, find out what they're up to and find out their motivations...**

* * *

A Team Flare grunt huffed and puffed, as they ran a short distance from the mansion. He would soon come across a very tall man, with orange hair and black attire.

"Sir, our ally, Jakob, has been exposed, and has been beat up pretty badly," the grunt would explain to the tall man, huncheG over as he caught his breath. "Don't think he'll be any useful for us with his injuries..."

"Well, he had a good run at the mansion, wish his stay could've lasted a bit longer," said the tall man, stroking his orange beard. "His 'negotiations' were able to extend his longevity at the mansion, and he put them to good use. But Jakob has proven his usefulness to us, and now we must move on. I'll inform all the members tomorrow what's next on our game plan. Now do me a favor and get me a drink, my mouth's feeling dry. And don't even bother getting me lemonade...unless it's strawberry lemonade. Or pink lemonade. Whichever one will do. Just don't get me the regular kind, it's too bland for me."

"Pink lemonade or strawberry lemonade, got it. Promise you I won't let you down, Lysandre!"

Yes, the tall man the grunt was speaking with was Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare, in Seattle for the first time. As the Team Flare grunt went to go purchase a drink for Lysandre, the Team Flare boss stoically stood by himself, looking straight at the Smash Mansion.

"Jakob may be out of the equation, but the plan still stay on course," said Lysandre, as an evil grin formed on his face. "I'm sure our evil genius and his right-hand man won't mind the loss..."

An "evil genius and his right-hand man"...just who could it be?


	97. Episode 97: Scarecrow

_Author's Note:_

 _Halloween is fastly approaching...and no, I still don't care about Halloween at all. Never did, never will. Also, Super Mario Odyssey is being released today, for those of you living under a rock. Now for the guest reviews..._

 _"Can you add the characters from Shin Megami Tensei IV and Devil Survivor? The characters from Tales of Innocence? Camilla from the Castlevania games? (With her Circle of The Moon look) The Turks from Final Fantasy VII? Tifa reacting to her Death Battle? (Since that fight was a bit controversial) are Jin and Xiaoyu a couple? A scene where Hope and Vanille take Noctis's car for a joyride? (With Fang accidentally tagging along) And finally, what are your thoughts on BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle getting a port on the Switch?"_

 _Sure. I dunno. Perhaps? Turks already appeared in chapter 5. Maybe. Most definitely. That could happen. Not that familiar with BlazBlue, but a BlazBlue port on the Switch sounds cool. Another anonymous guest review:_

 _"Here is a challenge. Do a sitcom chapter."_

 _Eh, I already consider this story to be a sitcom of sorts, so...challenge accepted? One last anonymous guest review:_

 _"...I've noticed there haven't been a lot of bowser lately so can u make another story focused around him and sonic?"_

 _*sigh* ...did three Sonic-Bowser chapters...doing a fourth one would be needless and unnecessary. So no. Moving on to the Masked Rocker:_

 _"...have most of the smashers have a party get drunk wake up the following day trying to retrace their steps of their activities"_

 _A hangover chapter, eh? I dunno. Derick Lindsey has a question regarding Odyssey:_

 _"Just curious are you going to do anything Odyssey related for the game coming out next week?"_

 _An Odyssey character will be debuting in this chapter, won't say who. Smashfan76 has several questions about Fawful..._

 _"1. Will Fawful be the main villain like in Bowsers Inside Story or a henchman like in Superstar Saga?  
2\. Will Cackletta or Midbus be appearing in the series?  
3\. If Midbus appears could we see Mario and Luigi vs Fawful and Bowser vs Midbus  
4\. Could we see some of the assisting characters from Mario and Luigi appear such as Starlow, Stuffwell or Dreambert?  
5\. Could we see some of the younger versions of the residents like the baby characters from Mario or the classic characters from Sonic?"_

 _1\. I won't say...  
2\. Maybe?  
3\. Perhaps?  
4\. Possibly.  
5\. Sure, of course!_

 _And last, but not least, Roydigs22:_

 _"Lopunny gets sick. I think you can go from there. Also miitopia? And waiting on soma and mina from aos"_

 _Still haven't decided on Miitopia yet...as for Lopunny being sick, and Soma and Mina, those will have to wait for now..._

* * *

 **Episode 97: Scarecrow**

It was that time of the year again...the time in which Master Hand started to question parents throughout America for allowing their children to - for one night only - to go around their neighborhood, asking strangers for candy. The time in which kids across America dressed up as Spider-Man, Buzz Lightyear, or Pennywise (if their parents were fine with it, that is), just for one night, and one night only.

This night took place on a day, a day Master Hand despised and loathed oh so much...the day known as Halloween.

Not a single person at the Smash Mansion was sure as to way Master Hand hated Halloween. Mario, who had a great relationship with Master Hand (well, at least compared to everyone else), did not know the giant hand's beef with Halloween, and did not care to delve that much into this disdain. He just knew that if Master Hand saw him dressed in a Halloween costume, he would instantly receive ire from the giant hand, being accused of acting "childish" for participating in something a majority of kids do. Master Hand found adults participating in Halloween to be extremely immature, and questioned adults who forced their children to do Halloween in the first place.

But Mario was living on his own now - since he no longer lived at the Smash Mansion, he didn't have to bow down to Master Hand, he could now care less how the giant hand felt. Since Mario was his own man now, he felt like dressing up in a Halloween costume...just for one year. That night the plumber, in his room, was looking through his closet, searching for the perfect Halloween costume.

 **Mario: It has-a been a week since Jakob was banned-a from the mansion, and he has been a complete-a afterthought in the minds-a of many. Jakob being evicted-a from the mansion has had-a such an effect, that everyone-a is more...happy now. Though it could be that-a beef stew Lady Palutena cooked, which everyone was-a raving about. About-a time that woman actually made-a something good, for once. After seeing the Halloween-a decorations already set-a up at the front-a of the mansion (much to Master Hand's-a chagrin, I'm sure), I've given some-a thought about dressing up-a for Halloween this year. No, I won't-a be going trick or-a treating, I'm just too-a old for that. Also don't want to give-a off any sexual offender vibes, either.**

Mario reached into his closet, and pulled out his frog suit. The plumber hadn't worn the suit in such a long time; in fact, he had no idea he even had the suit with him! It was like he found a thousand dollar bill in a fountain when he pulled that frog suit out. Mario believed that the frog suit would be perfect for Halloween, but he needed some approval first, before making a decision.

So the plumber headed downstairs to the living room, where he would find Peach and Lara Croft. If either woman said no to the frog suit, then Mario would have no choice but to resume his search.

"Excuse-a me ladies, but do you think I should-a wear this frog suit for Halloween?" Mario would ask Peach and Lara, grabbing their attention. They looked at Mario, then at the frog suit, then back at Mario, who was smiling profusely, believing that doing so would make both ladies answer yes.

"Mario, aren't you a bit too..flabby, to even be dressing for Halloween?" asked Lara, her response indicating that she disapproved of Mario's costume, or Mario wearing a costume at all. "No offense, but I don't think that frog suit would look good on you..."

"I shed-a five pounds just-a for Halloween, so I think I'm-a slim enough to rock any costume." Wow, Mario, five freaking pounds...that must be a rousing accomplishment. Something worthy enough to be posted on social media. Five pounds ain't nothing worth mentioning. "Less is-a more, as they always-a say!" Yeah...doesn't even apply here in this situation. "Peach, what do you think?"

"I think you should shed a bit more pounds, that belly of yours doesn't look that great on you," replied Peach, as Mario looked down at his stomach; he didn't believe his belly was that big, unless Peach was just teasing with him. Or maybe the plumber was just in denial. Wouldn't hurt to feel self-conscious about your body. "Also, when was the last time you even wore that frog suit?"

"Last-a time I wore this suit was-a when...uh...um..." In all truthfulness, Mario couldn't remember _at all_ the last time he wore the suit. He did remember swimming through water currents, but other than...the details were quite murky. "...well, it will be a blast-a from the past, and everyone loves blast from-a the pasts! Ain't that right, Lara?"

"I'm...not...obligated to answer that question, Mario," replied the tomb raider. There were a lot of things in Lara's past (her recent past) that she wished to keep out of her head for good.

The doorbell rang, meaning that someone was at the door. Who would be at Mario's home, at this time of night? Too early to be going trick-or-treating, unless the Koopalings were "practicing" for October 31st. Mario would answer the front door, and was genuinely surprised to see a white top hat creature, with large eyes, blue wisps of hair, and legs underneath.

"Greetings, Mario - we have met before, haven't we?" the hat creature asked Mario. Would be weird if you were walking by Mario's house, and you saw a floating hat speaking with someone at the front door. "Or have we not? That's not the point of the matter...the point is, I have a major dilemma on my hands! My sister, Tiara, has been KIDNAPPED!"

* * *

 **Tails: Sonic still refuses to give me back Suzie...it's because I've "yet to learn my lesson" from three weeks ago. Not exactly sure what this "lesson" was, but I've planned to return the favor to Sonic, in some manner. Since Sonic wants to keep my pet away from me, I'll just keep his pet away from HIM! Honestly, he hasn't spent much time with Shaymin recently, so it won't matter how he feels about his pet in my possession.**

Sonic sat in the foyer, petting Tails' pet Vulpix Suzie. The fox Pokemon still didn't appreciate Sonic caring for her, and wished to be back in the loving arms of Tails, who was forbidden to even come within walking distance of her. To say the Sonic-Tails "feud" was becoming petty would be an understatement, especially with the pets getting involved in the scheme of things.

"Suzie, why are you shaking, are you suffering from the chills?" Sonic asked the Pokemon, who was now shivering in the hedgehog's arms. "Boy let me tell ya, having the chills was the absolute worst! Got it from this malaria disease I had - not only had the chills, but also had a fever, diarrhea, convulsions, and abdominal pain, not to mention constant sweating! It was like I had almost every known symptom to man! That's why you should always stay weary of mosquitoes, Suzie - they're like cockroaches, but with wings and long stingers. Thanks to the hospital I went to, I was instantly cured of my malaria, though I'm not sure how...maybe I'm simply too great to ever die."

"Hey Sonic, what do you think of my Halloween costume?" Diddy Kong would approach Sonic, wearing a yellow cap on his head backwards, and also carrying a roll of newspaper in his hand. Oddly enough, the spidermonkey was also wearing pants! Sonic didn't know what to think of Diddy's costume, as evidenced by the inquisitive look on his face. "What, you don't get my costume? I'm the Paperboy! You know, that arcade game from the eighties? I deliver them papes, yo! Please tell me you know where that quote comes from..."

"Ah...ah...ACHOO!" Suzie suddenly sneezed, her icy breath shooting out at Diddy Kong and freezing the poor spidermonkey. Diddy just stood there in place, now stuck inside a giant ice cube, with little to no movement. It was like he was suspended in time, but only temporarily rather than cyronically.

"Oh snap Suzie, you might be getting a cold!" exclaimed Sonic, not at all concerned about Diddy's well-being. "We should definitely take you to Leia, she probably has some Pokemon antidotes and whatnot that can heal you. Red probably has some antidotes, too. Cilan...eh, don't trust the guy. Has the look of a bona fide serial killer, gotta keep my distance from him!"

So Sonic would get up and leave, heading to the fitness center and leaving behind a frozen Diddy Kong in the foyer. Shortly after Sonic left, Donkey Kong would show up in the foyer, and was stunned to see his nephew Diddy, frozen in ice.

"D-Diddy, what happened to you, how did you end up like this?!" the gorilla asked his nephew, who couldn't even speak because of his obvious condition. Donkey Kong was too alarmed and afraid to realize that. "Who of all people would have the audacity to freeze you like this?...No, no, don't say a word, it will only make things worse...just stay where you are, for I shall help you! I'll find something to pry you out of the ice!"

Now a monkey on a mission, Donkey Kong ran off, to places unknown. Moments after DK left, Samus would arrive in the foyer, seeing Diddy Kong frozen in ice.

"Well this is definitely something you don't see everyday..." remarked the bounty hunter, stroking her chin as she observed the frozen Diddy. "...not that often Diddy chooses to wear a cap backwards. Could be a fashion statement, could be something else..."

* * *

With Halloween fastly approaching, Cilan decided to jump the gun and bake some Halloween cookies for everyone to enjoy. Even though the planned Halloween party was cancelled tonight by Master Hand (and for obvious reasons, also Master Hand believed having a Halloween party days before Halloween was weird), that didn't stop Cilan from baking his cookies, and giving out said cookies to residents such as Kiria, who was eating them in the lounge. Standing at the doorway to the lounge was Snake, still keeping her distance from Kiria.

 **Snake: Kiria has been acting differently ever since she made out with me during that "fire drill"...usually she would be constantly looking for me, falling over her heels, but now? She just treats me like a normal person, like I'm just a regular guy who no longer deserves of being renowned as the "hottest old man" on the face of this earth.  
Cilan: *approaching Snake* Hey Snake, have you tried out my Halloween cookies? *holds up a plate of cookies to Snake* They're a huge hit with the residents, everyone loves them! Even Popo, who barked death threats at me and cursed me out as well while Nana held him back! Did it out of love and reverence, I'm sure!  
Snake: Screw you and your stupid cookies! *kicks Cilan in the face, making him fall to the floor and drop his cookies all over the floor* ...sorry about that, the dude was really violating my personal space. Obviously nobody taught him about staying in your lane. *peeks inside the lounge* Kiria is looking more tranquil by the second...time to make my move...**

With an aching Cilan on the floor, grieving over his now contaminated Halloween cookies - if Master Hand was here, he'd be laughing in Cilan's face - Snake sneaked his way inside the lounge, slithering like an actual Snake as he advanced towards Kiria. Snake would eventually creep his way unto the sofa Kiria was sitting on, and took a seat next to the idol singer, stealthily wrapping his arm around Kiria...

"What on earth are you even doing?" Kiria immediately stopped eating her cookies and looked at Snake, with a frown on her face. If this was the Kiria from episodes 82 to 94, she would commend Snake for finally coming around, and give the former spy a big smooch on his cheek, thereby initiating a very intense making out session to signify the beginning of a Kiria-Snake love affair. But the idol singer, seemingly a changed woman, felt bothered and offended that Snake was next to her, let alone being in contact with her.

"I was wondering if you could feed me some of those cookies of yours," answered Snake, testing to see if Kiria was still lovestruck with him or not. "I can only use my left arm, but not my right arm, and I always use my right arm, which has my right hand, to eat food. Eating with my left hand a major struggle. Also, Cilan wanted to be an ageist and restrict me from having any Halloween cookies, because of my..."

"Get away from, you old perverted creep!" Kiria would smack Snake hard, sending the former spy to the floor with his face turning red from the pain. "I know what you were trying to do, you were trying to flirt with me, but in the worse way possible! Why can't you just go back to obsessing over Meryl? Not like she ever cared to love you anyway!"

"Meryl is but a very confused and troubled woman...I mean, she married Johnny Sasaki. So that could mean Meryl is suffering from an unknown mental illness."

Disgusted, Kiria stormed out of the lounge, making sure to bring her cookies with her. Snake steadily rose up to his feet, rubbing his face as he watched Kiria make her exit. The idol singer was no longer infatuated with Snake...but when did the infatuation end? Couldn't hurt for Snake to know.

So the former spy went to a person responsible for Kiria falling in love with him...the intimidating young witch named Ashley. The witch was in her room, making potions while her roommate Wario counted his Benjamins, when Snake kicked the door open, grabbing the attention of Ashley and Wario.

"Snake why'd you kick our door like that, you're interrupting me from counting my money!" frowned Wario, before holding his wads of cash close to him, protecting his money like it was his one true love. Actually, the money _was_ his one true love. "You're not here to steal my money, are you? Why can't you just steal Jacky's cash instead, he's still making dough from his car dealership job!"

"Like I would ever take your money...after all the times you've used your dollar bills to blow your nose, wipe your butt, and other disgusting things," said Snake, making his way over to Ashley. Wario apparently believed using dollar bills as tissue and toilet paper wasn't that big of a deal - just as long as you weren't willing to spend it. "Ashley, we need to talk..." Snake said to the young witch.

"I'm right here, so if there's anything you need to get off your chest, then just say it or I'll have Red kick you out," responded Ashley. Now that's no way to speak to your elders, even if one of those elders was in his mid-forties!

"Kiria has been acting differently when I'm around...she's no longer infatuated with me, or obsessive over me, or constantly talking about how handsome I am. When I wrapped my arm around Kiria in the lounge, she slapped me in the face and stormed out. She has been acting cold ever since she made out with me three weeks ago..."

"...and because she made out with you, the effects of the love potion have gone away, returning Kiria back to normal." Snake looked stunned after hearing this information; he just stood there with his mouth agape.

 **Ashley: The effects of a love potion don't last until the person who drank the potion kisses the person who gave said potion to them. If the love between both persons is mutual, then the effects aren't as diminished, and are replaced by genuine feelings and emotions, such as was the case of Link and Zelda. If a person loves the person who drinks the potion, then the effects will remain forever, after the kiss takes place. Now as for Snake and Kiria, Snake obviously didn't love Kiria one bit, and Kiria would never in her life love Snake, so after the two made out, Kiria returned to her normal self. Would I use the love potions to rekindle Meryl and Snake? With Meryl's martial status, there would be a whole bunch of icky stuff transpiring if I interfered...**

"Wait...so what you're telling me is...if I had kissed Kiria earlier...THEN SHE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN INFATUATED WITH ME THIS WHOLE TIME?!" questioned Snake, wondering why didn't kiss Kiria sooner. At the same time, he also knew deep down why he didn't kiss Kiria sooner.

"Yuck, you wanted to kiss Kiria, a woman who's probably half your age?" grimaced Wario, still counting his Benjamins. He was already using one of his hundred dollar bills to massage his butt, despite his massaing chair located near the end of his bed. Was probably too lazy to even use it anymore. "What a romantic failure you are!"

"You won't be seeing me hitting on chicks in high school, that's for sure..." After firing this verbal missile at Wario, who couldn't even say a word, Snake would leave the room, glad that his "relationship" with Kiria was finally over. He could have ended his troubles with Kiria earlier just by kissing her, but Snake couldn't bring himself to kiss any woman not named Meryl Silverburgh. It made the former spy sick to his stomach, just thinking about Johnny Sasaki kissing Meryl.

Snake, who wasn't expected to be spooked four days before Halloween, would be spooked anyways, when a giant hand tapped him on the shoulder as he walked down the hallway. Snake screamed at the top of his lungs as he turned around, spotting none other than Master Hand.

"My goodness man, you didn't have to scream like that - it sounded like you just got shot!" Master Hand scolded Snake, who knew the feeling of being shot, recollecting the battles he had with dudes like Revolver Ocelot - he greatest gun twirler to have ever lived. "Anyways, I need you to do me a little favor...I've signed you up to enlist in a mission, against your will, and you'll be traveling with another brawler or two to complete said mission..."

"Please don't tell me it's some mission that involves the eradication of Halloween..." grumbled Snake, scratching the facial hair near his chin. "FOXHOUND once sent me on a mission to end Halloween once and for all, and it ended with me stuck at some stupid voodoo place in New Orleans, having to deal with some so-called 'witchdoctor'...I'd rather not get into details, most of it isn't safe for work."

"Your mission - whether you choose to accept it or not - doesn't have to do with voodoo and witchdoctors...but it has much to do with Halloween, a day that I GREATLY DISLIKE oh so much. I want something to put outside the mansion, something so downright scary it will deter the brainwashed trick-or-treating kids away from the establishment. This decoration has to make the kids so darn afraid, they'll never even think about heading to the mansion for Halloween ever AGAIN!"

"Sounds like something up my alley. I could do this mansion, provided I have semi-competent accomplices...so who else will be participating in this mission? Is it someone who has superb stealth skills like myself?"

"There you are, Master Hand...my apologies for being away for so long. Toon Link and Young Link kept holding me up, doing their cheeky search warrant on me...sadly those two don't understand the difference between eyeball candy and actual eyeballs. How pitiful..."

Snake's face suddenly sank when Bayonetta appeared from behind Master Hand, carry a handful of eyeball candy. The Umbra Witch pulled off the wrapper of one of the candies, and popped the ball of chocolate into her mouth, smiling at Snake who was hoping Bayonetta was present just because.

 **Master Hand: What Halloween decoration am I exactly looking for, to place in front of the mansion? Preferably a scarecrow, one that looks like Freddy Krueger from _The Nightmare on Elm Street._ With Seattle being a hip, west coast city, and not having that much farmland, I'm sure there will be a suitable enough scarecrow somewhere in the South to steal...or should I say, _borrow_ , and place in front of the mansion to scare those little kids away on Halloween. The kids will look at that scarecrow and be afraid, and then, and only then, will they realize that Halloween is an idiotic waste of time, and that keeping it around is the greatest mistake in the history of man.**

"Snake, I would like for you to meet one of the individuals you'll be embarking on your mission, Bayonetta," said Master Hand, even though the former spy already met with Bayonetta a long time ago. "Now I know you two have quite a history with one another, which is why you'll be working together."

"Master Hand, why do you hate me so much, why would you pair me up with this...with this...broad?" questioned Snake, as Bayonetta shot a glare at the former spy. She was bound to make him pay for that comment. "Of all the people in this mansion, and you choose her!"

"Well it's not like you had any choice in the matter, Snakey Poo..." frowned Bayonetta, addressing Snake with a pet name he hated more than his father Big Boss. "Do you get to choose what biological mother or father you have? Do you get to choose the color of your skin, or your nationality? Do you get to choose the country that you're born in?"

"Good grief woman, you didn't have to get all preachy with me...bad enough that you pick on me day in and day out. Anyone else that I'm supposed to work with in this mission? It's too bad I can't throw in the towel and..."

"Master Hand...Snake...Bayonetta...we're here!" announced a certain angel, standing with his pink puffball friend. Snake rolled his eyes in bitter disgust and turned around, seeing Pit and Kirby behind him, with Pit saluting like a dedicated soldier. "Pit and the Kirbster are ready for duty!"

"Oh you have got to be killing me..." Snake was forced by Master Hand to go on a mission with Bayonetta, Pit, AND Kirby...a part of him wished that he was on a mission with Revolver Ocelot, Liquid Snake, and even Johnny Sasaki instead. "You just adore punishing me, don't you Master Hand?"

"Hmm, now that I think of it...next week marks the one-year anniversary of that time Bayonetta, Pit, and Kirby all teamed up to break you out of Dr. Wily's prison, on that Hawaiian island. So it makes perfect sense for you four to team up and work together, at this point in time!"

Snake thought otherwise, heaving a heavy sigh. It was going to be an awfully long night for the former FOXHOUND agent...

* * *

Mario was in the mansion, and with him was his new buddy, the talking top hat known as Cappy. Cappy's sister, Tiara, was missing, and Mario believed that Tiara might be in the mansion somewhere, possibly discovered by one of the residents. Mario and Cappy traversed through the mansion, on the search for Tiara.

"I do remember that fiendish koopa Bowser kidnapping Tiara once, so maybe he has my sister with him," said Cappy, while he and Mario kept their eyes peeled. Tiara was just a tiara, but with eyes, so finding her wouldn't be that hard. "But I must ask - how is it that Bowser lives at this mansion, and you're living on your own?"

"It's because-a I'm married to Princess-a Peach and he's not," answered Mario, as Cappy gave the plumber a very quizzical look. Evidently the talking hat wasn't caught up to speed quite yet. "...we got married in-a June." This fact wasn't enough to quell Cappy's bewilderment.

"Did you have to travel across the globe in order to marry Peach? Were you able to stop Bowser in time before he could marry your woman?" Now Mario was the bewildered one, believing Cappy had some kind of dream. Or maybe Mario was missing out on a grand adventure of epic proportions.

"Nope, none-a of that...just married Peach at the base-a ball stadium in Seattle, and that was-a that." Mario didn't think Cappy would be able to handle the extra detail about the hotel explosion, which as you learned in the previous episode, was planned by Jakob.

Mario and Cappy would stop in their tracks when they saw Red the Pokemon Trainer and Cloud enter a room, holding boxes of stuff. Mario nor Cappy knew what were in the boxes, or what Red and Cloud were up to.

 **Red: With Master Hand cancelling tonight's Halloween party, many of us residents are going rogue and having a Halloween party of our own in the gaming room, just to defy Master Hand himself. Cilan has the food, so we just gotta get the decorations in and set everything up. Cilan also tasked Isabelle to keep Master Hand at bay, keep him inside his room so he wouldn't be tempted to leave. Fairly sure Master Hand wouldn't mind another massage, from his favorite canine!**

 **Cloud: Not really that interested in the rogue Halloween party...I'm only helping out because Aerith will be there. And I'm sure that if I don't prepare things for the party, then Aerith will chastise me to no end. Gotta beat Aerith to the punch, if you know what I mean...**

"Look Mario, people are entering that room!" observed Cappy, as he and Mario watched Hisui and Kohaku enter the gaming room. "What if Tiara is in there? We should go undercover, and look for Tiara's whereabouts!"

"Exactly how are-a we going to do-a that, without-a being caught?" asked Mario, leading Cappy to shake his head at the plumber. He thought Mario knew the answer, but apparently he didn't... "Am I missing some-a thing here?"

"Give me your red hat and I'll show you what I mean by going undercover..." Mario, having trust in Cappy, would do as he was told and gave the talking hat his iconic hat. Cappy, with the red hat in his possession...

...suddenly transformed into Mario's hat, and was now one with the hat. Cappy then landed on Mario's head, acting like nothing cool just went down.

"What you just witnessed was step one of my capabilities!" explained Cappy, wishing Mario had known this earlier. "For step two, you must hurl me - your hat - at someone, and take control of them! It's like spirit possession, but infinitely more times cooler in my opinion."

"So I can-a throw you at pretty much-a anyone...sounds legit," remarked Mario, as he saw Crash, Coco, and Aku about to enter the gaming room. Crash and Aku were left with no other choice but to wait on Coco, who was checking herself in front of a pocket mirror while adorned in some cowgirl getup. Costumes were required to be at the party...apparently Cloud nor Red got the memo.

With Crash and Aku momentarily distracted, Mario decided to use Cappy's capture ability on Crash, since he wasn't down with being inside Aku's body...if you consider Aku even having a body at all! Taking Cappy off his head, and twirling him on his finger, Mario would throw the hat at Crash, taking possession of his body in a snap.

Once Mario took control of Crash, his mustache was on the bandicoot, and Cappy was on top of the bandicoot's head. Crash's eyes also turned blue - the same color as Mario's eyes. Mario was now in full possession of Crash, and Coco and Aku were not aware of this fact.

"Woah, Crash, you're going to the Halloween party dressed up as Mario?" Coco would ask "Crash", after she was done with her mirror. "Granted you could also use a some blue overalls and brown shoes...but that red Mario had and mustache should be convincing enough for you to be granted access. Glad you finally listened to me about finding a costume!"

"Crash must've found that Mario getup at the last minute - one moment, I was looking away, ogling Samus, and the next, Crash is dressed up as Mario!" exclaimed Aku. Aku, ogling Samus? Very freaky... "I keep telling you Coco, Crash is capable of doing amazing things, even when you're not noticing!"

"I knew that already Aku, and for good reason...I AM Crash's sister, after all. So how about the three of us head inside and enjoy this party!"

So Coco, Aku, and "Crash", a.k.a. Mario, entered the gaming room, and saw that the party had yet to begin. Preparations were still being made, the decorations were still being set up. K.K. Slider was at his turntable desk, with several Halloween tunes at his disposal. If "Monster Mash" wasn't played at the party, then it would be a complete, utter shame. Same goes for the _Ghostbusters_ theme song.

 **K.K. Slider: Again, nobody was fond of having a Halloween party on a day other than Friday or Saturday, so we opted to have a Halloween party in the gaming room, despite Master Hand cancelling it. However, as Master Hand cancelled the party, he forgot one important detail...usually when Master Hand cancels parties and whatnot, he is essentially restricting Peach from holding a party, since she's the designated "party planner"...but with Peach having moved out of the mansion, there is no "party planner" in place, literally anyone can hold a party, regardless of what Master Hand says! With that in mind, one hippie guitar-playing dog had to rise up to the occasion...**

"Crash and Coco Bandicoot, what up - really digging those costumes!" K.K. Slider gave a shout out to the bandicoots, ignoring Aku probably because he wasn't wearing anything. Wearing a tie was the least the floating mask could do. "Sorry this party hasn't started yet, but once Cloud and Red finish setting things up, then we'll begin."

"Aw, you don't have to apologize K.K., we can wait until the party begins," said Coco, as Cloud and Red were setting up jack-o-lanterns and tombstones and other spooky stuff around the gaming room. "Am I right, you guys?" Coco asked Aku and Mario; Aku would answer yes, while Mario, unsure if he should speak or not, just nodded his head, to be on the safe side.

"Yo, Crash, can you help us prop this tombstone up?" Red called out to Mario, as he and Cloud were holding up a large tombstone, struggling slightly. "Thought Cloud was strong enough to do just about anything, like setting up large objects...but I guess not." Cloud couldn't care less what Red thought - he knew he was stronger than the Pokemon trainer anyways - so giving him a glare wasn't necessary...

"Crash, please help us out before I have to sucker punch Red in the face, for his baseless comment," said Cloud, and so Mario came over to lend a helping hand to Red and Cloud. The three men would prop the tombstone up, the base now flat on the floor. "Thanks a bunch Crash, Red and I got it from here. Once we get the lights set up, then the party will begin...and I can finally go back to playing with Cloud Jr. Unless Aerith shows up and keeps me around."

"The party will be oodles of fun, I'm sure!" exclaimed Cappy, suddenly gasping once he realized he made a _very_ damning mistake. Mario, not knowing what to do, just looked around, akin to what Cloud and Red were doing right now.

"Red did you hear that, that random voice?" By no means Cloud was scared; the swordsman was too apathetic to even be scared anyways. A gnarly ghoul could literally appear from the floor and spook Cloud, and the swordsman would just shrug it off and walk away, moving on with life.

"Sure hope there isn't a ghost around...having a ghost at a Halloween party would downright suck!" replied a frightened Red, shivering with his legs quivering. "Does this mean we have to bring Luigi over and suck up some ghosts?"

"Nah, it would be a waste of Luigi's time. Pretty sure he retired as a ghostbuster years ago. We should just let things play out and see if there's really a ghost lurking around. For a moment there, I thought you would suggest something stupid like..."

"...bringing a ghost-type Pokemon to hunt down the ghost? Yeah, that was the second suggestion I had in mind, but I didn't say it because I knew you would call me out for it. So I knew that you were going to know that I had that idea in mind, which in turn makes me a psychic telepath! Or a foreseer. But either way, I got made psychic powers! And you're just jealous..." If Cloud having a blank stare on his face counted as being jealous, then him having a stank eye would be the highest pinnacle of jealousy.

 **Red: Hmph, Mewtwo ain't got crap on me...psychic Pokemon my behind...only reason he sulks is because he wishes he could even have HALF of the psychic powers that I possess...You were about to call me out for being an idiot, weren't you? Ha, I knew you were going to say it right before this interview was conducted! Psychic abilities, for the win!**

"Let's just set up the lights, so I can leave before Aerith shows up and keeps me hostage," said Cloud, as he and Red resumed their duties. Cappy would make his eyes visible on Mario's cap, looking down at Mario.

"Whoops, shouldn't have made that remark...almost blew our cover opening my mouth!" said the talking hat, letting out a sigh of relief. "Speaking of which, I forgot to mention one important thing: when you take control of a person's body, you also get full control of their voice! How cool is that? Try saying something, right now!"

"Woah!" uttered Mario, speaking with Crash's voice. Crash had a _very_ limited vocabulary, and Mario didn't feel like speaking in gibberish.

"Limited vocabulary, eh? You can always work around that. With my capturing ability, you can also possess inanimate objects, and you can't speak at all...something you just have to get used to. So how about we check those boxes other there? Tiara might be in one of them, considering she isn't stuck with Bowser..."

* * *

Last year, Link was at the Halloween party unnerving the residents with his _Dark Night_ Joker costume and persona, quoting the late actor Heath Ledger as he walked around with a knife and spreading "words of wisdom" to the others. But this year, the poor Hylian couldn't attend, for his head injuries, while progressively getting better, barred him from going to the party. He was very sensitive to lights, and there would be plenty of lights at the Halloween party.

Nobody felt more bad for Link than the Hylian's girlfriend Zelda, who stopped by the Hylian's room to check on her boyfriend. The princess of Hyrule was donning the same Harley Quinn outfit from last year's party, and no, it wasn't anything of _Suicide Squad_ fare. Zelda just couldn't envision herself wearing skimpy clothing.

"I'll try and bring you some food from the Halloween party if I can," Zelda said to Link; said food could possibly come in the form of Halloween candy and perhaps Cilan's Halloween cookies. "If I can, then I'll just have Midna sneak something out for you. Considering she'll come around. Can I get you something to drink before I head to the Halloween party?"

"No thanks, Ike already gave me a bottle of Gatorade to drink," answered Link, grimacing as he stated this. "...a half-drunken bottle of Gatorade, that is. Don't like drinking behind others, but I had to accept the offer...my taste buds wouldn't handle drinking water anymore."

"Water has no taste, you silly...also, it isn't wise to drink Gatorade if you aren't sweaty or exhausted. It would be a complete waste. You're essentially rehydrating yourself, despite being fully hydrated thanks to the water you've been drinking. Did Ike look sweaty and exhausted when he offered you the Gatorade?"

"He looked pretty normal to me, looked like he just walked out of a shower, feeling and looking fresh and clean." So Ike was drinking Gatorade for the sake of drinking it, just for leisure...dude was doing it so, so wrong.

"Well, I don't see the bottle anywhere, so I'm assuming you drank all of the Gatorade...I'll be off to the Halloween party. Gonna feel weird not having Mario and Peach around, though I'm sure those two are having their own Halloween party. Same goes for Luigi and Daisy. I'll see you later, Link!"

Zelda would leave Link's room, leaving the hero of Hyrule alone by himself, yet again. The only time Link enjoyed the comforts of company was when his best friend Cloud was there, but the ex-SOLDIER was either doing solids for Aerith, or doing something else. Cloud Jr. wasn't enough to fill his pet owner's void.

 **Zelda: Leia and Dr. Mario ran a diagnosis on both Link and the Flying Man earlier in the week; both men are getting better, with Link expected to have his head problems dissipate in a week. The Flying Man, however, might have to wait a bit longer until he's fully healthy again. I imagined a mythical beast like him would be invulnerable to injuries of any sort, but I guess not...would I ever call the Flying Man a phony? Good heavens, no...I mean, Wario, Knuckles, and even the Koopalings are already ahead of me in that regard. Name-calling just isn't my thing!**

While Link wasn't thirsty, he sure needed to go to the bathroom, and fast! That Gatorade from Ike really gave the Hylian's bladder all it could handle. Thankfully there was a bathroom near Link's room, and so Link would get up from his bed and exit his room, walking to the bathroom. His aching head was enough to make the Hylian walk slow, taking precious steps...slow and steady always wins the race, even if there's no competitors in plain sight.

Having finished taking care of his business, a now relieved Link would exit the bathroom, and head back to his bedroom. On his way back, he would stop in place, when he saw Tails, seated on the floor, taking care of Sonic's pet Shaymin.

"Um...why are you sitting on the floor taking care of Shaymin, isn't Shaymin Sonic's pet?" Link would ask Tails, looking for answers.

"Um...why are you outside of your room, shouldn't you be in bed resting?" Tails would ask Link, looking for answers (or maybe countering Link's question).

"No, before I answer my question, you must answer my question FIRST! Why are you caring for Shaymin, isn't that Sonic's job?"

"It WAS supposed to be Sonic's job, but he thinks that him taking care of my pet Suzie will reaffirm our friendship. Boy, did he thought wrong...to this day, he refuses to give Suzie back unless I 'change my ways'. So, just to return the favor, I'll be taking care of Shaymin, just to see how he likes it!"

"Like I've told many others...I literally have no choice in the matter, I'm seemingly being forced to be a part of this mess," stated Shaymin, who honestly didn't mind Tails taking care of her. Sure beats being stuck in a cage most of her days.

"Wow, this whole feud between you is still going on?" Link truly felt bad for both persons involved. "Glad Cloud and I aren't caught up in some silly squabble...I'm surprised Cloud has even tolerated me for so long! Maybe he doesn't tolerate me, and he just hasn't voice his feelings yet. Not really a very relatable person. But he's an entirely different beast from Sonic, that much I know. I hope you and Sonic can work things out in the future and be back on one page."

Link would make his way back to his room, leaving Tails behind with Shaymin. The yellow fox would feed the gratitude some Pokemon food, as a small kid descended from the ceiling, hanging from a rope. This kid had brown hair and elf ears, and was wearing a red suit and yellow boots.

And he had his eyes set on Tails and Shaymin...but mostly Tails.

* * *

Layton and Luke were with Fox, Falco, and Itsuki in the Star Records room, looking at Fox's laptop. The three heads of Star Records never saw how much Jakob spent on the propane tanks, and so they went under the Star Records' bank account to see how much money they lost because of the disgraced butler...

"Five hundred dollars for ONE propane tank?!" exclaimed Falco, looking at the purchase history in utter disbelief. "Five hundred dollars?! That's chocolate truffle money right there, man! Candy corn money too!"

"Why would you spend five hundred dollars on candy corn, wouldn't too much candy corn be too much?" asked Fox; the Halloween party could really use some candy corn, perhaps the finest staple of Halloween candy.

"Does candy corn give you high blood pressure? Does it have high sodium? Can it make you obese like King K. Rool? Could eating too much candy corn give you spleen cancer, or any form of cancer?" Fox, now fully understanding Falco's point, nodded his head, unsure if spleen cancer was a real thing or not...

 **Fox: With Jakob having been full-frontally exposed in front of everyone, and out of the mansion and out of our lives for good, Layton and Luke are still on the case, trying to find out the intent behind that hotel attack, and how Team Flare, Fawful, and even Raiden play into things.  
** **Falco: Layton spoke with a former Team Flare member, Malva, on Tuesday, and Malva detailed how she was led to the club by Team Flare and how she was coaxed into dancing with Captain Falcon. She then claimed that Jakob forced her to tell Nowi what she did, but she was all like "No way Jose" and pulled a Bye Felicia on the man, leaving him in the dust!  
Fox: Did Malva verbally tell Jakob "bye Felicia"? And if she did, did Jakob go on a long search for Felicia, having his entire existence in complete jeopardy along the way?  
Falco: Why would Jakob even bother looking for Felicia, when she's already living at... *pauses, then smiles* ...ahh, I see what you did there.**

"So what's next on the agenda, Mr. Layton, what's the next step in your investigation?" Itsuki asked the British detective, who flashed a quick smile. Layton always knew what steps were ahead of him, what steps he should take.

"Well, I already spoke with Malva, and she gave me her side of the story...so we have nothing left to do but snoop around for Team Flare," answered Layton, fixing the top hat on his head. "There hasn't been much Team Flare activity within the city - no suspicious things taking place, no Team Flare grunts to be found. Haven't seen Fawful since that Team Flare meeting a few weeks back. Though I expect something big is brewing, and we just don't know it..."

"Hey Professor Layton, wasn't Sephiroth supposed to return to the mansion for...you know?" asked Luke, as Fox, Falco, and Itsuki leaned in closer to hear why Sephiroth would even come back. The three heard the news about Sephiroth being released, but neither of them wanted the one-winged angel to return, for obvious reasons.

But their wants would dissipate, when a wicked black-and-white thunderbolt struck the Star Records room, crashing through the room as a silver-haired fellow made his appearing, with his long sword. Everyone in the room felt intimidated, almost in awe...

"Aw man, don't tell me the roof got damaged again, I just repaired that stupid thing last week!" Mr. Game and Watch could be heard from outside the room, likely sweeping the floor when the thunderbolt rained down. The only person capable of making his grand entrance via a thunderbolt was a one-winged angel, a main adversary of Cloud...

...Sephiroth. But the one-winged angel wasn't alone, for he had brought someone with him.. He rose up to his feet, his back turned to Layton and company, before turning around slowly (probably doing it on purpose just for the dramatics) and showing the others the guest he brought with him.

"Is this who you wanted?" Sephiroth asked Layton and Luke, holding up a famous Magikoopa by the name of Kamek - the same Kamek who was there when the hotel attack was organized. Layton bravely stood face-to-face with Sephiroth, while Fox, Falco, and even Itsuki were shivering in fear, thinking Layton was out of his mind.

"Yup, this is the guy you told us about, the guy we asked you to look for!" replied Layton, giving a thumbs up to Sephiroth for a job well done. Not that often you see anyone expressing as much candor Layton was standing in the presence of Sephiroth. "Your search took a lot longer than we expected..."

"This wizard was an expert at teleportation; every time I tried to capture him, he would use his magic to go teleport away. Had to chase him around the globe to capture him, but the effort was very much worth it."

"And you're a very formidable swordsman Sephiroth, so I know you had little to no problem whatsoever. Moving on to the guest of the hour..." Layton would give his attention to Kamek, looking into the eyes of the elderly Magikoopa. "Kamek...I know we've never met before, but let's cut to the chase, shall we? We have some important matters to discuss...like your spells, one of them which can bring back the dead. After all, I did hear that you brought a one-winged angel back to life...like the one-winged angel holding you right now!"

"Yeah yeah yeah, it was me, I was the one who brought Sephiroth back to life!" confessed Kamek, as Fox, Falco, and Itsuki were astonished to learn this information. "Professor Hojo and Lucrecia Crescent, they both put me up to it...paid me off to revive their 'son' so they could continue the Jenova Project. Inform them about Sephiroth's revival, I tried, but they never responded back..."

 **Sephiroth: By no means would I _ever_ return to Hojo and Crescent, they're now marginal footnotes of my past. And if what that wizard said was any indication, they only wanted me back just to continue the Jenova Project, nothing more and nothing less. With me back at the mansion, I should pay someone a quick visit... *smiles evilly into the camera***

"I see, I see...but we didn't ask Sephiroth here to bring you to the Smash Mansion so we could know that you brought him back to life," said Layton. "We asked Sephiroth to bring you here to ask you this golden ticket question...were you the one who brought back Fawful?" Kamek, at first, wanted to answer the question, but then thought they he shouldn't do it.

"I can't answer that question, it's too confidential," replied Kamek, wishing Sephiroth would drop him to the floor. "I also have a day at the spa I must attend to...reserved myself a spot, and I can't let the spot be taken away. So could you please let me go?"

"Have it your way, Kamek...but we aren't letting you go until you give us some answers." Layton looked towards Luke, nodding at his apprentice, and Luke, receiving the cue and nodding right back, plucked a feather from Falco's left leg.

"Ouch man, that junk hurts!" frowned Falco, as Luke held a blue feather from the avian pilot. Luke would then give the feather to Layton, who tickled Kamek's feet with it. The urge was too much for Kamek to resist, and soon the Magikoopa burst out laughing, filling up the entire room with his laughter.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHA, THAT TICKLES, HAHAHAHAHA, STOP IT I BEG OF YOU, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW!" Kamek said in-between his laughter, as Layton ceased with the tickling and handed the feather back to Falco. Like the avian pilot would even need that feather anymore. Glue was always an option. "I was paid off to bring Fawful back to life, the offer was too big for me to pass up. Had no idea why I had to revive Fawful in the first place...but hey, money talks, and it's hard not to listen to it!"

"Then it's confirmed - Team Flare leader Lysandre had Kamek revive Fawful so he could perhaps play a pivotal role in the hotel attack. Didn't see Fawful anywhere in the hotel security footage, but he must've been with Jakob outside, and we failed to see him."

"Actually, Fawful was revived _after_ the hotel attack went down...I should know, I was there. Oh, and one more thing...it wasn't even Lysandre who paid me to revive Fawful, it was someone else, someone who was in a partnership with Lysandre...someone who conjured the idea of blowing up the Four Seasons hotel and screwing up Mario and Peach's wedding day.

Now the investigation, which was already coming to a close as Layton presumed, now took another interesting turn, after Layton, Luke, Fox, Falco, and Itsuki learned this vital information from Kamek. Turns out the hotel attack wasn't Jakob's idea, wasn't Lysandre's idea...but rather the idea of an unknown individual in the ploy. The remainder of the investigation should be focused on finding out who this individual was.

"Can you possibly tell us who this individual is?" Layton asked Kamek; maybe asking the elderly Magikoopa could save the British detective some trouble.

"I was paid off not to give away their identity, but it was only a paltry five dollars, so I'll tell you anyways," replied Kamek, before clearing his throat, as Layton and Luke leaned in close to Kamek so he could give them the earth-shattering news they now craved. "The person...the person who plotted against Mario and Peach and sought to make their wedding day a living nightmare, was..." Suddenly an alarm sound was heard, as Kamek pulled his sleeve and looked at his watch. "Time for my spa appointment! Gotta claim my spot before that perverted old man with the speedo claims it!"

So Kamek whipped out his broom, got on it, and flew out of the Star Records room, flying through a window and breaking it in the process. That left Layton and company with Sephiroth, the last person they wanted to be in a room with.

"If you excuse me, I have some important matters to attend to," said the one-winged angel, as he walked out of the Star Records room. "You should definitely look into fixing that roof of yours, and that window as well." No hard task for Mr. Game and Watch to fulfill.

Through the broken window, a small helicopter was flying away, and the fact that the helicopter flew up from the ground was...very suspicious.

 **Layton: Should we let things play out, and let the culprit behind the hotel attack reveal themselves? Sounds like a high risk, high reward thing to do, and anything equating to high reward should be done, in my opinion. Perhaps Luke and I should lay off on Team Flare, just for now...**

 **Fox: Just please let this whole hullabaloo with the hotel and Team Flare and whatnot end. I miss it when days at the mansion were nice and cozy, without an underlying aura of controversy and malice hovering above everyone's heads. I blame Aerith for this, everything was peachy until she showed up.**

 **Itsuki: I will not be silent, I will not let my voice be taken away from me until I know the ultimate answer...just how did Jakob take my credit card? Better question is...why is my credit card under the Star Record's name?**

* * *

Suzie, who was very much sick, had to be taken to the fitness center, so Leia could do a checkup on the Alolan Vulpix. Sonic would pace back and forth in the fitness center, hands behind his back and looking down at the floor, acting like poor Suzie was dying and in her last days. Wii Fit Trainer would walk by, sensing Sonic's concern.

"Is there anything wrong, Sonic?" the fitness trainer would ask the hedgehog, with a towel around her neck. "I've never seen you this distressed since...well, ever!"

"Sick and worried about Suzie...I think she might have a serious cold, she could be gone for good for all I know..." replied Sonic, still pacing back and forth, as Wii Fit couldn't help but chuckle at the hedgehog. Clearly Sonic was blowing things out of proportion.

"Suzie will be just fine, you just need to stop being such a worrywart. Constant worrying isn't good for your mind!" Leia would soon approach Sonic, carrying Suzie in her arms. The Alolan Vulpix looked pretty healthy.

"Tell me woman, tell me how Suzie is doing!" Sonic quickly confronted Leia, before the nurse could even reach him. "I cannot bare to see Suzie terribly ill, it would break my poor heart!" Sonic was acting like Suzie was his...a good sign that maybe he spent more quality time with the Pokemon than what was necessary.

"Sonic chill out, please...it's not like Suzie's your pet, anyways," said Leia, who found it very questionable that Sonic was the one who brought Suzie to the fitness center and not Tails. "But if you're so concerned, I'll tell you...I gave Suzie some Pokemon medicine, and cured her of her cold. I think she might be a little allergic to hedgehogs, though I could be wrong..."

"Oh snap, Pokemon can have allergies? How is that even possible? Also, how could Suzie be allergic to me of all people? I'm too rad to make anyone allergic! Give me one reason I should listen to a phony nurse like yourself!"

"Most Pokemon are animals, you know...and I'm sure that any contact with animals could lead to allergies. Again, I could be wrong, but if I am, I will own up to my own ignorance...something that you tend to fail at."

"Sonic, Sonic, your pet Shaymin has gone loose!" Jacky alerted the blue blur, running inside the fitness center. "Just saw her out of her cage, flying about, not giving a care about the..."

"SHAYMIN GOT OUT OF HER PET CAGE?!" screamed Sonic, obviously angry as ever, not knowing that Tails released the gratitude Pokemon from her cage. "How did she get out? Ooh, I knew I shouldn't have bought that pet cage from Petco, knew they were shady! I'll make sure to leave an extremely negative review about them before the end of the night. Where is Shaymin now?"

"Don't know, but I saw her flying around in the second floor. So you might wanna look around there." Sonic sped out of the fitness center at the speed of light, on the hunt for Shaymin.

* * *

Donkey Kong found it, he found the very item that would free Diddy Kong from his icy prison...that item being a pestle. A small pestle, yes, but a pestle nonetheless, Donkey Kong apparently believed that using this item would be enough to release his nephew from the ice cube encasing him.

"No need to fear, Diddy my boy, Uncle DK is here to the rescue!" Donkey Kong heroically said, arriving at the foyer...only to realize that Diddy Kong was no longer there. Only thing left was a puddle left from where the frozen Diddy was. Donkey Kong, realizing that he was too late, fell to the floor in shame, and cried. "My own nephew, Diddy Kong, lost and gone forever...WHY MUST THIS HAPPEN TO ME?!" DK cried out to the heavens, before breaking into a crying fit as Dunban walked by.

"What on earth are you even crying about?" the Homs asked the sobbing Donkey Kong, shaking his head. "A tough-as-nails gorilla like yourself shouldn't be crying. You better give me a good reason why you're even crying in the first place!"

"Diddy Kong is gone...he was here in the foyer, frozen in ice, and I promised him I'd save him. Now I've returned, and I see that Diddy is GONE!" Donkey Kong cried even more, as Dunban shook his head again and heaved a sigh. "This is what I get for looking too long..."

"If you must know, Diddy is in good hands...I saw Samus carry Diddy by herself, using some Power Glove or something." Donkey Kong immediately stopped crying, and looked at Dunban. "I do believe she brought him to the workshop so she could..."

"...so she could store him away and keep Diddy cyronically frozen forever! I won't let her get away with it! Diddy Kong, I'm coming for you!" Donkey Kong ran off to the workshop, leading Dunban to shake his head once more and walk away.

* * *

 **Master Hand: Sent Snake and his crew to the second-most dangerous place in America...Atlanta, Georgia. A city full of hookers and sluts and skanks. They should be fine, as long as they in the farmland...**

MegaMan .EXE, who was in charge of the teleportation device, was supposed to teleport Snake, Bayonetta, Pit, and Kirby to the farmlands of Atlanta, but frankly there wasn't that much farmland in Atlanta to begin with, and so the NetNavi teleported Snake and company to the heart of the city, where they wound up at some club. The four would later escape from the club and took a taxi, arriving at a farm somewhere in Georgia.

"Thank you for the ride, you bub," Snake would thank the taxi driver as he and the others exited the taxi...the former spy's face covered with lipstick markings. He would look towards Pit and Kirby, as the taxi sped off. "We're NEVER going to the city of Atlanta again after our mission is complete..."

"I dunno, Snake, I liked that club a lot, those girls in bikinis liked me A LOT!" exclaimed Pit, whose face was even more marked than Snake's. Not sure the ladies at the clubs were wearing "bikinis"... "Five stars, would go again and again!"

"You poor boys, having those ladies all over you like that..." smirked Bayonetta, feeling the need to strike a seductive pose in the middle of nowhere, just because. "The worst thing I received was a mere tap to the butt from the single men, but other than that, I was relatively fine..."

"Yeah yeah yeah, nobody freaking cares...now let's go find the scarecrow, so we can bring it to Master Hand and he can feel happy."

Snake and company, now having arrived at the farm, would traverse the corn fields, the perfect place to have a scarecrow. The four would look for an eternity, with no scarecrow in sight, until...

"HEY GUYS, I FOUND ONE!" Kirby called out, having found a scary-looking scarecrow, one that looked like it could be the main villain of a scary horror film. "This scarecrow would look awfully nice in front of the mansion, don't you think?"

"Kirby you didn't have to scream like that, you'll blow our cover..." Snake whispered to the pink puffball, as he and the others made their way over to Kirby. "It's nighttime, after all, and there's a good chance someone close to the farm can hear us..."

"You're dang right I can hear y'all, what are you vermin doing in my precious farmland?!" shouted an angry farmer, approaching Snake and company with a musket. A farmer with a firearms was a very intimidating sight, especially at this time of the night. "Came here to steal my beloved scarecrow? Better keep your filthy paws off of it, if ya know what's good for ya!"

"You boys take the scarecrow and run, I'll keep this crazy farmer man at bay..." Bayonetta said to Snake, Pit, and Kirby; the three would snatch the scarecrow and ran off, as the farmer shot bullets at them while they made a run for it. Bayonetta would walk seductively towards the farmer, hoping to subdue him, but the farmer would remain undeterred.

"Try as hard as you might lady, but I've been rejecting' fine ladies like yourself for years! No pretty lady is ever gonna distract me from my farm work! So your seductive moves ain't gonna work on me! Better say your prayers..."

But Bayonetta didn't have to say a single word, for she used Witch Time on the farmer, before sprinting off. This left the farmer, moving in slow motion, like he was in _The Matrix..._ but only less cooler.

* * *

 **Cilan: My Halloween cookies have become a major hit at the Halloween, everyone's eating them up by the dozens! So much, that I keep having to bake new batches to keep everyone happy! Nana told me about Popo attempt to steal the recipe for the cookies, but I'm sure that Popo just wants to bake the cookies himself, no harm done! Nana was _definitely_ over-exaggerating when she said that Popo wanted to rip the recipe into pieces!**

"Care for some more Halloween cookies, you two?" Cilan offered a plate of newly-baked cookies to Hisui and Kohaku Hearts, the two siblings wearing their costumes. "Baked them out of love, and appreciation from the others...but they were mostly baked out of love!"

"Yes we would like some more cookies, Cilan - it's no secret that you're the best baker in the mansion!" responded Kohaku. It wasn't like the Pokemon connoisseur had that much competition to go up against...

"Pfft, your stupid cookies aren't that great, they're overrated to me," said Hisui, leading Kohaku to nudge the young man and make him change his opinion to something more politically correct. "Uh, what I meant to say was, your cookies are the bomb dude! You should give them away, at different places, like, uh, cook-offs and stuff!"

As Kohaku and Hisui indulged themselves with Cilan's Halloween cookies (with Hisui only eating the cookies to avoid another nudge from his sister) Red was telling Popo all about his "psychic" skills, seated on the same couch as the Ice Climber.

"Then Eleonora was about to tell Tsubasa what her favorite shade of green was, and then I said, 'dark green?', and that's when she and Tsubasa looked at me with astonished faces!" Red would explain to Popo, getting all excited. "Seconds later, the two would resume the conversation, and guess what Eleonora said her favorite shade of green was?" Popo didn't answer, so Red had to answer for him... "DARK GREEN! Can you believe that, man?"

"Red, you wanna know what happens when you become to overconfident and overzealous with your abilities, no matter how good or bad they are?" Popo asked the Pokemon trainer, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You'll end up being just like me...don't EVER be like me."

The Halloween party was going swell, and everyone was having a good time...but it wasn't until when a one-winged angel entered the gaming room that everyone had to hold their breath, and the party had to be stopped...Sephiroth would step inside the gaming room, grabbing the attention of everyone, including K.K. Slider who immediately cut off the music.

"This wretched place looks almost the same the last time I was here..." said Sephiroth, looking around the gaming room, as the tension slowly built up. "...albeit with the hideous decorations and all. Now, if everyone wants to leave this room unscathed, you must tell me where Cloud Strife is..."

"SEPHIROTH!" shouted Sora, who was at the Halloween party, as he donned his Keyblade. "We meet again! I didn't intend on fighting you at this location, but if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you're gonna get!" Sora looked determined, his frown broiling with determination, whereas Sephiroth was confused as heck.

"Do I...know you from somewhere?" Sephiroth found it odd that Sora knew his name beforehand, and that the Keyblade wielder was feigning to kick his butt. Even though he would get his butt whooped. "How do you even know my name?"

"Don't try and play your games with me Sephiroth, I've been dying to fight you since our last battle! You may have pushed me to my limits in our previous encounters, but I guarantee you that this time it'll be much different!"

"I'm sorry for coming here, wasting everyone's time...it's very evident that Cloud isn't here...so I'll just...look elsewhere..." Sephiroth sheepishly exited the gaming room, likely to get away from Sora, but the brunette still wanted his fight.

"If you want to get to Cloud, you'll just have to go through ME!" shouted Sora, as he chased after Sephiroth. Once those two were gone, K.K. Slider unpaused the music, and the party would continue.

 **King Dedede: Was it worth telling Sora that Sephiroth wasn't from his universe? *shakes his head* He still thinks that our president is a talking duck, and that China is still in the feudal period...there is literally no hope for that guy.**

The only person to have not seen Sephiroth was Mario, who was still possessing Crash's body, with Cappy on his head. The plumber scourged the entire gaming room for Cappy's sister, Tiara, but the sentimental crown was nowhere to be found, as Mario exited from a door.

"Drat, we've looked everywhere for Tiara, and we couldn't find her..." said Cappy, more concerned about his sister's whereabouts than before. "Guess she's not here. Know anywhere else we could look for Tiara?" Mario would scratch his chin in thought...time to look elsewhere.

* * *

Having learned from Dunban that his nephew Diddy Kong was taken by Samus, Donkey Kong would tear through the workshop, Samus' number one destination for working on future projects. The gorilla refused to leave until he found Diddy, or until Samus showed up, whichever came first.

"Show yourself Samus, show me where Diddy Kong is!" DK shouted to no one in particular, as he continued to rummage through the workshop, throwing stuff around like it was nobody's business. "I better see my nephew safe and sound, otherwise some consequences will have to be paid!"

"Donkey Kong, why are you ransacking the workshop, have you gone mad?" Samus' voice was heard, as the anger grew inside of DK. The gorilla clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth, as his least favorite person in the world (right now) was behind him.

"SAMUS ARAN, YOU CROOKED BOUNTY HUNTER, YOU BETTER GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY YOU TOOK MY DIDDY KONG AWAY FROM ME," said Donkey Kong, slowly turning around. "NOBODY, AND I MEAN NOBODY, TAKES MY NEPHEW AND...gets away...with it..."

Once Donkey Kong was facing Samus, he saw that Diddy Kong was standing next to the bounty hunter, shivering with a towel wrapped around him. Poor spidermonkey might be having a cold, just like Suzie a few moments ago.

"Yeah...I saw Diddy frozen in ice in the foyer, and so I took him to the workshop and thawed him out," explained Samus, as the anger inside of Donkey Kong completely vanished away. "Took him to Leia so she could check him out, and I planned on keeping him around at the workshop until you showed up."

"Ah, I see, so you've been taking care of my nephew, for me...thank you Sams, I totally wasn't freaking out or anything!" The damage dealt to the workshop said otherwise...

* * *

Sonic was on a mad search for Shaymin, who as Jacky said was flying about in the mansion. The hedgehog, putting Suzie back in his room, would look for his own pet, calling out to Shaymin.

"Shaymin where are you girl?" Sonic called out, his voice carrying throughout the hallways. He searched high and low for Shaymin, inspecting every corner and cranny along the way...

...only to stop in his tracks when he saw a wrench, lying on the floor. Sonic ran over to the wrench, kneeling down at it, and picked it up, holding it in his hands. This wasn't just any ordinary wrench, for it had the initials "MTP" written on the side...

...that wrench belonged to Sonic's friend, Tails.

 **Sonic: This was the wrench Tails used...to fix my television...to repair my joystick machine...heck, he even let me use his wrench to grill some patties at the 4th of July cookout...oddly enough, I feel so empty inside now...**

"Did you call my name?" Shaymin suddenly appeared, flying to the now disheartened Sonic and landing at his feet. She saw her pet owner holding Tails' wrench, and knew he had to tell him something. "Sonic, there's something I need to tell you..."

"No, Shaymin, hold your breath, just this once..." said Sonic, before letting out a sigh. "I think something bad happened to my man, Tails..."

* * *

Outside the mansion, Master Hand was analyzing the Halloween decorations, which he desired to take down and throw inside a dumpster fire. But the giant hand was willing to keep the decorations around, just so the scarecrow Snake and company would bring to the mansion would go with them.

Fearing that Snake had failed his mission, Master Hand was delighted to see Snake run out from the mansion, with the scarecrow in his possession. The scarecrow was in one piece...however, the same couldn't be said for Snake, who looked like he just ran through a battlefield.

"Never going to Atlanta, or the state or Georgia, ever again..." remarked the former spy, throwing the scarecrow unto the ground before heading back inside the mansion, in his exhausted state. No more doing any "Master Favors" for him!

"Thank you for the scarecrow Snake, make sure to give Pit, Kirby, and Bayonetta my regards!" Master Hand thanked Snake, who didn't care to listen, as he gently propped up the scarecrow and placed him at the front of the mansion, where the Halloween decorations were. "There, now those kids won't even dare to come to the mansion on Halloween night once they see this mighty scarecrow! Might even consider ditching Halloween altogether..."

As Master Hand proudly hovered in front of the scarecrow, he saw Crash exit the mansion and head to Mario's home. The giant hand found it odd that the bandicoot was heading to Mario's home, while wearing the plumber's cap...failing to notice the mustache on the bandicoot. Mario still had complete control of Crash's body.

* * *

Mario would return to his home, entering inside and seeing both Peach and Lara relaxing. He would make his way to the staircase in Crash's body, acting like nothing was wrong.

"Hello Crash, what brings...you...here?" asked Peach, seeing the famous Mario mustache on the bandicoot. She and Lara just stared in confusion, as Mario nonchantly went up the stairs, and to his room.

"Was that...Crash Bandicoot, just now?" Lara asked Peach out of bewilderment. "Why did he have a mustache...?"

* * *

Now in the privacy of his room, Mario hopped out of Crash's body, the bandicoot quickly falling to the floor in a stunned state. Mario was back to being Mario, and Cappy, well, remained Cappy, seated on top of Mario's head.

"Sorry I had return-a home Cappy...I have a very strict-a curfew," Mario apologized, taking off Cappy and looking at him in the eye. "We'll just have-a to look for your sister another day. For all-a we know, she might not-a even be at the mansion!"

"You're right, Mario...she might be in Bowser's belly!" exclaimed Cappy, insinuating that Tiara might've been eaten by Bowser. "...I'm thinking far too ahead, am I?"

"That doesn't sound-a too far-fetched...though I can't-a see Bowser eating tiaras. Except Marth's." Did Mario throw a diss at the hero-king just now? "But like I said, we'll look for-a your sister another time. She's in good-a hands, I'm certain..." ...and what if she wasn't? What if she was in the hands of Fawful, or Lysandre...

...or the conspirator working with Lysandre?


	98. Episode 98: Kidnapped Part 1

_Author's Note:_

 _Another two-parter episode...although that was obvious if you saw the title. Nonetheless, two guest reviews to answer:_

 _"Can you include the characters from Final Fantasy Type-0? Is Sora ever going to stop being dumb? Are the Koopa Bros. going to be mistaken for the Ninja Turtles when they show up? Have you already included the characters from The World Ends With You? And finally, when will Sonic stop acting like a jerk?"_

 _Final Fantasy Type-0? Never heard of it, but I'll look into the characters from that game. Sora's naivety will end...soon. Or never. Koopa Bros probably won't be mistaken for the Ninja Turtles. The WEWY crew still have yet to appear. And Sonic will stop acting like a jerk...soon. Or never. Maybe he'll undergo some character development. Now there was a tidbit from Derick Lindsey's previous review, that I forgot to answer, and so I'll answer it now..._

 _"I can't believe it's only four weeks away for the 100th chapter, not many stories last this long I wonder if their is an endpoint like does iret go on forever or does it end after a specific amount of chapters are written?"_

 _I have already determined when the end date for this story will be. Can't give it away, because as Master Hand would say, it would count as a "spoiler"._

* * *

 **Episode 98: Kidnapped Part 1**

For Mario, every morning in Seattle, Washington was always the same. The plumber would awaken from his nightly slumber, yawn with his arms outstretched, scratch his butt for a few moments, taking care of some business in the bathroom, and descend downstairs to the kitchen, to enjoy the yummy breakfast Peach has prepared.

But ever since the events of episode 97, Mario would have a welcoming fellow join him during his morning routine...the talking top hat known as Cappy. This talking hat, with his cartoonish eyes and stubby legs, could take on the form of Mario's cap, and could also take on the forms of the other hats Mario had in his closet...most of which he had completely forgot about, somehow.

So when Mario was fast asleep in his bed that morning, oversleeping after hitting the snooze button on his alarm clock a few times, Cappy would enter Mario's room, having to wake up the plumber himself. The hat would find Mario sleeping peacefully, likely dreaming about being on a romantic boat ride with Peach down the most romantic river you could possibly think of...but as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Such as Mario's presumed dream, for example.

"WAKEY WAKEY!" Cappy shouted loud and clear into Mario's ear, waking up the plumber and startling him in the process. Mario screamed at the top of his lungs, flying out of his bed like a banshee and falling onto the floor, shivering with hands over his hand in a duck and cover position. The 1950s US government would be proud. "Mario, you have overslept for ten long minutes! You've been oversleeping a lot as of late...is there something wrong?"

"Cappy is that-a you, are-a you there?" asked Mario, looking around to see if the coast was clear after hearing Cappy's voice. The plumber rose up to his feet, and turned around, seeing Cappy looking at him. "Were you the one who scared-a me like that? Don't you ever do-a that again, I was having the best-a dream a man could-a have! And who are-a you to scold me for oversleeping, it was-a worth it!"

"Binge-watching _Stranger Things_ on Netflix isn't worth having to risk oversleeping during morning hours. Especially if you never even watched the series before. You can't just force-feed yourself a show you've never seen, just so you could be in the in crowd and claim that you watched some lousy season premiere! Trust me, Mario, fitting in and liking what a vast majority of people like isn't the right thing to do..."

 **Cappy: Mario was up all night watching _Stranger Things_...he said that his brother Luigi recommended the show to him, and after hearing about the season two premiere, Mario was hooked! I tried telling Mario about the negative consequences of binge-watching, but he simply wouldn't listen...I'm afraid he has watched so much _Stranger Things,_ that he might end up disliking the show, for no reason!**

"Well I had nothing else-a better to do last-a night, so I think I spent-a my time very wisely," remarked Mario, although Cappy disagreed wholeheartedly. "Now if you excuse-a me, I have a morning procedure to attend-a to...but first, I must-a ask, do you know-a what Peach is-a cooking for breakfast?"

"I can't say that I do...because I didn't see Peach at all in the kitchen," replied Cappy, greatly alarming Mario. If Peach wasn't in the kitchen, then where else could she be? Perhaps she went next door to Luigi's place to fetch something. "I did hear from that Lara chick that Peach went over to the mansion, to get some cooking tips from a guy named Cilan, and I don't believe Peach hasn't returned ever since...very peculiar."

"Very peculiar indeed...however, I refuse-a to have my wife-a gone for this long. I'm willing to bet Bowser is holding up-a Peach, for whatever reason. Or maybe Toon Link and-a Young Link are arresting Peach for some-a thing stupid like 'trespassing'. I should-a go over to the mansion my-a self... _after_ my procedure is over."

So after Mario washed his face, dried his mouth out, got rid of the ever-so-bothersome strand of facial hair on his face, and all that good stuff, he put Cappy on his head and put on his housecoat, and headed downstairs, to make his way to the mansion. On his way there, he would arrive at the living room, where he would find Lara Croft, glued to the television screen with a look of despair.

"Is there...something going on-a on the television screen?" Mario would ask the tomb raider out of curiosity, taking note of how defeated Lara looked. It was like she was watching the 9/11 attacks, only in present times.

"Just turned on the television, and this was the first thing I saw..." replied Lara, looking at Mario and pointing at the television screen. Mario would look at the television, his mouth eventually dropping agape. Cappy's eyes would appear from Mario's hat, as Cappy too looked at what was on the television, and if he had a mouth, his mouth would be agape too.

Right there on the television screen was the Four Seasons hotel, the very place where Mario and Peach's wedding reception was supposed to take place...only relatively destroyed and ruined. The program Mario and company were watching was a news program, and it cut to several shots of Seattle, such as CenturyLink Field, Safeco Field, and Olympic Sculpture Park...

...and the most common thing between those mentioned places? They were all damaged to a considerable degree, as news helicopters flew over them showing multitudes of viewers at home the damage those venues accrued. Another trait those places had in common were that these were the places Mario and other mansion residents went to during several episodes of _Smash Life..._ meaning that however might've been responsible for these heinous attacks was trying to send a message.

"Several attacks have broken out throughout the city of Seattle, starting very early in the morning," said the news reporter, with the damaged Olympic Sculpture Park - the venue of Luigi and Daisy's wedding - being in the background. "We are not yet sure who carried out these attacks, or if this was the work of an unknown terrorist group, but we hope that these attacks will cease as the day goes on. This is a travesty Seattle was NOT ready for..."

Mario paid special attention to the background, noticing several Team Flare grunts hanging around near the Olympic Sculpture Park and exchanging high-fives. But what caught Mario's interest the most was an orange, round robot also hanging out with the grunts, celebrating in their victory. Why did the robot look like it belonged to a certain someone? Suddenly a knock was at the door; Mario would open the door, and saw Toad, who was in frantic mode.

"MARIO, MARIO, SOMETHING BIG IS GOING DOWN IN SEATTLE!" yelled Toad, running inside Mario's home as he knocked the plumber down to the floor. "They announced on the news that the Four Seasons hotel was attacked, and not only that, the baseball stadium in Seattle has been attacked too..." Toad suddenly looked over at the television, and saw the news program Lara was watching, slowly cooling off. "Oh...you're watching the same news program...I was watching...hehe..."

"Toad, I was informed-a that Peach went to the mansion - have-a you seen Peach?" Mario would ask Toad...such a shame we can no longer call him a drug lord.

"Nope, and I don't think she even stepped foot inside the mansion at all." This response from Toad made Mario even more concerned. "If she did, I probably would've heard about her presence."

"Breaking news from Orlando, Florida..." said the news anchor on the screen, as a breaking news report caught the attention of Mario, Toad, Cappy, and Lara. "The famous resort known as Walt Disney World has been attacked - yes, I repeat folks, attacked. Several rides and tourist attractions have been targeted, and all the visitors in Disney World have been evacuated. The park shall remain closed until further notice."

"I don't get it, first Seattle gets attacked, and now Disney World of all places? What gives?" Toad tried to figure out the answer to this question, until a horrified look suddenly grew on his face. "M-Mario, don't you think...that..."

"Hush, Toad, I'm-a trying to listen..." Mario would shush Toad as he listened to the news. It was now giving another breaking news report, this one about a supposed terrorist attack launched on Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil. Mario was slowly finding the locations being attacked, and the fact that they've been attacked on the same day, to be very suspicious...

"We do not yet know the culprit behind this chain of devastating events, but someone did supply us with a silhouette of what the culprit possibly looks like," the news anchor continued, as a picture popped up on the screen, containing a silhouette of some short, middle-aged man...

...and the silhouette looked an awful lot like Mario.

 **Wario: Toad's gone, which means he must not want Cilan's breakfast...meaning that I'll get to eat his share! More waffles for me!**

"If you have any information about the person in the image, then don't hesitate to call," said the news anchor, as Mario looked on with a shocked facial expression. Someone was trying to set the plumber up, and for reasons unknown; no doubt Team Flare and Fawful were behind it. "We shall keep you at home tuned in with..." The news anchor would not speak anymore, for Mario grabbed the TV remote and turned the television off.

"Hey, we were trying to watch that!" Lara frowned at Mario, who did not say a word as he went back to the staircase and marched up the steps. "And where do you think you're going? Not going to stay in your room all day, are you?"

"Maybe he's just overwhelmed by the things he's seeing on TV," assumed Toad, with the shrug of his shoulders. "I'll sure Mario will just cry his eyes out, and resume his normal activities like nothing's wrong. He's done it before."

Moments later, Mario would make his way down the steps, in his usual overalls attire. The plumber looked confident, almost heroic, and it showed in his face. Feeling more determined than ever, he made his way through the kitchen, through the living room, and to the front door, before turning around to face Toad and Lara.

"Toad...Lara Croft...come-a with me," the plumber said to the tomb raider and the...mushroom hat-wearing lad. Ugh, doesn't sound right... "We have a princess-a to save!"

"How do we know if Peach didn't just wander off to places unknown?" asked Toad, the mushroom hat-wearing lad. Still doesn't sound right. "Peach is known for wandering off to places that she shouldn't. You think these attacks might have correlation to..."

"...to Peach possibly being kid-a napped? Yes, yes-a I do. I saw a few Team-a Flare grunts at the Olympic Sculpture-a Park, celebrating their attack...I'm wiling to assume-a that kidnapping Peach and holding her-a hostage is on-a their agenda. They have Lucas in-a their possession, so why not grab another hostage while-a they're at it?"

"Don't mind if I ask, Mario, but where are we going to look for to find Peach?" asked Lara, wanting to bring some reasoning to the situation at hand. "For all we know, she could be anywhere in the city, held hostage at a place we..."

"Glad you asked-a that Lara," smiled Mario, rudely cutting off the tomb raider before she could even finish. "Good thing I know a bro whose-a 'pet' could be good use..."

* * *

Mario, standing in front of Luigi's home with Toad and Lara at his side, knocked on the front door of his brother's home. After seconds of waiting, Daisy would answer the door, adorned in her yellow housecoat with a mug in her hand.

"Morning Mario, morning Lara, morning Toad," Daisy would greet the three, surprised to see them at her doorstep. She was hoping they didn't come over for breakfast; she only cooked for herself and Luigi. And Charles, he doesn't really count. "What brings you here?"

"Good-a morning Princess Daisy, I'm sure you've seen-a the news on television just-a now," Mario said to the princess, who nodded her head gently. "Lara told-a me that Peach left for the Smash-a Mansion, and Peach has yet-a to return, and I'm afraid-a that..."

"Hi, Princess Daisy, nice to meet you, I'm Cappy!" exclaimed Cappy, his eyes poking out from Mario's cap, as Lara, Toad, and Daisy looked up at the talking hat in shock and bewilderment. Perhaps no one was more shocked and bewildered than Daisy, who was scared of Cappy in an instant.

"GAAAAAH IT'S A TALKING CAP, KILL IT IMMEDIATELY!" shrieked the princess, as she grabbed the nearest broom she could find and whack Cappy repeatedly with it. While poor Cappy was suffering from the abuse, Mario was suffering just as much, with Daisy hitting the plumber's head repeatedly as he fell to his knees, covering his head.

"What's-a with all the ruckus, another cock-a roach again?" questioned Luigi as he arrived at the front door, seeing Daisy laying the smackdown on Mario and Cappy with her broom, whacking very frantically and aggressively. "Mama Mia, Daisy, control-a yourself woman!" Luigi would grab Daisy around her waist, pulling his wife away from Mario and Cappy as her aggression slowly faded away. "Daisy, what has-a gotten into you?"

"Luigi, Mario's cap, it was TALKING! And it had these huge eyes, and it was so...so weird." Unwritten Rule #88: if anything looks weird, freaky, strange, or anything of the like, whack it repeatedly with a broom to no end, regardless of any harm you done...actually, disregard that rule.

"It's okay Daisy, that talking cap isn't-a gonna hurt you, or anyone-a else. His name is Cappy and he's quite-a friendly!" Wait, how was it that Luigi knew Cappy, and not Daisy or any of the others? Did he and Cappy have a chance encounter beforehand?

 **Luigi: Mario introduced-a me to Cappy a few days-a ago...he's like a knowledge companion-a of Mario's. Much like how Rotom is-a my companion.  
Rotom: *from behind* WHAAAAT, you'd rather choose ME over your own pet dog, Polterpup?! Now I will admit, I feel a bit flattered...but as the old saying goes Luigi, a dog is a man's best friend, zzrt!  
Luigi: My _knowledge_ companion, that's what I meant-a to say about you, Rotom. Polterpup is good-a and all, but he's only good-a for barking, playing catch, drooling, and wagging his darn-a tail all day. He's pretty much like-a any other dog, aside from being a ghost-a of course...**

"Wait, so that cap...on Mario's head...can talk now?" Daisy asked Luigi, who nodded his head with a smile. Some details were missing, such as how Cappy took on the form of Mario's cap, but those details would have to wait until later. "Did Ashley have anything to do with this, did she use any of her potions?"

"No potions were-a used at all," explained Mario, as he struggled to get back to his feet. Both he and Cappy were banged up pretty badly. "It's a pretty long-a story, one that I'd rather not-a get into extensive detail about..."

"Yes, and I should-a know - you told-a me info I probably didn't need-a to know. So, bro, what brings you, Toad, and-a Lara to our home?"

* * *

After Mario explained to Luigi and Daisy about Princess Peach, and his suspicions about Peach's kidnapping being connected to the attacks taking place in Seattle and Orlando, Luigi decided that they should notify Master Hand about the situation. So the group would head to the mansion, to speak with the giant hand himself.

Keep in mind that this would be Lara's first time stepping inside the Smash Mansion; the tomb raid only met a select number of residents from the mansion, such as Cloud, Toad, and a few others, but everyone else had no idea that the famous tomb raider was living at Mario's place, only temporarily.

"I really like how this place looks, it's so neatly organized and visually appealing," remarked Lara, already impressed as she and the others stepped inside the foyer. Lara took sight of the paintings hanging on the wall, the pieces of sculpture, and everything else the foyer had to offer.

"You can thank Mr. Game and Watch for how the foyer looks, he's this place's housekeeper," explained Yuffie, who happened to join the group because reasons. "Master Hand typically keeps him in charge of the mansion's decor, and how everything looks inside."

"Well he has done a bang-up job here, I'll give him that..." Lara took sight of a blue hedgehog walking by...that hedgehog being Sonic. The blue blur, while at times a huge jerk to others, was visibly chipper and happy...

...but after learning that his "former" best friend Tails was kidnapped, Sonic has been feeling the exact opposite as of late. He partially blamed himself for Tails' sudden kidnapping, under the assumption that if he had ended his "feud" with Tails sooner, then maybe the yellow fox would have never been kidnapped. Maybe Tails allowed himself to be kidnapped, just to get away from Sonic, to send a message to the speedy hedgehog.

"Hey Sonic, why the long-a face?" Luigi asked the blue blur, seeing him walk by. The hedgehog would make a run for it, not speaking with anyone, but that would be rude. And Sonic had a long, potent history of being rude.

"Hi Luigi, I'm just not feeling myself, as of late," replied a slightly despondent Sonic. "Tails has been kidnapped, by who-knows-who, and I'm afraid he might be in the same boat as Lucas, stuck at some desolate place being held hostage for no reason at all. Ness already has to deal with the pain of losing a friend, and now I have to bear that burden as...well." Sonic's eyes suddenly fell upon Lara Croft, and the hedgehog started to feel a little ecstatic, as his depressed spirits were magically lifted."Ay, Lara Croft, what are you doing here? Dang, you look even more smoking hot in person! You wanna come and live in the Smash Mansion, is Master Hand still giving more handouts? I would ask you out or something, but you appear too old for my tastes...also, Amy and I are kinda on the same page now, so asking out a fine babe like you would be unnecessary."

"That's...good to hear," Lara smiled weakly, her interaction with Sonic pinpointing why the tomb raider wanted to keep a low profile and stay at Mario's home. Too many people in the mansion would wind up constantly fangirling over her.

 **Sonic: So this whole time, the famous Lara Croft was at Mario's place, staying there until she had enough money to afford a plane ticket? Talk about storing a best-kept secret away from us mansion residents! But if Ms. Croft preferred being with Mario over being at the mansion, then I can't blame her - she could give all the dudes heart attacks with her drop dead gorgeous looks.**

"Yeah, I was so bummed out about Tails that I even skipped out on breakfast - let Knuckles eat my portions," Sonic would later explain to Luigi and company. It was a hard thing to do, willingly giving up an opportunity to enjoy Cilan's fine cooking. "I was watching the news in the living room a moment ago; apparently some bozo attacked Rio de Janeiro out of flipping nowhere. Must be bitter about last year's Olympics or something..."

"Or maybe these-a attacks as of late have some-a thing to do with us...or-a me," stated Mario, as everyone focused their attention on the plumber to see what his rationale was. "Seattle, Orlando, and-a Rio were all attacked-a today. We live-a in Seattle, obviously, and Orlando and Rio are two-a cities we've been-a to. I saw-a some Team Flare guys at the Olympic Sculpture-a Park on the news-a program, with this-a orange robot, so I can only assume-a that Team Flare and Fawful are-a definitely responsible for what's-a going on...MAMA MIA!"

Mario shrieked and jumped into the arms of Toad - the nearest person around, unfortunately - as a yellow Baby Yoshi mindlessly walked past the plumber, minding his own business. The mini Yoshi would just keep on walking, before Olimar came in and scooped up the little fella before he could get away.

"Got you, you little rascal - don't you run away from me like that ever again!" the astronaut scolded the Baby Yoshi in his hands, who didn't seem to care if his deadpan facial expression was any indication. "Sorry about that Mario, these Baby Yoshis just LOVE to run away at the most opportune moment...keeping up with them requires high maintenance, and a lot of patience as well." As Toad collapsed to the floor due to Mario's weight, Olimar saw Lara, having to do a double-take to make sure that he wasn't seeing a ghost. At least he was geeking out over her, much to Lara's delight.

"Yes, Yoshi has informed-a me about how Lucas told-a him to build an armada of Baby Yoshis," said Mario, helping a now squashed Toad off of the floor. "How-a is this armada coming along? Is Yoshi a great-a general, has the power gone-a to his head?"

"Pit and Viridi have shared 'general duties' with Yoshi to ensure that Yoshi doesn't go on a power trip or anything like that. Alph and I have been keeping watch of Yoshi and his pals while we do our typical gardening stuff. Would you like to see the progress Yoshi has made so far with the Baby Yoshis? I'm willing to bet he, Pit, and Viridi are tending to those baby dinosaurs right now, assuming they've finished their breakfast."

* * *

With Sonic now joining the group, Mario and company were led by Olimar to the mansion gardens, and upon arrival, everyone looked up and saw a glass roof, high above them. This roof obviously was never seen before, which led Daisy to ask the following...

"How come that glass roof has never been used until today?" the princess of Sarasaland would ask Olimar, and she was still looking at the roof too. "In all the times I came to the gardens, I never saw it...unless you had it invisible. Which would take a lot of work, I assume."

"First of all, that roof you see up there is actually made out of sunroof material, not glass," explained Olimar; the Pikmin would surround him, right on arrival. "Master Hand was apparently too stingy to afford an actual glass roof. Secondly, the roof functions as a retractable roof; we only use it for emergency situations. With these random attacks happening in our city, Alph and I aren't taking any chances..."

 **Olimar: So far, we've only used the retractable roof for only three instances. First time was when that Galleon ship flew over the mansion; we were afraid that it might drop some bombs on us. Second time was during the whole Organization XIII invasion fiasco, though now in hindsight, that probably wasn't needed.  
Alph: The third time the retractable roof was used, it was used for a stupid reason...and Olimar and I had no part in it. One day, it was raining hard in Seattle, really hard - it was the rainiest day of the year - and Meta Knight, looking outside, was talking about how it was "raining cats and dogs"...a harmless figure of speech, nothing more and nothing less. But Corrin, that naive fool, took the expression literally, and not only set up the roof over the gardens, but also boarded up the windows, gathered the food supply, and relocated everyone to the basement, like there was a tornado about to strike King county. Being stuck in a confined space with around a hundred people, it was so suffocating...**

Olimar would lead the group to where Yoshi, Pit, and Viridi were, the threesome caretaking the Baby Yoshis. Most of the Baby Yoshis had grown in size, as they were eating the Yoshi Fruit supplied to them. Pit and Viridi were feeding the Baby Yoshis, as Yoshi watched with a proud look on his face.

"Alph and I have been instrumental in growing the Yoshi fruit, using the resources Yoshi had given us," explained Olimar, while the feeding continued. "Gave us some seeds to grow, and we grew some trees and went from there. I tried eating the Yoshi Fruit...didn't like it. Tastes bitter. Which is funny since the fruit look like actual food us humans would eat..."

"Olimar who are you trying to kid, you're not even human yourself!" Sonic said to the astronaut, speaking loud enough to grab the attention of Yoshi and company. "Name me one human, ONE human, who has elf ears and a nose like Billy from _Billy and Mandy_! Bet you can't, can you?!"

"Mario and friends...welcome, welcome, and WELCOME!" Yoshi would greet Mario and company with an earnest, heartfelt smile. "It looks to me like you brought a guest along, eh?" Yoshi's eyes fell upon Lara Croft, who flashed a smile as the dinosaur went over to greet the tomb raider. "Howdy, lady, Yoshi's the name. I used to babysit Mario back in my day; I'm pretty much the reason Mario is still alive...don't ask me how old I am, I hate going down that rabbit hole again."

"Lara Croft, British archaeologist and tomb raider," Lara would introduce herself to Yoshi, shaking the green dinosaur's hand. "Mario and Peach have told me all sorts of stories about you...stories that paint you in a positive light, mind you. Nothing to do with your superb writing skills!" Yeah, superb...

"I wonder if she's single," Pit leaned over to whisper to Viridi. The goddess of nature, feeling offended that Pit would dare to wonder about Lara's relationship status in the presence of his _girlfriend,_ slapped Pit silly. "Yup, totally deserved that..."

"So, Mario, what brings you, Lara, and this lovely company to the gardens? Wanted to see the progress I've made with the Baby Yoshis? I've been raising them well, Mario, have I? Do you see how much I've done for them?"

"Yes I can-a see Yoshi, I can see-a clearly," smiled Mario with a nod, while Pit had his eyes fixated on Lara. Viridi had to nudge the angel, to snap him out of his trance. "But we're not really here-a to see the Baby Yoshis; Olimar had-a to return a runaway Yoshi, and took-a us to the gardens to see how much-a the Baby Yoshis have-a grown. We were here-a to speak with Master Hand...I fear Peach has-a been kidnapped, and I wanted to alert-a Master Hand about the situation."

"Man, first it was Lucas, then Tails, and now Peach...too many blondes being kidnapped these days. Technically Tails isn't blonde, but he has yellow fur, so he still counts in my book. How about we speak with Toon Link and Young Link, the buddy cops? I'm sure they would love to involve themselves in a kidnapping case."

* * *

Leaving Pit and Viridi at the gardens to take care of the Baby Yoshis, Yoshi and Olimar would join Mario's troupe, as the gang went over to the Links' "police office". Mario would knock on the door, and Toon Link would creak it open, only making his face visible.

"If you want in, you must tell us the password," the Hylian said to Mario, expecting the plumber to give him the password. But the plumber refused to engage himself in such shenanigans. He was the famous Mario, dang it; Toon Link should let him in regardless!

"Son you better let-a us in, if you know what's-a good for you," was Mario's reply - obviously it wasn't the password, as Toon Link closed the door on Mario. The plumber sighed, and knocked on the door again, as Toon Link opened the door once more.

"Look bro, I'm not letting you and your cronies in without a password, that's the rule around these parts. If you want, I can give you a password hint...but only if you give me your birth date." So was Toon Link a talking login system now?

"Why do you even need-a my..." Mario, ready to go off on Toon Link, controlled his anger, letting out a sigh, ass he gave the following birth date to the Hylian: "September 13, 1985." The date of the first ever _Super Mario_ game.

"Can't verify that date with your current age, but I'll take it...now for your password hint. The password hint is...potatoes." After hearing this password hint, Mario was more that done with Toon Link, wanting to punch the young Hylian for wasting his precious time. But Yoshi was there to bail the plumber out.

"Ooh, ooh, I know this one, the password is...OCARINA!" the green dinosaur blurted out, as everyone gave him questionable looks. But Yoshi was fairly certain that the password was correct...

"DING DING DING, you got it!" Toon Link opened the door wide and pointed at Yoshi, giving him a thumbs up. "You're all welcome to come in!" So Mario and the others filed inside the "police", but not before questioning the correlation between the password ocarina, and the password hint being potatoes.

 **Yoshi: Ocarina, the wind musical instrument, has another name...sweet potato. Honestly I don't get it either.**

Once inside, Mario and company saw that Toon Link and Young Link had renovated their room, to look like the interior of an actual police station. On their board were pictures of several suspects, and their monikers - you had Snake as "Hugh Laurie On Crack", Tifa Lockhart as "Wholesome Fanservice", Marth as "Girly Man", Jigglypuff as "Bottom Feeder" (how fitting), Dunban as "The One-Armed New Zealander", Amy Rose as "Disgraced Psychopath Girlfriend", _Final Fantasy XV's_ Noctis as "Poor Man's Cloud", and interestingly enough, world-renowned YouTube personality Pewdiepie as "Hipster Jack Frost". Lord knows how he of all people ended up on the board.

"Um, what did he do to end up on this board?" Yuffie would ask Toon Link, pointing at the picture of Pewdiepie, which featured the Swedish man with his new look - white hair and fully-grown beard. Which could explain the reason behind his moniker.

"My partner-in-crime Hutch, better known as Young Link, was mugged last week while we were at the convenience store, shopping for candy," explained Toon Link, as he turned on his small-screen television. "He was just minding his business, when some unnamed bozo robbed the store, punching Hutch in the face as he made a run for the cash register. While the robber was unsuccessful, he still got a piece of Hutch, before making his exit."

"And you really think that Pewdiepie, who lives all the way over at BRITAIN, was responsible." Yuffie found this extremely hard to believe.

"Pewdiepie's signature move is the brofist, and he dishes it out very well, like Sonny Liston in the clutch. We can only assume that he was the robber, given how hard Hutch was struck, and so we added him to the board of suspects - suspects who we feel also pack a punch. Marth, Dunban, and Amy were only added to even things out; we'll add more suspects soon.

"Sorry I was late Starsky, had to break up a fight in one of the bathrooms," apologized Young Link as he entered the "office"...sporting a black eye. "Lemmy should have known better than to pick a fight with a teddy bear." Young Link, who was holding the teddy bear in question, looked up and saw Lara, staring right at him. "Hot woman...standing in office...across from me...cannot function...must...must...must operate..."

And just like that, Young Link fainted, falling to the floor. This must be right Sonic was alluding to when speaking about Lara's adverse effects on the male residents of the mansion.

"Probably should have just stayed at home..." remarked Lara, as Toon Link went over to check on his buddy. "I really shouldn't be here, I already made one man faint while we were in the hallway."

"It's okay, Lara...I mean, making Hisui faint ain't that big of a deal anyways," said Daisy, knowing Hisui's ladies man tendencies. Despite the young man having some romantic feelings towards Lilith Spodumene, even though he just considered her to be a "friend". "Don't be so down on yourself because you look pretty and all."

"Hisui and Lara's looks should-a be the least of our concerns right-a now," stated Mario, wanting to bring focus back to the attention at hand. "What we should be concerned-a about is my wife-a Peach, and her-a whereabouts. Toon Link...I don't mean-a to distract you from reviving Young-a Link's senses, but do you know what-a could have happened to Peach? She was supposed-a to be at this mansion, but I suspect that she was-a kidnapped on her way here..."

"Kamek was here last week, right?" asked Toon Link, as he pulled out a pair of smelling salts and held them to Young Link's nose. "I bet you five bucks the man swooped by and snatched Peach, taking her to Bowser's castle. To do what, you might ask? To finish what Bowser started..." This understandably led to Toon Link receiving a strange look from Mario, and pretty much everyone else. "...I strongly advise that you all stay woke, for your own good."

Suddenly, a breaking news report was on the television screen. Another location in Seattle was attacked - that location being the Customer Service Center. News cameras were all over the building, as smoke and fire exited from the windows. Thankfully nobody was hurt during the attack.

"Mario, isn't that the place-a where you paid the mansion's-a utility bill, with-a Zelda?" Luigi would ask his brother out of curiosity. Mario was starting to notice a pattern; pretty much anywhere he went, it was attacked. The Four Seasons hotel, Safeco Field, Disney World, and even Rio...all of them were attacked. And the plumber desired to know why.

"Toon Link, do you know where-a I can find Layton and-a Luke?" Mario asked Toon Link, who was still trying to bring his partner Young Link back to his senses.

"I think he's in Master Hand room right now, though I could be wrong," answered Toon Link; Mario had intended to go to Master Hand's room in the first place, funny how things work out along the way...

* * *

 **Layton: Still playing the wait-and-see approach with Team Flare and Fawful. Seeing the attacks that have been going on in Seattle, Orlando, AND Rio, I'm expecting Team Flare to make their presence known later on in the day. Even if Team Flare reveals themselves or not, I'll be heading off to Master Hand, asking him about a plan of action to deal with Team Flare. He has dealt with something like this before...**

Mario and company would arrive at Master Hand's room, where they saw Master Hand, Layton, and Luke discussing a plan for Team Flare. Layton and Luke were sitting on a bed, which was restricted without Master Hand's consent, while Master Hand hovered in the air like a G. Isabelle was also there, seated on a stool, taking notes diligently.

"So what you're saying is, Team Flare is somewhere in Seattle, watching the crap go down in the places they've targeted, in some secret base somewhere," Master Hand said to Layton, who nodded his head in confirmation. "You also believe that we should organize a 'coalition' of sorts, to find Team Flare's whereabouts and put a whole end to this mess, once and for all."

"That is what Luke and I had in mind, we even asked Knuckles about it," replied Layton, with another nod of confirmation. "We imagined he would be the best choice in leading a coalition. Has a very commanding demeanor to go with his fighting prowess..." Layton looked over at Master Hand's bedroom door, and saw Mario and company, all assembled. "Ah, Mario and friends, care to join us? We were just in the middle of a very important meeting..."

"None of you peons are allowed, this meeting was supposed to be private!" Master Hand snapped on Mario and company, before his nonexistent eyes fell upon Lara Croft. He began to soften up in an instant. "Ms. Lara Croft, you're still stuck in deadbeat town? It's good to see that my eye candy is still around, although I haven't visited you as much as you should. You're all invited to stay!"

"Changed your tune-a that quick, huh?" said Mario, as he went over to close Master Hand's bedroom door. "Only because-a of Lara...you really should have-a stayed at home, Lara. So Master Hand, what are you and the boys-a discussing?"

"Professor Layton and Luke have some ideas for finding and stopping Team Flare, and they're sharing their ideas with yours truly. Oh, and Isabelle is also here, writing down everything we say on her notepad, because she honestly has nothing else better to do."

"Actually, Master Hand, you personally asked me to come to your room to record the meeting in its entirety, just for 'future reference'," explained Isabelle, who at times resented being the lapdog of Master Hand. At least Mario treated the shih tzu assistant with more respect.

"Yeah I told her to use that as an excuse, thought it would save her from all the humiliation." Isabelle couldn't help but roll her eyes at this claim. "Anyways, Layton expressed interest in having a coalition to look for Team Flare, and they had Knuckles in mind for being the leader of said coalition. I know Layton was just dying to name himself the leader, but we all know the man can't fight, what with his lanky body and all!" Obviously Master Hand wasn't there to witness Layton kicking Team Flare butt back in episode 94.

"How come you picked my friend Knuckles over me?" Sonic asked Layton and Luke, feeling a bit salty. "Am I not good enough for you? Don't think I'm a great leader? Let me tell you, Boring Man and Small Munchkin, I'm a leader of men - the gold standard of leadership." Some individuals, such as Daisy and Olimar, had to turn away and laugh at Sonic's outrageous claims.

"We never said you were good enough for us...we just went with Knuckles, well, just because," was Layton's reply. It wasn't like the British detective was looking for certain qualifications when picking out a finesse leader.

 **Master Hand: From a scale from one to ten, how concerned am I about the attacks in Seattle, Orlando, and Rio...zero. If anything, those three cities should feel _ecstatic_ about the attacks that took place. Well, Orlando shouldn't feel ecstatic, they already had a terrorist attack in their city with that nightclub shooting. That was messed up. But Seattle and Rio should feel excited, since they're both relevant now! Rio hasn't been that popular since the Olympics, and as I've said before, Seattle is a deadbeat town, feels like a cloud of depression is hovering over this crummy city. A bunch of attacks in the city should be more than enough to make Seattlites feel glad about being in the national spotlight for the first time since that grunge movement in the nineties!**

"If this coalition-a is looking for Team Flare, then I would like to suggest some-a one else they should be looking for," Mario spoke up, stepping in the forefront. "Peach was supposed-a to be heading to the mansion earlier, but she has-a never returned home...and nobody saw Peach in the mansion to begin-a with. Peach might-a have been kidnapped by Team-a Flare, for reasons unknown..."

"Tails was kidnapped last week, as Sonic told me, and he might've been kidnapped by Team Flare as well," stated Master Hand, finding these kidnappings to be very puzzling, to say the least. "Are they doing some kind of ransom? If so, why would they have Peach, Tails, and even Lucas in their possession? Peach and Tails; if they're trying to make Mario and Sonic feel some type of way, I understand. But why Lucas, why him?"

"I remember when Cloud told me about Lucas looking for his mother, his mother turned out to be a fake - it was a ploy executed by Master Xehanort," explained Yoshi, recalling the information supplied to him by Cloud about the search for "Hiwana" back in episode 73. "Organization XIII apparently wanted Lucas for a reason...what if Master Xehanort gave Team Flare leader Lysandre some pointers? What if said pointers led to the whole hotel explosion and all the other stuff that transpired thereafter?"

"That sounds too illogical - I mean, Master Xehanort giving anyone free advice and pointers?" Master Hand scoffed at Ness' theory. "Man looked like an elderly, disgraced crackhead, just dressing fancy to lure some poor soul on the streets!" But to Pit, Master Xehanort will forever be an ice cream man.

"What-a ever Team Flare and Fawful have-a planned, it must be centered around-a me," stated Mario, adamant that the attacks taking place today revolved around him somehow. "Every place-a I've been to, it has been-a attacked...Century Link Field. Safeco Field. Four Seasons-a Hotel. The Customer Service-a Center. Disney World. Heck, even Rio was-a attacked! Team Flare is definitely sending a message-a to me, that I'm-a sure of..."

Suddenly a knock was at the door. Layton got up from Master Hand's unneeded bed, and went to open the bedroom door, seeing Knuckles...and many others standing behind the echidna.

"Well, well, well...I have to say, I didn't really expect anything like this," smiled Layton, as he saw people a many standing behind Knuckles - Cloud, Proto Man, Ness, Dark Pit, Roy, Lucina, Robin, Crash, Coco, Cortex, Uka, Aku, Ryu, and Jigglypuff. "Never would have imagined you would have recruited this many people as part of your coalition!"

"Yeah, all the people behind me had a reason for joining," said Knuckles before taking a deep breath, as the echidna was prepared to do A LOT of talking. "Ness wants to save Lucas, Dark Pit wants to kick some butt, Ryu thinks that fighting Team Flare will be a 'worthy challenge', Robin is only tagging along so he can be our strategist, Lucina is only tagging along to serve as Robin's minder, Proto Man only joined out of boredom, Roy refused to feel left out, Coco wanted to learn more about Team Flare, Crash wanted to support her sister, Cortex wanted to take any credit for beating up Team Flare, Aku and Uka have to serve as guardian masks, Jigglypuff just said 'Jigglypuff', and Cloud...he just felt like helping out."

"The real reason I joined is to get away from Sora," explained Cloud, who had his Buster Sword ready to go. "He can chase Sephiroth all over the whole freaking globe for all I care..."

"Cloud is that you?" shouted out Sora, much to the chagrin of Cloud. The Keyblade wielder would show up, looking at Cloud with an excited look, and ran up to greet the swordsman who did not desire his company. "Are you about to go beat up some bad guys? Team Flare, I'm assuming? Well I wanna tag along, got my Keyblade so I'm ready to go!" Sora pulled out his Keyblade, as Cloud looked at Knuckles, hoping he would tell Sora to go away.

"As long as he just uses his Keyblade, and not rely entirely on 'magic'...then he's more than welcome to join," was the echidna's reply; Sora did a fist pump, grinning all the while Cloud facepalmed out of misery. It was gonna be a long day for the swordsman...

 **Sora: Quite honestly, I'm not yet aware of the situation in its entirety, or what the game plan is, but it's gonna be a real pleasure getting to fight alongside my main man Cloud! *wraps arm around Cloud, who swats arm back* The two of us, we'll be unstoppable!  
Cloud: Sora I'm not a psychic or anything...but I can already guarantee that we're gonna take a beating from Team Flare because of you. Just calling it like it is...  
Red: Did someone say, "psychic"? *pops up behind Cloud and Sora* Allow me to show off my psychic abilities...I can see the future...I see Knuckles, and the coalition, prevailing over Team Flare!  
Cloud: Red, you've become delusional, and you still dress like a ten-year-old in your thirties...you should definitely reevaluate your life.**

"May I speak-a with them for a second?" Mario asked Layton, who stepped aside as Mario faced Knuckes and his group of allies. "I have-a something I must tell-a you all. First off...good-a morning. If it's still-a morning, that its. But anyways, my precious Princess Peach has-a been kidnapped, and I suspect Team-a Flare to be behind the kidnapping."

"How do we know if Peach had to go shopping at the store or something?" asked Roy, totally unaware about the Peach situation. "I mean, you can't blame EVERYTHING on Team Flare...like how I once blamed this hideous zit on my face on Team Flare. Maybe I should start taking care of my face more."

"Peach didn't even have-a the opportunity to go to the store...she was supposed-a to head to the mansion, but she never reached-a the mansion, nor did-a she ever return home. That is why-a I sense some foul-a play from Team Flare."

"Are you insisting that we should find Team Flare AND Princess Peach?" asked Knuckles, fearing a change of plans. "We have our minds dead set on Team Flare - ain't no way I'm splitting up my group. Peach's your woman, she's your trouble, so you'll just have to find her yourself!"

"No, she's not my-a trouble...she's OUR trouble. Think-a about it - Peach has done-a so much for us, and the things that she has-a done have been underappreciated. Her motherliness, her caring and loving nature...it's irreplaceable. And you can't-a replace Peach. We're all gonna work-a together to find Peach, and stop-a Team Flare...you, me, your 'coalition', and the folks-a behind me. It will be a grand-a effort."

Although Mario's mini-speech was cheesy at some points, the plumber still had a point - Peach was irreplaceable. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who showed more care towards others than Peach. Peach obviously meant a lot to Mario, and Mario refused to let her go.

"Fine, fine, you got yourself a deal...we'll look for Team Flare, _and_ Peach, and we'll do it together," Knuckles agreed to Mario's terms. "My squad, your squad, and anyone else who wants to join...we'll join together as a large pact, and finish off...you know what, this is getting cheesy, so I'ma just stop talking..."

"If we are to find Team Flare's whereabouts, we must first find a mode of transportation," stated Master Hand, hovering over to where his presence could be seen by everyone. "I'm not using the teleportation device - MegaMan .EXE messed it up trying to warp Snake and the others back from Georgia. Snake said that there was some "crazy old farmer" hot on their heels, I'm pretty sure it was just some creepy trick-or-treater. Can someone ask Fox and Falco to boot up their Landmasters?"

* * *

Mario and the coalition were outside, in front of the mansion, waiting for Fox and Falco to finish prepping their Landmasters. The avian pilots - but mostly Falco - would have their vehicles fully prepared already, if it weren't for Lara distracting them.

"Must...remain...faithful...to Katt..." said Falco, vowing to be faithful towards a woman he had yet to ask out, trying not to look at Lara. The tomb raider was quite the popular attraction, as everyone was speaking with her, with many dying to get a chance to speak with the British woman. "Dang it Fox, why did Lara have to be so fine and pretty? I can't take it anymore, man!"

"Dude, just do what I do and close your eyes, then you won't think about anyone and you won't put yourself at risk of checking another lady out," replied Fox, offering Falco a method the avian pilot was skeptical of. "Watch for yourself!" Fox would close his eyes, and expertly work away on his Landmaster, like a pro. He could do what he was doing blindfolded, but that would make the now salty Falco even saltier.

 **Falco: Why haven't I asked Katt Monroe out? Because...because reasons. My relationship with Katt would be a long-distance relationship, and by long-distance, I _really_ mean long-distance. Also, Katt and I...we really never "clicked", so to speak. But we will soon. Soon.**

 **Lara: Hmph, I never realized I was _that_ popular until I stepped foot inside the mansion for the first time. Must have dozens of accomplishments known by many people that I apparently don't know of. Either that, or I just live inside my own bubble too long...**

"So Robin, what is our strategy for tracking down Team Flare?" Ryu asked the mage, who was glossing over a map of Seattle placed on the ground. Robin was studying every street, every building, and every named location on the map, including the map elements that weren't even that important. "In preparation for days like these, I've been eating protein bars and shakes, so that my muscles will be stronger and more powerful than before!"

"Good for you Ryu, you practically eat those things everyday..." murmured Robin, as he circled a place on the map in red marker. "I'm guessing that Team Flare are currently hiding in this building, right here. That's the building Organization XIII used as their hideout during the whole invasion thing."

"Yeah, and that's pretty much why Father will forever remain a lovable dork in my eyes," Lucina was speaking with Daisy as they approached Robin, throwing her father Chrom under the bus for the nth time. She and Daisy would see Robin looking at the map, looking at it very intently. "Robin, what does it say 'search Lucina's phone for pics' at the bottom right-hand corner of the map?" Robin looked down, and say the saying, written in red marker, sheepishly smiling as he scribbled the red marker over the blatantly visible message.

"Oh, uh, Wario, he definitely wrote that, that closet pervert...man has no shame. First he has an affair with some chick in high school (who I'm assuming already graduated by now) and now he's writing messages about his personal desires on other people's belongings...what shame!"

Lucina was about to open her mouth and jaw out Robin, but before she could, a large shadow would fall over her, Daisy, Robin, and pretty much everyone else outside of the mansion. Everyone looked up at the sky, seeing a very massive object.

The very massive object, you might ask? It was a gigantic, metallic sphere, one that hovered menacingly in the air, a couple meters or so away from the mansion. It couldn't possibly be a planet, otherwise the earth would act all wonky.

"Well, it looks like we won't have to fly anywhere..." remarked Fox, dropping his wrench to the ground as Falco nodded in agreement. Cappy's eyes would pop out from Mario's cap, and he would look up at the large hovering object...

"AAAAAHHH THERE'S A LARGE THING UP IN THE SKY!" Cappy exclaimed, screaming at the top of his lungs as he sprung up from Mario's head in exclamation. Everyone was looking at Cappy, and everyone saved for those who met Cappy were stunned.

"AAAAAHHH MARIO'S CAP HAS EYES AND CAN TALK!" exclaimed Ness, pointing at Cappy, as Crash screamed and ran inside the mansion out of fear. Coco sighed, as she went to retrieve her older brother. Better find him before Mario and company make their move.

"That thing up there...it looks awfully familiar, don't you think Knuckles?" Sonic, who had Shaymin and Suzie with him, asked his best friend, who also believed the sphere up above looked familiar, if his facial expression was any indication.

"It sure does, Sonic...it sure does," replied Knuckles, wondering why the metallic sphere was at the mansion all of a sudden. Many questions were running through the heads of many right now.

"There's a good-a chance that Team Flare, as well as Peach, Lucas, and maybe even-a Tails are up in there," said Mario, looking up at the sphere with a determined look on his face. "But how-a do we even get inside?"

"Fortunately I have a solution...I have hoverboots, so I'll just fly everyone inside the sphere, one-by-one!" suggested Cortex, hoping that his idea would be given a chance by Mario. "Charging five dollars per flight for each person...and ten dollars for each animal. Yes, that includes you too, Jigglypuff."

"You would try and-a make a quick buck, would-a you Cortex...we need a more-a effective method." Mario started to look around for a solution, until his eyes fell upon a relatively unused vehicle near the driveway...Captain Falcon's Falcon Flyer. "Bingo..."

* * *

 **Zelda: Link is still getting better...slowly but surely. He should be back to being a hundred percent by next week. I would keep him company, but Yuffie told me that she and many others are hunting down Team Flare, and she could really use my help... *turns into Sheik***

 **Sheik: A third ninja is going to join Greninja and I, to take Yuffie's place. It's a good thing I know the perfect candidate. *runs off***

Midna would find Link in his room, sound asleep, with a glass of water on his nightstand. The imp, carrying a bottle of some substance, entered the room, grabbed the glass of water, and poured the contents outside the window. She then poured the contents of the bottle into the glass, and sat the glass gently back on the nightstand, before patting Link on the head.

With the deed accomplished, Midna left Link's room, and flew to the Flying Man's room, where she saw the Flying Man also fast asleep. As he has been ever since he participated in that football game. There was an empty glass on the Flying Man's nightstand, and Midna would enter the room, still carrying the bottle.

"This elixir of Cilan's better do its thing..." Midna said to herself, as she filled the Flying Man's glass with the bottle's contents, before placing the glass where it was and flying away. Remember what the elixir did for Cilan?

* * *

Using Cappy's capture ability to good use, Mario would capture Captain Falcon's Falcon Flyer, which carried the entire coalition, and flew it into the metallic sphere. With everyone now in the sphere, looking for the whereabouts for Team Flare and Peach was the mission that needed to be accomplished.

"You know Mario, we could have just used our Landmasters to get here," Fox told the plumber, with the Falcon Flyer crammed into the wall of the sphere, leaving behind a big hole. "But if you wanted to be a showoff, then Falco and I wouldn't blame you for doing so."

"That new cap of yours still creeps me out Mario, just wanna let you know that," Coco informed Mario, having found Crash just in time before everyone hopped aboard the Falcon Flyer. Imagine if Crash and Coco missed out, but not Cortex...Cortex would enjoy his last laugh for months on end.

"Not a new-a cap Coco, just my old-a one, but an-a improved one, I should-a say," smiled Mario, before a grumbling sound was made. The plumber looked down, and grabbed his tummy. "Hmm, should have ate-a some breakfast this-a morning...ah well. I, or we, have more important-a business to attend to anyways."

* * *

With Mario and company now inside the giant sphere, Toon Link and Young Link would exit the mansion, with Young Link finally waking up. But he wouldn't be awake much longer, when he looked up at the sky...

"IS THAT SUPPOSED TO BE A FLYING PLANET?!" the young Hylian screamed, before fainting yet again as he fell. Toon Link would try and revive his buddy cop yet again, as Sheik, Greninja, and Asuka stepped outside, the ninja trio on a mission.

"A-Are you sure you guys want me to tag along?" Asuka asked Greinja and Sheik, feeling rather timid. What she was about to embark on would be a far cry from her _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ appearances. "Don't think I'm cut out for this..."

"Asuka, you claimed you fought hundreds of evil ninjas before, so you shouldn't be complaining," Sheik told the ninja girl, hopping down from the porch and looking up at the sphere. "So how about you suck it up, and quit being such...a worry wart." Sheik would stop speaking and looked in awe at the sphere...but it wasn't the size of the sphere, or its slight rotation, or the Falcon Flyer still stuck in it that caught her attention.

Rather, it was the very distinct mustache on the sphere, one that belonged to someone you might recall appearing a LONG time ago.

 **Sheik: If the exterior of that sphere is anything to go by... *shakes her head* ...then Yuffie and anyone in there will be in for a VERY rude awakening. Wish I could find a way inside and alert them...**

* * *

Mario and company kept walking in the sphere...and by golly, they were all bored. No Team Flare grunts, no Fawful...just walking through the sphere, seeing if anything exciting would happen.

Suddenly, the group would find a large, spacious room, and entered therein. This room looked like it would belong to an evil villain, like it would be fit for Darth Vader. Mario and the others looked around, slightly expecting something to jump at them...but still nothing happened. For a giant sphere that looked intimidating on the outside, it sure was tranquil from the inside.

"Don't think there's anything in this sphere, someone must've parked this thing in front of the mansion by accident," remarked Proto Man. "What a buffoon, that guy must be..." He could definitely say that again...if he even felt like repeating himself, that is.

Just then, some girly giggling was heard, from up above. Everyone looked up, and saw a blonde-haired princess, standing on a high platform. It was Peach! The giggling sounded like it would come from her, so it had to be the real deal.

But when Peach turned around...everyone was disgusted to see Fawful, wearing a Peach wig and a pink dress, laughing in the face of Mario and company as he tore off his ensemble. But the Beanish wouldn't be alone...

Joining Fawful on the platform would be Jakob, looking bandaged from the beating he suffered two episodes back. Appearing in-between Jakob and Fawful was Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare who had his grunts doing his dirty work. But just when it seemed like Mario and company were ready to fight, a hole in the floor opened up, as a platform rose up from the opening. On one side of the platform was Peach, stuck inside a cage. On the other side of the cage was Tails, also stuck in a cage.

But standing in the middle of the platform was a man who caught the attention of everyone, but especially Sonic and Knuckles. It was a tall, round man, whose body shape was physically impossible, with a brown mustache, blue glasses, red jacket, black pants, and white gloves. He would laugh heartily, as Sonic, Knuckles, and pretty much everyone else wanted a piece of him.

"Ah, Mario and Luigi, so good to see you both again!" greeted the man, with a grin on his face. "Same to you, Sonic and Knuckles, my old friends! Welcome, everyone, to the Death Egg! Now I see that you and Peach have healed since that freak wedding explosion, Mario...but it's a good thing I had a backup plan in mind, in the event my original plan didn't go as...expected. But if it wasn't for Jakob and Team Flare, my plan would have never come to fruition! But at least you're here, Mario, for me to seek my revenge...and you've dragged your friends along, to be witnesses, how lovely! Oh, Mario, you shouldn't have"

The man, standing on the platform, was known very well by Sonic and Knuckles, and known by one name, and one name only...

...Doctor Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik.


	99. Episode 99: Kidnapping Part 2

_Author's Note:_

 _One chapter away from hitting the big 100, baby! Let me just say that this was perhaps the second-hardest chapter for me to write - had to figure out the pacing of the chapter, as well as figuring out the climax and conclusion. But I've managed to find a way. Good thing answering reviews isn't as hard..._

 _"Can you include the characters from Tales of Vesperia? A small scene of Agria, Aerith, Lightning and Elise from Sonic '06 interacting with each other? (They share the same Japanese VA, Maaya Sakamoto) has Lillie fom Sun and Moon appeared yet? And finally, are you gonna do a Justice League or Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon chapter? (Since both come out on November 17.)"_

 _Perhaps. Maybe. Lillie has appeared; she made her debut in chapter 48. And I'm unsure whether or not I should do a Justice League chapter, or a Pokemon chapter. My knowledge of the DC universe isn't that great compared to Marvel, and I've already touched upon the Gen VII Pokemon games last year. Been evaluating my options for the 100th chapter, so we'll see. Next up is R:_

 _"Where is Infinite? I know Eggman is keeping him for a surprise attack, but how is he going to be used?"_

 _I don't know where Infinite could be, he might even be in this very chapter...I've also read your ideas, and took them into consideration. Here is J300:_

 _"I'm surprised Lucas hasn't used his "self-defense." I'm hoping it comes again."_

 _Yeah, that was pretty funny. I wouldn't mind bringing that again. Moving on:_

 _"I'm also curious: will we learn what Lucas told Celica?"_

 _That shall be revealed in this chapter. Now on to Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...is Lucas here to? or is he somewhere else?"_

 _He might be in the Death Egg...or maybe he's stuck on the moon. Or perhaps Lucas escaped the clutches of Team Flare, and went on to live a double life as a stunt devil. Who knows._

* * *

 **Episode 99: Kidnapped Part 2**

"Oh, Sonic, I baked you another blueberry pie, your favorite! I just KNOW that you're gonna love it!"

Sonic's loving girlfriend, Amy Rose, was as happy as she ever could be, as she skipped along down to the Smash Mansion. The pink hedgehog had baked Sonic's favorite dessert, blueberry pie (didn't require rocket science to find out why this pie was Sonic's favorite) and was just dying to give the pastry to him.

Upon arrival at the Smash Mansion, Amy felt a large, dark shadow over her; hoping a second eclipse of the year wasn't on the horizon, the hedgehog looked up, and saw Dr. Eggman's Death Egg. Unable to discern the Death Egg from where she was, she happily continued her business, skipping along to the front of the mansion and humming to herself.

Once at the front of the mansion, Amy did not see Sonic, welcoming her with open, caring arms...but rather Toon Link and Young Link, with Young Link still in a fainted state while Lucario did his best to revive the Hylian's senses. Also present was Sheik, Greninja, and Asuka, the three ninjas figuring out how they should infiltrate the Death Egg.

"Um...what on earth is going on?" Amy would ask everyone out of pure bewilderment and confusion. Toon Link, seeing Amy, quickly got on the offensive, pulling out his bow and arrow and pointing his weapon of choice at Amy. "Why do you have your bow directed at me, I didn't even do anything! I just got here!"

"Enough with your silly alibi!" frowned Toon Link, his stare at Amy more intense and serious than the stare of a bald eagle. "Tell us...is there a secret bomb in that pie you got there? Is it a pie-shaped bomb? Trying to kill a good friend of yours? Name me this one friend!"

"Are you seriously out of your mind?! This is a regular, normal blueberry pie! I would prove it to you, but I don't want to risk damaging the pie before I give it to Sonic. Ruining the pie would break his poor, little heart!"

"So you're trying to kill off your boyfriend with your pie-shaped bomb, and you wish to target his HEART! Always knew you were still a crazy girlfriend, Ms. Rose! What would your blatantly nonexistent parents think of a heartless freak like you?!"

"Hear the woman out, Toon Link, she's speaking the truth, and nothing but the truth," Lucario told the Hylian, using his aura to revive Young Link if he could. "Why on earth would Amy go from crazy, to normal, and back to crazy again? Especially after all the bonding she did with Sonic?"

"Amy's normal phase was a facade, to see how gullible Sonic was...and Sonic just might be the most gullible boyfriend of all. Now bring Hutch back to his senses so you can join your ninja buddies over there, while I take care of this cutesy sociopath..."

"I'm not even a ninja, what the heck..." murmured Lucario, as Toon Link slowly neared Amy, bow and arrow in hand. Amy cautiously backed away, pulling her Piko Hammer seemingly out of nowhere. She sure was glad she remembered to bring her trusty hammer along.

 **Lucario: Are the appendages on the back of my head supposed to be some kind of ninja headband? No, not by any means. They're just appendages that move whenever I use my aura. Even the Pokedex says so. The Pokedex would _never_ lie. Ever.**

"HALT!" shouted Sheik, quickly jumping in between Toon Link and Amy before either one could lay a single finger on each other. "Enough of this crap...Toon Link, Amy would never, in her life, consider making a pie-shaped bomb; she wouldn't even know where to begin, or where to get her materials. So please, put your suppositions to rest." Toon Link, wanting to fire back at Sheik, would hold his breath, grumbling as he returned to Toon Link and Lucario. Sheik would then redirect her attention to Amy, who felt comfortable about putting her Piko Hammer away. "Amy Rose, I believe your boyfriend, Sonic the Hedgehog, is up there, in that Death Egg above."

"That thing up there in the sky is a Death Egg?" questioned Amy, as she went to find a good spot to see the Death Egg for herself. She saw the Eggman mustache on the front, and that's when she knew what was up. "Ah I see...looks much smaller compared to the other Death Eggs I've seen. Always thought the Death Egg was in space, never seen one this close to the earth! So you think Sonic is somewhere up there?"

"I did see him walk out of the mansion with Mario, Knuckles, Lucina, and a whole bunch of other people, so I'm assuming he's in there. If that Falcon Flyer stuck in the Death Egg is any indication, that is. I would fly one of the Landmasters into the Death Egg, but I've never piloted a vehicle before, let alone a spacecraft...I wouldn't want Fox and Falco to be resentful towards me."

"Why not just use Wolf's Landmaster instead - then you can put the blame on Fox and Falco, and Wolf will be angry with them, rather than with you!" suggested Asuka, momentarily eavesdropping on Sheik. On paper, this sounded like a good idea...but Sheik didn't think it would be worth the execution.

"Let's not bother with Wolf's Landmaster...if we do, we may never hear the end of it. We'll just do our sanity a favor, and leave Wolf and his Landmaster alone. If only there was a way to get inside that Death Egg..."

* * *

Inside the Death Egg, in the main room, Mario and company were suddenly filled with indignation, vexation, and plenty of other feelings they had for the man standing on the platform, looking at them with a gleeful smile...Dr. Eggman. Joining the mad scientist on the platform, stuck in cages, were Peach and Tails, both of whom were kidnapped in the two previous episodes. Standing high above Dr. Eggman and everyone else was Jakob, Lysandre, and Fawful, all of whom helped Dr. Eggman with his cause.

"Look Dr. Eggman, I don't know who you are, or what you do, but one good look at you and I already know that you're evil!" Sora pointed at the mad scientist, stating the obvious, as Cloud looked away and facepalmed. Knuckles could've just left Sora back at the mansion, his presence wasn't really needed.

"Why'd-a you do it, why did you make-a my wedding day a living heck?" Mario asked Dr. Eggman, looking into the eyes of the man responsible for plotting the wedding day explosion. "Why make the Four-a Seasons hotel explode, why kid-a nap Lucas, and Peach, and-a Tails...why did you have your-a cronies involved in this?"

"Allow me to tell you why I did what I did...it was all out of retribution!" replied Dr. Eggman, putting some emphasis on the last word. Retribution was clearly the true motivator behind all of Dr. Eggman's intentions. "I fondly remember that day, the day in which I was banned from the mansion...Master Hand flung me out of the mansion, ordering me never to step foot near the mansion ever again! For weeks, and months, I've been plotting my revenge, but things kept getting in the way...just when I thought I had the perfect revenge plot to execute, that lousy Organization XIII had to butt in and steal my thunder! Those stupid men, and their hooded cloaks, hindering my plans...and so I was left with no other choice but to wait until Organization XIII worn out their welcome, and that's when I decided, 'Why not target Mario and Peach, on their wedding day, that should send a good message to Master Hand!' And that's EXACTLY what I did!"

"But why did you target Mario, on his wedding day?" asked Sonic, who was extremely certain he'd be done with Dr. Eggman (just for the time being) after the mad scientist was banned. "Also, why did Peach and Tails have to be kidnapped, they never did anything wrong!"

"I knew I couldn't extract any revenge on Master Hand (destroying his Lamborghini would be petty and stupid), so I decided to go after the man who got along well with Master Hand, the man who once put the mansion on his back, and carried it when Master Hand wasn't around...the man known as Mario! While Organization XIII was lingering around, I met Jakob, and I hired him to purchase the propane tanks for the explosion, as well as do some 'reconnaissance' at the mansion to keep everyone at odds and prevent them from finding out the truth...and he sure did a good job! Afterwards, I met Lysandre, who agreed to have his Team Flare grunts help out with my plan, and Fawful, who was revived by Kamek and opted to work with me! Now as for Peach, I only kidnapped her just to lure Mario to my Death Egg, and I greatly appreciate the friends he brought along...oh, and as for Tails, I just felt like kidnapping him, just to lure you here as well, Sonic. Can't commit any devious acts of evil if you're not a part of it, it would destroy our relationship...if you know what I mean!" Quite frankly, Sonic didn't want to know...

"Alright, Dr. Eggman, you brought-a me here, and now you must-a release my wife Peach and Tails at-a once!" Mario demanded from Dr. Eggman, who could only laugh at the plumber. Like he would give up his hostages without a fight. "Or is there something you want me to do?"

"Yes, Mario, there is something you must do...but I'll have to put it on hold, for now. I'm just...a bit more interested in the comrades you've brought along. I figured you would bring Luigi along, and his wife, but boy oh boy, I never expected such a crowd like this!"

 **Dark Pit: *eating from a box of Szechuan sauce-covered chicken nuggets* Aw man...this Szechuan sauce from McDonalds is DELICIOUS! I could eat an entire bottle of this sauce all day! Sure am glad I brought this stuff with me...couldn't really care less about this whole Dr. Eggman stuff, as long as I have my Szechuan sauce. *sees Lucina walking towards him, with a frown of her face* Hey Lucina, want some chicken nuggets? It's covered in Szechuan sauce! *offers chicken nuggets to Lucina*  
Lucina: *grabs box of chicken nuggets, and throws it away* Where are your priorities... *walks away*  
Dark Pit: Lucina, come back I still have sauce on my fingers! *licks sauce off of fingers* Saved some just for you!**

"With this great crowd that I see before me, I feel like I have some...regulating, to do," said Dr. Eggman, as he turned to face Fawful. "Fawful, is the mecha ready? I feel like these fine folks deserve a sneak preview of your latest creation!"

"Yes, Dr. Eggman, the readiness of the mecha is nigh!" exclaimed Fawful, with his broken English. His mastery of the English language was perhaps more broken than an old-fashioned record player. "It is time to bring out the big guns!"

Fawful took out a remote, and pressed the one button on it, as a spider mecha broke out from a nearby wall, fastly approaching Mario and company. With its eight legs, and unique body shape, the spider mecha looked awfully familiar to Ness, as he seen his nemesis Porky use a spider mecha before. But what struck Ness the most was the person inside the spider mecha.

"Wait, is that...is that Lucas inside that Bed Mecha?" asked the young teen, knowing the proper name of the spider mecha. Had to do a double take, just to make sure he wasn't seeing this.

"It sure is, Ness my boy!" replied Dr. Eggman, as the Bed Mecha towered over Mario and company. "Porky was such a sweetheart, letting us borrow his precious machine...and when we told him about our intentions to use Lucas in the mecha, he was more than pleased to oblige! We purposefully made Lucas' body as frail as possible, so the mecha could work to his best capabilities. Fawful worked dutifully on making the mecha bigger and better...Fawful, how about showing off the Mecha's 'improvements'?"

Fawful would press the button again, and the Bed Mecha grew extra arms, behind its back. These arms were more larger than its other arms - looked like they were suitable for snatching people. Not only that, but the Bed Mecha also grew a net behind his back, great for storing people inside...

"Now, Bed Mecha, grab all the people you see before you, and put them inside your net!" ordered Dr. Eggman, as the Bed Mecha marched towards Mario and company. "But Mario and Sonic, the fat plumber and the blue hedgehog...leave those two alone. I want to deal with them myself..."

So the Bed Mecha would chase after everyone not named Mario and Sonic, as Dr. Eggman took out a remote and pressed it, encasing Mario and Sonic inside a bubble. The two tried to break out of the bubble, while the others were doing their best to escape the clutches of the Bed Mecha. Toad would be the first to be snatched by the machine (aside from a very unfortunate cameraman) as he was grabbed by the Bed Mecha. Somewhat predictable.

"TELL MY STORY!" Toad shouted out to the others, acting like he was going to die soon, as the Bed Mecha placed the happy-go-lucky fellow inside its net. Not referring to Toad as a drug lord just doesn't seem right...

"Does that man even have a story worth telling?" questioned Fox, as he was the next person to be snatched up by the Bed Mecha, his lack of awareness allowing him to be captured. "Oh no, I'm next! Falco, save me!"

"I got you fam, don't worry!" Falco would leap to the rescue, as he grabbed Fox by his pants as the pilot was lifted into the air by the Bed Mecha. The mecha was trying to shake Falco off, shaking very aggressively with its claws.

 **Toad: Out of all my friends and contemporaries, I was the first to be captured by this mechanical monstrosity...I solely put the blame on my cute, adorable face. Being cute can allow you to get away with a lot of things, but sadly, I don't think I wasn't cute enough. A puppy eyes look would have reduced my chances of being captured. And now I'm alone, with no one else to talk to...  
Fox: *falls into the net, pantsless* Well, that sure was a hectic ride. My head hurts from all that constant shaking...might have to throw up later. So, Toad, got anything you wanna tell me, anything we could do to pass the time?  
Toad: *looks down questionably at Fox's briefs, which were white with red hearts*  
Fox: I...I can explain. Crash and I, we got our underwear mixed up, that's all. Didn't even know Crash wore underwear until the incident happened...yeah, that's exactly what happened.**

Mario and Sonic, inside the bubble, were hovering in the air, looking down as they saw Sora attack the Bed Mecha with his Keyblade, only to be snatched up seconds later. At least he didn't use any magic. Next to be captured was Dark Pit, too busy indulging himself with his chicken nuggets and Szechuan sauce (but mostly the Szechuan sauce).

"You know what, getting stuck in this bubble is getting boring," remarked Sonic, not at all concerned about the well-being of the others. Knuckles, Tails, and Crash, yes, but the same couldn't be said for everyone else. "I'm sure it can break easily. Shaymin, use Leaf Blade!"

"Um, Sonic, I don't have Leaf Blade in my moveset," explained Shaymin, who along with Suzie were the two Pokemon entrapped in the bubble. "I don't think I can even learn that move at all." This display of ignorance from Sonic should tell you everything you need to know about the hedgehog's role as Shaymin's pet owner.

"You just don't want to learn Leaf Blade, that's all. Reluctance will only kill you in the end...that's what a wise man told me one time. That wise man being myself, of course..." Sonic would turn his attention to Suzie - good chance the Alolan Vulpix wouldn't listen to Sonic's commands. "Suzie, use...uh...use, erm...uh..."

"Use Aurora Beam!" Tails called out to Suzie, being able to see Mario and company inside the bubble from above. The bubble was slowly heading towards Lysandre, Jakob, and Fawful; the bubble should be popped before it reached those three dastardly villains. Hopefully there was a safe spot to land for those trapped inside.

"Yeah, Suzie, use Aurora Beam, use it on the bubble!" commanded Sonic, and Suzie would do just that, although she was obeying Tails rather than Sonic. Nevertheless, the fox Pokemon unleashed Aurora Beam on the bubble...but to no avail, as the bubble remained in one piece. Apparently the bubble was pretty much indestructible.

"I'm not gonna lie, I've been yearning for this moment ever since I set my plan into action!" Dr. Eggman said with glee, as he raised the platform he was standing on, looking face-to-face with Mario and Sonic. "Since you two are best friends, I'm assuming, or at least friendly rivals...then allow me to introduce to you a friend that I've made, a guy who made that wedding day explosion possible!"

Mario and Sonic were suddenly greeted by a black creature, one that rose up and took his position between Dr. Eggman, and Mario and Sonic. It was the same creature that placed the propane tanks in the ballroom of the Four Seasons hotel, and judging by his body shape, he looked like he was a _Sonic_ character. In fact, he _was_ a Sonic character.

"Infinite..." Sonic muttered the name of the black creature he was looking at, as Mario looked at him, wondering how the hedgehog knew the creature beforehand.

"Wait, you know-a this guy?" asked the plumber out of curiosity. The glare on Sonic's face seemed to suggest that Sonic and Infinite had a past history that nobody knew about.

"I think I'm supposed to know him. Might have fought this guy before, and Knuckles might've been there. Tails, too. And Amy. Same goes for Shadow, though I don't think he was on our side..."

"SILENCE, SILENCE I SAY!" shouted Dr. Eggman, effectively shutting up Sonic. "You may know Infinite, but Mario certainly doesn't! Now for the introductions...Infinite, this is Mario, and Mario, this is Infinite. Infinite is the one who helped me gather all the propane tanks Jakob ordered under the Star Records' name, and a bunch of other things I don't feel like mentioning. Basically, Infinite has been a HUGE help, don't you think so, boys?" Eggman looked towards Jakob, Lysandre, and Fawful, who all nodded their heads.

 **Itsuki: Still not sure how or why Jakob took my credit card, and why I still have my card under the Star Records name...looked up my purchase history, and all I see is** _ **Barbie**_ **products, for some reason. Must be Mamori's doing, she loves to play with girly things. Can't possibly be purchased by anyone manly, such as Knuckles...am I right? Right?**

"If you excuse me, the boys and I will play a quick game of cards, while Infinite watches over you two and keep you contained inside your bubble," said Dr. Eggman, as he summoned an Egg Mobile, got inside, and flew it over to where Lysandre and company were before hopping out and joining his evil buddies. Summoning a bridge and walking over clearly was too much work for the doctor. "He'll also let us know when the Bed Mecha is finished doing is thing. I'll be back shortly!"

So Dr. Eggman pulled out a deck of cards from his jacket, ready to play some cards with his pals, leaving Mario and Sonic in the indestructible. Mario saw Peach in her cage, looking down and feeling solemn, and he wanted to speak with her...but Infinite saw Mario's intentions from a mile away, and stopped him in the act, as he hovered in front of Peach.

"By the command of Doctor Eggman, no one is allowed to speak with any of the prisoners," explained Infinite, speaking with a very intimidating voice. A voice befitting for an evil foe like himself. "So how about you speak with your pitiful blue hedgehog friend instead?"

"Am I allowed-a to send Peach a text-a message?" asked Mario, pulling out his cellphone, as Sonic glared at Infinite for calling him a "pitiful blue hedgehog". The blue blur has been called worse names, for sure, so he shouldn't be all that offended.

"Unless you want your cellular device destroyed, then I suggest not. Only Dr. Eggman is allowed to mediate any conversation the prisoners have. Until Dr. Eggman gives me an order, I shall watch over you and Sonic, while the Bed Mecha collects all of those aboard the Death Egg.

Clearly miffed by the rules he now had to adhere to, Mario sat in the bubble, and folded his arms, as he looked at Peach...or so he would have, if not for Infinite obstructing his view.

* * *

Pit, letting out a yawn, was bored sitting around with Viridi and the Baby Yoshis in the gardens. The angel was finished feeding the Baby Yoshis, and with Yoshi up in the Death Egg, Pit and Viridi were left with looking over the Baby Yoshis, making sure they didn't run away.

"So...you come here often?" Pit wrapped his arm around Viridi, asking her a question that was a conversation starter at nightclubs. Pit and Kirby once went to a nightclub in Atlanta, on their mission two chapters ago; Pit would be an utter fool to discuss his nightclub experience with Viridi.

"I practically come here everyday..." Viridi said to Pit, who didn't mind the angel's arm being wrapped around her. She just wished her boyfriend had something better to talk about to pass the time. "That line only works for picking up girls, and we've been together for over a year." Suddenly, a ringtone was heard...a Spice Girls song. And it definitely wasn't "Wannabe". "Pit, is your phone ringing?"

"Oh, uh, no Viridi...it's just playing random music that I've never heard before. It's been extremely faulty, my phone, don't know what to do with it." Pit would sheepishly take out his phone, and saw that Yoshi was calling him. "Sup?" Pit answered the call, hearing screaming and whatnot in the background.

"Pit is that you, please tell me you can hear me!" answered Yoshi, who sounded like he was running for his life. "There's a giant flying sphere thing near the mansion - you and Viridi take all the Baby Yoshis up to the sphere thing ASAP! You'll have to use the Balloon Baby Yoshis to fly up to the sphere - getting inside will be all up to you. Now go!" Yoshi promptly ended the call, clearly sounding like he was in a hurry.

"Yoshi just called - the time has come to use the Baby Yoshis," Pit told Viridi after the phone call was over. "He said there's a giant sphere near the mansion, and he wants us to take all the Baby Yoshis there. I'm assuming he and the others are inside the sphere...unless they all enrolled in some marathon in Seattle. That's what it sounded like, to me."

"...let's just take the Baby Yoshis outside and investigate this 'giant sphere' outside the mansion Yoshi speaks of," said Viridi, getting up from the shrubbery she and Pit were sitting in.

* * *

 **Dark Pit: Couldn't care less about running away from the Bed Mecha, or being captured at all...as long as I have my chicken nuggets and my Szechuan sauce. Brought with me an extra box of chicken nuggets and a bottle of Szechuan sauce, just to hold me over, and allowed myself to be captured so I could enjoy my food in peace. I would name Szechuan sauce to be my one true love, but Fiora is still my number one priority.  
Ness: Hey Dark Pit, could you share your chicken nuggets with us? I'm feeling kinda hungry right now...  
Dark Pit: So you want everyone to be fed, to have their fair share...and yet here you are, only talking about yourself! Do you not realize how selfish you're making yourself out to be?  
Ness: Yet you're the one eating up all the nuggets...**

The Bed Mecha was doing its job, capturing as many people as possible and throwing them into its net. So far it captured Coco, Lucina, and Olimar, and now it had its eyes set on Cortex, who had his trusty ray gun ready.

"Stand back Uka...I'm gonna take out this mechanical monstrosity with one laser beam from my trusty ray gun!" Cortex said to his guardian mask, as the Bed Mecha captured Robin and threw him inside his net. The mage's magic tricks weren't enough for the Bed Mecha, evidently.

"Cortex you nimrod, if you screw up then you're going to kill Lucas by accident!" stated Uka, who wished he could be in control of Cortex's decision-making at times. Right now was one of those many times. "Not that I would mind, since I'm a sadistic evil mask who would love for someone to be killed...but it's not worth making yourself out to be a fool, Cortex!"

"C'mon Uka, you're supposed to be my guardian mask, my guardian angel...you're supposed to have the utmost faith in me! You're supposed to root me on, cheer me on, have the greatest confidence in me!"

"Fine then, have it your way Cortex...I have the utmost confidence that you'll destroy the Bed Mecha, and wind up killing Lucas and have Ness express great hatred towards you for the rest of your life." As he said earlier, Uka didn't mind if Lucas got killed by Cortex...but he also wouldn't mind Ness hating Cortex forever. In fact, the witchdoctor mask would absolutely enjoy it!

"Not exactly a strong vote of confidence, but it'll do...here goes nothing!" So Cortex loaded up his ray gun, looked at the Bed Mecha, and fired a laser beam at the Bed Mecha...

...as the laser beam immediately bounced off of the robot, like it was a rubber ball bouncing off the wall. The Bed Mecha, who was about to capture Falco, would drop the avian pilot to the ground, as it turned around to face Cortex, the mad scientist's legs quivering in fear as the eight-legged robot marched towards him.

"I would suggest making a run for it, but the Bed Mecha will likely reach you anyways, so there's really no point in escaping," Uka told Cortex, who probably wetted his pants right now. The scientist stood in place, still scared out of his mind, as the Bed Mecha caught up to him and threw him inside his net. Uka would be thrown inside the net too, just for being associated with Cortex.

"Does anyone in here smell any urine?" asled Cloud, who was stuck inside the net and moping over the fact that he got captured before Sora did. He sniffed around, until his eyes fell upon Cortex, who was smiling innocently. "You do realize you're too old to be wetting yourself like that, right?"

"Oh, so you expect me to hold my bladder when a freak robotic being is approaching me, is that what you want?!" Cortex snapped on Cloud. "Do you not realize how hard it is to hold your bladder in such moments?" Cloud never experienced such moments before, so he opted not to answer.

* * *

Pit, Kirby, and their legion of Baby Yoshis all arrived outside the Smash Mansion, where Sheik and company were still present, trying to figure out how they could get inside the Death Egg. Lucario finally brought Young Link back to his senses, and the young Hylian was up and running, chipper as ever.

"That thing up there is a Death Egg, which means Dr. Eggman is inside waiting for us to kick his butt!" said Young Link, who was ready for any challenge, like his partner Toon Link. "Maybe Lara Croft is up there too - once I beat up Dr. Eggman, I can ask her out!" Don't give your hopes up, kid...

 **Young Link: It is extremely obvious that Dr. Eggman isn't an astute listener...Master Hand made it especially clear that Eggman isn't allowed anywhere near the mansion, but Eggman's evil ambition has done nothing but bring him back. Much like how conservatives commenting on Yahoo news articles say that liberalism is a disease...being evil is a disease as well.  
Toon Link: Good thing for humankind that there is one only cure for evil...being good. Hutch and I, we shall show Dr. Eggman the true meaning of being good...right after we kick his butt. And his head. And his chest. And all his other body parts. Equal opportunity for pain!**

"Ooh, are those an army of Baby Yoshis I spy?" squaled Amy when she took sight of the Baby Yoshis behind Pit and Viridi, the cuteness meter inside of her reaching levels never before seen. "They look so cute, and so colorful as well! I just wanna pick one up and hug him!"

"Yoshi was told by Lucas to build an 'armada' of Baby Yoshis, while he was being held hostage," explained Sheik; the factoid about Lucas held hostage caused Amy to give the ninja a weird look. "You didn't hear the news about Lucas, did you? He was kidnapped by Raiden, and taken to an unknown location, where he communicated with several residents with his PSI Telepathy skill. That's all I know about the matter..."

"Sheik, Yoshi and many others are inside that giant sphere up above, and they need our help!" Pit said to the ninja, stressing the importance of the situation at hand. "Or at least that's what Viridi told me. Yoshi and the others might be running a marathon around Seattle, but Viridi is always right most of the time, so we'll just go with by what she says..."

"Don't think Yoshi would want an army of Baby Yoshis at a marathon, unless he was in deep trouble..." said Viridi, as she picked up a pink Baby Yoshi and showed it to Sheik. "Yoshi said we should use the Balloon Baby Yoshis to fly up to the giant sphere, and that we have to find our own way inside."

"My aura and Amy's Piko Hammer should be enough to crack an opening through the walls of the giant sphere, the Death Egg," said Lucario, as he grabbed a Balloon Baby Yoshi. "Let's all grab a Baby Yoshi, and fly up to the Death Egg!" So everyone outside grabbed a Balloon Baby Yoshi, and as Asuka grabbed her Baby Yoshi, an idea popped in her head...

"You mind if Greninja, Sheik and I bring the Blue Baby Yoshis along with us?" Asuka asked Pit and Viridi, grabbing a Blue Baby Yoshi. "I have a plan in mind..."

"Uh, you're more than free to do so Asuka, knock yourself out," said Pit, after grabbing his Baby Yoshi. "Actually, don't knock yourself out - head injuries are a whole lot worse when you injure your head yourself. I know from experience..."

"...thank you for the information, Pit. Now if you excuse us, we have a rescue mission to fulfill..." Rescue mission? What was Asuka even talking about? Greninja and Sheik looked at one another, wondering what plan Asuka was concocting. Regardless, the two ninjas grabbed their Baby Yoshis, and followed Asuka's lead, as they deflated the Balloon Baby Yoshis and flew off to who-knows-where.

"Hey hey hey, what's going on outside?" King K. Rool ran outside of the mansion to ask Pit and company. "What are all these Baby Yoshis doing outside? Is Yoshi's armada complete, is there an army coming towards the mansion? Can I be the armada general?! Please, oh please, name me the general!"

"There is no army coming to the mansion..." said Lucario, clearing things up with Rool. "Dr. Eggman apparently parked his Death Egg near the mansion, and we're gonna fly up there and put that mustached, Santa-looking obese jerk in his place. Wow...that might've been the meanest thing I've ever said about anyone, ever. Heh. Totally worth it."

"If you're going to see Dr. Eggman...can I come with you guys? Eggman never gave me back the shiny pink pearl I showed to him that one time he came for Sonic's birthday last year. I need that pearl for my collection!" Who knew Rool was into collecting things?

"Well in that case...you're more than free to come along! Just grab a Balloon Baby Yoshi, you'll need that for flying. Might wanna grab some Glow Baby Yoshis too, just in case we need it..."

So Rool did as he was told, grabbing the Baby Yoshis - one pink, and the others yellow. With Rool, Lucario, Amy, Toon Link, Young Link, Pit, and Viridi now armed with Balloon Baby Yoshis, the seven deflated the Baby Yoshis, and flew up to the Death Egg. (Pit could have just used his wings, but he was apparently too stupid to even think that.)

As Pit and company flew up to the Death Egg, R.O.B. would exit the mansion, looking up at the seven. In its hand were the glasses given to Layton by Malva in episode 89, the glasses R.O.B. thought they belonged to Dr. Eggman.

"GUESS I WAS RIGHT...ABOUT D.R EGGMAN...THIS WHOLE TIME..." uttered R.O.B., still looking up, as Layton and Luke joined the robot outside. Layton had his arms folded and smiled, as he watched Pit and company made their way inside the Death Egg.

 **R.O.B.: MY SUSPICIONS ABOUT DR. EGGMAN...MIGHT BE TRUE...IF THE SPHERE ABOVE IS A DEATH EGG...THEN I KNOW I'M RIGHT...PUT SOME RESPECK ON MY NAME...**

* * *

The Bed Mecha was almost done with its job, having capturing everyone inside the Death Egg - from Knuckles, the leader of the coalition that boarded the fortress, to Sora, who tried to weakened the Mecha's legs with his Keyblade, but to no avail. With Luigi, Crash, Robin, and many others captured, the Bed Mecha had its eyes set on one last victim...

...Lara Croft, who found herself cornered, as the Bed Mecha steady approached her. Saved the best one for last...

"Okay Lara, this is unlike anything you've dealt with in Yamatai and Siberia..." Lara said to herself, as he reached into her pocket and pulled out a gun. "First time being face-to-face with a dangerous robot...but you know danger, so this shouldn't be that big of a hassle..."

With her gun locked and loaded, Lara fired shots at the Bed Mecha, hoping to bring it down without harming Lucas in the process. But none of the bullets had a single effect on the Bed Mecha, who just stood there and took the shots like a true G. Several shots later, and Lara was completely out of ammo.

"Crap, ran out of bullets, just what I needed..." said Lara, as the Bed Mecha got even closer to the tomb raider. With Lara defenseless, the Bed Mecha grabbed Lara, and threw her inside the net, although Lara tried to fight her way out of the robot's claws but to no avail.

"That should be everyone..." Infinite scanned the entire area, and then looked at the Bed Mecha's net, full of people. "Fawful really has undone himself with these upgrades he did. Doctor Eggman, all of Mario's and Sonic's allies have been captured!"

"Excellent, and perfect timing too - right after I won my card game!" exclaimed the victorious Eggman, collecting all the cards and placing them back where they belonged, as he went over to where Infinite was. Jakob, Lysandre, and Fawful, now having to deal with the bitter taste of defeat, followed suit. "Now that there won't be any distractions, we can finally get things rolling!" Suddenly, Infinite held up his finger, grabbing Dr. Eggman's attention and curiosity.

"Hold on, Dr. Eggman, I think I feel...a presence somewhere in the Death Egg...we might have more people on board..."

* * *

Having used Lucario's Aura Sphere, and Amy's Piko Hammer, Pit and company were able to smash their way inside the Death Egg, after flying up to the sphere with the help of the Balloon Baby Yoshis. It was pretty dark inside, but it was a good thing Rool had the Glow Baby Yoshis to light the way.

"Gotta say, my idea to bring the Gold Baby Yoshis with us was such a great idea on my part!" exclaimed Rool, who was carrying the all the Glow Baby Yoshis by himself, as Lucario and the others rolled their eyes at the Kremling. Unwritten Rule #21: if your gonna take credit, then get your facts straight first.

"That was MY idea, you bozo, and you hardly ever come up with good ideas in the first place," stated Lucario, as he looked around the Death Egg, on the lookout for any of Dr. Eggman's minions lurking about. "Must I remind you about your little 'Passover scheme?"

 **King K. Rool: My "Passover scheme" was not a scheme by any means...it was a grand idea that people unfortunately never gave a chance. I mean, what's not to love about eating each other's food, and then passing on your food to one another, just like how mother birds do with their offspring? It's all in the family, and us residents, we're like a close-knit family! We argue, we love, and we talk with one another like all families do!**

Pit and company looked around, the Glow Baby Yoshis illuminating through the darkness, when they came across a mini jail cell of sorts, spotting prison bars. Taking a closer look, the seven saw that there was someone imprisoned behind the bars - a young fellow wearing a red-and-yellow jumpsuit, with brown hair, blue eyes, and elf ears. He looked very despondent...then again, who wouldn't feel that way standing behind prison bars?

"Look Toon Link and Young Link, it's a Hylian, just like you!" Pit said to the buddy cops as he pointed at the young brunette, eagerly running to the jail cell, only to see that the kid wasn't a Hylian at all. Don't ever assume anyone with elf ears was a Hylian. "Oh hey, I know who you are! You're Alex Kidd, the undisputed rock-paper-scissors champion of the world!" Debatable.

"Yup, that's right, I'm the one and only, Alex Kidd!" exclaimed the brunette, who went from despondent to chipper the moment Pit uttered his name. "And you must be Pit, of Icarus fame! Though you look a lot more taller than I imagined...and more boyish. Thought you would look like a grown adult."

"Step side, Hermes - Starsky and Hutch coming through!" said Toon Link, pushing Pit to the side as he and Young Link advanced to Alex Kidd. "Greetings, Alex Kidd, our elf-eared brother from another mother...I'm Toon Link, and this is my partner Young Link. You may refer to us as Starsky and Hutch if you like - they're our special codenames."

"Nice to meet you both, never got the chance to meet TWO Link incarnations in person. Wish I could meet the real Link, that would make my day." Toon Link and Young Link, knowing who this "real Link" was, were in no way offended by Alex's comments.

"...anyways, Alex Kidd, we have two questions to ask you, if you don't mind," said Young Link, stepping into the forefront. "First question...when you grow up and become a man, will you still go by Alex Kidd, or will you go by Alex Mann, just for convenience's sake?"

"Wouldn't really matter by what name I go by, as long as I'm me...also, what does this question have to do with anything?"

"Nothing, nothing, nothing at all...we were just curious about your future endeavors, whatever they are," replied Toon Link. Now it was time to ask Alex a more serious question. "Second question...how did you end up here in the Death Egg?"

"Funny you should mention that - Dr. Eggman's the reason why I'm here." As if that wasn't obvious enough... "He came to me one day, and told me that I could be SEGA's mascot again, if I did some favors for him...first, he told me to give this voicemail to Sonic..."

Alex Kidd would take out his cellphone, and play a voicemail he sent to Sonic a long time ago. Pay close attention to what the voicemail entailed...

"Hello Sonic, it's your good friend, Alex Kidd! Just wanna let you know to keep a close eye out for Tails, dude might be in love or something...might be trying to copy your style, you know? Get a girlfriend for himself, one who isn't half his age...you know who I'm talking about. Anyways, take care! Oh, and one more thing...stay infinite."

"Stay infinite"? Hmm...after playing the voicemail, Alex Kidd placed his phone back in his pocket. Remember the info Lucas told to Celica? That information must've been derived from Alex's voicemail. Maybe Alex played the voicemail for Lucas, who knows.

"Dr. Eggman was spying on the Smash Mansion from afar, and witnessed the Bandicoots - Crash and Coco - join the mansion," continued Alex, after putting his cellphone away. "Told me to send a voicemail to Sonic 'warning' him about Tails...think I caused some friction between him and his friend. But it wouldn't stop there...Dr. Eggman then told me to 'wait things out', and when he called me a second time, he instructed me to kidnap Tails and take him to his lair, and then he would grant me the SEGA stardom I craved so much...turned out it was all a lie. Dr. Eggman just wanted to use me to do his evil bidding. And once I learned the truth, he held me captive as a prisoner, constantly thanking me for 'doing him a solid'..."

"My goodness, Alex Kidd...that has got to be the most tragic story I've ever heard," remarked Toon Link, after listening to Alex Kidd's story. "Only someone that desperate to become a video game mascot again like you would ever listen to Dr. Eggman's commands. Regarldess, it's a pity to see you held against your will..."

"Too bad you'll be all joining him soon..." said a low, brooding voice, as a black creature slowly descended behind Toon Link and company...everyone turned around and was startled to see Infinite.

* * *

 **Master Hand: So I look outside the window of my room, and what do I see up in the sky? Dr. Eggman's stupid Death Egg, the exterior looking even more hideous than Eggman's inhuman face. Did I not tell that man he's no longer allowed within the vicinity of the mansion? Guess some bad guys just can't listen well. I'm positive Mario and his crew will remind Dr. Eggman of his ban...painfully.**

Infinite would return to the main room of the Death Egg, bringing Pit and company with them. He had the seven inside a red cube, and he held the cube over the Bed Mecha's net, before making the cube go away and dropping the seven inside the mecha's net. Once in the net, Amy looked over and saw Sonic, still encased in the bubble.

"Sonic!" Amy called out to her boyfriend, grabbing the blue blur's attention.

"Amy!" Sonic called out to his girlfriend, his fingers pressed against the bubble's surface.

"Pit!" Pit shouted out his name for no reason, just to be a part of things. He would divert his attention to Dark Pit, sitting at the top of the heap of people, eating his chicken nuggets. "Is that...Szechuan sauce? Can I have some?"

"No you can't, keep your filthy hands away from me!" Dark Pit snapped, slapping away Pit's hand in an instant. It was clearer than day that Dark Pit did not believe in sharing with others.

"Great job Infinite, finding these trespassers!" Dr. Eggman would commend Infinite for his efforts. "Figured more of those bums from the mansion would somehow find their way inside the Death Egg. Screw their creative ways..."

"I found these seven trying to free our prisoner Alex Kidd from his jail cell," explained Infinite, before taking a quick glance at everyone inside the net to ensure nobody was trying to escape. "It's a good thing I found them before they let Alex escape."

"Alex Kidd is but a desperate fool, only agreeing to do my dirty work just to become some silly mascot again. Kid should just continue to live in his irrelevancy! But he was good for something, I have to admit...if it weren't for him, then that beef between Sonic and Tails would have never happened!"

"Wait a minute, it only makes sense now...that day I went to the workshop and saw Tails flirting with Coco...I only went because of Alex's voicemail!" said Sonic, before shooting a glare at Dr. Eggman. "I probably never would have assumed Tails and Coco were an item if not for that voicemail, and it was all your fault, Eggman! It was your fault that Tails and I were at odds for weeks! Why'd you do it man?"

"Sparking some dissension in the mansion would have kept everyone at bay, prevent inhabitants like you and Tails from questioning the intent and culprits behind the hotel explosion! That is why Jakob went around spreading rumors that one day, to create even more dissension. I have to say, that rumor about Roy being the voice actor for Elmo was a HOOT!" Roy didn't seem to agree.

"Don't mean to interrupt, Dr. Eggman, but with Mario and Sonic in our possession, and their allies unable to do anything, we should execute our 'master plan,'" said Lysandre, leader of Team Flare. "Should I bring out the death ray, the one I had Xerosic work on?"

"Oh yes, how could I possibly forget? The very reason we came to the Smash Mansion! Bring out the death ray! And someone get the reporter bots, so we can hack NBC or something and get on air!"

So Lysandre went to the back and brought out his gigantic death ray, while Jakob fetched two robots wielding cameras. This robotic duo strongly resembled Orbot and Cubot, but with different colors. And perhaps ten times more competent.

"So here is what's going to happen..." Dr. Eggman said to Mario and Sonic, using his remote to bring the bubble encasing the two towards him. "I'm going to appear on live national television, declaring that I captured the culprits behind today's attacks...those culprits being you two, of course. Oh, and the attacks? They were all MY doing! They were all done as a means to set you up!"

"You would consider doing something like that, Dr. Eggman, plotting terrorist attacks all over the place..." remarked Sonic, folding his arms. Terrorist attacks were the _least_ Dr. Eggman could do.

"Yes, Sonic, I try my hardest...but wait, there's more! You two have a choice in the matter: you can accept the blame for the attacks, but at the cost of witnessing the Smash Mansion being destroyed, by Lysandre's death ray! On the contrary, if you do NOT accept the blame, then the mansion will be left alone...but you two will perish from the death ray, for the whole world to see! A perfect punishment for your 'crimes'! What's more is that Peach, Tails, and all your friends and acquantices will be live, first-hand witnesses of your televised deaths!"

"That's one messed-a up plan you got-a there, Dr. Eggman..." said Mario, gritting his teeth. "But I'm confident your-a plan will back-a fire, somehow..."

"Dr. Eggman, I think we have even more trespassers...there's multi-colored baby dinsosaurs attacking the Bed Mecha!" Infinite informed the mad scientist, who looked down and gritted his teeth when he saw the Baby Yoshis attacking the Bed Mecha, headbutting the robot. Yoshi looked on through the net, feeling like a proud father. "I'm afraid they're not alone..."

"What in blazes, is that...is that Alex Kidd?!" Dr. Eggman growled when he saw Alex, out of his cell, kicking the Bed Mecha with all his might. Wasn't doing that much, but it was worth the effort. "How on earth did he break out, those prison bars were made out of titanium! The illegal kind, too!"

"DO NOT FEAR EVERYONE, FOR I AM YOUR COURAGE!"

Like Superman flying in to save the day, the Flying Man would arrive, wielding the Master Sword while riding atop a wolf...Wolf Link. The Hylian-turned-wolf would see the Bed Mecha, on its last legs, and rammed into the robot, sending it crashing to the floor and greatly damaging it in the process. The Flying Man, using the Master Sword, cut open the Bed Mecha's net, releasing everyone before the Bed Mecha collapsed. With the robot down for the count, Wolf Link broke open the glass capsule encasing Lucas, rescuing him as Midna looked on, unseen, with Cilan's elixir in her hand.

 **Midna: With Dr. Eggman rising up to the opportunity (first to see the "Death Egg", as Luigi's pet Rotom called it), I though I could have Link and the Flying Man rise up to the opportunity as well, and put that mustached tomato in his place. So, I borrowed the elixir from Cilan, and gave it to Link and the Flying Man, made them healthy again, and told them what to do. Should have thought about giving Link the elixir sooner, so Zelda wouldn't be so worrisome...don't care at all about that Flying Dork. Getting Link and the Flying Man into the Death Egg was the easy part...whereas getting the Baby Yoshis outside in the Death Egg was the hard part. Rescuing the elf kid was also pretty easy.**

"Lucas, speak to me, my boy, speak to me!" the Flying Man said to the blonde teen, who was lying on the floor unconscious. Ness, who was relieved like everyone else to be out of the net and up on his feet, would check on his best friend, as Wolf Link rubbed his muzzle against Lucas' face, hoping it would wake him up.

"Step aside, Flying Dork, let a professional handle this..." Midna headed over to where the Flying Man and company were, with the elixir. The imp would lift up Lucas' head, open the elixir, and poured the elixir down his mouth. Midna would wait for a few moments...and just like magic, Lucas opened his eyes.

"Huh, where am I?" the now awakened PSI whiz wondered, as he looked around observing his surroundings. He looked to his right, and saw a smiling Ness. "Ness, why are you smiling like that? Stop creeping me out, man..."

"Great to have you back, buddy!" Ness would give Lucas an earnest hug, and the Flying Man would join in for a group hug. The others looked on, smiling and appreciating the moment, while Dark Pit was appreciating his chicken nuggets and Szechuan sauce even more.

"Aw, such a great moment..." Dr. Eggman said sardonically. "...but MY moment will be even greater! Infinite, entrap those fools!" Infinite would do as he was told, summoning a large, red cube and encasing Ness, Alex Kidd, the Baby Yoshis, and everyone else inside. "Now that we got that crap out of the way, we can finally get the show on the road...Lysandre, is the death ray ready?"

"Been waiting for you to give me the cue," replied Lysandre, giving Dr. Eggman a thumbs up. "We could have done this already...just saying."

"And Jakob, are the robots ready? Spent last night charging up the cameras, so they can't possibly die on me now!"

"The two robots are ready to go, Dr. Eggman," replied Jakob, with the reporter bots in position. "I've managed to hack all the major networks while the Flying Man was buying us some time. Shall we go on air?"

"Oh Jakob, you shouldn't have...yes, we shall go on air right now. Hit it!" So Jakob gave the reporter bots the cue, the two robots now filming with their live cameras after Dr. Eggman cleared his throat and got into position, with Mario, Sonic, Shaymin, Suzie, and Lysandre manning the death ray behind him. Jakob gave Eggman the thumbs up, and it was time for the mad scientist to speak. "Greetings, everyone - I interrupt your scheduled program with some breaking news! My name is Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik, and I've found the two culprits responsible for the strange attacks that transpired today...Mario Mario, and his faithful accomplice, Sonic the Hedgehog! Fortunately I've found the two criminals in their hiding spot in Seattle, and I've kept them here, in my Death Egg, away from innocent human beings!"

As Dr. Eggman kept rambling on, the strange sound of someone knocking the door was heard. Jakob looked over to the far side, and saw an emergency door, puzzled by it. Why would Dr. Eggman have an emergency door on the Death Egg?

"Who could that possibly be?" wondered Jakob as he headed to the emergency door. The butler opened the door, expecting some bozo to be pulling a ding-dong ditch on Dr. Eggman...

...but instead, Jakob would receive a fistful of fiery fury, from a man he conspired to wind up in jail...Captain Falcon.

"My fists are burning with a great power, telling me to end you for good...take my pain, my anguish, my love, my hope, and all my rage...ULTIMATE FALCON PUNCH!" the racer would unleash his signature move on Jakob, sending the poor butler flying to the floor, breaking his bones in the process. He would enter the Death Egg, with Sheik, Greninja, and Asuka entering in behind him and assuming their positions, with the Bubble Baby Yoshis still in their possession.

 **Asuka: Rescuing Captain Falcon from jail...that was totally my idea. Only brought the Bubble Baby Yoshis to prevent the jail officials from stopping us while we saved Falcon. I sure now how to think on the fly...Sheik and her ninja friends, they could really use me.**

"It would never, in a million, billion years, occur to me that Mario and my nemesis Sonic would commit heinous attacks in the United States and Brazil, but here we are, folks!" Dr. Eggman kept talking, oblivious to Sheik and Greninja using the Bubble Baby Yoshis to entrap Jakob and Fawful inside a bubble. "And I know who put these two up to it..." Lysandre tried to warn Dr. Eggman about Captain Falcon and company, but it was too late, as Captain Falcon kicked him off the death ray, before holding the Team Flare leader up to be trapped inside a bubble, courtesy of a Bubble Baby Yoshi.

"Dr. Eggman, behind you - that fink-rat is involving himself in the dismantling of our plans!" Fawful, in his bubble, tried to warn Eggman, who was too busy talking as Captain Falcon saved Mario, Sonic, Shaymin, and Suzie from their bubble prison by simply Falcon Punching the bubble and releasing them. Guess that bubble wasn't indestructible after all. Falcon then leaped over to where Peach and Tails were, breaking their cages and freeing them as well.

"Man am I glad to see you two again!" gleamed Captain Falcon, giving both Peach and Tails a hug. "You have no idea what it was like being in jail, having to eat nothing but stale bread and tallying the number of days spent in jail, only to realize that you suck at basic math...what's up with your faces, something wrong?"

"There's someone behind you, Captain Falcon..." shuddered a concerned Peach, as Captain Falcon turned around and saw his next foe, Infinite. The creature was hovering in the air, seeing his prey in Falcon.

"We've never met before, have we?" Infinite would ask a wary Captain Falcon. "I am Infinite - I've been Dr. Eggman's right-hand man ever since that hotel attack transpired. You could say that I helped Eggman ruin Mario and Peach's wedding day, as I helped carry out his plan..."

"Oh, is that so? Dr. Eggman's the one behind everything, eh? Well if you're his right-hand man, then I gotta take you out! Here's a Falcon Punch for ya!" Captain Falcon would leap up, unleashing a Falcon Punch at Infinite...who would move out of the way at breakneck speed...sending Falcon falling to the floor with a thud.

"Infinite and I have some history between us (I think) so let me take care of him!" said Sonic, using a homing attack on Infinite...who moved out of the way yet again. "Wait, I think Infinite's supposed to be faster than me...yeah, that's it. That could be it."

"A guy that's faster than you, how's that even possible?" wondered Captain Falcon as he got up...only to see a possible answer in front of him. A magenta ruby smack dab in the middle of the Death Egg. "What is that ruby thing?"

Captain Falcon neared the ruby, and picked it up, and suddenly, the Death Egg began to shake rather violently. It interrupted Dr. Eggman's breaking news segment, as the reporter bots kept moving around due to the vibrations. Captain Falcon, losing his balance, would toss the ruby upwards, where it would land in the hands of Infinite.

"Why on earth is the Death Egg shaking, did someone remove the Phantom Ruby?!" questioned Dr. Eggman, struggling to maintain his balance. The vibrations were strong enough to move the death ray, and send it crashing to the floor, where it would be destroyed. "No, not the death ray! Lysandre, how could you let this happen? Lysandre? Where are you? AND HOW DID MARIO AND SONIC GET FREE?!" Dr. Eggman, finally showing awareness, was angered when he looked behind himself and saw Mario, standing strong with Shaymin and Suzie at his side. "Where on earth did Sonic run off to?!"

"Sonic should be the least-a of your concerns..." said Mario, as Cappy's eyes popped out from his cap. Mario would take off Cappy, and eyed Dr. Eggman, twirling Cappy with his finger.

"Ooh, a stupid hat, I'm so scared! What are you gonna do, kill me with it? The Death Egg is likely to crash anyways, so go on ahead and save your stupidest moment for last, be my guest!"

* * *

Outside the mansion, Master Hand, Layton, and Luke were looking up at the vibrating Death Egg. Layton and Luke waited with baited breath, concerned for everyone inside, whereas Master Hand expected the Death Egg to explode and kill everyone.

 **Layton: Called the police to come to the mansion and make some arrests. Informed them about Dr. Eggman. They should be here shortly...**

Suddenly, after several more seconds of more shaking...the Death Egg exploded, into a million pieces. Master Hand, Layton, and Luke were extremely certain nobody lived through the explosion, it would be a miracle if anyone did...

...but, to the amazement of Master Hand, Layton, and Luke, everyone that was inside the now-destructed Death Egg was inside a large bubble, but it was unlike the bubbles the Baby Yoshis were capable of spewing. It was an extremely large bubble, one big enough to hold everyone inside, and the bubble would descend to the ground, before dispersing for good.

"Just tell me when it's over, Viridi..." Pit, with his eyes closed, told Viridi, only to open his eyes and realize he was back at the mansion, safe and sound like everyone else. "Oh snap, we made it back! Awesome sauce!"

"Yes, Pit my boy, and you can all thank me!" exclaimed a very joyful and ecstatic...Dr. Eggman, with his remote in his hand. Wait, what, what was going on, why the sudden change of heart?! "Why if it weren't for me, you'd all be goners! My bubble remote saved your lives!"

"Dr. Eggman, what is wrong with you man, you're supposed to be banned from the mansion!" Master Hand snapped on Dr. Eggman, who was apparently acting contrary to his usual self. "Who told you that you were allowed to come back?!"

"Hear me out, Master Hand, I know you're angry and all...but I have a HUGE confession to make. It was _I_ who choreographed the Four Seasons hotel attack, and ruined Mario and Peach's wedding day. It was _I_ who had Jakob purchase the propane tanks for the explosion. It was _I_ who asked Jakob to stay at the mansion and cause as much discord as possible, to keep the residents at bay. It was _I_ who asked Lysandre to help me, and asked Kamek to revive Fawful so he could help out as well. And it was _I_ who planned today's attacks, in an act to not only frame Mario (and Sonic), but to have my revenge...against you!"

"So you seriously went through all that ridicolous crap, targeting Mario, just to get back at me for your rightful ban from the mansion. I take it your targeting of Mario is why you're mysteriously wearing his cap?"

"GIMME BACK MY PEARL!" shouted Rool, running into Dr. Eggman from behind and sending the mad scientist to the ground...and sending Mario out of his body. Master Hand, Layton, and Luke were shook, and Mario, who was in Eggman's body, was now standing in front of them, adjusting Cappy on his head as Luke fainted in an instant.

"What the...what happened to my Death Egg, did it self-destruct?" wondered Dr. Eggman, finding himself on the ground, as Rool finally found his pearl in one of Eggman's pockets. "Why on earth are you on top of me, Rool? Get off!"

Rool refused to get off, for the police finally arrived at the mansion. A police deputy and his men filed out of their police cars, with their guns loaded. Their bullets would be saved, once they saw Rool holding Dr. Eggman on the ground.

"Excuse me sir, but is that man Dr. Eggman?" the deputy asked Rool, who nodded his head as he got off of Eggman. The mad scientist would rise up to his knees, only to be brought back down to the ground by the deputy and another police officer, who ambushed him and handcuffed him.

 **King K. Rool: I actually did something good for once...I played a vital key role in someone being arrested! Without being arrested myself! Take that, Lord Fredrik!**

As Eggman was being handcuffed, Mario went over to the deputy and gave him the lowdown on the things Eggman had done. The deputy, receiving this information, nodded his head as he brought the handcuffed Eggman up to his feet.

"Dr. Eggman, you are under arrest for arson, near-homicide, and committing terrorist acts," the deputy said to the mad scientist. "You have the right to remain silent - anything you say or do will be used against you in the court of law. Before we take you in...any more arrests that need to be made?

"Over here, good sir!" Toon Link called out to the deputy, standing next to Lysandre, Jakob, and Fawful. The three evildoers, who were in their individual little bubble, were now tied together by Greninja's long tongue. And those reporter bots? Who cares about them? Likely got destroyed along with the Death Egg.

The deputy would arrest Lysandre, Jakob, and Fawful, handcuffing them and putting them in the police cars. After Dr. Eggman vowed to Sonic he would see him again, he would be forced inside a police car, and the police cars would drive off, with the four evildoers...

...that left Infinite, the last man standing, on the ground in a weakened state. He was holding what Dr. Eggman called a Phantom Ruby, in his hand.

"Just like Dr. Eggman...I will be back...for my revenge...Sonic..." said Infinite, looking up at the hedgehog. With the Phantom Ruby still in his possession, Infinite would zip away, in a red streak. Infinite should learn from Dr. Eggman that revenge is never the right thing to do.

"Hmm, if I recall correctly, that ruby in his hand was a Phantom Ruby, a prototype - the real thing was in Infinite's body," remarked Sonic, recollecting whatever past he had with Infinite. "The prototype ruby kinda weakens Infinite, in a sense...but not THAT much."

"I...might have...attacked him a few times while he was down, hehe," chuckled Captain Falcon, as everyone looked at him. "Had to make the most of the opportunity before the Death Egg blew up...also, I'm back, everyone, though that's obvious now..."

"Ah, Captain Falcon, didn't see you there!" exclaimed a delighted Master Hand, hovering over to the racer. "I see that you've been released from prison. Or maybe you escape on your own. I'd be proud of you if you did the latter."

"It was definitely the latter, Master Hand...thanks to some help." Captain Falcon motioned towards Sheik, Greninja, and Asuka...but mostly Asuka. "Those rascally ninja pals broke me out of jail, and took me to the Death Egg, where I kicked butt! Felt so good, man!"

"You needed ninjas to break out of jail? Lost so much respect for you now, Captain Falcon...nonetheless, your return is quite the occasion, and we should give you a 'welcome back' of sorts, since you're a popular guy and all...everyone in the mansion, stat! Captain Falcon and I shall lead the way!"

So everyone would enter the mansion - from Dark Pit, having finished with his Szechuan sauce, to Luke, who had to be carried inside by Layton. Mario watched as everyone went inside, before receiving a surprise hug from his wife Peach.

"Thank you for coming to save me, Mario!" the princess said to her husband, hugging him tight. "Had it not been for you, I'd be a goner...in fact, we'd ALL be goners!"

"A man's-a gotta do what a man's gotta do," remarked Mario, as Luigi, Daisy, and Lara approached the happy couple, soaking in their delight. Only person absent was Yuffie; you'll learn why later.

"Mario and Peach are reunited, and the baddies have been disposed - the day is saved!" exclaimed Cappy, who came to life. Daisy, Luigi, and Lara still were unsure what to make of Mario's cap being a talking, sentiment being.

"You two wait right here, while I fetch my broom..." Daisy told Luigi and Lara, as she quickly retreated to her house.

* * *

 **Alex Kidd: As much as I would like to stay, I have to return to Radaxian - I haven't seen my family ever since Dr. Eggman held me hostage, against my will. But before I go, I have some things to clear up...**

"Must suck that Lysandre was the only Team Flare guy present," Tails spoke with Coco in the gaming room, relieved to be back home again. "Aku did say you were interested in learning more about Team Flare."

"I got to see Lysandre in person, for all it was worth," replied Coco, seeing this as the lone positive of her day (aside from everything else positive, of course). "His hair was like that of a lion...he should go by Lyon. Lysandre, that sounds too exotic."

"Yeah, I have to agree with you on that. But most Pokemon trainers have exotic names. Even Red. I mean, who names their child after a color?"

"Red's mom must've been hard-pressed for names. Digging the very bottom of the barrel. Red's rival isn't much...different..."

Coco would suddenly look up, and Tails would do the same, seeing Sonic with an apologetic face. The blue blur was holding Suzie.

"Here's your pet back, Tails," Sonic handed Suzie back to Tails, who accepted the Alolan Vulpix in a heartbeat. Suzie was understandably happy to be back in Tails' loving arms. "Sorry about thinking you and Coco were an item, for treating you like trash and for taking your pet. Over some stupid voicemail. Shouldn't have dragged you through that ugly mess. My apologies go out to you too, Coco, sorry for how I've been treating you..."

"Well at least you were man enough to admit the error of your ways," said Coco, sensing how heartfelt Sonic's apology was. "So I'll accept your apology. What say you, Tails?" Tails looked at Sonic, looked at him in the eye, at an apologetic Sonic.

"I accept your apology too, Sonic," replied Tails, as Sonic quietly did a fist pump. "Won't forgive you for that yard sale, but everything else...it's behind us now. Friends?" Tails stood up, and held out his hand to Sonic, with an earnest smile.

"Totally friends, buddy ol' pal!" Sonic shook Tails' hand, reaffirming his friendship with the yellow fox with a bro hug. "I'll go speak with Master Hand and ask him if we can be roommates again. We should be roommates tonight!"

Sonic gave a thumbs up to Tails, who gave a thumbs up right back, as he exited the gaming room. Upon exiting, he found Alex Kidd, who was also in the mood for an apology.

"Um, yeah, about that voicemail you got..." Alex said nervously, looking down at the floor. "...where I insinuated that Tails might be in love...with Coco..."

"Say no more, Alex Kidd, I know why you did it..." Sonic shushed the young martial artist. "You yourself have a crush on Coco, and by 'insinuating' that Tails was in love with Coco, you expected me to feel jealous for some reason and kill Tails, so that no one else could claim Coco, and she would be all yours. No wonder Eggman took advantage of you!" That...wasn't...the real reason...

"Yup, that's pretty much it - Dr. Eggman used my crush on Coco as a manipulative tool to make me do his bidding." Nonetheless it was a reason Alex had to go with. "I would ask Coco out, but I have to return to my homeland. Until we see each other again, Sonic!"

"Okay Alex, take care, and tell your brother I said hey!" Sonic called out to Alex, who waved as he headed down the hallway. Sonic would go the opposite direction...only to be greeted by his girlfriend Amy, holding her unscathed blueberry pie. "A blueberry pie just for me?! Aw, Amy, you shouldn't have..."

"Anything for my precious Sonic!" beamed Amy, as Sonic devoured the blueberry pie like it was the greatest chili dog he had ever seen.

* * *

Link and Zelda were in the gardens, watching Yoshi bond with the Baby Yoshis he hatched. After demands from Master Hand to sell the Baby Yoshis for adoption, Yoshi asked the giant hand if he could perhaps put his offspring on a remote island in Washington. Master Hand obliged, and Yoshi would spend his last moments with the Baby Yoshis he raised with the help of Pit and others.

"Feels great to be fully healthy again, thought my headaches would never end," said Link, no longer in his wolf form. "All thanks to Cilan's elixir. I was pretty skeptical about that stuff at first, looked kinda shady."

 **Flying Man: *strikes a pose* The Flying Man is back, and better than ever! *strikes another pose* With my head injuries all but gone, and the hotel crisis finally resolved, I feel more energetic, and more ebullient! *strikes another pose* And my heroic efforts today still prove that I am always everyone's courage!  
** **Midna: *flying by* But you're still a Flying Dork regardless...  
** **Flying Man: And it was thanks to you, Midna, that I am well again! *hugs Midna tight* You're the nicest evil chick I've ever known!  
** **Midna: My...insides...**

"Zelda-san!" a girly voice called out; Link and Zelda turned around, and saw Asuka running towards them. "I know you aren't Sheik, but technicaly you're the same person, so...I just want to thank you again for letting me join you guys. Also, it was a privilege working with you...erm, Sheik, today."

"Don't mention it Asuka, your decision-making _really_ came in handy," smiled Zelda, as Asuka smiled right back. "Today you're more than a replacement for Yuffie...you're now a new member of our ninja crew. And we're bound to do lots of fun stuff together. I guarantee it!"

"Sure am looking forward to it. That's all I have to tell you. Can't wait till our next adventure, Zelda...Sheik!" Asuka would give Zelda a two-finger salute as she left the gardens, leaving Link in a somewhat confused state.

"Yuffie, Greninja, and I held an initiation for Asuka," Zelda would explain to Link. "Breaking Captain Falcon out of prison and having him ruin Dr. Eggman's plans was pretty much her idea. It was only fitting we let her in our ninja club."

"So freeing Falcon and having him go ham was all Asuka's doing? About time that chick did something noteworthy outside of _Microwave Idol Mamorin..._ "

* * *

That evening, Ness and Lucas were playing catch in the front yard, for old time's sake, while Layton and Luke sat on the porch eating stakes. Captain Falcon's "welcome back" was fairly underwhelming - Cilan only felt like cooking steaks - but it was good having the racer back.

"Our four-month long investigation is finally over, Luke - Dr. Eggman, not Jakob, was the one behind the hotel explosion all along," Layton said to Luke, eating his steak and enjoying the pleasant air. "And he had Team Flare, Fawful, and that Infinite character carry out his plan."

"I find it funny that Dr. Eggman only wanted revenge on Master Hand for banning him from the mansion," said Luke, already finished with his steak. Must have been feeling pretty hungry. "Such a shame Mario had to be his central target. So, with the investigation over, should we head back to Britain?"

"Let's hang around until Thanksgiving, or Christmas at the latest. I'm sure Christmas at the Smash Mansion is always hectic!"

"You can say that again, Professor Layton!" Past Ness and Lucas, Luke looked out and saw Mario and Peach, seated near the lake and enjoying a conversation, with Cappy chiming in. "It's great to see Mario and Peach's love going on strong, even after everything that happened with the hotel attack and all."

"Well as the verse goes, Luke...'love is patient, love is kind'. And I think that Mario and Peach both have proved that along the way." You can say that again, Professor Herschel Layton. Twenty weeks later since the Four Seasons hotel attack...

...cased closed.


	100. Episode 100: Ciento

_Author's Note:_

 _We did it people, 100 chapters! Thank you everyone who has come along for the ride, whether it was from the first chapter, or anywhere between then and now. From my fellow authors, to the guest reviewers...thank you for your awesome support along the way. I never thought I would reach this milestone, but it was thanks to you that I kept trucking along. So I thank you. This chapter will feature three new permanent characters, as well as a minor case of OCs. Just minor. Time for guest reviews:_

 _"Can you include the characters from Dragon Quest VII and VIII? Have the characters from Chrono Trigger appeared yet? A Pokken and Tekken chapter? (If that hasn't happened already) And finally, will any other Tales characters show up in the next chapter?"_

 _Maybe. Not yet. Probably. Tales characters may show up in the next chapter. Another guest review:_

 _"PLEASE WRITE TO CHAPTER 200000000000000000000"_

 _Ummmmm...no. That would be impossible; that would take me more than 30,000 years. The world might not even exist in 30,000 years._ _On to Roydigs22:_

 _"Suggestion: team flare, in an attempt to avenge lysandre, launch a massive attack on the mansion. Only one force Can stand against them... The pokemon army. Also for slightly more humorous stuff, bowser Jr and the koopalings find a ton of magnets, and decide to prank lucario."_

 _Probably going to hold off on Team Flare...but I might consider your Lucario prank._

 _Also just wanted to say thank you yet again. You guys are awesome!_

* * *

 **Episode 100: Ciento**

The milestone had finally been reached. One. Hundred. Episodes.

For one hundred episodes, the documentary crew caught a first-hand glimpse of everything that took place inside the Smash Mansion, and then some. For one hundred episodes, we got to witness what the mansion residents did in their spare time. For one hundred episodes, we saw relationships become anew, we saw new faces join the establishment...heck, we even saw Mike Tyson of all people, with the legendary boxer being banned from the Smash Mansion for good.

There was another man also banned from the mansion forever...Dr. Eggman. The mad scientist was so bitter about being banned, that he wanted to stick it to Master Hand one year later, and target Mario (and Sonic, just so his arch-nemesis could be involved in the big scheme of things) by initiating terrorist attacks in Seattle, Orlando, and Rio, and putting the blame on the plumber. With Dr. Eggman on national television, the plan was to reveal to the viewers at home that Mario and Sonic were hired by Master Hand to conduct the terrorist attacks, but Mario, Cappy, and a returning Captain Falcon would put an end to Dr. Eggman's plans, and had the evil genius arrested, likely doing a lot of time in prison.

With Dr. Eggman now in the past, it was time for Master Hand and the mansion residents to look towards the future, without having to worry about an evil foe getting in their way. And with it being the 100th episode, Master Hand opted to show the documentary crew a token of his appreciation by having Cilan bake them an exquisite cake, one that would be well worth the efforts of those filming the many residents you know and love.

 **Master Hand: Recent news have broke out stating that Dr. Eggman has been sentenced to a pretty long time in prison, which won't matter because A) he's still banned, and B) even if he were to break out of prison and come back, he would still get his butt kicked anyways. But now that the obese tomato known as Eggman is behind bars, away from the mansion (I hope they put Eggman in some prison in Russia), and with the hotel case finally being resolved, everything should be going back to normal now. Which means that there will be no distractions for Cilan, who is making a cake for you guys as you speak. You people have been like extended family members to the residents - the way you record the everyday activities of the residents, and follow them into bathrooms...you folks are truly one of a kind.**

Cilan was humming happily to himself, as he was putting on the finishing touches of his beloved cake in the kitchen. As a suggestion from Master Hand and Mario, the connoisuer added damning faces of Dr. Eggman and the four evil individuals assisting the madman to the cake. You had Infinite, the strange black creature who Sonic claimed to be even faster than him; Fawful, the former pupil of Cackletta who was revived by Kamek's magic to help Dr. Eggman; Lysandre, the leader of Team Flare who had his Team Flare grunts do Eggman's bidding; and Jakob, the butler from Nohr who stuck around at the mansion for some time to purposely stir up trouble and divide the mansion as much as he could. Cilan was almost about done with the cake, as Mario entered the kitchen with Mamori.

"You should get-a the Kongs to be on-a your show, they would-a be great additions," Mario suggested to Mamori; wouldn't be great additions if the only thing Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong talked about were bananas. Mario and Mamori would see Cilan's cake, impressed by how the cake looked. "My oh-a my Cilan - that cake sure-a looks tasty! I should join the documentary crew for one-a day, just so I could-a have a slice!"

"Tastiness is my finest expertise, and I'm glad you like this lovely cake, Mario!" exclaimed Cilan, appreciating Mario's kind words. "I would give you a slice of cake, but Master Hand has forbidden me from sharing cake with any residents. Also forbid me from making a cake just for the residents, not at least until Thanksgiving. But he never said anything about having an early start, hehehe...what do you think of the cake, Mamori?"

"It looks spectacular, just like all your other culinary creations," replied Mamori, making sure not to accredit Cilan as much. It would be extremely redundant at this point, with with Cilan's superb culinary talents. Just then, Cappy's eyes would pop out of Mario's cap, as he scanned the cake.

"Yes, I agree wholeheartedly - if I had a functioning mouth, I could eat this cake in one giant gulp!" exclaimed the talking hat. Most residents were still getting used to Cappy, with Daisy being a long way off from ever accepting Cappy. "Are you sure none of the residents are allowed to try out the cake?"

"Nope, not even the smallest crumb! It's an order from Master Hand, a rule, and if I break one of Master Hand's rules, who knows what he'll do to me." Master Hand was definitely someone you should never mess around with.

"Well it appears that you're almost-a done with the cake, so Mamori and I will-a head over to the dining room and leave-a you be," Mario told the Cilan, who nodded as the plumber and Mamori went to the dining room to continue their discussion. Shortly after they entered the room, a sigh was heard, from Mario's cap.

"Mario, did you hear that?" Mamori asked the plumber, stopping him in place. "I think your talking hat friend just let out a sigh." Mario curiously took Cappy off his head, and saw that the talking hat was feeling a little down, as evidenced by his eyes looking down at the floor.

"Cappy what's-a wrong, I've never seen-a you this sad before..." Mario said to Cappy, who briefly looked at Mario with his saddened eyes before looking back down at the floor again. It wasn't that often Cappy felt some type of way about something.

"It's my sister, Tiara...I'm afraid she's still kidnapped, or missing," replied Cappy; he mentioned Tiara when he first met Mario in episode 97. "I thought that mustached creep Dr. Eggman had Tiara - like he had planned to use her with Peach - but it turns I was wrong...now I fear that Tiara might be lost and gone forever, and I may never find her!"

"Just because you don't-a know about Tiara's current condition doesn't mean-a you should feel so-a down Cappy - I mean, there's far-a more important things to worry about! Like poverty, and hunger, and economic debt, and-a war crimes, and relationships, and-a...uh..." Mario looked towards Mamori, wanting her to give some suggestions, but the only thing the idol singer gave Mario was a questionable look. "...anyways, you shouldn't worry about-a Tiara forever, it will only make-a things even worse."

While Mario didn't make a necessarily great point, it was something Cappy had no choice but to abide by...for now.

* * *

 **Bowser: Expecting a huge delivery today...and no, I didn't purchase anything online. Only lazy bums with zero people skills do that, especially around Christmas time. I received a letter in the mail a few days ago, from these guys called the Broodals. *takes out letter* I'm gonna read what the letter says; apparently it's written with a Brooklyn accent, for whatever reason, so just bear with me please... *clears throat* "Dear Bowser...heh heh heh, what's good, Boss? We're gonna send da goods to ya by mail, before da end of da week. Ya gonna be thankin' us later, I can guarantee dat! Is da princess handlin' herself well? We sure hope so! I'll talk with ya later..peace! Sincerely, Topper, leader of the Broodals..." *puts letter away* Willing to bet ten bucks the Broodals are sending me a manicure set. My nails need some major trimming!**

The sound of the doorbell was heard, and the first to arrive at the front door was Bowser. The Koopa King was lowkey expecting Topper and his Broodal buddies to deliver him "da goods", looking forward to some serious nail-trimming. But when he opened the door, he was instead greeted by four folks wearing funky space suits, like they came from an entirely different dimension.

"Hello to you, spiky turtle man, how are you on this fine day?" the leader of this group asked a now skeptical Bowser. "My name is Dulse, and these are my good friends Zossie, Phyco, and Soliera. We're a part of he Ultra Recon Squad, and we hail from a world beyond the Ultra Wormhole." Well that sure explains a lot... "We came to this fine establishment looking for two Ultra Beasts - UB Assembly and UB Burst - and we were wondering if..."

Upon hearing the phrase "Ultra Beasts", Bowser shut the door on Dulse and stormed away. The Koopa King learned a great deal about the Ultra Beasts from his time with Professor Kukui (whom he called a "massive nerd" for his extensive knowledge about Ultra Beasts), and did not want anything to do with these extradimensional Pokemon.

But moments after Bowser stormed away, the doorbell rang yet again, and would you know it, Bowser came running back to the front door to see who it was. When he opened the door, he saw that nobody was there...but when he looked down, he saw a large white box, and a note attached to it, which Bowser read...

 _Here's da goods, Boss! We couldn't bring all the items together, but we'll send in the other stuff at a later time. Gotta make do with what ya got!_

 _-Topper_

"This box sure is big for a manicure set...must be some pretty top quality stuff inside," remarked Bowser as he put the note away and opened the box. There was no manicure set - the box would be too big for it anyways. However, the contents of the box made Bowser feel overwhelmingly giddy, like a young lad receiving a gaming system on Christmas Day. Whatever was inside the box, Bowser couldn't let anyone know or find out...

...so he immediately closed the door, and retreated to his room. He was too giddy to see where he was going, and so he bumped into an unsuspecting Link, who was up and walking ever since Midna healed him.

"Hey Link, watch where you're going you bum!" Bowser scolded as he got back up, although he was clearly in the wrong. "Don't think that just because you're all healthy again that you can bump into other people as you please! What are you, some kind of human bumper car?"

"And what are you supposed to be, some massive battleship on the sea?" retorted Link, as he got back on his two feet. "Hit me so hard, you almost sent me flying..." Link took a look at Bowser's box, and was filled with curiosity. "Say, Bowser, what's that you got inside that box?"

"What is this box that you speak of?" Bowser hid the box behind his shell, only making himself look extremely guilty. "Might be seeing things, Link...you did have those migraines and stuff, so there's a good chance you're hallucinating. Still suffering from some small side effects, I see; probably should have Leia check you out. Now if you excuse me, I have some...manicure duties to fulfill."

As if Bowser saying he had 'manicure duties to fulfill' wasn't suspicious enugh, the koopa king quickly ran off, keeping his white box concealed. Link looked on inquisitively, as Cloud joined the Hylian in the foyer.

"Sorry I was gone for so long - Master Hand wanted a handful of us to set up some lousy decorations in the ballroom," Cloud would explain his absence to Link. "Wanted to throw a party for the documentary crew - completely unnecessary, in my opinion. Just saw Bowser run away - what is he up to this time?"

"He had this suspicious white box in his possession, and he refused to tell me what was inside," replied Link, feeling slightly sore from Bowser bumping into him. "Since he doesn't want to tell me...I'll just have to find out what's in the box for myself."

 **Link: Oh, I'm gonna find out what's in the box, one way or another. I know I said I'll find out myself, but with Bowser, it might take a joint effort...**

* * *

After his conversation with Mamori, Mario would return to his home, where he expected to see Peach and Lara. When the plumber entered his home, he didn't see see Peach, but he did see Lara...and oddly enough, Lloyd, who was in the living room, discussing things with the British tomb raider.

"The decommissioned Soviet weapons bunker I investigated always gave me the chills...the people inside it were acting like zombies!" Lara said to Lloyd, who was nodding his head attentively. "It was mostly thanks to the pathogen released into the air..." Was Lara speaking with Smart Lloyd, or Dumb Lloyd?

"Ah, yes, pathogen - the biggest agent of causing disease among many people," Lloyd said factually; Smart Lloyd it was. "Depending on how the pathogen is, a human individual can suffer from adverse effects, such as nausea, fever, and fatigue. What symptoms did these' zombie people' have?"

"Not exactly sure, but I do remember the men being very high in testosterone and adrenaline...so there was that. Unsure what kind of specific symptom that would be...but I'm not a doctor."

"I would be very interested in seeing how this pathogen spread among such a large group of people. A pathogen that can put one in a 'zombie' state is nigh deserving of fine research."

Mario would awkwardly walk by Lara and Lloyd, letting them enjoy their conversation about pathogens and whatnot, as he ran straight up the stairs and to his master bedroom. When he entered therein, he saw Peach, on the bed, speaking with somebody on the phone.

"Mhmm, mhmm, mhmm...okay then," said Peach, wearing concern on her face and leading Mario to wonder what the situation was. "I shall let Mario know...yes I will. I'll speak with you later!" Peach ended the phone call, and looked up and saw Mario. "Ah, Mario, you're back, just in time! I take it you had a great time over at the mansion?"

"As-a always, Princess Peach," Mario responded with a smile, always remembering to formally address her wife by her title. "Who were you-a speaking with?"

"I was speaking with Celica." This prompted Mario to give Peach a strange look. "...on Jacky's phone." Now it made complete sense. "Jacky, Alm, and Celica were at the grocery store, shopping for party appetizers for the documentary crew's 'Appreciation Day Party'. Think of it as a standard Super Bowl party, but without any football to splurge on. Anyways, Alm and Celica encountered their enemies Berkut and Rinea, and Celica just informed me that Alm and Berkut are in a fight."

"Why is Master Hand-a caring so much-a about the documentary crew all of a sudden?" Beforehand, Master Hand acted like the documentary crew were the scum of the earth, like they were worthless. Today, he wanted to show him his 'appreciation'. "Also, why are Berkut and-a Rinea at the store for, is this-a Berkut's doing?"

"Most likely, considering the beef he has with Alm. Pit told me about Berkut's 'confrontation' with Alm in the gaming room. I suggest you make your way over to the grocery store, see what's going on..."

* * *

And that's exactly what Mario did, as he sped to the grocery store in Master Hand's Lamborghini...or rather, _as_ Master Hand's Lamborghini, thanks to Cappy's capture ability. When Mario parked the car and hopped out from the Lamborghini, many strangers looked on, wondering what in the heck just happened.

"You know, you could have driven the Lamborghini like a normal person..." Cappy said to Mario, who felt like Mario was completely abusing his ability. "Also why the Lamborghini, why not Luigi's green Dodge Charger?"

"Believe it or-a not, the Lamborghini is much-a more simpler than's Luigi's ride," was Mario's response, as he made his way to the grocery store. "Luigi's Dodge-a Charger has too many features - I'd spend less-a time driving and more-a time starting road-a rages by being invisible!"

 **Daisy: *sighs* ...yes, Luigi's Charger still has the invisibility feature, for God knows why...I keep telling him that having such a feature was pointless, since it's not like he could use it for anything useful, but Luigi states each and every time that driving invisible makes it easier for him to win street races at night...which means that Luigi is essentially earning illegal money. But on the plus side, he might never get arrested...**

"Mario!" a voice called out to the plumber, from the grocery store entrance. It was Jacky, who was on the lookout. Mario quickly ran up to greet Jacky, refusing to let his flabby body bring him down. "About time you made it - things between Alm and Berkut have started to escalate, and now they're causing a huge scene..."

"Show-a me where they are!" commanded Mario, and so Jacky would lead the way. The Indy car racer would lead Mario inside the grocery, and guided him to the bakery section, where a pretty good crowd was surrounding Alm and Berkut, the two apparently bickering with one another.

"Alm and Berkut have been arguing with each other for quite a while now; we were just about done with shopping until Berkut and his woman Rinea showed up. Celica managed to sneak away and is checking out the groceries as we speak; Rinea, she probably hid herself in the women's restroom out of embarrassment."

"Please, Berkut, I do not wish to fight you, this isn't the right time, or the place..." Alm did his best to plead to Berkut, who was wielding his lance sword and looking for blood. Specifically, Alm's blood. "My friend Jacky, my wife and I were just shopping, minding our own business..."

"Enough of your ridiculous crap, I didn't come all the way back to this wretched city for nothing!" Berkut snapped on his arch-nemesis, as the bystanders were recording Alm and Berkut's spat on their cellphones. Should upload the footage unto Reddit for that delicious karma. "Now fight me like the man you think you are, or back away like a coward!"

"That black-haired guy followed Alm to the grocery store?" wondered Cappy, now under the assumption that Berkut was a bona fide stalker. "CREEPER ALERT!" Everyone looked at Cappy, left in awe about how Mario's cap had eyes and was able to speak.

"You should definitely use your Cappy friend to put an end to this stupid fight, before things begin to escalate. I'd hate for Berkut to actually kill Alm in cold blood, in a public setting like this..."

So Mario, now thinking on the fly, looked around, finding something to capture, when his eyes fell upon a turkey, left inside a buggy. The plumber took the turkey, unwrapped it, and hurled Cappy at it, capturing it. Now a turkey wearing a red cap, Mario passed through the crowd and approached Alm, grabbing his attention, before running off and befuddling everyone. But Alm and Jacky, they knew what was up.

"Well what do you know, a live turkey in the grocery, someone should go catch it - that someone being me," Alm kindly said to Berkut, who was just dying to pierce the king of Valentia with his lance, just one time. "I should go catch it before it, uh, stabs someone to death with its...killer...turkey...wings!" Alm would run off, with Jacky following after him, as the two, along with Celica, who was standing by, exited the grocery store, with Jacky snatching up Turkey Mario...without having to pay at all for the turkey, and without anyone seeing him either. It was unwrapped, so there was no barcode to scan.

"So Alm chose the coward way, I see..." snarled Berkut, putting his lance away as everyone walked off and resumed shopping. "Since he refuses to fight me here...then I'll just have to take the fight to him, at the Smash Mansion! And you, Rinea, shall come along, and beat Alm's wife Celica to the...Rinea? Rinea! Where are you? I hate when you run off like this..." As Berkut went to go search for his lover, the man who left his shopping cart unattended would return to his cart, and noticed something was missing...

"WHERE ON EARTH IS MY TURKEY?!" the man shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear. His Thanksgiving dinner was, at the moment, perfectly ruined.

* * *

Sometimes, it felt great to be back. Especially if you were famed F-Zero racer Captain Falcon. The _Smash_ veteran, who was arrested and sent to jail for racing against demon hunter Dante in a street race, which was essentially set up by Jakob to have him sent to jail as a means to prevent guys like him finding out about Dr. Eggman's attacking the Four Seasons hotel, felt relieved to be back at the mansion. And now that Captain Falcon was back...well, nothing major really happened since Falcon returned, but his presence was missed.

 **Captain Falcon: Man, I knew Jakob was a jerk, but I had no idea that he was THAT big of a jerk. I mean, snitching on me and having Nowi break up with me? That's just low. I'm sure Layton and Luke can give Nowi the 4-1-1 on what Jakob's true intentions were, and then maybe we Nowi and I can get back together again. The last thing I'd want would be for Nowi to be dating a man just as childish as her...not that her immaturity is a big deal, but Nah needs _at least_ one parent she can take seriously.**

Having witnessed Knuckles drop some bars in the recording studio, Fox and Falco returned to the Star Records room, where they would find Captain Falcon and Little Mac, standing across from one another. Both men looked like they were either getting pumped up for no reason, or experiencing the worst cramp of their lives. Layton was in a chair, looking on, while Doc Louis was rooting for Little Mac.

"C'mon Little Mac, show that man Falcon who's boss!" cheered Doc Louis, the type of guy who would be in a bathroom with Little Mac, rooting for him to drop the biggest deuce of his life. Fox and Falco were looking on, no doubt bewildered by what was even supposed to be taking place.

"Falco and I deserve a thorough explanation of what's happening here," Fox spoke up after finding the courage to speak. Falco was left speechless, deciding to let his silence do the talking for him.

"Little Mac and Captain Falcon are having an 'ab-off', to see who has the better abs, and apparently they appointed me as the judge," explained Layton, feeling bad for agreeing to judge this strange competition. "I though they would just show me their abs, have me tell them who has the better abs, and be done with it...but sadly I thought wrong."

"You think you can beat me, Little Mac...but soon you'll understand how bitter the ultimate taste of defeat is!" exclaimed Captain Falcon, sweat pouring down his face as he was exerting all of his energy into his...into his abs. Like that was even possible. "Better drink your salty tears now!"

"It will be you who'll be drinking your tears, the tears of defeat!" Little Mac fired back, doing the same thing Captain Falcon was doing. Unable to stomach this "ab-off" anymore, Layton had no choice but to declare a winner.

"Okay, I've had just about enough of this..." said the detective, getting up from his seat and pointing at Captain Falcon. "Captain Falcon, you're the winner!" Both Falcon and Little Mac stopped overexerting themselves, with Falcon raising his arms up in the air in victory. Doc Louis would head over to Little Mac and comfort his protege - the boxer repeatedly pushing his trainer away - as there was a knock on the Star Records door.

"That must be Knuckles, probably done spitting fire in the recording booth," said Falco, as he went over to the door. When he opened it, he saw the Ultra Recon Squad - the same foursome that met Bowser earlier. Upon seeing their outfits, Falco REALLY wanted to call the Ultra Recon Squad nerds.

"Greetings, walking bird friend, sorry to disturb you," said the leader of the squad, Dulse. "We came to this room from the hallway window, thanks to some cat creature that might've been a Pokemon. I am Dulse, and these are my good friends Zossie, Phyco, and Soliera. We're a part of he Ultra Recon Squad, and we hail from a world beyond the Ultra Wormhole. Do you know anything about...Ultra Beasts?"

* * *

With Cilan likely finished with the cake, and the party appetizers needed to be prepared by Alm and Celica, the newly crowned party planner Pac-Man was in the ballroom, analyzing how the ballroom looked. The decorations were set in order - only thing left on Pac's agenda was to bring in the cake and the appetizers.

"Well Pac-Man, this won't be the _greatest_ party ever, but I'm positive the folks behind the documentary will love it," Pac-Man said proudly to himself as he analyzed the ballroom, wearing a smile on his face with hands on his hips. "Master Hand would kill me if they don't..."

 **Co-Producer #1: Since we were deliberately forced by Master Hand to do this, we'll just get it out of the way...hello, I'm LeVar, and I am one of the executive producers of the series, _Smash Life_.  
Co-Producer #2: And you can call me Brad, the other executive producer of the series. Doing _Smash Life_ was pretty much LeVar's idea...I'm just here to reap the benefits.  
Co-Producer #1: Totally untrue...anyways, when we first started this documentary, we never would've imagined how far we came. Fox and Falco inherit control of Star Records. Luigi and Daisy get married. Freaking Aerith Gainsborough appears. That epic prank war happened. We've seen new additions to the mansion, like Leia, Cilan, and the idol singers from Fortuna Entertainment. Heck, we even went to Rio for the 2016 Olympics! And to Disney World as well!  
Co-Producer #2: Of course you would leave out that one time Manaphy was switching bodies left and right...there was something about Kirby being in Link's body that bugs me out to this day. Can't be the only one...**

"Splendid work, Pac-Man, really love what you've done to the place!" exclaimed Master Hand, who would join the eater of ghosts in the ballroom and seeing how all the decorations were set. "So far you're really proving your worth as the new party planner!"

"Thanks Master Hand, you're making me blush..." smiled Pac-Man - wasn't really anything worth blushing about. Wasn't like Master Hand was anointing him as the greatest ghost gobbler in all of existence. "Though I couldn't have done it without the help from the others, decorating the ballroom doesn't require the work of a one man band!"

"Forcing your fellow residents to do involuntary work against their will...I'm already digging your style, Pac-Man. If I could, I could pay you for your efforts." Master Hand looked towards the front of the ballroom, and felt that something was...amiss. "Pac-Man, where are the gifts?"

"G-G-Gifts? Golly, I never really thought about the gifts...might've been a slight oversight on my part..." Not sure if a "Appreciation Day" party, or a surprise birthday party for an unsuspecting someone from the documentary crew.

"Slight oversight?! How on earth are we going to show our love and appreciation to the producers of the series, if we don't give them gifts? Are we going to let their perilous efforts go unmerited? Have you no heart? Have you no conscience? Have you no soul?!"

"Master Hand you've never cared for the producers or anyone else on the cast to begin with...you know what, I'll get them some gifts. We have a few more hours until the party begins; once Cilan brings in the cake, and Alm and Celica bring the appetizers, we'll be set to go. Should get the gifts before then."

"Thank you Pac-Man for wanting to show your gratitude! That's what I expect from a party planner like yourself. Don't let me down, alright?" And with that, Master Hand disappeared, leaving Pac-Man in quite a pickle.

A pickle he would have to get out of, lest he wanted to keep his party planner duties.

* * *

"Welcome everyone, to another spectacular episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin_!" Mamori gleefully said to the camera, with her co-hosts Ashley and Asuka at her side. "We're your hosts, Asuka, Ashley, and myself, Mamori! We're gonna warm up your heart, with the press of a button!"

"Today on our show we have two special guests, Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong, hooray..." Ashley announced in the most unenthusiastic way possible, as the Kongs appeared in the frame. Diddy waved to the camera, as Donkey Kong did his hand-shaking victory pose from Smash 4. "I hope we don't start talking about bananas..."

Away from Mamori and company was Cilan, in the dining room and looking proudly at his now-finished cake. The cake was towering on the dining room table, in all its glory, and just looking at him made Cilan's smile swell up with glee. As Cilan gleamed at his cake, Sonic and Tails - now back to being good friends on good terms - entered the dining room through the back door, wielding paint guns and splattered in paint.

"Man, that paintball battle with the Inklings sure was fun!" Tails excitedly said to Sonic, who nodded in agreement. "It was great having fun out there, just like old times!" It only took those two a week to mend their friendship back together.

 **Tails: Hey Sonic, now that we're friends again, doesn't that mean you're going to stop hanging around with Crash? I know you two have built up some great chemistry with one another since Crash and his folks joined the mansion...  
** **Sonic: Tails, are you out of your mind? Why would I drop Crash? He's like a dumber version of you! Much like how you're a smarter version of Crash. And you know what that's supposed to mean? Is that you're both goobers who'll agree to do the stuff I wanna do. You're both like pack mules, only less enough of a pushover.  
Tails: It's great to have you back, Sonic...**

"Woah Cilan, that's one awesome cake you got there!" Sonic told Cilan after seeing the connoisseur's fine creation. "Still doesn't make up for you personality, always acting like you're high or something, but you definitely did a bang-up job with the cake!"

"Sonic that was the nicest thing you've ever said to me...in fact, that was the only nicest thing you've ever said about my food!" stated Cilan, momentarily looking away from his cake just for this one moment. "So I'll take your words with much appreciation!"

"Mind if I take a closer look at the cake? I know Master Hand mentioned something about not tasting the cake, let alone touching it, but he never said anything about looking at it!" Sonic walked towards the cake, wanting to get a closer view...

...but then, by some act of freak nature, the hedgehog slipped on some wet substance on the floor, and it caused him to not only slip, but fall onto the dining room table and slide across, knocking down Cilan's cake in the process. Cilan looked in horror as his cake toppled on the table, most of the contents falling unto the floor, as Sonic landed on the other side of the table, his face smothered in cake icing.

Then Master Hand appeared. Cilan's worst dreams were about to become a nightmare.

"What the...what in blazes happened to the cake?" wondered Master Hand, observing the now ruined cake, before looking at Cilan, who was shaking with fear. "Cilan, I gave you all the time in the world to bake the cake...and THIS is what you have to show me?!"

"Master Hand, you don't understand, I was already finished with the cake..." Cilan tried to explain, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. "But Sonic, he inadvertently ruined it...he wanted a closer look, but he slipped and somehow slid onto the table and knocked over the cake...and ruined it..."

"So what you're telling me is that you couldn't guard the cake with your life? How could I possibly ask you to bake anything ever again? You really want me to go back to Palutena of all people? Alas, you've left me with no choice...Cilan, seeing how you have failed me, you've left me with no choice but to revoke your chef duties at the mansion. You're...DEMOTED!"

Upon hearing this, the already disheartened Cilan fell to his knees and sobbed, his face in his hands, as Tails comforted him. A disappointed Master Hand went into the kitchen, and dragged a bewildered Mamori inside the dining room, effectively interrupting her web show.

"Mamori, seeing that you have cooking skills, you've been named the new head chef of the Smash Mansion!" Master Hand jovially announced to Mamori, the idol singer's face indicating she was not ready for the role. "And I want to put your new cooking skills to the test, by baking a cake for the party later in the day. I have the utmost confidence that you'll get the job done."

"But baking a cake isn't considered cooking, and also I've never baked a single thing in my life..." explained Mamori, wishing she could turn down the offer to Master Hand. "Let alone cook...I've only microwaved food my entire life..."

"...and your microwaving experience will be sufficient for baking the cake. It just has to be big enough for the documentary crew to consume. Not keeping any leftover slices, they'll be thrown away. I'll just go away, and leave you be...don't want to interrupt you from your greatness!"

So Master Hand left the dining room, as Mamori looked on with a thousand-yard stare, and Cilan continually sobbed with Tails comforting him. Sonic, eating the icing off of him, got up from the floor, realizing he dun goofed up.

 **Sonic: Shouldn't have complimented Cilan...doing so placed a hex on him and made him lose his chef role. I should lift his curse so everything will be pushing up daises for him again!**

 **Mamori: Apparently Master Hand expects me to bake a cake, for whatever reason, even though I don't have any baking experience. I'll just have to ask Ashley and Asuka to help me out with baking the cake. And the Kongs, too. I'll just have to monitor how many bananas they use...**

* * *

After speaking with Jacky, Mario brought Alm and Celica to his place, so they could work on the appetizers. Reason being that Berkut and Rinea could arrive at the mansion looking for the Valentian couple, and they would never think about looking for the lovebirds in Mario or Luigi's homes.

"Just keep working, just keep working, just keep working..." Celica repeated to herself, keeping her mind off of the spat Alm had with Berkut as she was working on the pigs in blankets. No, not actual pigs in blankets, that sounded gross and inhumane. Sausages wrapped in croissant rolls, or bacon if you were British. Alm on the other hand was preparing the kebabs, whilst looking outside the window.

"Has anyone seen-a my car keys?" asked Luigi, who left his car keys at Mario's home for whatever reason and was now looking for them. He wouldn't find them lying in the living room...but rather, in the kitchen. "Alm, why are my car-a keys in one of the kebabs?"

"What about your car keys?" questioned Alm, before looking down and seeing Luigi's car keys pierced through a skewer. "Oh I see...sorry about that." Alm took the keys off the skewer, and handed them to Luigi. "Shouldn't have left them lying on the kitchen counter..."

"You seem a bit-a distracted, Alm; Mario informed-a me about you encountering your old-a rival Berkut. I take it he's-a still on your mind?" Alm looked down at the floor; he wanted to say no, but he had to come clean...

"Fine, I admit - I'm on the lookout for Berkut. I fear that he and his woman Rinea might plan a sneak attack on me, out of nowhere, when I least expect it. I've been looking out the window, looking for Berkut's whereabouts..."

"Looking for Berkut isn't going to help make the kebabs, Alm..." Celica reminded her husband, staying on task. "Also you have the pacifier on one of the kebabs." Alm looked down and saw Charles' pacificer on the kebab, and immediately fixed the error.

"Try and think-a of something else, thinking about your nemesis won't solve-a anything," Luigi said to Alm, patting him on the back. "Think about how-a pretty your wife is, that's what I do some-a times." Luigi walked away, returning home, as Alm continued his job...albeit with a smile on his face.

* * *

A new Pokemon game was released today, and two youngsters were playing the new games - Bowser Jr. who owned _Ultra Sun,_ and Villager, who owned _Ultra Moon._ The two were in Bowser Jr's room, trading each other Pokemon.

"I got a shiny Metagross, level 50, with a Mega Stone," Villager said to Bowser Jr. How on earth did he level up Metagross to level 50, in so little time? Did he hack the game, and got an infinite amount of rare candies? "What do you got?"

"Necromaza, in its Dusk Mane form!" replied Bowser Jr, slightly bragging, as Villager's eyes went wide. A legendary Pokemon like Necromaza - especially one that was a game mascot - would be worthy on any Pokemon team, and the fact that Bowser Jr. had this Pokemon already must mean that the Koopaling perhaps hacked his game too. "You wanna trade?"

"No way would I ever turn down a trade offer like that! Let's get this trade started!" So Villager and Bowser Jr. traded their respective Pokemon, as Villager was almost salivating at the idea of having a Dusk Mane Necromaza in his Pokemon party. The excitement inside of him was palpating...

But when the trade was completed, Villager felt confused, when he was looking at a Pokemon, one that was yellow, looked like a worm, and was inside a red shell. This Pokemon evidently wasn't Dusk Mane Necromaza - it didn't even look as cool as the prism Pokemon.

"Is this...is this a Shuckle?!" frowned Villager as he glared at Bowser Jr, laughing so much that he nearly fell off of the bed. "Bowser Jr, you straight up played me! I'll never forgive you for this!"

 **Bowser Jr: True story...I once traded my level 2 Pidgey for Sonic's Zekrom! Sonic was thoroughly disgusted when he caught Zekrom - kept complaining about how ugly it was and how you couldn't see its face. It was so ugly, Sonic was uncomfortable about playing anymore. It wasn't until after he traded Zekrom that Sonic's faith in playing Pokemon games was restored, and he would accept my Pidgey, with open arms...before releasing it into the wild.**

"Ha ha, can't believe you fell for that - you know I wouldn't have caught Necromaza yet!" laughed Bowser Jr, as Villager was feeling super salty. "But thanks for the Metagross anyways, it will look...very nice...on my team..." Bowser Jr. furrowed his brow when he caught Pac-Man in his room, rummaging through his stuff. "Pac-Man, why are you in my room?"

"Master Hand expects me to give the producers some gifts at the party," explained Pac-Man, browsing through Bowser Jr.'s collection of Nintendo 3DS games. "So, I thought about giving them some Nintendo 3DS games, preferably the old ones you don't really play anymore. Would they enjoy playing _Tomodachi Life_ and _Kid Icarus: Uprising_? Or what about _Shovel Knight_ and _Hyrule Warriors_? Or maybe even..."

Bowser Jr. had enough of Pac-Man rummaging through his stuff, and so he spat a fireball at the eater of ghosts, making him scram and run out of the room, dropping the 3DS games to the floor. Pac-Man's search for gifts just got even more difficult.

* * *

While his only biological son was ripping off Villager with egregious trades, Bowser was in his room, combing his hair in front of a mirror. Seldom did the koopa king room himself, save for special moments - he always thought grooming was for vain, self-centered men, and Bowser himself didn't think he was vain and self-centered...contrary to what most of his past behaviors entail. But what was the special occasion?

"Oh, Bowser, your son Lemmy just vandalized Wario's motorcycle!" a voice called out to the koopa, making him growl with fury. Disciplining his children was never a hobby of his. Then again, who would consider disciplining children a hobby.

"I thought I told that boy good and well not to mess with thing anymore - it's too expensive!" Bowser stopped grooming, as he placed his comb down and angrily stomped out of the room. "He should instead vandalize Master Hand's Lamborghini - nobody gives a crap about that thing anymore! I'll show him how it's done..."

Once Bowser left his room, Midna entered therein, seeing that the coast was clear. The imp then motioned to someone outside of the room, as Link and Cloud entered the room, looking for the white box.

"That white box has to be around here somewhere," said Link, as he and Cloud scoured the entire room for the white box. Midna, who was only tasked with luring Bowser away, felt like she didn't have to look for anything, and instead opted to monitor the swordsman duo.

"Try looking underneath the bed," suggested Cloud, and Link would do just that, as Cloud looked in the closet. Sitting on the floor, next to some pink high heels (Bowser wears heels? Or do those shoes belong to Peach?), was the white box. "Link, I found the box!"

"Great, bring it over here!" Link motioned Cloud to come over, as the swordsman placed the white box on Bowser's bed. Link took off the lid, and took out a bouquet, a dress, and a band. Nothing really spectacular inside. Until, a ghost-like figure sprung out of the box, with the visage of what appeared to be a tiara. Its eyes were like Cappy's, albeit with eyelashes, to distinguish this creature as a girl."

"Well hello there, didn't expect you to come out of the box...what's your name?" Cloud asked the creature, who did not respond. Cloud didn't feel like waiting for a response either. "Ah, the shy type, huh? Nothing wrong with that..." Cloud then turned his attention to Link. "Given how this floating thing looks, it could be a friend or relative of Cappy. How about we head over to Mario's place, and speak with Cappy ourselves?"

The creature appeared to be delighted by this suggestion, as evidenced by her nodding her head. Off to Mario's house it was..."

* * *

 **Pit: It's the 100th episode, which means its a perfect time for a breakthrough. This episode is in need of something new, something fresh - a development so big, it could cause shock waves that would remain forever. Kirby and I selected the one man that would provide us with this breakthrough, a breakthrough so big, that things at the mansion, will never, EVER, be the same...**

"Just so we're clear, Rosalina has already what we'll be eating at our Thanksgiving dinner next week," Chrom said to Marth, the two blue-haired men standing at the doorway of Chrom's room. "With Peach gone, Rosalina will be dictating what is and isn't allowed on Thanksgiving. Everything on that day will be planned by her."

"Alright then, thanks for the info," thanked Marth, as he walked away, but he wouldn't get that far before returning to Chrom. "Oh, and one more thing - what about the desserts, will there be any desserts for Thanksgiving?"

"Of course there'll be desserts you bozo, what's a Thanksgiving dinner without any desserts to devour afterwards?" That's no way to talk to your ancestor, Chrom. "Since you were wondering, it will be Cilan who will do the desserts." But would Master Hand allow Cilan though? "Plan is subject to change, however; you know how extremely fickle Master Hand can be."

"Believe me, I know Master Hand's volatility like the back of my hand...wouldn't be surprised if MH has Palutena cooking the Thanksgiving food, just like two years ago. So many bad memories...well, I'm off now, talk to you later."

So Chrom closed his bedroom door, as Marth walked away to continue the rest of his day. As he walked down the hallway, he encountered Pit and Kirby, who were pointing at him accusingly. The hero-king found it very amusing.

"Marth, hero-king of Athena...we know your secret, and for this 100th episode spectacular, you must come clean and admit your secret to the whole world!" Pit said to Marth, still amused. "Now's your chance to admit your secret, lest you face the consequences!"

"Last time I heard about this '100th episode spectacular', some party was being organized for the documentary crew in the ballroom," remarked Marth, being serious while trying not to smile or laugh. "And I don't have a secret, and I don't have to face any consequences."

"But you do, Marth, and now it's your time, your time is now! Marth, hero-king of Athena, are you...a WOMAN?!"

Obviously offended by this question, Marth breezed past Pit and Kirby, going from amused to annoyed in a snap. Marth's gender and masculinity was always questioned, and he wasn't going to allow any questioning today. Shortly after the hero-king left, Sora approached Pit and Kirby, looking like he was in trouble.

"Pit, Kirby, just the two I needed to see!" the Keyblade wielder exclaimed. "I saw these two monsters outside, near the lake, and they're really close to the mansion." Assuming these monsters were Heartless, Pit and Kirby exchanged looks with one another.

"You sure these 'monsters' aren't Heartless?" asked Kirby, just to make sure Sora wasn't going crazy. "We already took care of the Heartless, if you remember."

"The monsters I saw were not Heartless by any means - must be an entirely different species never seen before. If you don't believe me, I can show the monsters to you!" Left with no other choice, Pit and Kirby opted to follow Sora outside.

* * *

The Ultra Recon squad were in the Star Records room, huddled around Coco along with Fox, Falco, and Layton. Coco was on her laptop, looking up info about the Ultra Beasts Dulse and company were looking for. Layton would be looking up online himself, but his tech savvy skills weren't up to par with Coco's.

 **Coco: Same old, same old, some things will never change...I'm still doing Professor Layton's dirty work, doing things that he probably should do himself. Layton said that he might stay until Christmas time, and I heard that every year the mansion does Secret Santa - so there's a good chance Layton would ask me to find his Secret Santa a gift. Thereby ruining the tradition.**

"Yes, that's it, that's one of the Ultra Beasts we're looking for!" Soliera pointed at the laptop screen, at an image of a strange, multi-colored alien-like Pokemon. "The codename for it is UB-Burst - it's a dual fire and ghost type."

"Lemme see if I can find the other Ultra Beast..." said Coco, tapping away on her pink laptop as she searched online. Moments later, she came across a Pokemon that looked like a tall brick tower, with four legs and an only eye. "What about this guy?"

"That would be UB-Assembly, a rock and steel type," replied Zossie, wondering how information about the Ultra Beasts could be online. "What I really want to know, is how UB-Assembly and UB-Burst found their way into this dimension, from Ultra Space.

"Don't mind if I ask, but what exactly is 'Ultra Space'?" Fox asked the Ultra Recon Squad. "Is it something like an entirely different galaxy, like on _Star Trek?_ " The Ultra Recon Squad were clearly confused, as _Star Trek_ did not exist within their dimension.

"Ultra Space is simply an alternate dimension, one where all the Ultra Beasts lie," explained Phyco; Fox was almost right, in a way. "There are also these things called Ultra Wormholes, which is kind of just like Ultra Space, but more...complex, if you will."

"Coco, you must come quick, it's an emergency!" Aku floated inside the Star Records room, alerting the blonde bandicoot. "It's Crash...he and Pac-Man are in a really big fight, in the middle of the hallway, and there's no telling if their fight will ever end. You must put a stop to it, Coco, before things get out of..." Aku looked down, and saw the Ultra Recon Squad, suddenly taking an interest in them...only because of their outfits. "Ooh, I just adore your outfits! What are you all supposed to be, _Star Trek_ cosplayers?"

"Before we leave this dimension, we should learn what this _Star Trek_ is all about..." Dulse quietly whispered to his companions, who all nodded their heads.

* * *

Aku would guide Coco to the hallway, the hallway in which this epic fight was taking place...Crash and Pac-Man, embroiled in a simple tug-of-war over Crash's trusty bazooka. This fight was so big, it could potentially leave both men disfigured forever, leave behind lasting scars; it was even worthy of being uploaded to YouTube and become viral for its extremely violent nature.

But yeah, this fight wasn't really a fight, it was just a harmless tug-of-war battle. Coco was amused, watching this battle go down, and she would give her unamused look to Aku, who was making it seem like poor Crash was going to be absolutely pummeled by Pac-Man.

"Those two have been overaggressive with how they've been pulling on the bazooka, and I felt like they had to be stopped at once," was all Aku could say. Coco rolled her eyes and shook her head, before heading over to Crash and Pac-Man, and snatching the bazooka away, thus ending the tug-of-war battle for good.

"Pac-Man, if you really wanted some ghost-catching technology, could you just get your own bazooka?" Coco asked the eater of ghosts, who was increasingly growing more nervous and desperate. "Or at least ask Luigi? He hunts down ghosts just like you do!"

"No Coco, you got it all wrong, you don't understand!" Pac-Man tried to make his plea to the blonde bandicoot. "You see, Master Hand wants me to give the co-producers from the documentary crew gifts, and I imagined Crash's bazooka would be the perfect gift for one of them."

"Tell me why exactly one of the producers would want a bazooka that can only shoot _wumpa fruit._ Better yet, why the producers would even need gifts in the first place. I mean, I never see a guy like Dick Wolf receive lousy gifts from NBC for producing _Law & Order!"_

"I...I really don't know, Coco. I truly don't. But I gotta do whatever it takes to make Master Hand happy..."

 **Pac-Man: I would hate to lose my job as party planner - I've only had that job since this morning. If I don't find any suitable gifts, I'm screwed...**

* * *

Bowser would return to his room, after dealing with his son Lemmy. The Koopa King gave Lemmy a stern talking to, scolding him for vandalizing on Wario's motorcycle, and later taught him how to vandalize Master Hand's Lamborghini, so future incidents would never happened again (Bowser made dang sure to repair the Lamborghini ASAP).

Once inside the room, Bowser locked the door and saw the white box on his bed, wondering how it got there. The koopa checked the box, and found the wedding dress and bouquet. But the tiara creature? She was nowhere to be found; she had went with Link and Cloud.

"Someone must have went into my closet and took the tiara thing, how could they?!" growled Bowser, flames fuming out from his mouth. "Whoever it was, they shall pay..."

* * *

With the help of Ashley, Asuka, and the Kongs, Mamori baked the cake for the party - or at least trying to. Thing was, Mamori had no baking experience, and neither did Ashley, Asuka, or the Kongs. So when the five got the cake done...it sure looked like a mess. It would make any cake lover cry their eyes out.

"You gotta admit, the bananas at the top were a nice touch," said Donkey Kong, looking at a cake that would be more suitable for a small birthday party than a party chock full of people. The bananas were the only saving grace of the pastry.

"Master Hand should have never asked me to bake the cake, I wasn't cut out for it..." sighed Mamori, wanting to throw the cake away and put this experience behind her for good. "We can't allow Master Hand to see this...creation."

"Yeah, Cilan would obviously make a cake much better than this abomination," remarked Asuka; talk about an understatement of the century. "Speaking of whom, where is Cilan, is he still moping?"

Cilan was near the dining room area, and yes, he was still moping, as he was seated against the wall, wiping away his tears. Sonic and Tails saw Cilan from afar, during his moment of despair, and wished to put an end to his troubles.

"Look Sonic, I have nothing against you and whatever ideas you have in mind...but the idea you have for Cilan, I'm not so sure of," Tails said to his hedgehog friend - this was the type of answer Sonic lowkey expected. "You really wanna go through with it?"

"We have no other choice Tails - my own curiosity screwed over Cilan, and inadvertently placed a hex on him," replied Sonic, still under the assumption that Cilan was "cursed" because of him. "I've done Cilan wrong, and I gotta turn the wrong into a right!"

"I'm impressed, Sonic - rarely do I see you take this much blame for something you did wrong, and wanting to fix the problem. Feeling a bit surprised as well..."

 **Tails: Starting to think the rift between Sonic and I benefited Sonic in a way, teaching him to be more culpable for his actions. It must have helped Sonic out a lot. Perhaps I should instigate a beef between Sonic and Knuckles to help flesh out Sonic...Knuckles would be a PERFECT guy to have a beef with!...I totally meant that in a good way.**

Sonic and Tails approached Cilan, who was solemnly looking down at the floor before looking up at the two best friends. At the moment, the connoisseur didn't want any company around him; he wanted to bask in his sadness, like losing his head chef role equated to his life being officially over.

"What do you two possibly want?" Cilan asked Sonic and Tails, his voiced choked up with emotion. "Came to make fun of me, because of my misfortune? You witnessed me being jawed out by Master Hand...bet you came back to make me feel even worse than I already do..."

"First off, let me just say that I'm sorry about your cake - it was my fault that your cake got destroyed," Sonic apologized to Cilan, making the connoisseur perk up - hearing an apology from Sonic was music to Cilan's ears. "But I know a way that I, or we, can make things up to you, and give Master Hand your job back!"

"It's no use, there's no way I can recreate the stellar cake I already baked and decorated...might as well head back to Striaton City, and soak in my sorrow and shame. The mansion no longer deserves me..."

"Oh, but there is a way, Cilan...and it involves a magical printer!" What does a printer have to do with baking a cake? Sonic better know what he's doing...

* * *

Link and Cloud went to Mario's home, to speak with Cappy, but the swordsmen duo were told to wait outside, for Mario didn't want Alm and Celica to deal with any distractions while they finished up on the appetizers. The two were enjoying a general conversation until Alm and Celica exited Mario's home, holding trays full of all sorts of appetizers.

"Will you PLEASE stop looking around and keeping looking forward?" Celica frowned at Alm, who was becoming suspicious about Berkut possibly hiding somewhere, ready to initiate a sneak attack. "Berkut is nowhere to be found, so quit your worrying!"

"That's what you think, my dearest Celica, but a man like myself knows better," responded Alm, as he and Celica continued to bicker. As the lovebirds bickered their way to the mansion, Luigi stepped out of Mario's home, surprised to see that Link and Cloud were still around...very patient folk.

"Ah, I see that-a you two chose to stick-a around...if only people did-a that at my home," Luigi said to Link and Cloud, before letting out a sigh. It wasn't easy not having guests stay for long periods of time. "So what's-a up?"

"Cloud and I saw this tiara creature inside a white box Bowser received in the mail today," explained Link, as the tiara creature in question appeared from behind Cloud, meekly approaching a now fascinated Luigi. "We were thinking that perhaps she was a friend or even sister of Cappy's. Is Mario home?"

"She sure does look-a like Cappy, what with-a the eyes...oh, and Mario, he already left-a for the mansion, since Master Hand wanted him at the big-a party. Possibly because he has been-a the..."

"Link, Cloud, Luigi, are you two busy?" Kirby approached Toon Link, looking somewhat battered and bruised. "There are two monsters dangerously close to the mansion, and Pit, Sora, nor I can stop them. I don't want to waste your time, but..."

"Beating up bad guys and monsters is never a waste of time for me," remarked Cloud, getting out his Buster Sword. Been a while since the swordsman done any fighting. "Just show us where these monsters are and we'll see what we can do." So Kirby led Cloud and company, as a man and a woman appeared on the horizon...

...Berkut and Rinea.

* * *

Kirby would show Luigi, Link, and Cloud the monsters his friend Pit and Sora were dealing with - one looked like a multi-colored alien species, while the other resembled a tall brick tower with legs. Do these descriptions sound familiar at all?

"Always knew you would come around Cloud - glad to have you fighting at my side!" Sora exclaimed to Cloud, who tried his best to tune the Keyblade wielder out. "If not for you and Link, we'd probably be goners!" And Luigi gets no love?

"Shut up, before I have to break that stupid Keyblade of yours," threatened Cloud, wondering if Sora's Keyblade was even effective at all. "So, what's the game plan, how do we stop these monsters?"

"I don't know man - we tried ever little trick in the book, but these monsters, they're one step ahead of us," said Pit. "We should definitely throw in the towel, and hug it out, maybe then the monsters will ago away." Doesn't work that way, Pit - it NEVER works that way.

 **Berkut: Here I am, in the premises of the Smash Mansion, about to find Alm, and challenge him a fight to the death...there will be one winner, and one loser. And the loser...shall DIE!  
Rinea: Berkut, sweetie, I don't think they'll allow you to kill Alm, or anyone at all. They ARE filming, after all...  
Berkut: Who gives a crap, it's not like anyone will see my senseless beating upon Alm! They'll just edit out the fight anyways. This is something personal, and whatever's personal must be finished with immediately!**

"I got a weird-a feeling about these here-a monsters...let me check some-a thing out," said Luigi, as he took out two Poke Balls - a Nest Ball and a Heal Ball. The choice of Poke Balls befuddled Link, Cloud, Pit, and Kirby.

"If you think those monsters are legendary Pokemon...couldn't you at least use an Ultra Ball?" asked Link, but Luigi was apparently confident about what he was about to do. "Highly doubt you catch catch the monsters _at all_ if they aren't in a weakened state."

"Anything can-a happen, Link...at least that's what they-a say in sports nowadays. Here goes-a nothing." So Luigi threw his Poke Balls, at the same time, at the monsters, and just as he assumed, both monsters were sent inside the Poke Balls, meaning that they were really Pokemon. But would they escape?

One...two...three... _click._ The two Pokemon, who were seemingly legendary, were somehow caught successfully by a Nest Ball and a Heal Ball. Luigi had a proud look on his face, as the others looked on in shock.

"If Luigi caught those two Pokemon easily...then those Pokemon might not be legendary at all," remarked Pit, clearly underestimating the power of the Nest Ball. One fateful Pokemon trainer _did_ catch a Groundon with a Nest Ball, after all...

* * *

Witnessing Luigi catch the two presumably legendary Pokemon from the window on the fifth floor was Touma, who marveled at how successful the Pokemon catches were. Astonished, Touma had to go tell Fox and Falco what he just witnessed, and so he did just that, as he ran to the Star Records room and saw the pilots, still with the Ultra Recon Squad.

"Fox, Falco, you won't believe it!" the red-haired young man sputtered, full of excitement. "Luigi, he caught two Pokemon outside...one with a Nest Ball, and the other with a Heal Ball! At the same freaking time! The Pokemon must be legendary! How amazing is that?!"

"Excuse me, but did you say there were two Pokemon outside?" Dulse asked Touma, wondering if the two Pokemon mentioned were the Ultra Beasts he and his companions were looking for.

"Um, yeah, that's exactly what I said! It was some alien thing, and a walking tower of bricks. Very weird Pokemon, I know...but to see them catched by such crappy Poke Balls was pretty awesome!" Although Touma and the others couldn't see it, the Ultra Recon Squad members were beaming underneath their masks, after hearing Touma's descriptions.

"UB-Burst and UB-Assembly, that must be them!" A now excited Dulse approached Touma, wanting to ask him another question. "Who was the person that caught the two Pokemon? We must speak with him quickly!"

"It's a tall, lanky Italian guy named Luigi - he wears blue overalls, and has a green cap and a mustache. It would be impossible to miss him."

* * *

Once Cilan's pity party came to an end, Sonic and Tails would take Cilan to the printing room, to recreate the cake. But in the printing room, of all places? The answer to Cilan's troubles would be at the far corner of the room, where MegaMan .EXE was using the printer Zero invented in episode 15. He was using the "Materializing" feature, and with said feature, he materialized...a $100 gift card. How basic.

"This will be the perfect gift for Secret Santa," remarked .EXE, as he picked up the gift card from the paper tray. Well, on the plus side, the NetNavi saved himself from doing some Christmas shopping.

 **MegaMan .EXE: Gift cards are the easiest gifts you can get for just about anyone. It's such a safe bet, and you don't have to worry about hurting anyone's feelings if you got them the wrong gift. The recipient of the gift card won't feel bummed out, or even elated, they'll be like, "Oh, you got me a gift card, how nice..." Though they'll feel elated about $100. Unless they're super stingy.**

"Yo .EXE, you done with that printer?" Sonic asked the NetNavi, who was holding a gift card from the Mexican restaurant Chipotle. Better not give that card to Mario. "My man Cilan needs to use it!"

"Has Cilan ever used Zero's printer before?" asked .EXE, wondering if the connoisseur even knew about the printer beforehand. "Come on over Cilan, and I'll show you how it works." So Cilan headed over to the printer, as .EXE gave him the microphone attached to it. "Basically you just say something into this microphone, and the printer will create whatever you say. Printer functions like a genie lamp, but only more technological..."

"I see...let me give it a shot, then," said Cilan, clearing his throat as he said the following: "I would like to create...the greatest, grandest cake the world has ever known!"

* * *

The party for the documentary crew had already begun, as the entire crew was in the ballroom. The two producers of _Smash Life,_ LeVar and Brad, along with the rest of the crew, were enjoying themselves. (Must suck for the cameraman who had to film everything, and not participate.) Alm and Celica were serving the appetizers, as Master Hand watched everything taking place in the party, with Mario at his side.

"WHERE IS THAT TIARA THING?!" barked Bowser, as he entered the ballroom looking for the tiara creature. He looked to his right, and saw K.K. Slider, who was on the stage playing some party tunes, and went over to speak with him. "K.K., have you seen a flying tiara thing anywhere?" Bowser asked the hippie dog.

"Not unless I was higher than the moon and using LSDs," said K.K. Slider; since he was a hippie, doing drugs was a somewhat accepted behavior from the dog. "But I promised myself to remain sober, so I guess it'll be a no from me..."

"Stupid dog..." Seeing that K.K. was no help, Bowser walked away, and saw Zelda chilling in the back, speaking with Midna. "Zelda, have you seen a tiara creature anywhere? I know you wear tiaras yourself, so I bet you know where..."

"No, I haven't seen this tiara creature that you speak of," replied Zelda, making Bowser even more furious. "How about you, Midna?" The imp shook her head, thereby increasing Bowser's ferocity. Suddenly Bowser's phone rang...the koopa king saw that it was a call from his buddy Kamek.

"Gah, Kamek is calling my phone...had no idea wizards like him used cellphones. Learn something new every day..." Bowser hopped off the stage, as he answered the call and went to a private room.

Minutes later, Pac-Man meekly entered the ballroom, having not found any gifts for LeVar and Brad. Which meant he would be met with the furor of Master Hand. The eater of ghosts blended in with the crowd, staying aware of his surroundings, until...

"Ah, Pac-Man, you've finally returned to the ballroom!" exclaimed Master Hand, who was (in)conveniently speaking with LeVar and Brad. "But I see that you're empty-handed...where are the gifts?"

"Oh, uh, well you see, I did have some gifts, but, uh, I bought them online, and, um, they have to come in the mail, and..." stuttered Pac-Man, but Master Hand was able to see through his obvious fibbing.

"I KNOW YOU'RE LYING, YOU DIDN'T GET ANY GIFTS, DIDN'T YOU!" Master Hand had to keep his voice pretty low so he wouldn't start a scene and interrupt the party. "How else are we going to show the producers our gratitude and appreciation?"

"Um, Master Hand, I honestly don't mind not having any gifts..." LeVar spoke up, on behalf of him and Brad. "The party's just fine enough..."

"YOU AND BRAD ARE GOING TO ACCEPT GIFTS ON BEHALF OF ME, AND YOU'RE GONNA LIKE IT!" When Master Hand yells in your face, you might as well listen and obey his command.

 **LeVar: Accepting gifts would be nice, but throwing a party for us will do just as fine. Gifts, to me, are just incentives to keep on filming the series.  
Brad: But I wouldn't mind accepting any money...10K per episode would be nice. But Master Hand isn't that rich, so...**

"You better find our producers some gifts, or I'll give your party planning duties to someone else!" Master Hand ordered to Pac-Man, who was now in the hot seat. Pac-Man frantically looked around, not knowing what to do, until his eyes fell upon Luigi, Link, and Cloud, who had recently entered the ballroom and speaking with Mario. Cloud brought the tiara creature to Cappy, and Cappy was sure delighted.

"Oh, Tiara, how I've longed to see you again!" exclaimed Cappy, full of joy. So the tiara creature's name was really Tiara...huh. "Thank you so much for reuniting me with my sister, Link and Cloud - I was afraid she was gone forever!"

"You oughta thank whoever delivered your sister to the mansion," replied Link, as Pac-Man stealthily tip-toed over to Luigi, who was holding his two Poke Balls. "She was in a box delivered to Bowser, and we kinda saved her before Bowser could do his usual Bowser thing."

"Bowser...how I despise that fiend. No doubt he was going to do sick things to Tiara. I know his evil intentions far too well..." As Cappy continued to rant about Bowser, Luigi suddenly looked down, and saw that his Poke Balls were missing.

"Ack, my Poke Balls have-a been stolen, but-a how?" the plumber wondered, as Pac-Man ran off with the Poke Balls in hand. He was catching his breath as he returned to Master Hand, LeVar, and Brad.

"Here are...your gifts...sorry about the hold-up..." Pac-Man gave the Poke Balls to LeVar and Brad, who reluctantly accepted their "gifts". Both men had wary looks on their faces, not knowing the Pokemon inside the balls.

"We never wanted any gifts in the first place..." said Brad, before the sound of Master Hand seething was heard. Might wanna change your words, Brad. "...I mean, much appreciated for the Poke Balls, we're HUGE Pokemon nerds, right LeVar?!" LeVar nervously nodded his head, hoping this would appease Master Hand.

"Oh, so you stole-a my Poke Balls and decided to give-a them away, huh?!" Luigi angrily marched towards Pac-Man, slightly starting a scene. "Let me tell-a you that there's legendary Pokemon in-a side those Poke Balls, therefore they can-a not be in the wrong-a hands..."

"LUIGI!" a voice called out to the plumber, grabbing his attention. It was Dulse, in the ballroom along with the Ultra Recon Squad. Dulse and his compradres would approach Luigi, needing to speak with him. "We are the Ultra Recon Squad, and we hail from Ultra Space. It has been brought to our attention that the two Ultra Beasts we're looking for - UB-Assembly and UB-Burst - have been caught by you. The Poke Balls in which the Ultra Beasts reside in are in those men's hands. So if you would please..."

"If you think our producers are going to give their well-deserved gifts to you sci-fi cosplaying punks, then think again!" boomed Master Hand, believing the Ultra Recon Squad came only to wreck the party. "So if you would please, return to your Ultra Space whatever, and cosplay all you want!"

"Oh, Master Hand, the cake is ready! It might not be much, but it's for everyone to enjoy!"

The party would be momentarily interrupted, as Mamori wheeled in her horrendous cake inside the ballroom, setting it in the center of the room. Everyone looked at the cake for a good while...before bursting into laughter, in disbelief of how bad the cake truly was. Calling it bad would be quite an understatement.

 **Mamori: Everyone laughed...everyone laughed at my cake...I already had low expectations anyways, so I wasn't emotionally crushed in any way.**

"Mamori Minamoto, you had one job, and you absolutely blew it!" scolded Master Hand, as the laughter persisted. "How could I possibly trust you to be the head chef of the mansion? At this point, I should make Flora, the head chef..."

"Fret not, Master Hand, for I have come, with redemption! Introducing, the greatest cake ever known!"

The laughter would come to a sudden halt, as everyone looked at Cilan, who was standing near the ballroom entrance. The connoisseur would direct his arms to the ballroom doors, as they opened - with Sonic and Tails wheeling in a cake exponentially better than Mamori's. In fact, it was even better than the cake Cilan originally baked. Everyone looked at the cake, desiring the biggest slice possible.

"Cilan, did you seriously make that cake?" Master Hand astonishingly asked the connoisseur, who nodded his head with a smile. "Well I'd be...this might be your greatest culinary accomplishment. Completely makes up for your earlier faults. Seeing how your cake has everyone mesmerized, including myself...Cilan, I would like to grant you your..."

"Stop the presses, I repeat, stop the presses!" shouted a voice, as yet another person entered the ballroom and continued to stall the party. It was Berkut, and with him against her will was Rinea. "I have come to fight Alm, to the death, and give him the fatal beating he ultimately deserves!"

"Man, I was just in the middle of giving Cilan back his head chef duties!" fumed Master Hand, as Cilan grew ecstatic at the prospect of having his job back. "Why must you interrupt me, and stall this awesome party in the process?"

"I do not mean to interrupt your plans, not by any means. But Alm's blood is what I'm looking for. I've searched high and low for Alm, in this mansion, and I can only assume that he's in this ballroom. So Alm, show yourself, unless you wish to remain a coward!"

"Who are you calling a coward?" questioned Alm, as he defiantly walked away from the appetizers table, with Celica trying to hold him back. "You really want to fight me like a man, huh Berkut? Well now's your chance..." Alm held his arms out wide, like he wanted Berkut to stab him through the chest. He might be crazy, but Berkut, he wouldn't have it any other way...

"Ah, so you don't want to fight me, and instead, you wish for me to kill you without a fight...you're an even bigger coward then I have ever known." Berkut took out his lance, and held it in the air, at his side. Dangerously close to Tiara, which was worth mentioning. "If this is how you want to go out, as a graceful coward, then so be it, that's your choice. Better say your last words..."

"...yes, Kamek, I accept your apology, I accepted it like a thousand times already," said Bowser, still on the phone with Kamek, as he exited from the private room, cutting into the tension with his phone call. "All of that stuff is now under the bridge." Bowser would weave through the horde of people as he was finishing up his call. "Yes, I mean it. Okay? Good. Call you later. Bye." And with that, Bowser ended his phone call, and the first thing he saw was Berkut...

...his lance inconveniently pointed at Tiara's head, like he was planning to slay her. Bowser, perceiving this, growled at Berkut, who gulped as the koopa king was building a fury of flames in his mouth.

"Oh dear..." was all Berkut could say, as an inevitable beatdown was coming his way.

* * *

 **Cilan: Woo hoo, got my head chef duties back! And it was all thanks to Sonic and Tails...and that strange printer in the printing room. I dare not to think about the prospect of anyone abusing that printer, and using it to make all sorts of food, and proclaim themselves to be a great chef. By the standards of culinary experts like myself, that would account for cheating, and you know what they say about cheaters...is there even a saying for cheaters?**

 **Pac-Man: Master Hand has given me a second chance with the party planning thing, meaning that if I screw up this time, I'm cooked. Master Hand sure is one tough cookie to please...**

 **Dulse: Just spoke with Luigi, and he agreed to hand over the Ultra Beasts so we can return them to Ultra Space. Only thing getting in our way, however, is Master Hand refusing to give the Poke Balls up...**

After being asleep for some time, Berkut suddenly woke up, and found himself in a patient room in the fitness center. The paladin, seeing he was in a patient bed, looked around, only to be greeted by a familiar face.

"About time you woke up, sleepyhead!" exclaimed Rinea, happier than usual. Berkut grunted in pain as he sat up. "You were asleep for quite a while, I thought you would never wake up!"

"What happened, where am I?" asked Berkut, who still had unfinished business with Alm. Still had yet to kill the guy.

"You got beat up and had to be taken to the fitness center, to heal your wounds. Thankfully it wasn't a serious beating, so you didn't have to go to the hospital."

"Uh huh...I don't think I'm fully healed yet, I feel some aching in my lower back. But once I'm healthy again, we shall return to Rigel, and devise a plan to kill Alm that hopefully won't involve me being in pain. Should've came more prepared."

"Yeah, about that...in order for the mansion's nurse to diagnose you and everything, she had to add you to the healthcare plan the mansion runs on, and since we're all under said plan...technically, we kinda have to live at the mansion from now on."

"WHAT?!" This was a reaction anyone would do upon learning they had to live with their arch rival. "I have to LIVE in the same building as Alm?! Will I even be permitted to kill him? Where is the fun in this..."

* * *

Finally Master Hand came around, and had LeVar and Brad give their "gifts", the Poke Balls, to Luigi, so he could give them to the Ultra Recon Squad. The squad was outside the mansion with Mario and Luigi, as Luigi held the Poke Balls containing UB-Burst and UB-Assembly.

"Here are the Ultra Beasts you came-a here for," Luigi handed the Poke Balls to Dulse, who happily accepted them. "Sorry you had to stay around-a longer than expected."

"We have finally found the Ultra Beasts, and that is what matters," said Dulse, as he summoned a wormhole - an Ultra Wormhole. "We should head back to Ultra Space, with our mission finally complete. May we all wish you the best in your future endeavors!" Mario and Luigi nodded their heads, as the Ultra Recon Squad passed through the Ultra Wormhole, the passage disappearing a moment afterwards. Luigi smiled as he looked at Mario...noticing something was amiss.

"Mario, where's-a your cap?" the plumber asked, and Mario would direct Luigi's attention to Cappy, who was near the porch bonding with his sister Tiara.

"Thought it would be best-a to give Cappy some time to catch-a up with his sis," responded Mario, as the sun began to set in the Seattle sky.

And LeVar and Brad, the _Smash Life_ co-producers, were looking from afar, proud of the work they accomplished so far.


	101. Episode 101: Mandibuzz

_Author's Note:_

 _Thanksgiving chapter, coming your way. Got it done just in time before Thanksgiving...somehow. Two guest reviews to answer:_

 _"Will you also include the characters from Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2? A scene of Snow Villiers interacting with Yuri Lowell and Jake Muller? (Troy Baker voices them) a nod or reference to Code Name S.T.E.A.M.? And finally, will the events of Project X Zone and Project X Zone 2 be mentioned when Reiji, Xiaomu, Saya, and Sheath show up?"_

 _Perhaps. Possibly. I can do a Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. reference. And PXZ events will be referenced. Here's the other review, from Darkcol9:_

 _"Is it possible to have Shantae, Bolo, Sky, and Rottytops as well as Risky boots to appeared at the smash mansion?"_

 _Bolo, Sky, and Rottytops are all Shantae characters, aren't they? I was only going to have Shantae appear, but if I feel like it, the others can show up as well..._

 _And since I would be a jerk if I didn't say this...Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!_

* * *

 **Episode 101: Mandibuzz**

If you ever watched your favorite program on television lately, you have probably have been exposed to a Christmas commercial or two. Whether it was the Heineken Light commercial, the Toyota commercials, or even the recent Sprite commercial with LeBron James, you have had a Christmas advertisement imposed on you one way or another ever since Halloween.

The current onslaught of these commercials are done by none other than corporations trying to cash in on the holiday craze, and maximize their profits as early as possible. All done as a means to prepare the general public for the most wonderful time of the year, Christmas. However, before we could get to Christmas, there was one holiday we had to get to...

...the holiday known as Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving was the perfect time for stuffing your mouth with turkey, forcing yourself to watch Dallas Cowboys games, and getting to spend time with family and loved ones. Even if you weren't a family guy, or didn't like the company of others, you still had to force yourself to enjoy and appreciate getting along with others at a Thanksgiving dinner. The least a guy like Cloud, Proto Man, or even Shadow the Hedgehog could do.

With Peach now living with Mario in her own home, it was now up to Rosalina to prepare the Thanksgiving feast. Cilan already had breakfast down pact, but it was up to Rosalina to make this year's Thanksgiving dinner the greatest dinner ever. But that's what they say every year...

"So Falco, what football teams are playing today?" Fox asked his avian pilot, as they were watching the Thanksgiving parade that morning. He would have said "this afternoon", but the pilots were on the west coast, three hours behind Eastern time. They woke up especially early this morning so they could watch the entire parade.

"The Minnesota Vikings are going to play the Detroit Lions," Falco replied in a relatively bored tone. Either he was bored by the matchup, or he was bored by the marching band performing at the Thanksgiving parade.

"Wait, didn't they play each other on Thanksgiving last year? Booooo...who are the Cowboys playing?" The Dallas Cowboys were America's Team; certainly they had to play a marquee team today.

"They're playing...the Los Angeles Chargers." Not a very tantalizing matchup...the Cowboys were mediocre, and the Chargers...well, they're the Chargers. Nothing truly special about them. "And the Redskins and the Giants are playing in the night game. Won't be that hard to pick who's gonna win this game..."

"Aren't the Giants booty this year? They've only had one win all season, and it seems like the team has completely given up. Such a shame they've been given all these primetime games just for being a big market team. The Thanksgiving games this year stink!"

"If Emperor Palpatine's New England Patriots were playing on Thanksgiving this year, you wouldn't say that..." said a voice that alarmed both Fox and Falco, making the pilots jump in fear. Sitting next to them conspicuously, not saying a single word until now, was Corrin, who was actively watching the parade. "Anything involving the Patriots equals box office. That's why New England keeps on winning - it's simply best for business!"

 **Corrin: I do not care for the Thanksgiving parade this year...I do not care for these marching bands from different colleges, I do not care for the silly parade floats like Kermit the Frog, and I do not care for meteorologist Al Roker, who should be telling us the weather for today and warning us about a possible alien invasion rather than attending a parade with his fellow NBC buddies. What I do care for is seeing the trailer for _Star Wars: The Last Jedi,_ which I hope will be aired sometime during the parade. I missed out on the trailer when it first aired on TV, and so I'll try and see the trailer today if I can. Watching the trailer online would be far too easy, and besides, everyone knows the alien race controls the Internet...why do you think they keep Facebook and other heinous "social media" platforms around?**

"Corrin, how long have you been sitting with us?" asked Falco; even though the prince of Nohr wasn't sitting that close to him, the avian pilot felt like his personal space was being somewhat violated.

"Thirty minutes after the parade began - I could have joined you earlier, but I was too busy drinking coffee to keep myself caffeinated so I won't fall asleep," explained Corrin, as Fox and Falco exchanged weird looks with one another. "I'm hoping they air the _Star Wars_ trailer, so I can react to it by spazzing all over he place acting like I'm having the seizure of a lifetime. That's what the reactors do online - I've been practicing my reactions by watching their volatility and taking notes of their every movement."

"That's...that's a little creepy, Corrin, don't think I would every say that out loud," remarked Fox after a brief awkward pause, as a certain blonde entered the living room yawning, adorned in her blue nightgown. "Oh, good morning Rosalina - happy Thanksgiving to ya!"

"And happy Thanksgiving to you too, Fox," smiled Rosalina, as she looked around in the living room. "And Falco...and Corrin." Rosalina found it odd that Corrin was up so early, but a moment later she kinda understood the prince's reasoning. "Figured someone would be up and awake early in the morning to watch the parade." Rosalina glanced at the clock on the wall, and saw that it was 7:15; the parade was almost halfway over. "I take it Cilan is in the kitchen, making breakfast?"

"Yup, Cilan was up before all of us," stated Falco, seeing that Corrin was now glued to the television screen during a commercial break. "Don't think the guy ever got any sleep last night...probably was too eager to be making breakfast for anyone. So, Rosalina, what do you have planned for the Thanksgiving feast?"

"I'm not sharing any of my secrets with you...you'll just have to wait until later. But I can guarantee you that the feast won't end like it did last year, with a food fight." Fox, who wanted to see another Thanksgiving food fight, snapped his fingers in disgust. "I think the Duck Hunt Dog was the one who started the fight, by attacking Pit, so I'll make sure to keep him outside, on a leash."

"You gotta admit, the Duck Hunt Dog throwing that turkey leg at Pit was a very savage thing to do. If he had done it to Bowser, we would never hear the end of it. Speaking of Bowser, what are the odds he does that stupid 'List of Bowser' thing again?"

* * *

Unfortunately for Falco and many, many others, the odds for Bowser doing another list was very high. The koopa king was patrolling the hallways that morning, looking for potential "stupid idiots" to add to his list, "The List of Jericho 2.0". He apparently considered this to be a new Thanksgiving tradition at the Smash Mansion.

 **Bowser: Ever since my original list was destroyed by that loser basketball player, a lot of people have joined the mansion, worthy of earning the privilege of being added to my legendary list. In fact, I've already added names to my List of Bowser 2.0, a list I've kept since Christmas time, and been dying to use again until today. You wanna know who's on the list...You do? Great! That "no" sure sounded like a "yes", to my ears at least! *pulls out list* I added Crash to the list, for his inability to grasp any human language; I added Asuka to the list for lying about her breasts not being breast implants; and as a suggestion from Sonic, I added Professor Layton to the list for being boring! People like Mario were already on the list before, but those same people will feel honored to be winding up on the list again!**

Like an annoying hall monitor at school, Bowser patrolled the hallways, while riding on a Segway. Or two Segways rather, which he borrowed from Toon Link and Young Link, since one Segway was too big for him. Dying for someone to put on his list, Bowser would find his first victim, when he saw Rinea, exiting from a bathroom. The noblewoman, along with Berkut, joined the mansion last week, though they were kept in separate rooms for "convenience measures", as Master Hand called it. Bowser would zoom towards Rinea on his Segways, startling the woman once he reached her.

"State your business woman - what business do you have, up early in the morning before eight?" Bowser questioned Rinea, who hadn't forgiven the koopa king for beating his man senselessly. Poor Berkut was still aching, all because of a simple misunderstanding.

"Oh, so it's a crime to use the bathroom now?" frowned Rinea, with her hands on her hips. "Like I'm supposed to just keep my urine in, and wet myself in the bed? Is that what you want?! You think I'm some kind of toddler?!"

"How dare you express your insensitivity towards toddlers! It's not their fault they have been potty trained yet, everything requires a process, you know! For your insensitive nature, Rinea...you have earned yourself a spot on my list! Enjoy spending your time as a stupid idiot!" Rinea could only roll her eyes, as Bowser furiously scribbled the noblewoman's name on his list, like he was writing down his most hated rival's name in the Death Note. After Bowser was done, Berkut appeared, seeing his lover standing in the hallway.

"What are you doing in the hallway this morning, Rinea?" Berkut asked his woman, before seeing Bowser standing nearby and flinching in fright. Berkut had a few PTSD symptoms from the beatdown Bowser handed to him.

"Good thing you're here Berkut, your woman is up to no good! She was flaunting her insensitivity like it was nobody's business, and it made me sick to his stomach! So sick, that I declared her a stupid idiot by writing her name on my List of Bowser! I suggest you put your woman in check, unless you wanna end up on the list too!"

"Rinea is perhaps the most genuinely nicest person I've ever had the pleasure of meeting...she's the one who generally puts me in check. She would never say anything mean, or insensitive, or downright cruel. She's pure as pure can be..."

"Only standing up Rinea just because she's your girlfriend, eh? I would say I expected better from you, but seeing how you threatened to kill Tiara last week, I'll hold my breath. You just made the list, Berkut!" Bowser wrote down Berkut's name on the list, writing the name with such ferocity.

"Rinea is more than just my girlfriend...she's my fiancee." As Berkut stated this, Bowser looked up at the paladin, looking like the most offended person in the world. Like he couldn't believe the very words that exited Berkut's lips.

"Berkut, you wanna know what happens when you try and correct the mighty King Bowser? Huh? You wanna know what happens when you let your nemesis Alm marry his woman before you do? Huh, you wanna know? Berkut..." Bowser held his ink pen up high, and clicked it dramatically. "...YOU JUST MADE THE LIST AGAIN!" Bowser scribbled the paladin's name for a second time, with a deadly frown on his face.

"Let's not entertain this grotesque turtle anymore, Rinea..." Berkut grabbed his fiancee's hand, as he led her away from Bowser. Had Bowser overheard Berkut, the paladin would've earned his name on the list _thrice_!

* * *

 **Peach: When Mario and I planned our Thanksgiving dinner - and we've been planning since we first moved out, just to be ahead of the curve - we never had in mind inviting Lara Croft of all people to join. But, due to circumstances we had no control over, we had to make amends and include Lara in our dinner, since she's against having dinner at the mansion. It's not so much that she minds the people there, it's that there's some single men that could give Lara a tough time. Captain Falcon is still single, and might start flirting with Lara if he can't reconcile with Nowi. Hisui is perhaps the biggest ladies man I've ever known, and if his sister Kohaku isn't around, he could make Lara feel very uncomfortable...**

While Peach and Lara were enjoying their morning Thanksgiving breakfast, Mario and Cappy were in the living room, watching the Thanksgiving parade. While Corrin was anticipating the _Star Wars_ trailer (which might not even air during the parade) Mario was anticipating his float appearing in the parade yet again, and even told Cappy about the possibility of him appearing too!

"Does he always have to do this?" Lara would ask Peach, as she observed the overexcited look on Mario's face. The plumber was seriously glued to the TV - not even the sound of the doorbell could break him from his gaze.

"It's apparently a long-standing tradition of Mario's," replied Peach, in an almost depressing manner, with Tiara on her head. Mario told the princess that Tiara was a "belated" wedding gift. "Every year, Mario watches the Thanksgiving parade just for his float, while disparaging the other parade floats if he's in the mood. When his float appears on the television screen..."

"AW YEAH, THERE IT IS, THAT'S-A MY FLOAT, LET'S GO!" cheered Mario, standing him and clapping in his pajamas as he saw his parade float on the screen. Cappy had his eyes open wide, as he looked to see if he was a part of the float. Peach smiled faintly and looked towards Lara, who could only shake her head at Mario's shenanigans.

Just then, the doorbell sounded. With Mario still having his little moment, Peach got up from the table to answer the door, and saw Pit and Kirby, dressed up as pilgrims. While the fact that Pit and Kirby were standing outside Peach's home that morning as pilgrims concerned Peach, what concerned the princess the most was the bird Pokemon accompanying Pit and Kirby...

...Mandibuzz. This flying dark-type Pokemon was staring into the very soul of Peach, making the princess feel slightly intimidated.

"Dias buenos, Princess Peach, and happy Thanksgiving!" Pit would greet the princess with his terrible Spanish skills. "Kirby and I thought you and Mario would need a turkey, and so we brought one for ya!" Like Peach would ever roast a Pokemon and eat it alive...by most Pokemon standards, that would be inhumane!

"Pit, that's a Mandibuzz, NOT a turkey..." Peach stated, feeling a little concerned for her safety. If you wanted to get technical, the species name of the Mandibuzz was bone vulture Pokemon...meaning that Pit was in the double negative.

"Looks can be deceiving Peach, trust me, I know...but is this not the greatest turkey you've ever seen?! It's big, probably weights up to a hundred pounds, has a bone in its hair...did I mention that it's also BIG?! This thing could feed dozens of people!"

"Thank you Pit, but I'm not interested in the offer. Besides, Mario already bought a turkey from the store, and it's in the oven as I speak. So why don't you return that Mandibuzz back to the sanctuary where it belongs, and leave me at peace, hmm?"

And with that, Peach closed the door on Pit and Kirby, leaving them alone with the Mandibuzz. The bone vulture Pokemon would turn her attention to Pit and Kirby, trying to strike fear into the two goobers.

 **Kirby: Rosalina is in charge of Thanksgiving feast, and Pit and I cannot take any chances with Rosalina. So we're aiming to have Thanksgiving dinner with either Mario or Luigi, if either one is willing to invite us.  
** **Pit: To entice either Mario or Luigi to invite us, we will offer them this turkey. *pats Mandibuzz on the back, as Kirby looks concerned* Any turkey of this size would be delectable...  
** **Kirby: Um, Pit, that's no turkey...that's a Mandibuzz, a very fearsome Pokemon. Over level 54, if I recall correctly. You should put her back...  
Pit: Mandibuzz, Schmandibuzz...if you want to create all these new names for turkeys, then do that on your own time. Right now, we need to see if either Mario and Luigi will accept this bad boy!  
Kirby: Mandibuzz is a female-only species, Pit...  
Pit: Man, I had no idea all turkeys were female...maybe that explains how they lay eggs so effortlessly!**

"No worries, my turkey friend, I'm sure Luigi will accept you with open arms, and bake you later as part of his Thanksgiving dinner!" Pit reassured to Mandibuzz, patting her on the back. The bone vulture Pokemon, learning Pit's ulterior motive, pecked the angel, before chasing him down. "Kirby the turkey's attacking me, do something!" Pit called out to his buddy, as he ran away from Mandibuzz.

"If you keep running like that, Mandibuzz will keep chasing you!" Kirby called out to Pit, who was screaming out of his lungs. "Try flying instead! Oh, what's the use..."

* * *

Now that we saw how Mario was handling things at his place, let's see what Luigi was up to in his home...

"WAAAAH THE TURKEY'S ON-A FIRE!" the plumber shrieked, as his turkey caught on fire for the second year in a row. He was using a water mist extinguisher to take out the fire, as Rotom looked on with baited breath.

"Luigi this is the second consecutive year that the turkey has caught on fire, zzrt!" the plasma Pokemon informed the plumber, seconds before the fire was taken care of. Luigi took a breather, wiping away the sweat from his face. "Are you sure putting the turkey on 450 would be a good idea going forward?"

"I don't see anywhere-a online stating that would be a bad-a idea," replied Luigi, once he was done recollecting himself. "Just don't tell-a Daisy or Yuffie about this. ESPECIALLY Yuffie - she'll go about telling everyone-a in the mansion!"

"Telling everyone in the mansion what?" asked Yuffie, appearing behind Luigi without warning. Luigi shrieked, as he threw away the extinguisher, the protection device landing on a vase and breaking it in the process. Luigi had a nervous smile on his face, his hands behind his back, like nothing was wrong. Yuffie was smirking, curious about what crappy alibi Luigi would use against her.

"Um...telling everyone in-a the mansion...that Rotom has a huge-a crush on Kohaku Hearts!" Yuffie would be astonished by this bit of information, but it was a known fact that Kokahu was in love with Rotom, and Rotom was in love with Kohaku; the plasma Pokemon didn't care if Kohaku was a human.

"Luigi I thought I told you, Kokahu and I are in love, zwoop!" Rotom had to inform the plumber. "We have been since this year! Do you not remember the Valentine's Day party, where Kohaku and I bonded, like a boyfriend and a girlfriend seated on a romantic cliff in front of the setting sun?"

"Look Luigi, if you don't want to tell me that the turkey caught on fire yet again, then that's fine with me, I won't tell Daisy," assured Yuffie, seeing the white suds on the turkey. Luigi should have cleaned that off in a jiffy, once he had the chance. "Just don't do the same thing next year, alright? Starting to think there's some bad Thanksgiving omen taking place..."

A knock was at the front door. Curious as to who it was, Luigi left the kitchen and went to the front door, opening it and seeing Pit, Kirby, and Mandibuzz. Pit had scratches and scars all over his body from dealing with Mandibuzz, and capturing her as well. Kirby had the bone vulture Pokemon on a leash, to prevent her from escaping.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Mr. Luigi!" Pit said to the green plumber, who was tempted to close the door to save himself from Pit's foolery. "Do you already have a turkey?  
Well Kirby and I have come forth with a turkey far more superior than yours, and you can have it FOR FREE! You wouldn't turn down anything free, would you Luigi?"

"Sorry, Pit and-a Kirby, but I'm content with-a the turkey I already have," smiled Luigi, feeling the same intimidation Peach felt when he saw the Mandibuzz looking at him in the eye. "I'm not-a into cooking and eating Pokemon, but thanks-a for the offer. Goodbye!" And with that, Luigi promptly closed the front door.

 **Pit: First Mario turned down our turkey, and now Luigi...we would offer the turkey to the Waddle Dee family, but they can't eat food anyways so there would be no point in making an offer and having a Thanksgiving dinner with them. We'll just have to look elsewhere...**

* * *

With the Thanksgiving parade about to end soon, it was almost time for breakfast to commence. Master Hand wanted everyone up and ready around 8:30, and Bowser personally asked the giant hand if he could wake up the sleepyheads that were still asleep in their rooms. All in the name of the List of Bowser 2.0!

"Told you punks you shouldn't have stayed up last night beating that stupid jump rope world record in _Odyssey_!" Bowser barked at Dark Pit and Diddy Kong, who groggily walked past the koopa king deprived of sleep. "You stupid idiots are now on the list!" Bowser wrote down Dark Pit and Diddy's names on his beloved list, before storming away to look for more names to collect. Down the hallway, Bowser would see a locked bedroom door, sensing that some sleeping bodies were inside.

So with his evil smile of his, Bowser went to this bedroom, and knocked on the door, just dying to see who would open the door so their name could be added to the list. After waiting for a few seconds, Aerith would open the door, greeting Bowser with a smile.

"Good morning, Bowser," greeted the flower girl, unfazed by Bowser's evil visage. "Just so you know, I was already up, just had to fix my hair, that's all. You won't hold that against me, will you?"

"Of course I will hold that against you!" barked Bowser, as the smile on Aerith's face quickly faded away. "What kind of lame excuse is fixing your hair supposed to be? Do you care so much about your physical appearance that you have to take care of your hair? That makes you a stupid idiot, and therefore you're making it onto the list!" Bowser added Aerith to the list, and Aerith didn't care at all. Like everyone else, she thought the list was trivial to her. "There we go, just wrote your name under Rinea's!"

"Someone say my name?" asked Rinea, as she joined Aerith at the doorway; her face instantly sank when she saw Bowser. "Oh, it's you again...came to put my name on your stupid list again? Your list means nothing to me, so go on ahead..."

"I guess you didn't know, did you?" Aerith asked Bowser, who looked pretty shocked. "Master Hand wanted to keep Berkut and Rinea away from each other as much as possible, pretty much like Link and Zelda, and opted to put the two in different rooms. Since I never had a roommate ever since Mario moved out, I had to accept Rinea as my roommate."

"But if Rinea is staying with you...then who the heck is Berkut's roommate?" questioned Bowser. Why don't we find out the answer ourselves?"

* * *

"C'mon man, put your back into it, pick up the slack! Show me where the effort is! And to think you call yourself the heir to the throne of Rigel...is Rigel even an actual kingdom? Can you show me where Rigel is on the world map? Is Rigel just an imaginary place that lingers in your mind? Do you live in la la land or something?"

Uka was disparaging and barking orders at Berkut, who was being ordered to fix his bed. The paladin apparently thought that with his high social status in Rigel, he was above fixing his bed and doing other things he could do himself. Little did he know that his social status did not carry over to the Smash Mansion.

"Guess who found a secret stash of malasadas in the pantry!" exclaimed Cortex as he entered his room, and saw Uka barking orders at his roommate Berkut. Yes, Berkut was Cortex's roommate; nobody in the mansion wanted Cortex, and Berkut didn't want Cortex as a roommate. It was a perfect match. "Uka, stop yelling at Berkut, the man's trying his hardest!"

 **Berkut: It was tough being able to kill Alm, what with being in the fitness center and healing from my injuries. But living with Alm? That will be even tougher, as Master Hand has restricted me from laying a single finger on Alm. My bloodthrist will have to be restrained, while I deal with living in the same building as my arch-enemy.  
Cortex: All this talking about wanting to kill Alm, and having a bloodthirst to kill him, makes you look like a sociopath...and I really dig your style! We should totes be friends!  
Berkut: Give me one good reason why I should start a friendship, partnership, alliance, or anything of the like with you. Your floating mask friend easily exploits your obvious flaws, and I don't think I would enjoy being seen with a man who has a large letter on his head...  
Cortex: The N on my head has been around since I was three, when I was in preschool! Totally doesn't stand for "nerd"...  
Berkut: So you were bullied at a very, very young age...good to know. Not surprised in the slightest.**

"The man shouldn't be trying his hardest, how hard is fixing a bed?" questioned Uka. Unless you were Berkut, and had others do favors for you, fixing the bed was as easy as opening a cookie jar. "Berkut's nothing more than a lazy bum!"

"Like you're the one to talk, all you do is shout at everyone!" retorted Berkut, who was too ignorant to know that getting into an argument with Uka was no bueno. "You contribute absolutely nothing to the mansion!"

"And you haven't contributed nothing ever since you and your skanky woman came here! You think that just because you're the heir to some stupid throne, Master Hand can treat you like a spoiled child? Give me a break!"

Berkut and Uka continued arguing, as Cortex idly watched, wishing he had a bag of popcorn in his hands. Rosalina, the Thanksgiving dinner planner, walked by, and saw the argument through the doorway.

"Does this happen on a daily basis, those two arguing?" Rosalina asked Cortex, who turned around and saw the mother of Lumas standing by. If only Rosalina brought some popcorn for Cortex.

"Nope, but it sure beats me arguing with Uka all the time," replied Cortex, thankful to not be on the receiving end of Uka's verbal barbs. "Personally I hope this rift between Berkut and Uka continues!"

* * *

With everyone up and awake, all the residents gathered in the dining room for breakfast. In that very dining room, there were many individuals who have never celebrated Thanksgiving, whether it was because of where they were from, or how they just did things. Whether it was the idol singers, the bandicoot trio, or anyone else, they've never celebrated Thanksgiving, and so today would be a day of firsts for them.

"Whaddaya mean, you and your Star Records buddies never celebrated traditional Thanksgiving?" Bowser questioned Tsubasa, who gave the koopa king the lowdown on Japan's own version of Thanksgiving. "You celebrate 'Labor Thanksgiving Day' instead? For that, you and your Japanese friends are all making the list! Congratulations!"

"Labor Thanksgiving Day is just like regular Thanksgiving, except that you have commemorate labor and production in Japan," explained Tsubasa, as Bowser added the names of Itsuki, Tsubasa, Touma, Eleonora, Kiria, Yashiro, and Mamori to his list. "The students in the early grades of elementary school make drawings for the holiday, and give the drawings to police stations as gifts!"

"Does that mean Japan willingly keeps their youth in school during a national holiday? Is Japan really that serious about education?! In that case, everyone from Japan's Department of Education is making the list! Tell me their names, every single one of 'em!"

"Japan doesn't have a Department of Education..." But they do have a Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology...which, in a way, is pretty much the same thing.

 **Itsuki: Labor Thanksgiving Day falls on the 23rd of November every year on the Japanese calendar, so that means we'll be essentially celebrating _two_ Thanksgivings in one day. My friends and I will be eating turkey and celebrating Japanese workers at the same time!**

 **Tsubasa: A tradition of Labor Thanksgiving Day is having elementary school children making drawings for police officers. We asked the Koopalings to draw Thanksgiving pictures for us, and the only one who gave us a drawing was Lemmy, who had given us...this. *holds up Lemmy's drawing*  
Eleonora: *scrutinizes drawing* Is that...is that supposed to be a turkey?  
Tsubasa: Supposedly...Lemmy loves using a random variety of colors, so either this is a turkey...or some exploding rainbow. Lemmy has a _very_ imaginative mind.**

"Hey Crash, pass the syrup!" Yashiro called out to the bandicoot. Crash, who did not know a single thing about proper table manners, hurled the bottle of syrup at Yashiro, nailing him in the face. The idol singer was able to brush it off like a champ. "Thank, I guess..."

"Rosalina, may I speak with you for a quick second?" Hisui spoke to the mother of Lumas in private, as Yashiro was busy recovering. Rosalina and Hisui would quietly leave the dining room, while the male Inkling and King Dedede were fighting over pancakes, not attracting any attention. The two were by themselves in the kitchen, as far away from Cilan as possible so they could have their private discussion.

"Alright Hisui, what is it that you wish to speak with me?" Rosalina whispered to the elder Hearts sibling. If Hisui was trying to ask out Rosalina on a date, he better think again, for the mother of Lumas was still in a relationship with Ganondorf. Not to mention that her age was unknown - she could be over a hundred years old, despite looking pretty youthful.

"Just wanted to let you know that I...well, invited a bunch of people over to the Thanksgiving feast." Rosalina didn't mind this one bit - visitors were always welcome on Thanksgiving, as long as you know who they were. "Wanted to give you a heads up in advance."

"You didn't have to give me a heads up Hisui, as long as you informed Master Hand about these visitors, then you have nothing to worry about. Did you speak with Master Hand beforehand?"

"Spoke with him a few days ago, showed him the list." Rosalina felt somewhat concerned, as Hisui dug into his pocket, and pulled out a list of folks he invited. "Let's see who I invited...Lithia Spodumene, Milla Maxwell, Jude Mathis, Alvin, Presa, Emil, Marta...I'm sure you've met some of them during the whole Heartless thing."

"That's...not that long of a list, thought there would be more." Now Rosalina had to make accommodations in the event a surplus of guests came to the mansion. "Thank you for sharing this information with me, Hisui."

Hisui nodded his head, before returning to the dining room to finish his breakfast. Rosalina herself was about to return too...until Red the Pokemon Trainer exited the dining room. Rosalina was hoping the Pokemon trainer wasn't going to speak with her...

"Yo, Rosalina, may I speak with you for a hot minute?" Red asked the mother of Lumas. So much for Rosalina making a run for it. "It's about some of the guests I invited from the Alola region - the trial captains and island kahunas."

"You mean Mallow and Kiwae and all the others?" asked Rosalina; Red nodded his head. "Will Professor Kukui, Lillie, and Hala come along as well?" Red nodded his head yet again - can't leave those three out of the Alolan bunch!

"I wanted to let you know that there are two guests that have never been to the mansion before - Olivia and Molayne. The former is a member of the Elite Four, the latter is a former trial captain. Not sure if you've noticed, but Captain Falcon is still heartbroken about him and Nowi breaking up, and I fear that if he sees Olivia, he'll become enamored with her...provided Nowi shows up, which I doubt will happen. I just don't want Olivia to feel uncomfortable, that's all."

 **Captain Falcon: So am I still bitter about what happened between Nowi and I? *looks to the distance, then chuckles* Pfft, as if! I'll get back with Nowi in due time, trust me! Just have to contact her first and explain things, like call her on the phone or something. Nowi doesn't have a phone, but Chrom's gal Raven does, and she's pretty close with Nowi...I would have Chrom call Raven for me, and ask her if she can put Nowi on the line so I can speak with her, but that wouldn't work that well, in my opinion. I've been contemplating about moving on and finding another woman, but I need Nowi...and Nowi, well, she needs me.**

"Basically you want me to keep a close eye on Captain Falcon when he's around Olivia," said Rosalina, making sure he was hearing right. She thought Falcon and Nowi got back together again. "Or do you want me to keep him away from Olivia, for the sake of everyone involved?"

"It would be best if you did the latter, that way there won't be a 'love at first sight' kind of deal," replied Red, thinking that the latter option was the best option possible. What if Captain Falcon was getting along with Olivia, and Nowi makes a surprise visit to the mansion - wanting to make up with Captain Falcon - and sees her ex and Olivia, hanging out? The end result would be disastrous! "Glad I had this conversation with you, Rosalina - can't wait until the feast begins!"

"I won't disappoint you Red, I'm sure you'll enjoy it." With the conversation coming to an end, Red would leave the kitchen, putting on some pressure on Rosalina. Not only did she had to accommodate for a couple of invited guests, but she also had to keep one of the guests away from Captain Falcon. Just when Rosalina was about to return to the dining room, Cloud would enter the kitchen, along with Link.

"Oh, so you have some guests to invite to the Thanksgiving feast too?" Rosalina asked Cloud, with some irritability in her voice. Cilan looked up, noticing this, before resuming his work. "Got some _Final Fantasy_ folks you invited that you want to tell me about? Tifa? Barret? Lightning? Leon? Balthier? Terra? Anyone else I'm missing? The Turks, perhaps?"

"Chill out Rosalina, I didn't invite anyone...Link and I just came here to put our plates away," explained Cloud, allowing Rosalina to cool her tempers as Link and Cloud placed their plates on the kitchen counter. "Also, if anyone would invite any _Final Fantasy_ dudes, it would be Aerith - she's very social and friendly online. Meets new people every week. Me, I could never get into that kind of stuff."

"Considering you still don't know how to fully operate a computer, that's not a surprise..." murmured Link, receiving a aggressive nudge from Cloud. "This man has no idea how to use incognito mode or private browsing on ANY of the popular web browsers Rosalina, just to let you know...so if you see music suggestions from emo bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, or Panic at the Disco under the history of any of the computers in the computer room, then you know the guy responsible." That earned Link another aggressive nudge from Cloud.

"Good to know...anyways, can you boys do me a huge favor, if you aren't busy? There's going to be a lot more guests coming to the mansion than I expected, and I might need another turkey, just to accommodate for everyone. Hisui invited several of his friends over, and Red invited the lovely folks from the Alola region."

"You're talking about Professor Kukui and the island captains and kahunas and whatnot?" asked Cloud, reminisicing the events of episode 48, in which he and Link found a Heartless they believed was an Alolan Pokemon. "I've always wondered how they've been...which is kinda funny, since I hardly think about anyone. Goes on to show how uncaring I am...but yeah, Link and I will get you a turkey."

* * *

Speaking of turkey, Pit and Kirby were traversing through the city of Seattle, seeing if anyone would not only accept their "turkey" Mandibuzz, but also invite them to their Thanksgiving dinner. They knocked on the door of a random house in the Seattle suburbs, and a middle-aged woman opened the door.

"Good morning ma'am, and happy Thanksgiving to ya!" Pit greeted the woman, who was miffed by the angel and Kirby dressed as pilgrims. Just wasn't feeling it. "Is your Thanksgiving dinner bland? Do you not like how your turkey looks or tastes? You feel like sprucing up your Thanksgiving? Then allow my friend Kirby and I to introduce to you, the greatest turkey the world has ever...

"No," the woman replied flatly as she closed the door on Pit and Kirby. This was the 35th or so time Pit and Kirby were rejected by someone in Seattle, and Pit was determined to give his "turkey" away to someone.

 **Kirby: Should I tell Pit that the Mandibuzz is a POKEMON, and not a turkey? Well, I would never tell the guy that it isn't safe to lick electrical outlets, or poke a grizzly bear while it's sleeping in its cave, or even stick your hand down a paper shredder. Sometimes he has to learn himself.**

* * *

Last time Sonic invited Shadow to the mansion for Thanksgiving, the edgelord hedgehog was bothered by how obsessed Sonic was with his pet Shaymin. His bothered nature could be because of how unloved he felt, especially after Maria Robotnik's death. The death of Maria shook Shadow, having to see his childhood friend tragically murdered...

So, to keep Shadow's spirits high during this Thanksgiving day, Sonic invited the hedgehog and Silver to watch some good ol' American football with his two favorite people, Tails and Knuckles.

"I've been needing to ask you, Shadow...who's your NFL team?" Sonic asked the hedgehog, who wish he could be doing something else right now, instead of watching grown men in tights pass a pigskin around for sixty minutes. "Knuckles likes the Cowboys, which means he's a gutless bandwagoner. And Tails, he's just neutral...so he roots for just about everyone. What team do you root for, Shadow?"

"The team I root for is a team that crushes their feeble opponents without mercy, and shows zero disregard for their enemies," answered Shadow, evil and malice seething in his response. "A team that does not know the meaning of compassion, and leaves everyone in their dust..."

"Ah, so you must be a Patriots fan! Which is kinda funny, because Corrin is a Pats fan too!" Shadow did not want anything to do with Corrin; heaven forbid liking the same things he did. "YO CORRIN, SHADOW OVER HERE IS A PATRIOTS FAN!"

"Shadow the Hedgehog likes Emperor Palpatine too?" asked Corrin, as he wandered into the living room. He ran to Shadow, needing to ask the hedgehog about his Patriots fandom. "Tell me you like Palpatine as much as I do, Shadow! Isn't he the greatest man in human history. Just seeing his alter ego on the New England sideline, patrolling the field with his hoodie...it's so, so...so Palpatine!"

"Is this guy sheltered or something?" Shadow asked Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, pointing his thumb at Corrin; Sonic and company all nodded their heads simultaneously. Just then, Marth entered the living room, looking over the couch Sonic and the gang were sitting on, and saw the football game on the television screen, before shaking his head.

"Every single Thanksgiving, men like yourself have to watch some silly sports game..." Marth said in a very distasteful manner. "What is it about football on Thanksgiving that lures so many men to the television screen? What is it about football _in general_ that..."

"Marth, quit being salty that you can't watch your precious dog show on any television in the mansion," Silver roasted the hero-king, making him roll his eyes. "In fact, why don't you watch the dog show with Luigi? Dare I say it, he's as much of a man as you are." Wow, Silver, that was cold-blooded...even Marth seemed to agree, as he bitterly walked away, unable to think of a comeback for Silver. Silver 1, hero-king Marth 0.

* * *

 **Peach: Mario was feeling abnormally sweaty after seeing his float at the Thanksgiving parade - so much, that he had to take a long shower. Even minutes after seeing his float, Mario was screaming like a little schoolgirl, and was running laps around the living room; it was the most excited he had ever felt, and it was...frightening to see.**

 **Lara: Had to hide myself in my room while Mario was having his "moment"...I could hear him screaming from behind my door. He was running so much, I thought he would have passed out. But I guess he never gets tired easily...**

After he took his shower, Mario rested in his living room, watching the dog show with Cappy and Yoshi. The plumber had to keep himself busy until his New York Giants played later in the day.

"You should have seen-a my float Yoshi, it was-a absolutely GLORIOUS!" exclaimed Mario, holding his arms out to the heavens. He was almost felt like running laps around his house again, just thinking about that float. "I was so-a pumped, I was screaming out-a of my mind!"

"Yes, and I heard you scream...from outside your home," replied Yoshi, as Mario sheepishly chuckled. Who knew he could be that loud? "Had to keep my distance, for I was afraid that Lara Croft might've skinned you alive and killed you in the process. You did say that Lara had PTSD, did you?"

"Lara's PTSD isn't-a _that_ extreme. Granted, she starts hyperventilating a little when-a she sees a knife out on the kitchen counter, but other than-a that, she hardly acts violent at all. Much to the delight of Peach and I!"

"And me and Tiara!" exclaimed Cappy, just so he could be recognized. Yoshi looked up at Cappy, wondering if eating him would make him accrue his capturing powers.

"Oh yeah, Luigi told me about Tiara...pretty catchy name, if you ask me." It was a very simple name, by most standards. "How did you give her to Peach?"

"As a 'belated' wedding gift - Peach accepted-a Tiara with open arms. Couldn't believe Peach-a thought Tiara was a wedding gift...then again, she believes-a just about anything that comes-a out of my mouth."

"Anything?" said a voice, behind Mario and Yoshi. Mario turned around, and was spooked when he saw his loving wife Peach, smiling with her hands on her hips. Spooked so much, that he fell out of his couch and landed on the floor with a thud.

"You should definitely think before you speak, Mario," Cappy would offer these words of advice to the plumber, who found himself rubbing his head.

* * *

After a quick chat with Professor Layton, Rosalina was rushing back to the kitchen, so she could make some more preparations for the Thanksgiving feast. With a lot on her plate, the mother of Lumas was quickly advancing through the hallways, not breaking a single sweat.

"Rosalina can we drink tea at the Thanksgiving feast?" the Black Knight approached Rosalina, wanting to incorporate his favorite drink into the big feast.

"Tea will be a primary drinking option," answered Rosalina. Can't go wrong with drinking tea with your turkey on Thanksgiving, especially if you lived in the South.

"Rosalina is it possible that we all get seconds - including myself?" King Dedede approached Rosalina, presumably thinking about eating the entire turkey whole.

"There will be plenty of food for everyone to receive seconds," answered Rosalina. Why she would even entertain King Dedede's greed, she did not know.

"Rosalina I need to answer a complex math problem - what are the nine digits after .14 in pi?" Shulk approached Rosalina, playing some math game on his cellphone.

"One, five, nine, two, six, five, three, five, and nine," answered Rosalina. Who knew Rosalina was so proficient at mathematics?

Rosalina would finally arrive at the kitchen, and she saw that Cilan was working on "overtime", meaning that he was making even more Thanksgiving food - so much food, he already had to prepare the table in the dining room just to put the turkey and whatnot on there. After Rosalina told him about the influx of guests, Cilan had to go ham and become the greatest cook known to man, even greater than Gordon Ramsey.

 **Cilan: When Rosaslina informed me that Hisui invited some friends over to the mansion, I was genuinely surprised...I always thought Hisui's ladies man shenanigans not only prevented him from accruing ladies, but friends as well. But I guess it has a opposite effect of sorts. Would I ever be a ladies man? It's not truly in my element, but food will always be my #1.**

"I sent Link and Cloud to the store to buy another turkey for the feast," Rosalina said to Cilan, who was busy making some broccoli casserole. Something the little ones might not enjoy so much. "Due to the amount of guests we'll be having, I thought that having another turkey would be necessary."

"I certainly don't mind, the more turkeys, the merrier!" exclaimed Cilan, who was constantly putting some flair and pizzazz into his cooking. Making it seem like cooking was the most fun thing ever, when to some people it might be the exact opposite. "With the extra large oven we have, I could cook _multiple_ turkeys!"

* * *

In fact, Link and Cloud _were_ buying multiple turkeys, since apparently there was only one at last year's Thanksgiving feast. The turkey wasn't even consumed due to the epic food fight, and after K.K. Slider had his head shoved in the turkey, there would be no point in eating a turkey that was contaminated by dog fur.

"Your total will be...one hundred and nine dollars, and seventy five cents," the cashier said to Link and Cloud, after checking out at least ten turkeys. Pretty big amount for a Thanksgiving feast, but when you consider that the feast will take place at the Smash Mansion, it becomes somewhat understandable.

"Told you we should have went to IGA instead, turkeys would have been far more cheaper there..." Link said to Cloud, who got out his wallet. The swordsman pulled out his debit card, with a Chocobo on it...definitely customized.

"Shut up..." Cloud said to his best friend, as he handed the cashier his obviously customized debit card. "I'll be paying with debit, ma'am." The cashier accepted Cloud's debit card, and swiped the card...but nothing happened. What could possibly be the problem?

"Uh oh...looks like the card isn't working. Either that, or you don't have enough funds in your account. Would you like to pay for the turkeys with another way? Got any cash on you?" Cloud didn't have any cash, and neither did Link (like that would be a surprise), and so the two swordsmen looked at one another...

..before grabbing the ten or so turkeys, and hightailing out of the grocery store like madmen. They ran past the security bars like the savage men they were, not caring about any of the repercussions.

"WE HAVE SHOPLIFTERS WITH TURKEYS, I REPEAT, WE HAVE SHOPLIFTERS WITH TURKEYS!" the cashier said into the intercom microphone, as a security guard chased after Link and Cloud. Hard to believe said security guard would be successful in capturing the swordsman duo.

* * *

Professor Layton and Wario were seated on the roof of the mansion, on the lookout for coming guests. So far, Cranky Kong, Kumatora, Blaze the Cat, the remaining Star Fox team, and many others arrived. Arriving now was Professor Kukui, Lillie, and the trial captains and kahunas. Even in the cool Seattle weather, Kukui couldn't help but show off his magnificent chest.

"Professor Kukui and the gang spotted at three o'clock..." alerted Wario, looking through his binoculars, before his eyes fell prey upon a person he never saw before. No, it wasn't the blonde, tall, and lanky cousin of Sophocles, Molayne...it was rather the dark-skinned, curvaceous woman that got Wario's full attention. "Oh mama, who's that dark-haired chick? Is that the Olivia chick Rosalina and Red told us about?" It was indeed her. "Man she looks fine...I'd honestly dump Palutena if it means being with her!"

"As a non-married man, I can wholeheartedly agree with you that Olivia certainly looks very attractive and beautiful," said Layton; never in a million years would the British detective believe that he would agree with Wario. "I will admit, she has nothing on my former girlfriend Claire, although I might be a little biased..."

"...you had a girlfriend?" Wario slowly turned his head towards Layton, in disbelief. This was definitely news to the fatso's ears.

 **Layton: Claire was my girlfriend nearly a decade prior to Luke and I investigating a time machine built by Dr. Alain Stahngun. She was such a sweetheart - she was the one who gave me my trademark top hat! *sighs* Unfortunately, Claire died tragically, when she was the first human subject for running a time machine, worked on by Dimitri Allen and Bill Hawks. A fatal error was made in the calculations, and alas, the time machine exploded, killing my poor Claire in the process. *sighs again* Aside from my faithful apprentice Luke, my children are the ones that keep me going...although I hardly see them much anymore.**

"Yes, Wario, I did have a girlfriend..." replied Layton, stepping away from the edge of the roof. "You're just like everyone else, aren't you? Let's head back inside." And that's what Layton and Wario did, returning to the mansion interior. "Olivia will be inside the mansion at any minute, and we have to keep Falcon away from her as much as possible."

"Easier said than done - just discuss some manly stuff with Falcon, and that should do enough to keep him at bay," said Wario, before the sound of the doorbell was heard, all the way from the fifth floor. "...actually, we should keep _Olivia_ away from Falcon. Quick, to the front door!"

So Layton and Wario went to the elevator, and rode it down to the first floor, and then making a mad dash to the front door. The Flying Man, who was about to approach the front door, would be shoved to the side by Wario, as the fatso grabbed the door handle and opened the front door...

...seeing a sharply dressed young man with a blue suit and accompanied by a young woman standing by. Definitely wasn't Olivia, by any stretch of the imagination. Wario didn't feel any type of way but Layton, on the other hand, had this thousand year stare going on as he was looking at the man before him, even though he saw him a couple of weeks ago.

"Ph-Phoenix Wright?" stammered Layton, like he was seeing a ghost. Phoenix was just looking at Layton, with a smile on his face. Hard to tell if it was a cocky smile or a heartfelt one.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Prfoessor Herschel Layton!" Phoenix held out his hand to Layton, expecting a geniune handshake and not the awkward one he had with Layton in episode 96.

"I don't recall inviting you for the Thanksgiving feast..." said a perplexed Layton, as he shook Phoenix's hand. The thousand mile stare was slowly fading away.

"Master Hand was the one who invited Maya and I - pretty sure he has a crush on me or something. Creepy, I know, but what else would you expect from Master Hand? Anyways, I want to give you props on cracking that case involving Mario and Peach and the whole hotel incident, you just have to tell me all the juicy details!"

"How about you just tell me what investigations you've done lately instead?" This clearly wasn't on Phoenix's mind, as the attorney and Maya entered the mansion. Phoenix would lead Layton away, with Maya dutifully following the investigators, as Wario suddenly felt some grumbling in his tummy.

"Hoo boy, my stomach's acting up again...I'll be right back, Layton!" Wario called out to the detective, unaware that he was no longer around, as he ran to the nearest bathroom. That poor, poor toilet...

With Layton and Wario gone, and the front door wide open, Professor Kukui and his crew entered the Smash Mansion, seeing how everything remained the same since the last time they stopped by. Not that it was a bad thing or anything.

"Somebody was kind enough to leave the front door open for us," observed Professor Kukui, scratching his chin in thought. "Either that was a nice gesture, or a bad omen for things to come. Master Hand might be plotting to kill us off at the feast!"

 **Professor Kukui: Red is such a bro, inviting us to the Thanksgiving feast! We seldom celebrate Thanksgiving in the Alola region, but it would be nice to eat some turkey. If there will be even any turkey for us. So many mouths to feed!**

"So Olivia, Molayne, what do you think the mansion?" Kukui would ask the two, as Hala closed the front door behind him. Making sure nobody else had the pleasure of having easy access to the mansion. What a crook, that man Hala was...

"Entirely not what I was expecting, but I'm sure there'll be more for us to see," Molayne offered his take. "I'm sure somebody will give us a tour around the mansion..." Yeah...good luck with that, buddy.

"Looks alright to me, nothing spectacular in my opinion," said Olivia, whose attire strongly suggested that she was in no way affected by the Seattle weather. Living in the great Alola weather conditions must have made her impervious. "I was expecting Red to be waiting here for us...unless he's busy doing something."

"I bet you five bucks Red's having a Pokemon battle with someone else in the mansion," remarked Kukui, as Captain Falcon came down from the stairs. "Did I ever tell you two that the mansion has a Pokemon sanctuary? How about I show it to you? Everyone else, you're welcome to stay in the foyer, or do whatever you want...just don't venture into Master Hand's room without his permission. Don't make the same mistake I did!"

So Professor Kukui would lead the way, guiding Molayne and Olivia to the Pokemon mansion, as Captain Falcon caught Olivia with the corner of his eye. He slowly started to crack a smile on his face...

* * *

"...and you can have this fine turkey, good sir, for FREE! I repeat, free! Where else can you get a turkey for free on Thanksgiving Day? The odds are minuscule!"

Pit was trying to give away the Mandibuzz to a man standing at his apartment door, a man who looked bored out of his mind. He looked at Pit, then at Kirby, then at the Mandibuzz, before closing his door. A definite no.

"We should probably change up our attire, it's not a good selling point," Pit said to Kirby. Totally not like offering a VULTURE POKEMON as a turkey to random strangers wasn't bad either.

* * *

Hisui stood in front of the mirror in his room, fixing his eyebrows and whatnot as he groomed himself. The young man was not only expecting his girlfriend Lithia Spodumene to come over, but for his _Tales_ friends to come over too. And he had to look like the most handsome man in the world.

"I've never seen you care this much about your physical appearance, big brother," said Kohaku, who was seated on her bed brushing her hair. "Really trying to impress Lithia, aren't you?"

"Well duh, she _is_ my girlfriend, after all..." responded Hisui, once he was finished with his grooming. Speaking like Kohaku did not know what it was like to take care of your personal hygiene when you were in love. "You expect me to look like a bum when I'm with Lithia? Get out of your mind, Kohaku!"

 **Hisui: The one person I had second doubts about inviting to the feast was Emil...man, that kid was annoying when we had that Heartless thing. Only thing worthwhile about him was that one time Doc Louis WENT OFF on the kid for assuming he was flirting with Leia. Doc is single-handedly the one reason why every male in the mansion is too afraid to say a single word to Leia. How would you like some angry black dude, all up in your grill, getting his saliva in your face, and you have no choice but to take it like a man? A true test of manliness, if you ask me.**

"Speaking of Lithia, she must be downstairs with the others..." said Hisui, as he exited the room and ran down the stairs, too frantic to even think about taking the elevator. He would arrive at the first floor, and went to the living room, where he would see his friends - Milla Maxwell, and Jude Mathis. Milla found herself marvelled by Shadow, as she was inspecting his face; Jude looked on, while Sonic and company stood from a distance trying to contain their laughter.

"I've never seen a hedgehog of this colorization before, this is extraordinary..." said Milla, as she continued to inspect Shadow. Did Sonic and the others undergo the same treatment. "This must be a truly rare species!"

"Take me now God, just do it..." pleaded Shadow, as Hisui meekly approached Milla and Jude. The two looked up and saw Hisui, as Milla stopped caressing Shadow's face. Shadow should feel greatly grateful for Hisui, just for showing up.

"Hello, and who might you be?" Jude asked Hisui, acting like he never saw him before. Hisui just chuckled, scratching the back of his groomed hair.

"You know who I am...Hisui Hearts, your best friend," answered the young man, with a tint of nervousness in his voice. Milla and Jude glanced at one another, before bursting into laughter. Did they know Hisui or not?

"Ah, so you were that one creep who stalked Milla online and asked her and I if we wanted to come to the mansion for the Thanksgiving feast you were having! What was your profile name again? 'ilikehotgirls86', that was it, right?" A humiliated Hisui looked at Sonic and company, who were trying not to laugh. "It's nice to finally meet you in person, ilikehotgirls86...or Hisui Hearts. Whichever name you go by."

"I see that your friends have finally arrived," smiled Rosalina as she entered the living room, obvious to the humiliation and shame Hisui was feeling. "May I ask you what your names are?" Rosalina would ask Milla and Jude.

"I'm Jude Mathis, and this is my lady friend, Milla Maxwell...and by all accounts, we are NOT friends of Hisui. He just happened to stalk Milla online, and somehow he found me. Inviting us to the feast was a kind gesture, I have to admit..."

"Knew it was too good to be true..." Rosalina smirked at a still humiliated Hisui, certain that Hisui was bluffing from the get-go. "So have any of Hisui's other 'friends' arrive, did they come along with you? Wonder if Hisui stalked them online as well..."

"Yes, we all arrived together, us 'friends'..." replied Milla, making Hisui feel even worse than he already was. "Shing and Lithia wandered off to who-knows-where. Marta and Emil went to go look for a nearby bathroom. Presa is speaking with someone in the hallway, I believe, and Alvin...well, he was coming to the mansion, but I think he might've went to one of the nearby houses instead..."

* * *

Alvin, the cunning swordsman who left Chrom and Team Chaotix in the dust during the events of episode 78, was back to his traitorous ways, as he ditched the _Tales_ crew to have Thanksgiving dinner at Luigi's home instead. He was sitting at a table with Daisy, telling the princess about why he betrayed his fellow _Tales_ buddies.

"In actuality, I didn't _want_ to leave my friends...I just wanted to distance myself from Emil, that's all," explained Alvin, sipping from a cup of tea Daisy offered to him. "Did you see how annoying he was during that meeting we had? If not for Marta's presence, I would have punched him in the face, or even worse!"

 **Alvin: Betrayal isn't as bad as everyone makes it out to be...why in fact, it's one of the easiest things a person could do! Why put your hard work to accomplish something with a group of people, against a faction, when you can leave them when the opportunity arises, and do your own thing? Doesn't require as much effort as accomplishing on your own - _especially_ on the faction's side. The faction will practically do all the work for you!**

"Emil may be annoying, but you won't even know the meaning of annoying until you deal with Sonic entering your house weekly without notice," said Daisy, as Luigi came down the stairs and saw his wife speaking with Alvin. "Sonic acts like how your typical annoying neighbor would, constantly asking for sugar even though there's already sugar at the mansion. Heck, I bet there's bags full of sugar in the mansion's pantry!" Luigi frowned, as he neared the table.

"Daisy, who is that-a man?" the plumber questioned, grabbing Daisy and Alvin's attention. Alvin looked delighted to see Luigi again.

"Look Luigi, it's Alvin, the swordsman!" exclaimed Daisy, pointing at Alvin, while Luigi was unable to share his wife's excitement. "The same man who flicked your nose, and openly criticized your mustache in front of everyone!"

"Greetings, Mr. Luigi, man in green," Alvin smiled at the plumber, who went from frowning to straight up glaring. "I see that you haven't trimmed your mustache...I understand that it's an iconic part of your look, but your brother Mario has the same exact mustache...don't you feel like you should distinguish yourself more from Mario?"

"I'll be in my bed-a room if you need me..." murmured Luigi as he went back upstairs. Safe to say that he and Alvin were NOT on equal terms...

* * *

With the Dallas Cowboys game now on, Cortex, Donkey Kong, and several other men were playing football outside, in the backyard. DK would snap the ball to Cortex, who looked to pass the ball downfield, but when he saw nobody was open, he took off...only to run into Donkey Kong's butt and fumble the ball. Doc Louis would scoop up the live ball and run it back for a touchdown, as Samus watched this all go down from the dining room.

"Cortex just had the football snapped to him, and ran into Donkey Kong's butt and dropped the ball in the process," Samus said to Zelda, her "only friend". Not sure if that was accidental, or done on purpose."

"Well Cortex is extremely accident-prone, so it's likely the former," Zelda gave her take on Cortex's butt fumble. Hopefully he won't have to live with this incident forever, like one football player has to. Zelda would enter the kitchen, where Cilan was done with cooking, well, just about everything. But he still craved to cook more. "Link and Cloud have yet to return from the grocery store...hope they didn't get into trouble."

"WE'RE BACK!" announced Link as he and Cloud arrived at the kitchen, dropping the turkeys they stole on the kitchen counter. Cilan was delighted to see the turkeys, as evidenced by his squealing gasp.

"More turkeys for me to bake, how lovely!" the connoisseur exclaimed, clasping his hands together in excitement. "Thank you so much, Link and Cloud!"

"You're welcome, man - it was totally worth running away from the cops," replied Cloud, as Cilan collected the turkeys. The look on Cloud's face suggested that the swordsman did not wish to outrun the police ever again.

 **Cloud: Dude...did you really have to steal that police car, just to drive us back to the mansion? What do you think this is, Grand Theft Auto?  
Link: *wags finger at Cloud* No no no, Cloud, we're not allowed to mention games that never appeared on a Nintendo console. That's against the mansion rules.  
Cloud: We've had _Persona_ investigators in the mansion on separate accounts, and Samus owns a book written by John Marston. So what does that make them?  
Link: The _Persona_ investigators are forgiven, I'm sure. And Samus? Master Hand's secretly afraid of her, that's all. Just doesn't want to admit it...**

* * *

Despite being turned down multiple times, Pit and Kirby (but mainly Pit) were determined to give their "turkey" Mandibuzz away. The two goobers crossed Lake Washington, and arrived in Bellevue, looking for someone willing to accept their "turkey". Their search came to an end, when they came across a private home of sorts.

"Are you sure we should be here, Pit?" Kirby whispered to the angel, after Pit knocked on the front door. "This looks like a private home..." It wasn't gated, which might explain how Pit and Kirby had easy access.

"It wouldn't be private if it's out in the open," replied Pit, Kirby unable to follow this logic. Soon the front door would open, and Pit and Kirby were greeted by a very familiar face.

"Hey, Pit and Kirby, what's up?" said this familiar face. It was B.D. Joe, your friendly neighborhood taxi driver. "Not sure how or why you're even here, but you're pretty cool guys...so I'll let it slide. In case you were wondering, I bought this sleek home with the money financed for Captain Falcon's taxi service...spent it recklessly while Falcon was in jail. So who's your bird friend?"

"He's not really our bird friend...he's our turkey!" stated Pit - oh how Kirby wanted to facepalm right now. "And you can have him, for free! An offer you can't get anywhere else! A turkey, just for free!"

"I would accept your turkey, but I don't even think that's a turkey...not to mention that I already prepared my turkey yesterday. And I wouldn't want a live turkey anyways. Why should I accept your 'turkey' in the first place?"

"Because we hope that in doing so you would invite us to your Thanksgiving dinner," Kirby said very quickly, providing with B.D. Joe the gist of why they were at the mansion. B.D. Joe laughed, finding this to be the stupidest thing ever.

"Well, I won't be accepting your turkey...but it's a good thing I know someone who will." Pit's eyes widened at the thought of who this someone could be. "They live at a mansion, and they accept _anything,_ like your turkey, with open arms. Would you like me to show you where this person lives?"

"Of course we do!" exclaimed Pit. The sooner this ended for Kirby, the better.

* * *

Luigi would have Thanksgiving dinner at his own place, but the plumber burned his turkey, even though it was already well done; he felt like the turkey was "too cold" for his tastes, although Daisy, Yuffie, and even Alvin both disagreed. So Luigi, Daisy, Charles, Alvin, and Yuffie (...and Rotom) all had to come over to Mario's place for the dinner, much to Peach's chagrin.

 **Peach: The Thanksgiving dinner Mario and I had in mind was meant for us two only! Lara wasn't meant to be part of the dinner, but we had to include her just to be nice. Then Luigi and his folks asked if he could join us, so we had to make more amends. And then, more people showed up...**

"So great to spend this dinner with you, Rotom..." Kohaku said to the plasma Pokemon, who was enjoying Kohaku stroking its...chest. Kohaku's presence was definitely more appreciated than Hisui's, that's for sure.

"Luigi you burned your turkey?!" Bowser barked at the poor plumber. "That makes you a stupid idiot! I'm gonna write your name on the list!" And as like anyone else, Luigi didn't care in the slightest.

"Should put his name on the list again for not trimming his mustache," suggested Alvin, and Bowser wrote down Luigi's name again. If Luigi cared about the list more, he and Alvin would throw some rounds over the Thanksgiving table.

"Hey Lara, can you pass me the knife?" Shulk said to the tomb raider, as Lara looked down at the knife. Lara, being struck by her PTSD, slowly picked up the knife...before thrusting the blade into Shulk's hand. "AUUUGH MY HAND, WHY ME?!"

"Shulk are you okay?" Fiora, who was seated next to Shulk, asked perhaps the stupidest question possible in this situation, as Shulk fell unto the floor, bleeding from his hand. Lara remained in her seat, taking a deep breath from what she just did.

"Everywhere I go, something bad has to go down," murmured Shadow, who came to Mario's place just to avoid Milla. Too bad he couldn't avoid Shulk being stabbed by a PTSD-stricken Lara.

Watching everything unfolding in front of them was Mario and Peach, surprised by the sudden turn their Thanksgiving dinner was taking. Their dinner was only meant for the married couple, but as Peach said earlier, there were circumstances she and Mario had no control over.

"A good-a thing we're spending this Thanksgiving dinner together...albeit with some-a guests," Mario said to his wife, who smiled in return. "As bad things-a are now, it can't possibly get-a any worse!"

"Next year's Thanksgiving dinner will hopefully go exactly as we planned," reassured Peach, trying to tune out Shulk's screaming. "Just the two of us, and nobody else...except for Cappy and Tiara. Can't leave them out!"

"You can say that again!" Cappy spoke up, his eyes visible through Mario's cap. Shut up Cappy, it's not like you can enjoy Thanksgiving fully like Mario and Peach can.

* * *

Riding in B.D. Joe's sweet taxi,Pit and Kirby would arrive at a mansion, and were perplexed as they, along with Mandibuzz, got out of the car and looked up...at the Smash Mansion. B.D. Joe got out of his car, locking it with his car keys.

"Isn't this...the Smash Mansion?" asked Pit, pointing at the mansion. Unless this was a duplicate of the very mansion, and it was owned by CRAZY HAND!

"Right you are, bro, and there's someone inside that _loves_ turkeys like the one you got right now," replied B.D. Joe, placing his car keys back in his pocket. "We just have to find this person, and then you can have dinner with him or something and you'll all live happily ever after...something like that."

 **B.D. Joe: Okay, I don't know if the turkey is a turkey or some other kind of bird, but I know that it belongs in the Smash Mansion. So I'm just returning things back where they belong...**

B.D. Joe and company entered the mansion, with a house key Palutena gave to Pit, and went to the kitchen. There was nobody in there, and so they went to the dining room, greeted by a great multitude of people gathered around the table. It was perhaps the largest Thanksgiving dinner B.D. Joe had ever seen; Pit and Kirby, they were used to these kinds of crowds.

"I'd just like to thank again the guests for coming to this feast, which I prepared under the jurisdiction of Master Hand," Rosalina thanked the guests, surveying the dining room along with Cilan. "Your presence is greatly appreciated!"

"Will there be any dessert after the feast is over?" Emil asked the mother of Lumas. What an idiotic question... "And if so, will there be any ice cream?" Always has to be about ice cream with that kid...

"Excuse me everyone, but may I have your attention?" yelled B.D Joe, as everyone turned to face the taxi driver. "For those of you who may not know me, I'm B.D. Joe - I'm the local taxi driver here. Anyways, I have this...bird creature, with me, and I want to give it...to everyone!" Pit and Kirby were confused, but not as confused as everyone else in the dining room. "Yes, this is my gift, from me, to all of you - my early Christmas gift!"

The Mandibuzz strolled around the dining room, staring everyone down with her intimidating glare. She would stop when she saw Toad, making note of his miniscule size. Toad was shaking to the bone, as Mandibuzz looked at his plate, saw a slice of ham, picked up the slice with her beak...and threw it into Toad's face.

And then...nothing happened. Nobody moved, nobody said a single word. Silence permeated throughout the dining room, as if time stood still.

"Whew, that was a close one," Rosalina would break the silence, wiping some droplets of sweat from her forehead. "For a second I thought that would've triggered a..."

"...FOOD FIGHT!" announced Dark Pit, and so it was on, as people grabbed food and threw it at one another. Sonic slammed Itsuki's face into a bowl of mashed potatoes. Emil grabbed the Black Knight's pitcher of tea and idiotically threw its contents around at everyone. And simply because he couldn't resist, Donkey Kong hurled his bananas at unsuspecting people, as the chaos went down.

"Mutiny, I say, mutiny!" declared Cortex, hurling the turkeys at random people. Berkut was on the table with Cortex, doing the same. "Wow, Berkut, we really make a great team together! Dynamic duo!"

"Shut up and keeping throwing!" ordered Berkut, effectively shutting Cortex's mouth shut. Yup, Berkut was most surely Cortex's guy...

"We would have a food fight before dessert in the second consecutive week, would we?" sighed Rosalina, shaking her head, before giving an intense glare at B.D. Joe. The taxi driver, seeing the glare, nervously chuckled, stepping back before bolting out of the dining room.

 **Cranky Kong: Another Thanksgiving feast at the mansion, another food fight going down...and I don't have Shadow the Hedgehog to throw handfuls of green bean casserole at. Love to see that young fella so angry for no reason. I will say my outstanding performance in the food fight made up for my absence in the 100th chapter, though. Dumb author was too afraid to showcase me!**

* * *

Thanks to some intervention from Master Hand, the food fight came to an end, and the giant hand restored order to the dining room, allowing the feast to continue by removing certain individuals (Cranky Kong being one of them) so another food fight wouldn't break out.

As Mr. Game and Watch cleaned up the mess, Rosalina sat in a chair in the dining room, heaving a sigh. Luma hovered over to his "mama", resting a small, reassuring hand on her back.

"When I agreed to plan the Thanksgiving feast, I wanted it to have a positive vibe, with no fighting whatsoever," said Rosalina, before heaving another sigh. "But thanks to B.D. Joe and that stupid Mandibuzz, we had another food fight...maybe we should just ban animals from the feast. Last year's food fight started because of a dog."

"No need to feel so down on yourself, mama - it's hard to do anything at the mansion together and expect it to be perfect," Luma would tell the mother of Lumas. "You know how hard it is to have a game night without a sore loser like Dark Pit punching someone in the face? To watch the Super Bowl without Mega Man changing the television before the final play? To celebrate Donkey Kong's birthday, without Diddy Kong..."

"Please, Luma, don't bring that up...the details are awfully hard to forget. But you do have a great point - chaos is always expected at the mansion, and I should have seen it coming from a mile away. If, and when, I plan next year's Thanksgiving feast, I'll make sure to be one step ahead of chaos, if I can."

"That's the spirit, mama! Always expect chaos...and the occasional drama!" Yes, chaos and drama, those two go hand-in-hand at the mansion.

* * *

Elsewhere, Wario exited the bathroom, his bowels ready to burst once the feast was finished. The fatso let out a loud burp as he headed to his room, and a sudden thought crept into his mind, as he stopped and stood in place.

"Hmm, don't know why, but I feel like Layton and I forgot to do something today..." said Wario, scratching his chin in thought, before shrugging. "Meh, it will come to me tomorrow." Wario and Layton did forget to do something today...

* * *

...and boy did they dun goofed up. Exiting the mansion with Olivia, the person he was not allowed to be with, was Captain Falcon...and he was exchanging contact information with the woman! Some trouble was brewing on the horizon.

"And you will call me on that Holo Caster thingy, right?" Captain Falcon asked Olivia. Who knows, maybe he and Olivia are just best friends! Falcon would never leave Nowi in the past for someone else.

"Only if I get the chance," replied Olivia, before looking out and seeing Professor Kukui and his crew standing near a bus. "Professor Kukui and the others are waiting on me, I'm sure...when I have the time, I'll call you. Deal?"

"It's a deal! Hope to speak with you soon!" Olivia nodded her head at Captain Falcon, as she stepped down from the porch and headed to the bus. Captain Falcon watched as Olivia left, before heading back inside.

Was Captain Falcon truly done with Nowi, or was he keeping his romantic options open? Only time will tell...


	102. Episode 102: Favors

_Author's Note:_

 _Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is released today, so I've included the main characters in this chapter. To make things easier, the events of XC2 have already happened. Hopefully this chapter is devoid of spoilers. The anonymous reviewer who has been supplying me with ideas since the beginning of this year asked if I would do anything for XC2...and I granted their wish. Let's see what else they had to say..._

 _"Will the Resident Evil characters show up when the Resident Evil VII Gold Edition game comes out? Where does Meta Knight keep the Halberd parked? Have any characters or references from Kirby: Planet Robobot appeared yet?"_

 _Sounds like a good idea. Meta Knight keeps his Halberd parked...somewhere, I dunno. And Planet Robobot characters haven't appeared yet._

 _Before I conclude this author's note, I posted a new poll on my profile page. Feel free to vote if you like..._

* * *

 **Episode 102: Favors**

With Thanksgiving out of the way, and everyone likely stuffed from eating too much turkey and stuffing, it was time for the Smash Mansion residents to focus on the last holiday of 2017, the most wonderful time of the year...Christmas.

It was a holiday well adored by everyone...well, almost everyone, if you take Cloud, Samus, and Meta Knight into account. It was a holiday in which Master Hand loved to see the disappointed faces of residents opening their gifts on Christmas Day. The giant hand was usually the one who bought the gifts, and with Star Records raking in a lot of dough this year, there was a likelihood Master Hand would return to his money-stealing ways, just to put a bunch of smiles and frowns on residents' faces.

Every year at the mansion, the residents would engage in a special Christmas tradition known as Secret Santa. The rules were very simple - you pick a name from a name of bags, and whoever name you drew, you had to get that person a Christmas gift. You weren't allowed to reveal the name you drew until everyone drew a name...Sonic typically messed up this rule for everyone.

With the mansion being more populated this Christmas time compared to last year, Master Hand imagined that it would be necessary for the Secret Santa festivities to be held today. So he gathered everyone in the meeting room, and extended an invitation to Amy and Fiora to join, since they frequented the mansion. Mario, Luigi, and their folks were also invited to partake in Secret Santa.

"Never did a Secret Santa before, how does it work?" asked Sora, who was once put on Santa Claus' naughty list. He told the others how he was on the naughty list because he was told that Santa did not exist, and he would share this information with his friends.

"Basically you just draw a name of some person, and you have to buy that person a gift," Cloud explained the rules for Sora, although he didn't feel like it. But Sora had to learn somehow. "You can't reveal that person until everyone draws a name. Sonic messed that up for us last year, and we had to start all over again."

"Fortunately we won't have to worry about a repeat this year," said Knuckles, who duct taped Sonic's mouth against the hedgehog's will. Sonic was trying to speak, but his words were inaudible thanks to the duct tape. "No way we're starting over!"

 **Knuckles: Last year I had to buy a gift for Lucina. It was annoying...the process of buying Lucina's gift, I mean. Chrom kept nagging me day in and day out, telling me the things Lucina likes and asking me what I'm gonna get her. I hope and pray that I don't draw Lucina's name ever again, because it nearly got to the point where I almost conspired to _kill_ Chrom, and put the blame on my roommate Yoshi. It was _that_ bad.**

"Is everyone ready?" Isabelle asked everyone in the meeting room, entering with a bag of names inside. Master Hand entered behind the shih tzu, and assumed his position at the front of the meeting room. "Alright then, let's get started!"

Isabelle would start with Mario, going around the meeting room until she reached the final person, Ike. Because the urge was too hard for him to resist - and since he had duct tape on his mouth to prevent any potential spoiling - Sonic took a peek at the name he drew, only to make a loud audible sound. Sounded like he was trying to let out a big "NO!".

"Has everyone drawn a name?" asked Isabelle, as several people nodded. Sonic, on the other hand, shook his head no, for some reason. "You're now free to see whose name you drew, so go ahead!" So everyone took a glance at their slip of paper, as the residents were discussing what names they drew.

"Aw what, I got Jigglypuff!" complained the male Inkling, throwing his slip of paper on the table as the female Inkling pointed and laughed at him. "How did she get to participate?!"

"I drew Bowser's name..." remarked Lara, in an extremely deadpan tone. Too late to do Secret Santa over again? "That's just...great."

"Ooh I got Corrin's name, this will be TOO easy!" exclaimed Red the Pokemon Trainer. Some _Star Wars_ merchandise would be enough to satisfy Corrin.

"I got Luigi, whoop-de-freaking-doo," announced Samus, quickly tossing her slip of paper into the nearest trash can. "I should just get my Secret Santa gift online, just to get it out of the way..."

"Fiora?" Cortex raised an eyebrow, reading the name he drew. "Fiora?" the mad scientist repeated. "Just who in the blazing heck is Fiora?!" A now offended Fiora looked at Cortex, distraught.

"So Sonic, whose name did you drew?" Tails asked his best friend, who still had duct tape on his mouth. Tails would (gently) rip it off, and once Sonic realized that he could speak again...

"I GOT PRINCESS PEACH!" the hedgehog yelled out loud for everyone to hear, before throwing a tantrum. Suddenly, a select number of residents started to sympathize for poor Sonic.

 **Amy: *with Sonic crying on her shoulder* It's not so much that finding a gift for Peach is stressful...it's just that Peach, well, kinda has ridicolously high standards for Christmas gifts, and birthday gifts as well. It could be the reason why Mario didn't really purchase any wedding gifts for Peach, because of how Peach might react...I should know, I got Peach a birthday gift one year, and she didn't like it, and then...some stuff happened. I hate going into the grimy details...**

 **Peach: I do not understand, why does nobody want to buy me gifts? I mean, what's the worst I could possibly do?**

 **MegaMan .EXE: The person I drew is Viridi - I already have the gift card I printed from Zero's printer, so you won't see me doing any shopping!**

 **Akuma: Apparently drawing Lucina's name in Secret Santa is a bad thing...the moment I showed my slip of paper to Falco, he cringed at the sight of Lucina's name, and gave me a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Several others did the same. Asked Berkut about it, and he told me that the residents were just psyching me out, because it's my first time doing Secret Santa at the mansion. Pretty silly reason, if you ask me.**

* * *

Once he got his depression over drawing Peach's name out of his system, Sonic returned to his happy, usual self, walking through the mansion hallways with his ever confident smile. On his way to the gaming room, where he expected to see Amy there, he saw Hisui, who due to some humiliating events in the previous episode, now went by an embarrassing moniker...

"Ay, what's good ilikehotgirls86!" Sonic addressed the young man, who glared at the hedgehog. Knuckles, against the order of Tails, would share Hisui's daily messaging username with others during the Thanksgiving feast, and soon enough, almost everyone was fully aware of Hisui's pen name.

"Did I not tell you bubs not to call me that anymore?" frowned Hisui, wanting to give Sonic a piece of his mind. "It's bad enough Knuckles revealed that name during the feast, and it's even worse that Kohaku mocks me in our room. To be picked on by your younger sister...a very sucky feeling, man."

"Hey, it's not my fault you not only fibbed that you had friends, but also stalked them online and wanted them to be your 'friends' so they could come over to the mansion. But I will admit, that Milla chick was pretty great company. Despite her being sheltered. She appeared sheltered to me, at least, especially when she saw Yoshi for the first time."

"Whoever said that I was stalking them online, I was just following them! Wasn't like I was saying inappropriate stuff to intimidate them." Sonic just rolled his eyes at Hisui's claim, still under the belief that he was stalking.

"Yeah yeah yeah, believe what you wanna believe...I'll just head to the arcade room, while I let you continue in your stalking ways." Sonic continued his way to the gaming room, as Hisui glared at him one last time. "Just don't stalk in real life, it might be more easy but the consequences are more harsh!"

"Who does that hedgehog think I am..." murmured Hisui, as he walked away shaking his head.

* * *

While everyone had a swell Thanksgiving, the same couldn't be said for Shulk, who was _stabbed_ at Mario's Thanksgiving dinner. The Homs asked Lara to pass him a knife, and Lara, riddled with post-traumatic stress disorder since her perilous adventures in Yamatai, was triggered upon seeing the knife and stabbed Shulk's hand. Apparently Lara thought Shulk was some guy from a demented cult plotting to kill her, and she stabbed the Homs' hand with much aggression and force.

Thanks to Leia, Shulk's hand was bandaged, and the Homs - and Lara - moved on from the incident. Now Shulk was with Fiora and Dunban in the living room, decorating the Christmas tree Dunban had purchased. Let's hope that the Christmas tree doesn't catch on fire this time...

 **Red: Remember, boys and girls - training your fire-type Pokmeon indoors is NEVER a good idea. Unless you want firefighters to come to your house and question your sanity. Just train your normal-type Pokemon instead, they're always the safest bet.**

"Still can't believe Cortex doesn't even know my name..." said Fiora, as she placed the star on toe top of the tree. Dunban had to hold the ladder steady. "I know we've seen each other before...maybe Cortex has trouble remembering names."

"Cortex could still be learning a few names here and there, or he just has bad memory," said Dunban. Cortex has been living at the mansion since September - quit making up lousy excuses for the man, Dunban. "Even the brightest evil genius can have terrible memory!"

"If Cortex was an evil genius, he would have already defeated his arch nemesis," stated Shulk, hanging the ornaments on the tree. "Same could possibly be said for Dr. Eggman and several others." Suddenly, Shulk felt some grumbling in his tummy; his stomach really needed some food. "All this tree decorating is making me hungry...you two keep on working, I'll grab a bite to eat from the kitchen."

So Shulk left Dunban and Fiora be, as he went to the kitchen. On his way there, he slipped on a banana peel, likely felt on the floor by Diddy Kong. Bowser, who happened to walk by with his pet Baby Yoshi in his arm, saw Shulk slip on the floor and in a rare moment of breaking character...helped Shulk up to his feet!

"Shulk, my man, are you okay?" the koopa king asked the Homs, strangely concerned for his safety. Was Bowser suddenly turning over a new leaf, or was there another reason behind his nice gesture?

"I'm okay Bowser, just slipped on the floor, that's all," smiled Shulk, quickly recovering from his fall like a G. "Nothing serious. Didn't break any bones or limbs. I should be just fine."

"Good to hear Shulk, good to hear! Now if you excuse me, I have to give my Baby Yoshi a bath. Yoshi never said anything about how to bathe Baby Yoshis, but I'll figure it out on my own. Life is all about figuring out things. Man, that would be a great quote..." Bowser walked away with his pet Baby Yoshi, as Shulk looked on with a strange look. Why was Bowser being nice to him all of a sudden..?

Following his encounter with Bowser, Shulk went to the kitchen, and upon arrival, he saw Palutena, preparing some lunch, and Alph, fixing himself a glass of water. The goddess of light and the astronaut all saw Shulk at the same time, and both were...delighted. What gives?

"Well look who arrived - it's the Shulkster!" exclaimed Alph, coining one of the corniest times you could address someone as. "As you can see, I'm fixing myself a glass...can I fix you one too?"

No thank you Alph, I didn't come here for a drink," replied Shulk, unnerved by Alph's offer. Why was the astronaut so excited about the prospect of fixing a glass of water for Shulk. "Needed something to eat, that's all. Feeling kinda hungry!"

"How about some ramen noodles, that should satisfy your hunger!" exclaimed Palutena, as she completely stopped what she was doing and grabbed a bowl of microwavable ramen noodles from the kitchen cabinet. The goddess then placed the ramen noodles in the microwave, set the time, and pressed start. As Palutena waited for the microwaving to be done, Shulk couldn't help but notice that Alph was looking at him...rather intensely. Like the astronaut was starstruck, like he was standing in the presence of Morgan Freeman or some other big-name actor. Once the noodles were done, Palutena happily gave the noodles to Shulk.

"Uh, thanks for the noodles, Lady Palutena," thanked Shulk, looking over to see if Alph was still staring at him...and he still was. "Was gonna get myself some pork mignon, but this will do...can I get some chopsticks, please?"

"Anything for you, Shulk!" replied Palutena, fetching Shulk some chopsticks. And Alph was still staring at the Homs. "Here are your chopsticks - enjoy the noodles!" Shulk nodded and walked away, overwhelmed with the scary feeling that Alph was _still_ looking at him.

 **Shulk: First Bowser helped me up off the floor, which is...is very unlike him. Then Palutena prepares for me a bowl of ramen noodles, and Alph...he was just looking at me with starstruck eyes, and a smile that was just as spooky. Throughout the week, people have been treating me nicely - opening doors for me, ironing my clothes, even giving me breakfast in bed! It's not because of my injured hand, is it?**

Shulk would return to the living room, and he saw Fiora finishing his job for him, hanging the ornaments. Dunban was watering the Christmas tree when he looked up and saw Shulk, eating his noodles.

"So you went with some ramen noodles, eh?" grinned Dunban, down on one knee. "Wise choice, my friend, wise choice indeed!"

"Lady Palutena was kind enough to prepare some for me," explained Shulk, who wanted some pork mignon instead. "...just like how she was kind enough to give me seconds after dinner yesterday. Everyone is being nice to me this week...I suspect some foul play going on...

* * *

With the money they raised from Star Records, Fox and Falco both agreed to purchase something they could share together - something they could enjoy. They had a lot of options in mind - an RV, a gold Ferrari, even a Lamborghini just like Master Hand's. The options were endless, and were for more than the Star Fox pilots expected.

So what did Fox and Falco ultimately decide upon, you ask? They decided to purchase...a yacht! A fairly small yacht, to be exact, since they didn't want master Hand to feel all jealous and by an even larger yacht, just for himself. Fox and Falco were giving their yacht a "test run" on the mansion lake, and invited the two mansion maids - Felicia and Flora - to join them on their boat.

"I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!" Fox, standing at the bow of the yacht with his arms out wide, shouted out for the entire world to hear...or rather everyone that was in proximity. "Oh yeah, that was perhaps my best attempt, now I'll be ready when we take this bad boy out to sea..." Fox looked behind him, and saw Flora, cleaning up some bird poop that landed on the yacht with a rag. "Flora, what are you doing, why aren't you enjoying life? Why are you cleaning?"

"I didn't want your boat to be dirty, so I had to clean the excrement ASAP," explained Flora, after she was done with her job. "Wanted your new boat to be in tip top shape! That's my job, to clean..."

"No, Flora, it's okay, you don't have to do your job anymore!" Upon hearing this, Flora began to hyperventilate; she considered her maid work and cleaning duties to be the only things she was good at, and if she was disallowed from doing them...then her life would essentially be over. "While you're on the yacht, at least. All that cleaning stuff can come later, once we head back to shore."

"I-I d-don't have to...d-do m-m-my job...a-a-anymore..." Reitaring the words Fox said, Flora slowly collapsed to her knees, burying her face in her hands and sobbed away. Falco and Felicia, hearing Flora's sobs, exited the main deck, and saw the maid, with Felicia rushing over to Flora and comforting her sister.

"What's wrong Flora, who upset you?" Felicia asked her twin sister, not receiving an answer, before looking up at Fox. "Fox, were you the one responsible? How could you possibly make my sister cry?! Do you know how sensitive she is?!"

"I just told that girl to relax and unwind, and not have to worry about cleaning anything," stated Fox, his arms up in the air. "Excuse me for telling her to enjoy herself and not be so preoccupied with their maid duties!"

 **Flora: This is it, Felicia, I'm done for...I'm no longer allowed to continue with my maid duties...the only thing I'm good at, aside from cleaning...if I'm not allowed to be a maid...then what am I even good for?! *breaks down into tears*  
Felicia: Take it easy Flora, Fox didn't really mean it...I'm sure he just didn't want you cleaning just for the moment, not forever! And if anyone has the authority to relieve you of your duties, it's Master Hand. He's more powerful and authoritative than anyone!**

 **Fox: Since I apparently upset Flora, does that mean Corrin will write a letter to his folks in Nohr and tell them what I did? Will Garon bring me to Nohr and persecute me, because of what I did to Flora?**  
 **Falco: Nah, can't see Corrin being a snitch...I've seen his letters before, he blindly tells Garon that living at the mansion is like living in paradise, contrary to popular belief. And I'm sure Garon wouldn't care anyways, he'd probably be like, "Oh, Flora cried again, not a shocker". The Nohrian family must be pretty familiarized with how soft Flora is.**

"I think Falco is speaking the truth - Flora has to blow everything out of proportion, as usual," Falco gave his take, before looking out before him and seeing Mario, in his front lawn with Poochy, flying a kite. And it irked the avian pilot greatly. "Bruh, Mario, why you flying a kite outside, who flies their kite in the winter?" Falco called out to the plumber.

"Wouldn't flying a kite during the spring-a and summer months be too-a 'mainstream'?" retorted Mario, giving Falco a taste of his own medicine. As the plumber did the quotation mark hand gesture, the kite handle fell out of his hand, and the kite flew away in the cold breeze. Poochy tried to alert Mario by barking.

"Uh oh, Mario, the kite's getting away!" Cappy alerted the plumber, as Mario turned around and saw the kite flying away. "Better hope it doesn't get stuck in a tree, or in some electrical power lines! That would be dangerous!"

"Mama mia!" exclaimed Mario, as he chased after his kite, running as far as his legs could carry him. Eventually he would catch up with the kite, a fair distance away from the mansion, and grabbed the kite before it flew up in a nearby tree. "Phew, that was a close-a one!" remarked Mario, wiping away the sweat from his forehead.

Just as Mario was about to head back, he saw two individuals standing near the tree that caught his attention. One was a brown-haired boy in blue attire, the other was a red-haired girl wearing skimpy red attire. Out of curiosity, Mario went over to eavesdrop on the two, to hear their discussion.

"We have to find a way to get back to Elysium, before it's too late..." said the boy, decked in his armor. "We shouldn't have stayed on this earth for a long time."

"But how do we even get back to Elysium?" asked the girl, as Mario inched a bit closer. All this talk about Elysium was interesting. "There's absolutely no mode of transportation for us to use. Even if there was..."

"This earth has a funny way of doing things, that's for sure. Living in a world without Titans is a little strange for me, to say the least. Regardless, I'm sure there is a way for us to return to...AUGH!" The boy jumped in fright when he saw Mario, a little too close for comfort.

"Hehe, sorry for sneaking up on-a you like that," apologized Mario, as the boy slowly caught his breath. "I take it that-a you two are lost?"

"We're not really lost - we're just trying to find a way to return to Elysium," explained the girl, as her friend was still catching his breath. Mario was perhaps the least likeliest guy to elicit a jumpscare but he pulled off a good one just now. "It's a world considered to be the ultimate paradise for humanity. We came from there to earth to do a little scoping...and now, we're stuck in regards to heading back."

"Ah, I see...how about you two head-a over to my place, so we can-a discuss a solution there? I can treat-a you to some snacks if you like..."

* * *

So Mario took the boy and girl to his home, got them all situated and stuff, and brought Luigi over. Mario and Luigi had a conversation with the boy and girl, Rex and Pyra, respectly - and also learned about things like Elysium, the Titans, Monado Arts, and several other topics.

"That chick kinda looks-a like a hooker," Luigi quietly whispered to Mario, only to receive a nudge in return. The green plumber was right on the money, though.

 **Peach: When Mario entered the house with Pyra, I was afraid that he came inside with a hooker, like he went to a nightclub like Captain Falcon did met some prostitute there, and brought her to his house "by accident". I was nervous that Mario was cheating on me, or practicing polygamy - two things he would _never_ do. Just when I was about to whack Mario with my frying pan, he cleared things up, and said that Pyra was a living...a living sword. A Special Blade, whatever that is...**

"To be honest, we're not even sure how we came to earth in the first place!" said Rex, in the living room and taking a bite from some sandwiches Peach provided for him and Pyra. "A distant memory to us, sadly."

"Currently we're a bit pressed on time, and we have to return to Elysium at once," added Pyra, looking down at her feet and seeing Poochy, looking up at her and excitedly wagging his tail. Might be checking her out, who knows. "Do you know any modes of transportation that would be useful for us?"

"Well there is a teleportation device-a that's in the Smash Mansion," replied Mario; if the teleportation device could access the TV World, a place Yu and his friends frequent, then it could certainly access Elysium. "Anyone's free to use-a it. Ask one of the operators to turn-a that bad boy on, and then just hop-a on inside, and the device will-a teleport you away!"

"Only one-a problem though...I've heard recently that the teleportation device-a is experience some technical issues," said Luigi, much to the concern of Rex and Pyra. The teleportation device was their only shot at returning to Elysium. "Mega Man, the one-a who usually operates the device, said that there might-a be an electrical bug in the system."

"Is there really a electrical bug-a in the system? I've heard from-a Isabelle that the problem might-a be an equipment failure. Let me call-a Isabelle, just to make-a sure..." So Mario whipped out his cellphone, dialed a number, and waited for Isabelle to pick up. Once the call was answered...

"Wrong number again, Mario..." said not Isabelle, but rather Ayaha, the flatness of her voice radiating through Mario's phone. Mario could only chuckle at his error. "I'll never understand how you get my number and Isabelle's number mixed up, and at this point of time, it's beyond ridiculous...so, what's up? Need me to give you more tips on serenading Peach?" Mario suddenly had a perturbed look on his face, as Rex, Pyra, and most definitely Luigi looked at the plumber inquisitively.

"I'll...I'll call you about-a that later, don't want Peach-a listening," Mario quietly whispered into his phone, before assuming his normal voice. "Anyways, I was just calling to see-a what's really wrong-a with the teleportation device. Luigi says-a there's a bug, Isabelle says there's an equipment-a failure..."

"Actually, it's more of an electrical outage...the teleportation device won't even turn on." That was greatly concerning Rex and Pyra. "Mega Man and his robot pals have tried everything they could to turn the device back on, but nothing seems to work...they're having Pikachu and Pichu power the device back on with their electricity as I speak. You're more than welcome to see how they're doing, if you like."

* * *

Given that she had an affinity for plant life, Viridi always adored decorating Christmas trees. In fact, Master Hand even gave the goddess of nature the final say on how the Christmas tree looked. The Homs trio, who were decorating the Christmas tree, would have their work evaluated by Viridi himself.

After finishing up her usual gardening duties in the gardens, Viridi gathered some colorful flowers to put on the Christmas tree. The goddess was walking to the living room with the flowers in hand, happily humming a Christmas tune. On her way there, she saw her boyfriend Pit, standing outside Captain Falcon's room, peering inside. Wondering what the angel was doing, Viridi went over to Pit, and heard Falcon speaking on the phone...but with who?

"Oh yeah, Toon Link and Young Link are the absolute worst!" exclaimed Captain Falcon, speaking with the mystery person. Good thing the buddy cops weren't around to hear that. "I was trying out my new Captain Rainbow outfit, and the Links both arrested me just for wearing it! I remember the words Toon Link said to me before my arrest...'IDENTITY THEFT IS NOT A JOKE FALCON, MILLIONS OF FAMILIES SUFFER EVERY YEAR!'" From whom did the Links learn that from? "What family could I possibly be harming?"

"You do have to admit though, you and Captain Falcon are pretty similar, what with how your bodies are built," said the mystery person on the phone, Alola Elite Four member Olivia. So Falcon managed to get in touch with Olivia, as he hoped in the previous episode. "It's impossible even for you to deny!"

 **Captain Falcon: Why must you guys assume that I'm moving on from Nowi and starting a new relationship with Olivia? Nowi and I, we have yet to speak with one another ever since our ugly breakup. And why would I fall in love with Olivia just a week after we met? I'm just looking for lady friends, that's all! Because of my romantic woes, I have very few lady friends - heck, I bet even R.O.B. has more than I do - so I'm just, testing the waters, if you will.**

 **Wario: Aha, now I remember what Layton and I were supposed to do! We were supposed to keep Falcon away from Olivia, because of the possibility of Falcon falling in love with Olivia at first sight...did we do our job right? Red never gave us a physical description of Olivia. Not only that, but I kept going to the bathroom because my stomach was out of whack during Thanksgiving, and Layton was busy talking with Phoenix Wright, so it's safe to say that our mission might've been a failure...**

"I have to go now - Sophocles challenged me to a Pokemon battle an hour ago, and I have to grant his wishes," said Olivia, as Viridi, standing next to Pit, grew questionable about Captain Falcon and his "lady friend". "My Probopass and Lycanroc should be enough to take out his Pokemon. Same time tomorrow?"

"Same time tomorrow indeed!" affirmed Captain Falcon, giving a thumbs up because he felt the need to. "Talk to you later!" And with that, Falcon ended his phone call, and placed his cellphone in his holster. The racer whistled a tune as he strutted out of his room, noticing Pit and Viridi standing near the doorway. "Howdy there, happy couple! How y'all doing this fine afternoon? And why you're looking at me like that?"

"You seem very...affable today, Captain Falcon," remarked Viridi, who was extremely certain that Falcon was trying to start a fling with Olivia. That phone call was definitely a context clue. "Especially after that phone call..."

"Pfft, I'm always happy, a hundred percent of the time! What have you been smoking Viridi? Did Snake grow some more cocaine in the gardens, got a good sniff of that coke? Or were you just living in denial until now? Whatever the reason, I'll just continue with my day and let you be great! Ta-ta!" Captain Falcon strolled down the hallway, continuing his whistle.

"Captain Falcon has been acting differently as of late, after Thanksgiving..." Pit said to Viridi, stroking his chin. "I've seen him act like this around the others, like Samus...even Samus thinks there's something going on with Falcon. I should follow him more and see what's up."

"Do you think Falcon's sudden affability might have anything to do with meeting Olivia?" This was an interesting theory that deserved a lot of thought.

"Not exactly sure, but one question though...what is affability?" Never change, Pit, never change...

* * *

Toon Link and Young Link, the buddy cops who "arrested" Captain Falcon for simply wearing a Captain Rainbow suit, found another suspect to arrest in the gaming room, in Doc Louis. Toon Link was cuffing up the boxing trainer, as Young Link read his rights.

"Jerome 'Doc' Louis, you sir are under arrest, for engaging in identity theft!" Young Link said to the boxing trainer. "You have the right to remain silent; anything you say or do will be used against you. To think that you, of all people, would steal the identity of a beloved animated character and get away with it..."

"Oh please, you boys had no problem with my attire until today!" Doc Louis barked at the buddy cops; Toon Link, who was done cuffing up Doc, poked him in the leg with an arrow, making the trainer yelp in pain. "Also, how is this identify theft, not like I'm assuming the persona of someone else and stealing their credit card info!"

"But you were thinking about it while assuming your Fat Albert appearance!" frowned Toon Link; how would that be even possible? "Do you not realize, that when you steal someone's identity, a family suffers? Did you know, that for every identity stolen, a family deals with aching pain, because of the actions of another...did you know, that according to ID Analytics, five hundred thousand children have their identities stolen by..."

"Yeah, who cares about the children!" What a heartless thing for Doc to say. "Just take me to your office or whatever, so I can be released! My man Little Mac and his girl Leia are spending time in the park, and I need to be there to relish every second!" So Toon Link and Young Link escorted Doc Louis out of the gaming room, as Akuma looked on, sipping some soda.

 **Akuma: Did I ever get arrested by the buddy cops? Truthfully, I think everyone in the mansion has...I was arrested by those blokes for being an evil Gerudo (yes, they both thought I was a Gerudo) plotting with Ganon to take over the world. Don't get me wrong, the prospect of Ganondorf and I ruling the world sounds enticing, but the odds would be against our favor, because of Link. Ganon can never seem to win with Link around.**

"Must suck to be Doc Louis right now..." chuckled Akuma, as he took a sip from his soda. As he was drinking, a finger tapped him on the shoulder, startling him and making him spit his drink out. Akuma, angrily turning around, saw Chrom standing by. "What's your problem, man - why interrupt an honest man enjoying his drink?!"

"My apologies Akuma, just trying to get your attention," Chrom apologized with a smile. "I heard that you drew my daughter's name during the Secret Santa thing, and I was wondering if you figured out what gift you'll buy for Lucina." Akuma just stared blankly at Chrom - was he being serious?

"Chrom, man, we just drew names today. It's not like once I drew Lucina's name, I knew exactly in that moment what to get for her. Gotta give me some time to think, before coming to a final decision."

"If you like, I can give you a rundown of the things Lucina likes, if that would help you. Lucina likes the _Swordsman Weekly_ magazine, anime, manga, k-pop, the color blue, the Seattle Seahawks, to some extent..."

While Chrom kept running his mouth about Lucina's favorite things, Akuma tip-toed away from the prince, before running away. He ran to the barstool section of the gaming room, where he found Link and Zelda chilling out, and took a seat on a barstool.

"Wow Akuma, you look pretty annoyed," Link said to the fighter, observing the look on his face. "Did Ryu and Heihachi both drive you insane? I'm sure having two roommates is too much for one to deal with."

"Ryu and Heihachi aren't driving me insane, but Chrom is certainly on his way to doing that..." replied Akuma, not looking back to see if Chrom was still running his mouth. He might not even notice Akuma was no longer listening to him! "He came up to me and asked me if I already picked out a Secret Santa gift for Lucina, and was giving me a list of Lucina's...favorite things."

"Trust me Heihachi... _nobody_ wants to draw Lucina's name, take it from me," said Zelda, as Link justifiably nodded his head, agreeing with Zelda wholeheartedly. "Drawing Lucina's name bears the same weight as Peach's name. Whoever drew Lucina's name will suffer from an endless barrage of Chrom's constant nagging; Chrom will ask you continually throughout the day if you decided on finding a gift for Lucina, and he won't stop until you picked out a gift for..."

"There you are Akuma, thought you could get away from me, didn't you?" Chrom approached Akuma, much to the fighter's chagrin. "Sorry if my list of Lucina's favorites was longer than you expected. If you want, I can place an even longer list on your bed." An even longer list, is Chrom being serious?!

"That would be nice, thank you Chrom," responded Akuma, as Chrom nodded his head and walked away. Once the prince was gone, Akuma turned to face Link and Zelda, with a pained look on his face. "Yeah...if I hear another peep from Chrom about Lucina's Secret Santa gift, then he's gonna have a seriously broken jaw from the uppercut I'm gonna give him..."

"I know, how about you hang out with Zelda and I for the rest of the day?" suggested Link, as Zelda shot a look at the Hylian; clearly she wasn't on board with the idea. "We could be doing something, the three of us together, and Chrom ever sees you, he won't even speak with you because he'll see that you're too busy."

"You sure that's such a great idea, Link?" Zelda asked her boyfriend, cynical about Link's ideas, like she was about most of the Hylian's crazy plans and whatnot. "Akuma was talking to the two of us, and Chrom still bothered him."

"Because even though we were talking, we weren't doing anything busy. And that's the problem. Our busyness will keep Chrom away. And the more busy we are, the less inclined Chrom will speak with Akuma. Sounds good, no?" The questionable looks Zelda and Akuma exchanged suggested otherwise...

 **Link: Call me, the Master Planner. There's a lot of masters throughout history...Master Hand, Master Emerald, and yours truly, Master Planner. Every master in history is best at what they do - Master Hand is great at ruling the Smash universe, the Master Emerald is great at...uh, being green and stuff, and I, the Master Planner, am great at coming up with awesome plans and ideas. You can't expect to go through life and achieve your goals if you don't have a surefire plan.**

* * *

Mario and Luigi, along with Rex and Pyra, were in the teleportation room with Ayaha, where Mega Man and Proto Man were working on fixing the teleportation device. They had Pikachu and Pichu try and power up the device, thinking their electricity could do the trick.

"Pika...CHHUUUUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed his signature move, Thunderbolt, on the teleportation device, using as much electricity as possible.

"Piiii...CHHHUUUUUUU!" Pichu would use Thunderbolt as well, generating less electricity than Pikachu. Neither of the mouse Pokemon were able to power the device back on.

"Mega Man and Proto Man have been trying to power the device back on with Pikachu and Pichu, as you see, and despite their attempts, nothing is working," Ayaha would explain to Mario and company. "X and Zero both got tired of working on the machine, and MegaMan .EXE said he had to use the 'little robots room'...some lousy excuse to get away."

"Would it hurt-a to have Coco figure some-a thing out?" asked Luigi, as Pikachu and Pichu used their Thunderbolts once more. Unless those two had taken a lot of PP Up and PP Max, they'll likely run out of power points, and become exhausted. "She's a huge tech-a genius, after all - she could-a fix anything!"

"Unfortunately, Coco doesn't see eye-to-eye with Mega Man and his friends. Repeatedly called them stubborn, and also went on to say that Proto Man was a 'brooding sychopant'..." Well what else would you expect from a silent edgelord like Proto Man?

"Mario, would it be alright with you if we removed Rex and Pyra from the room?" Mega Man asked the plumber, glancing over at Rex and Pyra who were standing near a wall. The robot's focus was fixated on Pyra, however. "Got nothing against Rex, but Pyra...her attire is...too distracting. Looks like an anime hooker..."

"I'll say, she has more skin than clothes, or the lack thereof..." murmured Proto Man, taking a good look at Pyra's backside, only to walk away feeling somewhat disappointed. It was evident Pyra was more endowed in the chest. "I second that, Rex and Pyra looked bored in here, and should be somewhere else."

"Funny you should say-a that, Luigi said Pyra looked-a like a hooker too..." Mario said interestingly. Don't fault Mega Man and Luigi for keeping it real. "Rex, Pyra, would you two like-a to look around the mansion?" Mario asked the two, grabbing their attention. "We have an arcade-a room!"

"An arcade room for playing games?" asked Rex; what other reason would you go to the arcade room for? Stealing tokens? Stealing tickets? Why even have tokens and tickets, it's not like the arcade room is an operating business! "That sounds AWESOME! Where is it?"

"I go to the arcade room every day - I can take you guys there if you want," volunteered Proto Man. Going to the arcade room on a daily basis is not worth mentioning around anyone, including your homies, Proto Man.

* * *

 **Rex: Never been to an actual arcade before, but from what I've heard, it's a pretty neat place in general...might not be much compared to Elysium, but I'm willing to keep an open mind and try something new.  
** **Pyra: Rex, I don't know about you, but it feels like I'm being...watched.**

 **King K. Rool: *following closely behind Rex and Pyra* That red-haired chick, with the skimpy outfit...SHE HAS NO BUNS! None to be found! I hope the boy she's with is just a friend, and not her boyfriend - kid deserves _so_ much better.**

Rex and Pyra, led by Proto Man, entered the arcade room, and saw all the arcade machines inside. _Space Invaders, Shovel Knight, Space Galaga, The Simpsons Arcade Game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,_ and many, many others. All properly functioning, waiting for someone (Rex) to insert a token in them and play them.

"In order to play the arcade games, you need to spend tokens," explained Proto Man, handing both Rex and Pyra 20 tokens apiece. Who knew silent edgelords could be so generous? "Insert a token into the coin slot, start the game, and get the highest score possible, so you can earn tickets and redeem said tickets for prizes. Prizes that you can bring with you to that Elysium place. Don't ask me why we have tokens and tickets at a living residency, it all seems like a monetization attempt by the mansion owner, Master Hand...but enough yapping from me, go ahead and have your fun."

So Proto Man would return to the teleportation room, leaving Rex and Pyra in the arcade room. Pyra would hand all her tokens to Rex, and Rex would run to the first arcade game he laid his eyes on, _Shovel Knight,_ as Pyra followed him. Very wise choice by Rex.

"You're not gonna stay in here all day until the teleportation device is fixed, are you?" Pyra would ask, as Rex inserted a token into the coin slot. "I fear that you might get carried away and play forever..."

"I have self-control, Pyra, it's not like I'm gonna play every single arcade game and hog them to death," replied Rex, starting a new game. Just seeing a pixelated Shovel Knight on the screen made the boy all giddy inside. "Proto Man was very generous with the tokens, but I won't use up all of them, promise!"

As Rex got into the first goings of _Shovel Knight,_ the mansion's newest punching bag walked into the arcade room...

"HEY EVERYONE IT'S ILIKEHOTGIRLS86!" shouted Wolf, bringing everyone's attention to the now bummed out Hisui. The young man heaved a sigh as he went to the token machine, with several people laughing at him along the way. "Everyone, give him a hand!"

"Told you that's not my name..." frowned Hisui, as he inserted a dollar into the token machine and got some tokens in exchange. Why he kept doing this, he and many other residents did not know. "When will you guys cut it out?"

"Well nobody told you to choose an embarrassing name online to communicate with your 'friends'," said Meta Knight, who was chilling near the token machine. "Bet they don't even remember your name..."

"My friends do remember my name...well, one of them, at least. Milla. She addressed me by saying "History"...not my actual name, but she's making progress..." Hisui walked away from the token machine, as Sonic and Amy watched the young man from afar.

"Sonic, we have to do something, we can't let this go on any longer," a concerned Amy said to her boyfriend. "Hisui is being straight up bullied at this point - people are pointing and laughing at him!"

"You're just overreacting Amy...it's not bullying if Hisui goes into full depression mode," remarked Sonic, receiving an understandably questionable look from Amy. "Hisui doesn't look bothered in the slightest, so he's just being teased, that's all. People get teased all the time, including myself!"

"At this point, it might escalate to the point where Hisui gets bullied day in and day out, and likely forever! And you know Master Hand wouldn't want a bullying situation in his own mansion." Amy had a good point - there should be only one bully roaming through the mansion, named Master Hand. "So since you were the one who allowed Knuckles to let this happen, you're gonna put an end to this whole mess!"

"Fine then, but since you're so concerned about Hisui...you're gonna put an end to this mess too!" Sonic fired back. Two heads _are_ better than one.

* * *

 **Shulk: Tons of people have been acting nice towards me, especially the people that I least expect! Meta Knight, the cold and distant Star Warrior, treated me to some homemade Mexican food. Ganondorf, who typically calls me "blondie" in a mocking tone, gave me a random back massage. And Kiria, who never cared for me once, sang a song dedicated to me! Me! But I know that most of these nice gestures aren't genuine...for all we know, Meta Knight could have poisoned my enchiladas.**

As if Shulk's day couldn't get any weirder, things would turn all the way up to eleven, when Shulk encountered Samus. The Homs, who went to fetch something from the basement, was returning to the living room, noodling around on his phone, when he accidentally bumped into Samus. Samus, who was about to unwrap the ice cream bar in her hand, fell to the floor along with Shulk, dropping her treat to the floor.

"Whoops, sorry about that Samus, that should teach me to never walk while using my phone ever again," apologized Shulk, helping Samus back up to her feet. What would the bounty hunter do in response?

"It's okay Shulk, I know you didn't mean to bump into me like that," replied Samus...as she leaned in towards Shulk and kissed him on the cheek. Samus kissing anyone was a rare moment - she wouldn't even kiss her Galactic Federation buddy, Anthony Higgs! The bounty hunter then patted Shulk on the shoulder; she seldom touched anyone like that. "I practically look at my phone when I'm walking too!"

"Yeah I'm sure everyone does that..." Not everyone checks their phone and walk at the same time, Shulk, quit generalizing people! "Now if you excuse me, I have to return to the living room..."

"Oh, before you go..." Samus picked up her ice cream bar...and handed it to Shulk. Something was very fishy. "...how about you take my ice cream bar? I don't really need it, you need it more than I do."

"Lady Palutena already prepared me some ramen noodles earlier...but I'll accept your ice cream bar." Shulk took the ice cream bar from Samus, who smiled as she went on her own way. Shulk just shook his head in confusion...

* * *

Link's plan to keep Chrom away from Akuma was to have the veteran fighter not only hang out with him and Zelda, but to do "busy" things that would keep Akuma occupied to the point where Chrom wouldn't dare to bother him.

So what "busy" thing was Akuma doing with Link and Zelda? Doing the laundry, of course! The fighter and Link were in the laundry room, folding up clothes, while Zelda was overseeing the clothes being washed right now. Akuma loved every single second of folding clothes, and he showed it by frowning angrily into the blue eyes of Link.

"Went from being one of the greatest fighters in the world, to being stuck in laundry duty...oh how the mighty have fallen," smirked Heihachi, who was only in the laundry room to pick up his clothes, which Akuma was folding right now. "I find it funny how many months ago, you and I were engaged in a fight of epic proportions...and this is what you're stuck with at the mansion. Meanwhile I, on the other hand, am getting better and stronger by the day! But I still can't thank you enough for providing those English lessons though, you were good for something!"

"Take your stinking clothes and leave..." growled Akuma, tossing Heihachi's clothes at the Japanese fighter. "While I fold up the rest of these clothes, you should perhaps work on the relationship you have with your grandson, Jin Kazama..."

"Joke's on you, Akuma...Jin and I have been getting along with each other better over the phone. Not saying much, but it's still progress. If you want me to take the 'L', then I'll do so, if it will make you feel any better..." Heihachi sneered as he exited the laundry room, leading Akuma to growl once more.

 **Heihachi: Yes, Jin and I have been improving our relationship recently...we talk with each other on the phone constantly, talking about things like fighting techniques, world news, and who has the best biceps in the Mishima family (that distinction obviously goes to me). But whenever I ask Jin about his lady friend, Ling Xiayou...he always hangs up after a long silence. Little does he know that actions like those reveal that he's in love with the girl...**

As Akuma and company continued their laundry work, a man entered the laundry room, surprised to see Akuma doing laundry. It was just as shocking as what Samus did to Shulk earlier.

"Akuma!" this man called out to the fighter; Akuma, frowning after recognizing the voice, slowly turned around, and was bummed to see Chrom standing there. "You're doing my laundry duties for me? Thanks a bunch Akuma, you're such a bro...never thought I'd say that. Wonder what Robin would think of me..."

"This is a one-day only affair, so don't expect me to do your job next time," Akuma informed Chrom, hoping he would go away. But the prince would stay put. "I'm only doing this just because I felt like I had to."

"That's understandable. Anyways, I have a question to ask you, before I forget...have you decided what to..."

"NOPE!" Akuma, knowing the road the conversation was headed, ran out of the laundry room, and to who-knows-where. He knew Chrom was gonna ask him about Lucina's gift, and he wanted no part of it.

"Well then...that was unexpected. I'll just ask Akuma later." And with that, Chrom departed from the laundry room, as Zelda stared at Link. What was the so-called "Master Planner" gonna say?

"Don't think we were busy enough - left Akuma all out in the open and made him vulnerable to Chrom," the Hylian said, leading Zelda to roll her eyes. What an extremely wack answer. "But wherever Akuma is, we shall follow, and then we'll just pick up from there."

"Or we can just quit and put your stupid 'plan' to bed while we're ahead..." suggested Zelda, but Link was against using suggestions unless he agreed upon them.

* * *

Rex, having never played a single arcade game in his life, was pretty much a novice when playing _Shovel Knight._ And it showed, as the swordsman saw the game over screen multiple times - three times, to be exact. Nonetheless, Rex was determined to beat the game, and to do that, he had to "get good" - a common phrase used by jerk Smash players telling those below them to improve their skills.

"Pretty sure the teleportation device is already fixed now..." said Pyra, glancing at the clock. Rex had sweat running down his determined face - losing over and over again was somehow making him sweaty. Or maybe he was putting in too much effort.

"No word of confirmation has been made yet, so until then, I'll just keep on playing!" replied Rex, and he had all the time in the world to continue playing, with the amount of tokens he had. Nothing was gonna stop him now.

Tired of waiting in the arcade room, waiting for Rex to be done, Pyra left her friend, and walked around the mansion for something to consume her time with. During her trek, she saw Berkut and Rinea, coming her way.

 **Berkut: As you may know, I'm strictly prohibited from killing Alm. If I even lay as much as a single finger on him, Rinea and I will not be forced to return to Rigel...but rather deal with a "very strict and inhumane punishment" from Master Hand. However, I've detected a giant loophole that I plan on exploiting...**

"Aerith is the best roommate ever!" Rinea gushed over her roommate, the flower girl known as Aerith. "She gives me flowers, and has even helped me with my shyness. She's really great company to have!"

"Wish I could say the same for my roommate, Dr. Cortex..." Berkut sighed, looking down at the floor. "Every night I have to deal with Cortex murmuring in his sleep about how he's going to take over the world, not to mention that I'm the victim of his laser gun misfires. His guardian mask Uka berates me every chance he gets, even more than he berates Cortex!"

Berkut and Rinea would meet with Pyra in the hallway, both parties coming to a sudden halt. Berkut was doing his best not to pay as much attention to Pyra's body, especially with his girl standing with him.

"You must be a newcomer to the mansion, are you?" Rinea would ask Pyra out of utter curiosity. "I'm Rinea, and this is my lovely fiance Berkut. We're both from the kingdom of Rigel, and we moved in into the mansion two weeks ago."

"I'm not really a new resident of this mansion, I'm only here temporarily...name's Pyra, by the way," Pyra would introduce herself to the Rigelian couple. "I'm a Special Blade, hailing from a place called Elysium - the ultimate paradise for all mankind." The words "Special Blade" made Berkut smile curiously...

"Special Blade, you say?" said the paladin, leading Rinea to look at him with a concerning glance. "Is there by any chance your 'master', the one who wields you, is in the mansion?" Whatever Berkut was planning, it clearly had something to do with Alm.

"Well, let's just say that my 'master', my friend Rex...he's my Driver. I granted him my powers and stuff. Do you want me to fetch him for you? He's been spending time in the arcade room, and and he's doing terribly at the game he's playing...telling him to stop would do no good."

"Yes, tell your Rex friend to meet me here, pronto. I have something big planned for you and Rex." Pyra nodded, and went back to the arcade room, as Berkut received a nudged from Rinea. The noblewoman's face grew with concern. "Why must you look like that Rinea...I'm not doing a single thing involving Alm. I'm fully aware of the repercussions that comes with hurting that man."

Pyra returned to the arcade room, and saw Rex still playing the _Shovel Knight_ game. The swordsman lost his fourth life, but was coming back for more. Just as he was about to insert another token into the coin slot...

"We have some matters to take care of Rex, so your little playing time is over," Pyra grabbed Rex, and dragged him out of the gaming room. All of Rex's tokens were left on the arcade machine, and Larry noticed this as he walked by.

"Hehehe..." the Koopaling rubbed his hands together excitedly, as he approached the arcade machine.

* * *

 **Shulk: Samus kissing me on the cheek and offering her ice cream bar to me was completely strange, and out of the ordinary. But she wasn't the only person doing nice things to me. Ashley gave me a back massage, with some assistance from her friend, Red. The Inklings gave me painting painted in my likeness. And King Dedede gave me full control of his Waddle Dees! I just told those cute little simpletons iron my clothes, my entire wardrobe should be ironed by now.**

Shulk, Fiora, and Dunban had finished decorating the Christmas tree, and were now seeking the approval of Viridi, who added some flowers to the tree. The goddess of nature analyzed the Yuletide tree from a distance, with a finger underneath her chin and an analyzing look on her face.

"This Christmas tree...receives a Viridi stamp of approval!" announced Viridi, giving two thumbs up. Why Shulk and company had to receive approval from a young goddess, instead of Master Hand himself, we may never know... "Though it's only because of the flowers - if not for me, you'd all be screwed!"

"Viridi, Captain Falcon is back at it again!" Pit rushed inside the living room to alert the goddess of nature. "Was eavesdropping on his conversation with Gil, and he was dropping some nuggets of knowledge...come with me!"

"Are you sure it had anything to do with him and Olivia?" Pit did not answer Viridi's question, as he grabbed the goddess' and ran out of the living room. After Pit departed with his goddess girlfriend, Cortex, accompanied by Uka, would show up a few moments later, needing to speak with someone...

"Ah, just the girl I needed to see!" the mad scientist gleamed when he saw Fiora. "So during the Secret Santa proceedings, I drew the name Fiora, and I'm not sure who this Fiora chick could be." Oh, if only she was around here, somewhere, to reveal herself... "I was thinking that since you were a girl, you might know what Fiora would want as a gift. What do most girls usually like? Beauty sets? Manicure products? New clothes? Bathroom wear? Do you think Fiora would appreciate any of the things I've listed?"

"Actually, I think Fiora would _really_ love a pet Nopon for Christmas," replied Fiora, as she slyly winked at Shulk and Dunban. The Homs was explicitly telling Cortex what to get her, and the mad scientist apparently had no idea. "Nopons are small, adorable pets that you can hold in your arms, and they're very fuzzy too! Fiora _loves_ fuzzy and adorable."

"A pet Nopon, what a lovely gift! Don't even know what a Nopon is, but I'll see if one is offered at a pawn shop somewhere. Pawn shops are an excellent place for finding Christmas and birthday gifts, especially for my minions. I should go now, but before I do..." Cortex went up to Shulk...and gave him a hundred dollar bill. "Found this on the sidewalk one day - wanted to keep it, but I thought you would need it more. The thought that counts!"

"Uh, thanks for the bill, Dr. Cortex," thanked Shulk, accepting the hundred dollar bill and putting it in his pocket. Seriously, too many people were being nice to the Homs today...what's next, Uka's gonna be nice with him too?!

"I have something of worth to give to you too, Shulk...some fancy gold bars I stole from the bank down the street!" exclaimed Uka. Pigs must be outside the mansion right now, flying in unison. "Placed them on your bed. So nice and shiny...you should definitely sell it for some cash!"

"Thank you too Uka, you really shouldn't have!" Really though, Uka shouldn't have. Cortex and Uka both said "you're welcome" to Shulk, as they departed from the living room. Bowser, Samus, Cortex, AND Uka, showing compassion towards Shulk, on the same day? The odds of that were one in three trillion! "I'm not particularly fond of these gifts..."

"At least I know what to expect during the gift exchange..." smiled Fiora, already looking forward to Christmas Eve, when the exchange took place.

* * *

Pit would take Viridi to where Captain Falcon's conversation was taking place, in the lounge. There, the racer was sitting on a couch with Gil and Akira, the latter recently joining in on the conversation. The two were watching Falcon from afar, making sure they weren't seen.

 **Captain Falcon: I know Nowi will be coming back to me for my love...she's just nervous at the moment. Nervous that she might try and reconcile with me when I'm with another woman. Wouldn't blame her for that, most people feel suspicious about their ex when they try to get back together again. If, and when, Nowi comes back, I'll welcome her back with arms wide open... *starts singing "With Arms Wide Open" by Creed* ...Yes, I'll do the same for her daughter too.**

"But yeah, Olivia is a great lady, and an even greater Pokemon trainer!" Captain Falcon was telling Gil and Akira all the details about his new "lady friend". "She says that Probopass is the strongest on her team, but that her Lycanroc perhaps her best Pokemon."

"Can't help but feel that Probopass kinda looks like Mario a bit..." remarked Akira; could be because of the mustache. "Hope I'm not the only one who thinks that. So, since you're single again...are you gonna make a move on Olivia?"

"Yeah, Akira, am I gonna make a move on a woman who lives far away...why would I do that for? Did I mention that she's an island kahuna AND an Elite Four member? She already has enough on her plate as it is, why make her even more busy by making her have a boyfriend?"

"Nowi lives far away, even farther from the mansion than Olivia I'm sure, yet you had a relationship with her," stated Gil; Captain Falcon couldn't deny that. "You could reaffirm your relationship, but I'm afraid Jakob might've ruined everything for you guys..."

"Man screw Jakob, all he was doing was following up Dr. Eggman and doing his bidding! Nowi will eventually understand that Jakob wanted us to break up to create some drama in the mansion. Once she understands, we'll be back together again. It'll be happily ever after!"

"I dunno, Pit, Captain Falcon might still be committed to Nowi," Viridi said to the angel, breaking away from the lounge. "He could really just be friends with Olivia - I have yet to see any signs of him wanting to start a fling with her."

"Captain Falcon could be starting a THREESOME!" theorized Pit, leading Viridi to scoff at her boyfriend's theory. "Setting up a threesome so that if either Olivia or Nowi leave, then the other chick will still be around to keep him company...does it make too much sense, or it doesn't make any sense at all?"

"Totally the latter, for sure...we might be wrong about Falcon being in love with Olivia. But we won't fully know until later..."

* * *

Link and Zelda, having found Akuma submerged in the ball pit, moved on to the next part of Link's plan...monitoring the kiddies in the ball pit. Only thing was, there was nobody in the ball pit save for Akuma, so Link had to "hire" some kids...

"FROG SPLASH!" the male Inkling exclaimed, as he dived into the ball pit. He and the female Inkling were playing with the balls, and throwing them around, not paying any attention to Akuma.

"Can you two please calm yourself, you've kicked me multiple times already!" growled Akuma, his voice slightly muffled by the balls covering him. How was he able to breathe?

"How about you calm yourself, grandpa!" retorted the female Inkling. Akuma certainly didn't like being called a grandpa, but his skin and resemblance to Ganondorf might not be doing him any favors...

 **Akuma: I do not have what you call age...I'm a self-professed denizen from Hell, and evil incarnate! Age means nothing to me! So while Ryu and his friends grow old and develop wrinkles on their faces, I'll be in tip-top shape forever, and maintain my strength! It doesn't mean I'm a "grandpa"...it means that I'll always forever be one step ahead of the curve!**

"Link, Zelda, have you two seen Akuma anywhere?" Chrom entered the ball pit room to ask the Hylians, but only because he believed they were the last to see the fighter. Doesn't he have anything else better to do?

"We haven't seen Akuma anywhere - for all we know, he could have traveled to Japan and not told anyone," replied Link, as the Inklings listened closely. "I expect him to return with bundles of Christmas presents when he returns..."

"Akuma is hiding from you in the ball pit, Chrom," the male Inkling informed the prince, pointing at where Akuma was. Some grumbling could be heard loudly from underneath the colored balls, as the Inklings dragged Akuma from under the ball pit.

"Thought you could hide from me forever, huh Akuma?" Akuma strongly wished he could. "You can't possibly hide from me in a place like the Smash Mansion. Anyways, I only need to ask you one important question..."

"Uh, I have to use the bathroom first," said Akuma, releasing the Inklings' grip on him as he exited the ball pit, and left the room, running away as far as possible once the coast was clear. Chrom looked out through the doorway, and then looked at Link and Zelda, with Link shrugging. The Hylian's plan wasn't going so well...

"There goes Akuma, running from me again...but he'll come around shortly. Once he's done with his 'bathroom break', I shall speak with him." Chrom would leave the ball pit room, and as he did, he saw Hisui, walking by. "Hey there, 'History'...or should I call you by your online pen name instead? How are you online friends doing, chatted with them recently?"

"Even you're teasing me, Chrom..." Hisui shook his head in disgust. You know you dun goofed up when even Chrom is making fun of you. "Why must you do this to me, what have I done to deserve this?"

"Had you not been so desperate for friends, maybe you wouldn't find yourself in this predicament. Personally, I just wanted to tease you to see how you would react. Never seen you so ticked before!"

"This whole thing will all come to pass soon, everyone will forget about my online gaffe...so you better have your fun while it lasts."

Hisui and Chrom would go their separate ways, with Hisui heading to his room, and Chrom likely heading to his room as well. As he walked down the hallway, Hisui walked into Amy, standing with her hands behind her back, like she was expecting Hisui.

"You're not busy at the moment, are you Hisui?" the pink hedgehog would ask the young man, who shook his head no. "I think someone wishes to owe you an apology..."

* * *

Alm and Celica were very much in love with one another. That much was already made obvious in most episodes, especially episode 81. Like any other married couple, there were many things Alm and Celica enjoyed together...and some things they didn't. And knitting was one of the latter things.

Following an offer proposed to her by Yoshi, Celica agreed to become the newest member of the Knitting Club, increasing the member total to five. She was in the usual meeting spot, knitting away with Toad, Yoshi, Ashley, and Pac-Man. In that same room, Alm and Cloud were playing a card game, to pass the time.

 **Alm: I could never involve myself in knitting...it just takes an eternity to make an entire quilt, not to mention the constant threading and needling with your fingers. I used to think knitting was only a practice done by women, but when I saw Toad and Yoshi knit for the first time...I was one very confused man.**

"I think this card game could use another player," smiled Alm, as Cloud looked up at the king. He wasn't referring to what he thought he was referring to, was he?

"If you thinking about playing a card game with Sora, then you can think again," said Cloud, as he drew his card. "Knowing him, he would tell an excruciatingly long story about his stupid adventures, and somehow relate it to cards." To be fair, Sora _did_ have an adventure about cards...he just has no memory of it.

"You could do what Tails did earlier, and apply duct tape to Sora's mouth. Granted he could just take the duct tape off...unless the duct tape was ultra thick!"

"Sora would still be bothersome anyways, so I'm not taking any chances. He'll find some magical way to make himself annoying." As the Knitting Club continued their knitting, and Alm and Cloud continued their card game, Berkut stood with Rex and Pyra, away from Alm, as Berkut pointed at his nemesis.

"See that blue-haired man, with his blue armor?" asked Berkut; just seeing Alm made him stick to his stomach. "His name is Alm, and he's a gigantic pest...and like any other pest, he must PERISH!"

"But why, I don't see anything wrong with this Alm guy," remarked Rex, only to be slapped by Berkut. How dare he defend Alm in the presence of the paladin!

"That's the point, he wants you to _assume_ there's nothing wrong with him...when there is! And killing him will be the only way to stop him from doing heinous deeds. Now, Pyra, do your thing!"

"Whatever you say..." Pyra said reluctantly, as the Special Blade sent Rex inside the room, feeding him her energy. Rex would approach Alm and Cloud, interrupting their card game. Alm and the rest of the Knitting Club paid no mind.

"Hello stranger, what is your name?" Alm asked Rex, who was showing signs of nervousness. Rex had never killed a single soul in his life before, and now Berkut was forcing him to take the life of another person.

"My name...my name is Rex," answered Rex, as sweat poured down his face. He was clearly not up to the task of killing someone. "And I am here...to take your life!" Rex donned his sword, causing a scene, as everyone looked at the nervous swordsman.

"Some random kid like yourself just waltzes into this mansion, in this room, wanting to kill Alm," Cloud analyzed the situation, failing (and neglecting) to see the logic behind Rex's actions. "Why kill Alm of all people?"

"Because...because...because...no comment." Unable to deal the fatal blow to Alm, Rex sheepishly exited the room, as everything went back to normal. A concerned Pyra would chase after Rex, leaving Berkut alone to gripe about being unable to exploit his "loophole".

"Those good-for-nothing dorks..." the paladin seethed through his clenched teeth. "Shouldn't even bother having themredeem themselves. Alm, you might have lived to see another day, but just know that your days are still numbered..."

* * *

 **Akuma: ...is this what it has come to? Following me around to the bathroom, really? Can't respect my privacy? You guys are turning into TMZ, with the way you're filming us now. Is the coast clear, is it safe for me to exit? How about I take a look... *flushes toilet and makes his way to the bathroom door* ...fine, I'll wash my hands, you stinking germaphobes. *washes hands, then exits bathroom for good***

Akuma exited the bathroom, looking both ways for any sign of Chrom, before sneaking away. As he was sneaking away, he passed by Chrom's room. He looked inside, and saw Chrom, taking a nap. Leaving himself out in the open...

Akuma kept on walking, and then he saw Pyra, comforting her friend Rex. The adrenaline from being seconds away from killing Alm was taking a toll on poor Rex.

"I couldn't get the job done Pyra, it was too much for me..." said Rex, as the adrenaline slowly oozed out of his body. His face was red, and also quite sweaty. "I could never be an assassin - too much pressure!"

"Honestly I had no idea Berkut wanted to outright _kill_ Alm...should have stopped you while I had the chance," Pyra patted Rex on the shoulder. Akuma drew an inch closer, noticing Rex's sword. "Not sensing Berkut's malice was truly an oversight, on my part."

"Ahem..." Akuma cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of Rex and Pyra. "Sorry to disturb you two, but I'm in a bit of a rush, and I have a short little favor to ask of you...are you two in any way familiarized with...cutting hair?" Akuma looked back, glancing at Chrom's room - thankfully his plan had nothing to do with anyone being murdered.

"Not really..." replied Rex, understandably feeling wary about Akuma's intentions. "Why do you ask...?"

* * *

Thanks to a meeting arranged by both Amy and Sonic, Hisui and Knuckles met in the foyer, face-to-face, with Hisui having to look down at Knuckles since Knuckles had to be so short. Hisui was brought to the foyer by Amy, and Knuckles was brought by Sonic, who struggled to bring his echidna friend.

"I think you have something to say to Mr. Hearts, don't you, Knuckles?" Amy asked the echidna, who tried to act like nothing was going on. Like he and Hisui were randomly dragged to the foyer, to practice some exquisite handshake that couldn't be seen by mortal eyes.

"Do I REALLY have something to say?" asked Knuckles, leading Sonic to nudge him. Sensing why he was here, Knuckles looked at Hisui...looked _up_ at Hisui, to owe him an apology. "Sorry about making fun of you for that whole online friends thing. It was intended to last for one day, the teasing and all, but it accelerated under my watch and I didn't do anything about it..."

"I want to apologize to; I might have been responsible for making the whole teasing thing go out of proportion," Sonic also apologized, in a somewhat rare moment. "But you lowkey did this to yourself, just wanted you to know that..."

"Apologies accepted," said Hisui, more trusting towards Knuckles than he was to Sonic. He believed Sonic had his fingers crossed behind his back. "Now I expect an apology from Kohaku. And if she doesn't apologize, I'll have to disown her as a little sister..."

"OR you can send her to live with Shadow," suggested Knuckles, as Sonic turned away to laugh, covering his mouth with his hand. "Shadow could really use some company..."

 **Knuckles: Master Hand once sent Ness to Shadow's place, to deliver something. Ness came back one week later, looking like he had seen stuff. Kept running his mouth incessantly about how overbearing Shadow was with his brooding, about how he was "going to make the world suffer for its inducing pain"... *smiles* ...as someone who has known Shadow for the longest now, I find that stuff HILARIOUS!**

"AAAAAAAHHHHH!" a loud scream was heard from upstairs, alarming Knuckles and company. It sounded like it came from Chrom. What could have possibly happened to the prince? Whatever it was, it had something to do with Akuma...

* * *

Finally, after many failed efforts, the teleportation device was fixed! It was up and running again, after the electrical outage issue was resolved. It was thanks not to Pikachu and Pichu, who were both depleted from using too many Thunderbolts, but rather to a certain blonde bandicoot...

"We will never speak of this again," Coco, the tech-savvy genius and da real MVP responsible for fixing the teleportation device, said to Mega Man and Proto Man, as she took her laptop, unplugged the cords connected to her laptop and the device, and left the room. Mega Man would look proudly at his teleportation device - the machine he built leading up to episode 35 - as his baby was back to business.

"Eureka, the machine's-a back on!" exclaimed Mario, who remained in the teleportation room while Ayaha left. Luigi also remained, sleeping soundly until Mario woke him up. Poor plumber wasn't awake to see his suggestion earlier - have Coco work on the machine - come to fruition. "Where's Rex and-a Pyra, are they still-a playing arcade games?"

"I'll go get them, be right back," said Proto Man, leaving the teleportation room. A while later, he came back with Rex and Pyra...who, oddly enough, were smiling. Almost like they were trying to contain their laughter!

"I'm sure you two had a fun time during your short stay at the mansion," Mega Man said to the two, figuring that was why they were smiling so much. "Ready to head back to Elysium?"

"Seeing that the device is repaired, we can go back now," replied Rex, as Proto Man checked out Pyra's backside one more time. You'd think Pyra would be a bit mroe curvaceous, what with her outfit. "We step on that pad, right?"

"Yes, that is correct! Stand on that pad, and I'll key in the coordinates so you can head back to Elysium."

So Rex and Pyra stepped on the pad, and Mega Man keyed in the coordinates, sending the two back to Elysium. Rex and Pyra would say their goodbyes, before being warped back to the ultimate paradise for humanity, as Rex called it.

"Is it just-a me, or did Rex have some blue-a strands of hair between his fingers?" Luigi asked the others, hoping he wasn't seeing things.

* * *

King Dedede was in his favorite place of the mansion, the vending room, and was inserting a dollar bill into a vending machine, as Crash waited patiently behind him. Shulk would enter the room, and King Dedede, seeing the Homs, rushed his transaction...but not because he wanted to keep the line moving.

"Here's a bag of _Lays_ potato chips for my favorite blonde in the mansion, Shulk!" the penguin took the bag of chips once it was vended, and tossed it to Shulk, who caught it. Now even Dedede was being nice to Shulk!

" _Lays_ aren't really my favorite snack, but I appreciate it, King Dedede," Shulk thanked King Dedede, who nodded with a smile as he left the vending room. Crash would walk up to the vending machine, and inserted a dollar, pushing in random buttons, as a bottle of Gatorade was vended. Grabbing the Gatorade, the bandicoot would approach Shulk...

"Ta-da!" ...and handed him the Gatorade, expecting Shulk to accept the drink. With how this day was going for him, the Homs might as well...

"Thank you too Crash - I don't drink Gatorade unless I'm working out, so I'll save this bottle for later." Crash would leave the vending room, and Shulk, with the free grub in his hands, would leave as well. The Homs then saw Akuma from afar, standing near the bathroom doorway, with a devious smile on his face.

"Something going on?" Shulk approached Akuma, to see what was so funny. It wasn't until the Homs peered inside that he saw a true horror...

Chrom. Prince of Yliesse. _Completely bald._ The poor prince was looking at himself in the mirror, rubbing his bald head, expecting his hair to grow back or something.

"How could this have happened to me...I've done nothing to deserve this!" fretted Chrom, as his daughter Lucina was there to be his moral support. He needed all the support he could get.

"Heh heh...that should keep Chrom away from me for the time being, that'll teach him a lesson," snarled Akuma, as Chrom continued to panic. "He'll be more concerned about growing his hair back, and spend less time annoying me about Lucina's gift. Those kids Rex and Pyra were a great help." Akuma looked to his left, and saw Shulk standing. "Hey Shulk, how about a souvenir?" Akuma gave the Homs a fistful of Chrom's hair - the gift Shulk _least_ wanted to accept today. "It's not much, but as the old saying goes, anything is better than nothing!"

"Isn't this...Chrom's hair?" Shulk would ask Akuma, who walked away laughing to himself. "Akuma, wait!" Shulk would chase after the fighter, but came to a stop when he realized it was no use. He just looked down at his "souvenir", Chrom's hair.

So Shulk received hair from Akuma, an ice cream bar from Samus, some chips from King Dedede, Gatorade from Crash, a hundred dollars from Cortex, stolen gold from Uka, and ramen noodles from Palutena. All in one day.

What's next, Fox and Falco are going to give away their new yacht to Shulk?!


	103. Episode 103: Runaway

_Author's Note:_

 _Let's get to business, shall we?_

 _"Will Rex and Pyra appear again when the Xenosaga characters show up? Is Shulk wielding the Monado, Monado II, Monado III, or a replica Monado? Have any characters from Diddy Kong Racing appeared yet? And finally, can you do a chapter with the Square Enix characters meeting each other?"_

 _Probably not? Shulk wields the original Monado. No one from DKR has appeared yet? And I wouldn't rule out a Square Enix chapter. I'm a Square Enix fanboy. Here is Derick Lindsey's review:_

 _"...if this fanfic still exists by next year then I have a suggestion (someone gets Lucina in the secret Santa exchange and when Chrom goes to tell them about what to give her for Christmas the person already says they know what to give her, and so throughout December Chrom gets increasingly desperate to find out what the gift is and instead tries to badger them to tell him what they'll give Lucina for Christamas)."_

 _Will this fanfic exist by next year? I ain't saying anything - I might give away the deadline of this story by accident. But I will go forth with this idea...if this fanfic exists by next year. If and only if. Sure love keeping you folks on your toes..._

* * *

 **Episode 103: Runaway**

Whenever they went away from the house - whether it was going shopping, going on a date, or taking a stroll around the park - Luigi and Daisy didn't have to worry about finding a babysitter to babysit Charles...for they already had one in Yuffie Kisaragi.

The perky ninja, who has been living with Luigi and Daisy ever since episode 49, was always the couple's go-to gal when it came to babysitting Charles. All Luigi and Daisy had to do was ask Yuffie if she was available for babysitting, and the ninja was always quick to oblige.

Unfortunately for Luigi and Daisy, they had to look for another babysitter this time around.

The married couple had their eyes set on some good ol' Christmas shopping, and when they asked Yuffie to babysit Charles, she said that she had to do some important ninja business with her ninja pals Sheik, Greninja, and Asuka. With Yuffie being preoccupied for much of her day, Daisy trusted Luigi to find a suitable babysitter from the mansion to look over Charles, and the plumber was confident he found the perfect one...too bad Daisy thought otherwise.

"I hope you do realize you're essentially putting our son's life in complete danger," Daisy tried to warn Luigi, as she and her hubby were getting ready to go shopping. Had on their winter coats and all. Luigi probably didn't need any winter protection, since he has braved the cold numerous times. "Was nobody at the mansion available, did they all die or something?"

"They're all well-a and alive, sweetie," Luigi assured her wife, who clearly wasn't a fan of the person Luigi selected. "I chose this-a person as a way to redeem-a themselves - to make-a up of any faults in the past. You shouldn't be so-a worried - the babysitter will have Polterpup to keep him and Charles company!"

"Yeah, but Polterpup can only do so much to suffice for the crappy babysitter you hired. Mario, Peach, or even Lara would have been fine choices, but nope, they all had to be busy, at the same freaking time. If Charles dies because of the babysitter..."

"Charles will be safe-a and sound, no need to overreact-a Daisy." A knock at the front door - the dreaded babysitter must've arrived. "Ooh, that must be him!"

Although she wanted to stop Luigi, Daisy felt helpless, as she watched her husband sprint towards the front door. When Luigi opened the door, he instantly saw a blue hedgehog, wearing red shoes, and with a scarf around his neck. With or without the scarf, you know who this guy was.

"Hey Luigi, hey Daisy, hey Charles wherever you are!" greeted Sonic; Luigi let the blue blur inside his house, as Daisy seethed. But her seething would go away, when she saw that Sonic wasn't alone...

"Top of the afternoon, Luigi and Daisy!" greeted Sonic's best friend, Tails, also welcomed inside the house. If Tails was sticking around to be Sonic's minder, then there was no need for Daisy to feel overwhelmingly concerned.

 **Sonic: Aw yeah, about to babysit for the first time, never babysit anyone before! (No, Cream doesn't count.) When Luigi came to the mansion that one day, looking for a suitable babysitter, I immediately ran straight up to the guy, and volunteered! Daisy was being such an egregious hater, saying that I would do a horrible job and that I would make Charles die or something, but it's not like Luigi hired a socioopath to babysit his son. If that was what he had in mind, then he should've went with Wolf. He always leaves the toilet unflushed after dropping a deuce, and shows zero disregard for doing so. That's what you call a true sociopath!  
Tails: To ensure that everything turns out alright, I've asked Luigi in private if I could babysit Charles with Sonic, and he agreed. Sonic here thinks he'll be well enough alone, but I'm not taking any chances to let him prove he's right...**

"Thank you so much-a for agreeing to babysit-a Charles, you two - knew I couldn't rely on-a Yuffie forever!" Luigi said to the best friends, before turning his attention to Daisy. "Daisy, Sonic and Tails-a here will be babysitting Charles while we go-a shopping. You don't mind-a do you?"

"Eh...just as long as Tails is around to keep Sonic in check, then I'm fine with your choice," answered the princess, as Sonic had a bummed out expression written on his face. Why did Daisy have to doubt him so? Way to sleep on his babysitting talents. "Tails, if anything bad ever happens to my precious Charles, just know that you'll be sharing the blame with Sonic!"

"I, or we, won't let you down, Princess Daisy!" Tails would salute the princess. Knowing Sonic, the fox should expect disappointment and a scolding from Daisy coming his and Sonic's way.

"Very good. Also make sure the house is nice and tidy when we return. Don't throw a raucous party either. No friends allowed, unless it's Knuckles or Amy. Can't have Shadow in here and do his 'Chaos Control' stuff and blow up the house...ready to go, Luigi?"

"Ready as you-a are, my love!" exclaimed Luigi; Sonic almost felt the sudden urge to vomit, as Luigi grabbed his trademark cap and put it on his head. He and Daisy would leave their home, waving goodbye to Sonic and Tails. "We shall see-a you two later!" And with that, Luigi and Daisy exited the house for good, to start their day of Christmas shopping.

"I must say, Luigi has severely lost a lot of man points for wanting to go shopping," remarked Sonic, thinking that shopping was a very unmanly thing to do. Most other males had a similar mindset. "Unless Daisy forced him to go shopping with her. I'd respect that. Secondly, where the heck is Charles? How are we supposed to babysit the kid, if we don't even know where he is?"

"He must be in the nursery, sleeping away," pondered Tails. And that's where he and Sonic headed, going to the nursery and finding Charles, in his crib, fast asleep. Sonic went over to the crib, and picked up Charles, without disturbing him. "Sonic, what are you doing?!" Tails whispered to his friend.

"What does it look like I'm doing, I'm babysitting!" Sonic held Charles close to his chest, patting him gently on the back. "You think we're gonna let Chales sleep in his crib all day long? He needs some interaction, which is what he'll get when he wakes up. I'll do the loving and caring, while you do the feeding and diaper changing and whatnot. Capiche?"

"You would give me the least satisfying jobs...sure, I'll do it. How about we check out what's on TV?"

* * *

As stated earlier by Daisy, Mario, Peach, and Lara were all busy. Busy doing what, you might ask? Decorating the living room with Christmas decorations, of course! The Smash Mansion always went ham when it came to outdoor/indoor holiday decorations, and this year, it was no different.

With the Christmas tree set up by the Homs trio in the previous episode, Mario, Peach, and Lara were putting up Christmas decorations in the other areas on the living room. Mario hang stockings on the fireplace. Peach placed a Christmas reef on a wall. Lara was busy setting up the Christmas lights. And there were many other decorations the threesome were setting up in the living room.

 **Lara: Mario and Peach got finished with their Christmas decorations last Friday - had to work during the night hours because of those two guests that came over. From Elysium, I think that's where they came from...I felt like they could use some help decorating in the mansion, which is why I'm here today. I hope there won't be any...distractions, if you know what I mean.**

"Well would you look at that, I mistletoe above your head..." said a deep, creepy voice, as Lara looked up and sighed when she saw a mistletoe above her head, held by a large hand with claws. She turned around, and was face-to-face with Bowser, smiling like a pervert.

"I suggest that you get that mistletoe away from me and leave me alone, if you truly value your life," warned Lara; not wanting any trouble, Bowser placed the mistletoe back in his nonexistent pocket, and stepped away from Lara.

"That comment suggests that you're willing to kill me...and you can only wish you could do such a thing!" To be fair, Lara had to kill several dudes while in Yamatai, so killing was no stranger to her. "So how about you hit me with your best shot!"

"Like I would waste my time and energy on you..." Lara would walk away from Bowser, and Bowser, looking for another victim to mess with, found Peach setting some snowman decorations on the floor. A perfect candidate.

"So Peach, how's my baby girl doing?" Bowser asked the princess, wrapping his arm around Peach and making her cringe in the process. "How's life like with your fake husband? Wish you had me instead, huh?" Mario stopped his work and glanced at Bowser, disgusted by his tricks.

"Get-a over it Bowser, the wedding already happened - Peach is my-a wife, and not yours," Mario tried to tell Bowser, but the koopa king refused to accept this truth. No way was he gonna let his years of kidnapping Peach go to waste, without tying the knot with the princess. "Your love was-a never meant to be in the first-a place - a human and some turtle-a monster could never be romantically linked!"

"You're just like one of those science nerds on the internet, aren't you? Always bringing people down with your 'knowledge', just to satisfy your ego...I figured you were a science nerd Mario, disparaging people online and kissing up to famous science dudes...sad, very sad!"

Then, in a seemingly rare act of anger, Isabelle stormed through the living room, with an angry looking on her face, while holding a cup of tea. Given by how angry Isabelle was, you'd think the shih tzu had a fallout with her boyfriend...but she never had a boyfriend to begin with! So what could the problem be?

"What's up with Isabelle?" Bowser asked the others, once Isabelle was out of sight. Wanting to find the answer, Mario would exit the living room, and follow after the doggy assistant.

* * *

Inside Master Hand's room, Master Hand was speaking with Yashiro. The giant hand had big plans to have a Christmas concert in the mansion's lecture hall, like how most elementary schools had a holiday concert for the little kiddies and their parents before the winter break. Yashiro was looking at a list of cast members, provided by Master Hand.

"Took me a good while to figure out who will be singing what," said Master Hand, as Yashiro skimmed the list. Some choices that made sense, and some that made him question Master Hand's decision-making. "Kiria will sing 'All I Want For Christmas', Tsubasa will sing 'Silent Night', and you, Yashiro, will sing 'Last Christmas'. Haven't yet decided who will sing the other songs, like 'The Chipmunk Song', 'Feliz Navidad', and my personal favorite, 'Christmas in Hollies'."

"And Knuckles is going to sing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer...the single cover from DMX?" questioned Yashiro, who dared not to question how Master Hand discovered DMX's cover, or if he listened to DMX at all. Master Hand was very secretive with his music tastes.

"Precisely, and he will sing it _exactly_ how DMX did. Still trying to work some kind of play into the concert, turn it into a musical, so don't be surprised if you see the Duck Hunt Dog dressed up as Rudolph. It's bound to happen."

 **Master Hand: Don't mean to sound like the "hip" millennials nowadays, but that DMX cover of the Rudolph song...that junk was totally lit, yo! Loved it so much, that I just had to include it in my dream Christmas concert. DMX is so great, he can make "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" sound legit, and make it go hard. Heck, he could even work wonders for the _Brawl_ theme! Sign him now, Masahiro Sakurai!**

"The idea of having a play during the concert sounds feasible, but that would mean most of the residents would have to be amateur actors," said Yashiro, as he thought over the pros and cons with Master Hand. "I would hate for a great holiday concert to be tarnished, because someone has never acted a single day in their life."

"To ensure that everything goes swell, I've entrusted Isabelle to hold acting classes this week and next week, so the play would be authentic," answered Master Hand, hoping he quelled Yashiro's concerns. "Speaking of Isabelle, where is that woman with my tea?" The shih tzu would finally arrive at Master Hand's room, wearing anger upon her face; Yashiro saw this, and was fearing for the worst.

"She's here with your cup of tea...and she doesn't look that happy..." At first, Master Hand thought Yashiro was joking. Isabelle was hardly ever angry or ticked - even if you broke her clipboard, she would maintain her positive aura and let bygones be bygones. But the shih tzu was legitimately ticked, and Master Hand saw this too...yet did not care.

"Ah, Isabelle, finally you brought my tea!" Master Hand's excitement wasn't enough to make Isabelle less angry, as the shih tzu assistant walked towards Master Hand. "Put my tea on the dresser, will you? Has to get warm before I can drink it. Don't want to burn my tongue...which I don't have! Ahahahaha...or if you want, you can blow my tea for me, and make the steam go away. That would be nice."

But Isabelle wouldn't blow the steam away from the tea, nor put it on Master Hand's dresser...instead, the shih tzu did something completely savage. She tossed the tea on Master Hand, only to miss the giant hand and instead get tea on Yashiro's crotch. The idol singer shrieked in pain as he fell to the floor, his hands near his nether regions. There was one reason why Isabelle tried to spill tea on Master Hand...

"I'M SICK AND TIRED OF YOUR CRAP, MASTER HAND!" the assistant shouted at the giant hand, letting the giant hand feel her vented rage and frustration. Mario would finally make it to Master Hand's room, just witnessing Isabelle going off, and was left in shock. "I can't take it anymore!"

"Sick and tired of what, fixing tea?" asked Master Hand, apparently confused by why Isabelle was so angry. "You could've just told me that you didn't want to fix tea, otherwise I would have Ayaha do it for me."

"Hear me out, Master Hand - I refuse to be your lapdog anymore! Every day, I have to do your stupid bidding, whether it's tidying up your room, giving you a massage, performing simple tasks you should be doing...and I've had just about enough of it!"

"Don't talk to me that way, have you got any sense? Do you know what yelling at the creator of the Smash universe will do to you? I can fire you from your assistant job if you keep this up!"

"Go ahead and do it, I don't wanna be your assistant anymore! I'm tired of being your packmule, Master Hand! Every day you treat me like hot garbage!"

"Woman you know that's entirely false...I treat you like hot _manure_! If you're going to be angry at me, at least get your facts straight!"

"Well that's too bad, Master Hand, because you wanna know why? Because I QUIT!"

Master Hand would gasp in utter shock, as Isabelle furiously took out her clipboard, and threw it on the floor, hoping it would break...although it didn't. Regardless, a message was sent to Master Hand, as Isabelle stormed out of the room. She stormed past Mario, who looked up at Master Hand.

"I'll try and speak-a with Isabelle," the plumber told the giant hand, as he left the premises. Poor Yashiro was still on the floor, and still in pain. He'll walk it off eventually.

* * *

 **Chrom: Apparently nobody has a clue as to what happened to my hair. One moment, I was napping away comfortably in my room, and once I woke up, I touched my head, and felt nothing but the perpetual baldness that still bothers me to this day. Sure there's a few hairs here and there, but Lucina had to shave them off so I would look "neat and tidy'. Perhaps some vicious lice invaded my hair during my nap, and chewed away at my hair until there was nothing left. Kinda makes me not want to nap again...let alone sleep!**

 **Lucina: Father? Oh yeah, he'll be just fine...he doesn't want the others seeing him bald, so I gave him something to put on his head. Wanted to give him a clown wig, but he turned it down pretty quickly...and he says I don't understand humor!**

The very item Lucina gave to Chrom for his bald head was a blue knit hat, one with the hometown Seahawks logo on it. The prince was in the lounge, reading the latest edition of _Swordsman Weekly_ , when X entered the lounge, curious about Chrom's head wear.

"Never seen you wear a cap or hat before, Chrom," said the peaceful robot, as he took a seat on a couch. "What's the occasion - you pumped about the Seahawks or something? Felt like representing the home team?"

"Not exactly - I'm just wearing this knit hat because of a...very insecure reason," answered Chrom, as he continued to read his magazine. X, now even more curious, looked at the prince all funny.

"And what might this 'very insecure reason' be? You are hardly ever insecure about anything, nor are you secretive, so I would like to know what's up. I take it you have a bad hair day?"

"I guess...I guess you could say that." Chrom reluctantly took off his knit hat, revealing his bald head to X. The robot would look at Chrom's baldness for a good while, before bursting into a fit of laughter. X wasn't known for laughing often, which must really say something about how hilarious Chrom looked without hair.

"Man, I forgot you had all your hair shaved off! That hat must've threw me off. So are you going to grow your hair back, or what?"

"Only if it will grow back instantly, like an overnight kind of thing. Would have something like a bald fade, but I'm not a huge fan of those kind of haircuts. Also, why do I hear laughing..."

Chrom would look towards the lounge entrance, and spotted Pit and Kirby, laughing at the prince. Pit was snapping a picture of Chrom's bald head on his phone, saving the image to his cellular device and laughing even more.

"Got 'em!" exclaimed Pit, as he and Kirby hightailed away from the lounge. No way Chrom was going to let Pit get away with taking a picture of his bald head, and perhaps sharing it online. It would be the end of Chrom - there would be so much dignity lost.

"You boys get back here!" shouted Chrom as he chased after Pit and Kirby, dropping his magazine to the floor as he left the lounge. X, out of intrigue, picked up the _Swordsman Weekly_ magazine, and started reading it.

* * *

So far, babysitting Charles wasn't as hard for Sonic and Tails. Charles, who just woke up from his slumber, was seated in-between Sonic and Tails as they were watching...the Baby Channel. Sonic would change the channel to Comedy Central - a channel not meant for Charles' innocent eyes - when Tails wasn't looking, and changed it back when Tails' focus returned to the television screen.

"Rain, rain, go away, come again another day..." the characters on the television program Charles and company were watching sang the "Rain, Rain, Go Away" song, as Charles was all into it, and Tails, to a very small extent. Sonic, who was extremely close to being done with life, wish the song would go away, as he felt like putting a gun to his head and pulling the trigger.

 **Sonic: That song I had to force myself to listen to..."Rain, Rain, Go Away", that's what it's called, right? It teaches very bad morals - teaches kids that if you don't want or like something, like Brussels sprouts, cavities, an annoying sibling or even a deadbeat dad, you have to sing it away! Most old kids songs are corrupting poor children everywhere with their bad morals, such as that suspect song, "London Bridge Is Falling Down". Not only does it lowkey promote terrorism, but it makes you wonder, what if, the fair lady mentioned in that song...is a SLUT?!**

"Tails, can we please watch a program that is _mutually interesting_?" Sonic pleaded to Tails, unable to stomach any more kids songs. Just hearing another kids song would make the hedgehog cry. "I'm getting sick and tired of this kiddie crap, how about we watch some ETV instead? I'm sure _Arthur_ is on, at least!"

"Well Sonic, since you want to complain so much...how about you find what channel we should watch?" Tails tossed the the TV remote to Sonic, who caught it effortlessly with one hand. The stuff of legends. "I'll let you pick the channel, as long as it's safe for work."

"Safe for work...we're not employees working at some cubicle watching inappropriate videos online. Charles will be just fine!" Tails, willing to give Sonic a chance, allowed his friend to change the channel, from the Baby Channel...

...to TBS, where an episode of _Family Guy_ was airing. The moment Bender appeared on the television screen, Tails covered Charles' eyes, and made sure to cover his ears as well. Sonic pointed and laughed at a joke Peter Griffin told, before looking down and seeing Charles smothered by Tails' hands.

"Woah, Tails, what are you doing to Charles? Trying to suffocate the little guy?" Tails didn't care what Sonic had to say - he was doing what he thought was right, something Luigi and Daisy would commend him for.

"We can't just let Charles watch _Family Guy,_ he's not old yet to watch that kind of stuff. He won't get any of the jokes, not to mention that the humor can be very...risque, from time to time. Charles can't watch adult cartoons!"

"But, if he watches stuff like _Family Guy_ now, then he'll understand the humor from an early age, so that when he gets older, he'll be in the know! Think of how proud his parents would be, when he says stuff like, 'BITE MY METAL...shiny...butt'...whoops, wrong show. Even if he says that, there will not be a single dry eye from Luigi AND Daisy!" A knock was at the front door, thankfully putting Sonic's little tangent to an end. "I'll get the door - you stop suffocating Charles!"

So Sonic sped to the front door, opening it in a jiffy. According to Daisy, only Knuckles and Amy were allowed inside the home, so when Sonic saw his buddy Crash, and Crash's sister Coco standing at the doorstep with Aku behind him, the hedgehog had no idea what to do.

"Hi Crash, mind if we come in?" Coco would kindly ask the blue hedgehog, as Tails placed Charles in his high chair. He also lowered the volume of the television, just for good measure.

"Are your names Knuckles and Amy?" Sonic would ask Crash and Coco; the two bandicoots looked at one another in confusion before shaking their heads no, giving Sonic a good enough incentive to close the front door on them. Just as Sonic was about to return to the living room, another knock was on the front door; the hedgehog returned and opened the door, seeing the Crash clan still standing by.

"C'mon Sonic, just let us in, it's not like we're burglars coming in to steal Luigi and Daisy's stuff!" Aku pleaded to the hedgehog, as Crash got down on both his knees and begged to Sonic. Being overdramatic, aren't we? "Any other time you wouldn't mind our company, so what's the problem now?"

"Did Crash and Coco legally change their names to Knuckles and Amy, respectively?" Alu shook his head no, so Sonic closed the front door on the Crash clan once more. It was the most reasonable thing for him to do.

 **Aku: Word has it that Daisy baked some Christmas cookies, so I'm bringing Crash and Coco over to Daisy's place so we can try out the cookies for ourselves. Granted I can't eat cookies, since I have no digestive system to digest the cookies - and I have no clue where the cookies would even go - but I have to watch over Crash, and make sure he doesn't go on a sugar rush. It would be best if nobody's around if a sugar rush happens.**

 **Coco: What happens during a typical Crash sugar rush? A lot of things - Crash knocks stuff down, constantly spins nonstop, and drools from the mouth like a crazed dog with rabies. Results are usually non-fatal, but still very deadly if anyone gets caught up in Crash's frenzy. We've had several tribesmen at our island lose fingers and limbs because of a sugar-induced Crash.**

"Just let them in Sonic, it's not like they're gonna cause any trouble," Tails said to Sonic, after he was done with Charles. So Sonic, shaking his head at Tails, let Crash, Coco, and Aku inside. "Sorry about Sonic, you guys - Daisy went shopping with Luigi, and told us not to let anyone in their home unless it was Knuckles or Amy...I'm guessing Sonic took what Daisy said too seriously."

"Crash might devour Charles whole, Tails, just letting you know..." Sonic tried to warn Tails, as Charles slowly climbed out of his baby chair when no one was looking and crawled away. "I know Crash better than you do - he has a very carnivorous appetite!"

"True, but Crash is by no means a cannibal," Coco had to clear things up with Sonic. "He's only here to try out the Christmas cookies Daisy had baked. Since Daisy and Luigi aren't here, I'm not sure if the cookies are off-limits or not..."

"Hold up, the cookies are off-limits?" asked a concerned Sonic, who was now in the kitchen eating from a plate of Christmas cookies. He quickly placed the plate back where it belonged, to avoid any trouble.

"You would, Sonic, you would..." Tails would shake his head at the hedgehog...before noticing that something was amiss. There was an empty high chair in the dining room. "Oh no, where is Charles, did he escape from his high chair? But how?!"

"The front door's left open!" panicked Aku, sensing that Charles could have crawled out of the house through the front door that Sonic blatantly left wide open. "This is not good, not good at all..."

* * *

Fox and Falco's first "test ride" in their new yacht ended on a bit of a somber note - Fox told Flora not to clean up anything while on the yacht, and the maid misinterpreted what Fox said, believing that she was being relieved of her maid duties. Maid work was essentially Flora's life, mainly because being a maid was the only thing she took confidence in.

Hoping to avoid something similar during today's test run, Fox and Falco invited Ness and Lucas to join them on the yacht. Ness was enjoying the experience so far, whereas Lucas was feeling rather seasick.

"Feeling very queasy right now..." the sick Lucas moaned, clutching his stomach before throwing up into the lake. The water Pokemon residing in the lake will likely mistake Lucas' vomit for food. "Can we stop the boat, please?"

"We're in the middle of the lake Lucas, we're not moving a single inch," Ness informed his best friend, eating from a bag of pork skins. Just seeing the pork skins was enough for Lucas to vomit even more. "But I must say, I've been impressed...a day ago, you were worried that some sea monster would appear out from the lake and attack the yacht, but you manned up before boarding the boat!"

"Had Mega Man investigate the lake with his Rush Marine, to be on the safe side. He never gave me a diagnosis of the lake, so I can only assume that I should have nothing to worry about..." Once more, Lucas vomited into the lake, as Ness walked away and enjoyed his pork skins.

 **Fox: Now how the heck is Lucas feeling "seasick", when the yacht is not even moving? Does the mere look of the lake surface make his stomach turn? Is he an aquaphobe, just like Sonic?  
Falco: If he is an aquaphobe, I wouldn't be surprised...have you seen Lucas' hair? Looks like a blonde hedgehog. Therefore, Lucas must secretly be a hedgehog, and he and Sonic must be secret relatives, which would explain their fear of water.  
Fox: What animal would Ness be, if he was secretly an animal?  
Falco: He has black hair, and he also says "Okay" all the flipping time...he's definitely a tick.**

Last week, Fox was at the front of the ship, announcing that he was the "king of the world". This time, the pilot was at the same position, but wearing a pirate's hat and looking through a telescope. He was looking for booty... _treasure_ booty, and not the other kind of booty. Fox was still faithful to his girlfriend, Krystal.

"Whaddaya think of my pirate eyepatch, Captain McCloud?" Falco, also attempting to dress like a pirate, asked his buddy, wearing an eyepatch over his left eye. Fox checked out Falco, and couldn't help but feel like he saw the eyepatch from somewhere...

"Isn't that...Snake's eyepatch?" the pilot-turned-captain raised an eyebrow at Falco. He had to admit, Falco was rocking the pirate bird look so far - all he needed was a pegleg to complete the look. Amputating Falco's leg hopefully wasn't an only option.

"You're sadly mistaken, Captain McCloud - I borrowed this eyepatch from a pirate, right before I killed him for good with my jagged word. His dying words were indiscernible, for his voice was choked up with emotion...obviously losing his eyepatch pained him greatly." Falco's cellphone rang, and the avian pilot saw that it was a call from Snake, likely wondering where his eyepatch was...Falco silenced the ringtone before placing his phone back in his pocket.

"Fox, Falco, have you guys seen a runaway baby anywhere?" Sonic approached the yacht to ask the pilots, joined at the lakeside with Tails and the Crash clan. "Charles just crawled out of Luigi's home, and we don't know where he could be..."

"That's Captain McCloud and Private Lombardi to you, foolish peasant!" Fox pointed at Sonic, making sure the hedgehog was respecting his pirates of authority. "Address us by our names, or walk the plank...we do have a plank in the back of the yacht, right?" Fox asked Falco, who nodded his head, albeit without confidence.

"Yeah...anyways, we need to find Charles before Luigi and Daisy return home from shopping, otherwise Daisy's gonna kill us all! By all, I mean everyone except for me, since I'll use my breakneck speed to run from Daisy's fury. Everyone else will have to fend for themselves."

"You still haven't addressed us by our proper names, so we will not fulfill your request! You're all on your own!" Ness, having finished his pork skins, stepped out from the yacht, and saw Sonic and company, in their state of despair.

"Did I hear something about Charles running away?" the PSI whiz spoke up, dusting his hands off. "Think I saw him crawl to the mansion - better go find him before his parents return! I'll be on the lookout for the green Dodge Charger pulling into the driveway." What if Luigi rolled his Charger into the driveway while it was _invisible_? What would Ness even do then?

"Thank you so much Nes, you're a lifesaver! On behalf of me and my friends, we're truly indebted to you!" In case you couldn't tell, Daisy's wrath was a thing NOT meant to be taken lightly. Only those that love being in a hospital wouldn't mind Daisy's wrath.

* * *

Chrom was still on the search for Pit and Kirby, looking mainly for Pit who took a picture of his bald head. The prince was afraid that Pit might post the unflattering image on social media, for the whole world to see, and bring shame upon the poor prince of Yliesse. There was a strong likelihood Pit posted the image already, but Chrom tried to think otherwise.

 **Akuma: Chrom is still bald as ever, and has no clue who shaved his hair. At first he thought it was Zelda, because of her history of shaving hair (Geno told me about her shaving some girl's eyebrows, and he also told Chrom), and now Chrom thinks some man-eating lice were responsible. Too bad he'll never find the true culprits, for they're now living in the so-called "ultimate paradise for mankind"...and with Chrom unable to bother me, I'm living in my OWN ultimate paradise! *laughs***

"Pit, Kirby, I know you're hiding somewhere, now show yourselves!" Chrom called out as he walked through the hallways. He was searching high and low for Pit and Kirby, wherever they may be. "This isn't funny at all..."

"Why are you wasting your time looking for those two? Not like you're going to find them anyways...might as well give up!"

Chrom stopped in place, wondering where that mysterious voice came from. It was loud, and it sounded like it came from behind the prince. Chrom would cautiously turn around, looking for the voice...

...and found himself face-to-face with Yuffie Kisaragi, hanging upside down from the ceiling. Chrom shrieked as he fell backwards onto the floor, looking up and seeing that Yuffie was suspended in the air by Asuka, Greninja, and Sheik, with Sheik hanging from the ceiling. Talk about having superior strength!

"About time we scared someone's pants off with this scare tactic," remarked Sheik, as she and her ninja pals leaped down from their suspended human ladder thingamajig. Or rather, their 3/4th human, 1/4th frog suspended human ladder thingamajig, since Greninja wanted to ruin everything. Once on the floor, Sheik helped Chrom up to his feet, and the prince was clutching his chest, like he had seen a ghost.

"Why, why'd you have to scare me like that?" Chrom scolded the ninja buddies, still clutching his chest. "Do you realize what would've happened if my hat came off of my head? Someone would've walked by, and laughed at me!" Sheik and company, now remembering the fact that Chrom was bald, were silently laughing to themselves.

"I'm sure whoever shaved your head off had some kind of beef with you," said Asuka, as Chrom adjusted his knit hat. To be wearing a hat, with no hair...it was a very weird feeling, man. "Were you at odds with someone? Annoyed anyone to the point where they wanted to seek some form of retribution?"

"The only person I can think of at the moment is Akuma...but I don't believe I annoyed him. All I did was ask him if he found a Secret Santa gift for Lucina." That's considered annoying Chrom, especially ON THE DAY THE SECRET SANTA THING STARTED.

"Really, you couldn't wait until a few weeks later to ask him? Better question is, why is the gift he picks for Lucina any of your concern? That's Lucina's gift, not yours, not like you're buying her anything!"

"I have lived with Akuma long enough to know what he's capable of...he might buy something dangerous for Lucina, something that could kill my precious daughter! By finding out what the gift is, I can stop Akuma from..."

"Okay, Chrom, just shut up already," Sheik said to the prince, unable to stomach his tangent anymore. "We get it, you're an extremely overprotective father. But you're taking things too far. Just chill out, okay?"

"I guess I'll just go ahead and 'chill out'...but I must find out where Pit and Kirby are. I bet Pit probably posted that unflattering image of me online, for the whole world to see, but I must give him - and Kirby - a scolding for their actions. And we shall look for those two...together!"

"You can't possibly be serious, right?" Yuffie asked the prince of Yliesse, who ran off to look for Pit and Kirby. The perky ninja girl looked at her friends, who all shared her bewilderment. "Should we do what Chrom says, just to make him happy?"

* * *

 **Bowser: Mario told me the full gist of why Isabelle was angry...that poor Isabelle is angry about being treated like trash (or as Master Hand said, hot manure), and unleashed her inner frustrations on Master Hand. I understand that working under Master Hand has more downs than ups, but if Isabelle worked under me instead, she would happy for the rest of her life! Hand massages? Why not do feet massages? Feeding your boss food? What about feeding ME five-course meals, while in bed? Doing nonexistent laundry? You might as well do my taxes, because I never did taxes a single day in my life! *pauses, then looks around nervously* ...don't fell the feds I said that.**

Mario was present in Isabelle's room, comforting Isabelle. The shih tzu was sitting on her bed, down in the dumps, as Mario patted her on the back. Sitting across from Mario and Isabelle on his bed was K.K. Slider, playing some tunes to make Isabelle feel lively.

"Enjoying these groovy tunes so far, Izzy?" the hippie dog asked Isabelle, who did not respond as she looked at the floor. "Awesome, real awesome, good to hear! Wanna hear my next tune?" K.K. Slider would ask again, and Isabelle still did not respond. "Ha ha, had a feeling you would say that, that's the spirit! That's what I wanna hear! The next song I'm gonna play is 'I Hate Everything About You', by the popular rock band Three Days Grace. One of the more easier songs to play on the guitar, if you ask me. Enjoy!"

As K.K. Slider got into the groove of the song, Isabelle let out a sigh, as Mario looked down at the shih tzu. The plumber knew what it was like, working for Master Hand - he always felt and was treated like a second-rate citizen, and to Master Hand, Mario was no more than just a mustached packmule doing the every bidding of the Smash universe creator. But now, Mario was a married man living on his own, away from Master Hand, his leash no longer around his neck.

"You wanna go and apologize-a to Master Hand for your outburst?" Mario asked Isabelle, looking for a positive result to the tension building between Master Hand and Isabelle. Isabelle couldn't be angry at Master Hand forever, something had to give.

"No thanks, I'm not in the mood for seeing Master Hand again," replied Isabelle, wanting to stay in her room a bit longer. The shih tzu couldn't remain in her room any longer, and keep her emotions in - although Master Hand was a jerk, Isabelle had to owe him an apology for putting him on blast, and Master Hand had to apologize to Isabelle for his jerkbag ways. But the giant hand apologizing was an extremely tall order in itself.

"How are you liking the song so far Isabelle, ten out of ten?" K.K. Slider asked Isabelle...it might be glaringly obvious the shih tzu was ignoring the hippie dog at this point, if only K.K. realized that himself. "Thanks for the feedback Izzy, much appreciated! You want me to play louder? You got it!" K.K. Slider played even louder, strumming his guitar with skill and grace.

"Psst, Mario, can I speak with you for a hot minute?" Cappy whispered to the plumber, his eyes poking through the plumber's red cap. Mario would exit the room, so he could speak with Cappy in private in the hallway. "What if we use my Capture ability to capture Isabelle, and we have her apologize to Master Hand, and ask for an apology from Master Hand himself?"

"It sounds like a great-a idea...but the logistics of it all-a would mess things up," Mario would give his two cents on Cappy's idea. "Would Master Hand see my trade-a mark mustache, which would in turn-a blow our cover?"

"All we can do is cover up your mustache, so it won't raise any suspicion from Master Hand. Like a veil, or a facemask, only to cover up the lower part of the face. Where can we find one, though? There's gotta be something we can use..."

* * *

During the holiday season at the Smash Mansion, it was a common tradition to sit back and watch some quality Christmas movies during Movie Night. With Peach no longer at the mansion, Movie Night was left in charge of Pac-Man, who was appointed as the new party planner by Master Hand.

But with Pac-Man away from the mansion, to take care of some important matters at his household, the eater of ghosts asked Link, Cloud, and to Cloud's chagrin, Sora, to select a movie to watch during Movie Night. Pac-Man promised the swordsmen he would be back before the end of the day. So with Pac gone, the three swordsmen were in the movie room looking for a Christmas movie, with Link and Cloud searching diligently, and the very naive Sora reacting to every DVD cover he saw.

"Woah, Jack Skellington was in a movie called _The Nightmare Before Christmas?!_ " Sora said in astonishment while holding the eponymous cover, thinking Mr. Skellington was just some tall skeleton guy clueless about Christmas and not some fictional character created by Tim Burton. Link smirked, while Cloud could only shake his head. "Were Donald, Goofy and I in it? I should watch this movie in my spare time, just to find out!"

 **Sora: Not until today did I know many of my old friends were movie stars...Peter Pan in _Neverland_ , Jack Sparrow in _Pirates of the Caribbean_ , Ariel in _The Little Mermaid,_ Simba in _The Lion King..._ makes me wonder if I was in any of those movies. Maybe there's a movie called _Kingdom Hearts,_ and I'm the main star! Would be an extremely long movie, though.**

"Sora, we're here to look for a movie for Movie Night, not gawk at DVD covers," Cloud had to remind the Keyblade wielder of the task at hand. "You can continue your idiotic fangirling another time and geek out over your fictional friends."

"My friends are NOT fictional, they're real-life people!" defended Sora, placing _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ back where it was, as an infant crawled inside the movie room. "You keep saying they're fictional, because you've never met them in person." Got any clues as to who the infant who crawling inside the movie room was? He's been on the loose, unhinged, and his name...is _Charles_.

"Goo goo gah gah!" the infant said in his baby speak, as he crawled through the movie room. With Cloud and Sora bickering with each other, whilst Sora trying to prove to Cloud that he had real friends, Link was the only person to notice Charles.

"Oh hey there Charles, how's it going," the Hylian said to Charles, treating him like he was just an ordinary person, before resuming his search. Charles mindlessly, yet conspicuously, crawled onto the pad of the teleportation device similar to the one featured in episode 6. He saw a button, and pressed it out of curiosity, as the teleportation device warped him to an unknown program.

"And that, Cloud Strife, is why I have real friends!" Sora would finish off his bickering with Cloud, before looking over at the teleportation device and seeing Charles being warped away. "Is that Luigi's son? What's he doing here, and what's happening to him?" He and Cloud were just looking in awe, and Link would look up and see what was happening to Charles.

"OH CRAP THAT'S LUIGI'S BABY, DAISY'S GONNA KILL US!" the Hylian fretted, as Luigi was fully warped. See, even Link fears Daisy, more so than Luigi! Once Link ran to the teleportation device, it was too late...Charles was gone, now in the time-space-movie continuum or whatever.

"Sora, turn on the television so we can see what movie or program Charles ended up in," Cloud ordered the Keyblade wielder, as Sora ran to the nearest flatscreen television and turned it on with a TV remote. When the TV turned on, Sora and company saw that Charles was in some neighborhood of sorts, riding on a sleigh. Sora was understandably confused, but Link and Cloud...they were both concerned.

"Guys we have some bad news, Charles ran away from Luigi's home while we were babysitting him and we don't know where he's at," Sonic arrived at the movie room along with his gang, Tails and the Crash clan. "Have any of you...seen Charles...anywhere?"

Sonic and company looked up at the large flatscreen television screen, and were filled with sudden fear when they saw Charles...in an episode of _Family Guy._ A Christmas-themed episode of _Family Guy_ , that is. Charles did not assume the spot of what should be a very fitting character, Stewie, but rather someone else...the Griffin family dog, Brian. Poor Charles was with Stewie right now...

"Hey, I remember this episode, it's that _Family Guy_ holiday special!" said Sonic, recalling watching the holiday special some time ago. You've got to wonder how much _Family Guy_ the hedgehog watched in his spare time. "'Road to the North Pole', I think that's the name of it. Aired on December 12, 2010. The second _Family Guy_ Christmas special - the first one aired on December 21, 2001. Did you know that people expected the world to end on December 21st? Those bums..."

"Okay Sonic, we didn't really need to know that," Coco told the hedgehog, before bringing her attention back to the television screen. Charles was seen riding Santa's sleigh with Stewie, dressed up as Santa Claus. "Since you watched this episode, what's going to happen?"

"That sleigh is going to crash into some tree, where the reindeer will get stuck, and then the sleigh will bounce off some house and send Charles and that dog Brian flying onto another house." That alone made Coco and the others concerned for Charles' safety, as he and Stewie landed on the roof of some house. "Zero once said that injuries sustained in a movie will be transferred back to the real world, but I dunno if the same rules apply for television programs. Nobody gets hurt in that scene, so it should be all good..." Still didn't quell anyone's concern.

 **Sonic: So what happens in the _Family Guy_ Christmas episode? Pretty much anything you have seen before in your traditional _Family Guy_ episode. Somebody gets ruthlessly beat up, Stewie does something malicious, Meg Griffin is entirely ignored, and some guy says "giggity" over and over again. Whoever that guy is, he must be some kind of wizard, chanting spells for no reason.**

"Let's get down the chimney!" Stewie said to Charles, as he went to the chimney. The sociopathic baby, seeing Charles sucking his thumb, had to bring Charles over to the chimney, and slid him down said chimney, before going in himself. Charles would arrive at the living room first, before Stewie came in and pushed Charles out of the way.

"That's it, I can't take this anymore, I'm getting Zero," Link informed the others as he exited the movie room. "Let me know if something bad happens to Charles." With the Hylian gone, everyone else looked up at the television screen, with baited breath.

"Alright, do we have the presents?" Stewie would ask Charles, who was busy sucking his thumb. He saw that there were no presents, leading him to sigh. "Oh, for the love of God, they must still be in the sleigh!" Indeed they were, as the sleigh slid off the roof and crashed into the yard. Stewie and Charles saw this through the living room window. "Now it's...it's in the yard..."

Everyone watched closely, as Stewie and Charles exited the house through the front door, and Stewie grabbed as many presents as he could, before returning to the front door...only to realize that the front door was locked. With Charles unable to use street smarts, Stewie grabbed a rock and threw it at a window (this is what Brian was supposed to do), before he and Charles crawled back inside and opened the front door, to bring the presents inside. (Charles and Stewie had to do a lot of doubling up to compensate for the lack of size.) Stewie was mostly doing all the work, as Charles just sat there sucking his thumb. And when Stewie saw Charles goofing off, he was ticked...

"So you're just going to sit there and suck your thumb all night, aren't you Brian?" Stewie scolded Charles, not knowing that Brian was actually replaced by a infant around nine months old. Charles would smile at Stewie, before crawling away to the kitchen, to do who-knows-what. Stewie would chase after Charles, and found him seated by himself...sucking his thumb. Who would have guessed?! "Brian, what on earth are you doing? Knock it off!"

"Who the heck are you?" a middle aged-man questioned Stewie and Charles, turning on the kitchen lights. "What are you doing in my house?!" Charles' first time invading someone's house, and he was too young to understand what was going on.

"We're Santa Claus...es," answered Stewie, but the man wasn't convinced. You'd feel the same way if a baby dressed up as Santa was talking to you.

"Yeah, you're Santa Claus, that's why you broke in through the window, I'm calling the cops!" The man picked up the landline phone on the wall, and dialed a number. Charles was extremely nonchalant about the whole situation, sucking his thumb...

...whereas Stewie took matters into his owns hands, and savagely hit the man in the head twice with a baseball bat, sending him to the floor as the man bled from his head. Everyone stared at the television screen, concerned for Charles' innocence, but Charles just smiled and clapped at what just happened. Who doesn't love a senseless beating at the hands of a talking baby dressed up as Santa? What were the odds?!

 **Tails: Okay, I know that Charles is an infant, and he won't remember whatever he saw on _Family Guy_...but he has to be influenced, right? Like, what if Luigi gave him a scolding to, and then Charles beats Luigi senselessly with a baseball bat, like Stewie did to that guy? *pauses, then thinks* Now that I think about it, it does sound kinda funny! But Daisy wouldn't think the same way though, she would find someone to blame for Luigi's injuries and beat that person up. Daisy, when she's ticked, is more intimidating than your average evil villain.**

"Were you seriously just going to sit around and do nothing?!" Stewie snapped on Charles, making him stop clapping in an instant. "He was gonna call the cops man, you can't call the cops on Santa! Now help me move this guy's body!" But Charles, visibly upset by Stewie yelling at him, began to tear up, before erupting into tears. "I have to do everything myself, do I..."

So Stewie grabbed the man by the foot, and dragged him out of the kitchen, but to no avail - Brian would seriously come in handy right now. Stewie would keep on struggling, until to everyone's surprise...

...the episode was paused, with two large bars in the center of the screen. Everyone looked around, wondering who paused the program, until they looked behind them and saw Zero, standing with Link at the room entrance, holding a remote.

"By the looks of things, we must have arrived at the right time..." remarked Zero, as he and Link entered the room. "Judging by what's on the screen right now, things could have gotten even worse. Knowing _Family Guy,_ we could have seen some reindeer manslaughter, or something along the lines of that."

"Hey, I didn't know you can pause the TV!" said Sonic, who was the only person in the room currently to see how the teleportation device worked. "How come we wouldn't do that when Corrin was in that _Friday_ movie?"

"Charles was warped into a program on the teleportation device for _television_ programs. The device Corrin used was strictly for movies and cinema only. Reason why it's safe to pause it's because most people pause their television shows all the time. Pausing during a movie, that's just straight up inhumane...unless your girl is pregnant and is about to go into labor, but other than that, pausing during movies is messed up. Now, before I rescue Charles, I must ask...how did Charles end up here?"

Tails would explain to Zero about how Charles escaped from Luigi's home, about how the infant crawled out of his high chair when Crash and his folks came over. In the back of his head, Zero knew that if he didn't save Charles in due time, he would be subject to Daisy's rage like everyone else held responsible. Best to avoid such a fate at all costs.

"Another question I must ask...who was watching _Family Guy_ in here?" Zero asked his second question, as everyone looked over at Sonic, who so far showed that he knew a lot about _Family Guy._ The blue blur just shrugged, with an innocent smile. "Figures..."

* * *

The week after Shulk received unwanted gifts from Samus, King Dedede, Cortex, and others...the Homs was _still_ receiving gifts from his fellow residents, whether it was morning, noon, and night. Shulk was fairly certain this was only because of his injured hand; people were giving him random gifts out of utter sympathy. So far nothing has been confirmed, but don't be surprised if Shulk's theory holds true.

 **Shulk: What gifts did I get today? Well, I got a pack of cigarettes from Snake, a lighter from Wario, and a Poke Ball containing a Torkoal from Red the Pokemon Trainer. This whole gift thing kinda reminds me of that time earlier in the year when Lucario was receiving gifts in secret from Master Hand and Isabelle (saw most of the exchanges happen). Said gifts, as you know, led up to Lucario being named general of the Pokemon army. So about my gifts...what do they mean, what do they lead up to? Piecing the puzzle pieces together, I'm assuming I'm destined to be a fire-type Pokemon gym leader of some sort. Alola would welcome their first gym leader, and I think I'm up for the job.**

Shulk was never a smoker - he was an innocent, clean-cut young man who refrained from drinking and smoking. But the Homs, standing in the hallway with a cigar in his bandaged hand and a lighter in his other hand, was about to embark on a day of firsts. First time for everything. Shulk would flick the lighter on, but flicked it off when second guesses fluttered in his mind.

Should Shulk go with it and smoke the cigar? What if he becomes addicted, what would his friends - Fiora, Dunban, Reyn, Sharla - think of him? Curiosity kills the cat, and now curiosity was killing Shulk's disregard for how his friends felt. It was do or die - Shulk held the cigar close to his mouth, and held the lighter close to the cigar...

"OUTTA MY WAY, COMING THROUGH!" shouted Chrom as he ran through the hallway, stiff-arming Shulk and sending him into the wall. Shulk would collide against the wall and fall to the floor, and Chrom, stopping to look back, panicked when he saw Shulk. "Shulk are you okay?" Chrom went over to check on the Homs, helping him up off the floor.

"I feel just fine, thank you Chrom," thanked Shulk, who wondered if Chrom would've even cared for him if not for his injured hand. "Think I have some bruises on my back, but they're mostly minor, I'm assuming."

"Phew, for a minute I thought I seriously injured you back there..." You wouldn't be saying that if that was someone else, Chrom. "How about I make it up to you...here, take my hat!" Chrom took his knit hat off his head, and kindly gave it to Shulk, revealing his bald cranium.

"Don't want the hat, Chrom - I have enough Seahawks gear in my closet as it is. The hat would be a nice addition to my collection, but I don't want it..."

"No Shulk, I insist, take my hat, you won't regret it!" So Shulk unwillingly accepted the hat from Chrom, and just to make the prince happy, wore the hat on his head. "Now if you excuse me, I must look for Pit and Kirby...Pit snapped a picture of my bald head on his phone, and now I'm looking for him so I can seek some retribution."

"Pit and Kirby? I just saw those two speaking with Bayonetta in the elevator, laughing it up with the Umbra Witch. I must say, Bayonetta's laugh is very unique...she sounds like an evil witch, cackling to herself after concocting a wicked spell. Anyways,I'm assuming Pit showed her the picture you're talking about..."

"So you're telling me Bayonetta knows where Pit and Kirby are. Thanks Shulk - and keep the hat! It will take you places!" Chrom would say to Shulk as he ran down the hallway, continuing his mission.

* * *

After speaking about it with Fiora and Dunban...scratch that. After speaking about it with _himself,_ Shulk ultimately decided that he didn't need to smoke cigarettes. There was more to life than smoking. So the Homs threw the box of cigars and the lighter away, and focused on the third gift he received today...his Torkoal.

"Torkoal, I chose you!" said Shulk, in the Pokemon sanctuary, as he sent out Torkoal, the coal Pokemon. Torkoal belted out his battle cry as smoke exited from his nostrils, meaning that he was ready for battle.

 **Red the Pokemon Trainer: Torkoal is a pretty decent Pokemon - great defense, decent move pool, not that many weaknesses...just very lacking when it comes to speed. Don't ask me about his eyes - I'm not entirely sure how Torkoal can see with his eyes closed. Someone probably painted over his actual eyes.**

"Yeah, Professor Kukui thinks he has a perfect bod, but he's just showing off," Captain Falcon was speaking on the phone with his "lady friend" Olivia, talking about Professor Kukui and how ripped he was. "Just because he has a six pack doesn't mean he can just show off his pecs with his lab coat...he does have a six pack, right?" Falcon was oblivious to the fact that Shulk was about to train his Torkoal, and his obliviousness would cost him.

"Now Torkoal, use...use a fire-type move!" commanded Shulk, as Torkoal used Ember. The coal Pokemon spat out small flames, and one of the flames reached Captain Falcon, setting his suit on fire. Falcon looked down and saw the fire, brushing it off to make it go away. He then looked up and saw Torkoal, and then Shulk.

"Sorry Olivia, but I gotta go..." Captain Falcon said to Olivia, ending the call, as he went over to Shulk. The Homs was afraid that Falcon was going to put him on blast for setting his suit on fire...but instead of a scolding, he received a pat on the shoulder from the racer.

"Because I respect you Shulk, I've saved you all the trouble, and accepted the apology that you were about to give me." Captain Falcon's a psychic now?! Looks like Red has some major competition, sans Mewtwo of course. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all, Captain Falcon - Torkoal's Ember, that was just a silly accident. None of the embers weren't mean to be fired at you."

"I know, I know...as a means to make us forget that this incident ever happened, I'll give you my spare helmet." Captain Falcon would pull out a helmet similar to the one he was wearing out of nowhere, and handed it to Shulk. Another unwanted gift for the Homs, fifth of the day. "Has a cool facemask that can conceal your face! I would recommend you to try it out, but seeing that you're already wearing a hat..."

"It's okay, Captain Falcon, I'll just put away this helmet in my closet. Torkoal, return." Shulk would return Torkoal back to his Poke Ball, before leaving the Pokemon sanctuary to put away his new helmet. Standing at the Pokemon sanctuary entrance was Mario, whom Shulk saw upon exiting.

"You're not...using that helmet are-a you?" Mario would ask Shulk, who shook his head no. Now would be a great time to get rid of that helmet. "Mind-a if I borrow it?"

* * *

Luigi and Daisy's Christmas shopping would come to an end, after a joyous time of shopping for gifts. The couple would return to their home, after Luigi received a ticket for speeding nonetheless, and entered their house, expecting Sonic and Tails to be taking good care of Charles. Boy where they in for a rude awakening...

"Oh boys, we're home!" announced Daisy, her loud voice radiating throughout the household, as she and Luigi were greeted by an excitable Polterpup. "Sonic and Tails, have you been taking good care of Charles?...Sonic? Tails? Where are you?" Daisy would place her shopping bags in the living room before she searched high and low for the whereabouts of Sonic, Tails, and Charles.

"Daisy, where-a are you?" asked Luigi, as he placed his shopping bags in the living room, around the time Daisy ran up the stairs, continuing her search. Moments later, she ran back down the stairs, furious as ever. "Any sign-a of Charles and his babysitters?"

"They're nowhere to be found, which means Charles must be in serious danger! Ooh, I told you having Sonic as a babysitter would be a bad idea! I thought having Tails with him would make things less worse, but I was wrong..." Daisy looked on the television, and was disgusted by what she saw. "And look! Sonic and Tails had the audacity to watch _Family Guy,_ in the presence of Charles! Sickening!"

"Maybe they were watching _Family Guy_ when Charles was fast asleep." This theory from Luigi earned the plumber a questionable glare from Daisy. Like the princess would believe that.

 **Luigi: What's-a worse, King Boo, or an angry Daisy...on her worst-a days, I'd take an angry Daisy any day of-a the week.**

Suddenly, the house phone rang, and Daisy was the first to reach it. But before she answered the phone, she saw the caller ID, seeing that it was a cal from Sonic. Needing answers right away, Daisy picked up the phone.

"Hello Luigi, is that you?" Link's voice was heard. His voice was shaky, for he was hoping that Luigi was the one who picked up the phone. Dealing with Daisy in her current state of mind, on the phone...that was no bueno.

"Princess Daisy here, and I need to know where Sonic and Tails are!" demanded Daisy; you could feel the unhappiness radiating from the phone, with the droning sound Link was making. "Where did they take my precious Charles? Considering you're calling on Sonic's phone, I can only assume that Sonic and Tails are up to no good!"

"...on the contrary, they _are_ up to something good! They're, uh, watching a movie in the movie room, over at the mansion, with Charles! Because, uh, they thought that watching a movie at the mansion would be a better experience than watching one at, uh, your place...that's what you wanted me to tell her, right?" Sounded like Link was speaking with someone - someone supplying him stuff to tell Daisy. "Yeah, Sonic and Tails are at the movie room, with Charles, so if you want your son..."

"...then we'll just come over there! Goodbye!" Daisy aggressively slammed the phone, ending the call, before grabbing Luigi's hand and running out of the house. But Luigi would bring the princess back inside, calming her down.

"Calm-a down Daisy, let's not get so-a riled up," Luigi told his wife, sitting her down in a chair as she cooled off. "Charles is some-a where safe, that I know..."

* * *

Despite not having Mario to help out, Peach and Lara were able to finish decorating the living room. The two ladies were analyzing the living room, checking out their progress, and both agreed that they did a great job.

"Minus Bowser occasionally getting in our way, and annoying us whenever possible, we really worked our butts off," remarked Peach, standing proudly with her hands on her hips. "Shall we commemorate our hardworking efforts with a tea party?"

"I don't have anything else to do, so I don't see why not," replied Lara, before Isabelle walked by. Something was off about Isabelle...she was wearing a helmet, the very helmet Captain Falcon gave to Shulk. Lara and Peach saw this, with questionable stares. "Isabelle, why are you wearing a Captain Falcon helmet?"

"Felt like starting a new fashion trend - it'll catch on soon," was Isabelle's reply, as she kept marching on. What if that was Isabelle...but it really WASN'T Isabelle?

* * *

After going over his Christmas concert with Yashiro, Master Hand brought another idol singer, Eleonora, to his room so she could preview his cast. Knuckles singing DMX's cover of "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" greatly caught Eleonora's attention.

"And you said that the Duck Hunt Dog will be Rudolph?" asked Eleonora, trying to imagine what Master Hand was trying to do. Might as well have Doc Louis as a black Santa Claus.

"I've given that mutt a red-nose and fake antlers, for him to work with in advance for the concert," explained Master Hand, as Elenora glossed over the rest of the casting list. A lot of names were added since the giant hand spoke with Yashiro. "That way, he'll be prepared when the concert begins."

 **Duck Hunt Dog: *is seen chewing his red nose in his mouth, next to some chewed up antlers, near his doghouse***

 **Eleonora: As much as I would love to be a part of a holiday concert...doing one planned by Master Hand? Eh...I'd rather be mining for coal to put in stockings over involving myself with Master Hand's creations.**

"Pretty sure the Duck Hunt Dog will be more concerned with licking his privates, and all his other body parts, than participating in your concert," said Eleonora, as Isabelle returned to Master Hand's room. Master Hand and Eleonora saw the shih tzu, both questioning her fashion choice.

"Ah, Isabelle, you have returned...and you're dressed like Captain Falcon, sort of!" exclaimed Master Hand, as Isabelle closed the door behind her. "Care to explain why you have some variant of Falcon's helmet?"

"The helmet is to hide the utter shame I felt for unleashing my contained rage upon you earlier," replied Isabelle. Other reason was to start a new fashion trend - one that probably won't latch on. "Speaking of which, I would like to apologize to you for my outburst...it was totally out of my nature, and I regret my actions..."

"...actually, Isabelle, it should be ME who should be apologizing," interrupted Master Hand, alarming Eleonora with his confession. Master Hand? Apologizing?! What kind of alternate universe was this?! "I should have known better than to take advantage of your kind and innocent nature, and constantly made you do my every bidding. I only treated you like rubbish because I knew you would never speak up against me...until today. And since you have made your feelings known, I'll try and treat you better, from now on. Emphasis on 'try'."

"Thank you so much, Master Hand! Golly, I've never heard you apologize to anyone before - might be better off than Sonic!"

"Don't you dare compare me to that blue buffoon...anyways, to make up for how you were mistreated, I think a few incentives are in order...anything you would like?" Isabelle mused for a bit...what incentives were feasible with her?

"Let's see...I would like a weekly allowance of $200, breakfast in bed every Sunday, free joyrides around Seattle in your Lamborghini, and a mural created in my likeness, in your room. Too much for you?"

"Sure are asking a lot of incentives...and I like that! I must have taught you well. Man, I'm such a great teacher...or mentor. Or instructor. I'll just stick with mentor for now. You're free to go, Isabelle!"

So Isabelle left Master Hand's room, and once she was outside, took off her helmet...revealing her Mario mustache on her face, whilst wearing Mario's cap. Mario would hop out of Isabelle, returning to his regular form, with Cappy back on the plumber's head.

"Wh-What happened, how did I get here from my room?" wondered Isabelle, rubbing her head, before looking up at Mario, who was adjusting Cappy. "Mario, was I...sleepwalking? Did I fall asleep somehow and sleepwalk to Master Hand's room? It's too early in the day for sleepwalking..."

"Just remember to thank-a me when you get that $200 allowance," smiled Mario, patting Isabelle on the head before walking away, leaving the shih tzu more than confused.

* * *

Bayonetta, having returned from the vending room, was heading back to her room, so she could annoy her roommate Snake. On her way there, she was stopped in her tracks by Chrom, his bald head shining in perfection.

"Finally embracing your baldness, aren't you Chrom?" smiled Bayonetta, as she walked past the prince of Yliesse. "You've came a long way since your initial freakout, very cheeky! Your daughter's support must have been a blessing for you."

"I'm not embracing my baldness, I was wearing a hat earlier but I gave it away..." responded Chrom, as Bayonetta continued walking. "Wait, Bayonetta, I need to ask you a question!" Bayonetta stopped, and turned around. "Do you know where Pit and Kirby are? Pit snapped a picture of my head, on his..."

"Oh, Chrom, you're so late...Pit and Kirby, those crooks, have already been caught! Not by the Links, mind you." This was certainly news to Chrom's ears. "Ask Geno about Pit and Kirby, he'll tell you where they are."

 **Geno: Pfft, I'm not a snitch...I'm an informer. Two completely different things. One seldom gets into trouble...the other doesn't. The latter goes to the snitch. Informers are a rarity nowadays, mainly because people fear the truth. Did you see what they did to that Michael Flynn guy? Confessed to making false statements to the FBI, and he got in trouble, just for spilling the truth. Had he just told on someone instead, he would have never faced any consequences at all!**

Chrom would find Geno in the ball pit room, chilling by himself. Nobody was playing in the ball pit - the Star Warrior was just...hanging around, all alone.

"Bayonetta told me that Pit and Kirby were caught," Chrom said to Geno, catching the Star Warrior off-guard. "Can you take me to them?"

"Why do you care to know..." wondered Geno, shaking his head, before putting away his digressions. "If you really wish to know, then follow me. Pit and Kirby might've already left, but we won't know until we get there."

So Chrom would follow Geno from the ball pit room, to the fifth floor of the mansion, where the Star Records room was located. Geno would take Chrom inside the room, and to Chrom's surprise, he saw Pit and Kirby, tied up together, with the ninja pals - Sheik, Yuffie, Greninja, and Asuka - keeping themselves busy.

"About time you made it here," Sheik said to Chrom, when she looked up and saw the prince. She was too calm and collected to laugh at Chrom's bald head."We saw Pit and Kirby take an elevator, and we followed them up here, and followed them to this room. They were about to upload that unflattering photo of yourself to the Star Records computer, and we kinda managed to stop them in time."

"Chrom's bald head would have made for the greatest (and funniest) album cover ever!" proclaimed Pit, unable to move his arms. Kirby, on the other hand, couldn't move a single limb! "And we would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids...and your stupid frog!"

"You calling us kids...now I've heard it all. So Chrom, do we receive your thanks, or what? Are you going to give Pit and Kirby a scolding, just like you said?"

"I must say ladies...and Greninja...I'm surprised!" remarked Chrom. "For a while, I thought you four wouldn't bother helping me, but I guess I should have never doubted you one bit." Then all of a sudden...

"SONIC AND TAILS, YOU TWO ARE SO DEAD!" Daisy's voice boomed through the mansion, alarming everyone in the Star Records, and also everyone else in the mansion. Daisy had reached peak anger, and she was a force to be reckoned.

"Welp, Sonic, Tails...it's been nice knowing ya..." Geno solemnly looked down at the floor, suddenly fearing for Sonic and Tails' livelihoods.

* * *

Luigi did everything he could to soothe his wife, but Daisy was more than determined to get her son back. So the princess dragged Luigi to the mansion, dragging him all the way to the movie room where the door was closed shut.

"Of course the door would be closed..." frowned Daisy, when she arrived at the movie room. "All the other times, the door would be left open! Sonic and Tails must be doing cruel things to poor Charles, in private!"

"Let's not jump-a to rash conclusions, sweet-a heart; Sonic and Tails, they would-a never hurt a baby," Luigi reasoned with his wife, only to receive a slap. So hard, it left a red mark on the plumber's face.

"Just because Sonic and Tails may look like genuine good guys, doesn't mean that they're not prone to doing bad things. Sonic and Tails refused to speak with us on the phone, having Link tell them lies instead! It's about time we bust those two!" So Daisy opened the door, and dragged Luigi inside the movie room, where they found Sonic and Tails...

...seated on the floor, with Link, Cloud, Sora, Crash, and Coco. (Aku had no bottom, so he just floated in the air.) The eight were watching _The Muppets Christmas Carol_ on a large movie screen, with the film in its final seconds before the credits. Once the credits rolled, Sonic turned around, seeing Luigi and an astonished Daisy.

"Luigi and Daisy, I see you've returned from your shopping!" exclaimed Sonic, as Zero stopped the movie with his remote. And guess who was in Sonic's arms, with a pacifier in his mouth? _Charles._

 **Zero: After I rescued Charles from that _Family Guy_ episode, he started crying nonstop - nothing we could do was able to hush him up. Then once I started playing that _Muppets_ movie, Charles took notice of it, and stopped crying. Then everyone watched the movie till the end, out of solidarity I presume. Who knew babies loved _Muppets?_**

"Charles!" exclaimed Luigi, running to his son and taking him from Sonic, lifting him up in his arms. "Thought I'd be gone-a forever, didn't you? Well I'm-a back, and mommy here is back as-a well! Isn't that right, Daisy? Daisy?"

Daisy was still astonished - she was nervous that Charles was abused, maimed, whatever, at the hands of Sonic and Tails, and was willing to make the two pay for their actions. But Charles was safe and sound, without a single wound or blemish. Daisy was smiling for a second, chuckling a little...before fainting to the floor. Zero quickly catched Daisy before she fell to the floor, doing his best to suppress the romantic feelings he had for her back in episode 27.

"Is she...going to be okay?" Zero asked Luigi, holding Daisy in his arms. He could reaffirm his love for Daisy if he wanted to...but nobody wanted to go down that path again.

"She'll-a be fine, it's just been a long-a day for her," smiled Luigi, holding Charles comfortably in his arms. "I expect-a her to wake up in a few-a minutes. Can you take-a her to my place for me?"

"As you wish, Luigi." So Zero would follow Luigi out of the room, carrying Daisy, following the plumber to his home. Sonic had a confident smile on his face, proud of the work he did for today.

"Man, Tails, we're such great babysitters!" the hedgehog told his friend, acting like Charles running away never happened. "Too bad we never got our thanks from Luigi or Daisy. We should babysit again, should we Tails?"

"Wouldn't wanna risk it, buddy...and I speak on behalf of every caring parent in the world," Cloud would answer for Tails, as he left the movie room; everyone else except for Tails and Sonic would follow suit. Tails looked at Sonic, shrugging with a smirk, before leaving, as Sonic was alone by himself.

Unwritten Rule #201: Never hire Sonic to be a babysitter.


	104. Episode 104: Triangle

_Author's Note:_

 _Star Wars: The Last Jedi is released today! For those planning to watch the movie - beware of spoilers, they will ruin your day. So avoid the edgy teens on 4Chan as much as possible._

 _This chapter is a chapter I've been fixing to do for a very long time, ever since the summer months. It's mainly centered around Knuckles, so prepare to see Knuckles mentioned over one hundred times. (I know you were expecting a Star Wars chapter, but don't worry, I've included a Star Wars reference. Not a huge reference, but a reference nonetheless.) Now, there are two guest reviews I must answer..._

 _"Will you include the characters from Puzzle & Dragons? Have the characters from Yo-Kai Watch appeared yet? Are Henry and Tharja going to be a couple if they appear? A small scene of Agria trying to steal Senel from Chloe? (Senel and Agria's Japanese voice actors are married in real life) And finally what are your thoughts on Breath of the Wild winning Game of the Year award?"_

 _Probably not. Not yet. Henry and Tharja, if they appear, will be a couple. Might do the scene. And Breath of the Wild winning Game of the Year is well-deserving - that game and Odyssey were 1A and 1B in terms of the best video game this year. BOTW probably had the advantage over Odyssey by being released earlier in the year. Derick Lindsey asked a very interesting question concerning the last chapter that must be answered at once:_

 _"...was Charles in Brian's body because Stewie kept mistaking Charles for Brian when that's something Peter would do, and where was the real Brian at? did he disappear into his subconscious when Charles came in or is he somewhere in the mansion not knowing where he is?"_

 _To be clear, Charles straight up replaced Brian - he was there, taking his place. Brian was stuck in some indefinite space, floating around in ecstasy like Freddie Mercury, until Charles was saved. Hopefully that answers your question..._

* * *

 **Episode 104: Triangle**

Knuckles was very much in love with his woman, Rouge the Bat. The romance between the two dated back to _Sonic Adventure 2,_ when the two lovebirds were feuding with one another - Knuckles on Sonic's side, attempting to save the world, and Rouge on Dr. Eggman's side, helping the obese mad scientist take over the world. Knuckles spent most of his adventure looking for pieces of the Master Emerald, and along the way, he would encounter Rouge...those encounters would build up to some rather interesting sexual tension between the two.

Now there were times when Rouge would throw Knuckles over the edge, and push the echidna to his limits. The bat, to this day, still stole belongings from Knuckles, from his collectible Jordan sneakers, to the _Barbie_ doll sets that would easily make one question Knuckles' manliness. Moreover, Rouge would constantly dote on Knuckles, embarrassing him whenever the opportunity arose. Despite those things, Knuckles managed to love Rouge, through the thick and thin, even though their alignments might be somewhat different.

Knuckles was particularly giddy today, because he was informed by Rouge that the bat was giving him an early Christmas present. The echidna was dying from anticipation, so much that his heart could stop at any minute. He was waiting outside the mansion that morning, expecting Rouge's arrival, as Mario and Jacky were rolling a brand new truck into the mansion's garage.

"You're sure that Link won't notice this sparkly new car in the garage," Jacky said to Mario, as he drove the new truck into the garage. The new truck was for Link; Mario believed that the Hylian could use a bit of an improvement from his dusty old truck.

"No one-a uses the garage anyways, so it'll be all-a good," replied Mario, after Jacky parked the truck inside the garage. He would turn off the vehicle, as he and Mario got out. "I've asked several residents if this-a mansion had a garage, and they all said-a no..."

"Just because they're unaware doesn't mean that Link isn't. I'm telling you, Mario, Link will reject that truck and stick to his old one. He's become to emotionally attached to that truck now..."

 **Zelda: I've told Link time and time again to ditch his truck - named Epona, I might add - but he simply won't listen to me. "Epona" has accrued a lot of car problems in recent times - its gas tank keeps leaking, the tire pressure keeps running around, and it constantly makes that annoying droning noise on the road that just makes me want to scream. I'm not sure if Link is oblivious to his truck's problems, or he's just pretending like nothing is wrong, but convincing him to take that truck to the repair shop is just as hard as telling him to get rid of that metal trash heap.**

 **Link: *standing next to Epona* Epona and I, we go back, way back...I remember renting Epona from some shady car dealership a long time ago. Thought I might need some wheels, since riding on horseback as a form of transportation is apparently taboo nowadays. When I tried to return Epona back, the guys at the dealership implored that I keep Epona, and so I did. Epona has treated me well, and I have treated her well in return... *pats Epona on the hood, causing the bumper and grilles to fall off* ...pretty sure someone unscrewed those parts.**

Back to Knuckles, who was expecting Rouge to arrive at any minute. He looked high and low for the bat, but she was nowhere to be found. Was she late? Rouge was hardly ever late - she was always on time. That was her MO. Perhaps she had some unforeseen business to take care of, and it was taking her longer than expected.

Then suddenly, when Knuckles was least expecting it, a white bat, wearing a Santa hat, quietly sneaked up on Knuckles, still looking high and low for Rouge, when all of a sudden, without warning...

"BOO!" the white bat spooked Knuckles, making the echidna shriek and jump into the air. Trying to regain his manliness, Knuckles angrily turned around, and saw Rouge, smiling at him with a sly smile. "Happy holidays, my lovable red echidna!"

"I thought I told you good not to do that again!" frowned Knuckles, recalling that one time Rouge scared the non-existing pants off of him in episode 60. "Oughta be glad nobody was around to hear me scream, otherwise my reputation would've been in serious jeopardy!"

"You and your silly reputation...hmph. Always thinking you're tougher than you really are. So, how have you been? Is this cold winter weather treating you well?"

"I'm doing just great, thanks for asking. Still not used to the cold, but that's why we have ugly Christmas sweaters. Granted, I don't wear mine, since it was knitted by that pervert Yoshi. Anything that was created by that dork is automatically contagious. Now where's my gift?"

"Really are in a demanding mood, aren't you? Fine then, I'll just give you your Christmas gift now. Just know that finding this gift wasn't easy. Promise you won't open it until Christmas?" The wait was tantalizing for Knuckles, but the echidna believed that the wait was also worth it.

"Yeah, sure thing, don't open gift until Christmas day, got it." Rouge pulled out her gift for Knuckles from behind her back, and handed it to the echidna. Knuckles wanted to shake the gift, to determine what was inside, but imagined that doing so would ruin the gift. "Again, thank you for the gift, really appreciate it."

"You don't have to thank me Knuckles - it's always the thought that counts. Say, how about you show me what's new around the mansion? I'm sure a lot has happened since the last time I was here!"

* * *

Aside from Ema Skye leaving the mansion, and Layton, Luke, and the Crash clan joining the mansion, not much has happened since episode 69, the last time Rouge was present. That is, unless how want to include the whole Organization XIII thing, and Dr. Eggman's revenge tour. Knuckles wanted to introduce Rouge to the new residents, but the Crash clan was nowhere to be found at the time, and Layton and Luke were looking for Villager's missing Nintendo 3DS. So Knuckles had to wait until breakfast, where he saved a seat next to him for Rouge.

"Holiday pancakes, coming around!" announced Cilan, as he was serving everyone a handful of Christmas-themed pancakes. The pancakes resembled reindeer, snowmen, gingerbread men, and even Santa Claus. Cilan made sure everyone had pancakes, regardless if anyone wanted any or not.

"Hey Cilan, how come Dr. Cortex over here gets a black Santa Claus pancake, while I on the other hand am stuck with some generic white one?" complained Doc Louis, who found a bizarre way to make a race issue out of simple holiday pancakes. "How could you do that man, how can you let down a black man like myself?!"

"Cortex's pancake must've been severely burned, left it cooking for too long." As Cilan said this, Cortex looked at his pancake, with a disgusted look on his face, before tossing his pancake on the floor for the Duck Hunt Dog to consume it. The mutt, after chewing the pancake, spat it out immediately.

 **Cortex: Cilan would give be a burnt pancake...bet you he did it on purpose! The disrespect is real, it's out of this world! Doc Louis can go all he want about being disrespected, but he wouldn't know about being disrespected unless he took a walk in my shoes!**

While everyone was eating, Mario stepped inside the dining room, clearing his throat to grab everyone's attention. The residents all looked at the plumber, wondering what occasion brought him to the mansion.

"Good-a morning everyone," greeted Mario, expecting a collective "good morning" from the crowd, but got nothing instead. Clearly the residents weren't about that life. Some more than others. "Someone has visited-a my home today, and shared with-a me some important information. I thought it would-a be best if he shared-a this information with all-a of you, and now, he is here-a to make an important announcement. I will-a now give him the floor."

So Mario stepped out of the way, as a black-and-red hedgehog entered the dining room, increasing the curiosity in the dining room. The hedgehog, considered edgy by most edgy standards, was ready to make his announcement. His announcement involved something he had never done before in his life, nor cared to do. And now, the mansion residents were ready to hear it. But first, an introduction...

"My name...my name is Shadow...Shadow the Hedgehog," Shadow introduced himself to the residents, who already knew who Shadow was. Wasn't like Shadow was some lousy _Sonic_ original character created on Deviantart that came to life. "And I have an important announcement to..."

"Dude, Shadow, why do you always have to do this, man?" Sonic interrupted his rival, shaking his head with disbelief on his face. "You didn't have to introduce yourself, we already know who you are! What, you think we all got amnesia? Get on with it, man!"

"I was getting on with it, for your information Sonic..." Shadow cleared his throat, before continuing where he left off. "Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted, by peons such as Sonic...I have an important announcement to make. Believe it or not, I'll be going on my first date two days from now, and I'll be going on a date...with Rouge the Bat."

At first, the residents were baffled by Shadow going on a date at all. Shadow was far and away from your ideal romantic type - even Samus was more romantic than Shadow ever could be. Had more sexual tension with Anthony Higgs than Shadow had with anyone. But for Shadow, to go on a date with Rouge, whom he has worked with time and time again? Rouge, who was in a relationship already with Knuckles. There was a lot of chit chat taking place in the dining room, as Rouge sheepishly sneaked away, unbeknownst to Knuckles, who was now looking for his woman.

 **Shadow: I would say that I'm excited to go on my first date, but I'm not the one to be excited about anything. I've rarely felt excitement, or any positive emotion for that matter, ever since Maria died. Positivity, to me, is just a falsehood people claim they have to fool themselves into thinking that they're content with their lives.**

 **Wario: *laughs hysterically* Shadow, going on a date? Is he on crack, is he living in la la land?**

 **Robin: Shadow's giong on his first date, and I've yet to go on a date with Lucina...I personally blame Chrom for getting in my way.**

 **Tails: Shadow must not be aware of the fact that Rouge is in a relationship with Knuckles, it seems like. Shadow probably won't know about said relationship until Knuckles and Rouge get married, and have half-bat, half-echidna kids with bat ears and wings and claws used for digging...but I feel extremely bad about this.**

"But Shadow, how could your date with Rouge be your first date, when you went on date before with Dixie Kong?" asked Yoshi, the matchmaker who put that oddball date together, as the chatter continued

"That date you speak of does not count...it was only a product of your disgusting shipping ways," replied Shadow, pointing at Yoshi with force because he felt like pointing. Just for the theatrics. "You're just like those chicks on Tumblr who put me in questionable and head-scratching pairings, and draw inappropriate fan art of me that would be shunned by any rational person."

"You don't know what you're talking about..." murmured Yoshi...sneakily drawing a picture of Shadow underneath the table when nobody was looking, and smiling at it creepily as he was drawing. The dinosaur might've picked up another annoying hobby.

"I hear all this chatter, so I must assume that you're pretty much fine with my date, and whom I'm going on a date with." The chatter slowly began to die down, as Knuckles left the dining room to go look for Rouge. "No negative feelings or viewpoints whatsoever?"

"No negative stuff at all, Shadow!" smiled Pac-Man, raising a thumbs up. Most of the chatter was questioning how Shadow was even on a date, and how he ended up going on said date with Rouge of all people. The two did have a long history, but still. "You're the man, Shadow! On top of the world!"

"Hmph. Don't know why I bothered asking that in the first place. I could care less about how you fools think. I just wanted to see how you would react, that's all. Since, you know, you all think I'm just some loser emo hedgehog, forever destined to lament about my life and origins forever."

"We would never say those things about you Shadow, right guys?" Rosalina said before asking her fellow residents; some of them nodded their heads, albeit out of nervousness. Didn't want Shadow to go full Chaos Control on them. "May we all wish you the best on your first date!"

"That would mean a lot, coming from you Rosalina...but I never cared about you to begin with." Ouch, gotta wonder how Rosalina felt about that. "Same could be said for many others in this room. Now that I got that out of the way, I must return home..."

"...or you could spend the rest of your day with us, in the mansion!" exclaimed Sonic, getting out of his seat as he ran to Shadow. "Hey, Villager, could you, uh, show Shadow your new...your new...sea bass?"

"I'd be more than glad to do that!" obliged Villager, sliding his plate of pancakes to King Dedede (who was breathing intensely with joyous feelings) as he hopped out of his chair and escorted Shadow away. With Shadow gone, Sonic went over to Mario, so he could speak with the plumber in private. "Your place, now..."

* * *

So Mario took Sonic to his home, but not before Knuckles came along to. Knuckles, who was still looking for Rouge when Sonic approached him, was bewildered by the idea of Shadow going on a date with his woman, and wanted to know how the date came to fruition.

"How can Shadow possibly not-a know about Rouge being in love with-a Knuckles?" Mario asked Sonic and Knuckles, the three in the living room. To say the plumber was left perplexed by the whole situation would be an understatement. "I assumed Rouge was done-a with Knuckles when Shadow told-a me about the date."

"Quite frankly I have no idea - I thought Shadow would pick up all the context clues about the relationship, but I guess the guy's more aloof than we thought he was!" responded Sonic. Shadow was always deep in thought most of the time, so you can't really fault the man for his lack of awareness. "Still curious as to how this date came to be..."

"You know-a what, we can't let this linger on-a anymore. I'm gonna tell-a Shadow!" Mario got up from his couch, and was about to make his way to the door, only to be stopped by Knuckles.

"No, Mario, you can't outright tell Shadow about my relationship with Rouge, he would kill you!" Knuckles said to the plumber, stressing how dangerous Shadow was. One deadly Chaos Control and you could very well be a goner. "Shadow, as you know, is the one of the easiest people to get angry fast, and if he finds out the truth, then he would get angry, and take out his anger on you. Don't put yourself in harm's way!"

"But he has-a to know some-a how! If I can't tell-a Shadow, then who-a should?"

"Why not give the honors to the person who's going on the date with Shadow...Rouge the Bat?" suggested Peach, who was in the kitchen eavesdropping on the conversation between Mario, Sonic, and Knuckles. The three looked at Peach, then at each other, taking the princess' idea into consideration.

 **Peach: A woman always knows what's best for a man...and I think that having Rouge settle the issue would be best for everyone involved. Shadow can come to a clear understanding, and Knuckles and Rouge can keep their romance alive. Moreover, nobody has to worry anyone dying! Not that often in life you come across romantic disputes where someone's life could be in danger, but when you add Shadow to the equation, things can be...rather tense.**

"That would be our-a safest bet...what do you boys-a think?" Mario asked Sonic and Knuckles, mulling Peach's suggestion. Would be better than having Mario thrown into the wolves, and paying the price.

* * *

After breakfast was over, Corrin and Kamui went to the gaming room, to try out some Christmas cookies Cilan baked. The connoisseur left his cookie creations in the gaming room for everyone to enjoy, for he imagined that the gaming room was the right venue. As Corrinwas eating the cookies, he saw Doc Louis, seated in a chair by himself, eating cookies as well. He was wearing a Santa hat, attached with a white beard, and with Doc's red sports jacket on, Corrin somehow mistook the boxing trainer for someone else...

"Santa Claus!" the prince of Nohr exclaimed, jumping into the lap of Doc Louis. The boxing trainer was understandably confused, dropping his cookies unto the floor as he looked at Corrin. "May I tell you the things I want for Christmas?"

"Boy what on earth is wrong with you, have you lost your doggone mind?!" Doc Louis snapped on Corrin, trying to get the prince off his lap but to no avail. It was a good thing nobody was paying attention...yet. "I'll give you a count of ten to get off my lap, and if ya don't, then I'm gonna bring my man Little Mac to whoop your behind before you can cry uncle!"

"For Christmas, I want a new lightsaber, a dark cloak like the one Emperor Palpatine wears, some _Star Wars_ posters, an R2D2 replica, a C-3P0 costume..." Corrin kept going on and on with his list, and Doc Louis was getting very annoyed by the second.

"So all you want is just some _Star Wars_ stuff? Where's the variety, man? Why not ask for new boxers, new clothes, new video games, or even a new girlfriend! Oh wait, you already have a girlfriend...boy do I feel sorry for her!"

"Um, Doc Louis...what are you doing with Corrin?" a concerned Leia asked the boxing trainer, standing with Little Mac. Little Mac felt too embarrassed for his Doc Louis to have a say in the matter. "Are you trying to be Santa? I do believe there's a mall downtown that you can do stuff like that..."

"Corrin and I, we were just playing, that's all it was." Doc Louis aggressively shoved Corrin off his lap - something the boxing trainer should've done earlier. Corrin got up to his feet, as Kamui came over to take her twin brother away.

"The things you do Corrin, the things you do..." Kamui sighed as she led Corrin away from Doc Louis. Pit and Kirby were watching from afar, and they couldn't help but laugh at the whole situation. Pit, who used to believe in Santa Claus, was laughing the hardest.

"Heh, I remember the days when I thought Santa Claus was real...oh how those days have gone by," remarked the angel, as he and Kirby were sipping some good ol' egg nog. The official beverage of the holidays, much like how beer was the official beverage of the NFL and unadulterated college life. "It'll be only a matter of time until Corrin wises up."

 **Pit: When Cloud told me last year that Santa Claus was real, and just some holiday figure created to amuse little kids, I refused to believe him. I was so hurt by Cloud's comments, that I spent the entire day in my room crying, with the laughing of Dark Pit soothing my soul. But now, I have seen the light, the light that shines brightly, and I have moved on from my childish ways and accepted the reality that Santa was exactly what he was, a holiday figure for children.  
Kirby: And to think, that all it took was for Sonic to dress up a Dr. Eggman robot as Santa, and pose as Santa to show you the truth...  
Pit: Wait, so does that mean Dr. Eggman is Santa Claus? No wonder the idea of Santa Claus being real is so untrue, who would ever believe that Dr. Eggman is Santa?! Dr. Eggman can't even get a woman, for crying out loud! Isn't Santa supposed to be married, to Mrs. Claus? Also, can Dr. Eggman even go down a chimney? I bet he can't even go through the front door of his own house! (If he even owns a house, that is.) It's no wonder he entered the mansion by crashing through the roof in his Egg Mobile!  
**

Snooping around through the gaming room was Rouge, who had left during breakfast on early notice. Ever since the news about Shadow going on a date broke out, Rouge had left the dining room, likely to escape from her man Knuckles. She had to keep a low profile, knowing that not showing herself would make her suspicious in the eyes of her boyfriend.

"I'm about low on egg nog, what about you Kirby?" Pit asked the pink puffball, who held up his cup. Almost empty, with just a few drops of egg nog at the bottom. "Let's go back to the kitchen and ask Lady Palutena for some more nog." So Pit and Kirby got up and went to the exit, only to unexpectedly run into Rouge. "Oh, hi Rouge! I wanted to say hi to you during breakfast, but you left before I could do so. Merry Christmas, and Feliz Cumpleanos! Or is it Feliz Navidad? Eh, I'll just ask Meta Knight later which one it is."

"It's definitely Feliz Navidad...and Merry Christmas to you too, Pit," replied Rouge, before looking around. "Same goes to your friend Kirby. Now if you excuse me, I have to get going...trying to keep away from someone. Can't tell you who it is though, might break my cover!"

"Before you do that, I have to ask you one important question...are you a vampire?" This interesting question led to a look of confusion from Rouge, and even Kirby as well. Too bad Pit was being serious. "Only asking this because there's these species, called vampire bats, and they have sharp teeth and suck up blood...not that you have sharp teeth or blood-sucking abilities or anything, but most vampires I've seen on TV can turn into vampire bats, and you're a bat, so I was wondering if..."

"Well, Pit, if I'm truly a vampire...then you must be the next Albert Einstein. I'll just let you figure that out while I keep doing my thing. The world could use a few more Einsteins!" Pit was left deep in thought, as Rouge pinched him on the cheek and walked away. The bat wouldn't get that far until Pit broke away from his trance of thought, as another question was generated inside his head.

"Hold up Rouge, before you go, got another question to ask you..." Rouge rolled her eyes, as she turned around to face Pit. If it was another question about her being a vampire bat, then Rouge was going to sucker punch Pit in the face. A well deserving sucker punch, too. "During breakfast, Shadow announced that he was going on a date...a date with you. What do you have to say about that." If Pit was expecting a direct answer from Rouge, then he better be ready to be disappointed...

"I have no comment on the matter," was Rouge's reply as she walked away from Pit and Kirby, leaving with Pit more questions than answers.

* * *

To keep Shadow at bay, Sonic had Villager show the edgy hedgehog his new sea bass. Little did Sonic know that Villager had captured _multiple_ sea bass, and the youngster was waiting for the day someone wanted to see them. Unfortunately for Shadow, he had to be that someone, as he was in Villager's room, forcing himself to view Villager's sea bass collection.

"...and this is the golden snapper sea bass, a species native to the eastern Pacific Ocean along the coast of Ecuador," Villager was showing off this sea bass to Shadow, who had drooping eyelids as he was resting his chin on the palm of his hand. The hedgehog was doing his best to look alive, albeit feeling bored out of his mind. "Caught this bad boy on a fishing trip with Red, when we used the teleportation device to go to Mexico. I also caught this Basculin, which I kept in a fish tank." Villager went into his closet, and pulled out a fish tank containing a shiny Basculin, in its red-striped form. "Say, Shadow, do you have a favorite type of sea bass?"

"My favorite type of sea bass is suicide..." moaned Shadow, wishing he had a gun in his hand right now. He was at the point where shooting himself in the head was the only option he had, to rid himself of Villager.

"Wow, never heard of that kind of sea bass before! I should check it out online, do some research on it! Always knew you were into fishing, Shadow!"

 **Shadow: Told Villager I had to use the bathroom - don't think I can use that excuse on him again - and now that I'm away from that dork, there's something I have to get off my chest...Villager is one of the most annoying human beings I had to endure, provided that Villager is even human. Might be a monster or demon in a human disguise. I've never heard a person who loved fishing and fish in general as much as Villager - not even Big the Cat loved fishing that much! Just hearing Villager talking about his stupid sea bass collection just makes me want to take his spoon hands and beat him to death with his own hands, until he bleeds and begs for mercy, until he begs no more.**

Spying on Shadow through the crack of Villager's door was Sonic, peeking through. Cloud walked by, and saw the two blue blur in the act of spying, and he could only shake his head and sigh.

"First it was Link, then it was Mario...and now it's you, Sonic," remarked the swordsman, grabbing Sonic's attention. "Do you not know the trouble that can come with spying on someone? At least you aren't spying on a potential couple, so I'll give you points for that."

"Shh, you'll blow my cover Cloud!" Sonic shushed the swordsman, before he returned to spying. "Go away and make out with Aerith or something, you're distracting me from spying on Shadow!" Cloud remained where he was, wanting to know Sonic's intentions.

"Why are you spying on Shadow for, it's not like he's the most interesting guy on the planet." Same could possibly be said about you, Mr. Strife - talk about the pot calling the kettle black. "I'm sure you have more important things to do than spying on your friend...or rival. Or whatever."

"I'm just checking to make sure Villager is doing his job." Villager was doing his job well - poor Shadow was growing more and more bored, as Villager kept rambling on about how huge his sea bass collection was. "Gotta keep Shadow away from Knuckles, to avoid any conflict. Especially after he announced that date he has with Rouge."

"If you truly want to avoid conflict...then how about you have Knuckles and Rouge talk things out themselves? Then they can come up of a way to address their relationship to Shadow, and let bygones by bygones...unless, perhaps, Rouge was cheating on Knuckles with Shadow."

Sonic dared not to entertain the idea that Rouge was cheating on Knuckles. Knuckles wasn't the kind of guy that deserved to be cheated on - he was a stand-up guy who deserved a loving, caring girlfriend. And for Rouge, to cheat on Knuckles, with an edgelord like Shadow - an edgelord who internally quipped about how sucky his life was, and questioning his origins - Knuckles deserved better. But Sonic thought that it wouldn't hurt for Rouge and Knuckles to come together, talk things out, and come to a better understanding about things.

"You might be on to something, Mr. Strife..." Sonic stroked his chin in thought, before making up his mind entirely. "I shall bring Knuckles over from Mario's place to the mansion, and have him talk with Rouge, so they can be on the same page. Any idea where Rouge might be?"

"Last saw her hanging around near the printing room. She might be hiding from Knuckles and/or Shadow. Just tell me where you want Knuckles and Rouge to meet, and I'll try and set things up."

* * *

With Cloud finding Rouge near the printing room, and Sonic bringing Knuckles to the mansion from Mario's home, Rouge and Knuckles met in an empty room, door locked, with no one inside but Rouge, Knuckles, and a noisy cameraman ready to record the juicy conversation. Time for the cameraman to get his big payday!

"You HAVE to tell Shadow about us, he has to know or else," Knuckles stressed to Rouge, who had her arms folded with a smile. The severity of the situation did not seem to mean much to her, or at least that's how Knuckles felt.

"Or else what?" questioned Rouge, leaning in towards Knuckles who backed away. Bit too close for comfort. "Me, telling Shadow, about us as an item? Sounds like a horrid idea...have you forgotten how Shadow operates?"

"It would only be better if you told him the truth instead of me. Gotta get it over with, before things start to get out of hand!"

"What difference would it make if I told Shadow, and you didn't? It's just the same information being passed from one individual to another, so why does it matter about who tells Shadow what? Insecure much?"

"Whoever said I was insecure...so do you truly love, are you cheating on me with Shadow? Is that what this is all about? Tell me the truth, girl - tell me how much you love me!"

"I have told you numerous times before that I love you, even all those times when you forced me to say it. Want me to say 'I love you' one more time, just so you won't get your feelings hurt? Why does saying those three words now in this instance be any different from all the other times?"

"Because you're going on a date with Shadow."

No longer interested in the conversation slowly backed away, her smile fading, as she reached the door. She opened the door, and exited the room, closing the door behind her and leaving Knuckles alone with the anonymous cameraman. Said cameraman was gonna get his due very soon.

 **Sonic: There's this old saying, from Texas...or maybe it's from Tennessee...or from Texas...George W. Bush used the saying before, so he might know more about the origins than I do. The saying goes along the lines of "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice...can't fool me again...shame on you...something about peace sign...loading choppers...letting it rain"...something like that. I think that famous saying can be applied to the, dare I say it, love triangle between Knuckles, Rouge, and Shadow.**

 **Knuckles: Welp, what else can I say... *shrugs * ...hoes ain't loyal.**

* * *

Following his meeting with Rouge, Knuckles would return to Mario's home with Sonic, where Mario was in the living room expecting the two friends to return. He saw that Knuckles had a disgruntled look on his face when he entered his home, making him curious.

"So, how did-a things go between you and-a Rouge?" Mario asked Knuckles, who plopped on the plumber's couch. The disgruntled look was still there.

"I asked Rouge to tell Shadow about us being a couple, but I don't think she agreed to the terms," explained Knuckles, before heaving a sigh. "Don't think she's ready yet to tell him the truth...probably just as nervous as I am! Usually am not afraid of anyone or anything, but..."

"Obviously we can't let-a this thing continue any longer, gotta put an end-a to it some-a how." As Mario was speaking, Lara came out from her room, overhearing the conversation and listening attentively. "Shadow has a straight-a up anger problem - telling him now would be much-a better than telling him at a later time!"

"What on earth are you three talking about?" asked Lara, as she went into the kitchen to grab a bite to eat. "I've heard you three speaking earlier...what seems to be the issue?"

"Knuckles just learned that his girlfriend Rouge is going on a date with Shadow the Hedgehog, and we're trying to figure out a way to tell Shadow what's up," Sonic explained to Lara, as Lara grabbed an apple and took a bite out of it. "Knuckles wants Rouge to tell Shadow, but Rouge was all like 'heck no', and now, we're kinda stuck at the moment..."

"I have a bit of a suggestion..." Lara took a seat in the living room, ready to offer her two cents. "...how about we have Mario address Knuckles' relationship with Rouge to Shadow?" Mario gave Lara a crazy look - was the woman out of her mind?! "You used to be the man of the Smash Mansion, were you not, Mario? You have dealt with many disputes before, most of the time without needing any input from Master Hand. Not to mention that you have dealt with several explosive individuals...and Shadow, well, he's as explosive as they come. So Mario, what could possibly hold you back?"

"Nothing, really, there's no outside-a force that would prevent-a me from..." started Mario, before a thousand mile stare appeared on his face when he started to realize how much _he_ had to do with the whole love triangle thing.

It was his idea to have Shadow inform the residents about his date, which in turn caused things to escalate. Had he just told Shadow upfront about Knuckles and Rouge being a couple, none of this would have happen. Now would be a great time to mend an error of his ways, before things further escalated.

"You know-a what, Lara...maybe I should speak-a with Shadow, and tell-a him the truth," said Mario, standing up proudly with a proud smile. Better do it now than never.

* * *

Shadow was legitimately done with Villager - the spoon hand youngster had just finished going over his sea bass collection with the hedgehog, and was about to do it again since he had nothing better to do. When Mario showed up at Villager's room and asked for Shadow, it was like an angel was sent down from heaven, rescuing Shadow from his misery. Mario was tasked with telling Shadow the truth about Rouge and Knuckles, and he had to do it now, or forever hold his breath and further allow things to go out of hand.

Before Mario went to Shadow, however, the plumber was approached by Master Hand, who was hyping up his Christmas concert around town. The concert was set to begin next week, and he was telling Mario all the details he needed to know. He also asked Mario to come to the lecture hall, so he could show him the progress that has been made in regards to the concert.

 **Master Hand: I have high hopes for my Christmas concert, and I certainly think that it will be the talk of the town for years to come. It'll have everything you want in a Christmas concert and more - a special appearance by Santa Claus, the Duck Hunt Dog dressed up as Rudolph, some niche Christmas decor and props, excellent performance from the singers, Knuckles rapping that DMX holiday song, and even a surprise appearance from the Trans-Siberian Orchestra! I've tried calling the orchestra's manager on the phone and asking him for a gig at the mansion, but he has never returned my calls...perhaps my death threats aren't that threatening enough. Talking trash about his mom, now that should grab the manager's attention!**

 **Kiria: Would I love to do a Christmas concert? Of course, holiday-themed concerts are always fun. Would I love to do a Christmas concert organized by Master Hand? Not in a million freaking years. Unfortunately, since I'm employed with Star Records, I'm left with no choice in the matter, and have no choice but to perform at the concert. As long as DJ Octavio isn't going to be there...Master Hand selected Octavio to be the DJ? Ugh...**

Mario and Shadow were in the lecture hall, sitting at front row, checking out Roy and Ike setting up props on the stage. Several Christmas trees were lined up in the back, an inflatable snowman was on the far side of the stage, and there was also fake snow littered on the stage, provided by Ike. Coco was on the light deck, checking out the stage lights, with Crash and Aku on the deck as well.

"COWABUNGA!" shouted Crash, shouting out a new word in his lexicon, as he leaped off of the light deck and onto the inflatable snowman. The snowman slowly deflated as Crash was on top of it, and it kept deflating until there was no more air inside of it. That poor inflatable snowman had a family!

"Dang it Crash, how times do we have to tell you, don't dive off from the light deck like that!" Ike scolded the bandicoot, who whimpered at the sight of Ike's angry and agitated face. "Why does it always have to be the inflatable snowman...yo, Mario, can you help Roy and I inflate this snowman?"

"One-a moment, Ike," Mario told the swordsman, before turning his attention to Shadow. "I brought you here to this-a lecture hall, because...because I have to tell-a you something important. Bear in mind that when-a I say these things...which are bad-a things...it's things that I, if I were-a you, wouldn't want-a to hear..."

"You're not making any sense, Mario," said Shadow, confused by what Mario was trying to say. Mario was starting to look like he wasn't up for the challenge. "What are these things that you speak of?"

"Well, I'm-a not...very articulate today, so I'll just, tell you what-a you need to hear another time. When-a ever that time comes." Ike was standing on the stage, arms folded, foot tapping impatiently. Mario was taking an awfully long time to spit out the truth.

"Today would really be nice, you know, Mario - that inflatable snowman isn't gonna inflate itself," frowned Roy. A self-inflating snowman would be very inconvenient, yet expensive at the same time. Would make for a huge profit.

"And with-a that, I am off!" Mario rose up out of his seat, adjusting his cap. "Gonna inflate-a this snowman, before Ike gets-a angry at me and kills-a me with his sword. Granted, Ike would never kill-a me, but I always-a know a secret serial killer when-a I see one..." Name one then, dude.

"So you're not going to tell me this important thing that you have to tell me so? You're telling me that you essentially brought me here for nothing? Villager already wasted my time so far today, don't tell me you're doing the same thing too..."

Mario, with his fists clenched, looked down at the floor through his closed eyelids with his fists clenched. Shadow was demanding to know the truth, and whatever you ask for, you shall receive...

"Knuckles and Rouge...they're in-a love, they're a couple," Mario reluctantly told Shadow, who eyes grew wider than the sun. "They've practically been in-a love for a very long-a time, longer than you can-a imagine. That's the news I wanted-a to share with you."

"Are you for real, they really are a couple?" asked an astonished Shadow; apparently he did not know about Knuckles and Rouge being together all along. Too busy brooding about his horrible life.

"As real-a as the rain out-a side..." Having gotten this crucial information off his chest, Mario joined Roy and Ike upstage to help them inflate the snowman, as a ticked off Shadow left the lecture hall. Here we go...

* * *

 **Wii Fit Trainer: Here at the Smash Mansion, we have this romantic, yet strange tradition of hanging up the mistletoe on random doors. If any two people are under a door with the mistletoe, they have to kiss one another. Master Hand enforced this tradition because he thought it was super funny. Being under a mistletoe can lead to some very humorous situations...**

Having finished another intense winter workout, Wii Fit Trainer would exit the fitness center, wiping the sweat off her forehead with a towel. She was standing at the doorway when King K. Rool was about to enter...and would you know it, a mistletoe was hanging above the two of them. Both individuals saw said mistletoe, Rool was smiling like a pervert, whereas Wii Fit never felt more concerned for her life until now.

"Heh heh heh, don't mind if I do..." smiled Rool, getting out his breath spray and spaying into his mouth, before puckering his lips for Wii Fit...only for the fitness trainer to slap the Kremling silly. An A for effort, right?

"Go kiss that inflatable doll of Princess Peach you have hanging up in your room instead," Wii Fit would tell Rool, before walking away. Rool rubbed the spot where Wii Fit slapped him, as he entered the fitness center. Moments later, Wolf would leave the fitness center, as Link was about to enter therein...soon enough, both men were standing below the mistletoe, which they both noticed, and were left in a parlous situation.

"Well, uh...this is awkward," remarked Link, as he and Wolf looked at each other awkwardly. After several seconds of awkwardness, both Link and Wolf awkwardly hugged each other, putting their crowning moment of awkward to an end, as they awkwardly went their separate ways. Thankfully nobody was there to witness such awkwardness...

...unless you were Rouge, who was close by. The bat was snooping around the fitness center, looking around and analyzing her surroundings, as she stepped foot inside the fitness center. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her around...it was Shadow! A ticked Shadow, that was.

"Why hello there, lover boy," smirked Rouge, as Shadow remained steadfast with his angry look. "Look up...we're standing below the mistletoe! How about a kiss?" Shadow wasn't looking for a kiss - he was looking for some clarification.

"Come with me..." the hedgehog took Rouge's hand, and led away from the fitness center to a place where he and Rouge could speak private. He held Rouge against the wall, and had his hands on his shoulders, showing some lowkey signs of a typical abusive boyfriend. "Is it true, are you and Knuckles a couple? Are you truly in love with that echidna?"

"Shadow, have you forgotten about your date?" questioned Rouge, as she lifted Shadow's hands off her shoulders while smiling. "We're both aware of the location, the time, and everything else that had to be taken care of. Always trying to start things, I swear..."

"Just answer my question, dang it...are you and Knuckles a couple? Answer my question, and I'll let you go!"

"Okay, fine, I'll fess up...Knuckles and I are indeed a couple. Happy now?" Just what Shadow needed to hear, as he took his hands off of Rouge. So far, so good.

"How long were you and Knuckles together?" was Shadow's next question. What the hedgehog wished to know next was how long Knuckles and Rouge were together. Had to know every little detail.

"I don't know _exactly_ how long we've been together. We've had our ups and downs, our pros and cons...from the romantic rap song Knuckles dedicated to me, to that time he totaled my new motorcycle. There were some things we did together, like the time we paralyzed Robin for screwing around with Marth. And there were times we were at odds, but reconciled and reaffirmed our love. Our relationship, it can be rocky at times, but close-knit other times."

"Is everyone at the mansion fully aware of this relationship?" That was the third question Shadow had for Rouge, who nodded her head. "Grrr..." Maybe Shadow shouldn't have asked that, for it only made him even angrier than before.

 **Rouge: I told Knuckles what he needed to know, and I told Shadow what he needed to know. Hopefully those two can hug it out, and move on from this whole issue like responsible adults. *giggles to herself* Oh, who am I kidding?**

* * *

The decoration and whatnot in the lecture hall was done, as all the props and decor were in their proper place, and the inflatable snowman was back to proper inflation. Mario stood with Fox and Falco, as they analyzed the work done. Master Hand had left some time ago to pay Crazy Hand a visit, so Fox and Falco had to wait for the giant hand to return so they could ask for his approval of the stage design.

"Master Hand apparently wants the stage to stay as it is until the concert, so nobody is allowed in the lecture hall except for us and the idol singers," Fox explained to Mario, amazed by the work done by Roy and Ike. "Idol singers can only use the lecture hall for rehearsing, so if they do anything else, like playing cards or texting on their phone, then they're kicked out of the concert program."

"The play is still on the table; Master Hand is still doing casting as we speak," added Falco, in a wary tone. "He had penciled in Snake earlier to play as Ebeneezer Scrooge..." Doesn't sound like a bad choice - Snake's old-man look and craggy nature made him a perfect choice for Ebeneezer Scrooge. "...and just the other day, he cast Donkey Kong to play as Frosty the Snowman." By the sound of it, Master Hand's play was all over the place. First Rudolph, then Ebeneezer, and now Frosty! Who was next, the Grinch?! "Oh, and he asked Cilan to play as the Grinch. You know Cilan accepted that casting role in a heartbeat."

"Cilan does-a have a flair for the theatrics, so I could see-a him taking his Grinch-a role to a whole other level," remarked Mario, interested in seeing Cilan's acting debut, as well as the acting debuts of some others. Master Hand had extremely high hopes for his concert/play, as he does for most other events he has going on at the mansion.

Suddenly, Fox, Falco, and Mario heard someone talking on the phone, which was coming from backstage. This greatly concerned Fox and Falco - not only because the person talking on the phone could be an idol singer who only came to lecture hall just to call somebody, and that was against the rules - Master Hand's rules, that is.

Wanting to get down to the bottom of things, Mario and company headed backstage, and saw Captain Falcon, speaking on the phone with...any idea who it was? _Olivia._ This has been a common occurrence since Falcon and Olivia first met.

"Oh yeah, next week is gonna be THE BOMB!" exclaimed Captain Falcon, feeling more jovial than before, as Mario, Fox, and Falco watched conspicuously. "And I want you to be there! It's gonna be a great day, yes it will be!"

"Are you sure you're ready for it, Captain Falcon?" asked Olivia, as Mario inched closer to Captain Falcon; Fox and Falco had to hold the plumber back. "I can hear the excitement from the other end of the phone! You sure it's a big secret?"

"You're darn right it is, you can bet your Probopass it's gonna blow your socks off! I made sure my man Itsuki is gonna make it one of the best days of my life...and someone's else life as well! Can't tell you who it is - it would ruin the secret!"

"Okay, Falcon, whatever makes you happy - just don't pass out from over-excitement, mmkay?" The inclusion of Itsuki in whatever Captain Falcon had planned made things more intriguing...

 **Captain Falcon: Ugh, you people keep getting on my nerves! I am NOT in love with Olivia, okay?! You people are just like TMZ, asking me random questions that I don't care to answer, and trying to bring forth pain and suffering into my life and the lives of others! Only difference is that you aren't thirsty for juicy information, and you don't have to follow broads around to be relevant.**

As Captain Falcon kept talking on thep hone, Mario and company pulled away from backstage, having seen enough. Whatever Captain Falcon was planning, and the things he was talking about, it sounded like he had something big planned for Olivia...but what?

"I think Captain Falcon might be going for it, he's going to propose to Olivia," theorized Fox, with a finger placed underneath his chin. "Falcon and Olivia, they've been talking on the phone more and more now, and I think they might be growing on each other...to the point where Falcon might leave Nowi behind in the dust, forever. Falcon proposing to a woman after just talking with her on the phone is a very Falcon thing to do, what with how desperate Falcon has become upon being an ex-boyfriend. I suspect Itsuki might be organizing this marriage proposal."

"How about-a we bring Itsuki over here, and ask what's-a going on?" suggested Mario, who hated that he had to involve himself in yet another romantic subplot. At least this subplot was more moderate in nature. "Any idea where Itsuki might-a be?"

"He should be in the meeting room, doing casting and line rehearsal with some of the others," replied Falco. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind taking a little break..."

* * *

At the meeting room, Itsuki was in the meeting room, going over some of the lines for Master Hand's mix-match play with the residents participating (or being forced to participate) in the play. Everything was going smoothly, until Shadow barged inside the meeting room, on the hunt for someone.

"Where is Knuckles, tell me where he is NOW!" demanded the hedgehog, as everyone looked at him all puzzled. Itsuki just stared at Shadow with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Shadow this is the first time I've seen you this angry...must be a good thing," remarked Itsuki, ensuring that he was a safe distance away from Shadow. "You feeling okay, man?"

"No. Not at all, actually. But thanks for asking. Appreciate it, I really do. You know what? I'd also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for withholding important details from me, for making me look like an ignorant fool!"

"Well then consider yourself more than welcome," replied Snake, scratching his scraggly beard. Was growing thicker and grayer by the second; Snake should invest in some shaving cream. "That's your problem, buddy, not ours..."

Just then, someone entered the meeting room, unexpectedly bumping into Shadow. Unwritten Rule #35: NEVER bump into Shadow, and expect to get away with it. Shadow angrily turned around, and was suddenly greeted by the guy he was busy looking for.

"Knuckles..." seethed Shadow, allowing the indignation and fury inside of him to build up and boil over at any minute.

"Shadow..." seethed Knuckles, finally face-to-face with his nemesis for the first time today as he had his...erm, knuckles, ready to fight.

"It's over now Knuckles, your time is up..."

"Ah, so I take it you called off the date. Good choice."

"No, it's over between you two. You and Rouge."

"Nope, no way, ain't gonna happen. I'm not giving up."

"But you have to."

"No way Jose."

"She doesn't love you, don't you understand?! She loves me more!"

"Then you need to get your facts straight buster, because she certainly enjoys being with me more than she enjoys being with you!"

"Shadow and Rouge...that is what's meant to be, and you know it."

"Nope, Knuckles and Rouge all day. Better recognize!"

"Rouge will be mine, and you have no choice but to accept it!"

"Pfft, I ain't accepting nothing..."

"Hey you guys, can you calm down, just for a second?" Itsuki asked Knuckles and Shadow, but neither man would listen. It was getting personal now.

 **Itsuki: Master Hand left me in charge of casting and rehearsal while he paid Crazy Hand a visit. If he comes back and see that I had to cancel rehearsal early because of two blokes fighting over a girl...then he wouldn't be a very happy camper.**

"Knuckles the Echidna, I am telling you to back down, or else," ordered Shadow, not knowing that Knuckles wasn't the kind of guy to accept orders from anyone.

"And I am telling you that I will never back down, especially to the likes of you," Knuckles fired back, getting all up in Shadow's grill.

"In that case, I'll have to make you back down."

"Oh really? How are you gonna do that?"

"Through the use of force, that's how."

"What, you think you're some kind of Jedi or something? Nice try..."

"Since you're not afraid...I will fight you!"

"Okay then, fine with me! We'll have...a duel! Winner gets Rouge."

"Fine!"

"Fine!"

And with that, the verbal confrontation came to an end, as both Knuckles and Shadow shook hands. Itsuki, who was getting tired of the verbal spatting, fell to his knees, like he was out of breath.

"This constant fighting is getting out of hand..." remarked the Black Knight, getting up and leaving the meeting room. "I'll be in my room, sipping my tea..." What a somewhat fitting thing for the Black Knight to do.

"So Mister In Denial, are we gonna use weapons or not?" Knuckles asked Shadow, and that was when Itsuki rose up to his feet. Things were being turned up to eleven now.

"You know what, this is getting out of hand real quick," said the young man, confronting Knuckles and Shadow. "Either you two take this thing out of this room, before I have to..."

"This is none of your business, begone with you!" Shadow shouted at Itsuki, grabbing the young man and tossing him out of the meeting room, before returning his attention to Knuckles. "Go ahead and use whatever weapon you like...just know that we're doing our duel outside, and I'll be using...my hands!" Shadow held up his dukes, and Knuckles wasn't impressed.

"You think your dumb hands are gonna best me?" scoffed Knuckles, who was hoping Shadow was just joking around. But Shadow never joked around, if ever. "Fine then, I'll just steal Link's sword, and use it to cut off your hands! How about that?"

"If that's what you're going for, then I might have to find a weapon myself..." The stakes were set - Knuckles and Shadow were going to do battle outside the mansion, and whoever won gets rights to have Rouge as their girlfriend. Bayonetta, seated away from the duelists with a smile, found the situation very intriguing.

 **Bayonetta: I've had two men fight over me before. Usually it's over which one gets to hold the camcorder. Some teeth were lost here and there.**

* * *

Having raided a vending machine, Rouge was lying against a wall near the vending machine room, eating some snacks she collected. As Rouge was eating some potato chips, Zelda and Midna approached the bat.

"Hey Rouge - Midna and I just came from the meeting room," Zelda said to Rouge. Were Zelda and Midna being cast into Master Hand's play? Midna might be playing the Ghost of Christmas Past...or Present...or Future...or all three of 'em! "Shadow and Knuckles agreed to a duel outside, and they're fighting for your affection! You have to put an end to the duel before it happens.

"A duel for my affection, hmm?" smiled Rouge, thinking about the many possible results of the duel. "I shall respect the results of the duel." A very fitting answer from Rouge.

"Of course you will..." Zelda wasn't surprised by Rouge's answer in the slightest - some people just want to watch the world burn. Rouge was a true agent of chaos.

"I call loser!" announced Midna, who, like Rouge, also wanted to watch the world burn. Preferably in a more drastic way.

Away from Zelda, Midna, and Rouge, Itsuki was standing by himself, rubbing his forehead and his temple. He was recovering from the drama that ensued from Knuckles and Shadow, and was nervous of Master Hand putting him on blast for allowing Knuckles and Shadow to cut into rehearsal time. Might be in the doghouse.

"Itsuki, can you come-a with me to the lecture hall?" an Italian voice asked the young man; Itsuki looked down, and saw Mario. "Tsubasa is very upset..."

* * *

Recovering nicely from his extremely awkward moment with Wolf, Link was ready for some good old-fashioned sword training. Although the Hylian considered himself to be a great swordsman, he still felt like honing his sword skills even more, so he could be the best swordsman that ever lived. He wanted to bring honor and prestige to the Master Sword in every way possible.

When Link went to his room to retrieve his sword, he noticed that something was up...HIS SWORD WASN'T EVEN THERE! The Master Sword, which Link would leave on his dresser, would nowhere to be found. It couldn't have grown legs and ran away from Link - Hylia would never grant the blade such abilities.

"The heck is my blade?" wondered Link, as he searched around his room, looking in his closet and underneath his bed. As Cloud, already in the room playing with Cloud Jr, remained moderately chill.

* * *

Itsuki, along with Mario, Fox, and Falco, were in the lecture hall, near the backstage area. They were all eavesdropping on Captain Falcon, who was continuing his phone conversation with Olivia.

"You're sure that next week is going to be, and I quote, 'the bomb'," said Olivia, as Itsuki listened along. "Then I'll just have to show up at this concert that you've invited me to and see for myself! Not talking about the concert, are you?"

"Good heavens, no - what Itsuki and I have planned is way more special than some crappy holiday concert," assured Captain Falcon; Mario and company looked at Itsuki, making sure that the young man was still listening. "I can rest assure you that there won't be a single dry eye when I'm through!" Fox's bizarre marriage proposal theory sounded plausible all of a sudden.

After exchanging goodbyes with Olivia, Captain Falcon walked out of backstage, whistling a happy tune as he began to leave the lecture hall. Mario, Fox, Falco, and Itsuki hid themselves along the curtains so Falcon couldn't see them.

 **Captain Falcon: Again with this stupid question?! I. DON'T. LOVE. OLIVIA!...Oh, so you think that I'm in love with her, because I keep denying it! We'll I've denied Palutena's desserts on numerous occasions, does that mean I enjoy eating them?! No no no!...You didn't, see anything in the trash can in my room, did you?**

"Alright Itsuki, what's the big-a deal, what are you and-a Falcon planning?" Mario would ask the young man, when the coast was clear. Mario, Fox, and Falco were all looking at Itsuki intently, refusing to let him go unless he fessed up.

"Whatever we have planned, it has little to do with Olivia, if that's what you're thinking," assured Itsuki, but Mario and company didn't buy that. "Captain Falcon has a strong tendency to blow things out of proportion..."

"Captain Falcon sure sounded like he was enjoying talking to Olivia...is he in love with her?" asked Falco; if Itsuki was planning with Falcon, he could answer this question upright and give Mario and company some insight as to what was going on.

"He loves her...as a _friend_. But not as a girlfriend. Captain Falcon is not going to cross the line - not now, not ever. So you can just put your suspicions to bed..."

"Mario, Mario, it's terrible!" Toad suddenly ran inside the lecture hall, alarming Mario with his arms flailing about. "Knuckles and Shadow, they're about to have a duel in the front of the mansion!"

* * *

It was now time...time for Knuckles and Shadow to duel, and fight for Rouge's love and affection. Knuckles was out first, with Link's Master Sword. Shadow was nowhere to be found - maybe he punked out at the list minute. But Shadow was too focused and determined to ever punk out.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Knuckles shouted, as he patrolled the front yard. He was holding the Master Sword in a way that would make Link proud. "Where are you? Let's do this! Come on!"

* * *

Up in a room on the second floor of the mansion, several residents were looking through the windows to watch the duel from a safe distance. It had become a bit of a watch party, as Cilan brought some finger foods. Rouge was present in the room, shaking her head at Knuckles with a smirk.

"I can't believe it, they're actually going to fight over me," remarked the bat, in slight disbelief that the beef between Knuckles and Shadow had to go this far. "They're actually going to fight over me..."

"I guess people have fewer choices as they get older," remarked Samus, who was eating from the plate of finger foods. Only came just for the finger foods. "When Knuckles and Shadow become middle-aged men, they'll have all-out turf wars to determine who gets the last slice of pizza at a birthday party."

"Has anything happened yet?" asked Nana, as Knuckles continued to shout, questioning where Shadow was. Shadow might still be looking for his weapon of choice.

"Nothing yet - it's fifteen minutes till 7:00, that's when dinner begins," answered Popo, taking a glance at his watch. "I think Shadow will be a no-show." Quite uncharacteristic for Shadow to back down if that were true.

"Oh come on, man, believe in something!" said Wario, who only came just to see somebody get beat up to a pulp. "You just have to believe!"

 **Wario: Should have placed some bets on the duel...Shadow would win anyways, but if I somehow convinced everyone that Knuckles would come out victorious, I would be even richer! *laughs***

* * *

"Where are you, you edgy coward?" Knuckles continued to shout, still patrolling the front yard. He kept doing this until he saw a note posted on a tree. He went over to read said note. "What does this say...'Dear Knuckles...please be warned that you are dealing with an ultimate lifeform, and that anyone who dares to oppose me will end in death. This is a duel that you are not meant to win, and I won't bother wasting my ultimate power on the likes of you'..."

As Knuckles read the rest of the note, a certain pickup truck slowly neared Knuckles, creeping in slowly yet effectively. That truck was named Epona, and its owner, Link, wasn't behind the wheel...it was Shadow.

* * *

"I see Shadow, he's driving in Link's truck!" Layton informed the others, able to discern Shadow driving Epona through the window. "What is he doing?"

"Why isn't Knuckles turning around?" wondered Ganondorf, growing fearful of Knuckles' sudden lack of self-awareness, as Knuckles kept reading the note.

"The truck is silent if he keeps it under five miles per hour," Jacky explained to the others, furrowing his brow as he watched closely for whatever move Shadow would make. "Shadow totally deserves the win for that strategy alone."

"Knuckles came to the duel playing checkers, but Shadow is out here playing chess..." Ryu analyzed the duel, as Toad brought Mario to the room. Fox, Falco, and Itsuki also came along, just to see what was happening.

"Mama mia!" exclaimed Mario, when he saw Knuckles and Shadow outside, with Shadow preparing to ram Link's truck into Knuckles. Had it not been for him eavesdropping on Captain Falcon, the plumber could have taken measures to stop the duel.

"Bruh, the heck is going on outside?" Falco asked the others, wishing he had a closer view so he could record the duel and replay it for the memories.

"Shadow is trying to run over Knuckles with Link's truck, apparently," answered Coco, as Shadow was inching closer to Knuckles.

* * *

By the time Knuckles was finished reading the note, Shadow finally caught up to the echidna. The hedgehog would ram Epona into Knuckles, pushing him against the tree.

"Ow, hey, what the..." Knuckles flinched in pain as he was pinned against the tree, with nowhere to go, no room for escape. Shadow got him good, and the hedgehog was relishing in the moment.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS KNUCKLES, AND BAH HUMBUG!" grinned Shadow, showing off his malicious side. "Give up yet?"

"I'll never give up!" Knuckles, with the Master Hand, attacked the hood of Epona aggressively. "Get out of that truck and face me like the man you think you are!"

"I am a man - in fact, I'm the ultimate lifeform! I'm a bigger man than you'll ever be! I would never date a woman who is already in love with another man!"

"You're not a man! You don't know how to take care of her! Didn't give a crap about loving Rouge until today! You can't even protect her!"

"Protect her from what? The Deadly Six? Chaos? Robotniks? Dr. Eggman? When's the last time you even saw Dr. Eggman, you idiot?"

"Like a couple of weeks ago, idiot!" Knuckles struck Epona even harder with the Master Sword. Just then, Link ran outside the mansion, so he could have a word with the duelists...or one of the duelists, rather.

"KNUCKLES YOU BUM, STOP ATTACKING EPONA AND GIVE ME BACK MY SWORD!" Link shouted at the echidna, currently oblivious to Shadow riding the truck. Epona's safety always came first.

"Man shut up Link, your stupid truck is a dying heap of trash anyway." A now offended Link was inadvertently knocked to the ground by Sonic, who rushed in to check on Knuckles and Shadow.

"Knuckles, Shadow, are you two alright?" the blue blur asked the two duelists, wishing he had arrived earlier to stop Shadow from what he was doing.

"Get lost Sonic, I'm winning this!" Shadow barked at the hedgehog, as he continued to ram Epona into Knuckles. Nothing Knuckles did could stop Shadow.

"You heard the man, Sonic - take Link and get outta here," Knuckles said to his best friend, as Sonic did as he was told, albeit reluctantly. "This is our battle, not yours." As Sonic and Link returned to the mansion, Knuckles stabbed Epona with the Master Sword. "Oh, I wonder how much this costs! Have fun paying for the damages for Link's truck!"

 **Link: Epona, she'll be just fine...she has survived snowstorms, heavy rainfall, gusty wins, and even Wario's flatulence. Regardless of what Knuckles does to her (he'll pay eventually) Epona will be just fine.**

"What was that, Knuckles?" asked Shadow; Knuckles tried to open his mouth, only to be interrupted by Shadow honking Epona's horn. "Sorry, can't hear you, you stupid idiot! Stupid echidna! What's an echidna supposed to be anyway?"

"Echidnas are spiny anteaters, and they can lay eggs like platypuses!" Knuckles had to inform Shadow, slightly regretting mentioning the egg-laying part. "I, on the other hand, don't lay eggs - I can fly! Which makes me the greatest echidna to have ever lived!"

"I don't understand...how could Rouge possibly love you when she gave me THIS!" Shadow dug into his imaginary pocket, and held out an item - an item that made Knuckles cease the attacking. It was a gift, one strongly resembling the present Knuckles received at the beginning of the episode - same wrapping paper, same bow, same size, same everything. And Knuckles was dumbfounded.

"She gave you a gift too? That looks...an awful lot like the one she gave me..." Knuckles took out his gift, showing it to Shadow, leaving Shadow bewildered as to how strikingly similar the two gifts were. How could he and Knuckles have the same gifts?!

"Okay, this is..." Shadow was at a loss of words. "...alright, on a count of three, we open our gifts and see what's inside. Ready?" Knuckles nodded his head. "Okay...one...two...three."

At the same time, Knuckles and Shadow unwrapped their gifts and opened them, before taking out...a diamond. A very large diamond, at that.

"I don't believe it...we both received the same thing...from Rouge..." said Shadow, looking at the diamond all silly. Knuckles kinda did the same. "Only reason why I asked her out on a date was because of the gift she gave me...I thought she loved me...cared for me...and when I asked her out...she agreed to the date...oh man..."

Feeling like he just got played, Knuckles looked up, and saw Rouge peering through the window. The bat looked at the battlefield, dismayed...she dun goofed up now.

* * *

Around the time the Knuckles-Shadow beef came to an end, it was time for dinner. Dunban was supposed to be in charge of cooking dinner, but he was feeling lazy today, so he went ahead and ordered pizza. Ordering pizza - the number one go-to move when you didn't feel like cooking. As everyone was in the dining room eating their pizza, Knuckles trudged into the room, looking down at the floor with his diamond in his hands.

"Yo Knuckles, who won, you or Shadow?" Sonic asked his best friend, who ignored the blue blur as he walked towards Shulk, placing his diamond near the Homs.

"Take my diamond Shulk, I don't care..." said Knuckles, as he walked away somberly. That was one unwanted gift for Shulk. Seconds later, Shadow entered the dining room, also giving away his diamond to Shulk.

"Here, you can take my diamond too..." the hedgehog said to Shulk after giving away his diamond, before finding a seat. Now that was _two_ unwanted gifts for Shulk. Once he sound a seat and sat down, Shadow took out his phone, and dialed a number. "Hello, Olive Garden? It's me, Shadow the Hedgehog. I believed I had a reservation for two, on December 17th? I'd like to cancel that please. Yes, as soon as possible. Thank you. Goodbye."

After cancelling his date, Shadow put his cellphone away, as he buried his face in his arms on the table. Rouge looked on through the dining room entrance, fearing that she might have lost Knuckles forever...

* * *

 **Master Hand: Just returned from my special visit with Crazy Hand, and we had a lot to talk about! Did you know that he has a crush on Lady Palutena? That's something you don't hear everyday! Crazy Hand, he's one who would look past your flaws, so he won't mind that Palutena is a horrible cook. I also learned from Crazy Hand that he enjoys wearing briefs over boxers! I have no idea how it's possible; I think he puts his index and middle finger through the briefs, and use his two fingers to walk like how a person would. I've tried it out before, didn't feel right...**

Master Hand returned to the mansion, expecting people to fall down to their knees and kiss up to him. So when the giant hand saw that nobody was in the foyer, the disappointment inside of him was at an all-time high.

However, he did see Isabelle, so that was nice...Master Hand supposed.

"Welcome back, Master Hand!" Isabelle greeted the giant hand, as Master Hand approached her. "How was your visit with Crazy Hand, everything went well? Marth gave me a joyride around Seattle in your Lamborghini today, and he said that it was an order sent down from you...but I know you wouldn't stoop that low to do nice things for me!"

"Yeah, I think that man Marth might be on something," replied Master Hand, who had given Isabelle her first breakfast in bed this past Sunday (thanks in part to Mario capturing Isabelle's body in the previous episode). Isabelle kept asking Master Hand why she received such treatment, and Master Hand, believing that the shih tzu was being forgetful, decided to play with her mind. "So, did anything exciting happen while I was away? Ness and Lucas had a home run derby for the ages in the backyard? Someone walked out on _Microwave Idol Mamorin_? Did Ike finally kiss a girl?!"

Isabelle bit her lip with her lone tooth, as she looked towards her right and saw Knuckles, sitting in a chair. The echidna was down in the dumps, looking down at the floor with hands clasped together, and Sonic and Tails were there to comfort him. Poor Knuckles was possibly contemplating his romantic life after today's events.

"Well, let's just say that _a lot_ went down, when Rouge and Shadow were here..." replied the shih tzu, nervously scratching her head.


	105. Episode 105: Redemption

_Author's Note:_

 _I'M BACK, BACK IN THE NEW YORK GROOVE!_

 _...don't know why, but I felt like saying that. Or singing that. Don't judge me. Dumb song's been stuck in my head, for whatever reason._

 _So as you may know, or as you may NOT know...this coming Sunday, on Christmas Eve, marks the two-year anniversary of this story, Smash Life. To be honest, I never would imagine in a million years I would be writing up to this point, but here we are now..._

 _Although I forgot to mention it in the previous chapter, I will be writing yet another excruciatingly long author's note for this chapter. Therefore, any reviews for chapter 104 will be answered in the author's note for chapter 106. Not that it would be a big deal, considering I haven't received that many guest reviews as I did in the past. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing...but as long as people are still reading the story, then I can't complain. Otherwise, I would be petty!_

 _I can only assume that most of you will gloss over this author's note, just to get to the story. Sometimes, I wonder if you even read the author's notes at all. But that won't stop me at all from writing this, so if you wanna skip over this entire note, then go ahead and be my guest, nobody's stopping you..._

 _This time around, I don't really have a story to tell you. Last time, I told you guys about the inspiration I had for writing this story - about how I discovered perhaps the greatest sitcom after Seinfeld, "The Office" - two years after the series finale - just from looking up John Krasanki after watching his performance on "Lip Sync Battle", and how I wanted to make a "mockumentary" fanfic series using Super Smash Bros. I know you don't want me to tell that story again._

 _And I would tell you guys the story of how I first discovered Super Smash Bros, but I bet none of you would care to read about that. Let's just say that I first played Super Smash Bros at my cousin's house, and leave it at that._

 _So at this point, you're probably thinking, "What is CrashGuy01 even going to write in this author's note anyways?" Or maybe you're thinking about the presents under the Christmas tree, and you're just dying to open them on Christmas Day because you're so much into the holiday spirit just like I am. One time, on Christmas Day, five years ago, I woke up around 6:30 in the morning - earlier than everyone else - and hopped out of the bed, ready to open some gifts...before being told to head back to bed. Yeah, I'm that kind of guy sometimes._

 _But enough needless blabbering. I bet you're beyond bored at this point, and I can't say I blame you. So allow me to use this author's note as a means to reflect upon the year 2017..._

 _What has happened during the year of 2017? Let's see...Donald Trump was sworn into office, Tom Brady won yet another Super Bowl (bleh...), Kendrick Lamar pretty much cemented himself as the best rapper in the rap game right now, I got accepted into the University of South Carolina - whose basketball teams made spectacular runs in the March Madness basketball tournaments, with the women's team winning the championship - and my boys, the Hardy Boyz, returned to WWE at Wrestlemania. Perhaps the greatest moment for me as a wrestling fan...I still remember shrieking like a little girl when Jeff Hardy appeared on stage. Frankly I didn't recognize the Hardyz theme song before the Hardyz appeared, but oh well._

 _And what has happened during the year of 2017 in Smash Life? Hmm...Luigi and Daisy become parents, Organization XIII did their invasion thingy, Mario and Peach had their disastrous wedding day, Jakob was being a total jerk to everyone, Dr. Eggman wanted to seek revenge, and then there was the 100th episode. Which I thought I did an underwhelming job in. But that's just me, some of you might think otherwise._

 _I will admit, there were times when I thought I totally phoned it in when writing this story. Thought I phoned it in while writing the 77th and 78th chapters, when the Heartless invasion was taking place. Thought I phone it in while writing chapter 86. Thought I mailed it in while writing the aforementioned 100th chapter, trying to make it some kind of special attraction. Thought I mailed it in while writing a few other chapters._

 _Admittedly, there were times when I felt overly self-conscious about my own work. I wouldn't tell you all this if I was lying. I'm pretty sure most other fanfic writers out there feel self-conscious from time to time. Sometimes you have to feel self-conscious, in order to fully understand the true value and worth of your own abilities._

 _But overall, I think that I had perhaps the best chapters of Smash Life this year, particularly from chapters 55 to at least 73 or 74. (I probably wouldn't include chapter 72 though, I didn't like that chapter. Sucked compared to the others.) That was a time - from the start of January, all the way to around the middle of May - that I truly enjoyed writing Smash Life, felt like I was writing something truly special. I'd like to consider that 18-19 chapter stretch to be the prime of Smash Life, unless someone can convince me otherwise._

 _I believe that this story's best and funniest moments happened during those chapters, and I in fact deem chapter 69 to be perhaps the best chapter I've ever wrote for this story, even though Derick Lindsey said that chapter 67 was the best one to date. He has a good point - I mean, Yoshi using a magical book to make his twisted pairings come to life? Why didn't I think of that myself?!_

 _And the reviews...well, what can I say? 782 reviews, that's a pretty big number. That's like, seven and a half reviews per chapter! (And yes, I use a calculator to determine how many reviews I get per chapter; again, don't judge me.) Last year, I was geeking out over the idea of closing in on 300 reviews...and now I'm on my way to 800! Got some awesome fans out there, man. I remember one night, I was looking at the number of reviews, 487..._

 _...and when I log into my account the very next day, after a very long day, I see that number rise to 497! That really caught me by surprise. Those days, I was getting lots of reviews...and I felt kinda spoiled. Didn't think I deserved that many. But like I said, I got some awesome fans...the reviews may not be coming in as much nowadays, but as stated earlier, as long as people are still invested in the story, then I won't gripe at all._

 _And now, without sounding like an egregious kiss-up, there are some people I feel like thanking..._

 _-BlackLouie, an awesome dude I met while writing a story over on the Crash Bandicoot archive. He was probably two of my most faithful readers, reviewed almost every chapter. BlackLouie, if you're reading this, I'm hoping to publish the sequel to the Crash story before the end of the week, so keep your eyes peeled buddy!_

 _-SammerKingdom, for giving me the suggestion of having Toon Link and Young Link as buddy cops. Your suggestion might've saved the two Links, since I literally would have nothing planned for them to do._

 _-Smasherfan88, for giving me suggestions week after week after week. Happy to see you've gotten yourself a Fanfiction account and writing Smash stories._

 _-The anonymous guest reviewer who supplies with me loads of suggestions on a weekly basis. Wish I could know your name, but if you don't want to reveal it, then it's fine with me._

 _-Darth Sigma 86, for recommending that I add the guys and gals from Tokyo Mirage Sessions to the story. If not for your suggestion, I would be struggling in regards to writing about Fox and Falco._

 _-YoKaiShoubiao, for creating a TV Tropes page for this story...a page in need for some wiki love. Screw my laziness..._

 _-Roydigs22, for your very...Lucario-centric requests. I still remember you getting on me for having Lucario and Gardevoir an item, despite being in different egg groups. Pokemon breeding is the one thing about Pokemon I don't quite understand, so it's safe to say that I ain't no Professor Elm..._

 _-And another thank you to everyone who favorited/followed this story this year - super legenda, Strange Toast, Frozenprince45, Fictionman101, Megaheracross2.1, Lolster239, ShockNinja227, Ally Nicole Rose, ronald103, williambash, and many, many others. Another thank you to those who have been here from the very beginning, and along the way._

 _This chapter will be another year-end chapter, containing characters and moments that helped shape this story in 2017. Not everyone or everything will be included - had to make some omissions, so I could finish the chapter on time. I always try to finish before or around midnight nowadays, so that I could have the rest of Friday to myself...on most Fridays, I wind up regretting finishing chapters earlier than I should. Writing keeps me from being bored. This chapter is, not including this author's note, close to 20,000 words - the most I've written in one chapter for any story I've ever done. So hopefully, I have my work cut out for me. And on a related note, I'm pooped. But as the old saying goes, hard work pays off!_

 _And now that I've reached the end of this author's note - I bet you're rejoicing right now - I must close things out, by wishing everyone a safe and blessed Merry Christmas. Would wish everyone a Happy New Year, but I'll be back next week after Christmas, so what's the point..._

 _...but that's all from me. Enjoy the chapter, everyone!_

* * *

 **Episode 105: Redemption**

Tonight was finally the night - the night in which Master Hand's holiday concert spectacular was going to begin. Master Hand had hyped up his glorious concert ever since he announced it - went about telling people in Seattle, hijacked billboards to promote the concert, and even hijacked the Seattle radio stations as well. Disc jockeys a many were all lining up to sue Master Hand for hijacking their programs.

The concert, which also included Master Hand's proposed play, had performers from Star Records - Tsubasa, Eleonora, Kiria, Mamori, Yashiro, Little Mac, and Knuckles - with DJ Octavio as the DJ. Those participating in the Christmas play included the Duck Hunt Dog as Rudolph, Snake as Ebeneezer Scrooge, Robin as Jack Frost, Donkey Kong as Frosty the Snowman, and Cilan as the Grinch.

What was the plot exactly? Nobody knew - quite frankly, no one didn't even want to know what the plot was! The random blend of characters was concerning enough to quell the excitement, if there was even any.

As preparations for the concert were still being made, one of the performers, Knuckles, was feeling down in the dumps. The echidna unfortunately broke up with Rouge after the events of the previous episode, upon learning that his woman happened to be in love with Shadow. The gift the edgy hedgehog received from Rouge seemed to have confirmed it. Knuckles couldn't stand to be in a relationship with a woman who couldn't be faithful to him, and decided to move on from Rouge, although moving on was hard for him to do.

 **Knuckles: Today marks the one-week anniversary of my breakup with Rouge. We had to leave on mutual terms, and I think Rouge was more crestfallen about the breakup than I was. But, the woman has to learn her lesson, and I have to learn what it's like to be single again...perhaps Captain Falcon can give me some advice. Provided he doesn't encourage me to start a business to cope with my feelings, and end up behind bars afterwards.**

"Ah, what could have been, what could have been..." Yoshi sighed, as he hung up the last of his drawings on his wall in his room. These drawings were depictions of the oddball pairings he formed in episode 67 - Link and Samus, Aerith and Ike, Shadow and Dixie Kong, Mr. Game and Watch and Malva, etc. Said pairings came to existence because of the book Yoshi wrote in, provided by Organization XIII. Knuckles entered the room, and saw what Yoshi was up to.

"I thought you were done with your stupid pairings, why did you have to draw pictures of them?" questioned Knuckles; everyday the echidna wondered how he ended up having Yoshi as a roommate. "Stop dwelling in the past!"

"Like you're the one too talk - every time I see you in this room, you're always moping about breaking up with Rouge! So who are you two talk about?"

"Whoever said I was moping about Rouge, I'm just...trying to cope with being single, that's all. Rouge is in the past, and now I gotta keep my mind and focus on the future...if I can even do that, that is. Life being single is hard!"

"You're making it seem like being single is one of the worst burdens a person can bear! I have been single all my life, but do you ever see me complaining? Nope, I don't think so! And don't even bring up Birdo, that freak doesn't deserve to be my..."

"You called, sweetie?" a voice called out, as Yoshi nervously turned his head towards the bedroom door. It was Birdo, Yoshi's girlfriend that Yoshi does not consider to be his girlfriend. "Found you right where I want you - now come to my loving arms, lover boy!"

"SAVE ME!" screamed Yoshi as he opened the bedroom window and hopped out, with Birdo also escaping through the window and chasing her man. With the annoying roommate in Yoshi gone, likely to be held up by Birdo for the rest of the day, Knuckles hopped on his bed, letting out a sigh.

The echidna, lying back first on his comfy bed, would look up at the ceiling, and reflect for a good while. He had to be at Master Hand's holiday concert, and Master Hand was depending on Knuckles to absolutely deliver in that Rudolph rap song. But Knuckles wasn't in the right mind frame for rapping, and felt like skipping the concert entirely. Master Hand wouldn't be happy about that, not at all.

"Anyone in-a here?" an Italian voice inquired, as Mario stepped inside the room. He saw Knuckles lying on his bed, and knew that the echidna was thinking to himself. "You should know-a better than to leave your bed-a room door open - you won't believe the many times-a Peach saw my...extremities, after I take a shower."

"Oh hey Mario, nice of you to join me," said Knuckles, briefly looking up at the plumber. Mario's company - or any company, for that matter - was always more welcome than Yoshi's. "I've been thinking about boycott the concert tonight, don't think I can do it...don't have the right mindset, if you know what I mean."

"Sorry about you and-a Rouge breaking up. I deserve-a some of the blame for having Shadow tell-a everyone about his date, and not telling him-a the truth earlier. Should have nipped the whole-a thing in the bud..."

"Nah, Mario, you don't have to apologize, the writing was on the wall already. The fact that Rouge would even agree to a date with Shadow of all people was telling. Had I found out about Rouge's untrustworthy nature before, I would be feeling even more devastated...then again, I should always expect 'untrustworthy' from Rouge anyways."

"NO IT CAN'T BE, THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" a loud voice boomed throughout the mansion, shaking the foundation. It was enough to make Knuckles fall out of his bed. "WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE TODAY?!"

"That must have certainly come from Master Hand - only he can have his voice boom throughout the mansion like that," remarked Cappy, just as startled as Mario and Knuckles were. "Wonder if he's freaking out over anything concerning the concert...better not be anything petty!"

* * *

 **Bowser: As per tradition, I'm bringing back my list - the List of Bowser 2.0 - to scribble down the names of more stupid idiots to my list during the holiday season! I already wrote Rouge's name down, just for playing Knuckles AND Shadow like fiddles. Playing Knuckles is one thing, but playing Shadow? You're just asking for a Chaos Control to come his way. I'm surprised Shadow was willing to spare Rouge...unless that Shadow was an IMPOSTER!**

Just like the _Sweeney Todd_ play, you had to pay to get inside the lecture hall to see the concert, unless you were a resident of the mansion. Manning the ticket stand was Zelda and Fiora, wearing adorable Santa hats. The concert was two hours away from the start time, and the two ladies were bored. A short man with a large afro, funky-looking glasses, and some '70s style clothing approached the stand, strutting his stuff.

"Is it too early to enter this prestigious hall?" asked the short man, as Zelda and Fiora peered over to see the man. "Well like they always say, the early bird gets the worm! One ticket for the Christmas concert, please!" Zelda and Fiora were able to see through the short man's disguise...

"Cortex we both know it's you, so drop the act," Zelda said to the mad scientist, who sheepishly took off his glasses. "Just so you're aware, those living in the mansion are allowed inside for free, while everyone else has to pay for a ticket. The perks of being a resident sometimes..."

"Why that sounds lovely! Usually vendors at carnivals refuse to let me on free rides, which is what leads me to destroy and take over their amusement park with an iron fist! Thank you for being good Samaritans, Zelda and...lovely blonde girl I see around the mansion every Friday or so." Cortex still didn't know who Fiora was, much to Fiora's chagrin. "I'm sure this concert will be a blast..."

Before Cortex could enter the lecture hall, he was tackled to the floor by the buddy cops, Toon Link and Young Link. Toon Link would hold Cortex down, as his partner Young Link cuffed up the evil genius.

"You are under arrest, for practicing jaywalking indoors!" Young Link informed Cortex - what kind of criminal offense was that?! The Hylian brought Cortex up to his feet, as he ripped off his afro. "Don't think that committing such a heinous crime in your throwback attire will negate your deviance!"

"This is a conspiracy, how is practicing jaywalking indoors a crime? How do you even practice jaywalking to begin with?! I demand an explanation!" Cortex wouldn't get one, as Toon Link and Young Link walked the mad scientist away. All while Uka watched from afar, with Berkut standing by.

"You see that Berkut, you see what I have to put up with all these years?" Uka asked the paladin, who understood Uka's pain. "I wish to leave Cortex and leave him in the dust, but at the same time, he would be hopeless without me...he would have been dead had I not joined him."

"Cortex might be bad to deal with, but he can't be any worse than Alm...I would honestly _kill_ to see that bloke on his dying breath," said Berkut; it seemed like he and Uka were slowly starting to get along with one another. Slowly, but surely.

* * *

Inside the lecture hall, Bowser was writing down the names of spectators on his list. What did the spectators do to deserve their names on the list, you might ask? Being the first to show up at a concert that was set to begin two hours from now, of course!

"What is WRONG with you people, why show up so early for?!" Bowser angrily asked the spectators, most of whom were too busy noodling on their phones. "You're just like those perfect freaks from public, always showing up to class on time and answer questions in class...you're too dedication, and over-dedication will be the ultimate downfall of mankind. Just you wait and see!"

 **Man: I had my name added to "the List of Bowser" just for sitting in the back of the lecture hall. Bowser told me that I would be too far away from the action. What about you?  
** **Woman: I got added to the list for sitting in the front row! Was accused of being "too perfect". Seems like Bowser would add you to the list just for sneezing.**

Bowser was craving, he was craving for more names to add to his list. He had already added the spectator's names, and now, the Koopa King was searching for more. He was wishing for someone to enter the lecture hall, and soon his wish would come true, when a Mexican dude with blonde hair entered the lecture hall, delighted to see Bowser.

"Bowser, nice seeing you again!" the Mexican greeted the Koopa King, holding out his hand; Bowser would reluctantly shake it. The Mexican dude was Favela, the famous dog whisperer who guided Bowser in "conditioning" his "dog" Sonic in episode 64, when Bowser and Sonic stayed at the mansion while everyone else was on vacation. "How have you been? Is everything going well with you? Hope you've been having a blessed holiday so far."

"Uh, same to you, man," Bowser said after he was done shaking Favela's hand. What business did the Mexican dog whisperer Favela have at the mansion? Was he here for the concert? If so, then how did he know about it?

"I see that you're wondering why I'm back again - you see, the owner of the mansion, Master Hand, extended an invitation to me asking to come to his concert. He was very demanding, and so I decided to come here and see the concert for myself. Now I must ask you...how are things coming along with you and Jose?"

"How did Master Hand even know about you...oh yeah, my pet dog, Jose! The two of us have been getting along a lot better ever since you gave me your guidance." Bowser saw Sonic walk by, and snatched him and brought him close to him. "Isn't that right, good pet dog of mine?"

"Bowser what are you doing, I'm not your pet dog..." said Sonic, trying to escape from Bowser's grip, but to no avail.

"Shut up and play along..." Bowser whispered to Sonic, before redirecting his attention to Favela, sporting a grin. "But yeah, we never would have bonded well if it weren't for you. I have been making Jose submit to my dominance, just like you taught me!"

"Very good, very good!" Favela nodded his head, glad that Bowser was improving his relationship with "Jose". The Koopa King was certainly moving along in the right direction. "Obviously I came to the lecture hall, so I'll just look around and see what this mansion has to offer. Have a great rest of your day, Bowser!"

"You too man!" Bowser called out to Favela, who exited the lecture hall. Once the dog whisperer was gone, Bowser released his hold on Sonic, letting the hedgehog go. "Thank you for playing along Sonic, you're a real lifesaver!"

"Wish I could say the same about you...too bad that's not even possible," remarked Sonic, dusting his shoulders off, as he went on his way. As Bowser added the names of Favela and Sonic to his list, another person would enter the lecture hall, and greet the Koopa King.

"What's up Bowser, how you been?" greeted this person, alarming the Koopa King and catching him by surprise. This person was Tobias, who along with his classmates was given free tuition by Bowser. Albeit inadvertently. "Doing good?"

"Doing just fine, can't complain!" replied Bowser, who noticed that Tobias was wearing a University of Washington hoodie. Go Huskies! "Got accepted into the University of Washington, eh?"

"That's right, and I'm majoring in political science, just like former president Barack Obama did. Told you I'm gonna be U.S. President one day! I would never chase my dreams if it weren't for you!" Of all the nice things Bowser seldom did, helping a bunch of students get to college might be the koopa's proudest achievement.

 **Tobias: Heard about the holiday concert on the radio; that concert was overhyped on every radio station in town, and maybe even throughout King County! Since I figured Bowser would be at the mansion where the concert was held, I thought...why not pay my guardian angel a quick visit?**

Mario and Knuckles entered the lecture hall, looking for Master Hand, but the giant hand was nowhere to be found. Ayaha would walk by, glancing at her clipboard.

"Ayaha have you seen-a Master Hand anywhere around here?" Mario would ask the Star Records secretary, hoping she would have the answer. "I heard-a his booming voice all the way-a from Knuckles' room."

"Yeah, I think just about everyone in the mansion heard Master Hand," replied Ayaha, who felt her ears still ringing. Better bring some ear plugs, just to be safe. "Apparently he's crying over some 'guest performer', who he claimed was kidnapped. He's backstage if you wanna speak with him."

So Mario and Knuckles headed backstage, and saw Master Hand crying, or at least making crying sounds. Itsuki was there to comfort the giant hand, patting him gently.

"It's okay, Master Hand, I'm positive she'll show up later," Itsuki soothed the giant hand; his face seemed to suggest that the young man was forced to be with Master Hand and console him during his time of despair. That, or Ayaha put him up to it.

"But what if she doesn't show up in time, what if she's gone forever?" fretted Master Hand, as Mario and Knuckles neared towards him. "Then my holiday concert, or musical, or whatever you want to call it, will be ruined forever!"

"What appears to be-a the problem, Mr. Aoi?" Mario would ask the young man, as Master Hand continued making his strange crying sounds. Sounded like the giant hand was crying for the first time; Master Hand thought too highly of himself to ever cry.

"Master Hand had Aerith use the teleportation device, and teleport some singer to the mansion for the concert," explained Itsuki. "The singer, Master Hand said, was supposed to be a guest performer - saved for the concert's final act. An attraction that would give people their money's worth. While everyone was rehearsing and whatnot...the singer just vanished! Master Hand assumed she was kidnapped."

"Mind telling us who this singer was?" asked Knuckles. No point in looking for the singer if Itsuki didn't provide a name.

"I think her name was Joanne, though I've been told by Fox and Falco that's not her real name, it's more of an alias." The name Joanne certainly struck intrigue in fear in Knuckles. "She was in the recording studio, rehearsing with the idol singers, and then just like that...boom! Gone in an instant. DJ Octavio's not here, so he's no suspect."

"Sorry if I ask, but who is this Joanne chick, and why is she so important?" asked Cappy, not that all familiarized with the singer.

"Joanne is just some incognito pop singer who was brought to the mansion in the week leading up to the Super Bowl," explained Knuckles, fondly remembering Joanne singing in the gaming room. "Just so she could make Viridi happy. Though it's hard to make that girl happy...and I should know from experience!"

"If you want, Master Hand, we can work-a with Layton and Luke, and find-a out where Joanne could be," Mario said to Master Hand, giving him a shred of confidence that Joanne will be found. A very small shred of confidence, but any confidence was better than nothing. "I know you care a great-a deal about your concert, and we wouldn't want you to make-a last minute changes!"

"Greatly appreciate it, Mario...I'm counting on you and Knuckles to find Joanne before the concert starts," Master Hand said, as Mario responded with a nod. "Granted she'll be saved for last, but I want her to be as ready as she can be once the concert begins!"

 **Master Hand: Don't get me wrong, the idol singers are all great in their own respective ways, but they aren't "all that" - not like their singing voices will instantly blow you away, like Alicia Keys or that guy who sings "Take on Me" by A-ha. Which is why I recruited Joanne, to show those singers how it's really done. I've designated her to be the main attraction of the concert, and without her, my concert would be an instant failure!**

* * *

Mario and Knuckles would meet up with the two British detectives, Layton and Luke, in their room. They discussed the matter regarding Joanne's supposed kidnapping, and began hypothesizing as to why the singer was kidnapped, and what purpose her kidnapping would serve.

"Let's go over a list of who Joanne's supposed kidnappers could be," said Layton, holding up a list of suspects. "Bowser? Can't be him, he's more obsessed with winning over Lara than anything. King Dedede? Not like he would want a singer singing to him anyways. Dr. Cortex? He has been complaining about undergoing 'villain decay', but I don't think kidnapping Joanne would restore his faith in being a villain. Has Joanne ever been kidnapped before?"

"She was once kidnapped before...by mistake," answered Knuckles, as he cracked his knuckles. Heh heh... "When Organization XIII was meddling around trying to snatch Aerith, they infiltrated the gaming room without warning and kidnapped Joanne instead of Aerith, because they were in the dark. Can't remember who rescued Joanne, but apparently I've heard that Corrin had something to do with it."

"What about Cackletta, Fawful's old master?" theorized Luke; Cackletta once tried to steal Peach's voice, just so she could awaken the Beanstar - the protector of the Beanbean Kingdom - and grant her evil wish. Thankfully Mario and Luigi ruined her plans. "Kamek did bring Fawful back from the dead, so what if he did the same for Cackletta?"

"I doubt that would be the case-a if that were true," replied Mario, familiar with Fawful's undying loyalty to Cackletta. He would ask a Beanish girl out on a date if the evil witch ordered him to. "Fawful is known-a for being extremely loyal to Cackletta, and if Cackletta were alive, Fawful would have no business working with-a Dr. Eggman."

Suddenly a knock was at the front door. Layton went to the door and opened it, greeted by three familiar faces - a large green crocodile, a purple chameleon, and a bee flying in the air.

"Ah, Team Chaotix, welcome!" Layton would say to Vector, Espio, and Charmy with a smile. "Come on inside, we have enough room for you!" Team Chaotix would enter the room, acknowledging Mario, Knuckles, and Luke. "So what brings you back to the mansion?"

"Master Hand informed us about his concert, and asked if we wanted to come," explained Vector, taking a seat on Layton's bed. "And when I say Master Hand asked, I mean that he straight up implored us to come to the concert, in a very demanding way."

"Many others are expected to come too," added Espio, also seated on Layton's bed, with his arms folded. Charmy was too excited to even take a seat. "Heihachi's grandson and his supposed girlfriend, Lightning Farron and her crew, the kahunas and trial captains from Alola, Caeda and her lady friends, and some others I'm forgetting. Master Hand sent us a full list of people he invited."

 **Vector: My memories of Christmas aren't so fond...there was this one time when my boys and I went on a undercover mission at some mall, and I had to dress up as Santa Claus. Charmy and Espio, they had to be my elves. Anyways, I was in the mall, greeting kids and letting them sit on my lap and have them tell me what they wanted for Christmas...and this ONE KID had the gall to ask me about my teeth. Who does that kid think I am, that wolf from _Little Red Riding Hood_? All caught up in the moment, I immediately went off on the poor guy, and his mom saw me tearing his son up and whacked me with a purse, repeatedly...No, Espio and Charmy didn't see, thankfully - when they asked about the bruises on my body, I just told them that some parent tried to give me a wolverine as a pet. Charmy instantly bought the excuse, but Espio, not so much...**

"So fellas, what are you investigating today?" Vector asked, slightly craving the idea of cracking a holiday-related case. "Did someone steal gifts from underneath the Christmas tree? We have done stuff like that before, and trust me, it ain't easy!"

"Actually, we're dealing with some-a thing more serious," answered Mario, making Vector's eyes grow wide. How could anything be more serious than stolen gifts? "Master Hand had brought this-a singer named Joanne to the mansion, to sing at his-a concert, and Joanne has mysteriously gone-a missing...Master Hand assumed that she was-a kidnapped."

"Did you say 'kidnapped'?" asked Charmy, as the bee took out some photos. Might be just what Mario and company needed. "While Vector and Espio spoke with Luigi, I found this guy snooping around the mansion...took some pictures of him on my camera." So Charmy would reveal his pictures to the others, greatly alarming everyone by who this mystery person was...

...it was some guy dressed in a black cloak - a cloak that, by appearance, belonged to Organization XIII. This mysterious fellow was seen carrying a sack in all of the pictures, looking around to see if anyone was looking. Interestingly enough, Joanne was carried around in a sack when she was kidnapped.

"Organization XIII is back at it again, huh?" said Espio, stroking his chin. Organization XIII already caused trouble once before, and now it seemed like they were back to their old, usual ways. "Either they left behind an extra cloak at the mansion by accident and someone just decided to wear it, or they found another way into our universe."

"Let's hope it's not the latter - I'd hate to fight legions of Heartless again!" said Knuckles; the echidna loved to kick some butt, but Heartless were the only exception. "Do have to admit, fighting them was a good workout..."

"Sir Mario?" Isabelle's voice was heard from behind the bedroom door. The door opened, as Isabelle poked her head inside the room. "There you are Mario, I've been told that you would be here! Not sure if you knew this already, but I'll just tell you anyways...Master Hand invited a lot of people to the mansion, and many of them are coming right now."

"Yes, Espio has informed-a me already," said Mario, making Isabelle's job easier for her. Regardless, Espio beat Isabelle to the punch. Therefore he should replace Isabelle as Master Hand's assistant. "Anything else I need-a to know?"

"This is, but I'm not sure how you will react to it...our former resident forensics expert, Ema Skye, just arrived and wishes to speak with you when you're available."

The name "Ema Skye" nearly caught Mario off by surprise. The plumber remembered back in episode 77, when Ema betrayed Mario and company, and sold out to Organization XIII as a means to advance their Heartless invasion. All because she was guaranteed that Mia Fey, a late friend of Phoenix Wright, would be brought back to life. Alas, it was all done for naught, as the Organization played with Ema for their own interests.

Ema might be wanting to give Mario a heartfelt apology, and ask for forgiveness. Should Mario accept the apology or not?

* * *

Isabelle would take Mario to Master Hand's room, where the plumber would find Ema Skye, standing by herself. The forensics expert was looking remorseful, like she considered herself unworthy to be standing in the presence of Mario after the act she had done almost thirty episodes ago. No point of backing down - she came to the mansion for a reason.

 **Ema: Admittedly, I was nervous about returning to the mansion...was afraid I might get put on blast instantly when someone answered the front door. But instead of someone like Mario or Fox or anyone else opening the front door...I was suddenly greeted by an orange marsupial wearing jean shorts and sneakers. Was told by Isabelle that his name was Crash Bandicoot. Speaking of Isabelle, she was the second person I saw upon my return, and I told her that I wished to make amends with Mario and Master Hand, and pretty much everyone else. I was told that Mario was the only one available...so I'll just speak with him.**

"Hello, Mr. Mario, haven't seen you in a long while..." Ema started things off, as Isabelle closed the door. Locked it just for good measure. "How have you been the last time I saw you?"

"Aside from-a Dr. Eggman sabotaging my wedding and me moving out with-a Peach...everything has been-a swell," replied Mario, daring not to tell Ema about Jakob causing ruckus. It would probably take him forever. "How are things coming along-a with you?"

"Oh, you know, still doing that forensics stuff...granted my reputation has taken a hit ever since everyone found out about my involvement with Organization XIII, but I'm still on the job, so that's good."

"Good to hear, good to hear...I've heard from-a Isabelle that you wish-a to speak with me, is that-a correct? Say it now, or forever hold-a your piece..."

"Yes, I do have something I wish to get off my chest...I know I've apologized to everyone before after the whole Heartless conundrum was finished, but I just want to apologize again, for selling out to the Organization like I did. Thought my initial apology wasn't heartfelt enough..."

"Anything else that you want-a me to know?" Mario wanted to make sure Ema had _everything_ off her chest. Put any grievances to bed.

"In addition to my apology, I'm also asking for...forgiveness, for what I did. Wanted you, and the others, to forgive me, that's all." After taking everything into consideration, Mario would make up his mind...

"Fine then - Ema Skye, on behalf-a of myself, and everyone-a affected, I accept-a your apology. Your heart-a felt apology, rather." A wave of certainty would rush over Ema, as the forensics expert let out a sigh of relief. Glad that was out of the way. "I will also forgive-a you of all your previous misconduct...but on one-a condition."

"And what condition might that be?" Ema was hoping that this condition was nothing drastic - wanted it to be simple, sweet, and to the point, so she could get this whole thing over with.

"You have to do-a me a huge solid first. Let me fill-a you in...so Master Hand, he has this Christmas-a concert today, and he 'recruited' this singer named-a Joanne to be his 'guest performer'. But Joanne is missing, and Master Hand is afraid-a that she might've been kidnapped! So since-a you're technically a detective, I want you to help-a me and the others in cracking this case. Deal?"

"If that's all I have to do to earn your forgiveness...then count me in. So where shall we start? Or have you started already?"

* * *

In the foyer was Captain Falcon, speaking on the phone, and in case you needed to know who he was calling...it was Olivia. Yes, the racer was having yet another phone call with the woman, as he stood near the staircase.

"No, no, tell Hala to take his time, you'll all arrive shortly," said Captain Falcon, telling Olivia not to have Hala drive like a madman to the mansion. "As long as you're here is what matters. Can't ruin the big surprise!"

"Okay Falcon, I'll try not and rush Hala...if only we had a more capable bus driver," Olivia murmured on the phone. How Hala even got to drive a bus was a mystery. "Hala just missed a turn, so it might be a while before we arrive. Just be patient. Goodbye, for now!"

"Adios Olivia, I will see you soon!" Captain Falcon ended the phone call, and placed his phone in his holster, as he went up the stairs. What could his 'big surprise' be?

 **Captain Falcon: Grrrraaah! You people are starting to annoy me now! Did I not say that Olivia isn't my girlfriend, are you hard of hearing? Or are you like Jakob and trying to start stuff to tear the residents apart? Well I don't know spreading rumors about Olivia and I is going to put everyone at a standstill, but try as you must - I'll still deny your concerns!**

Immediately after Falcon headed upstairs, guess who entered the mansion, with her friends Caeda, Raven, and Lilina? Nowi, that's who! The half-Manakete brought her daughter Nah along, because what great mom would leave their child behind?

"You sure you wanna go through with this, Nowi?" Caeda asked the half-Manakete, who looked oddly confident. "There's no going back at this point, so if you screw up royally, then it might be all over..."

"No, something has to be done," replied Nowi, with a confident smile. Wanna take a bet Falcon might be involved in whatever Nowi had in mind? "And you ladies are going to help me! So how about it?"

"Yeah...I think I'm going to go see Roy," said Lilina, as she stepped away from the ladies, before making a run for it. Now it was down to three ladies - and Nah, unless you want to exclude her.

"Chrom and I have lots to catch up on, so I should go," said Raven, making an escape similar to Lilina's. That meant Caeda was stuck with Nowi and Nah, and sought to do what her friends did.

"I should see what Marth is up to," said the Pegasus knight, only for Nowi to grab her arm. Third's time was definitely not the charm this time around.

"Marth can wait until later - he's probably looking at himself in the mirror and thinking about how fabolous he looks," said Nowi as Caeda tried to break free, but to no avail. "Right now, you're sticking with me!" Caeda wished she was stuck with someone else.

* * *

With Ema staying in Layton's room - likely done for her own safety - Mario went to to the teleportation room. On his way there, he encountered Link, with many individuals standing behind him - Daruk, Mipha, Revali, and Link of _Breath of the Wild_ fame.

"Just couldn't help-a yourself, could you Link?" Mario shook his head at Link, taken back by the Hylian's lack of self-control. "Cloud, Midna, and Zelda not enough-a company for you?"

"Cloud is stuck with Sora, Zelda is manning the ticket stand near the lecture hall, and Midna...well, she's starting to annoy me," was Link's explanation, though Mario wasn't convinced. "Hence the reason why my Link buddy and the Champions are here. Urbosa was 'too busy' to come along."

"And what about Princess-a Zelda, where is she?" BOTW Zelda was the only person from the group missing, aside from Urbosa - perhaps the princess was checking to see if her eyebrows were still intact.

"She's in the bathroom right now, she'll be joining us shortly...I think." Aha, so she was checking for her eyebrows! Might be standing in front of a mirror analyzing her face. Would be a shame if the princess' eyebrows ever got shaven again. "Or she'll look for Zelda and hang out with her, who knows. Now if you excuse us, we have some arcade games to play!"

"Let's hope there's nobody hogging any of the arcade machines..." said BOTW Link, recalling the numerous efforts he, Link, and Cloud executed to draw Wolf away from the _Simpsons_ arcade game. Wolf spent more time attacking NPCs than attacking the enemies!

 **Link: A new arcade game has been added to the arcade room...Balloon Fight. And I'm inviting my Link buddy and his Champion friends to play with me, since Zelda and Cloud are busy at the moment. Midna isn't a great sport, so I _refuse_ to play with her. Unless there's money on the line.**

As Link led his crew down the hallway, Mario kept walking to the teleportation room, where he would see Aerith running the teleportation device. The flower girl was delighted to see Mario once the plumber showed up.

"Figured I would see you here," smiled Aerith, as Mario smiled right back. "Master Hand gave me full control of the teleportation device, as you see. I just sent a group named Off the Hook to the mansion some time ago, under Master Hand's orders. Someone you would like me to teleport to the mansion? Just tell me the name of the individual, and I'll see what I can do!"

"You remember when-a the Phantom Thieves were-a here, right?" asked Mario, as Aerith nodded her head. Those Phantom Thieves played a very crucial role in bringing down Jakob. "See if you can-a teleport them to the mansion. I have no idea where-a they could be..."

"Okay then, so you want the Phantom Thieves...shoot, I don't think I can remember their names. Give me the names of the Phantom Thieves, and I'll plug them into the device." Mario would give out the names - six in total - as Aerith plugged the names in. "Anyone else you have in mind?"

"Yes-a I do, there's one more investigative group-a I want at the mansion...and they happen to be from-a the TV World."

* * *

With Lilina and Raven catching up with Roy and Chrom, respectively, poor Caeda was stuck with Nowi and Nah, as Nowi led the Pegasus knight around the mansion, seemingly looking for someone. Nowi never specified who this someone was, and it made Caeda feel somewhat suspicious.

The search would take Nowi and company to the gaming room, where a sparse crowd was gathered. K.K. Slider was on the stage, behind his turntable set, with three other individuals - Pearl and Marina, from Off the Hook, and Ryu. What, oh what, could possibly be going on?

"Alright my party people, who's ready for the rap battle to begin?!" K.K. Slider asked the crowd, speaking into the microphone, as the crowd cheered. Ryu was apparently going up against Pearl in a rap battle...but hey, if Mario came close to beating the Inkling, then anything was possible. "On this side...she is one-half of the popular pop duo, Off the Hook, and she is accompanied by Marina...give it up, for PEARL!"

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Pearl would say to the crowd, who cheered for her. "I can easily guarantee you that this will be a swift victory!"

 **Pearl: I was this close, _this close,_ to losing to that mustached bum Mario. Had Mario not dropped his mic and got himself disqualified, I could have very well lost! This will be my chance to redeem myself, and what better way to do that against some silly street fighter?**

"And on this side, he is the iconic face of the _Street Fighter_ franchise, and he knows how to pack a punch...here is RYU!" exclaimed K.K. Slider, as Ryu got little to no reception from the crowd. Mostly everyone was wondering why Ryu even agreed to a rap battle in the first place.

"No challenge is too easy or too hard for me!" boasted Ryu, pulling on his headband and tightening it. "Prepare to be left in the dust, worthy challenger!"

 **Ryu: Many people were surprised when I killed it during karaoke, rapping that song. Not a single mouth in that gaming room was left closed that night, after my performance. To show everyone that my karaoke performance wasn't a fluke, I'll be going up against Pearl in the rap battle, and defeat her mercifully!**

"Are both competitors ready?" asked K.K. Slider, as Ryu looked out and was surprised to see Ken, Cammy, and his love interest Chun-li in attendance. The three were seated together, with Ken giving Ryu a thumbs up. The moment Ryu saw Chun-li looking at him, he immediately froze, as sweat poured down his face, before collapsing on the stage. Ken and company were shocked and concerned. "Hold up people - Ryu might be down for the count! Someone help the man!"

As Chun-li and company went over to Ryu, trying to bring him back to his senses, Nowi entered the gaming room, while Caeda and Nah remained near the entrance. Nowi would find Wario seated in the crowd, eating some buffalo wings.

"May I speak with you for a quick second?" Nowi would tap Wario on the shoulder, making the fatso stop eating turn around. "It's me, Nowi...Captain Falcon's ex-girlfriend. Speaking of Captain Falcon, I was wondering if you know where Falcon might be. You are with him in the Romance Club, are you?"

"Phew, for a second there I thought you were asking me to share my wings with you..." Wario sighed in relief, clutching his chest. "...and yes, I'm in the Romance Club with Falcon. Or we used to be, before the Romance Club ended. What do you wanna see your ex for?"

"Oh, no reason, I just want...just want to speak with him, that's all." Hearing this response, Wario assumed Nowi wanted to make Captain Falcon pay even more for "cheating" on her...and the fatso was all for it!

"You might wanna check around the lecture hall. Word is that Falcon's been snooping around there for days. If he's not there, then try the Pokemon sanctuary - he's been frequenting that place more often than he used to!"

"I'll just go to the Pokemon sanctuary first, that might be closest. Thank you!" Nowi would pat Wario on the shoulder, as she left the gaming room to speak with Caeda and Nah. "To the Pokemon sanctuary we go!"

* * *

The missing case would be brought from Layton and Luke's room to the Star Records room, when Mario, Knuckles, Ema, Layton, Luke, and Team Chaotix were joined by Fox, Falco, and X...as well as the Phantom Thieves from episode 95, and the TV World investigators from episode 59.

While computer prodigy Futaba Oribe typed away on X's laptop, Knuckles, Fox, Falco, and X were getting used to seeing Ema again. Mario explained to the fellas that she was again sorry for her actions - this time being more heartfelt - and also told them to forgive Ema if she proved instrumental in solving the missing case of Joanne.

"Sorry for teasing you about your Falcons after they lost in the Super Bowl this year," Ema would apologize to Falco, who felt less salty about the loss as the year went on. "No hard feelings, right?"

"Water under the bridge," replied Falco, giving Ema the OK hand sign. "You were always the least annoying person to tease me about that, although that 28-3 lead still gives me PTSD." Same could be said for all the other Falcons fans out there.

"Have you found anything yet, Futaba?" X would ask the prodigy. Futaba was using a software program that came with the mansion security system X installed. It had camera angles of all the security cameras within the mansion, all on one screen.

"Nothing yet, still looking," replied Futaba, as she was opening and closing multiple windows. One window she opened displayed security footage of the back of the mansion, where the garbage bin was located...and it showed the mysterious hooded fellow, throwing his sack inside the garbage bin.

"He just threw the sack in there, all willy nilly?" questioned Fox, as the hooded fellow closed the garbage bin and walked away. "Not gonna lie, that's pretty savage!" Cortex might disagree with that.

 **Knuckles: Now that I think of it, Cortex was inside a sack when Jakob threw him inside the garbage bin...that's what Cortex told me, anyways. Starting to get a hitch for who the hooded guy might be...**

"I think we need some kind of drone to look for the hooded man," said Yu; a drone following the crook around would give Yu and company more flexibility in solving the case. "Anyone in the mansion owns a drone?"

"Pit used to have one, back when he was 'broken'," replied Layton, almost smiling at how dedicated Pit was to his 'broken' persona. "He might still have the drone with him, or he could've thrown it away."

"How about we have Knuckles and Layton ask Pit for this drone, while Mario and Yosuke investigate the garbage bin?" suggested Ema; everyone was pretty much down with this idea. "That Joanne chick might be in that garbage bin, for all we know."

"Good-a thinking Ema - really like the way-a you're thinking!" said Mario, as Ema was one step closer to regaining Mario and everyone's trust.

* * *

Nowi and her crew were in the Pokemon sanctuary, where Red and Blue were having a Pokemon battle - Red's Charizard vs Blue's Alakazam. Blue's grandpa, Professor Oak, was officiating the match.

"Now Charizard, use Flare Blitz!" commanded Red, as Charizard cloaked himself in flames and dashed towards Alakazam. But Red would have another thing coming for him...

"Alakazam, dodge and use Psychic!" ordered Blue, as Alakazam dodged out of the way of Charizard's Flame Blitz and honed his psychic powers to lift up Charizard up in the air, and then send him flinging towards the wall. "Finish him off with Focus Blast!" With Charizard still down, Alakazam formed a light blue ball of energy and fired it at the flame Pokemon, resulting in a big explosion. Once the smoke cleared, Charizard was unconscious.

"Charizard is out of the battle!" announced Professor Oak, as Red went over to check on Charizard. "Therefore the winner of this match is Blue, of Pallet Town!"

"Even though you may be Indigo League champion Red, I'm still the better trainer!" bragged Blue, with Red currently oblivious to his rival's bragging ways. "How do you like those apples?"

"Settle down Blue, Red did a stupendous job. No need to talk down to him like that." Like Blue rejoiced in his victory, Professor Oak went over to speak with Nowi. "You wish to speak with me, is that correct?"

"Yes sir - I was just wondering if you knew where Captain Falcon was," asked Nowi, needing a clear answer right away. "I've been told that he might be here. Was he here already, did he leave and went somewhere else?"

"Well I did hear him speak with someone on the phone...said he was going to the movie room. You have heard of the movie room, right? It's where people go and watch movies, and also watch television shows as well. That's what Red tells me. It's also a room where...

"Yeah yeah yeah, we know what it is," said Caeda, as she grabbed Nowi and Nah and walked away. "Thanks for your help, professor."

 **Caeda: So once Nowi finds her stupid ex-boyfriend, I can finally leave that childish half-Manakete and spend some time with Marth. Wonder what Marth is up to...bet he's having more fun than I am.**

* * *

Marth was having more fun than Caeda...sort of. The hero-king was playing a game of _Cards Against Humanity,_ in teams, while some Christmas music played in the background. Marth's teammate? Robin, the mage he feuded against for much of 2017. Their opponents were Sonic and Tails, and Sora and Cloud.

"Isn't it great when we put our differences aside for the greater good, and have fun together?" said Sora, who always had an optimistic outlook on life, even in the face of danger. "That's what builds relationships, and makes us closer!"

"Quit being so over-positive Sora, we've had about enough of that crap," Cloud told the Keyblade wielder, as he shuffled through his cards. "Don't think that I'm trying to be your friend because I'm your partner - everyone turned you down, so I had to do what I had to do...great, now I'm making myself sound like a great friend. Bleh..."

"Hey Marth, remember when we had that big feud of ours earlier in the year because of the romance between Corrin and Felicia?" asked Robin, stirring the hero-king's memory. "You set off those fireworks from Corrin and Felicia, had Splash Woman singing that song, and I got all salty and then we had that throwdown."

"All because you accused me of 'stealing your idea', and I managed to beat you to the punch," replied Marth, placing his card on the deck. Sonic would scoop up the cards, and glance at them. "What about the time I had Birdo infatuated with you, by using Ashley's love potions?"

"Ugh, don't even get me started on Birdo...she was far worse than advertised, I quickly understood the pains Yoshi has to go through. What about the time I got you in trouble, and you had to play in that _Finding Nemo_ musical at Disney World?"

"Donkey Kong being a stupid idiot thankfully saved me from that...what about that time I had Rouge infatuated with you?"

"Knuckles sure was ticked about that, angriest I've ever seen him...what about that time I had a Waddle Dee leave behind a dent in Master Hand's Lamborghini, and MH put you on blast when he saw it?"

"My goodness, driving that Lamborghini was actually one of the most harrowing experiences of my...wait, what?!" Now there was something Marth never heard before.

Just then, Ryuji of the Phantom Thieves entered the lounge, startled at first by the Christmas music playing. He would shrug it off, and make his way over to Marth and company. Cloud was the first to notice Ryuji.

"Mr. Sakamoto, welcome back to the mansion," greeted Cloud, trying to be friendly. Gotta keep the friendly facade going. "I'm assuming your buddies are here too?"

"That's right, and we're cracking a case - a case involving a missing singer!" replied Ryuji, igniting the curiosity in the others. "Anyone know where Marth is? You know, the girly man with the tiara and the blue hair."

"That...that would be me," Marth spoke up, as Sonic, Tails, Robin, and Sora laughed at Ryuji's description of the hero-king. Cloud just smirked. "What do you need me for?"

* * *

Nowi and her gals would enter the movie room, and inside they would see Itsuki, standing with Coco who was seated on the floor noodling away on her laptop. The laptop was connected to the large TV, and Coco looked like she was working on something, like she was editing a display of some sort.

 **Itsuki: Master Hand finally got over Joanne's disappearance, and now that I'm done comforting him, I can do that huge favor for Captain Falcon...You seriously don't think Falcon's in love with Olivia, do you? *chuckles* They've only known each other for almost a month now, which if you ask me, is a very short sample size before someone makes a move. So please, don't incite any rumors - last thing we would need is a gossip bug spreading around the mansion.**

"Do you two know where Captain Falcon is?" Nowi would ask Itsuki and Coco, hoping they knew the answer. Good thing Coco already had an answer for the half-Manakate.

"Captain Falcon went to go do some late Christmas shopping, he should be back shortly," answered the bandicoot, providing an answer that should keep Nowi at bay. But Nowi wasn't ready to give up.

"Oh goodie! Do you know what store Falcon went to?" Itsuki and Coco exchanged nervous looks with one another; Nowi was suddenly becoming very persistent!

"He never said which store he was going, to be honest. I'd stay put if I were you, no need to go on a wild goose chase for Captain Falcon."

"Then stay put we shall," said Caeda, as she took Nowi and walked towards the exit, with Nah following after them. "Sorry for wasting your time." With Caeda and company gone, Coco resumed her work. Was she working on Captain Falcon's "big surprise"?

* * *

A now calm Master Hand ventured to the ballroom, where this year's Christmas party was held. Pac-Man, for most of the week, was mulling over doing a Christmas party, unsure if throwing a party would keep the attention and focus away from the Christmas concert.

But Master Hand gave the eater of ghosts the approval, and now the giant hand was checking to see how Pac-Man's first Christmas party was coming along. Inside the ballroom, he would see many folks, and many guests as well - Milla Maxwell, Jude Mathis, Rouge, Silver, BOTW Zelda, and even Maxie and Archie - leaders of Team Magma and Team Aqua, respectively, who were enjoying a great conversation with one another.

"Can you believe that bozo Lysandre from Team Flare tried to take over the world with Dr. Eggman, and didn't get his grunts involved in the grand scheme of things?" Maxie said to Archie - who said villains shouldn't discuss things like world domination all the time? "I bet you he didn't even use ANY of his Pokemon!"

"Lysandre made a horrible mistake anyways, agreeing to work with Dr. Eggman..." remarked Archie, scratching his beard. "I wouldn't work with that walking tomato, even for all the legendary Pokemon in the world." Elsewhere in the ballroom, Hisui was speaking with Milla and Jude, his "friends".

"So Hisui - or should I say, 'ilikehotgirls86'..." grinned Jude, as Hisui growled. He hated that pen name so much now. "...did you meet any new online friends? Did you follow them around incessantly until they agreed to be your friend?"

"For your information Jude, I wouldn't know because I haven't touched a single computer in two weeks!" bragged Hisui, acting like a guy his age not using technology suddenly made him cool and hip. "I have learned my lesson..."

"Haven't touched a computer, huh?" smirked Milla, her hands on her hips. "Easy for you to say...I don't even know how to turn a computer on!" The price of being sheltered and ignorant to human society...

 **Milla: I did find a calculator lying in the hallway, and played around with it...does that account for using a computer?**

"You ladies have no idea what it's like being bald...it's like feeling nothing," Chrom discussed with BOTW Zelda and Midna, rubbing his bald head. The prince's bald head shone in the ballroom light. "It makes me feel...naked."

"No worries Chrom, I understand what it's like to have your hair shaven off," said BOTW Zelda, resting a reassuring arm on Chrom's shoulder. "I once had my eyebrows shaved off by Marth!" That was not true, however, and Midna felt the need to break the ice...

"Actually, it wasn't Marth who shaved off your eyebrows..." the imp said to BOTW Zelda, bracing herself before saying the following: "...it was your Zelda pal who had done the deed." Having learned this, BOTW Zelda looked on in shock, her mouth agape, as Midna went over to Chrom. "As for you, Chrom, I saw the culprits who shaved your head off - I just didn't want to say anything."

"Well I'm glad you told me now!" frowned Chrom, desiring to bring the culprits to justice. Said culprits (Rex and Pyra) might not even be here, unless Midna was also referring to Akuma. "Show me where they are!"

As Midna led Chrom out of the ballroom, Silver was speaking with Rouge near the punch bowl. Rouge was telling Silver the drama that went down last week, and how Knuckles pretty much broke up with her.

"Yikes Rouge, that was pretty low, even for a gal like yourself," remarked Silver, thankful that he wasn't caught up in last week's love triangle. He had his eyes set on Blaze the Cat anyways. "Why'd you buy both Knuckles and Shadow diamonds?"

"It was supposed to a dare, someone put me up to it," replied Rouge, as Silver widened his eyes. A new dimension was now added to the love triangle hullabaloo. "That same person told me to go on a date with Shadow, when Shadow asked me out. Didn't want to do it, but..."

"Rouge the Bat?" a voice called out; Rouge would look to her right, and see Makoto of the Phantom Thieves advancing towards her. "Makoto Niijima, member of the Phantom Thieves, it's a pleasure to meet you. Do you have a minute?"

* * *

Up in the Star Records room, Futaba was still looking at the security cameras on X's laptop, with everyone else looking. Just then, a cellphone was ringing on the Star Records desk; Ema picked it up.

"Hello, who is this?" asked the forensics expert, as security footage of Wario scratching his butt appeared, making Ema look away.

"It's me, Makoto - I just found Rouge in the ballroom, at some Christmas party," responded the caller, Makoto. "Had Jigglypuff do the honors and put Rouge to sleep, just like you asked. What do you want me to do with her?"

"Bring her to the room where Ryuji is, and wait for Dr. Wily to show up. X said he should be coming soon. I'll let you and Ryuji know what to do next." Ema would end the call, when another phone call was made...this one from Knuckles. Ema quickly answered. "How's it coming along with Pit?"

"Awful, just awful - apparently Pit is undergoing some 'woken' phase, much like when he was 'broken'," answered Knuckles. Sounds like Senor Kirby and King Charles have returned. "He's in this room, and he won't let us in...but the piano playing from inside sounds nice though!"

"Keep on trying - we need that drone so we can hurry up the investigation. Who knows where our hooded man might be!"

 **Ema: Knuckles told me about how he broke up with Rouge, how Rouge played him and Shadow for keeps. But if you ask me, Rouge would never think of something crazy like that...which makes me believe there's some foul play going on. What if our hooded suspect put Rouge up to it? Sounds like a strange theory, I know, but it deserves some inquiry.**

* * *

A knock was made at a door, and opening that door was Kirby, as the sound of lovely piano playing exited through the door. With Viriid in the room, playing the piano, Kirby looked down, and saw Cortex lying on the floor.

"Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" cried out Cortex, his voice muffled by the floor. Would Kirby help him up?

"What a life..." the pink puffball instead shook his head, as he closed the door. Cortex would rise up to his feet and dusted himself off, as Knuckles and Luke approached him.

"So, Dr. Cortex, how'd it go?" Luke would ask the mad scientist, who was recently released from the Links' police office. If you want to call it that.

"It was a failed attempt, unfortunately...though it lasted a lot longer than I expected," replied Cortex, digging into his pocket and taking out a ticket handed to him from the buddy cops. "Now if you excuse me, I must dispose of this ticket. 'Practicing jaywalking indoors'...bah!"

"I don't understand, we've tried every method in the book, and Pit still won't answer us," said Knuckles, as Cortex walked away. "What are we possibly doing wrong?"

"Maybe you need a lure to bring Pit out of that room," someone suggested, as Knuckles and Luke turned around and saw Nana, along with Popo. "Pit's mind is lost enough as it is, so you need something to bring him out of that little phase of his."

"Oh yeah, so what lure do you think would be effective?" The Ice Climbers knew what would be the perfect lure, as they glanced at one another with smiling faces.

"Our lovely ice cream creations should do the trick..." smiled Popo, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "You boys stay right where you are!"

* * *

Outside the mansion, Mario and Yosuke were trying to open the garbage bin, but to no avail. They wouldn't lift up the top, for it was jammed shut.

"That hooded Organization guy...really did a good job...jamming this thing..." said a sweaty Yosuke, who was taking a breather after so many failed attempts. "You can go on without me Mario...do the best you can!"

"Lemme see if capturing the garbage-a bin will do the trick," said Mario, as he took Cappy and threw him at the garbage bin. Yosuke was shocked when Mario possessed the garbage bin, and tried to open it. But the bin wouldn't budge, leading Mario to "uncapture" it.

"Man, that hooded creep really jammed that garbage bin shut!" remarked Cappy, as Yosuke was still shocked. Either by Cappy, or Mario capturing the garbage bin. Or possibly both. "If only there was a way..."

"We might be able to help..." said a familiar voice, a voice Mario knew too well. Sounded like it came from a cat. There the plumber saw standing across from him and Yosuke was Team Rocket - namely, Jessie, James, and Meowth. Were they looking for more trouble?

 **Jessie: Giovanni totally disprected the three of us, when he wouldn't allow us to come to Seattle and partake in the Heartless invasion. If he had invited us to his little party, maybe Organization XIII would have been successful in their plan!  
James: But he didn't, and as a result, he and Organization XIII failed and now the Organization can't ever return to this universe! Our presence would have greatly helped, but alas, Giovanni continues to doubt us and overlook our talents!  
Mewoth: We're tired of Giovanni treating us three like second-rate employees, and disallowing us from participating in the big league stuff! If we can't get respect from our own boss...then maybe we can get respect from Mario! Hopefully a guy like Mario will listen to our plea.**

"Team-a Rocket, back at it again!" exclaimed Mario, getting into a fighting stance. Yosuke was still too exhausted to do anything. "Back for-a more?"

"No, Mario, we're not here to fight, please hear us out!" pleaded James, as Mario backed down. What was the point of him fighting, if he had no Pokemon? Team Rocket wasn't known for using fists. "We came here, looking for respect...since our boss Giovanni doesn't respect us (or so we think he doesn't) we were hoping that maybe YOU would..."

"All we're asking for is just a little respect, that's all," added Jessie, as Mario mulled over whether he should respect Team Rocket or not. "Any bad things we've done to you or the others in the past, it can be put to bed. We were just doing Giovanni's dirty work anyways, not like Giovanni ever gets his butt out of his chair and do something. Perhaps we can earn your respect, if we...do you a solid?"

"If you wish-a to do me a solid..." Mario started, as Team Rocket, with their smiling faces, pulled closer towards Mario. "...then see if you can-a open that garbage bin. It's jammed-a shut, and if you can some-a how open it..."

"Leave it up to me - Wobbuffet, I choose you!" Jessie took out her Poke Ball, and sent forth Wobbuffet, the patient Pokemon making its signature cry. "Now Wobbuffet, use your Psychic abilities to open the garbage bin you see before you!"

"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet would obey Jessie's command, as he used Psychic to lift the garbage bin up in the air. The patient Pokemon then honed his mind, as the garbage bin began to shake...before the top was finally opened, and garbage bags fell out. Mario was shocked; his facial expression suggested that he did not expect Team Rocket to fulfill the deed.

"Excellent work, Wobbufffet! About time you were useful for something, other than trying to blow our cover...I suppose we deserve our respect now, Mario, so snap out of that surprised look of yours and show us our respect!" Mario would shake the surprise off his face, as a now rested Yosuke rummaged through the garbage bags, looking for the sack.

"This must be the sack that Joanne chick must be in," he remarked when he pulled out a large, brown sack. Easily discernible from the garbage bin's contents. "Now how about we head back inside?"

* * *

With the sack now in their possession, Mario and Yosuke, along with Team Rocket, entered the mansion through the back door, arriving in the dining room. In the dining room, they would find one-half of the Squid Sisters, Marie, crying her eyes out, with Cilan comforting her with food.

"Don't cry Marie, for I know the one thing that will cheer you up...Christmas cookies!" exclaimed Cilan, showing the Inkling a plate of Christmas cookies. Marie would slap the plate away, before crying some more.

"Cilan, what's-a wrong, why is Marie crying so?" Mario asked the connoisseur, as Team Rocket, not wanting to be detected by Cilan, cautiously tiptoed away. Better not start up any trouble.

"I have no idea - I just returned to the dining room, and here I saw Marie, crying her eyes out. I would assume that it has much to do with Callie still being missing..."

"Callie is in fine hands now...she has been saved from the clutches of DJ Octavio months ago," stated Marie, wiping away her tears. Mario and Cilan were alarmed to learn this; Yosuke straight up didn't care. "We were both invited to the mansion for the concert, and not long after we arrived...Marie was gone! Gone for the second time, and I fear that she might be gone forever..." And right on cue, Marie burst into tears.

 **Marie: Callie and I, we spent the last couple of months catching up, and getting back to hosting Inkopolis News again...and now she's gone _again._ First time around was fine, but I can't deal with a second incident...**

"...Marie, is that you, why are you sobbing?" a voice came out from the sack, as Marie immediately stopped crying. "You never sob that much, if ever!" Either Joanne was in the sack, or maybe it was someone else...

"Callie?" Marie uttered her cousin's name, expecting another response. Yosuke would untie the sack...and out popped Callie, bright and lively as she ever was.

"Ta-da!" the Inkling exclaimed, her arms raised in the air. "Missed me?" Marie obviously missed Callie, as she got out of her seat and ran to hug her dear cousin. All while Mario and Yosuke were slightly fearing for the worse.

"Of course I missed you! Don't you ever leave me like that again! Do you have any idea how hard it would be to host Inkopolis News by myself? That's why I went on hiatus when you were brainwashed!"

"Whoever said I left you? Some guy in a black cloak kidnapped me, and stuffed me in a sack and threw me in a garbage bin. I assume the people who saved me was Mario here, and his...more human-like friend..."

"Hold up, so if YOU were in the sack, and NOT Joanne, then that would mean..." said Yosuke, before putting his hands on his head when realization got to him. "Oh man oh man oh man..."

* * *

Back to Pit's "lair", where the sound of Viridi's piano playing could still be heard from behind the door. Popo would knock on the door, and Pit would open it, the 'woken' angel delighted to see ice cream sundaes lined up, in a trial.

"Ah, sundaes of ice cream, all lined up in a trial, just for me!" exclaimed Pit, in his 'woken' accent. Dude was super woke. "How WONDERFUL! And a spoon of silver in the first sundae, great for sampling! I must delight myself in this treat of sweets..."

So Pit took the first sundae, grabbed the spoon, and ate a spoonful of the sundae, before moving on to the next one. Pit would sample each and every sundae with his spoon, all containing different flavors, as he continued down the hallway.

Showing up immediately afterwards would be Emil and Marta - the two best friends invited to the mansion by Master Hand. As you might have already known, Emil was always craving for ice cream ever since his first visit to the mansion, so when the young lad saw the trail of sundaes before him...

"YES WE FINALLY HAVE ICE CREAM!" he shouted excitedly at the top of his lungs, as he grabbed the first sundae and ate it to his heart's delight. Marta just looked on while shaking her head, not knowing what to do with her best friend.

* * *

Elsewhere in the mansion, Rouge suddenly woke up, finding herself in a darkened room whilst tied up to a chair. She tried to get out, but to no avail. While Rouge was squirming, a bright light was shone on her, from a flashlight. Rouge would look ahead, and see Marth, perched on a giant ray gun - the same one used on him in episode 69 - with Makoto and Ryuji standing in the background.

 **Marth: So apparently the giant ray gun that paralyzed me was up in the attic. It was there that I also found a gun lying on the floor, with the name "Agent 0" written on it. Who knew the attic contained so many deadly weapons?**

"Ahahahaha...oh how the turn tables," cackled Marth, followed by a brief moment of silence that allowed the hero-king to realize that he messed up the saying. The turn has really tabled on him. "Not nice being on the receiving end of things, isn't it?"

"Marth what on earth are you doing, why are you trying to paralyze me for?" asked Rouge, still trying to break free. "Did Knuckles put you up to this, does he want to get back at me for what I did last week? Tell him that I'm sorry!"

"I will tell Knuckles how sorry you are...but first, you must give me - or us, rather - an answer. It has much to do with your ex-boyfriend and Shadow. Just give us an answer, and we'll let you free!"

"Or else what, you're gonna paralyze me with that thing? You're a medieval prince, what would you know about using giant ray guns?"

"I know plenty...but I know a guy who knows even more." Suddenly the ray gun would in a clockwise manner, the nozzle lowering and pointing towards Rouge, as the operator of the ray gun revealed himself...

...Dr. Albert Wily, who greeted Rouge with a wave and his trademark smile. Him and Marth still must be pretty tight, even after the whole Heartless conundrum.

"Surprised to see me, Rouge the Bat?" Dr. Wily asked the bat, who was struggling more than ever to escape. "Well don't be - I just arrived a mere while ago, when Marth asked me for my presence. And, since I know how to operate devices like this better than he can..."

"Okay, Dr. Wily, cut to the chase - just tell me what I gotta do so I can leave," said Rouge, no longer fighting her way out. "I have a Christmas party to attend to! Silver's probably wondering where I am..."

"Answer this one question, Rouge, and we shall let you go in peace. Did you, Rouge the Bat...spark that love triangle involving you, Knuckles, and Shadow because someone put you up to it?" Dr. Wily began charging up the ray gun, believing that doing so would force an answer out of Rouge. And it worked...

"Fine, I fess up, someone did put me up to it." Dr. Wily would power down the ray gun, as Makoto got out her clipboard, ready to write stuff down. "The guy told me what to do, and how to do it...and I listened. He was very threatening, and I didn't want to take any chances..."

"What was this guy's name?" asked Makoto, her pen ready. If the guy Rouge mentioned was the same guy in the Organization cloak, then things would be heading in the right direction...minus Joanne's current whereabouts.

* * *

The trail of ice cream sundaes would come to an end near Ness' room, where Knuckles and Luke were standing with Donkey Kong. The three were quietly waiting for Pit to show up.

"C'mon you guys, do I _really_ have to do this?" asked Donkey Kong, as the sound of Pit's 'woken' laughter drew near. Sounded like the angel was super high. "One time was already enough, and I got in trouble for it..."

"But this time you won't get in trouble at all - nobody gets implicated," encouraged Knuckles, able to sway Donkey Kong's mind. "Do it DK, do it...for Harambe!" You could probably assume what Knuckles and Luke were putting Donkey Kong up to.

 **Knuckles: Man, I wish I could go out like Harambe...being shot for protecting someone, and then having people praise my name and talk about how much of a hero I was. But it isn't worth dying, let alone having dudes show their junk to pay tribute to me.**

So Donkey Kong would enter Ness' room, just when Pit arrived at the end of the sundae trail. He had sampled every sundae he laid his eyes upon, but the angel craved for more.

"The MAGNIFICENT trail of sundaes comes to an end, and yet I yearn to taste more GLORIOUS sundaes, until my satisfaction is achieved!" Pit shouted out to nobody in particular. "I demand that more sundaes of ice cream are made, otherwise there will be...DELETION!"

As Pit did the delete arm signal and shouted "DELETE!" over and over again, the door to Ness' room opened, and Donkey Kong would drag Lucas out of the room, just like he did back in Disney World. Lucas kept pleading DK to stop, but the gorilla had tuned the teen out.

"Get back here with my Lucas, you stupid monkey!" Kumatora would exit the room and chase after Donkey Kong, as the gorilla walked even faster. Pit would watch this scene go down, feeling his hand trembling.

"Must...resist...the urge...must...resist..." the angel said, starting to break character, as he saw Donkey Kong drag Lucas down the hallway, with Kumatora high on his heels. The way DK dragged Lucas, it reminded Pit of a fallen gorilla...

* * *

Everyone in the Star Records room was unfortunate to witness, on X's laptop screen, on one of the security cameras, Pit unzipping his pants and...you know the rest. Not a single person in that room had a facial expression that wasn't full of disgust and cringe.

"D-D-Did he just...?" stammered Futaba, who sadly had a better view of Pit's..thing than everyone else, considering she was using the laptop.

"I think it would be best if we don't question it and delete that moment out of our minds," suggested Espio. Did he say delete? "Broken" Pit would be proud.

* * *

But Pit would no longer be broken, after his act of "tribute" broke character. Pit was back to being the Pit we all knew and love, as he zipped up his pants.

"Ahh, that felt good..." the angel smiled, no longer speaking with a faux British accent. He would turn around, and see Knuckles and Luke standing by, fortunate to not have seen Pit's extremities. "Sup guys?"

"Nothing much, nothing much," replied Knuckles, keeping his distance from Pit just to be safe. "Do you still have that drone, the one you named Vanguard 1? We need it for some scoping...there's this guy in an Organization XIII cloak, who happened to kidnap someone, and we gotta find him and bring him to justice!"

"Say no more, my echidna pal - I got the drone in my room. Had to replace its batteries the other day. Follow me!"

* * *

So Pit would lead Knuckles and Luke to his room, having the two stand outside his room so he could change his clothes. After Knuckles and Luke waited, Pit would exit his room, back in his usual clothes, and gave Knuckles and Luke his drone, installed with a built-in camera, and the remote controller that came with it.

"Thanks for the drone Pit," Knuckles thanked the angel, as he and Luke left. Who's willing to bet the drone might be infected with germs.

 **Luke: Do you think...Pit washed his hands? After he was holding his...  
** **Knuckles: Pfft, capturing that cloaked guy trumps everything else at his point. Pit seldom washes his hands, so I'm not concerned...heck, I never washed my hands either!**

Just as Pit was about to start down the hallway to look for Kirby, the pink puffball would show up. Talk about being right on time.

"Well Luigi came by and asked for Charles back," Kirby informed Pit. "Not only that, but Viridi got tired of playing the piano, so she quit. And you're back in your usual attire, which means that our 'woken brilliance' has come to an end. So Pit, what else do you wanna do?"

"I did hear from Knuckles that he and Luke are hunting down some cloaked dude in the mansion," replied Pit, scratching his chin. "Why don't we head over to the movie room?" Pit wasn't going to involve himself in the matter, was he?

"You're not thinking about doing what I think you're doing...got a bad feeling about this..."

* * *

Mario and Yosuke were currently stuck; the person that was in the sack in the garbage bin was not the person they were looking for, Joanne, but rather one-half of the Squid Sisters, Callie. Mario, in a state of distress, kept pacing back and forth in the living room, as Yosuke, Marie, and Callie all looked on.

"Is he going to be okay?" Callie asked Yosuke, as Mario grew more and more distressed. Might as well cancel the whole concert if Joanne wasn't found in due time.

"He'll be alright, he gets over things pretty quickly," replied Yosuke, sampling the Christmas candy on a table in front of him. "He was once accused of deflating footballs, and he was all panicky and stuff...but eventually, he kinda cooled off. Same thing will happen here."

"Who is this Joanne chick you're looking for, why is she so special?" asked Marie; Joanne was treated like a big deal, apparently.

"Master Hand needs her to perform at some silly concert of his, as a special guest. So we have to find Joanne, otherwise heads are gonna roll...and my head won't be rolling anytime soon!"

"Joanne? Did you just say, Joanne?" asked Doc Louis, who was already in the living room, quietly eating a chocolate bar. "You mean that singer who sang for us and made Viridi all happy? Think I saw her sneak out of the mansion..."

"Joanne left-a the mansion?!" exclaimed Mario, snapping out of his distressed mode. "Why would she do-a that for?! Mama mia!" Mario would grab Yosuke's hand, leaving the living room in a hurry. Doc Louis could only chuckle.

"Heh heh heh...good thing you'll never leave me, Shareece..." Doc Louis was about to take a bite out of his chocolate bar, aptly named Shareece, when Dark Pit ran by and snatched the bar out of Doc's hands, devouring it in the process. "BOY YOU GONNA BE A HOMICIDAL MANIAC IF YOU KEEP DOING THAT, GET BACK HERE!" And the chase was on...

* * *

Back to the movie room, where Coco continued working on...well, whatever she was working on, with Itsuki watching her progress. Eventually, the blonde bandicoot was finished with her unknown project.

"Aha, we're finally done!" exclaimed Coco, as she saved the project to her hard drive. She closed her laptop, and stood up to face Itsuki. "I'll show this bad boy to Captain Falcon, so he can give it his seal of approval."

"Excellent, and I will ask Master Hand if we can display the graphic after his concert is over with," said Itsuki. So Coco was working on a display - a dispaly meant for Olivia, perhaps. "That is, if he's in the right mind frame..."

 **Itsuki: The display has NOTHING to do with Olivia, nothing at all...but go ahead, be my guest, keep on inciting rumors that have little evidence. You will only make yourself look silly in the end.**

"Eh, I bet he's over Joanne right now," shrugged Coco. Unless Master Hand returned to his moping ways. "I'll go look for Captain Falcon right now." So Coco would leave the movie room, nearly trampled by Pit and Kirby who both ran inside.

"Whoops, sorry about that Coco!" Pit would apologize to the bandicoot, who looked back and shook her head before walking away. The moment Itsuki saw Pit and Kirby (but mainly Pit) he feared for the worst. "Hey Itsuki, can we use that VCR thingy?"

"The one connected to the television?" asked Itsuki, pointing at the VCR in question, from episode 67. "Of course you can, it's a free country and...what do you need to use it for?" The concern in Itsuki's voice was almost palpable.

"You know _exactly_ what we need...we need...the big dog."

* * *

With the drone in their possession, Knuckles and Luke returned to the Star Records, where they would find Ema and company, now joined by a special guest...a tall white male with brown hair, sticking out the most given his height. To be frank, he had no business being here, but here he was...

"What's up, fellas?" the tall white dude would greet Knuckles and Luke, who were understandably confused. "The name's Thomas, but that's not my real name - just a moniker I go by. Would give you my real name, but I don't wanna blow my cover, you know?"

"Who the heck is this guy?" Knuckles asked the others; he didn't know why, but he felt like he saw Thomas before. Thomas' face looked oddly familiar.

"Just some dude who ventured to this room not long ago," replied Ema. "Claimed he came to the mansion with two other guests...said their names were 'Broski' and 'Grumps'. Codenames, he said." Very nifty codenames at that. "Master Hand invited the three over, for whatever reason. So you guys finally got the drone?"

"We had to lure Pit and snap him out of his senses just to retrieve it from him," replied Luke, as he handed the drone and the remote controller to Ema. "Thought we might give you the honors of turning it on." So Ema took the remote, and pressed a button, and just like that, the drone was up and running, turning on and hovering into the air.

"Awesome! Now we can find the hooded fellow, and track him down. We just have to corner him somehow, and go from there."

"Does this whole tracking thing involve spying?" asked Thomas, with a curious smile. "Because I was involved in some spying in the past...not that I really did any spying myself, but I got in trouble anyways, so there's that. Just wanna take things out on a spin...

"Well then...go ahead and be my guest." Ema, feeling she would regret this decision, handed the remote controller to Thomas, giving him full control of the drone. "Lemme show you a picture of the guy we're looking for. Should still be in this mansion..."

* * *

While many of today's guests were formally (and forcibly) invited to the mansion by Master Hand, there were some guests who came on their own. Corrin and Kamui's siblings - Xander, Leo, Camille, and Elise - were one of those guests. Corrin sure was delighted to see Elise happy and well again, after the wedding day explosion...and the prince was also delighted to show her and the rest of his siblings his _Star Wars_ merchandise.

"...and this is my Grand Admiral Thrawn costume, I devoted my valuable time mastering Thrawn's character by learning more about the arts and philosophies," Corrin would show his Thrawn costume to Xander and company in his room, boring them out of their minds. "And this is my Sphero BB-8 toy, which Kamui bought for me when we attended a _Star Wars_ convention in Florida. And this is..."

"I thought Corrin liking _Star Wars_ would be a step in the right direction for him, but I was wrong..." Xander said to Camille, who patted him on the back. "His fandom of the franchise has made him extremely annoying..."

 **Xander: Not all hope is lost for Corrin. If he loves _Star Wars_ that much, then the more power to him. But if he dares to replace his sword with a lightsaber, then we're going to have some problems...**

 **Leo: Corrin has THREE Darth Vader costumes hanging in his closet. _Three._ If that doesn't scream "obsessed", I don't know what does.**

"Corrin do you have a minute?" Pit poked his head inside Corrin's room, stopping the prince from reaching into his closet for more _Star Wars_ crap. "Would you mind coming with me? Bring your Darth Vader costume!"

"Which costume do you want?" asked Corrin, like that actually mattered. Pit was in quite a hurry, so he didn't feel like entertaining Corrin.

"Grab the best one you got and come with me!" So Corrin grabbed a random Darth Vader costume from his closet, and quickly exited his room. Once the coast was clear, Xander let out a relieved sigh, for the torture was over...for now, at least.

* * *

Corrin, with his Darth Vader costume, would join Pit, Kirby, Crash, and King Dedede in the hallway. It would also be at this very spot that Corrin would be joined by a familiar face he met in episode 59.

"Ay, that's a nice Darth Vader costume you got there, man!" this fellow complimented Corrin's costume; it was Broski, Thomas' strong and muscular pal who was always showing off his biceps. "Looks real nice!"

"Thank you, and I know that Emperor Palpatine would be proud of me," answered Corrin, unnerving Broski with his Palpatine obsession. "Speaking of Palpatine, is he here? I demand to know at once!"

"What's this about Emperor Palpatine?" asked a very grumpy voice, as a grumpy hoodie-wearing man showed up, eating a banana. His name was Grumps, and Corrin, easily mistaking him for Palpatine, smiled as he ran up to hug him. "Oh, not this again..."

"Emperor Palpatine, you're back!" Corrin was hugging Grumps real tight, tight enough to hurt his insides. "Deep down I always knew you would come back for me! Please don't leave me ever again!"

"Dude that's not Emperor Palpatine, that's..." Broski tried to explain to Corrin, but the prince was too caught up in the moment to listen. "Eh, what's the point..." Kirby would hand Broski a football - better hope it was properly inflated.

"We want you to throw this ball to Crash when we give you the cue, capiche?" Kirby asked Broski, who nodded his head. The pink puffball would then take out a cassette player, and gave it to King Dedede. "Don't play this cassette until we tell you too. And don't fast-forward or rewind either!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say..." said King Dedede, taking the cassette player from Kirby before forgetting one crucial thing. "Uh, do you have any headphones?"

"No headphones necessary...just so as we say."

* * *

Team Rocket - still looking for some respect - ventured to Master Hand's room, surprised and relieved to not see the giant hand. On Master Hand's useless dresser, they would find a sparkling, green orb, known as the Jade Orb.

"Would you look at that, Master Hand has the Jade Orb in his room!" exclaimed Mewoth, as he went over to pick up the Jade Orb. He, Jessie, and James looked at the orb with smiling faces. "Giovanni would definitely have our respect if we showed him this!"

"But why would Master Hand have this orb in the first place?" questioned James, before his eyes grew wide. "What if the legendary Pokemon Rayquaza is within the vicinity of the mansion?!" Just the thought of that made Team Rocket somewhat gleeful.

* * *

 **Pac-Man: So, my first Christmas party, it's going pretty well...Master Hand has yet to criticize the party, so until then, the party is a rousing success! Glad Master Hand is giving me more opportunities at this party planning gig.**

Master Hand remained at the Christmas party, surveying the entire thing. He believed that if he remained in the ballroom, he would keep himself calm, and not fret over his concert or Joanne. It was best to stay put where he was.

"Hey Malva, do you remember me?" Mr. Game and Watch approached Malva, one of the party guests. Malva looked down at Mr. GW, before walking away. "Where are you going girl, don't you want to continue where we last left off?!"

"Our love is never meant to be - I'm a human being, and you're just some lousy 2-D man," replied Malva, as Mr. Game and Watch chased after her. "How about you spark a romance with one of your own kind, and leave me alone!" Mr. Game and Watch would fall to his knees, as he watched Malva walk away from him. Why would he even bother messing around with Malva in the first place - look where it got Captain Falcon!

"So close, yet so far..." As Mr. Game and Watch began to lament, he saw Ashley walk by, and conjured an idea in his head. "Ashley, do you have any love potions on ya?" he would ask the young witch, who stopped in place.

"I threw all my love potions away, so sorry," Ashley answered, as Mr. Game and Watch fell to the floor, defeated. "Learned my lessons in the past, from Pit and Snake, so I'm never making another love potion ever again. Causes too much trouble anyways..."

As Ashley went over to the punch bowl, our hooded fellow would conspicuously enter the ballroom, in his Organization XIII garb. He would stir up some trouble, but seeing that Master Hand was present, it would not be the best intention. So the man left the premises...

...and upon exiting the mansion, he would come face-to-face with the drone. The flying device was hovering in the air, and its camera was focused on the hooded fellow, recording his every moment.

"Gah, I've been spotted...maybe I can outrun it!" said the fellow, as he ran away. But when he looked back, he saw that the drone was hot on his heels; even if the fellow were to hide, the drone still would spot him. The fellow would approach an intersection in the hallway - no matter which way he went, he still wouldn't be able to lose the drone.

"GET BACK HERE WITH MY FUTURE WIFE, YOU HOMICIDAL MANIAC!" shouted Doc Louis, still chasing Dark Pit. The boxing trainer and the doppelganger ran down the hallway, making the hooded fellow come to a stop, before the fellow kept running. He kept running, before skidding to a halt when he saw Cloud and Alm, walking together.

"Organization XIII?" Cloud raised an eyebrow, ready to get on the offensive. Just as he was about to reach for his sword, gunfire was heard, as a bullet was fired at Cloud and struck him in the leg. The swordsman yelped in pain and fell to the floor, as the hooded fellow ran away.

"Cloud!" Alm yelled as he knelt down at Cloud's side to stop the bleeding. "Who could have done this?!" The very perpatrator was hanging from the ceiling, holding a gun with someone's name written on it...it was Greninja.

 **Berkut: Found a gun up in the attic and handed it to Greninja, and ordered him to shoot Alm for me. But I saw Alm walking an injured Cloud to the fitness center, so I assume Greninja failed in his deed...**

 **Greninja: *shrugs***

The hooded fellow was getting closer and closer to the foyer; he could feel escape with the very tip of his tongue. He would encounter a roadblock, however, when he saw Broski standing in his way, with a football.

"Crash Bandicoot, go long!" the guy shouted, as he threw the football over the head of the hooded fellow, with Crash running past him and catching the football. With the ball in his hands, Crash turned around and ran towards the hooded fellow, who ran away, only to be knocked down by Crash. Broski would move out of the way, as the fellow came crashing down the stairs, before reaching the base of the stairs lying on the floor in pain. King Dedede would come over and help the fellow up to his feet...before grabbing his hands as he played the cassette in his cassette player.

"Hello, ma baby, hello, my darling, hello, my ragtime gal..." the fat penguin sang, dancing with the hooded fellow and twirling him around and whatnot. "Send me a kiss by wire, baby, my heart's on fire..." King Dededee would twirl the hooded fellow to Corrin...who was now dressed up as Darth Vader.

"Am I...supposed to be afraid of you?" the hooded fellow asked Corrin, who would use the Force as he held up his hand and clenched it into a fist. You would think this had virtually no effect...but Zero installed a Force mechanism into Corrin's Darth Vader costume. Why he did it, who honestly knows.

The hooded fellow would rise up in the air, clutching his neck as he gasped for air. While in the chokehold, the fellow would be lowered towards the floor, near the front door. You might assume that something bad was about to happen to him. And you have know idea how right you were...

Seemingly out of nowhere, a pixelated wrestler in black garb would spear the hoded fellow, tackling him viciously and sending him through the front door, breaking the door in the process. The spear was so strong, that the hooded fellow landed outside, on his back and writhing in pain. Only one wrestler was capable of delivering such a vicious maneuver, and his name...was Roman Reigns.

"URRAAAAAAH!" the pixelated Reigns roared, striking a pose as Pit and the others joined him outside. The drone would also appear, filming the downed hooded fellow. "This the guy you wanted me to take care of? Got him good, didn't I?"

"Yup, you sure did!" exclaimed Pit, getting all pumped up. "You're so awesome, Reigns!" Don't be such a kiss-up, Pit...

Meanwhile, Team Rocket sneaked out of the mansion, with the Jade Orb still in Meowth's possession. The trio reached the lake, and Meowth looked down and saw the Jade Orb glowing once near the lakeside.

"Time to see who this crook really is..." said Reigns, as he was about to take the hood off the hooded fellow, when a giant roar was heard. Everyone looked up and saw Rayquaza descend from the sky, flying around the mansion. "A giant flying green dragon that flew down from the sky! Now that's something you don't see everyday!"

With Reigns momentarily distracted, the hooded fellow punched Reigns, escaping from his grasp. He then tried to run away...only to be run over by a Lamborghini. The driver of this Lamborghini, you might ask? Marth, who stopped the Lamborghini in a jiffy. The hero-king got out of the car, along with his passengers - Dr. Wily, Rouge, Makoto, and Ryuji - as they went over to check on the hooded fellow, officially down for the count.

"Ha ha, I think we got him!" exclaimed Vector, as Ema and the rest of her crew exited the mansion. They followed every movement of the hooded fellow on the drone's camera, with the remote having a camera lens, and now they found their crook right where they wanted him. "All that extra stuff was pretty necessary, better than cornerning the guy!"

"That was all me - I'll gladly take any credit," said Pit, hoping to get his due, as Team Rocket came over to join the others. The hooded fellow, now in more pain than before, slowly began to rise up, before Reigns grabbed him and pulled him up to his feet.

"As I was saying before...time to see who this crook really is!" the pixelated wrestler said, as he lifted the hood off the hooded fellow...

...revealing a man with a white ponytail. Corrin knew who it was, Pit and Kirby knew who it was, the Phantom Thieves knew who it was...in fact, everyone who saw this dude knew who it was.

"Jakob?!" those certain individuals exclaimed the butler's name. Yes, Jakob was back, somehow escaping out of jail, and was wearing an Organization XIII cloak this whole time.

"Yes that's him alright..." said Makoto, as she held up her clipboard...which had Jakob's name on it. "He was our suspect this whole time!"

 **Rouge: Jakob was the one who put me up to that whole love triangle thing last week. Escaped out of jail, found me chilling at a beach, and deliberately threatened me to buy some diamonds and give them Knuckles and Shadow. When Shadow asked me out on a date, I told Jakob what happened, and ordered me to accept the date...otherwise I would've been subjected to "something grave". I'm known for taking chances, but I wasn't willing to take a chance with Jakob - or any runaway inmate, for that matter.**

 **Pit: I'm still getting credit for bringing Jakob down...right?**

"DID I TELL YOU BLOKES NOT TO TOUCH MY LAMBORGHINI?!" boomed Master Hand, when he appeared outside. Ever since Robin left the dent in the Lamborghini Master Hand would always reprimand anyone who dared to touch his dream car, instantly. "IF I SEE THE LITTLEST SCRATCH ON MY BABY, I'M GONNA...Jakob, why are you wearing an Organization XIII cloak?" Master Hand cooled off when he looked down and saw Jakob, still in Reign's grasp.

"I found it lying around near the mansion," the butler spoke, still in a world of pain. Marth really got him good. "Someone must've left it behind. Probably a spare."

"Uh huh...also, what business do you have being at my mansion? I thought we banished you for your jerkbag ways, and for secretly working with Dr. Eggman! You should be doing time in jail with that mustached fool and his accomplices!"

"I just had...some unfinished business, to take care of...that's why I returned. Tried to sabotage the concert's everyone is talking about. Wanted to have...a last laugh." What a very laughable excuse.

"Guys did you hear that? Jakob wanted a last laugh! He came all the way back here, and screwed stuff up, just so he could have a last laugh. Well how about we give him a last laugh he will never forget?!"

So everyone would laugh in unison - some more monotone than others - and Jakob, albeit nervously, would laugh along too. Master Hand was laughing the most out of everyone, when he looked up and saw Rayquaza, having been summoned by Team Rocket. A wicked idea conjured in Master Hand's mind...

"Rayquaza, please do us all a favor and Dragon Pulse this fool named Jakob," ordered Master Hand, as Reigns dropped Jakob to the ground and everyone backed away.

* * *

Captain Falcon, looking outside through the window in the foyer, was speaking on the phone, and was astonished to see a giant beam strike poor Jakob. Such a fate couldn't have happened to a more deserving person.

"Wow, that's one giant beam!" Captain Falcon said in amazement, before returning to his call. "You should have seen it Olivia, it was the stuff of legends!" Jakob might be inclined to disagree.

"Pretty sure it wasn't that great..." remarked Olivia, as the smoke outside began to clear. "Apparently we're having some trouble with the bus, so it looks like we'll have to turn around and head back to Alola. So I won't be able to see your 'big surprise'."

"Dang it, I was hoping you would be there, your presence would have greatly helped...ah well. Maybe you'll get to see it one day. One day. Okay then, goodbye!"

After Olivia said goodbye, Captain Falcon ended the call, and placed his phone back in his holster. Coco had already shown him the display, which received a thumbs up for approval, and the only thing left to do was...hold that thought. Caeda walked by, with Nah accompanying her, and Captain Falcon was quick to notice.

"Caeda!" the racer called out Caeda's name, reaching the Pegasus knight in breakneck speed. "Nowi, is she here? Tell me she's here!"

"Heh, I kinda forget you and Nowi were a thing..." chuckled Caeda, before making a very questionable face. "...why do you wish to know about her whereabouts?"

* * *

 **Zelda: It's almost time for the concert to begin, and everyone is here except for Joanne...honestly we could do without Joanne, but Master Hand has held her in such a high regard, that the concert is almost contingent on her performing.**

Mario and Yosuke, having scoped the entire city for Joanne, would return to the mansion, surprised to see not only Rayquaza, but Jakob as well, as everyone was gathered around the downed-yet-again butler. Thomas was checking to see if Jakob had a pulse, in the event Rayquaza might've killed him...

"He's still alive everyone!" Thomas alerted the others after checking Jakob's pulse. Any other time you'd be relieved if someone was still alive...but this time, the feeling was very neutral. "Knocked out, but still alive somehow."

"Mama mia, what happened-a here?" asked Mario, as everyone's focus was shifted to the plumber. Poor Yosuke, he can never get any love.

"About time you made it back, Mario!" exclaimed Master Hand, as he picked up the unconscious Jakob and dropped him at Mario's feet. "This fool Jakob, who rummaged around the mansion posing as an Organization XIII, tried to come back and stir up more trouble, only to fall to justice! I'm certain he was the one who kidnapped Joanne...so did you do it, did you rescue her?"

"Actually, Master Hand, I think Jakob only kidnapped Callie, from the Squid Sisters," explained Yosuke, disheartening Master Hand greatly. "We were told that Joanne wasn't kidnapped, but rather left the mansion altogether. Meaning that she isn't in harm's way, but rather in a different location."

"What if...this Joanne girlie was in one of those two houses over there?" theorized Dr. Wily, pointing at Mario and Luigi's houses. Curious, Mario would head over to his house, unlocking the front door with his house key...

* * *

...and would you know it, sitting in the living room this whole time, THIS WHOLE TIME, was Joanne, speaking with Peach. She was wearing the same attire as before, with her Islamic scarf and all.

"Then they told me that they had planned to kidnap someone else, so they could bring her to their lair or something," Joanne was telling Peach the story about how she was kidnapped in episode 59. "My kidnapping happened in the dark, so I couldn't...blame them...for getting the wrong person..." Joanne's face sank when she turned towards the front door, and saw Mario, his mouth agape.

"Mario, look who came over to visit Lara and I while you were away!" gleamed Peach, as she pointed at Joanne. "This is Joanne, and she is a very, very talented singer! She told me that she didn't really want to do Master Hand's concert, and so she came over and...Mario?" Peach and Joanne watched as Mario felt light-headed, before fainting to the floor. Master Hand came over, seeing Mario on the floor with Poochy licking his face, and Joanne in the living room.

"Whaddaya know, Joanne was hiding out with Peach this whole time!" the giant hand exclaimed, as Joanne's face sank even more. Nobody could save her now. "Which means my concert as go on as planned!"

* * *

 **Zelda: We're a few minutes past the concert's start time, so to keep everyone entertained, I asked one of our guests to do a little stand-up comedy...regrettably I asked the wrong person.**

The person Zelda asked to do stand-up comedy? _Sazh Katzroy._ The man agreed to entertain the crowd, not only to redeem himself, but to prove to Lightning and company that he was quite a comedian.

"Understandably, I couldn't stop the strawberry from crying...'cause his mom was in quite a jam!" Sazh, standing onstage, would tell this joke to Lightning, Serah, and many others in the crowd - all of whom were bored out of their minds. "But did you hear about that cook who got arrested? He was arrested for...get this...BEATING AN EGG!"

"His first performance was so much better," Akuma, who was in attendance, told Jin Kazama and Ling Xiayou, who were sitting next to him. "The jokes were still crappy, but less mind-numbing than the jokes he's telling now."

"FINALLY FOUND YOU AKUMA!" Chrom's voice boomed, as the prince entered the lecture hall, accompanied by Midna. Chrom angrily marched down the aisle to Akuma, putting Sazh's gig on hold. Chrom couldn't have arrived at a more perfect time. "Midna told me about how you had these two friends shave off my head when I was sleeping...was it these two?!" Chrom pointed at Rex and Pyra.

"No, Chrom, you got it all wrong..." replied Akuma, standing up to confront Chrom. "...it wasn't Jin and Ling who did it, it was Rex and Pyra. But you'll never see them, since they're up in Elysium, the 'ultimate paradise for humanity'. So ha, in your face!"

"How dare you accuse my grandson of wrongdoing!" Heihachi got on on Chrom, standing up angrily. "Jin would never shave anyone's head...unless it was my son, Kazuya Mishima. Still hate that man!"

"Stop it grandfather, you're starting a scene..." Jin tried to soothe Heihachi, sitting him back in his seat. "You're gonna cut into the comedy act onstage!"

"I think the whole quality of this 'stand-up gig' is the real comedy act..." Ling murmured to herself. Why did she have to be here...

"ATTENTION EVERYONE!" boomed Master Hand, suddenly appearing onstage. He saw Sazh, and flicked him away, making him drop his microphone. "Some good news - all the performers for the concert are in attendance, and now the concert can finally begin as planned. I hope every single one of you enjoy what I have in store!"

The show was now on, as Master Hand vanished away. There was some applause in the crowd, some in attendance waiting for a good show, making Master Hand feel great inside.

* * *

 **Layton: What a night, what a night...Joanne is found, Jakob has been dealt with even more justice, and the concert can carry on as planned. After a hard night's work, Yu's investigation crew, the Phantom Thieves, Team Chaotix, and Luke and I, as well as Thomas and his friends, are going to see what this concert has to offer. Should be a show-stealer!**

Backstage, the performers were bustling to get prepared, from the idol singers to those participating in the play. One of the play's participants, Snake, was dressed up as Ebeneezer Scrooge, dressed like a British pimp.

"Kiria I have a question for you..." the former spy asked Kiria, who walked by in her Christmas attire before coming to a stop. "Do you...like me? Just wanted to make sure..." Kiria turned around, and gave Snake a disgusted look.

"Why would I ever like an old fart like you?" the idol singer questioned, before continuing on her way. Snake did a silently fist pump once the coast was clear. Samus would also walk by, pushing a cart with some props, and caught Snake making a move on her with the corner of her eye.

"Don't...even..think about it," the bounty hunter said, leading Snake to snap his fingers in disgust and failure. Next year, in 2018, Samus will be his for the taking...

Elsewhere backstage, Master Hand was speaking with Ema. It was the first time the giant hand spoke with Ema since the forensics expert sold out to Organization XIII, and Ema wanted Master Hand to forgive her.

"Mario and some of the others already forgave me for what I did, after I helped them take down Jakob," Ema would tell the giant hand, pleading her case. "And maybe you could do the same for me?"

"Well you did spearhead the whole 'take down Jakob' thing...and you got everyone involved as well," stated Master Hand, mulling over Ema's request. "Are you sure you no longer have any ties to Organization XIII?"

"All ties have been severed. They promised me they'd bring back Mia Fey if I worked with them...but it turns out I was being manipulated this whole time. So again, I sorry for what I did, and I'm hoping you can forgive me..."

"In that case...all is forgiven. Your misdeeds are now in the past, they're nothing more." Upon hearing this, Ema got all excited; she felt like hugging someone. "You're free to return to the mansion if you like, what with the possibility of Professor Layton and Luke leaving us soon."

"I wouldn't rule out a return to the mansion - as long as the others are cool with it. Phoenix Wright would be pretty jealous of me if I was a resident again. Thank you very much, Master Hand!

"Consider yourself welcome!" responded Master Hand, shaking hands with Ema as the forensics expert left backstage. The giant hand would then turn his attention to Team Rocket, still looking for respect. "So you three want respect, is that correct?"

"Correct - we're tired of being overlooked, and being treated like trash!" replied Jessie, expressing her inner fury. "Giovanni constantly looks down upon us, and never includes us in his big schemes! We're just looking for respect, and we would greatly appreciate it if it came from you."

"Hmm, seeing how you summoned Rayquaza...I can at least respect you for wielding such a powerful legendary Pokemon. Didn't look afraid, you three looked like pros out there. And if not for you summoning Rayquaza in the first place, I would have never smoked Jakob! So I guess I can give you my respect, if that's fine with..."

"That's fine with us!" James blurted out, as Team Rocket's quest for respect came to an end. "Group hug!" James, Jessie, Meowth, and even Wobbuffet - who came out of his Poke Ball - would engage in a group hug...Master Hand included.

"Can't...feel...anything...fingers...becoming...numb..." Safe to say that Master Hand did NOT appreciate group hugs, or hugs in general.

* * *

 **Caeda: So Captain Falcon had his "good friend" Coco show me a display, one in which he wanted not only Nowi to see, but for everyone else to see as well. He claimed that if the display was viewed as a group, everyone would come to a clear understanding. I think Nowi should see the display just for herself, but that's just me...**

"You sure you still wanna go through this, Captain Falcon?" Itsuki asked the racer, who was standing with Caeda and Coco near the gaming room. "There's no turning back at this point..."

"Of course I know that, Itsuki my man!" replied an eager Falcon, ready to Falcon Punch somebody into oblivion. "I'm ready, I was born ready! Ready is my middle name! Douglas Ready Falcon!"

"Your middle name's Jay, not 'Ready'..." That just sounded super tacky. "...but who cares. Go in there, and do your thing!"

So Captain Falcon strutted his stuff as he entered the gaming room, with Coco following closely behind with her pink laptop. With the concert going on in the lecture hall, those in the gaming room where getting some special entertainment of their own...

"Head bent over...raised up posterior..." Link was singing on the gaming room stage with his BOTW counterpart, with K.K. Slider on the turntables and the three Champions playing electrical instruments. "Head bent over, oh yeah, raised up posterior..." And yes, Link and BOTW were doing what the song entailed. What was worse - the Links' performance, or Sazh doing stand-up comedy? You decide.

Captain Falcon would see Nowi, sitting on a couch with Nah, forcing herself to watch the Links perform. There was an available seat next to Nowi, and Falcon sat in it, before tapping Nowi on the shoulder and grabbing her attention.

"Captain Falcon!" shouted a startled Nowi, clutching her pearls. Falcon almost scared the life out of the poor half-Manakete.

"Missed me?" grinned Captain Falcon, as Nowi slowly regained her composure. "Didn't mean to startle you like that, glad you weren't screaming all over the place. Anyways, let me cut to the chase...about that incident where I was dancing at the club with Malva..." Nowi would put her finger on Falcon's lips, silencing him.

"Say no more, Falcon...Meta Knight told me the entire story. It was a trap set up by Jakob, and you kinda fell for it. I didn't know at the time, and I lashed out at you filled up with emotions. So sorry about taking out my frustration on you and ending our relationship afterwards."

"Phew, you made my job easier...and I would like to apologize that I even got myself involved in that incident in the first place. Shouldn't even have went to the club...bad enough that Rayman's friend Globox spotted me there."

"Good to see that you've learned from your mistakes, good for you! Anything else you wish to share with me?" Captain Falcon creaked a smile, as Coco handed him her laptop, keying in her password.

"Well there is ONE thing I wanted you to see..." responded Captain Falcon, and once Coco was done, Falcon turned the laptop screen towards Nowi...and whatever was on the screen made Nowi tear up with joy.

"Oh, Falcon, this is perfect!" exclaimed the half-Manakete, tears rolling down her face. Nah looked at what was on the screen, and was...a little impressed. "This is absolutely lovely! It's...it's...it's..."

"How about you save the waterworks for later, while we picked up from where we left off?" Captain Falcon would say, as he leaned in close towards Nowi and...

...well, there wasn't any kissing, but whatever Captain Falcon and Nowi did was enough to make Nah turn away in disgust. Mewtwo would walk by, wondering what Falcon and Nowi were doing, before he took a glance at Coco's laptop, observing the graphic on the screen.

"Did you...make that by yourself?" Mewtwo would ask Coco concerning the graphic, as Coco nodded her head. "Well then...I must say that I'm fairly impressed. Way to go, bandicoot."

 **Coco: *cracks a smile as she holds up her laptop, which has a graphic of Captain Falcon and Nowi together, with hearts and sparkles and whatnot, and the text "Nowi, will you still be mine?" at the bottom* Captain Falcon and Itsuki had me work on this thing for weeks, after Jakob was disposed of. With everyone speculating that Falcon was moving on to Olivia, Falcon wanted everyone to see this graphic, to decrease such speculation. However, only Nowi...and Nah...and Mewtwo...and some very nosy people...got to see it, and the results were just as Falcon intended it to be...**

Captain Falcon hooking back up with Nowi, Ema regaining her trust from Mario and Master Hand, Team Rocket finally being respected, finding Joanne, and Jakob being put in his place for the last time...all those things could be summed up in two special words...

...mission accomplished.


	106. Episode 106: Clipshow

_Author's Note:_

 _No, the title that you see is NOT an anomaly. This chapter is a full-fledged clip show, consisting of some of the best moments of this story, handpicked by myself. I took a well-deserved week-long break after this story was last updated, and I did do any writing AT ALL. And now, I feel refreshed! Especially after playing MK8D (and to a lesser extent, Disgaea 5) on the Switch I got for Christmas. This chapter is a little something that I had been putting together, and should "compensate" for this week. The story will "resume" next week, in the new year. Before I sign off, some guest reviews:_

 _"Can you include the characters from Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star? (Since it got a Switch port) have the characters from Arms shown up yet? A Pac-Man World 2 chapter or reference? A scene of Linkle getting lost while looking for the Smash Mansion? And finally, how soon will we see the Xenosaga and Xenoblade Chronicles X characters showing up?"_

 _The Fate series got a Switch port? Yeah buddy! In that case, I will include Fate characters. No Arms characters have shown up yet. Would be open to doing a Pac-Man World 2 reference. This story could use some Linkle. And I've been planning to have the Xenoblade Chronicles X characters showing up sooner than later; I rented a copy of XC2, and it has been just as I expected. Lots of fun. Here's the second review from our anonymous fellow:_

 _"Can you include the characters from Tales of the Tempest? Will we see any more Street Fighter or Tekken characters show up? Is Ada Wong going to have her Sally Cahill or Cortenay Taylor voice when she appears? And Finally, will more Tales characters show up for the New Year's Eve chapter? (If you plan to make one)"_

 _Maybe. Expect more Street Fighter and Tekken characters to appear in future chapters. Ada Wong may have her Sally Cahill voice. And as you might infer from the chapter title...there's no New Year's Eve chapter, meaning no Tales characters. On to Derick Lindsey:_

 _"is Yoshi still on the run from Birdo since you never stated if he made it back in time for the concert? Because that would be hilarious seeing Yoshi be punished because he couldn't attend the concert and as a result is stuck with Birdo for the next week or so."_

 _You'll see in the next chapter. Next, we have PURPLEFOX:_

 _"Can we have rabbids appear at one point? Maybe a chapter where they invade the mansion."_

 _Rabbids are really the Minions of the video game industry...and a chapter full of Rabbids? I'll have to think about that one. On to Icarus:_

 _"Can you make an episode where Greninja speaks English?"_

 _Perhaps. Now J300 posted an earlier review that I unfortunately did not answer, and so I must answer it now before I forget:_

 _1\. Are Alm and Celica roommates because they are married?  
2\. What does Corrin think of The Last Jedi? Also, who would you think the mansion's resident MCU fan would be?_

 _1\. Precisely. That's why Berkut and Rinea will be roommates when they get married.  
2\. I never revealed Corrin's thoughts about The Last Jedi, did I? I should get to that. As for the mansion's resident MCU fan...that would be Master Hand, if chapter 30's any indication._

 _Now, to answer J300's most recent review:_

 _1._ _Here's an idea about Yoshi: could Yoshi steal Bowser Jr.'s paintbrush, start drawing his pairing creations, and slowly the real Smash residents are kidnapped and replaced by the paint pairing replicas, but nobody notices until the end?_  
 _2\. Will Master Hand teleport everyone to South Korea, or will that not work due to the lack of a Mario and Sonic game for this year?_  
 _3\. Will Peach have a daughter? If so, will it be named in the same way as Charles? Also a question about Takamaru: is he a ninja? If so, should he be in the Ninja Club, or has he been on missions in Japan?_  
 _4\. one last idea: Dr. Cortex, Link, and Dark Pit, after being reprimanded by the bu.y cops, rebel and demand a trial for the Links' misuse of power, which in turn leads to the public humiliation of Master Hand due to his support of the ultimate power the bu.y cops have?_

 _1\. That sounds like that would make for a very fun chapter.  
2\. No Mario and Sonic game for the 2018 Olympics? No matter, Master Hand's still taking everyone to South Korea anyways...or North Korea. Hehehe...  
3\. Haven't decided yet. And as for Takamaru, who I totally forget that he even existed in this story, he's actually a samurai!  
4\. Bu.y cops...who are the bu.y cops? Might need some clarification. Still, the idea of Link and company rebelling and causing public humiliation for Master Hand does sound funny.._

* * *

 **Episode 106: Clipshow**

 **Sonic: What's up, my awesome dudes? Sonic the Hedgehog here, bringing you yet another great episode of "Smash Life"! Now, you're probably wondering why I'm conducting this episode, and since you're kind enough to ask, I'll tell ya...you see, our two awesome producers - LeVar and Brad, who secretly give me chili dogs when we aren't filming - are on vacation, spending the New Year's with their family and friends. Those two won't be back until next week, when they resume filming. And with nobody to film the series, what did LeVar and Brad do? Give me the producing privileges for this episode, of course!**

 **Because I have no clue how to operate a digital camera, I've decided to do a little clip show, to showcase everyone's favorite moments of this series so far - chosen by me! Asked Master if it was a good idea, and he said yes - his loud snoring was already a voice of confirmation. LeVar and Brad...well, let's just say I sent them a text, and they responded saying that my idea was a go. Brad left behind his laptop, which has all the footage of previous episodes. So, without further ado, let's get this clip show started with some fine moments...from yours truly!**

* * *

Sonic drove Mega Man and Rush to Dr. Light's laboratory in his sweet blue corvette - which he got Tails and Knuckles to pay for.

 **Sonic: My original plan was to have Jacky pay for my ride. But after finding out, he purposely spent all his hard-earned cash on coconut bars, which was kinda bad on his part, since Peach ate up the bars like she was Pac-Man, and got sick because she was allergic to coconuts. The fact that she didn't know they were coconut bars did not do any justice to blondes everywhere.**

Mega Man held Rush in his lap, feeling a little sad. He just wasn't used to his trusty companion suffering from an illness.

"How about some tunes to keep your spirits up?" Sonic pressed a button on the radio as a song began playing. Sonic sang along with the lyrics...

"I don't need any song to cheer me up..." said Mega Man, but the hedgehog wouldn't listen.

"WE BE ALL NIGHT...LOOOOOOOVE...LOOOOOOOVE..."

"Sonic please stop, your singing is horrible..."

"WE BE ALL NIGHT...LOOOOOOOVE...LOOOOOOOVE..."

"For Pete's sake will you stop already?!"

Sonic stopped singing. Never did Mega Man angrily yell at anyone - unless they were named Lloyd Irving - and for him to yell at Sonic like that - the hedgehog was scared for his life!

 **Mega Man: Sonic can be infuriating at times to be around with. His personality and mannerisms can really rub off the other brawlers.**

xxxxxxxxxx

As you may know already, Sonic is serving a punishment for his actions in the previous episode (Heroic). His actions resulted in Fiora's apple strudel getting ruined, Diddy Kong's rocketbarrel pack malfunctioning, an invasion of Mr. Saturns, clones of Fox and Falco performing what they believe is parkour, Zelda and Aerith falling off of the roof of the mansion, Wario masquerading as Wario-Man, Mr. Game and Watch in a state of despair, and multitudes of Dragon Ball Z fans triggered all over Seattle, King county, and maybe even beyond. In order for Sonic to pay for the trouble he had caused and then some, Master Hand knew exactly what to do...

"Let me just say you're not exactly the best person to be stuck with, but you're more tolerable than Tails and Knuckles in certain aspects," Sonic said to Bowser, whom he was stuck with. Yes, the hedgehog is stuck to Bowser, wedged in between the spikes on his shell, in a way that he wouldn't be inflicted by said spikes with pain in any way. It might sound a little over the top, but then again, it's what Sonic deserved.

"Shut up man, you're killing my vibe," retorted Bowser, who was monitoring the trick-or-treaters (the Koopalings, Young Link, Toon Link, and Villager) as they were "practicing" a few days before the day of Halloween. The kids are at someone's house right now. "Better be glad Master Hand wouldn't let me put a hurting on you!"

"Of course, I'm way too precious and innocent anyways!" Take this time to laugh your butt of at Sonic's comment, if you will. "What person would want to harm the most fast thing on the planet?"

"Go ask an entire room of brawlers that question and I'll guarantee you everyone will raise their hand."

 **Bowser: My day was already rough, what with me having to monitor these dumb kids while they do their silly "practicing" for trick-or-treating, like they have some skills they need to hone on before Halloween, but when Master Hand told me that I must carry Sonic around on my shell as the hedgehog's punishment, that's when...  
Sonic: *from behind* Um, Bowser, have you forgotten that I can still hear you? Don't you dare say anything negative about me, I may not be the most bearable person out there, but I still have feelings!  
Bowser: And feelings are meant to be hurt...but since you're acting like a whiny little child, I'll let you off the hook!**

"No, we don't want any candy sir, we're just rehearsing for Halloween so we won't experience any problems," Roy said to the man at the front door of the house the trick-or-treaters were at. Bowser kept watch from the sidewalk. "Halloween can become very hectic during the night hours..."

"Don't worry kiddo, I fully understand why you're all doing this, practice makes perfect!" the man gleamed. "I can always give you kids some homemade popcorn balls, how does that sound?" The trick-or-treaters all nodded their heads with glee. Sonic was suddenly feeling bored - looking at nothing but houses and people walking by while unable to move your arms or legs can make you bored as heck - and he needed something to keep him going.

"Hey Bowser, do you mind if I sing some Chance the Rapper to pass the time?" the hedgehog asked the Koopa King, who was more than quick to say no. "Got a song in my head and I need to sing it out..."

"You don't need to sing it out, why not hum it instead?" suggested Bowser, fearful that the man at the front door and those walking by would hear Sonic's endemic singing. You'd be hard-pressed to find any failed singer on _American Idol_ that sings worse than the hedgehog. "It's just as effective as..."

"YOU DON'T WANT NO PROBLEM, WANT NO PROBLEM WITH ME, HUH! YOU DON'T WANT NO PROBLEM, WANT NO PROBLEM WITH ME!" Everyone from the Koopalings, to the two Links, to Villager, to the man at the front door, to those walking by, heard Sonic's terrible singing and all thought their eardrums were melting. That's how bad Sonic's singing is; Mega Man once had to subject himself to this torture when he had to ride with Sonic to Dr. Light's lab. Sonic's singing voice still rings in the robot's ears...or auditory canals...or auditory chips...or however the heck that robot's supposed to hear.

"My goodness, what is that horrid sound?" the man, holding a plate of popcorn balls, grimaced. "Sounds like my mother-in-law when she's crying! Don't think I can take this anymore, sorry kids!" Unable to take Sonic's singing anymore, the man rushed back inside his house, closing the door, locking it shut, and closed the curtains, as "Baba O'Reily" by The Who was blasted from inside the man's home, in an attempt to drown out Sonic's singing voice.

"Nice going father, we could have gotten some popcorn balls if not for you!" Bowser Jr. and his pals frowned at Bowser, who threw up his arms in the air. Sonic continued to sing, and it practically scared everyone on the block away.

"Yeah Bowser, for real man, way to be a jerk to your own kids, and to Young Link, Toon Link, and Villager as well!" Sonic momentarily stopped singing just to tell Bowser this, before resuming his singing. This is gonna be a long, awful day for the Koopa King...

xxxxxxxxxx

Luigi, Daisy, and the wedding guests were guided by the vendor to an outside venue for the cocktail party, after Luigi and Daisy's wedding. Everyone helped themselves to some appetizers, and engaged in some conversation. Sonic (in his flannel attire) was conversing with Reyn, a dear childhood friend of Shulk's.

"Do you ever listen to 'City Escape' from _Sonic Adventure 2_?" the hedgehog asked the Homs. "City Escape" is one of Sonic's favorite songs, and he is incessantly annoying people about it.

"No, and I don't plan on doing so," replied Reyn, grabbing his appetizers quickly so he can get away from the hedgehog and hang out with his Homs friends.

"Oh really? Then you're an idiot!" Sonic said before blowing his tongue and Reyn at stormed away angrily. Reyn just stood there with a blank face while Sonic went to go speak with his hedgehog friends, Shadow and Silver - although Shadow isn't that much of a friend to anyone.

xxxxxxxxxx

Snake entered the cafe, sipping his coffee, when he saw Sonic eating the donuts he received from Big for his birthday. The former spy wanted to have some donuts for himself; his old geezer body needs as much sweets as it can take.

"See somebody got you donuts," Snake smiled as he neared Sonic, trying to make his move.

"That's right, got me some donuts for my birthday!" exclaimed the hedgehog, chomping down on yet another donut. Donuts aren't exactly what Sonic had in mind, but he'll take them as a birthday gift of sorts.

"Today's your birthday? Happy birthday!" Sonic was nearly offended when Snake asked him if today was his birthday. Time to add the former spy to the growing list of people who don't know...

"You didn't even know today was my birthday, didn't you?" The hedgehog's joy and excitement is starting to dwindle, not even the sweetness of the donuts can cheer the guy up.

"Guess I forgot..." Snake simply shrugged, sincere in his response, but Sonic didn't buy his sincerity one bit.

"Well then I guess I forgot to give you a donut," Sonic rudely closed the donut box, and Snake had a disappointed look on his face. This was his one and only opportunity to grab a donut, and Sonic the birthday boy completely ruined his chances.

"C'mon now, Sonic, you don't have to be like that..." Sonic didn't bother to listen to Snake; he grumpily got up and left the cafe with his box of donuts.

xxxxxxxxxx

The bowling match between Team Mario and Team USA was off to a rolling start, with both teams tied in the early goings of the match. Trece would break the tie when a scored a strike on his first time heading to the lanes.

"Ten points, that's what's up!" Trece gleamed as he looked up at the scoreboard, ten points added to Team USA's point total. He walked back to his seat, passing by Sonic with his bowling high heels. "Try and beat that!" he would say to the hedgehog. Sonic cockily smirked as he grabbed a bowling ball, walked towards a lane, and did the unthinkable - he turned around, his back facing the bowling pins, and spread both of his legs wide.

"YOOOO!" the basketball team reacted to Sonic's extremely questionable bowling stance.

"SON PEOPLE CAN SEE YOU!" Coach yelled at Sonic at the top of his lungs, his face turned red, but it was too late - Sonic rolled the bowling ball through the opening of his legs, and the ball traveled down the lane, the suspense palpating in the bowling alley, until the bowling ball knocked down the pins. Kirby, Pikachu, and Jigglypuff, having been reduced to cheerleaders, cheered on for Sonic - and most of the members from Team Mario did the same - as the hedgehog walked back to his seat, giving his teammates high fives and whatnot.

"At least that method was highly effective," Aerith had to say about Sonic's bowling method, and she certainly wasn't wrong.

* * *

 **Sonic: *laughs* Oh man...I sure know how to crack myself up sometimes! Didn't know I was that funny! Also didn't know I was that talented of a singer...I continue to amaze myself, even to this day. But enough from me, let's shed some spotlight on a pairing in the mansion that has caught my attention: Pit and Viridi. Those two may be in love now, but before then, Pit was afraid of Viridi and her tsundere ways. Speaking of Pit, how about we let in and talk about Viridi's...tenacity? Everyone, welcome in Pit!  
** **Pit: *enters screen left as Sonic claps* What is this supposed to be again?  
** **Sonic: It's a clip show, where we show the best moments of "Smash Life"! And you have been chosen, to...  
** **Pit: Hey, Sonic, can I make a shout-out? *faces camera screen* SONIA STRUMM IF YOU'RE SEEING THIS, I JUST WANT TO LET YOU KNOW THAT YOUR SINGING IS...**  
 **Sonic: Yeah, yeah, yeah, save the shout-outs for later... *pulls Pit away from camera* So Pit, you and Viridi didn't necessarily get along well in the past, for Viridi was going full-blown tsundere for you. Would you like to explain to us how that went?  
Pit: Well Sonic, let's just say that I was afraid for my life at some times...and concerned for my well-being at other times. But I'm glad we're getting along pretty well now.  
Sonic: That's good to hear, man. How about we give our viewers a trip down memory lane, and look back at Viridi's crazy ways?**

* * *

Pit, recovering from a beatdown at the hands of Lucina, laid on Viridi's bed, with Viridi stroking Pit's forehead and Kirby just being there. Knuckles was watching, acting like the creepy old stranger who watches over someone to see if they're okay.

"How are you feeling Pit?" asked Viridi.

"Feeling a little better," replied Pit. He was still sore, but the soreness was not as strong as it once was.

 **Knuckles: Rogue never asked me if I was feeling better when I was hurt! It was always, "What did you do this time?", or "How long you're gonna be like this?" I tell you, that woman...**

"Would you mind if I tell you a secret?" grinned Viridi. You know what's coming next.

"Oh, bother..." groaned Pit. He doesn't know...yet.

"I'm in love...with you." Viridi poked Pit's nose.

"WHY?!" Pit sprung up out of the bed like he was fine and ran out of the room.

"...We'll that was easier than I expected."

xxxxxxxxxx

"C'mon, Pit, ya gotta check out this new room, it's legit!" Knuckles said to Pit as he walked the angel through the halls. The echidna redesigned one of the mansion's rooms, and he wanted Pit to get a first-hand look.

"I'm not so sure about this..." Pit was growing concerned. Usually he would be the first to do things - the first to read Robin's egregious love poems, the first to serve as Lucario's living punching bag, and the first to taste test Palutena's absolutely stupendous carrot stew, which gave everyone including Pit explosive diarrhea. Instances like these always end up bad for Pit, and what Knuckles has in store won't be any different.

The two arrived at a door with a heart on it. Pit investigated this door, wondering what could be behind it.

"Isn't this the paddling room?" he asked. The location of the room and how the door looked seemed familiar to Pit...and for all the wrong reasons.

"Used to be," replied Knuckles. "Mario believed having a paddling room was a stupid and immature idea, and he forced the Black Knight to tear this room down. So then I thought, 'Why not renew the room and make it better?'. And I thought you would be the perfect guy to see what this room's all about!"

"Did Mario approve the Black Knight's idea of a paddling room?"

"You know how Mario can be; he flip-flops more than a pancake."

Knuckles opened the door to the room, which was dark. Pit had a frightened look on his face...he's not scared of the dark, is he?

"In ya go!" Knuckles shoved Pit into the room, and closed the door. In the room, Pit saw portraits of himself, hanging about, and in the center, he found a table with a red cover, a lit candle in the center...

...and Viridi sitting at the opposite end. Pit gulped nervously.

 **Knuckles: The dark room premise? Rouge's idea. A table with a lit candle? Rouge again. And the hanging portraits of Pit? Rouge once more. Darn girl did the same thing to me a long time ago, so I incorporated what she did into the room. Yep, I guess you can say that there's a lot you can learn from in a romantic relationship...**

"Come take a seat, Pit..." Viridi smiled romantically, motioning to the empty chair. She has Pit where she wants him!

"I'm not your boyfriend!" Pit bolted for the door - but where was it? It's so dark, he has no idea where he's going!

"Now, now, my loving Pit, we have no time for your worrying. Just sit in this chair, and all will become clear..."

"I gotta get out of here! Kirby! Palutena! Where are you guys?!" Let's face it, Pit would not survive without the two people he mentioned. You know deep down it's true.

"Please, sit down Pit, and I'll explain everything that needs to explain."

Pit reluctantly headed to the dim-lit table, and took a seat. At any minute, when Viridi least expects it, the angel would bolt out of the room, and head for safety.

"So Pit, what qualities do you look for in a girl?" asked Viridi. A very simplistic question; Pit should have no issue answering this.

"Qualities such as what?" Pit raised an eyebrow, feeling panicked. "Girls shouldn't have any qualities, they're all perfect just the way they are!" What a profound statement by Pit! Strong enough to charm any lady, even Viridi.

"So you're saying I'M perfect?" Viridi gleamed at Pit's statement.

"...Yeah, sure, you're perfect in every sense of the word!" Pit's burying himself in a gigantic hole with every word that's coming out of his mouth.

"Does that mean...you'll be my boyfriend?"

"Heck no, you must be crazy!"

Viridi grabbed Pit by the collar and pulled him to her face, looking into his eyes lovingly AND angrily. The Goddess of Nature was turning full tsundere!

"Now you look here, you adorable little twit! I've devoted too much of my time to win your heart over, and I will not persist on stopping unless you do so! Either you decide to be my boyfriend, or I'll leave you to waste in the Reset Bomb Forest forever! Certainly you know how the reset bombs work, and what they are capable of..."

"Please, I beg of you, don't take me there!" Pit begged.

"Then choose to be my boyfriend!"

"Whatever you say..."

"Give me a definite answer!"

"Yes, yes, I'll be your boyfriend!"

"Good boy!" Viridi released her hold on Pit and tapped him on the head, and then kissing him on the cheek. Pit whimpered like a baby.

 **Pit: What have I gotten myself into...I'm simply not cut for this boyfriend thing! How come she never falls for Dark Pit, he's much more attractive than I am! Wait that didn't come out right...**

xxxxxxxxxx

In order to keep his distance from Viridi, Pit was eating some ice cream in the cafe. He was eating a giant banana split, and his buddy Kirby was assisting him. Two heads are better than one.

"Pit, this potion really hits the bomb!" Viridi approached the Pit with a love potion in hir hand. "You gotta try it!"

"Not now Viridi I'm busy," responded Pit. He can't have the banana split melt; it would be a waste of money. He spent all the money Palutena had given to purchase the dessert, so now he doesn't have any money to do or buy anything...

"But it tastes better than that banana split, I guarantee you!"

"How about you drink some of that potion, so I'll know it's good?"

Should Viridi do it? Ashley never mentioned what may happen if the person giving the potion away drank it. Now's not the time to take any huge risks.

"Please, Pit, I'm begging you, just one sip, that's all I'm asking for!" Viridi got down on her knees and begged. Everyone in the cafe just watched as Viridi was making a scene.

"I'll do it, if it'll make you shut up," Pit grabbed the vial, and instead of taking a sip, which Viridi had told him to do...drunk the whole thing. Knuckles, who was watching from a distance, gaped as his jaw dropped on the floor. Ashley said some dire consequences could result from drinking the entire potion - what might happen to Pit?

 **Ashley: Drinking the entire potion will likely obliterate most of Pit's urinary system. The damage will either be partial, or very significant.**

"Shoot, I gotta go to the restroom!" Pit's bladder began to act uncooperative. The angel got up from his seat and ran to the nearest restroom, and wetted himself along the way.

"What...just happened...?" Knuckles joined Viridi, as he just stared in bewilderment.

"Pit might have developed a case of urinary incontinence..." replied Viridi. How long will this incontinence last? Let's just hope it doesn't prolong for the rest of the trip...

* * *

 **Sonic: Unfortunately Pit left us...watching those clips of him and Viridi must've scared him away. Either that, or he just had to pee, like he had to in the last clip we viewed. While we're on the topic about romance, there was a man who was snakebitten when it came to finding love before meeting Nowi...and his name, is Captain Falcon. This man was desperately trying to find a suitable woman, but he kept failing each and every time. Let's take a look back at Falcon's many failures...**

* * *

Sheik continued snooping around the mansion, searching for clues or evidence surrounding R.O.B's website. Her snooping led her to the vendor room - a room filled with vending machines - where Link, Dunban, and Mega Man .EXE were present. Sheik hid near the entrance of the room so she could eavesdrop on the men.

"Hey they mama, watcha doing all alone?" Captain Falcon approached Sheik; the ninja grabbed the racer by the neck and pressed on several pressure points, knocking him out unconscious and laying him on the ground.

 **Captain Falcon: Sheik is so fine man...the way she puts me in a chokehold and then puts me to sleep...on top of that she remains calm and collected, and acts like Princess Zelda, a dignified woman. I would pay to see those two meet each other...I say the same thing to my fellow brawlers, and they just point and laugh at me...why is that so?**

"May I have this dance, ma'am?" a very wonky Captain Falcon asked as he woke up from his unconsciousness. Shiek pressed one of his pressure points, making him unconscious again.

xxxxxxxxxx

Many of the lady brawlers were chilling in a pool on the cruise with several other ladies, letting the water ease their troubles away. The women consisted of Lucina, Rosalina, Wii Fit Trainer, Samus, Bayonetta... and Wario and Captain Falcon? What business do they have here?!

"Care to ask this lovable hunk out on a date?" he asked the female brawlers.

"Lovable hunk?" scoffed Bayonetta. "Someone here is quite the comedian, I should say..."

"Get lost, you creeps, this is a women's only pool," frowned Samus. Captain Falcon and Wario just HAD to sign up for the cruise, did they?

"Being in a women's only with boatloads of hot women has been a dream of ours, and now it's coming true!" stated Wario. The female brawlers grimaced; a dream involving hot women and a gender-only pool shows you how strangely aberrant Captain Falcon and Wario are.

 **Captain Falcon: Practically the only reason I signed up to go on this cruise is to meet hot girls! But every girl I approached turned me down instantly...either they have poor taste, or this cruise sucks!**

xxxxxxxxxx

"Surprised to see you in town," Captain Falcon said to Meryl Silverburgh, leaning his back against a wall during the wedding reception. Here comes yet another failed flirting attempt... "How about we go out and eat, while the others tarry at the lovely reception?"

"If I'm going out to eat with anyone, it's Johnny Sasaki, my husband," replied Meryl. This broke Falcon's heart - this whole time, he never knew Meryl was married, and this whole time, he was trying to get closer to Meryl...only for his efforts to end in failure yet again.

"It would be for the best if you just give up," Vincent Valentine approached Captain Falcon, who was whimpering like a baby, and rested his hand on his shoulder. "No point in coming up short every time."

Captain Falcon and Proto Man (against his will) were huddled together in the Olympic Village, inside the hotel. The two managed to sneak inside said hotel without being detected, and they did so for one purpose...

"Today is the day in which I'm gonna ask out a hot Olympian and put my romantic woes to an end!" Captain Falcon confidently said to Proto Man, who scoffed at the racer's ambition. Falcon can't even look at any of the female brawlers for ten seconds without warranting a complaint, what possibly makes him think he can ask out a female Olympian? "We'll just wait here until a smoking hot babe comes out of one of those doors..."

"Um, Captain Falcon, don't mean to rain on your parade...but are we on the wrong floor?" asked Proto Man, as he saw two basketball players - one dark-skinned, the other light-skinned - walking towards them, both conversing with one another. "This doesn't seem like the women's dorm..." We'll call the dark-skinned player Wayne, and his light-skinned teammate will go by Alexander, or Alex for short.

"Hey bro, you and your friend lost?" Wayne stopped and asked Captain Falcon this very question; Falcon flashed a confident smile, assuring Wayne and Alex that there was nothing wrong. "Also, how did you even get in here past the police?"

"No worries fellas, we aren't lost - we're the new janitors!" exclaimed the racer; Proto Man just had to facepalm and shake his head in dismay, what a poor answer on Captain Falcon's part. "We're looking for our new boss, wherever he may be!"

 **Captain Falcon: When you're snooping about in unwanted places, what is the first thing you say when people ask about your motives or whereabouts? Just tell them that you're a janitor, or someone looking for a job as a janitor, and they'll won't see you through! Everyone knows nobody cares about janitors, and that's what makes the whole trick even better!  
** **Proto Man: Also makes the "trick" even worse, now you've gotten us in hot water...  
Captain Falcon: Our janitor facade will last until I find that hot woman, so we have nothing to worry about!  
Proto Man: So that means we'll be janitors forever...seems legit.**

 _(also in that very same episode...)_

Fresh off of an Olympic gymnastics performance which consisted of earning a gold medal and two silver medals, the female gymnast whom we shall call Rose strolled through the streets of Rio, possibly playing _Pokemon Go_ on her phone like most people do nowadays when out of nowhere, Captain Falcon jumped out of nowhere, giving Rose a slight fright.

"Hey there, good lookin', you wanna be my girlfriend?" the race car driver asked Rose, who felt more concerned for her well-being in Rio than anything. Resident thugs, purse snatchers, heck, even the Zika virus - none of those deter the fearless gymnast. But nothing strikes fear in you more than a grown man in a racing suit and helmet popping out of nowhere and wanting you to be your girlfriend. The stuff of nightmares.

"Um, not sure if you knew this, but...I'm only twenty two," stated Rose, looking around for someone, preferably one of her gymnast teammates, to save her. But no one was there, and that only raised the nightmare fuel to exceeding amounts.

"Good, I like 'em young, like R. Kelly!" Captain Falcon rubbed his hands in a creepy manner, thereby making Rose even more nervous. "Once these Olympics are officially over, you're all mine..." The racer walked towards Rose, who slowly backed away, until Proto Man saved the day, running out of the bushes that Falcon instructed him to stay behind until further notice and restricting Falcon's movement.

"Quit it, Captain Falcon, she's well beyond your league!" Proto Man told the racer as he dragged him away from Rose. "Why can't you just put this whole finding a girlfriend thing to rest once and for all?"

 **Proto Man: Captain Falcon told me that we're not leaving Brazil at all, unless he can find an Olympian, Brazilian woman, tourist, or whatever, who can be a suitable girlfriend. Going by that logic, we might as well become full-fledged Brazil citizens...**

"Save yourself before it's too late!" Proto Man yelled to Rose, dragging Captain Falcon away with the racer fighting back with all his might. Rose did as she was told.

* * *

 **Sonic: Oh, Captain Falcon...even when he's hopelessly looking for a girlfriend, he knows how to be funny. Just like me. He knows how to be hilarious. However, the same cannot be said for Lucina and Sazh Katzroy, who both did stand-up comedy and failed miserably at it. Who had the better comedic performance? I'll let you be the judge of that.**

* * *

Lucina held her comedy rehearsal at the lounge, continuing to practice on the Pokemon (Greninja had left because he couldn't take it anymore) and Duck Hunt Dog. This time, Robin was also in attendance, listening attentively to Lucina's jokes. Let's see how the princess is doing...

"So the other day, when I was in the forest, I found some fog, and I tried to take a picture of it on my cellphone, but you won't believe what happened..." Lucina started off her joke.

"What happened?" asked Robin, nearly on the edge of the seat for whatever reason, it's not like the joke is ripe with suspense or anything.

"I tried to take a picture but...I mist!" Lucina followed this joke with her awfully fake laughter, and Robin was laughing along with Lucina (his laugh was genuine, unlike Lucina's), slapping his knee and wiping away a tear.

"Get it? She said she MIST!" Robin said this to the Pokemon and Duck Hunt Dog, before laughing for a few more seconds. Duck Hunt Dog faced the Pokemon, making a circling motion near the side of his head with his index finger and pointing at Robin to indicate that the mage may have completely lost it, and Pikachu, Pichu, and Jigglypuff all nodded in agreement. Ness happened to walk by, and Robin asked him, "Did you hear the joke Lucina just told?"

"Heard it from the couch I was sitting at," responded Ness. "Honestly that joke was..."

"I think that joke was great, two thumbs up, ten out of ten!" Clearly Robin is doing his all-time best to make Lucina feel more confident and comfortable about her material, but as you can see, the mage is trying a bit too hard.

 _(later in the episode...)_

Sephiroth, on the hunt for Cloud, entered the gaming room, where Lucina's stand-up comedy gig came to a stop when the one-winged angel was in full focus.

Then the tension in the room soon began to build up, when Cloud stood up to face his arch-enemy. Sephiroth looked to his left, and saw Aerith, who was seated but slowly stood up to stand by Cloud's side when the one-winged angel gazed his eyes at her.

"Of all the days this could have happened, and it happened to be my birthday..." Ryu, the birthday man, facepalmed.

"ROUNDS!" Lloyd Irving excitedly got up just to say this, anticipating a battle between Cloud and Sephiroth. The two swordsmen and everyone else gave Lloyd a silly look, and the young lad slowly sat back down, feeling a bit humiliated. Nice job at interrupting a tense, suspenseful scene Lloyd.

 **King Dedede: Lloyd, Lloyd, Lloyd...always messing up the best things. He is such a party pooper - the worst kind of party pooper too.**

"Cloud Strife, we meet again..." uttered Sephiroth, his glare on Cloud intensifying. "And I see you've been re-united with your one true love, Aerith...tell me Cloud, did you have to sell your soul just to be with her? Aerith told me about the doppelganger that I killed in the altar..."

"There is no doppelganger...you've been hoodwinked this whole time, and you never knew about it," stated Cloud, downplaying the fact that Aerith is technically from another universe - let's hope Lloyd doesn't spill the beans about that. Mario, who was calmly sitting in his seat while the tension built up, motioned to Lucina, letting her continue her stand-up comedy act.

"Well, don't know about you guys, but I got some jokes about unemployed people..." said Lucina, attempting to ease the tension. "I would use them...but none of them work."

"Wait, what?" Sephiroth looked towards Lucina, his ears trying to comprehend what he just heard. "What on earth was that?" Everyone was laughing at Lucina's crappy joke, and that unnerved the one-winged angel for whatever reason.

"And did you guys hear about the pirate that couldn't learn the alphabet?" Lucina grabbed the microphone off the mic stand, feeling and looking more confident now. "Turns out he was always lost at C!" The laughter went up another decibel, and Sephiroth had to cover his ears to avoid this auditory sound. "Also, that lion from _The Lion King,_ I think his name was Simba - remember that scene when he was running through the desert? Someone should have told him to MUFASA!"

The hysterical laughter from the brawlers continued to rise in volume levels, and it was wracking Sephiroth's brain. The laughter was clearly too much for him to handle, he was nearing his breaking point...

 **Cloud: Cringe and laughter - mix these two together, and you got yourselves the perfect recipe to hinder Sephiroth and bring him down to his knees. Of course, the laughter wouldn't be possible if not for Lucina's audience...Mario had paid each audience member to laugh hysterically at Lucina's jokes, as suggested by Amy. What we would have done if not for that hedgehog...Sonic should be feeling truly grateful.**

xxxxxxxxxx

 **Sazh: Can't keep the crowd waiting, time to go onstage...whatever happens onstage stays onstage, and if this goes down as the most humiliating experience of my life...then so be it. Good thing my son Dajh won't be here to see my embarrassment.**

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, people of all ages..." Yashiro spoke into a microphone, dressed in a sparkling suit and standing on the lecture hall stage ready to call upon the attraction of the night. "Put your hands together for...the great Richard Pryor!" The crowd was cheering and applauding initially...and the cheers and applause would die down as Sazh walked onstage, waving to a crowd that was expecting Richard Pryor...it was in this very moment that the audience learned that Doc Louis (who thought Sazh was Richard Pryor reincarnated and told everyone about his "revival") was a delusional fool.

"City of Seattle, what's poppin'!" Sazh greeted the now dead silent crowd, glad they didn't have to pay any money. "How y'all feelin'? Feelin' alright?" Understandably, nobody bothered to answer the question...unless you were Lloyd Irving.

"Yeah, Richard Pryor in the house, let's go!" the naive swordsman cheered, whistling loudly for Sazh while others seated around him just looked at the guy like he was crazier than Doc Louis. Speaking of whom, Doc was seated next to Little Mac, wondering why Lloyd was the only person cheering.

"My guy right there, that's my guy!" Sazh pointed at Lloyd, who was clapping as he sat back in his seat. Earlier today Lloyd was convinced that Sazh was a wizard, and now he thinks the guy is Richard Pryor, like Doc Louis? "Boy let me tell y'all folks - you got no idea what it's like to be alive again! When I came back to life, one of the first things I did was go fishing with Skrillex - everyone knows him, right?" Nothing but dead silence. "Shame that our fishing trip didn't go so well...because that man Skrillex kept dropping the bass!" After this joke was uttered, K.K. Slider performed a "ba-dum-tiss" on his drum set...and got no reaction from the crowd. The hippie dog was now understanding the humiliation Sazh was going through...

* * *

 **Sonic: Yeah...gonna have to give the edge to Sazh over Lucina, just because he told fewer jokes. Thankfully, Corrin came to the lecture hall dressed up as Darth Vader and stopped the cringefest from continuing. Corrin has been obsessed with _Star Wars_ since the start of the year, and his fascination with _Star Wars_ has taken on a very peculiar journey. One his siblings in Nohr aren't fond of!**

* * *

"Your total amount will be...$598.24," the cashier told Wario after tallying up all the prices, as the Romance Club...and Corrin...and Link...were grocery shopping. As you would might assume by the price, Marth made Corrin and Felicia buy a lot of stuff. "Do you have a Walmart savings card with you, good sir?"

"Knew we should have went to a self-checkout station, would have gotten away filthy rich..." Wario grumbled as he pulled out his wallet and whipped out his Walmart card. He looked up and saw a familiar face heading towards the exit. "Hey, look you guys, it's that Emperor Palpatine guy I was talking about not so long ago!" Wario pointed at the man in question, though Marth and company didn't bother to pay the man any mind...but Corrin was intrigued.

 **Corrin: Emperor Palpatine is one of my favorite _Star Wars_ characters, unlike that horrendously hideous fool Jar Jar Binks. I love how he has a black hood over his head, which increases his mystique and makes him look somewhat polarizing. As much as I would want to wear a black hood like him around the mansion, I can't afford anyone to sound any false alarms and claim me to be one from the Organization XIII.**

"Emperor Palpatine, is that really you?" Corrin broke away from the group to inspect the man that supposedly looked like the _Star Wars_ characters. The man just looked questionably at the prince, who inspected his face and came to a wonderful conclusion... "It really is you Palpatine, what a good pleasure to see you in person, at a superstore of all places!" The man looked around pointing at himself, wondering how he looked like Emperor Palpatine to begin with. Corrin was already starting a scene, what with customers a many looking at him, but the prince would prolong the scene and embarrass his fellow brawlers in the process when he got down on one knee, kneeling before the man and said, "What is thy bidding, my master?"

"Corrin you buffoon, get back here this instant!" Marth yelled at the prince, acting like he was his mother. That was how it looked to some, Marth being a father figure to Corrin. "You're not Darth Vader, and that man is NOT Emperor Palpatine! He's just a regular guy!"

xxxxxxxxxx

Pit and Kamui arrived at Kamui's room, and once Kamui opened the door to her room, she saw Corrin sitting on the bunk bed, his eyes glued to the Smart TV. The television was paused, and both Pit and Kamui were figuring out what was up.

"Brother what seems to be the matter, why is the TV paused?" Kamui asked as she and Pit stepped inside the room. Corrin slowly turned his head towards the two, and had a crazed expression on his face, like he had made a very important discovery that should be documented at once.

"The man I met at Walmart last week whom I thought was Emperor Palpatine wasn't Emperor Palpatine..." uttered the prince of Nohr; anyone could have told him that much. "But this man, the man on the television, may be Emperor Palpatine...going incognito!" Corrin pointed at the television screen, and on the screen was a frowning man, in his sixties, wearing a Patriots hoodie with the hood concealed over his head. The way the man looked, it appeared as if he was ready to unleash a diabolical evil plan on the world at any given minute.

"Hey I know that guy, that's Bill Belichick, the coach of the New England Patriots!" exclaimed Pit. Hard not to mistake Belichick's unfriendliness and scorn. "Boy he sure looks ticked...then again, he looks like that all of the time."

"Yes, the name Bill Belichick is an alias Emperor Palpatine assumes when he's on Earth; he masquerades as the coach of New England, using his Earth job as a means to not only steal American money from the Patriots organization, but to devise evil plans to conquer and rule the Earth while quarterback Tom Brady deflects the attention (well, most of the attention) from him!" Corrin's crazy theory was enough to make Pit look at Kamui and circle his finger around the side of his head, indicating to the Nohrian princess that her twin brother had officially lost it.

"I believe that's enough television for one day, Corrin," Kamui took the remote control and unpaused the Smart TV, before turning the television off and putting the remote away in a place where Corrin won't be tempted to find it. The prince was apparently determined to prove his theory to others, no matter how many people will outright ridicule him.

 _(after "Emperor Palpatine" was saved later that day...)_

"You're very welcome, Emperor Palpatine," replied Corrin, catching Grumps off-guard. Seriously Corrin?! "Since I saved you, you must pay me back in some way...why don't you take me to Naboo, where the Death Star is? Please, I beg of you..."

"Look kid, I appreciate the offer, but I'm _not_ Emperor Palpatine. Thanks for noticing, though." Grumps walked away, but he would only walk a few feet before Corrin grabbed unto his leg, holding on for dear life. "For the last time, I'm not Emperor Palpatine, and I'm not taking you to some fictional place named Death Star!"

"But you're here Palpatine, so everything is now real to me!" replied Corrin, his body scraping against the floor as Grumps tried to walk away. At this point, not even Kamui could save her hapless twin brother from being himself.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Kamui have you seen-a Corrin anywhere, he's escaped-a from the men's restroom!" Mario, at a _Star Wars_ convention with Luigi and rotom, said to the princess, who wasn't all surprised; even though Kamui knew Corrin was a naive fool, she also knew that the prince could craftily get out of certain situations when given the chance.

"Haven't seen Corrin anywhere, but I sure hope he stays away from that man," responded Kamui, still holding the Sphero BB-8 toy robot in her hands. She still wasn't giving up that $130 toy. "We cannot afford any trouble while we're at the convention..."

"Too bad for that - Corrin is now advancing towards the man that plays Emperor Palpatine in the _Star Wars_ films!" Rotom spotted Corrin from afar, and Mario, Luigi, and Kamui all looked at the direction Rotom was looking, fearing for the worst...

There was Corrin, feet away from a man he believed was Emperor Palpatine. The man in question was busy signing the autographs of _Star Wars_ fans that had been dying to see him, for the man was a famous actor who played Palpatine; we shall dub him Mac. Corrin, who was slowly inching towards Mac, couldn't wait any longer and literally barged through the multitude of _Star Wars_ fans to reach Mac.

"Well hey there kid, how can I...help you?" Mac asked as he looked down...only to see Corrin hugging him, his arms wrapped around the actor's waist. A very embarrassing moment for Mario and company; it was good enough that they were as far away from Corrin as possible.

"I love you, Emperor Palpatine..." Corrin said happily, as he was stuck to Mac like glue. Nothing could take this moment away from him.

"Thanks kiddo, but I'm not really Emperor Palpatine - I'm just a guy who happens to play as him in the _Star Wars_ movies."

"I love you, Emperor Palpatine..." Corrin said for a second time, in slight disbelief that he was in contact with whom he believed was the real Emperor Palpatine.

"Haha, I love you too kid...now can you let go please? Got more autographs to sign, can't leave these people disappointed."

"I love you, Emperor Palpatine..." Corrin said once more, this time allowing the words to permeate inside of Mac and soak into the very marrow of his soul.

"Security!" But Mac would let Corrin's finest moment come to an end, as he called for security guards to take Corrin away. Prying the prince off of the actor was not an easy task for security.

"No, please don't take me from Emperor Palpatine, I have yet to have a legit conversation with him! So many things to discuss, like the state of the Galactic Empire, for instance, or why the stormtroopers are in Orlando!" Lord help this dude...

 **Mac: Yes, I shouldn't have let that silver-haired boy hug me for that long, but sometimes when you deal with _Star Wars_ fanatics, you gotta give them what they want. Most of my concerns hinge upon the fact that he believes I'm Emperor Palpatine, not the person who _plays_ as Emperor Palaptine...sadly some folks can't tell fantasy apart from reality. It's like a mental disease.**

* * *

 **Sonic: Corrin seriously hugged the man who played Emperor Palpatine in the films? What an obsessed weirdo...good thing he's nothing like my good friend, Knuckles, who is the hottest rapper on the scene. Knuckles loves rap, and he may think of himself as the best, but little does he know that there are other rappers out to claim his crown...**

* * *

"Yo, Cloud Strife, what up dude!" Fox approached Cloud, a newcomer to the mansion.

"Yeah man, welcome to the big house!" said Falco, who was accompanying Fox.

"What do you two want?" grumbled Cloud.

"We're here to introduce ourselves!"

 **Fox: We would do a formal introduction and all, but that has become way too commonplace.  
** **Falco: Which is why we're gonna introduce ourselves in an entirely different way!**

So instead of a formal introduction, Fox decided to rap, with Falco in the background beat-boxing. Let's see how Fox's rap goes...

 _My name's Fox McCloud,_  
 _And this is Falco Lombardi!_  
 _When it comes to making an impact,_  
 _We're always never tardy!_  
 _Beating up brawlers,_  
 _Stomping their faces in the ground,_  
 _We're the best fighters,_  
 _Pound for pound!_  
 _We take no prisoners,_  
 _No need for mercy,_  
 _We've been topping tier lists,_  
 _No time for controversy!_  
 _If you wanna learn how to be great,_  
 _Just look up to us,_  
 _We smash through our competition_  
 _Like a speeding school bus!_  
 _Word!_

"Booo!" Knuckles the Echidna booed the Star Fox pilots from a coffee table. He was playing cards with Pac-Man, Wario, and Ike.

xxxxxxxxxx

Little Mac of all people entered the recording studio, sporting a smirk. Accompanying him was Doc Louis, who was slightly disappointed. His protege was about to indulge in his least favorite thing ever.

"Do we really have to do this Mac?" asked a disgruntled Doc. When Little Mac said he wanted a side career, Doc was hoping that it would have something to do with the candy business (and he thought that for obvious reasons). But he never expected the boxer to pursue a rap career, of all things. Who does he think he is, the modern day Vanilla Ice?

"It is my destiny to be a rapper - the modern day Vanilla Ice!" proclaimed Little Mac, raising his fist in the air. Figures...

 **Little Mac: In order to beat the best, I have to be the best! Roy Jones Jr is one of the best boxers around, and he's a pretty decent rapper, if not a great one! It was his "secondary career", as I call it. A rap career will establish myself as one of the best!  
** **Doc Louis: Mike Tyson was one of the best boxers at the time, and his secondary career was an actor! You can become an actor, right?  
Little Mac: Nice try, Doc, but nothing will deter me from my rap exploits!  
Doc Louis: Of all people, and it just had to be you...**

Little Mac stepped inside the recording booth, ready to record some epic bars.

 _Uh, my name's Little Mac,  
Got all my cash lined up in a stack,  
Indefinite rhyme is what y'all lack,  
Gon' catch a whole lotta flak,  
Haters can't hold me back,  
Go harder than a running back,  
Some off y'all need to cut the slack,  
Cause y'all nothin' but a bunch of HACKS!_

Falco, Knuckles, and Doc Louis stared at Little Mac in bewilderment. Actually, Doc wasn't bewildered - he's still very disappointed about Mac's "secondary career" choice.

"That...was...HORRIBLE!" exclaimed Falco. His ears were trying to decipher what they just heard. "All he did was use the same rhyme over and over again! Blasphemous!"

xxxxxxxxxx

Heihachi had just finished singing the outro to Elvis Presley's "Return to Sender" at karaoke night, and received some nifty applause from the crowd. With Heihachi's turn up, the kung fu fighter had to hand the mic to someone else...and he had the perfect person in mind.

"Show everyone that you're more than just some tough fighter, Ryu!" said Heihachi as he tossed the microphone to Ryu. The _Street Fighter_ veteran caught the mic with one hand, and walked confidently towards the stage as he assumed his position.

"Play me the freshest song you got!" Ryu said to DJ K.K., who immediately pulled up the song. Everyone's face would sank when the DJ started playing "Look At Me Now", by Chris Brown...Ryu wasn't gonna rap, was he? "Fast-forward to the Busta Rhymes part!" Oh dear...

"You got it!" said DJ K.K., as he fast-forwarded to the part. Ryu took a deep breath, before rapping...here's a gist of what he said...

 _Let's go!_  
 _'Cause I'm feeling like I'm running_  
 _And I'm feeling like I gotta get away, get away, get away_  
 _Better know that I don't and I won't ever stop_  
 _'Cause you know I gotta win everyday-day_  
 _See, they really really wanna pop me_  
 _Just know that you will never flop me_  
 _And I know that I can be a little cocky_  
 _You ain't never gonna stop me_  
 _Everytime I come, a playa gotta set it_  
 _Then I gotta go, and then I gotta get it_  
 _Then I gotta blow, and then I gotta show that_  
 _Any little thing that playa think that he be doing_  
 _'Cause it doesn't matter, 'cause I'm gonna da-da-da-da..._

Almost everyone had a stunned look on their face during the entire rap. Ryu. _Street Fighter_ 's own Ryu. Literally rapping for everyone. Then there was the chorus...

 _Look at me now, look at me now (Oh)_  
 _I'm gettin' paper_  
 _Look at me now (Oh) look at me now (Yeah)_  
 _Fresher than your mother, word!_

Ryu would direct the last line at Lucas, who as you know, had a deceased mother. Lucas started welling up with tears in his eyes, and Peach was quick to notice.

 **Heihachi: *stares dumbfoundedly at camera with mouth wide open***

 **Ryu: My rap performance, while surprising, was underwhelming...Chun-li being there would have made it ten times better. Regardless, seeing so many shocked faces in one kind of made it all the more worthwhile.**

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"We are now ready to start the first ever Inkopolis Rap Battle!" Maria announced a massive crowd of Inklings at Inkopolis, on a large stage where Off the Hook would typically perform. On this stage was Mario and Pearl, both wearing gold chains fitting for the occasion, and Judd, serving as the judge. "In this corner, hailing from the Mushroom Kingdom, we have Mario!" Mario greeted the crowd, smiling as he waved his hand, receiving only cheers from the mansion residents in attendance. "And in this corner, we have one-half of Off the Hook, our very own...Pearl!" Pearl received an uproar of cheers from well near every Inkling in attendance, as Pearl gave a peace sign to the crowd. "Judd will serve as our judge, he will decide who wins."

"Mario is about to fail miserably, I can already tell..." Mega Man whispered to .EXE, who nodded his head in agreement. "You wanna go look around at Inkopolis while Mario's busy taking his L with dignity?"

"Don't think Mario will have _any_ dignity once the rap battle is over with," replied .EXE, as he followed Mega Man and Rush away from the crowd. "Let's go see if the shops here have anything worth buying." As the robots left, a certain Inkling carrying a parosol saw them walk away...and quickly followed after them.

"Our homegirl Pearl will go first, so when you're ready Pearl, just do your thing!" said Marina, and Pearl got her microphone ready as the crowd cheered her on. Once the music started, Pearl faced Mario with her game face on, ready to drop some bars.

 _I'll be spittin' my bars, they'll be like a slap upside your head,  
_ _I'll be goin' off, and I'll leave you dead,  
_ _And while you'll be hating,  
_ _Your raps will be just imitating,  
_ _Me, I'm the real, the original,  
_ _I be bringin' the pain and all,  
_ _And there's nothing this little playa can do who thinks he's bigga  
_ _Than a certain gorilla but his rhymes don't even back up a figure of speech,  
_ _So just forfeit and take your owning with peace, in your sleep,  
_ _It sounds like you rap in your sleep anyway, counting sheep,  
_ _It's nonsense and intolerable crap,  
_ _I oughta slap the whack jack who tried to teach you to rap with a free app_

"OOOOOOH!" the Inklings reacted; Mario, knowing what he was up against, nodded his head as he got into the groove. Once the crowd died down, and the music started playing again, it was now Mario's time to shine...

 _Girl you think instigating is the solution,_  
 _But to witness my rhymes you need a higher resolution_  
 _When I rap I rap faster than every trash rapper_  
 _That finishes last or gets in my way, I'm bigger than every_  
 _Playa pull the trigger to death of their raps you're wack,_  
 _Can't come back,_  
 _Steppin' all over on the sidewalk crack_  
 _Breakin' more than just your mama's back_  
 _I'll beat you in a stack_  
 _Cause I got the knack for whack_  
 _In slack wack rhymes from blacks_  
 _So don't even pretend to be on my level,_  
 _Call me mega, 'cause I rock the bass AND the treble_  
 _Word!_

"OOOOOOH!" the Inklings reacted, as Mario left Pearl stunned. The mansion residents were even more stunned - who knew Mario had that much in him?!

 **Male Inkling: At first I thought Mario would be dead meat on the same stage as Pearl, but after his first verse...he might very well be an Inkopolis folk hero.**

"Well then...that was very unexpected," chuckled Marina, while Pearl regained her composure. "Let's see if Pearl will bounce back!" The music played, and Pearl readied herself for another verbal manslaughter:

 _I've been creating raps, the sap, the gap,_  
 _Between us is like a trap, your rhymes are crap,_  
 _Never ever get your snap on,_  
 _You're coming on my hour, against my power,_  
 _When really you're as humble and weak as a flower,_  
 _You're sour, you need a trip to a shower,_  
 _At the end of my raps, all you'll do is cower,_  
 _How're you, gonna compete with me,_  
 _This is a breeze, do with ease, bring you all the way down to your knees,_  
 _And it's like I'm coming at you like a swarm of angry bees_  
 _So just quit, fore I spit quick rhymes with a bit more light_  
 _Than your about-to-quit crap that's not even chic,_  
 _I got all of it down, I'm always wearing the crown,_  
 _You frown, you should just leave town_

"OOOOOOH!" the Inklings reacted once more, but Mario was undeterred, he wasn't going to let Pearl's verse bring him down. So the plumber got ready to fire back, and after the music started back up, he was ready to spit more fire:

 _I'm gonna wear your crown cause I'm gonna beat your sorry rapper self,_  
 _You make rhymes like you think you're one of Santa's elves,_  
 _They suck, they come from a factory you understand,_  
 _You can't handle the power of The Man,_  
 _I can't hear your raps without laughing,_  
 _But it's all the same cause I'll be blasting_  
 _Your raps out the sky, they're wounded birds,_  
 _You cringe at the awesomeness of my words_  
 _You can't take a playa so sweet at rappin all the time,_  
 _You only spit the crap words out your mouth that ain't worth a dime_  
 _I actually get hurt by your lame pathetic rap attempts_  
 _You'll go hide from me in the woods in your little tent_  
 _Now I got you frowning like one of Archie Manning's sons_  
 _Got this Octoling and her fan mob in some deep trouble...you all shook ones_

"OOOOOOH!" the Inklings reacted yet again, as Mario dropped his mic and smugly grinned at Pearl's frowning face. Mario had this rap battle in the bag.

 **Mario: Last-a set of bars was improvised...but I gotta give-a credit where it's-a due. Kirby is far-a more competent than I give-a him credit for. Props goes-a to Pit, too, though I think Kirby did-a all the work...**

"What an awesome comeback from Mario, he really brought his A game!" Marina said to a still raucous crowd, before noticing that Judd was waving his orange and blue flags around - orange for Pearl, and blue for Mario. "Uh oh folks, looks like Judd has already settled on a winner!"

Judd was moving his flags about, building up anticipation among the crowd, and he kept doing this until he held out one flag to the side...an orange flag, making the crowd gasp.

"Judd held up the orange flag, does this mean what I think it means?!" exclaimed Marina, with baited breath, as an appalled Mario looked on with his mouth agape.

"Mario performed a mic drop, which is against rap battling rules, meow," announced Judd, prompting Mario to throw his hat on the ground and stomp his foot in anger. "Therefore, your winner of the rap battle...Pearl!" The crowd cheered and chanted Pearl's name, as the Octoling happily waved and blew kisses and whatnot, while Mario remained enraged. Looks like Off the Hook is staying in Inkopolis!

"There's no rules-a in rap battles, this was rigged-a all along!" the plumber frowned, wanting to get retribution on Judd only to be held back by security and escorted off the stage. "I demand a rematch this instant! Where's my do-a over?!"

"Well there you have it folks, the winner of the first ever Inkopolis Rap Battle is our one and only, Pearl!" announced Marina, as the crowd continued to cheer on for the native Octoling. "Thank you everyone, for showing up, we really appreciate it. "Until next time...don't get cooked, stay off the hook!"

* * *

 **Sonic: So apparently dropping a mic constitutes as an automatic disqualification...man, you learn something new everyday. The fact that Pearl would've lost to Mario instantly makes Marina far more superior than her.  
Cilan: *enters screen right* Ooh, what's going on here? Sonic are you hosting an online show, just like Mamori?  
Sonic: No I am not...I am reliving the best moments of "Smash Life" for the fans, with our producers on vacation. Shouldn't you be in the kitchen cooking or something?  
Cilan: I would, but the Koopalings were having a food fight, and I had to escape. I'll clean up their mess once they're through.  
Sonic: Don't wanna stop them yourself? Wimp...but since you brought up the food fight, why don't we show our viewers the food fights we had on Thanksgiving?**

* * *

Having stolen a turkey leg from the kitchen, the Duck Hunt Dog, turkey leg in his mouth, trotted to his doghouse...only to find it stuffed with leaves. As the mutt looked for the culprit, he found a unsuspecting white feather lying on the ground next to his doghouse, and instantly knew who the culprit may be... _Pit._

Meanwhile, inside the mansion, the residents were enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving feast together, enjoying peaceful conversations and discussing life, when a now salty Duck Hunt Dog entered the dining room, gritting his teeth with his turkey leg in his mouth.

"Look Pit, the Duck Hunt Dog wants to speak with you!" Viridi grabbed her boyfriend's attention, pointing at the angry dog. "But he looks pretty angry...does he have a turkey leg in his mouth?"

"Aha, so the Duck Hunt Dog had the missing turkey leg all along, I knew it would be him!" exclaimed Cilan, who was eating at the dinner table enjoying his food. Seems a bit nonchalant about the whole situation, don't you think?

"Hey Duck Hunt Dog, why are you looking at me like that?" Pit questioned the mutt, who was glaring angrily at him. Suddenly the Duck Hunt Dog threw his turkey leg at Pit, striking him square in the face. A turkey leg - or any food item for that matter - to the face could only mean one thing...

"FOOD FIGHT!" Shulk bellowed out at the top of his lungs, and after the battle cry was called, everyone at the table fought against one another in a food fight of epic Thanksgiving proportions. Raven poured a bowl of gravy down Ganondorf's pants, Knuckles pied Yoshi in the face with some coconut pie, King Dedede stuffed K.K. Slider's head in the turkey, and plenty of other things went down during the food fight.

"Please stop it you guys, this is not how the feast was supposed to go down!" cried out Peach, one of the few who refused to participate in the food fight. Other non-participants, such as Ashley, Isabelle, and X (who would have guessed) ditched the dining room when they could. Suddenly a pie was thrown at Peach, and the princess turned around and saw that it was Cranky Kong, on his wheelchair.

"Just because I get another chance to appear in this story again doesn't mean I'm forbidden to do whatever I want," was the elderly Kong's excuse. Too bad Peach can't seek retribution on the Kong, given his age.

 **Cranky Kong: *doing talking head segment as Lloyd and Silver dueled with one another with turkey legs as weapons in the background* I would make a joke that would involve me breaking the fourth wall, but I just can't seem to think of anything. Now where was I... *grabs a glazed carrot and jumps back in to the food fight, joining the duel between Lloyd and Silver***

"Ooh, a food fight, this is so much fun!" Nowi gleamed as she threw food about, not giving a single care in the world. Captain Falcon and Nah both hid behind chairs, pelting others with food from a close distance.

"Your mother is a very outgoing person, she's the perfect gal a man could ask for!" Falcon said to Nah. Oh how Nah wished to say "nah" to what Falcon had just said...speaking of which, how did the poor girl acquire the name "Nah" in the first place?!

"Yoo hoo, over here hedgehog guy!" Nowi called out to Shadow, who was about to throw a plate of dressing at Takamaru's head when his name was called. "How would you like to work with me, and prevail over the others and be the last one standing? We can share all the glory!" Any other time, Shadow would say "Nah" (hehehehe...), but sharing the glory with another person? Shadow wished he could have shared the same attention with Shaymin back in Sonic's room. Poor guy always feels neglected sometimes.

"I'd be more than glad to join forces with you..." the hedgehog answered Nowi's offer with the smile, and soon he and the half-Manakate would be working together, taking others down with food. And Shadow enjoyed every second of it, too.

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B.D. Joe, Pit, and Kirby entered the mansion, with a house key Palutena gave to Pit, and went to the kitchen. There was nobody in there, and so they went to the dining room, greeted by a great multitude of people gathered around the table. It was perhaps the largest Thanksgiving dinner B.D. Joe had ever seen; Pit and Kirby, they were used to these kinds of crowds.

"I'd just like to thank again the guests for coming to this feast, which I prepared under the jurisdiction of Master Hand," Rosalina thanked the guests, surveying the dining room along with Cilan. "Your presence is greatly appreciated!"

"Will there be any dessert after the feast is over?" Emil asked the mother of Lumas. What an idiotic question... "And if so, will there be any ice cream?" Always has to be about ice cream with that kid...

"Excuse me everyone, but may I have your attention?" yelled B.D Joe, as everyone turned to face the taxi driver. "For those of you who may not know me, I'm B.D. Joe - I'm the local taxi driver here. Anyways, I have this...bird creature, with me, and I want to give it...to everyone!" Pit and Kirby were confused, but not as confused as everyone else in the dining room. "Yes, this is my gift, from me, to all of you - my early Christmas gift!"

The Mandibuzz strolled around the dining room, staring everyone down with her intimidating glare. She would stop when she saw Toad, making note of his miniscule size. Toad was shaking to the bone, as Mandibuzz looked at his plate, saw a slice of ham, picked up the slice with her beak...and threw it into Toad's face.

And then...nothing happened. Nobody moved, nobody said a single word. Silence permeated throughout the dining room, as if time stood still.

"Whew, that was a close one," Rosalina would break the silence, wiping some droplets of sweat from her forehead. "For a second I thought that would've triggered a..."

"...FOOD FIGHT!" announced Dark Pit, and so it was on, as people grabbed food and threw it at one another. Sonic slammed Itsuki's face into a bowl of mashed potatoes. Emil grabbed the Black Knight's pitcher of tea and idiotically threw its contents around at everyone. And simply because he couldn't resist, Donkey Kong hurled his bananas at unsuspecting people, as the chaos went down.

"Mutiny, I say, mutiny!" declared Cortex, hurling the turkeys at random people. Berkut was on the table with Cortex, doing the same. "Wow, Berkut, we really make a great team together! Dynamic duo!"

"Shut up and keeping throwing!" ordered Berkut, effectively shutting Cortex's mouth shut. Yup, Berkut was most surely Cortex's guy...

"We would have a food fight before dessert in the second consecutive week, would we?" sighed Rosalina, shaking her head, before giving an intense glare at B.D. Joe. The taxi driver, seeing the glare, nervously chuckled, stepping back before bolting out of the dining room.

* * *

 **Sonic: So Cilan, which food fight was your favorite?  
** **Cilan: Definitely the first one...since I got to stuff mashed potatoes down Olimar's mouth. Seeing him that ticked kinda made my day. Now if you excuse me, I must see if the Koopalings are done with their food fight. *leaves*  
Sonic: See ya around, wimp! *chuckles* Although Cilan is a wimp, he makes up for it with his affable personality. Same can't be said for Cloud, who is distant and aloof, and acts like a grown emo dude. That hair of his can't possibly tell me otherwise. But Cloud does have some moments...some.**

* * *

Once he arrived at the gaming room, Cloud saw K.K. Slider in the center on a pedestal, playing his guitar. Quite rare, considering K.K. usually performs on Saturdays. Jigglypuff was next to K.K. singing. Surprisingly no one has fallen asleep...yet.

"Could you...stop playing for a sec?" Cloud asked K.K. kindly. "Got something I have to do for everyone here..."

"Sure thing, dog," K.K. stopped playing his guitar, and Jigglypuff stopped singing. "You got the floor, now do your thing!"

Everyone in the room paid Cloud their undivided attention. Cloud gulped, and did the unthinkable...he dabbed! All the people in the gaming room (save for the ladies) went ballistic.

"HE HIT THE DAB!" Falco was going bonkers. "HE HIT THE DAB!"

"Don't know what's all the hubbub is about..." Lucina remarked, as she went back to reading her magazine. However, the noise level was too much for her to handle, so she left the room.

 **Knuckles: The best thing about the dab is whoever performs it. Black guy does the dab, nobody cares. White guy does the dab, suddenly it's the greatest thing since sliced bread!**

xxxxxxxxxx

Trouble would soon come Shulk's way, when the Black Knight confronted the Homs in the gaming room. Behind that helmet of his was a face full of uncontrollable rage.

"Hey bub, you're sitting in my seat!" the knight raged. "If you know what's good for you, you better find somewhere else to sit!"

"I'm sorry Black Knight, but I thought these seats are open for everyone to sit in!" stated Shulk. When it comes to playing peacemaker, Shulk always goes ham. "Certainly there is another place you can sit at..."

"Wrong! This is the seat I always sit in all the time!" Do any of the other brawlers go through this treatment? "Don't make me use force on you!"

"Leave him alone Black Knight, let Shulk sits wherever he wants," Cloud stuck up for the Homs. "This _is_ a free country, after all..."

"You stay out of this!" Black Knight yelled at Cloud before reverting his attention to Shulk, and pulling out his sword, causing a scene. "Give up the seat or else!"

"Enough!" Cloud angrily got up from his seat and showed the Black Knight out of the gaming room. "Begone with you!" The knight was grumbling to himself as he left the room. He will have his revenge one of these days. But now it was time for Cloud to bask in the glory he just brought upon himself. Everyone in the gaming room was cheering and applauding, and Cloud felt a bit humbled by it. Never has he received such reception, it's been a while.

"Thanks for saving me, Cloud!" Shulk got up and held out his hand. Saving a fellow brawler from trouble deserves a great handshake.

"Don't mention it buddy," Cloud replied as he walked back to the table. He saw Shulk's hand out...but chose not to shake it. Shulk grew sweaty and uncomfortable from Cloud's negligence - does the swordsman not know what he is doing?

"Um, Cloud, aren't you going to shake my hand?" Shulk grew sweatier by the second as his hand trembled. Unwritten Rule #1: when somebody holds out their hand for a handshake or some dap, you never leave them hanging. By violating this unwritten rule, Cloud was putting Shulk in an uncomfortable and compromising position.

"I don't see the point of doing so." Cloud you better shake the dude's hand, otherwise he'll be the butt of jokes for the rest of the week.

Many of the brawlers were watching attentively, as the drama and suspense raised in the gaming room; you could cut the building tension with a knife. Will Cloud shake Shulk's hand, or will he idly leave him in an compromising position? Brawlers were at the edge of their seats...including Lemmy, who accidentally fell out of his chair.

"Just shake Shulk's hand dude, it's not that serious," said Fox, who was playing pool with his buddy Falco. Cloud didn't listen to the fox; instead, he just walked away and departed from the gaming room, leaving Shulk there standing by himself trembling and embarrassed.

xxxxxxxxxx

Link and Cloud went to go speak with Sonic, who was giving Master Hand a hand massage, and the hedgehog told them that he last had the wedding rings at the jewelry store downtown. So the two swordsmen headed down there, and saw a bunch of burly black dudes flanked near the store.

"Sonic said he was talking to a bunch of burly guys," stated Cloud. "Those guys over there must be whom he was referring to." These dudes reminded Cloud of his pal Barret, who lowkey looks like Mr. T but with a flat top (at least in FF7).

 **Cloud: My street cred may not be on par, much to everyone's shock I would assume, but I gotta stay on my toes in order to avoid getting beat up. Sonic did say that the guys he was talking to are quite strong, so one bad move and I'm a goner...**

"You go up to them and give them some dap," Cloud suggested to Link; the Hylian looked at his friend like he was insane. "We'll go from there."

"Why me, I would be beaten to a pulp!" complained Link. Compared to the burly dudes hanging near the jewelry store, the Hylian is a mere twig, toothpick, or whatever figure of speech you wish to use.

"Exactly, you'd make the perfect chew toy and guinea pig. Just go over there, and act as natural as possible!"

Cloud shoved Link forward to the burly men, and the men looked at the Hylian questionably. What happened next, you'll have to see to believe.

"Hey fam, what up, how you doin'?" Link walked up to each dude and gave them some dap, complete with the handshake and the pound hug, also saying things like "What's good, cuz?" or "Chillin' in the cut?". Cloud just looked at this mesmerized, wondering if some cool, thug dude infiltrated Link's body and make the Hylian act like this.

"How's it going," Cloud walked up to the men, and instead of giving some dap, the swordsman went with the classic fist bump, bumping fists with everyone. Inside his head, he's debating whether or not he would tell Link about his surprising level of street cred. Though it's a given that everyone at the mansion would want to hear about that!

xxxxxxxxxx

"Sup dudes how's it going?" Cloud, having been hit by a magical boomerang, barged in the room, acting all sorts of silly. He was giving a cheesy grin to Mario and company, and looked more fidgety than usual. "Hey you guys, guess what I can do!" The swordsman made farting noises with his armpit, and the sheer joy he displayed in doing so concerned and even frightened everyone in the room.

"Cloud you're-a honestly scaring me, you're acting like-a Pit..." Mario said nervously as Cloud was now blowing raspberries with his mouth. "...did you and-a Pit switch personalities?" Not a very strong argument for Mario - Pit wouldn't be silly enough to make farting sounds with his armpit or blow raspberries with his mouth. He may do the latter action if he ever wanted to.

"Me, change personalities with Pit?" Cloud pointed at himself, acting like a little child. "Why I would never do such a thing! But I would do this..." Cloud took off his shirt, and did something the Cloud we all know and love would never willingly do - he pinched his nipples with his fingers, and made a rather perverted smile, a kind of smile Wario would make if he ever found an album of hot Samus pictures on the internet. Yuffie and Aerith both looked down at the floor, unable to see Cloud in the state he was in.

* * *

 **Sonic: Woah, that was a lot more Cloud moments than I expected...wonder how that clip of Link being gangsta slipped into that montage. Speaking of Link, that pimping Hylian became infamous for singing this song...**

* * *

"I could definitely kill for some music now..." Chrom, on a practice date with Robin, who was dressed up as Raven (please don't ask) looked over to the stage in the ballroom, and saw K.K. Slider and the three Links silently waiting for their cues although a cue was already given out. "I said, I could definitely KILL for some music now..."

"You want music, well you got it!" K.K. exclaimed as he played his guitar, and the three Links played their instruments. The melody was imperfect, the harmony was harrowing, and the rhythm was all over the place, and Chrom didn't like it one bit.

"Some singing would be awfully nice," the prince of Ylisse voiced his concerns with a frown. "The four of you together doesn't really sound that good..."

"Don't worry, I'm on it!" Link disappeared off of the stage, and came back on with a synthesizer. He pressed a button, and some techno music began playing, as the Hylian sang the following in a relatively low voice: "Oh yeah, you gotta get schwifty, gotta get schwifty in here, time to get schwifty, oh yeah you gotta get schwifty, take off your pants and your panties, and then you...poop on the floor..." Link was now getting low on the floor, a harrowing sight for anyone who's not used to Link dancing (and anyone in this sense means _everyone_ ). "...time to get schwifty in here, gotta poop on the floor..."

 **Cloud: After the whole Lucina-Robin stalking incident, I thought for a minute that Link's standards wouldn't fall any longer than they were. And now he just got low to the floor, real low, enough to the point where you would be in danger of turning in your man card. So it's safe to say that Link's low standards have now just been obliterated.**

xxxxxxxxxx

"Alright, now that Pit finally got to live out to his favorite Christmas song, I think it's about time we do some karaoke!" exclaimed K.K. Slider, at a Christmas party, as he and Sonia got ready. "Play me a beat Sonia, and a good one too!"

"You got it!" Sonia gave K.K. a thumbs up, as she played some electric chords on her guitar, while K.K. played some techno music. Nobody bothered to sing along with the beat, until Link, recognizing the music, was getting all pumped up for no reason, as evidenced by the bobbing of his head. The Hylian grabbed a microphone, and got himself ready as Cloud and Zelda wearily looked on.

"Oh yeah, bringing back an old classic, gotta get schwifty..." Link sang in a low voice into the microphone as he danced along. Remember the song from episode 38? "We all getting schwifty in here, gotta take off your pants, and your panties, and poop on the floor, getting schwifty in here..." Just like he did in episode 38, Link got low to the floor, as Cloud, Zelda, and everyone else cringed at the hero of Hyrule.

"Uh, I'm not wearing any panties, so I can't be a participant in this song," said Carrington, raising his finger so he could be recognized.

"I'm not wearing pants nor panties, so I can't participate either!" added Donkey Kong, glad that he was disqualified from getting "schwifty", whatever the heck that was supposed to mean. DK thought it would be best not to figure out the meaning, given Link's strange dancing.

 **Young Link: Quick question: what does it really mean to "get schwifty" anyways? *makes disgusted face when cameraman tells him the answer* ...Ew, gross, are you serious?! Please tell me Link doesn't do that...So he was just singing a song? Whew...**

xxxxxxxxxx

"Hi my name is Link I'm the hero and pimp of Hyrule and I want to know if you can do a duet with the likes of me!" Link greeted Joanne in the gaming room, goofily shaking the singer's hand but not in an endearingly goofy way. Zelda was watching from afar, feeling humiliated as she facepalmed.

"Um, I can't do a duet with you right now, I mean, I _have_ to take a break and all, it's what's best for my vocal chords. But once the break is over, I suppose...we...can..." Joanne slowly watched as Link creeped his way over to K.K. Slider's unsuspecting keyboard. Clearly the Hylian wanted to sing, and he wanted to sing now!

"Link you idiotic buffoon, what in Hylia's name are you doing?!" growled Midna, her voice resonating from inside Link's body. "You're practically throwing the plan off the rails, stop this madness at once!"

"Sorry Midna, but I've waited since the beginning of the year to do this!" Link pressed a button on K.K. Slider's keyboard, and K.K. and others feared for the worst as a dreaded familiar techno tune played from the keyboard. All their fears were suddenly met when Link grabbed a microphone and began singing... "Oooooh yeaaaahh...you know what time it is...it's time to get schwifty...gotta get schwifty in here...you know what you gotta do...take off your pants, and your panties...poop on the floor...yeah, that's how you get schwifty..." Link was now getting low, and it was making Joanne cringe nonstop. Talk about leaving a lasting impression on a guest.

"This guy is the famed hero of Hyrule, he sure acts like a dork sometimes!" Hisui, with Kohaku now at his side, had to say about Link as he watched the Hylian do his thing. Zelda would go up to Hisui and defend her man, but at this point, Link was utterly indefensible.

 **Hisui: Whenever I think of someone who carries the moniker "hero of Hyrule", I think of someone who has all the qualities of a hero, like respect, honor, wisdom, and other traits...and on that stage in the gaming room, Link completely threw all those heroic qualities out the window with his strange singing and dancing ensemble. Sucks for me that his stupid song is now stuck in my head...**

"FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, WILL YOU PLEASE STOP?!" Joanne screamed, making Link stop whatever he was doing and turn the techno song off on K.K. Slider's keyboard. Everyone looked at Joanne, wondering what had gotten into her. "...what I'm trying to say is, your song is not as great as you seemingly make it out to be. And by the looks of everyone here, everyone is tired of hearing the song. Why don't you just do everyone a favor, and stop?"

"Yeah you're right, I have to admit I was a little flamboyant with the song," replied Link, understating how annoying his song was. The Hylian then decided to address those in the gaming room. "Guys, I'm afraid I have no other choice but to retire the schwifty song..." This announcement was met with cheers from the mansion residents. "...but the good news is, I have another song for you to enjoy!" And just like that, the cheers immediately turned into groans, as Joanne shook her head at Link in disdain. Link headed back to the keyboard, and played a different techno tune, a tune that made Doc Louis bob his head.

"Aw yeah, I can get behind this, this beat is slammin'!" the boxing trainer exclaimed as he made the ill-fated decision to join Link onstage. He was eating chocolate too, he can't go inside an elevator or even inside the bathroom without a chocolate bar in his hand.

"Alright! Uh huh, here we go! We got Jerome Doc Louis in the house, yeah! Drop to the beat, go the club, here we go, say it with me now..." Link sang. Brace yourselves for what he and Doc Louis are about to do. "Head bent over, raised up posterior...head bent over, raised up posterior...sing it with me now..." Yes, Link and Doc Louis were literally bending their heads over, and raising their butts up to the sky. What possibly convinced Link to sing this song was a mystery everyone had in mind.

* * *

 **Sonic: Head bent over, uh huh, raised up posterior...head bent over...raised up...crap, that song's stuck in my head now. Thanks a lot, Link...but enough about Link. How about we give the rest of our residents some love? Sit back and enjoy this awesome montage I put together of my lovely friends!**

* * *

The first client arrived in Dr. Marios office, and it was the green dinosaur that we all know and love as Yoshi. Yoshi held a pen and sheet of paper in his hand, closing the door behind him, and when the dinosaur looked up, he saw Dr. Mario and company seated at the table, and looked confused as ever.

"Is this where the J.K. Rowling autograph signing takes place?" Yoshi would ask the four men. Was he at the right place, and also what was this about some J.K. Rowling autograph signing?

"No, this is where the interviews for the nursing job take place," Hisui kindly responded, and on that remark, Yoshi dropped his paper onto the floor and ran off, running down the hallways, past the vending machine room, heading down to the foyer, and ran out the front door, now on a mission - to get that Rowling autograph one way or another. Too bad he left his materials back at Dr. Mario's office.

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"Welcome everyone, to Little Mac's Motivation Seminar!" Little Mac began the seminar in the lecture hall. Everyone was in applause except for Mario, who seemed uninterested, and Ike, who is still bitter with Little Mac for "stealing his idea". "This is an awesome time for everybody here to feel great and confident about themselves!"

"Everybody except for me..." moaned Mario. He definitely wasn't feeling it - he's become the anti-Shulk...but with a mustache.

"First thing we need to to is feel happy about ourselves. How can we do that, you might ask? By laughing of course! Phase 1: Feeling Happy, commenced! C'mon, everyone, laugh!"

Nothing was heard but cricket chirps and occasional coughs.

"I don't think you guys are hearing me out, just laugh...HA HA HA HA! See I just did it...BWA HA HA HA! If I can do it...HA HA HA HA HA! You can do it too! BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"

Little Mac kept laughing hysterically, while the audience looked on, not amused at all.

"I gave up babysitting the Ordon kids for this?" groaned Link, who like everyone else wished for the seminar to end.

"Is everyone happy?" Little Mac asked the crowd. No one responded. "Excellent! Now it's time for Phase 2: Feeling Inspired!"

"Please be the last phase..." said Olimar. Ike would probably do a better job than Little Mac is doing right now.

Doc Louis brought a boombox on stage, and pressed the play button, as _Fame_ by Irene Cara began playing. Little Mac put on an Irene Cara wig, and punched in the air like he was exercising.

"Anything is possible, just ask Kevin Garnett!" Little Mac said as he punched. "You can do it!"

"Get off the stage!" Mega Man jeered, as the spectators booed.

 **Mega Man: If I was stuck in an elevator with Hitler, bin Laden, Lloyd Irving, AND Little Mac...I would self-destruct on my own accord.**

Once the chorus kicked in, Little Mac ran around the stage doing a victory lap, while the audience continued to boo.

"Everyone's booing!" observed Ike. "Now's my chance!" The swordsman leaped on stage, and attacked Little Mac with his sword. Doc Louis stopped the song and saved his protege, restraining Ike.

"This has been an absolute waste of my time," Dark Pit remarked as he left the lecture hall. One by one, everyone else did the same.

"Apologize for stealing my idea!" Ike said to Little Mac, his hands wrapped around the boxer's neck.

"Like you could have done any better!" Little Mac tried to push away Ike.

xxxxxxxxxx

"It's _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ with your fabulous hosts Ashley, Asuka, and myself, Mamori Minamoto!" Mamori started things off on her show, _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ standing in the kitchen with Ashley, Asuka, and the two guests, Peach and Lucario, the latter having been forced to do the show due to being in Mario's body. All five individuals were in front of the camera (operated by Dunban), wearing a chef hat and an apron. "We're gonna warm up your heart, with the press of a button!"

"Today on our show, we have arguably the most famous video game couple in history, both hailing from the Mushroom Kingdom...give it up for Mario and Princess Peach!" Asuka introduced Lucario (stuck in Mario's body)and Peach, as Dunban panned the camera to the two individuals.

"Such a wonderful pleasure to be on this great show!" Peach smiled as she waved to the camera; Lucario, who knew the damage he could deal by speaking, simply smiled and nodded his head, hoping that would compensate for his silence.

"Hasn't even been half a minute yet and I already want to die..." Lucario quietly whispered to Ashley, whom the aura Pokemon felt would share his sentiments; the young witch just stealthy shrugged and maintained her poise.

"So tell me, Mario and Peach, are you two feeling hungry?" asked Mamori; she would typically ask her guests this question, which would be a lead-in to introducing a dish of some sort, like a taiyaki or pork buns.

"Yes we are feeling hungry, haven't eaten a thing since breakfast!" replied Peach, not remembering chowing down on a mozzarella stick prior to _Microwave Idol Mamorin._ "Isn't that right, my darling fiance Mario?" Lucario again, not wanting to blow his cover, nodded his head, leaving Peach and the others dismayed.

"Well we sure got the right snack for you..." said Asuka as she showed Peach and Lucario a plate of... "...hot streaming Philly cheesesteaks, straight out of the microwave and ready to go down to your tummy!" Honest question: do people put Philly cheesestakes in their microwaves, aside from purposes other than heating it up for consumption?

"A Philly cheesesteak for Mario and I? Don't mind if we do!" Peach happily took the plate of cheesesteaks from Asuka, grabbing one cheesesteak before handing the other to Lucario. "Aren't you gonna take the cheesesteak Mario? I can guarantee you it will be delicious!" Lucario was now breathing heavily and hyperventilating, and also shaking as well, like he had enough. "...Mario?"

 **Asuka: No, we never had anything awry happen on _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ for the most part the only awry thing that would transpire would be the microwave smoking from microwaving certain foods at a higher temperature than usual. Learned that the hard way by microwaving sushi for two minutes and thirty seconds, I just wanted it to be warm...but I made it too warm. Other than that, everything's been normally swell...**

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS STUPID CRAP ANYMORE!" Lucario screamed at the top of his lungs as he grabbed the cheesesteak from Peach and threw it on the ground along with the cheesesteak in his hand, before angrily stomping on both cheesesteaks like a rabid madman.

"Please Mario, calm yourself, you weren't acting like this before we started filming!" Dunban stepped away from the camera to confront Lucario, who angrily grabbed a nearby broom and whacked the Homs with it, bringing him to the floor. Dunban would cover his head with his hands as Lucario continued the senseless beating upon him, while Peach and company looked on with shock.

"Don't think that's the real Mario we're seeing..." stated Ashley, who knew this because she heard Lucario's voice come from the mouth of the plumber's body. "The Mario we know would beat up Dunban with a hammer instead of a broom." Well she ain't lying...

"SCREW THIS STUPID SHOW, SCREW THE CHEESESTEAKS, SCREW MY LIFE, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, SCREW EVERYONE!" bellowed Lucario as the beating on Dunban persisted. Lucario would shock the ladies more when he helped Dunban back to his feet, and suplexed him on the kitchen floor out of utter rage, likely dealing a serious injury to his head.

"Excuse us for a minute, Mario is just going through...some violent motions at the moment," Mamori said to the camera, while Peach and company tended to Dunban. "We'll be back very shortly to deliver for delicious goodness!" Mamori then added without a single shred of confidence in her.

xxxxxxxxxx

Lucas was chilling in the gaming room, minding his own business while sitting on a couch next to Rosalina playing his Nintendo 3DS, when Ganondorf confronted the PSI whiz, feeling some type of way. Looks like Lucas was sitting in the Demon Lord's spot, and he was about to make him angry! You wouldn't like Ganon when he's angry, for his anger is a volatile force that cannot be stopped by anyone other than Master Hand.

"Hey kid, you're sitting next to my woman, how about you scram if you know what's good for ya..." Ganondorf threatened Lucas. The "kid" is actually a teen, but let's let Lucas' cuteness mislead Ganondorf. It won't stop the PSI master from what he was about to do next.

"THAT'S MY PURSE, I DON'T KNOW YOU!" Lucas leaped from the couch and delivered a flying roundhouse kick to Ganondorf, striking him just below the belt. Ganondorf would wheeze in pain as he crippled on the floor, clutching his stomach. The pain was evidently too much for him to bear, it was one of the most painful sensations the Demon Lord has ever dealt with.

"Now Lucas, that wasn't very nice of you, apologize to Ganondorf at once!" scolded Rosalina, displeased with the actions Lucas took. This was definitely a side of Lucas she had never seen before.

"Sorry Ganondorf, I didn't mean to kick you that hard, it was only out of self-defense," Lucas apologized to the Demon Lord, who was in too much gut-wrenching pain to listen to Lucas' apology. "Hopefully it won't happen again." Lucas quietly left the gaming room, leaving Ganondorf still crippling on the floor, and as he walked out of the gaming room and into the hallway, he accidentally bumped into Takamaru, the ever-respectful samurai.

"Better watch out where you're going Lucas, you could easily hurt someone by not being cautious and well-aware of your surroundings!" Takamaru said to the teen, sporting a smile. Lucas perceived what Takamaru had said as a threat, and his smile as a facade for malice, so he did what he had to do...

"THAT'S MY PURSE, I DON'T KNOW YOU!" the PSI whiz kicked Takamaru in the crotch, claiming a second victim in the process. Sometimes bad things happen to good people, and this instance was one of them.

"Of all the people, and it had to be me..." Takamaru squeaked as he clutched the place where Lucas struck him. Lucas, now feeling guilty about himself, ran away out of the fear of being reprimanded for his actions.

 **Takamaru: *reclined on a chair* This is only...a minor setback...the pain will go away shortly...or so I hope...  
** **Wario: Hey bub, whatcha doin' on my new reclining chair?! Get off of it or else I'll call in Master Hand!  
** **Takamaru: But I can barely move my legs...  
** **Wario: Oh, so you're becoming a bit too adjusted to my chair, huh?  
** **Takamaru: Well you see, what happened was...  
** **Wario: I don't wanna hear it - stay right here while I get Master Hand, he'll take care of you!**

xxxxxxxxxx

Phoenix kept on moping, thinking about how unfair his job and life was, when the sound of the doorbell was heard. Do the residents not have a house key to enter the mansion? Presumably not. Phoenix would get up from his hair, and trudge over to the front door, opening it with disgust written on his face...

...only for said disgust to go away completely, when he was standing eye-to-eye, face-to-face, mono e mono, with the great Professor Herschel Layton. The very man he once worked with in the past. Sure, Luke was also there, standing with Layton, but he was irrelevant now.

"Professor Layton..." Phoenix would utter the British detective's name, not knowing what to say other than his name. The words would soon come later. "It's, uh...hello, er...how are you...going?" Phoenix was happy and angry at the same time - happy to see his old colleague, but angry that said colleague was doing something he and Maya could have done themselves.

"Hello to you two, Phoenix Wright, so good to see you again, my friend," smiled Layton; the term "friend" irked Phoenix, for some reason. "Heard you would be at the mansion today. Now how about a handshake? Can't remember the last time we even shook hands!"

Phoenix looked down, and saw Layton's extended hand, the detective expecting a handshake. Phoenix would take his hand, and slowly brought it over to Layton's hand, before the two hands met in perfect harmony, held together as the shaking of the hands commenced.

But it wouldn't stop there, oh no...Phoenix would pull Layton in close, towards him, and patted him on the back. Layton, out of confusion, would do the same to Phoenix. Maya and Luke looked on with cringe, no doubt feeling bad for both Phoenix and Layton.

"Hoo boy, it's been a while..." remarked Phoenix, wiping the sweat off of his forehead, as his awkward handshake-turned-hug with Layton - the crowning moment of awkwardness - came to an end.

xxxxxxxxx

"This is so mind-blowingly stupid..." Cloud said as he and Aerith walked through the mansion, wearing detector bracelets on their wrists as they participated in the prank war - Team Marie vs Team Callie. Cloud and Aerith's bracelets were pink, indicating that the lovebirds are on Team Callie. "Why is the entire mansion participating in this dumb prank war, what's the benefit of it all?"

"Maybe Master Hand just wants us to have fun!" Aerith assumed, holding a soda can in her hands. She saw Diddy Kong (Team Marie) out in the open, wielding a few banana peels. In _Super Smash Bros 4,_ the spidermonkey is prohibited from carrying more than one banana peel, likely to restrict his stage control abilities, but since this is a prank war, it's all fair game. "Hello there, Diddy Kong, would you care for a drink?" Aerith approached the monkey, who momentarily stopped scanning the surrounding area when the flower girl approached him.

"Well all this surveying is making me pretty thirsty!" Diddy replied, accepting the drink. "Thanks Aerith!" The spidermonkey opened up the soda can...and a wicked burst of foamy soda erupted out of the can, launching in Diddy's face. Obviously Aerith came very well prepared...

"Diddy Kong is the first to be pranked!" Master Hand's voice boomed throughout the mansion, as Diddy Kong's green bracelet went off with a distinct alarm sound, indicating that he's out of the prank war. "I repeat, Diddy Kong is the first to be pranked! Carry on." And just like that, Master Hand's voice vanished in an instant.

"See, Cloud, it's all about having fun and enjoying yourselves, something that you hardly do that much," Aerith said to a slightly judgmental Cloud as Diddy stormed away, collecting whatever dignity the spidermonkey had left.

xxxxxxxxx

 _(on a trip at Disney World...)_

"Lucas just fell into the gorilla exhibit!" Gil alerted the others, as a horde of vacationers circled around the exhibit, seeing a timid Lucas by himself. "Somebody oughta go save him!" Why don't you do it Gil, you were the first person to see Lucas in his predicament!

"Don't worry, I shall save Lucas before he gets hurt!" Donkey Kong said heroically as he leaped into the exhibit. More and more folks were circling around the exhibit to see what was going on, and it was making Lucas rather nervous.

"Um, DK, I don't think you're the right person for the job..." Gil called out to Donkey Kong, but it was too late - instead of picking up Lucas and guiding him to safety, DK did the erroneous choice of dragging the teen across the water, causing many of the onlookers to scream in shock. It was in that moment the gorilla realized the mistake he had committed.

"LOOK YOU GUYS DONKEY KONG IS IN THE GORILLA ENCLOSURE AND HE'S PULLING A HARAMBE!" a random dude called out, bringing even more onlookers to the scene. Just wanted Donkey Kong and Lucas needed. "EVERYONE UNZIP YOUR PANTS RIGHT NOW!"

"By 'everyone' he only meant males, right?" Ema would ask Diddy Kong as a select group of males, mostly millennials for sure, unzipped their pants so they could reveal a certain body part that would be used as a sign of "respect" for Donkey Kong, only to be arrested and whisked away by the Disney World security. Shame on them for performing this action in the presence of minors!

 **Mewtwo: *shaking his head as the males behind him are whisked away by security* ...every day we stray further and further away from God's light.**

"Stand back everyone, lemme take care of this gorilla!" a Disney World official arrived at the scene with a tranquilizer gun, and fired a tranquilizing dart at Donkey Kong in the butt. Seconds later, everything went dark for the iconic gorilla.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Waluigi is the bridesman?!" Diddy Kong exclaimed in utter disgust, attending a meeting in the meeting room with the other mansion residents. "Looks like the wedding is officially screwed..."

"Let's boycott the wedding until Waluigi is removed!" suggested Popo. Some of the other brawlers nodded their heads in agreement, for they cannot stand to have Waluigi be a part of _anything_ at the wedding ceremony - even if he was a lanky ring bearer.

"I agree! Boycott the wedding! Boycott the wedding!" the male Inkling chanted. Soon enough, mostly everyone else was chanting the Inkling's chant simultaneously.

"Everyone settle down!" Mario yelled at the top of his lungs. Peace and solace found its way back inside the meeting room again. "We are not-a removing Waluigi. However, in the event Waluigi does-a something that might get him-a banned from the wedding - and that's a huge-a given - we'll need some-a one as a 'backup bridesman', and I know one particular person who can-a fulfill the job...Doc Louis?"

"I ain't doin' it," the boxing trainer shook his head while munching away on a chocolate bar. Chocolate is perhaps the only thing that man is capable of eating, anything else he's probably allergic to.

"C'mon Doc, it's a once-a in a lifetime opportunity..."

"Still ain't doing it..." Doc Louis started to tense up, and surrounding brawlers, including Little Mac, were getting very cautious...

"I'll throw-a in some cash if you're-a willing to..."

"FOR THE LAST TIME, I SAID I'M NOT GONNA DO IT! You already got your bridesman in Waluigi, just stick to him and leave me alone, ya hear!"

Mario, Luigi, Isabelle, and practically everyone in the meeting room gave Doc Louis an astonished look. Who knew he had that much in him? He went from a calm dude, eating chocolate like it's his life duty, to an absolute eruption of angry emotions, lashing out at Mario.

"My apologies for-a trying to ask," apologized Mario, his voice shaky. Doc's outburst really frightened the living daylights out of him. "Meeting adjourned..." The plumber nervously walked towards the door, too afraid to look in Doc's direction.

"Woah mister, only _I_ dictate whether a meeting is over!" Master Hand frowned...if he ever had any eyebrows or even eyes to begin with.

"Are you okay, Mario?" asked Peach, feeling slightly sympathetic for her man.

"Yes, Peach, I'm just-a fine, don't worry about me..." replied Mario, looking down at the floor. Sonic, who was waiting outside the meeting room door, quickly ambushed the plumber, asking him a myriad of questions about the meeting and how boring it was.

xxxxxxxxxx

"Parkour, parkour, PARKOUR!" Fox ran inside the kitchen, doing his parkour thing - doing flips, jumping off of walls, opening and closing the microwave, etc. "I love me some parkour!" Fox accidentally kicked Fiora's apple strudel, sending the pastry treat to the floor. Fiora slowly began to tear up as Falco ran inside the kitchen to do some "parkour", before getting on top of Dunban and riding atop of him like a horse. Doc Louis filmed the avian pilot doing this, in-between filming himself eating chocolate.

"Wooo, parkour!" Falco shouted as he raised his fist in the air like a drunkard. Did he and Fox have a couple of drinks before doing their parkour endeavors?

"Get off of me, I say!" Dunban angrily yelled at Falco, and the pilot, not wanting anything to do with the Homs (never overlook a man who has only one working arm), listened to the command as he got off his back. Dunban stood up and dusted himself off.

xxxxxxxxxx

The Black Knight hosted a tea party with Bayonetta, Kohaku, and Geno, and everything was going swell...until Fox showed up, wearing some suit like he was a spy working for the government. The pilot, wearing some shades, was on the phone, keeping a close eye on the Black Knight and company.

"Got my eyes on the suspects..." Fox said to whoever was on the phone, while the tea party folk just looked on. "One suspect is wearing some extravagant black armor, like he's ready to go to some _Lord of the Rings_ convention...the other suspect looks like some puppet, and there's no strings attached to him, makes him look even more suspicious..."

"Fox is something the matter, why are you all dressed up?" the Black Knight asked the pilot, who briefly looked at the armored knight before ignoring him completely. The pilot certainly looked like he was in a very busy mood; he had no time to entertain any questions from the "suspects".

"We also have two female suspects...one suspect has black hair, and large blue eyes, wearing white clothing...the other female suspect is wearing a sultry black bodysuit, has black hair, and also wears glasses...looks like a slut to me. Might even be a pole dancer, for all we know..."

"Was that supposed to be some kind of insult?!" frowned Bayonetta, as she angrily stood up, only for Kohaku to calmly sit the Umbra Witch back down. "You're gonna get what's coming to you, fox boy!" Fox would ignore Bayonetta, continuing on with his phone call.

"Yes, I do believe these four suspects are all working under the Venomian Army...I think we've been compromised, I need you to take the shot! I repeat, I need you to take the shot, right now!" Fox quickly moved out of the way, as red dots were all over Black Knight and company. The tea party folk, with the threat of assassination looming over them...did nothing, as they pressed on with the tea party. Almost seemed like they were comfortable with dying!

"Really bruh, that's how y'all are gonna be?!" frowned Falco, appearing out from his hiding spot holding a laser point rifle, letting the Black Knight and company feel his and Fox's anger. "What if a situation like this went down, and it was legit, and y'all were falsely accused culprits? 'Ooh, look, red dots all over our bodies, someone's gonna shoot us! Let's act like nothing is going on and allow ourselves to be killed because we're STUPID IDIOTS!'"

"The stupid idiots that I see are you and Fox, for thinking that some dumb prank with laser guns and some phone call and Fox dressed up as a government spy would do so well," remarked the Black Knight, pouring some tea for Rotom even though the plasma Pokemon couldn't even drink tea. "So how about you take your stupid pranks elsewhere, and leave us be?"

"Let's just go Falco - obviously these fools don't comprehend of the meaning of fun or know how to take a joke," said Fox, as he and Falco walked away from the tea party.

* * *

 **Sonic: Hope you all enjoyed that montage I put together! I may not have the camera skills, but when it comes to editing... *phone suddenly rings* Hold that thought everyone, got a call to answer, must be from the president. *speeds over to phone and picks it up* Hello? Oh, hey Brad, what's up?...Yeah you definitely left your laptop in the movie room, and your camera too, with all the footage you've recorded. Been using your device for a clip show...wait, what's that? I think you're breaking up...yup, love you too man, bye! *quickly hangs up phone and returns to original spot***

 **That was Brad on the phone - had to inform him that he left his laptop at the mansion, and also told him about how the clip show was coming along. Told me to stop and put away his laptop or something, he must have amnesia or something. He and LeVar** _ **did** _**give me the jurisdiction to do the clip show. *smiles suspiciously* Must've been telling me to end the clip show on a high note, which I will do. So until the next clip show, stay fresh! *gives a thumbs up to the camera* Time to go munch on some chili dogs.. *exits screen***


	107. Episode 107: Tagged Part 1

_Author's Note:_

 _This two-parter is mainly inspired by one of my favorite episodes of a beloved cartoon series that I cherished during my childhood - Codename: Kids Next Door, "OPERATION I.T." One of my favorite episodes, I must say. This is the shortest chapter I've written since probably chapter 41, so I was finished way ahead of time. One guest review to answer:_

 _"Can you include Mappy? (Since that was an arcade game made by Namco) the characters from Gunstar Super Heroes? Maybe Magilou from Tales of Berseria playing pranks on the Tales characters? Are Edge and Reimi from Star Ocean: The Last Hope going to be a couple? No offense to the Vyse and Fina paring but why not pair Vyse with Aika? (Since they were childhood friends) And finally, how soon will we see the Dead or Alive characters showing up?"_

 _Sure, I'll include Mappy. And the characters from Gunstar Super Heroes. Magilou might pull a prank or two. Edge and Reimi will DEFINITELY be a couple (and yes, I do ship them). Fina seems like more of a perfect gal for Vyse, if you ask me. And I don't know about the status of the Deav or Alive characters._

 _This chapter...this chapter is under one thousand words...that concerns me for some reason. Might've made it too short and sweet._

* * *

 **Episode 107: Tagged Part 1**

It was a new year at the Smash Mansion. New beginnings. New adventures. New memories. Everything was to start anew.

When the producers of "Smash Life" returned to the mansion, they saw that everything was just how it was two weeks ago. Cilan was still the head chef of the mansion. Wario was still the mansion's resident cheapskate. Toon Link and Young Link were still buddycops, patrolling the mansion and looking for crime. Cloud was still being his apathetic self. Sora was still annoying Cloud to no end, hoping to bring back his "memories". And Master Hand was still ruling over the mansion, and with an iron fist.

But today, the giant hand who single-handedly created the Smash universe wouldn't be ruling over the Smash Mansion any longer.

Frankly, Master Hand was getting tired of being the head of the mansion - even more so by people such as Isabelle following the giant hand and telling him about things he didn't care about. It was becoming very tiring for Master Hand, and the giant hand felt like going away.

"Master Hand, Lucas got his head stuck in-between the railing of the stairs!" Isabelle informed the giant hand; Lucas might be crying his eyes out about his unfortunate situation. "What should we do?"

"Get Donkey Kong to pull him out, and make sure he doesn't hurt Lucas either," replied Master Hand, trying to get away from Isabelle as he went to his room.

"Master Hand, I accidentally got myself in a beef with some dude on the street!" Knuckles approached the giant hand. You'd think Knuckles would take care of this beef himself, rather than asking Master Hand for guidance. "You gotta help me out, man!"

"How about you just hug things out with the dude, and let bygones be bygones. Can't afford to take you to the hospital!"

"Master Hand, I was thinking about starting a k-pop group with my friends," Roy approached the giant hand - he wasn't being serious, was he? "What do you think of this idea?"

"You'll be the most stupid of stupid idiots if you even think about going forth with that plan. You can't sing nor dance, and the same can be said for the rest of..."

"Master Hand, I just had a bad dream - Rush was humping another robot dog!" Mega Man approached the giant hand. The blue bomber should've just kept that to himself. "How can I get that mental image out of my head?"

"First of all, that's gross and freaky. Secondly, you should take out that dream chip or whatever you call it, and destroy it to pieces. Boom, problem solved!"

Master Hand had finally reached his room, with Isabelle and company still voicing their concerns. Once inside the room, Master Hand planned to close the door ASAP and lock it, so he wouldn't have to hear any cares and concerns from the residents.

 **Master Hand: Do I like ruling over the Smash Mansion? Eh, it's alright...though it could be better. It's hard to go through a single day without people hounding you and telling you about their troubles, when they could deal with their own situations themselves. I'm not a miracle worker - it's not like I can touch a cancer-ridden child in the St Jude's hospital and instantly cure their illness. Such powers could potentially break the universe!**

But when Master Hand entered his bedroom, he saw all sorts of people gathered inside, all of them telling the giant hand their share of problems. What did Master Hand do to deserve this?!

"Master Hand, Dixie Kong sent me a text and I don't know how to respond, I need your help man!" said Diddy Kong. Good thing he didn't go to Chrom for advice.

"Master Hand my Master Sword got stolen again, and I think my bow and arrows got stolen too!" said Link. Why was the Hylian's stuff always stolen?

"Master Hand, my laptop won't charge and I need a new battery, can you get me a new battery please?" implored Coco, who couldn't be without her trusty pink laptop.

"Master Hand...do you truly love me?" Lloyd would ask Master Hand this extremely random question. A question Master Hand did not bother to answer.

As the complaints and questions began to mount up, Master Hand began to boil with fury, as he started to shake rather violently. The only person that noticed was Isabelle, who followed Master Hand to his room; she wanted to say something, but wondered if speaking up was the right idea.

"I'VE HAD IT, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!" boomed Master Hand, effectively shutting everyone up as the chatter in the room immediately died down. Everyone looked on warily, as Master Hand began to cool down, inhaling and exhaling. "I want everyone in this mansion to be in the meeting room, twelve o' clock stat! That is an order, so spread the word! Anyone who isn't at the meeting by twelve will be severely punished!"

"Do you wish to bring Mario, Luigi, and their folks over for the meeting?" asked Isabelle. Sounds like a very important meeting was on the horizon.

"Yes, I want them to attend the meeting as well. There's gonna be some changes made...changes that will make or break this mansion!"

* * *

An hour later, all the residents gathered in the meeting room for Master Hand's big meeting. Amy and Fiora were forced to attend, and anyone who was in the mansion at the time was forced to attend the meeting as well. That went out to Nowi, the half-Manakete who hooked back up with Captain Falcon two episodes ago.

"Mom, do we really have to be here?" Nowi's daughter, Nah, asked her mom, who was busy mingling with Captain Falcon. It seemed like Nowi and Falcon had never broke up. "We don't even live at the mansion!"

"Now now, sweetheart, we just have to do whatever makes Master Hand happy," replied Nowi, as she and Captain Falcon disgusted those who were coming in with their display of affection. "You wouldn't want to face Master Hand's wrath, do you?"

"I guess not..." Nah sighed and folded her arms, as Mario and Luigi entered the meeting room with their crew. It was in this meeting room that Mario and Luigi saw a familiar face - one they did not expect to see.

"Professor Layton?!" the brothers exclaimed in unison, as they saw Professor Layton seated at the table, with a smile...and Luke Triton seated next to him. Sadly Luke cannot get any love...

"Surprised to see me, huh?" asked Layton, amused by the shocked faces of Mario and Luigi. "I said I would stay until the holidays, didn't I? Well, let's just say that I opted to stay a bit longer...just to keep away from someone."

 **Layton: Using my time at the mansion to hide from my daughter, Katrielle. Why am I hiding from her, you ask? I can't exactly tell you...for now.**

"But your wives know - they sent Luke and I a call, believing that we were going return to Britain, but I told them that we would be extending our stay," added Layton, as Mario, still shocked, pointed at Layton. Luigi kinda did the same thing. "Master Hand was perfectly fine with our decision!"

"B-B-B-B-But..." stammered Mario, as Peach and Daisy came over to see their husbands in their state of shock. It was just as amusing to them as it was to Layton.

"C'mon now, you two, the meeting's about to begin!" Peach said, as she and Daisy took their husbands, and dragged them to their seats. Once everyone was in the meeting room, and everyone was seated, Master Hand appeared at the front of the room, with Isabelle standing at his side.

"Good afternoon everyone, glad you all could be here," greeted Master Hand, who made darn sure everyone was in attendance. No punishments had to be made. "Now I know you're all wondering why I gathered you all here, and I know that you probably have better things to do than attend some lousy meeting...but let me just say that I have something very important to address. Something that could potentially change this mansion forever. I have decided to..."

"Oh, Master Hand, may I be excused, it's an emergency!" Cortex blurted out, leaving Master Hand to sigh deeply. "It cannot wait any longer!"

"Can this 'emergency' wait until after the meeting is over? It can't be that important...you're not trying to skip this meeting, are you?"

"No sir, not at all! I have a very upset stomach, and I feel the dire need to use the bathroom. Must be those pancakes I ate for breakfast...please, Master Hand, you have to let me go, you just have to!"

"Well if you have to go that badly, then I'll release you from the meeting room...Dr. Neo Cortex, I hereby allow you..."

"THANK YOU!" Cortex, without receiving a word of confirmation, ran out of the meeting faster than you could say "Bazinga!" Uka looked back at Cortex, shaking his head in disdain.

"Kinda happy he's gone...as I was saying, I have something very important to address, yadda yadda yadda, something that could change this mansion forever, yadda yadda yadda...what I'm trying to say is, ruling this mansion is a very enduring task, one that requires a lot of responsibility, and, admittedly, it can become very tiring and taxing, especially on someone like myself. And now, I have one important declaration to make...TAG, YOU'RE IT!"

Master Hand poked Isabelle, and vanished away in a snap, as a now afraid Isabelle looked out at everyone in the meeting room. Everyone gasped, before screaming and running out of the meeting room, bumping and pushing each other just to get out...although some were extremely chill about escaping. Samus and Meta Knight were prime examples.

 **Touma: We're all playing a game of _tag?!_ Why weren't we informed about this earlier?!**

 **Ness: I can't play tag, I'm only a teenager! Too old for this stuff!**

 **Lara: Hard to believe we're playing a child's game of tag...why not have a battle to the death instead? This place _is_ called the _Smash_ Mansion...**

 **Bowser: What happens if you win this game of tag? What happens if you lose? Would the last person it be the loser? That would mean we would have around a hundred winners! We better get any participation trophies for this!**

"Wait, what, what do I have to be it for?" complained Isabelle, in her state of panic. She was desperately looking for someone to tag, when Cortex returned to the meeting room, not feeling that relieved...

"Turns out I didn't have to use the bathroom at all - my stomach was just playing tricks with me!" remarked the mad scientist as he returned...only to see the meeting room empty. "What's this? The meeting is already over? They dare to end the meeting without ME?! Those filthy peons, they'll pay for this!"

"Tag, you're it!" Isabelle tagged Cortex, before hightailing out of the meeting room. Best to keep her distance from Cortex...or everyone else, for that matter. Work out a strategy of some sort.

"Whaddaya mean, I'm it?" Uka would hover down to Cortex, sensing the N head's confusion. "Uka, can you explain what's going on?"

"Master Hand randomly started a game of tag, and now you're it," Uka explained to Cortex. He couldn't play, for he had no hands to tag anyone with. If he were to be tagged, the game would end in a standstill!

"A game of tag, eh? This reminds me of my days playing tag with my classmates at the Academy of Evil...some vividly bad memories, I'll say. But I don't believe Master Hand would have a game of tag. Let me ask someone else for clarification!"

* * *

As stated earlier by Roy, the swordsman wished to start a k-pop, with his friends. Who were his friends? Chrom, Ike, Marth, Robin, Alm, and Berkut, of course! Roy was apparently inspired by watching the famous k-pop group BTS on some New Year's special, and felt inspired enough to start a k-pop group on his own.

"I was thinking that you could be the lead singer, Ike can be the rapper, and everyone else can be backup singers and dancers," Roy was going over what he wanted to see from the k-pop group with Chrom in the hallway. Chrom's hair was growing back, but the prince felt comfortable wearing knit hats until his hair was fully grown.

"Okay, but what qualifications does Ike even have to be the rapper?" asked Chrom, feeling very cynical about Roy's k-pop boy band idea. It could very well end in disaster, or end in even more disaster. No positive results were in sight.

"Most rappers today are tough guys, and Ike is the toughest out of all of us. And the most ripped too, meaning he'll have the rapper persona locked down."

"Didn't know wearing skinny jeans all the time equated to 'being tough'...and what about Alm and Berkut? Even though Berkut can't outright kill Alm, he'll still be determined to make his life miserable."

"...and that's why Berkut will be the bad boy of our group - the guy constantly getting into trouble and doing controversial things. Every boy band needs a bad influence."

 **Roy: Spoke with Fox, Falco, and Itsuki about my boy band idea - Fox and Falco both pointed and laughed at me, whereas Itsuki just smiled in response, not saying a single word...I think they all like it!**

 **Chrom: *shaking his head* Just...just end me, right now...**

"Excuse me, Roy and Chrom!" Cortex, accompanied by Uka, called out to the swordsmen from afar, grabbing their attention. "I have been informed that we're playing a game of tag...is this true or not?"

"Oh no, Cortex must be it!" fretted Chrom, as he and Roy ran away. They bumped into each other by accident, before running off in their separate ways.

"Just like I told you..." Uka said to Cortex, when Cortex's arch-nemesis Crash walked by. The bandicoot was minding his own business, which made him the perfect prey for Cortex.

"You're it, bandicoot!" Cortex tagged Crash, before running off Crash looked around in bewilderment, before screeching at the top of his lungs and running away like a manic, his arms in the air. Wouldn't want to see a screeching Crash coming towards you at full force any day of the week.

* * *

Peach was lurking around the foyer, not seeing a single person since everyone ran out of the meeting room...almost like everyone (save for some) was taking this game of tag seriously. Nobody knew yet why they were playing tag for, though Master Hand might explain later on.

Speaking of whom, Peach looked out the window, and saw Master Hand on the porch, speaking with Mario. Peach would quietly exit the mansion, so she could hear the conversation.

"Getting sick and tired, man, sick of it all..." griped Master Hand, allowing Mario to gently pat him. Mario better make the most of this one-and-only opportunity. "Feel like I'm gonna explode at any minute!"

"At least-a you're voicing your concerns, rather than keeping them-a inside of you," said Mario, as Peach got closer. "The longer you bottle up-a your inner feelings, the more-a likely you are-a to feel even more angry about-a things!"

"What are you two discussing?" Peach would ask Mario and Master Hand; the ongoing conversation was leaving the princess intrigued.

"Master Hand has told-a me that he plans on stepping down-a as the head of the mansion," explained Mario; catching Peach by surprise. Why would Master Hand - the creator of the Smash universe, a powerful entity - step down from his post? You'd think he enjoyed ruling over the mansion, getting to boss people around and dole out punishments and all that good stuff.

"It's true...being the head of mansion has become very dull for me, and at times frustrating," said Master Hand, as Peach did something she never thought she would do in a million years...sympathize for Master Hand. "Sure it might sound fun ruling over people, and having authority at all...but over time, it gets to the point where you don't want to do it anymore. And I'm at that point now...having to hear people voice their concerns, and tell you all about their troubles - I mean, I am all powerful and stuff, but I can't solve everyone's problems!"

"But I thought you loved being the head of the Smash Mansion, I've never heard you complain about your day job! And you're a far more superior leader than Crazy Hand could aspire to be...I shudder to think how he would handle having his own mansion!"

"I shudder when thinking that as well...but now, I feel like a changing of the guard is in order. Which is why I called that game of tag - whoever's it by two o' clock will be declared the new head of the mansion. It will be up to whoever 'wins' the game of tag to preside over the mansion, and make important decisions and whatnot and keep everything balanced."

"Well, Master Hand, if you want-a to step down from your current-a role..." started Mario, heaving a sigh. "...then the choice-a is yours. I can't think-a of anyone who could do a better job-a than you...but none-a the less, the decision is yours."

"Thank you two for understanding. You two and Isabelle are the only three individuals that I can speak with regarding my inner feelings and convictions. Princess Zelda is a close fourth, though - everyone else can go screw themselves. Now, Princess Peach, is there anything you wish to tell us?"

"There is one thing I have to get off my chest..." answered Peach, as a devious smile grew on her face. "...I just so happen to be it!"

"Mama mia!" exclaimed Mario as he hopped off the porch, to escape from his wife. Master hand likewise would also retreat, vanishing away, as Peach hummed a happy tune and skipped her way back inside the mansion.

 **Master Hand: Why am I participating in this game of tag, even though I've made known that I don't want to be the head of the Smash Mansion again? Good question, good question indeed...ask me again when the game is over.**

* * *

Once back inside the mansion, Peach would find Falco, and tag him. With Falco now it, the avian pilot was doing everything he could to lift the burden off of him. And he knew the perfect guy...

"Bruh, Fox, I think I have some bad news..." Falco said to Fox, who just exited the bathroom. Poor Fox didn't have any idea of what was coming to him.

"What is this bad news that you speak of?" asked Fox, feeling somewhat skeptical. "Katt Monroe dumped you for Slippy Toad? Yikes, man..." Any man who gets dumped in favor of Slippy Toad should definitely reevaluate their love life.

"It's, it's just that...YOU'RE IT!" Falco tagged Fox, and then made a run for it. But Fox was just as fast as Falco, if not faster, and so he chased him down and tagged him.

"Hahaha, now you're it again! How you like that?!"

"I believe it's you who's it, good sir!" Falco would tag Fox yet again. Fox and Falco would keep tagging each other...

...before the pilots were enveloped in a slap fight. Ganondorf would walk by, seeing the slap fight, and shook his head. A prime example of why having a game of tag in the mansion might've not been the best idea...

"One of you two is it, right?" Ganondorf would ask the pilots; both Fox and Falco nodded their heads, before continuing their slap fight. Their fight would come to an end, when Ganondorf tagged the both of them. "There, now you can both end your stupid fight. Happy now?"

"Uh, yeah, thanks a lot, Ganondorf," thanked Fox...before he and Falco ran away from the demon lord. Ganondorf would shake his head yet again as he continued on his way, before encountering King K. Rool in the hallway. The Kremling was hiding in a closet - only problem was he was on the floor, hands over his head, and his butt poking in the air. Ganondorf, unimpressed by Rool's hiding abilities, would tag Rool.

"Just to let you know, you're it now," the demon lord informed Rool, who angrily got up to his feet and glared down Ganondorf.

"Dang nab it Ganon, how did you know I was hiding in the closet?!" questioned Rool, like he didn't expect anyone to notice a giant green Kremling bosom sticking out from the closet. Rool's weight would already prevent him from hiding at all.

"Your bottom was poking out of the closet door for everyone to see...don't know what you were expecting. It's hard not to notice." Angry that his hiding spot was discovered, Rool continued glaring at Ganondorf, until he saw Birdo walking by with the corner of his eye.

"Tag, you're it!" the Kremling would tag Birdo before running off; Ganondorf would do the same.

"Oh, I'm it, mercy me..." said Birdo, who did not mind being it at all, for she found the person person to tag...a green dinosaur down the hallway, who looked back and shuddered in fear when he saw Birdo staring at him. "Hey boo!" Birdo called out to the frightened Yoshi.

"You'll never take me alive, woman!" vowed Yoshi, as he ran down the hall. Birdo would chase after her man, hot on his heels.

 **Yoshi: Birdo is practically obsessed with me, I tell you, obsessed...last night, I saw her looking through my bedroom window watching me as I sleep! I told Knuckles to do something about it, but he said something about respecting women too much to drive Birdo away. Was unable to sleep that night, felt tired all...  
Birdo: *from afar* Oh, Yoshi, where are you? You can't hide from me forever!  
Yoshi: Crap I hear her coming for me! Gotta go!**

The Inklings, being the fun-loving youngsters that they were, loved to play tag as much as they enjoyed their epic paint battles. You'd think the two friends would be participating in the game of tag, but instead they were in the ball pit room, playing in the pit of colored rubber balls. They would keep playing as Yoshi ran inside the room, leaping into the ball pit.

"Sup Yoshi, and welcome to the ball pit!" the male Inkling said to Yoshi, who was more focused on hiding himself than speaking with the Inklings. "We're just chilling here until the game of tag is almost over."

"Yeah, so that when the game is almost over, we can tag the last person to be it!" added the female Inkling. Considering how the Inklings were working together in the prank war, this strategy was slightly expected. "Maybe whoever is it last will win something!"

"Shut up and don't tell Birdo I'm here..." Yoshi told the Inklings, burying himself underneath the rubber balls. Talk about a double negative. Birdo would enter the ball pit room, and see Yoshi's tail sticking out from the sea of rubber balls.

"Oh, Yoshi, I can see you..." cooed Birdo, creeping towards the green dinosaur. Yoshi, feeling Birdo getting closer, would appear out from the rubber balls, knowing what to do.

"Hey kid, make yourself useful!" Yoshi would grab the male Inkling and hold him up right when Birdo was about to tag him. Which meant that Birdo tagged the male Inkling...which meant that the Inkling was now it! Yoshi would drop the male Inkling back inside the pit, before hightailing out of the room.

"You can't run from me forever!" Birdo would chase after her man, as the male Inkling was now it. Bad news for his female counterpart.

"Tag you're it!" the male Inkling would tag his friend.

"Nuh uh, you're it!" the female Inkling would tag right back. She would then exit the ball pit and run away, as the male Inkling also left the ball pit and chased after his friend.

* * *

While the game of tag persisted, Cilan was in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. The connoisseur was making some chili, and it had all the works - kidney beans, tomatoes, garlic, onions, cumin, and everything else you could want in a bowl of chili and more. Chili was a very fitting meal during these cold Seattle days.

"Ah, the chili smells so good!" exclaimed Cilan, after he smelt the aroma of his spicy stew creation. "Another culinary masterpiece that the others will enjoy! I must taste my chili right away! Where did I leave that spoon..."

 **Cilan: As much as I would love to play tag with everyone else, food always comes first before everything. After all, you can't play tag on an empty stomach! I must ensure that my chili is perfect, and pleasing to the tongue, before I involve himself in this tag war. I was up all last night perfecting my chili, and now it is close to perfection! Would be a shame if all my hard work were to go to waste...**

Unfortunately for Cilan, that was _exactly_ what happened. As Cilan found his spoon, ready to sample his chili, the Inklings would run into the kitchen, with the female Inkling being ahead of her pal.

"Tag, you're it!" the female Inkling would tag Cilan, hitting him in the leg. Cilan would suddenly lose his balance as he flailed his arms about, and his arm hit the pot of chili as he fell onto the floor. As if that wasn't enough, the chili would spill all over Cilan, and it was piping hot too.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" the connoisseur screamed in burning pain, as he hopped up and tried to wipe the chili off of him. When that wasn't enough, he was left with no choice but to rip off his clothes, and throw them on a sofa in the nearby living room. Cilan, now in his undergarments, would cool off, as he inhaled and exhaled while his body temperature decreased.

"Cilan, is there any reason as to why you're in your t-shirt and briefs?" Pac-Man, entering the living room, would ask Cilan, before noticing the connoisseur's clothes on the sofa. A whole lot of chili stains. "Sheesh, what happened to your clothes? You threw up all over yourself or something? Trust me, I know that feeling too well...a bit TOO well!"

"Pac-Man...consider yourself it," Cilan walked over to the eater of ghosts, tagging him, before picking up his clothes and leaving the premises. "Frankly I have an impromptu date with the washing machine, and the drying machine as well..."

"I'm it?!" panicked Pac-Man, like he was never it before, as he ran around in the living room. "What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?!" The eater of ghosts would run out of the living room, and ran as far as his legs could carry him, until he ran into Samus. Since Pac-Man was so short, he ran into Samus' legs, which befuddled the bounty hunter as it looked like Pac-Man was...hugging her legs.

"Are you...trying to hug me?" asked Samus, as Pac-Man opened his eyes and realized where he was, and what he was doing. Following his realization, he pulled away from Samus, and regained his composure.

"No, no, wasn't trying to hug you just now..." chuckled Pac-Man, awkwardly scratching his head. "Besides, the only person I would ever hug would be my wife!" So you don't even hug your kids, Pac-Man? What a terrible father. "You're it, by the way."

"And here I thought I wouldn't even be a part of this silly child's game..." Samus let out a sigh, as Pac-Man tiptoed away; she knew she should've stayed in the workshop until the coast was clear. "Guess I have to tag somebody then..."

* * *

Rool's hiding attempt was an utter travesty - you would have to be blind or completely unobservant to not notice Rool sticking out from the hallway closet. Fortunately Link had a better hiding attempt, as he was hiding inside a cardboard box in the lounge. Zelda and Midna were looking on, easily blowing Link's cover. If said cover wasn't blown already!

"You do realize Snake himself hides in a cardboard box, right?" Zelda asked her boyfriend, who wished for Zelda and Midna to go away. "Why would you copy his own method of hiding? Not original if you ask me..."

"Correction: Snake hides underneath a cardboard box, while I, on the other hand, hide inside of it," stated Link, leading Zelda to roll her eyes. "So take that for originality!"

 **Zelda: Haven't seen Master Hand since the game of tag started. If this game is meant to crown the new head of the mansion, then I might as well leave myself out of the equation. Being the princess of Hyrule is already enough for me.**

"I told him to close the flaps of the box, but he just wouldn't listen," Midna told Zelda, as Samus entered the lounge. "He could use his sword to poke holes through the box so he can breathe." Samus would tag Zelda, grabbing her attention.

"Only tagging you just so I won't involve himself in this stupid game anymore," Samus explained to Zelda, before making her exit. "Doc Louis is just down the hallway if you wanna tag him. If you need me, I'll be in the workshop...just make sure to knock, since the door will be locked."

"Okay then, thanks for the heads up," thanked Zelda. Once Samus was gone, Zelda would too exit the lounge, and walk down the hallway, seeing Doc Louis holding a chocolate bar. How very predictable...

"Nothing can come between us Annabelle, it'll be just you and me, forever until the end!" Doc Louis would say to a chocolate bar, one he would eventually devour later on. Zelda would breeze by Doc, tagging him when he least expected it. "What, did I get tagged? Princess Zelda, was that you?!"

"Catch me if you can!" Zelda called out to Doc Louis, who would drop his precious "Annabelle" to the floor before chasing after the princess. Sadly for Doc, his weight would be his crutch, as he became exhausted and collapsed to the floor, catching his breath. The sweaty boxing trainer remained on the floor when Toad came over to check on him.

"Doc Louis are you alright, you look like you just ran a marathon!" Toad asked the boxing trainer. Apparently running down the hallway was too much of an exercise for Doc Louis.

"Tag...you're it..." panted Doc, as he tagged Toad, before his face and arm fell unto the floor. He was now down for the count.

* * *

Cloud had no intentions of playing tag - like Samus and Lana, the swordsman had no business participating in a child's game. A grown adult like himself shouldn't even be playing tag at all. So what did Cloud do to pass the time?

Rest on the hammock in the backyard, of course! Cloud rested in the hammock, looking up at the cloudy sky, as his cares drifted away. Aerith, who was watering the plants in the backyard, looked down at her boyfriend, disgusted by how apathetic he was. Apathy was a part of Cloud Aerith could never change.

"Cloud why don't you want to play tag with the others, you would feel like a little kid again!" Aerith did her best to encourage the swordsman, but Cloud wouldn't budge, as he did his best to ignore Aerith.

"Like I said about the prank war, this game of tag is mind-blowingly stupid and pointless," replied Cloud, as he donned his shades. Anyone can look good with shades on, and Cloud was definitely no exception. "What's even the point of this game anyways? Master hand never specified why, which makes me skeptical."

"If his speech was any indication, I think he wants to appoint a new head of the mansion. That's the vibe I'm getting anyways."

"Count me out. Master Hand is gonna regret this game of tag soon, especially if the 'winner' is someone under-qualified. Or maybe even an outsider, someone we cannot trust. Either way, whole thing's gonna backfire in Master Hand's...face."

 **Cloud: What would I do if I were the head of the mansion? Easy - get rid of everyone that makes living at the mansion cancerous, starting with Bowser and his bratty children. They can go back to their dumb castle and capture a princess that isn't Peach. We all know Bowser wouldn't want to mess with Daisy.**

Geno, who was recently tagged Toad, would poke his head out of the bushes, spotting Cloud on his hammock. Cloud was in a perfect position to be tagged, and his lack of awareness made things even more perfect. So Geno would pop out of the shrubbery, and zip past Aerith, before reaching his prey.

"Tag you're it!" Geno said as he tagged Cloud, before darting down the backyard laughing. A now ticked off Cloud put away his sunglasses, and angrily got out of the hammock.

"You're gonna get it now, buster!" shouted the swordsman, as he chased down Geno. Aerith watched as Cloud chased Geno back inside the mansion, smiling to herself.

"About time Cloud had a little fun..." remarked the flower girl, as she resumed her watering duties.

* * *

With his blazing speed, you'd expect Sonic to be a beast in this game of tag. If the hedgehog was ever it, you would always expect him to tag someone else in less than a second with his breakneck speed.

Desiring to show off how fast he was, Sonic was standing in the middle of the hallway, expecting somebody to tag him. He was holding out his hand, and whenever someone walked by him, he would ask them one important question...

"Are you it?" Sonic would ask to anyone he saw, including Tsubasa, Donkey Kong, Ashley, and many others. Some glanced at Sonic and shook their heads no, while others flat out ignored the hedgehog altogether. Tails would approach Sonic, wondering what he was up to.

"Shouldn't you be, I don't know...trying to escape from whoever's it?" Tails would ask Sonic, as Berkut walked by. The paladin had walked past Sonic twice already, and had tuned out the blue blur.

"Nah, running away from said person would be too easy, I would easily outrun them," replied Sonic, wishing for a chili dog. All this standing around was making the hedgehog hungry. "It's when I chase someone down that the fun begins...just seeing their face of panic and despair when I run them down, it makes me feel happy for some reason. Sometimes chasing people as a speeding blue hedgehog is super fun!"

"That is the silliest thing I've ever...look, Cloud and Geno are up ahead!" Indeed they were, as Cloud was still chasing after Geno. Geno would make a sharp turn around the corner, but before he could continue chasing the star...

"Tag you're it!" Cloud would tag Sonic, before heading down the hallway Geno went, having a bone to pick with the star. Sonic cheered and raised his fists upon being tagged, as Tails calmly walked away. Never will you see anyone more excited to be it.

"So, who's going to be our very unfortunate person?" wondered Sonic, rubbing his hands together. He would tag Tails, but the fox already left, much to Sonic's chagrin. However, Sonic would spot a certain individual in yellow armor down the hall, carrying a book. It was Gil, and the de facto librarian looked to his left and saw Sonic, eyeing him intently.

"Uh oh..." muttered Gil as he dropped his book to the floor and tried to make a run for it...but everyone knows you can't outrun Sonic. So Sonic would zip past Gil at blazing speed, tagging him in the process. "Dang it, Sonic!" exclaimed Gil when he felt Sonic's gloved hand making contact with him.

"You snooze, you lose!" Sonic would taunt Gil as he sped down the hallway. Gil would groan to himself as he went to retrieve his book...which was being read by a curious Jigglypuff. The book Jigglypuff was reading was _A Catcher in the Rye -_ a true classic - and it caught every bit of her attention.

"Hahaha, tag you're it!" Gil would tag Jigglypuff, before snatching his book away from the balloon Pokemon and running away. Jigglypuff pouted as he glared at Gil, her hands on her hips.

 **Gil: This whole game of tag hasn't gotten aggressive...yet. I expect some tackling and pushing to occur when the game is almost over. So, to keep myself safe, I'll be hiding away in the library until the coast is clear. Would Master Hand be angry at me for not participating? Sure, but I've yet to see him ever since he executed the first tag...might be in a undisclosed location, laughing his butt off!**

Now it, Jigglypuff would make her way through the mansion, looking for somebody to tag. She would encounter Bowser Jr. in the hallway, playing on his Nintendo 3DS. The young koopa would look up and see Jigglypuff, wondering what business she wanted with him.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Jigglypuff?" questioned Bowser Jr, putting away his 3DS. "What's the matter, you wanna throw some hands? Wanna catch these hands?! If that's the case, then you're on! So what kind of hands do you want? Clown hands? Boxer hands? Manicured hands? Just tell me what you want, and I'll give it to ya! You'll be crying uncle before you could even..."

"Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff would tag Bowser Jr, before sneaking away. Bowser Jr. would just stand there, frozen and dumbfounded, his arm shaking. How could he have allowed himself to be tagged like that?

"ARRRRGGGH CAN'T BELIEVE I GOT TAGGED!" Bowser Jr. threw a tantrum, as he punched a nearby wall. He then grabbed a nearby vase and was about to throw it on the floor, before having second thoughts and placing the vase back where it was. Having Mr. Game and Watch fix the hole in the wall was more worth it than having to replace a vase. After his tantrum, Bowser Jr. would return to a calm peace of mind. "No matter, I'll just tag one of my siblings and be done with it."

* * *

Bowser Jr's siblings - the seven Koopalings - were hiding in Morton's room, not wanting to involve themselves in the game of tag. They were afraid about the prospect of being tagged...those wimps. A knock was at the bedroom door.

"Door's open, come in," answered Wendy, as Bowser Jr. entered the room, smiling deviously. "Hello Bowser Jr. - is it safe to come outside now?" The smile on Bowser Jr.'s face was suggesting otherwise...

"Think the better question is...who wants to be it?" asked Bowser Jr, raising his hands up as his smile became even more devious. The scream of fear from the Koopalings only highlighted what would happen next...

* * *

Walking through the mansion was Lucario, and the aura Pokemon was spending some down time with his mate, Lopunny. The two had quite the romantic journey - first there was Gallade, then there was Gardevoir, and then the whole relapse Lucario went through upon learning that his love for Gardevoir wasn't meant to be. However, that didn't stop him on fully settling with Lopunny, and those two have been happy ever since.

"Figured that since you spend your days cooped up in the sanctuary, I could take you out for a walk around the mansion," Lucario would tell Lopunny, his arms behind his head. "We're having a game of tag right now, so I'll keep you as far away from the action as possible."

 **Lucario: Pfft, I'm a Pokemon, I don't need to play a game of tag. Baseball, maybe, but anything else, I'd rather not involve myself in.**

"Lopunny!" Lopunny would alert Lucario, hearing some sounds coming from behind a nearby door. Lucario would press his ear against the door, and heard the Koopalings' voices. What were they saying?

"Tag, you're it, catch me if you can!"

"I believe it is YOU who is it, good sir!"

"How's it feel like it?" Can't tag me!"

"Lemmy, I choose you...uh, I mean, tag you're it!"

The last person to be tagged would be Lemmy, who exited the room feeling slightly light-headed as he closed the door behind him. Clearly the Koopalings were aggressive, just as Gil feared.

"You're...it..." Lemmy would tag Lucario, his last act before falling to the floor. He had a good run while it lasted.

"Welp, guess I'm it then..." sighed Lucario; so much for avoiding the action. "I'll be right back," Lucario would inform Lopunny as he left, leaving his rabbit Pokemon girlfriend alone with an unconscious Lemmy.

* * *

Wario was eating a bunch of onions by himself all alone, working out a strategy. His strategy? To release a giant fart cloud if someone dared to tag him. That way, the person who was it could be subdued, while Wario escaped in the thick cloud of his own flatulence. Disgusting, yet effective.

"One more onion should do it..." said Wario, ready to pop another onion into his mouth, before Lucario walked by and tapped him on the shoulder.

"You're it, Wario," Lucario would inform the fatso as he walked on. Wario would look around, wondering who could've tagged him. Didn't even have a chance to use his master plan!

"So I'm it now, huh?" said Wario, as he cracked his knuckles. The fatso would march on his way, and during his trek, he saw a cardboard box lying on the floor. Knowing who was hiding under it, Wario would approach the box...until Snake lifted it up to give the fatso a warning.

"Don't you even dare..." the former spy warned Wario, before putting the cardboard box back down. Wario would snap his fingers in disgust as he continued on his way, before seeing Bayonetta walk by. Now was his chance.

"Tag you're it!" Wario would smack the Umbra Witch, on the side of her leg. Bayonetta angrily turned around to face Wario, who was now shuddering in fear. "I didn't mean to hit you like that, honest! Please spare me!"

"Any other time I would make you cry for mercy..." said a still angry Bayonetta, before softening as she knelt down at Wario and stroked his chin. Wario was all kinds of confused. "But since things are a bit...competitive around here, I'll spare you for now." Bayonetta would tap Wario on the head before strolling down the hallway, as Wario remained in place, his eyes wide and his mouth agape.

 **Bayonetta: Guess you can call me a lioness at a zoo - you can look... *smiles seductively and strikes a pose* ...but you certainly can't touch!**

 **Wario: *still frozen with his mouth agape***

As Bayonetta carried on with her stroll, she would encounter Olimar. The astronaut considered himself unworthy to be in Bayonetta's presence, so he turned ihis head away. Not an issue for Bayonetta to fix.

"Too shy to look at a pretty face like myself, hmm?" Bayonetta smiled as she reached Olimar, stroking his helmet. Olimar was getting shivers down his spine, his eyes wide open as he slowly turned to face Bayonetta. "You don't do so well around women, do you?"

"I get along well with the ladies - some more than others," replied R.O.B., its pupils growing wide. Bayonetta was making the robot feels all sorts of things that it shouldn't. "I am married after all, so it comes naturally..." Such a shame we don't know the name of Olimar's wife.

"So I see...never would imagine someone like yourself could get down with the ladies. How very cheeky. And while I'm at it...you're it." Bayonetta tapped Olimar's head before walking away, making the astronaut fall to the floor on his side. "Might wanna get a move on, ladies man! Lying on the floor like that won't do you any good!"

"Ladies man...how can I be a ladies man...I'm married..." Olimar would remain on the floor, as R.O.B. peered over him.

"IF YOU WANT...YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND TAG ME..." the robot said to Olimar, who tagged R.O.B. and took off his helmet, just so he could suck his thumb.

* * *

Sitting on the rooftop of the mansion was Meta Knight, who was more interested in watching the bright Seattle sun than playing tag with the others. Also on the rooftop was Nowi and Captain Falcon, the latter having been tagged by R.O.B. Nah deemed herself too mature to involve herself in Falcon and Nowi's shenanigans, so she wasn't present. The lovebirds were hidden from Meta Knight, spying on the Star Warrior from behind.

"Alright, Nowi, so what I want you to do is speak with Meta Knight, maybe talk about sports or something, and then I'll go in for the kill and tag Meta Knight!" Captain Falcon explained to his girlfriend. "Meta Knight will go bonkers, he'll be all like, 'WHY CAPTAIN FALCON, WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?!' Then he'll laugh about it, and..."

"Has Meta Knight ever laughed before?" asked Nowi, unsure if Meta Knight even wanted to be tagged. The Star Warrior was being awfully distant more than usual today.

"I'm sure he has - he wears a mask 24/7, so it's hard to tell if he's laughing, crying, or the like. Now go and do your thing!"

So Nowi would tiptoe towards Meta Knight, trying to make as little sound as possible. However, Meta Knight had a very keen sense of hearing, and was able to detect Nowi making her move. So he pulled out his sword, and pointed it at Nowi, not looking back.

"One more move, and you're done for..." the Star Warrior threatened Nowi, who took several steps back out of caution. This would eventually set up an opening for Captain Falcon.

"Falcon...TAG!" the racer would aggressively tag Meta Knight, enough to make the Star Warrior fall to the ground. Captain Falcon shrieked in fright as he and Nowi checked on Meta Knight. "Meta Knight, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Pit here broke my fall," responded Meta Knight, lying on top of Pit. That meant the angel was now it. "But I'll get you for this, Falcon!"

* * *

 **Flora: Why must be play a game of tag for...I doubt that I would even be good at it...what if nobody wishes to tag me? Oh, that would be dreadful...  
Felicia: Flora, the point of tag is NOT to be tagged at all. Easier said that done. However, our maid duties always comes first before anything else!**

Mr. Game and Watch, always on the job, was patching up the hole Bowser Jr. had created earlier. Flora and Felicia were nearby, sweeping the floors, with Dark Pit chilling out with Flora.

"Hey Dark Pit, you got a minute?" Pit would approach the doppelganger. Just exactly what Dark Pit wanted - someone to annoy him.

"Uh, sure, what's up?" asked Dark Pit, willing to entertain Pit - as long as he was up to something good. Too bad the opposite would happen.

"Tag you're it!" Pit would tag Dark Pit, before running down the hall and taking flight. An angered Dark Pit would chase after Pit, but ultimately decided it wasn't worth it. Why waste his time and energy on Pit for?

"You may have won this round Pit, but you won't be so fortunate next time!" Unsure if Pit heard him or not, Dark Pit would return to his usual spot, but not before tagging Mr. Game and Watch. "I would tag Flora, but I'm afraid I would somehow make her cry, so you're it, Mr. GW."

"Knew I would be it soon..." remarked Mr. Game and Watch, although him being it didn't stop him from patching the hole. Groundskeeping work always came first.

* * *

Poor Cilan was all depressed after wasting his chili, thanks to the Inklings. The connoisseur was seated in the kitchen in his now clean clothes, moping as he watched the Ice Climbers preparing to make some smoothies.

"Cheer up Cilan, wasting that chili wasn't your fault," Nana did her best to cheer up the connoisseur, as she was loading up on the ingredients. "You have nothing to be sad about!"

"Nana's right, Cilan - your chili would've sucked anyways, at least in comparison to our smoothies," stated Popo, receiving a nudge from Nana. Said nudge didn't stop Popo from talking. "Also you're a pretty overrated chef anyways, so it's not like..." Popo would receive another nudge from Nana - this time more forceful - and it shut him up for good.

"I wonder who hasn't been tagged yet..." wondered Mr. Game and Watch, as he entered the kitchen. He saw the Ice Climbers making preparations for their smoothies, and saw Popo plugging up the blender. "Tag you're it!" Mr. GW would tag the Ice Climber before bolting out of the kitchen, as Popo gritted his teeth.

"You know what, bump this!" he shouted, as he tagged Nana. Nana, in retalation, would tag Popo right back. The Ice Climbers would constantly tag each other, until the Flying Man showed up and did something out of the ordinary.

"Stop it right now...for neither of you are it!" the mythical beast would place his hands on Nana and Popo, making himself it. The Ice Climbers looked up at the Flying Man, both confused.

"Flying Man...why did you make yourself it?" Nana would ask the beast out of curiosity. There were many things the Flying Man would do that would make you question his motives.

"Because, foolish child, I am your courage! You had a huge burden resting on your shoulders, and because of me, I took said burden off of you and placed it on me. Now it is my civic duty to put this burden on someone else, for the sake of this game of tag. I must be off now - Flying Man, away!" And so the Flying Man would dash out of the kitchen, as the Ice Climbers glanced at one another in pure bewilderment.

* * *

 **Flying Man: Being "it" is like being public enemy #1 - everyone treats you like a bubonic plague for a period of time, until you're a good guy again. Being a good guy myself, I cannot afford to be it any longer, which means I must search for a new public enemy #1, and in due time!**

The new "public enemy #1" would be Villager, who was spotted fishing near the mansion lake by the Flying Man. The Flying Man would tag the youngster, scolding him for not participating in the game of tag, before flying away to "deal out justice". Villager would return to the mansion, and upon his return, he suddenly felt the need to use the bathroom.

"Hurry up in there, I gotta go!" the youngster stood outside the door of the nearest bathroom, holding his bladder and doing the pee-pee dance. It's 2018, and not a single person has patented that very dance.

"Okay, okay, don't rush me - almost done!" Wolf's voice could be heard from behind the bathroom door. Once the mercenary flushed the toilet and washed his hands, he would exit the bathroom...

"TAG YOU'RE IT!" ...only for Villager to tag him as he rushed inside the bathroom, slamming the door shut. Wolf angrily stomped his foot, as Villager felt relieved.

"Outsmarted by a stupid kid, how despicable of me!" Wolf walked down the hallway, angry that he allowed himself to be tagged like that. "Should've seen it coming..." added Wolf, seeing Takamaru coming his way.

"Hey Wolf, why do you look so angry?" the samurai would ask the space mercenary. "I take it you're it?"

"Sadly I am it...but I'm not it any longer!" Wolf would tag Takamura, no longer angry as he cackled. "Have fun being it, samurai boy!" Wolf would keep cackling as he walked away, leaving Takamaru in the dust.

* * *

It was almost two o' clock, and Takamaru was looking for someone to tag. He would find a victim or two, when he spotted the Black Knight in a room, sipping his tea in peace. Takamaru was about to make a move, until...

"Takamaru what are you doing man?" Sora would ask the samurai from behind, grabbing his attention. Takamaru turned around, just as he was about to tag the Black Knight. "You want to join his tea party?"

"I'd love to, but I need to tag someone, and the Black Knight is leaving himself open," explained Takamaru, fearing that Sora might blow his opportunity. "A light tap on his shoulder should do the trick."

"Attention everyone - the game of tag will end in one minute!" announced Master Hand, his voice booming through the mansion. "One minute until the game of tag is over! So whoever's it right now...better go tag someone!"

"Drat, I'm not taking any chances...you're it, Sora!" Takamaru would quickly tag Sora, before running away. Time was winding down, and Sora now found himself in quite a predicament.

"Takamaru where are you going, you can't do me like that!" Sora called out to Takamura, who was now out of sight. Sora groaned, as he stormed off...

...until he heard an elevator door ding nearby. An idea spurred in Sora's head once he heard the sound.

"Oh, I know, I'll just tag whoever exits the elevator door, and then I'm no longer it!" said the Keyblade wielder, as he went to the elevator door. Once the door opened, Sora would put out his hand and exclaim, "Tag you're it!" ...only for his face to fall when he saw the person he tagged.

"Alright people, time's up!" announced Master Hand, as Sora felt like he screwed up big time. "The game of tag is now officially over! We shall crown the new head of the Smash Mansion pronto!"

"New head of the Smash Mansion, eh?" smirked the man Sora tagged - a sharply dressed man wearing a suit with a rainbow-colored R on it. "If my suspicions serve me correct, I must be the new leader of the Smash Mansion!"

Who was this man Sora tagged, you might ask? He was the leader of Team (Rainbow) Rocket...the man known as Giovanni.


	108. Episode 108: Tagged Part 2

_Author's Note:_

 _A chapter with 12,000+ words...ah, that hits the spot. Now let's get to the guest reviews, shall we?_

 _"I've run out of characters for you to add so here's some questions. Will you include a chapter of the Tales characters interacting with the Namco characters? Are Cipher or Team Snagem going to show up? A scene of Palutena and Raine Sage trying and failing to cook food? And finally, have the characters from Fire Emblem Warriors shown up yet?"_

 _Maybe. Team Snagem will probably show up. I could do a cooking scene with Palutena and Raine. And nobody from Warriors has shown up yet. On to Derick Lindsey:_

 _"I wanna know if you ever heard the game "Doki Doki Literature Club"? Because if you have I was wondering if you can make some sort of reference to it like maybe one of the smashers plays it and has nightmares about their loved ones being erased or maybe have a dimensional transporter that brings the four girls here for a chapter."_

 _Yes, I have heard of "Doki Doki Literature Club"...that is one messed up game. Would be funny if Lloyd got to play it. Last up is J300:_

 _"...why was it a surprise for Olivia when Captain Falcon made the graphic for Nowi? And I assume that Katrielle will make an appearance in this story?"_

 _I never established the graphic thing, did I? Let's just say that it was a surprise for Olivia, in the event she assumed Captain Falcon was romantically interested in her. Katrielle, she may appear in the story...won't say then though. Not gonna spoil anything..._

* * *

 **Episode 107: Tagged Part 2**

He did it. He done it. The absolute madman done it. The madman known to many as the always naive, sometimes annoying, and occasionally optimistic Keyblade wielder named Sora had done it.

In the previous episode, Master Hand stepped down from his duties as head of the Smash mansion, deciding that he had enough of ruling over the establishment with an iron fist. In order to name his successor, the giant hand would start a game of tag, kickstarting it by first tagging Isabelle.

On that day, many people were it, as Isabelle tagged Cortex, who tagged Crash, who tagged Peach, and so on and so forth. With the game of tag set to end at two o' clock, Sora was the last person it, and the brunette was desperately looking for someone to tag. And who was this someone?

Team Rocket leader Giovanni, who recently renamed his evil corporation Team Rainbow Rocket ever since moving his operations to the Alola region.

Giovanni had quite the history in _Smash Life -_ the criminal mastermind worked with Organization XIII, after meeting up with the organization's leader, Master Xehanort, back in episode 71. He was quite helpful during the Heartless invasion - at least until Sora and Dr. Wily soiled the Organization's plans. Now Giovanni was back in a new swing, ready to start his new job as head of the Smash Mansion after being the last person to be tagged. You dun goofed up big time, Sora.

 **Cloud: Nice going, Sora, you blew it...of all the people you could have tagged, and it had to be Giovanni. Why couldn't you just allowed yourself to be it until time was up?  
Sora: Like I was supposed to know the game of tag was meant to name Master Hand's successor...if I had knew that, I would have remained it! I believed Master Hand had some kind of grand punishment for whoever was the last man standing, and I had to get myself out of harm's way. It's not like you knew either!  
Cloud: What can I say, I just don't do kiddie stuff anymore. Handpicking the new head of the mansion would've sufficed, instead of some stupid game of tag.**

 **Bowser: Why didn't Master Hand tell us that the game of tag was meant to appoint his successor? Why, if I had known that, I would've allowed myself to be tagged, and hide inside the bunker underneath Mario's house until it was time. And yes, I do have a bunker underneath Mario's home - I'm only using it to get closer to Lara! If Peach won't love me, then Lara will...**

Once the game of tag was over, Master Hand gathered everyone back in the meeting room so the mansion residents could meet their new head Giovanni, who was accompanied by the Team Rocket trio of Jessie, James, and Meowth. Unsurprisingly, Giovanni was being jeered at, for nobody wanted the evil mastermind to replace Master Hand. It was like replacing your everyday world leader with Vladamir Putin - there was nowhere to go but down.

"Go back to the Kanto region where you belong, not even your son loves you!" Ryu shouted at Giovanni, referencing his son, Silver. Talk about cutting in deep.

"I know, let's all give Giovanni a chant to show how much we don't appreciate him!" suggested Pit, as he woudl chant the following: "BOO YOU SUCK! BOO YOU SUCK! BOO YOU SUCK! BOO YOU SUCK!" Many other residents (mostly male) would join Pit in the chanting, as Giovanni could only smirk.

"Settle down, settle down everyone, we have a meeting to get over with!" Master Hand told the crowd, as all the jeering and chanting died down. Silence would slowly make its way back inside the meeting room. "Now before I let Giovanni speak, I just want to thank everyone here who participated in the game of tag. Your efforts will not go unremembered. As for those of you who did not...you people flat out suck, and you should take the time after this meeting to rethink your lives and reasons for existing."

"Guess I'm in the clear, apparently," remarked Cloud, who was left with no choice but to participate after Geno dared to tag him. "Those were minutes of my life I will never get back..."

"Shut up Cloud, I'm speaking here...anyways, now that I got that out of the way, I would like to introduce to you the new head of the mansion. I'm aware all of you are pretty salty about this choice, but if you want to vent your anger, then do so on Sora, since that bozo is the one who tagged Giovanni in the first place. Without further ado, everyone give a warm welcome for Giovanni!"

Giovanni would step forth, shaking hands with Master Hand, as everyone booed the criminal mastermind. Once Giovanni faced the crowd to speak, the booing would die down. What were the odds someone would throw a tomato at Giovanni, let alone a shoe?

"Good afternoon, mansion residents, and the Mario Bros, and everyone else," Giovanni would greet the crowd. So far so good... "It is truly a pleasure to be appointed the new head of the Smash Mansion - an honor I never thought in a million years I would receive. Yet here I am, right now." So far so good... "Although you may consider me a villain, a bad guy if you will, I promise to you all that my tenure as leader of the mansion will be a positive..."

Suddenly a tomato was thrown at Giovanni, and Giovanni, able to see the fruit coming from a mile away, would move his head in the nick of time. Before Giovanni could speak again, two shoes were thrown at him, Muntadhar al-Zaidi style. Like George H.W. Bush, Giovanni would dodge both shoes by ducking, appearing unscathed.

"Figured I would have some objects thrown at me," Giovanni would say after both throwing incidents...only to be hit square in the face by a shoe with a tomato inside. The tomato would splat against Giovanni's face, as the mastermind now had tomato sauce all over his face. Giovanni would scowl, as Jessie, James, and Meowth quietly laughed. Several others would do the same.

"Hahaha, bullseye!" cheered Yoshi, pumping his fist, as Giovanni wiped the tomato sauce off his face. He would glare at Yoshi, ready to scold him, but not before Master Hand stepped in to intervene.

"Let me handle Yoshi, Giovanni..." the giant hand would say to the mastermind, before turning his attention to the crowd. "Birdo, are you still around? Would you mind showing our beloved Yoshi out the door?"

"I'd be more than welcome to!" squealed Birdo, poking her head out of the crowd. Yoshi would shriek like a schoolgirl at the sight of Birdo, her eyes fixated on him. "Come to me, you lovable green hunk!" Yoshi would continue shrieking as Birdo chased him out of the meeting room, as the green dinosaur's shrieks were heard down the hallway.

 **Birdo: My new year's resolution is to make Yoshi mine, to make Yoshi love me as much as I love him! I don't see any female Yoshis walking about, so why does Yoshi refuse to be with me?**

 **Yoshi: There are literally no pros of having Birdo as my girlfriend, all I see is cons. Those cons include things I deal with right now when it comes to Birdo - suffering, distress, and pain.** **Am I in pain? Oh yes I am. But let me tell you something, I thrive in pain. I love pain. To me, pain is not pain at all. No. It is pure pleasure. And I hate pleasure. Almost as much as I love pain. So, in short, I'm** **in pain...**

"Where did I leave of at?" questioned Giovanni, nearly losing his train of thought. "Oh yes, how could I forget! Although I may be a bad guy, I promise to everyone here that my tenure as leader of the Smash Mansion will be a positive one - one that will lead this mansion in the right direction!"

"You think that you being Master Hand's replacement would undo all the horrible things you've done in the past?" asked Amy; it would be hard to erase Giovanni's malicious history. "All those times you and your cronies harmed Pokemon, and exploited them...what makes you think we'll forget all of that?"

"C'mon now, Miss Rose, you gotta give Giovanni a chance!" Master Hand would defend Giovanni, leading Amy to scoff and fold her arms in disgust. "I mean, most people gave Donald Trump an chance when he was named president, and he did bad things in the past...if his bankruptcies are any indication...but if his crazy and rabid fanbase cannot see any faults in Trump, let alone refuse to even acknowledge them, then we shouldn't see any faults in Giovanni!"

"Master Hand has a point, Amy...and besides, it's not like you live here or anything," stated Giovanni, leading a ticked Amy to whip out her Piko Hammer. Good thing Sonic was there to stop her in time. "I will not let anyone down - this duty will give me a chance to turn over a new leaf, to start anew. Is that not what people do when the new year begins?"

"Right on, brother!" replied Master Hand, giving Giovanni a thumbs up. "Now that you had your say, we should end the meeting now before more stuff is thrown. Everyone is free to leave - remember to give your grievances to Sora, and not me or Giovanni!"

"Sora is gonna need much more than just some grievances..." remarked Heihachi, as he cracked his fists. Sora saw this, and gulped in fear. If Giovanni wasn't public enemy #1 at the mansion, then it was definitely Sora.

* * *

Since Giovanni was the new head of the mansion, that would mean he would now be a full-time resident, which also meant that he would need his own spiffy room like Master Hand's - unless Master Hand was willing to give up his room and move in with Crazy Hand, or share his room with Giovanni.

In addition, Jessie, James, and Meowth - who accompanied Giovanni to the mansion - would probably get their own digs at the mansion as well. The trio already received their respect from Master Hand in episode 105 after playing a role in bringing Jakob to justice, and they were hoping that their respect wouldn't go down the drain.

"Just so we're clear, Giovanni, you aren't going to do anything that would be perceived as evil, are you?" a worried James would ask his boss as he, Jessie, and Meowth exited an elevator with Giovanni. "After all, we spent the holidays looking for respect, and we earned respect from Master Hand - I'd hate for it to go to waste!"

"Well, Master Hand _did_ tell me about how you supposedly 'saved the day'...although many others probably played bigger roles," Giovanni stroked his chin. When Master Hand first told him this information, he thought the giant hand was lying. "Why Master Hand even bothered to give you respect, I will never understand, but if that helps you go to sleep at night, then I won't say a word.."

"So boss, what's the first thing on your agenda for today?" Meowth would ask Giovanni. "Do some renovating? Switch roommates around? Maybe even build a pool in the backyard?" Heaven knows the residents would need a pool during the hot summer days...provided it's even hot in Seattle during the summer.

"Patience, Meowth, it's only my first day - I have to map out my objectives first. Would you and your companions do me a favor and fix me a cup of coffee? My mouth is feeling awfully dry right now..."

"Yes sir!" the trio exclaimed in perfect unison, saluting their boss before making a mad dash to the cafe. They were always loyal to Giovanni, even when Giovanni didn't give them the respect that they deserved.

 **Meowth: Oh yeah, this works out perfectly! We already gained Master Hand's respect, and with that, we can live at the mansion with our boss! Then we'll gain the respect of everyone else, and soon we'll be universally beloved!  
Jessie: Ooh, just the thought of being adored by everyone just warms up my heart! We have come a long way...a year ago, people would literally try and kick us out of the mansion, but soon they'll have no choice but to adore us, and treat us like respectful people!  
James: Yes, thinking about being adored is actually making my body warm, almost as warm as my hands... *looks down* Oh dear, we haven't given Giovanni his coffee yet! Hurry, hurry!**

Giovanni would walk towards Master Hand's room, and just when you think the mastermind was going to enter the room...he would walk past by, for reasons unknown, continuing down the hallway. How odd...where was he off to?

Inside Master Hand's room, Master Hand, joined by Mario and Luigi, was speaking with Isabelle. Sora had already received death threats from his fellow residents, and all of them were written down on paper, balled up, and thrown at the Keyblade wielder. Sora would hand these balled up pieces of paper to Isabelle, who unraveled them and showed the death threats to Master Hand and company.

"Sora received five death threats in total from the others," Isabelle would inform Master Hand, after unraveling all the balled up pieces of paper. "They're all anonymous except for one...Lloyd idiotically wrote his name down on his." Maybe Lloyd thought doing so would make Sora feel less intimidated.

"Of course-a he would..." said Luigi, facepalming at Lloyd's idiocy. Smart Lloyd would never do such a thing. "What did-a Lloyd write?"

"Let's see..." Isabelle pulled out her reading glasses, and looked at Lloyd's death threat. "'Dear Sora...I'm gonna KILL you, you fool...sincerely, with much love, hugs, and kisses, your best buddy Lloyd Irving'. Lloyd and Sora are buddies?"

"Would be my first-a time hearing about it if that were-a true," replied Mario; a Sora-Lloyd combination would be like dumb and dumber in Cloud's eyes. "Are you still-a sure about Giovanni, Master Hand? Given his-a history and all..."

"Mario, I know people have their doubts about Giovanni, and I know his criminal history and his experience with Pokemon..." Master Hand began, as Isabelle threw the death threats away in the trash can. "...but when I went over the terms with Giovanni, it seemed like he was no longer the evil guy everyone credits him for. He seemed honest, heartfelt, and willing to make a change. Unless I see any sign that it was just a facade to win me over, then I'll give Giovanni all the benefit of the doubt."

"Hello, Master Hand, can I come in?" a voice called out, accompanied by a knock on the door. Entering in was a forensics expert who made her triumphant return in episode 105, and brought Jakob down to his knees. "It's me again, Ema Skye..."

"You dare have the audacity to ask if you can enter my room, and enter without me giving you my permission?!" boomed Master Hand, making Ema cower in fear, before cooling off and chuckling. "At ease Ema, I was just messing with you. I was hoping I made you wet your pants, but sadly you have more bravery than Crash, Luigi, and anyone else I might've scared."

"Yeah...anyways, I was wondering if maybe you could...ah, Mario and Luigi! Didn't notice you two. Surprised to see me again? Also, why are you hiding underneath Master Hand's bed, Luigi?"

"Don't mind-a Luigi, he's just being paranoid, that's all," responded Mario, with his twin brother hiding underneath Master Hand's head in a duck-and-cover position. His butt was poking out from the bed covers - might've learned something from King K. Rool.

"Is Organization XIII lurking around?" the timid plumber would ask, shivering just a little. Mario would poke Luigi, who scurried towards the end of the bed.

 **Luigi: So Ema came-a to the mansion by her-a self? No Organization XIII? No Heartless? No fake Ema disguised-a as Heartless? For some-a reason, I don't believe-a you...is Ema still around? I must make-a sure that... *walks away, before walking into Aku* AAAAAAAAAHHHH, FLOATING MASK! *faints to the floor*  
Aku: But I used those breath mints, as Coco told me...what am I possibly doing wrong?!**

"I take it that you're here for your reinstatement, Ms. Skye?" Master Hand would ask the forensics expert. If you recall from episode 105, Master Hand offered to give Ema her spot at the mansion back, and Ema was at first unsure. But it seemed like Ema had made her mind up.

"Yes I am, I have taken your offer into consideration for weeks now," replied Ema, nodding her head. "Are Professor Layton and Luke still around? You did say something about them leaving the mansion after the holiday season was over with."

"To my surprise, Layton and Luke are still hanging around. Luke told me that Layton is 'extending his stay' to keep his distance from his daughter, Katrielle. I'm surprised a woman was even willing to take a chance on Layton, but hey, if Captain Falcon can find a girl, and if Wario loves Palutena, then anyone else can...

"Wait, Wario is in love with Lady Palutena?" The shocked expression on Ema's face said it all. The forensics expert would shake her head to wipe away her expression. "Not even going to comment on that...so yeah, I want to be back in the mansion, if it's fine with Mario and everyone else."

"I don't-a live at the mansion anymore, so my feelings about-a the situation won't matter," smiled Mario, glad he was now living on his own with his wife Peach. "Life for me has-a been more splendid at my own-a home, with my wife-a Peach and my pet-a dog Poochy...and our British guest-a Lara Croft."

"Lara Croft is a guest at your home? Wow, a lot of stuff must've happened the last time I was in Seattle." You could say that again, Ema. "So, Master Hand, what must I do to earn the credentials to become a mansion resident again?"

"Well Ema, I can't really tell you since I'm no longer the head of the mansion," answered Master Hand, greatly concerning Ema. "You would have to ask my successor, Giovanni - you may know him as the leader of Team Rocket." This concerned Ema even more; she was somewhat aware of Giovanni's involvement with Organization XIII when the Organization told her their plans. "It only happened today, after we had a game of tag."

"A game of tag to decide who the new head of the mansion will be...thought you were better than that, Master Hand. Now where can I find Giovanni?"

* * *

Giovanni was off...somewhere, to an unknown location. Which meant Ema had to pretty much look for him. But while Giovanni was off doing his own thing, Sonic was hanging out with his good friend Knuckles, as the two were playing against the Star Fox pilots in a game of _Uno_.

"Have you gotten over the whole love triangle thing with you, Rouge, and Shadow?" Sonic would ask his echidna friend, as he drew four cards. "I know you were depressed about breaking up with Rouge that one week..."

"For the record Sonic, I was NOT depressed...I was down in the dumps," clarified Knuckles. "If Rouge had started the love triangle thing, then I wouldn't want anything to do with that woman ever again. But seeing as how Jakob was the one who started the whole thing, maybe there's a chance for us to reconcile."

"And for the record Knuckles, being depressed and being down in the dumps is pretty much the same thing, when you think about it," clarified Fox, receiving a glare from Knuckles. Fox could only shrug, as he he laid down his card on the pile of cards...

"Hold your horses Fox, Sonic has yet to complete his turn!" Big Top, the talking hat who was officiating the _Uno_ match, alerted the pilot, nearly making him fall out of his chair. Almost had a panic attack. "You went like two turns ago!"

"Oh, so it's Sonic's fault he wants to take forever to use a card," snorted Falco, folding his arms, as Sonic analyzed the deck of cards in his hand. He had eight cards in his hand - the most out of all the four players.

"None of the cards I have are any good..." complained Sonic, as he shuffled through his deck. "Anyone here have a draw four card?" This resulted in Knuckles, Fox, and Falco groaning, with Falco falling back in his chair and Knuckles getting up out of his seat so he could stand by himself and shake his head in disbelief.

 **Roy: Safe to say that I'm pretty darn serious about starting a k-pop group with my _Fire Emblem_ boys...I showed them the performance BTS did for that New Year's Eve special thing on NBC, showed them the choreography and stuff. Corrin and Robin were pretty down with it, as they moved their heads to the beat...as for Chrom and the others, not so much. Maybe doing some k-pop dancing will change their attitudes.**

"Fox, Falco, are you two busy?" Tsubasa would ask the pilots, as she poked her head inside the Star Records room. "Roy and his friends, uh, would like to give you 'the performance of a lifetime'...think I'm gonna regret saying that."

"Tell Roy and his crew to come on in and show us what they got," answered Fox, feeling that he was about to watch some horrible. His feelings would begin to maximize, when Roy, Marth, Ike, Chrom, Robin, Corrin, Alm, and Berkut all entered the Star Records room, dressed up like they were wannabe k-pop idols. Marth was wearing ripped jeans, Robin had on a golden jacket, Alm was wearing a New York Knicks jersey, and Ike had on a cap, titled sideways...a lot for Fox and company to take in.

"So you guys, what do you think of our attire?" Roy would ask Fox and company, who all had mixed emotions. They couldn't believe what they were seeing; it was like they were trapped inside some bad dream, with no plausible way to get out. "Pretty fitting for a k-pop boy band, amirite?"

"You guys for real right now?" asked Sonic, hoping and praying that Roy was just joking around. Apparently for the blue blur, the ginger swordsman was pretty dang serious about this boy band idea.

"As real as real can get!" exclaimed Corrin, getting all fired up; everyone glanced at the prince of Nohr, who meekly cleared his throat and resumed being normal. "Roy was the one who put the group together, and told what our roles will be and whatnot."

"What is the name of your band?" inquired Knuckles, expecting something downright cringeworthy like the Fire Boys, or the Firestarters, or even the Fire Squad...alright, those names might not be cringeworthy, but the ones in the boy band would make it that way.

"Our band name...our band name is STRAIGHT FIYAH!" exclaimed Roy, getting a little too caught up in the moment. "...no, but seriously, that's our band name, Straight Fiyah. We even had a rock-paper-scissors tournament to determine our name." Couldn't have been any worse than a game of tag to determine who would be the new leader of the Smash Mansion.

"Ugh, that's the worst name for a musical group I've ever heard..." said Falco, before noticing that someone was missing. "Hey, where is the Black Knight? He's _Fire Emblem_ too!"

"The Black Knight is too concerned making tea to join our group," replied Berkut, looking a far distance to his side. "Can't say I blame him...I honestly don't know how I was even dragged into this..." To make Alm's life miserable, perhaps?

"I do believe you wanted to give Fox and Falco your little 'performance of the lifetime'," Tsubasa said to Roy and company...erm, Straight Fiyah (gonna take a long time getting used to that) reminding them of why they were here. "I'm sure they will both enjoy!"

"Oh yes they will!" exclaimed Roy, rubbing his hands together in excitement. "Robin, get out the music player and play our song! 'DNA', by that group BTS!" Or, as Knuckles called them in episode 64, 'Boys That Suck'. Say that to any diehard k-pop fan, and see what happens to ya.

"You got it!" Robin gave a thumbs up as he pulled out the music player and pressed the play button. The song 'DNA' would play, but it wasn't the right one...

 _I got, I got, I got, I got—_  
 _Loyalty, got royalty inside my DNA_  
 _Cocaine quarter piece, got war and peace inside my DNA_  
 _I got power, poison, pain and joy inside my DNA_  
 _I got hustle though, ambition flow inside my DNA_

Everyone just looked in confusion, as "DNA" by Kendrick Lamar - not by BTS - would play out of the music player. Only person who wasn't confused was Falco, who was busy getting turnt. Once Robin pressed the stop button, Falco would stop jiving.

"Hehe, had the wrong CD in, sorry about that," an innocently grinning Robin would apologize to Roy, who frowned at the mage, as he took out the Kendrick Lamar CD and inserted the BTS one. Falco would look at Robin, stroking his beak.

 **Falco: Is Robin secretly a fan of Kendrick Lamar? If so, then Lucina made the right choice in making Robin her boyfriend. She can learn a thing or two from a man who really knows how to appreciate culture.**

Once Robin pressed the play button, he would assume his position with the Straight Fiyah crew, ready to do some dancing - the type of dancing that is hard to look at, and equally as hard to turn away without laughing. As soon as the music kicked in, Roy and his boys would start their dancing, showing off their fine choreography to Fox and company. What did their audience think of their dance moves?

"These guys are so out of sync, it's not even funny..." said Knuckles, who paid attention to how terribly off Chrom was with his band mates.

"Sheesh, I can only imagine how their singing would even sound..." said Fox, who shuddered to think how anyone from Straight Fiyah would sound.

"Gotta admit, this would make for some pretty great blackmail material," said Sonic, who was videotaping Straight Fiyah's dancing on his cellphone.

"Where is the rhythm, where is the smoothness - don't understand how anyone can watch this crap!" said Falco, who was still proud of Robin, and maybe Lucina too.

"Wow what awesome dancing, you guys definitely have what it takes!" said Big Top, who apparently had to be super positive about everything. Show him an empty soda can, and he would declare said soda can to be the greatest thing he ever laid his eyes upon.

While Straight Fiyah were being k-pop stars...correction: _trying_ to be k-pop stars...and dancing to their heart's content, one could only imagine what it would be like to suddenly walk in, and see Straight Fiyah doing their thing. Especially if you were a noted k-pop fan, like Fiora.

Unfortunately for the Homs, she would walk inside the Star Records room, needing to ask Fox and Falco a question. Upon entering the room, she would instantly hear "DNA" playing, and automatically assumed that the Star Fox pilots were into to k-pop now. Fiora, Amy, Lucina, and many others would be willing to educate Fox and Falco on everything to know about the genre.

However, that wasn't the case...Fiora would see Straight Fiyah doing their choreography, mimicking the same moves BTS did at the American Music Awards in November. To say that they were nothing close to the actual choreography would be a grave understatement, and watching Straight Fiyah dance was enough to convince Fiora to walk out of the room, with a facial expression full of cringe, worry, concern, and a wide variety of other negative emotions.

"Fiora what's with the face, did Fox and Falco answer your question?" Shulk asked his girlfriend, as he waited outside the Star Records room. "Is it true that the stomach acid of a Gulpin or Swalot can cure athlete's foot?" What kind of question was that?!

"I think I just witnessed cancer in motion..." answered Fiora, her facial expression still intact. She would aimlessly wander down the hallway, paying no attention to Shulk, as she nearly lost her footing and almost bumped into a few things as well. As a k-pop fan, seeing Straight Fiyah's damning performance of BTS' "DNA" made broke her, mentally and psychologically.

"Cancer in motion? This I gotta see!" So Shulk would run inside the Star Records room and left one moment later, suddenly regretting that he ever saw what Straight Fiyah was doing. "I know it's early, but that has got to be the worst thing I've seen all year..."

 **Fiora: Being the huge k-pop fan that I am, when I saw Roy and his group doing their rendition of BTS' "DNA" performance at least year's AMAs, I was greatly disheartened at what I saw. The dancing was off, everyone was out of sync, and...all around, it was just a mess. I re-watched BTS' performance twice - the first time was to learn the choreography, and the second time was because I love BTS so much - and to see what Roy and his friends did... *shudders*  
Nowi: *appearing next to Fiora* You're not talking about Roy's silly k-pop group, are you? Did you know that the name of the group is "Straight Fiyah"? That's what Captain Falcon told me - thought it was a joke, but sadly...  
Fiora: "Straight Fiyah"? That's the name of their group?! Ugh...**

* * *

What arcade would be complete without a claw machine? The claw machine is a fixture at almost every arcade in America, chock full of stuffed animals who would be more than delighted to spend an eternity on your bed. You win at the claw machine, and you're a winner for life. Lose, on the other hand, and you'll be overwhelmed with grief and failure...at least until you get over it in like a day or two.

In his last move before stepping down as head of the mansion, Master Hand would have Mr. Game and Watch build a claw machine in the arcade room, and had the 2-D man load the claw machine with Poke Dolls. So if you want a Clefairy doll, an Oricorio doll, or even a Feebas doll (why would you even want that), then it's never too late to get one!

"Time to see what this bad boy can do!" grinned Pit, who was using the claw machine for the first time, as he inserted a token into the coin slot. Once the claw machine turned on, Pit would move around the joystick, maneuvering the claw until he found he spotted a Gligar doll, plain in his sight. The angel would lower the claw, and press the button to grab the Gligar doll, and as Pit pulled the claw up...

...the Gligar doll would fall out of the claw's grasp, falling and returning to its Poke doll buddies. Pit would angrily grit his teeth and stomp on the crowd, as his big catch fell out of his hands...or rather, out of the claw.

"Shoot, I was so close too!" the angel snapped his fingers out of pure disgust, before handing a token to his best friend Kirby. "How about you give it a shot, Kirbster? I mean, you can't possibly do worse than me, amirite?"

"I'm too short to operate the claw machine, Pit..." stated Kirby; Pit would fix that, as he grabbed Kirby and hoisted him up so the pink puffball could use the machine. "Oh, well, this helps. Thanks Pit." Kirby would insert his token into a coin slot, and had a go at the claw machine, trying to pick up a Shellos doll.

But alas, just like Pit, Kirby was unable to reel in the doll, as the Shellos doll fell back into the pile of Poke dolls. Pit would place Kirby back on the floor, as the pink puffball felt angry, but not as much as Pit did.

"How did you boys do at the claw machine?" a voice inquired; Pit and Kirby turned around, and saw Aku, floating next to Crash. It appeared that Crash wished to operate the claw machine, and perhaps claim a Poke doll of his own. "My boy Crash would love to take a crack at the machine, if you don't mind."

"Pit and I already and our turns, and we were both unsuccessful," Kirby would say to Aku, doubting that someone like Crash would be more successful at the claw machine than him and Pit...okay, maybe just himself. "Crash is more than welcome to use the claw machine, provided he has tokens on him."

"Do you have any tokens with you, Crash? Crash...?" The bandicoot would ignore his floating witchdoctor mask guardian, as he strolled to the claw machine, and savagely punched a hole through the glass. He would then select his Poke Doll of choice - a Kangaskhan doll - before walking back to Aku like it was nothing.

"Huh, maybe I should've done that instead, would've saved me a token," Pit had this to say, wondering if Crash would get into trouble for what he did. Mr. Game and Watch might give the bandicoot an earful.

 **Pit: Wanted to give Lara Croft a Poke Doll, to make up for the gift I had given her during the Secret Santa exchange. I had originally planned to give her a plane ticket to Britain (Lady Palutena helped me greatly in purchasing one), but something happened to the ticket, and so I had to give Lara my nutcracker as a last minute gift. As I figured, Lara didn't like it one bit...**

 **Bowser: Totally burned that plane ticket to a crisp with my flame breath. The moment I heard Pit discussing with Lady Palutena about getting Lara a plane ticket back to her home country of Britain, I had Bowser Jr. steal the ticket for me, so I could burn it. Lara ain't leaving until she likes me back, which means she'll have to remain with Mario and Peach until she finally gets a clue!**

As Crash chewed on his Kangaskhan toy, Ema would enter the arcade room. The forensics expert still had yet to speak with Giovanni, who has been absent from the mansion for some time. Even worse, he has yet to receive his cup of coffee!

"Pit and Kirby?" Ema would say to the angel and the pink puffball, grabbing their attention. Pit and Kirby would look up and see Ema, while Crash kept chewing on his Kangaskhan doll. Not even Aku could stop the bandicoot at this point.

"Welcome back to the mansion, Ema!" Pit would say to the forensics expert. "We never thanked you for spearheading the mission to take down Jakob, did we? Well then allow Kirby and I to give you all our thanks - we really appreciated being a part of your little mission."

"Actually, you should be thanking Mario for giving me the opportunity - it was the only way to make up for working in secret with Organization XIII. So I have been told that there's a new leader of the Smash Mansion, Giovanni, is that correct?"

"Yup, Giovanni, of Team Rocket..." snorted Pit, as he looked away in disgust. "It was thanks to Sora that he's Master Hand's successor." Sora should do what's best for him, and leave the mansion while he can. "Do you wish to see Giovanni or something?"

"Master Hand told me that since Giovanni's the new head, I should ask him to be reinstated into the mansion. I know that my chances have become slim, but I'm hoping Giovanni will hear me out..."

"If I recall correctly, Giovanni was seen installing some smoke detector and sprinkler system into the mansion. He might be in one of the hallways somewhere."

* * *

Giovanni was inside the mansion watching over the Carpenters, lead by the bald-headed Mutoh, as they installed the smoke detector and sprinkler system Pit was talking about. The leader of Team Rocket was standing in the hallway, watching the Carpenters do his thing, as he sipped from his cup of coffee. Jessie, James, and Meowth stood nearby, hoping Giovanni liked the coffee they brewed for him.

"Why, this coffee tastes absolutely fantastic!" exclaimed Giovanni, as Jessie, James, and Meowth happily looked at one another with smiling faces. A successful mission. "Gotta hand it to you three - you managed to keep the coffee warm while I was away! Maybe I shouldn't doubt your abilities anymore!"

"Just doing what's best for our favorite boss!" responded Meowth, still smiling. For all we know, Giovanni might be changing his tune on the Team Rocket trio...slow, but steady.

 **Meowth: How did we keep the coffee warm? Easy - we just put the cup of coffee in the microwave and kept microwaving it until we felt like Giovanni was back. Thankfully the cup was microwave-safe!**

"How's it coming along Mutoh?" Giovanni would ask the carpenter, who was standing on top of a ladder watching his Carpenters do their thing. He was the only Carpenter not working, mind you - what a guy! The other Carpenters should be crying injustice!

"Everything is coming along well, Giovanni - the smoke detector and sprinkler system should be ready to go in a jiffy!" replied Mutoh, as his workers were sweating their pants off. Let's hope their pants don't actually fall off or anything - who knows if the Carpenters were going commando today.

"Boss, I'm getting all tired and sweaty..." complained Ichiro, as he wiped the sweat off his face. Installing some system shouldn't make him or the other workers feel that way. "How come you don't get to do any work?"

"Because I'm the boss, nuff said! Doing work is below me! My job is to do nothing! If my job meant to do nothing for the rest of my life, then that would be a life well lived! Now quit yer complaining, and get that system installed or else!"

As Ichiro shut his trap and continued working, Ema would meekly approach Giovanni. She had never spoke with the criminal mastermind - even when they were in the same building during the Heartless invasion, so you can't fault her for acting how was.

"Mr. Giovanni, sir, may I speak with your for a minute?" Ema would tap the mastermind on the shoulder, making him turn around. "Hello, my name is Ema Skye...used to live here at the mansion from November 2016, to June of last year...I was working with Organization XIII in secret, and I was wondering if..."

"Hush now, I know you who are, Ema Skye!" grinned Giovanni, making Ema feel somewhat relieved. "You were Organization XIII's secret weapon - you invented the ray gun that sent those Unversed creatures into this universe, and kept the invasion going. How could I possibly not know who you are?"

"Yeah, hehehe, probably shouldn't have introduced myself..." Ema nervously chuckled as she grabbed her arm. "So, uh, anyways, I was thinking about returning to the mansion, being a resident, and I was told that I should ask you for reinstatement." Giovanni would scratch his chin in thought, musing over Ema's plea.

"Want to be a Smash Mansion resident, you say? Considering your history at this establishment and all...you know what, I'll think about it over the course of the day. Why don't you just hang around until I come to a decision? I would strongly advise not to be around anyone who might still have some ill will with you."

"Thank you very much, Mr. Giovanni, I'll just chill at Luigi's place until you wish to speak with me...given Luigi is no longer afraid of me. You'll know where to find me."

And with that, Ema would leave the premises, as Giovanni went back to watching the Carpenters work. His grin slowly became more...evil...

* * *

Once the Carpenters were finished with their work and received their pay from Giovanni - who was already more generous than Master Hand was and ever will be - the smoke detector and sprinkler system was finally fully installed in the mansion. So far, Giovanni was already making the right moves.

Regardless, some residents still felt like Giovanni was up to no good. One of those residents would be X, who was standing in the hallway looking up at the installed sprinkler system. His best Zero would join him.

"Got a bad feeling that this new system installed might mark the beginning of some ulterior motive by Giovanni..." X would say to Zero, who would also look up at the sprinkler system. "What if Giovanni causes a fire, turning on the smoke detectors, and the water from the smoke detectors is actually acid rain that can..."

"Woah, woah, woah, let's not get ahead of ourselves, Mr. Conspiracy Theorist," Zero would calm down his best friend, resting his hand on X's shoulder. X would quickly slap it away. "Where on earth would Giovanni get this acid rain from? Also, how bad could acid rain be?"

"Team Rocket might've collect acid rainwater in various rainforest locations. And as for how bad acid rain would be...acid rain has nitrogen oxide which, if inhaled, could lead to respiratory problems such as bronchitis and pneumonia..."

"Okay, stop it already, I didn't tell you to go from Mr. Conspiracy Theorist to Mr. King of the Nerds...how about we just let things play out, before we start overreacting. It's not like Giovanni has killed a kitten yet!" As Zero walked away, X would remain cynical, wondering why the sprinkler system was installed in the first place.

 **X: Giovanni is up to no good, and I can just feel it. Zero doesn't seem to think so, but then again he used to be evil so I can't blame him for not seeing the light. Gotta stop Giovanni's reign of terror, before it begins...**

X knew very well that he couldn't bring Giovanni to justice by himself, and so he went to speak with Layton and Luke, to see if they would help him. When the robot arrived at Layton and Luke's room, he would fine the British detectives speaking with Link.

"In addition to Alfendi and Katrielle, I also have another child, although she is adopted," Layton would tell Link, shedding some light on his personal life to the Hylian. "Her name is Flora Reinhold, and she happens to be a protege of mine. Very sweet girl - always hates it when I leave her alone by herself..."

"Hey Professor Layton, if Flora is your daughter and protege, how about you adopt me and make me your son AND apprentice?" Luke suggested to the detective, who would only smile. Gotta give Luke an A for effort.

"Doesn't work that way, Luke...protege and apprentice are two entirely different things. One is guided by an older person, and the other learns from a skilled employer. Not that I employ you or anything...you know what I mean."

"Professor Layton, do you have a minute?" X would enter the room, when he felt like it was a perfect time to speak up. Layton and company gave X their uninvited attention. "Have you seen the smoke detector and sprinkler system installed today?"

"You mean the system installed by the Carpenters?" asked Link, recalling the Carpenters working as he tried to make it to the bathroom on time. "Saw it earlier today. What's that all about?"

"The system was installed today under the orders of Giovanni. I think he might be using the system for something evil - Giovanni doing anything remotely good can't possibly be left up to chance."

"The fact that this smoke detecting system was installed on such an early notice is quite suspicious..." remarked Layton. Giovanni didn't even wait a week for the system to be installed - either he wanted to get it out of the way, or maybe it was something else... "Looks like we have to investigate our new mansion head!"

* * *

Now that he was no longer the head of the Smash Mansion, Master Hand felt like he was truly living the life. He felt like a former president leaving the White House, spending the rest of his life in solitude and peace, without having to worry about making important decisions or other grand stuff. At least Master Hand didn't have to worry about his hair graying due to significant stress while on the job, like other former presidents do.

Master Hand would spend his carefree days uninvited in Mario's home, resting comfortably on Lara's bed. His back laid on the bed, his fingers sprawled out, as he let out a ginormous sigh of relief. Mario, Peach, and Lara were gathered near the bed.

"He's been laying on my bed for what seems like forever now," Lara said to Mario and Peach, as Master Hand would lay on on the tomb raider's bed. "Nothing I can do to get him off my bed works, not even having Poochy lick his fingers!"

"How about I try-a capturing Master Hand, and making him-a move?" said Mario, as he took off Cappy and threw him at Master Hand...only for Master Hand to flick poor Cappy away and send him flying towards a wall. "Or maybe not..."

"Nice try Mario, saw that coming from a mile away," remarked Master Hand, before stretching out his fingers and yawned, as he laid on his side. "Would you and anyone else leave me alone? The creator of the Smash universe needs his beauty sleep..."

 **Peach: No way is Lara giving up her bed to Master Hand. If Master hands wants his own place so badly, he can just go over to Crazy Hand's place. He's the only individual I know courageous to be with Crazy Hand, let alone speak with him.**

 **Lara: Sucks that I couldn't return to Britain once the holidays were over...really wished I had a plane ticket as a Christmas gift. Not that I don't enjoy the company of Mario and Peach, they've been swell. Poochy, he's been somewhat tolerable...**

"Might as well do what Master Hand says..." said Cappy, as Mario picked him up and placed him back on his head. Suddenly the doorbell rang - who could it be?

"You ladies keep-a Master Hand company, I'll-a see who's at the door," Mario would say to Peach and Lara, as he left the room to answer the front door. When Mario opened the door, he saw a man who has been subject to torment from his fellow residents for the entire day, for what he did. "Well, if it isn't-a you...have you caused-a enough trouble already?"

"Look, Mario, I'm not here to start up any more trouble, I just want to fix the mess that I created," replied the man standing at the front door, Sora. The others must've evicted the Keyblade wielder out of the mansion. "Giovanni is doing something terrible in the mansion, you gotta come quick!"

"When isn't he doing some-a thing terrible..." Yeah, Sora, tell Mario something he doesn't know. "What is that Giovanni up-a too?"

"So today he installed this smoke detector and sprinkler system, to dispel any fires in the mansion and stuff, and when a fire broke out in the cafe, the sprinkler system turned on...but instead of water, the only thing that came out of the sprinklers was poisonous gas! Kinda freaky..."

"A sprinkler system-a emitting poisonous gas?! Mama mia...I must-a notify Master Hand!" So Mario returned to Lara's room, to see Master Hand still lying on Lara's bed like he owned her room. "Master Hand, Master Hand, I'm afraid Giovanni is-a harming the mansion residents!"

"That's good Mario, why don't you take care of that yourself..." responded Master Hand as he enjoyed his "beauty sleep", before realizing the words that came out of Mario's mouth. The giant hand sprung up in an instant. "Giovanni is harming the mansion residents?! That's supposed to be my job, he's overstepping his boundaries! But he's tormenting the residents like I used to in the past, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. You can take care of Giovanni if you feel the need to."

"Giovanni also threatened to destroy your precious Lamborghini," added Sora as he entered the room, hoping this would sway Master Hand's mind. And it most certainly did, as Master Hand was growling with fury.

"No one, and I mean NO ONE, threatens my baby and expects to get away with it! That is perfectly unacceptable behavior! Mario, Sora, the three of us are going to have a word with Giovanni, and make him step down as head of the Smash Mansion! One way or another!"

* * *

Inside the mansion, the smoke detector and sprinkler system was turned on, and instead of water raining down from the ceiling, poisonous gas would emit from the sprinklers, hurting the poor residents. The poisonous gas was filling up the very air the residents breathed in.

"Can't...hardly breathe...must...go on..." said a defeated Touma, coughing and wheezing, as he crawled on the floor. Nearby, King Dedede was doing his best to hold his breath in, to avoid breathing in the poisonous gas, but he would have to exhale when he couldn't hold it in anymore.

"This gas is just too much man..." remarked the penguin as he ran to the nearest bathroom, opening the bathroom door...only for poisonous gas to exit the bathroom. "Dang it, nowhere in the mansion is safe! We're all doomed!"

 **Mutoh: Giovanni told me and my boys not to put any water in the sprinkler system, and when I asked him why, he said that he was going to have his flunkies put some laughing gas in instead. "A great substitute for water," he says, since the laughing gas will make everyone laugh, even the most serious person. Can't say I blame him - laughing a day keeps the doctor away!  
** **Ichiro: But boss, I thought an apple a day keeps the doctor away...  
** **Mutoh: No it doesn't, who even says that lie? Only stupid idiots like you! Now drop to the ground and give me 20! I'll take the 20 in rupees, too!  
** **Ichiro: *drops to the ground* Me and my big mouth...**

 **Giovanni: Having the Carpenters install the smoke detector and sprinkling system into the mansion, and then having Meowth and friends trigger a fire so the sprinklers would activate and emit poisonous gas instead of water...that was Phase 1 of my master plan. Phase 2 involves raiding the Pokemon sanctuary completely of Pokemon, and bringing them to our base in Alola while everyone is kept at bay. For whatever reason, Meowth and friends said that they do not intend to hamper "relationship" with Master Hand, so I'm having several grunts do their work for them.**

On the contrary, there was one place in the mansion that was safe - the air ducts. X was up in the air ducts with Link, Layton, and Luke, looking for a way to shut the sprinkler system off.

"Had a feeling some poisonous substance was gonna come out from those sprinklers," said X, as he and the others crawled through the air ducts. "Seemed like something Giovanni would do. There has to be a place where all that poisonous gas is coming from."

"The poisonous gas might be coming from a tank, for all we know," stated Link, who was feeling somewhat claustrophobic. The tight squeeze in the air ducts was the reason why the Hylian felt that way. "Could be either underground, or somewhere near the attic. Doubt it would be the latter, though."

"Hold on, do you guys hear that?" asked Luke, as the four came to a stop. Some rather loud music was playing. "That sounds like pop music...and I hear singing as well...let's go down that vent!"

"Must be Jessie, James, and Meowth having a rave party by themselves...how about we blow their cover?" said X, as the four crawled down the air duct. Soon they would fall through, as an air vent below them collapsed. X and company would fall through, and land in a room. They would all get up, as they heard the music Luke spoke of...and soon, they were all mesmerized by what they were seeing.

"Oh my..." remarked Layton, his mouth falling agape. X, Luke, and Link all had very similar reactions, as they were all witnessing the next hottest boy band rehearsing their dance moves...Straight Fiyah. Luke would faint in an instant.

"This is definitely number one on my list of things I did not expect to see..." remarked X, as he watched Roy and his crew dance, albeit awkwardly, to some k-pop music. The dudes' ladies would be so proud of them...as if.

* * *

Giovanni, new head of the mansion, was living the life. The mansion residents were being tormented by the poisons gas, thanks to him, and he had also taken over Master Hand's room -a room safe from the poisonous gas, thanks to a door stopper installed to the bedroom door. Giovanni was in the room right now, drinking some fine wine with Jessie, James, and Meowth.

"Having those Carpenters install that sprinkler system into the mansion, and then loading it up with poisonous gas...that is so like you, Giovanni!" Jessie commended her boss, holding a glass of wine. "Sure it might damage our relationship with Master Hand, the three of us...but who cares about that right now? It's all about you, Giovanni!"

"Three cheers for the great Giovanni, the greatest boss there is!" exclaimed Mewoth, perhaps an even bigger kiss-up than Dwight D. Schrute, as everyone raised their glasses in the air. "Hip hip..."

Before a "Hooray!" could be shouted, the sound of glass breaking was heard. If you expected WWE legend Steve Austin to randomly break into the room, his music playing, and give Giovanni and the others Stone Cold Stunners, then boy you were wrong. Instead, Mario would break through a window, sticking a perfect landing like a boss, as Sora jumped in after him.

"Your time-a is up, Giovanni!" Mario pointed at the mastermind, who could only smirk. What could Mario and Sora possibly do to him?

 **Mario: Might've injured my-a self breaking through the window...but it was totally worth-a it.**

"Oh no, some midget plumber and a boy who thinks he has magical powers!" Giovanni sarcastically fretted, pretending to be afraid. "I'm so scared!" Giovanni would be scared, eventually, when Master Hand appeared in the room. "...M-M-Master Hand, so good to see you!"

"Wish the feeling was mutual..." murmured Master Hand, noticing how Giovanni was slightly shaking in fear. Jessie, James, and Meowth...they were shaking all over the place! "You've overstepped your boundaries, Giovanni - you must give up your duties as head of the mansion, or we'll have to do things the hard way!"

"Firing a man on his first day of the job? Master Hand, I thought you were better than this...then again, having a game of tag to determine who your successor would be was a horrible idea on your part. A horrible idea that I single-handedly benefited from!"

"Yeah, looking back on it, that game of tag was pretty stupid...come to think of it, how did you even get tagged in the first place, Giovanni? Why were you at the mansion with your cronies to begin with?"

"Long story short, I returned to the mansion to pick up a few items I had left behind the last time I was here - when I had my meeting with Master Xehanort. As I took the elevator down to the first floor, I would be tagged by that brat Sora...and that's how I won the game of tag! All because Sora tagged me, like so!"

Giovanni would demonstrate by tagging Master Hand, lightly tapping his finger on the giant hand. In an instant, Master Hand panicked.

"Crap I don't wanna be it again...tag you're it!" the giant hand would tag James.

"I don't wanna be it either, why me?!" James would tag Giovanni, who was now it. Nice one, James...

"Wait, if Giovanni tagged-a Master Hand, and if Master Hand tagged-a James, only for James to tag-a Giovanni..." Mario thought out loud, trying to piece everything together. "...then that would mean the game of tag is back on!"

"Which means I'm still the head of the mansion," snarled Giovanni, finding it funny how things just played out. "Jessie, James, make sure Mario and Sora don't attempt to tag me!" Jessie and James would do as their told, as they grabbed Mario and Sora's arms and held them behind their backs. "I know Master Hand won't tag me, so why bother...I'll remain head of the mansion, now and forever!"

* * *

Back to X and company, who were still in the room mesmerized by Straight Fiyah and their dancing. It was deliberately hard for anyone to look away...anyone except for Layton, who looked the awful dancing of the _Fire Emblem_ dudes and saw a large tank behind them, with many pipes connected to it going in different directions.

"Hmm, I wonder..." said the detective, noticing some small spurts of gas exit from the tank. He would walk through Straight Fiyah, as they were dancing, and reached the tank. He would see a switch, and pulled it down, and just like that, the tank was turned off, no longer pumping any gas through the pipes. "Boys, I think I turned off the sprinkler system!"

"Good work, Professor Layton!" Link called out to Layton, breaking away from his trance. Thankfully for him, X, and Luke, Straight Fiyah was done rehearsing, as their song came to an end. All the members were sweaty and panting.

"So nice of you guys to come and watch us rehearse, means a lot to us," panted Roy, as he thanked X and company. His band mates, however, felt the opposite. "We intended to rehearse in private, but audience members are always welcome...

 **Robin: Our dance rehearsal...was a dud. Our dance rehearsal for Fox and Falco...was a dud. All future dance rehearsals...will be duds.**

 **Alm: Star Records isn't going to sign us. Would be a win for both parties.**

 **Ike: Don't know about you, but I seriously hate Roy now...**

"Actually, Roy, we came just to turn off the sprinkler system Giovanni had installed today," explained X, glad that the dancing was finally over. All that was left for him to do was delete said dancing out of his memory banks. Easy for him, since he was a robot. "We had no intentions to see your silly k-pop group rehearse."4

"Yeah, we had to come here for our dance rehearsal, since dancing in that poisonous gas was a choking hazard," stated Marth, who wished he had better things to do with his time. "Honestly none of us knew that the tank was running the sprinkler system the whole time." Just then, a notification sound, as Chrom would pull out his phone.

"That must be a text from Raven!" Chrom gleamed, pulling out his phone...only for his glee to fade away. "...oh, it's just a text from Mario. Let's see what he said...he's in Master Hand's room...with Giovanni...and Master Hand, and Sora...James had his arms tied around his back...and he broke free...and Jessie sent out her Arbok. That's the end of the text. Why would Mario send me a text for? Is this a group text? Why do I see all these foreign phone numbers for?"

"Sounds like Mario could use a diversion!" exclaimed Roy, conjuring a plan. "Robin, get that music player! Straight Fiyah, let's head over to Master Hand's room and give Giovanni a dancing performance of a lifetime!"

* * *

Mario and Sora, free from Jessie and James, would find themselves in another pickle, as Jessie sent out her Arbok to wrap the two up. The plumber and the Keyblade wielder were trapped by Arbok, as Giovanni grinned like your typical evil guy.

"The game of tag is still on, and I'm still it!" the mastermind cackled, as Master Hand felt helpless, refusing to tag him. "Which means that I'm still the king of this mansion! Who can stop me now?"

"HOORAY THE POISONOUS SMOKE IS GONE!" Yoshi could be heard from behind the door, cheering loudly. Giovanni looked awfully surprised. "WE CAN FINALLY BREATHE AGAIN...GAAAAAAHHH, BIRDO! GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU FILTHY WOMAN!"

"What, how can that be?! Meowth, check the hallways and see if there's any poisonous gas!" So Meowth opened the door and looked outside, and saw that the hallways were clear - no poisonous gas in sight!

"Aw man, someone must've turned the sprinkler system off!" stated Meowth, as Yoshi ran by being chased by Birdo. "How did they find a way to shut it off? Also, what's that strange poppy sound I hear...?"

That strange poppy sound would come from Robin's music player, as Straight Fiyah barged inside the room pushing Meowth out of the way. Roy and company would enter the room, assuming their positions.

"Giovanni, Master Hand, and everyone else...get ready to witness the greatest dancing act you'll ever see!" exclaimed Roy, as he and his band mates danced to BTS' "DNA", dancing as awkwardly and cringeworthy as possible. Giovanni and the others could not believe what they were seeing.

"You call that DANCING?!" cringed Jessie, who was glad that Straight Fiyah hadn't learned how to sing yet. Hoo boy. "Even James could dance better than all of you!" James would give Jessie a death glare, as Arbrok found herself mesmerized by Straight Fiyah's dancing. Mario, taking advantage of the distracted cobra Pokemon, would capture the Pokemon with Cappy, releasing Sora, before wrapping up Jessie and James and decapturing Arbok once the deed was done.

"How could you fools allow Mario to do that to you?" Giovanni scolded at Jessie and James, before he returned to watching Straight Fiyah dance. A poor decision, since watching them dance was enough to fall to his knees. "Gah, this terrible dancing, I can't tag it anymore! It's almost making my eyes bleed. But no matter - I am still it, which means I'm still head of the mansion! And as head of the mansion...I command you men to stop your reign of terror!"

"You're still it, you say?" questioned Roy, dancing his butt off, before looking at Master Hand. "Master Hand, you gotta make Giovanni tag you so you can be it again! Then we'll leave him alone!"

"But if I'm it, that means I'll be head of the mansion again!" stated Master Hand; he was very adamant about not being the mansion head. "Are you sure we can't give Giovanni a week or two?"

"To do what, cause even more trouble? Have you seen what he tried to do to the residents?! He could have very well killed someone! And what if he tried to capture the Pokemon? We need you, Master Hand! You're the best guy...or hand...for the job!"

Master Hand let out a sigh in response. He did not want to be head of the mansion again - as he stated in the previous episode, ruling over the mansion became dull and frustrating for him, and having to solve the residents' problems was too much for him to take. However, Giovanni was simply not cut to be in Master Hand's place, and the others already voiced their concerns. So Master Hand did what he had to do...

"Giovanni, if you tag me, I'll tell Roy and his friends to stop dancing," the giant hand would tell the mastermind, but Giovanni wasn't willing to make the tag. "It's now or never, my man!"

"Me tagging you would mean I'm no longer the head of the mansion!" stated Giovanni, unable to bear Straight Fiyah anymore, as he got down on all fours. "Gah! Who knew terrible dancing could be this demoralizing? It makes no sense..."

"Just tag me, and it'll all be over." Master Hand held out his hand, and Giovanni looked up and saw it. Straight Fiyah's dancing pained him greatly, and he couldn't hear to watch them go on.

"Fine then, Master Hand...tag, you're it..." Giovanni would tag Master Hand, before collapsing to the floor. "You win...you win..."

And just like that, Master Hand was back where he was before - the head of the Smash Mansion.

* * *

 **Zelda: Heard from the Carpenters that Ema was over at Luigi's place, waiting to be reinstated at the mansion, so I went to pay her a visit. Ema was delighted to see me - apologized for holding me hostage during the invasion, and I forgave her. She was only on the dark side because she missed her late friend, Mia Fey, and Organization XIII took advantage of it. Whatever Ema has done in the past, it's all water under the bridge...**

Zelda was still with Ema in Luigi's home, in the living room, enjoying a conversation with the forensics expert. Safe to say that Zelda and Ema were still the best of friends, with the hostage incident now in the past.

"Princess Daisy, is Luigi still afraid of Ema?" Zelda would ask the princess, who was in the kitchen cooking some Salisbury steak. Yum yum. "I was just wondering, haven't seen him that much."

"I haven't seen Luigi that much either, he might be hiding," replied Daisy, as she heard the phone ringing. Daisy would head over to pick it up, noticing Luigi hiding in a cabinet along the way. "Get out of that cabinet, Luigi - Ema is NOT evil!"

"Won't believe it until-a I see it..." Luigi had this to say, as Daisy answered the phone. It was a call from the mansion.

"Good evening, Pit...and please don't call me 'tutz' ever again. That just sounds like a prostitute word...you want us all to come to the mansion? Ema included?" Ema perked up when her name was mentioned. "Okay then, we'll be there in a jiffy. See you later." Daisy would hang up the phone, as Yuffie approached her, indulging herself with a bag of potato chips she found.

"I take it we're all going over to the mansion?" Yuffie would ask, chomping away on a potato chip. "Is Cilan inviting us over for dinner or something?"

"Pit said that Giovanni has been kicked out of the mansion, and that Master Hand assumed his mansion head duties. Wants us all in the meeting room."

* * *

Master Hand was the head of the Smash Mansion again, although nothing had been made official yet. Nothing was addressed. That would all change in the meeting room, where Master Hand gathered everyone for a meeting prior to dinner.

"Good evening everyone - I have some great news for everyone here," announced Master Hand, kicking off the meeting. "First of all, due to some actions taken today, Giovanni and has lackeys have been kicked out of the mansion - which means that he's no longer head of the mansion, and I have resumed my previous title." This was met with cheers and applause; nobody knew how much they missed Master Hand as ruler of the mansion until now. "The other great news I have is that a fellow resident of ours, Ema Skye, has asked for reinstatement." Master Hand would mention Ema, who was standing humbly next to the giant hand. "You may know her as the woman who single-handedly sold out to Organization XIII, and drew ire for her despicable actions. However, she would make up for what she did in a big way, two weeks ago...Ema, would you like to explain?"

"Uh, sure, I guess," answered Ema as she cleared her throat, ready to do some speaking. "So two weeks ago, that guy named Jakob had returned to the mansion, as some hooded guy. Not knowing Jakob's identity, I had worked with X and several others to bring Jakob down, and soon many others helped along the way. I had spearheaded the entire mansion under the jurisdiction of Mario, who said that if I captured our little crook, I would be forgiven for what I had done. So thanks to me, I captured Jakob - who Master Hand told me was a huge jerk to everyone - and brought him back behind bars, where he belongs. I essentially stopped Jakob from returning to the mansion for his second phase of causing trouble, pretty much."

"Yes, and you all should be thanking her, otherwise Jakob would be back spreading gossip again. Can't let that happen!" Master Hand would face Ema, placing his finger on her head. "I feel like this has been overdue, but I'm glad you agreed to my offer, Miss Skye, especially considering what you have done for us to make up for your previous deeds. Now for what we came for...Ema Skye, I hereby announce that you are reinstated back in the Smash Mansion, free to become a resident again. That is all; meeting adjourned."

"Thank you, Master Hand, feels good to be back," Ema would thank the giant hand. Everyone would file out of the meeting room, with the residents welcoming Ema back to the mansion. The last of these residents would be X, Layton, and Mario.

"Welcome back to the Smash Mansion, Ema Skye..." smiled X, the robot who played a part in bringing down Giovanni's master plan, as he shook hands with Ema before leaving the meeting room. Mario and Layton would both tip their hats at the forensics expert, making her smile a bit. As Ema said, it felt good to be back...the same could be said for Master Hand, back to his old duties again.

Looks a lot like everything's pushing up daisies.


	109. Episode 109: Snowstorm

_Author's Note:_

 _So while I was writing this chapter, there was a wintry mix in my hometown - nothing but freezing rain, sleet, and snow raining down from the sky. An odd coincidence, I will admit, especially given the central basis of this chapter. Granted the snow didn't last for long, but it did give me some motivation to keep on writing. Now on to the guest reviews:_

 _"How soon will we see the Advance Wars characters show up? Is Berkut wanting to kill Alm going to be a running gag? Are Jude and Milla wearing their outfits from Tales of Xillia or Xillia 2? And finally, what are your thoughts on Dark Souls getting a Switch port?"_

 _The Advance Wars characters will hopefully appear soon, Berkut's desire to kill Alm will be a running gag, Jude and Milla are wearing their outfits from Xillia 2...AND CRASH BANDICOOT: N SANE TRILOGY IS GETTING A SWITCH PORT?! Oh wait, it's the game that people have compared N. Sane Trilogy to, Dark Souls...don't really know much about that game, but I bet Dark Souls fans are stoked about the Switch port. Here's another anonymous review:_

 _"Will you include quote and curly from cave story?"_

 _Sure I can. Now let's see what Derick Lindsey has to say:_

 _"Quick question: Is Shulk still injured?"_

 _Yes, Shulk is still injured, although I overlooked bringing up his hand injury in the previous chapter. I'll make mention of the injury in this installment, to keep the running gag going._

* * *

 **Episode 109: Snowstorm**

The city of Seattle is known for many reputations. It's known as the city that single-handedly started the grunge movement, led by Kurt Cobain and his record-breaking grunge band, Nirvana. It's known for being the birthplace of many companies, such as Microsoft and Amazon - although Microsoft technically started in the Seattle metropolitan area, but it still counts. Moreover, Seattle is known for being a very rainy city, as it constantly rains in the Emerald City, and the citizens have to adjust to rain on a consistent basis.

Throughout much of the week, there was nothing but rain in Seattle, with not a single instance of sunlight. The highest temperature the week was 52 degrees, which meant that it was very chilly outside. You'd be a fool to walk around in Seattle without the proper gear on.

While the past couple of days have been rainy, a different weather phenomenon would begin today, as the residents were in the Smash Mansion eating breakfast. Dunban, the cook for today, had made everyone eggs, bacon, and hash browns - the quintessential breakfast in America. Although it was the Pacific Northwest, Dunban also made some grits, for those who wanted any.

"Dunban, King Dedede is doing some sick and twisted things to his breakfast," Wendy Koopa would notify the Homs, as she saw King Dedede squirting loads of ketchup on his grits. He was smiling like a madman, like he was a sociopath pouring out blood on his victims.

"Leave him alone, Wendy - ketchup on grits is an actual delicacy in the South," explained Dunban, as Wendy cringed. Grits with ketchup just sounded disgusting to her. "You should try it one day!"

"I think I'd rather take my chances with Palutena's 'breakfast stew'..." remarked Wendy, who cringed even harder when she witnessed King Dedede consuming his grits in one giant gulp. The sight of that was enough to make Wendy sick to her stomach, and so she had to leave the breakfast table in a jiffy.

 **Palutena: What is this "breakfast stew" that Wendy spoke of? *smiles* Oh, just a new creation of mine, it has all the works! You just mix orange juice and coffee together, and pour it into the pot, and then you add the bacon and the sausage and the ham and...why are you making that face? You wish to try out some of my breakfast stew? Well why didn't you say so! Stay right where you are, I'm gonna make you a bowl of my stew! You'll fall in love after your first spoonful!**

Link, who was quickly becoming bored as breakfast continued on, had his chin rested on the palm of his hand. He would look outside the nearest window, and would find himself astonished by what he saw falling from the sky. No, it wasn't rain, for the substance falling down was solid, and white...that meant one thing.

"Look you guys, it's actually snowing outside!" exclaimed Link, pointing at the snow outside. Some residents hopped out of their chairs to look outside the windows, as they marveled at the snow descending from above.

"Oh wow, it's snowing, so magical..." Cloud said sardonically. Easy to say that the swordsman was not the most excitable guy around - not even snow can cheer the guy up. Maybe he just hates the cold. "What, you want us to make you hot chocolate and tell you bedtime stories while the snow continues to fall, like you're some little girl? Bet you that's not even real snow, might be just a dusting. The forecast didn't call for snow, if the local news is anything to go by."

"Just a dusting, huh? We'll have to see about that..." Link would leave his seat, exited the dining room through the back door, and arrived outside, where he saw that it was snowing harder than he thought it was. Bunches upon bunches of snow were on the ground. Link would make a snowball, and head back inside, eyeing Cloud. "Hey Cloud, think fast!"

Upon command, Cloud would turn his head around, only for Link to throw his snowball at him. The swordsman was understandably angry at Link, as he rubbed the snow off his face. Didn't help that the others were laughing at him; Aerith might be the only person spared.

"Hey Link, that was not cool, and it wasn't funny either," Cloud scolded the Hylian, who was laughing along with the others. Cloud never felt so angry with Link before. "You can't just throw random snowballs inside the mansion like that!"

"But it wasn't a snowball, for it was 'dusting' outside," clarified Link, using Cloud's own words against him as he snickered. "Therefore I threw a dustball at you. Big difference if you ask me."

"Do you see this Link?" Cloud dug into the snowball, and pulled out a rock. "There was a sharp rock inside the snowball you threw at me. You could've seriously injured me, or something even worse!"

"Quit your crying Cloud - don't be such a baby!" said Rinea, as Cloud shot a glare at her, tossing the rock unto the floor near the Duck Hunt Dog. He could've seriously injured the mutt, or something even worse!

"Cloud ain't no baby - he's just a little girl!" mocked Doc Louis, as everyone laughed at Cloud yet again. Cloud just got angrier, as he got up and glared at Link, who put him in this situation.

"If it's a snowball fight you want, Link...then it's a snowball fight you shall get," the swordsman said to Link, extending his hand to the Hylian. "Got yourself a deal?" Link would look at Cloud's hand for a moment...before shaking it, signifying the makings of what could be a vicious snowball battle.

"Aw sweet, a snowball fight!" exclaimed Sora, desperately wanting to be a part of things. He was never involved in a snowball fight before. "Mind if all of us can be participants in this snowball fight? The more people involved, the better!"

"No Sora, it'll just be between Link and I. And besides, snowball fights aren't fun unless you enjoy getting pelted by snowballs. Guarantee you'll be crying from getting too many snowballs to the face. But if you want your own snowball fight, then knock yourself out..."

 **Aerith: Link and Cloud having a snowball fight... *shakes her head* ...sometimes I wonder how those two get into such situations.**

 **Zelda: Nobody has ever died from being in a snowball fight...as far as I'm concerned...so I think Link and Cloud will be perfectly line. Unless either one of them brings a snow plow to the fight. I just hope it doesn't come to that. Link and Cloud would never think of doing such things.**

* * *

Over at Luigi's home, everyone's favorite lanky plumber was wrapped in a blanket, as he checked his thermostat. He did not expect the weather to be so cold today - it was like a heat wave struck Seattle, except that heat was actually cold temperatures and snow. The cold was enough to make Luigi's teeth chatter!

"Just finished watching the news today...they said that it wasn't even supposed to snow today," Daisy would approach Luigi, cradling Charles in her arms. "What's the temperature on the thermostat?"

"I j-j-just turned it u-u-u-up to s-s-s-s-s-seventy nine-a degrees..." replied Luigi after he was done adjusting the thermostat, tugging on his blanket as he let out a breath of fresh air. "It would-a be g-g-g-great if we ah...ah...ACHOO!"

Out of nowhere, Luigi would let out a sneeze, one that got snot and mucus all over his blanket. Charles, easily entertained by his dad sneezing, would happily clap as Luigi wiped the snot away from his nose. The poor plumber must be feeling very ill.

"D'awwww, you must be coming down with a cold!" said Daisy, as she patted her husband on the shoulder. "How about we take you back to your room so you can lie down? It'll make you feel better!"

"No, Daisy, I feel-a fine, honest! That was just one-a lousy sneeze, doesn't mean I'm-a sick!" Contrary to what Luigi believed (or what he wanted to believe), he was very much sick, and so Daisy would have to walk her man to the master bedroom, where he would lay Luigi down and pull the covers over him and stuff.

"I'll tell Mario - or should I say, _Dr._ Mario - to come over so he can check on you." It has been a very long time that the doctor was in; time for him to work his magic on his twin brother. "Anything you need before I go?"

"No-a thanks...just tell Yuffie to stay away from-a me. Don't want to make-a her sick. Also, she might be very bad-a company..."

"I shall tell her once I'm downstairs." Daisy would kiss Luigi on the cheek, before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

* * *

Thankfully for Luigi and Daisy, Mario was not feeling sick, as he was in the living room washing his pet dog Poochy. Yoshi, who had taken a great liking to Poochy, was there to help Mario in washing the dog. Though that wasn't the only reason for being at Mario's home...

"Simply can't thank you enough Mario, for letting me come to your place for breakfast," Yoshi thanked the plumber, as he scrubbed Poochy. Unlike most other dogs, Poochy wasn't even fighting back when being washed...he was truly one strange canine. "Birdo showed up at the mansion, and I knew in that exact moment that I had to bail."

 **Yoshi: Birdo was being her usual obsessive self again this week...so one day, I was just heading to the bathroom, minding my own business, and once I stepped inside the bathroom, the toilet made this weird flushing noise. Made me paranoid, thought some invisible ghost was using the bathroom. Then to my shock, Birdo would rise up out of the toilet, drenched in toilet water, and blew a kiss at me! That was my cue to run out of the bathroom, screaming for as long as my lungs allow me to. Can't decide which was more creepier - the fact that Birdo arose out from the toilet, or the fact that she knew precisely which bathroom I was going to...**

"No problem, Yoshi - I can only imagine-a what it's like having an obsessive-a girlfriend," said Mario, wondering how miserable his life would've been if Peach was on the same level of obsessive behavior as Birdo and Amy (during her crazy obsessive phase). Such behavior wouldn't even be tolerated from a princess. "Good-a thing Peach was never like-a that. Has Sonic ever given-a you any advice for handling such-a girlfriends?"

"Aside from telling me, 'You just gotta go fast!' and stuff...he has hardly given me any good advice at all," responded Yoshi, who was suspiciously looking around just to ensure Birdo wasn't spying on him. "I could never outrun Birdo, she'll always know where to find me...crap, what if she knows I'm here?! You gotta hide me, Mario!"

"Calm-a down Yoshi, you got-a nothing to worry about. Try not to think-a much about Birdo, and you should-a be fine." A knock was at the front door; Mario stopped washing Poochy to see who it was. He would open the front door, and see Daisy.

"Hey Mario - are you still doing your doctor thing?" the princess would ask the plumber, as a smile slowly grew on Mario's face. "Your brother is a little down under the weather, I'm afraid..."

* * *

As Cloud stated before, the forecast called for rain today, and not snow. The snow was coming down even harder now, as the snow on the ground was piling up. Layton and Luke, desiring to discover the cause of this phenomenon, were outside investigating the snow.

"Now I know I'm not a weatherman by any means, but I do know that humidity is a determining factor in precipitation," remarked Layton, as a small bit of snow landed on his finger. Today's humidity was around 81 percent. "What I don't understand is, how could it be raining for four days straight...and then it's snowing outside?"

"I've read that it usually doesn't snow in Seattle in January, so this is quite a peculiar case," added Luke, as he and Layton were standing near Master Hand's Lamborghini, investigating the snow. Keep that in mind as we chug along. "Someone must've had a weather machine, and something awry happened to the machine causing it to snow! But that's just a theory of mine..."

"Who would invent said machine in the first place? I would say Dr. Cortex, but he hasn't invented anything ever since moving into the mansion. The only other people I can think of are Dr. E Gadd and Dr. Wily, who according to Master Hand is building a contraption to send Sora and Aerith back to their dimension. So it can't be them."

"Then maybe it was the work of some evil entity who has the power to control the weather...you know what, can't even think of who that would be. Running out of ideas..."

"PROFESSOR HERSCHEL LAYTON AND LUKE TRITON, WATCH YOUR HEADS!"

This shout came from Sonic, who appeared out of the shrubbery with Crash, Pit, and Kirby. Layton and Luke turned around and saw the four, all wielding snowballs. The four would throw snowballs at the two detectives; Luke duck the snowballs, as Layton tried to take the snowballs like a man. One snowball struck Layton in the head, knocking him out cold as he fell to the snowy ground. The pelting of the snowballs would continue until Luke ran away out of fear.

"Yeah, you better run, if you know what's good for ya!" Sonic shouted at the young detective, before exchanging high fives with Crash and company. After the high fives were exchanged, Sonic would look out before him, and gasped in horror. "Oh no...oh no, oh no, oh no..."

"What's the matter Sonic?" Pit would ask the blue hedgehog, as he and the others followed him not to the unconscious Layton, lying down in the snow...but rather to Master Hand's Lamborghini. Sonic was inspecting the side of the car, and saw a scratch on the driver's side.

"You guys see what we've done?!" Sonic, now acting like a madman, pointed at the scratch on the Lamborghini. "You guys see what we've done with the snowballs?! Master Hand is gonna have our heads for sure!"

 **Master Hand: Like anyone else, I would've put my Lamborghini in the garage, so snow won't pile on top of it...but how else will I be able to look outside my room, and see my precious baby in all her glory! I even had Mr. Game and Watch clean her off, so I can ogle at her. I'm going to pay Crazy Hand a visit, so I'll be leaving my Lamborghini unattended...she better remain spotless once I return.**

"What's with all the commotion you guys?" asked Tails, who came outside with Aku to see what Sonic and company were up to. Sonic was the only one causing the commotion, as he was on the ground lamenting like he just found out he was going to serve a life sentence in prison. Kept banging his fist on the ground in sorrow.

"Oh my goodness, whatever happened to Professor Layton?" asked Aku, looking at the ground and finding Layton, still unconscious. Crash was doing his best to wake up the detective...by licking his face. Save that stuff for the Duck Hunt Dog. "You were having a snowball fight, weren't you? When Cloud said you could have your own snowball fight, he did not say that you could hurt others!"

"Sonic get up, I know you didn't mean to knock out Layton like that," Tails would help Sonic off the ground, under the assumption he was lamenting over Layton. "We'll just take Layton to the fitness center, so Leia can wake him up with her smelling salts!"

"Tails you ignorant bum, you don't understand!" wailed Sonic, being even more dramatic, as he fell into Tails' arms. "We accidentally got a scratch on Master Hand's Lamborghini, see?" Sonic would point at the scratch left on the car, although Tails wasn't all that concerned. "Master Hand is gonna kill us all!"

"Chill out Sonic, it's just a measly scratch, it's not gonna hurt anyone." Sonic, even more disgusted by Tails' ignorance, would slap the fox silly. "Hey, I'm just saying!"

"Good grief, Tails, how ignorant are you? Have you completely forgotten about Master Hand's fascination with the Lamborghini? He treats that dumb thing like it's his one and only child - merely touching the Lamborghini means that you're on MH's hit list. So think of what leaving a scratch on his car will do to ya!"

"If you're that overwhelmed about that scratch left on the Lamborghini, we could use some scratch remover to get rid of it," explained Aku, as Crash kept licking Layton's face. Common sense would tell the bandicoot that his method wasn't working. However, Crash could never understand common sense.

"Yeah, you're right, some scratcher cleaner could do the trick," Sonic agreed, becoming more calm, as he rested his hand on the Lamborghini and leaned against it. "What do we possibly have to lose..."

As if things couldn't get any worse for Sonic and company, the Lamborghini would suddenly fall apart, as all the car parts came crashing to the driveway. Sonic would look astonished at what remained of the vehicle, and would fall to his knees, acting like he had seen his life flash before him. Master Hand was definitely gonna kill him now!

"Yeah, I think we're gonna need more than just scratch cleaner to repair that Lamborghini..." Aku had this to say, as Sonic put his face in his hands and sobbed. Today might as well be his last day alive, when Master Hand comes back and sees the damage done. Repairing the Lamborghini might take forever.

"I'll just...take Layton to the fitness center so Leia can wake him up," Tails told the others, as he grabbed Layton and flew back inside the mansion. Sonic would continue crying, as Luke returned to the premises.

"Professor Layton, are you still there?" the young detective would ask, as he looked around for the professor. "Did you already run away?"

* * *

 **Lucina: Poor Father has been feeling very miserable as of late...and no, it has nothing to do with his hair, which is starting to grow back a bit more. He's just bummed out that he was forced by Roy to be a part of his silly k-pop group, and he is very miffed by Roy's strong determination to make this group work. It was bad enough that Roy had his group, "Straight Fiyah" (that name still irks me to this day) do dance rehearsals, and now...and now they're going to practice their singing...which is a good thing I bought these in advance. *holds up ear plugs, before inserting them into her ears* I expect everyone else to do the same.**

With everyone doing their best to stay warm during the cold, Lucina was in the living room, seated near the fireplace and doing what else? Reading the latest edition of _Swordsman Weekly,_ of course! What could be more important than that?!

As Lucina read her magazine, Chrom would approach her daughter. Lucina wouldn't mind her father's company, if not for the very person accompanying Chrom, Alm. Alm's presence with Chrom gave Lucina an uneasy feeling of what's about to come.

"Hello there, sweet daughter of mine..." Chrom would smile at Lucina, making her sigh. Lucina always hated it when Chrom said such expressions to her. Made her feel uncomfortable. "Reading the latest edition of _Swordsman Weekly,_ I see? I strongly recommend checking out the feature on Strider Hiryu - a great read, if I do say so myself!"

"Cut to the chase, Father, what do you want?" Lucina would look up at Chrom, as Alm placed several sheets of paper on the table in front of Lucina. "What are these papers for?"

"Those papers you see before you contain song lyrics," explained Alm, as Lucina stared at the sheets of paper in front of her. "Lyrics for the k-pop songs we're going to sing. We just need you to..."

"Why did you even make song lyrics for, you don't even know a single lick of Korean! Most notable k-pop stars today sing their songs almost entirely in the Korean language. What possibly makes you believe that singing some English songs will be any good?"

"We may not know the Korean language, but you do - therefore, we want you to read the lyrics we wrote, and then translate them to Korean and then we'll just go from there. Easy peasy!" Lucina still wasn't convinced, for there was one more hurdle the members of Straight Fiyah had to go through...

"Even if the songs were written in Korean...would you be able to speak the Korean language? And before either of you ask, I'm NOT teaching you how to speak Korean. It wouldn't be a valuable use of my time."

"I'm sure there are some language apps we can use to master this Korean language," said Chrom, who was hardly feeling optimistic at all. Lucina could even hear the prince's cynicism seeping through his voice. "Why don't you just read the lyrics? Roy wrote a huge chunk of them, in case you may be wondering."

So Lucina begrudgingly picked up the sheets of papers, and would began to read - or in her case, skim - through the lyrics Roy had wrote. As she had figured beforehand, the lyrics were absolutely terrible, and vomit-inducing.

"'You are the sunshine of my love...the waves crash at the pulse of my love...my burning passion swells up as our love grows...'" Lucina would read some of the lyrics, grimacing more and more as she went along. "...why does almost every line have the word 'love' in it?"

"As I have stated, Roy wrote a huge chunk of them," answered Chrom, starting to have a little sympathy for Lucina the more she skimmed through. "I had asked him to get a ghostwriter, but he said that ghostwriters are for 'sorry musicians who have zero confidence and can't write complete sentences'...which is quite ironic, I'll say, since most of Roy's lyrics have incomplete sentences and grammar mistakes in them."

"I'm starting to see them now..." After she was done skimming, Lucina would hand the sheets of paper back to Alm. "Why don't you hand the lyrics back to Roy and tell him that he has gained my approval? You can just tell him that you gained the approval of several others as well. I'll give you a list."

"But what good would that do for us?" questioned Alm, as Lucina devised a plan - a plan that would bail Chrom, Alm, and the others out of Roy's delusions of grandeur.

"Just go do as I say...I'll just have a word with the leaders of Star Records. They should be able to squash Roy's hopes and dreams, if they haven't already..."

 **Lucina: I'd hate for Father and Robin to do something they wouldn't like to do. I'd hate even more for Father and Robin to be _forced_ to do something they wouldn't like to do, while at the same time risk being humiliated and having their reputation destroyed. So Roy's silly k-pop group? It has to end.**

* * *

In the fitness center, a still unconscious Layton was seated in a chair, as Leia held up some smelling salts to the professor's nose. With Leia was Tails, who had brought Layton to the fitness center while Sonic was likely preparing himself for imminent, unavoidable death.

And after several seconds of Leia holding the smelling salts near Layton's nose...Professor Layton finally woke up!

"NO CLAIRE DON'T TOUCH THE HONEY BUNS, THOSE THINGS WILL KILL YOU!" Layton shouted out as he woke up, before calming down as he got a sense of his surroundings. Felt awfully chilly, albeit more warm than it was outside. "Wh-Where am I?"

"You're in the fitness center, Professor Layton!" Leia would happily tell the detective, who began to rub his head. "Tails brought you here by himself - told me that Sonic had knocked you out with a snowball to the head."

"Well I do remember Sonic and his friends attacking Luke and I with snowballs...should've gave us a warning. I think Luke ran away out of fear. I could've done the Matrix to dodge the snowballs, but I don't think my back would be able to handle it...would be a hoot for the ladies, though."

"Even if you did the Matrix, Sonic would still think you're boring regardless," stated Tails, before the phone suddenly rang nearby. "I'll go pick it up." Tails would fly out of the room to answer the phone, and returned a moment later with the phone in his hand. "It's for you, Leia." Leia would take the phone from Tails.

"Hello, who is this?" Leia would say into the phone, only to be greeted by a familiar Italian voice. "Dr. Mario?"

* * *

Link was feeling awfully good about throwing that snowball at Cloud - a lot more than he really should. It was the first time in a seemingly long time the Hylian had an upper hand on Cloud, and it felt good. Made him feel like a boss, like he was on the top of the world and couldn't see down.

While Cloud was probably still feeling pretty salty about that snowball to the face, Link was in his room, brandishing his sword, when Mewtwo entered his room, holding a note in his hand.

"Cloud told me to give this to you," the psychic Pokemon informed Link, handing the Hylian the note. Link would open up the note, and read it:

 _Outside in front of the Smash Mansion. 1 o' clock sharp. Be there, or be squared..._

"Are you sure this note is for me?" Link asked Mewtwo, just to make sure. Mewtwo could only grunt in response. "This doesn't look like Cloud's handwriting to me, can't imagine Cloud's handwriting being any good."

 **Mewtwo: You would ask me who would win the snowball battle between Link and Cloud, what with me being a psychic-type Pokemon who can look into the future...but if you want to know so bad, I can tell you. *closes his eyes as he looks into the future* Yes...yes...I can see it clearly now...the winner of the snowball battle...is a swordsman. A blonde swordsman. That's all I can tell you.**

"Since you want to make things difficult..." Mewtwo grabbed the note, and then a pencil, and had his back turned as he scribbled something furiously. Once he was done, he returned the note to Link. "How about now, are you convinced?"

"Sure am!" exclaimed Link, as he saw Cloud's name written at the very bottom of the note. Written very legibly too; Mewtwo had great handwriting for a Pokemon with but three fingers. "I should head outside now, so then I'll have the upper hand advantage on Cloud." Link would put away his sword, as he exited his room.

* * *

Having received the call from Dr. Mario, Leia would make her way to Luigi's home, where she would find Dr. Mario in Luigi's room along with Rotom. Luigi was still very much sick, as he was dealing with a runny nose, coughing, sneezing, and also congestion.

"Your temperature is...103 degrees!" announced Rotom, as he took the temperature for Luigi with a thermometer, taking said thermometer out of Luigi's mouth. "Good grief Luigi, your temperature grew a couple degrees since the last time I checked it! You sure you aren't developing a fever? Excuse me while I record the reading, zzrt!" Rotom would take the thermometer and leave the room.

"What is the diagnosis for Luigi, Dr. Mario?" Leia would ask the mustached doctor, as Luigi eyes start to turn red and water. Poor Luigi looked like he was done, ready to end it all.

"Luigi appears to be suffering from-a the common cold," replied Dr. Mario, who was too busy stroking his majestic mustache. It was almost like a hobby to him. "He's dealing with coughing, sneezing, congestion, and a wide-a variety of nasal problems. Our patient has-a complained about a lack-a of smell; Yuffie was downstairs burning some-a thing up in the kitchen, and everyone-a in this house was-a able to smell the smoke except-a for Luigi."

"Thankfully Daisy took-a care of things before the house-a caught on fire," remarked Luigi, before letting out a giant sneeze. It was so big, it almost caused the bed to shake and quiver. "My sneezes could've put-a out the fire if necessary..."

"Hmm, no wonder there was a burning smell when I entered this household...thought Princess Daisy was making a fire. You want me to use my smelling salts on Luigi? I brought some salts with me, just in case."

"Honestly I wouldn't risk-a it - the high concentration of the smelling salts-a could burn Luigi's nasal mucosa. That's what I got-a from Wikipedia. I don't even know-a what this nasal mucosa is, but it sounds-a pretty important, so we better not-a bother it." Some doctor you're supposed to be, Dr. Mario. Not knowing what a nasal mucosa is...then again, who does?

"At this-a point, I wouldn't mind if you just-a chopped my nose off...my nose-a is becoming stuffed, and it's bad enough-a with the ah...ah...ACHOO!" Luigi would sneeze once more, this time nearly jumping out of his bed. However, he did get mucus all over his bed, and Leia nor Dr. Mario were willing to clean it up. Maybe Yuffie could do it, to make up for nearly burning the house down.

"We could have Luigi take a shower - the steam could alleviate his nose," suggested Leia, as she glanced at the master bathroom. "Luigi may not be in the mood to get out of the bed himself, and I don't feel like carrying him to the bathroom..."

"Then get-a Daisy to do it..." moaned Luigi, as he wiped his nose with his sleeve. Too sick to even notice that there was a box of _Puffs_ tissues, lying on his nightstand ready to be used. Perhaps he wasn't a _Puffs_ guy.

So Dr. Mario went downstairs to fetch Daisy, and when Daisy came to the room with Dr. Mario, her yellow princess dress was nearly covered in soot, as she was holding a rag and a duster in both of her hands.

"What is the problem, is Luigi feeling any better?" the princess would ask, before glancing at her husband and seeing how more sickly he had become. Daisy gasped, as she dropped her cleaning items to the floor and rushed over to check on Luigi, patting him gently on the head.

 **Daisy: What did Yuffie do in the kitchen? Oh nothing, just warming up a hot pocket... _in the stinking oven._ Just one. Stinking. Hot Pocket. To be fair, she has never had a hot pocket before, so I'll give her a pass, since her curiosity hampered her decision-making. Next time around, she won't be so fortunate...**

"Daisy...can you...take me...to the bathroom?" Luigi would ask his wife, as he slowly looked up and into her caring eyes. "I need...to take...a shower..." Any other moment Daisy would question why Luigi would need to take a shower, but with her man sick, Daisy had to be Luigi's caring genie.

"Anything for you, my love!" replied Daisy, as he took the covers off of Luigi, and picked up the plumber, holding him in her loving arms. Daisy was a very strong woman, and Luigi didn't weight that much, so Daisy carrying Luigi was like carrying a medium-sized flower pot to her.

"I feel a sneeze-a coming on..." Luigi was getting ready to sneeze for the nth time, but Daisy, rising up to the opportunity, would cover Luigi's nose with her fingers, ending the sneeze before it could happen. "Thanks a bunch-a, Daisy..."

"No problem, Luigi!" Daisy smiled as she carried her man to the bathroom, kicking the door open like she owned the place...which, technically, she does. Daisy would come to a stop when she stood in front of the shower stall, expecting Luigi to hop down...but Luigi didn't move an inch. "Okay, Luigi, we're here...it's safe to hop down now. Don't be shy!"

"Would-a you be a dear, and place-a me on the floor?" Yet another request for Daisy to fulfill; the princess would groan, as she gently placed Luigi on the floor, on his feet. But unfortunately for her, her work wasn't done just yet. "Now would you open-a the shower stall for me and turn-a the water on?"

"Gotta do everything myself, do I..." Daisy would do as she was told, opening up the shower stall and turning on the water, putting it on the warmest setting possible. "Before you ask, I'm not undressing you, you're gonna have to do that yourself. I'm not your maid."

"Can you do it for-a me, just this once?" Luigi would clasp his hands together, as he looked this would be a her at Daisy, with begging, pleading eyes. Daisy groaned yet again; this would be her third and final wish, fit for a genie. Actually, it would be her fourth wish. Talk about overstepping your boundaries! Daisy and Giovanni...those two will never learn.

"After this, you better not ask me for anything again..." Daisy would say this before closing the bathroom door, as Dr. Mario and Leia looked on.

"Something I should-a mention...Luigi has a strong-a tendency to be very demanding when-a ever he is sick or injured," Dr. Mario explained to Leia, remembering that one time Luigi injured his foot and was very demanding to Cloud and others.

* * *

The snow was still falling down from the cloudy skies, and not a single person knew why. What was supposed to be a day of rain was instead a day of snow, and Layton and Luke were supposed to solve this mystery behind this snow day...that was, until Sonic accidentally stalled the mystery by knocking Layton out cold with a snowball.

With Layton still recuperating in the fitness center, that left his dear apprentice Luke all alone, seated near a tree and hoping that Layton would come back for him. Little fella was so loyal to Layton, that he expected the detective to look for him, and bring him back to the mansion. But unfortunately for Luke, Layton wouldn't be coming any soon, and so the young lad had to remain in the cold, shivering his shoes off.

 **Luke: I'm pretty used to the cold...Layton and I adjusted to the cold temperatures when we traveled to the Azran sanctuary, with our friend Aurora. It was there at that very sanctuary that Aurora sacrificed herself, for the sake of the Azran people. Aurora was such a sweet girl... *starts to tear up* ...gone too soon... *wipes away tears* ...but she said that she can be reborn as a human...and I'll be waiting for her return...Whoever said I was in love with her? We were just good friends. And what do you mean I'm blushing?!**

Luke knew very well that if he stayed out in the cold any longer, he would risk getting frostbite, and he didn't want to put Leia in any precarious situations. So the young apprentice would make his way back to the mansion by himself, when all of a sudden...

...a giant Delibird popped out from the snow, startling Luke and nearly making him scream. This giant Delibird was actually a robot, as its head opened up; three individuals would hop of the robot, sticking a perfect landing on the ground, and their names...were Jessie, James, and Meowth.

"Prepare for trouble!" exclaimed Jessie, striking a pose.

"And make it double!" exclaimed James, also striking a pose.

"To protect the world from devastation..."

"...to unite all people within our nation..."

"...to denounce the evil of truth and love..."

"...to extend our reach to the stars above..."

"...Jessie!"

"...James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth would finish off the Team Rocket motto with this classic line, expecting Luke to feel intimidated. But instead...

"Bravo, bravo, bravo!" the apprentice clapped, disappointing Team Rocket, as Jessie angrily gritted her teeth at Luke. "Encore, I demand an encore!"

"Now now, Jessie, I told you using our motto on others doesn't work anymore..." James tried to tell Jessie, as he pulled the angry redhead back from Luke before she could lay a finger on him. "We should just retire our motto, and leave it at that!"

 **James: Undoubtedly, the respect Master Hand had for us was short-lived, thanks to Giovanni and his scheme. Him wanting to poison the entire mansion so he could raid all the Pokemon in the sanctuary was pretty low of him, but at the same time pretty expected behavior. But I don't know why we were punished, we had nothing to do with it! We even refused to fill the sprinkler system with poisonous gas!  
Meowth: We did prevent Mario and that Sora kid from stopping Giovanni's reign of terror, so there's always that. That still doesn't give Master Hand a reason to lose his respect for us!  
Jessie: Exactly, Meowth, and the three of us are going to work together to gain that respect back! This snowstorm in Seattle has to be Giovanni's doing, and once we prove it to Master Hand, he'll have no choice but to respect us again!**

"Say, weren't you three in trouble for working with Giovanni?" Luke questioned Team Rocket, placing his finger underneath his chin as he looked inquisitively at the trio. "Master Hand did mentioned that Giovanni was banned from the mansion for good, but he never said anything about you guys..."

"Well don't encourage him to ban us, just hear us out!" Meowth said to Luke, ready to plead his case on behalf of him, Jessie, and James. "We didn't WANT to be a part of whatever Giovanni was cooking - we just tagged along because he was our boss! We were just being loyal lackeys, and in turn, our alliance with Giovanni may have doomed us for good! Master Hand won't even respect us anymore!"

"Uh huh...and what possibly makes you three think that you can regain Master Hand's respect and trust?" Why Master Hand would even respect Team Rocket, Luke wished to know.

"Glad you asked us that, for we know the perfect way to regain Master Hand's respect...by stopping the very snowstorm in this city!" replied James, leaving Luke somewhat intrigued. The young lad wished to learn more.

"One of Giovanni's goals as head of the mansion was to freeze the Smash Mansion entirely, after the Pokemon were stolen, so that nobody could rescue the Pokemon," explained Jessie, as Luke nodded his head. "He had several Team Rocket grunts to come over to the mansion, and build a machine that would freeze the mansion...but I assume the machine went haywire, and as a result, there's snow and frigid temperatures in Seattle, and possibly throughout the entire metropolitan area. We plan to find this machine and shut it down, before the weather conditions become more hazardous."

"Then we'll brag to Master Hand about what we did, and he'll respect us again!" added Meowth, receiving glares from Jessie and James. "...minus the bragging part, hehe..."

"Well, since you've become desperate for some respect...and I have nothing to do right now with Layton away..." Luke thought to himself, as Team Rocket leaned in close with smiling faces. "...I suppose I can help you three find that snow machine you speak of." Meowth and company were glad, as they felt like doing a group hug with Luke...which they did. "Shall we start looking now?" asked Luke, his voice slightly muffled by the group hug.

* * *

Outside in front of the mansion was Link, waiting for Cloud to arrive. It was one o' clock, and the ex-SOLDIER was nowhere to be found. Was Cloud going to be a no-show, or would he take the Shadow route and attack Link with a vehicle, such as a snowplow?

Wanting to know what the hold-up was, Link would call Cloud on his cellphone, hoping for the swordsman to respond. But all he got was the following:

"You have reached the voicemail of... 'YO YO YO IT'S YA BOY BARRET WALLACE!'" the voicemail message sounded, as Link raised an eyebrow in confusion upon hearing Barret's voice. "Please leave a message at the tone of the..." Link would hang up the phone, when he realized the error he made.

"Whoops, contacted the wrong number," Link chuckled out of embarrassment after ending the call, before glancing at the wallpaper on his phone. In fact, it wasn't his phone at all, since he had borrowed it from Shulk. However, the phone's wallpaper - an image of Cloud and Aerith together - made Link feel concerned. "Isn't this Cloud's cellphone? No wonder I called Barret by accident!"

"Used to be Cloud's cellphone," affirmed Shulk, as he took his phone from Link. "Cloud gave me this phone, said he was doing it out of solidarity. Probably because of my injured hand. It's past Christmas, and people are still giving me unwanted gifts..."

"Hey, if being injured meant receiving gifts, I'd injure my hand as well! Thanks for letting me use your phone, Shulk. Starting think Cloud might be a no-show..."

"Whoever said I was going to be a no-show?" asked a muffled voice, as Link and Shulk looked around in confusion. They would turn their attention to a nearby snowman, who wasn't there before...and popping out from that snowman would be Cloud, who began pelting Link (and because he was in the way, Shulk) with snowballs. Link and Shulk would run away from the flurry of snowballs, back inside the mansion.

 **Cloud: Lost all feeling in my fingers, toes, and even my pubic area...but it was totally worth it. You know, having this snowball battle with Link might teach me what it's like to have fun again...huh, never thought I'd say that.**

"There's more where that came from, Link!" shouted Cloud, as he chased after Link into the mansion, still throwing snowballs. The snowball fight was alive and well.

Meanwhile, Sonic and company remained in the driveway, doing their best to put together Master Hand's Lamborghini. They weren't car repairmen, but that still didn't stop them from giving their best effort.

"Alright guys, I think we got the car fixed..." remarked a proud Sonic, hands on his hips, as he looked at the fixed Lamborghini. However, it wasn't 100% fixed, as it began shaking until all the car parts collapsed on the driveway yet again. Sonic would fall to his knees in failure, seeing his end coming soon at the hands of Master Hand. "Oh, it's hopeless, Master Hand's gonna kill me!"

"You mean he's gonna kill _us,_ we'll all be killed too just by association," stated Kirby on behalf of himself, Pit, Crash, and Aku, as Sonic tried to look on the bright side. If there was even a bright side to begin with. "We're all in this thing together."

"Too bad Master Hand can't kill me, for I am but a floating immortal witchdoctor mask!" flaunted Aku, resulting in him receiving glares from Sonic and company. "What, I'm just speaking the truth!"

"Shut up Aku, nobody gives a darn...why don't we have Jacky repair the Lamborghini? He's a car expert, and he has probably fixed cars before...though I don't think he ever had a case this serious before."

"No, we can't have Jacky fix the Lamborghini," replied Sonic, now in panic mode. "He'll be forced to tell Master Hand what happened to the Lamborghini in the first place, and then we'll be in deep, deep trouble! Let's just keep on trying to fix the vehicle, before we have to resort to desperate measures."

Sonic and company did not know what time Master Hand would return. But it was nigh imperative that the Lamborghini was properly fixed before the giant hand's arrival...

* * *

Up in the Star Records room, Chrom and Alm were showing Fox, Falco, and Itsuki the song lyrics Roy had wrote. After gaining the approval of Roy, Chrom and Alm were told by the ginger swordsman to show the lyrics to the Star Records heads, for final confirmation. After reading through all the lyrics, trying to understand the meaning behind each and every verse, Fox and company finally came to a consensus...

"These lyrics suck major goose eggs, and you guys suck just as much," Fox would say to Chrom and Alm, before tossing the lyrics at the two. The blatant disrespect.

"But how do we suck, we didn't even write the lyrics!" Alm had to explain to Fox, feeling very offended about being told that he sucked. "Roy wrote the majority of the lyrics by himself!"

"And you two bozos didn't encourage Roy to write better lyrics, and therefore you both suck as a result of your horrific conformity," stated Falco, twirling his Blaster in his feathery hand. "How can you expect to be taken seriously by the k-pop community, with crap lyrics like those? I'd hate for those lyrics to be translated into Korean, and sung by blokes like yourselves! Can you even sing, for that matter?"

"Roy insists on having a singing coach to visit the mansion, and teach us how to sing and 'show us the ropes of fine singing'," responded Chrom, picking up the lyrics off of the floor. "The singing coach's name is Ulala, I think." That name might sound familiar to all you _Space Channel 5_ fans out there.

 **Marth: Roy's original plan was to have that Joanne chick serve as our singing coach, but frankly Joanne had a very predictable falling out with Master Hand, and vowed to never return to the mansion ever again. So Roy had to resort to his Plan B - contacting a woman by the name of Ulala, and have her come to the mansion to give us some singing pointers. Not sure if Roy is aware of this, but...Ulala is NOT a singer, but a FLIPPING SPACE REPORTER! *groans* That guy, I tell you...**

"Ulala is the best person Roy could think of?" Itsuki raised an eyebrow, understandably miffed by Roy's selection. "Yikes! Wonder how that will turn out..."

"It won't be any good, trust me," Fox would say to Itsuki, before returning his attention to Chrom and Alm. "You two take those 'lyrics' back to Roy, and tell him that we won't sign his silly k-pop group until he comes up with better lyrics. Tell him it's an order for the mighty Fox McCloud and Falco Lombardi!"

"...and Itsuki Aoi," Itsuki had to speak up, refusing to be overlooked by his fellow Star Records mates. "Don't forget about me!"

"Yeah, don't forget about Itsuki either. I'm against Roy's k-pop group as much as the next guy, but if he's dead serious about starting a boy band, then we just have to let things pass for now. Sorry you two had to be forced to partake in Roy's...delusions."

"None taken, hopefully Roy will change his mind about this whole thing sooner or later," remarked Chrom, as he and Alm left the Star Records room. As soon as they departed, they would walk into Lucina.

"So, how did it go, what did Roy say?" Lucina would ask her father, wishing to know what business he and Alm had with Fox and company.

"We told Roy that you 'enjoyed' the lyrics, and how you thought they were an A plus, and he got all excited. He then told us to show the lyrics to Fox, Falco, and Itsuki, and all three of them panned the lyrics." As was expected; Big Top might've thought those lyrics were a hoot! "Fox and Falco...and Itsuki...wanted us to encourage Roy to write better lyrics, otherwise 'Straight Fiyah' won't be signed to Star Records. I want to avoid Roy, but at the same time..."

"No need to fear, Father, for I know a great way to put this whole thing to bed so you won't have to worry about destroying your reputation and pride. Just go put those...lyrics somewhere, while I have a quick conversation with the heads of Star Records. I'll get you and the others out of this!"

"Thank you so much Lucina, don't know what I would do without a fine daughter like yourself. Let us know how this meeting goes." Lucina would nod her head at Chrom, who went down the stairs along with Alm, before entering the Star Records room. Fox, Falco, and Itsuki were all minding their business, when they saw Lucina standing in front of them.

"Yes, Lucina, how may we help you?" Falco was the first to speak, as he asked Lucina. "Here to bail your pops out? I'm afraid you can't do that...well, for now, at least. Might have to wait a while..."

"Actually I am here to bail my father out...though it's more of a long-term plan. Just wanted to discuss some details about what I have in mind..."

* * *

After taking his shower, Luigi felt better as his nasal symptoms went away. His nose was no longer stuffed, and snot and mucus wasn't running out from his nostrils. However, some of his others symptoms remained, and Luigi was back in the bed.

And Daisy? She was giving her husband a back massage, much to her chagrin, as Luigi rested comfortably on his stomach. Dr. Mario, Leia, and Rotom remained, observing how ticked Daisy looked.

"Couldn't you just ask Yuffie for a back massage?" Daisy questioned Luigi, who let out a comfortable sigh of relief. She was becoming more disgruntled with her man as the day wore on. "I have things to do, you know!"

"But you give-a the best massages Daisy, and besides, I don't trust-a Yuffie that much," replied Luigi, wishing his back massage would never end. "Can you move-a down to the back? Just a little more...ooh yeah, that hits-a the spot..."

"So Dr. Mario, now that Luigi's nasal symptoms are gone, what must we do next to make Luigi healthy again?" Leia would ask the mustached doctor, who stroked his mustache as he conjured a cure in his mind. Luigi suddenly coughed, twice to be exact.

"Our patient could use-a some cough drops, to ease-a his throat," stated Dr. Mario, after hearing his brother coughing. "There should be some cough-a drops for Luigi to consume..."

"...you mean cough drops like these?" asked Yuffie, who exited from the master bathroom doing what? Eating from a bag of cough drops, having eaten the last cough drop. Dr. Mario looked at Yuffie, shaking his head in disapproval. "I wasn't supposed to touch the cough drops, was I?"

 **Yuffie: Don't see what the problem was - Luigi and Daisy have always complained that I would become a fatty if I ate too much of their food, which is why I resort to eating cough drops - the flavored ones, since they're aren't bland. At least cough drops are a healthier option...sort of.**

"Well there goes our cough-a drops," sighed Dr. Mario, having to resort to another home remedy. "Doesn't Link have any potions that can-a cure any health ailments? Someone should give-a him a call. Only problem-a is, he doesn't have a phone..."

"In that case, we should call his best friend, Mr. Strife," suggested Rotom, before leaving the bedroom. "I shall call our swordsman friend, zzrt!"

* * *

Speaking of Mr. Strife, a la Cloud, the swordsman was still embroiled in his snowball fight with Link, having gained an upper hand on the Hylian. Having recovered from Cloud's onslaught of snowballs, Link was hunting down his best friend, looking for retaliation.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" shouted Link as he walked around the mansion, carrying a bunch of snowballs ready to fire at will. During his search for Cloud, he would see Zelda, standing by herself in the middle of the hallway, her back turned to Zelda. "Hey Zelda, you wanna join forces with me in my snowball fight with Cloud? The two of us can take him down, me and you!"

When Zelda turned around, Link saw that something was oddly different about her girlfriend...more specifically, his girlfriend's face. It had a derpy look on it - two dots for eyes, and a line for a mouth. Strongly resembled a Ditto's face...

"Got you right where I want you!" exclaimed Cloud, jumped out from a nearby closet. Link would turn around and spot the swordsman, wielding snowballs, as he threw the snowballs at his best friend.

"No Cloud, stop it, stop it now!" Link pleaded, as the snowballs thrown at him brought him to the floor. The Hylian was covering his head with his arms, as Cloud continued to pelt away at will.

 **Cloud: Used Ditto as a subversion to trick Link - got it from the sanctuary, and told it to transform into Zelda. As it turns out, Ditto is capable of transforming into just about anything, including humans. Red told me that it was "canonically possible" for Ditto to transform into humans...Pokemon biology works in funny ways.**

 **Link: This snowball fight has to stop. I have accidentally woken a side of Cloud nobody has ever seen before, and I'm on the receiving end of things because of it. Should've known better than to pick a fight with Cloud.**

Cloud would keep on throwing snowballs until he ran out, and once he was done, he would dust the hands off his snow. Shulk would soon approach Cloud, with his cellphone...the cellphone Cloud gave up to him.

"Cloud, it's for you," the Homs said to the swordsman, who accepted his original phone. The snowball fight may have to be put on hold, for now.

"Hello, who is this?" Cloud said into the phone. "Hey Rotom...Huh?...Bring one of Link's potions to Luigi's place?...Sure thing. Got it. See ya." Cloud would promptly end the call, and hand the cellphone back to Shulk, as he left to go fetch a potion.

With Cloud gone, Shulk checked on Link, who was lying on the floor in a fetal position. Zelda - the real Zelda - would show up and see Link lying on the floor, and feared for the worst.

"Oh goodness, Link, what happened to you?" Zelda questioned as she ran to her man. Link looked legitimately terrified, as snow remained all over his body and tunic. "Who could've done this to you?!"

"Cloud definitely did this to Link - I saw him throw snowballs at the guy seconds ago," explained Shulk, as he dusted the snow off of Link." This snowball fight is quickly getting out of hand..."

* * *

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen, to yet another fabolous episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ starring Ashley, Asuka, and yours truly, Mamori Minamoto!" Mamori kicked things off on her online show, standing in the kitchen with her co-hosts Asuka and Ashley. "We're gonna warm up your heart, with the press of a button!"

"Joining us on our show today is our special guest - an entertainer from Star Records!" added Asuka, noticing some red hair sticking out from the kitchen entrance nearby. Did her best to ignore it. "He may not be an idol singer like the others, but he makes up for it with his tokusatsu skills...everyone give it up, for the one and only, Touma Akagi!"

"Greetings to all the _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ fans out there!" said Touma, walking onscreen, as Ashley pressed the button on her remote that made cheering and applauding sounds. "So glad to be making my first episode debut on this spectacular show! Long overdue, I will admit, but it's better late than never!"

"CUT, TIMEOUT, STOP THE PRESSES!" shouted Roy as he ran into the kitchen, interrupting the episode as he ran onscreen. "This episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin..._ has been CANCELLED! Well, momentarily."

"Roy what the hey man, you're spoiling my debut episode! Don't be salty that I got to make my debut, and you have yet to appear once!"

"Hush your mouth, you fool, while I have a word with my client!" Roy pointed at Touma, as he grabbed Mamori's arm and dragged her out of the kitchen, against her will. Touma, Ashley, and Asuka looked at one another in bewilderment as Roy took Mamori to the living room.

"Alright Roy, what's the big deal?" frowned Mamori, folding her arms as she looked sternly at the swordsman. "Why did you interrupt my online series for? You better have a good explanation!"

"Mamori please hear me out, just this once..." begged Roy, preparing himself for what he was about to say. "I want you...I want you to be the secondary singing coach for Straight Fiyah's singing practice." Mamori couldn't believe it; she thought Roy was going bonkers. Provided he wasn't going bonkers beforehand. "Before you ask, our primary singing coach will be Ulala. You know her, right?"

"Ulala...Ulala..." Mamori developed a mental image of Ulala in her head. Tried to envision the pink ponytails, white attire, and those shapely legs of hers. "...isn't she a futuristic space reporter?"

"Yes, Mamori, yes she is...or at least that's what she wants you to believe. 'Futuristic space reporter' is just a fancy schmancy title she flaunts to her fans. We all know she's really a singer. So Mamori, are you in, or are you out?"

"To tell you the truth, Roy..." Mamori wanted to decline the offer, but Roy had the puppy eyes look down pact, preventing Mamori from saying no. Needless to say, the swordsman's tactic worked. "...fine, I'll be your stupid singing coach. But just this once, okay? Just. This. Once. Got it, mister?"

"Then it's a done deal! We shall begin next week, when Ulala hopefully arrives. My boys and I will be more than prepared!" Mamori would return to the kitchen, rolling her eyes, as she and Roy went their separate ways.

 **Mamori: Why must I be the "secondary singing coach"? Such duties should not be given to a sweet little girl like me. I should have Ditto serve as my doppelganger - Roy wouldn't even notice the difference!**

Once Roy and Mamori were gone, Team Rocket would appear out from behind the living room sofa, tip-toeing away along with Luke. They were still on the hunt for the weather machine, which was nowhere in sight.

"About time those twerps were done..." remarked James, once the coast was clear. "We've searched the basement and the entire first floor for the weather machine, but it's nowhere in sight! Where could Giovanni possibly have installed that thing?!"

"If my experience of installing Giovanni's contraptions serves me right, Giovanni would install a machine secretly at the bottom of a building, or at the very top," stated Meowth, the biggest suck-up for Giovanni. You know it's true. "Installing it anywhere else would ruin the whole point of the machine being 'secret'. So we must take an elevator to the top floor of the mansion, and destroy it before the conditions outside get worse!"

"But once we find the machine, how are we going to destroy it?" asked Luke, bringing the one obstacle that could get in the way of accomplishing the mission at hand. "For all we know, it could be indestructible..."

Team Rocket and Luke would find their answer right away, when Team Rocket's most favorite Pokemon, Pikachu, scurried by. Tagging along with the mouse Pokemon was his pre-evolution buddy, Pichu, as the two Pokemon were playing with one another.

"Some electricity might do just enough to bring the machine down..." Jessie had this to say, smiling a little when her eyes set upon Pikachu and Pichu.

* * *

Link was done. He had just about enough of Cloud. His fellow swordsman and best friend had the upper hand advantage on him during the entire snowball fight, as he owned Link on two separate occasions. Now, it was time for the Hylian to strike back.

After learning about Cloud's whereabouts from Shulk, a seething Link would make his way to Luigi's home, armed with a snowball in hand. He would knock on the front door, and was greeted by Rotom.

"Link, the hero of Hyrule, what a pleasant surprise, zroom!" exclaimed Rotom, only to be stiff-armed to the floor as Link entered the house, closing the door behind him. He would make his way to the kitchen, kicking Polterpup out of the way, and would find Yuffie indulging herself with some strawberries. The ninja looked up, and saw Link.

"Wow Link, I've never seen you this angry before," Yuffie told the Hylian, who had his eyes set on besting Cloud. It was now or never. "What's with the snowball?"

"This snowball of mine is going to have a lovely connection with Cloud's face..." seethed Link, as he made his way upstairs. He could hear Cloud talking from above.

"I don't think...that...would be...a good idea..." Yuffie would trail off, realizing Link was no longer listening to her as the Hylian marched up the stairs. Once on the second floor, he would stand at the doorway of the master bedroom, spotting Cloud standing near Luigi with a heart potion, handing said potion to Leia. Dr. Mario and Daisy were there, hoping the potion would work.

 **Leia: Asked Dr. Mario why we couldn't just use other regular medicine to heal Luigi, but he told me that the healing effects of Link's potions would be more, and I quote, "instantaneous". You know, for a doctor, Dr. Mario has some very weird methods and customs...**

"This all ends here..." vowed Link, revving up his arm so he could throw the snowball. Once he reached maximum throwing power, the Hylian would hurl the snowball at Cloud...

...but instead of Cloud, Link would instead strike the potion - just as Leia was about to give it to Luigi - breaking the bottle in the process. The snowball would then strike the TV, getting snow all over the television screen.

Shocked as ever, Dr. Mario and company slowly turned their heads towards Link, who was just standing there acting like he had just missed the game-winning shot in a crucial playoff basketball game. Recollecting his dignity and suffering in his shame, the Hylian meekly walked away, before heading downstairs and walking past Yuffie, who was still eating the strawberries up. At least it was something healthy!

 **Cloud: Well, it's a good thing I had brought another one of Link's potions with me, just for emergency purposes...**

After Luigi drank the other potion Cloud had brought, Leia and Rotom would keep the plumber company, while Dr. Mario and Daisy had a word with Link and Cloud in the living room. There, the swordsmen would explain the snowball fight they were having, and how that fight started.

"You guys, this has to stop, like right now," Daisy said to Link and Cloud, who were sitting on the opposite sides of the couch. "Someone could have really gotten hurt!"

"Daisy's right, what if those glass-a shards from the bottle struck-a Leia?" asked Dr. Mario, disgusted with Link and Cloud's actions today. "Those shards would've shaved-a her face right off! Granted it would've been-a funny, but at the same-a time horrifically tragic."

"I agree wholeheartedly Dr. Mario, this is all on Link," agreed Cloud, as Link shot a vicious glare at him. How could his best friend do him like that? "I'm starting to think Link is becoming a little distressed..."

"Who are you to say that I'm distressed?" Link would fire back, as he angrily stood up to confront Cloud. "You've been terrorizing me all day long!"

"Terrorizing you with snowballs? With harmless, innocent snowballs? Get a grip, man - you're acting like our snowball fight is serious business. Snowball fights are meant to be fun in nature."

"Cloud has a point, Link - what you did was dangerous and inappropriate," said Daisy, as Link sat back down and folded his arms, looking the other way. "I'm thoroughly surprised at you guys - you're supposed to be friends, for crying out loud! I want you two to stay here, and think about your actions. And then maybe, you'll be buddies again.

"Don't like being treated like a kid, but whatever works best for Link, I suppose..."

* * *

For the nth time, Sonic and pals did their best to repair Master Hand's Lamborghini, and this would be their final attempt. They would all look at their repaired product, as the Lamborghini this time remained stable.

"Guess this is it, you guys, the Lamborghini looks fully repaired!" exclaimed Sonic, seeing all his hard work finally pay off. Said hard work would suddenly vanish away, as the Lamborghini began to shake and dismantle, the parts crashing to the driveway. And that left Sonic disappointed. "Well, guys, it's been real...looks like we're all gonna die at the hands of Master Hand! Or hand, rather."

"How's it coming along Sonic, did you fix the Lamborghini?" asked Tails, as he returned to the driveway, only to see what was left of the Lamborghini. "Yikes...yeah, Sonic, I think this might be your last day alive...Master Hand is definitely gonna murder you today."

"Tell me something I don't know..." murmured Sonic; should the hedgehog contact Amy, and tell her about his unavoidable fate? Probably not - it would honestly break her precious little heart.

But Sonic wouldn't have the time to call Amy anyways, because guess who showed up after his visit with Crazy Hand? _Master Hand._ The giant hand would return to the mansion, feeling and looking refreshed.

"That Crazy Hand...man, he is such a HOOT!" Master Hand laughed to himself, as Sonic tried to hide. But there was nowhere for him to hide it! "Perhaps I should invite him over for the Super Bowl, he'll be the life of the..." Soon enough, Master Hand arrived at the driveway, and saw his Lamborghini, dismantled. "What happened here?"

"MASTER HAND, I AM SO SORRY, PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" cried Sonic, as he fell to his knees and begged to Master Hand with his begging clasped hands. "WE WERE THROWING SNOWBALLS AT LAYTON AND LUKE, AND I ACCIDENTALLY GOT A SCRATCH ON YOUR LAMBORGHINI, AND THEN THE LAMBORGHINI FELL APART SOMEHOW, AND I TRIED TO FIX IT, AND...AND...AND..."

"Oh, ho, ho, Sonic, that Lamborghini you destroyed...that's just a replica. The real deal is in the garage, safe and sound!"

Upon hearing this, Sonic sprung up to his feet with a surprised look. Tails and company were just as surprised. All that time spent to repair, all for nothing!

"Yeah, I wanted to keep my Lamborghini outside, but Jacky talked me out of it, and so he got a replica to put outside for me to ogle at while the real Lamborghini remained in the safety of the garage," continued Master Hand; this must've been done after Master Hand's talking head segment earlier in the episode. "I appreciate you all for wanting to repair the replica, but I'll leave Jacky to do it himself."

 **Jacky: Had to talk Master Hand out of keeping his Lamborghini outside in the snow. You don't ever, in your _life,_ play around with a Lamborghini - once that thing stops functioning, your life is pretty much over.**

"Thanks for clearing that up, Master Hand, Sonic was worried that you might've killed him," thanked Aku, as a now whimpering Sonic turned to face Tails, who smiled and gave him a comforting hug. "I think it would be best to keep your actual Lamborghini in the garage, from now on - just to avoid any damage dealt to your vehicle!"

"You're right Aku; doing so would mean one less person to kill," agreed Master Hand, as Rosalina exited the mansion and saw Master Hand. "Killing someone from the mansion would be too expensive anyways, especially if I killed someone from a royal kingdom like Marth or Kamui." Master Hand would turn around, and spot Rosalina behind him. "Yes, Rosalina, how may I help you?"

"Wanted to inform you that Team Rocket - Jessie, James, and Meowth were spotted in the mansion," Rosalina would inform Master Hand, while Sonic continue to whimper in Tails' arms. "Luke was spotted with them, too. Were they supposed to be banned for their allegiance with Giovanni?"

"Those three did lose the respect I had for them...but I don't think they truly had any part of Giovanni's evil plan, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. And Luke being with them might suggest that those three have a change of heart...but I wouldn't count on it."

* * *

Lucina enjoyed a wonderful, splendid conversation with Fox, Falco, and Itsuki in the Star Records room. It was a very lengthy conversation - much to the chagrin of a very impatient Falco - but it was a conversation worth having, as it detailed a plan that would derail Roy's Straight Fiyah ever becoming a thing.

"Just so we're clear, you'll do all the work, while the three of us are on clean-up duty," Fox said to Lucina, as the pilot showed the princess out the door.

"Yes, that is what we've already discussed," replied Lucina, nodding her head. "It's going to be a strong joint effort, but an effort worth doing." What did Lucina mean by this "strong joint effort"?

"Okay then, but just know, this is all on you - we're not gonna take any credit for any failure." Lucina would nod her head yet again, as she walked away. Before Fox could close the door, Luke would show up.

"I have heard that you have a key to the attic," the apprentice would say to Fox. "May I borrow it please?"

"Sure thing, buddy!" Fox would dig into his pocket, and pull out a key, before exiting the room. He would then reach the attic door, which was on the ceiling, and leaped up to pull the door down as a ladder descended to the floor. Luke, left in awe by Fox's agility, saw that there was another door, which was locked. "This locked door is only just for 'security measures', in case you may be wondering," Fox would say to Luke, as he climbed up the ladder to unlock the door with his key, before going down. "There ya go kid, the attic is all yours. Feels oddly cold up there...but you can handle it, right?"

"Absolutely!" exclaimed Luke, leading Fox to smile as he placed the attic key back in his pocket and returned to the Star Records room. Luke would then look down the hallway, and give a thumbs up...as Jessie, James, and Meowth went over to Luke, albeit stealthily, with Pikachu and Pichu in their possession.

 **Jessie: This is it boys, this is our chance to regain Master Hand's respect! It's now or never!**  
 **James: Once we stop the weather machine and save the day, Master Hand will have no choice but to make us mansion residents! Think about it - what have folks such as Cilan done to even gain residency status? We have more credentials than that poser!  
Meowth: Everyone knows he's just being used by Master Hand to feed the others - if not for that, he would be back at his silly little gym, serving as a gatekeeper for up-and-coming Pokemon trainers! We, on the other hand, we're the real deal!**

Team Rocket, Luke, Pikachu, and Pichu were up in the attic, and they were all shivering, because of how frozen the attic was. Ice covered just about every inch of the place. Wanna know why? Because there in the center of the attic was the weather machine - beaming a large icy beam up at the sky through an opening in the ceiling.

"Hmm, I had no idea the attic had a retractable opening," remarked a shivering James, looking up. "There are so many things about this mansion I wanna learn about...but that'll come in due time. Now, about deactivating this contraption..."

"I'm on it," volunteered Luke, as he got Pikachu and Pichu into position. "Alright you two, use Thunderbolt on that machine!"

"Pika...CHHHUUUUUU!" Pikachu would lead things off, unleashing his signature move on the machine. Pichu would follow suit, also unleashing Thunderbolt on the machine. Both mouse Pokemon would give it their all, and once they cooled off, the machine was powered down. No beam shooting up to the skies, which meant the machine was finally kaput.

"Man does it feel awesome having Pikachu on your side, rather than against ya!" remarked Meowth, as he looked up at the sky. "Hey, look, the sky's starting to clear up! I can actually see the sun now!"

"Wait until we give Master Hand our report about fixing Seattle's weather situation!" beamed Jessie, expecting to be praised beyond description. Team Rocket really wanted to be praised like they caught Osama bin Laden, it seemed like. "He'll reward us handsomely!"

* * *

Thanks to the potion Cloud brought, Luigi was feeling a lot better. All his cold symptoms were gone away, and he could continue his day without a stuffed nose or a nagging cough. He would remain in his bed, rejoicing the fact that he was fully healthy again.

"Ah, I feel-a so much better now!" the plumber exclaimed, as he outstretched his arms. Soon Daisy would arrive in the room, and Luigi would pick her up and twirl her all around. "Daisy, I'm-a back to normal again! No more cold-a for me!"

"Okay Luigi, you can go ahead and put me back down now," smiled Daisy, as Luigi fulfilled her wife's wish. "Next time you feel sick, don't make me do all that stuff for you. I'm your wife, not your maid. Understand?"

"I fully understand-a Daisy - next time I'm-a sick, I'll have Yuffie do stuff-a for me. Or Rotom." That Luigi, he'll never learn will he?

 **Luigi: Yuffie is the reason why we ran-a out of pizza rolls. One would be a fool-a to leave their freezer void of pizza rolls. Therefore, Yuffie _easily_ deserves-a maid treatment.**

While Dr. Mario and Leia returned to their respective destinations, Link and Cloud were still in the living room...correction: Link was still in the living room, while Cloud was away doing something. Maybe he thought "thinking about his actions" was too childish for him. However, the swordsman would return to Luigi's home, and Link stood up, wishing to speak with him.

"I surrender," the Hylian said, catching Cloud off-guard. Was Link ready to throw in the towel. "I surrender. You win. I lose."

"Sorry Link, but I refuse to accept your surrender," replied Cloud, as Link snapped his fingers in disgust. He wanted to go out peacefully. "...that is, unless you do a little favor for me."

"A favor, you say? Sure, I'm game. Tell me what it is, and I'll do it." Link may not like the favor Cloud had in mind...

"All you have to do is throw a snowball at Zelda's face, and then all will be forgiven." Link would frown at this favor handed to him. "Think about it - it'll be pretty funny...well, minus Zelda potentially being super angry with you."

"What, are you crazy?! I refuse to do such a thing...unless YOU throw a snowball at Aerith's face! _Then_ all will be forgiven!"

"Nice try Link, but I don't agree to those terms. For that reason, I will not accept your surrender. However, I can offer you...a truce."

Cloud would pull out something from behind his back, revealing a present, and would hand it to Link. The Hylian would accept the present from Cloud, looking at it suspiciously, before taking off the lid...only to find a snowball inside. As if that wasn't enough, the snowball had a note on it, and it read...

"'I surrender'?" Link read the note, before looking up at Cloud in confusion. Why would Cloud, who was already winning the snowball fight, surrender to Link for?

"While winning a snowball fight would be nice and all, it would be unfair for you, since you hardly ever win anything," explained Cloud, as he spoke the truth. Link could never win at anything in _Smash Life._ "Even when you do win, you hardly receive any credit. Also, that note is also a thank you - a thank you for teaching me what it's like to have fun again. That snowball fight, dare I say it...was actually pretty fun."

"Well, Cloud, I'm glad you saw it that way. Deep down in that cold interior of yours is a fun-loving guy who knows how to...you know what, how about we sing that song? You know how it goes? F is for..."

"Sing that song and it'll be the end of your life," Cloud warned Link in a threatening tone, effectively shutting up the Hylian; while the swordsman knew what it was like to have fun, his serious side will forever be a part of him.

* * *

That snowball Cloud made would be the last snowball for today...because the snow would slowly melt away in the radiant sun, thanks to the efforts of Team Rocket and company. The sun would remain for a good while before the clouds came back together and showered over Seattle, as was expected by the Seattle weathermen.

 **Ema: The rain has returned to the city...although it's just light showers. Things will start picking up tomorrow. Never have I been in a city that has been subject to so much inclement weather.**

"Looks like most of the snow is gone," said Ema as she looked through a window in Master Hand's room. The rain was pouring down, washing the snow away. "Better to have rain than snow, amirite Master Hand? Master Hand? Are you even listening to me?!"

"Oh, sorry, I was too busy admiring my Lamborghini," apologized Master Hand, his eyes fixated on his beloved possession. Or rather, a replica of his beloved possession. "My Lamborghini replica, that is. Looks just as sexy as the original one!"

"I'm terribly sorry, Master Hand, but that just sounds creepy. Here I am, back at the mansion, and you're still infatuated with that car. What's the purpose of owning it, if you can't even drive it?!"

"For your information Ema, many big name rappers own expensive cars but have never taken a single ride in them, so your argument is profoundly flawed. But better luck next time." Ema could only groan, while Team Rocket entered Master Hand's room.

"Oh, Master Hand, we have great news for you!" gleamed Jessie, grabbing the giant hand's attention as he turned around. "We found out why it was snowing in Seattle - it was because of a machine up in your attic!"

"It was a weather machine installed by our boss Giovanni, who wished to freeze this entire mansion," added James, no doubt excited about the amount of praise given by Master Hand. "But the three of us turned it off, and solved Seattle's weather crisis! The machine was targeting the sky, and had it targeted this mansion..."

"Quick question: who was the one responsible for turning the machine off?" asked Master Hand; Jessie, James, and Meowth were reluctant to answer this question.

"Pikachu and Pichu used their electricity to power down the machine. If not for them, the conditions in Seattle would've..."

"Okay, thank you, that's all I needed to know." Master Hand would make his way towards the door, alarming Team Rocket. "Someone must've turned that machine on, I'm sure...I'll find that crook later. But for now, I must thank Pikachu and Pichu for a job well done. Thank you, you three, for giving me this information!"

"Hey what about giving us back our respect - if not for our involvement, Seattle would go from Rain City to Snow City!" frowned Meowth, but Master Hand would no longer listen, as he continued out of his room in search for Pikachu and Pichu. This left Team Rocket furious, as Master Hand refused to give them back the respect they had lost.

But at least there was always next week for redemption.


	110. Episode 110: PikachuDay

_Author's Note:_

 _Aw phooey...the friendly guest reviewer who supplied me with numerous character requests and whatnot did not show up this time around. Was definitely looking forward to reading their review. Regardless, we do have this other anonymous reviewer:_

 _"Here is an idea have Parappa the Rapper meet KK Slider."_

 _Yeah, about that...I have this very, erm, strict stance on Sony characters appearing in Smash Life...so that idea will be a no-go. Now we have Derick Lindsey, with a very curious question:_

 _"...i'm guessing that Mario and Dr. Mario, Regular and Zero Suit Samus, and Zelda and Sheik are all one person individually?"_

 _Yes, those individuals you mentioned are indeed the same person...makes things much more easier. And more flexible!_

* * *

 **Episode 110: PikachuDay**

In last week's episode, Seattle saw one of the biggest snowstorms to hit the city in recent memory. It was a snowstorm that spurred thanks to the interim leader of the Smash Mansion, Giovanni, who plotted to freeze the entire mansion with a machine so nobody could stop him after raiding the sanctuary of its Pokemon. The machine was installed in the very attic of the mansion, and when it was turned on, sparked the winter storm that led to a snowball duel between Link and Cloud, which Link won...mainly because Cloud conceded. What, you honestly thought Link would win on his own? Bah!

The snowstorm would come to an end, when a bumbling trio accompanied by Professor Layton's apprentice Luke Triton worked together to turn the machine off. This trio was none other than the Team Rocket trio - Jessie, James, and Meowth, who sought to regain the respect Master Hand once had for them after their allegiance to Giovanni made their respect vanish away.

However, none of the credit towards turning off the machine didn't go to Team Rocket, for Master Hand refused to believe the trio would ever do something so competent. The credit instead went to the two Pokemon who were more directly responsible for turning off the machine in the first place - Pikachu and Pichu, although Pikachu received more praise than his pre-evolution friend. For their deeds, Master Hand was telling the others about Pikachu and Pichu's "heroics", and how they should be revered in Seattle throughout history for their efforts.

 **Master Hand: *laughs* Team Rocket? *laughs harder* Saving the day? *laughs even harder* Oh, give me a break! Those three couldn't save a kitten from a tree - they'd probably kill the kitty by accident, or even destroy the tree altogether. That trio stopping the snowstorm sounds less unbelievable than Pikachu and Pichu, who I still feel like they haven't received that much credit as they should. But I can make up for that, somehow...**

To give the credit he Pikachu and Pichu rightfully deserved, Master Hand would announce a day that would be celebrated in the Smash Mansion and beyond...a day known officially as "Pikachu Day". It was a day in which you had to show respect and reverence towards Pikachu, arguably the most famous Pokemon to have ever existed, while showing Pichu the same amount of reverence. And as for Raichu...well, who cares about him? Master Hand was doing a bunch of storm to celebrate the inaugural Pikachu Day, by making t-shirts in the printing room with Zero's printer.

"Honestly, Master Hand, I have no clue what these t-shirts have to do with Pikachu Day," remarked Ayaha, left in charge of making these t-shirts. They were black in color, and had the tagline "HEY HEY HEY, IT'S PIKACHU DAY!" written in yellow, with a picture of Pikachu's head above the text. Ayaha was holding one of the t-shirts up, looking at it inquisitively. "How does wearing them show reverence?"

"Because it shows to everyone that you are acknowledging Pikachu, and that you respect him enough to show others how truly important he is," replied Master Hand, who was thinking about selling the Pikachu Day t-shirts throughout town. An excellent cash grab for raising money for his Lamborghini. "Think about it this way - if you're seen in public, wearing an Adidas t-t-shirt, then you're spreading awareness about about Adidas, and proving that you respect Adidas enough to wear their products for others to see. Wearing these Pikachu Day t-t-shirts is all about creating awareness, creating dialogue, making others follow your lead..."

"...so what you're trying to say is, wearing the t-t-shirts is supposed to be like some kind of protest. Since protests are all about awareness and dialogue and stuff. Also, Pikachu is the most popular Pokemon to have ever existed, so I don't know what awareness you're talking about..."

"Are old people as aware of Pikachu as younger generations are?" Ayaha was unable to answer this; she was left stumped. "Hahaha, checkmate! Making these t-t-shirts won't hurt a fly, so you should have nothing to worry about, my precious Ayaha. Now if you excuse me, I must pay Mario a visit." Master Hand would vanish away from the printing room...

* * *

...and would appear in the living room of Mario's home, where he would spot Peach tidying up things around the house. Mario was nowhere to be found, much to Master Hand's chagrin.

"Happy Pikachu Day, everyone!" Master Hand greeted rather loudly, hoping his loud voice would bring Mario downstairs, if he was even home. Mario didn't show up, but Peach was startled to hear Master Hand.

"Uh, Happy Pikachu Day to you too, Master Hand," Peach would say to the giant hand as she stopped her cleaning, surprised to see him here. "Mario informed me about your plans to start a day known as 'Pikachu Day'...I had no idea you were that serious about your claims."

"You underestimate me too much, Princess Peach...you know that I'm serious about everything. Whether's it my Lamborghini, my duties as the head of the mansion, or even my sleep schedule." Master Hand sleeps? Who knew! "Though I wouldn't call it sleeping...it's more like hibernation, which I do whenever I'm bored at night. It's not fun when everyone's asleep. People can be so boring sometimes. Anyways, I brought you a souvenir, to commemorate this inaugural Pikachu Day!"

The souvenir in question was a Pikachu Day t-t-shirt, which Master Hand handed to Peach. The princess would accept the t-shirt, and held it up to her chest, to see if it was the perfect size.

"Ooh, this t-shirt should fit perfectly!" gleamed Peach, leaving Master Hand dismayed. He really wanted to see the princess actually try the t-shirt on. "Thank you for this t-shirt, Master Hand - it would look nice in my wardrobe!"

 **Peach: *with the Pikachu Day t-shirt in her possession* I don't really have that many clothes to wear around the house - this pink dress is practically the only thing I wear - so maybe wearing this t-shirt should be a little change-up from what I typically wear. I wonder if Mario would love to see me wearing skinny jeans...I bet you he fantasizes about me wearing jeans at night.**

"You're welcome, Princess Peach - you're more than free to get another Pikachu Day t-shirt at the next Pikachu Day, before I start charging people for the t-shirts," said Master Hand, as Peach continued to check out her t-shirt. "The next Pikachu Day is tomorrow, by the way." Upon hearing this, Peach slowly looked up at Master Hand, with a confused expression written on her face.

"Silly Master Hand, you can't celebrate Pikachu Day everyday, that would make no sense," smiled Peach, who believed Master Hand was becoming in over his head. "Just pick one day out of the calendar, and stick to it. Celebrating everyday would be too much!"

"Au contraire, birthdays are celebrated everyday, aren't they? Sure there are different people involved, but each and every day a birthday is being celebrated. Pikachu Day are just like birthdays, except that the celebration lasts the entire day, for 24 hours, rather than just at a party with balloons and cake and presents."

"...and that's-a pretty much the reason why Yoshi was-a hiding in our dishwasher last-a night," Mario spoke with Lana, as the two made their way downstairs. Uponarriving at the living room, they would find Master Hand. "Master Hand?" said Mario, caught by surprise.

"Happy Pikachu Day, you two - bought you some t-shirts, free as charged!" Master Hand would toss two Pikachu Day t-shirts at Mario and Lana, as the plumber and tomb raider glanced at them. "For the record, we don't have any small-sized t-shirts, so you'll just have to rock the medium-sized t-shirts until further notice."

"I thought you said this whole 'Pikachu Day' thing would be just a hoax..." Lara said to Mario, who was inspecting the front and back of his t-shirt. He was genuinely surprised by how much Master Hand was going all in with this Pikachu Day thing.

"I was-a hoping it would-a be a hoax, Lara - but I'm afraid-a my greatest fears-a have been realized." Mario, once he was done looking at his t-shirt, gazed up at Master Hand. "How did you make-a these t-shirts, Master Hand?"

"With Zero's magical printer, of course. I've left Ayaha in charge of making the t-shirts, so if you ever wanted another t-shirt, you know the gal to ask. I must deliver more of these t-shirts - spread as much awareness as I possibly can. Ta-ta!"

And with that, Master Hand would vanish away from the living room, leaving Mario and company perplexed. This whole "Pikachu Day" thing sounded like it could be a disaster, and with Master Hand spearheading things, anything was possible.

* * *

Nobody was more of a happy camper than Link, who was feeling pretty ecstatic about his favorite football team going to the Super Bowl. No, it wasn't the Vikings, who he claimed to be a fan of in episode 58...it was actually the Philadelphia Eagles who were the Hylian's favorite team. What with the Eagles' primary color being green, Link being a fan of the Eagles wasn't that hard to believe. Besides, he only liked the Vikings because "they wield swords and stuff"...not a particularly strong reason to like a football team.

The Eagles would play in the Super Bowl in Minneapolis, against the ever dominant New England Patriots. Patriots vs Eagles...take the Patriots out, and that matchup would be fine. So while Falco was dealing with his Falcons' playoff loss, and while Mario was looking forward to the NFL Draft, Link had his eyes set on the big prize.

 **Link: Although I said I liked the Vikings, I've always bled green for the Eagles. I love green. If not for my fellow residents stealing my rupees, I would've had enough funds to purchase my own Eagles jersey. What jersey would I get, you might ask? I might as well get a customized one, with the number 86 on the back and the word "PIMP" as the name. Sure, Zelda will have a problem with that choice, but it's all about real recognizing real.**

 **Cloud: Link told me about his "pimp" jersey idea...and truthfully, I think that's the dumbest waste of money ever in existence. Nobody is ever going to call Link a "pimp", not to mention that nobody would never take him seriously ever again. Dude should just get some blonde braids, like that guy in the Vikings logo, so he could honor his Vikings fanhood. Downside is that people would mistake Link for a girl, but I'm sure people have made that same mistake before regardless...**

Link would stroll his way down to the living room, where he would find Hisui, Kohaku, Jigglypuff, and Ness working on a banner - a Super Bowl banner, to be exact. It had the Patriots logo on one side, and the Eagles logo on the other side, with the words "Super Bowl LII" in between. Had a ton of pizzazz, such as glitter.

"Hey Link, what do you think of our Super Bowl banner?" Ness would ask the Hylian, after he saw him making his presence known. "Sonic and Tails wanted to redeem themselves last year, after Lucario destroyed their banner, and so they asked us to to assist them yet again in making a banner for this year's Super Bowl. What do you think of our progress so far?"

"The banner already has an automatic two thumbs up, just for the Eagles logo!" exclaimed Link, biased as he can be. "Could use a bit more greem, but other than that, I'm digging the progress so far. Hopefully this banner makes it until the end of the day."

"Yeah, that's what we're hoping for - I'm gonna lose it if this banner gets torn like the last one," said Hisui, who was still feeling pretty salty about last year. "It was pretty nice for the knitting club to make those quilts, really spruces up the living room a bit." Those quilts - one blue-colored with the Patriots logo, and the other a green-colored one with an Eagles logo - were hanging up for Link to see. "Got the Patriots on one side, and the Vikings on the other...the Inklings are gonna paint this living room in blue and green tomorrow, they said."

"Hisui had no idea patriots were actual people," sneered Kohaku, as she pointed and laughed at her older brother. It's okay, Hisui - Tom Brady made a similar mistake when drafted by the Patriots.

"Shut up Kohaku, you had no idea the Patriots were people too! Like I'm supposed to know what a patriot's supposed to be! I didn't even know New England is a region! What, are you gonna point and laugh at me for that?! Go ahead, be my freaking guest!"

"Wow Hisui, you are such a hot-head...just like Falco. Frankly I'm surprised the two of you aren't best friends. You would be perfect for each other!" Hisui would ignore his sister, as he resumed working on the banner.

"Man, where the heck is Sonic and Tails, their break should be over by now!" said Ness, as he was drawing the Lombardi trophy onto the banner. "This banner isn't going to finish itself!" How about we see where Sonic and Tails are, shall we?

* * *

The two best friends, along with Knuckles, were in Cilan's room, indulging themselves with some food Cilan had prepared for the Super Bowl. The connoisseur had made a "super secret" guacamole dip, and he had vowed not to let a single soul taste it...that is, until Sonic incessantly annoyed him to no end about what food Cilan would be serving on February 4th.

Unable to withstand Sonic's annoying nature, Cilan would eventually cave in, and give Sonic and friends a sneak preview of what he had in store for the Super Bowl party, introducing them to his special guacamole dip. Cilan was holding a bowl of guacamole in one hand, and a bowl of chips in the other, as Sonic and company ate the guacamole-covered chips in delight.

"Remember, you three, no double-dipping!" informed Cilan, making sure to keep a very close eye on Sonic. Perhaps the most likely person to double dip. "I'm saving this guacamole for the Super Bowl, where it'll be kept in my private fridge until it is time."

"Does double-dipping involve this?" asked Sonic, as he grabbed a chip, dipped it into the guacamole, took a bite out of it, and dipped it into the guacamole once more before eating the chip entirely. Cilan, with a very stern frown, nodded his head. "Okay, just making sure, because I did that like a dozen times already, when you weren't looking. Thanks for the heads up!"

 **Cilan: Well then...guess I'll be making a fresh new bowl of guacamole. Good thing I still have the recipe and my ingredients.**

While Sonic and Knuckles were helping themselves with the guacamole dip, they couldn't help but notice that Tails was the only one eating the chips without any guacamole on them. Consuming chips without any dip was a major transgression at any party or get-together, and Tails was breaking the golden rule. Doing this at the Super Bowl party would give him a bad reputation.

"Tails, you weirdo, how can you possibly eat naked chips?" Knuckles questioned his friend, shaking his head in disdain. "What's so wrong with adding a little flavor? Do you hate guacamole or something? Or did you come just for the chips? You definitely came for the chips, huh?! Freeloader!"

"I'm not a freeloader, and I don't hate guacamole," clarified Tails, although that didn't change the weird and judgmental looks Sonic and Knuckles were giving him. "I just...wanted to spend some time with you guys, that's all." A very pathetic excuse for Sonic and Knuckles.

"Cilan made his special guacamole from the heart, and this is how you show your appreciation for his food prowess?" asked Sonic, hoping his question would give Tails a sense of sympathy and care. "He didn't make his guacamole just for specific people...he made it for ALL of us, and all includes you too, Tails!"

"Sonic's right, Tails - we just want you to taste and see how special this guacamole truly is," Knuckles agreed with Sonic, trying to put the pressure on Tails to try out the guacamole. "Either you eat that guacamole, and enjoy it, or we're gonna have to force you to eat it!"

"Alright you two, let's not get ahead of ourselves..." Tails reasoned with his friends, chuckling nervously as he backed away a little. "Cilan's fine with me not eating the guacamole, it's you guys who are..."

"Cilan not saying anything about the matter doesn't mean he's fine with your perverse choices. Now you eat that guacamole, or else consequences will follow!"

"Tails if you don't eat the guacamole Cilan made, I'm gonna tell the entire world about the secret crush you have on Blaze," threatened Sonic, and he was being dead serious about his threat, too. "Don't make me pour slander over your kid-friendly image!"

"Please, you guys, this is getting out of hand..." said a nervous Tails, as he was preparing to back out of the room. Sonic and Knuckles drew closer, eyeing their friend with evil intentions. "I just don't want to eat the guacamole, okay?! Is that so hard for you to accept?"

"Quick, Knuckles, grab Tails before he can make an important life decision!" ordered Sonic, as Knuckles ran behind Tails and held his arms behind his back. Sonic would take a chip, and dip it into the guacamole, before walking towards Tails with the chip in his possession. "Trust me Tails, this is gonna hurt you more than it's gonna hurt me...just eat the chip, and let this whole thing be over with..."

"No, you can't do this to me, you can't just force me to eat that...I thought you two were my friends..." Tails did his best to fight out of Knuckles' grip, but the echidna was too strong. "Cilan help me please, I beg of..."

Before Tails could even finish his sentence, Sonic would thrust the guacamole-covered chip into Tails' mouth, as Knuckles made the yellow fox chew the chip and swallow it. Sonic, Knuckles, and Cilan would wait, desiring to hear what Tails had to say about the guacamole.

"...gotta admit, that guacamole is actually pretty delicious!" the yellow fox exclaimed; Sonic and Knuckles let out a sigh of relief, while Cilan smiled with glee. "For a minute there I thought I was gonna.

Then out of nowhere, Tails would get sores all over his face and body, and then his entire body would swell up. Tails went from your ordinary yellow fox to a round ball of sorts, with sores all over his body.

 **Cilan: I always inspect my ingredients before I cook my dishes, to ensure that my ingredients are healthy and consumable. That way I won't have to worry about the possibility of someone accruing an illness or ailment from my delicious creations. Remaking the guacamole should be no different...**

"NO, TAILS, YOU DIDN'T DESERVE THIS!" exclaimed Sonic, as he and Knuckles were panicky about the condition of their best friend. "You did this to him, did you?!" Sonic angrily pointed at Cilan, instilling fear in the connoisseur. "You had it out for Tails all along, and this was your opportunity to strike...to give him guacamole that would make him all swollen! What's your ulterior motive? Tell us, TELL US!"

"Why would I want to harm Tails for?" questioned Cilan, as he saw Sonic and Knuckles were ready to throw some hands with him. Cilan would probably just let his Simisage do all the work for him. "It was YOU who wanted to bring Tails to my room, to try out my guacamole - if I wanted to harm Tails, I would have brought him to my room myself! Tails must be allergic to the guacamole, that's all, which is why he didn't want any."

"Tails, allergic to guacamole of all things?" Sonic refused to accept the validity of this, for he believed that it was a sign that he didn't know his best friend that well. "You never told me that Tails was allergic to guacamole!" the hedgehog yelled at Knuckles.

"Oh yeah, well you never told me Tails was allergic to guacamole either!" Knuckles would fire back, getting all up in Sonic's grill. "Which makes it a double negative, how about that! Some friend you're supposed to be!"

"Like you're the one to talk Knuckles, you didn't know either! But Tails never told us about his allergies before we came here, so he's just as much in the wrong as we are. That means it's a TRIPLE negative! Booyah!"

"Can you two please stop arguing with one another and find some cure for my allergies?" Tails would ask Sonic and Knuckles, his voice slightly muffled. "Sorry I didn't tell you guys about my allergies, okay? I thought you wouldn't understand..."

"I highly recommend that you two take Tails to Leia or Dr. Mario right away, before Tails' swelling becomes even worse," Cilan advised Sonic and Knuckles, as he put the guacamole and chips away. "And while you do that, I'll make myself another batch of my secret guacamole. I should put some teal color dye in it, to represent the Jaguars colors..."

"Shut up Cilan, this was your fault all along, giving in to Sonic like that," responded Knuckles; he couldn't let the connoisseur get away without any blame. "Make that a quadruple negative...yeah that sounds stupid. Let's just take Tails to the fitness center, pronto."

* * *

"Pikachu Day, it's Pikachu Day...don't shed a tear 'cause it's Pikachu Day!"

Master Hand would sing this fine lovely tune as he went to go pay Pit and Kirby a visit. Apparently for whatever reason, the giant hand placed the angel and the puffball in charge of creating new customs/traditions for Pikachu Day, to make the day bigger than any other day on the calendar. Master Hand wanted to give such duties to Fox and Falco, but a) both Star Fox pilots had their hands full with Roy's musical group, Straight Fiyah, and b) the pilots straight up turned down the offer.

 **Fox: While we appreciate what Master Hand is doing in regards to the first ever Pikachu Day, Falco and I had to turn down MH's offer to make Pikachu Day bigger than it is now. But for one reason...there's no Star Fox D** **ay yet!  
** **Falco: Star Fox Day would operate the exact way as Pikachu Day, what with everyone celebrating on a daily basis, but with a twist...everyone is forced to talk about how great the _Star Fox_ games are (...even the less critically acclaimed ones) and anyone who says anything about those games will be sentenced to jail.  
Fox: And they would remain in jail, until the very next Star Fox Day...which would be the next day, essentially. That means if you get arrested on Star Fox Day, at 12:00 A.M...you would have to remain in jail until 12:00 A.M. of the very next Star Fox Day. So it's just a day-long sentence, no harm done whatsoever.**

Master Hand would find Pit and Kirby in the lounge, accompanied by the two distinguished stars of Pikachu Day, Pikachu and Pichu. The mouse Pokemon were watching with curious eyes, as Pit and Kirby working on a banner of sorts.

"How's it coming along boys, anything special you wanna show me?" Master Hand would ask Pit and Kirby, as they were working on the banner. "I'll try and keep an open mind, if I can."

"We have been working long and hard on a banner for Pikachu Day," explained Kirby, as he put on the finishing touches on the banner. "And now it's done, ready for viewing!" Pit and Kirby would get up as the stretched the banner out, with the words "Happy Pikachu Day!" written across a white banner. It was such a moving banner...well, at least to Master Hand. Made the giant hand tear up, if he had eyes.

"That, that is the most beautiful thing I have ever laid my nonexistent eyes upon. What could possibly be more beautiful than that wonderful masterpiece?" The answer to Master Hand's question would soon arrive, when Celica entered the lounge holding a yellow flag.

"Pit, Kirby, we have finished working on the Pikachu flag, just as you asked," the princess announced, as she held up the flag. It was a yellow flag that had Pikachu's head in the middle, Pichu's head (two of them) on the side, and several Poke Balls in-between the heads.

"Nice job Celica, that flag looks awesome!" exclaimed Pit, giving Celica a thumbs up seal of approval. "It would look nice outside the mansion!" Master Hand turned around and saw the flag, and was at a total loss of words.

"Celica, on behalf of everyone who has judged you, I forgive you for joining the knitting club, and I have forgiven the knitting club as well, just for making that flag," the giant hand spoke up, after finding the courage to speak. "Screw hanging that flag outside the mansion...we should hang it at the Washington State Building! No, we need to go further than that, shoot for the stars...we'll hang it up at the White House! Pikachu Day will be the biggest thing ever!"

"...and this is why starting up Pikachu Day was a bad idea from the start," Celica muttered as she handed Pit the flag and left, while Master Hand rambled on about how big Pikachu Day should be. Was comparing Pikachu Day to Christmas Day and all sorts of things.

"Hey Master Hand, Kirby and I were talking, and we thought that Pikachu Day deserved a theme song, an anthem," said Pit, as Master Hand stopped rambling and paid Pit his uninvited attention. "Something catchy, something people can remember, something people can relate to..."

"That sounds like a splendid idea!" gleamed Master Hand; an anthem for Pikachu Day could definitely take things to a whole new level. "Just don't pick the Pokemon theme song, that would be a very predictable choice. Unless you're making an original song of your own..."

"We are making an original song, thought it won't be us doing the work..." If not Pit and Kirby, then who else?

* * *

 **Cloud: No, I do not care for Pikachu Day. And I never will care for Pikachu Day either. I just find it weird...one moment, Pikachu was just your ordinary Pokemon, then he stops the snowstorm in Seattle and then BOOM! Master Hand anoints him and praises him like a folk hero, as if he led the Jews to the promised land or something. It would be scary seeing how far Pikachu Day would progress, especially with Master Hand as the ever-ambitious circus ringleader. Sooner or later, I'll be living in a nightmare...**

Cloud was never the kind of guy to be into sports. Sure, he'd watch a game every now and then, but other than that, the swordsman would spend his days hanging out with Aerith, or brooding over how horrible life was. As if his life wasn't sucky already, it would suck ten times more when Sora made his arrival, and the Keyblade wielder was bracing himself for his first Super Bowl.

And by no means was Cloud going to teach him how the Super Bowl worked. Someone else would have to take the fall for him.

"I'm telling you Aerith, you HAVE to teach Sora about the Super Bowl, before the big game," Cloud would stress this to Aerith, as she was working in the gardens. "He will be asking questions throughout the entire game, and ruin the watching experience for everyone."

"Lloyd was asking football questions last year, and you had no problem with it," smirked Aerith, as she watered the flowers. Some flowers were green, others were blue...the team colors of the Eagles and Patriots, respectively. "So why would Sora be any different?"

"Because out of everyone else, he would ask me the most. I could hide from Sora in my room, but Master Hand would probably hunt me down, so I can't let that happen. Or I could stay at Mario's place, or Luigi's. Master Hand would be fine with that."

Pit and Kirby would enter the gardens, and there in plain daylight was the goddess of nature, Viridi, happily watering the plants. Just the person Pit needed for the Pikachu Day anthem.

"Viridi, we must speak with you, it's a matter of life or death!" Pit called out to the goddess, as he and Kirby ran to her. "You still know how to play the piano, right?" Viridi soon feared for the worst, for she knew where this conversation would be headed.

"I have been practicing my piano-playing skills in secret," Viridi reluctantly answered, expecting Pit to erupt into a cackling fit of laughter. She took a step back, in the event such a laughing fit were to happen.

"Excellent! Because we need you to provide some instrumental accompaniment for our Pikachu Day song." Viridi let out a sigh of relief - for a minute, she was afraid Pit was going back to his "broken" ways.

"I'd be more than happy to play the piano for you and Kirby, if you like. But if I'm playing the piano, then who's doing the singing?"

"The singing will be provided...from those two." Pit would point at Cloud and Aerith, the two lovebirds still talking about Sora. A confused Viridi looked up at Pit, oddly determined, then at Cloud and Aerith, and then back at Pit. Was Pit for real?

"You must be sorely mistaken Pit, Cloud and Aerith are NOT singers. Your best bet would be to get one of the idol singers, or even get Azura from the Nohr kingdom to sing the vocals for your song."

"But little do you know, Viridi, that Cloud and Aerith are secretly a pop singing duo...sure they may not look the part (especially Cloud), but when you hear them sing..." Pit shook his head, as if he had heard Cloud and Aerith sing before. "...you'll be blown away in an instant."

 **Viridi: Cloud and Aerith, a pop singing duo? *laughs, then shakes her head* Next thing you know, Pit is going to tell me that Wolf O'Donnell is an award-winning comedian, doing night shifts at the biggest American venues.**

"Stay put, Viridi...we gotta make our move," Pit said to the goddess of nature, as he coolly walked towards Cloud and Aerith. Viridi remained confused, as Kirby was left with no choice but to follow Pit. The two friends would reach Cloud and Aerith, as the two lovebirds were _still_ talking about Sora.

"So what if Sora burned his hand while operating a desktop computer, it was a good learning experience for him regardless!" Aerith said to Cloud, sticking up for Sora, before she and Cloud saw Pit and Kirby standing by. "Yes, may we help you two?"

"A good friend of mine told me about how you were the biggest pop singing duo in the world right now," Pit started the conversation, as Cloud and Aerith exchanged concerned looks with one another. "We need your excellent singing abilities for the anthem we plan to make for Pikachu Day."

"Tell your 'friend' that he's a stupid idiot who doesn't know what he's talking about," responded Cloud, knowing for a fact that Pit's "good friend" did not exist. "Oh, and while you're at it, tell Master Hand that having a Pikachu Day anthem is straight up overkill."

"The anthem idea was our idea, not Master Hand's. And we need your singing talents for this idea to come to fruition. We won't settle for anyone less."

"Are you sure you aren't mistaking us for another singing duo?" asked Aerith; what other singing duo could Pit possibly be referring to? Aerith couldn't think of anyone at the moment. "I know you aren't talking about K.K. Slider and Jigglypuff, since they're not really a duo; they only sing on Saturdays. And Jigglypuff can't speak English!"

"We completely understand if you're backing off on the offer, for we are aware about how you wish to keep your musical careers a secret. Learning that you're a pop singing duo would be a hard pill for anyone to swallow. Kirby and I will give you the rest of the day to think over the offer, so take your time!"

So Pit and Kirby would leave the gardens, heading back inside, as Cloud and Aerith wondered where Pit's head was at. Viridi was left wondering the same thing.

* * *

In last week's episode, Leia was working with Dr. Mario to cure Luigi's common cold, and was left surprised when Dr. Mario recommended that one of Link's potions would be the cure. Left Leia questioning the mustached plumber. Now, the nurse was back at the mansion doing her thing, as she treated a splinter Ema had on her finger.

"This is only going to hurt just a smidge..." Leia warned Ema, tweezers in hand, as she eyed the splinter in Ema's index finger. It was a pretty big splinter too - fairly deep into Ema's skin. Using the tweezers, Leia would grab the splinter, pulling it out very slowly and gently, as Ema winced in pain. The wincing would continue until Leia pulled the splinter out completely. "There! We're done! Wasn't so bad, was it?"

"Guess it wasn't as bad as I anticipated, got a little scared there..." replied Ema, wiping the sweat off her forehead, as Leia fetched a band aid to patch up Ema's finger. That sweat on Ema's forehead indicated that the forensics expert was _very_ scared. "I never had a splinter of that magnitude before!"

 **Ema: I acquired the splinter from the buddy cops, Toon Link and Young Link, who wished to arrest me for wearing glasses indoors. I kindly tried to plead my case, but those Links would fire their arrows at me, as I made a run for it. One of those bows caught the very tip of my index finger, which is how I got the splinter. That dumb splinter stung a lot, but witnessing the Links act like tough men in their misguided delusion and imagination...that stung just as much, if not more.**

"Leia, Leia, I need your help, and I need it real bad!" Doc Louis rushed inside the room, alerting Ema and Leia just when Leia placed the band aid on Ema's finger. "It's my boy, Little Mac...he told me that he might reconsider being a Patriots fan after the Super Bowl!"

"Wasn't he...a Patriots fan regardless?" questioned Ema, leading Doc Louis to look down at the floor and shake his head. Clearly Ema did not know the full severity of the situation at hand.

"Not a real Patriots fan, by any means...he only became a fan of them after they won last year's Super Bowl. Two years ago, he liked the Denver Broncos. Three years ago, he liked the Patriots! And four years ago, he was a fan of a different team...you see the pattern? Little Mac is a flip-flopping bandwagoner who switches his favorite teams depending on who wins the big title! Poor guy can't stick to one team..."

"And what do you want me to do about it?" asked Leia, seeing how distressed Doc Louis was about his protege. The boxing trainer cared that much for Little Mac, even going as far as dictating what the young boxer was supposed to like. "I mean, I could always talk Little Mac out of..."

"Yeah, that's what you're gonna do - you and Little Mac are gonna have a conversation, and you're gonna sway his mind and talk him out of the poor decision he's making! It's the only way! But no, it may not be convincing enough...you keep your butt here, I'll be right back!" Doc Louis would run out of the room in a jiffy, running like he was at a track meet.

"You know, I've always considered Doc Louis' love for Little Mac to be his eventual downfall...and we might be witnessing the beginning of this downfall." How surprising that such a downfall hadn't started already...

* * *

The members of Straight Fiyah - Roy, Marth, Ike, Chrom, Robin, Alm, and Berkut (Corrin was absent) - were in the recording studio with Fox and Falco, ready to begin their singing training with their singing coach, Ulala. Only thing was, Ulala wasn't a singer, but rather a futuristic space reporter who just so happened to dance in order to defeat evil aliens from taking over the galaxy and stuff. Ulala sure wasn't here...but hey, at least Mamori - the "secondary" singing coach - was present!

"So how long do I have to be here?" Mamori asked Fox and Falco; she could be with Ashley and Asuka in the kitchen right now, filming the latest episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin._ Unfortunately, that episode would have to be put on hold. "I have things to do today, you know!"

"Why don't you ask Roy, he's the one who put you through this crap in the first place," said Fox, who along with Falco didn't want to be here as much as Mamori did. "You know what, I'll ask him...yo, Roy, just how long is this singing training session thing or whatever?" Fox would ask the swordsman.

"Should be five or six hours at the minimum, depending on how much progress is made in terms of our singing abilities," replied Roy, leading his bandmates to groan and moan and all that good stuff. "If we all sound pitch perfect, and in tune...then we might end our training early."

"Can't we just end it now, for the sake of everyone?" suggested Berkut; Roy would probably be the only person to say no. He was very determined. "I mean, what are the odds of Ulala even showing up? Isn't she from the future?"

"She is from the future, but I had Sonic contact Ulala, since those two are pretty tight from their racing days. Sonic has informed me that Ulala should be showing up today, since today's her day off from her 'space reporter' job."

 **Sonic: Yes, I did call Ulala, as instructed by Roy...told him to stay clear of this mansion as much as possible. Don't want her first visit to be a fruitless waste of time. Also, that whole bit I mentioned to Ulala about eight sword guys wanting to start a boy band was more than enough to drive her away.**

Because Ulala was supposed to come today, Roy and company remained in the recording studio, expecting the space reporter's arrival. They waited, and waited, and waited even more...but all that waiting would be for naught, given Sonic told her to stay away from the mansion. By no means was Mamori going to step up to the plate and coach Straight Fiyah.

"Be right back boys, gotta make a quick stop to the bathroom..." Mamori kindly told Roy and company, as she left the recording studio. Roy didn't mind, and his bandmates didn't care, but Falco knew what was up.

"She ain't coming back, is she?" the smirking avian pilot murmured to Fox, who also smirked as he shook his head. "Ha ha...well played, well played..."

* * *

While Master Hand was away, Ayaha had made so many Pikachu Day t-shirts, that she had seemingly turned the printing room into a warehouse for storing things. There were so many t-shirts, that Ayaha had to store some of them in cardboard boxes. There were now t-shirts of many different sizes - small, medium, large, extra large, and extra EXTRA large...just for fatties like King Dedede and King K. Rool. Gotta compensate for everyone.

"Master Hand is being quite serious about these shirts, I will admit," remarked Zelda as she was in the printing room, holding up a t-shirt and taken back by it, for some reason. Could be because of how simplistic the t-shirts were. "He's not planning on...selling them, is he?"

"He has given it some thought apparently; he would only use the funds for his Lamborghini anyways," replied Ayaha, who was wearing a Pikachu Day t-shirt. Master Hand more than likely put the assistant up to it. "Regardless of the size, he said he would charge each t-shirt $50, which is outrageous, but this is Master Hand we're talking about...also had me making all sorts of other nonsensical crap."

"Nonsensical crap such as what?" Zelda would see what Ayaha meant, when the assistant pulled out other merch she printed from Zero's magical printer...Pikachu Day hats, Pikachu Day bobbleheads, Pikachu Day scarfs, Pikachu Day action figures, Pikachu Day underwear, and even Pikachu Day drinking caps. "Yikes, Master Hand is really going all in with this Pikachu Day thing!"

"This is just the beginning of something terrible, I tell you...this whole thing is gonna steamroll out of control, and there's nothing we can do to stop it from being a colossal catastrophe, if it hasn't already. The knitting club, they were told to make a Pikachu Day flag, and Master Hand actually wants to hang it on the flagpole near the freaking White House! He has gone off on the deep end..."

"May I have your attention ladies?" Doc Louis said as he ran into the room, stopping so he could take a breather. Once he was done, he had to ask Zelda and Ayaha an important question: "How much are those shirts? Are they free?"

"Uh, they're all free for now, but I think you would get a pass anyways since you're a resident. Unless Master Hand changes his mind."

"Oh okay, just making sure. But that's not why I'm here. It's my boy Little Mac..he's going through a state of, well, judgement and, confusion...let's just say it's a combination of both. I need some rope, but I don't know where to find any...don't ask me why I need the rope for. I know what you girls are thinking, and believe me, I don't like my man Little Mac THAT much!"

"...I have some rope in my room you could use."

 **Ayaha: The rope that I have is part of my survival kit, which I'm adding over time. You never know when a full-scale apocalypse breaks out. It could happen tomorrow, next week, or even next year. As far as we know, an apocalypse could start right now. *shrugs***

* * *

Cloud and Aerith still found it very laughable that Pit called them a secret "pop singing duo", one that wished to keep their careers a secret. They found it even more laughable that Pikachu Day was being blown out of proportion, to the point where Master Hand wanted such a day to have its own anthem. Just wait until those two lovebirds find out about that Pikachu Day flag.

Not even thinking about Pit's offer, Cloud and Aerith were spending some quality time together outside, trying to keep their distance from Pit. They were chilling on the porch, watching Diddy Kong and Villager play a game of catch in the front yard with a football.

"Still can't believe that Pit called us a pop singing duo," remarked Aerith, as she and Cloud witnessed Diddy Kong accidentally throwing a spiral at Villager's face, and Villager crying about it like a little baby. I mean, you don't even look like you would be a pop singer, Cloud - though you'd definitely fit in an emo band! Could be the lead singer!"

"It's because I have spiky blonde hair and a distant attitude, is it?" retorted Cloud, being less fiery than usual when someone called him emo. His girlfriend was the only one who would get a pass. "I never knew you were the type of person to judge someone, especially if that someone is your own boyfriend..."

"You know I'm just joking around Cloud, I'm sure you've taken those comments with stride. Or maybe you're just a big softie who can't take it, and is too afraid to speak up..." Aerith would tease Cloud, pinching his cheek, and Cloud would slap the flower girl's hand away.

"Please do not pinch my cheek again, that just feels...weird. Felt like I lost most of my manliness when you did that. Not that I care that much about being manly, but please just keep your hands to yourself..."

"Ha, I figured you'd be out here!" said Viridi, as she found Cloud and Aerith outside, joining them on the front porch. "Trying to get away from Pit, I assume? Honestly I can't say I blame you..." Viridi had something in her hands, and she would show it to Cloud and Aerith...it was a bunch of music sheets. "Pit personally asked me to compose the theme for the silly Pikachu Day anthem...he even threatened to call off our relationship if I didn't come up with music sheets for the anthem before the end of the day. He's crazy like that sometimes."

"Crazy is one way to put it..." Cloud would accept the music sheets from Viridi, and glanced through all the sheets. The way the notes and melodies were arranged, it made the theme almost simplistic...Pit would still approve it regardless. "If you see Pit anywhere, tell him that Aerith and I are still 'thinking over' his offer...tell him that we might have to make our decision before midnight, at like 11:59 P.M. Pit never said anything about a deadline, but that should keep him content."

"I shall pass on this information to Pit, hopefully he doesn't annoy you two about it. I'd take a walk around town if I were you. It's not raining outside, so that would be your safest bet." Viridi would take her music sheets away from Cloud, as she returned to the mansion.

 **Master Hand: I have the utmost confidence that Pit and Kirby are gonna do this anthem thing right - it'll be the greatest anthem ever conceived by man...or should I say, angel and puffball. It'll be better than the Star Spangled Banner, a song people claim has racist undertones. It'll be better than "O Canada", which I only hear about at hockey games. This Pikachu Day anthem, it won't have supposedly racist undertones, and it won't be sung at Canadian sports events..it'll be a song that unites people together, and be played all over the world, at places such as public schools, retirements homes, and even brothels. Not a single eye will be seen when that song is playing, I can guarantee you that!**

As Diddy Kong and Villager resumed their game of catch, after Villager was done with his crying fit, Cloud would look out and see Mamori, sneaking around. It appeared as if the young idol singer was attempting to run away...in her case, she was running away from Roy and company. But most importantly Roy.

"Stay where you are Aerith, I'll be right back," Cloud said to his woman, as he left the porch to go speak with Mamori. Mamori was near Luigi's house when Cloud approached her, tapping her on the shoulder...

"STRANGER DANGER!" shrieked Mamori, as she quickly turned around and kicked Cloud in the shin. The swordsman yelled in pain and fell to his knees, as Cloud clutched the place Mamori kicked him at. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry Cloud, I had no idea you were there!"

"No, it's okay Mamori, I would've done the same thing...just not as hard," responded Cloud, as he got back on his two feet. His shin was still feeling pretty sore. "I just wanted to know why you were sneaking around. Playing a game of hide and sink with your web series buddies?"

"Not right now, though I might do that later...for now, I'm trying to distance myself from Roy. He had his 'bandmates' in attendance in the recording studio, for their singing practice...I reluctantly agreed to be their 'secondary' singing coach. The 'primary' singing coach is Ulala, who is actually a space reporter - don't think she has ever sang a single song in her life!"

"Yeah, she's more of a dancer than anything. Heard Sonic call her on the phone - that guy told her NOT to come to the mansion." Mamori, in that moment, thought that Sonic was doing the right thing; no one should _ever_ waste their time with Straight Fiyah. "Which means Roy and his crew will be waiting for an eternity...joke's really gonna be on them."

"Ulala should stay put where she is, she has no business at the mansion. I do feel bad for leaving Fox and Falco behind with Roy...but I'm sure they already sneaked out of the recording studio as well. So Cloud, what are you up to?"

"Aerith and I were hanging out on the front porch. Pit mistook us for being a pop singing duo or something - apparently he came to us, asking us to make an anthem for Pikachu Day. The fact that Master Hand is even entertaining the idea of an anthem for his stupid day shows how stupid this 'Pikachu Day' has become."

"You should probably do what Pit says, as he's very persistent...I should know from all the times he asked me to appear on my show. Say, how about I do you and Aerith a solid, and lend my voice for this Pikachu Day anthem? I do have great vocals, after all!"

"That would be ideal...heh, talk about killing two birds with one stone. Pit forced Viridi to compose the music for the anthem; I'll go get her and tell her that your involvement."

* * *

Ever since Corrin "found out" that Emperor Palpatine was the coach of the New England Patriots, going under the alias of Bill Belichick, the prince of Nohr has been nothing but a lousy Patriots bandwagoner. He bought all sorts of Patriots merchandise, and has told the others about how "great" of a football coach Palpatine was. Corrin had yet to reach full Patriots bandwagoner mode - only thing he had to do was to proclaim that Tom Brady was the greatest football player to have ever existed.

 **Kamui: Corrin being a football fan is both a good thing...and a bad thing. The good thing is that he's expanded his world knowledge, and is more involved in conversations with his fellow residents...although he gets chewed out from time to time. As for the bad thing? Yeah, his love for the Patriots' coach has grown to levels I never thought would be reached. He's the only person from the Patriots franchise that he cares about; everyone else is irrelevant to him, even the quarterback! Called him obsolete! That won't sit well with other Patriots fans, but it's a good thing Corrin is in Seattle. If he called out the quarterback in Boston... *makes a nervous face***

Kamui went to her bedroom, and upon arrival, she saw Corrin on his bed, watching TV, with a Bill Belichick press conference on. Such press conferences were downright boring, as Belichick was the most boring person to walk the face of the earth, but to Corrin, it was always must-see television. Kamui went to the closet, and opened the door...and saw something that wasn't there beforehand.

"Corrin, did you build this shrine in our closet?" a concerned Kamui asked her brother, as she was looking at a shrine dedicated to who else? Bill Belichick. Had a picture of the man with several lit candles around it. "You actually built this shrine in our closet?!"

"Ah yes, the shrine of Emperor Palpatine, a fine creation if I do say so myself," answered Corrin, momentarily breaking away from his press conference. "I selected a great picture, no? Look at those wrinkles on his face, look at his angry scowl, look at the great contempt he has for his enemies in his very eyes! At one glance, you could never tell that's Palpatine in the flesh!"

"You're starting to scare me with this obsession of yours, Corrin - no normal football fan should act like this. Even as a Patriots fan like yourself. Granted there might be crazier ones out there, but still..."

"I'm just showing some respect for a ruler of the galaxy, dearest twin sister. I bet you if Palpatine saw this shrine I made for him, he would make me his right-hand man!" Palpatine replacing Darth Vader with Corrin as a right-hand man? Not in a million years!

"Corrin are you there, my boy?" asked Doc Louis as he entered the room, seeing Corrin on his bed. "Just the guy I needed to see - I need your help, and I need it NOW! Little Mac needs you!"

"But I'm not yet finished watching Palpatine's press conference - he might be dropping nuggets of knowledge about conquering the galaxy!" Doc Louis ignored what Corrin said, as he grabbed the prince ruthlessly. "I said I'm not finished!"

"We ain't got no time, boy!" shouted Doc Louis, as he ran out of the room. With Corrin gone, Kamui glanced at the closet, ready to do some cleaning.

* * *

Sonic and Knuckles would finally reach the fitness center, after spending their time arguing with one another and struggling to roll Tails through the mansion. Unfortunately for the two friends, they were too late!

"Yo Wii Fit, where did Leia run off too?" Sonic would ask Wii Fit Trainer, who was doing a slight jog around the fitness center when her name was called upon. "We need some medicine for Tails!"

"Leia had left with Doc Louis, if I'm not mistaken," replied Wii Fit, before glancing at the swollen Tails and gasping. "Whatever happened to Tails?! He looks a round, yellow ball...a swollen one at that!"

"It was his fault!" Sonic and Knuckles shouted simultaneously, pointing at one another, before looking at one another. "No, it was YOUR fault! You had as much to do with Tails as I did! GRAAAH!"

"Settle down you two, no need to fight with your friend in the condition he's in. Is it some kind of allergic reaction? There might be some allergy medicine somewhere. Stay put and behave, while I find some medicine for Tails. Okay?"

* * *

 **Ness: Sonic and Tails never returned to the living room... *shakes his head* I knew Sonic would ditch us, but it would be despicable if Tails ditched us too. That's so unlike him. But no matter, we're finished with our Super Bowl banner...which we'll tear in half eventually, like the last banner. Just to send a message to you-know-who. *winks***

With some assistance from Link, Hisui would hang up the finished Super Bowl banner in the living room. Ness, Kohaku, and Jigglypuff would take a look at their work, with Ness smiling with his hands on his hips.

"No Lucario to tear this banner apart this time!" remarked the teen. And would you know it, Lucario would show up, drinking from a cup of coffee. He took a look at the banner, and was left impressed.

"Gotta admit, this banner looks less crappier than the one we had at last year's Super Bowl party," the aura Pokemon gave his two cents; Ness was unsure if he should take that as a compliment. "At least some thought and effort was put into this one."

"Our banner was destroyed thanks to you...and so Lloyd had to make a last-minute banner to suffice. That's why the banner for the party last year said 'Supper Bowel' - that was Lloyd's doing."

"Me? Destroying your banner?" Lucario could only chuckle at what Ness said. "I don't remember destroying our banner! Though I do remember running away like a maniac after that stupid Empty Room challenge. Mewtwo was a few seconds away from shooting me...it's a long story."

"Hey Link, you got a minute?" Ema would approach the Hylian, grabbing his attention. "Doc Louis needs you very badly - said that it's an 'emergency'." Anything big involving Little Mac could be classified as an emergency.

"Well with the way Doc Louis put it, guess I have no reason but to see what the problem is..." said Link, before heaving a sigh. "You lead, and I'll follow..."

* * *

Sunday, February 4th was a pivotal day for Little Mac. It would be a day in which Little Mac would have to decide whether he should remain a Patriots fan, or hop on the Eagles bandwagon. Ever since "Smash Life" began filming, Little Mac had changed teams seven teams...and next month, he might make it eight!

Fresh off his personal training, Little Mac went to the arcade room, to kick some butt on _Galaga_. Once he was done, the boxer exited the arcade...only to be greeted by a familiar cop duo.

"Hands up where we can see 'em!" shouted Toon Link, standing with Young Link as they had their arrows pointed at Little Mac. The boxer chuckled, unable to take either Link seriously.

"There, here are my hands, you can see them in clear daylight," Little Mac held out his hands, for the Links to see. He wouldn't _dare_ to try this stunt with actual police officers. "Now if you excuse me..." Before Little Mac could take off, Toon Link hit him in the leg with his boomerang, bringing him down to one knee, before Young Link pounced on top of him and cuffed him.

"Little Mac, you are under arrest for loyalty dysphoria!" shouted Young Link, while he was handcuffing the boxer. "Anything you say or do will be used against you in the name of law! You have the right to a lawyer...that lawyer being Doc Louis, possibly."

"Loyalty dysphoria? What in the blazing heck is that?! You punks will make up anything just to arrest someone, huh?!"

"Shut up, you worthless criminal!" Young Link would help Little Mac up to his feet, as he and Toon Link walked the cuffed boxer to who-knows-where.

* * *

 **Lara: Master Hand has been giving Mario "updates" about his precious Pikachu Day over the phone, and things have gotten ridiculous. First, there was the t-shirts. And now we have the flag. And the bobbleheads. And the underwear. And a bloody anthem, for crying out loud. What's next, is Master Hand going to endorse a Pikachu Day cable station? I sure hope not...**

A knock was at the front door of Mario's home. With Mario in the backyard playing catch with Poochy, and Peach up in her room, possibly doing some ladies' stuff, Lara had to answer the door, hoping it wasn't someone annoying...and guess who it was.

"Happy Pikachu Day, Miss Lara Croft!" exclaimed Pit, decked in Pikachu Day gear. Standing with him was Kirby, who was wearing a Pikachu Day cap on his head. "Hope you are having a blessed Pikachu Day. Master Hand wanted me to give these out." Pit would hand Lara three Pikachu Day calendars, which had Pikachu and Pichu on the covers.

"Master Hand is really milking the crap out of Pikachu Day, I'll say," said Lara, as she flipped through the pages of one of the calendars...before noticing something was up. "Why is every day of the calendar marked as 'Pikachu Day'?"

"Because every day is Pikachu Day, including holidays and the leap day! Isn't that wonderful?" Lara begged to differ, as she felt the sudden indignation to toss the calendars into the fireplace. Only if there was a fire going on.

"I'm-a baaack!" Mario announced to nobody in particular, when he returned to his home with Poochy through the back door. He saw Lara standing at the front door, and came over to see what was going on. "Lara who's-a at the door?"

"Pit and Kirby came over to give me...this," Lara would show the calendars to Mario, before showing him what was inside said calendars. Showed them the different pictures of Pikachu for every month, and most importantly, every day of the calendar being marked "Pikachu Day". "Don't you think this is a bit excessive, Mario?"

"Yeah, I'll-a say!" Mario frowned as he looked up at Pit and Kirby, who thought there was nothing wrong with the Pikachu Day calendars. "Have you boys-a lost your darn minds?! Nobody would-a buy these calendars!"

"Of course, a broke cheapskate like yourself would say such an idiotic thing," remarked Pit, as he Mario tried to throw some hands with Pit, only for Lara to hold him back with just her arm. "We'll give the rest of these calendars to Luigi, Daisy, and Yuffie, and once we're done, we're going to see if Cloud and Aerith accepted our offer to sing the anthem for Pikachu Day. It'll be the greatest song ever conceived, I tell you!"

"This Pikachu Day is snowballing out of proportion, just as I expected..." remarked Lara, after Pit closed the front door. And it was only the first Pikachu Day...

* * *

Roy and company...well, just Roy...were waiting impatiently for Ulala to show up, as well as for Mamori to return to the recording studio. Little did they know that Ulala was told by Sonic not to come to the mansion, and that Mamori was preparing herself for singing the Pikachu Day anthem. But hey, at least Fox and Falco were still around, noodling around on their phones.

"While we wait for Ulala and Mamori, I think we should designate who the leader of the group should be," Roy said to his bandmates, bored out of their minds. "Since this boy band was my idea, I think I should be the leader of Straight Fiyah!"

"Correct me if I'm wrong Roy, but you specifically named _me_ to be the lead singer, because I'm supposedly the oldest member," Chrom spoke up; the prince didn't want to be the lead guy, but it was a role he had to embraced...for now, until Lucina's plan came into motion. "Lead singers are usually the leader of boy bands..."

"Well we're a different breed, we do things our way, whether people like it or not. Although you're our lead singer, I'll be the leader! This band idea was MY idea, and a leader like myself deserves all the credit!"

"That is ludicrous, you can't just name yourself the leader like that! Who even gave you the power to name yourself leader? Just because you put this band together doesn't mean a single thing in the world!"

"Oh, but it does mean a thing, Chrom! It means that despite whatever role you have, I'LL have the final say, and _I_ can determine who's allowed in the band! So how about you shut up, and take what you get!"

"You know what, Roy? I'm leaving the band! Only tagged along just to make you happy, but you just pushed me to the limit, buddy!" Chrom would storm out of the recording studio, leaving Roy in a state of shock.

"If that's what you're gonna do...then I'm just gonna leave...this room!" And so Roy would leave the room, leaving Fox, Falco, and everyone else in a state of confusion. Tensions were already building.

 **Fox: The band hasn't officially started yet, and Straight Fiyah already had their first group drama... *shakes his head with a smile* ...man, they grow up so fast.**

Seeing as how there was no point to remain in the recording studio - what with Chrom walking out on the band, and Roy leaving the studio entirely - the members of Straight Fiyah all left the recording studio to do their own thing. Fox and Falco were about to shut down the studio for the day, until Mamori and Viridi came in.

"Excuse me, but is anyone using this recording studio at the moment?" Viridi would ask the Star Fox pilots. "We have a song to record, and we gotta record it before Pit starts to throw a fit!"

"What is this song even about?" asked Falco, suddenly intrigued. He saw that Viridi had brought a keyboard with her, which had left the avian pilot even more intrigued. Mamori and Viridi could be the secret pop singing duo Pit was rambling on about.

"It's supposed to be an anthem for Pikachu Day," explained Mamori, as she handed Fox and Falco some sheets of paper. "I wrote down all of the lyrics; Viridi wrote down the melodies and everything else. The song needs to be done before the end of the day."

"Well in that case, hop right on in the recording booth! Fox and I will get you gals situated."

* * *

Little Mac, bound and gagged, found himself in a darkened room. He did not officially know it, but he felt it - there was no sound, and it felt empty, like it was a bottomless pit with nothing but darkness surrounding the young boxer. It wasn't until someone took off Little Mac's blindfold and took the duct tape off his mouth that the young boxer realized where he was.

"Is this the interrogation room or something?" Little Mac questioned, before a very bright light shunned upon his eyes. The boxer would hold his head back as the light shone on his face, before slowly turning his head towards the light source. He would be delighted to see Leia, though she wasn't the only one present...

"Nice to see you, Little Mac..." Leia started things off, her arms folded, with Ayaha and Ema at her side. "Doc Louis has told us that you were having some problems...and so we're here to fix them!"

"Pssh, Doc Louis is just overreacting, as per usual. What is it this time? Not working out as much? Eating too much sweets? Did I forget to leave my bedroom door closed last night? Doc Louis is very superstitious about that..."

"Let's just say that you are...going through the motions, in terms of staying loyal," replied Ayaha, making Little Mac frown in confusion. What was Ayaha talking about in regards to staying loyal? "Doc Louis told us all about your bandwagoning ways, about how you refuse to remain constant...and we're going to change that today."

"But it won't be us doing all the work..." stated Ema, as she and the other ladies moved to the side. "These two fine young gentlemen will help you with your problems." The two young gentlemen were Link and Corrin - wearing an Eagles and Patriots jersey, respectively.

 **Corrin: Yes, yes, I would LOVE to convince Little Mac to remain a Patriots fan! I can tell him about how awesome Emperor Palpatine is, and how his dominance in the football realm has lasted over a decade. I can also tell Mac that...**  
 **Link: No, Corrin, you're supposed to _dissuade_ Little Mac from remaining a Patriots fan - much like how I'm going to dissuade him from becoming an Eagles fan. He's nothing but a filthy Patriots bandwagoner...the same could be said for you.  
Corrin: So supporting the Galactic Empire's football team makes me a "bandwagoner"?! Link, you traitor! Always knew you were a Jedi in secret...**

"We'll let Link start off things first," said Leia, as Link and Corrin went over to Little Mac. They would cower over the helpless boxer, whose arms and legs were tied to his chair.

"Look, Little Mac, even if the Eagles win the Super Bowl, you do NOT want to be an Eagles fan," Link did his best to convince the boxer. "Trust me on this. Eagles fans are some of the worst fans in sports - they curse people out, give middle fingers, pee on unsuspecting people, and they even booed Santa Claus! Nobody ever boos Santa Claus!" And you can't call the cops on Santa Claus either. "Do you want to be grouped with such vile people?"

"And you can't be a Patriots fan, no siree!" added Corrin, doing his best to convince Little Mac without sounding like an egregious homer. "Have you seen the Patriots coach, Emperor Palpatine? His reign of terror knows no bounds, and he has zero mercy for those who oppose him! He is the most evil man in the galaxy...and yet, he is number one in my heart..."

"Yeah...another reason why you can't be an Eagles fan is because of how historically moribund they are. Eagles have been around since the 1930s, and they don't have a Lombardi trophy to show for it! Why be a fan of team of failure?"

"That's a lot coming from you Link, since you tend to fail a lot." Link would give Little Mac a piece of his mind, but he'll have to wait till later.

* * *

With Ayaha off fooling with Doc Louis' shenanigans, Zero's printer in the printing room was left unattended. Pit and Kirby returned to the printing room to get some Pikachu Day merchdise to give away, only to see something escalate.

"This printer has completely lost its mind!" Proto Man shouted to Pit and Kirby, as the printer was firing out Pikachu Day merchandise left and right. T-shirts, hats, underwear, you name it! The whole room was becoming littered with Pikachu Day stuff, as Proto Man had his Proto Buster over the printer tray.

"Where is Ayaha, isn't she responsible for making the merchandise?" Pit asked Proto Man, who was doing his best to contain the printer's fury. Zero's printer had no power button, which made things even more complicated for Proto Man.

"Got no idea where Ayaha ran off to - the printer was left unattended when it started acting crazy and spewing stuff out. I can't turn it off because there's no power switch, and I can't take any risks with unplugging the printer, I might mess it up. Zero would kill me! Jamming the printer would be our best option, sadly."

"You keep Proto Man and see if you can help him out a bit...I'll go look for something," Kirby said to Pit, as he left the room; Pit, instead of giving Proto Man a hand, found a Pikachu Day drinking cap and put it on, drinking out of the straws. He knew where his true priorities lied.

* * *

 **Doc Louis: I sure do hope Link and Corrin can lead Little Mac in the right direction, and teach him that bandwagoning is never a good thing, unless you're a guy running for office trying to brainwash people. After today, Little Mac can support a new team - one that he will GENUINELY support - and not switch teams ever again. As for me, I don't need a team, for that requires too much loyalty...and I'm loyal to only one thing: chocolate! *whips out a chocolate bar* Come and have a taste of my love, Madeline! *consumes chocolate bar whole***

"Little Mac, who is this man before?" Link asked the young boxer, standing next to a projector screen with a PowerPoint that had an image of an Eagles player on it, donning the number seven. That PowerPoint must've been done at the very last minute.

"That would be Michael Vick, the guy who had that dog-fighting incident a decade ago," answered Little Mac, remembering who this Vick person was. "He was the Eagles QB for like five years, I think."

"Precisely, and his dog-fighting follies will never be forgotten! By supporting the Eagles, you also support the fact that this dog-hating cretin ever played for that team! Do you want to support dog-fighter promoters?" Little Mac nervously shook his head no. "Good, then don't be an Eagles fan!"

"May I see the clicker, Link?" Corrin asked the Hylian, who handed the clicker to Corrin. The prince pressed a button to the next slide, which had - predictably - an image of Bill "Emperor Palpatine" Belichick. "You see that, Little Mac, you see that man?"

"Yes, Corrin, I can clearly see Patriots coach Bill Belichick, in clear daylight..." replied Little Mac; even he found Corrin's love for Palptine/Belichick to be frightening.

"Little do you know, that this 'Bill Belichick' is actually the alter ego of Emperor Palpatine, who came to this Earth to coach the Patriots while constructing his plans to destroy the Jedi! Do you support Palpatine, and his evil ways?" Little Mac, though he did not care, shook his head head anyways. "Excellent - that means more appreciation towards Palpatine from me!"

"Obsessed much?" Link said to Corrin, taking the clicker away from him. "Let's move on with the rest of the PowerPoint."

* * *

Thanks to the allergy medicine Wii Fit Trainer had given him, Tails was feeling better, as he became less swollen...although he wasn't at a hundred percent yet. The yellow fox was still a yellow swollen sphere, and Wii Fit had given him every medicine she could find.

"Well boys, I did what I could..." Wii Fit said to Sonic and Knuckles, after her work was done. "This is what Tails will look like, for now, until we get more medicine. I'll have someone run down to the pharmacy to get some."

"This is your fault Sonic, you were the one who fed Tails that guacamole!" Knuckles frowned at the hedgehog, shoving him. Little did the echidna know that he had as much to do with the incident.

"Oh yeah, well you should've talked me out of it!" retorted Sonic, shoving Knuckles right back. Soon the two friends would be embroiled in an argument of sorts, as Wii Fit walked away and let Sonic and Knuckles have at it.

"Guys are you seriously arguing again..." sighed Tails, his voice a bit more clear now. "Give me a break..." Soon Kirby would show up in the fitness center, and spot Sonic and Knuckles arguing...and Tails left unattended.

"Bingo..." the pink puffball rubbed his hands together, as he grabbed Tails and rolled him away. Tails was screaming, and his screaming caught the attention of Sonic and Knuckles, who stopped arguing in an instant.

"Hey, get back here with our friend!" frowned Sonic, as he and Knuckles chased after Kirby.

* * *

Link and Corrin got through the entire PowerPoint, each swordsman telling Little Mac why he shouldn't root for either the Eagles or the Patriots. Once they were done with their presentation, Link and Corrin were ready to wrap things up, while Leia untied Little Mac.

"So in short, Little Mac, the Philadelphia Eagles is a miserable team known for postseason failures and unruly football fans," explained Link. "Take it from me - there's a reason why I also support the Vikings on the side...although they're just as miserable as the Eagles, if not more. I'm such a masochist...but anyways, you cannot support the Eagles by any means."

"And you shouldn't support the Patriots either, as they're owned by the Galactic Empire," added Corrin. "They're a team of evil, and unless you like evil, then you should stay away from the Patriots at all costs...but if you want to support them because of Palpatine, then that'd be nice, you're more than welcome to...no, wait, scratch that, you can't support the Patriots at all! They're evil, I say, EVIL!"

"Get a hold of yourself, Corrin...so Little Mac, have you come to a decision? Are you going to stick to your bandwagoning ways or not?" Little Mac gave this question some thought, before coming up with the perfect answer.

"You know what, I'm kinda getting sick and tired of this whole team-switching thing," answered Little Mac, finally realizing that he was free. "Used to be fun a long time ago, but now, I find it stupid and pointless. I should just stick to one team, and one team only. And that team...that team...will be the Dallas Cowboys!" You could literally feel the animosity building up inside of Link now. "HOW 'ABOUT THEM COWBOYS!"

Little Mac would let out a giant "WOO!" as he got up from the chair and left the room, using the lamplight as a light source to find the door. Ayaha and Ema would join Link, Corrin, and Leia, as they watched Little Mac make his exit.

 **Link: Little Mac chose the Cowboys...the Cowboys of all teams...that was the best AND worst thing he could've possibly done.**

* * *

Zero's printer was still going bonkers, still spewing Pikachu Day merchandise left and right with Proto Man trying to contain it, while Pit was trying on every drinking cap he saw. Didn't realize that none of the drinking caps had any drinks in them.

"I have returned!" Kirby returned to the printing room with Tails, not surprised that Pit wasn't doing his job. "Pit, those drinking caps are empty...oh what's the point of telling him..." Kirby would roll Tails over to the printer, motioning Proto Man to move out of the way, before jamming Tails into the printer. But did it work?

"Um, Kirby, I think you made things even worse..." fretted Proto Man, as he noticed the printer began shaking. Kirby had created a printer logjam, and if he didn't stop it in time...Zero's printer would go KA-BLOOWEY! They could unplug the printer, but Proto Man "didn't want to take any risks".

"Kirby if you don't give Tails back, we're gonna..." said Sonic, as he and Knuckles entered the printing room, only to come to a stop when they saw Tails stuck in the printer. Sonic then went behind the printer, and found a plug and pulled it out of the outlet...and the printer stopped. No explosion, no KA-BLOOWEY...nothing. "Dude if you're going to use Tails to stop the printer, at least give us a heads up, okay?" Sonic told Kirby.

"Ah, so it _is_ safe to unplug the printer...hehehe." Proto Man definitely felt like a fool now. "That's what I get from being paranoid..."

"No wonder the printer was going crazy..." Sonic saw the microphone attached to the printer, and a cellphone near said microphone, that kept repeating "MAKE PIKACHU DAY MERCHANDISE" in a voice message. It was Ayaha's voice. "Ayaha either had something important to do, or was just being lazy." Sonic would grab the cellphone and stopped the voice message, before pulling Tails out from the printer. "You okay, buddy?"

"If we're not talking about the swelling, then I guess I'm doing just fine," replied Tails, feeling some type of way about Sonic holding him in his hands. "Thanks for coming for me."

* * *

Once they were done recording the Pikachu Day anthem, Mamori and Viridi would show their finished product to Cloud and Aerith. Cloud and Aerith then passed it on to Pit and Kirby, once the two buds finished cleaning up in the printing room.

"Yup, this is exactly what we expected!" exclaimed Pit, after hearing a recording of the anthem. Mamori had placed the audio file on Cloud's phone. "Thanks, you two, for making the song, we knew you'd come around. Though I did expect some singing vocals from you, Cloud, but I know you were the guy behind the piano."

"That's right, it was me on the piano, making it happen," Cloud nodded his head, biting his bottom lip to prevent himself from smiling. "And Aerith killed it with the vocals. I'll send you the audio file of the song, so you can show it to Master Hand and get his approval."

"Sounds fine with us! Again, thank you for your efforts. This anthem will make Pikachu Day bigger than before! Such a shame that Pikachu Day is coming to an end...but at least we have tomorrow for the next Pikachu Day! Amirite Kirby?"

"You got that right, Pit!" agreed Kirby, as he and Pit walked away. "We can celebrate Pikachu Day tomorrow, and the day after that, and next week, and next month, and every day of the year! Pikachu Day is the greatest day ever!" As Pit and Kirby walked away, Cloud had to ask the following question...

"Pikachu Day is an everyday thing?" the swordsman asked, before shaking his head in great disdain. "If today was the first Pikachu Day...then I shudder to think how all the other days will turn out."

"Better be glad that you aren't forced to celebrate Pikachu Day," smiled Aerith, as she saw Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles walk by wearing Pikachu Day t-shirts; clearly they were in the Pikachu Day spirit. The three were eating some chips...but with no guacamole.

"Sorry I didn't inform you guys that I'm allergic to guacamole, should've established that before we went to Cilan," Tails apologized to his best friends, as they walked through the hallways. "It was kinda my fault, from the beginning."

"Still can't believe you're allergic to guacamole, of all things.." replied Sonic, as he ate a chip. "...that must really suck. If there's any important you need to tell Knuckles and I, something that we really need to know, then don't hesitate to share it with us, alright?

"Yeah what he said," said Knuckles, before a realization spurring in his head made him come to a stop. Sonic and Tails would also stop, turning around and looking at the red echidna. "Hey...weren't you guys supposed to be working on some banner?" Sonic and Tails nervously looked at one another...they totally ditched Ness and the others!

"Eh, they probably got that banner all done," replied Sonic, as the trio resumed walking. "Or maybe they were busy celebrating the first Pikachu Day. Either or."

Pikachu Day, it's Pikachu Day...don't shed a tear 'cause it's Pikachu Day.


	111. Episode 111: UnderSiege

_Author's Note:_

 _Super Bowl is fastly approaching, coming on February 4th. Fingers crossed that the Eagles win...but we know who's really taking it home on Sunday. Time to answer some guest reviews:_

 _"Will the Advance Wars:Days of Ruin characters show up along side the rest of the Advance Wars cast? Will we see Cipher or Team Snagem try and turn the Ultra Beasts into Shadow Pokemon? Is there gonna be a Dark Souls chapter in the near future? And finally, can you also include the characters from Tales of Destiny 1 and 2, Tales of Eternia, Tales of Rebirth, and Tales of Phantasia?"_

 _Sure, why not? Maybe. Don't know about a Dark Souls chapter. And I suppose I can include some more Tales characters...I suppose. Here is another anonymous review:_

 _"1. Could we see another venture to other countries, such as Australia or Canada  
some more Lucas, a return of the self defence_  
 _joke of harambe_  
 _4\. Something similar to The Amazing World Of Gumball, the episode where Richard gets a job and upsets the cosmic balance, could be done, bowser stops Pranking,_  
 _5\. Dedede gets healthier, Lucas stops being afraid_  
 _6\. Maybe a return of the reversal episode, everyone is switched around again._

 _1\. Expect to see the residents travel to Kora for the Olympics soon.  
2\. Lucas' self-defense was a highly received thing, wasn't it? I guess I can bring it back, for one more chapter.  
3\. I'm afraid the Harambe running joke is officially dead.  
4\. I should do something like that in the future.  
5\. I should do those things as well.  
6\. You're talking about the Switcheroo chapter, right? Hmm..._

 _One last anonymous review:_

 _"hey i was wondering if you could do a chapter where mario gets sucked into the super mario bros wii video game and he has to beat the game to get out and while thats happening kirby and pit manipulate some gulible people into doing their bidding"_

 _Would I do a chapter like this? Maybe. Should I do a chapter like this? More likely than not. At last, Derick Lindsey:_

 _"One thing I don't understand was that you said that Little Mac switched between 7 teams ever since this fanfic started but this started in 2015 so wouldn't Little Mac have only switched between 3 or 4 teams?"_

 _Should have mentioned that Little Mac was also changing basketball teams as well. Then again, Little Mac also likes hockey and baseball as well...so that number might be a little low. Moreover:_

 _"I forgot does Silver have a crush on Blaze in this? Because I want to see if you make Silver and Tails get tricked into fighting each other by someone for their own personal gain like Knuckles and Shadow did over Rouge."_

 _Silver does have a crush on Blaze, but I won't have a Silver vs Tails thing, with both guys fighting for Blaze's affection. However, that won't stop me from revisiting a past love triangle...oh, and one more review, from J300:_

 _1\. Will Berkut get married or propose to Rinea anytime soon?_  
 _2\. Will there be a return of the Kltra Recon Squad?_  
 _3\. Could Birdo, Tharja from Fire Emblem Awakening, and Rhajaat from Fire Emblem Fates team up to capture their lovers, with everyone else from Straight Fiyah (Chrom would only come because someone (you pick) would pay him money._  
 _4\. Also, who is your favorite video game_

 _1\. I'm planning on having Berkut and Rinea married this year.  
2\. Ultra Recon Squad will return.  
3\. I actually have something different in mind...you'll see eventually.  
4\. My favorite video game would be either Kingdom Hearts II or Super Mario Galaxy...although Breath of the Wild might be my new favorite soon._

* * *

 **Episode 111: UnderSiege**

Super Bowl LII was fastly approaching, two days until the big game in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The stakes were set, with the two participating teams vying for a Lombardi trophy.

It was a classic rematch - on one side, you had the New England Patriots, a dominant team looking to add a record-tying sixth Super Bowl trophy to their glorious collection. On the other side, you had the Philadelphia Eagles, a hard-nosed team who has been underrated and overlooked throughout the majority of the playoffs. Something had to give.

Like many others throughout America, Mario was getting prepared for the big game by decorating his living room. The mustached plumber was going to spend the entire Super Bowl on his couch, eating junk food and yelling at the referees on television, leaving his wife Peach with no choice but to either accept Mario's choice of lounging around, or watch the game with him. Might as well be the latter, as Peach was never a football fan, let alone a sports fan in general.

"This living room is looking mighty fine for the big game!" Cappy informed Mario, who was putting on the finishing touches on his living room. This year would be Mario's first year hosting a Super Bowl party at his own home, and he was excited about inviting his friends over...though Bowser was nowhere to be found on his guest list. "This Sunday should be an absolute ripper!"

 **Mario: Because I'm a New York-a Giants fan, I must root-a against the Eagles, by principle. No matter how far they go in-a the playoffs. Here's hoping the Eagles trophy case-a will forever be empty!**

 **Sonic: Around the beginning of the season, I commented about how sad it would be if a 40-year old quarterback went ham and made another run to the Super Bowl...and here we are now. Out of my earnest sympathy for the NFL, I hope that the Eagles win. Would be a bad look for the league if that geezer Tom Brady hoisted another trophy, instead of some young up-and-coming QB.**

 **Corrin: My heart is forever with Emperor Palpatine, and therefore I must root for the Patriots to win. Then Palpatine, with his sixth Super Bowl victory, will proclaim that his dominance on earth has come to an end, saying that he has learned much about the planet and then he'll return to his space lair, vowing to destroy earth once and for all!...or he can just destroy the Jedi forces. Whichever works best for him.**

 **King Dedede: I'm only basing my Super Bowl pick based upon which team has the hottest cheerleaders. After doing extensive research, I have decided to go with the Eagles for the win. But my money is on the halftime show, with Justin Timberlake...would be unfortunate if we had another "wardrobe malfunction"... *smiles creepily***

 **Cortex: Why should I even bother to pick the winner for the Super Bowl? My predictions are always wrong 100% of the time...maybe I should just stop picking against the Patriots. That might change my fortune!**

 **Fox: I would pick the Patriots to win, but that has become too mainstream. And I would pick _against_ the Patriots to win, but that has become just as mainstream as hating on the Pats, I'm afraid. So I predict that this Super Bowl ends in a draw, for the first time ever.**

 **Mewtwo: You want me to look into the future and find out which team wins the Super Bowl? Don't ever recall you peons wanting to take advantage of my psychic abilities like this before... *closes his eyes* Yes, I can see it now...the team that wins the Super Bowl...is the team that scores the most points. Bet you didn't see that coming, did you?**

"Luigi has told-a me that he's not in the mood-a to host his own-a Super Bowl party, so I expect him-a and Daisy to be coming over for the game," Mario explained to Cappy, as he tied some balloons and hanged them around his living room. They were blue, green, red, and black in color. "And maybe Yuffie, though I'll kick-a her out if she eats-a up all the party food."

"I saw Yuffie last night sneak into your house and eat your cinnamon rolls, so you should definitely keep a close eye on her," stated Cappy, leading Mario to glare at him. Some bodyguard Cappy was supposed to be. "Why are you looking at me like that, you're acting like I was supposed to stop her!"

A knock was at the front door; Mario anticipated that it was a visitor from the mansion. The plumber would stop decorating, and went to go open the front door, seeing his nemesis Bowser with his arms behind his back. The koopa king looked down at Mario, before shaking his head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Bowser continued shaking his head, as Mario wondered what he did so that made Bowser so disappointed. "I'm just flat-out disappointed in you, Mario. Do you even know what tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of?"

"Are you talking about my victory over Sonic's-a team in that backyard foot-a ball game?" inquired Mario, remembering fondly the backyard football he had. And the whole deflated football drama that accompanied it shortly thereafter. "Our should-a I say, _our_ victory over Sonic's team. There's no I in-a team!"

"Yeah, well, that has yet to be scientifically and theoretically proven, so that saying carries no truth. But that's not really what I'm here for. You remember when Sonic accused you of deflating the football, and you needed those teenage investigators to bail you out?"

"I do remember what-a happened. Sonic was totally in the wrong-a for that. Being nothing but a sore-a loser. But what-a are you getting at, Bowser?"

"What I'm trying to say is that you've let Sonic off the hook for what he did. Ask yourself, has Sonic ever apologized to you?" Mario thought long and hard about this - has Sonic ever apologized to Mario at all? "I mean, deflating footballs is a pretty big deal - look at all the news and attention it brought to the NFL when Tom Brady did it. Granted, those footballs may not have been deflated, and the NFL possibly revved up that Deflategate thing just to remain in the 24/7 news cycle, for the clicks and headlines...but that's beside the point. Sonic was never punished - by you or Master Hand - for what he did, and you must fix that, pronto!"

"But how can I fix-a it?" Good thing Bowser knew the answer, as he leaned into towards Mario to whisper into his ear. Whatever the koopa king had in mind, it may not be good...

"Give Sonic a piece of your mind by beating him up," Bowser whispered into Mario's ear, as he began to smile deviously. "Of course, you could beat him by yourself, but that would be too easy. So why not have a whole bunch of guys help you beat Sonic, to make things more challenging? Like you said, there's no I in team...and a beating up Sonic by yourself, that would be too selfish!"

Mario mused over Bowser's offer. Usually the plumber condemned any mansion residents getting beat up for any purpose - whether it was over borrowed money, a seat in the gaming room, or even just for the fun of it - but Sonic nearly smeared Mario's reputation through the mud, and Mario wished to strike back.

"You know-a what, the decorations can wait until-a later," said Mario, his mind made up. "Sonic must pay for what-a he did!" The plumber would gently push Bowser to the side, sporting determination and vengeance on his face, as he marched to the mansion.

And with Mario gone, Bowser's evil smile grew as he closed the front door. What was that dastardly koopa plotting?

 **Bowser: Pfft, I don't care what Mario does to Sonic - he could beat him to a bloody pulp and leave him hanging dry from a telephone line, and I still wouldn't care. But what I do care about, however, is winning over Lara Croft, and Mario would be an obstacle in my way to Lara's heart. So with him out of the equation, I can focus on my main objective without interruption...**

"OH MARIO!" Peach called out from upstairs, shortly after Bowser's talking head segment ended. Bowser started to panic as Peach came running down the stairs to speak with Mario, only to realize that Mario had already left and Bowser was there. "Bowser? What are you doing here? Did you do something to my husband?!"

"Did you assume that I did something to Mario, because I'm an evil guy who's an arch-nemesis with your husband?" frowned Bowser, stomping his foot on the floor. "I'm...I'm...not surprised that you came to that assumption. I expected something more original from you. But if you must know, Mario had stopped decorating his living room to take care of business at the mansion. Don't know when he'll return."

"I was hoping he wouldn't leave...you see, I had planned for Mario and I to go grocery shopping; would have opted to go with Lara, but she's not really into shopping as much. Also afraid her PTSD might be triggered, somehow. I'd hate for her to stab someone again..."

"Then why don't you go shopping with Daisy, she's your BFF! Or even Zelda, for crying out loud, you two are pretty tight. Or you can go with Lucina, she's a princess just like yourself. Or what about..."

"I'll just go shopping with Daisy. She may not be busy. Thanks for the suggestion, Bowser!" Peach smiled and hummed a happy tune, as she grabbed her purse and left the house. Bowser left out a sigh of relief, wiping away the sweat from his forehead.

"Man, who knew driving people away from their homes to keep your evil plan intact was so exhausting..." the koopa king remarked, as he went over to Lara's room. He would take a peek inside, and saw Lara, on her bed, reading some magazine. Bowser gazed at Lara, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "Miss Lara Croft...prepare to be _Mrs._ Lara Croft..."

You know there was a serious lack of female koopas when Bowser is still going over human ladies.

* * *

Most of the time, it would be a robot - whether it was Mega Man, X, Zero, Proto Man, or .EXE - that manned the teleportation device in the teleportation room. The robot manning the device for today would be Mega Man, the very inventor of the teleportation device.

In spite of overseeing his device however, Mega Man also had other priorities - his pet dog Rush being one of them. The robotic dog came to Mega Man with a ball in his mouth, and dropped the ball at Mega Man's feet, hinting that he desired to play a game of catch. Like any caring pet owner, Mega Man had to oblige, and delegated the control of his teleportation device to someone else while he was outside with Rush.

"Don't feel like I need to tell you anything, since you've already used this device before," Mega Man said to the guy that would be temporarily filling in for him, Link. The Hylian was accompanied by Midna, who hovered over his shoulder. "Just try not to be overzealous with the device, okay?"

"No worries Mega Man, I'll be here to keep Linky boy in check," assured Midna, as Link gave the imp a questionable look. Either it was for her doubting the Hylian, or the pet name she just used. "Go outside and have fun with your robot dog!"

 **Link: Overzealous? Really? Who does Mega Man think I am? Sure I may invite the Champions over at night for an occasional sleepover, but that doesn't mean I'm "overzealous" - I just want to have a good time. Besides, Cloud is rarely in the mood for a sleepover, because he thinks "sleepovers are just for girls"...said the same thing about having surprise birthday parties. Dang that dude is such a killjoy...**

"Haha, I'm sure you will," smiled Mega Man, as he petted Rush. Must be nice having a robot dog who can kick robot butt _and_ turn into a jet. What more could you ask for? "Let's go play some catch, Rush!" Rush would bark as he and Mega Man ran out of the teleportation room, leaving Link and Midna alone.

"Hey Midna, how about we play a game to pass the time?" Link asked the imp, who rolled her eyes. Link was the last person Midna wanted to play any game with. "Ever played the game Marco Polo? I say Marco, and then you say Polo in response. Technically the game works better if we're in a pool, but we'll just have to wait until Master Hand build one. Game sounds easy, huh?"

"Sounds just as stupid, with or without the pool," replied Midna, as she looked away in boredom. "Why do humans play such stupid and pointless games, I will never understand...the human race will never fail to amaze me with their blatant stupidity."

Fortunately for Midna, her boredom would come to an end - for the moment, at least - when Mario ran inside the teleportation room. The plumber had one thing on his mind...to beat up Sonic, and make him pay.

"Hi Link...hi Midna...I need you to do-a me a solid," said Mario as he came to a stop, nearly out of breath. "I want you...to give-a me...a group of men...that can help-a me..."

"A group of men, you say?" Link perked up, as he got his fingers ready. Apparently the Hylian had in mind the men he wished to teleport to the mansion. "How many do you need? Just tell me the number, and I'll work my magic!"

"Five or six would-a be fine. Actually, six would-a be perfect. But no less-a than ten, okay?" Link would give Mario a thumbs up, as he was already keying in the calibrations into the teleportation device. Had those fingers going!

"Okay then Mario, six burly muscular dudes coming right up! This might take a while, so I recommend you go take a walk around the mansion until I have Midna bring you back here." Little did Mario and Midna know that Link was secretly brimming with excitement...

* * *

It has been a week ever since the first inaugural Pikachu Day - or in Layman's terms, seven total Pikachu Days since the first inaugural Pikachu Day. Master Hand had sold Pikachu Day merchandise around Seattle, and accrued quite a profit in the first week. And now, Master Hand was speaking with Ayaha in his room, with Pikachu and Pichu there in attendance just because.

"Our merchandise sales on the first week has risen up to $10,000, surprisingly," Ayaha stated to Master Hand, reading off her iPad, astonished that the denizens of Seattle even purchased Pikachu Day merch. Master Hand must've force them to do it. "Although it is drastically $15,000 less than your intended goal. Don't know why you expected over..."

"Don't give me that crap Ayaha, you're just underestimating the power of Pikachu Day!" bellowed Master Hand, shaking his fist in Ayaha's face. "We've created so much awareness about Pikachu Day over the week, that it will soon become a national - no, scratch that, _worldwide_ \- phenomenon, in just the blink of an eye! We're only getting started! Isn't that right, Pikachu?"

"Pika!" exclaimed Pikachu, as Ayaha looked up at the heavens and shook her head. Master Hand has been using the phrase "We're only getting started" since the first Pikachu Day, and it was becoming nigh annoying for Ayaha to bear.

 **Master Hand: There is a lot to accomplish on my Pikachu Day to-do list - so far, we have created a Pikachu Day flag, made a bunch of Pikachu Day merchandise, and even recorded the official anthem for Pikachu Day, which I expect to be the first song played once the clock strikes twelve on New Year's Day. Now all we need to do is make a Pikachu Day video game, start a Pikachu Day gift exchange like the Secret Santa gift exchange, and have Pikachu Day recognized as a national holiday by the U.S. government. A national holiday celebrated everyday...think about that!**

"I'm pretty sure we have high Pikachu Day sales in Seattle, because of the high concentration of Nintendo fanboys in the metropolitan area," theorized Ayaha; Nintendo of America was located near Seattle, after all. "I have a very glut feeling we won't see such high sales...anywhere...outside of...Seattle..." Ayaha would trail off when she turned her head and saw Crash on Master Hand's unused bed, chewing away on the bed covers.

"Master Hand, have you seen Crash anywhere?" asked Coco, as she and Aku entered the bedroom looking for her older brother. Soon she would see him chewing on Master Hand's bed covers. "Crash, get off of Master Hand's bed, that's no way to respect his belongings!" Chill out Coco, it's not like Master Hand used that bed anyways...Coco would pry Crash off the bed, with Crash still chewing the covers and holding on for dear life. Master Hand saw how Crash was chewing on his bed covers, and it was giving him an idea...

"You okay, Master Hand, it looks like you're in a trance," Aku asked the giant hand, who did not respond as he kept staring. "Hello? Earth to Master Hand...yoo hoo!"

"THAT'S IT!" Master Hand exclaimed after his trance was over, his loud voice loud enough to nearly blow everyone back. "We'll make a sub sandwich, one dedicated to Pikachu Day! We'll call it, the Pikachu Sub Spectacular! We'll get every _Subway_ store in Seattle and beyond to sell it, and if they refuse, then we'll start our own sub sandwich food chain, and go from there!"

"Um, no offense, Master Hand, but do you think having a sub sandwich dedicated to Pikachu...might be overdoing this Pikachu Day thing?" asked Coco, finally getting Crash off of Master Hand's virtually unused bed. "I know you already have the flag, and the banner, and the anthem...but I think you should just stop there."

"But why stop where we are right now, when we can just keep going and strive for greatness? When Michael Jackson built that Neverland theme park in his backyard, did people tell him to stop what he was doing?" What a very odd example for Master Hand to use...

"No, not at all, but what does Michael Jackson even has to do with this...?" Even Coco failed to see the similarities between Pikachu Day and Michael Jackson's Neverland Park. Master Hand was seriously pulling stuff out of the bag.

"Because Miss Bandicoot, Michael Jackson wished to make his fantasy, a reality...he wished to make his wildest dreams come true, and bring friends and family along for the ride. And that is what I'm doing in regards to Pikachu Day. That is why I'm chasing my wildest dreams every Pikachu Day, until I reach full satisfaction."

"That's funny, because I don't quite remember you caring that much about Pikachu and Pichu beforehand," remarked Aku, which led Master Hand to become very angry. Little did Aku know that he was playing with fire - a very fiery fire at that. "I know, why not have a Crash Bandicoot Day? That would be just as successful as..."

"Such a day would only work in Australia - I highly doubt anyone outside of Australia knows what an actual bandicoot is. If you want to start your silly little 'Crash Bandicoot Day' then go back to your native island and start it, be my guest." Master Hand would hover over to his window, looking through it. "I'll have my eyes peeled on the big prize - and it will be a reward worth claiming!"

* * *

Once Link was done "working his magic", the Hylian asked Midna to bring Mario back to the teleportation room. The imp would bring Mario back to said room, and the plumber was feeling excited.

"Man, I wonder what great-a men Link sent to the mansion for me," said Mario, full of excitement, moments before he and Midna reached the teleportation room. Once the entered the room, Mario found himself impressed - and surprised - by who Link brought to the mansion. There were six men in total, standing together - five black guys and one token white dude. They were big and muscular...just as Mario preferred.

 **Link: Found these awesome dudes from Minneapolis, Minnesota - they're all pretty buff, and I was stoked to bring them to the mansion. Mario never told me why I needed a group of men for, but let's just say that he'll be in great hands regardless...**

"Mario, I would like to introduce you to a group of men that are sufficient in solving any problem you may have," Link said to the plumber, who started smiling as he rubbed his hands together in excitement. "They are called...Gang Green! Okay, it's not an official name, but it's a name regardless. Any name is better than no name."

"Get on with it Link, Mario doesn't have all day," frowned Midna, and she was right; Mario was so excited, he could explode at any minute!

"Alright, alright, don't rush me woman!" Link would clear his throat, as he got prepared to introduce the members of Gang Green to Mario. "For the sake of convenience - and for the sake of keeping their identities a secret - I've given these men a code name you can refer to them by. So here we go...there's Green Goblin, Man Dog, the Show, J. Train, and LG. Oh, and the white guy is White Lightning. Most of these guys already had nicknames beforehand, and wish to go by them, for now. Say hi to Mario, fellas!"

"What's up man, how's it going," Man Dog would be the first to speak to Mario, who was too busy fantasizing about what he was going to do to Sonic now. "Uh, is he going to be okay?" Man Dog asked Link, in a concerning manner.

"Oh, sorry about-a that, I was getting a little too-a excited there," apologized Mario, as he quickly regained his composure. "Let me say hello to you gentlemen, thank you for taking this-a opportunity to be-a here...although I can see that you-a were busy before-a hand. But that won't-a matter. My name-a is Mario, though you probably knew who I was at first-a glance. Everyone has. I'm just-a too popular sometimes!"

"Just cut to the chase Mario, tell them why you need their assistance," said Link, whose fingers were fiddling yet again. The Hylian apparently had his mind set on bringing yet another person to the mansion.

"Ah yes - I had my good-a friend Link bring you here to this-a mansion for one-a thing, and one thing-a only...to beat-a up Sonic the Hedgehog!" This came as a great surprise to Gang Green, and to Link as well. Midna, on the other hand, was interested in seeing Sonic getting beat up; she considered herself an agent of chaos anyways.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, as in like...that furry blue hedgehog that goes fast and stuff?" questioned Green Goblin, who couldn't believe the words that came out of Mario's mouth. "Isn't he like, your friendly rival or something? Why you wanna us to beat him up for?! Was it something personal, he talked trash about your mustache?"

"I just want to squash a year-a long beef with Sonic, that's-a all...not really an actual-a beef, so to say, but I want some-a redemption for what Sonic did to me last-a year around this time. It's a long-a story..."

 **LG: Kinda funny how our day has been...one moment ago, we was gettin' ready to practice for the biggest game of our lives (well, most of our lives), and now we've been hired by Mario - the legend! - to beat up his rival, Sonic. Strange times, man...**  
 **J Train: What do you mean "most of our lives"...you're just saying that 'cause you've been there before, haven't you?**  
 **LG: The ring don't lie, bro... *holds up championship ring to J Train***

"While you boys get-a yourself situated, I must make a quick-a stop to the bathroom - feel like my bladder's gonna kill-a me," said Mario as he was about to exit the teleportation room. Gang Green was still on the fence about beating up Sonic. "I'll go-a over our game-a plan once I return."

* * *

At this point, you'd think Peach had got Daisy to tag along with her, and go shopping, right? Well unfortunately for Peach, Daisy had her hands tied with Charles. So Peach went over to the mansion to see if Zelda wanted to come along, but the princess of Hyrule was busy herself. Peach could not afford to go shopping by herself; it was always nice to have a companion tag along.

Peach's search for a shopping buddy left the princess in the mansion, frantically searching for someone who would be interested in going to the grocery store with her. As the princess walked through the mansion, she heard the sound of a toilet flushing nearby, followed by the washing of hands. Hearing this from the bathroom, Peach would head over to said bathroom, hoping whoever was inside would be down with going shopping with the princess. And guess who came out of that bathroom?

"Ah, I feel-a so relieved..." Mario let out a sigh of relief, as he exited the bathroom. He would look to his right, and was startled to see Peach standing by, smiling. "Gah! Peach, you scared-a me! Don't do that ever again!"

"All done with whatever business you had to take care of?" asked Peach, as Mario was ready to say no. He had yet to beat up Sonic, with some assistance from Gang Green. Therefore his business was still unfinished. "In that case, let's go grocery shopping!" Without warning, Peach would grab Mario's arm, and led him down the hallway.

"Hold-a on a second, Princess Peach - I still-a have some unfinished business! Like my new-a friends, I've yet to help-a them with, uh, their, uh...their sleeping problems! Certainly you aren't that-a insensitive to leave-a them behind, are you?"

"Silly Mario, you used that excuse the last time I asked you to go shopping with me! Nobody cares about your silly imaginary friends - especially if you keep bringing them up as a lousy excuse! I promise you this shopping trip won't be as long as the last one!"

"No Peach I'm dead-a serious, I do have-a some unfinished business...and it involves-a actual people, mind you!" Mario did his best to stop Peach, his shoes skidding on the floor as he did so, but it was no use...Mario had no choice but to tag along with his wife.

* * *

With Mario likely gone for much of the day (Peach said that the shopping trip wouldn't be that long, but that could mean she and Mario would be out for the entire afternoon), that left Gang Green without their mustached leader. The six men remained in the teleportation room, while Link went to go fetch himself a snack.

"Mario ain't coming back, is he?" the Show asked his companions. A very interesting code name to go by. "Who here thinks the man punked out at the last minute? Probably was like, 'Aw man, Sonic the Hedgehog...he's too good...don't want him to catch these hands..."

"Maybe Mario has a bad case of the runs," shrugged White Lightning, as his companions all mused over his theory. "Or maybe he's just sitting on the toilet seat, doing stuff on his cellphone. Does Mario even own a cellphone? Who knows. Regardless of what he's doing, I don't wanna waste my time here waiting for the man to return. Either he becomes a man of his word, or we're demanding to be sent back to Minneapolis!"

"How about we find Sonic and bring the fight to him, beat him up just for Mario?" suggested LG, as White Lightning stroked his beard. "Beats waiting around for Mario if you ask me! And then once we got Sonic out cold and junk, we can show him to Mario, and then Mario will earn our trust?"

"Well I'm as sick and tired of waiting as you guys are...you know what, let's go our little hedgehog pal, and give him a beating Mario would be proud of. I'm a little against beating up someone, let alone a harmless blue hedgehog, but if Sonic truly did something to Mario that made him feel some type of way, then he has to pay..."

 **White Lightning: Sonic is in this mansion right now, is he?...Okay, good to know. Since this mansion looks pretty big, it would take us a good while to find our little crook...that would mean we'd have to fight our way to get to Sonic. Might have to kick some butt along the way. So at the moment, this entire mansion is...under siege.  
**

* * *

As White Lightning said in his talking head segment, Gang Green would have to fight their way to get to Sonic, and that even meant some hands would have to be thrown. Literally anyone in the mansion was a candidate for catching hands from Gang Green...except the ladies. Gang Green would think twice about laying their hands on female resident.

Enter Little Mac and Doc Louis. The two were standing nonchalantly in the hallway, with Little Mac holding up a Dallas Cowboys jersey Doc Louis bought for him. Little Mac declared himself to be a Cowboys fan in the previous episode, and apparently he had to be a fan of a team with arguably the most bandwagon fans ever. That's the price you pay when you're dubbed as "America's Team".

"Not gonna lie Little Mac, I had my fingers crossed that you wouldn't pick the Cowboys as your new favorite team..." said Doc Louis, as Little Mac heard - and felt - the disappointment in Doc's voice. "...but doggone gone it, you've left me with no choice. I gotta like whatever you like! If you like the Cowboys, then I like the Cowboys. If you like strawberry shortcake, then I like strawberry shortcake. If you like to have your fingernails polished, and your feet manicured, then I like..."

"You don't have to do that, Doc Louis, that's just beyond creepy and weird," stated Little Mac, as Gang Green showed up on the scene. "Like whatever you wanna like. Just because you're my trainer doesn't mean we have to agree upon the same things."

"Would you look at that - it's Little Mac from that _Punch-Out_ game, and his Fat Albert-lookin' boxing trainer!" exclaimed J. Train, as he excitedly pointed at Little Mac and Doc Louis. Both Mac and Doc were understandably confused. "What's good, my dudes?!"

"Nothing much, nothing much, chilling in the cut as usual!" replied Doc Louis, as the Show gave him some dap, before giving Little Mac some dap...and then clotheslining Little Mac to the floor. Gang Green got all hyped before they proceeded to beat up Little Mac and Doc Louis, with the Show, LG, and J. Train going after Little Mac and Mad Dog, White Lightning, and Green Goblin going after poor Doc Louis. Once they were done, Gang Green walked away, like nothing happened.

 **Mad Dog: Just claimed our first victims, in Little Mac and Doc Louis. Sonic oughta show up soon, otherwise more people are gonna catch these hands...**

* * *

Why don't we see what our friendly neighborhood Sonic is up to, shall we? The blue blur was in the arcade room, playing a new game that was recently installed this past week. It was _Tecmo Super Bowl,_ and although it was supposed to be strictly an NES game, Mr. Game and Watch somehow made the game compatible for the arcade system.

Sonic, playing as the Los Angeles Raiders, was going up against Pit, who was playing as the Indianapolis Colts. Sonic had Bo Jackson, the best player in _Tecmo Bowl_ history, and Pit...let's just say that he was playing as the worst team in the entire game. Why must Pit be so content on losing?

"You may think you have this game won, Sonic, but mark my words - I shall cut into your lead before the quarter ends!" vowed Pit, the angel failing to tackle Bo Jackson, who was running around the entire screen. The score was 21-0, and Sonic was making it look easy.

"Um, Pit, don't mean to break your bubble or anything...but the quarter is almost over," stated Sonic, as he continued to run out the clock. It was the fourth quarter, and Pit never got the ball the entire game. Even if he did, he would moronically throw the ball to the other team, allowing Sonic to take the ball to the one yard line in his own territory to set himself up for another Bo Jackson run, making Pit look silly.

"Wait until I make you fumble the ball, then I'll definitely have your number for sure!" Pit making Bo Jackson fumble the ball, in _Tecmo Super Bowl_? He had a better chance of winning the lottery AND getting struck by lightning at the same time. Dark Pit would walk by and see Pit struggling in _Tecmo Super Bowl,_ not at all surprised that it wasn't the opposite. He knew how playing against Pit in sports games went - see episode 86.

"Losing to Sonic yet again, what a surprise," the doppelganger shook his head at Pit, as Sonic finally ran into the end zone for the touchdown. After kicking in the extra point, the final score was 28-0, as Pit had to accrue yet another L. "You should give up while you can! What else are you gonna do, have your buddy Kirby play for you?"

"Actually, Dark Pit, that was exactly what I was thinking!" exclaimed Pit, as he pulled out his phone and dialed Kirby's phone number...only to realize that Kirby didn't even have a phone to begin with. So Pit saved face, and instead dialed Jacky's phone number. The angel waited, and waited, and waited...not a single response from Jacky, as the dial tone continued to sound.

"Is Kirby going to answer his phone?" Sonic asked Pit, who was feeling like a fool right now. "Does Kirby even own a phone?" That was the question that required an answer more.

"Kirby must be extremely busy, that's all...probably on a date." Who would Kirby be on a date with, Ribbon from _The Crystal Shards_? "Therefore, I respect his decision to not answer my call. He'll be back at the mansion shortly..." Pit could only chuckle nervously, as he ended his call with Jacky.

* * *

Unfortunately for Jacky, the indy car racer was in no position to answer his cellphone, for Gang Green had reached him and were ganging up on him, beating him and kicking him while he was on the floor. Gang Green wouldn't stop until they found Sonic, and give him a beating Mario would be proud of.

"You punks leave my friend alone!" shouted a voice, as Gang Green stopped the beating and looked at the direction the voice came from. They looked down the hallway, and they saw Akira, standing from afar and pointing at the six men with an angry look on his face. "Lay one more finger on him, and you'll get what's coming to ya!"

"Get him!" commanded White Lightning, as he and his compradres chased after Akira. But Akira was one step ahead, as he ran from Gang Green the moment White Lightning made his command, and he kept running as far as his legs could carry him. Just when the _Virtua Fighter_ veteran thought he was home free (or somewhere close to that), he would accidentally bump into Professor Layton, who had just exited from a room.

"Oops, my bad, Professor Layton, didn't see where I was going there!" apologized Akira, as he helped Layton back up to his feet. Layton's hat was on the floor, and Akira picked it up and placed it back on Layton's head. "I'm kinda in a rush right now..."

"No it's fine, Mr. Yuki, we all have places to go, and things to do, I understand," smiled Layton, as he was standing proudly and dusting himself off. Nothing could bring that British detective down. "Mind if I ask why you're in a rush for?"

"THERE HE IS, GET HIM!" a loud voice called out, as Akira turned around and saw Gang Green coming towards his behind. The fighter ran away, leaving Layton by himself as Gang Green ambushed Professor Layton.

"This is what I get...for remaining at the mansion..." the battered Layton said as he crawled on the floor, before collapsing as he closed his eyes. Then, coming out of the room Layton exited to check on the British detective...was Team Rocket, Jessie, James, and Meowth. How did they get inside the mansion?!

 **Jessie: That Professor Layton, he was kind enough to let us in the mansion! We just knocked on the front door, and when he asked who it was, we told him that we were girl scouts selling cookies...and once he opened that door, we rushed inside without warning!  
** **James: Still not down with that girl scouts scheme, I'm a man for crying out loud...anyways, Layton threatened to have us kicked out of the mansion if we didn't leave, but then we told him about we are on Master Hand's good side...used to be, frankly.  
Meowth: From that point onward we had a short private discussion with Layton about why we came back, and we told him about our ongoing quest to regain Master Hand's respect. If Luke was a big help for us (*cough* although the credit went to the wrong person *cough*) then his mentor will do universal wonders for us!**

"Professor Layton, are you okay?" questioned James as he, Jessie, and Meowth checked on the British detective. Meowth would help Layton up, and sat him up against a wall, allowing him to open his eyes. "Who did this to you? Give us names at once!"

"I believe...it was those gentlemen...down there..." Layton, down but not yet out, turned his head to the right as he pointed at Gang Green down the hallway. The six men in question had caught up to Akira, and were laying the smackdown upon him. Once the beating commenced, Man Dog grabbed Akira, and held him up against a wall.

"Tell us where Sonic the Hedgehog is!" the angry black guy shouted in Akira's face, shaking the dude violently just for effect. With Akira being a SEGA guy like Sonic, the fighter should provide a good answer for Gang Green.

"I honestly don't know where Sonic is..." replied Akira, as Mad Dog shook the fighter yet again to pry an answer out of him. "Last time I saw him, he was heading to the arcade room...don't know if he's still there or not..." Mad Dog would drop Akira to the floor, as Gang Green had their eyes on their next destination.

"Then to the arcade room we shall go..." said White Lightning, as Gang Green departed, not even bothering to ask Akira for directions. Akira remained on the floor writhing in pain, as Team Rocket witnessed what went down. Seeing Gang Green gave Meowth an idea...

"Hey you guys, I got an idea...how about we take those punks down, and then brag about it to Master Hand so he'll give us back our respect?" Meowth suggested to Jessie and James, who weren't totally down with the idea. "Us three? Against those six guys? That's like three Magikarps going up against six Machamps...not a great comparison, but it's great motivation!"

"Oh what's the use Meowth - we practically stopped what could've been a record-setting snowstorm in Seattle, and Master Hand still didn't give us back our respect," said Jessie, not knowing what good stopping Gang Green would do. "That is why we came seeking Layton's guidance, without having to do overarching things to regain Master Hand's respect..."

"NO MAN, NOT THE CANTERBURY TALES, MY GIRLFRIEND GAVE ME THAT BOOK!" Gil's voice was heard from further down the hall, as the sound of a book being ripped to pieces was heard, followed by what sounded like a beatdown at the hands of who? Gang Green, of course. They were really marking their path.

"But you know what they say?" Jessie continued, this time showing more confidence. "Third time's the charm, is that right? Well this will technically be our third time looking for respect from Master Hand, and we have to make this time count! So we WILL take care of those grown men, and we WILL regain that respect we lost. So who's with me?" Jessie held out her hand, expecting Meowth and James to join in.

"Glad you came around, Jessie!" replied Meowth, as he placed his hand on top of Jessie's. Now it was James' turn to join in.

"Count me in - I'm only doing things because of you guys," remarked James, placing his hand on top of Meowth's. "Wherever you guys go, I will follow!"

* * *

 **Link: Shortly after I gave Mario his own personal Crip gang to play with, I went ahead and brought yet another person from Minneapolis to the mansion...and no, I wasn't being "overzealous". I was being ambitious. This guy I'm sending over to the mansion, he knows how to whip up a perfect sub sandwich, and I want to learn his secret. Is he truly a sub expert? Uh...not really, but from where he's from, I'm sure he has oodles of experience!**

Midna, who was supposed to keep Link in check while he manned the teleportation device, was away when Link brought this visitor to the mansion, and when the imp saw who this guest was...let's just say that she thought Zelda needed to take a look for herself.

"You're acting like Link had brought a criminal on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list or something," Zelda said to Midna, as she was being led to the teleportation room. She was hoping Midna wasn't overreacting. "Is this man really a 'temporary virus', as you called him?"

"Not yet, but he will be soon once he's infected by your boyfriend," replied Midna, getting closer to the teleportation room. "Link should still be in the room, talking up a storm with his new friend of his...never seen him that chatty before."

Zelda and Midna would eventually arrive at the teleportation room, and once she stepped inside, Zelda was shocked at the very man Link was speaking with. It was some dude with red hair and a red beard, and he looked pretty athletic too. He was most definitely an athlete.

"So that's pretty much the story of why I no longer carry bombs in the mansion," Link told the guest, as the two were cheesing it up. "All because Luigi called me a terrorist. That scaredy cat...I could be holding a harmless needle in my hand, and that Luigi would accuse me of attempting to murder someone. May I remind you that he's also scared of his OWN SHADOW?!"

"That's Luigi for ya...always scared of everything," replied the special guest, with a laugh. "You'd think that a grown-up like him wouldn't be that easily afraid anymore...but I guess he's afraid of being under Mario's shadow as much as he's afraid of his own!" Link and the special guest would share a laugh together, before their laughing came to a slow stop once they saw Zelda and Midna looking at them, with Zelda's arms folded.

"Link, who is this stranger that you've brought to the mansion?" Zelda asked her boyfriend, who couldn't believe she had the audacity to call the guest a "stranger". It was like she was treating him like trash already.

"This 'stranger' that you speak of is a fine gentlemen, for your information Zelda," retorted Link, as Zelda rolled her eyes. "His name...his name is CJ. Not his actual name, but it's something to keep his real identity concealed." CJ smiled, as he innocently waved to Zelda. "I brought him over from Minneapolis, although he's from Philadelphia."

"Actually, I'm from North Dakota - moved there when I was a toddler," corrected CJ; he was very proud about his North Dakota roots, too. "Philadelphia is kinda the city where I work at."

"Yeah...he's definitely from Philadelphia. North Dakota is too boring of a state to say you're from when asked about your origins, if you ask me." This led CJ to look at Link, all offended. "Anyways, CJ and I are gonna be in the kitchen, and CJ's gonna teach me how to make a Philly cheesesteak. A true staple of Philadelphia culture."

"Just because I'm from Philadelphia doesn't mean that I..." CJ was about to continue, until Link quietly nudged him, as a means to shut his mouth. "...uh, what I meant to say was, I'm gonna show Link how to make the greatest Philly cheesesteak ever, one he can show off to his friends! Or something like that..."

"Well in that case...you two can go ahead and knock yourself out," Zelda said to Link and CJ, as the princess made her exit. "Just make sure nothing bad happens to your new friend, Link."

 **CJ: Have I ever eaten a Philly cheesesteak? Of course I have, I'm sure anyone who has ever been in Philadelphia had one. But can I _make_ a Philly cheesesteak? *smiles nervously* ...maybe not. Link might be very disappointed with me soon. But hey, birds of a feather learn together, amirite?**

* * *

Bowser had a gaudy amount of time to kick his evil plan into full effect after driving Mario away. The plumber, who was supposed to seek retribution against Sonic with the aid of Gang Green, was goaded into shopping by Peach. With how Peach operated, there was a good chance Mario may not come back home until later that day...which was all the more merrier for Bowser.

With Mario and Peach out of the equation, Bowser now had his eyes set on his number one objective: wooing Lara Croft. The koopa king was preparing something in the dining room, and he was doing it without making even the littlest sound. He did not wish to disturb Lara, for it would ruin his "surprise". And after much time spent preparing, it was time for Bowser to kick things into full gear.

"Haven't heard from either Mario or Peach this morning..." remarked Lara, who remained in her room flipping with the channels on her TV. Life without Mario and Peach was boring for her. "They definitely must've went shopping somewhere."

"WOOF WOOF WOOF!" barked Poochy, his barks heard from Lara's room. These weren't normal barks, mind you...these were barks that suggested Poochy might be in big trouble. Lara immediately heard Poochy's cries for help, as she sat up on her bed.

"What could that dog possibly have gotten himself into this time..." the tomb raider wondered, as she got up and exited the room. She heard the barking coming from the dining room, and so she ran over to the dining room...

...only to feel somewhat disturbed, when she saw Bowser dressed like a pimp and seated at a candlelit table, with a white cloth over said table. The entire house was dim - curtains closed, windows blocked out - just to improve the atmosphere.

"Welcome, sweet cakes, come take a seat..." Bowser said creepily to Lara, as he was petting Poochy who was next to him. Lara could only cringe, as she slowly backed away. "With Mario and Peach gone away, it'll be just us two together, with some...alooooone time." Bowser would purr romantically, his gritty voice enough to disturb Lara even more.

"I think I'll just head back to my room, and pretend I never saw this," said Lara as she backed away even more, only to bump into an unsuspecting body. The tomb raider turned around, surprised to see the Black Knight standing in her presence.

"One more thing I forgot to mention - I've hired the Black Knight to keep you even-keeled, in the event you try to escape or pull something funny. He also helped me setting up this awesome date. Really knows a thing or two about decorations and wine. Now, Black Knight, let Lara have a seat, will ya?"

"With pleasure..." snarled the Black Knight, as he grabbed Lara and sat her in a seat, across from Bowser. The tomb raider tried to fight out of the Black Knight's grasp, but it was no use.

 **Black Knight: Bowser sure is one creepy dude...I mean, the guy is a koopa, an ugly-looking turtle who can breathe fire, and I've yet to see him fall in love with his own species. Could be because female koopas are even uglier than Bowser himself! In fact, I'm not convinced that Wendy Koopa is even a girl...**

"So Miss Croft, what are you most passionate about?" Bowser asked the tomb raider this slightly basic conversation starter. It was easy to know what Lara was most passionate about.

"Since you're dying to know, King Bowser, I'm most passionate about treasure hunting," answered Lara, staying cautious of Bowser, as well as the Black Knight who was standing behind her. "I've studied Asian Archaeology in college, at the University of London."

"Asian Archaeology major ad the University of London, nice, nice..." Lara noticed that Bowser was jotting his information down on a notepad, for whatever reason. "I'm sure studying archaeology must be fun. Now for my next question...what things make you laugh? Puns? Funny animals? Dudes getting hit below the belt? I've never seen you laugh before, Lara...though I don't think anyone else has."

"'What things make you laugh'...what kind of question is that? What are you trying to get at, Bowser?" Bowser saw that his date was starting to head down south, which would bode terribly for his quest to win over Lara.

"Try asking her about Seattle," the Black Knight quietly whispered to Bowser, hoping Lara didn't overhear him. Bowser didn't want any dating pointers, but he'll take them, for now...

"How about I ask you another question, Lara...what do you like the most about living in Seattle?" This was a question Lara could get down with, as she had plenty to talk about.

"Aside from the weather, I'd have to say that Seattle is a very quiet town - though I haven't been out as much as I should. One thing I will say about living with Mario and Peach is that while they're not perfect, I'd take them over any of the eccentric residents at the mansion any day of the week. Master Hand must feel like a circus leader over there..."

"My thoughts exactly, Miss Croft, my thoughts exactly..." Could this date be the moment Bowser finally claims a sound love interest? Only time will tell...

* * *

"...and then they just took my book and ripped it into pieces for no reason!" Gil explained to Cloud, as the two were walking through the hallways. Gil was detailing the beatdown he had at the hands of Gang Green, and what happened to his _Canterbury Tales_ book. "How could they disrespect Geoffrey Chaucer like that?!"

"Maybe those punks who beat you up have something against great literature," Cloud shrugged, wanting to see Gang Green for himself. "What did these six dudes look like?"

"They were all wearing green, and they were all pretty toned and muscular. I knew I didn't have a chance against him, so I just took my beating with peace...them ripping my book, that was uncalled for."

 **Cloud: Guys in green beating up random people... *strokes chin* ...I think Link is behind this. I HOPE Link isn't behind this. I mean, the dude is too scrawny to have his own little gang. A pipsqueak like him would never be taken seriously.**

Cloud and Gil made their way to the arcade room, and upon entering, they saw Gang Green searching for Sonic. In this context, searching meant beating everyone in the arcade room up until Sonic magically showed up.

"I should...head back to the library now, hehe," Gil said to Cloud, before hightailing away. The de facto librarian could not afford to catch more hands after the beatdown he suffered.

"You like this, huh?!" Green Goblin asked Mr. Game and Watch, on the floor, as he and the Show were giving the poor 2-D man a classic Boyz In Da Hood beatdown. Beating up on an innocent 2-D man...that's just messed up.

"Get him right were it hurts!" White Lightning enticed LG, as the lone white member of the gang held up Falco. LG would throw some haymakers at the avian pilot, before White Lightning dropped him to the floor and exchanged a high five with LG.

"Hey fellas, I think we found bird guy's friend!" announced Man Dog, as he and J. Train exited from a door holding Fox, who tried to get away. Fox tried to fight his way out of Man Dog and J. Train's grip, but it was no use. White Lightning headed over to Fox, looking at him in the eye.

"We're just going to ask you a question, so we can spare you a beating your little friend suffered..." the man said to Fox, still fighting his way out. "...it's about Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog. You know him well, right? Where is he?"

"Don't answer them, Fox, they're savages..." Falco warned his buddy, before LG kicked the avian pilot in the gut to make him shut up. "Think my spleen got ruptured, somehow..."

"If I remember correctly...Sonic said he was going to the gaming room," answered Fox, flinching in anticipation of a punch coming his way. "That's usually where he hangs out with his girlfriend, Amy Rose. Heard she was coming over today..."

"And where exactly is this, 'gaming room'?" asked White Lightning. He was getting close to Fox, but not too close for comfort. Wasn't all up in his grill or anything.

"It's on the third floor...you can take the elevator if you want, if you wanna skip the stairs. That's what Falco and I usually do anyways..."

"This mansion has working elevators...huh. Can't believe we didn't know that already." Man Dog and J. Train dropped Fox to the floor, as Gang Green had their eyes set on their next destination. "I'd hate to beat up Sonic in front of his...girlfriend, but if has to come to that, then so be it..."

Having witnessed the entire scene was Cloud, who quickly ran away to alert Sonic about Gang Green. Little did he know that he would also put his fellow residents in danger...

* * *

While Gang Green was ready to throw some more hands, Link and his new friend CJ were ready to make some Philly cheesesteaks, with CJ leading the way. Only thing was, CJ has never made a Philly cheesesteak before, so he'll be a novice, just like Link.

"Here we are, in the kitchen!" exclaimed Link, as he led CJ to the kitchen. Already in the kitchen was Palutena, who was making some barbecue ribs; she caught CJ in the corner of her eye, and held her head down as she kept cooking, so she wouldn't be noisy. "Ready to get started, cheesesteak aficionado?"

"Sure thing!" grinned CJ, his grin brimming with nervousness. He was about to let Link down, big time.

 **CJ: I'm not worried about messing things up, so what if I fail? To fail is to succeed. To lose is to win. One must lose to win, and fail to succeed. Which means... *sighs* ...I'm gonna fail big time.**

"Link, may I ask who your new friend is?" Palutena asked the Hylian, finally deciding to speak. CJ reminded the goddess of light of someone, like some royal prince from some European country somewhere. "He looks pretty handsome..."

"His name is CJ, and he's a cool guy I brought to the mansion from his hometown of Philadelphia," replied Link, as CJ was ready to correct the Hylian. "Don't let him fool you into thinking he's from North Dakota, nobody would EVER say they're from that boring state. But South Dakota, they get a pass for having Mount Rushmore. If not for that...say hi to Lady Palutena, CJ!"

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am!" CJ waved to Palutena, who smiled as she resumed cooking...albeit seething a little because of what CJ addressed her as. She was sure to inform Master Hand about CJ later today. "You ready to make some Philly cheesesteaks, Link? Then let's get started!"

So CJ went to the refrigerator, to look for the ingredients - beefsteak, American cheese, and a hoagie roll - but no such ingredients were present. That meant he had to resort to some "replacement" ingredients - _Oscar Mayer_ roast beef, cheddar cheese, and some garlic bread. Palutena glanced at these three ingredients, and shook her head.

"What great ingredients you picked out CJ, very impressive!" complimented Link. Everything was going good for CJ so far, Link seemed easily impressed. "Now how to we put the cheesesteak together?" Here came the hardest part.

"Well, uh, first we grab a pan, and then turn on the stove...which is already on, I might add," explained CJ, as he grabbed a pan off the counter and placed it on a stove eye, turning the dial to 7. "Then we, uh, cover bottom of the pan with some canola oil, before we, uh, add the garlic and hot peppers." CJ grabbed a bottle of canola oil and poured it into the pan, as Palutena looked on.

"Garlic and hot peppers for a Philly cheesesteak..." the goddess remarked, suddenly feeling the desire to laugh. No way she would laugh at a guest of the mansion. "Quite the interesting recipe you got there."

"CJ's a Philly guy, he's probably improvised on many cheesesteaks before," defended Link, having a lot of confidence in CJ right now. Perhaps too much confidence. "He'll knock this cheesesteak out of the freaking park!"

Then, magically appearing in the kitchen was Master hand, who had one thing on his mind - creating a sub sandwich dedicated to Pikachu Day. The giant hand fancied the idea after seeing Crash chew on his bed, and was going to have Palutena create the first-ever Pikachu Day sub sandwich...that was, until he saw CJ.

"Hello, who are you?" Master Hand asked CJ in a inquisitive manner. CJ understandably felt intimidated by Master Hand, but everyone felt that same way when initially meeting the creator of the Smash universe.

"That is CJ, a new friend of mine all the way from Minnesota," Link would introduce CJ to Master Hand, as CJ meekly waved his hand and smiled. "He's from Philadelphia, though his delusional self thinks he's from one of the most boring states, North Dakota."

"North Dakota IS a very boring state...I feel sorry for everyone who was either born or raised in that boring wasteland." That certainly didn't offend CJ at all. "Now, CJ, I must ask you a very important question, one that is life-or-death...is today Pikachu Day?"

"Um...no?" replied CJ, eyeing around the kitchen before making his final response. Master Hand sighed, and it was a deep sigh too.

"The correct answer - and the _only_ correct answer - was yes. But since you're new around here, I'll give you a pass. Any resident of this mansion who says it isn't Pikachu Day shall have their sanity questioned."

 **Master Hand: Any mansion resident can say it isn't Pikachu Day under the following conditions...they've been hypnotized, and their hypnosis cannot be cured; they have suffered from a debilitating head injury and accrues amnesia; or they have family or loved ones held hostage, and they can only released if the person denies Pikachu Day. Any other conditions, there will be swift punishment.**

"I see you got some lunch meat and some cheese and bread with you..." Master Hand observed the materials CJ had on the kitchen counter. "...are you making yourself a sandwich?" CJ wished he could say he that...

"No sir, I'm teaching Link how to make a Philly cheesesteak," answered CJ, as Palutena couldn't help but laugh quietly to herself. "Link wanted me to show him the tricks of the trade in regards to making a cheesesteak, so I'm just fulfilling a wish of his..."

"A Philly guy teaching a Hylian how to make a Philly cheesesteak, what are the odds..." And that's when it clicked inside Master Hand's head, or rather his mind. "Yes, that's it! Why not have a sub sandwich for Pikachu Day, when we can have a Philly cheesesteak instead? We'll call it, the Pikachu cheesesteak! It'll be a rousing success!"

"Um, Master Hand, I don't think Pikachu Day deserves a cheesesteak, or any food item for that matter," stated Link, giving his two cents with the hope Master Hand wouldn't put him on blast. "It's bad enough you have a banner...and a stupid flag."

"Oh yes, oh yes, it'll be the greatest thing since sliced bread! No, it'll be _even greater_ than sliced bread!" Clearly Master Hand wasn't listening to Link, soaked up in his own imagination and allure. "I'll have the Pikachu Day cheesesteak at every Subway restaurant in Seattle, and beyond! Does Subway sell cheesesteaks? Think they did it before, which must mean cheesesteaks are sub sandwiches. It all makes sense now...Isabelle and I must go speak with the Subway store clerks, and tell them about my new amazing idea. Adios, amigos!"

And with that, Master Hand quickly vanished, as CJ now had a daunting task ahead of him - pleasing not only Link, but Master Hand as well.

* * *

Fresh off his dominating victory over Pit - which he didn't consider dominant, since defeating Pit in just about anything was always expected - Sonic went to the gaming room to chill with his girlfriend Amy. Tom Brady was on one of the televisions in the gaming room, and Sonic looked up at the screen, feeling disgusted.

"Man, how is it even possible for a 40 year old man like Brady to still look that handsome?" questioned Sonic, desiring to know what Brady's secret was. Maybe the quarterback bathed himself in the fountain of youth, to preserve his looks. "Don't think the guy's even human...starting to see why everyone's calling him a robot..."

"You're making it seem like being 40 and good-looking at the same time is impossible," replied Amy, not remembering her boyfriend being this disgusted with Brady before. "I've seen plenty of celebrities in their 40s, still looking great! It's all about maintenance, and practicing good hygiene!"

"Of course you would know about maintenance and good hygiene, you're a girl..." This remark earned Sonic a nudge from Amy. "Hey, quit it out, I kid, I kid!"

 **Sonic: *shakes his head with a smirk on his face***

"Sonic, you need to get out of here, and fast!" Cloud informed the hedgehog, as he quickly ran into the gaming room. "These six dudes are coming after you, and they're up to no good, I'm afraid. You have to leave, pronto!"

"Who could possibly be after my precious Sonic?" inquired Amy, as she took out her trusty Piko Hammer. Good thing she brought it with her. "I demand names! Nobody's laying a single finger on my Sonic!"

"Nobody is going to harm Sonic, I can assure you, Amy. Sonic, you must follow me to my room, I think you'll be safe there. You're welcome to come too if you like, Amy."

Obviously Amy would never leave Sonic behind, so she put away her Piko Hammer and followed Cloud and Sonic to Cloud's room. There Sonic would be safe and sound from Gang Green, although Sonic desired to know what business Gang Green had with him.

As Cloud led Sonic and Amy to his room, they would walk past Lucario, who was trying to pry open an elevator door. Apparently there were some folks trapped in the elevator, as Lucario heard their screams nearby. The aura Pokemon, mustering all the strength in his body with his aura, would open the elevator doors, rescuing those trapped inside.

"Are you all okay?" Lucario asked the people he saved, only to look in confusion when he saw six strangers standing together...those strangers being Gang Green.

"Yes we sure are, and how about we show you our appreciation?" said the leader of Gang Green, White Lighting. "Get him, boys!" White Lighting's buddies would gang up on Lucario, throwing him to the floor and beating him up. Once the beatdown commenced White Lightning grabbed Lucario, and held him up. "Where is the gaming room?"

"Right...over there..." the battered Lucario replied, as he pointed at the gaming room from afar. White Lighting dropped Lucario to the floor, as Gang Green marched to the gaming room. They made their presence known once they entered, as everyone stared at them.

"Sonic the Hedgehog, where you at?" shouted LG, as he looked around for the blue blur. He saw Red the Pokemon Trainer nearby, and grabbed the poor trainer by the collar. "You know where Sonic the Hedgehog is?!"

"Sonic just left this room a few moments ago, please don't hurt me!" answered Red, also pleading with begging hands. "Saw him leave with a guy with spiky blonde hair...his name is Cloud Strife..." Red dared not to tell Gang Green that Sonic went to Cloud's room, for Sonic's safety.

"Then we'll just have to look for Mr. Strife, wherever he may be..." said White Lighting, as LG aggressively threw Red unto a nearby couch. Good thing the landing was comfy. "And so, our search continues..."

* * *

What were the odds of getting beat up after using the bathroom? Probably one in ten thousand. Unfortunately for Lloyd Irving, he was a part of that one percentile, as the swordsman was ambushed by Gang Green after exiting the bathroom. He was lying on the floor, playing dead in the hopes that it would save him from another beating.

 **Lloyd: Playing dead is all in the name of survival of the fittest...dogs play dead to make their owners submit to their cuteness, making them less inclined to release them into the wild or give them to another person. Us humans, on the other hand, play dead to avoid our predators...those predators being humans ourselves. I've been trying to share this valuable knowledge with Zelda, but she just won't listen to me! Maybe I'm not getting her attention enough...some belly rolling might make her listen. Never did it before, but I gotta do whatever it takes...**

Team Rocket, on the hunt for Gang Green, would encounter Lloyd in the hallway, playing dead. Sensing that he was beat up by Gang Green, the trio went over to Lloyd, with Meowth turning the swordsman over on his back, before slapping him to ensure he was awake.

"THE BUZZARDS ARE COMING, THE BUZZARDS ARE COMING!" shouted Lloyd, making Meowth jump away in fright. Lloyd looked up, and then smiled and laughed. "Haha, sorry about that, please disregard what I said. It was a part of my scare tactic. I was practicing playing dead, so I can master the arts of the survival of the fittest, and become the alpha male. Chuck Darwin would be so proud of me!" He most certainly would, if such a Chuck Darwin ever existed.

"Playing dead indoors has nothing to do with..." Jessie started, before noticing the Pikachu Day t-shirt Lloyd was wearing. Made her feel some type of way. "...where on earth did you get that t-shirt from?"

"Got it for free from Master Hand - it's all in the name of Pikachu Day. Started the week after Pikachu and Pichu destroyed that weather machine and ended the snowstorm in Seattle. Very bittersweet for me, as I never got to be in a snowball battle. Would've lost anyways, but losing is just as fun as winning, honestly."

"But why do Pikachu and Pichu get all the credit?! Why, if it weren't for us three...and Luke Triton...we would've never put Pikachu and Pichu in the position to destroy that weather machine! We essentially undid Giovanni's plot!"

"Yeah, Master Hand completely negated your involvement in stopping the snowstorm, and went ahead and dedicated a day to Pikachu and Pichu, called Pikachu Day. We practically celebrate Pikachu Day every day, how cool is that?! Got all sorts of merchandise like this t-shirt, which I only wear in the hopes I can gain electrical powers! One day it'll come, one day..."

"Pikachu gets his own special day, and it's celebrated on a _daily basis_?! Ooh, the nerve of that Master Hand...wait until I get my hands on him!"

"Calm down Jessie, please don't pop another vein - we all know what happened last time!" James soothed Jessie, not wanting to think about this "last time". "Why don't we use the Pikachu Day t-shirt as motivation, to keep us going in our quest for regaining Master Hand's respect? Perhaps we'll get our own special day...Team Rocket Day!"

"Team Rocket Day...now I like the sound of that!" exclaimed Meowth, as he took the Pikachu Day t-shirt off of Lloyd. "We'll just use your shirt as a source of motivation, if you don't mind...we'll give it back soon!" Meowth said to Lloyd as he, Jessie, and James left the swordsman.

"Cool, I'll be waiting here waiting for you to come back," replied Lloyd, going back to playing dead. Not very wise to trust Team Rocket, and leave them up for chance...

* * *

The date taking place in Mario's home, between Bowser and Lara...was surprisingly going well! Rather than kicking Bowser to the curb and kicking him out of the house, Lara was willing to give the koopa king a chance, as she was enjoying a somewhat fine conversation with Bowser.

Then again, Bowser would never be making strides with Lara if not for the Black Knight. The knight would stand behind Lara, whispering some dating pointers to Bowser such as giving him good points to talk about. The Black Knight was becoming a huge asset for Bowser.

 **Black Knight: I practically saved Bowser's date with Lara Croft - poor Bowser would've been clueless if it weren't for me. I deserve some compensation for bailing that guy out, but knowing Bowser, only thing I'll ever get is just some lousy change. Somewhere between five nickels to a stupid dime.**

"Who do you talk to the most, Lara?" Bowser asked the tomb raider, surprised that he hasn't been slapped yet. He assumed Lara might save that for later. "Ever made any friends at the University of London?"

"I did have one friend, whom I met on a chance encounter...her name is Samantha Nishimura," replied Lara, as Bowser nodded his head. He was learning a lot from Lara today - didn't know the tomb raider was an open book. "Her dad is a media mogul from Japan, and her mum used to be a Portuguese model. She specializes in documentary and filmmaking stuff."

"Ah, so she was a documentary major in college, very nice..." Bowser nodded his head yet again, not knowing what to say next...until the Black Knight whispered something to him. "Has Samantha ever gone on any of your little tomb raids?"

"Yes, Sam would travel with me wherever I go...always bringing her camera so she could film everything. There was this one instance, where she got possessed by this demon, and we had to save Sam and evict the demon out of her body...it practically left her severely injured. She's in the hospital recovering, as I speak."

"Willing to do whatever it takes to save your friend from a demon...man, you're such a bro...gal, Miss Croft. That Samantha chick could really use a friend like you!"

"Guess you could say that again...and now, I'm searching for Trinity, a militant organization mostly responsible for what happened to Sam. My search led me here to the States, and I was planning on going back to London to resume my search...before Captain Falcon came along. If only I had a plane ticket back home..."

"Oh yeah, a plane ticket would really be nice..." Bowser nervously chuckled, looking down at the floor. Lara _was_ supposed to receive a plane ticket, as a Secret Santa gift from Pit, but Bowser scorched the ticket, buying him more time to win Lara's heart. But after hearing Lara's story, the koopa king was showing a rare sign of remorse...

"Everything okay, Bowser? You look pretty down..." Lara was quick to notice Bowser, who immediately looked back up at Lara like nothing was going on. Still didn't stop Lara from questioning the koopa king.

"I'm good, Lara, I was just thinking. Thinking about...how nice it is to go on an actual date. Peach would never give me one, no matter how many times I kidnapped her! What, does she think I only kidnap her just for fun?! That's some very narrow-minded thinking..."

* * *

Straight Fiyah was in a bit of a stasis, ever since their designated lead singer Chrom left the group. The prince had an argument with Roy, who wanted to be the leader of the group since starting the group was his idea, and Chrom argued that he should be the leader because he was the lead singer. Now, with Chrom out of the group, Roy was desperately looking for a replacement...

"Sorry Roy, but I can't be a part of your group," K.K. Slider, playing his guitar while sitting in the hallway, said to Roy. "Pop singing just ain't my thing, you know. Also, I don't know a single lick of Korean. And may I mention I would be the odd man out in your group?"

"You don't have to worry about knowing Korean, because Lucina will translate the lyrics for us!" explained Roy, which really wasn't what K.K. was talking about. "We'll just read them, and practice them, and viola! We'll be bona fide k-pop stars overnight!"

 **K.K. Slider: Tried singing pop music one time. Felt terrible - not having a guitar in my hands felt preserve, almost illegal. Only real musicians play guitars!**

K.K. Slider would ignore Roy completely, as he resumed playing his guitar. Roy groaned as he walked away...only to bump into a gang. Gang Green.

"Going somewhere?" questioned White Lightning, him and his buddies intimidating Roy. You know what happened next - Gang Green all ganged up on poor Roy, as they beat him up. K.K. Slider kept playing his guitar as the beating persisted. Once Roy was left in the floor, in pain, Gang Green would focus their attention to K.K. Slider, who looked up with some fear in his eyes.

"Keep up the good work, fam," the Show said to K.K. Slider, as he gave the hippie dog a quarter. K.K. smiled and nodded, and the Show nodded right back as Gang Green moved out.

* * *

It was finally done - CJ's Philly cheesesteak, which will later be called the "Pikachu Cheesesteak" was finally done. It was a sandwich with melted cheddar cheese, _Oscar Mayer_ lunch meat, garlic, and hot peppers inside some garlic bread. CJ and Palutena both thought the cheesesteak was an atrocity; Link thought it was the greatest sandwich he had ever seen.

"You sure you wanna showcase that cheesesteak to Master Hand?" asked Palutena, with a concerning smile. Like the goddess of light could make a better one, with her amateurish cooking skills.

"Well he's extremely serious about this whole 'Pikachu Day' thing, so I think his own deluded obsession will distract him from how sucky the cheesesteak looks," replied CJ, not sure if he even wanted to take credit for the cheesesteak he made. "What do you think, Link?"

"I think that this cheesesteak will be the greatest cheesesteak known to man!" exclaimed Link, worrying CJ and Palutena with his blind optimism. "Just wait until Master Hand gets a load of it!"

* * *

The beatings from Gang Green would continue, as Donkey Kong was the gang's latest victim. The audacity to gang up on an innocent gorilla...Ness witnessed the beatdown from afar, and had to notify Master Hand real quick.

"Please pick up, please kick up..." Ness said to himself, as he called Isabelle's phone, since Master Hand obviously didn't have a cellular device himself. Think of all the prank calls he would do if he had one.

"Hello, this is Master Hand speaking, what is the problem?" asked Master Hand, as he answered the call. Ness suddenly felt relieved.

"Master Hand, I think we have some uninvited strangers in the mansion! Donkey Kong is getting beat up by five black dudes and one white guy, and I've seen them go around the mansion and..."

"I was right with you until that part you mentioned about the white guy. A white man helping five other black men beat up people makes the whole thing sound implausible. Sounds like fake news to me! Good riddance, Ness..."

"No Master Hand, I'm telling the truth..." But it was too late, as Master Hand had already hung up. By the time he did, Gang Green was finished with Donkey Kong, as they left him on the floor. Who would be next?

 **Ness: Got no clue as to why those strangers are in the mansion, but whatever their intent is, I hope they can reach that intention soon...**

* * *

Gang Green's intention, as stated earlier in the episode, was to hunt down for Sonic, and beat him up as a favor for Mario. The hedgehog they were searching for was in Cloud's room, with Cloud and Amy...and Cloud Jr, the Chocobo.

"Hey Cloud, can your Chocobo evolve, like Pokemon do?" Sonic asked the swordsman, who was coolly leaning against a wall. Cloud thought that was the stupidest question Sonic ever asked. "Or is it gonna remain small forever?"

"Technically Cloud Jr. can grow, though it would be as big as the Chocobos you can ride on," responded Cloud, bracing himself for any more questions Sonic might ask. "There are different types of Chocobos, as far as I know."

"Why possibly compelled you to name your Chocobo Cloud Jr, you're not that original, huh?" This was the most aggravating question Cloud thought Sonic ever asked. "Why not give him a cool name, like Destroyer, or Annihilator, or Obliteration, or even..."

"Shh, I think I heard some knocking..." shushed Cloud, as he heard someone knocking on the door. Cloud would open his bedroom door to see who it was...any guesses?

"Surprise!" shouted J. Train, as Gang Green filed inside Cloud's room. Man Dog would grab Cloud, and toss him on his bed, as Gang Green had their full focus on Sonic. The hedgehog backed away in anticipation, until Amy stepped up to protect her man.

"None of you losers are going to lay a single finger on my precious Sonic!" the pink hedgehog said, as she stepped in front of Sonic with her Piko Hammer. White Lightning would aggressively snatch the hammer away from Amy, before giving her an intimidating look that made the hedgehog feel timid. "Uh, you know what...I'll just take my seat on this bed." Amy meekly backed away, as she sat on Link's bed, not wanting anything to do with Gang Green.

"Found you right where we want you, Sonic..." snarled White Lightning, Piko Hammer in hand, as he and Gang Green towered over Sonic. But the blue blur remained confident, despite the odds.

"Why are you all coming for me, I have never done anything!" Sonic defended himself, looking for room to escape. The only escape he had would be through the bedroom window - had to unfasten it and jump out in time.

"Yeah, that's what you think...now shut up so you can take your beating in peace!" But before White Lightning could lift up the Piko Hammer...

...a shirt was thrown at the man's head, quickly grabbing his attention and Gang Green's attention as well. White Lightning looked in confusion as he took the shirt off his head, and Gang Green saw that it was a Pikachu Day t-shirt. They would all turn around...and see Team Rocket behind them, standing behind the open bedroom door.

 **James: Eh, Jessie really wanted to recite our motto again, but we had to come up with a different way to make our presence known. Talking Jessie out of the motto thing was harder than we imagined...**

"Stop what you're doing, and no one gets hurt!" commanded Meowth, as Gang Green looked around, all confused. Were they supposed to take Team Rocket seriously?

"Bro, what are y'all trying to do?" questioned White Lightning, as he lowered his Piko Hammer.

"Trying to regain the respect that we lost...what are YOU trying to do?" James clapped back, putting his foot down.

"We're trying to beat up Sonic, as an order from Mario - kinda like retribution for Sonic deflating some footballs at some football game last year," replied Man Dog, as Sonic was left bewildered. Cloud and Amy, too.

"Wait, so you were all coming for my behind...all because of something that transpired A YEAR AGO?!" shouted the hedgehog, as Gang Green looked on with guilt. Some looked at the floor in shame. "Dude, I already apologized to Mario for what I did - he accepted my apology and then we shook hands afterwards. Why would he hire you guys to beat me up for something I apologized for?"

"Oh man, we, uh, didn't know that, our bad..." White Lightning sheepishly said, scratching the back of his head. "We're sorry for trying to hunt you down. We'll even extend our apology to everyone we beat up, to everyone who kinda got in our way. We just wanted to prove our worth to Mario, by beating you up and showing him the evidence."

"Hey, what about our respect?" frowned Jessie, desiring to beat up Gang Green at least once so Team Rocket could brag about it to Master Hand, and regain their respect. "If stupid Pikachu gets his own day, then we should deserve our own day as well!"

"Hold on, I think I know a way that would be a solution to both parties," said Cloud as he sat up on his bed, albeit in some pain. "Might require some makeup, but you'll see where I'm going with this..."

* * *

Once he and Isabelle spoke with the Subway store owners in Seattle - only to be turned down by each and every one of them - Master Hand would return to the mansion, where he and Isabelle would be greeted by Link and CJ in his room. CJ would show him his cheesesteak creation, holding it up for Master Hand to see.

"Here is your, dare I call it, 'Pikachu Cheesesteak', good sir," said CJ as he handed the cheesesteak to Master Hand. The giant hand accepted the cheesesteak, putting the sandwich in the palm of his hand, and then closed his fist shut, as some chewing sounds were made, followed by a swallow. Everyone looked around in confusion as Master Hand "ate" the cheesesteak. What was Master Hand's verdict?

"This Pikachu Cheesesteak...this Pikachu Cheesesteak is single-handedly the greatest thing I've ever eaten!" exclaimed Master Hand, with much vigor and excitement. Going by his comments, he obviously didn't eat that much. "A fine representation of Pikachu Day, if I do say so myself. I must show such a cheesesteak to the Subway owners, maybe it'll sway their minds. CJ, I demand that you give me the recipe for that cheesesteak before you leave this mansion!"

"You got it, sir!" CJ grinned with a smile, not surprised Master Hand liked his culinary creation. The giant hand's obsession with Pikachu Day clouded his senses.

 **CJ: First time I've witnessed a hand chewing...and swallowing food. Out of all the weird things I've seen in my life, THAT was the most recent.**

"Master Hand, Master Hand, you must come to the foyer, and quick!" Meowth notified the giant hand as he entered his room. "Intruders tried to infiltrate the mansion, and my friends and I stopped them! You gotta see for yourself!"

"Did you seriously come back to the mansion just so you could make up a story to me and expect me to believe it?" asked Master Hand, ready to fling Meowth out of the mansion through his window. "Scram, you stupid cat, before I have to rethink my decision on banning..."

"...we have no time, Master Hand, I'm not lying! We really took down the intruders ourselves! Let's go!" Meowth grabbed Master Hand's finger, and dragged him out of his room. Yes, he was struggling mightily, but what would you expect?

* * *

Meowth took Master Hand to the foyer, where - surprise, surprise - the intruders were lying on the floor, unconscious, with Team Rocket standing over their prey. The "intruders" were actually members of Gang Green, who had bruises over their bodies; said bruises were the result Amy's fabulous makeup skills.

"And we did it all without having to resort to our Pokemon!" James boasted to Master Hand, who was terribly shook. He was honestly expecting some kind of prank orchestrated by Team Rocket, so to say the giant hand was genuinely surprised would be lightly putting it.

"You beat up these intruders...with just your BARE FISTS?" questioned Master Hand, as Team Rocket nodded their heads. "Well I'd be...this must either be a dream, or some lackluster nightmare. Yet somehow, it's a reality. Very weird..."

"So, Master Hand, how about giving us back our respect?" smiled Jessie, as she learned in close to Master Hand. James and Meowth would do the same. "You know...the respect we lost partly because of Giovanni?"

"Eh...seeing as how you took a bunch of intruders to school, without running away like cowards...I suppose I can give you back your respect." Team Rocket was overjoyed, as the three members all cheered and whatnot. "But don't expect anything more than respect, got it? Take whatever you can get."

"Whatever you say, Master Hand!" Mewtwo saluted the giant hand, who gave a thumbs up as he returned to his room. Shortly after Master Hand left, Gang Green woke up from their "unconsciousness", as they rose up to their feet.

"That actually went a lot better than I expected..." said Cloud, the mastermind of the whole plot, as he exited from a nearby closet, along with Sonic and Amy. "Amy, is Sonic all ready to go?"

"Sonic is all set!" replied Amy, as Sonic - who thanks to Amy's makeup, looked like he had suffered the beating of a lifetime - gave a thumbs up.

"Great. Now all we need to do is wait for Mario to show up...well speak of the devil." Cloud looked outside the foyer window, and saw Mario's car rolling up into the driveway of his home. "Alright, you guys, time to initiate Phase 2..."

* * *

 **Black Knight: Should Bowser and Lara ever be an item? Um...let me get back to you on that. *runs away, before returning a few seconds later* I still do think I deserve credit for saving Bowser's date. Bowser would be a dead koopa if not for me. *runs away for good***

"What are you most afraid of, Lara?" Bowser asked the tomb raider, asking another question that was supplied by the Black Knight. The Black Knight was truly the real MVP of the date. "Ghosts? Demons? Ghostly demons? What about flying ghostly demons?"

"I do suffer from PTSD, from time to time..." answered Lara, recollecting that instance in which she aggressively stabbed Shulk upon seeing a knife. "Anything that reminds me of Yamatai gives me PTSD. So yeah, that's what I'm afraid of..."

"Yeah, Yamatai sure sounds like a scary place - sounds like it could be the lair of Genghis Khan. Also sounds kinda funny to pronounce, hehehe...Yamatai."

Suddenly, the front door opened, as Bowser turned around and saw Mario and Peach, both shocked, with shopping bags in their hands. Mario would drop his bags to the floor when he saw Bowser sitting at the table with Lara, and was filled with rage.

"You stay back-a from Lara, you fiend!" the plumber frowned, as he grabbed a loaf of Italian bread from a shopping bag and ran over to Bowser to whack him with it. Bowser fell out of his chair and unto the floor, covering his head, as Lara and the Black Knight looked on.

"Mario stop it this instant!" said Peach, as she dropped her shopping bags and went to go restrain Mario. "This might be a slight misunderstanding, for all we know..."

"Hey, Mario, is this the blue hedgehog you asked for? We did the hard work for ya!"

Mario would cease the beating, as he looked up and turned around. There, standing at the doorway, was Gang Green, with White Lightning holding up an "unconscious" Sonic. The gang would enter Mario's home, as White Lightning tossed Sonic unto the floor.

"M-Mario, who are these men, and what did they do to Sonic?" Peach asked her husband, who stood up and put the Italian bread away. Bowser would also get up, dusting himself off as he got a good look of Gang Green.

"We were hired by Mario to beat up Sonic, to make up for what that blue furball did to Mario last year," explained White Lightning, staring down Sonic. "When Sonic deflated those footballs from a backyard football game, and..."

"Mario I thought Sonic already apologized to you for that whole deflating thing!" Peach said to Mario, with a stern look. Mario had to dig into his memory banks, remembering when this apology was made, and then he realized...

"Oh yes, I do-a remember!" exclaimed Mario, snapping his fingers when he found the memory. "Sonic gave me a heart-a felt apology after Yu and-a friends solved the whole mystery. But why did-a I..." A frown suddenly appeared on Mario's face, as he turned around to face the guy who put him up to hiring Gang Green as hitmen...Bowser. "YOU were the one-a who suggested to me that I beat-a up Sonic, just so you could-a have some private time with Lara, isn't it?!"

"Bowser, is that true?" asked Lara, as she stood up from her chair. Bowser looked at Lara, sweat pouring down his face, as he turned back and saw Mario...with Gang Green standing right behind him.

"So, you were the punk who put Mario and us up to this whole 'beat up Sonic' thing..." scowled White Lightning, his arms crossed as he intensified his glare. "What do you say we do to our crook, Mario?"

"I say we give-a him a beating he won't-a forget..." replied Mario, cracking his knuckles, as he marched towards Bowser. The koopa king fell on his back, holding out his outstretched hand in mercy.

"Stop it Mario, don't do it, I was just...playing around!" pleaded Bowser, but nothing he could do could stop Mario and Gang Green from approaching him. "I didn't expect you to take the whole thing seriously...it was all in the name of fun..."

* * *

 **Cappy: Bowser sure got his just desserts...Mario and Gang Green took their fight with Bowser outside, where they would make him pay for leading them astray. Mario wanted to do the fighting indoors, but Peach and Lara wouldn't allow it. Anyways, Mario apologized to Sonic for wanting to beat him up because of Bowser, and Gang Green would apologize to anyone they beat up today. Bowser should apologize to Lara for forcing her to go on a date with him...once his injuries are fully healed.**

 **Lara: Didn't learn a lot from Bowser from our "date"...but he has certainly learned a lot from me. Didn't intend to give him that much info. Still, I don't think Bowser isn't as bad as he appears to be...unless you include his manipulation of Mario.**

It was now time for CJ and Gang Green to return to their destination, as the seven were gathered in the teleportation room. Mega Man was back to running the device, after spending his day with Rush.

"What did you do while at the mansion?" Green Goblin asked CJ, who had to write up a recipe for the Pikachu cheesesteak. Might be a new food staple of the mansion, along with the malasadas.

"Made my first-ever Philly cheesesteak, although it wasn't exactly what I intended," replied CJ, glad he was somehow able to teach Link something today. "What about you guys?"

"We were hired by Mario as hitmen to take out Sonic the Hedgehog." CJ would give Gang Green an inquisitive stare upon hearing this. "...we'll explain later once we return to Minneapolis."

Standing outside the teleportation room was Link, Zelda, and Midna. Link had already said his goodbyes to CJ, and he even had a copy of CJ's cheesesteak recipe in his pocket. The blind leading the blind...

"I take it you had a great day with your new friend?" Zelda asked Link, as Mega Man got the teleportation device booted up. CJ and Gang Green were soon Minneapolis bound.

"Yeah I guess you could say that," replied Link, with a grin on his face. "Today was a great learning experience...feels good when you're given the right information, rather than being misled and looking like a goof."

Once again...the blind leading the blind.


	112. Episode 112: Reconnect

_Author's Note:_

 _Thanks to the Super Bowl, and my preparations leading up to the big game, I was a day behind writing this chapter - yet amazingly, I managed to get the chapter finished on time. Marvelous. Let's see what guest reviews we have this week..._

 _"Will you include the rest of the Soul Calibur cast? The characters from Persona 1 and 2? Maybe the Jack bros. from the Shin Megami Tensei games? Will Corrin ever get out of his Star Wars phase? have you already included the scene of X interacting with his siblings? And finally, will you include a villain team up with the Mavericks and Pseudoroids from Megaman X and ZX?"_

 _Probably not. Sure. Maybe. Corrin won't by getting out of his Star Wars phase anytime soon. Haven't included that X scene yet. And I'm undecided on the villain, as of right now. Another guest review:_

 _"...in the middle of the chapter you mention CJ I believe calling palutena by ma'am. In the first chapter cloud made the same mistake and was "punished". I was wondering if that was a once off thing or an oversight due to it being over 1 000 000 words ago"_

 _Definitely an oversight, fixed my error ASAP. Thanks for noticing. One more review, this one from Derick Lindsey:_

 _"Will Rusev be involved in any shape or form like one of the residents mentioning Pikachu Day being a ripoff of RUSEV DAY?"_

 _For those of you unaware, Rusev is a very talented (and naturally funny) WWE wrestler who has a day celebrated in his likeness. Rusev may not appear at all, but it would be worth having someone call out Master Hand for ripping off one of the greatest days of the year, Rusev Day. Speaking of which...HAPPY RUSEV DAY EVERYONE!_

* * *

 **Episode 112: Reconnect**

Many weeks have passed ever since Knuckles broke up with Rouge - eight weeks in total, to be exact. The breakup first started in episode 104, when Knuckles found himself in a love triangle involving Rouge and Shadow. Knuckles slowly had his doubts about Rouge's commitment to him, and his doubts would soon be realized after he and Shadow had a duel for Rouge's affection.

But as it turned out, the whole love triangle was a setup by Jakob, who wanted a "last laugh". He told Rouge to play Knuckles and Shadow like fiddles, buying them both diamonds as early Christmas gifts. Jakob would pay for his actions in the subsequent episode, at the hands of Pit, King Dedede, and many others involved.

And, now that the stench of Jakob was gone from the mansion forever, Knuckles had one thing in mind - getting back together with Rouge.

Of course, the echidna couldn't do this duty alone. He needed the help of his friends, Sonic and Tails to rebuild his relationship with Rouge. If Captain Falcon and Nowi got back together in due time, then what's stopping Knuckles?

"Since Valentine's Day is coming up, I was thinking about giving Rouge a Valentine's Day gift, to reaffirm our relationship," Knuckles discussed with Sonic and Tails, in his room. "What should we get her? I would suggest a box of chocolates, but that sounds too easy. And predictable. We gotta reach outside of the box if I wanna impress Rouge!"

"It's not all about impressing Rouge, Knuckles - it's about making her regain your trust," stated Tails, who despite never having been in a relationship before, appeared to be giving Knuckles a lot of insight. "That should be your number one objective. We could care less about getting Rouge a fancy gift."

"Tails is right - a fancy gift would be far too expensive, would be out of our budget!" added Sonic, keeping his wallet well protected. "I think twenty dollars should be our budget - not too high, and not too low. And before any of you ask, 'Sonic, what could we possibly buy that's twenty dollars?', then allow me to give you a list that I..."

"THE PLAGUE HAS RETURNED, THE PLAGUE HAS FREAKING RETURNED, EVERYONE RUN FOR COVER!" yelled Yoshi, as he ran inside the room and hid underneath his bed, shivering. Sonic and company just glanced at Yoshi, before exchanging looks of concern with one another. No doubt this had something to do with Birdo.

"Yoshi what has gotten into you, is Birdo at the mansion?" Tails asked the green dinosaur, just to make sure. Birdo would be the only explanation for Yoshi acting like the sky was falling.

"Of course she's at the mansion, you bozo! You can't tell her I'm here, she'll make my life miserable! I should just run away from the mansion, to a faraway place...a desolate place where nobody - not even Birdo - will ever find me!"

 **Master Hand: Yoshi has requested to me on very numerous occasions to ban Birdo from the mansion...which I don't think is necessary. Last time I checked, Birdo never conspired to destroy the mansion, or take over the world. Not to mention that Birdo has never terrorized every mansion resident to advance the plans of someone else. Birdo only terrorizes one person, and that is Yoshi...it must be nature's way of dealing karma to Yoshi, to make him pay for being the only living dinosaur in present times. Sure there might be other dinosaurs like Yoshi, living on a island somewhere, but their time of torment will come very soon.**

"Why can't you just face Birdo like a man, rather than running away from your problems?" asked Sonic, appalled by how afraid Yoshi was whenever Birdo was around. "Back when Amy was a crazy stalker girlfriend, you never see me run away from her when she showed up!"

"To be fair Sonic, you did try to walk away from Amy that one time when she followed you around," Tails spoke up, bringing up Amy's stalking incident in episode 28. That gave Sonic a rush of bad memories. "And you let her follow you around and everything..."

"For your information Tails, walking away and running away are two different things - though you wouldn't know that because you're a slow-moving animal who constantly relies on flying on your tail like a propeller. I bet a three-toed sloth moves faster than you. And I only kept Amy around if it meant she wouldn't be an annoying pest. Thankfully it paid off later on, and now...

"Yeah, yeah, that's good to hear Sonic, nobody cares about that now," interjected Knuckles, cutting off the blue blur. "Rouge is the chick we're supposed to be discussing, not Amy." The echidna then turned his attention to Yoshi, still hiding underneath the bed, with his tail poking out in the air. King K. Rool would be proud of such a magnificent hiding technique. "And will you please go and hide somewhere else, Yoshi? We're trying to have a private conversation here!"

"Must not be that private, if you left the door unlocked..." mumbled Yoshi, refusing to leave until the coast was clear - or in other words, until Birdo was no longer inside or in the vicinity of the mansion. "Just let me hide for a bit longer you guys! Pretty please?"

"Group huddle!" shouted Sonic, as he, Knuckles, and Tails gathered together for a group huddle. "Okay, Yoshi is starting to drive me insane with his Birdo problems, and we can't let his issues go unresolved! What should we do?"

"Well we can't just outright ban Birdo from the mansion - and I don't think Birdo would take the ban very lightly," Tails said quietly, making sure Yoshi didn't hear him. Even if Yoshi did, he would be too paranoid about Birdo to listen attentively. "There's gotta be another way..."

"I think I have a good idea in mind, though I'm unsure if it'll be a success or not," replied Knuckles, as Sonic and Tails were all ears. "So here's the plan..." Knuckles quietly whispered to Sonic and Tails, and once he was done, the three friends broke out from the group huddle to face Yoshi. "Yoshi, may we speak with you for a second?"

"As long as you aren't Birdo, then you can tell me anything you want," replied Yoshi, not willing to move a single inch. For whatever reason, he did not trust Knuckles and company, despite never leaving the room..

"I have formulated a plan - one that would be helpful for you AND for myself. How about my buds and I drive Birdo away from the mansion for good...while you find the perfect Valentine's Day gift for Rouge?" Upon hearing this, Yoshi would remove himself from underneath his bed, as he stood up to face Knuckles and company. "Sounds like a good trade-off deal, huh?"

"Really, you guys would drive Birdo away from the mansion, just for me?" Knuckles would smile, as he gave Yoshi a comforting nod. "Oh, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, you guys are awesome! But what about the gift? Didn't Rouge call off your relationship, Knuckles? Why should I get her a gift?"

"Actually Yoshi, it was _I_ who called off our relationship - and now, I wanna pick up right where we left off. I'm trusting you to find the best gift you can find. Show it to me before I can give it to Rouge. I gotta get back with Rouge, it's now or never..."

* * *

Speaking of Rouge, the bat returned to the mansion, and like Knuckles she wished to restart their relationship. The past eight weeks for Rouge have been rather painful, what with her dealing with the breakup of Knuckles. What made her feel even worse was that her breakup was mostly sparked by Jakob, who had Rouge set up the love triangle that led to said breakup. Rouge simply couldn't deal with the guilt any longer, and now she was ready to make all that guilt go away.

 **Rouge: Sure, I could have been an item with Shadow, but in all honesty, Shadow would be a _terrible_ person to go on a date with. What would we even talk about anyways? How miserable life is? Why being evil has its downfalls? Maria Robotnik? Loving Shadow would be like loving a rock...the blandness would overlap over the terrible, almost nonexistent communication. Still feel bad for playing Shadow for keeps, but even I was surprised he actually wanted to start a romance. Could've been a different Shadow, could've been a stunt double of his...**

Rouge stood by the front door, as she rang the doorbell. Seconds later, Samus would open the door, unamused to see Rouge standing at the front step.

"Oh, it's you again," Samus said in a very interested tone. That's no way to talk to a visitor, Miss Aran. "What do you possibly want?"

"I just came to speak with Knuckles," replied Rouge, hoping the echidna would be willing to speak with her. "He broke up with me after he and Shadow had that duel, when Shadow stole Link's beat up truck and rammed it into Knuckles and...eh, I'm sure you already knew about the breakup. Word spreads around very quickly in the mansion, or so I've heard..."

"Yeah, I heard about the breakup shortly after Knuckles announced it. Felt pretty bitter about it. Probably got over it very quickly, for all I know. But I don't really know Knuckles that well, so...you sure Knuckles would want to speak with you?"

"Knuckles would hopefully be open to sitting down with me and discussing our problems...I mean, our breakup only happened because of a misunderstanding. I was played by Jakob, and then I played Knuckles and Shadow." The transitive property, as Falco would call it. "If I can just speak with Knuckles, and talk things out, then we could reconnect and get back together again..."

"Aw, how sweet...if only I could give a crap about your stupid situation." That definitely wasn't deflating for Rouge at all. "But I can let you inside, so you can have a word with your ex-boyfriend. Come on in." Samus would let Rouge inside the mansion, taking her to a seat in the foyer. "You just wait right here, while I go see what Knuckles is up to."

As Samus left the foyer and went down the hallway, she would run into a certain princess - Princess Zelda. Samus mentioned that Zelda was her only friend, but nobody outside of Sonic (who was in Pikachu's body at the time, thanks to Manaphy) knew this.

"I just heard the doorbell ring, who was it?" Zelda asked Samus, stopping the bounty hunter during her trek. In Zelda's hands was a sandwich - the Pikachu Cheesesteak, created by CJ in the previous episode. Why Zelda even had the cheesesteak, Samus wished to know.

"Rouge the Bat - she returned to the mansion wanting to reconcile with Knuckles," answered Samus, before looking down at the cheesesteak in Zelda's possession. "Why on earth do you have that cheesesteak with you?"

"Link apparently has been working in the kitchen, making these Pikachu Cheesesteaks nonstop...I'm afraid my poor Link has hopped on the Pikachu Day bandwagon after these cheesesteak was created. He has been innovating the sandwich, and wanted me to show Master Hand his latest...innovation. This whole Pikachu Day thing has gone out of hand..."

"I'll say...once I saw the Pikachu Day t-shirts, I knew we were headed for trouble. It's bound to get even worse once Master Hand conjures even more oddball ideas. I shudder to think what the end goal of it all is. Anyways, have you seen Knuckles anywhere?"

"No I haven't...but if you like, I can track him down for you." Samus, who did not care about Rouge's situation, was happy to oblige. "Just tell me what you need Knuckles for."

* * *

Bowser's first date with Lara, believe it or not, actually went along a lot better than expected. Bowser and Lara had a very meaningful conversation with one another, with Lara telling the koopa king about her studies at the University of London, the things she liked about Seattle, and even her best friend Samantha Nishimura, whom she met while attending college. Samantha was possessed by a demon and is currently recovering in a hospital, and hearing Lara vowing to find the evil crooks responsible for Samantha's plight almost gave Bowser a change of heart.

To be fair, Bowser's date with Lara would have never happened had the koopa king drove Mario away from the mansion. And when Mario returned home and saw Bowser dating Lara, he teamed up with Gang Green - the six burly men from the previous episode - and made Bowser pay dearly. Mario felt like he was sticking up for Lara, but much to his and Peach's surprise...Lara didn't mind Bowser at all!

 **Lara: Bowser was...surprisingly friendly and heartfelt on our date together. Given that he was Bowser, I fully expected him to put me in a cage, and take me to his castle and adore me for the rest of my life. But instead, Bowser took the time to ask me questions about my personal life, and he desired to know me better...why he couldn't do something simple like that with Peach, I will never know. Yet he wonders why he's still single...**

"Mario, boarding up the windows _isn't_ going to keep Bowser away from your home," Lara tried to tell Mario, as she and Peach watched as Mario hammered away on a nail, boarding up all the windows in his house. The plumber had to stand on Polterpup, due to his short height. "He can just burn the house down with his flame breath, for all we know."

"Which is why I had-a the Carpenters replace the structure of the house-a with non-flammable material, to be on the safe-a side," explained Mario, before hitting the hammer on his thumb by accident. "GAAAH! Mama mia, I hit-a myself again...Peach, would-a you be a dear and fetch-a me a band aid?"

"Of course, my love!" smiled Peach, as she went to the bathroom to fetch a band aid. She would come back with a band aid in hand, giving it to Mario.

"You haven't been this concerned about Bowser until you saw him on our date," said Lara; just hearing about this made Mario furious. The plumber thought she was putting Lara's life in danger, leaving her alone with Bowser. "He wasn't as evil or malicious as I thought he would be. He could be turning around the corner - slowly, but surely."

"Bowser turning around-a the corner, now that's-a funny!" chuckled Mario, who was for whatever reason applying the band aid while still holding his hammer. It was bad enough that he didn't even bother taking his white glove off. "You can't teach an old-a dog new tricks, Lara, and Bowser is as old-a as they come..."

Eventually, Mario would drop his hammer while he applied his band aid, and instead of landing on the floor, the hammer fell upon Mario's foot. The plumber yelped in pain as he fell unto the floor, grabbing his foot, as Poochy came over to lick his face. Before Peach could check on Mario, the doorbell rang.

"I'll check on Mario, you get the door," Lara said to Peach, who made a mad dash to the front door. She opened it, and saw Lucas, timid as usual.

"Hello Lucas, what's the problem?" asked Peach, sensing how timid and afraid Lucas looked, as Lucas wrapped his arms around Peach and gave her a hug. A hug indicating that something - or someone - nearly scared the PSI whiz to death.

"Birdo...Birdo's at the mansion..." uttered Lucas, shivering with his eyes closed. Oh please, he can't be afraid of Birdo too. "Birdo scares me..." Pfft, she can't possibly be scarier than Robirdo, her robotic counterpart.

"You aren't the only one Lucas, trust me...would you like to stay over at our place until Birdo leaves?" Lucas opened his eyes and looked up at Peach, with thankful eyes, and eagerly nodded his head. "Very well then, you're welcome to stay! You can let go now...Lucas?"

"Oh, yeah, right, sorry about that," apologized Lucas, as he released his grip on Peach. Peach would close the front door, as Lucas wandered into the living room and saw Lara tending to a still downed Mario. "Princess Peach, is it true that Lara Croft has PTSD?" the teen quietly asked the princess. "Will she murder me in cold blood?"

"Keep any sharp blade away from Lara, and you'll do just fine," Peach patted Lucas on the head, as she went over to check on Mario. Lucas did not bring any blade with him...therefore he was in the clear. "Wouldn't want to be like Shulk!"

 **Lucas: It's February and Shulk's hand still hasn't healed yet, which means we're still forced to give...I mean, we're willingly forced to give...no, what I meant to say was, we're still giving gifts to Shulk, although we've been forced to give willingly... *freezes, then covers his mouth* ...I think I said too much...**

* * *

Who exactly was Wolf O'Donnell? You might know him as a space mercenary, the leader of Star Wolf, the rival of Fox McCloud, and a self-proclaimed punchies champion. If you were a resident at the mansion, you'd understand. Today, Wolf was going to add another moniker to his name...matchmaker.

With Valentine's Day around the corner, Wolf decided that today would be the perfect day to try out his new hobby. The mercenary would be in a candlelit room, surrounded by candles, sitting down with his legs crossed as he dealt with his clients. His first clients of the day? The buddy cops, Toon Link and Young Link.

"Young Link...the girl you're destined to be with is..." Wolf said to Young Link, his eyes closed as he held the Hylian's hand. "...the girl who sells milk on Lon Lon Ranch, Mallow!" Wolf opened his eyes as he exclaimed this, as Young Link was very pleased with this result.

"Good, glad that it wasn't Princess Zelda," smiled Young Link, as his partner-in-crime Toon Link awaited his turn. "Not that I would mind having Zelda as a love interest, but that would be too predictable...I know Hylia and the hero of Hyrule are forever entwined from generation to generation, but come on..."

"What about me, Mr. O'Donnell, who will my lover be?" asked a very impatient Toon Link; unlike Young Link, he was hoping to be paired up with his Princess Zelda. Having a princess who meandered as a pirate in her alter ego would be a dream come true for him.

"Give me your hand, Toon Link, and I can see for myself," replied Wolf, as Toon Link eagerly gave his hand to Wolf, who held the Hylian's hand with his own furry hands. Wolf would close his eyes, taking a deep breath, as he seemingly gazed into the future. "Your future lover...the love of your life...will be...Maggie, of Windfall Island!"

"M-M-Maggie?! You mean...the girl whose father calls me a sea urchin, and doesn't care about his daughter's well-being?" Wolf nodded his head, as Toon Link suddenly erupted into an explosion of tears. "NOOOO WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE ME?! WHY'D YOU CHOOSE ME HYLIA, WHY?!" Young Link could only pat Toon on the back, as the Hylian had his crying fit.

"Sorry I had to tell you that Toon Link, but sometimes the truth hurts. Better out than it, as my buddy Pigma would constantly tell me. Granted, he was talking about bodily functions, but that quote still applies to this context. Anything else I can help you boys with?"

"No thank you, you have greatly enlightened the both of us," replied Young Link, as he helped the still sobbing Toon Link up to his feet. "Well, only me, actually, don't know about Toon Link here...we'll be going on our way now."

Young Link escorted the sobbing Toon Link out of the room, and as the buddy cops exited the room, guess who came in? Kiria Kurono, of Star Records. The face she made when she entered the candlelit room indicated that she was at the wrong place.

"Crap, this isn't the relaxation room...Wario must've told me wrong," the idol singer frowned. Shame on her for taking whatever came out of Wario's mouth for granted. "So much for relaxing by myself...

"Ah, Miss Kiria, come and take a seat," smiled Wolf, albeit somewhat creepily, as he patted a spot on the floor in front of him. Kiria, with much reluctance, walked towards Wolf and sat at the spot, looking into the eyes of the mercenary.

"Alright Wolf, what's the catch...is this where you go and meditate? Or are you doing some fortune telling thing? I don't see a crystal ball anywhere, so needless to say, I'm a little cynical...and scared."

"No Kiria, it's none of those things, it's something more different. This room is where I conduct my matchmaking business. With Valentine's Day but five days away, I wanted to get a, let's say, a head start...early bird always gets the worm!"

 **Wolf: Of course I don't take my matchmaking business that seriously, and I don't expect my clients to take my business seriously either. It's like a fortune telling thing - I tell someone nonsensical crap they're supposed to believe in the form of a lie, and they'll believe it and hinge their entire lives around that lie until they realize they're an idiot. Less fun for them, but more fun for me!**

"Aw, that's cute...now show me your matchmaking license," demanded Kiria, as Wolf was taken back by this comment. Just who did this Kiria think she was?

"You don't need a license to do matchmaking, you're out of your mind woman!" frowned Wolf, as Kiria formed a smirk on her face. She was truly relishing in the moment. "Not everything needs a license or a certificate, you know."

"Matchmaking. License. _Now_." Kiria held out her hand, expecting Wolf to dig into his pocket and give her a license. Wolf was about to find himself in a heap of trouble, until a knock was at the door. The door opened, and in came Cloud.

"Come on out Inklings, I know you're hiding somewhere!" the swordsman shouted out, as Kiria and Wolf exchanged looks of bewilderment, worry, and concern with one another before returning their attention to Cloud. "This is what I get for agreeing to a hide-and-seek game with those brats...repeatedly saying no couldn't bail me out this time."

"I'll be waiting for that matchmaking license, O'Donnell," Kiria smirked at Wolf one more time, standing up as she realized the perfect moment to make her exit. Wolf glared down Kiria, as the idol singer left the room while the door was still opened. Cloud looked around the room, before turning his attention to Wolf.

"Okay Wolf, what's this you got going on here?" the swordsman asked the mercenary, as he closed the door. "Also, have you seen the Inklings anywhere? They've roped me into a game of hide-and-seek, and I only agreed to do it if it meant they would leave me alone."

"I can tell you the whereabouts of the Inklings...but only for a small fee," replied Wolf, giving Cloud a very uneasy feeling. Must be Wolf's creepy smile. "Just take a seat, in front of me, and then I'll go from there." So Cloud sat on the floor, across from Wolf, feeling even more uneasy than before. "I'm doing a matchmaking thing - people come to me wanting to know who their future significant other will be, and I tell him. I also specialize in romantic advice and trust issues...and I know that you got some trust issues yourself, Cloud Strife."

"Trust issues? What are you even talking about, Wolf?" Cloud should know better than to trust Wolf when it comes to romance - after all, Wolf has never been in a romantic relationship before, and he never seemed to care about being in a relationship either. So Wolf, being a matchmaker, just seemed so...odd to Cloud.

"Your girlfriend, Aerith Gainsborough...do you truly think she loves you because she likes you? Or is it something else? Does she love you only because she reminds you of her former boyfriend...Zack Fair?" Zack was a close friend of Cloud's, who died tragically thanks in part to SOLDIER.

"Yeah, so what if Zack and I used to be similar to one another...doesn't mean a thing. What are you trying to get at, Wolf?"

"What I'm trying to get at is, Cloud, is that Aerith never liked you because of your looks, or your bravado, or your personality...if there's even anything to like about your personality. She only likes you because...you're a ZACK FAIR CLONE!"

 **Wolf: Is there a Zack Fair in Aerith's universe? *pauses* Presumably not, but given the weird stories Sora would tell, there is a good chance that kid had a chance encounter with Zack, and went on to slay legions of Heartless together.**

(There _is_ a Zack Fair from Sora and Aerith's universe, though it is unknown whether he is still alive or not)

"Well then...I don't think anyone has _ever_ called me a Zack Fair clone...not even the guys from SOLDIER," remarked Cloud, scratching the back of his head. For some reason, Cloud was letting Wolf's comments get to him. "And if that's the only reason Aerith likes me, then..."

"Now that you paid your little fee, I shall tell you about the whereabouts of the Inklings," said Wolf, holding up his end of the bargain. "Those rascals should be hiding behind one of the vending machines in the vending room. That's their favorite spot to hide at, and as someone who played hide-and-seek with them, I should know...now go find them, big guy!"

"I'll go find them...I guess...I hope those Inklings are there..." Cloud awkwardly stood up, and exited the room, with Wolf's words weighing in his mind. He seriously wasn't going to let what Wolf said bother him for the rest of the day, is he?

* * *

Zelda was still on the search for Knuckles, who was off with Sonic and Tails protecting Yoshi from Birdo. Her search led her to ask others about where the echidna was, and she had to ask Diddy Kong. Why she bothered to ask the spidermonkey, the princess didn't know...she was in a hurry, okay?!

"I did see Knuckles with Sonic and Tails a while earlier, but it was only for a moment," Diddy said to Zelda, as he was chilling in the gardens eating some bananas. "I did hear them talking about Birdo, and what they plan on doing to her."

"What were they discussing in regards to Birdo?" inquired Zelda, hoping that the answer to this question would somehow lead her to Knuckles' whereabouts. "And what is this 'plan' that they're conjuring?"

"If I had a guess, they were probably tasked by Yoshi to keep Birdo away from him. You know how Yoshi loves to run away from his problems, rather than tackling them head-on. His gutless self is gonna cost him in the long run."

"Yeah, I can't see Sonic and the others bothering with Birdo if it doesn't have anything to do with Yoshi...thank you for the info, Diddy." Diddy nodded his head, gobbling another banana as Zelda left the premises.

* * *

With Zelda still looking for Knuckles, Rouge was still in the foyer, waiting for her man to show up. But she wouldn't be alone - keeping the bat company was a couple who reunited in episode 105, Captain Falcon and Nowi. The two lovebirds were cuddling together, while Nah was forced to watch. Forced to watch what she will do eventually once she's an adult...better to get some "knowledge" in while you're young.

"Man, living without you in my life was one of the hardest things I had to do," Captain Falcon said to Nowi, his arm wrapped around the half-Manakete. "Even harder than having to tell Wendy Koopa that she wasn't a size 8. Got no clue as to why Bowser made me do that. But anyways, I'm just glad to have you back, Nowi!"

"And I feel the same exact way, Falcon!" replied Nowi, giving Captain Falcon a kiss on the check. Nah could only look away in disgust. "I bet you had a very tough time coping after our ugly breakup."

"Well I start a taxi service with B.D. Joe, to keep my mindset positive. That taxi service was how I met Lara Croft, and it was also the reason why she's rooming in with Mario and Peach, to this day. Unsure about how much money I raised..."

 **B.D. Joe: How much money did Captain Falcon and I raise from the taxi service? Shoot I don't even know! But what I do know is that I used that money to buy myself a fancy house! It's a private home...or so it was, until Pit and Kirby trespassed upon my property on Thanksgiving last year. But that don't matter, 'cause I still got myself a house! Straight cash, homie!**

"Oh yeah you did tell me about your taxi service...how could I forget?" wondered Nowi, slapping herself on the forehead, as Nah shook her head in disappointment. You can guarantee she knew the answer to her mom's question. "I can be so forgetful sometimes..." Nowi would look over, and spot Rouge sitting by herself, her arms folded, as she gave Captain Falcon and Nowi the stink eye.

"Ay, Rouge, we totally forgot you were there, hehe!" Captain Falcon nervously chuckled, feeling slightly intimidated by Rouge. "I know you're just dying to speak with Knuckles, but...we're not unnerving you with your display of public affection, are you?"

"You two are sure unnerving me..." grumbled Nah, wishing she was somewhere else right now as she facepalmed. "Why couldn't she just fall in love with someone from the Plegian army..."

* * *

With the help of Lucas...and occasionally Peach...Mario was able to board up every single window in his home, guaranteeing that Bowser would never break into the house through the windows. However, Mario was not yet done, for he wished to up the ante...

"Hurry up and install-a that security system!" Mario, eating a hot pocket, barked at X and .EXE, who were brought over to the mansion by the plumber to install a security system to Mario's home. "That system-a isn't gonna install itself!"

"Mario this is totally unnecessary, just like the windows you boarded up for some reason," remarked .EXE, as he and X worked away on the security system. .EXE installed the security cameras, whereas X took care of the rest. "Luigi doesn't have a security system for his home!"

"And that-a is why Luigi complains-a about 'scary monsters' supposedly breaking into his-a home. He's a scaredy cat who doesn't know-a any better. Now quit-a your yapping, and install that system!"

"Keep on working, I wouldn't talk back to Mario if I were you..." Lucas warned the robots, fearful about the sight of a very angry Mario. "Please do it, just for me..."

"Anything for you Lucas, I suppose," X said quietly as he kept working, not wanting to see Lucas in a crying mess if Mario went off. He would be hard to console.

Once he was done with his hot pocket, Mario tossed his crisping sleeve backwards into the trash can...only to unfortunate miss. This was unfortunate, as an already-installed security camera had a "no littering" filter, as X called it in episode 8. The camera in question caught Mario in the act of littering, and fired a tranquilizing dart at the poor plumber, striking him in the leg.

"Why...doooo I seeeeeee...buuuutteerfliiiiiieeeeessss..." wondered a now sedated Mario, his speech slurring, as he slowly fell to the floor. X and .EXE looked at Mario, smiling a little before resuming their work.

 **X: Usually I don't believe in karma, but I think karma played a huge part in what happened to Mario. As they always say, karma is a...bad person. A very, _very_ bad person.**

* * *

Straight Fiyah was still in a stasis from Chrom's departure, and Roy was still desperate to find a new lead singer to replace Chrom. He would constantly beg Chrom to return, but given how Chrom felt about the k-pop group beforehand, the redhead figured he shouldn't beg.

But somehow, someway, Roy found just the guy to replace Chrom. But before he could make the new lead singer official, he must first gain the approval of Fox and Falco. Like they should care.

"Fox, Falco, I have some great news!" Roy rushed inside the Star Records room to inform the pilots, who were playing a game of chess. Fox was literally one move away from winning. "It's about Straight Fiyah - I found a new lead singer."

"I'm sure you had a very long and excruciating search for the new lead, Roy," said Falco, feeling bad for whoever the new lead singer was. "So who can it be? For the sake of Yashiro, I hope the new singer isn't him..."

"The person I selected may be, well...a little 'out of the bag', but I thought he was the right guy to be Chrom's replacement. You might be mixed on the selection, but oh well. Introducing, the new lead singer of Straight Fiyah...CRASH BANDICOOT!"

Right on cue, Crash ran inside the Star Records, dressed like a prototypical k-pop star. The bandicoot had no idea what to do next, so he just spent his time posturing and flaunting his threads. Fox and Falco looked on in bewilderment, before bursting into laughter, much to the chagrin of Roy.

"What's so funny, you're hating on Crash already?" questioned Roy, as the pilots kept laughing. "Did you know that hating on someone does nothing but set them up for greatness?" Probably has never been proven. Ever. "You might think this is funny now, just wait until Crash makes it big!"

"Of all the people you could think of, and you settled in on Crash..." Fox wiped away a tear, stifling his laughter...only to laugh yet again. "Hoo boy, Roy, you must be super desperate to keep your aspirations afloat."

"But you said that k-pop singers sing in a language different to most people, and Crash's language is as different as they come! Way to make yourself look like major hypocrites, you guys!"

"Thing is, Crash speaks in a language that is virtually unintelligible - no human person can comprehend it. It's all gibberish. Starting to think you're becoming Pit 2.0, Roy...starting to scare me, bud."

"Oh yeah, well if neither of you won't believe in Crash...then I'll find someone who will!" Have fun with that. "Let's get away from these haters, Crash!" While Crash kept posturing, Roy grabbed his hand as he left the room. Once Roy and Crash were gone, Fox and Falco immediately went back to laughing. They could be laughing for the remainder of the day.

* * *

Unfortunately for Knuckles and friends, they were unable to locate Birdo, as the purple dinosaur was nowhere to be found. If the didn't find Birdo soon, it would spell more doom for Yoshi.

"All this searching is making me hungry..." remarked Sonic as he rubbed his stomach, fantasying about chili dogs. "...I wonder if Yoshi found that gift for Rouge yet."

 **Yoshi: Went to the store to pick out Rouge's gift. I think Rouge is gonna like it, as much as Knuckles will. Knuckles will love the gift so much, he'll be practically hoping that I draw his name during Secret Santa!**

Sonic wouldn't have to wonder anymore, as Knuckles and company encountered Yoshi in the middle of the hallway. Yoshi held a grocery bag in his hand.

"Greetings, fellas - how's it coming along with Birdo?" asked Yoshi; Knuckles and company wished they could give a positive answer.

"Not so well - haven't found Birdo yet," replied Knuckles, much to Yoshi's dismay. But he knew how to brighten up the green dinosaur. "Is that the gift for Rouge, in the bag?"

"Yes, and it's a gift that you'll BOTH enjoy!" Yoshi's spirits were lifted up, as he dug into the gift bag. "I bet you'll enjoy it too, Sonic and Tails! If you can." Knuckles got all excited to see what the gift was, only for his excitement to fade away and be replaced with dismay.

"Yoshi...that's fine china," stated Tails, sharing the same amount of disappointment as Knuckles as Yoshi showed off the fine china he apparently bought. "Not sure Rouge would dig that..."

"But think of all the love puns Knuckles could come up the fine china! Here's a good one...'Girl you look fine, and I'm china get in your pants...' Huh, huh, how about that?" 3/10, as Rouge doesn't even wear pants.

"Yoshi, I know I never got the chance to tell you this, straight up...but you're a living disappointment," Knuckles said to Yoshi, making the green dinosaur tear up. How could Knuckles say such a thing, and to Yoshi? "Ditch that stupid fine china, and get out of my face."

"I was just trying to help..." Yoshi held his head low and sighed, as he turned around and walked away. As he did, Sonic and Tails glanced at Knuckles, never knowing the echidna to be that savage.

"Alright you two, let's get back to finding Birdo. She isn't gonna find herself." Knuckles turned around, expecting Sonic and Tails to follow him. They did, but not before exchanging looks of concern with one another.

* * *

Wolf continued his matchmaking duties, as he was now speaking with Heihachi Mishima. The _Tekken_ veteran wasn't asking Wolf about his future love, oh no...he was instead asking about his grandson, Jin Kazama, and whether or not he was meant for Ling Xiaoyu.

"Jin Kazama, and Ling Xiaoyu...are a match!" exclaimed Wolf, as Heihachi let out a relieved sigh. "Jin and Ling are forever meant to be, and will be married in due time. Does that answer your question?"

"Yes, that answered my question entirely!" grinned Heihachi, as he rose up to his feet. "Was worried that Jin might be looking for other women...glad that he'll stick to Ling for a foreseeable future. Thanks for everything, Wolf!" Wolf nodded his head, as Heihachi left the room.

 **Heihachi: I wish nothing but the best for my grandson, Jin, and I hope that he has a beautiful and prosperous married life with Ling Xiaoyu. As for my son, Kazuya? *grimaces* Ah, screw that guy...**

Shortly after Heihachi left, Bowser would enter the room, needing to speak with Wolf. The koopa king had a fairly joyous date with Lara, as he got along with the tomb raider far better than he expected. However, he needed to ask the matchmaking honcho Wolf if starting a romance with Lara was truly worth it.

"Wolf you got a minute?" Bowser asked the mercenary, closing the door behind him. "I heard that you've picked up on matchmaking today, and that you're also giving out some romantic advice...and I felt like you're the right guy that could answer the question I have in mind."

"You indeed came to the right person, my friend!" exclaimed Wolf, glad to see Bowser coming to him for advice in love. "Just take a seat, and you can just ask away! Don't mind the candles - I'll move them out of the way if you take up too much space."

So Bowser would sit on the floor as he crossed his legs, or at least he tried to. Wolf moved the candles anyway, just to be on the safe side...

"The question I have in mind...is about a woman I've been infatuated with for some time," Bowser explained to Wolf, who nodded his head. Don't think the mercenary had any idea who this woman was. "She's a gal who's been living with Mario and Peach, and her name...is Lara Croft. Of course, you know her and stuff, but...do you think she's meant for me, and I'm meant for her?" Wolf, who tried to remain optimistic and vibrant, looked at Bowser rather inquisitively.

"Dude, you're a giant monster turtle, and she's only a human...YOU ARE NOT MEANT FOR LARA!" Wolf yelled this as loud as possible, so it could stick inside Bowser's head. "Have you not learned your lesson from Peach?! Why can't you just like a female koopa instead?"

"Because I don't know that many female koopas, okay?! The only one I truly know is my own daughter, Wendy Koopa, and we all know how heinous dating your own offspring would be. There's also Kylie Koopa, but she tries too hard to be trendy, which is like a cringeworthy way of attempting to be cool. I could never dig a chick like that!"

"And what do you want me to do, make a female koopa who's your type magically appear? Doesn't work that way pal...and are you sure you wanna commit to Lara? She's gotta head back to Britain soon..."

"She ain't going back to Britain because I burned her plane ticket!" Bowser shouted this at the top of his lungs, much to the shock of Wolf. Made the mercenary jump back a bit. "Look man, I've made sacrifices - both for myself, and for Lara - just so I could have a chance with my dream girl. Certainly that must mean something in the end, right? So tell me, Wolf - what must I do to fully win over Lara?" Wolf had dealt with several clients on his first day as a matchmaker...but none of those clients were anything compared to Bowser!

"All I can say is...that making sacrifices is a finesse way to prove your love towards someone. So keep on making those sacrifices, and you'll be on the right back." Wolf wanted to talk Bowser out of pursuing Lara, but probably didn't want to be roasted alive.

"Thanks a bunch Wolf, I knew I could trust you. Sacrificing is all about working hard, and I gotta work hard for Lara's love. Thanks, yet again!" Bowser left the room, as Wolf had a very easy feeling building up inside of him...

* * *

 **Peach: Mario is feeling very sedated, so he's in the master bedroom taking a short rest. X and .EXE are putting on the final touches on the security system as I speak. Lucas is still here, hiding from Birdo, and Lara just left the house, to take a breath of fresh air. That leaves me with nothing to do... *looks around* ...maybe I should look into doing those workout videos Mario left in the closet. Wonder why he hid them in the first place...**

While X and .EXE were testing out the newly-installed security system, a knock was at the front door. With neither robot able to answer the door, Lucas had muster all the bravery inside of him, and see who was at the front door, hoping it wasn't a stranger. Much to his delight, he saw that it was Cloud.

"Hey Lucas, is Mario around?" the swordsman asked the teen, Wolf's words still weighing in his mind. Cloud wanted to hear what Mario had to say about him being a clone of Zack Fair.

"Mario got sedated, so he's in no position to speak with you," answered Lucas; Cloud wished to know how Mario got sedated in the first place, but knowing Mario, he knew it was something the plumber caused himself. "Why do you need to speak with him for?"

"Oh, nothing, just wanted to ask him a question...about whether I'm a Zack Fair clone or not." Lucas was alarmed when Cloud nervously scratched the back of his head; he never saw the swordsman that nervous before. "No biggie..."

"When did it occur to you that you were ever a clone of Zack Fair? I mean, I never met the guy, never knew hims personally, but..."

"You have seen Zack Fair before, haven't you?" Lucas nodded to Cloud's question, albeit reluctantly. "Do you think I'm a clone of his? No sugarcoating, just tell me what you think..."

"I think...I think...you should take a seat and chill out." Lucas grabbed Cloud's hand, as he guided the swordsman inside the house and sat him in the living room. Lucas went over to close the front door, as Cloud sat there, staring into space. "Peach might answer your question better than I could..."

* * *

The day went on, and Rouge had yet to speak with her ex Knuckles. The bat remained in the foyer, not moving an inch, as Alph was juggling Pikmin in an effort to keep Rouge entertained.

"For the record, I've been practicing this for many weeks," stated Alph, keeping his eye on the Pikmin. One dropped Pikmin would ruin his act. "It's crazy to learn how talented you are, when you're bored..."

"Well you do look like a fairly boring individual," remarked Rouge, as she filed her nails. Alph's juggling act wasn't enough to keep her attention. "How old are you even supposed to be?"

"I ask that very question in my sleep sometimes, and I also ask that question to my fellow residents. If they don't know, then I don't know either."

 **Alph: I'm Old enough to hold a position at Hocotate Freight, but not old enough to drink alcohol...think I might be a teenager. If only I wasn't so short...**

 **Rouge: My goodness, Zelda is taking forever...where is that Knuckles?!**

* * *

Knuckles was still on the hunt for Birdo with Sonic and Tails, and the trio would finally find the purple dinosaur, after looking inside the beauty salon and seeing Birdo getting her feet manicured. Never did it occur to Knuckles and company that they should look in the beauty salon...probably thought they were too manly for it.

"We found her suspect, and now we have to keep her away from Yoshi as much as possible!" said Sonic, ready to execute the next phase of the plan. "But she's already has her hands - or feet - tied with Celica, so we should stand by and keep her from leaving the salon."

"Knuckles!" Zelda's voice called out, as Knuckles and company saw the princess coming towards them. "There you are, been looking all over for you. Rouge is back, and she wants to have a word with you. Wants to rework your relationship."

"Crap, Rouge is here already?" said an alarmed Knuckles, learning that his plan was halfway done. "I've yet to gift her a gift for her...I too have been planning to rework our relationship, and I thought that getting Rouge a gift might do just enough to..."

"We don't have time to wait for your silly gift...Rouge is down in the foyer as I speak, and she has been waiting impatiently. She's not a very patient person, and if she grows even more impatient..."

"You know what, tell her I'll be there in a minute. Buy me some time so I can find Rouge the perfect gift." Knuckles knew he shouldn't have trusted Yoshi to buy a gift; that was a lesson worth learning.

"Okay, fine...I'll see if that'll work. Highly doubt it, though."

* * *

Link was super ecstatic following the Eagles' Super Bowl victory. So ecstatic, that he literally ran around the mansion, waving his arms about and shouting "FLY EAGLES FLY!" In addition, the Hylian also went on a joyride in Luigi's car, and twirled his tunic in celebration on top of the mansion, while shirtless. Fellow Eagles fans would definitely approve of Link's erratic behavior.

The adrenaline Link felt from the Super Bowl was the motivation the Hylian needed to make Pikachu Cheesesteaks in the kitchen nonstop. The cheesesteaks, which were created by CJ in the previous episode, would later be "patented" by Master Hand, meaning that Master Hand took all credit for the cheesesteaks and refuse to acknowledge CJ as the one who made the recipe. Now the Pikachu Cheesesteaks were the newest staple of Pikachu Day, and Master Hand ordered Link to make as many of them as possible. Link couldn't complete the task by himself, so he had someone work alongside him.

"Keep dicing those hot peppers Sora, and chop up that garlic!" Link ordered the Keyblade wielder, who was doing as he was told. "And make sure that granola oil is all nice and creamy - the creamier the better!"

"You got it, Link!" Sora replied as he kept dicing and chopping away, doing both tasks at the same time. Talk about being an effective chef.

 **Link: Taught Sora everything he needed to know about the Super Bowl, and American football in general - I mean, somebody had to teach him, and we all knew it wouldn't be Cloud. I told Sora about all the teams, and the conferences, and the best players, and the rules...and I even told him about how great the Eagles were, for good measure. Thanks to me, I've made an Eagles fan out of Sora! Once a fan, always a fan... forever.*laughs to himself***

 **Corrin: That Link, bringing Sora over to the dark side that is the Eagles fanbase...you may have won this round, Link, but I guarantee you, you shall feel the wrath of Palpatine coming down upon you soon...**

Once Sora was done with the hot peppers and garlic, he hurled the ingredients into the skillet filled with granola oil, allowing the oil to simmer as he put on the lid. A master in the making?

"We should be done with our 34th Pikachu Cheesesteak of the day soon, Link!" Sora said to the Hylian, who was stroking his chin in thought. Link was thinking of new ways to innovate the cheesesteak, and a new idea might've entered his head. "Whaddaya thinking, Link?"

"The cheesesteak...the cheesesteak needs some melted chocolate..." uttered Link; chocolate in a cheesesteak? Yuck! What a terrible combination! "...yeah, some melted chocolate should do the trick! We must make the Pikachu Cheesesteak different from the others cheesesteaks, different from the rest of the pack, and some melted chocolate would..."

"I know I'm already in the majority, but I think melted chocolate in a cheesesteak sounds like a very bad idea." Upon hearing this, Link would grab Sora's shoulders, and looked into his blue eyes, with an intense look.

"Do you think I should care if melted chocolate in a cheesesteak is a bad idea? Lemme tell you something, my friend...what do people mostly associate chocolate with? Black people. What do people mostly associate black people with? Dreams. Lemme tell you why...Martin Luther King Jr? He had a dream. Michael Jackson? He had a dream. The 1992 Dream Team? They all had a dream...well, save for Bird and Stockton."

"...and the point you're trying to make is...?" Sora asked this while eyeing around the kitchen, hoping someone would bail him out.

"My point is, they had a dream, and I have a dream - a dream to make the Pikachu Cheesesteak the greatest sandwich ever created. I shall carry on the legacy of CJ (although Master Hand may take all his credit) in an ongoing effort to improve Pikachu Day, a day so great it deserves to be celebrated every day! And if innovating the Pikachu Cheesesteak means chasing my dreams, then so be it!"

"Okay Link, you're starting to become obsessed, like Master Hand obsessed. I feel very worried about your overall sanity."

"Eh, it's probably just a phase I'm going through," remarked Link, as he dropped Sora unto the floor with a thud. The utter disregard for his well-being. "I can't be any worse than Master Hand, though!" Link turned around and saw Flora, holding a mop as she was looking at the Hylian. Might've seen Link's entire speech...

"I'm sorry for looking, my apologies," apologized Flora, looking down at the floor as she resumed moping. That didn't stop Link from asking the maid to complete a certain favor for him.

"Flora, can you do me a solid and get me some chocolate?" the Hylian asked Flora, who froze as she looked up at Link, with scared eyes. "Chill out, you don't have to go out or anything, I'm sure there's some chocolate lying around in the mansion..."

 **Link: Find me some chocolate. That's _all_ Flora has to do. If she somehow screws that up, then her life is a complete waste, with or without her maid duties.**

"Is there a particular chocolate you're looking for?" asked Flora, already fearful that she might mess up. Always setting herself up for failure...

"Nah, I don't have a preference - but just avoid dark chocolate if you can," advised Link, stressing this as much as possible. "Dark chocolate only tastes good when you're marinating it in your saliva. Otherwise, it'll taste extremely bitter. Trust me, I know..."

* * *

Unlike the tranquilizer dart fired at Meta Knight in episode 8 - the one that left the Star Warrior sedated for the entirety of the episode - the tranquilizer dart that struck Mario had less sever sedation effects, and as a result, Mario was up and running once the sedation wore off.

"Time to see if X and .EXE are done-a with that security system!" exclaimed Mario moments after he hopped out of the bed and stretched his arms. The plumber headed down the stairs, and went to the living room, seeing X and .EXE...

...and Peach, Lara, Lucas, and Cloud in the living room as well, seated around. Cloud still had a thousand yard look in his eyes, meaning that he was still reflecting on Wolf's comments.

"About time you woke up, Mario," Peach said to Mario, when she saw that her husband was there. "Come and take a seat. Cloud is going through...some motions right now." Mario took a seat on the couch, next to his wife.

"What have you been-a discussing while I was resting?" Mario asked, after he took his seat. Cloud's detachment was especially concerning to the plumber.

"Cloud apparently thinks that he's a clone of Zack Fair," explained X, catching Mario by surprise. "Wolf was the one who told him that - said Aerith only liked Cloud because of how similar he is to Zack."

"Has Aerith ever seen-a Zack before, in her own-a universe? I know the Zack Fair in ours-a died, but if Aerith is alive in-a her universe, then the Zack from-a that universe could be alive-a too..."

"I'm just a clone...just a clone..." said Cloud, as he continued to stare into the distance. Didn't take him long enough to see Mario sitting next to Peach. "Mario, do you think I'm a Zack Fair clone?"

"Not necessarily, Cloud...sure, you have the same-a fighting stance Zack did, and you have the same-a sword Zack used to wield, and you have-a spiky hair, like Zack did...granted you have traits-a similar to Zack, but that doesn't mean..."

"Just tell me the answer I need Mario, straight up. Am I Zack Fair clone or what? Don't need any fancy explanations, get straight to the point. Am I a clone of Zack Fair? Yes or no?"

"Cloud, I know this might be an insensitive question to ask, but..." Lucas spoke up, nervous about how Cloud would respond. "Have you...ever met your parents? Do you even know your parents, for that matter?"

"Well, I was raised by my mom...but I've never met my dad. Disappeared when I was young. But what if that wasn't my real mom, and my real mom was out there somewhere? Or what if I was cloned, and I was...man, this is giving me headaches..."

Cloud clutched his head, grabbing his hair as Lara patted the swordsman on the back. Wolf really messed Cloud up today...

* * *

Speaking of Wolf, the mercenary was on a roll on his first day as a matchmaker. He gave Wario some romantic tips in regards to Palutena, told Tsubasa where to buy a Valentine's Day gift for Itsuki, and even helped Isabelle file some taxes. Master Hand's taxes. That last thing wasn't romantic, but someone had to do it...

 **Wolf: Who knew being a matchmaker would be a breeze? I've been giving people fruitless information, and they just accept it and run away! Of course, I couldn't be positive for all my clients - still on the fence about Bowser wanting to be with Lara. But I told him what he wanted to hear, and he'll hopefully leave me alone...until he encounters another hurdle in his ongoing quest for Lara's love. Sooner or later he'll realize the huge mistake he's making.**

Wolf remained in his matchmaking room, awaiting his next client. The door opened, and in came Flora; she remained at the door, meaning that she wouldn't be staying for long.

"Do you...do you have any chocolate?" Flora asked Wolf, fearing that the mercenary might yell at her. Good thing Wolf was in a charitable mood today.

"Why yes I do Flora - I've been waiting for someone to ask me that!" replied Wolf, as he reached into a sack and pulled out a box of chocolates. "Who is this for, Dark Pit? Never knew you were the one to take initiative, Flora...just so you know, the chocolate isn't assorted, so..."

"Thank you very much!" Flora ran inside the room to snatch the box of chocolates before running back out and closed the door. Another deal done with Wolf, professional matchmaker.

* * *

Yoshi sat alone in the hallway, feeling sad as he stared at his fine china. It was a gift meant for Rouge, but it was never meant to be, as Knuckles disapproved the selection. Yoshi, feeling like me screwed up big, remained depressed as Ness walked by.

"What's up with you?" the teenager asked Yoshi, who heaved a sigh. The dinosaur didn't feel like returning the fine china - a waste of his money.

"Knuckles wanted me to get a gift for his ex-girlfriend, Rouge, and I thought some fine china would do the trick..." explained Yoshi, still staring at the fine china he apparently refused to return. "...but Knuckles didn't like the gift, and he called me a disappointment. He might be telling the truth, for all I know..."

"Why would you get a gift for Rouge? That's Knuckles' business. Not yours." Just then, a brilliant idea spurred in Ness' mind. "I think you should give that fine china to Birdo."

"Are you out of your mind?!" Yoshi took great offense to this idea, which might not be brilliant on paper. "That's like a death wish waiting to happen! What are you thinking, man?!"

"How about I tell you the full details?" Ness leaned in close to Yoshi, whispering into the dinosaur's ear, as Yoshi nodded at every little bit of information. A smile strangely formed on his face...

* * *

In last week's episode, Pit lost to Sonic in a game of _Tecmo Bowl,_ after Sonic ran all over Pit without even letting the angel have possession of the ball. This week, Pit was taking another L again, as he was on the court outside with Kirby playing some one-on-one basketball. It should be noted that Kirby was too small to dribble the basketball, but that didn't stop him from scoring buckets.

"Gonna cut into your lead right now, Kirby!" said Pit, dribbling the ball down the court towards Kirby, who was too short to guard Pit. Pit let the ball fly, shooting it out of his hands as the ball zipped into the air and past the basket...resulting in another air ball. "That was just my practice shot - nothing to sneeze at!"

"Pit, you said that for all the previous shots you've taken," stated Kirby, before leaving to fetch the ball. "Come up with something original next time, okay?" Kirby added after he returned to the court.

 **Pit: May have lost to Kirby in basketball, on this blessed Pikachu Day, but I shall get my revenge on the next Pikachu Day...which is tomorrow. And if not tomorrow, then the day after tomorrow, which is also Pikachu Day. My revenge shall come on Pikachu Day, one way or another...  
Kirby: *walking by* Spoiler alert...his revenge is never coming. It's all in his head.**

Play was about to resume, until Zelda came outside to speak with Pit and Kirby. She probably saw how terrible Pit was from inside, and wanted to end the game to preserve the angel's dignity.

"Sorry to end your little basketball game...whether it was competitive or not," said the princess, knowing anything involving Pit was bereft of competition. "You do know about Wolf's matchmaking...thing, correct?"

"Yeah I came to Wolf for some love advice, but he kicked me out as soon as he saw me," replied Pit, feeling and sounding salty. "What about Wolf's matchmaking?"

* * *

Rouge, waiting for an eternity, was now fast asleep in the foyer, as Cloud entered the mansion returning from Mario's home. Around this time, Zelda appeared in the foyer, and Cloud came to her immediately.

"Zelda, do you think I'm a Zack Fair clone?" Cloud asked the princess, understandably puzzled by this question. "Wolf said that I was. Said that Aerith only liked me because I'm a Zack Fair clone. Now I'm starting to have doubts that my mom isn't my birth mom...what do you think?"

"I think you should go to your room and truly think about what you've heard," replied Zelda, as she guided Cloud out of the foyer. "The fact that you believed something Wolf told you is astounding." Zelda shook her head once Cloud left, before turning her attention to an asleep Rouge. A simple tug of her wing was enough to wake the bat up.

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" shouted Rouge, as she awakened from her slumber. She looked up, and saw a smiling Zelda. "Oh, it's you again...whatever it is, it better be about Knuckles."

"Yes, it is about Knuckles...he's ready to speak with you." This was news to Rouge's ears, as she sprung up and got on her feet. "First we need a private place for you to met up, but I got that taken care of...hopefully."

* * *

In episode 109, Lucina made a promise to Chrom that she would bail him and his _Fire Emblem_ buddies out of Roy's Straight Fiyah hullabaloo, and ever since she explained her plan to Fox and Falco, there was hardly any mention of her plan. But Lucina would be seemingly planting the seeds for her master plan, as she was speaking with Raven on the phone.

"Yeah, Father walked out on Straight Fiyah, can't say I blame him..." Lucina spoke with Raven, in the lounge. "However, his walkout has put a damper on my plans... _our_ plans rather. I'll have to do some improvisation."

 **Lucina: Figured that someone was bound to walk out on Roy's silly k-pop group, but I did not expect Father to be the one to walk out. I'll just have to wait on whoever the new member will be before I resume my plan. I'd be afraid if Roy recruited the Black Knight.**

"Remember to take your time, rushing things will only screw you up," advised Raven. "Got any predictions for who this new member might be?" Before Lucina could answer, the princess saw Roy walk by the lounge, with a hip Crash Bandicoot walking at his side, and it left her speechless. "...Lucina, you still there?"

"Hold on, I need to speak with Roy for a sec..." Lucina put her phone down, as she left the lounge to speak with Roy. "Roy, what are you doing with Crash?" Lucina questioned the swordsman, as Roy and Crash turned around.

"I'm showing Crash the ropes, in regards to being a k-pop star!" explained Roy, as Lucina cringed hard. "Yes, he will be our new lead singer, and he'll be a better singer than your worthless...um, _worthy_ father, Chrom! Totally not worthless!"

"No one else was available for the taking, huh?" Clearly that was the case, as Roy held his head in shame. "Not that anyone would _ever_ willingly join your stupid group. Forcing people to be a part of your delusions is never a good thing, Roy."

"Oh yeah, well you'll be eating your words once Straight Fiyah makes it to the top and becomes world famous! I repeat, WORLD, FAMOUS!" Lucina scoffed and rolled her eyes, as she turned around and walked away. "Keep on walking Lucina, one day you'll see. One day!" Once Lucina was far away from Roy, she pulled out her phone.

"Sorry, but I'm gonna have to call you another time...apparently Roy picked Crash freaking Bandicoot to be the new lead singer. That furball can't even sing...I'll call you later once I give you an update on the plan."

"Sounds good - talk to you later," replied Raven, as Lucina promptly ended the call. The princess walked past an open bedroom door, before peering through said door and seeing Coco on her bad, fiddling away on her laptop. Lucina knocked on the door, to grab Coco's attention.

"Hello, who is it?" asked Coco, momentarily looking up from her laptop screen, as she saw Lucina enter her room. "Oh, hi Lucina. Say, have you seen Aku anywhere? Saw him being chewed up by the Duck Hunt dog, and later saw him in the washing machine. Bet he's stuck in a vending machine now."

"Unfortunately, I don't know where Aku is..." responded Lucina, as she closed the door behind her and locked it. That really grabbed Coco's attention. "...but I do have an offer to give to you..."

"An offer? What kind of offer is it? It's not anything mutant related, is it? Please don't let be anything to do with mutants..."

* * *

Back to Wolf, who was waiting for another client before he could call it a day. In came Pit and Kirby, the former "banned: by Wolf.

"Thought I told you good not to come to me for romantic advice ever again!" Wolf snapped on Pit, only for Pit to aggressively grab the mercenary and fling him out of the room. With Wolf gone, Pit blew out the candles (except one) and moved them out of the way, allowing Kirby to spit out a table and two chairs in the center of the room.

"One lit candle oughta be enough," said Pit placing the lone lit candle in the center of the table, before looking out through the door, with Wolf lying on the floor grumbling to himself. Pit saw Knuckles from far away and gave him a thumbs up, giving the echidna the initiative to come to the room.

 **Knuckles: Because Yoshi simply cannot be trusted to buy anyone a gift ever again, I had to find a gift for Rouge on my own, with Sonic and Tails coming along. Just for the trip, totally not like they helped pick out a gift or anything...but regardless, I have selected a gift for Rouge, and I got it ready for Rouge to see!**

"Here's hoping all goes well," said Knuckles as he entered the room and took a seat at the table, as Pit and Kirby made their exit. Fortunately for Knuckles he didn't have to wait long for Rouge, for the bat arrived along with Zelda.

"There he is, dying to speak with you..." Zelda whispered to Rouge as the two stood at the door, with Zelda pointing at Knuckles. "Well, now's your opportunity - don't try and screw this up, okay?"

"Not to fear, Princess Zelda, I've learned my lesson already," assured Rouge, as she stepped inside the room and trotted her way to Knuckles. Knuckles looked up and was delighted to see his ex, smiling intently. "Missed me?" Rouge asked the echidna.

"Guess you can say that again, haven't been quite the same since that whole fiasco," replied Knuckles, holding the gift bag that contained his gift. "Why don't you take a seat, so we can...work some stuff out?"

"With pleasure..." smiled Rouge, as she took a seat in her chair. Her gaze soon became fixated on Knuckles' gift bag, which left her smiling even more. "Say, Knuckles, what's in the bag? Care to explain?"

"Not until later, it's a surprise...let's just have a conversation for a while. It's been weeks since we last talked to each other...eight weeks, if I recall correctly. All because of that love triangle shenanigans..."

"Yeah, about that...before we continue our conversation, I want to apologize for what I did to you and Knuckles. Shouldn't have listened to Jakob. But I will admit, he was very convincing..."

"Jakob was very convincing to us when he was vying to be the butler of the Smash Mansion. You'd never expect him to be secretly working for Dr. Eggman the whole time. Kinda used that to his advantage, and almost got away with it...almost."

"Well Jakob is in the past, so no need to dwell upon him any longer. Good riddance to that man...on to other things. I take it that you've been living in turmoil while embellishing your single status? Your friends must've given you a hard time!"

"If you're talking about Sonic and Tails...then I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken. They never poked fun at me ever since our breakup. Sonic might've said a thing or two, but it wasn't anything I'd punch him in the face for."

As Knuckles and Rouge continued to talk with one another and reconnect, Zelda, Pit, and Kirby watched attentively through the door. And every time Wolf got up from the floor to take back the room, Kirby would throw him back down each and every time.

"Did Knuckles ever tell you about the gift he purchased for Rouge?" Zelda asked Pit and Kirby; the faces they made indicated that the gift wasn't a good one.

"It's a Valentine's Day-themed snow globe, apparently," replied Kirby, as Zelda made a questionable face. "If it makes you feel any better, Knuckles said Sonic picked it out! So all the blame goes to him..."

 **Tails: Sonic, what possibly made you think that a snow globe for Rouge would be a great gift for her? Not that it's any better than fine china...but what were you thinking?!  
Sonic: Oh, so it's MY fault Knuckles didn't have a gameplan before we went shopping...I just grabbed the first thing I saw. Like you could've done any better!  
Tails: That teddy bear we saw could've sufficed.  
Sonic: What do you think Rouge is, a little child? She's like, twenty years old... *pause* ...which means she's older than Knuckles! Man, no wonder Knuckles used to have a tough time in that relationship...**

"Why did Knuckles agree upon the snow globe for?" asked Zelda, as Pit shrugged. "Why did Knuckles even bother looking for a gift in the first place? If Rouge sees that snow globe, she might be one unhappy camper..."

Suddenly, there was crying heard from afar, crying loud enough to grab the attention of Zelda and company. Knuckles and Rouge also heard the crying, as they stopped their conversation, only pausing for a brief moment before continuing.

"You two stay right here, I'll go see where that crying is coming from," Zelda said to Pit and Kirby, as the princess left the two alone.

* * *

The crying would be coming from Flora, who was seated in the hallway sobbing with her sister Felicia comforting her. In front of Flora was the box of chocolates she got from Wolf.

"I'm such a failure, I can't be trusted to do anything..." sobbed Flora, as Felicia comfortingly patted her shoulder. "Can't even do a simple task correctly..." Zelda would arrive at the scene, seeing Flora in her time of despair.

"Great, what is Flora crying over this time?" Zelda asked Felicia, wishing Flora wasn't always so down on herself.

"Flora was supposed to get Link some chocolate or something, and she gave him that box of chocolates on the floor," explained Felicia, as she pointed at the box in question. "However, it was nothing but dark chocolate, and Link kinda put Flora on blast for it...he was really out of his element."

"The chocolate must be for that stupid Pikachu Cheesesteak...I'm so going to have a very long talk with Link about that sandwich of his." Zelda picked up the box of chocolates, and looked at it curiously. "Mind if I borrow this?" she asked the maids.

"Why bother, it didn't do me any good so what good would it do for you..." replied Flora, in-between her sobs, as she wiped away her tears. "...but go ahead, take that box, see what I care..."

* * *

 **Birdo: Finished up a wonderful day at the beauty salon - got my nails done, and my feet manicured! It was all thanks to Celica, who did every procedure for me and then some. Saw her washing her hands profusely after she was done my with feet - must be a hardcore germaphobe. After all, I'm too pretty to have smelly feet...it's just all in Celica's head.**

While Birdo had a great time at the beauty salon - the same couldn't be said for Celica, however - the dinosaur's day wouldn't be complete without seeing her man, Yoshi. She hadn't seen Yoshi all day, and she refused to leave until she got the chance to speak with her man.

Birdo's chance would soon come sooner than expected, when she stepped outside the beauty salon, and saw guess who? Yoshi, standing with his arms behind his back. You bet Birdo was super delighted.

"About time you showed up, my love!" exclaimed Birdo, batting her eyelashes as Yoshi remained unfettered. "How'd you know I was in the beauty salon? Ah, someone probably told you. Are you holding something behind your back?"

"It's a gift I hand-picked specifically for you," answered Yoshi, making Birdo squeal with joy. "Come closer, and I'll show you what it is..." So Birdo crept towards Yoshi, as Yoshi held out the fine china he originally purchased for Birdo. "You like?"

"Ooh, exquisite fine china! Yoshi, you know me too well. Especially for a man who's strongly in denial about his love. About time you finally came around...does this mean what I think it means?"

"Why yes it does...for there is a question I've been too afraid to ask you." The anticipation was building, as Birdo's heart was fluttering away. "Birdo...do you wish to take me as your loving boyfriend?" You know what happened next.

"Yes, yes, yes I do take you as my loving boyfriend! Yoshi, I've been waiting for you to admit that you are truly mine! I'm so happy, I can't hide it! We must commemorate this moment!"

"Good thing I know just the way..." Yoshi took out a bottle, and two teacups of the fine china set, as he poured the contents of the bottle into the two teacups. One cup for Birdo, and one cup for himself. "Shall we toast, m'lady?"

"Toast we shall!" Birdo took her teacup, and Yoshi took his, as the two toasted their cups. Birdo would drink her teacup first...and seconds later, she fell to the floor with a thud. Yoshi did not drink his cup, however, as Ness appeared once Birdo was knocked out.

"So how did it go?" Ness asked Yoshi, who pointed at the unconscious Birdo, on the floor next to her teacup. "Sweet, it went exactly how I planned! That should keep Birdo destabilized."

 **Ness: The drink we gave to Birdo is called Everclear, and it's 95% alcohol. Cilan "enhanced" the drink, allowing it to render whoever drinks it unconscious. Was having Birdo drink the Everclear immoral? Sure. Was Birdo stalking Yoshi uncomfortably and unwillingly immoral? Certainly. So it kinda evens out.**

"Feels weird having the upper hand on Birdo...usually it's me who takes the fall," remarked Yoshi. The dinosaur finally took care of his problems head on, rather than running away from there. He was coming along nicely. "What do we do with Birdo now?"

"Cilan said that the effects of the enhanced Everclear last indefinitely, until whoever drinks it wakes up," answered Ness, stroking his chin. "I'd say we just throw her in the basement and lock her in. Master Hand would approve of that."

* * *

The conversation between Knuckles and Rouge was going along fairly swell, as the reconnecting lovebirds were now talking about trust issues, commitment, sacrifices, and all that good stuff. The kind of stuff that made Pit and Kirby sick to their stomach. With the conversation drawing to a close, it was time for the moment of truth...

"Still waiting to see what's in the bag, Knuckles," said Rouge, as she eyed the gift bag. Knuckles smiled sheepishly, as he held the gift bag. "The gift inside is for me, correct?"

"Of course it is - otherwise I wouldn't bring it with me," replied Knuckles, peering into the bag and seeing the snow globe. Why did he trust Sonic's judgement? "You're not gonna...freak out, once I show you the gift, will you?"

"Eh, as long as it's a good gift, I won't do any harm. Better not be a piece of crap. You gonna give me the gift or what?"

"Well I would give it to you...but I'm still afraid about your reaction. Like, what if you become so delighted, that you scream and break every window in the mansion? Given where we are, that would be impossible, yet plausible at the same time."

"Quit stalling Knuckles, and show me what's in the bag. If you loved me so much that you bought me a gift, then show it to me!"

"Before I do, I just want to say that picking this gift was hard...hard in that I nearly spent my allowance on it. That's how hard it was. You know I can be a stingy person sometimes - tossing a coin into a fountain makes me feel uneasy!"

As Knuckles stalled an unamused Rouge, Zelda finally returned to Pit and Kirby with the box of chocolates. Couldn't have came at a more opportune time.

"Sorry I was late - had to go reprimand Link," apologized Zelda; her reprimanding was all in the name of Flora's honor. "Not done yet though, I'll have a long talk with Link later. What did I miss?"

"Nothing much, Knuckles and Rouge appear to be almost back together again," replied Pit, despite Rouge's frustration with Knuckles increasing. "Rouge is just dying to see that snow globe...uh, I mean gift."

"Good thing I came just in time then..." Zelda handed the box of chocolates to Kirby. "Can you switch that snow globe out with this? Try not to grab Rouge's attention!"

"I'll be as quiet as a Waddle Dee," replied Kirby, as he scurried inside the room. Rouge's patience with Knuckles was suddenly dwindling.

"Get on with it Knuckles, I'm not waiting forever ya know," demanded Rouge, slamming her fist on the table. "Show me the gift, or I'm leaving!"

"Okay woman, don't hurt me...let me just say this," said Knuckles, bracing himself. "It may not be the greatest gift in the world, but it's always the thought...that counts?" Instead of pulling out a snow globe, the echidna pulled out a box of chocolates instead. He placed it on the table, with a strange look, as Kirby scurried away with the snow globe.

"Ooh, a box of chocolates, just for me!" gleamed Rouge, as she opened the box and ate one of the chocolates. Her eyes widened instantly. "And it's dark chocolate too?! My favorite! Aw, Knuckles, you shouldn't have. This is like Valentine's Day, five days early!"

"Yup, box of chocolates, totally what I had in mind..." Knuckles chuckled, as he look towards the door and saw Zelda and company, with Pit giving a thumbs up. "My 'buddies' helped pick out the chocolates, for sure. Don't know what I would do without them..."

And then, for the final moment of truth...Rouge lunged over the table, leaping into the arms of Knuckles, as the lovebirds fell unto the floor and kissed one another. Zelda looked on in amazement; Pit covered Kirby's eyes, while Kirby tried to cover Pit's, although he couldn't reach.

 **Pit: So to be clear...when Viridi wants to kiss me, I should allow her to lunge at me and fall to the floor? Or should it be the other way around? I mean, I have wings, which would decrease the room for error if things go wrong...nah, I should just let Viridi do whatever she pleases.**

Once she was done kissing Knuckles, Rouge got up off the floor, leaving Knuckles in a state of trance. Safe to say that Knuckles x Rouge was back on, especially after that kiss.

"Talk to you later, my precious boyfriend..." smiled Rouge, kissing her two fingers and planting the kiss on Knuckles' cheek, before exiting the room. Knuckles remained on the floor, looking up at the ceiling, as he smiled to himself.

"Hehehe...that crazy chick still digs me," the echidna chuckled. Zelda, Pit, and Kirby all left Knuckles where he was, as they all walked away and left him alone to ponder over how "crazy" Rouge was.

It was probably for the best anyways.


	113. Episode 113: Nightout

_Author's Note:_

 _This chapter is mostly inspired by some...erm, research I did about Japanese culture. Won't tell you what led me to said research, but let's just say I have too much spare time on my hands. Thankfully I have enough time to answer guest reviews...A LOT of guest reviews:_

 _"Can you include the characters from Boktai or Lunar Knights? Will we see any Blazblue characters show up? A scene with Zephyr from Resonance of Fate interacting with Lloyd? (Scott Menville voices both of them) will the cast of NiGHTS Into Dreams and Journey of Dreams show up when Antasma shows up? And finally, what are your thoughts on the Nintendo Labo?"_

 _Possibly. Hopefully. I can make that happen. They most likely will. And I haven't heard much about the Nintendo Labo, but I'll check it out sometime soon. On to the next review..._

 _"hey make protoman appear more and could you make crazyhand visit thr mansion whils master hand visit his doeant find him and well you can countine from there"_

 _I can make Proto Man appear more, and I can also have Crazy Hand show up when Master Hand isn't around. On to the next review..._

 _"hey could you make a chapter completely about sonic oh and i have one more thing will sonic ever become somewhat tolerable"_

 _I could NEVER do a chapter completely about one character...though I might've did it already with Cloud in the first chapter. Sonic is slowly undergoing some character development...slowly but surely. On to the next review..._

 _"hey i was wondering if you could do a chapter about the duck hunt do you know that game into a horror game and i wnt tthe dog to act like the psychopath mascot and the dog will be wlking a scaring everyone as.a prank and he has red stuff on him which is ketchup plz do dis plz"_

 _Duck Hunt...psychopath...scaring everyone...prank...ketchup. Think I got all of it. I think. On to the next review..._

 _"helo could you make a chapter just about protoman he goes around and everyone in the mansion is trying to prank him but protoman does not know t all"_

 _Wait...did those four reviews come from the same person?! Bah, no matter. I suppose I can fulfill this Proto Man request. Or maybe not. On to the next review..._

 _"When will Sora be working out about cloud, if ever"_

 _Sometime before Sora returns to his universe. On to the next review..._

 _"1. Will Straight Fiyah (I still can't believe Roy for naming the band that) perform at the Olympics?  
2\. I personally feel like the Lucas self defense has evolved into the stranger danger that Mamori feels. Did she go to the same class Lucas went to?_  
 _3\. Could you maybe do a chapter where Sonic unearthes his TV shows, but instead of just watching them, Sonic was accidentally warped in, and has to witness firsthand Sonic_  
 _4\. Will Master Hand phrase the visiting Pyetionchang as an expedition to raise awareness of Pikachu Day, because I could totally see him do that._  
 _5\. Final random question of the day: does the Smash Mansion have water fountains?"_

 _1\. That is the plan I have in mind._  
 _2\. Did Mamori go to a similar self-defense class? Perhaps..._  
 _3\. Sure, I can make that happen._  
 _4\. I can totally see him do that too!_  
 _5\. Smash Mansion does not have water fountains...but they do have elevators, so that's better than nothing._

 _And for our last review of the day, Derick Lindsey:_

 _"How long has Peach been pregnant for as of this chapter which you'll answer next week? because it's been a while since we've heard a status on Peach's pregnancy."_

 _I actually feel bad for not giving an update...one which I will provide in this chapter._

* * *

 **Episode 113: Nightout**

At the Smash Mansion, there were plenty of interesting characters to be fearful of. You had Bowser, the Koopa King, whose gnarly teeth and rugged look is enough to strike intimidation in any soul. You had Ganondorf, the Gerudo Demon Lord wielding the power of darkness - and occasionally twilight. You had Heihachi Mishima, one of the most feared fighters of the world and the head of a well-known Japanese fighting clan. And you also had King Dedede...

...okay, there's nothing to fear about King Dedede at all. Unless fat, obese people with you nightmares, for some reason.

But there was one person that every male at the mansion feared the most, whether they were single, married, or in a relationship. It was a woman, whose flirtatious ways were enough to make any man feel uneasy. And she was an Umbra Witch, known by one name, and one name only.. _Bayonetta_.

Despite flirting with every man she saw, Bayonetta herself was in a bit of a relationship, with Luka Redgrave. Of course, Bayonetta could never get the opportunity to see Luka, as the man was still delivering flyers for Rodin, never allowed to take a day off. But whenever Mr. Redgrave was off from work (which rarely happened outside of holidays), Bayonetta always knew how to spend her time wisely with her man.

Fortunately for the male residents, they wouldn't have to worry about looking over their shoulder for Bayonetta, for the Umbra Witch was fixing to go on a "girls night out" with Peach, Daisy, Celica, Samus, and many others. This exurscion was planned by Peach and Daisy, although Mario did not want the former to be involved in any way.

"Peach you can't-a go, you're still pregnant, remember?" Mario said to Peach, noticing how much bigger Peach's stomach has gotten ever since the announcement about Peach being pregnant was made back in episode 88. Hopefully you didn't forget. "One alcoholic drink could-a mess up our new-a born!"

"Silly Mario, we're not going to a bar - I know much better than that," assured Peach, giving Mario a smile, as her husband let out a sigh of relief. "We're going to a nightclub instead, those seem more fun than bars anyways!" Mario did not agree, however, as the choice of going to a nightclub made the plumber faint and fall to the floor. Cappy tried to bring Mario back to his senses, but to no avail.

 **Daisy: Bayonetta, complaining how bored she was becoming about life at the mansion, kept talking to Peach and I about how she wanted to go somewhere in town to, you know, have a fun time together, and so we picked out this fancy nightclub called the Aston Manor to hang out at. Got a 4.3 star rating on Google, so that has to be worth something. Bayonetta said that she's expecting her best friend Jeanne to show up at this nightclub, so we'll be keeping a look out for her...**

"Not even twitching his mustache seems to work, Mario must be out for good," stated Cappy, after doing everything he could to wake up Mario, whether it was poking his nose, or tugging his mustache. "I would pour water on him, like they do in the cartoons, but Mario would probably be angry with me."

"I heartily disagree," spoke FLUDD, the talking device who was always attached to Mario's back, seldom seen by human eyes. Mario brought that thing around everywhere he went. "I say we fling him into the lake and watch him try to swim his way back to the surface!"

"You two can go do that...I'll go speak with Daisy," Peach said to Cappy and FLUDD, as she left the home and left Mario still on the floor.

"Seriously, we should wake him up with some water - him lying on the floor in the position he's in is very disturbing to look at," FLUDD said to Cappy. Why not have Poochy lick Mario and wake him up that way? Surely that mutt was around here somewhere.

"Fine then, go ahead and do your worst..." Cappy said to FLUDD, who went ahead and doused a water on Mario. The plumber, hit by this gush of liquid, yelped as he jumped up in the air, before bouncing around the living room like a ninny.

"STOP, DROP, AND-A ROLL!" shouted Mario as he fell to the floor and rolled around, screaming at the top of his lungs. Cappy and FLUDD just looked at each other, obviously very concerned for Mario.

"Chill out Mario, you're not on fire - FLUDD here just doused water on you to wake you up!" Cappy shouted at the plumber, who stopped rolling and realized that he was wet. Mario giggled sheepishly, as he stood up and dusted himself off.

"Sorry you had-a to see that, you two - when you've been feuding against-a Bowser for as long as I have, you tend to think-a that you're...en fuego, sometimes. A little Spanish-a for ya." Mario looked around, and saw that Peach had left. "Where did Peach run-a off to?"

"She went next door to speak with Daisy," replied FLUDD, as Cappy returned to Mario's head. "Likely to discuss that girls night out thingamajig Bayonetta has been dying to do."

"Say, Mario, since Peach and the gals are having a girls night out...why don't we have a _boys_ night out?" suggested Cappy, as Mario stroked his chin at this tantalizing thought. He hardly ever got a chance to have a really good time with Link, Fox, and many others ever since he moved out. "Peach and company can go to their little nightclub, and we could go on a ride around town, do some sightseeing and whatnot! How about it?"

"A boys night-a out sounds like a great-a idea! Me, Donkey Kong, Link, Cloud, Doc Louis, Fox, Falco...all of us could go around-a town! What a lovely suggestion-a Cappy - always having the best-a intentions!"

"...the guest list wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but it's fine with me." Sounded like Cappy only wanted him and FLUDD to tag along with Mario. Maybe Mario had something against hanging out with talking inanimate objects out in the public.

 **Cappy: Man, it was supposed to be Mario, FLUDD, and myself, going around town and checking out all the sights and attractions...and then Mario had to be like, "Oh, let me invite every guy I know at the mansion, because that's what bros are for!" Luigi may be Mario's biological bro, but I'm his friendly bro - I've spent more time with Mario than any other friend he has. In fact, I've spent more time with Mario than he has spent with his wife! Am I trying to make Mario look bad? Of course not, that's impossible - you could accuse Mario of voluntary manslaughter, and they would put the blame on the victim killed, even if Mario was in the wrong. What I'm trying to say is, you can't be inviting these people to join your escapades and not recognize the ones close to you, you know what I'm saying?**

"You sure inviting Cloud on a boys night out would be a good thing, Mario?" asked FLUDD, having overheard the conversation Cloud had with Mario and others in the previous episode. "I bet he's still overworked about that whole Zack Fair clone hubbub."

"Which I don't-a understand, since this information came-a from Wolf," stated Mario, wondering what compelled Wolf to lead Cloud astray. "A boys night out should to enough to ease Cloud's mind."

* * *

It has been a week, and Wolf's words were still weighing in Cloud's mind, as Cloud tried to distance himself from the Zack Fair stigma. He would have little success in doing so, especially when you consider all the qualities Zack used to have...

Well-built. Sky blue "Mako" eyes. Spiky hair. Wielded the Buster Sword. Positive, friendly, energetic, and easygoing with just about anyone.

Cloud couldn't lose the muscles in his body - he did not want to be seen as weak. Cloud couldn't lose the "Mako" eyes - they were a part of his Mako enhancement. Cloud couldn't ditch the spiky hair - he wouldn't be as iconic without it. Cloud couldn't leave behind the Buster Sword - after all, Zack gave it to him as a solemn parting gift. The only thing Cloud didn't have to worry about was altering his personality, as he was almost a complete 180 degree opposite of Zack in that particular category.

Needing to find the answers to all his questions, Cloud finally manned up and went to his girlfriend Aerith, to ask her about the matter. If the Aerith from the regular universe met Zack, then surely the one from Sora's universe met that universe's Zack there.

"Someone already told you about this whole 'Is Cloud a clone of Zack Fair' thing, I'm sure," Cloud spoke with Aerith that evening, in her room. "And I'm sure you know who Zack Fair is, right?"

"Not in particular, I've only heard people talk about him and such," answered Aerith - not the kind of answer Cloud was looking for. "I know Yuffie, and Leon, and Tifa, and Cid, and even the Gullwings...but Zack Fair, I'm pretty fuzzy on."

"I see...I highly doubt Sora has ever met Zack Fair, let alone even know the guy. I mean, the only people that dude ever meets are pirates, mermaids, talking animals, and even talking...house items." Just saying that made Cloud shudder. "Either he's lying, or his imagination is that vivid."

"He has also met a genie that grants him wishes." This response from Aerith garnered her a questionable look from Cloud; Aerith just smiled back. "I should know, I've seen the genie up close, Sora summoned him a few times before. If he was here, I bet he could give you the answer you need!"

"That's a pretty lame reason to use a genie for...'I wish to know if I'm a clone of Zack Fair or not'...not like it would give me a million dollars, or a really giant fortune. A waste if you ask me."

 **Wolf: Hahahaha, I've done it, the madman that I am! I successfully tricked Cloud into thinking that he was a Zack Fair clone, and now he's doubting his very existence and wondering if he's a clone made by SOLDIER! This could be a good thing for Cloud, however - he might exit his emo stage the more he dwells upon my "information", and then he'll be more friendly and sociable, and maybe even ditch that spiky hair so he can get a regular haircut and look like a normal person. What kind of hair gel does that guy even use?**

Cloud and Aerith would continue their conversation, until Aerith's roommate, Rinea, walked in the room. She saw Aerith speaking with Cloud about the Zack Fair issue, and suddenly felt guilty.

"Did I...come in at the wrong time?" Rinea asked timidly, as Aerith and Cloud stopped talking and glanced at the witch. "I can wait outside if you want me to..." Rinea took two steps back, just in case.

"No you're fine Rinea, Cloud and I were just having a friendly conversation, not like we're having an explosive argument or anything like that," smiled Aerith, as a no longer timid Rinea smiled back. "Did you come here for something?"

"I wanted to know if you're still down with going Peach and the other ladies on that girls night out thing, to the nightclub and all. Apparently Bayo wants every lady in the mansion to come to the nightclub, including Kohaku and Viridi and Coco..."

"Aren't they only minors?" By any nightclub standards, they certainly were, but Bayonetta didn't seem to care. She was going to have her way anyways. "Ooh, I've got a bad feeling about this...what did Peach and Daisy have to say about the matter?"

"Haven't heard a peep from them yet, but I fear Bayonetta will do everything in her power to sway their minds. Pretty hard to talk Bayo out of something..."

* * *

With Lara alone at Mario's home with FLUDD, who was resting comfortably on the living room wall near the chimney, the tomb raider was busy going through the refrigerator when a certain canine entered the house through a window, which was strangely open already. It was Poochy, Mario's trusty pet dog.

But there was something different about Poochy, for he donned Mario's mustache and famous red cap. Once the dog closed the window, Lara watched as Mario hopped out of Poochy, sticking a perfect landing on the floor as he adjusted Cappy on his head.

"M-Mario?" Lara stammered, refusing to believe that the plumber would even think about capturing his own pet dog. "What on earth did you do to Poochy?"

"I used-a Poochy as a vessel to gain info about-a Peach's girls night out, to see if I could-a gain some pointers for the boys-a night out I'm planning," explained Mario, as Poochy rubbed his head. "I want my night-a to be as great, if not-a greater, than Peach's."

"One-upping your own wife, I see..." Lara shook her head as she resumed her search through the fridge. Mario and Peach being away meant that the tomb raider would have to make dinner for herself...lest Bayonetta roped her in.

 **Snake: So, so, so...Bayonetta's having a girls night with the ladies, eh? Time for me to resume my spying...I haven't really spied that much this year, but I'm gonna change that tonight. From what I've heard, the girls are going to some nightclub, where there are bound to be loads of hot girls waiting for a man to ask them out. Fingers crossed that at least one of them resembles Meryl.**

"Any reason as to why you had to capture your own dog, instead of knocking on Luigi's door and asking to be let in?" Lara continued, as she looked into the freezer and saw a pack of ramen noodles. Three months until the expiration date, still safe for consumption. "Not like you were going on some, secret mission, to save the universe..."

"Peach and Daisy refused-a to let me inside, and so I captured-a Poochy and utilized the puppy eyes-a look to be granted access," explained Mario, as Poochy's head was now feeling better. The dog crawled unto one of the living room sofas, and lied down on his side, taking a nap. What a strange dog... "Apparently their conversation was so-a private, Daisy even kicked-a Luigi out of the house. Saw him waiting patiently out-a side."

"And what information did you get from their private conversation that would be of benefit to you?" Lara was almost dying to see Mario answer this question, since the plumber was acting like he discovered some ground-breaking intel from the FBI. Like he discovered every secret email on WikiLeaks.

"Basically, they said that-a they were going to that Aston Manor nightclub, and that Bayonetta's best-a friend Jeanne might show up, and that all-a the ladies are to come, and that they were going-a to have a fun time, and uh...um...uh..." Some extremely juicy information right there from Mario - the plumber could destroy someone's reputation or even trigger a government shutdown with juicy details like that.

"By 'all the ladies'...you're not including me, are you?" Lara was desiring to be alone by herself for once, for one full night at least. Barring Bowser wanting to go on a second date with the tomb raider, of course.

"Well I did-a hear your name mentioned, along with-a Yuffie's...maybe it's just-a something left on the table." So much for eating those ramen noodles; they looked delectably tasty, too. "Don't be surprised if Peach and-a Daisy make you tag along. Now if you excuse-a me, Lara, I must make-a some important phone calls..."

* * *

Yoshi felt like he had won the lottery when he took care of his obsessive stalker, Birdo. All it took for the dinosaur to keep Birdo at bay was to give her some "enhanced" Everclear, an alcoholic drink strong enough to knock Birdo out. To say it felt strange for Yoshi to go an entire week in 2018 without Birdo coming to chase him would be quite an understatement.

Birdo's body...no, she's not dead, that Everclear was strong enough to put Birdo in a coma. The enhancements were Cilan's doing, so if you have a hated rival that you want to see in a coma forever, then Cilan's your go-to guy. Anyways, Birdo's body was left in the basement, and Ness thought that was a good idea because nobody hardly used the basement, right? WRONG!

"Of course Mario, I'd love to go with you on a boy's night out!" exclaimed Yashiro, speaking on the phone with Mario, as he entered the attic. Unlike some people out there *cough* Link *cough* the idol singer remembered to turn on the lights upon entering. "I've been waiting for this moment weeks after I joined the mansion! Well, waiting might not be the right choice of words, but...let's just say I've been anticipating a little."

"Different word-a choice, but same-a context, I'll say," remarked Mario, as Yashiro made his way down the steps. "I have not yet picked-a out the place we will-a hang out at, so do you have-a any suggestions, Yashiro?...Yashiro?"

The idol singer was in no position to respond, for he was gawking at a very interesting scene playing out before him...Yoshi seated at a run down table, speaking with the coma-induced Birdo who was seated on the other side, with the fine china set purchased in the previous episode on the table. Looked like Yoshi was going on a lousy date, and with his obsessor of all people. Yoshi turned his head and saw Yashiro, mouth agape while struggling to find words.

"Yes, Yashiro, can we help you?" Yoshi asked the idol singer, speaking on behalf of himself and Birdo. "In case you can't see for yourself, my woman and I are having a date, so if you could, give us some privacy, will ya?!"

 **Yoshi: This...this has been the most tolerable Birdo has ever been. Every day feels like a kiss from an angel. And it's all because of you, babe! *leans over to kiss the coma-induced Birdo***

"...Yashiro, are you still-a there man?" Mario spoke up, as the still bewildered Yashiro walked away, allowing Yoshi to have his "date" with the unconscious Birdo. Yashiro immediately stormed up the stairs, and ran out of the attic, just so he could grant Yoshi his "privacy".

"I'm still here Mario, sorry I left you hanging," Yashiro apologized to the plumber, once he was out of the attic. "Yoshi was just being an egregious weirdo, as usual. So what were you saying?"

"I have not yet picked-a out a place for our boys-a night out." Typical Mario, telling others about a plan without fully planning things out in advance. "Cappy gave-a me some suggestions, but most of them-a seem...childish, per se."

"There's this place that opened downtown recently, and it's a cafe..." Yashiro could hear Mario sighing on the other line; what dude would want to go to a cafe on a night out? Only Yashiro, perhaps. "No, wait Mario, hear me out, please! They serve entrees and desserts and all sorts of meals, and customers can play video games and sing some karaoke."

"Pfft, doesn't sound-a that interesting. Who cares if you can-a play video games and sing-a some lousy karaoke? Whoever started that cafe must-a be super desperate for some-a customers."

"But wait, Mario, here's the kicker...all the employees are women. They treat their customers (especially men) with high regard, and they even offer grooming services, such as massages and wax cleaning. It's basically Hooter's, but improved...and without the sexy stuff."

"Hmm, after hearing that...I'm definitely on-a board! Going to this-a particular cafe would be a pleasure...well, for the other boys, as I'm already married, but everyone else-a will have a joyous time."

"As I hope they will! Thank you for hearing me out, Mario. Honestly I've never been to this cafe before, but I read some reviews about it online, and was left intrigued. Seems like a great place to spend a boys night out, if you ask me."

"I have to concur. Let's meet-a over at my place-a and put our money together, to see how much-a we have to spend. I'll have Cappy write-a up a list of those who will-a be a part of our boys night out...I'll make-a sure Cappy has your-a name at the top, Yashiro!"

* * *

While Mario gathered several male residents for his meeting, Peach and the ladies were already having their own meeting as Bayonetta, Zelda, Samus, Tsubasa, Ashley, Coco, and many other ladies from the mansion were present at Daisy's home, in the living room. Fiora, Nowi, Amy, and even Rouge were present as well. Lord knows how Daisy managed to keep so many bodies in that living room.

 **Bayonetta: Is it wise to bring minors to a nightclub? Better early than never, as I would say. Going to a nightclub would be the youngins' first taste of the real world - seeing how malicious man is in nature, and how deceptive man can be when they wield fear to their own benefit. So, if a gal like Kohaku gets into trouble and can't find her way out, then who's to blame? The mother, of course. Can't just fling your innocent little daughter into the world, and expect her to deal with pressure first-hand. The daughter can't bear the iniquities of the mother, after all. *winks at the camera***

 **Yuffie: Welp, it's official...I'm going with the other gals on their night out. Or so I've been forced to, by Bayonetta. But at least she won't be the lone British chick, amirite? *smiles as she nudges Lara, standing next to her*  
Lara: To think, I could've been at peace by myself, eating ramen noodles and watching television...living the college student dream. Thinking about it reminds me of my days at the University of London.  
Yuffie: Why do you feel salty, Lara, I thought you said you wanted to get out more and see what Seattle has to offer!  
Lara: *suddenly alarmed* What, wait, when did I say that? Where did you get that information from?  
Yuffie: Oh, nowhere, hehe... *smiles nervously* Totally wasn't like I saw that on a notepad lying around near Mario's house, in terrible handwriting...a figment of my imagination!**

"Listen up ladies, and listen good..." Bayonetta spoke to her fellow women, taking a firm control of the meeting as she grabbed everyone's attention. "I did not organize this girls night out just so we could get away from the mansion for one night only - I organized it so we could have the time of our lives, and maybe even brag it to our boyfriends and male friends! It's going to be a very cheeky night, I can guarantee you that much..."

"Um, Bayonetta, I don't mean to butt in, but...Peach and I did all the organizing," stated Daisy, raising her finger so the Umbra Witch could recognize her. Was stopping Bayonetta during her meeting a risky move? Sure, but Daisy was never the chick to back down from anything. What could Madame Butterfly do to her?

"But this whole girls night out initiative was _my_ idea, and therefore I deserve to take all the credit. So why don't you look over your precious baby Charles, while I carry on with the rest of the meeting?" Peach made sure to place her foot in front of Daisy, before the princess of Sarasland could get her hands on Bayonetta. "Anyways, we're all going to the Aston Manor, and for those unaware, it's a nightclub on 1st Avenue Street. Has a 1920s feel to it...everyone will like it!"

"Are you sure all of us will be allowed inside?" asked Amy, who was one of the couple of minors present in the living. "As a fourteen year old, I'm afraid I would be rejected by the bouncers on the spot!"

"Aku never even bothered to tell me how old I am, but I think I would be turned down as well," said Coco, who was about to get her first-hand experience of city nightlife. "I think I should just stay at the mansion."

"I don't even know how old I am - nor do I care - but one look at me, and the bouncers would throw me away like a football," said Nana, whose relationship with Popo was still questioned to this very day.

"So what you're telling me is, you'd rather remain little innocent children, rather than going out and getting a lovely taste of what adulthood has to offer..." Bayonetta said while forming a smile, trying to guilt trip Amy and company. "Go ahead and be my guest, nobody is stopping you...just now that you're missing out on an opportunity of a lifetime! Why wait to live your life later...when you could live it right now?" This guilt trip, followed by an intensifying smile from Bayonetta, was enough to do the trick.

"You know what, I think we _all_ should go to the Aston Manor, would be a great bonding time for us," said Amy, biting the dust. Bayonetta weakened her smile, seeing her plot work to perfection.

"Cheeky...most cheeky indeed. Now for the ride...there's around twenty to twenty-five of us here, which means we should use a large transportation device to get to the Aston Manor. Thanks to Peach and Daisy...and _me_...we found the perfect ride to suit our needs..."

Suddenly a horn was heard from outside, meaning the ladies' ride had already arrived. Bayonetta and company all stepped outside, as Bayonetta revealed to the ladies a transport bus, situated near Luigi's driveway. The bus door would open, revealing the driver.

"Ahoy, ladies!" squealed Toad, waving to Bayonetta and company. "Guess who found another bus? THIS GUY! So what are you waiting for, everyone hop aboard!"

"Thanks Toad, you are such a gentlemen..." Bayonetta said to Toad, as she entered the bus...and tossed Toad out of the vehicle. Peach and the others watched in horror, as Toad landed on the driveway, next to Luigi's car. "Alright girls, it's time for us to embark on her night out! Make sure to thank Toad for bringing us this ride on your way to the bus, will you?"

So all the ladies - Peach, Daisy, Rosalina (and Luma), Zelda, Samus, Jigglypuff, Nana, Lucina, Celica, Nowi, Rinea, Felicia, Flora, Palutena, Viridi, Ashley, Amy, Rouge, Fiora, Aerith, Tsubasa, Eleonora, Kiria, Mamori, Asuka, Ema, Leia, Kohaku, Coco - all filed inside the bus, with Toad struggling to get up off the ground. Didn't even acknowledge Toad's presence either. Once all the ladies got inside the bus, the bus drove away, but one question may linger for those of you wondering...

...if not Toad, then who was driving the bus?!

 **Bayonetta: I've elected Jigglypuff to drive the bus - and yes, I do trust Jigglypuff's driving skills. I had other candidates, but they were out of question; Peach cannot be trusted driving while pregnant, Daisy tends to be a little reckless when driving, and my last option, Coco...let's just say that having her behind the wheel would result in an automatic arrest. At least with Jigglypuff, the police can't really determine her age, and will probably (and hopefully) let her off the hook.**

 **Toad: *recuperating from his injuries* Nobody's over at Luigi's house...well, except for Charles. I should probably babysit him while his parents are away...**

* * *

Mario looked outside his window, as he saw Bayonetta and her crew leave on their bus. The plumber was joined by many men in his living room - Luigi, Ganondorf, Link, Cortex (and Uka), Sora, Lucario, Popo, Robin, Alm, Berkut, Captain Falcon, Corrin, Dark Pit, Wario, Pit, Kirby, Sonic, Knuckles, Shulk, Cloud, Itsuki, Touma, Yashiro, Doc Louis, Layton, Luke, Little Mac, Hisui, and Crash (and Aku) - conducting a meeting for his own night out with the boys.

"Mario, I think now would be a great time to look away from the window, and uh, I don't know...finish the meeting?!" Lucario said to the plumber, making Mario break away from the window and return to Lucario and company. "Gawking at their bus isn't going to do anything."

"I know, I know - I was just-a curious as to how Peach, Daisy, and-a Bayonetta were able to afford that-a bus," replied Mario, even though Toad presumably did all the work in regards to hitching the bus. "But no-a matter, we'll find our own-a way to our destination...anyways, Yashiro, would you like to tell-a the others the place we'll be going tonight?"

"With pleasure, Mr. Mario," smiled Yashiro, as he stood up and cleared his throat. "This place was already approved by Mario, and is a place we'll be spending our night at. It's a cafe called the Infinite Cafe...all the employees are women, and they karaoke and video games and even grooming services!" That left everyone intrigued.

"A cafe with women employees sounds awesome, are they all sexy?" asked Wario, before realizing that he was still in love with Palutena. "Uh, I mean, are the employees tolerable to look at?"

"Not sure, as I've never been to the cafe before. But I hope that the ladies were hired for their looks...and for their competency. Mainly for their looks. It'll be a treat everyone will enjoy."

"Anyone object-a going to the cafe?" Mario asked the men, who did not raise their hands..except for Corrin. Probably wanted to see that _Black Panther_ movie. "Then-a it's settled, we're all going to the Infinite Cafe!"

"But bro, how do we get-a to the cafe?" asked Luigi; Mario and company could use the teleportation device, but using it to teleport to a spot in town would be silly. "Captain Falcon's Falcon-a Flyer would be too-a small for us." Luigi knew that too well, from episode 78.

"Then why not one of the Landmasters?" suggested Captain Falcon, as Mario nodded at this idea. "I've practiced driving Fox's Landmaster in secret, I think I got it all locked down...what could possibly go wrong?"

* * *

Fox and Falco had plans to do tonight, and their plans, well, weren't legal by any means. Their plans, you might ask? To watch a pirated version of the _Black Panther,_ which Falco received from an "associate". The pilots were in the movie room, getting their movie booted up.

"Man, I still can't believe Roy hired Crash to be his lead singer," chuckled Falco, as he turned on the movie player. Device took forever to start up, but it was worth the wait. "That's how you know this 'Straight Fiyah' thing will fail."

"Yeah, but unfortunately we have to give Roy and his k-pop group a chance," said Falco, as he inserted his pirated _Black Panther_ DVD into the movie player. "Otherwise we'll have to deal with Roy's crying and complaining. Better give him what he wants..."

 **Roy: Am I strongly aware that Crash is unable to speak the English language, let alone any intelligible language at all? Of course, of course...which is why I've asked his sister Coco to invent a collar that would translate Crash's gibberish into the Korean language. Coco kept telling me that Crash's speech cannot be translated by any means, and she knew this because she "already tried it out" herself. If Crash has been spitting out nothing but curse words this whole time, then I understand if Coco's just trying to play it safe. But you can't be safe forever...or at least that's what Lilina told me before she tried to kiss me. Had to embrace her fire.**

Suddenly a feeling of unease overwhelmed Fox, as he heard an engine starting outside. The pilot perked up and ran out of the movie room, with Falco following after him. Once both Fox and Falco made it outside...

...they were both in awe as they saw a Landmaster - Fox's Landmaster - up in the air, preparing for takeoff. Mario and company were all inside the Landmaster, and to see his Landmaster, taken like that, made Fox obviously angry.

"I'll return with your Landmaster safe and sound, okay Fox?" Captain Falcon called out to Fox, who was obviously ticked as he stomped his foot on the ground. The pilot then fell to his knees and pulled the grass out, but to no avail, so he just kicked the dirt and fell on his back in the process.

"It's okay Fox, you still have the Black Panther to cheer you up," Falco comforted his best friend as he patted Fox's shoulder, only for his hand to be slapped away.

* * *

Somehow, someway, by some miracle or powerful force, Jigglypuff managed to get to the destination safe and sound, leaving the ladies inside the bus unscathed. Bayonetta and company all exited the bus, wondering how they were still alive, as they were in front of the Aston Manor. Since it was pretty early in the night, there wasn't a huge line at the entrance, though there were bouncers.

"I seriously doubt those bouncers will let us through," remarked Ema, noticing how tough the bouncers were. If those bouncers were the total opposite, no way they would be up for the job! "Especially for the younger ones..."

"Just follow me, and let me work my magic..." replied Bayonetta, as the ladies followed the Umbra Witch to the nightclub entrance. One of the bouncers stopped Bayonetta with his hand.

"I need to see y'all IDs before I let you in," the bouncer said, looking inquisitively at Mamori and Ashley and having a look of concern. That look would go away, when Bayonetta grabbed the bouncer by his collar, and pulled his face close to hers.

"How about you just let us in, or else I'll have to put a bullet through your brain?" Bayonetta demanded menacingly, dropping the bouncer to the ground. The other bouncer looked at Bayonetta, and opened the nightclub door as he ran away out of fear. "Well ladies, the night is officially ours - open sesame!"

* * *

With Yashiro providing the directions, Captain Falcon would land the Landmaster at the Infinite Cafe, landing the craft gently as Mario and company all got out. Some were cramped, others were fine, but it was all good.

"So this is the Infinite Cafe," said Layton, as he looked up at the store sign and saw an anime chick, wearing a French maid outfit. "By the looks of it, this cafe should be in Tokyo, or even San Francisco. But who am I to judge?"

 **Cloud: A cafe with an anime chick on the store sign, and the chick has green hair...if that's not a bad sign of things to come, then I don't know what is. Should have stayed at the mansion and watched that pirated movie with Fox and Falco...**

Mario and company would all enter the Infinite Cafe together, which was surprisingly packed, and they were miffed when they saw that the cafe had a cutesy interior, with bright colors and pictures of anime chicks hanging on the walls. And if that wasn't enough...

"Welcome home, masters!" a bunch of French maids, all of Asian descent, came out to greet the men with smiling faces. "How many of you are there?" the lead maid would ask, as the men gave Yashiro questioning looks.

"There's twenty-eight of us here...and yes, I counted beforehand," replied Alm, looking inquisitively at Yashiro who could only smile innocently. "The floating masks aren't included, they can't eat and stuff. Is that too much for you? Will you be able to serve all of us?"

"Of course! We have enough room in this cafe for extremely large parties. There are enough tables for all of you - we will take you all to a table at once!"

So four maids directed Mario and company to their tables, and gave them wipe towels and menus after sitting them down. Cloud, who was at a table with Link, Sora, Little Mac, Doc Louis, Crash, and Cortex, saw that Link had brought some "belongings" with him.

"Link did you seriously have to bring those Pikachu Cheesesteaks with you?" Cloud asked the Hylian, noticing that Link had brought a sack of the famous sandwich. Link would stuff a cheesesteak into Cloud's mouth.

"It's all about about spreading awareness, my man, for Pikachu Day," replied Link, as Cloud took the cheesesteak out of his mouth. "But that's besides the point...have you found out if you're a Zack Fair clone or not?"

"Quite frankly, I'm still searching for the answer...even if it's there or not. Mario probably wanted me to come along with him tonight to take my mind off the whole situation, but no doubt I'll keep thinking about it."

Seated with Knuckles, Mario, Luigi, Wario, Layton, Luke, and Ganondorf was Sonic, who was feeling bored as a maid was literally reading off the entire menu to Sonic and company. Could the seven read the menus themselves? Of course, everyone else would do the same thing. But maybe this maid was just being too nice.

"Can you please speed it up woman, we have food to eat you know," Sonic rudely said to the maid, as he yawned and stretched his arms. "We didn't come here to have you lecture us on the menu."

"My apologies master, I'm going as fast as I can," the maid apologized, as she flipped the page. "Here, we have the lattes - the hazelnut latte, the vanilla latte, the caramel latte, the matcha latte, for vegan customers, and the raspberry latte..." Sonic looked the other way as the maid kept running her mouth; didn't look like she would be slowing down anytime soon.

 **Sonic: One thing I will say about this maid service...it's deeply appreciative to be be called "master" by a bunch of girls you have never met before. But when you try to get your girlfriend to do that, she'll mash your head in with her giant hammer...**

After having a maid come to their table and have the whole flipping menu explained to them, it was time for Cloud and company to receive their drinks. The maid, who took the seven's orders, kindly poured their drinks, which was some sort of fruit concoction. Once the maid was done, Cloud and company now had to partake in some of the cafe's more...unique traditions.

"Please make a heart shape, gentlemen," ordered the maid, as everyone except for Crash made a heart shape with their hands. Crash just tried to pull his heart out of his chest, but failed miserably.

"With your hands, Crash," Aku advised the bandicoot, who saw what Cloud and the others were doing and made a heart shape with his hands. Thankfully, the maid didn't pay Crash any mind.

"Start from the left side of your chest and say, 'moe, moe'," the maid continued, as the seven were confused and bewildered. "Then move your hands like this saying 'Pyrurururururun', okay?" The seven were even more bewildered, with Cortex being the most miffed.

"Excuse me, young lady, but I think we need to make something clear," the mad scientist said, standing up and causing a scene. Mario and the others looked on, ready to feel embarrassed. "First off, my name is NOT Moe, it is Dr. Neo Periwinkle Cortex! Just ignore the middle name, it's very unflattering...secondly, I will not do this, this, 'Pyrururun' garbage, it'll make me feel like a _Sailor Moon_ character! I will not partake in your silly games!"

"Cortex sit down or you'll get us in trouble..." demanded Uka, fearing that the N head's actions would get Mario and company kicked out of the cafe. The maid stood up to Cortex, easily towering over the scientist because of how short he was.

"You are going to say the phrase...and you are going to LIKE IT!" The maid would slap Cortex silly, hard enough to send him back into his chair, as everyone in the cafe laughed at Cortex's expense. Cortex sat back up in his seat, and did the heart shape, as the maid regained her composure. "Okay, now let's do it, all together now...'Moe, moe, pyrurururururun'!" Cloud and company did the chant together, all feeling awkward afterwards. "Yes, thank you very much! I will be back with your meals!"

"That incident might be something Cortex will remember for the rest of his life," remarked Itsuki, seated at a table with Touma, Yashiro, Robin, Alm, Berkut, and Corrin. "Perhaps the best interaction he had with any woman, ever. Most girls don't even acknowledge Cortex's existence." And you can't say you blame them.

"Can you put some poison into his drink?" Berkut quietly whispered to the maid pouring his drink, while pointing at an unsuspecting Alm. "No questions asked - just do it, and maybe I won't burn this place down..."

* * *

Bayonetta and her lady friends were all in the Aston Manor...and because it was still early in the night, that meant they were the only ones there, much to the chagrin of Bayonetta. The DJ of the nightclub didn't even feel like using his turntables, because the mood was drab.

"Look on the bright side, Bayo - there isn't that much clubbing going on, which means Peach would be less inclined to drink," Zelda said to Bayonetta, who was bored out of her mind. "We can't have Peach drink _too_ much, what with her pregnancy and all..."

 **Zelda: As it has been for what may have been the longest now, keeping Peach safe is my MO. The last thing I would want is for her to consume so much alcohol that it damages her baby, and her and Mario will experience _major_ complications when the child arrives. It's bad enough that Mario is grieving over the possibility of Peach dying upon giving birth, or so I've heard from Daisy.**

"You're just like an overprotective mother, telling their child what they can and cannot drink..." sighed Bayonetta, wishing Jeanne would show up already. "...let Peach live her life, for Pete's sake! If she wants to drink to her heart's content, then let her make that abhorrent decision - not like you're in control of her."

"Well I wasn't the one who suggested to Peach that she should organize a trip to a nightclub."

"And I wasn't the one who told her that accepting such a suggestion would be a bad idea." Following this retort from Bayonetta, Zelda groaned and stormed away, and went to go look for Peach.

And then, entering the Aston Manor was a silver-haired woman with a tight red bodysuit. Bayonetta smiled as this woman approached the Umbra Witch, who quickly stood up to greet her.

"Hello, old friend," Bayonetta greeted the silver-haired woman, who was in fact Jeanne, looking sultry as usual. "I take it that you've been doing well tonight?"

"As well as I ever will be," replied Jeanne with a smile. "Finding my way inside this nightclub wasn't as hard as I thought." Jeanne looked back at the entrance, and saw the two bouncers on the ground, writhing in pain. Those two could never catch a break. "No party, I assume?"

"Sadly we came but a few hours early...but when you bring little ones to the nightclub like I did, I suppose curfew can interfere with your plans." Regardless, Bayonetta did not wish to babysit, not by any means.

"I understand...seeing that the nightclub wouldn't be crowded this time of night, I went around the city and did some 'soul searching' - enticed the city folk to come to the Aston Manor, lest they face 'the gnashing teeth of grueling demons'. Time will tell if my plan worked..."

Would you know it, Jeanne's plan seemed like it was a success, as a nifty crowd entered the Aston Manor. No ID check for them, for the bouncers were still unconscious. The Aston Manor was free to the public!

"Uh, is this where the 'party of the lifetime' is at?" a man from the crowd asked Bayonetta and Jeanne, as Bayonetta gave Jeanne a curious look. Jeanne must've sold on the city folk pretty well.

"I do have a way with words too, Cereaza," Jeanne grinned at Bayonetta, in response to her curious look, before turning her attention to the DJ. "How about we get some music in here, hmm?"

"You got it lady!" the DJ exclaimed, as he threw a record unto the turntable and played some dance music. Some dance music played from the loudspeakers, as more and more people filed into the nightclub as the party officially began.

"Looks like the party is officially underway," remarked Daisy, who was standing with Rinea and Coco. "Sure hope Peach can handle herself and...hey, where is Peach anyways? Peach? Peach!" Daisy ran off to search for her buddy, as the partying ensued. Coco looked at a can seated on a nearby table, and picked it up. No label was on it.

"This appears safe to drink, I suppose - feeling a bit thirsty right now," the bandicoot remarked as she cracked the can open and took a sip. She might regret that later...

* * *

Over at the Infinite Cafe, the 28 men were receiving their entrees, as provided by the maids serving them. Some enjoyed the service, while others were left desiring for more.

 **Hisui: Those maid outfits get a five out of ten for me, not sexy enough. And why are the maids wearing bloomers, are they stuck in the 20th century?! I demand to be attractively pleased!**

 **Doc Louis: Never understood Japan's fascination with maids...and tentacles...and thigh high socks...and maids with tentacles and thigh high socks! Japan sure is one weird country!**

But of course, how could the maids serve the brawlers without doing another one of their traditions?

"Moe, moe, moe, beam!" the maid chanted this phrase with Pit, Dark Pit, Hisui, Captain Falcon, Lucario, Wario, and Shulk, all of whom did the chant with her while doing a heart shape with their hands. "Thank you very much! Enjoy your food!"

"Felt like we're forced to participate in a _Cardcaptor Sakura_ episode..." Pit said to his comprades after the maid left; Dark Pit nodded in agreement. One of the rare times you'll see the doppelganger agree with Pit on anything.

"Hey ladies, I heard that this cafe comes with a grooming service," Doc Louis asked the maids, enjoying his Japanese hamburg steak. Had a cute little smiley face on it, provided by a maid. "When do we get to use this service?"

"Not until you're all finished with your food, master!" replied one of the maids; that led Doc Louis to scarf down his steak, and his sides as well. Guy nearly choked himself!

"Why you sitting around for, Little Mac, do you wanna get massaged or not?!" Doc Louis barked at his protege, as he continued to stuff his mouth. Little Mac, placed in a situation he had no way out of, would finish his omurice, but at a slower pace than Doc. Link just looked at Doc Louis and Little Mac with great disdain, shaking his head, before looking down at his beloved Pikachu Cheesesteak.

"If only they knew...if only they all knew..." the Hylian said to no one in particular, resulting in Cloud looking at him peculiarly. Once Doc Louis and Little Mac were done with their food, it was grooming time!

"Ladies, I do believe Little Mac and I are ready to be groomed!" Doc Louis notified the maids, raising his hand so he could be recognized. Surprisingly he hasn't embarrassed Little Mac...yet.

"Then follow us, masters, as we get you prepared!" a maid smiled, as she took Doc Louis and Little Mac and escorted them to the grooming room, with her fellow maids leading the way.

* * *

More and more people were filling up the Aston Manor, and the bouncers who were supposed to be at the entrance? Let's just say that they both said "Screw it..." and left their jobs for good. Leave it up to Bayonetta and Jeanne to make you quit your job.

While Zelda and Daisy rummaged through the party crowd, on the search for Peach, the Mushroom Kingdom princess was seated at a bar, away from the partying and soaking in the atmosphere. A bartender approached the princess, and passed her a drink.

"This one's for you," the bartender said after handing Peach her drink. Peach stared at her drink - what did she do to deserve it?

"I'm terribly sorry sir, but I didn't order this drink," Peach decline her beverage, pushing the drink away from her. "You must be sadly mistaken!"

"Those cool guys over there put me up to it." The bartender pointed at a bunch of dudes standing in the corner, looking at Peach as they smiled and waved to her. Peach saw this and turned around, feeling uncomfortable. "Saw you speaking with them earlier - they told me about your potbelly, and so I whipped up that drink just for you. It can heal your potbelly, that drink...it did all sorts of wonders for me!"

 **Peach: Bayonetta informed me that if anyone asked about my pregnancy, I should tell them that I had a potbelly instead. Starting to think I shouldn't have followed her advice...**

"Sup girl, why you here?" a random dude approached Peach, as the princess backed away just a little. "Aren't you pregnant or something?" Sounded like the dude was concerned for Peach's well-being.

"I, uh, have a potbelly," replied Peach, as the dude nodded his head in understanding. "I know, it's not expected for a pretty gal like myself to have such a large stomach, but when you're pretty like myself, you can easily get away with hoarding lots of food down your mouth..."

"Yeah I understand where you're coming from. My mom used to be like that - she was a fine mama, the hottest babe in town, and she used her looks to her advantage to manipulate others and eat their food portions. Soon it got to the point where she had a giant stomach, and the more she kept her manipulative ways ongoing, the fatter she became. And now, she has become a shell of her former self...nowadays whenever I visit my mom, I have to look away and shield my eyes! It's hard, man..."

Elsewhere in the Aston Manor, Samus was busy making out with some guy. Samus, of all people. To be fair, it looked like Samus was reluctantly kissing the guy; maybe the guy wanted to kiss Samus, and Samus opted to get the kissing over with. Or maybe either one or both of them were...well, you might know. Eleonora, who wasn't soaking in that much of the party at hand, saw Samus from afar, and recorded the kissing on her cellphone.

"The others are gonna enjoy this," the idol singer smiled once she was done recording. Better keep that footage away from Anthony Higgs - he might have secret feelings for Samus! Once Eleonora put her phone back in her pocket, Coco would approach the idol singer, and it appeared as if the bandicoot..wasn't all there.

"Eleonora, can I ask you a serious question?" asked Coco, moving about like she was high. She was but a young girl, she can't _possibly_ be high.

"That depends on the context, though given how...aloof you appear to be, I don't know if I should answer it or not. But go ahead, fire away..."

"When the cheese-eating surrender monkeys return to earth on their mothership, and plague the nations with their poisonous fire breath, do you think there will be a swift uprising of gremlins that'll band together to defeat the evil forces, and conquer the entire planet with the rule of their iron fist?"

"...maybe," was Mamori's reply, and that was the only reply she could muster for such a strange question. Coco's confusion was supremely nigh.

"I think so too, those surrender monkeys are nothing the likes of Genghis Khan have ever seen. Their eon-long dominance would be the darkest timeline in all of mankind and existence." And with that, Coco walked away, as she nearly stumbled and sputtered. Eleonora looked on, concerned.

Yup, Coco was definitely intoxicated...

* * *

Little Mac and Doc Louis (but mainly Doc Louis) were enjoying their grooming, as the lovely maids were grooming the boxer the trainer in a separate room. Both Mac and Doc were lying face-first on massaging mats, being massaged by a maid.

"Mmm, that's right girl, work those buns!" encouraged Doc Louis, feeling like he was in a state of euphoria. "Gimme everything that you got!"

"Shut up Doc, you're going to get us in trouble if you keep that up," pleaded Little Mac, as the goal was finally completed...Doc Louis found a way to embarrass his protege. Was only a matter of time...

While the massaging continued, Layton and Luke were sneaking around the corner, like they were looking for clues. Even at a restaurant, those two Brits couldn't help but conduct some investigation.

 **Layton: Getting very bad vibes about this cafe...particularly in regards to how this cafe even started. Who in their mind would even think to start a maid cafe in the middle of Seattle? And why is it named "Infinite Cafe"? Why not give it a Japanese name? That raises a lot of eyebrows...and questions.**

"Try not to make as much sound, Luke - we can't blow our cover," Layton advised his protege, as the detectives were able to sneak past Little Mac, Doc Louis, and the maids. They would make their way to a door, and Layton pressed his ear close to the wall, to hear for anything before he and Luke broke inside.

But to Layton's surprise, there was some crying from behind the door! Intrigued, Layton took a peek inside through the door, and Luke would do the same, as they saw a maid sitting in a chair, crying to herself, with her fellow maids consoling her. What could possibly be the issue?

"He's horrible, that short man with the top hat and the fur coat..." the maid sobbed, as Layton used this description to visualize who the maid was referring to. "He practically treated me like trash...threw his garbage at me and demanded that I spoon him until midnight!" Just saying this caused the maid to sob even more. "He doesn't even deserve to be the co-owner of this place!"

"It's okay, it's okay...I've received similar treatment, despite being one of the better workers," said a second maid, laying a reassuring hand on her sobbing friend. "But the guy's friend is no better - always smoking up the joint, and contaminating the air we work in with his cigarette smoke. No manners whatsoever!"

"Heard he operates a bar in some faraway place, or so I've heard," said a third maid, sharing her fellow workers' disdain for the cafe owners. "I do feel bad for whoever works under him..." After hearing this information, Layton and Luke pulled away from the door.

"So this whole time, this whole niceness thing from the maids was just a facade..." analyzed Luke, scratching his chin. "...ha, knew it all along. No person could be _that_ happy while on the job."

"If you ask me, Luke, I'm starting to get a hunch of who the owners of this cafe are," stated Layton, on the heels of a dire investigation. Must make Layton's heart flutter, thinking about solving another mystery. "And our clue might be in the very name of the cafe..."

"Hey, what are you two doing here, can't y'all just wait your turn?!" Doc Louis, standing shirtless with a towel around his waist, angrily approached Layton and Luke, assuming they wanted to be groomed. "Y'all askin' for it now!" Doc Louis angrily took off his towel, revealing his...extremities to Layton and Luke, and began whipping away at the detectives as he ran them out of the room. "Get, get I say, GET!"

* * *

Back at the Aston Manor, where the party was becoming more lit by the minute. Many folks were dancing, and Nowi desired to be a part of the action. But she didn't want to dance withou her _Fire Emblem_ ladies, and so the half-Manakete wished to see if they were down for some dancing.

But when Nowi looked for Lucina, Celica, and Rinea, she would find the trio at a far corner of the nightclub, away from the partying. Didn't seem like either lady wished to partake in the festivities.

"You gals wanna cut a rug with me on the dance floor?" Nowi asked the three, doing whatever she could to entice them. "The night is still young!"

"Sorry Nowi, but we're conducting a very important meeting," Lucina kindly responded, dismaying Nowi. "This isn't...the best place for such a meeting, but it had to be done..."

 **Lucina: Our meeting, at the nightclub...is none of your business. For now, anyways. Of course we were missing a couple of bodies here and there, but sometimes you gotta make do with what you got...**

"Oh, so you go on and have your silly meetings, and not invite ME?!" frowned Nowi, with her hands on her hips. Being left out made her hurt. "Am I not good enough for you? Isn't this meeting supposed to be _Fire Emblem_ -exclusive?"

"Not exactly, since Coco is supposed to be a part of the meeting," explained Celica, which only made Nowi even more hurt. "Speaking of whom, where is Coco?"

Celica and company would soon find out, when the party crowd was getting all hype. The ladies went over to join the crowd huddled around the dance floor, where they would see the drunken Coco dancing like how any drunkard would dance. Quite harrowing to see a young girl like Coco that drunk at a nightclub.

"Oh my goodness, this is not good at all..." fretted Rinea as she watched the intoxicated Coco dance her heart out. Good thing Aku wasn't here...

* * *

...for the mask was too busy soaking in the karaoke at the Infinite Cafe. Mario and company had all finished their food, and were now at a karaoke bar, with Sonic on the stage doing some singing. The music came from a jukebox nearby. As you would expect, the song Sonic had to sing was in Japanese.

"We are FIGHTING DREAMERS...something something something something, FIGHTING DREAMERS...something something something something, FIGHTING DREAMERS...something something something something" the hedgehog sang to the tune of the song (any idea what the song is, and where it originated?), wishing he had a maid singing with onstage. Instead, the maids were gathered around the stage, cheering on Sonic on like groupies.

"Why is he doing so terrible, isn't he technically from Japan?" a person asked Sora about Sonic out of curiosity. Sora might not be the right dude to ask such a question.

"We are not allowed to comment on that," replied Sora, eating some candy he found lying on the floor. How unsanitary. "Or so I've been told."

As the karaoke continued, Shulk would return to the karaoke bar following his trip to the restroom. Upon his return, he would accidentally bump into some random dude. And it was a pretty big and beefy dude, too.

"Hey man, what's your problem why'd you bump into me like that?!" the man questioned, his arms out wide. Shulk might've picked a fight with the wrong guy. "You want some beef bro?"

"I would, but I, uh, um, I..." Shulk tried to think up of an excuse, until he looked down and saw the perfect one. "...you wouldn't beat up an injured person, would you?" The Homs held up his injured hand, letting the man see the bandages.

"Pfft, that hand isn't injured, I bet..." Due to the confrontation, the karaoke had to be put on hold, as Sonic stopped singing and everyone focused their attention on the confrontation at hand. No pun intended.

"I bet you it is!" Shulk untied the bandages on his hand...only to reveal that his hand was fully healed from the stabbing incident back in episode 101. Shulk made himself look like a fool, and it was a very uncompromising position for him to be in.

"Look, Shulk's hand is finally healed!" exclaimed Ganondorf, pointing at Shulk and notifying his fellow residents. "That means we can finally stop giving him gifts now!"

 **Ganondorf: Hmph, now that Shulk's hand is healed, I can see if I can ask for my sword back...and that jewelry set I originally bought for Rosalina. Don't tell anyone about it.**

"Man you weren't injured, you were just making that up!" the man frowned; if only he knew the full story. "Thought bandaging your hand would save ya from the beatdown you're gonna get?!"

"Wh-What beatdown?" stammered Shulk, before the man picked up the Homs and threw him on the floor. Now, you're probably thinking to yourself: that move would lead to a full-scale fight, isn't it?

Of course! After Shulk was thrown to the floor, an all-out fight broke in the cafe, as chairs were thrown, tables were thrown, and even cheesesteaks were thrown, as provided by Link. Talk about spreading the awareness. The maids called for everyone to stop during this time of chaos, but it was no use...

It wasn't until a certain man and his friend stepped inside the karaoke bar that peace was restored to the cafe.

"WHY ARE THERE FREAKIN' CHEESESTEAKS LYING ON THE FLOOR OF MY CAFE!" an angry black man shouted, his loud voice bringing the fight to a halt and restoring peace to the cafe. It was Rodin, smoking a cigar with a short man standing next to him.

"Look Rodin, it's Mario, and he brought the gang with him!" said this short man, Enzo, as he scanned the karaoke bar. "Luigi, Link, Sonic, Ganondorf, Captain Falcon...it's like a full house up in here!"

"Alright, someone explain to me what's going here. Why was there fighting in my cafe? Thought I trusted the maids to keep everything nice and tidy and tranquil while Enzo and I were conducting business in Paradiso...can't trust you ladies to do anything right!"

"I think you need to do some explaining yourself, Rodin!" Layton pointed at the weapons dealer, catching him by surprise. "We've heard the maids' stories about how you and Enzo treat them...and they deserve to be treated better! Isn't that right, ladies?" The maids all nodded their heads, as they glared down Rodin and Enzo.

"Rodin, it's that Professor Layton creep, the tall British guy with the stick arms and legs..." an afraid Enzo informed Rodin. Why Enzo was scared of Layton, nobody will ever know. "...and he brought his scrawny apprentice with him!"

"Yes Enzo, I can see for myself, I'm not blind..." replied Rodin, before returning his attention to Layton. "What you have heard from my maid workers was nothing but made up, fabricated lies. They're just making up silly fibs to pass the time, that's all."

"That's what you think - we heard one of the maids cry her eyes out, as she and her friends described how you treat them!" said Luke, laying the hammer down. "We know you started this cafe just to make a quick buck - and to treat your employees how you wish to!"

"Making up lies, just like the maids, how despicable!" frowned Enzo; he wasn't so scared of little Luke. "Why, you don't even have anything to prove Rodin and I of any wrongdoing! So take your lying somewhere else, before we oughta..."

Suddenly, the jukebox came to life, as it came chasing after Rodin and Enzo. The jukebox, now having a red cap, frightened Rodin and Enzo and chased after the two, before knocking them down and pinning them to the floor.

"Gah, the stupid jukebox somehow came alive and got us..." growled Rodin, gritting his teeth in anger. "Aight, aight, Enzo and I come clean! We're sorry for how we treated the maids, it won't happen again, okay?! Now somebody get this crazy jukebox off of us!"

 **Cappy: Did you see that?! Mario and I, teaming up against Rodin and his fat Al Capone friend, and bringing them down to bring justice to the maids! Not how I intended to spend my night out with Mario, but hey, I'll take it gladly!**

* * *

Due to Coco's intoxication, Peach and the ladies had no choice but to leave the Aston Manor, while the party was still going on. Mamori and Asuka did the honors of escorting Coco as the ladies exited the nightclub.

"The cheese eating...surrender monkeys...are fleeing..." uttered Coco, in her drunken state. "The timeline...has turned from dark...to light..." She had to get back home real soon.

"Aw, do we have to leave so soon?" moaned Jeanne, once all the ladies were outside. "Also, I wouldn't take that bandicoot to the hospital, if I were you...just saying."

"This is all your fault Bayonetta - had you allowed only the older ladies to come to the club, we wouldn't have Coco intoxicated," stated Daisy, and yes, she and Zelda did find Peach. Before the princess was pressured to drink. "She's gonna return to the mansion practically wasted..."

"If anything, this was Aku's fault - he would rather waste his time with that brain dead marsupial Crash than Crash's sister," retorted Bayonetta, feeling the sudden need to strike a pose. "And you and Peach agreed to the terms, did you not?"

"Well we did, I suppose...but we should have known better than to listen to you. Should have never entertained your ideas..." Just then, a man ran out of the Aston Manor to greet Samus - it was the same guy who kissed the bounty hunter.

"Samus, before you go, here's my number!" the man, almost out of breath, handed Samus his number, on a slip of paper. "Call me when you can...I'll be waiting!"

"Okay then, I'll make sure to give you a call tonight," replied Samus, as the man smiled and ran back to the club. "Have a good night!" Once the man was gone, Samus rolled her eyes and threw the number away. "So not calling that guy..."

"There is no need to," said Peach, as Mamori and Asuka escorted Coco to the bus. Surprisingly that bus was still there. "Let's just get back home..."

* * *

During the fight at the Infinite Cafe, someone called the police, and the policem would arrive at the scene. Instead of Shulk and the fat guy - who triggered the fight in the first place - the ones arrested were Rodin and Enzo, after Mario informed the policemen about how those two treated their employees. Seemed fair, no?

"You won't get away with this, Mario and friends!" Enzo vowed to Mario and company, who were standing outside, as the policemen escorted the handcuffed Rodin and Enzo to the police car. "Man did that sound cliche...should come up with something more original next time." ...provided there is a next time. Rodin and Enzo were placed in the police car, as the vehicle drove away with the Infinite Cafe owners. Meanwhile, Doc Louis was chilling with the maids, who were all smiles.

"Ladies, on behalf of my friends and I, I would like to thank you for your quality service and the friendly atmosphere you provided," Doc Louis said to the maids. "Because of your service, I take back every bad thing I ever said about your country of Japan! Japan ain't half bad at all!"

"Actually, we all aren't Japanese...most of us are Chinese and Korean," one of the maids corrected Doc Louis. "But we're happy we made you and your friends happy tonight. And, with our terrible bosses gone for good..."

"Hey, if y'all need someone to take over the cafe and whip it up to shape, then you know who to call..." Doc Louis wasn't...referring to himself, was he? Could you imagine that man owning a maid cafe?

"Let's hold-a off on the cafe ownership for now," Mario said to Doc Louis, as Captain Falcon got the Landmaster booted up. "We have a few-a hours until midnight; we should-a return soon."

* * *

 **Fox: That _Black Panther_ movie...was EPIC! Totally worth pirating. Watching that entire film made me feel black.  
** **Falco: I'd say the same thing myself, Fox...but I feel like I'm black already. Maybe that would explain how my Brooklyn accent is slowly fading away... *doorbell rings*  
** **Fox: *growls* Must be Captain Falcon, back with my Landmaster...once I get my hands on him...**

Fox and Falco headed down to the foyer and opened the front door, with Fox ready to put Captain Falcon on blast for stealing his Landmaster. But instead of Falcon, Mamori and Asuka would enter the mansion as they escorted Coco inside.

"Woah, what happened to Coco?" inquired Fox as Coco was recuperating from her drunken state, although she still looked a little out of it. It was best for Mamori and Asuka to give the full story at a more convenient time.

"She had a sugar rush and went AWOL," would be the excuse Asuka would use for now, as she and Mamori escorted Coco to her room. Soon, all the female residents entered the mansion, with Bayonetta being the last one as she closed the front door behind her. She saw Fox and Falco, who were curious about how the ladies spent their night.

"Whatever happened outside the mansion...stays outside the mansion," the Umbra Witch remarked, as she strolled on by.

* * *

Mario would return to his home a while after Peach and Lara returned. After the plumber told Peach and Lara about his night out with the boys, Peach and Lara would tell Mario about the crazy night they had...the crazy night _Coco_ had.

"Then she threw up all over the place and we had to leave at once," Lara explained Coco's episode to Mario, the tomb raider glad to be back at Mario's household. "Things would have been different had her guardian mask been there."

"I agree, but we all-a know how downright loyal Aku can-a be to Crash," replied Mario, before turning his attention to Peach, the woman he was most concerned about all night. "Did you have a drink at the night-a club, Peach?"

"No I didn't Mario, not a single sip!" smiled Peach, as Mario let out a sigh of relief. "Though I was tempted. But I held my ground, and protected my body as much as I could."

"Thank-a goodness..." Mario suddenly yawned, as he stretched out his arms. "Well now's the time-a I should put-a on my pajamas...I'll be right-a back."

So Mario went to his bedroom, and got himself dressed into his pajamas. Watching the plumber change was Cappy, on Mario's dresser, and FLUDD, lying on a wall. Cappy was a male, and FLUDD had no gender, so those two watching Mario undress was all good.

"Don't know about you Mario, but I enjoyed our time out at night, it was a delight!" exclaimed Cappy, despite being on Mario's head the entire time. "Especially near the end, after that huge fight!"

"I may have been unseen and out of sight, but I overheard everything, and I must agree that the night was a night well spend," added FLUDD, despite being...quick question: where did Mario keep FLUDD, if the device is seldom seen at all?

"My only gripe was that the others had to come along...we should have a boys night out with just the three of us! How does that sound, Mario?" Mario mused over this, after he was done changing.

"I wouldn't rule-a that out as a possibly in-a the future," the plumber replied with an assuring smile, as Cappy let out a squeal.

It would be a rather uneventful night out for Mario on paper, but with Cappy (...and FLUDD) it just might be the opposite.


	114. Episode 114: Pyeongchang

_Author's Note:_

 _Since this is the last week of the Olympics, I made this chapter an Olympics-themed one, hence the title name. There is no capital "C" in Pyeongchang, the name was stylized to avoid confusion with Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. Now that I got that cleared up, I can focus on answering guest reviews..._

 _"Have any references to the Pokemon movies been made yet? Can you include a scene of Chie, Emmeryn, and Teepo from Tales of Xillia interacting with each other? (Erin Fitzgerald voices them) a nod or reference to Persona Q? Is Muzet gonna flirt with some of the guys when she shows up? And finally do you think Fire Emblem Warriors has gotten way too much hate since it came out?"_

 _No references yet. I may do that Tales scene. Could include Persona Q characters in the future. We might get a taste Muzet's flirtatious side. And why has Fire Emblem Warriors gotten hate for? What's so about that game that even gets hate in the first place? I never saw people hating on Hyrule Warriors, but I digress. Another anonymous review:_

 _"what a boring episode there was no eroticism or sonic trying to be perverted with samus or bayonetta do something like that and I'm happy"_

 _So lemme get this straight, you thought the episode was boring...because there wasn't anything erotic or sexual? Umm...okay. And you want Sonic to be perverted with Samus or Bayonetta? Sounds like a death wish waiting to happen. That being said, Sonic would have a better chance with Samus, for some obvious reasons. Last on the clock is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"I recently have been binge watching Inspector Gadget (the 1983 series to be specific) and I was wondering if this would be a good suggestion for a future chapter: Pit after seeing Layton and Luke solve a crime (it could be the one here if you want) and decides to be an Inspector himself and of course he's lousy at it so Viridi has to solve the case for him while Kirby has to make sure Pit doesn't get himself killed, You can even have Lloyd be his idiot self for the Corporal Capeman role if you want."_

 _Ah, Inspector Gadget, from 1983! Loved that show. Pit would definitely fit the inspector role, in my opinion - having Viridi solving cases for him would be gold. Lloyd as Pit's sidekick, too. Moving on:_

 _"It was never followed up on but did Berkut manage to get Alm poisoned?"_

 _I won't spill any details...gotta read the chapter to find out!_

* * *

 **Episode 114: Pyeongchang**

The 2018 Winter Olympics. A sports spectacle where athletes from all around the world gather to compete in a wide array of winter-related sports events, such as snowboarding, speed skating, luge, and even snowball juggling. Well, if snowball juggling was ever an official Olympic sport to begin with...

The Olympics were held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, which was rebranded as PyeongChang leading up to the Olympics to avoid any confusion with Pyongyang, the capital of the neighboring country North Korea. Pyeongchang was a very snowy territory in Korea, and although it wasn't as cold and frigid as, let's say, Siberia, its arctic conditions remained as the territory's penchant.

With the Olympic set to end this upcoming Sunday, Master Hand desired to take the residents on a trip to Pyeongchang before the games were officially over. The mansion roster had grown in size since the Smash Mansion made its trip to Rio for the 2016 Olympics, but Master Hand wasn't particularly sold on doing multiple trips with the teleportation device...much like how Samus wasn't sold on going to Pyeongchang in general.

"Seriously Master Hand, are we all really required to go to Pyeongchang?" the bounty hunter questioned the giant hand, as the two were going through the hallway. "How about you just take along whoever's interested, and leave the others here?"

"I'm taking you all because you're all uncultured swine who are afraid of the cold," retorted Master Hand, who instructed Zero to get the teleportation device booted up and ready to go. "Must I remind you that the only ones playing outside when it was snowing in Seattle were Link AND Cloud? When Cloud's having fun than you, you know you're doing something wrong."

"That doesn't necessarily mean everyone doesn't enjoy the cold...maybe they had more important things to do." What could possibly be more important than a snowball fight? Samus obviously didn't understand the meaning of fun. "And I'm sure nobody wants to go to South Korea, especially with the Olympics going on."

"Don't think that just because you don't feel like going means that everyone else should feel the same way, Ms. Aran. Can't help but think that all the time you've wasted in your workshop has obstructed you from keeping an open mind on the finer things in life. Obstructed you from having fun." Samus was ready to clap back, but she decided to save it for later. "Besides, what are the cons of going to Pyeongchang anyways? There might even be a k-pop idol singer lurking about - you could get their autograph!"

 **Master Hand: Yes, yes, I'm very much aware of Roy and his k-pop band, Straight Fiyah...and I'm also aware that Roy is a stupid idiot for wanting to make his musical dreams a reality. Truth is, that man is gonna bomb hard when he realizes that his dreams are just a delusion, and that he literally has zero skill at all. He sings worse than a banshee, and he dances like an awkward teenager with braces trying to impress the girl of his dreams. And needless to say, his bandmates are stupid idiots for agreeing to partake in this whole madness. Roy will bring them down to his level of delusion, and make them submit with his experience.**

"The last thing I would want is for some stupid Korean music idol to even lay a finger on me," replied Samus, finally reaching the workshop. There she would be safe and sound, but only for the time being. "I'm sure Roy will get _plenty_ of autographs from those lousy singers." The bounty hunter entered the workshop, and Master Hand, with nobody to speak to, would vanish...

* * *

...and appear in Mario's home, so he could give Mario (and later, Luigi) about his plans to go to Pyeongchang. Didn't take Master Hand that long to find Mario, for the plumber was in the living room, humming away as he watered his plants with FLUDD.

"Top of the evening, Mario - I see that your flowers are blossoming with exceeding joy," said Master Hand; either he was being serious, or he was just getting on Mario's nice side. "Do you have any plans for the rest of the day?"

"Aside-a from watching the Olympics, not really," replied Mario, finishing up on watering the plants. "Why do you ask-a Master Hand, have you got-a plans yourself? If it has anything-a to do with your 'fun run', then I'm not-a obliging..."

"What is it with you and not donating funds to charity...I'm sure every run for charity is a sham, and mine would be no different. But that's not what I'm here for...I was wondering if you, Peach, and Lara were interested in coming with the residents and I to Pyeongchang."

"Don't forget about me!" exclaimed Cappy, refusing to be ignored by Master Hand. How Master Hand desired to flick the talking cap off of Mario's head...

"I would-a like to visit Pyeongchang before the Olympics are-a over...I should speak with-a Peach and Lara about the matter. Would hate to leave-a them behind."

"But why would you even need to speak with them for, going to Pyeongchang would be an automatic yes! What would you even bother discussing with them about? What to wear? What to do? Where the best spots for photobombing on live television are? Give me a break!"

"Lara has-a PTSD, you know...only vivid memory or flash-a back, and she could go bonkers!" Lara being triggered by her PTSD and harming someone would be a very bad look. "I'm just-a trying to play it safe..."

"Okay Mario, go ahead and do what you want...but let me tell you, that sometimes you can't always play it safe. You can't be too careful anymore, if you know what's waiting for you...that's an actual song by the way, by Paramore. Absolute banger. I recommend that you give it a listen in your spare time."

* * *

Done speaking with Mario, Master Hand would teleport to Luigi's home, and to his surprise, he was the only one home! Well, except for Polterpup and Charles, with the latter seated in his high chair.

"I'm all alone...with Luigi and Daisy nowhere to be found...and I'm left in the company of their child, Charles..." Master Hand said to himself, thinking of devious thoughts and plans. "Now's my golden chance, the moment I've been waiting for!"

The giant hand approached Charles, and looked at him intensely with his nonexistent eyes, only for Charles to smile and clap. That young fella was immune to fear and danger - a complete opposite of his father. Master Hand then pulled away from Charles, and put his middle finger and ring finger on the floor, as he began to do some...dancing with said fingers. He kicked out both fingers like they were legs, dancing like he was a member of the Rockettes. Charles would continue to smile and clap, as Master Hand grabbed a nearby cane with his index finger and did some classic cane dancing. Only thing missing was a hat.

Master Hand would continue to entertain Charles, until Luigi and Daisy came down from the stairs with Rotom. Once the three reached the base of the steps they saw what Master Hand was doing with Charles, entertaining the infant; Luigi and Rotom remained chill, while Daisy, on the other hand...

"GET YOUR FILTHY HAND AWAY FROM MY CHILD!" the princess yelled as she snatched a nearby broom and ran to the living room to protect her baby. Master Hand's dancing act would soon be over, as Daisy aggressively whacked him with her broom, all while Charles smiled and clapped even harder. Apparently he was very fond of any act of violence.

 **Luigi: Life tip: never do** _anything_ **around-a Charles when Daisy's around, otherwise she'll get-a very overprotective. Learned that the hard-a way, when I was vacuuming the living room-a floor while watching over Charles. Daisy saw me, and accused-a me of plotting to suck-a up Charles' flesh with the vacuum (doubt that would-a even be possible), and we had a pretty long-a argument that resulted in me not receiving any dinner that night and later sleeping on-a the couch. What sucked-a was that Daisy had cooked-a barbecue that night, and she gave-a my portions to that freeloading ninja Yuffie..**

 **Yuffie: Yeah, Luigi ticking off Daisy was pretty much the greatest thing he ever done. Getting two helpings of those barbecue ribs felt almost criminal, yet it felt so right at the same time. It's like cheating on a final exam, and the teacher allows you to do it. If only school operated that way...**

"I do believe-a that Master Hand was just-a entertaining Charles," Luigi offered his two cents, as Daisy finished up her senseless beating on Master Hand. Once she was done, she put away the broom and ran over to Charles, picking him up and cradling him in her arms.

"It's okay Charles, mommy's got you, it's gonna be alright..." Daisy consoled Charles, leaving Master Hand to writhe on the floor. As Daisy comforted her son, Luigi tiptoed past his wife over to Master Hand, with Rotom following him.

"Did you come-a here for something, Master Hand?" the plumber quietly asked the giant hand, who was left moaning in pain. Unwritten Rule #5: never underestimate or doubt the vigor of an angry Daisy, not by any means.

"2018...Olympics...Pyeongchang...mansion...residents...for one day...you interested?" Master Hand asked Luigi, enticing him with the offer while dealing with the pain. Who knew a broom would be so effective against the giant hand?

"A trip to Pyeongchang, South Korea?" inquired Rotom, smiling with delight. "For the Olympics? A one-day visit sounds splendid, zzrt! When shall we leave?"

* * *

Once Master Hand recuperated from his injuries, and once the teleportation device was fully initialized, it was time for everyone to make the trip to Pyeongchang. Keep in mind that not everybody was prepared, for there were several individuals missing. But Mario and Luigi were there in the teleportation room, along with their crew. Much to Master Hand's delight, Lara was down with traveling to Pyeongchang, and so was ever pregnant Peach, around seven months pregnant.

"What is this...strange contraption?" asked Lara, as she took a glance at the teleportation device. It was the first time the tomb raider had ever seen it. "Never seen anything like it before?"

"That is called a teleportation device - it can literally transport you to anywhere in the world, and even beyond," explained Zero, the robot seeing how completely marveled Lara was. "Mega Man originally built it so we could travel to Rio de Janiero, and we still use this device to this day."

"So that means I could possibly return to my home country of Britain, and leave Seattle for good?" Zero would nod his head in response to Lara's question, as Bowser looked on, feeling weary. "I see...I should look into using this device one day."

 **Bowser: Oh crap, Lara is already considering going back home to Britain, and I have yet to win her heart! I can't just let her return home empty-handed, there's gotta be something I can do to make Lara love me! Wolf would be no help, as he told me I would have no chance with any human chick. Got no clue as to why he would tell me that, as his chances are just as slim.**

"Isabelle, is everyone present?" Master Hand asked the shih tzu, not feeling like doing a head count. That required too much work, and too much counting. Besides, counting over a hundred people would be quite frustrating.

"Not everyone is here...we're still missing Sonic, Knuckles, Ashley, Jacky, Akira, and Samus," replied Isabelle, as Master Hand growled in anger. The giant hand did not care for the first five folks mentioned...but he did care for Samus, who made it clear that she wasn't going to Pyeongchang. She would rather spend time in the workshop than visit a foreign country, and the thought of that made Master Hand seriously ticked.

"Well if Samus wants to keep working on her crappy Power Suit or whatever, then the more power to her, she can do what she wants." Why single out Samus for? That was a question Isabelle would ask if it came without the scrutiny of Master Hand. "We'll just leave without her, and she can cry her eyes out that she missed out on a wonderful trip! Screw that woman." Master Hand, done with his tangent, turned to Zero. "All set to go?"

"We're all set!" responded Zero, giving a thumbs up. The device was booted up, ready for teleporting. "There should be enough room for everyone here, and if not, we'll just have to do some piggybacking, for the short people..."

"I got dibs on Palutena's back!" Wario shouted out loud, as everyone looked at the fatso with weird looks. "...you know what, I'll just hitch a ride on Ike instead." Wario still didn't want anyone to find out about his secret crush on Palutena, and he was one moment away from blowing his cover.

* * *

By the mighty power of the teleportation device, Master Hand and company would wind up in Pyeongchang, soon greeted by the cold. Some folks remembered to bring a jacket and other gear, while folks such as Crash and Yoshi were able to withstand the temperatures. Other folks, such as Corrin, were left shivering, as they chattered their teeth.

"Wh-What is this f-f-foul gas exiting my m-m-m-mouth?" the prince wondered, being able to see his breath. Acting like he was some Floridan witnessing the cold for the first time - and to be fair, this was Corrin's first experience with freezing cold.

"Relax Corrin, it's just your breath," assured Kamui, worried that her twin brother was going paranoid. Imagine Corrin attacking his own breath with his Levin sword.

"How fitting that we ended up in the city part of Pyeongchang..." remarked Cappy, hopping off of Mario's head as he took out a Pyeongchang tour guide. "That should prevent any of us from getting lost. According to this tour guide, Pyeongchang has this mountain, called Mount Odaesan, which is home to various Buddhist temples. There are also two major ski resorts, both of which are...you know what, I shouldn't be reading you guys this stuff, I made tour guides for all of you! The thought that counts!"

"Um, Cappy, when did you make those tour guides?" a concerned Peach asked Cappy, as the cap took out a bunch of tour guides and passed them out. Peach was worried about the printer she and Mario recently purchased, fearing that Cappy might've unintentionally sabotaged it.

"I actually didn't make them, I printed them out online from the interwebs. Kept printing them out until the printer started beeping. That must've meant that the site I got the tour guides from ran out of tour guides. Had no idea it was possible." ...or maybe that beeping indicated that you used up all the printer's ink, Cappy. Mario and Peach will now have to order more ink because of you!

 **Mario: Honest-a question: is it possible to punish-a your own hat? Can I ground him by leaving him-a in my room, and locking the door-a shut? But then, how would I be able to go on joy-a rides in my car at night, and successfully fool-a people into thinking Seattle is haunted by ghosts? Maybe I can have-a Jacky hotwire my car.**

"You know what, screw your tour guides, and screw all of you - Straight Fiyah is going to tear South Korea down!" proclaimed Roy, as everyone rolled their eyes at the swordsman. "Let's go boys, let's show the South Koreans who the hottest new k-pop group is!"

"Let's just follow him and see how long we can stick around," Ike whispered to Marth, as the two swordsmen, along with Corrin, Robin, Alm, Berkut, and the newest member of the group, Crash, followed after their self-proclaimed leader, off to who knows where. "The moment he starts to show off his endemic singing skills, we leave him in the dust for good..."

"Then he'll have nobody but his own self to make himself look like a dire fool...sounds like a surefire plan," grinned Marth, bumping his fist with Ike's, as Straight Fiyah embarked on a journey to spread the news about their name...a journey only Roy was serious about.

"Man, it's a good thing I exited the group when I had the chance..." Chrom said to Lucina, who nodded her head in agreement. "...though Crash wasn't a solid choice for my replacement." That wouldn't matter, at least until Lucina got her plan going.

 **Berkut: Somehow, someway, Alm is still alive...that poison at the maid cafe must not have worked. Or it was so weak, that it had literally no effect on Alm. Remind me to give that cafe a bad review online...clearly their quality isn't top-notch.**

* * *

Sonic was one of the six who was left behind at the mansion, and the hedgehog's reason for being left behind was that he was taking a shower. Wanted to smell fresh and clean while he was in Pyeongchang. Unfortunately for Sonic, he took his shower on late notice; not taking his shower earlier would bite the blue blur in the back.

But Sonic wouldn't be alone, for Knuckles too was left behind after recording a rap song in the recording studio. Tails tried to inform his echidna friend that it was time to go, but Knuckles was too much into the groove to listen. Now, Knuckles was frantically running about in the mansion, wondering where everybody was.

"Oh, sure, go ahead and leave for Pyeongchang and leave ME behind!" frowned the echidna, frantically searching and assuming he was being set up. "Real funny, you guys - this is no way to show respect to..." Knuckles' angry fit would come to an end, when he ran into Ashley. The young witch looked up at Knuckles, staring into his eyes with her ominous look, her emotionless gaze ever apparent. "Ashley, what are you still doing here?"

"Staying away at the mansion while the other peons are at Pyeongchang, obviously," answered the young witch, as she twirled her wand. "I managed to hide away from Master Hand while he was rounding everyone up, and to my surprise, he didn't catch me...which meant my mission was a rousing success."

"Man, we absolutely killed it in the fitness center, didn't we Akira?" Jacky spoke with his best friend and fellow _Virtua Fighter_ bro as the two were walking through the hallway. Both men were sweaty from head to toe. "Sorry you had to take an L in our push-up competition!"

"Well what can I say, you win some you lose some," shrugged Akira, extremely humble as he accepted his defeat. "You can't win if you never lose. Otherwise you're just straight up cheating at life!" Both Jacky and Akira were astonished to see Knuckles and Ashley standing together, and were concerned. "...why aren't you two at Pyeongchang?" asked Akira.

"Hold on a minute, Akira...I think we were so much into our competition, that we were left behind!" Imagine being left behind on a trip to a foreign country in Asia, and your excuse was that you were too busy doing push-ups. "Oh man, oh man, what do we do?!"

"Relax, Jacky, we can just go to the teleportation room and boot up the device so we can teleport to Pyeongchang. Only thing is, none of us know how to work that crazy thing...so in a way, we're all screwed."

"Whaddaya mean, we're all screwed?" asked a familiar voice, as Sonic joined the group. He was wearing a towel around his waist. "Don't tell me we've been left behind by Master Hand...leaving people behind, that must be a first for him."

 **Master Hand: Will I punish those who chose to stay behind at the mansion during our trip? That only depends on the intent. I'm willing to give everyone except Samus a pass if they completely forgot. Or if they didn't hear me remind them that we were ready to go. Thought my yelling was loud enough. As for Samus...it's pretty clear as day she boycotted the trip. She can sit the workshop all she wants and think of herself as a modern day Rosa Parks, while I think of what to do with her once we return.**

"Sonic, why do you have a towel wrapped around your waist?" Ashley questioned the blue blur - not that she mind, she was left curious. "We're used to seeing you walking around with no clothes on, same goes for Knuckles."

"You're used to seeing a person walking around indoors naked?" grimaced Sonic, as he made an absolutely disgusted face. "Wow, you people have no morals at all! Or maybe it's just you, Ashley. I've seen you attempting to murder your pet rabbit by tossing him into the washer machine, you heartless monster...if looks could kill, I'd be dead by now!"

"...that's actually a stuffed animal, but keep believing whatever you want, Sonic." As Ashley and company remained in the hallway, another person would join them...Samus Aran, he was walking by carrying some new parts from her Power Suit. The moment she saw the five gathered together, she immediately turned away. There was a particular reason why she did this.

"Just keep on walking Samus and they won't make you do anything..." the bounty hunter said to herself, keeping her eyes forward. She wouldn't get that far, when Akira grabbed unto her leg trying to stop her.

"Please, Samus, you can't go, for you must do us all a huge solid!" begged Akira, as Samus tried to escape from Akira, but to no avail. "We have to get to Pyeongchang, so we can enjoy the experience with everyone else!"

"Look, I couldn't care less about Pyeongchang, or taking you all there. I just wanna be alone, and finish my projects, without some stupid giant hand interrupting me, or some idiotic marsupial always interfering with my plans. Why would you need me for, anyways?"

"Because you're the only person aside from the robots that knows how to use the teleportation device, perhaps?" answered Sonic, as Samus stopped in place and realized this. "You did help Mega Man some in building that thing." This was in fact true, and there was no way for Samus to deny it. The bounty hunter was now left in the precarious position of taking Sonic and company to Pyeongchang, with the odds against her. "Maybe once we're gone, you'll have ALL the free time to yourself...so how about it?"

"Fine, I suppose I can teleport you guys to Pyeongchang, if you're that desperate," sighed Samus, as everyone except for Ashley showed their appreciation for the bounty hunter. Ashley just did nothing. "Let me go boot that device back up..."

* * *

Being that he was in a foreign country, Master Hand took up on the opportunity to spread awareness about Pikachu Day, and tell the Korean natives how great the day was, so that the word would hopefully be spread to other Asian countries, somehow...somehow. The giant hand would ask random Korean citizens (ones that spoke English, to make things easier) what day it was, hoping they would answer the question correctly.

"Excuse me, good sir, what what is today?" Master Hand asked a Korean dude, who was taking a picture of Pyeongchang's mountain range. Understandably, the man was spooked upon seeing Master Hand.

"Today would be Friday, I believe," the man answered...only for Master Hand to snatch the dude's phone, and hurl it over the mountains like a javelin. "Hey what was that for, my wife gave me that phone!"

"The correct answer to that question was Pikachu Day you bozo! Tell your wife that she's a bozo too for marrying you! And tell you're children they're bozos as well, just for being your offspring! But if they're young, then don't bother, they won't be able to handle it...just tell them that when they're older."

Leaving the man wonderfully confused, Master Hand hovered away, looking for another Korean to ask, when he saw Link at a stand, selling Pikachu Cheesesteaks and spreading the awareness like a true hero, with Zelda and Greninja with him. Pikachu and Pichu were perched on the stand, just for selling purposes. Nobody would dare to pass up on the opportunity to buy a cheesesteak after seeing Pikachu's cute face...and Pichu's face as well.

"Link, my man, selling those cheesesteaks and making that money all in the name of awareness!" exclaimed Master Hand, commending the Hylian for his efforts. He was never more proud of Link until now. "Good for you to have your girlfriend join the initiative!"

"To be clear, Greninja and I are only here for 'moral support'," clarified Zelda, who wanted nothing to do with Pikachu Day. Greninja nodded his head, sharing Zelda's sentiments. "Link is doing all the selling."

"Frankly Pikachu Day needs all the moral support it can get, so I commend the efforts of you and Greninja to make Pikachu Day bigger than ever. So, Link, you must be making a fortune by now, are ya?"

"Sure am, Master Hand - I'm already at 53,330 won!" replied Link; if Master Hand had eyes, his eyes would be bulging out with excitement. "We're making that dough today!"

"53,330 won?! That's Bill Gates money right there! Just wait until we transfer that South Korean currency to U.S. currency, we'll be stinking rich! _I_ will be stinking rich! Just think of the things I could do to enhance my Lamborghini!" Oh, if only Master Hand knew South Korean currency worked...

 **Zelda: According to my calculations, 53,330 won equals too... *taps away on a calculator* ...$49.93, in U.S. currency. Rounded up, that's fifty dollars, but in Master Hand's mind, that amount is close to twelve billion. I won't tell him or Link the true calculations, it's best if they found out themselves.**

"But we can't just stop there, there are other various methods to increase awareness about Pikachu Day," expressed Master Hand, while Link was making another cheesesteak sale. "We should hijack the South Korean television stations, and the government too, and announce a PSA that will undoubtedly bring awareness to the entire country, as a whole. Or we can just sell Pikachu Day merchandise, that would be easier. Say, where is Ayaha?"

"Beats me, though if I had to guess, she's with Tsubasa and the gang," replied Link, making yet another sale. Having Pikachu and Pichu around must be driving up the sales. "Probably at a gift shop or something."

"They have gift shops at this desolate wintry place? Well Pyeongchang _does_ have a town...a small town at that, maybe some people enjoy the freezing cold. Or they're just crazy. No matter, I must consult my Pikachu Day advisor right away, and see if she has any bright plans for creating more awareness. The fate of Pikachu Day depends on it!" Master Hand vanished away, leaving Link to continue his business.

"Still can't believe you a part of this whole Pikachu Day bandwagon..." Zelda shook her head at Link, fully disgusted with her boyfriend. "Oh, the silly choices you make sometimes..."

* * *

Thanks to Samus, who booted up the teleportation device, Sonic, Knuckles, Ashley, Jacky, Akira, and some cameraman who stuck around at the mansion were teleported to Pyeongchang, ready to soak in everything the host city of the Olympics had to offer. There was one problem, though...

...instead of arriving at a snowy location, with mountain ridges and many Olympic events taking place, the group would find themselves in some town square, with tall building and skyscrapers towering over them. Wherever the group was, it wasn't even close to being Pyeongchang.

"Aw crap, Samus must've warped us to Pyongyang!" panicked Akira; either Samus accidentally selected Pyongyang on the device, or her apathy got in the way. Regardless, Akira and company were stuck in Pyongyang, the capitol of North Korea, and they had no way to return home.

"Of all the countries to be accidentally warped to, and it had to be North freaking Korea..." moaned Sonic, looking down at the ground. "I'd hate to be stuck in a country under the rule of that toupee-wearing midget, Kim Jong Un! At least I think he's wearing a toupee...with him and Trump, it's hard to tell."

"Do have to admit, this place isn't as bad as it seems," remarked Knuckles, as he took a look around the city of Pyongyang. The citizens of the city were going about with their daily lives, hardly paying any attention to the five (or six, if you wish to include the cameraman, but he's not that important anyways). "This must be the chill side of Pyongyang, away from all the impoverished territories I've seen online."

"Are you all lost, are you by any chance a part of the tour?" a Korean tour guide approached Knuckles and company, with several American tourists behind him. The tour guide looked friendly and nice, but Sonic thought otherwise.

"Stand back you guys, this dude might be a secret spy agent from the North Korea government..." the hedgehog warned the others, as the group slowly backed away cautiously. "The tourists behind him must've been brainwashed, unable to recover from their..."

"Whoever said I was a secret spy agent? I'm just your friendly North Korean tour guide, showing our visitors around our nation's capital. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise." The group slowly began to warm up towards the tour guide, but Sonic still had his doubts.

"Fine then, Mr. Tour Guide, we believe you...for now. But pull something funny, and we'll beat you up so bad your friends can't save you." Sonic and company would join the tourists as the tour guide resumed the tour, with Sonic keeping an ever suspicious eye on the tour guide...

* * *

While Sonic and friends were having a tour of Pyongyang, the threesome of Pit, Viridi, and Kirby were watching the Olympics crew set up things for the next Olympic event. There were standing rather close; surprisingly those three haven't been escorted away or even arrested yet.

"This setup crew needs to hurry up and get this whole thing set up already," frowned an impatient Pit, who had no idea what Olympic event was about to take place. "Whatever the event is, it better be some basketball - would like to see the men's national team again. Basketball must be on a very long delay this year in the Olympics."

"Um, Pitty...there is no basketball in the Winter Olympics," Viridi informed her boyfriend, ashamed that she even had to tell him that information. "Basketball was never a winter sport, it has always been summer. Been that way since forever."

"Why, because basketball players aren't allowed to play in the cold? Did the NBA make some silly rule prevent players from playing in frigid temperatures? Stupid NBA, always ruining great things...first the draft lottery, and now this..."

 **Pit: Never wanted to admit this straight up, but now I feel like it has to be said...the United States is THE most racist country in the planet! Think about it - all the talented athletes they've sent to South Korea, and not a single one of them is black! How could they possibly bring the black man down like that? Even the African countries sent more black athletes to Pyeongchang than the U.S., and that's just sad! Sad!**  
 **Kirby: The African countries have more black athletes because they have more concentrated black populations Pit... *sighs* ...and here I thought you said you never saw color...must've been a lie.**

"Spreading the awareness about Pikachu Day, my amigos?" asked a loud voice, as the trio turned around and were spooked by Master Hand. Master Hand had a very strong habit of scaring people like that; apparently he didn't see any problem with it.

"Master Hand, how could you call us that evil racial slur, I'm appalled!" gasped Pit, leaving Master Hand - and Viridi and Kirby - in complete and utter confusion. "I understand that with being the creator of the Smash universe, you can do whatever you want, but that shouldn't allow you to say whatever you please..."

"Kirby I'm not sure if your mastery of the Spanish language - or any foreign language, for that matter - is up to par, but amigos means friends in English," explained Kirby; the pink puffball must've learned some Spanish from Meta Knight. After all, Meta Knight did consider himself Hispanic...

"Oh I see...sorry for my ignorance. This whole time I thought amigo was just a Mexican variant of the word...you know what, just forget about it. Forget that I ever said anything."

"We're terribly sorry, Master Hand, but what awareness are we supposed to be spreading anyways?" questioned Viridi, miffed by Master Hand's fascination with Pikachu Day. "There is literally no one to spread awareness to! And those guys over there setting up everything are too busy to listen to us anyways!"

"That's because you're too afraid to spread the good news. I can't blame you - most people I know are too scared to spread awareness about anything, they'd rather be silent and not allow to have their voices heard. But in this time and age, more and more people have the power to say what or how they feel, and that comes with spreading awareness. And the more awareness we spread, the more we can encourage change in these trying times. So go out there and spread that awareness and create change as you see fit, while I do the same myself."

Following his short speech - one that could possibly move someone to tears, somehow - Master Hand vanished away, as Pit, Viridi, and Pit exchanged weird looks with one another. How could informing others about Pikachu Day possibly spark change?

* * *

The tour throughout Pyongyang was going swell for Sonic and company, and the tourists as well; the tour guide was being very informative and willing to answer questions, and wasn't cold or hostile towards anyone. However, Sonic still had his doubts about the guy, still certain he was a secret spy agent, and that he was leading the group to a giant boiler room where everyone would get boiled alive. For that very reason, Sonic was standing very close to the guy...way too close for comfort.

"As you can see, these are statues of two former leaders of North Korea - Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il," the tour guide explained to the group, as they were on Mansu Hill Ground Monument. "The citizens of North Korea come here to pay their respect to these famous leaders..."

"You want _us_ to pay respect to them?" snorted Knuckles, shaking his head in disgust. "Nah man, we're good...can't pay respect to someone you've never met before, amirite guys?" With that logic, OGs like Abraham Lincoln and Gandhi don't deserve any single shred of respect, unless you went back in time and met them in person. Otherwise you're just wasting your time!

"I said the _citizens_ of North Korea pay their respects. If any of you want to pay respect, then I'm not stopping you...granted you don't have to since you aren't naturalized North Korean citizens, but I'm not stopping you, and neither is anyone else."

 **Sonic: Is it a very common thing for North Korean leaders to have ugly-looking toupees? Is that some kind of tradition?**

Just then, a bunch of North Korean school kids came to the statues, led by a group of teachers. The school kids - and the teachers as well - were all paying their respects to Kim Il Sung and Kim Jung Il, as the tourists watched.

"As you can see, the schoolkids of North Korea are paying their respects to the North Korean leaders of times past," explained the tour guide; if we apply Knuckles' logic, then we can see that what the North Korean youth were doing was all for naught. "It's a very common thing for them to do that every school day."

"Ooh, so they go on field trips on a daily basis?" asked Jacky, who asked his question without even raising his hand. How impolite. "Man, if only they did in America...maybe then I wouldn't have skipped class! Asian countries killing America when it comes to education, even back in the eighties..."

"I wouldn't consider what the schoolkids are doing to be a field trip...just a little tradition that has become an essential part of their everyday lives. Let's get a move on people, there's other places for us to explore..." As the tour guide kept the tour coming along, Sonic still kept a suspicious eye out on him...

* * *

If Master Hand truly wanted to spread awareness about Pikachu Day at the Olympics, he would have to do so with the athletes participating in the winter games. For that reason, the giant hand headed down to the Athlete Village, undetected, to speak with some Olympians. He was inside one of the apartments, and he would knock on a door. A man answered the door, surprised to see Master Hand.

"Um, this is awkward...I was expecting room service," remarked this young man; we shall call him Roger. "Who are you, and how did you get here?"

"That is none of your concern, for I have a question far more important than yours," replied Master Hand, stressing the importance of what he was about to ask. "Is today, my red-haired friend, is today Pikachu Day?"

"'Pikachu Day'? What the heck is that?" Master Hand gasped in shock when he heard Roger's response - how could he be so ignorant? "Why not have a day for other Pokemon?"

"You poor, wretched soul...why, Pikachu Day is the greatest day known to man, and it's all about Pikachu! And, well, Pichu. All the other Pokemon are completely irrelevant. Some of them, anyways. Pikachu Day is so great, that it can be celebrated everyday. Why have to wait for Christmas and Thanksgiving to arrive, when you can just celebrate Pikachu Day on the daily? Sure, you don't receive gifts, or dress up in costumes, or have large feasts with family and friends...but thanks to the human race, such traditions have become overrated over time. Pikachu Day is where it's at!"

"That...that has got to be the zaniest thing I've heard during my time here. Don't know if I should feel concerned, or weirded out. But anyways, just go away and leave me alone...and try and do the same for the other Olympians, okay?" Roger closed the door on Master Hand, leading him to sigh.

"It's gonna be okay, Master Hand, he'll learn...they'll all learn, one day," Master Hand said to himself, before refocusing his attention on other matters. "Now, what was I doing before?"

* * *

Although it was hardly mentioned in the previous episode, Snake infiltrated the Aston Manor club when the ladies went on their girls night out, hoping to land the woman of his dreams. Was his mission a rousing success, just as he hoped it would be? Unfortunately for the former spy it wasn't, for he once he found the perfect woman, he tried to make his move and swoon the woman to the best of his ability. The woman was disgusted by Snake's romantic advances, and slapped him silly, before security had to escort Snake out of the nightclub. At least there was someone at the Aston Manor who didn't quit their jobs...

Due to the failure of his previous mission, Snake was back on the hunt, as he had his eyes set on finding a smoking hot Korean woman and making her his own. The former spy was spying on some Korean chicks at the Pyeongchang Olympic Plaza, looking through his trusty binoculars.

"Eenie meenie minnie moo...which one of you ladies wants a go..." Snake said in a somewhat creepy manner, as he found himself smiling intently. So many choices were available in front of them - all he had to do was grab hold of the opportunity when it was nigh. "Come and take a chance with me, I won't bite..."

"Snake can I ask you a serious question?" a calm voice asked Snake, startling the former spy as he threw his binoculars up in the air. The women from afar heard the noise, and walked away out of fear.

"Why'd you do that to me, I was about to claim my future wife!" Snake scolded the person that spooked him, Cloud Strife, although Cloud couldn't care less about Snake's romantic status. "Why must you be so against me having a girlfriend, my future wife? Have you no shame?"

"You having a girlfriend, let alone being married...like that's gonna happen, with that geezer look of yours." Even Snake had to admit it - the accelerated age was holding him back. "But I have something that's more important than your little quest for love...do you think I'm a clone of Zack Fair? Thought you might be the best person to ask..."

"What could possibly be more important than my love life...wait, what was this about you being a clone?" Upon hearing the question, Snake thought Cloud was just playing around, pulling his tail, but one look at the swordsman's face and he saw that he was being serious. "Where did you come to that silly conclusion?"

"Actually, Wolf told me about it two weeks ago...and the more I dwell upon the thought, the more I believe that he might be on to something. Since you were cloned from your dad, Big Boss, I thought that maybe..."

"Okay, first off, don't mention that guy's name - just hearing that name makes me feel salty. Also, you think that because I'm a clone myself I know who's a clone and who isn't? Get outta here with that, man..."

 **Snake: Whom do I dislike more, EVA or Big Boss...hard to tell, honestly. Both my mom and dad were responsible for the creation of Liquid Snake, which means they both deserve an extreme amount of blame for Liquid's very existence. But I think I got along better with EVA - Big Boss and I kinda butted heads over the years until he died. My biggest regret is that I never got the chance to berate him for making Liquid an actual person. Don't know whose bright idea that was...stupid moron.**

"If I were you, I would ask SOLDIER if I'm a clone, since they're into cloning stuff," Snake offered this advice to Cloud, although terms between Cloud and SOLDIER were very tense. "They might know something that you don't. Wouldn't hurt to ask. Mind if I ask how apart you and Zack were, in terms of age?"

"We were only a year apart," answered Cloud; he was born in 1985, and Zack was born in 1984. "Given that, I highly doubt SOLDIER would clone me after someone who was born a year ahead of..." All of a sudden, an interesting thought entered Cloud's head. "...what if Zack _himself_ was a clone, and they cloned him and I after someone else?"

"Now that's just straight up silly talk...starting to think this clone thing has gotten to your head. You should just use this time at Pyeongchang to chill out and relax, and forget about your cares and troubles...you'll only wind up in more trouble if you let Wolf get inside your mind like that."

"Yeah you're right, this is my fault for taking Wolf seriously. I should just go and see what Aerith is up to, hanging out with her would prevent me from thinking about this whole clone thing again." Hopefully it would prevent you from thinking about the hullabaloo ever again, Cloud.

"That's the spirit, now go spend some quality time with your woman. Do as I say, go!" Snake would shove Cloud away, as Cloud left Snake alone in peace. Once the swordsman was gone, Snake let out a sigh. "About time I got rid of that guy...why he thinks of himself as a clone, I might never understand. Guess the rumors about him being emo were true...but I can't see a man over thirty years of age still maintaining that emo lifestyle. But that's just me..."

"Snake, Snake, SNAAAAAAAAKE!" Master Hand's voice boomed, as the giant hand appeared to Snake. Just when Snake was about to resume his woman watching. "You're not busy by any chance, are you?"

"I was about to look for my future girlfriend and wife until you showed up...I was already interrupted by Cloud, and I cannot afford to have you do the same thing." Snake turned around, and saw a new group of Korean ladies enter the Olympic Plaza, along with their male friends. "I see more prey...I should look into taking out those guys first, they'll get in my way. And if those guys are in love with any of those girls..."

"Wait, so you're looking for a girlfriend AND a wife? Wow Snake, I never would've guessed you of all people would practice polygamy, but when you're a single senior citizen, you can get desperate sometimes. But when you do find your future wife and girlfriend...can you tell them one thing?"

"Only depends on the context of what I have to tell." Snake wouldn't want to destroy whatever chance he would have with his significant other because of Master Hand's input. "And it better not have anything to do with..."

"Pikachu Day, I want you to tell them everything they need to know about Pikachu Day. The more you celebrate Pikachu Day, and the more you create awareness about it, the better your relationships shall be. Granted it hasn't been proven before, but now's your golden opportunity to become a trailblazer for the greatest day ever created!"

 **Master Hand: You see, Pikachu Day isn't a day meant to be celebrated only in the United States...it needs to be a worldwide thing, celebrated by people of different nationalities and colors. Which is why the Olympics is the perfect venue to introduce Pikachu Day to people from all over the world, and spread the awareness, as a means to unite everyone together and create meaningful dialogue. Dialogue about how great and awesome Pikachu Day is, of course!**

* * *

Nearing the end of the tour, the tour guide would treat the tourists...Sonic, Knuckles, Ashley, Jacky, and Akira included...to some North Korean cuisine. He took everyone to a Korean restaurant named Okryugwan, which was known for selling noodles. Everyone sat in the restaurant and ate their noodles in peace - everyone except for the tour guide, who was constantly looking over his back and seeing Sonic staring at him intently. The hedgehog would stare intently at the restaurant employees as well, certain that they might be secretly working for the government.

"Sonic, if you're not going to eat your noodles, then I would gladly take them," Ashley said to the blue blur, who was still looking at the tour guide, like he was plotting internally to kill him. He then turned his gaze to one of the workers, who saw Sonic and held her head down quickly.

"Those noodles could potentially be poisonous, for all we know," replied Sonic, slowly taking his gaze off the worker before turning his attention to Ashley. "Why should we risk our lives eating these noodles, so we can all die, and allow North Korea to tell America about it and brag about killing tourists in their face? I'm just doing America a favor..."

"This has completely gotten to your head, Sonic - all the North Koreans we've seen or met today have been nice to us, and you've treated them like trash," said Knuckles, the echidna who believed that paying respects to fallen historical figures was asinine. "Not all North Koreans are brainwashed zombies!"

"Knuckles has a point Sonic, in this country there are some diamonds in the rough here and there," agreed Jacky, as he slurped his noodles. Sonic had no idea what he was missing out on. "Ain't that right, Akira?" Jacky turned to face Akira...but Akira wasn't there! His bowl of noodles was there, but that's about it. "Akira, where are you man?!"

"What seems to be the problem, is someone missing?" the tour guide perked up, as Jacky frantically scoured the restaurant for his best friend. His search eventually led him to the restroom. "A missing tourist, just what I needed..."

"You would be the one to ask what the problem is, would you?" Sonic stood up and pointed at the tour guide, who was left in confusion. "That's because you kidnapped Akira - threw him in a sack and sent him to the North Korean government for inspection while everyone was busy eating their noodles. Fess up, bro!"

"Don't be ridiculous, I had nothing to do with your friend's kidnapping...and I don't work for the North Korean government! Stop thinking that I do, please!" Jacky would exit the restroom, and he was more exasperated.

"Looked everywhere in the men's restroom, Akira was nowhere to be found..." Jacky informed the crowd, everyone growing more concerned about Akira's whereabouts. "Even looked in the women's restroom, and Akira wasn't there either. Don't know what compelled me to look there for. But getting slapped by that Korean chick was totally worth it, in my opinion."

 **Jacky: How would I rate this restaurant's restroom? *pauses, then thinks* Let's just say I'd rather take my chances outside of the restaurant, and leave it at that...**

"Hold on everyone, let me call Koryo Tours and notify them about the situation at hand," the tour guide told the tourists, as he took out his cellphone. Sonic watched him suspiciously; the tour guide could be calling Kim Jong Un, informing him that they captured an American tourist of Asian descent. Did Akira even have United States citizenship? "Hello? Oh, it's me, Cheong, one of the tour guides. We have a bit of a crisis on our hands, one of the tourists from my group has apparently gone missing..."

"I knew it, I knew you were gonna call your man Jong Un!" Sonic snapped, as the hedgehog pounced on the tour guide and brought him to the floor. Everyone watched as Sonic had the tour guide pinned to the floor, swatting the phone out of his hand. Akira would later show up, witnessing the scene at hand.

"What did I miss?" the fighter asked out of curiosity, as Sonic held the tour guide's arms behind his back.

* * *

Wanting to give the South Korean crowd a performance they would remember for the rest of their lives, Roy and the rest of the Straight Fiyah crew - but mostly just Roy - found a stage to venue to perform at, in the Gangneung Ice Arena. This arena was meant for holding ice skating events, but apparently that didn't stop Roy - and Straight Fiyah - from using the arena as a place to perform.

"Man, I sure hope Roy and his stupid k-prop crew doesn't come up in here and perform," remarked Fox, seated with Falco and Ema, as the three were watching some ice skating events. "That would be a very Roy thing to do, at this point."

"Didn't you two sign Straight Fiyah to Star Records in the first place?" smirked Ema, as she learned in close to Fox and Falco. Trying to make them feel guilty. "Had you not, you would have quelled Roy's delusion, and you wouldn't have to worry about whatever crazy things he plans on doing!"

"I wouldn't say that we signed Straight Fiyah to a record deal...we're just giving Roy and his crew a chance to prove themselves," affirmed Falco; already they were proving that they deserved to belong in the back of the line behind all real k-pop boy groups out there. "There's really no timetable for how long Roy has to prove that his boy band is legit."

"Heh, I'm surprised that you boys are even entertaining Roy's nonsense. If I were you, I would definitely..." Ema suddenly looked out on the ice, and saw that the ice skaters that were supposed to be doing their thing had to leave the ice, for there was an intruder. "...wait a minute, is that...is that Crash? Please don't tell me what I think is gonna happen..."

Everyone in the Gangneung Ice Area watched as the ice skaters left the ice and allowed Crash to take their spot. But the bandicoot wasn't alone, oh no...for the rest of Straight Fiyah would join the bandicoot onstage, and they were all on skates. A pure trainwreck in the making.

"Sweet mother of pearl, they're going to sing while on skates, I can't watch this..." Fox said as he shielded his eyes and turned away. Already some of the members, such as Alm and Corrin, were slipping on the ice. "Let me know when it's over..."

"Will do, Fox, will do," assured Falco, having to watch the trainwreck unfold, as Straight Fiyah assumed their positions once all the members were able to stand on the ice without slipping. There were murmurings in the crowd, about why Straight Fiyah was here, and once the murmuring died down, "DNA" by BTS played over the speakers. Straight Fiyah would do their dance, as the members either fell to the ice or bumped into one another. The only ones that were left standing were Roy and Crash, with the latter having some amateurish experience in ice skating.

"Now Crash, here's your big moment, time to show the world what you're made of...take it away!" Roy pointed at the bandicoot, as Crash began to sing with his gibberish voice to the tune of the song. Setting the trainwreck on fire in the process. Fox, Ema, and anyone else in the crowd stomaching the performance watched with pained faces; you've got to be wondering what the announcers were thinking right now.

 **Robin: Roy's plan to give "the greatest musical performance in South Korea history" was successful, initially - have Crash run go ham on the security guards and allow us to enter the arena, while Aku drugged (...or rendered unconscious) whoever was in charge of the music, and change the music with his telekinesis and whatnot. Even found some nifty ice skates lying about, to skate on the ice. The security guards would get to us though, eventually, and the police came to arrest us. Now we're left with two choices - leave South Korea for good, or be put in jail. And if we have to leave, then everyone else will too...**

 **Roy: Did I care about losing my dignity back there? Nope. Dignity is just a crutch people use to think that they have confidence. Confidence is nothing but a lie - a mechanism used to remind people that they exist. When you're out there performing, you don't care about trivial things such as dignity and confidence - you just leave it all out there, and let your audience feel your presence.**

* * *

Contrary to what Link said, Pyeongchang did _not_ have a gift shop...but they did have a superstore at the Gangneung Olympic Park. Master Hand, who went on a wild goose chase searching for his "Pikachu Day advisor", would find his advisor exit the store along with Tsubasa and Touma, with the former carrying some shopping bags in her hands.

"Ah, Ayaha, how is my advisor doing?" Master Hand asked Ayaha, nearly scaring the crap out of her and her friends. "I take it that you've done a splendid job spreading the awareness during your little shopping excursion?"

"Spreading the awareness about what, exactly?" questioned Ayaha, before remembering what Master Hand was talking about. A good thing she remembered in time... "Oh yeah, Pikachu Day! Tsubasa, Touma and I have been telling the South Korean folks about it, letting people know."

"We never spread any awareness about that stupid day..." stated Touma, only for Tsubasa to nudge him. Lowkey saved Touma's life. "...what I meant to say was, we sure spread a lot of awareness today! Yes we did! Soon enough, South Korea will celebrate Pikachu Day everyday! Maybe even North Korea too!"

"Sure hope so - Pikachu Day could be the one thing that can bring both Koreas back together again. If Truman and Eisenhower couldn't do it, then the spirit of Pikachu Day will! Would you like to come with me, Miss Oribe? I have some innovative new ideas about Pikachu Day that I thought you might give an ear too..."

While Ayaha - and Tsubasa and Touma too - walked with Master Hand, they would pass by Mario and Donkey Kong, who were chilling out near some refreshment stand. The two friendly rivals were enjoying a conversation about Funky Kong, DK's friends.

"Funky Kong hails from the Kong family, which may explain why so many people mistake him for being my cousin," explained Donkey Kong, as Mario took a sip of his drink, through a straw. "But really, the Kong family is extended to family relatives and friends. Surprisingly there isn't that much incest involved. There _might_ be some incest going on, that Cranky probably never told me about."

"I'm positive the lovely folks-a from Alabama wouldn't mind that," chuckled Mario, expecting Donkey Kong to laugh...the gorilla instead just stared at Mario. Talk about a dud of a joke. Mario's chuckling would end when Lara approached the plumber, needing to speak with him.

"Mario, do you have a minute?" the tomb raider asked Mario. "Won't be long...just need to ask you something. Something very important..."

"Sounds like a private conversation...and for that reason, you can just take my seat, Lara," said Donkey Kong, as he offered his seat to the tomb raider. Lara would take a seat in the now available chair, as she and Mario were face to face.

"Before you begin, I just-a wanna know...does this conversation have-a anything to do with-a Bowser?" asked Mario, cracking his knuckles just in case. "You came-a to the right guy then..."

"Actually, Mario...it has nothing to do with Bowser," confirmed Lara, making Mario feel salty. He never minded getting his hands on Bowser. "It has more to do...with me. And my future. So, today was my first time seeing this...teleportation device you have in the mansion..."

"Oh yes, the device Master Hand pretty much-a forced Mega Man to build, to take us-a to Brazil for the Summer Olympics. We use it to teleport-a to certain places around the world, and even to places-a that are in separate dimensions! It really saves-a us from buying plane tickets."

"I can see...speaking of plane tickets, I was told by Lady Palutena that I was supposed to receive a planet ticket to London as a Secret Santa gift from Pit, but it was burned to crisp somehow. That plane ticket was my one shot at returning to London. And with the resources the mansion has..."

"Well the mansion does-a have a lot of resources; it's kinda like a college dorm, but with-a out the administrators and all. Say, did-a you ever go to college before embarking upon-a your tomb raiding career?"

"I had attended the University of London - had to work multiple jobs to pay off my tuition. It was there that I met my best friend, Samantha Nishimura...sadly she isn't doing so well."

"Terribly sorry to hear-a that...what happened-a to your Samantha friend?" Mario was unsure if that was worth asking, but his curiosity was peaked.

"Basically Samantha was possessed by this demon, and stabbed herself trying to evict said demon, and now she's in a hospital recovering. She's been there for quite a while, and I want to hunt down the individuals responsible for Samantha being possessed in the first place. That is why I want to return back home, back to my roots..."

"What are you-a trying to say, Lara?" Mario kinda knew what Lara would say next, judging by the tomb raider's body language, and was well prepared.

"What I'm trying to say is that, well, seeing how that device works and all, and with my desire to return home...I'm ready to head back to London."

"WHAT?!" Master Hand's voice boomed, heard from afar, but it wasn't in response to what Lara just said. It was more than likely that the giant hand found out about Straight Fiyah's shenanigans, and how the Olympic officials wanted to dispel the group from South Korea. That came at the hefty price of having all the residents, and several others, return to Seattle, just because Roy wanted to make a name for his boy band.

However, one person that heard Lara's decision to return to London was Bowser, who was seen eavesdropping on Mario and Lara from a considerable distance. Bowser bit his nails nervously, seeing that the time he had to win over Lara was now dwindling...

 **Master Hand: Welp, stupid idiots gonna do stupid idiot things...and thanks to Roy, our trip to Pyeongchang has to be cancelled short. I knew Straight Fiyah were bad, but I had no idea they were bad enough to risk being banned from a country that invented the genre they specialize in! Really says a lot when you think about it.**

 **Bowser: Dang it, why didn't I talk Mario out of bringing Peach and Lara on the trip to Pyeongchang? Now that Lara's seen that teleportation thingy, she's seriously giving consideration about returning to London via that device. I can't let Lara return to Britain if I don't have her heart, and I can't let her use that device... *pauses* ...unless...**

* * *

"Finally got all the upgrades for my Power Suit done!" exclaimed Samus, as she rested comfortably in her chair in the workshop, her arms outstretched. "All it took was for the mansion to be deserted for me to focus on my work. Yet Master Hand claimed that I can't have fun...some people find fun in the most routine ways of life. Everyone's different, though Master Hand can't understand that...I should get myself a nighttime snack."

So Samus left the workshop, and went down to the kitchen and grabbed herself a malasada, scarfing it down. She then went inside the fridge, and found some orange juice...and drank the entire carton. Working on the Power Suit must've made her hungry. And thirsty. By the time Samus returned to the workshop...

"Samus Aran...we're baaack!" announced Master Hand, as the giant hand and a few residents made their way down the hallway. Samus just looked at Master Hand, all dumbfounded. "Just arrived a few minutes ago. Back a lot sooner than expected, but on the plus side, everyone can go to bed on time...like that's ever a good thing."

"I imagined you would be gone for the rest of the night..." said Samus, still dumbfounded. That's what the bounty hunter was hoping for, anyways - would've had the whole mansion to herself.

"Yup, that was the plan, until Roy and his stupid idiot band Straight Fiyah had to go and ruin things for us. Thanks to them, Donkey Kong no longer has to carry the burden of being the fun-ending killjoy. Roy and his boys can all share that title now. So, did you have fun Sonic, or were you too preoccupied with your precious little Power Suit?" Very interesting of Master Hand to bring up Sonic...

"Hey Samus, have you seen Sonic anywhere?" Tails approached the bounty hunter from behind; Samus went from dumbfounded to nervous as she turned to face Tails. "I didn't see him in my room, not even Shaymin knew where Sonic went. What about Knuckles, is he still here?"

"Oh no..." Samus uttered with a thousand mile stare, for she knew where Sonic and Knuckles were...

* * *

...in Pyongyang. Or more specifically, in jail, behind bars, thanks to the actions of Sonic earlier. Sonic, along with Ashley, Knuckles, Jacky, and Akira, resided in a jail cell awaiting their fate; hard to believe their fate would be a positive one, given how most North Korean jails operated.

"So...what's the over/under for how long we're staying here, you guys?" Sonic asked his cellmates, who were all glaring at him. "Five days sounds good? Yeah, I'ma go with five..."


	115. Episode 115: Balthier

_Author's Note:_

 _Wanted to start this note off with a snazzy introduction, but unfortunately I couldn't think of anything. So let's just cut to the chase..._

 _"Will the other Mewtwo from the Genesect movie be mentioned? Is Wolf wearing his outfit from Star Fox Assault or Smash Bros. Brawl? Can you include a scene of Celica interacting with Futaba and Magilou? (Erica Lindbeck voices them) how do you think Viridi would react to the events of the Resident Evil series? And finally, will we see an Infinity War chapter sometime in the near future?"_

 _That Mewtwo is lame...so no. Wolf is wearing his Brawl outfit. I can do that Celica scene. Don't know how Viridi would react. And there will be an Infinity War chapter sometime soon, in May. Another guest review:_

 _"An Idea for the next chap. Toon Link needs a potion for Ashley and accidentally grabs one that makes him massive. The other children smashers have to find to shrink him before Master Hand finds out. Toon Link also needs to shrink before he starves to death as he squishes food at his side. (Maybe have Master Hand think Toon Link's stomach growl be like an earthquake or something)?"_

 _Think I saw a similar request like this before...but I could be wrong. I'll make it happen. Up next is Mikael M Etienne:_

 _"...[the story] needs more Piridi"_

 _Haven't done that much Piridi in the recent chapters, compared to the earlier ones. I'll try and get back on track with that pairing soon. And last but not least, Derick Lindsey:_

 _"...how's Chrom's hair doing, is it backed to it's normal length or close to it?"_

 _Chrom's hair...is coming along pretty nicely. Not back to normal length, but it's getting there._

* * *

 **Episode 115: Balthier**

Next week is a week a certain resident of the Smash Mansion has been waiting for. Next week would mark an event that the resident has waited for so long. Next week would be something worth remembering forever, and until the end of time.

Next week...someone was getting married next week. A male resident of the mansion was getting married next week.

But who could this resident be? Captain Falcon? He had just got back together with Nowi, no point in him rushing to find a wedding ring. Wario? He still hasn't come around with Palutena. Link? Frankly, that Hylian would never have the guts to propose to Zelda. He might as well be in love with the princess forever and not be married, for all we know.

The person that would soon be wedded to his lover...would be Berkut, the paladin from Rigel. He planned to marry his love, Rinea, in an impromptu private wedding next week after receiving approval form Master Hand. If you might recall, Berkut and Rinea were already engaged when they made their first Smash Life appearance, and now they were prepared to take their relationship to the next level...something Link could never do with Zelda in a million years.

 **Berkut: I am most excited about being married, as any groom would be. To be married to a gal like Rinea would be a dream come true. I opted to make our wedding private since I didn't want any low-class losers in attendance, so the mansion residents will be the only ones witnessing our moment of a lifetime. I may not move out of the mansion upon marriage, like Mario and Peach did, but at least I get to sleep with Rinea and move out of that room with Cortex... *sighs* ...gonna feel very sorry for Aerith soon.**

Of course, Berkut couldn't do his private wedding without an officiant. Or a wedding planner. Which is why Master Hand tasked the paladin to find someone to double up as both an officiant AND a wedding planner before the end of the week. Soon enough, Berkut would find the perfect guy.

Berkut was told to meet with this man at the Market Arms, a large British pub in the heart of Seattle. So the paladin asked Luigi and Daisy to take him to this British pub, so he could meet up with his wedding officiant/planner. While Luigi and Daisy waited outside, Berkut was indoors seated at a table, hoping he wasn't told the wrong information.

"One Chicken Caesar salad and a glass of Guinness for you, good sir!" a waiter came over to serve Berkut with his food, placing the items on the table. "Are you waiting for someone?" the waiter curiously asked Berkut, noticing the paladin's facial expression.

"The officiant for my wedding is supposed to meet with me today," explained Berkut, as he took a sip of his Guinness...and spat it out on the floor. Maybe the drink was too strong for him. "Sorry about that. Anyways, I've never met him before, but he was recommended to me by a friend. Or more of an acquaintance. Let's just say I see this person around a lot, from where I live..."

"You're getting married? Congratulations! I would have everyone here congratulate you and your future wife, but I wouldn't put you on the spot like that." Berkut wouldn't mind the attention anyways. "So who's the lucky girl you're marrying?"

"Her name is Rinea, she's a noblewoman. Met her at a royal ball; her beauty drew me in. We danced the entire night away, and affirmed our love for each other. And my wedding, which is next week, shall serve as a culmination of..."

"Terribly sorry about punching you in the nose, old chap, just trying to ease the tensions before some tempers erupt. Make sure to give the chef my regards!"

Just then, a sharply dressed man approached Berkut, as he waved to someone at the back. Berkut watched as this man reached his table, as the waiter humbly moved out of the way. Who was this guy, you might ask?"

"So you must be Berkut, the paladin in which that lovely lady Aerith Gainsborough spoke of," the man said to Berkut, with a distinct British accent. "Allow me to introduce myself - Balthier's the name! Truly, my real name is Fframran mied Bunansa, but I prefer to go by Balthier - suits me more."

"I'm Berkut, though you knew that already," Berkut stood up to shake Balthier's hand, pleased to finally meet the sky pirate. "I take it that Aerith has been telling you good things about me? If she hasn't..."

"No, no, she's told me great things about you, Sir Berkut...unless she purposefully left out all the bad bits, in the event it would make me decline the offer. So, how about we take a seat and tell me everything I must know about this private wedding of yours?"

"Sure thing." Both Berkut and Balthier sat down, and Balthier would sample some of Berkut's Caesar salad. Dude didn't ask for permission, but that was the least of Berkut's concerns. "So, the woman I'm marrying next week...her name is Rinea, and she is the finest, most beautiful specimen I've ever laid my eyes on."

"Rinea, eh? Even the name itself sounds beautiful. You've made a very fine choice, Berkut. So have you thought about who the groomsmen and bridesmaids shall be? Hate to be the one doing all the planning..."

"Yes, I've given some thought - thought about having Mario, Luigi, and Olimar as the groomsmen, and Peach, Daisy, and Celica as the bridesmaids." No mention of Alm...interesting. "Haven't thought about who the flower girls and ring bearer will be."

"We will sort that out together very soon. But you are forgetting about one important role of the wedding...the best man. Who will it be?"

Berkut bit his lip nervously when asked by Balthier. He would elect Alm, but he hated Alm with a burning passion. But if not Alm...then who else?

 **Berkut: By NO means am I allowing Alm to have any role at my wedding. If Master Hand allowed me, I would ban Alm from even attending, for his presence would ruin my moment of a lifetime. Just seeing him seated with the others, smiling all happily, waiting for me to kiss Rinea...it would be vomit-inducing.**

* * *

Luigi and Daisy were outside seated at a picnic table waiting for Berkut to finish business with his officiant. But the couple wouldn't be alone...for King Dedede was with them, eating some onion dip Luigi ordered for him from the Market Arms to make the penguin shut up.

"Man, this onion dip is slammin'!" exclaimed King Dedede, as he scarfed down a pot - yes, a pot - of onion dip, getting his robe all messy.

"You're even worse-a than Yuffie...never thought I'd say-a that," Luigi said to King Dedede, who was too busy consuming the onion dip to listen.

"Please don't be Waluigi, please don't be Waluigi, please don't be Waluigi..." pleaded Daisy, with her eyes closed and her fingers crossed.

 **King Dedede: Yeah, I totally went with Luigi, Daisy, and Berkut to the Market Arms place, just to check out their food. Nothing wrong with that. Due to my massive weight, I took up much of the room in the back of Luigi's Charger, and spared Berkut little to no breathing room! And if Berkut's officiant wants to take a ride in Luigi's car, then I might be regulated to the trunk...don't think I can even fit in there!**

Berkut would exit the Market Arms, with a grin on his face, as Luigi and company looked up. King Dedede even stopped devouring the onion dip.

"Luigi, Daisy...King Dedede," Berkut began, still disgusted Dedede had to come along for the ride. "...I have some great news for you all. Well, it may not be great for you, but it's great for myself and Rinea...I would like to introduce you, to the officiant of my wedding...Balthier!"

"Hello!" greeted Balthier as he stepped out of the Market Arms, to greet Luigi and company. Daisy perked up and checked out Balthier, amazed by the spy pirate's looks, whose handsomeness even made King Dedede drop his pot of onion dip to the ground. "It is I, Balthier, famed sky pirate...I've been selected to be the officiant for Berkut's wedding, and I will also help this husband-to-be plan out his wedding. Although it will be private, it'll be one for the ages...and perhaps the record books!"

"Never seen a man so handsome and dreamy before..." Daisy said in a charmed tone, as she contained to stare at Balthier and analyze his handsomeness. Luigi saw this, and was disgusted; how could his own wife do him like that?

"I wish I could be just as handsome as that guy!" remarked King Dedede, also marveling Balthier's stunning good looks. That left Luigi even more disgusted.

"Okay now, no need to talk about me in third-person, I'm still here you know," Balthier smiled, sensing how his looks caught the attention of Daisy and King Dedede. "I get it, I'm a very handsome fellow, but I didn't expect something like this to happen _this_ early."

"You think this is bad, I can only imagine how things will play out at my wedding," said Berkut, as Luigi frantically waved his hand in front of Daisy's face, attempting to get her attention. She was focusing on the wrong man! "Everyone would be looking at you, rather than Rinea and I...I won't allow it!"

"No worries, Berkut, I won't allow such a thing to happen either. Now are we heading to the Smash Mansion anytime soon? I must make my presence known right away!"

* * *

Once Daisy was done fawning over Balthier, Luigi drove Balthier and the others to the Smash Mansion in his trusty Charger. As he figured, King Dedede had to hitch a ride in the trunk of the vehicle; getting that obese penguin out of the trunk was harder for Luigi that it seemed.

Before Balthier could meet Master Hand and others, Luigi suggested that the sky pirate should be introduced to Mario first. The plumber, who was in consideration for being one of Berkut's groomsmen, had been preparing Lara for her departure back to London, after the tomb raider saw the mansion's teleportation device in the previous episode. Lara had designated today to be her last day in Seattle before returning to London...

...but alas, there was a major change of plans. And yes, it had everything to do with the teleportation device.

 **Proto Man: Teleportation device got scorched last night...almost to the point where it might not be fixable. Rosalina heard the smoke detectors go off, and smelt the smoke, and that's when we found out that the teleportation device caught on fire, somehow. Good thing is, we had some residents return to the mansion from North Korea before the device was destroyed...**

 **Sonic: Guess who's back in Seattle? This guy! Yup, that's me! Now you're probably wondering how my pals and I managed to escape from North Korean jail, huh? Let's just say that Master Hand came through and saved our butts big time. Spooked the North Korean government into releasing us without bail, and then had Mega Man warp us back to the mansion in due time. Thankfully we returned before the device got destroyed, otherwise we would've been stuck in jail for a foreseeable future...**

"Look on the bright-a side, Lara - you didn't have to worry about-a packing up that-a much belongings!" Mario said to Lara, who was in her room staring blankly at the television screen. She couldn't afford to wait another week to return to London. "Even then, you wouldn't need-a that crap - all you'll need-a to bring with you is you, yourself...and you!"

"The bloody teleportation device would be destroyed the night before I leave for London, wouldn't it..." sighed Lara, suspecting some very foul play involved. "Who in their right mind would want to destroy a teleportation device in the first place? Sounds fruitless if you ask me..."

"For all-a we know, the culprit could-a be Bowser...think about it. He might be so in love-a with you, that he refused to let-a you depart until you confess-a your love to him! Bowser is trying to steal-a your heart Lara...don't let him-a take it!"

"Mario, I'm truly starting to believe your obsession with Bowser is reaching levels of unpleasantness not meant to be obtained. Must you blame Bowser for each and every little thing?"

"Oh, Mario, we have a special visitor!" Peach called out from the living room. The princess couldn't have made that announcement at a more opportune time for Mario. "Come and see him!"

"I'll-a be back to answer your question, Lara," Mario assured the tomb raider as he left his room. Like he would even answer the question anyways. Mario would scamper to the living room and to the front door where Peach stood at, where a certain sky pirate was ready to greet the plumber.

"Well, if it isn't the famous Mario, of the Mushroom Kingdom!" exclaimed Balthier, as Mario was shocked to see the sky pirate standing at his own home. "Bit starstruck to see me, aren't you? It's not that often people have a dashing sky pirate like myself come to their front door. The name's Balthier - I'm the officiant for Berkut's wedding next week."

"M...M...My name is Mario!" Mario blurted out, as he eagerly shook Balthier's hand. He was definitely starstruck. "Oh wow, I never would-a expect to meet you in person! I've heard all sorts of great-a stories about you, about how you stole the Goddess's Magicite, and how you..."

"Yes, yes, I do have a lot of daring adventures up my sleeve...gives me the experience to deal with any danger that steps in my way. I know you're already aware of Berkut's wedding...has he told you about his plans to make you a groomsman?"

"Berkut never told me or my wife-a about his wedding plans...but I would love-a to be a groomsman. Did it once-a before, for my brother's wedding. I think we should-a have a meeting, to fully discuss the game-plan for the wedding."

"Splendid idea! We need as many attentive ears as possible - the more involvement, the better. Where shall this meeting take place? At the Smash Mansion, I presume?"

* * *

The meeting would indeed take place at the Smash Mansion, but more specifically at the mansion's meeting room, where everyone gathered. Outside of the meeting room, Balthier got a chance to speak with Master Hand, who was impressed by the sky pirate's suave nature and sense of style.

But although Balthier was named the officiant of the wedding, he had one more hurdle to overcome before he could secure the role. He had to answer a very important question from Master Hand, one that could very well change the fate of the universe as we know it...

"Is today...Pikachu Day?" Master Hand asked Balthier, who was standing with Berkut and Rinea. Answer this question correctly, and the officiant role was all for the taking for Balthier.

"Yes, Master Hand, today is definitely Pikachu Day," answered Balthier; you could feel Master Hand's approval for the sky pirate skyrocket. But the giant hand wasn't done just yet...

"Another question: when is Pikachu Day celebrated?" This one's for all the marbles...now or never. Answer this question wrong, and Berkut might have to search for another officiant.

"Pikachu Day is celebrated every day, Master Hand - a day so great, it deserves to be celebrated throughout the year!" Balthier would wink to Berkut and Rinea, who were both relieved.

"My man! Thank you for seeing the light, unlike those non-believing losers out there. Make me sick, all of 'em...congratulations, Balthier, the officiant role is now officially yours, as confirmed by yours truly!"

 **Rinea: Good thing you told Balthier about Pikachu Day, huh?  
** **Berkut: Had to supply him with everything I know. Otherwise he would be forever dead to Master Hand. Didn't know celebrating Pikachu Day meant you were fit to serve as a wedding officiant...**

 **Master Hand: So you're telling me that Balthier celebrates Pikachu Day, but that Olympian I spoke with last week never heard of such a day before...I bet he has a long history of taking PEDs. Must've done some wacky stuff to his brain. I feel for him.**

Shortly after Balthier was done speaking with Master Hand, it was time for the meeting to begin. Master Hand was at the front of the room, along with Berkut and Rinea.

"Berkut and Rinea's wedding is set to begin next week, and we have found the man who shall officiate the wedding," explained Master Hand, lowkey taking credit for what Berkut did. "Ladies, contain yourself, for this guy is a heartstopper. Everyone give a warm welcome to Fframran mied Bunansa...or as he would like to be called, Balthier!"

"Greetings, denizens of the Smash Mansion!" greeted Balthier, as he appeared from behind Master Hand. He swooned all the ladies, from Peach and Daisy to Tsubasa and Kiria. Luigi had a death glare deadlocked unto Balthier, who waved to the crowd. "I am Balthier, the one and only, and I shall serve as the officiant of Berkut and Rinea's wedding. Now, before we can officially get this meeting underway, I must ask...how is everyone doing this afternoon?"

"We were doing fine until you showed up..." replied Geno, noticing how enthralled the ladies were by Balthier. Everyone else gave their own replies.

"Excellent! Good to hear! So since I'm the officiant, we must have three people serve as the groomsmen and bridesmaids...and thankfully, Berkut thought out who will serve those roles. Mario, Luigi, and Olimar, are you willing to be groomsmen?"

"You can count on us!" said Olimar, giving a thumbs up. Luigi kept glaring at Balthier, and Mario, seeing that Peach herself was enchanted by Balthier's looks, would find himself glaring at the sky pirate too.

"As for the bridesmaids...Peach, Daisy, and Celica, how would you ladies like to be bridesmaids?" Balthier then asked the three princesses, all of whom were analyzing how good-looking Balthier was.

"Anything you tell us to do, and we'll do it..." replied Celica, sighing lovingly as she gazed into Balthier's eyes. Alm saw this and was disgusted, but that wasn't the only thing he had a problem with...

"Hold on just a second, how is it that Olimar is a groomsman, and not ME?" the blue-haired fellow questioned, ready to throw rounds with Berkut if necessary. "I'm a married man for crying out loud! Mario goes with Peach, Luigi goes with Daisy...and I go with Celica! Olimar and Celica together, it's not meant to happen! If you want Olimar to be a groomsman, then make his wife come to the wedding, we never see her!"

"You're not a groomsman because I hate you Alm..." murmured Berkut; a pretty justifiable reason for not making anyone a groomsman. But unfortunately for Berkut, Balthier had something better in mind for Alm...

"Ah, Alm, the glorious swordsman from Valentia, Berkut has told me a lot about you!" exclaimed Balthier, as Alm cooled his tempers. Celica even stopped fawning over Balthier so she could soothe her husband. "Since we don't have any other options for a best man...how would you like to be serve as the best man for Berkut?" Berkut's eyes bulged when he heard this - no way he was gonna let that happen.

"Alm as my best man, what are you thinking?! That's almost like the mere equivalent of committing suicide! I'd rather have Lloyd Irving as my best man over the likes of Alm, he would easily ruin my wedding!"

"You don't know that, Berkut, I'm not a very destructive person. I'll just be the best man, what's the worst I could do? Poison the very drink that we would use during our toasts?"

"Not specifically but I wouldn't be surprised if you do that...and quite frankly, you should've been poisoned weeks ago. The fact that you're still here unnerves me..." And on that remark, Berkut stormed out of the meeting room. Rinea tried to pull her fiance back, but it was no use...Berkut was done.

 **Yoshi: Yeesh, Berkut is way more saltier than we give him credit for. Personally I wouldn't mind if my mortal enemy had to be my best man. Like the old adage goes, keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. Kinda like what I'm doing right now with my babe, a little bit. Right Birdo? *glances at a still unconscious Birdo, with his arm wrapped around her* See what I mean? Birdo completely understands.**

"Okay then...back to the meeting!" said Berkut, bringing everyone's focus back to the meeting at hand. "We'll worry about Berkut later, but right now we have some more roles to fill. We need an usher, someone to greet the guests when they come to the wedding. Who would like to volunteer?"

"Um, Balthier, Berkut doesn't want any guests at his wedding, aside from the mansion residents," explained Rinea, much to Balthier's chagrin. "Said that he didn't want any 'low-class' losers in attendance...he's one of those upper class folk who look down upon anyone not on their level."

"He's one of those kind of people, eh...I suppose we can fulfill his wish. Now we need a flower girl and a ring bearer. Who should be the flower girl..." Balthier looked around the room, until his eyes set upon Coco Bandicoot, but most importantly the flower in her blonde hair. He pointed at the bandicoot, with a distinct flair. "You! How would you like to be the flower girl? You must have a penchant for flowers, yes?"

"Eh...I guess you could say that," shrugged Coco, whose true penchant was technology. And maybe karate. "This is my first experience doing anything at a wedding, let alone attending a wedding, so..."

"No need to fear, my blonde ponytail friend, for you will do just fine! And your brother, he can be the ring bearer. Though he looks to be on the erratic side...hopefully his floating mask friend will keep him from dropping the ring. I hope."

"Hey, that's not fair, how come Crash and Coco get to do something at the wedding, and I don't?" pouted Cortex, wanting to have his way. Just the thought of his arch-nemesis Crash having a wedding role made the mad scientist sick to his stomach. "Make me the usher, I'll make sure to let some upper-class folk in! Who knows, maybe even Bill Gates might show up!"

"My goodness man, your face is so ugly, it would make a beautiful flower wilt away...you should definitely be the usher, except instead of letting unwanted guests inside the wedding, you'll scare them away with your ugly visage!"

"Roasted," Uka sneered at Cortex, as the N head pouted even more and sat back in his seat with his arms folded. At least he got the usher job.

"Quick question, Balthier: will I have to pay any money for the wedding?" Wario raised his hand, hoping Balthier would say no. "I've pumped so much money into Mario and Luigi's weddings, that I don't have enough funds to maintain my speedo collection!"

"Berkut informed me that Fox and Falco of Star Records will be financing the wedding budget," stated Balthier, as Wario let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks to their clients, those pilots have enough money as it is to cover for anything. You won't have to pay a single dime!"

"Thank goodness, thought I was gonna have a heart attack...you can all ignore the part about the speedo collection. Sorry if I created any disturbing images in your minds. Not that any of you would mind...especially you, Lady Palutena." Wario muttered that last bit under his breath.

 **Pit: Wedding's shaping up nicely, I should say. Berkut isn't on board with Alm being his best man, but he'll get over it soon. But one thing I can't get over with is Lara not returning to Britain. I buy that woman a ticket to London as a Secret Santa gift, and some idiot had to burn it! And on the day Lara was** _ **supposed** _**to return, the teleportation device gets lit up and destroyed - conveniently after Sonic and co. returned from North Korea. Got a sneaky suspicion whoever destroyed that ticket and the device was the same person...**

* * *

Shortly after the meeting was over, Balthier went to go look for the groom, Berkut. The sky pirate was told by Cortex that Berkut might be in his room, but the paladin wasn't even there. Hopefully Berkut wasn't that distraught about the idea of Alm serving as his best man.

As Balthier searched for Alm, Samus walked down the hallway with a plasma gun she worked on in the workshop. The bounty hunter was about to head outside to see how effective her upgraded gun was, when she accidentally bumped into Balthier. The two were standing close to one another, as Samus looked at Balthier and Balthier looked at Samus.

"Have we...met before?" Samus asked Balthier, as she took a step back so she could get a full view of the sky pirate. "Feel like I've seen you before..."

"You were at the meeting where we discussed Berkut and Rinea's wedding," explained Balthier, forming a smile that almost made Samus crack...crack a smile herself. "Such a shame that you have forgotten..."

"Yeah, I must have forgot...my apologies. I can be very aloof sometimes. Master Hand is constantly doting on me for that..."

"Nothing wrong with that, it's all a part of being by yourself, in solitude. Everyone wants their time alone, to get away from the craziness that goes on in their lives."

"Wish I could get away. Life at the mansion is _so_ hectic. There's drama taking place everyday it seems like. A long extended break away from the mansion would be nice."

"Trust me, we all deserve a break every now and then, can't be going at it forever. I must go - don't want Berkut to go MIA for the entire day. He can't be that upset about Alm as a best man...he _shouldn't_ be upset about Alm as a best man."

"Well, good luck with finding Berkut...if you can. Nice speaking with you." Balthier smiled and nodded his head, as he and Samus went their separate ways.

 **Samus: *smiling* Gotta admit, Balthier looks kinda cute... *frowns immediately* ...but that's about it. Not like I would go with him on a date or anything.**

* * *

During Mario's initial meeting with Balthier, the plumber had a friendly conversation with the sky pirate, and became such good friends with Balthier that he forgave him for keeping his wife Peach hooked with his handsomeness. Luigi, on the other hand, was very disapproving with Balthier from the get go when he saw the sky pirate for the first time. Mario was telling Fox, Falco, Donkey Kong, and Palutena all about Balthier in the gaming room, and how funny he was.

"So as it turns-a out, Balthier shares the same-a sentiments for saving princess that-a I do," Mario said to the four. "Gets tired-a from saving princess so often. Asked if there-a was a going rate for saving princess, and he was-a like, 'Food would be a good start - the good stuff, mind you.'" This resulted in laughter from the others.

"Balthier saves princess too...are you sure he isn't a plumber?" chuckled Donkey Kong, as Mario looked around guiltily. "Does he collect gold coins too?"

"At least Balthier knows how to dress to impress, that's something Mario hardly ever does," smiled Palutena, making Mario feel all bad about himself. What was so wrong with the classic blue overalls and red shirt?

"I dress-a to impress too, you all just haven't seen-a my wardrobe," Mario defended himself, having just about enough of the remarks. "Cappy picked most-a of my clothes out for me. I got chef attire, winter clothes, some golf-a gear...and even a wedding dress!" Palutena and company looked at one another, before bursting into laughter. Why did Mario have to mention that wedding dress for...?

"Heard my name from afar, accompanied by some laughing..." said Balthier as he showed up in the gaming room, still on the hunt for Berkut. "You're not making fun of the wedding officiant, are you? I hope not, I do know how to dish it back..."

"We weren't laughing at-a you, Balthier - we were just laughing at the fact-a that I own a wedding dress," clarified Mario, before realizing what he just said. Balthier glanced at the plumber inquisitively, as Palutena and company giggled. "...Peach's wedding dress."

"Owning your own wife's wedding dress, that's something I never would hear from a married man. No man would have the guts to say something like that."

"Maybe that's because Mario isn't a man himself - the clue is already in the wardrobe!" joked Falco, laughing at his own joke. Balthier stared at the avian pilot for a moment...before laughing himself. Soon enough he and Falco were laughing together.

"Ahaha, I can tell that you must be the comedian of the mansion! The wedding reception could use a little humor to spice things up. I should look into having you tell some jokes to the guests, to keep them entertained throughout."

 **Fox: Aw snap, Balthier thinks you're a comedian! How does that make you feel, Falco "Jerry Seinfeld" Lombardi?  
** **Falco: Good, I guess...I didn't expect Balthier, or anyone else aside from me, to laugh at my own joke, but I'll take what I can get. Won't tear the house down at the reception with my jokes, but I'm hoping to rattle the foundation a little bit.**

* * *

Next week's wedding would've been a great way to spread awareness about Pikachu Day...had Berkut opted to invite guests to his wedding aside from the residents. Regardless, Link and Sora were in the kitchen making Pikachu Cheesesteaks, as Zelda and Midna watched on.

"This is the reason why I had to take a three-week 'sabbatical' from Link," Midna explained to Zelda, as Link and Sora were busy doing their thing. "His whole fascination with Pikachu Day and those dumb cheesesteaks have made Link a changed person - he's making it infuriatingly hard to walk all over him! Link used to be the perfect lapdog, and now..."

"I'm positive this is just a phase of Link, he'll realize what he's doing and let this whole Pikachu Day thing go," said Zelda, though she didn't have the same feelings for Sora. "As for Sora...well, he's naive, so he's essentially lost."

"That's enough Pikachu Cheesesteaks for today, our work here is done..." announced Link, as he finished the last Pikachu Cheesesteak. The Hylian was standing next to a giant batch of his finest creations...creations he didn't inherently create himself. "Master Hand will undoubtedly be proud of the hard work we've done."

"Mind I ask where and how you're going to sell those cheesesteaks, within the city limits?" Zelda spoke up, folding her arms. "You've made so many of the cheesesteaks, and yet you keep them around so they can rot and spoil!"

"The more the merrier, Princess Peach - we're hoping to enough of the cheesesteaks in supply to sell to others in Seattle," explained Sora, as Zelda rolled her eyes. "We're waiting on Master Hand to find the perfect venue to sell the cheesesteaks, since that sub store apparently won't oblige. What was it called again?"

"Subway, it's called Subway," answered Link, as Mario and Balthier nonchalantly poked their heads through the kitchen entrance. "Sadly those Subway blokes don't know what they're missing out on - the biggest advertising campaign since the $5 footlong! Which, unfortunately, had to be cut short thanks to that weird pervert Jared. Nice going, Jared..."

"Sorry to bother you, but have any of you seen-a Berkut anywhere?" Mario asked Link and company, as Zelda was taken back by Balthier. Link had to watch his woman very carefully... "Poor guy stormed-a out of that meeting because of some-a silly disagreement..."

"I don't think any of us have seen Berkut around ever since, to be honest," replied Sora, as Balthier marveled at the pile of cheesesteaks. Hopefully he won't make Link the chef at the wedding reception - give those honors to Dunban instead. "Might've been so salty, he even cancelled the wedding entirely without telling anyone!"

"Let's hope he didn't consider that as an option," said Balthier, taking his gaze away from the cheesesteaks. "I don't feel like going on a wild goose chase for Berkut...I'll just wait for him to return, whenever he feels like it."

"How about I show-a you around the mansion, to kill some-a time?" asked Mario; Balthier was quick to oblige with a nod and a smile, as he followed Mario away from the kitchen. They would pass by Sonic, who glared at Balthier intensely. But what for?

 **Sonic: That Balthier thinks he can go around the mansion wooing ladies with his swagger and his handsome face? Even though he might be handsome, he could still be a total jerk in person. Just look at Jakob. I'll be keeping a close eye on Balthier, to see if he's in the business of sabotaging marriages.**

* * *

Contrary to what most believed, Berkut didn't run away after hearing the idea of Alm being his best man - the paladin was still around the premises of the mansion. Pit would find Berkut when he and Kirby stepped inside Mario's home, and saw the paladin in the living room, brooding, while Lara was in the kitchen grabbing a bite to eat.

"There you are, Berkut, we've been looking all over for you!" exclaimed Pit, as Berkut continued to brood, looking down at the floor. "Well, I wasn't looking for you - I was too busy watching the rain and snow fall outside through a window. So satisfying, I tell you - you should try it! I take it Lara let you in through the front door?"

"He was apparently too angry to knock on the front door, so he broke the sliding doors in the back and made his way in," replied Lara, still in a downbeat move, as he grabbed a banana. "Don't tell Mario or Peach about what happened."

"I won't tell them, I promise...I'll just text them instead. No harm done there." Pit and Kirby would take a seat on the couch, the couch Berkut sat on; the paladin got up and moved over to another sofa. "So Lara, I heard that you were supposed to return to London today, correct?"

"Frankly that was the plan set in stone...but it didn't go the way that I wanted. Might have to wait another week or even a month until that teleportation device is fixed..evidently someone doesn't want me to leave. Probably Mario, I think he likes me too much."

"You may not know this, Miss Croft, but Pit bought you a plane ticket to London as a Secret Santa gift," explained Kirby, as Lara suddenly perked up and looked at Kirby in astonishment. "Lady Palutena was the one who purchased the ticket though, in case you might be wondering."

"A planet ticket...for London? Why, Pit, that was so thoughtful of you...whatever happened to the ticket? Did you lose it, did it blow away in the wind?"

"Actually, someone apparently burnt it to a crisp," replied Pit, which made Lara even more curious about the current situation. "But it kinda was my fault, in a way...shouldn't have hid the ticket in my piggy bank anyways. The piggy bank's pretty flammable, anyways."

"So first the ticket got set on fire, and then the teleportation device..." Lara took everything into consideration, deep in thought. "Perhaps it's not Mario who wants me to remain in Seattle..."

* * *

While Lara began to theorize about the culprit at hand, Mario took Balthier to the fitness room, and showed him around. There, Balthier showed off his athletic ability to the residents as he did push-ups...with just _one hand._

"Wow, Balthier, you're pretty athletic for a sky pirate!" remarked Wii Fit Trainer, wowed by the pirate's athletic ability. "And you're pretty dreamy too..." As well as his dashing looks.

"Yeah, and you're always in shape too!" added Doc Louis, eating yet another chocolate bar. Her name was Claire. "What is your secret to being fit, Balthier?"

"Eat healthy and stay active, that's the way to go," responded Balthier, before switching hands. Mario looked on, feeling slightly jealous. "The same objectives you might've done in your youth, Doc Louis...before your chocolate obsession, I assume."

"I stay active by hanging off the traffic lights with my tail and doing crunches," stated Diddy Kong, somewhat proud of this fact. "Always ignore the sounds of the road when I'm in the zone..."

 **Diddy Kong: What I said back there, to Balthier, sounded stupid...stupidly AWESOME!**

"So Balthier, what are some things you do to stay active?" Diddy asked the sky pirate, who was now doing clapping push-ups. What a show-off... "Do you run? Jog? Play hopscotch? Or is that beneath you?"

"I like to run and jog in my spare time - and I'm too old for hopscotch," replied Balthier, as he did the clapping push-ups with swift ease. "Due to my life as a sky pirate, I don't have that much time for physical activities..."

"Hey Balthier this might sound like a random question, but...do you hate fat people?" Hisui asked the sky pirate; overhearing this was Wario, who was eating a glazed doughnut in secret. He looked at Hisui with extreme anger, as he dropped his doughnut to the floor. "I absolutely HATE fat people!"

"Let me ask a normal, nicer question Hisui..." Leia said to the young man, pushing him out of the way as Hisui gave Leia the stink eye in disgust. "Balthier, is there by any chance that you are interested in sports? Because I consider myself to be a huge sports fan myself, and..."

"Can't say I like sports, they never had sports from where I'm from," responded Balthier, switching over to side to side push-ups and making Mario feel more slightly jealous than before. "But Mario did tell me that the hometown Seahawks are an elite football team...or so they used to be. At least they have that one championship, most other teams can't say that."

"Well Seattle has another sports team, called the Mariners...they're a baseball team. They're doing spring training at the Peiora Training Complex - you should go check it out one day, while you're in Seattle!"

"Maybe I should - would love to get a taste and feel for this town." As Balthier continued with his push-ups, Sonic would stare at the sky pirate from afar, through the fitness center entrance.

"I know what you're up to Balthier, and I'm gonna find out..." Sonic whispered loudly, almost dramatically...dramatic enough for Lucario, who walked by, to stare at Sonic with a concerned look before running away out of concern.

* * *

Next on the Smash Mansion tour was the gaming room, where Jigglypuff was practicing her singing. She would be performing, if there were those wiling to hear her sing.

"Jig, Jigglypuff...Jig, Jigglypuff..." the balloon Pokemon sang her heart out on the microphone, as Mario and Balthier walked by. After showing Balthier around, Mario would take his guest to Isabelle and Rinea, who were speaking together.

"Hi ladies - I take it that-a you're discussing next week's-a wedding?" Mario asked Rinea and Isabelle, who were both momentarily distracted Balthier. As is tradition throughout this entire episode.

"No, just enjoying some girl talk," smiled Rinea. Who has girl talk with a female shih tzu? "Say, Balthier, you've never been acclimated with Isabelle, have you? In case you have a grand idea about the wedding, and you're not sure how Master Hand would feel about it, then just share it with Isabelle. She's like a liaison to Master Hand."

"I'm always ready and willing to help out if you need any assistance, Balthier!" smiled Isabelle, excitedly wagging her tail. To be working with a handsome man such as Balthier...it was like a dream come true.

Regardless, Sonic felt Balthier was up to no good, as the hedgehog was now in the gaming room staring down Balthier suspiciously. As he continued to stare, Tails would fly by on his propeller tails, noticing his best friend.

 **Sonic: I see what Balthier's up to...he's trying to make everyone a fan of his by doing cool and awesome things, to make everyone think he's the coolest cat around! That way, when he does something like sabotage Berkut's wedding or destroy the Space Needle, nobody would fault him because of how "cool" he is. Making a sucker out of everyone!**

"Sonic what are you doing, why are you looking at Balthier like that?" Tails asked the blue blur, who kept his stare on Balthier locked in. Almost to the point where he wasn't even blinking!

"I suspect that Balthier is Jakob 2.0...only here to start some ruckus!" stated Sonic, watching Balthier laughing it up with Mario, Rinea, and Isabelle. Watching it made him sick to his stomach. "This is only just the beginning!"

"Balthier hasn't done anything that would suggest he would go down the Jakob route, and I don't know who he would be secretly working for. Besides, Balthier's a genuinely good guy, unlike Jakob who could never get along with anyone."

"Not every villain has to have poor people skills, you know - there's different breeds of villainy out there. Some are friendly, some are distant, and some are just plain weird. I know Balthier's got something up his sleeve, and I won't stop till I find out what it is!"

"Are you suggesting the idea of following Balthier closely until you find out his true intentions? Haven't you learned your lesson from last week, Sonic? You landed yourself and the others in jail for following an innocent person around!"

"That was in North Korea...this is _America._ Same thing, different rules and consequences. I will find out what Balthier's full intentions are, one way or another..."

* * *

The next stop on the mansion tour would be the arcade room, where Fox and Falco were the _Balloon Fight_ arcade game. Most times when the pilots played against one another, it was always one friend trying to win over the other...but this time, Fox and Falco were playing for the fun of it, rather than caring about victory.

"Nice job at making the wedding officiant laugh, Falco my man," Fox commended his best buddy as his Balloon Fighter got devoured by a giant piranha, only for his character to respawn seconds later. If only that worked in real life. "Didn't expect that, did you?"

"Honestly I was surprised Balthier even laughed, thought he would find my joke about Mario to be tasteless," stated Falco, defeating all the enemies on the screen. "It wasn't my intention to bash Mario's manliness like that...should've known better to bash a man with a mustache and a hot wife. Don't think Mario took my joke well though."

"Ah, if it isn't the funny man himself!" exclaimed Balthier, as he and Mario entered the arcade room. Falco got nervous the moment Balthier spoke, and became even more nervous as the sky pirate approached him. "How about you tell me another joke, make me laugh? Give me your best shot!"

"You want a joke, you got it..." Falco mentally prepared himself, hoping he wouldn't screw things up. "What do you call a Mexican who..."

"Mario, Mr. Game and Watch got his head stuck in the ceiling," Aerith ran by the arcade room to inform the plumber. "He could really use your help!"

"Have to leave so soon?" Balthier asked Mario, who nodded his head. "Well then, I guess we can return to this place another time. Looks fun." Balthier turned his attention to Falco, who was all sweaty for no reason. "I expect to hear the rest of the joke, Mr. Comedian Guy. Don't let me down!" On that remark, Balthier and Mario followed Aerith out of the arcade room, as Falco let out a breath of fresh air.

"So Falco, what do you call a Mexican?" Fox asked his avian friend, dying to know the answer. Falco looked around nervously; clearly he didn't know.

"I...I have no idea whatsoever," replied Falco, holding his head in shame. He was close to blowing his opportunity...

* * *

Aerith would take Mario and Balthier down to the foyer, and she pointed up at the ceiling where Mr. Game and Watch's head was stuck. His 2-D body kept moving around, but nothing he did worked.

"Long story story, Mr. GW tried to remove this Snorlax, yet he somehow bounced on his belly and came flying up to the ceiling," Cloud, who was already at the foyer, explained to Mario. "I already had Ryu help me move the Snorlax to the Pokemon sanctuary, almost broke my back..."

 **Cloud: Yeah, about that whole Zack Fair clone thing...I haven't thought about it as much in the past few days. When I do think about it, however, it just sounds so ridiculous, so comical...I've allowed too many things to be put inside my head, and it's been a strong habit of mine for much of my life. Am I depressed? Nah...**

"Yes, carrying that fat Pokemon was bad for my back - almost crushed my lumbar spine!" stated Ryu as he entered the scene, massaging his lower back. Snorlax must be Hisui's least favorite Pokemon. "But in spite of that, Cloud and I got the job done, and now we must focus our attention on poor Mr. Game and Watch up above. A leaping shoryuken should do the trick!"

"Did I hear someone say 'shoryuken'?" asked Mr. Game and Watch, his voice terribly muffled. "Can we please not resort to those measures? Don't want to risk dying..."

"But you're a 2-D man, Mr. Game and Watch, you're practically invincible! Not even the mightiest Flamethrower from a Groundon could make you perish. Also, how were you able to hear me, with your head stuck in the ceiling?"

"Well, uh, it's because, um...huh, never really thought of it. Maybe my sense of hearing is just that keen." Mr. Game and Watch moved around a bit more, as bits of the ceiling came falling down. "I would love to be rescued today, you guys..."

"Hang in there, Mr. Game and Watch, we're gonna get you out there soon," Aerith called out to the 2-D man, before kneeling down at Mario to ask the plumber a favor. "May we borrow your FLUDD device, Mario?"

"If you-a must, you can," replied Mario, taking out his FLUDD and handing it to Aerith. "Just remember to not run-a out of water - FLUDD will act-a very dramatic if you do. Just a fore-a warning." After giving away his FLUDD, Mario looked up at Balthier. "Shall we continue with our tour?"

* * *

Mario would take Balthier to the mansion gardens, and showed the sky pirate around and stuff. While the two were watching Olimar and Alph tending to the flowers, Falco came running to Balthier, who turned around when he heard the pilot approaching.

"Mr. Funny Guy, you have returned!" exclaimed Balthier, noticing how more prepared Falco was compared to the previous encounter. "Came to finish your joke? Or do you have an even better one in store for me?"

"I wouldn't say that I have a joke..." replied Falco, worrying Balthier for a moment. "...but I do have quite a story to tell ya!" Just like that, Balthier's worry was gone.

 **Falco: Wrote down an awesome joke I know Balthier would love. A joke that's funny, hip, and pretty modern.**

"Alright, so get this - the quarterback for Seahawks is actually also a baseball player," explained Falco, as Sonic entered the gardens and tiptoed over to Balthier unsuspectingly without being seen. "He got traded to the New York Yankees, which is arguably the greatest baseball team in like, ever. Guy's talking about how baseball is 'in his blood', and I was thinking..."

"Look, my friend, I'm not into sports so I don't like talking about sports in general," stated Balthier, as Sonic hid behind a giant flower pot that was close to Falco. "You're supposed to be the funny guy, not the sports nut! I like you more as the guy who makes people laugh."

"I'm not here to take any reputations, mind you." Falco tried to play it cool, as he rested his elbow coolly on the giant flower pot. "What I was intending to do was..." Falco's elbow caused the flower pot to move and touch Sonic, and Sonic, who thought his cover was blown, sped away as the flower pot came falling to the ground, along with Falco. The flower pot crashed and broke, as Olimar and Alph looked on.

"Dang it, we just got that flower pot two days ago!" frowned Olimar, stomping his foot on the ground aggressively. "It was the best of its kind, too! You can't find flower pots of that size anywhere else!"

"Not leaving them out in the open would probably be our best idea," remarked Alph, as Olimar cooled down. Then all of a sudden, Balthier started laughing, as Falco rose up to his feet, covered in soil.

"Hahaha, now that's what you call funny!" laughed Balthier, as Mario found himself laughing too. Cappy even appeared from Mario's head so he could laugh too. "Two thumbs up! You sure know a thing about slapstick, don't you?"

"They don't call me funny for a reason, hehe..." Falco chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. Mario would look past Falco, and saw Sonic, trying to leave the premises.

"Sonic is that-a you?" the plumber called out to the hedgehog, who turned and saw a curious Mario. No point in maintaining any eye contact.

"Oh, would you look at the time - Amy must be calling me!" said Sonic, as he sped away from the gardens. So close, yet so far away.

* * *

Once Mr. Game and Watch was down from the ceiling and Mario got his FLUDD back from Aerith, Cloud would follow Mario and Balthier to the movie room, where Mario gave the swordsman the honors of explaining stuff.

"So this is essentially the video library of the mansion - all sorts of movies can be found here," Cloud explained to Balthier, who was too busy checking out the wide array of movie selections. "You can even use some of the contraptions to transport yourself into a movie, but I personally wouldn't risk it...every great thing has some major consequences."

"Did Master Hand himself select all these movies?" asked Balthier, not wanting to stop looking through all the movies available. "If so, then he has quite a taste for culture and entertainment! Very exquisite taste!" Captain Falcon would enter the movie room, and spot Balthier from a distance.

"Hey, wedding officiant guy, Balthier!" the racer greeted the sky pirate, slapping him on the back to garner his attention. Balthier looked up at Falcon, greeting him with a smile. "Liking this mansion so far? Excellent! Never met a visitor who said no, unless they were killed by Master Hand and I never saw them. I recommend coming over for Movie Night, you won't regret it!"

"Only if time allows me, I'll come," responded Balthier, before getting a good look of Captain Falcon. "Hmm...toned muscles, excellent build, manly bravado...by the looks of it, you could be a bona fide movie star!"

"You really think so?! Oh man, that is such a great gesture, especially from you! Too bad Samus thinks otherwise, then again she seldom watches movies so she knows nothing...but WOW! Thanks a bunch, Balthier!"

 **Mario: Do I think Balthier will-a be a great officiant? *thinks* Not even close...I think he'll-a be a STUPENDOUS officiant.**

His day having been made, Falcon strutted his stuff as he left the movie room, like he was a stylin' and profilin' son of a gun. He would come across Nowi, his loving and carefree girlfriend.

"So Falcon, did you find it, that _Notebook_ movie?" Nowi asked the racer, who was smiling from ear to ear. "You know, the one for our 'private screening' together?"

"Even better - Balthier said that I could be a movie star!" exclaimed Captain Falcon, as he struck a pose. "I can see my name in the headlines, all over Hollywood, up there will all the other stars! It's what I was destined to do!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves now, my deluded boyfriend," smiled Nowi, as he grabbed Captain Falcon and escorted him down the hallway.

* * *

Mario would take Balthier up the elevator to the fifth floor, where the next stop of the mansion tour belied - the Star Records room. There, Balthier got a chance to speak with everyone affiliated with Star Records, from the idol singers and Knuckles to Asuka and even Big Top. It was also there that the sky pirate got to speak with the three heads, Itsuki, Fox...and Falco.

"Got anything to make me laugh, funny guy?" Balthier asked Falco; usually Falco would be stuck on what to do to make Balthier laughed, but now it appeared as if Falco found his calling...

"Since you seem to enjoy some quality slapstick..." Falco began, as he took a step forward...only to slip and fall and fall on his back. Balthier laughed as Falco got up, only to slip and fall again. Falco then grabbed Big Top, and tried to do a balancing act on top of him, only to fall and do a split in the process. That made Balthier laugh even more.

"Yes, yes, keep it coming!" pleaded Balthier, as Falco ran to the nearest wall and crashed his body against it. Falco fell to the floor and laughed along with Balthier, as Tsubasa and the idol singers looked on.

"Not sure if Balthier's laughing with Falco or at Falco..." Tsubasa had this to say as the laughing persisted.

 **Falco: Mr. Funny Man...not a bad title. Though Mr. Funny Bird sounds more correct, in my opinion.**

* * *

It was about dinnertime, and Berkut had yet to return to the mansion. Same could be said for Pit and Kirby, who remained at Mario's home to provide "moral support" for Lara. That was Pit's excuse, anyways - Kirby just didn't want Pit to be all alone.

"I just don't understand - Mario has enough money to pay the bills and even afford a car, so why can't he just buy me a plane ticket to London?" wondered Lara, seated at the dining table eating some dinner she cooked herself. Mario and Peach were over at the mansion, having dinner with Balthier.

"Mario is lowkey terrible at managing his own money, so I wouldn't fault him," answered Pit, watching television with Kirby. Berkut kept on brooding.

"What about Wario - he's the richest person in the mansion, and you're telling me he's too frugal to buy me a ticket?"

"Wario's too cheap to even buy himself a pack of Mentos from the nearby dollar store. His budget is ridicolously small."

"And Fox and Falco have raised bundles of money from Star Records, they could've worked together to buy me a ticket!"

"Master Hand's always stealing money from Star Records, so Fox and Falco are overtly cautious about their money. The stolen money is only used for the Lamborghini anyways, and Master Hand can't even drive it, so he has random people drive it for him. Had Alm step behind the wheel on Wednesday."

"Alm...Alm...just hearing that name makes me want to vomit," seethed Berkut; did he have anything better to do? "He's not deserving to be the ruler of Valentia, let alone the best man at my wedding. Poor choice by Balthier..."

"You know you can just personally ask Balthier to select someone else to be your best man, right?" Pit told Berkut, who looked up at the angel. "It's your wedding, not his...you can always select another worthy candidate!" Berkut looked at Pit very intently, and it got him thinking...

"Yes, I now know what I must do, I can see the light shining in my face!" Berkut dropped the brooding mood in a hurry as he stood up, before running out the door. "Thank you Pit, for allowing me to see what I must do!"

"You're...welcome?" replied Pit, as Berkut exited Mario's home and headed over to the mansion.

* * *

At the Smash Mansion, Dunban treated everyone to some steaks, and he gave the guest of the evening, Balthier, the best steak out of everyone else's. You know, to make him feel special. Balthier chatted it up with the Mario and the residents, telling them about his adventures.

"Vaan and I, we didn't intend to steal from the palace treasury - or at least I didn't intend to steal," Balthier said to the residents, who were attentively listening. Sonic watched Balthier rather suspiciously, analyzing his every motive. "I just told him to hand over the Magicite, and that's when the Ifrit attacked us."

"I've heard that Ifrits are some of the most powerful beings in existence, what with their mastery of fire," stated Meta Knight; Cloud could agree with that. "But we all know you had zero issue fighting that beast."

"Actually, I never got the chance to fight the Ifrit...but I would've made it submit anyways." Sonic rolled his eyes at Balthier's remark, as R.O.B. approached Balthier with a tray of carrots.

"STEAMING HOT CARROTS...FROM THE HEAD CHEF HIMSELF..." R.O.B. said to Balthier, who was delighted by the kindhearted offer.

"Much appreciated...but I'm afraid I can't have those carrots. Do tell Dunban I appreciate his offer. Tell him that I have a..."

"How about you try some regular carrots, then!" said Sonic, grabbing his carrots and hurling them at Balthier. The sky pirate saw this, and blocked the carrots with his plate. Such great reflexes!

"Sonic, cut that out, Balthier has a carrot allergy!" frowned Rosalina, as Sonic sat back down in his seat. "That's what he told me, anyways. Why would you throw those carrots in the air like that?"

"Nobody had an issue with the air until now, so that's your loss Rosalina, and Balthier's loss as well. And you didn't even tell Dunban about this allergy? Shame!"

 **Leia: An allergy to carrots? Yeah, it might sound weird...but unfortunately such things exist.**

"Balthier, I've made up my mind, I've come to a decision!" announced Berkut as he entered the dining room, before things could escalate.

"About time you returned, Berkut," remarked Rinea, having already reserved a seat for her fiance. "Where have you been all this time? You weren't being unhappy about the Alm thing, were you?!"

"Admittedly, I was upset...but I'm over it now, for good. Balthier, I humbly accept Alm to be my best man, to make my wedding ceremony with Rinea a special one." This announcement perplexed many, as there were murmurings among the dinning table. What made Berkut change his mind so quickly?

"Figured you would come around eventually," smiled Balthier, as he stood up to make an announcement. "Ladies and gentlemen, Alm will serve as Berkut's best man during the wedding ceremony next week. All the positions for the ceremony have finally been set!" Alm got up from his seat, heading over to Berkut to thank him, but Berkut quickly gave him the hand.

"Not today," the paladin said to his arch-nemesis, who slowly backed away cautiously.

 **Berkut: Let's just say that in regards to Alm as my best man...we might see a "bait-and-switch" take place before the wedding begins...**

 **Balthier: *takes a bite from a Pikachu cheesesteak* This sandwich is better than expected... *takes another bite* ...the cheese is just right, and the peppers are on point... *takes another bite* ...oh, yes, Alm being the best man! What with the short timeframe, Alm doesn't have much to do, aside from choosing Berkut's attire and providing emotional support. Other than that, he'll be fine. *takes another bite, with Sonic spying on him in the background* Mmm, so good...**


	116. Episode 116: Marriage

_Author's Note:_

 _Yes, as you can obviously infer from the title, this is yet another wedding-themed episode of Smash Life, the third edition so far. And with that, some guest reviews:_

 _"If the Blazblue characters show up can you include a scene of Noel interacting with Velvet from Tales of Berseria? (Cristina Vee voices both of them) are the Star Fox characters using their voices from Star Fox Assault or Star Fox Zero? Will you include a scene of Mario meeting the Kong family? And finally, are you going to include Tidus's infamous laugh when he shows up?"_

 _Uh, sure. The Star Fox characters are using their voices from Zero. Mario will meet the Kong family soon. And Tidus has an infamous laugh? (Never played FFX.) I'll check it out sometime soon. Another guest review:_

 _"Here's an idea. How about doing a story where an accident causes Cappy to 'capture' the residents of the Smash Mansion; where in the end everyone, except Peach (because of Tiara) and maybe Luigi because he already has a mustache, has experience of having a hat and mustache appearance a least once. How the accident happens and gets resolved is up to you. For the 'good guy' characters, the effects, after being freed from Cappy, would be confusion while the 'bad guy' characters would act dizzy, just like the characters in Odyssey."_

 _Good idea, though I'm more worried about the execution than anything else. But I'll try. Another guest review:_

 _"I know Mario already has dogs, but will the puppy with the hat from Odyssey make an appearance, or it already appeared in the story and I just missed it."_

 _That adorable puppy with the hat? I can make him a pet of Mario's. J300 has returned, and with three questions in mind:_

 _"1. Will Dedde undergo a training schedule to make him more buff like in Star Allies?  
2\. Can we also see a Movie Night Chapter, with the movie just being characters from the Smash Mansion being warped in as a prank._  
 _3\. Could Lara's fate in the Smash Mansion be dependent on a tennis match between Bowser and Mario in the wake of Mario Tennis Aces being announced?"_

 _1\. Perhaps; he already trained before, in episode 67.  
2\. A movie night chapter, but would the characters in the movie? Sure, why not...  
3\. You'll see what Lara's fate truly will be soon...also, had no idea about Mario Tennis Aces being announced. Thanks for the heads up!_

 _Now we'll move on to Derick Lindsey..._

 _"...here's an idea if you ever decide to have Berkut make up with Alm and end the hatred he has for Alm: Berkut has a nightmare where he actually killed Alm and everyone at the mansion hates him for it, Master Hand bans him from the mansion, Celica yells at him about what Alm ever did to him to make Berkut kill him, Rinea wants a divorce saying she no longer wants to associate herself with a murderer and says she hates him, even Alm as a demon comes out of the grave screaming before he wakes up in his bed and goes to Alm to apologize and end his hatred of him which Alm of course accepts saying that's all he ever wanted from Berkut._

 _Showcasing Berkut's nightmare within this story would be...hard, considering the parameters that this story is set upon. I could just have Berkut discuss the events of his nightmare to other characters, and just go from there. Last up is ShadowKirbyfan:_

 _"just a chapter idea. Pit finally pushes kirby to his breaking point and he snaps, unleashing his fury on Pit."_

 _Kirby has been friends with Pit long enough to reach a breaking point...but when will this breaking point be reached? I won't say..._

* * *

 **Episode 116: Marriage**

The day everyone - well, mostly Berkut and Rinea - had finally arrived, the day in which the two lovebirds Berkut and Rinea would put their engagement to a romantic end, and finally be married from now until the end of time. Or until either one of the two died. The wedding, which didn't have a venue prior to Balthier's debut, was chosen to be the Urban Light Studios, an art gallery that showcased many artworks from aspiring artists. A fairly small venue to host a wedding.

But why select a small venue in the first place? It was because Berkut refused to have "low-class losers" at his wedding, only opting to have his fellow mansion residents attend. This was much to the chagrin of Master Hand, who initially saw the wedding as a golden opportunity to introduce Pikachu Day to wedding guests, and spread more "awareness". He could have very well made the entire wedding public if Berkut allowed him to.

As a means to make up for what Master Hand called "lost time", Mario and Balthier - the wedding officiant who was staying over at the mansion for a temporary amount of time - were forced to go around Seattle, selling Pikachu Cheesesteaks and memorabilia to the citizens around town. It had to be done prior to the wedding, and Master Hand expected to hear a very good report from Mario.

"When Berkut told me about Pikachu Day, I thought it was an overextended inside joke, one that Master Hand and a few others participated in..." Balthier said to Mario, the sky pirate following the plumber through a neighborhood while holding Pikachu Day memorabilia in his hands. "...but I never would expect such a day to be _this_ big. Simply outrageous!"

"I don't care-a for Pikachu Day as much-a as you do, Balthier - but we just gotta do what-a Master Hand says," replied Mario, holding a sack of Pikachu Cheesesteaks that were made by Link and Sora. "You wouldn't want to be face-a to face with Master Hand on his worst-a day...or even his best-a day!"

 **Master Hand: People like Zelda keep on telling me that spreading awareness for Pikachu Day is a bad thing, but quite frankly I don't see it that way. Spreading awareness is supposed to be genuine and heartfelt - you're trying to raise public understanding, and make the general public more knowledgeable about certain things. Is it my duty to make people as a whole less ignorant than they truly are? No, not by any means - I'm not a skilled psychiatrist. But I do know that when a problem is lurking around, it must be quelled immediately.**

Mario and Balthier would arrive at their first house, having to get past the Rottweiler that was guarding the front yard like a burly bodyguard. Once at the front door, Mario knocked on it, and a middle-aged man would answer.

"H-Hello, who are you guys?" the man asked out of curiosity, holding a mug in his hands. "Are you two lost, are you supposed to be at some video game convention or something? I can just tell by the look of your outfits that..."

"Sorry to interrupt-a you, my good friend, but have you heard-a about Pikachu Day?" Mario asked the man, who looked around in confusion. The idea of a plumber talking about Pokemon just seemed...odd to him. "It's a day so-a great, it deserves to be celebrated every day? Right-a Balthier?"

"Indeed Mario, and this lucky man looks like he would celebrate Pikachu Day to the fullest!" exclaimed Balthier, although the man was genuinely confused by what was going on. "Here, take this free t-shirt, it would look good on you!" Balthier handed the man a Pikachu Day t-shirt, while Mario gave the man two Pikachu Cheesesteaks.

"Here's one for-a you, and one for your-a wife." The man took the cheesesteaks, now even more confused than ever before. "Do you even-a have a wife? Why don't you tell-a her to come here, so we can-a tell her about the wonderful day known-a as Pikachu Day!"

"Yes, I do have a wife...but I'm not bringing her to the front door. This would be a waste of her time, and whatever this is going on right now is an extreme waste of _my_ time. So how about you just go to some other house, and leave me be?"

"Honey, who are those men at the front door?" the man's wife asked, as she appeared to Mario and Balthier through the front door. "Why is one of them short and dressed like that Mario guy?"

"They're just lost, sweetie, now go back to your room," the man told his wife, who was growing suspicious. Suddenly Mario and Balthier heard a loud growling noise, as they looked down and saw the Rottweiler growling at the both of them.

"We should-a be going now," Mario smiled at the man, as he and Balthier made a run for it. The two ran out of the front yard, as the Rottweiler chased them away. Time to move on to the next house...

* * *

Mario and Balthier would head to their next house, with Mario knocking on the door. A black man answered the door, and was ticked upon seeing Mario and Balthier standing on his porch.

"Good afternoon sir - you look-a pretty angry today," greeted Mario; not that hard to see why the man was angry in the first place. "But you know what will-a make your anger go away? Celebrating Pikachu Day, of-a course! A great day in-a which..."

"Man, I didn't answer this front door to see some fake Jehovah's Witnesses talk to me about some stupid day, get outta here with that crap!" the man barked at Mario and Balthier. There was nothing more intimidating than a ticked off black dude, especially if he was up there in terms of age. "Now scram before I have to call the police on your behinds!" The man angrily closed the door, as Mario and Balthier stood there in awkward silence.

"...we should just leave our stuff at his front door, to see if it'll change his mind," suggested Balthier. Very little chance of that ever happening.

"Yeah, good-a thinking," agreed Mario, as the cheesesteaks and memorabilia were placed at the front door before Mario and Balthier went away.

* * *

The next house Mario and Balthier visited was a straggly and unkempt one, and it looked pretty abandoned too. The duo was nervous about approaching this house, even wondering if anyone was inside.

"In all my time-a in Seattle, I've never seen quite a house-a like this," remarked Mario, as he and Balthier were looking at the house in question. Not even the crew from _Extreme Makeover: Home Edition_ could spruce up that house.

"Looks like it was hit by a typhoon...though I seriously doubt typhoons ever strike this city, let alone the state," added Balthier, having some serious second doubts. "Let's just head over there, and get it over with..." So the duo approached the house and knocked on the strangely ajar front door, as coughing and wheezing was heard from inside. Mario and Balthier looked at one another with concerned faces, before a scraggly lady answered the door, smiling all creepily and such.

"Hello boys...would you like some crack?" the lady asked Mario and Balthier, her creepy smile still apparent. Obviously this lady was a crackhead, and possibly the worst kind of crackhead there was.

"Ma'am, I'm not sure if you're entirely aware about this, but your door was left ajar," explained Balthier, feeling slightly concerned for his life and well-being. "Do you always leave it open like that?"

"Have you brought me food?" the lady saw Mario holding a Pikachu Cheesesteak in his hand and snatched it away, before gobbling down the sandwich like she hadn't eaten in days. Mario looked on, taking a cautious step back. "My oh my, I haven't consumed anything that wasn't crack in months! Please tell me you have more of that sandwich! I beg of you! Eating more of those creations would give me more motivation to grow the crack in my basement..."

 **Mario: That crazy lady sold-a crack in her home and was never caught... *shakes his head* ...she should have-a given Snake some pointers.**

"We should head-a out soon, I can't just give you all-a these cheesesteaks," replied Mario, but he could tell by the lady's face that she craved for more cheesesteaks. Like she said, it had been a long time since she ever tasted anything that was remotely food; some Pikachu Cheesesteaks could very well prevent her from throwing her entire life away!

"No please, stay with me I insist!" the lady implored, going as far as begging on her knees. Mario backed away, and Balthier would do the same. "Stay with me forever! I'll treat you right, I promise! I'll just keep growing my cocaine, while you feed me your beloved sandwiches. What more could you possibly want?!"

"We should definitely make a run for it," Balthier whispered to Mario, noticing how increasingly desperate the lady was becoming. Almost on the verge of tears.

"Go," Mario whispered right back, as he and Balthier ran away from the lady. As you would expect, the lady was visibily angry, as she shouted at and fired curse words at the retreating Mario and Balthier before returning to her downtrodden home. What a way to live your life...

* * *

Moments later, Mario and Balthier would return to the Smash Mansion, nearly out of breath. They would arrive at the front yard, where Isabelle and Ayaha were speaking with one another before seeing Mario and Balthier catching their breath.

"So boys, how did it go with the whole 'spreading awareness' thing?" Isabelle asked Mario and Balthier, who were still taking a breather. That led Cappy to pop off of Mario's head, so he could do the talking.

"Mario and Balthier just came in contact with some crazy lady on drugs and made it out alive," explained Cappy, making it seem like the crackhead lady was a sociopathic twit intent on killing those on her property. "Other than that, everything went well - not that many people were receptive to the whole Pikachu Day thing."

"As I expected - don't know why Master Hand made me 'in charge' of Pikachu Day, like I would even care about it," remarked Ayaha, before heaving a sigh. If only she could say no to Master Hand, letting alone getting away with it. "I can't for the life of me think of anyone aside from Master Hand who 'celebrates' it, other than Pit, Kirby, and maybe even Link and Sora."

 **Ayaha: So apparently Master Hand is looking into having public schools recognize Pikachu Day as a national holiday, and applying how Pikachu Day works, nobody would ever go to school again...I don't know how I should feel about this stupid day anymore.**

 **Master Hand: Pikachu Day, it's like my baby, and it deserves to go on forever and ever until the end of time. When Jay Leno was killed off by NBC over that silly conflict a couple of years ago, they didn't cancel** _ **The Tonight Show** _**\- they got Jimmy Fallon to host the show, to carry on the spirit of Leno. They even have an extremely realistic hologram of Leno appear on the show occasionally, to remind viewers of his greatness. So as long as the spirit of Leno lives on, the spirit of Pikachu Day will forever live on too.**

* * *

A few hours before their wedding, Berkut and Rinea met in the lounge to go over some things. As stated in the previous episode, Berkut agreed to have his arch-nemesis Alm serve as his best man, but the paladin stated at the end that a "bait-and-switch" would take place. Nobody knew what that meant, but Berkut would explain the fine details to his future wife Rinea, who wasn't down with the idea.

"Why, Berkut, that is horrible - you can't possibly do that to poor Alm!" the noblewoman fretted, while Berkut failed to see what the problem was. "You agreed to have Alm as your best man, so you better stick to it! Speaking of whom, shouldn't you be speaking with Alm in regards to the wedding?"

"I already spoke with Alm the other day, and we planned everything out accordingly," replied Berkut, but Rinea was unsure if she should trust her fiance. "That way, I won't have to worry about speaking with that loser until the wedding starts. Or so I would have to, depending on how my diabolical plan...goes." Berkut turned to his right, and saw Pit, wearing nothing but a black tie and some...bloomers.

"The Duck Hunt Dog tore up my tuxedo, and my tie was the only thing that survived the onslaught," explained Pit, as Berkut and Rinea inquisitively stared at the angel. "Would it be fine with you if I just came to the wedding looking like this?" It wasn't proper wedding attire, but unfortunately for Pit, he had no other options.

"Eh, if it's fine with Lady Palutena, then it's fine with me. Also, why are you wearing bloomers for? Very interesting choice for underwear, don't you think?"

"They were the only thing I had in my underwear drawer, aside from this speedo that I found. Then again, it might not have been my underwear drawer - could have been in the wrong room."

"Berkut, you must tell me how I look in my wedding suit!" Takamaru entered the lounge, sporting a suit with ripped off sleeves. Certainly fitted the guy. "I ripped off the sleeves on purpose so I could show off my triceps, as a recommendation from Heihachi. Makes me feel more manly - you should rip off your sleeves too!"

"Your suit looks...nice, I suppose. I won't judge you, and neither will anyone else." Just then, another resident entered the lounge, in Rosalina; the mother of lumas was wearing a white wedding dress, and was looking quite beautiful. Would garner two thumbs up from Ganondorf.

"Tell me Berkut, do I look stunning in this lovely white dress?" Rosalina asked the Berkut, who didn't feel like giving his critique on wedding outfits. He had more important business to attend to. "I tried asking Ganondorf, but his jaw dropped and then he fainted to the floor before he could give me his answer...I might look drop dead gorgeous in this dress. Or maybe it might be something else, Ganondorf could be experiencing lightheadedness from a cold or something. How do you think I look in this dress, Berkut?"

"Okay people, I'm trying to discuss things with Rinea here, I'm not here to critique how you look...I'm here to discuss my diabolical plan to kill off Alm for good!"

Berkut suddenly covered his mouth, as he realized what he just said. Pit, Rosalina, and Takamaru were all looking at the paladin with shocked faces, while Rinea shook her head at her man. A sucky way to blow your cover and reveal your secret plans.

"To kill off Alm...with love and kindness!" reaffirmed Berkut, though it didn't do much to lower the suspicions of Pit and company. Realizing the position he got himself in, the paladin ran off sheepishly, exiting the lounge and off to places unknown.

 **Berkut: Not worried that I accidentally shared my plan with Pit - that moron will likely forget what I said once he finishes adjusting his tie. But Rosalina and Takamaru...they'll either tell Master Hand, or tell someone who will tell Master Hand. I usually condone killing residents whose names aren't Alm, but if I wish to protect my hide and carry forth with my plan...**

Berkut ran down the hallway, not looking back, before skidding to a halt when he saw Aerith speaking with Cloud in the middle of the hallway. They were discussing the wedding later that day, but more specifically the venue that the wedding will take place at.

"I'm not so sure about having the wedding at the Urban Light Studios, it might be too small for all of us," said Aerith, as Cloud nodded his head in agreement. "There's like, over a hundred of us in this mansion, and we can't possibly squeeze everyone inside one room. And when you take into account Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Yuffie, and Lara..."

"I personally wouldn't mind if we just let some folks behind - I'd kill to attend a wedding without Wario gassing up the place," Cloud offered his take, brushing back his lovely, spiky blonde hair. "Or without Ryu breathing all up on my neck. Or without King K. Rool trying to devour all the food at the wedding reception. But, Master Hand will force everyone to attend, enforcing his idiotic 'participation matters' drivel..."

"Bowser would strongly detest that statement, I'm sure...I think we should have some residents attend the wedding, and have the others prepare the wedding reception. Balthier apparently wants Falco to be the 'funny guy' at the reception, so Falco should help prepare the reception and get things in place."

"Just because Falco made Balthier laugh several times - intentionally and unintentionally - doesn't mean he should be the comedian of the night. If you ask me, most of the jokes Falco tells are either unfunny or tasteless. He would get booed out of the venue in an instant, or even later." Cloud would look to his left, and see Berkut. "What do you want, Berkut?"

"Oh, nothing, just running away from my problems...the problems I will face in my new married life," replied Berkut, concealing his plan to eradicate Alm. "Every married person has problems with their spouse during their marriage, and I was thinking that if I run from my problems now, then I won't have to face them at a later time...say, where can I find Dark Pit?"

"He's in the beauty salon, getting Flora all prepped up for the wedding. I wouldn't go bother him if...I were...you..." Cloud and Aerith watched as Berkut ran off to the beauty salon; apparently Dark Pit was a part of the paladin's assassination plot.

* * *

Mario and Peach were already prepared for the wedding, with Peach wearing her wedding gown and Mario wedding his wedding outfit...the one with the top hat and the tuxedo. If you were expecting the plumber to attend the wedding in a wedding dress, then feel free to be disappointed.

Also prepared for the wedding was Lara, and while she didn't look as great as Mario or Peach, she at least looked presentable. _Way_ more presentable than Pit.

"I'm terribly sorry you two, but I just don't feel like attending Berkut and Rinea's wedding," Lara apologized to Mario and Peach, who were busy tidying things up. "Not being able to return to London and all has killed my mood."

"Still feeling down in the dumps, Lara?" Peach smiled at the tomb raider, trying to cheer her up. Lara would smile back, albeit weakly. "It'll be okay, you'll be back in London in no time! Besides, wouldn't you want to see Berkut and Rinea married before you leave the States?"

"I suppose...but I just don't have the excitement to see them married at all. I might still be bitter about the whole London thing, but I'll get over it...eventually."

 **Bowser: Lara is still in town, which means it's time for my chance...my chance to win over Lara and make her mine! Berkut's wedding will be the perfect venue to express my love towards Lara - I've even written a song dedicated to Lara that I'll sing in the wedding reception, if Berkut and Balthier would let me. Berkut's wedding day might very well be his last if I don't get my way...**

* * *

Up in the Star Records room, Fox, Itsuki, Doc Louis, Little Mac, Knuckles, and everyone else affiliated with Star Records were dressed for the wedding, with Ayaha being one of two persons not present. The other person who was absent was Falco, who just ran inside the room in his tuxedo.

"Guys, I need your assistance, and I need it real bad!" the avian pilot said to Fox and company. "I need some comedic banter to use at the wedding reception, to keep the crowd laughing and stuff." Balthier officially named Falco as the comedian of the wedding reception, and that left Falco desperate for some material.

"What kind of material we talkin' about?" asked Doc Louis, taking a bite from his chocolate bar. Don't be surprised if the entire chocolate bar is devoured in its entirety before the wedding starts. "We ain't talking about witty banter, are we? I hate that kind of banter!"

"It kind be any of kind, just as long as it's funny. You know what, I'll just do some improv, and then we'll just go from there and see how it goes." Falco looked around the room, and pointed at his main man, Fox. "Fox! You may not know it, but we have a lot more in common then you, me, or anyone else thinks! For instance, we both have girlfriends - you have Krystal, and I have Katt Monroe."

"Uh, yes, that is true Mr. Lombardi, we do have girlfriends, and we love them very, very much," replied Fox, unsure if he was doing it right. Itsuki and the idol singers glanced at one another, confused by what the pilots were attempting to do. "However, while Krystal and I are miles ahead in our relationship - or so I think - you still have a ways to go, my friend. How about I give you some romantic advice, some pointers that will improve your..."

"Okay, stop it, I've had enough..." Falco would cut off Fox, much to the pilot's dismay. "...Katt Monroe is still not my girlfriend, she has yet to respond to any of my text messages. Even the ones where I tell her that I crashed my Landmaster and I'm on the brink of death. She must be a cold, heartless person. Or maybe I wasn't being convincing enough..."

"We're not exactly sure what you're trying to do, Falco," stated Itsuki, noticing the avian pilot's outer frustration. At first, it seemed like Falco was ready for his comedic role, but it was putting unwanted stress upon him. "Your 'improv' initiative doesn't seem to be working as well as you hoped. Should we try another method?"

"I have an idea...why don't we just ask someone questions, and start a humorous conversation that leads to somewhere?" suggested Little Mac, as he tapped Knuckles on the shoulder. "I'll demonstrate with Knuckles here...so, Knuckles, how's your day coming along?"

"Ask my psychiatrist, my girlfriend Rouge pays her enough," replied Knuckles, as Little Mac laughed at Knuckles' response. "That girl Rouge posts my psychiatrist's notes on social media for everyone to see! I'm like an easy-to-solve Rubix cube - literally everyone can figure me out!" Little Mac laughed even harder, as everyone except for Falco felt awkward.

 **Knuckles: No, but seriously, Rouge posts my psychiatrist's notes online whenever I have an appointment. Don't ask me how Rouge gets a hold of that woman's clipboard...**

"See what I did just there?" Little Mac said to Falco, who was nodding his heading convincingly. "It's all about being funny, but asking and saying the most mundane things. Humor isn't a hard thing to do - you just gotta be natural, and know what you're saying."

"Alright then, lemme give it a shot..." said Falco as he scanned the entire room...before laying his eyes upon Touma. He pointed at the redhead, putting him on the spot. "Touma Forget-Yer-Last-Name! Ready to have fun soon?"

"You bet I am, I always have a great time," Touma nodded his head. "Always the life of the party, wherever I go!" Such a claim caused Eleonora to laugh; she hung out with Touma enough to know what he said was truly false.

"Right you are, Touma, right you are! Now, where were you on September 11th? Were you too young to remember?"

"Falco, just...just stop it right there," frowned Little Mac, preventing the conversation from going south. Falco was on a roll, and he said something stupid enough to kill his momentum. "You're never gonna make people laugh if you ask about things like 9/11. People are too sensitive these days - the moment they hear 9/11, they'll swear vengeance upon every Muslim in existence, and go overboard with their USA chants. The wedding reception supposed to be a place of fun and laughter, not a platform for talking about how great America is. We've heard that noise in our lives enough as it is."

"Um, who is this 'we' that you speak of?" questioned Kiria, on behalf of all her friends. "We're all from Japan, we have nothing to do with..."

"I know, Kiria, I was just proving a point," Little Mac said to the idol singer, before turning his focus to Doc Louis. "Got anything that might help out Falco, Doc?"

"I have this one thing in mind, but I'm not sure if it'll work," replied Doc Louis, before stroking his chin with a candy wrapper in his hand. That poor chocolate bar never stood a chance. "But it won't hurt if we try..."

* * *

What did Doc Louis' plan involve? Giving Falco a bear hug and squeezing him real tight. Doc was squeezing the humor out of Falco, and in doing so, he was nearly suffocating the poor pilot.

"Not...too...tight," wheezed Falco, as his eyes were literally bulging out of their sockets. He could feel his stomach ready to collapse, and his heart ready to stop beating. Doc Louis was just that strong.

"Shut up Falco, you actin' like you've never been hugged a day in your life!" said Doc Louis, tossing poor Falco around in the hallway, near the elevator. The elevator doors opened, revealing Roy, and when the swordsman saw what Doc Louis was doing to Falco, he immediately pressed the button to close the elevator doors, before Doc could lay a finger on him. "I'm just trying to force the jokes out of your body, I know they're inside there, somewhere. Tell me something horrible that went down in your childhood." Doc would soften his grip on Falco, allowing him to speak more clearly.

"Back when I was in the Cornerian Flight Academy, there was this girl that I fell head over heels for," Falco told this story, as Doc Louis listened on. "But she was also dating this guy, who was a huge jerk. He was like one of those jock jerks that would give you wedgies in stuff. I was given the choice of killing her boyfriend in cold blood, or beating him up so badly that he would never walk again."

"Sounds too personal, and dark, especially that last bit. Nobody would want to hear a story like that. Let's try something else." Doc Louis would place Falco back on his feet, and gave him a tape recorder that came with headphones. "Put the headphones on." Falco did as he was told, putting on the headphones. "I'm gonna turn this on, and pump it up to max volume. You won't be able to hear yourself, but it's all good. Read what's on the card and make it work!"

Doc Louis would turn the volume up to the highest interval possible, making Falco wince. He then gave the avian pilot a card, expecting him to read it.

"I HATE NESTING DOLLS, THEY'RE SO FULL OF THEMSELVES!" yelled Falco, unsure if he could hear his own voice. But the song he was listening too was a killer. Can't go wrong with some Limp Bizkit blazing in your eardrums!

"Yeah, I wrote that line three minutes ago, true comedic gold right there!" smiled Doc Louis, unconcerned about the possibility of Falco blowing his eardrums out. Would be terrible if that were to happen prior to the wedding. "Now repeat that line, but with a Canadian accent!"

"I HATE NESTING DOLLS, EH, THEY'RE SO FULL OF THEMSELVES!" repeated Falco as the voice of Fred Durst permeated in his eardrums, hoping he wouldn't go deaf soon. Roy would return to the fifth floor on the elevator, thinking that the coast was clear, but when he saw Doc Louis harming Falco's eardrums, that gave him the incentive to head back down.

 **Roy: Unfortunately a few of our members will be unavailable after the wedding - Berkut's getting married, Alm is the best man, and Crash has to be a ring bearer. Regardless, I'm still planning on having a Straight Fiyah performance in the wedding reception, one way or another...**

 **Falco: *temporarily deaf* I'm sorry I can't hear you, what was that? Doc Louis blew out my eardrums...whaddaya mean, my pet Siamese cat is six weeks in labor? He's working at a coin laundry down the street, too?**

* * *

Following Mario and Balthier's excursion around town, there were still some Pikachu Cheesesteaks leftover, and Master Hand didn't want them to go to waste. So what did the giant hand opted to do with them? Give them away to the vendors at Urban Light Studios, of course! He entrusted Link to carry the deed, and the Hylian was outside seated at a picnic bench, wrapping up all the cheesesteaks.

"The way you're wrapping up those sandwiches, it makes it seem like you're selling them to someone, when you're actually giving them away," Midna said to the busy Link, as she and Zelda were watching the Hylian's progress. "Makes no sense to me..."

"Midna, Midna, Midna..." Link shook his head at the imp, having to stop his work so he could talk some sense. "...spreading awareness never comes with a price tag. Sure, it might make you lose money, but who cares about money anyway? Money is common, you can literally find it anywhere! On the street, in a fountain, between the cushions of your couch or even Wario's buttocks...Hylia knows the things Wario does with his money. What I'm trying to say is, spreading awareness never has anything to do with money, it's just because encouraging everybody to stay woke. That is always the end goal."

"Pretty ironic of you to say, considering you were selling the cheesesteaks in Pyeongchang two weeks ago..." remarked Zelda, before looking over at the driveway and seeing Flora, hiding secretly, eating some malasadas near a tree. "Flora, what are you doing all the way over there?" Zelda called out to the maid, who shushed the princess immediately.

"Be quiet Zelda, otherwise he's going to see me," Flora responded to the princess, before looking around yet again. Who could Flora be possibly hiding from?

"Who's going to see who?" Link stopped wrapping the cheesesteaks to ask Midna, who pointed at the hiding Flora. "Is she playing a game of hide-and-seek?"

"Judging by her body language, I don't think that's the case..." replied Midna, taking note of how terribly timid Flora looked. Anyone playing hide-and-seek would never be that timid when hiding from someone. "We should go speak with Flora, and do some investigating." So Midna went over to Flora, with Link and Zelda following the imp's lead.

"No, get away from me, you'll blow my cover!" Flora said to Midna and company, who would reach the maid in due time. Flora grew even more nervous, looking around once more. Acting like some murderous sociopath was coming for her.

"It's okay Flora, we're not going to hurt you..." assured Zelda, resting a comforting hand on the maid's shoulder. "...we just want to know what's going on, why you look so afraid. So tell us, what's the matter with you?"

"N-Nothing's the matter, I just wanted some time with myself and enjoy a snack. Wanted to take a break from Dark Pit." This made Zelda concerned - Flora taking a break from Dark Pit suggested that maybe the maid was having a falling out with the doppelganger.

"Why can't you have a snack with Dark Pit?" asked Link, wanting to diagnose the full situation at hand. "Was it because he didn't want to snack on a Pikachu Cheesesteak? I can't blame you for ditching him then..." Zelda and Midna glared at Link, who smiled sheepishly in return.

"I'm just...not interested in spending time with him anymore...I would want to break up with him - maybe even separate for a good while before we can get back together again - but I'm not sure how to do it..."

"I think you should just tell Dark Pit how you really feel, so that he'll understand how you feel about your relationship. Better out than in, as I would say! What do you guys think?" Link nodded his head in agreement, while Midna wasn't entirely content.

"I should be...going now," remarked the imp, as she flew way. What was up with her?

 **Midna: I have literally no interest in the whole Dark Pit-Flora situation whatsoever. I find it boring, to be honest. Anyone who has ever been at this mansion longer than I have knows how most romantic situations at this establishment go down.**

"I can't possibly dump Dark Pit, it would break his heart more than he would hurt mine," expressed Flora; the self-depreciating maid having a broken heart would be bad for herself, and anyone involved. "Being mean and crude just isn't in my nature..."

"You don't have to be mean and crude to express to Dark Pit how you really feel," assured Zelda, looking into the frantic eyes of Flora. "You just have to be clear and firm, don't worry about hurting Dark Pit's feelings." Flora, taking Zelda's advice to heart, nodded her head with a smile. "Say, where is Dark Pit anyway?"

"Beats me, though I do think he's still speaking with Berkut right about now. Apparently Berkut's looking into shoehorning Dark Pit into his wedding..."

* * *

Berkut was speaking with Dark Pit outside on the other side of the mansion, telling the doppelganger about the "bait and switch" plot he alluded to in the previous episode. Basically it was just a plot to eradicate Alm, nothing more, nothing less.

"So, to sum things up, your mission is to assassinate Alm during the wedding," Berkut concluded his meeting with Dark Pit, who was smirking with his arms folded. Assassinating people sounded like it would be a job well done for Dark Pit. "If you can't do so during the wedding, then you can redeem yourself during the reception. I just want Alm to be a dead man once all the festivities are over, got it?"

"No worries Berkut, you can count on me..." grinned Dark Pit, proudly pointing his thumb at himself. "You won't have to worry about me needing a second chance when it's all said and done!" Unbeknownst to Dark Pit and Berkut, Sonic was spying on the two from afar, hiding so he wouldn't be seen. And yes, the hedgehog was wearing informal wedding attire...an open vest and some sweatpants, with the right pants leg rolled up.

"An assassination attempt to kill off Alm, huh..." Sonic stroked his chin, under the assumption that Berkut wished to kill Alm so he could take over Valentia. "Balthier must've put Berkut up to this..."

* * *

The guests of the wedding would arrive at Urban Light Studios, riding on a transportation bus driven by Toad. And Balthier was the one who rented the bus in the first place, what a guy! While the guests were all filling in, Balthier had three wedding guests stand outside the wedding venue, to prevent "low-class losers" (as Berkut called them) from entering...

"You know, I never got the chance to tell you boys this, but...you're not as bad as I make you out to be!" Cortex, sharply-dressed, said to Toon Link and Young Link, who were standing with the mad scientist with their arrows ready. They were pretty dedicated to their jobs, too. "You're just...extremely dedicated to your jobs, that's all. Nothing wrong with that - I'm extremely dedicated to my job as a mad scientist. Granted I don't have a long list of accomplishments...but at least I can say that my arch-nemesis has yet to kill me!"

"Shut up cretin and do your job, your life depends on it!" barked Toon Link, scanning the area for any intruders. Too bad there weren't any. Well, unless you wish to include the guy who walked by a coin in his hand.

"Hey man, nice costume you got there, very intimidating!" the guy said to one of the three, tossing the coin at that individual. "Would make for an awesome Halloween costume!" Any idea who received the coin?

"Well I don't think a police costume would be intimidating to anyone at all, unless you're a black guy in a run-down neighborhood always getting into the trouble..." Cortex looked down at his hands, and saw that he was the one who received the coin! "Wait, why do I have to get this stupid coin? I'm not wearing a costume, it's not my fault people consider me 'ugly'! They're just blind, or ugly themselves! Stupid half-dollar coin...I hope the bozo who gave me this ends up like the guy on the coin! Oh wait, it's John F. Kennedy..."

"Article 1, Section C, Clause 27 states that you're not allowed to accept monetary rewards for voluntary or involuntary work!" frowned Young Link, slapping the coin out of Cortex's hands. "Now get back to work, maggot!"

 **Toon Link: That guy earlier got me thinking...I should go as Dr. Cortex for Halloween this year, when we do our nightly police patrol.  
** **Young Link: In that case, I'll dress up as Uka! Provided Cortex doesn't have any ugly friends. I bet you a million rupees his pals are equal with him in terms of hideousness.**

* * *

It was now time for the wedding to begin, as everyone was gathered in the Urban Light Studios with Berkut, Alm, and Balthier standing at the front. As Aerith feared, it was pretty crowded, as everyone except for the three at front had little to no breathing room. This made it especially hard for the bridesmaids and groomsmen to maneuver down the aisle, because there was no aisle in the first place! People literally had to move out of the way, so people like Mario, Luigi, Daisy, Peach, Olimar, and Celica (who felt awkward walking next to Olimar) could make it to the front.

And then came Crash and Coco...Coco would throw flowers on the floor; some landed on on the guests, due to how overcrowded it was. In front of Coco was the ring bearer, Crash, who had to advance through the hordes of guests while holding the ring in the...

"Oh man, Crash lost the rings!" Pac-Man, standing at the front, panicked once Crash made it out of the horde of guests with the rings absent in the small pillow he was holding. "It must be on the floor somewhere!" The guests all panicked, as they frantically searched the floor for the wedding rings. Where could it be?

"Aha, I found-a a ring!" exclaimed Luigi, ending the search, as he held up a wedding ring for everyone to see. Luigi then took a closer inspection at the ring... "Whoops, false-a alarm, it's just my wedding ring. Forgot that I still-a wear this thing, despite wearing gloves...carry on-a with the search."

"Has anyone seen Fox or Falco anywhere?" Ema asked the others, as the search for the missing wedding ring resumed. "They've been gone even before the walk down the aisle..."

* * *

Fox and Falco were in the men's restroom, with Falco suddenly having second doubts about hosting the wedding reception. The avian pilot was frantically walking back and forth, hands on his head, as Fox looked on with concern.

"Falco you can't just give up now, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity!" Fox said to his best friend, hoping to calm down Falco a little. "There's a bunch of people out there that want to hear your funny jokes!"

"How about you just take my place instead?" Falco stopped pacing around so he could ask his best friend. Fox wasn't that great of a comedian, though he could deliver a funny line or two on an occasional basis. "Or get Cloud - his deadpan jokes and delivery along with his stoic face will have the audience laughing!"

"No way man, Cloud would have dry jokes. Jokes about white rice or sandpaper and boring crap like that. Also, it would be too impromptu - he wouldn't be able to handle it, being put on the spot. This is your chance to shine!"

"I just don't wanna screw things up, that's all...you heard how lame Lucina's stand-up comedy act was until Amy forced the audience to laugh at her jokes. You've seen how cringeworthy Sazh's comedic routine was (thought it was mostly Doc's fault). I can't afford to share the same amount of failure as those two reject comedians!"

"Look at it this way, Falco Lombardi..." Fox would grab Falco's shoulders, and looked at this friend dead in the eye, like he was a proud father trying to motivate his son before a football game. "What you're gonna do out there, at the reception...you won't be doing it for me, you won't be doing it for you, you won't even be doing it for anyone in attendance!"

"So...who am I doing this for?" This led Fox to slap Falco silly, like he asked the dumbest question known to mankind. "Ow, not so hard! My face is delicate!"

"You will be doing it for the kids out there, the kids in America! Struggling on the streets, eating whatever they find, trying to make it through life and constantly thinking, 'Will things get better? Will I find a way out?' Falco, I want you to look deep inside yourself (you can do it literally if it makes it more effective) and say...I got this."

"I don't got it." Fox slapped Falco hard. "I said I don't got it, stop hitting me."

"You do got it, now say it..." Something suddenly awoke inside of Falco...

"SLAP ME HARDER!" Fox slapped Falco even harder than before, and Falco screamed, like he was going Super Saiyan. "YES, YES, I DO GOT IT! I'VE GOT NOTHING TO LOSE! LET'S GOOOO!"

 **Yoshi: *ear pressed against the restroom door* Judging by Falco's screams, he must have diarrhea...no wonder my laxatives have gone missing...**

* * *

Once the wedding rings were found, and Fox and Falco returned to the premises, it was time for the fun part to begin. Berkut and Rinea were standing together at the front, with the groomsmen and bridesmaids flanking at their sides, and Alm standing with Berkut. Between Berkut and Rinea was the officiant, Balthier, sharp-looking as always.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Berkut and Rinea, in holy matrimony..." Balthier would kick things off, with Berkut and Rinea looking into each other's eyes lovingly. Perched near the ceiling from afar from Dark Pit, who had an arrow pointed at Alm's head.

"Don't know about you Tails, but I smell something fishy around here...and I know it ain't me, I showered twice this morning to keep myself fresh," Sonic whispered to Tails, as he looked around the Urban Light Studios. He turned around, and saw Dark Pit, perched at his position, eyeing Alm. "I'll be right back, Tails..." Sonic would weave through the guests, so he could make his way over to Dark Pit.

"Rinea, do you accept Berkut to be your wedded husband, now and forever more?" Balthier asked the noblewoman, after Berkut said his vows. Rinea would be a fool to say no.

"I do," Rinea responded with a smile, before a loud crash was heard. Everyone turned their attention to Sonic and Dark Pit, with Sonic on top of Dark Pit.

"Don't mind us, Dark Pit and I were just...playing around," Sonic said to the crowd, as he and Dark Pit got up. Dark Pit's bow was damaged, much to the chagrin of the doppelganger. "Just get married already, will ya?"

"Someone's quite the impatient one..." remarked Balthier, before continuing with the ceremony. "Now where did Crash put this wedding rings..."

"You, Berkut and Balthier are toast, buddy..." Sonic said to Dark Pit, while Balthier searched for the rings. What did Balthier even do?

* * *

After Balthier found the wedding rings, he would put them on Berkut and Rinea and had them kiss, as the two were officially married. Once that was over with, it was time for the wedding reception!

Due to how small Urban Light Studios was, the wedding reception would take place at Axis Pioneer Square, a ballroom in which Toad drove everyone to. The vendors of Axis Pioneer Square would show Berkut, Rinea, and everyone else the way to the reception. A vendor would stand at the entrance, greeting Berkut and Rinea, the first to arrive, before greeting everyone else that came after them. The vendor had a judgmental look about most of the guests' wedding attire...especially Pit's.

"Um, sir, why are you attending this wedding wearing nothing but a tie and a speedo?" the vendor questioned the angel, who was now wearing a speedo. Apparently nobody bothered to get Pit a towel, not even Kirby.

"Because I accidentally crapped the bloomers that I was supposed to wear to the wedding," replied Pit, making the vendor even more judgmental. "This speedo was the only thing I had left to wear." Suddenly the Duck Hunt Dog ran in, snatched Pit's speedo with his teeth, and ran away. "Hey, get back here with my speedo, you stupid mutt!"

 **Duck Hunt Dog: *laughs while holding up speedo***

As was tradition, the newly married husband and wife were supposed to sit at the front at the ballroom during the reception, to bask in all the spotlight. However, only Rinea was seated at the front. That was because Balthier was speaking privately with Dark Pit, salty that his plan failed the first time around.

"You stupid idiot, why couldn't you fire an arrow at Alm at a place where you wouldn't be seen?" Berkut put Dark Pit on blast, as Dark Pit tried to remain cool and collected. "You said you wouldn't need a second chance, and you fell back on your promise! Stupid liar!"

"Hey, it wasn't my fault Sonic was the most self-aware person in the room," defended Dark Pit, glancing at his damaged bow. "Besides, I hardly even know how this whole 'bait and switch' plan of yours is even supposed to work!"

"The goal was to kill off Alm, and then have you conspicuously take his place as the best man. It was bad enough that Alm was breathing down my neck during the entire ceremony!"

"Why couldn't you just have me kill Alm before the wedding even began, that would make more sense than waiting until the most opportune moment!"

"Because that would make things too obvious, it would effectively blow my cover. I wouldn't want to look like a bad guy on my wedding day." Rinea, who was on the search for her husband, would find him speaking with Dark Pit.

"There you are Berkut, I've been looking all over for you!" frowned Rinea, as she ran over to the paladin and grabbed him by the ear. "We must take some wedding pictures, for the memories!"

"Screw the wedding pictures, I just want to eat the food and return to the mansion! Who cares about some silly wedding photos anyways?" As Rinea took Berkut to the newlyweds table, Sonic looked on, while sipping from a cup, before looking at Balthier, who was cheesing it up with Master Hand.

"Sonic why are you looking at Balthier like that?" asked the male Inkling, as he and his female counterpart approached the blue blur. "You're not...on to Balthier still, are you?"

"Tails told us about how you think Balthier is intent on sabotaging Berkut's wedding," stated the female Inkling, unsure if Sonic was even listening or paying attention. "The reception is about to start, so don't ya think Balthier already missed his opportunity to sabotage the wedding?"

"Well, upon further further analysis and investigation...I was wrong about Balthier wanting to sabotage the wedding," replied Sonic, as the Inklings felt somewhat relieved. Just wait until they share what Sonic said with Tails. "In fact, Balthier is conspiring with Berkut and Dark Pit to kill Alm!" Now that part WASN'T worth sharing with Tails.

"Yeah, so Berkut wants to assassinate Alm and yet somehow Rinea has nothing to do with this assassination plot..." the male Inkling shook his head, unable to support Sonic's weird theory. "What possibly made you think that?!"

"Think about it, Dark Pit was trying to kill Alm during the wedding, and he would never think about killing Alm, ever. Someone obviously put him up to it. And that someone was Berkut, with assistance from Balthier!"

"So Berkut brought Balthier to Seattle, to be the officiant for his wedding, so he could conspire against Alm and kill him..." the female Inkling said, coming to the conclusion that Sonic was a crazy person. "...that's just ludicrous, Sonic."

 **Sonic: Tails doesn't believe me, the Inklings doesn't believe, and at this point, nobody will believe me! But I'm holding on to my belief that Dark Pit will seek Alm's blood again, during the reception. Then, and only then, will people realize that I'm a genius.**

One of the few wedding guests that didn't feel like attending the wedding was Lara, who has been dying to return to London since last week. The tomb raider exited the women's restroom, having finished tidying up her hair, and would return to the ballroom...but not before being stopped by two fellow Brits.

"Hello Lara Croft, hopefully we didn't startle you as much," greeted Professor Layton, who was joined by his trusty apprentice Luke Triton. The way Layton was smiling suggested that he had something big for Lara.

"Hello Professor Layton, and hello to you too, Luke," responded Lara, having a sneaky suspicion Layton was holding something behind his back. "I take it you wish to discuss something of importance with me?"

"Wouldn't say I have to discuss something important...I just felt like giving you something important." Lara's eyes lit up, wanting to know what this something was. "Mario told me about how discouraged you were about not returning to London, how upset you were about the teleportation device being destroyed at a very coincidental time...and so, I decided to make things up to you."

"What do you possibly mean back this?" Layton would dig inside his pocket, and pulled out that something he spoke up...something he held in the palm of his hand that made Lara internally giddy. The tomb raider looked at this something like she was looking at a miniature ghost.

"Lara Croft, out of the dutiful generosity from the bottom of my heart, I would like to present to you a plane ticket to London, purchased by yours truly." Lara giddily accepted the plane ticket, looking at it in disbelief, before looking at Layton and then hugging him. "

"Oh, thank you so much Layton, this is very, very appreciative!" thanked Lara, before releasing her hold on Layton. "I had a feeling someone would come around and give me a ticket. So thank you Layton, and to you as well Luke, although I'm not sure if you had anything to do with this ticket..."

"I may have been somewhat responsible for the funds for getting the ticket..." smiled Luke, as he eyed around the premises. "Anyways, the flight back to London is next Friday, on the 16th. Layton and I made sure to book you with the finest plane service there is."

"Aww, you didn't have to do that...but I still greatly appreciate this, I really do. Can't thank you two enough. Though, given how long you've been at the mansion, you should have gotten yourselves plane tickets back to London as well..."

"As much as I would, I'm afraid we can't..." replied Layton before looking around, leading Lara to wonder why that was the case. "...after all, I'm still in hiding!"

Layton would laugh, and Lara and Luke would laugh along with him. The only person that wasn't laughing was Bowser, who was eavesdropping on the conversation from afar and saw Layton hand Lara her plane ticket. It was now do or die time for Bowser...

 **Bowser: That Layton bought Lara a plane ticket back to London, and that means Lara is gonna hide that ticket safe and sound so I won't be able to burn it again! Good thing I got my song prepared for Lara, so she can return to London on a high note!**

"Smile!" said Amy, as she and Fiora were taking wedding photos of Berkut and Rinea. Rinea was all smiles for the camera; Berkut on the other hand maintained his deadpan face. "Good grief Berkut, would it kill ya to smile for once? It's not that hard!"

"Would it kill you to stop taking pictures of me and my wedded wife..." retorted Berkut; he was definitely fun at parties. "Also, who told you and Fiora that you were allowed to attend my wedding? I demand answers!"

"Um, we practically visit the mansion every week, and we know everyone there, so that should give us a good enough reason to attend your wedding," replied Fiora, as Berkut scoffed and looked in the other direction. "Now can you PLEASE smile, just this once? It can be a half-smile, just give us some effort..."

After Amy and Fiora were done snapping wedding photos, it was time for the festivities to truly again. Balthier was standing at the front with Berkut and Rinea, dashing as ever.

"I would like to thank every one of you for coming here today, to witness the genesis of a new marriage - one that will hopefully be fruitful and joyful," Balthier spoke to the crowd in the ballroom while holding a mic in his hand, trying not to swoon the ladies as much. "When planning this wedding reception, I thought about having a host, someone who could make Rinea, Berkut, and the guests be entertained. That was when I found this guy, lying in wait...everyone, give it up for the one and only, Falco Lombardi!"

K.K. Slider, who was playing his synthesiser - having provided traditional wedding music for the wedding ceremony - would play a funky tune, as Falco would join Balthier at the front of the ballroom. He would shake hands with the sky pirate before accepting the mic and facing the crowd.

"What's good, everyone?" Falco asked the crowd, receiving a pretty decent response. "Well then, that went better than I expected...looks like we got a good crowd here today. Just as I expected from a wedding with Berkut and Rinea. Quite honestly, I don't even know why anyone would even wanna marry Berkut in the first place. Dude looks like an emo Justin Bieber, what with his bowl cut and all!" The crowd laughed at Falco's joke, though Berkut wasn't amused. "What, is Berkut trying to be like one of the Beatles? Everybody knows bowl cuts aren't a thing anymore, but sadly Berkut hasn't caught up with the times!"

"Had no idea this was a roasting session..." grumbled Berkut, as everyone - including Rinea - was laughing at his expense.

"And what about Berkut's best man, Alm? Honestly I was surprised when Berkut agreed to have his worst enemy be his best man. That's like the Joker wanting the Batman to be his best man! Or Sonic being the best man at Shadow's wedding! But at least Shadow knows a thing or two about triangles - we've yet to learn if the Joker's a geometry whiz."

"Phil Jackson would be in approval of that joke, for sure," remarked Knuckles, as everyone laughed at Falco's joke.

"How about those bridesmaids and groomsmen? You got Mario and Peach, Luigi and Daisy...and Olimar and Celica?" Some giggling was present within the crowd. "That doesn't sound right. Celica is tall, and Olimar is short - rare sign of opposites not attracting. What about Olimar being short, though? He's so short, that he literally broke his leg getting off the toilet!"

"Feel like Falco knows too much..." said Olimar, whose leg was in a cast from - you guessed it - getting off a toilet. Falco would continue with his monologue, making the guests laugh along the way.

 **Fox: Falco didn't kill it out there...he murdered it. Assassinated it. Eliminated it. Dispatched it. Terminated it. And the like. Seattle Police Department ain't got nothing my man Falco!**

 **Falco: I got it out there, I actually got it... *smiles proudly* ...those poor kids on the streets must definitely be proud of me.**

Following Falco's humorous monologue, it was time for the toasts to begin. First up was Alm, the best man of the wedding.

"I know you've wanted me dead since forever, Berkut...but I'm happy to see that you've finally married the girl of your dreams," Alm said to the paladin, trying to tune him out. "It's not about how you start a journey of love...it's about how you get there, to your destination."

Next up was Sonic, who was still on to Balthier. His toast would give the hedgehog the opportunity to put the sky pirate on blast.

"Everyone keeps saying this and that about how charming Balthier is...but trust me, I know better than that. Balthier, I know you're helping Berkut assassinate Alm, don't deny it!"

"Um, security?" Balthier called out, as the vendors came in and whisked Sonic out of the ballroom. Sonic tried to tell the vendors that Balthier shouldn't be trusted, but the vendors didn't pay him any mind...

After Sonic was Heihachi, who had something he was dying to say to Berkut since the toasts began.

"Berkut, I want you to take what you have done in regards to your relationship with Rinea, and apply it to my son, Jin Kazuma. I want my grandson married to Ling before the day I die!"

Following Heihachi was Yoshi, who wanted to make a toast on behalf of himself and his "girlfriend" Birdo, the latter still in a coma and brought to the wedding.

"This is a message from Birdo that I wish to relay to you both...don't ever lose sight in your love! Okay, that was mostly me, but you get the point..."

Roy, Berkut's band mate, was next to give a toast, which left Berkut and Alm wary.

"Wanna give a shout out to my man, Berkut, wishing him and his wife a very happy marriage. Also...STRAIGHT FIYAH CONCERT, LET'S GO!" The vendors escorted Roy out of the ballroom before said concert could take place.

King K. Rool also had a toast, though his was mostly directed at Rinea...

"Of all the folks you could marry, and it had to be that bum Berkut?! Why not marry me, I'm everything you could want in a husband and more! Sometimes you just have to look past a book cover, you know?"

Flora had a toast as well, though it wasn't dedicated to neither Berkut or Rinea...it was for someone else.

"Throughout much of my life, I kept hearing that weddings are a magical experience, one full of wonder...and quite frankly, I don't feel that way one bit. And it's because I'm not satisfied with the person I am with. So, on that note...Dark Pit, I'm afraid we must break up."

"...wait, what?" questioned Dark Pit, who was repairing his damaged bow before looking up at Flora in utter disbelief. Why was the maid doing this?!

"I don't think that we're meant for each other. You're arrogant and prideful...while I'm just a shrinking violet with zero self-esteem. I have to be honest with you, Dark Pit, that's what Zelda told me to do." Zelda looked extremely awkward, as Dark Pit couldn't believe what Flora was telling him. "Thank you for listening."

"Well, uh, this is embarrassing, quite an uncompromising position for me to be in..." remarked Dark Pit, standing up from his seat to address the crowd before looking at Flora. "Flora, if that's truly the way you think...then I'm out!" The doppelganger angrily departed from the ballroom, as Flora sighed and returned to her seat, with Felicia comforting her.

 **Akuma: Dang...that was cold. But I think Dark Pit will recover from the breakup. Flora...not so much.**

"Okay...so does anyone else have a toast?" Balthier asked the crowd, wanting to dispel the awkwardness from the ballroom. "We can do one more..."

"Ooh, ooh, pick me, pick me!" Bowser raised his hand like a little schoolkid, expecting Balthier to call upon him. It was the koopa king's time to shine.

"Alright, Bowser! Looking pretty sharp today. Come up here and say something to the newlyweds - take all the time you need!" Bowser would join Balthier at the front, grinning from ear to ear, horn to horn.

"With everybody today doing a boring toast, I wanted to kick things up a notch...and sing a song." Not everyone was pleased by this choice; Bowser singing was a guaranteed trainwreck in the making. "The theme is meant for Berkut and Rinea...but the intent and message is for a special someone in this room. Call it a traditional throwing of the bouquet, but in song form...Black Knight, you ready?"

"Ready as you are, Bowser!" replied the Black Knight, suddenly seated next to K.K. Slider behind an electronic piano. K.K. looked up at the knight, not knowing what to say.

 **Black Knight: Wrote the lyrics to Bowser's song by myself. Even informed the vendors in advance that Bowser wanted to sing his song as a toast. *sighs* What would Bowser do without me...**

The lights in the ballroom would dim, as Bowser took out his own personal microphone. The Black Night played a familiar tune on the electronic piano, as Bowser was ready to sing...

 _Let's love in style, let's love for a while_  
 _London can wait we're only watching the skies_  
 _Hoping for the best, but expecting the worst_  
 _Are you gonna drop the bomb or not?_

 _Let us love young and love us live forever_  
 _We don't have the power, but we never say never_  
 _Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip_  
 _The music's by a single man_

"I've got a bad-a feeling about this..." said a wary Mario, watching Bowser closely as the song continued.

 _Can you imagine when this race is won?_  
 _Turn our golden the faces into the sun_  
 _Praising our leaders, we're getting in tune_  
 _The music's played for the, lovely woman_

 _Forever loved  
I want to be forever loved  
Do you really want to love forever?  
Forever, and ever_

As Bowser sang the chorus, a spotlight was dimmed on Lara, who looked around in confusion. That was when Mario knew what Bowser's intentions were.

"HA, I KNEW IT, HE'S TRYING TO SWOON-A LARA!" shouted Mario, angrily pointed at Bowser. "EVERYBODY GET-A HIM!" Mario lunged for Bowser, only to be held back by the vendors; Bowser ignored this and kept singing.

 _Some are like water, some are like the heat_  
 _Some are a melody and some are the beat_  
 _Sooner or later they all will be shoved_  
 _Why don't they stay loved?_

 _It's so hard to get old without a cause_  
 _I don't want to perish like a fading horse_  
 _Love's like diamonds in the sun,_  
 _And diamonds are forever_

 _So many adventures given up today_  
 _So many songs we forgot to play_  
 _So much love swinging out of the blue_  
 _Oh let mine come true_

 _Forever young_  
 _I want to be forever young_  
 _Do you really want to live forever_  
 _Forever, and ever?_

As the vendors escorted Mario out of the ballroom, Bowser looked towards Lara, and saw that she was smiling...but it wasn't an earnest smile. It was more of a half-smile - like she appreciated what Bowser was doing, but his actions were all for naught.

It would only be a matter of time before Bowser finally faced the music.

 **Bowser: Don't know how effective my song was, but I won't know until Lara rips her ticket into pieces or something like that. Not that she would need to resort to those measures, but that would make my day, my year...my life!**

* * *

Seated outside Axis Pioneer Square were Mario, Sonic, Roy, and Dark Pit, who were near the venue feeling salty. Each individual had their own specific reason...

"The nerve of Bowser to sing-a that song to Lara, does he know-a no bounds..." frowned Mario, with a face of anger. "Lara is not meant-a for him, when will-a he realize that?!"

"The nerve of Balthier, agreeing to help Berkut assassinate Alm so he could rule Valentia..." frowned Sonic, with a face of anger. "Those two could have gotten away with killing the man, and I wouldn't be able to stop them!"

"The nerve of Flora to break up with me, I never did anything wrong..." frowned Dark Pit, with a face of anger. "Who cares if we were opposites, I was practically the reason why Flora ever had confidence at all!"

"The nerve of those vendors to refuse a Straight Fiyah concert, thought Balthier wanted some entertainment..." frowned Roy, with a face of anger. "I had the perfect song for Berkut too, he and Rinea would've been all smiles!"

Just then, Akuma exited Axis Pioneer Square, holding four plates with cake on them. Wedding cake, obviously.

"There you guys are, Peach figured you'd be all outside," Akuma said to the four, handing each guy a slice of cake. "She cut you all slices of cake, it was the least she could do..."

Mario, Sonic, Roy, and Dark Pit would accept their slices of cake, though the sweetness wasn't enough to lower their saltiness. Although it was a great day for Berkut and Rinea, the same couldn't be said guys like Dark Pit, who had his heart broken, and Sonic, whose attempt to "stop" Balthier was failure.

But as episode 79 proved, not all wedding days had to be happy ones...


	117. Episode 117: Goodbye Part 1

_Author's Note:_

 _Another two-parter; this episode is a lot longer than I intended it to be, so I went ahead and broke it up into two parts. No harm done there. On to the guest reviews:_

 _"Have the characters from the Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents games appeared yet? Are you gonna have the Infinity War chapter moved up? (Since the film is now due on April 27) will you include a nod or references to Outrun and After Burner? (Those are SEGA games) and finally, what are your thoughts on the recent Nintendo Direct?"_

 _No characters from Ouendan and Elite Beat Agents have appeared yet. The Infinity War chapter will be moved up. I can do a reference to Outrun and After Burner (though I'm more familiar with the latter, thanks to that Sonic racing game). And I absouletly LOVED the Nintendo Direct. Having Crash and Undertale on the Switch is very interesting. (Guess that means I can include Undertale characters in this story now...) And I'm also pumped for the new Smash game - thought it would be released next year, to commemorate Smash's 20th anniversary, but I'll take it this year. On to Shadowkirbyfan:_

 _"Could you also shadow Kirby? Really hope I'm not being a bother."_

 _You're not being a bother, my friend. I can feature Shadow Kirby, if I can find him something to do. Now there were some reviews written for the last chapter that I did not show up until after the chapter was updated, so I'll get to them right away..._

 _"could you make a roboenza virus strike the mansion like it did in mega man 10 but this time protoman is the only one affected and he goes crazy and beigns causing destructuion around seattle and mega man has once again to find a cure"_

 _That would be a good idea for a chapter featured around Mega Man and Proto Man. Here's another guest review:_

 _"if you could plz make pit take lessons with krirby and meta knight to become somewhat intelligent but something horribly goes wrong"_

 _Similar to what I did with Corrin and his siblings in chapter 42? Sure thing, buddy. Last up for today is Mikael M Etienne:_

 _"Can you do a chapter featuring Viridi and Pit?"_

 _I believe I said I was going to do more Pit-Viridi stuff, so I'll write a chapter centralized around the two after this two-parter is over. But it won't be TOO centralized around Pit and Viridi, mind you...I'll try and sneak some subplots in here and there._

* * *

 **Episode 117: Farewell Part 1**

Lara has been dying to return to her home country of Britain for weeks now, to be back in her hometown of London so she could return to her quest of avenging her best friend, Samantha Nishimura. The tomb raider was bustling to come back home after seeing the mansion's teleportation device for the first time, and had her eyes set on returning to London via the teleportation device a week after the visit to Pyeongchang.

However, the teleportation device was destroyed a night before Lara could return, coincidentally. Mega Man and his robot friends were working tirelessly to repair the device and restore it back to full strength.

Just when it seemed like all hope was lost for Lara, Professor Layton and Luke would approach the tomb raider sometime before the wedding reception at Berkut and Rinea's wedding, revealing to her a plane ticket to London. The plane was supposed to take flight on the 16th of March, which was today, and it was very merry news to the ears of Lara, who thanked Layton and Luke for their generosity. She did not know how the British detectives were able to purchase the ticket in the first place, but she was grateful regardless.

With a return flight to London on her mind, Lara sat on the roof of Mario's home, looking out ahead and reflecting upon her stay in Seattle. She had been involved in many things in this city - a Dr. Eggman plot, Luigi's Mexican fiesta, a game of tag, and even a date with Bowser - a date that went along better than expected. Until Bowser was later exposed by Mario, that was. Lara would reflect on those memories and then some, as the Seattle sun basked on her face.

"Last day in Seattle...it's been a fun ride, staying with Mario and Peach," Lara said to herself, slightly aware that the documentary crew was around listening to her every word. "And Poochy as well, although I didn't appreciate him drooling all over my pants...but he was good company, anyways. Good thing I packed up my things ahead of time, saved me a lot of trouble."

"Miss Croft, is that-a you?" a familiar voiced called out to the tomb raider, who turned around and saw Mario, along with Cappy. The plumber was holding two bottles of Coca-Cola in his hands - one for himself, and one for Lara. Poor Cappy was left out of the equation. "Peach told me that you were-a up here. Brought you some-a thing to drink, if you don't-a mind."

"Thank you Mario, I really appreciate it," thanked Lara, as Mario came over to Lara and sat with her, on the edge of the roof. Lara would then accept her bottle of Coke from Mario, opened it, and took a sip...before spitting out the contents immediately. "This soda tastes horrible, Mario...you sure this is Coca-Cola?"

"I entrusted Cappy to retrieve-a the bottles from the mansion..." Mario turned towards Cappy and frowned at the talking hat, making him shiver. "What do you have-a to say for your-a self, Cappy?"

"I...might have...borrowed some toilet water and used that as a substitute for the soda..." confessed Cappy, as Mario disgustingly threw his bottle of "Coke" at the ground, while Lara cough and gagged so she could get the horrid taste out of her mouth. "Guys I can explain, all the Coca-Cola was gone so I had to resort to drastic measures! Not my fault the residents are greedy bums!"

 **Cappy: The toilet water I had found looked like the perfect color for Coca-Cola...I just needed Cilan to "ferment" it a little, to make it look passable.**

"First the Pyeongchang tour-a guides, and now this..." Mario shook his head, as Cappy looked down at the ground. "...quite-a the reputation you're building there, my-a friend." Just then, another person would join Mario and Lara on the roof...Pit, who was accompanied by Kirby. Not exactly the kind of duo Lara wished to be with on top of a house roof. Kirby is redeemable, but Pit on the other hand...

"Lara, how can you possibly leave for Britain without even telling us goodbye?" a rather disgusted Pit asked the tomb raider, who looked at Mario and Cappy in confusion. "You're practically my most favorite tomb raider ever! Now give me a hug!" Pit would run up to Lara and give her a hug, nearly tackling Lara off of the roof of Mario's home. Pit could've very well seriously injured Lara, and prevent her from returning to London...that alone would be more than enough to garner ire from the tomb raider.

"Get off of me Pit, I'm not leaving until later..." said Lara, as she pushed the angel away from her. Kirby remained where he was, just chilling. You've got to wonder what went on in the pink puffball's mind whenever Pit was being...Pit. "I just wanted to have some alone time by myself, that's all. Though Mario and Cappy had to ruin it for me."

"To be fair, it was Peach's fault - she was the one who told Mario about your whereabouts," clarified Cappy, as Mario glared at the talking hat. Cappy sure knew how to dig himself into a deep hole, and just keep on digging until there was no end. "The blame should be solely placed on her shoulders..."

"Oh, so now you wanna snitch-a on my wife, huh?!" frowned Mario, acting like he was ready to challenge Cappy to a no holds barred fight. Would be the most one-sided fight known to man. "Well two can play that-a game! I know you were up-a at night, watching that...that... _Tokyo Mew Mew_ show, with that girl-a with the pink hair that you find-a cute!" Cappy would give Mario a weird look, and Lara, Pit, and Kirby would do the same. "...okay, that's all-a on me, I'm the one who stays-a up at night and watch that show. But don't tell-a Peach, she can't find out about-a my crush on that Zoe chick..."

"You got a crush on an anime character, which is perfectly harmless in my opinion - for I have a similar crush as well," stated Pit; Viridi wouldn't take too kindly to Pit's confession. "I'm positive Peach wouldn't think that much of it, she'll probably give you a pass." Pit would turn to face the sun, before stretching out his arms and taking a seat on the roof. "So we're all sitting on the roof, enjoying the sun, huh...I would do this on the roof of the mansion, but I can't due to my fear of heights."

"How can you even be afraid of heights when you can..." Lara started, before sighing and shaking her head in bewilderment. The knowledge she gained while staying with Mario and Peach, adjacent to the mansion, told her that it was never a grand idea to hold certain conversations with Pit. "...just forget about it. I'll just have to take pleasure in knowing that my alone time has been ruined by you all, and I'll likely never get my time of solitude back before my planet flight."

"And you'll only have Peach to blame..." murmured Cappy, receiving another frown from Mario. Cappy just turned his face away, like that would solve anything.

* * *

Despite serving as the officiant for last week's wedding, Balthier's work at the mansion was not yet done. The sky pirate would return to the mansion once more, just to see how the newly-wedded Berkut and Rinea were handling their first week as a married couple...

"Berkut for the last time, you can't just leave the master bedroom there, it'll block our way to the closet," Rinea said to her husband, as the spouses were re-arranging things in their room. The two were now rooming together, and they had brought a master bed and other furniture to their room. They were now trying to figure out where the bed should be placed, while Balthier stood at the doorway and analyzed their work. "How are we going to reach the closet with the bed obstructing the path?"

"Pfft, that closet is useless anyways - we don't have fancy wardrobes or anything like that," remarked Berkut with his arms folded, apparently fine with where the bed was located. "I'm just glad that we don't have a master bathroom, for that would be even more useless than the closet itself." Rinea would look at Balthier with a half-hearted smile, a smile that literally screamed, "I can't believe my own husband right now...", and Balthier would give a smile of encouragement in return.

 **Balthier: Came back to the mansion to see how Berkut and Rinea were coming along so far as they finish up their first week as husband and wife. Some disagreements here and there, but that's expected of many marriages, it's nothing you can run away from. Each disagreement you have with your spouse is like a learning block you can use to propel your love forward!**

 **Rinea: As much as I enjoy to finally sleep with Berkut, in the same bed as him...I do miss having Aerith as a roommate. We would always have our joyous conversations, with me telling Aerith about Berkut's insecurities (which he won't ever admit on camera) and Aerith telling me about Cloud's most embarrassing secrets - the kind of secrets Cloud would kill Aerith over, if he was brave enough to do it.**

 **Berkut: Ah, yes, free at last, free from that annoying little pest Dr. Cortex...always yapping this and that about how he should've destroyed Crash Bandicoot to cement his status as a bona fide villain. It was bad enough that he wouldn't even let me use his ray gun to kill Alm, for Alm "didn't have fur, wasn't a failed experiment of a genius invention, and didn't kick his butt each and every time..." I could care less with Alm didn't have fur, or if he was some failed experiment, or if he didn't kick butt...although he did kick my butt a few times. I just want that man out of my life!**

Balthier would continue to watch Berkut and Rinea move the master bed around the room, not stopping until they found the perfect spot. Out of the corner of his eye, the sky pirate would catch Donkey Kong walking by, carrying a large sack over his shoulders.

"Hello once again, Donkey Kong - what you got there in the bag?" Balthier spoke to the gorilla, stopping him in his tracks. "Got some goodies for your nephew Diddy? About to celebrate a birthday, I assume?"

"Nothing in the bag is for Diddy, and we're not going to celebrate a birthday today - but we are having a going away party for Lara Croft," answered Donkey Kong, as Balthier nodded his head knowingly. He never got the chance to speak with Lara in person, and now the sky pirate was having some regrets. "It was Master Hand's idea - he wanted me to go about the mansion and gather random stuffs, and put them in this sack. Not sure if the stuff's supposed to be for Lara, but I'm just trying to get on Master Hand's good side..."

"Everybody here is always desiring to be on Master Hand's good side...must be a really strong indicator of how truly intimidating he is. Can't say I expect much less from the very creator of the Smash universe. So who's planning this, 'going away party'?"

"Princess Peach, along with Zelda, Palutena, and Rosalina. They planned a party before, a Christmas party, and everything was going well until these two guys got into a fight and pretty much ruined the whole vibe. Only positive to come out of that fight was Link suplexing someone."

* * *

Nobody at the Smash Mansion was more saltier than Dark Pit, who had yet to fully recover from his breakup with Flora. Flora would call off her relationship with the doppelganger at the wedding reception, after citing that she couldn't be with him anymore. Dark Pit, obviously upset about this revelation, got up and stormed out of the ballroom, in disbelief that Flora could do such a thing like that to him.

While Dark Pit had that going on, he was also embroiled in a lousy investigation at the hands of Sonic, who believed the doppelganger was working with Berkut and Balthier to kill off Alm so Berkut could become ruler of Valentia. Sonic stated that he wouldn't stop until he exposed Dark Pit and company for the scheming trio that they were, and in turn prove that he wasn't crazy.

So when Sonic was chilling in the hallway, eating a chili dog, he would see Dark Pit enter the vending machine room, still reeling from his breakup with Flora. Sonic would follow Dark Pit closely into the room, before grabbing the doppelganger and pushing him against a wall.

"I know what you're up to, Dark Pit!" Sonic said to the doppelganger, before realizing that he was looking up at him. Pretty awkward to talk down to someone who was taller than you. "Whoops, hold on a second...gotta make sure we're at eye level. Don't move an inch." Sonic would find a stool lying on the floor, brought said stool over to Dark Pit, and stood on the stool, now looking directly at Dark Pit. "Ah, that's much better! Now where was I? Oh yeah..." Sonic would grab Dark Pit by the collar with both hands, and brought him up to his face, up in his grill. "I know what you're up to, Dark Pit, you can't hide your intentions forever!"

"Dude what's your problem, I've never done anything wrong!" confessed Dark Pit, wondering why Sonic was so angry with him. "Can't you just let an innocent guy like me brood over a romantic breakup in peace?"

"Haven't quite bounced back from Flora dumping you after the wedding, huh? We all know she dumped you because she found out about your plans to help Berkut and Balthier kill Alm. I saw you trying to take out Alm while the wedding was going on!"

"Me assassinating Alm was just a one-time thing, Berkut was the one who put me up it. I just wanted to make the man happy on his wedding day! Also, what makes you thing Balthier has _anything_ to do with Berkut's bloodlust for killing Alm?"

"What, so you think Berkut only brought Balthier to the mansion just so he could be the officiant for his wedding? Get real, Dark Pit! I suggest that you give Berkut and Balthier the deuces and leave their evil scheme, unless you wanna get on my bad side! Trust me, you don't wanna get on my bad side! I've seen things, Dark Pit - I've seen horror films, clown sightings, and even that episode of _The X-Files_ that was removed entirely from syndication! I can get scary if you want me to!"

"I don't want you to get scary, I just want you to leave me alone, please! Go away!" Sonic, seeing how Dark Pit was cowering - it was the first time the hedgehog had ever seen the doppelganger in such a state - would get off the stool and put it away, before making his exit from the vending machine room.

"I'll be watching you, Dark Pit..." Sonic said to the doppelganger, doing the eponymous hand sign as he left the premises. Dark Pit was left lying against the wall, feeling uncomfortable, as Link entered the room, having seen Sonic walk by and then seeing Dark Pit.

"...you okay, Dark Pit?" Link would ask the doppelganger out of curiosity and concern, but mostly concern. Dark Pit could only give a weak, inaudible reply.

 **Link: Did Dark Pit...just got bullied by Sonic just now? Wow, talking about drastically lowering your standards...**

* * *

In the dining room planning things were Peach, Zelda, Rosalina, and Palutena. The four were planning Lara's going away party, under the orders of Master Hand, as they were figuring out what food items should and shouldn't be at this party.

And although it was supposed to be a four-woman planning committee, there were also some guests involved with the plans...

"I know, I know, how about we have pigs in a blanket at the party, what do you guys think?" Yuffie asked Peach and company, also joined by her fellow ninja pals Greninja and Asuka. The three ninjas had planned to do some fun ninja stuff together with Sheik, until Master Hand approached Zelda.

"Hmm, that's more accustomed to a New Year's party or a Super Bowl party than anything," replied Palutena, who was finding it hard to come up with any solid suggestions - especially since Master Hand announced the party on late notice. "Do we even have the materials necessary to do pigs in a blanket?"

"Okay then...what about some popcorn balls?" Another suggestion that was met with a lukewarm response, as Peach and company looked at one another, like they were finding out who would say no. "Or is that too 'themed' as well? Some of you ladies really need to step out of the box sometimes..."

"Making popcorn balls would be a little too...sticky, Yuffie," stated Rosalina; Yuffie scoffed, as the ninja thought otherwise. "Too much vegetable oil involved, and not to mention the corn syrup and marshmallows required in the recipe. It would never work..."

"What's-a going on in here, ladies?" asked Mario, as he and Lara joined Peach and company in the dining room. "Planning some-a thing big, I assume?" The ladies would tell Mario what the special ocassion was, but not with Lara standing in the plumber's presence.

"We're planning a going away party for Lara, before she returns to London," answered Asuka, as Peach, Palutena, Zelda, and Rosalina all groaned in frustration. "Oh, I wasn't supposed to say that? It was supposed to be some kind of surprise party? Whoops, my bad..."

 **Peach: Master Hand practically forced us to throw a party for Lara...not sure if Lara even wanted one, but Master Hand wished to have Lara leave on a high note.  
** **Zelda: So, the two of us decided to gather with Palutena and Rosalina so we could do some last-minute planning. You could call us a dream team...  
** **Greninja: Gre, gre, Greninja! *pops up next to Zelda, along with Yuffie and Asuka*  
Yuffie: Hey Zelda, you aren't busy today, are ya? I just saw Rool sleeping upside down from a hammock hanging from a tree, and I figured that maybe we could mess with him while he's asleep. Hitting him like a pinata, if ya know what I mean...don't ask me how the hammock got up there.  
Zelda: Yes, the dream team...and a few ninjas.**

"Aw, a going away party just for me?" smiled Lara, placing her hand on her chest. The tomb raider couldn't remember the last time anyone threw a party for her. "Look, ladies, I really don't deserve a party of any kind - I want my departure to be a quiet one, without any pizzazz and whatnot. I don't need all the unnecessary attention."

"We're terribly sorry, Lara, but Master Hand kept stressing to us that we should throw you a party before you leave us," stated Peach, as Lara gave the princess an understanding look. When it came to having parties at the mansion, it was always serious business with Master Hand. "As much as he would stop planning, we've planned so much that stopping now wouldn't be...preferable, if you understand."

"Peach's right - we've already decided on what ice cream should be served at the party," said Zelda, who was writing down the list of party suggestions on a piece of paper, prepared to give said list to Master Hand when ready. "Cookies and cream will be the ice cream of choice. Once heard Mario proclaim that cookies and cream was your favorite."

"I never said-a such a thing, unless that was Cappy's doing," frowned Mario, becoming even more disgruntled with the talking hat now. "That-a snitch..." Did Mario not know that Cappy was listening to every word he was saying?

"Of course, you can choose a different ice cream flavor, Lara - it's your party, after all," Rosalina told the tomb raider, who was perfectly fine with whatever ice cream was available. She just wanted to the party to be over with, if it couldn't be cancelled.

"You know, not everyone-a likes cookies and-a cream...some people could even-a be allergic to it, for all-a we know." After saying this extremely untrue fact, Mario stroked his mustache, thinking of a different ice cream flavor, before snapping his fingers when the perfect one entered his head. "Let's-a go with vanilla! Sure, it might-a be the most basic flavor around, but everyone loves-a it! Or so I think..."

"Then vanilla ice cream it shall be..." confirmed Zelda, as she scratched off the cookies and cream off the suggestion list, and wrote 'vanilla' underneath. "Now what about the toppings?"

"I think we should-a have Lara decide that." Mario would turn to Lara, and everyone else would do the same. The pressure was now on Lara - it wasn't extreme pressure, or life-changing pressure, but it was still pressure nonetheless. Any kind of pressure is bad, no matter the intensity or the amount.

"Why not...go with gum drops, or even gummy bears?" suggested Lara, as Peach and her planning committee exchanged nods with one another. Clearly they were down with this suggestion.

"Not a bad choice - can't go wrong with gummy bears," replied Zelda, as she wrote down Lara's suggestion on her list. "I'm sure you'll change your tune about the party soon, Lara...just you wait and see!"

"Oh, Miss Lara!" Master Hand called out to the tomb raider, from afar. "A certain giant hand needs to speak with you!" What could Master Hand possibly want?

* * *

 **Master Hand: Lara's last day in Seattle...doesn't feel right. Doesn't feel like a legitimate farewell. I've yet to see anyone crying over the fact that Lara is returning to London, moved to tears that our favorite Brit will be leaving Seattle soon. That's why I had Peach and Zelda plan out a party for Lara, so once the party is over, she'll be like, "Wow, the Smash residents are such great people...it's like having _Time_ Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World inside one mansion. I expect Lara to give a rousing speech to the residents before leaving the mansion in style, and I better not spot a single dry eye in the ballroom when it's all said and done...**

"Here Lara, you can take my Nintendo DS, and all my games as well!" Bowser Jr. would hand the tomb raider his old handheld console, along with a case that included all his DS games. Lara, who was standing with Master Hand, would accept the gift from Bowser Jr, albeit reluctantly. "Granted the system is old and outdated, but it's a bundle of nostalgia regardless! And truthfully, I'm too young to experience nostalgia and know what it means, which is why I'm giving my old system and games to you."

"I'll make sure to play this DS in my spare time...if I can even find the room for spare time, that is," smiled Lara, as she patted Bowser Jr. on the head. The fact that Lara touched him was enough to make Bowser Jr. faint. "Thank you very much." Lara and Master Hand would go away, and Bowser Jr. would faint to the floor after the two left. "Why are you having me receive gifts from the residents, even though I hardly knew them well?"

"Because Lara, it's all about solidarity - doing nice things for others, despite how you feel!" replied Master Hand, who was carrying a sack - the very sack Donkey Kong was seen carrying around earlier. "When rich people donate their money to charity, do they know where the money is going to go, and who's going to receive it? No, absolutely not! But they do it anyways because it creates harmony between individual and stranger - it basically screams, 'I got your back, and you got my back as well'! It's all about being selfless and showing others that you care!"

"You talking about solidarity and doing nice things and showing others how you care...it just sounds so ironic coming out of your mouth, Master Hand." Master Hand would hand Lara the sack, as the tomb raider looked at it in confusion. "What is this for?"

"Oh, nothing - just a sack containing gifts that I want you to give to the others. Don't worry about what gift belongs to who - I've had Isabelle go through everything and write names on the gifts, so you'll know who you will give what. Hopefully Isabelle didn't write the names in permanent marker...ooh, look, there goes Jigglypuff, try giving her a gift!"

Master Hand pointed at Jigglypuff, the balloon Pokemon fast asleep in the middle of the hallway. Someone oughta draw some marker on her face, to give her a taste of her own medicine. Lara would walk over to Jigglypuff and kneel down at the balloon Pokemon's side, lightly tapping her on the head to wake her up.

"Sorry for waking you up, Jigglypuff, hope you didn't mind," Lara apologized to the balloon Pokemon, who stretched out her stubby arms and yawned. "Not sure if you knew this or not, what with you being a Pokemon and all...but today is my last day in Seattle. For that reason, I wanted to give you a gift, a little something for you to remember me by. Lemme get it out for ya..." Lara looked inside the sack, found something with Jigglypuff's name on it, and pulled it out...a small replica of the Space Needle. Lara gave a questionable look at Master Hand, who gave a thumbs up, before returning her attention to Jigglypuff. "Here you go, Jigglypuff - a replica of the Space Needle, the one in this very city!"

"Jigglypuff Jigglypuff!" squealed Jigglypuff - perfectly oblivious to the amount of irony behind her gift - as she hugged Lara. Lara, in no position to do anything else, would hug the balloon Pokemon in return, before standing back up.

"Just keep that replica as far away from your body as possible and you'll be fine," Lara would say to Jigglypuff, before she and Master Hand continued on their way. Eventually Lara would accidentally bump into Doc Louis, who was the last person you would want to encounter.

"Waited until your last day in Seattle to pick a fight with Jerome 'Doc' Louis, huh?" questioned Doc Louis, thinking Lara wanted to fight him, as he tore off his signature red jacket to reveal his cheetah-patterned shirt. Lara and Master Hand grew cautious. "Think that because you gonna leave soon, I won't hurt you as bad? Is that what it is?! Well since you're a lady, I'll go easy on ya! And because I'm such a generous guy, I'll let you deal the first blow! Ladies first - hit me with your best shot!"

"Doc Louis, I don't wish to fight you...I just want to give you a gift," said Lara, as she dug into the sack; Doc Louis, who had his dukes up, would lower his guard when Lara took out a giant chocolate bar. "I know how much you like chocolate, which is why I got you the biggest chocolate bar I could find..."

"Woah Nelly, that is one giant chocolate bar!" Doc Louis ran up to Lara and snatched the chocolate bar out of her hand, like he was a world-renowned archaeologist making perhaps the greatest known discovery in the history of mankind. "So dang fine, she should be my main chick forever and ever. All those small chocolate bars I've been eating, they'll forever be side chicks in my eyes! What should I name ya..."

Doc Louis walked away, already treating the giant chocolate bar like a sentimental being, as Lara shook her head and pressed forward, with Master Hand following after her.

* * *

In retrospect, Falco's stand-up gig at the reception of Berkut and Rinea's wedding fared much better than expected. Falco, who was comfortable with being the "funny man" after being requested of Balthier, suddenly had second doubts, and didn't know if he was up for the task.

But following a pep talk from Fox (that somehow worked), Falco managed to get over his nerves and deliver the comedic performance of a lifetime at the reception. Okay, it wasn't one that would be discussed as the greatest performances ever, but it made people laughed, and making people laugh was always the most important goal when it came to comedy. Falco, riding off the momentum he gained from his comedic performance, had one goal he wished to accomplish...

...ask out his crush, Katt Monroe.

 **Falco: How would I describe my crush on Katt, in one word? *thinks for a second* Ironic. My crush on Katt is downright ironic. As you know, cats tend to eat birds, and for that reason, I fear that Katt would eat me alive in a relationship. Dare I say it, she's more cocky than I am, so she already has an advantage over me in that regard. My relationship with Katt would be like dog-eat-dog - a competition where harm will be done in order to gain an upper hand. And it might be Katt who'll be doing all the harming...**

To figure out his approach to Katt, Falco discussed with Fox and Itsuki in the Star Records room. Very fine choices, as Fox and Itsuki were in love themselves - Fox was still maintaining his relationship with Krystal, and Itsuki was doing the same with Tsubasa. Technically, a co-owner of a record company shouldn't be having an affair with one of the company's clients, but Itsuki didn't care. Star Records abide by their own rules anyways.

"I was thinking about maybe giving Katt a call, but that would honestly be too mainstream - and too easy, on top of that," Falco said to Fox and Itsuki, seated at a round table with Big Top nonchalantly eavesdropping on the three. "I also gave though to meeting up with Katt somewhere in town, but I don't know where or when or how..."

"Just give Katt a shout out online, like on one of her social media pages," suggested Itsuki, before receiving questionable glances from Fox and Falco. "Or is that too mainstream as well? I'm not an expert when it comes to approach, besides it was Tsubasa who approached me, not the other way around..."

"Bruh, I can't just post on Katt's social media pages, let alone follow her...it would essentially blow my cover. I have to be very conspicuous about my approach, make her think about something other than me asking her out."

"Wanting to meet with Katt somewhere in town doesn't sound conspicuous, if you ask me," remarked Big Top, as Falco and company glared at the talking hat. The way that Big Top was profusely smiling made his face somewhat punchable.

"Shut up Big Top, nobody cares about what you think," Fox said to the talking hat, before returning his attention to the conversation at hand. "What I would do is kidnap Katt - bring her to some undisclosed location and blindfold her, and then take the blindfold off and confess your love to her. She'll hate you forever, but it'll be worth it in the long run if you can establish the relationship, and make the hate go away.

"Using reverse ransom to achieve a romantic goal? How unspeakable, even from you Fox McCloud!" Fox got angry with Big Top, as he fired shots from his Blaster at the hat and sent him flying to the floor. That oughta shut him up momentarily.

"Doing a kidnapping thing like that would be too risky, and I don't think Katt would handle it well," stated Falco, offering his two cents on Fox's suggestions. "She would probably file a restraining order against me, thereby decreasing my chances at hooking up with her."

"It's never too late to reach out to her on social media..." cooed Big Top, his voice muffled as he was lying face-first on the floor. Falco took out his Blaster and fired a a shot at Big Top, stinking the hat and leaving behind a bun mark covered with soot. "I truly, honestly deserved that..."

"Our best option would be to bring Katt over to the mansion, and then you can ask her out that way," said Itsuki, before his phone sounded off. The young man took out his phone, and saw a text notification. "Gotta go, boys...Tsubasa wants me to meet up with her at food stand in the city. They're selling Kobe beef burgers, and for only two dollars each! Sounds too good to be true, almost sounds illegal even. I can't pass up on this opportunity!" Itsuki would leave the Star Records room, leaving Fox and Falco behind.

"You know, Balthier returned to the mansion...why don't you ask him for advice?" Fox asked Falco, who stroked his break at the thought of this idea. Balthier was a pretty savvy gentleman, and that savvy attitude should definitely come with some romantic perks that could be given to the others.

"Yeah, Balthier would be a great guy to consult for a situation like this..." replied Falco, having made up his mind. It was time to rely on Balthier, to see what he could do for Falco.

* * *

Lara was still giving her gifts to the residents, and the sack that contained the "gifts" was close to being empty, meaning that the tomb raider was close to being done with giving away gifts as a "token of her gratitude". That was what Master Hand wanted Lara to say to the residents anyway, even though Lara hardly ever got to spend any quality time with them. Speaking of Master Hand, he was following Lara around, ensuring that she was doing her job.

"And for you, Wario, I have a poster that I think is deserving to be hanged up in your room..." Lara said to fatso as she pulled out a poster from the sack; said poster had Wario riding on his Wario Bike, doing the two-finger salute, with Mona behind him. Just seeing the poster almost made Lara cringe. "So, what do you think of the poster?"

"There isn't any chance that you have a poster of me and...Lady Palutena, do you?" Wario quietly whispered to Lara, being very mindful of Master Hand. The giant hand wasn't paying attention anyways, for he was too busy witnessing Toon Link and Young Link trying to arrest a sock monkey lying on the floor. That poor sock monkey, it wasn't even doing anything. "Mona just isn't my type anymore..."

"Oh, you don't say?" Lara wasn't aware that Wario and Mona were constantly shipped together - after all, the poster was her first time seeing Wario and Mona together at all. "Are you telling me that you have the hots for Lady Palutena?"

"Yeah, I guess you could say that..." Wario grinned sheepishly, rubbing his arm. It has been a very long time since Wario made his crush on Palutena to someone other than Pit and Viridi. "But don't tell anyone about my crush on Palutena, okay?! Nobody is meant to know, for now anyways. Not sure if having a crush on Palutena is even worth it - I'm just a lousy human, and Palutena is a goddess of light. Not to mention that Palutena said that she can't date a human. So I'm stuck..."

"I'm sure she'll come around and change her idealogy soon, just to make you happy." Lara's kind words was enough to lift up Wario's spirits, as the fatso's smile went from sheepish to optimistic in a jiffy. No person had ever given Wario words of encouragement, and Lara was the first to make history.

"I suppose you're right - maybe I can do something that can change her attitude! Easier said than done, but I can't make it happen unless I try..."

"That's the spirit! Now will you please accept this poster? Master Hand will probably kill the both of us if you don't...you know how he is sometimes."

Wario would accept the poster from Lara, and Lara would continue down the hallway, with Master Hand following after her after the Links were done "arresting" the sock monkey. Along the way, Lara would encounter Corrin, the naive prince of Nohr.

"Hi Corrin - I know we never got to speak much with each other (same could be said for anyone else in this mansion), but I heard that you were into science fiction," Lara said to the prince, who was brimming with anticipation about what the tomb raider was going to give to him. "Which is why I have something that could quench your love for the genre..." Lara honestly had no idea what this something was, but she pulled it out anyways, and it was a Darth Vader action figure, but with a familiar bat logo on the chest. At least the black cape was still there.

"A Darth Vader action figure, just for me?!" squealed Corrin, as he yanked the figure out of the hands of Lara, who was looking at the action figure all dumbfounded. "It even comes with a belt, for storing all sorts of gadgets! Must be an extremely rare action figure! All the _Star Wars_ collectors must be furious right now!" Corrin would proceed to hug the knockoff action figure, like it was his one true love, while Lara stared at Master Hand inquisitively.

 **Master Hand: *laughs hysterically* I played Corrin like a fool...I had Lara give that naive boy a Darth Vader action figure, and that action figure was actually a Batman figure but with the Vader helmet! Corrin didn't even notice a single thing! *laughs harder* Seriously, I could take a Scarlet Witch action figure, paint her attire white and give it to Corrin, and that kid would be all like, "Princess Leia?!"**

* * *

With Lara's going away party but a few hours away, Mario headed to the ballroom to see if there was any decorating done. The plumber would see the mansion's party planner hanging up a banner while standing on a ladder, with the banner reading in capital letters "Goodbye Lara".

"Hopefully we can have this party over with before Lara's plane arrives," Pac-Man said to himself, as he was hanging up the banner. Cappy would appear off of Mario's head, and float over to the ladder Pac-Man was standing on.

"Need some help up there?" Cappy would ask Pac-Man, getting a bit too close to the ladder. The talking hat would come in contact with the ladder and cause it to topple over. Pac-Man would lose his balance as the ladder came falling to the floor, but the eater of ghosts would hang on to the banner for dear life, refusing to let go. "Whoops, sorry about that!"

"Just look-a at you Cappy - first you have-a to snitch, and now you almost-a killed Pac-Man!" Mario scolded the talking hat, who held his head down in shame. "When will your reign-a of terror end?!" If Cappy kept this up, he could be banned from the party. A talking hat, banned from a going away party, how about that?

"Someone help me, please...I can't hold on for any longer!" pleaded Pac-Man, who saw his grip on the banner slipping away. One nasty fall and it could be over for the eater of ghosts. "Oh no, my grip on the banner is slipping, I'm gonna fall...Mario, Cappy, carry on my legacy! TELL MY STORY!"

Fortunately for Pac-Man, no story needed to be told, for when the eater of ghosts was released from the banner...he would stick a safe, perfect landing on the floor, having only fell just two feet. Certainly helped that the side of the banner Pac-Man was working on slowly tipped towards the floor.

"Well then...that was a lot less scarier than it was truly meant to be," remarked Pac-Man, smiling with his hands on his hips. Cappy, having learnt his lesson, would return to Mario's head, as Pac-Man picked up the ladder and stood it back up. "I take it you've heard about the party we're throwing for Lara, Mario?"

"Sure did - Asuka was the one-a who told me about it, and by accident I should-a mention," replied Mario, as Pac-Man climbed back up the ladder so he could finish hanging up the banner. "Told me about the party in the presence-a of Lara. Is the party supposed-a to be a surprise party?"

"That was Master Hand's intentions - but since Lara knows, I guess the surprise is officially out. She could fake being surprised, but then it wouldn't be genuine. Master Hand loves genuine surprises, and because of Asuka, that hand's gonna be one unhappy camper..."

"Wait, Lara already knows about the party?" asked Aerith, who just entered the ballroom holding a ginormous present in her hands. Obviously that present was meant for Lara, and Lara only.

"Apparently Asuka was the one who had to spill the beans...surprised that it was Geno, he's known for doing stuff like that." Pac-Man would finally finish hanging up the banner, as he looked at the banner with a sense of pride and accomplishment. EA would definitely be proud. "As long as Master Hand doesn't found it, we should be in the clear...but that's a huge given."

"So Lara knows what is expected to happen today...well, I'm not sure how Master Hand could've made Lara's going away party a surprise party, but he won't stop until his demands are fully met. I'll just put this present in the back, just for safekeeping." Aerith would put the present away, with Mario looking at the present with much curiosity.

"Say, Aerith, what's-a in the box?" the plumber would ask the flower girl, once she returned to the back. Aerith kept her lips sealed tight, for she wasn't allowed to reveal what the present was.

"Master Hand forbade me to tell anyone what the present is. It's for Lara, I can tell you that much, but other than that, I'm not allowed to say anything else..."

* * *

After paying a visit to Berkut and Rinea, Balthier was in the cafe, preparing himself a good ol' cup of cappuccino while Bowser keeping the sky pirate company and reading the newspaper. Having seen how Berkut and Rinea were progressing in their first week married, Balthier was ready to leave the mansion, but he couldn't leave without a cup of joe in his hand.

 **Berkut: Finally...we got the master bed situation all figured out, as our bed is in a location that Rinea and I mutually agreed upon. For that reason, the setup for our room...is complete!  
** **Rinea: I dunno, Berkut, our baster bed is a bit on the small side...perhaps we should look into purchasing a bed that's bigger than...  
** **Berkut: Whaddaya mean it's on the small side?! *suddenly throws a fit* Why can't you just appreciate the things that you already have...**

 **Aerith: I do miss having Rinea as a roommate, she was always great for conversations. Whenever I needed somebody to talk to, Rinea was always my go-to gal. Frankly my new roommate is going to have some _very_ big shoes to fill...**

 **Cortex: Oh yeah baby, gonna have Aerith Gainsborough as my new roommate...gonna be my first experience being with a woman! That didn't come out right. Hopefully Cloud didn't overhear that, I'd hate to suffer from the taste of his Buster Sword...huh, that didn't come out right either.**

As Balthier finished making his coffee, he would take his cup of cappuccino and take a sip, delighting himself with the pleasant taste and aroma of the coffee. After he was done with his sip, the sky pirate would be approached by Falco, who ran into the cafe in a hurry.

"Ah, if it isn't the funny man - Mr. Falco Lombardi himself!" gleamed Balthier as Falco skid to a halt, close to Balthier but not enough to knock the coffee out of the sky pirate's hands by accident. Balthier would probably hate Falco forever if that accident happened. "I never got the chance to tell you how superb you were at the wedding reception last week, did I? Let me just say that you have far exceeded my expectations! You could be quite the comedian, if you choose to go that route!"

"Being a comedian was never in my blood...I'll just stick to being a space pilot," replied Falco, looking behind him and noticing a skid mark he left behind. A little something for the folks to remember the avian pilot by. "I need you to do me a huge solid, Balthier my man...there's this girl I have a crush on, and her name is Katt Monroe."

"Katt Monroe...Katt Monroe...I take it she must be a cat?" Falco would nod his head, hoping Balthier wouldn't judge him. "Okay, just making sure I wasn't crazy. I won't judge you for liking felines, I promise. Go on."

"Yeah, so I have this huge crush on Katt, and I've had a crush on that chick for the longest now. Feel like now's the perfect time to step up to the plate, and finally ask out the girl of my dreams. But, I can't do it alone...so Balthier, can you help me?"

"Of course, of course...I've already helped Berkut and Rinea get adjusted to their married lives, so helping you ask the girl of your dreams out on a date should be a walk in the park for the likes of myself. Just follow me, Mr. Lombardi, and Katt Monroe will be your girl in no time!"

So Falco would follow Balthier out of the cafe, with Bowser looking up from his newspaper and watching the two leave. The koopa king had heard the entire conversation, realizing that he had witnessed a missed opportunity take place under his nose.

"Man, why didn't I come to Balthier went I had the chance..." the koopa king sighed, before returning to his newspaper. "Could've won Lara's heart already had I consulted him. He'd be a better help than Wolf, in all honesty..."

* * *

Sonic was in the lounge, eating a chili dog in peace, when he looked through the doorway and saw Balthier and Falco walk by. He would shoot a glare at Balthier, even though Falco was the one who turned his head to the right and saw the hedgehog glaring at him, thinking he was looking at him when really he was looking at Balthier. Falco walked even faster, as he and Balthier continued down the hallway.

"Yeah, keep on walking you filthy snake, just keep on walking..." Sonic sneered at Balthier as the sky pirate walked away, oblivious to the fact that Sonic was on to him. Eventually he'll find out the truth, one way or another.

"Sonic who on earth are you calling a snake?" questioned Coco, who was in the lounge playing _Guess Who?_ with her brother Crash. For a brain dead marsupial that knew nothing but gibberish, Crash was surprisingly doing well in the game. "Did somebody betray you or something?"

"I was referring to that heinous sky pirate crook, Balthier...that man is plotting with Berkut and Dark Pit to kill Alm, so Berkut can take over Valentia and..."

"Oh, bother, not this whole Alm assassination plot again..." Coco sighed, as she facepalmed. Crash, taking advantage of the opportunity, would flip all the images on Coco's side of the game board and pumped his fists, thinking that he won. And to think Crash knew how the game should be won... "For the last time, Sonic, Balthier is _not_ a bad guy, he's just an innocent sky pirate who was asked by Berkut to serve as the officiant of his wedding."

"...and he was also asked by that same individual to help him kill Alm. Remember, we all thought Jakob was a nice, innocent butler, until he eventually revealed his true colors gradually over time. Balthier would do the same and reveal his true colors, and will suffer the consequences!"

"But Jakob was pretty much a jerk to nearly everyone, whereas Balthier is a kind-hearted man that wanted to make Berkut and Rinea's wedding special. So your argument is entirely invalid, Sonic."

 **Sonic: Two weeks later and no one still believes me...but the longer it'll take for everyone to find out the ugly truth, the more likely I'll look like a genius! Man, I'm gonna be the smartest hedgehog on earth pretty soon...**

* * *

After Lara gave away her "gifts" to the residents, the tomb raider found some time away from Master Hand, and she had to make the most of that time before the party began. And what did Lara do with the precious time that she had? Show pictures of her best friend to Link, Cloud, and Sora, of course!

"The girl on the right is my best friend, Samantha Nishimura - met her at the University of London," Lara said to Link and company, showing her a picture of her and Samantha standing together smiling, in the living room. "She had studied cinematography there."

"A university is a fancy institution where people go and continue their education, in case you didn't know Sora," Cloud said to the Keyblade wielder, who nodded his head after learning this information. "You can get your degree there and get a job in the work field."

"Sounds awesome, do they have places at these universities where they created monsters, like Heartless and the like?" asked Sora, with a curious smile on his face. Link, Cloud, and Lara looked at Sora, with Lara being the most befuddled.

"...anyways, Samantha always had a passion for film-making, and whenever I traveled around the world, she would always come with me with that digital camera of hers. She's practically obsessed with that camera, I tell you...it's like her one true love."

"Is it because she's too afraid to ask a guy out? She can only find comfort in nonliving things?" Lara, deeply offended, looked up at Sora; Cloud glared intensely at Sora, shaking his head in disdain.

"Not cool man, not cool..." remarked the swordsman, appalled by Sora's comments. Sora just had a nervous grin on his face, as the awkwardness was strongly felt.

"So, uh, Lara, what is your friend Samantha up to nowadays?" Link asked the tomb raider, doing his best to make the awkwardness go away. "Is she filming stuff? Doing a documentary?"

"Samantha is in a hospital as I speak, recovering from an incident that happened a few years back," replied Lara, looking down at the floor; it was obviously a very hard topic for her to discuss. "An incident that involved demon possession and an evil syndicate. A part of why I wish to return to London is so I could avenge Samantha, and make the syndicate pay for what they've done to my best friend."

"This evil syndicate...do they have a very strict dress code, like Organization XIII?" asked Sora; Lara, who did not know who this Organization XIII was, just smiled in confusion at the question, while Link and Cloud both felt bad for Sora.

"Lara, can I have a quick word with you?" Peach poked her head through the living room entrance to ask Lara. "It's about the party we have planned for you." Lara would place her picture in her pocket as she got up and followed Peach away to who-know-where.

"I thought the party for Lara was supposed to be a 'surprise'..." Cloud said to Link and Sora, who both shrugged their shoulders.

* * *

Because Lara knew about the party (thanks to Asuka...) it was worth telling the tomb raider about when the party would begin. Peach would speak with Lara in private to announce the start time.

"The party, according to Master Hand, will begin at 5 o' clock sharp," Peach informed Lara, who wasn't so sure about the time. ""He's dead-set on five o' clock, so we can't move the start time. What do you think, Lara?"

"I'm afraid the party might have to be cancelled...my plane leaves around five today," replied Lara, as Peach was concerned. Think of how Master Hand would react if he heard that. "I'd hate for the party to be cancelled, but..."

"No, no, it's fine Lara, we'll work something out..." But that wouldn't seem like the case, as Peach had her hand pressed against her face, not knowing what to do. "...you sure you have to leave around five?"

"Take a look at my planet ticket." Lara would show Peach her plane ticket, with the time "5:05 P.M." inscribed as the time of takeoff. "Obviously I can't rush to the airport - Mario said he would drive me there, and I don't want to overwhelm him. So either we have to cancel the party, or you can just go on...without me."

Peach and the planning committee were suddenly left with a dire choice - cancel the party, or have the party without the lady of the hour, Lara, in attendance. No matter the decision, there was one gigantic hurdle Peach and company would have to overcome...

... _Master Hand._


	118. Episode 118: Goodbye Part 2

_Author's Note:_

 _Man am I glad I split this episode into two...finishing everything up last week would've been a killer. I would've quit written this story, out of spite. But thankfully it never came to that. Let's see what reviews we have in store today..._

 _"Have any of the ghosts or King Boo from Luigi's Mansion shown up yet? Since Dark Pit and Flora are broken up will Lilith from Darkstalkers be his new girlfriend? Will Rose from Tales of Zestiria be less of a jerk when she shows up? (Since she acted like a big jerk in Alisha's DLC story) and finally, will Palutena ever stop being a bad cook?"_

 _Not yet. Won't be making any comments on Dark Pit's relationship status. Rose may or may not act like a jerk. And Palutena sadly won't improve her cooking skills...being a bad cook is just in her nature. One other guest review:_

 _"hi tell me what you think this is an idea based on the serial killer of the past jack the ripper. sonic is in a time that seems a mixture of the Victorian era with the future people have clothes and residences 19th century but they use the technology 25th century and he is a tycoon but secretly helps the police smash ahroa with the most disturbing case of all hunt criminal jack the ripper"_

 _So you wanna see time travel, in this story? Uh...it sounds like a reach, at least to me. Last up is Derick Lindsey:_

 _"Since the Inklings are basically all but confirmed to be in Smash 5 is there going to be another chapter about them in the future?"_

 _Yes, there will be another chapter about them - don't think the Inklings ever really get their chance to shine in the limelight. They've had more opportunities to shine than some other characters, I will admit..._

* * *

 **Episode 118: Goodbye Part 2**

Princess Peach and her five-woman planning committee (six, if you think Greninja is a female) would encounter a roadblock.

The party - Lara Croft's going away party - in which the ladies were planning for, could very well be in danger of being cancelled. The party was slated to begin at five o' clock sharp, with Master Hand refusing to change the start time. Only problem was, Lara's flight for London was supposed to take off at around the same time, and while she appreciated Master Hand and company for wanting to throw her a party before she left Seattle, it was nigh important that the tomb raider returned to Britain as soon as possible.

Having seen Lara's planet ticket herself - seeing the time in which the plane was supposed to leave - Peach would find herself at a crossroads. Should the party go on as planned, without Lara? Or should it be cancelled? Deep down Peach knew Master Hand would easily oppose either option, as he wished to make the most of Lara's departure. He desired to have the tomb raider leave Mario and company on a high note, giving her a lasting memory she would remember forever.

"You know, we could always have a doppelganger take your place, so the party can go on as scheduled..." suggested Peach with a nervous smile, still speaking with Lara. Lara looked like she instantly regretted showing Peach her ticket. "We'll just find some lady in this city, have her dress up as you, and pay her when..."

"I'm sorry, Princess Peach, but I don't think that would work - Master Hand will easily see through the disguise," Lara offered her two cents on Peach's plan, and that made Peach even more nervous. "Can't you just go to Master Hand and tell him that I won't make it to the party?" Peach wished to avoid Master Hand at all costs; speaking with him was the last option on her list.

"He won't take it too well, which is why I'm trying to avoid him at whatever cost. He'll likely crying to sleep knowing that you couldn't attend a party he prepared so well for. Or at least I prepared so well for...anyways, I'd hate to break Master Hand's precious little heart."

"I think he'll handle it well, just don't have to be discreet about it. It'll only depend on how you deliver the information to him, that's all."

"And you're extremely sure about it?" Peach asked Lara, who nodded her head with a smile, though Peach still had her doubts. "Okay then...but just so you know, I won't be speaking with Master Hand alone..."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **Cilan: Of course, whenever there's a party at the Smash Mansion, the most obvious choice is to ask me, yours truly, to prepare the party food! Since Lara will be the lady of the hour, I've designed a British cuisine consisting of many British treats that I'm sure the residents will love and adore. *walks over to a table lined up with food, ready to explain each food item* You have fish and chips, which is just battered fish and hot potato chips; bangers and mash, consisting of sausage and mashed potatoes; and my personal favorite, steak and kidney pie, which might sound disgusting to some, but is actually a pastry of joy filled with beef, kidney, onion, and brown gravy! *grimaces* Hmm, know that I think of it, it does sound disgusting, based off that description...man, I have some very lousy personal favorites, don't I?**

Cilan was in the ballroom with Mario, who was taste-tasting the Pokemon connoisseur's party food. Sure none of the party food looked like actual party food at first glance, but Cilan just wanted to incorporate a British theme to the food selection. It was only fitting.

"The recipe called for lamb kidney but I couldn't find that anywhere, so I settled with some bear kidneys instead," Cilan explained to Mario, as the mustached plumber tried out Cilan's steak and kidney pie. Mario couldn't help but grimace the more he chewed. "So what do you think? Is it the greatest pie your taste buds have ever tasted? Be honest...my integrity as a chef depends on your honesty!"

"This steak-a and kidney pie...is simply the greatest food-a creation to have ever entered my mouth!" proclaimed Mario, after mustering the courage to swallow the pie without throwing up. He would be honest with Cilan, but not at the risk of damaging the connoisseur's confidence levels. "I'm extremely positive that-a everyone will love-a that pie as much as I did. Say, where's the punch-a bowl?"

"Right over there, in the far corner of the ballroom." Cilan would point over to the punch bowl, as Mario hurried over there in a jiffy. Once Mario reached the punch bowl, and Cilan had his back turned, the plumber would vomit into the punch bowl, letting out as much as he could. Samus was standing near the punch bowl, witnessing what Mario was doing.

"I made that punch by myself, as ordered by Peach, but yeah, just go ahead and completely bastardize my hard work, like I care," said the bounty hunter, as Mario continued to vomit with no end in sight. "One of the most tedious things I was forced to do, and thanks to you, it has all gone to waste..."

"You made-a this bowl of punch, by your-a self?" Mario would ask Samus, after he was done unloading unto the punch bowl; Samus, slightly seething at Mario, nodded her head. "Well look-a at you, moving on up-a in the world! Doing things after than-a upgrading your Power Suit and-a weapons and whatnot! Dare I say it, you could have-a all the potential to be as great as-a Cilan, if not greater!"

"Okay Mario, I just made a punch of bowl...it's not that hard. Just take a bunch of Kool-Aid packets, add some water and sugar, and boom, you're done. Literally anyone in the world can do it. And, since you've single-handedly ruined the punch...you're gonna help me make another bowl, whether you like it or not!"

"Do I get-a breaks while making this punch?" This question garnered an intense glare from Samus, which made Mario chuckle in fear. "Or maybe not, hehe..."

* * *

After she was done speaking with Peach, Lara would return to the living room, where Link, Cloud, and Sora were curious as to what the tomb raider discussed with the princess. Sora also had more questions about college and universities, but didn't want to ask them at the fear of being judged by Link and Cloud.

"So I showed my plane ticket to Princess Peach, which had the time of departure written on it..." said Lara, looking down at her hands. "...and now, I've left her with a dire decision. Either cancel the party altogether, or start the party without me. While that was hard enough for Peach, coming to terms with a decision and telling said decision to Master Hand might be even harder, at least for her..."

 **Sora: I'm sure we could do the party without Lara - it'll be a time in which we celebrate Lara's legacy at the mansion...although she was living over at Mario's place much of the time. Only came over to the mansion when it was necessary.  
Cloud: My thing is, why have a party for a chick who never even done anything during her stay? All she ever did was stay with Mario and Peach until she could find a way back home. Not like she saved the city of Seattle from an apocalypse or something.  
Sora: Yeah, Lara could never mount up to anything like that...but I certainly can! Just like that one time when I stopped Organization XIII from taking over the world!  
Cloud: You didn't stop the Organization, it was more of Dr. Wily's work than anything. You were just there at the right place, and at the right time. Just a lousy chess piece that served a somewhat meaningful purpose...**

"What time are you supposed to leave anyways?" asked Cloud. The swordsman didn't care that much for the party; as he stated in his testimony, he thought the party was unnecessary for a gal who all she ever did was stay with Mario and Peach. To Cloud, the party was just a tactic from Master Hand show how much of a "good guy" he was, or at least he wanted others to think of him.

"Plane leaves at 5:05 - directly five minutes after the party's supposed to begin," answered Lara, taking her plane ticket out of her pocket and glancing at it. "Mario agreed to drive me to the airport, so I can catch my flight in time. I just hope that he has a full tank..."

"How about you leave for your flight, and we'll inform Master Hand that you have been kidnapped?" suggested Link, leading Lara and Cloud to give the Hylian weird looks. "We'll just say that the syndicate who screwed over your best friend kidnapped you, and there was nothing we could do to stop them in time."

"Yeah, and then Master Hand's gonna have Mario go around the world to search for Lara's whereabouts, while he puts the blame squarely on us for not stopping the syndicate," stated Cloud, providing a blemish into Link's plan. "Nice thinking you got there, Link..."

"Well it's not like you could can up with anything better..." murmured Link as he folded his arms, looking the other way.

* * *

The planning committee was still planning things for the party in the dining room, with their unofficial leader Peach not having returned yet. The lack of Peach didn't stop the ladies (...and Greninja) from making suggestions, however.

"We can do pretty much whatever we want with the cake selection, as Lara has literally no preference whatsoever," stated Zelda, who was in charge of the suggestion list. How she garnered the honors of writing the list, nobody will ever know. "What kind of cake do you ladies want to be served at the party?"

"Let's go with something titillating - something extremely pleasing and easy on the eyes!" suggested Yuffie, with a cheeky smile. As you would believe, none of the ladies were having it with Yuffie's suggestions. "I'm pretty sure erotic food is right up Cilan's alley!...He's going to make the cake, right?"

"See, Zelda, this is why we shouldn't have invited your ninja friends to the meeting, they keep making questionable suggestions," frowned Pasadena, although Yuffie saw nothing wrong with her zany ideas. "Even though it's Yuffie, who's doing most of the suggesting. Please tell me you have a better suggestion, Asuka..."

"I dunno, an erotic cake sounds different, compared to the other cakes we've eaten in the past," mused Rosalina, as he stroked her chin in thought. "I would like to hear more about these erotic cakes, maybe even see what it looks like so we could gauge our options." Both Zelda and Palutena felt more uncomfortable by the second.

"My friends from Hanzo Academy are awesome chefs, they could get together and bake a cake for the party," said Asuka; none of the ladies were down with that. Rosalina even preferred to go with the erotic cake route, over having Asuka's friends bake things. "I mean, what could possibly go wrong?"

 **Palutena: The last person I would want to bake a cake is a girl who claims to be fifteen or sixteen years old, and have a larger bust than most grown women. That right there is a red flag for me. I've seen those girls, when Fox and Falco were holding auditions for Mamori's web show. Still couldn't believe it when Master Hand said that Mamori's show needed "fanservice"...**

 **Asuka: My friends baked a cake before...a sushi cake, to be exact, hehe. Wasn't an actual cake, with icing and baking powder and everything else...recipe only called for chives, sushi rice, nori, and crabmeat. So not an actual cake, per se, but hey, it counts as experience, amirite?**

"No offense Asuka, but I think Master Hand wants a regular cake at the party, and not a cake entirely made out of sushi," said Palutena, looking at the dining room entrance wondering where the heck Peach was. Only she could bring some stability and sense back to the meeting. Zelda could do the same; she was just slacking off, at the moment.

"They can make an actual cake, I really mean it!" stressed Asuka, while at the same time knowing that was not true. "You just have to give them a chance, that's all. I know some of you are against taking chances for the party, but what other option do we have?"

"Maybe the option of baking an erotic cake, perhaps?" replied Yuffie, acting like she was suddenly left out of the conversation. "Luckily I know a cake shop that specializes in such cakes. It's a bunch of Mexican chicks who run the shop. And trust me, they can do a lot more than just baking erotic cakes. These women really know their craft, and they hone their craft daily so they can stay at the top of their game. These women are the kind of ladies who are strong and independent, who don't need some man to boss them around and tell them what to do - they're like a breath of fresh air, and we all need a breath of fresh air every now and then in our lives."

"Alright now Yuffie, let's settle down, don't need you to turn this into a feminist issue," Zelda soothed her friend, before the ninja girl's rant went off the rails. Zelda couldn't afford to have the meeting go down the political route. Anything that took a political route would always be destined for disaster.

"I say we have an erotic cake served at the party, as long as it isn't anything inappropriate," Rosalina offered her take, on board with Yuffie's idea much to the chagrin of the other ladies. "We have to remember that there will be little ones at the party. The cake would have to be PG, that's all."

"A PG-rated erotic cake still doesn't sound safe to me. We should take some suggestions from some of the others, see if their input carries some value."

This soon led to some all-out bickering between Rosalina, Zelda, and the other ladies, as they argued over what cake should be served at Lara's party. Greninja, the chill ninja Pokemon, just chilled in his seat, waiting for the arguing to come to an end. The bickering was loud enough to garner Samus' attention, as the bounty hunter angrily entered the dining room to give the planning committee a piece of her mind.

"Must you girls be so freaking loud and argumentative about selecting a stupid cake?!" Samus snapped on Zelda and company, putting their needless bickering to an end in a snap. "I mean, selecting a cake isn't that hard, and it doesn't even require that much thought - just pick the kind of cake you want, and stick to it. Here's a great suggestion - why not make some cupcakes? They're small, easy to make, and everyone gets their fair share. Everyone wins!"

"That's...that's not a bad suggestion at all," said Rosalina, completely down with the idea. So were the other ladies. "I think the six of us can work together and bake some cupcakes. Or we can save some trouble and buy them from a grocery store."

"I don't mind making cupcakes, just as long as I don't have to clean up any uneaten cupcake bottoms," asserted Palutena, the type of person who resented against anyone who only ate cupcakes just to lick the icing. A fun yet wasteful way to consume a cupcake, despite little to no consuming being done. "Still have nightmares from that last birthday party we had..." Just thinking about that experience gave Palutena shivers.

* * *

Once she put an end to the arguing in the dining room, Samus would return to the kitchen to check on Mario's progress. Thanks to Mario, the bounty hunter had to make another bowl of punch, and she put Mario up to the task of assisting her in making the punch.

But when Samus returned to the kitchen...she saw that her mustached assistant was nowhere to be found!

"Mario, where on earth did you run off to?" Samus called out, feeling both angered and panicky at the same time. It was definitely the former. "Have I not told you that you're forbidden to go on...breaks?" Samus would stare in confusion when she saw a large spoon stir a bowl of punch, with said spoon "wearing" a Mario hat. "Oh, how cute...Mario used Cappy to capture that spoon, so his arm wouldn't grow tired from stirring. What a showoff..."

* * *

You may have forgotten about it already, but if it weren't for Captain Falcon, then Lara would've never been in Seattle for a prolonged period of time. It was thanks to Captain Falcon that Lara missed her flight back to London, all because Falcon was roped into a street race with demon hunter Dante that ended with Falcon getting arrested, and Dante getting away. And so, over twenty episodes later, it was time for Captain Falcon to say goodbye to...

"Captain Falcon, where are you going?" Nowi called out to her boyfriend, as she caught her boyfriend trying to sneak out of the front door of the mansion from the staircase. "It's almost time for our special cuddling session! I've even asked Wario if we could use his massaging chair to cuddle on! It'll be worth it..."

"Master Hand wants me to get some party supplies for the party later today," replied Captain Falcon, holding a sticky note with his index finger. "Apparently there was little to no planning done for the party, so I have to make up for some lost time."

"Okay then...you'll be back in time for the party so you can say your goodbyes to Lara, right?" Captain Falcon made a confused face upon hearing Lara's name, and that's when it hit the racer.

"Oh yeah, Lara Croft, the hot British chick that I inadvertently kept in Seattle!" Nowi frowned at Captain Falcon when he called Lara a hot British chick. "...you weren't supposed to hear that part about Lara being hot, Nowi...I was just lying to your face. Should've known better than to do that with you. But I'll be back in a jiffy, barring any traffic jams or large-scale fights at the party store."

 **Captain Falcon: Crazy to think that if I hadn't got back with Nowi, I would have had Lara freaking Croft as my girlfriend...but I still loved Nowi regardless. She was always lingering in the back of my head. Though I still don't understand why I couldn't work any magic with ladies in the past. Either I have terrible luck with women, or women just have terrible luck with me. Maybe they just can't handle me!**

"Drive safely!" Nowi said to Captain Falcon, who gave a comforting thumbs up as he left the mansion.

* * *

Dark Pit found himself in a rock and a hard place. Not only was the doppelganger still brooding over his breakup with Flora, he also had to deal with a very suspicious Sonic, with the hedgehog certain that Dark Pit was working with Berkut and Balthier to assassinate Alm and take over Valentia's throne. Sonic claimed that Flora broke up with Dark Pit because she knew beforehand about the doppelganger's evil intentions, but Dark Pit knew that Sonic was overly paranoid.

Standing near a wall with his brooding self, Dark Pit had his arms folded as he gave off an aura of being cool and collected, while doing his best to recover from his romantic woes. The doppelganger, who had his eyes closed, heard some footsteps as he opened the corner of his eye; those footsteps came from Flora, as the maid entered the nearby beauty salon. Dark Pit couldn't just let his ex walk around like nothing was wrong - he knew that he and Flora had to get back together again. So the doppelganger wished to take matters into his own hands...

Waiting for the perfect moment, Dark Pit entered the beauty salon, like a hungry lion desiring to devour its prey. His presence was demanding enough to grab the attention of Kohaku and Jigglypuff, who were both minding their own business.

"Um, Dark Pit...did you come here looking for something?" Kohaku asked the doppelganger, taking note of how determined he looked. Dark Pit was a man on a mission - a mission to reclaim his former love.

"Flora, where is she?" questioned Dark Pit, aggressively turning his head to Kohaku and Jigglypuff. The determination on his face was intense, almost scary even. "I demand to know where she is!"

"She's getting her face done at the cosmetics station. That area of the beauty salon is mostly off-limits for men." Dark Pit did not care, as he marched over to the cosmetics station. There he would find Flora, seated in a chair next to Mamori, with R.O.B. prepared to apply some cosmetics to the two ladies. R.O.B. had no gender, so being in the cosmetics station was fair game for him...erm, it.

"Dark Pit?" Flora looked up and saw her ex-boyfriend head towards her and Mamori, still wearing determination on his face. R.O.B. was about to do his... _its_ cosmetic duties until Dark Pit showed up.

"Flora, we seriously need to talk!" said Dark Pit, stressing the importance of having a conversation with the maid. "Your little cosmetics thing will just have to wait!"

"Can we please do this later, at a more convenient time?" pleaded Flora, starting to feel a bit embarrassed. At least Mamori never suffered a breakup so she wouldn't know the pains of reconciling with your ex. "Besides, you can't even be in this part of the beauty salon!"

"I don't care if I'm allowed here or not, I will not stop until we get back together again. That is my MO, my ongoing quest. You and I, we were perfect for each other, and you decided to throw it all away!"

Just then, Snake would walk by, and the former spy was looking awfully...awfully pretty today. Had face powder applied to his face, eye shadow on his eyelids, and was wearing eyeliner like he was emo Pete Wentz. Dark Pit took a glance at Snake, nearly doing a double take. Flora, Mamori, and R.O.B. tried to pay little to no mind whatsoever, with R.O.B. unable to resist the urge to look.

"You've got some serious problems, you desperate fool..." Snake shook his head at an unnerved Dark Pit as he walked away. Go on with your bad self, Snake.

 **Snake: Thought that some facial cosmetics could help me pick up some hot ladies, so I've personally asked Tsubasa to "sexify" my face and make me look more attractive and good-looking. No lady can resist a man with eyeliner, or so I've been told by Wolf. It'll be enough to increase my chances of picking up a girl, I'm sure. As for Meryl, she'll just have to wait...for now.**

"You need to leave right now, Dark Pit, now is not the place or the time," Flora told her ex-boyfriend, who remained put as his determination refused to wear off. "I have things to do, and I'm sure you have things to do as well."

"Someday, one day, our children are gonna hear the story the story of how their father managed to win you back in a beauty salon," vowed Dark Pit; that would be a story worth telling from generation to generation. It did make Mamori cringe, though.

"How would that work, a human and an angel having kids together?" the idol singer asked, unsure if Dark Pit even wanted kids to begin with. Perhaps he was guilt-tripping Flora into resuming her relationship with the doppelganger. "I see you and Lady Palutena have some extremely different philosophies when it comes to human biology..."

"Don't follow up Dark Pit, you'll only make him angrier," Flora advised Mamori, before returning her attention to Dark Pit. "Let's just have our little conversation at a later time today. My cosmetics isn't going to apply itself, you know..."

"Fine then, have it your way, we'll talk later." Dark Pit, admitting defeat, would walk away and leave Flora alone...before stopping and turning around, having something to get off his chest. "I've placed a letter on your pillow, it details everything you need to know and then some. Extremely important that you read it, in its entirety..."

"I will read your letter, Dark Pit, I promise. Just leave me alone for now, okay?" Dark Pit would walk away, leaving the beauty salon, with Flora exhaling a sigh once her ex had left.

"DON'T KNOW WHO'S MORE DESPERATE...DARK PIT...OR SNAKE..." remarked R.O.B., the robot finally able to apply some cosmetics.

* * *

 **Cilan: So excited that Mario enjoyed my steak and kidney pie! Was afraid that he wouldn't like it. Mario loved my pie so much, that he left the ballroom after getting his cup of punch so he could tell the others about how tasty it is! Can't go around spreading great news about something if you don't have a cup of fruit punch in your hand. But, just to make sure my pie really is good, I've asked a fellow Pokemon trainer to do some taste-testing...**

That fellow Pokemon trainer would be none other than Red, in the ballroom with Cilan and holding a sample of the steak and kidney pie in his hand. He would look at the pie wearily, nervous as ever.

"Mario absolutely loved the pie, which means that everyone else will love it just as much!" gleamed Cilan, apparently using Mario as a gauge for how the others would critique his culinary creation. "As I've told Mario, the recipe called for lamb kidney, but since we didn't have that ingredient, I used bear kidney as a substitute."

"And where exactly did you get this bear kidney from?" questioned Red, even more nervous than before. "You didn't have someone kill an Ursaring and steal their kidneys, did you?!"

"No, no, not by any means! Who do you think I am?! I just bought some bear kidneys online, from an online flea market. Fifty cents per kidney was too much of a bargain to pass up. So, are you gonna try out my pie, or not?"

"Yeah I'll give it a try, what could go wrong..." Red chuckled nervously, holding his pie sample up to his mouth. Cilan looked on with a smile of optimism, as Red reluctantly devoured the pie in one gulp. The Pokemon trainer chewed and swallowed, mustering all the courage and willpower in his body to do so. "Mm, mm, mm, so tasty! Yum yum!" Red smiled and rubbed his stomach, making it seem like the pie was an edible delight when he thought otherwise.

"Ha ha ha, yet another person enjoys my wonderful steak and kidney pie! At first, I had my doubts about the pie, but now my confidence has reached levels of..." Cilan was too busy celebrating over his pie, that he did not know Red had deserted the ballroom. The connoisseur noticed this as he stopped posturing. "Ah, so Red went off to tell the others about how excellent by pie is! What a good man he is, and Mario too! The world needs more men like those two! Wonder if Red brought with him a cup of fruit punch, to power his thirst of spreading good news..."

Red did not leave the ballroom to tell others about Cilan's steak and kidney pie...in fact, he was outside the ballroom entrance, getting the taste of the pie out of his mouth. Mewtwo would pass and see the Pokemon Trainer down on one knee, coughing and gagging.

"Let me guess...Cilan forced you to try out his awful steak and kidney pie," assumed Mewtwo, with Red acting like he was saved from drowning what with the way he was gagging. Was Cilan's pie that bad?!

"How...did you know...that I tasted the pie?" Red asked Mewtwo, as he continued to cough and gag. Poor dude needed something sweet, to ease his taste buds.

"I'm a psychic, obviously...I can look into your mind and see you thinking that the pie you just tasted was horrible. If you want me to, I can use a wicked Confusion on Cilan that will wrack his brain, and make him numb to any form of criticism. That way, everyone can rightfully roast Cilan's pie, and he won't have his confidence impacted because he'll be laughing like a deranged idiot."

"No thanks, I'll just have to burst Cilan's bubble about his pie...need something to drink first..."

* * *

To Donkey Kong, and the entire Kong clan, bananas was nothing but serious business. The Kongs greatly valued this yellow fruit, but nobody valued bananas more than Donkey Kong. The gorilla would constantly count the bananas he had, making sure to count every morning, every afternoon, and every night. Sometimes, he would even stay up past midnight to count bananas, provided he was awake enough. DK would put bananas over anything...except for his family.

 **Donkey Kong: The banana is the most important fruit to have ever existed. Think about it. When a devastating apocalypse strikes the earth and tears human civilization apart, what will humans depend on for nutrition and survival? Bananas, of course - the very bananas that Diddy Kong and I have been storing up constantly. Human survival upon bananas will be living proof that the monkey is the smartest animal in the animal kingdom. There's a reason why most scientists claim that humans evolved from monkeys...not that I believe in that kind of stuff.**

"Fourteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety eight...fourteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine...fifteen thousand!" counted Donkey Kong, in the storage room, as he counted his bananas. "Heh heh heh, this banana collection is getting bigger and bigger by the day! The collection of the greatest food for mankind will soon be completed..." As Donkey Kong placed the bananas back where they belonged, a certain tomb raider entered the storage room.

"Here is your sack back - Master Hand told me to return it," Lara said to Donkey Kong, who turned around and accepted the sack from the tomb raider. "Now you can put your bananas back in the sack again..."

"Oh ho ho ho, I don't store my bananas in sacks anymore...did that once, and I never did it again. My bananas kept disappearing, and apparently nobody knew why. So! Are you well rested for the...uh..." Donkey Kong suddenly remembered that the go away party for Lara was supposed to be a surprise party; he overheard that information from Peach. "...what I meant to say was, are you ready to return to London?"

"Well I've been ready for weeks now - I have all my belongings backed up in my suitcase, and I haven't even opened up my suitcase ever since. I'm just itching to return to London, and if I have to encounter yet another setback..."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. You're going on a plane ride to London, you'll be just fine! Unless your plane crashes, that is..." This overwhelmed Lara with fear, with the possibility of her plane crashing into the ocean. She had already been through one plane airline incident, no need for another. "...sorry, should've kept that to myself. But that wasn't anything worth keeping, or saying at all. Please forgive me!"

* * *

While Donkey Kong was done counting his bananas, his nephew Diddy Kong was eating a banana himself, as he strolled through the hallway. He was in the same hallway as Mario and Samus, with the former holding a new bowl of punch in his hands. If he were to spill the punch, Samus would have his head for sure...

"Mario, I never got the chance to tell you this up front..." Samus said to the plumber, looking away like she was ready to reveal some earth-shattering secret. "...but if you waste that bowl of punch on the floor, either on purpose or by accident, then I'm going to kill you. So please don't make Princess Peach a widow, okay? That should be enough motivation for you, right?"

"I won't need-a any motivation at all," replied Mario, as Diddy Kong finished his banana and tossed his banana peel unto the floor. The spidermonkey had a strong habit of doing that. Mario did not see the banana as he walked, and so he slipped and fell unto the floor, throwing the bowl of punch up in the air as it came falling back down, spilling all over poor Mario.

"Drat, did I leave yet another banana peel on the floor?" frowned Diddy Kong, seeing Mario on the floor with the bowl on his head and his overalls soaking wet. "I didn't mean to leave that banana peel there Mario, please forgive me. I'll go throw it away..." Diddy Kong picked up the banana peel and was going to throw it away...

...before bumping into a now deeply seething Samus.

* * *

Falco was ready to pursue his quest of love - to ask out the girl of his dreams, Katt Monroe - with the helpful assistance of Balthier. The sky pirate asked Falco if he could ride his Landmaster, and the avian pilot was more than quick to oblige.

"Okay, Falco, what is your approach, what are you going to say when you're face-to-face with Katt Monroe?" asked Balthier, as Falco got his Landmaster booted up. It was filled to the brim with fuel, and was ready to go. "How are you going to greet her?"

"Well, uh, first, I would obviously say hello and ask her how her day is going," replied Falco. Heaven help the avian pilot if he were to somehow screw that part up. "Ask her about her space escapades even, if she wants to answer."

"Yes, yes, I'm liking the approach so far, nice strategy...and, after you greet Katt, what will you say next?" That was when Falco got severely stumped.

"I would, um...er...ask what the weather is like today?" Disgusted by Falco's response, Balthier facepalmed and shook his head. Clearly Falco had a long way to go before he could woo Katt.

"You know what, we'll work on the approach while we're riding in the Landmaster. That would be a great time to do some necessary rehearsing, so you'll feel comfortable on the spot."

 **Balthier: Have I ever been in love? *grins* Why on earth would you think that a charming, dashing man like myself would be without a woman? Ashe, a princess - or a former princess - is the love of my life. I can tell that she loves me - she can't resist my cunning nature, and my rule-breaking prowess. Does that mean that we're a rumored couple, not an official item? Trust me, there are many interpretations one make when it comes to romance. I myself am guilty of doing that, from time to time.**

Watching Falco and Balthier from afar was Sonic, and the hedgehog wasn't alone - he was joined by his friend Crash, as the two friends were spying.

"You see that, Crash my man, you see that crook Balthier trying to rope Falco into his Alm assassination plot?" Sonic pointed at Balthier, as Crash nodded his head. He was fully understanding why Sonic was so suspicious about Balthier...or so he believed he was. "For all we know, Balthier could've asked Falco to take him to some weapons place in town, so he could buy weapons necessary to kill Alm! Sickening, I tell you, absolutely sickening...quick, let's make our move, they're heading inside!"

Falco would power on his Landmaster, and he and Balthier went through the opened door. Sonic grabbed Crash's hand and speed inside the Landmaster, doing so without being seen, as the Landmaster closed the door. The Landmaster would lift up into the air, as Coco and Aku just exited the mansion.

"Now where did Sonic take Crash to?" wondered Coco, once she arrived outside. She and Aku looked around, before they looked up and saw the Landmaster up in the sky, before taking off.

"Oh my goodness, Sonic and Crash must be up there in the Landmaster!" panicked Aku, after the Landmaster had left the premises of the mansion. "You said that Sonic was unto Balthier, and Balthier was seen with Falco, right? He must've taken Crash to join him in following Balthier, and hitched a ride on the Landmaster so they could..."

"That's just ridiculous, why would Sonic even waste his time following Balthier around in the first place? Like I've told him before, Balthier is a great guy who has never done anything wrong. It's bad enough that he practically took Crash from me so he could help him 'expose' Balthier...how do we even reach the Landmaster?"

Coco and Aku suddenly heard some drilling from nearby, and so they went to the source of the sound and found Wolf, working tirelessly on his Landmaster. He was using a variety of tools and such to make his Landmaster better than Fox's and Falco's.

"My Landmaster's gonna look so awesome, it'll make Fox and Falco cry their stupid eyes out, hehe..." grinned Wolf as he worked hard on his ride, before looking over and seeing Coco and Aku. "What do you blokes possibly want? Want me to use my matchmaking skills to find a girlfriend for Crash? He's dead meat, as far as I know..."

"Actually, Crash doesn't need a girlfriend...he had one already, in Tawna Bandicoot," replied Coco, as Wolf did a double take. Was left wondering what Tawna even saw in Crash, that lovable oaf. "Then Tawna broke up with Crash so she could be with someone else. Long story. But we're not here for any matchmaking. We were both wondering if we could hitch a ride on your Landmaster, so we can track down Falco who's riding in his Landmaster with Sonic and Crash on board."

"Unfortunately I can't do rides at the moment, too busy making my Landmaster the sweetest aircraft in the universe." Wolf then looked around, before pulling out a radar out of his pocket, tossing it to Coco. "But I can let you use that radar, so you can track Falco's whereabouts. Used that bad boy to take out Fox and Falco during our space wars. Just key in Falco's name, and he'll pop up on the radar, in a snap."

"Let's see..." Coco would key in Falco's name in the radar device, and a blinking dot would appear on the radar map. "Haha, there he is, moving at a steady pace! Thanks a bunch, Wolf! Though with your Landmaster out of operation, how will we reach Falco?"

"You know I'm not the only person at the mansion who owns a Landmaster, right?" Wolf would resume working on his Landmaster, as Coco knew the guy the ask.

 **Wolf: Felt pretty honored when Coco asked if I could take her and Aku on a ride through town. Nobody has ever asked me that before, not even my Star Wolf buddies. Screw those guys anyways, they weren't there to support me when I hosted my tea party. Wonder why they didn't come...**

* * *

With Diddy Kong tied to a refrigerator door with his mouth duct taped, Samus and Mario were able to finish the third bowl of punch without interruption. When it came to walking the bowl of punch to the ballroom, Samus did not wish to take any chances...

"I'll carry the bowl to the ballroom myself, while you can stay put and keep Diddy company - he'll need all the company he can get," Samus told Mario, as the bounty hunter took the bowl of punch with her and left the kitchen. Mario, feeling like he would be bored beyond relief, would depart from the kitchen when the coast was clear...only to run into Flora.

"May I...speak with you for a minute or two?" Flora asked Mario, the maid nervously twiddling her fingers. Mario knew that whatever Flora wished to discuss, it had much to do with her and Dark Pit.

* * *

Falco's Landmaster was parked at a park, with townsfolk having picnics and playing fetch with their dog and all that good stuff. Falco and Balthier were seated at a bench, chilling like the two chill dudes they were.

"Alright, so I sent that text to Katt asking her to meet me at this park, just like you said," Falco said to Balthier, now checking his phone. "Katt responded, saying that she'll be there soon. Given how Katt is, I don't know if she's telling the truth, or if she's just lying to get my attention..."

"You have Katt's number on your phone already...already making progress before any progress was even started," remarked Balthier, giving Falco a nudge on the shoulder. "Are you sure that you don't need my help, Mr. Lombardi?"

"In all honesty, I've never been in a relationship before, let alone on a date...it's like a brand new experience for me. It's like being an eleven-year old kid on the first day of middle school - you just don't know what to do, or what to expect. You need a guidance consular to show you the ropes so you won't look like a fool. And you, Balthier, are my guidance consular."

"That...sounded a bit too personal, but I fully understand what you're trying to say. As long as you have me at your side, Mr. Lombardi, wooing Katt Monroe will be a breeze, almost effortless even!"

A far distance from Falco and Balthier, a Landmaster would slowly land at the park, carefully descending, as nearby folk moved out of the way. Once the Landmaster landed, the door would open, and Fox and Coco would hop out of the aircraft with Aku just floating out on his own. Fox was looking pretty annoyed...

"Have I told you about how exquisite those cup holders look, Fox?" Aku said to the pilot, who looked prepared to shoot Aku to a million pieces with his Blaster. "Truly one of a kind! You have some great taste, my friend!"

"They're just regular cup holders, the ones you would find in any vehicle..." replied Fox, wondering how Crash and Coco could put up with Aku on a constant basis. "You telling me that you've never seen a cup holder in your life before? Something tells me that you guys must've been pretty sheltered over at N. Sanity Island..."

"I suppose you're right, I shouldn't be fawning over your cup holders...instead I should be giving praise to your dashboard! So beautiful with all its many colorful buttons! I could push them all if I had hands to do it!" This left Fox even more annoyed than ever.

 **Fox: I think the garbage can outside the mansion is a perfect place for Aku to spend the rest of his life, if you ask me...**

Fox, Coco, and Aku wouldn't get that far when they saw Falco and Balthier seated at the bench, expecting Katt to arrive. They weren't here for either the pilot or the sky pirate - they were supposed to search for Crash and Sonic's whereabouts. So they all scoured the park for the two buddies, as the hedgehog and bandicoot in question were hiding behind a tree.

"Crap, your sister and Aku just arrived at the park, looking for us..." frowned Sonic, as he saw Fox and company searching for his and Crash's whereabouts. "Hopefully this tree will keep us hidden until we find out what Falco and Balthier are up to." Sonic would turn his attention to Falco and Balthier, seated far from where he and Crash were. "So my theory of Falco taking Balthier to a weapons place in Seattle was wrong...those two must be recruiting someone to join their assassination plot. It makes sense now. But whoever this new recruit is, we'll just have to wait and see..."

* * *

Mario was having a conversation with Flora in the mansion foyer, where Flora was letting some things off her chest about her relationship with Dark Pit. Mario cautiously listened to every word the maid was saying, and was willing to give some guidance if necessary.

"I know that Dark Pit has become desperate to get back together with me again, and he's doing everything he can to resume our relationship..." Flora spoke with Mario, the only person other than Felicia she could trust to provide this information. "...maybe we weren't meant for each other. Maybe I was destined to be the lover of someone else..."

"Some-a one like Ness?" guessed Mario, as Flora made a funny face. Ness was in his teenage years, so Mario's guess couldn't possibly be that far off. "What, Ness is-a single...or so I think. He could be your one-a true love!"

"I was never attracted to Ness...never have, never will. If only I had my mother here to tell me what to do...but, I never knew my mother. My father was the only parent Felicia and I had to..."

"Flora, you don't need-a your mother OR your father to make-a the decisions for you. You can't come-a to a rash decision and expect-a rainbows and butterflies-a in the end. Wanna know why? Because you're pretty. And thoughtful. And-a intelligent." All those things Mario said maid Flora, the maid of low self-esteem, smile. "Perhaps Dark Pit is the right-a guy for you, or there might be some-a one more deserving out there. And you won't even need-a your mother or father for guidance. Why? Because you have-a me. And _us._ Well, save-a for a few people, of course."

"You're right, Mario. I can always rely on you and the others for any needs or wants that I have. The support system I need is at this very mansion...thank you for the kind words, Mario." Flora would leave the foyer with a smile on her face, and Mario would smile in return.

* * *

With the party fastly approaching, and the takeoff for Lara's plane fastly approaching as well, Lara was at Mario's place, double checking her suitcase to ensure she had all her belongings packed. Just as the tomb raider was done, a knock was at the front door. She would answer the front door, and look down to see Kirby.

"Congratulations, Lara Croft, you have been chosen..." said Kirby, all dramatic, as he handed Lara an envelope. Lara would accept the envelope from the pink puffball, looking at it with much curiosity.

"What is this for, and who is this from?" Lara would ask Kirby, glancing at the envelope one more time. Already she was having increasing doubts. "I don't even see anyone's name written on this..."

"Just open up that envelope and follow the instructions very carefully. The way, it shall find you..." Kirby would take two steps away from Lara, as Lara closed the front door. What was this "way" Kirby spoke of?

 **Pit: Oh yeah baby, it's gonna be fun, it's about to be absolutely lit...obviously staying at Mario's place has restricted Lara from all the fun things going over at the mansion, so to make up for everything Lara missed out on. Master Hand once said he wanted Lara to leave Seattle on a high note...the high note Kirby and I have prepared will be so high, it'll break every window in the city...and destroy many eardrums here and there. I've decided to wear some ear muffs, just to be safe.**

Wanting to see what this was all about, Lara opened the envelope and took what was inside, a letter. The handwriting on the letter was so bad, it would make a first-grader or even a kindergartner blush.

"'Dear Lara...to whom it may concern...head outside,'" Lara read the letter, having to squint her eyes so she could make out the poorly written words. "'Love, sincerely, and duly noted, Pit.' Yeah, this definitely looks like something Pit would write..."

Following the directions on Pit's letter, Lara would exit Mario's home, looking around as she closed the door behind her. She would walk around Mario's home, but nothing happened. She then headed next door to Luigi's house and looked around, and yet still nothing happened. The tomb raider then headed over to the mansion...

"MUNITY!" shouted Pit, as he popped out of a tree, along with the Inklings, Villager, Toon Link, and Young Link. Lara looked up and saw Pit and company, all armed with water balloons. "Now everyone, fire at will!" On command, the youngsters would all hurl their water balloons at Lara, who shielded their attacks as she had her arms held up to her face.

"Stop it, stop it, I beg of you stop it!" pleaded Lara, as Pit and company continued to pelt the tomb raider with water balloons. It was almost like every one of them had an unlimited supply of water balloons.

"Hold your fire everyone!" ordered Pit, as the angel's squad stopped throwing water balloons. Pit took a closer look at Lara...and saw that she was giggling. A pretty rare sight for the angel. Pit would climb down the tree and confront Lara, who was still giggling. "Ain't it fun being wet? Being pelted by water balloons nonstop?"

"I suppose you can say that again..." smiled Lara, as she fixed her hair with a smile on her face. "Did you plan all of that, Pit? Honestly I had no idea what to expect. You really caught me by surprise, you really did..."

"Well this is the most I've ever seen you smile, Lara...which means that my mission was a success!" Pit looked around, and saw Kirby, conspicuously hidden among the bushes near Mario's home. "Hey Kirby, did you get all of that on camera?"

 **Lara: Not sure why, but I feel like I deserved that water balloon barrage...**

* * *

Falco and Balthier remained at the park, still chilling out like the cool dudes they were, when an Arwing would soon land in their presence. Falco took notice of the Arwing's color, and tried to play it cool.

"That must be Katt Monroe...must say, her ride looks pretty great," remarked Balthier, analyzing the Arwing. "Though it's not better than your Landmaster. I'll stand from a fair distance from you and Katt, and act natural. Remember what I've taught you!" Balthier got up from the bench and left, as Falco looked at the Arwing.

"Alright, Falco, you got this...if you can kill it at a wedding reception, then asking some feline chick out should be a walk in the park for you..." Falco said to himself, taking a deep breath, as a feline pilot exited from the Arwing. It was Katt, Katt Monroe. It has been a long time since Falco and Katt saw each other in person, and it made Falco feel slightly nervous, as Katt approached him with a smile on her face.

"Hi Falco, long time no see," Katt said to the fellow mercenary and long-time friend. Falco took another deep breath, though he did it in secret so Katt wouldn't see.

"Hey Katt, you look the same as you did last time I saw you. How long has that been? Gah, I don't even know. How about you take a seat next to me? Saved a spot on this bench just for you!"

"Gah, you're so sweet. Glad you took some time out of your day so you could chat with me! Means a lot!" Katt would take a seat on the bench next to Falco, and made a funny face as she sat down, as she looked at Falco with a skeptical face. "Why is this seat so warm...you weren't talking to a girl before I arrived, did you?"

"Pfft, what girl would I even be talking about? I ain't got no female friends, aside from you. All those chicks living at the mansion, they're just nothing but walking bodies to me." Ema Skye must be offended by that. "So how's life treatin' ya, up in space?"

"Same old, same old...just chasing Arwings around, as usual. The only fun I ever get is chasing down Pigma and Leon, whenever they show up on my radar. It's hilarious because they absolutely have no idea what to do..."

"Yeah that really must be fun, I can already visualize Pigma squealing like a little pig as he's mashing the buttons on his dashboard trying to fly away. Granted he's already a pig, but you know what I mean...

"You've never told me about how things are coming along with Star Records...you just told me that you, Fox, and some other guy own the company. Got any new releases worth checking out? Anything I would be interested in?"

As Falco told Katt about Star Records, Sonic and Crash were spying on the two space pilots, albeit from a different tree after Sonic saw Fox and company draw near. Sonic was certain that Falco was recruiting Katt to join the Alm assassination plot, and he was waiting for the moment to strike, the moment Falco would reel Katt in...

* * *

Link and Midna went over to Mario's house, figuring that Lara was there. When Link knocked on the front door, Lara would answer, her hair and clothes drenched in water. Like she secretly went on an outdoors adventure, and accidentally fell down a river.

"Yeesh, whatever happened to you?" Midna had to ask Lara, who laughed a little in response. "Getting wet on your last day in Seattle, what's wrong with you?!"

"I think Pit here can answer your question," replied Lara, as the angel in question appeared from behind Lara. The angel would give Link and Midna a thumbs up, while holding a water balloon, before going away.

"Wow, first Dark Pit lets Sonic bully him, and you just allowed Pit to throw water balloons at you..you didn't have to stoop down to Pit's level, you know," Link said to Lara, who didn't seem to mind. "Midna and I just wanted to ask you a question...when is your plane leaving?"

"Five minutes after five." This made Link and Midna concerned. "Sadly I won't be in attendance for the going away party Master Hand prepared for me." This made Link and Midna even more concerned than before.

"Oh crap, someone must've already spilled the beans to Lara about the party..." Link muttered under his breath; he could thank Asuka for that. The Hylian would then return his attention to Lara. "Well if your plane has to leave five minutes after the party begins, then we can't do anything to stop ya. But we'll be back, to bid you farewell..."

 **Zelda: *sighs* The party Master Hand - or us - planned for Lara is in danger of cancellation...Peach informed me that Lara's plane takes off just minutes after the party begins, and apparently Peach is too afraid to tell Master Hand about it. I understand that Master Hand is very intimidating, but as I've told Peach before, it's better out than in...**

* * *

Mario was left very intrigued by his conversation with Flora. Getting to hear the maid's side of the story was very enlightening to the plumber's ears. It left Mario so intrigued, that he desired to say what Dark Pit had to say about the romantic situation at hand. And so, the plumber would have a word with the doppelganger in his room, seated on Pit's bed.

"Are you sure-a you can't move on from Flora?" Mario asked Dark Pit, seated on his own bed, as he looked down at his clasped hands. "You got Phosphora and Pandora and...Medusa, if she's-a your type..."

"I'm going to fight my way back to regaining Flora's love, whatever it takes," Dark Pit replied, as he looked up at Mario. The determination on his face was still present. "Even if I have to put myself in harm's way just to reach my goal..."

"No Dark Pit, you don't have-a to do that! For Pete's sake-a man, you're acting like-a it's the end of the world. We've been through that-a crap before years ago. And last year, with-a the eclipse. Everyone gets-a dumped, Dark Pit, so stop acting like you're so-a special from everyone else. Maybe if you weren't-a such a Pit clone, Flora wouldn't have dumped-a you in the first place. You should change-a up your look, look less-a edgy. Now if you excuse-a me, I must speak with-a Lara..." Mario would get up and leave the room, with Dark Pit glaring at the plumber.

* * *

Now back to Falco and Katt, where the two space pilots were deep in conversation. They were already catching up on things, and were close to being at square one. The more they conversed, the more Sonic and Crash spied on the two, to see what tricks Falco was bound to pull. The two buddies also kept a close eye on Balthier, just in case.

After much time spent talking, it was time for Falco to go in for the kill. Time for the avian pilot to ask out Katt, the girl of his dreams.

"Based off of what you've been telling me, it seems like you're a pretty busy cat," Falco started thigns off, as Katt smiled and giggled. "And with me being a head of a record label, I'm pretty busy too. Which leads me to ask the following..."

"What are you trying to get at, Falco Lombardi?" Katt purred, as she leaned in closer to the avian pilot. It was like she preconceived what Falco was about to say. That made things somewhat easier for Falco.

"I was thinking that maybe we could, I don't know...go on a date together?" Balthier would overhear this from where he was, as he turned his eye to Falco and smiled. Sonic noticed this, realizing the opportune moment to strike.

"Balthier's trying to give Falco a cue!" the blue hedgehog said to Crash, pointing at the sky pirate. "Attack him!" Sonic and Crash would appear from their hiding spot and jump Balthier, tackling him to the ground and beating him up, right before Katt could answer Falco's question.

"Why are they beating up that poor man?" Katt asked Falco, who shrugged, while Balthier pleaded to Sonic and Crash to stop their senseless beating.

 **Falco: Leave it up to Sonic and Crash to try and ruin my special moment...typical Sonic behavior. And Crash behavior.**

While Sonic and Crash laid the beatdown on Balthier, Fox, Coco, and Aku were still on the hunt for the two, and with all hope lost, the trio had to resort to asking the people at the park about Sonic and Crash's whereabouts. Needless to say, it didn't turn out so well..."

"For the last time, I haven't seen a blue hedgehog anywhere - the only blue hedgehog I've ever seen is in those _Sonic_ video games my son play," a middle-aged man would say to Fox and company. "And quite frankly I don't even know what a bandicoot is. Sounds like the name of a lousy Japanese demon. How about you just leave me alone, will ya?" The man would walk away, leaving Fox and company exasperated.

"Apparently not a single person in this park has seen Sonic and/or Crash," frowned Fox, with his hands on his hips. "What, did those two magically disappear into thin air or something?!" That would not be the case, as Aku saw Sonic and Crash beat up Balthier from afar.

"Crash and Sonic spotted at three o'clock!" the floating mask alerted Fox and Coco, before guiding them over to Balthier. The poor sky pirate was still getting beat up, as Falco and Katt just watched, not doing anything.

"Crash, Sonic, you two leave Balthier alone this instant!" ordered Coco, but Crash and Sonic did not stop. Or perhaps they just couldn't hear over Balthier's cries for help. Fox and Coco would have to take measures into their own hands, as they came over and restrained Sonic and Crash, respectively, and pulled them away. "We're terribly sorry, Balthier!" Coco would apologize to the sky pirate, who slowly rose back up to his feet.

"It's fine, those two didn't beat me up that bad," smiled Balthier, playing off the beatdown he suffered. "I'll just...lie under a tree and recuperate from my bruises." Balthier would look for a tree to lie under, while Fox and Coco dragged Sonic and Crash to the Landmaster.

"Okay...that was weird and random," remarked Falco, before returning his attention to Katt. "So as I was saying...you wanna go on a date?"

Balthier would eventually find a tree to lie under, as he sat at the base of the tree with his back against the trunk. He would sit there and relax, though it wouldn't be long before Falco approached him.

"So, Mr. Lomardi, how did it turn out?" Balthier asked the avian pilot, unable to discern the emotion on his face. He was either ready to explode with joy, or cry with utter embarrassment and humiliation.

"IT'S A DATE!" Falco leaped into the air with joy, as Balthier smiled. He knew Falco could do it. "...well technically, she said we will go on a date once we can figure out a time and place, but still...IT'S A DATE! Hug me brother!" Balthier would get up and hug Falco, and Falco would hug him back, albeit very tight.

"Not too much, not too much..." a pained Balthier said, as Falco eased his grip.

* * *

It was now 4:00 P.M., meaning that it was an hour away before Lara left Seattle for her London hometown. The tomb raider would remain at Mario's home, with a prepared Mario and a concerned Peach...and a visiting Meta Knight.

"Before you leave, I wanted to give you this compass - a useful object that will direct you in your travels," Meta Knight said to Lara as he gave her a compass. "I would give it to you at the party, but I was afraid I might forget."

"Thank you Meta Knight...I already have a compass, but I can always throw out the old one," replied Lara, accepting the compass. Meta Knight was very pleased.

 **Meta Knight: If I could, I would give Lara a naked portrait of herself, so she can look at it and admire her natural beauty. Nakedness, not beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. And in all honesty, I would pay all my life savings just to see Lara fully naked, in person.**

A knock was at the front door, and Meta Knight was the closest individual to it. Although the Star Warrior did not want to open the front door, he was left with no other choice...

"Ill go answer it," Meta Knight volunteered, as he headed to the front door and opened it. There, standing at the doorway, was Link, Midna, and...

"BOWSER!" shouted Mario, when he saw the koopa king standing at the doorway with Link and Midna. "Stay away from-a Lara or else!"

"At ease Mario, at ease...Bowser is not here to flirt with Lara," advised Link, as Mario slowly began to cool down. "He just has some things to get off his chest. Just him us inside, and he'll get it over with."

"Fine then...you're all welcome to come-a inside." Link and company would enter Mario's home, though Mario couldn't help but give Bowser the stink eye. "Better not try some-a thing silly Bowser..."

"Trust me Mario, I've already tried..." replied Bowser, leaving Mario momentarily speechless as he headed over to speak with Lara. "Hey Lara, nice seeing you again, as always...how are things going?"

"Everything is...going well, actually," responded Lara, as Mario monitored the conversation at hand. Everyone else just paid an open mind, not feeling concerned in the slightest. "About to head to the airport in an hour."

"In an hour? Whaddaya mean, in an hour?! What about the party? Master Hand wanted to throw you a party before you go! I know we've been told to keep it a secret from you..."

"No, no, it's okay, I already knew, someone told me about the party by accident. You are not in the wrong, I already knew beforehand."

"Phew, that's a relief...too bad Master Hand won't like you leaving so close to the party. He really to throw a fling before you head back and all."

"Still don't think I deserve a party, but I will give Master Hand an A for effort. He'll never fail in his attempts to make me feel content..."

"Hard to believe that you're gonna leave in an hour...at five o'clock, you're gone for good, out of Seattle..." Lara noticed that Bowser's voice had a different tone to it, like the mighty koopa king was sad to see Lara go.

"Just get to the point Bowser, what did you want to speak with me about? Say it now, or forever hold your piece...get it over with!"

"I wanted to come here and say...thank you. Thank you for taking a chance with me. For having that date with me in this very house, and for hearing me out in that song I sang at Berkut's wedding last week. And for any other moments that I may not have mentioned. It helped me realize that you were the one for me. It is why I burnt that plane ticket Pit originally bought you for Secret Santa. It is why I destroyed that teleportation device, so you could stay in Seattle...and stay with me."

"You were the one who did those things? Wow, I had no idea you were that dedicated to me..." Mario, having learnt these things, suddenly felt a very strong anger towards Bowser.

 **Bowser: Yeah, so what if I wrecked that teleportation device? Was pretty overrated in my eyes anyways. Had to wait for Sonic and friends to return from North Korea before I could destroy the machine...that man Sonic owed my son Larry a haircut.**

 **Larry: *stroking through his hair, done Sonic-style* Not gonna lie, this hairstyle looks pretty good on me...**

"Point of the matter is, the things I did with you, I tried to do with Peach, but either she'll push me away, or that bum Mario will get in my way," continued Bowser, angering Mario even more by calling him a bum. "For you to actually give me a chance, and not dismiss me...I just have to say...what I want to say is..."

"Say, Lara, you wanna say good-a bye to Luigi, Daisy, Yuffie, and-a everyone in the mansion?" Mario asked the tomb raider, interrupting Bowser and making the koopa king frown. "Now would be the perfect-a time to say goodbye before you leave!" Mario would head to the front door, smiling to himself, as Bowser glared at the plumber. Link and even Midna, too.

* * *

After saying her goodbyes to Luigi, Daisy, Yuffie, Rotom, and everyone in the Smash Mansion (save for Master Hand; Toon Link and Young Link were entrusted with keeping the giant hand busy so he wouldn't be enticed to leave his room) it was time for Lara to go. She would bid her farewells to Link, Peach, Meta Knight and Bowser, who were all standing outside, although Bowser was hugging Lara a bit too much.

"Okay Bowser, you can let go of me," said Lara, her voice muffled; Bowser would apologize as he let go. "It has been a pleasure getting to spend time with you. Well, some more than others. But again, it was a pleasure. Now, I must return home...hope to see you all again. Goodbye..."

Lara would wave to Peach and company, as she hopped inside Mario's car. Once she closed the car door, Mario would turn the car on and drive off to the airport, as a teary-eyed Bowser took out a tissue and blew out his nose. Midna would hover over to Link, seeing Bowser all misty-eyed, and thought the koopa king was crazy.

"Has Captain Falcon ever returned from his shopping trip?" Link asked Midna, who thought over the question and shook her head no. "Peach, mind if I borrow your phone, for a hot minute?"

* * *

Mario would arrive at the airport, just in time before Lara's plane could leave. Before entering the airport, Lara would have a last word with Mario, and Cappy as well.

"I can't thank you enough-a for the wonderful time we had-a together, Lara," Mario said to the tomb raider at the airport entrance, with Cappy floating next to him. "I expect to see you again-a in town sometime in the future."

"Sometime," confirmed Lara with a nod of her head. "Who knows - I might even bring my best friend Samantha with me, provided she's back to being a hundred percent again. She sure loves to travel...well, I must go now. London's calling my name. Goodbye Mario! And you two, Cappy!"

"Take care!" Cappy waved to Lara, and Mario would wave too. Lara would wave right back as she entered the airport, rolling her suitcase inside. Moments after Lara entered, a certain racer would arrive at the scene, skidding to a halt...Captain Falcon.

"Mario, Cappy, was I too late?!" Falcon would frantically ask the two. "Link called me on Peach's phone and told me that Lara's plane was about to depart, and he also mentioned that Lara already said goodbye to the others..."

"Lara hasn't left yet, she's in the airport as we speak." Captain Falcon would run inside the airport, and Mario and Cappy would look through the glass as they witnessed Falcon speed past everyone, knocking random folks to the floor, on his way to Lara. Once he reached Lara, Falcon gave the tomb raider a hug, before sparking a conversation with the Brit. "Why was Captain Falcon in such a hurry to say goodbye to Lara, before she leaves?" Mario smiled, for he knew the answer...

"Let's-a just say that Captain Falcon was the reason-a why Lara was in Seattle nad stayed-a with us...after his street-a race fiasco," the plumber replied, watching the Lara-Falcon conversation from a distance and wanting to know what the two were discussing. The street race detail left Cappy with more questions than answers...

 **Captain Falcon: I was the last person to speak with Lara Croft, before she returned to London... *proudly points thumb at himself, grinning* ...that's one for the record books!**

* * *

While Mario, Cappy, and Captain Falcon were at the airport, everyone else was at the ballroom for the party...only problem was, Lara was not there. Peach had not told Master Hand, and that left the giant hand impatient as he had Gil search for Lara's whereabouts. Everyone knew that Lara had left, but were too afraid to pass that information to Master Hand.

"Do you think Master Hand is aware that Lara probably left for her plane?" Popo asked Nana, glancing up at the clock. Nana could only shrug, as Gil returned from his search.

"Well?" Master Hand would ask Gil, after the de facto librarian returned to the ballroom. He looked afraid to break the news.

"Lara Croft...is nowhere to be found," Gil answered meekly, as Master Hand seethed very deeply. "Searched the entire mansion, and Mario's home, but..."

"WELL THAT DOES IT! How dare Lara not show up to the party we've worked so hard preparing for! If she doesn't want to spend her last time with everyone, or even enjoy the wonderful food Cilan prepared...then I'll do it myself!" Master Hand spotted Cilan's steak and kidney pie, took it and held it in the palm of his hand, and "ate" it with his fist closed...before throwing it unto the floor. "Bleh, this pie is the worst thing I've ever tasted! Straight up bleh!"

"But I thought both Mario and Red loved it..." moaned Cilan, holding his head down in sadness as his confidence levels took a major hit. As Master Hand threw a fit of epic proportions, Lucario would head to the back of the ballroom, seeing something that caught his eye. It was a large present, which was meant for Lara. Aerith saw Lucario head to the back, and would head over to the aura Pokemon.

"Got any idea what's inside that gift box?" Lucario would ask Aerith when he saw the flower girl draw near. "Was this present meant for Lara?"

"Yes it certainly was, it was a present prepared by Master Hand," replied Aerith, as Lucario curiously looked at the present. "Master Hand told me not to tell anyone what's inside, but I'll tell you anyways..." Aerith leaned in close to Lucario, whispering into his ear. "It's supposed to a giant ring. One Master Hand claimed he received from a group of rabbits."

A group of rabbits, Aerith said...a group of rabbits...


	119. Episode 119: StuntDouble

_Author's Note:_

 _New(ish) poll on my profile page. Feel free to vote for as many times as you like, for your feedback will be GREATLY appreciated. On to the reviews:_

 _Can you add the U.S.S. Delta Team and Spec Ops Echo Six Team from Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City? A Skyrim or Doom chapter maybe? How soon will the other Fire Emblem or Tales characters show up? Why is Leia wearing her outfit from Tales of Xillia 1 instead of her outfit from Xillia 2? Is Samus using her Alesia Glidewell voice? And finally, what are your thoughts on Toys R Us going out of business?_

 _Maybe. I might do a Skyrim chapter. Other Fire Emblem characters should show up soon. I like Leia's TX1 outfit more...don't ask why. Samus is using her Alesia Glidewell voice. And I still can't believe Toys R Us of all stores is going out of business. All those days of going to the store as a kid, and checking out all the Pokemon stuff...those were the days. But enough reminiscing from me, let's move on to the other review:_

 _"BOTW Link visits the mansion, with Wolf Link. (Because of summoning with the amiibo.) Link gets really confused."_

 _A chapter with Amiibo sounds interesting...but the execution of your idea will be done differently, without the Amiibo. Who knows._

* * *

 **Episode 119: StuntDouble**

As you recall from the previous episode, Lara Croft would return to her hometown of London, after taking a flight back to Britain. Thanks to Professor Layton and Luke Triton, she was able to get a ticket, and thanks to Mario, she was able to arrive at the airport on time. Due to the time in which her plane left, Lara was unable to attend the "surprise" going away party Master Hand had planned for.

And her absence had left the giant hand very, very ticked.

Master Hand, who initially threw a tantrum of epic proportions and ruined the party as a result of said tantrum, automatically came to the conclusion that Lara was perhaps kidnapped by an evil syndicate, and held her at their secret hideout. (Hey, Lara did say that she was hunting down the evil syndicate that harmed her best friend, Samantha, so the theory wasn't that far off...) By no means did he think that Lara had already boarded on the plane back to London, because as Master Hand once said, "Who would willingly not show up to a party, let alone a surprise party?" Master Hand dropped his theory afterwards, and accepted the fact that Lara had to return to London pronto - though the giant hand was salty that Lara never even said goodbye to him.

At the going away party, Master Hand had planned on giving Lara a going away gift - a large ring the giant hand claimed he received from a band of rabbits. Nobody knew who these rabbits were but Master Hand, and it certainly raised a lot of questions within the mansion. The week after Lara left, a certain gift would be sent to the mansion, this one in the form of a white wedding dress.

"Saw this come in the mail last week, inside a package," Rosalina explained to Layton and Luke, as she held up the dress for the detectives to see in the mansion foyer. "I thought that maybe you would want to see it. Master Hand claimed that he has no foreknowledge of this dress, yet it was sent to the mansion's address..."

"Looks like a regular wedding dress to me..." remarked Layton, stroking his chin as he checked out the dress in question. "Someone in this mansion must be marrying in secret. Don't know who it could possibly be, though. You're not getting married to anyone, are you Luke?"

"What, who, me?" Luke giggled sheepishly, as he pointed at himself and blushed. "Who would I possibly be in love with? I have nobody that I would marry!"

 **Layton: *leans in close to the camera, and smiles* Fifty bucks Luke is secretly in love with Ashley...I'm starting to believe he has a thing for cold and distant girls. Ashley may be no Aurora, but she seems close to Luke's age range...**

"May I see the box in which this dress was sent?" asked Layton, as Rosalina grabbed the box and showed it to the detective. Layton would accept the box, and take a look at the label. "Hmm...this box was apparently sent from the moon. Actual civilization on the moon, who would have thunk? Next thing you know, there's going to be civilization on Neptune! Will be nothing but fish people like the Zora, I can only assume."

"Look at the person who sent the dress," advised Rosalina, as Layton inspected the label even closer. He saw that the name was whited out, but under the name it read, "Client Relations".

"The name is whited out, yet the person who sent the dress is involved in client relations...why is he on the moon? Was he banished by his own kind? Did he wish to explore other extraterrestrial bodies in space? Or did he hijack Elon Musk's car, and ride it up to Mars? What if this fellow is actually Elon Musk himself?"

"Lemme take a peek at the box, Professor Layton!" exclaimed Luke, as Layton handed his apprentice the box. Luke would glance at the label, seeing a logo of what appeared to be a rabbit head on it. "I spot a bunny logo on the label, one with tall ears and such! Do you see, Professor Layton?"

"Yes, I do see Luke...and it sure is no Playboy bunny, that's for sure. Our friend must apparently be some kind of rabbit character, I assume. But can you honestly imagine a rabbit ever living on the moon? We might have ourselves another thorough investigation on our hands..."

* * *

While Layton and Luke were feigning to start yet another investigation, Sonic was more than prepared to start an investigation of his own. The hedgehog, who planned on "exposing" Balthier in last week's episode, would come close to doing so until Fox and Coco interfered. Despite this, Sonic was still very certain that Balthier was up to no good, and that the sky pirate was still helping out with Berkut in regards to assassinating Alm.

"Hey Master Hand, have you seen Balthier anywhere?" Sonic would ask the giant hand, in his room. "I just wanna ask him a few questions about his daily life as a sky pirate. I'm sure he's around here somewhere!"

"Sorry Sonic, but Balthier told me that March 16th was last day at the mansion," apologized Master Hand, as Sonic snapped his fingers in disgust. The hedgehog now had to change up his plans, though he would be more focused on Berkut and Dark Pit in the coming weeks. "Says he has to go back and raid some treasure and kiss some chicks...you know, prototypical pirate stuff. I'm sure you learn about pirates on the internet, in your spare time."

"So that's it, huh...Balthier stop by, serves at Berkut's wedding, and then just takes off to continue with his daily grind." Master Hand saw how displeased Sonic was, as the hedgehog held his head low looking at the floor, walking away. Really, Sonic was displeased that he couldn't throw hands with Balthier. Would be ten times more fun if he had Crash as his backup guy. "Guess I'll have to wait until the next time Balthier comes by...if there even is a next time. Later, Master Hand..."

 **Sonic: Yes, yes, I can see clearly what's going on...Balthier's playing the long con, as I had figured! Disappearing from the mansion for a substantial amount of time, and then returning when the time is right! Jakob did the same thing, and used caretaking his son as an excuse. Wonder what Balthier's excuse will be. Let's see, if Jakob was gone for three months...then I predict Balthier will be gone for three months as well! I can see him returning on the 4th of July, loading up some fireworks and then triggering off an epic fireworks explosion that will kill Alm (and anyone else caught within the blast) in the process. Yes, the writing's on the wall, it's hard not to see what Balthier is cooking up!**

Certain that Balthier was doing some long-term planning in regards to Alm's assassination, Sonic would return to his room so he could inform Tails about what Balthier's plans, knowing Tails would ignore him anyways. On his way to his room, the hedgehog would encounter Toon Link and Young Link, who were standing with Wii Fit Trainer in the hallway ready to give her a ticket.

"Caught you speeding through the hallways like a banshee, Wii Fit..." said Toon Link, shaking his head in disapproval as he wrote up a ticket on his notepad. "Don't you know that speeding kills? Your speeding could've killed someone, or put someone's life in complete danger! This is the Smash Mansion, not a track meet! There's a place for everything, you know!"

"Oh please, you two, I was just lightly jogging around the mansion, that can't possibly harm anyone," smiled Wii Fit, jogging in place to keep her heart and adrenaline pumping. "I do that everyday as part of my daily exercise. I recommend that you boys do it too!"

"'Lightly jogging'...that's what they all say, Miss Wii Fit Trainer," responded Young Link, as Sonic was close by listening attentively. "We saw you run down the hallway past our speedometer, running like a gazelle caught on fire and trying to escape the clutches of a roaring lion. The speed you recorded on our speedometer? Five miles per hour! That is fine if you're driving on the road, stuck in slow-moving traffic...but in this mansion, that's asking for a murder charge!"

"Of all the times I spent jogging around the mansion, I've never came close to killing anyone...I always watch out for where I'm going. But of course you wouldn't know that if you never jogged!"

"We would never try your lethal exercise of jogging, Wii Fit - we're in the business of saving lives, not taking them from innocent souls," stated Toon Link, before handing Wii Fit her ticket. "Better be glad we didn't arrest you - had you jogged any faster, we would have taken you to the slammers. Stay safe, Wii Fit...or rather, be safe."

"Yeah, sure, I'll remember that if I can. Or if I even want to...just leave me alone." Wii Fit would accept her ticket, and continue her jogging, as she jogged down the hallway. Toon Link and Young Link both shook their heads, disgusted.

"That anorexic woman has all the makings of being a serial killer one day..." A serial killer who took lives by simply running, now that's something you wouldn't hear that often. Suddenly the buddy cops heard some footsteps; they both turned around and pointed their arrows at Sonic, who held his hands up.

"Spare me, my dudes, I'm innocent!" Sonic cried out, as the buddy cops put their weapons away. "I have a huge favor to ask of you. Really big. Life-altering big. Like, able to change the world and universe as we think of it big. I'm not sure if you're both aware of this, but Berkut has a goal of wanting to kill Alm, just because he dislikes the guy. And he asked Dark Pit to join him in one day assassinating his arch rival!"

"We already knew about Berkut wanting to kill Alm - that was obvious the moment he made his presence known to the others," replied Young Link, remembering Berkut's first day as mansion resident. "But the tidbit about Berkut having Dark Pit at his side...now that's news to us. How did you find out about Dark Pit's involvement?"

"Saw that edgy turncoat discussing with Berkut about their plan to kill Alm prior to the wedding. I was there to stop Dark Pit before he could kill Alm - and thankfully, I didn't have to take the bullet...arrow, I mean, I meant arrow. Who knows how different the landscape would be if I hadn't saved Alm's life for him..."

"Dark Pit has been acting differently as of late...not sure if it's because of his ugly breakup with Flora, or something else," mused Toon Link, before eventually coming to a decision. "How about this - we'll do some investigations on Berkut and Dark Pit, and give you the 411 after we gained substantial evidence."

"Do you guys seriously have to refer to yourselves as Starsky and Hutch? I get the buddy cop motif and all, but it has gotten confusing at this point. But yeah, you should conduct some investigations on those two criminals, and see if they have any underlying motives that must be revealed. Their time will come soon..."

 **Toon Link: Finally, our big break has come...all the other cases we've done in the past are not paralleled compared to the one we're about to do. How often do you hear a regular cop say that they've solved a huge assassination case? The chances of hearing that are slimmer than a mute kid asking his crush out on a prom. Slimmer than an electric eel killing someone without electricity. Slimmer than the odds of Facebook surviving before the end of the year.  
** **Young Link: Too soon, buddy, too soon...for I was going to use that line myself. We think too alike, and that could prove detrimental to our job performances. We must be different, have our own different tastes and flavors, so we won't be seen as mirror copies of each other.  
Toon Link: We could start by seeing which one of us iwll give up the Master Hand...wanna play rock-papers-scissors!  
Young Link: Ooh, you push quite the bargain, don't ya...I like you. You got yourself a deal!**

* * *

Mario and Peach's first child was due very soon, with the child expected to arrive in two months. Peach, dying to know what gender her first child would be, implored Mario to take her to the hospital, so she - or they, rather - would find out. Master Hand did everything he could to discourage the married couple, fearing they would "spoil it for everyone" with the gender reveal, but nothing he did could work.

"Let's take a look at how your baby is developing..." the doctor said to Mario and Peach, with Peach resting on the hospital bed as the doctor was conducting an ultrasound test on the princess. Mario and Peach would look up at the screen on the monitor, seeing the developing baby in the sonogram. "It appears to me that your little on is developing just fine! No problems whatsoever. The placenta isn't blocking the cervix, which is always a great sign when doing these tests."

"But what about the gender of our child, doctor?" Peach would ask the doctor, who dotted some notes down on his clipboard. "That's really want we came to the hospital for, to find out about the gender."

"Oh, that's not my job, that's the sonographer's job. I'm just filling in until he arrives. Ha ha ha!" The doctor's good-humored laugh wasn't enough to quell the suspicions of Mario and Peach, who were suddenly growing concerned. "He usually arrives late, and he always has his stupid excuse...last time he claimed he was attacked by a giraffe thtn ran out of the zoo. Wonder what excuse he'll come up with this time...lemme go see if the sonographer arrived yet."

So the doctor would leave the room with his clipboard, to begin his search for the sonographer. He wouldn't get that far when a certain spy came crashing down from the ceiling and landed on the floor, before grabbing the doctor by the neck with his arms and choked him, putting him to sleep. A bottle would fall out from the ceiling and land in the spy's hands, as the spy opened up the bottle and poured its contents into the doctor's mouth. In a matter of seconds, the doctor would fall unconscious, as the spy gently laid him on the floor. Several nurses watched the scene unfold; the spy would look at them with intimidating, making them shriek and run away, before dragging the doctor inside a nearby men's restroom.

"That drink from Cilan oughta subdue him for the time being," remarked a certain teenager, jumping down from the ceiling and twisting his red cap sideways. It was none other than Ness, PSI boy wonder. "So, why are we here again?" Ness would ask the spy that exited the restroom, that spy being none other than Snake.

"Because Master Hand doesn't want Mario nor Peach to know the gender of their baby, out of the fear they might tell someone," answered Snake, wearing the doctor's lab coat. He was also wearing his pants, just for good measure. "Doesn't want anyone to know the gender of the baby, at least until it's born. Now, we need to find you a lab coat that's just your size...hopefully we won't have to beat up a poor midget just to find one."

"Seeing a midget doctor would be pretty cool, I have to admit," said Ness, as he and Snake continued down the hallway. Moments after the two left, Mario would exit the hospital room to get some water from the water fountain, and on his way back, he found a bottle of Everclear lying on the floor. He picked up the bottle, and stared at it.

"Daisy was right-a when she said that this hospital was-a shady and immoral..." Mario had this to say as he tossed the bottle of Everclear in a nearby trash can, before returning to the room.

* * *

Falco, the avian pilot who always had a crush on Katt Monroe, finally scored a date with the cat of his dreams thanks to the help of sky pirate Balthier. Granted a date wasn't actually set up, but Katt told Falco that she would be open to dating him in the near future, which in turn left Falco in a state of euphoria.

That Tuesday, Falco would receive a surprise call from Katt, who asked the pilot if he was open to going on a date Friday. Falco, ready ever since the events of the last episode, was more than prepared to say yes. So today, Falco was about to have his first date, and he couldn't be any more excited.

 **Falco: Guess who's about to go on his first date? *points at himself* THIS GUY! Yeah, Katt called me on Tuesday, and asked me if I wanted to go on a date, and I agreed to the date faster than you could blink! Our date's gonna be at the Space Needle in this restaurant called SkyCity, and I heard that they serve Pacific Northwest cuisine there. Didn't know this region had a specific cuisine, to be honest. Must be entirely fish, I'm sure. As much as I'm dying to go on this date, I might have my hands tied up with Mamori...**

 **Mamori: So for today's episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ I opted to have Falco as my special guest. Wanted to have both him and Fox, but Fox is a little busy at the moment. I feel my Falco's presence and swagger will be enough to garner a lot of views online, so I have my fingers (and toes) crossed that he'll show up...**

Not wanting to let Mamori down, let alone miss his debut appearance on _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ Falco was frantically looking for a situation in which he could go on his date with Katt and be on _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ simultaneously _._ Both events resulted in a time conflict, which meant that Falco would have to clone himself to cover his bases. Maybe a potion from Ashley might do the trick?

"Falco, for the last time, I'm not giving you my cloning potion," Ashley told the avian pilot, as she was stirring up her pot in her room. "Don't think I've forgotten what went down the last time you had a clone running about..." Falco remembered this moment perfectly, as he nervously chuckled and rubbed his arm.

"Oh yeah, that parkour thing where my clone and Fox's clone were doing parkour moves around the mansion, like ninjas..." chuckled Falco, reminiscing. Him and Fox doing parkour was born out of their own delusion, according to Sheik; the Hylian ninja believed that the pilots would've winded up in the hospital. "...but that was a one time thing, Fox and I have both learned our lessons. I can redeem myself!"

"Sorry Falco, but I can't let you have my that cloning potion. I can't trust anyone with my potions after that whole Snake-Kiria incident. Should've known the dangers of potions after I involved myself in that Pit-Viridi thing...thank goodness those two are still together, somehow. Now begone!"

Falco refused to leave, so Ashley was left with no choice but to kick the pilot out of her room. Literally. Falco would wind up on the floor before Ashley closed the door shut, just when Little Mac showed up.

"Asked Ashley for a potion only to get shown out the door, huh?" Little Mac would ask Falco, as the pilot rose up to his feet and dusted himself off. "Been there, done that...I asked Ashley for a potion that would grant me the ability to fly, but she kept running her mouth about how 'overpowered' I would be. Obviously she wants me to be the same old boring boxer forever..."

"I was hoping Ashley would give me a cloning potion, so I could have a clone of myself be on Mamori's show so I arrive at my date on time," Falco explained to Little Mac, who fully understood the situation Falco found himself in. Trying to appease your girl and someone else at the same time was always a difficult thing to do. "But now, I'm stumped..."

"Ashley is a regular on Mamori's show though...perhaps she easily saw through your plan, and didn't want to give you the potion just so you would feel miserable. She likes it when people feel that way, take it from me...you won't believe the amount of cold showers I got, without warning." Little Mac shivered thinking about it. "Why not have a stunt double take your place on _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ while you enjoy your date?"

"Who could this stunt double be? Who on earth could pass as a walking blue bird that wears clothes?" That got Little Mac thinking...

* * *

There was a food truck set up outside at the front of the mansion, and Zelda and Cloud were set upon finding out who operated it. From what the two heard, there were bunches of people gathered around the food truck, and whoever ran the food truck was a resident from the mansion. Not only that, but the food truck was predominantly selling sushi to its customers.

"Got a feeling the person running the food truck is Asuka, she's really into sushi," Zelda said to Cloud, as the two were returning from a nearby dollar store. They would have to blend in with the crowd near the food truck, so they wouldn't look suspicious as they did their spying. "I wouldn't be surprised if she brought her classmates from the Hanzo Academy to run the food truck with her."

"That food truck is bound to receive a lot of male customers, if that's the case," responded Cloud, holding a shopping bag containing batteries. And some packs of cigars, just for Snake. The thought that counts. "Seriously doubt any of those customers would come to the food truck only for the...food."

When Cloud and Zelda returned to the mansion, they would find a long line of people, standing in line for a food truck. Said food truck had a sign at the top with the words "HAPPY PIKACHU DAY". The food truck line extended to the end of the block, and might be even longer than that. Though the line caught Cloud and Zelda off-guard, it was who operated the food truck that left the two surprised...and concerned.

"Thank you come again!" the operator of the food truck said to a customer, after serving them sushi. That operator was apparently Pit, and he was wearing a cooking apron. Zelda and Cloud would look on with concern, as Pit scanned the long line, before heading to the back of the food truck; that was when Viridi assumed his place. That left Zelda and Cloud without worry.

 **Viridi: Pit, Kirby, and I are operating a food truck today, to supposedly "spread awareness" about Pikachu Day. After the Pikachu Cheesesteak fad died down, Master Hand asked Pit to create a new delicacy centered around Pikachu Day, and that's when he introduced to him the next big thing...Pikachu Sushi Rolls! Same old sushi rolls, but with a yellow skin, to match Pikachu. So Pit and I will be selling the sushi rolls to everyone, while Kirby and a person of his choice will do all the cooking and stuff. Who might this person be?**

 **Meta Knight: *seething, while wearing an extremely small chef apron* Kirby asked me to be a cook and make sushi rolls..."all in the name of Pikachu Day", he claimed...I better get some compensation out of this, otherwise I'll hate my life more than I do already...**

"A food truck selling sushi, all done to promote Pikachu Day..." Cloud shook his head, surprised that Pikachu Day was still a thing. Master Hand might never let such a day go. "...what has this all come to? Follow me, we're gonna have to speak with the chef..." Zelda would follow Cloud, as the swordsman marched up to the food truck, cutting basically everyone in the entire line.

"Hey bub, get out of the way, wait in the back of the line like everybody else!" an angry customer shouted at Cloud, who built up enough endurance in his life to not respond to angry folks. "I was here before you!"

"Well for your information buddy, I just so happen to live in that mansion over there, which means I can do whatever I want on this property," retorted Cloud, putting the customer in his place. "So unless you don't truly value your arms or legs, I suggest you get out of _my_ way, if you know what's coming to ya." The customer, feeling intimidated, backed away, giving Cloud some room to speak with Viridi. "May I have a word with the chef, please? Actually, I just want to speak with Pit..."

"You wish to speak with Pit, my lovely boyfriend?" asked Viridi, seeing how annoyed Cloud was by the last part. "Okay then...oh, Pit! Your favorite swordsman wishes to speak with you! The one with the Buster Sword!" Viridi would move out of the way, as Pit walked up to the food truck stand, having to perform a double take when he saw Cloud.

"Howdy partner, got a snake in yer boot?" Pit would greet Cloud with a funky Texas accent, although Cloud was hardly amused. He was hardly amused about anything. Someone should teach the guy how to have fun. "Nah, I'm just pulling your tail...do you have a tail? Think you could get yourself some major press if you did. You know I would do that. Came here for some sushi?"

"Not really, I just want to know the intent behind this food truck," answered Cloud, taking a peek inside the food truck. Kirby was cooking the sushi ingredients, and Meta Knight was putting everything together to make sushi rolls. "Was this your idea, or did Master Hand put you up to it?"

"A little bit of both - I wanted to make Pikachu Day bigger than it already is, and Master Hand wanted to start a new food trend to keep the hype for Pikachu Day going. Our wants soon clashed together and meshed, and then...BOOM! We now have this food truck that sells sushi rolls. Since you're standing here in my presence, you must buy a sushi roll, or else!"

"Or else what?" Pit apparently couldn't think of anything for Cloud to suffer through, so he remained silent. "You know what, I'll give your little sushi roll a try, just to see if it's any good..."

"Very wise choice, very wise choice indeed...and for the record, it's called a Pikachu Sushi Roll. Remember that, it'll save you some trouble in the future. One Pikachu Sushi Roll, coming right up!" Pit would head to the back, and return with a sushi roll in his hand, giving it to Cloud. "One Pikachu Sushi Roll, made and perfected by Viridi herself!"

"You sure you want to eat that thing?" Zelda would ask Cloud, holding the sushi roll in his hand. "Doesn't like that appetizing to me...looks questionable as well."

"Viridi made it herself, so I have some confidence it'll be somewhat tasty," replied Cloud, as he and Zelda walked away from the food truck. "Quite frankly, I trust Viridi as a chef more than I can trust Link. But that's not saying much..."

 **Cloud: Honestly I could care less if eating this sushi roll kills me. My life isn't that more important than anyone else's, don't think anyone outside of Aerith would care if I died. Death would be a very interesting experience anyways. Now let's get this out of the way... *takes a bite from sushi roll, making a funny face as he chews before swallowing***

* * *

Confident that Toon Link and Young Link would do his job for him in regards to digging up dirt on Berkut and Dark Pit, Sonic was able to accomplish things today that didn't involve spying on people or the like. On Sonic's to-do list was hanging out with Crash, and he would find the bandicoot outside...in a cage.

"Crash!" panicked Sonic, as he sped over to his furry pal. He would see Crash stuck inside the cage, whimpering like a dog. "Who did this to you?!" Crash would point at Fox, who was busy working on his Landmaster. "Fox put you inside that cage?! Say it ain't so...don't worry Crash, I'll avenge you!" Sonic would march up to Fox, and Fox noticed him with the corner of his eye.

"Back off Sonic, I'm a little busy as you can see," said Fox, oblivious to how ticked off Sonic was. "Don't need any distractions, all thanks to..." Suddenly Sonic threw a rock at Fox's head, fully grabbing the pilot's attention. "Ow man! What the heck?!"

"That's what I should be asking you about Crash! Why you got my man locked up in the cage like that? Explain yourself!"

"Crash kept interfering, so I had to keep him contained so I could focus on my work. It was bad enough that he damaged the interior AND exterior of my Landmaster, which is why I'm outside working in the first place..."

 **Fox: Crash tore up my Landmaster on the way back to the mansion two weeks ago, and Coco and Aku were unable to restrain the dude. Unfortunately they don't offer spacecraft repair services in Seattle, so I have to do the repairs myself.**

"You release Sonic out of his cage at once!" demanded Sonic, pointing at Fox. But the pilot wouldn't oblige in the slightest.

"Crash won't be released until I'm done repairing the Landmaster," responded Fox, going to work on the launcher part of his trusty contraption. "Until then, you'll just have to wait..."

As Fox would later learn, waiting wasn't in Sonic's nature.

* * *

As you have learned, the mansion was receiving gifts over the past few weeks. Two weeks ago, a giant ring was sent to the mansion. Last week, a wedding dress came in, which led Layton and Luke to find out why the gifts were sent to the mansion in the first place. This week, another gift would be sent, as the mansion doorbell rang.

"I'm on it, nobody get in my way!" shouted Bowser, making a mad dash to the front door. The koopa king would open it, and look down at the doorstep, seeing a bouquet. Not just any ordinary bouquet, mind you - a bouquet with Piranha Plants in it. A tag was attached to the bouquet, as Bowser picked up the flowers and noticed it. He would take the tag, and it read...

 _Here is da Soirée Bouquet, lookin' good as new!_

With the bouquet in his possession, Bowser would close the front door, and as soon as he turned around...

"Watcha got there, King Bowser?" Ema would ask the koopa king, making him shriek as he threw the bouquet up in the air. He would later catch the bouquet with one hand, like he was Willie Mays. "Nice catch, by the way!"

"Don't you dare spook me like that ever again, do you know how damaging shrieking is to my body AND reputation?!" scolded Bowser, angry by how amused Ema was after scaring the nonexistent pants off of him. "Not only does it messes up my vocal chords, but it also takes a toll on my manliness! The Koopa King is supposed to be manly!"

"Yeah, I don't see anything stating that a giant koopa like yourself should be flaunting his masculinity 24/7...so are you going to tell me what that thing is or not?"

"Were you born yesterday? Thought forensic experts were supposed to be smarter than that. This is obviously a bouquet, one which I just found! So keep your filthy paws away from it!"

"Finding it on the doorstep of the mansion, moments after someone arrived at the front door, accounts for just finding it? You act like you went on a large-scale search around the globe looking for that thing. Would be such a shame if someone were to...OH LOOK, LARA'S HERE, SHE'S BACK!" Ema pointed behind Bowser.

"Crap, she's back in town already?!" exclaimed Bowser as he looked around. One moment later, he realized that the bouquet was no longer in his hands...and that Ema was no longer in the foyer. "Gah, that Ema, snatching away the bouquet! Can't believe I allowed a chick to outsmart me like that...man, my track record with women isn't looking so great!"

* * *

After much thinking, Little Mac finally decided on the right guy to serve as Falco's stunt double. This candidate was a bird, just like Falco, and he already made an appearance in "Smash Life" before. However, Falco wasn't that keen on letting this dude back in the mansion again.

"No bruh, we can't bring him back, he'll steal my swag," the avian pilot frowned, as he was discussing with Little Mac in the Star Records room. "He might even get all the ladies! The chicks should be coming to me! ME!"

"But Falco, he would be the perfect guy to be your stunt double!" deferred Little Mac, wondering why Falco was so against the guy he picked out. "You both have similar appearances, similar attitudes, similar personalities...it just matches up. What's wrong with the guy?"

"What's wrong with who?" questioned Knuckles, overhearing the conversation as he stepped inside the room, holding a cup of coffee. "Y'all aren't talking behind Big Top's back, are you? Haven't I told you guys time and time again not to talk bad about that creep, especially WHEN HE'S IN YOUR VERY PRESENCE?!"

"I can hear every word too!" exclaimed Big Top, who couldn't care less if people constantly dissed him. Someone could "accidentally" throw the hat in the shredder, and he wouldn't care as long as he was still alive.

"Falco needs a stunt double for his appearance on _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ and he's apparently against the guy I have in mind," Little Mac would explain to Knuckles. "He may not like the choice, but we have very limited options..."

 **Big Top: Honestly I couldn't care less what people say about me. I'm just a mere hat, it's not like you can hurt a hat's feelings. And I've yet to experience bullying of any type, which alone makes me more superior than any human life form.**

 **Little Mac: Who's the guy that'll serve as Falco's stunt double? Let's just say that he's a former champion, and a master of the arts...Link might know the guy well.**

* * *

Much time had passed, and Mario and Peach's sonographer had yet to arrive. The married couple, wanting to pass the time, had a discussion on what they should name their first child.

"Let's say that the gender of our baby is male," presumed Peach, getting Mario's mind juices flowing with baby name suggestions. "What name do you think we should name our baby? What name fancies you the most?"

"I would've went-a with Charles, but Luigi beat-a me to the punch," replied Mario; having two infants named Charles, both from Mario and Luigi, would make things very confusing for everyone. "Allowing Luigi to get married-a before me was a huge-a mistake, looking back on it. "How does-a Lou sound?"

"Not bad, not bad...though I do think we should make the name much longer. Like Louie, or Louis." Adding two letters? That's it, Peach? "Now if the baby's gender is revealed to be female, what would you name the baby then?"

"This one, I gave more-a thought to. I was thinking about going with-a Jennifer...or Nicole...or Samantha...you know what, scratch-a Samantha, that's the name of Lara's best-a friend. Naming our daughter after our former guest's best friend-a would be downright creepy. We'll just pick between-a Jennifer and Nicole."

Someone knocked on the front door, meaning that the sonographer had finally arrived. What took him so long? After Mario gave the cue, two doctors would enter the room...one was old and scraggly, looking like a washed up Dr. Gregory House, and the other was short and peppy, wearing a surgical mask.

"Greetings, Mario and Peach, I'm your sonographer for today," the scraggly doctor introduced himself to the couple, as he closed the door behind him. It was actually Snake, and he was disguising his voice very well. Came with doing a lot of spy work and espionage in your field of work. "Iroquious Pliskin's the name, and I've brought my assistant with me, to assist me in my duties." Iroquious Pliskin was an alias Snake once used in MGS2.

"Yes, I am the assistant to the sonographer, Ness...Nestor von Grapple!" Ness would introduced himself to Mario and Peach, nearly giving away his identity. Snake let out a breath of relief as he wielded his clipboard.

"Peach, Peach, Peach...you're a princess, right?" Peach would nod her head in confirmation, as Snake took a seat in the doctor's chair. "Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom?" Peach nodded her head again. "I've heard great places about that kingdom, heard they got a lot of shrooms there...not the bad kind, mind you. Don't get any ideas, I don't wanna get fired...before I begin, I must ask, how are you today princess?"

"I'm feeling well, ready to get this whole sonography over with so we can know what gender our baby is," replied Peach. Mario had wished Snake asked him about his day, but he knew that his wife was the woman of the hour. He had to come to acceptance about that.

 **Mario: Yes, I'm fully aware of the fact-a that Peach will receive a lot of attention when-a the baby is due...and the baby might-a receive even more...but I'm comfortable with the attention the child-a will bring... *nervously smiles, chuckles, and twitches his eye***

"We figured you would say that," replied Ness, speaking like a grown up. Reason why he was wearing a surgical mask was to hide his childlike visage. "Before we can commence the sonography, we must first ask you a few questions. Are you ready, Princess Peach?"

"Ready as I'll ever be!" responded Peach, wishing the sonography could be started right now. All the materials were in place, so what was taking the sonographer (and his "assistant") so long?! "Can we please speed things up so we can get to..."

"It's not wise to rush the sonographer, Princess Peach, you just have to be patient," Snake said sternly, taking out an ink pen and flipping the page on his clipboard, ready to write at will. "We'll be asking several questions about...about your _sex_." That didn't make Mario and Peach feel uncomfortable at all. "...not sex as in like, gender, but you're both adults, you know what I mean...first question: who was involved with the sex?"

"Just me and Mario...just us two, and nobody else..."

"You sure there wasn't a third party? You know what, I'm not going down that rabbit hole. Second question: what did the sex feel like?"

"Hard to explain...I mean, there were some movements and all..."

"Well I sure hope there were movements involved...third question: where did this sex take place at?"

"In our master bedroom, on the bed. What kind of question is that?"

"I dunno, maybe you got it on somewhere else...pardon me princess. Fourth question: when did this sex happen?"

"Don't remember the exact date, but it was in the middle of August, that's for sure."

"Good thing your child's birthday won't be around that time...fifth question: why did you have sex for?"

"...so we could have our first child and start a family?"

"Likely story, princess, very likely story...final question; how was the sex done? Like, what kind of methods and practices did you apply to..."

"You know what, I think my wife-a heard enough questions," intervened Mario, wanting the unnessary questions to come to an end. "I'm like Peach, I want the sonography done-a soon. Sorry for-a our impatience."

 **Peach: That questionnaire...answering those questions was one of the most uncomfortable experiences of my life. Easily outweighed anything I've been forced to do in the past with Bowser.**

"My apologies, I tend to get off the wayside the more questions I ask, so I deeply apologize," apologized Snake as he put away his pen and got up from the chair. "We'll turn these results in to the lab, and we'll gauge your answers there. Maybe we'll throw in some prop bets, just to make things more interesting. Who knows. Just sit tight until we return." Snake and Ness would leave the room, leaving Mario and Peach at unease.

"I've never noticed this until now, but this hospital has a very shady and dismal track record..." Peach had this to say after Snake and Ness had left.

* * *

Nobody was more saddened by the discontinuation of the Pikachu Cheesesteaks than Link, who took much of the credit for creating the cheesesteak while the originator of the sandwich, CJ, was chilling in Philadelphia. The Hylian was still attached to the cheesesteaks, as he was stuffing the remaining sandwiches inside a giant sack.

"You might be dead to Master Hand and the others, but you'll forever be legendary to me..." Link said to the cheesesteaks, acting like they were sentimental beings, and he placed them inside his sack. By the time the Hylian was done, Aerith would enter the bedroom, escorting Cloud. And Cloud wasn't lookin' good. "Yikes, what's the matter with Cloud?" Link would ask Aerith.

"Poor Cloud just has a case of food poisoning, that's all," answered Aerith, escorting her boyfriend inside the bedroom and sitting him on his bed. "He had tried out one of the 'Pikachu Sushi Rolls' offered at the food truck outside, and moments later, he started feeling nauseated and dizzy. Also has some cramps. I'm just keeping him here until Leia is done with Ike and his stomach ulcers."

"No need to worry about me Link, I'm just fine...Aerith loves to exaggerate the details sometimes," Cloud assured his best friend, right before vomiting inside the trash can near his bed. So much for Aerith exaggerating details. "Really, I'm just fine, me vomiting didn't mean much...it was just an anomaly."

"...just give Cloud some company until Leia is available," Aerith said to Link before leaving, as Link gave the flower girl a thumbs up as she left. Cloud would lie down on his bed, trying to play off his food poisoning.

"You're still attached to those stupid cheesesteaks?" Cloud asked Link, as he turned his head to face his best friend eating a Pikachu Cheesesteak. "Those things are no longer a fad Link, give it up already..."

"These cheesesteaks weren't a 'fad', they were a newfound delicacy that wasn't given a chance!" defended Link, as Cloud rolled his eyes. Stopping the Pikachu Cheesesteak fad was perhaps for the best. "The sheer audacity of Master Hand, to discontinue the cheesesteaks for some stupid sushi rolls...the same sushi rolls that made you sick! Pit and Kirby were selling them, weren't they?! You should sue them!"

"Sue? Sue someone over some food poisoning I got from eating a sushi roll? Yeah, right, I'm not going down that path. Besides, Pit isn't worth suing anyways. I'm that every judiciary system in America would give him a pass."

"Pit may be slow, but he certainly isn't special needs...and he doesn't deserve any coddling from anyone! Suing Pit would be payback for him making you sick! Once everyone finds out the evil truth about the sushi rolls, Master Hand will discontinue them, and go back to selling Pikachu Cheesesteaks, like how it was meant to be!"

"Wait, so you want me to sue Pit as part of some kind of revenge tour? You can do that yourself, buddy...do it on your own time, not mine."

* * *

 **Bowser: Stupid Ema refuses to give back the bouquet! I've tried asking nicely, but she refused to give it up. When I tried to ask a second time, she slammed the door and told me to never come back again! You think I'll go down without a fight? Nope! I'm very persistent as you know, if my attempts at kidnapping Peach are any indication. Since I can't ask for the bouquet, I'll just have to find another way to get it back...**

Akuma was one of the few workout warriors at the Smash Mansion, along with Little Mac, Wii Fit Trainer, and several others. The _Street Fighter_ veteran would go to work everyday in the fitness center, doing every exercise possible to keep his body and physique in shape. Staying in tip-top shape was always Akuma's MO, and it was also the MO for another _Street Fighter_ dude, Ryu.

"Move out of the way Akuma, you're in my usual spot!" Ryu would bark at the fighter, who was on the floor doing crunches. Ryu was planning on doing some leg exercises, but Akuma was in his usual spot. Ryu, like any person out there, couldn't afford to skip leg day, the most important day of the week.

"This is a free country, Ryu, you can literally do your exercises somewhere else," replied Akuma, as he kept doing his crunches without breaking a sweat. He wasn't in the mood to fight with Ryu over a silly spot in the fitness center. "It's not like this specific spot has your name on it!"

"Akuma, I am telling you as a man...move out of my spot, and I'll leave you alone. The last thing I would want to do is start a scene, if I haven't already!"

"And I'm telling you as a man that I'm not leaving, so if you're feeling that salty, then go and do your exercising outside. Surely the oxygen will absorb all your needless salt."

Ryu had just about enough of Akuma, so he grabbed the fighter and threw him out of the fitness center. Akuma would collide against a wall, as a picture frame fell down and landed on his head. Said picture frame was now stuck between his neck.

"RUDE!" Akuma called out to Ryu, as he stood up and took the picture frame off. Akuma would grumble as he walked away, only for someone to tap him on the shoulder a few seconds later. "What do you want?" Akuma frowned as he turned around to face the person that tapped him, Bowser.

"Ema stole something from me and like a petulant child, she refuses to give it back," explained Bowser; hearing this story, Akuma kept on walking, before Bowser grabbed him and pulled him back. "No wait, there's more! I need a guy like you to knock some sense into Ema. Preferably by beating her up. A malicious beatdown oughta do it!"

"Thanks but no thanks. I refuse to fight a young lady who has virtually no fighting skills...don't want my beatdown to be terribly one-sided. It would be boring." Akuma would keep on walking, before stopping in place. "...but I can provide a distraction that will allow you to retrieve your little item..."

"Oh yeah, that was the third idea I had in mind! My second idea involved tossing Ema inside the lake outside, but I know she'd be crying about that nonstop. I'll probably do that with someone else in the future, provided they can easily take a joke."

 **Akuma: Bowser told me that the item Ema has is a bouquet. Don't know why he would even need it, considering Lara left two weeks ago...**

Bowser would lead Akuma to Ema's room, where the forensics expert was seated at her desk inspecting the bouquet and taking notes. Bowser and Akuma peered inside through the half-open bedroom door.

"Go in there and do your thing, while I snatch the bouquet with Ema distracted," Bowser told Akuma, who nodded as he entered Ema's room. He would knock on the door to grab Ema's attention.

"I have a very important question to ask you Miss Skye, if you don't mind..." said Akuma, having Ema's full attention. The fighter stood at the desk, at Ema's side, so she wouldn't be able to notice Bowser...who apparently got himself stuck in-between the door sneaking his way inside the room. Clearly Bowser asked Ema to give back the bouquet from the door.

"Uh, okay then, ask away," responded Ema, while Bowser struggled to get himself unstuck. Tried to make as little noise as possible, so he wouldn't blow his cover.

"Just the other day, some teenage twerp challenged me to a fight at his school...you know, so he could prove to his peers that he's tough, that he's all about that life. No matter how many times I turned down his request, he told me to meet him outside of his school, at the football field so everyone can see. What should I do, Ema?"

"Personally I wouldn't show up - a grown man like yourself beating up a kid sounds bad either way you look it. And you not showing up will make it seem like you punked out, which will give your opponent the glory he so desperately craves for." As Ema gave her answer, Bowser finally got past the door, and snatched the bouquet, giving Akuma a nod when the mission was complete.

"Yeah you're right. I shouldn't have entertained the kid in the first place. It was my fault from the very beginning. Thanks for the advice, Ema." Ema would nod her head as Akuma left the room, and the forensics expert would go back to inspecting the bouquet...only to see that the bouquet was gone!

"Hold on, what happened to the bouquet?" Ema would look around her room, before bringing her attention to the bedroom door and the damaged done to it by Bowser. "And why does my bedroom door look so messed up for?"

* * *

Layton and Luke were on the heels of a new investigation - the rabbit logo on the box delivered to the mansion today led the detectives to believe that a group of rabbits were sending gifts to the mansion, for no reason. To see if anyone had any intel about the situation, Layton and Luke would ask random residents if they have seen any suspicious rabbits anywhere.

"Can't say I've seen any rabbits anywhere, aside from that Lopunny Lucario is attracted to," Akira would say to Layton and Luke, being questioned near the vending machine room. "But I will say, a wedding dress sent to this mansion does sound mighty suspicious!"

"Sure does Akira - almost makes me wonder if someone at the mansion is secretly eloping," remarked Layton, who was holding the wedding dress in his arms. "You can go now." Akira would leave the premises, just when Lloyd showed up. The swordsman was about to enter the vending machine room when Layton and Luke approached him.

"Lloyd before you grab yourself a snack, do you mind if we ask you a question or two?" Luke would ask the swordsman, who was quick to oblige. "We're running another investigation, and we believe that it might have something to do with rabbits. Have you seen any suspicious-looking rabbits anywhere?"

"Boy I sure have, saw some rabbits hanging around the mansion this week!" exclaimed Lloyd, getting Layton and Luke all excited. This was their chance to bust the investigation wide open. "I've seen things, my dudes! I've seen things!"

"Alright now Lloyd, calm down, we believe you," Layton calmed down the swordsman, before he could get all hyper. "How about you describe what these rabbits looked like, and Luke will draw a picture of them so we'll use it later."

"Cool beans! Lemme get a good visualization of what the rabbits looked like..." Luke took out a drawing pad and a marker, as Lloyd was ready to describe. "...these rabbits were short, had blank eyes, and these giant mouths...with these buck teeth..."

"Mhmm...mhmm...mhmm..." Luke would finish his drawing, and as he looked it at, he couldn't help but wonder if Lloyd provided the right description. "You sure this is right, Lloyd?" Luke would show Lloyd the drawing...a drawing of a Rabbid. And the swordsman would nod his head in eagerness.

"Yes, that's the one, looks like those Rabbids I saw outside!" Layton would take a peek at the Rabbid drawing, also sharing Luke's sentiments.

 **Lloyd: Saw those Rabbids terrorizing the Duck Hunt Dog one day. I wouldn't repelled them away from the mansion, but not at the fear of catching rabies...from the Rabbids, I mean.**

"I can't see the Rabbids sending unwanted gifts to the mansion, they don't appear capable of doing anything aside from spreading chaos and mayhem," remarked Layton, as Luke put away the drawing and his drawing pad. "But we'll keep the drawing in our records anyways. Thanks Lloyd."

"Just doing my job!" Lloyd saluted Layton and Luke, as they walked away. Feeling more proud of himself than he should, Lloyd confidently strutted his way inside the vending machine room...only to stop and stare agape.

There in the room, raiding a vending machine, were a group of Rabbids - the very same creatures Lloyd claimed he saw earlier this week. The Rabbids were doing their thing when they turned around, and saw Lloyd staring at them. They would scream, and Lloyd would scream as well, before they ran out of the room knocking down Lloyd as they escaped. Lloyd would spring back up to his feet, fearing for the worst.

"Oh crap, those Rabbid chumps are inside the mansion...why didn't I stop them when I had the chance?!" panicked Lloyd, as he pulled on his hair. "This is all my fault..."

* * *

Last week, with the help of Samus, Mega Man and his robot crew repaired the teleportation device, after it was burned by Bowser. With the device functioning again, Proto Man would use it to teleport Falco's stunt double to the mansion.

"The coordinates and everything else should be correct - just hope that I get the right person," said Proto Man, as the teleportation device did its thing. In a matter of seconds, a certain Rito fellow would be warped to the mansion, standing on the teleportation pad with his bow in tow. This Rito was a champion of his people, and the pilot of the Divine Beast, Vah Medoh...his name was Revali.

"Hmm, this place looks oddly familiar..." Revali said to himself, scanning his surroundings. He would stop off the pad, and come across Proto Man. "...and you look quite familiar yourself. Mind telling me your name?"

"I'm Proto Man, I'm the guy that operates the device that brought you here, or at least one of the guys," Proto Man introduced himself to Revali, getting the Rito's memory banks operating. "You're back in the Smash Mansion."

"Ah, yes, the Smash Mansion, where my fellow Champions and I made our presence! Though my presence was far more superior than theirs. I recall the first time I was at the mansion, when that bird Falco accused me of stealing his best friend, Fox. Glad we got the whole situation sorted out, before fists were thrown."

"Speaking of Falco, I brought you here so you could do him a huge favor. You see, he has a date with this cat, Katt Monroe, and he's also supposed to be on this online show called _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ which takes place in our kitchen. He wants you to serve as his stunt double for the show, so he can make it in time for his date."

"A falcon on a date with a feline...these present times sure are strange." Proto Man could only chuckle in response to Revali's comments. "No matter - I shall appear on this 'online show' and deliver an unbelievable, heart-stopping performance nobody will ever forget."

 **Revali: Being that I'm from a distinctly medieval period, I have literally no clue as to what an online show is or how it works, but I have the utmost confidence in my abilities regardless. I do everything with confidence - living without confidence is like living in death.**

"Proto Man, how did it go, did it work?" .EXE would ask the robot, seeing him standing near the device with Revali. "Sweet, the device actually worked! Was afraid you might've came across a technical mishap or something..."

"You should know better than to have your doubts, .EXE," Proto Man would say to his fellow robot pal...or NetNavi pal. Whichever one works best for you. "Mind showing our guest, Revali, where the kitchen is? He's supposed to be on _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ as Falco's stunt double."

"Mamori won't do her show if her special guest is unavailable...I'll do the honors." Revali would follow after .EXE, as the NetNavi guided the Rito to the kitchen. "Welcome back to the Smash Mansion, by the way - I know you were teleported here without notice. Happens to a lot of people when they're subject to teleportation. So, how are the Champions doing, what are they up to?"

"Same old, same old, I tell ya..." replied Revali, believing that his life was more superior than the other Champions' lives. "Mipha's still teaching her brother Sidon how to swim, Daruk is still mining for gold, and Urbosa...still won't let me inside her town. The Gerudo are an extremely sexist race, I'll tell you what. But enough of that - tell me how this, 'online show' works..."

* * *

Unless you were Samus and wanted to finish your task to the end without breaking a sweat, you probably want to take a break from your work every now and then. Fox, who was working on his Landmaster, felt his stomach growling, and went to eat some malasadas, to cure his hunger. Those malasadas were almost always readily available.

When Fox returned outside to his Landmaster, malasadas in hand, he would drop the Hawaiian treats to the ground when he saw a sight before him that greatly ticked him off - Sonic and Crash, the latter free from his cage, on top of the Landmaster and dancing. To add insult to injury, phrases such as "FOX SUCKS" were spray painted on the Landmaster in graffiti, which made Fox even more ticked.

"Hey Fox you gotta admit, the graffiti spruces up your Landmaster a bit doesn't it?" Sonic would ask the pilot, who growled his teeth as he marched towards the hedgehog and Crash. He rolled up his sleeve, meaning that he was gonna throw some hands.

 **Sonic: Think I know why Fox had Sonic caged up in the first place...he knew that Crash was a lowkey secret weapon in dismantling Berkut's assassination scheme! That's why Fox came and restrained Crash and I while we were laying the beatdown on Balthier. Whatever Falco's involved with, Fox is involved too. What if Coco was working with Berkut, Dark Pit, and Balthier as well? I mean, she also restrained us from exposing Balthier...and Aku himself could have a vital role...everything is starting to come full circle!**

"YOU PUNKS ARE DEAD MEAT!" shouted Fox, jumping on top of his Landmaster ready to throw down with Sonic and Crash. He would push the two down and threw his fists, throwing his punches at them, as Sonic and Crash did their best to fight back. "Once I get through with you dorks, I'm gonna..."

"Bruh, Fox, why you beating up on Sonic and Crash for?" asked a voice, a voice Fox could easily recognize from a thousand miles away. The pilot would stop his senseless beating and look behind him, seeing Falco all dressed up for his date. "Now Sonic, that is understandable, but Crash...have you got any shame, dude?"

"I was, uh, teaching Sonic and Crash how to fight properly. That's what's going on, yeah. Teaching Crash how to fight before he officially becomes a Smash fighter, whenever that happens. As for Sonic...well, I just needed a punching bag to demonstrate on. No biggie, hehe..."

"Uh huh...seems legit. Well anyway, I'm about to go on my date with Katt - I'm supposed to meet her at some restaurant up in the Space Needle. Isn't that cool or what? Hoping and praying that my first date goes well..."

"There's restaurants up in the Space Needle? Sweet! Awesome! I thought the Space Needle was just some overrated building that only exists just for people to look at, but I see that my views about it have changed. Now the Taj Mahal is the most overrated building on Earth, at least in my book. So did you find someone to take your place on _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ or not?"

"As in like, my stunt double?" Falco would ask before making a sudden face of realization, followed by a slap to his face. "Dang it, Little Mac must've brought that man Revali to the mansion! Told him good not to do it! Good thing I have a few minutes to spare before my date..." Falco would return to the mansion, on a mission to expel Revali.

"Definitely could've used one of those funky cloning potions Ashley has...maybe he wasn't that convincing enough. The puppy eyes look would've given Ashley some sympathy. Back to my..." Fox was ready to resume throwing hands with Sonic and Crash, only to notice that something - or _someone -_ was amiss. "Hey, where did Sonic run off to? Eh, I'll just give his dose of fists later..."

* * *

Lloyd was in trouble, or so the swordsman thought. There were Rabbids inside the mansion, and Lloyd himself took the blame for their sudden appearing, believing that had he repelled them from the mansion earlier this week, they wouldn't have sneaked their way inside the establishment. But knowing how the Rabbids operated, they were bound to find a way anyways...

"YES, I've finally caught a fish Pokemon that isn't a Magikarp OR a Feebas!" rejoiced Villager, walking through the mansion with his catch of the day. The young lad was holding his fishing rod in one hand, and a Remoraid in the other. "This is the best day ever!" Little did Villager know that his best day was about to become his worst...

"Villager, Villager, you must save me!" Lloyd called out to the lad, running to him from behind. He would knock into Villager, making him drop his Remoraid as the poor jet Pokemon was flung out of a nearby open window. "Oh, and sorry about your Remoraid."

 **Villager: That Remoraid might not be much, but it was the best Pokemon I've caught in all my times fishing at the lake...I bet some stupid bird swooped up that poor Remoraid and made it its prey... *wipes away a tear* ...I'M NOT CRYING, YOU'RE CRYING! *sniffs, then walks away* I need a moment, excuse me...**

"Oh, it's fine, it's fine...I can always catch another Remoraid another time," replied Villager, knowing dang well that the odds is, and will always be, against his favor. "So, what do I need to save you from? Ticked off Bayonetta again?"

"For the last time, I DID NOT tick off Bayonetta," clarified Lloyd, making sure Villager knew this. "My curiosity ticked her off. My curiosity was the one who told me to touch Bayonetta's butt, to see if it was full of silicone. Don't blame me, blame my curiosity...but back to the important stuff. There are Rabbids inside our mansion, and it was my fault for not telling them to go away when they showed up earlier this week. We must prevent a Rabbids invasion from happening!"

"Not sure if I should believe you or not, considering it's you. Might have to see some actual evidence of the Rabbids before...I can..."

The evidence Villager needed would walk right past him and Lloyd, as the young lad and the swordsman witnessed the Rabbids walk by, carrying an unfortunate female resident on a stake all tied up like she was the Rabbids' queen. And who was this woman exactly? _Ema Skye._

"One moment I was looking for the bouquet, and now I'm caught up in this..." sighed Ema, forced to look up at the ceiling (and occasionally to the side) due to the position she was in. "...and the fact that I'm being held captive by some crackhead rabbits isn't doing anything to soften the situation..."

Lloyd and Villager would watch as the Rabbids carried Ema away, chanting some kind of tribal chant. They would then look at each other, knowing that they would have a major problem on their hands if they didn't act fast...

* * *

"Hello, Mamorinis, to another spanking episode of _Microwave Idol Mamorin,_ with your hosts Mamori, Ashley, and Asuka!" Mamori kicked off her online show, in the kitchen. Mamorinis was the pet name Mamori came up with for her fanbase. "We're gonna warm up your heart, with the press of a button!"

"Unfortunately one of our scheduled guests today couldn't make it to today's show - he's too busy pimping out his ride," said Asuka, as Revali waited in the dining room, ready to make an impact. "Pretty honorable excuse for not showing up. But our other schedule guest is here...he is a famed space pilot, and he's as cool as a cucumber! Everyone give it up for...Ashley, would you like to do the honors?"

"Sure why not...everyone give it up for...Falco Revali...I mean Lombardi!" exclaimed Ashley, pressing the cheers/applause button on her remote as Revali stepped inside the kitchen, in the camera focus. It should be noted that Ashley was familiarized with Revali, while Mamori and Asuka weren't...

"Ah, what a perfect day to make my debut appearance!" smiled Revali, with his hands on his hips. "So glad to be here girls - I can guarantee that this episode will be the greatest episode in this series' history!"

"Ooooooh a guarantee already, I love it!" exclaimed Mamori, as Ashley looked around nervously wondering if she should've given Falco that cloning potion. "Our special treat of the day is raw prime meat!" Mamori held up a plate of the meat for the viewers to see. "Falco, would you like to hold the plate, since you're the guest?"

"Why of course, Mamori!" Mamori would give the plate of meat to the Rito. "You know, I've cooked this particular kind of meat before...tastes delicious when it's steaming hot!" As Revali kept running his mouth about raw prime meat, Falco stood at the kitchen entrance glaring down the Rito. Apparently Falco didn't want Revali in his place, and for several unknown reasons.

But as Falco glared at Revali, a person was spying on him...that person being Sonic the Hedgehog.

 **Sonic: Aw crap, Falco's gonna ask Revali to join Berkut's assassination crew! You might think Falco dislikes Revali, but it's just a facade used to make Revali's "initiation" easier. Pretty soon we're gonna have Dark Pit, Balthier, Fox, Falco, Coco, Aku, AND Revali working with Berkut to take out Alm! What if Revali tells the other Champions about the plot and asks them to join Berkut...I can't even think about it!**

Falco couldn't stand to watch Revali run his jib jab anymore, so he stepped inside the kitchen to confront the Rito. He would slap the plate of raw prime meat out of his hands, looking into the eyes of the bird.

"My goodness, we now have TWO Falcos on our show!" exclaimed Mamori, after Falco made his presence, all up in Revali's grill. "Two times the fun! But, which Falco is actually the real Falco...?"

"Falco Lombardi...we met again," greeted Revali, as Falco had a death cold glare locked in on the Rito. Mamori and company looked on, with Mamori and Asuka confused, and Ashley suddenly having second regrets. " Why are you here, the show must go on!"

"Get out of my spot before I have to teach ya a lesson..." frowned Falco, rolling up his sleeve. What is it with Fox and Falco wanting to throw some hands today? "No way I'm gonna let you steal my glory and shine..."

"Now, now, this is not the time for a fight. Kitchens aren't the type of settings to have a brawl. Unless you're dealing with a horrible chef. So how about you take your beef elsewhere?"

Falco refused to, as he was still standing in front of Revali, ready for a fight. But Revali, the modest Rito, wouldn't budge...

* * *

Meanwhile, Mario and Peach were still waiting to know what gender their baby was, and Snake and Ness were still doing everything in their power to prevent the married couple from knowing. After turning in the "results" from the questionable questionnaire, Snake would inspect Peach's belly for any evidence of stretchmarks, and Ness would do the same.

"I've told you before, I already inspected my stomach for stretchmarks and I didn't see any," said the ever impatient Peach, as Snake was shining a literal flashlight on the princess' stomach. "Why won't you listen?!"

"There might be invisible stretchmarks for all we know, which is why Dr. Pliskin is using the special flashlight to find them," explained Ness, as Mario felt bored out of his mind. "It'll take some time." Suddenly Mario's phone rang, and the plumber was quick to answer.

"Hello, who's this?" Mario said into the phone, hoping this phone call would be the one thing that would quell his boredom. The phone was on speakerphone; this was important.

"Oh hey Mario, it's me, Ema," answered Ema, who certainly sounded like she was in a predicament. "Having trouble moving my arms...anyways, I just got kidnapped by a group of rabbits... _Rabbids_ , I'm afraid." Mario's face understandably sank when the Rabbids were mentioned. "Just giving you a heads up, before we have a Rabbids invasion on our hands. I'm sure you'll know what to do to prevent the inevitable from happening."

"No matter the situation, I'll always-a find a way..." Mario sighed depressingly, as Peach, Snake, and Ness looked on. "...anything else you wish-a to share with me?"

"Well I'm not allowed to tell you or Peach this, but...Master Hand had sent Snake and Ness to the hospital to disguise themselves as doctors and prevent you and Peach from finding out the gender of your child because he's afraid you'll tell everyone the gender and ruin the surprise. Okay, bye!"

Ema quickly ended the call, and after she did, Mario dropped his phone to the floor, glaring at a concerned Snake and Ness. Peach would glare at the two as well.

"Look, Mario, Peach, it's not what you think..." said Snake, backing away with Ness, as Mario came closer towards the faux doctors. "We just wanted to wait until the day the baby is delivered, just for the surprise...everyone _loves_ a good surprise, amirite Ness?" Ness nodded his head nervously.

"What's good Mario and Peach, sorry for being so late!" greeted the doctor that entered the room. It was the sonographer, and boy was he late. "Sorry for my late arrival, I got mugged by some guy and this kid and got trapped inside this dark...room." The sonographer stopped talking, when he saw Mario ready to throw it down with Snake and...what was up with Fox, Falco, AND Mario today?!

 **Snake: *sporting a black eye* Got Mario and Peach to momentarily hate me and Ness, but it was totally worth it. The best surprises...are the ones you don't have to wait too long for.**

* * *

Once Leia was done treating Ike and his stomach ulcers, she would pay Cloud a visit, as she tended to the swordsman's sickness. Link, Zelda, and Aerith were standing by.

"Yup, this is definitely food poisoning... got all the usual symptoms," stated Leia, as she diagnosed her patient. "There could've been some bacteria, like salmonella, in the sushi roll you ate. I wouldn't accept any food from Pit from now on, if I were you..."

"You know, this will make suing Pit all the more easier, now that we have suitable evidence," remarked Link, as everyone glared at the Hylian. Dude just needed to let it go. Suddenly, a knock on the door. "Come in!"

"Is this a good time or not?" asked the person that knocked, Pit. With the angel was Meta Knight, who looked like he was contemplating life. Working with Pit must've done it to him. "There was something wrong with the sushi roll we gave to..."

"THERE HE IS CLOUD! SUE HIM, SUE HIS PRETENTIOUS BEHIND!" Everyone looked at Link, pointing at Pit like a madman, and the Hylian would cool off.

"The sushi we had given you, Cloud...it had contained salmonella, and it may have contributed to your food poisoning. We were informed about your sickness by Zelda, and so we had to inform you right away...that your sushi roll was essentially a defect."

"Heh, I knew that sushi roll was no good..." Cloud had this to say, only mustering a slight chuckle as his food poisoning was getting the best of him. "To be fair, it looked like any other sushi roll, but it still looked suspicious, at least to me. Did any of the other sushi rolls have salmonella?"

"We R.O.B. do some inspecting, and we found certain sushi rolls that carry the bacteria," answered Meta Knight, still looking like he was contemplating life. "We've placed them in the kitchen so Palutena could perhaps 'cleanse' them, if she can."

* * *

Layton and Luke were more hard-pressed for answers than ever. They've been asking people if they knew anything about the wedding dress, or the suspicious rabbit logo, but nobody knew a thing. Nobody could provide the answer Layton and Luke craved for.

Wanting to call it a day, Layton and Luke decided to ask one more person. And they would find that person in Bowser, holding his bouquet in the lounge.

"Ema may have tried to take you away from me, but she has another thing coming for her...I think," Bowser spoke to the bouquet like a sentimental being, as Layton and Luke entered the lounge. As Bowser saw them, he would hold his bouquet behind his back. "...sup dudes, what's cookin' up in your neighborhood?"

"Watcha holding behind your back, King Bowser?" Luke asked the koopa king out of curiosity. Bowser knew that Layton and Luke were too keen to be outsmarted in any given situation, so he had to give it up.

"Oh, you're talking about this?" Bowser would reveal the bouquet, for Layton and Luke to see. "Pfft, it's just some stupid bouquet, full of Piranha Plants...nothing special if you ask me."

"Uh huh...before we go, we must ask you a simple question, or two questions rather," said Layton, holding up the wedding dress for Bowser. "Do you know anything about this wedding dress? Also, have you seen any..."

"Look, I know you're just dying to conduct another investigation, but I'm scared to know what this investigation is all about if it involves some stupid wedding dress. You losers will never get married in a million years, so why bother gathering clues for?! Just leave me out of your investigation, will ya?!"

Bowser grumpily got up and left the lounge with his bouquet, and as he left, Layton turned around and saw the rabbit symbol he saw earlier on Bowser's bouquet...

 **Layton: Staring to get a clue as to why Bowser avoided Luke and I today...we shall be keeping a close eye on him in the coming weeks.**

* * *

Falco and Revali were still having their staredown in the kitchen, while _Microwave Idol Mamorin_ was going on. No action whatsoever - just an intense staredown.

"Folks, our Falco clones have been staring at each other for what feels like eons, you could literally cut the intensity in this kitchen with a knife!" exclaimed Mamori, before quietly whispering the following to Ashley and Asuka: "We _are_ going to cut a majority of the staredown out of our episode for the sake of time, right?"

As the avian staredown persisted, Sonic was still spying on Falco. This time, the hedgehog was closer to prey, and he was ready to pounce. And pounce he did...

"Hiya!" Sonic belted, rushing inside the kitchen attempting to take out Falco's knees. Somehow the hedgehog messed up, and he caused Falco to fall forward towards Revali, pushing him. Sonic remained on the kitchen floor, soaking in failure, as Revali looked at Falco with contentious eyes.

"If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you shall get!" exclaimed Revali, assuming Falco purposely incited him to fight, as he and the avian pilot were finally fighting. Unfortunately for Revali, he wasn't that much of a fighter - archery was his prowess. That meant that the fighting between him and Falco was rather awkward, as they legitimately had no idea what to do thanks in part to Revali's ineptitude.

"Oh my, the two Falcos are sparring in the kitchen!" fretted Mamori, as she and her friends were forced to watched the fight that increased in awkwardness with each and every second. "Will the real Falco Lombardi please stand up?! Never mind, they're both standing..."

Sonic, done bathing in defeat, would pick himself off up the floor, standing up on his own. As he did, he would see the Rabbids walk by Falco and Revali carrying their "queen" Ema Skye over their shoulders. The Rabbids would stop when they felt Sonic looking at them, as they turned around to face the blue blur.

"Um, guys...who invited them?" Sonic would ask the others, pointed at the Rabbids, as Falco and Revali stopped their awkward fight and looked at the Rabbids. The Rabbids, with their lifeless eyes, looked at Sonic, then at Falco and Revali, then at Mamori and company...and suddenly took interest in Mamori, as they dropped Ema to the floor like it was nothing and marched towards the nervous idol singer.

"Wonder who let the cancer inside the mansion..." remarked Falco, as the Rabbids drew closer to Mamori, who backed away. The idol singer's "stranger danger" couldn't save her now. Falco would look to his right, seeing a plate of the salmonella-ridden Pikachu Sushi Rolls, and had an idea. "Hey Revali, think fast!"

Falco would toss a handful of the sushi rolls to the Rito, before hurling his own sushi rolls at the Rabbids, halting their progress. Revali, seeing what Falco was doing, would join in on the effort, as he too threw the sushi rolls at the Rabbids. The poor bunny creatures were now backing away from Mamori, as they were pelted by the sushi rolls screaming incessantly; one Rabbid ate a sushi roll lying on the floor, and was left disgusted. Sonic, taking upon the opportunity, dragged Ema to the nearby dining room, and untied her there.

"About time someone untied me..." said Ema, as Sonic was untying her. Lloyd would eventually show up, and when he saw what Sonic was doing, he left the premises, snapping his fingers in disgust.

 **Lloyd: My one and only chance to save Ema, and prove how awesome I am...but Sonic just had to be even more awesome...er.**

 **Sonic: I could've prevented Revali from joining Berkut's assassination pact, if it weren't for those intruding Rabbids...what if the Rabbids are a part of the pact too?**

The Rabbids eventually had enough of the sushi rolls, as they were all screaming and ran outside the mansion, through the back door. The kitchen floor was covered with sushi rolls, but it was worth it in the end.

"In all my life, I've never seen creatures as strange-looking as those rabbits - and their screams were irritating!" said Revali, before looking at Falco with a smile. "You got quite the arm, my friend - an excellent thrower!"

"Heh, you got quite the arm too, Revali," replied Falco, also smiling. It was in that moment Mamori and Asuka realized they've been bamboozled. "Sorry about our little spat earlier - when I wanted a stunt double, you were perhaps the last person on my mind. Was afraid that my stunt double would outdo me on Mamori's show, show more swagger and personality than I do! Wanted my stunt double to be good, but not as good as I am. I was irrationally angry when you were the guy selected. But I see that I was in the wrong..."

"You have to admit Falco, we're more similar than you think aside from our looks. Similar attitudes, similar personalities...it just matches up, doesn't it?" Falco knew he heard that before. "So, how about we let bygones be bygones?" Bygones be bygones it was, as Falco and Revali shook hands, and were on the same page (again). Just then, Falco's phone rang, and the pilot knew who it was...

"Katt, babe, what's up?" Falco nervously said into his phone, leaving the kitchen. As he did, he waved goodbye to Revali, and Revali would wave right back.

* * *

Thanks to their sonographer... _their real_ sonographer, Mario and Peach returned home in comfort, knowing what gender their baby was. Immediately after the married couple exited from their car, Lloyd came running up to them, out of breath.

"Mario...Princess Peach...some bad news..." alerted Lloyd, huffing and puffing and sweating buckets. "The Rabbids...were seen...in the mansion..."

"Yes, I'm fully aware Lloyd, Ema told-a me about them," replied Mario, leading Lloyd to hold his head in shame. His one and only chance to deliver information, and prove how awesome he was, but Ema just had to be more awesome...er. "She also told-a me how they had to be driven-a out of the kitchen. I'll have X tweak-a the security system, so we-a won't see the Rabbids again."

"Cool beans...cool beans..." Lloyd's breather would come to an end, as the swordsman was upbeat and perky again. "So how did the 'sialography' go, did you find out the baby's gender?"

"First-a of all, it's called a sonography...and secondly, it went-a well! As for the gender of-a our baby, it's a..." Lloyd looked at Mario with excitement, ready to hear the great news. "...you know what, we'll wait until-a we address it to everyone." Mario and Peach headed to their house, as Lloyd held his head in disappointment and walked away. Hopefully the swordsman didn't have to wait long, for as Snake said earlier...

...the best surprises are the ones you don't have to wait too long for.


	120. Episode 120: PoolParty

_Author's Note:_

 _A little heads-up before we begin...I'll be heading down to Florida next weekend, so the next chapter of Smash Life will be published much earlier than usual. Want to have some rest and relaxation before making the trip down to Florida. The new chapter might be published after midnight, on Thursday, so be on the lookout. Also, I won't be answering any PMs or even log into my Fanfiction account while I'm in Florida, so another heads-up for ya. On to the reviews:_

 _"Can you include the rest of the Dot Hack GU characters? A scene with Corrin interacting with Kratos from Tales of Symphonia? (Cam Clarke voices them) a Detective Pikachu chapter? Has anyone called out Celica for trusting Jedah? Is Katt's appearance from Star Fox 64 or Star Fox Command? And finally, will you include any of the King of Fighters charcters in your story?"_

 _Probably. Maybe. A Detective Pikachu chapter has been in the books. I don't think I'll have anyone call out Celica. Katt's appearance is based off of Command. And I don't much about King of Fighters, so I don't know about including characters from that franchise. Here's Derick Lindsey, with the other review of the day:_

 _"I don't remember if Revali interacted with Link when he first showed up but if Revali does show up again can you do it where Revali keeps trying to get Link's attention while Link just flat out ignores him not even acknowledging his existence because he's busy focusing on something else."_

 _I highly doubt Revali will appear again in this story (barring a holiday-themed chapter that is chock full of callbacks and whatnot), but if he does, then I'll go forth with this idea. Revali is my favorite Champion...my second-most favorite, at least least. My most favorite Champion is in this chapter..._

* * *

 **Episode 120: PoolParty**

Having lost whatever interest he had in the Pikachu Cheesesteaks, which were introduced in episode 111, Master Hand sought to look for the next great thing - the next food trend that would keep Pikachu Day ongoing and spread some awareness about the day. That was when Pit introduced Master Hand to his culinary creation...the Pikachu Sushi Rolls.

These sushi rolls were just like any other sushi roll - the only difference was that they had a yellow fish skin that perfectly matched Pikachu's skin. Master Hand was absolutely floored upon seeing the sushi rolls for the first time - so much, that he asked Pit and Kirby to sell them to the folks around town, hence the food truck in the previous episode.

So far, the sales of the Pikachu Sushi Rolls have been great, though the same couldn't be said about the overall reception. Moments before Cloud accrued food poisoning in the previous episode, several of the customers felt sick after consuming one of Pit's fine treats, due to the presence of the salmonella Pit neglected to clean off. These customers complained to Master Hand and demanded that they get their money back. Master Hand was never the one to give people their money back, so it was safe to say that those who voiced their complaints were already out of luck.

The more Master Hand neglected the claims of those who were sick from the sushi rolls, the more and more complaints he accrued, enough to the point where some folks filed their complaints, willing to go to court with Master hand to get their money back. Ayaha would go over the legal issues Master Hand was going through in his room, holding a bunch of legal documents.

"...and this person from Spokane, Washington, said that the sushi rolls not only made him sick, but it also got him kicked out of his family's house," Ayaha said to Master Hand, reading off one of the filed complaints. Master Hand had little to no regard of this person at all. "Sounds like a major personal problem, but it was still something worth mentioning. I think you should really address this situation before it becomes out of hand..."

"Why must that guy sue me, it's not like I was the one selling sushi rolls at some food truck on the street!" complained Master Hand, looking outside his window and seeing Pit and company, selling sushi rolls at their food truck. Said sushi rolls were no longer carrying the salmonella bacteria. "If anything, he should sue Pit - those sushi rolls were idea, not mine!"

 **Link: Yes, my master plan is already in motion even before I had to take action...people are suddenly realizing how pathetic the sushi rolls are, and are suing the heck out of Master Hand! I wish they would sue Pit as well, but he'll get this due soon. No matter, once the whole legal stuff comes to a glorious end, Pikachu Cheesesteaks will be back on the market, baby!**

"I think they're suing you because you approved of Pit's sushi rolls, which means you carry most of the blame," explained Ayaha; Master Hand believed that he was the most blameless individual in the entire universe, so he refused to believe Ayaha by any means. "Nobody would ever dare to sue an innocent kid like Pit, so they're coming after you because you're all powerful and stuff."

"So what you're saying is, people don't wanna sue Pit...because he's a 'kid'?" questioned Master Hand, in complete astonishment. The giant hand would laugh heartily afterwards. "What, are they scared of suing Pit or something? Or are they giving him special privileges that no adult would ever have? I'm getting sick and tired of all these cowards, giving little children special privileges, just like the judges on those talent shows! Too afraid to tell child acts how crappy their acts are, because they're too afraid to hurt their itty bitty feelings...how else are they supposed to prepare them for the real world?!"

"You might want to cool off a bit Master Hand, before this whole things goes to your head..." Someone knocked on Master Hand's bedroom door, cutting off Ayaha. "Come on in!" Sonic would enter Master Hand's room, and he looked like he was on a mission.

"Sorry to disturb you, Master Hand and Miss Oribe, but I have some important details I must tell you," explained Sonic, stressing the sheer importance of these so-called details. "Caught Coco doing some suspicious things again...I saw her on her laptop, doing some online shopping! She's possibly buying horrible items that could be used to kill Alm..."

"Oh boy, not this stupid crap again..." sighed Master Hand, knowing what Sonic was rambling on about. "Sonic, for the last time, Coco (and Aku) have literally no business with killing Alm. Even if they did, I wouldn't allow it, as I've already told Berkut before that he isn't allowed to lay even the slightest finger on Alm, or he and Rinea will be booted from the mansion. Also, what possibly makes you think Coco would be interested in killing Alm?"

"It's actually pretty simple, really, when you think about it...Berkut needs a smart guy for his assassination pact, to keep all the personalities and egos together, and that's where Coco comes in. Every evil group needs a different personality to keep everything together and promote a sense of unity, and Berkut's group is no different. You got Berkut as the leader, Dark Pit as the second-in-command, Fox and Falco as the lancers, Balthier as the..."

"Don't you think that Berkut's 'assassination pact' would need...a big guy?" Ayaha asked Sonic, who was stumped real quick. "Look, Sonic, Coco has no business in killing Alm, and the same can be said for just about anyone else you believe is working with Berkut. Just let it go, will ya?" Sonic wouldn't, as he shook his head in disdain.

"You don't get it...you just don't get it, do you? There are traitors, walking among us, and you believe in what you perceive as the truth. But go ahead, keep believing in your own truths...eventually you'll learn that they're nothing but lies, fabricated by your own delusions. One day, you'll open your eyes to the real truth."

Ayaha and Master hand just looked at one another in confusion, as Sonic left the room. The hedgehog wouldn't get that far when he saw Fox and Falco, speaking with one another privately.

"I dunno, Falco, accepting this gift might be risky, it might break both of our reputations," Fox said to his best friend, as Sonic crept closer so he could listen closely to the conversation. "It might even break the reputation of Star Records!"

"You're acting like Star Records had a reputation to begin with..." replied Falco, as Sonic crept even closer - but not too close to the point where Fox and Falco would notice him. "We'll be just fine - it'll be beneficial for us in the long run."

"Yeah, I sure hope so. But I still have my lingering doubts. Are you sure we're doing the right thing?" Falco placed his hands on Fox's shoulders, in an assuring manner.

"Don't get it twisted, we _are_ doing the right thing. It's the only chance we got. Just gotta wait and see how it all plays out..." Having heard enough, Sonic walked away, now even more suspicious of Fox and Falco than before.

* * *

 **Meta Knight: Despite last week's salmonella scare, business at the food truck is still ongoing, despite the decreasing sales. Sucks for me, as I still have to wear this stupid cooking apron and working in the food truck day in and day out. *looks down at his cooking apron* "World's Best Chef"...what a lie that is.**

Compared to the crowd in last week's episode, the crowd at the food truck this time around was very sparse, with only but a few people buying the Pikachu Sushi Rolls. Even though the salmonella was gone, the suspicions about the sushi rolls weren't.

"I don't mean to overreact or anything, but I think that we honestly peaked last Friday," Pit would tell his co-workers Viridi, Pit, and Meta Knight, in response to the few crowds coming to the food truck today. "A mascot would help us out in the long run. Having some guy dress up as a Pikachu Sushi Roll and promote our food truck would do wonders. We could pay him fifteen bucks an hour - twenty-five if he's super desperate."

"We wouldn't have peaked if someone cleaned the fish off..." remarked Viridi, her arms folded, as she glared at Meta Knight. The Star Warrior was just minding his business when he saw Viridi glaring right at him.

"Oh, it's MY fault some stupid angel neglected to properly prepare the fish?!" retorted Meta Knight, throwing some obvious shade at Pit. "I just put the sushi rolls together, that's all I do! Also, why do I have to be the fall guy for, I'm Hispanic!"

"Hmph. Debatable. But just because you're 'Hispanic' doesn't mean that you're safe from..." Viridi stopped, when she saw a guy with blonde Jimmy Neutron hair come to the food truck. "...look alive people, we have another customer!"

The customer was none other than Lucas, who approached the food truck with nothing in his hand. Perhaps the PSI whiz had his money in his pocket. We know everyone else does.

"Well if it isn't my favorite PSI teenager!" exclaimed Viridi; Ness must be feeling pretty salty now. More importantly, did Viridi just say something positive about a human, let alone Lucas?! Must be trying to get on Lucas' good side, making him more inclined to not leave the food truck. Veteran business move right there. "You want a Pikachu sushi Roll? Good timing, because we have a new batch ready and prepared for adoring customers like you!"

"Actually, I was wondering if any of you guys have seen by dog, Boney," stated Lucas, who was holding a ball in his hand - the very ball he used to play catch with his pet dog. "We were playing catch in the backyard outside, and I thew this ball as far as I could, as Boney chased after it. Waited a good while, and Boney never came back...found the ball lying on the ground, exactly where I threw it at."

"I would invest in a Silph Scope if I were you, your dog could've turned into an invisible ghost and could be waiting to devour your soul," Pit had this to say, garnerning a strange look from Viridi. The angel would shut his mouth in an instant.

"I'm sorry Lucas, but we haven't seen your dog anywhere. I would go look for it, but I have to run this food truck - can't trust Pit and Kirby to run the truck themselves. Also, with Meta Knight around, someone's gotta be there to keep his spirits high, and Pit and Kirby are only doing the bare minimum in that regard."

"Okay then, I completely understand..." replied Lucas, holding his head down in sadness as he walked away. Viridi placed her hand on her heart, feeling Lucas' heartache and pain. "I'll just...wait on the porch and wait for Boney to return...if he's even out there, alive..."

"You should invest in a Silph Scope while you're at it!" Pit called out to Lucas, before shutting his trap yet again when Viridi looked at him.

* * *

Pit's food truck business was seemingly on a downfall, and nobody at the mansion was happier than Link. The Hylian saw this downfall as a good thing, and was waiting patiently for the moment the food truck would be put out of business, forever.

But for now, Link had more important objectives to do other wishing ill will towards a food truck operated outside the mansion. One of his objectives involved carrying a giant water canister outside, where Mario waited.

 **Link: *holding giant water canister* This giant canister of water came to the mansion this week, and after several discussions about what to do with it, Mario opted to use the water as part of a pool that would be in the mansion's backyard. The Carpenters worked on building the pool, and now they're all done - only thing left to do is pour the water inside. Thanks to the Iron Boots I'm wearing, carrying this canister is like holding an empty box, almost...it would suck if someone were to sneak up in me right now.**

As fate would have it, someone did sneak up on Link while he was carrying the canister, and it was the person the Hylian most expected - Midna. The imp would fly up to Link, too close to the Hylian for comfort, and flicked the ear lobe of his right ear.

"Gaaah!" screamed Link, nearly losing his balance as he almost dropped the large canister of water to the floor. However, the Hylian would remain standing upright, as he took a deep breath. Poor guy almost had a heart attack. "Midna, was that you?! That wasn't funny..."

"Awww, you know me too well..." smirked Midna, having found Link's sudden shock so amusing. Always put a gleeful smile on her face. But that smile would fade away, eventually. "...where on earth is your green hat?"

"Beats me...it's been missing for as long as I know what. About time you noticed. That must mean you really don't know me that well...so you essentially lied. For shame, Midna, for shame!"

"Ah well, it's not like it's the end of the world...better be glad I just flicked your ear lobe, I could've done much worse. I was _this_ close to kissing you on the cheek, but I couldn't take that risk, given your contagious skin."

"Contagious skin? Me? Wow Midna, you really don't know me that well! I practically take care of my skin every day, 24/7 - such is expected from yours truly, the hero of Hyrule. Every hero requires good looks, good skin, good hygiene, and everything else. Otherwise, they're nothing but a lousy faker. And thanks to the skin lotions I've borrowed from Zelda before rooming with Cloud..."

"There you are, Link - how do these earrings look on me?" Zelda showed up, as she asked her boyfriend. Link became nervous, hoping his girlfriend didn't hear him. "Celica was kind enough to buy me these from the jewelry, and I think they match my dress!"

"Those earrings, uh, look great on you, Zelda - though you look great regardless of what earrings you wear. You're just that special, when it comes to your beauty." Midna took note of how nervous Link was, and wanted to make him miserable by bursting his bubble.

"Princess Zelda, Link had stolen your skin care products before he and Cloud became roommates," the imp told the princess, as Link gave Midna a death glare, gritting his teeth. "He said it, not me."

"You can't say that to Zelda, she's gonna kill me!" Link quietly whispered to Midna...before redirecting his attention to Zelda and seeing the princess frowning, with her arms folded. "Hey, Zelda, how's uh...how is the kingdom of Hyrule coming along, I know you haven't been there in a while, but..." Link slowly backed away, with the water canister in hand, and Zelda drew closer...

* * *

Eventually, Zelda slapped Link so hard, that she caused the Hylian to fall down, and drop the large water canister in the process. The canister would fall on top of Link, crushing him and injuring him in the process. As you would believe, Zelda instantly regretted what she did, and helped Link off the floor and escorted him to the fitness center, where he would be treated by Leia.

"Oughta be glad that canister didn't do any more damage, otherwise you would have broken bones all over your body!" Leia told Link, who was resting on the patient bed recuperating from his injuries. The water canister in question was outside the fitness center, since it was too big to be brought in. "The fact that the canister didn't break is a miracle - good thing it's indestructible!"

"Yeah, you can say that again..." remarked Link, before realizing what Leia just said. "Wait, what? The water canister was indestructible this whole time?!" Link overreacted to this news more than he should, as he threw a mini tantrum. Acting like someone stole his wallet of rupees.

"That's what Mario told me, anyways. He said he would tell you, but he didn't think that such information would be that important for you to know. So, it's kinda your loss, in a way..."

 **Leia: Once the pool outside is all set up, Mario is planning on having a pool party - the first of its kind at the Smash Mansion. I'm not entirely sure if the water is safe for swimming in, or if it has some underlying uses that we don't know of...**

 **Bowser: That bozo Mario wants to use the water for his stupid little swimming pool! He's doing it wrong, all wrong! According to the note attached to the water canister, the water inside is called Sparkle Water, and whomever drinks it is "blessed with good fortune, happiness, and even romance"! (Already had a sip of the Sparkle Water, and so far nothing has happened to me- perhaps I needed to drink a bigger sample size.) For that reason, I cannot afford to have anyone swim in that water by any means! Could you imagine Pit swimming in that water, and peeing in it?! The allure and effects of the Sparkle Water would be ruined forever!**

"Wait here and get some rest, while I find you some antibiotics," Leia said to Link, before leaving the Hylian. A mere moment after the nurse left, Cloud would enter the room, wanting to check on his best friend.

"How are you feeling, Mr. Skin Care Thief?" Cloud asked Link, who grumbled and looked the other way. "Look dude, nobody told you to steal any skin care products, let alone those that belong to a chick...you've got some serious problems, my friend."

"It's not called 'serious problems', it's called _equality._ Anyone a woman can do, a man can do as well...well, certain things anyways. It's just like that old song, 'Anything you can do, I can do better, I can do anything better than...'" Link immediately paused, when he thought over the lyrics. "...I probably shouldn't finish the rest of the song, should I?"

"I dare ya to sing that around a bunch of feminists, they would definitely have a field day with you that's for sure...anyways, how about I do you a little favor and take the water canister outside to Mario? That way, you can heal from your injuries and ponder over how much of a weirdo you truly are."

"Hold on just a second...you're voluntarily offering to do a huge solid for me? Wow Cloud, I don't think you've ever did a favor for me before...maybe you're the one with serious problems. You might be changing for the better! Are you undergoing...character development, Cloud?"

"Okay you can just shut up now..." Cloud headed towards the door, as Link laid back in his bed. "I'm not sure if you knew this yet, but Mario is planning on having a pool party outside, with the newly-installed pool. The water might heal your aching bones, for all I know. But if you wanna show up at this party, it's your chance...you know I won't be there. Your missing hat might be there."

"If Aerith goes to the party, you know she'll force you to come along. You should go anyways - attending this pool party would do leaps and bounds for your character development. Leaps and bounds!"

"Keep that to yourself, buddy..." These were the last words Cloud had to say, as he left Link alone to recuperate.

* * *

Cloud carried the water canister outside to the backyard, where Mario, Peach, Shulk, Tsubasa, Coco and plenty of others were waiting outside next to the newly-installed pool. Everyone was wearing their swim gear, with Coco in her bathing suit, and Mario wearing spotted red trunks. Upon stepping outside, Cloud would see Mario wearing his trunks, and was understandably disturbed.

"Man I'm so glad I won't be at this stupid pool party..." Cloud said to himself, as he set the water canister down next to the empty pool. Did his best not to look at Mario, or his nipples, but the sight was too ghastly to look away from.

"About time some-a one brought the water outside," remarked Mario, who was waiting impatiently the whole time as evidence by the tapping of his foot. "What, did Link punk-a out or something?"

"No, Link didn't punk out...he just got slapped by Zelda, and was so overwhelmed by it that it completely destroyed his mojo and willpower, thereby preventing him from taking the water canister to this destination."

"HA! So Link did punk-a out at the last-a minute, just-a as I predicted! Now I will finally have-a something to make fun-a of him about in the next-a few weeks or so. Been a long-a time coming..."

 **Cloud: Clearly Mario was waiting a long time to finally find the opportunity to pick on Link... *shakes his head* ...thank goodness he's married to Peach, because if not for her, then his life would be terribly sad right now.**

"What are you waiting on, Cloud?" Peach asked the swordsman, who was left slightly confused. "Are you going to pour the water into the pool or not?" Cloud was more than content with doing so - provided he wouldn't be forced to partake in the pool party.

"Oh yeah, the water canister, how could I forget," replied Cloud, taking the water canister and pouring its contents into the pool. In a matter of seconds, the pool was all filled up, ready for swimming.

"Alright, party people, the pool is now-a filled, which means our pool-a party can finally begin!" announced Mario, as everyone (well, mostly everyone) cheered. "Everybody hop-a in the pool!" Several residents hopped in the pool, while others opted to sit near it. Mario went over to a boombox and pressed the play button, as some summertime party music began playing. "Wait a minute, where's-a our grill cook? We need a grill-a cook!"

"I'm over here, Mario..." Lucario called out to the plumber, standing a far distance from Mario. The aura Pokemon was wearing the same apron he wore in episode 65, as he stood behind a grill with his girl Lopunny at his side. "I've been standing here for as long as you have."

"COWABUNGA!" screamed Crash, as he jumped off the springboard and cannnballed into the pool. He would make a big splash - pun intended - as he splashed water on those around him, and Lucario and Lopunny as well.

"Honestly I don't like standing here, I feel like my well-being might be threatened...so I'll just move somewhere else." Lucario would take the grill and relocated, with Lopunny following after him. As Lucario moved to his new spot, Mario would be approached by Master Hand, who heard all the music and commotion from inside.

"What is all this happy commotion going on, why do I hear laughter and music and all those horrible things?" Master Hand would question Mario, before seeing the residents swimming in the pool. "Since when did we get a pool?! It's not even summer yet, for crying out loud!"

"Master Hand, you were the one-a who approved of the idea in the first-a place, when we received the water in-a the mail..." stated Mario, as Master Hand watched Tsubasa, Kiria, and Eleonora playing around in the pool. Just seeing those idol singers having fun made Master hand furious, for some reason. "Having a back-a yard pool was at the very top-a of your bucket list of things to add-a to the mansion!"

"I did not approve of having a pool in the backyard! You must've made that suggestion to me when I was half-asleep, and I unconsciously said yes by accident. That wasn't an answer of confirmation - that was a Freudian slip, of contrite proportions. I was just...feeling tired at the moment. You know how taxing being the creator of the Smash universe can be. Also, what is this 'bucket list' that you speak of?"

"Yoo hoo, Mario, over here!" Peach called out to her husband, seated in a beach chair waving to him. Mario would turn his head around, and saw an available beach chair next to his wife. "Reserved a beach chair, just for you!" Although Mario wish he could chat with Master Hand a bit longer, he knew that sitting at a pool with his wife at his side was too big of an opportunity to pass up.

"Sorry Master Hand, but I gotta go - can't-a leave my wife hanging, if ya know-a what I mean," Mario told the giant hand, before winking at him and walking away. Master Hand was left distraught, as he continued to stare at the pool wondering where the heck it came from.

"Trust me pal, this pool party's only just the beginning..." Cloud would say to Master Hand, before retreating back inside the mansion. All the happiness and euphoria taking place outside was too much for the swordsman to soak in. So much for his "character development".

 **Bowser: Mario has done many, many terrible things to me - beating up my children, throwing me into lava, and worst of all, stealing my destined wife away from my clutches. Not only did that mustached loser steal Peach from me, he also stole the Sparkle Water, the one thing that would make my wildest dreams come true! (If only I had drunk more...) I hope, and sincerely hope, that Mario isn't going to use the water for his stupid little pool, because if he does... *pauses* ...what is that noise going on outside?**

Bowser would head outside, and upon arrival, he would see everyone in or near the pool, having fun. The koopa king's mouth was left agape, as he observed the party scene.

"Awesome, dad, you made it to the pool party!" exclaimed Bowser Jr, who was in the pool along with his Koopaling siblings. "Come and dive right on in!...You know, you don't have to do it, that was just a suggestion! Just a suggestion..."

"Y-You are all grounded, every single one of you!" Bowser aggressively pointed at Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings, completely disgusted. This led Bowser Jr. and company to look at one another in bewilderment. "Grounded, I say!"

"Grounded because we didn't invite you to the pool party?" asked Wendy, noticing how extremely agitated her father was. Bowser was deeply seething, and he felt like breaking stuff to display how angry he truly was.

"No, you're grounded because this pool party flat-out SUCKS!" And right on cue, Bowser screamed at the top of his lungs, fire roaring out his mouth, as everyone stopped and focused their attention on Bowser. The koopa king would go on a rampage, grabbing random beach chairs and throwing them aggressively on the ground, before heading over to Lucario and knocking his grill into the pool.

"Eh, I was told to only grill the veggie burgers, so that was probably for the best..." Lucario had this to say about the grill's fate, before Bowser grabbed him and held him up in the air. "NO BOWSER WHAT ARE YOU DOING, PUT ME DOWN PUT ME DOWN!" Bowser would indeed put Lucario down...somewhat, as he tossed the aura Pokemon into the pool.

"My work is not yet finished...I'll be back, and with an even greater vengeance!" Bowser vowed to everyone, as he marched back inside the mansion. Once Bowser was gone, the pool party resumed, with everyone acting like nothing happened before. In fact, nobody seemed to care that the grill was afloat on the pool surface, likely down for the count.

The party folk wouldn't be safe from Bowser for long, when the koopa made his triumphant return...with Robin's tome. As you might've expected, Bowser did not kindly ask Robin to hand over his tome, and so the koopa king was embroiled in a tug-of-war battle with Robin over the spellbook.

"Gimme your magic book you stupid albino!" Bowser said to Robin, pulling the tome closer to him. The tug-of-war battle garnered everyone's attention. "I need your book to draw the water out of the pool!"

"First of all, it's called a tome!" stated Robin, pulling the tome closer to him. "Secondly, I'm NOT albino, don't get it twisted!"

"Well in that case, you're a grandpa who somehow cheated the aging process! Cheaters like you don't deserve this book, which means it's all mine!"

"It's...called...A TOME!" Robin and Bowser both pulled on the tome, causing it to fly up in the air and land in the pool. Robin shrieked as he ran over to the pool, kneeling down at the side, and looking inside through the water surface for his beloved tome. But it was nowhere to be found. "Look at what you've done, Bowser...my tome must be at the bottom of the pool, and it's soaking wet!"

"If you care about that book so much, then go and get it! Or are you as much of a hydrophobe as Sonic is? Always knew you weren't the most exciting guy around..."

"For the last time, it's not a book, it's a..." Robin was driven to tears, as she shed his tears on the ground and banged his fists in frustration. Everyone looked on, feeling bad for Robin, whereas Bowser believed that the mage was having serious issues. "Oh what's the point, my tome is ruined forever, and it's all your fault, Bowser..."

 **Bowser: What was I going to use Robin's book for? Driving the Sparkle Water out of the pool and back into the canister, of course. I'm sure that Robin had a spell like that in his spellbook, manipulating water and whatnot. If he didn't, then he needs to take his butt back to wizard school!**

 **Robin: Welp, there's no point in retrieving my tome if it's soaking wet...I know all the pages are ruined. Lucina told me to get over it, but you can't easily replace a tome like that, the one I had. There are just some things in life you cannot replace.**

"Hey Robin, I'm really sorry for what happened to your book...erm, tome, I really am," apologized Bowser; very hard to decipher if the koopa king's apology was truly heartfelt or not. "I can always buy you another tome, good as new!"

"You can't just 'buy' another tome, you idiot - it's not like you can find one on the street somewhere!" retorted Robin as he got up, angrily shouting at Bowser. "Do you realize how out of hand people would be if they could just buy tomes like they're candy? We'd have violent, senseless riots on the streets for days, even months or years!"

"Wow, someone takes their spellbook seriously...how about this: I'll retrieve your tome from the bottom of the lake, and I'll call my buddy Kamek over so he could use his magic or whatever to restore your tome back to its normal state. A magician helping out another magician - yes, I know it sounded wrong, but hopefully you caught my drift. Deal?"

"Normally I wouldn't trust you to do anything, not without underlying motives...but I feel like I'm left with no other choice. You got yourself a deal, King Bowser." Bowser really wanted the Sparkle Water for himself, but he had to get on Robin's good side first.

* * *

While the female idol singers were chilling in the pool, two of their fellow Star Records employees had more important matters to deal with - matters that were important for the future of Star Records, as a whole. Itsuki and Touma were standing outside the mansion with Fox and Falco, expecting something important to arrive soon.

"Touma, if nothing exciting happens, and you just had us standing here for an eternity, then we're booting you out of Star Records," Fox said to the redhead, who was busy checking his watch. "We should've kicked you out anyways when we had the chance...it's not like you ever did anything for us."

"Yes I don't do anything as a Star Records employee, that may be true, but today might be my chance to redeem myself," replied Touma, confident that the gift Fox and Falco discussed earlier in the episode would arrive today. "Today, my action hero career shall continue!"

"Is it necessary for us to wait outside, can't we just chill out in the foyer?" questioned Itsuki, who really wished he could be at that pool party right now. He and Tsubasa would've had a lot to catch up on. "We look like complete dorks!"

"Like you're the one to talk, buddy...I'm fairly confident our little gift...or gifts, rather...will arrive soon. Then and only then will you two..." Touma was referring to both Fox and Falco. "...you two see what I'm serious about."

* * *

Touma was serious about being an action star, and as stated in some of the previous episodes, he was a huge fan of the whole tokusatsu genre - you know, Power Rangers and martial arts and the works. At the moment, Sonic was serious about "exposing" Berkut and those working with the paladin, and now the hedgehog was spying on Fox and company from the foyer window, certain that Itsuki and Touma were joining forces with Berkut.

"You know Sonic, it's rude to be spying on others, especially without their consent," Tails would say to his best friend as he walked by, as always miffed by the blue blur's behavior. "And for the record, Fox and Falco have no business with Berkut, as they should."

"So if I spy on someone, but with their 'consent', would it be acceptable then?" retorted Sonic, leaving Tails speechless. Tails wasn't owned or anything - he just knew that firing back at Sonic would lead you on the road to nowhere. "Ha, that's what I thought! Fox and Falco are waiting outside because they're expecting Katt to stop by with weapons. Weapons used to assassinate Alm!"

"You said that when Falco and Balthier went to the park, and instead of 'receiving weapons', Falco just asked Katt Monroe out on a date. Your zany suspicions and conspiracies won't lead you anywhere, so you should just throw in the towel while you can, Sonic."

 **Tails; Being a roommate of Sonic's, I have to suffer from hearing Sonic's running his mouth every night. It's the same things every time..."Berkut wants the throne of Valentia", "Fox and Falco are turning Star Records against Alm", "Balthier's gonna return on the 4th of July and kill off Alm with an explosion of fireworks", "Coco is building a time machine so she could bring John Wilkes Booth from the dead and have him..." *shakes his head* ...Sonic should go live with the aliens in Area 51 with those conspiracies of his. You know I'd throw him in there in a heartbeat.**

"No Tails, I won't quit...I won't quit until I find out if I'm right or wrong," affirmed Sonic, refusing to take his gaze from Fox and company. "Hopefully I'm right in the end, otherwise I'd look like a big fool." Dude was looking like a big fool already. "I'll share anything worth telling with you at the dinner table tonight. Capiche?"

"Tell me all you want but I won't be listening..." remarked Tails, as he walked away and left Sonic be. Sonic was expecting something exciting to happen outside, but the most exciting thing to happen was a squirrel running across the front lawn. Sonic was hoping he wasn't wasting his time...

...then all of a sudden, he heard loud talking from afar. Sonic would walk away from the window, keeping his gaze intact before heading down the hallway. There, he would find X and Zero speaking with Celica.

"This jewelry I got from the store just isn't working out for me, and I need a ride so I can take the jewelry back," Celica would explain to X and Zero, as Sonic listened closely. Just to make sure X and Zero weren't using Celica as a means to get closer to Alm. That was how paranoid Sonic had become. "You boys wouldn't happen to have some form of transportation, do you?"

"Auto _did_ give me that jeep for Christmas...it was meant for Mega Man, but evidently he gifted that vehicle to the wrong robot, if you know what I mean," replied X, who like anyone else accepted the gift with open arms. Anyone who would turn down a jeep, let alone a new car, must be crazy. "I can take you to the jewelry store in there, if you like."

"Oh, that would be wonderful! Thanks a bunch! I would take a ride in Captain Falcon's Blue Falcon, but I've taken a ride in that thing before, and I felt more cramped than ever. Not to mention that Falcon's vehicle smells like testosterone. Does testosterone even have a smell? I don't know, but I did smell a like of men's deodorant...so that could've been it."

"Captain Falcon uses AXE products like everyday, so that could be the reason behind the smell," theorized Zero, having caught Falcon red-handed several times. "If you like me to, I can tag along and be your bodyguard, Celica. A bunch of men might try to approach, and do something inappropriate...and there's where I come in! I'll stab those thirsty losers with my Z-Saber, and I'll do the same to any security guard that even tries to stop me! No mercy!"

"Now now, Zero, you don't have to do that...well, the whole stabbing the security thing, I mean. Everything else is completely fair game." Hearing this conversation, especially the last bit, Sonic would step away as brain juices started flowing, until an idea was developed...

"Ooh I know, I'll be Alm's bodyguard!" exclaimed Sonic as he snapped his fingers. What if Alm turned down Sonic as his bodyguard (which would be bound to happen regardless), what would Sonic do then? "I'll protect him every minute, every second - anyone who dares to infiltrate Alm's space will be served justice! And pain! And even more justice! Speaking of justice..."

* * *

Due to the lack of severity of his injuries, Link was out of the fitness center in a snap after Leia gave him some antibiotics. The Hylian had to consume the antibiotics in order to deal with the pain. While the pain was of utmost concern to the Hylian, something else was concerning him as well...his hat. More importantly, the whereabouts of his hat.

"My hat, has anyone seen my hat?" Link called out, as he searched high and low for his green hat. He checked the place where Zelda slapped him, but it wasn't there. "Hello, missing hat here, don't leave a man hanging!"

 **Link: Um, no, I'm not gonna go around Seattle and post signs of my hat, asking "Have you seen this hat?"...that's too childish, and beneath my level. Besides, that stuff only applies to dogs and pet fish. Instead, I'll report my missing hat to the U.S. government, and have their highest-ranking government agents search diligently for my hat. That is, only if I haven't found my hat before the end of the day.**

Much like his Master Sword, Link was usually exasperated whenever his hat went missing, and this time was no different. The Hylian considered his hat a part of his image, and without it, he would be unrecognizable...or at least that's what he thought. Link felt incomplete without his world-famous hat on his head.

During his trek, Link would find a fellow swordsman in Corrin in the cafe, fixing himself a cup of coffee for the first time. This moment of firsts wasn't without blemish; Corrin would burn his hand fixing his coffee, and spent much of his time screaming in pain and shaking the pain off his hand, like that would do him any good.

"Lesson learned Corrin...never put your hand underneath the coffee machine when the coffee is being poured," said Corrin, making this mental note to himself after he was done coping with the pain. "I'll just have to check the temperature of the coffee another way..." Corrin mixed his sugar and creamer together in his coffee, and took a sip of it as he was about to head out. The prince wouldn't get that far when he saw Link standing at the doorway, without his hat - the sight of a hatless Link was apparently enough to make Corrin scream, and drop his coffee to the floor.

"Something scary behind me?" Link wondered in confusion as he turned around, before turning back and seeing Corrin still in fright, like he had seen a ghost. "What's the matter with you?"

"Link, you scared me! Seeing you without your hat on is so...so ghastly! It's almost like you look like an entirely different person!" Link found this laughable, as he laughed at Corrin's expense. Is Corrin a bigger scaredy cat than Luigi ever was.

"C'mon now, I don't look _that_ different...I understand if some people can't recognize me without my hat on, but my tunic should be recognizable enough. Sadly my hat has gone missing, and without it, I feel incomplete, a broken vessel...I'm sure you feel the same way about your...uh...um...er..."

"Hush Link, I know exactly where you're coming from...being forced to wear shoes makes me feel incomplete. I just love being barefoot sometimes. But I must know why you value your hat so much. Is your hat a trademark of yours? Will you die soon if you don't wear your hat again?"

"No I won't die Corrin...but having my hat as a trademark, that's a really good suggestion. Could make a whole lot of money from that. I shall look into trademarking my hat once I find it, wherever it is." Link looked down the hallway and saw Midna, knowing that she meant trouble. "Crap, Midna's coming this way...if you see my hat anywhere, don't hesitate to give it to me, okay?"

"I shall be on the lookout." Giving Corrin a vote of confidence he would've never given before, Link would smile and nod at the prince as he ran away, in the hopes of escaping from Midna. "Hmm, wonder if I can make tea with the coffee maker...time for some experimenting."

* * *

The sparse crowd at the food truck today gave Pit and company a sense of confidence, a feeling that more customers would be coming their way...unfortunately that did not happen, as business was even slower than usual. The whole salmonella scare might've messed up their entire business...

...regardless, Pit remained forever optimistic, for he knew what the number one goal of selling the Pikachu Sushi Rolls was - to spread awareness about Pikachu Day. Perhaps the townsfolk were so aware of Pikachu Day, that they found no point in buying anything related to the day. But Pit was certain someone would come to the food truck soon. Soon...

"Meta Knight, would you be a gentleman and take out this trash?" Kirby asked the Star Warrior, holding a trash bag in his hand. This trash bag was quite smelly, and the flies flying around really sold how smelly the bag truly was.

"This trash bag smells revolting, the stench even penetrates through my mask," grimaced Meta Knight, as he begrudgingly accepted the garbage bag from Kirby. Almost felt like he wanted to puke. "I also did not know we had trash to begin with..."

"Oh yeah, the trash is actually the waste from the portable potty in the food truck. Pit had it installed so he wouldn't have to worry about ever leaving the food truck to take care of his business. Gross, I know...but for the record, it was mainly Pit who used the potty."

"Gah, no wonder the trash bag has a putrid smell...might have to hold my breath on my way to the trash bin. I could possibly die from a lack of oxygen by the time I get there..."

 **Meta Knight: First they made me prepare the sushi rolls, and now they're forcing me to take out the trash...think I know why they're doing making me do it for...they must think that I'm trash...it's their way of sending me a message.**

Meta Knight would leave the food truck and fly over to the trash bin, tossing the trash bag inside and taking a deep breath after the deed was done. Thank goodness that smell was gone forever...it'll be the junk removal workers' trouble now.

Just when Meta Knight was about to return to the food truck, he would overhear a conversation, one that involved Jacky and Mega Man. The Star Warrior would leave the premises, and encounter the racer and the robot having a discussion.

"Dude, you will not believe what tried to attack me today..." Jacky said to Mega Man, sounding like he almost got attacked and saw his life flash before him. "...it was a dog with rabies! Foaming at the mouth and stuff! I would've given that mutt a dose of my kung fu skills, but I'm pretty strict about my morals."

"Where did you find this dog, and what did it look like?" asked Mega Man, who never had to worry about his pet dog Rush having rabies. Although Rush could catch the Roboenza virus.

"Found it not so far from the mansion - I think I was at a convenience store at the time. It was a small, brown dog, and its intimidating nature and foaming mouth made up for its small size. I made dang sure to drive away from that store ASAP!"

"What is this I hear about a dog with rabies?" asked Meta Knight, joining in on the conversation; he recalled Luas asking about his missing dog, Boney, though the Star Warrior didn't think that much of Lucas' concerns at the time.

"A dog with rabies tried to attack Jacky at a convenience store," recapped Mega Man, while Jacky scratched his arm. Most likely out of fear. "Fortunately Jacky got away in time before the dog could bite him."

"You should've seen the look of that mutt, Meta Knight - it was small and brown, but it was frightening enough to give me the creeps!" exclaimed Jacky, shivering in fear just thinking about the dog. "Might even have nightmares about that dog..."

"Small and brown dog...given that description, that dog with rabies could very well be...Lucas' pet dog..."

* * *

Formerly determined to get the pool water - the Sparkle Water - back inside the canister, Bowser was now determined to retrieve Robin's tome from the bottom of the pool, so he wouldn't have to hear the mage cry and moan again. He refused to enter the the pool and retrieve the tome himself, which is why he asked Proto Man to warp a "professional swimmer", as he called it, to the mansion in the teleportation room.

"Just so you know, even if we do bring her to the mansion, there's a likelihood she'll turn down your request and wish to return back home," Proto Man said to Bowser, like he cared about that stuff. The koopa king would use excessive force regardless.

"Yeah, whatever, I just need someone to fetch that tome from the pool," replied Bowser, as Proto Man keyed in the coordinates on the teleportation device. "Easy peasy. I already hit up Kamek, and he's gonna come to the mansion and use his funky magic to make that tome good as new. Said he was coming to the mansion anyways, so everything worked out fine."

"Had no idea you and Kamek were still tight with one another..." This remark from Proto Man earned him a glare from Bowser. "...I was kidding, I was kidding! Honest! You know what, lemme just warp our guest to the mansion, before you kill me..."

So Proto Man pressed the button on the device, as he warped the swimmer Bowser request to the mansion. Moments later, standing on the teleportation pad was a Zora, red in color, holding what appeared to be a trident. She was the princess of her people, and was even the Zora champion at that...she was none other than Mipha.

"Mipha, baby, welcome home!" exclaimed Bowser, holding his arms out wide like he expected a hug, as Mipha was both surprised and concerned at the same time. "Come into my arms, and give me some sugar!"

"I'll...I'll just...leave..." Proto Man said awkwardly as he left the room, not wanting to see how the exchange between Bowser and Mipha went.

 **Bowser: Mipha is an EXCELLENT choice to retrieve the tome from the bottom of the pool, a fine choice indeed! As much as I would do the honors of saving Robin's stupid tome myself, I simply cannot, for everyone knows that koopas can't swim. It's really a proven scientific fact.**

"Is this...the Smash Mansion?" asked Mipha, quiet and reserved as she ever was. "What am I doing back here?"

"That is a very good question, my dear, so let me give you the 411," replied Bowser, as he took Mipha and walked her out of the room. "So you know Robin, right? The white-haired dude with magic skills, who looks like a cool grandpa but isn't? He accidentally dropped his tome at the bottom of the lake, like the clumsy doofus he is, and is worried sick that he might never see it again." Funny how Bowser changed up the details of the story... "That's where you come in."

"I had no idea this mansion had a pool - maybe I didn't see that last time, when Master Hand had that concert of his. I might've overlooked it completely."

"The pool was added to the mansion's backyard not so long ago - Mario just put some water in the empty pool today. Anyways, Robin's tome is in that pool, and it is your duty to..."

"What would even be the point, wouldn't the book be soggy from being underwater for so long?" Bowser's patience was starting to wear thin, and Mipha only just asked two questions - another question might make Bowser lose it.

"It won't be soggy for long, when my main man Kamek comes over and restores the tome with his magic. If he doesn't come, then we're gonna have some problems...but Kamek is a very obedient friend of mine, so I know he'll come. Pure epitome of a guy you could use as a packmule. But enough about him. We should head out to the pool while we're at it."

* * *

Bowser took Mipha outside to the pool party, and the atmosphere was bumping - the party music was lit, Lucario was grilling away, and overall, everyone was having oodles of fun. Still, it disturbed Bowser seeing so many people swimming in the Sparkle Water, acting like it was just plain ol' regular water.

"Ah, Mipha, welcome-a to the pool party!" Mario greeted the Zora princess, wishing she had brought her Zora folks along. "This party seems-a like your cup-a of tea, no? Come jump-a in the pool and..."

"Shut yer mouth Mario, Mipha is not interested in swimming in your silly pool!" Bowser yelled at the plumber, leaving Mipha with no choice in the matter. You'd bet she'd join Mario and company in the pool in a heartbeat. "She has all the lakes in Lanayru to swim in. Let the woman do as she pleases!"

"Now Bowser, that's-a no way to treat a guest-a of ours! You wish for Mipha to do-a as she pleases, so let her swim-a in the pool with us! No harm-a done there, right? Come on-a now, Bowser!"

"I wouldn't mind sticking around in the pool..." remarked Mipha, too quiet to speak up for herself, as Bowser aggressively grabbed the Zora and pulled her back inside the mansion. So much for letting Mipha do what she pleased.

 **Lucina: Had to leave the pool party on early notice so I could comfort Robin over his silly little tome. He has never cared about this particular tome so much before, so it'd better have some love letters dedicated to me provided all the sadness Robin is apparently going through.**

"That Bowser, treating poor Mipha like she's absolute trash..." frowned Peach, knowing that the Zora princess and Zora champion should be treated better. But unfortunately for Mipha, the mistreatment wouldn't stop - moments later, the Zora would return to the pool party with a fishing line wrapped around both of her heels, and Bowser holding a fishing rod. "Bowser what are you doing?!"

"What does it look like I'm doing, woman - I'm teaching Zora how to fish, fish like a G!" replied Bowser; Mipha wasn't down with Bowser's plan, dying to return to the Zora Domain. "Since Mipha herself is a fish species, this will work out properly!"

"Couldn't you just fish for the tome _without_ my assistance, Bowser?" asked Mipha, as Bowser's patience was soon becoming nonexistent. Knowing Mipha and her reserved nature, the koopa king couldn't afford to put the Zora on blast. So he had to keep his cool.

"No way, my chances of catching the tome with the hook would be difficult. Which is where you come in, to make this fishing expenditure easy. Now walk over to the side of the pool, like the good Zora you are, and wait until I give you the cue."

"Whatever you say..." Mipha would walk over to the side of the pool, giving a rueful look to the party people as she stopped. If she could, Mipha would stab Bowser with her trident...multiple times.

"Excellent work, Mipha! Good job! Such a great listener, unlike some people I know..." Bowser would glare at Mario as he said this, and Mario just took it in stride. "Time for part two...on the count of three, I want you to dive into the pool and get that tome - tug on the line when you got it? Okay? On the count of three...one...two..."

"Hey papa, catch!" exclaimed Bowser Jr, as he threw a beach ball at Bowser. The ball would catch Bowser in the face, sending the koopa king tumbling backwards as he fell into some nearby shrubbery. This caused Mipha to be pulled backwards, and the Zora slipped as she grabbed hold of the pool, holding on for dear life.

"Oh dear, this isn't good..." fretted Mipha, as everyone felt concerned for the Zora. Should Mipha be injured in any way, shape, or form, her father King Dorephan would have a serious grudge with the mansion. "Bowser, you have to let go of the fishing rod! You must trust me!"

"Uh, you sure about that? Okay then, but just so you know, nobody's gonna be paying for your medical bill or anything..." Bowser would let go of the fishing rod, as the rod came flying up in the air and landed in the pool. The force exerted was enough to make Mipha flip over and fall into the pool, sending her down below.

Being the good Samaritan that he was, Mario dove into the pool so he could save Mipha although the Zora could save herself (she can swim, after all). After several seconds of suspense, Mario would rise back up to the pool surface, with Mipha in his arm...and a book in his hand.

"I have found-a the tome!" Mario announced to Mario, holding up the soggy tome in his hand for everyone (but mainly Bowser) to see. "Not sure-a if it's still any good...but I have-a found it!"

"Awesome, now Robin won't have to kill me anymore!" cheered Bowser, still in the shrubbery. Probably just chilling. "Not that I should be worried, since he can't outright kill anyone, regardless of effort. Bring that tome over here so I can try and dry it off before Kamek comes and...Mario, where are you going?"

* * *

Toon Link and Young Link were in their "office", looking at several pictures of new suspects on their wall. There was Yoshi as "The Good Dinosaur", Professor Layton as "Wannabe Sherlock Holmes", the Flying Man as "Possible Superhuman Duck", and many others. One particular suspect the buddy cops had their focus on was Nathan Adams, the protagonist of _Yo-Kai Watch_. You might call him Nate for short.

"Make no mistake about it...that Nate kid is definitely half-Japanese," confirmed Toon Link, who was debating with Young Link over what Nate's ethnicity was. "In fact, I don't he's even Japanese at all!"

"Really, what makes you think that?" Young Link asked his fellow buddy cop, wanting to know what his reasoning was. He was eating a malasada as he waited for an answer.

"Think about it - his name is Nathan. _Nathan._ What Asian parent of any couple would name their child Nathan? While we're on the subject, Nathan is also a terrible name - the epitome of lazy name picking. Nathan deserves better biological parents."

"Quite the convincing argument you got there...I see zero flaws in your argument whatsoever. And for that reason, I am left with no choice but to vehemently agree with your position."

 **Young Link: Our investigative work extends far beyond the realms of the Smash Mansion. It is best that we investigate suspects outside of our comfort zones - gain new tastes and flavors, and adapt to the scene.  
** **Toon Link: The tastes and flavors may be varied throughout the world, but none of them can even compare to the flavor...of friendship. *holds up an ice cream cone and licks it; Young Link does the same*  
Young Link: Ah, yes, the flavor of friendship...tastes so sweet...**

"Toon Link, Young Link!" Sonic shouted, as he entered the buddy cops' "office" and scarfed a chili dog down his mouth. "You two aren't busy, are you? I was gonna stop by earlier, but those darn chili dogs kept calling my name."

"That's fine, Sonic, those glazed doughnuts and malasadas have called our names ever since we've been on the job," said Young Link, eating the remainder of his malasada. "Even got us on speed dial, for all we know. What business do you have?"

"Just wanted to know how your investigations with Berkut and Dark Pit are coming along. Found any startling details? Noticed our two crooks doing suspicious activities that should be reported?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary - Berkut has been spending much of his time with his wife Rinea, and Rinea might have her husband too preoccupied to have him think about murdering Alm. As for Dark Pit...we did see him eat ice cream bars outside on the hammock, but that could be a side-effect of his breakup. Or maybe he's intentionally giving himself brain freeze."

"I see, I see...thanks for the information, you two. If you see Berkut and/or Dark Pit do something evil, then you know who to call!" Toon Link and Young Link would both salute Sonic, and Sonic would salute right back as he exited the "office".

Standing at the "office" entrance was Sonic's good friend, Crash - perhaps the only person other than Sonic who believed in Sonic's suspicions. Quite frankly, Crash's scatterbrained nature often clouded his judgement, but that's what often made the bandicoot so likable.

"You were waiting outside just for me?" Sonic would ask Crash, who nodded his head. Wasn't like Crash was waiting for an eternity. "Aw, thanks man! What an awesome best friend you are! Always sticking for your fellow man...so, have you seen Alm anywhere?"

"Woah!" answered Crash, unable to say yes, as he pointed down the hallway. There was Alm, speaking with Bayonetta, doing his best not to be flustered by the Umbra Witch. Had to stay faithful to Celica.

"Just down the hallway, eh? Talk about easy picking!" So Sonic and Crash went down the hallway, towards Alm and Bayonetta. Bayonetta had caught the two friends with the corner of her eye, meaning that she had to finish up her conversation.

"So if Roy forces you to perform in his group ever again, you should call in sick, or fake an injury," said the Umbra Watch, finishing up her conversation just when Sonic and Crash showed up. "Your scheming will greatly outweigh Roy's delusion. I must go now - these nails aren't going to polish themselves!"

"You can't go just yet Bayonetta, what if Roy sees me through?" Alm asked the Umbra Witch, but he was too late as Bayonetta already strutted her stuff down the hallway. Alm sighed, before turning around and jumping in fright when he saw Sonic and Crash, standing there.

"Ahoy, Alm, didn't mean to scare you like that!" greeted Sonic, as Alm regained his composure. A king like him shouldn't allow a hedgehog and a bandicoot to scare the pants off of him. "Crash and I are thinking, and we both thought that maybe you need a pair of bodyguards. You know, to keep you safe."

"Having two bodyguards does sound nice...but I don't believe that won't be necessary. I feel pretty safe regardless - I'd hate for two bodyguards to feel bored from protecting someone who doesn't need protection. Appreciate the offer, but it's a no from me."

 **Alm: *shaking his head* What honestly made Sonic and Crash think they're qualified to be my bodyguards, let alone bodyguards for anyone in general?**

"Alm you don't understand, your archenemy Berkut wants to kill you!" stressed Sonic, stressing the importance of a thing Alm was already aware of. "Even worse, he hired several folks to join him in his assassination plan! Folks like Dark Pit, Balthier, Fox, Falco, Coco, even Aku...they all want to kill you!"

"Dark Pit, Balthier, and everyone else you mentioned desiring to kill me?" questioned Alm, before letting out a hearty laugh. "You boys must've hit yourselves on the head pretty hard! What could Dark Pit gain from killing me? What benefit would it be to Balthier? Why would Fox and Coco even be interesting in killing me?!"

"I dunno, they might be secret sociopaths, or Berkut paid them off to join them. However, we can't allow them to get away with killing you, which is where Crash and I come in. We can protect you, 24 hours a day and seven days per week, and we'll even protect Celica too, just for consolation! Please Alm, make us you bodyguards, you know you wanna!"

"Are you hard of hearing?! I said I don't need bodyguards! Master Hand promised me that Berkut will not kill me as long as he's a resident of the mansion, and I will take his word for it. Therefore I do not need any protection! Please leave me alone!" Alm would walk away, but Sonic and Crash were desperate to make the king come around.

"Follow him!" Sonic said to Crash, as the two were chasing after Alm.

* * *

Fox, Falco, Itsuki, and Touma were still waiting outside, expecting Touma's gift to arrive soon. Soon already happened, and everyone but Touma started to to lose their patience.

"Alright boys, that was the last of my songs!" said K.K. Slider, kind enough to sing some songs for the bored Star Records screw. "Or do you want me to keep singing? I can always do rap songs - I can go full Ed Sheeran if you like!"

"No thanks, save your breath..." Falco moaned out of boredom, before glaring at Touma. Touma could only smile innocently. "Had to change my plans for today all thanks to you...my feathery hands are gonna look awfully nice around your neck..."

"Settle down Falco, no need to strangle Touma," Fox soothed his best friend, resting his hand on his shoulder. "That is, unless you're doing it alone. Then it wouldn't be fun. Strangling must always be a joint effort." Fox and Falco were so bored, that torturing Touma was their only available option.

"C'mon now, you're acting like we've been waiting for eons and centuries," said Touma, wanting to shed some light on the situation although there was no light whatsoever. "Patience is key! Isn't that right, Ituski?" Itsuki, who was half-asleep whilst seated near the mailbox, looked up at Touma and nodded.

"Hey guys, have any of you seen my hat?" asked a certain someone - someone enough to make Fox and company scream in fright. This someone was Link, and seeing the Star Records four so scared made the Hylian discontented. "Am I really that frightening without my hat on?"

"Oh it's just you, Link...our apologies," apologized Itsuki, on behalf of himself and his buddies. Falco, for whatever reason, was shielding his eyes so he wouldn't have to see Link. "Sometimes seeing you without your iconic hat makes you almost unrecognizable." Just then, Pit would join Itsuki and company, holding a plate of Pikachu Sushi Rolls and offering one sushi roll to the group. "No, Pit, we don't want any of your sushi rolls."

"They're called _Pikachu_ Sushi Rolls - huge difference," corrected Pit, as Itsuki sighed and rolled his eyes. "Anyways, I'm selling the Pikachu Sushi Rolls for fifty cents apiece! A real bargain nobody would turn down!"

"Making those sushi rolls fifty cents isn't going to rev up your business," stated K.K. Slider; Pit didn't feel like correcting the hippie dog. "Honestly, I'm surprised your food truck had customers today, after that salmonella scare. Those customers must be dead set on making Seattle the most sickest city in America."

"Or maybe they're dead set on making Seattle the most _woke_ city in America! Pikachu Day for the win!" Pit pumped his fists in the air and cheered, as K.K. Slider and others felt sorry for him.

 **Pit: To be fair, Seattle _is_ a pretty woke city...most political pundits say Seattle is a pretty liberal city, whatever the heck liberal means. From what I've heard, most liberal cities accept new things...which means Seattle is the perfect city for the birthplace of Pikachu Day!**

"No, Bowser, you can't have-a this tome, it's practically ruined!" Mario shouted at the koopa king, as he ran to where Pit and company were located. "We must-a dispose of it!"

"Mario you don't understand, I must get back on equal terms with Robin, or he'll hate me forever!" responded Bowser as he chased after Mario, dragging poor Mipha along with him. "Only you are allowed to hate me forever, Mario - it was how it's meant to be! Don't ruin the tradition!"

"Um, Bowser, can I please go back home now?" asked Mipha, feeling that her work was done. Bowser still had her tied to the fishing rod, although the line was now around her left ankle. "My father and brother must be missing me..."

"I told you good to stab Mario mercifully with your trident thingy so he'll give up the tome, and you didn't do it...so I'm giving you another chance to redeem yourself! Mario's in plain sight...now throw your trident at him!" With much reluctance, Mipha was about to throw her trident at Mario...but not before Alm ran across the front lawn, obstructing the Zora's view, as the king was being chased by Sonic and Crash.

"For the last time, I DO NOT need any bodyguards!" Alm said to Sonic and Cloud, threatening to jump into the road and let himself get run over, just so he could escape from the hedgehog and bandicoot. "I can do well by myself...and Celica! I don't need any protection!"

"You're acting like we're only protecting you from Berkut," said Sonic, cornering Alm as the king approached the mailbox, nearly one foot into the street. "We could protect you from other things, like...like...like that dog!"

Everyone would turn around and see the dog in question...a small brown dog with foam running out of its mouth. Exactly fitted the description of the dog Jacky had discussed earlier. But it was the orange bandana around the dog's neck that made him familiar...

"Holy smokes, that dog is Lucas' dog!" exclaimed Bowser, and indeed it was - Boney returned to the mansion, and the dog was infected by rabies. "And he has a green hat in his mouth!"

"Not just any green hat...MY green hat!" frowned Link, as he marched up to Boney. The Hylian would grab his hat and pulled it away from Boney, but Boney would also pull on the hat with his teeth, embroiling him and Link in a tug-of-war.

"I wouldn't fight with a rabies-infested dog if I were you..." Alm would tell Link, but eventually Link prevailed in his game of tug-of-war as he got his hat back from Boney. But in doing so, he forcefully sent Boney flying forward, as the dog crashed into Alm and proceeded to attack him. "GAAAH GET HIM OFF GET HIM OFF!" Alm would plead, although the others were to afraid too come close. Link, happy that he got his hat back, just walked away.

"See, this is what I was talking about Alm..." remarked Sonic, hoping the king had learned his lesson. Maybe Sonic will learn his _own_ lesson one day...

 **Meta Knight: *watches Alm getting attacked by Boney from the food truck, then slowly turns to face the camera* ...called it.**

Everyone watched helplessly as Alm tried to fend off Boney, on the ground as he tried to pry the dog off of him. This would continue until a Magikoopa arrived at the mansion on his flying broom...it was Kamek, Bowser's faithful advisor (...and packmule).

"I'm here!" the Magikoopa announced, as he hopped off his broom and landed gracefully on the ground. He would see Alm struggling to fend off Boney, and nobody doing a thing to save the king. "Is that a rabies-infected dog I spy? Allow me to help you out, my friend!"

With the wave of his wand, Kamek sent out a magical blast at Boney, striking the dog successfully. Alm, who had his face turned from Boney, would suddenly look up, and see that the dog was back to normal, healthy again. Even let out a bark and wagged his tail.

"Phew, thank goodness that's finally over..." Alm sighed in relief, as he got up and placed Boney on the ground before turning his attention. "I take it you were the one who saved me?"

"My magic may or may not have done the trick," smiled Kamek, motioning to his magical wand. "Glad I was able to cure that dog of its rabies. But that's not what I was here for. I came for something else..." Touma, realizing his opportunity, smiled excitedly as he walked up to Kamek...before being pushed aside by Bowser.

"About time you showed up Kamek - I need your funky magic to restore this tome," the koopa king said, snatching the tome away from Mario. "It's Robin's tome...poor guy might die if I don't..."

"Don't say anymore, King Bowser...mages like Robin always take their spell books seriously. I know I do. Hold up the tome please." Bowser would hold up the tome, and Kamek would fire a magical blast at the tome, restoring it to his original form.

"Woah, that was much easier than I thought! Worried I had to do some crazy ritual for the magic to work. Thanks a bunch, Kamek!" Bowser would walk away with the tome, bringing Mipha along, as Mario returned to the pool party. Touma, realizing his opportunity once more, approached Kamek...only to be shoved yet again, this time by Pit.

"Good afternoon Kamek - may I interest you with some Pikachu Sushi Rolls?" offered Pit, as Kamek grimaced at the sushi rolls on Pit's plate. The Magikoopa clearly wasn't a fan of Japanese seafood.

"Absolutely not...those things aren't even worth any of my magic." Pit held his head and walked away, returning to the food truck and allowing Touma to finally speak with Kamek. "...who are you again?"

"Touma Akagi, of Star Records?" stated Touma, hoping his name would ring Kamek's bell. "Called you two days ago...you promised you'd give me a gift that would be beneficial for my duties at Star Records. Did you not?"

"Touma...Touma...Touma...ah, yes, I know who you are! I know exactly what you're talking about! Good thing for you, I have the magic spell required for your little request! Now the four of you, stand together, but keep some space between you." Fox, Falco, Itsuki, and Touma did as they were told; Alm moved so he wouldn't be in the way. "Here it comes..."

"Can't wait to get a load of this..." Sonic whispered to Crash, who nodded as Kamek waved his wand in the air, building up the magic in his magical stick. Fox and company could feel the magic around them already...

* * *

 **Lucas: My pet dog, Boney, has finally returned! I was scared he would be lost forever...that'll teach me to never throw the ball far again when playing catch with Boney. I'll just do granny style throws from now on.**

 **Link: *inspects his hat* Question: does coming in contact with saliva from a rabies-infested dog give you rabies?**

The person that would reunite Lucas with Boney would be Alm, and the king would watch as Lucas bonded with his pet dog. Boney would happily lick Lucas' face, and the PSI whiz was absolutely fine with it.

"Poor Boney was suffering from rabies, but thanks to Kamek, he's fully healthy again," explained Alm, having no idea Kamek's magic was strong enough to heal anyone or anything. "The limits of his magic knows no bounds!"

"Is Kamek here, or has he already left?" Lucas would ask Alm, who shrugged. "No matter, I'll make sure to thank him whenever I see him."

"He may be chatting it up with Bowser...Bowser did say that Kamek was a good friend of his." Proto Man might think otherwise. "He should be in Bowser's room...let me go check."

So Alm left the fitness center, and as he headed to Bowser's room, he encountered the last person he wanted to see in the hallway...Sonic.

"Look Sonic, I appreciate what you and Crash are aspiring to do, but the deal is off," Alm would say to the hedgehog...but he noticed that Sonic was paying any attention to Alm. In fact, the blue blur looked disappointed, like he encountered a horrible revelation and his world was left shattered.

"I was wrong...about Fox and Falco...this whole time...I was wrong..." uttered Sonic, seemingly in his own world. Evidently he learned that Fox and Falco weren't conspiring with Berkut...took him long enough.

"What's the matter with him..." Alm would continue walking, wondering what was wrong with Sonic. By the time Alm reached the elevator and entered therein, a door from across the elevator would open, just a crack.

"Is the coast clear?" asked a voice from behind the door, belonging to Fox. "Good, now let's get outta here real quick..."

Just then, four individuals, dressed up as Power Rangers characters - red, blue, green, and yellow - exited from the door, with the green Power Ranger closing the door. Those four? Fox, Falco, Itsuki, and Touma.

"So boys, whaddaya think of these outfits?" Touma asked the others, who were feeling disgruntled as all heck. "With these Super Sentai outfits, my action career can finally take off!"

"Can't believe we waited the entire afternoon so Kamek could put us in these dumb outfits..." griped Fox, who found his outfit too tight. "He practically wasted his magic for this...this tragic mess..."

"Bruh I can't even breathe with his helmet on, this sucks!" complained Falco, who amazingly got his beak to fit inside his helmet. "I'm not even fit to be a Power Ranger!"

"Tokusatsu hero, you mean," corrected Touma, like Falco was supposed to care. "But you don't have to wear the outfit - you can always switch out with Yashiro. The outfits should be enough to fit everyone's size."

While Fox, Falco, and even Itsuki complained about their outfits, the elevator doors opened, and standing inside the elevator was Tsubasa. The idol singer, who was on the phone, saw Touma and company dressed up as Power Rangers, and quickly pressed a button on the elevator.

"Um, yeah, about that pool party..." Tsubasa said into the phone, as the elevator doors closed. They couldn't close any quicker...


	121. Episode 121: Operation-CAKED

_Author's Note:  
_

 _As stated in the previous author's note, I will be inactive on Fanfiction from Thursday through Sunday, as I'll be spending the weekend in Florida. Any reviews and PM messages left behind will be answered Monday evening. On that note, time for some reviews..._

 _"Will you include the characters from Double Dragon? has Nabbit shown up yet? Have there been any nods or references to Sonic Mania? A Kirby Star Allies chapter? Is Alvin wearing his Tales of Xillia or Xillia 2 outfit? And finally, will you include any references to the Lost Planet or Dead Rising games?"_

 _Presumably. Nabbit may show up soon, depending on how things in the story are going along. No references to Sonic Mania yet. Might've passed the window for a Kirby Star Allies chapter. Alvin is wearing his X-2 outfit. And I will include references to Lost Planet and Dead Rising, if I can._

 _"Did you hear about the Spyro Reignited triology, what are your thoughts on Spyro being remade and will there be a chapter about him or at least be mentioned next week?"_

 _I did hear about the Reignited Trilogy...and great googly moogly does it look gorgeous! Ah, my sweet precious childhood, now remastered and in HD...the trilogy may be coming out for the switch next year, but I can always jump the gun and feature Spyro in Smash Life in the future. Last up is Shadowkirbyfan:_

 _"1. how long will you be gone_  
 _2\. can you have Kirby in a rap battle against someone and win on his first turn? (Or you can do it however you want to)"_

 _1\. As stated above, I'll be down in Florida till Sunday, and I won't log into my account until the day after._  
 _2\. If Mario participated in a rap battle and nearly won...then who says Kirby can't do the same?!_

* * *

 **Episode 121: Operation-C.A.K.E.D (Colossal And King-Sized Edible Devoured)  
**

At least four weeks in, the Smash Mansion has been receiving mysterious gifts - gifts that Bowser somehow has knowledge of. These gifts were once believed to have been sent from Hocotate Freight, but as Layton and Luke found out, they were actually sent from a rabbit fellow, living on the moon.

The first gift to be sent was a Binding Band, meant to be Lara Croft's parting away gift. The second gift was a dress, a Lochlady Dress, which led many to assume someone was secretly getting married. The third gift was the Soirée Bouquet, a bouquet of Piranha Plants that Bowser kept safe in his room. And the most recent gift was a canister of Sparkling Water, which was used for the mansion's spanking outdoor pool. Maintaining the pool and making sure it was clean became Mr. Game and Watch's new MO.

This week, a new gift would arrive at the mansion, in the form of...a cake. It was a giant cake, one that was four layers tall, and it was neatly decorated and whatnot. Cilan, the first to see this cake, would take the giant pastry to the ballroom (Lord knows how he did it - must've had Villager use his Pocket ability) for further inspection. The connoisseur would inspect the cake in the ballroom, with Mario and Olimar at his side.

"Louie would _love_ to eat this cake - he has a seriously big appetite," Olimar would say to Cilan, recalling Louie's last visit to the mansion. The young astronaut was embroiled in a food-eating competition with King Dedede and Proto Man, and somehow Proto Man came away victorious. "I think he could eat it by himself; I've seen him eat all the food at a cookout once. For that reason, I've never again invited Louie to get-togethers, to this very day."

"A cake delivered to this mansion sounds very quaint, and quite frankly I don't have the perfect occasion to utilize this cake," stated Cilan, as he scratched his chin. He could not afford the cake to go to waste - would be such a shame if it was left uneaten. "Do you know if there are any birthdays coming up soon?"

"We're here, Mario!" announced Layton, as the detective and his apprentice Luke stepped inside the ballroom. "I believe you called us about some...cake?" Layton and Luke would eventually find themselves gawking at the cake, believing it was the most beautiful cake they ever laid their eyes on.

 **Bowser: A ginormous cake - my ginormous cake, rather - came in the mail today, and according to the note attached, it's called a "Frost-Frosted Cake"...sounds pretty redundant, yet delicious at the same time! Cilan did the hard work for me and moved the cake to the ballroom. I'm hoping Cilan won't touch my cake until the time is right, but knowing him and his gigantic food fetish, I know he'll find it hard to resist...**

"Yes, this is the cake-a that was mailed to the mansion, or so I've-a been told," answered Mario, as Layton and Luke were still in awe of the cake. They both desired to have a slice, though Layton desired the cake the most as he was drooling from the mouth. Realizing his unprofessional mistake, Layton stopped drooling and wiped the drool away. "I heard that you've been-a running some investigations or so about the mysterious-a gifts sent to the mansion, and this cake-a might be up your alley."

"Why it sure does, Mario - any cake sent to the mansion, no matter the size, is always prone to questioning," replied Layton, making sure all his saliva was gone. "First the giant ring, then the wedding dress, then the bouquet, and now this cake...someone is _definitely_ getting married, that's for sure."

"Got any wild guesses as to who could be eloping, Professor Layton?" Luke would ask the detective, who smiled and nodded his head towards his apprentice. "Y-You still don't think I'm in love, do you?! How many times must I tell you, I have no feelings for Ashley! She's nothing but a cold, heartless snake, and she would cook me in that black pot of hers! She might turn me into a potion, or even a stew!"

"Not gonna lie, Luke Stew does sound delicious..." Cilan had this to sake, evoking some signs of cannibalism. Maybe the connoisseur just ate whatever he pleased. "...it even has a nice ring to it! Luke Stew...ah, it just rolls off the tongue!"

"Yeah, just keep-a that to your-a self, Cilan, we don't need Master Hand or anyone-a else to assume that you're a crazy sociopath," Mario told the connoisseur, before returning his attention to Layton. "What do you think-a we should do with the cake?"

"If someone is indeed getting married, without anyone's foreknowledge or approval...then I suspect some serious foul play at hand," replied Layton, looking up at the cake and seeing a red ribbon on the very top. "I'd say we devour this entire cake, and completely derail the plans of our secret eloper. So, should be this a joint effort? Shall we take turns eating this entire dessert?"

"We should have my co-worker Louie eat this cake, for his appetite is unworldly," suggested Olimar, knowing Louie would devour the Frost-Frosted Cake in less than an hour. Without breaks. "Eating the cake will be...a piece of cake...for him. No pun intended whatsoever."

"I'm sorry, who is this Louie fellow? Feel like I'm supposed to know him, somehow..." Olimar would take out his phone, and show Layton and Luke a picture of Louie. One good look at Louie's derpy face was enough to make Layton and Luke laugh. Not even they believed Louie was a big eater.

"That guy is gonna eat the cake by HIMSELF?" laughed Luke, having to wipe away tears from his eyes. Layton and Luke never laughed this much, if at all, and hearing those two detectives laugh made Olimar quite furious. "His stomach would be hurting by the time he finishes his second slice!"

"Yes, Louie might not look much at first glance...but make no mistake about it, he has the heart of a lion, and the hunger of a bear!" expressed Olimar, defending his co-worker. You won't see anyone else defend Louie like Olimar does. "He'll devour anything thrown in his path, just like how he devoured his way to victory in a food-eating contest with King Dedede!"

"I do believe you left out Proto Man, the actual winner of the competition," Cilan pointed out, as Olimar punched the connoisseur's leg. That's what Cilan deserved, for not putting respect on Louie's name.

 **Cilan: It's not so much that I have faith in Louie, it's just that... *sighs* ...last year, in that food-eating competition, Louie only had to eat hot dogs, hamburgers, and the like. The cake, as big as it is, it's enough to feed this entire mansion. I don't think Louie would be up for the challenge, but as history taught us in the past, it's never wise to go against an underdog. And Louie, well, he's as much of an underdog as they come...**

"What I'm trying to say is, you should never judge a book by its cover," continued Olimar, as Layton and Luke started to take the astronaut seriously. Or so they tried. "You should never take a look at someone, and have your doubts. When I saw Louie for the first time, did I think he was the biggest loser known to man? You bet I did - I used to think the same thing myself every time I looked in the mirror. But my point is, you should never dismiss a person, until you fully see what they're capable of."

"Well I must say Olimar, that was a pretty impassioned speech..." remarked Layton, wanting to applaud Olimar if he could. But he did not, for A) it would be perceived as sarcastic, and B) it would make him somewhat of an attention seeker. "...and I'll take your word for it. But we can't just rely on Louie, we'll need someone else to..."

"I'll volunteer to eat-a the cake with Louie!" volunteered Mario, raising his hand as everyone looked at him. The plumber had a wide open smile on his face, unsure what the others perceived of his act of altruism. Cappy would pop off of Mario's head, so he could speak with the plumber.

"But Mario, you can't eat the cake, you'll be...even fatter than before!" exclaimed the talking hat, though Mario did not seem to care. So what if he became obese, had an extremely bloated stomach, and strongly resembled a mustached tomato with arms? "I mean, have you already forgotten how much you weigh?! You're almost close to..."

"Okay, Cappy, I get it, I've-a heard enough..." The last thing Mario wanted Cappy to do was share his private information with Layton and company. "I will be just-a fine, trust me. What could possibly go-a wrong?"

"You might've very well jinxed things with that line..." With that line from Mario, Cappy already saw a serious disaster on the horizon.

* * *

Before he could allow Mario to devour the cake with Louie, Olimar wished to ensure that the plumber was well prepared for the daunting task ahead of him. Louie, beating the big eater that he was, needed zero preparation. But for a guy like Mario, who had to be cautious about his food choices because of how bipolar his stomach was, had to be a bit more cautious. Devouring the cake unprepared would be quite a calamity to the plumber.

Since he couldn't ask Louie - because the astronaut obviously wasn't here - Olimar instead opted to ask Sonic, who participated in a few chili dog eating contests and came out victorious. The blue hedgehog was currently in the gaming room, taking a break from his "investigating" as he was chilling on a couch with Heihachi.

"You know, Heihachi, I've had this one question that I've been dying to ask you," Sonic said to the veteran fighter, resting on the couch with his trademark red shoes near Heihachi's lap. Heihachi didn't appreciate it one bit. "Might sound a little personal, but I think you can handle it."

"Ask away, hedgehog boy, and I'll see if I can answer," replied Heihachi, as he took his drink. He was ready to perform a spit take, only if it felt necessary. "Do your worst." As Heihachi drank from his cup, Sonic would brace himself...

"When did you truly find out that your son, Kazuya, was evil?" The moment he heard this question, Heihachi did his spit take, as he spat out his drink with rapid fluidity and on-point precision. The fighter also choked on his drink, as everyone in the gaming room looked at him...but once Heihachi was well again, they quickly returned to what they were doing. Those heartless buffoons...

"You wish to know why my son is...evil?" asked Heihachi, making sure he was hearing this right, as Sonic nodded his head, hoping for an answer. But he could tell by Heihachi's response that he wouldn't be receiving the answer he expected.

 **Heihachi: The beef I have with my son, Kazuya, goes way back...back to first Tekken tournament. He beat me at my own game, and as a result I lost my fame, family, and fortune. Mishima took over the family conglomerate afterwards, and I've been literally fighting with him over control. To this day, Kazuya still owns the conglomerate...No, I absolutely did not lose to my son, I decided to forfeit! I thought that doing so would make Kazuya think he was the best fighter in the Mishima family, and eventually the pride would go to his head and break him down. It's a very long process; I think it will finally kick into full-gear this year.**

"I've heard you say pretty negative things about Kazuya, and it has led me to assume that Kazuya's the truly evil guy in your family, and you're just a cool grandpa who's been painted as the villain for all of your adult life," explained Sonic, as Heihachi thought over the hedgehog's explanation. The fighter smiled evilly...hearing what Sonic said gave him the opportunity to twist the blue blur's mind as he saw fit.

"Oh yes, Sonic, Kazuya was the most evil child I had to raise!" said Heihachi, doing his best to stress how "evil" Kauzya was. "I had seen the warning signs about his evil, when he was but a young lad...I saw him eat PB&J sandwiches, but without the jelly!"

"Kazuya ate his PB&J sandwiches without the jelly?!" Sonic gasped in shock, as Heihachi solemnly nodded his head. "What sicko even does that?!" So far, Heihachi's plan was working, and it was time to twist Sonic's mind even more.

"It eventually got even worse, as Kazuya grew older...when he was middle school, he wore sagging pants! Only person in his grade that did so! This was back in the eighties, mind you, when Japanese schools were strict about the dress code...Kazuya clearly wanted to stand out!"

"Wow, I don't believe it...I got it all wrong." Like how you got Fox and Falco working with Berkut all wrong, Sonic. "This whole time, I thought Kazyua was the good guy, and you were the villain...it wasn't until I woke up this morning that I realized something was clearly off. Someone had switched the roles. Thanks for answering, Mr. Mishima, I know now to never think of you as a bad guy ever again!"

"It was my pleasure, and hopefully more people will change their tune about me and realize the real monster that's been tearing my family apart. My son will see his day of justice soon...but before we end this conversation, what possibly convinced you to ask that question about Kazuya?"

"Sonic, may I please have a word with you, if you don't mind?" Olimar approached Sonic, just when the hedgehog was about to answer Heihachi's question. "I won't be long, I can guarantee you." Unfortunately for Heihachi, Sonic would have to put his answer on hold.

"I'll explain later, Heihachi - evidently I'm pretty busy at the moment," Sonic said to the disgruntled fighter as he followed Olimar away, making sure not to step on the astronaut's Pikmin. "But lemme just say that you've been a big help!"

"A big help for what?" Heihachi yelled at Sonic, but it was too late, for the blue blur was out of sight. The fighter sat back in the couch, folding his arms; he did manage to change someone's perception of Kazuya, so at least he had that to be proud of. "I wonder, does Lars have a reputation? Does everyone think he's a goody two-shoes, like my son? Perhaps I should bastardize him next...him being my illegitimate son would make him a _very_ easy target.

At the entrance of the gaming room, Olimar would detail to Sonic the cake in the ballroom, the Frost-Frosted Cake, and how Mario and Louie were going to eat it by themselves. Olimar would then ask Sonic about what Mario should do to prepare himself, and avoid any serious complications.

"And you're sure this isn't an eating competition, to see who can eat the cake the fastest?" said Sonic, wanting some clarification. Certainly didn't sound like Mario and Louie would be eating the cake in a joint effort. Louie did have quite the competitive side.

"I'll tell Louie to leave some room for Mario, I promise," stated Olimar, knowing how carnivorous Louie could be. The little fella could eat the entire Frost-Frosted Cake all by himself, if he tried. Or rather, if someone allowed him to. "His stomach can only handle so much...but anyways, do you have any tips for Mario that he could use?"

"Good things for him, I got a whole bunch of tips! Comes with the experience. If Mario wants to be fully prepared for eating this giant cake, he should get himself hydrated - it will really help him with his hydration. Also, he should stretch out his stomach...but don't tell him to do it literally, I tried it once and it didn't end well. You know what, don't tell him to do that. Just tell him to work on increasing his jaw strength. Some chewing gum oughta do the trick."

"Gotcha. I shall pass these tips on to Mario, and hopefully he will put them to good use...or maybe he won't. But we won't know until later..."

 **Sonic: Hmm, the more I think about it...the more I believe that the whole cake-eating thing IS an eating contest! Especially with Louie involved! What is the end goal of Olimar's plan - is he plotting to make Mario look bad, as payback of some sort? No, that can't be it...Olimar is too goofy for anyone, like Mario, to do something bad to. Also, he's too easy of a target. I think they're purposefully leaving me out of this eating contest, because they know I can wipe the floor with both Mario AND Louie! That's the only explanation!**

* * *

The foursome of Link, Cloud, Sora, and Ike were playing on the basketball court outside, with Link and Cloud on one team, and Sora and Ike on the other. As you might believe, it was Sora's first time playing basketball, let alone any sport in general, and he was looking like a deer in headlights out on the court.

"Watch this, he's gonna shoot the ball and it's gonna go backwards," Link whispered to Cloud, as Sora was ready to shoot his second free throw. The Keyblade wielder would shoot the ball...and by some sort of magical consequence, the ball would fly backwards, as Link chased after the ball. The Hylian scooped up the ball, and scored it in the basket for an easy layup.

"You're killing me, Sora, you're really killing me out here..." Ike scolded the Keyblade wielder, who could only smile sheepishly. Ike would receive the basketball from Link, and bounced the ball down the court. With Link playing lockdown defense on the swordsman, and Cloud...well, just standing there, because he refused to guard Sora, Ike would pass the ball to Sora, who was wide open. Realizing the opportunity, Sora shoot the ball, and the ball would sail over the net and off the court.

"Dang, just a little off..." frowned Sora, as Cloud sighed and went to go fetch the ball. "Put a little too much strength into that shot, didn't I Cloud?" Sora would ask the swordsman, after he came back with the basketball.

"Just leave all the scoring to Ike, and maybe you guys can win," Cloud would say, as he bounced the ball down the court. Near the paint, the swordsman would find himself guarded by Sora. To make matters worse, Link was being smothered by Ike, and passing the ball to the Hylian would be disastrous. Cloud had no options on his side...

...but wait, what's this?! Sora stole the ball from Cloud! He literally stole the ball from Cloud...and he just shot the ball into the net. His own net. Sora was posturing, acting like he had scored the game-winning shot, when Ike and company were all shaking their heads at him.

"Wasn't that the greatest shot you ever seen, or what?" Sora would ask his fellow swordsman, unaware of the horrible mistake he had made. It was so bad of a mistake, that it almost killed the mood of the entire game - nobody on the court outside of Sora didn't feel the desire to continue playing.

"Sora...please do us all a huge favor, and leave the court immediately," ordered Ike, raining all over Sora's parade. "In fact, don't ever step on this court ever again. You don't even deserve to be on another basketball court ever again."

"It's because I'm just that good, huh? Well if you're doing this for the sake of competition, then I won't complain...but I will say, it was fun getting to play with you guys. Such a shame I couldn't show off more of my handles. Is that what you call them? Handles?"

"Cloud, may I have a word with you?" Aerith called out to the swordsman, standing along the court. "I have something very important to tell you..." The smile on her face seemed to suggest otherwise, or at least that's what Cloud perceived.

"Be right back boys, gotta see what Aerith wants," Cloud said to the other swordsmen, as he left the court. He expected Sora to be gone by the time he was done discussing with his girlfriend.

 **Ike: *with hands on his hips* So yeah, I'm trying my best not to exaggerate here, but...Sora might as well be the worst basketball player I've ever laid my eyes upon. Couldn't dribble, kept missing wide-open shots, and lost the ball every time he got a turnover. It was only a miracle we were down by twenty.**

Cloud would join Aerith inside the mansion foyer, where Aerith had to share some rather important news with her boyfriend. Cloud was skeptical at first, but since it was Aerith, he had no choice but to given a partially open mind.

"So as you know, Professor E. Gadd and Dr. Wily have been working on a machine..." started Aerith, wondering how Cloud would react to the news she was ready to share. "...they've been doing so ever since the whole Heartless incident, shortly after Sora joined us..."

"Yes I'm well aware...man, I can't wait until the day Sora leaves forever," replied Cloud, hoping this day would come sooner than later. "Dude has been an incessant pest, always asking stupid questions and doing stupid things...I would be the one to put him in his place, but a guy like Sora is way beneath my concerns."

"Fortunately you won't have to deal with Sora anymore...and you won't have to deal with him _ever_ again." Cloud perked up when Aerith said this, and he was all ears.

"What are you getting at, Aerith?" asked Cloud, leaning in close to his girlfriend. Sounded like the flower girl was about to share some juicy secret details with her man - details only Cloud was allowed to hear.

"What I'm trying to say is...the teleportation machine that's supposed to transport Sora and I back to our dimension...E. Gadd and Wily are finished working on it. Which means Sora and I can return back home!"

Cloud first widened his eyes, and then nodded his head in understanding. His reaction to the news was bittersweet, it cut like a double-edged sword - at the same time, Cloud wanted Sora gone and out of his life, but at the same cost, he would also have to lose Aerith, his sweetheart in the process. It wasn't like the swordsman was going to find another Aerith out there.

"Are you okay Cloud, you look a little...out of it," a concerned Aerith asked Cloud, who still wasn't sure how he should react. He was happy, yet at the same time, at a loss for words. He was uplifted, yet downtrodden. He felt like he was high above the clouds, yet sunken below the deep blue sea. He was...well, you get the point.

"No, I'm...I'm just fine...really took me by surprise there," replied Cloud, chuckling as he scratched the hair on the back of his head. "You know what, I should go to my room...so I can, uh, fully digest the news. Nothing's wrong with me, I can assure you." As Cloud headed to his room, Aerith watched him, knowing that something _was_ wrong with her man.

"Knew I shouldn't have told Cloud this soon..." Aerith had this to say as Cloud climbed up the stairs, making several pauses along the way. Clearly was still adjusting to the news.

* * *

Touma, Star Records' resident homebody who had a strong reputation for...well, doing nothing...would finally see his "career breakthrough", when Kamek arrived at the mansion in the previous episode, gifting Touma some Power Rangers-lite costumes. Touma intended to use these costumes for a Power Rangers type show that would be broadcast on Star Records YouTube account, and bring in revenue to Star Records as a whole.

To make his show the greatest show on the planet, Touma had to hire the right people to make his show legit. First, he hired Eleonora as the script writer. Then he hired Viridi to be the set designer. Finally, he decided upon his crew, the five heroes who would fight evil and save the day - Itsuki (Blue), Tsubasa (Yellow), Yashiro (Green), and Kiria (Pink), with Touma (Red) as the faithful leader.

Who was the mentor of the group, you might ask? It was none other than...Doc Louis, who according to Touma would play a character in a similar vein to Nick Fury. Would be interesting to see how that would turn out. As for the villains, Touma was pretty much undecided...

 **Ganondorf: Touma needs a bona fide villain for his superhero show? He should look no further than I, the great demon lord himself...but if Touma and company start calling me names like "Ganondork", then I'm quitting. Can't deal with unoriginal losers.**

 **Wario: Touma should pick ME to play the villain on his show! I have all the qualities of a villain, and then some! I'm rich, greedy, maniacal, ugly... *pauses* ...what was the last thing I said?**

 **King K. Rool: Every great villain needs henchmen for the heroes to fight against, which is why Touma should pick me so I can bring my Kremlings on board! The battles against Touma's ranger friends will be epic..provided my Kremlings are the ones who come out victorious. Otherwise I'll have some "creative differences" with the head writer...**

"Viridi told me that Touma was gonna film the pilot episode for his show today," Pit said to Kirby, as the two friends walked through the hallway to where the filming for Touma's show was supposed to take place. "Got any predictions for what's gonna go down?"

"It's hard to call any predictions at all, since I don't have all the details," replied Kirby, eating a bag of popcorn. No, he didn't share any of his popcorn with Pit...he didn't trust the angel enough. He could never trust the angel with mostly anything. "But I did hear that Touma wants to have two villains for his show. Already, he decided upon Cortex, after Cortex came begging to him talking this and that about his so-called 'villain decay'...but Touma is undecided on who the other villain should be."

"Why not Dark Pit? He's dark, edgy, and totally packs a punch! Also, given the breakup state that he's in, he's bound to deliver a few zingers here and there. Most of which are off-script, and done out of emotion."

"Dark Pit is just an arrogant twerp, nothing more and nothing less. That's it. Can't see him being the main villain of _any_ show. But as for being a henchman, or a second-in-command...he might have the chops. He might..."

Pit and Kirby would arrive at their destination - the dancing room, a room that was greatly underused because, well, who would come to the dancing room to dance? Maybe the idol singers, since dancing was a part of their repertoire, but other than them, who else? Pit and Kirby would enter this dancing room...

...they saw an authentic movie set, complete with lights, microphones, and everything else required for a movie set. Touma, Itsuki, Tsubasa, Yashiro, and Kiria were all present, wearing their costumes, as well as Doc Louis and Dr. Cortex, with Uka accompanying the latter. Viridi was there, working on designing the set, when she Pit and Kirby standing there.

"About time you boys showed up!" the goddess of nature exclaimed, as she stopped her work and ran over to Pit and Kirby. "Knew you wouldn't leave a sweet goddess like myself all alone, without her two favorite people. I take it you're both on your break, from working the food truck?"

"Guess you could say that...we left Meta Knight in charge of running the truck while we're away," replied Pit, with his arms behind his head. He and Kirby had a lot of confidence in Meta Knight that he could get the job done. "Business should really be picking up!"

 **Meta Knight: *seated at a table with a chessboard* Five hours in, and nobody has come over to the food truck...so to pass the time, I'm playing a game of chess...with myself. *moves chess piece to a black space* Boom, checkmate...for all that is holy, someone please kill me...**

"That's good, because you're just in time - Touma is about ready to start filming," said Viridi, pointing over at Touma and company. They were all ready to go. "Or at least he would be, if he had another villain. Touma really stressed the importance of having two villains for his show, so that...Pit, Kirby, were are you two going?"

"Yo, Touma, really digging those outfits!" complimented Pit, as he and Kirby headed over to Touma and the others. Touma was ready to put on his helmet when he saw Pit and Kirby draw near; hopefully Pit and Kirby wouldn't ask him to be added to the show. "Looking like a bunch of Power Rangers!"

"To be fair, Pit, my show _is_ inspired by Power Rangers, and other Super Sentai works," clarified Touma, leading Pit to raise his hand. "Basically Super Sentai is a Japanese superhero show; sentai means 'task force', or 'fighting squadron'. America contrived the Power Rangers concept from Super Sentai ever since the 90s."

"Typical America, unoriginal bums that have to steal original stuff from foreign countries...first they steal hamburgers from Germany, then they steal rugby from Australia, and they've stolen the concept of Power Rangers from Japan?! America is truly the most unoriginal country in the entire planet! This makes me so bad...I might have to boycott Power Rangers from now on, after learning this disheartening information!"

"Um, Pit, you've never watched Power Rangers to begin with," Kirby pointed out; Pit was more of a wrestling guy anyway. Surely you knew that, from some of the past episodes. "You always talked about how the characters gave you nightmares...and by the characters, I mean the Power Rangers themselves."

"Oh yeah, that is right...also, don't say that out loud, the others will hear you." Everybody knows that you're a scaredy cat Pit, so it's not like you had to worry about losing any pride. If you ever had any pride to begin with.

"Touma why is this pink ranger suit so tight-fitting?" Kiria would ask the redhead, as her felt extremely uncomfortable in her suit. Felt like her entire body was suffocating, and gasping for air. "It's practically hugging my legs and arms!"

"I had completely neglected to have a pink ranger suit, for the female ranger, so I asked Kamek to make a new ranger suit entirely out of scratch," explained Touma, confident that Kiria would make the most of her outfit, regardless of the problems it was giving her. "So if you have any complaints, then you know who to call..."

"And what about me, Touma, why does Kiria's ranger suit have a skirt, but mine doesn't?!" complained Tsubasa, knowing that her suit was intended for a guy. "Are you sure you can't have Kamek come back so he can fix my suit? This is a disgrace, I can't wear this suit on camera!"

"Tsubasa has a point, Touma - making her wear that yellow suit with no skirt on it is borderline sexist," Pit told the redhead, agreeing with what Tsubasa said. Touma was easily angered by these complaints - why couldn't have Tsubasa and Kiria made their concerns known beforehand? "That is a major dress code violation!"

"Alright ladies, settle down, no need to bark your complaints at Touma," said Itsuki, doing his best to ease the situation, as he pushed Tsubasa and Kiria away from a nervous Touma. "Touma here has a plan, and we won't be able to see the end of his plans if we keep complaining."

 **Itsuki: I've been around Touma ever since he pitched his superhero show to Fox and Falco...and to this day, I still don't know what the plan is. I'm so terribly lost...**

"Touma, have you decided on your villain yet?" Doc Louis shouted at Touma, standing with Cortex and Uka. The boxing trainer was devouring his chocolate bars, one-by-one; he had already consumed his twelfth non-sentimental girlfriend. Or ex-girlfriend, rather. "How about you stop complaining with your fellow cast members, and get stuff done!"

"Yes, what Doc Louis said - we've been standing here forever!" frowned Cortex, who had his trusty ray gun ready. And yes, he had it on the right setting, so no mishaps while filming. "I didn't practice rehearsing all my lines for nothing!"

"You weren't given any lines to begin with...if I recall correctly, Eleonora just told you to laugh evilly," Uka pointed out; the floating mask was asked to appear in Touma's show, but he rejected the offer in a heartbeat. For mostly obvious reasons. "That is probably the only thing you can do without messing up."

"No I haven't decided on my villain...you know what, I'll get Fox and Falco to find a villain themselves," replied Touma, knowing well that the space pilots would find the right person for the role. "I shall leave the choice of villain up to them..."

* * *

Amy hasn't spent that much time with her man, Sonic, in recent times - in fact, the last time the pink hedgehog was with Sonic in general was at Berkut and Rinea's wedding, which was in episode 116. Wanting to catch up with her boyfriend, Amy would pay Sonic a visit, as she stopped by at the mansion.

"I've been a little worried about Sonic as of late," Amy would say to the Ice Climbers, Nana and Popo, who greeted the pink hedgehog at the front door. "Tails and Knuckles have been telling me over the phone about how Sonic became a conspiracy nut, thinking Berkut recruited several residents to assist him in assassinating Alm..."

"Oh yeah, Sonic has been quite persistent, I'll say..." remarked Nana, as she and Popo guided Amy to the kitchen. "He thinks Balthier, Dark Pit, Coco, and Aku are all involved in Berkut's so-called assassination scheme. Used to think Fox and Falco played a part as well, but thankfully his dropped his suspicions about them. It's bad enough that he has Crash following him up."

"Crash isn't exactly he brighest tool in the shed, so it would be very easy for Sonic to manipulate him to his will...but I don't understand why Berkut would even want to kill Alm in the first place. I know they have a beef and all, but Bowser never wanted to destroy Mario, back when he and Mario were living together in the mansion. What would Berkut even gain from assassinating Alm?"

"Beats me - aside from taking the throne of Valentia, I can't think of anything else," replied Popo, eating an ice cream sundae that he and Nana had made. They had made a bunch of icy treats today, and they were working nonstop until Amy came over. "Besides, Master Hand restricted Berkut from laying a single finger on Alm, so with that in mind..."

Upon entering the kitchen with Amy and Nana, Popo would trail off when he saw Sonic, seated in a chair, devouring all the sundaes and ice cream cones and everything else the Ice Climbers had made. Nana was angry at the hedgehog, but Popo was even angrier, as he came running towards the blue blur.

"SONIC I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" the Ice Climber shouted as he ran to Sonic, grabbing his neck and choking him with all his might. He wanted to ensure Sonic learned his lesson, so Popo had his grip super strong. "Nobody eats my desserts and gets away empty-handed! How dare you!"

"Leave my precious Sonic alone, you're going to make him choke!" demanded Amy, as she and Nana pulled on Popo, eventually pulling him away from Sonic. Popo would land on the floor, glaring at Sonic, who swallowed whatever was in his throat and caught his breath.

 **Popo: The absolute nerve of Sonic, to eat those desserts we've worked our butts off on...our desserts...I just don't get it. Why is it that Master Hand consults Link and Pit for Pikachu Day-related food...but not us?!  
** **Nana: It's simple - one, you're crazy. And two, you wouldn't even know how to use the money raised from our desserts. Hence the reason why we never sold them in general.**  
 **Popo: Well it's not MY fault some people think $500 for a regular sundae is "outrageous'...sometimes, Nana, you gotta know your customers. And we know that our customers got money to spend!  
Nana: *sighs, then facepalms* You'd be such a terrible businessman...**

"Sonic are you okay, did Popo do any harm to you?" Amy would ask her boyfriend, with her hands on his shoulders, as Nana had to pull Popo away from the kitchen before the Ice Climber could throw some hands with Sonic.

"Yes I'm fine Amy, Popo just chocked me...felt like a toddler trying to squeeze my neck," replied Sonic, whose mouth and entire face was covered in ice cream. How much of the Ice Climbers' treats did the hedgehog consume?! "But thanks for your concern. I'm sure any chick would be all up in arms over their boyfriend's well-being."

"Well yes, that is true, but...why were you eating up all the Ice Climbers' treats for? So rude, and uncalled for!" Amy hoped that Sonic had a good explanation for his actions, and the hedgehog's explanation may or may not be justified.

"To tell you the truth, Amy, I was busy making preparations for eating the giant cake in the ballroom. Mario and Olimar's friend Louie are eating the cake by themselves, and they decided to leave me out of it! Those pretentious jerks...they have no idea what they're doing!"

"So is this like, some kind of cake-eating contest?" Sonic would nod his head in response, and Amy felt nervous about Sonic participating in the eating of the cake. "Ooh, I dunno, Sonic, you might not be up for..."

"Hush Amy, I'm up for just about anything. What's a ginormous cake to an awesome hedgehog like myself?"

* * *

Proto Man was back at it again, in the teleportation room, manning the teleportation device as he has done so for the past two episodes. He was dozing off...well, in his case, robots didn't doze off, as they never sleep, so we'll just say that Proto Man was resting his eyes...behind his eye visor. The robot wouldn't be resting his eyes anymore, when Fox and Falco barged inside the teleportation room.

"Yo Proto Man, we need you to be our lifesaver!" exclaimed Fox, catching the prototype robot off-guard. "Or rather, Touma's lifesaver...the dude needs a villain for his show, and you seem like you know the guy to..."

"Lemme guess, you want me to bring a Hylian champion from times past to the mansion so everything can be all dandy and full of butterflies and sunshine and rainbows, isn't it?!" Proto Man snapped on the space pilots, catching them off-guard. The sooner Proto Man had to stop bringing the Hylian champs to the mansion, the better.

"Uh, that's not what we entirely had in mind, but hey, we'll take it!" replied Falco; Proto Man sighed as he begrudgingly came over to the teleportation device, and keyed in the coordinates required. "So who is this Hylian champion that you're gonna give us...I mean, Touma?"

"Since Touma's show is a superhero show, I know the right guy for the job..." Proto Man, finished keying in the coordinates, would press the button, and warp yet another Hylian champion to the Smash Mansion.

This Hylian champion, a burly Goron (just like all other Gorons, to be fair),was the champion of his people, and known by one name...Daruk.

"Is this some kind of deja vu...?" Daruk wondered as he analyzed his surroundings, before recognizing Fox, Falco, and Proto Man standing in front of him. "Ah, I must be back in the Smash Mansion! Fox, Falco, Proto Man - long time, no see! Since I'm here, I can only assume that Master Hand planned another gigantic get-together, right?" Daruk wore excitement on his face, but when Fox and company declined to answer the question, the Goron's excitement would fade.

"We're gonna have to do a lot of explaining, do we?" Fox whispered to Falco, leading Daruk to scratch his head in confusion.

 **Daruk: Fox and Falco explained to me that I have to be in what they call a superhero show...basically I have to play as the villain! I can't be the villain, I'm more built to be the hero! I'm strong, brave, and courageous...well, save for that one time when Princess Zelda and I encountered that dog in Eldin. Felt ashamed to let the princess deal with that slobbering thing. But that was just a one time only thing. Every hero has their weaknesses...some more than others.**

* * *

It was now time for the Frost-Frosted Cake eating to commence. Mario was ready, and so was Louie, who arrived at the mansion not so long ago and was guided to the ballroom by his co-worker, Olimar. Upon entering the ballroom, Louie would see Mario, Peach, Cappy, Cilan, Layton, Luke, Link...but most importantly, the Frost-Frosted Cake positioned in the center of the ballroom.

"Now we can't have you devouring the cake right away, so we'll let you get a good look of the pastry before you and Mario chomp it all down," Olimar explained to Louie, whose eyes were open wide as his mouth began salivating wildly. Pretty soon there was gonna be a giant lake of saliva on the ballroom floor.

"That cake...it looks so...so...so delicious..." Louie marveled, walking towards the cake with his arms out like he was a fly walking towards a light, when Olimar pulled him back. Olimar would let Louie touch the cake, but not without the proper eating materials...so he gave his co-worker an eating bib and some eating utensils. A fork and a knife - can't go wrong with those two.

"Before you eat that cake, you must be properly prepared for the greatest challenges. Without preparation, you can never achieve anything." Olimar rested an assuring hand on Louie's shoulder, speaking to him like he was his pupil, while Mario and company looked on ready to get the whole cake-eating thing started. "Without preparation, you won't be able to reach your goals, or strive for the finer things in life. Without preparation..."

"Get it done with already, we don't have much time!" an impatient Luke called out to Olimar. Thank goodness the cake wasn't melting. Somehow. "Can we just have this cake eaten, and be done with it?"

"Basically use those utensils wisely, and we won't have to call an ambulance to rush you to the hospital. Got it?" Louie, with all understanding of the situation, nodded his head, as Olimar smiled. "Good. Eat that cake to your heart's content!"

"Trust me Olimar, I eat just about anything to my heart's content...including my own living room furniture," remarked Louie, making Olimar give him a questionable face as he joined Mario near the cake. "Mr. Mario, how do you do?"

"Doing well, though I doubt-a I'll feel the same-a way after this cake is devoured," replied Mario, rubbing his stomach and getting it ready. "This cake might take-a the fight out of me!"

"Oh, how does Mario even get himself into these predicaments?" wondered Peach, fearing that her husband would suffer a heart attack from eating too much cake and die on the spot. Would suck a lot to die before getting to witness the birth of your first child.

"Hello, 911, I'd like to call an ambulance to the Smash Mansion...just for precautionary measures," Cappy spoke into the phone, having similar doubts as Peach as well as fears. The talking hat couldn't afford to remain on Mario's hat for what Mario was about to partake in.

"I can't wait to see Mario fail miserably...the look of failure upon his face will give me all the joy in the world..." Link said to Layton with a devious smile, as Layton nonchalantly nodded his head. Layton couldn't care less if Mario failed to eat the entire cake - he just wanted the cake gone, in general.

 **Link: Mario has been picking on me nonstop for being unable to deliver that water to the outdoor pool - although that was kinda Zelda's fault, and Midna's too - so when Mario fails to eat that giant cake that I've been told about, the tide shall turn around and I'll pick on Mario! It'll be the perfect retribution!**

"Are both eaters ready?" Cilan asked Mario and Louie, who either nodded or gave a thumbs up. "Excellent! On your marks...get set...DIG IN!"

And so it was on - Mario and Louie ran over to the cake, and ate it like the rabid beasts that they were. Louie, armed with a fork and knife, would cut individual slices of the Frost-Frosted Cake in rapid succession, and ate the cake slices one-by-one. On the other hand Mario, armed with no eating utensils whatsoever, just ate the cake with his bare hands, scaring the cake down his mouth. This eating technique was of obvious concern to Peach, who fretted that Mario might choke himself.

"Mario please slow down, you don't have to eat so fast!" the princess pleaded to the plumber. Same advice could be given to Louie, though he has already been in similar situations before. Not to mention that he was an eating contest aficionado.

* * *

"Look you two, I'm terribly sorry for Sonic's actions, he should know better," Amy would aplogize to the Ice Climbers, who had to remake the ice cream cones and sundaes Sonic ate as part of his "eating preparations". "I'm sure he didn't mean it!"

"Sure, he didn't mean it...bet he'll feel genuinely sorry after I wring my hands around that nonexistent neck of his..." seethed Popo, apparently having a personal vendetta with Sonic now. Let's just hope that this vendetta doesn't end with something serious...

Finished with the last of the sundaes, Nana heard something fly over the mansion. She would climb on top of a stool (because she was short) and look out through the kitchen window, spotting a flying airship flying high in the Seattle sky, with four figures riding on it. Nana was unable to discern the four creatures, but she was still left intrigued."

"Guys, do you see that airship out there?" Nana would ask Amy and Popo, who would join the Ice Climber at the window. They too saw the airship, under the assumption that whoever was piloting it possibly worked for Bowser.

"Definitely looks like a ship Bowser Jr. would be piloting around," answered Amy, hearing some music played from the airship. "I do hear some music coming from that ship...maybe they're a traveling band? They might be flying to their next gig, for all we know."

* * *

While Amy was off wondering about some flying airship in the sky, her boyfriend Sonic was ready to chow down on the Frost-Frosted Cake, which he believed was part of an eating contest. Before he could eat the cake, he first sought advice from the mansion's resident motivator, the Flying Man.

"Remember, Sonic, you don't need anything to succeed...for I am your courage!" the Flying Man bellowed, striking a pose so majestic it would make Hercules blush. Despite this, Sonic was left unamused.

"Why did I ever come to you for motivation - you feed me the same crap over and over again, regurgitating the same line that you use for everyone else," stated Sonic, summing up much of the Flying Man's purpose for existence in a nutshell. "It's no wonder you haven't pursued a career as a motivational speaker - you'd flat out suck. I know not to come to you for encouragement again..."

 **Flying Man: "I am your courage" - a line that is short, sweet, and to the point. Why do I constantly repeat it, you might ask? One reason is because of how easy and simple the message gets across - if you motivate others by telling them different things, then the message is lost, and is rendered ineffective. The other reason? I just have a terrible memory!**

Disgruntled with the Flying Man, Sonic left the magical beast's premises, and decided to go to the ballroom. On his way there, he would be stopped by Bowser, who was worried sick about the Frost-Frosted Cake.

"Sonic may I speak with you for a hot minute, it's important," Bowser said to the hedgehog, who was willing to give an ear - provided Bowser didn't take that long to talk. "There's this giant cake, in the ballroom, and I'm afraid someone might eat it...you cannot let anyone lay a finger on that thing!"

"Okay...what's the big deal, what's so special about the cake?" wondered Sonic, ready to eat the cake regardless of what Bowser told him about it. "Saving it for a future birthday party, for one of your kids?"

"Yeah right, those dumb kids don't deserve a cake...they wouldn't even know what to do with one anyways. But I cannot tell you why the cake must be preserved, for it is a secret only I am allowed to know. Just protect that cake with your life, got it?"

"Guard the cake in the ballroom with my life, that's easier said that done. I may be tempted to get just a nibble, but if that cake means that much to you, Bowser, then I'll watch over it with eagle eyes!"

"Great! Thank you for putting your usual jerk ways aside for the greater good, Sonic. I expect to see that cake in one piece later, once Wendy is done with her dancing recital! Why did I force that girl to sign up for dancing classes, why..." Bowser and Sonic would go their separate ways, and as they did so, Sonic sported a mischievous smile...

"Bowser honestly expects someone like me to watch over his precious cake..." the hedgehog said to himself, giggling childishly. "...like he owns the cake...he's gonna be one disappointed koopa soon..."

* * *

By no means was the Frost-Frosted Cake a part of an eating contest - Layton just wanted the cake gone before the end of the day. But even if the cake was indeed part of an eating contest, then Sonic had a legitimate shot at winning, for Mario and Louie, having consumed as much of the cake as possible, were down for the count. Both men were full, as they were now plump as a tomato.

"Hoo boy if only I had a camera, so I could mock Mario day in...and day out..." snickered Link, as Layton shook his head at the Hylian. If Link had a more profound opportunity to make fun of Mario, then the time was nigh.

"You must not have anything worth looking forward to in your current life..." murmured Layton, keeping his voice low so Link wouldn't hear him.

 **Layton: I would never eat the cake in the ballroom, I'm too much of a gentleman! A polished Brit like myself must always practice manners, even at the dinner table. However, in regards to the cake, there is no dinner table...which means that all bets are off! But still, I shall adhere to my ways...**

Sonic strutted his way inside the ballroom, seeing the Frost-Frosted Cake as well as Mario and Louie writhing on the floor with their fat bellies. Sonic, seeing how much of the cake was left over, sought to seize the opportunity.

"Leaving the rest of the cake to me, nice strategy guys!" exclaimed Sonic, as he sped over to the cake and ate it. The hedgehog would rigorously run all over the cake with his blazing fast speed, eating as much as he could.

"Um, Sonic, I don't think you're supposed to eat the cake like that..." Peach said to the hedgehog, who ignored the princess entirely as he kept eating and eating to his heart's content. This fast eating would persist until...

"Princess Peach, are you ready yet for the...tea...party?" Zelda asked as she entered the ballroom, only to see Mario, Louie, and now Sonic on the floor, looking like over-inflated yoga balls. She also saw her boyfriend Link, who stole Olimar's phone and was snapping photos of Mario; her glare was enough to make the Hylian stop.

"I-I can explain," Link smiled sheepishly at Zelda, holding Olimar's phone behind his back. Didn't matter, as Zelda already saw the evidence...

* * *

Cortex was out on the streets of Seattle, doing what he did best - being an evil villain. The mad scientist was back in the evil groove, blasting with his evil ray gun and laughing manically. But he wasn't alone...

"Roar, I'm evil and stuff!" roared Daruk, as the Goron destroyed buildings, threw cars, peed on a traffic sign, etc. Typical evil villain things. "Being evil is so much fun - I could do this all day!" Judging by his lines, Daruk was still relatively green in terms of overall villainy.

"Eat my dust, you cowardly fools!" shouted Cortex, as he blasted away with his ray gun. "No wait, that's not the right context...not to mention that eating dust is terrible, and that's something I would never try again...eat my fury, you cowardly fools! Yeah, that sounds much better!"

"Stop it right there, Dr. Cortex and Daruk!" shouted a voice, as the two evildoers halted their acts of villainy and turned around. "The Force Five is here to take you down!"

Standing across from Cortex and Daruk was the Force Five - Touma, Itsuki, Yashiro, Tsubasa, and Kiria, adorned respectively in their red, blue, green, yellow, and pink Power Ranger suits. The Force Five stood defiantly, not willing to back down from a fight.

"The five of us shall work together, to battle the forces of evil!" proclaimed Touma, striking a pose only a Red Ranger would be proud of.

"We will stop you two and anyone else in our way from destroying this earth!" proclaimed Itsuki, striking a pose only a Blue Ranger would be proud of.

"No way we're gonna let you rule this universe with an iron fist!" proclaimed Yashiro, striking a pose that only...yeah, you see the pattern going on here.

"Because we're the Power Rangers!" shouted Tsubasa, striking a pose that...hold on, why did Tsuabasa have a shorter line than her male teammates?

"And we're not gonna back down!" shouted Kiria, striking a pose that...wait, Kiria got a short line too! Pit would definitely think of that as sexism.

"Wow those are some cheesy lines..." remarked Cortex, shaking his head in disgust, before forgetting what he was supposed to say. "Oh wait, I mean...if it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you shall get!"

"...Aaaaaaaand scene!" shouted Eleonora, the director, as she ended the scene. The blonde was seated in a director's chair, and she even had the director's hat too, just for style. "Nice scene everyone, nice teaser for the show - though I will have to edit some lines out. Especially yours, Cortex...you know, that is why I couldn't trust you with any dialogue, you'll just...go all over the place!"

"Whaddaya mean by 'teaser', is this a one-time thing?" Daruk raised a curious eyebrow, as the Force Five took off their helmets. "Or do I have to come back to the mansion for more filming?"

"Mostly the latter - the teaser is meant to create interest for the show," explained Touma, speaking as if he was an astute expert in show business. "Once we accrue enough viewership online, we'll call you back so we can film some episodes for the series. It's a pretty long process, really."

"So that means I have to keep coming back to the mansion just to shoot some more film, just because I'm a main villain in the show?!" Touma dared not to tell Daruk the other grimy details, like outtakes and improvisation and everything else. "Oy, I don't think I'm cut out for this...you might as well find another Goron to replace me..."

 **Touma: Okay...so as of now, Daruk's status in "Force Five" is up in the air...which means we'll have to resort to a Plan B if necessary. Daruk recommended finding a Goron to replace him with, so I'm sure there's a Goron...living at a volcano...somewhere...on this earth...**

 **Tsubasa: I'm sorry, but I can't stop laughing at the title..."Force Five"?! *laughs* That's the best Touma could come up with? Sounds so much like the Power Rangers...  
Itsuki: Touma's show _is_ heavily based upon the Power Rangers...so I guess it...kinda checks out?**

* * *

Cloud had yet to recover from the news Aerith delivered to him, as the swordsman remained in his room with his door shut. Standing at the door was Aerith, and with her was Kamui, holding a plate with a teapot and two teacups.

"Cloud can you please open up, you've been in your room for too long!" Aerith pleaded to the swordsman, not getting a single response. Could Aerith have told Cloud the news later? Sure, but she had to get it out sometime.

"I brought some herbal tea!" exclaimed Kamui, hoping the offer would be enough to make Cloud open his door. To Kamui and Aerith's surprise, the tactic work, as Cloud opened his bedroom door. But Cloud wasn't looking that hot...he looked like he hadn't slept in days.

"What do you two want?" Cloud rudely asked Aerith and Kamui; he was never rude with Aerith before, so this was definitely a different Cloud Aerith was experiencing.

"I just wanted to see how you were feeling - you've been in your room, so I had assumed that you were taking a nap...though the look of your eyes suggests otherwise. But other than that, I also wanted to know how you feel about...you know, what I said earlier." Cloud stared at Aerith, and it was the hardest stare he ever gave the flower girl.

"...I don't wanna talk about it," would be the swordsman's reply before slamming the door shut, leaving Aerith rather despondent, and contemplating whether or not she did the right thing. Perhaps she informed Cloud at the most inconvenient time...

"Oh well, more tea for Corrin and I, I suppose..." said Kamui as she walked away with the herbal tea, leaving Aerith behind as she sighed.

* * *

Mario, Sonic, and Louie were in the fitness center, ready to be tended to by Leia, while Cilan spoke with Master Hand about the Frost-Frosted Cake. He told him about how the cake was mysteriously brought to the mansion, and how Layton and Luke planned to dispose of it.

"I'd say take the remainder of the cake, and and feed it to the needy and poor," suggested Master Hand, believing this was the best use for the cake. "Oh, and don't forget to tell people that it was my idea - that way, I can score major points with the Seattle community leaders!"

"Excellent plan, Master Hand!" smiled Cilan, blind to the giant hand's ego that enveloped the "excellent" plan. "The poor people of Seattle will have their faces lifted when they see the sight of cake in their eyes!" Cilan hummed a happy tune as he walked away, as the Ice Climbers approached Master Hand.

"Master Hand, this might not mean much, but we saw a suspicious airship fly over the mansion," Popo notified the giant hand, before he could vanish away and return to his room. "We fear that it could..."

"Oh wow, an airship in the sky, how about that!" exclaimed Master Hand, but in a sarcastic manner. The situation wasn't all that serious to him. "Well you wouldn't believe what I saw flying up in the sky...it was a helicopter! Can you believe that?! Neither can I! Oh, the marvelous things you see, when you look outside a window for once!"

"But Master Hand, this is no laughing manner - the people in that airship could be spying on us! You remember the last time someone was lowkey spying on us, do you Master Hand? Do you?"

Master Hand would no longer entertain the Ice Climbers, as he vanished away in a snap. The giant hand's lack of concern about the airship made Popo and Nana afraid, and a little uncertain...

...but before we end this episode, how about we check upon our favorite Koopa King?

* * *

Bowser would return to the mansion after attending Wendy's dance recital, scurrying to the ballroom to check on the Frost-Frosted Cake...only to realize that he was too late. His mouth was left agape as he saw the cake missing from the ballroom, nowhere in plain sight.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" bellowed Bowser, as he fell to his knees. The cake he apparently cared about so much, taken away by Cilan so he could feed the poor and further enhance Master Hand's ego.

In a logical sense, Bowser _could_ ask for another Frost-Frosted Cake to be baked...could he?


	122. Episode 122: Urbosa

_Author's Note:_

 _Since my trip to Florida threw me off schedule, I had to write yet another throwaway chapter, with the amount of time I had at my disposal...but don't be scared, this chapter still adheres to the main plot line at hand. You just won't be seeing the main characters featured at all. On to the reviews..._

 _"Can you include the characters from Disgaea? (Since the first game is getting a remake on the Switch) a scene with Nabbit and Ravio? Is Aerith really going to leave for good? Are Aku Aku and Uka Uka's appearances based on their orginal or Crash of the Titans look? And finally, what are your thoughts on the upcoming Death Battle of Sora vs Pit?"_

 _Sure. Definitely. Won't be saying anything about Aerith. Their apperances are based on the original games. And as for the Death Battle between Sora and Pit...Sora would win handily. Dude's got all the Keyblades and magic in the world to come out victorious. Here's Derick Lindsey, with his question of the day:_

 _"Poor Cloud having to deal with Aerith leaving soon but hey he doesn't have to deal with Sora so that's a plus right?"_

 _Yeah, you could say that...Aerith and Sora leaving will be bittersweet. I will miss displaying Aerith's interactions with Cloud and several other characters, and I will miss making Sora look silly and dumb just as much...wait, maybe I shouldn't have said that...oh well._

* * *

 **Episode 122: Urbosa**

 **Toon Link: In the criminal justice system, offences outside of Smash battles are considered especially heinous. In Seattle, at the Smash Mansion, the dedicated police officers who investigate these vicious felonies are members of an elite squad known as the LPU, the Link Patrol Unit. These are their stories.  
Young Link: DUN DUUUUN!**

For the first time since episode 93, the main players of the Smash Mansion were absent from the establishment. And each of them had their own justified reason.

Mario, the soon-to-be father, took Peach to the hospital after his wife was dealing with a few pregnancy complications. Link, the famed hero of Hyrule, rode his truck Epona to Spokane for some archery practice. Cloud, unnerved by the news he received from Aerith, would travel around Washington on his motorcycle "to keep his mind off of things". Sonic, the suddenly paranoid hedgehog, followed Berkut and Rinea to the grocery store. Pit, still on the Pikachu Day bandwagon, ventured with Kirby outside of the mansion to spread awareness about the day. And Fox and Falco, the heads of Star Records, did some scouting in Seattle for Touma's superhero show, _Force Five._

Speaking of _Force Five,_ the teaser for the show did better than expected, as it reeled in more than a million views online. This gaudy viewership was the green light Touma needed to continue his show, as the redhead was now dying to start filming his pilot. As you would believe, Touma was overly dedicated to his show - in fact, he was so darn dedicated, that he refused to take off his superhero suit. In fact, he instructed his co-stars - Itsuki, Tsubasa, Kiria, and Yashiro - not to take off their suits as well!

"Touma, can I PLEASE take off this suit, it's too tight!" Tsubasa pleaded to Touma, who was in the fitness center working out in his red suit like it was nothing. Dude was gonna feel really sweaty after a while. "Why can't we take off our suits, ever?"

"Because, silly Tsubasa, we're heroes!" replied Touma, running on the treadmil feeling like he was the Flash. All this superhero stuff was really going to his head... "When the Teen Titans are done saving Jump City from trouble, do you see them take off their costumes after a hard day's work? I think not!"

"That's because they're cartoon characters...they have much more leeway than we have. A very terrible example, if I do say so yourself. I can't possibly go outside in public ever again with a suit like this!"

"Not unless you wear your helmet to conceal your identity, like any other rational person would do. I've did it before, so why can't you?" Tsubasa looked up at the heavens in disbelief, and rolled her eyes as she walked away from Touma, not wishing to entertain the redhead anymore. Clearly there were a few screws loose inside of Touma's head, if they weren't loose already.

After leaving the fitness center, and running away from Touma's newfound delusion, Tsubasa opted to chill out in the lounge, where she would find momentary solace before Touma annoyed her again. On her way there, she smelt a rather strange smell from afar - smelt like a dead person was nearby. Smelt like rotten fruit. Tsubasa would follow this peculiar scent to a room, which had a door creaked open slightly. Tsubasa would enter this room out of her utter curiosity, and took a peek inside...

...and immediately found herself gasping, with her hands to her face.

* * *

Elsewhere in the mansion, Toon Link and Young Link were in their office, inspecting a baseball rather seriously. It was a dirty golf ball; looked like it was found in the backyard, dug up by some dog.

"Saw this baseball inside the mansion, in the foyer near some broken window..." explained Toon Link, the fellow who saw the baseball in the first place. The way he was holding the ball in his hand, he was acting like it was something illegal and dangerous, like he had to dispose of it immediately. "...someone is definitely trying to kill us.

"It has to be the hometown team, the Seattle Mariners - only they would think of committing such a vicious crime," presumed Young Link, feeling like no further investigation was required. "They must be doing this because we never attended their baseball games! That has to be the only logical explanation...we should interrogate every baseball player on the team when we get the chance. Front office staff and personnel included."

 **Toon Link: Our investigation of Berkut and Dark Pit has been pretty tame so far - neither criminal has done anything that gives away the impression that they're serious about assassinating Alm. It has been mysteriously quiet...or perhaps Berkut and Dark Pit know that we're spying on them, and are only acting innocent to lower any hair-raising suspicions about them.  
Young Link: It's hard not to see through their acts of innocence. Berkut claiming that he's a "changed man" after marrying Rinea? Blatant lies. And Dark Pit saying that he's "doing fine" after his breakup with Flora? No man has ever said such words while recovering from a broken heart. Berkut and Dark Pit can lie through their teeth all they want, but one day they'll reap what they sow...**

"This must also be a long con extended from Mario and Peach's wedding..." added Young Link, furrowing his brow and scratching his chin in thought. "...the Mariners were salty that the wedding didn't have a happy ending, and so they went out and tried to attack us! They're just like the Four Seasons hotel - hating us for things we had no knowledge of! If throwing a baseball at the mansion is just a start, then I shudder to think what else this wretched baseball team has up their sleeves..."

A sudden knock was at the door, and it was an urgent knock - Toon Link and Young Link had no time to waste. The buddy cops would rush to the door, fighting to see who would open it - in a game of rock-paper-scissors. After his scissors beat Young Link's paper, Toon Link would open the door, seeing Tsubasa carrying Lucas in his arms.

"Sorry to disturb you two, but I think there's something terribly wrong with Lucas..." said Tsubasa, as the buddy cops let the idol singer in their office. Tsubasa would place Lucas gently on the floor; the PSI whiz's eyes were closed, as the side of his head rested against the floor. "I think he might be..."

"...dead?!" Toon Link would finish for Tsubasa, although that clearly wasn't the right answer. "Oh boy, this can't be good...we would bring Lucas back to life, but we're not experts in this kind of stuff. Someone like Pit or even Lady Palutena would know how to..."

"Lucas is NOT dead...I think someone knocked him out and tossed him inside a random room." For the sake of excitement, Toon Link and Young Link wished Lucas was dead instead. "I saw him in this room, by himself, and he had a fairly sweet and chemical-like smell to him."

"Have you ever smelt anything fairly sweet and chemical-like before? If not, then I'm not sure if we can believe you...but Lucas does reek, which is a clue that something is wrong with him. Allow Hutch and I to fully inspect our victim..."

Toon Link and Young Link knelt down at Lucas' side, as Young Link turned Lucas' head to face the ceiling and Toon Link checked for a pulse. The buddy cop had his fingers pressed against Lucas' throat, and he felt a beat...

"I can feel a pulse...an albeit faint pulse, but a pulse nonetheless," confirmed Young Link, before pressing his right ear against Lucas' chest. "And he's breathing too, but that is faint as well. He could be faking his own death, to prank his best friend Ness. Yet he hasn't reacted at all...this guy must be a pro. Could've honed his craft, for all we know."

"Is there a way that you can like, bring Lucas back to his senses?" asked a concerned Tsubasa, with her hands clasped together near her chest. While she felt like the Links could revive Lucas, she also feared that they would do something that might impact the poor PSI whiz, in a negative way.

"Yes, in fact, there is a way - you can be the one to revive Lucas. It's simple, really - all you have to do is tell Lucas that he has your purse, and that you don't know him." This was evidently rocket science to Tsubasa, who made a very confused face.

"Um...how is that supposed to do anything, when Lucas can't even hear me?" If only Tsubasa knew the battle cry that made Lucas feared by everyone, for one episode of Smash Life.

"Just kick him in the nuts, that oughta wake him up." Tsubasa walked over to Lucas, and looked down at him; he would kick the PSI whiz, but Lucas was so sweet and charming. By no means was he deserving of a groin kick. She couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Showing some reluctance, Tsubasa?" Young Link asked the idol singer, sensing how nervous she was. "It's not that hard - just kick Lucas in his nuts, and get it over with! One minute, he'll be like, 'AAAAAAUGH AAAAAAH AUUUUUGH'...and the next, he'll feel fine, like he never felt any pain at all. You're just overthinking it Tsuabasa, and sometimes overthinking can be unhealthy on your mind. Let Starsky and I do the honors for you..."

"No, I won't let you do it!" Tsubasa quickly stood in front of the buddy cops, preventing them from stepping near Lucas. "Someone as sweet as Lucas does not deserve to be in any agonizing pain. Are you sure you can't find another method?""There may be another method out there...but we'll have to find it first. Or maybe we'll find an antidote. Yeah, that's what we'll do - we'll go search for an antidote for Lucas, and hopefully we can find the culprit responsible for Lucas' current condition along the way. Every single person in this mansion must be interrogated."

 **Tsubasa: Never in a million years would I EVER harm Lucas, not even if he...You're telling me that he once went around kicking people in the crotch? As an act of self-defense?...And he had a battle cry, too? Was was it?...Wow, I had no idea Lucas owned a purse...he might be even more girly than I am!**

* * *

Another week, another mysterious gift delivered to the mansion - and this time around, Bowser managed to get his hands on it before anyone else could. This week's gift was a large pot of stew, which Bowser said was called Stupendous Stew. The koopa king would take this pot of stew to the kitchen, placing it on the stove and taking up much of the stove space. Much to Dunban's chagrin.

"Bowser your pot of stew has taken up all the space on the stove, and now I won't be able to cook tonight's dinner..." Dunban scolded the koopa king, as every eye on the stove was turned up to ten. "...also, do you need to have the stove dials all the way up? We don't need another fire in this mansion!"

"Wow Dunban, you're such a wuss, crying this and that about some stupid fire..." remarked Bowser, as he took a sample of the Stupendous Stew. "If you ask me, this stew should be tonight's dinner, it'll be better than what crap you're planning to feed us tonight."

"But yet a while ago you said that nobody will even eat the stew...so if that's the case, then who is the stew for? Saving it for a potential date in the future? Did you find yourself another girlfriend already?"

"No I haven't...but I'm just waiting for her to find me. I would be aggressive and find the chick myself, but when you're me, and have been heartbroken so many times, sometimes you gotta just take a step back, and wait for your significant other to leap into your arms, and embrace you with love and kindness. You're too scared to get it on with Sharla, so you wouldn't know what I'm talking about."

"Maybe I wouldn't know because you're..." Dunban suddenly stopped when he realized what Bowser said, and he stared at the koopa king with much contempt. "You're...you're not the one who started the whole shipping thing with Sharla and I, are you?"

"Ew, yuck, people actually ship you with Sharla? Let alone any chick, for that matter?! It's almost like people have literally nothing better to do with their lives. That's what's wrong with today's present times...people have so much time on their hands that they're throwing their lives down the gutter. They'd rather risk their livelihoods by living in their own fantasy world, and complain and moan and gripe when they don't get their way! It's one of the main reasons why millienials these days stink!"

"Done with your rant, King Bowser?" Dunban would ask the koopa after he was done, and Bowser nodded after cooling off. "Good...now take your stupid pot of stew so I can resume cooking dinner. Those ribs and hamburgers aren't going to cook themselves, you know!"

"We're gonna eat ribs? And burgers? In the middle of April?! Calm down Dunban, it's not even Memorial Day yet! Or the 4th of July! I understand that you want to make as much junk food as possible, to make everyone in the mansion fat - and trust me, I'd do the same, seeing a guy like Link having a pot belly would make for some great blackmail material. But still, hold your horses...we're gonna get to the fun stuff soon..."

 **Dunban: Cilan has a lot of meat loaded up in the mansion's pantry, and so I'm cooking it all and feeding it to all the residents. Everyone except for Doc Louis, that is...I've read in a health magazine that black folks who eat too much meat might accrue pancreatic cancer, and I can't afford to take a risk with Doc at all. The guy would only continue chocolate in the hopes that it would cure his cancer, anyways. But I wonder...should I disallow Knuckles from consuming meat as well?**

"FREEZE SUCKAS!" shouted Toon Link, as he and Young Link jumped into the kitchen, with their bow and arrows armed. Dunban and Bowser took sight of the two buddy cops, with their hands up in the air. Well, for Dunban, he only had one hand up in the air. "Oh man, that actually worked...I was honestly expecting to get jumped. I deserve a pat on the back for this..."

"No worries Starsky, I got you," Young Link said as he patted Toon Link on the back, before spotting Bowser slowly putting his hands back down. "Hands back up in the air where we can see them, turtle man!" Young Link shouted at Bowser, who immediately did as he was told.

"Aw c'mon, my arms were getting tired!" complained Bowser, although he wasn't holding them in the air for that long. His arms must be tired from flailing them about. Or maybe that only applied to Paper Bowser... "Just get your business over with, so I can go back to cooking my delicious stew!"

"Delicious stew, as in the stew on the stove?" asked Toon Link, potting at the pot of stew on the stove. Bowser watched the Hylian very cautiously, as he went over to the stove. "Mind if we borrow a sample of this stew, for some, well I don't know...research?"

"No can do buddy - nobody is allowed to touch the stew, let alone taste it. I would've also prohibited anyone from looking at the stew, but that would require way too much work and patience. Not kind out for that kind of stuff. So you can look...but you can't touch! Great, now I have that stupid song stuck in my head again..."

"How about we touch...but can't look?" suggested Young Link, trying to find a loophole around what Bowser said. However, it did not work, as Bowser and Dunban looked at one another with confused faces. "Not sure if that would work..."

"Yea, and when you knock over that pot of stew onto the kitchen floor, I'll have to kill the both of you...so don't take that risk. Though I wouldn't mind if you did, I wouldn't mind killing someone. Now can you PLEASE continue your little investigation or whatever elsewhere? My arms feel like they're about to fall asleep!"

"Something must be terribly wrong with the blood circulation in your arms..." Dunban had this to say to Bowser, before an arrow was fired at his knee, making him fall down. This arrow came from Toon Link. "Ow, what was that for, I didn't do anything!"

"That's for only having one hand up - doing that when interrogated by a Seattle police officer would get you killed," replied Toon Link; most police officers weren't THAT extreme. "Your paralyzed arm excuse has little to no effect on us. Now answer our question...what did you do to Lucas?"

"I didn't do anything to Lucas, haven't spoken to him ever since breakfast. If your investigation is centered around Lucas, then I'm afraid that I can't..." Dunban suddenly yelped in pain, as Toon Link fired yet another arrow, this one at Dunban's paralyzed arm. "Seriously, my paralyzed arm?! What was that for?!"

"For withholding vital information - the fact that you spoke with Lucas in some capacity means that you must be aware of what happened to Lucas. You must know the culprit responsible for rendering Lucas unconscious, and leaving him to die in an unused room of the mansion!"

"Someone left Lucas for dead?" asked an astonished Bowser, who apparently was unable to feel his arms anymore at this point. "Why is someone doing all the evil, wretched stuff before I do? Hoo boy, if I find out that the guy responsible is Cortex...I'd hate to be outdone by that freaky nerd, with his gigantic chrome dome!"

 **Bowser: Cortex has been ranting this and that about his so-called villain decay, and it has got me wondering...am I undergoing villain decay? Let's see...I've yet to kill Mario, I've yet to build another dastardly castle, and my luck with the ladies hasn't been stellar. Everybody knows a great villain needs to get down with the ladies. But on the flipside, Mario hasn't kicked my butt in a long time, and I've yet to be thrown into a pit of lava. Gotta wonder how I survived those incidents - Kamek must be the one bringing me back to life.**

"That is why we need a sample of your stew, in the hopes that it could be the antidote to revive Lucas," stated Young Link, looking at the pot of Stupendous Stew and dying to get just a taste of it. "We would ask Ashley, but she's not too keen on giving away her potions for free...you might be our only hope, Bowser."

"Sorry Young Link, but you're gonna have to find some help from somebody else," apologized Bowser, in the most sincere way possible. With the most sincerity a villain like him could muster. "Like I said, the stew, the Stupendous Stew, is off-limits. I'm saving as much of the stew as I can for something special in the future. Not sure when this special thing will transpire, but I've kept my fingers crossed that it will happen very, very soon. Also kept my toes crossed too, just to speed things up. Can I please put my arms back down now, please?"

"It appears as if our work is done here...you can let your arms back down if you like, Bowser." Bowser would let out a heavy sigh of relief, as his put his arms back down at his side. The blood circulation should be back to normal again. "But before we can leave..." Young Link looked around, looking all suspicious and shady...before firing an arrow at Dunban, nailing the Homs in his thigh for he and Toon Link ran off at the speed of light.

"Young Link...Toon Link...one of these days, I'll get you two!" vowed Dunban, before collapsing unto the floor. Bowser would ignore the Homs entirely, as he tended to his pot of Stupendous Stew.

* * *

Why was Proto Man back in the teleportation room yet again? Honestly, the robot wasn't so sure. He almost felt like that he _had_ to be in the teleportation room, given how the recent episodes played out. He felt like warping another Champion to the mansion was almost obligatory, no matter the purpose. Thankfully for Proto Man, there was only one remaining Champion left, and this Champion has never even appeared in the mansion once! Would be quite the culture shock for...

"FREEZE SUCKA!" shouted Toon Link as he and Young Link entered the teleportation room, alerting Proto Man who was dozing off. "Haha, it has worked yet again! I should make that my new catchphrase...Hylia knows I an awesome police officer like myself needs one. You too, Hutch."

"Shut up, shut up, don't say more, I know why you're here - shut up and let me handle this!" exclaimed the now crazed Proto Man, already heading over to the teleportation device. Toon Link and Young Link looked on with some confusion, as Proto Man keyed in the coordinates on the teleportation device like his life depended on it. After today, Proto Man might not have to worry about using the device ever again...

Finally, after Proto Man keyed in the coordinates and whatnot, the fourth and final Champion was warped unto the teleportation pad. It was a Gerudo, a chieftain of their own race, and the pilot of the Divine Beast Vah Naboris...this Champion was none other than Urbosa, who was more formally addressed as Lady Urbosa.

"Well this certainly doesn't look like Gerudo Town..." remarked Urbosa, analyzing her surroundings like how the Champions before her did. She looked down at Toon Link, Young Link, and Proto Man, taking a good deal of interest in the three of them. "Ah, I see some voe standing in my presence...cute little voe at that. Whatever this place is, it must be diverse..."

 **Proto Man: That Gerudo chick thinks that I'm "cute"...I mean, I'm not gonna refute her or anything, but...dude. Not even Roll called me cute! Though that would be extremely weird of her if she did...**

"You've never been here before, haven't you?" Toon Link asked Urbosa; Urbosa could've been here in episode 105, but she had some business to take care of in her own town. As for episode 63...well, we don't have an explanation for that one. "Then allow me to formally introduce you to the Smash Mansion! An awesome place where people hang out and have fun and...SMASH! Okay that totally came out wrong..."

"So this is the Smash Mansion that Link has been harping on and on about...he claimed that there's a person in this mansion who bears his name _and_ likeness. And apparently he's best friends with this fellow...but I won't believe it till I see it. There's also a Princess Zelda present at this mansion, right?"

"Yes we do have a Princess Zelda, and she's much better than your Zelda, if you ask me...at least she wears dresses. I mean, what Princess Zelda would dare to wear pants? What princess wears pants to begin with?!"

"She might be a man in undercover, trying to kill the king of Hyrule and gain full control of the kingdom...that is the only valid explanation," replied Young Link, as Urbosa folded her arms and rolled her eyes. She knew her Princess Zelda better than anyone (outside of Link, of course). "We would chat for a bit longer, but I'm afraid we have some important business to take care of...what's your name?"

"I am Urbosa, chieftain of Gerudo Town and the pilot of Divine Beast, Vah Naboris." As she did her introduction, Urbosa struck a magnificent pose, letting Young Link and company know that she meant business. "I am also very proficient in electricity...some say that I'm an electrical expert!"

"An electrical expert is exactly what we need...just hear us out. You see, a good friend of ours, Lucas, has been unconscious for Hylia knows how long, and a spark might be what he needs to be woken up again. A spark...an electrical spark, like the one you can provide."

"Hmph, I suppose I can offer some assistance...but only for a fee." Toon Link and Young Link gleamed as they leaned in closer, dying to hear what this fee was. "I demand that I see your precious little Princess Zelda, otherwise my time spent at this mansion will be all for naught."

"GROUP HUDDLE!" shouted Toon Link, as he got into a huddle with Young Link and...well, just Young Link only. Proto Man would join, but he dared not to involve himself in the buddy cops shenanigans. "This Urbosa chick has quite the bargain...I fear that she wants her grimy hands on Zelda. To bring her to her land, and give Hyrule a respectable princess."

"I could see why she would do that...the Zelda she's stuck with flat out sucks, in my opinion," Young Link whispered back to Toon Link, as Urbosa stared at the buddy cops with her head tilted to the side. "I'd say we show Urbosa where Princess Zelda is, and kill her if she tries to do something malicious." Done with their huddle, the Links turned to face Urbosa. "We shall take you to Zelda, so you can have your little girly conversations and stuff. You two can talk about makeup and doing hair painting nails and all that girly stuff all you want..."

"Trust me boys, Zelda and I are going to do a whole lot more than just some silly girl talk..." smiled Urbosa, giving a smile that made both Toon Link and Young Link more suspicious than before. "Just take me to your precious Zelda, and I'll do your little favor."

So Toon Link and Young Link guided Urbosa out of the teleportation room, and to the whereabouts of Zelda, leaving Proto Man dazed and confused. Being called cute by a Gerudo was still unsettling for him.

* * *

Of course, if Toon Link and Young Link wanted to introduce Urbosa to Zelda, they would first have to find the princess of Hyrule first. Since neither buddy cop knew about the current whereabouts of Zelda, they would have to ask some of the others...

...enter Roy, the leader of the mansion's resident k-pop band, Straight Fiyah. Ever since Berkut's wedding, the members of Straight Fiyah never met together, to discuss their plans for the future, but all of that would change, when Roy gathered his bandmates for an "important" meeting. Crash was more than happy to attend; the same couldn't be said for everyone else though. Good thing Berkut had an excuse for his absence, what with him shopping with Rinea.

"In order to function well as a k-pop band, we must first look the part," Roy said to his bandmates, who were all seated around a table. Everyone except for Crash was bored out of their minds. "Which is why I got this here camera projector, to show you some pictures and give you guys a clear example of how we should dress. Is everyone ready?"

"Please kill me already, I beg of you..." moaned Alm, resting his temple on the palm of his hand. Roy would scan the room, and see that Crash was the only one eager to learn.

"I don't see anyone objecting, so that must mean everyone is ready! Just as I figured! Don't know why I bothered asking that question...so let's get to it!"

Roy pressed the button on the camera projector, displaying an image of a k-pop boy band on the wall. This boy band was BTS, and unless you've been living underneath a giant rock for the last year or so, you might know BTS as the biggest k-pop band outside of Girls Generation.

"Take a good look at these men - take a look, I say!" commanded Roy, as his bandmates stared at the image of BTS just to make the swordsman happy. "Let the image of these men become ingrained into your brains, into your minds! Then, answer the following...what do these men have that WE don't?"

"Actual swag," answered Ike, noticing how cool the members of BTS were.

"Sense of style," answered Robin, noticing how well-dressed the members of BTS were.

"Rather feminine-looking qualities," answered Marth, noticing how...did we just witness a pot calling the kettle black moment?! Clearly so, as everyone in the room - Crash included - stared at the hero-king. "Why is everyone looking at me?"

 **Marth: I'm honestly not that feminine...people just say that because I have short hair and I wear a tiara. In fact, this tiara... *takes off tiara* ...is NOT a tiara, it's actually a crown...you see, the crown of stars are small, so small that you can't even see them. Nor feel them. My tiara...uh, crown, is unlike any other.**

"No, no, and definitely NO!" shouted Roy, disgusted with the ignorance of his bandmates. How did he expect to perform on the same stage as them, if they weren't all on the same mindset as he was? "It's not swag, sense or style, or dare I say it, 'feminine qualities' that we are lacking in! We have enough of those qualities already in us! Well, not the 'feminine qualities'...but what this group has that we don't is MOTIVATION!"

"Is this meeting gonna turn into some crap motivation seminar?" asked Robin, getting up out of his chair and ready to bolt out of the room. Had the door in perfect sight. "Because if it is, then I'm out...

"SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH AND SIT YOUR SORRY BEHIND BACK DOWN IN THAT CHAIR!" Roy pointed and shouted at Robin, intimidating the mage enough to make him return to his seat. "Good Robin. So you're all asking yourselves, 'what is this motivation that Roy speaks of'? Well boys, when you think long and hard about it...these courageous men have to motivate themselves to perform at every gig. Motivate themselves to perform at award shows, and on Times Square during the New Year festivities. Motivate themselves to appear on talk shows such as Ellen DeGeneres and James Corden. Motivate themselves to...gah, who could that be?"

Someone knocked on the door, and Roy answered it to see Toon Link and Young Link standing by. Roy was hoping and praying that the buddy cops wouldn't "arrest" him, but fortunately for him that wouldn't happen.

"Sorry to disturb you Roy, you ginger-faced vanilla man, but we have a question of importance to ask you," Young Link said to the swordsman, who was triggered by the "ginger-faced vanilla man" comment. "Do you know where we can find Zelda? We would ask Link, but you know he's out of town."

"Zelda went hiking somewhere and fell off a cliff and died, the end," responded Roy, before trying to close the door...though Toon Link wouldn't let him, as he used his boomerang as a stopgap to prevent the door from being closed. "Ugh, fine, if you guys really wanna know so badly, Zelda is having a tea party with Daisy over at Luigi's place. Daisy has been feeling salty about being left out of the tea parties, and with Peach at the hospital, Zelda allowed Daisy to take Peach's place."

"I see...thank you for complying Roy, your due diligence may not make you less bland than you already are, but it's a good start," replied Toon Link, closing the door on Roy before the swordsman could fire back at the Hylian. Knowing where Zelda was, Toon Link and Young Link would turn their attention to Urbosa, the Gerudo observing several paintings hanging on the wall.

"This painting of a mustached man, threatening to beat up a gorilla..." Urbosa analyzed a painting of Mario and Donkey Kong, back when they were feuding...no wait, that must be Cranky Kong and perhaps Mario's dad. Who knew Mario had a dad to begin with! "...how is such a painting like this even acceptable?" Urbosa would question Toon Link and Young Link.

"Whaddaya mean, that mustached man beats up that gorilla most of the time - as well as a spidermonkey, hedgehog, penguin, fox, and a few other animals that have slipped my mind," replied Toon Link, acting like there was nothing wrong with Mario beating up on the animal characters he participated in Smash battles with. Still, the context of it all was enough to make Urbosa feel extremely inquisitive.

 **Urbosa: Tell me, is there any Gerudo ladies living in this mansion?...You say there's a male Gerudo?! Why that's...that's extremely rare! The Gerudo race is strictly a female race, and a Gerudo male born into the tribe becomes the king of... *sighs* ...the Gerudo's name is Ganondorf, isn't it? *facepalms* Figures...**

"By the sound of it, literally anything goes in this mansion..." remarked Urbosa - same thing could very much be applied to Smash battles in general. Especially with items on. Items make Smash more fun (and at times, more cancerous). "So have you boys found out where your Princess Zelda is? I can't afford to miss out on a meeting with such a fair maiden like her..."

"We have acquired intel about Zelda - she is having a tea party with some other princess at a house near the Smash Mansion," replied Toon Link; the fact that there was a princess other than Zelda was obviously intriguing to Urbosa. She had only ever known just one princess. "Such tea parties are delegated to princesses only, so I doubt that Zelda would invite our company..."

"Technically I'm the queen of my Gerudo people, so Zelda and her princess friend would have no choice but to allow my presence. That way, I can see how much they respect their elders..."

"Are you insinuating that you're a grandma? You do look pretty sexy for your age..." Urobsa frowned deeply at Toon Link, as he said this. "...you're angry because I called you sexy, didn't I? Yeah, I should respect my elders myself...you're a very beautiful woman!"

"Very beautiful Gerudo sounds more like it...and for the record, I am NOT a grandma, I'm just the highest-ranking Gerudo in my clan. Don't get your facts twisted, kid, if you know what's good for you..."

* * *

Why don't we see how Zelda andDaisy were handling themselves with their tea party? The two were all in the living room of Luigi's home, seated around a table and enjoying tea, scones, and some great conversation. Luigi was the one who served the princesses, the kind gentleman that he was.

"Thanks, sweetie!" Daisy thanked Luigi, pouring tea into his wife's cup...while wearing a maid outfit over his clothes. Poor Luigi, he must have lost a bet to Daisy or something to be forced to wear that maid outfit.

"You're welcome, Daisy...once this whole-a tea party is over with, can I please take-a off this maid getup?" implored Luigi, feeling like the maid outfit was cutting away at his manliness. It was a good thing Mario wasn't around to see his twin brother. "Charles is looking at-a me...don't want him-a getting any ideas, if you know what I mean."

"And you say I'm overtly concerned when it comes to Charles...sure, you can take off that maid outfit once our tea party is over. Why don't you just have Yuffie watch over Charles, if you're so worried about him judging you? He's only one year old, so he can't be _that_ judgmental..."

 **Luigi: Do you-a think...that the Infinite Cafe down-a town would hire me, in my current attire? Nothing wrong with having a male-a maid, amirite?**

As Zelda and Daisy enjoyed their tea party, they would soon be interrupted by some very loud knocking. It was rather aggressive in nature, and commanding too - meaning that whoever didn't answer the door was gonna pay.

"OPEN THE DOOR, THIS IS THE POLICE!" the person behind the door barked. Zelda and Daisy got up from their chairs, wondering why the police would be at Luigi's home of all places, and Luigi, being the scaredy cat he was, was most afraid.

"Don't tell them about-a my money from street-a racing - you ladies keep-a the police busy while I hide-a my winnings!" Luigi ordered a bewildered Zelda and Daisy, as he ran up the stairs and to his room. With Yuffie nowhere in sight, Daisy would walk over to the front door, opening it and seeing the policemen...Toon Link and Young Link, with the latter holding a yard stick.

"This is the police, hands up or we will fire!" ordered Young Link, throwing away the yard stick as he and Toon Link donned their bow and arrows. "We will not take any prisoners?"

"Police, what police?" questioned Daisy, looking around the premises, as she offended the buddy cops with her remark. Young Link had to hold Toon Link back. "All I see is two young wannabe police cops, but other than that, I see no one...are the police officers invisible? Or are they just a figment of your imagination?"

"The police is standing at your very doorstep, you ignorant princess..." growled Toon Link, as Young Link still had to restrain the Hylian from stabbing Daisy with his sword. This would stop, however, when a certain Gerudo approached the buddy cops and pulled them away. Daisy looked up at the Gerudo, and was in awe.

"Threatening to beat up an innocent woman, way to be professional," Urbosa shook her head, mainly at Toon Link, before looking at Daisy, the princess still in awe. "I don't think we've met before, have we? You must be the other princess these two youngins spoke of. You can call me Urbosa, Gerudo chieftain."

"Cool, I've never met a female Gerudo before!" Daisy spoke up, finally finding the words to express her amazement. "I'm Daisy, by the way - princess of Sarasaland. Still can't believe I'm standing in the presence of an actual Gerudo...well, a Gerudo who isn't named Ganondorf, that is."

"I'm fairly sure that this Ganondorf fellow is malicious, just like how the legends of old describe him..." Someone like Rosalina might think otherwise. "But enough chit chat - I came here looking for Princess Zelda, and I've been told that she is having a tea party at this house. Is that correct?"

"Did someone call my name?" Zelda perked up, stepping into Urbosa's focus. She saw the way the Gerudo was looking at her, and it made her feel somewhat intimidated. Almost like Urbosa was glaring at her, staring deep into her soul... "...you wish to speak with me? How do you know my name? Are you a Gerudo, by chance?"

"One of the best Gerudo you'll ever see...and I just so happen to be friends with another Zelda. The very Zelda that has visited this town on an occasional basis. Mostly against her will. You remember her very well, yes?"

"How are you ladies handling your-a self with the...police?" Luigi would ask Daisy and Zelda, coming downstairs and to the living room. He would see Urbosa standing at the doorway with the buddy cops, and right on cue, the plumber got scared real quick. "Y-You must-a be a Gerudo, aren't you? Please don't hurt-a me!" Luigi cowered in fear, as Daisy looked at her man and shook her head.

 **Daisy: Luigi used to hang out with Ganondorf like it was nothing - and he still kinda does, to this day - yet when a graceful Gerudo in Urbosa comes around, he turns into a shrinking violet...something about that just sounds backwards.**

"Why is that man dressed up as a...ah, never mind," said Urbosa, before redirecting her attention to Zelda and giving her the stare that intimidated the princess so. "We have some very important matters to discuss, Princess Zelda, so why don't we take our business over to the mansion? We have A LOT to clarify..."

"Uh, sure, I suppose we can have our conversation...at the mansion," complied Zelda, wanting to know why Urbosa wished to speak with her so badly. The princess had a pretty good guess as to why...

* * *

Zelda and Urbosa would have their conversation in the mansion foyer, and their conversation would be monitored by both Toon Link and Young Link. What was the Hylian and the Gerudo talking about? It was exactly what Zelda had feared - they were talking about the whole eyebrows incident that occurred in episode 63, when Link and Zelda of BOTW came to visit along with the other Champions.

"Please Urbosa, hear me out - I didn't mean to shave off Zelda's eyebrows!" Zelda would plead her case to the Gerudo, who wasn't having any of it. "I just...I just wasn't in the right frame of mind, okay?!"

"Your shaving incident nearly left the princess, my friend, in a state of trauma," Urbosa said sternly, eschewing seriousness to make Zelda feel more guilty than he should. "Do you know how terrible it would be, if our princess came back to Hyrule without her eyebrows? People would call her a freak, and even make fun of her and call her names! You wouldn't want that to happen to a fair princess, would you?"

"No I don't, but if it makes you feel any better...someone put me up to shaving off Zelda's eyebrows. It was Robin who made me do it. He's a mage that lives at this mansion, and he's quite the tactician as well. You should speak with him - shaving Zelda's eyebrows, that was his idea!"

"Excuses, excuses...a princess like yourself shouldn't be making excuses in the first place. And a princess also shouldn't allow herself to be manipulated by some silly mage...what do you have to say for yourself? Why did you give in?"

"You see, Robin, he was having this beef with someone else in the mansion, Marth...he's a hero-king. Anyways, they were feuding because they were trying to be matchmakers, and Marth kind of outdid Robin in that regard and that's how..."

"They were feuding with one another...because of their pitiful attempts at matchmaking? Perhaps the weakest reason for a beef if I ever heard one. Still, the fact that you were duped by Robin, and used as a catalyst for his 'beef' makes you look very poor in regards to being the princess of Hyrule."

 **Red the Pokemon Trainer: *watches Zelda and Urbosa's conversation from afar* I've watched this conversation long enough to grasp the idea of why that Gerudo chick is angry with Zelda... *turns to face the camera* Basically she's angry with Zelda, because Zelda shaved off Zelda's eyebrows one time, and it was Robin who put Zelda up to doing that to Zelda in the first place. From what I've inferred from the conversation, Zelda must've told the Gerudo chick about that incident, and now the Gerudo chick, wanting to have a word with Zelda, came to the mansion so she could speak with Zelda about the thing Zelda did to Zelda... *pauses* ...what are we talking about again?**

The conversation between Zelda and Urbosa would continue, as Bowser walked through the foyer. The koopa king would stop in his tracks, when he took full sight of Urbosa, checking the Gerudo out.

"Hubba hubba hubba..." smiled Bowser, very easily enthralled by Urbosa's beauty. Zelda and Urbosa would stop their conversation as they glanced at the koopa king, wishing he would go away. "You must be a Gerudo, aren't you? Never imagined that I would see a Gerudo _this_ hot..."

"Step away from the ladies, turtle man, or you're gonna get it!" ordered Toon Link, as he and Young Link pointed their arrows at Bowser, but the koopa king wasn't afraid. He had no reason to feel that way, for Urbosa was standing in his presence.

"You're not...heading back to your precious little dessert anytime soon, are you? Because it would be totally worthwhile if you spent your time - all your time - with yours truly..." Bowser would make a purring sound that made Urbosa jump back; the koopa king was seriously overdoing it.

"Bowser, can you please stop being desperate and leave us alone, we're trying to have a conversation here..." Zelda frowned at Bowser, and the koopa king would frown right back. NO way he was gonna let Zelda - let alone any princess - talk back to him.

"Who are you to call me desperate? Have you forgotten about Mario, the most desperate man in human history? All those times he came running to my castle, 'rescuing' Peach for Lord knows why when I just wanted to spend some quality time with her...all because Peach is the only woman who has ever loved him! That's what you call desperate right there. Dude should be devoting his time to his actual job, plumbing, or at least pick up a hobby or two."

"Bowser I'm not going to tell you this again, either you move out of the way or..." Having just about enough of Zelda's yap, Bowser would grab the princess's face and push her away, before giving his full uninvited attention to Urbosa.

"You must excuse Princess Zelda there...the way she needlessly runs her mouth disturbs me so. She's one of the reasons why I can't stand princesses. Except for one, that is. And I can make you my princess, if you like..."

"First off, I'm a queen, and secondly, I appreciate the offer, but it's a no from me," replied Urbosa, giving up Bowser's hopes. Dude actually thought he was going somewhere. "I did not come here to this mansion to go on a date, I came here to speak with Zelda..."

"... _and_ to help us out with an investigation on our hands," added Toon Link, making sure Urbosa realized the real reason why she was at the Smash Mansion. The other reason was secondary.

"Yes, that too - and I'm afraid you're interrupting our plans. So how about you skedaddle?" Obeying Urbosa's command, Bowser would indeed skedaddle...

...but not before snatching up Urbosa and holding the Gerudo firm in his arm. (He would throw her over his shoulders, but Urbosa would have been subjected to the spikes on Bowser's shell.) Like any other woman in this given situation, Urbosa would scream for help, as Bowser took the Gerudo to the kitchen.

"You know, we really should have seen that one coming from a mile away," remarked Young Link, as Zelda looked at the buddy cops and sighed. Some police cops they were...

* * *

 **Bowser: Yeah buddy, finally got myself a new girlfriend! A Gerudo girlfriend! Keeping my toes crossed must've done the trick - it helped speed up the process! Those buddy cop dorks are nowhere in sight, which means that until they decide to show up, my master plan will be kicked into motion!  
Urbosa: *fighting out of Bowser's grasp* Let me go this instant...is this how you treat a queen of the Gerudo people?  
Bowser: If you're the queen, then that must make me a king! Though that won't happen till we get married. So what time do we have to waste? Let's go make some dreams together!**

In the kitchen, Dunban was back to cooking tonight's dinner, with Bowser nowhere to be found. While the Homs was doing his thing, Coco and Aku were busy making some wumpa fruit casserole, with Coco obviously doing all the work.

"May I ask where you found the wumpa fruit in the first place, Coco?" Aku would ask the blonde bandicoot as she was making the casserole, with little to no help whatsoever. She could always rely on Aku to never provide any help. "I don't recall bringing the fruit with us to the States."

"Apparently Crash had some wumpa fruit in the pockets of his pants... _invisible_ pockets, I should mention," replied Coco, giving her wumpa fruit casserole a taste test. "How I discovered said pockets was a mystery, but I did find a rocket launcher, some sneakers, an outdated _Playboy_ magazine, and some other stuff. Several items I had to throw away."

"You didn't throw away that _Playboy_ magazine, did you?" Aku would ask Coco, who gave the floating mask a weird glance. Coco could see the desperation in Aku's yellow eyes. "...you didn't throw the magazine on the road, I mean. That's what I meant to say. Some little kid could pick it up, read it, and be tainted forever!"

"Outta my way peeps, new girlfriend and I coming through!" yelled Bowser, running inside the kitchen and nearly knocking Dunban and Coco down to the floor as he rushed to the dining room with Urbosa still in his grasp. "Andale, andale, andale!"

"Watch it Bowser, you could have ruined my wumpa fruit casserole!" Coco shouted at the koopa king, before asking the following question that raised her curiosity. "Who is this 'new girlfriend' Bowser spoke of...?"

* * *

Following a "mandatory" doughnut and malasada eating session, Toon Link and Young Link would look for Bowser, eventually coming to the dining room. They would hide themselves as they saw Bowser, seated at the dining table and serving Urbosa some stew - the Stupendous Stew.

"I didn't make this soup myself, some good friends of mine mailed it to me," explained Bowser, as he poured the contents of the stew into Urbosa's bowl. Urbosa was left unimpressed. "Perhaps the best stew ever made, in my opinion. I'm sure you'll think the same way!"

"We'll just have to see about that," responded Urbosa, as Bowser put the pot of stew away and went back to his seat. He would hold his hands together, as he smiled and looked at Urbosa, staring at her lovingly. Urbosa, however, wouldn't return the favor by any means. "Don't feel like asking this, but I'll ask it anyways...how long have you been single?"

"I'd say for about four to five weeks. I was in love with this hot British chick named Lara Croft - she's a tomb raider and archaeologist. I wouldn't say that we were actually boyfriend-girlfriend...it was just that I loved her, and she was too afraid to love me back. Wouldn't say it was an on-on-off relationship, but...it's very hard to explain."

"You've been single for weeks, and you snatched me up just so you could have another chance at love...I should have every right in the world to pity you."

"Not sure if that was the sweetest thing a woman has ever told me, or the harshest...ladies in the past have always told me mean things, so I don't even know anymore. Say, are you gonna try out the soup or not?"

"I'll do it as long as you won't beg me to do so..." Toon Link and Young Link cautiously watched, as Urbosa dipped her spoon into the Stupendous Stew, and was about to sip the stew, letting it enter her mouth...

"Don't eat the soup Urbosa, it could be poisonous!" yelled Toon Link as the buddy cops rushed inside the dining room, donning their weapons - right when Urbosa held her spoon up to her mouth. The Gerudo would look at the buddy cops, and Bowser too - though the latter was more ticked that his date was being interrupted.

 **Dunban: Tasted the stew while Bowser was away...and I gotta say, the stew tasted DELICIOUS! Was totally worth nearly burning my tongue off. Now, I can hardly feel the inside of my mouth...**

"You punks stay away from my woman!" commanded Bowser, as he rushed over to Urbosa and grabbed her by the neck, dragging her away. Urbosa tried to fight out of Bowser's grasp, but the koopa king was stronger than she imagined. As Bowser pulled Urbosa away from the buddy cops, he reached down at the Gerudo's side, and pulled out a blade. "Come any closer, and you'll get a taste of my woman's blade!"

"It's called a scimitar..." corrected Urbosa; the Gerudo used the scimitar and her shield, Daybreaker, whenever she had to fight someone. Mainly the Yiga Clan.

"Yeah, what my woman said - now get back, I say, get back! I'll kill ya, I'll kill ya both!"

"But you can't even kill your arch-nemesis Mario," stated Toon Link, leaving Bowser pretty stumped.

"Okay then, change of plans - get back, or I'll have to stab you both! But not in a fatal way. I'll just stab you both, and laugh in your faces!"

"Yet you're too timid to cut the turkey during Thanksgiving dinner," stated Young Link, leaving Bowser stumped a second time.

"That's not entirely true, but...get back, or I'll...I'll...I'll do something bad to ya!"

Suddenly the tension in the dining room would die down, when a bottle fell to the floor from Bowser's pocket. Was it an invisible pocket? Coco should investigate. Anyways, the bottle rolled down the dining room floor, coming to a stop when it reached Young Link's feet. The Hylian picked up the bottle, and looked at it.

"Is this...a bottle of chloroform?" Young Link would ask Bowser, who looked around guiltily as the Hylian held up the bottle. Sensing that Bowser was monetarily distracted, Urbosa was step on the koopa king's foot, making him release his grasp on her, before delivering a wicked punch to Bowser that sent him flying to the floor in pain.

"This is one experience I won't be telling the other Champions about..." Urbosa remarked as she stepped away from Bowser, who was down for the count, before walking over to the buddy cops. "Let's keep this whole thing a secret between us, shall we?" The buddy cops would give Urbosa a thumbs up of confirmation.

* * *

Despite discovering the bottle of chloroform, the buddy cops' work wasn't done - they had to wake Lucas from his unconsciousness. With Tsubasa keeping the knocked out PSI whiz company the whole time, Toon Link and Young Link would return to their office, bringing Urbosa along.

"One good shock oughta do the trick..." grinned Urbosa, as she generated some electricity in her fingers. Once enough electricity was generated, the Gerudo would simply touch Lucas - the electricity was enough to rattle Lucas' body, and awaken the PSI whiz from his slumber.

"Who, what, huh, where am I?" Lucas wondered as he looked around, slowly rising up to his feet. "Let's see...I was in the kitchen, wanting to get a good look of that stew Bowser brought in, then some strange smell entered my nostrils and..." Lucas looked up, and saw Urbosa looking right at him. "AAAAAAAAAH GIANT SCARY WOMAN!" In an instant, Lucas would faint to the floor, out of utter fright.

"...and we're back to square one," said Tsubasa, as she picked up Lucas and held him in her arms. Felt weird for the idol singer to cradle a teen like Lucas in her arms like a newborn child. "The good thing is, Lucas will be awake very soon. I'll just put him in his room, on his bed." And with that, Tsubasa left the police office.

"So it was just as we figured...Bowser was so protective of his stew, that he would go as far as sedating anyone who came near to his pot," analyzed Toon Link, taking into consideration what Lucas said prior to fainting. "But why did he need that stew for? A huge waste, in my opinion." Toon Link would then look up at Urbosa. "Thanks for your assistance Urbosa, we wouldn't have done it without you."

"No need to flatter me, boy...you and your friend would've found a way to wake up that teen without my presence," replied Urbosa, feeling the sudden need to strike a pose just because. "I do believe I should go now - Gerudo Town isn't going to run itself! My Gerudo people must be worried sick about me..."

As Urbosa left the police office, she would be greeted by a certain princess upon exiting...Princess Zelda, who wished to make some amends with Urbosa before the Gerudo returned to her land.

"Can you do me a huge favor, and tell Princess Zelda that I'm sorry for...well, you know?" Zelda would ask Urbosa - why would she ask her to apologize to herself for...oh, that's right. "Don't think I've ever given her an apology...I tried to tell her the truth, after the incident was resolved, but..."

"No worries, princess - I'll tell Zelda everything she needs to know," replied Urbosa, with a reassuring smile. Hopefully Urbosa's feelings towards Zelda has changed...you know what, all this Zelda talk has got confusing, Urbosa should leave ASAP.

 **Toon Link: Another day, another case solved...should have arrested Bowser, but he's a repeat offender so we'll give him his fifth second chance. Now, Hutch...sing the song.  
** **Young Link: You got it! *sings _Law and Order_ theme song***


	123. Episode 123: Superpower

_Author's Note:_

 _Hehehe...hehehe...this has been a chapter I've been dying to write - a chapter mainly focused around Avengers: Infinity War. So if you enjoyed chapter 30, then I'm sure you'll enjoy this chapter as well. Here are some reviews:_

 _"Can you include the characters from Final Fight? Is Crash's ex-girlfriend Tawna going to show up? Is Cloud gonna go back to his depressive state when Aerith leaves? Have everyone call Vyers Mid-Boss when the Disgaea characters show up? Will Pauline appear again in future chapters? (Maybe have her meet the Kong family) And finally what are your thoughts on Sega revealing a Genesis/Mega Drive mini?"_

 _Sure I can. Tawna Bandicoot will appear. Cloud might stay the same. Vyers may be referred to as Mid-Boss. Pauline will make another appearance. And I think having a Genesis/Mega Drive mini is a great decision on Sega's part. Here's a review from El pollo campero:_

 _"So I've read all the chapters and never bothered to leave a review here, but this is one of my favorite Smash fanfics. Also, when's the Gender Reveal party?"_

 _Thanks for the love, my man! As for the gender reveal party...I lowkey forgot about it while I was writing the more recent chapters, but I'll make up for it._

* * *

 **Episode 123: Superpower  
**

Master Hand was in a particularly marvelous mood - no, it's not because of Cial feeding the poor folks of Seattle with the remains of the Frost-Frosted Cake, thereby making Master Hand seem like the most generous guy in the city. And it's not because of the efforts Pit and Kirby did to increase the awareness of Pikachu Day. No, it wasn't any of those things.

Master Hand was feeling marvelous because...well, let's just say that he was feeling marvelous in general. In fact, he was feeling so darn marvelous, that he had the gall to steal the clothes of every person in the mansion, refusing to give them back for a certain period of time. He would do the same to Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, and even Yuffie, not wanting them to feel left out. But little did Master Hand know that he unintentionally made them all angry...

...well, just Mario, at least. The plumber would be back at the mansion, his fists clenched as he stomped his way to Master Hand's room. If you thought that he would dealing with Master Hand with just his boxers, then you thought wrong...for Mario was wearing his Iron Man suit, the one from episode 30.

"Our civil war may have already ended, but our lust for battle is only just beginning..." said a voice, as Link leaped from out of nowhere donning his Captain America suit and shield in front of Mario. The shield was totally worth giving up the Hylian shield, though Link still wish he could use his Master Sword. Captain Falcon wielding a sword and shield would be absolutely lethal - though it wouldn't make any sense, seeing as how Captain America is from the World War 2 period.

"Don't wanna hear-a it Link, I'm a little too-a ticked as you can-a see..." uttered Mario as he walked past the Hylian, too angry to give him any eye contact. Link would follow after Mario, wanting to know why the plumber was so upset, when an arrow was fired at Mario, striking the plumber's iron suit!

"Hahahaha, bullseye!" chanted Pit, as he flew down from the ceiling with his Hawkeye getup. He would pump his fist as he looked at Mario...who continued marching on his way like it was nothing. "What's the matter with Mario?" the angel would ask out of curiosity.

"Beats me, that's what I'm trying to figure out," Link would say to Pit, leading Pit to join the Hylian in following Mario to Master Hand's room. Mario would see Master Hand's room in his sight, and he was so close to finally reaching the room and giving Master Hand a little piece of his mind...

...until yet another brawler dressed up as a superhero attempted to stop the plumber in his tracks. This person was Marth, dressed up as the Black Panther, and the hero-king didn't intend to startle Mario, as he fell down from ceiling landing on the floor with a thud. Mario stopped in his tracks, concerned for Marth's well-being, as the hero-king rose up to his feet, scratching his bum.

"They never did say if this superhero suit would allow me to cling to walls and ceilings and stuff..." remarked Marth, recuperating from his fall, before seeing Mario, Link, and Pit all dressed up as superheroes like he was. "Ah, so I see Master Hand stolen your clothes as well...phew, for a minute I thought I was the only one!"

 **Marth: This Black Panther suit is awfully tight - not to mention that I can hardly breathe with this thing on. But on the plus side, I'm just glad that my wife Caeda isn't caught up in this superhero crap - knowing Master Hand, he would bring Caeda over to the mansion, and force her to dress up as some Dora Milage warrior. I'd hate to see Caeda wearing a bald cap and, dare I say it, blackface...provided I can see well with this mask on.**

"I believe-a that Master Hand stole-a everyone's clothes - might've done it overnight," stated Mario, starting to feel hot in his Iron Man suit. "My clothes were already in-a my closet at midnight before-a I went to sleep...so stealing clothes-a in the middle of the night-a is right up Master Hand's alley. If last time's Marvel superhero incident is-a any indication, I fear that..."

"YOU!" shouted a voice, one that came from an angry black man who knew no mercy. The only resident at the mansion who fitted such criteria was none other than Doc Louis, dressed up as Nick Fury. The eyepatch-wearing boxing trainer marched over to Marth, inspecting him fully. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"At ease, Doc Louis, it's just me, Marth," answered Marth; the moment the hero-king stated his name, Doc Louis looked in the other direction, acting like he was offended. In fact, the boxing trainer _was_ offended, for a particular reason.

"I don't believe you Marth...I just don't believe you. What is a non-black man like yourself doing wearing the suit of the mighty BLACK PANTHER?! Have you no shame, have you no heart? You think that you can just meander around, in the black man's superhero suit, and act like it's okay?!"

"You don't understand Doc, this Black Panther suit was lying on my bed, after my clothes were stolen...I had nothing else to wear!" Doc Louis did not accept Marth's plea as the truth, not for even one second.

"Look, it's fine with me if non-black people like yourself want to be a part of black culture, that's okay with me - I get all tingly inside whenever I see a white person watching Soul Train. It's a blue moon kind of thing. But still, what makes you think it's acceptable to wear a superhero suit designed for the black man, and designed only by the black man?"

"Pretty sure the person who created the Black Panther was a white guy..." murmured Pit, that person being Stan Lee. Unfortunately most person aren't aware of that fact, despite Lee creating darn near every character in the Marvel universe...

Just then, someone exited from Master Hand's room, but it wasn't Master Hand...instead, it was the Inklings, with the male Inkling dressed as Iron Fist, and the female Inkling as the Black Widow. Both Inklings were seen smuggling candy out of the room, as Mario and company looked on inquisitively.

"I'll hide my stash of candy in one of the empty flower pots in the gardens - you hide your stash somewhere in the storage room!" the male Inkling would tell his female counterpart, before running away dropping a few candies here and there unto the floor. The female Inkling would watch as her buddy ran off, shaking her head.

"Knew we should've came up with a surefire plan before we hid the candy..." the female Inkling remarked, before turning her head and seeing Mario and company, all looking at her. The Inkling panicked, as she held the candy behind her back. "Guys it's not what you think...please don't tell Rosalina!"

 **Male Inkling: Why are we hiding candy? There's a pretty good reason why...for whatever reason, Rosalina has become concerned about our dental care - mainly because the insurace plan we have doesn't come with dentist appointments - so we've been forced to limit how much sweets we eat.  
** **Female Inkling: That meant eating less cake, ice cream, doughnuts...pretty much any food that is actually enjoyable. Food that doctors and nutritionists force you to eat, because of all this crap about "having a healthy body" and all that drivel.**  
 **Male Inkling: So, after hitching a ride with Wario on his motorcycle, we went to the nearest candy store, and literally brought all the candy there. With Wario's money. Wario was crying like a big baby because he had to spend his money - poor guy can't even spend a penny without having a panic attack - but offering to share our candy with him - begrudgingly, I might add - made him stop in an instant.**

"We promise not to tell-a Rosalina about you and your-a Inkling friend smuggling candy...provided you tell us if Master Hand's-a in his room," Mario offered to the female Inkling, who was left with no other choice but to accrue wrath from Master Hand, or Rosalina. At least with Rosalina, she wouldn't have to do gruesome chores as punishment, and have her entire existence questioned.

"I would let you all inside Master Hand's room..." the female Inkling started, as Mario leaned in close to hear the young lass' answer. "...but I'm afraid Master Hand isn't here." Just like that, Mario's hopes were given up, as he looked at the floor with a defeated face. "But for what it's worth, he did leave a hologram thingy in his room, for anyone to see."

"Master Hand has a hologram in this room, what for?" questioned Link, leading the others to wonder when the giant hand recorded his hologram message. Maybe his message entailed an apology to everyone for stealing their clothes - but Master Hand being apologetic would be so out of character for him. "What does he think this is, Star Wars?! I mean, I know Star Wars and Marvel are both owned by Disney, but...you know what, let's go see what this hologram is all about."

So the female Inkling would let Link and company into Master Hand's room, showing them a hologram projector near Master Hand's nightstand. Appearing from Mario's head was Cappy, who served as the helmet of the Iron Man suit; the talking hat would hover over to the hologram projector, looking for a power switch.

"Is there a way to turn this thing on?" wondered Cappy, as he looked around the projector...then suddenly, a hologram appeared, startling Cappy and making him fly back to Mario. It was a hologram of Master Hand, who was lying on the ground, seemingly in pain, like he had lost an epic battle to Tabuu. Even if he wasn't really hurt, Master Hand sure knew how to fake his injuries.

"This message...goes out to anyone...who has ears...and a brain...and basic comprehension skills..." the Master Hand hologram said. Did the hologram mention comprehension skills? Sorry Pit, but this holographic message isn't for you. "I am at an undisclosed location...which I cannot give any information about...but you must look for six stones...Infinity Stones..."

"Infinity...Stones?" questioned Doc Louis, raising an eyebrow; the Infinity Stones were artifacts, serving as the key plot point for _Avengers: Civil War._ Thanos would come to the earth, in search for these stones. "They ain't nothing like kidney stones, are they? I sure hope not..."

"You must gather all six of the Infinity Stones...and gather them up together, so you can release me from my prison...in each of your rooms, there's a written message, underneath your pillows...follow the instructions written, and you'll see the light...Master Hand out..."

And with that, the holographic message came to an end, as the Master Hand hologram dispersed. Why did Master Hand want the residents to search for the Infinity Stones? And after said stones are collected...what then? Would Master Hand return to the mansion, in one piece, and announce to everyone that they have been a part of a huge prank?

"Hoo boy, I think I got some kidney stones in my urinary tract..." moaned Doc Louis, grabbing his kidneys in pain as he nearly fell down on one knee. Link and Pit were there to help the boxing trainer back up. "Boys, take me to the bathroom!"

* * *

 **Pit: Sent a mass text to everyone in the mansion, reiterating Master Hand's message. This whole Infinity Stones thing could literally go either way - either this an elaborate prank by Master Hand and he's just pulling everyone's tail, and we could do nothing and make Master Hand look silly. Or this could be something serious - Master Hand is in serious trouble, and if we don't act accordingly, Master hand could very well die and somone like Crazy Hand would have to take his place... *pauses, then makes a frightened face* ...yup, this is definitely a prank, make no mistake about it!**

One might think that everyone was supposed to partake in the search for the six Infinity Stones, however that wasn't the case - only a select handful were chosen for the quest at hand. If you looked underneath your pillow, and found a written note from Master Hand, by Master Hand...then that meant that you had to do some Infinite Stone searching.

But of course, you had to follow what the written note entailed first. Each note explained the mission at hand, and also stated the place where the person receiving the note is supposed to go. For example, Cloud, back to wearing his Human Torch suit, found a note under his bed, and saw the location inscribed at the bottom of the note - the cafe. Cloud would head to the cafe - not because he felt like it, but because Master Hand would probably give him a hard time if he goofed off during the Infinite Stones quest - and someone would tag along with Cloud on his way there.

"Boy I tell ya, this whole Infinity Stones crap must be an egregious cross-promotion ploy by Master Hand..." grumbled Snake, wearing his Deadpool suit. In Deadpool fashion, Snake would scratch his crotch profusely, regardless of whether it was itchy or not. "Got no clue as to who or what it would benefit...also, how coincidental is it that all this hubbub is happening on the day of that _Avengers_ movie release? With the Infinity Stones, and everyone dressed up as superheroes, and this chapter being _Marvel-_ themed...wait, did I just break the fourth wall?! I freaking broke the fourth wall!"

"Easy there Snake, don't think you're the fourth-wall breaking master or something," Cloud said to the former spy - it was best to leave that title up to Deadpool. "I'd say all the things happening today is very coincidental - and also very pretentious, on Master Hand's part. I bet he's secretly hiding somewhere, watching us from afar and laughing his butt off...he's probably got Isabelle chained up, snapping pictures of us with some high-tech camera."

"You don't sound that upbeat Cloud...I know you're a drab dude in nature, but you somehow sound even drabber than normal. Did Wolf trigger you again by saying you're a clone? Is he going around town, telling people you're a clone?" Cloud sighed; the swordsman usually despised sharing his inner thoughts with others, but Snake placed him in a precarious position to let out whatever was going on in his mind.

"I'm just...bummed out that Aerith has to return to her universe. Granted, I'm happy Sora will be heading back as well, as much as I can't stand the guy, but to lose Aerith in the process...that's like a blow below the belt right there. Aerith is the only person who understands me, and knows me better than anyone else, even Link..."

"Have you forgotten about Tifa Lockhart, does she understand you as much as Aerith does? Does she know you as well as Aerith does?" Cloud had never given any thought about Tifa, and he felt silly for not doing so. "Trust me, I know where you're coming from - I was feeling moody too, when Meryl dumped me for that punk loser Johnny Sasaki. I was all depressed, and didn't talk to anyone - I wanted to give Johnny an atomic wedgie so wicked, he would never be able to walk again. But sometimes, when one person leaves you, you gotta lean towards another for support...and that's where Tifa comes in."

"Are you saying I should spend more time with Tifa, after Aerith leaves?" questioned Cloud, looking up at Snake. "The two of us, we have so much to catch up on...don't even know where to start!"

"It doesn't matter how you start...it matters how well you can get to the end. Think about all the happy times you had with Aerith - reflect on those times, and apply what you've learned. Improvement by application, that's the way to go." Soon enough, after much talking, Cloud and Snake reached the cafe. "This must be your stop, isn't it? I should go then - gonna test out the grenades that came with my suit at the mall downtown. Hopefully I won't kill anyone by accident. Hopefully."

"I'll be waiting to see your name plastered all over the 11 o' clock news then." Imagine the headlines for the news program should Snake be arrested: "Trigger-Happy Senior Citizen Wearing Deadpool Costume Tossing Live Grenades In Shopping Mall Carelessly". Poor Snake would never live that down. "Just try not to kill anyone, okay?"

"I won't hurt a single soul, unless it's Johnny Sasaki!" Snake called out, as he left the premises. The former spy would always hate Johnny with a passion, no matter what. With Snake gone, Cloud entered the cafe...

...seeing Red the Pokemon Trainer, Viridi, and Touma, all wearing Fantastic Four uniforms. Red was juggling his Poke Balls (albeit miserably), Viridi was fiddling with her hair, and Touma...looked angry. He was looking real mad, like he was ready to sucker punch someone in the face and take their money.

"Hey Touma, what's the matter with you, did Fox and Falco abruptly cancel your show?" Cloud asked the redhead; the swordsman lowkey knew why Touma was so upset for, but he asked the redhead anyways, just for the sake of conversation.

"Even worse...Master Hand took off my superhero suit, and now I'm forced to wear this Fantastic Four crap..." grumbled Touma, seated in his chair with his chin resting in his hands. "Any _Super Sentai_ show is better than Fantastic Four, if you ask me..."

"Master Hand took off your superhero suit...in your sleep?" Viridi asked Touma, who glanced at the goddess of nature with a mortified face. "I know you wear your suit around the mansion, 24/7, but did you even have any underwear on?" Touma shook his head no, as fridge horror found its way inside of him. "Haha, that must mean Master Hand saw you naked!"

"He did?!" Realizing this, Touma buried his face into his hands and cried. To think the creator of the Smash Mansion saw him naked...knowing Master Hand, he's probably seen countless of other folks naked. With or without consent.

 **Touma: Master Hand striped me of my clothes while I was fast asleep, and he saw my entire body... *laughs nervously* ...no wonder I felt a very gentle breeze this morning...**

"Okay people, what's the master plan, why did Master Hand want the four of us to meet here in the cafe?" Cloud asked his compadres, wanting this whole Infinity Stone quest to be over with so he could go back to...whatever he was doing in the first place. Cloud seriously needs more hobbies. "I know we're supposed to be the Fantastic Four and all, but there's got to be more than that..."

"I didn't see any further instructions, other than going to the cafe," replied Red, done juggling his Poke Balls as he placed them back in his pocket. Or so he would, if his suit had a pocket to begin with. "Maybe Master Hand wants us to use our powers for the greater good? I have extreme flexibility, you have fire powers, Viridi has invisibility if I recall correctly, and Touma..."

"I have...I have nothing..." Touma answered as he held his head down, looking down at the floor. "What can I even do in this dumb suit? Not a thing, not a thing...bet it doesn't even come with any special perks. Master Hand made me wear this suit because he hates me. He hates all of us! How come we didn't realize that sooner?!"

"Calm down Touma, just because you can't wear your stupid Power Rangers suit gives you no reason to be irrationally grumpy. We'll just find the stones, and everything will go back to normal again." Touma would not calm down, as he stood up ready to put Red in his place.

"My suit is NOT a Power Rangers suit, it is a Force Five suit! Same thing, but different concept. So the next time you tell me to calm down and lower my emotions, make sure you get your information right, or else I'll...I'll...I'll..."

Suddenly something funky happened to Touma, as the redhead got angrier by the second. Cloud and company watched closely as Touma's body started to transform, as his human flesh turned into rock. Once this transformation was complete, Touma was bigger, rockier, and even stronger. He saw that Cloud, Viridi, and Red were below him, looking up in awe.

"Well that wasn't supposed to happen...I think," remarked Touma, as he checked out his new bod. No longer was he the Touma of old, with his dashing looks and red hair...he was now the Thing, the strong guy of the Fantastic Four.

"Did we just witness Touma having a Hulk-esque transformation?" Red would ask the others, who were just as baffled as he was. The Thing never reverted back to his normal human self; he was stuck in his rocky form forever. "I don't think the guy from the comics was able to do...that?" Red would be baffled yet again, when he saw his arm curving about, almost subconsciously. Like it was having a mind of its own. Red's other limbs would act the same way, moving about like a squid. "Look you guys, I have extreme elasticity, just like Mr. Fantastic himself! I'm super flexible again!"

"Let me take a crack at this..." said Viridi, as she tested out her powers, and after a successful attempt, the goddess of nature...was invisible! "Ooh, my suit can make me invisible! Much improved, I'll say!"

"Um, yeah, I'm not even gonna test out my superpowers..." remarked Cloud as he folded his arms, knowing the gigantic risks testing his powers out are. "Last thing I'd want to do is cause another fire in the mansion."

 **Cloud: I'll save my powers for when I actually have to use them. Hopefully my pyrokinesis won't give me any third-degree burns, unless Master Hand is playing tricks on me. As bad as it might sound, I can see those tricks coming from a mile away...**

"Obviously Master Hand wants us to use our abilities for good use, and find those Infinity Stones," stated Red, now taking on the leadership role since A) he was Mr. Fantastic, obviously and B) Cloud wouldn't agree to be the leader anyways. "So what are we waiting for, let's go!" Red would run out of the cafe, along with Viridi and Cloud...and Touma, who couldn't even exit the cafe because he was so big. As a result, he was stuck in the door, unable to move an inch.

"Uh, a little help here you guys!" Touma called out as Viridi and Cloud came to his aid, pulling on Touma's arms to the best of their abilities.

* * *

While the Fantastic Four of Red, Viridi, Cloud, and Touma started their search for the Infinity Stones, Luigi and Daisy would remain at their house. Luigi, dressed up as Cyclops, and Daisy, dressed up as Jean Grey, would wait it out in the event anyone would stop by.

"Are you sure there will be people coming, sweetie?" Daisy, who was holding Charles (little fella was also dressed up as Cyclops), asked her husband, who was pacing back and forth in the living room. All the plumber could see was red. "The sooner we can find these Infinity Stones, the sooner Master Hand can come back and return our clothes!"

"Wolf sent-a me a text saying that he's going to gather up-a everyone who's supposed to meet at our-a house," replied Luigi, leading Daisy to give her husband a look of utter curiosity. "Yes, apparently Master Hand wrote a note-a to some residents, asking them to meet-a with you and I. I would tell them to arrange a meeting some-a where else, but unfortunately I had-a no say in the matter...ooh, that must-a be them!"

After hearing the knock on the door, Luigi would approach the front door and open it. Standing at his door was Wolf (Beast), Lucas (Angel), Ike (Nightcrawler), Wario (Wolverine), Coco (Storm), Zelda (Kitty Pryde), Toon Link (Cannonball), Kiria (Psylocke), Roy (Gambit), Lucina (X-23), and Bayonetta (Jubilee). Got any ideas as to what these eleven had in common?

"Great, they're all dressed up as X-Men, just like us..." remarked Daisy, standing beside Luigi as she cradled Charles in her arms. "Come on in everyone, and take a seat." So everyone entered Luigi's home, as Luigi closed the front door once everyone was in the living room. "So, what's the big deal, why is everyone forced to dress up as some Marvel superhero for a day, and find these Infinity Stones? Is Master Hand secretly shooting a movie or something?"

"Beats me, though our costumes come with some...perks, or should I say, superpowers," explained Ike, demonstrating as he teleported from the couch he was sitting on to the ceiling, clinging unto the surface. Done in true Nightcrawler fashion. "See what I mean? I think Master Hand upgraded our superhero suits, allowing us to do even cooler stuff."

"That is so untrue, I don't feel cool one bit!" complained Wario; he did have the classic Wolverine claws, but the fatso craved for more. "Where's my superhuman senses? Where's my awesome reflexes? Where's my agility?"

"Either you never had those attributes to begin with, or your massive body fat sucked up all your powers," snickered Wolf, before Wario shot a death glare at him, threatening the mercenary with his Wolverine claws. "I was just playing around, don't hurt me man!"

"Let's try not to kill anyone, okay Wario?" Coco said to the fatso, calming him down as he retracted his claws. He was still glaring down Wolf, though. Coco would turn to face Luigi, who was strangely feeling some type of way. "Is everything okay, Luigi?"

"Yes, yes, everything is swell, everything-a is alright, can't complain, hehe..." responded Luigi, although given his response and the way he delivered it, it was the complete opposite.

 **Luigi: I thought _I_ was the only one-a who had superpowers with-a my suit...and now everyone has-a superpowers, just like me...Master Hand just wants-a to make me look-a bad...it's all a conspiracy...  
** **Daisy: Luigi, have you forgotten that gigantic brawl we had in Master Hand's room? Everyone was using their powers, and yet I didn't hear you complain about it...  
** **Luigi: Just like-a I said...a conspiracy...**

"I for one would like to start looking for the Infinity Stones now - the searching my cut into Straight Fiyah's rehearsal time," Roy spoke up, and as you would believe, everyone in the living room would roll their eyes at Roy. Ike rolled his eyes the hardest. "We could keep our suits and perform onstage while wearing them, but we would have to go through a LOT of legal hurdles to even..."

"Did someone say, Infinity Stones?" asked Rotom as he entered the living room, thankfully cutting off Roy before he could spew more nonsense and poison everyone's ears with delusion. "How about I scan the entire map of Seattle for the Infinity Stones, and find them all!"

"Why that's an awesome idea - one I should've come up with myself!" exclaimed Wario, who was busy scratching his butt with his claws. "About time your pet Pokemon did something useful for once, Luigi." Luigi would glare at Wario, as Rotom pulled up a map of Seattle on its...on its body. The map came with a radar, which had six blinking points on it; Zelda would grab Rotom and take a glance at the radar, as everybody gathered near the princess.

"According to this radar, the six Infinity Stones are scattered throughout Seattle...just as I had figured," stated the princess, pulling up one specific location of one of the Infinity Stones. This location was the Pike Place Market. "Rotom, is there by any chance you know the address of...the Pike Place Market?"

"Not specifically, but i can always look up the address if you need me to!" Oh, Rotom, what would the wannabe X-Men do without you..."

* * *

Back in episode 30, when the Marvel suits were worn for the first time, Sonic was jealous that he was left out of the festivities. Reason being was that Master Hand had no clothes to steal from the hedgehog, to replace with a superhero suit. Sure he could have stolen Sonic's trademark red shoes, but that was about it.

As Sonic was returning from the vending room, sulking that he yet again had to miss out on dressing up as a Marvel superhero for a day, he would encounter Aku, who apparently was returning from his "bathroom break". Which could be a codename for "personal break away from Crash". When Sonic asked Aku what Crash was up to, and Aku informed Sonic that Crash was dressed up as Rocket Raccoon, Sonic was more ticked than ever. So the hedgehog implored Aku to take him to Crash's whereabouts, which was the storage room.

"For the record Sonic, I don't think Lloyd will let you inside looking like that," Aku gave his two cents on whatever the heck Sonic was wearing. You'll see later eventually. Sonic knocked on the storage room door, and Lloyd answered, looking like Star Lord from _Guardians of the Galaxy._

"About time you returned from your so-called 'bathroom break', Aku...and Sonic?" said the swordsman, as his attention turned from Aku to Sonic. The latter was wearing an orange tank top and yellow pants, and had a bazooka in his hand. "Sonic, who are you even supposed to be?"

"I'm Rocket Raccoon's long-lost brother...Rocket Rodent!" exclaimed Sonic, striking a pose with the bazooka. Technically, hedgehogs weren't a rodent species, but hey, Sonic's name worked for Lloyd. "I've been traveling across the galaxy, looking for my brother, and it only makes sense that we reunite before the galaxy as we knows it self-destructs!"

"Rocket Rodent...Rocket Rodent..." Lloyd jogged his memory for a little while, before snapping his fingers when he made his apparent realization. "Yeah, I remember seeing Rocket Rodent before! He was in a _Marvel_ movie! Forgot which one though. Step in right this way, Sonic!"

 **Sonic: Orange tank top? Found it in a garbage truck one day. Yellow pants? Got them from a dryer machine at the nearest coin laundry. And the bazooka? Belongs to Crash. I could tell it was his, since it has bite marks all over the whole thing. Fingers crossed that it doesn't have rabies.**

Sonic strutted his stuff, strutting his way inside the storage room and seeing Gil (Groot), Tsubasa (Gamora), and Crash (Rocket Raccoon) all gathered inside. Gil and Tsubasa gave Sonic the stank eye, as the hedgehog approached Crash and gave him some dap. Or rather, a long, complicated handshake he and Crash had been working on for weeks.

"Really had to let that dude join our meeting, huh?" Gil gave a stern look to Lloyd, who shrugged as Sonic and Crash continued their handshake. Aku would tell them to stop, but he was too enthralled to say anything.

"We don't have a Drax in our group, so Crash could be the one to fill that void," answered Lloyd, to which Gil vehemently disagreed with a side eye to Tsubasa; Tsubasa shook her head in return - not at Gil, but at Lloyd rather. Once Sonic and Crash were done, both fellows took their seat.

"So glad you could join us, Sonic...Gil thinks that you'll drag us down, but don't let his bitterness get to you. Hopefully he will be more positive and upbeat once he starts embracing the power of teamwork." Gil didn't want to embrace such teamwork, if he believed Sonic would destroy team chemistry. "Now, to sum up our meeting...we will have Crash use his senses to find the Infinty Stones, and find them all before anyone else can. Any questions?" Tsubasa raised her hand. "Yes, Tsubasa?"

"Do you think that maybe we should give Aku a more integral role?" asked Tsubasa, stressing the importance of utilizing Aku as much as possible in finding the Infinity Stones. "If he can somehow keep Crash alive to this day, then imagine what he can do for us..."

"Aku does provide with us a light source...but other than that, I don't know how useful Aku could be. Any other questions?" Sonic would raise his hand up, dying to be called on. "Yes, Sonic, what is your question?"

"After we find all the Infinity Stones, can we celebrate by going out for ice cream?" asked Sonic, leading Gil to facepalm at the blue blur. Food should be the least of Sonic's concerns. "Or we could go to that hot dog stand downtown! The vendor there sells chili dogs."

"We'll see what our eating options are...after we find all the stones. Gil, do you have a question you wish to share?" Lloyd would turn to face the de facto librarian, wearing his Groot costume that felt extremely itchy. And yes, Gil did have a question in mind...

"How soon can we get rid of Crash, to eliminate as much distractions as possible?" Gil asked, aware that Sonic was giving him the stink eye. "I'm dead serious, by the way..."

"Gil what did I say about being positive and upbeat?" Gil would not respond, as he sat back in his chair and folded his arms. Sonic may be a cancer, but Gil and company would have to deal with him for as long as they can. "Thank you. Now, where to find these, 'Infinity Stones'..."

* * *

So far, we've seen residents dressed up as the Fantastic Four, X-Men, and Guardians of the Galaxy meet up in their respective meeting places. But there was another group meeting together, in the ball pit, known as the Runaways. Only three people showed up to the meeting - Ashley (Nico Minoru), Toon Link (Chase Stein), and Hisui (Victor Mancha).

"Can't believe Master Hand would stick me with two kids..." sighed Hisui. He wasn't feeling all that negative - after all, he still was wearing a neat superhero suit, and that made up for a lot of things. "When I see that giant hand, I'm gonna grab his fingers and turn them inside out..."

 **Hisui: I know that Master Hand has an extremely keen sense of hearing, so he didn't hear what I said earlier...did he?**

"Starsky can you hear me? Starsky!" Young Link said into his walkie-talkie, trying to reach his buddy cop Toon Link, only receiving static on the other end. The walkie-talkie was the only police equipment that was left behind after Young Link's clothes were stolen. "Starsky can't reach me, he must be dead...this must be Ultron's doing. That only explains everything that's been happening today!"

"Leave it alone, Young Link, I'm sure Toon Link just has his device turned off," Ashley said to the Hylian, who was concerned about his buddy's whereabouts. If Toon Link and Young Link were ever separated, whether they were on the job or not, it was always bad business for either Link. "How about we do what Master Hand wants, and find the Infinity Stones so I can go back to my potion making."

"Yeah, and I can go back to being a bad role model for my sister and flirt with every chick in the mansion, even though I'm already in love," added Hisui, freezing when he realized the words that exited his mouth. "...you know what, just disregard what I just said..."

Just then, a fellow in a red Marvel superhero costume kicked the ball room door open, as he stepped inside the room. It was Captain Falcon, dressed up as the Daredevil - he was grinning from ear to ear, as he gave Hisui and company a thumbs up.

"No need to fear, kiddies - for the Daredevil is here!" exclaimed Captain Falcon, hoping his presence brought positivity to the room and made Hisui, Toon Link, and Ashley feel happy...but it did nothing. Talk about a failed mission. "No task is too high and too low for I!"

"I am not a kid..." frowned Hisui, upset by Captain Falcon's remark. "Also, you really sounded like the Flying Man 2.0 just now, so will you please stop..."

"Yeah right, like I'm gonna back down to some kid and do what he says..." Offended yet again, Hisui wanted to give Falcon a piece of his mind. "Anyways, I was very bummed out that Master Hand didn't leave a note underneath my bed, which obviously meant that I was left out of the whole Infinity Stone search...BUT! If my knowledge of _Marvel_ comic books serves me right, Daredevil has no team affiliation, which means I can join whichever team I want!"

"I'm pretty sure Daredevil used to be a part of the S.H.I.E.L.D..." stated Young Link - as of right now, Daredevil was a part of the New Avengers.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Captain Falcon apparently raised an eyebrow when he heard that. "Huh, never heard of that, must be some kind of wrestling thing..." It was indeed a wrestling thing, but it had an entirely different context. "...but you guys look like you could use a fourth member of your squad, which is why I'm here to fill the void. I can even serve as your chaperone!"

"Don't need a chaperone, I'm a grown man..." growled Hisui, who was at least close to being twenty years old. So for a dude like Captain Falcon to call him a kid, it was kinda insulting. "I mean, I could serve as the chaperone to Ashley and Young Link..."

"..and I could be the nanny that keeps the whole crew together!" Hisui wasn't so down on that, as he turned to face the wall and shook his head, sighing in disbelief.

 **Captain Falcon: Hisui as the chaperone, and myself as the nanny...what could possibly go wrong? *puts finger up to chin* Come to think of it, those two things don't necessarily belong...**

* * *

Mario, Link, Pit, Marth, the female Inkling, and Doc Louis met with many residents in the meeting room - Pikachu (Thor), Chrom (War Machine), Falco (Falcon), Takamaru (Bucky Brooks), Aerith (Scarlet Witch), Robin (Quicksilver), Diddy Kong (Spider-Man), and Villager (Doctor Strange). Fourteen folks were present at the meeting - and fourteen was a number higher than what Mario anticipated.

"I don't know-a about you guys, but the fourteen-a of us can't all work together to find-a the Infinity Stones," Mario said to the crowd, as some of the others nodded their heads in understanding. "It would-a simply be too clustered. I'd say we divvy up-a the crowd - have Link lead-a one group, and me lead the other."

"I'd say we do a draft - there's an NFL draft taking place this weekend, so it's only fitting that we do a draft ourselves," suggested Falco, who was really digging his Falcon suit. Quite frankly, wearing that suit allowed the avian pilot to actually fly for once...

"A draft does sound pretty nice, I suppose," Link agreed with Falco, already having in mind which individuals he would select. "I should have the first six picks, and let Mario pick from whomever is left. Seems only fair, in my opinion."

"OR we could just decide who's teaming up with who according to that _Civil War_ movie!" suggested Doc Louis, taking full control of the meeting and establishing his authority among the others. "Inkling girl, Chrom, Marth, Diddy, Villager, Robin...y'all work with Mario. Takamaru, Falco, Pikachu, Pit, Aerith...y'all work with Link. Is everyone good?"

"Doing a draft would've been so much better..." remarked Link, leading Doc Louis to take the Hylian's Captain America shield and repeatedly bash him in the head with it. "Okay okay okay, I take it back, I take it back!"

"Sorry to disturb you from beating Link's head to a pulp, Doc Louis...but I don't think the teams are even," stated Villager, causing Doc Louis to stop abusing Link. Just in time, before the Hylian's head could be a bloody mess. "Link has five people, Mario has six...do you want to join us?"

"Hey you guys, did I make it on time, or am I too late?" a voice asked from behind the meeting room door, followed after a knock. In came Itsuki, who was wearing different clothes than usual - he was wearing a long-sleeved purple shirt, and brown pants. "Didn't get a superhero suit, just some regular, ordinary clothes...but I did receive a note from Master Hand. Apparently I'm supposed to be here in the meeting room...can someone please explain what's going on?"

"That man...THAT man will be your seventh member of the group!" shouted Doc Louis, as he pointed at the confused Itsuki. "Itsuki Aoi, that's your guy! Don't know what superhero he's supposed to be...but he's your guy!"

* * *

Unlike episode 30, where literally anyone who wore clothes was forced to be a _Marvel_ superhero (or villain), not everyone in the mansion was forced to be a superhero for the day. Certain individuals like Layton, Luke, and Dr. Cortex, for example, somehow got away with having their clothes intact. And those three individuals would be on the porch, chilling in the lawn chairs and resting while the clouds in the Seattle sky flew overhead.

"Had Uka do the laundry for me, so I won't have to worry about him picking on me while I relax..." Cortex said to Layton and Luke, who probably tuned out the N head to the best of their abilities. "...that mask will always find a way to make fun of me. Like that one time me made fun of my nose! How can I never return the favor?"

"Sometimes you just have to be quick, Dr. Cortex - that's why Uka finds you to be an easy target," replied Layton, as Cortex mused heavily over Layton's statement. "You also have to know how to fire back. Try dissing me, I dare you!"

"Hmph, that should be easy as one-two-three! Let's see..." Cortex would scan Layton, looking at the professor up and down, looking for a weakness in the detective. "Your body, it's so slim...you're almost like a string bean...which is ironic, cause you never ate string beans to begin with! No wonder you're so skinny!" Cortex clearly did not like his diss, as he threw his face into his hands and grunted loudly. "Ugh, that was the worst diss ever made! What on earth was I thinking...?"

"Now now, Cortex, it wasn't that bad, at your least diss had some substance! Cut under the skin a little, I'll admit. I would go on to say that you delivered the harshest diss anyone has ever given me!"

 **Layton: That diss from Cortex... *shakes his head* ...not even close. My grandma has told me worse things, when she was dying and in hospice care.**

Layton, Luke, and Cortex would continue to relax, when Lloyd, Sonic, Crash, Tsubasa, and Gil exited the mansion. The three would all take a look at the wannabe Guardians of the Galaxy...and Sonic... _and_ Aku...with Cortex's eyes glued unto Crash.

"Okay people, Toad still has that recreational bus from that trip to the bingo hall, so we'll just ask him for a ride," Lloyd said to his crew, as Cortex continued to look at Crash. "If Toad declines...then we'll just have to walk downtown, on our own."

"Would it hurt to ask for a ferry bus to our destination?" pondered Aku, only for nobody to respond to him. "Tsubasa has a lot of money from Star Records, I bet - she could pay for our fares!" Still, nobody responded to Aku - it was almost like the floating mask wasn't even there! "As is tradition, nobody bothers to listen to me..."

"Crash where on earth are you going, why are you wearing that strange costume for?" Cortex would ask his arch-nemesis, after staring at him for far too long. You could tell that Cortex was feeling a little jealous inside. "And where are you going?"

"We're gonna head downtown to find some Infinity Stones and maybe kick some evil villain butt, all while dressed up as superheroes!" explained Sonic, making Cortex even more jealous than before. "You could join us, but then you'd be working against your own kind. Not that it would matter, since you're a pathetic villain anyways..."

"I think now would be a good time to ask Toad," stated Lloyd, leading his team away from the porch before Cortex could call rounds with Crash. "He should be at the lake, fishing. Or he could be selling some shrooms. Blazing it up like it's no one's business..."

"Where are you guys going, you can't leave me behind!" pleaded Cortex, as he watched Lloyd and company walk away. The way the mad scientist was pleading made the group walk even faster. "How DARE that wretched marsupial Crash do more fun things than I do..." Then an idea spurred inside Cortex's head, as the mad scientist stopped his pouting and rose up to his feet. "Ooh, I know, I'll get my ray gun and hoverboots, and look for the Infinity Stones myself! And if I find all of them before Crash and friends do...what a powerful message to be sent!" Cortex excitedly ran inside the mansion, as Layton and Luke looked at one another, having some pity for Cortex.

"Cortex really needs a girlfriend, badly," remarked Luke - too bad there weren't that many suitors on the market willing to take a chance with that mad scientist.

* * *

Although Mario and Link had assembled their teams, with the assistance of Doc Louis, both men forgot one crucial thing to take care of - transportation. How would the residents get to downtown Seattle together, and on time? Mario did not take those questions into mind, which probably explained why he, Chrom, and Diddy were the first to arrive at their location - the Seattle Art Museum - while the others had to play catch-up.

"...come to think-a of it, we all should have-a taken a bus-a to this museum," remarked Mario, as he, Chrom, and Diddy were standing in front of the museum, where they believed an Infinity Stone would be located. "Eh, the others will find-a their own way here..."

"It is so hard trying to breathe with this thing on..." grumbled Chrom, as he took off the facemask part of his War Machine suit. The prince would let in some air, and breathed it out in relief. "Ahh, much better..."

"Why do I smell urine?" sniffed Diddy, as he and Mario looked around in curiosity. Chrom would do the same, but instead of curiosity, he would look around with an guilty face...

 **Chrom: No, I'm not ashamed that I peed myself in my War Machine suit. Given how it was designed, it would be impossible to unzip my pants and tinkle with absolutely zero trouble. As for diong a number two, however, that's a different story...**

"Well I'm sure some pet owner had their dog urinate near a fire hydrant in these premises," said Chrom, doing his best to deflect the blame away from him. "The stench must be permeating the air for who knows how long."

"That's real funny, because I don't see a fire hydrant anywhere in sight..." replied Diddy, before his eyes caught unto a robotic fellow, near the museum entrance. The spidermonkey alerted Mario and Chrom by tapping them on the shoulders, showing them the robotic fellow as a few more of his kind stealthily entered the museum. "Recognize those dudes from anywhere?"

"They look like those-a minions from that _Age of Ultron_ movie..." responded Mario, and that's when the plumber realized who those robots were. "...they must-a those Ultron Sentinels! The robots that were-a created under Ultron! Did Master Hand create-a them or something? I'm left-a with more questions than answers..."

* * *

Unlike Mario, who neglected transportation, Link would drive his group to downtown Seattle on his Epona truck, since that's what heroic leaders do. Aerith, Robin, and Takamaru would ride with Link inside the truck, while Pikachu, Falco, and Pit were forced to ride on the back of the truck. Was this dangerous, for those involved? Of course it was - and that's why Link would receive a ticket, when he parked his truck at the Henry Art Gallery.

"Two passengers and a giant pet mouse riding on the back of your truck?" the police officer said to Link, as he wrote up the Hylian's ticket. "You were asking for a ticket, buddy...make sure it doesn't happen again."

"How can you give the mighty Captain America a ticket?" Link scolded the police officer, after he accepted his ticket. "Captain America is above the law, and above anything else for that matter. Your ticket means nothing to me!" Link ripped his ticket into pieces, as the police officer just watched.

"Last time I checked, Captain America didn't have elf ears. And he also didn't believe in putting others in harm's way, or littering for that matter. So how about you pick up the remains of your ticket off the ground, before I have to throw you in the slammer..."

"I'm only doing this just because I'm nice..." Link knelt at the ground, as he picked up the pieces of his ripped-up ticket. The police officer just smirked, as he got back inside his police car and drove off. Link would've thrown his shield at the car, as a parting shot, but he did not wish to tarnish Captain America's name.

"Can we please get a move on, before you get into any more trouble Link?" Aerith pleaded to Link, who stared down the police car driving down the street before leading his group inside the Henry Art Gallery. He was sure to deal with the Seattle police force later on, but for now, he had to set his mind on the Infinity Stones.

And once Link and company entered the Henry Art Gallery, guess who they saw? The Ultron Sentinels, who were doing things like sabotaging the artwork, harassing innocent visitors, ripping off water fountains, etc. Seeing this chaos taking place, Link and company knew they would have to kick some butt.

"Don't know about you guys, but this is what I _least_ had in mind," Link told his compadres, as he and the others all got on the offensive.

 **Takamaru: I have a glut feeling Master Hand created those robots, or had someone design them for him. I also have a glut feeling that those robots are gonna cause a lot of property destruction in Seattle. With that being said, I hope the city doesn't force us to pay for everything...**

* * *

Although Luigi's Dodger Charger was one of the slickest - if not the slickest - ride in Seattle, the plumber had no room in his sweet ride to take his X-Men pals downtown. Which is why he asked Fox to take everyone on his Landmaster, since Wolf was still working on his. Fox, who had to dress up as Brother Voodoo for the day, was quick to oblige, and the avian pilot would take everyone to the Olympic Sculpture Park.

"Look Luigi, it's the place where we got married at!" squealed Daisy, holding Charles in her arms, as she and Luigi exited the Landmaster. The moment Luigi saw Olympics Sculpture Park, some very happy memories were brought back to his head.

"Looks just the same as it was when we got married two years ago..." the plumber sighed happily, as he leaned in close to Daisy for a kiss. Said kiss wouldn't happen, however, when Bayonetta stepped out of the Landmaster and kicked Luigi down to the ground.

"We have no time for any smooching, you two - you can go ahead and save that crap for later," Bayonetta said to Luigi and Daisy, as Luigi tried to get himself off the ground only to be stepped on by Fox. "Finding these silly Infinity Stones should be our number one priority."

"Thanks to my radar, we can track down the Infinity Stone hidden in Seattle," stated Fox, oblivious to the fact that he was standing on top of Luigi, and possibly crushing the poor plumber's insides. "It would be best if we started our search at this park."

"Hutch, can you reach me? Hutch?" Toon Link said into his walkie-talkie, as he and others exited the Landmaster. He did not receive a single response from Young Link, who tried to contact his buddy earlier in the episode. "I can't hear anything but static...unless Hutch is using the static as a secret form of communication, like Morse code! Quite the innovation." Wolf would snatch away the walkie-talkie, throwing it into a nearby lake. "Hey, what was that for, how am I gonna contact Hutch now?!"

"We'd all greatly appreciate it if you called 'Hutch' by his real name, Young Link," replied Wolf, as Toon Link glared down the mercenary with furious eyes. "You two have become so obsessed with your jobs, that it has gotten absolutely sickening..."

"Leave 'em alone, Wolf - if Toon Link and Young Link wish to toil in their own delusion, then the more power to the both of them," Roy told the mercenary, keeping him away from Toon Link to lower any budding tension. "Sometimes, you just gotta let things be..."

"Like you're the one to talk; you still think that your crappy k-pop band would be a success!" retorted Kiria; Ike, who put up with Roy's crap, nodded his head in agreement. Roy stared down Kiria, clenching his fists. "Do any of your members even know how to sing, or dance, or anything that is comprised of talent? I don't think so..."

"Can we please stop arguing, and focus on the task at hand?" expressed Coco, trying to bring everyone back together. This was usually Zelda's job, but the princess decided to let Coco have it. "We'll never get anything done if we..."

"Who is even arguing, you stupid blonde, Kiria's just stating facts!" replied Wario, getting all up in Coco's grills and exposing the poor bandicoot to his garlic-scented breath. "Anyone with half a brain knows 'Straight Fiyah', or whatever they're called, flat-out sucks!"

And would you know it, everyone soon found themselves in a huge argument - most everyone, that is, as Lucas stayed close to Zelda away from the arguing. Charles, seeing the residents quarrel among themselves, would cry in response, and Luigi, hearing his son's tears, rose up back to his feet. His fists were clenched, and his face was turning red..."

"YOU PUNKS ARE ALL-A TICKING ME OFF!" the plumber shouted at the top of his lungs, like he was prepared to go Super Saiyan. His outburst worked, as everyone stopped arguing and paid attention to Luigi. On that note, Charles also stopped crying. Everyone was greatly surprised that the plumber was capable of expressing his anger, to that extent.

 **Luigi: My face still-a feels tingly from that out-a burst...not sure if that's a good-a thing...or a bad thing.  
** **Daisy: It's certainly a good thing in my book. *pinches Luigi's cheek*  
** **Luigi: *swats Daisy's hand away* Stop-a that sweetheart, that stings...**

"Listen up-a people, and listen good!" said a now commanding Luigi, as he stepped away from Daisy and gained full attention from everyone. "Now I don't know-a if Master Hand is really in trouble, or if he's just-a pranking us and made us look-a like fools for the entire day...but when something needs-a to be done, it's got to be done! Am I right-a or am I right?" Since everyone was bewildered by Luigi's sudden change in demeanor, they all nodded their heads meekly. "Great! Excellent! Now let's get-a crack-a-lackin', and take-a what is ours...or Master Hand's...either or!"

Done with his speech, Luigi led his crew into Olympic Sculpture Park, sporting a confident and perky walk. The others would follow after Luigi's lead, not knowing how to feel about the plumber's sudden change in demeanor.

"Once we're done at his park, we'll strap Luigi down and check him for any demons," Bayonetta whispered to Ike, who nodded his head in agreement.

* * *

A community bus would stop at a bus stop in downtown Seattle, and the bus door that opened revealed the driver to be none other than Toad. Lloyd would lead Sonic, Crash, Aku, Gil, and Tsubasa out of the bus, arriving at their destination.

"Thanks for the ride Toad, but before you go, here's a tip," Aku thanked Toad, before giving him a gaudy tip of twenty dollars. To regular bus drivers, that was like a million dollars compared to chump change. "Always the thought that counts!"

"Appreciate the tip, Aku, but I don't need it, I'm just doing this out of friendliness..." stated Toad; we would say that he would use the twenty to purchase some drugs, but as episode 89 proved, Toad wasn't about that life. "...also, how did an ancient mask like yourself find this twenty dollar bill in the first place?"

"Uh no, I think I lost my twenty dollar bill..." fretted Tsubasa, as she checked out the pants pocket of her Gamora suit. The boys weren't willing to allow Tsubasa to hold them up. "...must've fallen out of my pocket..."

"Drive away man, drive like the wind!" Aku quickly commanded Toad, who stepped on the gas pedal and drove away, not even bothering to close the bus door. "Keep on driving, and don't look back!" Toad would drive down the road, eventually closing the bus door as he caused several cars to swerve off the road and crash. Aku would return to the group, as Tsubasa kept looking for her money. "Oh, you lost your money, Tsubasa? Why that's such a shame...almost like someone stole your money from you..hehehe..."

"Look guys, up there!" Gil pointed upwards at the roof of a building, as a Falcon Flyer landed on said roof. Captain Falcon would hop out of the Falcon Flyer - obviously - but Young Link, Ashley, and Hisui would hop out as well.

"Falcon, did you seriously have to park the Falcon Flyer on the top of a random building?" Hisui questioned the racer, seeing that he and the others were stories high. Hopefully none of them had a fear of heights.

"Everyone knows the cool superheroes always pose on the top of buildings," replied Captain Falcon, soaking in the city view. "We're just trying to look the part." Falcon then looked down, and saw Lloyd and company, looking up at him. "Guardians of the Galaxy, spotted at 3 o'clock! Ready for some more chaperoning, Hisui?"

"Pretty sure everyone down there is around my age group, except for Aku..." Sonic, Crash, Gil, and Tsubasa - they were all well within Hisui's age. But as for Aku, now that was an entirely different story...

 **Hisui: So during the ride in the Falcon Flyer, I learned that Ashley is apparently a teenager...which means that she must be around my age...boy I tell ya, chicks these days just keep looking younger and younger. Which is just the way I like it.**

"Well what are we waiting for, let's unite!" exclaimed Captain Falcon, leaping off the top of the building. The Guardians of the Galaxy and Runaways alliance (with Daredevil) would be interrupted, when a blazing fireball flew past by, ruining Falcon's fall. As a result, Falcon landed on the ground awkwardly, as the fireball returned. But that wasn't any ordinary fireball - it was an actual human being, set ablaze on fire.

"Whoops, sorry about that Captain Falcon," the person would apologize to the now aching Falcon, as he landed on the ground and dispersed the flames. It was none other than Cloud, who was flying through the Seattle skyline with reckless abandon. "With this whole flying-through-the-air thing, it's really hard to see where I'm going."

"Is that you, Cloud?" asked Captain Falcon, turning himself over and now lying on his back, as he lifted up his head. "Are you wearing a Fantastic Four suit? Sweet, we're gonna have a Guardians of the Galaxy and Fantastic Four alliance! And whatever the heck Young Link, Ashley, and Hisui are a part of...say, where's the other three, Cloud?"

"For the most part, we had to split up - Touma inadvertently scared several of the city folk and ran off, so Red, Viridi and I each went our own ways. Who knows if we'll even reunite along the way..."

"People are legitimately scared of Touma?" snickered Sonic; Cloud desperately wanted to know what superhero the hedgehog dressed up as. "What, did he find some monster costume from his beloved _Power Rangers_ show, and went around spooking people? What's the big deal?"

* * *

The big deal was that Touma was stuck as the Thing, and he couldn't revert back to being a human like the Hulk can. So when people saw Touma and screamed, the redhead would turn around and run away, only for the same thing to happen again. A bad lose-lose situation.

"At this rate, I'll never get to do anything special..." Touma sighed deeply, as his craving for superheroism started to dwindle. Suddenly he would encounter a truck, one that he recognized from the mansion. "Isn't this...Link's truck?" Touma would soon realize where he was...the Henry Art Gallery, where Link and company were kicking butt. "Link must be inside!"

So Touma ran inside the building, breaking doors down like it was nothing, when he saw how ravaged the art gallery was. Thanks to the Ultron Sentinels, much of the artwork was sabotaged, either broken or left on the floor. Touma did not imagine that Link would be capable of doing such utterly despicable things.

Touma then ventured deeper into the art gallery, and he saw more and more artwork ravaged by the Ultron Sentinels. He would soon come to a stop, when he saw Link and company ganging up on an Ultron Sentinels - the only one of its kind that wasn't lying on the ground, defeated.

"Take this!" shouted Takamaru, sending the Ultron Sentinel flying towards a wall with his own Captian America shield. And just like that, all the foes were dispatched. "That should be the last of them." Takamaru placed his shield on his back, as he turned around and saw that his friends were cowering in fear, like they were all seeing a ghost. "Why does everyone look so afraid for?"

Takamaru would soon see why everyone was afraid, when he took sight of Touma, as the Thing. The mere sight of Touma was enough to make Takamaru scream in fear, and leap into the arms of Link, who threw him on the floor like he was trash. He definitely wasn't the Scooby to Link's Shaggy.

"Stop looking all petrified, you guys...it's me, Touma!" said the redhead, as Link and company let out a sigh of relief. Had it been anyone other than Touma, they all would've ran for the hills. "The Fantastic Four suit Master Hand supplied me with turned me into the Thing...which sucks since I have to stay like this for the time being. Everybody in this town is scared of me!"

 **Pit: Wait a minute...there's people out there that are scared of the Thing? *frowns* I mean, Cyclops still gives me the creepies, but to each their own, I guess...don't know if it's the eyes, or the hair...**

"You don't look so shabby as the Thing, Touma," said Itsuki, as he approached his friend and touched his rocky body. "Got no clue as to why would be scared straight of you, but I know it's not that often you see a rock dude running about in public."

"Yeah, you're right, something like that doesn't happen quite often, if ever," chuckled Touma; he desired to give Itsuki a pat on his back, but he was afraid that he might hit him harder than expected and send him to the floor. "So Itsuki, who are you supposed to be?"

"Haven't figured out what superhero I'm supposed to be playing as, but maybe I'll find out soon. Master Hand did gave me this new attire, and I must say, it quite suits me well! Don't you think?"

"Judging by the clothes, I think I have a pretty good guess as to what superhero you are..." Itsuki saw Touma smiling, and that's when he knew that his friend was cooking up something quite devious. "...but it's such a shame Tsubasa would hate what you're wearing."

"What do you mean, she would hate what I'm wearing? I wear a blue jacket and trousers almost everyday - perhaps one of the more bland attires in existence - yet Tsubasa doesn't mind. I think she likes it!"

"Oh please, everyone knows Tsubasa thinks everyone, and she's just too timid to admit how he really feels about your poor sense of fashion. And everyone also knows that Tsubasa is just playing you for keeps!"

"You mean to tell me...that Tsubasa was just using me all along?" Itsuki was finding himself in some emotional stress, as the thought of being played by his significant other was too much for him to handle. "All this time, I thought her love was genuine..."

"Pfft, what's so genuine about dating a head of Star Records? She's just using you for the money, nothing more and nothing else. I could've hooked up with Maiko Shimazaki, and reel in that dough just for being with her! Easy as one, two...three?"

Touma noticed that he put Itsuki in some huge emotional stress, as the young man clutched his hair with his teeth clenched. Everyone backed away, as Itsuki's body started shaking, and turning a little green.

* * *

Outside the Henry Art Gallery, Cortex was flying on his hoverboots, and wearing a Loki helmet while accompanied by none other than Uka. Uka had found the Loki helmet in Master Hand's closet and gave it to Cortex, in the hopes that it would conceal the mad scientist's ugliness, but frankly it didn't do much...

"Drat, I should've gotten you a helmet that would conceal more of your face," Uka said to Cortex, who didn't mind the helmet choice one bit as long as he was doing his typical villain thing. "You're totally going to get arrested for mooning now!"

"Which would only happen if my pants were to fall down...but thankfully, I remembered to bring my belt, unlike the other times I forgot it when going out in public," replied Cortex; did he not believe in wearing underwear? "Belt or not, it still won't stop me from finding all the Infinity Stones, and proving to the world that..."

Suddenly a big explosion sounded, and once the dust cleared, there was a gaping hole in the Henry Art Gallery, standing at the hole was Touma and Itsuki...with Itsuki now as the Hulk. Link and company were standing around the two, as Cortex felt a somewhat familiar feeling in his pants.

 **Cortex: Screw the belt...I should've remembered to bring my boxers, for emergency situations! They must be at the laundry room, should've told Uka to get them for me...**

"Dr. Cortex...are you supposed to be Loki?" Aerith asked the mad scientist out of curiosity. Cortex was certainly missing the rest of the attire, but at least Aerith recognized the helmet.

"Who?" questioned Cortex, before realizing what he was wearing on his head. "Oh yes, it is I, Loki - Thor's better, stronger, and obviously more handsome brother!" All of that was strongly debatable. "I would search for the Infinity Stones with you peons, but you all would be a waste of my time. I should go, before my time is further wasted. Ta-ta!" On that remark, Cortex flew away on his hoverboots, while Uka trailing after him.

"Is it just me, or does anyone else sympathize for Cortex more and more with each passing day?" Link asked the others, who all felt the same way. "He should probably quit at life, while he's ahead..."

* * *

While Cloud was off with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Runaways, and Touma was off fiddling with Link's faction of the Avengers, Red and Viridi were forced to band together and find the Infinite Stones themselves. So far, everything was going smoothly for the two.

"Man, I still can't get over this elasticity!" exclaimed Red, strutting his way through the city and showing off his elastic abilities. Viridi, on the other hand, opted to maneuver through town like a normal, dignified person. "This feels almost illegal!"

"Enjoy it while you can, since Master Hand's gonna ask for that suit back at the end of the day," said Viridi, keeping her eyes peeled for any Infinity Stones. "It would be easier if Master Hand gave us the location of the Infinity Stones...but alas, with Master Hand, nothing is ever easy."

Red and Viridi would come to a stop, when they saw that a few of their friends were fighting off a slew of bad guys - mainly Ultron Sentinels. Villager, Robin, Marth, and the female Inkling were fighting off these foes, using their powers to their disposal. The Sentinels would soon gain the upper hand, however, as Red and Viridi idly stood there and watched.

"Do you think that maybe we should help them out?" Red asked Viridi, who quickly grabbed the Pokemon trainer's hand and left the premises. Way to be a team player, Viridi, way to go.

"I think they can just take care of themselves..." was Viridi's reply. Save for the female Inkling, had the others not been human, Viridi probably wouldn't hesitate to lend a helping hand. That was usually how the goddess of nature functioned.

* * *

A more heroic, confident Luigi led his crew throughout Olympic Sculpture Park, in search for the Infinity Stones. The search would lead Luigi and company to the beach section of the park, where Luigi apparently believed the stones were hidden in the water.

"You seriously want us to look in the water for the Infinity Stones?" Fox questioned Luigi, who nodded his head with a confident smile. "Were you born yesterday or something?! None of us can swim! We'd drown in an instant!"

"I would swim-a down there myself, but not at the risk-a of getting my suit wet," explained Luigi, leading some to talk behind the plumber's back. That newfound confidence was sure making Luigi acting more different than usual. "Coco has the ability to manipulate-a the weather - we'll have-a her dive into the water and look-a for the stones."

"But that doesn't even make any sense, just because I have power over the weather doesn't mean that..." Coco started, before realizing that disputing with the confident Luigi was a no-way street. "You know what, forget this, I'm done..."

"Yeah, I'm with her, screw your plan Luigi!" said Wario, as he and Coco walked away from the premises. "I'll find the Infinity Stones on my own - you all can fend for yourselves, I'm out!"

"You know-a what Wario, we don't need-a you anyways!" Luigi clapped back, as Wario and Coco headed back to the Landmaster. "At least I have the rest-a of my guys, right guys?...Guys?"

"I don't even know what we're supposed to do, so I'm gonna leave as well," stated Ike, as he too walked away from the premises...before realizing that teleporting away was a cooler, more feasible option. "Tired of going down this nowhere street..." Ike teleported away, meaning that three members of Luigi's crew have departed.

"Fine-a then - if you wanna go, then-a go! Nobody's stopping you! Leave, go ahead, do what you-a want!" ...and that's exactly what happened, as Lucas, Wolf, Roy, Bayonetta, Zelda, and Fox all deserted Luigi, leaving the plumber despondent. The last person to leave would be Fox, who looked at Luigi and shook his head.

"You know, this is probably why you should stick to being under Mario's shadow..." the pilot said to Luigi, making the plumber feel bad about himself before chasing after the others. "Alright folks, let's head back to the Landmaster! To whomever gets there first, do NOT touch the paint!"

 **Fox: Luckily for me, I actually found a place in Seattle where they repair space ships such as my Landmaster...and it's a place that also specializes in paint jobs. Gave my Landmaster a pimped out jaguar pattern - it was enough to make Wolf jealous. However, the paint hasn't quite settled in, so it's a little rough around the ages...**

"Nice going sweetheart, you practically drove everyone away..." Daisy scolded her husband, who possibly couldn't feel any worse than he did now. "What do you have to say for yourself?" Luigi was about to say something, before a blazing fast sound was heard overheard; Luigi looked up at the sky, and saw a figure flying away, wearing what appeared to be a Loki helmet...any good guesses as to who this was?

"All I have to say-a is...do you know how-a to fly, babe?" asked Luigi, leading Daisy to make a disgusted face. The princess was unsure whether to feel concerned, or peeved out.

* * *

Mario, Chrom, and Diddy Kong followed the Ultron Sentinels inside the Seattle Art Museum, tracking them down to the storage room of the museum. The sentinels wouldn't get that far, when someone tapped them both on the shoulder. The two turned around, and saw Chrom, accompanied by Mario and Diddy.

"Looking for something, fellas?" Chrom asked, before he, Mario, and Diddy unleashed upon the Ultron Sentinels. Mario fired missiles, Chrom fired lasers, and Diddy, well, he just fired spiderwebs. In a matter of seconds, both Ultron Sentinels were defeated, with little to no effort required. "Was looking for a better fight, but we'll take what we can get..."

"Still have no idea why these-a Ultron Sentinels are present - it's not like they have-a anything to do with that _Infinity War_ flick," remarked Mario, before hearing his cellphone ring. The plumber saw that it was a call from Luigi, and promptly answered. "Hello?...Yes, Luigi?...You see a Loki character flying around-a in Seattle? Can-a Loki even fly?!...I figured so...the boys and I hunt-a them down...okay then, bye."

"Some dude dressed up as Loki is flying in Seattle?" Diddy asked the plumber, who placed his cellphone away. "Hey, as long as it isn't Thanos, then I'm fine with who it is..."

"Let's just hope that our teammates catch up along the way." Speaking of whom, let's see how the rest of Mario's group is handling themselves...

* * *

...they were still getting beat up by the Ultron Sentinels, as more and more of the robots ganged up on everyone. No matter what they did, the robots somehow got the better of them, and there was no hope in sight.

That is, until a wicked thunderbolt fell from the sky and struck the Ultron Sentinels, shocking them and rendering them unconscious...but they're robots, so we'll say that they've been rendered out of order instead. Marth and company cowered as the lightning struck the ground, and when they stopped cowering, they saw Coco, descending from the skies.

"Saw you guys having some trouble, so I came to lend a hand," replied the bandicoot, who wasn't alone...for the Landmaster would descend from the sky along with her. Once the Landmaster landed, Fox would hop out, sticking a perfect landing as always.

 **Marth: Not gonna lie - Villager, Robin, the female Inkling and I fared pretty well...for being abandoned by our leader. I sure hope Mario lost all the gas in his Iron Man suit and fell into some lake, never to be seen from again.**

"Fox McCloud - or should I say, Brother Voodoo - at your service," Fox said to Marth and company, being all gentleman-like and whatnot. "Luigi asked me to take his X-Men buddies downtown, and I obliged. Everyone is inside the Landmaster, except for Luigi and his woman, and child...let's just say that our favorite plumber kinda drove everyone away."

"Given it's Luigi, that must be a pretty impossible feat," remarked Robin, checking his body for any scars. "Got any room in your Landmaster for the three of us? Mario pretty much left us..." Chrom and Diddy Kong did the same, yet you won't hear Robin criticizing them.

"Uh, yeah, I can squeeze you guys inside my ship. But whatever you do, do NOT touch the paint. It hasn't dried yet."

* * *

With Touma as the Thing, and Itsuki as the Hulk, Link and his faction was unstoppable. Touma and Itsuki were crushing everything in their sight, as they looked for the Infinity Stones.

"HULK SMASH!" roared Itsuki, as he grabbed two cars and smashed them together in typical Hulk fashion. "Is Hulk doing this right? Why is Hulk talking in third person for? Why can't Hulk even say his own name?! WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HULK'S BRAIN?!"

"Chill out Itsuki, your brain is just fine...it's that Hulk DNA that's working against you," explained Link, doing his best to soothe the young lad-turned-Hulk. "Just keep your cool, and destroy everything in sight - just because it's fun and it's the only thing Hulk can do - and we'll just continue...on our way..."

Link and company would soon come to a stop, when they encountered a dead end - standing at a fence peering over a lake. If they did what Luigi wanted to do, they could dive into the water and search for the Infinity Stones!

"Well I'm not gonna stay around and wait for things to happen, so I'ma go solo..." said Falco, as he leaped up into the air and flew away, putting his Falcon suit to good use. "Catch you guys later!" Falco flied away, across the lake, leaving his crew behind. A very Falco thing to do...

Just when Link was ready to turn his group around, a circular telekinetic force field would suddenly envelop everyone, sending them up into the air. This force field was the mighty work of Daisy, hovering in the air.

"Need a lift?" the princess would ask, grinning and LInk and company. Link would grin in response...before noticing that Luigi was holding unto Daisy for dear life, holding Charles in one of his arms. "Don't mind Luigi, this was the only option he had...he should be safe. Just as long as he keeps Charles safe, too."

* * *

 **Pedestrian: Today has been a weird day...I got off early from work, and the first thing I saw when I looked up at the sky was Iron Man and War Machine, flying together, with some monkey dressed up as Spider-Man flying through the air using his webs. Could've been that cup of espresso I drank earlier. Could this day possibly get any weirder? *turns around, looks up, and sees the Falcon Flyer, with two flying bodies around it* Well that just made my day...I should jump off this building and plummet to my death now.  
**

The Falcon Flyer (which now had a clear roof) was flying gracefully through the Seattle skyline, with the driver Captain Falcon on the hunt for Infinity Stones and the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Runaways serving as the passengers. Flying next to the Falcon Flyer was Ashley and Cloud, with Crash and Sonic riding on the top.

"Are you sure it's safe for Crash and Sonic to be on the roof of the Falcon Flyer?" Aku asked Captain Falcon, concerned for Sonic and Crash's safety. Mark this as the first time someone other than Amy was concerned for Sonic's well-being.

"It's not safe unless either one falls off and plummets to their doom!" replied Captain Falcon - really wasn't the response Aku was looking for, to quell his worries. The Falcon Flyer would keep flying, when someone eventually flew up to the aircraft - Falco.

"Sup dudes, mind if I join?" Falco asked, seemingly content with hanging around with this new superhero group. Just as long as he got to fly in the air.

"We could use some more allies at our disposal," replied Cloud, blazing through the air with his entire body on fire. "Welcome on board, Mr. Lombardi." Another person would fly up to the Falcon Flyer, accompanied by Uka and wearing a Loki helmet - Dr. Cortex.

"Greetings everyone, mind if I join?" Cortex asked, only for Cloud to hurl several fireballs at him. The mad scientist dodged them all. "What was that for, Cloud?! I thought we were friends! Besides, I just asked a rhetorical question! At least I thought it was rhetorical..."

"Out of our way, Cortex, you're gonna distract us from our mission. We don't need you proving to be a distraction, and messing us up." Cortex would be hurt by Cloud's remarks, but frankly the scientist was hurt enough already.

"Distract you from what, finding the Infinity Stones? Good, because Uka and I are gonna find the Infinity Stones before anyone else does, how about that? And there's nothing you can do to..." Ashley would fire a magic spell at Cortex, nearly nailing him in the eye before the scientist narrowly dodged the spell. Sonic and Crash fired their ammo at Cortex, and the scientist would duck that too. "Can you please cut it out?!"

"Just do what Cloud says and we'll leave you alone," replied Ashley, preparing to unleash another magic spell if necessary. Cortex did not want to be attacked yet again, so he opted to leave while he could.

"If you want me to leave so badly, then I'll do it...but first...SMOKE BOMB!" All of a sudden, a great explosion of spoke happened, engulfing the Falcon Flyer and making it come to a stop as Ashley and company coughed. Once the smoke cleared, Cortex and Uka were gone!

"Hold on just a sec - did Cortex seriously use a smoke bomb on us?" questioned Sonic, unable to comprehend what transpired. "And here I thought only the cool villains used smoke bombs...I'm so confused right now..."

* * *

Away from the others, Cortex and Uka continued to fly over Seattle, with Cortex's mind still set on those Infinity Stones. He knew those stones where out there, somewhere.

"Let's see...if I were Thanos, where would I hide my Infinity Stones at?" Cortex asked himself, scanning the city of Seattle below him. "I can only assume that the stones are buried underneath somewhere, but where..."

Out of nowhere, a beam of psionic energy struck Cortex's hoverboots, damaging them and sending Cortex flying towards the ground as he screamed. The mad scientist would land in an open field, and as he struggled to get up, with Uka watching him, Viridi would descend to the field, using Red's elastic body as a paraglider of sorts.

"You were right Red, you would make for an awesome paraglider!" Viridi said to the Pokemon trainer, after she landed on the ground. Once Red was back to his normal form, he and Viridi turned their attention to Cortex, who was back on his feet.

"How dare you hurt an honest man while he's on the hunt for stones!" Cortex frowned at Red and Viridi, who found themselves laughing and giggling. "Do you have any...why are you laughing? Is it because of how I look in my Loki helmet? Yes I'll admit, it's too small for my head, however..."

Cortex wouldn't even get to finish his sentence, when a web was fired at the scientist entangling his whole body. Diddy Kong would arrive at the scene, along with Mario and Chrom.

"So, Cortex, you must-a be the Loki character Luigi spoke-a of..." said Mario, getting a good look at Cortex after taking off his face mask. "Could've used a bigger helmet, but whatever works-a for you...GET BACK HERE!" Cortex hopped away, getting as far as he could, doing his best not to fall down.

And just when Cortex's day couldn't possibly get worse, a red beam was fired at the scientist, sending him to the ground. That red beam came from Luigi, who arrived at the field along with Daisy and Link's faction. Daisy gently placed the faction on the ground, dispersing the force field as Cortex rolled on the ground in pain.

Eventually, others came - the Landmaster would soon arrive at the field, as Fox and his passengers got out. The Falcon Flyer would arrive moments later, along with Cloud, Ashley, Falco, Sonic, and Crash; Captain Falcon and his passengers got out, as everyone focused their attention on Cortex.

"That's-a him, that's the Loki figure...I...saw..." said Luigi, only to see that it was Cortex after a thorough inspection. "...Dr. Cortex?" There goes Luigi's chance at doing something somewhat heroic for the day.

"Let me help you out there, doctor," Tsubasa said to Cortex, taking out the blade that came with her Gamora suit, as she used said blade to cut away at the webs entangling Cortex. The mad scientist was now free, as he got up and dusted himself off.

"Thanks a bunch, Miss Oribe, you're the only respectable person I've dealt with today," thanked Cortex, glad he could move his arms and legs about again. "As much as I would keep searching for the Infinity Stones, I must take off this helmet...it's really tight on my head!" So Cortex took off his Loki helmet, and as he lifted it up in the air...

...six peculiar stones fell from underneath, landing on Cortex's head. Everyone saw the stones fall, and had a pretty good idea as to what they were...

 **Uka: I...I had no idea those things were inside the helmet. I just wanted to give Cortex headgear that would make his head burst, so I won't have to deal with that peon again. That's all I could really ask for.**

"Are these...are these the Infinity Stones Master Hand spoke of?" wondered Link, approaching Cortex as he picked up one of the stones and inspected it. Upon further inspection...it wasn't an Infinity Stone at all! "Wait a minute, these aren't Infinity Stones...this is just colorized candy made to _look_ like Infinity Stones! We've been played this whole time!"

"Blasphemy!" frowned Wolf, as everyone else present shared the mercenary's disgust. Leave it up to Master Hand to play his residents and others like fiddles. "I knew we were punked this whole time, but still...BLASPHEMY!"

"What if Master Hand is back at the mansion, relishing in the fact that he managed to prank us?" questioned the female Inkling, as everyone felt the need to teach the giant hand a lesson. "We should all head back, and give Master Hand what he deserves!"

An emphatic "Yeah!" emitted by the crowd only meant one thing...Master Hand was gonna receive his just desserts.

* * *

Speaking of Master Hand, the Smash universe creator was indeed back at the mansion, laughing it up in his room. Isabelle would enter the room, seeing the giant hand sprawled on his bed and laughing away.

"You've been doing nothing but laughing this whole time ever since you returned, Master Hand," said Isabelle, while Master Hand continued laughing. "Care to explain why?"

"Oh, Isabelle, you won't BELIEVE the despicable thing I've done today!" bellowed Master Hand, unsure if he would stop laughing or not. "I had X program a hologram device in this room, delivering a message to anyone who accessed it. Basically I was in pain, and I was telling the listener to find the Infinity Stones, or bad things would happen to me."

"Are the Infinity Stones real, or are they fake?" What a dumb question for Isabelle to ask. But she shall be forgiven.

"They're obviously fake, you dense dog! But I did find some candy, to pose as Infinity Stones - didn't know where to hide them, so I stuck them in some villainous headgear. Loki's helmet, I think. But I did have Dr. Wily build some Ultron Sentinels, just to make things exciting - they could be running amok in Seattle, for all we know."

"And about that holographic message, did someone believe it and went out to find the Infinity Stones?"

"Of course they did - which is why so many people are absent from the mansion! Peach told me that Pit sent a mass text to everyone, detailing everything I said in my holographic message, and now Mario is leading the blind and has taken his pals throughout Seattle, searching for something they'll never find! Who knows when they'll come back!"

"We're already here..." a voice said - the last voice Master Hand wanted to hear. The giant hand stopped laughing and looked at the door...and standing at the doorway was a ticked off Mario. Mario stepped inside the room, with Isabelle moving out of the way as everyone else who was out in town filled up the room. Everyone had their eyes set on Master Hand.

"Back so soon, eh Mario?" Master Hand chuckled nervously, finding himself backed up against the wall. Nothing he could do would be able to diminish the anger and bitterness Mario and company had for him.

"You just-a don't learn, do you...come on, you guys, let's give-a Master Hand a beating he hopefully won't-a forget..." Mario and company drew near Master Hand, who had nowhere to go.

"Okay people, chill out, why so serious...I mean, I didn't expect anyone to take that holographic message seriously, so it's your fault for...no...get back...please..."

Not wishing to see the end result of whatever was about to go down, Isabelle quietly sneaked out of the room, closing the door shut. Once the door was closed, the beatdown on Master Hand would commence, as loud sounds and noises were heard from behind the door. Unsure if she should have some sympathy for Master Hand, Isabelle walked away, innocently whistling a happy tune.

Sometimes - or all times, rather - that Master Hand will never learn...


	124. Episode 124: Assembly

_Author's Note:_

 _Mother's Day is coming soon, which means it's time for the first ever Mother's Day special! (Chapter 73, contrary to any popular belief, wasn't a Mother's Day special by any stretch of the imagination. Just saying.) In this chapter, I'll be planting some seeds for the special - it's not much, but it's better than nothing. On to the guest reviews:_

 _"Can you add the trainer protagonists from Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal, Ruby and Sapphire, Fire Red and Leaf Green, Diamond and Pearl, Black and White, X and Y, and Sun and Moon? Will the Xenosaga cast show up soon? Is Sonic wearing his regular shoes or his soap shoes from Sonic Adventure 2? Will we see more of Cranky breaking the fourth wall? And finally, will we Mighty the Armadillo and Ray the Flying Squirrel show up in future chapters?"_

 _Definitely. Not so sure. He's definitely wearing his regular shoes. There will be more fourth wall breaking done by Cranky. And Mighty and Ray - the two most criminally underrated SEGA characters - will both appear in a future chapter. Here's one more anonymous review:_

 _"This pile of crap doesn't even add up. Do the world a favour and stop this, this story is already beyond what can be considered "way too long"."_

 _...well then. This is a kind of review you don't see that often. Is this story beyond what can be considered "way too long?" It does have 124 chapters, so there's that. But then again, The Subspace Emissary's World Conquest is at a whopping 220, so if this story is deemed "way too long", then I shudder to know what World's Conquest should be considered. But let me assure you, this story will not go on forever - I'd rather end the story while the iron's hot, before the dip in quality intensifies, than phone it in till the end and hope for the best. I think that's a mentality most writers should have._

* * *

 **Episode 124: Assembly**

It was now the month of May, and that only meant one thing...no, it doesn't mean May flowers are gonna bloom. Well, they're going to bloom anyways regardless, but that wasn't the most important thing right now.

What was the most important thing was that Princess Peach was about to give birth soon.

The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, who has been pregnant since episode 87 (or somewhere around that timeframe), was dying in anticipation of being a first-time parent, much like her husband Mario. And like Mario, the princess also wished to hold a baby shower, to celebrate the momentous occasion...but unfortunately, Master Hand wouldn't allow it.

Wanting to make her wife's wishes come true, Mario came to Master Hand begging the giant hand to change his mind. Master Hand really wasn't the one to change his mind for anything, so Mario had an extremely hard task ahead of him.

"Please, Master Hand, we hardly done-a anything special for Princess-a Peach during her entire pregnancy," Mario pleaded to the giant hand, who was busy playing around with a gigantic abacus. Not like he was using it for conducting calculations - he just loved playing with it. Something about the beads going across the rods was somewhat entertaining to Master Hand. "A baby shower would-a be..."

"We never did anything special for Daisy when she was pregnant, yet you didn't hear your brother Luigi moan and complain," retorted Master Hand, giggling excitedly as he moved the colored beams around. "You just love hearing your own self talk, do you? I know I do more than anyone else, so quit copying me and go replicate someone else's style."

"Thanks-a to you, Peach and I never got the chance-a to reveal the gender of our-a baby!" The fact that Mario and Peach both possessed knowledge of their baby's gender was most unsettling to Master Hand. "We could have-a revealed the gender to everyone-a in the mansion. Yet you vetoed our chances-a every time!"

"It's all for the greater good, Mario - nobody wants to know what gender their child is before they're born, it ruins the element of surprise. That's like finding out who won _America Idol_ before the results are even announced. You're ruining the excitement for everyone, at the hands of your own pride and conceit! For that reason, that's why I forbid you and Peach from having a baby shower, in the event the gender of your baby is revealed."

"Fine then, Master Hand, since-a you won't let us have our baby shower before-a our child's birth...then we'll have-a one AFTER our kid is born! It'll be, the 'after baby shower'! First of its-a kind! We'll have it at-a the hospital!"

"Wow, I don't know what's lamer...the name of that party, or the context of the party. And you can't have your crappy party at the hospital, by the way, since I'll tell the hospital staff there to cancel any parties happening. I know pretty much every hospital staff in Seattle, so it'll be a lose-lose situation no matter what you do."

 **Master Hand: How did I manage to get on the good side of every hospital in the city? One thing, and one thing only - respect. And another one thing - fear. Every hospital staffer respects me out of fear, and fears me out of respect. It's a mutual relationship that so many wish they could have.**

"Okay, if not the hospital...then the place-a where Peach and I got married, Safeco Field!" exclaimed Mario, vowing to have his 'after baby shower' at the Seattle Mariners home stadium. Given the size of the venue, it would be the biggest birth-related party ever!

"Pretty sure the Mariners will be playing a game around the time you have your party, so that would be a no-go," Master Hand offered his two cents, still playing with his abacus. Whoever purchased that thing should be questioned. Knowing Kirby, he might be the culprit. "Give it up already Mario, I hate seeing you this desperate...yet I love it at the same time. Makes you look so vulnerable!"

"Master Hand, may I come in?" someone asked from behind Master Hand's bedroom door. After receiving no response, this someone would enter the room - it was Geno, and the Star Warrior was miffed to see Master Hand play with his abacus. The mighty creator of the Smash universe was acting like a little child, and for Geno, it was quite the sight to see. "...I take it that you're busy, Master Hand?"

"I'm not that busy, Geno - I just needed something to perfectly waste my time with," replied Master Hand, who would kill for Crazy Hand to stop by and play with the abacus. That loon would go full bonkers. "I'm all ears - say what you need to say."

"Well I just wanted to stop by and deliver a message from Rosalina...so you know that Mother's Day is in about a week, right?" You'd think the creator of the Smash Universe would know when Mother's Day was. Geno felt stupid asking that question. "Rosalina has plans to have a Mother's Day banquet, and invite all the mothers that we know to the mansion for said banquet. How does that sound?"

"That sounds EXCELLENT!" Master Hand finally broke away from his abacus, as he turned to face Geno with delight smothered over his fingers. "A Mother's Day banquet would be an awesome way to bring some new visitors to the mansion. Then, I can get a real good look at all the..."

"Also, one more thing - Rosalina wants to have a meeting in the meeting room to discuss the banquet," interjected Geno, rudely cutting off Master Hand. The Star Warrior should know that he was playing with fire - a raging hot one, at that. "Some input from the others would be nice, she said."

"Then we shall have this meeting, pronto! ASAP! As soon as possible! Though Rosalina better not take suggestions from _everyone_ present - a weirdo like King K. Rool would suggest something like having all the moms dressed in scantily-clad clothing. As much as I would love to see that, we should hold all mothers to a high moral standard."

"Oh so you're fine-a with having some boring meeting, yet when I want-a to have a baby shower, suddenly there's-a problems," frowned Mario, fully disgusted by Master Hand's choice. The plumber felt the baby shower would be a far more engaging activity - and you can't blame him.

"Did you just the call the meeting that has yet to start 'boring'? Are you saying that you don't care about mothers, in general? Do you seriously think that your baby is more superior than every mother in existence?! What would your own mother, Pauline, think of you?!"

"I'm not so sure-a Pauline is my mother...granted we are pretty tight-a with one another, but her being my-a mother, that's probably a stretch. I don't think she's-a my mom."

"Good...because honestly, I don't think she deserves to be the mother of some loser like you. Her loss is her gain. And for the last time, we're NOT doing the baby shower."

Mario was very much offended when Master Hand made his remark. The plumber has always known Master Hand to make shots below the belt, but this time, the giant hand went _too_ low. And it left Mario in a bad mood, as he frowned at Master Hand and stormed out of the room, nearly pushing Geno to the side. So much for that baby shower.

"...I should go now, I think that Starlow chick just asked me out on a date," Geno said to Master Hand as he too left, before the awkwardness in the premises reached a volcanic melting point. Once Mario and Geno left, Master Hand quietly resumed playing with the abacus, like nothing transpired.

* * *

 **Tsubasa: Itsuki has been acting different this week - every time I try and talk to him, he would either smile and ignore me, or get up and walk away. It's almost as if he no longer welcomes my company anymore...with no other choice, I was left with asking the so-called "romance guru" Wolf about Itsuki's behavior, and Wolf presented with me two theories for the change in Itsuki - he's testing the strength of our relationship, or he's interested in other women. *sighs* I can't for the life of me think of any chick Itsuki has his eyes on, so I can only assume that he's just playing mind games with me. I just have to win at those games, that's all...**

Fox, Falco, and Itsuki were in the printing room, printing up the latest bank statement for Star Records - one that hopefully didn't come with any propane purchases. Once the bank statement was printed, Fox took it out from the printer machine and took a good look at it, ensuring everything was correct.

"How did I not notice this before..." the pilot furrowed his brow, noticing one item on the bank statement that caught his eye. "WHO ON EARTH SPENT OUR MONEY TO PURCHASE MAGAZINES FROM VICTORIA'S SECRET?!" Fox shouted this loud enough for a person down the hallway to hear.

"Yeah who could have done that, bruh that is like, so childish," responded Falco, leading Fox to stare at the avian pilot with suspicious eyes. "Dude why are you looking at me, I haven't spent a company dime on any magazines! Might've used the money to buy some gummy worms, my guilty pleasure...but still, why would I buy some Victoria's Secret crap for?!"

"I dunno, maybe your gal Katt is into that Victoria's Secret stuff, and like any other soft boyfriend, you gave in to your girlfriend's commands and bought her what she wanted." Falco didn't think of himself as a soft boyfriend - he was more of the suave type - and that made the pilot angrier.

"For your information bro, Katt is into Abercrombie and Fitch, which is in my opinion, far more superior than Victoria's Secret will ever be. And no, I'm not just saying that because I'm Katt's girlfriend. I have my own opinions too, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, they're both the same thing...biggest difference is that Victoria's Secret appeals to girls who desire to feel hot and sexy, and Abercrombie and Fitch appeals to girls who have zero taste for fashion. Your girlfriend seriously needs to pick up the slack, Falco."

"Wanna say that again, to my face?!" Falco challenged his best friend, getting all up in Fox's grill. Falco sure knew how to turn up when the time called for it.

"Alright you two, take it easy there, that's enough," said Itsuki, being the peacemaker, as he separated Fox and Falco before the two could come to blows. "You're seriously not going to let this bickering over some silly magazine tear you apart, are you? I mean, this isn't that one time where Jakob purchased those propane tanks, without our foreknowledge."

"...and you lowkey allowed it to happen," stated Fox, stumping Itsuki. The pilot was right - Itsuki _did_ leave that credit card lying on the Star Records desk, ripe for the taking. You know Big Top wouldn't have talked Jakob out of stealing the card, so he should share the blame. "But what's in the past deserves to be in the past, and we should keep looking forward. Let's never talk again of this Victoria's Secret thing again, agreed?"

"Agreed," Falco and Itsuki said simultaneously with a nod. The Star Records trio would leave the printing room, with the bank statement in tow, and as they walked down the hallway, Tsubasa spotted Itsuki from behind, holding a book in her arms and watching her boyfriend closely...

 **Itsuki: I decline to speak anything concerning Tsubasa and I. My private life is none of your concern, as is anyone else's. So how about you ask better questions next time, and maybe I'll give you what you want?**

* * *

Yuffie eating up food was an issue Luigi and Daisy have pretty much dealt with ever since the perky ninja stayed with the married couple. Whether it was lunch meat, leftovers from dinner, or even food past the expiration date, Yuffie was bound to eat it.

To curb this ongoing problem, Luigi purchased a lock for the refrigerator, meaning that the fridge could only be opened via code - a code only Luigi and Daisy knew. This digital lock was installed two days ago, and Yuffie was determined to unlock it, one way or another.

"Just a measly number pad, eh?" said the ninja, as she and Greninja were closely inspecting the lock. Sheik was also supposed to be here, to use her needles to pick the lock open, but the Hylian ninja was MIA. "Figured Luigi and Daisy would've gotten themselves something more complex. But a passcode consisting of numbers would be easier to remember, I suppose."

"Hey guys, sorry I was late," apologized Sheik, as she entered Luigi's home with her needles in her possession. "Wii Fit Trainer wanted to use my needles for Doc Louis' acupuncture therapy, and I had to talk her out of it. Doc wasn't so happy about it, so he yelled in my face for no reason. Got his saliva all over my bandages...so, what are we trying to do again?"

"Unlock this lock on the fridge so I can access the fridge again," explained Yuffie, as Sheik headed over to the fridge. "I fear that the lock might be water-proof, so Greninja's water-type moves would have zero effect. Which is why your needles, Sheik, would come in handy..."

"Oh joy, I can't wait-a for my exciting aerobic exercises!" Luigi's voice sounded from upstairs, meaning the plumber was ready to head down to his living room. "With Daisy over at Mario's place, I won't have to hear-a her mouth about how I'm doing the aerobic moves-a wrong...what does-a she mean, I can't hump-a the yoga ball? Insanity..."

"Luigi's coming downstairs - everyone play dead!" ordered Yuffie, as she, Sheik, and Greninja all laid on the floor like they were, playing dead like they were movie extras. Once Luigi arrived downstairs - decked out in his green aerobic workout clothes - and entered the kitchen, he saw the ninja pals faking their deaths.

"Ahaha...told Daisy that my work-a out gear was drop dead-a gorgeous," smirked Luigi, obviously thinking very highly of his workout gear - which wasn't much to think of, honestly. Looked like something any other person would wear. "Time to get started..."

With Charles up in his high chair, playing with his food, Luigi entered the living room and turned on the TV, before inserting his workout tape into the VCR. (Yes, Luigi still had one, for whatever reason.) Just when Luigi was about to start, the doorbell rang, and the plumber went to go see who it was...it was Cloud Strife.

"Good afternoon, Luigi - hope I didn't interrupt your workout," greeted Cloud, who didn't faint at how drop dead gorgeous Luigi's workout gear was. Not that it would be in the swordsman's nature to do such a thing.

"No worries Mr. Strife, I was just-a getting started," replied Luigi, stretching his arms and legs so that he was fully ready for his aerobic exercises. "With-a Daisy over at Mario's place, I thought that now-a would be a good time for some-a aerobic training. That way, I won't hear-a her complaining."

"If I were you, I'd just tune Daisy out - tell her to deal with it. She's your wife, so she's gotta put up with the things you do." Cloud looked over Luigi, and saw the ninja pals lying on the kitchen floor. "What on earth are Yuffie and her friends doing...?"

"Hiya Cloud!" Yuffie lifted her head up, just so she could wave to Cloud, before going back to playing dead. Cloud just idly waved, though he was still quite confused.

"Yuffie and her friends-a fainted because of how great-a I look in my workout gear," explained Luigi, taking a great sense of pride in what he had done - or at least what he thought he had done. "Though you didn't faint...so I can only assume-a that Greninja is indeed a girl..."

 **Greninja: *shakes his head profusely***

 **Yuffie: Thanks to Cloud, our mission to regain access to Luigi's fridge...was a failure. Nice try Cloud, but better luck next time...provided we'll let you have a next time.  
Sheik: You're not...planning on killing Cloud, are you? Over some fridge?  
Yuffie: We could kill him with kindness...or happiness. I don't think Cloud has either one of those.**

"Yeah, I'm sure there's another reason why they're on the floor like that..." remarked Cloud, before finally getting to business. "Anyways, I just wanted to know if you have Professor E. Gadd's contact information. Like his cellphone number and stuff. He does have a phone, right?"

"E. Gadd only uses land-a line phone, but I'll give-a you his number," replied Luigi, as he fetched a yellow sticky notepad from one of the living room tables and a black ink pen. "What do you need-a his number for?"

"Oh, nothing, just wanted to know what the old man is up to. Haven't talked to him since Mario's wedding." As Cloud provided his reasoning, Luigi furrowed his brow. The plumber knew what Cloud wanted to speak with E. Gadd about was something far more serious than just wanting "to know what the old man is up to". Cloud couldn't possibly be considering befriending E. Gadd.

"Okay, gotcha...here's E. Gadd's-a number." Luigi took the sticky note off the notepad, and handed it to Cloud, who looked at the phone number inscribed curiously. "Is some-a thing the matter?"

"Why are the first three digits all fives? I don't need some fake number, I just need E. Gadd's number. It's not like I'm plotting to prank call the man."

"Yes, you're-a right, my bad." Luigi sheepishly took the sticky note from Cloud, and scratched out the original phone number before writing the correct one. "Here is E. Gadd's-a REAL phone number. Anything else-a you need, Cloud?"

"No I'm good, that's all I needed. Thanks Luigi." Luigi nodded his head as Cloud closed the front door and left...though Luigi desired to know the real reason why Cloud wanted to contact E. Gadd in the first place.

* * *

Over at Mario's place, Peach and Daisy were enjoying a wonderful conversation in the living room, talking about usual girl things...and pregnancy.

"My stomach has been killing me a lot lately - must be a sign that the baby is coming soon," Peach discussed with Daisy, who was sipping from a cup of tea. Peach would sip tea as well, but she didn't want to take any chances. "And my back has been killing me too...is there by any chance that you have painkillers?"

"Personally, I wouldn't take any painkillers if I were you, those could be a big risk," advised Daisy, laying some vital knowledge on her best friend. "You can take the pain for a few more weeks, right? It's just the first week of May!"

"You're right, you're right...the doctor says the baby should be delivered around the end of May, so I can wait that long. It's not like the pain is insurmountable or anything - it comes every now and then. I'll endure it for just a bit more!"

 **Bowser: Peach is gonna go into labor at any minute, which means that when the time comes, I'll be ready...with my tools! *pulls out dissection tools* I have been self-trained for "emergency pregnancy measures", so that if a pregnant lady can't make it to the hospital in time, I'll be there to cut the baby out! As for the other stuff that comes after the baby is out...I dunno. I'll leave it up to the mom and dad, let them decide.  
**

"That's the spirit Peach - don't let the pain bring you down!" exclaimed Daisy, before her eyes darted towards Mario. The plumber was seated in his sofa, with a frown on his face - no doubt thinking about what Master Hand said to him earlier. "Still a bum on the log, aren't you? You're still not thinking about what Master Hand said, are you?"

"No I'm just...thinking, about-a the future," replied Mario, with a simple shrug. It was hard to tell what the plumber was looking at - was he looking down at the floor, or staring into space? Was he looking mightily into the soul of some invisible person? An imaginary friend?

"He's been saying that same excuse every time we ask him what's wrong..." Peach whispered to Daisy, who nodded her head as the two princesses looked curiously at Mario. The plumber slowly got up to his feet, and stretched out his arms, before heading up to his room.

"I'll be right-a back...just have some-a things...to ponder over," was Mario's response, as he made his way up the stairs like everything was dandy and fine. Even though Peach and Daisy clearly knew that it was the other way around.

* * *

Mario was up in his room, lying on his bed as he looked up at the ceiling. With him was his talking hat buddy, Cappy, who was keeping the mustached plumber company. Because that's what real buddies do.

"Master Hand was unexpectedly savage, calling you out like that," Cappy said to Mario, who didn't care what Master Hand had to say about him. When was Master Hand never savage? "You should have retaliated, show him what you're made of...but nope, you just threw a fit and walked away, admitting defeat. You can't just let Master Hand roast you like that!"

"The nerve-a of Master Hand, to turn down-a my proposal to have a baby shower, for Peach..." seethed Mario, refusing to let go what was already decided. "But sure, let's have some unnecessary meeting about-at 'Mother's Day', that would-a be SOOOOO exciting..."

"Maybe Master Hand took your offer wrong, maybe he thought you wanted to have the baby shower at the mansion. You should have told him that the baby shower would take place at your home, or somewhere in Seattle! He would have obliged then!"

"True, but Master Hand would-a come over to my place, scold-a me, and cancel the baby shower altogether. Then he'll make-a up some crappy excuse for why the baby shower should-a be cancelled, like 'you were making too much noise', or 'you should have invited me', or even, 'why have a baby shower when nobody's even bathing themselves'...the list goes-a on and on."

Mario was about to continue speaking, until he and Cappy heard some noises from outside. Sounded almost like someone was scaling up Mario's home! Mario hopped off his bed, and opened the window...and shortly afterwards, Link showed up, scaring Mario and sending him to the floor as he took a breather.

"Next time, Mario...you should look into getting some bricks for the exterior of your home," remarked Link, as he was taking his breather. Mario got up off the floor, still looking like he had seen a ghost. "The fiber cement just isn't gonna cut it..."

 **Link: Climbed up Mario's house, on two occasions - the first time was to test my climbing skills, and the second time was because Lucas' stupid dog Boney kept chasing me. It could have been because he likes the color green - if so, then he has made the right choice. Lucas, I mean. But regardless, I've managed to climb Mario's house, which means Luigi's house is next...**

"Link, don't scare me like-a that, you nearly gave-a Cappy and I a heart attack!" scolded Mario, but little did he know that Cappy wasn't scared one bit, not even a smidge. The little fella remained remotely chill. "I thought someone was-a coming to kill me!"

"Oh please, Mario, nobody would want to kill you, you're too precious..." responded Link, as Mario felt uneasy for some reason. Perhaps it was Link's choice of words. "...that might've sounded weird, but you know what I mean, right?"

"I suppose-a so...it wouldn't have hurt if you entered-a my home like any normal person-a would. Peach and Daisy were-a in the living room - either one of those-a ladies would've let-a you in."

"I heard Peach and Daisy talking from outside, so I didn't want to bother him in any way. Also, from what I've heard from them, Peach's water kinda broke, so there's that. Didn't want to be a huge distraction."

"Well you couldn't possibly be any worse-a than..." Mario suddenly stopped, upon realizing the words that had exited Link's mouth. "...you said-a that Peach's water broke?!"

A now frantic Mario ran down the stairs, with Cappy and Link following after him, and dashed to the living room. There he would find Peach and Daisy, still present, acting like nothing was going on...although there were towels lying on the hardwood floor.

"Done moping already?" Peach asked Mario, who was flabbergasted, bewildered, and all sorts of confused. "About time! And I see you've brought Link along with you. He must've turned that frown of yours upside down!"

"I-I thought your water broke, Princess-a Peach..." stammered Mario, hoping Link wasn't feeding him false information. He was totally going to pummel Link if he did. "...or was it a false-a alarm?"

"Peach's water didn't break, you silly goose...Peach just spilled water unto the floor, with her clumsy self," explained Daisy, directing Mario's attention to a water bottle lying on the living room floor. "She had unscrewed the top of that water bottle, and somehow slipped on the floor and spilled her water in the process. Which is why we have these towels, to soak up all the water. But we did talk about the possibility of Peach's water breaking, whenever that would happen."

"I see, I see...uh, in that-a case, don't mention this talk-a about breaking water again. Might make-a me paranoid...or worse. Now if you excuse-a me, Link and I have some-a things to discuss...typical guy things you ladies wouldn't know."

"Yeah, the three of us, we're gonna talk about manly things, SUPER manly things, like facial hair, and leather jackets, and American football...and even grilled steaks!" added Cappy, before receiving questionable stares. Mario and Link included. "I kinda overdid it, didn't I? I'm so sorry..."

* * *

Mario and Link would meet outside at the picnic table near the mansion. Link came to Mario because the Hylian wanted to show his pal some pictures, which wasn't that manly. However, the nature of the pictures seemed to suggest that something was perhaps brewing over the horizon...

"Shulk snapped these pictures and showed me to them...thought you'd want a peek," said Link, as he showed Mario the pictures in his hand. The pictures all revealed a flying ship, flying in the sky, with four rabbit figures huddled together. One was short, one was tall, one was fat, and the other looked like a girl. "I've been hearing all sorts of murmurings that these four crooks were seen flying above the mansion, just...looking. Some say they play this tune from their ship, everywhere they go...kinda like what Bowser does."

 **Shulk: Saw that flying ship with my own two eyes...saw those rabbit freaks too, and they were all acting funny. The short rabbit was twirling his cap around, the girl rabbit kept laughing like a maniac, the fat rabbit wouldn't stop belching, and the tall rabbit...was doing this funky dance. It was something like this... *moves arms about* ...it was definitely something like this...oh yeah, this feels tight! Not a bad dance move at all! I might call it...the Shulk!**

"They do have-a some mean looking eyes, that's for sure..." remarked Mario, analyzing the pictures as he stroked his chin. "I do have some-a doubts that these rabbits aren't even rabbits-a to begin with. What do you think, Cappy?" The talking hat in question was looking at the pictures, all googly-eyed, acting like he was looking at a pot of gold. "...Cappy?"

"I...I know those rabbits, I know them from somewhere!" exclaimed Cappy, snatching the pictures away from Link and looking at them intensely. "Yes, I know each and every one of them! They're called the Broodals! Let's see...that's Topper, and that's Harriet, and that's Spewart, and that right there is Rango..."

"You know those rabbits from some-a where? Are they your friends-a or something?" Cappy was deeply offended when Mario said this, and the plumber knew right away. "...or are they your-a enemies?"

"Guys I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news, but...I don't think Spewart is a real name," stated Link; one could make a strong argument that Topper wasn't a real name either. Unless we're talking about birth names. "Does his name implies that he spews stuff?"

"Yes, yes he does - Spewart has the ability to spew poison at his foes with reckless abandon!" said Cappy, speaking in a manner that suggested Spewart was the most feared rabbit in existence. "Then there's Harriet - she can throw bombs with heir hair, not to mention that laugh...I don't want to speak of it!"

"Relax Cappy - it's clear that speaking about-a these Broodals is making you awfully tense," soothed Mario, though Cappy still had a pretty crazed look in his eyes. "Let's try and analyze-a the situation at hand, before we go..."

"...and then there's Rango, with his lanky body and weird body movements - that guy has spikes in his hat! Spikes in his hat! Thankfully Topper isn't as bad as the others, but he sure knows how to think of a master plan!"

"Okay, okay, we get it..." said Link, as the paranoia inside of Cappy was building up inside of him. "Topper's a master planner, Harriet can laugh evilly and throw bombs, Spewart literally spews poison, and Rango wears a dangerous hat. Now can you please stop..."

"...but you also have the leader of the Broodals, the giant rabbit by the name of Madame Broode! Her face may be intimidating, and oftentimes hard to look at, but it's her golden Chain-Champ that strikes the most fear! I wouldn't want to be trapped with that thing inside a cage, not in my wildest dreams...or nightmares..."

"GET OVER IT!" Mario and Link both yelled at Cappy in unison, evidently having just about enough of the talking hat running his mouth about the Broodals. Cappy stopped in an instant, and returned to his normal self.

"Sorry about that, you two, speaking about the Broodals sometimes gets me all rattled up...I kinda have a history with them, and there's a lot of bad memories that come with said history. My apologies for running my mouth..."

"Mario, Link, Cappy...it's time for the Mother's Day meeting to start," Geno popped out of nowhere, to inform Mario and company. The Star Warrior must enjoy doing that. "Master Hand wants you in the meeting room, fair and square - regardless of what excuse you have."

 **Rosalina: Think I'm ready to have my Mother's Day meeting...it will be the first meeting I'll ever lead, and I hope that I can get some feedback for the party. That Thanksgiving feast was an utter trainwreck, but hopefully I can redeem myself very soon...**

"Inform Master Hand and-a Rosalina that I must be with-a Peach, and there-a fore I cannot attend the meeting," Mario said to Geno, being stern in his response so that Geno would deliver the message effectively. "Her water could-a break at any given minute!"

"I'm afraid I can't attend the meeting either - my doctor said that I cannot be within sitting distance of chocolate addicts," explained Link, although his excuse was far less legit than Mario's. "So if I have to sit next to Doc Louis ONE MORE TIME, then I'm gonna..."

"Just so you know, Master Hand will veritably hunt down anyone who doesn't show up to the meeting, so no matter where you're hiding, he _will_ find you..." stated Geno, stressing just how important this was. "But you can go ahead and not attend...it'll make the engravings on your tombstone all the more worthwhile." Mario and Link and looked at one another nervously, considering their options. "Daisy and Peach will be forced to attend the meeting too, so go and show them some support, will ya?"

* * *

All the residents gathered in the meeting with, with Master Hand, Rosalina, and Isabelle standing at the very front. Master Hand was especially keeping a close eye on those entering the room, making record of each individual so he would know which residents he would kill...residents who didn't show up.

"Just so you know, Master Hand, we've never had a Mother's Day thing at this mansion, so this whole Mother's Day festivities could be a disaster waiting to happen," Isabelle whispered to Master Hand, looking to see if Rosalina was listening. "Our first Christmas party was a disaster, our first Thanksgiving dinner was a disaster, our first St. Patrick's celebration was a disaster..."

"...and this Mother's Day thing will buck the trend," declared Master Hand, confident that Rosalina would get things done right. "Besides, those festivities you described pertained to holidays, and Mother's Day isn't a holiday, in my book. Holidays are days meant to be celebrated by everyone from around the world. Mother's Day isn't a holiday because the general masses don't celebrate it - there are some people out there who hate their mother!"

"You do make a great point, but with the folks we have at our disposal, we are bound for disaster. There will be so many mothers in one mansion, and it's imperative that we make a good impression on said mothers. This mansion has a whole DOES have a reputation..."

"Pfft, what reputation? Reputations are overrated anyway, people hinge unto them too much. They're constantly using their reputation as a guideline of how to live their lives. It's the same reason why can never have fun! Me, I know how to have fun, trust me - and if I ever met a loser that cared more about their 'reputation' than fun, then I'll take their heart out of their chest, turn it inside out, and stick said heart up there..." Master Hand was about to continue, before someone cleared their throat to gain the giant hand's attention. Master Hand turned around, directing his attention to Rosalina.

"I just wanted to thank you again, for allowing me to have this Mother's Day meeting," Rosalina thanked Master Hand, as the meeting room soon reached full capacity. That meant the meeting should begin soon. "Really means a lot to me. Being the mother of so many Lumas, I've always dreamed of doing something for all mothers, young and old..."

"Say no more, Rosalina, I know exactly where you're coming from. Clearly this Mother's Day thing means a lot to you."

 **Master Hand: *laughing* She seriously said that the meeting meant a lot to her...IT'S JUST A FREAKING MEETING! The actual party (is it a party?) would give Rosalina a heart attack.**

The meeting room started to reach full capacity, and Master Hand felt like now was a perfect time to conduct a roll call. He had Isabelle prepare a list of names, with the clipboard and ink pen in the shih tzu's hands.

"Alright everyone, listen up for your name, and if you hear your name called, say 'here' or 'present' so you can save yourself from imminent punishment or even death," Master Hand said to the large group, as everyone was chatting up a storm. "Let's see...Ness? Here...Diddy Kong? Here...King Dedede? Present...Asuka? Also present...Yoshi? Present as well...Yoshi, why do you have to bring your dead girlfriend to the meeting?"

"Because Birdo just wants to participate, that's all," replied Yoshi, his arm wrapped around Birdo who was still in a coma-induced state. "Oh and for the record, Birdo isn't dead...she's still in a coma."

"Yet she has yet to awake from her 'coma', not to mention that she smells like expired garlic. And just the way she's sitting in her chair almost gives away the idea that she's presumably dead. What do you have to say about that, Yoshi?"

"Birdo smells like that because I have to keep her in the basement - that way, when she does wake up from her coma, I can successfully lock her inside the basement so she won't ever bother me again. I might even treat her as a prisoner...give her a taste of her own medicine! Yeah, that's what I'll do..."

"You got some serious problems, man. All that matchmaking and fanfiction writing you did must've done long-term damage to your head. It's no wonder you've been acting like a crazy loon. Continuing on with the roll call..."

Master Hand resumed the roll call, not stopping until he called out every name present in the meeting room. However, there were two names Master Hand called out and did not receive a response to...and those names were Mario and Link.

"CONFOUND IT, MARIO AND LINK HAVE YET TO SHOW UP!" growled Master Hand, making the chatter in the meeting room come to an end. "Ah, figures...knew they would boycott the meeting, one way or another. I'm terribly sorry, Princess Peach, but if your husband doesn't come soon, then that child of yours is gonna be wondering what happened to their dad...they'll be a fatherless fiend, toiling in the spoils of their..."

"We're-a here!" announced Mario, as he and Link showed up at the meeting room. The two took their seats next to Peach and Zelda, respectively waiting for the meeting to begin.

"Dang it Mario and Link, I was this close to finally killing you for good...ah well, I'll get my chance another time. Now, everyone give a warm welcome for the awesome woman who'll be planning our Mother's Day fling...Rosalina!" Rosalina stood up to the front of the meeting room, as only a few select people applauded the mother of Lumas.

 **Mario: Peach and I won't-a be staying at this-a meeting for long...we both know a great-a way to make our escape. We'll both make-a like an atom and split...no wait, scratch-a that, that would be dangerous. We'll both make-a like a fart and blow this...scratch-a that too, it sounds both disgusting and inappropriate at the same-a time. We'll both make-a like a fetus and head-a out...yeah, I'm just gonna stop right there.**

"Thank you everyone for coming, although I know Master Hand deliberately forced everyone to attend this meeting," thanked Rosalina, sensing that a majority of people were bored already. Rosalina needed a spark to liven up the meeting, but she had no spark whatsoever. "So for next weekend, I was thinking about doing something for Mother's Day - for three days, from Friday to Sunday, we bring our mothers to the mansion, and do a bunch of fun and engaging activities with them. Which is why I called for this meeting, to generate some great ideas about this thing I'm planning. Before I continue...any questions?" Sonic quickly raised his hand in the air. "Yes, Sonic?"

"I don't wanna sound technical, but technically Sunday isn't a part of the weekend, it's the first day of the week," stated Sonic, as Rosalina nodded her head in understanding. The mother of Lumas had to be respectful towards everyone during this meeting, no matter what weird or strange ideas came her way. "If anything, the Mother's Day fling should start on a Thursday, since people apparently like Thursdays now. Don't know why. To me, Thursday is like a Monday that takes place before the weekend."

"That's a great point, Sonic...but Mother's Day has always fallen on a Sunday, so there's always that. By no means would I leave Mother's Day out of the equation. Thank you for giving us your two cents, Sonic."

"One more thing before I sit back down...the mothers are going to stay at the mansion for at least three days, correct? Does that mean some of the moms are gonna have to sleep with us?! I'd hate to share the same room with Red's mom, that woman is a skank!"

"What did you say about my mom?!" questioned Red, angrily standing up and throwing his chair to the floor. Didn't take that long for the tensions to erupt. "My mom is NOT a skank, she's the most dignified mom on the planet!"

"Last time I checked, dignified moms don't get it on with the granddad of their son's rival. Everyone knows Professor Oak has a thing for your mom, Red - you just have yet to accept it!"

"Like my mom would be interested in old grandpas...and I can't see Professor Oak being a sugar daddy. Me, definitely so; Blue, not so much; but Professor Oak, not in a million years..."

"Will you two PLEASE sit down and take your seat?!" boomed Rosalina, as Sonic and Red did as they were told. They knew they dun goofed up when Rosalina of all people had to scream at them. "Thank you. Now back to the meeting...everyone raise their hand if you're going to bring your mother to the mansion next week." Only a few showing of hands. "So you all want to be difficult, huh...raise your hand if you have a mother. I better see some more hands raised!" Rosalina's wish was granted, as more people raised their hands on the air. With only a few exceptions, such as Sonic. "You're telling me that you don't have a mother, Sonic?"

"Guess you could say that - don't think I ever had a dad, either," replied Sonic, who has never questioned how he came to existence until now. "For all we know I could be like Kirby - the end result of some leftover nuclear waste! That would explain why I go so fast!"

"Now that's not true, Kirby wasn't the byproduct of some nuclear waste!" stated King Dedede, defending his arch-nemesis. "I know Kirby better than anyone else, and I know what you said about Kirby...is WRONG!"

 **King Dedede: So how did Kirby come to existence? I have a good theory about that...once upon a time, in Dream Land, there was this small pink glob, and this pink glob grew in size as its inner gluttony swallowed it whole. This pink glob was soon overcame by its vices, its gluttony and greed, as it developed a mouth, feet, hands, and eyes...you gotta admit, I'm a good storyteller, huh? Anyways, this pink glob soon became to be known as Kirby, and the reason why Kirby constantly eats and sucks things up is to satisfy his never-ending greed...he's a monster, I tell you, a cute, adorable monster...and his vices know no end.**

 **Kirby: *sighs* King Dedede told you the theory about my "existence", didn't he? *shakes his head* Poor guy will never let that thing go.**

"I have a mom, Rosalina - she lives over at Destiny Island," said Sora, bringing up someone who has never been seen before. Sora's mom only had like one line in the original _Kingdom Hearts_ game, that's how irrelevant she was. "Destiny Island is a tropical island, and it has palm trees, a small beach, and even a small town!" Cloud facepalmed as Sora ran his mouth. "We should have Dr. Wily or E. Gadd go to Destiny Island and bring my mom to the mansion!"

"...or she can save herself and stay put," murmured Cloud, as he continued facepalming at Sora, the massive dork that he was. "I bet your mom is living in paradise since you're aren't around to annoy her."

"Nah, I'm sure she misses me a lot. I should have told her I was leaving, but I had no choice in the matter anyways. Was brought here against my own free will. You should bring your mom, Cloud!"

"I would bring my mom to the mansion...if Sephiroth hadn't killed her. Even if my mom was still alive, I wouldn't take her to the mansion anyways, and waste her time. What would she think of her own son if..."

"Okay Cloud, Sora, enough from you two...let's get back on page," said Rosalina, not affording to have her meeting to go off the rails again. "We'll just sort out a list of who and who isn't coming, that should be easy. Now for the activities - the activities should be inclusive, and by inclusive, I mean everyone will participate in them. Meaning no objections whatsoever. So Wario, that suggestion you told me earlier about having a portable potty race...we're not going through with it."

"Darn it, maybe next time..." frowned Wario, as he snapped his fingers in disgust. "Maybe I can wait until we do a Father's Day thing...then I'll introduce my genius to the entire world!"

"Now, except for Wario, who has any great ideas for what activities we should do for the Mother's Day weekend? I'm all ears - just shout out your suggestions, and I'll write them down, if they're good. One-by-one, please!"

"Arts and crafts!" exclaimed Toad. Nothing like some good ol' hands-on stuff to get the mothers involved.

"Water balloon fight!" exclaimed Villager For everyone's safety, Pit should be kept away at all times. Speaking of Pit...

"That slap and clap thing from _Jimmy Neutron_!" belted the angel, as the meeting room went quiet and everyone stared at the angel. "What's so wrong with that?"

 **Palutena: Given how close we are, I could be Pit's "mother'...but then I would have to give that same treatment to Dark Pit. Though Dark Pit is just a carbon copy of Pit...I suppose Medusa could be his mother.**

Following Pit's...interesting idea, everyone resumed giving their ideas to Rosalina, who jotted some of the ideas down on a notepad. As the ideas kept coming in, Pit was seated at the front of the meeting room, bounded to a chair and with duct tape over his mouth. Ensuring that the Pit wouldn't say anything foolish for the remainder of the meeting.

"Okay people, the suggestion box...is closed," announced Master Hand, as it became silent in the meeting room. "Thank you for giving Rosalina your ideas - and if your idea is used at next week's Mother's Day fling...then, uh, good for you. Just don't go around bragging about it. Besides, it's nothing to brag about anyways. Now I'll give the floor back to Rosalina...what do you think of the suggestions, Rosalina?"

"I must say, there were some great ideas generated...I was afraid we'd receive some oddball ideas, but thankfully those came at a minimum," replied Rosalina, placing her notepad in her pocket...or wherever she kept that thing. "For the next phase of the meeting, I'll have someone else do the talking...someone who knows more about food than I do. Someone who I asked to prepare the Mother's Day feast, which _hopefully_ won't end with a food fight. Cilan, would you like to..."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Cilan gleamed, before Rosalina could even finish, as he got up, fixed his bowtie, and strutted his stuff to the front of the meeting room, peering at a bandaged Pit on his way there. Once he was at the front, the Pokemon connoisseur faced the crowd, with a smile so contagious it could literally infect everyone present.

"Apparently after I told Cilan about his duties, he prepared a twenty-five minute speech that 'explicitly details every single aspect that the Mother's Day feast will mainly consist of'." This was obviously met with some disdain by the residents, as they either groaned, moaned, or fell back in their seats in disgust. "Tried to make him shorten his speech, but my efforts were futile..."

"Now's the time-a we do it...our cheat-a code to get out of this-a dump," Mario quietly whispered to Peach, looking at Alm and Celica to make sure the two weren't listening to him. "Did you bring-a the water bottle?"

"Brought two of them just in case..." Peach whispered right back, holding up the water bottles in question. Once Cilan was done clearing his throat, after a few throat-clearing exercises, it was time for the connoisseur to begin...

"When we think about mothers, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Of course, a lot of things - love, care, kisses, hugs. These are all things we associate with mothers, and more. But if there's one thing we're thankful for when it comes to mothers, it's one thing they do best...cooking! And what better way to give back to all mothers with a wonderful feast!"

"Oh joy, I can already tell where this is headed..." sighed an already bored Bayonetta, as Mario and Peach got the water bottles ready. "Someone please put us out of our misery, before the torture settles in..."

"To ensure that the feast is perfect, everything must be in order. The napkins must be folded neatly, with the folds adding elegance to the design. The fork, spoon, and knife must be aligned on said napkins in such an order that exudes perfectionism. Then there's the glasses that we drink out of..."

"I'm so bored that I can't even muster the strength to save everyone from this pathetic boredom..." remarked the Flying Man, resting his beak in the palm of his hand. Master Hand, looking around and seeing how bored the others were, appeared next to Cilan, making the connoisseur speaking stop in the process.

"Listen up people, and listen good...obviously, this is the most boring and uninspired speech known to mankind," stated Master Hand, saying something everyone could agree with. Well, except for Cilan. "And obviously, you all want to die. But Cilan _is_ preparing the feast, so we must listen to every word he says. Cilan, you may continue."

"With pleasure, Master Hand...back to what I was saying. When taking into account how the glasses should be assembled, all the tall glasses should be placed to the left of the smaller glasses, not only to establish a sense of symmetry, but to also..."

"Oh dear, I think I'm going to labor!" fretted Peach, as she quickly stood up. Mario quickly stood up, as Luigi and Daisy were being cautious. The others, well...they didn't do anything.

"Mama mia, Princess-a Peach is going into labor!" panicked Mario, as he walked Peach out of the meeting room; still no one except for Luigi and Daisy felt any sort of concern. "Everyone move-a out of the way!"

"Really, this again...sit back down in your seats, you two," commanded Master Hand, just when Mario and Peach were a good distance away from the door. "No pregnant woman has ever announced they're going into labor, and then immediately go into labor afterwards. No pregnant woman has ever announced they're going into labor to begin with! It just makes no rational sense whatsoever! We've seen this before many times already..."

 **Mewtwo: Peach practically uses her pregnancy as an cop-out to get out of things...all she has to do is announce she's going into labor. Viridi wants you to paint her toenails? Announce you're going into labor. Aerith asks you to buy Sonic some more chili dogs? Announce you're going into labor. Corrin wants to have an argument with you about _Infinity War,_ and how Emperor Palpatine somehow played a role in Thanos' role in the movie? When all else fails, announce you're going into labor. While Peach feels her method is necessary, it is also a classless thing to do...and I must commend the princess for her efforts. Good for her to shun the principles princesses should adhere to - maybe Zelda and Lucina can learn a thing or two from Peach.**

"Master Hand is right - you've played the same card enough times already, it's time to give it up," agreed Wolf, as Mario and Peach held their heads down in shame. "The more you do it, the more it gives off the vibe that you two are just full of yourselves!"

"Not only that, but it's just not fair to all of us," added Robin, trying to speak on behalf of all the residents. "I mean, if _I_ was pregnant, I'd use my pregnancy as an excuse to get out of things. But because you have that privilege, Princess Peach, doesn't mean everyone else has to feel left out!"

"If you ask me, it's downright stupid," said Wii Fit Trainer, offering her two cents. Several residents seated next to the trainer nodded their heads.

"You heard me, you two - head back to your seats so we can finally get Cilan's crappy speech over with," ordered Master Hand, not wanting to repeat himself once more. When Master Hand speaks, you darn well listen.

"Okay..." sighed Peach, so far so close, as she and Mario returned to their seats...before some liquid splattered unto the floor. "Wh-What was that?" Peach wondered as she looked around, before looking down and seeing liquid on the floor. The very sight of it made her gasp. "Oh my goodness!"

"MAMA MIA!" exclaimed Mario, and all of a sudden, everyone was concerned. Everybody stood up out of their seats, as they were watching Peach with cautious eyes.

"Stand back everyone, I got this!" said Bowser, bustling his way over to Peach with the stomach-cutting tools he showed off earlier - his dissecting tools. "Why waste our time and energy and gas driving to the nearest hospital, when we can do things the old-fashioned way? Keep calm princess, while I do my thing!"

"Get out of the way Bowser, you're gonna hold things up!" ordered Donkey Kong, shoving Bowser aside as he grabbed Peach's arm. Mario would grab Peach's other arm, as he and DK were about to escort Peach out of the meeting room. "Make room, people!"

"I can't believe I'm going into labor this early..." remarked Peach, as Mario and Donkey Kong escorted her away. "This can't be happening..." Some residents followed after Peach, while others stayed behind and wished goodwill.

"Drive safely!" Jacky called out, wishing he could drive a pregnant Peach to the hospital like he did for Daisy in episode 66.

"Good luck!" Felicia called out, wishing she could see the newborn baby the moment after it was born.

Once Mario, Peach, and Donkey Kong traveled a significant distance away from the meeting room, with a few others following after them, something suddenly fell unto the floor. Everyone stopped, as Peach looked down and saw an empty water bottle, rolling down the floor. Peach then looked up, as she saw Donkey Kong was looking at her and Mario questionably.

"Whoops...false alarm," Peach chuckled nervously, no doubt feeling that the residents behind her were giving looks similar to Donkey Kong's.

* * *

With their cover busted, Mario and Peach returned to the meeting room, so Mario, Peach, and many others could finish suffering through Cilan's speech about the Mother's Day feast. Right now, Cilan was talking about what people should wear to the feast.

"I think wearing white to the feast would be splendid - not too bright, but not too dark," explained Cilan, oblivious to the fact that everyone, even Rosalina, was bored out of their minds. "Everyone should just wear one color, for having too many colors would easily ruin the semblance we're looking for...Princess Peach, are you okay?" Cilan looked over at Peach, and saw that the princess was grimacing.

"Yes I'm fine Cilan, don't worry about me..." assured Peach, as she grimaced even harder. It was most likely that the princess was in pain.

"What's the matter with you Peach, you're not 'going into labor' are you?" questioned Master Hand, as Peach kept grimacing. "You've beat that same ol' excuse to death already - why not come up with something new, like 'my water broke'?"

"Well that's what happened...my water broke...for real this time..." After Peach said this, a sense of caution soon enveloped the entire meeting, as some residents stood out of their chairs willing to help out in some capacity if necessary.

"Okay, just because I used it as an example doesn't mean you had to say it. I do admit though, you're quite the actor. Your facial expressions are on...point?" Master Hand saw that Pit escape from his chair, as the ropes were lying on the floor; Master Hand then turned his attention back to Peach, and saw Pit mysteriously licking something on the floor.

"I have taste-tasted the water...it is finally time!" announced Pit after he was done licking, and soon Peach wasn't the only one in the meeting room grimacing. Albeit not with actual pain. "It is time Peach's child enters the world!"

"Pit why did you...why would you..." Master Hand asked, clearly at an extreme loss for words. "...you know what, forget it. Someone get Peach to the hospital, STAT!"

 **Knuckles: Rumor has it that at one of the Seattle hospitals, there is a vending machine that has the legendary pizza-flavored Doritios. Okay, it's not _that_ legendary, but it's a pretty rare flavor, so it counts for something. If Peach goes into labor, and Mario has to drive Peach to the hospital, I'll hitch a ride with him and tell him which hospital he should go to. And believe me when I say, that bag of Doritos...is mine...**

Mario frantically rushed Peach out of the meeting room, bringing Lucario along just so the aura Pokemon could comfort Peach and keep her calm and collected. Not affording to take the stairs, Mario and company opted to take the elevator, and before the elevator closed...

"Hold the door, I wanna come too!" shouted Knuckles, frantically running down the hallway. The echidna reached the elevator, with Lucario holding his hand in-between the door so Knuckles could enter therein.

"I take it you want-a to see the baby before everyone-a else?" Mario asked Knuckles, who thought about his answer for a good while before nodding his head. "In that case, you're welcome-a to come along..."

"Got one more!" shouted Cilan, frantically running down the hallway and losing his breath. "There is a special part in my speech dedicated to Peach, and I must come with you so I can explain everything during the ride!"

"No, no more, get out!" frowned Lucario, just when Cilan stepped inside the elevator, as he shoved the connoisseur out. "Blabbering idiot..." These were the last words Lucario said before the elevator door closed; Cilan just stood there, sighing as he returned to the meeting room.

* * *

Once Mario, Peach, Knuckles, and Lucario got outside, the men would rush Peach over to Mario's car. After seating Peach in the backseat, Lucario would get inside the vehicle, along with Mario and Knuckles. Before Mario could start the engine, he had to find his keys first...

"Mario, please tell me you didn't forget your car keys..." said a worried Peach, as Mario frantically searched for his keys. Peach's contractions were starting to grow in pain, and it was tough for the princess to bear.

"I might've left-a them inside the house..." replied Mario; better hope Mario at least had his house keys with him. "...along with my house-a key..." And there it is. All hope was now finally lost.

"Screw your car keys, let's call an Uber and have them drive Peach to the hospital," suggested Knuckles, not affording to wait any longer. "Let's have someone else waste their gas! No wait, that didn't sound right, given the situation..."

"We can't have an Uber driver take Peach to the hospital, that would be very unprofessional," stated Lucario, his hand on the back of a huffing and puffing Peach. "Mario should have a spare car key somewhere."

"Bro, you're still-a here?" Luigi's voice called out, as he approached Mario's car. He peered through the driver's window, and saw Mario looking for his car keys. "Did-a you seriously leave your car keys-a in your house again? If you want, I can take-a Peach to the hospital in my car..."

So Mario, Peach, Knuckles, and Lucario promptly got out of Mario's car, and hopped inside Luigi's Dodge Charger, as Luigi started up his car and drove down the road to the hospital. Knuckles told Luigi specifically which hospital he should ("must") go to.

"Here-a we go princess, we're finally on-a the road!" Mario smiled at his wife, who could only smile back in pain as the contractions grew. "Doing great, doing awesome - the baby will be-a here sooner than you know it. She'll be a beauty!"

"Yeah Peach, do what Mario says and you will..." Knuckles started, before frowning and then looking at Mario. "...she? She's a girl?! Aw man, I wanted to be surprised! Nice going, Mario!"

 **Rosalina: I can't simply continue my meeting, knowing that Mario and Peach are going to be first-time parents...you think Mega Man's friend Auto would spare to bring his vehicle over?**

"Mario are you texting, why are you texting?!" questioned Peach, catching her man red-handed as he was texting away in a suspicious manner. Or at least he thought it was suspicious. "Put away that phone right now!"

"I was just-a telling the world about the great-a news!" was Mario's reply, as he put away his phone. Suddenly police sirens were heard; Luigi looked at his rear-view mirror, and saw a police car trailing behind him.

"Mama mia, not-a the police..." said Luigi, as he was forced to pull over on the side of the road. "Let's get this whole-a thing over with..."

"WHY ARE YOU PULLING OVER MAN, YOUR SISTER-IN-LAW IS GONNA GIVE BIRTH AT ANY MINUTE!" Lucario yelled at Luigi, as he pulled over and stopped his car. "You want Peach to conceive in your car in the middle of an interstate?!"

Lucario wouldn't say anything else, as the police officer got out of his car and walked over to Luigi's Charger. Luigi rolled his window down, looking at the police officer earnestly with a smile.

"You were going way past the speed limit on the road, sir," the police officer said to Luigi, who still had his smile intact. "Way past the limit. Could've killed someone. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"My sister in-a law's in the back of the car, and she's ready to give-a birth at any minute," explained Luigi, as the policeman peered inside the car and saw Peach in the backseat, huffing and puffing while dealing with the contractions. "I was very much-a worried, which is why I was going so-a fast..."

"Likely story...I will need to see your proof of identity, before I can give you your ticket so your sister-in-law can deliver the baby in time. Let's make this quick." So Luigi dug into his pocket, reaching for his wallet...

...but instead of pulling out his wallet, the plumber pulled out some green pepper spray, and sprayed it in the eyes of the police officer. With the officer momentarily distracted, Luigi and the others got out of the car and ran away, with Lucario carrying Peach. For good measure, Knuckles punched the police officer in the leg, sending him down to one knee.

"How did I not see that coming..." the police officer wondered, as his eyes burned with stinging pain. "We should have been trained for that...being pepper sprayed...by dudes..."

* * *

Having outran the police officer, Mario and company finally arrived at the hospital, and rushed Peach inside so she could be taken to the nearest room. While Peach was giving birth, Mario was pacing back and forth outside the room, with Lucario and Luigi standing by. Knuckles would join them, eating from a bag of Doritos...pizza-flavored Doritos.

"You guys have to try out these Doritos, they're the bomb!" exclaimed Knuckles, as he chomped away. Given the flavor, the others weren't so keen on trying the Doritos out. "Too bad this was the only bag in the vending machine...but someday they'll restock."

"That man legit wanted to come to this hospital because they had those chips, I'm not even joking," Lucario whispered to the Mario Bros, as Knuckles chomped away at the Doritos chips. Pizza-flavored Doritos...must be sold only in Japan. If so, then how did the hospital get a hand on them?

"So, why are we all standing outside the door, while Peach is in that room crying in agonizing pain? Why aren't we watching Peach give birth, and making history?"

"We...all...have-a our own reasons," replied Mario. Knuckles, in a curious state of mind, opened the door, and saw what was going on - you knew what was happening, so no description needed. Knuckles closed the door slowly and backed away, now sporting a mortified look on his face.

 **Knuckles: Sure saw history being made, alright...think I'm gonna need to wash my eyes...and maybe bleach them as well.**

Moments later, Mario's phone rang, and Mario saw that it was a call from Rosalina. Needing some privacy to himself, the plumber left so he could speak with Rosalina in peace, and once he was done, he later came back to deliver the news.

"Rosalina called - said she placed-a her meeting on hold so the others can-a come to the hospital," Mario said to his fellow men. "Master Hand was the only one-a who objected the idea, but was ruled-a out by a majority vote." Perhaps Master Hand didn't want anyone learning the baby's gender until Mario and Peach came back home. "So they should-a be here shortly..."

"Mario?" a nurse asked, poking her head outside the door and grabbing Mario's attention. "Mario, your wife is ready - and your child - is ready to see you." After hearing that, Mario needed not to worry anymore, as he followed the nurse inside.

* * *

While Master Hand stayed behind at the mansion, for whatever reason, everyone else went to the hospital, using whatever mode of transportation they thought was necessary. Some traveled in Captain Falcon's Falcon Flyer; some traveled in a Landmaster; some traveled by using their wings; and some even traveled by riding on a Pokemon. Props to them for thinking outside the box.

The threesome of Shulk, Fiora, and Dunban traveled to the hospital via cab, and after the driver took a "shortcut", the Homs arrived at the hospital before everyone else did. Dunban had to make a quick stop to the restroom upon arrival, but told Shulk and Fiora that they were free to see Peach.

"So Shulk, tell me about these rabbits you claimed to have seen near the mansion..." Fiora said to her boyfriend, as she and Shulk walked through the hospital. "Dunban told me that you took pictures of them, is that right?"

"Yes I did - I shall show them to you later," replied Shulk, with his arms behind his back. "There were four rabbits, four in total, all ranging in different sizes - I think the short one's the leader. There's also a fat rabbit, and a girl rabbit too. Then there's the tall rabbit, he moves funny...like this." Shulk would demonstrate to Fiora as he moved his arms about, in a faux dance move he dubbed "the Shulk".

"You look like such a goofball, moving your arms like that..." Fiora found herself laughing, but Shulk didn't care. When your significant other is laughing at you for being a dork, you're supposed to take it.

"If you thought that was bad, then you should have seen how the lanky rabbit had done it...I was trying so hard not to laugh, trust me."

Shulk and Fiora would come to a stop, when they saw an orange furball streak across the hallway, exiting with a tray of hospital food. This furball would sit on the floor and nibble away at the food, as a certain blonde marsupial and a witchdoctor mask came walking down the hallway.

"There you are, Crash...did you seriously steal hospital food?" Coco asked her brother, who was treating himself with some mashed potatoes and peas. "If you're gonna steal something from here, at least steal something of worth..."

"Well you three sure are here early," remarked Shulk, grabbing the attention of the Crash clan as he folded his arms. "I take it you carried the bandicoots to the hospital with your magic, Aku?"

"I wish...we had asked Link if he could take us to the hospital on his truck. Or rather, _I_ asked Link. Crash obviously can't speak, and Aku was too afraid to speak to Link over that silly incident at dinner yesterday."

"How was I supposed to know Link had PTSD from chickens?!" questioned Aku; Link's fear of chickens was already known, if his experiences with Cuccos was any indication. "I was just offering my chicken leg! Not my fault I can't swallow or eat food!"

 **Aku: Offered my chicken leg to Link, when he was hiding in the living room behind a couch. One good look at the fried chicken Cilan made apparently caused Link to call it quits.**

"Yeah, sure...anyways, Peach's room is at the end of this hallway," stated Coco, as Shulk and Fiora were eager to see the newborn baby. "Now's a great time to get a good look at the baby, before the rush comes in."

The Crash clan would guide Shulk and Fiora to Peach's room, and once inside, Shulk and Fiora would see Peach in the hospital bed, with Mario, Cappy, Tiara, Luigi, Knuckles, Lucario, Link, and Zelda gathered around. In Peach's arms, wrapped in a blanket, was a baby...a baby girl.

"Wanna count-a her fingers and toes again?" Mario asked Peach, as Link gave the plumber a disgusted look. Why was he feeling that type of way for?

"Dude you counted them enough times already, let the baby rest for crying out loud," frowned the Hylian, only to be backhanded by Zelda. "Ow! What did I say that was so wrong? Not like the baby's gonna grow extra fingers or toes!"

"Mario and Peach are first-time parents, so let them do as they please," replied Zelda, before looking up and seeing Shulk and Fiora standing in the doorway with Crash and company. "Shulk! Fiora! Come on in - come and see the baby!"

"Come and see we shall..." said Shulk, as the Crash clan led him and Fiora inside the room. The Homs saw the baby, admiring her blonde hair and...well, there wasn't that much hair to begin with, but Shulk apparently liked it.

"What is the baby's name?" inquired Fiora, dying to know the name Mario and Peach selected. As stated in episode 119, the married couple had a few options in mind.

"Mario and I have been going back and forth as too what we should name our child, after our sonogram," replied Peach, as the suspense was ready to kill Fiora. "After much consideration, we opted to go with..."

"Princess Peach, I am finally here!" a joyous voice announced, as Cilan entered the room exuberating his flair and interrupting Peach. "I have a special portion of the Mother's Day feast dedicated to you, and since you've now delivered your child..."

"Cilan, no!" scolded Coco, effectively shutting up Cilan in an instant. "Crash, get Cilan outta here!" Crash got his game face on, intimidating Cilan as he ran towards the screaming connoisseur and chased him away. Good for him. "...now what were you saying, Peach?"

"Before I was so rudely interrupted..." started Peach, glad she didn't lose her train of thought. "...after much consideration, Mario and I opted to name our first child...Jennifer." A fine choice indeed.

"Rouge would've been a better name," mumbled Knuckles, loud enough for Peach and the others to hear. They all looked at the echidna all funny. "I kid, I kid!"

"Well-a Peach, Luigi made us aunt and-a uncle, and now we returned-a the favor for him and Daisy," remarked Mario, leaning in close to Peach with a grin on his face. "Went exactly the way we-a planned, didn't it?"

"Sure did," smiled Peach, leaning in close to Mario for a kiss. Knuckles turned away in slight disgust; Cappy, on the other hand, watched the kiss rather intensely and nodded his head like a pervert.

Jennifer...Jennifer. If only the world knew her last name. If only Mario ever had a last name to begin with. Certainly someone could make one up for him.


	125. Episode 125: Jennifer

_Author's Note:_

 _Looking back on this chapter, I'm not entirely sure if it's a Mother's Day chapter or not...sure there's some moments related to Mother's Day, but I also had to progress some storylines for future chapters. Also don't think I did much with the moms featured in this chapter. But I'll just let you all be the judge. Also, coming up with a title for this chapter was hard, so cut me some slack...let's just get to the reviews already._

 _"Have Apollo and Trucy from Apollo Justice shown up yet? Will any underworld forces from Kid Icarus show up and wreak havoc on the Smash Mansion? Will a Hyrule Warriors chapter happen in time for the Switch port release? And finally, has Berkut finally let go of his hatred of Alm yet?"_

 _Not yet. Underworld forces will appear and...do something at the mansion. I'm hoping to have a Hyrule Warriors chapter for next week. And Berkut has not let go of his hatred of Alm. But he will soon. El pollo campero (nice name by the way) has a question so nice, they even asked it twice (in the reviews):_

 _"...will there be NINTENDOGS?"_

 _There will be Nintendogs - and they won't be a nuisance like they are in the Smash games. If some dumb puppy pops up on my computer screen, I'm gonna..._

* * *

 **Episode 125: Jennifer**

Mother's Day, as the name very much implied, was a day where people around the world did one thing, and one thing only - celebrate and show appreciation for their mothers. It was a day in which people kissed their moms, hugged their moms, give their moms a card or just telling them thank you for everything they've done...although they could do such things on any other day.

For some people, like Cloud, Mother's Day was perhaps the most stupidest day on the calendar, along with Father's Day, and whoever came up with Mother's Day ought to feel pretty ashamed of themselves. But for others, like Lucas, it was a day in which one could remember their mom, and revisit all the memories and times spent together - especially if your mom was deceased.

As a means to celebrate Mother's Day, Rosalina opted to have a Mother's Day-related event held at the Smash Mansion, where mothers of the residents would spend time with their loved ones over a three-day weekend. Rosalina had sent around a guest list for everyone to sign, and anyone who wished to bring their mom to the mansion had to write down their mother's name on the list. If your wife was a mother, then she was free to come to the mansion too.

"I wonder what Rosalina has got planned at the mansion..." a certain brunette wearing a red dress wondered, as she stepped out of the taxi parked in front of the mansion as she rolled out her suitcase. This woman was none other than Pauline, who had no idea why she was even supposed to be at the mansion in the first place. As Rosalina put it, someone wrote down her name on the guest list at the very last minute. "I know Bowser will be here, along with his bratty children, but I wonder what Mario is up to..." As Pauline walked up the stairs to the mansion porch, a flying beast opened the front door dramatically, scaring the daylights out of Pauline.

"Miss Pauline, welcome to the Smash Mansion!" the Flying Man greeted, as Pauline took the time to recuperate from her scare. It was almost like the Flying Man detected Pauline from behind that door. "I am the Flying Man, and I am your courage! I take it this is your first time here? I shall give you a tour of this fine establishment soon. I see you've brought your belongings - excellent, very much excellent! Come, step inside!"

"Thank you...kind sir," replied Pauline, not sure what to make of the Flying Man, as she stepped inside the mansion and rolled her suitcase in. "Excuse me, but where can I put my suitcase?"

"You may put your suitcase in the living room, which is to the left. You can wait in the living room with the other moms until the Mother's Day festivities begin. I shall notify you when we'll start. Until then, you may play with your phone, braid your hair, play with the Switch...just don't mess around with the Labo stuff, it's all been infected thanks to Wario. I shall speak with you later!"

Having more doubts about the Flying Man than ever before, Pauline rolled her suitcase to the living room, as the Flying Man returned to his spot, waiting for the next mother to come to the mansion. Just seeing the mothers made the mythical beast feel bittersweet.

 **Flying Man: *sighs* Sometimes, I wish I had a mother myself - a fine, beautiful woman to comfort and to hold, to hug tight in times of trouble and need. A woman who shows care for others, and helps them when duty calls. The way I see it, I do those things and then some - so in a way, I'm everyone's mother. And everyone's courage!**

Someone ringed the doorbell, which meant that another mother had stopped by. Getting all giddy inside, ready to make yet another fancy schmancy introduction, the Flying Man opened the door with grace...and looked down at who it was, feeling unamused.

"Hello there, have I arrived too early?" asked the person the Flying Man was looking it...the person strongly resembled Olimar, but the only difference was that they were wearing makeup. And their eyelashes were pretty thick. "Or have I arrived too late? Anyways, I have finally arrived, and I am ready to..."

"For shame, Olimar, for shame!" the Flying Man scolded the Olimar look-alike, as he picked them up and struck fear into their very heart and soul. "How dare you attempt to cross-dress as your mother, so you could get to savor all the wonderful things the mothers are going to partake in today! Is this what your life has come to? Crossdressing for the sake of seeking benefits and unwanted approval?! What would your own children think of you?!"

"Just so we're clear, and on the same page, I'm NOT Olimar's mom..." the Olimar look-alike stated, although the Flying Man was unsure whether to believe them or not. Despite how feminine the look-alike's voice sounded, the mythical beast still had his doubts. "I'm actually his..."

"Flying Man, what on earth are you doing to my poor wife?" asked a voice, as the Flying Man turned around and saw Olimar, with his arms folded. The beast found himself confused, as he looked at Olimar, then at his look-alike, then at Olimar, then at his look-alike, and then back at Olimar. It was in this moment that he realized the person he was holding was not Olimar crossdressing to look like his mom, but rather Olimar's wife. And boy did he feel dumb.

"My sincerest apologies, Mrs. Olimar, I was totally in the wrong," apologized the Flying Man, as he gently placed Mrs. Olimar (we'll just call her that, since her real name is unknown) on the floor. Mrs. Olimar would head towards her husband, as the two embraced. It has been a pretty long time since Olimar last saw his wife.

"Hi sweetheart, sorry that the Flying Man kinda threatened you there," Olimar said to his wife, as the Flying Man closed the front door and returned to his position. "How are the kids, how have they been?"

"They're doing fine, just fine," replied Mrs. Olimar, with a kind-hearted smile. "Both are doing well in school, although your son is becoming more distracted. Falling off the wayside, I'm afraid...I've left them in the care of Louie's grandmother, and I've let Bulbie with her too..."

"YOU left our kids and pet dog with that crazy coot?!" panicked Olimar, as he looked up at the heavens with his hands on his head. Mrs. Olimar just looked on, unsure why her husband was so upset for. "Do you realize what you've have done?! Now Louie's grandma is gonna feed our poor kids bug food, and she'll do the same to Bulbie and kill him...you're trying to kill them off so we'll have no one else to love but each other, isn't it?!"

"There's nothing to worry about sweetie - I contacted Louie's grandmother, and she said that she sent the rest of her bug food to Louie. You know Louie loves to eat just about anything, even if the health guidelines typically says otherwise."

"You're right, you're right...I mean, Louie did come over to eat some giant cake that was sent to the mansion. Thank goodness it wasn't from Hocotate Freight - there could've been another alien inside. How about I take you to the living room, so you can mingle with the other mothers? Then I can show you the awesome work I've been doing in the gardens."

"Working in the gardens? Aw, Olimar, I never knew you were a gardener. Then again, your job does involve a lot of plant life, so I shouldn't be that all surprised..."

* * *

Over at Mario's place, Mario was in the living room, feeding his newborn baby Jennifer who was seated in a high chair. Feeding a newborn baby was something the plumber had always dreamed up, and his dreams were finally coming true.

"Here-a comes the airplane..." said Mario, holding a spoon with baby food in his hand, making airplane sounds as he moved the spoon around. Jennifer was all delighted, as evidenced by the smile on her face, and soon Mario stuck the spoon into Jennifer's mouth, as the baby ate the food. A moment later, Mario took a step back, smiling like a madman. "Yes, Cappy, I did it, I finally fed-a the baby without..." Moments later, baby food would land on Mario's overalls, after Jennifer spat her food at her dad and laughed. "...getting any baby food-a on me..."

"Jennifer waited ten seconds until spitting out her baby food, that's a new record!" announced Cappy, as he jotted down this "new record" on a notepad. "Beat the previous record by only half a second! We're making progress, slow but steady!"

 **Mario: Thanks to the system-a I have in place, we all have an equal-a part in taking care of Jennifer. I feed Jennifer, Cappy changes-a Jennifer's diapers (sucks for him), and Peach is the one-a who cradles Jennifer during her crying fits. Don't think the princess has-a had a sound sleep ever since Jennifer was-a born...Oh, and FLUDD bathes-a Jennifer. Which, honestly, doesn't happen as much so not-a everyone has an equal part...**

"Mario have you seen my hair gel and conditioner?" Peach would ask her husband, as she entered the living room wearing a pink towel on her head, and around her body. Mario saw Peach and gasped, as he quickly grabbed Jennifer and held her away from Peach.

"Princess-a Peach, you can't just come-a down here wearing nothing but a towel!" frowned Mario, before making sure Jennifer wasn't looking at her mom. "What if your towel falls-a off? We can't let Jennifer suffer from a wardrobe-a malfunction - we should wait-a until she's older to experience such an embarrassing moment!"

"The way you said that Mario, it almost suggests that Jennifer _should_ experience a wardrobe malfunction at least once in her life," marked Cappy, before someone rang the doorbell. Cappy flew over to the front door and opened it, seeing none other than Pit and Kirby. Those two were Mario and Peach's most frequent visitors, it seemed like.

"Hi Mario family!" greeted Pit, stepping inside the house without permission as he waved at everyone. Seriously, Mario needed a last name - the "Mario family" just isn't gonna cut it. "Hey, Princess Peach, how come you're still fat? Like, why is your stomach still big? Are you about to give birth to another baby? Does that mean you have TWINS? That must be so cool!"

"I'm not going to give birth to another child, Pit - I still have some excess fat from being pregnant so long," explained Peach, not at all surprised that Pit's biology was still failing him to this day. "It'll take me some time for me to trim down, and get back to the same size I was before."

"Peach you won't believe it, Jennifer went TEN SECONDS without spitting out her baby food at Mario!" announced Cappy, acting like Jennifer had spoken her very first word or something. "Ten seconds! Can you believe it?!"

"No I can not, Cappy - that record of nine and a half seconds sure didn't stand the test of time!" replied Peach, as Mario felt rather uninterested. The fact that Peach and Cappy were celebrating some meaningless record didn't help much to soothe the plumber's feelings.

"You all have-a fun with your silly talk-a of records and stuff..." said Mario, as he picked up Jennifer and took her out of her high chair. "...I'm gonna give-a Jennifer a shower!"

"Um Mario, I do believe that's _my_ job," FLUDD spoke up, appearing from behind Mario's back. Funny how nobody knew where FLUDD was until now. "But if you want, you can help me with the scrubbing...scrubbing isn't quite my forte."

"Kirby and I can help with the scrubbing!" volunteered Pit, as he raised his hand up in the air. Kirby, not wanting anything to do with Jennifer, took a step back away from Pit so he wouldn't be associated with the angel.

"Thanks, but no-a thanks Pit, I got this all-a covered," assured Mario, as he took Jennifer to the bathroom where the bathtub belied. One of these days, that plumber was going to successfully feed Jennifer, one way or another...

* * *

Back over at the mansion, all the mothers present were in the living room. These mothers included Daisy, Nowi, Mrs. Pac-Man, Mrs. Olimar, Red's mom, and a few others -and they were all enjoying great conversations with one another. Whether they were talking about their own kids, how they raised their kids, or even how annoying the Flying Man was, there was never a dull moment to be found in the living room.

Spying on the moms from afar through his binoculars was Cortex, who was forced by Cilan - like everyone else - to wear white as part of the Mother's Day festivities. With the mad scientist was Uka, who lamented the fact that he didn't have better things to do with his life.

"We could be cooking up the greatest evil plan to take over the world, and rule it with an iron fist...but nope, here we are spying on ladies who are probably married," lamented Uka, as Cortex glazed his eyes around the living room. Cortex would giggle as he looked at each and every woman. "May I remind you that you have yet to say a single human word since we got here?"

"Will you be quiet for once Uka, I'm trying to focus here!" retorted Cortex, his gaze still fixated on all the mothers. His binoculars soon fell upon a woman who had purple hair, and was speaking with Pauline. "Oh my, Red's mom sure is a babe...muy bonita!" Cortex made a purring sound that made Uka very much concerned.

"How do you know that's Red's mom, are you just assuming things? Either way, we both know that you won't score a date with that woman...in a...million years?" Uka turned around when he felt a large shower falling over him, and he looked pretty scared.

"The Pokémon logo on her shirt is a huge giveaway. If I can somehow get on the good side of Red's mom, I can finally..." Cortex came to a stop, when he too felt the shadow hovering over him and Uka. The mad scientist turned around, and felt scared for his life when he saw King K. Rool, glaring at Cortex with his intimidating red eyes and sharp teeth.

 **King K. Rool: Most of the moms today are parents, that much I'm sure of. When I hook up with a mom who is single, and willing, I will marry her - and become the loving and caring father for her kids. Talk about killing two birds with one stone! Father of the Year, here I come baby!**

"Pardon me, good sir, but I do believe that you're in MY spot!" frowned Rool, though Cortex wasn't willing to back down without a fight. Sure, the N head was the biggest pipsqueak in the mansion, but that didn't mean he would let dudes like Rool run over him.

"For your info buster, this is MY spot, it even has my name on it!" defended Cortex, sticking up for himself - to prove that he was right, he took out a permanent marker and wrote his name down on the hardwood floor, before looking at Rool with a cocky smirk. This would draw the attention of Mr. Game and Watch, who walked by and sighed at Cortex.

"Haven't I told you enough times already not to write on the floor?" the 2-D man said to Cortex, as he took out some floor wipes and wiped Cortex's name off the floor. "It's bad enough that you write your evil plans on the wall, as crappy as they are..."

"Mind-controlled man-eating monkeys will be a force to be reckoned with, mark my words Mr. Game and Watch!" Cortex vowed to the 2-D man, shaking his fist at him as he walked away. With Mr. Game and Watch gone, Cortex returned his attention to Rool, who refused to move a single inch. "Either you find yourself another spot, or I'll have to vaporize you with my ray gun!"

"You know, I could squash you to a pulp if I like..." remarked Rool, reminding Cortex of how strong he was compared to him. "...but that would be easy work, it wouldn't be that much of a challenge. It's also not worth hearing you cry like a baby!"

"Excuse me fellas, but you two are both taking up my usual spot..." said a gravelly voice, as Cortex, Uka, and Rool turned their attention to Snake - sharply dressed in a white suit for the Mother's Day festivities. "How do you expect me to find my future wife if you blokes are in my way?"

"Your spot?!" scoffed Cortex, raising an eyebrow. "I've been in this very same spot since breakfast! And you're gonna tell me to move out of the way? As if!" Uka very well knew a huge argument was on the horizon, and for that reason, he was out, as he left the premises.

"Shut up Cortex, you're acting like you have a solid chance with any of the mothers in the living room...at least I've experienced love before, what about you?"

"Last time I checked, receiving constant cold shoulders from Meryl Silverburgh doesn't count as experiencing love," stated Rool, offending Snake and getting on his bad side. "So how about you just go away, and let a rookie get his shine?"

As if right on cue, Cortex, Rool, and Snake started arguing among themselves, debating over who should be in the spot and who has had better luck when it came to being in love. Surprisingly, none of the mothers overheard the arguing...maybe they were just talking loud, and couldn't hear a single thing.

"Excuse me boys, but where is the nearest bathroom?" Mrs. Pac-Man would ask Snake and company, making them stop arguing in an instant. "Sorry if I interrupted your conversation!"

"No, it's fine ma'am, totally fine..." Snake assured with a smile, as Cortex and Rool also smiled and nodded their heads. "The nearest bathroom should be on the right side of the mansion - you'll run into it eventually." Once Mrs. Pac-Man thanked Snake and left the premises, Snake and the other two men resumed their arguing, picking up right from where they left off.

 **Snake: Wait a minute, Mrs. Pac-Man only has arms and legs, just like her husband...how is she able to use the bathroom?**

* * *

To ensure that the Mother's Day festivities would go well - everything had to be neat and tidy, including the ballroom where Cilan's feast would take place. Although the feast was meant to take place on Mother's Day, Cilan went all out to decorate the ballroom ahead of time, and he had Link and Cloud help him out.

"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Link asked Midna, who watched over the Hylian and Cloud to make sure that the two swordsmen were on task. Like they needed any supervision anyways. "I mean, we could have waited until tomorrow to start decorating..."

"Cilan cares more about the stupid feast than all the mothers in the mansion combined, so you're just being victimized by the man's extreme optimism," replied Midna, as Link and Cloud were painting the walls white. In fact, _every_ square inch of the ballroom was white - the curtains, the flower pots, the floor, and even a glass sculpture of Mother Brain, which was placed at the front of the ballroom. "Maybe if you mustered up some courage, you could speak up to Cilan..."

"Been there, done that...didn't work out as I had hoped," said Cloud, painting away at the walls. He and Link were deliberately forced by Cilan to wear white, despite the feast being only a few days away - now Snake might've not be forced to, but maybe the former spy wanted to make a good impression on the ladies. "Cilan apparently likes to think of us as the mansion's resident setup and decoration crew. Much like how Balthier used to think Falco was the resident comedian. Unless we completely suck at our jobs, we'll be stuck doing stuff like this forever..."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go ahead and suck! Splash some paint on each other, knock some stuff down, or even shatter that glass sculpture of Mother Brain Cilan bought for some reason...do something!"

Suddenly Cloud heard his phone ringing, and the swordsman checked to see who it was. It was likely that the person calling was Professor E. Gadd - Cloud gained the professor's contact info in the previous episode. Luigi didn't know why Cloud wanted to speak with E. Gadd in the first place, but if the recent episodes were any indication, it might have something to do with Aerith.

"Sorry guys, but I gotta go," Cloud said to Link and Midna as he climbed down his ladder and ran away. "Hello?" Cloud promptly answered the call as he left the ballroom, as Link and Midna looked at one another in bewilderment. Cloud, willingly answering a call and speaking with someone? That was a once in a blue moon type of thing. Must definitely be E. Gadd.

"You keep on working, while I see what Cloud is up to and who he's calling," Midna said to Link, as the imp flew out of the ballroom to chase after Cloud. As she flew down the hallway, she bumped into Uka, who was escaping from Cortex.

"Ow, my head, my aching head..." moaned Uka, after he collided with Midna. He would give the imp a stern look, as she rubbed her head. "Stupid imp, you could have given me a headache! And you wouldn't like it if..."

"Oh please, you're just an angry floating mask...the worst that would happen to you is getting some wood chipped off your forehead! How about you quit complaining, and stop playing the victim card?"

"Victim card? What victim card? I would never use such a thing - everyone knows victim cards are for people who are desperately craving for attention. Same thing applies to using the race card. Now if you excuse me, I must get as far away from Cortex as possible, before he brings me back to his woman-seeking escapades..."

"And if you excuse me, I must hunt down Cloud, since he's speaking with some mysterious person on the phone...the fact that Cloud hardly uses his phone for phone calls, or anything else for that matter, only makes him very suspicious." Uka was just about to leave, when he heard what Midna had said.

"Cloud Strife, on an actual phone call and having legitimate conversations with people NOT named Link, Zelda, and Aerith? I have seen him making strange phone calls all this week - all of them were short and terse, but begged tons of questioning."

"A little nosy mask, aren't ya...so, did you hear everything in these phone calls? Any juicy information? Anything at all?" Midna drew closer to Uka, with a grin on her face; Uka had to spit out whatever he could.

"Unfortunately I wasn't able to hear much, since Cloud was speaking too low...but I did hear Aerith's name mentioned several times in those phone calls. Cloud kept talking about how Aerith had to return to some dimension. Could be the afterlife, since Aerith's supposed to be dead anyways."

"Oh she's very well alive...but the Aerith you know is not the one you might be familiarized with." This was obviously confusing to Cortex, as he made a "Huh?" face. "...I'll explain later. How about we forget Cortex for now, and let him squander in his own failure, and turn our attention to a more intriguing person...Mr. Strife himself."

"You want me, to work with you?" Uka asked Midna, who nodded with an even bigger grin on her face. "In that case...it's a deal! I would give you a hand to shake, or even a feather, like the feathers Aku has, but I wouldn't want those bratty Koopalings plucking them."

 **Midna: Would you say that we're a "dream team"? With Uka's might, and my magic skills, we are a practically unstoppable duo! That should fit the criteria for a dream team, don't you say Uka?**  
 **Uka: More than fits the criteria, I'll say! With us two working together, we don't need anyone else! Screw Dr. Neo "scared of my own mother and can't form a successful evil plan if the universe depended on it" Cortex, and that so-called hero Link who can't function without his sword or even his girly-looking hat...this right here folks, is the real deal! The IT couple!  
Midna: Ew, that almost suggests that we're dating... *grimaces* ...for the love of Hylia, and all that is holy, please don't say that ever again.  
Uka: Your wish is my command, hot stuff.  
Midna: *glares intensely at Uka***

* * *

With the teaser for the _Force Five_ having done better than expected, Touma was more than ready to shoot some more film for his superhero show, and get things rolling with the first episode, the pilot episode. However, there was one underlying problem that most televisions shows usually had to deal with...

...the budget. Fox and Falco, who found the perfect spots in town to film the _Force Five,_ were suddenly faced with budget issues that came along with Touma's drastic, almost gigantic expectations for the show. Touma did not wish for his show to be cheesy, like most _Power Rangers_ shows in the past - he wanted his show to be authentic, with awesome characters and stories, and visual effects that would belong in a feature film. While trying to meet Touma's drastic demands for his show, Fox and Falco also had to deal with how they should cover the show's budget, with the money they had at their disposal.

"Master Hand stole HOW MUCH from Star Records?" Little Mac asked Fox and Falco, as the boxer was punching away at a punching bag in the fitness center. Good thing he wasn't going ham on a poor Sandbag.

"Close to fifteen grand, and that's not even including the money we've raised from _Microwave Idol Mamorin,"_ replied Fox, shaking his head in great disdain. Out of all the times Master Hand stole money from Star Records, this one was by far the most egregious. "All of that money, just to 'upgrade' that Lamborghini...why does that thing need rocket boosters for, isn't an installed jetpack enough for one car?"

"Not gonna lie dude, a jetpack installed to a car sounds pretty dangerous," remarked Falco, as Little Mac was now kicking the punching bag. Kicking wasn't Mac's strong forte, which is why he was working on honing this craft. "And with those rocket boosters too?! Clearly Master Hand is setting up someone to get killed. Hopefully, it isn't me..."

"Little Mac, Little Mac, I have some great news!" Doc Louis alerted the boxer as he ran inside the fitness center, making him stop his training in an instant. "So I spoke with Itsuki, and we were having a great conversation, as always...and he told me, to tell you, that he wants you to be his chauffeur! Ain't that exciting?"

"Chauffeur...for what?" asked Little Mac, raising an eyebrow, as Fox and Falco looked at one another curiously. The pilots have seen that Itsuki was acting more differently than normal, and this chauffeur thing was another warning sign for them. "Who am I supposed to be chauffeuring?"

"Itsuki, you silly goose!" Doc Louis, disgusted by Little Mac's ignorance, slapped the boxer silly and left a giant red mark on his face. Doc, instantly regretting what he had done, rubbed Little Mac's face, like it would make all the pain and stinging go away instantly. "Whoops, hehe, didn't mean to slap you that hard, Little Mac...sometimes I can get too emotional. Easily the greatest feeling in the world."

"Why am I chauffeuring Itsuki around in the first place, what's in it for me? Does Itsuki have business meetings that have to do with Star Records? What is there to benefit from this whole chauffeur job?"

"Beats me, but when I asked Itsuki, he said that he's doing this chauffeur thing for...personal reasons." Doc Louis leaned in close to Little Mac to say this, as it raised concerns from Fox and Falco. "But I know you'll make the most of the opportunity given to you!"

 **Little Mac: Why me, why did Itsuki choose me to be his chauffeur...he knows I can't drive! It's all thanks to these boxing gloves I wear on my hands, 24/7...it's because of these gloves that I can't wash my hands. That I can't use my cellphone to text or call people. That Doc Louis sometimes has to feed me like a baby during dinnertime. How I haven't become the butt of jokes yet is astounding - or perhaps the others have gotten used to it already.**

"That's all I have to tell you, and now I must go - Villager found a hidden stash of chocolate outside, and he wants me to be the first one to see it!" said Doc Louis, getting all giddy inside as chocolate was the only thing in his mind. "Keep up the good work, my boy!" Doc Louis gave Little Mac a thumbs up as he left the fitness center, as Little Mac sighed.

"Itsuki wants me to be some freaking chauffeur..." Little Mac shook his head, peering down at the floor as Fox and Falco had some sympathy for him. "Just what is that guy thinking?" The boxer went to the nearest bench and saw down, before grabbing his nearby bottle of Gatorade. He tried to unfasten the top, but to no avail thanks to his gloves.

"Let me help you out there, Mac," volunteered Fox, as he came over to open Little Mac's Gatorade battle. He even did the honors of pouring the Gatorade into Mac's mouth, although the boxer could've done it himself.

"Thanks a bunch Fox, though the last part wasn't unnecessary, could've done it myself," thanked Little Mac, wiping his mouth as he put the Gatorade bottle away before going back to looking all distraught and whatnot. "Got any idea what could be going on with Itsuki?"

"That's what Falco and I are figuring out ourselves - dude doesn't have the pep he used to have, so to speak. Doesn't have that pep in his step. Could be entering an emo stage. But I don't know what that would have to do with you being his chauffeur..."

"I asked Itsuki what was going on with him the other day, and when I asked him about Tsubasa, he just said 'meh', and walked away," said Falco, providing what could be some vital information for a major bombshell. "Asked him a second time, and he just shrugged and...and walked away. He and Tsubasa must have hit a snag in their relationship, that would explain why they haven't been that close recently."

"They have been farther apart ever since that whole superhero thing...then again, whenever Tsubasa tries to speak with Itsuki, Itsuki just walks away. Usually without a single answer. He could be doing that to everyone, as far as I know."

* * *

How about we check up upon Itsuki, to see if he was really giving others the cold shoulder? The young lad was setting up a mimosa bar in the backyard, under orders of Rosalina, and for those of you who don't know, a mimosa bar is usually a breakfast thing to do. Granted it was past breakfast time, but this was a great way to make it up to the mothers for not serving them breakfast.

"Any particular reason why we're having a mimosa bar outside?" Itsuki asked Pit and Sonic, who too was tasked with setting up the bar. "Doing it indoors would've been a better choice...then we wouldn't have annoying insects to deal with."

"I think Rosalina is going for the surprise element," replied Sonic, as he arranged the drinks on the bar table. "Also, the ballroom is apparently off-limits - Cilan already has that place decorated and junk. As much of a weirdo Cilan is, I can't knock on him for his dedication!"

"Cilan is far too dedicated - Viridi told me that the man spent the past 24 hours in that ballroom," stated Pit, who t oo was arranging the drinks on the table. "Said he slept in there so 'he could develop a full picture of how the ballroom should look like'." Pit would unscrew a cork off of one of the wine bottles, and a gush of foamy wine was fired backwards at the angel, as Sonic and Itsuki laughed at his expense.

"Haha, that's something you don't see everyday! That wine bottle must really hate you Pit, huh?" Pit could only grumble as he wiped away the foam on his face and hair, while Sonic and Itsuki continued laughing at him. He'll pop some wine into their faces later, as a form of revenge.

 **Pit: Did Cilan purchase all the drinks himself? *holds up a bottle of vodka* Rosalina said that she gave Cilan some "freedom" in regards to setting up the mimosa bar, so I would assume this is a drink Cilan purchased himself. *unscrews the cork* Ha, the vodka didn't attack me, my luck has already improved! *drinks entire vodka bottle in full, then wipes his mouth after he's done* Hmm, this drink isn't...too bad... *collapses to the floor in an instant***

"I'll be inside cleaning off my laurel if you need me..." mumbled Pit as he returned to the mansion. Sonic and Itsuki looked on, and they couldn't help but smirk. Pit was all sorts of salty now.

"Man, what a crappy excuse, 'cleaning off my laurel'..." giggled Sonic, as he and Itsuki picked up right from where he left off. "Dude forgets that he even wears that thing. I'm surprised he knows what's it called."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Pit was indeed cleaning his laurel - he could be sneaking away to spend some quality time with Viridi," said Itsuki, pouring a variety of juices into the glasses. "There, everything is all set! We should bring out the ladies soon. Just gotta get a word of confirmation from Rosalina herself."

"Rosalina wants us to work the mimosa bar, right? I seriously doubt Pit will ever return...maybe you should have your girlfriend Tsubasa take Pit's place!" Sonic expected a response from Itsuki, but he saw that the young man was mulling over Tsubasa. "...oh, what, you don't want anyone to think you two are a couple?"

"Oh no, I was just...thinking about whether that would be a good idea. Tsubasa doesn't enjoy being in the presence of intoxicating drinks, so she might feel uncomfortable..." Itsuki followed this with some nervous chuckling, leading Sonic to assume that clearly something was up.

"What's the matter? You wanna keep your relationship down low on the lowkey? That's okay, I do the same when Amy and I go out to those all-you-can-eat buffets. Those men _really_ like Amy, for some reason. Must practice bestiality or something. And bestiality is very, very bad. If only Princess Elise knew..."

"Princess Elise was the human chick you kissed, is that correct?" Sonic nodded his head in conformation, despite feeling somewhat offended by Itsuki's question. "What where you thinking, kissing a human? I know Elise learned her lesson, but you should have..."

"Pssh, I didn't kiss her, she kissed me...I was knocked out unconscious, dead even, and Elise revived me with just a simple kiss that I'm sure grossed out Amy and the others. She was like a reverse Sleeping Beauty, in that very moment."

"That Rouge, feeding me false information...well, mostly false information. When Amy saw this kiss go down, was she feeling jealous when it happened, or was she feeling that way afterwards?"

"How was I supposed to know? I had a world to save - I could've cared less about what Amy had to say about the thing! In fact, we haven't spoken of that infamous kiss since it transpired, and for good reason..."

 **Tails: That Sonic-Elise was one of the grossest, yet most excruciatingly longest kiss I've ever seen...and it was the only kiss I ever saw with my own two eyes. So it's safe to say that outside of saving the world from Dr. Eggman, I don't get out that much...**

 **Knuckles: Sonic's kiss with Elise was living proof that not even cute animals are safe from borderline porn. Not that I think Sonic's cute or anything, but...**

"You know what, I should go Rosalina, she's probably discussing her plans for the Mother's Day weekend with Master Hand," said Itsuki, as he ran inside the mansion. The young man was exuding nervousness in his step, and Sonic watched very closely.

"There's something going on between Itsuki and Tsubasa, for sure..." remarked the hedgehog, after Itsuki was inside the mansion. "...screw Berkut and Dark Pit, Itsuki and Tsubasa are the ones who really need to be investigated!" As Sonic said this, Tails would join the blue blur, holding a kite in his hands.

"What's this I hear about Itsuki and Tsubasa?" Tails asked Sonic, who was sporting a face of utmost determination. A face that made Tails understandably worried. "You're gonna stop stalking Berkut and Dark Pit, so you could stalk on Itsuki and Tsubasa?"

"No, Tails, stalking and investigating are two different things - stalking is following someone around without their consent, and investigating is the same thing except there's more facts involved. You learn stuff along the way. Itsuki and Tsubasa don't appear to be on the same page, which is why I'll be the one to bring them back together again!"

"You, bringing Tsubasa and Itsuki back together? I'm terribly sorry Sonic, but I don't think you're the right guy for the job. Leave it up to Wolf instead - sure his credentials as a romantic expert - if he even has any - are shady, but his methods have apparently worked."

"Good thinking Tails - I'll work alongside with Wolf, and the two of us will repair a broken relationship! We'll call ourselves...the Agents of Love!" Sonic did some snazzy movements with his hands as he said that name, the "Agents of Love".

"Not what I said, but whatever floats your boat...just don't try and screw anything up, okay?" The chances of that happening were slim to none.

* * *

Back over at Mario's house, Mario was still attempting to feed his newborn baby, Jennifer, even if it meant feeding her until it was midnight. Each and every time the plumber inserted food into Jennifer's mouth, the infant would spit it right out, much to her father's dismay.

"Oh wow, twelve seconds, what an improvement!" exclaimed Cappy, apparently keeping record of how long it took for Jennifer to spit out her baby food. "At this rate, she'll finally eat her baby food in no time!"

"Whoop-de-freaking-doo..." remarked Mario, wiping the baby food off his face and overalls for the nth time. He would have his wife Peach feed Jennifer herself, but the princess was already over at the mansion. "I just-a don't understand, why does Jennifer immediately spit her food-a out at me every time I feed-a her? Why me? Why can't-a she do it to Peach?"

"Who knows, maybe she just likes Peach more than she likes you." Mario dared not to dwell upon this cursed thought. "How about you try feeding Jennifer one more time, and then call it quits?"

"One-a more try oughta do it..." Mario dug his spoon into the canister of baby food, did the whole airplane thingy demonstrated earlier in the episode, and feed the baby food to Jennifer as he inserted the spoon into her mouth. For a moment, it looked like Jennifer was eating the food! "So far, so-a good..."

"Hey Mario can I borrow your phone charger, I might've misplaced mine," said Dark Pit, as he entered Mario's house and slammed the door wide open. This caused Jennifer to spit out her food at Mario, who frowned as he wiped away the baby food and turned to face Dark Pit. "...did I come at a bad time?"

"Oh my goodness, thirteen seconds, another record eclipsed!" exclaimed Cappy, as he jotted down the "new record" on his notepad. Mario and Dark Pit gave the talking hat questionable looks, while Jennifer smiled and clapped because that's what babies do. "is that a good thing, or a bad thing? Ah, screw it, I'll mark it down anyways..."

"Dude what are you even recording...?" Dark Pit questioned Cappy, giving him an extremely inquisitive stare. "You are such a goofball, just like Pit...you might even have Pit beat, as far as I'm concerned..."

 **Dark Pit: This isn't Cappy's first rodeo writing down "records" of stupid crap; sometimes he likes to make records of certain brawlers, such as myself. That dumb hat is always hovering outside my bedroom window at night - see him all the time - constantly recording how long I snore in my sleep, and how many times I wet the bed. Part of me wished that I wasn't making that stuff up. Another part of me wished that I didn't say that out loud...you're gonna cut this bit out, right?**

"Nice-a going, Dark Pit...if it weren't for-a you, Jennifer would've finally eaten her-a food, thereby solidifying my status as a solid-a father," Mario scolded the doppelganger, though Dark Pit didn't seem to care. "But I've done-a everything I could, and now, I might as well-a call it quits..."

"How about I give this baby-feeding thing a shot..." Dark Pit smirked cockily, as he stretched out his fingers in preparation. "Hand me that spoon and that baby food, and watch a pro do this!" Begrudgingly, Mario gave Dark Pit the materials needed for baby feeding, taking a step back as Dark Pit came over to Jennifer. Understandably, Jennifer looked scared for her life, as she had never seen Dark Pit before, and in an instant she would break into a crying fit.

"Making my daughter cry, are-a we?" Disgusted with Mario's comments, Dark Pit gritted his teeth as a great fury of indignation rose inside of him. "Can't say I blame-a her - I too would-a cry if some unoriginal, wannabe kid was standing in-a my presence. Told you to ditch-a the edgy flair a long-a time ago, Dark Pit!"

"A long time ago? It was only like over a month...someone obviously can't keep track of time. Now shut your mouth, and watch!" Preparing the spoon of baby food in his hand, Dark Pit stuck the spoon into Jennifer's mouth, taking it out immediately as he stepped back. Moments later...

...Jennifer swallowed the food and smiled, not even spitting it out or anything. She finally did it, she ate the food! Dark Pit turned around and gestured to Mario and Cappy, his arms spread out wide as he looked up to the heavens, while Mario and Cappy just stood there dumbfounded. Mario more so than Cappy was.

"What...but why...how...?" blubbered Mario, at a loss of words, as his jaw was left hanging agape. Cappy would write something down on his notepad, before tearing off the page, balling it up, and tossing it in the nearest trash can.

"Well would you look at that...your dumb baby accepted the baby food from me, and not from you!" bragged Dark Pit, seeing how extremely dumbfounded Mario was. Brought pure joy to the doppelganger's face. "I'm her real daddy now - go to the back of the line, Mario!"

"Why you little..." Mario rolled up his sleeves as he braced himself to throw some rounds with Dark Pit, only for Cappy to grab the plumber by the collar and prevent him from approaching the doppelganger. Dark Pit smirked, his arms folded, as he watched Cappy holding Mario back.

'Now now, Mario, we don't want there to be any bloodshed when Jennifer's around..." Cappy advised the plumber, as another visitor stepped inside Mario's home. It was the koopa king himself, Bowser. "How about you and Dark Pit take your business outside?"

"Outta my way you blokes, comin' through!" yelled Bowser, as he barged through the living room, pushing Mario and Dark Pit aside on his way to Jennifer. The koopa king picked up the infant, as she started crying. "Crying already, aren't ya? You don't need a diaper change, do you? Please don't let it be a diaper change..."

"Bowser why do you have-a my baby for?" Mario questioned his arch-nemesis, as he got up off the floor. "Nobody said-a you could touch her. I understand that you're-a desperate to have a human child, but please keep-a your hands off my..."

"Whoever said I wanted a human child? Do you now how much high maintenance that requires?! Ah, you're a parent, so you'll eventually figure it out on your own. I'm just handing your daughter over to Peach, since obviously you spent too much of your time with Jennifer. That's her name, right?"

"Don't even know the baby's name...how predictable," scoffed Dark Pit, as Bowser glared at him intensely. "How about you just hand the baby over to me, she likes me more!"

"Kid, aren't you supposed to be brooding over your breakup with Flora? Aren't you supposed to be crying and depressed and crap, and growing out your facial hair to show how heartbroken you are? Can you even grow facial hair to begin with?"

"I got over my breakup with Flora a week ago, I've moved on...I know she'll come back to me soon. I mean, who is there for that chick to fall in love with?"

 **Flora: I've seen that Dark Pit has been feeling better ever since I broke up with him at Berkut's wedding. Yes, breaking up at a wedding was a very unprofessional thing to do, especially in front of such a large crowd, but all good things have to come to an end... *tears up, and breaks down into a crying fit* ...I'm such a shame!**

"Yeah, whatever, just keep basking in your own daydreams and maybe you'll eventually see the light," responded Bowser, walking away with Jennifer in his hands. "There's tons of girls out there who are infinitely better than Flora, just saying..."

"Who told you that-a you could leave here with-a my child?" Mario questioned Bowser, making him stop in his tracks right before he reached the front door. Jennifer was still crying, yet Bowser did not seem to care.

"My conscience did, now leave me alone! A simple man can't even take an infant to her mother anymore? Good grief, what has this world come to..." Bowser continued walking, holding the crying Jennifer comfortably in his hands.

"Oh no you-a don't...Cappy, stop-a him!" commanded Mario, as he pointed at the retreating Bowser. But Cappy would look around in confusion, while Bowser left Mario's house for good.

"But I'm just a floating cap with short, stubby arms!" stated Cappy, leading Mario to facepalm and sigh. "I'm just like a Tyrannosaurus Rex, but without the giant hand and the tail...my arms are my downfall!"

"If it weren't-a for your capturing ability, Cappy, you'd be so-a worthless..." As painful as that sounded, it was undoubtedly true. Done facepalming, Mario looked up and turned to Dark Pit, who was idly standing by; the plumber looked at him with intent eyes.

"You're not...gonna do what I think you're gonna do, are you?" Dark Pit asked cautiously, feeling nervous. The smile on Mario's face confirmed the doppelganger's worst fears...

* * *

With Cloud gone away, Link had to step up to the plate, and finish decorating the ballroom by himself, so Cilan could check it out and gush over how awesome the interior looked. Link should invest in getting some earphones, should Cilan ramble incessantly in an extremely positive manner.

When Link brought Cilan to the ballroom, to check things out, Cilan did what the Hylian assumed what would transpire...sigh happily before fainting to the floor in bliss. After using some of Leia's smelling salts to awaken Cilan, Link showed the connoisseur around the ballroom, showing off the progress he (and Cloud) did while Cilan was away. Needless to say, Cilan was very much impressed.

"I absolutely LOVE what you've done to the place, everything looks so exquisite!" exclaimed Cilan, while Link gave an awkward smile. "The whiteness of the walls are so simple, yet effective...the white tablecloths give this ballroom a sense of beauty and style...and the glass statue, what can I say? Totally looks rad in white! Link, you and Cloud should be my go-to decor guys for life!" In the back of his mind, Link was hoping that wouldn't be the case.

"Um, Cilan, Cloud and I didn't touch the glass statue," affirmed Link, wondering why the glass statue of Mother Brain was even present. Just because she was the mother of...well, someone, didn't mean anything. "You prohibited us from going anywhere near it. Also, do you think this ballroom has too much white?"

"Definitely not - it's for the best that we just have one color for the entire ballroom. A color such as white is so simple, and gives the ballroom a special aura, a sense of identity. Too many colors would ruin the flow. Less is more, as I always say!"

 **Layton: Luke and I just took the Duck Hunt Dog out for a walk - and it went swell! Thought the dog would chase down any squirrel in sight, but instead he came after ducks...ducks, for crying out loud. Such a weird canine. Nevertheless, Luke and I are done, and Luke should be returning the Duck Hunt Dog to his doghouse...**  
 **Luke: *from afar* GET BACK HERE, YOU STUPID MUTT! *pants* Oh legs, why must you fail me now...**  
 **Layton:...as you have just heard, Luke is experiencing a little difficulty keeping the Duck Hunt Dog contained. That dog could be chasing around a duck. But I'm confident Luke will take him to his doghouse shortly.**

"Haven't seen Cloud in here...where did he run off to?" Cilan asked, looking around for the blonde swordsman. "He couldn't have possibly bailed on you and make you do his dirty work, did he?"

"No he didn't bail - he just had to make an important call," replied Link, not knowing who Cloud called in the first place. The fact that the swordsman had yet to return made Link feel rather suspicious. "The mannerisms he displayed suggested that the call was of utmost importance..."

Suddenly, the Duck Hunt Dog ran inside the ballroom, chasing after a butterfly. As the dog chased after the flying insect, he would knock several things down, such as the tables, the glasses, the curtains, and even the glass statue of Mother Brain that made Cilan fall to his knees in despair as it crashed to the floor and broke into pieces.

"Not the glass statue, I spent a fortune on that thing!" lamented Cilan, as Link came over to comfort the connoisseur. The Duck Hunt Dog ran outside the ballroom, still chasing after that darn butterfly. "Now I'm gonna have to pay Wario back big time..."

"I can spare you some silver rupees if you like," Link offered to Cilan, who was in too much despair to accept the Hylian's request. "They were given to me from the Ordon kids, so you might need some disinfectant, to be on the safe side..." As Link continued comforting Cilan, Luke entered the ballroom, seeing the damage done.

"Have you seen the Duck Hunt Dog running about anywhere?" the young detective asked Link and Cilan, daring not to ask why the ballroom was a total mess.

* * *

Upon hearing that Sonic was willing to repair Itsuki and Tsubasa's relationship, Tails immediately returned to flying his kite, up in the sunny sky. Nobody flew kites these days, so huge props to Tails for keeping the hobby alive.

As Tails flew his kite, he couldn't help but notice Cloud, who was outside calling someone on the phone. In fact, the swordsman was outside for the longest now, with his cellphone up to ear, as he walked around. To make things even weirder, Cloud wasn't saying a thing - it was like he was listening to music, but without headphones. Tails knew that Cloud didn't listen to music, which in turned made him a weirdo. How can you not enjoy listening to music?!

"He's been outside ever since I started flying my kite..." remarked Tails, observing Cloud's every movement and action. "...time to see what's up." Tails put away his kite, as he flew over to Cloud. Cloud, seeing Tails with the corner of his eye, took his phone away from his ear, acting like nothing was wrong. "Who are you calling, Cloud? You've been outside since forever!"

"Just calling the dentist's office, no one special," replied Cloud, nervously scratching the spiky hair on his head. "Trying to set up a dentist's appointment - haven't been to the dentist in years. They've put me on hold for what seems to be an eternity, and so I'm still outside, waiting for an answer."

"That's weird, because the on-hold music sounds an awful lot like the _Luigi's Mansion_ theme to me." Although the suspension was reaching a boiling point, Cloud did not exhibit any form of nervousness, or worry about his cover being blown. "What do you have to say about that?"

"The dentists are huge fans of Luigi, that's my only answer. Very questionable song choice, yes, but at least it's easy to loop it for a good thirty minutes. Kinda like those videos you see on YouTube." So it does seem that Cloud listens to music...crisis averted. "I'm expecting someone to answer my call in less than an hour, and if not, I'm hanging up...can't let my phone drain more battery."

"Okay then, I believe ya..." Tails flew away, but his doubts and suspicions were still strongly prevalent. "Hope you can get that dentist's appointment set up. Not going to the dentist in years...that really has to suck."

 **Tails: That** **music though...I can only assume that Cloud is contacting King Boo. That's my only explanation. But why King Boo for? Could it be because he can revive people from the dead? I've heard an interesting theory that King Boo visits Bowser in the afterlife, and restores his life after Mario defeats him...that can only explain why Bowser still looks fresh and good-as-new, despite the countless times he was thrown into the lava. Knew Bower wasn't as immortal as he claimed to be. Is Cloud reaching out to King Boo, and making a deal with him to revive Aerith...from this universe?**

With Tails gone, Cloud resumed to his phone call, putting his phone back up to his ear. Spying on the swordsman from afar behind the shrubbery was Midna and Uka, who were waiting for something exciting to happen, something that would provide some insight as to why Cloud was acting so questionable. But so far, not a single development.

"This has gotten boring...more boring than hearing Cortex practice his pathetic evil monologues," remarked Uka, letting out a big yawn. "Only thing that would make this interesting is if that Sora brat came out of nowhere, and talked up a storm about how he learned to fly. Kept telling that same story at the dinner table. That poor kid is such a lost soul..."

"Let me get a bit closer to Cloud, to see why he isn't saying anything..." Midna said to Uka, before flying over to Cloud and appearing behind his head. The imp listened closely, as Cloud turned his head several times. He could feel that someone was behind him, but he didn't know who. Midna, having heard enough, returned to her hiding spot.

"So, what did you hear? Heard any talking? Any incoherent rambling on the phone? Or has Cloud been holding that phone up to his ear like a weirdo?"

"All I heard was some music...sounded spooky, almost. And if you ask me, spooky is right up my alley. But with that being said, Cloud is definitely calling someone mysterious, if the music is a indicator to go by. But who exactly is he calling? Maybe a special someone of Cloud's can give us some answers..."

* * *

Over at the mimosa bar, all the mothers were enjoying themselves, as they had some drinks and had even more conversations. Sonic, Itsuki, and Zelda were operating the bar; Pit, who was supposed to work at the bar, ran away, and after Itsuki sort of shot down the idea of Tsubasa working at the bar, Zelda was brought along.

"Because I'm still below the required drinking age in the U.S., I probably shouldn't be working at this mimosa bar," Sonic said to his two co-workers, after serving Mrs. Pac-Man a drink. "But quite frankly, I don't see anyone else that would be better at my job, so I'll take it...we could have really used your girlfriend, Tsubasa, business would be booming!"

"What do you mean, 'business would be booming'...it's not like we're selling the drinks," stated Itsuki, as Zelda started to foresee some bickering between Sonic and Itsuki on the horizon. "Besides, serving drinks just isn't Tsubasa's cup of tea - she would be flustered on the job."

"Flustered from what, serving drinks to mothers? You telling me that Tsubasa is scared of alcoholic drinks? Obviously you don't know your girlfriend that well. A great boyfriend would never doubt their girlfriend's abilities!"

"I never said that I doubt Tsubasa's abilities...I'm just trying to keep it real. Keep it one hundred, as the cool kids typically say. A great boyfriend would at least spend some time with their loved one...something I haven't seen you do with Amy in weeks."

"Well look who's talking..." At this point, the tension between Sonic and Itsuki was reaching an all-time high, and Zelda wished to lower the tension before things got ugly.

"Can we please not do this today?" pleaded the princess, stepping in between Sonic and Itsuki. Would be a bad look if a fight broke out at the mimosa bar. "How about we save this bickering until after the Mother's Day weekend, so there won't be any ruined reputations?"

"Excuse me, but can I get another glass of raspberry lemonade please?" Peach asked Zelda and company, idly standing at the mimosa bar. The three workers took sight of the princess, before returning to their usual spots.

"I can pour up a glass for you, Princess Peach," replied Zelda, as she poured up her fellow princess a drink. As she did so, Sonic and Itsuki stared each other down - good thing Zelda intervened, before things got personal real quick. "Here you go, princess - one glass of raspberry lemonade!" Zelda handed the drink to Peach, who took it heartily.

"Thank you very much!" thanked Peach, walking away so she could return to the conversation involving Daisy and Pauline. A mere moment after Peach had left, Midna flew over to Zelda, tapping her on the shoulder to grab her attention.

"Sorry for interrupting, princess, but do you know where Aerith is?" Midna asked Zelda, hoping she knew the answer. Zelda biting her lip indicated that she didn't.

"Beats me, but I can rest assure you that she's in the mansion," responded Zelda, without a stroke of confidence in her response. Midna groaned and rolled her eyes, as she flew towards the mansion. Uka would have to wait by himself for just a while.

 **Uka: Come to think of it, Midna is a** _ **much** _**more valuable prospect than Cortex...she can use a variety of magic spells, and can even manipulate Twilight, which she told me about earlier. What is Cortex capable of? Making evil plans that go nowhere, running away like a coward, and nothing else. That ray gun he has is totally hit-or-miss. What's more is that while Midna isn't evil, she definitely looks the part for being a villain. Can't say the same for Cortex, though - only kindergartners take that guy seriously.**

Near the mimosa bar, several conversations were taking place; Red's mom was telling Mrs. Pac-Man about how her son despised Youngster Joey, and how he plotted to punch Joey in the face (like anyone else would) before she intervened. Mrs. Olimar was telling Nowi all about her family, and how she planned to send her pet Bulborg, Bulbie, to the circus. And Peach, Daisy, and Pauline...they were just having a conversation in general. Nothing special.

"Are you sure you should be having drinks from the mimosa bar?" Daisy cautiously asked Peach, who was taking a sip of her raspberry lemonade. "You did give birth just a week ago...you should've remained at home and let your body rest."

"I don't see what's so wrong - and besides, I've refrained from having a single alcoholic drink, since I know you're concerned about me," replied Peach, after she was done sipping her lemonade. "Acting like you're supposed to be my mom...are you insisting that because I'm a mom, I should watch what I'm drinking? You're a mom too, Daisy, you should do the same yourself...right, Pauline."

"I suppose, Peach...but at least Daisy is a bit more responsible, no offense," replied Pauline, offering her two cents on the situation. "You can be a little scatterbrained at times, Peach, and if you ask me, I wouldn't trust a scatterbrained woman with a drink in her hand any day of the week! But I will say, being scatterbrained has made you endearing to some...like Mario."

"Me, being scatterbrained? Never thought of it...unless I'm just terrible at being self-aware. But hopefully Jennifer won't inherit any of my...'scatterbrainedness'. Can't have that running amok in the family!"

"Oh yes, that would be terrible...speaking of whom, how is your baby daughter doing? I've been hearing all sorts of talk about her, but I've yet to see her in person. I take it Mario is taking real good care of her?"

Before Peach could answer, someone cleared their throat, loudly enough to get the mothers' attention. This throat-clearing came from Bowser, who was standing outside holding something behind his back.

"Good afternoon ladies - Peach, Daisy, Pauline, Nowi, Olimar's wife, Pac-Man's wife, Red's smoking hot mom who I hope isn't having an affair with Professor Oak...thank you all for coming," greeted Bowser, as Red's mom started to feel somewhat uncomfortable. "I'm sure you're all having a great start to this Mother's Day weekend at the mansion, correct?"

"Get it over with already Bowser, you're kinda getting in our way," Zelda told the koopa king, who fired back at the princess with a glare. "Say what you need to say, so that we can..."

"How am I getting in the way, it's not like you're doing anything important! Not like you were all having some super-special meeting, and my presence made you all lose your train of thought. Coming after me, just because I'm a bad guy...you can be such a pick-and-choose person sometimes, Zelda. Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted, I would like to present to you all...Peach and Daisy, you're free to not give a reaction...JENNIFER!"

Bowser would pull out Jennifer from behind his back, holding her in the sky like he was Rafiki holding Simba from the _Lion King,_ holding her high for everyone to see. Peach was weary, Daisy facepalmed, Zelda looked away in disgust, the other ladies were confused, and Sonic and Itsuki...well, they were just there. Amazingly, Jennifer was no longer crying, as she remained cool, calm, and collected in Bowser's giant hands.

 **Bowser: *holding Jennifer in his arms* Found a way to shut this baby up for good...after I changed her diaper, which was the most vomit-inducing thing I've ever done - must remind Mario to stop feeding this baby corn, for the greater good - I gave Jennifer a bath at the lake, and just like that, she was crying no more! Which must mean that the water in that lake is flipping miracle water. Would've washed Jennifer with the Sparkling Water from the pool, but thanks to Mario and company, that water is now filthy beyond repair...**

"Bowser, what are you doing with my baby girl?" Peach asked the koopa king, who was now holding Jennifer in the comfort of his arm. So far, Bowser was looking like a pro, with the way he was handling Jennifer - Mario and Peach really should have named him the godfather! But having a koopa as a godfather would've been awkward. "Did you ask Mario for permission to hold her?"

"Well, duh...what do you think I am, a child predator?" retorted Bowser, with his hand on his hip. "You think I'm just gonna snatch Jennifer away from Mario, and parade around with the child and do all sorts of perverted things with her? I know I'm evil, but I'm not _that_ evil...every villain has their standards, you know!"

"As long as you asked Mario to hold Jennifer, fair and square, then I have no choice but to let you have her...but I must ask, why did you come here for?"

"Man, Peach, you can be a little dense sometimes...hopefully Jennifer won't pick up that trait from you." Scatterbrained and dense...that's a no bueno combination right there. "I just wanted to show off your baby to our lady friends, who have never seen your baby before. I'm essentially doing the hard work for you. I know Pauline is super delighted!"

"But why would I be delighted for?" questioned Pauline, before Bowser headed over to the brunette. He then grabbed Pauline's hand and shook it, with a smile a proud father would give to his son after he won a high school championship game.

"Pauline, I would like to congratulate you on finally being a grandmother!" Bowser congratulated the brunette, leaving her bewildered just as much as everyone else was. "I know you weren't informed about the news of your milestone after Jennifer was born, which is why I'm here to inform you in person! Tell us how you feel!"

"I don't need to tell you how I feel, now get away from me Bowser!" frowned Pauline, slapping the koopa king away. Bowser looked at Pauline with a crazed face - how could she do such a thing?! "Also, what's this talk about me being a grandma?

"Watch where you're throwing that hand Pauline, you could've given your granddaughter a concussion! You know how ugly concussions can get - there's a big lawsuit over that stuff. And it seems that you're a bit unaware, so why don't you have your daughter-in-law fill in for you?"

"Princess Peach, being Pauline's daughter-in-law?" questioned Red's mother, who like the other mothers was demanding answers. "How on earth is that even possible?!"

"Oh, I'll tell you how...Pauline, believe it or not, is Mario's mother, which therefore makes Peach her daughter-in-law, and Jennifer her granddaughter! Poor Pauline here is living in her own denial, and I'm the one to make her come to reality!"

"I'm terribly sorry Bowser, but if holding Jennifer hostage is gonna make Pauline fall in love with you, then it's not gonna work," Sonic called out to the koopa king, who glared down the blue blur. "I totally understand if you wanna do it, so you could be Mario's dad and have bragging rights and all, but..."

"Whoever said I'm holding this baby hostage to make Pauline fall in love with me, and whoever mentioned anything about bragging rights? Shut your trap hole Sonic, or I'll have to do it myself! Now where were we..." Bowser redirected his attention to Pauline. "Miss Pauline, do you accept Jennifer as your granddaughter?

"I still have no clue what you're talking about...and I don't know what point you're trying to prove. Maybe you could give us some clarification?"

Bowser wouldn't be able to give any clarification, when an arrow was fired from up above at the koopa, striking him in the leg. Boser's eyes grew wide, before he yelled in pain and fell to the ground, tossing Jennifer up into the air. Everyone watched in peril, as the baby flew up into the air and came back down...

...only to land in the hands of an angel, or rather a doppelganger. Dark Pit swooped by and grabbed Jennifer, before descending to the ground where Bowser was holding his leg in pain with a smile on his face. This couldn't possibly be Dark Pit - rescuing babies wasn't in his DNA.

"I do believe this baby belongs to you, princess," said Dark Pit as he handed Jennifer over to Peach, who was confused as to why Dark Pit had a mustache and was wearing a red cap all of a sudden. Confused she was no more, when Mario "decaptured" Dark Pit and hopped out of his body. "Sorry I allowed-a Bowser to harm-a our child Peach, stopping him was fruit-a less," Mario apologized to his wife, while Dark Pit looked around and analyzed his surroundings.

 **Cappy: Teaching Bowser a lesson in kidnapping babies was easier done than said - all it took was for an arrow to the knee! (Or the back of the knee, rather.) On the other hand, keeping Dark Pit contained so we could capture him was easier said than done - never heard a kid needlessly complaining so much in my entire life!**

"You didn't have to apologize, Mario - as long as Jennifer's safe and sound, there is nothing you should be apologizing for," assured Peach, cuddling Jennifer in her arms, before turning to Pauline. "Say, Pauline, would you like to hold Jennifer? I know you wanna..."

"Eh, I can hold her for a few minutes, no harm done," shrugged Pauline, as Peach handed her Jennifer, who was all smiles. Pauline, in turned, smile too. If Bowser wasn't ailing in pain, he would have looked at Pauline and Jennifer and shed a tear, being able to witness such a beautiful grandmother-granddaughter bonding moment. "Can't believe Bowser thought this baby was my grandchild..."

"There's a particular reason why-a Bowser thought that," Mario chuckled nervously, as Pauline continued to hold Jennifer. Little by little, the brunette was starting to warm up to the infant. A new bond was forming...

* * *

Back to Midna and Uka, who were now joined by Aerith behind the shrubbery, spying on Cloud. After much time spent waiting, the person whom Cloud was calling finally resumed the call, as Aerith and company were listening closely.

"So what you're saying is, the device won't be ready to go until later in the year, once you and Dr. Wily run some tests first," Cloud said into the phone, as Aerith and company watched intently. "Okay then, just making sure...just trying to make some amends for the time comes."

"I've seen Cloud trying to call that number throughout the week..." Aerith said to Midna and Uka, as the phone conversation prolonged. At some moments, Cloud looked almost affable - emphasis on "almost". "...and I've never mounted up the courage to ask him who he was calling. But the mention of Dr. Wily makes me assume that he's calling Professor E. Gadd."

"Ew, that old loser, with his gibberish-sounding accent?" scoffed Midna. E. Gadd did speak with ambiguous gibberish - don't even try to deny it. "Why call him for? And what exactly is this device Cloud speaks of?"

"That's all I needed to know. Thanks for finally answering my call. Appreciate it...yeah, I'll talk to you another time, maybe. Again, thank you, and take care." Cloud ended his phone call, and as he did, Aerith appeared from behind the bushes to confront her boyfriend.

"Aerith you fool, what are you doing?!" Uka questioned the flower girl as she approached Cloud. Just when Cloud put away his phone, he saw Aerith near him one moment later, with a smile on her face.

"Who were you speaking with, Cloud?" Aerith asked the swordsman, whom she spooked with her presence. Just seeing Cloud spooked like that made the swordsman vulnerable in the flower girl's eyes. "Was it someone you know? A good friend of yours? Thought you said you didn't have any friends..."

"Uh, I was speaking with an acquaintance of mine...someone I've met a few years ago," explained Cloud, nervously scratching the back of his head as Aerith's smile made him even more nervous. "You wanna meet them in person or something?"

"No, not at all, I was just...just curious. You know how my curiosity leads me to new places, when you step out of your element. I only wish that you could do that more often than not." Aerith would pinch Cloud's cheek, and Cloud had no other choice but to accept it as fate. However, it was pretty funny to Midna and Uka, who giggled just a little.

 **Aerith: I know Cloud was calling Professor E. Gadd back there, and I'm going to burst his bubble. He can hide things from the others with ease, but he can't hide from me...**

* * *

Fox and Falco, after having lunch in the dining room, would return to the Star Records room, and on their way there they heard what sounded like growling. Growling that came from a nearby room. The pilots quickly ran to said room - which was Itsuki and Touma's room - and saw that it was a mess.

However, the fiend that was seemingly responsible for the room being a pigsty was the Duck Hunt Dog, who was in a tug-of-war battle with Luke. The two were tugging away at what appeared to be a map, with several red X marks on it.

"Hey hey hey, back off you two!" frowned Fox, as he and Falco got involved and pulled Luke and the Duck Hunt Dog away. As they did so, they ripped the map in two in the process, with Luke and the Duck Hunt Dog holding the pieces. "Good grief...way to mess up someone's room, huh?"

"The Duck Hunt Dog was harder to control than I had anticipated, hehe," chuckled Luke, as Fox dusted off the detective. Falco would place the Duck Hunt Dog on the floor and grabbed the leash, before taking the piece of the map out of the mutt's mouth.

"Hey Luke, can you give me that piece of the map?" the avian pilot asked the young detective, who handed the map piece over. Falco would put the two pieces together, and looked at the map inquisitively, as Fox came over. "Know what this is a map of?"

"Judging by the landmarks, this is without question a map of Seattle," replied Fox, taking note of all the red X's marked on the map. "There's red X's all over this thing...what is even the purpose of this map? More importantly...what's it doing in Itsuki's room?"

"We'll just keep this map in our 'records' for the time being...and ask Itsuki about it when the time is right," replied Fox, taking the map from Falco and placing the pieces in his pocket. "The map might serve as the answer to all these...'developments' going on."

* * *

Cloud returned to the ballroom, with Aerith tagging along just because, and when the swordsman returned, he saw Link and Cilan painting the walls. This was the last task of the day; everything else in the ballroom was restored, after the Duck Hunt Dog had ran amok and knocked things over.

"So here I am, back in the ballroom, and you're in the same position when I left," Cloud said to Link, shaking his head. "Man, you sure are one slow worker..."

"Cut Link some slack, Cloud - that Duck Hunt Dog thought he could run all over the ballroom, ruin MY decorations, and get away with it!" defended Cilan, who was still ticked about the fate of his glass statue. "The nerve of that dog, to destroy my glass statue of Mother Brain..."

"Mother Brain has literally nothing to do with Mother's Day, aside from the name. So that glass statue being destroyed was for the best. At least the moms won't be scared to see some giant freaky brain peering over them during that feast. Same goes for everyone else."

 **Cloud: Since my mom is dead, I don't give a crap about Mother's Day. Even if she was still alive, and with me right now, I still wouldn't give a crap about Mother's Day. And there's not a single thing you can do to change how I feel...**

* * *

The grandmaster of the Mother's Day festivities was none other than Rosalina, who was speaking with Master Hand and giving the giant hand some bright ideas she had in mind for the Mother's Day weekend. In addition, she also accepted ideas from her fellow residents, no matter how ridiculous the request...case in point, Roy.

"I'm telling you, a Straight Fiyah performance would be legit, and a real treat for all the moms in attendance," Roy explained to the apathetic Master Hand and Rosalina, as Crash, who was standing next to the swordsman, nodded his head in agreement. "Think about it - with Crash's singing, my excellent dance moves, and the stage presence of all the other members..."

"Name me one of your songs, and maybe we'll consider your idea," ordered Master Hand, leaving Roy stumped. "Better yet, name me one of your songs that has to do with Pikachu Day." This left Roy even more stumped. "Good, just what I thought. Now leave my room, before I have to bring Rayquaza up in here!" Roy and Crash did as they were told, leaving the room real quick.

"Seriously, Master Hand, do you have to make Pikachu Day a focal point for the entire weekend?" Rosalina questioned the giant hand, who was adamant on promoting the day. Even when it wasn't necessary. "None of the mothers will know what it is..."

"...which is why we'll educate them during the feast, so they can tell their lady friends and others and spread the awareness. We'll even give them some Pikachu Sushi Rolls to take home, and give to loved ones! Provided the sushi rolls can make it past the health inspector, of course."

"We'd have a better chance with the cheesesteaks..." Rosalina muttered under her breath, keeping her voice low so Master Hand wouldn't hear her. Pikachu Cheesesteaks or Pikachu Sushi Rolls...either one would be better than your average Straight Fiyah performance.

* * *

Unfortunately for Roy and Crash, said performance would never come to fruition, after Roy's idea was shot down. He and Crash hanged outside the mansion, seated near some tree and feeling despondent. Some day, one day, someone will give Straight Fiyah a chance...ha, as if!

"We may not have the approval of Master Hand and Rosalina...but at least we have each other," Roy assured Crash, patting the bandicoot on his shoulder. Crash looked up at the swordsman, giving him an assuring smile. "Some day, we'll get our chance to...shine...what is that?"

Roy pointed upwards, at a small flying ship that was slowly descending towards the tree. The ship was playing a tune - a playful yet devious tune - and on this ship were four rabbits - one was short, one was fat, one had blonde hair, and one was tall and lanky. Going off by the descriptions, you might know who these rabbits were.

"Did ya say somethin' about getting ya chance to shine?" the short rabbit, dressed in green and wearing a top hat, asked Roy. The rabbits behind him all giggled, either as a sign of unity or just because they felt like it. "Nice to meet ya, Topper's da name! And these are my friends - Harriet, Spewart, and Rango! Ya can call us...da Broodals!"

"The Broodals...the Broodals...are you a traveling musical group that comes around every Easter?" asked Roy, unnerving Topper with his ignorance. "Easter was last month, so you missed your opportunity to..."

"Shut yer mouth, red hair boy, and listen up!" Roy did as he was told, as he and Crash listened closely to what Topper had to say. "You said that ya wanted your chance to shine, a chance to show da world what you're made of...and us Broodals, we can make your dreams come true!"

"Okay, so you're not a traveling musical group...you must be genies!" Topper again was unnerved; if he could punch Roy in the face, he would. "Pretty interesting genie attire, I'll admit."

"Did I not tell ya to shut your mouth?!" boomed Topper, and once again Roy kept his mouth sealed tight. "As I was saying, we can make your dreams come true, but if and only if you and your furry pal can do us a favor..."

"Uh, sure, Crash and I can do anything you want us to do. We'd love to get our k-pop band started off on the right track, so we'll do whatever it takes to get a jump start! No matter what!"

"Yeah, that's what I like, that's da spirit! There's only thing that you gotta do, and one thing only...you just need to tell us what we need to know..."

* * *

Watching Roy speaking with Topper inside from her bedroom window was Lucina, watching the entire conversation take place. The princess turned away from the window, with a perturbed face, and took out her cellphone and dialed a number right away.

"Hello, Raven, are you there?" she would say into the phone after her call was answered, as she quickly exited her room.


	126. Episode 126: Look-Alike

_Author's Note:_

 _In the spirit of Hyrule Warriors, with its Definite Edition released today, I've included a few characters from the game. Would've included more, but I kept it at a minimum, just to be safe. Onto the guest reviews:_

" _Has Dillon from Dillon's Rolling Western appeared yet? Can you add the Neptunia characters? (Since they just announced that it's getting a game for the Switch) is Cortex's personality based on his Crash Twinsanity personality? How soon will the Tales characters meeting chapter show up? And finally, what games are you excited to see revealed at E3?"_

 _Not yet. I may add some Neptunia characters. Cortex's personality is based on his Twinsanity personality (my favorite version of Cortex). The Tales chapter should happen this year, that's all I can say. Right now, the games I'm looking forward to at E3 are Super Smash Bros and Kingdom Hearts III, the Spyro remake, and maybe Metroid Prime 4. This other guest review managed to catch my attention..._

 _"you're another idiot who thinks that the kiss of sonic and elise was disgusting at all was one of the most beautiful things in video games"_

 _Ehhhhhh...I beg to differ. What question does Derick Lindsey have for me today?_

 _"I'm wondering if Birdo is ever going to wake up soon since it has been a while since she went into that potion induced coma so I was wondering when that will start to wear off?"_

 _You'll see what'll happen with Birdo soon. Let's just say that it might have much to do with the grand scheme of things..._

* * *

 **Episode 126: Look-Alike**

There was nothing like a good night's sleep, to get you all well-rested for the next day. Eight hours of sleep was all that was needed for a regular person to feel refreshed and ready for next day's journey. And if you went over and below the eight-hour requirement...well then, the more power to you. Just hope that it doesn't come with any setbacks in the future.

At the Smash Mansion, nobody was enjoying their sleep more than Link, sleeping away in his room as the morning sun rose up in the bright Seattle sky. He slept peacefully, like a little baby, and his roommates Cloud and Sora - who shared a bunk bed, much to Cloud's disgust - were sleeping away as well. As the sunlight from the bedroom window shone its brightness upon Link's face, the Hylian woke up, and stretched out his arm, yawning as he was bracing himself for another day at the mansion.

But little did he know, that he would be joined by a guest...a blonde, pig-haired lass who happened to be on the bed with Link, over his covers. Almost like she was sleeping with the man.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Link screamed, like any person would do in this given situation, as he leaped out of his bed and fell unto the floor. He looked up at the blonde girl, who was smiling happily, as he backed away towards the bunk bed. "Wh-Who are you and how did you get here?!" Link questioned, pointing at the girl.

"Good morning, sleepyhead - didn't mean to startle you like that!" the blonde girl apologized, sitting up on Link's bed so Link could get a full view of her. She was wearing green, just like Link - one could say that she was almost a girl version of the hero of Hyrule himself. "The name's Linkle, and I've been in your room since last night. Got here pretty late in the morning, but better late than never, amirite?"

 **Linkle: So how did I get here, and how did I get inside? Can't really remember how I got to the mansion - my memory's a little fuzzy, since I was _very_ sleepy. But I do remember a man opening the front door, after I had knocked, and he was holding what appeared to be a glass of milk in his hand. One good look at me, and his eyes widened and he fainted to the floor. And with the door opened, I just sneaked my way inside and...well, the rest is history!**

 **Captain: Just saw a girly verison of Link last night...tried telling the others, but nobody would believe me... *shakes his head* ...man, this _Zelda_ timeline just keeps getting more and more confusing...**

"Okay then 'Linkle', why did you steal my name and bastardized it by making it sound more girly?" Link asked the blonde, rising up to his feet. Linkle would only respond with a giggle. "Don't even play your mind games with me woman, you're messing with the wrong Hylian..."

"Can you pipe down Link, I'm trying to catch some last minute Z's here..." mumbled Cloud, rolling over in his bed as he turned to his right. He would open his eyes, and see Linkle sitting on Link's bed, and quickly sat up. "Woah, Link, you managed to bring an unwanted girl to this room...that's actually pretty impressive."

"Cloud, get your Buster Sword and get this woman out of our room!" commanded Link, pointing aggressively at the smiling Linkle. But Cloud juts outstretched his arms, before getting out of his bed and putting on his bedroom slippers. The swordsman would put on his housecoat, but he was honestly too cool for that.

"You want me to kick that chick out of our room? That's pretty sexist, Link, especially from a guy like you. It's not like that girl is killing anyone, she looks harmless to me. I'd say we..."

"Dude, this woman stole my name and added two letters to it to make it all feminine and crap! Not only is she stealing my likeness, but she's also disparaging my image! My reputation! We have to do something!"

"Hey guys, it's time to get up already?" asked Sora, who just awakened from his slumber. The Keyblade wielder, who was forced by Cloud to sleep at the top of the bunk bed, looked down and saw Linkle. "Oh man, is that a new girl? Is she new? Hi there, I'm Sora..."

"Go back to sleep," ordered Cloud, and Sora did as he was told as Cloud redirected his attention to Link. "Here's the deal - we'll just leave the girl hang around for a good while, and then we'll give Master Hand the 411. Capiche?"

"You're letting me stay at the mansion?" asked Linkle, greatly pleased and delighted by the offer. "Aw, that's so sweet! Although I do feel like I came here for something important...like I'm supposed to share some important information..ah well, it'll come to me eventually."

"Do you see that Cloud, that woman has memory loss, which means she cannot be trusted," stated Link, strongly advocating for Linkle to be kicked out of the mansion for good. Nobody stole the Hylian's name and got away with it. "That right there is a good enough reason to..."

"Shut up Link, let's just let this whole thing play out," said Cloud, as Link grumpily folded his arms. "If the girl acts accordingly, we'll let her stay. And if she doesn't, then we'll kick her out. Sounds fair enough to me..."

* * *

While Link was startled to see Linkle in his own room, the Hylian wouldn't be the only one to be greeted by a surprise guest that morning. Mario, seeping cozily in his bed with Peach, was sleeping soundly until his alarm clock went off. Said alarm would go off two seconds later - right before Mario could even turn it off! The plumber, who was awakened by the alarm clock, would wake up wondering why his alarm ended so abruptly, and he would seemingly find his answer...

...when he saw a bluenette smiling brightly at him, with her blue eyes peering deep into Mario's soul. You know what transpired next.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Mario screamed, falling out of his bed and unto the floor, faceplanting in the process. The bluentte looked down at the plmber, feeling bad for scaring the overalls off of him.

"Oopsie daises, sorry for scaring you..." she apologized to Mario, her hands held together as Mario lifted himself off the floor. "But I did turn off your clock! I think it was going to kill you. I think...I'm Lana, by the way. Nice to meet you!"

 **Lana: Been staying at this house overnight. Was gonna sleep in the nursery, but there was a baby present and I didn't want to startle her, so I slept on the rug of the room upstairs. Surprisingly, the door was left unlocked! So kind for that funny talking hat to let me inside this home...**

 **Cappy: *looks down at the floor* As much as I hate to say this...I'm afraid that I've developed a strong fetish towards blue-haired girls. Surfing the internet past 2 A.M. will do wrack your mind worse than depression will. Take it from me.**

"Mario what's the matter, did you have another bad dream?" Peach asked her husband, awakened after hearing Mario scream loudly. "Did the Ku Klux Klan come chasing after you and Luigi again? It was at that Holocaust Memorial Center, just like last time, wasn't it? For the last time Mario, they're not...after..." Peach immediately stopped, when she saw Lana, waving to the princess.

"Hi, I'm Lana, nice to meet you!" Lana greeted, as a dumbstruck Peach stared at the blunette, blinking her eyes. "I came all the way from Hyrule, stopped by this house because...I just liked how it looks, with the red design and all. I just adore the color red. Although blue is more of my thing..."

"Mario, Peach, thanks to Poochy's grotesque appetite we've completely ran out of baby cleaning supplies!" alerted Cappy, flying inside the bedroom with a crying Jennifer. Where can I find necessary materials to change Jennifer's...diaper?" The talking hat would see Lana standing in the bedroom, as Mario rose up to his feet. "Ah, so I see you've already met Lana! Isn't she such a cutie? Gah, why am I saying that? I'm supposed to be disliking blue-haired chicks..."

"Cappy do you know-a this girl, is she a friend-a of yours?" asked Mario, putting on his bedroom slippers. Happy, cheerful, and bright...Lana definitely had to be a friend of Cappy's. However, that wouldn't be the case.

"No she's not a friend, she's just a passerby that I've let inside the house last night, while you were asleep. Like anyone else, I wouldn't have let her inside, but unfortunately my fetish prevailed. Which, in turn, taught me a lesson to never browse the Internet late at night again. I nearly came close to throwing away the home computer, so I wouldn't be tempted."

"You let a stranger in-a side our house?!" frowned Mario, easily angered by Cappy's actions. "Peach, call-a the cops - tell them to take-a this Lana chick away!" But Peach refused to call anyone; Lana was too nice of a gal, so she deserved a chance.

"Maybe Lana ran away from Hyrule for some specific reason, and is looking for a new home," assumed Peach, unsure why Lana was even here in the first place. But Lana played along, as she nodded along with what the princess said. "We can let her stay! We'll just give her our guest room, like we did with Lara!"

"Her and Lara do have-a similar names...fine then, we'll let Lana stay, provided Bowser doesn't develop a crush-a on her. Lana looks to be around-a Link's age, so if Bowser starts-a liking her, then he has become-a desperate and he should give-a up on life. Even then, I won't allow-a it to happen!"

"A guest room, just for me?" smiled Lana, clapping her hands together as she was all smiles. "Ooh, that's just lovely! Don't know how long I'll stay, but I'll make the most of it. I do remember coming to this city to address someone, or _something_...but I'll do that later. Get the fun stuff out of the way." Funny, that was the same objective Linkle had...

"Yeah that's great and all, but...IS ANYONE GOING TO CHANGE THE BABY'S DIAPER?!" boomed Cappy; if Jennifer's crying wasn't at an all-time high, it would be raised up ten decibels thanks to Cappy's outburst.

* * *

As agreed with Cloud, Link had to let Linkle stay over at the mansion...but it came at a price. The price of Linkle pretty much following around Link everywhere he went - from the bathroom, to the laundry room, and now to the dining room, where breakfast waited. Waffles on the house, courtesy of Dunban.

"Hey Link, who's that hot babe, cheating on Zelda already?" sneered King Dedede, who was speaking with Felicia and Flora, as he watched Link and Linkle walk by. "The hero of Hyrule, cheating on the job...awesome way to make Hylia proud, man!"

"Shut up..." grumbled Link, carrying a plate full of waffles and eggs. And Linkle...was also doing the same thing. Linkle was straight up copying Link, and at some point it was bound to get annoying. Link and Linkle took their seats at the breakfast table, with Link inching away from Linkle as much as possible.

 **Dunban: Some woman that looks and dresses almost like Link showed up with Link and asked for breakfast. And she's never been here before. If this is the start of some new creepy cult, then I'm out.**

"So anyways, as I was saying, Bandana Waddle Dee would _easily_ best Knuckle Joe in a fight," King Dedede said to Felicia and Flora, listening attentively to the penguin about his hypothetical fight. "Knuckle Joe may have the power and the skill, but the guy's overtly dedicated, and over-dedication can kill you. Just look at what happened to Heath Ledger."

"But I've heard that Knuckle Joe has a Vulcan Jab, which according to some people is as strong as the Falcon Punch, if not stronger," stated Felicia, and King Dedede, upon hearing this, laughed hysterically as he banged his fist on the table. "...is that not true?"

"Not even close! The Vulcan Jab is super overrated - so weak, it can't even kill a house fly! But the Smash Punch though...that's the one move people should look out for. As a _Smash_ veteran, I should know - that bad boy will knock you into Bolivian! Or even farther than that!"

"I sure hope it would, since Bolivian refers to a South American country," grinned Flora, as King Dedede suddenly realized the error he made. "I do suppose it would be better than being knocked into oblivion..."

"Sup good-lookin', what's cookin'?" asked Dark Pit, as he took a seat next to King Dedede and company. King Dedede looked at the doppelganger, feeling all sorts of confused.

"Y-You're not talking to me, are you?" asked an uncomfortable King Dedede, sitting back in his seat to distance himself from Dark Pit for good measure. "I mean, I know I'm good-looking and handsome and even cute, and everybody knows it, but to hear that coming from you...makes me feel so...so..."

"King Dedede you idiot, I wasn't talking to you! I was talking...to her." Dark Pit pointed at Flora, and now the maid was the one who was feeling uncomfortable. "The most attractive girl at the breakfast table. Bet it hurt when you fell from heaven, huh Flora?"

"Doggone it, Dark Pit, we don't need your silly romantic one-liners! I was busy telling the maids about how much better Bandana Waddle Dee is than that overrated bum Knuckle Joe, and who want to interrupt me?! How about you interrupt someone else, and let me be great?"

"Fine then, have it your way...I'll go and let you be something you'll never aspire to be." Dark Pit got up and walked away...before looking at Flora and giving her a wink and a smile. A wink and a smile that made Flora even more uncomfortable.

 **Dark Pit: Like I've said before, I've finally gotten over my breakup with Flora...and now I'm back in the groove and ready to repair our relationship! Begrudgingly, I asked Wolf what I should do to get back with Flora, and he gave me all the pointers and one-liners I needed. It'll take some time and patience, but I know Flora will come around eventually. The moment Flora and I hook back up again will be the happiest fairy tale ending in all of existence.**

A short distance away from the dining room, Zelda was adjusting the temperature on the thermostat, turning the temperature down just a few degrees. It wasn't that often that one felt hot during the Seattle spring, but Zelda was particularly feeling hot today.

"I see you've wet your pajamas again, Pit..." Zelda would say to the angel, whom she caught walking towards her with the corner of her eye. Pit, whose pajama bottoms had a wet stain near the crotch area, went to the thermostat and brought the temperature up to what it was, much to Zelda's dismay. "Pit, what was that for?"

"Silly Zelda, everyone knows you don't need to adjust the thermostat during the spring in Seattle, that's just crazy!" replied Pit, with Zelda frowning at him. "And besides, we have to keep the temperature as it is, since Snake and Heihachi are both dealing with high-blood pressure. If you're hot, just sit on an ice pack or something."

"What if you're feeling cold, what would you do then?" asked Wario, as he approached Pit. The fatso was wearing a housecoat that was too small, even for him - the housecoat belt was really suffocating the poor guy!

"Well I don't know...go jump in a volcano in Hawaii? But I wouldn't do that if I were you, those volcanoes have been pretty active lately. I was just saving Zelda some trouble, before Master Hand goes ham on her. So no hypothetical questions, okay?"

Now learning that the thermostat was off-limits, Zelda sighed as she returned to the dining room...and once she arrived, she saw Link, seated with Linkle, with the female Hylian trying to strike up a conversation with the hero of Hyrule. But to no avail, as Link ignored Linkle with his emotionless stare.

"Busted..." sneered Ganondorf as he walked by, taking his seat, as Zelda just stared at Link all dumbfounded. Wanting answers, Zelda angrily marched over to her man, who was eating his plate of waffles when he saw Zelda towering over him, with folded arms.

"Link, would you like to explain who this is?" Zelda questioned her boyfriend, pointing at Linkle. Linkle immediately stopped talking when she saw Zelda - the angry expression written on the princess' face told her to remain quiet, before tempers flared.

"Her name is 'Linkle', and honest to Hylia, she randomly showed up in my room this morning," explained Link, hoping Zelda would see this through. However, her angry stare was still prevalent. "She was on top of my bed, so I hope that she wasn't..."

"OOOOH LINK'S A CHEATER, LOOK AT THE SHAME HE HAS BROUGHT TO THE GODDESS HYLIA!" shouted King Dedede, bringing everyone's attention to Link. Everyone just stared at the fat penguin, who kept quiet when he saw that no reaction was elicited from a single person in the dining room. "...that is all, carry on."

 **King Dedede: Now I've never had a girlfriend before, which is quite a mystery considering my awesome good looks, but I know when to sympathize with a woman when her man has the audacity to cheat on her. Cheaters are the worst kind of people on this earth, along with murderers, rapists, terrorists, and bad drivers. No offense to the entire state of Montana.**

"So what you're trying to tell me is, this Linkle chick sneaked inside the mansion without permission," said Zelda, as she took a seat next to Linkle. The pressure was now on Linkle - she knew she had to say the right things, to avoid further scrutiny from Zelda. "Tell me, Linkle...how did you find your way inside the mansion?"

"Uh, some middle-aged man in pajamas let me inside, he was very kind," replied Linkle, with a smile; near Linkle and company, Captain Falcon started feeling guilty all of a sudden. "I think he was wearing a helmet, but I'm not sure why...maybe it helped him have better dreams!"

"Oh I bet he does..." Zelda, knowing who the culprit was given the description Linkle provided, gave Captain Falcon a look as the sweat started pouring down the racer's face. What if Falcon allowed more people inside the mansion - people associated with Linkle? Zelda would definitely have a word with him then.

"Yeah I bet that helmet makes me have better dreams...I mean, him, have better dreams!" sputtered Captain Falcon, not doing much to help his cause.

"You're free to hang around with Link all you want, but let's make one thing clear..." Zelda got close to Linkle, looking at her face-to-face and making her nervous. "...you DO NOT make a single move on him. Got it?"

"Heard you loud and clear!" And on that remark, Zelda pulled away from Linkle and got out of her seat, her eyes still fixated on the blonde Hylian. Having witness the entire conversation go down, Link stared with a confounded face, before quietly resuming eating his waffles.

* * *

Once breakfast was done with, it was time for Straight Fiyah to start rehearsing. Roy gathered his bandmates in the front yard, so they could rehearse and everything else; Straight Fiyah would have done their rehearsing inside the mansion, but Master Hand did the right thing and banned the rehearsals from taking place indoors. Now all the giant hand had to do was convince Roy to put an end to his k-pop band, and peace and order in the universe would finally be restored.

"Did you hear that Roy apparently 'made some deal' with a rabbit last week?" Berkut asked Marth, as the bandmates were all waiting outside for Roy to come. "Makes me wonder if this rabbit has anything to do with those rabbit fellows flying around town..."

"Yeah, Roy told me about this meeting - said that the rabbit's name was Topper, and also added that Topper promised to make Straight Fiyah 'the next great thing'," replied Marth, as he stroked his hand through his fabulous (and girly) blue hair. "Topper said he'll go all out to make Roy's k-pop band the 'greatest boy band of modern times'. So either Topper has an ulterior motive that Roy is frankly obvious to, or he's dedicated to make Roy's idiotic delusions a reality."

"I'd say it's the former, I can't for the life of me think of anyone who would be desperate to take a chance with Roy's band. Topper's just trying to milk some money out of Roy, I assume, and he's gonna milk poor Roy dry..."

"You can't milk money out of something that's forever destined to be crap, we all know that Berkut," Alm said to the paladin, who was silently questioning why he hadn't killed Alm yet. Or why Alm wasn't dead, for that matter. "Unless it's that football team up in Cleveland. But other than that..."

 **Berkut: This Topper fellow sounds like he's great at negotiations. Perhaps I can negotiate a deal with him that would lead to Alm finally being killed.**

(In the background of Berkut's talking head segment is Sonic, frowning to himself as he furiously writes something down on a notepad)

After waiting, the Straight Fiyah members would finally be greeted by their leader, Roy, who exited the mansion carrying some kind of device. The device was foreign to Alm and Berkut, but familiar to everyone else.

"Is that some kind of Dynatox thingy?" asked Corrin, who recognized the device from 2016's Secret Santa festivities. It was the same device Kirby and Mr. Game and Watch used to this very day.

"Well, it's something similar to the Dynatox device..." replied Roy, showing off the device to everyone. It looked like a voice modifier, except it came with straps so it looked like a backpack. "Crash and I met this rabbit guy named Topper, and he heard me talk about my k-pop group, Straight Fiyah, and then he gave me this voice modifier device! Said that it'll make our wildest dreams come true!"

"That's dandy and all, but what good will that device be for us?" asked Marth, left with more questions than answers. Same could be said about some of the others. "Will it magically help us know and speak the Korean language?"

"Not exactly, but it can help Crash speak intelligibly! Let me show ya...Crash, come over here my man!" Crash would head over to Roy, as Marth exchanged looks with his fellow Straight Fiyah members. If he and the others didn't know the Korean language, then what was the point of starting up a k-pop band in the first place?!

Once the device was strapped unto Crash, Roy took out a remote that came with some buttons. It strongly resembled a Game Boy Color, as it came with a screen. Time for the swordsman to do some demonstrating.

"This right here is a remote that can easily control everything Crash says...or rather, sings," Roy explained to his bandmates, who either rolled their eyes or wasn't paying attention at all. "Allow me to demonstrate...how about some Elvis Presley?" Roy pressed a button on the remote, and it caused Crash to spaz out, like he was Mr. Crocker from _Fairy Odd Parents._ The others looked in concern, before Crash rose up to his feet...

"You ain't nothing but a hound dog, crying all the time..." the bandicoot then started singing, but not with his own voice...he was singing with Elvis Presley's voice, and he sounded _exactly_ like the late singer. The Straight Fiyah crew, who expected to me unimpressed, suddenly found themselves intrigued. "...Well, you ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine!"

"As you can see, the device allows Crash to sing any song, from any singer, using the singer's own voice," Roy continued explaining, allowing Crash to keep on singing the rest of the song. It should be mentioned that there was also music playing from the voice modifier. "And with this here remote, you can determine what song Crash sings. There is also a option to turn the music on or off. How about we have Crash sing another song? Let's try this one out..." Roy pressed some buttons, scrolling through a list of songs, before selecting a new song. Crash spazzed out again, ready to sing another tune.

"Take on me...take on me!" sang Crash, as he was singing a-ha's 80s hit single, "Take On Me". The bandicoot was even doing some dance moves, for effect. "Take me on...take on me! I'll, be, good...in a day or TWOOOOOOO!" Crash hit the high note, and the others were easily impressed.

"Question: can Crash sing with a female voice?" Corrin asked Roy - now that would be something funny, depending on what the song was. "The mere possibilities with that voice modifier seem endless?"

"I'm glad you asked that Corrin...for I have a song just for you!" replied Roy, scrolling through the list of songs yet again and finding a song perfect for Corrin. Crash spazzed out once more, before clearing his throat. The others braced themselves...

"You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek life beyond the shore just out of reach..." Crash sang "Lost in Thoughts All Alone" to his heart's content, and with Azura's own voice. Corrin watched on and listened, as Crash's rendition of the song was enough to make the prince of Nohr tear up. "Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time, the path is yours to climb..." Corrin, overwhelmed with emotion, wiped away a tear.

 **Ike: Yo, I've heard that "Lost in Thoughts All Alone" song many of times before, and I've never cried...Corrin is one big softy.**

"This seems like a good song for Crash to sing," said Roy, as he selected another song from the list, making Crash spaz out once more. Once the bandicoot was back on his feet, a tune started playing that made some of the Straight Fiyah members nervous...the song was "She Wolf" by Shakira. Hoo boy.

"There's a she wolf in your closet, open up and set it free..." sang Crash, dancing in a way that would make Shakira proud...while at the same time disturb anyone and scar them for life. "There's a she wolf in your closet, let it out so it can breathe."

"Okay I'm done, I'm gonna head back inside the mansion so I can preserve my eyes," stated Robin as he hurried back inside the mansion, while Crash danced to the music in a somewhat seductive manner. The rest of Straight Fiyah immediately followed suit, leaving Roy and Crash outside.

"Hey where are you guys going, I'm not done demonstrating yet!" Roy said to his retreating bandmates. "We haven't even gotten to that song about anacondas!" Hopefully it's not the one you might be thinking about...

* * *

Inside their house, safe from having Roy disturb them with Crash's...dancing prowess, was Mario, Peach, Jennifer, Poochy, and Cappy, as well as their temporary guest, Lana. The bluenette, who was let inside Mario by Cappy last night (you know Cappy was gonna get those hands from Mario soon) was messing around with a microwave - a technological contraption she never saw before - while Mario read through her spellbook.

"Leave the microwave alone-a Lana, you might-a cause a fire hazard!" Mario called out to the bluenette, before resuming the reading of the spellbook. "You think we should-a try out these spells ourselves?" Mario asked Cappy, who was also reading the spellbook himself.

"I dunno, some of these spells look pretty complex to me," replied Cappy, as he squinted his eyes at most of the spells written. "I also doubt that these spells will even work for us. One more thing - who would we try out these spells on?"

"Wario is a universal punching bag, so we could-a try out the spells on him. Or Bowser, since nothing can kill-a that guy, apparently. He must have made-a some deal with King Boo that allows-a him to live forever; Tails asked me about-a that on Saturday."

"So you can put anything in this thingamajig, correct?" a curious Lana asked Mario, leaning over the counter and inspecting every square inch of the microwave. It was a good thing the microwave wasn't close to the stove; Lana would somehow turn the stove on by accident, and catch on fire.

"Just as long-a as it's food. Anything else will probably burn-a this house down, and I don't have enough-a insurance to cover for such a mess. Or enough-a money. All thanks-a to Master Hand..."

Lana continued inspecting the microwave, when suddenly the doorbell rang. Placing Lana's spellbook on the nearby table, Mario got off the couch and answered the door, seeing Fox and Falco standing together. The two pilots were standing _too_ close, too close for comfort.

"Good afternoon-a fellas, nice seeing you again as-a always," Mario greeted the space pilots, wondering why they were standing so close to one another. Surely it had to feel uncomfortable to an extent. "...any reason as to why-a you're standing so close together?"

"Some evil magician cursed us both, and now we're stuck together for eternity and until the very end of time," stated Fox. "Or at least until we die." Mario furrowed his brow, turning around and glancing at Lana, who was now fiddling with the dishwasher. "Nah, I'm just kidding. Someone who just stopped by the mansion wanted to see you. You might remember her from last year's Valentine Day party."

"So you don't want-a me to see her...that must mean-a that she's a kind-a of a big deal. I can't recall-a anyone from the party that was-a treated as such...though Alisa Bosconovitch was a close-a contender. Still unsure how Meta Knight hooked-a up with her. Enough from-a me, just show me who it is."

Fox and Falco quickly moved out of the way, to the side, and in the process they revealed to Mario a Sheikah - one with white hair tied up in a long ponytail and a red eye symbol through her left eye. Her very tanned skin and red eyes were physical traits that all Sheikahs possessed. At first glance, Mario recognized who the Sheikah was...it was Impa, a well-known Sheikah whose incarnations have taken care of many incarnations of Princess Zelda. The long line of Impas basically consisted of bodyguards and nannies, depending on whichever way you look at it.

"Ah, Mario, we meet again..." Impa said to the plumber, who was surprised to see her. "...or have we already met before? I do recall seeing your face at that party, the one I was forced to attend, but I don't believe I spoke to you. I see you haven't changed much since the last time I saw you...but you do have eyes on your hat now, for some reason. But I won't question it...for now. May I come in?"

 **Impa: I fully regret the last time I came to this city...that seemingly needless "Valentine's Day" party at the mansion that I was invited (or in this case, forced) to attend. All thanks to Wolf...kept showing me around to everyone, and made a big fool out of himself by slipping unto the floor and nearly knocking down the punch bowl. He was much, much worse than I believed he was. Now that I'm back in the city, but this time around, I have some serious matters to discuss...**

Being the gentleman that he was, Mario allowed Impa inside his house, and even treated the Sheikah to some tea in the living room. Fox and Falco stayed around, but only they could have some tea themselves. And as you may know from _Subspace Emissary,_ Fox sure loved a good ol' cup of tea.

"Hey Mario, what does this do?" Lana asked the plumber, holding up a blender. Not a dangerous kitchen appliance to mess around with in the slightest, but there was still room for concern. "Do you use this thing to mix together magical potions and stuff? Goodie, because I know a thing or two about..."

"Oh for the love of...Lana, please put that back down, we don't need you hurting yourself," commanded Impa, as Lana sighed and placed the blender back in its original spot. Impa then turned her attention to Mario, seated on a couch between Fox and Falco. "so Mario, have you noticed anything...strange occurring lately?"

"As in like-a this city?" Mario perked up, as Lana moved on from the blender to the carrot peeler. Watch carefully, as the bluenette cuts herself. "Nope, nothing out-a of the ordinary...everything's been-a mundane ever since that Dr. Eggman fiasco."

"I see...so everything is fine? No questionable objects or people in sight?" Mario mused over Impa's questions, as the Sheikah expected an answer or two from the plumber. "I didn't come here just for show, you know..."

"Link did-a tell me about some rabbits flying around-a Seattle, up in some air-a ship. Haven't seen these rabbits in-a person, but I did see some-a pictures of them. They don't look-a that threatening, at least-a to me."

"Well to be fair, I can't for the life of me think of any rabbit that would be taken seriously. But the fact that they're flying over Seattle, it does create a level of concern. Where have these rabbits allegedly been spotted?"

"Usually in the vicinity of-a the mansion? They're called-a the Broodals, I believe. Tried telling Master Hand to investigate-a them, but he was all-a like, 'Get Layton and Luke to do investigate, that's what they're for!'...Layton and Luke are-a detectives, by the way."

"Um, Mario, is there by any chance that you have a first-aid kit?" Lana asked Mario, making the plumber scream in panic when he saw that the bluenette accidentally cut herself, with the carrot peeler. Mario would rush to the rescue, while Impa facepalmed at Lana's ignorance; Fox and Falco were too busy enjoying their tea to feel any concern for Lana. Those jerks.

"You keep Lana stabilized like I get the first-aid kit!" Cappy told Mario, as he left the plumber's head to find the kit. He would return with a first-aid kit a moment later, as Peach came down the stairs with Jennifer in her arms.

"I just heard Mario scream, what on earth is going on?" the princess questioned, grateful that Jennifer wasn't disturbed and started crying. Peach would see Mario bandaging Lana's fingers (yes, fingers) with some gauze, while blood remained on the kitchen counter. "Lana, did you really cut yourself with that carrot peeler? Were you going around the kitchen, fiddling with foreign objects? Not sure why you'd want to mess with that peeler, I'm sure it's very common in Hyrule..."

"It's not my fault the peeler had to look some complex..." murmured Lana, after Mario was done bandaging her. "I just wanted to see if it was an automated knife..."

 **Lana: Why is it that your own curiosity can hurt you?**

"Don't go around around touching things in the kitchen without permission, who knows what else you could've done," Peach advised Lana, as she grabbed the carrot peeler and rinsed off the blood in the kitchen sink. All while holding Jennifer, no less; Peach was already a pro mom. "Our worst-case scenario would have resulted in possible...ooh, who's this? Is that a guest I spy?" Peach was delighted when she looked in the living room, and saw Impa, who was calmly enjoying her tea when she Peach smiling at her. "Impa?"

"Hey," Impa flatly responded, before she resumed drinking her tea. As you would believe, she met Peach through her best friend, Zelda. "Nice kid, by the way."

 **Impa: Peach got pregnant and gave birth to a newborn daughter...all while I was away. Guess I have a LOT of catching up to do...**

"Lana you've been at this home since the start of the day, right?" Impa asked the bluenette, who quickly nodded her head. "Have you told Mario and Peach about the threat of Calamity Ganon?"

"Calamity who?" Lana raised an eyebrow, much to Impa's chagrin, before widening her eyes once she realized whom Impa was referring to. "Oh, yeah, Calamity Ganon! That's what I was supposed to warn Mario and Peach about! Was I supposed to do the same with Mario's brother, Luigi, and his wife? Meh, Mario can share the info with them himself."

"Sweet mother of Hylia, you're such an embarrassment..." Impa facepalmed once more, while Mario and Peach felt concerned after hearing the mere mention of Calamity Ganon. They had only known one Ganon in their lives (Ganondorf) and the very thought of a Ganon more powerful than Ganondorf gave them a good enough reason to be afraid of their (and everyone else's) livelihoods.

"Might you explain-a to us who this Calamity Ganon fellow is?" Mario implored Impa, wishing to know as much details as possible, so he could be prepared. Calamity Ganon wasn't the type of monster you'd want to mess with.

"Calamity Ganon isn't a fellow, but rather an evil force that has ravaged Hyrule for many years. Thankfully I haven't seen this Ganon in person, but I was forewarned that he might show up on this earth. For what reason, I don't know, but I can always fill you in on what exactly this Calamity Ganon is. Just take a seat, and I'll tell you all you need to know..."

So Mario and Peach both sat down in the living room couch, and at the exact moment they sat down...both Fox and Falco got up. Those pilots were gonna miss out on some good stuff.

"Fox and I quietly discussed among ourselves, and we both agreed that the story you're gonna tell will be long, tedious, and most importantly, boring," Falco explained to Impa, who made a questioning face. "Which is why we're heading back to the mansion." The pilots' decision to leave literally screamed impromptu. "We'll catch you on the flipside!" And with that, Fox and Falco left the house, not wanting to hear anything pertaining to Calamity Ganon. Perhaps they were lowkey scared...

* * *

Link and Linkle stood outside the storage room with Dark Pit and Sonic, with the former having some keys. Fourteen keys in total, to be exact. For whatever reason, Dark Pit was given keys to the storage room, and several other venues in the mansion, since he was the "only" person Master Hand could trust.

"Woah Dark Pit, that's a lot of keys you got there," Sonic said to the doppelganger, shuffling through his keys until he found the right one on his key chain.

"The bigger the key chain, the stronger the man," Dark Pit smirked cockily, as he found the storage room key. "Proven scientific fact." Wolf was probably the one who taught Dark Pit that "scientific fact", trying to give the doppelganger as much pointers as possible. "A man strong enough to win back his ex-girlfriend's heart!"

"Whatever, just open up the storage room so I can get my bomb arrows," Link rushed Dark Pit, seeing how close Linkle was to him. The fact that the blonde Hylian was smiling didn't do much to alleviate Link's uncomfortability. "My archery training needs to start right away...like right away..."

"Okay, okay, give me some time, don't rush me! Man, you people can be so impatient sometimes...and they say I'm the impatient one" Just when Dark Pit was about to stick the storage room key into the keyhole, Pit ran by and snatched the key chain from the doppelganger.

"Sorry Dark Pit need to borrow the keys I locked myself out of my room okay bye!" Pit called out to the doppelganger as he ran down the hallway; Dark Pit gritted his teeth as he chased after his roommate. He would fly, but flying indoors was forbidden.

"Why did Master Hand give the key chain to that kid..." wondered Link, before feeling something - or someone - bump into him. It was Linkle, standing closer to Link than ever before. Was she making the Hylian feel uncomfortable on purpose? Or was she enamored with him? "Girl, what is your problem?"

"I don't have a problem - but I do think it's you who has the problem yourself," replied Linkle, as Sonic watched the interaction between Link and Linkle closely. "You don't see me getting all irrationally angry!"

 **Sonic: Right now, Itsuki and Tsubasa are the least of my concern...however, every dang near relationship in the mansion is the most of my concern. Why do I need to focus on one measly couple, when I can focus on everyone else? I fully identify as an everysexual - I am everyone's concern. And everyone's problem. Tails may think my ways are wrong, but to each their own.**

"So Link, do you and this Linkle chick go out a lot?" inquired Sonic, wanting to know more information about Linkle. To the hedgehog, Linkle was more interesting than all the four Hyrulian champions combined. "Like, do you go out to movies? Been to a fancy restaurant in town? Ever traveled on horseback together?"

"Shut up Sonic, I just met Linkle today, and we've done nothing together," replied Link, as Zelda walked by carrying some Hyrulian books when she spotted Link and Linkle. "She just follows me around like a creeper, and nothing I can do repels her. It's infuriating."

"Link, may I speak with you for a minute?" Zelda asked her boyfriend, grabbing him by the ear and pulling him away to a location where she could talk to Link in private. Link immediately knew what was coming for him. "You better not pull off something silly, you hear me?" Zelda whispered to Link, in an almost angry manner.

"What are you talking about, Linkle's the one who's making her advances on me!" Link whispered back, as Sonic popped out around the corner to eavesdropping the ensuing conversation. "I think she has a message she wants to tell me, but she's just not telling it..."

"Then what are you waiting for, get her to spit it out! Midna told me that everyone assumes you're cheating on me, and the last thing I want is for gossip to start back up in the mansion. We can't have that. So get Linkle to spill her beans, so she'll leave you alone!"

"I'm afraid it won't be that easy - Linkle loves to twist conversations around, in her favor. I might get the better of her soon, but until then, I'll just have to..."

"Link, Sonic, where are you?" Dark Pit called out, following up his response with the sound of keys jingling about. "I finally got the key chain from Pit, so do you guys still want your bomb arrows and chili dogs or not?"

"This whole matter will be resolved soon, I promise," Link promised to Zelda, returning to the storage room. Zelda gave her boyfriend a half-hearted smile as he walked away before seeing Sonic, the blue hedgehog sheepishly retreating after he was spotted by the princess.

* * *

Fully content with how the Mother's Day weekend went down - despite an occasional interference from Master Hand or two - Rosalina was in the laundry room, folding up the laundry with Aerith while her dear Luma floated at her side.

"What are you going to do for next year's Mother's Day weekend, mama?" Luma asked Rosalina, wondering if her mother had any bright ideas in store. A trip to a Washington beach would be swell, but that would be "been there, done that" thing for the residents. Rosalina would have to step out of the box.

"We do have the teleportation device at our disposal...so we could go to Paris," replied Rosalina, mulling over the idea. Barring an incident that would get the Smash Mansion banned from the country of France, Paris would be an enjoyable vacation for Mother's Day.

 **Rosalina: The Mother's Day weekend I planned last week was planned mostly on short notice - didn't have much of a budget to work with, as Master Hand only gave me ten bucks. An amount of money enough to buy a burger from Five Guys. Next time around I should have a much, MUCH bigger budget for the next Mother's Day weekend, and all I have to do is weasel some money out of Master Hand...doing favors for him might do the trick. Just gonna have to bear Isabelle's burden, for at least a year.**

"I've been seriously worried about Cloud..." Aerith spoke with Rosalina, wanting to tell the mother of Lumas about her concerns. "All he has been doing this week is calling some man, and asking him 'when the time is coming'. It must be Professor E. Gadd - must be asking him about that device."

"The same device that bought you to our universe?" asked Rosalina, as Aerith gave a nod of confirmation. "Cloud's persistent phone calls must tell me that he's not ready to let you go. He's been very close to you, after all...almost like he did a complete 180 when you came around!"

"You're right - people like Mario even said that I've been a beacon of happiness for Cloud. But unfortunately I can't stay with you all forever, since Sora and I have to return to our own universe. Our friends must be worried sick about us!" Au contraire, Aerith...Sora never had any friends! At least according to Cloud.

"I'm sure they are, Aerith...but I wouldn't blame Cloud for being paranoid about you leaving. Ganondorf would be the same way, if I had to leave the mansion and return to the Comet Observatory to watch over the Lumas. He'd be acting the same way..."

"Yeah...wait, why would Ganondorf be acting paranoid for? Does he even like you?" Quite clear that Aerith was oblivious to Ganondorf's love for Rosalina...the flower girl had a lot of catching up to do, before heading back to her universe.

As Rosalina and Aerith resumed folding their clothes, Mario entered the laundry room, looking for his clothes. Whatever he was looking for should already be in his closet, but this is Mario we're talking about...anyways, Mario rummaged through the pile of clothes Aerith and Rosalina hadn't folded yet, and found what he was looking for...

"Aha, finally found-a it!" exclaimed the plumber, holding up a red-and-blue singlet. Aerith and Rosalina looked at the singlet, then exchanged judging looks with one another. "What, you've-a never seen a singlet before? It's for-a my exercises!"

"Hate to break it to you Mario, but nobody wears wrestling garb when they're working out," stated Rosalina, though Mario apparently begged to differ. "You sure you don't have anything better to wear?"

"That's a lot coming from a woman who-a hardly exercises...there's always method-a to my madness, and maybe one-a day my methods will teach you. Who knows, We'll-a see..." On that remark, Mario happily exited the laundry room, where Impa was standing near the door with her arms folded.

"Came all the way to the mansion just for that...that," Impa said to Mario, unsure to make of the singlet as she too found herself judging the plumber. "That thing looks very ill-fitting on you, judging by the look of it."

"Weird, Peach has been saying the same-a thing about my singlet...I guess most women have-a pretty bad taste." If Mario was just another guy, Impa would kill him ruthlessly, with little to no disregard. "So what-a where you telling me?"

"As I've been trying to tell you, you need to address the residents of the mansion about Calamity Ganon. You know, make them aware so they'll be ready when the time strikes. I'll be lurking around the mansion, doing some reconnaissance, while you address the others."

"Sounds like a good-a plan. Just let me know-a when you're done." Impa nodded to Mario, as she dashed away embarking on her mission. However, Mario couldn't help but feel that Impa might be bothered...

 **Mario: Last thing I would-a want is for Impa to be distracted, especially doing some-a thing that has major implications attached-a to it. So before I address-a the issue of Calamity Ganon, I'll do my best-a to steer everyone away from-a our favorite Sheikah. "Our favorite Sheikah"...do you think Impa would appreciate that? I'll ask-a her later.**

* * *

Mario would bring all the residents of the mansion to the meeting room, bringing a white board and some markers with him. As expected, Linkle was seated with Link in the meeting room, as Zelda watched the female Hylian closely. Elsewhere, Itsuki was seated as far away from Tsubasa as possible, and Tsubasa looked at her man wondering why.

"I suspect Itsuki is lowkey giving Tsubasa the cold shoulder, to force a gradual process of them breaking up," Sonic whispered to Falco, while Mario got his materials ready. "Take it from me...I've been watching them closely. Like how a fat slob watches his pizza in the microwave!"

"Okay bruh, don't be a creeper, keep that to yourself," replied Falco, who too was paying close attention to Itsuki, as he pushed Sonic away. Once Mario was done preparing, it was time for the meeting to begin.

"Hello everyone - sorry for this-a impromptu meeting," Mario greeted, addressing the residents who were A) already bored, or B) had much better things to do. "But like-a any other meeting, this meeting is very important, and substantial to-a the mansion as a whole."

"So that meeting you had about pranking the All-Star Manor with cowpies was very important, and substantial for the mansion?" asked Pac-Man, raising his hand, as Mario gave him a pained facial expression. Know what what the All-Star Manor was? Episode 10 might jog your memory.

"...the meeting in store for today has-a much to do with an unknown evil that might-a show up in the city one-a day. But before we can get-a to that, we must first discuss-a someone who warned me about this-a evil...Impa. By a show of-a hands, who does not-a know Impa, or have never seen-a her before?" As Mario figured, the idol singers, Leia, Asuka, Layton, Luke, Crash, Coco, and Cortex all raised their hands. "Excellent. Allow me to draw a picture of what-a Impa looks like."

So with his markers at his tow, Mario furiously drew up a picture of Impa, drawing aggressively and with power, like he was a starving artist finally discovering a grand idea and drawing it out in motion. Once he was done, Mario presented his drawing of Impa to the residents, though no one was impressed.

"I'm sorry Mario but that's not Impa...that looks like a mutilated orange somehow experiencing a bad hair day," K.K. Slider analyzed the drawing, unsure if it even constituted as a drawing or not. Mario looked at his drawing, understood what K.K. said, and quickly erased his pathetic drawing, grunting in the process.

"Aw phooey...for those of you unaware-a of Impa, someone will show-a you a picture. Let's get back-a on track...Impa is in-a the mansion as I speak, doing reconnaissance...no Pit, I'm not going to define-a reconnaissance just for you." Pit, who had his hand raised, slowly put it back down. "Impa is doing reconnaissance, and to guarantee-a that she won't be distracted, I have one-a rule, and one rule only..."

With his black marker, Mario wrote "Don't bother Impa" in big letters, before writing a circle-backlash symbol through the text with a red marker. The plumber hoped the message would be clear and effective, but it turns it out that it wasn't.

"Why is there a circle with a red line going through the text?" questioned Asuka, as Mario looked at the ninja girl like she was born yesterday. The plumber almost felt insulted, even.

"The circle and red-a line means don't. Don't do it. Haven't you seen Ghostbusters, Asuka? They never showed-a it at the Hanzo Academy, did-a they? Oh, you poor, poor ninja girls..."

"I dunno Mario, it's like you're saying that we should bother Impa," Kohaku offered her two cents, as Mario gave her the same look he gave to Asuka. "Might even count as a double negative. Or a double positive, rather."

"No, you see...eh, you might be-a right." After taking a good look at his board, Mario erased "don't", and was left satisfied. "There-a we go. My apologies." Mario then wrote "don't", again in big letters, next to the circle-backlash symbol. "Is everyone-a happy now?"

"'Don't don't bother Impa'...makes sense," Donkey Kong read the message on the board, making Mario even angrier. The plumber took out his red marker, and wrote a giant slash through the word "don't".

"I'm done-a for now, I can't possibly make-a the message any clearer. So we'll all agree not-a to bother Impa, while she's doing her-a thing."

"Why can't we bother Impa?" questioned Cortex, who already knew Impa was girl from the start when he heard her name. "She might need some lovin' in her life..." Cortex raised his eyebrows in a romantic manner, as Uka turned away and rolled his eyes.

"Because she might be working for some-a high-ranking Sheikah, like perhaps an Impa much-a older than her. What if she goes-a back to her tribe, and gives a bad-a report about us? It would make us look-a bad to the Sheikah clan."

"That would never happen, unless someone snitched on us," said Lloyd, like any resident would ever see the Sheikah tribe, let alone a single Sheikah in person. "I mean who's gonna tell on us, Geno?"

"Me telling some grandma Impa would be quite hilarious," stated Geno, the mansion's resident snitch, as you knew already. "I could see the headline for it...'Star Warriors Informs Elderly Sheikah About Loser Mad Scientist Stalking Her Underling'." Some of the residents chuckled at Geno's headline, while a pouting Cortex stared Geno down.

"No, it won't-a be Geno, but it will-a be someone else," affirmed Mario, as the chuckling started to die down. "It's some-a one in this very room. Someone very, very close-a to Impa. Even closer. But I won't out-a them in front of everyone. I'll respect-a their privacy, for the greater good. For unity."

"Mario can we please get a move on with the meeting, we have crap to do you know," pleaded Red the Pokemon Trainer, needing to return to his daily Pokemon training. "If I return to the sanctuary, and find out that Charizard is flirting with Blue's Gardevoir again..."

"Okay, okay, don't rush-a me!" With this section on Impa finally out of the way, it was time for Mario to move on to the next subject. "The main reason - the real-a reason - why I had this meeting, is to discuss a possible threat-a to our mansion...a threat by the name-a of Calamity Ganon."

The mere mention of Calamity Ganon was enough to strike intrigue within the meeting room. The residents quietly murmured with one another about this Calamity Ganon threat, and they could tell by how Mario said the name that this particular kind of Ganon meant business!

"I don't understand what all the fuss is about, this Calamity Ganon can't possibly be any better than I," remarked Ganondorf, with his arms folded. Way to be humble. "Honestly sounds like some crappy Ganon costume some kid wore for Halloween. I saw one last year, actually."

 **Ganondorf: I couldn't care less about this "Calamity Ganon" fool...but to see everyone all worked up, it just puts a big smile on my face. Everyone freaking out, acting like an apocalypse is on the horizon...it's like music to my ears.**

"By a show-a of hands, who has heard of Calamity Ganon before?" Mario asked the crowd, as nobody bothered raising their hand...until one hand rose up in the air. It belonged to Linkle, the only guest in the meeting room. "I'm-a sorry, but have we met-a before?"

"Well I haven't really gotten to know anyone here, so I'll just...do a little formal introduction," replied Linkle as she stood up, as everyone gave the Hylian their uninvited attention. The sight of seeing so many eyes on her nearly gave Linkle butterflies in her stomach. Thank goodness that's not a real ailment. "Um...hi, I'm Linkle, I'm from Hyrule, as you might know from my point ears...I'm a Hylian, though that's obvious as well...and I'm a shepherd!"

"She's also Link's new girlfriend - Link is cheating on Zelda!" shouted Sonic, as everyone stared at him. Link and Zelda, on the other hand, glared at the hedgehog. "You heard it here, folks!" A stern look from Mario did enough to make Sonic pipe down.

"Anyways, I was told to come to the Smash Mansion, to spread the news about Calamity Ganon, but it appears that I've been beaten to the punch. Or so it seems. For those of you wondering, Calamity Ganon is...is very strong and powerful, and, uh, wants to take over the world, and...and he's also very strong and powerful! So yeah, that's Calamity Ganon for ya..."

"Wow, so he's basically like any other Ganon incarnation on the _Zelda_ timeline," inferred Gil, not at all impressed. Acting like he had heard a much similar story before, in the past. "Sooooo informative..."

"Leave-a her alone Gil, she did the best-a she could," Mario defended Linkle, and he couldn't help but wonder if Linkle was a diehard Link fangirl or something. The name really threw him off. "In the event Calamity Ganon strikes-a the mansion - or the city, for that-a matter - we must be well-a prepared, and stay on our toes..."

"Thanks, but no thanks - you can count me out," Samus spoke up, getting up out of her chair and heading towards the meeting room door. "I've seen the same crap happen TWICE last year, and by no means will I be a part of some "world is at stake" scenario ever again. For that reason, I'm out..." Samus left the meeting room, slamming the door along the way and spurring a moment of awkward silence.

"...if you want, Mario, you can have Linkle take Samus' place when Calamity Ganon comes around," suggested the Black Knight, making this suggestion only to soothe the awkwardness prevalent in the meeting room. "Sure she might not have the Power Suit or the fancy weapons...but she might have magic! And that's just as effective, if not more!"

"Shut up, Black-a Knight, the last thing we'd want to have-a on our hands is some magic-technology debate," said Mario, wanting to resume the meeting. "We all remember how the last-a one went down...so many chairs-a thrown in so little time. Evidently Linkle came-a to warn us, which makes me believe-a that the girl who stopped-a by my house wished to do the same..." That same girl, a certain bluenette, would stop by the meeting room, opening the door wide. "...Lana?"

"Did I come at the wrong time?" Lana asked Mario, dumbfounded that she came all the way over from his home. The bluenette then turned her attention to the residents, who were all looking at her. "Ooh, are these your friends? Wow Mario, you sure know how to get around!"

"H-How did you know I was here, did you follow Impa and-a I in secret?" Mario could tell that Lana was holding something behind her back - likely her spellbook.

"I wouldn't say I followed you in secret...I just followed the trail of crumbs you left behind, from those cupcakes you were eating. Left behind some pretty big crumbs, I'm afraid. Speaking of cupcakes..." Lana took out a plate of cupcakes, which she held behind her back. "...who wants some?!"

"Alright, free cupcakes, that's what's up!" cheered Shulk, as some of the others found themselves cheering or clapping in excitement. "The ultimate payoff for attending this meeting! Thanks for the cupcakes, random blue-haired chick we never saw before!"

"No probs! Just follow me!" So everyoen got out of their seats and followed Lana out of the meeting room, to indulge in some cupcakes; would it be funny if there weren't enough cupcakes for everyone? That was very much a possibility. Only person that remained in the meeting room was Mario, who found himself stroking his chin.

"Now what were those-a cupcakes for..." Mario wondered in thought, before widening his eyes in realization. "...they were-a for my baby shower! Lana, wait!" Mario ran out of the meeting room, running faster than a gazelle.

* * *

At the meeting, you may have noticed that Master Hand was absent, and it was for either two reasons - he paid Crazy Hand a visit, or he forced someone to go on a joyride in his Lamborghini. It was actually the latter, as Link and Cloud learned, when Master Hand returned to the mansion, with a stranger pulling up on the driveway in his car...

"Is that...is that a stranger riding Master Hand's Lamborghini?" Link asked Cloud, eating his cupcake, as the two swordsman stood at a window and watched the man exit the Lamborghini. The man would toss his car keys to Master Hand, before giving the giant hand a handshake. "Master Hand seriously allowed that bum to..."

"Master Hand started going around town, asking people if they wanted to take a ride in his Lamborghini for five hundred bucks," explained Cloud, who didn't want a cupcake. Maybe the swordsman wasn't hungry. Or perhaps his own angst acted as a conscience, preventing him from consuming something that exuberated joy. "He started that scheme in the hopes that the random driver might kill themselves in a car crash, and Master Hand can steal that person's life insurance. Seriously doubt that man outside will get his payday."

"Hey Link, would you mind having a cupcake?" Linkle approached the Hylian, with two cupcakes in her hands. "Saved one just for you!" The smile on her face was telling Link to say no, but alas, the hero of Hyrule had to say yes.

"Yes do I mind having a cupcake...for I'm eating one right now," replied Link, holding up his cupcake for Linkle to see. Linkle saw and gave a knowing head, holding her head down, as Link looked across the foyer and saw Zelda and Midna from a distance, the former bearing a stern look. Link would give a reassuring thumbs up to Zelda, as Zelda's look softened just a tad.

 **Zelda: I've given Link an ample amount of time to fix this whole conundrum involving him and Linkle, and yet he has done nothing, from what I've seen today. Guess I'll have to take matters into my own hands...**

* * *

After denying the man that rode his Lamborghini of any payment, Master Hand returned to the mansion to bother some residents, because that's one of the things he did best. He would find his victim in Lucina, who was speaking with Kamui and Coco in the dancing room.

"Marth told me that the leader of the Rabbids, suspiciously named 'Topper', gave Roy some kind of device that allows Crash to sing," Lucina explained to Kamui and Coco, as Master Hand magically appeared behind the princess. Kamui and Coco saw the giant hand, but were too timid to alert Lucina. "How it works, is that Roy chooses a song on some remote, and Crash sings the selected song. Unsure how it will work in regards to..."

"BOOGALA BOOGALA!" boomed Master Hand, causing Lucina to scream in terror. The princess jumped in fright, and turned around and saw Master Hand, laughing at her expense. "Hahaha, got you good! Don't say otherwise, you'll make me a liar..."

"For goodness sake Master Hand, don't scare me like that ever again..." Lucina you live with Master Hand day in and day out, you should be used to being scared. "...you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Oh please, Lucina, if I gave you a heart attack, you would be dead by now. Just admit your defeat. So, what are you ladies discussing that's so important that it can only be discussed here? Do tell!"

"We're just talking about Roy and his lame k-pop group, 'Straight Fiyah'," explained Kamui; the more the residents said that name, the more disgusted they felt inside. Left a bad taste in their tongue. "Roy received a device from the Broodals, and we know that those rabbits are up to no good."

"Did you just assume that the Broodals are EVIL?! For shame, Kamui, for shame! Oh those poor Broodals...they feel triggered right now, and they don't know why! Talking crap about a bunch of folks you've never met before..."

"Well if you ask us Master Hand, flying around the mansion on a flying airship IS pretty suspicious behavior," stated Coco, though that didn't change Master Hand's mind one bit. "What do you have to say about that?"

"Maybe the Broodals are looking to become new residents, and they're just shy. I wouldn't fault them for flying around in the sky, playing their music as most people have claimed. You just have to give them a chance! Life's all about giving chances, right ladies?"

"Yeah...can you go away, Master Hand, you're really cutting into our time," Lucina said to the giant hand, who sighed deeply as he disappeared. With Master Hand finally gone, the meeting finally continued. "I spoke with Raven on the phone, and she came up with a surefire plan that will derail Roy's plans, and put his crappy k-pop boy band dreams to an end. Here's what she had planned..."

* * *

"Again with the stupid paint...I seriously need to tell those Inklings to stop having their paint battles on the roof. I hope they know there's a park in Seattle for them to play at."

Mega Man said this to himself, as he was tasked with cleaning off the mansion's roof after yet another paint battle, courtesy of the Inklings. Rooftop paint battles have become quite a common occurrence, and Mega Man grew increasingly tired, cleaning after the Inklings' mess.

As the robot was cleaning, he would bump into Impa, who was busy snooping around the mansion. Remembering what Mario said at the meeting, Mega Man walked away from Impa, with his arms up in the air, like he committed a basketball foul. The robot then went back down to the mansion, leading Impa rather confused.

"Hmm, must be a shy one..." the Sheikah could only say, as she resumed her reconnaissance work. But there was almost no point in doing so, for the roof was still splattered with paint. "...and he didn't even finish his job! Pathetic..."

 **Impa: I know I haven't done much interaction, ever since I started by reconnaissance, but I can't help but feel like that I'm being watched...**

Indeed, Impa was being watched, for a familiar flying ship descended to the mansion to greet the Sheikah. Impa turned around, and saw the Broodals flying down to her on their ship, laughing their tails off. Impa immediately knew that those rabbits meant trouble.

"Heh heh, look at what we have here..." cackled Topper, as Impa quickly got on the offensive. Had her sword out, and all ready to go. "...before you start swingin' your sword at us, how about we introduce ourselves? See if we can get on an even page...I'm Topper, this is Harriet, that over there is Spewart, and the lanky one behind us is Rango. You can call us...the Broodals!"

"Yeah, that's good and all, but may I ask what business you have here?" asked Impa; Topper's question would determine whether or not the Broodals would receive a beatdown at the hands of Impa. But you all know those rabbits will get one regardless.

"Our business is none of your concern, lady! Nosy peon! But since you look like a persistent one, we'll just tell ya...only if you tell us your name!" Unfortunately for Topper and the Broodals, Impa wouldn't budge.

"My name is none of your concern - tell me what business you have, and I'll let you off easy. Don't make me rip your entire ship into smithereens..."

"Rip our ship into smithereens? With THAT sword?" Topper and company would find themselves giggling at Impa's threat, as the Sheikah intensified her glare. "Woman you make me laugh! What else are you gonna do - whip us with your ponytail and send us crying to our mommies? Give me a break!"

"I think we should put this lady to sleep, she just keeps talking too much!" said Harriet, turning to Topper to see if he was down with the idea. "Whaddaya ya think, Topper- da woman needs some shuteye, huh?"

"Anything to stop that mouth of hers...Spewart, would you like to do the honors?" Topper turned to Spewart, who rubbed his hands together in excitement. "Time for our little miss to go nighty night..."

"One sleepin' beauty, comin' right up..." replied Spewart, as he exhaled a poisonous gas at Impa. The Sheikah, caught in the cloud of poisonous gas, suddenly found herself dazed as the gas attacked her lungs and sinuses, before fainting to the ground. The Broodals could only laugh, as they peered down at the unconscious Impa.

"Good work Spewart, that should keep her down for a while...can't have anyone interfering with the boss' plans!" Clearly the Broodals were working for someone...any good clue as to who it was?

* * *

For the past few episodes or so, Itsuki has been acting rather differently, almost like he was doing a complete 180. The young man, who was in love with his girlfriend Tsubasa, found himself seemingly at a crossroads in his relationship. Whenever someone asked him about Tsubasa, Itsuki would never give a positive answer...nor did he give a negative one at that. This has obviously led to some growing suspicion, especially for Fox and Falco.

Speaking of Fox and Falco, the two pilots were in Itsuki and Touma's bedroom, raiding the closet...no, they weren't stealing clothes, or the like, they were just looking for Touma's helmet, for his _Force Five_ superhero suit. Touma wished to do some superhero martial arts training for his show, but he refused to do said training unless he had on his helmet. "For optimal experience", he claimed.

"All this junk in this dumb closet...Itsuki and Touma must be filthy pack rats or something," grimaced Falco, as he and Fox went through the closet, tossing clothes onto Itsuki's bed. "I'd hate to see them when they get married and move out on their own."

"I suspect that their kitchens will be absolute pigsties, judging from what we've seen so far," added Falco, almost done with the pile of clothes he was tossing unto the bed...until he found something, hanging up in the closet. "Yo, check this out...it's a suit!" Fox pulled out a suit - which was placed in a garment bag - out of the closet, and showed it off to Falco.

"A suit hanging up in the closet?" Falco quickly snatched the suit away from Fox, like it belonged to him. "I'm totally copping this..." The avian pilot wouldn't be able to cop anything, when he glanced at the suit and saw a name card on the garment bag. "...'Itsuki Aoi'? Bruh, this suit belongs to Itsuki! This is Itsuki's suit!"

 **Fox: *holding Itsuki's suit* First Little Mac being a "chauffeur", then that map, and now this suit...not to mention those _Victoria's Secret_ magazines we found on the Star Records bank statement. Is Itsuki ditching Tsubasa for good, and going on a date with a _Victoria's Secret_ model?  
** **Falco: Nah, Itsuki's smooth, but he's not _that_ smooth. He's definitely going to some lingerie contest. Should've bought us tickets...**

Putting the suit back in the closet, Fox and Falco resumed their search, finally finding Touma's helmet and leaving the room afterwards. They didn't feel like putting the clothes back in the closet - that was Itsuki and Touma's job, not theirs. The moment the pilots left the room...

"Fox, Falco, do you two have a minute?" Roy approached them, standing with none other than Crash. Both Fox and Falco legitimately wanted to cry. "Now I know what you're thinking - you both believe that I should stop pursuing my goals to start a k-pop band, and I should put this whole boy band thing to bed."

"Yup, that's completely what is on our minds," confirmed Fox, looking at Falco who gave a nod of confirmation. Telling Roy "no" would be too hard for the pilots, especially given how far Roy has come.

"Excellent! Knew that was the case. So far, so good. But before you can ask questions, I would like to present to you...the new and improved Crash!" Roy, taking out his remote, pressed a button, and caused Crash to spaz out. Fox and Falco felt bad for Crash, until the bandicoot returned to normal...

"I saw you dance...from a corner..." Crash sang, singing "The Night Begins to Shine" as he rocked his body to the beat, while pointing at Fox and Falco. Understandably, both pilots were creeped out. "I caught your name...in a conversation...playing hard to get...but I can't understand..."

"Crash is singing because of a device, that allows him to sing any song of any choosing. All I have to do is select a song on this remote, and Crash sings it, just like pure magic! Crash has to wear the device on his back, for it to be effective."

"That's pretty cool, using a device that makes Crash sing, let alone speak the human language," Fox offered his take, giving Roy a sense of optimism. "But I have one little nitpick. With this device, will Crash be able to sing original songs?" Roy crinkled his nose when he heard this.

"What do you mean by, 'original songs'?" At this moment, Falco could tell that Fox's conversation with Roy might get rocky.

"I mean it's nice that Crash can sing songs, but he should also sing songs from your band, Straight Fiyah. What's the point of singing a song from some TV show, if he can't even sing a song created by you? That's what I'm trying to get at."

"I don't understand, Crash _is_ singing original songs - it's not like he's singing a cover. Crash singing is all I need for my band to be a success, because he's the lead singer, our go-to guy. If he falters, then we all falter along with him."

"Told you Roy's k-pop fascination was making him subsequently dumber," Falco whispered to Fox, who found himself frowning and pinching the bridge of his nose. Roy was but a lost soul; it was only a miracle that his bandmates didn't buy in, and end up lost like him.

"For the last time Roy, Crash has to sing songs BY Straight Fiyah, and Straight Fiyah only," Fox restated his point, hoping Roy would eventually understand. "You can't just have him recycle songs by other k-pop bands, that's no way to make money. How do you expect to keep your dreams alive by singing other people's songs?"

"Well Fox, if you want to be such an egregious hater, then all the power to ya - but don't act all surprised when Straight Fiyah makes it big," retorted Roy, apparently missing the point Fox was making somehow. "Right, Crash..." During the argument, Roy failed to notice that Crash was singing...for the bandicoot was gone! "Crash, where'd you go? And where the heck is my remote?"

* * *

By now, you'd think that Link finally got rid of Linkle, right? _Wrong._ Alas, for our favorite Hylian, he was still stuck with Linkle, seated in the lounge as the female Hylian kept blabbering her mouth. Zelda peered inside the lounge, seeing how irritated her man was.

 **Zelda: I know Link wants to stand up to Linkle...I think it's just that he's too afraid to tell her how he feels. He must've respected women for so long, that he never speaks up to them. Always going with their flow. I'll do Link a favor, but just this once...**

"So yeah, all the Cuccoos on my farm adore me!" gleamed Linkle, while a bored Link rested his chin in the palm of his hand, looking perfectly done with life. "I've experienced little to no problems whatsoever!"

"Easy for you to say, all the Cuccoos hate me..." mumbled Link; just thinking about Cuccoos nearly gave him PTSD. Heck, just thinking about chickens in general nearly gave him PTSD.

"What's wrong Link, you sound pretty sad...almost bored, even." Girl, you honestly have no idea. "Something in your mind, something you need to spit out?" Link would slowly turn to face Linkle, his facial expression still intact.

"There is something that I need to get off my chest...something I've been needing to say for most of the day. What I want to say is..."

"It must have been love, but it's over now..."

Link and Linke found themselves looking around in confusion, as a voice - a woman's voice - was heard. Linkle then looked at Link, and by the look of her eyes, she was feeling pretty upset.

"You think...you think that I'm in love with you?" the female Hylian frowned at Link, who was looking around all guiltily. "Have I ever said at all today that I was in love with you? You really must be that dense, huh?"

"How can a person like me care for you? Why do I bother when you're not the one for me? Is enough enough?"

"I was NEVER the one for you, and YOU were never the one for me!" Linkle was getting angrier, and Link found himself in quite a predicament. "Why on earth did you assume that we were in love?!"

"Although we've come to the end of the road...still I can't let go...tt's unnatural...you belong to me...I belong to you..."

"That is IT! If you honestly think, for a second, that we'd have a chance together, as boyfriend and girlfriend, then you're the most idiotic moron I've ever met! This whole day, I was just trying to be your friend - and share some impeding bad news as well - but you, Link, have thrown me to the edge! Now I can't even stand to be in your presence anymore...we're through!"

Linkle would finish off her rant as she aggressively slapped Link, before storming out of the lounge pouting. Link rubbed his now red face, as Zelda entered the lounge along with Crash. In the princess' hand was a remote - Roy's remote.

"You were the one who played those songs and made Linkle think I was 'breaking up' with her, weren't you?" Link asked Zelda, who found herself smiling. Safe to say Linkle, on the other hand, wouldn't be smiling anymore today.

"All thanks to some device Roy attached to Crash," replied Zelda, as she patted Crash on the head. The big smile Crash made indicated that the bandicoot enjoyed the pat a lot more than he should have. "It can make Crash sing any song. Just have to use this remote to make the device work." Zelda would show the remote to Link, who saw a rabbit logo on the back. The Hylian didn't think that much of it, though.

"It does look like something Roy would use, that's for sure...quite amazing seeing that dude grow more and more desperate over time. It's kinda fun...yet equally sad at the same time. Letting him watch that New Year's thing was a mistake."

"Agreed - we'll just have to ban him from next year's festivities. Master Hand will probably force Roy to show up, but we can work our way around it, somehow."

"You're right...oh, and by the way, thank you for saving my butt. Don't know what I would've done without you..."

"Take what you can get...because this is the only time I'm doing you a favor. Next time, it'll be you who'll do the butt saving. Understand?" Zelda would leave the lounge, taking Crash with him, as Link looked on with a heartfelt smile.

* * *

 **Mario: Unfortunately I was unable to retrieve-a all of the cupcakes...or any of the cupcakes, rather. King Dedede sucked-a up the remaining ones with that giant mouth-a of his. I'm sure everyone-a enjoyed their cupcakes, and I hope that they did what I told-a them to do, and not bother...hold-a on a second, Peach is-a calling me...**

Mario ran downstairs to Peach, who was standing at the front door with Jennifer. At the princess' feet was a large box, one possibly filled with tons of goodies.

"Look at what the mailman brought today!" Peach showed the box off to Mario, who was inspecting the box along with Cappy. "According to the shipping label, it came all the way from Korea...wonder what it could be?"

"Ooh, a box from a faraway land?" gleamed Lana, nearly knocking Mario down to the floor as she got a peek at the box. That bluenette will geek out for anything she sees and touches. "How fascinating! Can we open it? I say we should open it..."

"Not now, the contents of the box-a could be dangerous," warned Mario, slapping Lana's hand away. Mario and Peach never did any online shopping (unless Cappy was suspect), so a package from Japan was already questionable. "Ninjas could be hiding in-a that box, ready to strike..." Suddenly, a knock at the front door. "Who could-a that be?"

"Mario, Peach, can you open up?" Mega Man's voice was heard from behind the front door. "It's a bit of an emergency!" Peach rushed to the front door, opened it...

...and found herself gasping when she saw Mega Man, holding a still unconscious Impa in his arms. Mario, Cappy, and Lana also got a good look of Impa, in her current state.

"I went up to roof of the mansion, to clean up the mess the Inklings left behind, and I saw Impa lying unconscious, not moving," Mega Man explained to Mario and company, all relieved that Impa was still breathing. "Did my best to wake her up, but my efforts were futile. You want me to take her in?"

"You don't have to ask-a that twice - put her on our-a sofa!" ordered Mario, and Mega Man did as he was told. The robot got Impa situated, and everyone looked at the Sheikah, as Cappy tried to wake her up.

"Impa, it's me, Cappy, can you hear me?" the talking hat said to the Sheikah, tapping her on the face and on her shoulder. "Give us a response! Who did this to you? We need answers, and we need names!"

"The...Broodals..." Impa answered, lifting her eyes open for only a moment, before falling back into unconsciousness as she sprawled out all over the sofa. Her answer did nothing but raise the suspicions of Mairo, Peach, and Cappy concerning the Broodals.

Seemingly, those dastardly rabbits have already left their mark...


	127. Episode 127: Cappsized

_Author's Note:_

 _It's the start of Memorial Day weekend (seriously doubt I'll ever do a chapter based around Memorial Day for this story), and what better way to kick off Memorial Day weekend with a new chapter of Smash Life? But first, reviews:_

 _"Are Link and Zelda gonna wear their outfits from Hyrule Warriors? Can you include a scene with Rikku from Final Fantasy X interacting with Presea from Tales of Symphonia? (Tara Strong voices them) has Viewtiful Joe appeared yet? Will Velvet Crowe still have her malevolence powers when she shows up? And finally what are your thoughts on the upcoming Pokemon game for the Switch not being Generation 8?"_

 _No they won't. I can do a Rikku and Presea scene, when (and if) Rikku makes an appearance. Viewtiful Joe hasn't appeared yet. Velvet Crowe will retain her powers. And I'm cool with the Pokemon Switch game not being Gen 8 - save the new generation for the handhelds. On to the other reviewer, Normal Man:_

 _"I have an idea. What if Nabbit was working with the Broodals? That would be cool. And then at the end of the arc Jennifer would die."_

 _Won't be specifying Nabbit's role in the story...and why on earth would I kill off Jennifer for?! I would never put Mario and Peach through such grief; granted it might make the story a dark undertone, but I would NEVER kill off Jennifer. Or Charles for that matter. I'd rather kill off Elise - at least she's dead, in Fire Emblem canon. Oh, wait..._

* * *

 **Episode 127: Cappsized (ba-dum-tiss...)**

Cappy, the talking hat on Mario's head, was a very unique character. He possessed the ability to capture any individual Mario threw at, allowing Mario to capture the person's body and do whatever he wanted. The plumber could breath fire as Charizard, cast magical spells as Ashley, use PSI moves as Lucas or Ness, or even hit home runs effortlessly like Mike Trout. Provided Mario ever got the chance to meet Mike Trout.

However, even though Cappy was on Mario's head a huge majority of the time, there were some times when the hat hat to be away from Mario. One of those times was when Mario had to take a shower or bath, either on his own accord or because Peach wouldn't stop complaining about his stench. Right now, Mario was taking his shower, singing a happy tune to himself as he scrubbed his armpits and his head and even his pubic area. Don't lie, you do the same too.

While Mario took his shower, Cappy remained on the plumber's dresser, his eyes darting around the master bedroom left and right. He would leave the premises, but he had nothing to do; he would watch over Jennifer, but Peach already had that covered. Also, Cappy leaving would put Mario in a state of panic.

Cappy wouldn't be alone, however, when a certain bluenette walked up the stairs and entered the master bedroom. It was Lana, the spellcaster who opted to stay over at Mario's place until Impa was conscious again, or until further notice. Speaking of Impa, the Sheikah was felled by the Broodals - mainly Spewart - and had to stay at Mario's home until Cilan whipped up a concoction that would revive her senses.

"Hello, anybody here?" Lana called out, as Cappy kept close watch of the bluenette. Lana did hear the shower noises, but apparently didn't think much of it. "I hate being alone by myself...if only Impa was awake..."

"Ah, about time I got some company!" exclaimed Cappy, his eyes widening out of Mario's cap as he made Lana jump in fright. "Thought I would be alone forever!" Lana shrieked as she grabbed the nearest object, Mario's deodorant, and threw it at Cappy, hurting him in the process. "Ow not so hard! I know I'm a talking hat and all, but that doesn't mean I'm not immune to the pain..."

"Oh, it's just you Cappy, thank goodness..." Lana, who imagined a ghost appeared out of Mario's cap (to be fair, Cappy technically IS a ghost), smiled as she caught her breath. "I was afraid someone was trying to literally scare me to death!"

 **Lana: Peach took the to streets of the city, to take her baby out on a stroll, and Mario, for whatever reason, magically vanished. I might've heard his voice, but I was napping at the time. Had to keep a close eye on our patient, Impa, who is still unconscious. She wakes up every now and then, on a periodic basis, before falling back into unconsciousness...but Peach told me that some guy named Cilan was making an antidote to wake up Impa, so that's a plus!**

 **Cilan: This is horrible, absolutely horrible...sure I can make a drink that can knock someone out, but I can't even make one that would wake someone up from their unconsciousness! Some connoisseur I am, can't even own up to promises...screw you, Princess Peach, for your kind and genuine smile that prevented me from giving a negative answer! And screw your baby daughter too, just for being there!**

"Why are you sitting on Mario's dresser, don't you have any hobbies to do?" Lana asked Cappy, picking him up and holding him in her hands. "I know the life of a talking hat may be boring, but you don't have to follow the trend!"

"Whoever said that the life of a Bonnetor was boring?" questioned Cappy, ready to go on a long speech about how awesome he was. Here it comes... "I am Cappy, ally and friend of Mario, and the best hat around! I can possess anything at will - friend, foe, inanimate object, you name it! Anything you can do, I can do better! There is nothing that I can't..."

"Ooh, possessing anything at will, super exciting! I must check this out for myself!" Lana would take Cappy out of the master bedroom, ready to do some "experimentation". And she didn't even ask for permission!

"Hold on just a second Lana, you don't know the full power of my capturing ability! Only Mario does! This can easily turn out awry! Please return me to the bedroom, this might turn out ugly..."

* * *

Standing at the front door of Mario's house was Mario's favorite dinosaur Yoshi, who found himself knocking on the front door and ringing the doorbell multiple times. You'd think that the dinosaur would leave and return to the mansion after several failed attempts, but his determination was holding him back. He would wait for a response until the end of the day, if he had to.

"Mario, Peach, open up already, I need some sugar!" Yoshi screamed, banging on the front door. A neighbor asking for some sugar, how typical. Better hope it was actual sugar Yoshi wanted, and not romantic sugar; him wanting the latter would be beyond weird. "Cilan won't let me into the kitchen, or the pantry, so I need some sugar right now!"

 **Yoshi: Birdo has been in a coma-induced state for a few months, and now is a good time to finally wake her up. Master Hand says that if I don't wake up Birdo soon, he'll contact the police and tell them I "poisoned my girlfriend to death", and then he'll have me arrested while he rakes in Birdo's life insurance money! If there's anyone that money belongs to...it's me. I'll find my own way to kill Birdo (if it has to come to that) and reap the benefits, and Master Hand won't be receiving a SINGLE penny!**

Finally the front door open, by a person Yoshi wasn't expecting - it was Lana, with the bluenette holding a now terrified Cappy. Yoshi saw the fear written in Cappy's eyes, and found it oddly charming. A weird dinosaur he was.

"Hey I know you, you're the girl who gave us all free cupcakes!" Yoshi said to Lana, recognizing her face. The dinosaur would kill for some more cupcakes right now. "Sure put a yum in my tum!"

"I bet they did!" replied Lana; Cappy wished to tell Yoshi to dissuade Lana from whatever she plotted to do, but knew that the odds were against him. "And they ran out so quickly...don't know why Mario was so angry with me afterwards. Everyone liked them. Anyways, how would you like to be...possessed?"

"As in like, demonic possession? I don't know about that - I've read plenty of demonic possession stories online, and they're the underlying reason why I have to change my bed sheets every night before bed. I would stop reading them, but I can't...they're like my own special nicotine."

"No demons are involved, trust me. You just have to stay still, and maybe take a deep breath..." Lana stood back, eyeing the top of Yoshi's head, and pulled Cappy back like she was preparing to throw a Frisbee.

"You're making a terrible mistake, Lana, I'm just letting you know..." Cappy warned the bluenette, as she revved up her arm. "Please don't do it, Lana...I beg of you!"

* * *

Mario was still taking his shower, scrubbing his hair as he happily hummed the _Super Mario Bros_ ground theme to himself. A theme so darn classic, the plumber had to hum it at least once per day. It was something his doctor should've recommended, if he ever had a doctor to begin with.

All of a sudden, something happened to Mario, as his entire body started pixelating. The pixels of red, blue, and other colors suddenly flew out of the operator shower...

* * *

...and into the body of Yoshi, who was now wearing Mario's hat. Mario was now Yoshi, much to the plumber's surprise, as his hands and fingers and everything else was light green.

"What in the world am I doing in Yoshi's body?" the plumber wondered, before looking up at Lana who was smiling like she just made a scientific discovery. "Lana, did you do this? Did you take Cappy without my permission?!"

"To be fair, you never told me not to mess around with Cappy," Lana pointed out, as Mario gritted his teeth in anger. Nothing Mario could say about that. "So it's your fault for not being a good stickler of the rules!"

"Why would I be a stickler of the rules when you're..." Mario sighed with great frustration, angered about the predicament he now found himself in. Should be worried about the running water in his bathroom. "Cappy, how do I 'decapture' Yoshi's body? I haven't captured anything or anyone for so-a long, so I'm a bit lost..."

"That's easy, all you have to do is...erm...uh..." Cappy struggled to think up of a way for Mario to exit Yoshi's body; you'd think that a hat who possessed the capturing ability would know a thing or two about dejecting someone's body. "Actually, I forgot myself. But a good option to exit Yoshi's body would be via force. Get hit by something, and you'll be out in no time!"

"So in order for me to leave Yoshi's body, I would have to get hit by a speeding car, or something like that?" Such an option would come at the price of Yoshi being run over, ending up with a serious injury or even dying on the spot. By no means would Mario allow his long-time companion get seriously hurt.

"It's not the most feasible option we have, or the safest, but it's better than nothing. We can develop a different method in time."

 **Lana: Cappy was right, he can possess anything! But Yoshi isn't that good enough of an example, I need to see more proof of... *pauses* ...why do I hear running water from upstairs?**

Out of all the idiotic things Mario had ever done, what he was doing now might possibly be the most idiotic...standing in the middle of the street waiting for a vehicle to speed by and run over him. He was standing in the road, looking left and right, expecting a car to show up at any minute.

"Pretty strange for you to be standing in the road like that, Yoshi," Ness stopped by to speak with Mario, having finished his game of baseball with Lucas. The teen was holding a baseball bat in one hand, and bouncing a baseball in the other. "Jumping over cars, I assume? Gotta admit, it sounds pretty dangerous, but I've heard it's also lots of fun! Very fun hobby, some people told me."

"No car hopping from me, Ness - my flutter jump would make it effortless, and in turn boring," responded Mario, doing his best to stay in character and say things Yoshi would probably say. "I'm just waiting for a car to run me over, so I can leave this body for good." Well that wasn't supposed to come out of Yoshi's mouth...and as expected, the response left Ness a little frightened.

"Wow, Yoshi, that's really dark, especially coming from a happy-go-lucky guy like you. Had no idea you were committing suicide. If this is how you wanna go out, then let me just be the first to say that it was awesome getting to know you and...LOOK OUT, A GIANT WASP!"

Ness saw a giant wasp flying near Yoshi, and the teen, not wanting the experience of being stung by an insect to be Yoshi's final memory before committing suicide, took his baseball, threw it in the air, and swung his bat at it, hitting the baseball and sending it flying towards the wasp. The ball struck the wasp, before striking Yoshi and hitting him in the head. The blunt force of the ball was pretty strong...

...and as a result, it sent Mario flying out of Yoshi's body. Mario, landing on the road, was grateful to be back in his own body, grateful that Cappy was back on his head, while Yoshi sat in the middle of the road, rubbing his head in pain.

"Stupid headache..." the dinosaur mumbled, before he and Mario looked to their right and saw a speeding car heading towards him! "AAAAAH, CAR!" Both Yoshi and Mario screamed as they got out of the way, and as Mario jumped out of the way, the wind created by the car caused Cappy to fly away, before the wind blew the talking hat away from Mario.

"Mario, help me!" Cappy called out to the plumber, while the wind carried him to places unknown. Best case scenario, Cappy remained in the premises of the mansion...worst case scenario, the wind would take him to into downtown Seattle, or somewhere further than that.

"I'm-a coming!" Mario called out to his hat companion, as he chased after Cappy. Yoshi sat on the side of the road, catching his breath and grateful to be alive, while Ness just stared in utter confusion.

"Did Mario...just leave Yoshi's body?" the PSI whiz wondered, scratching his head as bewilderment took hold of his face, and his mind. "And people say Mario has never spent that much time with Yoshi...must be the same people who told me that car jumping was fun."

* * *

 **Sonic: As it turns out, Link WASN'T cheating on Zelda with Linkle, to make Zelda jealous...he just couldn't tell Linkle to go away. However, Linkle was so upset that she left the mansion...but, it's never too late for her to come back and find a charming heroic Hylian destined to be her man. Honestly I think both Toon Link and Young Link are way too young for her, but they can make a threesome work...somehow.**

The wind guided Cappy to the mansion backyard, where Sonic was inflating the bounce house Toon Link bought in episode 26. The Inklings wanted to play in the bounce house - maybe even have a paint battle inside - and they asked Sonic to pump up the bounce house for them.

"Wouldn't it hurt for Mr. Game and Watch to use an electrical pump?" frowned Sonic, using the air pump Mr. Game and Watch gave him. The more Sonic pressed down on the handle, the more bored he became. "Just stick the thing inside, wait for the bounce house to grow in size, and boom, you're done! With that electrical pump, I could get muscles...oh man, Knuckles would be so jealous!"

Once the wind died down, Cappy landed on the ground, next to Sonic's feet. Just when Sonic was done pumping up the bounce house to full size, the hedgehog stepped back, accidentally stepping on Cappy. He turned around and saw Cappy, before picking up the talking hat.

"How nice of you to stop by, Cappy!" Sonic greeted the talking hat, looking at him with eyes of intent. Eyes intent enough to make Cappy shudder in fear. "You know, ever since you came and entered Mario's life, I've always been amazed...just seeing you capturing people and stuff at will, it's so unreal! I've always wanted to know what it's like wearing you for a day, and then throwing you at unsuspecting people and taking over their bodies...and today, my wish will finally come true!"

"You really don't have to do that, honestly..." stated Cappy, unaware of much Sonic has waited for this life-changing moment. Slowly Sonic was putting Cappy on his head, like a boy scout happily placing his badge on his sash, just when Mario finally showed up.

"No, Sonic, don't-a do it!" pleaded the plumber, but it was too late...Sonic wore Cappy on his head, and by consequence, Mario was warped inside the hedgehog's body. The plumber, taking note of this, saw how blue his fur was. He then sped around the mansion, twice, to get a good feel of Sonic's blazing fast speed. "Huh, this isn't as bad as I thought! Could really use this speed to good work..."

Mario would indeed put Sonic's trademark speed to good work, when he saw Villager over at the lake, fishing because Lord knows why; you'd think that a kid who caught nothing but Magikarp and Feebas would give it up and retire already. But this time, Villager took initiative and got himself a Good Rod, which was a HUGE improvement over whatever crappy rod he previously had.

"Goldeen and Finneon, here I come!" exclaimed Villager, feeling actually excited about fishing, as he threw his reel into the lake. The young lad waited patiently for a bite, as Mario sped by with his blazing fast speed and replaced Villager's fishing rod with some beat-up rod he found in the mansion's shed. One moment later, Villager felt a snag on his fishing rod, and he reeled in his catch...pulling in, you guessed it, a Magikarp. "Aw man..."

 **Villager: That's it, no more fishing for me... *stares angrily at his fishing rod* ...not even this new fishing rod I purchased can alleviate my fishing woes. It's all over for me, I'm done... *snaps fishing rod in two, and throws the pieces unto the ground*  
** **Young Link: Hey, who moved my fishing rod from the garden shed? What does an off-duty cop have to do to fish on his off days?!  
** **Villager: *looks at fishing rod remains and sees that it was the one from the garden shed* Uh oh...if anyone asks, just say that I went back to being mayor at Smashville! *runs away***

"Gotta say, that was pretty fun!" remarked Mario, tossing the Super Rod to the ground like it was hot garbage. Some dedicated Pokemon fan will probably pick it up later. Mario then looked towards the picnic table outside the mansion, and saw Shulk and Fiora assembling something on the table. Appeared to be tower of doughnuts - or rather, a castle of doughnuts!

"Remind me why we're doing this again?" Shulk asked Fiora, while the Homs were putting on the finishing touches of their culinary architectural masterpiece. "This is fun and all, but I don't want anyone judging us. It's bad enough that people criticize me for going on strolls around town, wearing nothing but my underwear and sandals."

"As I've told you before, that's just plain weird," replied Fiora, who tried to dissuade Shulk from continuing his weird habits, but to no avail. "We're doing this because Dunban kept going on about how 'cool' it would be to see a tower of doughnuts, in person - sounds strange, I know - so we're going the extra limit, just for him." Fiora would place the final doughnut on the castle, signifying the completion of the castle. "There, all done! Wait right here and keep watch of the doughnuts, while I fetch Dunban. Easier said than done, right?"

"Easier _done_ than said," reaffirmed Shulk, leading Fiora to smile as she headed inside the mansion. Once she was gone, Shulk took out his cellphone and noodled around on it, not paying any attention to the doughnuts. This was an extremely ripe opportunity for Mario...

...as he sped by and grabbed as many doughnuts as possible, causing the castle of doughnuts to fall. Shulk realized this when the doughnuts fell in him, and the Homs quickly put away his phone in panic as he tried to patch up the castle of doughnuts. Just when things were headed south...

"Shulk and I really worked hard on this, so we both hope you enjoy!" smiled Fiora, as she led her brother outside holding him by his hand. Once the Homs reached the picnic table, Fiora was greatly displeased when she saw what transpired with the castle of doughnuts, and she was even more displeased with her man, Shulk, glaring at him.

"Uh...uh...I can explain," Shulk could only say, as Fiora kept on glaring while her older brother Dunban shook his head and facepalmed.

* * *

Once he grabbed his stash of doughnuts, Mario ran inside the mansion, and was in the foyer happily eating the doughnuts without a care in the world. As he ate the doughnuts, Tails passed by, flying with his propeller tails when he saw Mario eating away.

"Golly, Sonic, where'd you get those doughnuts from?" Tails asked his best friend, not knowing that he was speaking directly to Mario. Sonic's mind and soul was presumably in some other dimension right now. "And what's with the Mario hat, and the mustache?"

"Funny you should ask that, Tails," replied Mario, doing his best to stay in character as Sonic. "I decided to dress up as Mario for a day, to see if dressing up as my long-time rival did wonders, and when I went to the nearest Krispy Kreme story, the workers gave me a infinite supply of doughnuts because my outfit was spot on! Isn't that swell? You're welcome to have some doughnuts if you like!" Now sharing wasn't exactly a part of Sonic's character, but Mario could do a heap of justice to the hedgehog for all we know.

"You actually want to share your doughnuts with me? Awesome! Thanks Sonic!" Surprised by "Sonic's" change of heart, Tails happily sat on the couch next to Mario, and ate the doughnuts with him. "We should save some doughnuts for Knuckles, he might want some." Mario would nod his head in agreement.

 **Tails: Don't know how a Mario outfit would be "spot on" if it only comes with a red cap and a mustache, but it netted Sonic a infinity supply of doughnuts, so that's pretty cool. And for him to share his doughnuts with me was even cooler. Usually he won't even share his cold medication with me, when we both get sick. Usually it's his fault.**

"We'll just wrap up Knuckles' doughnuts in a bag, and leave the bag on his nightstand," suggested Mario. Provided Yoshi doesn't see the doughnuts himself. "Now, indulge me, Tails...what mischievous things have I done the past few months?

"As in like, what shenanigans you've involved yourself in?" asked Tails, taken aback by Mario's question. The yellow fox could rat off an entire list of things Sonic had done over a three-month span. "Let's see...you accused Berkut of wanting to assassinate Alm, you accused Balthier and Dark Pit of working with Berkut, you've done the same for a few others, you discussed your plans to work with Wolf and 'mend' Itsuki and Tsubasa's relationship back together...anything else I"m missing?"

"Nope, I believe you've covered everything, touched on every little detail." Seemingly down with eating his doughnuts, Mario handed over his remaining doughnuts to Tails, before standing up. "Thank you Tails, for helping me realize the error of my ways..."

"Going so soon Sonic, not gonna eat the rest of your doughnuts? And what do you mean by 'realize the error of your ways'? Gonna patch up all the ridiculous things you've done in the past?"

"Guess you could say that...I have a lot of work to do. Don't know how long it'll take me, but what matters is that it's all said and done." On that note, Mario pressed forward, as he left Tails behind in the foyer. For a moment, Tails couldn't tell whether or not "Sonic" was changing for the better...

* * *

Up in the recording studio, Crash was putting his singing device to good use, as he was singing a k-pop song Roy heard at the Billboard Music Awards. "Fake Love", by BTS - perhaps Roy's favorite boy band. Crash was singing all the singing parts, while Fox, Falco, Roy, and Berkut watched.

"When is Crash going to sing actual original songs by Straight Fiyah?" Falco asked Fox, as the pilots were forced to listen to Crash. That song the bandicoot was singing, Fox and Falco could listen on their phones. There was no difference whatsoever.

"Once Roy entirely understands the concept of what an original song is," replied Fox, doing his best to keep himself awake with a cup of coffee. "Given the fast track Roy's on now, I'll give him a good seven months."

"Still don't understand why you want me to hear Crash, I could be with my wife right now," Berkut said to Roy, feeling his contempt for Roy grow more with each and every day. "Why not have Coco or Aku in my place, at least they're Crash's relatives!"

"Unfortunately, Berkut, Coco and Aku are nonbelievers - more so than Cortex and Uka combined - who don't think Crash has the ability to be a bona fide star," explained Roy - screw Coco and Aku for being right! "Good thing for us, we actually believe in Crash - and as a believer, we must support Crash along the way!"

"And listening to him sing songs from other artists is supposed to give him boosts of confidence? Give me a freaking break..."

 **Berkut: One of my folks sent me a letter to the Smash Mansion, asking me how my stay is coming along. I'm afraid "having to live with my lifelong arch-nemesis and being forced to star as a pop idol in a boy friend" would be the most worrisome things to say on a return letter. Crash might think otherwise, if he ever had a legitimate family.**

"I've been told Berkut is here, where is he?" Mario asked as he poked his head inside the recording booth. Berkut sensed Mario as his golden opportunity to leave Roy and Crash for good, and it left Fox and Falco jealous.

"Yours truly, Berkut of Rigel, is right here," replied Berkut, stepping out so Mario could see him in full focus. Mario could have done without the whole fancy bits, who cared about Berkut's title. "You wish to speak with me, is that correct?"

"Yes, but it won't be long though - got something I need to get out of my system." So Berkut left the recording studio, leaving both Fox and Falco jealous, as he joined Mario outside in the hallway. Then the unthinkable happened...

...Mario, as Sonic, gave Berkut a heartfelt hug, which left the paladin confused and bewildered. Berkut tried to pry Mario's arms off of him, but nothing seemed to work - it was like Mario was glued to the man.

"Berkut...I'm so sorry," Mario apologized to the paladin, which made him even more confused. Why was Mario apologizing for - was he trying to undo the wrongs Sonic had done in recent episodes?

"I'm so sorry too Sonic, I guess," Berkut could only respond, before feeling the need to ask "Sonic" a serious question. "Wait, what am I apologizing for? Better yet, what are YOU apologizing for?"

"I'm apologizing because for the longest, I've always assumed that you desired to kill Alm, ever since you moved in to the mansion. I had assumed that you were working alongside with Dark Pit and Balthier, needing allies to assist you in Alm's assassination. That's why at the wedding..."

"Hold on a minute, you actually thought that?" Berkut managed to get Mario off of him, as he pulled off his arms. "Sonic, as much as I would love to get my grimy hands on Alm and kill him for good, Master Hand has forbidden me from accomplishing my goal. He threatened to boot Rinea and I out of the mansion if I were ever to kill Alm. Which is why I haven't laid the slightest finger on Alm - Rinea would _kill_ me if we were forced to leave for good."

"Oh, I see...so Dark Pit..." Berkut shook his head. "...and Balthier..." Berkut shook his head once more. "...ah. So it was all a huge misunderstanding, on my part." Berkut nodded his head. "I promise not to accuse you of anything ever again. Deal?"

"A promise well kept. It's a deal with me. Now go run along now, we'll keep this between the two of us." Mario gave a thumbs up to Berkut, Sonic style, as he sped down the hallway. "Heh...I can't kill Alm, but that won't prevent me from conspiring plans to kill him for good...hopefully Master Hand wasn't around to hear that."

"Berkut, come quick, Crash is spitting bars in the booth!" Roy called out to the paladin from the recording studio, as Berkut gritted his teeth. "Go get the fire extinguisher, or something!"

"Why oh why, did I not use my wife as an excuse..." Berkut deeply sighed, begrudgingly returning to the recording studio.

* * *

 **Ema: Of course, when you're a mansion resident, you don't do that much forensics work...which is why I'm stuck doing errands for Layton and Luke. They're best friends with Phoenix and Maya (or so Layton claims), so it comes with the territory, I guess. Layton and Luke are currently digging up some dirt on Bowser, and they want me to give them anything of note relevant to their case, so I've done a little snooping here and there. Hopefully this leads to something, and I'm not just doing all this for naught.**

While snooping around in Bowser's room, Ema found an item of note - a envelope on Bowser's desk, with a love letter presumed to be inside. The heart seal that closed the envelope suggested this. Wanting Layton and Luke to see this evidence, Ema went to go speak with the detectives, racing down the hallway...

...until she encountered Mario, who bumped into the forensics expert while speeding down the hallway. Mario and Ema crashed, both landing on the floor.

"Watch it, Sonic, you could've broken my leg there..." Ema scolded Mario, as she got up, dusted herself off, and picked up the envelope she dropped. Worst-case scenario would be Mario grabbing the envelope and opening its contents; whatever was inside was strictly for Latyon and Luke's eyes. "We should seriously have speed limit signs, just for you!"

"And as I've told Master Hand before, such an idea would never work had we not held a gazillion people in one mansion," retorted Sonic, surprised to hear his own voice again...that was because Sonic was back in his own body! Which meant Mario was back on his, as the plumber remained on the floor rubbing his bum. "Huh, how did I get all the way here? And why does my stomach feel bloated...?"

"Ah well, it was fun-a while it lasted," remarked Mario, wishing he could go super fast once more. Suddenly, Sonic grabbed the plumber and lifted him up, but the hedgehog wasn't angry, as Mario had feared. In fact, he was oddly excited!

"Mario you know better than anyone else...how did I look while wearing Cappy?" Sonic questioned the plumber, shaking him excitedly. "I know my mind was in another place at the time...but you must tell me, how did I look? Was I killing it out there? Was I doing my thing? Was I lit?!"

"You were...doing just-a fine, Sonic," replied Mario, as Sonic gently placed him back on the floor. Sonic will definitely think otherwise, when Villager and Shulk seek their revenge upon the hedgehog. "Nothing out of the ordinary, you were just speeding around-a like the blazing speedster you are!"

"Aw man, I hoped I had did more exciting stuff...but then again, you were doing all the work. You should have made me do cool stuff, like surf down the Washington mountains or swim across the Pacific Ocean and back! Man, talk about a missed opportunity..."

"Yeah, I should probably get going now..." Ema said to Sonic and Mario, wondering why she hadn't left already. Layton and Luke were likely waiting on her. "I mean, this envelope isn't gonna deliver itself!" As Ema walked away, with her back turned, Sonic looked at the brunette curiously, before snatching Cappy away from Mario.

"Sonic, what are you doing, you're not gonna do what I think you're gonna do, are you?" Cappy questioned the hedgehog, as his worst fears were realized - Sonic would toss the flying hat at Ema, and in a snap, Mario now found himself inside Ema's body. Much to his chagrin.

"Seriously, I'm stuck in Ema's body?" groaned Mario, as he started to feel all sorts of uncomfortable. He saw Sonic rolling on the floor, laughing away. You'd be laughing too if you saw a gal like Emma having a mustache. 'Sonic this is no laughing matter, why'd you do this for?!"

"I dunno, I just thought it would be funny to see meandering in a woman's body," replied Sonic, wiping away a tear as he stood up on his feet. "Now you'll understand the inner workings of a woman, and understand all the pain and suffering they struggle with internally on a day-to-day basis! Who knows, Ema might have a period soon, and then you'll learn more about how the menstrual cycle works!"

 **Sonic: Honest question: is it possible for men to have periods? How come women have it much harder than us?**

"I don't wanna interrupt your first-hand learning experience of the female body, so I'll just leave you alone while I go play with Shaymin," Sonic said to Mario, walking away and waving. "Let me know how it goes!"

"Get back here Sonic, I'm not finished with you..." Mario chased after Sonic, but it would be all for naught after Sonic sped away. Mario gritted his teeth as Sonic sped down the hallway, before turning around and heading on his way. However, Mario needed to do something about that mustache of his...couldn't afford to have anyone see Ema with a mustache, and get all confused.

* * *

Needing something to conceal his face, Mario would speak with Meta Knight, whom he hoped had a spare mask for him to borrow. The plumber would find Meta Knight in his room, the Star Warrior playing an intense game of chess with Pit (accompanied by Kirby). Considering who Meta Knight's opponent was, the chess match couldn't possibly be _that_ intense.

"Your move," Meta Knight said to Pit, after moving his knight into place. At the moment, Meta Knight had seven pieces on the chessboard...while Pit only had one, his king. So most of the intensity came from how quick Pit was to losing, pretty much. "Your king can only move to one spot, by the way."

"Only one spot, eh?" smirked Pit, with a finger underneath his chin as he surveyed the chessboard. Believe it or not, Pit lost five of his chess pieces in less than twenty seconds, which has to be a new record of some sort. No wonder Pit found himself in the predicament he was in. "in that case, I shall go against the grain, and take...THIS spot!" Pit moved his king to a white space...

...thereby allowing Meta Knight to use his queen to take out Pit's king. Pit looked in despair, in utter disbelief, as Kirby comforted his friend with a pat on the back.

"Checkmate..." said Meta Knight, slightly relishing in his victory with his arms crossed. "I keep telling you Pit, sacrificing your pawns at the beginning of the game is always never a great strategy to win. You should switch up your strategy next time." With his chess match done, Meta Knight could finally have a word with Mario. "Sorry for the wait...Ema?" Meta Knight was stunned to see "Ema" with a mustache, and Pit and Kirby were both equally stunned as well.

"AAAAAAHHHHH IT'S A MONSTER, SOMEBODY SAVE US!" screamed Pit, as he hid behind Kirby's back. Given Kirby's height, Mario could still see Pit, shivering in fear.

"That's not a monster Pit, that's...Ema with a mustache," Meta Knight informed Pit, before returning his attention to Mario and taking note of the red cap on his head. "Mario, is that you? Did you seriously capture Ema's body? What's wrong with you, man?!"

"It wasn't my fault, Meta Knight - Sonic stole Cappy from me and tossed him at Ema," explained Mario, as Meta Knight gave a knowing nod. Pit slowly arose out of his hiding spot. "Said it thought it would be 'funny' to see me in a girl's body. And now Sonic ran off, and I'm stuck in this...well, you know."

"Well it can't be that bad Mario - this might be a great learning experience for you!" stated Pit, reiterating what Sonic had said. "Getting to know how the female body operates...who knows, you might even get pregnant! Not saying that you can't get pregnant as Ema to begin with, but there might be some life lessons you can get out of it..."

 **Pit: I know this has been probably asked before, but...** **is it possible for men to have periods? If so, when will my first period come? Or has it came already? Will I get pregnant soon?**

"I need a mask to conceal my face, Meta Knight, if you don't mind," Mario kindly asked Meta Knight, who stepped away from the chessboard before heading over to his closet. He opened the closet doors, and peered inside, before pulling out a mask - a Gerudo veil.

"A Gerudo by the name of Urbosa gave me this face veil not so long ago," explained Meta Knight, showing off the Gerudo veil to Mario. It was green in color, green was the color of Ema's eyes, so the veil was a perfect match. "I think this will be great for you, Mario - keep that veil on your face, and you can save yourself, and Ema's pride."

"I shall wear this face veil 24/7," assured Mario, accepting the veil from Meta Knight and putting it on his face. The idea of Ema wearing a face veil to go along with with current attire was undoubtedly strange, but it was something Mario would have to deal with for the time being. "Hopefully this will only be temporary..."

"I hope so too. Just return the face veil when you're done, when you're out of Ema's body. And don't do anything that would require you to take off that veil, it will be VERY damaging to Ema's reputation."

"Like I would ever need to take it off...thanks for the face veil, Meta Knight. You're a real lifesaver." Mario would leave the premises, and once he was out of the room, he suddenly realized that he was holding the envelope Ema had found. "Ema did say that she wanted to give this envelope to Layton, didn't she? Might as well do it now."

"Ema is that you?" Zelda called out to Mario, much to the plumber's chagrin. Mario sighed as he turned around and saw Zelda fastly walking to him, clearly in a hurry. "Can you come with me to the beauty salon? It's kind of an emergency...also, why in Hylia's name are you wearing a Geruo face veil? And Mario's cap, for that matter?"

"I'm...wearing this Gerudo face veil because..it can soften your pores, and keeps your skin clean and beautiful!" explained Mario, as Zelda looked on in confusion. But the princess was willing to buy this myth, for now. "The cap, it's just for style. Can your emergency wait until later? I gotta hand this envelope in to Layton and Luke soon. You know I can't leave them hanging!"

"Layton and Luke can wait for now, I have this giant zit on my face that won't go away..." Zelda pointed at the zit in question, and it was certainly a big one - very close to her mouth. Mario couldn't afford to let such a beautiful princess continue her life with a blemish diminishing her beauty. "I've already tried asking Link to take care of the zit, but he instantly claimed that he might be 'too busy' with Cloud to help me. I've never had a zit before, so I honestly don't know what to do...but you're a woman, so you might know more than Link does. Will you please help me out, Ema?" Mario, with no other choice, did what he had to do...

"Yes, Princess Zelda, I'll take care of the zit for you," Mario sighed in response, as Zelda got all happy. The princess knew she could trust Ema...erm, Mario, to get expel the zit for good. What could possibly go wrong?!

* * *

Given that it was Mario, you'd think that the plumber would mess up taking care of Zelda's zit, and in turn make Ema look bad by consequence. However, that wouldn't be the case, as Mario was in the beauty salon applying a hot washcloth to Zelda's zit. After he was done, he then applied some zit cream to Zelda's face. The ladies present gathered around, watching Mario do his thing, except for Samus who was seated in a chair reading a book. The bounty hunter just needed a place to chill.

"It's important that we apply zit cream to the rest of your face, to prevent future breakouts from happening," Mario said to Zelda, applying the zit cream to the princess' face. "I would also recommend doing a facial wash every night before bed, to keep your face healthy." The ladies surrounding Mario hung unto his every word, while they marveled. "That is what each princess should do, to stay on top of the beauty game! There, all done!"

"May I see?" asked Zelda, as Mario took out a mirror and gave it to Zelda. The princess looked at herself in the mirror, easily amazed by how excellent her skin looked as she rubbed her cheekbones. "I must say, Ema, you did a great job! My skin looks so clear...and it looks like my zit has gone down a little! You really are a lifesaver!"

"That was the best beauty-related thing I've seen!" exclaimed Amy, who came to the beauty salon just so she could paint her nails. "Who knew Ema was so superb when it comes with beauty! Must be a secret talent of hers!"

"I bet it is..." mumbled Samus, sighing to herself as she turned the page of her book. Should've just remained in the workshop.

 **Samus: I've been in Ema's shoes before...one day, I cured Peach of her pimple problem, and the next, the ladies treated me like I was some beauty goddess. All they did was prove why I greatly despise attention...and beauty, on top of that.**

 **Mario: Taking care of Zelda's zit won't be my first rodeo - I've had to treat a similar problem before, when Luigi had this monstrous zit on his butt, of all places. *shudders* When I took care of the zit, it popped right off of Luigi's butt, then hissed at Daisy and I before crawling away. I may be wrong, but I think Luigi was possessed at the time. That's my only valid explanation for what I witnessed.**

"I shouldn't doubt Ema in the first place - after all, she does know a thing or two about maintaining healthy skin," stated Zelda, putting Mario in a precarious position - or rather, Ema. When ladies come up to the forensics expert, and ask her for beauty tips, she'll eventually know why. "Earlier she told me that wearing a Gerudo face veil helps soften your pores, and keeps them healthy."

"Ah, I see...no wonder Ema's skin is always clear and without blemish!" marveled Mamori, easily in awe of "Ema" and her beauty techniques. "We should also get a Gerudo face veil of our own, so we can all have skin beautiful and clear as Ema's! But where can we find a Gerudo?"

"I've heard that a bunch of Gerudos live in a valley somewhere in Hyrule," stated Nana; ain't nobody taking a bunch of ladies from a mansion to Hyrule, just so they could engage their quest of having great skin. "I'd say we all head down to Hyrule one day, and get some face veils for ourselves!"

"My goodness, you ladies are all so gullible..." sighed Samus, easily unnerved by the gullibility in the beauty salon, as she placed her book over her face and sulked. "Here I thought women were smarter than men...I guess not anymore!"

"Oh, Zelda, look what we brought..." cooed a familiar voice, as Link entered the beauty salon along with Cloud. Both men were carrying shopping bags from a beauty store, as inferred by the women. Most ladies know a shopping bag from a beauty store when they see one.

"Link, Cloud, what are you doing here, and what's in those bags?" questioned Zelda - did Link and Cloud spend their day shopping? And at a beauty store of all places?! That was SO unlike them!

"Link and I bought you some skin lotion - you know, for your skin," explained Cloud, as Zelda looked on with some confusion. "It's the thought that counts, Link said. I'll never forgive him for roping me into..."

"I don't understand what's going on...Link, you said you couldn't take care of my zit problem because you might be 'busy' with Cloud, and yet you return from the store with skin lotion products...would you mind explaining what's going on?"

"What I said back there was a smokescreen - make you think one thing, while I do another. Made you think I didn't want to solve your problem, although I did in secrecy. And that's how smokescreens work, you know...WOOOOSH!" Link made a strange smokescreen sound effect of some sort, while the ladies were no doubt judging the Hylian rightfully in their minds.

"Translation: Link is just an idiot," clarified Cloud, as Link shot a glare at the swordsman. Cloud could only shrug innocently - the man was just saying what was on his mind.

"Well Link and Cloud, I've already taken care of Zelda's zit, so your shopping was all for naught," Mario said to the swordsmen, questioning what Mario was wearing while inside Ema's body. A red cap, face veil, and scientist clothes just didn't mesh well. "So why don't you just use those products for yourselves? I'm sure you have..."

"How come nobody is questioning why Ema is wearing that cap?" Cloud pointed at Mario, putting him in the hot seat. Cloud had a hunch for why "Ema" was wearing a cap in the first place, which gave Mario all the right to feel nervous. "Also, what's with the face veil, you sure she isn't hiding something?"

"Leave her alone Cloud, she's just taking care of her pores!" Amy stood up to Cloud, not realizing that she was in the wrong. "Ema said that the face veil allows her to skin to be clear and beautiful, so how about you stop being so judgmental!" You could literally hear Samus sighing deeply right now.

"Wow that is so wrong..." Link shook his head in disdain, as Cloud marched over to Mario. The hot seat Mario was sitting in grew hotter with each step Cloud took.

"In that case, let's see how clear and beautiful Ema's skin really is..." The ladies looked on with worry, as Cloud gently placed his hand on Mario's face veil. The moment of truth was nigh approaching.

"No, Cloud, you don't have to do this, please..." Mario begged to the swordsman, trying to save his hide and Ema's hide as well...

...but it was too late. Cloud instantly ripped the face veil off of Mario's face, revealing a mustached Ema to the shocked ladies in the beauty salon. Not a single woman knew what to say, until...

"EMA TURNED INTO A MAN!" Celica shrieked at the top of her lungs, as the ladies started panicking. It became a bit of a riot in the beauty salon, as ladies were running about in terror and panic.

"This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening..." Viridi said to herself, seated in a fetal position while the chaos ensued. Needless to say, it brought a smile upon Samus' face...

 **Samus: Haha...knew that was gonna happen. Those ladies should've seen that one coming. And they say women are smarter than men...**

* * *

Outside the beauty salon was Ryu and Ganondorf, who were...wait a sec, what were those two manly men doing near the beauty salon? Does standing near the salon not discredit their manliness? Maybe Ganondorf was waiting on Rosalina, so he could chill with her and whatnot. And Ryu...honestly who knows what he's up to.

"The screaming in that beauty salon is out of this world..." remarked Ryu, while the ladies were still overreacting to "Ema" sporting a mustache on her face. Good thing it wasn't a beard, at least. "Acting like Calamity Ganon has entered their salon! Speaking of whom, what do you think of this Calamity Ganon foe, Ganondorf?"

"Meh, sounds like a poor man's Ganondorf to me, I could end him easily with one swift Warlock Punch," Ganondorf replied confidently, while cracking his knuckles. If only he saw Calamity Ganon in person. "Calamity Ganon...don't know why, but that name reminds me of someone, from some stupid kids show..."

" _The Mr. Men Show_? There's a character on there, named Miss Calamity. Are you insinuating that the Calamity Ganon Mario spoke of is a woman?"

Just then, Mario, Link, Cloud, and Ema all exited the beauty salon, while the chaos and noise in the beauty salon started to die down. Mario was back in his own body, leaving Ema wondering what transpired while her mind away in another place.

"Um, can someone explain what happened?" the forensics expert asked Mario and company, once they were outside. "Last thing I remember, I was walking down the hallway, and then everything blacked out..."

"Mario had captured your body and was wearing a face veil to conceal his mustache so he could..." Link started, before Cloud covered his mouth. If Ema found out she had a mustache, it would be the end of her - although it might be the end of her already.

"What Link is trying to say is, you had this brain tumor, that you weren't aware of, and it caused you to black out, and so Mario had to take you to the beauty salon so he could remove said tumor, while as Dr. Mario," explained Cloud, wracking Ema's poor brain with confusion. "That's why those ladies in the salon were screaming, because they've never seen such an ugly tumor before. It'll probably give them nightmares..."

"If that's the case, then why was Mario still in his regular clothes when I regained my consciousness? Also, wouldn't removing a brain tumor require surgery? Home come I don't feel staples on the side of my head? Why isn't my hair shaved off? Why am I asking so many questions?!"

"Trust-a me Ema, everything is better when you ask-a more questions, take it from-a me," Mario advised the forensics expert, hoping her "experience" will be a forgettable one for everyone involved.

 **Link: *laughs to himself while looking at a cellphone* You have to admit, this image of Ema with a mustache would make for great internet material. *shows image to camera*  
** **Cloud: *walks over to Link* If you don't give me back my phone... *snatches his phone away, then walks off* ...I'm so deleting this picture...  
Link: No, Cloud, that image might make us famous, might make us stars! *runs after Cloud* It might make us both millionaires!**

"On the plus-a side, it's great to be reunited once-a again..." smiled Mario, taking Cappy off his head and looking at his companion in the eye...only for the Duck Hunt Dog to run by and snatch Cappy with his mouth. Mario lowkey should've expected that. "...oh for crying out-a loud!"

"Not again!" moaned Cappy as the Duck Hunt Dog ran away, before turning around and tossing Cappy at Ryu. Mario now found himself inside Ryu's body, thereby giving the prized fighter a mustache. The sight of Ryu with facial hair was quite amusing to Ganondorf, who found himself laughing.

"Nice going Mario, you've successfully made Ryu look like a complete goofball!" the demon lord chortled, falling down to one knee while laughing. His laughter rubbed off of Link, Ema, and even Cloud, as they found themselves giggling at Mario.

"It's not funny, you guys..." fumed Mario...however, the plumber didn't mind being muscular and strong. Even if it was only temporary. If only Mario was muscular and strong in general. "...this is no laughing matter. In one day, I went from Yoshi's body, to Sonic's body, to Ema's body, and now Ryu's body! Who could possibly be next?!"

"What's this I hear about my body?" Ema perked up, putting her giggling fit to a halt. At the same time, Link, Cloud, and Ganondorf all stopped giggling/laughing, as Mario bit his tongue.

"Um, please disregard what you just heard, Ema my dear." That certainly didn't stop Ema from feeling suspicious. "Now, what must I do to leave Ryu's body? Cappy said that extreme force would do the trick, so what must I do?"

"Considering who you are, it would only be fitting if you receive a KO punch from someone," suggested Link; Mario was down with that. "Preferably an uppercut, but the decision is up to you." Imagine someone delivering a shoryuken to Mario - Ryu having his own move used against him, without him even knowing it!

"Or how about a Warlock Punch?" Mario grinned, as he turned to face Ganondorf. The demon lord just displayed a blank stare. "Ganon, you down?" The blank stare suggested otherwise, however.

"No way I'm wasting my Warlock Punch on you..." replied Ganondorf, as he walked away from Mario. "I'll save it for later, when that Calamity Ganon runs through town. There's only one Ganon that can supreme...I'll put that fool in his rightful place!"

"A K.O. punch would be a fitting way to exit Ryu's body, considering who you are," suggested Link; however, there was only one thing that would nullify the suggestion Link made. "Only thing is, Ryu refuses to take a single K.O. punch straight up, so it would be a bad look if..."

"Screw what Ryu thinks, I gotta get out of his body ASAP!" stated Ryu, as he marched down the hallway. "I'll just kindly ask Akuma to punch me, and then I'll be out in no time! I know he can get the job done!"

"Well this has taken an interesting turn..." remarked Ema - if only she saw how the rest of Mario's day unfolded. And thanks to Mario, the ladies of the mansion will likely think less of Ema. "I should get going, gotta hand this envelope to Layton and Luke." Ema dug into the pocket of her lab coat, to retrieve the letter...

...but the only thing she felt was nothingness. The envelope was nowhere to be found!

"Hey, where the heck did that envelope go?" Ema wondered, as she investigated the other areas of her lab coat. The envelope was nowhere to be found...

* * *

 **Peach: Finished my stroll around Seattle...also grabbed some things from the grocery store, just to be on the safe side. Would've preferred to do my stroll in my athletic wear, but the last time I did that with Jennifer, all the men came up to me and told me how hot I looked. Some even asked if I was single. How desperate they are...**

Peach returned to her home, pushing Jennifer on her stroller, as she entered her house using her house key. Once inside, she saw that the living room was flooding just a little, with the water level up to just a few centimeters.

"Oh my goodness!" panicked Peach, once she saw the water in the living room. The princess quickly placed Jennifer in her crib, before analyzing the situation at hand. "What on earth is...is that running water I hear?" Peach wondered this as she entered the kitchen. "Mario started showering the moment I left the house...ooh, I hope he isn't singing in the shower again." Once she was done with Jennifer, Peach hurried up the stairs and to her master bedroom...

...where she saw Lana in the bathroom, seemingly in a state of distress as the shower was overflowing with water. Clearly Lana did not know how to turn the shower off, apparently, as she believed stuffing the showerhead with towels would work. Time for Peach to take matters into her own hands...

"Stay right where you are, Lana!" the princess commanded of Lana, as she ran over to the shower and turned the knob, until the shower was off and no more water came out of the shower head. Peach then took the towels off the showerhead. "Aw, phooey, all our towels are wet now..."

"I'm so terribly sorry, I didn't know what to do..." Lana earnestly apologized, as Peach threw the towels into the hamper in the bathroom. "...unfortunately it never occurred to me to just turn off the shower myself. I nearly caused your house to flood!"

"Lana, are you telling me that you've never taken a shower before?" Peach's question was one that gauged how relatively "green" Lana was when it came to modern contraptions and whatnot. If Lana truly never taken a shower, then that blunette had a LOT of learning to do.

"Nope, never did...I usually do my bathing in a lake somewhere. Guess you could say that I'm a bit of a nature chick. I'm not like you or Mario, taking a shower just isn't my thing, sadly."

"Uh huh...speaking of Mario, what is he up to? What has he done while I was away with Jennifer?" Lana wished to answer the question, but bit her lip; she knew that her answer might upset Peach just a little bit.

"Well, long story short...I was a little interested in Cappy's capturing ability, and so I used him to capture one of Mario's friends, and I don't think...Mario hasn't come back home yet...so yeah, he and Cappy have went on a rather interesting quest, if you know what I mean."

"So Mario is hopping from one body to another, through the means of Cappy?" Lana, knowing that she might've done more than enough to warrant getting booted out of Mario's house, nodded her head with a nervous smile. "Well as long as he doesn't get himself hurt, he should be back home in time for dinner...but first, we must take care of this flood situation. Lana, get the buckets!"

* * *

With Peach and Lana prepared to dispel the water out of Mario's house, Mario approached Akuma, finding the veteran fighter in the lounge playing a casual game of Mahjong with R.O.B. and Yashiro.

"GOT MYSELF ANOTHER HEAVENLY HAND BOYS..." announced R.O.B., the dealer, as he drew a winning hand a mere seconds after the game began. Akuma and Yashiro could only grunt in defeat. "BOOM SHAKA LAKA...HATERS GONNA HATE..."

"We just started a new game of Mahjong, how does this stupid robot keep beating us?!" frowned Yashiro, acting like R.O.B. wasn't supposed to win. R.O.B. was a robot, after all - and as time proved, robots were smarter than humans. So Yashiro shouldn't even be complaining. "There must be something in that robotic brain of his that allows him to go on a winning streak..."

 **Yashiro: As much as I hate saying this, R.O.B. is absolutely boss when it comes to playing board games, or any game for that matter. He knows every word in _Scrabble,_ gets all the action and wild cards in a standard game of _Uno,_ collects rent from all his opponents BEFORE HE CAN EVEN BUY A SINGLE PROPERTY in _Monopoly._ He must be rigging every game he plays in, for sure. Or he does something with his robot abilities that makes his opponents stupid...**

"Akuma, you must do me a huge favor, a big solid," Mario said to the fighter, stepping inside the lounge before Akuma and company could start a new game of mahjong, only for R.O.B. to prevail once more. Akuma looked up at Mario, clearly not wanting to be bothered.

"What is this 'huge favor' you're talking about?" questioned Akuma, while R.O.B. set up the mahjong pieces. Akuma and Yashiro should be keeping watch - R.O.B. might be setting himself up for another victory. "And what's with the mustache and the red cap, you trying to dress up as Mario?"

"Ryu, as my lifelong rival and bitter enemy...you must give me a wicked K.O. punch, one that would rattle me to the core." Akuma stared at Mario for a good while, before bursting into laughter a second later.

"Okay, Ryu, let's get some things straight - first, we've only known each other for about a year, so I don't know why you're getting all personal with me for. Secondly, how can I be your lifelong rival and bitter enemy? Those two just don't go together, in my opinion. Secondly, why do you want me to K.O. punch you? You compared getting a K.O. punch to being pansted in public!"

"Yes, yes, I did say that...but over time, I've learned that what I said was wrong. Sometimes in life, you have to change your attitude...and that was exactly what I did today, after many weeks spent in thought." Akuma just couldn't help but give Ryu a questionable stare.

"'Many weeks spent in thought'?" Just saying that out loud made Akuma chuckle. Mario was really making Ryu look bad. "Man, you made that K.O. comment two days ago, what do you mean you've spent 'many weeks in thought'? What is wrong with you today...?"

"Enough talk - it is time to fight, or in this case, punch!" Mario got into his stance, bracing himself for a wicked punch from Akuma. "Do your worst Akuma - punch me with all you got, and I'll take it like a man!"

"You're really out of your element today...but if you really want me to knock you out of your misery, then so be it!"

Akuma got up, stretched out his fingers, and prepared with all his might, as Mario waited. Then, after mustering the strengtth in his body, Akuma punched Mario square in the face, so hard that he sent him flying out of the lounge. Mario collided against a wall, and the impact was strong enough to send the plumber out of Ryu's body.

"You can thank me later Ryu, when your body isn't racked with pain!" Akuma called out to the fighter, chuckling as he returned to Yashiro and R.O.B. so he could take another loss in Mahjong. Ryu, having regained his mind again, rubbed his aching back.

"What did Akuma mean, he'll thank me later when I'm not racked with..." questioned Ryu, before realizing where he was and how his body felt. "D-Did Akuma deliver a K.O. punch to me?!" The fighter asked Mario, who was on the floor, sitting. "Oh no, I've broken my creed, my promise...I told Chun-li I wouldn't be beat up, and I've let her down! This is such a crushing blow to my dignity..."

"Aw, it can't-a be that serious," remarked Mario, as he was looking for Cappy. He would find his companion lying on the floor, not so far away from him, as Zero walked by and stepped on Cappy by accident. "Zero, NO!"

"What did I do?" asked Zero as he stopped, only to turn around and see what he had done. Cappy was dazed, as the pupils in his eyes were moving about. "Did I step on you, Cappy? My bad." Zero picked up Cappy off the floor, and handed him to Mario. "Here's your hat back, Mario."

"Thanks, Zero," Mario thanked the robot, ready to place Cappy on his head, although the plumber couldn't help but feel that something unfortunate might come his way, preventing him from reuniting with Cappy. That would be the case, as Jigglypuff floated by, snatching Cappy away from Mario. "Jigglypuff?! That was uncalled-a for! Give Cappy back!"

"Jigglypuff Jigglypuff!" Jigglypuff cheered as she looked at Cappy curiously, before placing him on her head. Mario would soon find himself in the balloon Pokemon's body, landing gently on the floor as his world became a tad bigger.

"Well Mario, looks like you're screwed for the time being," Zero said to Mario before walking away, leaving Ryu alone to soak in the sorrow of his "lost dignity", while also dealing with the pain. "All I can say is...good luck in your endeavors."

"Jiggly Jigglypuff, Jiggly Jiggly JIGGLY JIGGLYPUFF!" Mario shouted out at the retreating Zero, before covering his mouth in shock. How could he forget? Since he was Jigglypuff, he had to speak like Jigglypuff. Good call, because Mario could've shouted some major obscenities at Zero there.

 **Mario: Jiggly Jiggly Jigglypuff? *sighs* Jigglypuff Jiggly Jigglypuff... *sees Shulk and Villager walk by, both angry* Jigglypuff Jigglypuff?**

* * *

Over at Sonic's room, Sonic and Tails were eating the rest of the doughnuts Sonic...erm, Mario, stole from Shulk. Tails could've already eaten the doughnuts by himself, but he wanted to wait until Mario...erm, Sonic, returned to his room so he would have someone to eat the doughnuts with.

"You won't believe the exchange I had with Berkut today - I confronted the man in his room, after I was done with Shaymin," Sonic said to Tails, as he was eating a doughnut. "He was chilling on the bed with Rinea and junk. Anyways, I accused him of forming an assassination pact, to assassinate Alm, and he told me that I was foolish, because, and I quote, 'I made a promise to never accuse him of anything ever again'. Like, did he meet a different Sonic or something?"

"Wait, so you entered Berkut's room, while Berkut and Rinea were mingling together?" asked Tails; Sonic nodded his head, like it busting inside someone's room when they were with their spouse was a completely moral thing to do. "Did you even ask for permission?"

"I would've, if the door was locked. But it wasn't so it was fair game. The room would've been locked, if they were..." The door to the bedroom opened, and Tails looked up as Sonic turned around angrily. "Hey you bum, haven't you heard about...knocking?"

After Sonic made his rather ironic retort, he saw Shulk and Villager in his room, glaring at the hedgehog. They both had their reasons for their beef with Sonic.

"All this time, I should've known it was you!" Villager pointed at Sonic, who wasn't that threatened. Possibly because Villager didn't have any fingers to point with. "You were the one who replaced my new Super Rod with that beat-up one from the shed!"

"You were already a crappy fisherman to begin with, so it was for the better," replied Sonic, left wondering why Villager was so angry with him. "You should just retire, while you're still young."

"Thanks to you, Sonic, the castle of doughnuts Fiora and I crafted was ruined, and as a result Dunban was left disappointed!" added Shulk, as Sonic found the Homs' beef with him very laughable. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"A castle of doughnuts? For Dunban? Are you treating him like a little child? Look you two, I appreciate your accusations, but I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't replace any fishing rods, and I certainly didn't ruin some doughnut creation that nobody would give a crap about. How about you accuse someone else?"

"Look Villager, Sonic is eating the very doughnuts Fiora and I used...and he even has your fishing rod too, near his bed! I'd say we get our stuff back!" Villager and Shulk were ready to confront Sonic, to teach the blue blur a lesson...

...but before they could even get a running start, a singing Pokemon caused the both of them to fall fast asleep. The Pokemon was Jigglypuff - or in this case, Mario - as he appeared from behind the sleeping Villager and Shulk.

"M-Mario, did you do that?" Sonic, recognizing the mustache, asked Mario, who nodded his head. "Wow, thanks for saving my hide! Also, are you seriously stuck inside Jigglypuff's body?" Begrudgingly, Mario nodded again, and on cue, Sonic and Tails laughed together. You should definitely feel bad for yourself when even Tails is laughing at you.

"Jigglypuff JIGGLYPUFF!" Mario screamed at Sonic and Tails, and that only made the two friends laugh even harder. Angry as a red tomato, Mario walked over to the doughnuts, grabbed one, and walked away as Sonic and Tails kept on laughing.

 **Mario: *takes a bite out of his doughnut* Jiggly jiggly Jigglypuff...  
** **Cloud: *walks by* Yikes, Mario, you're stuck in Jigglypuff's body? Talk about having low standards. I feel for you, man.  
** **Mario: *shakes fist at Cloud* JIGGLYPUFF JIGGLYPUFF!  
** **Cloud: Woah, Mario, watch your language man...I didn't mean it, honestly.  
Mario: Jiggly Jigglypuff...**

Not even wanting to finish the rest of his doughnut, Mario threw the remains on the floor, expecting either Flora or Felicia to clean it up. As he walked through the hallway, he came across Ema, still stressing out over that envelope.

"Crap, that envelope is not even in the beauty salon..." fretted Ema, who was caught off-guard by the ladies when they asked her why she shaved her mustache off. "Someone must've taken it and opened it for themselves. Or they returned it to Bowser's room. The envelope did have Bowser's name written on it, for whatever reason."

"Jigglypuff!" Mario called out to Ema, grabbing the forensics expert's attention. Ema turned and saw Mario, slightly amused.

"Mario, is that you inside Jigglypuff?" Ema found herself giggling, shaking her head in disbelief. "How'd you end up in..." Before Ema could finish, Mario grabbed her hand and ran off. "H-Hey, where are you taking me?!"

* * *

"Much appreciated for returning my envelope Wendy, you're the greatest daughter a father could have!" Bowser commended Wendy in his room, grateful that his envelope was returned. He was holding the envelope right now. "This here envelope contains confidential stuff, and if it fell in the wrong hands..."

"Can you tell me what's inside the envelope, daddy?" implored Wendy, leading Bowser to bonk her on the head. Bowser sure felt good doing that. "Ow, why'd you do that for?!"

"Did you not hear a word I said? The contents of the envelope are confidential, which means it's secret and nobody is allowed to see it! Finding out what's inside could affect the fate of the humankind as we know it! Do you hate humankind, Wendy Koopa? Not that I would care, but..."

"Oh, Bowser, may I have a quick word with you?" Ema asked the koopa king, standing in his doorway with a smile. "Just wanted to have a quick...'confidential' conversation, if you don't mind." Bowser gritted his teeth, hoping Ema wasn't eavesdropping on him.

"You heard the woman, Wendy...capiche," Bowser said to his daughter, who was rubbing her head as she left the room. Ema drew closer to Bowser, still smiling. "Ema why are you smiling like that, it's so creepy! You're just like those football cheerleaders that smile all day long! It's bugging me out!"

"I was just wondering...do you still have that bouquet with you?" Bowser knew Ema was inquiring about the Soiree Bouquet, and the koopa king refused to give it up. "I'm not yet done inspecting it, so if you don't mind..."

"Don't get cutesy with me, Miss Skye, there's no way I'm letting you touch my bouquet. It was delivered to me, which means it's only reserved for me. Why can't you just get your own bouquet, like anyone else would? Oh wait, you can't...since you won't ever get married! OOH, BURN!"

"Oooh, I'm SO hurt...yeesh, talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Just let me see the bouquet Bowser, and we won't have any trouble."

"Like you're the one to talk, you're the one sparking this trouble in the first place. How about you go away and leave me alone, so I can...do my thing...and go back...to sleep...why do I feel...sleepy..."

In a matter of seconds, Bowser fell asleep, his head landing on the desk he was seated at. This was at the hands of Mario, who sang a song to the best of his ability. With Bowser fast asleep, Ema carefully took the envelope out of Bowser's hands, before she and Mario tiptoed out of the room, closing the door so Bowser could get some rest.

"Awesome, I finally got the envelope back!" cheered Ema, no doubt thankful for Mario for making Bowser sleepy, allowing the envelope to be snatched away. "Let's show this to Layton and Luke, see what they think of it..."

 **Ema: Screw working for Layton and Luke...I should be working on making some kind of antidote for Mario, to get out of people's bodies. It's all done by that cap of his, right?...Ah, I see. In that case, I should make an anti-Cappy potion, one that will bail Mario out of people's bodies... *smirks* ...and Pokemon such as Jigglypuff. *bursts into a laughing fit***

* * *

Taking Mario with her, Ema handed the envelope to Layton and Luke, who were in their room chilling, just chilling. Both detectives were dying to investigate, and Ema was giving them the green light.

"Here's an envelope I found in Bowser's room - it's apparently 'confidential'," Ema said to Layton and Luke, handing the envelope to Layton. "You'll find out later when you open. Gotta return Mario back to his home, so I'll be right back if you need me."

"Okay then Ema, thanks for the envelope!" Luke thanked the forensics expert, who took Mario and left the room. "Huh, no wonder Jigglypuff had a red cap and a mustache...though it was hard to tell that was Mario all along."

"Well it's hard to tell if Mario captured Jigglypuff...they do have the same eye color," smiled Layton, before looking at the envelope. The heart steal that enclosed the envelope immediately let Layton know that it was a love letter, addressed to someone.

"What are we waiting for, Professor Layton - let's open up that envelope and see what's inside!" So without further ado, Layton tore off the seal, and took the letter out of the envelope, so him and Luke could read it together.

"'Dear future wife...'" Layton started, bracing himself for whatever came next. "So far so good..." Then Layton went to the next line, and that's when his eyes started bulging out. Luke's eyes, too. "Oh my dear..."

* * *

Ema stopped by Mario's home, and once she got there, she couldn't help but notice a familiar face hanging around near Luigi's home. It was Linkle, the girly Hylian who was following Link around in the previous episode. She was helping Luigi wash his car.

"Luigi, you have such a superb device of transportation..." Linkle marveled, scrubbing the hood of the car. She stopped scrubbing when she looked up, and saw Ema staring at her, holding Mario in her arms. "Oh, hi Ema! I remember you, from the mansion!" Linkle waved to the forensics expert, with a smile.

"You're still hanging around?" questioned Ema, figuring that Linkle was so fed up with Link that she returned to Hyrule. How she would return to her land by herself was a great question that might require an answer.

"Linkle refused-a to stay at the mansion as long-a Link stayed, so Daisy and I had to make-a some room for her," explained Luigi, now scrubbing his car hood since Linkle stopped scrubbing. "Said her stay was-a only temporary..."

"I see then..." Ema continued on her way as she headed to Mario's front door, surprised to see the door already open. The forensics expert stepped inside the home, which was no longer flooded, and ventured to the guest room, where Peach and Lana were present. Also present was Cilan, who was giving an ailed Impa the antidote he made.

"Impa, I don't know if you can hear me or not, given that your consciousness isn't...well, but I made this antidote the best I could," Cilan said to the Sheikah, who was sitting up on her pillow with her eyes closed. "But you must drink it, if you wish to feel better again. So here we go..."

Cilan gently took the antidote, and poured it down Impa's mouth, allowing the Sheikah to swallow its contents. The connoisseur then stepped back, hoping the antidote worked, and in seconds, Impa slowly lifted her eyelids, as she sat up in the bed.

"Huh, I feel much better now," the Sheikah remarked, rubbing her head, as Cilan celebrated by smiling and pumping his fists. Peach and Lara backed away, believing Cilan was the biggest weirdo they've ever seen. "That antidote must've really worked. Was it you who gave it to me, Cilan? Thank you very much, I appreciate it."

 **Impa: So I was somehow in a state of coma for a week because of that poison gas, right? What happened while I was unconscious? Mario trimmed his mustache? Peach got pregnant again? Lara nearly flooded the house? *pause* ...she flooded the house, didn't she?**

"Eureka, my antidote actually worked!" Cilan celebrated even more, as she spun around making Peach and Lana judge him even more. "I never should've doubted myself in the first..." Cilan stopped spinning and screamed, when he saw Mario as Jigglypuff. "M-Mario? Is that you?"

"Indeed, it's Mario...captured Jigglypuff's body, somehow," replied Ema, placing Mario on the floor. It was the right thing to do, since Mario was back home. "For whatever reason, he doesn't know how to exit Jigglypuff...or maybe he forgot."

"Oh goodness, how on earth could Mario possibly forget?" wondered Peach, acting like Mario was born yesterday. Or a few hours ago. Or just now. "Mario always told me that if he captured someone, he can 'decapture' them, just by using his 'mind power'! That's what he told me, anyways."

"Jiggly Jigglypuff?" said Mario, and so he took what Peach said to heart. Mario mustered all the mind power in his...well, mind, and when he did so, he instantly hopped out of Jigglypuff's body, without needing any force. "Mama mia, it actually worked! I can decapture people myself again!"

"Bravo, Mario, bravo!" exclaimed Cappy, appearing off of Mario's head so he could applaud the plumber. "I knew you could do it! Truthfully, I knew how decapturing worked this whole time - I just didn't want to tell you, to see if you could do it on your own." Cappy's confession led to Mario gritting his teeth in anger. "...Mario?"

"CAPPY I'M GONNA KILL-A YOU!" vowed Mario, screaming like a madman as he chased a now frantic Cappy around the guest room. Peach, Cilan, and Lana moved out of the way, while Impa watched from her bed.

"Boys will be boys..." the Sheikah sighed, as Mario angrily chased Cappy out of the room. Peach followed after them, as Mario chased Cappy around the living room.

"Calm down you two, you'll knock over the box!" Peach called out to Mario and Cappy, as Mario took the chase outside. Once he and Cappy left through the front door, Peach went over to the box that was delivered in the previous episode, to see if it was left unharmed. One look at the shipping label, and she saw that the information for "SHIP TO:" was a little faded; however, Peach could discern the letters...

 _Lucina, Princess of Yliesse  
1999 Sakurai Avenue  
Seattle, Washington 98101_

"Weird, this box was supposed to be shipped to the mansion but was delivered to our house..." wondered Peach; no doubt Master Hand came up with the street name, 1999 Sakurai Avenue. "...and it was ordered by Lucina...maybe I should ask Mario about this."

Perhaps Peach should ask Mario about the box...once her husband was done chasing Cappy around.


End file.
